Glasgow University

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10th February 2009

Folk Maestros

GLASGOW UNIVERSITY’S PRINCIPAL, Sir Muir Russell, received a pay increase almost four times the rate of inflation last year, making him the highest paid university principal in Scotland.

Sir Muir, who is due to step down from his position in October, received a pay rise of 12.1%, increasing his salary from £205,000 in 2007 to £230,000 in 2008. When pensions are included, the figure rises to £262,000.

University principals across Scotland saw their salaries rise by an average of 10%, while

Scottish principals receive 10% pay rise lecturers have seen their pay rise by only 5% during the same period.

Guardian recently discovered that graduate teaching assistants at the University of Glasgow have not recieved a salary increase since 2002 and, in some cases, may be earning less than the national minimum wage.

There are meetings planned to address this situation, but it is unlikely that any increase in pay will be as high as 12.1%.

The increases will see an additional £255,000 taken from Scotland’s higher educa-tion budget, with the total paid out to principals now topping £3m for the first time.

This comes at a time when the higher education sector is dealing with the tightest settlement since devolution.

In the budget settlement of November 2007, Universities Scotland, the body responsible for representing and promoting Scotland’s higher education sector, had asked for an increase of £168 million over three years.

However, the Scottish Government has announced that the figure would rise by only £30 million.

Recent research has also shown that English universities, who already have the advantage of top-up fees, are increasing their share of research funding.

Glasgow University defended the decision to increase the principle’s salary, stating that the pay rise is related to performance and reflects the University’s recent success.

(Continued on page 3)

Craig MacLellan

THE RESIDENTS OF MURANO Street Student Village were shocked to learn this week that they had not been informed of an attack which took place close to one of its main entrances.

A 29-year old woman was inde-cently assaulted whilst walking over the canal footbridge in the early hours of Saturday January 31. The assailant has not yet been caught and the police have issued an appeal for witnesses.

Despite this, the students living at Murano Street were not contacted about the incident, nor were they warned about the fact that a poten-tially dangerous man was known to be in the area.

Guardian spoke to a number of students who expressed concern about the lack of information given to them.

First-year English Literature student, Becky Sharp, told Guardian why she feels it is important for the police and the University to notify students when attacks like this occur.

She said: “I think it was irrespon-sible for them to not alert the Murano Street residents of the attack as it is important that we know of the threats that surround the area.

“I have, so far, been quite casual about being alone and in the area late at night, and hearing about the attack makes me feel more suscep-tible to the danger and more likely to be cautious.

“It is important to give the students that awareness so that they can make a more informed choice about wandering around the area at all times.”

Another Murano resident, Rachel Mitchell, explained that what was especially concerning was that the attack took place right next to one of Murano Street’s main entrances.

(Continued on page 4)

Glasgow Uni occupied by activists

George Binning

Police fail to advise of attack

Sarah SmithExclusive

A SERIES OF STUDENT-DRIVEN protests and occupations in aid of Gaza have prompted drastic action by universities across Scotland.

On Wednesday February 4 students of Strathclyde University staged an occupation of Strathclyde’s registry and on Sunday January 25 the Stop the War Coalition (SWC) and Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) also staged an occupation of the BBC headquarters in Glasgow.

Today 10 February around 30 students of Glasgow University were continuing their occupa-tion of the Computing Department of the University. The occupation was a response to the events of last Thursday when students associ-ated with the SWC marched on the Principal’s office with their demands attached to two petitions.

The first set of demands, supported by 560 signatures, requested that the University publicly condemn the BBC’s actions concerning the DEC appeal, that the appeal be publicised around campus and the University’s website, also that a collection day for Gaza be organized. Their second petition, with 350 signatories, (Continued on page 5)Protesters take to the roof of the Computing Department in solidarity with Palestine

A MEMBER OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY’S basketball team made a ‘miracle’ escape after being crushed by a falling wall in the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena last week.

On February 4, Glasgow student Vytautuas Astromkas was trapped by the falling rubble after the entire backboard came loose bringing the wall with it. The accident took place while the University’s team was warming up for a match against Caledonian University, during the inter-university Glasgow Cup.

Douglas MacLaren, captain of the Glasgow University Men’s Basketball Club, witnessed the accident from on-court.

He told Guardian: “As he dunked the basketball, the inner wall started to peel away, then the backboard and a lot of masonry came down. Luckily the backboard took the brunt of it.”

Paramedics swiftly arrived at the scene and were able to free Astromkas from the wreckage. He was taken to the Western Infirmary and kept

in hospital overnight. He was discharged the following day with minor injuries to his arm and stitches in his knee.

MacLaren recalled the team’s reaction and expressed amazement at Astromkas’ escape.

He said: “The way the debris fell it was a miracle no bones were broken. The whole team went up to the hospital, to give him a bit of support. He’s a good player who regularly features in our 1st team.”

MacLaren also confirmed that Astromkas was up and walking again, and anxious to get back to training.

The collapse took place on the internal wall of court three and has raised serious concerns as to the safety of the Kelvin Hall. An investigation into the incident by Health and Safety is underway.

A spokesperson for the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena said: “Due to the accident and ongoing investigation the use of the court has been suspended.”

On Sunday the hall was opened again to host the Scottish Rocks match.

Student survives wall collapse at Kelvin Hall

News Staff

Landmark stem cell trial at GlasgowRESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF Glasgow have been granted approval to begin a trial involving stem cell therapy to treat victims of stroke.

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have given their permission for Glasgow University, together with the ReNeuron Group plc, to begin a clinical trial to investigate the use of stem cells in the treatment of ishaemic stroke, the most common form of the condition.

The trial, which is the first of its kind in the world, will establish the safety and feasibility of injecting stem cells directly into the brain. If the trial is successful, further research will take place into how effectively this method could be used to treat victims of stroke.

Dr. Keith Muir, the Principal Investigator for the trial, explained to Guardian how impor-tant this preliminary research is to the develop-ment of improved care for stroke patients.

He said: “It will be the first time that stem cells are used as a potential treatment for stroke by delivering them directly into the brain.

“If the trial establishes that the treatment is safe then there can be further trials to establish the effectiveness of the treatment.”

Although the trial has been approved by the MHRA, it must also receive ethical approval from the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee before any work can begin. It is, however, unlikely that the trial will not be granted permission to go ahead.

Stem cell therapy has been the source of much debate in recent years, with many reli-gious groups decrying the use of embryonic

research in particular.Father John Keenan, Glasgow University’s

Catholic chaplain, told Guardian that although Catholicism opposes embryonic research they were in support of adult stem cell research.

He said: “We draw a fundamental distinc-tion between embryonic stem cell research and adult stem cell research. We are always asking the media to make that distinction. We are against is embryonic research, that is to say, you creating human embryo and the purpose of creating that embryo is to harvest stem cells, then you use the stem cells at the destruction of the human embryo.”

When asked about the ethical implications of using foetal-derived stem cells in a medical trial, Dr. Muir replied that, whilst he under-stood that some opposed the use of stem cells, the therapy has the potential to become vitally important in treating diseases which, at present, have very few treatment options available.

He told Guardian: “I think that the other side of the ethics debate is that there are a lot of people who understand the importance of stem cell therapy in medicine.

“It is important in repairing the damage to tissue that does not normally repair itself, for example, the brain and spinal cord.

“Medical treatments in that area to date haven’t been terribly successful and future stem cell therapy will be important in changing that.”

Dr. Muir was keen to stress that if the trial goes ahead it will still be only the first of many steps before any possible treatment would be available to the general public.

He explained: “I would never have expected to be running this sort of trial if you had told me two years ago. It’s a good starting point but it is important to remember that there is still a long way to go.”

THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLING in Scottish higher education institutions has fallen, according to new figures.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency recently published a report showing that the number of students enrolling in Scottish univer-sities, and some colleges, had fallen by 2 per cent in 2007-08.

The number of enrolments in Scotland stood at 210,180 last year with a 2 per cent decrease in full-time enrolments and a 3 per cent decrease for part-time enrolments.

While the figures for Northern Ireland and Wales show similar declines, the number of enrolments in English higher education institu-tions has increased.

The government has been quick to blame the trend on the previous Labour government, which held power in Scotland from 1999-2007.

Speaking to Guardian, a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The bulk of students covered by these figures applied to go to university under the previous administration, before the improved student support introduced by this administration and before the abolition of the graduate endowment fee.”

Claire Baker, Labour’s education spokes-person, has been criticised for “scoring an own-goal” after referring to the new figures as “a very worrying development indeed.”

A spokesperson for Claire Baker, speaking to Guardian, claimed the decrease in 2007-08 was the result of the first year of an SNP government.

He said: “The HESA stats show that for the first time in years the numbers of students at Scottish universities actually dropped. This is for 2007/08, the first year of the SNP Government and the first year of the abolition of the graduate endowment.”

The Scottish Government, however, have argued that although the figures are from the first year of its administration, Labour’s funding policies still existed, putting off potential students.

In addition, a spokesperson has rejected the claims that numbers have not decreased in recent years.

He said: “It is incorrect to suggest that this is the first time that student participation rates have fallen.

“The age participation index, which esti-mates the proportion of Scots who will have experienced full-time HE by their 21st birthday, fell under the last administration from 47.1% in 2005-06 to 46.9% in 2006-07.”

Gavin Lee, president of the SRC, has expressed concerns as to the cause of the decline in enrolments.

He said: “The SRC would encourage the government to look into the reasons behind this trend. It's important in difficult financial times that no potential students are dissuaded from attending university for financial reasons."

Despite this, the number of full-time under-graduates at Glasgow University has in fact increased from 14,980 in 2006 to 15,025 in 2007, and with the figures for 2008 still to be finalised, numbers are expected to rise further.

Number of student enrolments down

Ross Mathers

Sarah Smith

Courtesy of ReNeuron

Jim Wilson

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk2 NEWS 10th February 2009

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk10th February 2009 NEWS 3

Future’s bright for TommyA GLASGOW UNIVERSITY STUDENT HAS been awarded a £60,000 recording contract after being named 2009’s Orange Unsigned Act.

The 19 year old singer-song writer was announced winner on the Channel 4 television programme which documented the competition on Sunday 25th January having won a landslide public vote.

Reilly, who was described by Lauren Laverne, one of the show’s four judges, as having an “utterly unique voice”, fought off competition from 7,000 original applicants to win the award which searches for the best unsigned British music act.

The other three judges on the panel were Radio One D.J. Jo Whiley, Blur’s Alex James and Simon Gavin from Universal Music.

25 finalists were seen battling for the record contract with Universal Music on the Sunday television show over the past three months.

Tommy was not the only Glasgow act to reach the final: also in the competition were electro band Fangs, and eventual runners-up, Hip Parade.

Tommy described his shock at winning the contest and the impact it has had on his life.

He said: “I can’t believe that I have won – it’s mental! Being part of the competi-tion has been awesome – the tour, all that I have learned, chatting to the other bands, everything!”

Speaking to Guardian, Tommy explained that his success comes after years of fitting his music career around his degree.

He said: “I was trying to get my electronics with music degree from Glasgow University and was also working in Tesco and so I would be gigging whenever I was free.”

While Tommy is planning to focus on his music in the short-term, he told Guardian that he was aware of the fact that his current success may be short-lived.

“I had been gigging for about a year and a half before the competition took off. As I have left university for the meantime and quit my job

at Tesco, I have all day to work on songs and think about the album.

“I am really excited about that. I cannot wait to get into it properly. I also plan to play as many shows as is physically possible. I just really want to use up every little bit of this opportunity while it’s there. I may well be back

Amy MacGregor

(Continued from front page)A spokesperson explained: “The

salary of the University’s principal is performance-related and reflects the responsibilities of running a large and complex organisation.

“The increase reflects the considerable success which the University has enjoyed in the past year.

“These included a significant rise in the Times Higher University World Ranking, and the continued consoli-dation of our financial position.”

Universities Scotland also defended the rises, claiming that they are comparable to salaries received in the private sector.

A spokesperson for the organisa-tion said: “The governing bodies of all universities have remuneration committees that decide the appro-priate level of increase.

“The level of remunera-tion is modest in comparison to

a company of similar size in the private sector.”

However, Terry Brotherstone, President of the University and College Union Scotland, which represents lecturers and other univer-sity employees, has called for a wide-ranging review of higher education and the way in which principals’ salaries are awarded.

He told Guardian: “Should universities be looked on as busi-ness or rather as collegial institu-tions devoted to critical thought and research serving the educa-tional and public policy needs of the Scottish people?

“If the latter – and this is the question I believe should be subject to a well-researched inquiry and evidence-led debate in Scotland – then principals’ pay should be meas-ured in relation to that of their junior colleagues, not that of bosses in the private sector whose reward system

Principal pay rise four times rate of inflation

at work next year so I’m going to have fun while it lasts!”

It seems that, for the moment, Tommy’s success is assured - his debut single, ‘Gimme a Call’ entered the UK singles chart at number 14 and his upcoming tour has already sold out on a number of dates.

Courtesy of iris London

is part of a culture that is now widely discredited.”

He also argued that other members of academic staff have seen their pay decline when compared to the salaries of those working in the private sector.

He said: “It needs to be stressed that the bulk of professionals who actually do the teaching and research have seen their pay relative to other professional workers drop since the early 1980s by a third or even more.”

Professor Anton Muscatelli, who is due to take over from Sir Muir as principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow University on October 1 2009, has also received a similar pay rise.

In his current role as principal of Herriot-Watt University, Professor Muscatelli saw his salary increase by 12.6%, from £142,000 in 2007 to £160,000 in 2008.James Porteous

Scientists discover kidneys’ true ageSCIENTISTS AT GLASGOW UNIVERSITY have made significant discoveries that could help patients awaiting kidney transplants.

The research, carried out at the Western Infirmary, has shown that the ‘bio-age’ of a kidney is more important than its actual chronological age when judging its suitability for transplant.

This information will allow doctors to calculate the performance and health of a transplanted kidney and make more informed decisions as to suitability for transplant.

It was also found that a simple blood test of an older person can determine the ‘bio-age’ of their kidney.

With over 3,000 organ transplants taking place last year in the UK and thousands more on the waiting lists, it is hoped that the informa-tion can be applied to other organs.

Dr. Paul Shiels, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery at Glasgow University confirmed the significance of the discovery.

He said: “This latest research offers prom-ising prospects for doctors when it comes to assessing which organs are suitable for transplantation and how they might perform post-transplant.

“It could mean that complications in some patients could be avoided through the selection of more suitable organs.”

It was the levels of the gene cyclin-de-pendent kinase 2a (CDKN2a) in kidneys that the researchers found determined the biological age of the kidneys.

The research was funded jointly by the Cunninghame Trust and Darlinda’s Charity for Renal Research.

Dr. Shiels also emphasised the importance of the recent research for Glasgow University.

He explained: “The project demonstrates the quality of research being conducted at the University of Glasgow which is working at the forefront of medical science

“The benefits our students derive from being part of a research-led university are incalculable.”

Attack sparks safety fears(Continued from front page)She said: “We should have been warned

about this, especially because it happened so close to where we live.

“It’s worrying because I have often walked over the canal bridge when coming home from a night out, but knowing that a woman was attacked there would definitely have made me call a taxi or use the other entrance.”

A spokesperson for Strathclyde police admitted to Guardian that there are no formal measures in place with regards to liaising with students

She explained: “There is no formal policy about informing students of incidents like this. It is normally done on a regular basis but not on this occasion.

“Police have liaised with security personnel at the campus and are reviewing all available CCTV footage. Police would urge any students

who may have any information regarding the incident to contact Maryhill Police Office.”

Police officers contacted site security at Murano Street the morning after the assault took place in order to obtain access to CCTV footage, although the University’s Residential Serivces were not informed of this until the afternoon of Tuesday, February 3.

A University spokesperson explained that the reason students weren’t warned was because the police did not ask for them to be told about the incident.

He told Guardian: “We enjoy good working relationships with local police and they inform us immediately should they consider that additional measures or precautions should be taken by the University of Glasgow, including specific briefings to students.

“Police investigating this particular inci-dent, which involved a member of the public,

did not ask Residential Services to alert students at Murano Street.”

President of the SRC, Gavin Lee, empha-sised how important it is that students keep themselves safe, especially late at night.

He said: “While the woman who was attacked was not a student, the proximity of the attack to Murano Street Student Village makes it of concern to all students living there.

“The SRC provides minibuses to halls of residence each evening, so students don’t need to put themselves at risk by walking home alone.”

The attack is the second recorded incident in the vicinity of Murano Street during the current academic year. In September, a first year was the victim of an attempted robbery on the steps leading to the canal bridge, but the attack was foiled when a friend chased down the assailant and recovered the stolen bag.

IN BRIEF

Glasgow Uni in international study

THE LIST DETAILING THOSE WHO have accepted honorary degrees from the University of Glasgow in 2009 has been released to Guardian.

Honorary degrees are awarded to those deemed to have demonstrated excellence in their particular field.

Those being given an honorary degree this year include: Sir Kenneth Collins, retired Chair of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency; Wendy Hall, Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering; David Hirsh, Executive Vice President for Research at Columbia University; and Jane Soons, the first woman to graduate from Glasgow University with a PhD in Geography.

It is also rumoured that Glasgow band, Franz Ferdinand, have been put forward for the accolade, although this has not been confirmed by the group.

Uni announces honorary degrees

Jim Wilson

GLASGOW UNIVERSITY IS TO BE AT the forefront of a major study into the role universities play in regional development.

The PURE project will partner fourteen different regions from all over the world, allowing them to share knowledge and ideas about how universities can accom-plish their ‘third mission’ of generating wealth and social capital.

The two-year project aims to create a benchmark system to compare the activi-ties of the universities in each region in promoting wealth creation, social capital and lifelong learning opportunities.

It is being carried out by Pascal International Observatory, which brings together practitioners and scholars concerned with the relationship between social capital, the management of place, and the concepts of learning regions and lifelong learning. Pascal is a joint initiative, administered by both the University of Glasgow and RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Mike Osborne, Chair of Adult and Lifelong Learning, believes that universi-ties currently have a major impact on their local communities and additional research into this area will help the institutions better fulfil this role.

He explained: “Universities today have been tasked with not only teaching and research activities, but also with contrib-uting to the socio-economic development of the communities.

“The PURE project will look at the current activities of universities to deter-mine how they can better engage and succeed in their drive to play a central role in the development of their regions and meet government objectives.”

Ross Mathers

Jim Wilson

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk4 NEWS 10th February 2009

Glasgow students unite in protest(Continued from front page)

demanded that Glasgow University break its links with BAE Systems and Eden Springs, as well as awarding scholarships to at least three Palestinian students.

David Newell, Secretary of Court, and Susan Stuart, Director of Corporate Communications received the petitions, and a reply was issued on Friday. The university agreed to hold a fundraising day, and proposed a program for the provision of old books and computers to the University of Gaza.

After receiving the reply, the group organized a rally for Monday and took occupation of the building at around 2:30. Inside the group drew up a fresh set of demands which read as follows:

“We demand: The severing of links between the university and arms manufacturers, such as BAE Systems. An official university statement condemning the Israeli army’s atrocities in Gaza; boycott of all Israeli produce on campus, such as Eden Springs water; dona-tions of academic resources to help rebuild Gaza’s battered schools and universities; a day of fundraising across campus in support of the DEC appeal; a commitment to fund schol-arships for Palestinian students. We, the students, will remain in occupa-tion indefinitely until our demands are met.”

The university responded with a statement expressing “disappoint-ment” with the group, and offered SWC delegates a meeting with Sir Muir Russell.

The letter read: “The University is disappointed that students have occu-pied a floor in the computing science building, despite the Principal’s offer to meet with a representative group.

Sir Muir remains willing to meet with students.

“The University respects the right to freedom of speech, but the rights of students and staff to engage in their normal business is paramount. The University will take appropriate action if the occupation causes serious disruption to staff or students.”

At the time of going to press the Computing Department was still under occupation.

Earlier last week 100 students at Strathclyde University targeted Strathclyde’s registry, 30 of which occupied the building overnight until the University gave in to their list of demands for solidarity.

At the start of the protest there were claims of violence between the occupiers and the University’s secu-rity team, however these issues were quickly resolved.

Fiona MacPhail, a member of SWC and the Socialist Workers Alliance who was present at the protest, explained: “There were issues with the security when we first went in, they were not expecting the occupation, they were out of order and definitely using excessive force. Once we had established that we were there as a peaceful demonstra-tion they were fantastic after that.”

The University agreed to termi-nate their contract with Eden Springs, an Israeli company that draws its water from the Golan Heights area of Syria occupied by Israel. They also agreed to strengthen its ties with the University of Gaza including a promise to provide at least one to three scholarships for Palestinian students. The DEC appeal will also be publicised on campus and on the University’s website.

MacPhail was delighted with the outcome of the occupation.

She told Guardian: “We were very happy with the result, not only were so many of our demands met, which was amazing in itself, but we got incredible publicity. We got messages of solidarity from all around the world, from India, Israel, Lebanon, and from Gaza itself. We’ve had fantastic support from students and lecturers on campus. We’ve started building a movement, we left the occupation feeling victorious, though this is the start of a much, much bigger campaign.”

In response to the occupation, Dr. Peter West, Secretary to the University of Strathclyde, said: “The University expresses its deep concern about the plight of the people of Gaza. We are particularly aware that the infrastruc-ture of Higher Education has been damaged, making it particularly diffi-cult for Palestinian students to pursue their studies.”

The activists’ demand to have the University cut its ties with British Aerospace Engineering Systems was not fully met, however MacPhail explained that they had reached a satisfactory compromise:

“We didn’t get all our demands accepted, but we were prepared for that. One of our main demands was to have BAE Systems off campus. BAE is a massive sponsor of Strathclyde University so we knew that would be a difficult one to push. But we’ve arranged a public debate on campus and the University have said they will be in touch with a spokesperson for BAE systems who will come onto campus to justify the use of military investment at universities.”

The five hour occupation of the BBC came about as the result of an impromptu decision by activists protesting outside the headquarters against the BBC’s refusal to broadcast the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for aid to Gaza.

The group demanded that the BBC show the DEC appeal for Gaza and for the resignation of the director responsible for the original decision not to air the appeal. They also demanded that the occupation was given coverage by the BBC and that no charges were brought against those involved. Because of the unplanned nature of the occu-

pation they also demanded refresh-ments and access to facilities. Aamer Anwar, the infamous human rights lawyer, was in attendance in order to give legal advice to the activists.

Ian Small, Head of Public Policy & Corporate Affairs, met with the group to receive their demands.

Keith Boyd, representative for SWC, was present at the occupa-tion. He told Guardian that they were disappointed with the BBC’s response to the situation.

He said: “None of our major demands were met but after a while the police told us to leave otherwise they would arrest us. They haven’t shown the DEC appeal and they are continuing their bias towards Israel.We achieved our objective in that we got massive coverage from all over the world.”A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We are in the process of replying formally to the points made by theprotesters and we will be responding to them directly. The DEC appeal has not been broadcast because the BBC believes that to do so could question our impartiality.”

Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson

guardiannews@src.gla.ac.uk10th February 2009 NEWS 5

At Rest and RememberedJames Maxwell reflects on the life and work of one of America's finest writers, John Updike

John Updike, who died last month from lung cancer at the age of 76, was a uniquely talented literary polymath who excelled as an essayist, poet, critic, commentator and fiction-writer. Over five decades as a professional

author, he rigorously documented and explored the constantly shifting social, sexual and cultural mores of Middle America, with frequently controversial results. British novelist Martin Amis, a friend and admirer of Updike’s, recently remarked that “John Updike has that single inestimable virtue: having read him once you admit to yourself, almost with a sigh, that you will have to read everything he writes.”

Updike was born in rural Pennsylvania in 1932, in the midst of Depression-era austerity. As a child he developed a fascination with the artefacts of his future craft — fresh white paper, 0.45 pencils, roller-ball pens, type-writers, print-presses etc. — that fuelled his first creative efforts. He quickly became captivated by the processes and mecha-nisms involved in the physical act of writing. At school, Updike proved an exceptionally conscientious and indus-trious student. He left in 1952 as class valedictorian, and in 1953 earned a place at Harvard College, before swapping the States for Oxford the following year, where he studied drawing and fine art courtesy of a Knox Fellowship. While Updike was in England he discovered that The New Yorker had agreed to publish a number of his short stories and was prepared to offer him permanent employment. He promptly returned to Harvard, graduated summa cum laude, and moved to Manhattan, were he spent the next two years as writer-in-residence at offices of The New Yorker on 155th Street. By the time he was twenty-three, Updike already had a wife and a baby, and the arrival of a second son was enough to persuade him that the city was not the right place to raise children. In 1957 he took his young family to the Massachusetts sticks, where he stayed until his death.

Despite his reputation for genuine warmth and generosity, Updike was often accused of being an irritant and antagonist, particularly by those on the liberal fringes of American poli-tics. Much of the tension and discomfort Updike provoked stemmed from his refusal to capitulate to the dictates of popular or intellectual fashion. In the midst of the sixties’ sex revolution he wrote Couples, which ridiculed the conceits of the age and anticipated the darkened mood of the post-Nixon Republic. He also foolishly offered some qualified support to

the invasion and occupation of Vietnam, more, one suspects, out of exasperation with what he viewed as an infantile and petulant anti-war movement, as opposed to the integrity of his ideological convictions. However, Updike’s opponents were not exclusively of the left. Many conservative readers found his thematic preoccupation with sex crass and inde-cent, but the more reactionary among them also recognised how subtly subversive and radical he could be.

In his famous tetralogy, Rabbit, Run (1960), Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit is Rich (1981), Rabbit at Rest (1990) and Rabbit Remembered (2001), Updike ruthlessly stripped the gloss off America’s treasured image of suburban domes-ticity and exposed the dirt below. Harry ‘Rabbit’ Angstrom is a lousy, intermittently thuggish husband, a struggling father, and an inveterate mediocrity. He relentlessly subjects his slow wife and errant son to the worst consequences of his own failures, which are many and ever-present. Flooded with guilt, he nonetheless lacks the requisite intelligence to articulate or nullify it. Redemption and absolution are, for Harry Angstrom, congenitally elusive, and remain so until the end. The ‘Rabbit Books’ chart the passage of a peripheral and unsatisfactory life — the life of an American everyman — and to that extent should be read as a critique of the spir-itual state of the Union. Yet, Updike manages to tease out those rare moments of purpose and profundity sparsely scat-tered throughout, and, in turn, imbue his protagonist with a rough elegance. Angstrom is unquestionably Updike’s most fascinating creation; perhaps single-handedly securing the author’s status as one of American literature’s most signifi-cant and influential figures.

In many ways, Harry Angstrom is a vulgarized, fictional reflection of Updike. Updike belonged to a generation of American writers (largely deceased) that included Saul Bellow, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer and, give or take a few years, Philip Roth. All were concerned with measuring the distance between the promise of the Republic and the reality; all were staunch and uncompromising modernists; all were distinctive and original stylists. Where Updike stood apart from his contemporaries, though, was in his refusal to embrace the ludicrous privileges that come with being a ‘famous writer’. He was, by all accounts, an extremely modest man; essentially free of the excessive intellectual vanity of his colleagues.

Although he collected a plethora of accolades and honours — including two Pulitzers and a Howells Medal — and enjoyed consistent and substantial success with both the high and low-brow public, Updike was never made a Nobel Laureate. In 2008, Horace Engdahl, the Swedish academy’s permanent secretary, accused modern American literature of being excessively self-referencing and parochial: “The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature. That ignorance is restraining.” Many interpreted these remarks as an official, pre-emptive, explanation for why Updike would not, in his lifetime, be awarded the grand prize.

There is, however, some validity to Engdahl’s criticisms. Too many of Updike’s novels are located in the northern corner of East-coast America, and hardly any stray outside U.S. territory; his occasional cosmopolitan excursions tend to start and end in Manhattan. Indeed, in Terrorist — Updike’s most limp and insipid work — the protagonist, an adoles-cent Islamist, doesn’t even make it to through the Jersey tunnel. Unfortunately, Terrorist — published in 2006 — was indicative of a once great mind in decline. His final hardback fiction, The Widows of Eastwick (a sequel to the massively popular Witches of Eastwick) suggests that toward the end of his life, the writer’s interest, as well as his talent, had begun to diminish.

On reflection, Updike’s vast back-catalogue is littered with failures. Perhaps the most notable embarrassment is Memories of the Ford Administration; a laborious and sham-bolic attempt to blend an unfinished biography of former president James Buchanan into a satire of post-modernity and bad sex. He would be lucky, and perhaps posthumously grateful, if it was quietly forgotten.

Updike himself, of course, will not be quietly, or, for that matter, quickly forgotten. His best novels encourage you to review your understanding of literature in a profound and permanent way. His prose possesses a remarkable and seem-ingly effortless fluidity. Updike was a humane and empa-thetic writer, who used his considerable gifts to elucidate the experiences of those not considered worthy by other lesser talents. As Martin Amis writes, “What Updike is saying - or conclusively demonstrating - is something very simple. That the unexamined life is worth examining, that indeed it swarms with instruction and delight.”

Benzo Harris

guardianfeats@src.gla.ac.uk6 FEATURES 10th February 2009

George Binning weighs up the scales of criminal justice with Scottish legal heavyweight Donald Findlay Q.C.The Devil’s Advocate

If you believed everything you read in the tabloids, Donald Findlay QC would be a name to steer clear of. This is a man who only ever seems to appear in connection with the most horrible crimes, who has forged a career no doubt in

gleefully hypnotising juries into acquitting the hardest criminals and murderers. Although there are two sides to the story, it is rare for Mr Findlay to defend himself in public. He claims he has no inclination to speak to the press, or have anything to do with them, made clear by his refusal to let us photograph him.

“Given the way I regard the media as having misrepresented and mistreated me in the past, I don’t frankly see why I should waste my time talking to them. I haven’t read, bought, looked at a newspaper for ten years. Principally I wouldn’t waste my money on a paper, I don’t read them and if that upsets them I don’t care.”

The highest earner in the Scottish legal trade for three years running, Findlay has lead the defense in a number of infamous murder cases including Peter Tobin, Luke Mitchell and ex-sol-dier Michael Ross, who was convicted last year for the murder of Shamsudden Mahmood in Orkney in 1994. He has most recently been recruited to defend Tommy Sheridan against his perjury charge. Although he would not discuss any of his cases past or present, I was keen to hear, straight from the source, why those accused of the worst crimes needed and deserved the strongest legal representation available.

Findlay explained, as he continued his denunciation of the popular press, that the image of court proceedings portrayed by the media was far from accurate.

“Generally the media are not interested in justice, they’re only interested in sensationalizing certain aspects of the trial. And that, I came to the conclusion, has been evidenced over the years because when in a major trial someone is acquitted, you never see that as being heralded as a triumph of the Scottish legal system. Its always presented along the lines of: another guilty man walks free.”

One of the most admirable, yet difficult to grasp, aspects of criminal law is the dispassionate approach which a lawyer must take with their clients. This became quite evident in speaking to Findlay, who never seemed to let his professional guard down, and his opinions, though often controversially phrased, seemed well grounded.

“If your professional role is to represent someone charged with a crime then the nature of the crime is almost irrelevant, any more than would a consultant cardio thoracic surgeon, confronted with a patient who had a lengthy criminal record

for child killing or child abuse, say, ‘Well I’m not going to try very hard for him’, of course he would, it’s his duty. He does not make a value judgment on the person in front of him, that is not his job.”

To illustrate his point further, he recalled a time in 2002, when journalist James Doherty had written a condemning story about him for the Scotsman. Although it was very difficult to get past his unwavering professionalism in the field of law, Findlay certainly was not holding back his distaste for the media.

“Some years ago I was asked casually if I would defend Osama bin Laden, and my answer was ‘yes of course’. Some journalist somewhere wanted to run this great story that I was prepared to defend Osama bin Laden, until somebody else pointed out to him that if I wasn’t prepared to defend Osama bin Laden, that would be a story. The fact that I was wasn’t a story at all. The reality is that if I had been around in 1946, I could have found myself representing the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and

of course I would have done that because it was my professional responsibility.” Whilst his point served its purpose in the wider context of our discussion, I could easily understand how his outspoken manner was easily picked up upon in the press.

It follows, then, that accepting a client’s instruction is also a question of professionalism, but I wanted to know how far a criminal lawyer would put their trust in an accused suspect’s statement. Again Findlay was a model of good practice, adamant that he had no personal opinion on the subject.

“You will test it to some extent obviously, for example if a person says I have never been in that bank which they say I robbed, but his fingerprints are found inside the bank vault, then you would have to point out to him that that would tend to indicate that he is either a safe maker or a safe breaker and that his position that ‘I have never been in that bank in my life’ does not appear to hold good.

“If somebody comes to me and says I committed this crime, I’d like you to get me off, then we would part company there and then. We don’t sit around with various defenses on the shelf and pull one down and say ‘that’s the one for you my boy’.”

Findlay’s career frequently puts him in the unenviable posi-tion of devil’s advocate, but his description of his role in the

perspective of the Scottish legal system as a whole was based much more on principle than pragmatism.

“You really have to go back to the fundamentals of what the legal system is all about, which is very seldom, if ever, portrayed. In a free society, if you take the view, which we do in this country, that if the state makes an allegation against one of its citizens of a criminal act, and it doesn’t make any differ-ence if it’s a minor criminal act or a serious criminal act, our law says it is the duty of the state to prove it…. An accused person is entitled in an open court, to have the allegations against them tested and that quite simply is what defense lawyers do. Very often the claims the prosecution makes are, to say the least of it, optimistic.

“It is the job of the court to decide the guilt of the accused, and it’s our job to make sure the evidence is tested, and if it stands up to that scrutiny and the accused is convicted, that seems to me that justice has been done. If you test that evidence and it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and the accused is acquitted, that also seems to me that justice has been done. If you don’t like it, don’t bitch about it.”

In 2008, the Scottish Parliament began to discuss a proposal to revise the double jeopardy law — a law which prevents a citizen being tried for the same crime twice. Findlay was extremely critical of the idea, highlighting a number of the issues it raised for an accused suspect and their lawyers.

“The double jeopardy is a huge issue; there are so many ramifications to it. For example, where do you draw the line? If somebody is acquitted can you come back five, 10, 20, 25 years later and reopen it? What if an essential witness for the defense has died in the meantime? What if evidence has been lost?

“The basic principle of the law is if you are tried for the defense, you are tried once. Now if an appeal is successful you can be retried, the crown can have another go, but I believe the state should be given one opportunity to prove guilt, and if it fails to prove guilt then that should be the end of it. Otherwise you just leave the thing open ended and it brings a level of uncertainty to the whole legal system that is not in the interests of anybody.”

While I certainly would not like Donald Findlay’s job myself, and perhaps because of this, I do admire his dedication. It can’t be easy to suffer the accusations leveled by the media, and when the importance of one’s role in a free society is under-stood by relatively few, it must take a steadfast constitution as well as a fantastic legal mind to take on such notorious and challenging cases.

“If I had been around in 1946, I could have found myself representing the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials”

Jim Wilson

guardianfeats@src.gla.ac.uk10th February 2009 FEATURES 7

10th February 2009

In the last two weeks, more than twenty universities in the UK have seen campus occupations by students angered at Israel’s invasion of Gaza. The format of the occupations was established by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London: occupy a small but strategic centre of the university, present the university authorities with a list of demands, and prepare for a long stay until they relent.

Most of the occupations have been remarkably successful. BAE Systems, which has extensive research links to university engineering departments, has been made a pariah for providing Israel with technology and parts for its F-16 fighters; various student unions and universities have agreed to boycott Eden Springs mineral water, after it was discovered that its parent company Meya Eden sources its water from illegally occupied territory in the Golan Heights.

In Scotland, Strathclyde and Dundee Universities have scored a series of concrete victories. At Dundee, students marched on the Principal’s office with a list of demands, including divestment in BAE, boycott of Eden Springs, and scholarships for Palestinian students. The university body has agreed to disin-vest its BAE shares, while members of the student union voted overwhelmingly to condemn investments in the defence sector in general and to support, in future, “ethical investments”.

Strathclyde students occupied their Registry overnight. Their actions forced the university governors to cancel their contract with Eden Springs and organise a debate with a representative from BAE; additionally, the authorities have offered scholarships for three Palestinian students.

Louise Whiteside, who started the Stop the War Coalition student group in Dundee, said, “We’ve had a remarkable victory in Dundee, the movement around Gaza has brought a real vibrancy onto campus. Our Stop the War group has grown significantly in the last few weeks. Everybody has pulled their weight, done their research and made a big change at the university. We have proved that protesting does work, and students have the power to make a differ-ence. I’m really proud to be a part of what’s happening in Dundee, and I’m certain we will keep this momentum going.”

While the wave of occupations and protests was backed by 17 members of the University and College Union (UCU) National Executive, others — univer-sity authorities, conservative academics, the National Union of Students (NUS), and some student groups — condemned the sit-ins. Nottingham University forcibly removed students on the grounds that they were “disrupting lectures”. Academics from the political right also condemned the actions.

Most significantly, the NUS, which had led the campaign against Apartheid

in South Africa, distanced themselves from direct action politics. “The protesters need to find new ways to campaign vocally without causing disrup-tion to students on campus,” said Wes Streeting, NUS President. The Gaza issue has brought out underlying differences on the direction of the student movement. At last month’s NUS extraordinary General Meeting, around 30 students stormed the stage to protest the NUS’ failure to take a stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In many ways, the context of these occupations is more interesting than the phenomenon itself.

If you trust the forecasts, three million people will be unemployed by the end of the year. Nearly half of these will be under 25, many of them holding degrees that, in these lean times, do not amount to very much. The graduate unemployed will have the particular misfortune of being saddled with a massive

debt burden from fees, loans, overdrafts, and credit cards.The existing student bodies have proved incapable of responding to the

shocks and convulsions that have left the economic system on the brink of global recession. NUS, long the bastion of student democracy in the UK, has recently voted to bypass most of its democratic channels in favour of a rigid, top-down bureaucracy run by non-student political appointees.

The “modernisation” of NUS has had two major policy implications thus far. Firstly, despite strong evidence that debt is reinforcing class inequalities within the higher education system, NUS has abandoned all pretence of a campaign for free education in England. “Sadly,” laments NUS President Wes Streeting, “for students in England it isn’t realistic, or credible, and it doesn’t have any chance of being endorsed by any British government under Gordon Brown or David Cameron”.

Secondly, whereas previously the student movement was known for its controversial international solidarity measures (such as the anti-Apartheid campaign), the current NUS leadership defines itself as “pragmatic”, i.e. unwilling to court controversy unless it results in direct economic benefits for the organisation.

There are now two forces that might constitute a “student movement” in the future. The first is a “modernised”, apolitical NUS bureaucracy. NUS repre-sents seven million students, and has considerable power to campaign on key

issues. However, the evidence is quite clear: the existing student bodies will not ‘campaign’ unless they can exert political influence of the most narrow variety — they are happy to have a coffee and chat with Labour politicians, but not to lead a student movement against the Labour government’s policies. According to their opponents, this is partly because holding a position in the NUS bureauc-racy is seen by many as the mainline from student politics, to influence inside the Labour Party.

The fledgling movement of student occupations and demonstrations over Gaza provides a second force to consider. It is currently very small. While a few of the occupations were large, most were the actions of about 50 students.

However, the movement scored remarkable successes around the country, despite opposition from the existing student bureaucracy and despite their limited forces, because they were audacious and they took on the university authorities directly. If the tactics of direct action continue to score successes, they could be implemented on a larger scale to force concessions on wider issues like debt, fees, and grants.

In the midst of a recession, with the threat of unemployment looming over graduates and current students, we will be forced to fight to defend our interests. This will require national, coordinated action by millions of students (and not just those in the elite, Russell Group universities). Can the tactics of occupations and demonstrations succeed?

A series of student movements around the world point the way forward. Perhaps the most obvious example is Greece, where a student revolt had previ-ously inspired the overthrow of the US-backed dictatorship in 1973-4. Eighteen months ago, student protests and occupations over the privatisation of higher education had led the government to call a snap election, which it won with a narrow majority.

However, by December, when the economic crisis started to hit, the govern-ment was in even more trouble. Students once again occupied their campuses. On December 6th, police shot a 15-year old boy in Athens. This led to a series of demonstrations, strikes, and student walkouts. On the Monday morning, students in hundreds of schools organised strikes and descended on local police stations to protest. The following day, teachers walked out against the killing. By Wednesday, the trade unions were on general strike against the government’s neoliberal austerity measures.

There were similar events in Italy. Students occupied campuses, roads, and train stations around the country in response to Silvio Berlusconi’s plan to cut teaching jobs and trim £6.4 billion from the education budget. When police

As universities around the UK and the world are occupied by their students, James Foley examines whether students are reclaiming their radical past

Occupy and resist: the return of student radicalism?

“We have proved that protesting does work, and students have the power to make a difference.”

Jim Wilson

guardianfeats@src.gla.ac.uk8 FEATURES

10th February 2009

issues. However, the evidence is quite clear: the existing student bodies will not ‘campaign’ unless they can exert political influence of the most narrow variety — they are happy to have a coffee and chat with Labour politicians, but not to lead a student movement against the Labour government’s policies. According to their opponents, this is partly because holding a position in the NUS bureauc-racy is seen by many as the mainline from student politics, to influence inside the Labour Party.

The fledgling movement of student occupations and demonstrations over Gaza provides a second force to consider. It is currently very small. While a few of the occupations were large, most were the actions of about 50 students.

However, the movement scored remarkable successes around the country, despite opposition from the existing student bureaucracy and despite their limited forces, because they were audacious and they took on the university authorities directly. If the tactics of direct action continue to score successes, they could be implemented on a larger scale to force concessions on wider issues like debt, fees, and grants.

In the midst of a recession, with the threat of unemployment looming over graduates and current students, we will be forced to fight to defend our interests. This will require national, coordinated action by millions of students (and not just those in the elite, Russell Group universities). Can the tactics of occupations and demonstrations succeed?

A series of student movements around the world point the way forward. Perhaps the most obvious example is Greece, where a student revolt had previ-ously inspired the overthrow of the US-backed dictatorship in 1973-4. Eighteen months ago, student protests and occupations over the privatisation of higher education had led the government to call a snap election, which it won with a narrow majority.

However, by December, when the economic crisis started to hit, the govern-ment was in even more trouble. Students once again occupied their campuses. On December 6th, police shot a 15-year old boy in Athens. This led to a series of demonstrations, strikes, and student walkouts. On the Monday morning, students in hundreds of schools organised strikes and descended on local police stations to protest. The following day, teachers walked out against the killing. By Wednesday, the trade unions were on general strike against the government’s neoliberal austerity measures.

There were similar events in Italy. Students occupied campuses, roads, and train stations around the country in response to Silvio Berlusconi’s plan to cut teaching jobs and trim £6.4 billion from the education budget. When police

tried to break up a student sit-in protest in Milan, 100,000 took to the streets in protest at the government’s actions.

In Ireland last week, 15,000 students protested the introduction of tuition fees in universities. The demonstrators directed their anger at the ruling party Fianna Fáil, chanting “no cutbacks, no fees, no Fianna Fáil TDs”. Taoiseach Brian Cowan has told the Irish people that their living standards will have to drop by 10% in the next decade due to the economic crisis. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Shane Kelly told the Irish Times, “We’re not going to stand by and allow the Government to use us as scapegoats to fund massive deficits that have been allowed to develop by the presidents of the universities.”

Student protests have even spread to the United States of America. 100 students occupied the New School University, New York, in December, releasing the following statement:

“We have just occupied New School University.“We liberate this space for ourselves, and all those who want to join us, for

our general autonomous use. We take the university in explicit solidarity with those occupying the universities and streets in Greece, Italy, France and Spain.

“This occupation begins as a response to specific conditions at the New School, the corporatization of the university and the impoverishment of educa-tion in general. However, it is not just this university but also New York City that is in crisis: in the next several months, thousands of us will be losing our jobs, while housing remains unaffordable and unavailable to many and the cost of living skyrockets.”

Although these protests evolved in separate national contexts, their essential features are similar. They have all involved radical direct action; they have all involved large numbers of students; and they have all been directed at the cuts students are facing due to the economic crisis. Students around the world are making links between living standards and the policies of their government.

After strikes involving millions of workers, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was forced to delay cuts to high school education for fears of further protests. Mass student movements are willing to set their agenda against that of the existing political parties, whereas our political bodies are unwilling to break with establishment politics.

Students in Britain who want to defend their living standards in the context of a failing economic system now face a stark choice. Either we accept the boundaries established by the present student leadership, or we organise around them and hope, by our actions, to shake their complacency.

The movement around Gaza has brought a number of valuable lessons. For instance, individualistic forms of action — such as deciding to boycott Israeli oranges at Tesco — do not inspire people. However, boycotts that are adopted by collective bodies — such as the BAE divestment at Dundee University — can engage thousands of students in progressive political action.

It took the actions of only a few dedicated students — combined with the sympathy of hundreds who signed petitions to bring about an Extraordinary General Meeting — to force the vote in the first place. We should ask ourselves: what if these campaigns were led by the student unions? How many could we mobilise against cuts? What changes could we force on the university and the government if our student leaders were willing to learn from their colleagues in Greece, France, Italy, and Ireland?

Relying on student unions or the NUS to solve problems does not work. These institutions have their own established methods, and they have proved time and again to be ineffective next to the potential influence they could wield. NUS represents millions of students, but the leadership acts more like a timid and ineffective pressure group than a genuine union, and fails to inspire action among its membership, who it dismisses as apathetic.

Politically-motivated students needs to look beyond our campuses. We can act as a detonator to wider movements, like trade unions, because we have the ability to organise on a day-to-day basis on campus. We must recognise, though, that the agenda of the existing political parties is not the same as ours, and look to forces that might support us.

Many student representatives ask me: why would a nurse or a teacher want to back our campaigns? By protesting about our living standards, are we not just draining money from an already limited public purse?

People who make this argument forget that nurses and teachers once benefited from a university education, and will one day look to send their own children there. Thus, they have as much interest in defending free education and grants as we do. If we are willing to search out support with groups of workers who share our interests, they will gladly give it.

In the meantime, let us remember that Glasgow University is our university, our space. Let’s not be too timid to use it.

As universities around the UK and the world are occupied by their students, James Foley examines whether students are reclaiming their radical past

Occupy and resist: the return of student radicalism?

“In the midst of a recession, with the threat of unemploy-ment looming over graduates and current students, we will be forced to fight to defend our interests.”

Duncan Brown Jim Wilson

guardianfeats@src.gla.ac.uk FEATURES 9

The word on the streetAs Glasgow’s arts scene gets all poetic, Nafees Mahmud reveals the charm and purpose of the spoken word

I have a dark and dreadful confession to make. I write poetry.” The opening words of Stephen Fry’s guide to writing poetry showcase the stereotypical view many

take of this artform. Many perceive poetic musings as being akin to PIN numbers: they are to be kept to oneself, and not uttered to another soul. However, this isn’t necessarily so in Scotland’s friendliest city.

Over the past four years, there has been a welcome upsurge in the number of spoken word events. But why has this been the case?

The 17th century academic Richard Burton bluntly stated “all poets are mad." S o c r a t e s

once also suggested that a sane mind will never be able to attain poetic excellence. Does

the rise in poetry events suggest a decline in the mental health

of this city’s inhabit-ants? One would

certainly hope not. However, one thing is

certain — poetry in Glaswegian poetry is in a healthy state.

Back in 2005 a new poetry group, Seeds of Thought, was set up and began hosting events

around the city, prior to establishing itself at the Centre for Contemporary Arts on Sauchiehall Street. At the first few evenings, turnout peaked at around thirty people, with attendees comprising mostly family members and friends without an interest in poetry, supporting the ambitious readers and performers.

Founding member Tawona Sithole observed how crowd numbers increased at each subse-quent event, as initial attendees who came as support were pleasantly surprised by what they heard at the CCA.

Word spread beyond family and friends, and the crowd numbers started increasing. Seeds of Thought now attracts a crowd of approximately one hundred at each event it hosts. In the same year as Seeds of Thought was launched, St Mungo’s Mirrorball was set up at Glasgow School of Art, and still runs strong today, presenting international poets that range from Somalia’s Garriye to local legends such as Liz Lochhead.

2006 saw the birth of two more events in the West end; Don’t Eat the Microphone,

now at Tchai Ovna, and Last Monday at Rio. Robin Cairns, founder of the latter, suggests the growth is down to the do-it-yourself attitude that permeates certain folds of society, as seen prominently, for example, within music.

The scene is not tied down by the bureaucracy of dependence on funding bodies, council initiatives or educa-

tion committees, but is instead run by enthusiastic groups of people,

hustling to create a platform for voices to be heard from.

The technical simplicity of presenting spoken word pushes aside the barrier of cost, and has allowed those

with passion — but little money — to propagate the art, with established arts becoming a networking ground for poets and promoters. In 2007 for example, Expression was launched at the ICafe, as a result of like-minded people meeting at the events listed above. The emergence of vast talent also means that new events are needed to accommodate all the poets who are willing to set aside their inhibitions, and pick up a microphone in front of their peers.

“Many perceive poetic musings as being akin to PIN numbers: they are to be kept to oneself”

Many of those reading may have horrible memories of being forced into dissecting boring poems, word for word, at school and wonder why anyone would want to use poetry as a means of expressing themselves. A number of those at the events say it is the immediacy that attracts; it is quicker and cheaper to express yourself through a poem than other forms of writing and art. For many it also feels more natural; an extension of the easily accessed skills, used in everyday writing, combined with the emotions arising out of everyday occurrences.

So what is causing the rise in writers sharing their work publicly? Tom Coles of DEtM points to the creative writing courses at Glasgow and Strathclyde University as an impetus for the increase in confidence of new writers. It is also the inspiration and encouragement that can be gained by hearing others' work when in attend-ance at events around the city.

Perhaps some people are determined to reach out to others in an intimate atmosphere, as a way of stepping back from the world of virtual communication which can disconnect us from communicating effectively with those in our locality, despite increasing the ease of interac-tion on a global scale.

But is Glasgow unique amongst the nation’s cities in the outburst of spoken word enthusi-asts? The Edinburgh scene has withered, largely due to key players on the scene moving away, or onto other projects. One of the major happen-ings was Big Word, a slam-orientated event which ran for ten years, ending last April. Many Edinburgh poets, such as Anita Govan, now travel to participate in the vibrant Glasgow platform. However, Newcastle and Manchester have growing circuits, with the former having recently benefitted from investments into arts projects, spawning a fertile foundation from which new writers can emerge.

Boundary crossing arts nights are also on the rise in Glasgow, with nights such as Monosyllabic and Cryptic Rain combining music, visual art and spoken word. Those there for the other art forms are being won over, increasing their urge to indulge themselves more in similies, meta-phors, rhyme and reason.

The danger of all the current activity in Glasgow is the possibility of over-saturation, resulting in a decline of quality and and subse-quently quantity, in terms of the number of opportunities to hear and take part in poetry readings; just as the launch of one night led to others following suit in the past, one night closing could have a domino effect on others in the future.

Of course, the potential for a possible down-turn in the ease with which amateur poetry can be experienced around Glasgow, if anything, is yet another reason to get involved in the spoken word as soon as possible.

“It is quicker and cheaper to ex-press yourself through a poem than other forms of writing and art”

David McReadie

guardianfeat@src.gla.ac.uk10 FEATURES 10th February 2009

I am not a scientist. And I’m certainly no expert in stem cell research. What is important here, however, is more the general morality than the biological details. So I will try and avoid anything too precise and stick to guiding principles and broad pros and cons. There are certainly some aspects of stem cell research which immediately call for caution. I think I can fairly safely draw the distinction between research on adult stem cells and research on embryonic stem cells. The former involves the use of stem cells collected from developed human tissue, while the latter uses cells sourced through the destruction of an embryo.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke at the univer-sity last year, he warned against “that aspect of stem cell research and the whole biogenetics world which encourages us to think of human tissue and human organs in a more functionalist way.” There is quite evidently a large dose of this functionalism in embryonic stem cell research. To see an embryo only in terms of what it can provide to fully-devel-oped humans entirely misses the point of what an embryo is. It is not a source of raw materials, but is a human life in itself, albeit an underdeveloped one. The cells can be made into different types of tissue but will always be the same human being, or at the very least the same potentiality.

A relatively useful analogy can be drawn with organ donation and transplants. In effect, destructive embryonic research has many similarities with the killing of a man to harvest his organs: even if the transplants were to save many lives, this would not justify the killing itself. But it is not just embryonic stem cell research that is in danger of suffering an overdose of functionalism. The proposal last year to allow tissue to be removed from incapacitated adults, and indeed children, for the purposes of stem cell research turned the human being into a harvestable source of goods.

Life is a mystery that goes beyond our current under-standing, and so we must be particularly cautious when treading in the far reaches of this understanding. It is not a choice between science and ethics but a matter of guiding science down an ethical route. We must be careful to draw a distinction between research with human tissue and experi-ments on human beings. And we must remember that the emphasis is on the human and not the tissue; that the human always comes first. The ethical route also seems to be producing the most promising results, which makes the right decision even easier to make.

None of these is a decisive argument against all stem cell research or treatment, nor are they meant to be. They do, however, suggest that we should be cautious over how stem cells are collected and used. We must remember that the ends do not necessarily justify the means. At a time when President Obama is being praised for realising that the gathering of intelligence does not justify torture, it would be contradictory to suggest that the potential benefits of unethical research outweigh the loss of respect for human life. Even in this world, some things are absolute.

Paperback science fiction, religious hysteria, and Stalin’s botched attempt to crossbreed a human-ape Red Army in the 1930s have combined to make people suspicious of genetic research. Some students proclaim themselves mortified that lank-haired boffins are investigating stem cell technology right under our noses at Glasgow University.

Now and again, the hysteria boils over and some frothing at the mouth Christian will be rolled out to proclaim the evils of modern science. One poster at the GUU warned of the dangers of a human-bovine hybrid. Udder infections? No, nothing that specific. Just the “dangers” of “abominations”.

The denizens of the Beer Bar are not alone in their scepticism. It seems that hardly anyone likes the biological sciences these days. Only 25% of Britons believe that Darwin’s theory of evolution is “definitely true”. Around 10% believe that the “Young Earth” theory (i.e. the notion that the Earth was created by God less than 10,000 years ago) is superior to Evolution. That presumably means that 1 in 10 people you meet believes that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt built pyramids to defend themselves against roving T-Rex attacks.

I find all this scepticism rather odd. Biological science has vastly improved the quality of human life and has been responsible for few fatalities. War, by contrast, destroys millions of lives every year in the name of profit.

Until June last year, Glasgow University was home to a grouping called Aerodynamics, Defence, and Security Markets who “intended to support companies interested in participating in collaborative research [and] development projects that will help realise opportunities in aerospace, defence, security and related markets“. In other words, those

companies who wished to make a profit out of the military, the biggest cash-bovine hybrid in the UK research industry.

Glasgow University still has extensive corporate links to BAE Systems. BAE sold weapons to Suharto’s regime in Indonesia as he was organising a genocide against the people of East Timor, in which a third of the population was killed. BAE bribed the murderous dictatorship of General Pinochet to secure arms contracts. BAE have previously sold weapons to Mugabe, and they now sell - via an American subsidiary - components for the F-16s that Israel used to massacre civil-ians in Gaza.

I would say there is a strong ethical case not to participate in military research with BAE. The arguments against stem cell research, by contrast, are moralistic, outdated, and based on a limited grasp of current scientific developments.

As research progresses, the notion of embryo gulags running out of Glasgow University biology departments is increasingly redundant. Induced Pluripotent Cell tech-nology allows non-Pluripotent cells (such as skin cells) to be reprogrammed into stem cells. The technology is in its early stages, but if we directed funding away from “Homeland Security” into research that actually improves our grasp of our own biology its benefits could be fully explored.

Most scientific developments are, in themselves, ethically neutral. The real issue is: who funds them, and who bene-fits? Genetically modified foods have the potential to feed millions of starving people in Africa, if the technology was subject to democratic scrutiny and scientists were rewarded for enhancing human welfare.

Unfortunately, the best paid scientists are those who enhance corporate profits. “Terminator technology”, which causes the second generation of GM seeds to be infertile, has the potential to destroy the social fabric of third world coun-tries and make farmers dependent on corporations.

We should push to make sure the potential of stem cell research is exploited for human need, not corporate profit. Whereas weapons technology is inherently destructive — and “Homeland Security” inherently a euphemism for state repression — new technologies in biology can make the world a more equitable place, as long as we push for their correct implementation.

>>Aidan Cook

Autodidakt

>>James Foley

OrthodoxyStem cell research: Murder or medicine?

“To see an embryo only in terms of what it can provide to fully-developed humans en-tirely misses the point of what an embryo is.”

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glasgowguardian.co.ukKeeping yourself occupiedInterest groups such as the Stop the War Coalition (SWC) and the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) seem to split students into two camps. While there are plenty of sympathisers and supporters, a surprisingly large number of students find ‘that bunch’ very annoying. Perhaps its all the aggressive rhetoric and blocking the steps of the Queen Margaret Union, perhaps it’s the volatile persecution complex, or maybe its just the hats and scarves. The most common complaint seems to be; “Well they’re never going to stop the war from here so why don’t they just give it a rest?”

Such complainers should be made to eat their words since, in the past few weeks, these groups have brought radical changes not just to the institutions we inhabit, but hopefully changes that will be noticed on a more global scale. This sudden wave of political activity in universities across Britain has provided long awaited evidence that protest can make a differ-ence. Though the nature of the occupations has generally been peaceful, the tactic of targeting the central nervous system of a university, i.e. the registry, seems faintly inspired by the Bolshevik revolution, and has proved almost as effective in achieving its goals.

The very idea that Dundee University should completely disinvest from BAE Systems would

have seemed too fantastic if it hadn’t already happened, and that Strathclyde should so will-ingly agree to almost all of their occupiers’ demands is equally surprising. Strathclyde were faced with some very taxing demands, and their offer to hold a public debate on the future of BAE Systems’ relationship with the University must have been the most diplomatic solu-tion, especially given the considerable sums of money that are no doubt involved in any dealing with the company.

At the time of going to press our own occupation continues. Surely the principal will be feeling the pressure not just from them, but also from the example set by Strathclyde and Dundee. As our university would not match the gestures made by its sister universities the irate reaction from those pushing for solidarity with Gaza is unsurprising.

Whether in favour of, or in disagreement with their agenda, one has to appreciate the product of their efforts. It is an admirable feat that a small group of passionate activists can lean on an institution as massive as a university, armed with nothing but an argument and a peti-tion. Perhaps this achievement will raise their profile in the eyes of otherwise disinterested students, though judging by some reactions it might just serve to increase the divide.

Our self preservation societyThe actions of wildcat strikers, in reaction to the employment of foreign workers at Lindsey Refinery, are at best absurd, and at worst a shameful indication that flagrant xenophobia is acceptable in Britain today.

Although at first glance it is hard to see why a French-owned refinery in the UK would choose to import Italian labour, rather than employing from the area local to the refinery, the reality of the situation is extremely simple. The creation of the positions was done so by an Italian company, working for the refinery as a sub-contractor; why should they be forced to take on staff from another country, if those in the UK are so vehemently against the idea? For such a vocally determined group of protesters, those on strike are remarkably hypocritical.

To put it another way, it’s very easy to pull up an example of an entire UK industry that makes the most of the Common Market in the very way that strikers are objecting to. British tour operators export UK staff to foreign coun-tries every year; entire resorts are filled with staff who are alien to the region (I should know, I was one before university). It creates fantastic job opportunities abroad, and thanks to the EC, there’s no need to worry about visas or work permits. Narrow-minded nationals here are complaining about similar business prac-

tices occurring in Britain – a good way to start picking at the threads of an established method of doing business that works, and has done so for a number of years.

Worryingly, the figurehead of the cry ‘British jobs for British workers’ is the man leading our country. His bizarre pledge in 2007 has adorned placards all across the UK, with sympathy strikes sharing the same bizarre notion that a Brit has more right to a job than anyone else. Quite what possessed Brown to utter these words is anyone’s guess – they readmore like a BNP pamphlet than the speech notes of the Prime Minister – but the result has been the encouragement of a truly backwards frame of mind, in relation to those who are legitimately allowed to work and live in the UK.

Essentially, the actions of those involved are selfish, childish, and embarrassing; jobs should be for the best workers, not those who happen to be nearby. It should bring out the best in people, by trying to better others, not the worst, by trying to exclude them from competing. In the current financial climate, Britain needs to be less of an island off the coast of the EU proper; with attitudes like those of the Lindsey Refinery strikers making headlines, we are in danger of being branded an economic leper colony.

Photo of the week — Sean AndersonWinter arrives at last, as snow falls on the Kibble Palace in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens

guardian@src.gla.ac.uk12 EDITORIAL 10th February 2009

To the Editors…

There’s nothing glamorous about elec-tions. They’re full of cold-looking people standing on a hill, handing out flyers; dozens of manifestos to be read and deciphered; and reminders all over campus that you should do your duty and vote.

I asked a room full of people how to make elections sound interesting and was greeted with the blankest bunch of faces I’ve seen since a pub-quiz host asked the room to name a 19th Century French chemist.

And, you know, elections really don’t seem all that exciting. But, like going to the gym, or baking a pack of Tom and Jerry cupcakes, the results are worth it.

Elections are the foundation of the Students’ Representative Council, and the people who are elected choose what Council will focus their energies on over the coming months.

Do you think too many points are deducted when you hand an essay in late? Do you value student media? Do you resent having to pay council tax as a part-time student?

The SRC has a positive working rela-tionship with the University and its depart-ments. We work closely with members of staff to ensure that students are getting the best possible teaching and overall experience from their time at Glasgow. If you have a problem, or an opinion on how things could be improved, the SRC can work with the University to make this happen. If there’s a bigger, national issue that affects students, we lobby Parliament. Remember the graduate endowment? Thanks to the work of the SRC, you no longer have to pay an extra £2000 when you graduate. Not glamorous, just essential.

Nominations close on the 13th February at 4pm so when you read this there’s still time to think about standing for a position on Council. You don’t need any previous experience or knowledge, just 2 things: a desire to create positive change at University, and passion for what you do. Well, 3 if you include the online nomination form you can find at: www.glasgowstudent.net.

If you don’t want to get involved to such an extent, use your right to vote on 4th and 5th March. Between the 16th February and then you’ll be able to read all candidates’ manifestos online so there’s plenty of time to find out what people are wanting to do when elected.

Zoe Grams

The Glasgow University Guardian is editorially independent of the SRC and University. All complaints should be adressed to the editors, who can be reached via the above contact details.

Editors: George Binning & James PorteousDeputy Editor: Tom BonnickNews Editor: Sarah SmithFeatures Editors: Tara Hepburn & Pete RamandSports Editor: Harry Tattersall SmithMusic Editor: Oisín Kealy

Film Editors: Emily McQueen-Govan & Lewis Porteous Lifestyle Editors: Michelle Williams & David KirkpatrickPicture Editor: Jim WilsonReporters: Craig MacLellan, Ross Mathers, Amy McGregor Columnists: Aidan Cook, James Foley, Jamie Ross

Contributors: Harry Akehurst, Laura Cernis, Catriona Reilly, Eleanor Mitchell, Jessica McBride, James Maxwell, Nafees Mahmud, Colin Daniels, Laura DohertyPhotographers: Luke Winter, Sean Anderson, Benzo Harris, Scott McGinlay

This newspaper is funded through and supported by the Glasgow University Students' Representitive Council.

Glasgow University

Scottish Student Newspaper of the Year

Kate Winslet goes for gold in the latest offering from Sam Mendes

Film

Ninety years on, is the Clyde still a hotbed of communism?

Friday, bloody Friday

Features

21st January 2009

On the road again

THE FUTURE OF ONE OF GLASGOW University’s oldest sports clubs is in jeopardy following a decision by the University Court last month.

Glasgow University Rugby Football Club (GURFC), founded in 1869, has been prohib-ited from using the University’s name and facilities as of January 1.

The drastic action, advocated by Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA) and unanimously approved at the last meeting of the Court, comes after an array of controversial incidents over the last three years.

Uni rugby club suspended for rest of yearOn two occasions, club members were

found to be consuming alcohol on a GUSA minibus, following which all travelling privi-leges were suspended. In a separate incident, the club returned an external hire vehicle containing vomit.

More recently, the club’s annual dinner was shut down after details of inappropriate behaviour were published in the Scotsman in March last year.

Gavin Lee, President of the Students’

Representative Council (SRC), felt the punish-ment was justified because it protects the inter-ests of the wider student body.

He said: “The reputation of GURFC and the behaviour of some of its members were detri-mental to the University and its students.

“The SRC supported GUSA in its decision as they were in the best position to decide on the appropriate action to be taken.”

The final straw for GURFC appears to have been the club's banning from the Glasgow University Union (GUU) last October.

This step was taken following reports of

continued misconduct within the Union, with the Principal, Sir Muir Russell, received a letter of complaint over members’ actions accompa-nied by photographic evidence.

GUU President Chris Birrell explained: "At the beginning of last semester, we sat down with the rugby club and highlighted the trouble there had been in recent years.

“We set out a clear path of disciplinary measures that would be taken if these circum-stances continued; unfortunately, they did, so we had to take the last resort of banning all resi-dent members of the club.” (Cont. on page 2)

Colin Daniels

UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW employees are campaigning for better working conditions, having received no rise in pay for seven years.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), many of whom are still studying as post-graduate students, have not received a pay increase since 2002 and, in some instances, are effectively earning less than the national minimum wage.

A letter and petition with 76 signatures, including those of senior members of staff, was submitted on December 17 to the Principal, the Secretary of Court, the Head of Human Resources, and to each Faculty Dean.

The letter claims that an increase in the hourly rates for graduate teaching assistants is long

overdue, given that the last pay rise was made in October 2002 and consisted of an extra fifty-five pence per hour.

Guardian spoke to one of the campaign’s original activists about the situation many teaching assistants currently find themselves in.

The spokesperson for the campaign, who asked not to be named, explained: “Graduate teaching assist-ants are casual workers, meaning that they are hired without a contract.

“This is unusual because many other UK universities do provide a contract for teaching assistants, along with holiday and sick pay.

“Glasgow University claims that it is one of the top universities in the country for its outstanding teaching quality, however, a large proportion of its teaching staff are given only £17.85 per contact hour.”

(Continued on page 6) Tony Benn outlines his latest political vision >> page 7

SNP “betray” students over grants pledge

THE HIGHER EDUCATION funding system in Scotland looks set to face considerable changes in the coming years.

The Scottish Government have announced various plans to update the student support structure in line with the idea that people should have access to learning on the basis of their academic merits, not on their ability to pay.

A 41-page consultation, launched in December by the Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop, will examine the different options available to tackle the financial problems currently faced by students.

The consultation has been set up in order to consider the possible replacement of student loans with grants - as was pledged by the SNP in its 2007 Election Manifesto.

However, despite this manifesto pledge, two further options have been laid out in the paper: to increase the minimum level of overall income available; or a combination that would see increasing income and a reduction in debt.

(Continued on page 4)

Ross Mathers

Graduate staff fight for fair pay

Sarah SmithExclusive

Rob Miller

Dear Editors,

It was difficult not to have a wry smile at the conclusion of your editorial article on the Scottish Government’s consultation on student funding (21st Jan 2009). Surely the “criti-cising and nit-picking from their position of relative political impotence” statement is more applicable to your good selves and your stance than the Scottish government.

You mention the commitments the Government has had to make to other projects: your readers will be aware that the SNP, as a minority government, has had to have a broader set of priorities which are more reflective of parliament and therefore less reflective of the initial manifesto.

You have criticised the SNP over the council tax issue, saying that the freeze was a “compro-mised election pledge.” However the manifesto with which you claim to be familiar stated this was the route to be taken- an initial freeze then replacement with Local Income Tax.

Again your statement about the SNP waiting for an unpredicted recession as the “right moment” is ludicrous. The SNP made clear during the comprehensive spending review in November 2007, that due to no other parties in parliament supporting their student finance proposals; being forced to commit to the Edinburgh Trams project (at a cost of over £500 million!) and the tightest financial settle-ment from Westminster since 1999 that the current £30 million pound proposal would be made available to aid the transition from grants to loans.

The SNP continue to have the best proven track record in supporting Scotland’s students, leaving the debt-loving Lib-Lab pact far behind. They have abolished the Graduate Endowment fee, introduced grants for part-time students and are consulting widely on the best way to take the issue forward. Your editorial stance and your front page headline were both misleading and inaccurate.

David Baird

President, GU Scottish Nationalist Association

Dear Editors,

The conflict that precipitated the recent growth in the number of protests against Israel’s conduct has ended, yet the protests, if anything, have increased in frequency and hostility as of late. It is in relation to this matter that I write to yourselves, and to my fellow students as a whole, in order to express my annoyance at this.

We hear from the organisers of such events of the “war-crimes” committed by the IDF; the continuing iniquities committed against the Palestinian people that, if the number of said protests is anything to go by, are unmatched by any other state on this earth. Against such asser-tions, I must take umbrage.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is by no means a solitary fly in the ointment of world

peace; indeed, I could list at least half-a-dozen conflicts that are still ongoing long after the bombs of Israeli F16s have ceased to fall. Most such conflicts have seen death tolls far in excess of the toll incurred within this small part of the Middle East, such deaths taking place over a similarly long period.

The most pertinent example, given its current newspaper coverage, is the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers. Since the late 1980s, it is believed that roughly 70,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen the deaths of approximately one-tenth this number of people over a similar period of time.

Now, I don’t doubt for a second that the students that partake in protests against Israeli policy are strongly supportive of world peace.

However, one must question the inconsistency of the students who vociferously express their anger over Palestinian deaths and yet, to my eyes, completely ignore a conflict responsible for significantly more casualties.

I can’t help but feel that many people, on account of the many posters and protest organ-isers scattered across campus, have allowed themselves to succumb to the increasingly distasteful herd mentality of only focusing on Israel.

Edward Wallace

Glasgow University Guardian welcomes letters to the editors; a selection are printed each issue. Please mark them ‘To the Editors — for printing’, and send them to the above address.

Correction

In the last issue of the paper, Gerry McKeever should have been credited as Music Editor.

guardian@src.gla.ac.uk10th February 2009 LETTERS 13

guardiansport@src.gla.ac.uk

Double polo victory for GUCC

14 SPORT

The annual canoe polo competition kicked off at Glasgow’s Stevenson Building, with the nation’s finest descending on the West End to compete for the sport’s most coveted prize.

In stark contrast to numerous university sports fixtures, where spectators frequently number in single figures, the event saw the Stevenson Building in full carnival swing, with vocif-erous fans lining the poolside, whilst at times the whole building seemed to rock as an endless array of 80s hits thundered out over the heads of the crowd.

Organiser and women’s captain, Lorna Denny admitted nerves in the build up to the spectacle, “What with the snow this week, it was really touch and go about whether Aberdeen were going to make it. Thankfully they have and I think it’s going to be a really fantastic weekend”

The two day extravaganza began in front of a raucous crowd, with a city derby match which saw the Glasgow women’s second team clinically dismantled by a superior Strathclyde outfit, who sent out an early message of intent with a crushing 10-0 victory over the home side. This scoreline could have been a much more bitter pill for the GU team to swallow, had it not been for the heroics of Ali Macleod in goal, stopping the visitors’ tally from climbing further.

The Glasgow ladies’ first team restored university pride, with a performance that highlighted the reasons why they have yet to be defeated this season. Led by captain Lorna Denny, they comprehensively outclassed the Napier outfit, and attacked with such flair and flamboyance that for large spells of the match, the Edinburgh side could do nothing more than simply chase shadows. Glasgow eventually ran out convincing 5-0 winners in the match.

After a couple of fairly one-sided matches, the tournament really sprang into life with Glasgow’s men’s team taking on Heriot Watt, in a high-octane match with such a degree of physi-cality that it was no surprise to learn that there was ‘history’ between the sides. Glasgow’s Teng Wei Keong orchestrated proceedings with a display that reflected why he is so highly

regarded in canoe polo circles. The Singaporean has recently battled his way into the national set up, and whilst other players blustered around the pool, he seemed to be able to effortlessly dictate passages of play.

At times you could be mistaken for thinking him disinter-ested, but time after time, he exploded through the Edinburgh side’s defensive ranks. Eventually, he discovered his range with devastating effect, and within a couple of quick breaks had

ensured the game was put to bed.The second day of competition saw both of Glasgow's first

teams cruise through their respective group stages and into the finals, with such an ominous amount of ease that both looked destined to retain the most highly regarded trophy in Scottish canoe polo.

The women’s final saw Glasgow take on their old foes St Andrews, perhaps the only side currently able to challenge Glasgow University’s monopoly on the sport.

That said, anyone hoping for a major shock was to be disap-pointed as Glasgow exploded from the start, and despite playing the majority of the match without captain Denny, the game was all but over by half time.

After losing their captain, it was left to the duo of Amy Cowell and Cath Johnstone to terrorise St Andrews and lead GUCC ladies to a resounding 5-1 triumph, completing a perfect season for the team. Such have been the ladies high stand-ards this year, there seemed to be a visible disappointment in conceding a late consolation goal to the Fifers, yet the final whistle still sparked mass celebration amongst the Glaswegian team and their support.

The men’s final saw Glasgow take on this year’s surprise outfit, Strathclyde. Glasgow spent the majority of the first period camped in their own half as their city rivals piled on the pres-sure in the pool. Regardless of this, one pirouette from Teng Wei Keong turned defence into attack, and his through ball found Colin McMorrin in acres of space, leaving him free to slot home the goal from close range.

At times in the tournament Teng Wei was simply untouch-able, and it seemed fitting that it was he who rounded off the competition in style. Picking up the ball in his own half, he unleashed an unstoppable rocket, with fans and opposition alike stopping to applaud this prodigious talent.

Both teams now progress to the BUCS Cup to compete against the top teams from the UK’s universities, where they will be looking to add to the season’s already extensive collec-tion of silverware. Given the blistering performances on home turf in this competition, they will certainly advance as one of the favourites to take victory in the competition.

Harry Tattersall Smith

GU denied by late strike(continued from back page) From the resulting set-piece, Smith charged in and cannoned a thundering shot off the post.

In the end, Strathclyde managed to complete a remarkable comeback. With just four minutes remaining, Clennel was unable to hold onto Mhairi Quinan’s dangerous cross, and Emma Richardson was on hand to bundle home a dramatic leveller.

Afterwards, Glasgow coach Niall Marshall reflected on a disappointing finale to an enthral-ling contest: “Strathclyde played well, but I felt we deserved to win. Their third goal was simply a freak goal and gave them the impetus and confidence to go forward in search of an equaliser. I think that, overall, we had the bulk of the play and the better chances.

“However, we still have important games still to play. It’s disappointing not to win today, but it’s another point towards winning the league, and we’re still in a very strong position to do that.”

Glasgow will continue their title challange on the 18th of February, when they face St Andrews at home.

Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall played host to the Aviva International Athletics championships. It was a heartening performance from the British contingent following a wholly disappointing display on the track in Beijing.

The weekend belonged to Mo Farah, the perennial underachiever who finally lived up to his potential by shattering the long standing UK indoor 3000m by 0.10 seconds, coming home in a time of 7 minutes 40.99 seconds. Farah, who has spent the winter training in Kenya, looked sensational as he strolled to victory, in a performance that he will hope can propel him to a successful season, as he at last seems to be offering the form that can see him compete for the major championships. The weekend also saw young British hopeful Craig Pickering pick up victory in the 60m, against the ever-controversial Dwain Chambers in a much hyped clash.

There was a moment of redemption for American Lolo Ferrari in the 60m hurdles. The US runner looked set to claim Olympic gold, yet a stumble at the final hurdle in the Birds Nest, saw glory cruelly snatched away. This

season she is very much out to prove herself, and at Kelvinhall she destroyed her opposition, with a time of 7.95 seconds.

Success from Scottish perspective was limited to Susan Scott, whose comfortable victory in the women's 1500m strengthed her position as team GB's premier distance runner.

There were more positives for Scottish

Kelvin Hall hosts 2014 warm-up

Athletics, as local sprint favourite Nick Smith secured qualification for the European Indoor Championships, with a superb lifetime best equalling, of 6.63 seconds, in the mens 60m.

As Glasgow gears up to hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the championships at Kelvinhall have again reiterated the city's ability to successfully host showcase events.

Sean Anderson

Sport Staff

Culture and Sport Glasgow

10th February 2009

Landmark stem cell trial at Glasgow

Volleyball aims to smash recordsI guess when I think of volleyball the first things that inevitably come to mind is bronzed Adonis’s and bikini babes frolicking on the beaches of Rio and Miami … but Glasgow?

I’ve come along to train with one of the fastest growing clubs at the university and meet with men’s captain, the highly charismatic Vihar Georgiev.

From having played volleyball a couple of times, I perhaps had a slightly ill-conceived notion that I was a fairly proficient volleyballer/ist, yet within five minutes I’ve had my ‘technique’ torn to shreds and my arms are bruised. I’m put right by a diminutive middle-aged women, who assures me I’m doing it all wrong and if I do this, that and the other, I’ll be on my way.

I have no plans to take heed of her advice — I mean really, what can she know that I don’t? — but then out of nowhere, this charming little lady almost leaps her own body height before unleashing a farcically powerful (and ultimately emasculating) smash, and it is then I concede defeat and abandon my unor-thodox style.

One thing I never realised about volleyball was the degree of artistry dedicated to each move. Each play is meticulously thought out and repeatedly drilled until it's seemingly second nature. A whole array of decoys and dummies, blocks and coun-ter-blocks. So much so, that watching it can easily see someone mesmerised by the sight of several colossal six-feet-plus giants leaping and diving in strictly choreographed routines.

The men’s season if effectively over, and although no silver-ware has been won, Vihar is delighted with the squads perform-ance. “Last season we lost a lot of our big players, and with a squad consisting of many players new to the game, maintaining our position in the premier division is a huge achievement and one next season we can definitely build on.” Yet it’s not completely over and Vihar insists he will not allow his squad to get complacent in the aftermath of survival from a tough relegation dogfight. “We still have the BUCS trophy down in

Liverpool, and we really want to go down there, play our best stuff and who knows what can happen.”

He is also buoyed by the growing enthusiasm in the club, talking of a time when the club was really struggling for numbers, but after another absolutely packed training session, everything appears to be very much on the up for the Glasgow University Volleyball Club.

Whilst then men’s squad have been fighting for survival the women’s team seem to be romping towards the women’s title and promotion to the National Division One. They currently sit unbeaten at the summit of Division Two, and barring any major hiccups, seem destined next season to once again be competing against the nation’s finest.

Vihar enforces on me a very positive message, and talks to me about the club’s mantra. “Of course when we play we want to win, but for us that is not all, for me it is about having fun first. If you are having fun with your sport the winning will come naturally.” Vihar hopes that in time the squads can rebuild and regain the success of past teams. “In 2005 we came runners up in both the Scottish and British University cups. We don’t want to equal those records. We want to go on and beat them!”

The club is a great social hub and has a real international vibe; I play in a team of five with only two of us boasting English as our first language, and this really seems to be no anomaly. I ask a friend who has been converted to volleyball since arriving at Glasgow about how many nationalities he thinks are involved: “Countless, I think that’s what makes it so great, even if there is sometimes a language barrier, everyone is always laughing and joking around, there really seems a sense of community about it.”

The club has its social drop in sessions on Thursday nights from 7.30pm at the Stevenson Building, and is definitely worth checking out if you want to stay fit, but cannot stomach the lonely hours on the treadmill.

Glasgow University Tennis Club once again reiterated its strength in depth with a crushing 10-0 defeat of Strathclyde.

The result cemented their place in the nation’s top division for next season, whilst leaving them in prime position to begin to generate momentum for a play-off push, as the league enters its penultimate round of fixtures.

The team’s white-washing marked an incredible dominance over their city rivals, as they repeated their early season heroics with another faultless display.

Captain James Lush spoke optimisti-cally about the future of tennis at Glasgow University: “Last season we lost a lot of our squad, but this year we’ve been inundated with a really talented bunch of freshers.”

The club has been led by the talismanic performances of Andrew Smilie. He boasts some fairly impressive statistics, having lost only once in several years of service for the GUTC. Lush feels that but for injuries to several star players, the season could have been far more successful. Fresher star David Birrell, who boasts Judy Murray as his former coach, has seen his season hampered by injury,

yet when available his emphatic performances have given plenty of encouragement for the club members.

Birrell has been partnered by fellow fresher Tim Campbell in the first squad. Campbell has forced his way into the team with a series of pivotal victories that have been vital in ensuring Glasgow’s first division status.

The men’s focus now turns to the BUCS trophy with the squad facing a trip to face Warwick University. Lush speaks confidently about the team’s chances: “This season has been frustrating for everyone. We’ve been fairly erratic and injuries have cost us in impor-tant matches . Yet we’ll go down with a strong side and if we play our best tennis we have a really good chance of progressing”

The second side,which is centred around a strong contingent of Freshers, currently top their BUCS Conference Cup pool and also have a very real chance of advancing.

Whilst the men’s team has lacked consist-ency, the women have been embroiled in a fierce relegation battle.

In a highly competitive league, dominated by the university teams of St Andrews and Edinburgh, a shock draw with the Fife outfit seems to have all but guaranteed safety for the ladies first team.

Tennis club rally for play-off push

Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson

Harry Tattersall Smith fine tunes his skills for the summer with the volleyball club

Harry Tattersalll Smith

guardiansport@src.gla.ac.uk10th February 2009 SPORT 15

Inside: Glasgow University Canoe Club host polo extravaganza

10th February 2008

guardian

also: Guardian goes along to train with the Volleyball Club

sport

WITH EIGHT GOALS, A GLUT OF STRAMASHES AND the woodwork taking a battering, the latest womens’ derby at Glasgow proved anything but predictable, for both specta-tors and coaching staff alike.

The early action gave some indication of the extraordi-nary events that were to unfold in the all-Glasgow derby; the deadlock was broken with only six minutes on the clock, as Katy Emslie stretched to meet Mhairi Robertson’s cross, before a ricochet off visiting goalkeeper Megan Holden fell kindly for the Glasgow striker to tap in from close range.

Having established an early lead, the hosts sought to put the game to bed. Emma Smith’s weak back header put her defensive colleagues under pressure, but Holden ran out to clear just before Claire Henderson could latch onto the ball. Katy Hawkins came close with a looping effort from 25 yards as Glasgow looked to assert their dominance on proceedings.

Disappointingly, the home side’s early advantage was wiped out by lax defending after 15 minutes. Strathclyde’s Charlene McCreath swung in a corner from the right, and Smith was afforded the freedom of the penalty box to send a simple volley past Siobhan Clennel from just six yards.

The whirlwind pace of events continued with two goals inside the next eight minutes. Dana Wilson restored Glasgow’s advantage with a shrewd 20-yard volley, only for Strathclyde to draw level again, as Ciara Barnes latched onto Michelle Keating’s through ball to sidestep Clennel and fire home.

The second half kicked off in the same vein as the dramatic opening period. Just thirty seconds had elapsed when Phoebe Broomfield flicked a corner onto the underside of the crossbar; the ball bounced down onto or around the goal line but the referee waved play on despite the vocif-erous protestations of the home players. Shortly afterwards, Henderson turned Julie Farquhar on the edge of the box and crashed a shot off the near post.

However, It wasn’t long before Glasgow restored their lead once again. This time Paula Salmi was the provider, sending in a cross from the right, and Emslie stretched to turn the ball in. The hosts appeared home and dry 10 minutes later when Stacy Hughes blocked another effort from Emslie and Henderson pounced to score the rebound.

However, the visitors were not to be beaten. The performance of Barnes, who was excellent throughout, argu-ably merited a second goal; however, the manner in which it arrived took everyone by surprise.

Her inswinging corner from the left was missed by attackers and defenders alike and the ball simply dropped into the far corner of the net. Buoyed by the lifeline, Strathclyde came at their hosts. Keating surged past two Glasgow defenders before seeing her 15-yard drive turned behind for a corner. (continued on page 14)

City derby ends in stalemateGlasgow 4-4 Strathclyde

Jim Wilson

Colin Daniels

The Cribs | Doubt | Celtic Connections | Recoat Gallery

inSIGHT

10/02/09

Local ProduceEleanor Mitchell on Glasgow’s

vintage hotspots

Glasgow University

artsSIGHTin10

/02

/09

Those who lament that painting is of little importance in art today will be satisfied to see what is on offer at Recoat Gallery this month. Paint, once the medium of high

art, has been stuck in a quagmire of doubt for the last forty years. Aware of this, the artists exhibiting in Mixed Palette have continued the tradition of painting whilst engaging in contemporary culture and the urban environment. The result is an em-

brace and commitment to the forgotten medium, instead of a reaction to the latest ‘ism’ or material.

This is what makes the exhibition so refreshing. Paint appears as a footnote to the subject matter rather than its use being so much the issue. Through this approach, there is something thoroughly old-school about the engagement with the medium, despite its modern urban look.

The leader of the pack is Dave White, who, prior to exhibiting at Recoat, has shared wall space with the likes of Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Damian Hirst. However, lest any association with Hirst ruin your regard for White, I can testify to the fact that substance and skill are central to his work. What links White with these formidable pop artists is that his work has a distinct, ‘cool’ mien about it.

The one painting exhibited at Recoat is from his latest series ‘Superheroes and Villains’. Batman is animated with swift, thick oil stokes; the reference is pop, though unlike the smooth, clean and flat application used by Warhol and Lichtenstein, his protagonist’s surface is expressive and cropped to

An urban dystopiaJessica McBride is impressed by modern uses of a traditional medium at Recoat Gallery

I awoke with a jolt of excitement today. I heard my door open, and through bleary eyes I saw my mother coming into the room with an en-velope in her outstretched arm. What could

this be? A wistful letter of love from an old flame? A massive order for Jamie Ross charity wristbands? Of course not, it was a letter from my old mates at the sperm bank.

I don’t know how you like to start your day, fellow students, but I’d venture that very few of you would choose to wake up by receiving a letter straight from the desk of a sperm nurse which, in its very first sentence, informs you that you have a “slightly low sperm count“.

About a month ago, I had to give a sperm sample due to the small chance that my treatment could make me infertile. I don’t know who invented chemotherapy, but his efforts to iron out the flaws in his creation can only really be described as lack-lustre. If he went on Dragon’s Den he’d no doubt present something revolutionary and fantastic, much like Reggae Reggae sauce, but it would prob-ably cause eight of your toes to fall off and make the earth explode.

Apparently having a slightly below average count is of little consequence to me, but they thought I’d get a kick out of this emasculating piece of trivia anyway. They claim that it’s “most likely” down to my illness, which reads to me as a thinly-veiled suggestion that I have rubbish testi-cles. However, I am reassuringly told that they have “great motility” which means that, although perhaps low in number, they are a force to be reck-oned with. Much like the Spartan army.

They go on to instruct me that I have to contact them as soon as I enter a serious relationship so that they can sort out the relevant consent forms for it. This begs the question, how in shitting crikey am I supposed to bring this up to the lucky lady? At what stage in a relationship is it acceptable for me to suggest that her name should be written onto my bottle of sperm?

This also means that somewhere in Ninewells Hospital there will be an inevitably long and depressing record of each successive failed rela-tionship that I have had to cancel consent for. Perhaps the sperm receptionist will moonlight as a handy relationship councillor for me. ’Oh dear, what happened this time Jamie?’ ’Same as last time Doreen, I told her I needed her date of birth and address to fill out the form for her to mother my test tube spawn‘.

In the final paragraph they inform me that I don’t have AIDS, which was a relief. I think that finding out that I had both cancer and AIDS in the same year would have been somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow. Anyway, it was on that bombshell that the letter ended and I was left to pick over the prospect of living my life knowing I make slightly less sperm than a normal man, but it’s okay, because they could have AIDS.

+Cancerous Capers

>> Jamie Ross

frame just his face. Batman seems to be struggling with his energy, or a force exerted from beyond the frame. This is one frame separated from the narra-tive strip usual to a comic book; he stands alone on the canvas on the gallery wall. What comes to mind is the sense of frisson in contemporary culture — the fear of repressed inaction, and sudden thrill of heroic action.

Continuing in a similar vein are the works by Chinamike and Jacob Smith. Smith, who has been described as an ‘urban realist’, fills his large canvases with an overlapping pastiche of manga figures, superheroes, and often a fetishist depiction of women in a slick, stylised manner. There is an irreverence in his work too, often using one pop-cultural icon to mock another cultural, historical or political figure — such as with the inclusion of Care Bears with the swastika painted on their bellies, or George Bush as Zorro.

However, this continual appropriation of pop-culture iconography has less to do with the shock of contradicting images, and more to do with its use as a visual abbreviation which can understood by everyone. Comic-book and manga animation were traditionally the reserve interest of male youth. Now with the inclusion of a certainly pornographic, almost sadomasochist rendering of women, a melding of pre-adolescent fetishism and adult fetish comes to the fore.

Talking to Guardian, Smith mentioned that for his next project he planned a series of paintings of nude ladies in wrestling masks, which will undoubt-edly provoke mixed emotional responses. Perhaps this is a critique of the predominance of sexualised imagery and escapism continually on offer in the common culture, although I fear it’s more to do

with the artist’s own amusement and desire. The youngest of the artists on show is Fraser

Gray, and it is he who examines the medium of paint and the painted surface most profoundly in his work. Rather than confine his painting to the canvas, Gray extends the image to the wall beyond its edge. The painting is no longer framed in the traditional format; instead the image now reaches out and engages with the space of the viewer. In doing so, Gray makes the work on one level site-specific, and on another, keeping within the context of the medium of painting and canvas-as-object. This lessens the impact of the work as a commodity object, and instead emphasises the relationship people have with their environment in contemporary culture.

Fraser described his pictures to Guardian as a jarring combination of graphics based ‘consum-erist’ imagery and traditional Scottish landscape. It seems appropriate that the Dundee based artist has chosen neon tartan as one of his main motifs for consumerist design.

These artists and others represented in Mixed Palette use different kinds of paint and use them in diverging ways, often combining several types in one work. Arching across this collection are refer-ences to what was once anticipated as a future visualised in hyper-heroic vividness, and is now regarded as a future that doesn’t quite function as was expected. By showing the unreality of popular and contemporary culture, one gets the sense of a dystopian vision of the future amid the reality of the urban environment.

Mixed Palette at Recoat Gallery is exhibiting until 1st March 2009. For more information, visit www.recoatdesign.com

“Paint, once the medium of high art, has been stuck in a quagmire of doubt for the last forty years”

From left: Jacob Smith; Fraser Grey. Photos: Jim Wilson

As its title suggests, there is very little more to Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist than one long, ex-tended boast about how cool a load of underground bands are. Perhaps its lack of conventional narrative and motifs of perpetual searching and deferred potential are reminiscent of Joyce’s Ulysses; but strictly speaking this, would only be true if Ulysses sucked.

Michael Cera — whose portrayals of highschoolers are ever more unconvincing — plays Nick to Kat Denning’s Norah, two totally original indie-hipsters who just don’t fit in with their crowds; Queercore punk bands and harems of drunken bitches, respectively. Across a single night of po-faced indifference, the unhappy couple emote in a faux-charming manner so nauseatingly contrived that it does not merely beg the question ‘Who the hell cares?’, but indeed, the larger issue, ‘Who the hell thought anyone would care, and would then go ahead and gamble large sums of money on such a surely misguided premise?’ Our Montague and Capulet both spend the night trying to extricate their lives from those of their troublesome exes, rescue Norah’s inebriated friend Caroline from the ignominy of having to face the consequences of her actions, and uncover the location of a gig by their favourite band, the super-cool Where’s Fluffy?

As if to underscore how awesome his two leads are — and, by the transitive properties of awesome-eness, how privileged we should consider ourselves to be witnessing their lives — director Peter Sollett constantly draws attention to the fact that Dumb and Dumber are the only ones who really understand Where’s Fluffy, whereas everyone else are just a bunch of shallow, phoney scenesters. Except Caroline, who maybe would be all right, if she weren’t throwing up all the time. Phoney.

Catharsis finally comes when Nick awesomely abandons his detritus — sorry, ex — Tris, as she patheti-cally dances for him on the riverbank in the most sluttish fashion imaginable, by driving away announced to leave her stranded. I know; could he more gallant and alternative, right? Meanwhile, Norah hilariously has a couple of zeroes added to her boyfriend’s bar tab in retaliation to his — equally pathetic — pleas for her uber-producer dad to check out his band’s demo. Jeez, Norah, nepotism exists, and is the only way anyone ever gets ahead; stop being such a playa hater.

The tedium not quite over, Sense and Sensibility finally head over to the Where’s Fluffy gig, where —

SIGHTfilm in PAG

E 3

>> Tom Bonnick

Nick and Norah's Infinite PlaylistDir: Peter SollettOn general release now

At first glance, Doubt seems like little more than a consummate exercise in box tick-ing — it’s got everything. Period setting? Check! Nuns? Meryl Streep? The vague

threat of incipient paedophilia? Thrice check! Upon closer inspection, this may seem unfairly cynical; after all, the story is adapted from John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer-winning play — by the play-wright himself, no less, who also directs — and has a pedigree cast whose players are not known for mistakes, Streep aside.

Still, Shanley’s theatrical reputation and acco-lades do beg the question of what he’s doing slum-ming it in cinema at all — and unfortunately, this seems to be a thought that occurred to the director at some point during production. Although he

>> Tom Bonnick

DoubtDir: John Patrick ShanleyOn general release now

doesn’t succumb to every temptation facing those converting material meant for the stage onto screen, there is still a feel of occasionally unneces-sary expansion and clumsily repeated visual motifs that are inserted for no reason other than that they could be.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is Father Flynn, the young priest attempting to broaden the appeal of Catholicism with an affable and pragmatic approachability, whilst all the time struggling against the prevailing dogmatic creeds of Sister Aloysius (Streep), whose authoritarian rule keeps the local church school in line. After getting wind of a possible case of Flynn abusing a young pupil, Donald Miller, Sister Aloysius embarks upon a crusade to

An interminably long storysurprise! — Tris and Tal (see? The exes have the same alliterative initials as well!) await. Not quite content with beating his audience around the head with the obvious stick, Sollett has both his lead actors face the same, terrible conundrum, in obvious homage to Sophie’s Choice — stick around at the gig with all these douchebags, or be totally original and split? The laziness with which their relationship is structured would be more irritating if it were not for the fact that it is literally the only semblance of story holding the whole rambling, boring tale together.

In Juno, the film whose aesthetic Infinite Playlist most transparently attempts to replicate, the self-consciously weird characters and obscure music references are silly but excusable, thanks to an ultra-smart script and some great casting. In stark comparison, I remain unconvinced that there ever was a script for such a turgid farce of independent cinema, and now marks the point that I have fallen out of guy-love for Cera; a feat I thought would be impossible after Arrested Development.

have her adversary removed from his post, buoyed by little more than an unshakeable internal convic-tion. For the scenes the two share, both Streep and Hoffman are masterful: playing off one another like a pair of seasoned boxers, neither conceding

ground, throwing jabs, and all the while maintaining a fragile equilibrium of

power and evenly proportioned senses of righteousness. Individu-ally, or when faced with one of the remaining members of the ensemble, however, and both of these performances feel curi-

ously empty — as if they belong in a theatre and have been awkwardly

displaced. As Sister Aloysius’ lieutenant, Amy Adams effortlessly upstages

her superior, playing a vari-ation of the wide-eyed

ingénue character for which she has

been rightly

applauded in the past. Adams manages to combine endearing charm with her position as the uncom-promised moral centre of the play: unwilling to go along with her colleague’s vendetta, and unsullied by accusations.

Better still is Viola Davis, playing the mother of Miller, who with a single scene manages to steal the entire film from under Streep’s nose. She is simply magnificent — flawed, emotionally broken, and willing to sacrifice almost every motherly instinct so that her son can have an education; and the real wonder behind Davis’ performance is its compas-sionately rendered, eminent believability.

Although Streep has been tipped as a likely contender for a third Oscar, it is Adams and Davis who truly elevate Doubt from the rank of well crafted if slightly self-worthy piece, and into the upper realm of excellent, performance-driven pictures, redeeming it from association with a host of recent films (The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) which seem to have been adapted by people who hate cinema.

>> Emily McQueen-Govan

NotoriousDir: George Tillman Jr.Released 13th February

Past biopics concerning the rap industry have been a largely hit and miss affair, which is to say that 50 Cent's ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’ wasn’t all that great. Eminem’s ‘8 Mile’ fared bet-ter, though admittedly it was semi-fictionalised. 'Notorious’,

which some are already touting as an urbanised ‘Walk the Line’, chron-icles the life of the famous East Coast rapper Notorious B.I.G., aka Big-gie Smalls. The film charts his rise in fame and the events surrounding his mysterious death at the age of 24.

Born Christopher Wallace, Biggie is brought up by his mother

Voletta (Angela Bassett) in 1970s Brooklyn. Dropping out of school at 17 he starts selling drugs on the streets, in order to support his preg-nant girlfriend. After a brief stint in prison he is noticed by Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Coombs, who helps him realise his potential as one of the most innovative and significant artists in the history of hip hop, falling just short of R. Kelly.

Whilst Biggie is generally portrayed as a gentle soul, Notorious doesn’t shy away from his infidelities and the other less savoury acts he committed; neglecting the daughter he and his first wife spawned and selling drugs to a pregnant woman. Whilst the film does focus on the famous East Coast/West Coast feud it never fully explains the events surrounding the death of Biggie, and fails to explore the many myths surrounding the conflict.

The musical score is well woven into the film, largely due to the concert sequences and the tracks that marked his rise and fall. It is the

songs which drive the narrative and reveal the cultural significance of Biggie’s career and his feud with fellow dead legend Tupac Shakur. The film rests on Rapper Jamal ‘Gravy' Woolard’s excellent performance as Biggie. His congested delivery comes frighteningly close to matching Biggie’s voice, and he does a terrific job in assuming and inhabiting the rapper’s larger-than-life persona, and undeniable charm. Naturi Naughton nails the role of Biggie’s lover and sluttish protégée Lil’ Kim, while Derek Luke’s performance as Puff Daddy successfully conveys the shrewd and opportunistic business man. If the picture fails, it is in its portrayal of Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie) which somehow fails to capture the explosive and volatile charm underlying the rapper’s conflicted personality.

For anyone interested in the history of hip-hop in the 1990s, old and new fan alike, Notorious is a must see, and looks set to introduce the work of Biggie Smalls to a new generation of fans.

life10

/02

/09

SIGHTin

Glasgow’s style heroesR

ecently, every fashion journalist worth their salt has been quick to tell us that, in these economic climes, fast fashion is out. Instead, we must start buying in beautifully-made, long-lasting staple pieces that transcend the seasons and will be passed down to our children and grandchildren. Such staples tend to include the classic Burberry trench coat, retailing at £734 and the Hepburn-

chic little black dress as seen on the catwalks at Balenciaga, Chanel, and Givenchy et al. The master of the female form, Roland Mouret, has an eternally sophisticated LBD that will set you back a mere £1023. You cannot forget accessories: those black patent Louboutins are £323 but will last a lifetime.

For the average citizen, rising food, mortgage and energy prices don’t leave much money at the end of the month to buy that everlasting white shirt for the same price as ten from the high street. However, even in these desperate times we urge you to step away from the harsh fluorescent lighting, acrylic knits and cheap plastic shoes which are the mainstay of the British high street. Instead, stray off the beaten track and discover the treasure troves of your local retailers.

For this photoshoot we headed to Ruthven Lane, in Glasgow’s West End, to style catwalk looks solely from what local vintage shops and boutiques had to offer. A veritable Aladdin’s cave awaited us down those cobbled streets. Circa Vintage and Starry Starry Night sell quality vintage clothing at slightly-less-than-Top-shop-prices. You can pick up an on-trend black lace dress for under £50 and enough tartan to satisfy even Dame Westwood’s lust for the traditional heritage look. There is also a glittering array of both vintage and contemporary jewels at very reasonable prices. Along with vintage clothing, several independent boutiques have recently opened in the West End. Here you can buy lines from fashion graduates at much cheaper prices than normal designer lines, many of them one-off pieces, so you’ll never spot anyone else in your outfit. There’s also the opportunity to find the next hot designer before the glossy magazines sniff them out.

Now obviously we are preaching to the converted. Fashionable Glaswegians have long frequented the arcade, aware of the prizes to be had. However, in these harsh times, our local retailers need us more than ever. The abandoned shops littering the West End are a reminder of how rising rents and thrifty shoppers are affecting the business of smaller retailers. So before you give your hard-earned money to Stuart Rose or Philip Green, think long and hard. You may well have been saving for weeks for that sequinned dress worn by Cheryl Cole on the X Factor, but so has everyone else. You can pick up a second-hand sequinned party dress in Glorious for a third of the price, safe in the knowledge that most people will have discarded it for fear of appearing “so last season”.

Eleanor Mitchell abandons the High Street and explores the best of the West End’s vintage fashion offerings. Photos by Scott McGinlay

“Clever accessorising and combining your vintage gems with more contemporary pieces can create looks straight from the catwalks for a fraction of the price”

SIGHTlife in PAG

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Glasgow’s style heroesEleanor Mitchell abandons the High Street and explores the best of the West End’s vintage fashion offerings. Photos by Scott McGinlay

Some people complain that sifting through the 80’s monstrosities and polyester takes far too much time and often yields little. However, styling the looks for the photoshoot was very easy, as these local style heroes have their finger very firmly on the trends and often organise their rails to reflect this. People will also often bemoan the fact that vintage shopping goes hand in hand with expensive alterations but all the clothing for the shoot came straight off the rail and onto the models, without going anywhere near a needle and thread. However, do not fret if your vintage dress has a less than modern hemline — most purveyors of vintage clothing have a favourite contact for alterations and will be very willing to pass the name onto you and in return for continued business; most tailors can do you a discount.

Clever accessorising and combining your vintage gems with more contemporary pieces can create looks straight from the catwalks, for a fraction of the price. Not only will you be getting credit crunch-friendly prices, but also a warm glow at having helped to support your local community.

A version of this article also appears in the first of issue of thepageturner, which is available on their website at www.thepageturner.co.uk

“You may well have been saving for weeks for that sequinned dress worn by Cheryl Cole on the X Factor, but so has everyone else”

music10

/02

/09

SIGHTin

The careers of both Teddy Thompson and Martha Wainwright were always going to be haunted by their inherited dynasties. Over a decade since their musical debuts,

both on the backs of their parents, Martha’s voice is arguably foremost within her family. Teddy's, how-ever, does not have the substance to convincingly escape the shadow of his family tree.

Thompson’s band are as competent as they are dapper, but their sound is too tight to breathe. There is also a distracting sense of affectation in his stage persona, with his Johnny Cash impersona-tion reaching parodic proportions during ‘Can’t Sing Straight’. His voice, though decidedly Amer-ican in texture, is pleasantly euphonious. Used to its strength with Leonard Cohen’s ‘Tonight Will Be Fine’, it precipitates mass swaying and some local-ised swooning throughout the venue.

Wainwright's guitar playing with opener ‘This Life’ is blend of delicate finger picking and deci-sive strumming, but nothing can distract from the authority of her voice. When unleashed, the sheer power of it is breathtaking, commanding abso-lute attention, with the transition from whispered to penetrating occurring seamlessly. It is hardly surprising, then, when she tells us of her recent foray into Opera, a revelation which earns a panto-mimic display of reverence from the crowd.

This woman has performance in her blood; at ease with the stage at all times, she narrates her whims to us whether it be her sudden thirst for a beer or her decision to steal Thompson’s guitar. She soon invites Thompson onto the stage where they venture a rendition of The Beatles’ ‘We Can Work It Out’ with all the endearing preamble of a primary school talent review. The overall effect of the duet is winning and provides a brief respite from the largely heart-wrenching material – just brief enough for the audience to crave it once more.

Towards the end of the night she pulls out ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’ with a wink, trans-forming a formidable string of expletives into a thing of raw beauty. The evening seems to close all too soon, though I see it is fast approaching midnight. Without a doubt, she could have kept us there until dawn.

It may seem odd that of all the artists capa-ble of channelling and preserving Britain's musical and cultural history, a beret-wearing Muslim expatriate would be the most willing.

Then again, traditional songs have always played an integral part in Richard Thompson’s repertoire throughout his forty year career in the music indus-try, especially as one of the founding members of Fairport Convention.

If performing compositions from most eras of known musical history in chronological order, accompanied by just a percussionist (Judith Owen) and backing singer (Debra Dobkin — appropriately the wife of Spinal Tap’s Harry Shearer) sounds like a ballsy, over-ambitious venture, that’s because it is. At least it was when the show was conceived, as by this stage, any doubts as to whether Thompson can recreate Gilbert and Sullivan’s orchestral majesty alone, on an acoustic guitar, have been entirely dispelled.

Oisín Kealy and Lewis Porteous reflect on the highlights of Celtic Connections 2009GigsBroken Records11/02/09Òran MórSeven piece chamber-pop outfit Broken Records arrange strings, mandolin, accordian and a host of other instruments to great effect. A free gig as part of The Mill, they have recently signed to 4AD so see them before they start charging.

Emmy the Great14/02/09King Tut's Emma-Lee Moss returns to Glasgow Promoting her debut album First Love, appropriately enough on Valentines day. Bound to be a charming performance, swooning indie couples aside

Asobi Seksu14/02/09ABC2What better way to spend Valentines day but with some fun sex? Of course, I am talking about the messy translation of Asobi Seksu’s name here, and not anything else they charge you at the door for. First-rate, dreamy shoegaze sung bilingually.

Black Lips17/02/09ABC2Recently being forced to flee India after exposing themselves on stage, you know you should at least be in for an interesting night. Messy, bluesy punk with a sixties influence, hopefully it won’t be obscured by puerile antics. Unless that is what you’re into.

Das Pop17/02/09King Tut'sHailing from Ghent in Belgium, Das Pop play some very maturely arranged Indie-pop, gently influenced by electro to give it a bit of momentum. Have hooks coming out of their ears and a respectable diversity in their material.

The Dykeenies18/02/08King Tut'sIn between albums at the moment, The Dykeenies are apparently experimenting with bongos and gospel choirs for their prospective release. I wouldn’t hold my breath for the latter fitting on the stage. Fun indie from Cumbernauld.

Tricky19/02/09The ArchesAlong with Portishead and Massive Attack (of which he was a founding member), Tricky was one of the pioneers of the nineties trip-hop scene– fantastic genre, terrible name. Expect a decade spanning set.

Connect the Scots

Arriving onstage brandishing a hurdy-gurdy and launching into a spirited Medieval-era ‘Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene’, the folk-rocker displays his versatility from the off. Two numbers later, he performs ‘So Ben Mi Ca Bon Tempo’ a cuckolding song, sung in colloquial Renaissance Italian. Though the lyrics are indecipherable to unilingual audience members, the song’s purported subject matter is certainly familiar Thompson territory, as is that of ‘The Fause Knight Upon the Road’, in which a wide-eyed schoolboy randomly encounters the very embodiment of irrational evil.

The first half of the evening gels incredibly well, and Thompson is to be commended for forging his own distinctive imprint on tracks already recorded by his folky peers Bert Jansch and Steeleye Span. Though the second set, encompassing the twen-tieth century, proves less consistent, it is still intermittently thrilling, and even illuminating in places. As he ends on a rendition of Nelly Furtado's ‘Maneater’, complete with a choral Latin interlude, it is clear that no other artist could pull this type of show off. ‘1000 Years...’ succeeds greatly as a stop gap, but one gets the impression that it is slightly

more satisfying for Thompson as a break from his day job, than it is a show

for paying converts.

Now in its tenth year, Showcase Scotland remains instrumental in getting Scot-tish talent publicity, as the city becomes inundated with promoters. Despite the

pageant-like aspect, the four acts manage to retain a sense of informailty and intimacy this evening.

First up is Bodega, a young folk quintet with a host of instruments, ranging from fiddle through accordion to bagpipes. The talent of this group as instrumentalists is striking, and their own compo-sition, ‘The Midnight Tramp’ proves that they can write just as well. It is a swirling storm of a piece, with a fusion sound not too far divorced from the likes of Kíla, complete with some exceptionally impressive harp shredding.

Corrina Hewat appears on stage next, heavily pregnant, yet (she reminds us) eminently book-able, for a much more intimate set. Initially she is alone with just her harp, but is later accompanied by acoustic guitar. She plays her instrument in a curious manner, dancing ever-so-slightly with it and cycling through a host of facial expressions, as if engaging it in a secret dialogue, occasionally throwing the audience a complicit glance. She is a pleasure to watch perform and the music itself is entrancing, as is her sonorous voice combining

with it to create a sleepy celtic pop. Brendan Campbell has had a

strange day, he tells us, having just dashed from the SECC supporting

Keane — we won’t hold that against him. The only native Glaswegian of

the night, Campbell plays your average folky-singy-songwritey material. His

rapid finger-picking is quite good, but somewhat dampened by the output’s

narrow scope.Completing the bill is Fiddler’s Bid, with

enough violins to feed an army. As their parts have little independence, the abundance of

fiddles seems a little redundant, though displays their sheer volume of talent. They play a few feet-tapping reels and a couple of airs that make my eyelids close of their own accord, rounding off the proceedings nicely, though hardly with a bang.

Luke Winter

Van Gill Media/ The Arian Crow

SIGHTmusic in PAG

E 7

>> Oisín Kealy

Rocking the cradle

For me, Kylie Minogue has made no greater contribution to music than with her death. This is not proposed derisively; for the hit machine she proved herself to be through much of this decade, I cannot deny her a certain deserved acclaim. My argument is that no artistic endeavour she has made up until this point, including her nuanced performances in both Neighbours and Street Fighter: The Movie, will ever resonate as deeply as her dulcet death rattle at the hands of Nick Cave.

From the fragrant production to his choice of victim, ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ is an exem-plary addition to one of my favourite canons, the murder ballad. Whether killer or victim, Cave knew how to execute the tradition faultlessly. His Murder Ballads album is, for me, his most enduring work; not because of its production values, its diversity of styles, or the intimidating roster of guest artists, but because of its sheer body count. This is the sonic equivalent of a slasher flick, but crafted with infi-nitely more care.

My dad first introduced me to the genre by pointing to The Doors’ ‘Riders on the Storm, that cautionary yet funky tale warning against picking up hitchhikers — a practice he routinely engaged in with me in the car after the telling, to my distress. This was a revelation. Until then I had found it hard to accept the fact that all anybody ever seemed to sing about was love; As a seven-year-old boy this was, understandably, of little interest to me. Perhaps as a sign of the desensitising times, the only act of passion that gave me a thrill was frenzied murder. This song combined two of my favourite emerging interests at that age, the macabre and the musical.

As much as I love a good slaughter through song, a problem for me in more recent times has been the perceived indivisibility between the artist and their art. Eminem’s ‘97 Bonnie and Clyde’ is inventive, engaging and horrifying, but just a little too grounded in truth for comfort. Rather than slasher flick, this almost veers into snuff. Sitting easier with me is Tori Amos’ completely inverted cover, claiming the voice of victim rather than villain and, crucially, acting instead of ranting.

The murder ballad should be an exercise in theatricality. Lovers, siblings, children; no-one is safe in these accounts of jealousy and jilting, revenge and repression. As studies of deeply flawed humans, they let you confront the tragic without experiencing it, in the way horror films allow us the same. The fun of murder ballads is in the sense of costume. Everybody knows the bad guys have the best lines; it only becomes too disturbing when you think they might actually mean them.

From a glance at the nauseatingly 80s, Sieg-fried and Roy-esque album cover of Empire of The Sun’s forthcoming release of ‘Walking on a Dream’, you get a fair idea of what might follow sonically. This album is another offering from Australia’s small but so far innovative electro scene, hailing bands such as Cut/Copy, The Presets and The Midnight Juggernauts. Neither of the band’s frontmen are strangers to the business, Luke Steel being from the

little known band Sleepy Jackson, while Nick Littlemore was one half of dance duo Pnau. However, this album fails to win any points for being edgy or innova-tive as they bear a little too much similarity to a certain four-letter band who are particularly popular at the moment (sounds like schmem-gmt).

The album’s first single, ‘Walking on a dream’, is a synth-infused pop track with airy strings and a catchy chorus, but despite its merits, the pseudo 80s sound comes across as a little contrived and more than a little unimaginative. This is slightly amended by Steel’s vocals, which switch to soaring falsettos at will, giving the album a unique touch. Stylistic similarity could be drawn with David Bowie, musical blasphemy though that comparison may be. They continue in this way through the tracks ‘Half Mast’ and ‘Tiger by My Side’, which are not altogether bad, but fail to dazzle or excite.

A track with a little more to show, ‘Delta Ray’, would probably raise the standard but the horrible vocal effects which poison the song. The same can be said for ‘Country’, an ethereal instrumental spoiled by unconvincing Country & Western guitar parts. Not all the tracks are lifeless or obnoxious though; second single contestant ‘Swordfish Hotkiss Night’ is slightly better, employing an upbeat disco tempo and vocals reminiscent of Prince. In general, this album is not terrible, yet lacks something significant: possibly originality, possibly soul. Whatever it is, it certainly makes for mediocre music. (Catriona Reilly)

With the characteristic brashness that carried them to fame, Franz Ferdinand’s third album, ‘Tonight’ arrives with enthusiastic art in the heart of an especially bleak winter. Their 2004 debut found success through its immediacy and assertiveness, and against our current backdrop of economic and cultural horror, this record charting the highs, lows and petty distresses of Alex Kapranos’ nights out seems aimed at setting a similarly lucrative contrast.

From the bottom up, Franz Ferdinand have nurtured a blaring sense of modernity, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it imperative, which is carried on throughout Tonight and is easily observed in their lyrics. About half the songs here are abstract, second-person demands, with repeated commands such as “Turn it on” or “Bite hard” as choruses. Franz Ferdinand are pushing us to act, embrace something unfamiliar — like this staggeringly original record.

The other half are rambling, tongue-in-cheek personal reflections. These now feature the introduction of some Morrisey-lite uncertainties, such as “I love you, I mean, I mean I need to love,” which, although uncomfortably deriv-ative, have aged considerably better. After two albums of these clumsy lyrical tricks, Franz Ferdinand are at risk of exposing their loud and exciting projec-tion of the future as a merely lukewarm rehash of their own previous ideas.

This has been evaded thus far through the incorporation of ‘retro’ musical ideas: “sure, it's been done before, but we’re consciously reusing it, so it’s ok”. This time we have more synthesiser, yet the same garage-band guitar loops and white-boy dance beats, giving ‘No You Girls’ a delightful tinge of Girls Aloud, but lead single ‘Ulysses’ a frightening similarity to the new U2 song.

Although at times enjoyable, Tonight is an empty bet, an emperor with no clothes. The difficulty is in realising that it is much worse than it thinks it is. (Harry Akehurst)

Swaggering onto the stage amidst cat calls and cheers, the Wakefield trio (plus one faintly ridiculed ex-Smiths member) launch straight into new track, ‘We Were

Aborted’, quickly proving their worth to the punt-ers. A song later and the ever-catchy intro to ‘Hey Scenesters’ starts up – cue ABC erupting into a cha-os of vowels and excitement. Luckily for those who are not Cribs fans (few out of the sold out crowd, it would appear), the hang of The Cribs live is fairly simple — your hair is not supposed to resemble a ‘cut’ nor your shoes be attached to your feet by the end of the final song.

They carry on in much the same form as they always have, the new songs they play dotted among old favourites, showing perhaps a slightly heavier edge than seen previously. Their five new offerings all go down well, however, ‘Cheat On Me’ receiving as warm a reception as any of the singles from their third album. Always a favourite, ‘Another Number’ brings the crowd to riot, yet also high-lights the sad lack of first and second album mate-rial in the setlist.

The advantages of becoming an older, richer band, however, become apparent when ‘Be Safe’ is played, a projected video across the back of the stage showing a mammoth-sized Lee Ranaldo (of

Sonic Youth fame) voicing his spoken-word part of the Cribs/Ranaldo collaboration.

Speaking of rich, famous people, I am still pretty nonplussed as to the point of Johnny Marr's addition to the band — aside from playing the occasional C chord, his job seems mainly to be that of whipping the crowd into a frenzy and not being biologically related to the other members. True, he succeeds in this effort, but the thought of him singing about the price of bus fares and teenage love makes me a little queasy.

The band end on an ecstatic, extended ‘The

Wrong Way To Be’, probably high on the sugar-happy, sweat-drenched crowd — Ryan kicks his shoes into the crowd as a final act of devotion, and it’s a mark of respect that the crowd try to throw them back. The Cribs’ raw pop sensibilities shine through and are enlivened by the fact that they forget words, fall over occasionally and can’t quite escape technical problems at any of their gigs. Anything unprofessional in another band becomes endearing with them, teenage, and is made up for with pure, bloodthirsty enthusiasm. They are live music at its best, exciting, sweaty, and fun.

Franz Ferdinand Tonight

The Cribs ABC 04/02/2009>> Laura Cernis

Empire of the SunWalking on a Dream

Domino - 26/01/09 Domino - 23/02/09

“The only act of passion that gave me a thrill was frenzied murder”

Luke Winter

There’s bin a murrdurr