the national student - may 2008
TRANSCRIPT
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Shocked drinkers saw their union
president head butt a fellow student.Hundreds were packed into University of
Central Lancashire campus bar Source when soz-
zled Students Union president Chris Lowdenlashed out.
Stocky Lowden was knocking back pints of
Guinness before Joe Calzaghes boxing match
against Bernard Hopkins on April 19.
The rugby player then started his own heavy
weight bout after head butting a reveller who
pushed in at the bar.
The scuffle involving around ten people had to
be broken up by bouncers and bar staff. Lowden
was then thrown out - of his own Students Union.
Now outraged students have slammed
UCLANs decision to suspend him for just two
days.
Law student Corbin Luby said: I think its
appalling. He should have been suspended for a
lot longer. It should have been months rather
than days.
Its disgusting and the police shouldhave been
told because its an assault.
It is the latest example of alcohol fuelled vio-
lence at the university. In the first semester 10
males were suspended in similar circumstances.
Eyewitness Mike Grady, who was a few feet
from the brawl, was shocked when he found out it
was his president fighting. It was a pretty
night with the boxing on, he said.
Somebody barged in, pushed to the fronqueue then somebody tapped him on the sh
and nutted him.
The guy didnt really stumble much then
was a big scuffle. It was quite eventful b
nothing like that happens and I had neve
any fighting in there.
Lowden worked from home during his s
sion from 5pm on Monday April 21 to 3
Wednesday April 23. He has been banne
Students Union bar Source and nightc
Degrees until the end of the year. He also re
a final warning from university bosses, m
he could be expelled if he steps out of line
Final year broadcast journalism student
Laycock thinks the punishment is not
enough. He said: Maybe the boxing on t
spurred him on and he had a rush of blood
head. But for him to head butt somebody i
ly wrong.
Hes supposed to be in a position of respo
ity and power setting an example. He shoul
found a peaceful resolution.
Lowden said he will continue working
president until June 31.
THE NATIONAL
STUDENT
stom essays 3 / Water rampage 4 / Reclaim the Uni 5 / Fizzy pop record 10 / Sport
CLAN SU president kicks off pub brawl after head butting student in union b
by Ricki Dewsbury
THE
NATIONALSTUDENT
The independent national paper for higher education students in the UK May
DRUNKNUTTER
inside this
monthsmagazine
Cinematic summertreats previewed
It wasnt until the final
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second year that things
began to go wrong.
Brain Surgery and Studies
page 15
king booze and
uises with Be Your
wn Pet front-woman
Jemina Pearl
Golden
Joystick
Awards2008LAUNCH!
2008Our pick of this summers music events
Interview
Cult indie rocker
Darren Hayman
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The National Student, M
UK NEW
National Student is the
endent, monthly newspaper
gher education students in
K.
hed by
der Newspapers,
gh Street, Lincoln, LN5 8AH
008 All content is the
right of Defender
papers unless otherwised.
National Student
mes all contributions.
National Student works
y with student
cations to bring UK
nts news and views.
re happy to accept news,
ments, features and
ws on any subject.
ct us at:
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onal-student.co.uk
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@national-student.co.uk
A STUDENT stripogram has
escaped being banged-up after judges
ruled his weapon is not offensive.
In May last year The National
Student reported on Stuart
Kennedys run-in with police. Known
as Sergeant Eros, the dirty dancers
policeman act attracted the attention
of Grampian Police in Aberdeen who
charged him with impersonating a
police officer and carrying an offen-
sive weapon.
But a sheriff seems to have no
problem with Eros truncheon as the
charges of carrying an offensive
weapon in a public place without a
reasonable excuse were recently
thrown out.
The Crown appealed, but judges at
the Justiciary Appeal Court in
Edinburgh backed the sheriff in a
move that Kennedy described as
excellent.
On hearing the news Kennedy
said, It was a silly prosecution in the
first place. The points the prosecu-tion were making were silly. Its a
work uniform.
I am glad thats the end of this
case, it was wasting court time let
alone appeal time, the money could
be spent in better ways. I still cannot
believe it ever got to this stage, he
added.
Eros was questioned and later
charged by Grampian Police after a
performance at a bar last year. Thecharge of impersonating a police offi-
cer was later dropped by prosecutors.
Sheriff Kenneth Stewart said:
There is no evidence at all which
even hints at the suggestion that he
had any intention of causing harm or
injury to other persons.
Advocate depute Brian
McConnachie QC, for the Crown, had
argued that if Sheriff Stewarts rul-
ing went unchallenged it could createa legal loophole for carrying
weapons.
McConnachie said that criminals
should not be allowed to flout the
offensive weapon law by claiming
they were on the way to a fancy dress
party, and that there was an impor-
tant principle at stake.
We could have ninjas carrying
nunchaku sticks or going as a ned
carrying a flick knife, he said.Neither Kennedy or his lega
resentatives were present a
hearing, and immediately app
that they were not informed
hearing and given the opportun
express their opinions. A new
was to be set for the hearin
judge Lord Johnston said ther
no need as Kennedy had alread
the case.
Eros performing services for the community
Cops weapon not offensiveStudent stripper found not guilty of carrying an offensive weap
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K NEWSonal Student, May 2008
Undressed fosuccess
FOUR MANCHESTER
Metropolitan students are hoping
to be an Undressed success with
their new venture.
Fashion buying students
Charlotte Kearney, Matthew
Moxham, Anna Temple and Sarah
Martin have set up their own
underwear company.
Undressed was formed in
September last year as part of an
assignment for their course and
began full trading in January.
They produce slogan printed
vest and knickers sets for women
emblazoned with strong empower-ing messages such as Venus
favours the bold; History is her
story too and Being a lady is an
attitude.
Matthew Moxham, spokesperson
for Undressed said; We wanted to
do something unique and make a
difference with our project.
Weve designed something that
we know appeals to girls with
strong opinions - whether worn as
underwear or outerwear, everyone
should get Undressed and raise
money for a worthy cause.
The students have pledged to
donate 10% of all the profit made
to Refuge, the charity for female
victims of domestic violence.
Nobody should have to live withviolence yet one woman in four will
experience domestic violence at
some point in her life. Refuge sup-
ports women and their children
every day, to keep them safe and
help them regain control of
lives, explained Moxham.
Managing director Cha
Kearney (pictured above) is h
to make it a double success b
ting up a successful busines
being crowned Miss Manch
2008 next month. The 21-yea
who is sponsored by her com
is up against 39 other wom
the final this month.
The students have embark
a massive publicity pus
announce the range. Ke
stepped in to model the ran
the brands first photo-shoot by Manchester based stylist
stars Sian Lloyd Jones and fa
photographer, Tony Ward.
Other promotional act
have included models wa
around central Manchest
nothing but their underwear
ing out lollipops, kisses and
to encourage the citys men to
their girlfriends to Undr
goodies for Valentines Day,
search for Manchesters
Carrie Bradshaw.
Moxham added, All in all,
a fantastic experience, the p
of developing and deliverin
Undressed brand has given
us involved an invaluable in
into the world of businessthrown up some interesting
lenges and given each of us
tastic set of skills to take
potential employer upon gr
tion.
AR the biggest academic issue
moment is the purchase of
m essays by students. Manyse students are looking for an
ide to scholastic excellence.
anies providing bespoke
s to students have been uni-
ly condemned by lecturers,
nt groups and the majority of
nts for profiting from aiding
r below-par students to cheat.
many students, in particular
n students, are parting with
cash regularly on such essays
ng this market into a multi-
n pound industry.
being contacted by popular
m-essay site UKEssays.com
a story regarding disparities
iversity marking systems,
National Student took the
tunity to pose some difficultons regarding their services
he morals involved.
ce the beginning of 2008 the
any have seen a 300% rise in
ess and UKEssays founder
ay Littlewood claims the mar-
now worth an estimated
million. UKEssays refute the
tion that they are profiting
helping students cheat on
ments. Company spokesman
Hallam said, The allegation
we profit from dishonest stu-
is something that we firmly
in opposition to, and such an
ation is purely based on spec-
n.
ardless, vast profits are
made by UKEssays,
wood was a new entry in the
The Sunday Times Rich
being placed at 71 on the
g Persons Rich List with a
h of 7million.
company, and those provid-
imilar services, claim that
offer a legitimate research
o students with Littlewood
ly stating to University of
ngham magazine Impact that
re no different to journals or
e. Hallam said,
ssays.com is simply a search
e for academia, we find and
n all of the appropriate
es, and put them into a model
r format. This serves twoses; firstly, the student can
w they should respond to the
on, and secondly they can
ake the references that have
used and explore them them-
.
y deny that even with their
es being used in this legiti-
manner they are still allow-
udents to skip the majority of
rocess on which their final
will be based, basically doing
search stage for them.
t at all, because a student
still perform their own
ch. Our essays act as a start-
int for students to begin their
own research, by giving them a list
of sources and references we are
probably increasing the amount ofresearch they have to do! But
because we give them sources they
might not have otherwise seen,
they are able to produce a much
more specific and balanced piece of
work, stated Hallam.
In complete contradiction to this
claim on their website there is a
quote from Barclay Littlewood
boasting, Want to get a better
degree and do less work? We have
helped thousands do it and we can
help you do it too!
This quote is a perfect example
of the contradictory nature of the
custom-essay industry. The justifi-
cations from UKEssays show that
whilst they go to great lengths to
deny that their essays are, whether
intended to be or not, largely hand-
ed in by customers as their own
work they fully understand that
this is the case and operate a on-
your-head-be-it policy that places
the blame on everyone but them-
selves.
While we must accept that a
minority of our customers use our
service dishonestly, these are the
very few that slip through our vet-
ting process. If at any point during
the enquiry or sales process, we
believe that the customer is plan-
ning to use the work dishonestly
we inform them that the sale can-
not continue and we ban them from
all future transactions with thecompany. This is something that
we enforce ourselves and we have
no obligation to do so. We also have
a fair use policy on the website
that highlights the proper use of
our service, it also includes com-
prehensive examples of what con-
stitutes plagiarism, something that
universities seem to lack support
with, said Hallam.
On questioning their vetting
processes UKEssays admitted it is
difficult to spot those wanting to
cheat with their services and could
offer little assurance that they can
in any way prevent their essays
from being used to cheat.
The question is why would hard-
up students spend hundreds of
pounds on obtaining a simpleresearch-tool when these are so
readily available for free and why
would anyone choose to pay extra
for a guaranteed 2:1 or first class
essay if they still had to produce
the work themselves. The evidence
suggests that money spent and the
quality guarantees offered are only
worthwhile if a student intends to
hand the work in themselves.
But even this doesnt guarantee
success: universities are taking a
strictly hard-line with this kind of
cheating and academics claim
that essays from custom-essay
sites are usually substandard
(often using chunks of others work)
and easily detectable with anti-pla-
giarism software. There is also evi-
dence that many essays are writ-
ten by unqualified undergraduates.
Despite the allegations and
issues surrounding their services
UKEssays are keen to become an
accepted part of academic life,
blaming the universities for being
unreceptive and preventing their
students from using a legitimate
academic service.
Weve repeatedly called for
talks with universities, but every
time we have been ignored. We
have never said that we are unwill-
ing to work with universities, a fact
that many people overlook. We
believe that the core reason for this
is that universities make hugeprofits from the current system
and if it were to change, those prof-
its would fall and students would
begin to actually learn something
important from their university
education, not just how to write an
essay, explained Hallam.
The industrys justifications
aside, most students agree that the
use of custom-essay sites to cheat
is morally reprehensible and
should not be encouraged at all. In
the end the massive cost and huge
risks of using a site like UKEssays
is simply not worth it.
by Mary Stott
News analysis
Custom essays:or cheats or not for cheatscustom essay company answers our questions on their controversial services
ational-student.co.ukMore news and features at
UK Essays offer custom-written essays to students
STUDENTS AT Manchester had
their dissertation deadline and
word count changed just days
before the work was due in.
Third-year Religion and
Theology students were sent a sin-
gle-line email informing them the
deadline would be one day earlier
due to a typo on the course page.
On enquiring whether the rest ofthe information provided was accu-
rate the astonished students were
informed that their footnotes were
now to be included in the final
word-count, leaving them with just
under three days to ma
changes.
Personally, I ignored [th
word count], said Jennie
who had to cut a massive
words from her dissertation
It was just too late to cha
it would absolutely have a
the quality of my dissertatio
Adding to the confusionday of the new hand-in a
note was sent to students
that those handing their wor
the original hand-in date wo
receive a late penalty.
Manchester dissertation deba
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The National Student, M
UK NEW
AN INCREASING number of students are lodg-
ing complaints against their universities. A
report released by the Office of the Independent
Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE)
revealed that the number of complaints had risen
25%, an increase for the third consecutive year.
According to the OIAHE, almost two-thirds of
the received complaints were regarding academic
results, while disciplinary matters and plagia-
rism accounted for the remaining majority. One
of the reasons for the friction between students
and their universities is the desire for value for
money, at a time when students fees are set to
increase.
The OIAHE was set up in 2004 to review stu-
dent complaints from the 146 universities in
England and Wales. The independent adjudicator
Ruth Deech, called on universities to cater better
for the changing make-up of the student popula-tion.
Today there are more graduates and ol
dents, more foreign students, more with
ties and an increasing number from no
tional backgrounds. This year alone, 64%
complainants were mature students over
more than a third were postgraduat
largest groups of complainants were med
dents.
However, Deech supported the need for
institutions to uphold high standard
marking students work claiming it w
unrealistic to reduce conflict over grades
The adjudicator recommended that a
173,000 be paid as compensation to t
plainants. Last year, just 26% of complain
upheld or deemed eligible for consid
Despite this figure being a 7% increase
most student complaints are not serious
for OIAHE to take further action.by Tom
Student complaints rise for third consecutive y
Social networking sites have come under fire
after thousands of students joined in a Leeds
city centre water-fight which damaged the citys
newest park and may result in charges for thestudent organisers.
What was meant to be a bit of bank holiday
fun turned into a riotous and expensive civil
problem.
The revelry, which lasted almost an hour,
resulted in fountains being drained and a prize-
winning park dedicated to Nelson Mandela
trashed.
West Yorkshire police have been sent CCTV
images of the watery-rampage which spread
around the streets near Millennium Square
where motorists stuck in traffic jams were also
targeted. Further evidence was provided by the
organisers themselves after they posted images
and video of the event on Youtube and
Facebook. The two sites have been accused of
generating interest in the event of uns
able levels, with more potential future
fighters being created with each viewin
Organisers have apologised for the thoof pounds worth of damage caused b
gathering.
Councillor John Procter, the citys ex
member for leisure, said: We welcome
having fun in Leeds and there are oppor
in all our many parks for that to happ
this just shows total disregard for othe
parks staff were distraught when they
ered the wreckage.
The students who ran a smaller fig
year, had attempted to limit potential p
by posting instructions on the internet b
balloons and warning, No attacking civ
its not nice... its fairly easy to tel
involved... theyll be the ones with wate
by Sophie M
Leeds water rampag
Social networks under fire as bank holiday fun gets out of co
Youtube footage shows the park over-run with students as police look on
FIVE STUDENTShave been evicted from their
home in Oxford without warning because the
landlord failed to keep up with his mortgage
repayments.
The third-year students returned home one
evening to find that their door had been kicked in
and the locks had been changed. A note had been
left on the door telling the students to contact
Allen Harris Estate Agents.
On contacting the estate agents the next day
the tenants claim they were treated badly. Claire
Chambers, one of the students, said When we
spoke to an estate agent, he just laughed and told
us that we had to move out by five.The students rented their house from a land-
lord, but their only means of contact was through
a letting agency, which was apparently unaware
that there were tenants occupying the accommo-
dation.
The students were told that if they d
move all their possessions out of the hous
they would not be able to access their belon
This has caused massive disruption th
dents final exams. Tegan Gill said, It ha
such a stressful week and has disrupted ou
sion. It also means that we have nowhere
over the summer.
Jonathon Bruce, PR manager for Allen
described the situation as the fault of th
lord for failing to inform the students t
was unable to pay his mortgage.
He said that the landlord had not in
anyone that there were tenants occupyiproperty and that Allen Harris had been
purely on the orders of Halifax, with wh
landlord had his mortgage.
Halifax said that repossession of a prop
a last resort.
Finalists evicted without warnin
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onal Student, May 2008
K NEWS
DENTS IN Manchester made
voices heard last month when
otest over standards brought
hour traffic to a stand-still.Tuesday April 22 over 200 stu-
from newly-formed pressure
p Reclaim the Uni marched
nd the University of
chester campus, breaking
ugh several lines of police before
ng a sit-in in the universitys
ur Lewis building.
eaking to The National Student
el Lee from Reclaim the Uni
ined why the students were
sting, The protest was under-
n to highlight the many inter-
d problems we have at the
ersity of Manchester, due to the
asing commercialisation of edu-
n by the management of the
ersity. People took part for
y different reasons, but commonngst them were concerns over
ct hour cuts, resource short-
especially in IT and library
ces, staff cuts (famously lectur-
Terry Eagleton and Sheila
botham, but especially adminis-
ve and other non-academic
, the increasing arms length
oach to education (increasing
e learning at the expense of one
ne teaching) and the lack of
untability of the administration
udents in its spending or deci-
. This all ties into what is seen
business approach to education,
the campaign also seeks to
ess the increasing push for
er top up fees, and wishes to seend to tuition fees.
The protest, the largest on the
campus for years, is thought to be
the culmination of students growing
sense of frustration about standardsat the university.
Suzanna Bret a second year Social
Anthropology student said, I think
the Universitys preoccupation with
research and raising money is at the
expense of the quality of our educa-
tion.The main issue I have personal-
ly is the cuts in contact hours, but
lots of other people here today have
many other varying reasons for
protesting.
Hopefully with the turnout today
the University will realise just how
many people are bothered about
these things, she added.
During a three-hour occupation of
the Arthur Lewis Building, seen by
many students as a symbol of the
universitys attitude towards its stu-dents, the protestors produced a list
of demands entitled the Arthur
Lewis Declaration which were
intended to be presented to universi-
ty management the following day.
When a small group of the cam-
paigners went to hand the demands
to the vice chancellor they were told
he was unavailable.
Local police intervened to try and
halt the protest and student protes-
tors have criticised their handling of
the event. Daniel Lee said, The
police complained that they werent
properly informed of routes of the
march, and they had to increase
numbers for the safety of the
protest, but the only dangersincurred were at the hands of the
police. Quite a few people were
knocked around (and a cyclist
knocked off), and they tried to hem
300 or so people into a street with
nowhere to go, it was ludicrous.
Whilst inside the building, where
they then had no right to be, they
caused more disruption by seeming-
ly consciously setting off the fire
alarm on a fire door, causing much
chaos. A much more level-headedapproach would have been better, as
they should be on side with us.
A Facebook group for Reclaim the
Uni now has over 700 members and
carries the groups demands which
include better communication
between the vice chancellor and the
student body.
In response to the protest vice
chancellor Prof. Alan Gilbert,
blamed government funding for a
decrease in standards.
As I have made clear over recent
months, this downward trend in
teaching hours has occurred over
the past 20 years in almost all
British universities.
Decades of diminishing per capi-
ta investment in undergraduatelearning is having the slow,
inevitable consequences for the
quality of student learning that
were bound to develop in a system
that has gone on doing the best it
can, by more or less traditional
means, while class sizes burgeon
and student/staff ratios deteriorate.
Prof. Gilbert vowed to `re-person-
alise learning stating that The uni-
versity has recently undertaken a
root-and-branch review of under-
graduate education and is now pro-
ceeding to make quite radicalchanges.
We are determined to re-person-
alise the student learning experi-
ence, and provide all students with
the kind of one-to-one learning that
has become increasingly notable by
its absence. We are committed to
making optimal use of the potential
of highly interactive on-line learning
environments and to providing all
students with world-class class-
rooms and laboratories, he added.
Of the success of the protest Lee
said, This is just the first step in a
long line of steps. This is, regret-
tably, a long term process, however
the day achieved much. Firstly, it
showed that there are common prob-
lems with students and staff acrossthe university that need to be
addressed. We also showed that we
are a force that must be listened to.
Weve done this, and we can
again, and do other things, unt
demands are met.
The collectivity of many stu
from across the campus and d
ent political persuasions co
together was hugely impor
Whilst inside the occupied bui
a list of demands to the unive
were formulated democrati
and these are in the process of bpresented to the university, sp
cally VC/President Alan Gi
with the demand of a quick resp
and commitments.
Lee also encouraged other
dents with grievances to take
kind of direct action, There w
other people like you who fee
same way. Find them, spea
them, plan something, and
noticed and get things so
Whether its effecting you direc
standing up for someone else
more people that are involv
these kind of direct actions, th
ger the effect. This shows that
are many people who will join y
these things, and for ourse
there were many that couldnt it, or even more that had yet to
about it.
by Sophie Malice handling of the protest has been criticised
Over 200 students marched for Reclaim The Uni
the Uninchester campaigners stop traffic and invade uni building during standards prot
ATIRICAL musical about
ss Diana was banned from
g to the public last month
fear of causing offence.
University of Brighton ruled
upert Dannreuthers contro-
musical, which was created
s degree course, should be
to select guests only at a uni-
y owned theatre-bar.icity for Diana The Musical
a line drawing of a skeletal
ss wearing a tiara.
nreuther said, Its about the
cle of show business more
than anything.
I kind of hoped it would provoke
some discussion as it is trying to
make a point about the spectacle of
celebrities. It is not criticising her
as a person. It is criticising her
being made into a fairy tale.
The Theatre and Visual Art stu-
dent added, I do not wish to be
unfair to Dianas memory, merely tomake a piece of theatre.
In a statement, the university
said: We fully support freedom of
expression but we also recognise
sensitivities regarding possible
offence.
Margaret Funnell, from
Brightons Diana Circle, said: I
think this is a distasteful, disgust-
ing thing really, and to joke about
the accident happening in the tun-
nel - I dont know what the worlds
coming to.
On the website for his musical
Dannreuther has received manymessages of support for his per-
formance with members of the pub-
lic urging him to look for another
venue and post a video of the pro-
duction on the internet.
ublic ban for Diana musical
The musicals website featuring a cartoon depiction of the princes
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8/14/2019 The National Student - May 2008
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mbridge University Tmbridge University Technology and Enterprise Clubechnology and Enterprise Cluborial
ng Entrepreneur?
siastic about Technology? Looking
ood investment?
he Technology Venture Conference
is the event for you!
ambridge University Technology and
se Club (CUTEC) hosts the TVC event inn an annual basis to enhance entrepreneur-
amongst academics and facilitate interac-
ween industry experts, investors and stu-
year, the TVC is taking place on the 12th
The Cambridge University Arms Hotel fromthrough to 5:30pm and will feature keynote
rs Garret Camp (co-founder & chief product
StumbleUpon), Michael Liebreich (founderNew Energy Finance) and Peter Hartzbech
nder & CEO, iMotions) and 3 stimulating
panel discussions: The Future of Biofuels,
Personalised Medicine and Whats beyond Web
2.0. The conference also includes a showcase
session of the latest technologies in the respective
areas by companies requesting to take part.Interested in participating or demonstrating your
technology in the show case session? Visit
www.cutec.org for more information and to register.
Well look forward to meeting you there for what will
quite possibly be, the most enterprising networking
opportunity of the year.
This year the TVC is part of Enterprising
Cambridge. This is a series of events from 11thJune to 13th June all of which promote enterprise
in the Cambridge area.
The aim is to inspire novice entrepreneurs, raise
awareness of activities in Cambridge and bringtogether a rich mix of aspiring and experienced
entrepreneurs with members of the academic and
business community.
For more information visit
enterprisecambridge.com orcutec.org
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8/14/2019 The National Student - May 2008
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onal Student, May 2008
K NEWS
NDREDS OF Chinese stu-
s gathered in Manchester
London to protest against
they see as media distor-
in the reporting of Free
t protests during the
mpic Torch relay and Lhasa
ey claim the reporting is
ed towards the Free Tibet
ement and the Tibetan gov-
ment in exile.
Manchester more than
0 people, including students
professionals, wearing I
China t-shirts gathered
de BBC Manchester, with
nd 300 protesting outside
Houses of Parliament in
don.
correspondence to The
onal Student prior to the
est, organiser Tian YangThe protest will focus on
uncing a number of UK
nstream media organisa-
s for one-sided reporting
manipulation of the truth.
eel this action is necessary
fear a certain section of the
a is trying to silence the
of the Chinese community;
e are also concerns over the
ntial rise in racial hostility
as a result of these misleading
reports. The protest would also
aim to undo any media distor-
tion through the showcasing of
evidence and talking with mem-
bers of the public during the
event.
The Manchester protest start-
ed at 11am with silent demon-
strations and was followed by
the organisers reading an open
letter to BBC Director-General
Mark Thompson condemning
the BBC for double-standards
in their reporting and claiming
that they had failed to provide
credible and independent cover-
age of the events.
The protestors later paraded
towards Albert Square outside
of Manchester City Council,where they promoted Beijing
Olympics 2008 to by-passers.
During the protest Yang said,
The way they frame the story is
biased. There is only one side of
the story and thats from the
Tibetan Government-in-exile.
We fear that the media silencing
the voice of Chinese people
would constitute to increased
racial prejudice and hostility.
We will try our best to elimi-
nate any racial prejudice and
welcome everybody to celebrate
the Beijing Olympics with us,
he said.
In a response from the BBC,
the corporation said, Despite
restrictions placed on journal-
ists, our coverage of Tibet has
been extensive, fair and bal-
anced. The same is true of our
reporting of the Olympic torch
relay and the protests that have
accompanied it.
In the west the Free Tibet
Campaign which supports the
right of Tibetans to determine
their own future and calls for an
end to Chinas occupation o
country is popular and
many high-profile suppor
Between 1996 and 2001 ra
the Beastie Boys orga
worldwide rock concerts to
light the cause attractin
names including U2, the
Fighters and Radiohead.
students protesd i s t o r t i o n
Protesters in Manchester
by Carl Freeman
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UK NEWSThe National Student, May 2008
national-student.co.uk
ENTS FROM the University of St Andrews have
ed the closure of one of the universitys budget halls
dence.
May 2 around 150 students joined the demonstration
t the closure and demolition of Fife Park.
ite a replacement hall being planned, protesters
he Lower Rents NOW! campaign are unhappy with
nouncement that rents in the new block will be dou-
t of Fife Park rising from 52 to between 110 and
er week. Campaigners claim this will dramatically
e the price of private accommodation and have a
ve effect on social diversity at St Andrews which
y has a reputation for exclusivity and elitism.
protest was sparked when a petition on the closure
by 1,000 students was presented to the university by
dents association and rejected.
action appeared to get the attention of the universi-
inistration. In addressing the assembled students
sity Rector, Sir Simon Pepper OBE, said Your views
ng heard.
Lower Rents NOW! campaign has received over-
ing support from the students association. Former
epresentative for University Accommodation James
d, who recently resigned said, I think this movement
own its strength by being able to mobilise students in
drews without the vast institutional resources or
g that we might have hoped for.
y Fulton, Representative for Postgraduate
modation, The universitys decision to demolish Fife
will undoubtedly increase the cost of private accom-
on in a town that already has the third-highest cost
g for students in the UK. This will decrease social
ty and make it even harder for students to studyalready is.
paigners claim that the University of St. Andrews
stration has become increasingly hostile to both its
rs and its students in recent years. They cite a com-
rom Deputy Principal Keith Brown at an SRC meet-
March 25, in response to how he intended to increase
t involvement in university decisions, where he said,
niversity is not accountable to its students - and nor
it be.
group are now calling for further action to put pres-
n the university over the closure.
by Mary Stott
ower rents now
FORD university graduate has revealed how gradu-
n earn up to 30,000 a year writing essays for cus-say sites.
writer who wishes to remain anonymous said he was
sioned by a firm that sells essays by Oxford gradu-
the internet.
graduate said he gets paid about 500 for an under-
te essay.
do a 2,000-word essay in about two or three hours,
.
nt have a problem with it - its not selling drugs, just
our brain. I went to private school so I see it as recu-
g some of those costs.
spent a lot of money on my education. Its only fair
if I can make a little bit directly off it.
ents at Oxford University are forbidden from buying
-essays or for working for companies which supply
controversial custom-essay business is an increas-
rofitable one. Barclay Littlewood, founder and owner
emic Answers, which owns many academic servicescluding UKEssays.com recently entered the young
s section of The Sunday Times Rich List with a
of 7million.
ads earn 30K a yearom custom essays
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The National Student, May
WORLD NEW
THIS IS the kind of science experi-
ment that everyone can get excited
about.
Belgian students have set a new
world record for the most Mentos
fountains by firing 1,360 simultane-
ous Coke geysers.
After they each dropped a tube of
the mints into a bottle of Diet Coke,
Ladeuzeplein square in Leuven was
washed with soda, with some car-
bonated streams shooting up to 29
feet high.
Internet footage of the attempt
has attracted over 10 million view-
ers.
The previous record was set in theUS, when 973 Cola bottles were
launched simultaneously.
This craze has been a dream come
true for the makers of Mentos with
them recording a 20% increase in
sales of Mentos Mints last year.
Although there is no exact scientif-
ic explanation for the phenomenon,
scientists agree that the reaction is
physical, not chemical.
The most popular cause is believed
to be the thousands of tiny pores on
each Mentos Mint, which act like
nucleation sites allowing carbon
dioxide bubbles to form in the drink.
The bubbles form all over the
sweets and when it sinks to the
tom it causes the carbon dioxi
whoosh out of the bottle.
An urban myth claims that ea
Mentos directly after drinking
can result in death, although to
no fatalities have been reported
RVARD professor has explained the key to long-standing
ess in a relationship: get married and dont have kids.
el Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University,
that studies across America and Europe show that happi-
pikes during the early years of marriage, dropping dramat-
after having children with couples only recovering former
en their offspring have left home.
old a Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney that
s desire to get a return on the time and money they have
ed in their children is part of the reason they persuade
elves that their offspring are enhancing their lives.
Gilbert said: Figures show that married people are in
every way happier than unmarried people - whether they
ngle, divorced, cohabiting.
rried people live longer, married people earn more money
pita, married people have more sex and enjoy it more.
he added that happiness levels plummet after having chil-
ldren do seem to increase happiness [while] youre expect-
m, but as soon as you have them, trouble sets in, he told
nference.
ple are extremely happy before they have children and
heir happiness goes down, and it takes another big hit
kids reach adolescence. When does it come back to its orig-
aseline? Oh, about the time the children grow up and go
eated studies have shown that the period immediately sur-
ng childbirth can be the most stressful that couples expe-
rican psychologists have also found that couples with chil-
re less satisfied with their marriage than those without.
ch in the Netherlands in the 1990s showed that couples
ad two children were less happy than those with none.
ey to happiness?
ont have children
A CHINESE driver got the shock
of his life when the car he was driv-
ing was blown onto the roof of a
building during a fierce storm.
His car landed on a house roof
during heavy storms in Lu Feng.
The driver said he had just
turned a corner when it suddenly
felt as if his car was flying through
the air.Before I realised what was hap-
pening, my car had landed on the
roof, he told the China News
Network.
Police said the bizarre accident
was down to the lie of the la
well as the wind.
The road is actually a bit
than the house roof, a
spokesman said.
Local meteorologists sa
city had suffered an unu
fierce windstorm, with gusts
ing up to 31.5 metres per se
Many motorists said theirscreens were blown in - not
ing objects but by the force
wind alone.
One garage said it had fit
new windscreens in a single
Storm blows car onto ro
A TURKISH television show was called off after a
group of students who were barred from the audi-
ence held a protest.
The programme called Siyaset Meydani (The
Political Arena) was due to hold a debate on fertility
and birth rates whilst being filmed at Harran
University.
The Turkish military stepped up security meas-
ures around the university campus before the film-
ing and students were not allowed in as spectators.
A group of 300 students began a demonstration
against this decision, chanting slogans and calling
for the host of the show, Ali Kirca, to leave the cam-
pus.
In response Kirca said his programme wouldnt be
able to host the students as the hall where the
recording would take place was not large enough.
We are supposed to discuss fertility in the region
with our guests. Thats why we wished to talk to
locals, he stated.
Students continued their protest. If you werentplanning on listening to the young people, then why
did you choose to hold your show here? asked one of
the students.
Kirca then announced the shows cancellation due
to the student protest and left the campus.
TV show cancelled
after student protest
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MERICAN student accused of threat-
to blow up a professor, placing a hand
de on the desk and forcing a class to be
led has now been indicted on charges
d pornography possession.
vie David Hensley, who graduated
McLennan Community College in 2003
an associates degree in criminal jus-as been jailed with $20,000 bail since
mber, when he was arrested on terroris-
eat charges.
he time of his arrest, Hensley was tak-
minal justice classes through another
sity at McLennan Community College.
sleys trial on the terroristic threat
s was postponed because of the new
ment.
ording to records filed in the case, the
was found after a campus police inves-
r obtained a search warrant for
eys computer while investigating com-
s against Hensley.
east two female students reported that
ey was stalking and harassing them,
ing leaving intimidating notes on their
ccording to courthouse records.
month later, a professor and two stu-reported that Hensley told a student
e was going to blow up the lecturers
th her inside. He reportedly told the
student not to be afraid if she saw a
de on her desk because it would be a
said he told her that he has real
des and guns at home. Other records
in the case indicate that Hensley
edly told fellow students that all of the
rs deserve to be shot. Hensley also
reportedly shoved an instructor against a
wall in 2003 and threatened to kill him,
although the professor declined to file
charges, said campus police chief Larry
Radke.
In the next few weeks the college will start
a system in which students are notified
through e-mails, text messages or phone
messages if there is a security concern on
campus, said school spokeswoman Lisa
Wilhelmi.
eath threat student now
aces child porn charges
Hensley threatened a fellow student claiming
he would put a grenade on her desk
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FEATURThe National Student, M
This month Jacqui Smith announced
that in a Labour policy u-turn she is
going to reclassify cannabis from a
C drug back up to a class B, meaning
her measures against users and suppli-
e home secretary said she wanted to
se Tony Blairs 2004 downgrading of
drug because of uncertainty over its
ct on mental health, amidst fears that
s original reclassification has led to a
l acceptance of the drug which hased higher usage numbers amongst
g people, putting more at risk from
al health problems.
the surface then this appears to be a
ble political decision and Smiths sug-
ons that she is not willing to risk the
h of young people, are commendable.
wever, the recent decision has seen the
rnment completely ignore the findings
recommendations of the Advisory
cil on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD),
missioned by Gordon Brown to look into
inks between cannabis use and mental
ss. This group of experts decided by 20
to three to recommend that cannabis
in a class C drug. Its nine-month
w concluded that while more potent,
egrown strains of herbal cannabis, such
unk, now dominate the British market,vidence of a substantial link with men-
lness remains weak.
pporting this statement from ACMD a
nt report on mental health links with
abis stated that to prevent one case of
ophrenia in men aged 20 to 24 about
men would have to be prevented from
smoking cannabis. Whilst there is no
ing that the use of cannabis, and other
-altering drugs, can in some cases exac-
e or cause mental problems, the find-
and research of experts constantly find
statistically the chances are low - even
w as one in 5,000.
could be easily suggested that this move
a Labour government in electorial
air following their drubbing at the
nt local elections is a reactionary pop-change in policy and an attempt to
back voters.
elled by swathes of media-misinforma-
in certain areas of the press there is a
spread condemnation of the drug. Much
e public believe that use of the drug has
ased since 2004 and is responsible for
y problems in society including mental
h issues, violence, crime and a general
ase in societal standards.
terms of press scaremongering
abis is an easy target. Unlike alcohol, to
h of society it is a largely unknown
tity, the drug of shadowy figures in the
ness - so it is easy to believe the press
ulation regarding it.
reality things are a little different: as
ained before on the question does
abis cause mental illness the answer isont really know, but the evidence sug-
it does in a minority of cases - not the
sal problem the government, and the
, want us to be afraid of.
ould cannabis be proven to be linked to
ese things then I for one would support
legislation but the fact of the matter is
statistical evidence either doesnt sup-
the press claims or there is very little or
ata to support it at all.
big question regarding the reclassifica-
is will it deter people from using the
and will it solve any of the supposed
problems caused by its use?
In practice Smith confirmed that the
police approach to those under 18 found in
possession of small amounts would remain
unchanged and that the police will continue
to have the discretion to issue warnings to
most adults found with small amounts of
dope.
Sir Michael Rawlins, ACMD chairman,
has also claimed that the move will make no
difference to the level of cannabis use. He
may have a point considering most users
wont care about it becoming a little more
illegal especially when much of the policing
of such crimes will go unchanged.Interestingly enough figures suggest that
since the reclassification of cannabis in 2004
the drug has seen a 28% decrease in its
usage by 16-24 year olds.
In decreasing the notoriety of the drug it
seems that most young people appear to
have largely lost interest it in. Following
this evidence it could be claimed that
Smiths move could actually be the cause of
an increase in cannabis use amongst young
people as she increases the drugs notoriety
and cool factor, making it more appealing
in certain quarters. This point alone sug-
gests that Smiths decision may have l ittle to
do with combating the problems of cannabis
use.
Taking a long-hard look at the facts and
evidence it becomes clear that Labours
recent reclassification of cannabis is not
built on knowledge, research and expert
findings but on little more than speculation,
hear-say and press-fuelled public fear. As
someone who isnt a cannabis user, this leg-
islation affects me very little, but I still
believe that our government should act on
fact not fiction - it is not their job to give into
public pressure if the views of the public are
wrong.In this case they claim they are acting in
the public interest but yet cannot prove this
claim, making it look like they are doing lit-
tle more than acting in the best interest of
winning more votes.
As Labour MP Chris Mullin, who dis-
agrees with the reclassification, said: The
government should follow the advice of the
experts rather than that of the tabloids.Comment by Chris Marks
Have your say on this and other issues at:
national-student.co.uk/forum
The government should follow thadvice of the experts rather thanthat of the tabloids.
Comment
FEATURE WRITERS WANTEDEmail - [email protected]
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EATUREonal Student, May 2008
On August 13, 1969 the sim-
mering religious tensions
between the Catholic
nalist and the predominantly
estant unionist communities
oded, and rioting broke out
s the country. Some of the
violent exchanges took place
he interface areas of westast where the communities
side by side, particularly on
ow infamous Falls, a national-
ominated area, and the union-
hankill estate. Within this cli-
of fear and hostility individu-
n either side of the religious
e joined militant organisations
attempt to defend their com-
ities from attack - The
bles had begun.
lliam Smith, a founding mem-
f the Red Hand Commandos, a
p affiliated with the Loyalist
er Volunteer Force (UVF),
t 5 years in prison for attempt-
murder. He explains that he
me a member because of his
inging: Many of us were bornit and when I was 18 in 1969
Shankill, the street I grew up
tarted to fight with the Falls. It
this violence that motivated
o become a founding member of
Red Hand Commandos. We did-
ake a decision to join on a par-
ar day; back then we saw our-
s as reacting to the IRA. It
ed the right thing to do at that
the conflict gathered momen-
the ranks of Loyalist and
ublican organisations swelled
ore and more young men and
en from both communities
me actively involved in conflict.
chael Culbert served a 16-yearn sentence from 1978 until
1993 for killing British soldiers.
He highlights that while his
nationalist upbringing played a
major part in his decision to join, it
was the events of Bloody Sunday
that proved to be the final catalystfor him becoming an IRA soldier: I
joined the Republican movement in
the early months of 1972 when I
was 23; a decision driven by a basic
sense of Irish nationalism - but the
events of Bloody Sunday were some
of the main reasons for my mem-
bership. We were involved in a war
against the British army and the
forces that supported them. That is
what we did and no apology.
Similarly, William describes how
both personal and community
tragedy saw many young Loyalists
volunteer for active service:
Personal encounters with death
stimulated some people to join
paramilitaries while others did so
because of events like BloodyFriday. Roughly six months after
Bloody Sunday on July 21 1972, the
IRA planted 22 bombs across
Belfast, killing two British Soldiers,
seven civilians and seriously injur-
ing 130 others, a day which became
known as Bloody Friday.
Within the 28 year period of the
troubles 3,289 people were mur-
dered, representing 0.3% of the
population, and 40,000 people were
injured. There were 35,000 record-
ed shootings, roughly 15,000 bomb
explosions, and it would be utterly
impossible to even guess how many
bullets were fired - the shocking
numerical summaries of a quag-
mire conflict that destroyed the
lives of thousands of people.
However, if they are extrapolated
to reflect the population of
Britain in the same period
then over 110,000 people
would have been killed and
1.4 million injured, a figure
equivalent to half of all the
British deaths during the
Second World War.
It was within this context
that the Agreement was rati-
fied. The culmination of thou-
sands of hours of debate and
concession, it contained pro-
posals dealing with a range of
complex issues, including the
decommissioning of paramili-
tary weapons, the earlyrelease of paramilitary pris-
oners, the future of policing
and criminal justice, and the
relationship Northern
Ireland was to have with the
Republic of Ireland and the rest of
the United Kingdom. A copy of the
Agreement was posted to every
household in Northern Ireland and
the Irish Republic, and referen-
dums the following May gave sub-
stantial support by voting 74% and
94% respectively for ratification.Regardless of its complex success
and failures, it has been responsi-
ble for the most prolonged period of
relative peace since the current
manifestation of the Ireland conflict
began in 1969.
To date 450 prisoners have been
released under the terms of the
Agreement and, as with any con-
flict, the disarmament and reinte-
gration of former prisoners is essen-
tial if the conflict is to be effectively
resolved. No amnesty for their
crimes has been given, a con-
tentious issue even today, and some
ex-prisoners have drifted toward
criminality. The Police Service of
Northern Ireland (PSNI) estimates
that the money made by paramili-tary organisations through illegal
activity is in the millions.
Despite the problems that have
come with reintegration and the
decommissioning of paramilitary
weapons, many former political
prisoners have crossed the religious
gulf to work with their former ene-
mies. Coiste na n-Iarchim, workingto reintegrate IRA ex-prisoners,
and Epic, a parallel organisation on
the Unionist side, are among sever-
al schemes that regularly organise
cross-community events and work
to integrate youths from both sides
by focusing on the common ground
that unites them. Each organisa-
tion receives a range of funding
from the European Union and the
British or Irish government.
Michael explains that many for-
mer prisoners have swapped active
conflict for cross-community
activism: There are a lot of group-
ings involved in the peace-making
and building process. Political ex-
prisoners tend to be heavily
involved in these activities. Themain reason why it is political ex-
prisoners is that we were in prison
because we cared about own com-
munities and we were political
activists. We are continuing that
role in a new way and try to make
sure that no more people lose their
lives.
Within this new climate of peace,
foreign investment has greatly
increased, rising by 300% in the
last year and attracting nearly one
billion dollars. Unemployment is at
an all time low.
Within this storm of change stub-
born politicians have been uproot-
ed, army barracks have been dis-
mantled and property prices have
been thrown sky high as the coun-
try has been transformed frombeing the owner of the worlds most
bombed hotel to being the UKs
most popular stag weekend desti-
nation. However, this storm has
been unable to topple Northern
Irelands three divisive pillars;
polarisation, distrust and sectari-
anism.
According to the Sutton Index a
further 121 people have been killed
since the ratification of the
Agreement, and paramilitarism
remains a powerful provincial force.
Numerous riots and acts of violence
have taken place but, in compara-
tive terms, Northern Ireland has
improved dramatically. What has
superseded the troubles is a mirror
of the drug and gang violence thatexists within the rest of the UK,
though William explains that vio-
lence in Northern Ireland will
always have a sectarian undertone.
The youth of today, he says
a ready-made enemy becau
The Troubles, but much of it
gang culture and is different
violence of that time.
Like any scar, the troubles
latest chapter in an 800 year
flict - will never disappear Northern Ireland, but if left to
then over time its effects wil
until it becomes a distressing
ory rather than a defining ch
teristic.
Paramilitarism will inevi
play a part in this healing pr
and its hold within elements o
communities will remain a nor
the foreseeable future. Yet the
of organisations such as Coist
Epic can at least turn some o
energy into a positive elemen
secure peace.
William, a leading figure i
Loyalist attempts to secure
and ratify the Agreement, is
tiously optimistic about the fuWe have a good opportuni
become one of the best countr
Europe but the government
not leave the working class p
from these communities behi
the ghettos. Belfast has the o
tunity to be great but only if e
one shares in the prosperity, o
wise it is difficult to say what m
happen.
Michael too is aware of the
potential for hope to turn to
sion and vice versa: I feel str
that the peace is stable, thoug
not satisfactory from a Repub
perspective.
Much depends on Unionist
Republicans working togethe
that is best for Northern Irelafirmly advocate supporting
peace process, you have to tr
best option and make it work
that is people not dying.
This month marks the tenth anniversary of the ratification of the
od Friday Agreement, the catalyst behind Belfasts recent econom-
ic and social transformation from bomb town to boom town.
At the heart of this conflict were the individuals who took up armsd became members of the dense patchwork of paramilitarism that
me to define and dominate what is known as The Troubles.
The National Studentmet with two former paramilitary prisoners to dis-
ss their reasons for volunteering, what they think of the current peace
eement and to learn how they have traded conflict for compromise.
Much depends on unionists and
republicans working together and
that is best for Northern Ireland.
by Franck Martin
Conflict and compromise
Fin President Gerry Adams
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EATUREonal Student, May 2008
VING THREE years away
e comforts of home, juggling
nd numbing tasks of clean-
d shopping, and laundry is a
itself, something most uni-
students will testify to. But
ng all that with a rare ill-
is unthinkable to most.
a Daniels started at the
sity of Lincoln three years
tudying Criminology and
logy, literally months after
brain surgery.
before Christmas the year
I found a rash that didnt
ear under the tumbler test.
ctor diagnosed it as a fungaln, but a week later I was
blurred vision, sensitivity to
nd intense headaches that
screaming in pain. At this
ebecca was taken to hospital
she was diagnosed with
gitis C. I was told that if I
to survive this I had to fight
self, because although the
could give me medication to
e the pain there was nothing
uld cure me.
r the symptoms didnt disap-
fter two weeks I was diag-
with Benign Intracranial
ension. BIH as it is abbrevi-
isplays symptoms so similar
ingitis that it was impossible
w when one started and thended. It was literally like
y I woke up and I had gone
eing told I had Meningitis to
this new, daunting illness.
is the build up of high pres-
ithin the fluid around the
t can be treated by medica-
in more extreme cases sur-
he condition occurs in one in
0 people, and is usually
by obesity, or from a hor-
imbalance caused by taking
certain medications. Although
Meningitis can cause this the
chances of this occurring are even
more remote. When I was first
diagnosed they tried to solve the
problem with medication, and con-
tinued to up the strength of the
drugs until it was clear it wasnt
working. At this point they told me
that surgery was my only option if I
wanted to have any kind of normal
life at all. At that point I was spend-
ing one to two weeks a month in
hospital, and although the brain
surgery wasnt guaranteed to work,
for me it was the only option. I was
determined to continue with my A-Levels and come to university.
After investigatory surgery and a
battery of tests I finally went in for
surgery on July 4 2005. I was hav-
ing a shunt fitted that would drain
some of the fluid from my brain,
thus relieving the pressure. I cant
describe how I felt before surgery; I
was so scared, especially after hav-
ing to sign forms that stated I knew
what could go wrong, and that I
could be left with all kinds of dis-
abilities afterwards. I woke up after
the surgery in the Intensive Care
Unit, while people asked me what
seemed like stupid questions like
Whats your name? Who is the
prime minister?, while people
shone lights in my eyes. It seemedespecially insensitive since my con-
dition means I am extremely sensi-
tive to lights. Eventually I was
moved back to a ward, and was
finally allowed to leave on July 7. I
had the surgery at Addenbrookes
Hospital in Cambridge, and because
of the bombings in London they
needed the beds, so I was dis-
charged under the conditions that a
district nurse would visit me every-
day.
Two months later Rebecca was
moving to Lincoln to start universi-
ty.
It was daunting because if I got
ill again my parents were so far
away. Also I was worried that peo-
ple would think I was disabled or
treat me differently because of my
condition. But I had to tell at least
one of my flatmates about it just in
case. I was also worried because its
hard to explain what it feels like for
me. The best way I can describe it is
if you imagine your head feels asthough its been crushed by a vice, a
headache unlike anything youve
ever felt before, where every part of
your head hurts and the pressure is
unbearable, and its a pain no-one
can see. The world becomes soft
focus, where things come in twos,
and you cant tell how deep a step is,
bright light is a pain you cant
stand. Things sway around you, you
feel seasick - yet youre standing
still. Youre so totally exhausted
that your body doesnt want to move
and all you want to do is sleep, yet
an incessant roaring in your ears
keeps you awake. Its strange
because it is something you have
absolutely no control over, in a way
you know when your brain is mal-
functioning, and you know you have
absolutely no say in what it makes
your body do. I dont think anyone
who hasnt suffered from this can
ever really understand.
Everything was fine to begin
with, being away from home took
some getting used to, but we wereall in the same situation.
Depression is common among BIH
sufferers, as it is with anyone who
suffers from a long term illness, but
I think my determination to keep
going helped me get past that. So I
went out with my friends and con-
tinued to have a normal life. The
only things that differed between
me and my flatmates was that I
generally had to and still have to do
more work.
Because of my condition I have
problems with concentration and
my short term memory, but this just
means I have to repeatedly read
things so that I learn them. Dealing
with my concentration span is
another problem, particularly in lec-tures, but I have learnt to just per-
severe and work through it
It wasnt until the final weeks of
the Christmas semester in
Rebeccas second year that things
began to go wrong. I still get
headaches even though I have the
shunt in place; they just arent quite
as bad. But they seemed to be get-
ting worse, lights were becoming
increasingly bright again, and I had
to hold on to things when I went up
or down stairs because my
awareness was being affecte
ill over Christmas again and
go into hospital. Because
severity of my headaches I
see my professor because th
worried there was a proble
my shunt. I had been to
shunts can last between 10
years, so it wasnt somethin
been prepared for. But unfor
ly, something was wrong so
have surgery again just 18
after my first one. The val
drains the fluid had malfunc
it was still draining fluid
nearly enough.My shunt was replaced
sited, it wasnt quite as scar
first time because I knew w
expect, but it was just as p
This time though, I was out
pital and back at university
two weeks.
I had to work extra hard t
up the work I missed while
ered from surgery, and in t
had to apply for mitigating
stances for one of my
Thankfully, I managed to pa
a 2:1 which I was pleased wit
Im in my final year, I still
work just as hard. Some day
der if its all worth the effort
choosing to come to univers
the best decision. But then I ber the time I spent in hospi
know I made the right decis
had not come to university
not have met so many peopl
now know will be friends
Hopefully all this effort will
and I will get the first I am
for, and be able to go out i
world and help people. I kn
at some point in the future
have to have surgery aga
hopefully that is a long way
was told that if I wanted to survive this I had to fight for myse
cause although the doctors could give me medication to allevia
e pain there was nothing that would cure me
WHAT you looking at? A-swilling brutes reproach to an
anted gaze.
haut-couture the response may
ore refined but the reason the
: nobody likes being stared at.
a lesson learned by the Italian
jailed recently for staring at a
an on a train. Hes spending 10
in prison and is being fined 50
s after a 55-year-old woman sit-
opposite him complained of sex-
arassment.
it political correctness gone
or a shining example of human
s and sexual equality?
aring intensely can create fears
olence. English law deals with
nder the Protection fromssment Act 1997.
nature a silverback gorilla
rush at you and start beating
hest if you have encroached on
erritory, says counsellor and
psychotherapist Jim Bamber, fromGrastang.
Mr Bambers analogy of English
law with a gorillas primal instincts
is understandable. The intimidated
Italian woman contacted police
rather than beat her chest.
I guess some people have fear.
We are basically animals and if
somebody stares at us then that is
threatening, he adds.
English law has no legal provi-
sions dealing with sexual harass-
ment, but the European community
says it includes any non-verbal
conduct of a sexual nature with the
purpose or effect of violating the
dignity of a person when creating an
intimidating, hostile, degrading,humiliating or offensive environ-
ment. So sonny-jims staring was in
the wrong.
The grey-area surrounding sexu-
al harassment is like the grey area
around staring - especially when itcomes to different cultures.
Whether riding a bus, or travelling
on the London Underground,
British people prefer averting eye
contact. Yet the Spanish and
French are comfortable holding a
slow gaze over fellow commuters.
In some ways I think my country
is more open minded, says Spanish
mature student Alex Garzon.
Staring is the normal thing to
do.
Youd think that being used to
Spanish starers he would be pre-
pared for Asia. Not so. When Alex
and his partner holidayed in China
they were shocked by gaping
natives.My girlfriend felt violated. She
could not even go to the supermar-
ket because she felt intimidated by
everybody looking at her with their
mouths open.
The Chinese have different cul-ture and politeness values so they
dont care if they upset you and they
just carry on staring.
According to Mr Bamber this type
of staring is natural. He said:
Staring is usually because some-
body is unusual either physically or
in the way that they dress, exam-
ples of which are people with
strange growths; the elephant man
syndrome, almost.
Then theres also a kind of star-
ing when people slow down on
motorways to look at a crash and
horrible things.
Elephant man syndrome? This is
a bit unfair on the innocent stare -
especially when a flirting gaze is thecupids arrow of many Saturday
night discos.
If you are gob-smacked by some-
body sexual attractive youre going
to stare at them what ever race,
gender or culture you are, aMr Bamber.
So staring can be offensive,
nal, incendiary and sexual - n
mention a sign of drug-c
insanity. Its all about the
place and time. As the Italian
found - its not with the wome
ting opposite you on a train.
I was in Italy a couple of
ago and people were ru
around pinching peoples bum
girlfriend was pinched on se
occasions.
I have been guilty on hundr
occasions of staring at bea
women but I have never
arrested.
I have been on the undergand nobody even makes eye co
Thats the complete opposite.
I had a person on the tube
their magazine and put it bet
us after saying hello, how are
What you lookin at? Ricki Dewsbury looks deeply into problems of staring
by Hannah Moore
Rebecca Daniels
BRAIN SURGERY AND STUDIES
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onal Student, May 2008
AUSE
Across back into books tode (4)ap needs a rest, per-(10)
ve sign changes (6)ame to allow in the (8)
ome in race decided toup (4)oice to catch her com-y (10)
Plant Im turning tos (4)omewhat glamourising? (5)ansmit ray (4)ddly, he slept with cogolding on the line (7,3)anage company with4)
uel made from tin-age)ock up funny mime innt city? On the con- (6)eep an eye on thoseg a 26 with one self-inted policeman put-
pole first (10)ecord bill (4)
Down1 I am fabric, of no impor-tance (10)2 Raucous student leadersmissile (8)3 Weaken a castle,destroyed underneath river(2-8)4 Emperor initially seen tobe taken in by sailor (4)5 Be a universal lover! (4)6 Notice air coming (6)7 Move at a fairly fast pacein Metro/Tube (4)14 Soldiers run out in bestsurroundings (5)15 Members of a youthorganisation dig ugliermess on Saturday (4,6)16 Former snake-eatercooked incense (10)
19 Company initially misin-forms in being attractive (8)21 Cancer, perhaps, is rightto be included in theme (6)24 Haunters relative? (4)25 Plant is under tax collec-tors (4)26 Test rising weapon mass(4)
ossword by GraniteSPOT THE DIFFERENC
B E A C H Q W M A E R C N UN U F P O O L E R B T Y U
O P E B L A S D T F R G T
L Z S E I X C V R B N O K
M Q T W D K E R O T U Y A U
I O I T A S I V P R T A H
H T V I Y W G N R O O P C
S R A C D I N F I G U U H A
J O L K T M I K A L R Z X
S P S E R S P C V R I B N
H S M T A U M Q E W S E R
A S T S V I A N Y U T A N OD A I O E T C P A S S D U
E P F G L Y H S T H G I S
S A N D J G U I D E B O O
HolidayIce Cream
SunSea
SandBeach
TanPool
BikiniSwimsuitShades
HatTourists
TourAirport
PassportTicketsTravel
Sun CreamVisa
CurrencyAbroad
CampingHotel
FestivalsPostcardPhotos
FunGuide Book
Sights
WORD SEARCH
Award winning documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon te
the story of the Apollo mission astronauts...
But can you spot the ten differences in the images below?
Image taken from documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon - out on DVD and coming soon to Cha
Feebly crow-barring a theme into a word
search every month can be a thankless task...
so with a well-earned break just around the
corner our thoughts turn to summery holiday
type things... hey presto a theme is born!!
CAPTION CORNER
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The National Student, M
SPOR
RE ARE many educational
utions that provide excellent
ng opportunities for their stu-
but few can match the pack-
fered by the MCC Universitiescollective name for the six
rsity Centres of Cricketing
ence (UCCEs) in the UK.
oduced in October 2000 by the
nd and Wales Cricket Board
the UCCEs are comprised of
en academic institutions, who
o provide students with the
possible opportunity to fulfil
cricketing and academic
ial.
cessful graduates include
captain Mark Pettini and
nd spin sensation Monty
ar, ensuring MCC Lords and
rsities manager Fraser
rt is content with the
es progress so far.
ere have been quite a few
s who have come through the
m and were very keen for more
graduates to make the break-
gh into first-class cricket, he
also a very good opportunity
ung cricketers to get a degree
d them, which is very impor-
s a relatively low percentage
it into the first-class game.
UCCEs have been solely
d by the MCC since the begin-
f the 2005 season, and each
currently receives a basic
ement of 70,000 a year, with
ditional 100,000 available for
aintenance and upgrading of
ies.centres face each other in
ay and one-day matches in the
alf of the summer, while each
also gets the opportunity to
play three fixtures against first-
class counties, a privilege previouslyexclusive to students at the
Cambridge and Oxford Universities.
The ECB put the UCCEs into
the structure of first-class cricket,
which has certainly helped the play-
ers to develop their game, said
Stewart.
Cambridge and Oxford were
involved for many years, but the
UCCES have opened it up to a
much broader academic spectrum,
and provided more students with
the chance to pit their wits against
the professionals.
The most successful UCCE in
2007 was the Cardiff/Glamorgan
centre, who claimed the MCC
Universities Championship for the
first time, as well as the One-DayChallenge Trophy following a 14-
run Duckworth-Lewis victory over
Durham UCCE at Lords.
Coach Kevin Lyons is no stranger
to the professional game following a
successful career with Glamorgan,
and he feels the MCC Universities
offer a much-needed boost to the
prospects of home-grown young-
sters.
The MCC invests a lot of money
into this scheme, and it provides an
excellent opportunity for young
cricketers, said Lyons.
When I was at Glamorgan, the
likes of Steve Watkin took much
longer to make the breakthrough
into the county and national side, asthey werent able to work on their
game and play regular cricket in the
first half of the summer.
This scheme allows youngsters
to play frequent competitive cricket
from April to June, as well as the
opportunity to receive technical
coaching in the winter.
As a result, many of the playersfrom the scheme are regular county
players by the age of 21, and dont
find themselves stuck behind their
fellow pros in terms of fitness and
match practice.
They still have to work very hard
to make it in the game, but this
scheme ensures they are given the
best possible chance.
The Cardiff/Glamorgan centre
currently boasts four young bowlers
who are contracted to county sides.
Glamorgan captured the 19-year-
old trio of Will Owen, Chris Ashling
and Alex Jones, while 20-year-old
Tom Allin became Ashley Giles first
signing at Warwickshire, giving him
the opportunity to work with leg-
endary South African paceman
Allan Donald.
However, Stewart believes more
of the UCCE students deserve
recognition, and has called on the
county sides to provide further
opportunities for the MCCs young
students.
If theyre not good enough then
fair enough, but they have to be
given a chance, he argued. We
strongly believe there is untapped
talent within the scheme, and we
are desperate for this to be recog-
nised. We have introduced a scheme
this year with two counties, to allow
the best non-contracted players to
go out on loan from July to
September at the MCCs expense.It will effectively be like a sum-
mer contract for them, and will give
more of our players the chance to
prove themselves.
MCC universities aiming tnearth the Freddy of tomorrow
by Michael Devine
M
ay is a stressful time for
every student; with
exams, essay deadlinesdissertations looming large
its an equally busy time for
ear-old Loughborough Maths
Economic student Anne
er. Unlike her fellow academ-
hough, Anne is not fretting
t the result she wants in her
ee. She is flying out to
gne with her club side
ester to compete in the
pean Championships and
aring for the Beijing Olympics
the Great Britain team.
nne has deferred her exams
next year to allow her to pre-
for the Olympics, explaining
final selection for Beijing is
at the end of June so I didnt
to be worrying about examsclose to the selection. But
e has other things on her
as she attempts to help her
side go one better than last
year in the EuropeanChampionships by winning the
competition.
Annes progression to playing at
the elite level of European hockey
and competing for a place in the
Great Britain Olympic team is the
latest chapter in a passion-filled
career that began at the age of 9.
Anne joined national league divi-
sion two outfit Kettering Hockey
Club at the age of 13 and then
moved on to Premier League side
Leicester where she won the
league last year. Anne attributes
this success to her parents and,
most of all, her hockey fanatic
P.E. teacher, an England junior
team goalkeeping coach.
Having reached the high stan-dard she now enjoys, Anne admits
it is tough to balance a student life
with training and preparing for
hockey. She trains three days a
week with the GB squad at
Bisham Abbey and, with individ-
ual strength and speed workouts
as well as club training, she
undertakes a total of 11-12 ses-
sions a week. Anne admits that,
with it being an Olympic year, her
club have consequently missed
out; Ive managed to play in threegames and weve only done two
weeks of club training prior to this
tournament.
With such a heavy training
schedule it is vital, especially with
a degree as challenging as Maths
and Economics, that Anne has the
support of her lecturers and
tutors. Fortunately Annes tutors
have been really understanding. I
spoke to them about it and theyve
just let me suspend all my exams
and stuff until next year so theyvebeen really supportive over it all.
With her exams suspended
Anne is free to concentrate on
Beijing in August. She explains
that the teams preparation
the competition will include w
weather training, 10 days
training camp in Macaw and
chamber sessions during w
the climate can be controlled
small room containing tread
and exercise bikes.
With such a young team
ing to the Olympics (the av
age is 22), Anne is philosop
but optimistic about their ch
this summer; I think it willlearning curve but if we pl
our best we could sneak a m
Its a case of us playing to
potential every game. She is
well aware that Holland w
the team to beat in C
Theyre ranked number on
the world and theyre a very
cult team to overcome.
Beyond this summer, the
ous goal is the hugely ex
opportunity to play in the
Olympics in London in over
years. Anne states that the f
is bright for British hockey w
ever happens this summer;
thought of playing in an Olym
in your own country is ma
Obviously were going to Bwith aspirations there but al
four years time I think well
a good position to be challen
for the gold medal.
by George Kotschy
anter aiming formedal in Beijing
ur final Road to Beijinginterview George Kotschy
ght up with Anne Panter of the Great Britain
mens hockey team.
Panesar is a graduate of the MCC scheme
Panter watching on as a team mate strikes the ball
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onal Student, May 2008
PORT
swimmersmonth to remember
E RE SP ON SI BL E f or
ng Loughborough the
e to accommodate Great
ns Olympic hopefuls for
ondon Games in 2012 mayave had an eye on a select
of swimmers from the
nds club plying their
over the last few weeks.
ghboroughs swimmers
n a stellar show in