The Grinch who stole Cambridge

Transcription

The Art of Revoluton p15
Soska Twins exclusive 'Exploitation' interview p18
Peter Hitchens speaks his mind p22
Dance review: Enigma p24
TheCambridgeStudent
January 24, 2013
Vol. 14
Lent Issue 2
The Grinch
who stole
Cambridge
Jenny Buckley
News Editor
This week, The Cambridge Student
contacted the Vice-Chancellor’s
office to ask whether the University
has any intention of beginning
legal proceedings against Ms
Taryn Edwards or The Cambridge
College Programme. A University
spokesman explained that the
University has no intention of
prosecuting Ms Edwards, either
under the 2006 Fraud Act for
her claims of being a former staff
member, or under British trademark
law for her unauthorised and
misleading use of the University
crest in her promotional material.
As reported in TCS last week, Ms
Edwards uses the reputation of the
University to promote her summer
camp programme, falsely describing
herself as a former honorary staff
member of Homerton College.
Ms Edwards has also successfully
convinced schools and colleges in
America that she is a legitimate
representative of the University, with
her summer programme featuring
as “Cambridge University” on the
National Association of High School
Scholars’ list of approved summer
school programmes. Edwards’
“unethical business practices” have
been condemned by a number of
colleges, many of whom are still
owed money by the Programme.
Students who have agreed to work
for Edwards in previous years are
still owed several thousand pounds.
Yet
the University has no
intention of beginning a legal case
against Ms Edwards, explaining that
they will not become involved unless
it is “clear that the likely benefit
to the University will outweigh
the potential costs involved.”
Although many colleges and
students are still owed money by Ms
Edwards, the University has made
its position clear, informing TCS
that it would not “contemplate legal
action in respect of alleged wrongful
conduct in respect of other parties,
such as Colleges or students.”
Continued on page 7...
News
Syrian Students:
Can't pay? Can't stay
Syrians at UK universities left
without support from their
government face the threat of
deportation and death
Page 07
Nick, Mitt and Gaga: Why Oxford Union is the missing link (p7)
'Nessie hits Cambridge': Unexpected snow art livens up the Sidgewick Site's bleak winter landscape (photography by David Hurley)
ARU's dark secret
• Anglia Ruskin pays more than £1,000 per student to unlicensed,
unregulated, unqualified uni-touts
• TCS exclusively reveals the secret "unethical" commission rates of
20 top UK universities
Gwen Jing & Tristram Fane Saunders
News Editor & Editor-in-chief
The Cambridge Student can
exclusively reveal that Anglia
Ruskin University (ARU) is among
a number of UK universities which
recruit overseas students by paying
unlicensed, unregulated ‘agents’ a
commission rate for every overseas
student they secure, a system which
is currently illegal in the United
States and considered “similar to
bribery” by education professionals.
These payments are channelled
through an international university
“preparation”
company
called
Kaplan
International
Colleges
(KIC), labelled by its former students
as a “scam school” which “takes
advantage of minorities.” Along
with offering “advice” for potential
applicants, Kaplan claims to offer
its students “guaranteed places”
at a number of UK universities, a
claim which TCS has verified as
true for at least one UK university.
Last year, a Times Higher
Education (THE) investigation
revealed that UK universities
recruited more than 50,000
international students through
commission payments to “overseas
agents” in 2011, but was unable to
Features
Secrets of the UL
Comment
What is history?
Read anything weird lately?
TCS trawls through the
oddest tomes uncovered
in the University Library's
'Tower Project'
Page 16
Michael Gove thinks he
know the answer. Anna
Lively thinks he doesn't.
Why the current curriculum
isn't so bad after all.
Page 12
publish commission rates, as many
of the universities they approached
refused to provide the information
on grounds of “financial sensitivity.”
However, TCS is now able to
exclusively reveal this information,
uncovered in a confidential document
listing the exact commission rates
paid to Kaplan by 72 UK universities.
Out of the universities listed,
ARU features among those paying
the highest commission rates,
offering a payment of more than
£1,000 (7.5% of one year’s tuition
fees) for each overseas student
provided by Kaplan’s ‘uni touts.’
(For an abbreviated version of
this list, see page 6). Miranda, a
second year Art Historian from
Peterhouse, said: “It’s outrageous.
When you consider the furore
over tuition fees ... if [universities]
are going to charge people that
much, then it should go towards
education, not shady outside agents.”
Continued on page 6....
International
Sport
Kaplan claims to
offer "guaranteed"
places at UK
universities
Mohamed Morsi:
Happily never after?
TCS analysises Morsi and
the Muslim Brotherhood's
'fragile' grasp of Egypt
Page 10
2020 Olympics:
Whose turn is it?
Hilary Samuels looks at
the seven sports all fighting
for one new position in the
Summer Olympics
Page 29
02 Editorial & News
T
he United Kingdom
used to be known for the
quality of its university
education. The prospect of
studying in this country draws
students from across the world,
and has done so for centuries.
This week, however, it seems that
Britain has forgotten quite why
this is. Too many universities
consider their overseas students
solely as a source of ready cash,
rather than as human beings. For
those Syrian students currently
studying in the UK, a British
university education is not just
Thursday, January 24th, 2013
EDITORIAL
an opportunity to study their
chosen subject, but a promise of
a safer life. Following the Syrian
government’s suspension of its
scholarship scheme, hundreds of
Syrian students face deportation
to a country where they risk
death on a daily basis (see “Can’t
pay? Can’t Stay”, page 7). TCS was
ashamed to hear that established
British universities, including
Liverpool, Birmingham and
Nottingham, are unwilling to
listen to the appeals of their own
students, left stranded without
the support of their home
country. The letters of expulsion
sent by these universities
are not an administrative,
financial
decision.
They
are
a
death
sentence.
~
This attitude appears even
more callous given the grasping
desperation of UK universities
to secure solvent overseas
students.
While
brilliant,
talented Syrian students find
themselves left without support
or security, scholars from the
“Kaplan International Colleges”
are given guaranteed university
places, despite having no
qualifications besides personal
wealth. Universities are caught
in a deranged bidding war,
offering higher and higher
commission rates to morally
dubious organisations in order
to secure as much foreign
capital as possible. TCS had
hoped Cambridge might be
able to offer a clearer moral
perspective, but these hopes
were dashed by the news that the
University is unwilling to defend
its name, its colleges, or the
security of its students in court
Hazel Shearing
Deputy News Editor
Punt touts are to lose out on
business after the High Court
supported a ban on tours from a
certain river station.
Having challenged the ban,
introduced
by
the
Cam
Conservators, the company Cam
Punting Ltd has shown outrage
at the court’s decision. The
punt station at the heart of the
controversy is Garret Hostel Lane,
which is not one of the six stations
deemed “fit for purpose” by the
court.
On Friday, Mr Justice Mitting
ruled that the Conservators were
fully justified in their decision.
He claimed Cam Punting Ltd’s
case was “unarguable” given
the congestion on the river and
the recent increase in punting
accidents. Any company now
found running tours from Garret
Hostel Lane are liable to face
prosecution.
After the Conservators argued
that the tours threatened public
safety, Judge Mitting ruled on the
basis that the ban should reduce
the number of punts and therefore
lower the chance of accidents. It
was revealed that this part of the
Cam lacked the safety equipment
found along the rest of the river,
increasing the risk in an area that
is already in a state of “chaos”,
according to Luke Wygas, the
Conservators’ barrister.
Although the Cam is far from
crowded at this time of year, punt
traffic can be a real problem during
the summer months with students
and toursist alike taking to the
river. A second year student from
St John’s College reflected on the
situation last summer: “You only
have to look at the pictures from
May Week… you can’t actually see
the Cam, it was just punts...The
river is really congested, I’ve known
people deliberately crash into you
to barge you out of the way. It can
actually be quite dangerous.”
Wygas condemned commercial
Andrew Stalwarts
operators who use the station
to “load and unload passengers
when it was not safe to do so”,
endangering the lives of their
customers.
Cambridge slams Gove’s reforms
AS level fiasco to be the death of access
Timur Cetin
Deputy News Editor
Mr Gove’s A-level reforms have
provoked outrage across the board
by the Labour party, teachers’
unions, student unions, universities
and exam boards, with some of the
most damning criticisms coming
from Cambridge University.
As part of the reforms, students
will no longer sit AS exams
at the end of the year, with
the consequence that universities
will no longer be able to use
these results as predictors
of A-level achievement. Mr
Gove cited “clear dissatisfaction
among
leading
university
academics about the preparation
of A-level pupils for advanced
studies” as justification for his
reforms.
Cambridge University issued a
statement saying that this change
would “jeopardise over a decade’s
progress towards fairer access.”
“AS is the most reliable indicator
available of an applicant’s
potential to thrive at Cambridge.
Using them in our admissions
process has enabled us recently
to achieve the highest levels of
state-sector participation in the
University in over 30 years.”
“A-level
remains
a
good
preparation
for
study at Cambridge.
Further improving the
examination in no way
requires the removal of
Year 12 examinations.
We greatly fear the
negative impact such a
removal would have on
widening participation –
and urge the Secretary of
State to change
the decision”,
the statement
said.
Speaking to The
Cambridge Student, Rosalyn Old,
the president of the Cambridge
University Students’ Union, stated:
“Michael Gove has united schools,
private schools, exam boards,
universities and business leaders
against his attack on fair access
to higher education. Cambridge’s
usual caution about
cha l leng ing
Government
policy
makes
the University’s
categorical
statement
of
opposition all the
stronger.”
“G ove r n me nt
spin-doctors are
pretending that the
Russell Group
- of which
Cambridge
is a leading
member
has
Wikimedia
(see ‘The Grinch Who Stole
Cambridge’, page 1). Students
owed thousands of pounds by
Ms Taryn Edwards’ fraudulent
“Cambridge College Programme”
have been told that they cannot
rely on the University’s support,
unless the University itself will
profit financially from Edwards’
prosecution.
The
message
to students is clear: British
universities do not care about
their reputation. They do not care
about your mind, your character,
or even your life expectancy.
They care about your wallet.
THE TEAM
Court in favour of punt ban
Clamp down on touting on Garret Hostel Lane
{TCS}
agreed to go along with his
plan. This is false, but they
are considering doing so.
Students will not stand for the
University allowing the Russell
Group to undermine our access
work in this way, and we
look forward to confirmation
that Cambridge has vetoed it.”
Brian Lightman, general secretary
of the Association of School
and College Leaders, said: “This is
a classic case of fixing something
that isn’t broken.” Toni Pearce,
deputy president of the National
Union of Students, called the
changes a “throwback to the 1950s”
and “dogmatic and ideological
policy-making at its very worst.”
“The
education
secretary’s
apparent mission to rage against
the modern world appears to
continue unabated, but it is young
people who are set to lose out as
a result of his self-indulgence”, he
added.
Editor in Chief:
Tristram Fane Saunders
[email protected]
News Editors:
Jenny Buckley & Gwen Jing
[email protected]
Deputy News Editors:
Madeleine Bell, Timur Cetin,
Adam Clark, Hazel Shearing
[email protected]
Magazine Editor:
Rebecca Thomas
Deputy Magazine Editor:
James Redburn
[email protected]
International Co-Editors:
Fahd Humayun & Daniel Rowe
[email protected]
Comment Co-Editors:
Izzy Bowen & Jeremy Wikeley
[email protected]
Features Editors:
Alice Eccles & Hannah Marcus
[email protected]
Interviews Editors:
Emily Handley & Harry Peto
[email protected]
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[email protected]
Film Editor: Arjun Sajip
[email protected]
Art Editors:
Miranda Bain & Jake Wood
[email protected]
Books Editor: Georgia Wagstaff
[email protected]
Theatre Co-Editors:
Suzanne Duffy
& Hannah Greenstreet
[email protected]
Listings & Events Editor:
Jenni Reid
[email protected]
Sport Co-Editors:
Nick Butler & Gerald Wu
[email protected]
Sub-Editors: Ashley Chhibber,
Zahra Mashhood, Jeni Bloomfield,
Katherine Bond, Isbel Adomakoh
Young, Yema Stowell, Olivia Morgan
& Sky Holmes
Web Editor: Mark Curtis
Board of Directors: Mark Curtis
(Business), Zoah Hedges-Stocks
(invited member), Michael
Yoganayagam (invited member),
Dom Weldon, Dan Green,
Nicholas Tufnell (co-chair),
Laurence Tidy (co-chair)
The Cambridge Student is editorially independent
and financially self-sufficient.
The Cambridge Student is published by Cambridge
University Students’ Union. All copyright is the
exclusive property of the Cambridge University
Students’ Union. No part of this publication is to
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permission of the publisher.
NEWSPAPERS
SUPPORT
RECYCLING
Recycled paper made up
80.6% of the raw material for
UK newspapers in 2006
{TCS} Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Cambridge team
find four-strand
DNA
Cambridge scientists have found
four strand DNA in living cells
for the first time. Square-shaped,
four stranded DNA structures,
called G-quadruplexes have been
created in labs before, but this
is the first time they have been
proved to exist in human cells.
The team, led by Shankar
Balasubramanian, has been
working on the research for over
ten years. The DNA has been
found in human cancer cells,
sparking hopes that it could
be used in cancer research.
However scientists are unsure
if the DNA plays a biological
function or is the result
of
evolutionary
mistakes.
Cambridge named
most gay-friendly
university employer
Gay rights charity Stonewall
has compiled a list of the top
100 employers,
based on
the number of homosexual
employees, and policies on
sexual orientation equality.
Cambridge University ranked the
highest out of the six universities
included, coming 11th overall.
Stonewall’s Workplace Equality
Index 2013 uses a variety of
assessments to rank employers,
including
self-assessment,
staff surveys and interviews.
Cambridge was commended
for its dedication to leadership
opportunities
for
gay
academics, such as professional
development
workshops
focusing on LGBT staff.
New technology to
improve Hawking’s
speech
Feeling old? Seven year-olds {TCS}
targeted by universities
ONLINE
Georgina Spittle
News Reporter
The Office for Fair Access (OFFA)
has laid out new guidelines asking
universities and colleges to do
more long-term work to help send
underprivileged students to university,
encouraging
higher
education
institutions to target children as young
as seven.
The access agreements for the
academic year 2014-15 from
universities and colleges which charge
more than £6,000 in tuition fees will
need to include evidence regarding
how they plan to reach more children
and potential mature students in
areas where few consider university.
Without these agreements universities
will be unable to charge more than the
basic fee for tuition.
In a press release the Director of
OFFA, Professor Les Ebdon stated
that “while work with teenagers is very
useful and should continue, we are
keen to see more long-term schemes
that start at a younger age and persist
through the school year.” Prof. Ebdon
suggested that activities such as
“summer schools, masterclasses and
mentoring” would be encouraged.
It is not clear how these guidelines
mayaffectthenumbersofschoolleavers
going on to apprenticeships or jobs
rather than university, however many
organisations and universities have
supported Prof. Ebdon’s document. A
spokesman for Cambridge University
told The Cambridge Student: “The
University has received OFFA’s advice
on preparing the 2014-15 Access
• Sugar Daddy,
take me out!
Cambridge University
has the highest
number of female
students signed up to
online ‘sugar-daddy’
dating
• Disgraced
Pakistani
minister sparks
protest
Students protest as
Nawab Raisani stays
at Doubletree Hilton
Hotel
Chefranden
Agreement, and looks forward to
working with OFFA on our new
access agreement.” The guidelines
suggest, as has often been argued by
Russell Group universities, that it is
not discrimination at university level
which hinders young people, but poor
advice and attainment at school.
President of the NUS, Liam Burns,
in talking to The Guardian argued that
“outreach programmes can be very
helpful in widening access, but it is no
good getting students into institutions
if they can’t afford to pay their living
costs when they’re there, and have to
drop out as a result”. With more money
being spent to conform to the new
guidelines and OFFA encouraging
universities to sponsor free schools and
academies, some question whether
this may hinder poorer students when
they get to university.
Currently all English universities
are charging more than £6,000
in tuition fees and so will have to
reconsider how they will prepare
their access agreements for 2014-15.
However, with emphasis to be placed
on children as young as seven, it will
take a number of years before it will be
possible to assess the impact of these
guidelines.
Beard slams Twitter trolls
Madeleine Bell
Deputy News Editor
Cambridge University Classics
Professor and television presenter
Mary Beard has refused to back down
after receiving a torrent of “truly vile”
abuse online after appearing on
Question Time.
One post, which has subsequently
been removed, threatened Beard
with rape, while others made crude
and offensive comments about her
physical appearance.
The abuse started after Beard
doubted the impact of immigration
on services in a Lincolnshire town,
after it was raised by a viewer on the
show.
The 58-year-old told Radio 4’s
Woman’s Hour that the abuse was “a
bit like someone giving you a punch”
and that although “it was a difficult
decision,” she had decided to publicly
address it after learning that lots
of women who had been through
similar experiences were told that “if
you react, you’ll bring it just the type
of publicity it’s looking for.”
Beard, a Newnham College
alumna is no stranger to misogyny
having previously said that her years
at university were “the first time
I realised there was sexism in the
world.”
But she described the most recent
abuse as “more than a few steps into
sadism” and introducing her “to a
side of internet trolling that I haven’t
experienced before.”
The criticism over Beard’s
appearance comes as part of a
long running debate over women’s
appearances on television.
BBC Newsreader Fiona Bruce
once said that female television
presenters would not get far if they
looked “like the back end of a bus,”
and admitted last year that she dyed
her hair because different rules
apply for females and males in the
television industry.
• Undergrads
to pay way for
postgrads
Tory modernisers
publish a book
proposing shake up of
payments
• Drop in
student
numbers cost
economy £6
billion
Survey reveals the
true cost of falling
student numbers
• Pub rules
challenged in
court
British Beer and
Pub Association
challenges
Council plans for
redevelopment
“If you react you’ll
just bring the type
of publicity it’s
looking for.”
• Inanimate rod
to run for NUS
President
When asked about potential
solutions for countering the
Internet trolls, Beard suggested that
sometimes one does have to answer
back, “whether on twitter or on these
more sort of aggressive websites.” She
also mentioned that on this particular
occasion a number of people had got
back to her to apologise, saying that
they had been cross at the time of
posting.
Beard also suggested that offensive
tweets need to be withdrawn, and
that the “online community should
obey more of the rules of the face to
face community.”
• Tour de France
Route
Simpson’s carbon rod
runs for President
Cycling competition
comes to Cambridge
in 2014
For more of this
week’s news, visit
www.tcs.cam.ac.uk
chefranden
New technological developments
will enable Stephen Hawking,
renowned physicist and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, to communicate at a faster
rate than ever before. Hawking,
who suffers from motor neurone
disease, has been relying on a
voluntary twitch in his cheek to
communicate for the past decade. An infra-red signal picked
up the twitches in Hawking’s
cheek, communicating with a
cursor a virtual keyboard in
front of him to enable Hawking
to communicate. However, as
his condition has worsened, the
Professor has been left only able
to communicate at the rate of
one word per minute. Intel has
been involved in manufacturing the technology which enables Hawking to speak for over
a decade. They have created a
new ‘character-driven interface’
which will be more able to predict Hawking’s speech, increasing the rate at which he can ‘type’
to between five and ten words a
minute. The new technology will
use other forms of facial movement, enabling Hawking to also
use his mouth and eyebrow to
communicate. Although the
three-dimensional facial recognition technology is still being
refined, TCS hopes that this is
sooner rather than later and
that Hawking will be resuming
his cameo role in the Go-Compare adverts in the near future.
News 03
04 News
Police hunt
murderer of retired
postmistress
Cambridgeshire police have
recovered a knife which may
have been used in the stabbing of Una Crown, an 86
year old retired postmistress.
Mrs Crown was found dead
in her bungalow in Wisbech,
Cambridgeshire, from stab
wounds to the chest and neck.
An attempt had been made
to set fire to her body to destroy evidence of the murder.
Mrs Crown lived alone,
after
her
husband
of
sixty years died in 2009.
Six months for
pervert who drilled
hole through
bedroom wall
A man in Cambridgeshire who
drilled a hole through a house wall
in order to spy on a young woman
getting changed in her bedroom
has been jailed for six months,
Cambridge Crown Court heard.
Sixty-year-old Charles Read
drilled a hole above the victim’s
door and installed a camera so
that he could watch images of her
on a television screen, breaching
a three year community order.
He has been told to sign the sex
offenders’ register and must
finish his community order,
which was imposed in October
2010 for the possession of
indecent photographs of children
and extreme pornography.
Obituary: Michael
Winner
The Cambridge alumnus, film
director, restaurant critic, and
former editor of Varsity has died
at the age of 77. Winner, who
had been ill for some time, sadly
passed away at his Kensington
home on Monday. During his
life Winner made more than
thirty films, and worked with
some of the biggest Hollywood
stars of his day, including Marlon
Brando, Robert Mitchum and
Faye Dunaway. Winner went
on from his film career to
reinvent himself as a restaurant
critic, turning his characteristic
flamboyant style to writing
the Winner’s Dinners column
for the Sunday Times. Among
notable people to pay their
respects was Lord Archer.
Thursday, January 24th, 2013 {TCS}
Cambridge activists hold vigil
against dog vivisection
Adam Clark
Deputy News Editor
A small band braved the snow in
Market Square in Cambridge on
Saturday to protest against the
breeding of beagles for vivisection.
For four hours the local ‘Save the
Harlan Beagles’ organisation held a
wintry candlelit vigil against Harlan
Laboratories in Cambridgeshire, the
UK’s only breeder of beagles for use
in vivisection.
The protest was part of several
across Europe, aimed at raising
public awareness about beagle
breeding for vivisection. Protestors
accused Harlan Laboratories of
mistreating beagles, after a former
employee reported seeing staff kick
and punch the dogs, scribble on their
faces with felt tips and keeping them
in cramped and dirty pens.
The lack of transparency in such
laboratories raised concerns of
mistreatment. Subra Sivarajah, a
protestor who has been campaigning
for animal rights for thirteen years,
said: “In labs they have carte blanche
to do what they want”. It was also
noted that Harlan sells UK-bred
beagles in countries where rules on
animal testing are less strict.
Protesters further criticised local
Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS),
a contract testing laboratory in
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire for
sourcing beagles for medical testing
from Harlan Laboratories. A 1997
Channel 4 documentary led to
Huntingdon employees being fired
for animal cruelty.
Animal rights activists have since
been sent to prison for assault,
harassment and intimidation of HLS
staff.
When asked about the effectiveness
of raising awareness, Sue Hughes,
leader of the protest, pointed to
protests in Italy which provoked
animal rescue raids and led to the
shutting down of animal testing labs.
“We ought to close down Harlan
eventually”, she said.
Harlan stated they were aware
of the protests and that “Harlan
“It is a matter of the potential benefits to mankind against the rights of
the animal, and every government in the world comes down on the side
of the humans” - Andrew Gay of Huntingdon Life Sciences
observes strict government standards
that govern the care and treatment
of animals,” and argued: “Animal
extremists cannot or will not
differentiate between the essential
need for animals in research and
the practice of putting animals on
display in a circus or wearing coats
made from their fur.”
Andrew Gay, Communications
Manager at HLS, told The Cambridge
Student: “Every Nobel Prize in
Medicine, every Nobel Prize in
Physiology and every medical drug
has involved animal research”, and
noted that since the 1997 incident
there has been no evidence of animal
abuse at HLS. He also noted that
only 1% of the animals tested at HLS
are dogs – several hundred a year,
and the company does not do beagle
vivisection.
In response to claims that only 2%
of drugs tested as safe on animals
made it past the human stage of
testing, Mr. Gay argued that the
nature of scientific testing was that
large proportions of drugs would fail
at each stage.
He proceeded to say: “It is a matter
of the potential benefits to mankind
against the rights of the animal and
every government in the world
The Cambridge Arts Theatre has
received a much needed grant
from Arts Council England, the
body which bankrolls theatres,
galleries and other artistic
enterprises around the country.
The Art Theatre has received
£500,000 which is going into
the Act II fund, a £12 million
project which aims to expand
the theatre into two adjoining
shops, creating a new foyer
and a 200-seat theatre for
small-scale events. The theatre
was founded in the 1930s by
John Maynard Keynes, an
academic from King’s College.
It is hoped that the new funding
will inject a new sense of life
into a much loved theatre.
Photos by David Hurley
New curtain call for
Arts Theatre
LSE has 13.2% of
classes over the size
limit
According to figures published
this week by LSE, 186 out of
1,406 classes in Michaelmas
term exceeded the size limit
set by the university. Only two
departments were able to keep
all classes below the target.
A limit of fifteen students per
class was introduced in 2008
after the university faced low
satisfaction scores in national
surveys. The aim was to improve
contact time to match that
of Oxbridge and UCL, where
classes are usually kept below ten
students. Nonetheless, compared
to last year’s statistic of 14.2% of
classes over the limit, it is clear
that progress has been made.
Relegated to fiction:
Lance Armstrong
moved in library
A note in an Australian library
has declared that a book by
cyclist Lance Armstrong will be
moved to the fiction section. The
note, intended as a prank, by a
student at the university has gone
viral, sparking a fierce debate
about whether Armstrong’s
use of drugs outweighs his
fight against cancer and his
charity work in terms of public
perceptions. One commentator
found themselves “questioning
if the lessons and the inspiration
is honest and real”. Reviews
of Armstrong’s biography It’s
Not About The Bike have overtly
dismissed the book as lies and
fabrications, leading many to
JCR Presidency
denied to porn star
Tom Cruise, Jenna Jameson and
Pete the Porter. The unlikely
trio were lumped together by
Oxford as Teddy Hall’s JCR
voted on whether or not they
could theoretically be allowed
to run for JCR President. Until
a ruling was passed earlier in
the week to clarify the College’s
constitution on presidential
candidacy, Honorary Members
of the College had the right
to stand for election for any
position within the committee.
Other colleges in Oxford have
similar constitutions, with
Homer Simpson an honorary
member of Worcester, whilst
St John’s has the Mr Men
Obama, and Gandalf the Grey.
Students
demonstrate as Nick
Griffin no-shows
Following the rescinding of
an invitation to Nick Griffin
to speak at Oxford’s Union,
students have taken to the
streets in protest. Even though
Griffin didn’t follow through
his threat to participate in a
debate, union officials stated
that they would not have acted
to keep Griffin out if he had
decided to attend the meeting.
The Oxford branch of Unite
Against
Fascism
(UAF)
organised the protest, chanting
“Oxford Union hear us shout,
homphobes and fascists out”.
News 05
Newnham girls clean up on fines
Jenny Buckley & Hazel
Shearing
News Editor & Deputy
News Editor
After the submission of Freedom of
Information requests on 22 November
2012, The Cambridge Student
exposed the shocking depth of the
Cambridge College fining system.
Whilst the University raised a total
of £38,209 through fining students in
the previous academic year, almost a
third of the money received, £12,872,
came from Newnham College. The
second worst college was Gonville
and Cauis, but with £9,930, Caius
came nowhere near Newnham’s
figures . The Newnham fining system
is by far the most severe, bringing
most of its money in through
‘Housekeeping fines’.
The College imposes so-called
‘Housekeeping fines’ on its students,
and has received £6,719 after deeming
rooms to be in an unacceptable state
of cleanliness. A rigorous inspection
is undertaken at the end of each term,
and students are ruthlessly punished
for various housekeeping offences.
TCS raised the ambiguous nature of
‘Housekeeping fines’ with the College,
although Newnham was unavailable
to clarify their definition of this.
Alice King, a first year student
from Newnham, expanded on the
policy: students are not simply
fined for behavioural matters, but
predominantly “for not leaving
your room in a sufficiently tidy and
clean state”.
What constitutes a ‘tidy and clean
state’ is at best subjective, leaving
students unsure as to whether their
housekeeping endeavours will result
in the imposition of a fine or not.
King went on to tell TCS that she was
once fined “£5 for having generally
dusty surfaces… £5 for having an
unclean sink and mirror, £5 for not
vacuum cleaning the floor and £5 for
leaving dirty linen on the bed.”
£16.50 for
unwashed bedding:
“It is a joke. I think
it’s ridiculous”
This not only seems excessive, but
also petty and half-hearted, with
the fine for each ‘form’ of untidiness
or unclean surface costing the
unsuspecting student £5. TCS cannot
help but question a system in which
a student who leaves only one dirty
streak on the mirror is fined £5,
whilst another who many not have
cleaned the sink for an entire term
receives the same fine.
Another student, who asked to
remain anonymous, claimed to have
been fined £16.50 for leaving bedding
unwashed and failing to return her
duvet on time.
“Most people find the fines
unreasonable,” King continued,
“primarily because we don’t have
bedders, unlike the majority of other
colleges.” She complained that the
students are not even provided with
cleaning equipment other than a
vacuum cleaner. The housekeeping
fine system is a ‘Catch 22’, with
students either having to fork out large
sums in fines, or make substantial
investments in cleaning products.
Becky Wetten, President of
Newnham JCR, justified the College’s
policy for fining students for
unsanitary housekeeping practice.
She asserted that: “it’s been made
very transparent what we need to do
and what fines we receive if we fail
to do so.” King, however, notes that
she cannot remember receiving a list
of fines. Although they are vaguely
entitled “housekeeping” on the termly
college bill, the breakdown is later
posted into the offending student’s
pigeonhole.
Yet it is easily forgotten that these
fines come on top of the fee that the
College charges for accommodation
each term. With Newnham’s doit-yourself-style Bed and Breakfast
accommodation working out at
£126.41 per week, living in College is
not a cheap option.
As most other colleges have a
bedder system, with rooms and
communal facilities being cleaned
at least once a week, the Newnham
charges seem almost extortionate, and
are above the average cost for College
accommodation in Cambridge - £100
per week. One student complained
that there is an additional charge of
£197.77 for a ‘tiny’ kitchen which
is shared with ten other students.
For the £5,933.10 which the College
receives per year for this one kitchen,
which only boasts two hob rings, they
could upgrade facilities, or employ a
cleaner on the living wage, for 741
hours, the equivalent of 105 days a
year.
Wetten added that, following
student complaints about the fines,
“the JCR, Domestic Bursar &
Housekeeping staff worked together
to improve the situation.” However,
students like King still feel that it is
unfair of the college to charge for
“things that should really be standard”
in the life of a university student.
Another student went further,
claiming that the college needs to
change a system which is simply
not up to scratch: “It is a joke. I
think it’s ridiculous”.
Evelyn Giggles
JOiN
{TCS}
News
Fearlessly
independent,
constantly surprising,
and filled to the brim
with puns;
TCS is back, and
currently recruiting
news writers,
photographers,
illustrators and subeditors.
There’s nothing quite
like seeing your
name in print, or
the thrill of putting
together a weekly
newspaper.
31st January
7th February
21st February
28th February
7th March
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if you want to work
with us, we want to
work with you.
To get involved, email
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RR Jazz Student Ad.indd 1
14/01/2013 10:42
06 News
Icy Grand Arcade to
get new doors
Cambridge’s Grand Arcade
is intending to fit giant doors
in an effort to reduce energy
costs. Customers have been
complaining it is too cold
and shop managers have also
expressed concern about heat
loss. A spokeswoman for Grand
Arcade said that if approved
by the city planners, there
would be two sets of doors –
one at the main entrance in St
Andrew’s Street, and the other
at the Corn Exchange Street
access. The Grand Arcade
Partnership,
the
centre’s
leaseholder, is planning to
consult shoppers. An exhibition
of the proposals will take place
from Friday for one week.
Shopkeeper attacked
by armed robber
Jack Goldstraw, 24, becomes
a local hero after trying to
trap a masked thief in his
family-run jewellers in StNeots,
Cambridgeshire.
The thief held a blade to the
Goldstraw’s back, demanding
that the shopkeeper open a
cabinet containing a £10,000 gold
Cartier watch. The shopkeeper
was able to break free from the
knifeman’s grip and escape the
shop, attempting to lock the
thief inside. Using a hammer
to smash through the door and
wielding a knife, Goldstraw was
unable to prevent the attacker
fleeing. The Cambridgeshire’s
Constabulary’s hunt for the
armed
robber
continues.
Cambridge residents
forced to drown in
their garbage
The City Council cancelled
collections of garbage on
Monday and Tuesday due to the
adverse weather conditions. Jean
Swanson, Executive Councillor
for Enivronmental and Waste
Services, argues that although
this is ‘frustrating’ for residents,
the cancellation of green bin
collections will allow spare
vehicles to pick up the black and
blue bins neglected on Monday.
Although the bins are due to be
emptied on the next scheduled
date, this leaves many residents
with four weeks’ worth of
rubbish on their hands, adding
to numerous inconveniences
experienced as a result of
difficult weather conditions.
RAG film from 1952
uncovered
A video entitled ‘Cambridge RagtimeAKACambridgeUniversity…
1952’ has been posted on the
British Pathé website. It seems
that Rag events have not changed
so much in the past sixty-one
years as we might have thought.
Students paraded through the
streets in 1952, dressed up in
vampire and tribal costumes in
order to raise money for the Poppy
Appeal. Aiming to raise £2,400,
the 1950s students held floats
and street dances rather than
Jailbreak challenges. Whether or
not Blind Date was as popular in
1952 is another question entirely.
{TCS}
Uni touts offer “guaranteed” places
...Continued from front page
A footnote to the “confidential”
Kaplan list explains the process in detail:
“Universities will only pay commission
out once a student has paid his/
her first year tuition fees in full. […]
Once the money has been received,
Kaplan Aspect will inform the agent
of the amount due and check whether
is money [sic] should be transferred
directly to the agent’s bank account.”
TCS contacted the ten highest
paying universities on the list, but
nine – including Anglia Ruskin –
did not reply. The only response
was from the University of Wales,
who offered no explanation, citing
verbatim the excuse offered to TCS
last year: “commercial sensitivity.”
Kaplan’s ‘University Placement
Service’ (UPS) offers applications
advice and coaching to students on
Kaplan College courses. Information
in the document reveals that that
this “advice” is strictly tailored to the
commission rates received: “UPS
Direct will only place students at
commission paying institutions.”
Kaplan’s UPS also claims to offer
“guaranteed” places at UK “partner”
universities for Kaplan students:
“KIC works in partnership with a
number of top universities in the UK
to provide international students with
preparation courses to undergraduate
degree courses... Most of our courses
include guaranteed progression to
your partner university on successful
completion to the required level.” The
ten universities shortlisted as offering a
Highest-paying
universities’
commission rates
(percentage of one year’s
undergraduate tuition fees)
10% commission rate:
• City University
• Dublin Business
School
7.5% commission rate:
• American College
Dublin
• Anglia Ruskin
University
• Birmingham College
of Food, Tourism &
Creative Studies
• Cardiff, University of
Wales Institute
• Carlow Institute of
Technology
• Dundalk Institute of
Technology
• London School of
Business and Management
• Trinity Saint David
• Winchester Univeristy
“guaranteed” place to Kaplan students
are Bournemouth University, City
University London, Nottingham Trent
University, University of Brighton,
University of Glasgow, University of
Liverpool, University of Sheffield,
University of Westminster and the
University of the West of England.
“They will do
anything they can
to get you to enrol”
Upon being asked for confirmation
of their ties with Kaplan, all but one
of Kaplan’s shortlisted “partner”
universities failed to comment. The
Cass Business School of City University
London did respond, confirming
that they have “an agreement” with
Kaplan to accept up to 10 students
each year, and that the university
works with “a number of agents”,
paying 10% of the tuition fee to
agents “for every student successfully
enrolled into City courses.” TCS is
unable to confirm or deny whether
the other universities on Kaplan’s
shortlist have a similar “agreement.”
David
Kay,
a
second-year
Archaeology & Anthropology student,
claimed: “It’s important for universities
to prove that the admissions are still
based on talent rather than cash,
especially given the recent controversy
over tuition fees. But when you see
something like this, it goes directly
against what the government and the
universities are claiming. The whole
idea of ‘guaranteed places’ is wrong, and
should have died in the 19th Century.”
Despite UK universities’ decision to
accept students solely on the basis of a
“successful” Kaplan course, the value
of Kaplan’s tuition has been repeatedly
criticised by the programme’s former
students.
Ripoffreport.com,
an
online customer services watchdog,
lists 254 complaints against “Kaplan
University”, including a complaint
from a former Financial Aid Officer
at Kaplan’s Florida branch, criticising
the “university” for its “aggressive
enrolment process” and “questionable
quality of education”. “They don’t
seem motivated to educate,” he writes,
and “they are motivated to make
money.” His description of Kaplan’s
telemarketing techniques might cause
concern among those UK universities
whose commission payments help
to support Kaplan: “Once they get a
possible student on the line, they will do
anything they can to get you to enrol...
I have seen people enrol who do not
have computer access, don’t know how
to read, or have a mental handicap.
Reputable colleges have students calling
them, not the other way around.”
“Failing to meet
ethical standards”
Nottingham University is the
only institution which has made its
policy regarding commission rates
open to the public. In November last
year, Nottingham announced their
decision to shift their use of overseas
agents towards a more “ethical”
and “transparent” system. TCS
asked Harriet Matthews, Head of
International Student Recruitment at
the University, why Nottingham had
made the change: “We want people
to be well informed and have all the
facts... we have no ‘secret’ agents.”
Vincenzo Raimo, the director of
Nottingham’s International Office,
argued in a statement published in
The PIE News last year that many
universities “are in danger of failing to
meet ethical standards in their work
overseas.” “In our competitive fervour
we’ve let agents become too powerful,”
he argues, pointing to the fact that
many agencies – such as Kaplan – are
paid twice for their services: “Some
even charge the prospective students
for whom we then pay commission
for the ‘counselling’ they are given
on our behalf in the first place.”
Such practices have met with
the condemnation of American
academics. In a statement published
by University World News, Dr Rahul
Choudaha, director of research and
advisory services at World Education
Services in New York, argued that
“using commission-based agents
to quickly drive up international
student numbers increases the risk
that standards will be lowered, that
documents will be fraudulent and that
there will be other shoddy practices
afoot... [it] creates an incentive for
misrepresentation, fraud and bias.”
Employers flood to
Cambridge job fair
Football’s coming
home – possibly
Syrian students: Can’t pay? Can’t stay.
Tian Zhong
News Reporter
FreedomHouse2
Organisers of JobFair 2013 –
held on Wednesday 23 January
between 10am and 5pm at the
Corn Exchange – are expecting
more than 3,500 people to attend.
The careers and recruitment
show has taken place every year
for a decade, with popularity
increasing annually. Patrick
White, who is co-coordinating
the event, notes that they have
already expanded capacity
twice. This year the organisers
are bringing in more stalls for
local businesses, education
institutions and other employers.
So far more than 30 companies
from 12 different industries
will be attending the event.
News 07
Syrian students in the UK are under
threat of deportation and death if they
cannot pay their tuition fees, after losing
Syrian sources of funding due to unrest
under the Assad regime. Faced with the
risk of being tortured and killed, students
are calling for financial assistance from
the UK government and universities.
The Syrian government has
suspended its scholarship scheme for
students studying abroad and blocked
private sources of funding. International
transfer is impossible due to the
sanctions imposed on Syrian banks.
Nearly 670 students are affected by
the withdrawal of funding, of which
almost 80% are postgraduate students,
according to the National Union of
Students (NUS).
“I am shocked
by the lack of
compassion shown
by universities”
A football fan is bidding to get
Cambridge recognised as the
home of football. The FA’s first
rules were drawn up in 1863,
and Robert Coe is hoping to get
the FA to recognise the influence
of the 1848 ‘Cambridge Rules’.
The Cambridge Rules, drawn up
by students, first created goal
kicks, free kicks and the offside
rule – though players were
still allowed to catch the ball.
Mr. Coe hopes to get the
Cambridge Rules recognised
in time for
a celebration
of the
“home of football”
to coincide with the FA’s
150th anniversary this year.
The British Council urged eight
universities to launch a hardship scheme
for students who received a scholarship
from the Syrian government; however,
the chaos in Syria makes such a scheme
untenable.
For the students, necessary documents
such as letters from their home
universities are practically impossible
Clegg pours cash
into Cambridge
businesses
Continued: Grinch
Businesses
in
Cambridge
and the East of England have
been invited by Deputy Prime
Minister, Nick Clegg, to a
apply for funds from a new
£350 million pot aiming to
stimulate the UK economy. The
Cambridge technology cluster
looks especially well placed to
profit from this source. Clegg
said that several companies,
research centres and training
organisations were already
seeing the benefits of earlier
rounds of the fund. Local
organisations must submit
applications by 20 March.
Who’s the Daddy?
Cambridge women
hunt for sugar
Students at the University of
Cambridge are most likely
to search for a sugar-daddy,
a survey has revealed. The
website SeekingArrangement.
com matches young women
with older men who, on average,
earn £170,000 per year. There
has been a 58% increase in the
number of students signing
up to the site, with students
now comprising 44% of the
sites
global
membership.
When women can receive up to
£5,000 per month from their
‘benefactors’, it begs the question
whether the rise in tuition
fees is directly culpable for the
increased usage of the site, as
last year 168 students signed up.
Continued from front page
Should the colleges and students of
Cambridge University find themselves
the victims of wrongful conduct,
TCS understands that is against the
University’s policy to intervene in court
unless the case is financially beneficial
to the University itself, rather than its
colleges or students.
Only the University is in a position
to bring a legal case against Ms
Edwards for her use of the crest on her
promotional material in accordance
with Trademark laws – as the colleges
and students to whom Ms Edwards is
currently in debt to are not the owners
of the University crest, they cannot
prosecute for its misuse.
Edwards has made a number of
unsuccessful attempts to register
the Cambridge crest, and various
“Cambridge”-based
phrases
as
trademarks in the United States.
Edwards’ business model revolves
around the use of an insignia and
brand which she has no legal right
to use. Whilst many companies run
summer programmes to Cambridge
each year, TCS hopes that Ms
Edwards’ programme will cease to be
accommodated within the University
and that the misleading use of
University emblems can be prohibited
in the future, reasserting the Cambridge
logo as a guarantor of quality.
As long as there is no guaranteed
financial incentive for the University
in pursuing a law case, they have no
intention of prosecuting Ms Edwards.
Even though individual colleges have
expressed their concens to TCS over the
“issues of non-payment and unethical
to obtain.
Some students have already been
expelled from their courses, explained
Mo Saqib, a third year student
at Manchester University who is
campaigning for government assistance
for Syrian students. “I am shocked
by the lack of compassion shown by
universities,” Saqib said.
“I’ve seen letters sent to us by
Syrian students where universities are
threatening to expel them. Particular
culprits are Salford, Bolton, Brunel,
business practices [of] this Summer
School programme”, it is possible that
colleges may have unknowingly agreed
to accommodate Ms Edwards this
summer, as she has a history of “using
other guises in order to get back into
the Cambridge Colleges,” according to
a spokesman from King’s College.
Last week TCS asked each
of Cambridge’s colleges for an
assurance that none of them will
be accommodating Ms Taryn
Edwards and The Cambridge College
Programme in the future. 29 of the
31 colleges have agreed to prevent
Edwards from using their premises,
many in quite heated terms. King’s
College issued a statement saying that
the college will “ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
[sic] be accommodating Ms Edwards
and her programme in the future.
However, neither Pembroke nor
Queens’ have denied that they may
be hosting Ms Edwards’ project this
summer, leading to concerns among
the student body that the programme
may gain control of a Cambridge
College this summer. Isabel, a first-year
English student, shared her views with
TCS: “I don’t know why they wouldn’t
reply… Surely the University wouldn’t
let her back? I mean, surely not. Not
again.” Whilst it is reassuring to hear
that individual colleges will “never
knowingly” offer their facilities to
the Cambridge College Programme,
this is no guarantee that Ms Edwards
will not be returning to Cambridge
under another name, particularly as
the University is currently unwilling
to bring a case against her for fear of
damaging its own economic interests.
Essex,
Birmingham,
Liverpool,
Nottingham, Leeds, to name but a few.
Credit to the likes of Edinburgh and
Newcastle who have been much more
supportive.”
“Future campaign plans include
lobbying some key people in
Westminster and a meeting with the
newly-appointed UK representative
of the Syrian National Council which
should be happening soon” he added.
The severity of the current situation
remains unclear. A statement from Liam
Burns, President of the NUS stated that,
“A lack of a coherent approach means
it is incredibly difficult to find out how
Syrian students are being affected, and
if and where there are any problem hot
spots.”
Jinho Clement, chair of the
International Cambridge University
Students’ Union, was unsure whether
any Syrian students at the University
of Cambridge were affected. He hoped
“at least a deferral of payment could be
offered” to affected Syrian students.
If you believe that something
inaccurate or intrusive has been
published about you, then you
can come to the Press Complaints
Commission for help. We’ll listen
to your concerns and deal with
your complaint at no cost.
The PCC is the independent
self-regulatory body for the
UK newspaper and magazine
industry. We enforce a Code of
Practice and work to raise
standards in the press. We offer a
service that is fast, free and fair.
We can also advise on concerns
about material that hasn’t yet
been published, or if you’re
feeling harassed by journalists.
For emergencies, we can be
contacted at any time of the day
or night.
Call us on 0845 600 2757 or visit
www.pcc.org.uk to find out more about
the PCC and how we can help you.
THE PCC: WE
WILL LOOK INTO
YOUR CONCERNS
08 News
Cambridge alumnus
reveals cancer in
crossword
Crossword setter and King’s
College Cambridge alumnus
John Graham, better known as
Araucaria, revealed that he had
cancer of the oesophagus by way
of crossword clues. The 91-yearold said to Cambridge News:
“I always have a theme for my
puzzles so I decided to do one
on cancer. I didn’t expect there
would be quite so much hooha about it.” He added: “I will
eventually die of it, but it won’t
be tomorrow. At the moment
I’m feeling absolutely fine. I will
keep doing crosswords until
they’re no longer good enough.”
Benedict
Cumberbatch at
Cambridge Science
Festival
Cumberbatch is set to direct
this year’s Cambridge Science
Festival. Cumberbatch has
explained that his career as
an actor has allowed him
to keep up his interest in
science. While his link to the
Festival might seem unclear,
he justifies his position as “as
an actor who has researched
playing Stephen Hawking,
Joseph Hooker, Heisenburg
and both Frankenstein and his
creation”. His appointment is
sure to flood the city centre
with Sherlock fans in any case.
Boffins given
£12million facility
to study world’s
thinnest metal
On 1st February, scientists
at
Cambridge
University
will unveil a new £12million
research facility, dedicated
entirely to Graphene - the
world’s
thinnest
metal.
Graphene is a crystal made from
graphite, the same material used
in a pencil’s “lead”. However it
is made from just one atom’s
thickness, making it 300 times
stronger than steel. Scientists
hope to use it to produce super
fast
internet
connections
and extremely long-lasting
batteries, such as for phones
that would last for months.
Molecular laboratory
opens
A £212 million Laboratory
for Molecular Biology has
opened near to Addenbrooke’s
Hospital and will house some
of the most successful scientific
minds in the world. Of around
600 scientists and support staff,
there are 9 Nobel Prizes between
13 scientists, and it is hoped that
the state of the art facility will be
the site of many new discoveries
in molecular science. The new
building is in the shape of an
‘X’ to mimic the chromosome
and one wing has been donated
to
Cambridge
University
researchers, whilst the vacated
Molecular Laboratory which
dates back to 1962 will be
handed back to Cambridge
University, which owns it.
{TCS}
Numbers of firsts awarded soaring
Jenni Reid
News Reporter
The number of firsts obtained by
UK undergraduates has almost
doubled in the last ten years, figures
show. Statistics released by the
Higher Education Statistics Agency
show that 17% of British students,
a total of 61,600, graduated in 2012
with a first class degree, whilst 66%
of students gained at least a 2:1.
In 2002, 26,100 undergraduates
were awarded first class degrees.
The number of undergraduates
has risen by around 50%, but the
proportion of firsts awarded has
risen at a higher rate, with the
number of firsts awarded in 2002
making up only 10% of student
grades.
The figures have led some to call
for the monitoring of supposed
‘grade inflation’ in the higher
education marking system. Each
year record highs in GCSE and
A-Level results are reported, a
trend which seems to be emerging
for higher education results too.
Figures obtained by The
Cambridge Student show that
Cambridge’s figures have actually
dropped in the last ten years. In
2002 Cambridge awarded 1,095
firsts, representing 33% of all
grades. But in 2012 only 725
undergraduates achieved a first,
27% of the student population.
Oxford seems more in line with
the national trend, with 6% more
Oxonians getting firsts in 2012
than in 2002. Meanwhile, Anglia
Ruskin University awarded 16% of
its undergraduates firsts in 2012, a
rise in 6% from 2002, and Oxford
Brookes rose by 5% from 2002 to
2012.
The university which awarded
the most firsts in 2012 was Imperial
College London, perhaps reflective
of its specialism in science,
engineering and mathematics
courses. 815 of its students gained
a first, representing 38% of all
grades, 11% higher than the figure
in 2001.
“They told us that
if we graduate with
less than a 2:1
we will end up
stacking shelves”
Concern has been expressed
that pressure is being put on
higher education institutions to
achieve and therefore award better
grades. Just as independent GCSE
and A-Level exam bodies have
reason to make their exams easier
so more schools will choose their
course, students are less likely to
take a university course that lots
of people fail or score poorly in.
There is no limit to how many
Controversy over
Lib-Dems’ £6,000
tuition-fee cap
Timur Cetin
Deputy News Editor
The Liberal Democratic Party is
allegedly moving to include a pledge
to cut tuition fees in their upcoming
manifesto for the next general
election. According to reports by The
Independent, the Liberal Democrats
might promise a £6,000 cap on
university fees, despite breaking their
last manifesto’s promise to abolish
tuition fees altogether. But referring
to ‘insider sources’ the article of
the Independent does not give any
names.
The MP for Cambridge, Julian
Huppert, while not corroborating
anything specific, did not deny
that such proposals were under
consideration, saying to TCS: “The
Liberal Democrat Manifesto Working
Group is currently in the process
of formulating our next manifesto.
Of course, the Party will look at all
proposals to try to deliver a fairer
system. I find the Labour proposal
of simply lowering the cap to £6,000
very surprising and over-simplistic.”
He added that while the proposal
itself sounded promising it was a
profoundly regressive step from the
current system stating that:“the group
which would benefit most would be
the top 20% of graduates with lifetime
earnings of £2 million. Lower earners
would gain nothing from it, as they
would not pay off the full amount
under either model.”
According to the Office for Fair
Access (OFFA) early evidence suggests
that higher tuition fee caps have as
yet not led to a considerable drop-off
in applications to higher education
from people from poorer or less
advantaged communities. However,
an OFFA spokesperson pointed out to
TCS that “the new system of fees and
student support has only just come
into effect, and we are conscious that
many people who started a degree in
2012 would have already made up
their minds to apply to university or
college before the new system was
announced. For younger pupils, who
haven’t yet decided whether or not
they want to go to university, there
may be different issues.”
The spokesperson also said to TCS
that they would not be complacent
about access to higher education for
disadvantaged people in the new
system: “In the coming years it will be
a key challenge for us to understand
how different fee levels affect
potential students’ behaviour. We
will be carrying out our own work,
and closely monitoring research by
other organisations in the UK and
abroad, so that if necessary we can
adjust our guidance to universities
and colleges.”
firsts can be awarded, so it may
be that today’s markers are more
inclined to be generous. Some
have questioned whether having
a ‘national degree classification’
even makes sense when courses are
constructed, marked and mediated
by individual institutions.
A report by the Higher
Education Academy has suggested
that another explanation for
the rise in firsts could be that
the “proportion of assessment
marks derived from coursework
has increased and coursework
usually produces higher marks”.
Alongside the rise in coursework,
there have been changes to the
ways undergraduates study at
university. Students now know just
what they need to do to get a first,
and they have access to resources
such as examiner’s comments,
past papers, thoroughly explained
grade boundaries, modules, and
feedback on coursework drafts.
However it could be that the
changes in grades are the result
of students’ actions rather than
universities’. As graduate job
prospects worsen and tuition fees
rise, it may be that students feel the
need to make more of their degrees.
Many competitive employers
notoriously use the 2:1 grade as
a cut-off mark for applicants, but
studies are now claiming that
some will only consider applicants
with a first. A second year engineer
at Peterhouse told TCS:“At
matriculation we were told that
there was once a time when a 2:2
from Oxbridge was better than a
2:1 from another university, but
that today if we graduated with
less than a 2:1 we would end up
stacking shelves in Sainsburys. The
pressure is definitely higher, and a
degree – even from one of the best
universities in the world – is not
enough.”
Number of firsts
awarded to UK
undergraduates has
doubled over the
last ten years
Bahram Bekhradnia, director
of the Higher Education Policy
Institute in Oxford told The
Telegraph: “We do not know why
more students have been getting
firsts. It could be that they are
working harder or it could be that
they are better taught than in the
past. It could be that as the nature
of assessment has changed with a
greater emphasis on coursework
and less on a single summative
exam, it has allowed harder
working students to do better. Or
it could be that marking is less
rigorous. I suspect it is probably a
combination of these factors.”
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10 International
Syrian students face
fees crisis
Syrian students in the UK are
struggling to pay their tuition fees
owing to the conflict back home
and are suddenly facing deportation. Records suggest there are
more than 600 Syrians currently
studying in the UK. Students associated with the opposition say they
have had their scholarship payments halted, while others cannot
receive funds from their families,
as many bank transactions from
Syria are blocked by EU sanctions.
Memorial service held
for JSTOR hacker
French students take
Twitter to court
France’s largest Jewish student
union is taking Twitter to court,
demanding that the micro-blogging website divulge the personal
information of French users posting anti-Semitic messages. The
body argues that Twitter is providing a platform for hate speech
by allowing anonymous users
to post anti-Semitic Tweets.
Italian students commemorate Holocaust
130 Italian high school students travelled to Poland on
Sunday to commemorate international Holocaust Memorial
Day. The tour, sponsored by the
Italian Education Ministry in
collaboration with the Union
of Italian Jewish Communities,
was also attended by Italian
justice and education ministers
as well as Holocaust survivors.
Afghan musicians to
bring talent to US
Next month students from the
Afghanistan National Institute of Music will play at the
Kennedy Center in Washington
and Carnegie Hall in New York.
The school, supported by the
World Bank, trains 140 Afghan
students, many of them orphans
and former street vendors, in
Afghan and Western music –
once forbidden in the country.
Prince Harry admits
he’s killed Taliban
At the end of a four-month tour
in Afghanistan, Prince Harry
has said he has killed Taliban
insurgents while piloting his
Apache helicopter in the country’s Helmand district. The prince
said he had fired on the Taliban
during operations to support
ground troops and rescue injured
Afghan and NATO personnel.
Steering Barack’s foreign policy
Kerry to take over as America’s top diplomat
Alexander George
International Reporter
Earlier this week, Barack Obama
became the 17th president in the
history of the United States to be
inaugurated for a second term. After
more than a decade of war, the foreign
affairs record of the president-elect from
here onwards will largely determine
whether or not he goes down in history
as a great president. Obama enters his
second term without Hillary Clinton
– widely seen as the star of his first
administration – who leaves her post
with a staggering 69 percent approval
rating. In Clinton’s place comes John
Kerry, best known for his unsuccessful
presidential bid in 2004. Kerry joins the
distinguished company of Henry Clay,
James Blaine, William Jennings Bryan
and Charles Evans Hughes – all defeated
presidential candidates who went on
to serve as America’s top diplomat.
While Kerry may lack Clinton’s star
power and may not have even been
Obama’s first choice (the President
seemed favourably inclined towards
UN Ambassador Susan Rice until
her withdrawal from consideration),
he nevertheless possesses impressive
credentials and a crisp knowledge of
global affairs from his two decades on the
Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee
– a body that he also recently chaired.
Kerry’s appointment sends a host
of signals about Obama’s second term
foreign policy. Firstly, the new secretary’s
focus is likely to rest on traditional
diplomacy between states: building and
maintaining alliances with friends whilst
containing foes and potential rivals.
Issues that Clinton championed such as
economic development, women’s rights
and access to education are now likely
to take a secondary role to geopolitics.
{TCS}
Comment:
Rape & the
Indian media
Amritha John
Image: cliff1066â„¢
A memorial service was held on
Saturday for computer freedom
activist Aaron Swartz, who killed
himself on January 11 after facing
hackingcharges;theStanforddropout
was also arrested earlier in 2011 by
federal authorities in connection
with the systematic downloading
of journal articles from JSTOR.
Kerry also believes that allies act as a
multiplier, rather than a constraint,
on American power: “Even a nation
as powerful as the United States needs
some friends in this world,” he told the
Democratic Convention in 2008. Kerry’s
experience of Asian affairs from his
military service in Vietnam through to
his more recent work concerning nuclear
proliferation in North Korea also make
him well suited to continue America’s
pivot to the Pacific, an Obama foreign
policy buzzword if ever there was one.
Equally important, though, is the more
traditional trans-Atlantic alliance – for
example the US administration’s recent
concerns regarding Britain’s possible
exit from the EU. The French-speaking
Kerry is a committed Atlanticist whose
worldview was profoundly shaped by
Europe’s centrality in the Cold War as
well. Under Kerry, combating terrorist
threats in South Asia and the Middle
East will also remain a top priority.
Although the US is scheduled to
withdraw from Afghanistan next year,
the overriding objective of defeating
terrorist sanctuaries remains at large.
During Obama’s first term, Kerry was
charged with smoothing out often
fraught relationships with the Afghan
and Pakistani governments. This is
likely to continue as both parties are
key stakeholders in a successful Afghan
endgame. But while Kerry pulls the
diplomatic levers, there is no sign of
US drone strikes abating in the region.
John Brennan, President Obama’s select
candidate to head the CIA, is in fact one of
the administration’s leading proponents
of drone technology and warfare. Hagel,
too, has lauded it as a cost effective
way of fighting terrorism without
committing boots on the ground.
Though Obama may no longer have
Clinton, in Kerry, Hagel and Brennan
he still maintains an A-list foreign policy
team. The newest recruits will, however,
need to draw on all their experience
and expertise to ensure that US foreign
policy during the president’s second
term does not become his Achilles’ heel.
On December 16 a young woman in
New Delhi was violently gang raped and
died from her wounds a few days later.
Furious public protests swept across the
capital and televised audience-driven debates affirmed a resolution to never forget
and never accept. A month later I read a
small headline that contained the phrase
“new Indian bus rape”. Again a young
girl had stepped onto a bus, this time in
rural Punjab, and had been gang raped.
I believe the Indian media fell into a
trap last December. Citizens have long
felt that there is an unbridgeable gulf
between them and the political establishment. The media has found it can
appear to bridge this gap, by simply
amplifying the voice of the public. But
it ought to be more than a loudspeaker
for public emotion, especially those
emotions that must slowly change.
The media’s conduct has a serious
impact upon the way the public regards
rape. The risks are twofold: one is that
people themselves forget to look beyond
the gory details of a crime, to consider
the fact of rape as gruesome in itself. We
need to consider whether presenting a
rape as gory details, and then its penal
consequences distracts us from seriously
discussing the wider treatment of women. The other is that emotional reactions
are less lasting than intellectually-based
ones. Because there isn’t enough rigorous discussion as a whole about the epidemic of rape which sweeps India, public
reaction moves periodically from a base
level of reluctant acceptance to peaks of
collective anguish. If this doesn’t change,
more girls will be presented in Indian
news as just “another” – a “second” rape.
Mohamed Morsi, happily never after?
Assessing Egypt’s tryst with democracy, Iran and Israel
Basile Roze
Egypt ushered in Mohamed Morsi
to power last June, months after the
victory of his Freedom and Justice
Party (FCP) in the country’s legislative elections. As the Muslim Brotherhood’s political representation,
the FCP currently dominates an assembly that includes a strong Salafi
party and a fragile liberal alliance.
The historic resistance-front against
former President Mubarak’s regime,
the Muslim Brotherhood has always
been deeply rooted in Egypt’s political landscape. Upon taking charge
of the country’s institutional reins,
it has progressively dismissed the
army and Mubarak’s former allies
from their key positions, in addition to implementing a Constitution that was denounced by liberal
parties as standing against women
and minorities. It was this last move
that was supported by 63 percent
of the voters in a voter turnout that
amounted to just over 33 percent.
Six months after his election, Mr
Morsi and his party have also been
active on the international stage.
In an interview to the Moyen Orient, Egyptian writer Alla Elaswany,
recently opined that the Muslim
Brotherhood has merely tried to return Egypt to its “traditional role of
regional leader”. In this context, it is
not difficult to imagine an aggravation of regional tensions, especially
given Israel’s geographic proximity.
Only this week a past interview of the
President was published in which Mr
Morsi allegedly condemned Israelis as “bloodsuckers who attack the
Palestinians warmongers, descendants of apes and pigs.” The White
House immediately demanded an
apology, and Mr Morsi released a
report in which he insisted that the
quotation was taken out of context.
Beside this word-polemic, one
might also wonder about the threat
Mr Morsi and his Islamist support
pose towards the regional balance
as a whole. The Salafi party – the
second strongest party in the country largely funded by Saudi Arabia
– seems capable of countering the
Muslim Brotherhood’s domina-
tion. It might also bend Mr Morsi
towards a religious radicalisation
that would only create further tensions in the regional status quo.
The Muslim
Brotherhood has
tried to return
Egypt to its
“traditional role
of regional leader”
Moreover, a recent visit to Cairo by
a training Iranian officer is an indication that Tehran may be keen to play
a role in the restructuring of Egypt’s
security forces, and in further extending its influence in the Middle East.
However, since he was elected,
Mr Morsi has repeatedly insisted
that the 1979 agreements with Israel have not been challenged, and
that he is keen to cooperate on their
common objective: peace in Gaza.
Here it should be remembered that
the president played a key role in
brokering a cease-fire there last November. Furthermore, chaotic economic conditions make it extremely
unlikely that Egypt will attempt
to upset Washington at this point
in time: aggravating Israel would
only result in adverse economic
sanctions from the United States.
Having said that, the president’s
grip on his country is not absolute.
The army still control 30 percent of
the economy, and its political power
has not been completely shaken.
Mr Morsi must also deal with
a liberal opposition that is steadily getting more united. Economic
turmoil, the growing harshness of
the incumbent regime and its lack
of democratic transparency has
awoken restive crowds. Frequent
clashes have erupted over the past
few months, and the Egyptians have
already proven just how far they are
willing to go. Ultimately it would
not be an exaggeration to say Mr
Morsi’s next six months, and his legacy thereafter, is entirely dependent
on the will of the Egyptian people.
International 11
@BarackObama
I’m honored and grateful that
we have a chance to finish
what we started. Our work
begins today. Let’s go. –bo
Barack Obama, President of
the United States
@BBClysedoucet
Visited 2 family compounds
w/rooms completely gutted,
corpses inside – villagers
Haswiya said 100+people
died this week. #Homs #Syria
Lyse Doucet, BBC International Correspondent
@AlGore
For 36 straight years, temp
has been higher than 20th
century avg. Last time it
was cooler? 1976, year I
was 1st elected to Congress.
Al Gore, Former US Vice
President
@DMiliband
In tmrw’s Times I’m publishing a letter from John Major
to David Cameron on the EU.
Think I found it on a photocopier... maybe I imagined it.
David Miliband, British
Labour MP
@QueenRania
Great energy at opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi #SustainabilityWeek #ADSW; without
sustainable energy there can b
no sustainable development.
Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of
Jordan
@BillGates
@melindagates & I were
honored to spend time
with Desmond Tutu during our recent trip to Africa.
Bill Gates, American business
magnate
@ChristinaLamb
Love Michelle Obama’s dress
coat - Thom Browne apparently - the most pressing question for the inauguration.
Christina Lamb, Foreign Correspondent
@CarlBildt
Following developments in
Eritrea as closely as we can.
Carl Bildt, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
Al-Qaeda, l’Elysée and the battle for Mali
French intervention in West Africa seems to have worked - for now
Chris McKeon
The intervention of French troops in
Mali, West Africa, appears to have been
successful. On January 11, France intervened officially in the destabilised
country, initially conducting air strikes
but later also carrying out ground operations. The French aim was to combat primarily two foes: the militant
organisation Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) on the one hand, and
other Islamist groups based in Mali on
the other.
For a while some
had asked if AlQaeda was “close to
calling Mali home”
Together, these groups are a wellarmed enemy. A substantial number of
weapons were smuggled into Mali from
Libya after the civil war there in 2011.
Following the success of the Touareg
rebellion and the resulting military
coup last March, AQIM et al were able
to capitalise on government instability
and had begun moving to conquer the
country. As the Islamists approached
Bamako, Mali’s capital and largest city,
the French decided to act.
CRISIS
WATCH:
ALGERIA
At 5am on January 16, Al-Qaedalinked Islamist militants attacked two
buses carrying workers from the Tigantourine gas plant in Eastern Algeria. While police escort promptly repelled the attack, one Algerian and one
Briton were killed in the firefight. The
militants then moved on to the main
gas facility, taking its workers hostage. Over 700 Algerian workers were
taken hostage, as were the 132 foreign
workers from countries, including
Britain, Japan, Norway and the US.
The Algerian army surrounded the
complex, pursuing a policy of nonnegotiation before attacking at 2pm
on January 17. In total 38 foreigners
have been killed in the tense hostage
crisis, including three Britons. Five
hostages remain unaccounted for. At
the same time the Algerian army operation successfully saw 685 Algerians
and 100 foreigners to safety whilst 29
militants were killed and three taken
prisoner. The militants involved in
the episode are known under various
names including Blood Battalion and
the Khaled Abu al-Abbas. The gasplant hostage situation appeared to
be a reaction to French intervention
in Mali and the Algerian decision to
allow the French to use national airspace. However the Algerian government rejected the claim, saying the
operation had been planned for two
months. Algeria has a history of trouble with Islamic militants, and the crisis has highlighted the alarming lack
of control wielded by the government
over its borders and its vulnerability
to militant gangs. The geopolitical impact of the crisis, as war develops in
the North African theatre, will be seen
over the coming weeks. - Tom Bailey
This action, according to French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, was
intended to “eradicate” terrorism in Mali
and to prevent the creation of “a terrorist state at the doorstep of France and
Europe”. Now it appears the Islamists
are in retreat, though for a while some
had asked, as did CNN, if Al-Qaeda was
“close to calling Mali home”.
The reality is that Mali has been home
to Al-Qaeda safe havens for a decade. In
his new book on AQIM, journalist and
researcher Andy Morgan writes that
territory in the north east of Mali had,
since 2003, harboured the group. AQIM
had managed to take advantage of the
region’s porous borders and low level of
policing to engage in a variety of criminal activity, mainly smuggling.
Indeed, some regional experts have
suggested that AQIM was based in the
north east of Mali at the invitation of the
Malian government – or at least that the
state had been happy to not interfere in
the group’s activities. Indeed, despite the
support that the USA had given Mali
to pursue AQIM – the Americans have
spent $500 million in the region over
the last four years to counter Al-Qaeda
– the government based in Bamako had
seemed uninterested in pursuing the
militant organisation in any meaningful way.
Perhaps the Malians were willing to
ignore all this because AQIM caused a
number of problems for the other actor in this complex desert drama – the
Touareg nationalists of the MNLA who
Magharebia
#tweets
Touareg militants, seen driving near Timbuktu earlier this year, share control
of northern Mali with Islamist groups including Al-Qaeda
have been in sporadic rebellion since
the 1990s. Now, however, the new government will probably be regretting the
fact that AQIM had ever been tolerated,
and there will certainly be some embarrassment at the US State Department
that all the cash has done nothing to
help. Indeed, the US-trained Malian
army was ejected from the north with
near-laughable ease by the Touareg.
Now, this army is fighting alongside the
Touraeg to prevent an AQIM takeover
which would impose an extreme branch
of Salafist Islam that few in the country
are likely to support.
It seems any lasting peace in the country will require some sort of acceptance
of the MNLA’s demands for an independent state in the north east – Aza-
wad – and speaking to The Cambridge
Student, African Studies fellow Adam
Higazi suggests that France is now looking to broker a political settlement there,
probably involving Touareg devolution,
if the jihadists can be pushed out.
That, however, remains a big if. As
shown by the large number of foreign
fighters in Mali, the AQIM is truly a
transnational operation, with contacts
in Algeria and Mauritania and connections to Boko Haram in Nigeria (and
possibly al-Shabaab in Somalia). They
have been operating in the region for
years and will be difficult to dislodge.
The grim reality is that even if they are
eventually pushed out of Mali, they are
still likely to find similar “safe havens”
elsewhere.
The deeper you go
into a language,
the more you uncover.
Russian Intelligence Analysts
£25,056 | London
A conversation turns from sport, to the economy, to politics.
And you’re there not just to translate it, not just to interpret it;
you’re there to add a depth of understanding that enables
us to make the right choices to help safeguard national security.
For more information and to apply, visit
www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/russian
Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application,
other than with your partner or a close family member.
12 Comment
Thursday, January 24th, 2013 {TCS}
Comment: Has The Apprentice come to life?
A recent US survey has suggested college students think they’re better than ever, but the test results don’t agree. Is this rising narcissism the result of social
media and televsion - the growth of ‘Brand Me’? In Cambridge in particular it can be all too easy to believe our own hype.
Rosalind Peters
I
t is a truth universally acknowledged that a young
person in possession of privilege, talent, and the wrinkle-free
smile of youth, must be in want
of a few more Facebook photos.
In a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey by US
psychologist Jean Twenge and
his colleagues, it has emerged
that over the past four decades,
there has been a notable rise in
the number of students who
rate their self-confidence, along
with their academic and arithmetic abilities, as ‘above average.’
As a student environment with
a particular passion for excellence
and achievement, Cambridge
is seemingly a most productive
petri-dish for similar analysis.
Cambridge is full of bright, loquacious, high-achieving young
people, defined by the knowledge
that they have been chosen to join
one of the world’s most outstanding educational establishments.
As such, it is quite natural that
students, when presented with
this privilege (often affirmed over
and over as the just desserts of a
talented and diligent pupil) do not
fight the positive effects of such
achievement on their self-esteem.
Indeed, these effects are by no
means intrinsically undesirable;
no one would dispute that the ter-
ribly Disneyfied yet useful term
‘belief in oneself ’ is an integral
part of a person’s key to success.
However, in too potent a
quantity, such inflations of selfesteem can give rise to a less
agreeable outcome. Narcissism,
or the extreme absorption in
and consistently high estimation of one’s own personality,
looks and abilities, is not difficult to find among the body of
undergraduates,
postgraduates and (importantly) beyond.
“It only requires
minor dalliance
with ‘The
Apprentice’ or ‘The
X Factor’ to unveil
the delusions of
grandeur both
mocked and
encouraged by
With this in mind, it is hardly
surprising that the survey, which
began in 1966, has also revealed a
recent decrease in self-appraisals
of traits such as co-operativeness and understanding others.
It is at this point that one is
left to wonder - when did it become socially acceptable to estimate oneself so highly that
traits involving one’s relation
to others are coolly dismissed
as less worthy of cultivation?
Naturally one cannot give
a clearcut answer; the complexities of the human soul are
What is history?
Anna Lively argues that Michael Gove’s proposed changes to the
school History curriculum are an unwelcome blast from the past.
R
eciting the order of the
Kings and Queens seems
like an inherently oldfashioned approach to History
in schools. It conjures up images
of the dusty blackboards and
inkwells of our parents’ or even
grandparents’
generations.
Certainly it was never a key
part of my education at school
and I would have to confess that
even as a History undergraduate
I would struggle to complete the
full monarchical chorus. However.
Education Secretary Michael
Gove, to significant controversy,
has suggested this kind of factual
approach should be prioritized in
the new school History curriculum.
Many of the education secretary’s
ideas come from the American
former
Literary
Professor
E.D Hirsch, who sees a core fac
tual knowledge as providing
‘Cultural Literacy’ for all students.
Having a basic grasp of
British political history is
clearly beneficial; it gives an
understanding of national heritage
and remains a compulsory section
of the Cambridge History Tripos.
The gory stories of the British
monarchy and Henry VIII’s
infamous six wives also clearly
have an enduring hold on children’s
imaginations, as success of the
Horrible Histories series shows.
Displaying
history
as
a
definitive narrative would be
to misrepresent the subject. My
experience of History is as a series
of debates and uncertainties.
More often than not I am left
asking more questions rather
manifold, and, without surveys
such as these to indicate trends,
largely imperceptible to the untrained eye - probably because
that eye is turned inwards, more
often than not: whether that be
through extensive introspection,
one-way
conversations,
or
the voracious scanning of
the
Facebook
newsfeed.
However, one may have good
cause to appeal to the role of the
media (televisual, audial and
social) as standard-setter and subtle dictator of which values society deems worthy of preservation.
It only requires a minor dalliance
with the series ‘The Apprentice’
or ‘The X Factor’ to unveil the
delusions of grandeur both simultaneously mocked and encouraged by such programming.
In both these shows, contestants are not participants, they
are products and, thanks to
slick editing and lazy spectatorship, they present themselves as
a widely accepted charismatic package that is all
style
and
no
substance.
It is particularly striking that
along with the observation that
students are increasingly likely to
credit themselves as particularly
Rosalind Peters is a second-year
Theology student at Magdalene.
Lewis Wynn
than finding conclusive answers.
This is what gives History the
power to engage and excite.
If children understand that
History is not just about accepting
what they are told they would
be much more likely to want to
study it at A-level and beyond.
By learning facts by rote
children would also miss out on
skills of critical inquiry that are
crucial to historical research.
By
analysing
documents,
paintings and objects, children
can learn to infer and to argue.
These skills are not only
fundamental to success at degree
level but are also transferable to
other disciplines and future careers.
Regressing to the big political
narrative of history would mean
ignoring the enormous advances
in social and cultural history that
have taken place in recent decades.
While I still study political
history, I am encouraged to see
politics in the context of broader
social and economic changes.
It is imperative that studying
British politics, which was and
capable writers, there has been
an indication from objective test
scores that writing ability has in
fact decreased since the 1960s.
As such, it is clear to see that
one’s sense of self-esteem as
based on intelligence and/or performance can be formed entirely
independently of its natural indicators, allowing young people
to be fooled by their self-congratulation into estimating their
talents above their capabilities.
Let it be said that decent
self-image is by no
means to be decried; in fact,
from personal experience I
would suggest it is far more
preferable to avoid the handicap
of
low
self-esteem
than
it
is
to
rank oneself a
bit beyond one’s station.
However, in a city where the
mass populous is remarkably
gifted, quick-witted, and attractive, the spectre of Narcissism
looms ever large, threatening to create a culture in which
interpersonal skills are left by the
wayside,
and
meaningful interaction with others is reduced to a vehicle for
one’s own wit and opinion.
As such, one can see on both
ends of the spectrum the danger
to a person’s mental health and
wellbeing which could be caused
by unrealistic self-estimation.
For those still cocooned in The
Bubble, it is even more important to keep one’s feet firmly on
the ground, and one’s Facebook page firmly tucked
away in a minimised window
at the bottom of the screen.
indeed still remains predominately
white and male, does not lead
to a marginalization of women’s
history
or
racial
studies.
“More often than
not I am left asking more questions rather than
finding conclusive
answers.”
There has recently been anger
about Gove’s plan to shelve Olaudah
Equiano (a campaigner against
slavery) and Mary Seacole (dubbed
the ‘black Florence Nightingale’)
from the school curriculum.
To suggest that History is shaped
only by the rich and powerful is
fundamentally inaccurate. And it
could also lead to History appearing
increasingly inaccessible and even
irrelevant to the lives of most
young people in Britain today.
Furthermore
the
History
curriculum for our schools should
not only be about British history.
A British-only perspective would
give an air of exclusivity to History,
potentially even encouraging
nationalistic and triumphalist
ideas of national advancement.
An international framework
would allow children to learn
about
other
cultures
and
civilizations. This might help
promote tolerance, cooperation
and cultural understanding,
all of which are surely vital in
our globalized modern world.
I am, of course, not suggesting
History should be devoid of facts
or content. Giving the students
the power to analyse and to
engage with the controversies
of History does not make it
a ‘soft’ subject in any way.
Instead it would help children
see History as the dynamic and
ever-changing subject that it
is, rather than a Hall for Fame
for the power holders of old.
Anna Lively is a first-year
history student at Churchill.
Comment 13
Comment: Are we in the middle of a chain reaction?
HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster, all of which had premises in the city, have recently gone into administration. Cambridge’s market history and its tourist destination
status give our town an unique identiy. Yet a 2010 survey described it as ‘the worst clone town in Britain.’ On the high street, all is not what it seems.
Andrew Edgar
T
he recent outpouring of
nostalgia and concern at
the news that music retailer HMV was to go into administration contrasts starkly with the
latest vilification of Starbucks for
its (entirely legal) tax avoidance.
This is only the most recent
demonstration of our somewhat
ambivalent
relationship with corporate chains.
Cambridge has been dubbed
‘Britain’s worst clone town’ due
to the preponderance of high
street chains but, with its student
population living (often literally) among the shops, it’s hardly
suffering from a lack of vitality.
Nevertheless,
when
strolling around the city centre it
might be worth considering the
economic realities that underlie the brand names, realities
that will present a challenge to
all businesses, large and small.
Operating as a chain offers the
customer many benefits such
as reliability, more efficient distribution and most importantly
in a student town, lower prices.
One perceived drawback is the
impersonal, uniform nature of
these stores which, it is argued,
produces identical shops on increasingly identical high streets.
“Carefully
managed
branding can
maintain a store’s
individuality.”
However,
carefully
managed branding can maintain a
store’s individuality. Booksellers Blackwell acquired Heffer’s
in 1999 yet kept the brand. Today it is still considered an integral part of Cambridge heritage.
Similarly the buy-out of the Arts
Picturehouse, itself a small chain,
by Cineworld does not necessarily spell bad news, so long as the
management is smart enough to
recognise the importance of the
indie atmosphere to its customers.
Chains can offer investment
and stability to smaller brands.
This, in a bitter twist of irony,
was what entertainment retailer
Fopp sought when it sold out to
HMV in 2007. The future of the
Cambridge store is still unclear.
Of course, this subtle approach
is not guaranteed. But if the fate
of HMV and Jessops has taught
us anything, it’s that the Internet
has changed the world of retail
for good. Shifting anonymous
mass-produced items at the lowest price just doesn’t cut it in the
city centre retail game anymore:
Amazon will always be able to
do it more cheaply. I accept the
possible exception of drinks and
groceries from this rule; I don’t
see Sainsbury’s going anywhere.
But on the whole chains
acknowledge this fact and are
increasingly looking to customer
service and unique experiences
as ways of enticing shoppers away
from their laptops. Conversely,
the web has allowed independent
retailers to expand their audience
nationwide and often subsidise
their
‘bricks
and
mortar’
presence through online sales.
Thus, somewhat paradoxi-
cally, the boom in online shopping may in fact benefit the appearance of the high street, as
chains are forced to innovate
with respect to their point-of-
“The boom in
online shopping
may in fact benefit
the appearance of
the high street.”
sale atmosphere and service.
Small businesses have always
known the importance of this
in drawing in customers: Cambridge Fudge Kitchen gives out
free samples. Thornton’s doesn’t
because it hasn’t needed to.
So where does this leave Cambridge? Well, it will remain
substantially corporatized for
the near future, but this is better than some other cities are
faring. With the national shop
premises vacancy rate hovering
around 14%, it would be foolish to chase out chains when noone can afford to take their place.
There will always be a market
for the idiosyncrasies of inde-
pendent retailers, provided they
can meet rising city centre rent
costs. Gardies is just a stone’s
throw away from McDonald’s and
competes ostensibly for the same
fast food market. But it survives
because, well, you can’t have your
ill-advised photo taken and pasted
up underneath the golden arches.
Local authorities also have a role
to play in striking the right balance. The administration of Cambridge’s market and the promotion
of the city as a tourist destination
help to support some of the more
characterful and distinctive businesses that make the city what it is.
At the end of the day, however, these factors pale in the
face of the old adage: money
makes the world go round. If
you want to support local retailers, then vote with your wallet.
But don’t scoff at branded
stores and be aware that chains,
when done right, are not necessarily boring or soulless. Clone
town or not, it’s hard to imagine Cambridge losing its unique
identity. Just remember: the customer is king. So choose wisely.
Andrew Edgar is a fourth-year
MML student at Churchill.
{TCS} MISC.
ART
IS THIS THE ART OF
REVOLUTION?
T
hree years have passed
since the Arab Spring
began in Tunisia. About two
years have gone by since
Gaddafi’s assassination in
Libya and Mubarak’s forced
resignation in Egypt, but
nobody could expect an
ending, happy or otherwise.
Among protests and violent
clashes, another form of
outspoken rebellion spread
across the Arab world,
requiring equipment rather
different to Molotov cocktails:
paint, aerosol cans, cameras—
anything, provided the results
could stick to a wall or be
shared online. The uprisings
in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya
provoked an explosion of
artistic expression, aided by
the vital platform provided by
social networks.
Middle Eastern and North
African countries are often
combined into one vast
revolutionary region, and it is
all too easy to reduce changes
in the art scenes of diverse
nations into a homogenized,
easily digestible “cultural
reawakening.”
...Continued on Page 20
Gigi Ibrahim
CONTENTS
FEATURES
Atiyab Sultan uncovers the truth of what’s actually
hidden in the UL tower
MUSIC
Everything Everything, Courteeners and Frightened
Rabbit have their latest efforts reviewed
FILM
Arjun Sajip chats to the Soska twins and Katherine
about their recent film American Mary
ART
Jake Wood on the resurgence of the glittering
p16
p19
p18
paintings of Gustav Klimt
p20
BOOKS
Georgina Spittle on rebuilding a life with books
p21
EVENTS
Peter Hitchens on ‘The Myth of the Good War’ at
Peterhouse Politics Society
INTERVIEW
Exclusive interview with Vikas Swarup, diplomat and
author of Q&A
THEATRE
Hannah Greenstreet talks to Michael Fentiman,
professional diretor with RSC
p22
p23
p25
16 Features {MISC.}
Georgia Wagstaff shuns
the temptaions of Hall to
explore the vibrant world
of student cooking
‘Shall I make
dinner?’
A
derisive giggle.
A knowing
s m i r k .
H a u n t e d
by
mutters
about ‘beans’. Sigh.
Fed up of being
burdened with the
mantle of culinary
incompetence, forced upon us
by our student status? Whether
through budget, time, poorly
equipped kitchens or lack of skill
and inclination, student cookery is
often cause for disgust and hilarity.
We are packed off with armfuls
of redundant kitchenware and an
unrealistic ‘student’ cookbook,
absurdly suggesting that we
possess a wallet deep enough
to make ‘Saffron and Jerusalem
Artichoke Soup’. Unhelpfully, this
contributes to our unwillingness.
Another reason must be the
crowded Gyp rooms; fighting for
the hob or the oven, a constant fear
of theft forcing you to obsessively
check the level of your milk to
see if any has been surreptitiously
imbibed. Frequently and sadly,
it’s just easier to go to Hall.
But I’m sick of the additives,
the queues, the wallpaper-paste
risotto and the foul college bill
at the end of each term. Cooking
for yourself can be relaxing,
healthier, cheaper and tastier.
Just by buying a few essential
spices and herbs - think paprika,
ginger, mixed herbs, – you’ve
already got a million ways to
give your food a big impact
on taste buds and not on time.
We needn’t banish our beloved
beans either. Full of nutrition,
fibre and iron, one of your five-aday and easy to jazz up, beans are
also low on the food chain and help
to reduce your carbon footprint.
Try adding Worcestershire sauce,
peppers, onion and mustard,
chuck in some sausages and you
have a super-speedy, super-tasty
casserole. Freeze the dregs of
red or white wine in an ice cube
tray and use them in sauces for
an extra flavour hit. With a bit
of culinary curiosity, say hello to
deliciousness, instant credibility,
and a new way to impress people.
Now, I’m not saying that
I
haven’t
experienced
or
participated in some atrocities.
I’ve eaten a Frisbee cruelly born
as a pizza and pasta bakes with
unidentifiable meat. I’ve made
pancakes so thick you could
beat someone to death with
them, and a fruit tea crumble
that tasted like a pillowcase.
For this reason, I’m not
claiming that you need to awake
one morning from uneasy dreams
and find you’ve transformed
into Heston overnight.
But
even if you have a few kitchen
nightmares at first, they’ll be more
memorable than another boring
plate of boring hall lasagne.
{TCS}
THE SECRETS O
F
Atiyab Sultan investigates the mysteries of Cam
or as long as anyone can the Mellon foundation, the Tower
remember, the imposing brick Project was bound to bring some tall
column of the Cambridge tales and quaint curiosities to light University Library (popularly known and it did not disappoint.
The Copyright Act of 1809 made
as the UL) has loomed over us all,
the Cambridge University Library
inciting speculation and even fear.
What could that architectural a National Library. This meant
monstrosity possibly contain, and publishers in Britain were required to
what mysteries can it reveal? Does send a copy of all their printed works
it really house the university’s here (and to other such collections
at the British Library in
pornographic
collection,
London, Trinity College
accessible only to staff
Library, Dublin, the
and fellows? Perhaps
National Library of
disappointingly
Does the UL
Scotland, and even
for
some,
the
Bodleian
the
recently
tower house the
Library at ‘the
concluded
other
place’.)
Tower Project
University’s
The result was,
proved
this
unsurprisingly,
is not
the
pornographic
a sheer deluge
case - but the
collection?
of all kinds of
answers it did
printed fare, from
provide were just
books on astrology to
as interesting, and
football to dressmaking
some only slightly less
to children’s literature. A
fantastical.
All of these discoveries are now deluge that no one really knew how
catalogued and accessible via the UL to deal with. Considered to be of little
search function, but The Cambridge academic value, the librarians at the
Student can now reveal some of UL just kept adding the books to the
the highlights, having had the storehouses, where they remained
opportunity to tour the collection largely untouched and unused till the
with erstwhile project head Vanessa Tower Project started in 2006.
Being the first such collection of
Lacey.
Spanning six years, and funded 19th and 20th century popular books
by a generous $1 million grant from to be systematically catalogued,
the project also benefited from a
concurrent
Leverhulme-funded
research project led by Professor
Mary Beard and others on Victorian
material life, which helped to anchor
the cataloguing exercise academically
through the simultaneous and active
use of the materials by students and
senior researchers.
Unsurprisingly, the sheer mass of
material accumulated threw up some
interesting and unexpected books and
topics. A book on ‘Electric’ corsets
was one such highlight, though
no one is quite sure whether their
purpose was medicinal, cosmetic, or
sexual. Highly intimidating dental
equipment, publications on quitting
smoking (or ‘Our Lady Nicotine’ as
the author terms it) and books on
entertaining oneself during long
winter evenings making
imaginative shadow
puppets were also
present.
It appears that no
subject was mean enough for book
and print in that age as we come
across a book on the art of making
sandwiches. For those wondering,
the ideal sandwich was one that could
be held “in a gloved hand without
injuring the glove”. If it’s
carried: “those who carry a
pocket luncheon know that
they can with confidence
open their packages and
not present to the disgusted
gaze of any who may be in
their vicinity a mingled,
mangled, messy mass.”
For all you young ladies
worried about how best to
choose your prospective
husband, or if the man
behind the counter at
Sainsburys is a jewel thief,
OVERHEARD IN CAMBRDIGE
Ruth Taylor explores whether this internet sensation is a witty pastime or a try-hard fad
I
feel
no
embarrassment
in confessing that I am a
horrendous procrastinator.
The day before a deadline, I
am perfectly capable of filling
an entire afternoon achieving
the precise sum of nothing.
Memorably, I once put off an
essay to read an article entitled
‘Procrastination and how to avoid
it’. The irony was not lost on me.
With the spirit of one steeped
deeply in denial, I mentally
shrugged,
and,
guiltlessly
accepting that I exactly fitted the
descriptions given in the article,
continued to ponder the pressing
matter of whether a side or middle
parting made my nose look bigger.
But, when the Wi-Fi is turned
on, it becomes a whole new ball
game. The bountiful wealth of
useless information provided by
the World Wide Web increases
the material for the avid
procrastinator
exponentially.
‘Overheard at Cambridge’ is
right up there with the best. In
terms of the laughs-per-lengthof-visit ratio, it’s as good as the
‘Things that look like Hitler’
site, the Facebook group ‘The
hilarity of Harry Potter quotes
when changing ‘wand’ to ‘willy”
and AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com.
The webpage provides a quickfix of humour that suits all means:
from the casual Facebook browser
to the hardcore procrastinator. A
fact attested to by the seven and
a half thousand group members.
But why is it quite so popular?
First and foremost it is because
it centres on a theme that unites
us all, recognising the average
Cambridge student’s proficient
capability and infinite tendency
to say brilliantly stupid things.
In this way it fits with the
enduring rule of comedy: for
things to be funny they have
to relate to their audience.
Which one of us hasn’t been
amused by the endearing
ignorance of tourists, who hang
on the every word of their tour
guides, lapping up such tit
bits as “Jesus was an alumni
of Jesus College.” Or tickled
pink by the prospect of hearing
a Magdalene College porter
say “I tell you what, if I put my
toupée on, you’d go phwoar!”
Combining this humour with
the added enjoyment of trying
to guess whether a certain quote
was by someone you know
explains the amount of traffic the
page gets. A quick visit to the site
can very easily become a trawl
through weeks’ worth of posts.
What’s more, whilst there are a
fair few posts that fail to hit the
mark, the majority have the ability
to really raise a smile. Special
credit needs to go to anyone who
contributed to the recent deluge
of Lord of the Rings punnery that
hit the group in late November.
What started out as a standard
‘Overheard’ post quickly escalated
into a Tolkien inspired contest of
comedic one-upmanship that was
hard to miss. A personal favourite
was the following: `it’s been a
lonely few nights. I resorted to
constructing a girlfriend out
of plastic, she’s my Lego lass.’
Facebook’s system of likes
provides an added facet to this
stream of witty snippets. The
funnier something is to the
baying virtual public the more
‘likes’ it will inevitably get. It’s the
ultimate in comedic democracy.
Certain posts that particularly
tickle have been known to
amass over 500. It’s like a clapo-meter for the silicon age.
‘Try-hard’ some of it may be,
but a ‘fad’ the page certainly is
not, having been going strong
since 2009. As long as there are
essays that need to be written,
my appetite for procrastination
will keep me firmly hooked to
the quick-fix of Cambridgeoriented humour that the group
provides. Indeed, I would go
so far as to say that the group
provides a service in bringing
together little bits of humour
that make daily life at university
tick along that little bit easier.
TCS’S
OVERHEARD
TOP3
{ }
{ }
{ }
Anonymous
u n d e rg r a d u a t e :
“Girton is definitely
Ca m b r i d ge’s
Hufflepuff. They are
all terribly nice but
they aren’t exactly
going to win the Nobel
Prizes, are they?”
A
Downing
College student:
“Imagine if I lived
in Girton and you
lived in Homerton...
It would be a
long
distance
r e l a t i o n s h i p”
In
Clowns,
Director of Studies
to another Fellow:
“My newborn child
is easier to take
care of than English
students. Infants
aren’t capable of
so much self-pity.”
{MISC.} Features 17
{TCS}
OF THE STACKS
mbridge’s infamous University Library Tower
or even if the boy buying you a drink
in Cindies is really the nice, wellmannered gentleman he’s pretending
to be, you’re in luck. A large number
of books on physiognomy - the art
of reading character through facial
features - were discovered,
intended for just this purpose.
Some came with taglines on
how to detect a young man’s
criminal past, and, for the
particularly keen, palmistry
and graphology (personality
through handwriting) were
also options.
These books remained
fairly popular in the
nineteenth century but
became less palatable after
the Nazis used physical
features as the basis of their
eugenics programme and Aryan
races theories.
As we tour the UL, Vanessa
comments on the larger cultural and
social context the undertaking has
revealed: for instance the changing
role of women evident in book
illustrations. Women pre-World
War I were conservatively dressed
and shown in subservient positions
while post-war illustrations show
them as confident party-goers,
sporting nail-polish and cigarettes.
But, surprisingly for a library, it’s
not just books we came across.
Since the law required all kinds of
printed material to be sent to the
libraries, an array of diaries, card
games, dressmaking patterns and
maps were also found during the
cataloguing exercise.
Perhaps the most
exciting
find
among these was
a
particularly
violent card game
named
Image: Caitlin Blumgart
Panko,
which
divided Many high-end publishers often
participants into Suffragists and refused to comply with the law and
Anti-Suffragists
with
deadly as such even this vast collection is
punishments
prescribed
for not quite complete.
While the seventeenth floor of
Suffragists if they lost. Who doesn’t
want to spend a lazy afternoon the tower permits an amazing view
force-feeding hunger strikers and of Cambridge from the windows,
tying themselves to railings in the the interior is no less spectacular,
name of good, clean, card-based with many of the books in almost
pristine condition, including
fun?
their fine gold-leaf lettering
Another
message
and illustrations. Yet,
subliminally conveyed
sadly, there are still
during the project
hundreds of boxes
was the starkness
left uncataloged of class divisions,
Who doesn’t want
thousands more
apparent in the
mysteries left
very
quality
to spend a lazy
unrevealed.
of print and
afternoon forceThe Tower
publication
Project
was
of the books.
feeding hunger
concluded
While
the
last
month
lower
classes
strikers?
not because it
read
cheap
was finished, but
paperbacks (‘pulp’
through lack of funds,
fiction - called so
and we can only speculate
for the wood-based paper
it was printed on), the upper what the rest of the materials
classes enjoyed leather-bound, (from 1920-1976) will reveal.
Perhaps the pornographic
intricately patterned books with
collection is there after all - or
gold lettering and illustrations.
a priceless first edition of your
In fact, the high quality of the
grandmother’s favourite book.
books intended for the wealthy
Maybe they made sandwiches
generated
much
resentment
differently in the thirties.
among publishers, who didn’t
Hopefully, the project will one
want to send a free copy of their
day resume, and we will find out.
best sellers to the five collections.
ONLINE
COMMENT
CASUAL HOMOPHOBIA NO JOKE
Robert Hart on why this issue
must be treated like sexism and
racism - totally seriously
SPORT
FULL MATCH REPORTS
Extended coverage of the past
week’s University matches
THEATRE
JAMIE MEETS THE POPE
Natasha D’Souza checks
out Cambridge’s hottest new
comedians
FILM
CINEMA FEATURE
Will Spencer takes a look at the
Central and South American
cinema scene
MUSIC
(R.O.A.) RESURRECTION
OF AUTO-TUNE
James Redburn looks at the
place of Auto-Tune in the music
industry
18 Music & Film {MISC.}
{TCS}
INTERVIEW: The SoSka TwinS & kaTharine
Arjun Sajip chats to Jen, Sylvia and Katharine about their new film, American Mary
Oli Thicknesse
bemoans the operashaped hole in the
Cambridge arts scene
The
CaMBriDGe
7D WyldR
It remains a sad state
of affairs that opera
productions are rarely
put on in Cambridge.
Yes, it may be true
that every so often a
bold director might
venture into these
relatively uncommon
realms, but it remains
a rarity; to a certain
extent, this can make the Cambridge
Operatic Society’s annual offering
all the more welcome, but opera
remains the forgotten brother of the
Cambridge arts scene. No, scrap that.
More like the glamorous older sister.
But why, I hear you wail, with much
gnashing of teeth, is this particular
art-form so utterly captivating?
Let’sstartwiththefantasticalelement.
In my humble opinion, student drama
is filled with far too many dreary,
‘realistic’ dramas, which often border
on the inane if not played correctly.
Realism has overplayed its hand, and it’s
time for the fantastical to snatch back
what rightfully belongs to it. In what
other genre of art could you stumble
across an utterly believable mixture
of magical music-boxes, gigantic
serpents and references to Masonic
cult practice, as in The Magic Flute?
When I go to see a production, I
want to escape, if only for a meagre two
hours. That is not to say that my life is
placid, banal and monochrome – far
from it. But only opera can truly lift my
spirits and send me spinning far away
from the mediocre elements of life that
often threaten to overshadow. In what
other art-form could a humble peasant
girl suddenly throw off her otherwise
disenchanting character, by leaping
into a soaring aria, complete with trills
and flourishes? There is an enchanting
defiance of social expectation in opera,
a profound equality which is measured
through voice and voice alone; it is
little wonder that many of the plots
revolve around social hierarchy and
ambition, such as Die Fledermaus.
Moreover, a sense of mystery is
imbued in the music, thanks to the
typical libretto being written in either
German or Italian. This forces the
audience’s attention firmly onto the
voice, instead of the words. Moreover,
the emotions of the singers are
accentuated; with no understanding
of the words themselves, you have to
concentrate on the physical-display
of their emotions and the pitching of
their voice. So yeah, opera can prove
an exhausting pastime, but I cannot
overstate how glorious it can be.
So farewell to drab reality; hurl
me headlong into the embrace
of superlative and majestically
crafted
metaphor.
Nothing
comes close to the thrill of opera.
To stoop to the other end of the
cultural spectrum, I believe that a
wise man – a certain Spencer ‘LoveRat’ Matthews – once persuaded
a friend to the opera with the
following sentiment: “Mate, you’d
love it. It’s f***ing exhilarating.”
For once, Spencer, and for
once only, you’re not wrong.
Exploitation can be fun. The film twins believe to be a sadly neglected
genre, that is, not the abuse of human corner of cinema.
They’re right, to an extent –
resources. Despite the exploitation
genre – parent of such subgenres as though we mustn’t forget such
‘sexploitation’ and ‘blaxploitation’ notable young females as Kathryn
– having enjoyed its heyday in the Merteuil from Cruel Intentions, or
1970s, it’s far from extinct: Django Satanico Pandemonium from Robert
Unchained is currently being adored Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn.
by many critics, and a new film, Still, American Mary, with its twisted
American Mary, whose creators are plot, characters and in-jokes, could
self-proclaimed exploitation fans, is become a cult favourite – even more
so than their previous film, Dead
in cinemas now.
Hooker in a Trunk, which
I catch up with these
won praise from
‘creators’ at the Soho
Eli Roth of Hostel
Hotel in London. Jen
fame.
and Sylvia Soska
“Having
The
Soska
(writer-directors)
sisters
seem
and
Katharine
no penis
intrigued
Isabelle
(lead
doesn’t make
by
penises,
actress) can’t wait
d
i
s
c
u
s
sing
to discuss their
you an angel”
one
potentially
movie.
Actually,
controversial penis
they can’t wait to
shot that Universal
discuss anything – their
Studios never asked to be
volubility and enthusiasm
excised. Why? “They believed in
permit me to ask them only about
the art of that penis shot!” exclaims
four questions in fifteen minutes.
The first of several priapic Sylvia. I asked if the penis shot was
observations made by the Canadians, hard to spot. “Nope,” says Katharine.
within two minutes of our “It’s all up in your grill.” Sylvia sees
conversation, is that “having no penis the extreme close-up of the penis as
doesn’t make you an angel.” I nodded “a kindness to the body-double”. They
vigorously. I liked them already. Their have a wicked sense of humour.
Katharine – who has worked with
new film aims to examine “the young,
female capacity for evil”, which the Robin Williams and Al Pacino –
earned her big break in Ginger Snaps,
a black comedy that took several of
its cues from the classic An American
Werewolf in London. Despite having
just finished American Mary, which
in this niche culture would be
categorised as a horror movie, she
claims she doesn’t like horror movies:
“I’ve done exactly three, one of which
is [American Mary], which I don’t
even classify as a horror film... I’m
not great at being the sweet girl-nextdoor in romantic comedies. I do have
a bit of a darker side [but] I avoid
horror movies.”
So what do the Soska sisters
think of exploitation movies? Of
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1970 cult
film El Topo, she observes: “It was
like dropping acid… but at least it
was saying something. There was still
a human element… It was fucked-up
and weird and it went everywhere,
but it was alive, it was this creative
entity.” The sisters also love Robert
Rodriguez: “El Mariachi? He made
that by selling his body to science for
$70,000. He is a god.” Well, I guess in
this post-Enlightenment age, this is
what religion has come to.
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{MISC.} Music & Film 19
MUSI C
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
E v e r y t h i n g
Everything’s Arc is a
dark, ethereal, layered
and
angst-filled
collection of tracks. It
is just as eclectic and
vibrant as the band’s
debut album, Man
Alive, but harder, more
mature, and more
focused in execution.
Not for the faint of heart,
Arc’s powerful drums,
soaring falsettos, ‘spats’,
off-beats, and exotic
sounds serve as the
vessels through which Everything Everything tell us the story
of our impending apocalypse. A keen ear will hear a myriad
of influences, particularly Radiohead, Elbow, Coldplay and
even a sprinkle of Vampire Weekend. Arc blends pianobacked balladry with quirky melodies, political lyrics, and
Jon Higgs’ earnestly vulnerable vocals, which play against
the macho posturing of his contemporaries. Although
melancholy runs throughout the record, the narration
is rarely sombre. Tracks such as ‘Kemosabe’ – a Native
American term of endearment – and the raucous ‘Cough
Cough’ unapologetically appeal to dancing feet. One will
find less anarchy in Arc than in Man Alive, but the drama
and intensity is just as great, if not more so. Siana Bangura
arc
*****
YO LA TENGO
FaDe
*****
To those not so savvy with Spanish,
“Yo La Tengo” means “I’ve got
it”, and comes from the linguistic
impediments of the Mets baseball
team in the mid-60s. Album thirteen
from the trio, which includes
husband-and-wife team Ira Kaplan
and Georgia Hubley, is timid and
fairly homogenous. Pick a chord, add
an effects pedal, and mumble into
the mic, that’ll do it. The clambering
strings of ‘Before We Run’ add a little
diversity, but you’re best off musing
their tunes from yesteryear: point
your ears to 2006’s simple and sweet
‘Mr. Tough’. Chris Ronalds
COURTEENERS
anna
*****
The Courteeners’ third album, Anna,
echoes The Killers in what frontman
Liam Fray described as “big drums,
a lot of moody vocals and sublime
lyrics.” Ten seconds into ‘Are You
In Love With A Notion?’, the beat
is already irresistibly catchy, and
the vocals are clear. Most of the
tracks have an anthemic quality to
them, perhaps fitting given their
reputation as a strong live band. The
only negative aspect is the way that
the tracks blur into each other; the
sound, though distinctive, remains
the same throughout. Hilary
Samuels
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
PeDestrian
Verse
*****
SINKANE
Mars
*****
Despite the name, Frightened
Rabbit’s music is anything but timid.
Their fourth album not only marks
a more collaborative approach to
songwriting, but also a broader
outlook in terms of subject matter.
Opening track ‘Acts Of Man’ begins
with Scott Hutchison’s melancholy
falsetto over an equally sombre piano
riff, but soon warms up to include
rollicking drums and an unexpectedly
funky guitar. The energy doesn’t flag
from there; hand-claps, whistling,
and Hutchison’s full-throated singing
make this album a pleasurable listen.
Sophie Luo
Ahmed Gallab’s nomadic musical
education, which encompasses music
from the Sudan as well as America’s
hard-core punk and indie scenes, is
reflected in his second solo album,
Mars. The musical sources are so
disparate, ranging from afrobeat to
space-age, that it is hard to believe
such a coherent sound results from
them. Gallab’s lyrics are sparse and
the vocals-- sometimes synthesised,
sometimes soulful-- are used mainly
as instrumentation. In the end, Mars
has no musical boundaries, just the
musical passion and precision of
Ahmed Gallab. Jemima Moore
FILM
Django UnchaineD (18)
Image: ‘‘Django Unchained’
*****
*****
In the run-up to the release of Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, I felt somewhat alienated
having never even heard any of the songs beyond SuBo’s legendary rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. However, this meant I was
rewarded with the opportunity to witness the majesty of Hooper’s Les Mis with no prior baggage of expectation. I was swept free
from the heavy anchors of scepticism by a melodramatic wave of wonderful emotional power and sweet siren song. And I hear
the stage show is even better.
A potent story of epic grandeur told through an even more outstanding array of songs is no guarantee for a good film. Luckily,
Les Mis was in good hands: Hooper handles it expertly, never letting the passion dip, and he astutely capitalises on the advantages
that cinema has over the theatre. The film is packed full of sweeping panoramas and spectacular scenery, yet the most impact is
derived from the brave lingering close-up, one example spanning the entirety of Anne Hathaway’s ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. Hooper
doesn’t sacrifice the grit, either: Fantine’s forced descent into prostitution is not one for the faint-hearted.
But the main strength lies with the almost uniformly excellent performances. Hathaway’s solo is definitely a highlight, but
Hugh Jackman carries the plot admirably, while Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne maintain the intensity.
Les Misérables is shamelessly melodramatic, bombastic and over-the-top, but the force and conviction of the film brush
cynicism aside. It’s a delight to behold.
Dan Leigh
QUartet (12A)
Dir. Dustin Hoffman
UK; 98 mins
*****
Quartet, Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, is a light-hearted look at old age, and sure
to draw comparisons with last year’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Quartet is slightly superior, with Maggie Smith far more
in her element as a Dowager Countess-esque former opera-singer who arrives at a retirement home for elderly musicians,
encountering old friends, including a none-too-happy ex-husband (Tom Courtenay). As she learns to stop looking down on
everyone else, she connects with her fellow retirees and her old flame, the whole thing culminating in a triumphant concert.
Though the concert preparations overwhelm some of the more interesting sub-plots in the second half of the
film, this is nonetheless a heart-warming, if slightly frothy, tale of how it is never too late to embrace life. The
glittering British cast – which includes Sheridan Smith, Michael Gambon and an irrepressible Billy Connolly as
the ageing lothario of the group – helps lift the film above the fairly average plotline, and the beautiful setting
(it was filmed at Hedsor House) makes it very easy on the eyes. It is also buoyed by a number of amusing moments
and the fact that it addresses old age in an optimistic and dignified manner, lending it a certain endearing charm.
While Quartet is essentially a cosy and light-hearted way to while away an hour-and-a-half, it is undoubtedly
refreshing to see an older couple take the lead in a love story, and the ensemble cast is a treat to watch.
Vivienne Shirley
BBC Films
A new Tarantino film always gets the film world and critics’ blood going. For Quentin
and his opponents alike, this is largely because he gets the blood flowing. Profusely.
Django is a western (there’s no ‘southern’ about it). Our Teutonic bounty hunter Dr.
King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) to help him
find three bandit brothers. Django and Schultz formulate a ruse to rescue Django’s
wife from Samuel L. Jackson and his boss, that dastardly Leonardo DiCaprio. That’s a
cast that will get bums on seats. But is Django any good?
The great news is that our stars perform with aplomb. DiCaprio puts in an
excellent, committed performance. Vicious and hateful, he’s always simmering with
violence that generally finds expression through the lashings of his tongue. Jackson as
DiCaprio’s chief slave is sublime, and easily fits into another one of Q’s more morally
questionable roles. As for Waltz, only out-done by DiCaprio, he stomps his diminutive
stamp all over the film with a gusto that carries on perfectly from Inglourious
Basterds. Django is a fine turn from Jamie Foxx: readily commanding the screen with
his presence, he adds a deft gravity to the role. Quentin has assembled a great posse
for Django, one that’s a joy to follow as it gallops through the blood-splattered gunslinging that is captured and shot with Quentin’s trademark expertise.
Gallop, however, might be a bit of a misnomer. If there’s one fault with Django,
it’s the length. As for the concern about Tarantino’s use of violence, I think that’s an
opinion you should make for yourself.
Django is another success for Quentin; it will delight and entertain you. Get down
to the cinema now.
Valdemar Alsop
Dir. Tom Hooper
UK; 158 mins
lesmiserables-movie
Dir. Quentin Tarantino
USA; 165 mins
Les MisérabLes (12A)
20 Art {MISC.}
{TCS}
BOUNCING BACK
Jake Wood examines the recent resurgance in popularity of the artist Gustav Klimt
Zoah Hedges-Stocks
Klimt
uncovers unicorns,
sculptures and Cambridge’s
own Loch Ness Monster
I
reckon that the ground floor
of Waterstones Picadilly is a
pretty good social commentator.
You can normally tell what is
popular, or at least stimulating
the public consciousness, by the
books they have on prominent
display. Anticipating the film
release of The Hobbit, the ground
floor was crowded with copies of
various Tolkien related books. This
makes perfectly valid commercial
sense, appealing to contemporary
demands. By perusing the highlights
you gain a reasonable summary
of what is in fashion. Over the
holidays, cocktails and seafood
were up, Dickens made a late
unexpected surge, whilst deserts
and donkeys dominated the travel
his orgasmic figures and euphoric
golden
dreamscapes
greatly
appealed to the rampant hippies of
the day. However, despite seeming
to pander to the extravagant taste of
the wealthy elite, Klimt’s work is a
lot more dark and sinister than we
give him credit for. Working under
a repressive right wing government,
Klimt concealed revolutionary
liberal messages of protest in his
paint, particularly concerning the
role of women in society.
I was initially worried that
I had imagined Klimt’s revival
or had read too much into his
Waterstones positioning. But on
closer inspection it does seem that
more people know the name than
ever before. Then, out of the blue,
someone gave me a Klimt-themed
calendar for Christmas. Irrefutable
evidence.
It is possible that Waterstones may
not be following trends but setting
them, as a sinister sort of cultural
arbiter. But I cannot shake the
idea that this newfound interest is
because Klimt’s art is, to summarise
in one word and put it mildly, shiny.
There are no two ways about it. It
really is very shiny. It is genuinely
difficult to overstate how shiny
some of his paintings are. People
like shiny things. It really could be
that simple.
THE ART OF CONFLICT
Eliza Lass casts a sceptical eye over the artistic outpouring resulting from the Arab Spring
...Continued from page 15
Examples
abound
in
the
contemporary art world. The same
month that Assad’s forces killed
over one hundred protesters in
Syria, The Guardian described
a London exhibition of Arabic
art as encapsulating “the energy
and unpredictability of the Arab
Spring”. Many have blamed the
‘revolutionary art’ trend on the
widespread perception that every
piece of work emerging from the
Middle East or North Africa must
be commenting on Arab identity or
themes of revolution and change.
But during the uprisings, graffiti and
street-art undoubtedly became an
essential tool of communication and
criticism. Using public space both
as canvas and battleground is more
than trendy, more than a style. Take,
for example, the graffiti on houses,
arches, and walls in Libyan cities
in 2011. Damning caricatures of
Gaddafi shared space with lashings
of red, black and green paint—the
colours of the pre-Gaddafi Libyan
flag. Artists risked death to depict
hopes, fears and frustrations in
public. In Tunisia, the artistic
infrastructure was transformed
after ousting President Ben Ali,
before which there was only one
representative artistic association.
There are now several.
Egypt’s post-Mubarak streetart collectives and festivals have
garnered the most international
attention. Blogs like Suzeeinthecity,
documenting street art and
its
practitioners,
reveal
the
phenomenon’s rapid rise. Su Zee’s Tunisia,” I had to laugh. Aided by
virtual tours of Cairo graffiti show local artists and friends, the Bedouins
iconic works like ‘Check Mate’ by transformed the empty house of
El Teneen, an image on a wall of the a disgraced government minister
American University Cairo campus into an informal exhibition space
that shows Mubarak as a toppled king covered in bright graffiti and murals.
in a game of chess. Graphic artist Symbolic? Yes. Political? Surely. But
Ganzeer established streetartcairo. no amount of graffiti or rose-tinted
media coverage can establish
com, an interactive map
governmental stability,
to which users add the
or erase the poverty
locations of artworks
and unemployment
as they spot them.
caused by years
Works developed
of
exploitation.
during
the
Using public space
President Ben Ali’s
revolution
both as canvas and
departure is hardly
by artists like
battleground is
synonymous
Keizer, El Seed
more than trendy,
with freedom of
and Aya Tarek
more than a style.
expression, or a
still adorn many
triumph
against
public spaces in
censorship.
This
Cairo, though many
week will see the trial of
of them now take part
two Tunisian graffiti artists—
in international, indoor
exhibitions. Tarek has recently they could each face five years in jail
exhibited in Paris and Frankfurt, for writing “The People want rights
while El Teneen shared a show for the Poor” on a wall. Likewise in
in Washington D.C. with graffiti Egypt, Morsi’s authorities continue to
hero Shepard Fairey. The increased whitewash murals commemorating
appearance
of
collaborative martyrs of the revolution, and new
exhibitions are a direct result of murals painted by the determined
the revolution, allowing creativity artists of Cairo now show Morsi
to flourish in an art world that and Mubarak as one and the same.
seemingly exists without curfews or It comes as no surprise that Islamist
authorities are largely unsupportive
police interrogations.
But the fact that artists express of controversial political art, so the
their
political
dissatisfaction conflicts continue. Earlier this month,
through street-art and receive media Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi
attention for it is no indication of inadvertently summarized this
struggles ended. When The Guardian paradoxical climate with a point that
hailed the Bedouins, an American made up in accuracy what it lacked in
skateboarding collective, as the grammatical correctness: “We are not
“arty skate gang…bringing peace to seeing so much changes, not really.”
A VIEW FROM
THE
BRIDGE
Interesting objects in and around
Cambridge...
Jessica Poon on Constantin
Brâncuși’s Fire Bringer.
Kettle’s Yard
Myt hica l
c r e at u r e s
abound in
Cambridge,
from
the
Pegasus on
R o b i n s o n’s
crest,
to
English
s t u d e n t s
that actually do some work.
Unicorns are traditionally
seen as a symbol of purity and
innocence, but an unnamed, and,
indeed, untraceable student has
rendered one at Corpus Christi
much more profane. Corpuscles
will be familiar with the crest in
their hall, flanked by a lion and
a unicorn. Keen observers will
note that both animals sport
erect phalluses. Legend has it
that the college cannot remove
the artfully placed genitalia for
fear of damaging the original
carvings, and so, there they
remain. Frustratingly, I can find
no further details of this story,
and in trying to find out more
information, have encountered
several Corpus students who have
never even noticed the obscene
nature of the beasts. Hours
spent trawling through archives
have likewise revealed nothing.
A visit to Corpus informed me
that I would have to submit a
formal request to the college in
order to take photographs in the
dining hall, which would take
several days to be approved.
Hence, I have no evidence to
offer but that of my own eyes.
I will refrain from making any
jokes about unicorns and horns,
although I will mention that
Corpus students do drink from
the horn of an aurochs, a now
extinct species of cattle that
died out in the fifteenth century.
Jesus College, of course, has a
cock theme. Thanks to its founder,
Bishop Alcock, the college crest
features three cockerels, and
pictures and carvings of chickens
appear throughout the college.
As with Corpus, a particularly
fine representation stands in
the dining hall. The bronze
sculpture is from Benin, and was
given to the college in 1897. The
government of Benin writes to the
college every so often, asking for
the return of their stolen cultural
artefacts, and Jesus always
politely, but firmly, declines.
Returning to the theme of
mythical creatures, I would
like to thank the people who
constructed the snow Loch Ness
monster on the Sidgwick Site
lawn on Monday (pictured page
1, obviously...). You made my
day. Anyone not lucky enough
to see it really missed out; the
legendary monster was huge
and meticulously crafted, even
sporting fangs made of snow!
table. Too scared to check popular
music, I marched past to the art
section where they seemed to be
heralding several golden bricks as
the new thing. On closer inspection
these glittering monoliths turned
out to be catalogues containing
the complete work of Austrian
Expressionist Gustav Klimt, giant
of the early 20th Century Art
Noveau scene.
Leader of the Vienna Secession
and prominent symbolist painter,
Klimt’s paintings forge an unstable
bridge between lofty escapism and
anxiety-ridden social commentary.
These
features
awkwardly
characterise
the
expressionist
movement, one of the least coherent
periods in artistic history. To use
horrible generalisations, his work
fits between the freedom and light
of French artists like Matisse and
the fraught scribbly tension of the
Northern Europeans like Otto Dix
and Edvard Munch. He treads the
hazy line between joie de vivre and
fin de siècle malaise, if you will
permit some pretentiousness.
It is natural that great artists
make a resurgence in popularity
over the course of history, often,
although seemingly not in this case,
prompted by an exhibition. Klimt’s
last bounce was during the 60’s.
No doubt the hedonism implied in
In ‘Prometheus’, Brâncuși has
managed to forge form from
fire. Named after the fire thief of
Greek mythology, this teardrop of
a head is mercurial in its shifting,
indistinct features. A soft-edged
droplet fashioned from hard
elements, it is a representation
of Brâncuși’s own work ethic:
“Work like a slave; command
like a king; create like a god.” It
is also, in turn, a reflection of the
artist and his world. Solid in form
but ambiguous in subject matter,
‘Prometheus’ retains brevity of
wit in conveying consciousness
even when at rest. Kettle’s Yard
hosts this small wonder.
{MISC.} Books 21
Review REBUILDING A LIFE WITH BOOKS
Georgina Spittle finds out that, in the aftermath of natural disaster, books are as important as
building-blocks themselves
librarieswithoutborders
The Old Ways
Robert Macfarlane
In the first book of his loose trilogy,
The Wild Places, Robert Macfarlane
set out walking the British Isles
with a singular aim: to find areas
of wilderness still untainted by
humanity and the human past. In the
book’s two dramatic moments, the
first when Macfarlane despairs of the
inhospitability and bleakness of the
peak of Ben Hope, and the second
when he and Roger Deakin overlook
a crevice and realise the riotous
immediacy of the wild in everyday
locations, Macfarlane comes to
appreciate that his Arcadia beyond
history is essentially fictional. It is
from this breakthrough that his latest
book The Old Ways is built upon.
This is a book which explores the
relationship between humans and
the environments in which they live.
Subtitled a Journey on Foot it follows
Macfarlane’s own wanderings in,
amongst others, the Icknield Way,
the Broomway, the ‘sea-paths’ of the
Scottish Isles, the contested paths
of the West Bank, and the area just
outside Cambridge. As he does
so, Macfarlane combines natural
description, snippets of the historical
past, and reflection on the thinkers
who had walked and thought these
paths before him. He does all this
in a vivid prose style which easily
tackles the problem of how to write
about nature without sounding twee,
or clichéd, and which frequently
jolts the reader with an unexpected
metaphor. The range of intellectual
precedences Macfarlane finds for
locations is vast; including Darwin,
the trampings of George Borrow,
Eric Ravilious, Nan Shepherd,
and, above all, Edward Thomas.
Thomas particularly is a staying
presence throughout the work.
The Old Ways notes that much
writing about humans and nature
has been written by “delusionists,
bigots and other unlovely maniacs”,
Macfarlane avoids this trapfall
completely. He remains profoundly
democratic throughout, privileging
the voices of those who accompany
him on his travels and those who have
walked before him whilst valuing
good cheer. This is to his credit;
the knowledge of urbanisation and
ecological destruction can only too
easily lead to despair. Certainly
it’s there in two major models
for Macfarlane: J.A. Baker, who
practiced walking in Essex as an
ascetic retreat from humanity and
even in W.G. Sebald, whose interplay
between imagination, nature and
history shapes Macfarlane’s work;
we find a bafflement bordering on
the misanthropic when he comes to
consider other people. Macfarlane’s
book is remarkable, in humanity,
in prose and in the tangled
interplay of allusion and reference.
Jack Greatrex
Read an exclusive interview with
Robert Macfarlane in next week’s
TCS
26 December 2004. A terrible day,
and a day that illicited a phenomenal
response from all over the world:
food, water, first aid, and shelter
came to South Asia in response to
the tsunami. We saw news reports
for weeks following the disaster,
but what happened afterwards?
A community is not just built on
shelter and food, but on people.
These people needed secondary aid
in order to prosper and grow in the
aftermath of crisis. It was with this
realisation and belief that Patrick
Weil set up Libraries Without
Borders in 2007.
Weil understood that books
weren’t the first action
needed in the response
to adversity. Speaking
about this, he also
understood that:
“Once life is
secured, books are
essential. They’re
not the first
priority, but the
second…They’re
the beginning of
recovery, in terms of
reconnecting with the
rest of the world, and feeling
like a human being again.”
For many here at Cambridge it
is very difficult to imagine a life
without books: how many times
P OET RY
Vital as Paint
City is wilder a word than you think
: more swollen & tidal :
more feral than iron’s red fingers
that wake you
by unpeeling
your pulse from
machine that you sleep in
to lose days to sleep.
Groan is more hollow a word than your usage
: your bodypulse body less swollen than it :
but wilder are you
to the kick of its sleep
that touches unasking
with fingers like sleet :
They are read by your tongue
implores comma to mouth
that is poppyseed blackend
when thy spread unlit truths
Like crakecall thy implore
that wish I could wake to
roll over from flesh
bitter sumach to sweet tooth.
James McKnight
If you have any poetry
you would like to submit to
The Cambridge Student,
email [email protected]
have we read a novel to escape?
How many books do we
get
through
every
week for our essays?
Yet, in many of
the
developing
countries where
Libraries Without
Borders
work,
illiteracy
is
abundant.
One
of
their
biggest projects is
the development of
Haiti after the catastrophic
earthquake in 2010. It left 2,500
schools destroyed and 500,000
children unable to obtain an
education, with seven
out of ten Haitians
illiterate. Trying
to
reconstruct
their lives and
homes, it could
be
assumed
that education
was not highest
on the list of
priorities of a
country decimated
by natural disaster. That
is, however, until Libraries
Without Borders, in partnership
with UNICEF, stepped in. Weil
explained: “Haitians and their
institutions – not us – requested
that books and access to opportunity to learn following the
knowledge and culture earthquake, Sadrac, a 13-year-old
be made priorities boy living in a dangerous slum in
for reconstruction the capital, Port-au-Prince, now
and they were hopes to “become an engineer;
first, to help my country, but also,
right.”
L i b r a r i e s to help my family”. To help Haiti
W i t h o u t sustain its growth, it is people
B o r d e r s like Sadrac that need this crucial
r e s p o n d e d inspiration.
Libraries Without Borders have
to
and
a c k n o w l e d g e d worked on projects across the
the
requests world. The project’s influence has
from the people been felt in Africa, Asia, America
and Europe in order to
themselves.
tackle inequality in
Haitians
recognised
education and
the need to inspire
to
improve
people to learn and
Libraries
learning after
to aim to restore
disasters
their communities.
Without Borders
such
as
Through the work
provides relief
Hu r r i c a n e
of the organisation,
Katrina.
a myriad of skills
from trauma for
Not only is
can
be
gained.
disaster victims
the
project
For instance, the
h e l p i n g
BiblioTaptap project
communities,
uses mobile libraries
but also aiming to
containing 2,400 books,
support local publishers
which travel around Haiti
containing, significantly, “books and writers. Libraries Without
to learn, books that whisk readers Borders seeks to bring to light the
away to faraway lands, and books vital role that literature plays in
rejuvenation after disaster, in the
that document the past”.
There are books for both children knowledge that “books…promote
and adults, books to educate and self-worth and resilience amid
to relax. After being given an crisis”.
22 Events & Interviews {MISC.}
WOLFSON
HOWLER
COMEDY
WOLFSON BAR
Monday 21 Jan
{funny people telling jokes}
Sophie Williams finds something to enjoy in both
the student and the professional performers
At £5 per ticket, the Wolfson
Howler is a bargain. Regardless of
the quality of stand-up proffered
by the student comedians that
begin the show, the headlining act
undoubtedly makes it worth it.
In this case the opening two acts,
Brian Ghosh and Milo Edwards,
seemed to have both based their
routines on the same ‘How to do
Comedy’ guide. Though separate
acts, both began by
riffing on their names
and what people
associate
them
with
before
moving
onto
their
subjects
and their social
connotat ions.
Both sets had
their
moments,
however,
and
Ghosh’s
material
about a Biblical ‘Thou
shalt not...’ drinking game was a
highlight of the night.
The tussle between compere
Nish Kumar and an antagonistic
linguistics student who claimed
that “bibulous” was his favourite
word (even though he didn’t
know what it meant) brought up
the energy of the night. The next
act, Josie Bowerman, earned a
warm audience response, even
if her Northern charm meant
that sometimes her routine got
more laughs than it probably
deserved. The star of the student/
alumni performers was Bhargav
Narayanan, whose one-liners,
many of which tackled touchy
subjects like disease and incest,
were, for the most part, hilarious.
Narayanan is a comedian with the
knack for the unexpected.
Headliner David Trent
had a highly successful
Edinburgh Fringe last
year, having earned a
nomination for the
Fosters Newcomer
award. His brand of
brash pop-culture
trashing felt both
comfortably familiar
and new, thanks to
his trademark projector
screen and self made
videos. Imagine an episode
of Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe
fronted by his sex-obsessed, hairier
cousin. Trent, perhaps because he
announced that he is a primaryschool teacher by day, earned
great (disgusted) laughs from an
audience that clearly did not know
what to expect. Although Trent
noticeably lost his audience halfway through his routine, he was
overall an uproarious success.
T R U E
DEFIANCE
PHOTOGRAPHY
MICHAELHOUSE CAFE
Thursday 17 Jan
{the art of a revolution}
P E T E R
HITCHENS
POLITICS
PETERHOUSE PARLOUR
Tuesday 22 Jan
{the myth of the good war}
Engage him at your own risk, says Jenni Reid
Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday you.” When a loud and garish ringtone
columnist, former foreign correspondent promptly sounded five minutes later, the
and full-time antagonist, packed out audience seemed much more amused
the Peterhouse Parlour on Tuesday than Hitchens.
evening with people who had come to
Upon finishing his argument,
see the man once described as “molten Hitchens announced with
Old Testament fury shot through with just a hint of menace,
visceral wit”.
“Anyone who wants to
Hitchens made it clear in his own take me on - I’m waiting
introduction: “I’ve come here to start an for you”. A short pause
argument.” He is a man on a mission, ensued before hands shot
seeking to destroy British romanticism up, and Hitchens had no
of the Second World War as a ‘good shortage of adversaries.
war’, and to attack the notion that there The conversation steered its
is such a thing as a good war. Hitchens way through an array of topics,
spoke of how the War is an event which from the “catastrophic” Iraq war,
preoccupies our national consciousness the “ludicrous and painful” Afghanistan
like nothing else – as he wryly remarked, war, the “moronic” bombing of Gaza,
three things sell books: cats, golf and and our “backwards” membership of
Nazis.
the EU, to the IRA, the Arab
The audience managed
Spring and wind farms.
to get into Hitchens’ bad
The
evening
books early on. As he
descended
into
reminisced, “I grew up
a
full-blown
“If you don’t
in a country in which
historical debate,
do things
it seemed as if the
as one audience
Second World War
member
after
aggressively, nowas still going on,”
another stepped
one will even
he suddenly paused
up to the plate for
and cast his eye over
a verbal battering.
notice”
the room. “…Is that a
Not that Hitchens
mobile phone? Because if
necessarily
‘won’
it is, I do actually believe in the
each of these arguments,
death penalty for anyone whose phone
but a battering it certainly was: this
goes off during talks, so please make is not a man who will let you have the
sure you have got it switched off or I last word, nor will he shy away from
will personally come and deal with it for telling you that you are wrong (not
Diamond Geyser, Chris Rimmer
Fran Hughes attends a moving photography
exhibition charting the Tunisian uprising
How many words can a photograph
say? Perhaps not quite enough in this
case. Last Thursday, Michaelhouse
Café hosted an Open View organised
by Cambridge University Amnesty
International featuring an exhibition
of photographs taken by five
photographers in the aftermath of
Tunisia’s Uprising. Twenty-eight days
of protest were initiated by Mohamed
Bouazizi’s self-immolation on 17
December 2010, as a protest against
market corruption when he was
banned from selling his fruit on the
street. The largely peaceful protests
caused the seemingly immovable
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
to resign on 14 January 2011, after
23 years of power. This retrospective
served to both celebrate this historic
event and reflect on the work which
must continue in order to maintain
stability in the country, and was
accompanied by a talk by Amnesty
International’s Benedicte Goderiaux.
The peacefulness of the uprising
was certainly the main inspiration
for the photographs in the exhibition.
Methods utilised by the protesters
included strikes, painted signs,
damaging their own property and the
extensive use of social networking
sites. Two prints by Augustin le
Gall arranged in coupled images
were almost diagrammatic in their
powerfully still explanation of the
quest for human rights. Both featured
a portrait of a first-time voter besides
a picture of their blue-painted finger,
a simple sign with such power
attached. But it was the caption below
one which really summarised the
message: ‘Rachid Belgacen Fitouri,
97 – First Time Voter.’ Lilia El Golli’s
images were also striking in their
presentation of humanity, including a
photograph of two six-year old twins
and a ‘Dignified Berger Woman’
carrying her child on her back.
Yet somehow an expression of
the extreme monumentality of the
events which occurred during those
twenty-eight days was lacking. Even
the more documentary photographs
seen through the eyes of Nesrine
Cheikh Ali, Ezequiel Scagnetti
and Naim Gharsalli, though well
captured photographically, were only
brought into focus by a reminder
of the extreme, overwhelming
power people are capable of
when united against corruption.
Perhaps it is impossible to capture
through a camera lens. The Open
View as a whole did, however,
successfully act as a reminder of
these events, and also to highlight
the need to not forget in order
to continue peaceful work in the
country and maintain stability.
lse.ac.uk/cambridge
{TCS}
that he thinks you are wrong – that
you are wrong.) One young woman
from Iraq challenged Hitchens’ claim
that politicians really subscribe to the
‘myth of the good war’. Hitchens replied,
“I have an advantage over you: I met
Tony Blair before he was famous. You’re
paying these people a compliment to
say that they’re tremendous cynics who
in private know how the world
works and in public
pretend to be idealist
ninnies. They really
are as bad as they
sound.
They
really do believe
their
own
propaganda.”
T h i n g s
calmed down a
little as the evening
went on, although
one audience member
offered Hitchens some advice:
conduct your arguments with a bit less
aggression and a bit more subtlety. “If
you don’t do things aggressively, no-one
will even notice,” he retorted. “Changing
people’s minds is incredibly difficult.
It’s never a good thing to tell people
that they’re wrong, but sometimes it’s
necessary.” Peter Hitchens, like his late
brother, is a man who doesn’t care what
people think of him. He admits he’s not
“nice” or “tactful”, nor does he want
to be. As the two hour battle between
Hitchens and Cambridge drew to a close
he became more reflective, remarking
that Britain needs to get out of the
“strange, self deluding torpor” it finds
itself in. And for all his assertions and
dogmatism, he ended the evening on a
civil note: “as my mother always taught
me to say, thank you for having me.”
{MISC.} Events & Interviews 23
INTERVIEW: VIKAS SWARUP
The author of Q&A, the novel behind the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, talks to Emily
Handley about the challanges of adaptation, a diplomatic career and the release of his new novel
Insanitabrigians by Clementine Beauvais
Unnatural Selection by Caitlin Blumgart
The Indian diplomat and self- authors typically wrote about. imposed upon him by his day job
confessed ‘weekend writer’ Vikas Having deduced that these authors prevent him from spending a lot
Swarup uses an expression coined “wrote about society” and wanting of time visiting other countries
by Gandhi in order to give me an to realise his ambition of writing a to research his novels, and freely
insight into how he copes with thriller, he decided to write a book admits to using Google in order
his busy lifestyle and constant that would portray Indian society to “create an authentic backdrop”
cultural shifts: “the winds
“in a thrilling way”. He has for them. With these methods of
of all cultures to blow
used real-life events as research, how have his portrayals
freely
about
my
inspiration for all of Indian society been received by
house, but not to
of his books so his readers?
be swept off my
far, drawing on
“The best compliment that I
“I’m very sorry
feet by any.” His
the murder of have ever received was when I
to disappoint you,
open and relaxed
model Jessica gave a talk in Mumbai after the
manner sets the
Lall for his release of Q&A, and a lady asked
but I’ve actually
tone for the rest
second novel me about how many years I had
never set foot in
of the interview,
Six Suspects, lived in Dharavi [the Mumbai
as we discuss
and, for Q&A, slum that is the setting of the
Dharavi”
his
favourite
the “incidents of novel and film]. She said that she
books and writers,
betting on cricket had lived there all her life, and she
the difficulties of
matches and the could sense the sights and smells
establishing roots in a
begging gangs that are from Dharavi in my book. I said,
country while travelling for his
part of the everyday milieu in ‘I’m very sorry to disappoint you,
work, and the upcoming release India”.
but I’ve actually never set foot in
of his third book, The Accidental
When asked about how he Dharavi’”.
Apprentice, which he describes manages to balance the demands
The differences between a
as a “modern-day coming-of-age of his career with his writing, he film adaptation and the original
novel”.
waves away any suggestions that text of a novel is a matter that
Born in Allahabad in 1963, he may be giving up his post in the is also close to Swarup’s heart,
Vikas Swarup began a career as a Indian consul in Japan in order to after Danny Boyle collaborated
diplomat with the Indian Foreign concentrate on writing: “I enjoy with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy
Service after graduating from being a diplomat, and now this to make Slumdog Millionaire,
university, and this would see is the time of India and the time changing certain elements of
him stationed in countries such as of Asia, where the whole
the original story in the
Ethiopia, South Africa and the UK. world is looking at
process: “When Simon
He released his debut novel Q&A India. Also, if I were
met me, he told me
in 2005 to critical acclaim, after a full-time writer,
that the entire
having “written it in two months I personally feel
book wouldn’t go
“I am under no
in Golders Green”. His modesty that I might be
into the movie.
pressure to write,
belies the vast success that the under pressure
I expected that
book would receive four years all the time,
large parts of
as my day job
later, as Swarup was approached because
you
my book would
takes care of my
about the film rights before the would feel that
be
chopped
family”
novel’s publication. This led to you have to
and
changed,
the production of Danny Boyle’s write, and that’s
but at the same
2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, an your bread and
time he made me
adaptation of the novel that broke butter. This way, I
a promise that he
box-office records and won eight am under no pressure to
would remain faithful to
of the ten Oscars for which it was write, as my day job takes care of the soul of the novel. The main
nominated.
my family and gives me a good USP of the book was its narrative
As his mother-tongue is Hindi, life.” As writing is not his main structure as, like the movie, it is
the author explains that he had source of income, he remarks that told through the medium of a quiz
not read the works of any English- he feels “free from the constraints show. They changed the name
speaking Indian writers before of the market, as I can write what of Ram Mohammad Thomas to
writing his novel, so he read works I want, not what the market wants Jamal Malik, as Simon wanted the
by Arundhati Roy and V.S. Naipaul me to write.”
protagonist to have a brother, Salim
in order to find out what these
He explains that the demands [who is presented in the novel as
Rohit Suri
his best friend]. I had to change
his name as a family is always
very particular: either Christian
or Muslim or Jewish, as you can’t
have three religions combining in
the story of a family.”
Following on from the success
of Q&A, Swarup is releasing a new
novel later this year about Sapna
Sinha, a salesgirl who works in
an electronics shop and who lives
a “very humdrum, middle-class
existence”. Sapna prays at a local
temple every Friday and, on one
visit, she meets a man who claims
to be the owner of one of India’s
biggest companies. He wants her
to be the CEO of his company,
however he asks that she passes
“seven tests from the textbook of
life” in order to achieve this.
The author explains that the
premise of the story stems from
the perceptive idea that nobody
“knows their own limits, and it
is only when you are placed in an
extraordinary situation that you
realise this.” As the interview draws
to a close, I find myself thinking
that this statement applies very
neatly to Swarup himself. He has
encountered several extraordinary
situations over the past decade, yet
he has managed to take everything
in his stride, juggling the many
duties expected of a high-ranking
diplomat and bestselling author
with enviable aplomb.
24 Theatre {MISC.}
R EVIEWS
BLUEBIRD
We all know that interaction with
a taxi driver can be a strange
experience, and more than one of
us is probably guilty of resorting to
the two inevitable questions that
comedian Peter Kay immortalised
in his taxi driver sketch: “Been
busy?” and “what time are you
on till?” The central character of
Bluebird by Simon Stephens may
be a cabbie, but the questions the
play asks run much deeper than
they usually do in casual customer
conversation.
The ‘fares’ are from all different
parts of the country with a variety
of accents, professions and worries.
The only thing they have in common
is a desire to get away from London,
and a conviction that there must be
answers to the problems they face,
if they only knew where to look.
Often in desperation, they ask
their driver for the answer to the
question that Guv’nor (Quentin
Beroud, standing in for an ill cast
Corpus Playroom
Tues 22-Sat 26
7.00pm
member) poses at the beginning:
“Do you have any idea what it all
means, any idea at all?”
Tom Stuchfield plays Jimmy, who
at first seems to be an average man
just trying to do a job. Stuchfield is
excellent at being by turns bored,
amused and intrigued by the
people he ferries round for a living.
Each of them brings something
new to the drama, making the first
half a true tragicomedy as it flits
from flirty and funny Angela with
unexplained bruises on her face,
played with gusto by Laura Batey,
to exaggeratedly misanthropic
bouncer Andy, who Chris Born
brings to life with a convincingly
threatening stage presence. Their
stories, liberally sprinkled with
swear words and occasionally told
while inebriated, weave a vision
of London as a patchwork society
permeated with violence and
drugs and only just holding itself
together.
For the vast majority of the
play there are only two actors
on stage and, together with the
sparse set containing just a taxi
designed by Rob Eager, this creates
an atmosphere of emotional and
psychological pressure. It is safe
to say that Stuchfield entirely
changes the audience’s notion
of his character as he interacts
with others and his tragic past
involving his wife Clare is slowly
revealed. He evolves from a mostly
sympathetic listener, whose own
personality is subsumed by the
problems of his passengers, to
a complex character in his own
right. Wringing such nuance out of
a performance that requires him to
pretend to drive a taxi for the best
part of two hours takes great skill.
Clare is played by Helen Charman
as a nice counterpoint to the
people who tumble in and out of
Jimmy’s taxi. She has no detectable
regional accent, which marks her
Rob Eager
out as different, and, surprisingly
considering the nature of her
role, she probably brings more
humour to the play than any other
character.
If I have a complaint to make
about this production, it was
that the dramatic tension, which
director Quentin Beroud had built
up so well, faltered in the very
final scene. Whether it was that
there was something lacking in the
K I L L I N G Playroom
Corpus
E N I G M A
O T H E R Tues 22-Sat
26
P E O P L E 9.30pm
Claude Schneider
As you stumble across the set to
your seats in the Corpus Playroom,
take a good look at the set, as it
is the best bit of this production.
Excellent use has been made of the
intimate stage, and the clutter of
books and boxes and the tattered
sheets on the walls and ceiling give
a suitably claustrophobic feeling.
However, the script is overly
moralistic, didactic, pretentious
and, as I heard one audience
member remark as we walked
back out into the cold, “potentially
offensive”.
On the programme its author
Michael Campbell writes that “it’s
a terrible fault to label perpetrators
of awful atrocities monsters or
inhuman” and that he hopes his
play will “make you think”. It
certainly does make you think. It
makes you think that this play could
be construed as justifying ghastly
acts of humanity, or that it invites
the audience to sympathise with
the orchestrators of the Holocaust.
The “potentially offensive” nature
of this play overshadows whatever
unbearable point Campbell is
belabouring about the “humanity”
of murderers.
Henry St Leger-Davey, as the
character Black, spends the first
fifteen minutes ambling about the
stage gesticulating frenetically and
pointlessly and his only variation
in voice seemed to be being silent.
Indeed, there are some awkwardly
long and unbearable pauses in this
production. Director Fergus Blair
seems to have forced pointless
{TCS}
pauses and smirking stares on his
cast at every available opportunity.
St Leger-Davey and the pantomimic
Ryan Howard are saved by Kim
Jarvis, who plays the concerned
secretary
Miss
Pennyfeather.
Her performance is flawless and
believable. George Longworth
deserved so much more than the
four minutes he was given on
stage as the accountant Mr Helter.
Longworth’s short biography on
the programme makes it clear this
actor is one to watch in the world of
Cambridge Drama - he is good and
I expect his name will appear on
many ADC posters in the future.
This performance includes some
sporadic and gratuitous use of
sound effects, which are juxtapose
with what little action there is. Just
as you think you might be about
to witness some actual acting,
you are blasted with the sound of
pages being turned or of someone
panting.
This play is puzzling, badly
written and indeed “potentially
offensive”. It is certainly pretentious.
There is a sycophantic and tedious
soliloquy on the conditions
of existence about every five
minutes and every ten minutes a
character asks another to posit a
counterfactual world or gushes
that “art and suffering are closer
than you think”. Unfortunately,
some good performances could not
redeem this over-ambitious attempt
to address themes that need to be
handled with far more caution.
Jack Pulman-Slater
In her blog post producer of Enigma,
Lolia Etomi, made it clear that she
and co-producer Laura Weidinger
were determined to exceed the high
standards expected of CUCDW’s
annual show. I cannot praise this
passionate duo enough, as well as their
production team, their choreographers
and, of course, the dancers for what
was a magnificent, spellbinding and
beautiful display of some of the most
talented performers Cambridge has to
offer.
One of the most striking things
about Enigma, which features local
dance groups as well as students, is the
variety of pieces on offer: the opening
numbers set the precedent by whisking
us from the dark, urban world of Hip
Hop, choreographed by Ifeyinwa
Frederick, to the exotic, fluid and
sensual excitement of the Turkish belly
dance, led by Leyla Tureli, a local dance
teacher. Some of the strongest moments
in the show grew out of similar pairings,
particularly when the graceful, florid
Sevillana, a popular traditional
flamenco dance choreographed by
Mari-Pia Molina, was followed by a
dazzlingly accomplished performance
by SIN Stars, the junior wing of the
breakdancing troupe SIN Cru.
I was not only impressed by the
variety of genres and cultures included
in Enigma – as well as Hip Hop, belly
dancing and flamenco, we were treated
to Contemporary, Fusion, traditional
Oriental and Indian pieces, Jazz and
Ballet among others – but by the range
of ages, shapes and sizes of the dancers:
from the raw, young talent of the SIN
Stars to the maturity and grace of the
Sevillanas, petite ballet dancers to
wonderfully curvaceous salsa bodies,
dynamic between Stuchfield and
Charman, or that their stepping
outside the cab broke the spell, I
suddenly felt awkward rather than
moved. Still, overall I recommend
this production, which is most
effective when it is bitter sweet,
balancing the comedy of everyday
social interaction with a truly
harrowing exploration of love, loss
and forgiveness.
Suzanne Duffy
ADC Theatre
Tues 22-Sat 26
7.45pm
Enigma was a celebration of the fact
that anyone, anywhere can dance, and
feel fantastic doing it too.
All this variety meant that the show
lacked some structural unity. The title
formed a loose theme that ran through
and framed the pieces but overall I
suspect it was a jumping-off point
rather than a rigid base. But why not?
I would certainly rather see a series
of spectacular moments than a turgid
and forced concept piece. As it was,
the unbridled talent and creativity of
the pieces carried the show, leaving us
with the satisfying feeling that we had
witnessed something special.
I feel that the solo pieces in particular
are worthy of praise. Tania Clarke’s
Contemporary piece, ‘Life in Full
Motion’, inspired by those famous lines
of William Henry Davies ‘What is this
life if, full of care, we have no time to
stand and stare?’, was an astonishingly
tight and effective statement of the
individual’s experience of time, while
Demelza Hillier’s belly dance was
one of the more successful Fusion
performances, bringing out the
independence and strength at the core
of the highly physical exotic dance.
The variety available in Enigma
means there is something for everyone,
and the audience’s response shows
that this production is, rightly, a real
crowd pleaser. Of course the dancers
showed the strain on occasion, and
once in a while in deep concentration
some of them forgot to smile, but this
is not the Bolshoi and we can forgive
that. The delightful enthusiasm, talent
and creativity exhibited by all the acts
transcend any minor criticisms. This
show is unmissable.
Ciarian Chillingworth
{MISC.} Theatre 25
INTERVIEW: DIRECTOR’S nOTES
Hannah Greenstreet talks to Michael Fentiman about his career as a professional director with the RSC
and his new production of The Comedy of Errors
romp and my palette is normally quite
dark”. However, on rereading the play,
Fentiman discovered a melancholic
undercurrent beneath the surface of
Shakespeare’s farce, as in so many of
his comedies, and began to consider:
“What if it’s actually about this very sad
incident where there was a shipwreck
and two brothers lost each other and a
husband lost his wife and forever since
they’ve been wandering the earth trying
to find each other?” He argues that
there is an almost existential, dreamlike
quality to the play. The characters are lost,
desperately seeking connections with
others to make sense of themselves, in a
Marlowe Society
Michael Fentiman insists that, of the
thirty-two plays on this term, the Marlowe
Society’s production of The Comedy of
Errors at The Cambridge Arts Theatre is
a must-see: “This is the only play on in
Cambridge this year with one of the top
young composers and sound designers
in the country, Tom Mills, one of the top
young designers, Signe Beckman, and
one of the top young writing designers,
Richard Howell”, supporting the talented
student cast and technical team.
Despite his obvious enthusiasm for
the production, Fentiman says he was
initially wary of directing The Comedy of
Errors, as “It’s Shakespeare’s great sitcom
play that is “funny because it’s so sad”.
As well as existential confusion,
Fentiman says his production aims
to bring out the sexual confusion of
the characters. He sees Antipholus of
Syracuse as “a sort of libertine”,
while the merchants, to
whom
Antipholus
owes
money,
dispense sexual
favours.
All
the mistaken
identities make
it difficult to
keep track of
who has slept
with whom, “so
that at the end of
the play when you get
these resolutions, the one big
question is, did you sleep with my wife
because my wife thought you were me?”
Despite the unresolved questions,
Fentiman finds the end of The Comedy
of Errors deeply moving: after all the
transience of the play, “their relationships
level out and find harmony. And it’s
beautiful.”
His approach to Shakespeare has no
doubt been influenced by his three-year
attachment to the Royal Shakespeare
Company (RSC), in which he worked
as an assistant director to Michael Boyd
and Rupert Goold. As well as launching
his career, he says, “playing that many
Shakespeare plays in rep with each other
[nine over three years] and hearing
how they speak to each other was
really interesting.” He admires
Michael
Boyd,
who
recently stepped down
as artistic director
of the RSC, for his
skill in fostering
a real sense of
ensemble, giving
the whole team a
sense of ownership
of the production and
making everyone feel that
their voice was important.
Boyd knew everyone’s name in a
company of seven hundred.
Fentiman feels particularly indebted
to Rupert Goold’s conceptual, “almost
expressionistic” approach to directing.
He remembers Goold would conceive of
three different productions, for example
“a version of Romeo and Juliet set in a
lunatic asylum, a version set in a town in
Barnsley, where the children are Goths,
and a Romeo and Juliet set in 1548 in
Castile” and then try to join all three
together in the final production in order
“Life is messy
and irrational
and theatre
should
embrace that”
to find a social, political and poetic world
for the play. Fentiman is looking forward
to returning to the RSC in this summer
to direct Titus Andronicus, which he
considers “a bit of a mash up of lots of
different later Shakespearean ideas.”
Fentiman has an MA in Directing
and would also recommend assistant
directing, in balance with directing, to
give you space to find your own voice.
He is extremely grateful to Michael Boyd
and Rupert Goold for allowing him to
“act like a director” when he was assisting
them, rather than getting him to make
cups of tea, as he had feared. Fentiman’s
last piece of advice for aspiring directors
is something he learnt from Goold:
“Sometimes a director can feel that his or
her job is to create reason in the room...but
sometimes too much logic makes things
less clear. Life is messy and irrational and
people do the most extraordinary things
and theatre should embrace that, in
balance with logic.”
It seems that we can look forward to
Fentiman’s production of The Comedy
of Errors, itself a tale of irrational and
extraordinary behaviour, to bring out
life in all its messiness.
The Comedy of Errors is on at The
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Wednesday 6
- Saturday 9 February.
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Panther App ad 180x265.indd 1
14/01/2013 09:42
26 Listings {MISC.}
{TCS}
LISTINGS
Charity Ceilidh
for Friends of
Whitworth House
@
THEATRE
THE GOAT, OR
WHO IS SYLVIA?
Guildhall
25th January, 7:30
pm
@ Corpus Playroom,
29th Jan-2nd Feb, 7pm
With music from
Cambridge Universthe
Ceilidh band and dr ity
from the Devonshir inks
e Arms.
An architect is having an affair
with a goat. Need we say more?
THE DEEP BLUE
SEA
Comedy
@ ADC Theatre,
29th Jan-3rd Feb, 7:45pm
medy
o
C
d
n
a
l
Port Club
nd Arms
THE PITCHFORK
DISNEY
u lo
brings yo
Local pucbomedians.
One of the twentieth century’s
best tragedies. Bring tissues.
rtla , 7:30pm
@ Pon
uary
a
J
25th
ca l
29th Jan-2nd Feb, 9:30pm
A pair of strange twins recieve
a disturbing visit from two
nightmarish visitors.
@ Th
pm
January, 7
AN ITALIAN
STRAW HAT
@ ADC Theatre,
30th Jan-2nd Feb, 11pm
35 characters. 5 actors. 1 farce.
DENIM
EXIT THE KING
@ Cambridge Union
25th January, 8:30pm
@Newnham Old Labs
31st Jan-2nd Feb, 7pm
Cambridge’s first and
only drag night returns
in an effervescent
explosion of glitter and
fabulousness.
A dying king inhabits a dilapidated
kingdom. Try a venue other than
Corpus and the ADC.
house Theatre,
28th Jan, 7:30pm
Want to feel sophisticated
on a Monday evening? Go
see some classical music
performed by a wellrespected group on its 30th
anniversary.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
22.
21.
23.
Across: 1. Countdown 6. Comedy 7. Car 9. Cites 10. Thai 13. Tiny 14. Roles 15. Top
18. Entail 19. Conundrum
Down: 1. Crouton 2. Unease 3. Toys 4. Orc 5. Narcissi 8. Ecstatic 11. Holmium 12. Crater
15. Penn 17. Pun
@Portland Arms
26th Jan, 6pm
See an 18-piece ukulele
punk-rock orchestra play
a selection of classics and
their own numbers.
Union D
@ Cambridegbe ate
24th Jan, 7:30 Union
pm
MPs, activists
multiculturalisand writers debate the mot
ion: This hous
m isn’t working
e believes
.
James H
@ Cambridagsekell
29th Jan, 7:30 Union
pm
The current E
nglish internat
ional rugby pl
will be talking
ayer
about his care
er. travels and
with the media
dealings
.
Kettle’s Ya
rd Art
Debate
@ Kettle’s Yard
31st Jan, 5:3
0pm
Artists debate
wheth
representation
er comm
is essential to ercial gallery
a successful ar
CROSSWORD by vegetable
1.
THE PUKES! ft.
THE DOWN &
OUTS
Across
1. Agreeing to marry is
starting a fight (8)
5. Rigid wood beginning to
moulder (4)
9. Football team learns a
manoeuvre (7)
10. Someone hopelessly lost
in second half of Antigone,
the king (5)
11. Period drama’s duke
to have a theatre award,
accepting a burnished bronze
effigy initially (7,5)
13. Gold barrel containing
drop of mead to fall (6)
15. Stick to a beloved, say (6)
17. Playwright from Greece,
not Persia, has rewritten (12)
20. In Keble I row, going back
to Oxford college (5)
21. Ideal university head, Mr.
Hislop (7)
22. Bean that’s a regular
feature of story has ... (4)
23. ...most sizeable growth
finally, developing its feet (8)
Down
1. Crazy European rejected
Dutch cheese (4)
2. Thingummy slotted into plug
is mouse (5)
3. Dance craze sends up horse,
then gets manly gyrating (7, 5)
4. Wrestling hold, one with one
arm (6)
6. Playing bingo with the French
is dishonourable (7)
7. Dangerous fish to turn up in
shelter after second fish (5, 3)
8. Short film requires a thousand
pounds and you involved in
drawing animated trolls, to start
with (1, 5, 3, 3)
12. Bullfighters are sorta mad,
possibly (8)
14. College: attempt to get round
in it (7)
16. Neat kind of tree (6)
18. Top class would be found in
Yale, literally (5)
19. It measures speed of a wading
bird (4)
Pamela postponed
until March
t career.
D
N
H S
I
W O
A
G
WORDWHEEL
HOW TO PLAY WORDWHEEL
In three minutes, make as many
words as you can from the letters
above. Each word must be at
least 3 letters long, and must
include the centre letter. Each
letter can only be used once
per word. No plurals or proper
nouns. The wheel also contains
one Cambridge-specific 9-letter
word. Find it, and you’re officially
the coolest cat in Cambridge.
How many words did you find?
16+ words = 1st
12-15 words = 2:1
8-12 words = 2:2
5-8 words = 3rd
0-5 words = Drunk/Asleep
Photos: Edwin IJsman, Julia Lichnova, Darren Stone
ill
our dad w ink
y
n
ia
d
e
A com from ‘They Th
r
remembe ver’ discusses enda
O
It’s All orld theories in
of-the-w dic manner.
come
HAGEN
QUARTET
@ Peter
Talks and Debates
Scared
o
o
T
:
t
s
r
Lee Heuave the House
to L e Junction, 25th
@ Corpus Playroom,
Music
The British Expedition Company invites you to
trek the highest mountain in Africa...
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro stands 5895m above the savannah of Tanzania and dominates
the landscape for miles around. You will ascend the mountain via the
Machame Route, which is the best route for amazing views and easy acclimatization. This year we are running 7 trips throughout the summer of
2014 to fit in with ever increasing demand.
This 2 week trip includes 4 nights in a 4* hotel, all flights, guides, porters,
permits, food and transport etc… for £1875. The vast majority of this
money can be fundraised over the next year and is payable in small
manageable instalments.
Kilimanjaro 2013
Kilimanjaro 2014
Trip 1: Monday 10th June to Friday 21st June Trip full
Trip 1: Monday 9th June to Friday 20th June (£1875 all inclusive)
Trip 2: Monday 17th June to Friday 28th June Trip Full
Trip 2: Monday 17th June to Friday 27th June (£1925 all inclusive)
Trip 3: Monday 1st July to Friday 12th July (£1950 all inclusive)
Trip 3: Monday 23rd July to Friday 4th July (£1925 all inclusive)
Very Limited Availability
Trip 4: Monday 1st July to Friday 12th July (£1975 all inclusive)
Trip 4: Sunday 7th July to Thursday 18th July (£1950 all inclusive)
Very Limited Availability
Trip 5: Monday 7th July to Friday 18th July (£1975 all inclusive)
st
th
Trip 5: Wednesday 31 July to Monday 12 August Trip full
Trip 6: Tuesday 3rd September to Saturday 14th September
Trip 6: Monday 28th July to Friday 8th August (£1975 all inclusive)
Trip 7: Monday 1st September to Friday 12th September (£1925 all
inclusive)
(£1900 all inclusive) Very Limited Availability
For full trip details please contact: Jonathan Reilly at:
[email protected] or [email protected]
Tel: 01747 871109 Web: thebec.co.uk
We also organise scheduled and private trips throughout the year to Machu Picchu,
Everest BC & Mt Elbrus
Company Reg No: 6957339 — ATOL Protection No: 10222
Ideally situated in the heart of Cambridge The University Arms Hotel is a stunning
Victorian building set over looking Parkers Piece. Our Ballroom, Cromwell & Byron Suites
are the ideal setting for your private event. Period features, oak panelled walls and
traditional food cooked with flare and passion by our head chef Richard Cephus are just
a handful of reasons The University Arms Hotel makes private dining something extra
special.
The Ballroom Suite
The Octagon lounge
The Cromwell Suite
The Byron Suite
£32.00 per person (Rate includes private room hire)
Sample Menus Options (A set menu to be chosen from the below options)
Starters
Chicken liver parfait, apricot chutney, Melba toast
House cured salmon, red onion and capers crème friache
Oven dried tomato and olive brushetta with rocket (V)
Pressed Ham hock terrine with piccalilli
Crown of Melon and lemon sorbet (V)
Carrot and coriander soup (V)
Tomato and basil soup (V)
Leek and potato soup (V)
Mains
Breast of chicken, wild mushroom cream sauce with a Rosti potatoe and seasonal vegetables
Pork loin steak, apple puree, sage with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables
Braised silverside of beef with potato gratin and seasonal vegetables
Roast salmon supreme with fennel sauce, new potatoes and seasonal vegetables
Mushroom risotto with rocket and a Parmesan tuille (v)
Quorn© shepherds pie with seasonal vegetables (v)
Desserts
Glazed Lemon tart with clotted cream and berry compote
Chocolate brownie and hot chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream
Strawberry cheese cake, strawberry and basil compote
Sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce and pouring cream
Brioche Bread and butter pudding with vanilla custard
Selection of English cheeses, grapes, celery and biscuits
Profiteroles, crème Chantilly with hot chocolate sauce
Coffee and mints
All of our menus are samples and can be flexible. Should you have any specific requests then please contact
your co-ordinator and we will do our best to cater to your requirements.
University Arms, Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1AD, Tel: 01223 273003 Fax: 01223 273037
Sport 29
COMMENT
Chris McKeon on
why sporting cheats are
allowed to prosper...
Nick Butler
Chris McKeon is an African
Studies student at Caius and
a former Rugby League HalfBlue.
Hilary Samuels considers those sports vying for a place in the Olympic Games
The dust from London 2012 has
barely settled, yet seven sports
are already lobbying for one new
position in the 2020 Summer
Olympics:
baseball,
karate,
wakeboarding, roller sports, speed
climbing, squash and wushu.
Following the success of newly
introduced sports in London
2012, such as women’s boxing, the
competition to secure a place for
2020 is intense.
Members of each sport believe
that the Olympics would benefit
from their participation. The Karate
World Federation, for example,
highlighted how karate ‘transcends
economic and social status, [and
so] anyone can become involved.’
Equally significant is the benefit
Olympic recognition brings to a
sport through sponsorship and
popularity. Matthew Benjamin,
President of the Cambridge
University Karate Club, says karate
has been ‘plagued by petty politics
since its inception, and being in
the Olympics will force people to
co-operate to fix a standard.’ This
highlights the political side of
sport, namely that funding plays a
“This highlights
the political side
of sport”
significant role.
Defining a ‘sport’ is more difficult
than it seems, and within Cambridge
this is illustrated by the Blues
awards system. In some sports,
all participants in a Varsity match
achieve a Full Blue, while in other
perhaps less mainstream sports
only Half Blues are awarded. Should
sport be defined by popularity?
Petre Nicolescu
Over the last week we learnt
something we already knew.
No, not that Lance Armstrong
took serious amounts of drugs
to win the Tour de France (well,
not just that), though it was to
do with cheating. What we
learnt was that, by his own admission, Luis Suarez is a cheat.
For those that missed it, the
controversial Uruguayan admitted during a TV interview
that he had dived in order to
win a penalty against Stoke
earlier in the season. He has,
of course, got form for this
sort of thing – as any Ghanaian football fan will no doubt
grudgingly recall – but it is the
frank admission of cheating
which is new (and seems to be
very much in vogue at present).
The other new thing, for
those who recall Kenny Dalglish’s awful defence of Suarez’s
racism, is that his manager has
described this admission as
‘unacceptable’. The admission,
mind you, not the dive itself.
However, while Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool will deal
with this in-house, it seems
that they will not be fining him,
nor will the FA censure him.
I can’t say that I find this terribly surprising. If sport was
ever about fair, sportsman-like
competition, it is no longer.
With ticket prices rising and
TV rights to be fought over, it is
no longer simply about competition between teams, it is about
competition between leagues,
or even sports themselves.
Damien Comolli, former Liverpool Director of Football, said
this month that it would be a
shame if Suarez was driven out
of English football and, while
I think a game without cheats
is a better one, I can see his
point. If clubs are going to ask
their fans to pay over £60 for a
ticket, they had better be exciting. Call Suarez what you want
(and I will), but he is exciting.
It’s not just football, of
course. Both codes of rugby
are constantly arguing about
raising their salary caps – designed to ensure even, close
contests – to stop players going
abroad (or, in League’s case, going to Union). Nor would I be
surprised if the UCI really did
ignore suspicions about Armstrong. Sport’s bosses seem less
interested in putting on exciting matches than keeping exciting players. They need their
superstars, and it seems they’ll
do anything to keep them.
2020 Olympics: Whose turn is it?
Tellingly, out of the seven shortlisted
sports, only squash players and
karate exponents are eligible for a
Full Blue.
The
International
Olympic
Committee (IOC) has more to
consider than just the sport itself.
Interestingly, a prominent member
of the climbing community has
been hesitant about Olympic
participation. Graham Dolman,
Climbing and Caving Club explains:
‘[climbing] does not make a great
TV or live spectacle in an indoor
environment that simply does not
exist in most countries.’ Climbing is
usually pursued as a leisure activity
rather than a competitive individual
sport, so perhaps it would be
inappropriate at the Olympics. It is
true that expenses, popularity and
entertainment value must all be
considered.
Wakeboarding has exploded
onto the sporting scene recently,
particularly with the development
of cable wakeboarding, which has
allowed landlocked countries more
access to the sport. Josh Hodgson,
University Wakeboarding Society
explains: ‘The only disadvantage of
expanding the Olympic repertoire
is more organisation, but surely the
advantages outweigh this.’ It is
thus up to the IOC to decide how
significant the costs of introducing
any new sport may be.
The final decision will be made in
September 2013 at the same time
as the announcement of the host
city for the 2020 Games. Until then,
athletes in the shortlisted sports
will wait to find out whether their
lifelong efforts will be rewarded
with Olympic recognition.
Cricket: The significance of England passing the India test
Will Spencer
Sport Reporter
Whether or not it has any lasting
impact, England’s recent Test series
success against India represented
something of a watershed moment.
India has consistently been one of
the most challenging countries for
touring sides the world over, and
England have particularly struggled there in the past. The fact that
it was their first series win there
for twenty-seven years speaks for
the significance of the achievement, and the ongoing 50-over series loss should not overshadow it.
Most striking, perhaps, was England’s superiority over India in the
spin bowling department and the
batting on slow, low pitches, two
areas in which India have historically reigned supreme. While the
latter is partly explained by the retirements of senior batsmen over
recent years, and the loss of form
of former stalwarts such as Sachin
Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag,
the former is rather more perplexing. Their spinners, chiefly Ravi
Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, despite
being raised on obliging pitches,
were comprehensively outbowled
by England’s duo of Monty Panesar
and Graeme Swann, who took three
more wickets than their counterparts
and conceded barely half the runs.
The ease with which England’s
“The ease with
which England’s
batsmen
negotiated the
spinners was also
surprising”
batsmen negotiated the spinners was
also surprising, given their hopelessness in similar conditions in
Pakistan and Sri Lanka the previous
winter. New captain Alastair Cook
carried England’s batting, breaking
numerous records, though Kevin
Pietersen’s brutal 186 in the second
Test perhaps decisively shifted the
momentum. Of the bowlers, James
Anderson’s performance was possibly most impressive. Despite the unhelpful pitches, he claimed twelve
cheap wickets at key moments, demonstrating the gulf in class between
him and the other fast bowlers,
none of whom took more than four.
In the current one-day international series in India, however,
England are starting to show more
familiar signs of failure. Having
been bowled out for under 160 in
their last two matches because of
spin-induced collapses, it is to be
hoped that the mastery over spin
displayed in the Test matches was
not a one-off. Having said that,
two poor ODI innings mean very
little compared to solid displays
across three Tests, which are still
cricket’s gold standard. Still, on the
ODI front, new coach Ashley Giles
appears to have his work cut out.
Though the most notable recent
Ashes victories, in Australia in
2010/11 and in England in 2005,
led to a surge in interest in cricket
in this country, the lesser rivalry
with the Indians suggests that this
Test achievement will not have the
same effect. Notably, this time,
any flair was superseded by grit
and determination. In Cambridge,
aspiring cricketers are raised on a
meagre college diet of twenty-over
games in a knockout competition
which the weather last year rendered meaningless. Consequently,
college players aspiring to enter the
Blues setup have little chance to
display these invaluable qualities.
30 Sport
REPORTS
Walker on a fine Blues win:
A long and daunting train journey
and a severe loss to Exeter a week
previously failed to dampen the
indomitable spirits of the Womens
Blues tennis team as they stepped
onto court against the Cardiff
Metropolitan team. Inspired by
Sharapova’s victories in the Australian Open, regular pair Marilena
Papadopoulou (Trinity) and Sophie Walker(Peterhouse) did not
concede a single game against the
UWIC first doubles pair. Walker
managed to hold her nerve on
serve to clinch several sudden
death deuces. Papadopoulou continued her fine form in her singles
as number one, losing just one
game. Walker also gave a commanding performance, beating
UWIC’s number two player 6-2
6-1.
Elizabeth Gorton (Murray Edwards) and Katharine Booth
(Fitzwilliam) teamed up to beat
the second pair 6-4 6-4, in what
was an exciting match with many
drawn-out volley ralleys. Gorton
was unlucky to not consolidate this
victory with a singles win. She lost
6-3 6-3 to a very consistent player.
Booth, after a tight first set, which
she narrowly won 6-4, and realising she had a train to catch, turned
up the notch a few gears to win her
second set 6-0 a complete an excellent victory.
TENNIS (Men): Gerald Wu
on a thriving promotion charge:
The Cambridge Blues won 10-2
against Loughborough yesterday.
The no.1 doubles pair of Tim Prossor and Sven Sylvester recorded a
nervy 7-5 3-6 10-8 victory while
the second pair of Sam Ashcroft
and Josh Phillips won comfortably
6-3 6-0.
In the singles, Prossor fell at no.1
but Ashcroft and Sylvester sealed
the tie with minimal fuss.
Phillips then wrapped up the tie
for a strong start to the season.
BADMINTON: Superb treble
start for Blues:
Cambridge enjoyed a stunning
start to 2013 as the Blues won two
matches on the road in successive
days. On Tuesday they beat Aston University 5-3 before another
victory over Bedford by the same
scoreline. Keen not to miss out on
the success, the Women’s team also
won their sole encounter: 5-3 away
to Warwick.
IN OThER
NEWS
One of the weirder sporting
stories – probably of any week surrounds collegiate American
Football star Manti Te’o. After
excelling on the pitch following
the deaths of both his grandmother and girlfriend, it was revealed that the death and whole
existence of his girlfriend had
been faked, with Te’o apparently
the victim of an online hoax. Not
only does this suggest the need
to meet in person before starting
a relationship, it also reflects the
ability for college-level sport to
be headline news in America in
a way Cambridge and Britain can
only dream of.
{TCS}
Athletes in the Freezer: “Bikes, Grass and Circuits”
CUAC 400m Squad leader James Griffith talks about how his group adapts to training with the snow...
January, as ever, is proving to be
a difficult time for us athletes. It’s
a crucial month in so many ways,
being at the heart of the hard winter training block, the start of the
indoor athletics season (Late January to early March) and the beginning of the build-up to the outdoor
season in the Summer. However
with sub-zero temperatures, ice
and snow forcing the track to close,
and any sprinting a potential injury risk, we are left with a difficult
dilemma; how can we keep improving without actually running?
On your bike
The 400m race, often called the
‘Daddy of the Sprints,’ combines
sprinting speed with speed endurance. It’s ultimately a brutal
50 second battle against lactic
acid. Therefore our typical running training invowlves a combination of shorter (under 100m)
and longer (200m – 400m) sprint
repetitions, with the intention of
teaching our body to produce less,
and efficiently clear out, lactic acid
from our muscles. With the current freeze, these sessions are too
risky to run outdoors, but similar
training benefits can be obtained
by indoor bike sessions. Our
group’s favourite is a ‘1 minute on,
2 minutes off ’ session, where we
repeat 1 minute bursts of cycling,
10 times. It tends to end pain-
fully! This type of session is great
for runners of all distances, as
the cycling can be made shorter
and more resistive for sprinters
and longer for distance runners.
Photo: James Griffith
TENNIS (Women): Sophie
Grass Running
Although the track and roads are
unusable, most of the grass around
Cambridge is still fine to run on.
We tend to use Parker’s Piece, running 20 to 50 second repetitions
at a slightly slower pace, but with
shorter recovery times to keep the
intensity up. Again, these can be
a little risky if you’re unprepared
to face the weather, but by wrapping up warm and not spending too long standing around,
they make very good sessions.
CUAC athletes try the alternative to running: indoor bike sessions
Circuits Circuits Circuits
Hit the Gym
Our coach often reminds us of a
year when it was too cold to train
outdoors, so the British athletes
spent their winter indoors doing
circuit training. They won more
medals at the European Championships the following summer
than ever before! Circuits are great
for overall body strengthening,
are often underused and definitely
underappreciated. We go for one
dedicated circuit session each week
and add in exercises at the end of
other sessions, or even before bed.
The final ingredients in our
cold weather training cocktail
are weight lifting sessions; two
or three times a week. It is often said that running fast equals
being strong, and that is especially
true for 400m runners where you
need strength to keep moving forward when every other bodily instinct is screaming at you to stop!
In January our programme shifts
to more power work, lifting slightly lighter weights faster. Thankfully this all happens indoors, so
the only difficulty we face is the
treacherous cycle to the gym.
I hope this gives you a small insight into the athletics world during the depths of winter; it’s certainly not glamorous and involves
lots of hard work and making the
most of every training opportunity. With only a few weeks until we clash with Oxford wdoors
and with BUCS and the Varsity
Match on the horizon, every week
of training is vital. As I keep reminding CUAC’s athletes: Snow
is not an excuse not to train!
Real-ly good
Captain Emily Brady reports on a flying start in for
the Real Tennis Ladies
The Cambridge Ladies Real Tennis
squad scored a decisive victory in its
first competitive outing of the season at Newmarket on Sunday, with
the four completed matches all going
Cambridge’s way. Immy Whittam got
the day off to a cracking start with a
6-2, 6-1 victory over her opponent.
Number 1 seed Emma Samia-Aly
took her match 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and
“A tricky shot and
an awkward turn
put Kate out of the
game.”
Emily Brady (Captain) completed
the hat-trick with a decisive 6-3,
6-0 win. Karen Pearce, playing in
her first ever real tennis match, rose
triumphantly to the challenge and
she too won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
It was up to Kate Kirk, last year’s
number 4 seed in the Varsity match,
to complete the whitewash. In a departure from the script, she soon
found herself 1-5 down in the first
set, but after getting to grips with
her opponent’s game, she pulled the
score back to 5-5. Unfortunately,
that’s where the match ended. A
tricky shot and an awkward turn
put Kate out of the game, with
a knee injury that might scupper her chances of representing
Cambridge at the end of February.
SCREENPRINTING AND EMBROIDERY
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e
Beyond the Dark Ages: Why the Armstrong
scandal could be good for cycling
Rebecca Thomas takes a broader perspective on the Lance saga
look at the sophisticated testing
in place and realise that cycling
has already moved on. It is no
longer the ‘Age of Armstrong’.
Cheating is no longer acceptable.
“We need to
concentrate on
the here and now
and on what is
becoming an
incredibly popular
sport”
Speaking exclusively to TCS Sport,
cycling Blue’s captain, Christian
wPreece, commented: “Cycling is the
most tested sport in the world, and
with biological passports, is much
cleaner now than ever before. This
is shown by Wiggins’ victory in the
Tour this year, which would never
have been possible in the mid-00s.”
We can now draw the line. Any
ambiguity that existed in the minds
of die-hard fans can be erased. The
media want more details; who,
how, when. Such details are almost
irrelevant. We need to concentrate
on here and now, and what is fast
becoming an incredibly popular
sport. The Tour is coming to Britain
in 2014 (coming to Cambridge
specifically), this should be the
main focus in all British cycling
magazines, rather than hidden
away in a corner, pushed aside
by Armstrong. He should
no longer take centre stage.
There are lessons to be learnt
(maintaining
sophisticated
doping tests, but I’ll leave that
to the UCI and their vastly
greater budget). Armstrong
thought he was bigger than
the sport. Other competitors
thought he was bigger than
the sport. The public thought
he was bigger than the sport.
How many tuned in to watch
coverage of the Tour de France
just to see Armstrong deliver a
few cutting remarks in a brief
interview at the end of the show?
Armstrong hopes to be able
to race again. It is unlikely. Now
facing a lawsuit of $12 million
from a US insurance firm, and
with his sponsors all turning
their backs, his future is far from
secure. It is now his problem.
He is no longer a hero, he will
receive very little sympathy.
Before
cycling
chooses
a new champion it should
always remember Armstrong.
He should act as a lesson:
sometimes it is, and should
be, just about the bike.
Athena Tan
Sport Reporter
The Women’s Blues played their
first away game of the term
determined to make ammends
for their home defeat last week.
The team started the game
strong but steady, focussing on
conserving energy of the six
players in attendance. Getting
into the rhythm early, forward
Maya Beano contributed six
successive points in the paint.
The quarter remained a low
scoring one, closing out at 8-6
in Cambridge’s favour.
The second quarter saw the
guards attempting to find their
stroke outside the key, with
Iravati Guha and Sara Merino
sinking
important
points.
The team also settled more
comfortably into its two-man
play, with Athena Tan playing
off screens to sneak under the
basket.
With the lack of substitutions
taking its toll and contributing
to unnecessary turnovers and
fouls, captain Hilary Costello
turned up the energy with
a burst of aggressive drives
to the basket. Her repeated
capitalisation of the gaps in
the Lincoln defence gave the
girls an initial six point lead,
but Lincoln clawed back with
frenetic fast breaks. The girls
ended the half holding onto a
slim lead of two points.
Costello’s energy continued
Lincoln
Cambridge
42
52
into the second half, with her
working the boards and making
crucial second-chance shots.
Forward Sophie Miller closed out
the quarter by emulating Costello’s
example and making a hard drive
to the basket. The confidence of
being ahead enabled the team
to relax into the rhythm of the
set plays in the final quarter,
comfortably pulling the lead to
finish the game 52-42. Coach
Blaine Landis said, “The game
was an important win for building
momentum towards Varsity, and
one we hope will be the start of a
winning streak.
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This service is provided by: Cambridge University Students’ Union, Old Examination Hall, New Museums Site, Free School Lane, Cambridge, CB2 3RF.
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Photo: Blaine Landis
Lance Armstrong has confessed. He
took performance-enhancing drugs,
he sued those who accused him of
cheating and was ‘a bully’. He was
however, and still is, good for cycling.
During the ‘dark ages’ cycling had
a problem; Armstrong conceded
that it would have been impossible
to win the Tour de France seven
times without drugs. At the time
he didn’t feel that it was wrong.
He claimed: “I kept hearing I’m
a drug cheat, I’m a cheat, I’m a
cheater. I went in and just looked
up the definition of cheat and the
definition of cheat is to gain an
advantage on a rival or foe that
they don’t have. I didn’t view it that
way. I viewed it as a level playing
field.” Everybody was doing it.
Yet, in 2009 he raced the
Tour de France and came third.
He claimed, without drugs.
Critics will be sceptical. In this
case, however, he should be given
the benefit of the doubt. If you
take drugs now, you get caught;
the testing is more rigorous, less
riders slip through the net. Rather
amusingly, the Tour is completed
in a time that would have been
positively slow in Armstrong’s era.
What the interview seems to
strongly suggest therefore is that
the problem no longer exists.
Critics who call for cycling to move
on should look at the statistics,
Sport 31
Basketball: Cambridge bounce back
TCS SPORT
WhICh SPORTS WIll BE AT 2020? p29
hOW TO TRAIN IN ThE SNOW p30
Snow joke as weather causes fixture pile-up
Jatinder Sahota ;Elo-365; James Chettle
Cambridge athleties in American Football, Rowing and Cross Country somehow find a way to beat the snow. For full reports on matches which went ahead, visit www.tcs.cam.ac.uk
Gerald Wu
Sport Co-Editor
After a near-universal cancellation
of fixtures over the last two
weeks, the Cambridge Blues teams
are facing a potential fixture
pile-up which could derail vital
preparations
for
upcoming
BUCS and Varsity matches.
CURUFC’s first scheduled game
of the year - against Durham
University - was one of the first
to fail the pitch inspection due
to a frozen Grange Road pitch.
Football, Golf and Hockey
encounters over the weekend
followed the script and - with
several inches continuing to fall
since - BUCS fixtures in
lacrosse, football, rugby and
hockey were cancelled yesterday.
In addition, even
indoor
sports such as water polo
were affected due to travel
problems across Britain’s roads.
The cancellations have started to
affect preparations in the build up
to Varsity matches, despite the
optimism,
commitment
and
determination displayed by the
Cambridge Blues.
One person who is eager
to get going is CUAFC Captain Ross
Broadway: ‘The snow has put a swift
halt to all the momentum we built
on tour in Spain, and we’ve now got a
huge fixture pile-up to look forward
to in February. All we’ve managed
so far in Lent is an hour of indoor
Blues on target for BUCS
Hare and Hounds beat the snow at Coldham’s Common in BUCS trial
The Hare and Hounds proved their
ability in all conditions as they
headed to Coldham’s Common
for a College League fixture
which doubled as a trial for next
months BUCS Cross Country
Championships.
Over a flat yet rhythm sapping
course covered in snow and ice, the
men raced for a gruelling 9km and
- with absent fresher star Alex Short
already pencilled in for one BUCS
‘A’ team slot - competition was
fierce for the remaining five places.
A leading group of seven emerged
on the first lap and after a long
stint at the front it was another
fresher - Pembroke’s Lewis Lloyd
who eventually broke clear to
triumph. The Queen’s pair of Will
Ryle-Hodges and Joe Christopher
continued their pre-Christmas
form in 2nd and 3rd, while Tom
Watkins enjoyed a breakthrough
run in 4th just ahead of veteran
Robin Brown – as just 22 seconds
separated the top seven finishers.
Over in the 5km women’s race
Varsity champion Alison Greggor of
King’s enjoyed a typically dominant
victory as she finished two and a
half minutes clear of Megan Wilson
and Holly Weaver. She will now look
to continue her unbeaten run in a
Photo: James Chettle
Nick Butler
Sport Co-Editor
Race Winner Lewis Lloyd
Cambridge vest as she takes on some
of Britain’s finest in nine days time.
“They have the
courage and
determination
to survive a
Coldham’s
Common snow”
Despite missing the race through
injury Captain James Chettle
was
unsurprisingly
delighted
with the progress and full of
optimism ahead of BUCS:
“The Ladies team is looking strong
with Alison running so well and we
should certainly improve on last
year, while after coming 5th in 2012
and 4th in 2011 the men are aiming
for the podium this time around.”
He added. “We have some good
athletes to return as well and are
sending a total squad of 45 so
should demonstrate the clubs
impressive strength in depth.”
After proving that they have the
courage and determination to
survive a Coldham’s Common snow
storm, taking on the Cross Country
superpowers of Birmingham, St
Mary’s and Loughborough will
now seem far less of a challenge.
football, so we can’t wait for the
warmer weather to return so we can
get back tobusiness in both leagues.’
Rugby League Club President
Andy Winfield said ‘the snow
always causes a disruption and
you have to be prepared to
work with whatever you can
get. So far we’ve moved sessions
indoors into Trinity Gym and
Fenners. This meant we’ve still been
able to come together as a squad,
and get some good conditioning
work done, even without having
access to the pitches.”
Nonetheless
some
sports
survived the weather, with four
of those: Tennis, Badminton,
Real Tennis and Basketball all
recording Blues victories.,Most
others
have
continued
training if not competing.
And for some, like CrossCountry runners, the snow was
just a normal hazard for this time
of the year.
Table Topping Win In Thriller
Thomas Bennett
Sport Reporter
Cambridge’s finest table tennis players
took on King’s College London in a
top of the table clash. With Cambridge
placed second to Kings and with two
matches left to play including this
one, Cambridge knew there was no
room for error. The afternoon got off
to a positive start when the Kings team
arrived a man short – forcing them to
forfeit four of the seventeen rubbers scheduled to be played. Over the
next three hours of table tennis, the Cambridge team of Leung,
Sun, Chan and Kajima did what
was required seizing six of the
remaining thirteen rubbers to claim
victory.
Following a lengthy warm up, in
which intense hitting from the Kings
team drew anxious glances from
the Cambridge team, the tie got
underway with three rubbers played
simultaneously across three tables.
Cambridge started very strongly, taking a 2-1 lead, with the dominant
Wing Chan collecting an easy three
set victory and drawing a number of
German expletives from his opponent in the process while Takehiro
Kajima battled his way to a win
in 5 tough sets. However, the
Cambridge team then suffered a
rather uncomfortable blip – losing all
three rubbers in the next round
of the matches as the King’s team
demonstrated why they were top
of the table. Worryingly this trend
Cambridge
10
King’s College
7
continued into the third round as
quick victories were claimed by
Kings in two of the three matches
with captain Nicholas Leung alone
offering resistance. In a very tight
5 set match Leung overcame the
lack of consistency which saw him
lose his previous rubber and snatch
the tie for his team preventing another whitewash and leaving them
requiring only two more victories from the remaining four ties.
Apparently inspired by Leung’s victory, Chan and Kajima very quickly
and effectively saw off their final opponents to claim the match, but
once again the tie of the round involved Leung. Taking on the King’s
captain who had not dropped a set
all afternoon – made all the more
remarkable by the fact he had
spent the entire afternoon drinking
nothing but Coke – an epic battle
commenced. In a fast and furious
match full of superb quality from
both players Leung stole two sets
from the Kings man before being
narrowly edged out in the fifth. If
there was one match needed to
demonstrate the quality of players
present at university level this was it.
A victory against Imperial in their
next match and the championship
will be secured, with Cambridge
able to go into that match with a
great deal of confidence off the
back of a well earned victory.

The Grinch who stole Cambridge

Transcription

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