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the paralympic paradox
Issue 8.7
23rd November 2012
review: assassin’s creed III the last days of bbc cefax great british food revival
comment - page 7
iq entertainment - page 18
iq culture - page 20
iq features - page 14
Krystle Appiah
increase. Pete Mercer, NUS Vice President (Welfare) states that “The responsibility of universities to support their students does not begin and end at the doors of the lecture hall.” There is a need for universities to plan accommodation better and cap prices. Prices vary between different rental categories. Private rentals outside of universities averaged £140.07 a week for 2012/13. Whereas for university accommodation costs are on average £118.49. In recent years the divide between costs of accommodation in the private and university-owned accommodation has narrowed. At the University of Kent, on-campus
accommodation ranges from £3,865.68 a year for a room in a five bedroom house, sharing a bathroom and kitchen, to £6,479.62 for a large en-suite room in Becket Court that is part-catered. For postgraduates, the cost can be as high as £9,763.04 to stay in either an en suite single room or double room in Keynes for 51 weeks. Second year students don’t seem as worried about the rise. Ruth Greenhalgh states that “the cost of housing in general always goes up so naturally university accommodation would too”. Abigail Smith also comments on off-campus accommodation, saying there is “variation in price ranges for accommodation, but the cheaper houses
do tend to be further away from campus.” The quality of university rooms also varies tremendously. Elizabeth Martyn, a University of Kent student living in Darwin flats, says that “when we do have problems everything gets fixed fairly quickly” and that “we could do a lot worse and it seems to be good value for money”. In light of this cost, increasing numbers of students are choosing to live at home whilst studying. Of 1,000 students surveyed in 2009 by The Telegraph, 36% reported to be choosing universities "on financial grounds" and choosing to live at home to save money. This figure is expected to have increased with accommodation costs.
student accommodation prices double
STUDENT Accommodation prices have doubled in the last ten years, a study has shown. The NUS/Unipole study showed that average rent for a university-owned room rose from £59.17 in 2001/2 to £117.67 in 2011/12. This 97% increase is disproportionate to inflation which is at 2.0%, 0.4% lower than 2001 levels. Many students were dissatisfied or angered at the news. Dorothea Abbey, a first year living on campus asked: “What's changed for prices to double?” She is just one of many residents who note that students are being provided with the same sized rooms and same furniture so cannot see the cause for the
2
News Editor’s Note
Hey, Welcome to the penultimate InQuire of the year! Next issue we’ll be jazzing up the paper a little because ‘tis the season for good tidings and joy, so we hope you enjoy that. In the meantime, welcome to 8.7! In this issue, we’ve sought to cover a range of issues that affect you - from graduate pay, to rising student accommodation costs to voting on unpaid internships in the coming All Student Vote. These are all things that we’re concerned about and we’re sure you are too, so we hope we’ve done something to help spread the word. Not interested? Then flick on over to IQ and enjoy the range of reviews we have for you! Pamela. www.facebook.com/InQuireMedia
2012/2013 Editorial contacts: Rex Ejimonyeabala Chairman chairman@inquiremedia.co.uk Pamela Head - Editor newspaper.editor@inquiremedia. co.uk Chandni Makhecha - IQ Editor iq.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk Nina Collins - Website Editor website.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk Matt Gilley - News newspaper.news@inquiremedia.co.uk Jamie Ovens - Comment newspaper.comment@inquiremedia. co.uk Natalie Tipping - IQ Features newspaper.features@inquiremedia. co.uk Harriet Cash - IQ Culture newspaper.culture@inquiremedia. co.uk Chad Greggor IQ Entertainment newspaper.entertainment@inquiremedia.co.uk Alex Cassidy - Sports newspaper.sport@inquiremedia.co.uk Perpetual Brade - Website News website.news@inquiremedia.co.uk Amelia Guttridge - Website Comment website.comment@inquiremedia. co.uk Laura Ricchetti - Website IQ Features website.features@inquiremedia.co.uk Alice Bryant - Website IQ Entertainment website.entertainment@inquiremedia.co.uk George Hopkin- Website Sport website.sport@inquiremedia.co.uk Caroline Wadham - Distribution distribution@inquiremedia.co.uk
graduate earnings down Caroline Wadham Distribution Manager
GRADUATE earnings have decreased by 22% compared to a decade ago, according to a recent Futuretrack survey by Warwick University shows that. The study saw 17,000 students monitored from when they began university in 2006, when the £3,000-a-year charges were brought into effect, to their graduation. The survey concludes that graduate earnings have declined by a fifth. This mirrors the position that graduates found themselves in during the 1999 recession. The researchers believe that this is due to the continuous increase in the number of people wishing to study at an undergraduate level, with 30% of men and 40% of women now gaining degrees, contrasting greatly with the figures of 1995 which showed 20% of people completing higher education. As a result, the relevance of degrees has been called into question, especially when noting that one in ten graduates are forced to rely on state unemployment benefits for the first six months following graduation. Arts graduates are in the most danger, with a loss of 32% in earning power. Law and medicine graduates are still seen to be the most successful with their projected earnings falling only to 16% and 9% respectively, compared to a decade ago. Despite the government promoting the view that a degree can add more than
£200,000 to a male graduate’s lifetime salary, researchers insist that there is “no evidence of this” in their findings. Bruce Woodcock from the Careers Advisory Service at the University of Kent states that despite the recent drop, “those students who do get involved in extracurricular activities such as the Employability Points scheme, volunteering and the Careers Employability Award … have an excellent chance of getting a rewarding graduate job”. This view is corroborated by the report, despite the fall in graduate earnings: “96% of graduates would do a degree again if they had the chance.” This is not the first time the value of degree-level education has been questioned. Debate was first sparked by the infamous rise in tuition fees which saw university applications fall 9% in the year that the policy was implemented.
student wealth gap narrows
Tom Vine
THE Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that the gap between the number of rich and poor students attending university has narrowed. Between the academic years of 2004-05 and 2009-10 “the gap in Higher Education participation between those from the top and bottom socioeconomic … groups has fallen from 40% to 37.3%.” These figures have emerged as increasing numbers of students pursue further education. The report found that in 1960, 5% of 17-30 year olds went to university, whereas in 2010 this figure had increased to 47%. One explanation provided by the report is that the increase of tuition fees in 2006, from £1,000 to around £3,000, saw the introduction of a more progressive system which actually benefitted those at the bottom of society. Shabana Mahmood, Shadow Higher Education Minister, welcomed the report’s findings. He said: “The progress made under Labour is clearly under threat following this Tory-led Government’s trebling of tuition fees to £9,000.” The author of the report, Claire Crawford, said: “This experience provides some hope that the drop in university applications observed this year ... may not herald the start of a longer term fall in participation rates.” Read the full article at inquirelive.co.uk
kent elects ann barnes as first pcc Sam Hughes-Narborough
ANN Barnes, an independent candidate, has won the election for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) with 95,901 votes. She will take up a role overseeing the strategic direction and £258million budget of the county’s police force. Barnes received the highest vote in all 13 local council areas, defeating the nearest competitor Craig Mackinlay (Conservative) by a majority of more than four to one in Shepway and winning by large margins in a number of other areas. She was slightly short of a 50% majority across the county. The supplementary vote system was used in this election, where voters are
allowed to select both a first and second preference candidate. If a candidate obtains a majority (more than 50%) of the total first preference vote, they win. As Barnes received 45.9% of first preference, the second preference had to be counted. The results mirrored those of the first preference, Barnes winning every single council area. Barnes, former chair of the PCC’s predecessor body, the Kent Police Authority, promised to better inform victims of crime, resist funding cuts and create local police boards. Of the 1.282million eligible voters in Kent, only 208,782 cast a ballot, putting voter turnout at only 16.3%. The lowest turnout was in Swale (14.8%) and the best turnout in Shepway (20.3%). In Canterbury 17,665 (15.7%) of the electorate voted. Nationwide turnout was less than 15%. The chairwoman of the electoral commission has called it “a concern for everyone who cares about democracy” and the electoral commission has announced that there will be a review into the way the elections were conducted. Barnes said the election was run “disgracefully”.
One booth in Newport received no visitors at all. David Cameron has dismissed this worry, claiming that “It takes time to explain a new post” and going on to suggest that the number of people voting would be “much higher next time round”.
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News 3
democracy zones set new union policy Matthew Gilley Newspaper News Editor
FROM 5th to 15th November, Kent Union held this year’s first Democracy Zones. The Zones are the Union’s most ‘grassroots’ way of making policy. Any student can submit their idea to a zone or attend a zone meeting. At the meetings the ideas are debated and if there is unanimous approval then it becomes Union policy for a year, which the
Zone’s elected committee members are tasked to organise. If there is unanimous dissent the idea is dropped and if no consensus can be reached then it goes to an All Student Vote (ASV), such as the equal marriage vote held last year. Policies passed at the Zones include the banning of letting agencies from advertising on campus in term one and increased funding for conservation and environmental projects. Some changes have been made to the
Chaucer Fields, Lads Mags in Essentials, Unpaid Internships and BAE Systems (clockwise from top left) are just four of the issues going to an ASV this week.
Democracy Zones since last year, notably that ASVs, instead of taking place three working days after a Zone meeting, will be grouped together in a week-long vote after each block of Zone meetings. The first of these will take place from 22nd29th November, with eight issues being voted on. These are: subsidised printing for students; an increase in the amount of renewable energy produced on campus; whether the Union should campaign to save Chaucer Fields; whether they should cease to have any association with BAE Systems, an arms trading company, and should campaign to have them banned from campus; whether to ban Lads Mags from Union outlets; whether to ban music channels being shown in Union outlets; requiring organisers of events with outside speakers to make the speaker aware of its Zero Tolerance Policy and for a change in policy toward unpaid internships. Some particularly contentious issues were BAE Systems and Chaucer Fields, which both sparked lively debate in the Zones. The format of the Zones was criticised by some in attendance. St John Macgregor Grier said that it made it “very likely for the debates to go on for far too long and for there not to be a consensus”. With the numbers of people attending meetings it was often difficult to reach a unanimous decision. In the
Your Education meeting, the first of the Zones, a motion for students to get subsidised printing was sent to an ASV because one person in the room did not agree with specific details. At that same meeting no ideas were passed; all were withdrawn or were sent to an ASV. Alex Murray, Kent Union VicePresident for Education, admitted there had been some “teething problems” but said he was pleased with the “calibre” of ideas and debates. He also said he thought it was “fantastic that attendance has doubled”, although Jules Landrieu, attending one of the Zones, worried that despite the increased participation the group of attendees was still very “selective”, with many people from Union Council, few newcomers and few freshers. With a larger number of ASVs, Grier raised concerns that students might not “be bothered” to vote on them. Murray, however, welcomed the “opportunities presented by so many different issues going to students” and looked forward to people expressing their opinions in the campaigns. He said: “It’s really good to have this opportunity for all students to participate and this direct form of democracy is the kind of functioning that students unions should be participating within… We can really looking forward to the All Student Votes that are coming up.”
justin welby is named next archbishop man arrested for poppy burning photo George Hopkin Website Sport Editor ON 9th November, Downing Street confirmed that the Right Reverend Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham, will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The confirmation of Bishop Welby’s appointment comes after months of speculation, with the current Archbishop, Dr. Rowan Williams, having announced his intention to leave the post back in March this year. Other names that were tipped for the post included that of John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, and Richard Chartres, Bishop of London. Dr. Williams, who will take up a university position at Cambridge, gave his approval of his successor, saying: “I am delighted at the appointment of the Right Reverend Justin Welby to Canterbury. He has an extraordinary range of skills and is a person of grace, patience, wisdom and humour.” Bishop Welby himself claimed that he found the news “astonishing and exciting”, and thanked Archbishop Williams, saying that the worldwide Church owes him a “great debt”. The nomination of Justin Welby to the post was approved by the Queen, and the date of his enthronement has been scheduled for 21st March 2013 in Canterbury Cathedral.
Bishop Welby, an ex-oil executive who has been part of the parliamentary inquiry into banking standards, left professional business in 1987 to be ordained, and described himself as being “unable to get away from a sense of God calling”. News of the appointment also comes at a time when the church faces tough questions regarding equal marriage, homosexual priests, and the ordination of female bishops. Welby has pledged to “listen very attentively to LGBT communities”, and, although he currently takes a traditional line in opposing gay marriage, he has said that he will think “prayerfully and carefully” on the matter. On the subject of female bishops, he said: “I am voting in favour, and join my voice to many others in urging the synod to go forward with this change.” Going into what John Sentamu called a “daunting office”, Justin Welby says that he is “utterly optimistic” about the future, and the Anglican Church of 77 million Christians can now look forward to the stewardship of a new leader after a period of quiet uncertainty. Professor Carrette, Head of Religious Studies at the University of Kent, said Welby was a “creative appointment, someone with good potential for an impossible job”.
Jay Crush A 19-year-old man from Aylesham, near Canterbury, has been arrested and bailed by Kent Police for allegedly posting an abusive comment and a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook this Remembrance Sunday. He is being investigated on suspicion of committing an offence under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, which outlaws sending any “communication” which is “indecent or grossly offensive”. The day after the arrest, Kent Police made a short statement: “Officers were contacted at around 4pm yesterday, Sunday 11th November 2012 and alerted to the picture, which was reportedly accompanied by an offensive comment.” This arrest follows a number of jail terms handed down using the Malicious Communications Act and similar legislation, such as a Swansea University student who tweeted a racist message about footballer Fabrice Muamba, and a man who was found to have made crude jokes about missing girl, April Jones. Shortly after news of the arrest broke, many took to twitter to question the appropriateness of this arrest, and whether the legislation is outdated and unfit for modern use. In response to a tweet asking if this
arrest was a waste of public resources, Kent Police’s official twitter stated: “When we receive a complaint we have a duty to investigate.” The Director of Public Prosecutions, Kier Starmer is creating guidelines for prosecutors to follow in dealing with cases like this on social network sites, and so debate over this wave of arrests and prosecutions is likely to rage on.
4
News
ofqual scrap a-level january exams Samantha Price
STUDENTS will only be able to sit their exams in the summer term, at the end of their courses, after exams regulator Ofqual announced the scrapping of January exams entirely. The move is a way to try and prevent students re-sitting exams to obtain the higher marks they need to get into university and is the first stage in a series of proposed plans to shakeup A-Levels courtesy of Education Secretary, Michael Gove. These changes could eventually see the qualifications taking on many of the characteristics of the International Baccalaureate system (IB). The resits are seen as devaluing exams and causing grade-inflation, as there is no need to pass them on the first attempt. Pupils will be allowed just one resit per paper. The news comes after the watchdog published the results of a consultation on the proposed changes. It ran for three months last year and fewer than 1,000 respondents took part. The body’s chief regulator, Glenys Stacey, said: “Earlier this year we set out our proposals for A-level reform. The
results show that respondents are very supportive of the proposals we outlined to remove the January assessments. “The consultation followed on from Ofqual’s research into perceptions of A-levels. “This showed that the qualifications are considered to be largely fit-for-purpose but that there were some structural changes that could be made to improve them.” Some teachers have criticised the plans, saying there is no evidence that A-levels need changing and that schools and pupils face “huge turbulence”. They also expressed concern that the plans might impact young people who are forced into missing periods of school through no fault of their own - for example long-term illness, disability or acting as a carer. “Re-sits makes it easier for them to pick up their studies after an enforced absence and to return to a topic at a later date,” said Jill Stokoe, education policy adviser at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). Further changes are expected to include universities in the structuring of the qualifications.
Universities have said they broadly support the “thrust” of Friday’s announcement, but do not want to “take ownership” of the qualifications. Currently, A-Levels are made up of two parts: AS-Levels and A2-Levels, with exams taken in January and June. Resits
are taken alongside the January exams. This decision is due to come into force from September 2013 but will affect this September’s intake of A-Level students, as they will not be able to have exams in January during their second year as expected.
malala petition gets 150,000 signatures resignations over newsnight scandal Perpetual Brade Website News Editor THE UK government has been called on to back a petition for a Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thousands of people have already signed the online petition started by the writer and broadcaster Tarek Farah in Canada. The UK campaigner Shahida Choudhary who has asked the Prime Minister David Cameron to put forward a recommendation to the Nobel committee, said the prize would show “that the world is watching”. Malala Yousafzai, 15, well-known as a campaigner for girls’ education in Pakistan, was shot on 9th October, when a gunman boarded the van she was in with two other girls as they returned
home from school and asked for her by name before firing three shots at pointblank range. After initial treatment in Pakistan, she was flown to the UK where she is being treated in the trauma unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Her father said in a statement: “I am awfully thankful to all the peaceloving well–wishers who strongly condemn the assassination attempt on Malala, who pray for her health and support the grand cause of peace, education, freedom of thought and freedom of expression.” In 2009, Malala wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC about living life under the Taliban in an area where all girls are banned from attending school. Saturday November 10th, marking a month after the shooting, was dedicated a global day of action for girls around the world who do not attend school, thought to be around 32 million, of which Pakistan has the second largest number. Gordon Brown, the UN’s Special Envoy for Education, travelled to Islamabad to discuss ways of getting Pakistani girls into the education system. He also presented a petition of one million signatures asking for free and compulsory education to the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. He said: “This has been a breakthrough moment for Pakistan and now we must turn Pakistan’s new ambitions and popular determination into delivery on the ground.” Nominations for the prize will close in February.
Lisa Gheysen ON 2nd November, the BBC’s Newsnight programme broadcast allegations that a senior Thatcher-era Tory politician had been linked to child abuse at a children’s home in North Wales during the 1970s and 1980s. Newsnight did not name the suspect, but internet speculation later revealed the name of Lord McAlpine. This accusation was subsequently discovered to be without foundation and a case of mistaken identity. The programme was already under fire for its failure to air an investigation into Jimmy Savile’s involvement in the same type of abuse. Inquiries are underway into how either of these came about, with BBC Scotland director, Ken MacQuarrie, heading the latest investigation. The BBC has released a summary of its findings, which have identified “unacceptable” failings. They have promised to “take clear and decisive action […] to restore public trust in the BBC’s journalism”. George Entwistle, director-general of the BBC, has already resigned after it was discovered that he had been unaware of the story until after it was broadcast. The investigation found that “basic journalistic checks were not completed. Specifically, identification was not confirmed by photograph with the first victim [and] no right of reply was offered to the unnamed individual at the centre
of the allegation”. Senior BBC executives involved in the programme - such as Liz Gibbons, the acting editor, and Adrian Van Klaveren, the supervising executive - are also said to be facing disciplinary proceedings. Ultimately, the inquiry blames staff confusion over “where the responsibility lay for the final editorial sign off” and a weakening of the Newsnight editorial management structure. Peter Rippon, the previous Newsnight editor, stepped aside in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal and deputy editor, Shamindar Nahal, left for Channel 4 News earlier this year. Long-standing Newsnight presenter, Jeremy Paxman, offered his opinion, saying: “[The problem has been compounded] by enforcing a series of cuts on programme budgets, while bloating management. That is how you arrive at the current mess on Newsnight.” A settlement has been negotiated between Lord McAlpine and the BBC for £185,000 plus costs, with the Tory peer saying on The World at One: “They could have saved themselves a lot of agonising, and money actually, if they had just made that telephone call.” The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to public interest journalism, has also been criticised for its involvement in the scandal. The Chairman of the BIJ has released a statement reaffirming “the bureau’s commitment to fact-based, non-sensational investigation”.
Comment 5
are sex change stipulations strict enough? David Stibbards
LIBERAL society doesn’t like grey areas. Decisions are easily made by our lawmakers when the opponents can easily (and often rightly) be placed into conveniently marked categories of nutters, jingoists and the over-religious. Black and white decisions like the acceptance of homosexuals, universal suffrage and personal religious freedom are shoe-ins. Uncertainty and ambiguity, however, throws liberal society into a paroxysm of protests which are carefully balanced to avoid the pitfalls of these categories, exemplified by the First Conceit: “I’m not racist, but...” One grey area which has reared its ugly head recently is the age of consent for gender reassignment procedures: a minefield of old judgements and opinions which are usually made without personal knowledge, barring the Second Conceit: “One of my best friends is a...” The context for this is the decision of 18 year-old Brad Cooper to abort his gender reassignment surgery after finding himself deeply depressed when living
a trial period as a woman named Ria. This unhappiness stretched even as far as two suicide attempts. Needless to say, the obvious sources have pounced on an opportunity to make hay; the Daily Mail and the Mirror have pursued editorial lines questioning the wisdom of gender reassignment for minors. If I can break the metaphorical fourth wall for a moment, and invite you behind the curtain; I spent some time considering whether I should contact the UKC’s own LGBT society for some advice or guidance on this matter, to gather some personal experience and opinions. I realised, however, that I would be hoeing old ground. A cursory look at the NHS guidance for these matters solves any question one might have. There is a vast selection of gender reassignment options available, outlined by the NHS in excruciatingly clinical detail. Like an ice-cream parlour, there are many flavours of approach to sex changes, though unlike ice-cream these treatments carry heavy age-related restrictions. The process starts with
detailed psychological analysis, leads through to hormone treatment and right up to living as the desired gender for at least a year before an operation, when aged at least 18. These guidelines were drawn up following advice from healthcare professionals, psychiatrists and members of the transgender community. These guidelines work. Brad is an example of this, having lived as a woman for a year, and having received counseling and hormone treatment before being eligible for permanent surgery at 18. Rendered unhappy by the early stages, he changed his mind before the surgery, due to the experience he had gained in being made to wait. There were very nearly tragic consequences, but luckily Brad had not yet undergone any permanent surgical changes, and so wasn’t left irreversibly suicidal. It is easy to forget that when our arguments reach significant levels of volume and passion about such issues that experts, professionals, community members and lawmakers have very
often already discussed them. We should of course question these positions, but never disregard them.
Brad Cooper, before aborting his sex change
the big debate: asv on unpaid internships Hazel Blake UNPAID internships are illegal. Fact. Unless the placement makes up a part of your course, or the employer is a charity, it is likely that the company is breaking the law. Although it may be true that there is currently no specific law stating this, they are incompatible with National Minimum Wage legislation, your rights under which cannot be forfeited or given up. If you fall under the category of ‘worker’ (that is, if you have set hours and responsibilities and contribute work of value to the employer) then you are entitled to a wage that at least meets the national standard, even if you have agreed to work for free. Shockingly, however, a survey conducted by the campaign group Internocracy found that this is something only 10% of graduates are aware of. The number of unpaid internships being offered has grown exponentially over the past decade across a widening spread of sectors, with their durations also increasing so that many placements now are as long as 3-6 months. University students work hard to gain their degrees, only to enter the workforce and find that they are expected to work often without fair pay, or any pay at all, in order to ‘get a foot in the door’. In short, it is exploitation. Some graduates decide to add to their already hefty debt, seeing just how far that overdraft will extend or digging themselves in deeper by taking
out credit cards. Most have to rely on parental support. Meanwhile, for those from lower income backgrounds the prospect of getting started on the career ladder remains as remote as ever, thereby perpetuating and ingraining existing inequalities in the job market, demonstrating the wider socio-economic ramifications of such a system. Beyond this, the ready acceptance of unpaid work cultivates an attitude in which interns are easily replaceable and the perceived value of their contribution is lowered. Even if you are lucky enough, or well-connected enough, to get a position, there is rarely a guarantee of a permanent job at the end; in fact, 82% of interns surveyed by Interns Anonymous said their internship did not lead to employment within that company. The same survey found that as much as 37% had done three or more internships The backlash has begun. A number of interest groups have been blazing the campaign trail, challenging employers’ practice and helping interns claim money owed from unpaid internships. And what’s more, they’ve been winning. In May 2011 Keri Hudson successfully won £1,025 at an employment tribunal for 5 weeks work at the website My Village. This is a landmark victory for UK interns, but one that now needs to be built upon. The NUS campaign against unpaid internships which began earlier this year has been winning support from student unions up and down the country, and Kent Union should be among them.
Pamela Head Newspaper Editor AS a journalism student, unpaid internships are of utmost importance to me. Without them, I probably wouldn’t be able to get the experience needed to get hired. The whole basis behind a career in the media, and indeed in other career areas such as fashion, graphic design and P.R. is that they are the careers that are highly sought after and that are vague when it comes to a description of what the job is. Do you really know what goes into being a journalist or a graphic designer or a fashion designer? It’s more than just drawing pretty pictures or writing something you’re interested in and having it published. For journalism, you need to pass exams just to be considered for a job. You need to have extensive law training, have a wide knowledge of politics, current affairs, read all the newspapers, understand the political stances of all media currently available and memorise the Ofcom Broadcasting Code - 133 pages, by the way, and a total nightmare. It is far more than just writing whatever I like. Unpaid internships give me the opportunity to gain experience in this field, so I can see how a real newsroom works. To be a graphic designer, you need to present a portfolio before you can even get paid work. If you don’t work for free, you don’t get a portfolio and you don’t get paid. It’s as simple as that. If newspapers had to pay interns
to work for them, there would most definitely be an attitude of: I have to pay interns? Who have no legal training and can’t write articles without them having to be double-checked by a professional journalist. Nevermind, I will use the money to hire someone who can do the job. Unpaid internships form the foundations of entry into my career and others. My degree even offers them as part of my course, they’re that important. In that respect, when you factor in tuition fees, they’re so important to my career that I’m essentially paying them to let me work for them! Also, shouldn’t an individual have the right to choose whether they accept an unpaid internship? They have considered the choice, debated the pros and cons, and accepted it because the benefits outweigh the negatives. Essentially, other unversities allow their students to take on unpaid internships. Kent allowing them means that students essentially have the same opportunities as other universities. If you wanted to work in a career that needed unpaid internships to get you experience, and your university didn’t allow them or support them? I’d go to a different university, to be honest. They’re necessary, important and crucial to my future career. Kent Union should stay out of it. To read both sides of the debate in full, visit www.inquirelive.co.uk. To vote in the All Student Vote on this issue, visit: www. kentunion.co.uk/studentvoice/zones/vote before midday on the 29th November 2012.
6
Comment
does the eu really deserve a peace of the prize?
Suzon Mamdy THIS year, Thorbjørn Jagland, the head of the Oslo-based Nobel Committee, rewarded the European Union with the Nobel Peace Prize. Originally, this prize was awarded to those who “have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” This raises a vital question;
does the EU really deserve this prize? The European Union was initially created by six countries, after the treaty of Rome was established in 1957. It further developed in 2000, to represent 27 states, mostly new countries from Eastern Europe. Mr Jagland explains his choice by saying that, after having contributed for six decades to “the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”, the European Union should be rewarded. In the past, the European Union has spread democracy all over the continent, and thus stopped wars from occurring, among other things. It has enriched many countries, especially the poorer ones. Moreover, France and Germany are in a period of great cooperation and have not fought for over 70 years, so the EU is promoting deeper integration. But this Nobel Peace Prize is not only to reward the EU for what it has already done, it is intended to maintain a promise for peace in the future, and to remind the EU not only to talk about
peace but to carry through operations. As Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission says “even in tense, difficult times, the European Union remains an inspiration for countries and people all over the world”. There have been many controversies about this award, as many people do not agree with this choice. The Balkans and former Yugoslavia highly disagree, as these countries have been experiencing human right violations that contradict the award. Also seemingly unsupportive are the more heavily indebted members of the EU, such as Greece and Spain, because of the imposed austerity policies that crush their domestic economies. Furthermore, the involvement of Cameron and Sarkozy in Libya resulted in the death of Colonel Gaddafi and caused even more unrest in Northern Africa. Thus some argue that the Nobel Peace Prize should not have been awarded to the EU this year. If anything, it should have been awarded while the association was stable and experiencing growth, rather than when
in the middle of several crises. In consequence to this award, different countries have reacted in different ways. On the positive side, French President François Hollande welcomed this award as an “immense honour”, and in Germany more than half of the residents are still fully committed to European unity, despite struggling to pay for their indebted neighbours. Hollande also mentioned that receiving this prize makes many countries “continue toward a Europe more united, more just, stronger and more capable of peacemaking.” On the downside, an anti-EU feeling has started to spread in countries such as Britain, where David Cameron has been pressured into holding a national referendum on whether to exit the Union. People’s opinions tend to highly depend on the economic situation within their own country, but the principal message that should be taken from this Nobel Peace Prize is to hope for a brighter and more peaceful future as a collective, whether it was deserved or not.
fighting for our futures is jinping a good thing? Alex Murray Vice-President (Education) BY the time this has gone to print, students from campuses across the country will have converged upon the streets of London to raise their voices in an attempt to change the state of education. Two years on from Fund Our Future, Kent Union will have brought over one hundred students to express their dissent. In line with policy formed at the conference of the National Union of Students under the banner of “Educate, Employ, Empower”, thousands will have marched to send a message to the government that the current course is both a dangerous and destructive path. In 2010, students protested largely under the banner of a single issue; the tripling of the cap on tuition fees. When passed by Parliament, an opinion shared by some was that, firstly, all was lost, and secondly, that it was the only issue important to the national student body at the time. While it’s important to say that all was not lost – that the impact of that date was felt in schools, unions, senior university offices, Parliament, and homes up and down the country – it is also key to understand that tuition fee increases were not the only reason students had marched. Whilst fees were an incredibly important element of the demonstration, there were hundreds of reasons why the student movement mobilised and these have only been exacerbated.
The reasons for protest couldn’t be more apparent, with international students having their visas cancelled, universities moving towards diversified business models, the price of living and accommodation costs increasingly becoming barriers to learning, and our lecturers facing real term pay cuts and pension disputes. For young people and graduates in this country the jobs market is being damaged by cuts. 52 graduates line up for every graduate scheme and youth unemployment is rocketing. Coupled with record low levels of civic engagement this is all symptomatic of a long line of governments that have not done enough to build a sustainable system for higher education. This has to change. When we protested in 2010 people listened, opinions changed and sympathy and support was widespread. The vote on fees passed with a minority, as have the votes before it. This is about making the case that we are still aggrieved and that we do still believe in an alternative. It’s about showing that we are willing to take a stand. I am proud to be taking students to London, to be using this in conjunction with other events such as lobbying, writing papers and working with the NUS. Education is a public good and one that should not be commodified; it is important for us to protect this not only for ourselves but for those who will follow.
St John Macgregor Grier XI Jinping, the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, is perhaps better known for his mysterious disappearance a month before he was expected to take the helm in this onceper-decade power change, than he is for his policies. In light of the Bo Xilai scandal, many in the West took this to be an indication of the immutable nature of Chinese Politics, a sign that nothing in China has changed since the dark days of Mao when officials could be made to disappear overnight, with all record of their existence expunged from files and scratched out of photographs. Xi Jinping has since returned, and has now taken the job of party chief. In reappearing he trumped critics who believe China cannot change, and I predict he will continue to do so. Still, there are many who think that China cannot change under his leadership. This is not true. Granted, he is still a loyal communist, and is just one thread in the fabric that makes up the complex leadership of the country, but China today has an emerging middle class to consider. Social media savvy, ambitious, quasicapitalists, they invest abroad. They are concerned about corruption, land-grabs, the environment and, most of all, making money. Xi Jinping, although from the political class, shares many of the same concerns. His family are businessmen, in a very modern, very Western sense. All is not well in the Chinese economy, due in part to the protection afforded to
banks. This is one of the areas in which Xi might try to introduce reforms, in an attempt to return China to the levels of growth it had just a few years ago. Moreover, unlike many of the political elite in China – privileged and disconnected from ordinary citizens – Xi Jinping is a man of the people. His wife is a folk-singer, beloved around the country. Xi himself has fought doggedly against corruption throughout his political career. The best weapon against corruption is of course a free press, and don’t imagine for a second that he doesn’t know this. Will he be bringing in a free press? Releasing political prisoners? Maybe not this year, or even in the next five years, but just think how much China has changed in the last decade. Over the next ten years, Xi Jinping could be the man to double that change.
Comment 7
what has come of the paralympic paradox? Jonjo Brady Students With Disabilities Officer
WITH the third annual Disabled History Month just beginning, lasting from 22nd November to 22nd December, what better time to evaluate this year’s fluctuating attitudes to disabled people? Amid the excitement of British Gold medals and broken world records at this year’s Paralympics, the mention of the more flawed everyday world, outside the arenas, had become a notable taboo. At the time, there was a clear reluctance amongst officials to sour the joyous atmosphere by referring to the Paralympic paradox – the difficulty of reconciling the incredible excitement around the Games, which has portrayed Britain globally as a platform where positive attitudes to disability flourish, and the bleaker reality for disabled individuals in light of the rigorous cutbacks to follow. Now, just a few months on, it is rather easy to see how we have been duped into thinking that this ‘utopian fantasy’ of accessibility and inclusion was a longlasting affair. Over half a million people are now missing out on vital support as the Government scraps Disabled Living Allowance (DLA), and hundreds of thousands of families are affected by the arbitrary cuts imposed on those too ill or disabled to work. As the 12-month time limit on contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) takes effect, the juxtaposition with the Paralympian vision of what it is like to live in a
Image taken from disabilityhorizons.com
genuinely accessible and all-embracing society seems as stark as if it had been ripped out of the Matrix. As many outstanding Paralympians, including Oscar Pistorius and Tom Aggar, captured the hearts and minds of the nation, most of us were sincerely hopeful that this would be the beginning of a dramatic change in people’s perception of disability and a breakdown of the barriers between disabled people and those able bodied. Yet around the same time the number of recorded incidents of disability hate crime in England and Wales had grown to its highest since records began. A survey on public attitudes conducted just a week after the Games revealed plummeting levels of support for benefits for disabled people who cannot or do not work. Let’s try and think of a demographic of disabled individuals who do not work - Paralympians perhaps?
The Paralympics appeared to have done a spectacular job of ‘glossing over the cracks’ in this sense. What the public hadn’t seemed to realise was that the Paralympians are also completely reliant on disability benefits. Just because they are superfit athletes, does not mean that they do not have mobility and care needs in their day-to-day lives. Even more unsettling, the key sponsor of the Paralympics was, of course, Atos – the firm contracted by the Department of Work and Pensions to carry out reportedly unfair, disproportionate and stressful assessments for a range of those claiming disability benefits, including ESA, DLA, Incapacity Benefit, and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Hypocritical much? Now we have to wonder whether this was a typical and complete oversight by the bumbling mess of people in charge, or maybe a more devilish plot to shift
attention away from the substantial criticism Atos was taking from all sides of the playing field. I’m not trying to diminish the success and impact of the Paralympic Games in itself. For the first time in years it did seem as though England had been united in rooting for something positive and worthy. I’m not trying to suggest that the Games were some elaborate conspiracy to defer people’s attention from the issues that we are going to have to face. What I am suggesting is that the high we developed from the Paralympic bubble has now well and truly been popped, and that the reality we are heading towards is one that we should all be concerned about. Hopefully, this year’s Disabled History Month will see us taking the opportunity to focus on what needs to be done, to promote the equality and understanding that we still seem to lack.
squats the problem with changes to the law?
Layla Haidrani SINCE 1st September 2012, it has been a criminal offence to squat in homes and residential buildings in England and Wales. With the maximum penalty set at a £5,000 fine or six months in jail, ministers argue that this new offence will protect people who own residential buildings such as landlords, local authorities or homeowners. Campaigners have argued that this new law criminalises vulnerable people and could lead to a vast increase in rough sleepers. Catherine Brogan, a spokesperson for Squatters Action for Secure Housing, has argued that “it is a waste of taxpayer’s money to evict vulnerable people”. Squatting has been a controversial issue
in the UK for decades, with homeowners viewing it as a form of theft; stealing housing from homeowners. This is the view adopted by the government, with Justice Minister Crispin Blunt arguing that “for too long squatters have had the justice system on the run, and have caused homeowners untold misery in eviction, repair and clean-up costs… Not any more. Hard-working homeowners need and deserve a justice system where their rights come first.” It appears that the squatting laws in Canterbury have not had a visible effect on homelessness. Terry Gore, spokesman for Canterbury-based charity Catching Lives, who work to support the homeless, vulnerable and destitute, stated that “there is no discernible effect on our clients, as there has never been a great deal of squatting in Canterbury - because almost all of the surplus residential property is rented to students and does not remain vacant for very long.” Although it has not had a noticeable effect in Canterbury, it has reportedly had greater repercussions in the rest of
the UK, giving way to calls for the law to be discontinued. Homeless people are vulnerable and if they are being criminalised by this measure then they face impending stigma and further problems. It is an utter disgrace that there are 950,000 empty houses across the UK, with 350,000 having been vacant for six months or more, according to Empty Houses, a charity aiming to restore houses for residential use. When there are vast numbers of rough and vulnerable sleepers, these empty houses could be used to house families. With the Conservative party increasing cuts and removing jobs, there has been a large increase in homelessness. Instead of the government outlawing squatters, there should be more options available to get rough sleepers into work and accommodation, but it seems there is no stopping the Tory party. George Osborne’s plans to cut the under-25s housing benefit will have a severe impact on young people, and will undoubtedly increase youth homelessness. What needs to be done to sort out the problem is for the government and local councils
to tackle the housing crisis, not to criminalise some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Above: An Amnesty International poster hinting at the criminalisation of homeless people. Left: Sleeping rough. Image taken from robertfagan.com
8
Editorial & Interview
the real editorial - editor of i shares pearls of wisdom Newspaper Entertainment Editor, Chad Greggor, speaks to i Editor Stefano Hatfield about how to become an editor, what set him apart from the others once he’d left university and about the future of journalism to come ahead of the i Quiz held in Mungos on the 27th November 2012, at 7:30pm... How did you get into journalism as a career? My first job was as editorial assistant on a magazine called Restaurant Business ( a trade mag, now no longer with us). I had seen an ad in the Monday Media Guardian and applied. Out of 100 I got to the last two and was hired because the editor needed a male to escort her to black tie dinners. I had a degree in English from Exeter, which was fine, but so did everyone. More importantly, I had edited the University newspaper. What is the importance of local papers for a journalist starting out? You have to get that first job wherever you can. I never worked on one, but those I know who did have a better array of all round skills than most. What’s the best and the worst thing about being an editor? Best thing: pride in the product when you have done a good job and seeing people one has hired / given a chance to shine. Worst? Morning-after editing: going through the paper seeing the mistakes and thinking if only I had done…
Do you think that i is a relevant paper for students? I hope that the ‘concise, quality’ combination at a 20p pricepoint is perfect for students.
i is described as the ‘Essential
Daily Briefing’, but how do you and the team decide what is essential for the paper? Do you ever find yourself conflicted with the decision or frustrated with the length of the paper? If you mean frustrated with the length of i, only when it’s so ram-full of ads that one might wish for more. It is our pledge that we will be concise and it is up to us to honour that pledge without losing quality. How do we decide? Just like everywhere else. We chat about the news stories at conference, and choose our favourites and then I have the casting vote on any disagreements.
copy-editing or writing as much as possible? You just have to get in and get working What do you think the future of print journalism will be considering the popularity of news websites? There will be a niche at least for the next decade or maybe two. It will be a declining niche - other than perhaps the free papers. i is a small blip in the opposite direction to the trend. Anyone who says they know better beyond then is deluded. Five years ago there were no iPads, ten years ago phones were not smart, 15 years ago everyone thought you could make profits through ads on the internet. Technology is the biggest driving force.
What, as an editor, do you spend the most time doing for the paper? Deciding on what goes in the paper and in what order of significance.
Does i offer work experience opportunities? If so, what sort of opportunities are they and how can someone get a place? Charlie.cooper@independent.co.uk – we are booked up for months.
If someone wanted to become an editor, what would you suggest is the best route: learning the art of
What is next for i? Do you have any new innovations in mind after the success of the opinion matrix /
p.2 trivia segment? Sounds a cliché but it is going to be evolution not revolution. The product is so young (two years) – we have not even got close to the number of people who could try it. It needs to be consistent so that new readers know where they are with it.
trashion: is it artistic or just plain rubbish? Natalie Tipping Newspaper Features Editor
MAKING fashion from rubbish is not exactly a new phenomenon. In the 1980s, Bros fans were known for adorning their shoes with beer bottle caps, and all you have to do to create a new necklace is poke a hole in a coke lid and attach a chain. Apparently ‘Trashion’ is a form of ‘found-art’ – basically, you find something that would have otherwise been thrown out, and you make art out of it....but is this art, or does it take scrimping and saving to a whole new level? In recent years, there appears to have been a shift towards using just about anything to make clothes from, with some disastrous results. In early 2011, American teenager Tara Frey made the national news after her mother created a prom dress which was entirely made out of sweet wrappers. While Tara didn’t have to worry about showing up in the same dress as anyone else, you have to question which you
would rather do; let your mum spend six years making a dress out of starburst wrappers for you, or go to the nearest shopping centre and buy off the rack. Just think how much money that family must have spent on Starbursts over the years to get enough wrappers it’s a wonder the dress didn’t have to be twice as big! I can completely relate to the urge to be unique at your prom, having made my own prom dress, but mine was spotty
fabric, not smarties! Although the dress – and matching heels, bag, and even a waistcoat for her date – looked amazing, it would appear from interviews with Tara that by the time her prom came around six years after her mother was first inspired to make the dress, she wasn’t too keen on the idea of wearing it: ‘it’s going to be a little too much attention, but [her mother] worked hard on it’. I must admit though, the dress has inspired many more of its kind – including one amazing example, a ball gown made completely from m&m wrappers! One potentially less expensive way of creating trashion is by using old clothes in a new way. Many people have been known to make clothes out of ties – a concept brought into the public eye in 2010 when it was featured on an episode of The Apprentice. This idea is a personal favourite; the items are aesthetically interesting and require incredible craftsmanship to make. One such incredible craftsman is fashion designer Gary Harvey, who has become popular in recent years for his collection of couture dresses made from
recycled products. Harvey uses all manner of waste products – food packaging, bottle tops, ring-pulls from cans, and even – get this InQuirers – old newspapers! I will leave you with one final example which I’m sure you’ve all seen photos of, Lady Gaga’s meat dress. Gaga stunned fans and critics alike when she stepped out onto the red carpet of the 2010 Video Music Awards. Although being named as the ‘Top Fashion Statement’ of 2010 by the Times, I wonder whether Gaga was actually making a statement about anything in particular, or simply trying to get her name on the front page of every paper. Sell a few more albums, walk through a slaughterhouse... Some would say that the idea of Trashion comes from a want to create something beautiful from limited resources. I would personally prefer to leave the meat in the fridge and buy something from H&M. My personal favourite has to be dresses made from old newspapers though. Imagine a dress made from old copies of InQuire. Maybe I should make one from the Features section for the Student Media Awards later this year...
AD_114080_Kent_PG_Inquire_v1_1/2 page 21/11/2012 09:58 Page 1
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IQ As the winter blues kick in, essays pile up and early Christmas preparations begin, it’s hard to stay on top of things at the University of Kent. In this weeks IQ, there are plenty of alternative things to read, cook, attend, watch and listen to. Check out the new feature My Life in Books, the best films of 2012 and debate on whether you think art prices are getting ridiculously high. I leave you here with a cheeky hotseat interview with one of my now favourite comedians, Hardeep Singh Kohli, and a winter warming competition to win tickets to the Christmas Panto.
HARDEEP HOTSEAT Do you like Haggis? Do I like what? I thought you said shaggin’, it wasn’t really the sort of question I was expecting. I do quite like shagging... I love Haggis. I’d also like shaggin’ and haggis together. One thing you’d take to India with you? Nothing particularly, you get more in India than you get here! What’s your favourite Takeaway order seeing as it’s the name of your show? I don’t really do takeaways. I do them for the show; I don’t do them as my life you know. Bollywood or Hollywood? Umm... Neither.
Enjoy! Chandni Makhecha IQ Editor
competition This issue’s prize is four tickets to go and see the Christmas Panto ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at the Marlowe Theatre. Not only will you get tickets to the show but you will also receive four ice-creams and a programme! For a chance to win, answer this question: In the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty, what is the Villain’s name? a) Ursula b) Maleficent c) Evil Queen Email your answer to iq.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk
Punjab or Scotland? Oh god you’re asking really annoying questions! You can’t make me choose that, you can’t make me choose. BOTH! Chicken or Paneer (Indian Style Cheese)? Oohhh Paneer. Cameron or Boris? Boris. Eating or Sleeping? Sleeping... Haggis or Shagging. Come on - the next one. If there were three ingredients that you would take to a desert island, what would they be? Well I wouldn’t take salt, because you could get salt out of the water from the sea. I’d probably take chillies, branston pickle and a really good cheese! You can read the full interview on: www.inquirelive.co.uk
IQ Features 11
your thoughts:inquire letters page Is there something that goes on on campus that really gets your goat? Do you struggle to find space in the library, or get to the tills in Essentials, only to find out that, yet again, you don’t have enough money? Here’s what’s annoying students this week.... Ryan English Language Student Is it just me, or is it impossible to find a computer in the library? Despite the fact that there appears to be more study areas than students, every time I go in there to do some work, I can’t find any space at all to do it. Trust me, sitting yourself down in between the bookshelves isn’t comfortable, particularly when you manage to pick a really busy spot in the corner of level 3 West. I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old git either - I am in my third year after all - but why are people always sat chatting in the silent study areas? If you’ve got a presentation to do, find a space in the open study area. I suppose I can’t be too snarky about it though. It’s not like there are any seats anyway...
If you want to write in to InQuire and have your say, email Nat, the Features Editor, at newspaper.features@ inquiremedia.co.uk
Sophie Maths Student If there’s one thing that really gets my blood-boiling, it’s people who don’t do the household chores properly. It’s not just me being overly houseproud, it’s also to do with hygiene, and general safety. If you say you’re going to do the washing up, do the washing up. If you say you’re going to hoover, hoover. Oh, you’re going to mop are you?
Then MOP. The worst thing is when they actually do their jobs, but then they haven’t done it properly, so you have to try to think of a polite way of asking them to do it again. That never goes down well, especially with my male housemates, who are far too busy playing the new Halo game to come and clean up. It’s fine, I’ll just do it all, it is a ‘woman’s job’ after all isn’t it?
Jamie Biochemistry Student What many students at this university seem to fail to realise is the debilitating effect that their actions can have upon the environment. Yeah, the university has a policy by which you can’t drive your car up to campus if you live within a certain distance due to fumes, but they don’t seem to be doing much about the other environmental hazards around campus. Many students drop litter everyday, despite the fact that there are bins EVERYWHERE. The rubbish isn’t going to melt your hand off if you hold it for an extra minute after finishing whatever it was covering. Just walk to a bin, and shove it in there. Better yet, if it’s recyclable, put it in the recycling bin. Do the planet a favour, go green!
Abby Law Student I’m not religious, but so many of my friends go on about how nobody should believe in a God, how it’s a stupid idea, how it’s completely out-dated, and it got me thinking. If people who are religious don’t try to preach to you about conversion, what makes you have the right to preach to them about the non-existence of God?
Andy Computer Science Student I often find that as a Computer Science student, people think that I’m a complete geek - they think I’ll know everything about computers and will be able to fix any problem they might be having. Are all French students fluent in
Emily French Student Personally, the one thing that gets me rattled on campus is the sheer amount of money I spend on a weekly basis in Essentials. No wonder they could afford to have a massive refurb over the summer, I think I paid for it! Granted, some things aren’t too expensive - you’ll pay around £1.30 anywhere for a small bottle of coke these days - but 7p for a sachet of sauce! How can they justify it? The frozen food is an absolute joke as well, £2.50 for four frozen pies, which you think is almost a bargain, until you get them home and realise you’ve basically paid £2.50 for four frozen bits of pastry, there’s no filling in there whatsoever. I understand that the producer is probably to blame for this, but the price is all on them. I just feel sorry for the first years who are paying an absolute fortune to be here, only to be robbed by their own campus shop. French? Can English Literature students quote the entire works of Shakespeare? Why is it that certain degree courses have raging stereotypes attached to them, whilst others are seen as completely ‘normal’ subjects. A degree is a degree after all...
inquire puzzles: sudoku Easy
Medium
Sudoku Complete the grid with numbers 1-9, so that each number does not appear more than once in each 3x3 box, column or row. Good luck!
12
IQ Features
my life in books...
Everyone undoubtedly has childhood memories of reading them bed time stories. Reading and writing are an intrinsic part of many people’s lives, shaping your view on the world. What’s your favourite childhood/teenage/adult book? What’s the best book you were forced to study, but loved? A couple of InQuirers let us know.... Alissa Mesibov
Best childhood book: The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson I have always been a dreamer. It is no wonder that I loved the story of the mermaid princess who dreams of a faraway place, above the sea. In my case, I dreamt of escaping New Jersey for England. The little mermaid watches the Prince marry another woman and is forced into 300 years of slavery - Disney changed the ending a bit. Best book of my teen years: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn I swear, Rachel Cohn, who wrote the “Norah” chapters, spied on me in high school. Norah is a New Jersey Jewish daughter of a niche famous father, and she escapes her small town on the weekends for nearby New York City. Welcome to my teenage years. Jersey girl? Check. Jewish? I have the embarrassing Bat Mitzvah photos to prove it. Niche famous parent? My stepdad is well-known in sports broadcasting, while Norah’s father is a music producer. New York bound? That was me most weekends.
Though Cohn promised at a book signing that she was not my secret stalker, I still have my doubts. Book I learned the most from: The Help by Kathryn Stockett When I first started journalistic writing, I was more than driven. It served me well most of the time. Then, I wrote an article that got one of my sources into trouble. I really wish I had read Stockett’s novel about a young white journalist who writes about the black maids and nannies in her town before I wrote that article. Skeeter, the aforementioned journalist, makes the same mistake. Like Skeeter, I had to learn it the hard way. Best school required reading: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare No piece of writing has had a greater influence on my life than Shakespeare’s comedy about love and magic, and the ensuing insanity that results from that union. The escapist plot, the beautiful language and the incredible characters drew me in, and have never let me back out.
Emma Shelton
My favourite childhood book: The Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. My favourite teen book: All ‘The Roman Mysteries’ books by Caroline Lawrence. Personally, having had the chance to meet the author definitely accentuated my enjoyment of the series. A book that taught me something: Go ask Alice. This was one of the most disturbing books I have ever read, concerning the life of drugs and addictions. It was said to have been a true story which was even more heart breaking at the time. In recent years, Beatrice Sparks an American psychologist admitted to having written it, basing it nevertheless on true events. My interpretation has therefore changed but it remains a powerful testimony of a drug addict that I would recommend. My favourite poem: How do I love thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
My favourite Shakespeare play: Twelfth Night. A book that I dreaded studying and ended up loving: La Peau de Chagrin (The Wild Ass’ skin) by Honore de Balzac. This book in my eye is a masterpiece. The lengthy and dense descriptions that would make anyone normal run a mile, brought out the nerd in me and gripped me instantly. The first book that made me cry: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I may have been too young when I read this, as the author deals with some really tough issues concerning a sister’s body being used for her older sibling suffering from leukaemia. This may perhaps explain my sudden emotional outburst. It’s a touching story nonetheless that may not belong to the ‘great classics’ but is worth reading. A recent book I would recommend: Room by Emma Donoghue. This is a truly original book looking at a woman’s kidnap through the eyes of her illegitimate five-year-old son.
ford madox ford: the good soldier review Gabriela Olmos “This is the saddest story I have ever heard”
Originally titled The Saddest Story, Ford Madox Ford jokingly changed the title to The Good Soldier, fearing that the original title would put readers off. Born in Surrey in 1873, being son to a German father and an English mother inspired him to set the majority of his novel in both Germany and England. It also created great emphasis on the theme of identity, due to the fact that he fought in World War I as a British soldier whilst possessing a German name. Following the novels success it was then adapted for television in 1981 and in 2012 Tom Stoppard chose four of Ford’s related novels, one being The Good Soldier, to create another television adaptation which was aired earlier this year on BBC2.
The Good Soldier starts slowly, a few chapters in, the plot of the novel is not entirely clear, as the story develops through accounts that constantly change from the past to the present, not providing a linear story. The plot follows the experiences shared by two couples; one American, the other English, who happen to meet at a German spa resort. It is through these experiences that we start to realise that not everything is as it seems and that there are deep rooted secrets hidden from both the characters and the reader. This novel narrates a story which breaks all of society’s conventions and meddles with concepts such as suicide, seduction, debauchery, morality, religion and virtue. In some ways it is a very modern novel through which we can transfer and relate many of its themes to our society. In other aspects, such as the way in which the
role of women is depicted, it may not seem that forward thinking, which at times proved to be very frustrating. Leaving this aside, the novel lures you into questioning the notion of love and the many shapes and forms in which it can be manifested. It also questions the way in which people are perceived and how their actions can change these perceptions and impact our understanding of them, and the world around us. Most importantly it concludes with the idea that “society does not need individuals with touches of madness about them” as only the perfectly normal types tend to survive. This may be one reason why this is the saddest story ever told, as society ensures that we all adhere to its norms and those who do not become outcasts simply cease to exist.
IQ Features 13
SPOTTED! CAMPUS STREET STYLE Olly wears: Jacket: House of Fraser Jumper: Topman Shoes: Timberland Jeans: Diesel
Natasha wears: Coat: Topshop Shoes: Next Trousers: H&M
Jennifer wears: Jumper: New Look Shoes and Leggings: Urban Outfitters Necklace: River Island
& events The Venue Friday 23rd November Addicted to Bass
Matt wears: Jumper: Primark Shoes: Topman
Saturday 24th November SOAP! Donut Buffet Wednesday 28th November FLIRT! Where’s Wally?
Sian wears: Blouse: Zara Coat: ASOS Shoes: New Look Jeans: River Island
Philly wears: Jacket: Zara Shirt: Jack Wills Shoes: Cinti
Bingnan Liu wears: Bag and Shirt: River Island Jumper and Chinos: Topshop
Friday 30th November HedKandi Saturday 1st December The Snow Ball
The Attic Tuesday 27th November Comedy Central Wednesday 28th November Hispanic Society Takeover Thursday 29th November The BIG International Night Out #2
Woody’s Saturday 24th November Woody’s Quiz
Tom wears: Jumper: Asos Jeans: Topman Bag: Retro
Joshi wears: Jacket: Pepe Jeans Scarf: Zara Bag: Vintage - Dad’s
Monday 26th November Woody’s Pool Competition Tuesday 27th November Gourmet Burger Night Thursday 29th November Karaoke Night
14
IQ Features
the great british food revival James Rowen Photography by Daniel Barnby
‘Buy British.’ You see it so often on packs of fruit and vegetables, in markets and in supermarkets. Now, for a third series of the BBC’s ‘The Great British Food Revival,’ celebrity chefs are reviving some of those British foods that are disappearing. In each episode of the series, two chefs talk about their own particular passion when it comes to British produce. In one recent episode, Clarissa Dickson-Wright argued the case for eating British rabbit - casserole, anyone? The series is important for a number of reasons. The first is that the chefs in question are always creating mouthwatering recipes that are surprisingly cheap - a combination bound to appeal to fellow students on tight budgets. Secondly, each program explains where you can buy all the wonderful goodies. Farm shops are championed, as well as the local co-operative stores. We have our own farmer’s market in Canterbury, The Goods Shed. When I’ve asked people about it however, they have either never heard
of it, or have never been there. People tend to think that farmers’ markets are attended by the posh and privileged - I call this stereotype the “Two Ps.” The fact is, however, that most of the things found there are from local growers, and they cost less than buying from Sainsbury’s. Which, ironically, has opened a new branch all of 500 metres away from the market. Most of the produce is seasonal too - new season wet garlic in summer, squashes and game in autumn, brussels sprouts and gigantic turkeys in winter. Every single person working there has an idea about what should go with what - the amount of time I’ve wasted discussing which wine would go with that meat, what herbs I should put with it, which variety of potato... it really is food heaven. And the best thing is that it makes food shopping cool and quite fun. Most of this produce is disappearing fast. Our obsession for cheap food, with low welfare standards, from around the world, is driving British farmers out of business. That, to me, is the saddest thing, and the reason why we should all be buying British. We should be proud of our food
heritage, it doesn’t make you rightwing, just because you’re proud of your country. I spent some time in Italy over the summer and all the food I ate - in the restaurants and bars, on board our boat - came from the local area, and it all tasted delicious. There’s something magical about eating something in season, when it’s just ripe, or matured to perfection. The aroma, the taste - it’s extraordinary.
Come on lads and lassies; let’s start supporting our local growers. We all like a revolution, and I believe this one is worth it. After all, if we keep ourselves happy and healthy, and help local growers, that has to be a good thing. Remember, The Goods Shed is just down the road, the next building after Canterbury West train station - I’m down there a couple of times a week. See you there....
things to do with: meatballs Fed up of the same old spaghetti and meatballs for your dinner? Patrique Tanque gives us some new ideas to spice up an old classic....
Basic meatball recipe: 500g minced meat (any meat of your choice) 1 grated (or finely diced) onion 1 yolk Around 100g breadcrumbs Salt and spices to taste
When choosing the meat, do avoid extra lean varieties, as the fat will help your meatballs to stay in shape. Also, you can be creative - I’ve never made meatballs with lamb mince, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work just as well. As for the spices, this is when it gets interesting. It’s the time for you to create your own special meatball recipe. You can add a wide range of things, such as fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, chives), black pepper, Chinese five spice, paprika, curry powder, cumin powder, nutmeg, a dollop of HP sauce, BBQ sauce or English mustard... just be careful not to overdo them, or your meatballs might end up tasting too rich. I normally use just two or three spices. Making meatballs is really simple: put
the ingredients in a big bowl, leaving the breadcrumbs for last, and mix them using your hands. When your mixture has come together, add the breadcrumbs in small portions, mixing them in as you go. You will have added enough breadcrumbs when you can roll this batter into a ball and it doesn’t fall apart. Now comes the fun bit! Grab a dash of
the mix, press it in between your hands and roll it into a ball. Try not to make them too big or too small (around the size of a ping-pong ball). Once you’ve rolled them all up, you can do two things: freeze them or cook them. To freeze, place the meatballs on a flat tray - don’t stack them up just yet, because they will merge and form one giant meatball. You can put them in a plastic
box after they are completely frozen. Use them within one month. If you’re cooking them, fry them in a pan with a little bit of oil, turning them around so they will cook evenly. Great, now your meatballs are done, and you’re excited to eat them. You’ve already put some water on to boil for your pasta, right? I suppose you can be traditional and do that, but I have some ideas to steer away from the obvious: -Line the bottom of an oven dish with potato mash, stick your meatballs on it and cover the whole thing with a tin of chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce. Finish with some grated cheese on top. Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes if you used fresh meatballs, or for 40 minutes if you used frozen ones. -Add cooked meatballs to a soup of your choice (this works really well with tomato). It’s a nice way to add some flavour to the dish, and makes it a bit more filling as well. -When shaping your meatballs, make them flat instead of round and you’ve got yourself a burger patty! Treat it the same way you usually would: fry them fresh or freeze them.
IQ Features 15
the lipsticks of the moment Rebecca Jackson
There are three essential things that make women look and feel beautiful: 1. A great eyebrow shape which frames your whole face. 2. A classic manicure which subtly speaks volumes about paying attention to detail. 3. Owning a great lipstick. I cannot argue enough the importance of this final point, there is nothing sexier than a good painted lip. With lipstick being a vital part of the final touches of any show stopping look, it only seems right to know the best on the high street. L’Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick Suggested Shade: 501 Nude Ingenue (£7.99)
Smoky dark eyes are everywhere, and the golden rule behind this look is to keep the lips nude. This ensures you don’t look like you’ve face planted a makeup bag. Looking for the perfect nude shade turned out to be a bigger task than I could have ever anticipated but finally I found this one. It didn’t resemble concealer, leave my lips cracked or make them look ‘cakey’; I could not have loved a lipstick more. It
feels like a lip balm, creates a healthy looking sheen and is a stunning nude shade with a hint of bronze. Invest in this now; it’s a timeless shade you will enjoy wearing every time. Born Lippy Stick Lip Balm Suggested Shade: Pomegranate (£3.00, exclusive to The Body Shop)
As Winter makes an unwelcome return, the weather can play havoc with your lips and skin, so a great tinted lip balm recommendation had to be this little gem. Giving a touch of rouge to your lips, it enriches your natural shade immensely without being obvious that you’ve got anything on. This non-sticky formula keeps lips conditioned and cracks and dry skin at bay for hours without having to reapply and requires very little application. Not to mention, it smells great and is sold at an unbeatable bargain price! Rimmel Moisture Renew Suggested Shade: 500 Diva Red (£6. 29)
If you only own one lipstick, ensure it’s a red one; it’s a shade that will never go out of fashion. Worn notoriously by fashion’s biggest icons from Marilyn
Monroe to Rita Ora, there is a shade of red for every skin tone and hair colour. Diva Red is a deep rich red that looks outstanding against a pale complexion and suits all hair colours, including red heads that may worry their hair will clash with the shade. The pigmentation in this lipstick is fantastic, making it exceptionally long lasting, perfect for a night out when you don’t want to spend half the night reapplying! MAC Lipstick Suggested Shade: Lickable (£14.00)
Bold, bright, and beautiful; this is the most wanted shade of pink in MAC’s collection, after trying them all out. MAC lipsticks have rave reviews, and certainly live up to the hype. The texture is just perfect, creamy without being greasy and not so matte that you’re left with cracked dry lips, spot on! Keep the rest of your make up toned down and neutral for this statement shade. So there we have it, four gorgeous lipsticks to treat yourself to. A smile is so attractive; make yours have that extra wow factor by wearing an eyecatching shade of lipstick.
francophone society present: french fashion
Charlotte Kearns Robert Wilcock
It is written into the DNA of one of the most romanticised countries on the planet that France lives and breathes fashion. Although considered a somewhat stereotypical image of this culturally rich country, the beauty and history of the French fashion industry is undeniable. Whether considering the artistry of Haute Couture, literally ‘high sewing’ in English; or the transitory nature of Prêt-a-Porter, ready-to-wear, France has a tradition of manufacturing some of the most recognised fashion brands on the planets. But beyond branding and marketing, France has remained at the forefront of the emancipation of women, especially when we consider the designing deity that was Gabrielle Chanel: she liberated women from the shackles of corsets and created timeless black dresses, a staple in any woman’s wardrobe. Then we consider Yves Saint Laurent and how his perfectly tailored tuxedos led to women being banned from restaurants in 1960s for their daring
difference. It was the aim of the Francophone society to recreate the visions of some of France’s most famous designers at our Trash Fashion night. Given the designer brief and a selection of trash, the teams created their masterpieces before a short runway show that followed. There were some amazing creations – maybe some future Jean Paul Gaultiers or Christian Diors? Who knows… The Trash Fashion event started with a talk which gave a great insight into the world of French fashion and how it has developed over the years. This was a great starting point and a source of inspiration for our trash fashion creations, as well as the sheets which were provided showing various images of French designs. In our group, we had chosen to create a design based on Yves Saint Laurent’s creations. We used various materials such as a clear coloured plastic bad for the base of the dress, as well as coloured card for the accessories and newspaper to make the iconic fan decorations.
We then had a light-hearted fashion show in order to present our creations. Not only did the evening open my eyes to the importance of fashion and how much of an influence it has in our everyday lives, but it also was a lot of fun and was a great way to make new friends.
THE FASHION ROUND UP Amelia Bundred A Valentino exhibition will show at Somerset House later this month. The exhibition will pay tribute mainly to the designer’s couture ball gown collections. Valentino Master of Couture will run from November 29th – March 3rd, a preview of the exhibition can be found on www.vogue.co.uk
Stella McCartney picked up an award for the British Designer of the Year earlier this month at the Harpers Bazaar women of the year awards. Agyness Deyn has teamed up with boot icons Dr Marten for a new Spring/Summer 13 collection. With a new shape and some more daring colour shades, Deyn and Marten are sure to meet success come next year. To view some sneak peek pictures of the collection see stylelight.com, where a preview of Danielle Nicole and Tabitha London’s Spring/Summer bag collections are also available.
World of Interiors is set, for the first time, to showcase an issue dedicated to fashion, opening us into the homes of Christopher Bailey, Donatella Versace and Nicolas Ghesquiere, to name a few. The magazine wanted to stage the relationship that fashion has with interiors and the designers to interpret the project in their own diverse ways. Other designers partaking are Vivienne Westwood, Giorgio Armani, Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier and Sarah Burton. The December Fashion issue is on sale now.
16
IQ Entertainment
Music
king charles and his court
albums in brief
One Direction Take Me Home
Max Harvey Daniels
Not many UKC students will know of The Lounge, but it is in this particular bar that CoCo and the Butterfields and King Charles performed on Thursday night, the 15th November. From the outside The Lounge (located near Chill) looks like a function room at a hotel but, as soon as you enter the double doors you find yourself in something like the love-child of K-Bar and The Attic and you know what? It works. On the far side there is a long bar, and seating is available focusing towards the stage which takes precedence over the entire room. People all danced to the pre-recorded music whilst waiting for CoCo and the Butterfields. When the band came on the crowd roared as they began to play their set. I was not expecting much from Coco et al but after their first song, I realised
how talented they were. Aside from the lead vocals which were pitch perfect, the greatest reaction was for the beat-boxer, who gave some amazing originality to the band. If I were being picky, I preferred CoCo’s covers over their own works, mainly because they brought such uniqueness to the songs that their own works seemed a bit lacking. Halfway through CoCo’s set, a thin man in dreadlocks came in and stood behind me; he had a rather peculiar moustache (though it is Movember) and began dancing with a group of friends. It was no surprise to me that this man was King Charles himself. It was really nice to see the main act enjoying the music he was leading on from. People who recognised his Majesty came up to him with nervous excitement. He was more than happy to dance with them along with the rest of the Royal Court.
After a short break, the main act came on stage. King Charles and his band took their stance and begun their songs. The band played the hits: Bam Bam and Mississipi Isabel were two main ones, but I also expected some new stuff and King Charles delivered. I felt the structure of his set was extremely well thought through, with more well known songs at the beginning, heavier songs in the middle that made everyone dance and a few new tunes that gauged the public’s opinion. The climactic moment was a drawn out jam to King Charles own updated version of We didn’t Start the Fire, which saw the man himself almost engulfed in the crowd. Overall it was a great night with much enjoyment and great music. For a review of Dog is Dead at The Attic, please visit www. inquirelive.co.uk/entertainment
‘my friend’s band’: the frescaders George Hopkin Website Sport Editor
You might have heard of The
Frescaders. When I first heard about the band, it was through a friend of mine who shared a first year English Literature seminar with me. That friend happened to be the lead singer and songwriter of the four-piece alternative rock band: Joe Ismail. The first time I saw the group live, it was at the finals of Keynestock, on the 26th May. Joe and his bandmates Sam Gibbins, Jack Kemp, and Jake Brooker, inspired by modern rock bands Oasis, The Arctic Monkeys, and The Strokes, played to a healthy audience in Keynes. Although they didn’t win the annual competition, it seemed to be something
of a kick-start to their early career – a career that only started back in November 2011 after the band members assembled in their first term of university life and hit the ground running on the 5th of January with a show at Scream Lounge, Croydon. Having already released an early EP, the SkyHigh Radio Unsigned Act of 2012 continued to play gigs over the summer and came back to Canterbury
in September to support Man Like Me at a Welcome Week event in The Attic. Songs they performed included the catchy and light-hearted Salley-Anne, the more punchy What A Comment! – a track inspired by The Libertines - and The Lights Were Given As A Medal To Shine On You: my personal favourite; an easy-going, quirky tune that I always encourage Joe to play. As for the future, the band plans to record some new songs, get themselves more widely known, and just genuinely finish their university degrees. I’m tipping them for good success though, so watch this space. For more info about The Frescaders, and a sample of their music, check out their facebook page at www.facebook.com/ thefrescaders
One Direction’s second album, Take Me Home, follows last year’s success with Up All Night. Eagerly anticipated by millions of fans across the globe - and coincidently one of the worst things to happen in my life since my pet hamster Charlie died - the inescapable lack of lyrical depth and the infantile melodies make it one of the most musically vapid things I have ever heard. It is, however, very catchy. Like Measles. Joel Tennant
Tall Ships Everything Touching
Tall Ships’ debut comes like an infectious mix of The XX’s crescendo-harmonies, Two Door Cinema Club’s catchy guitar riffs and Foals’ calculated rhythms. There is a slightly over-polished feel, lacking some raw energy at points where it could be needed. ET flows nicely, but never really peaks as much as it could, leaving a warm, but not electric, feeling. Overall, definitely worth a purchase, and a solid debut from a very promising band. Matthew Jarvis
Lana Del Rey Paradise
Paradise is the third EP from Lana Del Rey, released alongside her debut Born to Die in a reissued boxset earlier this week. Containing eight new tracks, the EP is less heavily produced than the sound of Born to Die. The set has some shining stars, like the stripped back cover of 50s classic Blue Velvet. Altogether the record is a much greater exploration of Del Rey as a singer, creating a fuller effort all round with a stoic, haunting tone. Jenny Stalker
Deftones - Koi No Yokan Koi No Yokan may mean the sensation of love at first sight in Japanese, but Deftones have not mellowed with age. The album gets heavier as the band storms through to the devastating high of lead single Leathers. Deftones’ blend of crushing riffs and soaring ambience has rarely sounded more vibrant. Matthew Gilley
IQ Entertainment 17
music, theatre & tv
chicago at marlowe theatre
Photo by Hugo Glendinning
Jonathan Easton
One of the most successful West-End revivals of the past 20 years made its way to the Marlowe last week in the form of Chicago. Taking place in 1920s, the show is the tale of Roxie Hart who murders her ex-lover and attempts to become a celebrity criminal. While it might sound as though this is a subject matter that shouldn’t particularly work as a musical, it somehow does.
What sets Chicago apart is its staging. Richard Gere. Gere plays Flynn as a For starters, rather than there being likable character who, despite how a blank stage where sets would be much he mentions it, never really seems introduced, the show takes the form of like a bad person. Booth, however, a vaudeville performance with the band shows a much darker light to the on stage in a smaller set. character, providing less of the cheeky suave of Gere and more of a fascinating The spontaneity of actors bursting lechery probably more in keeping with into song is absent, as each song is the character. introduced by the musical director; the role in this instance was taken up by The trio all sound fantastic. The Adrian Kirk. The setting is one that is so novelty celebrity of the piece was Bernie minimalist, fitting Nolan as Matron “It is easy to into the sleek and ‘Mama’ Morton modern Marlowe compare the show to who, despite have theatre, that the a fantastic voice, the 2002 Academy- lacked the gruff show relies on the Award winning strength of the grittiness that the performances of its show entails. It is a film, but there is stars. minor gripe with an a difference in the otherwise fantastic The leading trio of cast who provided performances.” Ali Bastian (Roxie), just as much of a Stefan Booth (Billy visual spectacle as an auditory one, with Flynn) and Genevieve Nicole (Velma an exhibition of burlesque dancing. Kelly), exceed what is expected of them. All three brought out subtlety Chicago is one of my favourite shows. in characters who have generally been The whole crowd seemed thoroughly played as almost pantomime in the entertained by the affair with not a past. just standing ovation but rapturous applause at the end. If this production It is easy to compare the show to proves anything its that Canterbury’s the 2002 Academy-Award winning own Marlowe theatre is gaining a film, but there is a difference in the reputation for attracting high-quality performances. Most notably is Booth’s touring shows. turn as Flynn, in the film played by
red bull culture clash at wembley Lorcan O’Duffy
Red Bull Culture Clash took over London’s Wembley Arena this month where four music collectives battled against each other to find the One Sound that would rise above the others. Among the contenders were Boy Better Know, Major Lazer, Magnetic Man and Channel One presented by Anie Mac. Home grown grime collective Boy Better Know smashed the decibel meter to be crowned 2012 champion by hosts Tim Westwood and Gemma Cairney. The 12 strong crew including JME, Shorty, Wiley and Skepta brought out special guests Lethal Bizzle and Chip in the final round to see off their competition with specially recorded dubplates and freestyles in front of over 7,000 music fans. Each crew spent months preparing for the bass-driven warfare, carefully selecting their weapons of choice and recording custom-made dubplate specials. The four-round battle saw each soundsystem given a limited time to win over the crowd. The four competing crews pulled
out all the stops on the night. Global megastar Usher jumped on a plane as soon as he’d cast his vote in the US presidential election to join genredefying super-producer Diplo for a once in a lifetime reggae remix of his number one record, Climax. Rita Ora travelled across the city on a motorbike to make a special performance, arriving on stage complete with biker leathers and a crash helmet. Unannounced special guests Katy B and Example performed on the Annie Mac and Magnetic Man stage. Channel One spun a full vinyl set of analogue sounds. Major Lazer brought
Photograph by Red Bull Content Pool
their unique energy from Round 1, Annie Mac mocking Diplo’s Blackberry commercial and Boy Better Know delivering killer speeches to their rivals. With over 100 artists performing across the night, a host of celebrity fans turned out to watch the battle unfold, including BBC Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw, Maverick Sabre, Wretch 32, Yasmin, Oliver Proudlock and Spencer Matthews of Made in Chelsea fame. Red Bull Culture Clash was the first time Wembley Arena had hosted four stages at one event. 270 speakers, nine mixing desks, 14 CDJ mixers and 15 miles of cable were brought in to ensure this was the heaviest party ever held within the arena’s walls. It was massive.
Pick of the week Robert Linton KTV Station Manager Here is KTV’s rundown of the most talked about reality shows on TV from the past few days. The Young Apprentice The Young Apprentice has returned for a third series on the BBC. As ever it is filled with the usual conventions: dramatic views of the London skyline, obscure looks from Nick Hewer and a load of egotistical contestants. Although you can argue that the contestants are chosen for their entertainment factor, it cannot be denied that some of their CVs boast some interesting businesses and skills. Sir Alan Sugar responds well to the young apprentices’ failures: letting them down gently and reflecting on the positives they have. The Apprentice has been criticised of being a dying format, but I believe that as long as Sir Alan is on-board the show has life in it. X-Factor vs Strictly The Saturday night rivalry continues between the two shows, dancing vs. singing and BBC vs ITV. The ratings say that this year Strictly is edging ahead with a massive average of around 10mn viewers each week. The X Factor does have the entertainment and appeals to a younger audience, however some of the song choices and contestants in the show look dated. I feel the lack of constant advertising and a good choice of celebrities has made Strictly more appealing to viewers over the tired X Factor format. Simon Cowell has a lot to do if he wants to save the show this year. I’m a Celebrity Its back! I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! returns for its 12th season after 10 long years of running. On Sunday 11th November, over 10 mn tuned in to see out of work ‘celebrities’ put through their paces to ensure they stay in the limelight. Although it’s easy to criticise the choice of celebrities, it’s safe to say that this is one of the most entertaining shows on TV. The UK seems to love watching famous faces crawl their way through a tunnel of spiders or seeing them eat kangaroo. KTV have loads of projects going on at the moment and if you are interested in creating a show or being a part of a show visit the website www.ktvlive.co.uk. Or if you’re interested in becoming a member email manager@ktvlive.co.uk
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IQ Entertainment
games & film
assassin’s creed iii: roaming frontier Lisa Gheysen
It is the little things in games that make gaming worth while, and it’s these little things that Assassin’s Creed III does right. Part of the Ubisoft franchise for PlayStation 3 (my console) and Xbox 360, this historical open world action-adventure game maintains the same attention to historic detail and dedication to richly rendered graphics that made the previous games so successful. Synchronizing your map on the frontier, while standing on one foot at the top of the tallest snow-covered tree at sunset, is breathtaking. Moving from Italy’s Renaissance period with its magnificent cities, to the wilds and log cabins of the American Revolution also breathes fresh life into the series. Your enemies are no longer of just the human variety, as you can now fight animals such as elk and wolves, using their pelts and teeth to increase the weight of your money pouch. Yet, it is the side missions that truly
make the game. From hunting down a particularly vicious black bear that has been terrorising a village, to bursting the myths of Sasquatch and the Headless Horseman for groups of scared frontiersmen, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has not lost its sense of adventure or its sense of humour. A good thing, too, since aside from a few flickers of personality, the main hero, Connor, has neither Altair’s mystery nor Ezio’s charm. The main storyline fares no better.
The developers have attempted to introduce incentive and tension to the missions, with optional bonuses for things like stealth or completing a certain number of kills by hanging your hapless victims using your rope dart. However, the complaint levelled at the previous games of repetitive ‘go there and kill that guy’ style assignments persists. It is not helped by the long initial tutorial even with its pleasing plot twist at the end. Further, the joy of your character’s
monkey-like parkour of buildings and trees, although simplified in this game, is still marred by the occasional frustrating unplanned leap into the unknown, sometimes resulting in death at the bottom of a cliff or embarrassment at the hands of passing enemies. The stealth mechanics are often unintentionally amusing. I was once hiding in a bush after being spotted when a guard, bumping into me, declared loudly, “he’s pure vanished”. Add to this the ear-bleedingly bad English and Irish accents (I was called a codpiece!), which begin the game as funny and end it as beyond irritating, and Assassin’s Creed III does have some serious problems. Having said this, it’s a meaty game and I spent many a late night roaming the frontier telling myself for the hundredth time that this was my last quest before bed. For a review of Halo 4, please visit www.inquirelive.co.uk/ entertainment
the best films of twenty-twelve events spot Emma Greenacre
Where can you see children fighting it out for survival in a post-apocalyptic setting? A mother transformed into a gigantic bear? Harry Potter milling around an Edwardian town? The answer is in a 2012 cinema; but which films made the list of the best (In my opinion) of the year?
The Avengers DC may have had the Dark Knight on cinema screens across the world, but rival comic company Marvel decided to go one better and shove six of their super heroes into one film, forming The Avengers, Earth’s mightiest, (and often most hilarious!) heroes. There was a risk that such a colossal gathering of heroes could be a little over crowded and cheesy, as they all spout off their designated catchphrases, but quite the opposite happened.
All the characters had sufficient air time and bounced off each other well, from Captain America and Iron Man’s humorous feud to Thor’s sheer confusion at most things that were going on around him. And if all that wasn’t enough, they decided to chuck in a bunch of perfectly over the top action scenes, surrounded by brilliant one liners and in-jokes to keep the Marvel fans happy! Skyfall Not being a massive James Bond fan, (In fact I’ve only watched one other Bond film before and fell asleep during it) I would never have expected to put this in a list of 2012’s best films but I was proven completely wrong after witnessing the spectacular movie that is Skyfall. It was two hours packed to the brim with eccentric action sequences and car chases supported by a strong storyline that was genuinely interesting. Skyfall is in a class of its own. The Dark Knight Rises Christopher Nolan’s most epic trilogy to date had depicted the darker side of the Caped Crusader in a Gotham that was surreal yet entirely believable,
making the Batman films of the past look almost crude. So it was always a question; whether the much anticipated final instalment would it live up to its two predecessors? No one should have doubted Nolan’s genius for an instant, as the incredibly tense, almost uncomfortable storyline accompanied by all the usual Batman gadgets kept you firmly in your seat with no intention to move!
highlights Marlowe Theatre Rusalka – 23rd November Le nozze di Figaro – 24th November
Sleeping Beauty – 30th November-20th January
Gulbenkian T:24 The Tempest by William Shakespeare – 23rd November The Perks of Being a Wallflower – 26th November Midsummer Night’s Dream – 29th November-1st December Berberian Sound Studio – 1st December
The Woman in Black The Woman in Black saw Daniel Radcliffe successfully cast off his Harry Potter typecast by portraying a young lawyer in the midst of a town troubled by a vengeful ghost. The atmospheric shots of an eerily abandoned house, combined with unbearable suspense and fully rounded characters more than paid homage to Susan Hill’s fantastic novel; making this the best British horror film in years.
Imran Yusuf – 2nd December Ballet Theatre UK: A Christmas Carol – 6th December The Master – 7th-9th December
Beercart Arms Magnets + Cosmic Thoughts + Minor Planet – 26th November
Mungo’s iQuiz – 27th November, register your team with iQuizkent@gmail.com
IQ Culture
cultural events calendar Fri 9th Nov - Mon 24th Dec: Christmas Exhibition at Margate Gallery Fri 23rd Nov - Feb 2013: Through The Magic Mirror: The World of Anthony Browne at the Beaney Sat 24th Nov: Craft Club at Turner Contemporary, Margate Tues 27th Nov - Photography Day at Wildwood, near Herne Bay Weds 28th Nov - Tues 11th Dec: Oil Paintings by Kevin Lord at Horsebridge Arts, Whitstable Until 1st Dec: Bainbridge Copnall exhibition at the Beaney, Canterbury Sun 2nd Dec: Herne Bay Collectors’ Fair at King’s Hall Sun 2nd Dec: Tankerton Christmas Market at Whitstable Castle and Gardens
the importance of being earnest
Max Daniels
The Gulbenkian has had many great shows but in my opinion, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is by far the best I’ve seen. The cast from The London Classic Theatre certainly delivered, with some great interaction and fantastic comic timing. If you are not aware of the story, The Importance of Being Earnest follows two men – John and Algernon – who both pretend to be a fictitious man named Earnest in order to marry the women they love. Incidentally, these women have an odd obsession with the name Earnest which stops the two leads telling the truth. Without spoiling things, let’s just say that hilarity ensues when the two women meet, and even more comedy occurs when the men have to confess their secret. Needless to say, the whole story ends in a happy, neat way, and you find yourself smiling at the final pun of the entire play: “You seem to be displaying signs of triviality…On the contrary...I’ve now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of being Earnest.” As it’s an Oscar Wilde play, the dialogue is littered with witticisms, with one of my favourites being “The only way to behave to a woman is to
make love to her if she is pretty, and to someone else if she is plain.” One issue with this is that you can miss so many humorous lines because you’re still laughing at the previous one.
However, The London Classic Theatre really made an effort to give each comment its own place in the play. The only downside to this is that some of the comedy seemed a tad forced – but that’s being pedantic and I try not to
auctions: the art of big money Chris Peel
The art world is defying the economic hardships that most of us are facing as records are made in New York. Over the past couple of weeks, auction houses all over the city have been selling high profile work for almost record sums. Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian artist, broke records when his Studie für Improvisation 8 (1909) sold for $23million. It’s a staggering sum, but what explains it? And is it such a surprise in the world of art? Conor Jordan, Head of Impressionist & Modern Art at leading auction house Christie’s , was cited in a recent Guardian article as saying that the economic downturn has directly led to investors looking for works of art, because it has caused them to turn away from stocks. The stock market is vulnerable and interest rates are low, so you may as well invest in a multi-million dollar piece of art, right? The art work will never lose its value and you’ll have something physical to show for it. That might be so, but money has been having an increasing influence in art for the past decade or so. One of the most significant artists has been Damien Hirst. He is Britain’s wealthiest artist and some would heavily criticise
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him for turning art into business. It’s well known that his spot paintings are made by his assistants and not himself, yet they still attract so much
attention, as well as money. You might argue that this is a critique of the art world itself, but if not, and that’s definitely a matter of opinion, it highlights this obsession
with money and shows that it existed well before the economic downturn. A whole generation of artists have been raised with money being a driving force in art. It is well known in the art world that one of Hirst’s works, For The Love of God, apparently sold for $50 million. However, it was bought by a consortium that included Hirst himself and is largely believed to have been a stunt to try and boost sales of his other works. It may also show that the idea of big money in art is fading. Are people truly willing to pay these excessive prices for art? An extravagant piece of art that just seems to live up to older works, the main attraction of For The Love of God has been the amount of diamonds in it.The New York art auctions may seem to contradict this. Last week’s sales did not meet estimates and some 30% of the pieces available did not sell. This has lead commentators to report the sales as lacklustre. Where there was demand, it was mostly for art from the last century, such as a classic painting of water lilies by Monet, and it came from Russian and Chinese buyers. It may seem a radical proposition, but in the world of art, the influence of money is becoming less and less powerful.
be such. Perhaps the biggest laughs come from the social conditions the cast represent. The laughter that ensued as John and his love Gwendolen share an impassioned glance behind her aunt’s back was simply astounding. The fit of giggles the audience descended into as John and Algernon argued over who ate all the muffins was also a gem. Maybe my most favourite part of the show was the gender power balance the cast, and Wilde, displayed so well. At one point, John and Algernon both proclaim that they will change their names to Earnest in order to marry the women they love – to which the ladies’ respond with the difficulties that men must suffer in order to live. This is then flipped on its head when the same women begin berating their men, and the two males start to look like school boys being told off. Overall, The Importance of Being Earnest is a fantastic show and with joyous acting from The London Classic Theatre. If you have ever wondered why Oscar Wilde has stood the test of time, I recommend you see this play – even if the experience is not to your liking, to quote the man himself: “Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes.”
this week in... 1955: 1st December Rosa Parks’ arrest sparks bus boycott Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white person, breaking Alabama’s segregation laws. five days later, thousands of black residents boycotted bus services in protest. 1961: 4th December Birth control pill available on the NHS For the first time, women are able to receive the contraceptive pill from their GP. 1978: 23rd November Riots at Miss World in Nigeria The Miss World competition is forced to relocate to London after 100 people are killed in rioting in opposition to the show. 1991: 24th November Freddie Mercury passes away The Queen frontman and rock legend dies of bronchio-pneumonia at the age of 45, just one day after publicly announcing he was HIV positive.
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IQ Culture
the art it’s a random penguin affair roundup A Christopher Wallis
Julia Smith looks at the world of portraiture and art prizes.
The Taylor Wessing Photographic
Portrait Prize 2012, though hosted by the prestigious National Portrait Gallery, is a prize with a difference. Large sum of prize money notwithstanding; that’s largely inescapable in the world of visual art. What this accolade has attempted to do (bear with me for a moment) is escape the notion of money and fame by instead simply focusing on the idea of image. The very epitome of contemporary portraiture, the exhibition currently residing in the NPG until February next year is an incredibly strong display of both professional portraiture and spontaneous snapshots.
Recipients of the Prize in recent years have all exuded a sense of ethereal serenity. The 2009 offering was of an adolescent swimmer in a calm condition; and calm doesn’t even come close to describing 2010’s beautiful but bizarre portrait of a teenaged huntress, posing with her magnificent kill straddled across her lap. This innately compelling focus on females hasn’t waned with the winner of the 2012 Prize. Beneficiary of the £12,000 first prize, Jordi Ruiz Ciera’s portrait of a young Bolivian woman is alive with a sense of tension. A forbidden portrait of Mennonite culture, this starkly lit image is beautiful in the face of religious suppression. Of the 5,340 international submissions, just 60 photographs were chosen for exhibition. Photographers were not identified during the selection process, resulting in a wide range of artists exhibiting their work. An intriguing blend of professional, freelance and student work, the Prize presents friends, strangers, artists and even athletes (Olympian Mo Farah makes an appearance, as does artist-slash-activist Ai Weiwei), in a truly successful portrait of, well, portraiture today. For a mere £2 entry fee, it would be a shame to miss this intriguing exhibition.
s an English Literature graduate, my bookshelf is a Rubik’s cube of different genres and tastes, but one dominant theme is that every classic novel will have been published by Penguin Group. The last classic that I read was Austen’s Persuasion, but the publisher’s range extends to the newest James Bondbased book by Sebastian Faulks, Devil May Care. Regardless of how the English Department classifies them, both are published by Penguin and sit well on opposite ends of the shelf. Possibly due to the recession, or possibly out of greed, the Penguin Group has announced a merger with Random House, much to the disgust of competition, but should it really worry us? Rupert Murdoch’s parent company, News Corporation, owns one such competitor, Harper Collins. Murdoch described the deal as a “faux merger disaster”. However, the merger will not necessarily change much in the near future as it will take a few years to emerge fully. The name, Penguin Random House, is not original. However, according to analysts the agreement would allow the new company greater power when dealing with the challenges arising from the growth of electronic books and the
power of Internet retailers. Penguin Random House would be a large competitor in the publishing industry, with an estimated global market share of 25 to 30 percent. While Penguin is an iconic British company, literary agent Carole Blake said: “Eventually there will be less competition and fewer imprints to go to.” Publishers are becoming increasingly concerned about Internet giants like Google, Apple and especially Amazon. To combat this, major publishers have been expected to join together, getting smaller in number and bigger in size. The other four main publishing houses, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette and Simon & Schuster, are all owned by larger media companies. They might now face increased pressure to consolidate in response to a combined
Penguin Random House. John Makinson, the chief executive of Penguin who will serve as chairman of the new company, said that with consolidation inevitable, “we decided it was better to get in early rather than be a follower.” Random House CEO Markus Dohle, who will be CEO of the combined firm, sent a letter to literary agents, reassuring them that the merger was a good thing for them and their clients. Still, the larger Penguin Random House might have the negotiating power to squeeze better terms from agents and authors in exchange for unmatched marketing and distribution resources. Chris Rechtsteiner, a publishing consultant from Chicago, said: “They’ll wield far more power versus Amazon together than they did apart. However, this still won’t be enough until they can meaningfully and directly connect authors and readers.” Now, do not go hoping for cheaper books just yet; the deal will not necessarily solve every problem, especially with the aims of making it fairer for both authors and readers. After all, the merger will take a good few years to come to fruition, but at least it could be a light at the end of the dark publishing tunnel.
the last days of bbc ceefax Emma Greenacre
On 23rd October 2012 a great media service – renowned for its ‘Lego brick’ graphics, jazzy background music at 2am and more importantly, its constantly updated news headlines – slowly bowed out. Yes, after 38 years of providing the nation with news on many aspects of life, the BBC’s Ceefax service came to an end with the final part of the Digital Switchover. Originally a service created to provide subtitles on BBC programs, it expanded into so much more when it came on air in 1974. With the insertion of a three digit code, knowledge of the current sporting world, news headlines and a TV guide would appear on your screen. As its name suggests, it was simply a way to see facts in a tidy, unbiased manner. It could be said that Ceefax was the Internet of the 70s; short, compact information delivered to you instantly, but in gaudy colours accompanied by simple (and often humorous) illustrations. I still remember 120, which saved me many a journey from the sofa to the magazine rack to seek the TV guide. By typing in that number, Ceefax would
sprout a page telling you what would be on TV next – and the program was still visible in the background! 301 was a page containing the latest sporting news and was often used by my dad, annoyingly even when I was in the middle of watching Eastenders. 401, meanwhile, would let you know what the weather was going to be like around the UK when Michael Fish was unavailable.
So what finally killed Ceefax? You could blame the graphics, which were never updated since the birth of the service in the 70s. Personally, I found them quirky or even endearing; like an oversized woolly Christmas jumper, their retro style made Ceefax trendy. Apart from being a source of amusement, the simplistic graphics made any searches far quicker
than the red button service that would be introduced later. The speed of information being accessed leads to the culprit behind Ceefax’s demise: the Internet. When the Internet came along, news, not only written by BBC journalists but from a variety of sources, could be accessed just as quickly. Then, when technology advanced even more, you could even get the news on your phone while walking along the street, so you didn’t have to wait until you had access to a TV. However, it was the digital switchover that put the final nail in Ceefax’s coffin, as the BBC announced it would not be carrying the service on and the red button would replace it entirely. Alas, the pioneer of easily accessible information is no more, and I can definitely say it will be missed. In later years it might have become an ornamental novelty, but originally it was the prime source for quickly delivered breaking news and throughout its life it never faltered in its aim. In the red button service, however, the number codes have stayed the same, so fans like myself are left with the consolation that a little bit of Ceefax does still live on!
IQ Culture
25 years of billy and friends
Harriet Cash Newspaper Culture Editor
It is a quarter of a century this year since the first giant blue shed full of simple Swedish design landed on these shores, in which time IKEA has found its way into most of our living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and even that awkward bit of space under the stairs. For all that it has become mindnumbingly ubiquitous, there is also still a certain charm to the Scandinavian flat-pack giant. Think Joseph and Zooey and the Chinese family in their bathroom, or the joy of finally catching the wafting smell of meatballs and lingonberries from the cafeteria as your parents were dragging you round. Originally founded in Sweden in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, the company opened stores in Norway and Denmark in the 60s, followed by Japan, Canada and Australia in the 70s. The first British store finally opened in 1987. Ask the average non-Scandinavian person what they know about Sweden, and IKEA will surely come up pretty quickly. Meatballs, Dalarna horses, Vikings, flatpack wardrobes. Obviously this does no justice to Swedish culture – it’s akin to summing up Britain with ‘rain, tea, red pillar boxes, queues’, or
France with ‘garlic, croissants, Breton stripes’. Still, the blue and yellow of the IKEA logo is surely as recognisable to most people as the blue and yellow of the Swedish flag. So what is it that we love about those enormous barns full of sofa beds and MDF shelves? Let’s not get snobbish about it; I’m no fan of design homogeneity, but we can’t all afford the Jansen teapots and Wassily chairs we would like for our dream modernist pads, especially not on student budgets.
For everything from furnishing first flats and shabby university halls, to redecorating a long-term family home, IKEA is the place most of us go first. It’s easy, let’s face it. But what it comes down to (I feel, at least) is this: if you have to have generic, selfassembly furniture, it might as well be aesthetically pleasing, simple, functional and available in a variety of
colour and size combinations. You’d struggle to argue the aesthetic virtue of a DFS wardrobe or sofa over an IKEA one. A chic, Danish designer one, maybe, but in terms of its actual competitors in the budget furniture market, the Swedish store has the monopoly on design. This probably is a Scandinavian thing to some extent. As someone who loves simple Mid-Century modern style, perhaps I’m overly prejudiced in favour of contemporary Nordic design, but it does undeniably lend itself to easy reproduction as much as upmarket exclusivity. I’m not one to sing the praises of international retail giants with any particular gusto, even if they do have a reasonably satisfactory environmental policy and lots of those handy free pencils. Those of us who actively enjoy a visit to the great blue shed of dreams may be in the minority (I wouldn’t even really count myself among them, unless I’m after something fun, like the novelty cushions or a new pot plant). Still, it is undeniable that IKEA products have become an integral part of many, if not most, people’s homes and work spaces. With 14 stores in dear old Blighty, there is obviously a market for cheerful Scandinavian common sense even among cynical, grumbly Brits. Skål!
no more hip hop homophobia?
Amal Osman
For decades now, anti-gay attitudes and slurs have widely been accepted in hip hop as both a genre of music and as a culture. With derogatory words like ‘faggot’ frequently used in lyrics by some of the genre’s most influential artists, such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay Z and Nas, the potentially negative sentiments have been received loud and clear. However, recent events cause us to question hip hop’s stance towards the gay community. There are many signs suggesting that the culture’s attitude towards gay people is slowly becoming more accepting. This has manifested itself time and time again in the past couple of years. Most recently, the London club night PacMan, organised by openly gay UK rapper Q-Boy, which had originally begun in 2001 but then closed down in 2006, has now re-opened to begin hosting a gay club night specifically playing hip hop music. As well as PacMan, this month there
has been the launch of another gay club night located in Dalston. The event is called ‘It’s A Hard Cock Life’, playing on rapper Jay-Z’s infamous song ‘It’s A Hard Knock Life’, and had its first night on the 2nd November. In the past year, the matter of accepting homosexuality as part of hip hop culture has really been put to the test. Critically acclaimed popular singer Frank Ocean’s sincere and heartfelt letter, released less than five months ago, revealed he has been in love with a man. It has been a pleasant surprise to see how positive the reactions have been from the genre’s music lovers and his fellow peers in hip hop and R&B.
In response to Frank Ocean’s eloquent letter, hip hop’s veteran rapper Snoop Dogg, who is far from innocent of having homophobic slurs in his lyrics, stated: “People are learning how to live and get along more, and accept people for who they are and not bash them because they’re different – When I was growing up you could never do that and announce that...no one would step [forward] to support you.” Thus we can see how much progress hip hop has made from the times Snoop Dogg grew up in. Furthermore, with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, campaigning for same-sex marriages and fighting for gay rights, we have seen the overwhelming support and agreement he has received from hip hop’s most established artists, Jay-Z and Nas; it is hard not to notice this shift to a more positive attitude towards homosexuality. Though the tensions between hip hop and the gay community have not been completely abolished, it looks like progressive steps are being taken to overcome the long-established homophobia hip hop has been guilty of, and it is about time. Hip hop culture hasn’t completed the journey, but at least it’s moving in the right direction.
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pause for thought Winter is closing in, the nights are getting darker and a frost is in the air. This time of year always puts me in mind of this poem from the late Ted Hughes; the cool, dark quietness that permeates the piece makes your ears prick up in anticipation of the fox’s arrival.
The Thought-Fox I imagine this midnight moment’s forest: Something else is alive Beside the clock’s loneliness And this blank page where my fingers move. Through the window I see no star: Something more near Though deeper within darkness Is entering the loneliness: Cold, delicately as the dark snow A fox’s nose touches twig, leaf; Two eyes serve a movement, that now And again now, and now, and now Sets neat prints into the snow Between trees, and warily a lame Shadow lags by stump and in hollow Of a body that is bold to come Across clearings, an eye, A widening deepening greenness, Brilliantly, concentratedly, Coming about its own business Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox It enters the dark hole of the head. The window is starless still; the clock ticks, The page is printed. Ted Hughes
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Sport
SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR: INQUIRE’S PREDICTIONS The BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be held December 3rd. After such a historic sporting year for Great Britain, the announcement of the finalists for this year’s award has created much debate as to who the next recipient will be. InQuire writers delved into the discussion, with their opinions on who will win next month: Elliott Moore HE is sullen. He is irritable. He is introverted. But he is the best GB tennis player – male or female – for the last 30 years, and has finally put the Great British name on a male singles grand slam title for the first time since Fred Perry in 1936. Which is why he should be Sports Personality of the Year for 2012. Andy Murray has quite a few detractors. But even his greatest enemies cannot fail to admire his grit determination and effort on a tennis court – not to mention his ability. Murray has fought through the mediocrity of the Lawn Tennis Association to establish himself among some of the most illustrious names the sport has ever seen. Murray easily revels in the company of the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. To Murray’s credit, he has been surrounded by such company for quite some time: testament to his phenomenal tennis abilities. It is the victory in the US Open which has elevated him to another level. For his ardent fans, the heartbreak suffered in witnessing Murray’s recent near-misses at Wimbledon on Murray Mound and in early morning Veronica Gallagher IT can be argued that Bradley Wiggins has put together a better sporting year than any other athlete in British history. The 32 year old CBE recipient has rewritten the cycling record books, at a time when the integrity of his sport is being seriously questioned. In 2012, he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, one of the most gruelling sporting competitions in the world, as well as one of the most historic. All in all he claimed four Yellow Jerseys in Road competitions this year, as well as six total road time trial victories. All of these achievements were gained while maintaining his effectively cool persona and nonchalant attitude towards fame, something that is all too
Pamela Head Newspaper Editor
appearances at the Australian Open was healed by Murray’s historic five set win against the incredible Djokovic in August, when the old fashioned British curse looked like it would strike again on a blustery night at Flushing Meadows. It didn’t. Murray prevailed. What’s more, his win at the US Open was not Murray’s only highlight of 2012. He even left his indelible mark on an Olympics which has shaped the Sports Personality shortlist. His destruction of legend Federer - in pursuit of a title close to his heart - was pure inspiration, fuelled by the tide of patriotism rushing his way. It added a certain something to his victory. With his sustained knockings at the pinnacle of his sport finally being answered, I believe Andy Murray should be the deserved winner of the BBC Sports Personality award for 2012. rare in the glaring spotlight of the 21st century. The fact that he is at the top of his discipline, and yet maintains an effortless modesty and indifference towards glory is a testimony to the man behind the bike. It’s this attitude that makes detractors think he doesn’t deserve the award. Yet despite the man’s opinions, his 2012 record speaks for itself. As well as the Tour de France, Wiggins put together an altogether impressive show in the Olympics. Racing at home, he tore apart the competition in the Time Trial, putting 40 seconds between him and the Silver medalist. His Gold medal in the Road time trial was not only important due to the home crowd gathered to watch him, but it also placed him in joint top place as the all time most decorated British Olympian, with seven total medals. Using this as a measure of his success, he is the joint best Olympian in British history, surpassing legendary figures such as Sir Steve Redgrave, as well as tying 2008 Sports Personality of the Year, Sir Chris Hoy. Wiggo was a key cog in the British Olympic machine, and it was his professionalism that helped make 2012 such an iconic year for Sport. Not only does he deserve the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the year, but there is no doubt in my mind that when the Queen’s birthday rolls around next year, he will be forever immortalised as Sir Bradley Wiggins.
JESSICA Ennis: Gold medal winning Olympic Heptathlon champion. Number 1 world ranking in her sport for the last four years running. All as the ambassador for Great Britain’s Olympic hopes and dreams, whipping us up into a frenzy of sport throughout the summer as she set a British and Commonwealth record score of 6,955 points, beating silver medallist Lilli Schwarzkopf by 306 points. I watched as she competed over the two days and excelled in every area, smashing two personal bests and felt a great sense of national pride as well as admiration for a fellow woman. It has been a long road for women at the Olympics. Women participated for the first time at the 1900 Paris Games. Over the next few decades, more and more women’s events were added until finally the inclusion of Women’s Boxing in 2012 meant that no sport had male-only events. By London 2012, every participating nation had sent female athletes to represent them at the Olympics. Referred to by the media as The Women’s Games, even Saudi Arabia bowed down Jonathan Wheatcroft IT has been such an amazing year of sport for Britain that it has been a real headache to pick just one single athlete who I think deserves the award For me, the sports person that stands out above the rest is Mo Farah. The 29 year old long distance runner provided two of the most exciting, intense and glorious moments in British athletics history. The first of these moments came on the 4th August, Great Britain’s most successful day at an Olympics in 104 years. Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford had already made it a special night in the Olympic stadium with golds in the heptathlon and long jump respectively. Now the attention and expectation of Britain turned to Mo Farah. Could he make it a sensational treble? What followed was an unbelievable 10,000 metre chase with Farah battling against the force of the strong Ethiopian runners and also the pressure of following the days earlier events. The noise generated by 80,000 fans each time he circled the track was deafening. The commentator’s words as Farah reached the home straight express the tension ‘Has he got enough... He’s kicking again... Mo Farah is going for it... It’s going to be a glorious, glorious win’ and then the stadium erupted with noise! It was such defining moment for British sport and one to be proud about in the years to come.
and included women in their team. It seems only fitting that a woman should win Personality of the Year. As well as being an amazing sports personality, she is also a wonderful human being: she is Patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital charity. Ennis the Menace has already won European Athlete of the Month, European Female Athlete of the Year and British Olympic Athlete of the Year in a poll run by UK Athletics. She also won Ultimate Olympian at Cosmopolitans Ultimate Woman of the Year Awards 2012. With all these awards already under her belt, it seems fitting that she should win the ultimate recognition of Sports Personality of the Year as well. She has not retired, she has not given up and she will continue to make us proud as an England and Great Britain athlete, so we should show her that pride and vote her to the top.
I am sure I was not the only one jumping up and down in my living room in celebration! Seven days later on the 11th August Mo Farah was running again, this time in the 5,000 meters. Once again he was under immense pressure to deliver with the home crowd expecting a thrilling climax to the athletics at the 2012 Olympics. Once again Farah delivered taking the lead with 700 metres to go and not relinquishing it as he stormed over the finish line causing the noise in the stadium to reach similar decibel levels to the previous week. On the night he became a double gold athletics winner and arguably Britain’s greatest runner of all time. One image that will stay with me is Usain Bolt in the following event performing Farah’s now infamous ‘mobot’ celebration as he helped Jamaica win the 4 x 100 metre relay. Bolt, one of the greatest athletes of all time was showing his respect for a man who at the 2012 Olympics had achieved a similar status to him. A legend of the track.
Sport 23
ULTIMATE FRISBEE CAP OFF BUSY TERM OF SUCCESS Anthony Norwood Kent Touch This President FOR University-level Ultimate in the UK, the last three months of the calendar year are usually our busiest, this year being no different with no less than 5 regional or national indoor tournaments being held over the course of 6 weeks. Working off the success of last year where we qualified for national places in all of the Open, Mixed and Women’s divisions we came into this year with high expectations. The first regional tournament held this year was the Women’s Regional event on the 28th October in Brighton, where our team of Strong Kentish Women competed against 9 other teams from across the South-East for one of 3 places at the national tournament in December. After a day of hard fought matches, the team finished the day 2nd in the region with notable results against Surrey (8-0 to Kent) and Portsmouth (10-0), also beating UCL 4-3 in a 2 v 3 crossover to guarantee a national qualification. This is the highest position our women’s team have ever reached in a regional tournament and they can look forward to their national tournament on the 1st/2nd December! Our next tournament was in the Open Division the following
weekend, again in Brighton. As we have done for the past few years, we sent 3 teams to compete against 29 other teams from all across the South-East to take one of the 6 national qualification spots, working off last year’s results where our 1st team finished 5th to qualify for Division 2 nationals, while our 2nd and 3rd teams
finished 24th and 29th respectively. Playing 6-7 games each over the course of the weekend, our teams battled hard against their opposition to finish in their strongest positions in many years. Our 1st team ended the weekend 5th, and again qualify for Division 2 nationals on the 24th/25th November. Our 2nd and 3rd teams improved
their seed from the start of the weekend, moving from 21st and 25th to 15th and 19th respectively. The final tournament occurred when we sent two teams to Brighton on the weekend of 17th/18th November to compete in the Mixed Division for the 6 national qualification spots available. Last year our first team finished 6th to earn qualification to Division 2 Nationals while our 2nd team finished 18th, and we hope to improve upon these results greatly. Kent 1sts started the weekend 5th and unfortunately dropped to 9th over the two days, missing out on national qualification but winning the ‘plate’ for coming top of the teams outside of national qualification/ waiting positions. Kent 2nds started the weekend 14th and finished 15th, however this is 3 seeds higher than our finishing position last year (we finished 18th). Despite this minor setback, there are still big things to be expected from the future of Kent Ultimate. Do you have an opinion on a recent sporting event? Or a match report from a University team? Contact us at newspaper.sport@ inquiremedia.co.uk to have the chance to get your story published!
NETBALL ADJUSTING TO LIFE IN THE PREMIERSHIP Francesca Plom KENT Netball take on their toughest challenge yet this season, since being promoted to the BUCS Premiership at the end of last year. After working so hard to get into the Premiership the team are determined to maintain their place in the league and not to be relegated. We knew this would be no easy task, especially considering that the majority of the team who earned promotion last year have now graduated. This left the team needing to completely rebuild and having to integrate new players into the squad. UKC also had to make some changes to ensure the best possible chances of maintaining our place in the league and so with the help from Kent Union and Kent Sport, we managed to get on board Anita Hollman a former SuperLeague Youth coach, whose own club Telstars is currently competing in the National Club Premiership league. Her experience and skill as a top level coach has undoubtedly helped the team excel in a short space of time. Kent Sport have also given the team access to strength and conditioning training, which is currently helping the players get fitter and stronger. Our first game was against Gloucestershire which we knew would be the team that we would have the best
chance of winning against. The game ended with a fantastic result and Kent won our first ever game in the Premiership by seven points. This put the team in a great position, it allowed other teams to look at us as serious competition and it put us in good standing within the league table. Our second game saw us travel to Exeter. The game was closely contested throughout the first half and Kent behind by 6. The team were playing much better than the previous game and the defence were on top form, but we were struggling to convert all their turnovers. Unfortunately we had severly struggled in the third quarter and although our performance returned in the fourth it meant we finished the game losing by 15 goals (40-25). The third game of the season saw us headoff to Bath to take on the top of the table. We had a fantastic start finishing the first quarter trailing by 2. However in the second and third quarters Bath became the clearly superior team, who were well drilled athletes who had been working together clearly for months, if not years. The fourth quarter saw Kent fight harder and finished the game by reaching half their score (72-36). An unbelievable result considering the team who were in second place lost by 30. Next we took on Cardiff at home, and what a feeling that was playing in front
of a home crowd. The game was close all the way through, we were strong and held our own in a very physical and contested. In the fourth quarter we let our own game slip and made a few mistakes which meant we finished the game losing by 11. Last Wednesday we took on Brunel away, it was a heated game to say the least. Brunel were repeatedly warned for misconduct by the umpires and the crowd were making unsporting comments. Kent did not let this affect us and were complimented about this by the umpires at the end of the game. We started the game winning taking a 6-1, but were slow to react to Brunel’s challenge. Kent finished the game losing 42-29. A frustrating finish for Kent, who are determined to have a different outcome when we face the team again at home in January. Unfortunately Kent have yet to be able to defeat another team since the opening victory against Gloucestershire, but all games have been closely competed. It is clear from all of our games that we are becoming stronger as each game passes. It is a great feeling to know that we are actually putting up a fight in the Premiership. Teams have to take us seriously and cannot underestimate us. We also know that we are more than capable of beating the majority of teams when we play them the
second time around and are looking forward to meeting them again on the return matches. We are working harder and harder each week. I for one believe that we are more than capable not only of maintaining our place in the Premiership but also capable of doing very well in the league.
Photo taken by Dan Sakal
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InQuire sport KENT VS CHRISTCHURCH: DERBY WEEK SPECIAL
Photo taken by Matt Harris
Alex Cassidy Newspaper Sport Editor THE first week of November gave Canterbury the first taste of what varsity will feel like. Team Kent took on Christchurch in five seperate fixtures, Men’s 1st and 2nd team Football, Women’s 2nd team Lacrosse, Men’s Hockey and American Football. In this derby week special, it was important for Team Kent to set a standard that would continue on to the all important ‘battle for Canterbury’ that will take place at the beginning of March next year. The fixtures began on Wednesday, with Men’s football 1st team looking to extend their BUCS run of 26 unbeaten games. After a back and forth first half, often with long range efforts from CCCU being handled easily by keeper Adam Ball, Danny Smith was substituted on and hit home to make it final score 1-0 to Kent, setting a great precedent for the other sides to follow. Women’s 2nd team lacrosse then took on Christchurch’s first team, which turned into a high scoring
affair, with the final score 6-6. This was an impressive showing due to it being the first chance to play a competitive game for many of the girls. Standout players included captain Elizabeth Diana Ross, who netted five of the goals, goalkeeper Sophie Flanagan who made some excellent saves, in her first competitive match, making multiple one on one saves and for keeping the team in the game until the end. Right Attack Eleanor Boyd-Wallis was always in space ready for the ball and for her great transitions from defence to attack. All of this was in front of a great turnout of supporters, as the previously scheduled men’s game against Christchurch was cancelled due to an unplayable pitch. As well as the women’s lacrosse tie, the second draw of the day came from Men’s 2nd team football who took on Christchurch 3rd team. In what was a surprisingly close fixture, the home game for Kent finished as a 1-1 draw. The game means that in the BUCS South Eastern 4B football league, Kent are placed in 4th while Christchurch
are 1st. The biggest loss during the week came against Kent Men’s Hockey 3rd team, who lost 13-0 to CCCU in a very one sided affair. The final game of the week was Kent Falcons American Football against Canterbury Christchurch Chargers who faced off at Stodmarsh on Sunday the 11th November. There was even more bad blood in this game, with allegations stemming from last year of Kent’s forfeiture that resulted in Christchurch not being eligible for the playoffs. The match was as gritty as expected, with many after the whistle hits and penalties being thrown. At halftime the Chargers led 6-0. Kent fired back in the second half, bringing it back to 6-6 before CCCU again took the lead going into the final moments. At 12-6 in the Chargers favour, Falcons Quarterback Aaron Whitworth, who had already ran in the first score, worked the ball to the Chargers goal line, before threading a beautiful pass to Harry Carter for the game tying touchdown. It was up to Carter to kick the extra
point to ensure victory, which he did calmly. With the final score 13-12, the Chargers again called foul, claiming that the referees made errors on the timekeeping. This is a massive victory for the Falcons, who are all set for a grudge rematch come varsity next year. The victory by UKC ensured that Kent took the victory in Derby Week- with the record finishing 2-1-2 in UKC’s favour. A great way to precede Varsity and to show off the ability of Team Kent’s sporting teams over their biggest rivals. So far the University of Kent is making waves in the national BUCS Table, currently sitting at 35 out of a total of 149 Universities across the country. Kent’s cross town rivals, Canterbury Christchurch University, are currently placed 67th. Visit www.inquirelive.co.uk for more Sports news and opinions from across the University. If you have something to say, we’d love to hear from you!