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This is the Freshers' Issue (September 2009) of the mag produced by One Media Group. It's produced by and for the students of Staffordshire University, with details of what's been happening on and around the campuses. More information can be found on the website www.omgstaffs.com

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: OMG Mag September 2009
Page 2: OMG Mag September 2009
Page 3: OMG Mag September 2009

OMG!

What a teaM?!www.omgstaffs.com

EditorsAlly Hanlon

[email protected]

Stephen Stringer

[email protected]

NewsKieran Jones

[email protected]

EntertainmentAdam Mallaby

[email protected]

AdviceSalma Nazir

[email protected]

LifestyleLaurence Mozafari

[email protected]

SportMark Perrow

[email protected]

Media DevelopmentTommy Hill

SupportStaffordshire Students’ Union

The views and opinions

expressed in OMG are those of

the individual authors and are

not necessarily those of

Staffordshire University

Students’ Union or of the

Editors. OMG is part of One

Media Group, the student-led

media team at Staffordshire

University. It is entirely funded

by the Students’ Union.

Hello and wel-

come to the new

look student

media brand.

After much delib-

eration and

stressful meet-

ings we came to

the conclusion of recreating the

brand, giving it a revamp and calling

it oMG!

This year the magazine will have two

editors: Ally and myself Steve. We

decided to take on the position as a

team to allow all areas of the maga-

zine some much needed attention,

with my area being design, hence, the

format and (hopefully), interesting

design.

So, what do we have in store for the

coming year...we want to make this

magazine something for students to

be proud of, as well as giving all a

chance to be involved.

Finally i would like to welcome some

new and old faces back to the editori-

al team, who have all been working

hard over the past few weeks to get

this issue together. Believe me, it has-

n’t been easy! So thank you guys and

keep up the hard work!

Steve!

This summer

has been pretty

hectic for all of

us at one

Media Group,

but we’re very

happy to finally

welcome you

all to the new print medium, oMG!

– Especially, those new to Staffs.

Firstly, i’d like to thank all of our

Section Editors who have worked

extremely hard over summer.

We’re really proud of you guys! Mr.

Tommy Hill - What can i say? i’m

really pleased to have you on

board. Thanks so much.

My area is content (i.e. words and

making sure that there is actually

something to read in the maga-

zine)! This year we’re really keen to

be creative and get EVErYoNE

involved. You can get involved on

any level you want – with words,

photographs, art, ideas of what you

want to see in future issues, feed-

back and much, much more.

our contact details can be found on

this page, along with our mug

shots. We can’t wait to hear from

you.

Enjoy!

Ally xox

EDiToriAL

CoNTENTS

- News

- Entertainment

- Advice

- Lifestyle

- Sport

www.omgstaffs.com

Page 4: OMG Mag September 2009

Ember Lounge staff have had to put

up with a small kitchen, angry students who

have had to wait too long for food and a very

dingey atmosphere.

Finally, the wait is over and your

Students’Union officers listened to complaints

and decided to get to work.

over the summer, the Ember Lounge has had a

massive amount of investment, allowing for a

much needed extension and refurbishment

works. The kitchen has been moved to a larger

area and more equipment installed, along with

a new food preparation area that is double the

original size. This will allow increased volume

and speed of food service, reducing waiting

times at busy periods.

There has also been an extension providing

more space, which will seat an additional 50

people. This will help ensure that people can

get seats even at the busiest times, like the

lunch time rush.

rebecca Mclellan, Commercial Service officer

said: “The problem was the facilities. The

kitchen area in the Ember Lounge, wasn’t big

enough for two members of staff to cook food

in there comfortably and within a reasonable

time, let alone the four members of staff that

had to be in their during the lunch period.”

These improvements were needed to deal with

the extra demand for food that the Students’

Union experienced last year, across all it’s

venues, but particularly in the Ember Lounge.

Many of the improvements have been made

behind the scenes and therefore, will not be

noticed, except by staff. There has also been the

introduction of a new food menu and extended

hours for food service, now serving late into

the evening.

The refurbishment has seen new furnishings as

well as new colours, fabrics and materials. This will

really help ensure that Ember Lounge remains

modern and attractive, providing a comfortable

place to relax.

rebbecca Mclellan also said: “For the people that

want to enjoy the newly decorated venue and it’s

menu, it means they now have more seating, and

with the new bigger and better kitchen fitted, wait-

ing 40-50mins for your food should be a thing of

the past”.

Student, Adam Joshua Cann, said: “i think the

extra space will go a long way to making it more

accessible to students on campus. At times it was

excessively busy and didn’t create the easy going,

relaxed vibe you would expect from a union bar.

With this extra space and new decor, however,

Ember Lounge has the potential to provide a far

more appealing space for students to chill out

between lectures”.

All the work is thanks to an investment partner-

ship with the university, allowing the union to

expand and develop Ember Lounge.

This investment should really help to further

increase the popularity of an already popular union

facility and provide an improved service for stu-

dents.

The Ember Lounge has seen better days, so union officers

decided a face lift was in need, ready for the new year! By Kieran Jones

NeWs

Ember revamp!

Page 5: OMG Mag September 2009

From Welcome Week 2009, LrV will

launch a new jewel in its crown with the opening of

a new second room and mini club.

For those who attended this year’s Summer Ball,

the new room may be familiar as the exclusive ViP

space – though it looks pretty different today.

Transformed into an urban-scape, complete with

wall-to-wall graffiti, it’s the perfect underground

partner to the sleek LrV next door and will play host

to a range of new niche nights and student-run

events to step up the programme of events on offer

at the Union.

Clash, the new indie, rock and alternative night will

run on Wednesday nights alongside LrV’s Gobble,

with Unfinished Business, a new hip hop and

r ‘n’ B night running each Friday along-

side the main room’s Super Friday.

Student-run events will also be hosted in the new

room, including the forthcoming Headbanger’s Ball,

hosted by the Metal Society on Halloween; the

new rock and rave night (keep your eyes peeled

for further details) and a Bhangra event on 22

october as part of one World week.

And we’re always looking for new events and

ideas to step up the programme of events on offer

in this fantastic new space, and Stafford as well. if

you think you can run a night your fellow students

will love then we’ll help you in setting up, promot-

ing and running the event – just email:

[email protected] for a chat or more details.

LrV Part 2

Who gnomes if lecturers do laugh atyour work...

A first year student studying Biology at Staffordshire

University made a major blunder whilst writing an essay. They

were meant to be writing an essay on genomes, which is to do

with the study of genes. instead, however, the student wrote

an essay on “the science of gnomes”.

This blunder was listed in the Times annual exam howler

competition, after the Biology lecturer sent it in. other blun-

ders from various universities included a student who said the

French resistance found the internet useful and a politics stu-

dent who talked about “first parcel post”, when referring to

the British electoral system, first past the post.

Page 6: OMG Mag September 2009

NeWs

Hello from your officers!

Hi we’re your new officer team! Each

year students elect a team to run the union and

stand up for students and represent them whilst at

University.

All Union officers are either students or have

recently graduated. The full time officer team is

made up of the President, Education and Welfare,

Student Activities, Commercial Services, and

Communications officers. There is also a student

council made up of 38 part time officers, who all

represent you and your views. Students are also

more than welcome, and are encouraged to come

along to council to get involved. if you want to

come along then check out the Union website for

info.

While you have been enjoying the summer we

have been working hard to make sure the first few

weeks of term and your time here is really exciting.

in August the real work began and in the short

time between writing this article and starting we

already have a number of campaigns we have been

taking forward. All the officer team are really excit-

ed and looking forward to the year ahead.

over the last few weeks we have been in negotia-

tions with the University over plans to re-open off

campus accommodation at Carlton house which

was closed in 2008 due to its poor condition. We

have successfully managed to get a better deal for

these students, with a view to alternative accom-

modation being provided by the end of the first

semester.

other campaigns that we are working on

include: better provision for student parents and

their children on campus, a safety campaign to

get students to think about their safety on their

way home, on nights out, and in their homes. We

are improving the academic rep system so that

you have a voice on your course and have a rep-

resentative who you know who can speak to the

university and the union on your behalf. We are

working to make improvements at the Stafford

campus and are campaigning to the university to

get new facilities and the funding for these. We

will be doing events during black history month,

one world week, green week, and many more. in

this next year there is also going to be a general

election and so we will be campaigning and work-

ing to get students registered to vote, and also

fighting the continuing and increasing threat that

the BNP hold over this area.

We, the officer team are really looking forward

to this academic year, and we hope that you are

too! if you would like to get more involved in the

Students’ Union whether it is working for us, join-

ing a club or society, coming to council, or helping

on our campaigns we would love to hear from

you. Pop into the Union or e-mail

[email protected] and one of the team will get

back to you.

Enjoy your years here at Staffs!!

Pictured left to right: rebecca, Vanessa, Assed, Gaz and Tim

Page 7: OMG Mag September 2009
Page 8: OMG Mag September 2009

NeWs

New record set by

Lloyd De Boltz, during his record breaking

attempt.

Page 9: OMG Mag September 2009

Stafford studenta WOrld record-breaking attempt by a

staffordshire University student ended in a new

european record.

Lloyd de Boltz who studies Motorsport Technology

was attempting to break the world record for go-

karting the furthest distance in 24 hours.

Lloyd started with perfect conditions at the race-

way in Suffolk and he was positive he would beat the

previous world record of 716 miles.

However, British weather began to diminish Lloyd’s

chances of breaking the world record as heavy rain

persisted.

Lloyd said, “i’m really annoyed i didn’t get the

record. We were on par to take it, but the rain put

the kibosh on any real chance of doing it, but hope-

fully i’ve put the fantastic work of the Spinal injuries

Association in the spotlight”.

Lloyd completed 1,019 laps but missed his world

record goal by just 51 miles. Despite obvious disap-

pointment, Lloyd was pleased to have made a new

European record.

Through the 24 hour challenge he raised over

£2,000 and gained much needed publicity for the

Spinal injuries Association.

The rain has not dampened his enthusiasm and he

is already planning his attempt next year to take the

record.

By Kieran Jones

Page 10: OMG Mag September 2009

editorial

the september issue can

only mean one thing: something new,

something exciting.

As you’re stuck with me for the next

year as your Entertainments Editor,

you’re going to experience the latest

games, the freshest films, the hottest

trends and the most up-to-date, emerg-

ing music.

This month we’ve got music reviews

including imogen Heap and Noah and

the Whale, and we’ve chatted to hip-

hop man (or should that be boy?) of the

moment, Tinchy Stryder.

As well as that we’ve packed Little

Comets, The Temper Trap and Wave

Machines in.

We’ve got both game and film pre-

views including ‘Fame’ and ‘The

Beatles: Rock Band.’

i’ve introduced a new fashion/music

crossover section, ‘Mum, Can we play

Dress-Up?’ (in octobers issue), as well

as the latest tracks for your ears in the

new-found snippet, ‘Speaker-Box.’

i hope this tickles your pickle.

adam Mallaby

dub Pistols - i’m in love feat. lindy layton & rodney P

Sunday Best Recordings throw forward a cool carnival-esque groove of a track

with Dub Pistol’s ‘I’m in Love’. Lindy Layton’s crying that she’s “in love and there

ain’t no doubt about it”. No one is disputing the fact, jeez. But, the sweet sug-

ary vocals do swoon over the bluesy brass, making this a summery reggae tinged

triumph. aM www.myspace.com/thedubpistols

review

incy, tinchy, stryder...

UNless you’ve spent

the summer living in a box,

you will already be aware of

tinchy stryder; the latest

artist to emerge out of the

UK grime scene and writer,

Kevin angel, got the chance

to have a quick chat...

The N-Dubz collaboration

‘Number 1’ spent several

weeks at number one in the

singles chart and his second

album ‘Catch 22’ went

straight into the top five. His

recent success, however, has

taken him completely by sur-

prise: “It’s almost like some-

thing that wasn’t meant to

happen for me you know? It took a while for the success to sink

in.”

Tinchy wasn’t born into success and didn’t buy his way to the

top. An east-London lad and proud, he says he has his brother

to thank for getting him into music. “My older brother is a DJ,

he used to practice in our house and I just used to pick up the

mic and that’s pretty much how it happened.”

Tinchy has not let success go to his head either and is deter-

mined to stay grounded and true to his roots. “It’s very impor-

tant to stick to where you came from because once you forget

your roots that’s when you lose direction”.

This month he embarks on his very first headline tour giving

many their first chance to see the man live. He is also taking

with him the cream of UK hip-hop in the form of Bashy and

Chipmunk.

Tinchy Stryder has certainly made an impressive mark on the

UK music scene. His unique sound and honest portrayals of

21st century life, blended with catchy hooks and choruses, are

just what Britain needs in time of a recession and long may his

success continue. Ka

eNtertaiNMeNt

Page 11: OMG Mag September 2009

imogen Heap’s recording methods for

‘Ellipse’, whilst a little obscure, are certainly

innovative; whether it’s the the use of a Game

boy or recording the sounds of her showering or

her friends jumping and clapping.

‘2-1’ sees Heap produce a song that wouldn’t

be out of place on an epic soundtrack: marching

drums and grinding tempos, with an ending that

feels like a dark victory. Whilst on ‘Bad Body

Double’, Heap should abandon the Kate Nash-

style chatting, the same way Madonna shouldn’t

rap (or wear leotards). The vocal harmonies and

catchiness of ‘Earth’ really proves Heap’s individ-

uality and the haunting orchestra of ‘Aha!’ hides

around every corner of her beautiful staccato

vocals and dark strings.

At times ‘Ellipse’ teeters on monotony, but with

every new sound, or arrangement, it brings it

back to reality. The album feels constructed as a

piece of art and, the beauty of the album cannot

be contested. GK

www.myspace.com/imogenheap

reviewimogen heap - ‘Ellipse’

reviewNoah and the Whale - ‘The First Days of Spring’

You may remember Noah and the Whale

being the up-tempo, chirpy, chaps who brought you

the slinky summer song ‘5 Years Time’. Well, aban-

don all previous notions because ‘The First Days of

Springs’ is something not even i planned for.

it all starts with the title track; a ballooning beat

overshadows a massive drum while Charlie Finks’

heartfelt vocals creep in. it’s mature, atmospheric

and the faltering lyrics give way to a whole new

meaning. That meaning? Love. Yes, ‘The First Days of

Spring’ couldn’t be any more about love if it was a

self-help guide for the broken hearted. it oozes the

stuff.

There’s star staring on the dreamy ‘our Window’

and Fink yearns for love over the sinewy strums of ‘i

Have Nothing’. Team this with ‘Blue Skies’ which

warns us “this is a song for anyone with a broken

heart” (as if we didn’t already know) and you have

possibly, one of the most poignant indie-folk tracks

of recent years.

‘The First Days of Spring’ is a mature risk that

works. The bluesy, summery, cinematic love-scape is

actually quite marvellous; broken hearted or not.

aM

www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale

review

Wave Machines - ‘Punk Spirit’

NME named them as one of 2009’s finest and the Wave Machines deliver with a

mellow and melancholic melody fuelled song. Verging on the edge of Athlete, with it’s

simple strum and daring drums, ‘Punk Spirit’ is very la-dada with it’s “ooh-a-ooh’s”,

but the fact that this is a song “to anyone who ever ran away from a fight, then day-

dreamed an epic victory”, gives it some depth. Not bad considering the track opens

with “i broke the neck of my guitar”. Bummer. aM

www.myspace.com/wavemachine

Page 12: OMG Mag September 2009

the Kindness – swinging

Party

With all the swagger of the

Magistrates, combined with

Datarock on a lazy day, the

Kindness throw forth their single

‘Swinging Party’ and it’s fair to

say that the title promises a little

more excitement than the track

actually delivers.

Vocally haunting, it’s intriguing

and pretty but occasionally con-

fusing. Prettiness comes with

lyrics such as “If being afraid is a

crime we hang side by side” but

you’re confused from the opening

line “Bring your own lampshade,

somewhere there’s a party”.

Perhaps i’m missing something

vital, perhaps i am old before my

time, but in my day there were

no lampshades directly involved

in a party. GK

www.last.fm/music/Kindness

don’t have a temper tantrum

the temper trap is a rare treat. Hailing from

Melbourne, Australia, they’re already making big waves over

here in the UK. if you don’t know who they are yet, you will

do very shortly. That song on the Sky HD advert; the atmos-

pheric, swirling one? Yeah, that’s them. That song in ques-

tion, ‘Sweet Disposition’ has already been nabbed by

Channel 4 to promote music, as well as being plonked onto

the ‘(500) Days of Summer’ sound track.

Having just released their debut, ‘Conditions’, the temper

trap are setting out on their first UK headline tour, taking in

all the hot spots from London to Leeds and back to

Birmingham. reading/Leeds, Glastonbury, Latitude and T in

the Park are also all under their belts after a big festival sea-

son for the band. aM

interested? www.myspace.com/thetempertrap

review

each month we’ll let you know what are

the top tracks played on our radio station,

OMG radio.

Jack Penate - Pull My Heart Away

Chew lips - Salt Air (Plastician Remix)

Matt & Kim – Daylight

ane Brun - The Treehouse Song

the temper trap - Sweet Disposition

lMFaO - I’m In Miami Beach

Maps – I Dream of Crystal

imogen heap - First Train Home

the Yeah You’s - Getting Up With You

Madonna - Celebration

eNtertaiNMeNt

Page 13: OMG Mag September 2009

Game Film Preview

Colin Mcrae: dirt 2

Codemasters Studios will completely trans-

form the Mcrae name this summer with the

release of

the most

extreme ral-

lying experi-

ence, DirT 2.

You can race

on gravel, mud or dirt, all over the world, as

well as taking part in international rallying

competitions. What makes this different? it

features real tracks, real competitions and

real cars. What more could a boy (or girl) ask

for? aM

11th September

the Beatles: rock Band

The Beatles are one of the greatest bands

in history, and the rock Band brand is one of

the biggest-

selling. So

what will

happen when

the two col-

lide? The

Beatles: rock

Band, is

what. The

premise: create records, conquer the world

and make rock history. Choose songs from

Hello/Goodbye to Helter Skelter, and play it

using Lennon’s rickenbacker 325 Guitar, at

The Cavern Club. A pre-night-out essential.

aM

9th September

dorian Gray

Starring: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth and Emilia Fox

Adapted from the huge oscar Wilde classic by

Toby Finlay, the charismatic, intricate, yet ulti-

mately, cursed tale of Dorian

Gray has now come to our

screens. Full of hedonistic

pleasures, artistry and beauty,

this is a must see for any arty,

literary types. aM

9th September

the september issue

Starring: Anna Wintour

The September issue follows the American

Vogue editor and icon, during the preparations

for the fall issue. Attention must be paid to

Wintour’s senior editor Andre

Leon Talley who provides a

buckets of wit. A fly-on-the-

wall documentary for fashion-

istas. aM

11th September

Fame

Starring: Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono,

Naturi Naughton

Take a bunch of unknown actors and an aged,

over-hyped musical; twist it, turn it, add a pirou-

ette, and what do you get? Fame - for the 2009

generation.

The premise is the same, the

music slightly different, and

this time they’re “gonna learn

how to fly”...hmmm. aM

25th September

Page 14: OMG Mag September 2009
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Page 19: OMG Mag September 2009

interview - Petite CometeGeordie

four-piece,

little Comets

are slowly

creeping into

the cream of

the indie/rock

crop so we

grabbed a gin

and juice with

member robert

Coles..

You aren't very

little, so where

did the name

come from?

The name

comes from quite a daft place actually: my

friend had the messenger name as le petite

comete and i wondered what it meant so i typed

it into a translator and it came up as little

comet.... we added the plural-l-l-l-l.

And the music? What or who are the influ-

ences?

We get influences from all over the shop. We

rehearse in quite grimey places so i think we try

to counteract that in our music and also from

experiences we have or stories we hear.

You recently played Latitude Festival and radio

1's Big Weekend. How was that?

That was quite bizarre; Latitude was fun, but

we'd just decorated the van so we were trying

to show it off. We shouted to a few people to

come and have a look but they seemed a little

bit bemused, then we realised it was Thom

Yorke so Mark had to floor it to save our red-

nesses. Big Weekend was a bit surreal and mad.

What’s it like in comparison to playing venues

like Stoke's Sugarmill?

The best

ones are where

the audiences go

a little crazy -

that's what is

good about

Stoke; people are

crackers! We’re

jinxed - we've

played twice now

and once Mark

ended up in

casualty with a

bad knee and the

other time we

got manhandled

out of a bingo

hall.

And how about when you do these "guerilla gigs"

in lecture theatres. Are they really that sponta-

neous?

Yep, pretty much. Micky (our guitarist) comes up

with these occasional plans to do gigs in crazy

places. Normally it takes him about a week to per-

suade the rest of us, then we go for it. Matt has a

phone camera and amp, Mark has a snare and his

whistle, and me and Micky have a guitar each.

There have been some diasasters with wild-eyed

fist-swinging Scottish lady lecturers, but most of the

time, people are too baffled to react violently.

The question on most people's lips who love you

guys: What’s in the pipelines? And can we expect a

release soon?

We're going to release a song called ‘Adultery’ on

oct 26 and then maybe another, early next year if

people like it! Most of the songs are on the

Myspace, so have a look and that, innit? aM

“There have been some diasasters with wild-eyed

fist-swinging Scottish lady

lecturers...”

Little Comets Press Shot by Jazzy Lemon: www.myspace.com/littlecometsmusic

Page 20: OMG Mag September 2009

adviCe

it’s the start of a new era for all you new students

joining us at staffordshire University this year! so

as a little welcoming gift from the team here at

OMG, we are going to give you the low down to

diminish all your first year worries.

i remember when i started university and the

biggest worry that i had, and i’m sure it’s been play-

ing on your minds too (don’t deny it), was making

new friends all over again. So i’m going to help you

cut down the amount of time you spend worrying

about it by letting you know that EVErYoNE is in

the same boat. People are just as eager to be your

friend as you are their’s. The Students’ Union has a

lot of social events going on in Fresher’s Week

(check Plugged) which gives you the chance to min-

gle and meet lots of new people. i can guarantee

that by the end of Fresher’s Week your Facebook

friend list will have doubled!

For most of you this will be your first time away

from home. So what are you going to miss the

most? i know exactly what you’re thinking! Home-

cooked food! Don’t take the easy option though,

because although living on a diet of takeaways, pot

noodles and vodka seems like a great idea now...

you won’t make it through the first semester. Let

alone three years! Usually, within halls, flat mates

start up a rota so that everyone is assigned a day to

cook each week. Can’t cook? Student Cookbook

comes highly recommended. if worst come to

worst, stock up on mum’s lasagne next time you

visit. You’ll be saving your pennies as well as reduc-

ing the risk of getting food poisoning!

Talking of pennies! Everyone should be feeling that

extra bit richer because Student Loans have come

through! if you find that yours hasn’t then don’t

worry because The Money Doctors are on hand!

They are located in the Advice Centre in the

Students’ Union; they are there to provide you with

relevant information on student finance and to

check that you're receiving everything you're enti-

tled to. You can also apply for ALF which is a loan

that the university will give you to get by with until

your loan comes through. Be very careful with how

you manage your money. it won’t be fun when it

hits Christmas time and you’re too broke to buy

anyone presents or catch the train home. Trust me…

it happens! So budget, budget, budget!

if you have any other queries, just hunt down a

Welcome Week rep during Freshers’ Week or pay a

visit to the Advice Centre in the Students’ Union!

The First StepsHello and welcome to your new home. Here in the

advice section we will give you guidance on different

issues each month and where to go for a little help. By salma Nazir.

Page 21: OMG Mag September 2009

The Student Advice Centre is a good

place to get help on a wide range of

issues. The best thing to do is to get

advice immediately and don’t put it

off...Plus they do get busy! See the

opening times to make an appoint-

ment in person, or drop them an

email.

opening Times - Stafford

Monday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Tuesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Wednesday CLoSED

Thursday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Friday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

opening Times - Stoke

Monday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Tuesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Wednesday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Thursday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Friday 10am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Check out www.staffsunion.com/advice for

more information on services available

Page 22: OMG Mag September 2009

adviCe

Telephone: 01782 294311

Mobile: 07818296050

Email:

[email protected]

Facbook name: Cop Shop

Page 23: OMG Mag September 2009

The Cop Shop is here to support you during your stay at Staffordshire University and offer services to help

you stay safe.

We deal with both crime AND crime prevention.

The Cop Shop is open Monday to Friday, during office hours and is operated by University Liason Police

officer, P.C. Keith Emery, with the help of student volunteers.

Feel free to come see us! We’ve got loads of freebies, information and advice to help you keep yourself

safe.

We’re based next to the LrV and Students’ Union shop, on Leek road, Stoke campus.

For those of you who are new to Staffs,

hello and welcome from all of us at the

Cop Shop.

For those returning to the university,

welcome back.

We felt a quick run through of general

safety tips, was most appropriate for this

time of year, so here goes………

- Carry a personal attack alarm at all

times. We have lots of attractive, dis-

creet alarms at the Cop Shop, for anyone

who wants one.

- Mark as much of your property as you

can. We can do this for you or you can

collect an ultra violet pen from us,

to do this yourself.

- in order to get to Hanley

City Centre, follow the

white footprints painted

on the floor, which begin

at the Film Theatre,

College road. This is

what we think is

the best route

to follow,

day or

night, to get to Hanley. The more people

using it, the safer it will become.

- if you must carry your laptop around

with you, try to disguise it. An old ruck-

sack or case, may help you to do this.

- Don’t buy a cheap laptop in the street,

as this is likely to be stolen. The contents

may even be a couple of house bricks.

This is a popular scam all over the coun-

try at this time of year.

- Do not leave valuables lying around in

halls or university buildings, as they may

go missing.

- remember you are in a new city, so it’s

important to stay aware when moving

around the area. Try to travel in groups.

- We can carry out a security survey on

your property and present the results to

your landlord, if you wish.

- Take full advantage of your security

guards, student wardens and other mem-

bers of staff at the university. They are

here to help and advise you.

For more information on how to keep

safe, read through the HELLo HELLo

HELLo booklet that you’ll see around the

university, drop into the Cop Shop for a

chat or get in touch using the contact

details…..

Most importantly, use your common

sense and take care.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Page 24: OMG Mag September 2009

liFestYle

it’s been a long week. You’ve (probably)

worked hard. What’s better than knowing that

you have somewhere to go on a Friday night?

And as we all know, Super Friday is the place to

be on the night in question. Forget Gobble –

who wants to be stuck in lectures all day

Thursday with a hangover?

Aside from the obvious benefit in terms of

recovery time, Super Friday boasts more pros

than cons.

Firstly – the music. Super Friday’s playlist far

outstrips the monotony of the standard Gobble

tracks, and the addition of new DJ – DJ Karlton –

promises to keep the standards high. Super

Friday has a long history of offering a wider

range of music, covering genres other than

Gobble’s favourite ‘cheesy pop’. on top of all

this, r’n’B fans can check out the

‘Unfinished Business’ night in the LrV’s newly

opening room!

Secondly – numbers. it’s true to say that for the

first hour or so the Super Friday dance floor is

beyond sparse. Not always a bad thing, however.

it means you can get across the LrV in less than

ten minutes (a near impossibility at Gobble) and

no hour long waits at the bar. More importantly,

there’s enough room on the dance floor for you

to throw as many shapes as you feel necessary

without causing anyone an injury. Enough peo-

ple for a great atmosphere, few enough people

to have your own space.

Finally, whilst Gobble was originally a fancy

dress night, it’s become a rarity to see anyone

actually dressed up. However, Super Friday with

its weekly theme draws in the most imaginative

costumes – and the best thing is that everyone is

involved. With upcoming themes including

Heaven and Hell, Grease and 60’s night, it guar-

antees to provide a wide range of opportunities

to look silly and get away with it.

So if you’re after a stress-free night and great

music to dance to, along with the perks of drinks

at student prices, choose Super Friday!

By Gemma Kilby

Super

Friday V S

Page 25: OMG Mag September 2009

liFestYle

As Wiley famously put it: “Usually drink,

usually dance, usually GoBBLE”. Well that’s how

i like to think of it anyway. Any Staffs Uni regular

knows, Wednesdays mean one thing, Gobble; as

well as obligatory pre-Gobble drinks and post

Sweet and Spice shenanigans. The winning for-

mula sees loads of people in fancy dress, £1.50

pints and the infamous Gobble games. if you

have yet to experience the humiliating heights of

Gobble games, then you have oral sex on choco-

late bars, stripping races and dance-offs to look

forward to. if you’re not feeling classy enough to

straddle the stage, then by all means encourage

a drunken friend, to go throw some shapes and

dignity away on stage. Then boo them to death

and get them gunged, just for kicks. This may

sound harsh but the reward of free drink tokens

and the sought-after “i got gunged at Gobble” t-

shirt, always softens the blow.

Admittedly, music-wise, Gobble was lacking, to

the extent that describing the sounds of a

Wednesday as ‘music’ was generous. However,

last year saw the departure of equally loved and

loathed DJ Chris and the Bewitched back cata-

logue. Since then, DJ James stepped over from

Fridays and will actually (shock horror) accept

some requests!

Also new to Wednesdays is ‘Clash’ in the sec-

ond room, with DJ Scott Thomas from BBC

Subculture, satisfying all your indie and alterna-

tive tendencies.

in the past few years, Gobble has seen guest

appearances from the Shelia’s Wheels girls and

Coolio.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Gobble is the

atmosphere. it’s almost always busy and doesn’t

suffer from an agonizingly empty dance floor for

the first 2 hours, like Super Friday does.

Unfortunately, many students retreat home at

weekends and therefore, skip Super Fridays. if

you want the best atmosphere, best drink offers

and where all your best mates will be, choose

Gobble.

See you Wednesday!

By Laurence Mozafari

GobbleV S

Page 26: OMG Mag September 2009

liFestYle

• What’s

your name? (And the

embarrassing middle name)?

• Where you from? (Cue north

vs. south banter).

• What course you doing?

(Commence mocking of drama

and art students).

• What halls you in? (Begin

Wedgwood vs. Daulton banter

etc).

• if you spot some festival wrist-

bands - Which ones you been to?

(re-commence Leeds vs.

reading, North vs. South banter).

• What you drinking? How much

was it? (Begin taste testing and

pilfering free drink).

• How much does a Polar Bear

weigh? No, i don’t know either,

but at least the ice is broken.

• What’s this song called? (Begin

to chat about music).

• What team do you support?

(Begin the football banter).

• What are your plans for

Freshers’ Week? Go-karting?

Alton towers?

• Any sentence

that starts with: “i’ve been

watching you from across the

room all evening and…”

• "Heeeee-llo twins!!! (cup breasts)

Tell me if i'm wrong but...these surely

can't be real"?

• “What’s your favourite book?

Mine is ‘Mein Kampf’, you know the

book Hitler wrote when he was in

prison? You know, he was quite a

misunderstood chap”.

• “Pull my finger”.

• “You know who you look like,

that Marilyn…with the clothes and

the make up”. (Let them jump in with

“…Monroe?”) and say: “No, Manson”.

• “You like my outfit? it’s a uniform.

i'm a soldier for Jesus”.

• “Feel my shirt”. (Let them feel it).

“Does that feel like boyfriend materi-

al”?

• “Nice legs, what time do they

open”?

• “Guess my name” and refuse to

tell them until they finally get it, with

no clues.

• Smash an ice-cube on the bar and

say: “Now the ice is broken, what’s

your name”? This can fail if either

they don’t see you break the ice, you

fail to break the ice or they walk off

while you’re breaking the ice.

social etiquette ...at uni, of course

Going to a new place with new people can be a

dawnting task for anyone, so how do you

break the ice and get to know or rather

chat up the ones that catch your eye? By Laurence Mozafari.

The Good!

The Bad!

Page 27: OMG Mag September 2009

liFestYle

How much you’ll love Hanley’s

Monday student night will depend where

you hail from. Which are you?

A) Country bumpkin

B) City slicker

C) Suburbanite

Those of you originating from the dankest

moors and marshland Blighty has to offer will

revel in Hanley’s choice and being in civiliza-

tion again.

City boys and girls among you may be dis-

appointed with the size. However, the great

prices and atmosphere should swing you. it

is inevitable to see most bars heaving with

Staffs students on a Monday.

The remainders hailing from the terraces

and cul-de-sacs will be relieved; there are no

expensive taxi rides, to one club, in a retail

park. Taxis from campus halls are roughly £4

on the way there and about £6 return. if

you’re lucky enough to be accompanied by

students of the lady variety, the price often

drops. AutoCabs is always a good cheap

choice.

Hanley is effectively laid out as a strip,

almost like sun soaked clubbing capitals

abroad, except with less Pr’s and more harsh

northern winds. There are too many bars to

hit in one night, so here are some good

places to start, stay and finish.

starters for 10pm…

Varsity is always a good with £1 on most

drinks and decent electro and mainstream

music coming courtesy of resident student

DJs Adam and Davey P. Sometimes, it’s an

an idea to go later in the night, when the

bar is less busy and entry is free.

The main strip on Trinity Street

flaunts roughly around twelve bars.

reflex, on Brockley Square, satisfies all your

shameless eighties musical needs. The bar

sports the trademark disco dance floor and

stupid accessories for sale, as well as tanked-

up middle aged women and a Grease mega-

mix every 15 minutes. Prices come in very

reasonably with Becks, Bacardi Breezer and

VK at just £1.49

The next two bars down the road, Base and

JFK don’t run many promotions on a Monday

and therefore, don’t get many students in

there, unless they’re on the Carnage route.

Everyone’s favorite Australian watering hole;

Walkabout, is another good starter. ‘Quid’s

in’ has drinks for just one earth pound, from

8 til Midnight. if you’ve been to a Walkabout

before, you’ll know what to expect. All the

usual chart sounds, various extreme sports

and random TV shows on the screens, which

are even above the urinals.

Where everybody knows your name

Vodka revolution, always pulls in punters,

with indie rock downstairs and mainstream

upstairs, courtesy of DJ James, who you’ll

recognize as the resident Gobble DJ. revs is

always rammed to the rafters and rightly so.

Expect 2 for 1 on all drinks (with a revs

card).

Foundry Street, the road to the right of

revs, includes Chicargo rock Café and Zenn.

rocks Monday night ‘Pounded’, lists most

drinks at a quid, funnily enough. DJ Shaun

Sullivan heads up the music with rnB &

Dance. rocks is never particularly

Going up ‘anley duck?!A guide to the best places at Staffs.

By Laurence Mozafari

Page 28: OMG Mag September 2009

busy. However, it could be let

down by it’s location.

Newly refurbished, Manhattan bar, pre-

viously Spirit, hopes to grab your dollar

with ‘Trollied’, featuring DJ Matt Goodwin,

five bottles for £5 (including K2 and Carling)

and Trinity Street’s only heated smoking

area. How good it is, remains to be seen.

Aruba, nestled next door to revs, is often

busy and is a cool looking bar with some

horrifically strong shots. You have been

warned.

Finally, before you hit the big clubs, you

have ‘Touch’, which is a perfect micro-cosm

for the rubbish mini-clubs you get in every

town centre. Expect awful 90’s pop, dis-

gusting 99p drinks and really slutty old

women. on a much better note is the

Sugarmill, which the open-roof top bar of,

delights the indie and alternative crowd in

the summer months. Pricey drinks but

great music, shame the whole club only

opens Fridays and Saturdays.

last Orders

Zenn is a small nightclub owned by a

Stoke City player, which even featured in

the back pages of FHM recently; it may

have been amongst the sex chat lines and

naff clothes adverts but impressive none-

the-less. ‘Skint’ Mondays offers 2 for 1 on

pints but more importantly a free bottle of

champagne to groups of 10 or more.

Mondays normally see special events vary-

ing from ‘shoot popcorn into the crowd’ to

the local favorite ‘shoot foam into the

crowd’.

To cap off your big night in Hanley is

‘Fuzzy Duck’ at Liquid, which includes JJ’s

and Envy. This place is huge, with three

floors and a ViP bar with Karaoke, which

strangely is open to anyone a Monday. JJ’s

handles all the rnB, Hip Hop and Grime,

Liquid for all the chart and dance and

Envy for the indie.

Fuzzy Duck (a man dressed as

a big duck) patrols the club, dishing out

hugs. However, beware of his personal

bouncer who ushers him through the

crowds. it’s free entry and cheap drinks

until 11pm, although it’s much better to

drink in other bars and pay for entry to

Liquid later on, when it’s busier. Be warned

though, after 11pm drink prices become

astronomical.

Alternatively, is The Underground, a mas-

sive student favourite, located about a 15

minute walk from all of the other bars.

Expect an excellent selection of indie, alter-

native and rock - and not just mainstream

stuff either. it is quite small and grotty, but

that is all in the appeal for some, drinks

come in cans and shots come in cheap. if

you’re all about the music, this is most like-

ly where you’ll end up.

Another alternative is The Club, Stoke’s

biggest gay club, with £7 free bar (with a

voucher) from 8pm until 2am. it’s quite far

away from all the other bars so if you do

go, you’ll probably be there all night.

Expect two floors, gay anthems and some

decent chart music too.

stafford

Stafford’s best night is on a Tuesday.

Starting off at Wetherspoons, then on to

Casa, the Mediterranean bar/club and final-

ly Love to Love - A club with £10 free bar

from 9.30pm and 99p drinks all night.

Expect loads of blokes, commercial dance,

rnB, indie and a slice of cheese.

Apparently, things have been quiet on the

Stafford front since Zanzibar closed.

However, a new 2500 capacity super-club,

split into 2 clubs, with 3 rooms and a roof

terrace, is planned for this autumn.

Facebook ‘Stafford Student Nights’ for

more!

liFestYle

Page 29: OMG Mag September 2009

liFestYle

Your name’s

not down,

you’re not

coming in.Amongst the night out necessities are

the new loyalty cards.

Varsity’s VCard, costs £1, gets you in for

a quid and gives you 25% off drinks and

food in the daytime.

Vodka rev’s £4 privilege card is the

only way to get 2 for 1 shots and drinks

on a Monday. Best bet is to nab one at

the fresher’s fair, for free vouchers and

pants! (Pictured).

Finally, Walkabout’s £3 Boomerang

card very handily attaches to your keys,

making it hard to lose, but very easy to

snap, as i soon found out. (Pictured). it

gets you £1.50 Vodka red Bulls.

However, no card is required for ‘Quids

in’ Monday student night.

The all importantVodka Pants and my brokenWalkabout card after a night

out...woops!

Page 30: OMG Mag September 2009

sPOrt

By Phill Catterick

Who would have predicted that after two years

of under achievement and immense disappoint-

ment that Jenson Button would be leading the

2009 Formula one Drivers’ Championship with

just five races to go? Well, not me for one.

Button and Brazilian team-mate rubens

Barrichello didn’t have drives for this season’s

campaign, following the withdrawal of Honda

last season, but at the eleventh hour ross Brawn

came to the rescue with a takeover package, and

developed a car which has to date, won seven

events.

Considering the fact Brawn GP is a completely

new team, their success has stunned F1 follow-

ers, and the sport could well produce it’s first

back to back British champions since Jackie

Stewart followed up Graham Hill’s title win in

1969.

A 1-2 at the very first race in Australia set the

tone, and Button followed that up with wins in

Malaysia, Turkey and Monaco. only red Bull

have provided consistant competition with both

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber producing

winning drives.

However, Button’s title chances, although still

strong, are starting to waver slightly with the

Englishman retiring last time out at Spa, and fail-

ing to secure a podium place since the Turkish

Grand Prix in June.

With his closest rivals failing to take advantage

of this poor run of form, Jenson remains the

favourite to clinch the title, and will still be top

of the standings whatever happens after the

italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Speaking of italy, the tifosi will no doubt be dis-

appointed that their hero Michael Schumacher

will not be returning after having to cancel his

surprise comeback due to a neck injury. He has

since ruled out any future comeback.

Kimi raikkonen will, therefore, have the hopes

of italy on his ice cool shoulders for the team’s

home Grand Prix; although at the moment it’s a

complete mystery as to who his team-mate will

be.

Luca Badoer has partnered him for the previ-

ous two races, but considering he has all the

pace of a milk float, it might be a good time to

bring somebody else in who is capable of scor-

ing points.

A number of names have been thrown into the

hat with Giancarlo Fisichella and Nico

Hulkenberg the alleged front runners, but

confirmation has yet to come through and

Badoer may yet have a third chance to gain

some respectability.

As far as the championship is concerned,

Button will no doubt be feeling the pressure and

needs a strong points finish in italy to maintain

his strong advantage at the top of the table.

They say red Bull gives you wings.

if Jenson’s to be caught, their drivers may well

need them.

Button’s downfall: the Plot

Page 31: OMG Mag September 2009

sPOrt

the Urn returns to england

BY GArETH ALrED

A glorious finish to a great

sporting summer – as

England regained a dramatic

test win at the oval in August.

Andrew Strauss captained

his side to an extremely tense

2-1 series victory to recap-

ture the historic urn that was

comprehensively snatched

away from them in the

2006/07 whitewash Down

Under.

The Middlesex man was

named ‘Man of the Series’

leading from the front with

474 forthright runs, but will

forever owe a great deal to

his star man Andrew Flintoff.

The Lancashire all-rounder

provided many magical

moments with his bowling or

batting throughout the series,

but on his 79th and last test

cap he made the telling

impact with the run-out of

Australian captain ricky

Ponting on the fourth day of

the decider as England

stumped their critics.

The Aussie selectors may

rue the non-inclusion of a

specialist spinner in Nathan

Hauritz for the final test, but

their English counterparts

bowled them over with their

trump card Jonathan Trott

stepping in to top the aver-

ages chart.

it took 979 days to reclaim

the Ashes, a far cry from the

blues of Perth in 2006, but

this unforgettable triumph is

made the more remarkable as

England turned a recipe for

disaster into the sweet taste

of success this summer.

By Mark Perrow

Jessica Ennis announced

herself as the new golden

girl of British athletics

with a world-class perfor-

mance in Berlin.

Ennis, who claimed

Britain’s first ever hep-

tathlon World Champion-

ship gold medal, dominat-

ed from start to finish.

it proved a fruitful nine

days for Team GB, picking

up six medals in total –

our highest haul in the

event for 10 years.

Britain’s other gold went

to triple jumper Phillips

idowu, who produced a

lifetime best of 17.73

metres.

There were also medal-

winning performances

from middle distance pair,

Lisa Dobriskey and Jenny

Meadows.

By Daniel Houlker

Manchester United have been

handed arguably the toughest

draw out of the British teams

in this year’s Champions

League group stages.

Last season’s runners-up face

tough trips to Besiktas, CSKA

Moscow and Wolfsburg whilst

Liverpool also face tricky oppo-

sition in Lyon, Fiorentina and

Hungarian champions

Debreceni.

Meanwhile Chelsea will face

Portuguese champions and

2004 winners Porto, Atletico

Madrid and APoEL of Cyprus.

Having comfortably seen off

Celtic in the qualifying stages,

Arsenal have been grouped

with olympiacos, now coached

by the former Newcastle

United, Wolves and Dundee

midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia, AZ

Alkmaar and Standard Liege.

Scottish champions rangers

will come up against Sevilla,

Stuttgart and romanian cham-

pions Unirea Urziceni.

Elsewhere Samuel Eto’o and

Zlatan ibrahim-ovic will face off

against their former clubs after

inter Milan and European

champions Barcelona were

grouped together along with

Dynamo Kyiv and rubin Kazan.

Jess is a class act for

team GB

‘Big Four’ discover european Opponents

Page 32: OMG Mag September 2009