YORK VISIONNEWSTuesday January 19th, 20104

PLAYERS FROM a Cardiff Uni-versity Rugby team of engineers were hit with a bad case of food poisoning after an initiation so-cial, writes Gair Rhydd.

The players were encouraged to eat gherkins that had been in-serted into their teammate’s bot-toms.

Team member Johnny Evans commented on Gair Rydd’s website to clear up any misun-derstandings about the sickly situation: “Just to point out, no fresher was ever asked to insert a gherkin up their anus, but to sim-ply hold it between their cheeks.”

TWO HUDDERSFIELD students could face expulsion over their brainchild “the Hitler Drinking game”.

As reported in The Linc, The rules included the “holocaust” and “heil Hitler game", and fans of the game also uploaded pic-tures of themselves with swas-tikas and Hitler moustaches painted on them on the game's Facebook group.

Despite the game's success, attracting 12,000 fans, the found-ers decided to delete the group for fear that the media would for some reason brand them “boor-ish, fascist and disrespectful”.

Milana Knezevic

Racy Research

student press

We read them......so you don't have to

BY EMILY FAIRBAIRN

award-winning student entre-preneur, a recipient of the York Award, a successful charity event organiser and a popular president.”

“The colour of his skin is not one of these reasons however. It is bad enough that University Council should be misled with scripted monologues presented as true reflections of students’ views; that the candidacy for these videos should be based on race rather than merit, however, is nothing short of scandalous.”

The allegations of “scripted monologues” came after it was revealed that Grenville also cen-sored comments and views that featured in the original video.

“There were complaints that

were directed specifically at two departments,” said Grenville, when asked to explain her actions.

“They were not appropri-ate to be brought up in front of Council, which is a governing body there to deal with strategy.”

With YSTV stretched to such a tight deadline, the end film fea-tured YSTV members who were instructed about what they must say.

This included one YSTV member talking about how good the welfare system was at the University, put in at Grenville’s request after she was disap-pointed that none of the original students interviewed had men-tioned it.

Alex, a YSTV member who featured in the video saying lines he was instructed to say, commented: "At the time I didn't think anything of it, but in retro-spect it seems pretty outrageous. How can you claim the video rep-resented what students thought, if most of it was scripted?"

University Council is a gov-erning body that makes deci-sions about the running of the University. It is made up of inter-nal staff and elected or co-opted members from outside of the institution.

“The film went down well with them because they liked the feeling that they engaged with students,” said Grenville.

A SERIOUS WARNING has been issued to students by North Yorkshire Police and the University over the misuse of the legal drug mephedrone.

Mephedrone is popularly pur-chased online at around £11 for a gram. The effects of the drug

have been compared to ecstasy and cocaine, and it is usually dis-tributed as powder to be snorted, although it also comes in crystal, pill and liquid form.

Vision has spoken to several students who have confirm that the drug has been widely circu-lated on campus for some time. “It’s become the new party drug

on campus,” says one student who has asked to be anonymous. “It’s cheap and easy to get a hold of."

At the moment it is not il-legal, although advertising and selling it for human consumption is banned. The drug is therefore often advertised as a plant chemi-cal or a research drug.

North Yorkshire Police has described it as “a potentially dan-gerous drug” which has left some users in A&E when their hearts stopped.

A York Hospital spokeswom-an stated that there has been an increase in incidents linked to mephedrone over the past couple of months and that most of the people who are brought to A&E with symptoms of use have been in their late teens or early twen-ties.

“The severity of their condi-tion varies. However, we have had some people who have been seriously ill having taken this drug.”

Many York students can also

tell of less serious, but nonethe-less startling short-term side ef-fects.

One student recalls going on a three-day binge, consuming approximately 1 gram of mephe-drone. “I just felt really ill and at one point my elbows and fingers even turned purple.”

These, as well as nosebleeds and excessive sweating, are just a few known side effects of the drug. Furthermore, there have been reports of paranoia and anxiety after use.

The police also warn of po-tential addiction to mephedrone, a warning that is backed up by students

"It is definitely well addict-ing. I know people on campus who use it on a daily basis," said one.

Currently Mephedrone is le-gal in the UK but reports claim that it might be made illegal in the UK as soon as in March, but until then the North Yorkshire Police office are advising that students do not use the drug.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY has given a conditional offer to 14-year-old math boffin, Arran Fernandez, Varsity reports.

If accepted, he will be the youngest person to attend Cam-bridge since 1773.

His dream is to become a research mathematician at Cambridge, and would also like to solve the Riemann Hypoth-esis - a mathematical mystery the brightest minds in maths have struggled with since 1859!

Nazi Nincompoops

Players in a Pickle

Phot

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UNI BOSS 'USED' BLACK PRESIDENT

Junior Genius

LEEDS UNIVERSITY is adver-tising for an unconventional member of staff; a £31,000-a-year lap dancing researcher.

According to the Leeds Stu-dent, the successful applicant will help to research the objecti-fication of the female body .

Susie Squires, of the Tax-payer’s Alliance became rather hot under the collar, claiming that while “it may be a dream job for some men”, it is just an-other waste of taxpayer’s money. Others have claimed though that "better understanding of lap dancing clubs is a worthwhile research project.”

EXCLUSIVE: CAMPUS RIFE WITH 'POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS' DRUG

A RACE ROW has erupted between senior University officials over comments made about Tim Ngwena, YUSU’s first black president.

Pro Vice Chancellor for Students Jane Grenville made the remarks in relation to a video featuring Ngwena.

YUSU have slammed her comments as “scandalous”.

The row emerged after Vision interviewed Jane Grenville about her actions during the production of a pro-motional film made by YSTV for the University Council.

Tim Ngwena was misled to believe he was approached to be interviewed because of his experience with societies.

But Grenville shockingly admitted to Vision, that he had been purposely given the wrong impression – he was cho-sen because he was black.

“That’s why we put Tim in,” she said. “It’s difficult to walk up to someone and say ‘can we interview you because of the col-our of your skin’.”

Grenville had asked YSTV to interview a random selection of students about the University and what worried them.

However, when she saw the final cut Grenville demanded that YSTV do the video again because she thought it gave the illusion of a “white middle-class mafia” and did not reflect the ethnic diversity on campus.

Her comments over Ngwena have enraged YUSU who say he was totally unaware of the true reason for the interview.

In a joint statement, YUSU sabbatical officers said: “There are many good reasons for hav-ing Tim in this video: he is an

YORK GETS MEPHED-UP

BY MILANA KNEZEVIC

RACE ROW OVERGRENVILLE GAFFE

CENSORED

DECIEVED

'ENGAGED'SCRIPTED

PARANOID