gair rhydd - Issue 936

gair rhydd Monday November 15 2010 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 936

Opinion takes on Hooters

<< page 8

Rugby initiation scandal

<< page 2

United we stand Miranda Atty Miranda Atty News Editor Three hundred and fifty students from Cardiff University joined the National Union of Students (NUS) national demonstration on Wednesday November 10 against the government’s proposed 80% cuts to education funding.

The demonstration, the largest in a decade, saw around 52,000 students march in protest throughout London, from Horse Guards Avenue to Westminster.

Two thousand students from across Wales attended the protest, including eight coach-loads from Cardiff Students’ Union.

The demo was organised

by Aaron Porter, the National Union of Students’ President, in conjunction with Sally Hunt and Alan Whittaker from University and College Union (UCU).

In a press conference held before the demonstration, Aaron Porter and Alan Whittaker spoke of their fears that the increased fees will not result in an increase in quality but are “simply going to plug the gap” which will be left after the government removes the majority of university public funding.

Alan Whittaker spoke of the “burden [being] transferred from state to student”, giving Britain the “most expensive public universities in the world.”

He went on to comment: “This is just the beginning, we need to send a clear message to this

government that saddling those who come after this generation with so much debt that they will spend their life paying it off is not the way forward.”

Aaron Porter also referred to the protest as the start of “a bigger campaign” of students applying pressure to convince Liberal Democrat MPs, who voted against an increase in tuition fees, to stick to their word.

The demonstration began at 12.15pm, with speeches from Porter and Whittaker being broadcast to the thousands who attended, before they began the march past Parliament.

The protest route saw students and lecturers march outside Westminster, along Whitehall, before congregating at the Tate Britain on Millbank to hear from UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, and Porter.

While the majority of the protest was peaceful, at about 1.30pm a group of protestors left the main route of the march and broke into the Conservative Party Headquarters.

The 225 police officers on duty throughout the demo were overrun by protestors who kicked and smashed the windows of the building, before occupying the headquarters.

A reported 50 protestors scaled the roof of the building, throwing eggs at police officers.

Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, admitted that his force should have ‘better anticipated’

the level of violence.

Members of the Territorial Support Group, who are officers highly trained in public order policing, were sent into the building in an attempt to restore order.

Thirty-two protestors were subsequently arrested for offences that include criminal damage and assault.

The building was occupied for several hours before the police photographed and removed the last of the protestors.

In response to the violence, Porter released the following statement: “Of course all of us at NUS are deeply disappointed at the actions of a small minority of those 50,000 people who attended.

“We did everything we could to organise a peaceful and responsible action, but sadly it was hijacked and our press coverage overshadowed.

“We must move forward - head held high!”

Students’ Union President Olly Birrell also commented on the riot, stating: “I feel that the actions of the few anarchists is something that cannot be condoned.

“Their actions clearly showed the anger felt by a minority of students, and I find it truly disappointing that they felt that violence was the only way they could be heard.”

Continued on page 3

Photo: SARAH POWELL

02News

gr EDITOR Sarah Powell

CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan DEPUTY EDITOR Dom Kehat SUB-EDITORS Anna Redbond Isabelle Roberts Hannah van den Bergh NEWS Morgan Applegarth Miranda Atty Pippa Lewis Ben Price Hannah Pendleton FEATURES Zoe Bridger Laura Brunt OPINION Holly Howe Chris Williams POLITICS James Dunn Oliver Smith COLUMNIST Henry Burton SOCIETIES Bianca London LISTINGS Sarah Powell SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT Tom Clarke Jack Parker SPORT Alex Bywater Lucy Morgan Alex Winter CONTRIBUTORS Jo Greet Leonie Roderick Nachai Mantin Caroline Dadd Caleb Woodbridge Rebecca Smithers Laura Amey Matt Wright Guy Kelly Emily Cape Joanna Cawley George Salmon Ellie Powell Blanche Lumb Samantha Mueller Samantha Parker Abdul-Azim Ahmed Keither Bugler Laura Dunn Helen Jarvis Thomas Leeming PROOFREADERS Ceri Paine Emily Kneale Lisa Watson Joanna Cawley Laura Amey Stephanie Pugh Jenni Gardner Alexi Gunner Correction: article 'Too drunk to stay safe' was written by Caroline Dadd

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

'I lost my memory and regained it in hospital' Rumours of Rugby initiation bring the team under scrutiny as student is hospitalised Morgan Applegarth News Editor gair rhydd has obtained information which suggests that a member of Cardiff University’s Rugby Club (CURC) was sent to hospital following an initiation social on Thursday November 4.

Information gathered from the public domain indicates that during the initiation, members of the rugby club took part in a series of activities that encouraged vast amounts of alcohol to be consumed.

A post on social networking website True Lad provides details of how members of CURC reportedly ate ‘raw brussel sprouts and eggs’, drank ‘vodka, cider, cognac, cherry liqueur, milk’ and “whatever else I was given.”

The writer also notes how “someone puked on me” and that they “had a mackerel slapped around my face.”

The post closes with the writer stating that they ‘lost their memory’ and 'regained it in hospital', where they detail themselves being placed on a drip.

In addition to this, another source reveals how one student was found on a pavement, yards from where the initiation ceremony was taking place.

“I saw someone lying on the pavement just outside my house, he seemed unconscious,” revealed one student, who wishes to remain anonymous.

They continued: “His friends were asking him questions, but he was unresponsive. I was surprised to see someone in that state, partic-

Above: A screen shot of the post found on social networking website True Lad

ularly so early in the evening.

“After 20 minutes or so, paramedics attended the man and then took him to hospital in an ambulance.”

Approaching CURC Club Captain Mark Schropfer with the allegations, he told gair rhydd: “As Club Captain this is the first I have heard of any allegations that any member of the rugby club was hospitalised.

“As far as we are concerned in the rugby club, nothing of this nature has occurred and I will certainly chase it up.”

He went on to note: “Although people outside of the club may ar-

gue that they believe there is a consensus to drink, this is not the point of our socials.

“Any member of our club is entitled to drink if they so wish, however, the rugby club does not peer pressure or force anyone to do so.”

The allegations in question raise serious concerns regarding student health and behaviour when on social events.

Cardiff Students' Union's Athletics Union enforce a strict Social Policy regarding initiations, which states: “No activity should take place that causes a risk of injury or

damage to health.”

The policy further states: “No person should be coerced to eat or drink if it is clear that they are drunk or feeling ill.”

This is not the first time issues regarding initiations have been raised. Last year gair rhydd covered an investigation into how members of the Engineering rugby team allegedly caught food poisoning following their initiation (issue 912 December 2009).

Olympic teams to use University facilities Morgan Applegarth News Editor

Above: Cardiff University's Student Mental Wealth society raised over £150, following a fund-raising event at the Students' Union. The event, which saw a student get his chest waxed, took place to raise the society's profile, in a bid to draw in volunteers.

Photo: Nathaniel Smith

Cardiff University has been confirmed as an official training venue for sports teams participating in the London 2012 Olympics.

The University’s playing fields in Llanrumney have been chosen as a training site for Olympic football teams to use in final preparation for preliminary rounds of the Olympic football tournament.

The announcement follows extensive negotiations between Cardiff University Sport and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

“We are delighted that LOCOG

has recognised the quality of the provision at the University’s Sports fields,” stated Head of Sport at Cardiff University, Stuart Vanstone.

In addition to hosting Olympic football training sessions, the University will also host the International Amateur Boxing Association’s pre-games training camp, as well as the Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketball squad.

Commenting on the announcement, Chair of LOCOG, Seb Coe stated: “These are first-rate venues that will provide excellent training facilities for footballers. Cardiff University should be proud.

The facilities are to be inspected

by FIFA Officials to ensure that the site meets the international standards.

News03

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

Students voice anger over education cuts freewords EDITORIAL Pippa Lewis News Editor The descent of the NUS and UCU demonstration into violence is a move that has ultimately undermined the cause of the 52,000 protestors who gathered in an attempt to peacefully challenge the government.

Real political debate was lost and credibility for the cause was damaged as the media inevitably focused on the violence and destruction rather than the cause of the students.

It is an understatement to say that passions run high on causes such as this, however there is never an excuse to allow such an event to be whittled down to a mere media spectacle and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, the bill of which I suspect will ironically be sent to the taxpayers.

Protestors’ succeeded in reducing the debate to mere name calling and personalised attacks on MPs criticising both the Liberal Democrats and Conservative parties undermining the efforts of many to convey a legitimate political position.

The question must be asked then, was it all worth it?

David Cameron has already condemed the violence and said that he will not go back on the decision to raise fees telling interviewers at the G20 summit: "We won't go back. Look, even if we wanted to, we shouldn't go back to the idea that university is free."

It must be remembered that the political climate is a unique one.

The government is not one that many anticipated when heading to the polling booths and predictably many of those who voted feel betrayed causing high political discontent.

The reality is however that the Liberal Democrats made the tough decision to form a coalition with the Conservative Party in an attempt to form a strong and stable government in the wake of a hung parliament.

The very nature of a coalition government is that compromises have to be made and sometimes party principles have to be abandoned in favour of a more pragmatic approach to government.

Did Nick Clegg sign a pledge to vote against tuition fees? Yes. And was he stupid to do so? Undoubtedly. The decision to go against the pledge has the potential to derail the Liberal Democrat party and it will certainly be reflected in the polls come the next election.

I suggest however that the proposed rise in tuition fees is not, as some have suggested, an attempt to impose right-wing ideology on the public, reigniting a class war and create an elitiest institution but an effort to try and move beyond party distinctions and react to the economic climate.

Let us not forget that despite their criticisms of the Labour party they were the ones who initially introduced top-up fees and commisioned the Lord Brown review.

However unfortunante the results, the reality is that no government would purposefully undertake the potentially pollitically suicidal move of increasing tuition fees without necessity.

He went on to focus on Cardiff ’s involvement in the march, saying: "The day was a great experience for all Cardiff students, and a milestone has been placed in history that clearly showed that students do value their education.

Ethics and Environment Officer Sam Coates offered his opinion toward the demo: “The occupation of Millbank was a totally understandable response to pent-up an-

ger of young people who feel they are being jilted at every turn. “[The rioting] is what you get when you condemn a whole generation to a lifetime of debt, unaffordable housing and a lack of decent jobs.”

Aiding in the organisation of Cardiff University’s presence at the demonstration, Societies, Events and Activities Officer Cosimo Montagu said: "I am very proud of the huge amount of Cardiff students who turned up last week to peacefully protest.

“Tories have to take this into account, the rioting shows how angry people are about the situation.”

“The occupation was far from being the minority hijacking a peaceful protest the right wing media have attempted to portray it as”

Continued from front

- Cardiff Student

- Cardiff Student

“It demonstrates student awareness of how Higher Education cuts could affect the huge number of amazing support, community and volunteer-based projects that student societies provide.

He continued: “It was unfortunate that the work of 50,000 students was undermined by the actions of a few, but I speak for all Cardiff students when I say that we were marching with the 50,000 not the 500.”

“I don’t think it is going to make the Tories reconsider – they are ideologically committed to what they are doing”.

- Cardiff Student

Student recalls demo horror Chris Williams Opinion Editor

Photos: Sarah Powell

A violent protest was underway at Millbank as the peaceful NUS and UCU joint demonstration drew to an end.

As the violence appeared to lessen, protestors gained entry into the building failing to be contained by the police blockade.

The dangerous way in which certain protesters were behaving was later amplified as a fire extinguisher was launched from the top floor narrowly missing several of the riot police below.

“It was one of those hold your breath moments," one protester

stated.

Following this incident, the chanting was then aimed at the protesters on the roof. The chants went from “Shame, shame, shame on you, shame on Nick Clegg for turning blue” to “Stop throwing shit!”

As a fire burnt outside the building the reception was vandalised. Wire’s were pulled from the ceiling and office equipment, including chairs, was thrown to the mass of onlookers and protesters outside.

One protester who did not want to be named, claimed that; "if you act like a dick, people will think you're a dick.”

Others argued: “[the violent protest is] good as long as no-one gets hurt.”

By late into the evening people had been arrested and crowds finally dispersed, as a few groups stayed on the roof.

Despite the original intentions of protesters, the damages left will be long lasting; graffiti covers the walls inside and outside the building, sending a strong message to the coalition about how unhappy and aggrieved students are about the prospect of cuts.

04News

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

University to improve University's ambition to equal the best student satisfaction Pippa Lewis News Editor

Welsh ministers have expressed their disappointment following the findings of the 2010 National Student Survey on Cardiff University's undergraduate medical course.

Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central, Chris Franks, wrote to Welsh Ministers after gair rhydd revealed that only 58% of medical students are satisfied with the overall quality of their course compared to a national average of 82% across the UK. The Assembly Member, Mr Franks said: "Plaid Cymru raised the lack of satisfaction found amongs Cardiff medical students with Welsh Ministers after I attended Cardiff ’s Fresher’s Fair.

"Many medical students will stay in Wales once they have done their training, so it is important we continue to ensure excellence in their training. Plaid alerted Ministers to the issue and they have expressed their disappointment.

“Plaid is pleased that the Welsh gov-

ernment has investigated this issue. If students have any concerns they want me to raise they should contact my office.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson assured gair rhydd that Cardiff University has put in place a raft of measures to tackle the issues that continue to concern its students, and has drawn up an action plan.

As part of its quality assessment role, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales will be monitoring the implementation of those actions.

Health Minister Edwina Hart has written to Cardiff University regarding the issue and has discussed the results of the survey with Professor Morgan, Head of the Cardiff School of Medicine.

The Welsh government has received assurances that a vastly improved performance will be reflected in the results next year. The Local Health Boards have improved the clinical teaching provided and it is expected the University to do the same.

CARBS boosts economy

Becky Bartlett Reporter A new report into the economic impact of UK Business Schools has found that the Cardiff Business School has helped boost the Welsh economy by an estimated £76 million.

Experts from the Nottingham Business School examined the impact of some of the UK’s leading Business Schools. They discovered that Cardiff ’s Business School has a major economic impact on the local, regional and national economy of Wales. According to an estimation, the Business School accounts for ten percent of the overall £760M the University contributes to the Welsh economy annually.

The Dean of Cardiff Business School, Professor George Boyne commented: “At a time when higher education institutions’ role in society is being scrutinised more intensively than ever, it is important that we are able to demonstrate our impact on the Welsh economy.”

Professor Boyne continued: “This new report clearly demonstrates that UK Business Schools have a major role to play in supporting the UK’s economic recovery, and in Cardiff Business School’s case we offer a £76M annual boost to the Welsh economy.”

The report also highlights the School’s contribution to teaching.

It claims that an estimated £25M of income is produced each year with the School’s secured research income over the last five years being in excess of £20M. The report also praises the Business School’s work in contributing to policy on a local, national and international level, as well as its work in consultancy and partnerships with supermarket giant Tesco, the Office of National Statistics and the Welsh Assembly Government.

This achievement comes at a time when many funding bodies are tightening their budgets. It reflects concerted efforts made across the University to improve its success rate in securing research funds.

Charlotte Bufton Reporter

can help in making Wales successful.

Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Grant, has announced his vision to make Cardiff University a twenty-first century success.

As part of the announcement, Dr Grant also highlighted how he wants to ensure that the University continues its role as a major contributor to the Welsh economy and society through creativity and innovation.

The detailed statement, released on the November 4, reflects the Vice-Chancellor’s desire to ensure Cardiff gain a place among other internationally recognised universities such as Harvard, Berkeley, Heidelberg, Oxford and Cambridge.

Dr Grant said: “A world leading University needs to inspire. We want the most able minds, of students or staff, to engage in Cardiff ’s world leading scholarship and help make Wales a twenty-first century success.”

The Chancellor’s ambitious statement was backed up by his recitation of Cardiff University’s achievements to date and his reasons as to why Cardiff University

He listed the fact that Cardiff has some of the best minds in the UK with a number of Nobel Laureates working at the University. The record £150 million in new research contracts that Cardiff has won in the past year. The contribution students make to Cardiff as a city including the 10,000 hours of volunteering they undertake every year as wella s the £200 million they spend on goods and services.

In examining Cardiff University’s contribution to the economy he explained that the University generates more than half a billion pounds of output every year, three quarters of that in Wales and as a direct result of research and ideas there are 34 active companies employing staff and helping to grow the Welsh economy.

He also mentioned the way in which Cardiff University is taking the lead in innovation through advanced Information Technology systems and the fact that Cardiff was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in May this year in recognition of the University’s ongoing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

He also defended the way in which Cardiff University spends its resources in a time of economic difficulty, explaining that: “We are always conscious of keeping down costs and operating to the greatest efficiency possible. We’ve been leading the field in higher education in embedding lean processes and thinking throughout our operations."

News05

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

New advances Funding supports plans for in treatment for archive in genetic research prostate cancer Twentieth century work into genetics to be showcased in archive Samantha Mueller Reporter A Cardiff led study has found that treating prostate cancer sufferers with hormone therapy and radiation significantly decreases their chances of death.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men, killing around 10,000 in the UK annually.

A ten year study, conducted between 1995 and 2005 across the UK, Canada and the United States, found that the addition of radiation therapy decreased the chance of death.

It was jointly conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the United Kingdom Medical Research Council and the Southwest Oncology Group in the United States.

Interim results of the study, which is the largest randomised study of its kind, do not appear to show any increased long-term side effects.

Nevertheless, radiation therapy continues to be a controversial

treatment due to the fact that it not only kills cancer cells, but can also damage normal cells, leading to side effects that range from the acute, such as skin irritation, to the chronic, such as tissue necrosis.

This study examined the effects of an alternative form of radiation, namely external beam radiation, whose side effects are mostly reported to be mild bowel and bladder problems.

Professor Malcolm Mason, who is Head of Oncology and Palliative Medicine at Cardiff School of Medicine and lead author of the study, said “if figures from the interim analysis are similar to the final analysis, we would expect a 43% reduction in the chances of death.”

The study is an evolution in cancer therapy which, according to Professor Mason, “highlight[s] the importance of radiation... show[ing] that the standard treatment for these patients should now be hormone therapy plus radiation.”

Samantha Parker Reporter Cardiff University has been awarded funding to create an archive containing pioneering 20th-century work into genetics.

The two year grant is worth £150,000 and will enable personal archives and key book collections of important UK geneticists to be published online.

The Welcome Trust who received the funding believe that it will help reinforce the University’s reputation as a leader in the field of human and medical genetics.

The Professor of Human Genetics, Peter Harper who established neurogenetic research into Huntington’s disease, will be included in the archive.

Professor Harper described the archive as integral, stating; “Human and Medical Genetics only developed as a research topic from the mid-twentieth century onwards, yet today discoveries by geneticists are transforming our understand-

ing of the science of life, the treatment of diseases, and the prevention of incurable illnesses”.

Cardiff University information service will be fully involved in the project by helping to collect and collate the work of notable geneticists, including Professor John Hilton Edwards and Dr George Robert Fraser.

President of Cardiff University, Professor Sir Martin Evans has said: “This award is something of which Cardiff can be truly proud.

This project will enable future geneticists to understand how the field of research has developed.

“This is something which needs to be chronicled now, before we lose the archives of the geneticists who pioneered the field.”

The Director of Cardiff University Libraries, Janet Peters ensures that ‘Information Services will fully support this Project and future work to develop Cardiff as the leading European University in this field.’

World News06 Hollister ban poppies

Big red bus

Wet and wild

Rebecca Smithers Reporter

Laura Amey Reporter

Matthew Wright Reporter

Macedonia has ordered 202 red doubledecker buses for its capital, Skopje.

The buses which are said to bear a striking resemblance to London’s iconic Routemaster bus, are said to cost more than 35.5 million euros.

According to David Brown, Managing Director of surface transport at Transport for London: “London’s buses are an icon around the world and clearly the Macedonians have drawn inspiration from the capital.”

Macedonian officials meanwhile claim that the new buses are not merely a copy of the original Routemaster.

An attack on a man by five lions has caused uproar in the Zimbabwean national park and game reserve of Mana Pools.

Peter Evershed, 59, a visitor from Harare, had been using the showers following a day’s fishing when he was attacked last Friday.

His friends tried to distract the lions by firing rifle shots, but unfortunately they were too late.

Mana Pools is famous for being one of the few game reserves in Africa without fences, offering its visitors the opportunity to camp

The Southampton branch of Hollister has banned one of its shop assistants from wearing a Remembrance Poppy.

The manager told employee Harriet Phipps to remove the poppy because it was “not uniform or company policy”.

Miss Phipps felt personal anguish at the request as she has friends serving in Afghanistan and her grandfather fought in World War Two. Archie Parsons from the British Legion in Southampton described the ban on the poppy as “outra-

geous” and hopes that the Abercrombie and Fitch owned shop will reconsider its policy as “it seems a bit insensitive not to support our troops”.

When questioned a member of Hollister management refused to comment on the situation.

Ice-cream pot

Emily Cope Reporter

Guy Kelly Reporter A medical dispensary in Santa Cruz, California is now selling marijuana-infused ice cream to cardcarrying patients.

The firm, which sought a tastier way to consume the drug in place of the regular infumation, has released three flavours: ‘Banannabis Foster’, ‘Straw-Mari Cheesecake’ and ‘TRIPle Chocolate Brownie’.

Noticing that patients succumb to the munchies and return within hours of purchasing, owner Jona

Shocking!

than Kodolinski reported that sales were smoking.

Mr Kodolinski said: “A lot of people are coming back for thirds, fourths and even fifths.”

The move even has the support of the American Medical Marijuana Association. The association’s national director, Steve Kubby said: “This is just a drop in the bucket, what we’re seeing here.”

Unless the dispensary makes a complete hash of it, profits are expected to go sky high before mellowing out and making a sandwich.

Russian artist Oleg Mavromatti will strap himself into an electric chair this week and ask online voters to decide whether he should live or be shocked to death.

The online performance, titled Ally/ Foe, will see the artist subjected to a series of five shocks increasing in strength until he dies.

100 votes are required for the first 600,000 volt shock, lasting half a second, and 1,000 votes for the second.

The artist has said: “I just want to conduct an opinion poll, just like any normal sociological study does. That's all.”

and roam freely among the wildlife.

However, its guidebooks strongly state that visitors take their lives into their own hands when they enter the park.

It is has been suggested that Mr Evershed’s attack is a sign that the lions may have felt frightened or threatened.

This has lead to concerns about human overcrowding in the park. mals are wild."

Cricket Balls Hannah Pendleton News Editor A bushcricket has been found to have abnormally large testicles ,which amount to a staggering 14 per cent of its body, the largest in the world.

The record was previously held by a fruit fly whose body to weight ratio was 10.6 per cent.

Dr Karim Vahed at the University of Derby has stated: “We couldn’t believe the size of these organs. They seemed to fill the entire abdomen."

Following the initial discovery James Gilbert of Cambridge

University has been conducting research.

He has said: “Traditionally, it has been pretty safe to assume that when females are promiscuous, males use monstrously sized testicles to deliver huge numbers of sperm to swamp the competition.”

Opinion08 Are women unfairly represented?

It has been over 150 years since the Women's Movement began, but how far have we come?

Representations of women in the media are rife with stereotypes and

sexism. Women are wrongly and under-represented in the mainstream media. Female characters are too often pigeon-holed into types: the ditsy blonde or the opinionated ca-

reer woman.

But who is to blame for these representations and how do we rectify this?

The Opinion writers investigate.

Teenagers succumb to media pressure Jo Greet Opinion Writer Escaping the usual magazine headlines that all girls know and love should be relatively easy while spending a week doing work experience in a secondary school in Cornwall., shouldn't it? Think again.

Articles claiming the latest ‘Top Ten Dieting Tips’ and ways in which to achieve ‘Radiant, Glowing Skin’ seem to proliferate here in greater proportion than in and around Cardiff University.

Whether it is in magazines brought into school by pupils and poured over during tutor times and breaks, or the classroom displays covered in celebrity images and magazine covers, teenage girls seem to be more than willing to absorb the ideals of a celebrity saturated culture. This provoked me to ask some questions about the responsibility of the media in the representation of women.

The latest celebrity headlines, which are eagerly anticipated by a large proportion of young women, are so often critical of female celebrities. What effect do headlines such as ‘Dannii Minogue seeks desperate measures to lose baby fat’ have on a teenager’s perceptions? Should we be constantly worrying about Britney being too fat or Victoria Beckham being too skinny? If the answer to these questions is yes, then what

is the perfect woman? Where does this construction come from? And perhaps most importantly: how is it ever possible to achieve?

While asking some Year 10 pupils in an English Media class how they thought the media influenced their lives, one girl said that she found the ideology presented in some magazines quite confusing. She said that ‘on one hand they are encouraging you to dress a certain way, act a certain way, apply make up in a certain way, and on the other hand they place an emphasis on being yourself.

I don’t know which one to do first!’

With a culture so intent on the objectification of women, one which presenting stick thin celebrities in the popular media, we appear to be forgetting the pressure this places on a younger generation to conform to a stereotype.

Surely the magazines have a responsibility to present and reinforce positive stereotypes to teenagers, instead of making them feel inadequate in relation to their celebrity counterparts? They shouldn’t be damning other women for putting on weight. It happens to us all. An article that struck me was entitled ‘8 Hairstyles that Men Will Really Love’. Why should it matter if your hairstyle is going to send men into a frenzy? You should change your hair because you want to and you think it will look good, not for the appreciation of men. Obviously, as you get older you learn to appreciate

the impact of such articles. But at a young age you are more impressionable and vulnerable to the images presented in the media you consume.

Perhaps more worryingly younger pupils appear blissfully unaware of the media having any bearing on their lives. Every member of a class of Year 8s had heard of Cheryl Cole and could tell me why she was famous. In contrast only one girl had heard of politician Harriet Harman. One boy from the back of the class piped up: "We don’t know who she is because she isn’t fit!" Quite a revealing statement from a boy aged 12.

But it isn’t just very young girls who deny the influence the media have on their lives. My 16-year-old sister, sitting with her face covered in some miracle spot cream and having refused to eat any chips for dinner, stated in no uncertain terms that she didn’t think that the way in which women were represented in the media had any effect on her life. I had a book thrown at me so decided not to question further when asking her why she was so concerned about her body image.

Nevertheless, it is evident to me that female stereotypes continue to thrive in the media we consume every day. The most disturbing thing is that not many people seem to notice. If they do notice, they don’t seem to care.

Above: A couple of ways in which women are being represented

Hooters' controversial arrival in Cardiff Leonie Roderick Opinion Writer It has proven to be one of the most heated debates over the last couple of months but it’s finally official: a Hooters restaurant (also lovingly called a ‘breastaurant’ by the media) is opening up in Cardiff ’s city centre.

The restaurant, which calls itself ‘delightfully tacky, yet unrefined’, has been getting a lot of negative media attention; a special Facebook group named ‘Say No to Hooters’ has even been set up. So what’s all the fuss about? One of the main criticisms against the Hooters restaurant is the iconic outfit. It is argued that the bright orange shorts and low cut tops encourage men to objectify women.

The Cardiff Feminist Network also argued that the Hooters' ethos for using female sex appeal is "outdated and offensive" and said the location of the bar would be inappropriate, as it is to be right next to Cineworld.

Personally, I tend to agree with a lot of these arguments. First of all there is a certain amount of sexism involved which starts at the selection process of the Hooters girls. Guardian journalist Hannah Waldram went to one of the recruitment days to find out what Hooters was all about, and she discovered quite a few remarkable facts.

Firstly, she had to have a few pictures taken ‘just for them to remember what she looked like’, and was forced to sign an agreement on the bottom of the application form in which you consent to undergo a full

medical examination if asked. Now both of these aspects are quite interesting, especially if those pictures are a determinant for whether or not you get hired. Thus, in other words: your physical appearance will determine whether or not you get the job.

Does this sound fair to anyone?

Also, it is argued that Hooters’ transphobic attitude is reinforced through excluding transsexuals; if there were any doubts on someone’s gender, a full medical examination could be put into practice. Once again, this is a discriminatory act; not just against transsexuals, but also against men in general. No male waiting staff are allowed; just as there is no male equivalent to Hooters.

Something which is equally as worrying is how the female staff are presented; the skimpy clothing

doesn’t do much more than scream ‘objectify me’ to the male customers.

The waitresses are simply there for visual pleasure and entertainment; and will therefore probably be derogatively seen as an ‘easy shag’ instead of an equal human being.

The main counterargument against this so-called ‘overly sensitive feminist rant’ is that it is a women’s own choice whether or not to work there; the key words here are ‘empowerment’ and ‘free choice’.

But that brings on another dilemma; why do women think they need to get undressed in order to empower themselves?

Ultimately, they’re still the ones walking around in nothing more than a low-cut top and hot pants, while the fully clothed male customer is judging them solely on their looks. It has also been said that the

work uniform is more than what most girls would wear on a night out.

But once again, this is an extremely different setting. For a supposedly ‘family-friendly restaurant’, the outfit doesn’t seem appropriate whatsoever.

In the meantime, a counter group on Facebook has been set up, which has wittily been titled ‘Say Hell Yeah to Hooters coming to Cardiff ’. The inventors start off with a clever narrative on how feminism gave women the freedom to choose what they want to, and how the Cardiff Feminist Network are now trying to revoke this right. All is well and good, until the closing sentence, ‘That and we want to go to a restaurant and be served by hot chicks in tight tops and hot pants’. And with that last sentence, I think they might have just proven my point.

Opinion09

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com

Don't forget the lyrics: Misogyny in rap Naomi Mantin Opinion Writer For the past two weeks or so, I’ve found myself singing Cee Lo Green’s song ‘Fuck You’ at every possible opportunity. I think it’s a combination of the catchy melody, the infectious chorus and the funky bassline that has resulted in the song becoming my mental screensaver.

Yet when I found myself getting irritated when I first heard the censored version, ‘Forget You’, (why change it when ‘fuck’ sounds so much better?), I started to realise that maybe this isn’t what I should really be getting annoyed about.

Why should it be unacceptable for a swear word to be broadcast, but it’s

completely fine for Cee Lo to imply this woman is such a goldigging whore that she’s not worth his company anymore?

Maybe Cee Lo really is upset I don’t know him personally, but I can’t help thinking it’s a bit odd that this theme of the money-grabbing harlot crops up a lot in chart music. Kayne West, for example, seems to be having similar problems, as he exclaims ‘if you fuckin' with this girl then you better be paid’.

His song too is heavily censored for public broadcast, yet the media seems to have no problem with representing women as objects who are defined by their need to associate with rich, powerful men. In a culture where money is power, perhaps the notion of a woman getting ahead by latching onto a rich man

is distasteful as it isn’t her 'place'.

Despite all the supposed equality gained by the women’s movement, it would appear that the money and power still belong to the man.

It might sound a bit like I’m taking this a bit far, like another driedup feminist getting her knickers in a twist over issues that were resolved ages ago. The scary thing is, though, that misogyny has become so engrained in our culture that is seems completely natural and undisputable. So much so, that it only takes a catchy melody or good riff to make us sing along to the most offensive and sexist lyrics with ease. Tinie Tempah’s recent hit 'Frisky', for example, seems to have become a club favourite, getting people dancing to the bassy music and drunkenly chanting ‘Ooh la la

la la, FRISKY’. Amid all this, the actual meaning of the song becomes completely irrelevant. The fact that Tinie is breezily exclaiming ‘I wanna pick her up, and put her down’, and ‘I don't even wanna kiss her / Honey I won't even miss ya when I'm done with ya’ is not important or a problem, because it’s a ‘tune’, and it sounds good.

It’s not just men that are at it either. This objectification of women is everywhere. Why is it, for example that Shontelle is left so helpless at the prospect of being without her man that she is confined to her bed with no autonomy, and nothing but her boyfriend’s t-shirt on? Why does ‘nothing feel right when I’m not wit choo’, for her, when Jason Derulo basically heralds himself as a god, ‘feelin’ like a star’ for ‘Ridin Solo’?

It hardly seems surprising, then, that Akon’s attempts to ‘find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful’ amounted to ‘Damn, she’s a Sexy Bitch’, when the vocabulary of misogyny is made so readily available to us through music. Although such blatant sexism is present in mainstream chart music, it is so easy to ignore because we are too busy humming or dancing. The less we pay attention to lyrics and the more we sing along, the more we reinforce it, and the longer we will continue to live in a society where my six-year-old cousin is happily chirping ‘supersoak that ho!’ like it’s a nursery rhyme.

Porn is damaging to society and relationships Caleb Woodbridge Opinion Writer Believe it or not, I’ve never looked at porn. Far from being harmless 'adult entertainment', I believe porn degrades both women and men, and damages relationships and society.

Defenders of porn say that people know the difference between porn and reality. But the unreality of porn is one of the problems. Rather than engaging with the reality of another person, with their own thoughts, feelings and pleasures, porn is a sad retreat into fantasy.

Worse, porn conditions us to treat others simply as 'living porn' - as objects to be used for our own sexual gratification.

Porn won’t turn you into an overnight misogynist. But we’re deluding ourselves if we don’t think it has any effect. Our culture is increasingly pornified. We don’t

blink as almost-naked women cavort in adverts. Lad’s mags are a normal feature on the shelves of newsagents, offering competitions to win free boob jobs.

But what should we do about it?

Try to ban porn? I don’t think that would work, and I don’t think it gets to the heart of the issue. Where there’s demand, there will always be supply. We need self-restraint, not censorship. Men are traditionally seen as the main consumers of porn, though it is becoming increasingly normal for women too.

So having men speak out against porn is powerful and important.

This is where a new website, the AntiPornMenProject (antipornmen.org), comes in. Crucially, it’s a place for men to speak out against porn, arguing from feminist principles. It says, “Pornography is one of the most important social issues that we face in tackling both violence against women and wider

gender inequality, as well as an important personal issue in the lives and relationships of many people.”

I wouldn’t call myself a feminist, but I agree wholeheartedly.

But something puzzles me. The site goes on to say that it isn’t against porn for “any conservative or religious sentiments”, and to quickly clarify “we are anti-porn because we are pro-sex”. I might be reading too much into it, but as a Christian, I found this rather odd. It implies that while feminists have “reasons” for being anti-porn, religious people have “sentiments”. They are also inevitably conservative, and probably anti-sex too.

But such stereotypes are mistaken. I don’t oppose porn because of some arbitrary “Thou Shalt Not”, or right-wing reactionism, but for the same reasons – porn is bad for women, society, sex and relationships. You can be both a feminist and a Christian, and many forms of

the two share common ground.

Of course, not all strands of feminism, or flavours of Christianity, are compatible. Porn was a key battleground in the Feminist Sex Wars. The 1980s in particular saw bitter arguments between antipornography feminists and “sexpositive” feminists, who argue that porn can be empowering and liberating for women.

But it seems to me – in common with many feminists – that the sexual revolution, far from liberating and empowering women, has made many women far worse off than before. Pro-porn feminism, far from improving sex for women, has made it worse.

Christianity has had a chequered history when it comes to women.

But if you go back to Jesus’ life and teachings, you’ll see that he smashed through the gender divide of his day. He was unafraid to spend time with women, and others who

were excluded from society – the “sinners”, tax-collectors and prostitutes. St Paul wrote that in Christ, there is neither male nor female – we are all one.

There are differences, of course.

Christians are so pro-sex, we think it’s almost sacred, and so should be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage. Some Christians, myself included, believe that the Bible teaches masculinity and femininity aren’t just a matter of biology or culture, but spiritual and moral realities. Men and women should be equal in worth, in rights and opportunities, but we should also recognise and celebrate their differences.

Porn isn’t just a feminist issue, or just a religious issue, but an issue for everyone: men and women, liberal and conservative, religious and non-religious. While not everyone can agree and we can’t agree on everything, we can still unite against porn.

Do children need better role models?

Caroline Dadd Opinion Writer Before a female character even opens their lips, a stereotype is often portrayed.

The way they look, their figure and their perfect complexion all jump out at you screaming 'this is what you should look like'. There’s no denying it. Most female characters in children’s films, whether animated or not, are thin. They’re eye candy. Now, personally I don’t think there’s much wrong with the whole eye candy thing once you hit puberty because, if we’re honest, we know it’s two sided. A lot of girls can spend the entire time in a cinema staring at Jake Gyllenhaal topless, just as guys often salivate

over a scantily clad Angelina Jolie.

But when it comes to children’s media, it can send out the wrong messages.

A study into gender roles in children’s media by Dr Stacy Smith at the University of Southern California revealed findings that showed there was a heavy bias towards male centred children’s films. Out of 5,554 speaking roles in 122 films only 29% were female. Of the female characters, one in five were under 21 and the same amount were partially nude. It sends out a particularly strong message to children who can be easily influenced by what they see on the big screen. While not directly saying that women should look thin and beautiful and perhaps give a flash of their breasts every

once in a while, it does infer that most women look this way giving children an obscured view on real life. It can even affect a girl’s feeling of self worth. With so much emphasis on looking that good, if a girl doesn’t think she’s ‘up to scratch’ she might feel that whatever else she may achieve is irrelevant.

How women are portrayed in the media can have a big impact on how children behave and how they think, in whatever loose terms, about careers. Most of the female lead characters are so often waiting for their Prince Charming to rescue them. It offers no incentive for girls to stand on their own two feet. The media’s reinforcement of career options associated with women also doesn’t help. It gives off the im-

pression that girls should generally stick to hair and make-up, nursing or fashion and not aim for what they really want to do, whether its gender bias is male or not.–– But, as ever, there are exceptions to the rule. In some areas the media has made significant efforts to dispel this kind of portrayal of women. Role models like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lois Lane set good examples, showing children that women can be strong characters that don’t rely on men to fight their battles for them rather than the ‘woe-is-me’ princess who waits for her Prince Charming to rescue her. The Shrek films are a brilliant example of this and also challenge the idea that to have a happy ever after you must be beautiful. It tells

children that love is about personality and not just looks.

Yet the fact remains that children’s media is male dominated.

And most of the ways in which women are portrayed offer skewed outlooks and false views on what women really look like and how they behave. It makes it worse that the viewers are at such an impressionable age. When you look at how narrow the perspective being given about women is, it worries me to think of the possibility that we could end up with a generation that believes that Barbie is the epitome of all womanhood.

Opinion10

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com

Sensationalist media has a negative impact on our society Abdul-Azim Ahmed Opinion Writer

“Muslims tell British: Go To Hell” was the headline of the Daily Express last week. If you believed the Express headline, it was as if all Muslims in the whole world had got together, had a frank discussion, and emerged with the profound desire to tell Britain to ‘go to hell’.

Well, that’s not what happened.

Rather, an undefined number of men at the back of the courtroom that convicted Roshonara Choudhry shouted various things which apparently included a blanket statement to tell Britain to go to hell (presumably if Britain were to go to hell, the men would prefer to leave the country first, lest they get stuck in hell along with Britain and taste eternal irony).

This story is a single example of the hate and lies that papers such as the Daily Mail, Daily Express and other tabloids publish constantly.

If I were a tabloid, I would say I was absolutely appalled at this! But as a normal, non-rabid, tempered human being, I would say I am mildly annoyed.

Muslims did not tell the British to go to hell. Instead, it seems the Daily Mail and Daily Express are determined to create a division between ‘Muslim’ and ‘British’ and fail to recognise that the two exist in many people in the UK with absolutely no contradiction.

For example, you may have heard of the aforementioned Roshonara Choudhry who was convicted of stabbing Stephen Timms MP in London, but have you heard of Asif

Above: Some recent sensationalist headlines Chaudhry, the surgeon who operated on Stephen Timms that same day in hospital? Or of Syed Hussain, the police officer part of the investigation into the stabbing? Both British, both Muslims, no contradiction.

Another fantastic story, this time from the Daily Mail, is the revelation that a “café owner was ordered to remove [an] extractor fan ‘because [the] smell of frying bacon offends Muslims’.”

The headline is contradicted simply by reading the story, which you realise that a) there were plenty of Muslims who visited the café and weren’t offended, including the owner of the café in the first place b) the complaint against the smell was made by Mr Graham WebbLee, who was not a Muslim and c)

the reason the extractor fan was removed because the café didn’t have planning permission for it in the first place.

But still the Daily Mail ran the story with the intention of misleading the public and creating hate and division. I imagine much of this is simply to sell papers and make more money, but it has a tangible effect on society.

I mention the stories published relating to Muslims simply because I’ve experienced first-hand the hate they cause. I’ve had abuse thrown at me for being a Muslim, and when challenged, people tell me that Muslims hate Britain, that Muslims have banned Christmas in this place, made a swimming pool ‘Muslim only’ in that place, and a whole

list of accusations taken directly from the pages of the tabloids.

There are however, similar stories against other groups that the tabloids choose to demonise, for whom the experience of hate, suspicion and loathing the papers create is a reality.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that tabloids are ripping society apart through misinformation and twisted narratives of hate; they are turning neighbours into enemies.

It reflects a wider movement that is turning journalism into entertainment. News is no longer news; it has be to shocking, appalling, breath-taking. And so minor stories become sensationalised and false narratives are created to make iso-

lated incidents part of a wider and ongoing story.

The question is what can be done about it? Well I’m looking at you.

And by you, I’m referring to all you journalist students and gair rhydd writers. It’s a well accepted fact that universities today reflect society tomorrow. So I think I’ll be optimistic and hope that Cardiff University students will go out into the world and make journalism less about tabloid sensationalism and more about reporting the truth, challenging injustice and questioning our politicians.

For everyone else, just don't believe the Daily Mail.

Her Majesty has been tagged in this article Guy Kelly OpinionWriter As social networking juggernaut Facebook looms its way towards 1 billion members, this week saw perhaps the most famous woman in the world create a profile; Her Majesty the Queen was unleashed for public poking.

Initially I saw this idea as terrific, one that could thrust Her Majesty into the 21st Century and give her credence among younger people without having to be photographed chugging Diamond White or grinding with Professor Green.

In touch with her subjects, I had visions of the Queen’s profile looking just like ours, perhaps with an informal, even drunk display picture sitting neatly alongside the laidback yet superbly rah moniker of ‘Beth Alexandra Mary Windsor’.

I hoped to see her irritatingly tagged by mischievous friends in random piles of money and strips of stamps, while maybe using her

vast swathes of free time to become an utter dominatrix on Farmville.

I wanted her list of interests to mostly involve ‘waving’, and have swimming as a glaring omission, given her absurd knack for drowning multiple times a night during any student pre-lash. I wanted to see groups like ‘Don’t you hate it when you’re not allowed to kill swans? Lol jk I’m the Queen’; ‘Katie Waissel should be water-boarded’ and ‘Dropped one’s phone in the moat, numbers and pins plz!!’ littering her active news feed, appearing sporadically between lewd statuses that Prince Harry fraped when she left her Blackberry on the kitchen table. I wanted banter. Blue-blooded banter.

Imagine then, if you will, my thudding disappointment when I logged onto this much-publicized page and saw none of my visions, but instead a dull and lifeless fan-page dedicated to Royal Family news, quite evidently not controlled by the Queen herself. Under

the title ‘The British Monarchy’ and illustrated by the Royal crest, the profile is frustratingly sincere and unfunny – in fact the only item which aroused the merest titter in me was a photograph of Prince William shaking hands with a man who looks like Rafiki, the ever so slightly mental baboon from the Lion King.

One thing I certainly didn’t do when faced with the Monarchy page was feel an immediate itch to post a fury-filled rant about how simply awful Her Majesty is. Luckily, the moron brigade of the world had some spare time in between propagating ignorance on other website forums to cover for my absence in the discussion.

Among the generic anti-monarchist barrages, however, were some truly stimulating points such as “Apparently the Queen’s first language is German anyway. She’s probably a Nazi”, “The Queen isn’t even human, she’s a reptile. Like an iguana or something” and simply

“What a bitch.”

Frankly, harassment of an eightyfour year old woman has never been so amusing, and I’ve seen some absolutely hilarious violent assaults on pensioners in my time. After all, it’s hardly like we can claim Her Majesty to be ‘defenseless’ (she has ultimate power over 56 armies); and what’s more, these people are fully aware that the Queen will not read any messages on the page. Instead of stooping behind a laptop screen, my advice to them - if they are serious – would be to slither out of their attic-conversion bedrooms in their mother’s homes and literally write on the Queen’s wall: go to Buckingham Palace with a thickset marker pen and scrawl their opinions not on a futile internet forum but on pure Jurassic limestone. Hell, while you’re there why not try and poke her in the face? It’s bound to get her attention.

The Queen is hardly on Facebook; her page looks as though it was designed in a coffee break by

people visiting the site for the first time, and she has scarce all to do with it. It is essentially a rolling newsletter and a forum for discussion, yet there is no problem with that. Eighty-four year old women have little need for a Facebook profile, and besides, I’m fairly sure ex-colleagues and long lost cousins will have a rough idea of where Liz ended up.

David Fincher’s recent The Social Network reveals Facebook to essentially be a drunken idea by some nerds during pre-lash that has got decidedly out of hand – and the Queen does not need to become an active member of this in order to gain our respect, or be considered ‘cool’. No. Her Majesty’s public demeanour, philanthropic work and array of gangster hats do that for her. In the film, Justin Timberlake (the man who once brought sexy back from whence it hid) asks us “You want to know what is cool?”, but we already know: it’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Columnist

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Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd

3) Is there any animal that can (without causing distress to the animal) sit in a motorised wheelchair? If they could learn to operate it that would be ideal, but not essential.

Again, I can imagine how strange these requests must seem, but this is not an ordinary movie! I expect in years to come this genre of live-action-animalthrillers will become very popular which can only mean good things for both our companies.

- Sincerely, Henry From: info@hollywoodanimals.com To: Henry Burton

The chimp has what we call a “talk cue” which means he opens and closes his mouth with a sort of slight smile on his face, it looks as though he is talking and that is what you would use for the talking scenes and dub in the voice. Or you could have cloths made for some of the other animals (pigs, dogs, horse, donkey, etc).

"3) Is there any animal that can (without causing distress to the animal) sit in a motorised wheelchair? If they could learn to operate it that would be ideal, but not essential."

The chimp or how about a Capuchin monkey, or maybe a raccoon – any one of these could put its hand on the controls. The chair should really be radio controlled, in order for it to be controlled and safe for the animals.

We would definitely need to prep any animal with the wheelchair for this.

“Chimp: I don’t know what to believe any more.”

Again we would like to know what the chimp is doing. Would he be standing and moving his arms like he is talking? Holding a briefcase or a gun or anything? Are they inside a studio, outside? What is going on around them?

The very best way to figure this out is to send us a script so that we get the full picture of what is going on and we can make suggestions on which animals would work best and what it would take for us to do it.

Hi, Are the walrus and the badger going to be CGI? Or are you thinking an animatronics type thing? We can certainly do all kinds of things with this, but we will need very specific actions that you are looking for. For example, in the dramatic moment with the dying walrus, what is the chimp doing? Holding the walrus, or holding his own head in his hands? Is the walrus moving? We would need that information to know how to prep the chimp.

In response to specific points mentioned in your email: “Is there any way the chimp could be trained to mime…”

"1) For the scenes involving the chaffinch, would it be possible to get the bird to nod and smile at certain objects?"

The bird would probably move its head around but they cannot smile, you would have to CGI that. I think a bigger bird like a parrot would be better to actually see the movement of his head.

Or maybe a raven? You may be able to get one of the bigger birds to pick something up in its mouth as well.

"2) Do you have any animals with beards?"

How about a Billy goat? Or a fake beard on a horse or a donkey or a pig or something like that?

“

In the dramatic moment with the dying walrus, what is the chimp doing?

to yodel remorsefully, while the suited chimp holds the head of the walrus and says, "Joey, why-a-you-cry?".

Dramatically it's a winner, but it is quite a complicated scene and we are not sure we're going to go ahead with it as it might be a bit too abstract. It's meant to represent Jimmy the Chipmunk's subconcious fears about his failing marraige, but at the moment we're not sure it makes sense. Also we would need about 400 children who look like Marlon Brando to fill the audience and we are not sure this is possible.

To: info@hollywoodanimals.com From: Henry Burton

As for your other points, Matthew Fox expressed a particular interest in working with a chaffinch, but I'm sure a raven will be fine. Between you and me he is quite a simple man and I'm not sure he would know the difference. The dialogue I showed you would be filmed entirely in the back of a Volvo 340. Is this going to be a problem for the badger? If you would prefer we could use a Volvo 360 instead.

Wendy,

Thanks again,

Yes, the walrus would be still, and the scene would take place on a broadway stage in Lisbon while several bearded lemurs dance around it to the tune of "When Will I Be Loved"

by Linda Ronstadt. At this point a mongoose dressed as Sigmund Freud makes his way to the front and begins

- Henry

I hope this helps….

- Wendy :)

Ps: The racoon in a wheelchair will no longer be necessary. We gave it a test-run with one here and it looked silly.

(No response)

Politics14

The French Expresssion Alice Hughes Politics Writer To understand the fundamental differences between the French and British psyches you need look no further than their respective national anthems.

While ours is a veritable ‘live long and prosper’-style pledge of allegiance to an emotionally defective, Munster-resembling, figurehead of a family whom most of us will never meet, the French sing their hearts out to a rousing call to arms; of blooded flags and fighting tyranny. French, Francophile or neither, it is hard to deny which is the more stirring of the two.

I am living in Paris this year, and now that the ‘isn’t-it-all-so-beautiful!’ honeymoon period is waning, I find myself, like many reactionary Brits-abroad before me, constantly comparing the vast cultural differences between the two nations, with my homeland almost always emerging more favourably. There is, however, one particular facet of French society that I wholeheartedly admire and embrace: their tendency towards civic disobedience and propensity to rebel against those governmental decisions which they do not accept. History weighs heavily on the French, and perpetuating the values of the Revolution is seen as a duty to many.

It is perhaps this dauntless Gallic

spirit that makes France so famous for her industrial action, the latest of which has dominated headlines for the past two months. President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to reform the pensions system have prompted a series of strikes and demonstrations. The proposals include raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age at which a full pension can be claimed from 65 to 67. Yet it isn’t this alone which has galvanised the working public into taking to the streets. The retention of tax cuts for the richest individuals and companies at a time when public spending is being cut and the unemployment rate for under-25s remains at a positively altitudinous 26% has angered many. The protests also reflect a wider discontent with Sarkozy himself, who is perceived as leading France towards a decidedly unpatriotic Anglo-Saxon governing style.

The effects have been widespread: during the strikes public transport was brought to a virtual standstill, numerous flights were cancelled and the country came within days of running out of oil after all major refineries were blockaded. Finance minister Christine Lagarde estimates that for each day of action France has lost about 400 million euros. Yet support for the strikers remains steadfast, with 70% of the public backing the protests. Furthermore, apart from a few heated clashes between protesters and po-

lice, the strikes have been a largely peaceful affair.

Although, to date, any amendments made to the proposals have been minor, France has a great history of bringing about change through protest. After demonstrations in 2006 against a new bill which would have made it far easier for employers to sack young workers, Jacques Chirac backed down and scrapped it.

It is now very difficult to imagine the same thing happening in Britain. Yet Sarkozy’s relatively tame reforms pale in comparison to political developments on our side of the channel. George Osborne’s spending review will see Britain subjected to cuts not witnessed since the time of Thatcher and policies which will plunge those who rely on State provision into financial despair. Social landlords are to be given unprecedented control over rents, 490,000 public sector jobs will disappear and, in direct comparison to France, the retirement age for women has been raised by a colossal six years. All of these have been announced with barely a whimper from the Labour Party, let alone an enraged public; it’s like the 80s never happened.

Filtered through the smokescreen of the Coalition’s heady mix of Victorian and High School Musical rhetoric (‘the deserving poor’ and ‘we’re all in this together’, anyone?), the cuts announced on what

has been dubbed Axe Wednesday have been largely unchallenged.

But with the Cameron’s two personal stylists on the public payroll and university fees set to rocket to £9,000 a year, is it time to get angry?

It is heartening to see that a well-organised and widely-publicised protest against the latter will be taking place this Wednesday. However, I have my doubts as to whether it will make one shred of difference.

It seems to me that British protest has been rooted in a deep malaise for a long time, and as a result politicians seem happily divorced from the looming spectre of public opinion. Take for example the recent puerile behaviour of the BBC’s premier political correspondent, Nick

Robinson. As he ripped up the placard of a peaceful protester standing behind him as he was broadcasting, he seemed to represent the general British attitude towards protesters as cranks, nutters and troublemakers.

Recent British protests have appeared anaemic and half-hearted, lacking the continuity, solidarity and sheer numbers of people I have seen on the streets of Paris.

But perhaps on Wednesday all this will change. The time has come to choose your anthem – subservient subject or revolutionary citizen? I know which one I’d rather be singing.

Big Changes for Brazil, A Sign of Things to Come?

Sophie Gidley Politics Writer A monumental achievement in political history was experienced in Brazil last week with the appointment of the nation’s first female president.

Dilma Rousseff was elected into power last Sunday after an intense political race which saw her convincingly win 56% of the public’s votes. Rousseff is a former Marxist rebel who was tortured and imprisoned for three years during the nation’s former military dictatorship, further highlighting the significance of her presidential appointment as a progressive step towards ensuring democracy in Brazil.

Chosen as successor by the country’s current president, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, there are high expectations of her. Many hope she will continue Lula’s former policies which, over the years, have seen Brazil grow and strengthen as a nation, not only in South America but on the entire international front.

Constantly criticised during the presidential campaign, Rousseff ’s resilience and dedication throughout the entire process mirrors the steps that the nation must now take

in order to fully establish itself as a great power.

Following Lula, of whom both are members of the Brazilian Workers Party, Rousseff has pledged a commitment to greater freedom and to address the issues of poverty that Brazil faces - in particular the issues of hunger, homelessness and drug abuse that currently blight the country. After the election, Rousseff stated that Brazil needs to “overcome this abyss that still separates us from being a developed nation.”

With her assurance that she will create greater employment opportunities for the masses and improve the welfare of the nation it appears that Rousseff aims to strengthen and unite the social aspects of Brazil to create a greater nation as a whole.

Furthermore Rousseff has acknowledged that the economic prosperity that Brazil has seen under Lula must be sustained through investment in infrastructure and education in order to ensure that such economic growth continues.

Rich in primary products including crude oil, iron ore and wood pulp, Brazil is evidently a resourceful nation and with expectations for the nation to rise to the fifth greatest

economic global power by 2016 it would appear that Rousseff has the agenda to ensure Brazil reaches its potential as a true global power; not just socially and politically but also economically. It is important that she maintains economic growth with the sustenance of even public wealth as this will generate greater confidence in the Brazilian people, and thus in Rousseff.

Another significant point from Rousseff ’s election is that, although she is not the first female to hold presidency in South America, this is certainly a sign of the democratic progress Brazil has made.

With the first female appointment of Isabel Peron as the president of Argentina in 1974, Rousseff is in fact the eighth women to be elected president in Latin America and the Caribbean. Alongside her commitment to ensuring equality for all, both men and women, it shows how Brazil and the rest of Latin American are adopting and advancing contemporary and democratic issues, highlighting its rise to modernity. This is essentially necessary if Latin America is ever to compete with other powerful and democratic entities such as North America and Europe. By doing so, it appears that

it will allow this entity to develop as a credible and recognisable international political actor which other great powers will soon strive to reckon with.

However, this is not to say that Brazil has entirely overcome many of its political flaws. It must not be forgotten that the nation was once a military dictatorship and reports still claim that the country’s elite are right-leaning individuals meddling in the countries affairs. For example, most of the criticism that Rousseff faced came from the media itself and there are worries concerning press freedom, although Rousseff herself has maintained that freedom of speech will be ensured.

Furthermore, there are worries that Rousseff ’s economic reforms may not go far enough due to her belief that fewer economic reforms are needed. It is true that Brazil’s economy fared extremely well under Lula’s governance, with the minimum wage increasing by 65% and 20 million people raised out of extreme poverty, but Rousseff still faces tough challenges including a bloated social security system and a currency that is crippling exporters which must be addressed. If they

are not, there are concerns that Brazil’s economic development will become stagnant and will cease in its economic gains that it has made to date. Constant investment and growth are essential for continual development to ensure Brazil remains economically strong as a nation and also as an international competitor.

It is not just Brazil that is on the rise in Latin America. Since the ordeal of the Chilean Miners last month Chile is also rising as a credible international actor with constructive gains being made politically and economically. Lately, with the increase of profound political and economic prosperity in Latin America it is evident to see that Latin America is coming into a new age of prosperity and success.

No longer a dormant entity, Latin America is clearly establishing itself as a increasingly developed and emerging international power. If countries such as Brazil and Chile continue to invest and grow then it will soon become as strengthened and potentially unified as other global powers such as North America and Europe. For now, only time will tell.

Politics15

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com

“Ask not what your country can do for you...”

Keith Bugler Politics Writer Theodore “Ted” Sorensen passed away recently. Most people will not have heard of Ted Sorensen, he was a liberal activist, a skilled speechwriter and key man in John F. Kennedy’s administration.

Born in Nebraska, the son of an Attorney General, Sorensen studied law at the University of

Nebraska. He came to Washington in 1952 after graduating and was hired by John F. Kennedy, a young, fresh faced and wealthy scion of a political family. Sorensen became Kennedy’s key speechwriter and friend. They were an odd pair, Sorensen the quiet, shy policy advisor and Kennedy the confident, charismatic senator. However, what they had in common was “a wry sense of humour, a dislike of hypocrisy, a love of books and a high-minded

regard for public life.” In 1960 Kennedy announced he would run in the presidential election as a Democrat candidate. He and Sorensen would go on to wage a hugely successful campaign. Sorensen was invaluable for speechwriting and strategy. Kennedy referred to him as his “intellectual bloodbank”. After Kennedy’s victory in the presidential election Sorensen helped draft his inspirational inaugural address which featured the eternal line “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Sorensen also took a key role in policy decisions, both domesitc and foreign, once Kennedy was president. Sorensen’s finest hour came during the Cuban missile crisis when he and Kennedy drafted a letter to the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, which diffused the heated situation between Russia and the USA and averted the possibility of nuclear war. Sorensen was devastated when Kennedy was assassinated and resigned from government soon after. He later became a famous international lawyer and decades later helped draft speeches for Barack Obama.

Sorensen was a key reason for

Kennedy’s popularity as President; his skills as a wordsmith were legendary and helped resonate with the electorate. He and Kennedy worked very closely together on speeches, which helped Kennedy’s delivery look so natural. As time went by other leaders wanted popularity similar to that of America’s legendary president so the role of a speechwriter became a key part of many governments around the world.

Sorensen was also a key policy advisor, despite not being a recognisable face of government. As such he can be considered the political fore-runner of characters such as Peter Mandelson. Think of the legions of men and women involved in government administrations around the world always supplying ideas, and policies, yet never being seen by the camera. This can be thought of as Sorensen’s legacy.

Modern day politics is obsessed with the personalities of political leaders. The great irony is that as people have become interested in personality all they see is the facade created by speechwriters and PR gurus. US and UK politics today are dominated by think-tanks and policy advisors, teams of young men

and women who swarm round politicians, people who have never had a job outside of politics. Although these people are in many ways emulating Theodore Sorensen they are not fit to wear his mantle. Policy always seems to come second to presentation in politics. Any leader that wants to make a difference needs a character such as Sorensen, a man with a conscience, who was loyal to his leader and most importantly could inspire people to vote for his party.

Theodore Sorensen deserves to be remembered. He did a great service for his country, and the world, by helping avert the Cuban missile crisis into escalating any further.

He was also a decent man, with liberal ideals, who sought to make his country a better place. His loyalty to his friend JFK was truly admirable.

He was a famously straight-laced man (he didn’t drink or smoke until after his 21st birthday) a virtue perhaps overlooked nowadays. His fortunes were, sadly, tied up with the family he served, as he admitted in his memoirs: “when the Kennedy brothers died, it robbed me of my future.” He is survived by his four children: Eric, Stephen, Philip and Juliet.

US Midterms in Review: A House in Disarray

Laura Dunn Politics Writer It’s official: election season 2012 has begun. The 2010 midterm elections have proved devastating for the Democrats, losing the House to Republicans and narrowly holding on to the Senate. Gone is the first female Speaker of the House, control of all committees and subcommittees. The People’s House is a significantly different place.

Reflection from politicians and commentary from journalists has already started on what this will mean for the future of Congress, and, perhaps importantly, what will happen to the President’s agenda in the campaign for the 2012 Presidential Election. With the GOP ruling the House under the leadership of John Boehner there will prove to be a reversal of many House rules, as well as potential backlash from right-wing Tea Party factions of the membership. Many ultra-Conservative representatives plan to make bids for leadership, including Tea

Party devotee, Michele Bachmann, spelling trouble for Boehner and his team. A senior party figure, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, has already penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal warning freshman representatives not to trust Republican leadership. Trouble is on the horizon.

Speaker Pelosi, the first female leader of a majority party, has announced her intention to stand for the position of minority leader in the next Congress. She gained 80% plus of the vote in her seat in the eighth district of California and will continue to represent the citizens of San Francisco throughout the next session of the House of Representatives. As Pelosi said in a statement released in the early hours of the morning, “The outcome of the election does not diminish the work we have done for the American people. We must all strive to find common ground to support the middle class, create jobs, reduce the deficit and move our nation forward.”

Thankfully, Democrats still control the Senate, albeit with a reduced majority. Tough races in California, Washington state, Delaware and Nevada saw Democrats maintain their seats. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, overpowered his Tea Party opponent, Sharron Angle, with just one million dollars compared to her seven million dollars of outside spending. In Delaware Chris Coons won a comfortable victory over the outrageous Christine O’ Donnell, who discouraged voters with her lack of knowledge and dalliances with witchcraft. The Republican Party poured cash into races like that of California and Nevada, only to find their bids for election thwarted. Money speaks volumes but, more importantly, so does political experience.

The third striking vote of the night took the form of the race for state governorships. Importantly, Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for California governor who poured $170 million of her own personal fortune into her campaign,

lost to Democratic stalwart Jerry Brown. This keeps the state ‘blue’ in the Governor’s Mansion and through their two Senators, Barbara Boxer (who overcame GOP darling Carly Fiorina), and Dianne Feinstein.

On political terms this election was about the rise of the right, specifically the ultra-Conservative tea party fringe. With two candidates winning elected office in the Senate, tough campaigning is required across all areas of the United States to ensure that no more make it to Washington. The key theme of this election was the topic of the economy and employment. The Democrats have made an enormous contribution in terms of legislation over the past four years, including the passage of healthcare reform, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Volunteering Act. The passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped to stem the flow of job losses in the US, with many economists predict-

ing that the unemployment rate would be higher than its current nine-point-two percent without investment from this legislation. The Small Business Bill passed in August of this year and savings from the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will all have a positive effect on employment and the economy. Yet, like anything, this will take time.

This pressure will now fall on the shoulders of House Republicans, who are expected to make irrational cuts and control House committees with an iron fist. They ran on anti-Obama sentiments, a platform which is not a philosophy of governance, highlighting a strategy which will need to be altered in order to cooperate with representatives across the aisle, as well as colleagues in the Senate and the White House.

The stage has been set for the 2012 election, and unless the economy and unemployment significantly improves, the President will have a tough race on his hands.

16Politics

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com.

A new age of fairness? Yes! Jack Parker offers his take on the upcoming May referendum on the Alternative Vote, and hopes that its success will change the way we all decide to vote...

I

’m writing this in response to an article published here a couple of weeks ago about the May referendum on electoral reform. It was argued by a previous contributor that the A.V alternative was too confusing, lacked the benefits of proportional representation and would bring about too many coalition governments.

As I read my way through the paragraphs of this article I began to find myself not only disagreeing with the conclusions but also angry at the seeming lack of response or mention of what I will suggest later to be the most clinching argument for a yes vote in May’s referendum.

So what is all this electoral reform about? In May the public will decide whether to keep the current system of electing MPs or to change to a different method: the alternative vote. One of the criticisms for change is that A.V is too confusing.

So let’s start with that and assess the level of understanding required by your average voter when he or she goes to the ballot box. They will be asked to put a number 1 in the box of their favourite candidate, a 2 in their second favourite and so forth. That’s it. Done. If we expect voters to understand the difference between the candidates on election day, then surely we can expect them to understand the concept of preferences? Especially when understanding the difference between the political parties is often quite a challenge. Sometimes I really do struggle.

Passionate politicians may wish to understand the subtleties of how these votes are then counted. Well, if none of the candidates win 50% of the 1st preference votes then

they gather up the ballot slips of the least popular candidate and redistribute them based on 2nd preference votes. This process is repeated until there’s a clear winner. Once again, that’s pretty much it. It really isn’t complicated. The alternative vote system is well known for being used in Australia and other similar systems, some of which are more complicated, are also very popular.

Even our own Students' Union elections rely upon preferences being made on the ballot slip.

Let’s tackle another crucial issue.

The previous article suggested that parties in a coalition could use the excuse of ‘having to compromise’ to ditch their harder to implement policies. Well, perhaps they will.

Parties might accept a weak deal in a coalition which won’t bring about as much change as the voters thought it would. But if this happens, it’ll be the voters that decide whether their coalition party made an acceptable deal or not.

And if a coalition party isn’t deemed acceptable or isn’t seen to be fighting for the promises it made during the election, then the public will be less inclined to vote for them again. So if, in some hypothetical instance, a party gets elected for wanting to abolish tuition fees, but then isn’t seen to fight for this abolition when in power, students may well decide not to vote for them next time around. Trust in a party’s ability to negotiate and fight for its views in a coalition will become just one more factor when deciding who to vote for and this really isn’t a major problem, certainly not in comparison to one of the biggest problems with first past the post.

Now then, let’s analyse my problem with first past the post and how

A.V could change everything for the better. It’s the issue of tactical voting and for me this is the clinching argument for a yes vote in May. In the 2010 general election, some UKIP supporters would have voted Tory, many Greens voted for Liberal Democrats or Labour, Lib Dems voted for Labour and Labour for Lib Dem. But this isn’t because the voting system is confusing or because there was an epidemic of severe pen slippages. It’s because in every constituency there’s big players and there’s minority parties. And quite often voting for the minority seems like a waste, especially in a highly

contested area.

Let’s all meet Fred. He worships Lib Dem policy but he lives under the first past the post voting system. He also lives in an area where only Labour and the Conservatives have a chance of winning. He really hates them both but between the two he prefers Labour. So, in order to keep the Tories from stealing his constituency, he ends up voting for Labour which could quite possibly be his second to least preferred party. Fred goes home feeling disillusioned with politics because he can’t vote for what he really believes in. But Fred isn’t alone. This is a

real problem for many. People up and down the country are voting to keep their enemies out rather than trying to get their allies in.

So now let’s consider Harry. Harry lives under A.V and also has an austere fondness for Nick Clegg. He ranks Lib Dem as his number one preference and then puts Labour as his second preference. This way Harry gets to vote for what he really believes in but still keeps out those nasty Conservatives by putting Labour before them on his ballot slip.

If the Lib Dems win the constituency his vote contributed towards their success.

But if his party fails to meet the expectation and it comes down to a clincher between Labour and the Tories, his second preference vote could still end up keeping out the Tories, whom he despises.

The strongest argument for voting yes in March isn’t because it will enable the creation of a more proportional parliament. Sure, proportional is good but proportional representation is a whole other argument that I’ll hopefully make on another day.

A.V isn’t going to make enough of a difference in terms of proportionality to get me overly enthusiastic about voting yes. Instead, I’m saying yes because I want to live in a world where people can vote for the party that they actually want to vote for. I want to live in a world where Lib Dems vote Liberal Democrat, Tories vote Conservative and yes, where Greens vote Green.

Surely that’s something worth saying yes to?

Politics17

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com

"The international face of Saddam Hussain's regime"

Ayushman Jamwal Politics Writer The Deputy Prime minister of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime, Tariq Aziz, was sentenced to death by hanging on October 26th 2010 by the Iraqi Supreme Criminal Tribunal, for his role in persecuting Shiite Muslim opposition parties for over two decades during Hussein’s reign.

In 2009 the same tribunal sentenced Aziz to fifteen years in prison for the deaths of 42 Iraqi merchants in 1992, who had profiteered from manipulating food prices when the nation was under international sanctions. Later that year, the tribunal added seven years to his sentence after finding him guilty of the forced displacement of Kurds from the north-east of Iraq.

Tariq Aziz was widely considered the international face of the Ba’ath regime. Formerly known as Mikhail Yuhanna, he came from a Roman Catholic village east of the Iraqi city of Mosul and attended the University of Baghdad graduating with a degree in English literature.

His political ambitions led him to change his name to Tariq Aziz, after which he entered Iraqi politics as a journalist, becoming the editor of the Ba’ath Party’s main newspaper, Al-Thawra.

From there, he gained his first ministerial role as Iraq’s minister

of information in the 1970s. In 1977 Aziz joined the Revolutionary Command Council of the Ba’ath Party and became the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq in 1979. Later, in the 1980s, he handled Iraq’s foreign ministry playing a crucial role in the nation’s diplomatic standoffs.

He developed strong economic ties with the Soviet Union and gained American support for Iraq-Iran war between 1980 and 1988.

However, prior to the Gulf war and before the US led invasion in 2003, when he famously met the late Pope John Paul II, his diplomatic skills could only drum up international rhetorical support from the Arab world and Russia. After the fall of Baghdad in April 2003 Aziz surrendered to the US forces.

The evidence regarding the crimes Aziz allegedly committed was reportedly highly circumstantial. In an interview with the BBC last month Aziz’s son, Ziad Aziz, said that his father’s guilt has been established simply due to his association to the party and not as the result of a direct hand in the crimes. Tariq Aziz’s position as Deputy Prime Minister was purely a political one, where he only publically argued in support of Saddam Hussein’s notorious policies, he said. Hussein was the chief decision maker behind the Ba’ath party’s domestic and international activities. Being a Christian, Aziz

was excluded from his inner circle which mainly comprised of the members of his tribe, the Al-Bu Nasir, which came from the northwest Iraqi town of Tikrit.

According to Aziz’s lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref, the execution ruling has been politically motivated as an appeasement exercise by the current Prime Minister, Nouri AlMaliki, towards the Shiite Muslim fringe parties in an attempt to form a national government and keep his office. In Iraq’s political climate, the Shiite Muslim parties hold a visceral hatred towards members of the Ba’ath regime, under which they faced years of persecution and death. Aziz’s reputation as a Christian member of the regime makes the execution ruling even more politically potent. The death penalty came weeks after the Iraqi National Alliance, a conservative Shiite Muslim led bloc of parties, swung their seats behind Al-Maliki’s Shia State of Law coalition on October 2nd 2010. However, Al-Maliki is still short of a parliamentary majority.

Aref also added that Aziz’s death penalty was aimed to divert international attention away from last month's Wikileaks revelation, which alleged that the coalition forces turned a blind eye to the torture tactics used by Iraqi army soldiers and police officers on Iraqi prisoners.

Aziz’s execution ruling has also

caused a diplomatic stir for Iraq, attracting international condemnation towards the death penalty. The Italian Foreign minister, Franco Frattini, announced this month that he intended to travel to Iraq to persuade the government to spare Aziz’s life. Last month Greece’s President, Dr Karolos Papoulias, and the European Union Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Katherine Ashton, appealed to the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, to call off the execution in order to establish a difference between Iraq’s democracy and its cruel past. Aziz’s Roman Catholic background has encouraged the Vatican to voice its opposition against his execution ruling as well. Clemency for Aziz was necessary “in order to favour reconciliation and the reconstruction of peace and justice in Iraq” said the Vatican spokesperson, Frederico Lombardi.

On the other hand, the Russian government is lobbying against Aziz’s death penalty because it alleges that a US ‘clean-up’ ploy is the motivation behind it. According to the government, the US vengefully aims to silence a man who sparked international condemnation against the coalition invasion of Iraq and who knows “too much about the period preceding the US interfering in Iraqi affairs."

It is unlikely that international powers will be able to stop the execution of Tariq Aziz. On the ground

in Iraq, it seems the Shiite political parties currently offer the best chance for a democratic-style government. Pragmatism of the situation leads the US to overlook the thousands of deaths caused by the Shiite Badr Corps and the Sadrist Mahdi army, now affiliated to the Al-Maliki political bloc, post the coalition combat operations in 2003.

By supporting popular anti-Ba’ath policies, the US is taking a ‘whatever it takes’ approach to make their project of a democratic Iraq a success, and justify the billions spent and the thousands of lives lost.

Tariq Aziz’s execution ruling is an example of the US’s DeBa’athification policy in Iraq. It is a simple case of the military victors enforcing authority over remnants of the defeated regime. The Ba’ath trials are no different to the Nuremberg trials of 1945, which gave a civilised face to the judicial power wielded by the victorious Allied forces over the defeated Nazi regime. It set the precedent within international law that the fate of those defeated in military conflicts was to be determined not by law but by the interests and the relations between the victorious, giving a polished shine to the most primal traditions of warfare.

Features20

The mother of all degrees

Balancing a degree with looking after a child can often be overwhelming.

Joanna Cawley visits Cardiff University's day care centre and chats to one student parent who knows all about the pressures of coping at university.

W

e all know that university can be hard work. There are lectures to attend, readings to do and extra reading lists being thrown at us by our lecturers, and that’s without even considering time for anything else, including socialising or just relaxing.

Nobody can deny that whether it’s a quick drink down at the Taf or a night out with your course mates, is a huge part of many students’ experiences of university.

Many of us are members of societies and have certain evenings of the week that we spend with that group.

Some of us volunteer through SVC, another type of social activity that takes up valuable time.

Even for those of us who aren’t members of societies or volunteers, we may still have different friendship groups to maintain, nights out that can’t be missed or those vital times spent catching up on the latest TV with housemates.

For students who are also parents, however, life is very different. Far from the alluring dance floors of the clubs that some of us inhabit at the weekends, or the peaceful attraction of escaping to the library when your flatmates won’t shut up, students who are parents have to juggle studying a full time degree with being a parent, a job that is never less than full time.

That can mean less time to study, putting you at a disadvantage to your classmates, as well as the task of finding day-care for your child. To find out what studying alongside parenting can actually entail, I spoke to fourth year pharmacy student and motherof-two Sirah Asif.

Sirah manages university by doing most of her work during the day and when her children go to bed in the evening, but she says she does feel that she is at a disadvantage to other students who do not have such constraints upon their time.

With regards to missing out on the social aspect of university, Sirah feels

that she doesn’t really get a chance to be a part of a society because they generally meet on evenings or weekends, a time when there is no available childcare.

She also notes that if she were to commit to a society, she would want to contribute to it and be a dedicated member, which is impossible for someone in her situation.

However, despite the obvious drawbacks to juggling parenting with studying, there are some positive factors to be noted. Sirah, who seems to take being a mum and a student in her stride, likes the fact that students have long holidays that coincide with children’s school holidays.

The holidays enable her to spend a considerable amount of quality time with her children, on top of the evenings and weekends that she already dedicates to motherhood.

During the day, Sirah’s son attends Cardiff University’s day-care centre, situated on Park Place. He thoroughly enjoys his time spent there and has many friends there who he has been in childcare with since a very young age.

Jacqui Kempa, the day-care centre’s manager, spoke to me about what the centre offers to studying parents: "The day-care centre is open from eight in the morning until six in the evening, which fully covers most timetabled lectures, and caters for pre-school children from the age of ten weeks.

"Its dedicated and friendly staff choose to conduct all learning activities through the means of play, making it enjoyable for children such as Sirah’s son, encouraging them to explore and learn.

"These services are open to all students and staff all-year-round, except for times when the university is not open, such as bank holidays and Christmas."

There seems to be a high demand for the services offered by Cardiff University’s day-care centre, as their provisions for two year olds and under are completely full and there are

limited vacancies for older children up to the age of five.

This is not surprising considering that the centre recently won the National Day Nurseries Association Welsh Nursery of the Year Award.

This award is voted for solely by parents who use the facility in recognition of the excellent standard of care and support provided by the centre, proving the high standards that the centre sets and reaches.

One concern of student parents is provisions for older children during half terms. As the day-care centre only caters for pre-school children, parents with older children who have time off school for half term can struggle to find childcare for these times.

Many student parents are forced to bring their children in to lectures with them, a situation that is far from ideal as children can get restless and bored in lectures, particularly if they last for more than an hour.

Some universities set up a ‘holiday club’ that enables student parents to leave their older children in a supervised atmosphere while they attend their lectures and continue with their studies.

Although Cardiff University does not have this facility at the moment, it is something that Mature Students Association officer Kelly Marlow is keen to set up.

As student parents are typically also mature students, Kelly has taken the initiative to try and set up childfriendly events that student parents can realistically attend.

She hopes to arrange a coffee morning in the student union’s Kitchen, where student parents can bring their children along and discuss elements from the NUS’s ‘Meet The Parents’ report.

The report, published in April 2009, deals with the realities that parents who study have to face. Although three quarters of the student parents that they surveyed rated their experience as positive, a majority of 60% had considered leaving their course.

Top: the day-care centre is located on Park Place: a handy location for students. Above: Student parent Sirah Asif. Below: do student parents recieve enough help witht their studies?

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gair rhydd • Monday November 15 2010 • features@gairrhydd.com

Above: Cardiff University's day-care centre offers excellent facilities to student parents, but their resources are being stretched It also highlighted the financial struggles that student parents have to cope with, as only 18% said that they received adequate information about funding and available support.

Again, a shockingly low minority of only 14% felt that the information they received on childcare was acceptable. The report brought to light the many barriers that face student parents, which, it is hoped, will be taken in to consideration by the government in revising and developing its policies for further and higher education.

The Mature Students Association at Cardiff University also aims to host smaller coffee mornings and afternoons that are accessible to student parents.

These would allow student parents to socialise with each other while their children do likewise, as well as sharing experiences within a community that is facing the same situations and difficulties.

For more information on the Mature Students Association’s events please contact MatureOfficer@cardiff.ac.uk.

Kelly also brought to light some of

the problems regarding communicating with student parents at university.

As these students have a tendency to only attend their scheduled university lectures, advertising to them can be a difficult task.

As Sirah also points out, having time to socialise can be difficult for a student parent as university projects and assignments demand a great deal of time. Any spare time she has is spent with her family, and I suspect the situation is similar for many student parents out there.

Although emotional support can be provided through organisations like Cardiff University’s mature students one, and as Sirah points out, through tutors and lecturers who understand the pressures of life as a student parent, another crucial form of support is that of the financial variety.

The cost of childcare can be steep, but help is available to student parents. Home students can get up to 80% paid childcare from the Local Education Authority (LEA) and there are university funds available to other students in need of financial help.

Student parents are also entitled to support through emergency and

“

Juggling parenting with studying is a job that is never less than full-time

hardship loans, which are available for students who find themselves in impossible financial situations while at university.

Student parents, responsible for not only themselves but also their children, have far more challenges than the average student.

Illness of a child may become an issue, as they may have to stay at home and miss lectures.

Although the same could be said for any working parent, some modules can be very fast paced with new and crucial information being provided in every lecture, and so a day missed at university can, in some instances, have a huge impact on an individual’s studies.

The situation can only be worsened for student parents who are also single parents, especially with problems such as debt, benefit and child maintenance being prominent in many cases.

In a 2004 report published by One Parent Families, these issues were discussed alongside social welfare and legal advice problems that single parents can face.

This collaboration of difficulties

has been described by our own deputy head of law, Richard Moorhead, as ‘a poisonous cocktail’ and with further cuts being issued this year, there does not seem to be much hope for improvement in the situation.

Although not all student parents are also single parents, it is fair to say that all parents who study face seemingly insurmountable barriers.

With many students facing a learning curve of taking responsibility, becoming more organised and learning that devotion and hard work are key to getting the most out of your degree, student parents have double the responsibility and in turn, must be twice as organised and devoted.

Sirah does not regret her decision to go to university and is grateful to be studying, as I’m sure many student parents are. It is undeniable however, that a certain level of self-belief and will power is needed to bypass the hurdles created by adding children to the mix.

Undeniably, it is a dedicated, committed and motivated individual who is able to juggle parenthood alongside obtaining a degree.

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gair rhydd • Monday November 15 2010 • features@gairrhydd.com

Your Space.

We want to hear your stories: anything goes. Just drop us a line on features@gairrhydd.com. This week Thomas Leeming talks about his experiences of living with a stammer.

I have a stammer. And for many years it made me feel miserable.

I've become very good at acting, pretending to be thinking about what I'm saying.

I would purposely not complete classwork so when the teacher pointed at me for the answer, I could say, “I haven't done that question”.

I would say I didn't know the answer, even when I did. Sometimes I wouldn't bother going to school at all.

I wouldn't attend a party, or event I wanted to, purely because I didn't

Imagine if you couldn't even say your own name.

W

hen I see people talking I can't help but feel jealous.

How easy they make it look. How relaxed and carefree they are. It seems simple: you open your mouth and words

Above: Gareth Gates conquered his stammer through his singing come out. You say exactly what you want to say whenever you want to say it. Imagine if you couldn't do that. Imagine if you couldn't even say your own name.

The Oxford dictionary defines stammering as speaking “with sudden involuntary pauses and a tendency to repeat the initial letters of

words”.

However, to someone who stammers it's much more than this. It's the constant fear of being discovered as someone who stammers. It's feeling embarrassment and shame when losing control of your speech.

It's feeling worthless and thinking you're not as good as other people.

want to stammer. In my first year of university I mostly just stayed in my room: I didn't want to face the world.

I couldn't carry on the way I was; I had to do something. I had heard of this speech therapy course, called the McGuire Programme, which claimed to help you gain control and become an eloquent speaker.

Many sufferers had joined this programme to gain control of how they speak, including the singer Gareth Gates. But I was sceptical.

I thought it wouldn't work for me.

After a few months of thinking, I finally decided to take the plunge.

I received a letter confirming my place. It was really real; it was going to happen. July 28 2010. The Clare Hotel, Cardiff.

The course started on a Wednesday evening with an introduction from the course instructors, who were, at one time, out of control stammerers themselves. They were standing there, not stammering at all. One had been on the programme for 15 years. It was clear this method worked, but I thought it still wouldn't work on me.

All the new students then had to make their 'first day videos', which involves sitting in front of everyone and saying your name, address and answering a few questions. I remember feeling scared, but somehow it was OK - I was allowed to stammer.

During the course, the new students learn to speak from a different part of the diaphragm using a technique called costal breathing.

Over the next few days I got stron-

ger and stronger with my technique, and I learnt about the psychology of stammering and how to break the fear.

Saturday afternoon brought tough challenges. My first challenge was to speak to 100 strangers on the street, asking directions and even disclosing the fact I was on a speech therapy course. My second task, and the hardest, was public speaking. In Cardiff city centre, I stood on a soapbox and told the world I was a recovering stammerer.

I am no longer helpless. I'm working on my speech; I am in recovery.

But that was three months ago.

After a week of being in control, I started to slip and stammer again.

The good thing about the McGuire Programme, however, is that it is a lifetime membership. You can phone other recovering stammerers, attend support groups and go on more courses.

I have since been on my second course in the Netherlands and will attend my third next month, which will be instructed by Gareth Gates.

Before I joined the programme, I had never met someone who stammered. It was very isolating. Now I don't have to be alone. However, I will need to work hard every day for the rest of my life if I want to be free from the constraints of stammering.

Unfortunately, it's no cure. I will always have a stammer, but it doesn't have to control me. I will no longer hide away but instead embrace every opportunity and show the world I'm trying.

Being back at university hasn't been easy, and my speech hasn't always been very good, but I haven't just been staying inside. I've joined societies, been to lots of events and even auditioned for plays as part of Act One, the drama society. I didn't get any parts, yet it was good to try and give it a go.

I'm also the Academic Affair Officer for the LGBT+ Association, helping to tackle homophobia within the university. I would never have done these things last year.

Having a stammer can cause people to feel very alone and I hope in reading this article you can understand the emotional struggle some people face every day.

It would really help us if you didn't try to finish off our words or sentences. Be patient and give us the time we need. And please don't laugh or make fun. We really can't help it. We're doing our best.

Science 24

The secret dolphin meat Alice Evans Science Correspondent The ongoing slaughter of around 23,000 dolphins annually happening now in Japan was brought to light for the world to see this August via the screening of the award winning documentary film; “The Cove”. The film followed renowned dolphin trainer turned activist Ric O’Barry and his team of underwater camera men, marine scientists and free divers on their mission to reveal to the world what Japan did not want the

they will swim around 40 miles in a day. O’Barry believes along with many other marine scientists that the stress of the noise and confined space of captive dolphins often leads to the subsequent and seemingly unexplainable deaths occurring in dolphinariums.

But what do dolphinariums have to do with dolphin slaughter in Japan?

The increase in quantity demanded by the consumer obviously results in an increase in demand from the supplier, so the question

September and March every year, a fleet of fishing boats banging metal poles herd hundreds of dolphins a day into a small lagoon in Taiji national park. The bottlenose dolphins are selected, tied up and shipped off around the world to dolphinariums and the rest are speared and left to bleed to death in the water. The entire lagoon turns crimson with their blood. Fishermen can make around $600 from a dead dolphin, but up to $150,000 for a live one.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commer-

and were not allowed to ask follow up questions.

But the main issue that the Japanese government appear to be trying to cover up is not the slaughter of thousands of dolphins every year and the export of dolphins to dolphinariums. An example of a question that was banned at the dolphin hunt discussion in Taiji shows the real problem the Japanese government is trying to hide; “Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research reports that the mortality rate for

dolphin meat. The recommended total concentration of mercury in meat as specified by Japanese health authorities is 0.4 ppm (parts per million) and yet samples were taken from Japanese fish markets in which mercury was found in up to 2000 ppm. After mass mutations and loss of sight, hearing, limb movement and memory of hundreds of children in Minamata, Japan, in 1956, it was later found that toxic levels of mercury were being dumped in a nearby bay from the local factory. The government tried to

world to know.

Ric O’Barry was once the most recognised dolphin trainer in the world for his creation of the infamous Flipper. He spent 10 years building up the dolphin show industry, but has since spent 35 years trying to redeem his actions by tearing down what he started. In 1964, when Flipper was released, there were only 3 dolphinariums in the world; now, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry.

is - where does the supply of bottlenose dolphins like Flipper used in dolphin shows come from? The answer is found off the coast of a small fishing town in Japan. At a marine mammal conference in San Diego, O’Barry was due to be the keystone speaker to discuss the conservation of whales and dolphins, but media staff were bemused when at the last minute he was cancelled from the list. Seaworld was the sponsor of the conference in which O’Barry

cial whaling in 1986, but dolphins and porpoises are not considered “whales” by their standards, because they are too small. However, the IWC was set up by whaling nations which may benefit from leaving these species off the agenda, and in 1987, Japan tripled the killing of dolphins and porpoises.

The government of Japan appears to be desperately trying to cover up this monstrosity; at a dolphin hunt “discussion” with the mayor of

Taiji and nearby Koazagawa, where dolphin meat is also consumed, is over 50% higher than the rate for similarly-sized villages throughout Japan. In 2010, hair samples from 1,137 Taiji residents was tested for mercury by the National Institute for Minimata Disease. The average amount of methyl mercury found in the hair samples was 11.0 parts per million for men and 6.63 ppm for women, compared with an average of 2.47 ppm for men and 1.64

cover this up for 12 years.

The sale of dolphin meat containing fatally or harmfully toxic levels of mercury (the most toxic, non radioactive element on earth) to the public of Japan, has often shown under DNA testing to be sold under the label of safe larger whale meat.

The dolphin meat trade therefore may cause a repeat of the 1956 mercury poisoning, and so is not only a matter of conservation, but also one of medical human rights that

Dolphins rely hugely on acoustics to communicate, judge distance, depth and space. Their highly sensitive sonar system is so finely tuned it can tell if a human is carrying a baby. They are possibly the most intelligent animals on earth,

intended to discuss the dolphin slaughter occurring in the coastal fishing town of Taiji, Japan, but for some reason, they did not want this topic to come up.

The investigations of the team working on “The Cove” showed the

Taiji last week, the restrictions on media access and questions asked verged on the staged, after journalists were told that they would only be let in if they were sympathetic to town officials, submitted their questions ahead of time, were not

ppm for women in tests conducted in 14 other locations in Japan. What do you attribute this to and who does the liability fall upon?”

Atmospheric pollution post-industrial revolution has caused the environmental build up of mer-

the government of Japan appears to be ignoring in favour of their economic gain. Activists are still working with the Japanese government to ban the commercial fishing of dolphins, but without public knowledge and support this target

they are self aware and in the wild

gory and saddening truth. Between

allowed video recording equipment

cury, and hence the toxic levels in

may not be met.

Taf-od

25

Llwyddiant i Gaerdydd ac Abertawe - llwyddiant i Gymru?

Cynan Llwyd Taf-Od 1-0 oedd y sgôr wedi 90 munud digon diflas a chefnogwyr yr Adar Gleision yn gwgu tra bod gorfoledd yr Elyrch i’w glywed o Stryd y Frenhines. Wedi dweud hynny, mae Caerdydd yn yr ail safle ac Abertawe yn dynn ar ei sodlau. Dau dîm mewn safle gwych a charfannau cryf sy’n cynnwys chwaraewyr sy’n haeddu chwarae gyda mawrion Manceinion, Lerp l, Chelsea ac Arsenal – Bellamy, Bothroyd, Burke, Sinclair a Pratley, ond i enwi rhai.

Gyda’r tîm rhyngwladol yn eistedd ar waelod ei gr p rhagbrofol heb unrhyw bwynt at ei enw – pa lês fuasai cael dau dîm o Gymru yn chwarae ym mhrif gyngrair Prydain a chyngrair gorau’r byd? Nid ffantasi yw dychmygu rhywbeth o’r fath, gall fod yn realiti yn y dyfodol agos iawn. Cofiwch Gaerdydd ddod o fewn drwch blewyn y llynedd.

Yn dilyn llwyddiant y Ryder Cup eleni gwelwyd statws ein gwlad fechan ar y llwyfan rhyngwladol yn codi gyda sêr y byd yn heidio yma.

Buasai gweld Caerdydd ac Abertawe yn ennill dyrchafiad yn hwb enfawr i’n wladol ym mhob ffordd posibl yn fy nhyb i ac eraill.

Dywedodd Carwyn Jones, ein Prif Weinidog, yn ddiweddar ; ‘Pe bai Caerdydd neu Abertawe neu’r

ddau yn cyrraedd yr Uwch Gynghrair, mi fyddai proffil Cymru heb amheuaeth yn codi ymhlith cefnogwyr pêl-droed ac eraill.’ Mae’r Cymry’n rhannu’r un meddwl yn, bellach ‘nid gêm genedlaethol Cymru yw rygbi. Heb os nac oni bai, ein gêm ryngwladol yw pêl-droed,’ chwedl Peter Rees, cyn cadeirydd y FAW. Oddeutu 10,000 o bobl oedd yn gwylio Gleision Caerdydd yn erbyn y Gweilch yn gynharach yn y tymor o’i gymharu â’r 26,000 oedd yn gwylio’r gêm bel-droed yr wythnos diwethaf.

Gareth Bale, seren ein tîm rhyngwladol a gipiodd benawdau tudalennau cefn y papurau newydd yn ddiweddar, ond bellach mae’r ddau dîm o Dde Cymru yn destun sylw'r byd pel-droed. Gwelodd y BBC hi’n dda i ddarlledu’r gêm ddarbi yn fyw brynhawn dydd Sul diwethaf.

Siomedig oedd safon y gêm serch hynny, ond nid yw hynny’n anghyffredin - Sâl iawn yw nifer o ‘gemau mawr’ y byd erbyn hyn (a gofiwch chi gêm derfynol Cwpan y Byd rhwng Sbaen a’r Iseldiroedd?!). Ta waeth am hynny, ymddengys fod pawb yn barod i’r ddau dîm derbyn y clod a’r statws maent yn eu haeddu. Dywedodd Sam Hamman, cyn-gadeirydd yr Adar Gleision y gallent ‘fod yr un mor fawr â Barcelona.’

Wedi sawl hynt a helynt ariannol,

wedi cwympo i lawr y cynghreiriau ac atgyfodi o dywyllwch gwaelodion ysgol y cynghreiriau, wedi ing a thristwch, llawenydd a gorfoledd,

wedi ffeinal Cwpan yr FA, siom y gemau ail gyfle, wedi sawl rheolwr, wedi Trundle a Ernie, yr Ayatollah a phob Swim Away tybed a fydd y

ddau dîm a’u gwlad yn cyrraedd yr uchelderau hynny y soniodd Hamman amdanynt?

Rali ‘Na I Doriadau, Ie i S4C Newydd’ Heledd Melangell yn edrych yn ôl ar y Rali Fawr...

Heledd Melangell Taf-Od

Mae haerllugrwydd Llywodraeth San Steffan wedi corddi pobol Cymru. Daeth dros 2000 i wrthdystio dydd Sadwrn yn ‘Rali Na i Doriadau, Ie i S4C Newydd’ ger yr hen Swyddfa Gymreig yng Nghaerdydd.

Bu’r amrywiaeth o bobol yn bresennol yn y Rali’n syfrdanol. Merched y Wawr a myfyrwyr, Aosialwyr rhonc ac anoracs rygbi – casglwyd ynghyd bobl o bob cwr o Gymru.

Dim ond y brotest diweddaraf oedd hon. Bu Cymdeithas yr Iaith yn gwrthdystio yn Llundain, Caerdydd ac Aberystwyth yn erbyn y toriadau enbyd sy'n gwynebu S4C ac mae arnaf ofn mai nemor dechrau’r frwydr am y sianel yw hyn - Ac hynny am yr ail dro yn ein hanes.

Bu Angharad Tomos yn areithio a fe'n hatgoffwyd o’r aberth mae rhai megis Ffred Ffransis a Gwynfor Evans wedi ei wneud er mwyn sefydlu’r sianel (yn ogystal a chanoedd o Gymru eraill dros y blynyddoedd). Fe aeth Ffred Ffransis i’r carchar am 3 mlynedd a mi roddwyd Gwynfor Evans ei fywyd mewn peryg wrth iddo fygwth ymprydio hyd farwolaeth am sianel Gymraeg.

Mor bwysig yw S4C i ddyfodol yr iaith ac fel sefydliad cenedlaethol cafodd ei chyllid ei amddiffyn gan ddeddf pan cafodd ei sefydlu.

Dydi hyn ddim yn destun pryder i lywodraeth Llundain. Maent yn bwriadu newid y ddeddf yma fel ei bod hi'n bosib torri S4C yn rhubanau fel y mynnent.

Bu aelodau Cymdeithas, gwleidyddion a chynrychiolwyr undebau

yn cymeryd rhan yn y Rali. I gloi yr oedd adloniant amgen, sef cerddoriaeth ddawns a hip hop Cymraeg. Nid oes modd gwadu bod S4C heb gynrychioli y genres ‘ifanc’ yma’n ddigonol yn y gorffennol a gobeithiwn fydd yr ‘S4C newydd’ yn darparu llwyfan i'r genres gwrth sefydliadol amgen yn ei rhaglenni.

Fe ddywedodd Bethan Williams, Cadeirydd Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg : "Mae'r sianel yn fuddsoddiad unigryw yn yr iaith Gymraeg, felly mae cynlluniau'r Llywodraeth yn tanseilio'r Gymraeg fel iaith fyw.

Mae'r newyddion bod y Llywodraeth yn ceisio pasio deddfwriaeth a fyddai'n caniatáu iddynt ddiddymu S4C yn llwyr, yn cadarnhau ein pryderon mwyaf. Ei cynllun yw cael gwared a'r gwasanaeth yn llwyr.

Rydym yn galw am annibyniaeth

olygyddol ac ariannol i S4C drwy gadw'r fformiwla gyllido bresennol ac anghofio am y syniad gwirion o ymuno a'r BBC. Mae angen datganoli darlledu i Gymru a hynny ar fyrder, yn lle bod penderfyniadau annemocrataidd yn cael eu gwneud yn Llundain. Rydym yn cydnabod bod gan y sianel gwendidau, dyna pam rydym yn ymgyrchu dros S4C newydd, ond ni fydd hynny'n bosib o dan y cynlluniau hyn.”

Mae S4C a’r cyfryngau Cymraeg yn hanfodol i seicoleg y Cymry a’r modd y maent yn gweld yr iaith. Dyma beth sydd yn gwneud y Gymraeg yn berthnasol i bobol ifanc, mae’n rhan annatod o normaleiddio’r iaith a’i gyfoesi.

All fod y gwahaniaeth rhwng pobl y gweld yr iaith fel iaith hen ffasiwn amherthnasol neu yn iaith fyw sydd yn perthyn iddyn nhw – y byd a'r bywyd modern.

Pam felly yr holl bryder yngl_n a S4C?

Mae natur ei thynged heddiw ynghlwm ag agwedd pobl tuag at yr iaith ac mae’r teledu, ynghyd a’r we a’r chwyldro digidol a rôl annatod i’w chwarae yma.

Credaf ein bod mewn cyfnod bregus yn y frwydr dros yr iaith Gymraeg.

Mae’n wir bod niferoedd y siaradwyr wedi codi yn ddiweddar ond beth yw’r realiti’r sefyllfa? Ydi’n iaith fyw ym mywyd pob dydd y siaradwyr newydd neu ydi’r Gymraeg yn cael ei gweld fel iaith addysg a iaith yr henoed ganddynt?

Os oes diddordeb gennych ymuno a’r ymgyrch ymunwch a Cymdeithas yr Iaith ar CampusGroups neu ymunwch a ‘ Cell Prifysgol Caerdydd’ ar Facebook.

Listings

Monday

Tuesday

31 Wednesday Thursday

15th Nov

16th Nov

17th Nov

18th Nov

THE LASH, Solus, £3.50, 9.30pm The Lash promises 'all the best in chart and cheese', which doesn't really sound all that tempting, to be honest. But if you're a sporting LAD then it's most definitely the place to be.

LIVE MUSIC, The Taf, FREE, 8pm Pretty much what it says on the tin really.

Live music. In the Taf. They had a pretty good line-up last week, so expect great things from this night.

FUN FACT TREE, Solus, FREE, 9pm Fun Factory is an institution among Cardiff students and therefore you simply must check it out. Playing the very best alternative music, and with various cheap drinks promotions, you're sure to have the best night of the week here - and I'm not even biased. It's a staple. Free entry and super cheap drinks are a perfect way to enjoy yourself while keeping an eye on the purse-strings.

LATE NIGHT LIVE, Ten Feet Tall, FREE, 9pm Every week, 10 Feet Tall selects the finest in local, new and up-and-coming bands to perform in the Rock Room, with 50s and 60s garage rock in the bar.

MUSCLE, Chapter Arts Centre, £6-12, Various times Former National Dance Company Wales dancer and choreographer Phil Williams and writer /director Greg Cullen give an insight into their fusion of theatre, dance, music and documentary. If you fancy doing something a bit different with your Monday night, check this out.

Visit www.chapter.org for information.

JUST DANCE, Clwb, £3, 10pm Just Dance returns every Tuesday night at Clwb Ifor Bach with one simple mission...to get you dancing all night long. A mixture of modern day pop, rock and R&B, thrown together with some cracking blasts from the past...cheap entry, cheap drinks prices and great, GREAT tunes.

COMEDY CLUB, CF10, £2, 8pm It's Tuesday night, and what could be better than getting together with some friends and watching live comedy? Comedy Club selects the finest young talent on the comedy circuit and brings them directly to your union for a stupidly cheap ticket price. This week the line-up looks amazing, with performances from Chris Ramsey and Nat Luurtsema. Apparently, he's one of the most exciting acts on the comedy circuit at the moment. Nat was nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2008 Chortle awards, and she's definitely one to watch. Comedy Club never fails to dissapoint, so get yourself down to CF10 for guaranteed laughs.

LISTEN UP, Clwb, £3, 9pm Listen Up has become an institution within an institution. Everybody loves Clwb. Everybody loves Listen Up. Playing a mix of motown, funk, indie and pop among three floors of cheap bars and trendy kids, this is the place to be every Wednesday.

BOGOF Orange Wednesdays There's so much good stuff on at the moment including the amazing The Social Network and Mr. Nice. Have a chilled out night.

JAZZ AT DEMPSEYS, Dempseys, £5, 9pm Music ranges from piano or guitar trio, saxophone or trumpet quartet, quartet with vocals to big band. Hear jazz standards made famous by the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, as well as original tunes.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

19th Nov

20th Nov

21st Nov

BOOMBOX, Solus £3, 10pm Playing an eclectic mix of electro, funk, drum 'n' bass, hip hop, dubstep and breaks with a turntablist twist. Featuring dance classics, chart remixes and old school classics. Expect to hear Pendulum, Calvin Harris, Dr Dre, David Guetta, Major Lazor, A Skillz, High Contrast, Prodigy and much more. To be fair, it's the cheapest Friday night this side of the bridge, fulfilling all your student needs and perfect for bringing those visiting mates too.

Go ahead kids, BOOM YOUR BOX. LA NOCHE ESPAÑOLA WITH ‘VAMOS’, Gwdihw, £2, 8pm Dripping with Mediterranean flavour and spicier than a Spanish sausage Péchés Mignons’s ‘La Noche Española’ promises to deliver searing hot flamenco rhythm and blistering rumba beats. Joining us tonight are ‘Vamos’, a quintet of international musicians hailing from Spain, England and France, and with a penchant to spread their cheeky charm and happy go lucky nature to their audiences, are here to bring the sunshine on even the cloudiest of days. As Vamos themselves say ‘we just want to make you smile, sing and dance.’

COME PLAY, Solus, £3, 10pm A safe bet for a Saturday night. If none of the other events do it for you, head to the Union for guaranteed good music and cheap drinks. Not the most imaginative of nights out, but you'll be sure to have a good time.

And who said that being able to predict the playlist down to the very last minute was a bad thing?

NEWSOUNDWALES PRESENTS: PAPER AEROPLANES, FRED JONES AND JESSICA LEE MORGAN, St. John's Church, £7.50, 7pm Paper Aeroplanes is a girl and a boy from the westest extremes of Wales, who spend a lot of time on the M4 in pursuit of pop perfection. Think Suzannne Vega, Cranberries and Rilo Kiley and then think again. BBC Radio Wales said: 'A confident collection of commercial pop gems' Record Of The Day 'this is VERY, VERY GOOD INDEED, the finest radio album to come out of Wales since Rockferry.' I can vouch for that. My friend showed me this band a little while ago and they've been firm favourites on my Spotify playlist ever since. Go to this.

HAVE A SUNDAY ROAST The Taf does a wicked, and cheap Sunday roast - as do the CAI. Have a lie in, and then get some classic comfort food to help beat Saturday night's hangover or stave off the end of the weekend blues.

10 FEET TALL SUNDAY SOCIAL, 10 Feet Tall, FREE, 8pm A brand new night featuring Greg Ramshackle and Steve French, whoever the hell they are. However, if you have nothing better to do on a Sunday night and fancy heading out for two-for-one cocktails, perhaps give this a go.

GABRIELLE APLIN, Clwb, £5, 7.30pm Talented Wiltshire singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin has became something of an internet sensation, notching up over eight million plays on You Tube and becoming the number one unsigned act on Myspace.

Apparently she draws influence from Damien Rice, Jamie Cullum, James Morrison, so she sounds like somebody that I would quite like to see. Yet, despite her reported fame, I have never heard of her... I might go and see what all the fuss is about.

See you there.

BOUNCE, Walkabout, £4, 9pm If you really, honestly, have nothing better to do... actually, no, even that isn't a valid excuse. No reason for going to Walkabout is acceptable in my eyes. Okay, so perhaps you have to go once in your university career, but I know that the debauchery and filth will put you off going again, if you have any personal morals, that is.

C.Y.N.T, Clwb, £4, 10pm Voted as one of the top three nights in the UK by Mixmag. The biggest midweek rave this side of the Bridge. Expect big queues as ravers descend for their dose of electro, techno, dubstep and drum 'n' bass. Advance queue-jump tickets from c-y-n-t.com. This is the only legitimate thing to do on your Thursday night.

Venues Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 814456 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ IV Lounge, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ◆ Clwb Ifor Bach, 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ◆ Barfly, Kingsway, Tickets: 08709070999 www. barflyclub.com/cardiff ◆ Metros, Bakers Row www.clubmetropolitan.com ◆ CAI, Park Place 02920 412190 ◆ Buffalo Bar, 11 Windsor Place www.myspace. com/wearebuffalobar ◆ Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www. chapter.org ◆ Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org.uk ◆ The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff. co.uk ◆ The Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermantheatre.co.uk ◆ Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ◆

Sport 32

Home Nations seek autumn progress

Wales have never produced their best rugby at the World Cup. Getting back to their grand-slam best before next autumn is the main task for their autumn test matches.

They went into their campaign with a significantly weakened squad. Captain Ryan Jones, full back Lee Byrne, wing Leigh Halfpenny and centre Jamie Roberts were all out through injury, but Wales' opening display against Australia was not as disheartening as it could have been.

The Wallabies, dominant in the scrum, were ruthless in the backline, scoring three tries. Wales made too many straightforward errors and missed kicks that cost them.

Securing one win over a major team this autumn will be a significant confidence boost ahead of the Six Nations, where Warren Gatland, with a new four-year contract behind him, will hope to have a fit first-choice squad to choose from.

Andy Powell, now with London Wasps, has made a return to the squad with the hope of putting the infamous ‘Buggygate’ saga of last spring behind him. Martin Williams also continues to soldier on.

But Wales, under stand-in skipper Matthew Rees (below) have a number of youngsters to call upon. 18-year-old wing George North has been drafted in from the Scarlets and Bradley Davies, 23, continues to deputise for the injured captain Ryan Jones.

The 2003 World Champions are a squad packed with potential, but who have shown brilliance and naivety in equal measure over the past 12 months.

Having been swept aside by the southern hemisphere teams last autumn, England immediately found form in the Six Nations with victory over Wales at Twickenham. But a stuttering show in Edinburgh in the drawn Calcutta Cup completed an indifferent campaign.

England then claimed their first southern hemisphere test win since the 2003 World Cup, beating Australia in a Danny Care-inspired 21-20 win in Sydney.

Ben Foden (below) was fasttracked into the starting XV last season. His composure allowed him to take the ball from Delon Armitage.

England are searching for consistency. There was plenty of encouragement from their narrow defeat by New Zealand though they failed to take their opportunities in the same manner causing defeat in Paris last spring. More experience for Chris Ashton may correct their flaws.

England had no form whatsoever as the 2007 World Cup approached but they managed to fight through to the final. Martin Johnson will be looking to take better form to New Zealand and a positive autumn series, with at least one major win, will be a good start.

Scotland's shorter campaign will, unfortunately, be another rebuilding affair after the terrible news that Thom Evans (below) was forced to retire from rugby through injury.

Evans collided with Wales' full back Lee Byrne at the Millennium Stadium back in March. He suffered a broken neck and was lucky to survive the incident for his vertebrae were pushed so far out of alignment, a fraction difference could have resulted in permenant paralysis or death.

The loss of this 25-year-old from the pitch is a tragedy on more than one count. He provided Scotland with some much needed impetus.

Scotland tend to flatter to deceive.

They appear to make strides of improvement, for example, beating Ireland in Dublin, before slumping back into the doldrums, as when they lost to Italy in Rome.

They defended like men possessed last autumn against Australia. A straightfoward missed conversion from Matt Giteu handed Scotland the win but the tenacity on display suggested Scotland were building a stout defence, from which the likes of Thom Evans could try to put Scotland ahead in matches, rather than the constant need to play catch-up rugby.

Coach Andy Robinson may leave 100-cap Chris Paterson, Scotland's highest points scorer, out of their three-match autumn series and place an immense level of responsibility on indifferent Cardiff Blues fly-half Dan Parks.

Ireland unveil their new Aviva Stadiu§m this autumn. A curious structure and a poor opening attendance left the rugby world somewhat underwhelmed.

The focus for the Irish rugby administration will be to convince everybody not of their team's competitiveness ahead of the World Cup but that they have managed the development of Landsdowne Road correctly.

An outrageous pricing strategy left fans with the option to purchase a four-match package for £296 or stay at home. A slow uptake saw the IRFU slash the package in half but they were left with a grand opening against South Africa featuring 15,000 empty seats.

The £357 million upgrade has only marginally improved the ground's capacity. The historic Landsdowne Road, which sat on the same site, only held 2,000 fewer than the new ground, which also features a strange onetiered North stand.

Croke Park, Ireland's temporary home, sold out 80,000 seats for several Six Nations matches. Surely 51,000 limits the revenue potential of Irish rugby?

On the field Ireland have a team that could become world greats. Though, their Achilles heel is getting enough ball. Scotland starved them of it in the Croke Park finale back in March and won. Ireland have to control their set piece to give their at times dazzling backs the ball to flourish with.

Sport33

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com

International Rugby Stars show their support for Children in Need Lucy Morgan Sports Editor With Children in Need just five days away, fundraising events have been taking place all across the UK and last week was no exceptionwith a unique rugby match taking place at Pontypridd Rugby Club in aid of the popular charity.

A host of Welsh ex-international rugby players dusted off their rugby boots and joined forces to form a special Pudsey Bear team to take on members of the current Welsh Women’s squad.

Members of the Pudsey team included former Wales back-row Andy Gibbs, ex-Wales and Cardiff Lock Craig Quinnell and former international fly-half, Arwel Thomas.

Despite being a typically wet and windy November night, the match attracted huge support with members of the current Welsh and Australian rugby teams also turning up to lend their support ahead of their Autumn International clash at the Millennium Stadium.

Pudsey Bear also made the trip to Pontypridd to cheer on his team and entertain the crowd.

Australian squad members were so taken with Pudsey that they happily posed for pictures with him sporting Wales Pudsey hats.

The match itself was 20 minutes of pure entertainment with the Pudsey team fittingly coming out as victors. It was unclear as to what rules were being played on the field but, in the spirit of Children in Need, both teams went out to enjoy themselves and have a bit of fun in the name of a worthy cause.

The event was a tremendous success for Children in Need and received great support from the Ponty crowd, raising lots of money for the charity.

Children in Need is one of the UK’s most supported charities

,raising money to make a positive change to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. Every single penny raised goes towards helping those who need it most.

The annual appeal night is always a highlight of the BBC calendar with numerous events taking place across the UK.

Above: Wales and Australian Internationals join forces with Pudsey Photos: Alison Quinn

This year Wales’, Children in Need show will come live from the Millennium Stadium with images beamed live to a nationwide television audience during the half time break of the Wales v Fiji game.

Joining Pudsey on the night will be The Saturdays along with Wales’ Only Men Aloud. The One Show’s Alex Jones has also been announced as the presenter of the star-studded

extravaganza.

Tickets are still available from as little as £10, so make sure you get yours and enjoy a great evening at the home of Welsh Rugby, raising money for a great cause.

Children in Need Facts:

“

Pudsey bear also made the trip to Pontypridd to cheer on his team

The BBC's first broadcast appeal for children was a five minute radio programme on Christmas Day in 1927.

The First Televised Appeal was in 1955 Pudsey Bear made his television debut in 1985 Last year was the 30th BBC Children in Need raising a record breaking £39 million

Sport34

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com

Sub-Standard Inter seventh heaven George Salmon IMG Football Substandard Liege 2-0 Inter Menan With both Sub-Standard Liege and Inter Menan coming into this game with Premiership aspirations, the stakes were high for both teams.

After a typically hard-fought encounter, it was Sub-Standard who came out victorious with two headed goals before the break from Dan Brockley and Tom Wood. The victory was their seventh in succession and leaves them well-placed in Group B. The match began at a frenetic pace, with some crunching tackles flying in from both sides as each sought to impose their authority in midfield.

Nearly 20 minutes passed before the first real chance of the game arrived. When it did, it was expertly converted by Brockley. The tenacious midfielder leapt to meet an

Andy Paramore long throw with a carbon copy of Javier Hernandez’s ‘back-header’ to leave the imposing Menan keeper with no chance. This seemed to settle the game down, and Liege developed a decent passing rhythm, resulting in some nice interplay across the park.

Liege scored their second goal from another header as Tom Wood met a Jonathon Lyons corner at the back post to bag his first league goal of the season.

As half-time approached SubStandard goalkeeper Alex Hybs made his only real save of the match palming over a well-struck Inter free-kick.

After halftime, Menan made a notable effort to get back into the game, and the midfield battle was resumed with some more meaty challenges and scuffles.

Despite their increased possession, Inter were not able to fashion a decent chance until late on when the otherwise impressive number ten headed over unmarked.

This is testament to a solid defensive display from Liege, especially the central defensive pairing of captain Price and new signing

Bywater.

Sub-Standard were far from hanging on, and could easily have widened the winning margin, with

top scorer Ben Pearson hitting the post and Wood twice firing over when clean through.

Group A

IMG FOOTBALL P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

KLAW FC

3

3

0

0

+13

9

2

Engin Locomotive

3

2

1

0

+13

7

3

Pharm AC

3

1

1

1

-2

4

4

AFC Cathays

3

1

1

1

-6

4

5

SAWSA

2

0

1

1

-1

1

6

SOCSI

2

0

0

2

-6

0

7

Kay FC

2

0

0

2

-11

0

IMG FOOTBALL

Derby win for Cardiff III

Group B P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Sub-Standard Liege

3

3

0

0

+13

9

2

CARBS FC

2

2

0

0

+10

6

3

Psycho Athletico

1

1

0

0

+7

3

4

Inter Menan

2

1

0

1

0

3

5

Fenerbache

3

1

0

2

-3

3

6

Gym Gym

2

0

0

2

-3

0

7

CHAOS

3

0

0

3

-23

0

8

Jomec

0

0

0

0

0

0

IMG FOOTBALL

Group C P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Economics FC

2

2

0

0

+21

6

2

AFC History

2

2

0

0

+13

6

3

Law A

2

1

1

0

+10

4

4

AFC Time Team

2

1

0

1

-3

3

5

Your Mum's Athletic FC

2

1

0

1

-5

3

6

Myg Myg

2

0

1

1

3

1

7

Real Ale Madrid

2

0

0

2

-12

0

8

Opus 11

2

0

0

2

-21

0

Group D

IMG FOOTBALL P

W

D

L

Diff

Pts

1

Earth Soc

2

2

0

0

+8

6

2

FC Euros

2

1

1

0

+5

4

3

MOMED AFC

2

0

2

0

0

2

4

Engin Automotive

2

0

2

0

0

2

5

Port Fail

2

0

1

1

-2

1

6

Law B

1

0

0

1

-5

0

7

Chemistry

1

0

0

1

-6

0

Will Bond BUCS Football AFC Cardiff III 2-1 Swansea Met I Following a disappointing performance against Swansea Metropolitan II two weeks ago, Cardiff III looked to bounce back with a win against Swansea Met I. Swansea came out the stronger of the two teams – rattling the crossbar in the first five minutes and dominating possession. Cardiff, however, showed defensive skill to soak up this early pressure and not concede.

This was largely due to Tom Hemmett making a fantastic oneon-one save to deny Swansea’s centre-forward.

Following this early pressure Cardiff began to retain possession and, after some good inter-play in midfield, Tom Horgan was able to slide a ball through to James Morris who calmly placed the ball past the Swansea keeper to put Cardiff 1-0 up.

Cardiff had several more opportunities to score in the first half but were unable to convert these

chances into goals – the best of these opportunities fell to Adam Hunt who managed to volley over from only a yard out.

Defensively, however, Cardiff remained solid and although Swansea had a couple of chances these were easily kept out by man- of-thematch Hemmet.

This, coupled with strong performances from Tom Horsfield and Nicky Jones, allowed Cardiff to take a 1-0 lead into half time.

An unchanged Cardiff team came out strongly in the second half.

After dominating possession, Chris Nash, who tormented Swansea’s left back the entire game, was able to get to the by-line and cut

the ball back to Tom Horgan who passed the ball into the net.

James Morris had a great opportunity to win the match for Cardiff but blazed his one-on-one chance over the bar.

Swansea were buoyed by this miss and swiftly responded with a dubious goal to make the score 2-1 with 20 minutes of the game remaining.

This left Cardiff sitting defensively for the final third of the game with Swansea pressing for an equaliser.

Although Swansea created a few half-chances, Cardiff held on to finish the game 2-1 up and move up to second to place in the league.

Sport35

Monday November 15 2010 • gair rhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com

BUCS 2010-11 Medics Success at 'Shef-Fest' Netball Tournament Ellie Powell Medics Netball Last weekend Cardiff Medics Netball team piled in cars and drove for 4 hours, up to darkest Sheffield, to take part in the annual ‘Shef-Fest’ tournament that is held at Sheffield University.

The tournament has been running for the past six years, but this was the first time that a southern University had been invited.

Cardiff Meds thought it would be a great weekend for banter, bonding and a bit of netball but were not expecting such high quality competition!

When we turned up, a little under the weather from the previous nights antics, we quickly realised that there was everything to play for and set out to bring home the Shef-Fest Trophy.

As various members of the team were busy throwing up their Morrisons breakfast, the tournament kicked off.

We quickly dominated our first match against York, winning 19-1, with some awesome shooting from Kat ‘The Tank’ France and some great tactical passing from Fran ‘Bingo’ Yarlett.

After a morning of high quality netball, Cardiff Meds were looking like a force to be reckoned with as the northerners realised they had underestimated these southern newcomers.

Neither York nor Manchester’s 1st teams stood a chance as Emily ‘Gnasher’ Collom defied all laws of gravity and court markings!

Soon we were in the final against the hometeam, Sheffield, fighting for Welsh pride.

BUCS Fixtures - 17/11/2010 Football: AFC Mens I v Bath I Llanrumney 2pm AFC Mens II v Hartpury III (Away) AFC Mens III v Aberystwyth Llanrumney 2pm AFC Medics I v Swansea II (Away) AFC Medics II v Swansea IV (Away) AFC Womens I v UWE I (Away) AFC Womens II v Bath II Llanrumney 2pm Badminton: Womens I v Bath I (Away) Mens I v Southampton I Talybont 3pm Mens II v Glamorgan III Talybont 1pm Basketball: Mens II v Glamorgan I (Away) Mens I v Exeter I Talybont 4.30pm Womens II v Swansea I Talybont 12.30pm Womens I v Southampton I Talybont 4.30pm Fencing: Mens I v Southampton I Talybont 3pm Womens I v Aberystwyth I Talybont 1pm Sheffield had the home advantage and were determined not to let ‘their’ trophy go south.

There was a healthy crowd and the odd wet dog on the sidelines when we came out, bums blazing!

After an aggressive 30 minute match, Cardiff brought it home for the Welsh with a comfortable 11-4 win.

As they say, form is temporary but

class is permanent. As newbies to the tournament, Cardiff Medics definitely did the South proud. There was great netball, brilliant chat and outstanding team spirit (mainly vodka!).

We look forward to defending our title next year!

Veni, Verbi, Vici. We came, we bantered, we conquered.

Cardiff Victory Marred by AU Demands Blanche Lumb Ladies Rugby Cardiff Ladies 10 – 0 Durham Uni Cardiff University Ladies looked to follow up their impressive win last week with a win in the first round of the BUCS cup.

The preparations began on Tuesday night with a six hour car journey to Durham and a stay in the luxurious Travel Lodge. Wednesday proved to be a good day for rugby with cold, clear and importantly dry conditions, and Cardiff were optimistic as they took to the pitch.

The first ten minutes proved promising for Cardiff with most of the rugby being played in Durham’s half.

Unfortunately the cold weather forced a lot of balls to ground and Cardiff were frustrated as nothing quite worked for them. Cardiff continued to be frustrated as Durham’s forwards slowed the ball and prevented Cardiff playing the quick rugby they are used to.

After much hard work from the forwards Cardiff finally secured quick ball which put flanker Claire Molloy in

space. A quick offload to wing Kelly Davies saw her get within metres of Durham’s try line where an excellent support run from blindside flanker Natasha Dickerson saw Dickerson cross the line for Cardiff ’s opening try.

Buoyed by their first try, Cardiff continued to put pressure on Durham and again got within a few metres of the line.

Durham continued to slow the ball, preventing Cardiff from playing the quick rugby they are used to, but Captain Jen Hawkins didn’t let this stop her and soon smashed over to score Cardiff ’s second try of the game.

A short Durham kick off allowed Cardiff to set up for some quick ball at last.

Scrum half Meg Tudor took advantage of this and chipped over the Durham line, a lucky bounce put the ball back into her hands and Tudor got within a metre of the line.

Quick support from Molloy and Hawkins secured the ball but again Durham slowed it and eventually the referee said Durham where moving forward. Cardiff lost possession and half time was called.

After several changes at the break

Cardiff took to the field with renewed enthusiasm and continued to try to play fast rugby with little result.

The forwards continued to work hard and were securing more and more quick ball. The ball finally got out to Emma Fox and was quickly shipped wide.

Unfortunately a run by Leila Hughes was seen as too much of a threat by Durham and she was tackled very heavily.

It was clear that Hughes had been badly injured in the tackle and play stopped immediately.

It quickly became apparent Hughes would need hospital treatment and both Captains agreed to finish the game 14 minutes early and give Cardiff the win.

Whilst this was agreed on the pitch Cardiff ’s AU, who had been informed of the injury, had phoned Durham to insist that the game continued - a stance that outraged the Durham coach and upset some of the girls.

Cardiff are now through to the quarter final where they will face Chichester again.

All the girls would like to wish Leila a speedy recovery and thank Durham University for all the help given.

Golf: I v UWIC I (Away) II v Newport II (Away) Hockey: Mens I v Oxford Talybont 4pm Womens I v Bristol II (Away) Medics Mens I v Cardiff IV (Away) Medics Womens I v Cardiff IV (Away) Lacrosse: Mens v Southampton ! (Away) Womens v Bath II (Away) Netball: I v Bristol I (Away) II v Glamorgan I (Away) III v UWIC IV (Away) V v Medics I Talybont 2.30pm IV v Newport I (Away) Medics II v Cardiff V (Away) Medics I v Swansea II (Away) Rugby: Mens I v Oxford Brookes I Llanrumney 2pm Mens II v Bath II (Away) Mens III v Glamorgan III (Away) Mens IV v Cardiff Medics II (Away) Womens v Oxford I (Away) Medics I v Imperial Medics I (Away) Squash: Medics v Bristol III (Away) Mens I v Bournemouth I (Away) Table Tennis: Mens II v Glamorgan II (Away) Tennis: Mens I v Swansea I (Away) Womens II v Exeter Welsh Tennis Centre 12pm

Sport

Charity Rugby << Inside

Cardiff Kayaking Success Freshers enjoy first taste of Canoe Polo Tournament Helen Jarvis Kayaking Saturday October 30 saw the Cardiff University Kayakers take part in a freshers' Canoe Polo tournament held at Bath International Sports Village.

Canoe Polo is one of the fastest growing watersports in the UK and abroad. In particular, the sport has grown quickly at university level with several teams competing in the National League.

The British University Student Association (BUSA) Canoe Polo tournament is the highlight of the year. Run by Loughborough University, the event is attended by over 80 teams.

The game is played on a 35x23 metre pitch and can best be described as being, in essence, similar to basketball. Two teams, each with up to eight players, compete for control of the ball with the aim of scoring a goal.

The first club competition of the year involved only people new to the sport. First years were thrown in at the deep end and entered the competition having had only one practice session the previous week.

The eagerness of the new members made the club proud, as Cardiff managed to get together both a mens' and a ladies' team for the contest.

At the competition, the freshers immediately got into the thick of things with whole hearted enthu-

siasm.

Despite their limited training the ladies put up a great fight, losing narrowly to Cambridge in their first game. One member of the team, Mel Williams volunteered to play without having any previous experience of the sport.

Autumn Rugby Internationals << Inside

The mens' team drew two of their matches and lost one, whilst the ladies drew one and lost two.

The team played Cambridge again

which proved to be a much closer game the second time round.

Simon Hutt was on the scoresheet for the men, whilst Maria Waghorn and Jonny King, acting as the experienced players, held their teams together brilliantly despite being prohibited from shooting or goal keeping.

King, in particular, was described by the tournament commentator as “the heart and soul of the team” picking up on stray passes to keep the game flowing and keeping Cardiff in control of the match.

The ladies' match against Swansea contained a memorable moment with first year Elizabeth Jewsbury showing exceptional enthusiasm. Making a striking sprint for the ball Elizabeth unfortunately

tipped her boat over in the process.

Despite this comical moment, the game with Swansea ended 0-0.

Away from the kayaking, Cardiff competed extremely well in the swimming competition. This involved both teams having two people swimming at the same time.

In what was an extremely successful trip overall, first years on both the mens' and ladies' sides showed great improvement throughout the day.

Many players showed sufficient levels of promise to suggest that the future looks bright for the Kayaking Club.

The club are now looking forward to the competitions that follow in the near future.

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