Concrete 179

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Issue 179 September 28th 2005 www.concrete-online.com Free

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5%! STILL A BUILDING SITE .EW RESIDENCES BRING DISRUPTION AS CONSTRUCTION WORK CONTINUES ON CAMPUS "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 Students returned to UEA this week for a new accademic year to be greeted by a series of building works and constructions. Changes to the ever-expanding university will improve the standard of living for staff and students with the demolition of the dubbed 'prison' that was Waveney Terrace, and an immaculate re- named Medical Centre. Evolution of the forty-ﬁ ve year old establishment, a base for over 13,000 students and over 2,000 staff, has developed incredibly since its ﬁ rst intake of eighty-seven students in 1960. Developments at UEA put the university in the top rating

for accomodation in the UK and have also contributed to its top ﬁ ve ranking in a recent student satisfaction survey of courses and facilities. New accomodation blocks, an extension to the Library, the Health Centre and Nursery and improvements to the Sainsbury Centre have taken place this year. Last year renovations were undertaken on The Blend, Zest and Un- ion House, all of which certainly follow UEA's motto to 'Do Differ- ent'. The expanding UEA site has been purposefully adapted with safety and the environment in mind. The site is in 270 acres of land and has seen new safer, ﬂ oodlit footpaths laid with the lake remaining the highlight of its grounds.

For several years UEA has been host to numerous building projects and despite the comple- tion of the new Medical Centre and Library extension, the continued disruption to the site has an- gered many students. A large majority of UEA under- graduates today have never wit- nessed UEA without some form of construction taking place. In spite of the noise disruption endured as a result of building work, huge numbers of students will never get to enjoy the results. One third year LLT student who lived in Waveney Terrace said: "We had to live next to the Colman House building site, then revision for exams last year was almost impossible with the Library extension, and this year we still have to watch more residences go up.

Apart from the Library our year group will never get to use any of the new stuff." Although the new buildings are necessary, some students are concerned about the amount of money being spend on refurbish- ments. Many believe that they will not beneﬁ t from the sacrifces being made to support the new building work. The Medical Centre and Nurs- ery are complete and include GP services, a Dental Practice and a Pharmacy. The Library extension is also ﬁ nished. However, construction continues on the Sainsbury Centre and the new centre for the School of Nursing, which will not be complete until early next year. The demolition of Waveney Terrace has paved the way for four new en-suite residence build-

ings. However, the 886 scheduled rooms are not estimated to be complete until August 2007, re- sulting in yet more students living against a backdrop of disruption. The historial Ziggurat Ter- races are also due for an essential refurbishment. Freshers and other residents will be relocated after only a month at university as work begins in late October. The up- grade of toilets, showers and bedrooms will take another year and Norfolk Terrace will subsequently follow suit. UEA is becoming one of the most modern UK university sites, and as recent surveys reveal it pro- duces some of the most satisﬁ ed students. However, when all the building projects are ﬁ nally complete students will have tolerated almost a decade of disruption.

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#RICKET ONE OF THE MANY SPORTS CLUBS TO BE AFFECTED BY THE NEW FEES "Y 3!2!( %$7!2$%3 %$)4/2 The Union is to introduce a fee of £25 for membership of the Union of UEA Students Sports Associa- tion. The decision to charge students a flat fee, on top of the joining fees set by individual sports clubs, has been made in response to the increased cost of running sport at UEA. Amongst the reasons given for the new charge is a move by the British Universities Sports As- sociation (BUSA) to replace mass fixtures, usually held on Wednes- day afternoons, with smaller merit leagues. This has meant that teams can no longer travel to away matches by coach, but have to hire separate minibuses, which has led to much higher transport costs being incurred by the Union. According to Union officials, this problem has been exacer-

bated by a relative decrease in the amount of money available from the grant they are provided by the University. Of the block grant allocated to the Union in 2003-4, 81.4% was spent on participa- tion in sport, including coaching, transport, equipment and room hire – by far the highest overall cost for any of its activities. The budget has been tightened by increases in stafﬁng costs, and the reluctance of sports clubs themselves to support Union-run events such as Wednesday Sports Nights. As a result, the amount of revenue generated for the clubs through its commercial services has decreased. Earlier this year the Sports Sub-Committee re- sponded by recommending that clubs must be encouraged to support Wednesday nights instead of organising their socials at pubs in the city. The funding of sports clubs has been a continuing source of

contention on campus. Last year the Union refuted rumours that the reduction in Sports Associa- tion funds was linked to budgetary changes being made to accommodate the refurbishment of the Hive. While the new fee has been met with disappointment by some clubs, the Union insists that it is necessary to maintain the high standard of sport currently provided at the university. Even assum- ing a 10% drop in membership, early budget ﬁgures indicate that the Membership Fee could raise up to £62,500 towards the running of sports clubs. Last year, the Union spent £215,000 on sporting activities. The fee was chosen by last year’s Management Committee as an alternative to cutting the services offered for students or removing UEA from the BUSA leagues altogether. For the £25 fee – equivalent to 80p per week of the academic term – students will

receive insurance and the freedom to join as many sports clubs as they wish. The Committee, which approved the changes in June this year, noted that the move would not be popular with members, but believed that the membership fee ‘represented the least painful way of ensuring that the annual deficit did not increase’. Finance Officer Ben Williams said: ‘The Union of UEA Students truly believes this to be the only option that is fair to all of our members. Membership fees to Sports Associations are a common occurrence, and the price of £25 is comparatively below the average, given the size of our union and the number of members that benefit from the Sports Associa- tion.’ 7(9 7% 3(/5,$ 3500/24 /52 30/243 #,5"3 3PORT PAGE

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5%! BIDS FAREWELL TO RESIDENCES "Y #,!2% "5,, .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4 Waveney Terrace has been par- tially knocked down over the summer. Blocks A-J have been demolished and the remainder of the historic site is due for de- struction at some point next year. Waveney opened in 1972 and for the last 33 years it has been home to thousands of UEA students. Although it made a bleak picture, those who have lived there insist that it had a special charm. There was a deﬁnite spirit to Waveney with its constant ﬁre alarms, smashed windows and kitchens that some thought should have been reported to environmental health. However, against all odds, Waveney ‘Swedish Prison’ Terrace was the place for parties and although those who lived there stood little chance of sleep or re-

spectable hygiene standards, they will insist without fail that a year in Waveney really was amazing. This summer memorabilia from Waveney went on sale in an internet auction. The original desk chairs and other furniture as well as door signs went on sale and the money was donated to The Big C, a local charity that supports cancer victims and their families and donates to research projects. In total £607.85 was raised from the auction, which was organised by the alumni association. With many ex-Waveney Terrace resident desperate to own a little part of this legendary building the auction was a great success. An original vintage Bertoia chair sold for £185, while a sign for blocks A to C sold for £100. Such prices for memorabilia might seem like madness, but for a small piece of what was an institution of student life, it was worth every penny.

! CONSTRUCTION WORKER SURVEYS 7AVENEY 4ERRACE

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4OP UP FEES LOOMING AT 5%! 5NIVERSITY DECIDES TO CHARGE THE FULL TOP UP TUITION FEE "Y *!#15) "52'/9.% .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4 When top-up fees come into effect in Autumn 2006, UEA intends to charge the full £3,000 per year. The fees will only apply to students who begin their undergraduate courses in 2006 - those who started earlier will continue to pay the old level of fees, and post- graduate fees will be unaffected. NHS-funded courses such as Physiotherapy will not be subject to the top-up fees. In addition, for those enrolling on science courses with a foundation year, the foundation year will only cost £1,200, but the remaining years will be charged at the full rate. Those studying abroad will still beneﬁt from half-price fees for that year – so will be charged £1,500 – and ERASMUS students will continue to have all their fees waived for that year, and also will be given funding for that year. UEA has decided to charge the full amount possible to enable it to improve its facilities and infrastructure, enhance the quality of its teaching and research, and also to enable it to provide more bursaries and scholarships for students. Many scholarships will be available, such as Pathway

$ESPITE STUDENT PROTESTS 5%! WILL CHARGE THE HIGHEST TOP UP FEES Scholarships, Open Scholarships, Faculty Prizes, and Vice-Chancel- lor Prizes, and various sports and music scholarships. Pathway Scholarships are aimed at lower-income families, and provide £500 per year for those with grades of ABB or above. Vice-Chancellor Prizes are available for those with grades of

AAA or above, who could receive – if taking a four-year course – £16,000 during their time at UEA. There will be eight Vice-Chancellor Prizes and 12 Faculty Prizes available, and recipients will be expected to maintain grades of 60% or above. Even with the bursaries that UEA intends to provide, fees of

£3,000 per year plus housing and living costs, will add up to a considerable sum. One beneﬁt of the new system, however, is that payment of fees is deferred until the degree course is completed and the student is earning above £15,000: in essence, the student takes out an extra loan from the Student Loan

Company. The SLC pays the university, and the student pays back the SLC once they are earning above the set level. As with the old scheme, this loan will only gain interest at the same rate of inﬂation, so that you pay back exactly what you bor- rowed, and the repayments will be taken as a percentage from the

amount you earn that is above £15,000. The government also intends to provide Maintenance Grants. These are non-repayable grants that are intended to help lower- income students cover their living costs. Those students whose parents earn less than £17,500 per year will receive the full £2,700 per year in grants with a sliding scale for families of higher incomes. Students with incomes of more than £37,425 per year will be ineligible for these grants. All students, however, will be able to apply, in addition to the ‘fees’ loan, for a ‘maintenance loan’. A student not receiving any maintenance grant, living outside London and not with their parents, will be able to borrow £4,405 per year. 75% of this will be available to all, while the remaining 25% will be means-tested. All loans received from the SLC by a student will be combined for repayment after their degree is completed. The result of the higher fees for future students will be a much greater debt upon completing their courses, athough hopefully they will also translate into a better quality of education and greater opportunities of higher education for all.

5%! TOP FOR SATISFACTION .O ENTRY TO :EST 3TUDENTS RATE UNIVERSITY IN 5+ 4OP ACCORDING TO NATIONAL POLL "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 UEA has been rated one of the UK’s top universities for student satisfaction according to the ﬁrst ever National Student Survey. In the Times Higher Education Supplement only two mainstream universities ranked higher than UEA for overall satisfaction and three were considered to have better learning resources for students. Vice Chancellor David East- wood said: “This survey is a ringing endorsement for the

all round quality of our staff, teaching and student support.” The results of the new survey conﬁrm that levels of satisfaction with the courses taught at UEA are amongst the highest in the country. On a scale with a maximum of ﬁve, the average score for overall satisfaction at UEA was 4.2. Seven- teen out of nineteen subject areas received scores of four or above. The National Student Survey results are just one measure of UEA’s quality and performance. Taken alongside the most recent Quality Audit, in which the university received the highest possible ranking, and the last Research

#ANTEEN CLOSES ITS DOORS ON STUDENTS

Assessment Exercise, which con- firmed that almost 90% of UEA research is of international or national excellence, there is ample evidence that the university is of the highest quality in teaching, research and administration. The first National Student Survey was undertaken in Janu- ary 2005 by undergraduate final year students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The National Student Sur- vey results are intended to help inform the choices of future students and were published on Sep- tember 22nd on the national Teach- ing Quality Information website.

"ACK TO SCHOOL FOR .#&#

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The Chief Executive of Norwich City Football Club is stepping back into education after signing up to a two-year course at UEA. Neil Doncaster has enrolled on a Masters in Business Ad- ministration degree to hone his business skills as a major component in the local club. The MBA degree has been running at UEA for thirteen years and has produced over 1000

successful graduates. Neil Don- caster will be joining nineteen other students on the £9,000 course at UEA on September 26. UEA will only accept First Degree graduates or people with exceptional experience in business onto the MBA course. After four years at NCFC Mr Doncaster is reported to have explained:” I have a great deal of practi- cal management experience, but this course will help to improve my theoretical knowledge. There is always more to be learnt and a well-respected institution such as UEA is the perfect place to broaden my understanding

of modern management issues.” The director of the course at UEA, Professor Roy McLarty was reported to have said: “I’m sure he’ll bring a great deal to the course but also take away a new perspective on modern management of a multi-million-pound business.” Despite the demands of a two-year degree, Mr Doncaster is to keep all commitments with his Canaries schedule. While the recent relegation of NCFC has dampened the spirits of its fans, the determination of its Chief Executive to further his management skills could initiate a new beginning for the whole club.

5NIVERSITY CATERING OUTLET :EST "Y #,!2% "5,, .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4 Over the summer period students and staff of UEA were informed that they were not allowed to use Zest whilst the university was in use as a conference centre. A sign in Zest explained that staff and students were not permitted for the comfort and convenience of both conference-attenders and staff/students. The decision was felt to be of great inconvenience to many staff and students because Zest

is one of the only outlets on campus where a hot meal can be pur- chased. The rule was made by university management rather than the caterers at Zest to encourage businesses to use the UEA as a conference centre. Jenny Ballard, the Director of Residences and Services, explained to Concrete that historical- ly there were issues surrounding the length of time it took conference delegates to get served while there were staff and students using the facility. She also stressed that “the university does not have to divert money away from the

core activities of teaching, learning and research. The catering outlets are required to be self ﬁnancing.” The management explained that through hosting conferences, the outlets are able to make the money needed to provide food for staff and students at subsidised prices during term time. Although Zest was closed to university associated customers, The Blend served a wider range of hot food. However many students still feel the decision was unfair. ,ETTERS PAGE

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"REAST CANCER BREAKTHROUGH

5%! BIOLOGISTS DISCOVER GENES THAT COULD PREDICT SURVIVAL FOR CANCER PATIENTS

"Y 2/3)% #(!.#% 3#)%.#% %$)4/2 Scientists from the University of East Anglia have made a discovery that could prove crucial in the battle against breast cancer. Cancer specialists Dr Sarah Porter and Professor Dylan Ed- wards, from the School of Bio- logical Sciences, have identiﬁed genes that behave differently in breast cancer patients compared to those with normal breast tissue. Their ﬁndings could be key to the development of ‘smart’ drugs tailored to treat the tumours of individual patients. The genes come from a group called ADAMTS, which are involved in tissue breakdown and are linked to the spread of tumours through the body. Earlier

this year Dr Porter and Professor Edwards found that 11 of the 19 ADAMTS genes change as breast cancer develops. Now the scientists have shown that, by measuring the activity of two specific ADAMTS genes in an individual with breast cancer, they can predict how ag- gressive their tumour will be and how likely it is to spread. One of the genes is related to poor overall survival rates, while the other is a predictor of relapse free recovery. By looking at both genes, cancer patients were clas- sified into one of four risk catego- ries. Those at highest risk were three times more likely to suffer a recurrence of breast cancer and five times more likely to die, compared to sufferers in the lowest risk category. Professor Edwards said “we are beginning to understand how

genes contribute to breast cancer development and I am conﬁdent this work will ultimately prove valuable for both the diagnosis and treatment of the disease”. He hopes the research will help doctors move away from a “one size ﬁts all” style of treatment towards a more individualistic approach. The innovative three year study used tissue samples taken from patients at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital and also from a medical centre in The Nether- lands. It was funded by the Breast Cancer Campaign Pamela Goldberg, Breast Can- cer Campaign Chief Executive said that the spread of tumours was “the single most important factor” in causing death from breast cancer and that this research would “play a major role in improving the future of breast cancer treatment”.

/NE WEEK STAND STILL ON THE BUSES

"US DRIVERS LEAVE CITY STRANDED AFTER WEEK LONG STRIKE

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Last week saw strikes by First Bus drivers between Thursday 15th and Thursday 22nd September as drivers across Norfolk and Suffolk attempted to negotiate a dispute over pay and pensions. The strike, by members of the Transport and General Workers Union, was focused around a new pension scheme that had been proposed by First Eastern buses, as well as issues surrounding pay. 68,000 passengers across Suffolk and Norfolk had to ﬁnd alternative methods of transport as the effects of the strike hit for a week long period. Although a minibus service was put in place between the

hospital and the city many people were left stranded. School children were the worst affected with some walking over six miles to get to school. Many shops in the city centre reported that they were noticeably quieter than they would expect despite the continued park and ride services that are run by Norfolk County Council. People in Norwich are encouraged to rely on buses, perhaps more than in other cities, because the city council has implemented high parking fees and developed complex one-way driving systems. First Buses came under ﬁre during the strike action for continuing to sell weekly passes in the lead up to the pending strike. One worker who bought a £7 week pass the day before the strike was unable to use the buses and was

.ICK @N 0INCH 5%! #RIMINOLOGIST WARNS OF RELIANCE ON NEW CHIP AND PIN TECHNOLOGIES "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2

.EW CHIP AND PIN TECHNOLOGY MIGHT PROMPT A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY

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UEA Criminologist Dr Emily Finch has revealed the new UK chip and pin credit cards and government proposed ID cards are not likely to deter thieves and fraudsters. Dr Finch’s research has led her to believe that the new secure systems may in fact augment fraudulent activities. Dr Emily Finch is a Reader in Law at UEA and specialises in new areas of criminal law, researching drug-assisted rape, stalking, har- assment and identity theft. She has presented her research across the globe to magistrates, the New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Cali- fornia Threat Assessment Centre and a range of professional business organizations.

Dr Finch believes that people have a mistaken sense of security because of the rise in constantly improving technologies. Accord- ing to her studies, criminals are undaunted by the prospect of identity cards. She explained to the BBC that fraudsters understand human nature: “They know about people, they know how we operate, and they know how relationships of trust in which information is disclosed develop.” In a UEA statement, Dr Finch states: “Studying the way that individuals disclose sensitive information would be far more valuable in preventing identity fraud than the evolution of technologically advanced but ultimately fallible measures to prevent the misuse of personal information after it has been obtained.” The ﬁndings of her study have

$RIVERS ARE BACK TO WORK denied a refund. First bosses ad- mit that they continued to sell passes during the period looming up to the strike. As of Thursday 22nd the drivers were all back to work and talks will commence in the next few days between the Transport and General Workers Union and First Bus management. First Bus hopes to arrange a deal without drivers having to resort to further strike action. lead Emily Finch to doubt the success of the government’s new ID cards, even with biometric data including eye scans. Finch believes caution will be dropped considerably because of the reliance people have put on new technologies and that criminals will simply take advantage of this. Sandra Quinn, a spokesperson for the Consortium of Financial and Retailing Groups, explained: “Criminals will look at new ways of carrying out fraud and the banking and retail indus- tries are working together to look at new ways to tackle plastic card fraud.” #HIP AND 0IN +EEPING YOUR DETAILS SAFE s .EVER TELL ANYONE YOUR 0). s 3HRED DOCUMENTS CONTAIN ING YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS RATHER THAN THROWING THEM IN THE BIN s !LWAYS BE CAUTIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING YOU ENTER YOUR 0).

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$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005 0HOTO COURTESY OF )AN %DWARDS

-ARATHON DOUBLE 5%! LECTURER TO RUN .EW 9ORK AND #HICAGO MARATHONS FOR CHARITY Dr Ian Edwards, a lecturer in criminal law in the Law School, started the year with his own personal challenge: to complete the world’s three biggest marathons - Lon- don, Chicago, and New York - in one year, raising money for charity on the way. On October 9th, Mr Edwards will take part in his second marathon, in Chicago, before running New York on November 6th. For London, he raised nearly £800 for the Samaritans, the charity providing conﬁdential emo- tional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. His chosen charity for the ﬁ- nal two marathons is Get Kids Go- ing (www.getkidsgoing.com). The organisation aims to give disabled children and young people the opportunity to participate in sport by providing them with specially built sports wheelchairs so they can do marathons, triathlons, tennis, athletics, mountain skiing, rugby

and basketball. He describes it as “a fantastic charity, which gives disabled children opportunities to play sports that most of us take for granted”. This time Mr Edwards is looking for sponsors to help him raise £1200. With the Olympics due to be held in London in 2012, he believes that the children receiving specialist equipment from Get Kids Going today could become Paralympic champions in the future. “Now is the time that young athletes, potential Olympic competitors, need support with training and equipment,” he says. “It isn’t cheap: the cost of one individually designed sports-wheel- chair can be several thousand pounds.” Ian started running when he was studying law at university, as a way of de-stressing during exams. He was soon competing in half- marathons, but always wanted to run the full marathon distance. He says: “Running a marathon is the ‘suburban Everest’, a challenge that anyone can attempt. And the feeling of achievement you get crossing the ﬁnish-line is like nothing else you experience

in life.” The London marathon was particularly memorable for Mr Edwards: “Running London was amazing;; the crowds lining the streets were incredible. I hit ‘the wall’ at about mile 19, but the crowds were cheering everyone on, shouting encouragement the whole way, and before I knew it I was finishing on The Mall. To be honest though, I was just relieved to finish ahead of the Cheeky Girls. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to live that one down.” Of the New York marathon, he says it will be “a fantastic experience”. “The marathon goes through each of New York’s five boroughs before finishing in Central Park, and there will be 2 million people lining the streets. I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere.” 9OU CAN SPONSOR -R %DWARDS ONLINE AT WWW JUSTGIVING COM IANRUNSNEWYORK OR AL TERNATIVELY CONTACT HIM AT I EDWARDS UEA AC UK !NY AMOUNT WILL BE GRATE FULLY RECEIVED HOWEVER SMALL

$R )AN %DWARDS lNISHING THE ,ONDON MARATHON

#ONTROVERSY OVER FOOTPATH 'RAVESTONES LINE THE WAY TO NEW SHOPPING CENTRE 0HOTO !NNA 3TEWARD

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0EDESTRIANS TAKE THE FOOTPATH IN .ORWICH CITY CENTRE "Y !..! 34%7!2$ )3!"%, $93/. The new Chapelfield Shopping centre finally opened last week after over a year of construction work. Norwich shoppers flooded to the brand new complex on Wednesday to explore the new shops. Despite the excited mood of

the day, some locals were shocked to discover that a footpath leading from Theatre Street to the Chapelﬁeld shops has been lined with dug up gravestones from the 450-year old St Stephen’s Church. Concecrated earth was dug up to relocate headstones, some with epitaphs to the deceased dating back only ﬁve years ago. Reverand Hereward Cooke insisted that no bodies had been disturbed and that the changes

revamped the derelict graveyard, bringing beneﬁts to the church. The disruption of the memo- rials to the buried and cremated that now line the path has disgust- ed some shoppers in Norwich. Sarah Watts, who has lived in Norwich for 40 years, said: “This reveals a complete lack of respect for the dead and seems absolutely unnecessary to me.” A petition is circulating in protest against the footpath.

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! .IGHT WITH .IGHTLINE 3TUDENT LISTENING SERVICE TO RECRUIT NEW VOLUNTEERS AT ITS !WARENESS 7EEK "Y *!#15) "52'/9.% This coming week, from Monday 3rd October till Friday 7th, Night- line is holding an Awareness Week to promote its services. A stall will be held in The Hive between 12- 2pm each day, explaining the wide range of help that Nightline offers. Volunteers who missed SocMart can sign up at the stall or email nightline@uea.ac.uk. Also on Thursday and Friday of that week, between noon and 8pm, Night- line will be open outside its usual hours so that students can visit and look at the facilities. The kinds of service that Nightline offers are very diverse. Emma Kelly, Welfare Ofﬁcer, said: “Many people think that Nightline is only for people to call or visit during a crisis, but they also offer information such as the number for a pizza or a taxi company, or help if you lose your keys while out clubbing. You can even visit if you just want somewhere quiet to study for a while, or somewhere to chill out.” Nightline does also, of course, provide help in more serious situa- tions. They provide a listening ear for every kind of problem – from exam stress to drug worries, and also provide free contraception,

tampons, sanitary towels, and even toilet roll should your flat run out on a Sunday night. In addition, there is a room available overnight for any student who cannot or does not want to return home, and there is also a room available specifically for women. Students can call the Night- line number, 01603 503504 if they want, or otherwise can drop in. The service is open every night during term-time and makes every effort to have a male and female volunteer on duty. Nightline is situated in Norfolk Terrace, on the ground floor between Blocks C and D, and is open between 8pm and 8am. New volunteers are always welcome, which current members of the service are keen to empha- sise: “There is no ‘typical’ Night- line volunteer – they come from all kinds of backgrounds.” Qualities that are desirable, however, are the ability to listen, an open mind, and also a commitment to a weekend of training, plus a minimum of four shifts per semester. If you do not feel able to make such a commitment, Nightline also needs people to help it with publicity, as the need to keep its other members to remain anonymous means that they are less able to deal with promoting the organisation.

Ex-Literature, Culture and Pol- itics student Colin Barns said that volunteering at the organisation was daunting at first, especially all the training, but he found that after a couple of shifts he soon got in the swing of it. Barns said: “It was a great way to get into the whole uni thing. It was a really good way to make friends quickly.” He said: “When you’ve been sitting up all night with someone, when you’ve felt you’ve been able to help someone, that’s the most rewarding thing.” Barns is now a Housing As- sessment Officer. He says that his experience at Nightline has helped him with his current job because he deals with people who are in difficult circumstances and are often upset, and so needs to be able to treat them sensitively. About joining Nightline, Barns said: “I’d definitely recommend it. It can be quite nerve-wracking, but if you are stuck with someone in a room for 12 hours, you really get to know them.” A current Nightline volunteer said: “Not only do you help people on regular basis, you also make lots of caring friends.” Nightline encourages anybody interested in joining the team, or wanting to know more about the service, to come and visit the stall during Awareness Week.

.IGHTLINE OFFERS AN OVERNIGHT ROOM FOR STUDENTS UNABLE TO RETURN HOME

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%XTREMIST GROUPS TARGET STUDENTS %DUCATION 3ECRETARY WARNS CAMPUSES TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST EXTREMISTS "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 British universities are being ad- vised to be aware of extremist groups that are targeting students. Following the recent atrocities in London and increased tensions around the UK, research has suggested that organisations with extremist ideologies are targeting students. The Education Secretary Ruth Kelly told university vice-chancellors to keep a close eye on student activists in the battle to prevent the spread of extremism and terror. Ms Kelly said that Vice- Chancellors had a duty to inform the police if they believed that students or staff were breaking the law or committing “possible criminal acts”. Groups, including the BNP, Islamic extremists and Animal Rights activists, are increasingly targeting universities. Accord- ing to recent research, all these organistaions have a history of campaigning at campus universities in the hope of capitalising on

political apathy and raising a new generation of supporters. A dossier prepared by White- hall ofﬁcials warned Tony Blair that a network of “extremist recruiters” circulate on campuses and are directed at students and people with “technical and professional” qualiﬁcations. The report states: “Students and young professionals from better-off backgrounds have also become involved in extremist politics and even terrorism. They provide better recruits, as they may have the capability for wider and more complex proselytising.” Ruth Kelly spoke earlier this month at the annual conference to representatives of Universi- ties UK, the body that represents vice-chancellors and principals, explaining that freedom of speech and thought did not extend to tol- erance of unacceptable behaviour. Kelly went on to explain: “Following the London bomb attacks in July, we are all having to re-examine certain policies. One is how to respond to those using the freedoms of our society to promote terrorism and violence.

Freedom of speech or expression is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy and higher education is a bastion of those values.” A report by Professor Anthony Glees and Chris Pope of Brunel University named twenty-four universities where;; “extremist and/or terror groups have been detected”. Major universities were named in the report including Birmingham, Brunel, Durham, Leeds, Luton, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Reading, Swansea and Wolverhampton. Another report by a government think tank, the Social Affairs Unit, gave a warning that British universities “may have become, and may still be safe havens for terrorist ideas and recruits.” Kelly said: “Universities need to be “unafraid to set their own boundaries” about what is ac- ceptable using the law as support. Universities and colleges have a duty to support and look after the moderate majority as they study, to ensure that those students are not harassed, intimidated or pres- sured.”

4HE 3QUARE 5%! IS NOT AMONGST THE UNIVERSITIES NAMED IN THE REPORT

#HARLES #LARKE h DAYS IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGHv .ORWICH -0 SUGGESTS MORE TIME FOR DETAINING SUSPECTED TERRORISTS IN HOPES FOR A SAFER "RITAIN "Y -!4(%7 ./2-!. 0/,)4)#!, %$)4/2

#LARKE S PROPOSALS MEAN SUSPECTS COULD BE HELD LONGER WITHOUT TRIAL

Once again the Member of Par- liament for Norwich South has made the news. Charles Clarke the Home Secretary looks set to unveil plans to lengthen the time a suspect can be detained without charge by the police from 14 days up to 3 months. The staggering increase in time highlights the Home Secre- tary’s concerns about making the UK safer from terror attacks. Al- though the July attacks on London will not be forgotten,one must ask if it is appropriate to make such drastic changes to laws that have withstood the test of time and the test of the IRA. During the 1970s and 1980s the British Government did not feel the need to change these laws in such a drastic step. What should be made clear is that the measures are necessary and not just a knee jerk reaction. The legal profession has re- acted coolly to the suggested changes and although there are Human Rights arguments that can be made, it is more likely that public opinion will be the key factor as to whether these measures come into force. Judges in the UK do not have the power to strike down an Act of Parliament because Parliament is sovereign. The judiciary can is-

sue a statement of incompatibility with the Human Rights Act but it will not force the government to change the legislation. If the move is seen as politically unviable then legislation could be changed. Lengthening the time a suspect can be held without trial will allow the police and security services to continue their investi- gations without the threat of the individual leaving the country. The same thing could be achieved by an electronic tag, but as recent events have shown there is evidence to show that tags do not work. One obvious benefit of holding people doe longer is that the police will always know where the individual in question is: there will be no need to go and find them. Civil rights organisations have labelled the measures as “a new British internment”, but the Home Secretary has been quoted as saying that “14 days is simply not enough time so let us extend it”. The director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, has stated that it is necessary to look at the laws in or- der to see if something does need to be done. The situation is very difficult for the Home Secretary as he needs to address what has happened in our capital but also needs to avoid going too far. Inaction will be seen as a failure if something else were

to happen, but the question remains if people are really going to be happy with this potential loss of rights and freedoms. Americans seem to accept a small reduction in personal freedoms if the country as a whole remains safe. Questions will arise if such an ammendment to British policy will have the same conse- quences here. Britain is far more multicultural than the US and hopefully will remain so. A question which lingers is whether the Home Secretary will have the power to implement these measures, despite potentially tough opposition. The short answer is yes. The powers of the Home Ofﬁce are wide and varied and even if the measures could not be introduced through the Government department, legislation could be drawn up very quickly and with the majority the Labour party hold in the House of Commons it would pass easily. The only stumbling block would be the House of Lords, which has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Labour governments since 1997. However, there are two pieces of legislation from 1911 and 1949 called the Parlia- ment Acts which allow the House of Commons to enact legislation without the Lords’ consent. These measures, used sparingly until 1997, have been used at least twice by Labour in the last eight years.

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$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

#HICKS 7ITH $ICH )N THE WAKE OF !NGELA -ERKEL S SLIM VICTORY IN THE 'ERMAN %LECTION -ATT 3HOESMITH CONSIDERS THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN IN POLITICS

less ‘em, the ladies of politics found a new champion last week. Frau Merkel sort-of, erm, well, just about became leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world, albeit by a majority slimmer than the equally trail- blazing Posh Spice. However, the willingness of the press to compare Merkel to Mar- garet Thatcher could be called a little unfair. After all, how would you like it? True enough, Germany’s new leader is unlikely to be invited to pose scantily clad in FHM, but there is a much larger history of admirable lady politicians to whom Frau Merkel should be lik- ened than there might appear. First and foremost, the top dog, so to speak, is Cleopatra. Obviously, from the many eye-catching paintings, sculptures and other various artistic rep- resentations of the Egyptian Queen, she was much easier on the eye than Lady Thatcher. Often wearing a revealing two-piece, the feisty Macedonian took control of the empire aged just eighteen (if you know what I mean) and went on to be renowned as one of the most powerful, “no-more-Mrs-nice-lady,” rulers of all time. And, according to some sources, even let a snake crawl up her arse. Game on. That aside, Frau Merkel may feel understandably aggrieved that she is refused the title, “Germany’s Cleopatra.” Whilst obviously her name doesn’t lend itself to the formation of a Pop group quite so easily as, “Cleopatra comin’ at ya,” (remember them?), surely a few well-planned photo-calls with the new German leader adopting the, “walk like an Egyptian,”

pose, whilst wearing heavy eye-shadow could have planted the necessary subliminal message in the minds of the worlds media? Sadly, it was not to be. However, there are more recent female icons to which Frau Merkel may have been compared. What about that saucy would-be- voter Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst? The woman about whom Lord Flasheart in Blackadder once remarked, “I wouldn’t mind making her suffer a jet movement.” And who could blame him. Committed to gaining the vote for British women, Mrs P.’s lifelong ambition was ﬁnally achieved on the very day she died in 1928, when the British Government granted the vote to Women. Bless ‘em. Indeed, the very fact that Mrs Pankhurst was from Manchester is reason enough for Frau Merkel to aspire to be mentioned in the same breath as her. Emmeline’s gang of wanton window smashers quite rightly take their place alongside fellow MadChester rebels such as Liam Gallagher, Ian Brown and Mrs Merton. Indeed during 1912, Mrs Pankhurst went to prison twelve times, aged 54, truly a rock and roll attitude that paved the way for The Hacienda. However, whilst Emmeline Pankhurst is truly a legend of Women’s politics, it is understandable why Frau Merkel’s spin doctors decided not to empha- sise whatever similarities, if any, that exist between the two. A history of imprisonment and a taste for criminal damage is hardly the image that an aspiring world leader wants to create. Perhaps Frau Merkel should simply stick to having a couple of posters on her bedroom wall like the rest of us. Aaaahh.... Speaking of which, the most modern Political

Come and relax at the Slug and Lettuce bar in the heart of Tombland, Norwich, a great place to come for a lazy afternoon or a relaxing evening drink with friends. Come to the bar and ask for your student discount vouchers whilst stocks last.

'ERMAN POLITICIAN !NGELA -ERKEL @'ERMANY S -ARGARET 4HATCHER Diva of them all? Geri Halliwell, step forward. Seri- ously! Early in 1998, when the dust had barely set- tled on her trade mark platform shoes, Ms Halliwell was appointed international goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. Zig-a-zig ahh indeed! At first, fair enough, it seemed ridicu- lous. But stop and think. The seemingly air-headed, make-up caked, jiggling group of screechers were the role models for a generation of wide eyed youngsters. Then, suddenly, the most photo- graphed and superficial of them all dons a slick business suit and preaches importance of safe sex and women’s equality. In terms of role models, you could do worse. Indeed, Geri proclaimed herself as, “an evangelist of women’s empow- erment.” Whoever told her to say that was using their brain, as the union of glamour and political responsibility el- evated Ginger Spice to a level of respect she could only have dreamed of as she squeezed in (and out) of, ‘that dress.’ So what about poor old Angela Merkel? Perhaps her Christian Democrat Party could have used Geri in a Party Political Broadcast, in an attempt to encourage comparison. After all, in 2001, Ginger Spice made a cameo appearance in one of Labour’s first broadcasts of the campaign of that year, with excellent results. Alternatively, a well-tailored German flag might have made the difference between being compared to Mrs Thatcher, or to England’s other Ginger Political Icon. Fortunately, Mr Blair chose the former tactic in 2001, however, since, in some lights Frau Merkel can appear Straw- berry Blond the latter approach may arguably have been more effective in her case. Inevitably, Frau Merkel will be forced to settle for the title of, “Germany’s Margaret Thatcher.” Reluctantly, probably. However, whilst the public stigma might be unbearable, Germany’s newly appointed leader should take solace in a fine tradition of Lady Politicians, from Cleopatra to Gin- ger Spice. She should do, but probably won’t. However, the growing represen- tation of women in world politics is

of obvious beneﬁt to any Government that aims to achieve equal rights, and the appointment of Angela Merkel as Germany’s new leader is another major step towards increasing the recognition of the role of women in politics. However, it remains to be seen whether Frau Merkel will go on to be a hero, like Mrs Pankhurst, or another Mrs Thatcher. Bless ‘er.

"RITAIN S -ARGARET 4HATCHER

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$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

(OME 3WEET (OME 3TAYING AT HOME CAN BE SEEN AS A HINDRANCE TO UNIVERSITY LIFE 6ICTORIA ,EGGETT LOOKS INTO THE APPARENT DISADVANTAGES OF THIS GROWING TREND TO SEE IF IT REALLY IS SUCH A BAD OPTION

or many students, the ‘university experience’ is a package that includes starting a new university, studying for a degree and moving away from your home city or town. Because of this when a student is asked “which residence are you living in?” and they re- ply “actually, I’m living at home with my parents”, the reaction they get is often a sympathetic glance and “oh, that must be difficult”. But is it? In the current climate, where a student is expected to build up a debt of a round £24,000 over the course of their degree, there is a growing number of people shunning the world of university accommodation in favour of the parental home. There are a number of reasons for choosing to stay at home rather than moving away when starting university. For some, there are financial limita- tions. The cost of university residences and food will exceed £3000 a year. When adding on the cost of books, a social life and other living expenses;; moving away to a university may be out of reach for some. For others the prospect of tens of thousands of pounds of debt is understandably enough to put them off. Sometimes the thought of starting university, moving house and moving town or city all at once is too daunting an experience to face. Or perhaps the -ANY STUDENTS SPEND THEIR lRST YEAR IN 4HE 6ILLAGE course on offer at a local university is could potentially leave you with a busier social life friends and holidays, or it can help put a very smug the ideal course for a particular student. If he or she than those who have left home. You get to keep your smile on your face as you graduate with a fraction of lives within a twelve mile radius of the UEA they are friends from work, school or college and add a load the debt of your fellow students. not guaranteed university accommodation. Getting more from university. In addition to that, not moving away from Nor- on the ideal course may mean living at home is the Then there’s the issue of independence. One of wich means not having to give up your Saturday job. only option. the main attractions of moving away for university is Looking for a new job is also easier for students re- Whatever the reasons for it, statistics from the to escape the clutches of your over-bearing parents;; maining at home. You are in Norwich long before Department of Education and Skills suggest that being 200 miles away is a solid excuse for not being term starts, giving you the opportunity to apply for over a period of ten years (1992 to 2002) the number able to hear your mum shout ‘for goodness’ sake, tidy the hundreds of jobs at Chapelfield before the mad of people remaining at home rose by over 10% to your room!’ Yes, living at home restricts your inde- rush at the beginning of term. For some employees, around a fifth of all university students. If so many pendence;; you won’t necessarily learn to cook or iron an on-campus address is a turn-off people are now choosing not to move away for uni- or clean for yourself, but to be honest, who knows because it easily identifies the qual- versity, staying at home with mum and dad can’t be a student living away from home that can do that? ities that many people inaccurately the end of the world. There will be arguments with your parents about presume students have – being So, what are the apparent disadvantages of stay- bringing people back to your house, staying out late lazy, unreliable, tardy and perpetu- ing at home? The main criticism is that students will and missing the odd lecture, but try to look on the ally drunk or hung-over. Living at not get the true ‘university experience’ associated bright side: less independence means less responsi- home allows you to conceal all of with living in university accommodation. They miss bility - as long as you pay your board on time, you this with the help of your parent’s out on the immediate bonds created between house- can leave the grown-up stuff to the grown-ups. Some- address! mates;; the friendships that develop while you burn times a few ground rules are good, particularly the In addition to the financial ad- the pasta or when you meet each other at four o’clock one about not throwing up in the kitchen after a night vantages there is the good food, in the morning as you are forced out of your room out that many students in university accommodation clean house and stability that by yet another fire alarm. I confess my experience of fail to abide by. And remember, the independence come with staying at home. No ar- Freshers’ Week was one big disappointment, by the thrust on you once you move away to university isn’t guments about who has eaten the time off-campus students first set foot on University necessarily right for everyone. Staying at home allows cheese belonging to the student Drive, most of the Freshers’ events have sold-out and you to gain independence in stages. Start university, in room 9, a bed that wouldn’t the aforementioned lack of bonding means you prob- leave home, leave Norwich;; it doesn’t all have to be look equally at home in a prison ably haven’t got anyone to go with anyway. Don’t give done in a matter of days. cell. A living room, the list is end- up though, once lectures begin all the students are There are more minor disadvantages to living at less. University residences are also back on an even playing field. Soc-Mart and Sports- home. It means you won’t be able to wake up five known for being noisy. The thought Mart (Wednesday of week one) give you the opportu- minutes before a lecture starts and still make it with of party goers waking you up at 4 nity to sign up for countless societies and meet new 30 seconds to spare, which if you value your lie-ins o’clock in the morning may sound people who share your interests. Society socials are will seem like the worst thing imaginable. But one of like a good laugh for the first week legendary, guaranteed to find you new friends and your many newly found on-campus friends is bound or so, but when you’re pulling an keep your diary full for as long as you want. to offer you his or her floor once in a while after a all-nighter to get that essay on The key is being prepared to put some effort particularly raucous night out. You also miss out on modernist literature in on time, in. Living at home means you are not going to be that ‘new city to explore’ feeling. Although if you’re the relative peace of your parents’ presented with ready-made friends in the form of anything like me, the new students will be able to house will seem heaven sent. housemates as soon as you walk onto the university introduce you to entire areas of Norwich you never grounds. Some shameless throwing yourself at peo- knew existed. The opportunity to explore the LCR and he most important ple (in the nicest possible sense) may be required to Union Bar may be enough to suffice the need to seek thing for students who get things going. Sitting in the corner of your lecture out new places. And if all else fails you can always are living at home to re- watching everyone else swap stories about their new visit your friends who have moved away from Nor- member is this: you are lives isn’t going to help you get the true ‘university wich and explore their new town or city. not alone. If you don’t experience’. So, what about the advantages of living at home? believe me, try going to the Off For many people, having a live-at-home friend is First and foremost is the financial benefit. It is esti- Campus Commuters Social Event actually a must-have accessory;; they are the all-know- mated that a student can save up to £6000 a year on in the Hive on Wednesday, October ing native able to show the Norwich novices the best food, rent and bills by staying in their parental home. 5th. Emma Kelly, the SU Welfare pubs, clubs and places to eat. In fact, living at home That £6000 can go towards socialising, visiting Officer explains that “the reason

for holding this is event is that first year students living off campus can often feel very isolated in the first few weeks. Many students living in residences will have formed friendships with and be primarily socialising with people from their halls. As such I believe it is very important we hold an event of this nature to allow students living off campus to meet other people in the same situation, have fun and exchange contact details”. In previous years this event has been an informal meeting arranged by students, however this year the Union has got behind the group to help off-campus students feel as welcome as those in university accommodation. This is surely a sign of the growing popularity of staying at home. The university provides lots more support for students struggling to fit in, whether on or off campus. This Fri- day there will be ‘Don’t Think University Fits’ drop-in sessions running between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. for anyone feeling unhappy or disorientated with university life. Plus, throughout the year Nightline and the Advice Centre (on the top floor of Union House) are there for anyone experiencing problems. Alternatively, Emma Kelly says, “students are always very welcome to come and talk to the Union Officers in Union House. We are here to help and will always endeavour to do our best to support any student who comes to us with an issue or alternatively will always be happy just to have a chat!” Whatever your reason for staying at home for university, whether it be lack of funds or an overwhelming fear of change, rejoice in the fact that you have that choice. The University of East Anglia is a top twenty university (top 75 in Europe) with many renowned courses and one of the top events venues in the country in the LCR. Many students with only a second-rate Poly on their doorstep would love to be able to say ‘I’m staying in Norwich for university;; I’m going to the UEA’.

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4HE MOST EXPENSIVE GIRL YOU LL EVER MEET AND SHE S PLASTIC 4HE NEW #HAPELlELD #ENTRE HAS JUST OPENED IN .ORWICH *OANNA ,AMBERT AND 3IMON 3HERIDAN WENT TO THE MALL S OFlCIAL OPENING CEREMONY TO lND OUT WHAT IT HAS TO OFFER

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he opening of the Chapelfield shopping centre brings Norwich a contemporary amalgamation of shops, cafes and restaurants – many of which are unique to the region. The enticing new shopping centre, spanning 3 floors, boasts more than 80 stores and 17 restaurants. With a monumental-sized House of Fraser and eight shoe shops alone, Chapelfield promises to bring Norwich a retail facility that will take it on to a par with the other regional cities in the UK, such as Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle. Chapelfield plays host to many well-known high- street stores, notably Zara, Mango, French Connection, Warehouse, Republic and (another) H&M. In short, it provides shoppers with 17 women’s fashion stores, 10 men’s fashion stores, five jewellery shops and six health and beauty shops. With such a wide range of stores, the new shopping centre will offer choice to a varied selection of personal tastes and budgets. Alongside the better known stores, Chapelfield provides Norwich with some slightly more re- fined choices. Hotel Chocolat, for instance,

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can almost be described as a ‘chocolate boutique’, offering a variety of gifts and treats and providing a welcome alternative to the overly familiar ‘chocolate heaven’ that is Thorntons. Their mix of real dried fruit and chocolate means that you can almost convince yourself that you’re eating healthily – of course it doesn’t matter that your portion of strawberries are actually entombed in a slab of Swiss white chocolate. Surely it still counts as one of your 5-a-day? Chapelﬁeld includes many of the fast-food restaurants you would imagine to ﬁnd in a shopping centre: a distinctly more-retro-than-usual McDon- alds, and the necessary run-of the mill KFC and Pizza Hut. There are also numerous cafés including Costa Coffee, Café Nero, BB’s, Druck- ers and House of Fraser’s Café Zest. And for those with a more healthy appetite Chapelf- ield provides us with Spud-u- like, which, put simply, is a jacket potato res- taurant. On the other hand, there will be a Japa- nese-

style noodle bar named Wagamama opening in Decem- ber that promises to provide internationally-renowned food for reasonable prices. The shopping centre will stay open late into the evening providing external balconies and piazza seating, which the owners hope will integrate with the Forum, Theatre Royal and the Assembly house. It is perhaps no coincidence that the opening of this new shopping centre neatly coincides with the start of the new term. One cannot help imagining that the stores are waiting for every shopping-obsessed fresher (or indeed anyone who hasn’t yet learned that you actually do still need to eat at the end of term) to whip out their loan cheque and hand it to them for a new House of Fraser designer plate. Whilst it unmistakably conforms to the generic ideal of the 21st century shopping experience, Chapelﬁeld will undoubtedly attract even more people from across East Anglia to the heart of Norwich. It will inevitably become one of the more popular shopping destinations in the city;; we just have to make sure we don’t forget our old friend, the Cas- tle Mall. And in time shoppers will hopefully realise that gigantic homogenous stores can never replace those dainty independent shops wedged in the pretty winding alleys that Norwich is so renowned for. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take too long for the novelty to wear off.

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3HOPS ON 3T 'ILES 3TREET .ORWICH No-one can deny that Norwich City Centre is a busy place. The shopping precincts are crowded during most of the week, let alone the prime shopping day of Saturday, when it can become unbearable. However, there is an argument that stipulates that people would not come to shop if those shops did not exist. While Chapelfield will add more shops to Norwich, meaning St. Stephens Street should become less chaotic, it will also draw people from the wider Norfolk area, who will come into Norwich as opposed to using the shops in their local towns. This will clearly add to the congestion problem. Nor- wich is sometimes a nightmare for drivers, especially in the city centre. With the influx of more consumers, this problem will only get worse. Although a 1000 space car park has been built under the Centre, this will surely not accommodate all those who wish to shop there, and having its entrance on the Norwich ring road will only clog up the road itself, a key artery of the City’s traffic network. While the developers have taken care to be friendly to the environment in constructing the Centre, the potential costs in further congestion, as well as the energy needs of Chapelfield, are something that should concern us all. This was a point hit upon by Adrian Ramsay, Green Party Councillor and UEA graduate, who could be found among the protestors on the day of the opening last Wednesday. Their slogan is ‘Chapelfield is a nail in the coffin of a fine city’. Ramsay was concerned by the extra traffic entering the City, but also brought to light the philosophy of his party by drawing attention to the extra freight, and therefore carbon emissions, that come with any such shopping mall. The shops within Chapelfield are national, if not global ventures. They do not always stock produce from the local community, or even from Great Britain. Most comes from the Far East, where it is produced cheaply and is then shipped to Norwich, using valuable resources that would not be used otherwise. While this means better prices for the consumer, it also means more profit for the shops. There can be no doubt that the timing of the centre’s opening will be beneficial, especially with all the new students with loan cheques to spend. Much of the docu- mentation made clear that the centre was built for the people of Norwich as they really need another place to shop, something the Mayor mentioned when he officially opened the Mall. It should be remembered at all times that this is not the whole, or even half the story. Shops such as The Original Levi’s Store and House of Fraser, opening their first outlets in the City, see an opportunity - and that is to make money. Part of the reasoning for the

building of the centre is that “Norwich has a catchment area of around one million people with an anticipated available spend of £1.37 billion by 2006”. Students obviously form a substantial part of this, and are therefore integral to the success of the centre. Developments such as this are not given the go-ahead unless the investors can see a way of making their money back. While Chapelf- ield’s owners believe they are doing Norwich a favour, as apparently the residents are not fashionable enough and need these stores to improve themselves, it is really they who are in need of us. Just remember that when you hand over your credit card to pay for some jeans in one of these shops, a percentage of that money will be going towards more promotional material, such as the mannequins in the centre of the page. This is not to say that Chapelfield is a harmful, or even unnecessary development. While Ramsay claims the centre will damage the local economy by undermin- ing small businesses, it has lead to the creation of 800 jobs in the construction and a further 2000 in retail and hospitality. Many students will be among these workers, and it is a valuable opportunity to earn some much needed cash where there might not have been one before. The centre will also add a degree of sophistication to Nor- wich, bringing restaurants such as the famed Japanese Wagamama to the City. It is certainly a sign of Norwich ‘moving up in the world’, further reinforcing it as the cul- tural and consumer centre for East Anglia. Obviously many people are going to be using the new Centre. It adds a certain modernity to Norwich, but the question has to be asked, ‘Is this is good thing?’ Nor- wich is a unique city, and one of the oldest in the country. Do we really want glass panelled steeples to join the historic monuments of stone that make the Norwich skyline what it is? Do we really want our city centre to resemble so many others across the country - the same shops, the same restaurants, the same philosophy? As students, we should be proud that we study in a city that is noted for its radicalism - the Legalise Cannabis Alliance was actually founded in Norwich. The Chapelfield Centre, while providing many benefits, will add to the mundanity of the City Centre. It does not have the same personal feel as walking down the alleyways that weave their way through Norwich, stopping by at a boutique to buy a dress which cannot be found anywhere else. Instead, people will be shopping in the same stores, buying the same clothes. It must be hoped that enough of Norwich’s small businesses survive, as people visit the City for its charm and culture - not a £275 million shopping centre.

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$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005 0HOTO )NKERI ,OKKI

!N %XPEDITION TO %ASTERN %UROPE !LBANIA IS A COUNTRY OF AMAZING HOSPITALITY EVEN IF YOU lND YOURSELF SHARING LIVING SPACE WITH LIVESTOCK WRITES 4HOMAS -ORGAN

n June, amid all the recent controversy over Islam’s place in Europe, I visited Albania, one of the continent’s few Muslim majority countries. True, their national drink is bran- dy and Tirana beer is sold in every kiosk, but that is mere detail. As it happens, the spread of Islam into Albania came with the invasion of the Ottomans, who extracted taxes from non-Muslims. Albanians sensibly con- verted in large numbers, although the country also has a sizeable Christian minority and, in any case, religion is not of great importance. Nearly ﬁfty years of Stalinism saw to that. After a conversation with a man in Kosovo about Christianity and Islam I asked him which he was, to which he replied: “What do you mean? I am Albanian!” Albania’s multicoloured history is noticeable all over this mountainous country. Firstly, the castles. I visited Gjirokaster castle in the south (somewhat bizarrely crowned with an American spy plane shot down during the cold war) and Shkoder in the north. A whole chain of them spanning the length of the country was built by thier national hero Skenderbeu as a defence and communications system. A beacon lit at the top of one could be seen from the next, which would light a beacon for the next one down (a la Lord of the Rings). This helped the Albanians to keep out the huge Ottoman army for 26 years, until Skenderbeu’s death in 1468. The Communists also left their mark. As dictator Enver Hoxha split from the USSR, accusing them of deviating from Stalinism, he

became fearful of an invasion. It has been calculated that the steel and concrete used to build the 900,000 or so concrete bunkers dotted all over the country, ostensibly to house soldiers ready to repel a Soviet invasion, could have built a decent house and one to spare for every family in Albania. The post-com- munist governments have used what little money they have had on more important things than removing the bunkers, so the vast majority have remained. Some are used for storing hay, some as pigsties and large ones are sometimes even used as boathouses.

7HEN YOU ARE IN AN !LBANIAN S HOME IT IS MORE YOURS THAN HIS Most, however, are simply left where they are;; usually in ﬁelds, leaving farmers to work around them. One of the aspects of the weird and wonderful in Albania is that after leaving the country, you automatically look for some of its features. I looked for bunkers several days after leaving, and it has to be said that I missed them. Another feature of Albania that nobody can fail to miss is the amazing hospitality. A passage from the Kanun, the Albanians’ code regu- lating behaviour, blood feuds and other such parts of everyday life, states that “the home is the domain

! BOY HITCHES A RIDE IN +OSOVO of God and the guest.” Simply put, when you are in an Albanian’s home, it is more yours than his. A saying goes that you can forgive the man who kills your father, but never the man who kills your guest. The Kanun is the central theme in Ismail Kadare’s book Broken April, a good read for anyone looking for an insight into Albanian mountain culture. While looking for transport in Kukes, we came across a Bujar who tried to sell us a ride to Shkoder with his uncle. The 50 € asking price was too much for us and so we were invited to his home instead. The home was in a village outside Kukes, and the kitchen, living room, bathroom and three bedrooms upstairs were shared by him, his parents, and his four sisters. A room was prepared for us before we ate a home grown-and-made dinner to the sound of moo- ing. That, of course, was the cow, which lived on the bottom ﬂoor.

he south of Albania, the “lowlands”, are mountainous, and the north is even more so. You can ride a ferry from Komani along the lake which bears its name, to Fierza in the remote northeast,

'JIOKASTER 3OUTHERN !LBANIA

from where I took a minibus to Gjakove in Kosovo, a beautiful little town which is rebuilding at a frighten- ing pace following the war. The way that this place is rebuilding is representative of a wider proudness among Albanians for their country;; a proudness which leads to people cleaning everything, and a proudness which makes it unthinkable for Albanians to hassle guests in their country. On the contrary, we were often stopped on the street simply to be given a welcome, or to be given some tip about a city we had just arrived in. And ladies, this goes for you too – my blonde, miniskirt-wearing girlfriend has never been to a more easy-going place for female travellers. Albania is easy to get to – boats from Bari in Italy to Durres can set you back as little as £25 and a ferry-hovercraft combination via Corfu will land you in Sarande in the south for slightly more. All that remains is to pay the 10 € entry fee and you can discover one of the most unknown and friendliest countries in Europe.

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$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

5NIVERSITY AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT 'OT &RESHERS &LU ALREADY (EALTH %DITOR #LAIRE !ITCHISON OFFERS SOME ADVICE FOR STAYING HEALTHY DURING YOUR lRST TERM AT 5%!

elcome to UEA! You got the offer, got the grades and here you are, your fi rst year as a university student! In a week or so you may be expected to actually start doing some work, but that is the distant future right now. This is the freshers’ week you have heard so much about, and since you are (probably) only a fresher once in your life, you’d better make the most of it. Unfortunately, one well known side-effect of freshers’ week is freshers’ fl u - the inevitable outcome of a combination of a run-down immune system and mix- ing with a whole new set of people and their germs. Freshers’ fl u can seriously impede your ability to have fun in the fi rst weeks at university, but it doesn’t have to be inevitable, so follow this simple advice and you may be able to avoid some of the worst of it.

ﬁ rst few days of term, when conversation is a little awkward, you will probably feel more comfortable holding a drink, so try not to always make it an alco- holic one. There are water fountains with plastic cups dotted around the LCR and The Hive, and you can always have free water if you ask at the bar. Think how much money you will save as well!

Alcohol Try not to drink too much. I know, you didn’t come to university to be lectured on alcohol, you had enough of that at home. But it’s easy to get carried away in your ﬁ rst week. It’s cheaper here than it’s ever been and when you are stranded 200 miles from home without anyone you know it can be useful to get rid of some of your inhibitions. But over-indulge and you jeopardise your chances of making a good ﬁ rst impression - do you really want to be that person in the corner, dron- ing on and on about your disastrous relationships, spattering passers-by with your vodka-infused drool? Even if you manage to carry it off and are the life and soul of the party, what use is it to you if you can’t remember the names, faces or room numbers of any of your new found friends the next day? The other problem is, alcohol will make you ill. It dehydrates you, making your brain shrink and giving you a headache. It lowers your blood sugar making you feel sick and shaky and all the toxins left behind damage your body. Alcohol also suppresses your immune system, leaving you open to all sorts of nasty bugs. Most of us can cope with a heavy session every now and then, but if you get hammered every single day, your body will never have time to recover and you will get very sick.

Food Eat some. In the heady ﬁ rst few days, when body- clocks get thrown out of the window and no parents are there to cook for you, it’s easy to forget to eat. A packet of crisps grabbed between socials may be the most you consume some days, but it’s important to keep well-nourished. You need to keep your blood sugar levels up. You also need something in your stomach to stop you from absorbing alcohol too quickly and making a prat of yourself, while eve-

!LTHOUGH WE HOPE THAT 5%! WILL LEAVE YOU WITH MANY LASTING MEMORIES WE D RATHER THEY DIDN T INCLUDE CHLAMYDIA OR HERPES ryone else is sober enough to remember. And it’s not enough just to live on Pot Noodles and Mars bars. Your body needs essential nutrients to build up a strong immune system, especially vitamin C and zinc, and these are pretty non-existent in junk food. If your parents come and visit, make them take you to the supermarket and stock up on things like orange juice, fruit, veg, breakfast cereals, eggs and milk. These are all good immune-boosters and should keep you going for a while. If you do run out, the UFO (Union Food Outlet) does sell fresh fruit and veg, so try and squeeze some of that into your busy social schedule to give you the energy to party.

Water Try to keep hydrated. It is especially important to drink water while you are drinking alcohol. This will reduce your chances of a severe hangover in two ways: Firstly, it will keep you hydrated, replacing the water you are losing from going to the toilet. Secondly, it will probably slow you down, as there is only so much liquid you can swallow at a time. In the

Sleep Get some. And not just in daylight hours. You need sleep to repair any damage done to your body during the day, and I expect your body is going to take quite a hit this week. It is tempting to party all night and sleep all day, but if you do that you will not be getting any sunlight on your skin, and this means you can’t make any vitamin D which is also important for

a healthy body. As the nights draw in and the days grow shorter, there is less and less time in which to actually see sunshine, so try to make sure you are getting outside for at least half an hour a day.

Sex Freshers have a reputation for being an easy lay and in many ways this is understandable. You are miles away from your friends, you are lonely, desperate for company and more often than not, drunk. The problem is, freshers’ week sex rarely leads to a relationship. It usually DOES lead to a reputation that is hard to get rid of and intense feelings of embarrassment every time you bump into the person who has seen you naked. Since campus is not the biggest place in the world, this can be almost daily. Still, if a reputation is all you are left with you should probably consid-

er yourself lucky. If you are drunk enough to have sex with someone you wouldn’t normally even glance at, chances are you may not think about protecting yourself either. Although we hope that UEA will leave you with many lasting memories, we’d rather they didn’t include chlamydia or herpes. Although abstinence is always the best policy, contraception is the next best, and the Union Advice Centre (upstairs from the Hive) provides free con- doms;; they are there for the taking so you don’t even have to get embarrassed asking. The union reps also hand them out at regular intervals during freshers’ week and even if you have absolutely no intention of having sex, there’s no harm at all in carrying them. If you have a condom on hand you are much more likely to remember to use it. So follow this advice and you should avoid some of the worst aspects of freshers’ fl u and come through the fi rst few weeks with your reputation (and your genitals) intact. Remember, the University Health Centre is there if you need it - now complete with pharmacy. The Union Welfare Offi cer, Emma Kelly, always has her door open for you if you are having any serious problems. The idea here is for you to have the time of your life as well as hopefully learning a thing or two to prepare you for the real world. The fi rst few weeks can be pretty scary, but before you know it you’ll be at gradu- ation, wondering where the time went. Try to make the most of it. ,OOK OUT FOR A NEW COLUMN ON YOUR HEALTH QUESTIONS COMING SOON TO WWW CONCRETE ONLINE COM

16 -*'&GPPE

$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

7HEN IS AN APPLE NOT AN APPLE 4RADERS IN ,YON THE CULINARY CAPITAL OF &RANCE TELL +ATHRYN 7EST WHY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPERMARKET AND TRADITIONAL MARKET FOOD IS NOT SIMPLY ONE OF TASTE

ollowing a French shopper to the check-outs, I had a look at what was in their trolley: frozen pizzas, mi- cro-wave meals, pre-packed ham, pre-washed lettuce. It was not that far from the contents of the average British trolley, and my food didn’t look much better. What happened to the wonderful French cuisine? My ﬁ rst thought was to get the hell out of there. What was I doing on a visit to Lyon wasting time shopping in a stuffy supermarket, on a Saturday? Giving up, I abandoned my sweaty satsumas, packaged ﬁ sh and baguette, and travelled to the Halle de Lyon, the city’s main indoor market. There, I realised why Lyon was the country’s culinary capital and saw that the French do take eating good food seriously – I found I had been missing out. What a warmer welcome as I walked past the stalls of fresh food amongst the friendly French. In France, I noticed, markets are organized differently.

0HILIPPE WAS PREPARING THE OYSTER STAND WHERE HIS WARES WERE SOLD BY THE DOZEN SHUCKED AND READY TO SLURP THAT DAY Food vendors are grouped, making it easier for shoppers to sample their foods and examine quality. There were three main sections: fruit and vegetables, fi sh, and meat. I approached the fruit and vegetables stall amazed by the sight. There were grapes hanging above me, peaches sitting cosily in rows before me and carrots bunched, fresh from the ground. Unlike those over-ripe satsumas at the supermarket, I was now faced with a delicately arranged pineapple pyra- mid, as well as the clean gloss of aubergine and the bright traffi c light coloured peppers! At this point I was feeling guilty that I even set foot in a supermarket when there was this food paradise on offer. But fi rst I had to taste it…

enri was the ﬁ rst marketeer. Each and every fruit and vegetable he sold seemed to carry its own unique story of how it’d arrived freshly to the market. I asked him about the difference between buying food from the supermarket and the market. Henri said that “marketeers are very compe- tent in advising their customers well. They are pas- sionate about the food and their jobs, unlike supermarket workers that only care about being paid”. I thought “exactly, what a difference!” I had now seen my mistake of the morning, going to the stressful supermarket and experiencing their grumpy staff. I would have been eating to live, as they say! But what did other customers think? Ironic as it may be, one lady I questioned replied that she was only at the market because she couldn’t make it to the supermarket the night before. Usually she likes to keep her week- ends free of food shopping, despite where it’s done. A mum of three explained that she prefers fresh food from the market for her family, but reluctantly has to visit the supermarket during the week if she runs out. An elderly man added that his daughter had dragged him along to the market, and supermarkets suit him and his wife better: it’s easier for him to shop with a trolley and convenient to load the food straight into the car. Supermarkets can satisfy some people then, who choose quality of life over quality of food, but that’s not common with the French. Nobody actually replied that supermarket food was cheaper or tastier. Henri continued to tell me how the techniques and good food-handling are often passed down through families, as his stall, Favre et Fills Sarl suggested. But why is this important, I asked: “It’s a case of selling the best food and giving a good service. It brings cus-

tomer faith.” He added, “an apple is an apple, right? But the market gives a different service, where the origin of the food is not forgotten”. How thoughtful, and the food - delicious! Other marketeers were even giving out free recipes, just for the asking. This was the time to ﬁ nd another stall owner, ask more questions, and get more facts.

hilippe was the second marketeer to en- lighten me further. He was preparing his oyster stand, where his wares are sold by the dozen, shucked and ready to slurp that day. His stall also offers mussels and other kinds of seafood, where they were being carefully handled. Philippe believes the handling of the food is most signifi cant. “There’s not that much difference between the foods. The difference lies with the people who prepare it.” Now that makes sense. That gave a reason why there was a difference in taste, bringing the food quality. I remembered the three melons I had bought earlier, seeing that Henri too, cared so much for customer satisfaction, like all the marketeers. He had even made stickers saying which day to eat them, at their ripest. Philippe added: “It’s the marketeers that care for their foods, making sure their customers enjoy it at its best and as a result create a brilliant reputation. One that is so popular that the fi nest restaurants in Lyon buy their food from this market.” Apparently, a celebrated chef and other local cooks had bought fi sh from him that morning.

hen it comes to meat, the French marketeers think they have it too. Isabelle, behind her stall of a range of carefully chosen meats, thought it was quality and not quantity that counts. This third marketeer had concluded that food from the market is better at all levels, from handling to selling to tasting the difference. Isabelle simply said: “Look around you.” The French love food. And at the market I could see why. Halle de Lyon market is the food centre of the city. I was surrounded by the untold amounts of fresh food the marketeers sell daily to the hungry locals, and the thousands of tour- ists that just come to enjoy good food. It seemed I was now one, happily enjoying the time wandering, choosing food and talking to the stall owners. The French certainly do “live to eat”. Some Irish even add to this that the English “eat to die”… Well not if you happen to be in Lyon. &OR RECIPES VISIT WWW FRENCHFOOD ABOUT COM OR WWW FFCOOK COM 7ITH THANKS TO +IT 9OUNG FOR ASSISTANCE WTIH TRANSLATIONS

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midst claims that exams are getting easier each year, George Bush has successfully qualified for a place at UEA, The Enquirer can reveal. The national media seem in- sistent that A-levels have become a walk in park, but a spokesperson here at the university was quick to defend our enrolment system. “The requirements set by all our courses remain as stringent as ever”, we’ve been told. “We still believe in the A-level system, and only students of the up most intelligence can gain the grades necessary to join our ranks.” When questioned over the controversy of one of our latest freshers the university was keen to put the record straight;; “The results achieved by the Ameri- can President do not reflect a ‘lowering of standards in an archaic educational structure’” explained the spokesperson. “In fact, it only goes to show how misguided the public have been in doubting the President’s academic merit.” According to statements released by the White House, George Bush had studied hard over the last two years, taking evening classes in five A-Levels, alongside ruling the world. Allegations that Vice President Dick Cheney helped his Boss complete

enrolling into the School of Environmental Sciences this Monday and was excited about all the course had to offer. In an interview with The Enquirer later that day, we asked his reasons for developing an education, after seemingly getting so far in life without one. “We, the ‘merican people, stand united with the folks in Eng-a-land and the international community in the face of…” the President replied before trail- ing off. Further sources have revealed that he has already become a member of the cheerleading society and the Ultimate Frisbee sports club. We spoke to the Professor of Environmental Sci- ences to gain an insight into how the school is react- ing to its latest enrollee. “We are delighted to have the President join our course and we are sure he will prove to be a valuable student,” the professor told us. But concerns have been expressed over Bush’s response to some of the aspects in the course guide. The professor apologetically explained that he could not make the changes to the lectures on Evolution that the President had requested. “Neither will we be able to alter curriculum to teach that global warming is punishment from God in judgment of our current abortion laws” the Professor explained. Despite the fuss surrounding Bush’s continued academic success, the Department of Education and

his geography course work have been ignored, and it appears that Bush had simply been diligently brush- ing up on his World Capitals. With four A-grades in Economics, Geography, English Literature and Poli- tics and a B in Business Studies, George Bush easily qualiﬁed for his ﬁrst choice university, UEA. Student sources say that the President was seen

Skills has released a further statement asserting the rigour of the modern A-Levels. The Education Secre- tary reported, “the exams remain as tough as ever, and we dispute the claim made by some that these days any foreign monkey with an alleged drink problem can make the grade.”

Fresher George beginning his new education

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he appointment of a 56 year old conserva- tive lawyer as a British magistrate provoked disbelief and astonishment last night. The man, who is of white origin, was created a justice of the peace along with a 61 year old happily married father of two, who, The Enquirer can reveal, is also of an ethnic majority. Criticisms have been raised and these appointments are seen by many to be part of the government’s latest tactic to create a homogenised and alienating judicial system. A long serving magistrate by the name of Lord ‘Freddy’ Lockemup, so nick named because of his resemblance to England’s famous spin bowler Ash- ley Giles, announced his surprise in a press conference last night. “This has come as a great shock to us all,” Lockemup insisted. “The recruitment of an aging white lawyer into our ranks was completely unforeseen.” He did add that, in retrospect, know-

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ing that 92% of British magistrates are white and 84% are male, an astute observer with a little inside knowledge may have been able to predict such an outcome. “But never the less” he maintained, “this seems to have come completely out of the blue.” The government have faced down accusations

that the age and gender of this new member are an unsuitable mix and that he will not ﬁnd respect amongst his fellows. “He is bound to face a certain amount of discrimination,” admitted the department, “but we will do our best to ensure that his ethnic background of centuries in racial dominence does not prevent a successful career”.

The new magistrate - in his full caucasian splender

$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

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s the environmental and development sec- tion of Concrete, Turf has the role to report on every green or ethical issue that faces the UEA. But our role does not stop at simply raising awareness. Neither should the role of a student be one that involves reading without acting. We therefore offer this column as a fortnightly guide to better environmental practice. We hope that regular readers of Turf will be encouraged to join some of the many campaigns and organisation we report on. But failing that, we should all be following these tips, whether active environmentalists or not. We’ll start on the subject of cooking. When boiling vegetables, pasta or rice on the hob... Don’t use more water than you need - you will waste heat and water. Always put the lid on - this will prevent your water from vaporising. And it will boil quicker too. Sounds simple but this has been proven to reduce the necessary energy by 90%! For gas hobs, adjust the flame to fit the diameter of the pan - flames going up the side is energy going to waste! For electric hobs, always try to use a pan that covers the entire ring. Microwaves need much less energy to heat food than ovens or stoves. They also heat water much faster and more efficiently than a kettle. So if you have got a microwave, maximise your savings by using it as much as you can when cooking.

elcome freshers and home-comers alike. You will all undoubtedly be yearning to find out how to get yourself involved with environmental schemes, programmes and events both at UEA and locally and you are surely eager to raise your awareness of the issues that will count this year. So here we go… Each year the highlight of the union’s calendar is Environment Week where everyone can get involved in the various showcases and campaigns. This year it will fall on Week 8, which gives us all plenty of time to get involved. Most of the schedule has already been planned, including workshops, presentations, stalls and arts. But there is still a lot of work ahead and any new ideas are welcome. If you would like to get involved you should contact the union’s Environ- ment Officer, Jenny Gellatly, at su.environment@uea. ac.uk. We are also home to CRed, the community Car- bon Reduction Programme - a body involving individuals, schools and businesses alike in meeting the 2025 targets of a 60% reduction in C02 emissions. The internationally renowned Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research is also based here at UEA and holds a lecture series on relevant and new ideas of the field. There is of course the easiest way to be environ- mentally friendly in halls, in the form of a recycling bin, so if you wont be using those packing boxes again squish them up and shove them in that bin! Make sure it is all in the bin because we promise you

4HE 5NIVERSITY OF %AST !NGLIA ,ET S KEEP IT 'REEN they won’t take it away if it’s not. This will only be the second year that the recycling scheme has been in full operation and last year was witness to a lot of teething problems. A lot of hard work and research has gone into some much needed improvements, so make sure it has a smooth run this year. The university is ever under pressure to become greener and it can be a struggle sometimes. But with the prominent and expanding ENV department on-

"LOWING IN THE WIND

And on another note... Each year, 4 million pairs of functioning glasses are discarded in the UK. Yet there are thousands of people in developing countries that are hindered by poor eyesight. Vision Aid Overseas is a charity dedicated to improving the vision of poorly-sighted people in overseas countries. They help over 15,000 patients each year and have helped over 150,000 so far. You can help them by donating any old pairs of spectacles that you no longer need... Either ask your opticians if they collect glasses for the VAO, or post them to the address below;; Vision Aid Overseas 12 The Bell Centre Newton Road Manor Royal Crawley RH10 9FZ Visit www.vao.org.uk for more information. And back to energy savings... Always try to remember to switch your VCR off standby mode using the power button on the ma- chine (usually a little red light will go out to show that it is off, but the clock stays on). When buying a new VCR, try to choose one that uses the least Watts when on standby mode. This goes for all electrical appliances. It is estimated that the equivalent of two full-sized power stations is needed just to keep the nation’s sound systems on standby. Everything that can be switched off should be switched off at the plug socket. Try to avoid charging your mobile phone overnight. Most phones only require a few hours of charging time, but the adapter will continue to draw energy afterwards. Just feel how warm the adapter is in the morning. This is all waste heat and does not need to continue all night. Once again, this last tip applies to anything that needs regular charging. Adapters from laptops, iPods and digital cameras all produce heat when plugged in, regardless of whether they are actively powering their product.

board, there are many more of us this year to pile on the pressure. Follow these pages to keep up to date with all the green issues that will be springing up this year. And ﬁnally, we are encouraging any would-be environmental journalists to join the team. We are always looking for new writers, so come on up to the Concrete ofﬁce or email us at conrete.turf@UEA. ac.uk.

4HE OFFSHORE WIND FARM AT 3CROBY 3ANDS

here have been plans for the university to put its name to a wind turbine for some time now and ﬁnally a location has been decided on. CRed, the Community Carbon Reduction Programme, is the body who has been orchestrating the initiative and it is an innovative project which ties in with the philosophies of ever growing Environmental wing of the campus. CRed, run by the CRed team, EEDA (East of Eng- land Development Agency) and our very own School of Environmental Sciences, are dedicated to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2025. In real terms this represents a cut from 9 tonnes per person per year, to 3 tonnes p.a. “For various reasons the three wind turbines

have been negotiated off campus now” explained Keith Tovey of CRed, “but they will have the CRed logo displayed on them”. This was partly due to complaints that the turbines would be too close to the public footpath that runs through the UEA campus. The location selected for them is near Thickthorn Park and Ride. There are many reasons for the move, which will take the project approximately 2 km off campus, but the overriding inﬂuence was the weath- er conditions needed for the turbines to operate to the maximum effect. Wind turbines have already made their mark in Norfolk - most prominently with the 30 turbines which are set 2.5Km offshore of Great Yarmouth at Scroby Sands offshore wind farm, which is already

reaping the rewards. Due to the controversy over development and position- ing of wind farms there has to be a scrutinising process that calculates the costs and beneﬁts of the turbines. At the Scroby Sands farm an initiating factor in the selection of the site was the pres- ence of sand and clay on the seabed in the shallow waters, making it a suitable location to build the foundations. Also the relatively high wind speeds combined with low wave forces ensure the turbines’ productivity and the close proximity of the onshore grid network offers a low-cost connection. They have had to take into account any overriding environmental sensi- tivities or conﬂicts, of which there were few, though it was recognised that the construction and de- commissioning schedules would need tailoring to suit the local seal and bird populations. These issues have been adressed and are continually monitored. The advantages to the environment are obvious, with up to 75,000 tonnes of potentially harmful greenhouse gases prevented each year and enough ‘green’ electricity generated to power 41,000 homes. Although not set at sea the same environmental considerations will have undoubtedly been addressed for our three turbines at Thickthorn Park and Ride. The main problem to overcome is the NIMBY attitude. Despite people being pro-renewable energy and damning the nations efforts to make the transi- tion, it seems few are prepared to see it happen in their back yard.

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4HE MULTISTOREY SO FAR

35--%$ 50 Percentage of A level entries which received an A-grade this year = Proportion of the 11 million children a year death rate in developing countries that is caused by diarrhoea, (which could be easily prevented by basic medication or even simple rehydration salts) = Percentage of the UK who tuned in to watch Dirty Den being ﬁnally killed off in East Enders =

The average daily expenditure of the UK on arms = Price of Sir Bob Geldof’s luxury estate on the Kent coast (adorned with a public woodland now made private by the help of a surrounding 12 foot barrier) = Cost of feeding 25,000 AIDS or- phaned children in Malawi for a year =

a MILLION

#URRENT 0ARKING 3ITUATION AT 5%!

#ONTINUING HOPE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO MULTISTOREY DEVELOP MENT ON CAMPUS

ransport and car parking are highly contentious issues at UEA, and with the saga of the planned new car park getting close to its climax, now is a good time for students (new and old) to take stock of the story so far. In January 2004, after 10 months of preparation, the University applied for planning permission to build a multi-storey car park on top of the existing ‘ﬂat’ car park on campus. The new car park would create an extra 802 spaces at an estimated cost of over £10m, building was scheduled to start in July 2004. Objections were raised concerning whether the university can afford to spend 10 million pounds in this way at all, the development would mean the university forking out something in the range of £1 million interest a year. There is no doubt that some form of action needs to be taken to combat UEA’s current state of congestion, but even if the parking issues on campus are being considered seriously enough that this kind of money is on the table, a multistorey car park would obviously increase the number of cars coming onto UEA campus and the roads cannot feasibly support the trafﬁc that would be introduced, thereby defeating the object of the new car park. For a similar price there are seemingly endless more sustainable alternatives, including free unlim- ited bus travel around Norwich for each of 10,000 UEA students for the next 10 years. Before the development proposition, in the autumn term of 2003, car parking charges and restric- tions imposed under the University’s new ‘Travel Plan’ (a series of initiatives aimed at reducing car use on campus by promoting alternatives such as walking, cycling, car sharing etc.) were having a notable effect on the numbers of cars coming onto campus. The Travel Plan, a serious commitment by the University to sustainable transport, was in-keeping with the prestigious reputation of UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, and also wholly necessary

given the planned expansion of the University (new buildings and more students) and trends in car us- age. Yet despite the early successes of the Travel Plan (a 500 space ‘overspill’ car park was not once used after the Plan’s introduction), the new car park project continued and planning permission was sought. The University knew the project would be con- troversial but refrained from publicly announcing the plans to the University community until after planning permission had been granted. The only mention before then was in March 2004’s campus magazine Broadview (as the planning application was being considered): of a four-page ‘building at UEA’ supplement the car park plans were accorded just 26 words, stating that the University was ‘looking into the possibility of adding extra decks to the car park’. With planning permission granted, the plans were put on public display in the square and this prompted a group of staff and students to form the University pressure group STAG (Sustainable Trans- port Action Group), then acting primarily to oppose construction of a new car park on grounds of cost, increased congestion to the local area and the suit- ability of the UEA campus for more sustainable alternative transport solutions.

&OR A SIMILAR PRICE THERE ARE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS MORE SUSTAIN ABLE ALTERNATIVES

hrough the autumn 2004 term STAG created local and national media attention on the car park issue (including coverage in Concrete, The Guardian and on BBC local news) and lobbied the University as its major decision making bodies ratiﬁed the car park plans – ﬁrst the PRC (Planning and Resources Com- mittee) in November and then University Council in December. The project has been delayed but building is scheduled to start in Summer 2007. STAG have continued to oppose the new car park, holding an ‘Open Meeting’ in January 2005 to discuss realistic alternatives to a multi-storey car park with local businesses and council authorities. Out of this a ‘Working Group’ focused on sustainable transport for the whole South West Norwich area has been born.

The University has begun to show a new and signiﬁcant commitment to consultation on campus environmental and transport issues with the formation of a new ‘Environmental Working Group’ and a ‘Transport Working Group’ – the latter of which includes staff and Student Union representatives. Unfortunately the car park plans remain outside the remit of both of these groups since the project began before they were formed. The next signiﬁcant event in the car park saga will be the forthcoming publication of the results of a travel survey undertaken in April this year. If these show that the Travel Plan is still effectively reducing car use on campus, or that attitudes towards car use are changing in favour of more sustainable alternatives, then the case for the abandonment of the multistorey car park project will be that bit stronger. - This article was largely adapted from a detailed account and chronology of the car park project (written using documents obtained through the Freedom of Information act. To get involved in the opposition to the carpark contact STAG through jack.guest@uea. ac.uk or su.environment@uea.ac.uk for more information.

Number of cars on world’s roads = Number of people working for less than US$ 1 a day Tonnes of carbon dioxide emmi- sions that would be saved by 2010 if the G8 Gleneagles Plan of Ac- tion on Climate Change was implemented fully (a saving approximately equivalent to the emissions of the UK) =

MILLION

20 $0..&/5

$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

4RANQUILITY IS JUST A STEP AWAY )N A TIME OF CONSIDERABLE RELIGIOUS TENSION WHICH THREATENS TO DESTROY OUR WONDERFUL MULTI ETHNIC SOCIETY 0RIYA 3HAH ARGUES THAT RATHER THAN FOLLOWING A PARTICULAR FAITH WE SHOULD MERELY HAVE FAITH IN OURSELVES BY ADHERING TO THE CONCEPT OF SPIRITUALITY In light of the recent events and world atrocities we often hear the contrast between the words ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’. Many people will tell you in today’s modern world that they have no interest in religion and it really is ‘the opium of the masses’ as Marx pro- fessed. However, there are a percentage of students who appear to be showing an increasing interest in spirituality. For many people spirituality is troublesome. They don’t know what to believe in because there are so many different beliefs. They don’t know what religion is best because there are so many to choose from. And many people who want to turn their lives around struggle with spiritual concepts because they have an aversion to religion. Religion is also a misunderstood concept, which can lead to conflict between various sects. Take Northern Ireland as an example – a country divided between Catholics and Protestants. The Middle East is another prime example of divisions within a region, in this case between Jews and Muslims;; the latter also having differences between themselves, such as the Sunni and Shia clash in Iraq. Why don’t we just look even closer to home and realise that Europe itself has been plagued with religious partitions and animosity for much of its history. Is it really any wonder that spirituality is on the up? Perhaps, people have just woken up to this realisation. Nevertheless, do not mistake me as a preacher nor an ambassador for one’s true path in life. An argument I hear frequently is that religion itself is a state of false consciousness. If I am honest the controversy of this topic fascinates me, as the power of reasoning is lost within the realms of this subject matter. One can talk till the cows come home about theology, higher beings, a purpose in life, nir- vana, and reincarnation to still discover that logic has no bearing on this argument. The fact that many people across the globe forsake their own lives because a book, a Priest, or a Rabbi tells them to is rather hard to comprehend. The divisions it causes means people cannot identify with each other as they should be able to - simply as human beings. Spirituality can solve this problem. Spirituality comes in many forms. And although it has individual meanings to each person, a defini- tion of it can be defined as “spirituality celebrates life, religion celebrates life after death.” Monotheistic religions are essentially organised systems of faith and worship. They are founded upon the idea that there is only one god. It is common for believers to also think that this god created all of reality and is totally self-sufficient, without any dependency upon any other being. This is what we find in the largest monotheistic religious systems which are Christian- ity, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism. However, Buddhism promotes the consensus that living your life to the fullest in the present is the ideal way to reach inner peace and contentment. Thus, we should remember that even by practising religion, it will not grant a pass to ‘heaven’ nor any other afterlife there may be. To be spiritual is to make the best of your own life, by your own means as this leads to true happiness, or to put

#AN SHOOT TO KILL EVER BE JUSTIlED ,OUIS (OLDING 0ARSONS QUESTIONS THE LEGITIMACY OF POLICE PROCEDURE IN THE WAKE OF THE DEATH OF *EAN #HARLES DE -ENEZES

it another way, inner peace. People are religious because they want answers to the questions that plague their mind. Being spiritual means these questions are merely part of the wonderful thing that is... life. I once got into a heated debate and proclaimed that a person’s religion is down to what family they are born into –or as I recall saying at the time, ‘an accident of birth’. If one is born into a Jewish family and raised with those traditions it is a safe assump- tion that they in turn will be Jewish. Even if by chance they become disenchanted with their original birth religion, they will not actively change it, thus remaining Jewish. If we look at the root base for the ‘popular’ religions the ideology remains the same. Some parts of the Old Testament cover Christianity, Judaism and Islam and in world mythologies the idealisms, mor- als and themes are all intertwined: for example, all religions make it wrong to commit murder. Thus, religions are not as far apart as people think. Spiritual- ity can also include certain mantras from the other world religions, but it is the reason for it that differs. Christianity, for example, makes murder a sin worthy of eternal damnation – therefore you will not murder someone because you do not want to go to hell. Spirituality would also say that murder is wrong, but because the act will haunt you as a person for the rest of your life. The reason why spirituality is appealing in such a progressive age is because it is now fashionable to be ‘spiritual’. We live in a world where people are free to make up their own minds and discover their own paths. People do not have so much ‘blind faith’ where everything they are told is believable. Free will is emerging and now threatens entire belief systems. In reality we are the only animals capable of understanding ourselves. We are the only ones who can contem- plate our own mortality. For that reason, centuries ago, people needed to comfort themselves about the fact that, like it or not, they were going to die. It does not ﬁt well into our human psyche that once we die, we cease to exist. Apparently we are so vastly important that we, as opposed to other animals, deserve to live forever in a state of unrequited happiness. So religion was invented. The ancient pagans established various gods that were in charge of different aspects of their lives, including the one after we die. They invented worship. The world has changed considerably since then, so why do we ﬁnd ourselves worshipping a God who speaks to us from thousands of years ago through the medium of a book? This is the century of the individually spiritual being, which undoubtedly could be leading into a spir- itually based society. The simple fact of the matter is that each individual has some form of spirituality, and we would do well to exploit it. To maintain peace in one’s own life is the only weapon we have against those people who use religion to hurt others and further their own agendas. These people, Bush, Blair, Bin Laden, could do with becoming more spiritual – there is no hell waiting to receive them, so the only way they can absolve themselves of their sins is to stop committing them.

The death of an innocent Brazilian man at Stockwell station this summer shed light on the policy of the police when dealing with potential suicide bombers. Are we now all potential victims of this apparent safe- guard of our security? Before I develop my argument I must detail some facts about my position on this subject. I am for armed police as they are now - in which the police have a limited number of armed officers - but I am against arming all officers. I am against the standard Metropolitan Police procedure of automatically suspending officers who have discharged their weapons while on patrol until an investigation by the In- dependent Police Complaints Commission has been completed. I believe they should only be suspended if they are proven by the subsequent investigation to have acted unlawfully. They would not be suspended unless they were found to be in breach of the rules of engagement based on guidelines from the Associa- tion of Chief Police Officers. These state that “they

may shoot a suspect only if they fear for their life or someone else’s is threatened by an armed individual”. Despite my support of the use of armed police, I believe SO19, the department that provides ﬁrearms- related support to the Metropolitan Police, has to change the way it operates. Shoot-to-kill is a viable option for dealing with the threat we face today, yet the Metropolitan Police had been applying a shoot- to-kill policy long before the 7th July 2005 attacks in London. In the past few years SO19 ofﬁcers have discharged their weapons in a lethal manner on several occasions. These include the case of Harry Stanley, who was shot dead because police believed that the table leg he was carrying in a plastic bag was a gun, James Ash- ley, who was shot dead while naked in bed, and Derek Bennett, who was shot dead after he was seen brandishing a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun. The problem is that less lethal options such as

taser guns and plastic bullets are useless against someone brandishing an AK47 or any such high power rifle - as happened in Hungerford in 1987. Therefore firearms are a must, but how they are used needs to be addressed. On too many occasions, officers have used lethal force where incapacitation could have been better. All the cases above are an example of an innocent person being killed. In a recently leaked report, which stated that Jean Charles de Menezes was under restraint at the time of his death is true this would make his death murder. There is a very fine line between danger and life- threatening danger, and I believe that lethal shoot- ings are rarely justified. Lessons must be learnt from the events of this summer. We are under threat from suicide bombers, but does it mean that every time we walk down the street, we might have to dodge bullets because our police force thinks it’s wiser to shoot first and ask questions later?

-&55&34 &%*503*"-

$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

,%44%23 ! .%7 9%!2 &/2 #/.#2%4% 7ELCOME TO 5%! S STUDENT NEWSPAPER This year’s Freshers’ Handbook introduces the subject of essays with a brilliant quote from the late Douglas Adams: “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” It’s a feeling that is all too familiar in the Concrete office every other Sunday, as print deadlines loom and pages remain stubbornly unfinished. The paper you are holding is put together once a fortnight by a team of up to twenty editors, with written contributions from dozens of members of the Concrete society and assistance from numerous photographers, copy editors and proof-readers. All of them, with the exception of the Editor and Advertising Manager, work on a voluntary basis, giving up their time for free to write articles and lay out pages. It is a credit to their enthusiasm that we are consistently one of the biggest societies at UEA, and can hope to recruit many more new members at this week’s SocMart. Most are attracted by the chance to write for an established publication, many more by the ever-alluring possibility of freebies, and some just by the thrill of seeing their own name in print. As those who spent last weekend preparing the first issue will doubtless attest, it is a thrill that doesn’t diminish over time. Every struggle with a misplaced adverb or attempt to conjure up the perfect headline is worth the satisfaction of pressing print after a long afternoon and seeing a completed page slide effortlessly out of the printer. Most of our members have never been involved in journalism before, and Concrete provides them with the opportunity - in between socials - to produce a paper to the highest possible professional level. It is for this reason that we use industry-standard software - our office is equipped with the same programmes as many national newspapers - to put the newspaper together. We aim to give all members of the society the chance to work with these programmes, and to experience in a relaxed and small-scale environment what a future career in journalism might entail. Our editorial line, though overseen by the Editor, is determined by our members. We abide by the Constitution set by the Union of UEA Students for all its communications, and, like any other newspaper, by the national Press Complaints Commission guidelines. Concrete does not presuppose to represent your views - that is a matter for the democratic procedures of the Union - but we aim to reflect them as accurately as possible. This is why we need your support: if you hear of something you think we should be writing about, or believe we have overlooked an important issue, contact us on the address at the right hand side of this page or come up to the office to speak to a member of the society. The letters page is the place where your views can be heard. So if you have enjoyed reading the paper (and you’ve made it to page 21, which can only be a good sign) join us at SocMart on Wednesday 28th September, or come up to the office in Union House to speak to a member of the team. Without you this page, and all the rest of them, would be empty.

'5!2$)!. 345$%.4 -%$)! !7!2$3 #ONCRETE WRITER NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL AWARD

0LEASE SEND LETTERS FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE %DITOR 3ARAH %DWARDES TO #ONCRETE 0/ "/8 .ORWICH ./2 &/,+ .2 4* OR SEND AN EMAIL TO CONCRETE EDITORIAL UEA C UK

%DITOR CONCRETE EDITOR UEA AC UK 3ARAH %DWARDES

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Dear Concrete,

CONCRETE EDITORIAL UEA AC UK *AMES #ONWAY

This lunchtime, as I often do, I went down to the main student eatery on campus, Zest, to have a hot meal. Imagine my shock to be told, while I queued for my Mexican Bean Chili, that staff and students – in fact, anyone who is not a paying Conference delegate at the conferences that are taking place here this summer – are barred from dining at Zest until the start of next term! The sign that the servers directed my attention to said that this was being done “for the comfort and convenience of both conference-attenders and staff/students.” What deceptive tosh. It is only the staff and students who are being barred! We are being discomforted, for others convenience. So it has finally come to this: University staff and students are displaced to make way for higher-paying customers from outside. Have we so totally forgotten the mission of a University? Evidently, Universities – or at least, this one -- are now sufficiently desperate for cash that they will literally sell out their own members, to make a quick buck from cash- paying visitors. Of course, being staff I could have gone upstairs to ‘Vista’. But I am also a vegetarian, and Zest has by far the best hot vegetarian food on campus (admittedly, that’s not saying much). And me going upstairs still wouldn’t have helped our students, excluded from the main campus eatery for two whole months of the summer. So I decided to write this letter instead. And I will conclude it by drawing out the following implication from my sad story: it is time to end the monopoly of the contracted- out catering service company which alone is permitted to sell hot food at UEA. If we are to have private enterprise /competition on campus at all, then let the Student Union do what it has wanted to do for years: open a proper can- teen on campus. If the existing catering services can’t find a way of serving us and conference visitors at the same time, then let the students themselves have a go. That way, perhaps next summer we members of the Uni- versity, staff and (especially) students, will no longer be barred from our main hot-food eateries! Dr. Rupert Read, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy

Congratulations to Robert Castell, who has been nominated for Best Travel Writer at this year’s Guardian Student Media Awards. The competition, which takes place every year, recog- nises outstanding young journalists from universities across the country. In 1995, Concrete won Student Newspaper of the Year, and last year The Event received a nomination for Best Maga- zine. We wish Robert luck when the awards are announced at a ceremony in November.

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So Lance Armstrong has, for the second time, become involved in allegations that he has failed a drugs test - this time for the far more serious drug EPO. All the other greats of cycling are defending him, which is not surprising for the “closed” world of cycling, where everyone is “clean” and “racing fairly” despite occasional evidence to the contrary. Jacques Anquetil, one of the illustrious five cyclists who has won five Tour de France or more, once said of doping in the sport: “What do expect? Do you really think we do the Tour on mineral water?” Anyone who has read It’s Not About the Bike cannot cease to admire Armstrong for his mental strength, but then again his aggression in beating cancer was there before he got the disease (he was known in the “peloton” and as a cyclist with an aggres- sive nature). Despite this, he is undoubtedly tougher than most people, and his “never quit” attitude has certainly rubbed off on to many other mortals. On the other hand, when I started to hear rumours that he wasn’t being straight, I did not believe them: he was tough, he was Armstrong, he was above doping, he was too good. Was I being naïve? France has been the biggest critic of Armstrong when it comes to doping, partly because he thrashes everyone come July, taking the spectacle out of their great race. For me, it became difficult to believe that

Armstrong is clean after reading LA CONFIDENTIAL: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong. Although the book is based on circumstantial evidence, it argues that Armstrong is not as clean as he claims he is. This book has not made it onto British shelves, partly because no publisher wants to get sued (as the French publisher was). On this occasion, it seems that Armstrong is not going to sue. I would like to believe that it is because he knows that, for once, “they” (everyone and anyone who is against him, and we are led to believe by Armstrong that there is a conspiracy against him, especially in parts of the French press) have got factual evidence. This evidence is unfortunately not safe from doubt, because only the B sample has been tested. Normally the A sample is tested and if it comes up positive, the B sample is tested to make sure of the result. Back in 1999 (on which the tests of this latest allegation are based) there was no test for EPO, so when Armstrong’s A samples were tested nothing came up. The nature of the test means they are vir- tually useless afterwards, and are consequently de- stroyed. Following standard procedure, the B sample was kept in frozen storage and this is what the French sport newspaper L’equipe based its allegation on. The anti-doping world needs to start making great strides if it wants to catch the numerous doping cheats. Perhaps now, with the Armstrong myth in danger of being broken, people will be more open to the suggestion that many top athletes are getting illegal help.

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So a new academic year starts again, with many sport fans and UEA athletes hoping for glory. Many clubs will be looking forward to the new season, some to consolidate after promotion;; others to go straight back up after relegation. Many returning sporty students will be interested to see the increase in price to join sport clubs. What might appear to be an increase in the insurance fee from last year is in fact not insurance related but a result of the Union budget not being able to cope with funding so many clubs (of which there are far more than in the past). This is a shortfall that has to be made up somewhere. Sport clubs have a responsibility in this. In particular, the Union Bar needs to be used more often as their commercial services help to fund your clubs. Many will say that socials in town are better, but there’s nothing wrong with beginning your social in the Union bar and then moving on - after all, this money will be re-invested for our own enjoyment.

THE STATE OF SPORT

Over 30 Snooker tables Pool tables American style tables £250 jackpot machines Hot & cold food available Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week Licensed bar at low prices with usual opening hours

Eagle eyed readers will notice that there’s nothing in these pages about the Ashes - mostly because everything worth saying has already been said. Nevertheless, with the exception of the Ashes the last couple of weeks have not been good for British sport. First we get England’s footballers failing to turn up for internationals, whether friendlies or competitive, then we get a report detailing what many fans have suggested for some time that Sport England is a mess. To cap it all off, Britain’s national swimming performance director, Bill Sweetenham, has been accused of bullying. Now, most of what we know about these allegations has been relayed to us by the press and by disgrunted former British swimmers. Sweetenham has often been accused of being extremely tough, but then when you are an international class athlete, you shoud not expect life to be easy. I, for one, support Sweetenham. This is not based on any personal expe-

rience but on the fact that he has often put his ﬁnger on many of the problems, that I, another foreigner (I am half-French) could not believe I was seeing in the British approach to sport. Having swum at a national level of competition, I have always been amazed at what I saw as a lack of ambition in many other swimmers going to galas. Now I’m not saying that we should expect our swimmers to win every medal, but at least we can expect them to work hard, as any coach who is easy on you is not worth his salt. In previous olympics, some swimmers appeared to go along for the ride, their aim being primarily to get into the Olympics squad. For me an excellent example of the attitude to take is that of the Triathlete Marc Jenkins, who, despite having his bike broken (when in a great position to win a medal) by no fault of his own, continued and ﬁnished the race knowing that he had lost all chance of success, and was going to come in last.

THE MIKE COVELL MATCH

Finally, the Fifth Mike Covell Match is worthy of everyone’s attention, although at the time of writing this column the match had just taken place. Unfortu- nately the printing hour was looming large enought to stop a match report being included in this issue. Despite this I can tell you that the old boys beat their younger rivals (the UEA 1st XI) by six goals to two. The match was played in a friendly atmosphere but (England footballers take note!) at a high tempo with plenty of competitive spirit as well, which made it an enjoyment to watch, even for the non-hockey fol- lower. A full match report will be included in the next issue of Concrete. The UEA ladies old girls beat the UEA ladies “ﬁt young ones” 1st XI 1-0. At the same time, please don’t forget the reason for this match: ﬁrstly in memory of Mike Covell, but also to raise awareness about me- ningetis. If you would like to know more, give a dona- tion or help in any way please contact Johnny downer on rudeboyjohnnyd33@hotmail.com. ,OUIS (OLDING 0ARSONS

ÀÜ V Ê ÌÞ ÊÕ«`>ÌiÊ ÊÌ iÊ > >À iÃ½Êv ÀÌÕ iÃ "Y ,/5)3 (/,$).' 0!23/.3 30/243 %$)4/2 After having been so close, Norwich were actually far away from staying in the premiership last year, courtesy of a 6-0 thrashing by Fulham.This year Nor- wich were expected to be among the front runners to regain promotion, but exactly the opposite has happened, with Norwich stuck in the wrong part of the table. Many may point to the fact that Norwich managed to get promoted last time round by coming to the top of the championship around Christmas time and then through a spending spree in the Janu- ary conﬁrmed there chances of promotion. Despite this, the season so far does not bode well on current form. Norwich are scoring goals but not enough, despite having past consistent goalscorers at this level in Darren Huckerby and Dean Ashton, with latter giv-

ing a boost to the club by committing himself to the club in signing a new contract. On the other hand, last season’s non-existent defending has not disap- peared. In Robert Green, Norwich have not only one of the better English goalies in the country, but also in the championship, his prowess having saved Nor- wich on numerous occasions. It’s ahead of him that seems to be problem. Defending has always been a problem, with a strong commanding defender a must for some time. Although it is too early to say, Calum Davenport seems to be exactly what Norwich need and when used he has been producing, or stopping the opposition strikers from producing the goods. Another successful signing is Andy Hughes who has more than filled the void left by Damian Francis, but one position which does not seem to have been addressed, is the an out-and-out holding midfielder, especially as Nigel Worthington has favoured a dia- mond midfield in recent games.

41035

$PODSFUF Wednesday September 28 2005

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! MINUTE S SILENCE IS OBSERVED IN MEMORY OF -IKE #OVELL AT THE START OF THE 5%! V /LD "OYS 5%! ST 8) MATCH "Y *OHNNY $OWNER &ORMER 4EAMATE In September 1997 a posse of freshers joined the University of East Anglia Men’s Hockey Club, gaining places in both the First and Second XI’s. They were Mike Covell, John Downer, Simon Har- rington, Rob Kay, Neil Sheridan, Stuart Wright, Giles Manger, Andy Burnette, Glen ‘Twitch’ Richard- son, and Patrick Gill. Mike played in both the First and Second XI, commanding both defences with his northern tones. He was without any doubt the focus of social events, forging a reputation as the life and soul of the party. On Tuesday 2 December 1997,

Mike Covell contracted meningo- coccal septicaemia. He was dis- covered to be ill by team mates at approximately 8pm that evening. By midnight his heart had been injected with adrenalin. What should have been Mike’s ﬁrst annual Christmas Ball was held on the Thursday night, with prayers for his recovery. Mike, however, remained in intensive care at the old N&N hospital. Sad- ly, on Sunday 7 December 1997 he lost his battle and passed away with his family at his side. At the Annual UEA Hockey Awards Dinner, in March 1998, A Mike Covell Award was founded, to be given to the fresher (male or female) who contributes most to the Hockey Club. The ﬁrst re-

ceiver of the Award was Simon Harrington, Mike’s best friend at University. The Mike Covell Award continues to be presented. Six of the remaining seven team mates graduated in 2000, whilst I myself continued at UEA until 2002. Many of Mike’s original team mates had long since left UEA and with myself as a link between the past and present hockey club members it was decided that Mike’s memory and spirit should not be forgotten. So in September 2001, following the trials in Fresh- ers Week, a combination of Mike’s original team mates from 1997 reunited at UEA as the Mike Cov- ell XI to commemorate his death. They did so by playing the current First XI. The prize for victory was

Concrete Prize Crossword #68 ACROSS

DOWN

1. A Norwich Street - Mad Mule? (12) 6. To gain money through hard work rather than student grant (4) 7. Famous local resort, Great ___ (8) 9. UEA’s cheepest accommodation (7) 10. Fairly traded fruit from the UFO (5) 11. Our very own county (7) 15. The best pub in norwich (as judged by CAMRA), large feline (6) 16. Found at the centre of Norwich having recently under- gone refurbishment (7) 18. Row of stores along one of the Golden Triangle roads (7,5)

1. The water that flows through Norwich (11) 2. _____ _ Wales road, leading down to Norwich station (5,2) 3. The duration of a lecture (4) 4. Confectionary item, band on Campus along with all other Nestle products (4) 5. Norwich city football club (11) 8. ____ Munch, fast food resturant near the Norwich nightclubs (4) 12. Norwich venue playing jazz and funk and serving the gay clubbers on Thursdays and Saturdays (4) 13. What your feet get on the floor of the LCR (5) 14. A game of football, tennis or squash down at the sports centre (5) 17. To move quickly around the campus (3)

the Mike Covell Shield. With victory to the Old Boys in 2001, came defeat in 2002, but a win on pen- alty strokes in the third year and a solid win in the fourth year, 2004. This year, on Sunday 25 Septem- ber 2005, the Mike Covell XI will take on the current UEA First XI to retain the trophy for the third year running. While the hockey matches have undoubtedly been a success there is a serious aspect to why the Mike Covell XI return every September. In 2001, we successfully raised over £950, in 2002 over £500, in 2003 over £1,300 and in 2004 a staggering £1,800 for the Meningitis Trust, as a result of some gentle persuasion in the bar the night before (as well

as some other slightly innovative tactics!). This fund-raising was combined with distributing leaﬂets and giving information to new fresher students and old ones alike about this potentially fatal virus. These efforts had been off our own backs, and after last year we felt that we weren’t really making the most of this opportunity. Increasingly we were being asked questions from some genuinely interested students about meningitis for which we did not have the answers. Therefore, the Mike Covell XI has formed an informal committee to improve organisation and to attach a bit more thought to both publicity and awareness this year.

We have secured backing from the University to compliment their Meningitis Awareness Campaign and from the Students Union to raise funds for the Meningitis Trust and distribute information. Remembering Mike’s vibrant spirit and fund raising for meningitis is now rooted ﬁrmly in UEA Hockey Club tradition, something that we all hope will continue in years to come. This year we aim to set in place the infrastructure, the commitment and the coverage for raising awareness of meningitis each September, as new members join the Club, and whilst the old team mates continue to celebrate Mike Covell’s life and remember the inﬂuence he had on all of us who knew him.

Set by Franky Frankenson Sponsored by the "WFOVF #PPLTIPQ

21 Avenue Road, Norwich 01603 768720 Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday 4PMVUJPO UP DSPTTXPSE XJMM CF QVCMJTIFE JO *TTVF There’s a £10 book voucher, courtesy of the Avenue Bookshop, up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning, bring this voucher and your completed crossword to the Concrete office by Friday 7th October. Name: ........................................................................... Contact: ...........................................................................