QMessenger Issue 75

Q

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013 ISSUE 75

QMESSENGER.CO.UK

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF QUEEN MARY STUDENTS’ UNION

SU ELECTIONS RESULTS

ALL THE RESULTS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE QM ELECTIONS, P.10

Sarah Sarwar storms SU elections

Sarah Sarwar is congratulated by supporters after her win was announced last Thursday. Image by Lloyd Ramos

Lloyd Ramos Sarah Sarwar has been elected to be the Student Union President for 2013-2014, defeating Josh Snape, Ollie Brown, Paddy Ford and Siobhan Banful. With the polls closing last Thursday, Sarwar secured 944 votes versus Snape’s 711 votes to win in the fifth stage of the count.

Out of Queen Mary’s 16,708 UK based students, 2733 voted, meaning that there was a 16.36% turnout.

NEWS

The 2012 elections saw 2749 students voting. The results were announced at a special elections party in Drapers on the 7th of March.

In her victory speech, Sarwar thanked her supporters for helping her over the course of the past month, as well as opponents for being worthy candidates. Sarwar’s key policies include a more involved careers service, more financially accessible sports clubs, support for societies and a campaign to keep

COMMENT Is the media to Women’s Safety Audit blame for eating disorders?

the West Smithfield library open.

These polices along with other candidate manifestos were questioned at hustings in Whitechapel and Mile End. Second place candidate Josh Snape, campaigned on the New Chapter slate, which also included Sean Richardson and Jannat Hossain running for VP Welfare and VP Education respectively. Sarwar’s Open Union slate proved to be the most successful of the slates in re-

CULTURE 5 places to in London to relax

gards to executive officer positions, with Gabby Dale Leal winning out over James Grant for the VP Education position in the third stage of the count. Maverick’s Katarina Nordanger was elected for the VP Welfare position after the fourth stage of the count despite trailing behind Open Union’s Haris Shafi in the previous stages of the count.

Nevertheless, it seems that the friendly, easy to understand branding of the Open Union slate was a

SATIRE

success compared to the others despite not being as slick as Maverick or as aggressive as New Chapter. Ali Jawad won the VP Barts position after running uncontested. Union paid Executive Officers represent and work in the interest on Queen Mary students, running campaigns on their behalf and directing the Union in how it should be run to suit student needs.

Results breakdown on page 10

SOCIETIES

SPORTS

Freddo price History Society Formula One controversy at the ‘Dam Returns

02NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM:

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Women’s safety audit aims to address security Amberine Khan

Executive Editor Kashmira Gander

Editor in Chief Isabelle Leach

Creative Director Lloyd Ramos

Photography Pippasha Khan

Sub Editors

Jasmine Virhia and Sarah Power, Aisha Rimi and Tasha Mathur

News

Joseph Flaig and Bethany Moffett

Features

Preston Abell and Silvia Ainio

Comment

Stephanie Relf

Culture

Belphoebe New and Rhiannon Evans

Satire

Lucretia McCarthy and Keumars Afifi-Sabet

Societies

provided by alex torrenegra

Sao Mai Ly

Haneef Rehman

Last Wednesday the Queen officially opened the National Centre for Bowel Research and Surgical Innovation (NCBRSI) at Queen Mary, University of London.

Based at Barts and The London School of Medicine, part of Queen Mary, the NCBRSI will offer scientists the opportunity to study bowel disease, making significant steps forward in the treatment of gastro-intestinal diseases and encouraging surgical innovation.

The set-up of the £3m research centre was funded by the charity Bowel & Cancer Research, which raised more than £2.5m. The Wolfson Foundation and Barts

Sports

Hannah Clarke and Jeremy Baily

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CUB Magazine

Managing Editor: Anna Matheson www.qmessenger.co.uk

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Station Manager: Chris Smith www.questradio.co.uk QMessenger is printed at Mortons of Horncastle Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, LN9 6JR. Tel: 01507 523 456. Each issue has a print run of 1,000 and costs £445 to print and deliver.

Established in 2008, QMessenger is the free bi-monthly newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union. We are proud of our editorial independence and endeavour to always hold the College, Union and external bodies to account and to provide the best news and analysis to the students of Queen Mary, University of London.

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Any views expressed in QMessenger are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the paper, the editorial board, Queen Mary Students’ Union or Queen Mary, University of London.

library square clearly showed that Francis Bancroft road is an area where a very large number of students feel unsafe and so will be a priority issue to address. In the near future we will encourage women and LGBT students to join working groups to answer a questionnaire and participate in a thorough walkaround campus audit.

After we have established where is unsafe and how things could be improved we will lobby the university to take action and implement the suggestions/demands of women students to improve campus safety and security. To ensure that the campaign is continued by our successors it will be a case of informing them of the campaign and action points so that they continue to evaluate the university's progress.

Queen Elizabeth opens Centre for Bowel Research

Becky Adkins

Technology

During my first year at Queen Mary I had many experiences that made me feel unsafe and threatened on campus and in the surrounding area, such as being pick pocketed, followed home and sexually harassed. Such things happened whether it was day or night. Over the course of the year I'd heard about similar experiences from other women. I'd also heard about the cuts made to security that security staff themselves had opposed (see QMessenger article from last year) suggesting student welfare wasn't particularly a priority of the university. I chose to run for women's rep promising a campaign around safety because it obviously needs addressing in a way that can't be ignored by the management. We

have aimed the campaign directly at women students because women will always face more threats to their personal safety than men.

Calling the campaign 'women's safety audit' makes it explicitly about and more visible to women and shows we really are listening.

However, I would really really encourage all LGBT students at QM to get involved because they are another group who experience similar threats to their safety.

To get the campaign started VP Welfare Ellen Kiely and I researched how safety audits have been conducted by other universities and communities. We decided that the first step would be to get students really thinking about where they haven't felt safe on campus and the surrounding areas hence the map.

The first day we had the map out in

and The London Charity also funded the initiative.

Gastro-intestinal diseases are the third most common cause of death in the UK. After lung cancer, bowel cancer is UK’s second biggest cancer killer, causing 16,000 deaths every year.

As she arrived to the NCBRSI accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen was introduced to Professor Norman Williams, Director of the NCBRSI and President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and Professor Mike Curtis, Director of the Blizard Institute, the part of Queen Mary where the research centre is based.

Subsequently, Professor Williams delivered a presentation in

which he explained the need for a multidisciplinary approach to bowel disease in order to achieve improvements in this neglected area of medicine.

The royal party then visited the laboratories accompanied by the NCBRSI’s co-director, Professor Charles Knowles, and met some of the 30 scientists working at the centre, who offered demonstrations of experiments on human muscle, tissue and nerve.

Before leaving Queen Mary, the Queen went to the offices of Bowel & Cancer Research and met Chief Executive Deborah Gilbert and the rest of the charity staff.

At the end of the visit, the Queen unveiled a plaque and signed the centre’s visitors’ book.

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Prospectus Extension - QM Student Blogs Keumars Afifi-Sabet

provided by qm plus website

At the turn of the year Queen Mary launched an extension of the ‘Student Life’ section of the QMUL website entitled ‘Student Blogs.’

The service is driven with the simple purpose of helping those who have moved to Queen Mary acclimatise to new and strange university experiences.

However, the difference between ‘Student Life’ on the university’s website and ‘Student Blogs’ is that the latter relies on firsthand accounts from real students as opposed to a series of polished prospectus-style snippets. With a team of over ten bloggers at the helm, and over fifteen posts to date; the website boasts a collec-

tion of experiences and anecdotes from all walks of university life, including careers, nightlife and Study Abroad.

The bloggers themselves seem ordinary students with enough time at hand to write a few hundred words about an aspect of life at Queen Mary close to their own. There are, however, question marks over ‘Student Blogs’ lack of access and promotion.

The blog’s been active for the better part of two months, though somewhat finds itself cordoned off; detached from both the QMUL and Students’ Union websites. Aside from directly entering the URL, finding a link isn’t easy; and a simple Google search proves fruitless.

There is no ‘about’ page, ‘con-

tact’ nor a means to comment on any of the posts. Neither does the blog seem open to prospective contributors. Even a click on the “RSS” Subscribe link leads to a nonsensical code-ridden XML document.

It’s a bizarre state of affairs when the target readership lack the means of accessing the material tailored to them. As it stands ‘Student Blogs’ can only hope for a couple of chance encounters.

Though with remarketing and a real push to promote this service could prove very useful for new and prospective Queen Mary students.

‘Student Blogs’ can be accessed through the following address blogs.studentlife.qmul.ac.uk

NEWS03

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Outrage as first man runs for UCLU Women’s Officer Emma Shone With Student Union elections over and done with for another year, the story on the tip of everyone’s tongue resides with UCL and the controversy surrounding Kirk Sneade’s campaign to become Women’s Officer. While Sneade withdrew his candidacy on the evening of March 7th, just 24 hours before voting closed for UCL Sabbatical positions, his muchopposed campaign has got people talking about student politics more than the past years have ever seen; students based as far as Glasgow were involved in the signing of a petition to prevent the 3rd Year Chemistry student from running for office.

In the campaign’s withdrawal statement, released on Facebook shortly after news of the candidate’s sudden exit broke, the campaign team claimed that their aim had been to “Uphold and improve the levels of equality at UCL, whilst returning the women’s officer position to a part time position as it existed pre-referendum.”

Disregarding the fact that the upgrading of the Women’s Officer role to full-time had been supported by a student majority, even Sneade’s parting shot proved exactly why the role has a place in not just UCL, but universities across the UK. While the decision of a man to

run for the sabbatical role was potentially problematic within itself, but with some scope for redemption, it quickly became clear with the release of the original, but quickly withdrawn, manifesto that Sneade’s campaign was not concerned with aligning itself with women; the claim to identification was worded “Kirk Sneade has selfidentified as a woman ever since he realised it gave him legal access to the women’s changing rooms at the Bloomsbury Gym”.

In an interview with The Tab, London, Sneade revealed that the campaign “started as a joke in which [he] played no real role” and that its manifesto, with its heavily criticised misogynist overtones, was withdrawn as soon as he decided “to take the candidacy seriously”, by which he means striving to win in order to prove what he believes to be the arbitrary nature of sabbatical roles. The irony here, of course, is that in poking fun at the women’s officer role and “Important Woman’s Issues such as hair dressing, shopping, and walking away sassily from confrontations with your exes”, Sneade managed to demonstrate explicitly the need for and importance of a Women’s Officer. Whether or not he was involved in the writing of the manifesto is beside the point; it was written, it was released, and has been laughed at across London at the expense of women who had

no involvement in its production.

Current women’s officer at UCL, Beth Sutton, spoke out against the campaign as “abhorrent” and “highly offensive” at the Women’s Forum meeting last week, accusing it of making a mockery of the Women’s Officer position. Sneade responded on facebook saying “No Beth, this is making a mockery of the position. *Every time I hear Chris Brown I feel the need to punch a woman in the face*” Post-manifesto, Sneade went on to complain that the number of Sabbatical officers funded

by UCL’s Student Union (ten for the coming academic year) was a waste of valuable resources. Students, he argued, would much rather see the £40,000 net cost of a single sabbatical officer “allocated elsewhere”, although he never managed to provide suggestions for where this might be, other than his facebook intent to “maybe buy a couple of printers, refurbish a computer room”. On the same page, a female student asked three times whether these strong financial principles would lead him to turn down the £26,000 salary, were he to be elected. The first time she was ignored, the second, told by a male student to simply “have some faith” and, on her asking the question for a third time, Sneade himself wrote that he would accept the salary but would “donate part-sum of [his] salary to

charity”. Philanthropic, yes, but miles away from his campaign’s driving principle to save the Student Union’s money.

Sneade’s only other public justification of his running for women’s officer was that the controversy he sparked has more than significantly raised the profile of student campaigns and elections.

While this is undoubtedly true, this increase of activity in the student political sphere seemed to have been at the cost of respect for Women’s Officer Role. With

his withdrawal, however, Sneade redeemed the worth of the position by showing that it is exactly because “minorities currently in power do not represent the general student populous” (as stated in the withdrawal message) that the role he tried so hard to oppose opposed him. Factually, women form the majority of the UCL student populous, but stories such as this one demonstrate the extent to which they are forced to fight back. And they did.

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Barts Pathology Museum needs you Caroline Page Barts Pathology Museum at Queen Mary, University of London needs your vote! The museum is in the running to win funding for a unique show with The Connect10 Vote competition. It will uncover historical links between dancing and death, from Day of the Dead celebrations to ‘mass hysteria’ and The Dancing Plague of 1518.

So here’s the deal: you, members of the public, need to decide which museums and galleries should win the chance to be ‘connected’ with modern artists - controversial artistic duo Jake and Dinos Chapman. The artists are “unafraid of pushing boundaries, something that our museum also did to huge success with last year’s headline-grabbing diseased cake festival”.

“The Pathology Museum was shortlisted from hundreds of cultural and heritage venues who

submitted ideas for unusual events to be held in collaboration with the chosen artists.”

The Museum hopes to use the funding to host an interactive theatre, dance and music performance titled Danse Macabre, which would include: ‘The Dancing Plague’ of 1518 and Mass Psychogenic Illness; the discovery of 12,000 bodies in the Enon Chapel in 1839 and the subsequent tea dances which were held above them; Mexican Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebrations; and medical conditions historically described as ‘dancing’, such as St Vitus’ Dance or epilepsy.

There are four competing venues with the following themes from The Connect10 Vote website: “Barts Pathology Museum: a Danse Macabre with music, flash mobs and references to dancing plagues and the 1839 discovery of the Enon Chapel dead.

Cheltenham

Art

Gallery: an

evening of doodling and embellishing related to the collections including ethnography and archaeological material in the brothers' childhood town.

Jerwood Gallery in Hastings: a daytime session for families and a masked evening event for adults with the brothers choosing key pieces from the historical collection.

The Museum of London: a subversive treasure hunt through the world’s largest archaeological archive, containing soot-covered bricks from the Great Fire and wax tablets burnt during Boudicca’s revolt.”

What do you need to do? Go onto the Queen Mary University website, find the media pages with The Connect10 Vote competition and get voting! The winning venue will hold its celebrations on the weekend of May 16th! provided by avail

04NEWS

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Mile End hustings prove eventful Joe Flaig The Mile End Hustings event was held last Monday, with prospective student representatives and officers having their moment to tell potential voters, media types and their competition about their policies. During the mammoth four hour session, several key issues came up time and time again, showing the main concerns of Queen Mary and London and the Barts students: issues such as the West Smithfield library, the wellbeing of students with mental health problems and union 'transparency' were all discussed, with sometimes conflicting ideas.

The event kicked off quickly, with candidates for 'Rag Officer', Nicolas Meier and Charlotte Johnson starting. Both of the candidates stressed student involvement with their office, which they claimed was thoroughly important. With only two candidates, it looked set to be a tight race, but Charlotte's greater experience made her seem a better candidate.

Nicolas' belief that obscure local charities were somehow unimportant ensured that he left the stage without a round of applause.

Several of the offices only had one applicant, with the choice for voters being the candidate or 'RON' (re-open nominations). Societies officer was one of these positions, with Wilf Mountfield running unopposed, but he was still subject to questioning from the audience. Compromise must be the order of the day, he claimed, as he described the problems faced by societies that need funding.

Several other candidates were left unopposed on the stage, despite facing competition for their post. The audience was left slightly bemused several times as Jade Lee announced that one or more candidates were not present, which raised questions about their conviction for the task from several audience members.

Welfare Representative was the most hotly contested position, with five candidates all offering strong ideas. The well-being of students with mental health issues was the most discussed issue, with some important ideas coming from Jacqui Moneke and Sam 'Militant Man' Doherty.

The role of student trustee was also strongly contested, and some tough questions were levelled at the candidates. All the candidates

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image by matthew tk taylor

handled them effectively, however, and the race remained tight.

The evening finally reached its climax with the questioning of the candidates for paid positions.

Of the four roles available, three of them had multiple candidates, and some lively speeches were delivered as each candidate expressed their vision for the roles that pay ÂŁ24,500 a year.

The role of VP Welfare was another hotly contested seat, and the candidates were subject to some stringent questioning from the audience and each other. Key issues being discussed were accommodation, a sense of community and the 'Mums and Dads' scheme. This in particular was talked about by all the candidates, but at points it was unclear how their ideas differed.

The first question asked of the group came from the outgoing union President, Babs Williams, who asked 'In your time at university, where have you failed humiliat-

ingly, and how have you carried on?' The severity of the question was met with bemusement from most of the candidates, and many criticised Babs after the event, claiming that the question was in fact a veiled insult designed specifically to undermine one candidate.

As with the other paid offices, the issue of experience was of great importance, and the candidates took differing views, some claiming it was of importance and others citing a lack of union involvement as a positive thing.

The contest for VP education followed, with some of the most interesting ideas of the night being discussed. West Smithfield Library was at the centre of discussion, with candidate James Grant suggesting that increased automation at the struggling library was the best solution, even if not ideal.

Ali Jawad was the only candidate running for VP Barts and

The London, and he surely convinced attendees not to vote for RON with his confident manner and policies that relied on both the individuality of Barts and The London, and the close ties it has with Queen Mary. Everyone running for a role in the union should be held accountable, he claimed, and stressed the importance of the student media in ensuring this.

Candidates throughout the evening were generally supportive of the media, which was encouraging to outgoing Executive Editor Kaz Gander, but, as she tweeted, 'It better be followed through.'

The last candidates on stage were for the position of President, despite the fact that the room was the emptiest it had been all night.

Some of the toughest questioning of the night was directed at the stage, with candidates being asked to choose their one key policy.

For Paddy Ford, this was obvious, and the attendees heard it several

times: cheaper food and drink on campus. Despite suggestions earlier on that this was impossible, he was convinced of its possibility and claimed that he would resign if he failed to ensure it. Josh Snape was more modest about his expectations, but claimed his experience made him a perfect candidate. Ollie Brown also cited his experience, along with his 'concrete' policies. Siobhan Banful stressed the need for engagement with the local community, which was also important to Sarah Sarwar, whose main policy was that of transparency. Asked by Snape if that was truly deserving of being a main policy, Sarwar responded emphatically that it was, and that if the union wanted to improve it needed to be more accessible for students to engage with. With Siobhan neglecting to interrogate her fellow candidates, the night was ended and people looked forward to the results on Thursday.

NEWS05

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

QM uncovers inhaler danger Martha Munch In February 2013 Queen Mary University of London led research looking at why young adults (20 years-32) overuse short-acting bronchilators for their asthma.

Short-acting bronchilators are used to relieve acute asthma symptoms and have been proven to be damaging in the long term for the health of the people suffering from asthma. This has led to an important increase in hospital admissions for asthma and an increase in the rate of deaths caused by asthma. The overuse of short-acting bronchilators is generally due to a lack of information amongst patients and amongst society in general as to what the effects of the bronchilators are. Poor asthma control seems to be generating more health problems for the UK. In fact, according to the official UK asthma website (www.asthma. org.uk) 5.4 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma. Amongst those 5.4 million people, 1.1 million are children making the ratio one out of eleven children suffering from it. Hence, this leaves 4.3 million patients who are adults, making the ratio one out

Diversity Fortnight Bertille Calinaud QM inaugural diversity fortnight is now in its second week, join the event to find out more about positive discrimination and positive action and gay rights in Uganda.

You can also meet your Mulsim colleague on Wednesday and learn about Mental Health on Thursday with wellness massages provided. Finally Friday 15th is School Diversity day.

Don't forget to vote for your favourite Diversity photo in our competition.

Find out more on http://www. hr.qmul.ac.uk/equality/index. html and on https://www.facebook.com/QMDiversityEquality For more info9rmation email hr-equality@qmul.ac.uk

of twelve. These dramatic figures continue to rise showing that on average it is estimated that 3 people per day or one person every eight hours dies from asthma. Furthermore researches have proven that an estimated 75% of hospital admissions for asthma are avoidable and 90% of the deaths by asthma are preventable.

How is this possible? How can a country considered to set the way and further the development of less developed countries have such important figures regarding asthma?

It seems the worse of it all is that all of this is preventable, so what is the health system doing wrong in the UK? Further evidence has proven the UK has among the highest prevalence rates of asthma symptoms in children worldwide. The Queen Mary University research has attempted to shed some light on the issue and tried to find out why the short-acting bronchilators are used so frequently when they clearly worsen the asthma situation in the UK. In their study Queen Mary researchers discovered that the main causes for the overuse of the bronchilators was first and foremost

its cost. The lack of availability of other cheaper medication has led to young adults suffering from asthma to opt for the cheaper alternative despite the important effects it would have on their health. Another reason amongst those given, which was the most shocking is the negative stigma that is associated with the inhalers. Unfortunately the young adults feel the need to hide their inhalers from the rest of society as it is seen as something embarrassing, this seems unnaceptable. Chris Griffiths, Professor of Primary Care at Queen Mary and who also led the research claims the overuse of short-acting inhalers put the lives of the individuals at risk”. Additionally he suggested aeasier access to the medication for the people suffering from asthma, particularly to those on low income and an improvement in education.

The fact that there exists a stigma with using inhalers is disappointing and most definitely embarrassing for British society. Better information about asthma in general as well as the treatments required should be made more public and more advertised, I certainly knew nothing of this before today.

image by mendel

QUBE helps students shape their own business ventures Pippasha Khan Recently opened, ‘QUBE’ is the talk of the town, based in the Francis Bancroft building, and cheekily named by QM students, it provides access to state of the art media equipment for the entrepreneurs of Queen Mary University. In this centre there are eleven 27” iMac computers with the latest software for design and editing, essential in business and media.

The aim of the centre is to provide budding entrepreneurs with the materials to project and support their ideas and businesses.

Queen Mary, University of London, has many students and graduates that go on to create new business ventures which impact the community and world inside and outside of the university. With this bigger picture in mind, you can create your own experiences while at university by making your ideas happen. With this new resource, it gives students the opportunity to make something of themselves.

Suggestions given by QM enterprise support include using QUBE to edit a video pitch, design sales graphics, build mobile phone apps, and design and build web content.

The software available from QUBE gives QM students access to high

demand software which outputs professional material, and therefore is a great utility to the university and the students from all faculties.

Available are Adobe packages, Final Cut Pro, and a number of other essential softwares. As well as this, there is a touchscreen for interactive teaching, making the room ideal for workshops to take place there and for coaching by private companies and mentors, as suggested by Laura Heijink, president of the QM Entrepreneurs (QME) Society.

Sponsors of QUBE are Santander and Unltd. Now that QM is part of the Santander Universities Network, it brings with it advantages such as this, to help students with their endeavours into industry. UnLtd gives advice to social entrepreneurs and have also started a seed fund for the cause which can be accessed at www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/ enterprise.

This is a welcome addition to our university and could be a hub of connectivity to students at QMUL looking to create something innovative out of their years here, so if you would like to be a part of this new dimension, contact Roland Miller at r.miller@qmul.ac.uk a week in advance. The room is available 10am to 10pm Wednesday to Friday.

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06COMMENT

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

16% rise in eating disorders Martha Munch

image by liew cf

Can unpaid internships and back to work schemes be considered “slave labour?”

Samiha Azim As students, we know only too well how far good grades will take us and the importance of internships. We understand that they should impart us with invaluable skills and knowledge of the industry which we hope leave us with a higher chance of beating the 100+ applicants fighting for the same position. However, the main issue with the back to work scheme is that they provide no such skills that unemployed people going into an internship hope for. There are only so many transferable skills you can gain from scrubbing the floors.

Recently, the back to work scheme has come under fire after Cait Reilly won the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the scheme that expected her to work for free in Poundland, was legally unsound and broke government rulings on forced labour. The 24 year old, a Geology graduate from Birmingham who was on Jobseekers Allowance was compelled to leave her voluntary position at a local museum and take up a two week placement at Poundland when she failed to find work after being threatened by the fact that she would otherwise lose her benefit of £53 a week. She labelled the tasks she was set as “menial” as they included shelving, cleaning and sweeping the floors.

Jamie Wilson, a 40 year old unemployed HGV driver, also had the court rule in his favour, after he lost his Jobseekers Allowance when he refused to work unpaid for 30 hours a week for six months cleaning furniture when he believed that would not help him re-enter the job market.

What Reilly and Wilson claim is wrong with the program is that they account to “slave labour” and

the companies receive manual labour for free and thus the workers are exploited. Campaigners are also agreeing that the schemes are flawed and participants do not gain any long-term skills which will boost their prospects or make them more desirable as an employee in the ever declining job market. The assessment by the Department for Work and Pensions reached the conclusion that not only do Mandatory Work Placements have no effect in assisting the participants to get a job, but there was a 3% rise in the numbers seeking Employment Support Allowance- benefits for those suffering with health problems.

Initially, it seems that Reily is being ungrateful- how long can she expect to live off of the public’s money without contributing back?

But wasn’t she doing just that by volunteering at a museum- where she was not only contributing but in a sector which would benefit her?

The main issue appears to be the schemes false promises as it promotes placements which neither require nor develop any special talents in a positive and beneficial light to participants. While many argue that those on Jobseekers Allowance should give back to the community after receiving benefits (and rightly so), they should neither be forced to work in a position where they will not gain much but will give a lot.

Ultimately, whether you think that back to work schemes are “slave labour” or not, it is evident that the government should take advantage of this opportunity and rethink the programme to benefit those jobless who are actively seeking employment and consequently find long-term solutions to end unemployment.

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BBC News Health records from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that eating disorders rose by 16% between 2011 and 2012. This dramatic increase involves eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia and bulimia. It seems that children have become more and more involved in these figures and hospitals in the UK have admitted patients as young as 8 years old.

Who is to blame for this? How can society have turned so wrong for young children, mostly young girls, to feel the need to starve themselves to fit into the “norm”?

Asking students around me the same answer came up repeatedly.

The blame is on the media. Most students asked, attending Queen Mary University, expressed their belief that the media has socially created an image of the woman that is impossible for most women on the planet to uphold. Looking at magazines, advertisements, even in the cinema, women will appear to all have that same figure expected of women. What the media forgets to tell young girls across the world is that those images are not real.

This summer I got the opportunity to meet a life-long photographer who had worked in everything from fashion to landscape photography. I asked him about his experience of the photography of women

and I will never forget the serious look on his face when he answered: “What you have to understand is that there is not one single picture in all the magazines you pick up around the world that hasn’t been edited”. He carried on by explaining that not only is the shape of the woman’s figure retouched, but so is the colour of her skin, of her teeth, the texture of her hair, leaving absolutely no part of the body representing reality. So here it is, in magazines bought by young girls all around the world, the media has set a goal for women to achieve that is not achievable. It’s not achievable because it doesn’t exist!

Now, I am not saying that every woman picking up a magazine will end up starving herself or above a toilet sink in a restaurant throwing up her dinner. Eating disorders tend to develop when a person is already facing some psychological difficulties in her life. Research has proven that someone dealing with depression will be more likely to develop an eating disorder as failed attempts at trying to fix the psychological problems of the person will lead her to focus on her appearance and hence fix her body image. Further researches have also proven that there is a biological aspect to eating disorders. Putting two girls or two men on the same diet might result with one of the girls developing an eating disorder and one not.

Had society socially constructed an

image of the woman that was attainable for young girls to achieve or even better promoted the uniqueness of every girl around the world, maybe this could have a positive impact on the severe increase in eating disorders in the UK, as well as around the world. Society has attempted to create clones out of women, clones that are physically impossible to achieve.

More and more campaigns and actions have been attempting to raise the awareness of this issue, such as putting notices at the bottom of pictures warning the readers of magazines that this image is fictional. Nevertheless nothing seems to get done. The number of admissions of patients with eating disorders in hospitals keep on rising and the scope it has on the age of population is growing even more. Take down that poster you have on your wall of that model posing for the newest Vogue edition and put up a picture of yourself instead. Why do we all have to look the same? What would be the fun in that? Accept yourself for who you are and what you look like because at the end of the day you are stuck with yourself for the rest of your life, so you might as well be happy with it. Don’t waste time comparing yourself to others because we are all unique and only we can make it stay that way.

image by christy mckenna

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Security firm creates software that will track your every move Sao Mai Ly The development of a software able to track people’s movements by extracting data from social networks once again highlights how security measures can be invasive of people’s privacy.

As a video obtained by the Guardian shows, the software – called Riot (Rapid Information Overlay Technology) and developed by Massachusetts-based security firm Raytheon – is able to obtain information about the users of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

Despite the fact that the purpose of Riot is to identify possible risks to security, it is easy to see how it could not only threaten people’s privacy, but also be used as a means to suppress harmless voices that whoever manages the software may label as securitythreatening.

The software is, in fact, able to access information about people’s lives in great detail, from identifying Twitter users’ interpersonal relationships and displaying them in spider diagrams to detecting latitude and longitude data of Facebook photographs, which are

embedded by smartphones. Jared Adams, a spokesman for Raytheon’s intelligence and information systems department, said that Riot is also endowed with functions to safeguard people’s privacy. He wrote in an email: ‘Its innovative privacy features are the most robust that we’re aware of, enabling the sharing and analysis of data without personally identifiable information being disclosed.’

However, this might not be enough to prevent significantly personal data from being covertly collected.

Ginger McCall, attorney at the Electronic Privacy Information Centre in Washington, said: ‘Social networking sites are often not transparent about what information is shared and how it is shared.’

She explains: ‘Users may be posting information that they believe will be viewed only by their friends, but instead, it is being viewed by government officials or pulled in by data collection services like the Riot search.’

Although Raytheon has not sold the software to any clients, the multinational security firm shared the technology with US government in 2010 to contribute to the

COMMENT07

creation of a national security system. The use of the software in the name of national security opens questions on whether this technology is an effective way to deal with security threats or just an excuse to control the population in a 1984type of scenario, where ideas that may endanger the power of the elites are quickly suppressed.

It is certainly important to determine who would be in control of the software and to which regulations its use would be subjected.

In the age of the new media, where people associate through the means of social networks, forming groups to enact common interests, who would distinguish the groups that are a threat to security from those that are innocuous but express contrasting ideas to those of the government or the elites?

In a world where even student protests are sometimes labelled as acts of terrorism, the question is whether such technology would serve the purpose of national security, or whether it would lead to a system of surveillance where the presence of a Big Brother limits individual privacy and suppresses opposing views, far from democratically.

image by matthew venn

Sexual assaults put Lib Dems in deeper crisis Victoria Cavolina

image by liberal democrats

Recent accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour, made against Lord Rennard, former chief executive of the Liberal Democrats are disturbing. On one hand, if they’re true, there are numbers of women that have suffered for years in silence. If, on the other hand, the accusations prove unfounded, then the Lib Dem, who resigned in 2009 due to health issues, has had to face an incredibly tough few weeks. Perhaps more importantly however, Nick Clegg, current leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Deputy Prime Minister, has confessed that he was aware of concerns surrounding the Lib Dem Peer.

In the days since allegations appeared on Channel 4 News, the Liberal Democrats have faced criticism, as their leadership and party priorities have been questioned. And rightly so; if it comes to light that there is foundation be-

hind the accusations made against Rennard, then Clegg has been, at the very least, negligent in his role in ignoring rumours, and downplaying the seriousness of reports as they surfaced during Rennard’s career.

Whilst the deputy Prime Minister began at the outset to reject claims that he had any previous awareness of Rennard’s activities, he has been forced to concede that not only was he personally aware of general feelings towards Rennard, the party more generally was conscious of Rennard’s behaviour. The ‘sweep it under the carpet’ attitude that Clegg appears to have displayed, shows a grave lack of judgement, and reveals a more pressing concern about the way the leader views and listens to women.

The seriousness of this incident cannot be downplayed. If Clegg truly chose to ignore the behaviour of his colleague for the sake of politics, the public must demand that he be held to account for his

actions. By not reporting sexual harassment, Clegg has essentially suggested that such activity in the workplace is either a trivial occurrence, or something to be expected.

Already it has been suggested that at the upcoming conference in Brighton, members of the party shall be posing difficult questions to Clegg because of their anger at the way he has handled the situation so far.

For a party that has only seven female MPs, out of 57 elected, Clegg’s weak leadership in this area is hardly going to encourage women to vote, or be involved with the Liberal Democrats in the future.

To live in a society that continues to exist in a state where sexual harassment in the work place is a realistic threat, and that avenues of reporting such inappropriate behaviour do not lead immediately to examination and dismissal is shocking in itself.

That the example of this is within the highest levels of government is

even more dispiriting.

The entire controversy has the frustrating confusion of a situation that still exists almost entirely in the dark.

Whilst investigations have been called, it remains unclear as to what Lord Rennard may really have done, and the extent to which it was known and or ignored. The disordered way that the situation has been dealt with speaks of unfairness at a number of levels, and surely demands that Clegg face the consequences of his actions regarding the incident.

When one critic calls the affair ‘shambolic’, it points towards a greater need for equality in the workplace, and a rigorous approach to ensuring sexual harassment ceases to occur. However, on an even larger scale, these rumours points towards another issue that is in desperate need of attention; the need for honesty and integrity amongst those that have been chosen and elected to run the country.

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08COMMENT

Mantel vs Middleton

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The Great Debate Does the theft of wall art defeat the point of graffiti?

Rianne Houghton

only reason these pieces of graffiti art have been stolen is because the artist is now a household name.

But does that make it the same as any other form of art? Living in East London, as most Queen Mary students do, graffiti is part of our landscape, and part of the culture of this end of the central line. The recent addition to Aberavon Road near Subway depicting images of Bethnal Green and Bow has already become valued by those who live in the area and walk down Mile End road every day.

Good graffiti is painted with some kind of significance to its surroundings, the rat playing basket ball was painted under a “No Ball Games” sign in Banksy’s home town. It made sense. You could even say it was making a point.

Banksy wall art is usually created with a mind to its context, therefore removing the painting from the wall removes much of its relevance. Graffiti is meant as a political or social statement, it is part of the community it belongs too. So yes, to steal a piece of London specific artwork, from a London wall, and try to auction it for $450,000 in Miami completely defeats the point, because graffiti in its proper place cannot be owned. It cannot be bought and sold like other art work, because it isn’t like other art work.

YES

Google defines graffiti as “writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place”. All art theft is considered a serious crime.

When the Athenian Phivos Istavrioglou stole a Salvador Dali painting worth $150,000 from New York earlier in February, the judge set bail at $100,000 (£65,000).

Obviously this mattered because the painting was worth a lot, the artist was famous, and the gallery were hoping to sell it for a substantial amount of money. It could be argued that because graffiti is largely a form of vandalism, it is not worth much, and is done by teenagers or artists who are virtually unknown, no one cares, but then very few would care to steal insignificant graffiti. However, this was obviously not the case with the recent Banksy theft. Many locals were extremely disappointed at what had become of the local landmark and symbol of the 2012 Jubilee and Olympic celebrations.

The mural “Slave Labour” was stolen from North London and put up for auction in Miami in mid-February for $450,000, but this isn’t the first instance of Banksy theft.

In 2007 the stencilled image of a rat playing basket ball was stolen using an angle grinder (bricks and all) and put on eBay for £20,000.

It is reasonable to assume that the

become a fashion icon of the 21st century but she is a woman of substance.

The Duchess has a BA in History of Art from St Andrews University, Scotland and since her marriage has taken part in an extraordinary amount of public duties including taking an active role in charity work. Kate is patron to both the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice and Action on Addiction as well as contributing actively to a variety of other charities.

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge has a job to do and it is her job to show to the world that she is the perfect bride, wife and will be the perfect mother, without ever showing a mistake. We can’t all marry a Prince, look like Katherine, have our dream wedding but we can expect not to have every move criticised because we got married. As the years go on and we see Kate become a mother in the public eye we will see more of her nurturing and warm personality but it is early days and for now, would you do anything differently?

Stephanie Relf

Kate Middleton is once again the talk of the British media amid slurs from author Hilary Mantel that the Duchess of Cambridge is a “machine-made” Princess “a shop window mannequin”, whose sole purpose is to deliver an heir to the throne.

The double Booker prize-winning author Mantel said in her London Review of Books lecture on ‘Royal Bodies’, that Kate Middleton was “painfully thin as anyone could wish, without quirks and without oddities, without the risk of the emergence of character”. The acclaimed author of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, novels which detail the failure of Henry VIII’s wives to produce an heir, exclaimed that the Duchess of Cambridge is a collection of organs, breeding stock to carry the blood lines and that the royal body is ultimately something to look at.

Headline news in Britain rarely takes on the form of criticism of sophisticated literary discourse.

Regardless of its intentions, Mantel’s lecture was sophisticated and elegantly written, although arguably venomous in places, comparing the Royal Family to Pandas in a Zoo; “expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment”. Mantel’s lecture, although eliciting furore from many different sections of society, was not an attack of Kate Middleton as a person but rather towards Kate’s position and role in society, to become the perfect role model; pretty to look at, elegantly dressed, the perfect bride and then the perfect mother.

Never expected to be a real person with real flaws and quirks. But would we not all try as hard as Kate in this situation? Wouldn’t we all, if in the public eye with the whole world watching, try to look effortlessly understated and professional even at times of immense pressure – newly married, pregnant and with public responsibilities?

Since marrying Prince William in 2011 Kate Middleton has been watched by the entire world and she hasn’t missed a step. Kate has

NO

Laura Gilbert

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

image by nick warner

As with anything that you’re unsure of, it’s usually best to Google it. So for this week’s debate, I lazily asked the internet for the definition of graffiti, and my taster of etymology taught me two things. Firstly, that the term graffiti comes from the Italian word for scratch, graffio, and secondly, that there is clearly more to graffiti than meets the jaded eye of the East end city dweller. Thanks to the trusty internet, I realised that the answer to this week’s debate lies in another question: what is graffiti?

Is it art, or is it just a bunch of satisfyingly fat letters and ‘edgy’ images scrawled onto a random wall?

Personally, I believe that graffiti is art – although I will acknowledge that there is a fine line that separates street art from vandalism. The guy that used to throw pencils at my teacher in primary school, who now constructively spends his time tagging every available space in my local town with his nonsensical alias is not an artist. Banksy, however, transforms the realm of vandalism into an element of widely-appreciated culture. He is not just the producer – and curator, if you like – of the nation’s most famed street art; he is a social commentator, a provocateur and an artist. The work that he produces is for the free and unrestricted consumption of the public and is art that successfully translates to all areas of society. It is inclusive,

accessible and profoundly evocative; always creative and loaded with purpose. Banksy’s work fulfils an unspoken criterion for art in that it entertains and attracts attention whilst demanding a reaction. It is not a dusty landscape in the dimlylit hollows of a museum that can be appreciated but not necessarily remembered.

It is the relatable quality of graffiti that reveals so much about a certain area or pocket of society that transforms it into art and leaves it exempt from the question of theft.

The ‘scratch’ that graffiti, and all art, leaves on an individual – even if only a wry smile or disapproving grimace made in passing – means that the absence of it can never challenge its existence or purpose. Art doesn’t have to be tangible for it to have meaning.

If the Mona Lisa were to evaporate tomorrow, the inherent mystery and allure of the painting itself would undermine its absence. The point of art, although subjective, can always outlive its physical presence. The interstitial space that has been left in place of Banksy’s ‘stolen’ mural does not leave the viewing public with a sense of loss; it simply replaces the old art with a more subtle art: the art of remembrance or reaction, of generating opinion. The theft of graffiti in this case, therefore, does not defeat the point of its existence, it only reinforces its ‘point’ further.

COMMENT09

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

East End: History on your doorstep A royal blunder Hari Mountford Walking down the Mile End Road en route to a day of lectures, the background and history of the area may not be the first thing to come to mind: no doubt the issue of lunch, whether you have remembered a pen today or the fact that you must quickly get to Ground for a much needed caffeine hit before said lecture will probably seem more important. However, a moment’s pause to ponder on what was going on in the E1/3 surroundings before it became a student hub proves to reveal some fascinating facts.

Thanks to a rather informative publication entitled ‘The Little Book of the East End’ which found its way into my Christmas Stocking last year, events, people, details and various factoids have come to light which I feel would be noteworthy to share.

The East End is, let’s face it, hardly Mayfair, and there is no doubt a few more ‘sinister’ goings on than classy West London. On the subject of crime and punishment, Jack the Ripper is probably the most wellknown ‘villain’ who used the East End as his hunting ground, but he is definitely not the only one. Some rather gruesome stories originate from the area, including the case of George Smith, the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer, who was born in 1872 in Roman Road. His nick-

name is fairly self-explanatory of his disturbing deeds, and I’m sure you will be relieved to know that he was hanged in 1915 due to his gory choice of crime. There is also evidence to suggest that Sweeney Todd was born in Brick Lane, so just be wary if you head down that area for a haircut.

If ‘Genesis’ is your cinema of choice when seeing the latest blockbuster, it might be of interest to know that around 1880 it had a previous life as ‘Lusby’s Music Hall, where Charlie Chaplin and Little Tich were among the regular performers.

Or if a Beer and Burger deal at Spoons is more your cup of tea, be glad that it is 2013. The option of bargainous food and drink (that, let’s face it, is a student staple) would not have been an option in 1985 when it the pub was the ‘Half Moon Theatre’. Plays such as Sweeney Todd were staged there, but this, however might not bear thinking about when tucking into a Pie and Pint …

In terms of sport, apart from the famous boxing heritage of the East End, some football legends have graced the area. Walter Tull, who became the first black professional football player in Britain, lived in an orphanage in Bethnal Green from 1898. More recently, Ashley Cole was born in Whitechapel. If he’d have stayed around, I’m not

sure Cheryl would have quite fitted in.

Although when looking at Dixie’s ‘gourmet grub’ may not be the words that spring to mind, the locality has a number of historical foodie facts. Stepney lays claim to the oldest hot cross bun in existence, which was baked there in 1828 and sold for £155 in an auction in 2000.

I’m no baker, but I highly doubt it is remotely edible, and frankly I would rather spend £1 at Greggs for a hot cross bun which I may actually be able to bite. Maybe a bagel would be more appealing?

The famous 24 hour ‘Beigel Bake’ in Brick Lane is said to produce a whopping 7,000 bagels every night, and boasts Mariah Carey as a customer, but I am pretty sure she is not as regular as the Queen Mary students.

And how could we forget our beloved cemetery? It is in fact the oldest Jewish burial ground and remains there include Benjamin Disraeli’s grandfather. Of course it’s perfectly legitimate to tell people that it is where they end up if they skip lectures/miss deadlines/ refuse to come with you to Drapers.

Or, indeed fail to remember any of these various snippets of knowledge when they come up in a pub quiz. Who knows – you could feature in the ‘villains’ section of the next Mile End History Book.

Caroline Page Prince Philip married Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on 20 November 1947 after a 5 month engagement.

During his service, the Prince assisted developments for the equestrian event of carriage driving as part of his love for sports. He is also a patron of over 800 organisations and chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme for people aged 14 to 24 years. In 2011, his wife gave him the title Lord High Admiral on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

In fact, Prince Philip is the “Commonwealth realms' longest-serving consort”. Impressive. So why keep us from remarking on his wonderful array of achievements by using some of the most ridiculous comments?!! Yes, The Duke of Edinburgh has been making racist and offensive comments.

Again. As some newspapers say: “Ah, Phil. When will you learn?”

Type Prince Philip into Google and it will immediately give you dozens of quotes. Yet, somehow it is “his unique way with words that often receives the most attention”, grabbing us with endearment, shock and wonder. How does he get away with it?! At the same time: what a legend!

Most recently: while visiting Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, Bedfordshire, the 91 year old

said to a nurse: “The Philippines must be halfempty - you're all here running the NHS” Cringe worthy at its best! But should the Prince really get away with it just because he’s a 91 year old royal with a blunt outlook on life? It is true he has probably seen so many nurses in hospitals he must find it boring saying the same things.

Thinking of new things to say to each person you meet must be difficult to a certain extent but then should such an inappropriate line be the first choice in his mind?

Then again, would Prince Philip really be the same if he didn’t?

Quoted here are my top three completely crazy comments: Following a tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1968: “As so often happens, I discover that it would have been better to keep my mouth shut.”

To a British student, during a visit to China in 1986: “If you stay here much longer, you will go home with slitty eyes” To a Scottish driving instructor: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?”

Berlusconi bounces back from prison scandal Sao Mai Ly The recent Italian election highlights once again, Italy’s political divisions. As Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left bloc fails to win the majority of the seats in the Senate, the upper house of the parliament.

Even conquering 55% of the seats in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, the centre left needs the control of both houses to govern.

Although Bersani’s bloc also came first in the Senate, the lack of a solid majority creates difficulties in forming a stable and effective government, as a coalition with other Italian major parties seems an unlikely possibility.

Second in the electoral race, Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right bloc won almost as many votes as the centre left and is a threat to the formation of a government guided by the centre left.

The success of controversial

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Berlusconi raises questions concerning the link between the public domain and a politician’s private life.

Investigated for crimes such as false testimony, bribery, tax fraud and connection with the Sicilian Mafia, the leader of Italian centreright bloc and former Prime Minister became notorious for the underage prostitution charges raised against him in 2010.

After Chris Huhne recently resigned as an MP as a result of a

conviction for asking his now exwife to take his driving licence penalty points, it seems paradoxical that Berlusconi, who is convicted for arguably more serious crimes, still holds a powerful position in the Italian Senate, supported by 30% of the electorate.

Berlusconi was Italy’s Prime Minister in 2010, when the sex scandal emerged, and maintained his position until November 2011.

While some may argue that personal judgement on a politician’s

private life should not come into play when it comes to cast a vote, politicians’ actions in the private sphere could have a significant impact on their public activity and should therefore be taken into consideration during elections.

A politician’s record should be clean, as secrets and skeletons in the closet encourage the development of corruption in the political environment.

Past personal activities that would damage politicians’ reputa-

tions if publicly known, even if not illegal, could make them corruptible. This could facilitate conflicts of interest in regard to the policies that are implemented and endanger the country as a whole.

In the specific case of Italy, voters need to become more aware of the risks of corruption, which are brought about by politicians with dirty records.

More generally, the last Italian election highlights the need to promote political culture. Electoral results show that the country is confused, divided between left and right, unable to decide on its leadership.

Especially in times of economic recession, Italian voters need to develop more awareness on the problems affecting their country in order to make a more decisive vote.

This could be achieved through the promotion of political culture, which would help citizen to make more informed decisions.

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10ELECTIONS

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

ELECTIONS11

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Graphics by Lloyd Ramos

The impact of the results: What do they mean for us?

Katarina Nordanger celebrates while Haris Shafi looks on in disappointment as results for VP Welfare are announced. Image by Lloyd Ramos

Keumars Afifi-Sabet Frantic scenes lit a packed Drapers Bar & Kitchen into life on Thursday evening as the fiercely battled ‘elections season’ drew to a close. The results are in; the stats are out; but what do the results mean for the union? And more importantly – what do the results mean for you?

Naturally, a host of new faces brings with it a host of promises and policies interspersed with notions of ‘change’. The presidential race was more tightly contested than in recent memory given the strength and depth of candidates running; any one of them a potential winner. Though Sarah Sawrar, who spearheaded the Open Union slate, won a majority vote and with it the chance

to undertake the reigns of presidency and the responsibilities attached.

Her slate itself pledges to “return the union to students;” key ideals centring on accountability and transparency – important at a time when spending cuts are on the agenda. More specifically, however, Sarah promises to better support funding and representations for societies and

sports clubs while increasing careers opportunities and reaching out to the wider community; through volunteering and enterprise.

VP Welfare Katarina Nordanger, who fended away hot competition from Haris Shafi, aims to collaborate with the housing service and ULU to push for fairer, more affordable housing, while boosting the representation of equal-opportunities groups and organising a much-needed review on how campus-run commercial services are organised.

On the other hand, Gaby Leal, in her new capacity as VP Education, prioritises library funding; in regard to the availability of books, and the West Smithfield library. Gabby also plans to boost the roles of course reps and forge stronger ties between departments and their related societies.

There’s even a mention for the level-headed Ali Jawad, VP Barts & the London, whose dedication and experience makes him ideally suited to expanding clubs and societies, and providing a greater platform for which students can engage with their representatives as well as each other.

However, a steadily falling trend in voting remains a concern; especially given the added efforts to raise awareness this year. Every spare inch of wall and window space was smothered with posters while glossy, monochromatic leaflets detailing the candidates’ manifestos were printed en mass.

More encouraging; the media exposure was never better. QMessenger’s coverage was extensive; printing interviews with the key

Statistics from QMSU

candidates. Live-blog host, The Elephant, reinvented itself as a fashion journal while The Inzide Story took opon the part of satirist. Even QMTV’s tireless techies streamed live coverage of the Hustings, alongside results night for those too maligned with illness or buried in deadlines to experience the madness first hand.

Not to mention, the ingenuity from those running themselves.

In the final few days of campaigning, Library Square played host to scenes of carnage as candidates made use of banners, t-shirts and, in bizarre cases, trees to promote their own brand of policy. Though, it was more Blackadder Goes Forth than Band of Brothers, as the student populous made equally stringent efforts to avoid any remnants of eye contact and a string of potentially uncomfortable encounters.

Awareness is certainly less of an issue these days; the problem at hand perhaps a growing sense of detachment between the average student and a union billed to represent us. In terms of policy the signs are promising; not only with regards sports and societies, but in terms of security, inclusivity and wider university life.

There’s only so much an elected student body can do, however.

Ultimately, time will tell as to whether the elected representatives are able to implement their plans, given potential budget restrictions, or whether their pledges are merely cast underneath the porous umbrella of ‘perfect world ideals.’ While foundations have been laid and efforts made, there’s still a far greater deal of work to be done.

12FEATURES

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

FoodCycle: from waste to wonder Preston Abell and Silvia Ainio A few issues ago, we told you about Queen Mary’s new initiative with FoodCycle, a nonprofit organization which turns wasted, surplus food from food retails into nutritious, delicious meals for those who do not have access to healthful foods. To find out more about the organization, and to encourage more Queen Mary students to get involved as the end of term quickly approaches, we spoke to FoodCycle’s Steven Hawkes and asked him a few questions about the organization, its initiatives, and the community it serves: Who are the founders of FoodCycle?

FoodCycle was founded by Kelvin Cheung back in 2008, after being inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project, an organization present in 33 campuses across the United States that brings together the students, dining services and the community to combat hunger. I find it ridiculous that we waste so much food when in the very same community, people are affected by food poverty, so I think FoodCycle is an idea that just makes sense. We're combining

resources that already exist - surplus food, the time and passion of volunteers, and spare kitchens - to create something special and make a real difference in the community. Since then, we've expanded to 16 projects across the UK. How did you start thinking about food waste?

I think Kelvin saw food waste as a misused resource that could potentially be utilised to create something special and transformative. Overall, food waste stats are very hard to nail down but estimates suggest as much as 20 million tonnes of food gets wasted in the UK each year from plough to plate. Of course this is at all stages of the supply chain: producers, supermarkets and retailers, catering and restaurants, and consumers. FoodCycle works with the supermarket and retailer-end to reclaim surplus food that's still perfectly edible but would otherwise be thrown away. Since our first meal back in May 2009, we've served over 40,000 meals, made out of over 35,000kg of surplus food by a network of over

1000 volunteers. Lots more we can do though!

When did your idea turn into a reality?

FoodCycle's first ever meal was served in 2009 to the Choir with No Name (a music group for homeless and other vulnerable people). It took a long while to get food donated (originally from a friendly market stall and an allotment) and to find someone who trusted us to use their kitchen but we've come a long way since then! Once we'd proven the idea could work we worked hard to get supermarkets and community partners on board and here we are now!

How do you get local communities involved into your project?

All FoodCycle projects are run by the community, for the community.

Hubs are run by volunteers and work in partnership with a local organisation (such as a community centre, homeless shelter, etc.) to make sure we're reaching those who are in need of our services. We have staff but we want our volunteers

to have as much ownership over their project as possible: they work with us in deciding which community partner to work with, where to cook, who to serve. We simply support them to help make their project as amazing as possible. In terms of volunteers - we have 'Hub Leaders' who lead projects, they'll be the ones who recruit extra volunteers, do community outreach, fundraise - and they oversee more volunteers who can help out on a less regular basis.

and walnut cake, bread and butter pudding, and custard Who generally are the people that benefit from your food service?

We provide meals for people at risk from food poverty and social isolation, both of which can affect a diverse range of people in the community. Broadly, we work with people including: older people, homeless people, asylum seekers & refugees, low-income families, and people affected by mental health problems.

Which kind of meals do you prepare?

What are the main events that you are organizing at the moment?

Healthy delicious three-course meals! Because we collect so many fruits and vegetables we nearly always create a 3-course meal for people, and buy some extra ingredients to make sure it's as balanced and nutritious as possible (e.g. lentils, pasta, cheese). Here's an example menu from last week: Full menu:Broccoli and stilton soup with rye bread and butterBean, potato, and pesto pasta bake with side of roasted parsnips, carrots, courgettes and garlic fried savoy cabbageCherry Bakewell Tarts, chocolate and orange loaf, banana

Our Hubs are always busy arranging events but centrally we're working on a fundraising dinner in late March. The event will take place at the unique Museum of the Order of St John, where everybody could enjoy our aperitif and a five-course vegetarian banquet. All proceeds from this event will go to FoodCycle, to help create more meals for people at risk from food poverty and social isolation. For further information, check the link of the event: "http://www.grubclub.com/ Event/Details?eventid=95"

Iimage by lloyd ramos

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TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

FEATURES13

E very reader loved this feature

Amongst the chaos of election signs that adorned every object that could have something hung upon it, a series of quaint signs containing sayings posing as facts have been left around campus. At the time of writing, the individual or group responsible are unknown, despite attempts by the paper to find out the reasoning and origin of these signs. Nevertheless, they served as a charming counterpoint to the barrage of election material that was ever so present on campus. Words and photographs by Lloyd Ramos

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CULTURE15

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Roy Lichtenstein: a Pop retrospective Silvia Ainio “Pop Art looks out into the world.

It doesn’t look like a painting or something, it looks like the thing itself.”

– Roy Lichtenstein Being a central figure of American pop art, Roy Lichtenstein is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In the early 1960s he broke with the precepts of abstract expressionism and introduced a new concept of paintings, inspired by comic strips and

mass culture imagery. The Tate Modern exhibition, being the first comprehensive account of his art since his death, is structured in thirteen different rooms that show all the aspects of the production of the artist. Covering a wide range of subjects that go from brushstrokes to Chinese landscapes, Lichtenstein has the capability to combine ‘high’ and ‘low’ art in a series of unique iconic paintings and sculptures.

While the room 7, entitled Art about Art, creates a dialogue with the artists of the past in a parody

of artists like Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian, the War and Romance room, probably the best part of the exhibition contains some of his iconic pop paintings that represent different subjects based on comic books such as AllAmerican Men of War and Girls’ Romances.

Each work reveals the author’s interest in the ‘pregnant moment’ of different histories, as if the feeling that he communicates was frozen in the expression of its suffering women or in the onomatopoeic sound of the col-

image by isabelle adam

image by silvia ainio

oured words in the painting. His style can be considered unique as it consists in the developing of a complicated step by step process with the Ben-Day Dots combined a layering which give its paintings the appearance of commercial screen prints. His works have all hard-edged figures, bold colours, thick lines, bubbles and captions. But, at the one end, what made Lichtenstein so popular?

His international appreciation is perhaps due to the ability of the author to look into American culture and break the boundary be-

tween the comic strips and art, but also to the immediate comprehensibility of his paintings, which generate an instant sensation, provoking both delight and outrage. Definitely an exhibition to see, it contains a wide selection of the author’s practice that still remains comparatively unknown.

It was surprising how the gallery was packed with viewers, students sketching, people trying to sneak photos with their iPhones (including myself): there was something that seemed to capture the interest of everyone.

Lloyd Ramos

entrance was ‘big enough to park a car in.’ Kane built upon the venue’s failure with the audience’s own desire to see him fail, which was a clever way to build up a rapport since it united comedian and audience in a union of humorously pointing out what sucked in life which was expanded to things such as being an older sibling, homophobia and The Sun, all with frenetic skipping and gesturing to hammer home the imagery he was putting across. Kane’s subject matter ranged broadly and he effortlessly moved from topic to topic and the hour he spent on stage simply flew by, despite him pointing out towards the end that we were getting tired of him since we were dying for a loo break. And he was right: such is comedy’s power in being both entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. So while live comedy is an intensely transient thing rooted in its temporality (recorded performance being an exception), there’s a fair chance of Russell Kane eliciting a chuckle or two, and hopefully this event is the first of many more live comedy acts to grace the People’s Palace.

Comedic Kane

Writing a review about stand up is tough. While shows centre on set pieces and jokes, improvisation also plays a huge part in how successful a performance is, but improvisation, much like humour, is specific to a place, a viewer and a time.

However, after seeing Russell Kane’s performance at the newly renovated People’s Palace, it’s clear that he possesses the wit and charm to overcome even the most awkward of venues – which the Great Hall most certainly is (more on that later). The support act was Scotsman and CBBC presenter Iain Stirling, who did a fine job as a support act: a few jabs at doing Geography as a subject, some rumination on standards for potential sexual partners, and barging in on a woman mid-bowel movement on a train provided for some warm-up belly cheer. After a brief break the perfect quiff and its owner made their awaited appearance with a quick appraisal of how incredibly awkward the layout of the Great Hall was, noting the how the void in the middle of the seats used as the main

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16CULTURE

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

image by stuart chalmers

Are ‘The Awards’ ceremonies still relevant?

Keumars Afifi-Sabet Success of a film can be determined by its commercial performance, critical acclaim and even the chance sprouting of a cult following – but in the depth and breadth of awards and honours? Not so much. For the most part, a film’s box office success matters more to a film studio than its capability to win prizes, and everyone with a blog fancies themselves as a critic nowadays.

So why bother with these glitzy, extravagant ceremonies? And are they still relevant?

Not-so-subtly lambasted for sheltering a degree of ‘snobbery,’ the organisers of the 85th Academy Awards took a huge risk in hiring comedian and lawsuit-magnet Seth MacFarlane to play host for the

evening. It was a much needed risk and one which paid off as viewing figures soared; the show ultimately deemed one of the more entertaining Oscar nights to date.

Even ITV1, for their coverage of the ‘2013 Brit Awards,’ enjoyed the show’s largest audience in ten years despite being branded fairly dull, with the added detriment of being hosted by human chipmunk James Corden who famously shares the wit and comic timing of a knock-off 99p-Store birthday card.

So if the figures are to be believed, ‘Awards’ shows, including the likes of the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, are still quite prominent in the public eye. But now, of course, we all have an opinion that matters. So is Emeli Sandé really the best ‘British female solo art-

ist? And if not, why do we care for what a few older snooty critic-types think?

The truth is we don’t. If their votes match ours we can pat ourselves on the back. And if not, the convenience of the internet serves as the perfect platform from which we can spew our grievances. It’s clearer the ideals of ‘critiquing’ have moved to such a point that anybody with a keyboard at hand has an opinion worth shoving into somebody else’s face. And aside from raging on the ‘twittersphere’ we’ve developed a bizarre obsession with quantifying what is still technically ‘art’ and what, for years, has conventionally been subjective.

While the traditional review makes a point to carefully examine a work’s strengths and faults

– entertainment aggregators, such as Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, make it their mission to slap sketchily calculated snapjudgements upon anything within sight. Of course, the numbers are ultimately meaningless; for instance Bruce Willis is a ’52’ despite embodying the nth degree of awesomeness in any film he dare star in. These numbers are generally in fact little more than a cheap regurgitation of a faulty public consensus.

Traditionally ‘the Awards’ were a more modest affair celebrated by the few hundred involved. Though as the industry grew, the window looking inwards grew with it and the entire nature of ‘the Awards’ has gradually evolved and continues to, with trends in society.

For instance, could you have ever imagined the creator of one of the most controversial shows on television being asked to host the Oscars as soon as five years ago?

From a stunning Shirley Bassey rolling back the years to a flushed Jennifer Lawrence stumbling in front of the world to collect her first Oscar there’s no substitute for memorable moments like these.

And with the chance of being celebrated in such an elaborate manner it would naturally mean more to those involved than it would for any of us onlookers.

In spite of a burgeoning public voice and an irrelevance to cashenthused moguls, as long as the industry continues to put on a great show ‘the Awards’ will continue to captivate us.

A break from the 9 to 5 Samar Malik All you Dolly Parton, country singin’, cheese lovin’ fans out there, you may have just hit heaven right here with Dolly Parton’s musical ‘9 to 5’! I recently went to watch it even though I am not the biggest of fans and I found it surprisingly endearing and at times ridiculously funny. Although, if you can’t handle the cheese then you are in the wrong part of the food court.

It’s a musical based on the hit movie about three office workers turning the tables on their sexist boss. The three women are very unique characters who regardless of their differences with each other are united by the hate they have towards Mr Hart, who ironically

is heartless (Yes, prepare yourself for such jokes). The three women go through a series of hysterical adventures yet reflect upon the way some women were treated at work places.

It was a very light-hearted comedy, something you wouldn’t mind watching on a Sunday evening with a few friends. However, the crowd was full of middle aged or old women laughing like hyenas at jokes we will probably never find funny. Personally, some of the acting was too cheesy for me, and the idea of the ‘independent woman’ was emphasised upon too much. Yet, one particular character made my night; the horny middle aged woman who had the hots for her ‘dominant, masculine’ boss and had an obsession

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with ‘memos’, so at times made a memo about another memo! I would go back especially to see her bust her genius moves on stage again!

With Dolly narrating the show and a range of 18 upbeat country songs, it is difficult not to make a good night out of it! The best thing I love about such musicals is that we always end the night by dancing away with the dancers and actors to the main song! Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’!

I out figured a few things by the end of it; I would only get an office job if I was able to sing Dolly’s 9 to 5 song daily, I would make sure I get married by 30 so I would avoid finding my ugly boss sexy and will de-cool my children so they don’t offer me some ‘maryjaywana’!

image by elliot brown

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5 Places in London to… Relax Rhiannon Evans I think most of us at QMUL would agree that we are incredibly lucky to be studying in one of the most vibrant, high paced and exciting cities in the world; London has more to offer than any of us could ever pack into three years of living here and many of us will, I’m sure, end up staying or coming back for more later in life.

However, as the last term of my degree looms, and we approach the dreaded finals, a piece of advice I was given before moving here has been playing over in my head: “make sure you find a place you can go by yourself, to be calm, to escape it all.” I would like to clarify that sitting in the library by yourself at 11pm pulling what’s left of your hair out does not count as a tranquil escape. I’ve made a list here of relaxing places to spend an hour or two, just to remind you that life isn’t all about essays and exams.

•The Film Café at the BFI Overlooking Southbank, filled with comfy sofas, decorated with vintage film posters and frequented by interesting people, catching up on some work. Just grab a coffee and soak in the arty vibes.

•The National Portrait Gallery This is without a doubt my favourite place to come for a bit of peace and quiet. As a history undergrad, I tend to head for the Tudor galleries to chill out with my fave monarch, Henry VII but you know, each to their own.

•St James’ Park Not a million miles from us on the tube, but feels a world away from Mile End Road. Lovely to hang out in and have a chat, take a wander around or sit and people watch.

•Dalston Eastern Curve Garden A small oasis of tranquillity in E8, with an abundance of trees, flowers and a beautiful glasshouse called ‘The Pineapple House’.

Somehow the noise of Hackney seems drowned out, great for a tea break from studying.

•Westminster Cathedral – The Tower Viewing Gallery Breath-taking views across the London skyline, free admission, and no limit on how long you stay up there. Completely beautiful and definitely very calming (unless you suffer from vertigo, in which case this one’s not aimed at you.)

image by david white

image by jimmy king

2013 - The Year of Bowie Belphoebe New After a considerably long hiatus from the media glare, and rumours of alleged health problems, David Bowie is returning to the spotlight with a new album The Next Day, his first for a decade. He’ll also be the subject of an extensive and long anticipated exhibition at the V and A, David Bowie is, an extensive catalogue of memorabilia and personal accounts from his astounding breadth of work.

On a personal level, my epiphany with Bowie was brought about by a tape made for me of his best of… album, at the tender age of five.

Consequently, the fact that this year looks set to be ubiquitous with Bowie inspires feelings of nostalgic excitement and apprehension.

You’ll undoubtedly find me, with a host of other fans, scrambling for a view of the memorabilia of his life at the V and A, whether it is the makeup used for the Ziggy Stardust lightning bolt, the original artwork for the Diamond Dogs album cover, or the original costumes from his iconic appearances on Top of the Pops.

Hero worship of popstars today has taken an entirely different, occasionally dark turn. With the appearance of Twitter and Facebook, it has been made easier to share your obsessions, find likeminded people, and categorically abuse anyone who doesn’t agree with your relentless adoration. But

Bowie was one of the pioneers of the otherworldly celebrity, never a star allied to the reassuringly relatable, with many fans in the 1970s believing he was truly the alien being that he wrote about on albums such as Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. At that time, Bowie was truly exciting, doing something entirely different from the monotone, self-involved prog rock bands that came before him. And his legacy continues. Stars such as Lady Gaga would certainly not have come in the same self-consciously freakish, unearthly packaging without the influence of Bowie (something Gaga paid homage to in her video for Just Dance.) This is not a criticism of the stars of today, merely a reflection on the strong influence of Bowie, both aesthetically and musically. He’s often been called the changing face of pop, able to reinvent himself and his music, to play around with different genres and instruments with as much ease as a genre defying one man band. Of course, Bowie was not just an individual, he had a team of expert musicians behind him, but as the face of the changing music scene, he was a striking one, with his famous mismatched eyes and his striking, attenuated stance (this was after all, the man who allegedly admitted to living off a diet of cocaine, red peppers and milk.)

The word ‘icon’ is often bandied around with little justification, but how do we apply this term to

Bowie? An icon often represents with flawless aesthetic significance the mood of an era, whilst Bowie represents an individual shifting through different modes in time, from the seminal concept album of Ziggy Stardust to the more stripped back, experimental, drug fuelled tones of Low. Certainly David Bowie is an icon, one who has subtly interweaved his influence through time, able to shift his musical style and image to suit the age and to make that age ultimately, his own.

It will be truly interesting to see then, whether this year becomes Bowie’s year once again. The Next Day could be mistaken to be a retrospective, recycling the front cover of Heroes for its album artwork, and the first single Where are We Now is an ode to his experiences living in Berlin. Yet with a mixture of melancholy, slow paced tracks against more traditional guitar based rhythms, it is clear that Bowie is as experimental as ever, further confirmed by a reassuringly wacky video comprised of Bowie doubles for The Stars (Are Out Tonight.) This is an artist enjoying basking in his legacy, putting two skinny white fingers up to retirement, and doing what he does best – shaking up the system with experimental flair and expertise.

David Bowie’s The Next Day is available to stream for free on Itunes. David Bowie is opens at the V&A on 23rd March.

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TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

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Freddo price hike sparks mass rioting Keumars Afifi-Sabet Smashed windows, wheelie bins ablaze, and a string of petrified corner shop vendors. Shortly after news broke that the prices of Freddo’s now stand at 40p per unit, terrifying scenes were the mainstay of an otherwise gloomy Sunday morning.

“The people are angry. The people will seek the retribution they deserve,” the ringleader bellowed as an army of goons angrily swept through the East End. Befuddled supermarket shopper, Jane, 45, told us how a hoard of masked rioters broke into a local supermarket gathering piles of the chocolate frogs with them.

They proceeded to douse the treats in white wine before setting them alight. “It were shocking. But then they realised they actually quite liked Freddo’s so they tried to put the fire out and lick ‘em off the floor instead.”

Marcus, 28, tweeted us to say he was asleep at the time. Though he assured us he would have been mortally terrified had he not been.

The unrest was contained by lunchtime after the rioters suffered from an abrupt sugar crash and realised they weren’t getting any media attention barring a look-in from our bumbling nonce of a reporter.

Cadburys have declined to comment on the matter.

Say ‘AA(1)’...

Lucretia McCarthy The dastardly Chancellor Mr Osborne has spread ambivalence this week, announcing Britain’s economy has been downgraded from Aaa to Aa1 according to the bullshitometer. The seemingly arbitrary letters show we have gone from quite-in-the-shit but optimistic to semi-kidding ourselves and fucked, putting us on the same level as countries like economic power house Bermuda and the ever popular France. Though it’s difficult to tell the true extent of the UK’s apathy towards the largely irrelevant information, many out of

touch agencies have been quick to speculate.

The aptly named ‘Moody’ credit ratings agency claimed that the sluggish growth in Britain had largely been caused by ‘deleveraging processes’, alongside ‘deconglomoratising banks’ and ‘antispendspend’ from the public.

Osborne himself reassured the country that the situation was under control, claiming “whilst the letter A is definitely meaningful and is still a big player in the world, a 1 by its side does not spell the end for Britain’s finances” before muttering “just my job”.

IMAGE BY thinboyfatter

Shark kills 100 million annually Dan Hill A recent report published by the journal ‘Marine Policy’ has unveiled their closest estimates to the amount of shark kills are at around 100 million.

In recent years shark attacks have made headlines on numerous occasions and there has been a definitive increase in their prevalence; such as the series of 2010 attacks at the popular holiday resort ‘Sharm El Sheik’. The publicity and prevalence of the stories have been critical in creating awareness of the dangers holiday makers face, but in light of the unveiling of these recent statistics, the question must be asked as to how safe we truly are?

At 100 million annually, death as a direct result of shark attack currently ranks as the third most common global cause after falling pianos, at estimates of up to 107 million, whilst ‘Bieber Fever’ remains the most common cause of death worldwide, despite recent medical advances, claiming the lives of 154 million in 2012 alone.

There are no widely accepted theories as to the reasons behind the increase in shark attacks, however, head of research at the Ministry of Defence Against Marine Creatures,

QM Elections miss the mark Matthew Walsham It’s that time again, QMSU elections 2013 return. Like me, you’ve probably been assaulted by various electioneering, fashion co-ordinating, mostly B.A hopeful, zombies.

I tend to keep my head down but never before have had I smelt the reek of egotism ‘extracurricular effort’ in the same way. From banners, posters and videos, to the wearing campaigning war of drunken sabotage.

This election season there were 45 posts up for election, that’s a whopping 43 more posts

than 2 and about 45 more than any one really needs or cares about. With so many roles, and so many candidates, where do we start once we’ve eliminated voting for the people we personally know?

I considered basing my decision on the inspiringly bland and vacuous ‘Hustings clothes ratings’ churned out by the Elephant, but felt that the journalist’s bias could have me voting for a hack.

To avoid beginning with those who’ve accosted you in the pub, the last issue of QMessenger contained unsettling manifestos from the major candidates.

One candidate, Paddy, was of-

fering cutting his wage in half.

A truly honest move in admitting he’s only worth half the salary. Unlike his contemporaries, whose manifestos involve roughly the same unattainable pledges like a reduction in drink prices; though I’m concerned that Ground coffee couldn’t get cheaper without endangering student’s health.

Now, let me be honest with you. I am a bitter, bitter man.

I applied to be a candidate in these elections, on a platform of a return to workhouse values over housing, a closing of all the libraries (cesspits of radical thought) and the systematic implementation of inequality.

Dr Ivamayd Upnaim believes that the routes of these attacks could be due to more complex patterns of behaviour in sharks than was otherwise believed possible. Bizarrely, Dr Upnaim explained that the increase in the frequency of attacks may correlate with the high demand for shark fin soup in Chinese communities.

Sharks have, in recent years, been subject to overfishing due to their highly valuable fins; the main ingredient of the tradition Chinese dish. Many sharks are caught solely for their fins and in many cases fishermen remove the fins from the sharks whilst the shark is still alive, before dumping the body overboard. Dr Upnaim explained how the sharks have responded to these actions and are “actively seeking revenge against humanity”. It has long been theorised that sharks possess the potential for high cognitive processes and Dr Upnaim believes that “the desire for vengeance exhibited by these sharks is testament to that.”

Further evidence is visible in the fact that in 98% of attacks a significant proportion of the victim is not ingested. This exhibits the sharks’ desire to reciprocate the injustice done to their own kind, mimicking

the removal of shark fins by “eating only the limbs off of the human they attack”.

Scientists believe that one particular subspecies of shark is responsible for a high percentage of attacks. Dr Stephen Stevenson of Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital indicated that the particular sharks responsible may be those descended from the Mako sharks involved in the ‘1999 Aqutica Incident’, in which the Harvard Genetics Compact was infiltrated by a group of militant genetic engineers in an attempt to research potential cures for Alzheimer’s disease. The resultant subspecies displayed increased brain capacity, which led to their eventual escape into the wild.

“These sharks have had sufficient time to crossbreed with populations of Mako in the wild and are likely now rearing a generation of ultra sharks that have clearly developed a taste for human” explained Dr Stephenson.

Experts advise holiday makers consider the threat theses creatures pose and to plan their destinations accordingly. As these sharks continue to learn and outsmart unsuspecting surfers, negotiators from 178 different countries will gather in Bangkok on Sunday to discuss

I didn’t even get as far as making a Harlem shake video...

The student body seem to prefer the vague policies of making things ‘better’, while I personally prefer secrecy and scarcity of resources.

Open Union have ramped up the campaigning, tying big yellow keys to trees and a capella-ing their virtues on bizarre scenes reminiscent of a cult in the last days before the suicides started. While New Chapter, which sound like an American Christian prog-rock band, are simply fielding Snape for President.

I don’t care if he’ll train revolutionaries with an ‘activist

fund’, no enacting of potion classes, no vote.

For Maverick I had high hopes. Their leader resembles Malcolm X mixed with Richard Branson, advocating moon bases and violent subjugation of Barts…in my head. The reality was ‘running to build a more transparent, student led union.’

Oh. Let’s not be so cynical though, he says to himself. These elections are actually important, for at least a few of the major roles.

By the time this article comes out though, Sarah Sawar someone will have won and I for one, welcome our new Presidential student overlords.

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20SOCIETIES

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

QM Film Society announces all night marathon Friday Runnkvist QMUL Film Society is a rather big, and active society based on Mile End Campus, and film buffs, as well as novices will be welcomed with open arms if they attend one of our events. Our events mainly consists of film screenings, which take place every Thursday at 6pm in the Hitchcock Cinema (located in ArtsOne).

We try to show films that are perhaps slightly less well known, even though we do sneak in the classic ever so often. So far we have screened everything from films such Låt Den Rätte Komma In, which could be described as something vaguely resembling Sweden’s response to the Twilight Saga, minus the crappy, plus the brilliant, to Asian action, most recently in the shape of John Woo’s Hardboiled.

If you can’t make it to a screening – do no fret, for you will most

likely find us at Wetherspoons, grouped together in a corner, irritating the staff by adding small tables together. They stopped taking table reservations, (which they never kept, anyway) so these days we take the matter into our own hands.

Apart from our weekly screenings, we also organize cinematic excursions every now and then This year we have been to see Looper and Django Unchained, and on Wednesday the 6th we headed down to Genesis to watch Oldboy-director Chanwook Park’s latest endeavour: Stoker. So, if you have nothing special on, please do join us next time.

Towards the end of March we are also hopefully hoping to organize a special all-nighter, which also will second as our very firstever charity event.

So far we know that this event will hopefully take place at the

end of March (provided that everything goes to plan), and that we will be showing a selection of Quentin Tarantino’s films.

We might not be able to organize an all-nighter in the grand manner similar to the IMAX ones, but it should be a very enjoyable event. And you get to watch lots Tarantino, while giving money to charity. It’s a win-win.

We are very much still in the planning-stages of this, but if you want info, have a look on our facebook page: “QMUL Film Society”.

We will also organize something special for the “End of Term”screening. So keep an eye out for info, it will be coming shortly.

So, let’s re-cap. Film Society, weekly screenings, Thursdays, 6pm (Hitchcock Cinema), Spoons, field trips, all-nighter, end of term, find us on facebook. I think that is Film Soc. in a nutshell. We hope to see you around. And, once again, everyone is welcome! provided by ryan baxter

‘A Way, From Home’ with QM Malaysian Society QMMS Committee On Saturday the 23rd of February 2013, the Malaysian Society of Queen Mary hosted its 2nd Malaysian Night at Laird Hall. A theatre production entitled “A Way, From Home”, the cast and crew of 23 threw their entire body and soul into the play, hoping to bring the audience ‘home’ – home in the context of your lives; whatever that may mean to you, and wherever that place maybe.

A candid interview with the shy scriptwriter and president of society, Esther Kwan, also revealed

her intention to awaken nostalgia for one’s childhood, normally filled with much merriment and wide-eyed wonder, in comparison with the jarring discordance of the grown-up world.

The play was directed by firsttimer Menaka Padmanathan, a 2nd year Medical student, who did a marvellous job in bringing her vision to life on stage. During the intermission of the play, the audience was serenaded with a live performance of two songs by the gifted musicians, singer Sue May, and guitarists Jed and Shaun. The hard work, dedication and long hours of

practice put in by the talented cast and crew paid off that night as the event was thoroughly enjoyed by the High Commissioner of Malaysia, His Excellency Dato’ Sri Zakaria Sulong and wife, the Director of Education Malaysia Associate, Professor Dr. Mohad Anizu Mohd.

Nor and family, and the 95 other attendees.

The event was backed financially and morally by independent social enterprise, Teach for Malaysia, a non-profit organisation that enlists Malaysia’s most promising future leaders in a mission to end education inequality.

provided by malaysian society

One to Watch: The Baking Society Belphoebe New Incase you hadn’t already gathered from the frequent appearances in shows on BBC2, the simperingly adorable covers of cookbooks and the amply supply of specialist chains currently lining the capital’s coolest boroughs, baking is very much ‘in.’

And as with anything that has the potential for trendiness, QM has got in on the action, with its own baking society, for both experienced and budding baking connoisseurs.

Though just starting out as a society, QM Baking have already es-

tablished a clear purpose, that of fulfilling their passion for baking in a social environment. Meetings involve baking which corresponds to a certain theme, whether you’re itching to try out a crème brulee cupcake recipe or something a little more tangy. President Katy Davidson then posts the recipes onto the QM facebook group to be tried at home, along with contributions from other members of exciting recipes to try out. The focus here is on sharing and exchanging in a collaborative environment and it doesn’t matter if you’ve burnt every

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cupcake you’ve ever made or not, as their bio on the QMSU website reassures: ‘Everyone is welcome.’

With their extensive selection of baked goods, QM Baking are also putting their hard work to charity in the future, with a possible stall lined for Red Nose Day as well as collaborations with many other worthy organisations. You’ll undoubtedly see them in library square this year wielding a selection of baking goods all in the name of charity, so it’s a great opportunity to be able to try out delicious food whilst also working towards a cause.

provided by diekatrin

SOCIETIES21

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

11th

Monday’s Calling Drapers 8pm - 2am

12th

Big Quiz / Rock & Roll Bingo Drapers 7.30pm - 9.30pm

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Unspoken Words II The Gallery Cafe 7pm

th

QMUL Music Society Gala Concert th Great Hall, People’s Palace 7.30pm

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15th

Mixology St. Patrick’s Day Special Drapers 9pm - 2am

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Hail Mary Merger Cup special Drapers 7pm - 2am

17th

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Awards and Honours Evening Great Hall, People’s Palace 7pm

19th

Festival 51: History of Feminism Blomely Room 2 6pm

th

th

History Society hits Amsterdam Becky Adkins Picture the scene: 11.30pm on Thursday 21st February, Bancroft Road, freezing temperatures. Bit by bit a group of fifteen excited students gathered to wait for a coach which, naturally, was running late. When the coach finally arrived just after midnight, off jumped an overly bubbly, trying too hard to be everyone’s friend rep who shouted “guys you’re going to love me, I’m crazy!” instantly sparking dislike. Nevertheless, we boarded the coach very much looking forward to our reading week getaway – as were the York students who were sharing our coach. Following a speedy trip down to Dover, during which we prepared ourselves by watching the incredible film Eurotrip, we boarded the ferry, which seemed to consist exclusively of students and football fans. Once in Calais, pretty much everyone headed straight off to sleep for the drive to the Netherlands.

Early morning on the 22nd February, we arrived in Amsterdam.

First impressions: it is freezing!

A short walk to the hostel, which advertised itself as the worst hos-

tel in the world, revealed it wasn’t bad at all. After a quick stop to drop off bags, everyone headed off in small groups to explore and, most importantly, eat!

Over the course of the next two days, people undertook a variety of activities, ranging from exploring the “true” culture of Amsterdam in coffee shops, to visiting Anne Frank’s house, to experiencing the taste of fresh beer at the Heineken Brewery. Despite the cold weather, we had some sun, meaning people were able to take (and in many cases Instagram… groan) copious amounts of photographs of canals, bridges and various other sights. Due to the time constraints not much sleep was had, though we did discover that our hostel beds were actually clean and rather comfy!

The first night saw the group split up following dinner and predrinks as some of us headed to an amazing Irish bar, Mulligans, and the rest staggering to a club in the city centre. However, the second night was far more collective, with around 250 people from our hostel and neighbouring ones headed off on a bar crawl around the notorious red light district. Though some

of us bailed to invent our own mini pub crawl due to the overcrowding (after getting our free alcohol and t-shirts of course), the die hards among us stuck it out, returning to the hostel in the early hours of the morning after a good final night in Amsterdam.

Bright and early on Sunday morning, we all dragged ourselves out of bed, some nursing hangovers, to prepare for the journey back to London. This passed fairly uneventfully, with a nice stop off in Belgium to get chocolate. The only delay came at Calais when we were subjected to a full coach search as an earlier coach had had an immigrant strapped to the bottom of it! Eventually, at around 9pm on Sunday, we arrived back on our beloved Mile End Road, tired out, but having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

History Society would like to thank all of you who came along for making the trip great!

If you like what you have read and would like to find out more about History Society and our upcoming events, find us on Facebook: QM History Society 2012/13 or email us: qmhistorysoc@gmail. com.

Labour Society - David Lammy: 2 th years on from the riots Blomely Room, 7.45pm

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21st

Revolution: live local bands & DJs Drapers

QM Angels cheerleader showcase nd QMotion Health & Fitness 6.30pm

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23rd 24

Day of Rest Iranian Society Norouz night

th Tutu’s Complex,

6pm

provided by chany14

provided by joao maximo

22TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

The war of the smartphones continues...

Haneef Rahman So pretty much everybody has a smartphone now. If you do then chances are it’s either an iPhone, running iOS, or it’s an Android phone.

These two are the giants of the mobile OS world, and they have been ever since the smartphone revolution. But now more and more competitors are cropping up to try and topple the big two.

Microsoft is making a big push with Windows Phone 8, Blackberry is trying to restore it's lost reputation with BB10, Firefox is releasing it's cloud based Firefox OS, and Canonical is taking Ubuntu mobile. But are these systems

really different?

Windows phone is probably the most strikingly different, visually.

Instead of the typical app icons it uses “live tiles” of changeable sizes which update automatically giving you relevant information without opening the apps. Microsoft has put it in line with the “Metro” UI that permeates all of it’s new products.

Blackberry have released the new Z10 and Q10 that both run it’s latest OS. BB10 seems to borrow from android with a lot more “widget style” icons. The rest of the OS, disappointingly, is very similar to that of the older Blackberries with a few new features thrown in.

Firefox OS is a web based OS with all of the system being built on

HTML5 and other web standards.

It embraces the cloud in a way that’s reminiscent of Chrome OS. This means that the software that it can run is limited to only that which has been translated into the web standards (which isn’t many!).

The Ubuntu OS is Canonical’s attempt to translate their system onto all types of devices. This OS seems to be heavily targeted at developers and anybody who is heavy on tech. It has been ported to Nexus devices to run, and they are trying to sort out their own devices with manufacturers.

While comparing the OSs to each other can show up flaws and strengths, I think that most of it comes down to the hardware and the available apps.

In this respect Windows Phone shouldn’t have any problems as it has a lot of manufacturer’s making devices. This also includes Nokia who now exclusively makes Windows Phones and has made some remarkable ones to date (chief among them is the Lumia 920).

The App store for the system is growing very rapidly, too, with over 130,000 apps.

Blackberry manufacture their own phones which are well designed, but the apps available are nowhere near as good as their counterparts on other OSs. Most of the apps are thinly veiled ports from android that you may as well have just bought an actual android phone for.

Firefox and Ubuntu are the new-

est players in the game, and so it’s hard to say where they’ll go. I do think, though, that as web standards become more easy to use and powerful, systems like Firefox OS will be able to do very well indeed, but that isn’t too close. Ubuntu, on the other hand, is free and easy to develop for so could do quite well off the bat.

If any of these systems can turn the “big two” into the “big three” then my bet would be on Windows Phone 8 because of the striking design, growing app store, and well made devices. Ubuntu OS could be the dark horse in all of this, however.

Only time will tell.

Library secrets Haneef Rahman So you’re in the library, wanting to get some books. You have a stack of four or five that you want to take out, so you go over and drop them in the self-service machine. After a couple of seconds every book in the stack is up on the screen. Pretty cool, right? But how does it work?

We’ve had people suggest scales to weigh the books, image sensors to scan the spines, and just plain old barcode readers. The real answer, however, is RFID tags.

Each book in the library has it’s own unique RFID tag attached to it, which allows the selfservice machines to identify it.

This is then communicated to the library database where each RFID

tag has a corresponding book. The information is then sent back to the machine, showing you exactly which books you just placed down.

RFID (or Radio-Frequency IDentification) is a system that uses radio waves to transfer data wirelessly over very short distances from embedded chips or tags on objects to sensors connected to networks. It is the same technology that is used in Oyster Cards for travelling around London, and also in our student/faculty cards that give access to university facilities.

So the next time you’re in the library taking out some books, be sure to remember that there’s a little chip that (in a way) lets the books tell the machine who they are.

image by kiran foster

Exciting green energy advances in Europe Haneef Rahman Green energy production has been growing steadily over the past decade across Europe. And worldwide we are doing quite well, with Scandanavian countries among the top ranked for percentage of renewable energy production against consumption, but more is never a bad thing. That’s why the recent news of two different green energy projects, in Switzerland and Denmark, is very welcome.

In Switzerland, two companies (energy company Viteos and photovoltaics company Nolari) have

been working together to build three artificial, floating ‘solar islands’ on Swiss lake Neuchâte.

Each island is 25 meters across and is covered in 100 photovoltaic panels.

The islands are also used as laboratories to test CSP, or Concentrated Solar Power, technologies.

CSP doesn’t turn light directly into electricity, as most solar panels do.

Instead it reflects and concentrates sunlight onto boilers. This produces steam that drives turbines to generate power conventionally.

A prototype of the island was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2009

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and has been rotating to track the sun since. The three islands will launch in Switzerland in August of this year.

Over in Denmark the news is of wind power, and the world’s largest wind Turbine that will be tested in Østerild.

When it comes to wind turbines size does matter, as the swept area of the rotors is one of the biggest factors affecting the energy yield.

This is why big blades means big energy. Engineering and electricals company Siemens knows this, and has built the B75, a monstrously large blade coming in at 75 meters

long and breaking all the records for length so far. Three of these blades will be combined with a new 6MW turbine that, when operating fully, will produce up to 65 percent more energy than the previous best models.

Weight is also a hugely important factor of the blades, as lighter blades require less structural integrity of the turbine as a whole, so reduce infrastructure costs. To achieve lighter blades the engineers at Siemens developed a new manufacturing process called IntegralBlade. The fibre-glass epoxy resin and balsa wood are poured into a

single mould for the whole blade, so there are no overlapping materials or adhesives to add weight.

This means each blade weighs 20% lighter than conventional blades at a ‘mere’ 25 tonnes.

When the tests of the new turbine commence the total swept area will be 18,600 square meters.

To put into perspective, this is two and a half football pitches.

Both of these projects are important steps to keeping Europe ahead in renewable energy production, and not to forget keeping the world slightly less full of pollution.

TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013

Get Active Football League Anthony Tipping and Rumman Sikdar It has been well documented that 11-a-side football teams are on the decline in the UK. More and more people are turning to the shorter, smaller sided versions of the game as time becomes more precious for people.

The likes of Powerleague, Goals, and PlayFootball have been flourishing over the last decade. New centres have been opening throughout the country, yet the prices have continued to rise, to a level where it’s almost prohibitive for most students weekly 5-a-side games at Powerleague total to an average of £40 per person a month, often made worse by the usual, “can you cover me, I’ll pay you next week?” refrain.

Step in Get Active. Funded and supported by Sport England and the National Lottery, and going from strength to strength after starting last year, the scheme offers subsidised sports for students. With numerous 7-a-side leagues on weeknights, which run for just £100 a team, Get Active gives students of all athletic and

technical ability a chance to play football.

Despite changing venues from Mile End Leisure Centre to the less illustrious Stepney Green Park this semester, the commitment of players has not waivered as almost all of the games have seen teams with a full contingent of players and substitutes. The games are often conducted at a frantic pace; with only half an hour on the clock, everyone wants to get their money’s worth. There are, however, a variety of playing styles in action: poor pastiches of Barcelona’s tiki taka, and imitations of the classical catenaccio are the most abundant, but there even seem to be a few Stoke City fans in the mix!

The passion and commitment shown by players is a remarkable sight. For many of the teams, winning means something - whether for bragging rights in Drapers, or the simple heartfelt warmth of victory.

Oftentimes however, passion does escalate into quite the drama. In the heat of play, friendly competition can quite soon soar out of proportion. On many occasions, a misplaced tackle has

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even threatened to play out into violent altercation. A word of appraisal therefore for those courageous referees - calming the scuffles with a fine blend of soothing words and promises of heavyhanded action from the union.

Games between certain teams can become especially frenzied.

Some players have been heard to throw around unsavoury threats.

In such instances, disciplinary action has followed suit, with promises of ‘severe measures’ if further incidents should arise. It must be said, such incidents are rare.

The cold of recent weeks has not deterred the commitment from teams. It is an atmosphere of solidarity and passion. Everyone enjoys a kick-about, and any excuse to lay those essays to one side is an excellent one.

Get Active has created something special. Football is a physically demanding, yet elegantly poised, game. Not everyone can commit to club sport, or even has the ability to do so. The Get Active league gives everyone a stage on which to titillate their teammates with talent they never knew they had. Now get down to Stepney and have some fun.

image by adele

The new season of F1 commences Hannah Clarke

image by jitesh jagadish

Last season had us sitting on the edge of our seats until the very last race, hiding behind our hands, waiting with bated breath to see who would finally become World Champion after 20 long, tiring races, if not for the drivers but for us, the supporters and avid fans. I myself thought the Championship over when Vettel spun in the final race and decidedly went back to sleep, not anticipating the fight back to steal the Championship from Alonso, 4 points in hand, missing what was most probably the race of the season. And this year promises so much more.

Though we still face an expectant battle between Alonso, Hamilton, Button, Webber and Vettel, we could also see the rise of the young Mexican driver, Sergio Perez, who has taken over Hamilton’s position at McLaren, who himself has taken a controversial position at Mercedes, not having stuck in people’s minds as po-

tential Championship winners, leaving the team that has so lovingly nurtured him since the tender age of 13. Other drivers have yet to prove themselves, though I would love to see some race wins from Force India’s Paul Di Resta which are most deserved.

Hamilton’s decision, I feel, was the right one, if not for his career but for himself on a personal level, getting more annoyed and aggravated as the season went on, though many fans will disagree. Though test times have proven otherwise, it may take time for Mercedes and Hamilton to reach the top, but no one doubts that they are able to do it.

Button and Hamilton will now be able to step out from the shadows of one another and race one another like true champions, without the fear of the team they both once shared choosing one over the other. This in itself will be a fight I cannot wait to see.

To be quite honest, I can’t wait

for Hamilton to prove his critics wrong, and see the fight brought out of him again, which seems to have disappeared since the partnership between the two began in 2010.

And then two of the World’s best drivers: Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Vettel. My gut instinct tells me it will almost certainly be a battle to the bitter end between these two again.

One with the youthful passion and competitiveness of a young man still looking to prove his critics wrong, the other now a dab hand at driving, almost a veteran at the ripe old age of 31, looking to grab another World Championship that will allow him to relish in the knowledge that his career has been more than successful.

I will definitely be amongst those sitting up until the early hours to hear the roar of the engines, the cheers of the crowds, and the promise of an amazing season ahead. 19 races to go. I already cannot wait.

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TUESDAY 12th MARCH 2013 QMUL BUCs League Standings

Badminton Men’s 1st – 3rd/6 (16 points) Badminton Women’s 1st – 3rd/6 (9 points) Badminton Men’s 2nd – 4th/5 (9 points) Basketball Men’s 1st – 2nd/6 (12 points) Basketball Women’s 1st – 1st/6 (21 points) Fencing Men’s 1st – 1st/7 (18 points) Fencing Women’s 1st – 2nd/6 (15 points) Football Men’s 1st – 2nd/6 (8 points) Football Men’s 2nd – 6th/6 (0 points) Hockey Men’s 1st – 3rd/6 (8 points) Hockey Women’s 1st – 3rd/6 (6 points) Netball Women’s 1st – 1st/6 (21 points) Netball Women’s 2nd – 1st/6 (15 points) Rugby Men’s 1st – 6th/8 (9 points) Rugby Women’s 1st – 4th/6 (6 points) Rugby Men’s 2nd – 6th/8 (6 points) Squash Men’s 1st – 1st/8 (20 points) Squash Men’s 2nd – 8th/8 (5 points) Table Tennis Men’s 1st – 8th/9 (0 points) Table Tennis Women’s 1st – 4th/4 (-3 points) Tennis Men’s 1st – 5th/6 (7 points) Tennis Women’s 1st – 4th/8 (6 points) Tennis Men’s 2nd – 3rd/7 (6 points) Volleyball Men’s 1st – 7th/9 (0 points) Volleyball Women’s 1st – 5th/6 (9 points)

image by timothy boyd

End of an era?

Jeremy Baily It seems that more and more people are calling for Arsene Wenger’s head as the weeks go by, and a loss against arch rivals Tottenham on Sunday will not help his cause.

High profile critics include Piers Morgan, who has been relentless in his Wenger out campaign on social networking platform Twitter all season long. Many fans have condemned Morgan as senseless and not caring about the club, whilst forgetting Wenger’s undoubted influence and past successes, but even the most ardent Wenger fan will surely question Wenger’s continuing management should they fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 15 years.

Wenger has continually argued throughout his reign that his youth policy will come to fruition in the long-run, but where the policy has worked, it has meant that his best youngsters are sold on to more successful (or to put it more simply, more ambitious) clubs. The most high-profile cases include Cesc Fa-

bregas who was sold back to Barcelona, and perhaps harder to take for Arsenal fans, Robin Van Persie, who was sold to rivals Manchester United last summer. These are cases of where Wenger has brought in raw young talent for little money and developed them into world class performers, only to sell them on for tens of millions of pounds.

Whilst this is a very good business model, and will certainly keep Arsenal’s money conscious owners happy, it is not the way to win football matches.

I would like to hypothetically build a team of the current players and players that Arsenal have sold in recent years, to see what team Arsenal could have had if they had managed to hold onto their best assets. There has been a notable absence of excellent goalkeepers in the last few years at Arsenal, so Szczesny would probably be the only option there. However, in defence you could have Ashley Cole, arguably England’s best ever left back, Kolo Toure and current captain Thomas Vermaelan at centre

back with Bacary Sagna, probably Arsenal’s most consistent defender of the last few seasons, at right back. Then we come onto the really interesting analysis of the midfield and forward players. A central midfield of Barcelona’s Song and Fabregas alongside Jack Wilshire would offer both steel and creative flair in equal amounts, and a choice of Nasri, Podolski, Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain on the wings would offer pace and width, as well as goals. With Robin Van Persie in the lone striking role, there would be a consistent supply of goals that would fire Arsenal to the title, as in my opinion that team is better than any current team in the league.

However, Arsenal fans must snap back to reality and realise the current squad is not good enough for the Champions League, as defeats to both Spurs and Bayern have proved. The likes of Ramsey, Koscielny, Squillaci, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Giroud and even to an extent Arteta, are poor replacements for what they have lost, and the team that they could have built if Wenger

had not sold off his best players.

There is arguable not much difference between them and Tottenham and Chelsea, who I believe will take up the 3rd and 4th positions in the league this year, apart from the fact that they both have that star player who take them to the next level. Chelsea have Mata and Spurs have Bale, two of the most creative and consistently excellent players in the Premier League this season.

Without those two men, maybe Wenger’s mistakes could be hidden a little better by genuinely competing for the top four. Instead, his inability to keep hold of his best players, and the club’s (whoever’s fault it is) obsession with turning the club into a business model instead of a genuinely competitive football team, has meant that Wenger is running on borrowed time. Perhaps we should call it Fergie time, as he slammed the final nail into his old adversary’s with the purchase of Van Persie, and showed that despite his remarkable success he remains the more ambitious of the two men.

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