InQuire 9.2

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meet the conservatives

comment - page 5

Issue 9.2

keynestock coverage

in praise of chris hadfield

merida is no princess

31st May 2013

kent signs sports charter

iq entertainment - page 16

iq culture - page 20

iq features - page 13

sport - back page

says “it is problematic that students, already investing in the experience at Kent through their fees, are also contributing through their accommodation”.

At Kent, the average rent is £5,218 for this academic year, close to the maximum maintenance loan of £5,500.

Many students, however, do not receive the maximum maintenance loan and the minimum of £3,575 is less than the cheapest accommodation at Kent. Living costs can be made up by savings, part-time work, grants or other loans but, for some students, this is difficult, as much of the anecdotal evidence collected in the report shows.

Jonny Hewerdine, third year law student, said: “I worked 14 hours per week, on both Saturday and Sunday in order

to afford the rest of my living costs/course costs.

They detracted from my work as I didn't get a break; I had uni all week and work all weekend.”

A first year actuarial science student said “I have to get my boyfriend to send food parcels down” because their finances are so restrained, despite having a job.

Kent Union have recommended that the University adopt The Housing Voice’s definition of affordable housing: “Comfortable, secure homes in sound condition that are available to rent or buy without leaving households unable to afford their other basic needs (e.g. food, clothing, heating transport and social life).” The report says that “the current state of play within student accommodation does

not match up to this”.

Last year, NUS and Unipol Student Homes published a survey that showed large increases in university accommodation rent nationally over a ten-year period. After the research, Pete Mercer, NUS Vice-President for Welfare, said: “Student rents have skyrocketed, leaving fewer reasonably priced accommodation options for students from lower and middle income backgrounds who are really feeling the pinch.”

The University of Kent sees much greater demand for its more expensive accommodation – new, ensuite rooms in Keynes have 2.7 applicants per room – but Colum McGuire, Kent Union Vice-President for Welfare, says this is what he calls “the

en-suite saga”, where students are naturally attracted to the highest quality accommodation but don’t realise they can’t afford it until it’s too late. The Restrained by Rent report says the University’s guidance for applicants around this is “quite poor”.

McGuire, who commissioned the Restrained by Rent report, spoke about Kent Union’s next steps: “We’ll be presenting our report right across the University which we hope will open up many serious discussions about how to move forward. This certainly isn’t an overnight win and Kent Union want to work with the University moving forward to get the best deal for students; one that allows them to thrive during their time at Kent rather than just survive.”

students “restrained by rent”

Matthew Gilley Newspaper Editor “WE cannot maintain the current approach to rent setting that shuts students out”, says the Restrained by Rent report, published by Kent Union. The report, released early exclusively to InQuire, investigates trends in rent levels at the University of Kent as well as issues of student funding and experience related to accommodation.

It shows that between September 2008 and September 2012, rent on the Canterbury campus rose by 19.1%. Inflation in that period was 11.6% and so the report says this “raises serious questions” about whether students are subsidising other areas of the University through their accommodation fees. The report

2

News Editor’s Note

Hey everyone, It’s another exciting week of student coverage in InQuire.

We’ve got an exclusive on a Kent Union report into how much you pay for your rent at UKC, why, and how that affects you - this is something that we should all be interested in.

We’ve also got an interview with Colum McGuire, recently elected NUS Vice-President (Welfare), debate about student immigration and reporting from Keynestock 2013.

So have a read, and enjoy the sun while it lasts.

Matt.

InQuireLive 2013/2014 Editorial contacts: Alasdair Lawrence Chairman chairman Matthew Gilley - Editor newspaper.editor Chad Greggor - Website Editor website.editor Newspaper: Christopher Heron - News newspaper.news Samantha Baldwin - Comment newspaper.comment Emma Shelton - Features newspaper.features Rebekah Chilvers - Culture newspaper.culture Emily Adams - Entertainment newspaper.entertainment Dan English - Sports newspaper.sport Website: Simon Terhaag - News website.news Tom Vine - Comment website.comment Tom Hagues - Features website.features Caroline Wadham - Entertainment website.entertainment Emma Greenacre - Culture website.culture Hetty Sieling - Distribution distribution LaShanda Seaman - Promotions and Evenets promotions Daniel Barnby - Design Design To contact any of the committee, just add @inquiremedia.co.uk to the end of the adress under their name.

one in ten students have “suicidal thoughts” Christopher Heron Newspaper News Editor

OVER one in ten students have said they have experienced “suicidal thoughts” while at university, according to a survey by the National Union of Students (NUS).

The survey, which had 1,200 respondents nationwide, focused on the various aspects of mental health and its prevalence on campuses around the country.

Of the respondents, 92% reported having suffered from a form of mental distress, with 13% reporting “suicidal thoughts” 14% of students said that they had considered self-harm, with other issues including, but not limited to, panic (38%), insomnia (50%), anxiety (55%) and stress (80%).

If you are suffering from any mental health issues, please do not hesitate to contact any of the University’s support services: UoK Canterbury Conselling Service Mon-Fri 9-5pm Keynes College LG2 01227 823206

Several different reasons for emotional distress were cited, with issues such as coursework deadlines (65%) and exams (54%) being the most common causes.

Other problems such as bullying, financial difficulties and homesickness were also all cited. One in twenty also reported having problems with alcohol or drug abuse.

NUS admitted that there were some problems behind the nature of the research. As due to the self-selecting nature of surveys some of the results may have been exaggerated.

Despite this, the results are a cause for concern for NUS Disabled Students’ Officer Hannah Paterson, who said: “These stats are confirming what I have been hearing on campuses for some time.

“My primary concern is the University Medical Centre 01228 823583 Out of hours emergency: 0844 8001234 www.kent.ac.uk/medical NHS Direct (24 hour service) 0845 4647 www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

durham spends millions on art Rebekah Chilvers Newspaper Culture Editor

DURHAM University has been criticised after spending £1.4 million on distinguished artworks whilst students are charged £9,000-a-year and hundreds of staff are paid less than the living wage.

The art bought by the University includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, which are now displayed in various university buildings The spending was described as a “total disgrace” by the president of Durham Students’ Union, Archie Dallas. The public sector workers’ union Unison said it was “utterly appalling and heartless”.

The University’s student newspaper Palatinate fought to obtain the sum of the costs but a Freedom of Information request was said to have been opposed by the University for “security reasons”. This was later overturned after an internal review found the refusal to be “overly cautious”.

A spokesperson for the University said: “Durham University is a custodian of many fine treasures and developing our collections of graphic art and sculpture for public display was an essential part of the original concept for the Palatine Centre.”

Criticism for the University has come after the student tuition fee was raised to £9,000-a-year and John McDade from Unison said a survey found the University had 555 members of staff earning less than the living wage of £7.45 an hour.

The initial budget for art was said to have been £294,000, The University stated that the additional costs were met by savings in their £60 million Gateway Programme.

Photograph by UGL_UIUC

fact that over a quarter of those surveyed did not tell anyone about their problems with a mere one in ten using care provided by their institution.”

The survey also indicated that of those who do experience mental health problems while at university, 64% do not use any formal services for advice or support.

Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said that “This new research demonstrates the

scale of mental health problems among students.

“We are particularly concerned that more than one in ten students surveyed had experienced suicidal thoughts during the time they’ve spent at their current place of study.

“Despite the high prevalence of mental health problems and stress among students, many people are not seeking help, perhaps because of the stigma that can surround mental health problems.”

kent lecturer cannes success

Emma Shelton Newspaper Features Editor

CLIO Barnard, a Reader in the Film Studies Department and Director of Undergraduate Studies for Film at the University of Kent, was present on the programme for the Director’s Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival (15-26th May).

She is one of two directors chosen to represent the UK with her film The Selfish Giant.

This film is based on an Oscar Wilde children’s story, which tells the story of a giant who tries to protect his garden from local children.

Her take on the tale is aimed at an adult audience but still manages to pull at the heartstrings of acclaimed critics.

Edouard Waintrop, the Artistic Director of the 2013 Festival, claims to have “wept” the first time he watched it and that he “still can’t talk about it without tears coming to [his] eyes.”

Clio Barnard, best known for her documentary ‘The

Arbor’, which received awards including the Best Newcomer and Sutherland Awards at The London Film Festival, as well as the Best New Documentary Filmmaker at the Tribec Film Festival in New York, enters into the Cannes Festival with her first fiction film.

The Head of the School of Arts at the University, Dr Jonathan Friday, commented on her inclusion in the Festival: “We are delighted to hear of Clio’s success for her latest film.

Everyone is immensely proud of her achievements and on behalf of everyone at the University I wish her the best of luck for the festival”.

The Selfish Giant won the prize for the Best European Film after an unanimous vote.

News 3 proposals against £9,000 tuition fees Anthony Phillips

TUITION fees could be lowered to £6,000 and would cost no more than the current system, according to research by London Economics, commissioned by the Million+ group.

The research, titled ‘Higher education funding in England: Do the alternatives add up?’, suggests two models, the first with £6,000 fees and the second employing a graduate tax.

The study was focused on finding viable alternative methods to the current system where universities can charge up to £9,000 a year, but still retaining the current level of funding.

The £6,000 proposal highlights that participation would increase by 12,500 students, short term costs would be recovered over a 30-year period and that lower tuition fees would lower inflation and therefore government spending.

The study argues that a higher government subsidiary would lead to reduced lending costs for the Treasury, as lower fees would mean more students would pay back their loans in full.

However, the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation said that: “This report confirms that reducing tuition fees to £6,000 would mean a £2bn shortfall... That would be bad for students, bad for universities and bad for graduates”.

The other proposal concerned a graduate tax or ‘Higher Education Contribution System’, which argued that students would graduate with less overall debt and would cost no more than the system currently in place.

Currently universities employ a system in which they can charge up to £9,000 a year, with a free market for highachieveing students.

A change to either of these

proposals would signal a move away from this model, where the funding many university departments receive is directly affected by the number of students they attract to the university.

Pam Tatlow, the chief executive of the Million+ group, which includes Canterbury Christ Church University, said that “questions remain about the sustainability of the coalition’s higher-education reforms and their impact on participation, but few details have emerged about the alternatives”.

She went on to say that it was “vital that any alternative proposals add up”, highlighting the debate surrounding higher education funding.

1999 Oxford Protests against the initial introduction of tuition fees.

Photograph by jonworth-eu.

student media celebrates

Chad Greggor Website Editor

ON Saturday 18th May, InQuire, KTV and CSR fm came together at the KIC awards to celebrate a year’s worth of student media. The evening saw several awards given out for outstanding contributions to student media, recognising writers, presenters, behind the scenes and dedication in each branch.

The awards took place in the Gulbenkian theatre, and were presented by El Baldinio. KTV presented awards for Best On-Screen, Best Off-Screen and Best Show, which were won by Stephanie Ashenden, Moritz Hochberg (interview in Entertainment) and the KTV cookbook show.

Awards for InQuire were judged by Stefano Hatfield, editor of i newspaper, Sarah Lonsdale from the Telegraph and Rob Bailey from the Kent Messenger. Laura Ricchetti won Best Article for her editorial ‘Shortcomings’, on the trials of being short. Lisa Gheysen won Best Newcomer, and Sam Baldwin won the prize for Best Writer.

CSR fm gave out prizes to

their members for Best Off-Air, which went to Ryan Bartrop, Best On-Air, which went to Alastair Chrisholm, and Best Newcomer, which was taken away by Joe Ismail. The award for Best Show was given to the Al & Jack Show.

A number of overall awards were also given out for outstanding volunteering within the three societies.

Pamela Head, former InQuire newspaper editor, took most dedicated, while Joel Tennant took Best Exclusive for his coverage for InQuire of the new archbishop’s enthronement in March. Best Event Coverage went to CSR fm for their coverage of the Kent Union Leadership Elections.

spring 2013 democracy zones hidden course costs survey released Phyllis Hattenburg

THE final democracy zones of the 2012-2013 academic year have now passed, with a series of proposals going through the four zones: Your Education, Your Community, Your Rights and Your Union.

All but one of the zones failed to achieve quorum, with many of the motions that passed unable to be ratified until the next zone that achieved the required numbers.

The highlight of the Your Education Zone was the proposal on whether “to allow students to control the weighting of their coursework and their exam on their overall mark”. No consensus was reached, so the motion will go to an All Student Vote (ASV).

While no proposals were submitted for the Your Community Zone, the following Zone (Your Rights) contained five.

These included offering Mental Health Awareness Training for committees and lobbying the university to act as a guarantor and for more students that need

it, as well as exploring other support options.

The only zone to achieve quorum was the last zone of the year, Your Union. This contained the proposal to lobby the university to erect a 200 foot bronze statue of the late Margaret Thatcher.

The proposal fell, the first to be voted out since Kent Union introduced the new system of voting within the zones last term.

Other motions at the zone included Kent Union taking part in the Westgate Towers issue over the summer (which passed), and Kent Union implementating an online forum for students going to an ASV. All the proposals for the zones can be found at: www.kentunion.co.uk/ studentvoice/zones/

Matthew Gilley Newspaper Editor

THE University of Kent needs to address course costs and the worries students have about them, according to Kent Union’s Hidden Course Costs survey.

The survey, released on 8th May, compiles data from over 550 students about their experiences of hidden course costs and the effect of that on their ability to concentrate on their studies and meet basic living expenses.

The study found that nearly three quarters of students do not believe course costs like books and printing were “appropriately communicated” to them before starting University. 30%, the largest group, said these costs came to £100-200. 3% said they came to over £600.

56% of students either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I worry about meeting basic living expenses”.

Rebecca Salmon, a second year psychology student at UKC, said: “I think there should be

more text books in the library or that they should be available online, having costs sprung on you when you arrive is a bit of a shock.”

Three main recommendations are drawn from the study: that the University should calculate and publish course costs before the start of each year; that the University should absorb mandatory costs where possible; and means-tested funds should be available to students for particularly high

cost activities.

Alex Murray, Kent Union VicePresident for Education, said: “Now that we have uncovered this research, we hope that individual schools and the University will recognise some of the issues identified and seek to address these by adopting the proposed recommendations.”

The full report can be read at: www.kentunion.co.uk/ asset/News/15751/HiddenCourse-Costs-Report-Alex. pdf.

4

News

“i do feel that welfare is undermined, it’s seen as the fluffy kind of stuff where you give out cuddles and condoms.”

After two years as the Vice President for Welfare at Kent Union, Colum McGuire has been elected the Vice President for Welfare for the National Union of Students.

He had a chat with Kent Union’s Disabilities Officer and InQuirer, Jonjo Brady, about his time as a student, his achievements at Kent and his new role at NUS. You’ve been Kent Union’s VP Welfare for two years, let’s start with how you got into student politics. What were you like as a student?

So, I studied Drama and English and actually had no engagement in politics or campaigning or any of that kind of stuff when I first came to university.

So really it is quite odd that I’ve ended up where I am, and part of that was because of the opportunities and the involvement that I’ve had.

It all started with something really small like getting involved in a society and from there it just built. I found myself wanting to learn more, wanting to get more involved, and my eyes were just opened to so many things.

I think I was always kind of passionate about student housing and that sort of stuff.

It all just built from there until eventually I decided to run for Sabb [Sabbatical Officer].

I suppose it really kind of singles out what I think university should be about anyway, about developing, learning and finding new things about yourself.

Was there anything in particular that drew you more to issues of welfare than anything else?

I suppose I’ve always had a little bit of an investment in it anyway. I always had a thing about accommodation and student housing even from when I applied to university.

I found it very frustrating that it seemed to be that you needed an en suite to have a good time and actually I postponed my original place at university because of, on some level, that very reason. It played a part in it and looking back now I think what a stupid decision it was.

I didn’t realise how much it annoyed me until I started to get more involved in dealing with some of these issues.

That really was my reason, my way in, and then from being involved in the LGBT campaign, I developed a lot more interest in equality, opposing discrimination and so on.

Some upcoming policies we might be hearing about?

Excited for the year ahead?

For the record, I think that promoting equality is not just part of the welfare remit – it should be part of everyone’s responsibility, even though it does usually fall onto the welfare role to champion it.

From then, just learning more about things like student finance and transport. These things really appealed to me – I was never cut out for the hardcore education side of things.

I found that it was really important for me to make sure that everything else that was going on around that was working well. It’s these other things that can really enhance or be a complete detriment to the student experience.

Could you run through some of the successes you’ve had in your time as Sabb?

I think one of the big things for me was, when I first started promising policies in my first Sabb election, was that we needed later buses in Canterbury.

This was something that had been worked on by Sabbs for years, to no avail. Some said to me, “it’s not going to happen”, “there’s no demand for it”, “no warrant for it to happen”, so when I first started I managed to persuade and lobby Stagecoach to extend their bus-times past midnight.

I also consider the work I did on zero tolerance to sexual harassment and discrimination that we launched in the Venue, and across our bars, a real success. It was a project that I started and finished and I’m really proud of that.

I certainly don’t think that we get it right all the time and that improvement can’t be made, but I believe that we’ve done a really good job there.

Issues with housing: we were the only city in the UK to successfully block article (4) directions from coming into place, which is a discriminatory and ineffective policy that caps where students can live in a certain area.

So that was a big success, although unfortunately it has come up again, so we are

fighting it yet again.

Generally though, I think that we’ve had a good impact on students and local community in some way. It’s also given us the opportunity to work closer with some of the other student unions in the area. It’s really helpful and important to have that kind of support.

You’ve been elected NUS VP Welfare for next year.

Tell me how that came about. How and when did you decide to do that?

I genuinely never expected to win, nor had any plans to do it. I was quite involved in NUS and I got involved when I was still a student on their National Demo 2010 and attending conferences.

I really enjoyed it and became passionate about it quickly.

Then when I became Kent Union’s VP Welfare, I ran for the NUS Welfare zone committee, got onto that, and then this year I re-ran for that position and got it, which meant I was on the National Executive Council.

I had no other plans to pursue

anything more and, I think, it’s one of them things where you’re like – ‘I could never do that,’ that’s way beyond my reach.’ It was really strange.

So then some conversations started around the end of last year on who was going to be running.

People had approached me about it and said ‘oh you should do this’ and I said, ‘no way,’ ‘this is not for me,’ ‘I think I’m ready to move on,’ ‘I don’t think I could do a good job of it.’

Pete [Mercer, current NUS VP Welfare] was really helpful and supportive. He encouraged me to do it and so then I kind of thought, ‘well okay, I’ll put my hat in the ring.’

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t an easy process. It was very stressful running in that election, but it obviously worked out quite well in the end.

I’m really proud of the fact that, as far as we know, I’m the first University of Kent Student in history to win a presidential position in NUS. So can we have a taste of some plans for next year?

Excited and scared! I do think that we sometimes get it wrong in student unions, the stuff that goes on at a local level is really important, and it feels like NUS resides at the top on another level doing something else.

One of the things that I ran on was the importance of membership engagement. So particularly in light of what’s happened over the last few years with the Government’s localism agenda, now more than ever, it’s becoming really important what’s happening in local councils and local areas.

Students need to have an impact on that, so I plan to do more to support and mobilise student unions in the work they are doing at the grassroots.

Another thing I want to do relates to welfare representation. I do feel that welfare is undermined, it’s seen as the fluffy kind of stuff where you give out cuddles and condoms.

I think that is absolutely wrong. I think welfare has a huge impact on students’ lives and we are quite lucky at Kent Union that we even have a full time welfare officer.

We have Megan Wells taking up the mantle [of VP Welfare] next year, thoughts on how well she will do?

I think she will be brilliant. I really do. I think that Megan is going to do things a lot different to me actually.

I think that some people have the impression that Megan and I are quite similar, because we come from similar backgrounds and past work and roles that we’ve both done in Kent Union already, but I think that Megan is going to take the welfare remit to a new place.

She is going to do new things with it and I find that really exciting, so I have no doubt that she will be fantastic.

For the full, extended version of this interview, go online to www.inquirelive.co.uk/ news

Comment 5

why ‘tolerance’ is a dirty word in equal marriage

Joel Tennant I don’t want to tolerate anyone.

We tolerate a screaming child in a supermarket, we tolerate a flat tyre or burnt toast in the morning – but why must it be a request that we ‘tolerate’ other human beings, whose only desire is to be themselves?

As the government’s Equal Marriage bill jumps hurdles set out by traditionalists and antigay activists, we must consider

the possibility that this country is just not as equal-minded as we like to think.

At university, we enjoy a microcosm of liberal thinking, of progressive thought and academically sourced information - but as anyone will tell you, that’s not always the real world.

Last year the University of Kent and Kent Union celebrated being recognised by the charity Stonewall as a ‘gay-

friendly’ university. This year, 17th May marked International Day Against Homophobia, and in support of this, Templeman Library on the Canterbury campus flew the Pride flag above the building.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Keith Mander, remarked on the importance of the progress that we enjoy on campus, “It is important that the University takes a stand to celebrate

diversity in all its forms and resist inequality.”

So what’s the real picture?

It’s great to recognise the monumental achievements made in places of higher education, but out in society, things look a little different.

“One in six experiencing homophobic hate incidents in the last three years experienced a physical assault.” This information comes from a 2008 report by Stonewall on ‘The Gay British Crime Survey’, a survey that discloses the violent nature of homophobic crime in the United Kingdom. And the picture doesn’t look to be improving.

In 2011, www. PinkNews.co.uk reported that homophobic and transphobic related crime had begun to increase and, in the same year, the Home Office published statistics which stated that: “65% of LGB secondary school pupils experience homophobic bullying at school”.

In those fragile years of secondary school, what can be worse than being made to

feel that who you are is simply wrong?

As the International Day Against Homophobia was being celebrated, one story emerged from the weekend that showed the grim reality of what homophobia in modern Britain.

Christopher Bryant, editor of gay and lesbian online magazine Polari, was beaten and robbed, alongside his partner, by six men after celebrating his birthday in London. During the brutal attack, he was told to “stay down you fucking faggot” as he and his partner, Damon, were repeatedly kicked and punched on the ground.

Tolerance is set aside for an inconvenience. In the desire for equality across gender and sexual orientation, there is no inconvenience, there is no destructive agenda, no aggressive ulterior motive, as some politicians like to suggest.

If we ever get there, if society ever realises that who we love doesn’t matter, and never has, maybe we will then be able to look back and wonder why it took us so long.

Konnor Nancy

system that genuinely reflects students’ ability. Cambridge Assessment, which operates Cambridge University’s exam boards including OCR, has proposed a system similar to A-Level UMS marks with scores that “could range from 600900”.

This, they say, would remove the “arbitrary” divisions between students with very similar marks. Such divisions could of course then be imposed by post-16 institutions, but the aim for transparency and accuracy is admirable.

The more important issue is probably not what new grades are called but how and what is assessed. Here, Gove performs less well.

His Ebaccs have already collapsed under pressure and his toned-down reforms still suffer from tragic elitism – he seems to think that History can be taught as a glorified, unreasonably British timeline, for instance, and to have forgotten the arts entirely.

But, on the issue of a new grading system, he isn’t headed in completely the wrong direction and, in his defence, nothing is concrete yet, with much more consulting to come.

SAY HELLO TO THE SWIVEL-EYED LOONS gove’s ‘a’ grade elitism Geroge Hopkin

WHEN news broke last week that a senior Conservative Party figure had said “the [Conservative] associations are all mad swivel-eyed loons”, I wasn’t really surprised. I’m a member of a few of them. Some might think a swivel-eyed loon is the kind of fanatic who thinks things are just “not the same these days”.

Aye, they don’t quite understand the modern concept of political correctness, and multi-culturalism provides so many social difficulties that at times they find it hard to not just shout out “They should all go back to their own countries!”

They could be seen as that haphazard bunch of spontaneous ideologues who wish that they could run the country but (hopefully) never will. Like UKIP, you might very well say.

In my experience the case is quite different. I think I understand what the close ally of Cameron means by associations being full of “swivel-eyed loons”—that there are passionate grassroots party members who intrude upon the national conversation and

want to pick and choose how they vote and who they vote for. Downing Street seems to despise that.

How many times have we read recently – especially with the Equal Marriage debate – about “backbench rebellions”, and “plots against the Prime

to steer it.

They want the best possible representation in Westminster, and a party that reflects their views.

So it is not the case that in every Conservative Club you are bound to bump into MadEye Moody, or meet people

Minister”? It is hard to pick up a newspaper without thinking that a horde of back-stabbing knaves are out to get David Cameron when he returns along the long and winding way back from a Brussels EU negotiation meeting.

That is not how it is.

Rather, the swivel-eyed loons are hard-working ground troops who love their party and believe in their own membership rights

whose eyes spin more than the icons on a Southend seaside slot machine. That would be grossly hyperbolic.

The senior aide has spoken at his peril, and the reaction to his comments has been suitably scathing.

The swivel-eyed loons, much like the real Harry Potter character, won’t be locked up in their trunks forever - and quite rightly so.

FOR once, Michael Gove’s latest reform proposal doesn’t incense me. No, this time the idea that A*-A grades could be split into four bands (one, two, three and four, with one being the highest) just confuses. It’s a bad idea, but it’s not so terrible that I can feel my blood boiling, which, by Gove’s standards, equals success.

Grade inflation is a problem, I’ll admit that much. If every student is getting an A*, then the system isn’t really working.

But changing the names of the grades alone isn’t going to solve the issue. Especially not, as Gove appeared to suggest, changing only the top brackets.

That would be a dangerous step towards a two-tiered system of qualification, with one perceived as being of lower value than the other, which is precisely what GCSEs were invented to abolish. GCSEs give under-privileged students the chance to compete on the same scale as the more fortunate; they are not automatically cut off from higher achievement before they even have the chance to learn.

What is needed is a grading

6

Comment

do our degrees prepare us for the workplace?

Camilla Olim BEING asked what I want to do after university is not my favourite question. Not just because, like many others, I honestly don’t know which career path to take.

When I think of the job market, I imagine a big, scary arena where prowling lions devour each other on their way to the top. It’s not an experience I feel well prepared for.

As an English and American Literature student, being taught to fight tooth and nail to secure a job worthy of my academic accomplishments (or, really, any job at all) isn’t exactly part of my lecture schedule.

And unfortunately, having a degree is a bit less impressive today than it was a few decades ago. But can I blame my degree for my lack of confidence in stepping out into the real world?

Unlike more specialised degree subjects, my course doesn’t necessarily lead to a specific field, despite the assumption that every English student will become a teacher or a writer (not that I haven’t considered these options myself). It does provide skills that many employers would

appreciate, but that’s not going to win me a job.

There will be thousands of competitors with the same qualifications as me. A degree alone will not be enough to prepare me for working life, and it probably won’t be enough for you, either.

The bottom line is, you can’t expect your academic staff to hand you everything on a plate.

So, how can you get prepared for the job market?

The key here is in taking responsibility for yourself. Any job is going to look better on your CV than none at all. Whilst bar-tending or office temping might not have anything to do with your preferred post-degree options, they’ll prove that you can relate to the working world, as well as to your beloved academic textbooks.

Even if you can’t get a job, you can volunteer. If you study a Humanities degree like me, you have lots of free time.

Why not spend some of it giving back to society? Obviously, you should never volunteer simply for the sake of your CV, but that is an added bonus.

Interning is another option, for those who can afford to do it. Nothing says ‘I’m serious

about working in this field’ like devoting weeks or even months to unpaid labour.

A degree will give you

society this year, consider trying something new in September.

There are so many to choose from at Kent, there’s bound to

Leave university knowing that you’ve made the most of it, rather than regretting missed opportunities.

specialised knowledge and some great transferable skills, but only life will give you life experience. University gives you freedom to explore what you enjoy and what you care about. If you haven’t joined a

be something to suit you. None of these options guarantee winning a coveted position on the career ladder, but being proactive has to be better than waving your degree around like a magic wand.

You never know when that Social Sec position for Belly Dancing or KSCV gold award may come in handy. And one day, maybe you’ll even get a job where your degree actually counts.

CURB OF IMMIGRAMMATION SHOULD NOT BE AT STUDENTS’ EXPENSE Chad Greggor Website Editor

DAVID Cameron’s promise to curb immigration in the United Kingdom has seen another success with a momentous drop in visa applications for gateway English language courses, a fall of 46% in visa applications for non-EU students.

Study Group UK suggests that this sudden change in students applying for UK language courses could have a severe effect on the number of non-EU students applying for university.

Having already curbed net immigration by almost a third last year to September, the current government seems to be doing a fine job of keeping foreigners out. Being an international

student myself, albeit coming from an English speaking background, I can give a unique (and somewhat spiteful) perspective on this whole campaign.

While I understand some of the reasons for wanting to curb immigration, where immigrants are in some way leeching off of the economy and not contributing, I cannot quite see the reasons for wanting to oust the intelligent, reasonably wealthy international student population that wish to attend some of the world’s most illustrious universities, found in none other than this very country.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has commented that the visa system has been reformed

because “it has been abused for too long, with providers selling immigration, not education”.

But it hardly seems problematic to be selling immigration to these students. Non-EU students pay inflated fees for an undergraduate degree, from £11,250 – 14,360 depending on the course, with no student loan, so they are hardly financially bereft.

What are the chances that, once they presumably gain UK citizenship, they will have a child and claim a council house and live at home with their degree sitting cosily on a shelf while they spend the rest of their lives leeching off the hard-working ‘native’ British tax-payer?

I have not heard of a single instance of this. In fact,

all of the degree holding immigrants that I know are either seminar leaders or a general addition to the UK economy.

In fact, the inflated fees required of international students is essential to maintaining UK universities.

Sarah Mulley of the IPPR has said that “This decline in international student numbers comes at considerable economic cost to the UK at a time when we can ill afford it”.

If the government are trying to get more people to leave and fewer people to

immigrate then they have succeeded. But they have only succeeded by making the United Kingdom look like a more xenophobic place to live in.

The drop in visa applications for students and net immigration is indicative of a government trying its hardest to keep out the wrong immigrants.

They can give themselves a congratulatory pat on the back knowing that those pesky foreigners won’t be taking a slice of our pie, because they simply don’t want to.

Comment 7

why we should embrace the e-revolution Alex Cassidy

WHEN Amazon released their sales statistics for 2012, CEO Jeff Bezos specifically mentioned the rise in e-book sales: "After five years, e-books is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast — up approximately 70 % last year.

“In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5 per cent."

This meteoric rise in e-book sales have, as all technology tends to do, struck fear into the hearts of Luddites across the globe.

The worry that the increase in virtual literature signals the end of the printed word, which statistics appear to support, is a rising belief.

Since the release of Amazon’s Kindle in 2008 and the launch

of Apple’s iPad two years later; tablet reading is undoubtedly on the increase.

But despite the fears, the primary message is lost.

E-books are unique in their inherently noble purpose. Put simply, it gets more people reading.

Those that see the digitalreading bandwagon as a death knell to our cultured, wellread nation are harbouring a painfully false nostalgia. Over the past 50 years there has been an increase in reading at all levels and age ranges.

This is of course, due to national rises in literacy level, but can also be attributed to the modern day reading revolution of the online world. However, there’s certainly a fear that this is another example of the digitalization of culture, and that some invisible element will be lost forever.

There has always been a desire for the tangible in our societies.

Just as vinyl and fountain pens have experienced a recent resurrection due to the essential quality it provides, so too will books.

The crackle on a record provides the same inherent joy as a crinkle of a page. It connects to the senses more than an electronic screen can, and that human element will keep books in print for as long as there is paper for them to be printed on.

Resources are, lest we forget, important too. E-books don’t use paper and ink, they can be backed up, safely retrieved if lost and allow much more leeway for publishing houses and authors alike to get their work into the cultural sphere.

The more words there are on pages, whether it’s made of silicon or paper, the more words

that can affect and change the minds of the readers.

So despite the obvious limitations of e-books, the metaphysical affect that words have on the consumer will always outweigh the physical benefits that traditional paperbacks provide.

The panic surrounding the e-books influence is an

overreaction.

Good quality paper bound books will stand the test of time, side by side with their digital cousins.

Nobody wants a collection of USB drives instead of a personal library; they want a physical representation of past experiences that can be revisited, reread and shown off.

angelina jolie: inspirational or ordinary?

Julie Peppiatt RISING to fame as a tough action heroine, Tomb Raider established Jolie as a resident Hollywood A-lister. Now, she’s in the news for none other than human vulnerability.

Angelina Jolie has publicly announced her double preventative mastectomy saying: "I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no

way diminishes my femininity".

Should we be praising her for her honesty, or taking a step back to remind ourselves of the thousands of ‘ordinary’ women who have trodden this familiar path?

Angelina Jolie was informed that she had inherited one of the two genes that increased risk of breast cancer to 87%.

When faced with the decision to take preventative medication

or to have traumatic surgery, she chose the latter, reducing a shockingly high risk rate to only 5%.

She lost her own mother of 56 to the same disease and wanted to ensure her children would not have to endure the same loss at such an early age. Many women before Jolie have made the same agonising choice.

However, they do not receive the same publicity, congratulatory

praise, or remarks of bravery that have been accredited to Jolie. Often the everyday woman does not have the same wealth or supportive privileges that her circumstances allowed her. Is it then understandable why her public announcement has been slated by some?

Breast Cancer Campaign supporter Emma Parlons suggests that Jolie is “glamorous and sensible”. She underwent the same operation three years previous and advocates that Jolie’s honesty should be praised. Jolie’s emphasis on feeling empowered from the operation and assertion that it “no way [diminished] [her] femininity" provides grounding for the subversion of what many consider to be a taboo subject.

Jolie’s public message, though, is not the questioned subject. Why should her fame emphasise her ability to deal with life’s hardships? Perhaps upholding Jolie’s actions within the media as ever so brave is preventing everyday women from claiming their own sense of strength, seeking instead to fit in with the new ‘role model’ in relation to their ability to deal with breast cancer.

As television shows such as ‘The C-word’ demonstrate, radical challenges to our perception usually stem from the world of celebrity. Our

society habitually seeks to ascertain what is acceptable from the actions of famous figures; from the latest fashion and diet fads to what brands we endorse, we can often be a nation that follows the crowd.

In this respect Jolie’s statement can surely only have positive implications, despite the perhaps unjust ability that she has to turn the spotlight upon herself.

As she has frequently been identified by the media as one of the world’s most beautiful women, it couldn’t have been easy for Jolie to present herself as a woman without breasts. Especially considering Hollywood’s obsession with flawlessless and perfection in their leading ladies.

She states: "for any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options".

Her confession to the press has raised the uncomfortable subject of mastectomies (and consequently, what defines femininity) into the public consciousness.

Although her bravery does not outweigh that of the everyday woman; it is undeniable that Jolie has increased awareness through her actions. Jolie’s bold assurance that her identity is unaffected by cancer suggests that there is much more to beauty than having breasts.

8

Editorial & Interview

unconventional exam tips you may miss Tom Hagues Website Features Editor 1. Befriend the invigilators Befriending the invigilators has many benefits; not least because you will be gaining new friends – excellent if you do not already have any.

Furthermore, you’ll be gaining an inside helping-hand, and your new friends will be there to supply you with answers, help and textbooks. It is VERY important that you do not become romantically entangled with any of them, because this can go sour and they may turn against you. This will only end badly.

2. Learn new ways to communicate with your classmates This will assist you in making sure you have the correct answer, thus giving you better marks. If you can communicate with others without being noticed, you will not get caught.

Most invigilators have cottoned on to this, so now they must be able to understand Morse Code in order to get the job. Instead, try throat warbling, telepathy and carrier pigeon. Carrier

pigeon works very well, as invigilators are notoriously bad at being able to fly, so on most occasions they will not be able to catch the pigeon.

3. Consider wearing a suit Wearing a suit increases a person’s confidence by almost 46%. This will unquestionably result in higher marks.

4. Do not take your phone into the exam Mobile phones are not allowed into exams, especially maths exams. This is because mobile phones now have calculators in them, and this makes cheating much easier. Should you need to have contact with someone outside of the exam hall, ask your invigilator to install a land-line at your exam desk.

This will allow you to make and answer phone calls without being accused of cheating.

5.

Wear appropriate clothing for your exam If your exam is in the winter, consider wearing a hoody or sweatshirt over your clothes.

This will stop you from feeling a chill in the exam hall. It should be noted that you shouldn’t wear fancy dress clothes, because the invigilators might not recognise you and you will miss the chance of taking the

exam.

This could possibly result in failure.

6. Take a drink into your exam Writing an exam is thirsty work, so do not forget to take a beverage into the exam with you.

Most universities have strict policies about the container in which your drink can be stored.

You are most likely not allowed to use a crudely-built well in the exam hall floor to get your drink from. A clear, plastic bottle will do.

Since most exam regulations state the drink must be water, you can easily get away with drinking vodka, white rum

and even white spirit. This will take the nerves away and you will get top marks. It is very unlikely that you will be caught out drinking these liquids, for invigilators have no sense of smell.

7. Take a lunch with you Exams can be stressful and can often be a strain on your body. To make sure you get through the exam without your performance levels dropping, take a 15 minute break during your exam to eat something. It is advisable that you eat slowreleasing energy foods; rice and pastas are best.

If you need to cook something, the invigilators will not mind

you using a portable gas stove, as long as you do not accidentally set anything on fire.

8. Give yourself a pep-talk This method is used by all sorts of professionals like business executives, football players and bus drivers, who need to ‘psych’ themselves up before an important performance of some kind.

Since you may not have time to use the bathroom mirrors, take a hand held mirror into your exam and give yourself some encouragement while the invigilators lay out the exam’s guidelines. It may also help to slap your own face whilst doing so.

it’s too dangerous to go alone, take this Chris Heron Newspaper News Editor Originally I wrote about space.

Space. Millions of burning lights in the sky, gas giants, galaxies, nebulae. Space is empty, a vacuum of darkness.

The distance between the Moon and the Earth is on average, 238,857 miles. That's the same as travelling from Canterbury to Plymouth 1012 times. That's a lot of dark, empty, lonely space.

After writing the report on one in ten students experiencing 'suicidal thoughts', my original idea for an editorial went out the window. Talking about my love affair with space suddenly seemed unimportant. Look at the results, 80% feel stress, 55% anxiety, 50% insomnia.

Even considering the nature of surveys, participants being self-selecting and anonymous, therefore skewing the results, the statistics are absurd.

Some of my greatest role

models are astronauts. Men and women who explore this vacuum, the most inhospitable place known to humankind.

For their country. For science.

Because it's there. Because they can. On the (16th of May?) three astronauts returned to Earth, including the now famous Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. There is no way that his zero-gravity cover of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' can't put a smile on your face.

As far as I'm aware, the only mental health issue I suffer from is the occasional bout of stress-induced insomnia. Even so, in the early hours of the morning it feels like I'm the only person in the universe.

This is not something I would normally admit (although I've just done it in a newspaper with a circulation of 1,500), but writing seems the easiest way.

According to NUS research, half of the student body suffers from

the same thing. So, it can't be just me can it?

There are three astronauts left on the International Space Station. As far as we know, they are the only sparks of life outside of our own planet. It is quite literally the loneliest job in the universe.

Except, it's not.

These astronauts have hundreds of people watching their every move. Watching for malfunctions in the space

station, watching their health, making sure that there is nothing wrong. And if something does go wrong, they are there to help them fix it. They are not alone up there, one of the many lights in the sky. It's too dangerous to go alone.

As Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind said, there is a stigma surrounding mental health problems. You wouldn't be afraid of admitting you had bronchitis would you? For some, it can feel like the loneliest existence in the universe.

I'm a sucker for fantasy and sci-fi, and I really hope someone notes where my utterly unsubtle title comes from. It's too dangerous to go alone, so take this. The survey noted that 64% do not use formal services for advice or support. Like the astronauts on the ISS, there are people looking out for you, there to help you out when you need it. You are not alone.

Turns out Doctor Who was good for something after all.

If you are not skilled at being interviewed then it shows.

It really shows.

Interviews are one of the most important things that you will ever do and being good at them requires skill and practice.

Compare it with another life skill like learning to drive. You wouldn’t learn to drive by reading a book and turning up for the test --- you take lessons first.

At InterviewMasterclass we teach you the skills you need using our one to one coaching that is specifically designed to meet your individual needs: just like a driving instructor, we teach you these skills in a safe environment where you can practice and learn from mistakes.

Make sure your interview isn’t a car crash.

Go to:

www.Interviewmasterclass.co.uk or email info@interviewmasterclass.co.uk To find out more and get a free initial consultation.

iq Keynestock: interviews and report iq entertainment pg. 16 Photography by Sam Allard

the tempest reviewed iq culture pg. 19

original poetry iq features pg. 12

12

IQ Features

Matthew Gilley Newspaper Editor

my life in books

Favourite Childhood/Teen Book – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings I was an annoying, precocious young boy when it came to books and read The Lord of the Rings too early, but although I might not have fully appreciated it, I loved it. My love of fantasy literature began there and endured throughout my teenage years. I remember particularly the all-encompassing scope of the novel.

Tolkien was a master at creating a complex world that seems to live and move far beyond the edges of the novel, even without reading all of the histories and other stories that he wrote about it. Tolkien’s detailed, beautiful descriptions bring that world into vivid colour in a feat of imagination rarely, or perhaps never, repeated.

Favourite Non-Fiction Book – John Simpson, A Mad World, My Masters Simpson is a towering figure in modern journalism, and probably a little responsible for my own desire to be a journalist. This book blends memoir and commentary as Simpson recounts various experiences from his career with humour, wisdom and humility. It’s exciting, but he doesn’t pretend journalism is always glamorous and he’s honest about the profession’s failures and achievements. Particularly moving are the extracts from Belgrade in 1999 when it was bombed by NATO forces. Simpson is also surprisingly hopeful in his view of the world, given how much of the book is dedicated to terrible people and terrible events. But this is exactly how journalism should

be, if it isn’t cautiously optimistic then it doesn’t offer anything except nihilism, and then why need it exist at all?

Favourite Music/Text Crossover – Richard Skelton, Landings I’m fascinated by the interaction of words and sound outside of song lyrics, although they’re interesting as well. Compared to other such media crossovers it is relatively unexplored – albums always come with visual art, films have soundtracks, but less often does someone make a score for a book, or literature specifically accompanying music. Landings is the result of years of mapping the West Pennine Moors, the complete version being a 300 page book of poetry, musings, descriptive sketches, history and etymology, alongside around two hours of atmospheric, layered violin soundscapes. It’s a perfect evocation of one man’s personal interaction with a landscape and both text and music are vital to the experience.

Favourite Required Course Reading – E.L. Doctorow, The Book of Daniel I’m an English Lit student, so this is

a little difficult for me because, yes, I actually enjoy my course and love a lot of the books I’ve studied – strange, I know. Of everything I’ve read over the last few years, though, The Book of Daniel stands out (it probably helps that I only read it a few months ago).

Doctorow’s novel is so much more than a fictionalisation of the famous Rosenberg trial – it captures two turbulent periods of American history, interrogates radicalism, justice and power and, at its simplest level, is a gutwrenching story about a boy who loses his parents.

poet’s corner

Adam Seville T. S. Eliot wrote to escape emotion and personality. Frank O’Hara thought the poem was like a call. It is entirely different for each individual.

For me poetry is a way to keep note of the world I live in, not the one you or somebody else lives in, but the one I see around me; from half-eaten mince pies at Christmas, to a girl in a nightclub who loves the sound of Einaudi on a grand piano. Through my poetry the world is analysed, partially understood and concreted in the form of the immortal medium that is writing.

Cigarette Eyes

Cigarette-eyes addled By hours of time Wasted in digital form Arms unused to everyday Labour over mice clicking Endlessly, interrupted By the verbal filling of gaps So that the mind can catch up To his mouth, he places A lit Richmond, but No smoking indoors, So he does nothing outside But stare at the sky And allow raindrops To settle in the furrows Of his brow Stress and chips on his shoulder Symbols of unhappiness.

Breaks are taken and his Fingers smell of too much tobacco.

The Beauty of I Giorni

When you’ve clicked

and figured it out, after I’ve failed

at conversations.

When you come

and find me, after I read your lips.

When I take you by the hand and lead,

when I beat you musically at 4am.

After I leave notes at your desk,

and your smile is excited.

After the walk home

takes five seconds to me, after you’ve left

your echo in my bed.

When hands twitch to Einaudi

and breathing falls to lulls.

After I brush the hair from

at your face, when I’m forced to wait

to hear you play, and content myself to

a piece of I Giorni.

Dumpster Poverty

High heels and mini-skirts behind

dumpsters filled with soles; Oxfam-rejected soles to boot a three day bank-holiday weekend siege with BIFFA glaring at the passionate straddling the melancholy.

Thumbs up to buy a taxi and offer in kind. Pay on the backseat with buckles stabbing in the small of her back. Aches Between the legs, no cushions between alley walls and no Queen’s heads to fit into shallow mini-skirt pockets.

She is the template; a broken forgotten portrait of the Twenty-First Century.

Unseen existing, bypassed, ignored. Donations of Oxfam-rejects to replace worn-down heels And cum-stained skirts now too mini To be clutching onto modesty; So she clutches onto poverty and scales dumpsters to find herself at home. The dirt on Coca-Cola cans and nameless plastic bags.

She is poverty seven days of a week that never sleeps.

She is third-world person in a first-world body: Undeveloping, unwinding, Unstrung. She is a white-lightning-desperate, war-mongerer on the weekend, interior-dumpster-designer, a shadow on first world idealism And she is everywhere, regardless.

IQ Features 13

holidays: bizarre but wonderful recipe of the issue: H pesto tart Georgia Dawson

ave you noticed how we take every excuse possible for a break? The average British citizen reports ten sick days per year, almost the double that of America and Asia. Our country celebrates more public holidays than almost any other in the world. It is clear that people can come up with all sorts of reasons to party, from practical to downright crazy.

Here are just a few of my favourites from around the world.

Save The Rhino Day. 1st May. The rhinoceros has been alive and kicking for over a million years, but now thanks to our cruelty, is hunted to near extinction. Rhino horns are a valuable material, most often used to produce alternative medicines, but also frivolities like statues or knife handles.

Here’s a fun fact: the rhino’s horn is composed of the same material as your fingernails! So save a Rhino – they are just like us really.

Star Wars Day. 4th May. I suppose where there’s a phenomena there must be a corresponding celebration. I admit the creation of this day was kind of a fluke. This day dates back from an ad in the London Evening News following Margaret Thatcher’s election in 1979: “May the fourth be with you, Maggie.”

The allusion to “May the force be with you” was clear. Let’s face it though, this one was always inevitable.

No Diet Day. 6th May. This international holiday teaches us to appreciate our looks for what they are, to love our bodies, to embrace all shapes and sizes. Several anti-diet groups, who fight against eating disorders like anorexia, are empowered to set up their most effective fundraising campaigns.

Truly this is a day to have our cake and eat it too.

Dance Like a Chicken Day. 14th May. All ya gotta do is dance like a chicken.

Normally this tradition is reserved for wedding receptions to get people dizzy, dancing and giggling – unashamed to shake that thing. Nowadays though, people will dance like a chicken

wherever, whenever and however they like, regardless of the date.

Emily Adams Newspaper Entertainment Editor No Dirty Dishes Day. 18th May. This one is pretty simple; just wash as you go and don’t let your dishes pile up. My housemates could certainly stand to take note. In fact, I may have to mark it onto the house calendar. Apparently, most people try to cheat the day away by using disposable plates, cutlery and cups. Whatever works.

Date Your Mate Month. Celebrated in May (this month – yikes!). Here we have a recipe for disaster filled with hangovers, fallouts and regrets.

Awkward. If you are not convinced by this one, then join the Americans in May in their official celebration of Zombie Awareness Month.

That’s one unique collection. So why do we have these holidays? They offer no respite from work, no religious justification. We have them because we can. Just take a day to kiss a Rhino. Just ke a day to live.

pixel surgery: merida’s transformation Kat Mawford

In time for the red-headed, bow-andarrow wielding, headstrong heroine of Brave to join Disney’s Princess Collection, Merida has been given a makeover by designers - not one which has been well-received by fans of the film.

The new version of Merida is still a red-headed Scottish girl, but that’s roughly where the similarities end.

The most heavily criticised aspect of her transformation has been the move from a teenage, tomboyish girl, to a noticeably more curvy and mature character. The smooth hair and figuretight dress, along with the obvious disappearance of Merida’s signature bow also seem to detract from the bold and dynamic character she was in Brave.

Disappointment seemed to be the primary reaction to Merida’s apparently sexualised transformation, with fans almost immediately sharing and commenting on the new design from the Disney website. An online petition was also started, hoping to convince Disney to scrap the new design in favour of the original, which quickly received

hundreds of thousands of signatures.

It seems, however, that fans aren’t the only people upset by Disney’s decision to redesign Merida. Brave’s writer and director, Brenda Chapman, has also spoken out against the change, stating that the design of the new Merida sends the message that the original, heroine is ‘inferior’.

Apart from Merida now appearing to conform physically to the Princess ‘standard’ of the Disney Princess Collection, any other motive behind Disney’s redesign is difficult to see, and this itself is another cause of people’s

anger. The Princess’ metamorphosis seems particularly unexplainable with Brave having won several awards and creating what was seen as a positive role model.

Sadly, Brave, and its heroine, is not the first product to undergo a fairly drastic transformation. Franchises such as Lego, and even Troll Dolls, were previously re-marketed to be more clearly aimed at girls. The social expectation of what girls should be interested in, or at least what girls should like, continues to be enforced.

Even before the introduction of Merida, changes within the Collection have occurred. Mulan, a princess who was not considered as revolutionary as Merida, was still a more active character than most Princesses, yet she is shown within the Collection dressed up as she was for the match maker - not exactly a genuine portrayal of the whole story.

Perhaps the reason that Merida’s makeover has sparked so much outrage is that Brave was considered to be a step forward. It lead away from the ‘Princess’ culture of Disney. Unfortunately, the fearless girl, who did not wait around for her Prince Charming but instead chose to save herself, now seems to be just a pretty face.

Ingredients - Pack of Puff Pastry - Peppers - Ham/chicken - Bacon - Pesto - Tomatoes - Red onion - Mozzarella Pick and Choose, no specific amounts, do what you like.

Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 190C/gas mark 6.

2. Chop and slice the peppers, red onion, tomatoes, chicken or ham and bacon into small pieces.

3. Roll out the pastry onto a large greased baking tray in a rectangular shape and score a light one inch border all the way around the pastry with a knife.

4. Using a knife, spread a layer of pesto across the pastry reaching all four corners (inside the border), then cover with meat.

5. Layer your peppers and onion on top of the meat and finish by placing sliced mozzarella on top.

6. Put in the oven for 15 mins, then add the tomatoes and finally put it back in the oven for a further 5 mins.

courtesy of Ocado recipes

14

IQ Features

my year abroad with erasmus Making a decision to go on a year abroad is a bold move. There is the pressure of meeting new people, in unfamiliar territory, with no-one to lean on and a language barrier that is not easy to overcome. The gap increases greatly between what you personally expect from a year abroad and what you should expect realistically. Here are two accounts from students, one who is preparing for her year abroad and one who has just finished.

Camilla Olim What are you studying? English & American Literature What nationality are you? HalfPortuguese, half-German Where are you going? Berlin, Germany

Eleanor Roosevelt famously said: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

That’s why I chose to study in Berlin for the next academic year. Despite having a German mother, the prospect of moving to a big city in a foreign country is somewhat daunting.

My grasp of the language is tenuous, looking for accommodation may well be stressful and German bureaucracy ensures that the registration process will be complicated.

None of this sounds like an incentive to do the Year Abroad and, for my course, it’s optional. But the chance to live in a different culture to your own is not something everyone has, and Erasmus are brilliant in that there are no tuition fees for that academic year. Besides, with many things in life, the most challenging are the most rewarding.

So I bit the bullet and opted in, knowing I’d regret not taking the opportunity. Because after clearing those aforementioned hurdles, I think my year in Berlin could be one of the most enriching of my life. Aside from the fact that Berlin seems like a great city, with more to do than can be done

in a year, the life experience will be so valuable.

I’ve heard mixed reports on the Year Abroad, but while I accept that there will be aspects out of my control, I also think it’s partly what you make of it. So, I want to go with hope and expectation (and a healthy dose of nerves). And I want to come back much wiser, armed with an updated CV, improved language skills and greater independence.

My advice on the subject is obviously limited, but I will say this. If you’re considering doing the Year Abroad, ask yourself if you’d regret not doing it. If the answer is yes, get researching!

Camilla Olim

Rebekka Stromberger What did you study in Canterbury?

English & American Literature What nationality are you? German Where do you come from? Bavaria

I always wanted to spend some time in a foreign country. In my opinion, living abroad is the best way to get to know another country and its people, to experience different life styles and to improve one’s language skills.

Especially, as an aspiring English teacher, it was extremely important for me to truly get to know Great Britain in order to authentically teach cultural knowledge. Above all, I personally wanted to get to know the British way of life and look for new horizons.

At the start, of course, being away from home seemed quite challenging.

The first few months were filled with adventures and settling into a new country, city and educational system.

Compared to Germany, teaching and university life were quite different from what I was used to. However, after a few days of exploring the campus, I started to find my way around. Besides, staff in the International Department, seminar leaders, library staff and classmates were exceedingly helpful and I always received beneficial support.

The University organised several induction and welcome events, which made all international students feel welcome and at home in Canterbury.

Looking back, I realise how much I loved the University’s internationality and I am so thankful for all the amazing

friends that I made. Right from the start, I joined different sport teams, societies and clubs. I therefore got to know lots of British students and meet international peers from all over the world. We had fun discussing cultural differences between our home countries and sharing customs or traditional food.

My housemates from Japan and South America have become like sisters to me and we went through life’s highs and lows together. My life at the University of Kent has been exciting and rich in variety. I enjoyed the diversity of events which took place in different bars on campus, such as comedy events, live music or quizzes. I also came to love some of the lovely, old pubs in Canterbury which introduced me to the unique pub culture in England.

What struck me the most during my stay in Canterbury was the British friendliness, helpfulness and hospitality. I was blessed with close friendships and the most generous people, who invited me over to their house to spend time together.

Altogether, I am deeply grateful for my Erasmus experience abroad and truly miss all the warm-hearted people that I got to know during my time in England.

I would highly recommend everyone to step out of their comfort zones and let themselves in for a completely new way of life. Living abroad and spending time with lots of international students offered new perspectives on life and positively shaped my character.

IQ Features 15

unii.com: escape from snooping parents Emma Shelton Newspaper Features Editor So you thought University was finally an escape from your parents’ clutches towards freedom?

Well statistics certainly show that this is far from reality. Facebook, which was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg at Harvard University, has become the largest social networking site in the world, with 600 million users in 2011, according to a study performed by computing company Bullgard Internet Security.

Why did Zuckerburg feel the need to create a social network,once at university? Perhaps he realised the necessity of giving his peers a place where they can share their lives without parents’ interference.

It seems that a few years on, his creation Facebook has become the exact opposite of what he set out to do: it is now a forum for parents to snoop on their kids. As young people

become more audacious in sharing inappropriate pictures and status’, their parents become increasingly anxious and desperate to discover how their children live their lives.

They also become more tactful in their research and the Bullgard Internet Security survey found that almost one in 20 mothers and fathers log on with a friend’s account to avoid detection.

Instead of Facebook being a place of respite for youth, it has opened its arms to all generations, and subsequently allowed access to incredibly nosy parents.

As a result, Marco Nardone decided to create Unii.com, a social network which was launched specifically for university students, which can guarantee absolute privacy and allow them to communicate with friends without fear of recrimination from family members

or future employers.

The site carried out research which led to some interesting results. 56% of British dads confess to checking up on their kids via Facebook at least once a month, compared to 54% of Mums.

When asked why they behaved like they did, 6% of parents blamed their ‘overprotective’ instincts and 14% admitted they were just being ‘nosy’.

On a more worrying level, a survey of 450 employers carried out by careerbuilder.co.uk found that more than four in ten employers discarded a job seeker’s resume after checking their Facebook page.

Statistics showed that drunkenness, nudity and swearing are amongst the top most popular discoveries on social networks; do parents and employers have good reason to do some background research? Is this snooping a breach of privacy, or are parents simply looking out for their children, with the aim censor such behaviour before it is disclosed to employers?

“what happens at uni can now stay at uni” We interviewed Marco Nardone, CEO of Unii.com to hear more about his project.

What made you decide to create this site?

When I decided to leave Credit Suisse, I knew I wanted to run my own business. I suppose I already had a gut instinct that the student market was ready for something different and more focused as other larger social networks had become too broad-based.

My parents don’t spy on me and I am lucky enough to have amazing parents who are always very supportive of what I do. That said I do have a lot of friends, and know of many others, who have privacy problems with the content they share on Facebook. I think there is a big gap in the market for a student lifestyle brand to really encompass the student ethos, provide services tailored specifically to the student life, whilst maintaining a private network to socialise with your peers and friends at university or college.

How did you go about setting the site up?

I am happy to say that I have managed to pull together a fantastic and very motivated young team. At present we are a small team complimented with a diversified and experienced group of professionals developing our systems, marketing our products and creating our brand identity amongst students.

We’ve managed to make all this happen in under 6 months so I’m very proud of what we have achieved.

I have always thought that if you are a social network that specialises in people, you have to be a people-facing company. And so we are. We make it our number one goal to provide the services that students actually want.

At the start we did a lot of networking and workshops where we got groups of students and uni societies together and basically said to them: “This is what we’re thinking of doing, you tell us what you want and we’ll make it happen.”

And that’s the way we aim to build going forwards.

How much of an impact has Unii. com had on students and parents alike? Did it kick off immediately?

We have had a fantastic response and my team and I are extremely pleased with the feedback we’ve got back from our users. The value of the network and the quality of the product will grow as the numbers grow.

You said: “University is a place where students experiment responsibly, make new friends and find their feet... what happens at Uni, can now stay at Uni.” Did you not feel that, although the intentions behind Unii.com were fine, this site could be an incentive to act more recklessly as there is no risk of being checked up on?

We do moderate our network and, better still, our responsible users draw attention to any abuse. The issue is not about the technology but about user behaviour and, as in any social network, there will be occasional users

who do not follow the ethos. At the end of the day, I think students can benefit greatly from a network tailored to their needs where they can share things productively, in a manner that Facebook just can’t provide.

excuses excuses...

Priscilla Hatfield-Wallis You say you’re working? You say you can’t seem to remember anything no matter how hard you try... how hard are you trying?

As if we didn’t try to justify our procrastination already, here are some more excuses you can use, which have been either scientifically proven or found via surveys. You will never feel guilty about anything anymore.

It is estimated that the human brain produces 70,000 thoughts on an average day - give yourself a break!

Try taking a power nap after learning someting new. Your memory will benefit greatly.

Daydreaming often allows us to solve complex problems faster avoid it in exams though, then is not the time to experiment.

Playing video games enables you to make real life decisions faster although this does not entirely give you the excuse to play games as part of your revision.

When short on sleep, 15 minutes of laughter can be equivalent to two hours of shut-eye.

You don’t know how to revise?

Talking to yourself is really helpful and makes you smarter in the process.

Where do you see this site going?

This is the beginning of a very exciting journey for us. There are so many things that Gen Y need, that other products and services out there just aren’t paying attention to. I have always wanted us to be the go-to lifestyle brand for Students.

Like Red Bull – when you think extreme sports, you think of Red Bull. I would really see it as a big achievement if when people thought of students, they thought of Unii.

Anything to add?

Hope to see you all on Unii – Tap me!

The site can be accessed at www.unii. com/login

Avoid stressing unnecessarily because this will cause the brain to freeze and shut down temporarily - the more you stress, the more it will happen, and that means a lot of wasted energy so don’t do it!

Eating chocolate before studying and/or taking tests can increase your chance of remembering informaion better - about time someone proved chocolate is vital for our general well-being.

Atelophobia is the fear of not being good enough or having imperfections - do not knock yourself back!

Most of all UKC people, find revision strategies that work for you and stick to them!

Good Luck!

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IQ Entertainment

music albums on the go

keynestock kicks off the summer

Laura Marling – Once I was an Eagle Marling has come a long way sinceAlas I Cannot Swim. The enjoyably indie, juvenile sound of her first album contrasts heavily with her later, more sombre, melancholic acoustic releases.

This style reaches full fruition in Once I Was an Eagle. The narrative and tone of this album makes it something that has to be listened to in one sitting.

Possibly the greatest thing ever made by this infinitely talented solo artist.

Chad Greggor

Ghostpoet – Some Say I So I Say Light Ghostpoet’s second album is a dark affair. His trademark half-rap/ half-beat poetry is delivered in an insomniac drawl, 3am musings on lost loves, lost time and newfound fame. He avoids rhyme for a lot of the album, preferring exquisitely balanced rhythms, plays on specific syllables and unconventional metaphors. The music is a similarly expert mix of electronica, dark jazz and hip-hop slowed to a Sloth Trot. “Now I’ve got a following” he ponders on Meltdown, but that doesn’t seem to have thrown him too much.

Roy Lavender

The National – Trouble Will Find Me Trouble Will Find Me has great moments but sadly falls flat as a whole.

The National’s dense arrangements are as masterful as ever and Matt Berninger’s baritone voice is just as rich. But whilst Sea of Love soars in desperate, middle-class angst and Pink Rabbits brews clouds of self-conscious melancholy, too many songs just pass by. It’s not quite The National by numbers, and maybe it’ll turn out to be one of the band’s typical growers, but sections of the album lack immediacy or stunning brilliance.

Matthew Gilley

Photograph by Sam Allard

Alexander Cutler

There was beer. There were burgers.

There were bands. What more could you ask for on a sunny Saturday afternoon?

That’s right, after huge success in previous years, Keynestock returned last weekend with many of your favourite campus bands bringing fresh sets to get you feeling those summer vibes.

The gates opened promptly at 1pm with music pouring out at 2pm straight from the funky acoustics of Jon Easton sporting a popular cover of Miami 2 Sam Allard Ibiza by Tinie Tempah.

Daniel Greenwood was welcomed

they play rock ‘n’ roll, and they don’t support fascism. It’s everything you could ask for. They tick all the boxes for me.

When asked, they also said if they could choose any band to go on tour with, it would be the exalted psychedelic progressive rock band Pink Floyd.

With Tommy and the Guns welcoming, for the first time, keyboardist Tom McBrien, it could be possible to see some synth influences poking through in later songs.

The show amped up, however, as soon as When Buildings Collapse rocked up on stage. It was made clear from the first quaking bass riff what the crowd were in for, and there was an noticeable shift in fans, as the indie kids shimmied towards the back and the rockers pushed up to the front. With the sun heading for the horizon, WBC came down hard in their classic punk-rock style and punchy vocals, that would have had Blink 182 themselves taking notes.

I caught up with the band to find out a little bit more about them:

Sam Allard

warmly by the crowd and won them over with his cover of guilty pleasure The JCB Song.

It may have been the abundance of Pimms being served all day, but everyone couldn’t help but get their groove on to the man’s smooth blues – just try and deny it.

The three-piece Tommy and the Guns cracked out an impressive set drawing inspiration from self-confessed influences such as The Beatles. I met the band members a few days before for a brief Q&A: So who writes the songs?

“We don’t believe in dictatorships.

We all chip in – share the love”, jokes frontman, Tommy. “Hitler wouldn’t have been in our band.”

Their name’s Tommy and the Guns,

Where’d you guys get your name from?

“Well it was originally from a Simpsons episode”, answers lead vocalist Chris, “but then we realised the term ‘buildings’ can mean constructs we depend on and we all have moments when they fall down and we’re tested”.

They weren’t too ‘in the zone’, however, to remind everyone what Keynestock is about: “It’s a charity event”, remarks Dave, “so if you don’t buy a raffle ticket you’re essentially stealing from the poor”. Good on you, lads. Never forget that raffle.

Aside from the occasional Pimms junkie walking the line, everyone was having a great time and KBar’s Champions’ League coverage was paling in comparison. I got chatting with the crowds to see what they had to say. “It’s basically a party on some grass”, said crowd member Jake, who looked like he’d had a bit too much sun and not quite enough Olay. “I’m loving the diversity of genres here, there’s something nearly everyone will like.” It’s true, Keynestock 2013 really did supply to the broadest of musical demands.

The show went on until late in the evening, when soul-rock band, Defunk’d, were declared the winners, having brought toe-tapping style unheard of before at Keynestock. It wasn’t over yet, though. For those that hadn’t drunk enough and for those that had drunk too much but didn’t want to stop, the party powered through into the early hours with a special appearance from Prism laying out the soundtracks of the summer with bass so big it was worthy of a professional fisherman.

Their poignant approach really came to light during their set, though. Having won Stage Spiders-sponsored Battle of the Bands in 2012, the trio were back with more tracks, more guitars, and plenty more hard-hitting lyrics.

“If you want to know how rock ‘n’ roll we are, this snare ended up somewhere over there during the last song” chimes bassist, Dave MacPhee, comfortable in front of the student hordes. And they were rock ‘n’ roll, they even almost swore at one point. But despite wayward glances from intimidating security guards, the set pressed on.

Sam Allard

Fishing puns aside, if you missed it this year, Keynestock will be back in 2014 bigger than ever, with music just as unrelenting and hopefully weather just as glorious.

IQ Entertainment 17

film review: the great and gimmicky gatsby the very first scene it is clear from the Luhrmann is often criticized, but I

Chad Greggor Website Editor

This film is filled to the brim with gimmicks, there is no getting around that. In fact, let us list them: first, it is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s world famous novel, loved by millions, toted as one of the greatest American novels ever; second, it is directed by Baz Luhrmann, famous for making films audacious in their pomp and cheese, (see Romeo + Juliet) and third, it features scores of A-list actors, the kind that are identifiable by their first names alone. Also, there is the sound track that has been recorded by several of the most popular acts in the 21st Century Beyoncé and Jay-Z no less, Florence + The Machine and The XX too; and lastly (breathe) it is shot in fucking 3D. The 3D is a particular problem. From

swooping cameras and forward-rushing objects that Luhrmann is keen to give 3D a purpose here in its otherwise purposeless existence. It has no reason for being in a story predominantly about relationships. There are no battleships duking it out at sea with Rihanna pouting in a corner, or robots from space looking cool while Shia Labeouf punches consistently above his weight in the girlfriend department.

It is difficult to make a room full of sweating New Yorkers look more real than they already are, and either way, does anyone care whether Leonardo DiCaprio’s forehead wrinkles are in 3D when the dialogue and acting is this blisteringly brilliant?

Once you get past all of the squeamishly annoying gimmicks, the story of The Great Gatsby shines through. One could argue that Luhrmann could not go wrong in adapting the story, but a lot of credit has to be given for sticking tightly to the events of the novel and keeping much of Fitzgerald’s dialogue. The film is carried by excellent performances from Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan, even Spiderman (who I always struggle to disassociate from Tobey Maguire) surprised with a slightly weedy, creepily observant Nick Carraway.

enjoy his tongue-in-cheek adaptions rendered almost mythological in their ridiculousness. You are always aware that you are watching a film, whether it is because of the jarringly contemporary sound track or the camera which pays no heed to gravity or the impossibly turbo-charged automobiles, the audience is never fully immersed in the period.

Characters stand in full suits, beautifully detailed, glistening with sweat and complaining of the heat, while the poor district is littered with impossibly high piles of rubbish and smoking chimneys, and parties are packed and exceedingly extravagant.

This film is not realistic, it is just absurd. It is, however, a fun celebration of the fiction, and it makes you want to go back to the book and read it again and again.

this week’s must see movie: lawrence of arabia

Kelyn Luther

I’m notoriously indecisive when it comes to favourite films, but if we’re talking about a must-see film, there’s one clear winner: Lawrence of Arabia.

The five-star rating gets thrown about a lot, but Lawrence of Arabia deserves every single star.

It doesn’t sound like a hit; it’s almost four hours of a man walking across a desert, with no love story. In fact, there’s not a single woman in the film but the plot is so captivating, you won’t even notice until it’s finished. It’s the story of a clumsy misfit, Lieutenant T.E Lawrence (played by Peter O’Toole) who is controversially sent to assess the situation in Arabia. In one of the most famous cuts in film history, we move

from a match being blown out to the desert sunset, and watch as Lawrence becomes a god-like hero. But where does he really belong? England, or Arabia, or perhaps neither?

Other filmmakers would have turned this into a sentimental tale but director David Lean defies expectations. As an underdog and an outsider, we want to sympathise with Lawrence and cheer when he dares to take an Arab boy into the English officer’s mess. His achievements are extraordinary and yet Lawrence’s personality is deeply problematic.

It’s hinted early on in the film that he is sadomasochistic and this, coupled with a god complex, makes him a dense and fascinating character. O’Toole’s performance is enigmatic, his perfect

diction creating Lawrence’s mythical persona.

I didn’t see the film for ages, convinced that I would find it boring, until I took the plunge and saw the 2012 re-release in the cinema. To see Lawrence of Arabia in the cinema should be every cinephile’s dream. The big screen brings out every perfect shot; the desert looks vast, emphasising the immensity of what Lawrence has achieved.

But it’s more than a big budget epic.

The question of the Western world’s interference with the East has never been explored so powerfully than in this film. Lawrence criticises the laws of Arabia whilst becoming quite brutal himself.

Unlike other films made in the period, it genuinely feels modern. When I saw the trailer for the re-mastered version, I thought it was a new film, until Omar Sharif (playing Ali, Lawrence’s friend) emerges from a mirage in the desert. If the film was made today it would be full of CGI, but everything you see on screen is real, including that mirage.

They really don’t make them like this anymore. Lawrence of Arabia is, in every sense of the word, epic.

LISTEN, WATCH, USE AND FOLLOW Hetty Sieling Head of Distribution Listen: Vampire Weekend’s new album Modern Vampires Of The City has been out for a little while now, and the catchy but simple Diane Young has been playing in our heads for what seems like years. This, their third album, is meant to move into darker territory, but they have always maintained a mix of indie ease and intrigue, their lyrics a source of interest as much as their use of string sections.

Watch: Every Wednesday evening tune in to 10 O’Clock Live to find out how Charlie Brooker, David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne and Jimmy Carr have interpreted the week’s news. Satire to the max, with an air of journalistic sophistication and a multi-coloured set. It is Have I Got News For You for a slightly younger and more social mediasavvy audience. Laverne controls the show and sometimes presents a lighthearted politics feature, Carr presents the weekly bulletins, Brooker gives his angle on a specific moment in the week’s news and Mitchell chairs a minidebate with 3 guests.

Use: Festival Ready is an app designed to prepare you for your summer of festivals. From the creators of the Swiss Army knife, this app provides you with everything you’ll need in the muddy festival fields from 3D navigation and a torch, to live weather and a packing checklist.

There’s even a sound flare for when you inevitably get lost among the crowds.

Follow: Whether you’re a first-year English student or just finishing an MA in Digital Arts, you need to know certain organisations who will help you along the way with employment. Creative England is one of these groups – following them will keep you in the loop when it comes to events, taster sessions, work experience and volunteering opportunities in the arts sector, including the business and administration elements.

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IQ Entertainment

events & gaming kic awards: meet the winners Most Dedicated - Pamela Head Best Exclusive - Joel Tennant Best Event Coverage - CSR KTV Best On-Screen - Stephanie Ashenden Best Off-Screen - Mortiz von Hochberg Best Show - KTV Cookbook INQUIRE Best Newcomer - Lisa Gheysen Best Article - Laura Ricchetti Best Writer - Sam Baldwin Best Section - Features CSR Best On-Air - Alastair Chisholm Best Off-Air - Ryan Bartrop Best Show - The Al & Jack Show Best Newcomer - Joe Ismail

“it’s completely changed my plans for the future”

KIC Award winner and KTV member, Moritz von Hochberg talks to InQuire about winning the Best Off-screen award, his KTV colleagues who have become his closest friends, work exeprience and spending his life in the beloved Foakes room.

Nicola Howie you most looking forward to?

I am really looking forward to getting Congratulations on the awards. a behind-the-scenes look into the Tell me a little bit about your role production area of a large TV station. at KTV. It will be great to work alongside a As of a couple of weeks ago, I am professional who has produced and now head of all live broadcasts at directed. It will also be interesting to KTV. Before that, I wasn’t on the see how large TV stations are run in Photo by Sam Allard committee, basically my role was being comparison to student media. the cameraman, video editing and It has possibly completely changed my Is this a career you want to switching cameras at Awake For 48. plans for the future. What I love about pursue in the future? If so, has KTV is that they’re not just colleagues, How did it feel to win a KIC winning this award helped you? they’re great people who became award?

Initially I was interested in a career in awesome friends.

Awesome. I was surprised that I got film, looking specifically at camera work What have you learnt from KTV both awards. For the Best Off-screen and editing. this year? award, once they mentioned “behind However, after a conversation with the scenes” in the feedback from I have got much better at editing and some committee members, and judge, everyone started looking at me camera work; I’ve learnt how to set up realising that you do more in TV, I and I realised it might be me. I didn’t live equipment and how to use it. think TV might be better suited for think I’d win the second award for What are your plans for KTV me. Winning the award has given me Most Likely To Be Seen In Foakes (the next year? confidence, in the sense that what I do, student media office), I was expecting If I can, I want to try and improve the behind the scenes is appreciated by our it to go to Rob Linton. I didn’t realise quality of our broadcasts and reduce audience.

I spent most of my time in the Foakes the lag time. I really want lots of live What is it like to be a part of room. broadcasts if possible. I’d especially love KTV? As part of your award, you to have everything in Fresher’s week I’m extremely grateful to have receive work experience alongside streamed live. I’m also really looking spontaneously met them filming a Tom Tagholm, former Creative forward to working with lots of new Fresher’s show in front of the library.

Director at Channel 4. What are members next year.

XBOX ONE REVEAL: ONE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT

Emily Adams Newspaper Entertainment Editor

We’ve waited almost eight years to see how Microsoft would top the much-loved Xbox 360, and on 21st May we finally got to see what they’d been working on: the Xbox One. Their official website states that the “Xbox One is simply the best gaming console we’ve ever made”. I couldn’t disagree more.

The hour long reveal, which came just one day after Sony’s launch of the PS4 trailer, gave us less than twenty minutes about the new console, but a generous forty minutes of advertising to promote EA sports, NFL and even Steven Spielberg and his new Halo TV series one unnecessary money driven tangent after another.

Microsoft has failed to listen to what their gamers want, a gaming console,

funnily enough. Instead they’ve opted to create the next generation of ‘allin-one entertainment systems’ so that you can talk to and play on your Xbox, connect to your TV and use the internet simultaneously. Maybe I’m mistaken but I see the TV and Xbox as a means to relax and escape a hectic day, not to start a conversation with and keep me company. It’s designed to wake up instantly the moment you greet it and even turns your TV on. Bravo Microsoft, you’ve spent eight years creating a new remote control.

For me, the design is the first of many let downs. Gone are the sleek and unique curves of the 360, the innovative design we have come to identify with the icon that is Xbox. The new design is quite frankly dull, old fashioned and uninteresting. Yes, it’s classic and maybe more adult, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. It’s merely a

glorified shiny box, with a staggering rumoured price of £400 (which doesn’t even include the Xbox live fee either).

There were, unsurprisingly, a few things Microsoft failed to mention: say goodbye to all your favourite Xbox 360 games, because the console will not be backwards compatible. Microsoft may have said, “We care very much about the investment you have made in Xbox 360” but alas, you’ll have to buy a whole new catalogue of games before you can even get started. I’m sure every poor penniless student will be overjoyed.

Want more bad news? You can’t even buy games second-hand, let alone share games with your friends. Insert the disc and you’ll be asked to pay an installation fee, to basically buy the right to play your own game. The best gaming console they’ve ever made makes you buy your game again, install it, and pay for it. Again. I wouldn’t exactly call that a console “built by gamers, for gamers” would you, Microsoft?

Microsoft has well and truly set themselves up to fail, to let Sony lead the next generation of gaming. IGN News even reported that Sony stock rose 9% since the reveal of the Xbox One. It was good while it lasted Xbox, but now it’s time to let the grownups show you how it’s done. Enter Sony.

& events Sat 1st June- Party in the Carkpark event Wed 5th of June- Flirt Sat 8th of June- Soap UV paintparty Tue 11th of June- Aztek present -Ms Dynamite Wed 12th of June Flirt Farewell In and Around Kent Friday 14th June- Lounge on the farm

IQ Culture

cultural events calendar Sat 1st Jun The Marlowe Comedy Cabaret The Marlowe Theatre Mon 3rd-Sat 8th Jun Birdsong The Marlowe Theatre Tue 4th Jun M. The Marlowe Theatre Sat 8th Jun Evening Walks The Blean Ancient Woodlands Sun 9th Jun The Shaolin Warriors The Marlowe Theatre Mon 10th Jun Iron Man 3 3D The Gulbenkian Cinema Tue 11th-Sat 15th Jun Macbeth The Playhouse Theatre Whitstable Thu 13th Jun Abulations The Marlowe Theatre Fri 14th Jun Did I Mention the Free Wine?

Felix Dennis Poetry Tour The Gulbenkian Theatre Tue 18th-Sat 22nd Jun Abigail’s Party The Marlowe Theatre Sat 22nd Jun AJTC Theatre Company-Bin Men The Gulbenkian Theatre Tue 25th-Sat 29th Jun The Taming of The Shrew The Marlowe Theatre

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the tattoo debate: art or graffiti?

Georgia Dawson

Tattoos: are they art or graffiti? This debate has been in motion since 1891, all because of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. This same man built a machine intended as an engraving device, soon modified by Samuel O’Reilly to create the modernday tattoo.

With so many celebrities showing off their ink nowadays, it seems impossible to escape the ever-growing tattoo culture.

David Beckham, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie have been voted some of the sexiest inked celebs around, but are they setting a bad example?

Parents certainly think so. One Direction were recently forced to retract a request for fans to submit footage of their tattoos on Twitter as many of the group’s fans are under 18. Even the more ‘innocent’ celebrities like Justin Bieber are sporting brands of a whole other sort these days.

Controversy over tattoos has recently exploded into more upper class, cultured lifestyles as well. For instance, tennis players like Karolina Pliskova surprised spectators at Wimbledon last

year by sporting such art on their arms and thighs.

Unless these images actually advertise brands like Coke or Virgin (a gimmick companies do sometimes pay for) then no rules have been broken.

Wimbledon’s pristine image might get a little stained, as dark ink contrasts sharply with white tennis skirts, but it’s hardly the end of the world.

Similarly, the Henley Royal Regatta is known for a ‘queenly’ dress code and near pompous etiquette, but this year received criticism as rowing star Laura Simpson displayed head-to-toe body art not in keeping with the refined event.

Just what do they expect her to do? It’s not like she turned up in trainers and jeans. Tattoos are not easily removable.

The current world record for the most tattooed person is held by Lucky Diamond Rich from Australia (a porn star name if ever I heard one), who has spent over 1,000 hours having his body modified by hundreds of tattoo artists.

Lucky wears a 100% covering of black ink, including eyelids, the delicate skin between the toes, down into the ears, and even his gums.

You really have to ask yourself: is all that pain worth it? What does a tattoo

really mean?

To some people, they mean everything. Cassia Rainne, a direct descendant of slaves, displays a Sankofa tattoo in tribute to her ancestral culture. I gained a wonderful pair of wings myself, as a mark of freedom after a stint in the hospital. Tattoos can have immense value, but they can also be superficial accessories.

I think the main point we have to remember is: if it’s not your body, it’s not really any of your business.

Lucky Diamond Rich: The World’s Most Tattooed Person

theatre review: shakespeare’s the tempest Hetty Sieling Head of Distribution

Jeremy Herrin’s production of The Tempest at The Globe was beautiful and thoughtful. Colourful and exciting design by Max Jones, plus top-notch acting equalled a lovely summer’s evening.

Roger Allam as Prospero was predictably good. His grumpy comic flair and his ability to own the Globe stage led to moments of farcical joy and of quiet wonder.

As much as I love Allam as an actor in comedies, such as in his role as the Tory minister Peter Mannion in the BBC’s The Thick Of It, I know that he has the potential to carry tender moments of theatre well, and that is when I really appreciated his presence in this production.

He had us in the palm of his hand towards the end of the play, with lines such as “we are such stuff as dreams are made of”, his speeches hushing the audience to hypnotised silence.

That is not to say Allam’s performance lacked in verve earlier on or that his comic skills did not shine through.

The audience really loved his funnier lines and his gesticulation during moments

such as the dance, where Prospero desperately tried to keep Miranda and Ferdinand from getting groovy.

My only irritation was that I felt the audience occasionally pre-emptively chuckled at Prospero, perhaps expecting it to be funnier. This is understandable, as he won an Olivier for his performance as Falstaff on this very stage. I remember Henry IV Part One mostly because of Allam.

Another fear I had in relation to expectations was that fans of the BBC’s Merlin might have expected the lead Colin Morgan, here playing Ariel, to be the main attraction.

I do not think anyone left disappointed as he played the dumbshow scene and the angry Ariel moment with aplomb. He was also notably athletic, climbing around the set and the theatre, suggesting a control over or fascination with the events of the play.

Miranda and Ferdinand (Jessie Buckley and Joshua James) were charming, their love seeming to be mostly innocent and their relationship perfect.

The use of the balcony space above the stage, which was here rather minimalist, was imaginative – it was used by characters observing action on stage, particularly useful for Miranda and Ferdinand to show their unity towards the end of the play.

Finally I must praise James Garnon for playing Caliban as such a funny, sobering and thoughtful monster. The balance was just right, between his hilarious interactions with Trinculo (Trevor Fox) and Stephano (Sam Cox) and his dignified eloquent moments.

His magical delivery and his outward appearance (his skin looked like red clay) formed a memorable Caliban.

The run for The Tempest finishes on Sunday 18th August. It may be sold out on a number of nights, but if you are in London any summer eve soon, go and check for returned tickets.

You will find a small queue outside the box office, or you may enquire inside.

Groundling tickets (i.e. standing) are £5.

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IQ Culture

this week in...

1998: 31st March Geri Halliwell left girl group Spice Girls and claimed that “differences” with her fellow members forced her to quit.

But it was widely suggested that there had been a power struggle between herself and Melanie Brown. After three years at the top, five became four.

1966: 2nd June The first US space probe landed on the Moon. Scientists were surprised as they had expected Surveyor 1 - their first attempt at a “soft” landing - to take at least four tries to work successfully.

The Soviet Union had been the first to achieve the same feat four months previously.

1968: 4th June Dover began a bird purge to rid the seaside resort of the “noisy and dirty pests” in the hope of a quieter town. The seagulls had moved from the White Cliffs to nest in chimney pots and roof tops in the town centre a number of years before.

1977: 7th June The Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee with more than a million people in London who lined the streets to see Her Majesty on her way to St Paul’s Cathedral.

best news coverage bafta for hillsborough documentary James Rowen

I’m sure that many of you tuned in to watch the TV BAFTA Award Ceremony on Sunday 12th May. There were wins for the likes of Graham Norton, Sheridan Smith and Olivia Colman.

However, there was one award that I thought was particularly well-deserved.

It was the award for Best News Piece, and was awarded to Granada for their coverage of the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report – simply entitled Hillsborough: The Truth at Last.

The report found that there had been a monumental cover-up by HM South Yorkshire Police Service in the aftermath of the disaster, with numerous altered eye-witness statements. It also found that adequate policing and emergency service provision could have saved around half of the people who lost their lives.

The award was dedicated by those at Granada as a tribute to Anne Williams, the mother of Kevin who was one of the

96 fatalities in Sheffield on that day, 15th April 1989.

The documentary is extraordinary.

It was reporting at its best. The piece provided news of what was arguably the largest sporting cover-up in history. The extraordinary stories and allegations were reported with utmost decorum.

The team told the stories and demonstrated something that was on the hearts of the people of Liverpool and Merseyside for 23 years – that the men, women and children who died could have been saved, and that

the victimisation of such supporters was grossly unnecessary and wrong, contrary to past reporting by other media organisations.

After the release of the Independent Panel’s report, there were calls for a new panel and inquiry to be put together to bring individuals to justice.

The Granada team acknowledged the requirement for justice throughout the 23-year-long campaign, and this was duly discussed on receiving the award.

The award was a genuinely emotional moment during an evening otherwise filled with laughs and pleasant surprises.

The tribute to Mrs Williams was greeted with warm applause, and the mood of the ceremony seemed to change as footage of the disaster was played.

One of the producers said: “We followed this story long after others had forgotten about it, and we kept fighting for the families. Finally, after a long wait, we were able to show the truth.”

chris hadfield: role model spectacular Christopher Heron Newspaper News Editor Newly grounded astronaut Chris Hadfield has become a Canadian national hero after only six months in the International Space Station. In this time, he’s become the most famous astronaut since the heyday of space exploration, on par with names such as Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. But why has he become a role model to so many people?

Social networking has been the reason for Commander Hadfield’s rise to stardom, as with so much else in recent years. From his twitter account (@ Cmdr_Hadfield) he sent photographs of various regions of the Earth from orbit: from the Himalayas and Arabian deserts to the Scottish Highlands and, rather oddly, The Isle of Wight.

Here was a man sending tweets from space.

Through video links to various schools, Reddit AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and television interviews, Commander Hadfield came across as a man in love with his job, completely transparent (his current tweets document his lengthy medical tests as he readjusts to Earth’s gravity) and incredibly human.

This is a man who has almost singlehandedly (with a bit of help from the Curiosity rover) resurrected interest in space travel and exploration. All of

this with an impressive moustache, a tweaked version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity and a digital camera. I am very aware this is starting to become an ode to an astronaut, but as a role model to anyone, he is one of a kind.

Suddenly, the date of the British astronaut Tim Peake’s expedition to the ISS in December 2015 has become front page news, as well as the actions of the various companies who are investing in private space exploration. His position is unique, having brought the fate of space travel to the forefront of the 21st century.

Lastly, the greatest testament to his position as a role model comes from his answer to the question “when are we going back to the moon?”, asked by a seven-year-old girl.

“We have robot ships at the Moon, on Mars, and at every planet in the Solar System. We’ll go to the Moon in person again as soon as we’ve learned all we can on the ISS, and have solid, reliable engines to take us there and back.

“Can you invent those engines? You have an entire life to do it in. Then you could ride them, and stand on another world.”

Photograph by Chris Hadfield Astronaut Chris Hadfield on the ISS

IQ Culture

best and worst: musicals

Kelyn Luther

The course of musical theatre never did run smooth. It’s been littered with flops to the point at which ironically they’ve gained cult following, such as Carrie (yes, they really did adapt that into a musical).

Do not despair though, as there are many great musicals, and here are only a few of them.

At number three, it’s A Little Night Music. Here’s an adaptation that actually works. Stephen Sondheim’s musical is based on the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of A Summer Night, about romantic entanglements over a country weekend. It has a witty script and the lyrics are intelligent and moving. Sondheim can be bad with melodies (Into The Woods, for example) but he’s on top form here in every department.

In second place it’s South Pacific.

Rodgers and Hammerstein created many hits, the most famous being The Sound of Music, but this is my favourite. Set during World War Two on a South Pacific island, it explores the theme of racism through two love stories.

Carefully Taught, a song about how racism is not inherent but implanted by people, was almost cut from the film because of this but Hammerstein refused. It’s definitely old-fashioned but

every song’s a winner.

And my number one spot has to go to West Side Story. This is a Romeo and Juliet story but the rival families are two gangs: white Jets and PuertoRican Sharks. The score is brilliant, a mix of styles from jazz to classical.

The love songs are beautiful and the choreography is ground-breaking.

Moving on to the worst musicals, fortunately I am yet to listen to Too Close to The Sun, a comic musical about Hemingway’s suicide, but here are some others that I have been unlucky enough to see.

In third place, it’s Nine. The film version with Daniel Day Lewis was a flop but surprisingly the original musical actually did quite well in America.

The plot: a film director having a midlife crisis and thinking of the nine different women that have played a part in his life. Why any of these nine women like this annoying man who sings such irritating songs is beyond me. The one highlight is Be Italian, in which a prostitute teaches the director as a child about how to please a woman.

Unfortunately she didn’t tell him how to please an audience.

At number two, it’s Heathcliff. Have you ever thought that Cliff Richard would be a natural choice to play the brooding hero of Emily Bronte’s classic

novel Wuthering Heights? Sorry to dash your hopes if you were one of the odd people who did, but he really was not good. His Yorkshire accent sounded like something out of a Western film. The songs were not bad but very middle-ofthe-road, which Wuthering Heights is anything but.

My top worst musical is Return to the Forbidden Planet. If you thought Nine was irritating, wait until you listen to this (I hope you won’t have the torture of watching it). It’s a musical adaptation of a film from the 50s, which is a sort of sci-fi version of The Tempest. No doubt Shakespeare was rolling in his grave when this came out.

It’s a pastiche of the earlier film, in which old songs from the 50s are destroyed, as is the audience’s every brain cell. This must be the only explanation for anyone actually seeing it more than once.

It goes without much protest, Dan Brown is one of those authors who can turn academics’ heads down a toilet and make grammar-Nazis cry little apostrophe-shaped tears. But if we want to talk about books that change lives, it seems a disservice to leave Brown’s The Da Vinci Code out of the party.

To defend owning a book that you yourself know is a pretty shabby example of literature seems a little strange, but that is where I find myself every time I show a friend my bookshelves. Their eyes seem to whip past the collection of Richard Dawkins, the hefty antique Bible and even the copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf without any trouble, but strangely when they hit The Da Vinci Code, the questions then begin. Most common is: “How can you read that rubbish!?”

True, the novel deserves the vast majority of the criticism thrown at it. There are glaring mistakes, and perhaps worse, some seem like fact. But the simple truth is, if you want facts, don’t read The Da Vinci Code.

If you arrived at the final page convinced that there was a global conspiracy about the truth behind the Christian Messiah’s love life, then I applaud your imagination, but sadly I must inform you, it’s all a lie, one swimming in intellectually-infused dishonesty.

With all the criticism surrounding this book, how can I tell you that it changed my life for the better? My answer is this: it opened me up to the possibility that reading was enjoyable. I was a late bloomer when it came to appreciating the written word, at a young age I had managed some Roald Dahl and that

pause for thought Summer is almost upon us, so as

the number of exams you’ve got left becomes fewer and fewer, you can begin to relax. The days will (hopefully) be getting brighter and warmer as we approach the end of this academic year at Kent.

So, let’s embrace the coming season with a little help from Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem Summer Sun.

Summer Sun

the book that changed my life: the da vinci code

Joel Tennant

21

was it. So when Robert Langdon came along, a Harvard professor with a propensity for danger and excitement, I decided it was time to give reading another go. Without The Da Vinci Code, I would not have Dickens beside it on my shelves, nor John Le Carré, Joseph Heller, Neil Gaiman or Sebastian Faulks.

I argue that every time we trash a popular book like The Da Vinci Code, tell someone it’s terrible or persuade them to read something of higher literary value, we are destroying the discovery of books for that person.

Anyone can look down on simple fiction, on grammar they don’t agree with, or on clichéd characters, but when they force that on others, whose minds are not yet made up on what books they like, they are closing the door on a world of exploration and adventure.

I may never be able to forgive Dan Brown for naming a female character Sexton in one of his other books, but for writing a thriller that opened up a world of literature for me, I cannot thank him enough.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes Through empty heaven with repose; And in the blue and glowing days More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull To keep the shady parlour cool, Yet he will find a chink or two To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad He, through the keyhole, maketh glad; And through the broken edge of tiles Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around He bares to all the garden ground, And sheds a warm and glittering look Among the ivy’s inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue, Round the bright air with footing true, To please the child, to paint the rose, The gardener of the World, he goes.

Robert Louis Stevenson

22

Sport

end it like beckham - david retires LaShanda Seaman Promotions & Events Manager DAVID Beckham has announced his retirement from football, bringing his illustrious twenty-year career to its end.

Beckham, 38, retired having helped guide his current club Paris St Germain to their first French title in nineteen years.

By picking up a winner’s medal in France, Beckham became the first Englishman to win titles in four different countries (England, USA, Spain, France), solidifying his place as one of the greatest Englishman to play the game.

The former England captain made 115 appearances for the national team, as well as 394 for Manchester United, where he won six Premier League titles and a Champions League.

In a statement announcing his retirement Beckham said: "If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over one hundred times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy. I'm fortunate to have realised those dreams."

Beckham joined United in 1991, as part of the youth set

up which included other future greats such as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

In 1993 Beckham turned professional, and soon became one of the world’s high-profile sportsmen, and a celebrity thanks to his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Adams.

Beckham’s career dived in 1998, when he was sent off at the World Cup for kicking out at Argentine Diego Simeone, costing England the game and resulting in a national hate campaign to fall upon him.

Beckham survived the torrent

of abuse that followed, his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson being influential in his strive to better himself, and his reputation.

Their relationship turned sour in 2002 however, when, in a dressing room bust-up, Ferguson kicked a boot into the face of Beckham; his cut face making both the front and back pages the next day.

The relationship never recovered, and Beckham was sold to Real Madrid in the summer of 2003, becoming a member of their ‘Galaticos’ era.

horse racing drugs shock Dan English Newspaper Sport Editor A doping scandal involving one of Horse Racing’s leading figures has widened, causing shockwaves across the racing world.

The Godolphin stable, owned

by Sheikh Mohammed, was rocked earlier this year when it came to light that one of its trainers, the now disgraced Mahmood Al Zarooni, had admitted to doping fifteen of the stable’s horses.

Since his admission, a further seven horses have tested positive for banned substances, leading to a six-month suspension from racing for each horse.

Godolphin is one of the world’s largest racehorse operations, owning two stables in Newmarket.

Racing manager Simon Crisford said: "It is obviously

very disappointing that seven further horses have tested positive for stanozolol.

"These results highlight why H.H. Sheikh Mohammed took the decision to lock down the stables at Moulton Paddocks until every Godolphin horse in training at Newmarket had been tested.”

The trainer at the centre of this scandal, Al Zarooni, had claimed that he did not know that the use of anabolic steroids was banned from competition in the United Kingdom.

He is currently appealing against the severity of an eightyear ban, imposed last month following his admission.

Alongside this scandal, one of horse racing’s most famous jockeys has also been under scrutiny for substance use.

Three-time champion jockey Frankie Dettori, was suspended worldwide from December

last year for cocaine use, after failing a drugs test after a race in France.

He is currently preparing for his comeback as a freelance jockey, after leaving Godolphin last year, but has said recently that he: "feels like Lance Armstrong", after being subjected to numerous drugs tests in the last few months.

Horse Racing is always under scrutiny in relation to horse and jockey safety, and with this new scandal coming to light, the sport is in desperate need to improve its image to its fans once more.

Visit our website for more sporting news and opinions from across the University.

If you have something to say, we’d love to hear from you, www.inquirelive.co.uk.

In Spain Beckham was adored and cheered by the Madrid fans, and he was part of the 2007 La Liga title win before moving to MLS side LA Galaxy in the summer; a move which many thought signalled the end of his career.

In America, Beckham won the MLS Cup twice, and was also loaned twice to AC Milan in the close season, coming up against old club Manchester United in the Champions League, to a warm reception at Old Trafford.

Beckham stayed in America until January 2013, when he

signed a five-month deal with PSG, which turned out to be his final professional contract.

A career glittered with honours domestically, it was on the international stage where Beckham really shone.

Despite the setbacks in 1998, Beckham was made England captain in 2000, a position he held until stepping down following the World Cup in 2006.

In his 115 appearances, Beckham scored 17 goals, most notably a last-gasp freekick against Greece, securing England’s qualification to the 2002 World Cup. Off the pitch, Brand Beckham has never been stronger.

He played a crucial part in securing the London 2012 Olympic Games, and his fashion lines and sport ambassadorial roles have made him a global figure.

His retirement attracted comments from Prime Minister David Cameron: "David Beckham has been an outstanding footballer throughout his career.”

Whatever the future holds for Beckham, in football or elsewhere, there is no doubt that he was a tremendous servant to both club and country, and it is unlikely that we will see a player like him again.

team kent elects new committee David George IN what has been a busy couple of weeks, a newly elected Executive committee has been unveiled for Team Kent.

The announcement followed Team Kent’s decision to join the Sports Charter, and this will be one of the key issues that the newly elected committee will be working with in the coming year.

After voting closed and the votes were tallied up, the new members of the committee are Rachel Cruickshank, Jack Bedford, George Agate, Harriet Thompson, Him Wai, Ed Goddard, Ieuan Lewis and Tom Robertson.

The new team will be in place in time for the start of the upcoming academic year,

alongside the incoming Vice President for Sports Chris Bull, who was elected back in March.

In a statement on their Facebook page, Team Kent wrote: “Congratulations to all of you!

“A very strong team that will be assisting Chris Bull and all of the sports clubs next year.

“We'd like to thank everyone who put themselves forward for the role, offer commiserations and wish you the best of luck in sport next year.”

The new team now have the unenviable task of continuing Team Kent’s success, as all attention from September will no doubt be focused on Varsity in 2014, hoping to continue Kent’s unbeaten run which currently stands at seventeen years.

Sport 23

neigh rest for equestrian society Sam Baldwin Newspaper Comment Editor IT has been a year of resounding success for the University of Kent Equestrian Club.

Following the C team securing 6th place at National’s last year, they had undoubtedly a lot to live up to.

Their achievement began with Varsity on 7th March, which drew on non-team members to compete against Canterbury Christ Church University, giving non-competitive riders the opportunity to partake in the battle to beat our rival university.

The morning’s dressage saw Kent take an early and sizeable lead over the competitors and ultimately ensured a win against CCCU. UKC riders gained 1st place individually in every class; Pilvi Rientonen and Anna Romanowicz in dressage, Charlie Turner and Kate Gregory in show jumping.

The club also has three BUCS teams which compete throughout the year in two separate leagues, the A team competing in the Championship league whereas B and C compete in the Trophy.

In order to assess an individual’s riding ability as fairly as possible, horses and riders are drawn from a hat so that one rider from each university will ride the same horse.

The aim is to get a penalty score of 0 on your horse; therefore whoever gets the highest score has the lowest penalties.

The A team got two successful riders through to Regionals, Team Captain Celia Chambers and Jemma Rogers.

Regionals were held at Checkendon Equestrian Centre on 3rd April and saw Rogers win individually, achieving a triumphant penalty score of 1 and thus qualifying her for BUCS National’s.

B and C team were also victorious after defeating Essex, Imperial, UCL, Brunel and Royal Holloway respectively ensuring that both teams went through to Regionals and were subsequently left to battle it out against each other for place at National’s, held on 17th April.

Although results from UKC after dressage and an amazingly strong show jumping round were close, Southampton’s B team narrowly pulled away into 1st place, leaving the UKC

Photograph by Emma Shelton B and C team with a highly commendable 2nd and 3rd place.

Team rider Emily Cross did extremely well individually, finishing in 4th place on a penalty score of 6.

The club is now moving

onwards and upwards and looking forward to supporting Rogers at Nationals at Hartpury Equestrian Centre, Gloucestershire (11th – 13th June).

Although BUCS is almost over, the club are continuing to host

varied activities and festivities throughout the summer term, including two pub hacks.

The club are seeking to improve upon their impressive BUCS results and excited to see their membership grow even more.

carl froch wins brutal encounter Dan English Newspaper Sport Editor CARL Froch successfully defended his IBF supermiddleweight crown in a brutal encounter on 26th May. The fight, a rematch with

Danish boxer Mikkel Kessler, was decided on points in a thrilling encounter at London’s O2 Arena, in front of a sell-out crowd.

Prior to the fight, Froch had promised to avenge his 2010 defeat to Kessler, and it was the Nottingham fighter who

started the brightest in the early rounds.

Kessler attempted to claw his way back into the early rounds, but the power and accuracy of Froch’s jabs kept the Dane at bay.

The Dane found his feet in the fourth round, showing his

trademark speed, beating Froch to the punch on a number of occasions.

But it was the fifth round when the fight began to explode, in which Kessler landed two huge left hooks to leave Froch wobbling and the expectant crowd concerned.

The fight remained equal throughout the latter part of the contest, with both Kessler and Froch landing huge sickening punches, with both fighters looking unstable at times.

Roared on by a home crowd, Froch kept his balance despite a resilient attack from Kessler, and sealed a sensational win on points.

The final round being a classic, as the Dane was holding on towards the bell.

Froch won a unanimous decision from the three judges, who scored the fight 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113 all in ‘The Cobra’s’ favour.

After the fight Froch said: "It feels really good.

"The only thing that feels bad is that I have had to beat such a real gentleman, a real warrior and real nice man.

"He did hurt me a couple of times; I think everybody saw that.

"But I hurt him a little bit more and I thought I deserved the win. I thought it was unanimously my fight.”

The future remains unclear for Kessler, who had said he might retire if he lost to Froch but this has yet to be confirmed.

Who Froch fights next is still undecided, with rumoured future encounters with either Andre Ward or Bernard Hopkins being discussed.

But for now Froch, who threw an enormous 998 punches throughout the fight, he can revel in his achievements and a victory in front of the largest crowd of his career.

The fight was a superb advert for Boxing, giving Froch the exposure his illustrious career finally deserves.

visit our website at - www.inquirelive.co.uk/sport

InQuire sport team kent signs sports charter

Dan English Newspaper Sport Editor ON Friday 17th May, Team Kent and Kent Union announced that they had signed up to the government’s Sports Charter, which is aimed at tackling homophobia and transphobia in Sport. All 56 Sports Clubs across the University of Kent have committed themselves to the charter.

On their Facebook page, Team Kent wrote: “We won’t just be signing up, but implementing processes to train new committees and offer stand out training in order to raise the awareness of the issues and to improve inclusivity across all of our clubs.

“Sport is for EVERYONE regardless of your gender, ethnicity, race or background

and Team Kent are proud to champion the Sports For All ethos.”

The charter is split into four sections to eradicate discrimination in Sport: 1. We believe that everyone should be able to participate in and enjoy sport – whoever they are and whatever their background.

2.

We believe that sport is about fairness and equality, respect and dignity. Sport teaches individuals how to strive and succeed, how to cope with success and disappointment, and brings people together with a common goal.

3.

We are committed to making these values a reality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We will work together, and individually, to rid sport of homophobia and

transphobia.

4.

We will make sport a welcome place for everyone – for those participating in sport, those attending sporting events and for those working or volunteering in sports at any level. We will work with all these groups to ensure they have a voice, and to challenge unacceptable behaviour.

Writing on his blog, outgoing Kent Union’s Vice President for Sport Matt Harris said: “At the University of Kent we are proud to boast such a diverse range of sports with an equally diverse range of students; we believe that our clubs and our students should all get the same fair and equal treatment.”

Homophobia is one of the biggest problems Sport currently faces, despite ideas such as the Sports Charter.

Sportsmen and sportswomen are often faced with the cruel task of choosing between their sexuality and their sport, for fear of abuse from spectators.

A recent article by The Guardian claimed that eight footballers said ‘we’re gay’ but kept quiet in fear of backlash from fans, as well from their own dressing room.

Some sportspeople have decided to come out to help spread awareness in sport, despite these fears. Welsh Rugby player Gareth Thomas, who helped launch the Charter, came out as gay in 2009, making him the first openly gay professional rugby player, stating: “I don’t want to be known as a gay rugby player. [...] first and foremost I am a man.”

On his blog, Harris discussed

the message that signing the charter sends across the University: “By signing the Charter we are also conveying a message to our supporters that we will stand up to discrimination, build a more family friendly club and create an environment where there is no room for abuse within each of our sports.

“We are also encouraging players to be themselves, which can have a positive impact on both individual and team performance, as people who are open about their sexuality perform at a higher standard.”

Whatever the sport, there is no place for Homophobia, Biphobia or Transphobia. It must be eradicated throughout the world of Sport in order to make Sport what it should be, more inclusive.