cusu - The Cambridge Student

Transcription



Indian colonial gardens
Cultures of Climate Change @ CRASSH
Ethical food
THURSDAY is all about Green Living

The
CambridgeStudent
Lent 2008 Issue 7
CUSU sabbs to stand again
Photo: James Appleton
Two thirds of the current full-time executive are hoping to be re-elected
Two former senior Union officials now looking to join CUSU
CUSU >> 03
top trumps
News
ent Presiden
t
including Black Students’, Green
Week and the campaign against
rent rises. He would also disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS).
“CUSU spends a lot of money on
campaigns which many students
disagree with,” Hadlow said at
the hustings, held at Gonville and
Caius.
“I abhor waste,” he added, proposing that CUSU should be “moving control of the money closer to
the demos.”
Joining Hadlow on the “Change
we can believe in” slate is James
Robinson, the former Union Society Vice President, who is running
for Access Officer.
Robinson, who was heckled
during his speech, recently left the
Union having lost a vote of no confidence earlier in the term.
Wearing full evening dress as
he outlined his vision for improving access to Cambridge, Robinson
said: “I believe there is an inherent
tendency in this Union, this CUSU,
to be ashamed of its status.”
“That is why I’m here this evening in white tie,” he added.
Former Union President Will
Wearden is also hoping to join the
CUSU team, standing for Academic
Affairs officer. He faces opposition
from this year’s CUSU chair Ant
Bagshaw and James Sharpe.
Wearden is one of a number of
the candidates who are also standing to become NUS delegates. Colligan, Braude and current Access
Officer Charlotte Richer are also
among the 20 candidates standing
for the 15 delegate places.
The manifestos of all candidates
can be read inside TCS this week.
Students will be able to vote
online between 8pm on Monday
March 3rd until 8pm the following
day, while paper votes can be cast
in colleges on Wednesday March
5th.
Interview
RAG fashion
Sport
This week’s
supplement:
dlow John’s
Hugo Ha
St
r Science
Mark Flet
cher
Curr
22 years
field. The Presidency, for example,
is a five-horse race, with Fletcher
facing stiff competition from Richard Braude (King’s), Hugo Hadlow
(St John’s), Guolong Li (Churchill)
and Basit Kirmani (Queen’s).
Of the six sabbatical posts, only
Colligan is running unopposed, as
he did last year.
Some of these challengers are
perhaps more experienced than
others. Guolong Li’s manifesto was
a single sentence, submitted handwritten on a piece of lined paper,
and was mainly concerned with his
liking for pizza.
Braude obtained one of the
biggest rounds of applause of the
night when he identified “ents,
ethics and fees,” as the major issues any future President would
have to grapple with.
Hadlow, on the other hand,
has outlined plans to limit CUSU’s
remit, proposing to make nearly
all of its campaigns independent,
Basit Kirmani
Management Studies
Queen’s
idge student
What expe
you have?
a major Cambr
rience do
rience do
CUSU Presid
you have
al society and
What expe
?
ent
student politic
President 2007, 2007- 8, Jesus JCR Presid
Positions at
ent
JCSU Welfa
g’ssMay
su
re Officer 2005. 2006-7,
Jesus
society.
Kin
Je
ridge
Ball
facing Camb rsity level.
What can
st issues
a Unive
CUSU do ry of Ar t
are the bigge representation at
Everything
that JCRs
What
sto
real
from repres
Hi entation can’t?
don’t have
nts
nts?
ing small
Stude
stude
on university
level, throu
21 years subjects, access initiativesa and
ity be?
bringing stude gh to savWhat shou
biggest prior
nts together.
ld CUSU ’s
ld CUSU ’s
Communica
biggest prior
What shou
ting
ity be?
budget.
Clubs and Socie with students, worki
Cutting its
ng with
ties and buildi
ng on the accessthe JCRs, MCRs, Sport
?
s
initiatives
What
experience do you have?
What are
JCRs can’t
inated, and
we
run.
the bigge
CUSU do thatties that need to be coord
CU Pakistan Society President 2007, Founder of National Union
st
The
stud
What can
don’t have.
qualit
ents?
y of education issues facing Camb
inate activi
of scale JCRs
coord
mies
can
of Pakistani students, Queens’ College Cricket captain, freelance
that people
being at Unive
ridge
econo
CUSU
receive, as
rsity.
es that need
well as the
provide servic
costs of journalist
What are the biggest issues facing Cambridge students?
Richard
e
Braud
19 ye
CHURCHILLPDF
PM
ars
#
-
9
#-
-9
#9
#-9
Guol
ong L
M
athem
atics
+
Students at Cambridge do not have a united voice on key issues
What should CUSU’s biggest priority be?
Having a credible and prestigious reputation that students respect
andnta
can fall back on in a time of need.
rese
What
Body Rep
e?
No inf experie
you hav U Governing
7-8
nc
ormati
, KCS
ence do
tive 200
What can CUSU do that JCRs can’t?
on wa e do yo
experi Officer 2007-8 Representa
What
Be socially and politically active and make a difference on a national s providedu have?
3rd Year
Funding
bridge and international scale.
CUSU HE History of Art
What
7,
ing Cam nge things.
es fac
tive 200
Ut du can CU
to cha
i eraese SU do
gest issuerlessness
big
irit
of pow
ulputp quam du that JC
are the
What t and a feeling
Rs
atue
ts?
core dont nimObore can’t?
deb
s,
den
erFee
stu
a univ
lore mi
What
feu
ty be?
n hen is num et
t priori working towardsproud.
Ut du should
is am
,
bigges
be
CU
i
Fac idu loreros ex
members which we can
CUSU’s
irit ulp eraesequam SU ’s big
ea fac
nt lob
of
should strength to its
ge
utpatu
cum
ortie
du
cation
What
et ull
e core nt nimOb st pr ior
hope and
to an edu
ao.
ity
ore feu
dolor
ersity,
Giving equal access
What
e min
is nu be?
ss the univ ns.
can’t?
shou
s
hen
acro
sity with
Ut
JCR
paig
is am m et lorero
ents
t
ld CU
dui
cam
Fac idu
e for stud
U do tha
nomous
irit ulp eraesequam SU ’s big
nt lob s ex ea fac
can CUS democratic voic s and the auto
utp
ge
at
cum
ortie
du
st
Wh
atue
et ull
core dont nimObore pr ior ity
a united MCRs, facultie
ao.
Prov ide
lore mi
be?
feuis
JCRs with
nu
n
ing
henis
m
unit
amFac et lorero
s ex
idunt
lobort ea faccum
ie et
ullao.
>>15
Football
drama
Compute
Jesus
21 years
>>13
i
Church
ill
Adam
Boulton
>> 36
AY
THURSD
ut novel
es his deb
ess
stani
happin
London
lth and
t for hea
your die
India
amp
discuss
dens in
you rev
to you
Malkani
nial gar
ay helps
cts and
Gautam ilosophy Thursd Raj Exploring colo gerous to native inse
e
Food ph gardens of th ign ladybirds are dan
t
The los ybirds Why fore
lad
Lethal
Green
Living
Lukman
Launching an unprecedented bid
for re-election, four out of six full
time Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) sabbatical officers are seeking a second term in
the forthcoming polls.
Never before have so many
members of the same team chosen
to stand for re-election. Their decision may have something to do
with concerns recently identified
by current Services Officer Adam
Colligan, who has spoken of his
discontent at the problems caused
by such a high turnover of sabbatical officers.
“High staff and sabb. turnover
has in the past consistently failed
to keep records and knowledge in
a way that the next generation can
pick up and run with,” he told The
Cambridge Student (TCS).
In addition to Colligan, the three
other sabbatical officers who are
standing again are Mark Fletcher
(President), Charlotte Richer (Access), and Andrea Walko (Welfare
and Graduates).
Speaking at the CUSU hustings
last night, Fletcher said: “I’ve delivered on my promises in the last
year and I want to move CUSU forward.”
“Over the past year I have
learned of the problems CUSU faces. I know how CUSU works, I know
how the university works, and I
know how to push students’ views
forward,” he concluded.
Walko supported these sentiments. She commented: “I think
I’ve made a lot of progress this
year and I’m proud of the work I’ve
started. I’d like you to let me see it
through. “I want to continue doing
this,” she added.
Unlike last year’s elections, this
year the candidates for most of
the positions are facing a crowded
Suryani
Alex Coke-Woods
Owen Kennedy
ay 28th
Thursd
sponsored
by:
ry, Issue
Februa
7, Lent
2008
02|News
News in Brief
Archbishop’s charity visit
The Archbishop of Canterbury
marked the end of his stay in the
city with a visit to a community
of former homeless people, who
now live in the Emmaus community. Most members of the community make a living by collecting, refurbishing and selling other
household goods.
Sue Nelms, a volunteer with
the charity, welcomed his visit:
“He was very warm and engaging,
and seemed to have a good grasp
of the issues [we face].”
City development plans
A major expansion of Cambridge’s
housing capacity is to go ahead.
The new development, Trumpington Meadows, is set to create
1,200 new homes, along with a
primary school and a country
park. Community facilities, including a tennis court, play areas,
multi-use games area, a running
track and a football pitch will also
be provided.
Diana memorial saved
Cambridge City council has
reversed its decision to take the
roses out of the Diana Memorial
garden on Christ’s pieces. The
removal of the roses was proposed
because of poor soil quality but
improvements to the soil now
mean the roses will be replanted
next month. Labour Councillor
Rob Dryden said: “I will continue
to fight for residents to get the
city’s flower power’ back, reinstating each of these beds to their
former glory.”
Gore supports Go Greener
THURSDAY
Former US Vice President Al
Gore has shown his support for
Cambridge’s Go Greener! Campaign
in a letter to the Vice-Chancellor
and heads of Cambridge Colleges.
He wrote, “I would like to express
my enthusiastic support for the
efforts of Cambridge University”.
Next week:
SCIENCE
The Cambridge Student | 28/02/08
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Cambridge hit by earthquake
Whole country rocked by biggest quake in 25 years
Carly Hilts
Deputy News Editor
Cambridge students were shaken
yesterday by the strongest earthquake to hit Britain in 25 years.
The earthquake struck just before 1.00 am on Wednesday morning, with its epicentre at the quiet
market town of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire.
Effects of the tremor were felt
throughout England, with reports
of people being woken from their
sleep as far apart as Newcastle,
Yorkshire, London, Manchester,
the Midlands and Norfolk, as well
as in Scotland and Wales.
5.2
Quake’s
magnitude
After the quake reached Cambridge, the local constabulary
received about 180 calls from concerned residents.
There was minor damage to
buildings across the country, with
chimneys and masonry falling.
Fortunately, only one injury was
reported: David Bates, a 19-yearold student from Barnsley, South
Yorkshire, was hospitalised after
a chimney collapsed and fell into
his attic bedroom, shattering his
pelvis.
The quake measured 5.2 on the
Richter scale according to the British Geological Survey (BGS), and
was followed by an aftershock of
1.8 three hours later.
BGS said this was ‘the largest
earthquake in the UK since the
magnitude 5.4 Lleyn Peninsula
[North Wales] earthquake in 1984,
which was widely felt across Eng-
TCS SOAP BOX
Charlie Corn
St. Catharine’s
“When the whole room started
shaking, I thought I was a little
drunk until my keyboard fell off
its stand. The girl below me said
she assumed I had a lady staying
the night with me. I wasn’t sure
whether to be flattered.”
land and Wales.”
The Survey’s Bennett Simpson
told BBC News:
“This is a very significant earthquake for the UK, we have about
200 earthquakes a year in the UK
but a magnitude of 5 is a large
one.”
The Environment Agency deems
buildings to be at risk if quakes
measure 5 or above on the Richter
scale.
Dr Brian Baptie of the BGS also
told BBC News:
“An earthquake of this size, of
magnitude five or thereabouts,
will occur roughly every 10 to 20
years in the UK... they’re relatively
rare.”
Although relatively big for Britain, last night’s tremors were minimal compared to the magnitude
nine earthquake in Sumatra that
triggered the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Between 200 and 300 earthquakes occur in Britain each year
but only 10% are strong enough to
be felt.
The largest recorded earthquake
experienced in the UK occurred in
1931 and measured 6.1.
But it had little impact on the
mainland, since the epicentre was
Dogger Bank in the North Sea.
Did the earth move for you?
Helen Bernacki
New Hall
“It felt like someone was under
my bed and pushing my mattress
up. It lasted about 10 seconds. I
didn’t have a clue what it was until I woke up - ‘earthquake’ isn’t
really the first thing that springs
to mind in Cambridge!”
Tahmeena
Aslam
Robinson
“The bed shook for 10 seconds,
long enough to convince me that
I was living out a scene from The
Exorcist. My housemate said ‘I
think there’s a poltergeist in my
room!’ We won’t be playing withOuija boards any time soon!”
Fifties fun at Churchill Spring ball
Simon Burdus
Churchill Spring ball has developed
a reputation as being Cambridge’s
cheap and cheerful alternative, with
tickets priced this year at only £59.
Not many colleges could get away
with a 1950s America theme but
Churchill did just that.
Guests were invited to jive the
night away and whisked back to
1950s America. The design teams had
clearly been hard at work for a number of weeks. Churchill works on a
much smaller budget than a number
of balls but the effort aesthetically
was there for all to see. The college
bar had been totally transformed
into an American diner with burger
bar seating and black and white
check floors. The 1950s housewife’s
kitchen serving cake was great, and
along with a number of large scale
paintings, transformed the college
in the ball’s main area. Decoration
became sparse as you moved away
from this area which did mean a bit
of atmosphere was lost, however.
The programme to the ball was refreshingly easy to navigate. I’ve been
to many a ball where I’ve ended up
in a bush or a flowerbed because the
map was so unclear. A number of the
acts were excellent. The headlining
band ‘The Noisettes’ fresh from supporting the likes of ‘Bloc party’ and
‘Muse’ had the main hall rocking.
Fitz swing offered their usual high
quality music, comedian Rex Boyd
although a bit mental, was still highly amusing and Ray Siberini, billed as
‘the best Elvis Impersonator’ actually
lived up to this label. Although other
acts were less well received - the
smokers sketch comedy show looked
like it had been thrown together at
the last minute - overall Ents, for the
money paid, were good.
Dodgems and fairground games
were an added bonus. The Churchill
Casino made its annual appearance,
but if you’ve got it, why not use it?
Other colleges would kill to have this
facility at their disposal.
The food was very canteen-y but
as the ball was supposed to be a diner
it could be argued that this was the
aim. Queues were long, and food also
ran out long before the end of the
night despite the attempted staggering of delivery. I also failed to
find the milkshakes as promised by
the pre-ball on the website. Drinks
on the other hand were plentiful and
I was able to get one right up until
leaving. River Bar were present making cocktails and were an excellent
addition.
I had a very pleasant evening at
Churchill. Don’t go to Churchill expecting the grandeur of Trinity or
St Johns, but it is definitely a great
night out and worth a visit. If you
compare it to Kings Affair, which is
similarly priced, the difference is
blatantly obvious. Churchill is far
superior. It’s not a ball to go to with
your girlfriend, its one to go to with
a big group of friends. Treat Churchill
as it is meant to be treated and you
won’t be disappointed. The major
drawback to the ball is its end time
with everything ending sooner than
you think. But for £59 to be fed, watered and entertained it’s only £20
more than a night at Cindies and
although chillier, is well worth the
added investment.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
News comment|03
Mark Fletcher
22 years
Current President
Jesus
What experience do you have?
CUSU President 2007-8, Jesus JCR President 2006-7, Jesus May Ball
President 2007, JCSU Welfare Officer 2005.
Everything from representation on a university level, through to saving small subjects, access initiatives and bringing students together.
Communicating with students, working with the JCRs, MCRs, Sports
Clubs and Societies and building on the access initiatives we run.
The quality of education that people receive, as well as the costs of
being at University.
Richard Braude
21 years
History of Art
King’s
The CUSU
presidential
race
Hugo Hadlow
20 years
Five people are standing for CUSU top job
this year. Candidates from all sides of the
political spectrum have come forward. The
Cambridge Student (TCS) gives you the lowdown on what the different runners in the
election contest stand for, what experience
they have, and what their plans are for
CUSU in the coming year.
Management Studies
St John’s
Positions at student political society and a major Cambridge student
society.
Students don’t have real representation at a University level.
Cutting its budget.
CUSU can coordinate activities that need to be coordinated, and
provide services that need economies of scale JCRs don’t have.
Basit Kirmani
21 years
Computer Science
Queens’
19 years
Guolong Li
CHURCHILLPDFPM
Mathematics
Churchill
#
-
9
#-
-9
#9
#-9
+
CUSU HE Funding Officer 2007-8, KCSU Governing Body Representative 2007, History of Art 3rd Year Representative 2007-8
No information was provided
Fees, debt and a feeling of powerlessness to change things.
CU Pakistan Society President 2007, Founder of National Union
of Pakistani students, Queens’ College Cricket captain, freelance
journalist
Students at Cambridge do not have a united voice on key issues
Giving hope and strength to its members, working towards a university with equal access to an education of which we can be proud.
Having a credible and prestigious reputation that students respect
and can fall back on in a time of need.
Provide a united democratic voice for students across the university,
uniting JCRs with MCRs, faculties and the autonomous campaigns.
Be socially and politically active and make a difference on a national
and international scale.
C
urrent CUSU President
Mark Fletcher’s decision to stand again will
have surprised many.
His experience will
be both his greatest
strength, and his biggest weakness.
Fletcher has built up a good deal of
momentum recently – his weekly
meetings for JCR Presidents and
External officers have been unprecedentedly well attended; student
union heads at several colleges
have said that they have found his
guidance extremely useful.
This approval hasn’t necessarily
trickled down to ordinary members
of the student body though, as the
question “So what do they actually
do?” still seems to come up whenever CUSU gets talked about, which,
in my experience, is rarely.
Although Fletcher has performed
sterling work in areas such as rents
campaigning, organising a negotiation training workshop for JCR
presidents, my feeling is that he still
has something to prove to the majority of students. With a second year,
though, he could well build on his
success and perform the seemingly
impossible task of getting students
more involved in CUSU.
Still, Fletcher will face stiff competition from Basit Kirmani, who greatly raised the profile of Cambridge’s
Pakistan society during his spell as
President. Kirmani has proven ability as a co-ordinator – he recently
set up a national union of Pakistani
students in Britain. He is energetic
and passionate, and should garner
support among students who are,
rightly or wrongly, disillusioned with
the student union.
Hadlow would
axe the green
and rents
campaigns.
Richard Braude and Hugo Hadlow
promise to provide a radical shakeup of the way CUSU works. Both
candidates would move CUSU away
from the moderate line taken by the
current exec – but in opposite directions. Unfortunately Braude’s talk of
‘solidarity’ will probably turn people
off – this is a shame, as his thoughtful and impassioned policies have
something to offer to students on
both sides of the political spectrum.
The same cannot be said for Hugo
Hadlow. This second year Johnian
believes in gutting CUSU of some of
its most vital services. He would axe
the green and rents campaigns, and
cut funding for the LBGT committee,
and the Women’s union. Ethical Affairs and Anti-Racism would also go
completely.
The candidate took a particularly
cheap shot at the LBGT committee
for having a CUSU-funded garden
party. Well here’s a cheap shot in return: Hadlow himself attended the
event, and drank some of the free
alcohol there. I know this because I
served him.
Access is not mentioned on his
manifesto, but he hopes that James
Robinson will fill the post of access
officer as part of his slate. Now, we all
know that Robinson went to a comprehensive school in Manchester.
So, who knows, maybe he might be
able to do a better job than Charlotte
Richer, who has stood for re-election
just after organising one of the most
successful Shadowing Schemes in
CUSU history.
Also standing is Guolong Li, a
first year Maths student at Churchill.
Li’s manifesto is not particularly detailed, but in his hustings speech
he made it clear that international
student integration is one of his top
priorities. He’ll be an interesting
addition to one of the most hotly
contested election races in recent
memory.
Photos: Hugo Vincent
Jonathan Laurence
Assistant editor
International student integration, campaigning also important,
according to his hustings speeches
B
is for Business Manager. Be it
Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947
Interested applicants for the post of Business Manager of Varsity Publications Ltd (2008-2009) are invited to
contact the current Business manager, Michael Derringer, for an application form and a job description.
Email [email protected] or see our website www.varsity.co.uk/jobs
Deadline for applications will be March 16th 2008.
The Varsity Trust
Take your passion for
journalism further...
A major scholarship and/or bursary may be
awarded to students graduating from the
University of Cambridge or Anglia Ruskin
University who are about to undertake an
approved course in journalism in the coming
academic year.
For further details on the Trust and to check
eligibility, visit www.varsitytrust.org.uk,
or email [email protected] for an
information pack.
Deadline for Applications:
April 27th 2008.
The Varsity Trust offers funding to students planning to undertake journalism courses in 2008-2009.
Registered Charity No. 1012847
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Hezbollah ‘No Platform’
motion defeated by CUSU
News|05
Jewish Society’s opposition to Mousawi invitation beaten by just six votes
Jennifer Shaw
Deputy News Editor
A controversial motion to put Hezbollah on the ‘No Platform’ list has
been rejected by Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU).
The motion was defeated by 15
votes to nine.
CUSU’s ‘No Platform’ Policy campaigns against “attempts by any
organization within Cambridge
University to provide a platform to
any group deemed to pose a very
real threat to the welfare or security our members.”
The CU Jewish Society had
hoped that by adding Hezbollah the Lebanese-based party which is
regarded by the US and the UK as
a terror organization - to the ‘No
Platform’ list a spokesman for Hezbollah would be prevented from
appearing at a public rally organized by the ‘Stop the War’ Coalition.
The Hezbollah spokesman in
question, Ibrahim Mousawi, is the
editor of Lebanese newpaper Al-Intiqad and was formerly a journalist and presenter for the Hezbollah television station, Al-Manar,
known for broadcasting anti-Semitic material.
Mousawi was due to speak at
the rally to be held in Cambridge
on 2nd March, but the location of
the rally is uncertain after Corpus
Christi college – who was due to
host the event – pulled out citing
logistic reasons.
The ‘No Platform’ motion had
been put forward by Mark Wolfson,
External Officer of the CU Jewish
Society. He told The Cambridge
Student: “Hezbollah is an organization which is homophobic; it
calls for the death penalty to homosexuals, it’s anti-Semitic, it is
sexist, it calls for the repression of
women.”
“This is about protecting LGBT
students, Jewish students and
women at Cambridge from the
physical and psychological intimidation that the presence of such
an organization contains,” he
added.
Wolfson also refuted the suggestion that he was trying to prevent freedom of speech: “This isn’t
about the Cambridge student believing or not believing - it’s about
the organization’s ability to say
“one of our spokesmen has spoken
at Cambridge.
“It gives them a massive legitimacy and I hope Cambridge
students appreciate that this isn’t
specifically about their intelligence and it’s not about insulting
their intelligence.” he added.
But those opposing the motion
have raised the issue that Mousawi
does not affiliate himself with
these views.
“I would challenge anyone to
provide evidence of any word that
I have said that is hateful or antiSemitic,” Mousawi said in relation
to a 2007 campaign to block him
entering European countries.
“I’m a human being who believes in dignity, independence
and freedom. I’m a bridge-builder
and I’ve always been an advocate
of dialogue and discussion.”
The ‘Stop the War’ Coalition aims
to “stop the war currently declared
by the United States and its allies
against ‘terrorism’.”
Hezbollah is
homophobic,
anti-semitic
and sexist
Mark Wolfson
CU J-soc External Officer
Owen Holland, President of the
Cambridge branch of ‘Stop the War’
criticised concerns for student
safety at the event as “a tactic
for people who want to oppose
the meeting to create a security
threat.”
Holland also refuted suggestions that Mousawi’s presence at
the rally was intended to incite
racism:
“I’d ask people who are making
the claims of racial hatred to come
along and actually see whether
they feel that race hatred is being
propagated, because I feel they
might find they’re mistaken”
Chris Lillycrop, from the University Palestinian Society, stressed
that the meeting was intended to
stimulate open debate:
“It’s not the case that other
people’s views are being repressed,
there is opportunity for debate
and for questions, and as far as I
can see this could well be an excellent venue for debate.”
Lillycrop also warned of the implications of opposing Mousawi’s
speech: “It’s an extremely complex
political situation and for one side
of that debate to be made unwelcome would have extremely dangerous implications for the future
of academic debate in Cambridge.
An official statement from Stop
the War said Mousawi had been
invited to discuss the situation
in Lebanon since the 2006 war:
“Ibrahim, as a respected political commentator and author, can
give an insight into the lives of
ordinary Lebanese people after
the war.
“Hezbollah is a broad based
political party in Lebanon. In the
elections of 2005, they took 10.9%
of the seats in Parliament.”
The CUSU ‘No Platform’ policy
also opposes the BNP, the National
Front and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Katie Spenceley
Deputy News Editor
St John’s College officials have
angered students after making
changes to the college accommodation ballot system.
Proposed alterations include the
order that the ballot is drawn. In
an email leaked to The Cambridge
Student (TCS), St John’s College
Council has stated that as of next
year, priority will be given to
Scholars (students who get firsts).
The plans have been put forward
by the College Council in an aim to
reward academic endeavour.
But the college’s JCR President
Thomas Chigbo has criticised the
plans, saying: “I would like to
make clear to you all that the JCR
Committee unanimously opposes
this scheme.
We are disappointed with the
way the decision was taken without consultation with the JCRC or
the wider student body and feel
that the College has done nothing
to justify the need for academic
ballots.”
A meeting has been arranged
with the JCR, the Senior Tutor and
the Master for Friday. Chigbo told
TCS he was pleased to be able to
discuss the issues with the College,
adding:
“We are not trying to say that
every student is opposed to the
room ballot changes, but there has
been such widespread opposition
that we have to take action. We
would be a bad JCR if we didn’t do
anything.”
A St. John’s student wishing to
remain anonymous, told TCS: “I
wouldn’t have been averse to the
idea in itself but I find it a little
intimidating that College sees fit
to implement such a drastic change
with virtually no consultation of
students or the JCR at all.
“It seems to be leading to a very
dangerous situation where College
can feel free to do what they want
without thought for what students
feel.”
The new room ballot would also
impact on the majority of students
in the second year, who have to
share their accommodation.
The
anonymous
informer
claimed: “Even though ballot positions aren’t released until after
students decide to share, people
will have quite a clear idea of
where their friends are positioned
academically.
“This of course raises concerns
that the scheme encourages scholars to stay together, segregating
College social life from academic
standards.”
John’s JCR contests room ballot changes
Student volunteers gathered at King’s
Bank crises could
kill thousands,
says uni research
Emily Andrews
Thousands of people could die if
the Northern Rock crisis becomes
a precedent for further widespread
banking disasters, new research by
Cambridge University shows.
The startling warning comes as a
new study suggests that the number of heart attacks could escalate
by as much as 6.4% in high-income
countries (such as Britain and the
U.S.) due to stress, if “a significant
proportion of banks” were to fail
as Northern Rock did last year. In
developing countries such as India, this figure could be as high as
26%.
The elderly would be most at
risk, since they are most sensitive
to acute stress and may have existing cardiovascular problems. They
are also most likely to fear for their
life savings.
In the wake of the Northern
Rock crisis, academics from Cambridge University’s Department of
Sociology compared data about
male cardiovascular mortality rates
per 100,000 of population from the
World Health Organisation with
data from the World Bank between
1960 and 2002, defining a banking crisis as “an episode in which
a significant proportion of banks
fail or their assets are exhausted.”
The resulting report, entitled Can A
Bank Crisis Break Your Heart?, indicates that the number of deaths
from heart attacks soars regularly
and briefly ever time there is a systemic bank failure. It also suggests
that financial concerns produce
similar stress to that provoked by
earthquakes, wars, or even terrorist
incidents.
David Stuckler, who led the research, asserts that even temporary
problems on the market can cause
dangerous levels of panic, as manifested in the queues outside Northern Rock last year. He also claims
that media scare-mongering only
exacerbates the problem and urges
that it is important to “contain hysteria” not only to stop a “momentary blip on the financial scene”
leading to a widespread banking
meltdown, but also to prevent potentially thousands of deaths from
heart disease.
In the UK nearly 6000 people
lose their lives to heart and circulatory disease every day.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
06|News Review
CUSU: the year
that was
CHARLOTTE RICHER Access Officer
It involves coordinating student-led access
initiatives to widen participation, particularly from under-represented groups (state
schools, ethnic minorities, etc).
seeking alternative routes in particular such
as contacting youth movements, and this had
paid dividends. For example, we contacted AC
Diversity, a mentoring scheme for Afro-Caribbean students in London schools, and they
sent 8 students to our shadowing scheme.
What kind of year have you had?
What’s been the highlight?
We made connections with lots of schools
that we didn’t before, and expanded the open
days, particularly for Year 13s who did better
in their AS’s than expected- some students
don’t really think about Oxbridge and by the
time exam results come out in August it’s too
late to learn more or go to open days. We had a
lot of press coverage about our work, including a feature article in the Guardian.
The shadowing scheme being successful and
running smoothly- and reading the feedback
sheets of students who took part- feedback
this year was exceptionally good.
What does your role entail?
We created links with Teach First; we’re looking for that to bear results next year. We’ve
also built bridges with other university Student Unions and government organisations
with similar interests to us. We have been
MARK FLETCHER President
bits and some not so go
Well I’m head of the students’ union, so I’m
chief financial officer, I’m meant to be in
charge of operations but that’s actually done
by the services officer. I’m in charge of promoting the union externally so making sure
that we liaise with the JCRs and the MCRs,
so it’s a college thing rather than a societies
thing. And I make students’ views heard with
the university when necessary.
The JCR relationships ar
our JCR meetings have
attendance, and JCR pre
be involved. But I don’t
out to the student bod
something we’ve got to
Unusual. I think it’s very hard to describe
the year in one go. We’ve had some very good
What has been the high
The level of interaction
committees. We wanted
easier and better, and
thing we have done this
Also, securing funding for the Alternative
Prospectus- it will now come out annually
rather than every two years.
What’s been the hardest part?
Running out of time- there’s so much going
on- you always want to be ambitious in what
you do but the little things always take longer than expected and you run out of time.
ELLY SHEPHERD Women’s Officer
It has a few different elements, I’m the lead
officer on the Women’s Union, this involves
running and chairing campaigns, these campaigns can be political, for example the save
Cambridge Rape Crises Campaign. Or they
can be welfare campaigns. Another part of it
involves being on CUSU, responsibilities as a
CUSU sabbatical officer.
Why did you want to do this job?
I’ve been interested in the issue since forever. Its something that I felt I wanted to do
and that I can do well.
job and there have been days where I’m like
‘God I could have been a management consultant’. It really depends.
What has been the highlight of the year?
The biggest thing for me is getting Cambridge
Rape Crisis back on its feet.
The women’s union has always been really
important to a minority of women in the university and I want to make it more well know.
People ask me why we need a women’s officer
and I’m like ‘yep, come back women’s council
and we’ll talk about it’. In the past women’s
officers have been scared of the debate, but
I’m not scared of it, in fact I invite it.
There have been things that I’ve been proud
of and things that I’ve done wrong. There
have been days that I’m really glad I took this
The hardest part has sort of been realising
where you are and dealing with kind of higher levels of the university.
ADAM COLLIGAN Services Officer
What was the most diffi
It’s the general internal management of the
union, which includes everything from general legal stuff through to photocopiers to
student services.
Realising when I took o
have nearly the unders
its financial situation t
expected.
But at this point in the
about that side of thing
My role involves the most varied set of tasks,
the greatest number of areas in which you
need to have specialised knowledge.
Why did you want the job?
I saw it as an opportunity to exercise a lot of
talents and abilities that were not part of my
degree.
What progress do you th
Staff development, how
resources in Ents and co
Some of these things w
past but what I’m tryin
in a way they can keep r
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
od bits.
re fantastic. This term
e grown and grown in
esidents really want to
t think we’ve reached
dy enough, and that’s
improve.
hlight?
we now have with JCR
d to make their jobs
I think that’s somes year.
icult part?
over that CUSU did not
standing or control of
that would have been
e year I feel very good
gs.
hink you have made?
w we invest time and
ommunications.
were initiated in the
ng to do is set them up
running.
Overcoming the sheer amount of knowledge
that you don’t have when you start this job.
There’s so much to learn, you can’t possibly
start this job on a level playing field. I spent
the summer just trying to play catch-up.
News Review|07
The Cambridge Student asks this year’s CUSU
sabbatical team about the highs and lows of
their time in office. They tell us about what
had gone well and how things could have gone
better...
What progress have you made?
I think I’ve made bits of progress. We’ve
started to build a central union where people
can come to. But I think there’s a long long
way to go – we constantly evaluate what we’re
doing and we need to communicate more
with students.
PETER COULTHARD Academic Affairs Officer
My role splits down into three main parts.
There’s campaigning, the representational
side and the support side. There’s quite a lot
to it.
What kind of year has it been?
It’s been a busy year to say the least.It’s been
an interesting year in the sense that this year
was the university’s QAA audit. The QAA audit
is the biggest thing every 6 years that student unions have because it’s linked to making sure quality assurance is in place. People
care what Cambridge is providing. I’ve been
happy with the year. It has been long and it
has been tough - long nights, often going on
into the mornings, but a lot of things have
gone well and we’ve made a lot of improvements. I’m really happy in that sense.
What has been the highlight of the year?
I’m really proud what we’ve done
on the issue of faculty reps. We’ve managed
to train around 50 positions. We are helping
to prepare people before they come to university. We’ve received a lot of praise both from
the university and externally. People know
what we are doing.
Everything in Cambridge takes a very long
time to do. Not everything that we have wanted has been accepted by the
university. The hardest bit has been overcoming this initial resistance. Another hard part
has been constructing the survey; it didn’t go
down very well with the university, and it was
beaten down very quickly by the committee.
It has mainly been a matter of making compromises; you’re not going to get exactly
what you wanted. It’s important to take steps
forward and make your changes.
ANDREA WALKO Welfare and Graduates Officer
Case work and committee work. I sit on more
committees than any other officer. I’m involved in campaigns which is probably the
part I’ve been worst at this year as it’s timeconsuming to have a good campaign.
Most of what I do is about long term development - it’s one big project that passes through
a number of hands.
What is still to come?
It’s possible that by the end of this year we
might be able to email students directly.
CUSU could be gaining vastly improved new
tools for electronic communication.
Reporting by Catherine Watts, Alex Coke-Woods,
Jennifer Shaw, Noor Al-Bazzaz, Katie Spenceley
and Carly Hilts.
I’ve had a pretty good year so far, there’s still
quite a lot more I want to do and that next
term I’ll have to do.
What was the highlight?
The one piece of casework that has given me
the biggest sense of satisfaction at having resolved it was actually seeing an improvement
in an individual student’s life.
And the hardest part?
The hardest part is trying to run effective
campaigns but it takes so long and there
are so many other pressures on your time.
For example I really wanted to make Mental
Health Awareness Week a really successful
awareness raising week. I wish I could have
put more energy into it but if someone comes
to you with a piece of casework or a committee meeting you can’t reschedule and that’s
the most frustrating thing and probably the
thing I’ve been worst at.
What progress have you made?
The biggest progress is in terms of my approach to university committees. I’ve started
taking a stand if it’s needed. I’ve managed to
get more representation on committees surrounding disabilities and what they’re doing has been really positive. That’s actually
brought us forward as an organisation and
that’s something which will hopefully be established for the future.
The Cambridge Student |28/02/08
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
08|Bursting The Bubble
Photo: Leffler/Library of Congress [VIA PINGNEWS
Castro’s brother inherits Cuba
World News
Thursday 21st
The USA launches a missile into
space, destroying an old spy satellite. Russia and China accuse
America of beginning an arms race
in space. But the US denies their
charges, claiming that toxic chemicals inside the satellite posed a
danger, forcing the army to destroy
it before it had a chance to fall to
earth.
Friday 22nd
Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shi’ite cleric,
extends his ceasefire with the Iraqi
authorities for a further six months.
His Mehdi Army militia was heavily involved in sectarian violence
within the troubled Middle Eastern
state during 2006-7.
Fidel Castro
Castro first came to power in 1959.
A unanimous vote by Cuba’s national assembly has handed over
control of the country to Fidel Castro’s brother Raul.
The vote follows the resignation
of Fidel last week, which marked
the end of his 49-year reign.
Fidel Castro first came to power
in a revolution on New Year’s Day
1959. In power for almost half a
century, his rule over the only
Communist State in North America
outlasted the breakup of the Soviet
Union and the collapse of communism in the former Eastern bloc.
Castro had survived a number of
American attempts to remove him
from power in the past, including
the famous Bay of Pigs invasion of
1961.
Raul’s election as national leader
was almost certain since he has
headed Cuba’s caretaker government after Fidel withdrew from
public life 19 months ago, due to a
serious illness.
3 courses for £10
Student set menu deal
Sunday to Friday
Send comments to [email protected]
Katie Spenceley
Deputy News Editor
Analysts have predicted that the
change of hands could also bring
a number of social changes within
the socialist state.
The new president is believed
to favour a Chinese-style economic
policy, which allows increased economic liberalisation and improved
living standards whilst maintaining
political control.
He has also encouraged criticism
of the current system which has
raised expectations that the new
president will focus on ways to improve food, transport and housing.
In his first speech as leader,
Raul stressed the importance of
his brother’s legacy, saying: “The
commander in chief of the Cuban
revolution is unique. Fidel is Fidel,
as we all know well, he is irreplaceable.”
Castro has also emphasised his
firm commitments to Cuba’s socialist policies and his desire to see
socialism outlive the founding generation.
“The mandate of this legislature
is clear ... to continue strengthening the revolution at a historic moment. This conviction has particular importance when the founding
and forging generation of the revolution is disappearing,” he said.
Despite the famously hostile relationship between the two nations,
America has publicly welcomed the
new elections, expressing its hopes
that Cuba will move towards democracy.
The apparent stress upon continuity with Cuba’s past has not
discouraged others hoping to see a
change in Cuba.
In a statement, the American
Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice
said: “We urge the Cuban government to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing
all political prisoners, respecting
human rights and creating a clear
pathway toward free and fair elections.”
Saturday 23rd
The world’s most expensive war
plane, the US B-2 stealth bomber,
crash lands on the Pacific island
of Guam. The $1.2 billion aircraft,
which cannot be detected by radar,
had never crashed before. Both
pilots were able to eject safely.
Thick, black smoke was seen billowing from the wreckage of their
aircraft.
Sunday 24th
The Pakistani government inadvertently causes You Tube to crash
for two hours when it orders local
internet service providers to block
access to the website. The videosharing facility had been criticised
for being insulting to Islam. A government official admitted that a
local shutdown may have accidentally blocked access
worldwide.
Monday 25th
Thieves digging into a jewellery
showroom in Milan make off with
millions of euros worth of stolen
gems. Tunnelling through the wall
form a building site next door,
seven men dressed as police broke
in, tied up staff and made off with
a haul of diamond necklaces, earrings and bracelets.
Tuesday 26th
Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, suspends peace talks
in Kenya, saying that not enough
has been achieved. The former
leader of the UN says that he believes abandoning the talks may
encourage rival factions to come to
an agreement more quickly.
Wednesday 27th
The President of Sudan has vowed
to ban Danes from his country after Danish newspapers reprinted
a satirical cartoon of the Prophet
Mohammed. Sudan has already
stopped all Danish imports, mostly
dairy products. It is unclear whether the ban will include diplomats.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Bursting The Bubble|09
Turkey invades Iraq Russia in uni
closure row
Alex Coke-Woods
International News Editor
Thousands of Turkish troops began
an invasion of Iraq last Thursday,
crossing the border in a full-scale
military operation supported by
heavy artillery, warplanes and attack helicopters.
Turkey claims to be in pursuit
of Kurdish guerilla fighters, which
it says are hiding in mountainous
areas bordering the two countries.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
regarded by the US, the EU and
Turkey as a terrorist organisation,
is based in Iraq’s mainly Kurdish
north, but has been fighting for the
independence of the Kurdish inhabitants of south-eastern Turkey for
over a decade.
The Iraqi government has demanded that Turkey withdraw its
army immediately. But almost a full
week since the operation began,
Turkish soldiers still show no sign
of retreating.
Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has claimed that Turkey has
“the right to eradicate those who
destroy the peace and comfort of its
citizens.”
“Turkey is engaged in a legitimate fight against a terrorist organisation which has challenged
Turkey’s peace and security,” Mr Erdogan said in Parliament. He added
that his troops would respect Iraq’s
territorial integrity.
But Iraq’s leaders are far from
mollified by such talk. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Iraqi
government issued its clearest condemnation of the operation so far.
It called on Ankara to withdraw
its troops at once, denouncing the
military assault as a “violation of
its sovereignty.
“The cabinet expressed its rejection and condemnation for the
Turkish military interference, which
is considered a violation of Iraq’s
Noor Al-Bazzaz
Deputy News Editor
versity of being an agent of foreign
meddling.
A petition addressed to administrative and educational institutions
in Russia as well as the general public, is included with the letter.
This petition urges for the quick
re-opening of the university as at
the moment the closure has left
“students without studies, faculty
without work, and Russia without
one of its most valuable intellectual
centers”
Academics from the University
of California and the University
of North Carolina, say that “there
have been many speculations as to
the real reasons for the closure of
this university, known for its high
level of scholarship and independent social and political analysis.”
EUSP officials have been keen
to downplay accusations that the
closure was politicaly motivated in
any way.
The rector of the university,
Nicolai Vahtin has said that he
hopes the university would reopen
soon, but urged that there is no
real evidence to suggest that the
closure had anything to do with
Russian politics.
“Whoever is now playing this
political card is trying to position
EUSP as a dissident organization is
doing harm to the EUSP,” he said.
Vahtin has told his students to
“do all you think might help EUSP”;
he insists, however, that it is important to avoid “excessive (and primitive) politicization” of the event, as
this may cause further problems for
the university.
Amnesty International has recently accused President Putin for
what it sees as increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and
the ‘roll back’ of civil rights within
Russia.
withdraw its forces as soon as possible.
For his part, the Turkish Prime
Minister has publicly offered thanks
in Parliament for America’s help
in providing the military intelligence needed to pursue the assault
against the PKK.
Snow and bad weather have
made it difficult for fighter planes
to provide air cover for Turkish
troops on the ground.
But army commanders say that
they have already killed over 150
PKK fighters, for the loss of just 19
of their own men. The PKK claim
that the real number of Turkish
dead is closer to 80.
On Monday, thousands of Turkish citizens took part in street protests against their government’s
actions in Diyarbakir, a city located
in the mainly Kurdish south-east of
the country.
The military action continues.
Japan
One little maid at school
Ireland
Puppet sings for the Irish
Germany
Canines on the catwalk
Singapore
Professor panty-pincher
India
Monkey marriage
A Japanese “school-girl” was arrested last week when it turned out
she was a 39-year old man.
Tetsunori Nanpei was chased
from the grounds of a high school
in Saitama when he entered the
premises wearing school uniform
and a long wig.
Nanpei told police he had decided to take a stroll. When he passed
the school gates students began to
scream and he ran for cover inside
the grounds
He was pursued off the premises
by a school clerk, causing him to
lose his wig.
Controversy has been sparked in
Ireland after the competition for
their Eurovision contestant was
won by a puppet bird.
A televised vote last Saturday
chose Dustin the Turkey over six
other entries.
His song ‘Ireland Douze Points’
parodies the contest’s notoriously
geopolitical voting system. “Wave
Euro-hands and Euro-feet, wave
them in the air to the turkey beat”
are just some of the lyrics that will
be appearing in his rendition at the
Serbian capital Belgrade on May
20th.
German police dogs will be the latest canine fashion envy after it was
announced that they would all be
fitted with special ‘shoes’ for patrolling the city.
All police dogs in Düsseldorf will
be made to wear the blue rubber
shoes to protect their paws from
shards of glass and sharp cobbles
whilst on duty. Over 20 dogs are
currently being trained to walk in
the shoes that cost 15 euro each.
“The dogs aren’t too keen yet, but
with a few weeks’ training they
should be used to them” said a police spokeswoman.
A university professor from Singapore pleaded guilty to stealing bras
and knickers from a woman’s dorm
last week.
The 39- year old, who teaches at
a Chinese University, was charged
with stealing the underwear from
a clothes-line in university accommodation last December. He was
caught by a security guard who
found the underwear hidden in his
rucksack. The professor’s lawyer
said he suffered from a psychiatric
disorder and had had a taste for
stealing women’s underwear since
he was 14.
More than 3000 people flocked to
a village in eastern India last week
to attend a wedding between two
monkeys.
Two couples who kept the monkeys as pets married off the furry
creatures in a Hindu wedding ceremony.
The three- year- old groom,
Manu was taken to the temple by
a jubilant procession to meet his
bride, Jhumuri who was wearing a
5- metre long Sari. The bride also
received numerous gifts including a
gold necklace from a local businessman.
Photo: turkpanzer
sovereignty,” the statement read.
But Baghdad’s response has
been labelled ‘weak’ by the Deputy
Speaker of the Kurdish regional
Parliament in northern Iraq, where
the fighting is heaviest.
Kamal al-Kirkuki said that the
central government should be “taking the lead in dealing with this
problem”, but had so far “acted
weakly.”
Still struggling to cope with the
daily round of insurgencies taking place on its own doorstep, the
Iraqi government seems unlikely to
respond by launching any counterassault of its own.
And the USA, which still has
thousands of troops in the country
in support of the Iraqi government,
has so far declined to condemn
the Turkish invasion. Instead, it
has merely called on Ankara, one
America’s most important allies in
the region, to show restraint and
The international academic community is urging for the re-opening
of the European University in St Petersburg after it was shut down by
Russian government.
A letter, printed in this week’s
TCS, has been written by the international academic community on
behalf of the Student Union at the
European University in St Petersburg (EUSP) revealing their plight
and request for the University to reopen. The university’s closure came
last week after officials claimed
that its building was a ‘fire risk’.
But some have claimed that the
closure was politicaly motivated as
the university is notoriously known
for its independent social and political research.
“It’s clear [the closure] was politically motivated,” Maxim Reznik,
the leader of St Petersburg’s opposition party, Yabloko, was quoted as
saying in the Guardian.
“We are observing a change in
the political regime in Russia from
authoritarianism to totalitarianism.
What happened here is one example
among many,” he continued.
“This hasn’t got anything to do
with fire risk. The university was
carrying out important work in
connection with election monitoring. Now it’s being punished for it,”
Mr. Yabloko concluded.
The university had previously
accepted a three year, 500 000
EU grant to run a project advising
Russia’s political parties on matters
such as how to ensure elections are
not rigged.
Decisions such as this sparked
an attack from Russian president
Vladimir Putin, accusing the Uni-
The Turkish armed forces claim to have killed 150 Kurdish fighters
Mad World
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
10|Comment
For God’s Sake
CICCU’s sledgehammer approach to religion does not recognise the complexities of faith
Elizabeth
Davis
Emmanuel
I
t can hardly have escaped
anyone’s notice that the
Archbishops of Canterbury
and York have spent the
week in and around Cambridge. In the final talk
they hosted on Friday, at Great St
Mary’s Church, Archbishop Rowan
Williams quipped that their week
had been nothing if not varied: encompassing, for example, visits to a
detention centre, a chaplaincy and
a sixth form.
But there was one glaring gap
in their seemingly comprehensive
tour: neither representative of the
Christian Anglican church spoke to
the biggest Christian Union here
in Cambridge; CICCU were not only
Image: Mary Bjorkegren
CICCU ask
you to unquestioningly
swallow dogma
with your free
lunch
conspicuously absent, they were
uncharacteristically (some might
say refreshingly) silent.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the
head of the Church of England, is
not “liked” by many members of
CICCU. Strange though this sounds
at first, after listening to Archbishop Williams’s talk on Friday,
some reasons began to present
themselves as to why there may be
such a rift.
It became clear that, despite
sharing the same God and the
same scriptures, Dr. Williams was
not in agreement with CICCU on
an issue close to its heart: namely,
evangelism.
Archbishop Williams shaped
a section of his talk around the
words “Come and see”, the second
thing that Jesus says in the Gospel
of John. Stressing the choice inherent in this statement, the Archbishop also posited the view that
one of the most important aspects
of being Christian is to recognise
that many cannot yet understand
their belief, whether they want to
or not.
Many people cannot see what
they, as Christians, claim to see:
cannot, as yet, understand what it
is that they mean when they speak
of their faith. Archbishop Williams
was not preaching a doctrine of
hopelessness but rather one of patience: people cannot be rushed,
pushed or bribed into believing,
“God creates the converted”, he
said and Christians should respect
his timing.
This could not be further from
the reputation that CICCU has. I
hesitate to say “further from the
beliefs of CICCU” simply because
the beliefs of this organisation,
which exists solely to convert others, are staggeringly unclear.
Archbishop Williams criticised
the belief that faith was immediate: like a switch which could be
turned on suddenly and yet this is
exactly the stance that CICCU take.
Once you’re converted, job done:
who’s next? There is no concept of
faith developing slowly, or of it being a long and difficult process.
Archbishop Williams claimed
that the capacity to believe lies in
all of us but how long it takes to
reach a point of belief “varies as
much as one person varies from
another”; whether you believe or
not depends on how much time
you, personally, are willing to devote to it.
With their perpetual lunchtime
talks, annual events and sheer
quantity of posters, CICCU are
nothing if not persistent. However,
as individuals they do not, I think,
realise how much pain and antagonism they give rise to across the
university because of their patronising and unshakeable belief that
they, and they alone, are right.
Subtlety is banished and with
it, individualism: CICCU ask you
to be one of a homogenous mass,
unquestioningly swallowing the
dogma with your free lunch.
Patronising as well as offensive,
it is unsurprising that this Christian organisation is so at odds
with the intelligent, erudite and
accepting leader of the Church of
England.
The subtlety present in the
Archbishop’s view of faith is entirely absent from that of CICCU:
Archbishops Sentamu and Williams
freely acknowledged their human
fallibility and the fear inherent in
faith – As Williams put it, “Faith
is knowing that you don’t know”.
CICCU would never admit to such a
thing, but wouldn’t it be refreshing if they did?
Liz Davis studies 2nd year English.
‘CICCU does not seek to indoctrinate’
The President of CICCU defends his organisation against the accusation of dogmatism
Charlie
Butler
Fitzwilliam
L
iz Davis’ article presents an unflattering
comparison between
Rowan Williams’ patient, subtle, individualistic faith and the
CICCU’s dogmatic, arrogant, herdlike mentality that is both “patronising and offensive”. I think the
picture is a little more complicated
than she suggests.
CICCU’s “perpetual lunch-time
talks” may not attract such wellknown speakers as Rowan Williams
or John Sentamu, but we provide
them in a similar spirit – as an
arena for public discussion and intelligent engagement with people’s
questions.
We do not seek to indoctrinate
or patronize and are sorry when it
comes across this way. As Dr. Williams’ talks were structured, so
with ours we try and leave plenty
of time for people to ask questions
and challenge the speakers on any
or all of what they say. This is a far
cry from “ask[ing] you to be one of
a homogenous mass, unquestioningly swallowing the dogma with
your free lunch”.
What seems to offend Miss Davis most, though, and indeed what
seems to be the nub of the issue, is
CICCU’s “patronising and unshakeable belief that they, and they
alone, are right”, set against the
tolerant, liberal-minded approach
of Dr. Williams.
Members of the CICCU really do
believe that what they’re saying is
true, and that, as a consequence,
things that contradict what they
say are not true.
Furthermore, they think that
what people believe matters, and
has profound, eternal consequences.
What people
believe
matters and
has eternal
consequences
These ideas are not, however,
founded on CICCU members’ innate
sense of superiority. Jesus Christ
himself says that he is the only
path to God: “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to
Father except through me” (John
14:6). This claim has been a core
contention of orthodox Christianity since its inception, and is, for
example, central to the doctrine of
the Church of England, written into
her creeds and confessions.
Far from having beliefs that are
“staggeringly unclear”, we stand
in an historic tradition proclaiming, alongside many others, the
truth about Jesus from the Bible:
that because of his death on a
cross some 2000 years ago, he offers to humanity the only way back
into relationship with the God we
have all rejected. This means that
if Christianity comes across as arrogant or exclusive, it is Jesus who
we must take issue with.
And it means that Christians do
not need to settle for uncertain,
fearful concepts of “faith”. Jesus
offers us great certainty about
what we believe – if he’s telling the
truth.
The claims of Jesus are based on
evidence – the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw, heard and got to
know him for themselves. Far from
asking people to swallow the claims
unthinkingly, we seek to show
them the evidence, leaving them
to make their own minds up; if
you like, we invite people to “come
and see” what Jesus is all about for
themselves.
What drives us as the CICCU,
along with many other Christians
across the globe, is an understanding that we as a human race have
not been left in the dark about
what God is like. In Jesus Christ,
there is on offer to the world a way
to know God personally.
Charlie Butler is a 3rd year History
student.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Comment|11
Should Cuba democratise?
Castro has relinquished his throne, but is democracy the answer to Cuba’s woes?
Rob
Wilkinson
I
Homerton
would be forced into
entering the free market.
I can see why this
would be attractive
to some Cubans as it
would lead to the end
of the hated trade embargo
that America absurdly insists on
imposing on Cuba, and the economy may indeed benefit as a result
of this, but the question we must
ask is “at what cost?”
Democratising Cuba on the US’s
terms would lead to Cuba no longer being the symbol of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism that it
has come to be but rather
just another market state
for America to impose
its own version of a gelatinous homogenised
society upon. I would
advise Cuba not to take
this course, and to instead continue to trade with South
American states such as Venezuela
and Bolivia.
Having said that, I do acknowledge that some institutional democratisation would be extremely beneficial to Cuba as, reinforcing the
separation of powers and holding
elections more often would create
the necessary checks and balances
to guard against potential tyranny
from the state, without having to abandon
the commitment to a left
wing agenda as well.
Essentially it is a choice not up
to America, or the world, or me,
but rather the Cuban people. As it
happens, Castro is still very popular
in Cuba, but there is a new agitation for reform, especially given the
economic situation, and as a result,
Image: Dan Strange
n many ways, when Fidel
Castro retired last week
after 49 years in power and
600 or so attempts on his
life, the immediate consequences were, to the sensationalists of the press at least,
anticlimactic.
For the last decade or so, political commentators in the West,
notably those on the right of the
political spectrum, have predicted a
political crisis in Cuba upon Castro’s
departure a sudden uprising and a
violent desire for change, similar to
that seen when Marshal Tito died in
Yugoslavia.
Of course, these predictions are
extremely unrealistic as Cuba is a
relatively stable nation-state compared to the artificially created Yugoslavia, but we are nevertheless
likely to see some soul-searching in
the Cuban zeitgeist in this post-Castro age, and one of the political hot
potatoes will surely be the question
of whether to adopt democracy.
The US has of course demanded
democratisation, shouting the usual neo-liberal platitudes and rhetoric about ‘freedom’ and democracy’s
inherent superiority as a system,
while at the same time tempering
it with some good old 50s style
rhetoric about the red menace, just
so the rednecks don’t think they’re
going soft on the “commies”.
Tone apart, you might ask, what
do you have against democracy? My
direct answer is nothing, I think
government by the people and the
principle of free and frequent elections is a fine thing, and I think
Cuba would benefit from democratisation if we are talking about the
purely institutional aspects (separation of powers, free press, free
political association etc).
The trouble is that this is not
what America means by democracy.
To America, democratisation invariably also means economic liberalisation, and that would be extremely
bad for Cuba.
As a communist state (however
imperfect it may be), living in Cuba
offers its citizens many advantages,
with wide ranging welfare programmes, great social equality and
one of the best healthcare systems
in the world (far better than the
corrupt and avaricious system present in America).
Liberalisation would threaten
all these things as services would
be sold off and privatised, workers
would be laid off and the country
when and if democracy is instituted
Cuba shall have to be careful that
the negative liberty that accompanies it (free press etc) will be
gained without losing the positive
liberty of a protective and socially
conscious state.
Robert Wilkinson is a 2nd year SPS
student.
Vote Yes in the CUSU Constitutional Referendum
Mark
Fletcher
Jesus
T
his week you will be
able to vote on who
will be next year’s Executive Officers of the
Cambridge University Students’ Union
(CUSU). Alongside the battles for
the individual posts, you will have
the opportunity to approve the proposed new Constitution for CUSU.
We urge you to vote yes.
In 2006 a review was commissioned to look into how CUSU works
internally and how it connects with
its constituents. After much consultation, the review led to largescale restructuring proposals, put
together by the Development and
Planning Committee (DPC) in 2007.
These proposals were warmly welcomed by the then members of
CUSU Council, and were put to a
vote alongside last year’s election.
Unfortunately, despite a ratio of 9:1
votes in favour, that referendum
failed to reach quorum as too many
people who voted abstained or only
registered a vote in the CUSU elections, not the referendum.
Over the past year, CUSU has
been able to implement many of
the most substantial proposals from
the DPC’s plan through changes in
its Standing Orders. The proposed
team structure has been implemented, restructuring the part
time executive into groups specialising in certain policy areas or
service activities, including Access
and Funding, Ethical Affairs and
Green Campaigns, and Educational
Issues. This has made it easier for
students to get involved in CUSU,
and for CUSU to operate efficiently;
it makes clear the lines of responsibility within the organisation and
allows CUSU to specialise in certain
areas. Faculty Reps have also been
incorporated into CUSU’s structure,
to help it reflect the role that faculties and departments play in students’ lives in Cambridge.
Many of these changes are undeniably internal and their effect
on student welfare is not always
direct. They help CUSU to act ef-
fectively behind the scenes. Whilst
they may seem of little significance
outside of CUSU circles, these are
the first steps towards making your
Students’ Union a more effective,
visible organisation. To continue
this process there is still an underlying need to change the Constitution. Many parts of the current
Constitution are internally contradictory, presenting difficulties in
its interpretation and application.
There are also questions about the
legality of the Constitution as it
currently stands; senior members
of the University have advised that
changing the Constitution is a necessity.
The changes proposed in the new
Constitution are not controversial.
Nor are they politically charged.
They are a simple case of tidying
up the loose bits of the rules of our
Union. These proposals have been
around for over a year without any
serious opposition. Now we are
asking you to help your Students’
Union add a final seal of approval
to them.
These are not the sexiest reasons to go out and vote this week.
A change of Constitution is of little
direct importance to the vast majority of students in Cambridge.
Have your say by voting online on
Monday or Tuesday, or in the paper
ballot on Wednesday. Support the
new constitution by voting yes.
It is essential
to improve
and expand
the Students’
Union
The new Constitution is supported
by the following JCR Presidents:
Dan Jalapour - Queen’s
Yi-Xun Tan - Sidney Sussex
Josh Jowett - Homerton
Lucy McMahon - King’s
Pilar Garrard - Peterhouse
Joe Farish - Trinity
David Lock - Trinity Hall
Harry Bullivant - Churchill
Lucie Fortune - Jesus
Iain Barr - Robinson
David Clinton - St Catharine’s
E-mail questions about changes
to the new Constitution to [email protected].
Mark Fletcher is CUSU President. He
studied Land Economy.
It is, however, essential to those
who are looking to improve and
expand the Students’ Union into a
body of which all Cambridge students can be proud. The proposed
changes provide the opportunity
to solve CUSU’s internal problems
and allow it to transition from an
introspective body into one focussing full-time on the ever-growing
list of issues that affect students in
Cambridge. We urge you not to abstain from this referendum; we do
not wish to see these problems and
solutions resurface in a year’s time.
MICHA LMAS
The
CambridgeStudent
Editorial
team
Applications for all positions on the Michaelmas editorial team are now
open. Visit www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/apply to find out more.
Applications to [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Sky’s man in
Westminster
Interview|13
Adam Boulton talks to Amy Blackburn about his career, the state of
modern politics and what it was like to doorstep the Queen
W
hat first made
you want to
become involved in
media?
I grew up in
London in the 1960s, and was aware
as a very small child that people
were behaving in different ways to
the way they had behaved before.
People had landed on the moon,
and my teenage years were the time
of Greenham Common and the end
of the Cold War standoffs. On one
hand, we had a sort of benevolent
view of the United States, but on
the other hand we were bring told
on a daily basis that the country
was run by maniacs who wanted to
‘I failed to
realise this
was television
and journalism
history’
involve us all in a nuclear holocaust.
I think that peaked my curiosity, if
you like.
What was your first job after
graduating from Oxford?
Well, when I finished at Oxford, I basically had the choice of either going to a journalism training scheme
in Cardiff, or, as it happened, I did
a postgraduate degree in America,
in Washington. I did that because I
wanted to find out more about the
world before I started to cover it as
a journalist.
I was lucky that when I came
back from America I got a temporary
job working for BBC External Affairs,
which is which was basically writing
scripts to be translated into the various languages that they broadcasted
in on the World Service. I had the job
of writing about British and American politics, which sounds like a big
job but actually it was the most junior one because people were much
more interested in Africa, Eastern
Europe, Russia, and then occasionally they might want to know what
was happening in America.
What has been the hardest interview you’ve ever had to do?
Well, the worst interview I’ve ever
done was with an actress called Sarah
Miles, when I asked her if her autobiography was true and she started
crying. So, that was quite difficult.
Sometimes with politicians you do
an interview with them and you
know that they’re really in a hole
that they’re not going to get out of;
one thinks of Iain Duncan Smith, or
Ming Campbell more recently.
You have to say to them, “you’re
finished, aren’t you? You’re not going to get out of this”, and you
know them as human beings, you
know that they probably think that
but you know they can’t say it until they’re ready, so that sometimes
can be awkward.
I also think that the most difficult interviews are one where you
feel that the person you’re talking to
is not really listening to what you’re
saying, they’re just repeating what
they’re saying in a robotic fashion.
You have to be prepared to challenge
them, to try and get them engaged,
to shock them, and so sometimes
you’re more forceful than you might
instinctively be.
You’re known as the only reporter
to have doorstepped the Queen on
live television…
It’s a long time ago now, it was in
1987. It was at a commonwealth
conference and the Queen, who’s
the head of the commonwealth,
used to come around and visit the
media area. To be honest, I just
thought, well, I’ll film it, because I
was working for a company called
TV-AM then, and I thought my boss
would like to see it. I asked what
the restrictions were, and they said
no lights, but it was a very well-lit
area so it didn’t matter and we could
have cameras and microphones.
So I set it up, and the Queen
came along, stuck her head outside
the door and said, “hello”. It was
just then I realised, she’d paused
for a moment, and I knew that she
could see the camera, she could see
everything. There was an instance
where I thought there was going to
be an awkward silence, so I better
say something.
The big story at the time was that
Fiji was leaving the commonwealth,
because it had been through a military coup. I said that she must be
upset about Fiji, and she said, “oh
yes, I am a bit upset”. The whole
thing took about twenty seconds,
and even after I’d done it I failed to
realise that this was television and
journalism history.
Do you feel that British politics
at the moment is lacking in dynamism?
I think we’re coming to the end of a
period in which one party has been
extremely dominant, and where
Tony Blair was a dominant figure
not just domestically but globally.
On one level it might look a little
bit lacklustre to people at the moment, but I think we’re actually in
a tremendously interesting period
in politics, having had this period
of hegemony for ten years or longer.
Now, everything is coming back into
play.
I think all the parties are scratching around for the new narrative, the
new initiatives, the new approach to
the voters and indeed the new voters. In many ways, I think it’s more
interesting than it has been for a
long time, although I don’t think
that the heartbeats of the British
public will begin to quicken until
we get closer to an election. But I
do think the next election will be a
really good one, probably the best
we’ve had since 1992.
Do you think the next British
election will capture the public
imagination the way the current
American election has done?
Only if people think it’s close, because at present [in the US] you’ve
effectively only got two choices, so
it’s always possible to elect whoever
the candidates are. In a parliamen-
tary system, one party can be so
dominant that it doesn’t really matter.
The second point is, it depends on
how bold the candidates are, but
the fact of the matter is we’ve had
at least three elections now where
both sides decided to play it very
safe, and basically play to their core
constituencies, keeping things back
until after the election. If the politicians are prepared to trust people by
letting it all hang out, then I think
it will be a fascinating election.
Do you think the media are accountable to anyone?
I mean, we’re legally accountable,
to the courts; you can get sued. In
television, we’re accountable to the
regulators, which are probably the
biggest single influence on what
we do, you know, Ofcom in our case
and the BBC trustees in their case.
But also, I think we’re accountable to the general public. If you
own a communications business,
the people you are communicating
to will react very quickly. If they
think you’ve done something wrong,
they’ll certainly tell you about it.
Under what circumstances do you
think journalists and politicians can
interact most successfully?
There’s an obvious synergy in as
much as politicians want to communicate and we want to tell people
what they’re saying. That’s where
we come together. Our instinct is to
challenge politicians once they’ve
said what they want to do. That’s
where we diverge.
‘I asked
her if her
autobiography
was true and
she cried’
Do you think the developments
in the relationship between New
Labour and the media were inevitable?
I think the Labour Party generally
had to overcome a great deal of hostility and very, very bruised feelings.
They had to put a lot of effort into
courting us.
As Tony Blair and his family were
leaving 10 Downing Street after
he stepped down, Cherie Blair
famously told the assembled reporters that “we won’t miss you”.
Do the media miss Tony Blair?
It’s news, you know, there’s always
something new. You get into the
habit of covering people. As far as
people like the Blairs go, it’s just
like having new characters in The
Archers. It takes time to work them
in.
Was Tony Blair a more dynamic
politician to cover than, say, Gordon Brown? Yes he was, and in
that sense one misses him, but in
another sense we don’t know what
tomorrow’s going to bring.
Cambridge University
Students’ Union
Ents
Kinki
Every Tuesday at
Tuesday 4th March
Kinki presents ‘Rhino’ from
‘Gladiators’
Come and test your strength or just get
your picture taken with one of the
biggest names from the hit ITV show
Entry is £3 before 10pm
VKs are £1.50 all night along with other
selected lines
Students’ Union
Ents
Email [email protected] for
queue jump or tickets
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Rag Fashion |15
Erika Blomerus reports from the first RAG fashion show,
held at the Cambridge Union. As well as the show, the
guests enjoyed a cocktail party and a charity raffle.
Photography by James Appleton
Boudoir Femme showcased classic, feminine pieces, adding a
hint of colour with bold, graphic prints.
R
A
G
to
riches
Give 50’s inspired dresses an
injection of modern glam by
opting for a metallic finish, as
seen at the Woman’s Institute.
Miss Selfridge’s playful take on Spring’s florals was a winner, proving florals don’t have to be frumpy.
Cult proved once again that,
when it comes to trendy casuals, it can’t be beaten.
La Reve shows that red and
black lace are still unbeatable
for that seductive look.
It might be a bit too preppy for some, but the ‘jock’ look, as seen at
Dogfish, never seems to go out of style.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
16|Editorial
The
CambridgeStudent
Your Letters
Volume 10 Issue 16
Old Examination Hall, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RF
Tel: 01223 761685
CUSU and
you
The CUSU elections roll around every Lent Term, always bringing with
them the same inevitable questions
about the composition of our union
and how it relates to the students.
Candidates’ election literature tends
to be invariably scattered with the
same words, leaving voters swimming in promises of “change” and
“relevance” that can leave them
baffled about who to vote for.
This year, however, the CUSU
elections appear to have a little
bit more spark. There seems to be
a clamour for CUSU sabbatical positions this year, with Services Officer
the only uncontested sabb role. This
flood of potential officers is best
represented by the five candidates
in the running for the position of
President, all of whom have distinct
policies and positive attributes.
There is nothing vague or insubstantial about this year’s Presidential race; voters will be forced to
make a real and considered choice,
based on the direction they want
their union to take.
Perhaps we need to take some
time out and consider why student
unions, along with their officers
and executives, exist in the first
place. Representation means something different to each student, and
any attempt to distill the needs and
opinions of a diverse student body
into a single policy will invariably
meet with criticism from someone.
Nevertheless, this does not mean
that the individual officers themselves are of little importance; rather, it becomes even more imperative
to identify the candidates who will
best serve the needs of both the
majority and minorities.
The truth is that the vast majority of students, in all universities, could stand to become more
involved in their union. CUSU may
never be truly representative of all
aspects of the Cambridge student
population, but with this year’s
greater choice of candidates, there
is far more scope for students to
make an informed decision based
on their own beliefs. Vote.
Puzzles
Across
1) One with technical vocabulary
doesn’t exactly coin trite neologism. (13)
8) Yes mother, I will listen to religious leader. (4)
9) Needless to say, after gift of
gold, these are my favourite relatives. (5)
10) The stuff in that egg he eats
has a pungent smell. (4)
11) Strict dieting is hardly saving
me. (8)
12) Hit switch in darkened room
to create conditions of daylight.
(6)
13) Copied plans for electrical
device after clients became confused. (10)
16) Reads Roman poet, or Virgil,
in declensions first. (4)
17) Clean drama? (4)
18) Getting spent trams ready is
just one aspect of this person’s
work. (10)
20) A cunning ruse is effected to
fool magazine publisher, amongst
others. (6)
22) The Basque one would need
to be fluent in ETA lingo to build
bridges. (8)
24) Denim wearing tribe. (4)
25) Splattering wayward gnat
with a fly swatter makes this
noise. (5)
26) Despite retreat, deem eligible
for a reward. (4)
27) I am slyly mixing surround
sound to obtain harmonious
sounding music. (13)
European University at St
Petersburg
administrative and educational institutions in Russia.
Dear colleagues,
By now many of you will have
heard about the situation at the
European University in St Petersburg (EUSPb). The university has
been suddenly closed by the Russian authorities due to a reputed
“violation of fire codes”. The classes
have been suspended indefinitely
and the rooms have been sealed by
fire marshals.
The University faculty and students, whom many of you know
as colleagues and friends, have
appealed to us, the international
academic community, to write collective letters to support the university and to urge the authorities
to reopen it.
There have been many speculations as to the real reasons for the
closure of this university, known
for its high level of scholarship
and independent social and political analysis.
You can read about these various theories and explanations on
our the Live Journal web site (and
also here: http://www.guardian.
co.uk/world/2008/feb/12/russia
— and here: http://www.sptimes.
ru/story/24991).
However, colleagues at EUSPb
have asked us “not to politicize”
the situation, in order to avoid
creating more problems. Right now
time is an issue – this is the middle
of the semester at EUSPB, as elsewhere –and we must act quickly.
We have written a petition,
and invite all of you who agree
with its content to sign it. The
text of the petition is provided at
http://www.gopetition.com/online/17080.html.
We plan to collect as many
signatures as we can in a speedy
fashion and send this petition to
Alexei Yurchak
Department of Anthropology,
University of California, Berkeley
Michele Rivkin-Fish
Department of Anthropology,
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill
Music to your ears
Dear Sir and Madam,
I
much
enjoyed
Saul
Glasman’s review of the NME
Awards Tour (Music, volume 10
issue 15). His writing is consistently amusing and informative. I swear I laughed out loud
at least 3 times.
Adi Jacob
Jesus College
We love rugby puns
Dear Sir and Madam,
I greatly enjoyed reading last
week’s match report of the rugby fixture between John’s and
Christ’s. I wonder if perhaps the
article could be re-run with the
same picture and the headline
“Unimpressive tackle”.
Kathryn Pearson
St Catharine’s College
Corrections & Clarifications
The Cambridge Student endeavours to be as accurate as possible in its reporting. It is possible for inadvertent errors to
creep in and we are very happy
to issue corrections. Please e-mail
us at [email protected].
The Team
Down
1) Anger and emotional violence
like the kind Miranda possesses.
(15)
2) A drink before graduating
will lead to dancing. (5)
3) Shows uselessness by concocting a rubbish tiny alibi. (9)
4) One mole was knocked out by
potent wine and honey mixture.
(7)
5) Sister gets open access to
drinking hole. (5)
6) Quick, use ion gun to fire! It’s
an incredibly candid plan, and
almost a very clever one. (9)
7) Faltering voice edited hymn
to create a poetic masterpiece.
(3,6,6)
14) Planetary material? (9)
15) Old Italian leader haphazardly goes about sorcery which
turns him into a manipulative
and populist type. (9)
19) Has to be taught about
Shakespearean king at nightschool from scratch. (7)
21) Disgusting person excreting
waste causes one to vomit. (5)
23) Army initially meets in Lahore before moving south to
tame these tigers. (5)
Editors Amy Blackburn and Sven Palys [email protected] Thursday Editor Ryan
Roark [email protected] Assistant Editor Jonathan Laurence assistant-editor@
tcs.cam.ac.uk Subeditor Owen Kennedy [email protected] News Editor
Catherine Watts [email protected] Deputy News Editors Noor Al-Bazzaz, Carly
Hilts, Jennifer Shaw and Katie Spenceley International News Editor Alex CokeWoods [email protected] Design Editor Marsha Vinogradova design@
tcs.cam.ac.uk Deputy Design Dmitriy Myelnikov [email protected] Comment
Editors Daniel Heap and Anthea Thompson [email protected] Investigations
Editor Sarah Smith [email protected] Deputy Investigations Hayley
Edwards [email protected] Interviews Editors Caroline Organ and Anna
Machin [email protected] Features Editor Jess Banham [email protected].
ac.uk Deputy Features Olivia Wilkinson [email protected] Fashion Erika
Blomerus, Amy Mulvenna and Lili Sarnyai [email protected] Science Editor Mico
Tatalovic [email protected] Arts & Literature [email protected] Food &
Drink Editor Stefan Porter [email protected] Theatre Editor Hannah Fair theatre@
tcs.cam.ac.uk Deputy Theatre Jessi Savage-Hanford [email protected] Film
Editors Nick Day and Emma Dibdin [email protected] Assistant Film Fred Rowson
[email protected] Music Editors Elizabeth Dodd and Saul Glasman music@tcs.
cam.ac.uk Sport Editors Ali Jaffer, Faisal Nasim and Tom Woolford [email protected].
ac.uk Puzzles Editor Danny McMillan Photo Editor James Appleton Board of
directors Robert Palmer (Chair), Simon Burdus (Business), Adam Colligan (Services), Amy
Blackburn, Sven Palys, Catherine Watts and Matt Horrocks [email protected]
NEWSPAPERS
SUPPORT
RECYCLING
Recycled paper made up
80.6% of the raw material for
UK newspapers in 2006
NEWSPAPERS SUPPORT
RECYCLING
The Cambridge Student is published by Cambridge University Students’ Union. All copyright is the exclusive
property of the Cambridge University Students’ Union. The Cambridge Student also publishes the magazine
THURSDAY. Although The Cambridge Student is affiliated to the University Students’ Union (CUSU), we are editorially independent and financially self-sufficient.
No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or submitted in any form or by any
means, without prior permission of the publisher.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Manifestos|17
Richard
Braude
for CUSU President
Turnout at the last CUSU election was shockingly low, despite electronic voting. By standing for CUSU President and offering real change,
I hope to invigorate Cambridge students to vote and make CUSU really representative. Unlike past elections, I am a real choice for real change to CUSU.
CUSU does have legitimate roles, but it needs to be slimmed down. We need to recognise that some monies can be better spent elsewhere.
I will stop wasting money to reduce the budget. Vote for change for CUSU: Change we can believe in. Our moment is now.
CUSU has increased in size for too long. I urge all students to look at CUSU’s budget
for last year to see how many things could easily be scrapped and how many tens of
thousands of pounds of our money would be saved. There are many things CUSU
provides which are good: the access scheme, the minibuses, etc. But what I outline in
this manifesto is less than half of what could be scrapped without being missed.
Abolish the claim that all students at Cambridge University are automatically
members of CUSU. CUSU should charge a nominal membership fee, or be opt-in, to
see who really wants it.
Disaffiliate from the unrepresentative National Union of Students and save £10,000.
Thus get rid of “No Platform” policies. Except maybe a No Platform policy against the
NUS, to stop them spreading their extremist ideology.
Abolish affiliation fees to College JCRs and MCRs and save them £80,000.
End almost all CUSU campaigns or make them entirely independent:
CUSU Women's Union should be made an independent University society and
renamed Cambridge University Women's Union. Similarly, there is no reason for
CUSU International to be run by CUSU. It should be made independent.
CUSU LGBT spends most of its £2000 budget on booze and cake. It should be made
independent and made to raise its own money. Your money should not be spent on
garden parties, bouncy castles and rainbow cake (£90 for a single cake).
Scrap: The Ethical Affairs Team (College JCRs do just fine), the CUSU
membership card, the Freshers’ Guide, the Cambridge (Survival) Guide, the
CUSU Diary, Re:fresh, and the Alternative Prospectus.
Not produce a Freshers’ Guide next year. Colleges and JCRs provide freshers
with useful information, and the Freshers’ Guide doesn’t add anything. It’s a
waste of paper and a waste of money we can do without.
Abolish “Awareness” campaigns. We’re quite aware enough, thank you, and
certainly don’t need our money spent to make us more “aware”.
Abolish the Black Students’ Campaign. It does nothing colleges don’t do already.
Redundant.
Stop the Student Union Building campaign.
Abolish the anti-racism, education, green and rents campaigns.
Colleges handle this just fine, and coordination is not needed: CUSU is
redundant.
Keep (amongst other things):
TCS: It makes a profit, so it's not a waste of tax money.
CUSU Ents: they make a profit.
The Societies Fair: Really useful and it makes a profit.
The Careers Guide / Careers Handbook: it makes a profit.
None of these societies should be given any more money: if they want to keep
producing their pamphlets, they'll have to do it themselves.
We need to reclaim our union. I want to lead students in using it for the
progress of the student body. In the past year, the financial security of CUSU has
been ensured. We now need to take the next step and ensure the relevance and
effectiveness of our union. Our University has extraordinary democratic
opportunities: we must use them.
I have experience as a representative for students in my faculty, on my JCR Exec
and on the CUSU Exec. But all this experience means nothing in comparison with
the potential of your passion and energy. Working together we can make change
in our University and beyond.
Student involvement first
Working together in solidarity
The key to an effective Union is its
members. Communication must work both
ways between the Exec and the students.
We must not rely on Sabbatical Officers
alone: only by working together, will we
reach our full potential as a Union.
Policy CUSU Ents need to be seriously
rethought. Students should be involved in all
aspects of these nights. Our student body is
a diverse one, and Ents should demonstrate
our artistic and cultural range.
Policy
The internet is appallingly
underused by CUSU. While our university
may sometimes seem stuck in another
century, our union doesn’t have to be. We
shouldn’t be content with websites nobody
checks. Email lists, blogs and social
networking can make CUSU accessible and
– dare we say it – popular.
Encouraging political campaigners, activists
and the autonomous campaigns – LBGT,
Women’s, Black Students‘ and International
Students‘ Campaigns - to work together on
the ideas that matter to students: equal
access to an education of which we can be
proud.
Policy Bi-termly meetings with Sixth Form
Student Unions, as well as representatives of
lecturers and other non-unionised college and
university staff.
Policy Being ready to embrace the NUS if it
improves and, if it fails, working outside of it,
with other Student Unions, to ensure a vocal
and visible student movement.
Towards an ethical university
I will help JCRs and MCRs talk with college
authorities, working towards reasonable,
progressive ethical investment policies and a
greener university.
Policy I will be in the room with you while you
talk to bursars, making sure that you are not
intimidated and that you have the information
that you need.
Policy Being ready to campaign passionately
on issues about which CUSU’s members are
united: matters of human rights, liberation and
equality.
Free education
Next year will be a fundamental turning point
for the student movement. The Government
will be reviewing tuition fees, and CUSU
needs to be there, leading the argument for
free education.
Policy Lobbying the University authorities,
including the Vice-Chancellor, to put
pressure on the government for better,
unconditional funding, not higher tuition
fees.
Policy Publicising and prioritising the
campaign against fees, building protests on
both a local and national level.
For more information and
the CAMPAIGN BLOG visit -
www.richardbraude.com
re–elect
markfletcher
a s cu s u p r e s i d e n t
Basit Kirmani
CUSU
for
The
President
Student Unity – Let's Come Together!
The Union's job must be to ensure that people
from the entire University can come together
and unite for common purposes - whether it is for
social events, charitable and political causes or
simply to 'hang out'. A CUSU building is a must we must continue to campaign for one!
Revolutionary
Evolution. . .
A Prestigious and Active Student
Union…
"What does CUSU do for me?" should be a
question of the past. Too often students at
Cambridge do not feel as though they have a
body that represents them. There should be
ample opportunity for students to get involved
with the Union and its affairs. Student
participation should be promoted and
encouraged and Student's should feel that the
Union is there to back them in a time of crisis!
From exam stress to relationship problems or
simply a social concern… CUSU should be
there to support!
Access – University For All...
Cambridge has an elitist reputation which we
must fine tune! Whereas we are proud to
have some of the brightest students in the
world, students from all social and economic
backgrounds should be encouraged to
apply!
The Environment – Our Responsibility!
We must NOT ignore the environment. We must
ALL take responsibility and CUSU MUST increase
awareness and take action to tackle issues to
preserve our environment!
CUSU - A Social and Political Body
We must be an active Student Union that is not
afraid to get involved in Political affairs where
necessary. At the end of the day, we are
Cambridge University. When we talk, people
take notice. CUSU must build ties with the
media!
Charity – Giving back to the Community
●The Citizen's Foundation
●South Asian Earthquake Relief
●Breast Cancer Research Foundation
●Meningitis Research Foundation
●Sahara for Life Trust
I have helped to raise over £100,000 for these
charities over the last four years. CUSU must also
support charitable causes.
Ethnic Minorities and Student Welfare
CUSU should play an active role to make every
student in Cambridge feel at home away from
home. The welfare of all our students is an integral
part of the Union's role and the Union should not
be afraid to take action for is members as and
when necessary!
Non-alcoholic Entertainment
Alcohol is everywhere! Whether at bops and ents,
or pub crawls or quizzes! There must be more
social events that do not exclude those who do
not drink or simply more alcohol-free nights out!
My Relevant Experiences...
CU Pakistan Society President 2007/08**Founder of
National Union of Pakistani Students and Alumni, 2008**
Armaan- Asian Cultural Extravaganza Event Coordinator**Queens' College Cricket Captain**Mastana
2007 Performer** India-Soc Committee Member** Islamic
Society Member** Project Co-ordinator for One Day
National Fast 2006/07 **Television Host on Media
Channel Vectone **Independent Journalist, for The
Independent on Sunday**Student Volunteer for Charities
Why you should vote for me:
First and foremost I am a very friendly person who is willing
to listen to others. I have a passion for change for the sake of
progress. I feel that my hard-working nature and creativity
combined with my innate desire for justice will help serve the
students in the best possible way. I helped to revolutionize
and improve the CU Pakistan Society and now I want to help
the wider Cambridge Student population! A vote for me is a
vote for sustainable and progressive change – Make the
right choice!
Feel free to get in touch [email protected]
Let's Change Today... For a Better Tomorrow...
The Time is NOW!
improving internal workings
continuing access and funding
- I want to appoint a General manager this summer to
take CUSU’s day-to-day running from sabbatical
officers, so they can focus purely on student issues.
- I want to appoint of a full time caseworker, to
improve the welfare support already offered to many
students across the University.
- I want to vote ‘yes’ to the proposed constitution:
this tidying up exercise will improve the internal
workings of your students’ union.
- I want to search, with the Ethical Affairs Chair, for
external funding to support a new sabbatical position
that focuses on our Green campaigns.
- I will continue to push the University for a block
grant, so CUSU has the funds it deserves and needs.
- We must work with the University to advertise our
exceptional bursary scheme much more effectively
amongst both prospective and current students, and
reduce last year’s £500,000 under-spend.
- We must particularly continue to educate teachers
and parents about Cambridge, as they so often hold
the key to unlocking fears about applying.
- We must also work with the NUS, forming a coherent
and valid argument to take to the government when
the issue of fees is reviewed in 2009.
education
I want to push forward with CUSU’s campaign for
anonymous class lists. Students should be given a
choice, not forced into having their exam results
displayed publicly. Also, Cambridge currently undertalking to you
spends and under-provides on journals and library
CUSU needs to reach out to those students not
provisions: CUSU needs to push the University, to
involved in student politics. Not everyone will be
make sure we don’t fall behind other institutions.
interested, but we should make them aware of what
their union does for them. I would amend CUSU’s
lowering rents
bulletin policy and push the University to let us e-mail
We need to continue fighting extortionate rent
students directly. I would attend more College Open
increases in Cambridge Colleges, finding new ways to
meetings, giving you more opportunity to ask
equip JCRs and MCRs in this area.
questions and hold your union to account. Finally I
would create a new termly newsletter, so you know
improving public transport
what CUSU’s done, and what is planned for the future.
I would work alongside and exert more pressure on
both Stagecoach and the Universities in Cambridge to
representing graduates
get all students the discount scheme they deserve.
Graduates are still under-represented by CUSU,
despite many efforts this year to include them. I would the need for a strong cusu
get MCRs more involved in CUSU on a daily basis, This year CUSU has changed how its part time
both through more informal links, and a new Graduate executive works, moved into new, central offices
specific Presidents and Externals meeting. I’d also and re-established good working relationships with
explore creating a graduate autonomous campaign. JCR committees across Cambridge. Now we need
to reach out to the wider student body, build on the
expanding ents
stability of this year and establish a management
CUSU Ents has had a difficult few years. Our current structure that allows the day-to-day running of the
nights need reinvigorating, but we must also move organisation to be done by a professional.
beyond club nights and diversify in areas like plays, There are many things college organisations can’t
live music and comedy. Ents shouldn’t just be based do when it comes to student representation. The
around alcohol, so that all students can get involved.
need for a strong, central and experienced union
supporting clubs and societies
Cambridge’s central sports facilities are hugely
inadequate, and I would put the required pressure on
the University to resurrect the plans for a sports
centre on the West Cambridge site. I also believe
CUSU should provide more logistical support and
training for sports teams and societies, and expand
the amount of equipment available for hire.
shouldn’t only be evident when things go wrong in
the University, instead we should be pro-active,
and take our agenda to the University.
my experience
CUSU President 2007-08 ¥ Jesus JCR President 2006
University Council Rep. ¥ JCSU Welfare Officer 2005 ¥
Jesus Mayball Co-President 2007 (Through the
Looking Glass)
¥
Trained Peer Supporter
eoijeoijthrihriho
markfletcher experienced and committed
[email protected]
telephone: 07739013558
p
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
18|Manifestos

for CUSU Academic Affairs Officer
The experienced
candidate who
knows how to achieve
the best results
 JCR President 2007, Treasurer 2006. Vocal
member of numerous College Committees, including
Council. Success in student representation, welfare
and reforming outdated College policies.
 CUSU Chair and its representative to two
University Committees. Used to dealing with
obstinate academics and working to improve CUSU.
What will I do?
 Represent all members of CUSU, both
undergraduate and graduate, with
honesty, integrity and a non-political
approach.
 Encourage JCRs, MCRs, & Faculty
Reps, give them the tools to improve their
Colleges and Faculties.
 Campaign for study skills training and
better information about avoiding
plagiarism.
 Call for mandatory, high quality,
supervisor training.
 Request exam feedback, anonymous
class lists and an end to Saturday exams.
 Provide casework which is relevant,
confidential and accessible to anyone who
needs help.
How will I do it?
 Foster alliances within the University
and use CUSU's leverage to apply
pressure and improve services for
students.
 Offer training to College Officers and
Faculty Reps, support their campaigns,
give advice, facilitate communication
and share best practice.
 Develop long-term education policy
through the Learning & Teaching Strategy.
 Encourage all departments to make
better use of online resources like
CamTools.
 Work with the CUSU Executive, and
especially the Education Team, to achieve
real and lasting change.
Ant Bagshaw: ready to work for YOU
For more details, contact me: apb57, 07809 625622
WILL WEARDEN
for Academic Affairs Officer
TAKING OWNERSHIP OF OUR EDUCATION. TOGETHER
FIGHTING FEES
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS OFFICERS
We have a right to a free education. I will coordinate
an effective campaign to defeat tuition fees by:
 Using my position to put pressure on the
University to supply a free education.
 Coordinating with other Student Unions to put
pressure on Government to scrap tuition fees.
 Working within the Aldwych Group (Russell Group
Student Unions) to put pressure on MPs to speak
against the Government’s Tuition Fee Policy.
Academic Affairs cannot be tackled alone. I will
improve the effectiveness of Academic Affairs work by:
 Leading the CUSU Education Network to help
represent educational issues at all levels.
 Supplying training and support for all Faculty and
College Academic Affairs Officers.
 Empowering College Student Unions and Faculty
Forums in their campaigns.
 Taking College/Faculty issues to the top.
SAVING SMALL SUBJECTS
IMPROVING CAMBRIDGE LIFE
Small subjects are at risk from funding cuts. I will
lead student campaigns to save small subjects by:
 Fighting to save and restore subjects already under
threat, such as Sanskrit, Hindi, and Computer
Science.
 Fighting against further squeezes and cuts that
may come about in future from funding reviews
and the impending Research Assessment Exercise
report.
 Supporting Academic Staff in lobbying the
University maintain funding in other subjects such
as History of Art and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and
Celtic.
The CUSU Executive and College Student Unions,
MCRs and JCRs must work together to campaign for
a better Cambridge. I will campaign with your student
representatives to improve life in Cambridge by:
 Supporting the Welfare Team in promoting
important issues such as Mental Health.
 Supporting College JCRs and Unions to fight for
better catering, accommodation, and library
facilities.
 Supporting a diverse range of social events:
including non-alcoholic and daytime events.
 Fighting to minimise the pressure Colleges put on
students.
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
COMMUNICATING WITH YOU
Students often need individual support in Academic
Affairs in Cambridge. I will work to help people with
the procedures of exam appeals, degrading,
changing supervisor… by:
 Finding ways for students to submit requests for
support anonymously.
 Treating all casework with the highest levels of
understanding,
professionalism,
and
confidentiality.
 Being available twenty-four seven to provide
advice and support for any student.
 I will improve CUSU’s on-line resources for
students and supervisors.
ABOUT ME
I have the organisation skills to meet my manifesto
promises: As President of the Union Society, I managed a
large budget and a team of volunteers and staff.
I have already worked with the top bodies of the
University: I will be able to negotiate with the top people
in the University to make learning better for you.
I will be good with Casework: I understand what it
requires to be good at dealing with individual support
cases. I am discreet, personable, and patient.
CUSU needs to communicate with the Student Body.
The best way to improve life in Cambridge is by
engaging students in the work that CUSU is doing. I
will improve CUSU’s communication by:
 Working with Student Papers to communicate
news on CUSU work in Print.
 Ensuring weekly e-mail bulletins get to you, telling
you about CUSU, and how it can help you.
 Helping college and faculty reps implement
similar initiatives.
 Telling you what your University is doing for you.
 Telling you about how you can get involved in
changing
Cambridge
for
the
better.
ELECTION INFORMATION
Polls will be open:
ONLINE Monday 3rd March 2008 until
Tuesday 4th March 2008 at 8pm
th
PAPER Wednesday 5 March 2008
Six Hours – To be announced by College JCRs and
Student Unions
INFO For more information, go to the CUSU elections
site: http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/elections
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Manifestos|19
Charlotte Richer
re-elect for
CUSU Access Officer
- re-elect for experience and ideas CUSU Shadowing Scheme
Target Visits
This year, I expanded the Shadowing Scheme, increasing
applications by 200 and places by 30%.
I established a ‘target pack’ to inform, advise and assist Target
volunteers and improve the ease and quality of Visits.
I want to track participants in the Scheme to evaluate its success I redesigned the Target database, so that it really ‘targets’
with more than just anecdotal evidence.
schools, prioritising those in most need of a visit.
I will use my experience to refine the application process to
ensure we reach those who the Scheme will most benefit.
I will drive Target Visits in the summer to increase our cover,
gather meaningful feedback and maintain contact with schools.
Media and Publicity
Open Days
I have forged strong links with various media and public
relations outlets, leading to a feature article on CUSU Access in
the Guardian as well as various local press articles.
I extended the Open Days, running a new series in September
and gaining national coverage.
The media often controls people’s impressions of Cambridge
and it is imperative that we are proactive in putting out
positive messages. CUSU is exceptionally well placed to lead
this: I will use my knowledge and connections to develop our
media presence and generate interest in our events.
I will continue to drive the Open Days and pilot new
recruitment methods, such as social networking sites, as well as
using school mailings, personal contact and existing networks.
Applications for the March Open Days are higher than last year.
Ethnic Minorities
www.applytocambridge.com
I have revived the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority
Applications (GEEMA) with the Black Students’ Campaign.
Our website is a vital resource in our communication with
prospective students and the outside world.
I have established links with youth groups and peer mentoring
schemes to reach students outside a school environment.
I developed an ‘Ask a Student’ facility, increasing the number
of users of the website and helping allay students’ worries.
I will work with societies to develop targeted Access initiatives
to answer specific concerns , provide peer support and run
visits which show both academic and social possibilities.
I will overhaul and rewrite the website, using my experience to
provide information and advice that is genuinely useful, such as
guidance on A Level choice, choosing courses and interviews.
Alternative Prospectus
Communication and the University
I have secured greater funding in order to create a full-colour,
annual and quality publication, with an increased run.
I will try to ensure that this funding continues and improve the
method of distribution, both online and in paper form.
I will also look into various alternative methods of providing
information, including youtube video diaries and podcasts, to
offer interactive material and new media functions.
I have continued, developed and established links with JCRs,
colleges and SLOs, departments, University committees and
external groups such as Teach First and Oxford University.
It is vital for access that the University is seen to work as one
body, rather than separate entities.
I will continue to develop networks, share resources and time.
charlottericher.blogspot.com
I have the experience, knowledge and commitment to take CUSU Access to new levels: to evaluate, to expand and to develop.
If you have any questions, please contact me - email: [email protected] – mobile: 07866 168 292
Sam Wakeford for Access Officer
Electoral Label: ‘Create a new Access dimension’
My Platform
 UNIQUELY EXPERIENCED in the UNIVERSITY’S ACCESS SYSTEMS
 I spent my last year working full-time in a University department – and as
a volunteer in others – in a job responsible for outreach activities. I
thus have extensive, up-to-date, first-hand knowledge and experience
of showcasing Cambridge in a positive light and tackling apprehensions.
 I also ran the Teaching Office and administered highly successful work
and research placement schemes taking place in Cambridge and across
Europe. I therefore have an excellent track-record in organisation and
administration, and unusual familiarity with how the University is run.

I attended my local state Comprehensives and Sixth Form College here in
Cambridge – excellent schools with high Oxbridge entrance rates – so I
have personal experience of exactly how good the best state
sector support can be for university applicants. My aim is to work
towards offering this same level of support in all schools.
I ask for your support in fighting for this. We should accept
nothing short of truly fair access to Higher Education for all.
The Cambridge application process is fairer and more meritocratic than it ever
used to be, even though the prospect of interviews can still be intimidating.
But there remain significant problems with highly able sixth-form students
selecting themselves out of the process by choosing not to apply, often for
outdated, exaggerated or spurious reasons resulting from a range of
misconceptions and misplaced fears. These are largely perpetuated by the
media, but – as recent research has confirmed – teachers in many schools are
also often strikingly out of touch with the reality of a Cambridge education,
and this can be reflected in poor advice to their pupils.
However fair its admissions system, Cambridge obviously cannot offer places
to those who do not apply. It is therefore crucial that we tackle these
inaccurate opinions as comprehensively as possible to remove the barriers
preventing less advantaged pupils from giving themselves the same chance we
are all now benefiting from.
My Plan
 A NEW DIMENSION to the CUSU Shadowing Scheme to multiply
massively its effectiveness:
 I will provide support for participants to make a presentation to
schoolmates about their experience after they return home, offering
first-hand information to educate fellow pupils and prompt teachers to
rethink their own misconceptions.
 Arrange for undergraduates who live in the same area to visit them and
help prepare and deliver this presentation during our Easter Vacation.
 Deliver valuable ‘dealing with a difficult audience’ training, in
conjunction with the University, for these volunteer students.
 Further expand the Shadowing Scheme with a fourth weekend to allow
more students to take a second shadow with a weekend break between
them.
 A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH between CUSU and the University:
Multiple separate institutions, groups and individuals within the University
run a range of access and outreach activities, often entirely
independently. There is not even a mechanism to communicate with all
parts of the University running such schemes.
 I will contact departments individually to collate a database of all
University-run access and outreach activities, and work with
relevant University committees to ensure this is kept up-to-date.
 Ensure trained CUSU presence at all relevant such University-run
events.
 A MORE ASSERTIVE PUBLIC IMAGE in the face of hostile media
coverage.
 DIRECT CONTACT with schools to debunk key myths including:
 Cost of studying in Cambridge;
 Range of social backgrounds of Cambridge students;
as part of an information pack aimed directly at teachers.
 I will also address these issues more explicitly for pupils in the NEW
ALTERNATIVE PROSPECTUS.
If you have any questions, or would be interested to discuss my analysis, please feel free to get in touch: srw38 @ cam.ac.uk
For more information, visit www . Sam For Access . com
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
20|Manifestos
Re-Elect
Sound Management
Adam Colligan
Queries?
arc53@cam
adamcolligan.
wordpress.com
CUSU VP (SERVICES)
As a JCR President, society manager, and chair of CUSU’s last major reform committee, I know the value
of experienced people giving their time and skills at Cambridge, where continuity is a struggle.
After enjoying a very successful year, I want the opportunity to further develop CUSU professionally.
B
a
c
k
g
r
o
u
n
d
Selwyn JCR VP/External and JCR President: overhauled financial practices, led past a low in
participation, drastically decreased service prices while making capital expenditures
Chair, CUSU Development and Planning Committee: Spent a full year auditing CUSU’s
functioning, developed a complete overhaul of the Executive and redrafted Constitution
Outside CUSU: Inaugural treasurer of the SPS Society and inaugural managing editor of the
Cambridge Globalist; interned and then promoted in geopolitical intelligence analysis
As your Services Officer: Developed specialist knowledge and skill in dozens of independent
areas necessary to function as CUSU’s general manager, troubleshooter, and rules adviser
I have implemented the new executive structure for all CUSU activities, empowering our parttime student volunteers with the support of efficient teams and top-level resources and advice
I am working to stabilise and better control our business and Ents activities, making tough
decisions on staff and contracts and turning a £30k deficit into a net profit in a single year
I have strengthened our front-end services, with better IT administration, a new common room
database, society storage, training, usable office facilities, a CUR1350 tie-up, and soon more...
We are delivering new, more robust operating practice, communication policy, permanent
record-keeping, better compliance, and a consistent and effective CUSU message
2
0
0
8
/
2
0
0
9
2
0
0
7
/
2
0
0
8
Cycles of progress and neglect must be replaced by permanent general management, with
future officers able to focus on students. With stable income, we can achieve this within a year.
With specific experience and more planning time, CUSU events including the Societies Fair can
secure improvement where strategy lessons and best practice have failed in the past to stick.
We need to work toward the provision of democratic services for common rooms and societies
beyond the CUSU Database, including elections, regular training, and access to the right people
Behind the scenes, 12 months more skilled and experience-based work on our regulatory
compliance, legal status, and basic funding principles will reap CUSU real long-term rewards.
The Union we need doesn’t just buy new equipment or get more through the door on a club night. It
acts professionally inside and outside the University, gains the respect of its members and partners,
and attracts and retains talent and experience. I want to be the change I ask for in our Union.
KAUR ADAMSON
for Welfare
& Graduates Officer
“As a former Welfare Officer on my College JCR I have a firm understanding of various welfare issues
and know how to tackle them. My three-year experience working for CUSU LBGT (Treasurer, Reps
Co-ordinator and Socials Officer) has provided me with detailed insight into the running of CUSU. I
will work towards providing real, relevant and necessary advice to students in Cambridge.”
Mental Health
x
x
x
x
One in four students will experience a mental health problem whilst at University, yet so often
the illness goes undiagnosed.
I will promote awareness of mental health issues, so that people can seek for the help they need.
I will establish a college based counselling network to provide help and encouragement in
addition to the oversubscribed University Counselling Service.
I will organise a Mental Health Awareness Week to increase mental health awareness through
fun events.
Sexual Health
x
x
x
Many students do not take the risks associated with unprotected sex seriously enough.
I will continue to promote safer sex, organise talks and campaigns about STDs in colleges,
increase the availability of free condoms, dental dams, lubricant and pregnancy tests and to reach
out to students during club nights (Sexperts)
I will organise a Sexual Health Awareness Week and work closely with local dHIVerse to
promote greater awareness on AIDS/HIV
Working with College JCR/MCR Welfare Officers
x
x
x
x
College Welfare Officers are a vital source of information to many students and therefore need to
be trained professionally.
I will run regular College JCR/MCR Welfare Officers’ meetings and training.
I will work towards establishing, maintaining and improving Peer Support Networks in every
college.
I will undertake an accommodation survey to investigate graduate, student parent and fourthyear accommodation and to equalise the accommodation costs across Cambridge.
Personal Safety
x
x
x
The Cambridge “bubble” might seem to be a very safe place, however accidents and unpleasant
incidents take place more often that you might think
I will raise awareness on drink spiking, cycling safety, sexual harassment, assault and drug
addiction.
I will increase the availability of Attack Alarm.
KAUR ADAMSON
for Awareness, Support and Action
Re-elect ANDREA WALKO
I am the current CUSU Welfare & Graduates Officer and I love my job.
In the last year, I’ve done my best to help as many students as
possible. If you give me the chance, I will do it all over again but with
more experience and even more enthusiasm!
CAMPAIGNS
I believe… that CUSU should be leading campaigns for equal welfare provision in each college and
raising awareness of issues that affect Cambridge students.
I have… supported, led and organised Week 5, Mental Health Awareness, Sexual Health Outreach
and ‘Love your Body’ Campaigns over the past two terms, as well as planned de-stressing and
alcohol-awareness campaigns for the future. Behind the scenes I have also begun work on providing
college nurses for colleges that don’t have them, been highly involved in improving study skills
provisions for students, and worked on the student response to the Review of Graduate Education.
I will… work with student-led campaigns, providing time experience and expertise for whichever
issues students wish to tackle. I will work with the NUS on their Free Prescriptions for Students
campaign, making it relevant to Cambridge. I also promise to continue my campaign to get students
in every college access to a nurse.
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT SUPPORT
I believe… Cambridge is a stressful place to study and live. Sometimes things go wrong and that is
when CUSU is there to help!
I have… been trained as a caseworker, written CUSU policies concerning confidentiality and equal
opportunities, and dedicated myself to every student who has needed my help.
I will… continue to provide non-directional, confidential support and information, and ALWAYS make
this my priority.
COORDINATION
I believe… that the work of part-time CUSU and college officers is vital to the running of campaigns
and the provision of welfare support within the university.
I have… supported the work of college and CUSU welfare officers, organised their training and
provided both consultation and resources at any time.
I will… continue to provide leadership to the part-time officers, whilst allowing them the space and
resources to direct their own campaigns.
UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
I believe… that we should continue working with the university on schemes that will have a positive
impact on student welfare (e.g. study skills and equal opportunities for students with disabilities).
However, CUSU should not be scared of disagreeing with the university so that students’ voices may
be heard and important issues raised.
I have… used common sense and a desire to put students’ needs first when dealing with university
officials in committees and informal meetings.
I will… continue to cooperate with the university when it is beneficial to the students but let them
know that CUSU is still there to hold them to account. However, I refuse to disagree with university
officials for the sake of disagreeing with them.
Welfare & Graduates Officer
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Manifestos|21
VOTEȱEmiliaȱMelvilleȱandȱStevenȱBlandȱforȱ
ETHICALȱANDȱENVIRONMENTALȱAFFAIRSȱ
RHIAN KEYSE
For Women’s Officer
Representation:
• I want the Women’s Union to reflect the diversity of women at Cambridge, and to
appreciate that not all women face the same difficulties.
o We’ve had an active Black and Asian women’s campaign this year, and I
would continue to support it in the future – with the Black Students’
Campaign – so that the Women’s Union is truly democratic.
o I want to make the voices of LBGT women heard, and to encourage those
who self-define as female to take an active part in the Women’s Union.
o I want to raise the profile of Women’s Council, and make it an inclusive and
accessible space where all women feel that their views are listened to, not
just a few Women’s Officers.
• I would be an accessible and supportive point of contact for any woman within the
University wishing to seek advice, support, or to share ideas.
Emilia Melville 3rd Year Engineering, King’s College
Having been involved in environmental groups since my first year, including a term as president of CUECS (CU
Environmental Consulting Society), being involved in setting up the Cambridge Climate Coalition and organising
the recent climate changes conference, and being on the steering committee for the GoGreener campaign, I feel
that the role of CUSU Ethical and Environmental Affairs Chair is vital to coordinating and supporting the work of
many ethical groups in Cambridge, and that I am well placed to continue the excellent work done by our
predecessors.
Steven Bland
2nd Year Geography, St Catharine’s College
My post as JCR Environmental Officer 2007-8 and active involvement on the Go Greener Steering Committee
has given me an involved understanding of the challenges and exciting prospects ahead for real ethical and
environmental change in Cambridge. Adapting an Environmental Policy and setting up an Environmental
Committee; involving close negotiation with college authorities at St. Catharine’s, has equipped me with the
experience necessary for the Ethical Affairs Chair.
PRINCIPLES
We believe that:
x the privilege of being a student in Cambridge
University gives us an opportunity to have a
significant impact on the world, and a
responsibility to think about its ethical
consequences.
x the role of CUSU ethical and environmental
affairs is to challenge as many students as
possible to think about this impact, and to
improve the environmental and ethical
performance of the university.
AIMS:
To sustain and support a large community of
ethically active students, by:
x running social events such as film showings
and discussion groups
x developing strong working teams, both
centrally and in colleges
x being an active member organisation of the
Cambridge Climate Coalition
To develop a coherent strategy in collaboration with
other groups,
x considering our role as Cambridge students
in rising to the ethical challenges of the
wider world
x
x
x
Change:
•
I would be an active voice for change on University committees; I aim to be a
visible campaigning presence.
o Women are often not achieving as highly as men. We need to investigate
women’s broader experiences at Cambridge – not just academic ones, to
find out why. If elected, I would undertake a widespread survey and use this
evidence to put pressure on the University.
o I will strive for more support and facilities for students with caring
responsibilities, particularly student mothers. I will promote the Family
Society and meet with student parents to find out what they really want.
o I want to combat the unwillingness of colleges to deal appropriately with
pregnant students – a blanket degrading policy is not appropriate.
• Sexual violence and harassment
o Lobby Colleges for better Tutor awareness and training.
o Press the University Counselling Service to provide a sexual trauma
specialist.
• Actively fundraise for and publicise women’s organisations: local charities such as
Cambridge Rape Crisis and Cambridge Women’s Aid, and also national initiatives
such as Breast Cancer Care, and End Violence Against Women.
drawing on the academic expertise and
brainpower in Cambridge
To improve the environmental sustainability
of CUSU’s own operations.
To ensure that efforts to convert the Ethical
Affairs Chair into a Sabbatical position are
successful for the 2009-2010 tenure.
CAMPAIGNS:
Build on and strengthen current Ethical Affairs
campaigns, including
GoGreener Campaign:
x Achieving measurable reductions in Colleges’
Carbon Dioxide emissions.
x Setting up college teams to maintain the
campaigns current momentum.
Ethical Investment:
x Working with CSAAT to comprehensively
prevent College Arms Trade Investment.
x Extending the campaign to include climatechange related investment decisions.
Real food:
x Working with existing JCR student
representatives to help college catering
companies increase the availability of local,
organic, vegetarian, vegan and fair-trade
foodstuffs.
Experience:
• Women’s Union Executive Committee Welfare Officer
• Trinity Hall Women’s Officer.
• Member of the Cambridge Rape Crisis management committee, and involved in
the campaign to resurrect the centre.
• President of the Trinity Hall Southern African Fund for Education.
• Trinity Hall Amnesty International representative.
ȱ
Theȱ positionȱ ofȱ Women’sȱ Officerȱ isȱ
vitalȱ forȱ theȱ wellȬbeingȱ ofȱ students,ȱ
andȱ Iȱ willȱ bringȱ limitlessȱ dedication,ȱ
enthusiasm,ȱandȱanȱintenseȱhandsȬonȱ
approachȱ toȱ theȱ job.ȱ Iȱ amȱ devotedȱ toȱ
identifyingȱ andȱ challengingȱ obstaclesȱ
andȱ inequalitiesȱ facedȱ byȱ womenȱ inȱ
Cambridgeȱ andȱ worldwide,ȱ andȱ willȱ
doȱsoȱasȱWomen’sȱOfficer.ȱ
ȱ
Cambridgeȱ womenȱ faceȱ farȱ fewerȱ
obstaclesȱtoȱachievementȱthanȱinȱmanyȱ
otherȱplaces.ȱYetȱsomeȱinequalitiesȱstillȱ
exist:ȱȱ
H
Inȱ Cambridge:ȱ Menȱ getȱ moreȱ firstȱ
classȱ degreesȱ andȱ women’sȱ sportsȱ
societiesȱ oftenȱ getȱ lessȱ funding,ȱ
facilitiesȱandȱpublicity.ȱȱ
H
Inȱ
Society:ȱ
It’sȱ
theȱ
WU’sȱ
responsibilityȱ toȱ dealȱ withȱ societyȬ
wideȱ
issuesȱ
whichȱ
oftenȱ
disproportionatelyȱ affectȱ women:ȱ
eatingȱ disorders,ȱ sexualȱ harassment,ȱ
rape,ȱ negativeȱ bodyȱ imageȱ andȱ
objectificationȱ ofȱ womenȱ areȱ allȱ
presentȱ inȱ Cambridge,ȱ andȱ mustȱ beȱ
addressed.
Myȱ threeȱ yearsȱ inȱ Cambridgeȱ haveȱ beenȱ brimmingȱ withȱ
involvementȱinȱtheȱWomen’sȱUnion.ȱIȱhaveȱbeenȱelectedȱtoȱtheȱ
Women’sȱ Executiveȱ Committeeȱ positionsȱ ofȱ Internationalȱ
Women’sȱOfficerȱandȱGenderȱMattersȱOfficer,ȱasȱwellȱasȱtheȱ
beingȱ theȱ Newnhamȱ Collegeȱ Women’sȱ Officer.ȱ Fromȱ thisȱ
experience,ȱ Iȱ haveȱ aȱ workingȱ knowledgeȱ ofȱ theȱ Womenȇsȱ
UnionȱandȱCUSU.ȱȱ
H
Iȱ amȱ aȱ foundingȱ memberȱ andȱ coordinatorȱ ofȱ theȱ Newnhamȱ
Feministȱ Shebang,ȱ aȱ genderȱ discussionȱ groupȱ widelyȱ
attendedȱbyȱstudentsȱacrossȱtheȱUniversity.ȱ
H
ThroughȱmyȱinvolvementȱinȱCambridgeȱStudentsȱAgainstȱtheȱ
Armsȱ Trade,ȱ Iȱ haveȱ significantȱ experienceȱ organizingȱ
fundraisersȱ andȱ campaigns,ȱ includingȱ aȱ largeȬscaleȱ
demonstrationȱagainstȱcollegeȱarmsȱinvestments.ȱ
H
Iȱ haveȱ beenȱ activeȱ inȱ Women’sȱ Council,ȱ proposingȱ motionsȱ
addressingȱ womenȱ inȱ Darfur,ȱ genderȱ inequalityȱ inȱ
Cambridge,ȱtransgenderȱrightsȱandȱmore…ȱ
H
Iȱ haveȱ organizedȱ stallsȱ andȱ filmȱ screeningsȱ forȱ Internationalȱ
Women’sȱ Week,ȱ cocktailȱ andȱ acousticȱ nightsȱ forȱ Loveȱ Yourȱ
BodyȱDay,ȱStopȱViolenceȱAgainstȱWomenȱandȱNoȱDietȱDay.
TheȱroleȱofȱWomen’sȱOfficerȱhasȱ
aȱ vastȱ potentialȱ toȱ impactȱ
positivelyȱ onȱ theȱ experiencesȱ ofȱ
allȱstudentsȱregardlessȱofȱgender.ȱ
Iȱ willȱ bringȱ theȱ Women’sȱ Unionȱ
toȱtheȱnextȱlevel,ȱmakingȱitȱmoreȱ
dynamicȱandȱbringingȱitȱcloserȱtoȱ
theȱstudentȱbodyȱwith:ȱȱ
H
Aȱ highȬprofileȱ feministȱ lectureȱ
seriesȱ
H
Anȱ extravagantȱ Rapeȱ Crisisȱ
Centreȱbenefitȱȱ
H
Aȱ revitalizedȱ Women’sȱ Unionȱ
publication.ȱ
H
Speciallyȱ designatedȱ Openȱ
Women’sȱ Councilȱ Meetingsȱ toȱ
increaseȱ theȱ transparencyȱ andȱ
accessibilityȱ ofȱ theȱ Women’sȱ
Union.ȱ
H
Anȱ evaluationȱ ofȱ theȱ needsȱ ofȱ
studentȱ parents,ȱ studentsȱ fromȱ
ethnicȱ andȱ religiousȱ minoritiesȱ
andȱ transȱ womenȱ inȱ orderȱ toȱ
makeȱ theȱ Women’sȱ Unionȱ asȱ
diverseȱasȱpossible.ȱ
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
22|Manifestos
VOTE
EMILY HAMMERTON-BARRY
FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING OFFICER
WHY ME?
For the past year I have been actively involved in Cambridge campaigns
for free education.
Ria Hylton
for Mental Health Awareness Officer
Resources
WHAT WILL I DO?
Cambridge has a dynamic and well resourced network of services which support students
with personal problems throughout their academic career. However, they need more
effective advertising. Consistent and constant promotion within the College system and
across the University is needed so they can be made good use of.
As Mental health officer I would make it my primary role to see to the continuous publicity of
services such as Linkline and the Cambridge Counselling Service. Supporting the Welfare
Officer throughout the academic year and meeting regularly with College Welfare Officers, I
would ensure constant exposure for the Mental Health Awareness events.
Make CUSU an active force for change in a nationwide campaign against
government reforms by setting up communication channels between
CUSU and student voices up and down the country.
Academic Network
I have a clear agenda for the important year ahead and am already
aware of the crucial issues we face in 2008.
I am passionate and dedicated to creating equal opportunity to
education regardless of background or income.
Continue to help organise and run free education campaigns in
Cambridge and ensure that all students are aware of the facts and
implications of the financial issues that face them.
Make information on fee status and opportunities for financial support
easily available for all who wish to access it, including grants, bursaries
and sponsorship.
Organise public protests both within and outside the university to
expose the frightening position of mounting debt that students are now
faced with.
I will be visible, vocal and vigorous in my fight for the reintroduction of
a high quality, free education for all students.
WHAT IS MY VISION?
Abolition of fees and unfair rates for international students and an end
to economic segregation in education.
A stop to the marketisation of education: return university agendas to
the needs of education not profit.
A world-class, free education system available for everyone through all
stages of education.
The reintroduction of living grants and an open, student-centred
education system.
ANY QUESTIONS? FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME: [email protected]
FREE, HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL
Cambridge has a strong ACADEMIC NETWORK that could be more effectively developed in
relation to student welfare. Supervisors are a main and regular point of call in areas of
academic life. I will work with other CUSU Officers to persuade College authorities to
encourage and support supervisors in promoting greater autonomy in our education, and
awareness of the stresses and issues to which supervisors need to be sensitive. This face to
face support is vital for dealing with individual problems within the student population.
Community
Our greatest resources are the PEOPLE around us. College communities could be of great
use in encouraging students to ask for help when in need. As Mental Health Awareness
Officer, I will look to encourage an Under-Grad scheme where Graduate students could be
linked to a number of Undergraduate students in offering advice on dealing with workload
and the pressures of an Undergraduate degree. By encouraging interaction across age
groups and subjects, Cambridge students can lead a life of CONFIDENCE where education
– not issues of mental health – is the focus of our institution.
An Active Union
I believe people are most content when they feel in control of their environment. In
CREATING an active campaigning student community we can restore AUTONOMY
amongst our student union bodies.
Financial issues are key contributors in the breakdown of many students’ mental health. As
an active member of the Part-Time Exec and a voting member in CUSU Council, I will speak
out against tuition fees and campaign for free education.
CUSU as a political body needs to develop a more dynamic authority on student issues. By
encouraging and sustaining an atmosphere in which students feel open to voice and act on
their ideas, CUSU can empower students, providing an environment in which individuals feel
SUPPORTED, REPRESENTED and CONFIDENT in a their student union. I wish to be a
part of this progress.
Student welfare FIRST.
Kathryn Maude
for Target Campaigns Officer
What do I stand for?
ɿ Free education is both a fundamental human right and a necessity in Access terms.
Introducing finance into our education takes the emphasis away from learning for its own
sake. In addition, the developing two-tier system of high and low cost degrees dramatically
effects the Access situation. Poorer students will naturally be drawn to cheaper courses and
as they have paid less, they will be doomed to poorer quality education. This must not be
the case.
ɿ I believe that everyone in the UK, regardless of ethnicity or family background, should
be given an equal chance to participate in top-quality higher education.
ɿ I stand for a strong, campaigning, democratic CUSU that will fight for the issues that
matter to students. We care about fees, ethical investment and college rent hikes, so CUSU
as a body must reflect this and campaign for change.
What would I do?
ɿ Continue the excellent work already begun by helping to organise the Target Campaign,
shadowing schemes and open days, working as an active member of the Access and
Funding Team.
ɿ Communicate with other elite universities to create joint target campaigns to widen
access not only to Cambridge but to top universities in general.
ɿ Educate students in the importance of Access schemes – it is unacceptable that some
people still believe Cambridge should not be open to all. Diversity in the university can
only benefit our education.
ɿ Liaise with other CUSU members, JCRs and students to create a strong campaign for
free education.
Why me?
ɿ I went to a Northern comprehensive school and I would not have applied to Cambridge
without being involved in Access schemes – I know what it’s like to be scared of applying.
ɿ I have given talks at my school, trying to dispel the Cambridge myth. This will help me
to encourage students to go out into schools in their areas and do the same.
ɿ I took part in the successful CUSU shadowing scheme, so I am aware of the
organisational challenges involved.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
Manifestos|23
NUS delegates:
Gemma Steinhart
Mark Wolfson
Ed Maltby
Edmund Mustill
Adam Colligan
Ant Bagshaw
Grey Baker
Adina Judy Bernstein
Duncan Crowe
Richard Braude
Joe Wilson
Sarah Infante
Mark Fletcher
Charlotte Richer
Hammad Parwaiz
Emily Hammerton-Barry
Yuval Elani
Lucy McMahon
Will Wearden
Experienceinencouragingandhelping
studentsinapplyingtoCambridge.
ForTargetCampaignsofficer
TheaimofCambridgeUniversityaccessoffice
ǦǣǤǤͳȌʹȌ
Ǥ
Ǥ
ǡ

ǮǯǤ

Ǥ
ǡ

Ǥ

Ǥ
Ǥ
Myexperienceofbeingonbothsidesofthe
schools.
ǡ
MyparticularinterestwouldbetoincreaseandimproveTargetVisitsto
Ǥ
ǡ
Ǥ
fenceȂ
ǡ

Ǥ
Mark Wolfson
‘Open Portfolio’
- C.U.S.U. Affiliations Officer _____________________________
Making C.U.S.U. Relevant
Our Student Union should reflect the needs and the demands of the
student body it represents, and this can be achieved through our Union’s
affiliations. Currently, C.U.S.U. is affiliated with the National Union of
Students and the UK Council for International Student Affairs.
What will this role entail?
This role would entail the preparation of reports on the suitability of our
affiliations to these two organisations to the C.U.S.U. Executive and
Council, with recommendations for further action. Moreover, this position would have a more proactive, educative role in informing the student
body of the consequences of such actions.
Does the C.U.S.U. Executive need this position?
Frankly, yes! Our N.U.S. affiliation fees amount to an annual £10,000
expenditure. Cambridge students need to know whether they are getting
value for this money, and students need to be informed of the benefits
they gain from such affiliations. This position can also be used to explore
promising opportunities to affiliate with alternative organisations.
What experience can I bring to the position?
Last year, I was elected as an N.U.S. Delegate for Cambridge University; I
have seen first hand the role of the National Union of Students. I have
been on various committees within Cambridge, and I am hoping to work
with the next C.U.S.U. President to ensure that we fully interact with these
organisations to get the best deal for Cambridge Students!
Vote for a relevant C.U.S.U.
FILM
Photo: image.net
No Comedy From Old Men
Cinematic giants Freeman and Nicholson scrape the bucket in this flaccid comedy
Gerard
Corvin
The Bucket List
(12A, 97 mins)
★★☆☆☆
A
ccordingto
The
Bucket List, the
prospect of dying
of cancer is a laugh
riot – epiphanic
life-fulfilment in-
cluded. Such schlock might have
been palatable had the movie not
been so terminally unfunny. Jack
Nicholson plays a millionaire cancer patient who, through an unconvincing script contrivance, ends
up sharing a hospital room with a
worldly-wise mechanic, played by
Morgan Freeman (providing yet
another sentimental voice-over).
Whilst Freeman’s soothing intonations could imbue humour and
pathos into a documentary about
penguin migration, even he can’t
convince us of the worthiness of
Nicholson’s womanising, emotionally-retarded Edward.
The film is an unabashed buddy comedy and it is the winning
combination of these two screen
titans that sells it. Despite not
looking his best, the bald and
saggy-skinned Nicholson is still
among the most gifted of actors
in timing, nuance and his ability
to seamlessly switch from comedy
to sobriety.
The trouble is, this movie
doesn’t know what tone it’s after,
and some of Nicholson’s wisecracks
come off like the unwelcome quips
of a sleazy uncle at a funeral. The
whole terminal illness scenario
seems to exist solely so that Edward and Carter can devise a list
of things to do before they kick
the bucket.
This sends the geriatric duo off
on a jaunt around the globe and
the movie turns into a tiresome
travelogue of Nicholson and Freeman having fun whilst we’re left
stranded in transit. One moment
they are motorcycling across the
Great Wall, the next they’re halfway up Kilimanjaro, and rather
than having these magnificent
locations affect the characters
in any meaningful way, Nicholson and Freeman seem to wander
through them with the nonchalance of a pair who have a hefty
paycheque rather than their own
mortality awaiting them.
There is something quite unsettling about the message of Rob
Reiner’s film. On the one hand, it
is good to see Hollywood countering the ageism of the slough of recent comedies that have relegated OAPs to either foul-mouthed
cranks or drooling vegetables.
Yet, for a film that involves hospital overcrowding and the unequal
medical treatment of an affluent
bozo and a blue-collar mechanic,
there is very little done to address
America’s health care crisis. Hard
luck for those not rich enough to
escape the misery of a hospital
ward.
The Bucket List
ffers precious
little human
reality amid
the swill
Currently in cinemas is The
Diving-Bell and the Butterfly, a
film which also centres on a character’s awareness of his imminent,
equally unexpected death. Its almost completely paralysed protagonist has a rather more modest
bucket list.
At one point he reflects that he
would be the happiest of men if
only he could swallow his own saliva. By comparison, this Bucket
List offers precious little human
reality amid the swill of cheap
sentiment and even cheaper humour.
nominations arE noW opEn
Students’ Union
ElEctions
Tune in to CUR1350 for up to the minute radio coverage of the CUSU elections, featuring all of
the latest news and mp3 downloads from the website - www.cur1350.co.uk and 1350AM
www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/union/elections
What do you stand for?
|25
Photos: Courtesy of Paul Sullivan PR
Vincent Dance
Theatre
Do you think you could be anaemic?
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is looking
for women to participate in a research study
looking at iron absorption.
You must be:
o Aged 18-45
o Not pregnant or breastfeeding
o Generally healthy (but with low iron levels)
o Willing to attend our centre in Cambridge on 4 occasions
o Willing to give blood samples
You’ll be compensated for your time and reasonable travel expenses.
For more information and anaemia screening please contact:
[email protected]. Tel: 01223 426356
Charlotte Vincent talks to Sarah Wilkinson about
her latest dance projects, her divorce and where she
gets her inspiration from
L
ike another internationally renowned
choreographer
of
dance
theatre,
Mathew
Bourne,
Charlotte Vincent
didn’t initially train in dance. She
graduated from Sheffield University with a degree in English and
Drama, yet now guests all over
the world as a choreographer, collaborator and director of her own
company – Vincent Dance Theatre.
Her work has gathered an almost
cult following over the past 14
years – largely owing to her bold
experiments exploring and breaking the conventions of theatre
and contemporary dance.
You call your company very specifically a dance theatre company, not just a dance company.
Is this what differentiates you
from other contemporary dance
companies?
I think it’s the work that differentiates us. When we perform, it
is rarely using dance in isolation;
it usually involves us engaging on
stage with live music, or texts, or
what some people might call “acting.” We see performance as an
all-round thing and our performances are usually grounded in
some sort of reality.
Your website cites one of the
companies’ aims as “challenging conventional expectations
of what dance can be.” Could
you explain this?
I think that dance as an art is often seen as being quite abstract
and poetic - something that
doesn’t really include the dark
underbelly of life, and focuses on
form. Whilst we have a very clear
structure and form, our work is
more about the human side of
representation – representing
things that have meaning for us,
as a company and for the people
that come to see our work.
You say “we” and “us” a lot. Do
you see your works as a collaborative effort?
Yes. The performers that I have
worked with are all individual
people and I try hard to bring out
their individual voices. It is not
that kind of company where everyone is a clone of the choreographer! I am very keen on audiences
knowing something about those
who are performing for them. I
think that often dance doesn’t
seem to be about individuals,
but about making these abstract
shapes on the stage. My work is
more about looking at the events
I want to take place and finding a
connection with the given landscape or environment.
So is the set a priority for you?
Yes. To me the set or environment
is very important. Saying that,
in this double bill the first piece,
Test Run, is very deliberately set
on an empty stage. There are a
lot of jokes about how usually we
work with more people and how
normally there are big sets, and it
is all very extravagant and visually interesting etc. I wanted to
see what would happen if we took
all that away.
‘Our work
is about the
human side of
representation
- things that
have meaning’
And what did happen?
What happened was that the impetus became about the interplay
between the music and the dance,
which is actually something I have
been exploring for a long time.
What about your new work –
Don’t Look at Me Now Mummy?
Well, this is very much a theatre
piece – there is no dance in it at
all. It’s very much physical comedy.
Where did the inspiration for
this piece come from? In the
past you have used your own
personal experiences to shape
your works, not least your own
divorce for Broken Chords in
2006…
I think the inspiration for this is
partly derived from me reaching
forty and not having had children.
As an artist we make choices – either to make babies or make art
and although I have chosen to
make art for quite a long time, I
am beginning to think about the
ideas of having or, at least, not
having had children…
So what does the piece involve?
Well, I don’t want to give too
much away… It’s set in a very
messy kitchen and it deals with
the woman attempting to get herself physically together to perform
whilst being distracted by these
ideas about children…If you
strip it down it’s primarily about
presence and absence. It’s about
questioning whether you want to
be on stage or not, whether you
want to continue on along the
same line in life…
It sounds as though you are revealing a more individualised
side of the same questions
you raised in your piece Punch
Drunk in 2004 - about what it
means to be a performer and to
devote your life to the theatre?
Yes, I suppose. It’s not as theatrical as Punch Drunk. It’s equally
as dark and as humorous in some
ways, but it’s not as extravagant.
It’s much more about someone
lost in their own imagination really; someone trying to hold a
certain frame together.
How important do you think
the elements of humour are for
these tragic pieces?
I don’t think you can have tragedy without humour or else you
get too earnest. With every dark
patch you have to shed some light
on it and visa versa. Humour has
in fact become quite a mainstay
in the work that I make.
Is that because many of your
pieces are based on tragic
events or emotions?
Well, I am interested in the idea
that in a performance we build up
the audience, only to pull them
down again. That’s the thing
about Don’t Look at Me Now Mummy – it’s very uncomfortable and
you never know really whether
you should be laughing at this
woman or with her, or not at all.
So what is your main objective
when you are creating a piece?
I like to lead the audience on an
emotional journey. I am also always aware that it is a very human
transaction going on between the
audience and those people performing for them. I guess I am
interested in questioning why we
want to watch people and more
importantly, why do we, as dancers, want to entertain people and
jump around for them? I think it
will take a lifetime of research to
answer those questions, but I’m
working on it.
‘It’s about
presence and
absence’
And finally, if you were writing
a history of 21st century dance
100 years down the line, what
would you like to say your company had contributed?
Blimey, that’s a big question! I
think on the tombstone of the
company it would say something
like “they tried hard” or “they
Vincent Dance Theatre are performing Test Run and Don’t Look at Me
Now Mummy at The Junction on
Thursday 6th March. Tel: 01223 511
511 or visit www.junction.co.uk for
more details or to book tickets.
THEATRE
Tragic beauty
Edward
Rowett
Romeo and Juliet
★★★★☆
ADC Theatre
26 Feb- 1st February, 19:45
£7/ £9, £8/ £10
An unusual but effective Rome
another.
Alastair Roberts gives us an unexpectedly awkward Romeo, who always seems slightly ill at ease with
himself and those around him. It
is an unusual, but highly effective
portrayal, presenting Romeo as an
gauche teenager overwhelmed by
the first throes of love. Lizzie Crarer
is also an excellent Juliet, feisty at
first, but gradually subdued by the
forces conspiring against her.
Featherstone
steals the
show: a ball
of crude, mad
energy
The band of Montagues is the
production’s strongest suit, sharing
a wonderfully blokeish chemistry.
Oli Robinson is excellent as Benvolio, and Will Featherstone steals the
show as Mercutio. A ball of crude,
mad energy (he wrings every drop
of filth from his lines), his desper-
Poetry In Motion
Jessi
Savage-Hanford
Ted and Sylvia in
Cambridge
★★★★☆
Newnham Old Labs
22-23rd February
R
arely is it in Cambridge that theatre audiences are
treated to the type
of cross between
poetry
reading
and dramatic sequence which the
Newnham Players were offering
this past weekend, in commemoration of what would have been, had
she lived: Sylvia Plath’s 75th year.
It is even more seldom that such a
unique performance written by former Oxford professor Bernard Richards, depicting two of the twentieth century’s most important poets,
can be skilfully carried off by a cast
who collectively possess such little
previous acting experience. That
is if one is to believe the (frankly
unconvincing) programme notes
where, it seems, all acting credits
stopped with primary school as,
ultimately: Jen Wainwright and Sophie Rashbrook as the two Sylvia’s
and Dom Rustecki and Atli Stannard as the two Ted Hughes’s did a
fantastic job.
I may be somewhat biased having fallen in love with Plath’s poetry at a young age, and, more
recently with Hughes’ (and therefore the prospect of enjoying an
evening hearing nothing but fragments of their verse, letters and
journal extracts was one which I
couldn’t resist) but the strong presence of the actors and the simple
but fluid way they utilized a basic
set, depicting, in both a poignant
and unexpectedly comic manner, a
brief chronology of the two lovers’
Plath
performing
Chaucer to a
field of cows
lives, is highly commendable.
What was particularly interesting about this performance is how
it initially seemed to treat the two
poets as case studies, but then allowed them to take over, using
their words to place their written
works in context. The text was also
rendered in such a way as to make
conversations between the two
(through the interplay of their letters or poems) naturalistic and convincing, and, indeed, largely comic,
such as with the incident of the two
arguing with a spirit over the Ouija
board, or Plath performing Chaucer
to a field of cows.
Of central importance, however, which Richards was keen to
stress in conversation after the
performance, was the relationship
between the two and how their
individual influences fed into each
others work, in the “unfolding narrative context” portrayed, as well
as the importance of actually hearing the poetry spoken out loud
(something which Hughes himself
both encouraged and encompassed
during his lifetime).
It would seem appropriate to
end with a quotation from either
of the two, but, like Richards’ performance, what the audience was
shown was that both Hughes’ and
Plaths’ works are simply too rich to
single down to one overriding literary particular.
Perhaps it is this point that is
the strongest of the play: its most
valuable contribution was to make
you want to go home and read some
more poetry (rather an exceptional
result of drama!) as you were, in-
Photos: Dylan spebcer-Davidson
T
his week the Swan
Theatre
Company
brings Shakespeare’s
most famous tragedy
to the ADC in blockbuster form. With a
large cast and a gorgeous set, Rob
Icke’s production is one of almost
professional standards, which honours its commitment to strip the
play back to its basic form. There
are no radical reinterpretations
here, rather a straightforward performance of a classic text.
The most striking feature is the
vigour Icke brings to the text; no
matter how well we know the story,
everything here seems immediate
and vital.
One particularly successful
set piece has the stage plunged
into darkness, while Mercutio and
friends crash around with torches,
allowing us to share the excitement
and exuberance of their daring trip
to the Capulet party.
Another highlight is the relocation of the end of Act 1 to the
courtyard of the Capulet’s house;
we never see the party, just the occasional overspill of revellers, and
an endless stream of waiters pouring in and out.
The most notable consequence is
that Romeo and Juliet’s first sight
of each other is not a glimpse across
a crowded dance floor, but rather a
face to face encounter in an empty
courtyard. It is a beautifully effective moment, the two young lovers
struck dumb by the sight of one
ate desire to win his best friend
back from the encroaching passions
of love is palpable, in spite of all his
machismo, and his perfectly judged
death is arguably the production’s
most powerful moment.
The show is not flawless; there
are a few weak links in the cast,
and it can be only be hoped that
the moving bed can be repaired,
as the troupe of stage hands carrying it on and off spoilt the mood
a little.
These are minor quibbles, however, in what is an excellent and
highly recommended production.
Intense Ibsen
Ruth
Halkon
Hedda Gabler
★★★★☆
Corpus Playroom
26 Feb - 1st March, 19:00
£4/£5.50
B
eautiful, bored, and
unhealthily
obsessed with guns,
Hedda makes her
own entertainment
– through destroying the lives of those around her,
and having her own life destroyed
in the process. HATS’s production
of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, directed by
Isabel Taylor, is powerful, intense
and gripping throughout, exploring
the dark side of human nature and
the lure of insanity.
From her first entrance, Hedda’s
(Molly Goyar Gorman) potent presence electrified the play, instantly
overshadowing the stage with her
powerfully projected boredom and
frustration. Veering convincingly
between dangerous sweetness and
manic hysteria, at once loving
friend and destructive vandal, Gorman captures perfectly the many
sides of this complex character.
The other cast members did not
fade into the background however;
with strong performances from
Joe Bunker as Hedda’s husband, a
dull, devoted academic – the butt
of jokes about academia which
provide the main humour of this
dark play, and Monty d’Inverno as
the manipulative, sardonic Judge
Brack. Emma Lofflar’s Thea Elvsted,
Hedda’s bullied former classmate
and unwitting nemesis, was sweet
and timid, without being annoying or saccharine, and her emotion
over reprobate lover Eilert Loevberg
(Stefan Haselwimmer) was genuinely touching.
The Corpus Playroom is a notoriously difficult space to act in, yet it
was perfect for the intimacy of the
bourgeois drawing room on stage –
intimacy heightened by the relative
smallness of the audience. Sound
and lighting were the play’s only
real weak points; the tinkling piano
music between acts clashing with
the production as a whole, while
the lighting did not convey effectively the changes in time which
are essential to the play. That said,
the final gunshot sent shockwaves
through the audience, disturbing
them almost as much as it did the
convincingly hysterical cast.
Dark, tense, thrilling, and
thought provoking, Taylor’s Hedda
Gabler is not to be missed.
|26-27
Theatrical Thoughts
Photos: Virginia Corless
With tales of old ‘Dulcitius’ brings the violence of death and the wonder of miracle to the ADC stage
Escaping the void
I
n a time of martyrdoms in
the name of Allah and sacrifices of soul to the atheist
void, how can we bring the
necessary themes of faith,
extremism, and martyrdom
onto the stage?
Theatre without violence might
be considered weak and untrue, as
so many of the themes that shape
our time centre on war and grief,
suicide bombs and subjugation.
But how can we capture the finality and tragedy of a life ended on a
stage, when all involved know the
actor lying dead will rise again in
the next blackout, that the stage
blood will wash off in the dressing
room sink, that the cries of grief
will turn to laughter in the postshow celebrations?
Here the gods
of old have left
us to our own
means
Enacting violence and death on
stage is an ancient challenge; indeed the Greek playwrights of old
were wise enough to place such acts
off stage, with messengers arriving
to tell the tales of melting flesh,
severed limbs, and heroic deaths.
Now in the age of films in which
death is portrayed in perfect detail
and unrelenting realism, what place
does stage death have?
The same questions haunt the
other side of the sublime: just as
death challenges the limits of theatre, so too does the miraculous.
How can events outside of nature,
acts that reorder the universe shifting time and place, motive and
consequence, divine and human, be
meaningfully portrayed on a stage
of wood and metal?
This week at the ADC a play embraces both of these challenges, as
a dynamic ensemble performs Dulcitius, a play of the dark ages written by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim,
a 10th century Saxon nun who
wrote wonderful stories of miracles
and martyrdom. Dulcitius is a story
of persecution, faith, fidelity, extremism, torture, generosity, dogmatism, and sacrifice, an echo from
our own distant past of modern
struggles with religious extremism.
But how to tell a tale of miracles
in a modern society often claimed
to be bereft of the divine? For here
the gods of old have abandoned
their intimacy with the world and
leave us to our own means.
In one answer to these questions – the uncertainties of modern
theatre in a demon-haunted world
- the director and cast of Dulcitius
explore the ancient tradition of storytelling. The actors invite the audience into the process of conjuring
miracle stories of the past, family
mythologies, and scientific tales. By
embracing the act of telling, scenes
of violence may be paired with the
cleansing rituals that must follow
their performance, and the act of
death becomes as rich in meaning
when an actor rises again to resume
life in another role as in the moment of her symbolic death.
This engagement with the mean-
The
uncertainties
of modern
theatre in a
demon haunted
world
ing of the act of performance in
addition to the meaning of that
which is performed touches on
the very soul of the theatre: that
this play tonight is different than
that on any night to come, for it
is conjured in the moment, by the
actors alive on that stage at the
very instant of performance, by the
dreams and fears and expectations
of the individuals in the audience,
by the conjunction of a few thousand words,a few hundred people,
and a few hours of time to create a
living memory of a shared mythology.
And so, free from dead feet shuffling in darkness, Dulcitius returns
to the roots of human imagination
to conjure a world of miracles, to
an ancient age that illuminates
our own. This week a story of the
sublime is won from void – rescued
from the forgetfulness of time and
the dissolution of memory.
Dulcitius by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim will be showing at the ADC
Theatre 5-8 March, 23:00. £5/4
Wed, Thur £6/5 Fri, Sat.
www.dulcitius.co.uk
A
udiences feel they almost own a part of
Romeo and Juliet. They may expect scenes
to played a certain way and feel shortchanged if they’re not. Should a director
be influenced by such preconceptions?
They can tempt directors to give audiences
what they want, playing famous scenes in the celebrated
but clichéd way; or to react against that and do something
radical. But the first option is bland and the second can
be gratuitous and annoying. Received wisdom tells you
to ignore audience preconceptions. Once you enter a rehearsal, it’s just you and the text.
Reassuringly, this week’s R&J promises to “strip down
the play in order to re-examine it.” Most of balcony scene
achieves the near-impossible by feeling genuinely fresh.
Sadly, this makes it all the more galling that the end of
the scene is accompanied by gushingly romantic harp music, an unnecessary submission to orthodox and clichéd
expectations of the play.
But elsewhere, imaginative direction makes up for it,
most notably a kiss between Tybalt and Lady Capulet. It
comes out of nowhere but its repercussions are powerful.
Capulet ordering Tybalt not to fight with Romeo is now
about more than keeping peace with the Montagues: it’s
an alpha-male struggle. Capulet may suspect the affair,
and be trying to put Tybalt back in his place. This gives
Tybalt, otherwise a two-dimensional character, a clearer
motivation for the anger which leads to Mercutio’s murder.
Most of all it informs Bea Walker’s Lady Capulet. Her grief
at Tybalt’s death is magnified, and her scenes with Juliet
are haunted by the suspicion that she knows exactly what
it is like to be unhappily married.
There’s a vague, misguided sense amongst many critics
and directors that you can find anything you want to find
in Shakespeare. All English students have encountered
lunatic interpretations and radical productions don’t work
if they only aim to be radical. The Tybalt / Lady Capulet
kiss works because it doesn’t contradict the text, it highlights what is already there. This production of R&J isn’t
faultless but you will hear something in lines you know
well that you’ve never noticed before. That’s the hardest
thing with Shakespeare but it’s what every director should
be striving for. You can’t do it by “reinterpreting” (read
“misinterpreting”) the text with willful abandon. You can
only work out what the text means for you and think
imaginatively about how to convey that to an audience.
- A DIRECTOR
COMING NEXT WEEK
ON THE WEB
For the final week of TCS
Theatre this term we go
beyond the bubble with
an insight into English
theatre in France, and a
feature by the Financial
Times’ own theatre critic,
Ian Shuttleworth.
We also check out Snippets, the Footlight’s
Spring Revue and the
European Premier of Come
Back to the 5 & Dime,
Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
Check out reviews of this
week’s Corpus lateshow, a
piece of new writing - Conviction - and of this year’s
Medic’s Revue: The Hysterectomy Boys. Get your fill
of comedy with reviews of
this week’s Smoker and the
second Wolfson Howler.
Fanatical or frustrated by
the reviews? Give your
opinions and start a debate
by posting on the web.
FILM
5
Worst
Remakes
Ridiculous,
uncalled-for
or just plain
insulting
The Shining (1997)
No, not the one with Jack Nicholson. Dissatisfied with Kubrick’s
beloved 1980 venture, Stephen
King retaliated with his own madefor-TV adaptation. This version,
unlike Kubrick’s, remains slavishly
faithful to the original novel and
does allow more room for character development and backstory.
Unfortunately, it’s also laborious,
painfully uninspired and all but
unwatchable.
Our roundup of the romantically-themed shorts festival
Richard
Armstrong
T
he title of the February Future Shorts
round-up this week at
the Arts Picturehouse
may have evoked
Wong Kar-Wai’s blissful take on romantic fortune, but
these films demonstrate how various
and perplexing are the moods love
can take. As always with the Future
Shorts roster, the attitudes and aesthetics are rich, colourful, and redolent of all the places and experiences
from which they spring. In a Starbucks world, the short form remains
a global village of multiform texture
and diversity.
Directed by Israeli filmmaker
Alma Har’el, Elephant Gun (2007)
is a lively and vivid music video
inspired by Beirut’s recent hit. A
ukulele and accordion waltz kicks
off a confetti-strewn orgy replete
with tactile pleasures and plangent longing. Rapid cutting and
a keen sense of metaphor – sea
waves and bolts of blue cloth make for a dizzy imaginary realm
narrated by an achingly sonorous
voice.
A young man whose girlfriend
has left him stands outside her Tel
Aviv apartment, imploring her to
return. In Tom Shoval’s The Hungry Heart (2005) the FM radio chat
line becomes the modern take on
the village matchmaker as Nissim
and Etti’s halting reconciliation
is encouraged, manipulated and
cajoled by the radio host. This is
a nicely measured movie. Notice
the young man’s anxious look as
we hear Etti descend the stairs,
and the suspense when the programme takes a commercial break
as the couple stand together
but alone, each with their own
thoughts, leaving the audience on
tenterhooks.
The short form
remains a
global village
of multiform
texture and
diversity
Love in the age of chat lines
is also celebrated in the touching Tolya, Rodeon Brodsky’s 2007
documentary in which a bunch of
Belarus construction workers in
Israel call their wives and sweethearts on International Women’s
Day. Tolya has lost his teeth and
when his turn comes to use the
public payphone he cannot make
himself understood by Natashinka. Only when he resorts to some
private language does she get the
message. In the final shot, Tolya is
seen scuttling down the road like
some moth-eaten Charlie Chap-
lin to catch the minibus back to
work. Behind every great man…
Meanwhile in a remote farmstead in Sweden, two people
struggle to make each other understand without words in Natan (Jonas Holmstrom and Jonas
Bergergård, 2003). Natan is another guest worker stuck in the
wrong job and far from home.
Fired yet again, this time the kebab store owner takes pity on him
and the two misfits go and buy a
dog. Then Natan meets Sabina.
With its busy hand-held camerawork, this comedy of manners
focuses on the painful dislocation
foreigners often feel – whether
guest workers or overseas students – when they are alone and
lonely.
Love and desire can be confusing
experiences. Set amid the grungy
swirl of an inner city housing
project, Filip Marczewski’s Melodrama (2005) traces a 14-year-old
Polish boy’s longing for his older
sister, while the neighbourhood
siren wants him to want her. Sensual and desperate by turns, the
whole story seems to be contained
within a vivid low angle shot of
the gaunt apartment block where
the boy lives, the camera crazily
rotating in time with a bouncing
football to enunciate the fraught
journey of a damaged soul.
On an island off the coast of
Brazil a couple of old friends meet
up for a weekend of drink, drugs
and good food. Salt Kiss (Felipe
Gamarano Barbosa, 2006) charts
a tense case of male friendship
jeopardised by a woman. Its frank
scenes of feverish lovemaking
make the tropical paradise look
like a fallen Eden. This angry faceoff between the libertine host Rogério and his buddy Paulo is only
resolved when the two men fight
in the water before Rogério gives
his friend the kiss of life. Beyond
words or explanation, love takes
the path of least resistance.
La Tartine (Guillaume Colomb
and Olivier Derivière, 2004) is an
animated film plotting the romantic tryst between the breakfast
jam and a lonely slice of bread. Piquantly played out by the coffee
pot, the plates, the cutlery and
the toaster, this musical extravaganza ends with a match made in
heaven. Will this be at long last
the bread’s lucky day?
Yet despite its vicissitudes, we
all keep looking for love. Another
French short – On S’Embrasse?
(2000) – finds an aspiring actress
looking for a partner to rehearse
a scene in which a woman leaves
her lover. Settling on a lonely guy
sitting in the corner of a café, she
goes over. They act it out but the
scene seems flat. Then he advises her to smile more. They play
the scene out again, it picks up
and life seems to imitate art. The
punch line of Pierre Olivier’s poignant film, underscored by startling subjective camerawork, is
priceless. Meanwhile all around
them, and all around us, the
search continues…
Psycho (1998)
A shot by shot colour remake of
what is perhaps Hitchcock’s most
widely-revered film was a bad idea
from the start. Unfortunately,
director Van Sant failed to imbue
this studio-born nightmare with
any of his usual imagination, resulting in a finished product that
is, in spite of a decent cast, every
bit as tepid and offensively redundant as the most cynical Hitchcock fan could expect.
Get Carter (2000)
The first in a run of 21st century Michael Caine remakes, this is
also arguably the least successful.
While British cult classics seldom
translate well to Hollywood, casting the terminally wooden Sylvester Stallone to fill Michael Caine’s
shoes is what really hurts the film.
Flat characters, clichéd dialogue
and a focus on action rather than
human drama result in a watchable, but vastly inferior venture.
Swept Away (2002)
Whilst Lina Wertmuller’s original assailed bourgeois complacency, Guy Ritchie’s spouse-starring remake broadens the scope to
abuse anyone foolhardy enough to
watch it. Madonna plays a spoilt
heiress, whose luxury cruise is
cut short when she’s marooned
on a desert island with a rugged
deckhand. To survive, Madge has
to do what she’s told. If only this
included leaving the film industry
forever.
The Wicker Man (2006)
Where many remakes fall
somewhere between the extremes
of unnecessary and irreverent,
few achieve the heights of
unintentional comedy scaled
by this ill-advised reworking.
Between stiff dialogue, a bizarre
plot rewrite that expunges all
nuance and Nick Cage running
around in a bear suit throughout
the hilarious third act, this is the
definition of “so bad it’s good”.
|28-29
Cruel to Be Kind
Alex
Davison
Be Kind Rewind
(12A, 101 mins)
★★☆☆☆
M
ing a night scene in the afternoon
using the “negative” setting on
their camera.
The problem is that they are interspersed with an actual plot which is
far less compelling. It edges towards
a desire to say something about the
power of art and the importance of
community spirit, but Gondry settles for awkward, unfunny dialogue
and a surprisingly trite “save the
neighborhood” narrative drive.
It’s thoroughly good-natured, affable stuff and some of the scenes
work well, but they are barely tied
together at all, and when the store’s
number one customer Miss Falewicz
(Mia Farrow) started spouting off
about ‘movies with heart and soul’
and how ‘we can write our own history’ as everyone around her nods
earnestly, I found my eyes rolling
vigorously at the awkwardly didactic tone. Gondry aims for a big
emotional payoff with the ending,
but because the rest of the film has
felt so disjointed it ends up feeling
forced and saccharine.
This does seem like a missed
opportunity. Jack Black’s energy
seemed particularly suited to Gondry’s wackiness, while Mos Def has
proved to be a rather good actor
(see his turn in The Woodsman for
something completely different).
What we get is a well-intentioned,
sporadically endearing, but nonetheless underwhelming end-product. Charming, but far too thin.
Photo: image.net
ichel Gondry
is a cinematic
visionary. He
is also an extremely limited
director. He
shot to fame with Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind, a wonderfully
original and emotionally honest love
story (of sorts) penned by the incomparable Charlie Kaufman. Gondry’s
distinctive visual style gave life to
Kaufman’s inspired explorations of
mind and memory – the combination was a breath of fresh air.
Then in 2006 came The Science of
Sleep, which Gondry both wrote and
directed; again, there was a delightful and beguiling inventiveness to
the film’s visual make-up. Without
resorting to CGI, he produced an impressive array of effects and images
wrapped around a whimsically idiosyncratic plot. How wonderful! How
charming! And yet, without the
confines of Kaufman’s writing, the
film threatened to implode under
the weight of its twee eccentricity.
So where could Gondry go next
– deeper into the carnival typhoon
of his imagination, or to slightly
more accessible and well constructed climes? The answer, in the form
of Be Kind Rewind, suggests that he
hasn’t really gone anywhere at all.
You may have seen the trailer;
Mike (Mos Def) is left in charge of a
dilapidated video store owned by Mr
Fletcher (Danny Glover). His friend
Jerry (Jack Black) is magnetized in
a bizarre act of paranoid eco-terrorism and erases every tape in the
store.
Under pressure to deliver to their
customers, Mike and Jerry grab an
old VHS camcorder and start re-enacting zero-budget ‘sweded’ remakes
of all their stock, which unexpectedly become more popular than the
originals themselves.
They recruit local girl Alma (Melonie Diaz) from a nearby laundrette
and eventually invite people from
the neighborhood to start participating in the increasingly creative
productions. This is all played out
against the vaguely imminent threat
of the store’s closure to make way
for ultra-modern condos after Mr
Fletcher falls behind on his rent.
It’s a really good premise; see
how Gondry, Jack Black and Mos Def
remake a load of classic (and notso-classic) films with no budget and
terrible acting. And indeed the remakes are the best parts with some
truly funny moments and inventive
ideas, from dangling string in front
of the camera lens to make the film
appear scratched and old, to shoot-
Transforming: Jack Black’s Jerry gets into character
VOte in yOur student uniOn electiOns
Online VOting 3rd and 4th March, BallOt BOxes 5th March
Students’ Union
Tune in to CUR1350 for up to the minute radio coverage of the CUSU elections, featuring all of
the latest news and mp3 downloads from the website - www.cur1350.co.uk and 1350AM
www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/union/elections
What do you stand for?
FILM
Photo: oscars.org
Nick Day and Emma Dibdin go
A
fter worries that the
illustrious Academy
Awards would go
the same way as the
Golden Globes – no
ceremony, no glitz,
no fun – the studio moguls got their
acts together and ended the threemonth writers’ strike in time for Hollywood’s best and brightest to walk
the carpet as normal. The nominee
line-up was acknowledged as one
of the strongest in years, with cin-
Wild for Oscar
ematic heavyweights the Coens and
Paul Thomas Anderson duking it out
revisionist-Western style for the big
prize, and strong efforts from newcomers Joe Wright (Atonement) and
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton). Few
were surprised when the Coens’ superb thriller No Country For Old Men
scooped both Best Picture and Best
Direction. The Coens’ luxurious, deliberate pacing, combined with tourde-force performances and Roger
Deakins’ gritty aesthetic made this
master-class in suspense a thoroughly deserving winner on both
counts.
Their double victory, however, marked the culmination of a series of predictable
(though by no means undeserved) wins. No Country took
home a further two awards;
Best Adapted Screenplay and
Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem’s singularly disturbing turn as crazy-haired,
dead-eyed serial killer Anton
Chigurh. In his speech he
thanked the Coens “for being
crazy enough to think I could
do this, and putting one of the
most horrible haircuts in history
over my head”, before touchingly
thanking his mother in his native
Spanish.
Actresses have long been prone
to causing upsets at the Oscars.
Whether horrifying the couture
cognoscenti with a fashion faux
pas or stepping out of a limo
to reveal a face solidified by
botox, female nominees’
on-screen roles often
risk paling in comparison to their red
carpet perfor-
mances. But while the 80th Academy Awards avoided even a splinter
of ambiguity in the male categories, neither of the two victorious
women were the frontrunners. Marion Cotillard bested favourite Julie
Christie in the leading category for
her portrayal of famed songstress
and irredeemable lush Edith Piaf.
Swinton
dedicated the
Oscar to her
agent, noting
the likeness of
their buttocks
In truth the award shouldn’t
come as so great a surprise: the
Academy has championed seven
actresses in the past ten years for
their roles in a biopic, and Cotillard’s less than flattering make-up
as Piaf continues the trend of gorgeous actresses receiving acclaim
for daring to uglify themselves.
Her acceptance speech was similarly choice; tremulous and grateful, the youthful looking actress
– decked out like a princess and
acting accordingly – spoke in a
tone that combined the emotional
and the orgasmic. The speech was
saved from mawkishness only by
Cotillard’s cute broken English and
her genuine stupefaction.
The supporting actress category
has seen a few shock triumphs in
the past, but while Cambridge alum
Tilda Swinton’s success was unex-
pected, it was a category where every nominee was reckoned to have
a shot. Come the night itself, Cate
Blanchett’s androgynous turn as
Bob Dylan and Ruby Dee’s role as
gangster’s mother were the favourites. Some have claimed her win
is thanks to the Academy’s determination to reward Michael Clayton
in at least one category, although
many well-liked Best Picture nominees have been shut out in previous years (The Shawshank Redemption being a case in point). With
characteristic idiosyncrasy, Swinton
– wearing what appeared to be an
asymmetrical hairdresser’s overall
– dedicated the Oscar to her American agent, noting the likeness of
their buttocks, and praised George
Clooney for his continued use of his
Batman costume.
The Best Actor category, while
boasting five undeniably excellent performances, was perhaps
the least contentious of all with
all bets on Daniel Day-Lewis’ magnificently unstable oil prospector in
PT Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.
Sure enough, Day-Lewis’ name was
read out, and in soft-spoken tones
entirely at odds with his histrionic
character, he thanked the Academy
for “whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town” and
credited the film in its entirety to
“the mad, beautiful head of Paul
Thomas Anderson”. Mad and beautiful wouldn’t be an inappropriate
way description of Day-Lewis in
the role; savage, obsessed, eventually descending into magnificent
derangement, he is nonetheless utterly hypnotic, demanding our attention without ever asking to be
liked. With double-nominee Roger
Deakins splitting his vote, the cinematography nod was left to There
Will Be Blood’s Roger Elswitt, whose
rich handling of the sweeping, brittle California landscapes lend the
film a unique visual grace.
After No Country’s four wins,
the unexpected runner up was The
Bourne Ultimatum, winning Best
Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and
Film Editing. Much-touted Brit
masterpiece Atonement and breakout indie hit Juno took home only
one gong apiece – respectively Best
Score and, to nobody’s surprise, Best
Original Screenplay. Little of the
script’s ornate word-frippery was
in evidence during Diablo Cody’s
speech, as she lauded the director
and stars with little flair. But in
one of the evening’s few pleasant
surprises, Best Original Song went
to soulful Irish charmer Once, the
ostensible underdog to Enchanted’s
three nominations.
THE WINNERS
Picture:
No Country For Old Men
Director:
Joel & Ethan Coen
Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis
Actress:
Marion Cotillard
Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem
Supporting Actress:
Tilda Swinton
Original Screenplay:
Juno
Adapted Screenplay:
No Country For Old Men
|30-31
A night at the opera
Photo: Katie Schofield
Opera Society brings together old and new at West Road production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Sam
Mindel
C
Ashley Riches is the eponymous Don
ambridge University
Opera Society have
broken new ground
with their performance of Mozart’s
Don Giovanni. The
opera has been part of the standard
repertoire of major opera houses
around the world since its 1787
premier, but CUOS cut through that
history with a clarity of vision rare
even among professional productions.
The classic tale of the philandering Don Giovanni, the local nobleman whose sole aim in life is to
add to his already formidable list
of sexual conquests, is transformed
into a modern story of celebrity
and sleaze. The many present-day
touches in this performance, including the replacement of peasants by a chorus of football shirtclad chavs, sound suspect on paper
and could well have detracted from
the original production. But in the
execution, the opposite was the
case. The contemporary style and
the English translation of the libretto that was used gave a great
sense of connection between audience and performers.
This modern feel extended to the
set, which made the most of a challenging space. The simplicity of the
set was augmented by strobe and
backlighting effects, altering the
mood on stage effectively. Television screens suspended at the back
of the stage gave a feeling of being watched, as well as allowing for
some marvellously humorous moments involving instant messaging
and Facebook.
Musical highlights included Ashley Riches’ powerful voice, bringing
the opera to life with his confident
portrayal of the Don. Donna Anna,
one of Giovanni’s recent conquests,
was sung with fantastic quality and
skill by Ruth Jenkins and Katy Watson’s depiction of the spurned Donna Elvira was hugely compelling.
Dong Giovanni’s reluctant servant
Leperello was played with flair and
comedy by Edward de Minckwitz.
George Dye as Il Commendatore
didn’t hold the audiences’ attention
as much as the part required, but
his role was particularly the slightly lacklustre ending which failed to
raise emotions as strongly as the
rest of the performance had done.
CUOS’s great achievement in this
production was to create a truly
contemporary production without marring the authenticity and
beauty of Mozart’s original. By doing this, they not only managed
to stage a remarkable performance
for existing opera lovers, but also
demolished the common feeling
that opera is something that must
be enjoyed in reverent silence and
shouldn’t be funny or engaging.
So many productions of classic works now feel pressure to add
modern details and update references. The most common result of
this, though, is an uncomfortable
juxtaposition of old and new that
works to the detriment of both. The
potential for ancient and modern to
complement each other was expertly illustrated in this production.
The concept of opera for a new
generation often carries a patronising subtext: that the current generation are incapable of appreciating
it as deeply as previous generations.
CUOS proved that this was not the
case; that opera for a new generation can mean an organic process
of reinterpretation, where Mozart’s
genius can remain unblemished
and support myriad new allusions
and references.
MUSIC NEWS
- Rihanna has been named the
new honorary cultural ambassador to Barbados. The 20-year-old
singer was born on the island and
has been given a plot of exclusive
real estate as a part of her new
appointment.
- U2, Madonna, Led Zeppelin and
Justin Timberlake are in talks for
a series of concerts in the name
of world peace. The concerts are
being organised by the team
behind Live Earth and Woodstock
and will kick off on May 17th.
- Coldplay have finished mixing
their fourth album. The follow
up to X&Y was mixed by Brian
Eno and will be released at some
point over the summer.
- Shooting for Justin Timberlake’s
big screen debut, ‘The Open
Road’, began in Louisiana this
week. The film follows the life of
Timberlake’s character, fictional
baseball player Carlton Garrett.
- The Arctic Monkeys, Take That
and the Foo Fighters were all
winners at this years Brit Awards.
The Arctic Monkeys won awards
for Best British Band and Best
British Album for the second year
in a row.
Student bands at Robinson
I
Saul Glasman unearths some unexpected gems beneath Robinson college
before I ever sang... [But my] style
changes quite a lot depending on
what I feel like listening to at the
time and what my friends give to
me.” Wherever it comes from, Ashkenazi’s songs are subtle and her
performance can’t be faulted.
She was followed by the
organ-led,
DIY
boogie
of
Robinson band Brightly Naked Outcasts, who laid on a funky cover of
Young Knives’ Loughborough Suicide. Another college band, Claves,
took the stage, and steered the evening in an unexpected lounge-jazz
direction. The proficiency of saxophonist Joe Clegg was impressive.
Eclectic indie rock band Monkey
Princess, steering the evening firmly
back into the land of rock, couldn’t
resist playing with the wheel for
long, and the room arrived at its
next destination via pub-rocky
punk, country and reggae. Daniel Larwood, following, played a
simple but effective solo acoustic
set. “He often brings his guitar to
gatherings in people’s rooms,” says
Robinsonite Alex Brown. “It is just
unreal.”
The final dish of the evening
was the heavy, gritty metal’n’roll
assault of Trinity band Top Attack,
who grabbed the audience off their
chairs and played a highly credible
set, drenched in a scuzzy garagerock guitar tone and embellished
with Jij Chow’s occasional guitar
heroics.
I left Robinson college with my
hope for student bands in Cambridge invigorated - here’s to them.
Photo: Jonathan Skelton
t’s always a great pleasure
to encounter a studentrun night of bands at Cambridge, and it’s especially
refreshing to behold the
talent and variation that
can be raked up through their links
to a single college.
As I arrived, the gilded acoustic folk-rock of singer-songwriter
Maayan Ashkenazi was reverberating through the spacious Robinson
basement. With her austere but
warm melodies and a bit of judicious dissonance, the anthropology student has drawn comparisons to Regina Spektor. Her lyrics
sound carefully composed, but she
mostly prefers instrumental music,
she says. “I played classical Spanish and blues guitar for a long time
Jij Chow and Laura Moat of Top Attack
MUSIC
REVIEWS
Indie
ELBOW
The Seldom Seen Kid (Fiction)
Out Mar 17
Jason Cleeton
Disco
HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR
Hercules And Love Affair (DFA)
Out Mar 10
Saul Glasman
Soft Rock
THE FEELING
Join With Us (Warner)
Out Jan 28
Perennially the nearly-men of
thoughtful, sensitive British indie,
Elbow’s relative lack of commercial
success remains baffling, especially
compared to fellow dour Mancunians
Doves. With that in mind, opening
your fourth album with something as
unconventional as Starlings is a curious move; Startling might have been a more appropriate
title as the odd orchestral blast punctuates the barely-there
instrumentation. It’s certainly one of the most distinctive
offerings here. Having said that, The Bones Of You finds
Elbow in more familiar territory, as guitars buzz and the
percussion patters restlessly. Grounds For Divorce is also vintage Elbow and a fine choice for first single: carried initially
by handclaps and a tinny acoustic guitar, it soon revs into
life with a brutal riff.
Latino elements creep into a couple of songs: The Fix
jauntily bobs along with the aid of some piano flourishes,
and Elbow have rarely sounded so light on their feet as they
do here. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the
numerous ballad moments, which all too often sap the life
from the album.
Guy Garvey’s homely voice remains a highly effective
tool, however, and he still knows how to raise things a notch
at just the right points, such as on the otherwise leaden The
Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver, or over the tense drone
of Some Riots.
But as pretty as some of these songs are, it’s hard to
escape the notion that Elbow are altogether more interesting when they inject a bit more pulse and volume into proceedings. There’s also an over-reliance on orchestral swells
to provide the drama that in the past more conventional
instrumentation has amply provided.
A few new elements aside, The Seldom Seen Kid doesn’t
stray too far from Elbow’s previous work, and fans will probably lap this up. Despite the glimmers of brilliance, though,
it’s hard to see Elbow breaking their commercial duck.
Word on the street is that Disco’s back.
After his downfall all those years ago
at the hands of that villain House, he’s
dusted himself off, read some books
and put on a new hat. And now he’s
plotting to take back what’s his.
Or at least, that’s how Hercules
And Love Affair would have it. Formed
by New York DJ Andy Butler with a little help from neocrooner Antony Hegarty, whose soulful, textured voice lights
up much of the album, the band claim vehemently that their
music heralds disco’s return.
Well, it’s disco, Jim, but not as we know it. The classic
bmp-tss-bmp-kk disco backbeat is in residence on most of
the songs. But it’s of secondary importance to the razorsharp production and indie rock savoir-faire that floods the
album. The songs are packed with 21st century bells and
whistles, like the delightful little glock solo on Raise Me Up
and the subtle bassline of Iris. So Hercules And Love Affair,
meticulously aware of its influences, doesn’t come off as a
disco album or even an homage. Instead, it’s an enthralling, self-conscious circular fairground ride through the last
three decades of dance music, taking in the chilltronica of Air
and the trip-hop of Portishead via the bigbeat sensibilities of
Crystal Method, passing through the electropop harmonies of
Hot Chip and even the chaotic percussion of IDM.
Unfortunately, you can’t please all the people all of the
time; dance purists will complain that the album is pretentious and navel-gazing, and some of the more straightforwardly dancefloor-aimed cuts, like first single Blind, will bore
rock fans. But that’s not the point; Hercules And Love Affair
have produced a unique work of art, and every music fan will
find something to love.
So Disco actually retired, bought a tobacco farm in Oregon
and spent his old age sitting on a rocker on the front porch,
smoking a pipe and dreaming of better days. But he lives on
in the superb music Hercules And Love Affair have created in
his name. Disco is dead; long live disco.
In 2006 The Feeling were the most
played band on the radio and infiltrated every public space. Muzak was perhaps the only thing more prolific, but
whether people noticed a difference
between the two is debatable: both
excelled in being both intensely irritating and distinctly unremarkable.
Join With Us, just a year and a half after the success of
Twelve Stops And Home, does nothing to shatter The Feeling’s
grating soft-rock image.
Desperately eager-to-please and predictable melodies that
make ABBA sound avant-garde run through the album and
become catchy by virtue of the fact that each tune is repeated until it becomes inextricably lodged in the listener’s brain.
Stepping through the doors prised open by the Scissor Sisters
and Mika, these soft-rockers have confidently targeted the
kinds of people who buy their music from supermarkets.
The influences are palpable throughout the album, with
riffs, guitar solos and piano accompaniments immediately
reminiscent of Queen springing up in Join With Us and Turn
It Up. Don’t Make Me Sad sounds like an alternate version of
ELO’s Sweet Talkin’ Woman, and the fun of 10cc is infused with
the sugar-coated pop essence of Elton John.
The lyrics allude to complex issues like the fall of the
Berlin Wall and the Virginia Tech massacre, but it’s the lines
which seem to magically sum up the listener’s thoughts that
really resonate. “I thought it was over” begins the 54 minutes
of relentless cheery splodge, before we hear “it’s a rock ‘n’ roll
disaster”, “you’re talking but you don’t say anything” and the
incessantly repeated mantra “it won’t go away”.
Catering to perpetual pubescents who never outgrew the
Backstreet Boys, The Feeling will no doubt rule the airwaves
once more with these sweet and empty pop-meringues. Join
With Us is a little glimpse into what all music might have
sounded like if punk had never happened and we must hope
that a similar revolution is round the corner. Join with us? I’d
sooner eat glass.
OUT THIS WEEK
TCS surveys the albums and singles currently hitting the shelves
GIRL TALK
Night Ripper
SEBASTIAN TELLIER
Sexuality
Released in America a year ago, Girl
Talk’s innovative use of samples make
this a must-have release, even if it’s
not normally your thing. Spend hours
playing “spot the sample”. 10 points if
you can spot Sound of Da Police bleeding into The O.C theme.
DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?
We Are Rockstars
Complex pop from the French artist:
layered surf-rock style harmonies and
rich, fuzzy synths. Infectious, musical,
and just goes to show you what Mika
could achieve if he tried.
ESTELLE
Shine
Sophomore release from London rapper.
While there’s nothing instantly breathtaking about Estelle’s effort, the album
features collaborations - Kanye West
and Will.I.Am, to name just two - that
should make it worth a listen.
Slice of rave-tastic electronica from
DIOYY?, fresh from the NME Awards
Tour. Heavy bass and brilliant loops
point towards an exciting debut LP to
be released in late March.
THE RUBY SUNS
Sea Lion
With influences ranging from Maori
chants to flutes à la Animal Collective, this gorgeous album from the NZ
three-piece deserves a place alongside
the underrated eccentric albums of the
year.
BALMORHEA
Rivers Arms
Beautiful mood music from the Texas
collective. Fragile cello lines and rustic
violins play over major piano chords
to create an album that will obliterate
fifth-week blues, dissertation woes and
Finals panic in one go.
Garage Rock
THE KILLS
Midnight Boom (Domino)
Out Mar 10
James Wan
Liz Dodd
Trying to predict what a new Kills album will sound like is about as productive as trying to guess how Thom
Yorke will release music. The band are
notoriously anti-industry, refusing to
give interviews or circulate promos.
Gloriously, this hasn’t stopped Midnight Bloom from becoming one of the most hotly tipped albums of ‘08, the Kills’ two-fingers up at the music industry
left intact.
While opener U.R.A Fever is, admittedly, perilously close
to a crimp that crawled out of an episode of The Boosh and
tried to start a music career, sparse post-punk crashes gratifyingly into the next track, a beautiful hybrid of Sonic Youth
and Death From Above. Alison ‘VV’ Mosshart – somewhere
between PJ Harvey and Karen O – espouses a merciless confidence, spitting out lyrics with a sarcasm that sees the drum
machine softening, rather than punctuating, the lyrics. “I
want you to be crazy,” VV snaps in Cheap and Cheerful, “cos
you’re boring baby when you’re straight”.
The album veers from stripped back gothic dance (a strange
image) to eerie playground game-esque rhythm, culminating
in the brilliant What New York Used To Be, a track that goes all
Jonny Greenwood on you to render a guitar riff an organ solo,
all perfectly juxtaposed against VV’s barely-breathed lyrics
about the decay of the American dream.
Between skipping from references to Crime and Punishment to clapping games, from No-Wave dance beats to Sonic
Youth-esque guitar crunch, The Kills have penned an album
entirely worthy of the hype. Frankly, it’s great having no clue
where they’ll go from here.
|32-33
Ready, steady, go!
The Go! Team take the Junction by storm
The Go! Team + The
Micra Girls
T
ime to dig out those
harmonicas
and
maracas again. For
the very first time,
outside of a college
ball anyway, The Go!
Team are coming to Cambridge
with their inimitable party-starting sound, which, for the uninitiated, compares quite nicely with
the noise of an out-of-control children’s party in a sampler factory
with ROCK featuring Starsky and
Hutch. And two drummers.
the Tour De France, and most of the
band take one or two rest breaks
during the show. When Ninja leaves
to catch her breath, the air’s clear
for a couple of quieter numbers
fronted by guitarist and singer
Kaori Tsuchida, often accompanied
by group mastermind Ian Parton
on harmonica.
By now the Team’s reputation
should precede them. If you’ve
never thought you could lose
yourself in music and spend a
sublime evening dancing like an
idiot, you’ve never seen The Go!
Team play.
Photo: Shannon McClean
Newton Faulkner
Jonathan Laurence reports on the dreadlocked star
Jonathan
Laurence
I
somehow imagined that
Newton Faulkner would
take himself quite seriously on stage. Frankly,
anyone with a voice that
soulful is entitled to. From
what I knew of his debut album,
Hand Built By Robots, I went to his
gig at the Corn Exchange on Saturday thinking that he’d be prone to
introspection and brooding. I did
not expect a Disney-esque singalong. I was definitely not anticipating a cover of 2 Unlimited’s ‘No
Limit’, or an impromptu version
of the Spongebob Squarepants
theme. Although the 23 year old
singer-songwriter has got the talent to go the distance as a serious
artist, it obviously hasn’t gone to
his head: he is incredibly down-toearth, and a genuinely funny guy
What’s... your
favourite record?
Danny
McMillan
Stage presence
the size of the
Empire State
Building
Ninja, the Team’s freestyling
frontwoman, has a stage presence
about the size of the Empire State
Building. When she tells the crowd
to jump on set closer Keys To The
City (“it’s my favourite song on
the album, and it won’t work if
you don’t jump!”) they don’t ask
how high; they just bounce up and
down with their arms in the air
like the floor’s on fire. She’s also
a master of pantomimey audience
Danny Asks:
to boot.
His set began with To The Light,
also the first track of his album,
and continued with I Need Something. Both songs deal with what
it means to really want something,
and with the pain that can involve
- but neither track ended up depressing the audience. Occasional
moments of wit helped of course,
(‘I feel like a muppet with a
drunken puppeteer but I’ll survive’
is a favourite lyric of mine), as did
the ultimately uplifting endings of
most of his songs. But it was Newton’s infectious enthusiasm - and
his passion for performance - that
stopped us from being deflated by
the weighty subject matter. Everyone was in a fantastic mood by the
time People Should Smile More came
round, and stayed buoyant for the
whole evening. She’s Got The Time,
which seems to be about being
a bit different and feeling alienated, was one of the highlights of
the night - the lyrics came up on
screen behind the stage and the
whole crowd sang along.
My favourite thing about the
gig was that people weren’t obviously just waiting for the big hits
(Dream Catch Me and his cover of
Massive Attack’s Teardrop are probably his most successful to date).
I know that I had been enjoying
every minute - the chat with the
audience, the quirky covers, the
lesser known album tracks - so
when the major singles did come
round, I was pleasantly surprised,
but I hadn’t spent the whole time
anxiously wondering when they
were going to appear either.
The gig was a real showcase for
the singer’s versatility - the depth
of his songs meshed perfectly with
his on stage wit. Newton Faulkner’s
unpretentious manner will hopefully make him one of the most
original and refreshing artists of
recent years.
As a lover of music, one of the
things you instinctively want to
do is share it with other people.
Whenever you buy a great new
record, or hear your new favourite
band, or blow the dust off treasured
old records you often think ‘oh my
mate down the road will probably
like that’ or ‘I must play that to so
and so’. But sharing your deepest
pleasures with others can often be
a disheartening experience.
For example, the other week
a few friends popped over and
we ended up cooking and having
a few drinks. Looking for some
suitable dinner music I plumped
for Liberation, the debut album
by The Divine Comedy. I thought
its mix of melodious orchestral
pop, the odd jaunty guitar driven
track and intelligent lyrics would
accompany a relaxing dinner with
friends. Wrong. A few tracks in it
were greeted with a simple “what’s
this?” And not an intrigued, tell
me more kind of “what’s this?”
but more a blunt, “here we go
with the latest rubbish from
Danny’s CD player” kind of inquiry.
On answering I simply got an
emotionally devoid “Oh”. So there
it was, one of my favourite albums
of all time, being commented on
like it was a 2000-page tome on
post-neo-classical
endogenous
growth theory.
Taking people to gigs carries
similar health warnings. Once I had
a spare ticket to a John Mayall’s
Blues Breakers show. I invited a
friend of mine who, at the age of
20, still professes a liking for the
music of Avril Lavigne. Only when
we were walking round the corner
from the venue did it occur to
me that this could be his musical
equivalent of having to sit through
one of those old war films when
you’re off sick from school. In the
end he turned out to enjoy it, but
it didn’t stop me from not quite
being able to relax until a few
songs in. In that sort of situation
you have to keep taking the odd
Photo: Joshua Rappeneker
participation, making hundreds of
people shout “Do it! Do it! Alright!”
from the depths of their lungs and
teaching the venue a playground
dance routine (with words and
actions!) between songs. The
band would risk patronising their
audience if they weren’t running
around on stage like little kids
themselves. The manifest energy
in a Go! Team performance is
genuinely something that has to
be experienced to be believed,
with bassist Jamie Bell sweating
buckets and grimacing by the end
of the set as if he’s just completed
Saul
Glasman
glance to the side to make sure the
other person hasn’t spontaneously
contracted narcolepsy.
But, hey, we all do this. I’ve just
done it in the previous paragraph. I
do it when I listen to Desert Island
Discs as well. I sometimes can’t
help thinking that if you only
had eight records to play that you
would take it a bit more seriously
than some do on the show. But
there lies the danger of sharing
your favourite music with others.
So, to let you scrutinise the
music taste of the guy who shouts
his mouth off on this page every
week, because I’ve always wanted
to have a go at doing one of the mix
tapes in the Thursday supplement,
and since I’ll never do anything of
enough worth to end up on Radio
4’s imaginary island in the sky,
here are my eight favourite records
(in no particular order); Tonight
We Fly by The Divine Comedy,
The Last Time I Saw Richard by
Joni Mitchell, Be My Baby by The
Ronettes, The Calvary Cross by
Richard and Linda Thompson,
The Night I Heard Caruso Sing by
Everything But The Girl, Career
Opportunities by The Clash, Sugar
Mountain by Neil Young and Fake
Plastic Trees by Radiohead.
To be honest this is a slightly
ad-hoc list of tunes that you can’t
beat when played at just the right
moment. If I took loads of time
over this I reckon about five or six
of them would still make the final
list. But I also hope it changes a
bit – I love the thought that there
are brilliant records out there that
I haven’t yet heard or haven’t even
been recorded.
I imagine a fair few of you may be
reading the list and going “really,
if you could only have eight songs
you would pick that?” And that’s
fine, provided you realise that I
would probably be doing the same
if our positions were reversed.
It’s nice when you play music for
people and they go “wow, why
haven’t I heard that before?” But
if your favourite songs are greeted
with indifference, then just ignore
it. Music is sometimes a personal
thing and the emotions that it can
stir in you are yours, and yours
alone. No matter what the Avril
Lavigne fans might think.
LISTINGS
28
Thu
29
Fri
01
Sat
02
Sun
03
Mon
04
Tue
05
Wed
FILM
THEATRE
MUSIC
OTHER
Be Kind - fast forward.
Be spellbound by the star-crossed
lovers this week at the ADC
Multi-national pop artists The Go!
Team get the party started.
Catch the candidates at one of this
week’s hustings and use your vote!
There Will Be Blood (15)
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Be Kind Rewind (12)
Arts Picturehouse, 12.15, 14.30,
18.45, 21.00 £5 ★★☆☆☆
My Blueberry Nights (12A)
Arts Picturehouse, 14.10,21.00, £5
Hedda Gabler
Corpus Playroom, 19:00, £4/ £5.50
Romeo and Juliet
ADC Theatre, 19:45, £7/ £9
Alice: A Fresher’s Tale
Selwyn College,20:00, £5/£7
Conviction
Medics Revue ADC Theatre, 23:00
I Was a Cub Scout + Rolo Tomassi +
Pictures @ The Barfly
Be Kind Rewind (12)
21.15 £5 ★★☆☆☆
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Hedda Gabler
Amesty Comedy Smoker
Pembroke New Cellars, 19:00
Romeo and Juliet
ADC Theatre, 19:45, £7/ £9
Selwyn College,20:00, £5/£7
SOAS Ad Hoc Rebetiko Band @ The
Graduate Union
Be Kind Rewind (12)
Arts Picturehouse, 16.45, 15 £5
★★☆☆☆
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Hedda Gabler
Romeo and Juliet
ADC Theatre, 19:45, £7/ £9
Selwyn College, 20:00, £5/£7
Alcock Improv + Sheffield Shrimps
Churchill College Club Room , 20:00
Trio Nostos @ St. Catz
Two-man collection from Nottingham. Rousing, rambunctious
package of disco-pop joy, wrapped
in punk-rock language and indie
electronica.
Live music preceded by a free talk
and film about Greek Rebetiko
music. All places must be reserved
in advamce: e-mail ed.emery@
thefreeuniversity.net
Traditional music from Crete. Mysterious and melancholy, fast and furious. Email [email protected]
Keith Jamea and Rick Foot - Lorca
@ The Junction
Be Kind Rewind (12)
Arts Picturehouse, 12.00 21.15 £5
★★☆☆☆
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Stiff Little Fingers @ The Junction
Arts Picturehouse, 12.00, 2.10,9.00,
£5
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Be Kind Rewind (12)
Arts Picturehouse, 14:30, 21.00 £5
★★☆☆☆
Operator Please @ The Barfly
Belfast punks combine lyrics that
meld the personal and political, music that combines the energy of punk
with infectious hooks, and delivery
that rings of honesty and commitment.
They like lots of things from kitties to
cheese but most of all they love each
other. And playing music. And playing shows. And you.
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
Be Kind Rewind (12)
21.00£5 ★★☆☆☆
The Fate of a Cockroach
Corpus Playroom, 19:00, £4/5.50
Come back to the 5& dime
Fitzpatrick Hall, Queens, 19:30, £4/5
Snippets: Footlight’s Spring Revue
ADC Theatre, 19:45, £6/8
Indivisible Pembroke, 22:00, £4/5
RAG Stand-up Comedy Final
ADC Theatre, 23:00 £4/5
Hayseed Dixie @ The Junction
Arts Picturehouse, 12.00,
14.10,21.00, £5
Be Kind Rewind (12)
21.00£5 ★★☆☆☆
14.15, 17.30, 20.45 £5
★★★★★
The Fate of a Cockroach
Corpus Playroom, 19:00, £4/5.50
Come back to the 5& dime
Fitzpatrick Hall, Queens, 19:30, £4/5
Snippets: Footlight’s Spring Revue
ADC Theatre, 19:45, £6/8
Indivisible Pembroke, 22:00, £4/5
Dulcitius
ADC Theatre, 23:00 £4/5
Kid Harpoon + Peggy Sue and The
Pirates @ The Barfly
The Loudest Bluegrass Band in
the World Has Just Gotten Louder.
American Rockgrass raconteurs Hayseed Dixie tour their seventh album
“No Covers”, a new full length album
for 2008 of all original material.
Having toured in support of Mystery
Jets, Larrikin Love, Jamie T, Fields
& more expect Kid Harpoon to bring
fear, excitement and joy like no ‘folk’
singer you’ve ever seen.
CUSU Hustings
Newnham, 17:30
New Hall, 19:00
Homerton, 21:00
RAG University Challenge
Emmanuel Old Library, 20:00
CUSU Hustings
Robinson, 18:00
St Catherine’s, 20:00
Left Tea Party
The Cafe Project, 22 Jesus Lane,
17:00
Breakdance @ Queens’ Ent
Queen’s College, 23:00
Nerdi Film: Keane
Newnham Old Labs, 20:00
CUSU Hustings
Pembroke, 12:30
Selwyn, 19:00
Churchill, 21:00
Mastana
Cambridge Corn Exchange
CUSU Hustings
Emmanuel, 17:00
Kings, 18:15
Jesus, 19:30
Girton, 21:30,
CUSU Voting Opens Online Use your vote!
CUSU Hustings
St John’s, 17:30
CUSU Online Voting Closes - 20:00
- Make sure you use your vote!
Financial Times Journalism Workshop
Cambridge Union Chamber, 17:30
CUSU Paper Voting
Across colleges, throughout the day
Tianqi Yu’s ‘Photographing Shenzhen’
Graduate Union, Mill Road, 19:00
BumpsOmnibus|35
MEN’S LENT BUMPS CHARTS DIVs 1 & 2
cauis
emmanuel
downing
trinity hall
lmbc
clare
newnham
churchill
churchill
pembroke
girton
kings’
pembroke
queens’
queens’
fitzwilliam
trinity hall
christ’s
fitzwilliam
selwyn
christ’s
magdalene
selwyn
robinson / lmbc ii
st. catharine’s
Men’s Second Division
Women’s Second Division
Day 4
lmbc ii / robinson
peterhouse
cauis ii
new hall
wolfson
robinson
1st and 3rd ii
jesus ii
st. catherine’s
king’s
girton
ccat
peterhouse
lmbc ii
jesus ii
sydney sussex
sydney sussex
emmanuel ii
corpus
darwin
emmanuel ii
magdalene
darwin
pembroke ii
churchill ii
wolfson
downing ii
st. edmund’s
pembroke ii
cauis ii
ccat
homerton
homerton
newnham ii /
l.cav+h.hall
Day 4
downing
Day 4
emmanuel
Day 3
lmbc
Day 3
clare
Day 2
cauis
Day 1
jesus
Day 3
jesus
Day 2
trinity
Day 1
1st and 3rd
Day 2
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
Women’s First Division
Men’s First Division
Day 1
WOMEN’S LENT BUMPS CHARTS DIVs 1 & 2
36|Sport
Girton and Christ’s hold nerve
to make final
CHURCHILL
2
Mark Baxter
L
ast weekend, Christ’s
and Churchill met on
a blustery afternoon
to contest for a place
in the Cuppers final on
Grange Road. With both
teams sitting in the bottom half of
the first division league table and
with so much at stake, the match
promised to be a tense encounter.
With nothing to separate the teams
after 120 minutes, the game was
ultimately decided on the lottery
that is penalties.
Both teams started the game
nervously with each defence dominating in the air and on the ground.
Indeed, it took 10 minutes for either team to fashion an opportunity. A good ball into the Churchill
box from the left, was controlled by
the Christ’s nippy No.10 Harrison,
who swivelled before firing into the
arms of Churchill keeper Dara Olufon.
This seemed to settle the Christ’s
team who, playing with the wind,
began to get the ball down and
string some passes together. However, it was Churchill who made the
breakthrough just before the break
with their first real attack. A cross
from the left wing was not dealt
with properly by the Christ’s defence, and as the ball bounced on
the edge of the box, it was met by
Jeff Wessler who placed it precisely
into the corner underneath the diving Murray to send the Churchill
crowd, trumpet-wielding bear-mascot included, into raptures.
With neither side giving much
away in mid-field and time running
out, Christ’s found an equaliser
from a set piece. Captain Bartle de-
CHRIST’S win 2-1 on penalties
livered a beautiful ball into the box,
which an onrushing Consoli, who
had an all round good performance,
volleyed powerfully into the top
corner to the joy of the vociferous
Christ’s support.
With the score 1 apiece after 90
minutes, 30 minutes of extra-time
had to be played. Straight from the
kick-off, Churchill re-took the lead.
The impressive Huw Jones robbed
a Christ’s midfielder of possession
and shot across goal, forcing Murray to make a good save. However,
in parrying the initial shot, Murray
only succeeded in placing the ball
at the feet of Haslett who had the
easy task of slotting home from 6
yards.
This early set-back seemed to
spur Christ’s on and they began to
threaten again, particularly from
set-pieces. Indeed it was from a
set-piece that they managed to get
back on level terms late in the second period of extra-time. A super
delivery by Turnbull found Brown
at the back post and as his effort
was fumbled by the Chruchill netminder, he followed up to bundle
the ball over the line.
The defences stood strong for
the remainder of the truly exhilarating encounter and as the
referee’s whistle blew; both sets
of players and fans braced themselves for the dreaded penalties.
Both keepers made a number
of outstanding saves: only Harrison and George for Christs and
Stephens for Churchill scored. As
Haslett slotted his penalty narrowly wide, there was cue for Christ’s
celebrations. As their pitches
transformed into a sea of euphoric
blue, Churchill could only contemplate what might have been.
2
Photo: Andy Marsh
CHRIST’S
JESUS
0
GIRTON
0
Tom Wainwright
S
econd division Girton
met high-flying, topdivision title challenging Jesus in a hotly
anticipated clash at
Churchill pitches.
The forty-strong Girton crowd,
complete with homemade banner,
contributed to a carnival atmosphere and were more than happy
to offer friendly and impartial advice to the referee.
The ebb and flow of play was
largely dictated by the strong
wind blowing the length of the
pitch. Jesus exploited the conditions after surviving an early
penalty shout, sending the ball
high to their tall front men, while
Girton preferred to play out of defence.
Each strove to impose themselves and the middle of the pitch
became a battleground, climaxing in Hylands taking a boot to
a delicate area from Jesus rugby
player Fiori. Opportunities followed creative work down the
flanks by Saloojee for Jesus and
Vincent for Girton, but both defences soaked up the alternating
periods of pressure.
The second stanza began at
the same pace as green shirts
piled forward, Levenston coming
to the fore in central midfield and
captain Calvert putting in a performance worthy of Terry Butcher
after a high boot left him with an
embarrassing, Harry Potter-esque
scar. Jesus’ frustration grew and
niggling play resulted in yellow
cards, so to combat the drop in
tempo, Girtonian Weston came
on to add some class, along with
GIRTON win 3-0 on penalties
Gethin and impact player Samuel,
while crowd favourite and former
linesman Laakso replaced injured
Jesus right-back Canavan. However, both sides lacked the finishing
touch.
The players grew visibly exhausted as the match petered into
extra time and the referee looked
in danger of needing life support.
Jesus took the initiative,
forcing last-ditch tackling from
Hunter and resulting in Weston
up-ending Farrell in the box. The
referee had no choice but to award
the kick but dramatically, Loxam’s
spot kick was saved by Blake and
in a nail-biting finish, both teams
had chances to clinch the result.
Jesus pressure saw O’Brien
clearing off Girton’s line and the
Russian linesman’s flag stayed
down, then Taylor hit the bar
with a looping effort, while at the
other end of the pitch, Jesus captain Rees cynically brought down
the Girton front man who was
through on goal.
Ultimately, penalties would
determine the winner and with
scenes identical to those the previous day, Churchill pitches once
again witnessed players standing
on halfway, with arms linked and
hearts on sleeves.
Gethin buried Girton’s first
followed by Cook and King, their
place in the final secured by three
saves from TCS man-of-the-match
Blake.
Cue heartbreak for Jesus, who
must now turn to the league, but
joy for Girton, who hope to claim
the scalp of Christ’s (and Blake’s
twin brother) in the final at
Grange Road on March 10th in the
season’s long-awaited finale.
Cambridge win ding-dong
ping-pong battle
Varsity Table Tennis
Doug Speed
The day kicked off with the men’s
seconds. Cambridge opened up a
4-2 lead after the first four singles
and two doubles. However Oxford
launched a comeback with wins
from their numbers one and two
against their cambridge counterparts, leaving the match balanced
at four games each. With the final
two singles played simultaneously
it was down to Kai Ting Wong and
Matthew Jarvis to decide the result. Both
matches
went to
CAMBRIDGE
MEN
OXFORD
8
CAMBRIDGE
WOMEN
2
OXFORD
a deciding leg, and a few minutes
after Oxford clinched a 5-4 lead,
the freak occurence of a service
fault at deuce by the Oxford number 4 gifted Cambridge the draw.
Both first teams started poorly
by going 1-0 down, but thereafter
it was one way traffic for Cambridge who had greater
8
CAMBRIDGE
MEN’S 2nds
5
2
OXFORD
5
depth of quality in both the men’s
and women’s events. Three wins a
piece from Hang Li, Xiaoxiao Du, Devesh Shete and Doug Speed secured
8-2 victories as Cambridge claimed
4.5 points out of a possible five in
the Varsity Table Tennis Event. The
result means that Cambridge lead
the overall Varsity men’s event (3130) for the first time in 32 years.
Sport|37
TAKE
THAT!
Varsity Karate
Cambridge beat Oxford to retain Enoeda Cup
Tom Johnson
T
Oxford the
sharper
Varsity Fencing
Alex O’Connell
Mary Cohen
Richard Booth
C
ambridge’s
blues
fielded an international sabre trio of
Alex O’Connell, Anthony Crutchett, and
Danny Ryan. While
Ryan’s reach and technical prowess
proved crucial and Crutchett’s fleet
of foot left his Oxford counterpart
for dust, O’Connell recovered from
a poor start to help Cambridge to
a comfortable 45-18 win. Ryan’s
impressive versatility helped him
beat an GB international in the
foil, but despite strong performances from Dan Summerbell and
Zach Eaton-Rosen (in his debut),
Oxford pulled away to win 45-27
and set up a tight Epee. The Epee
began promisingly for Cambridge
with good debuts from Tom Most
and J-O Frohlich complementing a
strong win for Chris Greensides.
The fixture reached a climax
when Oxford’s captain helped the
dark blues to a small advantage
in the penultimate fight. In the
deciding duel, Greensides was unable to beat another international,
leaving Oxford just ahead on 108103.
The Oxford women’s team featured former internationals in foil,
Epee and Sabre, including captain
Sophie Trionano. Cambridge rallied after just losing the sabre to
win the Epee handsomely, with
excellent work by Heide Niesalla,
and lead by five points going in to
the foil. The lead was not enough,
however, as Oxford’s experience
in the day’s last event truly told
against the light blues. Oxford
won the event 123-105.
Cambridge’s second women’s
team provided the day’s only victory with notable performances
from pentatheletes Vickey Bradley and Lucy Greenwood. Despite
drawing the first blood, Oxford
built up an early lead against the
Cutthroats (Men’s second team),
with a brave rearguard effort from
Tom Williams reducing the deficit
in the Epee.
Cambridge rallied in an openfought Sabre battle so that the
teams went in level to the foil. It
went down to the wire, with Cambridge squandering a 2-point lead
going in to the final fight (against
a skilled international). Oxford
124-119.
he Cambridge University Karate Club made
last Saturday the a day
to remember in the
history of the Varsity
match when they again
ended the day victorious against Oxford. Both teams came to the match
with a hunger for victory; a resurgent Oxford found itself on home
territory and keen to put last year’s
whitewash behind them as they
challenged a Cambridge still buoyant from their first victory in years.
Oxford forced the Cambridge team
to board a 6am coach for the match,
but after arrival it was Cambride that
called the shots.
In the hall itself the eager and
spirited Cambridge squad arranged
in a circle for a warm-up overlooked
by a loud and proud band of supporters, their cheeks striped with
the instantly recognisable war paint
of Cambridge blue; together with
the vocal presence of the Cambridge
supporters, Cambridge performances
received the appreciative applause
of an Oxford audience that is only to
be expected from a home crowd.
After a fitting team speech from
Tom Johnson, the Cambridge men’s
captain, the Varsity match began in
the way it was to continue, with a
Cambridge victory: the men’s kata
division A set the tone for the day’s
events as Cambridge racked up 36
points to Oxford’s 20. Men’s division
B kata was won with a telling 31 to
25 scoreline; the impressive scores
throughout were no more remarkable than the performances which
attained them, including division
topping efforts from Roman Styzler
and Nicholas Edwards. Partner ing
Nick Worth, they won the division
B team kata with a degree of professionalism matched by the division
A team kata (Paul Smith, Ian MacLeod, and Tom Johnson), drawing
deserved applause from the entire
hall.
When it came to the men’s division A and B kumite (freestyle fighting) events the quality on offer from
Cambridge was sustained and their
lead only increased; the men’s team
A competitors notched up 7 wins,
drawing only once, and losing twice,
and the B team succeeded in winning and losing twice, again with
one draw. Cambridge was head and
shoulders above the opposition; in
particular the spirited combat of
Paul Smith, and the masterly control
of Ian Macleod each left their mark
in their hard-fought matches.
In the women’s division Cambridge were again strong, with particularly impressive performances
from Madeleine Wood and Charlie
Gray in their individual events and
in their victorious team kata performance alongside Irina Kraicheva.
In the women’s kumite events Cambridge seemed to hammer home the
quality of the squad; in particular
Madeleine Wood, the women’s team
captain, led by example. Excellent
performances by all five of the Cambridge Women’s squad members met
the experienced Oxford team exactly and this years Varsity saw the
first ever exact draw at 75 points a
piece.
The two wins for the Men’s A and
B teams with the draw from the
Women’s team left Cambridge ahead
overall, and the squad therefore retained the coveted Enoeda Cup.
38|Sport
Light Blue Revenge
Double victory for Cambridge as Blues pull through shoot-out and Eagles soar to easy Victory
CAMBRIDGE
1
1
OXFORD
1
1
Liv Hanks & Rebecca Fisher
A
year after the disappointment of losing to Oxford in the
Varsity match’s first
ever penalty shootout, Cambridge must
have feared history was repeating
itself when the whistle blew after
120 exhausting minutes of football
to signal that it would come down
to spot-kicks again. This time, however, there was to be glory after all,
goalkeeper Lisa O’Dea saving two
of Oxford’s attempts for a well-deserved Cambridge victory.
Right from the start, the Light
Blues had shown their determination to avenge last year’s defeat,
and they came close to scoring early
on when Nikki Hoffman outjumped
Oxford keeper Katy Langley to head
narrowly wide.
Despite Cambridge’s early dominance, it was Oxford who went
ahead against the run of play when
they won a free-kick on the lefthand side. Ann Harvey’s effort was
parried by O’Dea, but she was unable to hold the ball and in the resulting melee the ball was prodded
over the line by the Oxford striker.
Cambridge created further chances
before half-time, going agonisingly
OXFORD CENTAURS
0
CAMBRIDGE EAGLES
3
Liv Hanks
T
he Eagles retained the
Varsity trophy as goals
from Kristina Cammen,
Liv Hanks and captain
Ellie Nalson handed
them an emphatic victory over a determined Oxford side
in front of a vocal away support.
Cambridge although dominating
possession, initially struggled with
the final delivery.
The best of the early chances fell
to Sophie Goodall, whose persistence found her a way through the
Oxford defence before keeper Grace
Buchanan pounced to smother the
ball. Furies midfielder Emma Dickinson was a threat throughout, as
was tricky Oxford captain Ejiro Oviri, whose skill in possession carved
out several openings, perhaps the
best of which was a shot that she
herself dragged wide.
An assured display from keeper
Alice Barnes boosted Cambridge’s
confidence, and their breakthrough
came just before half time when Hemali Patel’s shot was tipped round
the post by Buchanan, and Lindsay
Cameron’s resulting corner found
Cammen at the far post for the de-
Cambridge win 4-2 on
penalties
fender to powerfully head home.
Cambridge survived a scare
when Oviri’s shot hit the post and
rebounded agonisingly across the
six-yard box before Emma Stones
was able to clear. Minutes later,
the Eagles did double their advantage in what was a mirror-image of
their opening goal; this time it was
Hanks whose header met Cameron’s
beautifully-flighted corner after
good work by Nalson on the right
wing. Although they continued to
threaten down the right-hand side,
Oxford found no reply, and it was
chiefly the pace of Eagles captain
Nalson and substitute Kate Orf that
caught the eye in the closing stages.
Hadley-Brown held off two Furies
defenders to find Nalson in space
in the area, and the captain coolly
slotted past the keeper to wrap up
the victory. Nalson, who was voted
Cambridge’s player of the match by
the Oxford team, was enthusiastic
in praise of the Eagles’ exploits.
“They put in another awesome
performance today and deserve to
come away with such a convincing victory,” she said. “Every single
player today showed just how good
they are. I am so proud to be their
captain.”
close when Hughes just failed to
connect with Becks Fisher’s cross,
but Oxford’s defence - inspired by
an excellent performance from captain Kate Roper - stood firm, and in
spite of their dominance, Cambridge
ended the half trailing 1-0.
The start of the second half saw
a renewed onslaught on the Oxford
goal. From the kick off a beautiful
passing move saw Cambridge centre-back Claire Hollingsworth send
a perfectly-judged ball over the
head of Roper and into the path
of Hughes, whose shot went nar-
rowly wide. The equaliser seemed
certain to arrive, and it did so not
long into the second half when
Haydock’s pass found Catherine
Murphy, whose skill took her past
two opponents and allowed her to
fire in a low shot. She was denied
by the post, but Fisher, arriving in
the six-yard box, stroked home the
rebound to put the sides on level
terms.
Cambridge continued to dominate, with Haydock and Lisa Grimes
never allowing Oxford’s midfield to
take hold of the game. Strong sec-
ond half displays from full-backs
Lizzie Richardson and Clare Ross
kept the Dark Blues’ wingers at
bay, while the ever-energetic Murphy continued to threaten at the
other end, but nobody was able to
find a winner as the game headed
into extra time. Chances came and
went for both teams and as Hollingsworth failed to connect when
sliding onto a low ball at the far
post at the death, the growing air
of inevitability began to set in.
And sure enough, penalties it
was. This time, however, the Light
Blues showed great technique and
composure, Haydock, Grimes and
Clare Longden all scoring their
kicks, with Langley saving Fisher’s
effort. O’Dea denied Oxford’s third
and fourth takers, leaving Murphy
to step up and slot the ball into the
bottom corner, sending Cambridge
and their travelling support wild
with delight. Proud captain Grimes
commented: “It was a tough game
and there were a lot of tired legs
out there but Cambridge were the
stronger team throughout and were
unlucky not to win outright within
90 minutes. Penalties are never
a nice way to end a game but we
thoroughly deserved to come away
victorious today.”
Squanderers Go 2nd
CAMBRIDGE
10
LONG SUTTON
0
Tom Bullock
T
he Squanderers (Cambridge University 3’s
hockey) went into
Saturday’s match on
the back of a 6 match
unbeaten run, looking
to cement 2nd place in the league.
Up against bottom of the table
Long Sutton prematch confidence
was high.
The game started at high pace,
with Long Sutton soon resorting to
packing the D, in a vain attempt
to slow the pace of the game. The
pressure soon told, and they found
the ball penetrating their defence
at will, although the final touch
from the light blues was lacking.
It took until the tenth minute for
the deadlock to be broken, with
a well worked short corner falling
to Owen Kemp at the back post,
Kemp, down from the 2’s for the
day made no mistake and coolly
slotted home, giving Cambridge
By this stage
the midfield
were running
rampant
the lead. This break through led to
a period of prolonged possession
and trying for outcomes in the D,
Cambridge won two penalty flicks
in quick succession, James Hindson
scoring the first, and Captain Tom
Bullock the second. The forth goal
followed just before half time, with
Andrew Bailey making a break into
the area and Bullock picking up the
rebound off the ‘keeper.
Cambridge started the second
half with a very attacking 3-3-4
line up, looking to enhance their
goal difference. The aggressive
change worked, with the backs
pushing high, Mumford and Edwards, two defenders both added to
the total. By this stage the midfield
were running rampant with crosses
flying into the area from all angles,
seeing 4 more past the Long Sutton
goalkeeper, leaving the final score
at 10-0 to the light blues.
Next week sees the Squanderer’s take on the team challenging
them for second, Ely City, in what
is a true 6-pointer and should be a
much closer contest.
NEXT WEEK WARM-UP TO: THE BOAT RACE
THE WARM-UP
Sport|39
Ice Hockey:
Violence on Ice?
Michael Ostheimer
VARSITY
FOOTBALL
Mark Baxter
T
he 124th Varsity
football match will
be played at Craven
Cottage on the 29th
March. With kickoff at 1:15pm and a
special area sectioned off outside
the stadium on the bank of the
Thames for Cambridge football
fans, it is hoped that as many
people as possible will attend
both the football and the boat
race. The stadium will be a hive of
activity, with the terrace providing an excellent viewing platform
for thousands of sports enthusiasts.
Form Guide: Overall, the Blues
have had a poor season given the
talent that is present within the
squad. However, they have been
extremely unlucky in terms of injuries, with one week in Michealmas depriving them of 11 players
for their next game. When everyone has been fit, the Blues have
shown their capabilities as demonstrated by their demolition of
Loughborough III’s 5-0 in one of
their BUSA games. With a number
of games scheduled for the next
few weeks, Anthony Murphy’s
side will be looking to build some
momentum to take them into the
Varsity match.
In contrast, Oxford, who
are coached by Arsenal legend
Martin Keown, have enjoyed a
very successful season. They
won their BUSA league, losing only once in the process
and appear to be in fine form.
Key Player: Matt Stock – It is
no coincidence that the majority of the Blues goals this season
have come when Stock has been
playing. With his blistering pace,
great touch and calmness in front
of goal, he could be the difference
between the two teams on 29th
March. He has been unlucky with
injuries this year, but if he remains fit, the Oxford defence are
in for a tiring 90mins.
Others to look out for
Michael Johnson – Has the vision to cause Oxford problems especially if he gets lots of the ball in
good positions
Alex Coleman – Alex was captain last year and is a big influence
in the centre of the park with his
strong tackling and late surges into
the box
Prediction: With Varsity being a
one-off match, form goes out the
window. Cambridge have an abundance of experience with veterans
Dean, Turnbull, Pantelides, Coleman and Mills and will be gunning
for a third successive Varsity victory for the first time since 1988. I
expect the match to be a close affair that may, for the second year
running, be decided on penalties.
2-2 with Cambridge to win again on
penalties
Tickets: £12 for a program, the
match and prime boat race viewing.
£8 for the match alone. Tickets can
be bought online (www.fulhamfc.
com), from any university player
within your college or if you email
Will Lalande (whl23).
OXFORD vs CAMBRIDGE
1:15 pm Saturday 29th
March 2008
Squad of 16 from:
Goalkeepers:
James Dean (Darwin)
Stu Ferguson (King’s)
Chris Ellis (Jesus)
Defenders:
Nick Pantelides (John’s)
Chris Turnbull (Christ’s)
Ali Hakimi (Darwin)
Jamie Brown (Christs)
Anthony Murphy (c) (Sidney)
Matt Leung (Downing)
Wayne Redmond (John’s)
Midfielders:
Jamie Rutt (Trinity)
Alex Coleman (Queens’)
Will Lalande (Queens’)
David Mills (Catz)
Mark Baxter (Selwyn)
Luke Pendelbury (Homerton)
Mike Stark (Selwyn)
Eddie Burrows (Fitz)
Strikers:
Michael Johnson (Jesus)
Matt Stock (Catz)
Chris Gotch (Trinity)
Matt Amos (Queens’)
Mattie Gethin (Girton)
T
he word ‘ice’, by itself and in a nondrink related context, has a ring about
it that either implies
a painful production
of Aladdin on ice with lots of
spandex and glitter, or glacial
trekking and big fur coats. Simply add the word ‘hockey’ and
suddenly your mental image is
transformed into two guys tearing their gloves off and pummelling each other to kingdom
come as they slip over and slide
into the glass wall. Do, however,
note that the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club has put a
link to ‘Cambridge on Ice’, the
Parker’s Piece spectacular, on its
website.
The fact that the first players of the game were Crimean
War Veterans from the Canadian
Rifles somehow makes perfect
sense when you see the game
played. The goal keeper was assigned the name ‘goal minder’
which has a brilliant violent mafia type connotation. Reinforcing such an analogy is the fact
that when the ‘minder’ commits
a foul, one of the other team/
gang members serves his time
for him in the penalty box/prison. One of the Cambridge University minders is Gareth Barry,
sizing up at 6’9”. If I were you, I
opt against arguments with him
where possible.
When kitted up, the players,
especially the minder, look to
me like the end product putting
Robocop on ice skates. I myself would quite like to do this
but I fear that TCS funding is
inadequate for such a task. The
only downside to the kit that I
can see is that the stick looks
ever so slightly like a really
long-handled cooking spatula.
To quash such a claim, product descriptions such as: “The
.520 power taper helps increase
torsional stiffness to maximize
loading with less torquing,”
keep such sticks well out of the
reach of the long-range chef.
When kitted
up, the players
look like
Robocop on ice
skates
You know a sport’s doing well
when the computer games for it
have built in parts for punch ups
and special moves when beating
up other players: for those that
play in real life it must be well
worth the efforts. I somewhat
resemble an arrow when on ice
skates: straight and true, and
very quick – but unlikely to
stop without hitting someone,
something or eventually resigning myself to the ground. As a
result I may choose to recreate
my own version of ice hockey at
Parker’s Piece once a year, but
other than that my options are
limited. If it’s a similar story for
yourself – do come join me.
ICE HOCKEY IN CAMBRIDGE
Founded in 1885, the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club
is one of the oldest hockey clubs in existence. The first Varsity
Match was played in 1885 at St. Moritz in Switzerland, and the
annual Cambridge-Oxford match has been recognised by the
Hockey Hall of Fame as the oldest ongoing hockey rivalry in the
world. The 2008 Varsity Match will be played away at Oxford this
year on Saturday 1st March. Prospective players for next year
should contact Blues Captain Chris Hurn ([email protected]).
SPORT
SPORTIN
INBRIEF
BRIEF
FOOTBALL
JOHN’S CRUSH
HAPLESS HOMERTON
John’s systematically destroyed a poor, if slightly understrength, Homerton outfit 5-0 in
the first plate semi-final on Sunday. They will go on to face fellow
first division Catz who edged past
a resilient Magdalene by two goals
to one.
WATER POLO
CAMBRIDGE WARM-UP TO
VARSITY
TRAMPOLINING
BLUES BOUNCE
BACK
A correction from last week: It was
in fact the Cambridge 2nds team
that was defeated by Warwick,
whereas the 1st team beat them
comprehensively. They were also
victorious over City last Thursday
9-8.
Cambridge beat Oxford 431 - 381.1
in the trampolining Varsity match
this week. All three teams beat
Oxford and the light blues also
wrapped up individual victories in
all three categories.
SHOOTING
CAMBRIDGE BORE RIVALS
Cambridge ‘upped the ante’ in the
Varsity battles of the last week,
taking out some small-bore shotguns to teach ‘the Scum’ a lesson.
CUSBC thrashed Oxford University
Rifle Club. Their score was higher
than any score in Varsity history,
earning Gaz Morris, Ed Dickson,
James Diviney and Peter Brett half
blues. Don’t mess with them.
FOOTBALL
JESUS DISPATCH
DOWNING
Jesus defeated Downing 1-0
in the semi-final of the Shield
competition. Captain Jordan Clay
cooly dispatched a first-half penalty
to take his side through to the final
against either Queens or Caius in
two weeks time.
Sport
INSIDE
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685
THE WARM-UP: VARSITY FOOTBALL
Photo: Chris Daniels / Hammad Parwaiz
Cambridge defeat
Oxford in Frisbee Varsity
Hammad Parwaiz
O
n Friday February 22 the Cambridge University
Ultimate
Frisbee
teams, also known
as Strange Blue
(SB), travelled down to Oxford
for the annual Indoor Varsity
games.
This year, much like the past
three years, turned out to be
very fruitful for the SB teams,
who won two out of their three
games. The SB first team won
comfortably 12-7, the second
team narrowly lost 12-14 and
the women’s team well and truly trounced Oxford, also known
as OW, 13-3.
The day started off with the
second’s game. OW came out
strong, and their greater experience of playing indoor Frisbee
showed early on in the game, as
they stretched an early lead.
But with some good handling from SB and some solid
end zone play, SB managed to
stay in touch. At 11-7 down,
the game looked to be slipping
away, but sheer determination
and great Frisbee led SB to
equalise at 12-12.
This then led to a tense period where the teams had to play
to a cap of 14 points. The next
few minutes were crucial. The
competitiveness of the game
created a great atmosphere, as
supporters of both sides got involved from the sidelines. But
the game had a cruel finish for
SB, with OW stealing two quick
points to take the game 14-12.
Not an ideal start, but there
were two more games to come.
Next, it was the turn of the SB
first team. The pressure was on
to retain the title of varsity indoor champions for the fourth
year in a row.
The game was extremely
close at the beginning. Both
teams came out with a sense of
urgency and played with intensity. Teams were scoring alternate points, and there was not
much separating the two sides.
Both sides had to work extremely hard for each point, and the
game was delicately poised at
The Cambridge 1st team won 12-7, whilst the 2nd team lost 12-14. The
women’s team were comprehensive victors 13-3.
4-4. It could have gone either
way.
But SB stepped it up a gear
and accelerated away to an 11-4
lead, and once in front, never
looked like relinquishing the
lead. They looked the better
team, with the extra training
and fitness sessions showing in
their performance on the pitch.
There was strong handling from
the captain, Simon Dathan,
and the president, Chris ‘Magic’
Rowlands, as well as skilful end
zone play with some awesome
grabs.
A few sloppy errors resulted
in a 12-7 score line, but this
did not detract from the superb
performance by an SB team that
was quite simply too much for
OW to handle.
After the match, Jon Middleton was named Cambridge’s
most valued player, for his unbeatable end zone play and numerous scores.
Speaking after the match,
Simon Dathan, captain of the
first team, told The Cambridge
Student, “Oxford got some good
blocks and quick scores, however, we were able to identify
their strengths and adapt our
defence to contain their game
and this allowed us to take our
chances on offence and build up
a comfortable lead. “Although
Oxford got a few late points we
held out for the win and look
forward to competing again
during the outdoor season.”
With a big victory under their
belt, it was now the turn of the
SB women to shine. They were
fast off the blocks, racing to
an 11-1 lead. There were some
great passes, especially from
Kelly Hogan, and elusive end
zone play from Susanna Bidgood, and others, that allowed
for easy scoring.
‘We were able
to identify
their strengths
and adapt our
defence to
contain their
game’
Oxford struggled to put passes together, which was in stark
contrast to SB, who played
flowing Frisbee. They looked on
form, and followed up their success at Women’s indoor nationals, where they secured 10th
place after being seeded 14th,
with another significant victory
here.
The final score line in the
women’s game was SB 13-3 OW;
a deserved result that truly reflected the gulf in quality between the two sides. It capped
off a successful day for SB Ultimate Frisbee, who now are
planning for the outdoor season
ahead, starting with University Student Outdoor Regionals
on the weekend of March 1-2,
which is being hosted by Cambridge.