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Issue 9.5
25th October 2013
creative writing
iq features - page 13
lecturers to strike over pay
Christopher Heron Newspaper News Editor THE first elections of the 201314 academic year have taken place, with University of Kent students voting on several part-time officer positions, Democracy Zone Committees and several Course Reps. The elections, which took place between the 14th-18th of October, concluded with various new part-time officers and mostly full committees, however there are still some vacancies. Rashida Adekunle was elected as the Ethnic Minorities officer, Phil Stephenson-Oliver was elected as an LGBT Officer in the open place, with Rose Copsey winning the election for the women’s place. Dave Cocozza has been elected as the Mature Students’ Officer, Ali Akkoyun the University Senate Representative and Vid Calovski the Kent Graduate Student Association President. The Zone committees were mostly filled, with Alexander Tiley, David Lewis, Maya Esslemont, George Hopkin all topping the ballot for Your Rights, Your Community, Your Education and Your Union Zones respectively, with the latter three gaining places on the Union Council. There are still spaces available on three of the Democracy Zones, and there is currently no Students With Dependents Officer due to no candidates running for the role.
ukc sports match reports
sport - pages 22 & 23
nus calls for evidence of ‘lad culture’ Edward Williams
UCU strike in Bath in 2011 Photo by Yewtree
Stefan Vassalos AN ongoing dispute between university staff and their employers over pay and conditions could lead to strike action on the 31st of October. The University and College Union (UCU), which represents academic staff, is to be joined in the one-day national strike by the other large university unions, Unison and Unite. If the unusual joint strike action goes ahead, academic staff will be joined by support workers at colleges and universities around the UK. According to the unions, the catalyst for the proposed strike action is the offer of a 1% pay rise this year, which they argue represents a real-terms cut of 13% in their wages over the last five years. Support and administrative staff, too, are reportedly
unhappy as they are increasingly being offered zerohours contracts. UCU represents some lecturers at the University of Kent. The union's representative in charge of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said that "Staff have suffered year-on-year cuts in the value of their pay" and that the unions were "[urging] the employers to reflect on the fact that they are about to face their first ever strike by three unions at the same time and come to the negotiating table to resolve this dispute". Strike action, he claimed, is "always a last resort." Mr MacNeil's equivalent in Unison, Jon Richards, said that support workers are "essential for the smooth running of universities" but that many are "struggling to survive on low pay". The Universities and Colleges
Employers Association (UCEA) expressed disappointment with the development and argued that more than 40% of affected staff would be eligible for pay rises of up to 4% in total. Sian Lewis-Anthony, the President of the UCU University of Kent Branch, said that “The members of three unions UCU, Unite and Unison will be taking part in the strike over the 1% pay offer put forward by our employers. “Our members have suffered four years of pay cuts hitting the living standards of everyone in our sector and an overall cut of of 13% in real terms since 2008. In the meantime, university employers are sitting on an amassed surplus of more than £1.1 billion. “This is an unnecessary dispute. We know that our employers can afford a better pay offer than 1%”.
THE National Union of Students (NUS) has appealed to students to share their experiences of ‘lad culture’ at university. The NUS have asked students to provide local evidence of ‘lad culture’, as well as suggesting ways the NUS, policy makers and students unions can tackle the issue. The NUS defined ‘lad culture’ as “a group or ‘pack’ mentality residing in activities such as sport and heavy alcohol consumption and ‘banter’ which is often sexist, misogynistic, or homophobic” in its March 2013 report ‘That’s What She Said’. The report found that many students had been a victim of sexual harrasment and molestation, but many students found that their universities did not follow up on their reports and experiences. Kelley Temple, Womens’ Officer for the NUS, said: “As we wrote in our response to the report, everyone involved in university and student life has had some role in allowing lad culture to take root in universities, and we think the best way to combat this culture is by getting everyone involved in finding the solutions.” The survey, which is being carried out by academics at the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Sussex, can be found at: http://svy. mk/17ybT1i The survey ends on the 1st November.
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News Editor’s Note
Hey everyone, Welcome to issue 9.5. Halloween is coming up and you can feast your bloodshot, killer’s eyes on all manner of seasonal articles - from a short history of the festival and the best/worst horror films to recipes and a special playlist. Elsewhere in the paper there’s coverage of the first Union Council of the year, including an interview with Chair Karl Lewis, and more than the usual number of articles on Banksy. So sit back, munch on a pumpkin pie and enjoy. Matt. InQuireMedia
2013/2014 Editorial contacts: Alasdair Lawrence Chairman chairman Matthew Gilley - Editor newspaper.editor Chad Greggor - Website Editor website.editor Newspaper: Christopher Heron - News newspaper.news Samantha Baldwin - Comment newspaper.comment Emma Shelton - Features newspaper.features Rebekah Chilvers - Culture newspaper.culture Emily Adams - Entertainment newspaper.entertainment Dan English - Sports newspaper.sport Website: Simon Terhaag - News website.news Tom Vine - Comment website.comment Tom Hagues - Features website.features Caroline Wadham - Entertainment website.entertainment Emma Greenacre - Culture website.culture Hetty Sieling - Distribution distribution LaShanda Seaman - Promotions and Events events Daniel Barnby - Design design To contact the committee, add @ inquiremedia.co.uk to the end of the adress under their name.
parkwood support from union council Caitlin Webb POLICY to campaign for a Parkwood Master and an Environment Campaign committee were both passed at the first Union Council of the 2013-14 academic year on 17th October. The four motions, all of which passed (with minor amendments to a couple of them), were on ‘Better Support for Parkwood Students’, ‘Recognise the Environment Campaign’, ‘Policy Lapse’ (focusing on review lapsed Union Council policy) and ‘Attendance Review’ (which concerned officers’ absence from Union Council without apologies). The council itself, which took place in the Peter Brown Room, took over four hours to conclude after lengthy debates, full and part-time officer reports and the elections of new Union councillors. The Union Council is open to all students to attend and speak, but only elected officials (such as sabbatical officers,
part-time officers and College Presidents) can vote on policy. Karl Lewis, the Union Chair, said that “anyone can attend, anyone can have a motion and anyone can speak”. He pushed for the involvement of more students at Union Council so as to “scrutinise” officers and councillors and hold them to account. The motion for ‘Better Support for Parkwood Students’ focused on the support for the 1,900 students who live in the Parkwood houses, so they get similar levels of support as those who live in other colleges such as Darwin or Rutherford who have their own specific Masters. The motion called for Kent Union to campaign for a Parkwood College Master, as
well as meetings with college masters to discuss better ways to support Parkwood students. The motion was passed with a considerable majority, which may begin the process to allow Parkwood to become a full college. Victoria Buck, the President of Parkwood Student Committee, said: “The Union will be working with us to either campaign to make a new Parkwood College master, or, if that isn’t feasible, help us liaise with the current college masters. “This will enable the committee to have support when we would like to host events and run campaigns, while giving the masters a better presence in Parkwood so that the students know who they can go to for support.
“The fact that this motion was passed was excellent news for us, and we hope that it will be enough to get the ball rolling for the rest of the year”. The next Union Council will take place on the 12th December in the Peter Brown Room, with further councils scheduled to take place throughout the academic year. The third council of the year will also be hosted on the Medway campus, which houses a few thousand University of Kent students, including 200 whose courses are based in Canterbury. All the motions and reports are available on the Kent Union website, with the minutes to be released at a future point in time. Additional reporting by Christopher Heron.
essex university goes dark canterbury masked man Aiza Mohamad
THE University of Essex Students’ Union has recently launched a ban on all sales of The Sun and The Star on campus, making it the latest in a string of universities responding to the ‘No More Page 3’ movement. On the 10th of October, the newspapers were pulled from campus shops. This action followed a weeklong campaign by the Students’ Union to raise support for the motion, by placing ‘No More Page 3’ stickers onto the newspapers. The decision on the ban was instigated by the two newspapers’ coverage of the London Olympics. The Union’s Vice President Welfare, Chantel Le Carpentier, has issued a statement saying: “The images of women published in these newspapers
not only encourage readers to judge women on their bodies and appearance, but also misrepresent the role of women in society as just objects for men to look at. “Looking back at the Olympics last year, we had fantastic female athletes, Jessica Ennis, Ellie Simmonds etc. but the biggest representation of women in The Sun during the Olympics was still half naked women.” The International Olympic Committee had hailed the London Olympics as “an historic step towards gender equality”, with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar sending female athletes to represent them for the first time. The University of Essex has joined the Universities of Sheffield, Edinburgh and Manchester to oppose The Sun’s representation of women by ending sales of the paper.
Afroditi-Maria Koulaxi
POLICE have been alerted in the area around Christ Church University and the City Centre in the evenings after a masked man loitering in the streets, approached and followed female students. According to the reports, he is white, 5ft 8-11in tall, quite scrawny, and wears dark jeans and a black hooded top. There have been four reports to Kent Police about the ‘masked man’. One report concerned a woman who was walking alone near the Paddocks. The masked man appeared and began following her, despite her changing direction. After he attempted to grab her, the woman ran away. Other reports have described a “creepy” man briefly following women. The inspector from Canterbury’s Neighborhood Policing team, Gordon Etheridge, has reassured students and more specifically women of their safety, stating “we are working closely with Canterbury Christ Church University and the local
community to investigate and raise awareness of these incidents.” Patrols in both uniform and plain clothes have quickened to deal with any future incident. Kent Police have made specific recommendations for practical steps to be taken and warnings to avoid such incidents, especially with Halloween and Bonfire Night approaching.
News 3
call to raise tuition fees, nick clegg says no Emily Adams Newspaper Entertainment Editor
LEADING universities should be allowed to charge considerably higher course fees, as much as £16,000 a year, according to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Professor Andrew Hamilton believes that course costs should mirror what the university and course offers, pointing out that it costs £16,000 to educate a student at Oxford every year. In his annual speech to the university, Hamilton argued that the £9,000 tuition fee ceiling, introduced in September 2012, had failed to introduce more of a market for higher education due to the fact that the majority of universities were all charging the same fee. Whilst Hamilton’s comments sparked outrage among many university lecturers who argued that higher fees were “not what this country needs”, the Russell Group, which represents 24 of the country’s leading universities, offered their support.
The director general Dr Wendy Piatt reinforced Hamilton’s comments by saying: “Our leading institutions cannot continue to be internationally competitive, provide a firstrate teaching experience and offer generous support to disadvantaged students without access to increased funding.” Hamilton continued to point out that while some universities were “doing very nicely” with the new tuition fees in being able to “comfortably cover the cost of what they provide for their students”, this was not the case for Oxford. Since the £9,000 tuition fee ceiling was introduced, the University of Oxford has seen a shortfall of £70 million in their teaching income. Nick Clegg has since retaliated and promised that the government will not increase university fees again, despite making similar pre-election promises back in 2010 before the rise to £9,000 a year. Speaking to a group of young adults in central London, the Deputy Prime Minister was faced with the issue and replied,
“don’t worry, we’re not going to raise tuition fees to £16,000”. Clegg took the opportunity to justify the first rise in fees, reminding his audiences that under the coalition’s system, students do not have to pay anything upfront and urging them to set aside the “polemic” against the cap.
However, it seems there is already considerable support from many people with Sally Hunt, University and College Union General Secretary saying: “Professor Hamiliton should perhaps be applauded for going after one of the rawest nerves in politics to try and get higher education funding back
Photo by Oxford University
in the spotlight.” Hamilton’s challenging of the tuition fee cap and Clegg’s promise to keep the system the same will be important for Clegg’s hope to remain in government following the next election, with the Liberal Democrats fairing poorly in opinion polls.
Photo by Chatham House
living costs survey erasmus participation record Caitlin Webb
MEGAN Wells, the VicePresident Welfate at Kent Union, has started a survey to understand the true cost of living for students. Citing students paying £9000 for just their tuition fees alone, the survey asks postgraduate and undergraduate students backgrounds and areas of life to find out the true cost of living for students. With reports of students taking up to three part-time jobs to afford to live, the Living Costs survey’s aim is to inform future students as to how much their degree at the University of Kent will actually cost them. This survey follows the Hidden Course Costs and Restrained by Rent campaigns from Alex Murray, the Vice-President Education and Megan’s predecessor, Colum McGuire respectively.
Megan and her team will take all the data and create a new campaign encompassing all the costs to a UKC student. The main aims are not just to discover the costs of student life but also researching just how the costs affect students welfare. The study is aimed at finding out just how students are funding their studies with hopes to reduce costs where possible. Megan said “No one has ever done it and this will give us a definite answer” with the aim to “crunch the numbers” with her new campaign. The online survey can be found on the VP Welfare Facebook page, as well as the Kent Union website and will be circulated circulated by emails as invitations for students over the next month to participate in this study. A direct link to the survey: http://bit.ly/16UFmpz
Emma Brazell
THE British council has reported a record number of UK students choosing to spend a year studying or working abroad. Numbers soared in 201213 with more than 14,500 UK undergraduates and postgraduates opting to join the European Union’s Erasmus student exchange programme. The latest UK figures note a rise of 7% compared with the previous year. The University of Kent’s Erasmus office supports the council’s findings, claiming a “dramatic increase” in the last three years. In 2012-13 310 students from Kent studied in 16 different countries in Europe. Poppy Kennedy, a humanities student at Kent, spent a year studying in Madrid and returned to England in June. She said that “Erasmus was the best experience of my life; it’s an amazing chance to travel, learn a new language and meet people from different cultures. I would recommend it for everyone”. The Erasmus exchange was launched in 1987 and has already had over 2.5 million
students in Europe take part. There are currently more than 4000 higher education institutions participating across the 33 countries involved in the programme. Despite the rise in numbers, participation by students from the UK is still behind that of other European countries such as France, Germany and Spain, who send almost three times as many students on the Erasmus
Photo by Emma Brazell
programme. Ruth Sinclair-Jones, of the British Council stressed the importance of the scheme "as the number of specialist foreign language courses decline in the UK, Erasmus is becoming even more essential. The international experience offered through Erasmus has been shown to make a real difference in terms of people's employability".
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News
“you don’t need a vote to feel empowered by union council.”
With the first Union Council of the year on 17th October, InQuire’s Newspaper News Editor Christopher Heron chatted to the Politics and International Relations student and Union Chair Karl Lewis about what Union Council is, what it does and the recent history of democracy at Kent Union... So Karl, who are you?
individuals. Now, we’ve done some amendments to Zones over the years, but there is a general consensus that little tweaks haven’t worked, and that something different needs to be put in place. Now, I do not know how big or small these differences are going to be, it’s really down to Union Councillors and members of Kent Union to really input into this year and also there’s a lead that will also be taken by the Sabbatical Officers on this. But at the minute, there is a review going on. It started at the end of the last academic year and will be going on this year so we’ll see more about it this year. I can’t really give you much more information than that though. It’s something that will be worked more upon in the coming months.
I’m currently Kent Union’s Union Chair. My responsibilities are the basic chairing of [Union Council] meetings and also making sure all the documents, motions, agendas are all collated and sent out. Making sure everyone has the opportunity to scrutinise our elected officers and bring up motions and try and change Kent Union. But there’s also the other side, I also do a little bit with the [Democracy] Zones as well, I look at the policy that comes in, and I allocate which Zones they belong to. If I had to describe myself as anything it’d be the John Bercow of Union Council. I’m the person that tells people to calm down if they need to, tells people when they can speak and when they can’t speak, tells people off if they speak for too long or doing the wrong thing. So, for anyone who doesn’t know what is Union Council? Well I’ve been on Union Council for two years and there are two specific roles that it plays. It’s possibly the only way of scrutinising our full-time officers and our part-time officers, so you scrutinise the Sabbatical Officers who are in charge of Kent Union. They report back to Union Council on what they’ve done, and then anyone can come up and ask what they’ve done. They can be held accountable for their actions. The same thing also happens for our part-time officers, so our liberation officers, RAG (RaiseAnd-Give), Environment Officer, Chairs of Zones, SocFed, VolCom, all these elements within Kent Union. There is also a policy element to it; we can change by-laws at Union Council, and we can also bring policies which were discussed last year such as No Platform, which was discussed at Union Council last year. So it covers everything and anything you can think of?
Karl Lewis (left) Photo by Sam Allard
It is kind of like the House of Commons, the legislature of Kent Union. Well, it’s one half of the legislature part, as it scrutinises and brings legislation. Then the Zones are the other half of the legislature. So if you were a student coming in to your first Union Council, how would you get involved? I think it’s changed quite a bit from my first year. Last year’s chair put a lot of work into making it a lot more friendlier and relaxed atmosphere and that is something I want to continue with. I think it’s one of those things where you can turn up when you’re a first year and only been there a few weeks or a third year who’s been to every Union meeting, and I think you can relate to something that the sabbatical officers says or a motion says. It’s really important that people feel like anyone can participate
and that’s something that we can hopefully build on this year. I really want to broaden the participation side of it. I’m going to massively push the promotions and reports being made online so if people want to read those then they’re available. Only elected officials can vote, but anyone can speak if they want to? Anyone can speak, and with reports, there is no vote at the end of them. Only motions have votes at the end of them. I think that’s why this year we’re going to try and see if more things can come from Zones, with the Democracy Review that’s going on at the moment. Even if you can’t vote on the motions it doesn’t mean you can’t feed into them. You can bring up a motion if you want, debate against a motion, propose an amendment to a motion. There is more you can do than just voting. If you vote, you only
represent one opinion, if you speak up or amend something, you can change everyone’s opinion. You don’t need a vote to feel empowered by Union Council. What can you tell us about the Democracy Review, if you can tell us anything about it? I’ll give a bit of a background. A couple of years ago when I started University we just finished a Democracy Review and implemented the Zones for the first time. They are quite new, this will only be the third [year] we’ve had of them. They’ve always been there for me! Same for me, I came here and there were Zones; apparently there was none of it beforehand. The Zones were designed as a way of better empowering students, making it so more policy was voted on by all students instead of a few elected
I remember some very busy Zones last year, but also several that didn’t have enough people to reach quorum. I think the Zone Committees will have a bigger role this year in terms of promoting their ideas and trying to get people to submit ideas into that Zone. As Union Chair it is my role to put the right things into the right Zones, sometimes I think the Zones don’t have a clear mandate so something that might be put into Your Union which would work in the other Zones. One of the problems with the Zones is that idea deadlines are at different times for each zones. So if something comes through later - if you feel something should be discussed in a particular Zone - and that deadline is gone, then that item won’t be discussed until the next term, which could potentially be next year. It’s a complicated thing. In my first year we had a Zone every week! But then we found attendance was awful at the end as it was too much. Thanks for your time Karl.
Comment 5 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPEARS: WORK IS THE NEW RELIGION Ginny Sanderson “YOU want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maseratti? You better work, bitch.” Work is the new religion according to Britney Spears. Despite her music video’s quick descent into BDSM frenzy, Britney's new song reminds us that if we want a technically ‘good’ physique and a mid-lifecrisis-esque car we must simply work, bitch. If we are honest with ourselves, that’s why we’re all here at University - to have a better chance of securing a good job. Are we just submitting to the Man? School, college, university and then headfirst into a career - the nature of life nowadays seems like a relentless sacrifice to the altar of work. We go to university because it is the ‘done’ thing. We pounce onto the career ladder without falter because it is the norm. Is there any time to fulfil a worthwhile life when we seem so distracted by economic advancement? Perhaps this is why students are some of the booziest people around. As the great Ne-Yo puts it, we
“work hard, play hard” – thus jägerbombs seem a suitable elixir to a 3,000 word essay. With the world economy collapsing around us, rather than becoming disillusioned we are arguably working harder than ever, with the flipside being we drink more heavily. As a society we command the homeless to get jobs and condemn those on benefits for ‘leeching’ from our taxes. If you don’t work at all, you are alienated and assumed to be lazy. What Britney’s lyrical ingenuity suggests is that rather than sit around waiting to win the lottery, or for you to suddenly become that successful, hot-bodied colleague you secretly admire, you have to put a certain amount of effort in to get there. Rather than accepting your position in the universe, capitalise on the social mobility which characterises our Western culture. This revival of the Puritan work ethic, the belief that work is inherently good (that it is a benefit to the community and a way to better yourself) seems
to speak volumes to how we are replacing faith with factory lines. Religion is the opiate of the masses, and if work is the new religion we are very stoned indeed. But it is important, not as a society but as individuals, for us not to lose sight of the more valuable things in life. Although it might sound cheesy, to counter Britney with Jessie J:
“money can’t buy us happiness”. Although I long contested that quote with the fact that money bought me a puppy and some lovely holidays, ultimately true fulfilment is gained through meaningful relationships and a sense of purpose and achievement in life. Back to Britney’s ‘if you want X you must do Y’ philosophy
– work is not the end but the means to an end. By all means don't be one of the worker bees; we must look at our careers as something worth dedicating a life to. The best you can do is find a job which you believe will bring you happiness and accomplishment. It's not all about the work, bitch.
modern art: why there’s money in the bank-sy Jordan Snedden UNLESS you’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years you will no doubt be familiar with the work of Banksy, the divisive Bristolbased graffiti artist whose satirical works are infamous worldwide. Love him or hate him, there can be little question to his success; just one of his pieces can fetch upwards of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Yet in a stunt performed by the artist last month his originals struggled to sell for just $60, demonstrating the subjective, contextual and perhaps hypocritical nature of the ‘value’ of art. Cheap knock-offs of Banksy can be found in just about any city in the world, and few people are unfamiliar with the image of an odd-looking guy selling canvasses of Banksy’s most popular work for bargain prices at a market stall or popup shop. However, Banksy - who over the month of October is undertaking an artistic
residence in New York - set up just such a stall in Central Park, offering canvasses (including his most famous works such as the protestor throwing flowers and the rat with a drill) for just $60 a piece. With no explanation of the stall or mention of the authenticity of the canvasses, the anonymous artist sold just eight over the course of the day to passers-by, who unwittingly walked past works which have
been valued at up to £20,000 each. With people’s ignorance to artistic value when taken out of the expected context, Banksy has raised the familiar question of worth in modern art; what makes a piece worth £20,000 to one person and meaningless to another? Furthermore, what inherent ‘value’ is there in any art? Other successful (yet controversial) examples of modern art - Tracey
Emin’s notorious ‘My Bed’, for example, was purchased for £150,000 by Charles Saatchi – have raised the exact same questions. Banksy, despite the high price tag attached to his originals, appears at odds with the culture of ‘high art’, producing his work for no immediate cost as a result of its medium, and making it accessible to all who walk past his graffiti. To Banksy, art should be
neither classist nor elitist and in a statement about his recent stunt, described the idea of art galleries as ‘pointless’.Is high art a self-serving culture - made by the rich in order to appease the rich? Damien Hirst’s diamond skull (‘For the Love of God’) cost £14 million to produce, and for what cause? There is arguably no tangible ‘skill’ in Hirst’s work, for it was neither designed nor produced by Hirst himself, yet has been sold for $100 million, making it the highest price ever paid for a single work by a living artist. Banksy’s true originals however, painted on walls, billboards and street corners, are free to view and only carry value when taken out of their original (and true) environment. The counter-culture nature of this street artist has been both celebrated and reviled within the art community for at its core it brings art to the masses in a way which confronts, and perhaps scares, any who place a value upon it.
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Comment
are graduate stats simply scaremongering?
Tom Hagues Website Features Editor
STUDENTS at universities in the United Kingdom, will, at some point, read an article that screeches about how bad their chances of getting a job after graduation are. Most of the time, these articles need to be read through eyes narrowed in suspicion. Some will bombard readers with different percentages and numbers copied and pasted from reports written by the Office of National Statistics, and some of them will attempt to convince students that going to University is an absolutely terrible idea in the first place. I was briefly alarmed by some of these articles until I read a letter written by Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, the President of Universities UK. He, sensibly, argued that most of these terrifying figures are taken from a very tiny 'snapshot' of a 6 month period after graduates have left University. In a much broader timeframe, around years, graduate unemployment stands at a very small 3.1 per cent. As a period of time, a few years may seem like a despairingly long stretch to be able to take solace in the fact that most graduates are working, but considering the turbulent and
uneasy job market of the past few years, these figures can be quite comforting. And in recent months, graduate employment embarked on a turn-around, with more places opening up for University leavers at
and committed individuals These fact-revealing and panic-inducing articles seem to imply that getting a degree is like a golden ticket to employment, and when there is no employment at the end of
makes a graduate employable. Hard work and an unbridled dedication to finding a job goes a long way into allowing graduates to land their ideal career as soon as they leave, and this is a personal issue
‘prestigious’ employers. Huge companies take on swathes of graduates every year, especially when they can prove themselves to be hard-working
the three years of studying, the University system has failed. What they don't take into account is the fact that a degree is only a small part in what
for which graduates are solely responsible. Whether it takes five or 12 months for a graduate to find a job and kick-start their career
is irrelevant. What matters is the fact that the jobs are usually - better in many ways for a degree-holding graduate. This can mean a better salary, more chance for significant promotion or perhaps even the chance to work in different locations around the world. Whatever the reason might be, a graduate will be in a very solid position of getting it but it might just take time. Patience in this job market will always pay off. Just because graduate is still unemployed 6 months down the line says very little about the use of a degree. These articles highlight an issue that is resolving as the economy improves and, in most cases, don't apply to an individual graduate anywhere in the country. These unemployment figures deal with students as an enormous body, and graduates who are prepared to roll their sleeves up and work hard at being that tiny bit more employable will always find themselves in the role of their professional dreams. (Perhaps even within 6 months after graduating. Isn't that something?) As daunting as graduate unemployment figures sometimes are, the situation isn't as woefully desperate as you might be led to believe.
universities such as Harvard. The question is, since institutions such as Oxford have managed to preserve their academic excellence through varying financial climates, why shouldn’t it now? After the increase of tuition fees there was a 12% drop in university admissions. If the government implements another rise it will only create a greater disparity in the mix of students in higher education. Besides, shouldn’t a greater consideration be given towards students from middle class households, considering this represents 60% of the UK’s society? These families are still adjusting their incomes from the increases of last year and it is important to recognise that many families have more that one child attending university at the same time. Likewise, international
students that already pay higher fees than UK/EU students could be discouraged to apply for higher education in the UK, leading to a decrease in the diversity of our student population. Moreover, these students represent a major source of income for a lot of universities, Oxford being a prime example 14% of full time undergraduate students and 63% of full time postgraduates are international. If the desire to increase fees snowballs, encouraging the likes of other Russell Group and red brick universities to follow suit, major problems could arise for other institutions who choose to maintain the current charge of £9,000 p/a. Universities with higher fees will inevitably attract the best of the academic faculty in the UK and abroad, due to better wages, superior resources and impressive facilities, creating
major restraints towards other institutions in the labor market. These elite universities have a solid foundation based on high academic achievement, but why shouldn’t all of the others universities in the UK be able to increase its fees as well, in order to balance the competition? We must have a clear plan on where the educational system is heading and assess whether
our objective is to increase the competitiveness of UK elite universities in an international level or invest in higher education in the UK as a whole. Regardless of what will happen in the future, I believe that it is important to keep in mind that our current economic constraints force sacrifice and endurance by society, including the education sector.
is elitism inevitable to get the ‘best’ degree? Luisa Alpendurada
EDUCATION is the foundation of any developed society. Sadly, we still have a mountain to climb when it comes to acknowledging equal opportunities in the academic world. In 2010, the void between lower and middle-class accessibility to higher education was arguably widened when the government announced that universities would be able to charge tuitions fees of up to £9,000 per year – a so called ‘progressive’ reform according to Universities Minister David Willett. When will it stop? A few days ago, Oxford ViceChancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton claimed that elite universities should be able to increase their tuition fees up to £16,000 based on the cuts of the government and the international level of competition posed by
Comment 7
hobbits give you morals too, honest James Osbourne
I was struck the other day by some foolish snobbery. Novelist Joanna Trollope has called for a greater focus on classic authors to counter children’s current fascination with fantasy novels, as, in her eyes, fantasy doesn’t offer good moral guidance. She believes the work of Jane Austen and George Eliot, for example, will fill a void left vacant by current popular fantasy bestsellers such as The Hunger Games and Twilight series, which she is not sure are “much help”. This is, of course, absurd. Surely all genres carry the same moral weight? Yes, some stories may be set in imaginary places and imaginary times, and follow boy wizards or adventurous hobbits, while others feature only real-world elements. But, if any fiction can offer moral guidance, I struggle to see how this ability is impaired by setting the events in a fantasy world Good fantasy, like all good fiction, enables us to believe its characters are real. It allows us to imagine that they could have been born in our world,
but instead they just happen to have been born in MiddleEarth, or Panem, or Westeros. And as they seem real, they have the same thoughts and feelings about their land as we, the audience, would have if we had lived there all our lives. Their circumstances might have changed them in ways ours never could, but, whether they’re a hobbit or a vampire or a Lannister, we believe in their existence as much as we believe in the existence of Elizabeth Bennet or Mr Darcy. So the question is this: Why should the moral issues in an imaginary land be any different from the ones in ours? Morals come from people’s perception of right and wrong. We may not agree with the way certain characters define good and evil, but that’s just as likely to happen with fiction set in our world as fiction set in another. The moral issues are still the same. When the Fellowship sets out to destroy the Dark Lord Sauron, they do it to stop tyranny and oppression; they do it so people can be free to live their lives the way they want to. And so what if some of those
people are hobbits or dwarves? With controversies surrounding civil liberties prevalent in the news, such as issues over the burka and same-sex marriage, the theme of freedom could not be more pertinent. Similar issues are dealt with in The Hunger Games. It’s set in a nation in the grip of
an oppressive government, a scenario which we all became familiar with during the Arab Spring. The moral issues of fantasy novels are as fundamentally relevant to us in our world as they are to the characters in theirs. It exasperates me that such
an excellent genre, a genre which exploits the possibilities of fiction far more boldly and effectively than any other, is so often brushed off as if it has less to offer than the sorts of books that literature professors like. Joanna Trollope’s comments reek of ignorance and pretentiousness.
silence of the cgi: why classic horrors still terrify Jonathon Easton IT was a wise man who invented CGI, and it was an even wiser one who said not to use it. There is no disputing the fact that we are in an age where it is possible to bring almost anything to the big screen thanks to animators and their computers. When implemented right the effect is breath-taking. Say what you like about Avatar and it’s two-dimensional characters and threadbare plot, but boy is it a pretty looking film. There is a reason why a few (somewhat deluded) punters hoped that they would die and go to Pandora and why Disney are in the process of building a whole land dedicated to the Avatar franchise at their Animal Kingdom theme park. It is because CGI helped to create a visceral, beautiful and real world in a realm of pixels. How, then, is this relevant to the topic at hand - horror films? The main reason for my singing the praises of films such as Avatar, is because while they do visual effects right and
this contributes to the drama, I believe the same cannot be argued for the vast majority of films. Especially horror films Films such as the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Alien will for my money always remain the epitome of horror cinema. What makes these films horrifying is not what you see, but what you don’t see. At the time the reason why the filmmakers didn’t employ lavish special effects was because they couldn’t afford to. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was made on such a shoe-string that there was no music in the film, rather the producers took a microphone into an abattoir and recorded the ambient sounds. It is things like this that make classic horror films and even newer ones such as Silence of the Lambs so terrifying and unpleasant. In the absence of any real action the mind of an audience member is taken to a dark place of dread to create a nasty, satisfying experience. Fast forward to the late noughties and the modern day
horror films are made with equally as small a budget but they are churned out using CGI not to complement any physical effects but to replace them. I have watched an awful lot of horror films over the past 10 years and I cannot remember any of them. If someone tells you that their favourite horror film is one of the torture porn sub-genre then they obviously haven’t seen real horror films. Going back to my earlier mantra, these films show you everything and therefore are absolved of any real nastiness. Even modern horror films which implement minimal amounts of CGI, Paranormal Activity being a prime example, come from an age where every movie has a sanitising digital handprint on it which eradicates any form of tension or horror. It is a combination of laziness in acting, writing, direction and in visual effects that are why modern horror films are underwhelming and why they ultimately fail to live up to the heights set by their
predecessors. The age-old art of uncomfortable atmospheres and drawn out confrontations are what make classic horror films truly stand the test of
time. So, if you want to watch a horror film this Halloween, whatever you do, make sure it’s 1982’s The Thing and definitely not 2011’s.
8
Editorial & Interview
why we need more artists like banksy Chad Greggor Website Editor IN our little city of Canterbury, in a passage under a railway line on the main road, there has been a piece of graffiti for the past two years. It reads “no one ever graduates” in red ink, and for some reason the council has never felt the need to clean it off the wall. For a city that contains a grand total of four universities, this little message is relevant for thousands of soon-to-be graduates. I am one of them, and often pass that graffiti on a damp, dark winter-term day, and it brightens up my cynical expectations of that big step into the real world. Banksy, the infamous graffitist, is back painting a series of different images around New York. His latest works include a garden painted on the back of an ugly delivery truck, and the words “the musical” added at the end of gang tags – for
example: “Playground Mob... the musical!” You hardly have to go to much effort to interpret Banksy’s intention here, something which perhaps renders him slightly boring to the scholarly
community but makes him a lot more accessible to the common viewer. His process is often to change the drab urban environment into something beautiful, meaningful and thought-
provoking. The serene garden painted on the back of a beatup, spray-paint-tagged delivery truck suggests an inner beauty that rests just beneath the surface of everything, even our sombre city buildings.
But why can’t he achieve this in an art studio, like a real artist should, right? Banksy told Village Voice that he “started painting on the street because it was the only venue that would give [him] a show”. In his documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, he commented on the advertisements that people are subjected to every day, and said that he is trying to fight back with perceptive and challenging art that is visible in the same way. Though this article is by no means advocating graffiti, I believe that all artists should be as daring as Banksy. In an age where younger people are feeling more and more estranged from the businesses we depend on, and we are being fed tailored advertising on billboards stationed in sterile, concrete-block cities, we need more culture to brighten the average person’s working day. And Banksy is leading the way in voraciously creative and widely accessible art.
suns and stars: the excitement of space exploration Chris Heron Newspaper News Editor THE recent news that the Students' Union of the University of Essex has banned The Sun and The Star tabloid newspapers raised some interesting questions. As my thoughts about the battle between free speech and offensive material left my brain (on that note, they can't be missing it that much. I remember reading their Students' Union shop sold on average something like six copies of The Star) my brain turned to the sky, where more interesting suns and stars reside. I've written a couple of articles for InQuire about how much I love space, with one essentially being an ode to Commander Chris Hadfield, a recently retired astronaut whose tweets from the International Space Station, rendition of Space Oddity and glorious facial hair have done more for the public opinion of space travel than anything since the last moon landings. Regardless of my bias,
the idea of going into space is just so cool. And it's not just me either, space is back in the public eye. There were 202,586 applicants to the Mars One programme, which aims start a human colony on Mars by the early 2020s. Mass Effect 3, the final installation of a trilogy of video games based in outer space grossed over 200 million dollars. The last few years have seen several films based around space travel and the implications thereof, with Avatar, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Prometheus and Gravity coming to mind as some of the biggest and most successful (regardless of your opinion on their quality, although I'd highly recommend Gravity). It is all full of what-ifs. What's out there? The Fermi Paradox is the apparent contradiction that there is a high probability of the existence of a large number extra-terrestrial civilisations (due to the sheer number of Earth-like planets), but the complete lack of evidence that any such civilisations exist. There are more than 80 billion galaxies in the observable
universe (the Milky Way has roughly 400 billion stars in it) which begs the question, where is everybody? It's like aliens read 'Milky Way' on a map and thought “dude, that's a shit name for a galaxy”. Home for me is a little village in northern Essex, where the lack of light pollution means that star-gazing is a good
pastime in the long, boring summer months. There's always a little (admittedly quite sad) thrill when you can see the International Space Station make its slow progress across the night sky. It is just so light out there. It is just so dark out there. Space is exciting, dark and dangerous. The most
inhospitable environment known to mankind lies about 75 miles above our heads, and that someone will explore some more of it (in person) in my lifetime is quite exciting. The world is big, space is infinitely bigger. If there is any point to my rambling then it is this: get excited, there is so much more to see.
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recipe of the week features pg. 11 halloween playlist entertainment pg. 17 best and worst horror films culture pg. 20
all your essential halloween coverage
a short history of halloween culture pg. 18 costume guide culture pg. 20 american horror story review entertainment pg. 17
IQ Features 11
will students go hungry with this cookbook? Ellen Lennox
Photo by Ellen Lennox
The Hungry Student Cook Book is one of three in a series of newly released cookbooks by graduate Charlotte Pike, claiming to offer “simple and yummy ideas”. I am incredibly frugal; in fact stingy might be a more fitting adjective. Due to this, I have only the most basic food supplies and limited kitchen equipment. So, although The Hungry Student Cookbook claimed to offer “170 cheap and easy recipes”, I was dubious from the start because there is cheap and then, there is me.
The cookbook begins with a series of introductions listing essential equipment and ingredients, tips on how to manage a budget, as well as a particularly witty entry outlining “how not to poison your friends”. I found some of the cooking and storage tips useful, however the list of essentials were tailored for people with more money and cooking knowledge than me. I don’t know what a fish slicer looks like, let alone whether I own one, and I can only claim to own fifteen of the thirty seven essential items listed. Recipes are grouped in to similar foods like pasta and jacket potatoes, or placed under sub-titles such as “easy dinners” or “feeding friends”. My personal favourite has to be “the morning after” recipes: a chapter dedicated to hangover cures and calorific breakfasts. I can confirm that recipes such as jacket potatoes are absolutely fool proof (with reminders to prick your potato in order to prevent explosion), whilst
many of the pasta dishes and sweets are challenging, even for someone familiar with seasoning and sautéing. In fact, recipes are so diverse that even “Vodka Pasta” makes an appearance. I tried and tested three recipes successfully: apple and blackberry crumble, homemade burgers and a variety of porridge toppings (including cinnamon sugar, chocolate and pecan nut, and banana and raspberry). Fortunately, the recipes I chose were easy to follow and produced some incredibly yummy treats. When selecting recipes, I found that I was missing ingredients such as berries, but with a little improvisation, the recipes were easily adapted. Swapping tinned peaches for berries was an easy transition, and proved, despite my earlier criticism, that even with limited ingredients, Pike’s recipes can be tailored to suit most diets. The Hungry Student Cook Book will be a welcome addition to my bookcase.
I have already bookmarked pages with the intention of making “spicy nuts” and “quesadillas” for my hungry housemates. At the very least, I’ll be able to whip up a fish dish in an attempt to convince my parents that I have been living off of more than noodles. I don’t yet consider myself a complete cooking convert; I’ll leave the fancy dishes alone for now. However, I would recommend this cookbook to anyone looking to broaden their diets. It’s sure to introduce you to new and inventive ways of stretching your budget.
Photo by Ellen Lennox
inquire sudoku recipe of the week Sian Pratley Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Nutella and Salted Caramel Centres
Photo by Sian Pratley
I found the idea for these cookies online and couldn’t stop my mouth watering at the thought of them. These are perfect as a snack for a Halloween movie night or just for an indulgent treat! I’m sure the oozing caramel and Nutella centres are a lot more appetising than gory horror movie blood, so all the more reason to give these a try. (serves 12-16 people) Ingredients: 110g Melted Butter 350g Caster Sugar 55g Cocoa Powder 2 Eggs 260g Plain Flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1 bag milk/dark chocolate chips 1/4 tsp salt
8tbsp Nutella (or own brand equivalent) 12-16 pieces of caramel filled chocolate (e.g Galaxy/Cadburys) Instructions: Line a baking tray with parchment paper (or foil will do). Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the melted butter to the sugar and eggs, and mix thoroughly. Add the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix again. Add the flour and stir in, making sure there are no lumps of flour left. Stir the chocolate chips into the dough. (Sometimes kneading them in is easier than stirring) Take 1 heaped tbsp of dough and roll it between your hands to make a ball. Make a large indentation in the centre of the dough, so it looks like a bowl shape. Fill the indentation with ½ tsp of Nutella and top it with a piece of caramel chocolate. Make another bowl of dough and place on top to cover the Nutella and chocolate. Press the edges together to seal it shut. Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on the tops. Bake for 10 minutes before letting them cool and tucking in!
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IQ Features
milestone in science: a dream come true Kyle Boyd
Dreams are perhaps amongst the most bewildering and misunderstood experiences that our brain produces. Theorists and philosophers have puzzled over the nature of dreams for many years, considering exactly what they are, why we have them and what their purpose may be. The famous Sigmund Freud believed dreams to be representations of unconscious thoughts and desires, and a reflection of our personality. An interesting example of Freud’s work with dream analysis suggests that dreams about losing teeth points to anxiety about sexual repression and our desire to be nurtured! Of course, not all theories on dreaming have been quite so bold but the fact that no consensus has yet emerged stands as evidence that the task of understanding dreams is no simple feat. So, rather than attempt to unpack each, it would be much more fun to instead look at a few of the more unusual findings that research has discovered about the mysterious world beyond our pillow.
When much of what we know of dreaming seems to suggest that we are at the mercy of whatever our brain has in store for us, you may be excited to know that this is not quite the case Research on dreaming has found that, with practice, it is in fact possible to gain control of your dreams! By practicing in mindfulness exercises, reality testing and also keeping a dream diary, it has been found that one can then learn to recognise the signs of dreaming during the dream itself. Of course, once you achieve this stage, then it would seem that the dream is now at your mercy! And I bet you thought Inception was just a movie! Another body of research in the field of dreams has looked at the organisation of sleep and dreaming. When we sleep, we roll through a cycle of several sleep stages, one of which is called REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement). Research has found that, in addition to the strange flickering and fluttering of our eyes, this stage of sleep also has another interesting effect on our body. Some of our most memorable
dreaming occurs during this stage, so as a protective mechanism to keep our brain from trying to physically act out the dreams, we also enter a mode of muscle atonia (weakness). If we wake during this period of sleep, it is possible to experience a temporary but complete bodily paralysis. Whilst this experience can be very frightening, our brain and body will quickly rectify the situation, so fear not! With findings much less frightening and hopefully far more inspiring than the idea of sleep paralysis, researchers at the University of California recently achieved a major milestone in developing a technology that can use
brain imaging to literally see what the mind sees! To achieve this, they used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to monitor the brain activity of people, whilst they were watching movies over a period of several hours. By monitoring brain activity in response to the moving images, this new technology is able to interpret patterns of activity and reconstruct in video format exactly what the subject is seeing. The results are relatively primitive at this early stage, but it certainly opens up the possibility of a future where we could communicate with patients in comas or even replay our dreams back to ourselves in video format! YouTube – here we come!
Photo by Sophia Rufin
science nobel winners 2013 revealed Jonjo Brady
So we all may have some vague idea of the significance of the Nobel Peace Prize; Nelson Mandela won it in 1993 and, although rather awkward now, so did Obama in 2009. But, no one speaks of the far more interesting categories – the ones based on science. After all, Alfred Nobel wasn’t a prolific peace advocator. He was a scientist. In fact, he was the scientist who invented dynamite. So, with the announcement of the 2013 Nobel Prize winners, let’s run through those belonging to Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry and Physics. Physiology or Medicine Cells often create products like hormones and neurotransmitters that need to transfer to other cells in order to cause stimulation or inhibition. This transference is how we make connections in our body that, on a larger scale, regulates our behaviour and actions. The award was given to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman, and Thomas C. Südhof for discovering how cells get vesicles, tiny membraneenclosed packages used to move these products throughout the body, to their intended destination at the intended time. Schekman identified 23 key genes
required for vesicle transport, Rothman identified proteins that allow vesicles to fuse with their target membranes and thus transfer materials. Südhof discovered the genes responsible for controlling when vesicles release their molecular cargo. All this may seem quite academic, but apart from the sheer brilliance of now understanding something so fundamental to the function of the human body, it may potentially be easier to identify glitches in vesicle transport. Glitches are often associated with conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy. Knowing how to identify them is a step towards discovering how to correct them. Chemistry This was awarded to yet another set of three American scientists, Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel, for virtually (pun intended) taking chemistry into cyberspace. Since the 1970s, these three pioneers have
been working on creating powerful computer models that reveal every eccentricity of a chemical reaction in a level of detail that simply was not visible to the naked eye. Chemical reactions happen at lightning speed as electrons jump between atomic nuclei and so, it’s impossible to map out each separate stage in chemical processes involving larger molecules like proteins. These revolutionary computer models have made this possible and are now used across the globe just as much as test tubes and Bunsen burners are. Pharmaceutical companies now use computational chemistry to screen experimental compounds for potential as medicines before then testing them on real life subjects. These computerised methods have become crucial to the progress of chemistry over the last 30 years, so much so that there pretty much is no other way of seeing so deeply into the
field. The best part is that the ability to map more complex chemical reactions grows along with the inevitable increase of computer power, and is now able to predict more large molecules for treating cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Physics Unsurprisingly, but very well deserved nonetheless, this award was shared between Peter Higgs and François Englert for their definitive discovery of the Higgs Boson. Aptly named the ‘God particle’ by mainstream media, the Higgs Boson is connected to the basic building blocks of our universe. By proving this particle exists, scientists also prove the field associated with it; one that exists throughout space and is responsible for giving particles mass. Without mass, the universe would be devoid of stars, planets, or life. Everything would still be as it was at the start of the Big Bang, particles would be massless and zipping around aimlessly at the speed of light. Not only does this discovery validate Higg’s 1964 ‘universal field’ theory, but also that of the last 50 years’ worth of theoretical physics. While the ‘real world’ applications of this are yet to be discovered, they are anticipated to be just as monumental as the pure scientific significance.
IQ Features 13
fashion profile: emo/scene kid Jessica Mills
We all stereotype people. It’s almost impossible not to. We judge people based on their appearance, or assign labels to them, it just makes life easier, so long as we don’t think about any moral implications. But it’s true that a lot of stereotypes, especially those based on fashion or music choice, are misinformed. As someone who spent most of their high school years as an ‘emo’, dealing with all the insults that came with my supposedly radical fashion/music choice, I feel it’s time to address how this particular stereotype is viewed. Emo originates from a style of music which emerged in the mid-1980’s from the hardcore punk movement of Washington DC, where it became known as “emotional hardcore” or “emocore”. It was characterised by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. In more recent years, emo has also been attributed to certain aspects of
fashion, culture and behaviour, with the typical emo being someone who is particularly emotional or angst-ridden. The whole fashion aspect of emo culture has derived from the musical aspects, inspired in part by the closeness in relationship between the fans and the musicians themselves. Emo style is characterised by mainly black clothing, band t-shirts, dark make up and more often than not, very dark hair, not to be confused with Goth style, which is entirely different. ‘Scene’ culture, which is often confused with emo culture, developed in a slightly different way. It emerged in the UK in the 1990’s, when some members of chav subculture began to experiment with alternative fashions; taking inspiration from indie pop, emo, rave music and Japanese glam rock style, and spreading to America and Australia in the early 2000’s. The style deviates from traditional emo fashion, characterised by tripp pants, stripes, tartan, spiky and colourful hair, Chucks, Vans and
trucker hats derived from grunge and skate punk fashion. Scene and emo culture are often confused with each other, but there are differences between the two, most obviously in the way they dress, but also in the way they behave; scene kids are not portrayed as emotional and angsty to the extent that emos are, mainly due to their much more colourful wardrobe, and variations in the type of music they listen to. The main stereotype that surrounds emo culture is that they are all selfharming, depressed and suicidal. This is not strictly true. Whilst it may be true that a higher majority of emos do selfharm or may have depression, it’s not a defining characteristic. The main reason this particular characteristic is attributed to emo culture, and perhaps one of the most problematic parts of it, is the fact that serious issues such as depression, suicide and self-harm are romanticised to the point that they almost become cool, or desirable, just to feel a sense of
specialness or individuality. It’s easy to blame the music for this problem; especially as a lot of members of popular emo bands are very open about their struggles with these issues (Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance for example.) However, these problems are down to the individual, and therefore should be separated from what is otherwise a vibrant and interesting culture which has plenty to offer within the worlds of music and fashion.
creative writing: prose and poetry Callum Tyndall
Dust to Dust
Myotic mushroom clouds of dust
puff up from the dry, sepia ground, an orange haze rising from the riverbank. The river itself trickles by, a weak stream burning in the midday sun, thin clouds of steam forming a low hanging fog above the pale blue of the water. Further down the bank, a lone tree stands crooked, its trunk pale and its branches bare. A bird settles on the outstretched branches, dark plumage in stark contrast to the white of the tree. The feathers are blue-black, the light shedding off in oily waves. It caws loudly, the bright beak opening wide, snapping at the fleas that leap across its body, their minute forms scuttling back and forth. A man emerges from the dust, impeccably dressed in black shirt, trousers and suit jacket. A clerical collar stands out around his neck, starched and whitened to perfection. A wooden cross, well worn and undecorated,
hangs from his neck on a length of string. Long, dark hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail, held by a plain black band. A worn canvas bag is slung across broad shoulders, the frayed drawstring pulled tight. The man walks slowly, a steady pace that cracks the parched ground, eventually coming to the tree. The bird looks at him with curiosity, cocking its head to the side and cawing once more. Ignoring its raucous cry, the man sets down his bag and removes his jacket, neatly folding it before placing it beside the bag. Pulling loose the drawstring, he pulls out a canteen of water and a crust of bread. The canteen is metal, tin-plated steel that is dented and scratched from years of use. Spinning the screw cap off, the man takes a sip of the water before returning the canteen to his bag and taking a bite of the bread. He chews slowly, patiently, not moving as the crunching of hooves on hard packed earth grows closer. The bird takes flight as the horse arrives in front of the tree, beating its wings against the still air. “Always did attract crows didn’t you preacher.” The birds are swarming together as he scurries behind the door. Pressing his back against it, he stares forward, unblinkingly gazing at the altar. The cloth that is draped over it is elegant in its simplicity. Stark geometric
patterns are weaved into the material, a rough weave of cloth lovingly sown by the town wives. Dominated by greens, threads of blue work their way across the material, each bolt paid for with a week’s wages. Beneath the cloth, the altar is solid and artless in shape, carved with strong lines. The wood is finely grained, the few knots painted over with the same varnish that gives the entire altar a warm sheen. He was once told that it is made of mahogany and that the wood came from many miles away. He crawls to it, running his fingers across the smooth surface, closing his ears to the excited chattering of the birds outside, the fading moans that signify their feast. Big, black boots hit the dirt before him, all worn leather and rusted buckles. The preacher’s gaze slowly rises, passing over the faded and torn denim of the man’s jeans, past the thick belt with it’s solid steel buckle, crafted into the shape of a bull’s horns, and up to the gaping abyss of the barrel of the revolver currently pointed at his head. The gun is huge, blindingly reflective, it’s wooden grip polished to a sheen. Above the gun, a grin splits the man’s face, perfectly white teeth sheltering beneath the shade of a wide-brimmed Stetson. The hammer of the gun clicks back. “Judgement time, preacher.” (to be continued...)
Georgina Coleman
The Morning Walk
Ah, the early morning lecture,
With its vast knowledge and impressive conjecture. I don’t mind the lecture but I dislike the walk – With its cold loneliness; no smiles or talk. Last night the students went out; danced. But now they’re like zombies, their gazed entranced On nothing. Just walking, in a permanent daze In the misty fog; the wintry haze. The silence is almost painful to the ears No conversations or happy cheers to hear, When suddenly: a single laugh Emerges from a bench upon the grass. And it’s beautiful. It seems almost impossible But this cheerful laugh is somewhat unstoppable In the silence and the cold solemnity, The zombies entranced in an oasis of serenity.
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IQ Features
events HALLOWEEN FORTNIGHT Friday 25th October #Trend Saturday 26th October SOAP presents Haunted House. Enjoy a great night out with a 4am close Monday 28th October Rutherford presents The Zombie Apocalypse Wednesday 30th October Jelli Baby presents Trick or Treat Thursday 31st October This is the night to watch out for. Thursday night is The Halloween Ball with special guest DJ Charlie Sloth (BBC radio 1/ 1Xtra). Come along in your best costumes for “the biggest Monster Mash of the Year”!
fashion: has it come to a standstill? Zara Akhtar “That sweater is not just blue. It’s actually cerulean.” If you recognise that quote, then you would know that it comes from the film The Devil Wears Prada. The original book is all about how we view fashion, whether we care about it anymore, and how much of an impact it really has on us. And if you’re like Andy, the main character, then you’d probably say that you’re not very interested. You don’t want to follow the latest trends. Everyone dresses the same: Beanies, Converses, baggy jumpers and ‘DORK’ shirts. This explains how vintage shops are booming because vintage has never been more popular. However, they are at times suffocated by the big brands like Topshop and H&M who all sell the same things at competitive prices.We’ve not only becoming boring, we’ve become predictable. Right? Of course not. Just like Andy comes to realise later in the novel, we’re all involved with fashion, even if we try not to be. We’re constantly looking back at vintage trends and recreating our own interpretations. Take the “double denim” trend which was revived this past year, but previously had a reputation of being a bit of a fashion taboo. It was brought back easily by designers like Ralph Lauren and with the help of celebrities
sick of repeating yourself in conversation? Jake Cunningham
Friday 1st November #Trend Saturday 2nd November SOAP presents the Ninja Turtle Pizza Party Wednesday 6th November Jelli Baby presents Cassette Boy vs DJ Rubbish Friday 8th November #Trend
such as Alexa Chung. With retailers bringing in oversized denim shirts, playsuits and biker jackets, all we could do was follow suit. Why? Because society now is appearance obsessed. With blogs, social media sites and magazines with perfectly airbrushed models, we all judge and compete with each other to look good, or even the best. Recently, the Telegraph published an alarming statistic that one in five of us worry over our appearance
due to Britain’s superficial culture. Indeed, how else would Sir Philip Green, billionaire owner of the giant fashion company group Arcadia, be so successful? He understands that the market is huge- the business he is in will always be in high demand. Thus he’s brought back Kate Moss for another Topshop collaboration and stated that the collection will be “truly global”. Whether or not Sir Philip’s prediction will come true, he works with many who believe that fashion is nothing but an art - a controversial one. Everyone saw Lady GaGa’s famous meat dress that was named by ‘Time’ as the top fashion statement of 2010. Animal rights groups were furious, some of us disgusted, but there’s no denial that it sparked a huge wave of attention, just as she undoubtedly knew it would. Not to mention that many were intrigued by the ‘meaning’ behind it- why she would wear something so disturbing, what she was trying to say? Regardless, her dress was innovative, unique and proves that fashion is forever evolving. We express ourselves through what we wear and who knows where fashion will go but that’s what makes it exciting and unstoppable. There’s nothing wrong with looking back. If you took the time, you’d realise that to look back is to appreciate an art which is legendary.
Photo by Jake Cunningham
Are you fed up of people using the same words over and over again? Words are means of chanelling our emotions, hence why each word has its own value. If people use the words ‘hate’ or ‘love’ too liberally, the meaning starts to disappear. So why not imbue your chitchat with some vintage lexicon, and spice up your vocabulary? Ague. A few weeks in to the new year, we’ve probably all said we’ve got ‘Freshers’ Flu’, but how about saying ‘Academic Ague’ instead? Dating back to the 14th century, Ague, born from the Latin acuta, meant Fever. It’s a perfectly good way of injecting some class into
the conversation, whilst your head is halfway down the loo. Replete. You’re back from Lidl, you’ve cut off all blood circulation to your fingers by carrying 5 plastic bags from the Bus Stop to your front door, and you’ve stacked everything away with meticulous organisation. Now, do the honourable thing and don’t just say that you’re “stocked up”; you, my friend, are replete. From the Latin repletus meaning abundantly supplied or gorged - this is the word to unleash in that post Two-For-Tuesdays food coma that you know is going to happen soon. Maudlin. Let’s say you’ve got a 30 day free trial of Netflix, and let’s just say that there’s a TV show about an American chemistry teacher, who’s diagnosed with cancer and decides to start making crystal meth to support his family. On the off chance that there’s a program like that, you probably want to cram it in before your free trial ends. After fitting all of that in, you’re going to be tearfully or weakly emotional, or in other words, you’re maudlin. Snoutfair. This one’s going to be a
bit of a surprise, as by the sounds of it, you’re probably going to imagine snoutfair is an olde English insult. You, however, could not be more wrong. I struggle to think that there are many people on campus that would blush when they’re asked “Has anyone told you that you’re bare snoutfair?”. I would blush. Snoutfair is a centuries old word meaning good looking, and it could be the word that all your chat up lines have been missing. Let’s stop using: Banter. Yes, it was funny when ‘Gap Yah’ came out, but haven’t we all had enough of banter? I certainly have. It seems these days no one can make even the smallest, unfunniest of jokes without following it with ‘Ugh, Banter’, or just to make your skin crawl that little bit more, ‘Bantersaurus Rex’. If you really need to describe your exchange of light, playful and teasing remarks, how about calling it badinage. In fact, I might phone up Topshop and see if they want to put that in an American College style font and whack it on a t-shirt. Ugh badinage.
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COMEDY listen, watch, use and follow Jake Cunningham Listen: Baby Blue – Badfinger. In 1972 this track reached 14th in the charts. In the last two weeks its Spotify plays have gone up 9000%. This is the Breaking Bad effect. It was the last song of the final episode of the ‘World’s Greatest TV Show’, so if you feel the need for a short trip back to the ABQ episode just put this on and relive the Ballad of Heisenberg, just try not to cry. Watch: After The Avengers, was it really going to be possible to downsize Marvel’s Cinematic Universe on to the small screen successfully? With Joss Whedon at the helm, it’s safe to say that thankfully, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has done it. It’s a combination of Buffy, Firefly and Torchwood that could have quite easily taken itself too seriously. Luckily the jokes fly as fast as the action and the seeds for a very intriguing story arc have been planted. Use: As a film student, I’m constantly told about films I ‘have to see’, but unfortunately I’ve also got a terrible memory. Enter Wunderlist, a beautifully designed list and reminder app for iOS/Android and far superior to the standard Reminders app. The great thing about Wunderlist is that your account can sync with your desktop too, so whenever you’re online, you’ll never forget that film, book or shopping ever again. Follow: At some point in all of our lives we’ve tweeted something that’s a little Alan Partridge sounding. Recently, I expressed my glee at a bargain in ASDA by writing “40 Fosters for £12. Back of the net”. I was clearly channelling Radio Norwich’s greatest hero. Now, thanks to @AccidentalPartridge all the best Partridgeism’s of Twitter are available all on the same feed. “Smell my tweets you mother!”
monkeyshine comedy club @ mungo’s Farah Chowdry
The first Monkeyshine of the year began with a bang! A packed Mungo’s in Eliot was the venue for the stand-up comedy night and from the moment I entered, it was an electric atmosphere, like none I’ve experienced since being at university. Excitement and nerves lingered in the air amongst the audience and the twelve students who lined the wall. The night began with Dr Ollie Double, the students’ supervisor, providing the introduction and compèring for the evening. With some songs and a bit of chanting from the audience, the room was buzzing and the laughter flowing. It would be fair to say that the acts ranged on a scale of the awkward to the side-splitting, with a few favourite acts of the night being Guy Li, Gemma Purdie, Freddy Waller, Richard Light and Frankie Wells. From the crude and cringeworthy jokes, to a selection of musical delights served up alongside the students’ sets, there was something for everyone at Monkeyshine. Guy Li, a new student to UKC got more than a chuckle or two out of the audience drawing on his SouthEast Asian heritage. His jokes were intermingled with interesting cultural comparisons and of course references to the British weather, which the crowd lapped up. Purdie, perhaps a controversial
favourite of the night certainly had a quirky and interesting set. Her jokes had a politically satirical focus with an infusion of Harry Potter. A spell binding set that was both light hearted and thought provoking was well received by both Potter and non-Potter fans. Richard Light’s technological
romances and childhood aspirations could stir up a giggle or a smirk from even the grumpiest of individuals. Full of charisma, he was quite the personality on stage. Freddy Waller’s use of props and his odd musical talent were both intriguing and comical. There were mixed responses to his ‘pleasant trees’
but there is nothing more entertaining and likable than when an act is able to bounce back from a stumble, mumble or just a plain old bad joke. But it’s the acts that were able to turn their wobbles in to something comical that are most memorable. Waller’s self-reflective comments about his jokes reminded us all that Monkeyshine 2013/2014 was showcasing students who had only been studying stand-up for ten days. To close the first Monkeyshine of the year, Frankie Wells had the audience singing along to her ballad dedicated to her love for Jewish men. There was not an unamused face in Mungos as she, accompanied by a majority of the audience, belted out ‘I’ve got a burning bush for you’. Catchy, comical and just plain quirky, her act ended the night as it began, on a comical high and with laughter bouncing off the walls. The night had its hilarity and amusement but with it came with some confusing moments for audience and comedians alike. A concoction of first night nerves and slow starts to sets left a few of the acts somewhat underwhelming, but it is, at the end of the day a learning process for the comedians. As the week goes on, it’s fair to say all the acts will travel the rollercoaster of hilarity and awkwardness, but I look forward to embarking on the journey with them and look forward to more giggles and musical delights.
STAND UP COMEDIANS: SHOULD THEY STICK TO THE STAGE? Caitlin Webb
Alan Carr recently abandoned his plans to create a dog-walking sitcom since his idea lost originality to Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan with their new show Puppy Love on BBC 4. It really makes you wonder whether stand-up comedians should just stick to what they do best: their arena tours. After the failures of successful standups moving into sitcoms such as Sue Perkins, Jason Byrne, Chris Addison and Harry Enfield to name a few, you could say that even with hilarious characters and one liners, there is much more to sitcoms than just the ability to make you laugh. With the success of Lee Mack’s Not Going Out lasting over six years and Jack Dee’s Lead Balloon of four series, it is tempting for stand-ups to fall for the allure of sitcoms. Afterall, TV shows mean a steady pay check, less late nights and not having to say “Good Evening” to all corners of the country. You can understand the appeal it would have for such an unstable career choice
as a comedian. With stand-up shows now being filmed and broadcasted, the need to come up with original and new sketches can seem like writing a TV show. When previously a tour meant a year of recycling jokes, now YouTube and TV means that the audience can hear the repeats whenever they want. With comedy quizzes and reality shows, the pressure to be constantly funny and in the limelight has clearly become more prevalent. This being said, how can a comedian go wrong if they are already writing as frequently as if they were writing a sitcom? An article by Veronica Lee in the Independent on 6th October claimed that stand-ups shouldn’t just rely on sitcoms for a quick buck. She points out the importance of not just having one sole writer and explains that even the best of American sitcoms have a whole team behind them or at least a comedic duo. So even with the comedians writing their own material on the circuit, it is the support of a team or partner that can create the story and the
Not Going Out
context. So these one liners, gags and quick jokes don’t cut it when you have 30 minutes to an hour to fill with plot and character. The only reason why these stand-ups who’ve managed to secure these reliable jobs in sitcoms have been successful has been a mixture of their flexibility as writers but also the aid and cooperation of fellow funny people. So before comedians decide to pack in the travel and late nights, they need to learn how to tell a story with the camera and not just their voice.
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IQ Entertainment
music & film mercury prize awards 2013: it’s heating up
Alt J
Lucinda Jukes
On 30th of October, the winner of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for the UK and Ireland’s best album of 2013 will be announced, and the shortlist is a killer. The idea of the award is to choose the albums that best reflect the year in British music, the standalone pieces of work that provide what Simon Frith (Chairman of the panel) calls a “snapshot” of all that has been created these past 12 months. This time of year generates a lot of excitement within the music industry – the winner receives £20,000 in prize money and along with it a substantial leap in album sales and the prestige that comes with winning what many artists regard as one of the more ‘serious’ music awards. The panel of judges include music
executives and musicians – people that really know their stuff. It’s also for this reason that the Mercury Prize is particularly beneficial to the lesser-known nominees; favouring the underdogs over the more popular artists. This is something they’ve generated quite a reputation for, with Roni Size pipping Radiohead to the post and The Prodigy in 1997 and Gomez winning the following year over Massive Attack and Pulp. Alt-J claimed last year’s award over the likes of The Maccabees, Plan B, Jessie Ware and Ben Howard. In an interview they gave to BBC News after the awards, keyboard player Gus Unger-Hamilton said that the Mercury Prize was “the ultimate example” of the recognition the band had received for their album An Awesome Wave “as a single body of work”. The nominees for this year show the extent to which this award aims for equality across all genres. There really is something for everyone: David Bowie, The Next Day Foals, Holy Fire Laura Mvula, Sing to the Moon Arctic Monkeys, AM
Villagers, {Awayland} Disclosure, Settle Jake Bugg, Jake Bugg Savages, Silence Yourself Laura Marling, Once I Was An Eagle James Blake, Overgrown Rudimental, Home As for me, I’m looking to back Jon Hopkins’ Immunity. Jon Hopkins first caught my attention in 2011, with his collaboration with King Creosote to create the beautiful Diamond Mine album (for which they received a Mercury nomination). Immunity incorporates Hopkins’ sombre and lilting piano notes over sometimes - techno, sometimes ambient, ethereal sounds which stop this disappearing into just another electronic album lost behind laptops. It’s quietly, but powerfully, hypnotic. Put on your headphones and give it a try. From the aptly titled opening track, We Disappear, a door shuts and the space in which the album was created can be heard, inviting the listener on the journey that Immunity takes. Awardwinning albums ought to have a strong narrative element like this. And with the bookies offering 10/1, how’s that for an underdog?
book to film success: definitely not starbust
Georgia Hingston
We all know that feeling when we hear that our favourite book is going to be turned into a film; the excitement mixed with that slight sinking feeling. Is it going to be amazing, or is it going to be a butchery of the masterpiece closest to our heart? Nine times out of ten, it tends towards the latter. I know many who where outraged by Baz Luhrmann’s recent garish adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, which turns a truly remarkable literary portrait exposing facade, performance and materialism into just that, a film that reaches no deeper than visual spectacle. There are many more examples, such as the adaption of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas being slammed by various critics. The Guardian gave it just a two star review and described it as “confuse[ing] the cosmos with the
costume department”. Yet there are occasionally film adaptations that appear like rare and glorious gems shining in the dirt. Having a soft spot for the magical realist world of Neil Gaiman, I can unashamedly say that Stardust is one of my favourite novels and film adaptations. With the novel’s warped and more adult take on the fairytale form, it utilises all the traditional corny elements but in such a way in that it still has the ability to surprise the reader, as well as address love and death in a reflective manner. To summarise the plot briefly, boy meets girl, girl says she will consider him if he can bring back the star she sees fall, boy sets off to find star, discovers star is a woman, they have many adventures, fall in love, get married and become king and queen (as you do).
However, Gaiman’s novel does not end happily ever after, for the mortal king eventually dies and his immortal star wife is left to live on for eternity without him. Not a Hollywood ending by any means. I was, therefore, very sceptical when I went to see the film adaption at the cinema, but could not have been more pleasantly surprised. Although the melancholy ending had indeed been removed and replaced with the couple both becoming stars and returning to the sky in their old age, it was an ending that fitted with the overall fairytale tone of the film. Other plot strands had also been added specifically for cinematic entertainment, including a sequence with Robert DiNero appearing as a cross dressing pirate captain! Yet I found these additions and adaptations embraced the spirit of Gaiman’s novel, having fun with the ‘misbehaving’ fairytale and ultimately producing an uplifting film that left me with a big smile on my face. So, even if most film adaptations leave us groaning, muttering “but that’s not in the book,” we can take solace in the fact that sometimes these changes come together to create a great work of cinema which we can enjoy in its own right.
albums on the go Rathe Temple Green Brand New Machine – Chase and Status Chase and Status have smashed two subgenres together with a strong d’n’b grounding. Rather than reaching for the dubstep drops, they’ve taken inspiration from older styles, from the industrial reggae blend of International to the 90s rave vibe of Count On Me, it’s more a collection of interesting (but not always successful) experiments than a stream of surefire club hit singles. New – Paul McCartney The first album in six years from a man with a career spanning fifty-six years, New is the sound of Grandad having fun with his mates. And that’s fine, because Grandad used to be a Beatle, but the best New can do is make you want to listen to your favourite Beatles record instead. It’s a perfectly passable collection of inoffensive rock tunes but the days of Yesterday are long gone. Fetch - MeltBanana Melt-Banana are a Japanese noise band who make some very interesting sounds. Think guitars in a blender with machine gun-paced drums. Keep an open mind and Fetch offers textures you might not have thought possible with such instrumentation, and while it’s definitely not for everyone (the barked female vocals possibly being the deciding factor), it’s certainly different. Nuno Veiga Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! Panic! At The Disco With this fourth album, Panic! drift away from their origins. The whole album is a perfectly engineered ode to modern pop: dubstep influences, pauses before choruses and a constant repetition of jingles all guarantee that some of the songs will stay in your head for quite some time. It’s a fresh take for Panic!, but one that will probably pay off in the dance charts.
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tv halloween playlist It’s that time of year again. Have a listen to our Halloween playlist as you prepare to haunt the night. Follow the QR code below to see the full Spotify playlist online. Thriller - Michael Jackson Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr. Monster Mash - Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers Somebody’s Watching Me - Rockwell A Nightmare on My Street - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Show Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(masters of) sex and why you should watch it Oscar Harding OK, Breaking Bad is over. Where do you go to get your next fix? Or maybe that’s not your thing, but you’re looking for a sexy new drama with awardwinning performances and production values to make Downton Abbey weep. The Hour has been cancelled and Mad Men is not for you. Look no further than this new drama from Showtime, telling the true story of Dr. William Masters who in 1957 conducted a groundbreaking study into human sexuality with his assistant Virginia Johnson. If you watch Masters of Sex for one sole reason, make that reason Michael Sheen, perhaps Britain’s greatest living and most underrated actor. A true chameleon, he makes his latest role all his own - William Masters is a brilliant, unbiased man, but also an egotistical, emotionally detached ass. He’s blaming his wife for their troubles in conceiving a child, and whilst he’s intent on pushing forward and seeing the good in
Bad Things - Jace Everett Staying Alive - BeeGees Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf Bring Me To Life - Evanescence Highway To Hell - AC/DC I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie Friendly Ghost - Harlem Superstition – Stevie Wonder
people, he’s a gross narcissist. This is the kind of conflicted soul that anchors a hit show. But it’s not just Michael Sheen’s program - the heart of Masters of Sex is Lizzy Caplan, depicting Virgina Johnson with ferocity, wit and intelligence that we just don’t get to see enough of in the female characters of even TV’s best shows. Caplan is one of the best things in every film or TV show she’s in, and one of America’s most exciting new talents. Caplan and Sheen have a marvellous chemistry that’s going to be the factor that keeps pulling viewers in. Of course, it goes without say that a show called Masters of Sex is going to have naughty bits. But it never feels gratuitous (unlike Game of Thrones, where people have entire conversations
about overthrowing rivals whilst bonking! It’s like a 14 year-old’s directing this stuff…). Don’t go in thinking “cor, BEWBS!” if you’re that puerile. There are subplots to occupy you too, a great ensemble surrounding the core pair; Jeff Bridges’ brother, Beau, is a particular highlight as the stuffy Administrator breathing down Masters’ neck with every move he makes. Annaleigh Ashford gives another standout performance giving a great comic turn as a prostitute and perhaps Masters’ only real ally and supporter. Channel 4 is on fire with its current US imports. Between this and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, it’s the place to be if you want a night in front of the sofa. It’s safe to say that Masters of Sex is one to keep watching!
american horror story: prepare to be scared Edna Mohamed
American Horror Story returned for a third season on Wednesday and has taken over my thoughts ever since. The season began with a graphic backstory, which is a standard when watching any American Horror Story season. The buzzed about third season introduced new characters, such as Emma Roberts
Super Freak – Rick James Psycho Killer - Talking Heads Zombie - The Cranberries and brought five familiar face back. If you’re like me then you were extremely excited that Taissa Farmiga returned to American Horror Story after her role in the first season, Murder House. Jessica Lange has also made a return to play the Supreme witch. In my eyes she will always be a supreme character in any situation. Even Evan Peters, resident eye candy throughout the TV programs history, has made a comeback to melt the hearts and weaken the knees of
everyone watching. The past and present jumps are essential to the storyline of each season. As the previous seasons revolved around a place or a historical event, it’s no surprise that this season was set in the superstitious New Orleans. The first season was named Murder House and the second called Asylum. So, the name of the third season, Coven, was perhaps to be expected. The overt horror, gore and peculiar images that appear in the previous two seasons are just as explicit in Coven. Each season has no ties to the previous one so you never have to watch the others to understand or love this one. So if you’ve never watched it before, why not start now? This season, Coven, is based around the mythology of witches and the historical Salem witch trials. It’s set in an all-girl school to help protect witches and teach them to control their power. The first episode explores the different and slightly bizarre abilities of each witch. From the outset we see a human voodoo doll who tortures her victims by torturing herself and a girl still unable to control her power, resulting in her killing men when having sex with them.
Within the first 10 minutes of the show you are shown images of slavery, a twisted mother-daughter relationship and of course, sex. With the first episode gaining 84% on rotten tomatoes, the highest rating out of all previous seasons, the show is definitely worth watching. If you’re running on American time, the show is aired every Wednesday but but for the rest of us it’s a Thursday, so it does not affect your all important Great British Bake Off or Made in Chelsea viewing. If you’re feeling any teen witch angst since its Halloween season, or just love badass females that can kill you just by looking at you, then American Horror Story: Coven is for you.
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IQ Culture
cultural events calendar Sat 26th Oct The Changing Coastlines of Whitstable The Whitstable Castle and Gardens Sat 26th Oct Phil Jupitus The Gulbenkian Theatre Sun 27th Oct Alexander Armstrong and His Band The Gulbenkian Theatre Sun 27th Oct Fringe Extra: City Sound Project, with Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip Tue 29th Oct Gentlemen of Few The Ballroom Tue 29th Oct-Sat 2nd Nov A Christmas Carol The Marlowe Theatre Wed 30th Oct Adam Hills - Happyism The Shirley Hall Wed 30th Oct Clothes Show Horsebridge Arts and Community Centre Thu 31st Oct-Sat 2nd Nov Haunted River Tour Canterbury Punting Co. Tue 5th-Sat 9th Nov Fiddler On The Roof The Marlowe Theatre Wed 6th-Fri 8th Nov Canterbury Players - Wyrd Sisters The Gulbenkian Theatre
the history of halloween
Rosanna Shaw
Halloween is fast approaching and you know what that means. Dust off your finest creepy costumes, prepare for a scare as you settle down to watch a horror film, and show off your artistic skills on a pumpkin. You may ask yourself, as you finish off those fakeblood splatters or hide behind your pillow, “what is this actually all about?” Well, I have delved into the origins of Halloween, and believe me, it’s not as simple as I had first believed. There is a surprisingly large number of ideas and beliefs associated with Halloween, and they come from a variety of sources: ancient and modern. Sadly, to fit all of that into this article is impossible; people have written entire books on the subject. So, allow me to begin with the very earliest possible origins of what has become one of the most popular celebrations of the year. The Celtic Harvest Festival of Samhain is often argued to be at the foundation of our Halloween festivities. Taking place on the 1st November, Samhain marked the boundary between the plentiful summer and the harsh winter. It was also the Celtic New Year and they believed that at this time of change, the boundaries between the living and the dead became blurred.
They thought that spirits could walk the earth on the eve of the New Year, the 31st October. Another major influence is the Christian celebration of Hallowmas. Hallowmas consists of three days during which the saints and martyrs are commemorated, and the souls of the dead prayed for. Samhain is the Eve of All Hallows’ Day (the first day in Hallowmas) which gradually became known as Halloween. Now let’s look at the origins of some the customs which Halloween has become famous for. The Jack-O’Lantern has its roots in a Celtic legend. When a man called Jack died, he was not allowed into heaven because of all the sins he had committed. Nor was he allowed into hell because of a deal he’d made with the devil. Having nowhere to go, Jack began wandering the earth searching for a resting place, with only
a burning ember inside a carved turnip to aid him. The carved face was thought to scare evil spirits away. The traditional wearing of costumes and masks is also believed to date back to Celtic times. At bonfires, which celebrated Samhain, animal skins were worn; while masks were thought to allow people to go outside at night without being recognised by spirits. Costumes are usually superstitious and stem from the older connotations of the dead walking the earth, although in the last few decades it’s become an opportunity for ladies to dress in a more risqué style. Although many of these customs can be traced back to ancient times, it is in America that the evolution of Halloween draws to its close, in the commercialised and child-friendly form we know well. It was there that trick or treating was first introduced, although some believe it has roots in the Medieval Christian practice of souling, when people prayed for the souls of the dead in exchange for a cake. There, too, the carved turnip was eventually replaced with the pumpkin, due to those being more common in the United States. There’s a lot more to mention but I must stop somewhere. So let me just wish you a happy (and spooky) Halloween!
theatre review: shakespeare’s much ado about nothing
Emma Greenacre Website Culture Editor
No one can seem to take Shakespeare’s plays in their traditional setting anymore. The backdrop of his plays seem to time travel back and forth to every era going, sometimes draining the plot of its importance, but if it’s done well, it sets the play off to a tee. The Old Vic Theatre’s latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Mark Rylance and starring the big names of Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones as Beatrice and Benedick respectively, seems to be one of those that’s somewhere in between. In this version, Messina becomes a small village near an American airfield in 1944, and it is done superbly. Everything from the smooth American twang of the soldiers, to the whisky they brandished in one hand while smoking a cigarette in the other whisks the audience back to the twilight of the Second World War. However, as the play moves on, you can’t help but wonder: what is the point in this setting?
Although Shakespearian prose in a Yankee accent does add a twist to the play, the script and setting never seem to gel properly; you always feel like there is a 1940s sub-plot lurking behind the traditional tale. Take the Masquerade Ball scene, for example. In this Much Ado About Nothing, the soldiers don bizarre skeleton costumes while the women wear their normal daytime clothes. It could be Halloween but there’s no bunting or pumpkins; it all just feels a bit mismatched and, well, ‘un-Shakespeare’. Alas, I haven’t even brushed upon Rylance’s main quirk to the play, the rapid aging of the on-off love interests, Beatrice and Benedick, who are usually depicted considerably younger. Redgrave was unfortunately indisposed
on the night I went to see the show, but her understudy did her no shame at all and gave a sparky, witty performance of one of Shakespeare’s strongest and most interesting female characters. Jones was even better in his wry portrayal of Benedick. The colloquial and easy-going delivery of his lines made all the flowery language accessible to the audience. Separate, both actors were brilliant, but together something just didn’t feel right; not terrible, but not brilliant. The age added a different dimension to the couple, it was ‘cute’, like watching you grandparents bicker, yet the relationship lacked the youthful, passionate energy seen in other adaptations that lifts both characters high above the rest. All in all, it was a fair performance of a brilliant play. You could name better adaptations but there are also a lot worse. I would recommend it for an evening out, but if you’re a connoisseur of this comedy you might be left wanting just that little bit more. Much Ado About Nothing runs at Old Vic Theatre, London until 30th November.
IQ Culture
in other news...
should more be done to preserve ancient tourist attr actions? Emma Brazell
On 16th October, Disney celebrated 90 years since Walt Disney signed a contract to produce a series of “Alice Comedies” cartoons. This is the date the company considers as the founding of Disney.
The BBC have revealed plans to mark the First World War centenary with the biggest TV season to date. This will include 130 programmes, covering 2,500 hours, which are designed to reflect the timespan of the war (1914-1918) over four years.
Ralph Fiennes, who is to star as Charles Dickens in a film called The Invisible Woman, about the writer’s affair with Nelly Ternan, says Dickens was “a fantastically complicated, brilliant man”. The film, which is also directed by Fiennes, is set to be released on 7th February 2014. A poll by BBC History magazine has voted David Bowie the bestdressed person in British history. With 48.5% of the vote, Bowie blew away the competition, with runner-up Queen Elizabeth I earning just 13.6% of the vote.
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Shakespeare once declared that there “never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Over 400 years later, it seems these infamous lines have become partly true. In fair Verona where we lay our scene, it appears that the statue of Juliet has been slowly disintegrating due to the hoards of sightseers that flock to see her in the courtyard outside Casa di Giulietta, the house of the playwright’s well-known leading lady. Have they worn the bronze statue down with their eyes, you ask? No, legend has it that if one rubs their hand on her right breast, they will have good fortune. The tradition attracts dozens of tourists every day, but has resulted in holes forming on her breast and on her arm, while her wrist is showing signs of cracking. This has led Giulio Tamassia, president of the Club di Giulietta (Juliet’s Club), to call for immediate restorative action to be taken. Concern has also been expressed for the city’s internationally renowned Roman amphitheatre, which has hosted opera and pop music concerts since the 1850s, as these are potentially risking its architectural heritage. All this Italian controversy has got the world thinking: should more be done to preserve our history?
Photo by Emma Brazell
Having lived in Venice for my year abroad, I now find that I have a certain attachment to all things Italian – and the historical buildings and artefacts are no exception. Verona holds nostalgia for me as it was the first city that I took a daytrip to, having conquered the homesickness and advanced to the ecstatic “oh my God, I live here” phase that all my fellow Kent year-abroaders will recall. I myself copped a feel of Juliet’s metal right breast and gazed up in amazement at the vast amphitheatre, envisioning the brutal gladiator combat and heartpounding chariot races that once took place there. Perhaps I’m biased. But, personally, I think we have to take whatever measures necessary to protect astonishing historical artefacts like these. This is not to mean suppressing tourism altogether – what would be the purpose of preservation if nobody was
able to visit and admire? Nevertheless, we need to be vigilant in protecting our relics and ensuring that they survive the test of time. In cases from all around the world, sightseers are threatening the fortune of Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal is turning yellow in parts due to river pollution from sloppy visitors, and stampedes of tourists have resulted in the Great Wall of China falling into disrepair. Call me over-protective, but I want my (in the distant future) grandchildren to be able to share the sights that I grew up admiring. If you’re still not convinced, the matter comes slightly closer to home in the form of a 14th century monument. Everyone remembers that moment on the bus going into Canterbury city centre where you held your breath, closed your eyes and blindly hoped that the bus you’re sat on could squeeze through Westgate Towers. Stagecoach altered their bus route in March to protect the largest surviving city gate in England from more traffic damage. Give yourselves a pat on the back Stagecoach. At the end of the day, would we rather give up being up-close-and-personal with the past or sacrifice a crucial piece of history altogether? I know my answer. As Shakespeare said “Parting is such sweet sorrow”. Let’s not part with our past.
a guide to canterbury festival Rebekah Chilvers Newspaper Culture Editor
A s many of you might have seen or heard, Kent’s annual Canterbury Festival started on Saturday 19th October. It covers 13 different genres at venues across the city, from classical music to comedy, and literature to science, and runs until Saturday 2nd November. The International Arts and Culture Festival is the biggest of its kind in the region and is considered to be one of the most important cultural events in the South East. It is aimed at people of all ages, with a vast range of festivities, meaning that there’s an event for everyone. Canterbury Festival has an impressive history. The festival dates back as far as 1929, when the first Canterbury Festival was established by George Bell, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral at the time. The festival went from strength to strength, and within six years of starting, it had played host to the first performance of
T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral in 1935. In the war years 1939-45, Canterbury Festival was temporarily stopped, but after these years, the connections to the Cathedral were still apparent. In 1970, to coincide with the anniversary of Thomas Becket’s martyrdom, the Dean and Chapter and the City Council collaborated for the first time to organise a Canterbury Festival. In 1984, it had a rejuvenation when the Canterbury Theatre and Festival Trust joined together to campaign for a new theatre to be built - now The Marlowe Theatre - and it was determined that the festival would run to coincide with the opening of the theatre. This year may not have a worldfamous poet to live up to 1935’s Canterbury Festival, but it is playing host to a wide variety of acts and exhibitions: famous and lesser-known. One of the main highlights was the Festival Parade which opened the
festivities on Saturday 19th October. The parade perfectly showcases both the eccentricity of Canterbury, and the artistic prowess of those in the region. It was a spectacular day of celebration for all. Other highlights look likely to be: comedian Adam Hills and his show Happyism on 30th October; Canterbury Festival Fringe from 19th October - 2nd November; and pretty much anything taking place in the festival’s own Spiegeltent, set up on St Lawrence Cricket Ground on Old Dover Road.
20
IQ Culture
best and worst: horrors Oscar Harding
“This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Pumpkins scream in the dead of night! This is Halloween, everybody make a scene! Trick or tre...” Well, you get the point (thank you, Nightmare Before Christmas). Sure, this most revered of Pagan rituals means drinking, elaborate costumes, more drinking, sugary sweets and socialising. Did I mention drinking? But whether you’re sober, intoxicated, or looking for something to do before darkness encroaches, why not watch a scary movie? Read on for the best recommendations to guarantee you get the heebie-jeebies, and the ones you should avoid like the plague, unless you want to be screaming for all the wrong reasons… Horror is generally in a pretty dire state right now: it’s either straight-toDVD trash, expensive and unnecessary remakes or lazy low-budget efforts that make a ton of cash but have no quality or craftsmanship whatsoever. So, as something of a horror-snob, it was a delight to see they can still be well-made. The phenomenon that is 2007’s Paranormal Activity is one such film; it was genuinely terrifying, and a lot of fun to watch in a dark room with other people. Made for less than $20,000, it’s a short, sharp shock that
genuinely affects you, and therefore comes in third place. Low-budget, independent horror used to produce some of America’s greatest movies back in the 70s, and the finest of those films was 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is my second best. It still has the power to terrify audiences now, and if you haven’t seen it, and you want a bona fide horror film that will have you peeking through your fingers, this is one to watch. And the best horror film of all time just so happens to be one of the best films ever made - The Exorcist. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this film is a masterpiece that manages to shred your nerves. An engaging story and believable characters pull you in right from the start. You’ll want it to end as much as you want to keep watching. And now moving onto the flipside: trying to find the worst horror films of all time is like trying to find a needle in a pile of bloody axeheads. Nevertheless, in third place for worst is The Shining. Arguably one of the most overlong, boring, pretentious and overrated horrors - not even Jack Nicholson can save this
one. It’s more likely to send you to sleep than make you shriek. But at least it’s well-made, which can’t be said for 2012’s V/H/S, an anthology of shorts recovered on old video tapes. As such, the image quality is unbearable, every character in every story is an idiot who deserves to die, and it can’t end soon enough. But at least those both have the odd scary bit. The title of not only the worst horror film of all time, but also perhaps the worst film ever made goes to the 1992 version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s beggars belief that the director of The Godfather could produce such an appallingly dull piece of self-indulgent tripe. Then again, he did cast Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in it.
what deadly costume should you wear for halloween?
Sophie Hand
Whether you take the intellectual path and dress up as your favourite scientist (obviously in zombie form), or take a more casual approach and just dress up as something creepy, we can all agree that Halloween is one of the most fun times of the year. It’s not only an excuse to dress up, but Halloween is one of the only times of year that it’s socially acceptable to marvel at the macabre and, if we’re all honest with ourselves, we absolutely love doing it. If you want to have the wow factor and amaze people with your cunning skills of masquerade, it’s probably best to stay away from those “mental patient”
costumes. You want to be noticed; you do not want to be offending people in the process. So, where is best to start? Well, drawing inspiration from a TV show or horror movie is always good, and there’s no better way to find that costume than watching the scariest movies you can find (it will also fully prepare you for Halloween). For me, it’s Insidious - admittedly it would be a non-conventional costume but imagine the fun you could have dressing up as one of the spirits from The Further. They’re about as creepy as you’re going to get, and it’s original, how many other people do you reckon you’ll see wearing it? Books are another great place to find some inspiration for Halloween, and again, reading a Stephen King novel is bound to get you in the Halloween spirit - but there are so many to chose from. King’s It is the most obvious suggestion, as dressing up as a clown is an all time scare classic, and what scarier clown is there than Pennywise. Or if you’re someone who does not want to cover their whole face in make-up, then go for Carrie - another classic.
If you’re still stumped as to what that magic costume should be, why not take a step back, pick your favourite decade, or even favourite year, and somewhere in there will be a historical figure or a person that you admire or aspire to be like. So it’s simple: dress like them. It could be more fun, and a little less serious than other suggestions, so if you want the light-hearted comic approach this is probably the one for you. If you love the Victorians, dress as Queen Victoria herself. Or if you love the 50s, then Marilyn Monroe would be perfect for you. Original ideas are priceless when it comes to Halloween parties, and when you see 30 people dressed up as just another dead school girl, your costume will be the one to remember until Halloween 2014. So make the most of it - even more so if you’re hosting a party. Why not theme it with some of these suggestions. A Stephen King themed party will be something to get everyone excited about. Whatever you chose to do, Halloween is one of the best party nights of the year, so just make sure you enjoy it.
pause for thought William Shakespeare’s The Witches’ Spell scene from Macbeth is a perfect Halloween read. With that famous line “Double, double toil and trouble”, Shakespeare encapsulates everything that’s spooky about Halloween. A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d. 2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d. 3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time! 1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw.— Toad, that under cold stone, Days and nights has thirty-one; Swelter’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot! ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,— For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf; Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark; Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark; Liver of blaspheming Jew; Gall of goat, and slips of yew Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse; Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips; Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,— Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron, For the ingrediants of our caldron. ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood, Then the charm is firm and good.
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22
Sport
england for the english? a national debate Sebastian Szlenkier
IN the build-up to England’s World Cup qualifying deciders against Montenegro and Poland, a press conference was held in which midfielder Jack Wilshere made comments about the fact that only English players should play for England. This topic was raised after a match between Sunderland and Manchester United in which 18 year old Adnan Januzaj made headlines by scoring both goals for Manchester United. It was soon brought to media attention that he can play for a selection of countries considering that he is currently uncapped both at senior and youth level. Roy Hodgson soon announced that he was monitoring Januzaj as a future England player considering that he would be eligible to play for England in five years time, ashe only arrived in England at the age of 16. The Belgian born midfielder can play for five different
countries, although he has not yet represented any international football for any country. When asked about the possibility of Januzaj qualifying to play for England in the future, Wilshere replied: ‘The only people who should play for England are English people. If I went to Spain and lived there for five years, I’m not
going to play for Spain.’ This lead to a debate about whether a national team should be made up of the best players eligible for the country or whether a national team should be made up only of players from that country. Arguably the country a player plays for should be decided by the player by which country he feels he is closest to.
An issue is raised when players of African origin come to England as refugees and hence adopt the culture and play for England. An example is Fabrice Muamba, who captained England at Under-19 level, and who arrived in England aged 11. If the England national team was left to the English born then players such as Raheem
Sterling, Wilfried Zaha or even John Barnes would not have qualified to play for England. On the other hand, if a national side has a team which is purely of that country then it levels the playing field for all countries. It would mean that players could not be poached from another country, and by ensuring players that are born in England are the only ones eligible to play for England would clear up any confusion over player nationality. However, the question which is raised is what the best solution is for national football teams, and whether the best players eligible for the country should play or whether it is only the player’s decision. It does, however, benefit countries to be able to use players that are eligible for the country as it gives them a greater national pool and increases their chances of success. It has worked in Poland, where players appeared for German youth national sides before playing for the senior team.
rugby 2nds win bucs opener driver deaths rock motorsport world Jack Tilbury IN the first game of the season the Mens Rugby 2nd XV were away to Medway. The home team had just been relegated and so the boys knew they had to step up if they were to have the perfect start to the season. As soon as the game kicked off a string of conceding silly penalties gave Medway a scoring opportunity within the first minute. They converted the penalty and it was already an uphill battle. The 2nd’s responded brilliantly and, using the new game plan they had practiced, piled on the pressure. It was only a matter of time before Medway cracked and talented fresher Harri Sayer crossed the line to put the 2nd’s ahead. Having found their momentum the game became a showcase for running rugby. With both sides using the ball well the scoreboard was frozen until a breakaway try from Medway put them ahead. The team held their resolve and with some brilliant play in the midfield, led by Tim Pope, the gaps appeared for Dan
Lawford to burst through and score an easy try. The boys went in to half time leading by two points. The second half started the same way as the first and Medway slotted another penalty. They led for the last time in the match. Following the points, Kent stepped up again with some standout individual performances namely from Tom Barker and Dean Marshall. The pressure was rewarded with a lineout on Medway’s five metre line. Under pressure from Scott Dubery the ball was fumbled and Elliot Shell reacted quickly to scoop and dive for the try. This fumble proved costly for Medway, as the tie was turned, the score stood at 15 – 11 to Kent. The last thirty minutes of the game became an exhibition for rugby at Kent. The 2nd string tore in to the Medway players, their superior fitness showing that hard work pays off. With not long to go Harri Sayer crossed the line for try number two after a textbook team effort. A perfect start.
Percival Kleft THE world of motorsport has been stunned over the past two weeks, with the tragic deaths of two highly regarded drivers, Maria Di Villota, and Sean Edwards. Maria Di Villota, who died in Spain on 11th October, was a reserve driver for Marussia, before losing her right eye in a horrific crash in 2012. She suffered severe head and facial injuries, but survived the crash at Duxford Aerodrome, becoming an inspiration to all drivers as she was later cleared to start racing once more. De Villota, 33, who had been in motor-racing for 12 years, had
previously competed in Spanish Formula 3 and the Daytona 24 Hours race in the United States. She was in Spain to promote her new autobiography, but was sadly found unresponsive in her hotel room. A family statement read: “Dear friends: Maria is gone. She had to go to heaven with all of the angels.” Shock at the news was expressed by all involved in Formula One, who that weekend were preparing for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Spaniard Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari driver, said: “Today is a very sad day for Spanish sport. We have lost a fighter with a huge smile.”
Britain’s Jenson Button added: “It’s horrendous news. Very tragic, the girl has been through so much, more than most people go through in their lives. “It has been tough for her but this is horrific news and a real shock to the whole paddock and the world of motorsport.” Four days later, and another death brought home the dangers of motorsport, after Briton Sean Edwards was killed in a crash at the Queensland Raceway in Australia. Edwards, 26, was a passenger in a Porsche which crashed into barriers during a private testing session at the track. Edwards died whilst leading the Porsche Supercup Championship, as well as being the current holder of the Nurburgring 24 Hours race, which he won earlier this year. Marussia driver Max Chilton said on Twitter: “Truly shocked to hear the devastating news about Sean Edwards, watched him win many races and will be a huge loss to the sport.” With deaths come questions as to the safety of the sport, as well as the immense risk drivers put themselves in doing something they love.
Sport 23
how wednesdays became part of university sport Chris Bull Vice President Sport
WEDNESDAYS have long been associated with sport, but not any old sport, University sport. Sport fuelled by bitter varsity rivalries, when students sacrifice their studies for their love of sport, the joy of success, the pain of defeat and lets not forget the Wednesday evenings that follow. Wednesday afternoons have since become a sporting tradition. Kent’s policy on standard teaching hours originates from the minutes of a meeting
in 1995, between the ViceChancellor, Senior Officers and Kent Union Sabbatical Officers. The minutes of that meeting stated that teaching hours would run from 9am-1pm on a Wednesday. Since that meeting in 1995, Wednesday afternoons have remained free for the majority of students to partake in cocircular activities. Today, in an age when institutions are driven by league tables, University sport has been influenced by the British University & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Programme, and has been since the day it was
introduced in 1992, when it was known as BUSA. Wednesday afternoons have followed in suit, geared towards BUCS competitions and this year will be no different. Last year we finished 30th, our highest finish to date and we hope to go one better this year. With 42 teams competing in all BUCS competitions, 12 of which are currently in the National Premiership and 1A Division combined, we hope to break into the top 30 for the very first time. Though Wednesdays aren’t solely about BUCS, they’re about sport; student sport. Wednesdays should be a celebration of sport, and that’s what we’ll try and achieve this year. For one day a week, every week, we want students to shout about sport. We want you to come out in your numbers to play, watch and compete regardless of your ability. Show your peers and the University how much sport really means to you and your club. Sport at University is too
sir alex way is unfair on moyes Stuart Smith
DAVID Moyes has arguably the most challenging job in the entire footballing world. At the start of the season he was faced with the task of taking over the reins of one of the biggest clubs in the world from probably one of the most illustrious and efficient managers in the history of the sport. However, the Manchester United supporters, and more incredibly the Manchester United board, have made his job much more difficult with the constant and unrelenting worshipping of his predecessor. Sir Alex Ferguson is unequivocally a legend at the club and it is only natural that the man is praised beyond any manager in the clubs long, successful history. He is completely deserving of the statue in his honour located outside Old Trafford. It’s nothing more than a manager of his calibre warrants, after all, his record speaks for itself. But I can’t help but wonder
what David Moyes thinks every time he passes it; the testament to just how much pressure he is under. Not only does he have to pass by the statue, but in the dugout and his technical area he has to look up at the big red letters on top of the opposite stand that reads “Sir Alex Ferguson Stand”. You would imagine that these two gestures glorify enough Ferguson’s reign regardless of the possible detrimental effects on their current manager, but Sir Alex Ferguson has had another thing renamed in his honour, this time a road near United’s Old Trafford home. Along with being awarded the freedom of the borough of Trafford, the Water’s Reach Road outside of Old Trafford has been renamed Sir Alex Ferguson Way. It seems that the only way David Moyes can avoid being constantly reminded that he is not the same man that has managed Manchester United for 27 years is to lock himself away in his bedroom with the
curtains shut and the lights off. Moyes was already faced with a difficult job at the start of the season having never won a trophy in his managerial career, and never having won a match at Old Trafford despite multiple attempts with his former club Everton. This alone would have made the task of taking over daunting, without constantly being reminded that he is not The Great Sir Alex Ferguson. You’d struggle to find any respectable person with a decent knowledge of football who would claim Moyes’ start as Man Utd boss has been good. You would even struggle to find someone who would argue that his start has been just acceptable but his cause is not helped by the regular reminders from fans that the club has incredibly high standards. Ultimately Moyes has not performed to the level he needs to but regularly reminding him of, and comparing him to Alex Ferguson is not going to help the situation by any stretch of the imagination.
often overlooked and the achievements of our students rarely shouted about. We want to change this, so as many students, regardless of whether they play sport or not, know what’s happening, from fixtures and results, to outstanding achievements. As Team Kent we aim to establish a physical presence upon campus over the next year, so keep an eye out, especially on Team Kent Wednesdays. We want to create a platform for all students to have the opportunity to play and
celebrate sport. We want more people playing University sport, watching University sport and talking about University sport, to show all that University sport really does matter and that Wednesdays should remain and stand the test of time. For more sport news check out our website at www.inquirelive.co.uk Got a story? Get in touch with one of our editors. We’d love to hear from you!
good start for ukc cricket Matthew Durrell FOLLOWING last season’s huge successes with outdoor promotion to 1A and reaching the BUCS National Indoor semi-final, UKC Cricket Club is looking to continue to move forward in both formats. Before any BUCS competitions begin for the club, we have started our Kent County Indoor League campaign with both a 1st and 2nd team competing at the St Lawrence Ground on Sunday afternoons. The 1st team began their season against last year’s undefeated champions Canterbury CC and despite a valiant effort from a team which included impressive debuts from freshers Jonathan Tribe, Brewster Surridge and Josh Kirk, we fell just 3 runs short in our chase of 111. A week later, the team bounced back with a comfortable victory over Canterbury 2nd’s, after dismissing the opposition for just 54 with notable bowling displays from Ryan Gilmour and Freddie Hulbert. Openers Buzz Gould and Captain Matt Durrell reached
the target of 55 in just 5 overs to get Kent back to winning ways. Gravesend 2nd’s were next up and another easy win for the 1st’s, who eased to a target of 81. Matt Durrell and Freddie Hulbert were the mainstays as the 1st’s climbed up the table giving themselves an opportunity to go top after with a forthcoming fixture against the only unbeaten side Street End. As for the 2nd’s it has been a mixed start to the season. A convincing opening day win over Margate was followed by a narrow defeat to a well organised Macknade outfit, as the side was left to rue missed opportunities. Both teams will be looking to press on in the coming weeks and individuals will be keen to impress as BUCS fixtures approach and places are up for grabs. Keep track of the clubs results with live scores on Twitter and Facebook as we aim to go one better and become National Champions over the winter months.
visit our website at - www.inquirelive.co.uk/sport
InQuire sport england qualify for world cup
Dan English Newspaper Sport Editor IT could have gone oh so wrong. It could have been the almightiest of cock-ups. It could have brought a limp end to many of the international careers of the ‘Golden Generation’. But it didn’t. The atmosphere was tense as England needed to beat Poland at Wembley to ensure their place at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil next year. This perhaps wasn’t helped by estimated figures of over 20,000 Polish fans in attendance at England’s home, creating a more colourful and
intense arena. England had already done half of the job, beating Montenegro 4-1 meaning it all came down to this fixture. As Steven Gerrard led his side out, the immense feeling of expectation was glued to his shoulders. Earlier in the week, old England failures had been dwelled upon. In particular, a 1973 home draw with Poland, which prevented England from going to the 1974 World Cup, and it was clear such tales could play on the minds of the current crop. England’s closest rivals in
this qualification period had been Ukraine, who had to beat minnows San Marino, and hope for an English disaster, to qualify ahead of the Three Lions. But the night belonged to England. An electric performance in front of a sparked crowd saw Roy Hodgson’s men confirm qualification with a superb 2-0 win, with goals from Wayne Rooney and captain Steven Gerrard. The pressure was clearly visible in the eyes of Hodgson. He didn’t want to be the man who couldn’t lead England to automatic qualification, and
at times his this boiled into frustration as the Three Lions had to contend with some rather sticky moments throughout. As the final whistle blew, and the qualification tournament drew to a close, the lap of honour and surges of celebration from England players and coaches showed just how much it meant to them, and just how relieved that the claws of failure had loosened its grip, for now. These final two games saw a new England, an exciting England. A side that had become known for its timid mentality, suddenly flared with attacking promise and fluid football, helped greatly
by the emergence of Tottenham player Andros Townsend. Hodgson was clearly proud of his side’s achievement after the game: “I’m English. As an Englishman, it means a little bit more to you. “England’s a very big football nation. “So many people are desperate to see England participate and hopefully do well in a World Cup so we knew that it was on our shoulders to make certain that we didn’t disappoint them.” Anticipation builds as almost 97,000 ticket applications from England fans have already been made, as a summer of World Cup football awaits.