issue 208
DESCRIPTION
28 November 2011TRANSCRIPT
VIGILANCE URGED AFTER FULTON HOUSE ‘ATTACK’
SEALED OFF: The toilets on the first floor of Fulton House were out of action while forensic teams carried out search
thewaterfront FreeIssue 208
November 28, 2011 waterfrontonline.co.uk
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f s w a n s e a u n i v e r s i t y
INSIDE
by Chris [email protected]
STUDENTS are being urged to remain vigilant after two females were alleg-edly targeted on campus.
The separate incidents were said to have taken place on Wednesday, No-vember 16 in the toilets on the first floor of Fulton House.
A 29-year-old man has been charged with five counts under the Sexual Of-fences Act relating to incidents which have allegedly occurred across Swan-sea.
Two of them involved the alleged inci-dents in the Fulton House toilets.
Another involves an alleged incident at the Preseli halls of residence, also on the main campus, the same night.
The two other charges relate to differ-ent alleged incidents in the city.
The man, who is not a student at the university, appeared before Swansea magistrates last week and has been re-manded in custody.
He is due to return to court next month where the case could be sent to crown court to be heard.
No plea has been entered at this stage.
South Wales Police Inspector Andy Reed said: “I would like to reassure all students and staff that this is an isolated incident and should not cause undue
worry.“Having said that, I would ask everyone
to consider their own personal safety, especially during the late evening and night-time.”
The university’s in-house security team was praised for the speed in which they called the police and helping provide in-formation to make an arrest.
A university spokesperson said: “We are cooperating with the police and their in-vestigation.
“It would be inappropriate to com-ment at this stage.”
Luke James, president of Swansea Uni-versity students’ union, sent a message out to students.
He said: “Students should feel assured that if they are ever victim to any sort of unacceptable behaviour in our venues, they can report it to any member of bar staff, door staff or the bar manager.”
The students’ union advice centre is available for anybody who would like help or advice on any issue including safety.
The number is: 01792 295 821.A university wellbeing service is also
available.Police have reminded students that if
they see anything or anyone who is sus-picious to contact PCSO Clive Dainton.
The police non-emergency number is 101, or in an emergency, dial 999.
Police and students’ union move to calm fears over alleged incident on campus
Sir Alex Ferguson pays visit to uni
NEWS
page 2
Ready for the eBook revolution?
Bucs shield joy for jiu jitsu
FEATURES SPORT
page 38page 23
02 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
thewaterfront
rupted by the strike.Swansea UCU members will form
picket lines at the entrance to the uni-versity before joining other trade unions to march from the Guildhall at 12pm to Castle Square for a rally.
Students voted to officially support the strike at the first student forum of the year.
And students’ union president Luke James has urged students to support the strike and join Wednesday’s march and rally.
“Many Swansea students aspire to work in the NHS, as teachers, civil serv-
Third floor, Students’ UnionSingleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP
(01792) 295 [email protected]: waterfrontonline.co.uk
twitter: thewaterfrontSUfacebook: the waterfront swansea
SECTION EDITORSNews
Becca Taylor, Gemma [email protected]
Features Samantha Booth
Craig Hadley, David [email protected]
Front Jon May
Alex [email protected]
Film Andrew Williams
Michael [email protected]
Listings Russell Wade
James [email protected]
Travel Zoe Gullett
Lucinda [email protected]
Games Matt Edwards
Richard [email protected]
Proof readers Gem Tregellas, Amy Moore
Designers Max Murdoch
Photographers [email protected]
Website [email protected]
AdvertisingAnnie Cottam
(01792) 602496
DisclaimerThe Waterfront thanks everyone who contributed to this issue. Content does not necessarily reflect the views of the students’ union, when an opinion is expressed it is the view of the journalist that is represented unless otherwise stated.
Final deadlines for next issueEarlier copy and picture deadlines will apply
Features Friday, December 2 6pmFront Friday, December 2 6pmNews Wednesday, December 7 5pmSport Thursday, December 8 10am
Meeting Times (Meetings are in the Waterfront office)
Features Monday, November 28 12pmFront Monday, November 28 12pmSection editors Monday, December 5 11amNews & Sport Monday, December 5 1pmDe-brief & Ideas Friday, December 9 1pm
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson pays university a visit
TAKING A LOOK: Sir Alex Ferguson takes a look through the collection of American Civil War books that have been archived at Swansea University
the American Civil War and is extremely knowledgeable about a wide range of topics in American history.
The university’s collection of more than 3,000 books was donated to the American Studies programme by Alan Milne, a private collector.
Professor Jon Roper, of the American Studies department invited Mr Fergu-son after learning of his fascination of the topic.
Prof Roper said: “Sir Alex is extremely
interested and knowledgeable about the war and the personalities involved in it, including President Abraham Lincoln, and Generals such as Robert E Lee and Ulysses S Grant.
“It was our privilege to have him visit this major research archive in American Studies.”
Mr Ferguson was able to see for him-self the rare collection of valuable books in the university’s library, including nu-merous first editions.
He also talked at length about the sub-ject with Dr David Anderson, an Ameri-can Studies lecturer and specialist in this area, as well as meeting several Ameri-can Studies students at the university.
One of the books he looked at was a tale of two brothers from Scotland who fought on opposing sides during the war.
Mr Ferguson was impressed with the collection and left with a copy of Prof Roper’s book on American presidents.
SWANSEA University played host to Sir Alex Ferguson last Saturday as he came to view the extensive collection of American Civil War books that are archived on campus.
The Manchester United manager was taking time out ahead of his side’s 1-0 Premier League win over Swansea City.
Mr Ferguson has a deep interest in
by Rahul [email protected]
University and Colleges Union strike set to cause disruption to lectures on WednesdaySWANSEA University academics will join an estimated three million pub-lic sector workers in a one-day strike over pensions on Wednesday.
Members of the University and Col-leges Union, the union for academic staff, will join members of 19 other trade unions in what’s anticipated to be the biggest strike for a generation.
Unions say UK government changes to their pension schemes will mean they will pay higher pension contributions over a longer working life and ultimately receive less in retirement.
All university activity is likely to be dis-
ants, academics, and in many other public sector jobs after graduation – this strike is about their future,” said James.
“We shouldn’t forget that trade unions, particularly the University and Colleges Union, have been with us every step of the way in fighting higher fees and cuts to higher education.
“I would ask students to come to the Guildhall for 12 noon on Wednesday and join other members of the students’ union in marching for your future rights and in solidarity with Swansea Univer-sity staff.”
Wednesday’s strike is part of a series of
actions to try and reverse government plans.
Academics took part in a smaller one-day strike on July 30 and have been working only the hours they are con-tracted to do since October 10.
Prior to Wednesday’s strike Swansea UCU will present the Vice-Chancellor with a cheque for £120,000 and a letter outlining their member’s position.
It estimates that the average lecturer will lose £120,000 in retirement under the new pension scheme.
officers’ corner: page 7 >>>
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
ISoc celebrateEid festival
NEWS I 03
MEMBERS of the Islamic community joined with local figures to celebrate Eid on the 13th of November.
More than 1,000 attended as the event spread across the refectory and the cafe west rooms in Fulton House.
The ceremony was attended by Luke James, SU President, as well as the Lord Mayor, the University Registrar, and Geraint Davies, the MP for Swan-sea West.
Mr James and Mr Davies both ad-dressed the gathering, praising their fundraising efforts, and bringing mes-sages from the Welsh Government.
The group also helped to raise hun-dreds of pounds for various organisa-tions, such as UNICEF, the Miners’ Re-lief fund, and the international human aid centre in Turkey.
This came from generous donations, as well as their own charge on car parking for the day.
Mahaboob Basha, the international officer, applauded the fundraising ventures.
He said: “we had given away £500 to the miners’ relief already, so to raise another £650 was great.”
Eid celebrates the end of the Hajj pilgrimage with Muslims must take if they can, as well as the sacrifice that Father Abraham made of a ram in Mo-riah.
The event was addressed by the Uni-versity Imam, Mohsen El-Beltagi
by Becca [email protected]
Free soft drinks for tooters fansTOOTERS will now provide free soft drinks as an incentive to help stu-dents make good drinking choices on a Friday night.
The decision was made by Charlotte Britton, the welfare officer, along with Nathan Welsh and Karen Hardy, of JC’s and Diva’s.
Mr Welsh said: “it helps to promote safe drinking, as well as give a soft drink option instead of water.
“We are aware there might be a prob-lem with people bringing in alcohol to add to soft drinks, but our current bag check policy will cover this anyway.”
Miss Britton said it was important to encourage safe drinking, not dictate it.
She said: “We’re not here to control what people drink, but that doesn’t stop the amount some of us consume being dangerous.
“If making soft drinks free encour-ages anyone to have a coke between their other drinks, or a lemonade when they’re thirsty after dancing then that’s brilliant.
“It’s also less obvious that you’re hav-ing a non-alcoholic drink if you have a soft-drink than if you grab water – al-though if that’s what you want, water has always been free!”
The NUS has already run campaigns with great success across seven differ-ent Unions including Leeds, Lough-borough and Kent to trial the idea.
In only one instance was there a no-table problem of people using the free soft drinks as mixers, and even then the benefits were considered as out-weighing the problems.
The trials also make note of more positive environments, with few cases of extreme intoxication and fewer fights.
by Becca [email protected]
THE Safer Swansea help point launched last week in an attempt to relieve pressures on emergency ser-vices during busy nights out.
The scheme has been put together by the Safer Swansea team, the Sub-stance Misuse Action Team and the Swansea police.
Each Wednesday, Friday and Satur-day, the help point van will be situ-ated near the fountain at the top of Wind Street and will be providing soft drinks, first aid for minor injuries and a listening ear for those who need it.
More than 60 students have volun-teered to help with the scheme.
Psychology student Ola Milgza-Price said: “I want to work with young peo-ple and wanted to gain work experi-ence, this is a fantastic opportunity and I will definitely be doing it again.”
Welfare officer Charlotte Britton said: “It’s so important that students feel safe in Swansea, and we’ll be helping out and supporting those who need it every Wednesday of term time.”
Paul Evans of the safer Swansea part-nership added: “The aim is to make Swansea city centre as safe and as vi-
brant a night economy as possible.”
Freshers begin petition for change in daily village bus grindby Alicia [email protected]
HELPING OUT: The safer Swansea van on Wind Street helped students and locals
Welfare point on Wind Street
by Tasha [email protected]
thewaterfront waterfrontonline.co.uk COMING SOON
quency of buses at peak times.”, whilst another student added “I demand a better bus service, the current one is not up to the standard I expected after spending £300 for it!”
It appears however that not all stu-dents are unhappy with the service.
Student Chris Walden who uses the bus service on a regular basis said “I find the service fine” and he said that the bus pass “Seemed pretty good” in terms of value for money.
Freshers’ representative, Tomas Ed-wards has joined the campaign for a better bus service.
He said: “I myself have experience the anguish of being late (or even missing) for lectures due to so many people waiting for the busses in the morning.
“Talks have been had between my-self and Tom Upton (Societies Sabb) and we shall be meeting Miss Stark in the coming future.
“Obviously I see any improvement to the bus service as a positive one, es-pecially as there is a feeling that those at the village are disengaged from as-pects of University life due to the loca-tion of the village and that it perhaps is treated as less of a priority.”
A spokesperson from First was una-vailable to comment as to whether any improvements are to be made to the 82A service.
AN online petition has been started about the bus service 82A which runs between the university and the stu-dent village.
Over 80 signatures have been col-lected since the petition began on the 1st of November, all in protest of the lack of buses and the long queues that students have to face on a daily basis.
Amongst other things, it complains of how “You waited in line for ten min-utes, only to miss the cut-off, and then you had to wait 20 more minutes for the next bus.”
The petition, which demands an in-crease in the number of buses that stop in the student village, also com-pares the service that students receive to that of First, the bus company’s new television advert.
The new campaign shows custom-ers boarding an empty bus which ar-rives on time, something which many students have agreed is far from the truth.
Students have often complained at being late because of the bus service, and in many cases they have even missed the beginning of lectures.
One student commented on the pe-tition “There needs to be a higher fre- OUT IN THE COLD: Students are often left waiting at busy times for the village 82A bus
04 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk NEWS I 05
Student National Lottery Award winA SWANSEA student has beaten
hundreds of competitors to win the UK National Lottery Award for the Best Education Project, in a London award ceremony.
Postgraduate student Janet Hoskin won the award for developing the In-clude Duchenne project, which helps children with a serious and progres-sive muscle wasting condition.
The project aims to help the learning and behavioural difficulties that suffer-ers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) face, as they are at a high risk of having dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and au-tism.
Ms Hoskin developed the pro-gramme to teach to the child’s strengths, as well as their weaknesses and it also features specialist learning assessments.
National Lottery funding has paid for specialist dyslexia teachers to as-sess children with DMD, as well as train parents and schools how to deliver
by Jazz [email protected]
Rate Your Landlord survey proves pitfalls of renting too earlyby Tom [email protected]
STUDENTS entering the private letting market are being warned against agents “preying on people’s insecurities” ahead of the first stu-dents’ union-run awareness week.
In the wake of the rate your landlord survey, where only 29% of students recommended their letting agent and less than half rated their landlord, welfare officer Charlotte Britton has appealed to first-time tenants to wait until the new year before signing up.
While Swansea University has run talks in the past, this is the first time the students’ union has run an event like this.
“Using the results of the rate your landlord survey I have worked out what students need the most advice on and the most help with,” said Miss Britton.
“Some letting agents and bad land-lords are saying there is not enough housing in Swansea, or they have had viewings already for a property, when there is more than enough housing in Swansea.
“So many people rush because they are worried about it, but it is one of the most expensive decisions we make, so it is important people take as much time as they can with it to prevent problems occurring down the line.
“Those looking for housing for the second or more time signed contracts later in the year, the most common time being March or April (so) the more you rent, the more time you take
Students lose out on lecturesCOMPUTER science students claim they are losing several hours of valu-able teaching time due to lecturers having to spend their time marking dissertation projects.
The issue seems to be affecting all year groups, including those doing masters degrees.
Some say they have lost an entire week of lectures for certain modules.
One of the biggest complaints is the lack of communication between staff and students.
The intensity and nature of com-puter science as a degree means that students are heavily reliant on lectur-ers turning up.
On occasions where a replacement lecturer has been found, students sug-gest the teaching styles are too differ-ent and claim to be “really thrown by it all”.
One student, who did not want to be named, said: “There is a huge amount of anger and resentment between some lecturers and students.
Whilst students have voiced their concerns to their lecturers in the past, they claim to have been simply bat-ted down and given a “Jim will fix it” excuse.
Professor Matt Jones, head of Com-puter Science said: “Each year, for the past 29 years, the department of com-puter science has held a computer science colloquium for all third year students at the University of Wales conference centre at Gregynog.
“This event is routinely scheduled a year in advance and the first and sec-ond year teaching is designed with it in mind.
“No teaching is missed as a result and the complete syllabus is delivered.”
by Rahul [email protected]
to make a decision.Events promoting awareness for
renting in the private sector will be running from December 5-9, with posters on show, blogs through the students union site and also talks from
the university running on December 7 and 14.
That leads up to Housing Advice Week running from Januuary 23 and students are being encouraged to wait until after these events before ventur-
ing into the rental market.Students are also being encouraged
to use the university-owned agent SAS Lettings which provides benefits including personal belongings insur-ance and no damage deposit.
‘Decipha’, an online custom-built pro-gramme based on the theme of time travel.
Ms Hoskin said: “As a special needs teacher and parent of a boy with DMD I know at first hand the difficulties which teachers, parents and schools face in educating children with this condition.
“That was why I researched and de-veloped this new tool to support chil-dren with these complex needs.
“I am absolutely delighted that the Include Duchenne project has won this prestigious award and that the hard work that the Decipha team does in working with children, families, schools and local authorities all over the country in supporting new meth-ods of learning has been recognised.”
Also in the running for Best Educa-tion Project were Windmills Café in Lanarkshire and the Community Hor-ticultural Enterprise in Derry.
The awards which are held annually, seek to find the nations favourite Lot-tery funded project and celebrate the impact that they have on their com-munities.
MORE than 2,000 students will be venturing to Swansea early next year for the Frank Morton Sports Day.
The event this year is being hosted by Swansea University on the 21st of February, and is exclusively for those studying Chemical Engineering at de-gree level.
Morton, a dedicated sports enthusi-ast and lecturer at the University of Bir-mingham, started the competition as an inter-departmental football match at the University, which has grown over the years.
Now more than 20 Universities across the United Kingdom compete in the weekend competition.
Since 1980s, sports such as dodge ball, rugby and ultimate Frisbee have been played between Universities, al-though it is not clear on what the line-up shall consist of in the 2012 event.
by Chris [email protected]
Engineering society to host Frank Morton sports day
Swansea, who is yet to win the event, will have to compete incredibly hard to beat the champions; the Univer-sity of Birmingham, who have won the Sports Day nine times in 28 years.
In addition, a careers fair will be fea-tured in the weekend meet, with com-panies across the UK promoting their graduate schemes and year in industry opportunities.
There will also be a chance for Swan-sea students to show those who at-tend the vibrant nightlife of Wales’ sec-
ond largest city.Dan Eade, the President of the
Chemical Engineering Society said: “Frank Morton is the biggest student event on the IChemE Calendar and to be chosen to host it over the other Chemical engineering departments in the UK is a fantastic achievement for our department.
For the people involved, it offers a fantastic opportunity for them to meet people who are already in the indus-
try.”
PREPARATIONS: The team of engineers who won the bid get ready to host the sports day
CAUGHT OUT: The pitfalls of early renting in the private market are felt by students every year
06 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
www.waterfrontonline.co.uk CYMRAEG I 09
Darlyth dyfodol Cymru wrth Dr. Alan Sandry
gan Hannah [email protected]
Cinio Nadolig y Gym Gym yn Gwesty’r Marriot!
Trefnodd Gymdeithas Plaid Cymru fod y Dr Alan Sandry a Syd Morgan, cydlynydd academaidd ac un o weinyddwr y Sefydliad dros Gened-laetholdeb Cymreig yn ymweld â’r brifysgol.
Mae’r sefydlaid sy’n aelod o Ganolfan Maurits Coppieters, sefydliad gwleidy-ddol Ewropeaidd a sefydlwyd ym Mrw-sel sy’n hybu ymchwil ar lefel rhyngwlad-ol ac Ewropeaidd. Rhoddir flaenoriaeth i ymchwil ym maes Cenedlaetholdeb a rheoli sefyllfaoedd ieithyddol a diwyl-liannol gwledydd lle siaredir iaith leiafri-fol. Er bod y sefydliad yn yn gweithio’n agos â Phlaid Cymru, pwysleisiwyd mai sefydliad annibynnol ydyw.
Ymchwilio a rhoi cyhoeddusrwydd i bob agwedd o genedlaetholdeb yng Nghymru a gweddill Ewrop yw prif gym-helliad y Sefydliad dros Genedlaethold-eb Cymreig.
Trafod prosiect ymchwil presennol y sefydliad a meithrin trafodaeth yn ein plith oed nod y ddau ymwelydd. Y maent yn y broses o lunio astuduaeth feirniadol a chymharol sy’n dwyn y teitl ‘Options for Peace’. Astudiaeth o boli-siau rhyngwladol a pholisiau amddiffyn gwledydd mewn syfyllfa tebyg i Gymru megis Iwerddon a Gwlad Belg.
Teimla’r ddau cyn-ddarlithydd nad yw Plaid Cymru wedi ystyried y fater, a bod angen dybryd am ymchwil i’r maes. Disglwyir cwblhau’r prosiect o fewn 2 flynedd.
Canolfan Maurits Coppieters a gryb-wyllais uchod sy’n helpu cyllido’r astudi-aeth. Ar hyn o bryd y maent yn y broses o gasglu gwybodaeth o grwpiau gwlei-dyddol tebyg i Blaid Cymru o hynny yw grwpiau gwelidyddol o deyrnasoedd anymochrol.
Y gobaith yw gallu defnyddio’r wy-bodaeth a gasglwyd er mwyn creu’r patrwm y gall Plaid Cymru ei hefelychu. Wedi cwblahu’r astudiaeth, bwriedir cynnal gweithdy er mwyn trafod yr hyn y maent wedi ei ddarganfod cyn cyhoeddi’r astudiaeth.
Os hoffech ddysgu mwy am yr astudia-eth neu am waith y Sefydliad dros Gen-edlaethodeb Cymreig ebostiwch: [email protected] neu [email protected] .
Hoffi bwyd? Hoffi Nadolig? Wel y cinio Nadolig yw’r peth i chi! Am y tro gyntaf mae’r cinio Nadolig yn cael ei chynnal yn gwesty’r Marriot eleni efo tocynnau am £25!
Cynhalwyd cinio Nadolig llynedd yn nhafarn y Cross Keys ar bwys Wind Street llynedd ond efo’r Gym Gym yn fynd o nerth i nerth roedd angen lle newydd a oedd yn medru cynnal mwy o bobl.
Mae’r gwesty Marriott yn medru dal tua 80 bobl ar gyfer y cinio ac mae pwyllgor y Gym Gym yn sicr eu fod nhw yn medru llanw’r lle! Danfonir wahod-diad i pawb sydd yn rhan o’r adran Gym-raeg a phawb sydd yn rhan o’r Gym Gym i fod yn rhan o’r cinio eleni.
Mae’n bargen am £25! Cewch chi cinio 3 cwrs sydd hefyd yn cynnwys derbyni-ad siampên ar y drws, disco sydd yn cael ei rhedeg gan DJ preswyl y Gym Gym, Llyr Roberts. Mae yna hefyd sibrydion yn mynd o amgylch fydd yna canwr deyrnged yn troi i fyny, a fydd yn canu
rhai o glasuron Lady Gaga a Rhianna!Siarad i Gwenallt Jones, trysorydd y
Gym Gym, mae’n edrych ymlaen i’r cinio. ‘Rydw i wir yn edrych ymlaen i’r cinio, rydw i’n edrych ymlaen i wisgo tuxedo a teimlo’n smart, wrth dawnsio a chanu’r nosweth i ffwrdd!’
Dywedodd Rich Hayes, aelod arall o’r Gym Gym fod yr ochr bwyd yn ei gyf-fro mwy, ‘Mae’r Marriott efo enw da am bwyd o ansawdd arbennig, ac rydw i wir yn gobeithio fod y chef yn barod i coginio gwledd i phawb!
Mae pawb yn cael ei annog i wisgo’n daclus am y cinio, yn wahanol i llynedd pan roedd nifer yn wisg ffansi!
Mae’r cinio ar y 5ed o Rhagfyr ac os ry-dych chi eisiau prynu tocyn, cysylltwch ar Gym Gym trwy’r tudalen facebook ar http://tinyurl.com/GymGymAbertawe. Mae yna lle i tua 80 o bobl am y cinio, ac efo lle yn rhedeg allan yn gyflym, gwnewch yn siwr eich fod yn pigo to-cyn i fyny asap!
can be.”Roedd y cwis ar ffurf pump rownd
gyda thua 10 cwestiwn ym mhob rownd oedd yn amrywio o hanes Cymru i chwaraeon i wybodaeth gyffredinol. Aeth tua 30-40 o bobl i’r cwis ac ar ôl brwydro i gael yr atebion i gyd yn iawn, y tîm buddugoliaethus oedd “Pam fi Duw?” a ennillodd tocyn VIP i 10 o bobl yn Oceana. Y tîm daeth yn ail oedd “6 Peint” a ennillodd mynediad am ddim i Tooters. Roedd o leiaf un dysgwr ymhob tîm a petai rywun yn cael ei darganfod yn siarad Saesneg, byddai’n rhaid iddynt wisgo “nodyn” gyda D.S. (Dim Saesneg). Dywedodd Owain Harries, Swyddog Materion Cymraeg y brifysgol, “roedd y noson yn un wych a mwynheais i mas draw. Cefais deimlad da wrth roi’r cyfle i ddysgwyr ddatblygu ei sgiliau Cymraeg yn sefyllfa gyfeillgar ag anffurfiol.”
Yn ogystal â chwis, bu’n rhaid i un dysgwr o bob tîm ac un person oedd yn rhugl yn Gymraeg i gymryd rhan mewn sialensiau. Y sialens gyntaf oedd bod rhaid i’r bobl iaith gyntaf gyfieithu’r gorchymyn Owain Harries, a myn-nodd, bod rhaid iddynt ddod a blodyn byw iddo dysgwyr allan o JC’s i edrych am flodyn. Credai Charlotte Britton, Swyddog Lles y Brifysgol, ei fod yn no-son; “brilliant, I’m learning Welsh at the moment and it was so good to hear
Ar nos Fawrth yr 22ain o Dachwedd, bu criw’r Gym Gym yn-ghyd a dysgwyr Cymraeg yn cys-tadlu yn erbyn ei gilydd yn eu timau i weld pwy fyddai enillwyr y Cwis Dysgwyr.
Dyma oedd y flwyddyn gyntaf i’r Gym Gym wneud rhywbeth fel hyn yn Un-deb y Myfyrwyr, ac ar ôl yr holl baratoi, bu’r noson yn llwyddiannus. Barn Ceri Parker oedd ei fod yn “great, as a learner of Welsh, I’ve felt in the past gym gym has had a superiority complex of sorts, if your not fluent, don’t bother type atti-tude, so I think it’s great that the society is encouraging people to learn Welsh and integrating them into the society. I spoke more Welsh last night than I have for a long time just through be-ing around so many welsh speakers. Da Iawn Gym Gym.”
Cynhelir y cwis yn JC’s yn Nhŷ Fulton am 7y.h. ac roedd yn gyfle i bobl oedd â diddordeb i ddysgu’r Gymraeg, neu i wybod ambell i air yn Gymraeg allu cymdeithasu gydag aelodau cyfoes y Gym Gym a dysgwyr eraill, neu credai Zahid Raja, “I thought it was an excel-lent opportunity for people who are interested in learning to see how fun it
Y GORNEL GYMRAEGCwis dysgwyr yn denu nifer ac yn cael ei alw’n llwyddiant!gan Nia Eleri [email protected]
it spoken by someone other than my teacher! Being encouraged to use the Welsh I’ve learnt too really improved my confidence. Unfortunately I was rubbish at all the learner challenges but my quiz team were lovely and I really felt like I’d made some new friends. Can’t wait for their Christmas dinner now, or should that be cinio Nadolig?”
Hoffwn ddiolch ar ran y Gym Gym a’r dysgwyr i Undeb y Myfyrwyr a’r Cymde-ithasau am y wobr gyntaf sef tocyn VIP i Oceana, ac yna I JC’s am y wobr i Tooters ac am adael i ni rentu’r caffi am y noson. Gobeithio gall mwy o ddigwyddiadau fel hyn ddigwydd.
gan Owain Harries [email protected]
Tim pel-droed y Gym Gym yn cymryd ymlaen tim Bangor yn ystod y dawns rhyngol.
Aelodau o’r Gym Gym yn cinio Nadolig llynedd.
10 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
11 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
12 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk 13
front!L i f e s t y L e f o r s wa n s e a s t u d e n t s
fash
ion
18 &
23
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
Photo by Mikle Licht
a surprising history of the students’ union>> 16
are you ready for the eBook revolution? >> 23
walk a mile in these shoes!>> 16
your essential what’s on guide>> 18
Girl gamers: not such a rare breed >> 28
Photo by Mike Licht
14 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
15November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk
contents
front
fash
ion
18 &
23
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
features 16 >>Delving into the history of the student union uncovers some surprising facts.
fashion 18 >>Walk a mile in these shoes: Office photoshoot.
front row 24 >>Everything you need to know about what’s on where in the next fortnight.
gadgets 25 >>Why floods in Thailand mean higher computer prices. Amazon plans its own smartphone.
music 26 >>Get involved with Milkwood: Swansea’s first student festival. Plus, something old, something new with Gym Class Heroes.
film 27 >>We delve into the crazy world of Hunter S. Thompson And the latest films reviewed.
games 28 >>Girl gamers: Not such a rare species. Plus reviews of Batman: Arkham City and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
culture 29 >>Hardbacks or e-readers? What will you be buying this Christmas?
food 31 >>Cook up some comfort food, win a recipe book and catch up with our dieting housemates.
societies 32 >>New! The Mental Wealth Society aims to improve your wellbeing. Plus, spotlight on the Raise and Give (RAG) Society.
La vida MurcianaHelen Page, 21, from Aberystwyth, is spending her third year of a Spanish degree at university in Murcia, Spain, from where she sent this report.
AS the end of my first term is coming to an end in Murcia, when I look back it’s already been an amazing experience that I wouldn’t change for the world.
I would be telling a massive lie if I said that I wasn’t scared when I came here, but my new flatmates made my settling in a very easy and enjoyable process!
I spent a lot of my first couple of days here just wandering around aimlessly, taking in the city and trying to find my way around, which of course sometimes didn’t go too well and ended up in me being very lost for a lot of the time – until I gave in and got myself a map!
Obviously, Murcia’s well known night life helped a lot during the whole settling in period, our flat has become a bit of a ‘party flat’ which besides the obvious has led to meeting some really great people. Granted, the night life is a little bit different from the Wind Street we all know and love, the biggest difference being the expense! It still baffles me how cheap it is to go out and to live here! An average bottle of wine won’t cost you more than two Euros! I’ll say no more on that matter...
Social aspects aside, I can already see a massive difference in my ability to speak Spanish, I’ve gained confidence and use the language without fail every day. Before coming to Murcia, I really was worried about being taught in Spanish, but so far, it’s going really well and has helped my Spanish to no end. Also, as all of the people I live with are here to learn Spanish, we all make an effort to speak the language as often as possible while we’re at home. It’s taken me a while to get used to the Murcian accent but it hasn’t taken long at all for the accent to come through when I speak Spanish myself!
As far as travelling goes, I haven’t yet done much yet; I think it’s safe to say I’ve been enjoying myself here! But, now I’m settled in, after the Christmas break, I will definitely be going to visit some of my fellow Erasmus students that are dotted all over the country, I intend to make the most of living in Spain and am going to try and see as much of the country that I can.
All in all, I couldn’t be happier with my year abroad placement, the city is beautiful, the people are so friendly, and the university course is all going well and at the moment I think I would struggle to find a bad word to say about it all. Of course, I do miss Swansea, and all of my friends and family, but I can already be pretty sure that I’m going to find it very hard to leave Murcia in June. But for now, I’m going to enjoy every minute of being with my new friends in my new city.
Helen Page with some of the new friends she has made studying in Murcia.
16features
90 years on: New students
Same arguments
WITH nearly a century of history, Swansea University’s Students’ Union has built up a strong reputation in standing up for student
current and social issues.Luke James, the current President of the SU,
uncovered the archives after finding out about them earlier in the year: “When I was first elected I got the standard tour of the Union, part of that was the archives. Amongst all our old financial records were these amazing records of the Union’s history dating back to the 1950s and beyond.
“Initially I thought I would use the records myself and make an SU history blog, I would have enjoyed doing it but it’s not very sustainable for the future.
“So I approached the history department to see if they could help us bring our history to life.
“I met with Dr. Louise Miskell and Dr. Martin Johnes and they were both extremely supportive, and we settled on a brand new module dedicated to the study of SU history.
“Since then the University’s archives have got involved and are busy cataloguing our archives and helping the history department put together material for the module.”
The union has always been at the forefront of campaigns and keeping up to date with current affairs.
Luke is encouraging the history of the student union to be remembered and the emphasis on how important it is to our collective history.
“We have always been a radical campaigning union, on the front line of social and political change and there are lots of examples of that going through our archives.
“It’s particularly interesting to see that some of the things our members argue and disagree about in the Union now are things we were arguing about 50 years ago. “
The documents are currently held in the Richard Burton Archives, Information Services and Systems in Swansea University.
Investigating the past of the students’ union uncovers surprising facts, as Samantha Booth reports.
d e lv I n g I n t o S t u d e n t S ’ u n I o n h I S t o r y
“Every full-time officer is passed down stories by their predecessors
about outlandish individuals who have been around the SU
before us. ”
Gwyneth Jones, Vice Presidentof the University College Swansea and S.R.C. 1949-50
Central Students Representative Council 1931
“In 1959, the matter of ‘bedtime’ arose. A member suggested:
‘The authorities seemed to be moving towards having a set
bedtime for men.’”
17November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk fa
shio
n 18
& 2
3
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
THE smell of old hardback books, typewritten reports on crispy paper, smudges from an ink pen - these are some of the earliest student council
minute books at the Richard Burton Archives.Under the dust, lie records of political issues as well as
discussions on the University’s social activities such as the tradition Welsh event Eisteddfod and Rag week.
In the early 1920s, Ivor W. Evans was announced the first president of the Student Representative Council - now the students’ union.
The first four presidents were ex-servicemen, which had a marked effect on the early years of the college and organisation of student activities.
Praise for achievements has also been given through the ages of the union. As noted in council minutes in the 1950s the union expressed thanks to the one member who turned “what might have been a rather dull Going-Down [Breaking Up] day, into a day which had every appearance of going to be a most successful and entertaining one.”
Post-war Swansea University lead to union debate on the very important matter of the contents of the refectory. As one member said: “Now that the tea is off the ration, surely there was no justification for the tasteless brew served in the old refectory.”
Following this was the issue of the suspected vandalism of finding 70 broken glasses in the refectory one morning! The decision was never made of what to make of this.
The triumph of the national event, Eisteddfod, was a matter that arose many times during the 1950s. The University won the Chief Coral Competition for the first time and held the shield for the year.
In 1955, the University’s annual ball was apparently one over which the social committee had issues with the entertainment. The representative said: “I give assurance that the band that played at the Saturday night dance would not be heard in college again.” There were no details of who the band was!
The following year, one fading document stated how a member was concerned with ‘outsiders’ entering the university dances at the time: “On the questions of ‘bopping’; if the dance floor was full, it should be stopped.” I’m sure in today’s student union it would cause a few laughs.
As reported in a Swansea newspaper, the sudden death of Mr. Evans was announced in 1958, praising his achievements within the council.
In 1959, the matter of ‘bedtime’ arose in the meetings. A member suggested: “The authorities seemed to be moving towards having a set bedtime for men.”
Luckily, the chairmen said it “filled him with horror” and
W. Aubrey Rees BA,
President of Swansea
University College, 1938-39
the idea was soon dismissed.Moving to the political awareness in the 1950s,
the S.R.C. were supportive of national as well as international event. As the North Sea flooded parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland, the S.R.C. made sure charitable collections were completed to help the crisis.
One of the most welcomed ideas proposed in 1954 was the negotiations for a licensed bar on the premises. As a member said they were “scared it would lead the young astray”.
Obviously, this idea was well accepted, as the meeting ended with “big cheers” from the students with a majority vote leading to the current union bar, JC’s.
Unfortunately, at present, council minutes from 1961 to 1983 have yet to be uncovered. So a jump to the colourful 1980s and the notebook displaying a STRIKE! sticker on the cover, already sets the tone for some of the matters arising in that era.
The rise of Anarchic was a main concern of S.R.C. Unlike the entirely peaceful Eisteddfod of the fifties, uproar began 30 years later when a number of students were assaulted and attacked by members of other universities.
Alongside this, an organised protest was set up in 1984 against government announcements that they were preparing to abolish minimum grants and make students pay their own tuition fees.
One shock of the day was when it was said that “a police van drove through the students’ union sign and split it in half”. Students were most definitely out to make their statements clear in Swansea during this era.
With censorship becoming an issue towards the end of the 20th century, the film ‘The Evil Dead’ was withdrawn by the Film Society but was never banned.
During 1984, the matter of the film was discussed during committee meetings and eventually it was passed to be viewed by members of the society.
The handwritten minutes take up the matters of bilingualism in all sections of the union and university.
Any society that did not include Welsh, or if they damaged any paint work when advertising, were fined £5; the equivalent of around £20.
Doubletake, the main paper running through the eighties is also stored within the university archives. The paper emphasises the importance of international concerns like the union and encourages the sending of letters to foreign governments with concerns such as the imprisonment of a lecturer in Santiago in 1985.
The paper was short lived and was converted to ‘Bad Press’ in 1986.
This is only a snippet of the students’ union history.From January, the History department will begin
their search into the documents and hopefully uncover moments within the past from political and governmental debates to some lighthearted, social matters still relevant today.
‘The Evil Dead’ film showing caused controversy at the university in the 1980s
Before the Waterfront...
Getting the word out there to students has always been high on the priority list for Swansea University and the union. The publication you are reading today will celebrate its 17th
birthday next year; however some long and short-lived university papers existed before the Waterfront.
The Undergrad and DawnStarting in 1921, only a year after the foundation stone of Swansea University was laid by King George V, the Undergrad was published until 1925. The early paper was then converted into the student newsletter, ‘Dawn’. This paper often included sketches of relationships between students and lectures...not always to the taste of staff! Dawn carried on until around 1968 and overlapped with the famous Crefft newspaper.
CrefftThe title, which is literally translated into handicraft or trade, was a substantial paper and included a ‘Parnassus’ covering culture, poetry, films and music; much like the Front! section in the Waterfront today. This was the beginning of some crude humour to attract the younger students such as ‘Bird of the week’: a feature which usually had a black and white photo of a leggy, slim woman dressed in the symbolic sixties mini skirt. One feature that is worthy of a pat on the back is the ‘Bog squatting record’. As it was reported, two students held a competition to see who could sit on the toilet for the longest, given only toilet roll, a book and any essentials. Both walked out at the same time with their head held high.
DoubletakeMoving into the eighties, the archives show a blank spot from 1978 to 1981, when Doubletake replaces Crefft. A banter-full newspaper which was produced on behalf of the students’ union was full of classic eighties humour with “s**t of the week” column, pub ratings as well as features of film, jazz and the arts. A comparison would be the Private Eye paper and its series of comical and political statements.
BadpressThe short-lived paper was taken over by Badpress. The opening of the on campus nightclub, Divas, was reported by the student union paper.
The Waterfront took over from Badpress in 1996, and Swansea’s student newspaper has had many important figures pass through its doors. Among those names are BBC Wales’ Ian Hamer and Cathryn Scott, former editor of the Western Mail’s women’s magazine.Over the last 17 years, the Waterfront has covered stories that current students may be amazed to know about. From January 1999, one student was questioned as the ‘LAZIEST IN THE COUNTRY’. After deciding his washing was too much for him to carry, he used a courier to ship his laundry back home, over 480 miles away, to his mother in Perth. On top of this, he made her pay the £30 costs to cover the delivery!The story was picked up by the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. In addition to this, the Scottish paper, the Daily Record, rewarded the busy mother with a pamper day and a bunch of flowers.
Students and staff every week are writing the new past of the Waterfront so to get involved, and email [email protected].
Source: Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University
18w h at ’ s h o t i n fa s h i o n & b e a u t y n o w. w i t h L u C i n D a R e i D
many thanks xo
NOW ONLY £30
£62
£30
£78
£55
to everyone who was involved in this special photoshoot sponsored by office. firstly, to the brave students who stripped down to just their shoes, thank you to Linda Menzel, aiden Ramsey and Michelle slater. then we had the girls that made them look even more fabulous, Jessica o’Donnell, who was our own makeup artist and Deryn tilouche who styled their hair to perfection. also, for the girls that were an incredible help with making sure the shoes got back to office in an immaculate condtion, a thank you goes
to alice simpkin, Catrin Morgan and hannah botting. finally, these photos would never have happened without our photographer Deepa Madhu and the help of tom fisher who transported the shoes and us in a big silver van to the studio in Llanelli! Tip: To get a flawless finish like our models, use a Body Shop moisturiser with a cover of Bare Minerals foundation. Find an exclusive review of Bare Minerals in our next issue...
promotion promotion promotion
fashion
CHURCHILL TO HOST A CHRISTMAS PARTY
thewaterfront Free
Issue 208 November 28, 1941
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f s w a n s e a u n i v e r s i t y
INSI
DE
by Rosie HunnamStudents’ Union Propaganda Team
THIS 8th December Oceana Nightclub’s Boudoir Suite plays host to Sir Winston Churchill’s Christmas celebrations.
In an interview, the Prime Minister declared that he intended the party to ‘cheer the hearts of friends during these hard times’.
He discussed the present state of affairs, stating that ‘the months that have passed have seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world – ups and downs, misfortunes.’
He is hosting this event to thank those closest to him, as well as showing Britain that despite the War, Christmas can still be a time of celebration.
Guests at this exclusive event will be treated to a spectacular performance from the Students’ Union Musicians Society Jazz Band, who have been rehearsing those classic numbers in preparation for this prestigious booking.
Sir Winston hopes to treat his guests to a fabulous evening of bubbly, dancing and Christmas-time cheer which will boost all of our spirits and also raise money for an important charity, Help for Heroes, which supports our wounded troops.
Guests will include the Prime Minister’s War Cabinet, representatives from our forces, socialites, the Land Army and the Home Guard.
It is sure to be the highlight of the festive social calendar.
Prime Minister holds glamorous morale boosting shindig for the festive season
Model Planes Fly Onto Campus
NEWS
page 2
What To Do In An Air Raid
Swansea Swingers Dance All Night
FEATURES DANCE
page 3page 2
02 I NEWS thewaterfront 208 28.11.41
Raising and Giving (RAG) is Supporting Our HeroesIN these tough and austere times, it is all the more important for us to bind together and remember those fighting for us and those worse off than us.
RAG stands for Raise and Give, and is the best organisation for doing just that.
We will be supporting 12 charities, helping those who have been fighting for us abroad through Help for Heroes, whilst remembering those at home, suffering with illness or poor circumstance.
There will be plenty of opportunity for you to perfect
those WI baking skills by helping our bake sales, and raising funds for those in need, as well as getting involved in bigger projects such as our parties and socials in the new year.
Glad ragsWe can be found every Friday in the Union’s public
house – known as JC’s – to inform and educate about our work and our charities.
So get in your best glad rags, and join the party with rag – because Christmas is for giving, not just receiving!
On Campus Air Raid Procedures
by Tom UptonStudents’ Union Propaganda Officer
THE University has asked The Waterfront to re-emphasize the importance of our on-Campus Air Raid Procedure.Whilst raids have been fairly regular so far this term, some confusion appears to remain over action that should be taken. Please read over the following directions and remember them for the safety of yourself and those around you!1. On hearing the Air Raid Siren DO NOT PANIC.2. Leave all personal effects
where they are and make your way to the Library shelter if possible.3. Proceed in an orderly fashion and do not cry out or run, this will only panic others around you.4. Once inside the shelter remain in situ until the ALL CLEAR has sounded.5. If you are not near the library shelter, remain calm.6. Proceed to the nearest stairwell and take shelter underneath it, alternatively proceed quickly and calmly to the nearest basement room.7. If you are not near a stairwell or basement room,
take shelter under a sturdy desk or similar furniture, and remain in situ until the ALL CLEAR has sounded8. In event of a gas attack, the INTERNAL FIRE BELLS will sound. Follow your gas mask training and remain calm until the ALL CLEAR is signaled with WHISTLES.Please remember that this procedure has been implemented for the safety of all Students, Staff and members of the Public. Your adherence to it is mandatory and any disobedience will be met with arrest for civil disobedience.
thewaterfront
Dancers get in the swing
NEWS I 03
by The Dance SocietySwansea Students’ Union Societies
History Corner
HERE we feature a snippet of riveting history of the local community. This issue’s feature is on the history of Swansea University. The foundation stone of
Swansea University was laid by his majesty King George V on 19th July 1920 and in this, the first year of Swansea University saw 81 male and 8 female students enrol for
studies at the University. At the start of the war in
September 1939, the student population increased greatly, with over 480 enrolled students and two permanent university buildings, Singleton Abbey and the newly-added Library. The Swansea University
crest is representative of the industrial and maritime heritage of the University, and was granted by the College of Heralds in 1921, making it 20 years old this year.
by The History SocietySwansea Students’ Union Societies
“IT’S about the ‘chaps’, our men and women of the Armed Forces.
“It’s about Derek, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it’s about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It’s about Richard who was handed a field
phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It’s about Ben, it’s about Steven and Andy and Mark, it’s about them all. They are just chaps but they are our chaps; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes.”
Without this fantastic
organisation thousands of service men, women and their families would receive very little if no support at all to deal with the aftermath of conflict.
All proceeds from the party hosted by Sir Winston Churchill this December will go directly to the charity.
Polystyrene Aeroplanes Descend On Campusby Rosie HunnamStudents’ Union Propaganda Reporter
M o d e l A e r o p l a n e s f l e w o n t o c a m p u s i n a m o r a l b o o s t i n g e v e n t p r o m o t i o n
ON Monday 15th November, you may have noticed ‘Save The Date’ tags tied to polystyrene planes dotted around the campus. This move, sanctioned by the
Students’ Union, was taken to increase morale at this cold time of year.All of the aircraft featured in
this event are replicates of our own fantastic craft and those of our enemies near and far!Improve your aircraft
recognition by building and flying the model gliders and share them amongst your friends!The event was mirrored by
a live radio broadcast on the balcony of Fulton House.
Helping Our Heroes
THE magnificent Swansea Swingers Dance Troupe will be in attendance at Sir Winston’s Christmas soirée. The troupe includes the
glamorous Miss Natasha ‘twinkle toes’ Oldham and the sensational Miss Fionnuala ‘fancy footwork’ Mckenna.The troupe has recently
performed for the likes of Mr Luke James and Mr Luke Young, SU Presidents past and present, at award events. They will be entertaining
through the night, with some fantastic jazz dances to complement the music of the Swansea Big Band. Their signature knee high
socks are sure to get them noticed at Sir Winston’s party!
23November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk
NOW ONLY £35
promotion promotion promotion promotion
many thanks xo
£75
Timberland£89.99
Flossy£19.99 NOW ONLY£44.99
£59.99
£110
£56.99
£35
£70
£80
fash
ion
18 &
23
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
24front row
1 0 t h i n g s w o r t h g o i n g o u t f o r - B y t y l e r J a m e s
2 The Art of Flight: Swansea UniversityTaliesin - Tue 29th Nov @ 21:30 - Free
A new breed of action sports film comes to life as Red Bull Media House, in association with Brain Farm Digital Cinema, present “The Art of FLIGHT”, a Curt Morgan Film. Two years in the making, “The Art of FLIGHT” gives iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends the opportunity to redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike.
3 Ospreys v Munster Liberty Stadium - Sat 3rd Dec @ 6.30pm
Ospreys take on Munster in this heated clash. After the success against Biarritz Olympique last week by 7 points, and the loss against Munster in their last meeting, this surely will not be one to miss. Tickets available from the box office in Fulton House.
4 First Degree Burns @ SINK Sin City - Sat 3rd Dec @ 10pm - £3 First Degree Burns (FDB) are an
eight-piece band whose influences stem from the concrete roots of Bristol, via France, Jamaica and much in between. Channeling a plethora of musical
styles and influences, be it Dub, Skank driven Ska, Roots Reggae, Two Tone, Rock, Metal through the all inclusive umbrella of Hip Hop, theyíve created a fusion which they proclaim as Skip Hop - up tempo, conscious, danceable, invitingly innovative, musically accomplished, eclectic and most importantly, not taking itself too seriously!
5 Waterfront Winterland 2011
Waterfront Museum Swansea - Now - FreeThe grounds of the National Waterfront Museum has been transformed once
again into a children’s paradise, with the return of Waterfront Winterland. The Miles Hire Giant Wheel is the star of the show, whilst you can also enjoy the family funfair and taste delicious foods. The Admiral Skating Rink is is back, along with Rocky’s Children’s Rink. Plus, don’t forget to visit Father Christmas at Santa’s Grotto!
6 ilovemondays : Lets Get Twisted! Oceana, Monday 28th Nov@10pm
This Monday, we bring back INFLATABLE TWISTER! Not only that, but we’ve got a huge half price offer for everyone! Relive those awkward memories of hovering over your inappropriate aunty Jean whilst trying to move your right leg over her head to the green spot! Our huge inflatable twister will be on the stage all night for you to get tangled with your fellow students. Our staff and reps each have a code for you to get half price tickets from www.Studentswansea.Co.Uk - all you have to do is find them on campus, at the village or on facebook - they’ll tell you the code, then just enter it online to get your ticket for just £1.50.
7 Ginger Wildheart + Friends Sin City - Thu 1st Dec @ 19:30 - Free
Ginger will be playing a special Hard Rock Hell warm up show at Sin City in Swansea on December 1st. This will be a full band electric show. Support comes from the incredible Exit International + OAF!! Ginger was the penultimate act at the Kerrang!-sponsored Camden Rocks festival at the Underworld in London on June 6, 2009. Ginger’s performance was considered by Kerrang! Magazine to be the highlight of the day and received a review of 5 out of 5.
Red Bull DownforceNicander Parade in Mayhill on Sunday 4 December.
Starts at 12pm. Free
On Sunday 4th December the Red Bull Downforce extreme urban downhill
mountain bike event will take place in Swansea, starting at Nicander Parade in
Mayhill involving a dramatic descent. The course involves gradients
comparable with world-class extreme downhill challenges such as the
‘Desafino no Morro’ at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Backdrops range from
picturesque views over Swansea Bay to the urban scenes that inspired the
event including terraces, steps, drops and radical descents such as Clifton Hill, which is amongst the steepest surfaced
roads in the United Kingdom. 32 riders will compete in individual timed
descents, the route will be stewarded for safety and the event is free to watch.
It all starts at midday and will end at approximately 3pm.
1NUMBER
25November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk fa
shio
n 18
& 2
3
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
gadgets
Do you want to put a gadget or game in the spotlight? Email [email protected]
THAILAND is having to endure its worst floods in living memory, with some parts of the country reported to be under up to three
metres of water. This has in turn has forced large numbers of factories to close down, many of which produce vital components for much of the technology we take for granted.
In particular hard drives (the permanent memory of a computer), which Thailand produces 45% of the world’s output, have increased in price by up to 180%. This has had a knock-on effect on the cost of most other products, such as laptops and desktop computers.
The full extent of how the floods will affect prices of personal computers is not clear, but a significant rise in cost seems inevitable, which is bad news for students who may have been wanting to buy a
new laptop in the near future or over the Christmas period. Fortunately, the floods shouldn’t affect other technology sectors to the same degree. So prices of devices such as smartphones and tablets should remain stable.
Thai Floods Cause Tech Chaos Every week, we put a product, gadget or service in the spotlight. This week, we’re looking at scented phone covers!
spotlight
Jelly bean company Jelly Belly has created a new way to customise your phone, with a scented case. With flavours ranging from Green Apple to Blueberry, the choice of your phone’s new smell is up to you!
Jelly Belly say the scent of the case would last for ‘months not years’ and are not for human consumption, but do come with a free 10g bag of jelly beans. Jelly Belly scented cases are available now for the iPhone 4 and 4s and Blackberry 8250 and 9300.amazon google
Google Music to Rival iTunes
Google has announced a new music download service, Google Music, which allows Android device owners to buy and stream music from Google’s online library of 13 million songs. The service, which Google hopes to rival Apple’s highly successful iTunes store, is currently available only in the US.
Amazon To Release Smartphone
Following the success of the Kindle and the recent release of the Kindle Fire tablet, online retailer Amazon is reportedly developing a smartphone to enter the already fierce market. Details on the actual specifications of the phone are unknown, but the release is expected in the next year.
Date: Tuesday, 29 November Organisation: Matchtech Group PLCTitle: How to use a recruitment agency
Matchtech Group will talk about how to effectively use a recruitment agency to look for your first graduate position. They will give you tips on how you can make yourself more employable. They recruit across the Scientific, IT and Engineering industries as well as within the professional services such as Accounting and Finance and Procurement and Supply Chain.
Date: Thursday, 1 December Organisation: Teach FirstTitle: The Teach First programme
The presentation will cover Teach First’s solution to the problem of Educational Disadvantage, the 2012 Leadership Development Programme, the application process, and what we are looking for in applicants.
Register at www.swa.prospects.ac.uk. Click on careers calendar or call in at the Careers and Employability Reception Desk in the Library 9am- 5pm.
CAREERs tAlKs Publishing: A Day at Penguin’s Head OfficeAS a third year, one of the things that often plays on my mind is the career I will undertake when I graduate, writes Matt Edwards.
One of my biggest ambitions is to work for a publisher. Thanks to a tipoff from Jo, the Swansea Careers Agony Aunt, I attended ‘A Diverse Day at Penguin’.
I was introduced to many aspects of editorial work, printing, design, sales, literary rights and marketing. We were shown how the company creates a book, all the way from the initial conception, through to the advertising and finally to its release.
We were also told of the company’s ongoing projects; The
Penguin Group plans to release a series of ebook-only essays (Penguin Shorts), whereas Dorling Kindersley, part of the Penguin Group, has released a new website (www.dkquiz.com) to promote their books on various subjects through online quizzes. The questions could be on anything – history, literature, science and culture. Prizes are also up for grabs for the most astute.
I met people who gave me useful information and internship opportunities, and found out about how they came across their role within the Penguin Group (or DK). •More careers information at http://blog.swansea.ac.uk/
8 Winter Sailing Training Programme Mumbles Yacht Club Happening now Due to the success of past sailing training programmes run at Mumbles Yacht Club, Welsh Sailing are now putting together a winter training programme which will take place with the support of the two local clubs, Mumbles Yacht Club and TATA Sailing Club, as well as the local commercial centre Swansea Watersports.
The winter programme is open to all sailors across Wales who wish to continue to receive some training through the winter, whether you are a GBR Sailor right down to just starting out for you first winter! Please feel free to apply for which ever winter training programme suits you, or you can mix and match different training programmes.Classes will include;Oppie BatFibreglass & wooden oppieTopperLaser(other classes of boat may be allowed, please check before entering)For full details of the training programme, training camps and costs please visit www.welshsailingevents.org or contact 02920 666 627.
9 Comedy Club Swansea Grand Theatre Wed 30th Nov @ 8pm £8 01792 475715
Some of the best acts on the Comedy Circuit appear in the Depot Studio of Swansea Grand Theatre every last Wednesday of the month (break for July and August and December). Relax with friends and laugh yourself silly whilst enjoying some great comedy and a drink, cabaret style. To Join the Comedy Club e-mail list to receive regular updates on Comedy Club and other comedy events at the Grand Theatre please send an email stating in the title bar - JOIN COMEDY MAILING LIST to [email protected]
James Buckley (Jay from Inbetweeners) Oceana Wed 30th Nov @10pm £3.50
Chaos is hitting OCEANA on Wed 30th November as Jay from the Inbetweeners wants to find out if swansea really is an animal. {Warning: wear your wellies because during Jay’s DJ set, you may be knee deep on the dancefloor}. £1.80 Drinks 2-4-1 cocktails £3 double vod-bulls. Free entry for platinum pack holders. Free entry before 11.30pm for active card holders.
10
film
music
26
albums singles
G o i n G f o r t h e r e c o r d - i n S t y l e
Rizzle Kicks Stereo TypicalBrighton hip-hop duo release their debut album, which is sure to make its mark on the charts, writes Thomas Sloggett. A clever mix of ballsy rap and catchy sing-alongs will brighten up the dullest winter days with the album’s feel good blend of guitars, obscure samples and relentless brass. You cannot help but feel that cheeky, innocent guitar rap is exactly what the dance-dominated charts need now. Their releases ‘Down With The Trumpets’ and ‘When I Was A Youngster’ already tick the infectiousness box, whilst tracks like ‘Miss Cigarette’ show their sensitive side, as they reminisce about a reluctant fling. ‘Stereo Typical‘ is the ultimate 2011 pick-me-up album.
Twin Atlantic Free“I set my body on fire, so I could be free” is just one handful of dynamic lyrics that label ‘Free’ as one packed with outspoken expression, writes Alex Gibbs. ‘Free’ generates heavier rock than ‘Vivarium’ offered, whilst maintaining musical variety. From the soulful but heart-rending ‘Crash Land’ to powerful rock melodies like ‘Make a Beast of Myself’; Twin Atlantic show what they are made of. Sam McTrusty’s undeniably wonderful vocals work effortlessly in upbeat rock rhythms like ‘Dreamember’. McTrusty shows pride at promoting their Scottish roots with his fierce voice. ‘Free’ reveals that Twin Atlantic have no boundaries when expressing their talent and speaking freely.
MastodonCurl of the Burl‘Curl of the Burl’ is Mastodon’s first single from their fifth studio album The Hunter, writes Elliot Holman. The single possesses everything one could expect from one of contemporary metal’s finest bands, from the old school riff that permeates the track throughout, to the haunting wails of vocalist Troy Sanders and the finger-melting solo supplied by facially-tattooed guitarist Brent Hinds. Whilst reeking of classic Mastodon, Curl of the Burl also showcases the band’s musical range. Having a more ‘Sabbath Era’ hard rock tone than previous releases, the single is a testament to Mastodon’s ability to develop a fresh sound whilst preserving their unique feel.
Flo RidaGood FeelingAnother disposable club-pop song? Oh yes, but Flo Rida ticks all the boxes, so no complaints here, writes Rich Willetts. Introduced with a nice guitar strum, ‘Good Feeling’ seeps into a House-styled, soulful euphoria which samples Etta James’ ‘Something’s Got Hold of Me’. Flo Rida’s rapping about the good life connects flawlessly with the energetic club beat (this is the bit where you rave). Complete with a dubstep bridge, it shows the rapper’s crafty eye on keeping music current. Whilst the song is nothing revolutionary, it delivers. Expect to hear it next time you’re in Oceana, fuelled with vodka; but like most dance anthems don’t expect the same opinion in two months time.
THERE are some remarkable festivals in and around Swansea; ‘Green Man,’ ‘Beach Break,’
‘Summer Ball’… all being great outdoor events. But we want to propose something closer, earlier and dryer!
Milkwood: Swansea’s Urban Music & Arts Festival is hoping to bring acts from all over the UK and beyond to fill venues in and around the city centre for a weekend during Easter.
The event will include live music, DJs, comedians, theatre, artists, dancers, poetry and spoken word; an impressive variety to suit all.
In the nature of an urban multi-event, ‘Milkwood’ hopes to offer two days of entertainment in various places for students to flit between.
For Milkwood Festival, we are looking to build a dedicated team of organisers and visionaries to make this happen. So if you’re an entrepreneur, designer,
treasurer, promoter, fundraiser or just intrigued by this project, please get in touch. An initial meeting will take place within the next two weeks; followed by regular get-togethers. Details to follow on contact.
Additionally, we are keen to add local acts to our bill. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact us and we can arrange to sample your work or come and see you perform. As a committee, we will also head out to various gigs and arts events to see what Swansea has to offer.
If you would like to see this happen, get involved! Let’s spread the word and make Swansea anticipate this as highly as we do!
•Contact Hazel on 07837 223632 or [email protected]
Something OldReleased in 2005, Gym Class Heroes second album is one cherished by its fan base, but unknown to everyone else. While this album didn’t make Gym Class Heroes a household name, it is a record no fan should ignore. Offering a mixture of songs; from soul-searching commentary on Travis’s personal experiences, to others like ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’ featuring Patrick Stump, this album is enjoyable with a unique blend of RnB/Indie/Rap music. There are classics like‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Papercuts’ as well as a handful of interlude snippet songs like ‘wejustfreestylin’pt2’ that allows listeners to hear Travis perform impromptu free-style.
Calling this album a sequel to ‘Papercut Chronicles’ is a reasonably fitting description. As a departure from its predecessor; the album is more mature, whilst preserving its Gym Class-y feel with its intense, personal lyrics. The sound is a far cry from the heavily manufactured pop found in their middle albums, that gave us ‘Clothes Off!’ and ‘Cookie Jar’. This album’s true achievements are the surprisingly heavy songs like ‘Martyrial Girl$’, featuring Danish singer Oh Land. Their sound has certainly developed since their second album, but it’s still the same Gym Class Heroes you’ll know and love!
By Hazel Monaghan
Do you think a band or genre should be featured? E-mail us at [email protected]
Something NewIf you are interested in the ‘Milkwood Festival‘ Project, please contact Hazel on 07837 223632 or [email protected].
By Esther Wright
Logo by Huw Richards
Milkwood: Swansea’s 1st Student Festivalis in the pipeline...
The Paper Chronicles The Paper Chronicles II
filmTWO hit men, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), are instructed to lie low in Bruges, a medieval Belgian city. Their predicament follows Ray’s accidental killing of a young boy during a job. Whilst Ken is enthused to experience the city’s culture, Ray is distracted by the need to get out and drink. During their time, Ray and Ken encounter many brilliant characters including Chloe, a production assistant, and Jimmy, a dwarf actor. The script of In Bruges is effortless in weighing pitch-black comedy with poignant themes of morality and mortality. In Bruges at its core, is a tale of guilt and remorse, but also one of loyalty, ethics and brotherhood – all of which are framed magically against the tranquil city of Bruges. Though intense in places, and rightfully so, In Bruges succeeds in pulling off a drama that is rich in profanity and action against a script that is both meaningful and hilarious. Performances from Farrell and Gleeson are natural and possibly their best and additionally, Ralph Fiennes delivers as the agitated and foul-mouthed mob boss. In Bruges is an emotional rollercoaster that truly will stir. Both enjoyable and engaging, it really is one to watch and re-watch.
By Michael Samuel
November 28, 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk 27
Immortals
From director Tarsem Singh comes a retelling of story in Greek Mythology which sees a human named Theseus (Henry Cavill) being manipulated by Zeus (Luke Evans) to challenge King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who is in search of a magic bow that can release the titans and overthrow the Gods. The visuals are enchanting as Singh delivers superbly with stunning imagery in almost every scene. The sets are spectacularly designed and give the film an epic feel. The action sequences are also a particular strength of Singh; they are brutal, blood soaked, violent and captivating. They are by far the most entertaining scenes in this movie. However, the narrative is rather dull and tedious with the acting of Cavill often so cringe worthy it’s obvious that he landed the part due to his looks. Even though Rourke tries his best to deliver a great evil and sinister performance he is unable to carry a whole movie on his shoulders. Immortals is worth a watch for its visuals and fight scenes alone, Rourke delivers a good performance but don’t expect that from any other actor in this movie. Think of the action of 300 with worse acting and more tedious cast.
The Rum Diary
The latest adaptation and onscreen revival of a Hunter S. Thompson novel, The Rum Diary, is a calmer affair compared to previous adaptations - people expecting Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will definitely be disappointed with this adaptation. If you’ve read the novel, upon which the film seldom reflects, you will be aware that this is a younger, subdued Hunter (as seen through character Paul Kemp). Johnny Depp’s Kemp is an aspiring writer, flown to Puerto Rico to work on a less than inspired newspaper writing bowling articles and horoscopes. In his first few days there, he meets Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), an ex journalist turned real-estate mogul and his girlfriend, Chenault (Amber Heard), with whom he falls utterly in love. Kemp is quickly involved with Sanderson in exploiting the untouched islands of Puerto Rico when he is employed by Sanderson to write a travel brochure. This involvement exposes Kemp to an underbelly of rotten politics that challenge his ethics as a writer, while his attraction to Chenault grows noticeable. Whilst the film is beautifully shot and paced, performances throughout The Rum Diary seemed a little too flat. The film re-imagines and respects Hunter’s book to good measure and whilst the scenes and action take place in sequence, there is not enough of a strong narrative backbone to support them. The Rum Diary is flawed, but nevertheless a tense viewing experience.
HUNTER S. Thompson is undoubtedly one of the biggest names associated
with Gonzo journalism. What is meant by ‘Gonzo’ is the blurring of the lines between fiction and non-fiction that Thompson so often utilised.
The first adaptation of his work was in the 1980 film Where The Buffalo Roam starring Bill Murray and Peter Boyle. The film focuses on Thompson attempting to cover both the Superbowl and 1972 Presidential election whilst in a drug-induced haze.
As is the basis for Gonzo, there is a debate about how much of what is depicted is fact and how much is fictional. However, the film got a kicking from the critics and was quickly pulled from cinemas by the studio. Both Thompson and Murray have since claimed to dislike the film.
It took 18 years before Hollywood touched Thompson’s work again, this came in the shape of Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The original source novel was already a benchmark of 1970’s American literature.
Gilliam’s film stars Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro as Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo respectively. The film tells the story of Duke (a muse of Thompson himself ) and Gonzo (a fictionalised
version of a friend of Thompson’s) as they travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades. Contemporary critical reaction to the film was, at best, mixed and its box office was far below its original budget. However, it has since grown into a cult film and was voted the 469th best film of all time by Empire Magazine.
FOLLOWING Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson and his cinematic counterpart Depp became friends.
Depp found the unpublished novel The Rum Diary and in 1998, convinced Thompson to have it published. Soon after, Depp signed to star and executive produce a film version.
The film languished in production hell for many years until Depp was officially cast in the ‘Thompson role’ of Paul Kemp. Bruce Robinson then signed to write the screenplay and direct. With the film currently showing in cinemas, The Rum Diary is reviewed on this page.
Thompson and cinema is a very problematic subject, his novels are often said to be unable to be adapted - mainly because of the drug induced hazes many of his characters seem to live in. However, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas demonstrates that if Thompson’s work is approached correctly, the results can be breathtaking.
Cinema and Hunter S. ThompsonWith the release of the latest Thompson adaptation, Andy Williams offers a brief look at previous adaptations of the legendary Gonzo writer’s work.
By Michael Samuel
PREVIEWS 1 Happy Feet 2 - After the success of the first, the studio has decided that the world needs more dancing penguins - and who am I to disgree. It features the voice talents of Elijah Wood and Robin Williams as they reprise their roles from the smile-inducing original. Released on December 2.
2 The Thing- Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton, this is a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic. A team of scientists discover an alien buried deep in the ice of Antarctica. The alien will then cause all sorts of issues for the helpless scientists. Released on December 2
reviewsBy Callum Walters
Cult Cinema: In Bruges
Hunter S. Thompson
fash
ion
18 &
23
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
28T h e T r u T h D aw n s i n f i r e - G a M i n G n e w s a n D r e v i e w s
games
i aM now convinced that only two types of gamers exist: There are those who count down the days and nights in a sleepless frenzy of anticipation until the latest Call of duty is released, and then they buy it. Then there are the people (i’m a member of this particular tribe) who will whine and rant about how the last C.O.D. was a let-down and how they’d rather dash their brains against a piece of granite rather than play the next one; and then they buy it regardless.
i’ve enjoyed the Call of Duty series since finest hour, and even the ‘worst’ offerings have at least had some sort of fun gimmick e.g. nazi Zombies, vehicles in COD 3 etc. and that’s where my problem with Mw3 lies. Modern warfare 3 plays like a carbon copy of its predecessor. with a mere smattering of guns, a few multiplayer maps and a handful of new ‘spec ops’ missions and ‘survival mode’ being the only new features on offer, Mw3 feels like it should have been sold as DLC or a premium priced update.
The story continues where Mw2 left off, with russia continuing its invasion of the western world, and generally causing mischief. whilst this may sound like a perfect (albeit clichéd) backdrop for some tense fire fights and COD’s trademark set-pieces, it just fails to be any ‘bigger’
than its predecessors. i felt that a change of pace at some point in the story, i.e. the ghillie-suit flashbacks from COD4, would have made the larger fights have much more of an impact, rather than hurrying the player through a desensitising blur of gun battles.
The multiplayer is much the same as before, but with smaller maps, and with servers that are infuriatingly prone to timing out, lagging and crashing during a match.Maybe it’s just me, but when i first discovered that my younger brother had made the conscious decision to buy Modern warfare 3 over skyrim, i shed tears of blood!ultimately, the game does have its good moments, but for me, this once great series has had its day.Only pick this up if you’re a) a die-hard COD addict or B) you’re engrossed in the story and don’t want to read the plot on wikipedia for free...
Michael Kavanagh
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3YOu can just imagine Batman’s internal monologue at the moment he heard all the deadliest criminals in Gotham were going to be shut in their own blocked off run-down district to fight amongst themselves. “Oh crap. i’m going to have to deal with this eventually.” no sooner does the day start than Bruce wayne is thrown into the worst administrative fudge up ever. all the rogues are here, everyone from Joker and Penguin to Bane, but also fiends that only hardcore Batman fans would know (like soloman Grundy and Deadshot).
The massive district is full to the brim with side missions, such as tracing phone calls from the murderous Zsaac, destroying Titan containers for Bane and attending a mad tripped out tea party with The Mad hatter.But that’s not to say Batman doesn’t have some loony friends on the inside, Cat-woman is playable with her own unique side quests and robin turns up to help his mentor out of a sticky situation.
The combat is more varied, with armoured enemies, one-armed juggernauts and knife-wielding goons. new dodging and counter techniques – such as countering incoming attacks from three separate baddies – as well as old and new special combo finishers, create an intense level of brutality to the fist fights. The gadgets are useful in combat. The new remote electrical Charge gun allows you to stun enemies from range in a crowded brawl, making them drop their makeshift weapons, be they propane tanks or chairs.
By no means, however, are they stupid. if they expect Batman has been hiding silently atop one of the roofs gargoyles, they will destroy them with gun fire. eventually, playing Batman arkham City lets you really feel what it would be like to be the Dark Knight, goons running away when they see you, frightfully calling for their friends, panicking as all their friends disappear around them... it’s sickeningly fun. again the voice acting is superb, with Mark hamill’s Joker being the top dog again, especially with his flirtatious messages on the Batphone... arkham City is an essential for anyone who enjoys a superhero game.
Ben Rogers
Batman: Arkham City
WHENEVER I talk about console games in front of a guy who hasn’t spoken with me before,
I’m always met with surprise, writes Roisin O’Connor.
There is a huge stereotype that certain games, including the majority of the top-sellers, are only played by men, and as someone who could be described as an obsessive when it comes to games like Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Gears of War and Assassins’ Creed, among others; this is something that I very strongly object to.
The annual survey conducted by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) showed that this year, the percentage of girl gamers is now 42% compared to 25% in 2004; evidence of a closing gap in the market.
One of my theories for why this attitude towards women in games is still an issue is to do with the fact that the majority of mainstream console games like Call of Duty, Gears of War,
Assassins’ Creed, etc. don’t feature playable female characters; unless you count multiplayer options.
Even a brilliant character like Lara Croft had to be given breast implants and the tightest shorts you’ve ever seen between two story arcs because the developers thought it would make her more appealing to a male demographic.
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but G-cup tits are only going to slow you down
when you’re charging through an ancient Mayan temple or jump-kicking an enemy in the face, not to mention the fact that you’d get horrendous backache from doing all those forward flips. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that while she began as an intelligent and strong female character, her games grew bland and Lara Croft became more like a “virtual blow-up doll”.
Another idea is that because the games industry is still, for the most part, dominated by men, they haven’t considered the fact that it might be time for a game where the main playable character isn’t a guy pumped up on testosterone with muscles on his muscles.
Fair enough, Ezio Auditore da Firenze isn’t exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he’s the Renaissance equivalent of a player, while Desmond Miles is just a full-scale moron. Lightning in the Final Fantasy series might be seen as an example of a solid female character,
but the games in which she features are still multiple narratives where male characters are also used.
The attitude towards girl gamers and women online in general is pretty shocking. A recent article
in The Guardian detailed how women bloggers must resist attempts to silence them through intimidation via threats of violence. The website fatuglyorslutty.com was set up by women to mock the trolls, but also raises the issue of how aggressive people can be when posting anonymous comments online.
Death and rape threats are common, despite being illegal, and racism is a constant feature. Another site, girlgamers.com, is a fantastic example of women online forming groups to tackle the stereotypes they are faced with every day. I’m slightly dubious about the use of pink for the background of the logo if you’re supposed to be challenging stereotypes, but maybe it’s deliberately ironic.
Girl Gamers: Not Such A Rare Breed?
have you got skyrim? are you playing through the storyline or are you too busy exploring? how much do you hate giants? Let us know at [email protected] (Ps: feedback is good too).
Because only people with ‘Y’ chromosomes use guns
KINDLE. A product high on the list of gadgets that everyone seems to covet. Developed by Amazon
and released in November 2007, there are now 14 different models to choose from, with the full-colour Kindle Fire being the latest (in the US only) after its release on September 28 this year.
Kindle is just one of the possible products used to download novels, poems, newspapers, documents, articles, and other forms of literature, all on to one tiny device that you can carry around wherever you go. Recently I interviewed the poet Simon Armitage and asked him how he believes new media is having an impact on literature.
“I think it's exciting and frightening at the same time,” he said. "A lot of fiction publishers have commented on how they're selling far less than Amazon. People like to own poetry books; to have that relation between print and page,
but there’s also the fear that literature might become like music, that someone could spend £2.99 on a book and then everyone else can just have it copied for free. I do wonder how this might affect the author, but you also try not to think about it too much."
As someone who is about to publish their first novel online, I find it hard to decide what my thoughts are on the subject. It’s obviously essential for me because the mainstream publishing industry is almost impossible to break in to these days. Publishers don’t look at you if you haven’t got an agent, and an agent doesn’t want to represent you if you haven’t been published before. Therefore any potential readers I have will be the ones downloading my book onto Kindles, iPads, and laptops.
On the other hand: that someone could spend the minimum amount of money on a piece of work that the
author has put a lot of effort and time into is not a nice thought.
Another thing to consider is the amount paid to the authors and publishers who put their work online. Along with the device, Amazon also launched Kindle Direct Publishing, a system that allows authors and publishers to have their work published independently to Kindle
and Kindle Apps. In 2009, an interview with CEO Jeff Bezos for The New York Times revealed that Amazon.com keeps 65% of revenue from all e-book sales for Kindle, and the remaining 35% is split between the author and publisher.
To me this seems like an unfair amount considering the fact that the author is the one doing all the work. In 2010 Amazon announced that they had sold more e-books than physical copies, proving exactly how popular online literature has become.
But while the e-book is enjoying its popularity, this does not necessarily signify the death of printed literature. Hard-core literature fans have refused to convert to the e-book, and it will take a long time for new media to completely overtake the printed word. So don’t expect to see defendants swearing on an online copy of the Bible just yet.
By Roisin O’Connor
29November 28 2011waterfrontonline.co.uk
culture
Are you ready for the eBook revolution?HAVE you considered making the leap from hardback to digital yet? Maybe 2011 is the year for you. Waterfront culture is here to shine a spotlight on the e-revolution that is shaking up the publishing industry.
THEY are cheaper in price, you can fit over a thousand books in your pocket and you have the ability to search and alter content. It’s truly no wonder that e-readers are booming in
sales and in popularity. The Guardian reported that, as of May this year, sales of eBooks were up 20 per cent. Waterstones booksellers report that sales of eBooks have outsold their physical counterparts by almost four-to-one. In America, meanwhile, there has been a 10% drop in sales of hardback fiction just this year. Online stores are predicting that Amazon’s new Kindle (£89) and Apple’s iPad (from £399) will be among the top-selling Christmas gifts this year. The future of the hard-copy is hanging in the balance!
National Waterfront Museum
eBooks – every student’s dreamWHAT impact will the e-revolution have on-campus? Ian Glen at Swansea University library says the library service is responding to a growing demand for eBooks, writes Michael Samuel. “If a book is in heavy demand, it is really useful to buy it as an eBook to enable many more students to read it. Many books on reading lists cannot yet be purchased as eBooks, however,” said Ian. So how can e-books help students? To start with, the cost of an e-book is often significantly lower compared with a physical copy. Secondly, students can view some e-books on devices they already own, such as a laptop, a smartphone, or through the library’s computers, although compatibility can still sometimes be an issue.Thirdly, from several surveys recently conducted with students, they also discovered that referencing or searching for specific information was incredibly easy with the functions of the e-book.The downside is that some books may no longer be avalaible in print. Amazon boasts one million free eBooks, from the likes of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The availability of these free e-versions could make printing copies of these novels uneconomic in future. There will inevitably still be a market in annotated study versions of these texts, however.
It’s All Very Well For Readers, But What About The Writers?
Poet Simon Armitage
AT university, reading can sometimes seem like a chore rather than a pleasure. But it can be relaxing, even therapeutic to read in the gaps between lectures, writes Esther Wright. My current reading obsession is losing myself in George R. R Martin’s epic ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series (upon which the spectacular
new HBO show Game of Thrones is based). Each of the five books so far are well over 600 pages long. Filled with love and war, gore and violence, treachery and murder, I’d recommend them for anyone interested in getting sucked into a fantasy of epic proportions.If it’s something a little more blood-curdling you’re after, one of Stephen King’s novels or short story collections is where I always go. Every story I read lets me rediscover my love and admiration for him as a writer, whilst also scaring myself silly. Maybe if I’m feeling more romantically inclined, I’ll swoon over Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights, reading my old dog-eared copies with crackled spines for what must
be the tenth time at least. If the thought of reading Austen is too mind-numbing, try the recent adaptation ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’, for a lighter, much more hilarious read. Still sat on my bookshelf waiting to be read is Nick Hornby’s ‘High Fidelity’- the tale of vinyl-obsessed record store owner Rob, whose recent break up calls into question his whole life, loves, and experiences, all neatly organised into his personal ‘Top Five’ lists. Hornby’s book is joined by Stephen Fry’s ‘Moab is My Washpot’, an autobiography spanning the first twenty years of his life. I’m sure it’ll be a memorable and entertaining read. Whatever mood I’m in, there will always be a book to suit...
Reading: A Pleasure No Matter What The Format
fash
ion
18 &
23
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
Photo by Mike Licht
31
Comfort FoodNovember 28 2011
waterfrontonline.co.uk
foodThe Diet Diary
COOKING, to me, is one of those things that goes with frozen slush, fern trees, and all things wintery. Besides, with essay misery and bad weather, what better way to tell your flatmates you care, even if you have been growling at them for the past few days?
This is so easy you will have most of the ingredients lying around, the rest are cheaper than your average Subway. Not to mention the satisfaction you get from telling people that you made it yourself. The ice cream is a boozy extra but delicious and easy if you don’t feel like baking.
Bread and Butter Pudding: Christmas Style• 8 slices of white bread
• Butter
• Sherry, Brandy or Rum
• 1 jar of mincemeat
• 50g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 300ml double cream
• 150ml milk
1. Grease a small casserole dish or what is available to you and pre heat oven to 180C/160C fan.
2. Make four mincemeat sandwiches with the bread, buttering both slices and spreading the mincemeat almost to the edges. I cut the crusts off but it’s optional.
3. Stack up the sandwiches and cut them crossways into small triangles, then lean them against the edge of your dish. Overlap them in layers until the dish is full and all the triangle points are sticking up like mountains. If you can’t fit it all in just squash them down. If you can’t fill the dish, make another sandwich or spread them out.
4. Beat together the caster sugar, eggs, cream and milk. When it’s blended add a tablespoon of sherry or brandy and whisk that in as well. Pour it over the bread until it’s coated. It might seem there is a little too much cream in the dish, you can pour some off but it’s not necessary because it all gets soaked up by the bread.
5. Sprinkle some more caster sugar over the bread. Place in the oven on a middle shelf and cook for forty minutes. Lift out and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Vodka Crunchie Ice Cream• 1 pint of double cream• 1 can of condensed milk (400ml)• Vodka• 3 Crunchie bars1. Take a pint of double cream and throw it in the blender until it thickens. Once it is thick enough to stand a fork in, add three tablespoons of vodka and the condensed milk. Blend it again.2. Now take the Crunchies and attack them while they’re still in the wrappers. Use anything, so long as it is heavy enough to break the chocolate. Stir the pieces into the cream and pour into a spare ice cream tub. Freeze it for a day and when you’re done, all that’s left is dancing around singing the Coke Christmas advert song.
The holidays are coming, writes Kitty Nicholas and it’s time to get in the festive mood with some bread & butter pudding and a bit of vodka crunchie ice cream!
Dieting is never easy, but as Jazz Dicker tells us in her diet diary, it can be really hard to just keep going through the temptation.
AFTER the first two weeks of dieting at university, it is already obvious which things we are going to find the most difficult. First things first, we have all lost weight this week even if it is minimal for some of us. I have lost 2 lbs, and my flatmates Shane and Sian have lost 4 lbs and 5 lbs respectively.
If you look at our food and exercise diaries it is obvious as to why we have lost this amount of weight. Basically, I caved and had a Dominoes takeaway half way through the week – pizza and chicken strippers obviously – because I ran out of food, whereas Shane and Sian were much stricter with what they ate.
We did, however, all go to the gym three times a week which balanced it out and made my pizza acceptable(ish). Apart from the pizza ‘mishap’, we have also come across a few problems this week which we are worried will hold us back during our weight loss journey.
The first primarily being food after a night out. In a desperate attempt to make alcohol a bit healthier, we have substituted our usual diet of cider and beer with the more vigorous option of vodka and diet coke (it is admittedly nowhere near as nice, but about three times healthier!). But it is when we leave the clubs that we want to go for a cheeky kebab or some cheesy chips.
I admittedly had some chicken nuggets after going out last Wednesday! So, our plan this week is to make sure we have some food ready for when we get in. For example, if I’m having
spaghetti bolognaise for tea, I will merely make some extra to have later on in the evening.
As well as eating healthily, it is important to get into shape through exercise as this almost definitely will give us a helping hand along the way. So, as we enjoy running and have done a few 5k races in the past, we have decided to aim high and sign up for a half marathon.
This sounds scary for those who have rarely exercised and are only just starting out in losing weight, but I believe that signing up for something like this is a great way of motivating you to exercise as you have to train to make sure you are fit enough to complete the race.
Start off with a 5k run , perhaps. I signed up for the ‘Race for Life last’ year and worked towards it. It felt great when I passed the finish line, and I lost weight and became healthier.
Salsa Chicken & Cheese TortillasPacks of tortillas have quite a long shelf life, and the Tesco Value wraps taste just as good as the premium branded ones.
Takes 15 minutes - Serves 2 people
• 4 tablespoon hot salsa from a jar
• 2 large flour tortilla wraps• 215g can of drained kidney
beans• 1 chopped spring onion• 50g shredded roast chicken
(Quorn for vegetarians)• 85g grated cheese• 20g pack chopped coriander
leaves (optional)
1. Spread two tablespoons on the salsa onto each tortilla wrap, then evenly top one of them with the beans, spring onion, chicken/Quorn and cheese. Scatter with coriander leaves if you have some. Sandwich with the other tortilla, then brush with oil if you like.
2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan, then cook the tortilla, oil-side down for four minutes. Carefully turn over with a palette knife (or by turning it out onto a plate, then sliding it back into the pan), then cook for two minutes on the other side until golden.
3. Serve cut into wedges, sprinkled with the coriander and with a lime wedge on the side
MAKING tasty and healthy dishes can be difficult for students on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget. That’s why writers at the BBC’s Good Food magazine have collected their favourite recipes for quick, delicious recipes that won’t cost the earth.
There are chapters on Brainy Breakfasts, Express Dinners, Dinners for One, One Pan Wonders, Food for Friends and Easy Puds.
The book is published by Ebury Press and retails at £4.99 but you can win one of four copies by emailing [email protected] with your name and Good Food Cookbook in the subject line. In the meantime, try this tasty recipe from the book.
Win a cook bookfa
shio
n 18
& 2
3
soci
etie
s 32
gam
es 2
8
gadg
ets
25
mus
ic 2
6
film
27
fron
t row
24
feat
ures
16
- 17
cultu
re 2
9
food
31
societies
32E n h a n c E y o u r s t u d E n t E x p E r i E n c E
IT IS that time of year: you have books to read, deadlines to meet, jobs to apply for, events to attend,
and friends to see. It seems like 24 hours is not enough. Ultimately, you are overcome with stress and anxiety trying to do just about everything. Every single person reading this will be able to identify with the above, writes James Langridge.
Step forward the newly founded Mental Wealth Society, an affiliation of Mental Wealth UK set up by Masters Student, Hannah Brotherton. The society’s key aim is to promote positive wellbeing on campus.
This is going to be achieved through a series of fundraisers, events and monthly newsletters. As a society, they aim to reduce the stigmas associated with mental health problems as well as providing a confidential environment that is non judgmental and supportive.
So, one might ask what qualifies the society to address these issues? After initially hearing about the society, these were my exact thoughts. Upon meeting the Society’s founder, Hannah, the enthusiasm and commitment is very apparent.
Despite an academic interest in the matter, there is an assertion that the Society is beyond this as she states, “this isn’t focused upon the neuroscience of depression; everyone has had a down
moment, whether it’s breaking up with a boyfriend or stressing about an essay, I certainly have.
“During a placement, I worked within the NHS and it became evident that there was a lack of support and information provided for young adults with mental health problems. We need to address this.”
The personal experience and genuine enthusiasm for addressing the issue are extremely evident. The determination to make the Society a success is shown by the willingness to fund it herself until she receives a grant from the Student
Union. This is also demonstrated by the Society’s first activity of the term. Inevitably, amidst the grey and rain that blankets campus, you will have seen a Giant Raccoon (pictured above) complete with a red neck-scarf standing next to someone distributing muffins and offering free hugs to anyone that looks glum.
Giving free hugs to anyone that wants one, the Giant Raccoon also has a deeper purpose, as Hannah says, “even if you don’t have a hug off the Raccoon, for a brief moment, you will see it and detach yourself from everything and just smile and laugh. This is what we want.”
The comical motif is central to the Society as its aim is to stop people suffering in silence, encouraging them to step out and have fun. This in turn, distinguishes it from the formal counselling process usually offered by similar organisations.
When asked about the Society and its actions, Societies and Service Officer, Tom Upton, broke into a wide grin and said: “It’s a novel way of getting the society’s message out to all students. I encourage all societies to increase their interaction with the wider student population. It’s a great idea.”
•For more information, visit: www.wix.com/bellemind/swanseaunimentalwealth
Grab a free hug and grow your Mental Wealth!
Society News RoundupEVERY week, we give you the roundup for what’s going on in and around the Union with your societies.
stand-up CoMedy shoWthe comedy club society will be hosting a stand-up show featuring members’ performances.29th nov | divas | [email protected]
save the date - 1940 ChristMas partythe students union are organising the ‘save the date’ event, themed around 1940s and raising money for the help For heroes charity. check out the pullout in this edition of the Waterfront for more details.8th dec | £10 | [email protected]
santa’s Grotto - raise and GiveraG will be hosting a santa’s Grotto, featuring gifts and information about various charities. Get your photo with santa claus as well as the annual Elfing event!5th dec | Jc’s | Free [email protected]
debatinG - national CoMpetitionthe debating society will be hosting a national competition, here at swansea, against a collection of 100 university students from across England & [email protected]
Choral soCiety ChristMas ConCertthe annual christmas concert from the choral society will be in st pauls church, sketty in december. For more information, email:[email protected]
sloW White and the seven hoodiesthe drama society will be performing their christmas pantomime, ‘slow White and the seven hoodies’ in divas on the 5th and 6th december£3 Members | £4 students | £6 [email protected] euroball - FiGs soCietiesthe French, italian, German and spanish societies are presenting the Euro Ball where the Modern Language societies come together for a festive meal and a disco.7pm - 6th december | oceana £20 in advance from Box [email protected]
Society SPotLiGHtswansea raise and Give, commonly known as raG, is a fundraising society that raises money through bucket collections, cake sakes and nights out, writes Linda Menzel. they raise money for local and national charities that include cancer research uK, the ray Gravell trust, shine cymru and sos africa.
For the festive period, they will be bringing a santa’s Grotto to Jcs, alongside Elfing. they will also be playing a large part in the save the date event, a 1940’s christmas party. the society aims to get bigger and better in the new year, and stresses that there is always a way to contribute. so, to start giving back and to help a variety of causes, get in touch. E-mail: [email protected]: Swansea RAG (Raise and Give)
Raise and Give
The Mental Wealth racoon is handing out free hugs on campus.
Want to know more about societies? check out www.swansea-union.co.uk/societies
INTRAMURALIntramural is an internal football competition comprising of 18 sides, made up of 11-a-side teams from the University.
Games are played on Wednesdays within walking distance of campus on the Ashleigh Road playing fields.
Afterwards, most teams have a social session either in JC’s or out in Wind Street.
Cup matches are played on Sundays, working towards the showpiece of the cup final.
SPORT I 35 www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
First female intramural referee in action
by Alex [email protected]
Ajax remain standing after Bulldogs face offIntramuralaction shotof the week16 Nov - Sketty v. 6ths
TEAMS INVOLVED: Ajax Treesdown, Blazin Bonville Bulldogs, Cefn Eleven, Crayola FC, Clinical Finishers, Hardly Athletic, History FC, K.A.Y FC, PhotoSinthesis Grasshoppers, Signature, Sketty Bolognese, Singleton Park Rangers, Sub-Standard Liege, Team Armadillo, The Firsts, Team Sloth, Uni 6ths, Uni 7ths.
Results (13-16-20-23 Nov) & Upcoming Fixtures (30 Nov)History FC 2-0 Armadillo
Kay FC 7-2 Cefn 11S.P.R 1-1 PhotoSIN
Signature 0-7 Crayola FC Team Sloth 0-4 AjaxClinical Fin 2-1 B.B.B
The Firsts 0-4 Sketty BolSub-Standard Liege 2-9 6ths
Hardly Athletic 1-3 7ths
Sub-Standard 2-2 PhotoSINThe Firsts 4-1 History FC
Kay FC 0-1 Clinical FinHardly Athletic 4-4 B.B.BSignature 2-1 Armadillo
Ajax 3-0 SPR6ths 1-2 Sketty Bol
Team Sloth 5-3 Cefn 117ths 9-2 Crayola FC
B.B.B 8-2 SignatureCefn 11 2-2 Crayola FC
Clinical Fin 7-1 Hardly AthleticHistory FC 2-6 Kay FC
PhotoSIN 3-1 The FirstsS.P.R 1-3 6ths
Sketty 3-3 Team SlothArmadillo 2-3 Ajax
7ths 4-1 Sub-Standard
Ajax 4-2 B.B.BCrayola FC 3-3 Sketty
Hardly Athletic 2-2 History FCKay FC 2-1 PhotoSIN
Signature 2-7 Clinical FinSub-Standard 2-7 The Firsts
Team Sloth 3-0 S.P.R6ths 6-1 Armadillo
7ths 5-1 Cefn 11
B.B.B v 6thsCefn 11 v Sub-Standard
Clinical Fin v AjaxHistory FC v Signature
PhotoSIN v Hardly AthleticSketty v 7ths
Armadillo v Team SlothThe Firsts v Kay FC
A HUMBLING moment for all came prior to kick off at last Sunday’s re-scheduled fixtures. Everyone involved with intermural showed great respect to the people who have lost their lives fighting for what they believe in. The league organising committee were said to have been filled with a sense of great pride, at witnessing eve-ryone behaving in the right manner as the minute silence was conducted.
Intramural remembers
AJAX Treesdown captain Dan Clancy scored a wonder-goal in their 4-2 vic-tory over Blazin Bonville Bulldogs.
Clancy’s second-half thunderbolt left Bulldogs goalkeeper Ieuan Smith rooted to the spot and gave his side a two-goal cushion.
He said: “I’m a right-footed striker but I’ve found myself in the inside-left position, with no other option than to have a strike, really.
“Luckily I’ve managed to connect
well with the ball and it’s gone in the top corner,there’s not much more to say about it.”
An own-goal and a brace from Adam Bruton also contributed to the win, though Clancy admitted his side were at times pressed hard by the Bull-dogs.
“BBB are a good team, we knew it’d be tough today, so we’re happy to come away with three points.
“We made it harder than it should have been, conceding a second goal not long after getting a chance to nick a fourth, but we kept our heads up and came away with the points.”
Ajax took the lead early on in the match when last season’s player of the year Bruton got in between a static de-fence to head his side into the lead.
The initial period saw Ajax employ
a very direct passing strategy as their main route to goal and the Bulldogs struggled.
Soon after, Ajax’s lead was doubled, this time coming through unfortunate Bulldogs defender Tom Hill’s own goal
Bulldogs came close to pulling a goal back, Henry McGhee’s goalbound effort pushed over the bar.
It almost became three-nil in the first few minutes of the second half, Ajax’s Josh Price seeing his lob tipped over the bar.
Price had another chance but was denied by Bulldog’s Matt Penfold div-ing in.
Bulldogs eventually got a goal back, Tom Hill making amends for his earlier own-goal by heading the ball in at the near post.
The goal sparked a new belief in the
Bulldogs.Against the run of play, Ajax extend-
ed their lead, captain Clancy picking the ball up just inside the box before unleashing a left-footed rocket which sailed into the top corner.
Ajax should have got a fourth mo-ments later, Tom Drinkwater lashing home a low drive. It was denied by an offside flag however, which was a questionable decision given that the last touch came from a Bulldogs de-fender.
Ajax were left feeling agrieved, and lost focus allowing Bulldogs to get a second goal, Liam Wells making it 3-2.
Bruton grabbed his second goal of the game, smashing the ball into the roof of the net after a corner.
Ajax play Clincal Finishers next with B.B.B playing 6ths, both on Nov 30.
Sketty’s Freddie Ray
Week seven standings1. Uni 6ths2. Uni 7ths3. Ajax Treesdown 4. Clinical Finishers5. Team Sloth6. Sketty Bol7. Kay FC8. The Firsts9. B.B.B10. PhotoSINthesis11. S.P.R12. History FC13. Crayola FC14. Hardly Athletic15. Sub Standard16. Cefn Eleven17. Team Armadillo18. Signature
181818161414121210887555433
JASMIN Lane has become the first female referee to take charge of an intramural football match in the league’s history.
Lane, a first year who also plays for the women’s netball first team, made her debut on Ash-leigh Road in the match between Singleton Park Rangers and Pho-tosinthesis on the 13th Novem-ber.
Before the match, she said: “I’m really looking forward to referee-ing this weekend.
“I hope there won’t be too much trouble and the lads will have a really good match.”
Lane began refereeing as a teenager after seeing it as a good money-making opportunity.
“My mum and dad used to drag me to watch my younger broth-ers play football every weekend,” she said.
“When I started needing mon-ey I realised refereeing was a job that would keep me fit and pos-sibly lead on to a career.
“So instead of being sat on the sideline, I was on the pitch doing something I enjoyed instead.”
Intramural representative Ceri
Parker welcomed Lane’s appoint-ment on to the referees’ list.
“It just shows how those barri-ers between women’s and men’s sports are being broken down,” he said.
“It’s exciting to watch us mimic the Premier League where you’ve got Sian Massey officiating regu-larly.
“She’s well qualified, and will be with us throughout the sea-son.”
Eleri Jones, the students’ un-ion’s women’s officer, was also pleased with the news.
She said: “Obviously, I think it’s excellent.
“It is unfortunate that in 2011, modern perceptions of male and female roles in our culture cre-ate a need to push a story like this at all, but it’s wonderful that women are gaining a place in this field.
“Women should, of course have the confidence in their own abilities to apply for these posi-tions, and I think that it’s won-derful to have women referees in this club.”
The appointment was part of the intramural football’s com-mitee scheme to promote equal-ity and anti-discrimination.
Ajax TreesdownB.B.B
42
by Becca [email protected]
SPR & PhotoSINthesis draw after fiery affair
by Ben [email protected]
THE weather-hit fourth round of fixtures took place on November 13 with Singleton Park Rangers and PhotoSINthesis sharing the spoils.
Interestingly enough these sides will face each other once more in the cup after the winter break.
PhotoSinthesis had the first real chance of the game as their cap-tain, Rhy Jones rattled the post with a long range effort.
Jones then had another great chance to score which was saved well by Norwegian keeper Kim Rene.
PhotoSinthesis’s pressure fi-nally paid off after a free kick deflected off the head of Single-ton’s midfielder Alex Turcu and past the stranded keeper for the opener.
Tempers were rising as the
game went on but the game was calmly dealt with by the referee, and the game went into the break with Singleton still 1-0 down.
Words from the manager must’ve worked for SPR as they started the second half much bet-ter than the first.
A long throw into the box from Alex Siegmund caused havoc in the box and allowed Nick Jolley to tap in from close range.
As the game went into the final quarter, tackles continued to fly in from both sides with the poten-tial of the game boiling over, but the referee ensured it would not come to that.
In Singleton’s next match on the 16th November, they were beated 3-0 by Ajax Treesdown. PhotoSINthesis managed a 2-2 draw with Sub-Standard Liege.
The next two games for SPR on the 20th and 23rd continued poorly for the side losing both games (1-3, 0-3).
PhotoSINthesis had mixed for-tunes in their two most recent matches also, winning one and losing the other.
SPRPhotoSINthesis
11
36 I SPORT thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
SPORT I 37 www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
CAPTAIN Findlay Williams praised Swansea’s resilience after fighting back from 20-8 down to beat Exeter.
The match was dominated by Exeter in the first half before Swansea took control of it after the break.
“We played poorly in the first half but played very well in the second,” said Williams.
“The key to our comeback was defi-nitely our mental strength and special praise goes to SteveHoworth, Tayo Adesanya and Rob Hor-shall for their great performances.
“Last season we were unbeaten and even though we’ve lost one already we still want to win the league.”
In the opening minutes Exeter made the breakthrough, with Swansea being penalised within ten yards of their try line by the referee.
After a quick bit of thinking by the wide man the ball was planted over the line.
Following a try by the Swansea side, Exeter continued in a similar fashion, scoring two more tries and converting a penalty kick.
The kicking performances from both sides lacked any consistency with only six of the ten kicks converted.
Swansea also lacked any sense of fluidity in their passing with the ball frequently missing the intended tar-get.
The match was somewhat damp-ened just before half-time when an ambulance was needed for an Exeter player who had a suspected broken arm, but it was later confirmed to be a dislocated elbow.
The second half began much more positively for Swansea as they dis-played a much tougher defensive proposition for Exeter.
The home side did not allow thei-ropponenets to score again, in a half totally controlled by Swansea.
They made the most of their posses-sion, turning the ball and making the most of their chances, breaking well.
In the space of twelve minutes Swansea successfully scored three tries to turn the game on its head.
Swansea also converted two of the three kicks as well as a final penalty kick scored in the 66th minute.
The performance of Adesanya was particularly impressive; he scored two tries and converted two kicks for Swansea.
by Amo [email protected]
Swansea revival turns over Exeter
MEN’S RUGBY - 2nd team
SWANSEA EXETER
Squash see off Southampton
Regan ignites a first class display
MEN’S SQUASH1st team
SWANSEA BRISTOL 3rd
3020
50
by Sam [email protected]
CAPTAIN Craig Lloyd is refusing to get carried away after a comfortable win over Bristol but has great hope for the season ahead.
Swansea made it three wins out of four, with a clinical victory over Bristol 3rds.
All five players won their respective matches, making light work of their opponents.
“It was easy match for us today, it re-ally helps having your first choice play-ers out there and having Phil [Regan] available to us at number one really boosted the team,” said Lloyd.
“We can really kick on from here, we have only lost once this season and that was to Gloucester away, hopefully with a full strength squad we can beat them at home.”
Swansea’s day started with their number one Regan facing Bristol’s Nick Bone.
The match was a feisty affair with Bone often voicing an opinion on the decisions made.
His complaints did not have much standing as Regan, by far the better player, cruised to victory (11-4, 11-7, 11-4).
Russ Moralee and Brad Pletts soon followed up on Regan’s good work, both grabbing 3-0 victories them-selves.
At this point, victory for Swansea was already confirmed; but the home side had their sights firmly set on com-pleting the whitewash.
Lloyd was up next and his contest proved to be the most emphatic of them all.
He beat Tom Lloyd in straight games (11-1, 11-2, 11-3).
This meant Dan McEwan needed to beat Bristol’s Ali Ladek to make it 5-0, to the home side.
This was clearly the match of the day. McEwan cruised through the first game 11-2, but Ladek proved to be a lot more stubborn than his compatri-ots.
He pushed McEwan hard winning a tightly contested third game (13-15).
But McEwan proved to be too strong winning the fourth game 11-6, finish-ing off a great afternoon for the Swan-sea 1sts.
Swansea had one final game before the Christmas break, and it was against the top placed side UWE 2nds. With the chance to go top of the ta-ble with a win, Swansea fell short in a thrillling 3-2 defeat.
by Enoch Lai & Craig Hadley [email protected]
A must Reed as hockey take all three points
CERIS Challenger admitted she un-derestimated her opponent but praised her team mates who secured victory despite her defeat.
Swansea’s captain Challenger faced off against Southampton’s Stephanie Chase.
Challenger found it difficult to get herself into the game, and her oppo-nent outplayed her (11-4, 11-6, 11-8).
Challenger said: “It was disappoint-ing, I underestimated her.
“She was a lot better than I thought she was going to be, [I] was compla-cent.”
The opening game of the day saw Susie Howells facing up against South-ampton’s Fran Wyatt.
A LAST minute winner from Chris Reed saw Swansea overcome Bris-tol.
The second half display in particu-lar pleased captain Joe Howarth.
He said: “We played alright in the first half but they put a lot of pres-sure on us and played a very high line.
“The second half was much bet-ter and we were starting to put into place what we’ve been working on in training.”
Despite starting the day in fifth, Howarth maintains that Swansea can mount a promotion push this season.
He said: “We’ve definitely got the quality to gain promotion so we need to make sure we takeadvantage of our home form.”
In the first minute Bristol came close to scoring when Ben Walters’ powerful low shot just driftedwide of the post.
Swansea responded, a short cor-ner was put narrowly wide and An-drew Willemite’s winding run was halted just in time by the Bristol de-fence.
Chris Metcalfe went close for Swansea not long after but he failed
by Alex [email protected]
REGAN: Opening match win with three straight games
Photo by: Kate Steinbach
Photo by: Kate Steinbach
to fully test the keeper. The game’s opening goal went to
Swansea, as Rory Thorburn raced onto a long pass to slide the ball into the net.
The lead was short-lived however as Adil Dostmohamed tapped in from close range.
The second half proved to be a livelier affair as both teams pushed for the win.
Johnny Cardy went close twice for Swansea before Bristol scored against the run of play. A short cor-ner was smashed towards goal and Cottam tucked in the rebound to make it 2-1.
Swansea could have equalised five minutes later, but Chris Reed could only strike the post after getting onto a defence splitting pass from Thorburn.
Reed was impressive throughout and showed some great skills with the stick getting behind the Bristol backline.
Eventually Swansea did equalise when Thorburn grabbed his sec-ond of the game, prodding the ball home.
With the game’s coming to a close, Swansea persevered and Cardy’s pull back was met by a sliding Reed to ensure the win for the South Wales side.
Her precise shot play gave her the edge over her opponent winning 3-1 (11-6, 11-1, 5-11, 11-7).
Next on court one was Lici Venables facing off against Katie Preston.
Venables pipped Preston to the opening game after a great powerful drive with the score square at 9-9.
Preston picked up her game win-ning the second game 11-8, before Venables’s started to dominate the rallies. She won the third and fourth games to seal the match (11-6, 11-5).
Back on court two Cassie Mason played Harriet Cant. Cant won the opening game, before Mason’s ag-gressive serve started to cause Cant trouble on her backhand side.
Mason picked up the win 3-1.Challenger added: “Cassie, she’s our
number four, it was her first win of the season, I’m really pleased [for her].
MEN’S HOCKEY1st team
SWANSEA BRISTOL 3rd
32
WOMEN’S SQUASH1st team
SWANSEA S’HAMPTON 1st
31
38 I SPORT thewaterfront 208 28.11.11
Swansea’s jiu jitsu squad reign supreme at Bucs Atemi nationals
Edinburgh power past Swansea
by Craig [email protected]
by Craig [email protected]
SWANSEA University struggled against tough competition in Edin-burgh’s Braids 2011 cross country event finishing just outside the top ten in both the men’s and women’s categories. Edinburgh University won both team events with Swansea finishing 11th in the women’s event and 13th in the men’s. Edinburgh also came out on top in the individual events with Claire Ward from the ‘HBT’ running club coming in at 18min 34sec. The nearest Swansea competitor to her was Verity Ockenden who fin-ished in 20min 7sec. Emily Relton was next inside 21 minutes, and Rachel Edworthy at 24min 4sec. The men favoured slightly worse in their inidivudal scoring, with Emrys Penny finishing 20th with a time of 35min 39sec.
Ashley Harper and Thom Bower-man were the next fastest for Swan-sea, but were both outside the top 30 places.
The winner of the men’s race was again an Edinburgh local, Niall Shee-han from Lasswade athletics club with a time of 32min 35sec.
The annual event, which took place on November 12, had 349 runners in all disciplines.
SWANSEA’s jiu jitsu team held noth-ing back as they secured the Bucs shield at the Atemi national champi-onships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.
Swansea won by three points over their closest rivals on the day, Bristol University. Essex, Birmingham and Leeds universities rounded up the top five places.
“The figures speak for itself,” said captain David Townsend .
“The performance was amazing. Everyone trained really hard for it.”
Townsend also reserved special praise for their Sensei, Hywel Morrish who has more than 16 years of experi-ence in martial arts.
“Hywel is one of those teachers who can teach to everyone,” he added.
“It doesn’t make a difference what age you are, he is a very charismatic teacher, very good at what he does.”
Arguably the best performance came from Danielle Whelton who had only recently taken up the sport of Jui Jitsu winning the notice category as well as receiving a special acknowl-edgement from the Jui Jitsu founda-tion.
Townsend added: “She did amaz-
ingly well. She has a background in judo; she’s quite a high grade in that. She has applied that to jui jitsu, which is phenomenal.”
Performances from Gordon Cum-ming at yellow grade, and Jodie Preece at light blue grade both achieved sec-ond places in their respected gradings.
There was also respectable finishes for Katrina Palmer and Russell Marsh finishing fourth each in novice and green respectively.
Jiu jitsu’s achievements have cer-tainly made others take note, with sev-eral people coming up to congratulate the club captain.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say well done for the weekend,” said Townsend.
“We have now established ourselves as a martial art, and as a sport within the athletics union.”
But Townsend is under no illu-sions that this particular performance means a certain medal next time out.
“We have a competition in February. It is a lot different from what we’ve just done. It’s more of a fight for a medal.”
The Jui Jitsu club will now have its grading tests which is scheduled for December.
DOUBLE GOLD: Whelton & club captain David Townsend
Photo by: Jon Collier
SPORT I 39 www.waterfrontonline.co.uk
SWANSEA firsts team captain Ria Llewellyn thinks her side were guilty of complacency, despite thrashing the seconds.
Llewellyn said: “I think we played well, but were a bit complacent in the first half.
“I think we were a little casual, we need to understand how important these kinds of matches are.
“I am glad we picked things up in the second half.”
It was a tough, wet and windy after-noon for the teams as they faced off on a heavy, boggy pitch.
The conditions were not ideal but the firsts looked set for a comfortable victory after just 15 minutes.
A hat-trick in the space of five min-utes for forward Lauren Walker looked ominous and the seconds looked un-able to cope with the pressure they were under.
But with a show of real grit, and an impressively quick counter-attack, the underdogs showed they had some-thing within them to possibly cause an upset, bringing the score back to 3-1 at the half hour mark.
At the hour mark Swansea firsts were comfortably in the lead as the clocked ticked down despite the best efforts of the 2nds to get back into the game.
By the end of the 90 minutes the en-ergy levels evaporated from the sec-ond’s spirited performance and they found themselves unable to cope with the firsts attacking prowess.
The firsts forced them back and were able to finish the game with a greater superiority in the score line than the seconds would have wanted.
“Today gives us a lot of things to work on for next week, but it is good to have these sorts of matches to pre-pare,” added Llewellyn.
The seconds fought hard through-out the match and gave everything they could but the difference in abil-ity shone through as they finished the match after shipping ten goals.
Second’s captain Bethan Rudge paid tribute to her hard-working side.
“I think we played the best we ever played, especially in the first half,” she said.
“To be so close at half was absolute-ly fantastic.
“If we can take this momentum into the next game, we can beat them.”
Swansea 1sts next game saw them face off against rivals Cardiff University away. Swansea lost 8-3 to the home side.
Swansea 2nds also had one more game to play before the Christmas break away to Swansea Met in the lo-cal derby game. It was cancelled due to pitch condition issues at Fairwood.
Relentless firsts beat seconds
Swansea up to second after great win against Cardiff
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
SWANSEA 1st SWANSEA 2nd
102
by James [email protected]
by Enoch Lai & David [email protected]
SWANSEA University captain Freddie Ferrari was delighted with Swansea’s performance after their 4-2 victory against Cardiff at Pennard Golf Club.
Despite extremely blustery conditions, Swansea started the day brightly, swiftly racing into a 3-0 lead.
The pace was set very early on with Fer-rari leading by example finishing 5 & 3 up.
The excellent form was carried on by Liam Eley, ending 5 & 4 up and Rob Smith 5 & 3 up.
The aim of a whitewash was quashed in the fourth pairing when James Powles-land finished on a 4 & 3 loss, leaving Swansea leading by two in a 3–1 score line.
Order was resumed from a Swansea point of view when Pete Gordon ended 1 up and resulting in the Swansea victory being 4–1 up overall.
Nathan Day’s one-down loss resulted in the 4–2 victory for Swansea University.
“Obviously today’s conditions weren’t the most ideal, but in fact windy condi-tions like this play into our hands as we’re used to the course and know how to ad-just our shots accordingly”, said Ferrari.
MIXED GOLF1st team
SWANSEA CARDIFF 1st
42
Jones ecstatic at lacrosse team’s strong start to the season
by Tom [email protected]
by Craig [email protected]
EMILY Jones is ecstatic at the recent performances of Swansea Univer-sity’s lacrosse side as they find them-selves level on points with leaders Cardiff Metropolitan University.
The women’s side finished the league fourth last season and were looking to improve on that place with the beginning of a new set of fixtures.
Swansea started this season against hotly tipped Plymouth university, who finished second in the western 2A divi-
SWANSEA University experienced mixed success at the Bucs Notting-ham individual championships.
Christopher McMullan, Barry Gar-nham and Sam Gorell reached the fourth round of the men’s competition before narrowly losing to seeded op-ponents.
Hattie Wade and Rui Lin reached the third round of the women’s before their exit in similar fashion.
Swansea’s biggest success in the singles was junior Welsh international Alice Palmer, who reached the last 16 before losing to the eventual tourna-ment winner.
In the mixed doubles, the pairs of Jeongyih Ho/ Lin and Seijun Wong/Wade made second round exits, while Gorell/Palmer lost in the last 16.
In the women’s doubles, Palmer/Wade, Lin/Penny Scott and Sian Ad-ams/Rebecca Richards were all in ac-tion.
Men’s doubles pair Wong/Ho were unlucky to be eliminated in the first round while Garnham/McMullan suf-fered defeat against the fifth seeds, and Gorell/Sam Crossley went out to second seeds and favourites from Leeds Metropolitan Carnegie - the most successful university at theChampionships.
Swansea received the “Spirit of the Competition” award for a second con-secutive year.
Tour Captain Garnham received a lifetime achievement award recognis-ing the fact that he has represented Swansea at ten consecutive Champi-onships.
He said: “I’m very proud of my team, always supporting each other at the tournament.
ELEY: Teeing off on the way to a team win
Mixed success for badminton team
“We’ve teed off and putted fairly well over the course today, which is pleas-ing. Our pitching perhaps needs to be sharper, as that could be costly in tight-ly contested pairings.
“We tried to hit the ball hard and low today because of the wind, and I think we managed that quite well.”
Both sides still managed to produce birdies and pars aplenty with numer-ous accurate drives and putts, but as the pairings played on, Swansea’s home advantage eventually told.
“We’re happy with any margin of vic-tory, but we like to aim high and were hoping to achieve a whitewash over them.”
Cardiff were not without threats of their own, as their precise approach shots were often followed up by 2-putts at most.
Swansea, on the other hand, kept their shots low to avoid the ball being blown off-course too much.
“Overall, it’s been a very good day for us and I’m pleased we’ve come out on top.”
Swansea’s next match is now not until January but with the team sitting in second place behind Bournemouth 4ths.
“Even if we don’t take home any medals, everyone takes home great memories and adds to Swansea’s leg-endary status at these championships.”
The competition saw 65 universities take place with 75 top British and in-ternational students in action.
sion last year.The away trip proved a difficult ex-
perience for the Welsh side as they went down 8-3. Swansea’s second game welcomed the current top side Cardiff Met make the trip to the city. A terrific effort from the team pro-duced the win, as they waved Cardiff off on the back of a 8-3 scoreline.
“We’re doing really well,” said Jones. “[We’re playing] the best any of the current team can remember.” Jones cited the effort and together-ness of the side for their current form.
“In general the whole team have got a good hold of it,” she added. “I think that’s why we’re winning, the team works well together. On the back of their home win against Cardiff Met they travelled over the border to Gloucestershire. Having just been relegated from the 1A division, Gloucestershire posed a tough test for Swansea. But Swansea were determined to pick up the points and it was a buoy-ant squad who travelled back to Wales on the back of a 12-5 win.
Women’s lacrosse is putting itself on the map thanks to their great perfor-
mances and Jones revealed they have a Welsh international in their midsts.
“Joclyn Robinson, she’s a great play-er,” she said. “Played in last summer’s world cup for Wales.”
The Welsh side finished a respect-able fifth with Robinson scoring six times for her country.
Swansea look set for a good finish this year and Jones is looking towards the league title especially after beating Cardiff Met earlier in the season.
“Oh yes, definitely,” she said. “Hopefully we can win the league.”
Photo by: Kate Steinbach
21141543154013511342
1. Loughborough Uni2. Durham University3. University of Bath4. University of Exeter5. University of Birmingham
thewaterfront
November 28, 2011 waterfrontonline.co.uk IN
SIDE
RUGBY UNION Men’s(16) Hartpury 1st 45-15 Swansea 1st(23) Bath 1st 30-10 Swansea 1st(30) Cardiff 1st v Swansea 1st(07) Swansea 1st v Bristol 1st
RUGBY UNION Women’s(16) Plymouth 1st 12-17 Swansea 1st(23) Swansea 1st 62-0 Bristol 1st(30) Swansea 1st v Plymouth 1st(07) Gloucs 1st v Swansea 1st
FOOTBALL Women’s(16) Swansea 1st 10-2 Swansea 2nd(23) Cardiff 1st 8-3 Swansea 1st
(16) Swansea 1st 3-2 Bristol 3rd(23) Swansea 1st 1-3 Bristol 2nd(30) Swansea 1st v Cardiff Met 2nd
sportSWANSEA SWIMTOSUCCESSby Chris Flynn
Results (16-23 Nov) & Upcoming Fixtures (30 Nov-07 Dec)
FOOTBALL Men’s(16)Swansea 1st 5-1 Hartpury 2nd(23) UWE 1st 1-2 Swansea 1st(30) UWE 1st v Swansea 1st
HOCKEY Men’s
(16) Swansea 1st 8-0 Gloucs 2nd(23) Bristol 2nd 1-3 Swansea 1st(30) Swansea 1st v Bristol 2nd(07) Bath 2nd v Swansea 1st
HOCKEY Women’s
ONES TO WATCH & WHEREWOMEN’S BASKETBALL(30) Swansea 1st v Cardiff 1st Sports CentreMEN’S FENCING
Sports Pavillion(30) Swansea 1st v Plymouth 1st
MEN’S HOCKEY(07) Swansea 1st v Cardiff Met 1st Sketty Hockey PitchesMEN’S RUGBY UNION(07) Swansea 1st v Bristol 1st Sketty Playing Fields
NETBALL Women’s(16) Bristol 1st 37-36 Swansea 1st(23) UWE 1st P-P Swansea 1st(30) Swansea 1st v Portsmouth 1st
EMMA Smithurst was Swansea University’s star in the pool as she won four medals and broke two Bucs records in the short course swimming competition held in Sheffield.
The first year sport science stu-dent swam the 200m in 2:10.97 and the 400m in 4:97.93, setting the new records.
Smithurst, who began swim-ming competitively at the age of 10, said: “I didn’t expect to do as well as I did.
“The times were good for me personally, especially for this early in the season. The 200m time is my new personal best.”
With the London 2012 Olympic trials coming up in four months, Smithurst played down her chanc-es of making the Great Britain squad.
She added: “Who knows, any-thing could happen.”
Loughborough won the tour-nament with 360 points and Bath came second with 285, leaving Swansea in third out of the 44 teams with 189 points.
Captain Chris Titterington said he was “so happy” with his young team’s performance over the weekend.
“We are all really excited about what we can achieve with some
hard work in preparation for the next competition in February,” he said.
Team mates Ross Douglas and Adam Mallett also stood on the podium over the weekend.
Douglas picking up bronze in the 400m freestyle and training partner Mallett also finishing third in the men’s 200m butterfly.
The team will next be compet-ing in the Swim Wales Winter event, which is scheduled for De-
cember 16-18.And also over the Christmas
break, Swansea University’s swimmers will fly off to America to compete in California and Tex-as for further competitions.
Douglas added: “With a com-petition this early in the year, it’s about seeing where you are.
“Next year is the Olympic year, so everything means a little bit more.”
SHEFFIELD STORMERS: Emma Smithurst (second from right) & her fellow swimmers take Sheffield by storm finishing third overall with multiple medal wins
page 37
Swansea comeback to take points
RUGBY LEAGUE Men’s(16) Gloucs 2nd 18-30 Swansea 1st(23) Aber 1st (Cancelled)(30) Swansea 1st v Glamorgan 1st(07) Cardiff Met 1st v Swansea 1st
GOLF Mixed(23)Swansea 1st 4-2 Cardiff 2nd
Bucs Points
Photo by: Kate Steinbach
...............................................................................................
18. Nottingham Trent Uni19. University of Stirling20. Swansea University21. Brunel University22. University of CambridgeTable correct at time of print
711708699694691