RU
FREE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE... VALENTINE’S PAGE 3!
www.roarnews.co.uk Got a Story? editor@roarnews.co.uk @roar_news roar! newspaper 020 7379 9833 Macadam Building, Surrey Street, London WC2R 2NS
STUDENT GROUPS
Roar! is an independent Student Media society at KCLSU. Views expressed in Roar! do not necessarily reflect those of Roar!’s Editorial Board, KCLSU, its trustees, or its employees, or of King’s College London.
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LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2012
Look out for flags for all our articles celebrating LGBT history month!
See page 4 for Roar!’s full report, by Luke Chattaway and Zoe Tipler
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Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman Philip Murray Warson talks Chilcot, Blair and the Fawklands with Sir Laurence
SPORTS
Vol 19, Issue 7 February 14March 4, 2011
naccountable? L acklustre? Unnecessary? FEATURES
King’s News King’s Entertainment
Pic from connaught.hall
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THE BIG V S’all about Vasity- get your team round up here first!
2
2. You must be Jamaican, because Jamacan me crazy.
3. You look like a tall glass of water
(Yeah we don’t know what it means either).
4. How much does a Polar Bear weigh? Enough to break the ice!
5. I hope you know CPR? Because you take my breath away.
6.
I don’t know how to put this... but I’m kind of a big deal!
7. Is there are mirror in your pants? Because I can see me in them!
8. Have you heard of platform 9 3/4? I
know something else with the same measurements.
9.
Do you have any raisins? How about a date then?
10. ‘Girl your feet must be so tired because you have been running through my mind all day’ 11. I may not be Wilma Flintstone, but I know I can make your Bedrock.
Valentine’s. Got to admit, I struggle with the commercialisation of what is essentially a day to celebrate the martyrdom of a Roman saint. But heaven forbid I take away some of the romance! We have tried to equip you with some of the tools you will need to survive the day unscathed: chat-up lines, page 3, and more opinions on Valentine’s than you can shake a stick at. We’ve also packing in as many articles as we can in celebration of LGBT History Month.. Never let it be said that Roar! shirks in its duties in serving the student population. Aside from our blatant riding of the band-wagon we have done a bit of proper journalism too, of course. Remember our promise at the beginning of the year that we would make sure you were getting value for your money? Well, that extends to how KCL are spending your money and we think you have the right to know exactly how much of that is being dished out to ULU and what they are using it for. Let us know if you think it’s being well spent. Do you want out? Are you a massive ULU fan? Whatever you views, we want to hear them! Finally, Roar! are looking for people to help out with our Varsity coverage, we need as many people as possible to be down there, live blogging, tweeting, interviewing and generally soaking up the atmosphere. If you would like the opportunity to add something interesting to your CV, learn a bit more about off-the-hoof journalism and to get really involved with our trashing of UCL, get in touch! We are starting to put together our team so it would be great to have you on board!
FASHION AND LIFESTYLE
For the love...
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ARTS
1. I only have 3 weeks to live.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
Editor’s Note
Cupcake recipie
Don’t they say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomarch? We already know that girls love chololate... these will have everyone swooning!
A Spot of Bother Damien Hirst’s Spot Paintings.
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Enjoy this special bumper edition of Roar! And, check out the centre spread to see if you feature in our Truff photo montage: there is a free drink in it for you if your face is circled! Lots of Love,
Zoe xxx
editor@roarnews.co.uk
12. “How would you like to have a sexual experience so intense it could conceivably change your political views?”Thankyou very much John Cusack The most viewed on w w w. r o a r n e w s . c o . u k
MUSIC
Roar! editor’s favourite chatup lines (ok, you can judge!)
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EXCLUSIVE Interview with The Sounds
1. From Novel to Television: Birdsong - Elizabeth Metcalfw
FILM
2. ULU 2012 Elections...Roar! backs... REOPENING NOMINATIONS - Zoe Tipler, Editor 3. The Controversy of Being Mario Balotelli Vieri Capretta 4. Sports Referendum already decided? - Roar! 5. KCL Response to Libary Fines Story - Robert Hall
WE LOVE KCL MEMES ON FB... IT’S SOOO MUCH BETTER THAN THE UCL VERSION TOO!
Valentine’s film guide
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Editor Zoe Tipler editor@roarnews.co.uk
Comment Editor Olivia Selley comment@roarnews.co.uk
Student Groups Editor Laura Arowolo students@raornews.co.uk
Arts Editor Theodora Wakeley arts@roarnews.co.uk
Music Editor Shivan Davis music@roarnews.co.uk
Head of Design Steph Fairbairn design@roarnew.co.uk
Comment Sub-editor Ben Jackson
Careers Editor Georgia Rajah
Features Editor Matt Lever features@roarnews.co.uk
Fashion and Lifestyle Editor Coryn Brisbane fashion@roarnews.co.uk
Film Editor Beth Cohon film@roarnews.co.uk
Sports Editor Charlotte Richardson sports@roarnews.co.uk
Film Sub-editor Maurice Loach
Proofing Editor Sofie Kouropatov proof@roarnews.co.uk
News Editor Luke Chattaway news@roarnews.co.uk
Proofing Sub-editor Max Edwards Legal and Advertising Fran Allfrey vpsme@kclsu.org Next content deadline: 20th of Febuary
SANTIAGO CLAUSSE
ANONYMOUS
KCL FITTIES ENOSADESA ODIASE
ANONYMOUS
Happy Valentine’s!
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News
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Edited by Luke Chattaway news@roarnews.co.uk
ROAR! EXCLUSIVE: ULU INVESTIGATION
Criticism of ULU has peaked during their elections weeks, following revelations about the Union not following it’s own election regulations - as exposed by Queen Mary’s Q Messenger issue 55 (http://bit.ly/zWyOhv), and Heythrop College’s Lion newspaper. Now, Roar! can exclusively reveal that the elected trustee officers of ULU - the President and Vice President- have failed to adequately keep logbooks detailing information about expenses, attendance records for their meetings.
ook:
og B
al L batic
t ar /A siden sts N aken so f by e e r r e P t ficer In eave t f l p– o i a l t n a n l rso de al om . nd Pes of annu ve taken d for a stu lav D a s i e t t a ay lea iva de Vr g N/A/A of Pr ken – 7 d s of sick ses provi n i n r o e i t t a day e ta .3 N pen /A dc lara elate ed in A.5 . -Dec nual Leavtaken – 8 and/or exividual N 5 r n u - An k Leave spitality n or ind - £64.8 related or as outlin cuments - Sic gifts, ho rganizatiod by ULUhire and products tached do - All ternal o s incurre remises nd food se see at an ex expense n ULU p alcohol angs: Plea - All counts o off-sale or meeti t - Dis chase of records f . ave siden e r P : N/A en so far Do not h e acs - Pur endance e t s c i e or – tak ter –V - Att nal Inual leave Februarydent for m czka o a s r R e in y esi ann dP Rillo cer b te an days of ary, 1daye Vice Pr fi a f v o Sean i t r fP t th anu den : 14 a stu tion o ve taken days in J se contac r a r ntact o a f o l c a c a d 8 e e e e e : l D nual L taken ear, p eas ovid re, pl es pr /A u s - An k Leave e New Y s n o l e p al: N g N/A/A sc x i n r c i e i d o r f S r e e t w o . .3 N vidu allo ds b d ca and/ elate ed in A.5the recorte recordsspitality n or indi : Won’t r n u or lin ct cura gifts, ho rganizatiod by ULU lated ts as out se conta e r l e l o r d a c - A ternal s incur ctly. ire an produ e, ple an ex expense ident dire remises h nd food accessibl - All ice Pres n ULU p alcohol angs: Not the V counts o off-sale or meeti - Dis chase of records f - Pur endance t. - Att Presiden Vice LOGBOOK INCOMPLETE
Sab
SENATE RECORDS
Whilst logbooks might be non existent or incomplete, Roar must note that ULU Senate records contain full reports of work undertaken from President, VP and the London Student editor. These can be found by searching ‘Senate’ on the ULU website.
Most worryingly of all, this substitute ‘logbook’ appears to be incomplete. Half of the Vice-President’s information – including details of sick leave and attendance reports – is missing and the section that should contain his ULU expenses instead uses the troubling phrase ‘Won’t allow disclosure’. Roar! cannot be sure how much effort Domalip made to send in a complete logbook, therefore, we had asked ULU VP Rillo-Razka to comment on his portion of the log book. He was also CCd into Domalip’s response to us containing to logbook, however he didn’t respond to our requests. We pledge to print any responses from Rillo-Raczka at www.roarnews.co.uk
‘The Log Books shall be held by the President’s Office and shall be available to all ULU members and stakeholders for inspection’ ULU Regs,13.3, with further reference at A.3.6 http://ulu.co.uk/elections/files/e12_electionpack.docx
INCOMING KCLSU MOTION TO ULU SENATE
Roar! are pleased to report that KCLSU Officers plan to take a motion to ULU Senate (the Governing body of Senate with a place reserved for a representative from each UoL Students’ Union), with the aim of making ULU more accountable. The demands of the motion read: “ULU should provide each Union’s Sabbatical Officers with tailored statistics about which facilities or services their members are using. These will include. Gym/ Swimming Pool usage; membership to Societies and Activity groups; useage of Commercial Services (Bar, café, shop, room hire); London Student Newspaper writer statistics; Number of students voting in the elections and from which union they belong. Senate understands that figures with respect to the bar/ café/ shop may be more difficult. These reports should be delivered to each Union in the last week of every term. The summer period will also be treated as a term with the report being delivered in the first week of September. ULU should provide each Union with statistics from the past three years of how many members used their facilities/ services.”
ACCOUNTABLILITY
The logbooks, as detailed in section A3.6 and A.4 of the Union regulations, should be a mandatory journal of officer activities, presumably designed to aid transparency, and should be available for study by any ULU member (that is, any student at a University of London). When Roar! requested access to the logbooks of President Vratislav Domalip and Vice President Sean Rillo-Raczka as part of a story about the Union elections, however, it was discovered that they did not exist and our journalists were instead supplied – after a three day delay - with a single A4 page of text (pictured) and copies of the President’s Outlook calendar.
CHANGE OF REGULATIONS
When asked to comment on the missing Logbooks, Domalip admitted that, ‘there has never been a physical log book containing all the information required under section A.4 of the regulations.’ The incomplete nature of the document Roar! was supplied, however, challenges his further claim that he was ‘able to provide all the information when requested’ and raises legitimate questions as to how seriously he takes issues of sabbatical officer accountability. The claim that the regulations surrounding ULU had been changed in 2007 - meaning that logbooks would be no longer mandatory - is also a cause for concern: the regulations available on the ULU website, and distributed to election candidates still contain the logbook clause. If the ‘new’ regulations from 2007 remove important clauses such as this, why haven’t ULU taken steps to distribute updated regulations?
DOESN’T APPLY TO LS EDITOR
You might wonder why no mention has been made of the London Student Editor, this is because although it’s a paid sabbatical position the LS editor is not a trustee of ULU and so is subject to different regulations.
IT’S A BIT BLOOMIN’ EXPENSIVE... We contacted KCL to try and find out how much the college spends each year on affiliation fees to ULU. Although we could not have an exact figure confirmed sources estimate it to be in excess of £100,000 per year. We hope to confirm a figure in our next issue. Hannah Barlow, KCLSU President commented: “Currently, KCL spends an affiliation fee every year to ULU. As King’s is one of the larger colleges of UoL, we pay one of the higher affiliation fees. Whilst I wouldn’t like to say for sure that if KCL weren’t paying the money to ULU it would come to us, KCLSU would lobby for that money to be redirected to us if this became an option’.
STOP PRESS! More regulation disgrace
Just before going to print Roar were informed of more alleged disregard by ULU of their own regulations. Ben Giddens President of The Central School of Speach and Drama told ULU Senate that his students hadn’t recieved their voting invitations until Tuesday of voting week. Gala Jackson-coombs of Heythrop College also noted that some of her students had experienced a similar delay. If true this highlights another failing by ULU in upholding their regulations. Of course any decision on complaints is made by they ULU election committee.
News
December14th 13th-- March January4th 22nd 2012 Roar!, February 2012
5
New UNITE bursaries for KCL students
A Presidents wife and a King’s lady.
Zoe Tipler
Nathan Olliverre
KCL selected as one of four universities by UNITE Foundation which intends to offer students bursaries to help with the cost of living. The UNITE Foundation is offering 21 bursaries to students from King’s, the University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, and Sheffield Hallam University. The generous package on offer includes free accommodation in a UNITE property for the duration of study and up to £4,000 a year towards living expenses. Priority for the money will be given to students who grew up in care, a group which is particularly under-represented in higher education. UNITE aims to expand the bursary scheme to support 140 students by 2016. The foundation is also giving £85,000 to organisations which support its objectives of widening participation and integrating students into the community. Mark Allan, Chief Executive of UNITE Group, said: “the UNITE Foundation will help us strengthen our positive and trusting relationships with the universities and communities we serve.”
King’s India Institute
On the 26th of January the College officially opened Britain’s first India Institute. The new institute will offer postgraduate programs in areas that cover Indian politics, culture and history and it is hoped that the center will help to develop ties and understanding between the UK and one of the world’s largest developing economies.
Dubbed the ‘Middle East Princess Diana’ and described as “a rose in the desert”, due to her active involvement with charities, rural development, heritage and youth unemployment it seems this image may be facing a makeover. Asma Assad’s family are Sunni Muslims, mainly from Homs, yet she has recently come out in support of her husband saying “The President is the President of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the First Lady supports him in that role,” perhaps a statement more in keeping with Marie Antoinette.
HESA Proposals Threaten LGBT Progress at KCL Chloë Lord – King’s LGBT Trans* Officer
The ceremony, coinciding with India’s Republic Day, was attended by the Foreign Secretary William Hague and Rajesh Prasad, the Acting Indian High Commissioner to the UK. Professor Sunil Khilnani, the director of the new institute, stresses the contemporary relevance of the project: ‘This is a moment when India is redefining itself in the world, when India itself is undergoing one of the biggest historical transformations ever in that society. This is also a moment Britain, when Europe, is defining its place in the world as well and I think to be able to look at India in great detail and great depth from here in London
As the government attacks on Homs continues and with human rights groups claiming that more than 7,000 people have been killed during this unrest, the media focus is on President al-Assad’s links with Russia and China; the link between (his wife) and Britain has been left on the sidelines. Born and raised in Acton, Asma al-Akhras had a contrasting upbringing to that of her husband’s. The daughter of a Harley Street cardiologist and a Syrian diplomat she attended the local Church of England school and after her A-levels at a private girls school in Marylebone she studied Computer Science at King’s College London. Graduating in 1996 with a first class Bachelors degree as well as a Diploma in French. King’s described her as a ‘model student’. After graduating she went on to work for Deutsche Bank before marrying Bashar Assad in 2000.
is a great perspective we can bring to the study of India.’ William Hague, in his speech at opening ceremony, said: ‘I wish the King’s India Institute and its students every success in the coming years. It is inspiring to think of all those who will expand our intellectual horizons and cement our ties with India in the years to come by studying here’.
TOTALLY RAGGED! Rag week was in full swing when Roar! went to print. So far the RAG team have raised over £12,000 which will be added to the £16,000 raised in Jingle Rag Money raised goes to the GKT Hospital trusts and Childnren’s wards, as well as other great causes Well done team RAG!
New applicants to King’s may have found themselves spending longer on the Gender section of their applications than expected – Alongside ‘Male’ and Female’ there is now an ‘Other’ option with an accompanying clarification, which reads “The ‘Other’ category is to be used by those who do not identify strongly as either male or female, e.g. those that are intersex, androgyne, intergender, ambigender, gender fluid, polygender or genderqueer”. As King’s LGBT campaign’s trans* officer, alongside its president Michael Fanner, I met with KCL’s Equality and Diversity Office to see the ‘Other’ option included on our applications and IDs. Many people identify as an ‘other’ or non-binary gender and, as the note clarifies, not all those identities are alike. Whilst the note isn’t perfect – Intersex is more often a sex characteristic than a gender identity, and many intersex individuals will have binary identities-, it is still significant progress in recognising and meeting trans* students’ needs. Following the introduction of gender neutral toilets in KCLSU, the student council voting to support the Trans*ByDegree campaign and publication of a transgender equality policy and guides for trans* students and staff teaching them, King’s is becoming truly trans* inclusive. An additional benefit , and one I particularly appreciate, is the educational impact of every applicant to King’s seeing the new option and note and being made aware of non-binary identities: increasing awareness is the first step towards increasing acceptance. This promising development may yet be compromised soon after its creation, due to proposed changes to the student records system by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA): it proposes a student.sex field and an optional student.genderID field. The problems with this are numerous and it has caused serious alarm in the trans* community. Key problems are that legal sex is not a genuine concept – you can have an official sex, but also numerous official sexes. Transition is a long process and not all official documents will register the same sex if they register it at all: gender is a far more common option. Like many trans* students, the arbitrary choice of which document to use could classify me as female or male. That there are only two options also erases Intersex people. Unclear terminology is a poor basis for statistics. Secondly, if HESA intends birth/physical sex, how would they measure it? By karyotypes, hormone levels, secondary sexual characteristics, primary sexual characteristics... none of which are dependent on each other. Does one have the deciding vote or would HESA go by an average? More realistically, it would be ‘passing privilege’: A trans man who was not seen as trans would have no trouble being recorded as Male, whereas his less fortunate or earlier in transition friend would have to fight for the same recognition. It transphobically and inaccurately assumes that gender is contingent on and secondary to sex and would force trans* students to go through embarrassing and intrusive procedures to be recognised. In attempting to meet data collection requirements under the Equaltiy Act 2010, HESA would very likely breach the same act by discriminating against trans* students. Even though stipulated as voluntary, these recommendations could erase the work put in by student activists to make student records fairer and out a lot of trans* students in the process. The swiftness and scale of the objections to the proposals were noted by HESA, who have stated the proposals can still change. To keep progressing in the right direction, we must do our best to see these proposals shelved and to keep working toward trans* equality in our institutions
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News
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
ULU ELECTION RESULTS
Pics by Charlie Ding (left and centre) and taken from the ULU elections website (right)
President: Sean Rillo Raczka Vice-President: Daniel Lemberger Cooper Responsibilities
- Represent all the students of the University of London to the central University, the Government and the wider community. - The President leads on all Educational issues and ensures that all students regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or age have access to the highest quality of higher education. - Lead campaigning in London to make sure that all University of London students have the opportunity to study, live and enjoy London.
London Student Editor: Jen Izaakson
Responsibilities Responsibilities - Responsible for all the different ways which students participate in ULU. This is though sports, societies, ULU Leagues and Cups - Editing and publishing the London Student Newspaper. and society networks.
- Production and distribution of the paper.
- Responsible for the engagement which the student body has with - Editorial content design and layout of the paper. ULU. This role includes increasing participation in sports and societies, democracy (i.e. elections) and volunteering at ULU. - Organising and training of the staff of the paper. - The Vice President leads internal campaigns within the Univer- - Responsible for adhering to the budget, allocated by the Board sity of London community; for example ‘Keep Wednesday After- of Trustees noons Free’.
Facts and Figures: voter turnout and the single transferable vote stages President
Vice President
London Student Editor
Total ballots: 1234
Total ballots: 1591
Total ballots: 1512
1st Round RON (Re-open Nominations) : 438 Sean Rillo Raczka: 737
1st Round RON (Re-open Nominations): 86 Daniel Lemberger Cooper: 775 Abs Hassanali: 217 Ross Speer: 488
1st Round RON (Re-open Nominations): 23 John Bell : 354 Wilf Merttens: 216 Jen Izaakson: 475 Freya Pascall: 134 Ben Parfitt: 283
On the (very scientific) poll on the Roar! website 50% of you said you would be voting. But the actual voting figures show that it turns out that less than 1% of those students in the whole of the University of London decided to do so! As a comparison over 4500 people voted in the KCLSU elections (only open for King’s) last year. Roar! will be getting interviews with the candidates soon, but at the time of going to print we were under press embargo. We will put them online from the 14th February. Let us know what you think! Do you think this new ULU line up represents you? Did you vote? Tweet @roar_news, or ‘Roar! Newspaper’ on Facebook.
2nd Round Daniel Lemberger Cooper: 871 Ross Speer: 560 Exhausted: 135
LS election went through 4 further rounds until: John Bell: 572 Jen Izaakson: 637
Didn’t fancy running or voting in the ULU elections? NOW is your chance to stand to represent your very own university. The KCLSU elections - for President, three Vice Presidents and Trustee positions - are now open for nominations. Nominate yourself before the 20th February. Or if being a student representative just doesn’t appeal, remember to vote between 7th and 9th March, and make a real change at King’s. Make sure the people working for YOU and chosen by YOU! www.kclsu.org/elections
Comment
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
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Comment Sub-Editor Ben Jackson
“SHOULD WE LEAVE ULU?”
Before reading the headline of this month’s burning issue, had you heard of the University of London Union? Formed in 1955, ULU offers such benefits as a library, a bar and a pool. Incidentally, King’s has these resources anyway. Anonymous sources have informed us that King’s is considering leaving the Union. This is probably due to the farce that is the ULU elections; there’s only one candidate running for President. However, what about tradition, I hear you say. ULU is a respected body and perhaps the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This month, Roar!’s Comment Sub-Ed Ben asks whether we should stay united or depart and put that extra cash into our own union. (Written before results announced for 2012-13)
“
We already have elected respresentatives at King’s
YES
NO
Katherine Bell
Did anyone know what the Uni-
Ooh, let’s have more work space.
If you don’t know what the Uni-
might as well be independent insti-
versity of London Union was be-
We don’t need student politicians
versity of London Union is, then
tutions and not have the benefits of
fore reading this month’s Roar?
to get these things done. All we
where have you been? You’re
being students in London! At the
I’d hazard a guess that most of you
need is a meeting with the people
certainly missing out on the op-
end of the day, ULU offers many
reading this will be surprised that
in charge and anyone who wants to
portunities and faciltiies it has
more opportunities to students and
you belong to a student union other
voice their opinion can come along.
to offer! Just a short walk from
that’s why London is the best city
than KCLSU. I mean, does this
But something as simple and com-
the Strand you will find Senate
for students. Furthermore, being
union have a bar or something? I
mon-sensical as that would never
House Library, a pool and a bar
a part of ULU creates a sense of
don’t even know! And that’s why
happen because student politicians
with student prices! What more
togetherness in this huge city and
I’m arguing that King’s should
are eager for the power-trip.
do you want out of a student un-
that can only be a good thing. The
ion? What’s more, the University
student bar gives you the opportu-
of London merchandise is really
nity to meet people from other col-
cool. None of the tiny logo stuff
leges, something you wouldn’t be
at King’s. Everything has ‘UNI-
able to do if we only had KCLSU!
leave ULU: most of us weren’t even aware of its existence in the
Nearly every candidate for the
first place! I think it’s scandalous
ULU election is peddling the no-
that this institution claims to rep-
tion that student fees are being tri-
resent all the London universities
pled next year as a starting point for
when I, a King’s student, wasn’t
their manifestos. What the hell has
aware of their existence until now.
that got to do with their policies? It just reinforces how silly the union
VERSITY OF LONDON’ on it, which looks really cool. It’s also in a lovely area of London so I really recommend you search it out and get involved.
Let me return to the subject of Senate House Library. If you haven’t been to this library yet, I
From a quick perusal of their web-
is. If ULU is such a strong force for
site, they’re holding elections from
London students, why did the gov-
2nd to 9th February. What a joke
ernment ignore them and go ahead
I think it’s something to be proud
London student, you get free ac-
that is. We already have elected
with the fee rise? It’s clear that the
of that as a student in London,
cess to it! Especially if you live
representatives at King’s! Who
argument that London students are
you’re a part of a much wider
in Bloomsbury or the surrounding
needs another set of student politi-
stronger under ULU is therefore
network of students. There are
area, it really is a terrific resource
cians self-righteously ‘governing’
utterly futile.
120,000 of us! And ULU does re-
for quiet study and getting books
over the rest of us? We all know
ally well in representing us. I think
that aren’t available at King’s li-
how annoying and arbitrary stu-
ULU actually maintains the cohe-
braries. So what are you waitng
dent politics is anyway. Ooh, let’s
sion of the University of London
for? Go out and take advantage of
put a microwave in the canteen.
as well. If it wasn’t for ULU, we
ULU’s brilliant library!
emplore you to check it out. It’s such a stunning building and as a
If you have any issue that you are burning to debate e-mail Ben at comment@roarnews.co.uk
“
I think it’s something to be proud of
“
Luke Rushmore
“
8
Comment
Roar!, Febuary 14th - 4th March 2012
Edited by Olivia Selley comment@roarnews.co.uk
Rally to defend free expression!
Romney wins big in Florida Emilio Scozzafava
Jac Recently, three University of London colleges’ atheist societies have become embroiled in controversy. Firstly, UCL Atheist, Secular and Humanist Society (ASHS) were ordered by UCLU to remove a cartoon they were using on Facebook to advertise their weekly pub social on 10 January. It depicted Jesus Christ and the Prophet Mohammed drinking beer together at a bar, and was taken from the popular online comic series ‘Jesus and Mo’. They refused, and the issue quickly went viral on the internet; UCLU backed down. Next, on 16 January, Queen Mary atheists were forced to cancel an event on ‘Sharia Law and Human Rights’ due to threats of violence. Minutes before the talk was about to start, a man burst into the room in which it was due to be held. Whilst filming attendees with a camera phone, he assured the audience that, “if I hear that anything is said against the holy Prophet Mohammed, I will hunt you down.”Lastly, an LSE Atheist Society committee member chose to republish the cartoon on his personal blog (after publication was refused by the LSE student newspaper), and was promptly accused of Islamophobia by LSESU. An Emergency General Meeting was called on 26 January at the LSESU, and a motion passed condemning Islamophobia, the definition of which was generous enough to include criticism or satire of Islam itself, and not just personal attacks on Muslims. As such, LSE atheists have been forced to disaffiliate with the LSESU. In the cases of UCL and LSE, the unions have demonstrated considerable confusion about the right to freedom of speech, believing that it is only permissible insofar as it doesn’t cause offence. Undeniably, there are restrictions on our right to free speech; namely, incitements of hatred or violence. But offence is the very basis of the need for this freedom. If people only espoused inoffensive opinions, then the right to freedom of speech wouldn’t be needed, because no opinion would ever be questioned.
Thoughts on Love Andadra Dobre As a hopeless romantic, when the opportunity arose to write about love, modern romance and Valentine’s Day, I was very excited. I eagerly looked up famous love quotes, and thought of all the love stories I’ve read and seen on the big and small screens to embrace the February 14th spirit. The truth is however, that love is so much more than a few scattered words of great philosophers, and writing about it is not an easy task. There are so many causes, consequences and elements of its nature that no essay, no book, no volumes of poetry, nor even albums of songs, can encompass it all. What baffles me however, is not the complexity of love and its many facets, it is the reluctance of people nowadays to talk about it, to admit to wanting or even to searching for it. Society has evolved to a point where love is a mere entertainment tool that is considered mediocre and inferior to political, economic and career is-
If something causes you offence, turn away from it. The world is big enough for the both of us. UCL atheists used the cartoon to advertise a pub social solely for members of their society. LSE atheists posted it when the controversy at UCL arose, in solidarity, and to alert their members to the problem. It wasn’t daubed in graffiti on the side of a mosque or sent to Muslim students as part of a deliberate attack. If an atheist posts a lightly satirical cartoon about religion for his friends, and you find it offensive, that’s your problem. A dangerous mistake made by both unions is the conflation with something chosen by an individual, such as a religion, a political allegiance, or an artistic taste, and something not chosen, such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity or race. In the EGM, the LSESU defined Islamophobia as “a form of racism”. It is discrimination, certainly - but not racism. Not only is it insulting to religious people to imply that their belief is something that they hold without any kind of thought whatsoever, it is threatening to a free and open society to pretend that something that belongs in the sphere of intellectual debate cannot be discussed. In response to this, the campaign group One Law for All has organised a rally to defend freedom of expression, on Saturday 11 February. I would urge anyone who holds a firm belief in this fundamental, democratic principle to attend.
Rally to defend free expression Saturday, 11 February 2012 14:00 until 16:00 Old Palace Yard (opposite The House of Lords) London
sues. People seek fun with no strings attached; enjoy single life, and the freedom and empowerment of nonattachment and non-dependency. The problem lies in the fact that people see love either as a deterrent to the success of their future career, undesirable because of previous heartache, or unnecessary and thus irrelevant because they can have fulfilling relations without the involvement of such complicated emotions. University life is a harsh reality of how non-existent or apparently non-achievable people think love is. Both girls and guys seem to have a policy of fun before love, some because that is what they want and some because they think that’s all they can get. Relationships can be likened to utopias in this situation; like any other utopian vision, love can be looked down upon or dreamed about but always remains out of reach. Why look for love when you don’t think it’s possible or right for you? Why celebrate Valentine’s Day when it’s just a cards company invention? I am not saying we should make love our main objective in life, that it should be the motor of our actions and that we should decide how we live our lives around finding it. I think we fall in love when it’s the right time and the right person, and when we don’t
have to run for it, work for it, nor hide from it. Studies have shown that the part of the brain responsible for love is the same one responsible for the rush one gets from administering certain adrenaline heightening drugs. We fall in love when our dopamine level rises in our head, when we feel a rush or elation. We are driven by our basic brain functions and responses towards what we call love whether we want it or not. Love isn’t planned or sought after, and it is not a force we can easily stop. Dr Helen Fischer, in a TED conference, said that love is a drive; it emerges from the motor of our brain. It is thus quintessentially part of our nature and maybe even inevitable. Be it in the form of lust, romantic love or attachment, or even all three, it is unstoppable and uncontrollable. We fall madly in love, and we’re passionate and kind because it is what our nature has set out for us. Sceptical or not, one has to accept that love is part of who we are. Whether we examine it as a biological process or experience it as a deep emotion, love is in each and every one of us, ready to be ignited. As Benjamin Disraeli once said, “we are all born for love”.
There were no last-minute upsets in the Republican primary in Florida, where would-be front runner Mitt Romney beat out his three rivals to claim a substantial victory. Taking 48% of the vote, Romney prevented Newt Gingrich (who took 32%) from capitalising on any momentum he may have had from his primary win in South Carolina earlier this month, whilst Rick Santorum (13%) and Ron Paul (7%) placed a distant third and fourth respectively. Despite this sizeable win, Romney will take limited comfort from it. All three other candidates have pledged to continue campaigning, with Gingrich promising to keep going until the Republican National Convention at the end of August. Although he may not actually make it that far, it demonstrates the determination of these candidates, and, unfortunately for Romney, recent developments mean they could be around for a very long time. Because of a series of federal court rulings in 2010, ‘super PACs’ (funds of money, propped up by affluent donors in support of specific candidates) can now contribute unlimited amounts to campaigns. Campaigns which may have been forced to drop out by now (as Romney’s was in 2008 after losing Florida to McCain) can now remain solvent. This is of particular use to Gingrich, who is the wealthiest non-Romney candidate, and with his extremely wealthy supporters, like the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, he could continue long after other candidates have been forced out. In the past once candidates stopped winning primaries their money dried up, but in 2012 it seems that, so far, this is not the case. A number of changes to the nominating calendar also mean that Romney will be facing challengers for much longer than previous Republicans have had to. A deliberate attempt by the Republican leaders to prevent rush judgements in choosing a nominee means that ‘Super Tuesday’ (when 10 states will be voting) has been pushed back a month to March 6th. Until then there are only two primaries where delegates are at stake (Michigan and Arizona). This gives candidates far more time to campaign before the crucial ‘Tuesday’ results come in, and coupled with some primary states who award delegates to losing candidates, it appears it will be several months before a single candidate can credibly claim to have enough delegates behind him to take the nomination. What this all means is that the ball is in Romney’s court; if he can maintain momentum and capitalise on his win in Florida, taking the two primaries in February and the majority of states on ‘Super Tuesday’, it will be very difficult for any candidate, even Gingrich, to believably claim they can still take him down. On the other hand, if Romney missteps, or if there are upsets on ‘Super Tuesday’ (a not unlikely scenario given Santorum’s surprise win in Iowa and Gingrich’s in South Carolina), the battle could legitimately continue until April, or even longer. It may ultimately be Romney (and many commentators, along with the White House itself, still peg him as the eventual Republican nominee), but he’s in for a long fight before that result is confirmed.
Comment
Roar!, Febuary 14th - 4th March 2012
King’s “Socially Is Islam Invisible” homophobic? Areeb Ullah In a recent table published by ‘Econ sultancy’, King’s College London (KCL) was ranked last for for visibility in social media, out of the London Russell Group Universities. With tuition fees rising by £9000 a year, institutions across the country have stepped up their marketing, in a bid to attract more students. The data, originally compiled by Searchmetrics, shows KCL ranked 17th out of the 20 Russell Group institutions across the country. Each university’s social visibility score was based on the total number of links a web domain had scored on social sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and Twitter. Other Russell Group institutions in London however, scored better for social media visibility. Imperial ranked just above KCL, whilst rival London institution UCL ranked in the top 5. The Libyan School of Economics on the other hand, came out in top for London Russell Group institutions, but faired just behind Cambridge and Oxford.
Shanon Shah On 20 Jan 2012, three men from Derby, England were convicted of anti-gay hatred in a landmark trial. Ihjaz Ali, 42, Kabir Ahmed, 28 and Razwan Javed, 27, were accused of distributing a pamphlet, called The Death Penalty?, which contained an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose. Certainly, this court decision is a victory in the struggle for universal human rights. Nevertheless, the wider media coverage of the case raises some other disturbing questions. For example, the Gay Star News used the headline, “Muslim men first to be found guilty of gay hate crime.” Earlier in the year when the men stood trial, The Guardian reported on 10 Jan with the headline, “Muslim men accused of hate crime over anti-gay leaflet.” The question is, why is it that Muslim homophobes continue to be singled out in news headlines as though Muslims and Islam are a special case? Why, when Jody Dobrowski was brutally murdered in 2006 by the homophobes Thomas Pickford and Scott Walker, did The Independent in its 17 June report not treat readers to information about whether these killers were atheist, Roman Catholic, Anglican, White English or Black? When did sexual orientation and gender diversity become such pernicious ways to bait Muslims by both fellow Muslims and the secular “West”? This baiting is based on quite an entrenched orthodoxy which goes something like this: Islam, since it is incompatible with the West, condemns homosexuality, and Muslims are homophobic. Thus, in the democratic and secular West, Muslims deserve special scrutiny, and Islam deserves special criticism regarding its treatment of sexual minorities. But really, what does Islam say about sexual diversity? Is it uncompromisingly violent, or are there varying views within Islam, as there are in all other world religions?
Facts of diversity The facts are really not difficult to get hold of for anyone who is interested. There are openly gay imams such as Daayiee Abdullah from the US and Muhsin Hendricks from South Africa. There are openly gay Islamic scholars such as Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle whose work uncovers nuanced and inclusive interpretations of Islam. These are not new innovations. Kugle highlights inclusive approaches which are inherent in the Quran and hadith and throughout Islam’s textured history. This pro-sexual diversity Islamic scholarship takes its cue from the scholarship of several renowned Islamic feminists, who in turn unearth gendersensitive interpretations of the Quran and hadith. In fact, the Islamic feminist scholar Siti Musdah Mulia from Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim country, said in 2008 that Islam recognises and respects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Then there are the more “mainstream” Islamic scholars, such as Tariq Ramadan, who take the conventional view that “homosexuality” is forbidden in Islam. Yet even Ramadan is emphatic that this should not be an excuse to violate the human rights of sexual minorities. He insists that Muslims should still show respect and humility towards people of different sexual preferences, including LGBT fellow Muslims. But of course, there are Muslims who believe that Islam does not tolerate “homosexuality”, and prescribes only the most draconian measures against it including the death penalty. They hold these convictions based on their own interpretations of the Quran and hadith. Similarly, several Muslim-majority states still criminalise “homosexuality”. What must be pointed out, however, is that these states, such as Pakistan and Malaysia, are former European colonies and many inherited homophobic and transphobic legislation from their former colonial masters. Others among these states, such as Saudi Arabia, are violently authoritarian yet remain clients of Western powers, and thus their homophobia must also be read within this geopolitical context.
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In other words, Muslims are diverse, just like any other group of people in the world. Islam, like other world religions, contains a diversity of views from total celebration of sexual diversity to total condemnation. And like other world religions, those who are more hostile to sexual diversity have the upper political hand right now. This should raise alarm bells about the continuing prevalence of homophobia and transphobia across different cultures, religious organisations and political structures around the globe. So, is Islam a special case? This scrutiny of global politics is especially crucial now, as governments such as the UK, US and Canada are specifically tying foreign aid conditionality to “gay rights” in the global South. In effect, what should be a continuing dialogue about upholding sexual and indeed all forms of diversity in all societies now smacks of neo-colonialism, perhaps even Islamophobia. Yet there are concrete examples of a common humanity we can all celebrate, if only we paid more attention. I’ve given examples of the variety of views and approaches within contemporary and historical Islam on gender and sexuality. Here’s another fact: In a 2011 poll by the think tank Demos, more Muslims were found to strongly agree with the statement “I am proud of how Britain treats gay people” than even people of no religion. A caveat might be that they were not asked if Islam itself allowed for sexual diversity. But then why should they have been baited in this way? Surely the hallmark of a robust democracy is how individuals and communities are able to respect people who are different to themselves? There is no question that the claim of Islam being singularly and violently homophobic and transphobic is upheld by some Muslims and some non-Muslims. It then becomes a lightning rod for either rabid hatred of the “West” on one hand or rampant Islamophobia on the other. Perhaps one important task to accomplish during LGBT History Month and beyond is to challenge both positions. Perhaps more sensitive individuals can invite dialogue and more meaningful celebrations of diversity.
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Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Student Groups Edited by Laura Arowolo students@roarnews.co.uk
London Student Photography Exhibition: PASSION
Riding High Jonathan Durrans As part of my Environmental Monitoring Modelling and Management Msc programme at KCL I decided to take the Environmental Internship module, which enables you to gain skills and experience by working for not for profit environmental organisations or government bodies.
A joint project between KCL + UCL + RHUL + ICL A photography exhibition and closing night event King’s, UCL, Royal Holloway and Imperial are proud to present the first collaborative charity exhibition “Passion” (March 13-16th at The KCLSU Lobby in The Strand). We aim to exhibit the best works submitted by students and staff and celebrate creativity and friendship. We hope to raise enough funds to support the charity organization PhotoVoice, whose projects have helped many marginalized communities to challenge inequality.
I have been volunteering twice a week for the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), a fantastic membership driven charity which aims to raise the profile of cyclists, campaign for cycle safety and promote the numerous benefits of cycling in Greater London.
Our closing event will be held on March 16th and will include exciting pechakucha presentations, drinks and an auction of the best works exhibited. And, of course, if don’t know what pecha-kucha is, we invite you to see for yourselves (bit it’s very, very cool, we promise)! If you do know, we are sure you’re already excited!
Cycling is the original zero-emissions, sustainable mode of transport which improves health while reducing noise and congestion. If the Mayor of London is serious about sustainable travel more needs to be done to encourage Londoners to take to two (pedal powered) wheels.
HOW MUCH? Entry to exhibition (The Lobby): free. Closing night event: TBC (less than the smallest banknote, we hope!) MORE INFORMATION Check for regular updates on www.LSPExhibition.com E-mail: contact.LSPE@gmail.com
I have been working with the campaigns team in the run up to the launch of LCC’s latest campaign entitled “Love London ‘Go Dutch’”, which aims to improve London for everyone by making our roads as safe and inviting for cycling as they are in Holland. The campaign is timed to coincide with the mayoral elections this year and it is hoped that, with enough public support, the candidates will endorse the campaign and make going Dutch a reality.
WANT TO BE INVOLVED? COMPETITION: Our photography competition deadline is extended to February 20th! PECHA-KUCHA: We are currently looking for more inspirational speakers who would like to share their photographs, designs or projects with our audience in the fun pechakucha format. Our topic is “Passion” so present what you feel very passionate about! Drop us an e-mail at contact.LSPE@gmail.com and we’ll discuss it!
KCL TV Society Vieri Capretta and Lauren Clark Do you want to become involved in television? Maybe work behind the scenes of production? Or perhaps perform under the spotlight? Well, the KCL TV Society is most certainly for you! New to the university this year, we meet to create from scratch a variety of programmes and features to be broadcast on YouTube and hopefully one day from our own website. We have big ambitions and needs lots of enthusiastic and talented people to help us achieve this. Whether you want to act, produce, film, edit or write, there will be something for you. There is absolutely no cost involved, just as much or as little time commitment as you like. We meet weekly at 5pm on Mondays in the KCLSU Strand lobby to discuss ideas and coordinate filming. So far we have produced a Nigella-inspired student cookery show and have filmed at the launch party of the King’s Shakespeare Society’s Much Ado about Nothing. Projects in the pipeline include a ‘Made in Kings’ spoof of Made in Chelsea, KCL Blind Date and a student accommodation Cribs. However videos do not have to be KCL related, in fact they can be anything you like! As well as being fun with regular society socials, being part of the society will look great on your CV, particularly if you wish to pursue a career in media. TV Society can also slot alongside radio, news, plays and sport that you may be already involved with. Our official society launch and premiere of work so far will be on the 2nd March, so come along! If you are interested please email KCL TV at kcltvsoc@hotmail.co.uk, follow us on twitter @KCLTVSociety or join the facebook group KCL TV.
Going for Green
Yexin Feng has won the prize draw offered as part of the Green Reggie environmental awareness campaign. The prize is a wind up radio also featuring a LED flashlight, phone charger and alarm clock. The sustainability survey was conducted October to December 2011 and all respondents were able to enter the prize draw. Yexin is a 1st year medical student and a member of Astley Cooper House. She is pictured with her prize next to the bust of Astley Cooper inside the Hodgkin building on the Guy’s campus. Yexin is a member of KCL Thrown Ultimate (http://thrownultimate.com/) and the KCL Dance Society (http://kcldancesoc.co.uk/). Yexin’s suggestion for improving the environmental sustainability of King’s is for everyone to switch off lights when they are the last person to leave a room. A copy of the report of survey responses is available by emailing environment@ kcl.ac.uk. Keep up to date with the Green Reggie campaign by viewing www.kcl. ac.uk/environment; you can also follow Green Reggie on twitter, @GreenReggie
Fusion@ London: THE event of 2012! Rachel Cragg Incredible fashion designers, professional choreography, headline music acts, celebrity comperes and 150 of London’s finest student performers – Fusion@London is the only society-run show to have all this and more. This month sees the main event finally take place on the 25th and 26th February at the huge Troxy theatre in Limehouse. The cast and committee have been working tirelessly to bring London what is set to be the most unique and enthralling show of 2012. Founded early last year, Fusion@ London was established with the distinct aim of uniting students from Imperial, KCL and UCL to raise money for Cancer Research UK through creativity and performance. Since then, the society has garnered media attention across London for its dedication to professional standards and incredible production values, as well as the committee’s ambitious aim of raising £50,000 for charity. The show itself has developed into an amalgamation of not just student creativity, but the diverse range of London’s artistic talents, fusing a fashion show, dance show and musical performance.
With Made in Chelsea stars Hugo, Spencer and Blinky confirmed as hosts on both evenings and rumoured VIP guests, the star-studded event is certainly not to be missed! Scenes are arranged into themes ranging from the 1920s to Sci-Fi, interspersed with live visual and musical acts, creating a highly eclectic show. Models will be adorned in up and coming designers such as Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s ‘designer to watch for AW 12/13’ Ara Jo, and Nova Chui who has dressed Lady Gaga, as well as high street fashion favourites like Jaeger and London College of Fashion students. Lucky dancers from all three participating universities have been choreographed by professional instructors including Chicago dancer Christian Valle, raising the standard above past student performances. As well as this, attendees will be treated to a stunning line up of headline acts including some of the UK’s hottest new artists Sunday Girl, Charlie XCX and Clement Marfo and the Frontline. Circus performers, choirs and a live jazz band will all feature, ensuring an unpredictable, dizzying, and hugely entertaining experience unlike anything seen before. THE event of 2012, Fusion@London has something for everyone as an unprecedented union of London’s universities and a spectacular showcase of the city’s talent. Best of all, all proceeds go to an extremely worthwhile and rewarding cause. Tickets for the shows on the 25th and 26th of February are on sale NOW with options including VIP seating with goody bags, group bookings and some student discounts. Visit www.fusionatlondon.com for tickets and more information.
Student Groups
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Careers Section Georgia Rajah, Careers Editor With many students facing their final term of studies, the transition from university to work is one that is looming ever closer. With Media Week only a few weeks away, students will get the chance to talk to executives from various media companies. Recruitment management executives Phil Hammond and Claire Ridley from the Telegraph Media Group shared with Roar! their perspective on interviews with graduate students.
How do you deal with people who are obviously nervous? Do you make allowances? Claire: We try to make them as comfortable as possible, rather than asking direct questions as soon as they come into the room we try to ask them how their day was and things like that.
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Interviewing the Interviewers: The Telegraph Media Group Talks to Roar!
a 60k accountant; but it’s all about making eye contact, that is so important.
Do you prefer people to be pro-active by sending you a CV beforehand?
How do you score candidates?
Claire: We prefer people to stick to the process so that everyone is in the same boat.
Phil: We’ve just gone through a big graduate recruiting program. We had over 700 graduates apply for our editorial training scheme and they have to fill in an online application form and give examples of work and so forth. My job initially is to get that 700 down to about 80 and then two of our very senior editors, over Christmas, get that 80 down to 25 for interviews. I don’t personally ever use a scoring system but editors do. I think it’s all around the grammar that they use, punctuation, depth of work they’ve done outside of university and so on. Claire: There can be one spelling mistake and that will automatically affect the outcome of the application.
Phil: I think it’s all about expectation. If you rang me and said “can I send you my CV” and I said “yes, OK then”, as soon as you’ve sent it your expectation has just gone up, and I can’t match that expectation because I haven’t got anything. What experience do you look for in a fresh graduate? Claire: We like the fact that a lot of people, even if they’ve literally just graduated from university, might have gone on the weekends to work at a newspaper. They’ve got some work published and they’ve gone out and had that initiative. They may not have a job, but they’ve got that experience.
What kind of questions would you expect a candidate to come up with at the end of the interview? Claire: Some candidates don’t ask questions, and that actually makes us feel that we’ve done our job properly. We’ve explained the role properly, we’ve told them about the benefits of the business. Phil: I don’t expect people to necessarily ask me any questions. What I do tend to get is people asking “how have I performed in that interview?” That’s always a tough question to answer, especially because 9 times out of 10 you might not have done well, so it puts the pressure back on us.
How important is body language in an interview?
What are candidates least prepared for in interviews?
Phil: Personally I think there’s a lot of stuff written about body language, when do you know what, it doesn’t matter; most people shake hands and they just shake hands. What we know, particularly with graduates, is that they’re probably going to be more nervous than
Phil: I think sometimes people don’t do the basic research on the brand and what we do and who we are. I’m not going to ask you about a specific video, but I would hope that you’ve been on the Telegraph website at least. Sometimes we might ask “what can you
bring to the organization?” Most people will say, “I’m honest and punctual”, but try and be a little bit more specific. Out of all these 20 people we’re meeting, why should we take you on? It’s about selling yourself, but there’s a fine line between being confident and then being arrogant. Phil stressed that passion and enthusiasm are integral ingredients to a successful interview. The standard of applicants is only getting higher. What will set one student apart from the rest is not only the initiative to go out and get work experience, but the conviction and drive for wanting to work specifically at the Telegraph Media Group. Media Week starts on 27th February. To sign up go to http://bit.ly/wpauCY there will be events on how to get into publishing, journalism, advertising, PR, television and more. Interested more specifically in Publishing and Writing? This event may be for you: http:// www.careers.lon.ac.uk/output/ page118.asp?id=836
GET READY FOR #MEDIAWEEK 2012 With opportunities to meet top creative graduate employers, networking events with alumni working in the industy, and the chance to win work experience, this KCL Careers Services Media Week is one not to miss...
Here at Roar! we’re getting very excited. Yes, Media Week is nearly here, and we can’t wait to tell you more about it! The Careers service have arranged a whole host of talks, which will hopefully show that whatever your interest - or your degree - there could be a job in the media for you.
Furthermore, in the lead up to Media Week, the Careers service are running three competitions with work experience as the prizes. Write a short article, design an advert or create a short video to be in with a chance of spending time with a TV production company, advertising agency and industry magazine. Find all the competition details on the Careers website. And remember, the deadline is the day that Media Week starts - at 5pm on the 27th Feb - so get cracking now! Oh, and if you’re thinking of going to any events, or you’re planning your competition entry, remember to tweet your excitedment with the
hashtag #mediaweek. Throughout the week itself tweet with the same hashtag to give feedback during and after the sessions and workshops - or maybe even to tweet your appreciation to the guest speakers. Who knows where a networking tweet might lead.
The featured listings for were correct at time of going to press. You can register for all of these events and see an up to date list at www.kcl. ac.uk/careers. //Monday 27 February 12:00 – 13:00 - Careers in the Media Opening Ceremony Speaker: Rachel Demetriou, Careers Consultant at King’s. Room: K1.28 13:00 – 14:00 - Scriptwriters - the only true Auteurs Speaker: Adrian Scott, Mellow 9 Productions. Room: K2.31 17:30 – 18:30 – Want to get into publishing or become a writer?
Speakers: Jon Riley, Quercus Books and Professor Andrew O’Hagan, Author. Room: K3.11 //Tuesday 28 February
13:00 – 14:00 - Ogilvy presents... how to get into advertising Speakers: Michael Alexander and Hugo Bennett. Room S-2.18
12:00 – 13:00 - A Day in the Life of a Media Lawyer Speakers: Melissa Fish, Kami Naghdi and Owen Oliver, Field Fisher Waterhouse. Room: S0.12
//Thursday 1 March
13:00 – 15:00 – News Associates: Breaking News! – ‘Real life’ breaking news exercise with News Associates Speaker: Samantha Colebrooke. Room: K4.33 (computer room) //Wednesday 29 February 12:15 – 13:00 - How to get into science journalism with New Scientist Speakers: Catherine de Lange - Freelance Science Journalist and Clare Wilson - Medical Features Editor, New Scientist. Room FWB G.73*
12:00 – 13:00 – Radio Panel - How to get into radio Speakers: Paul Sylvester, Absolute Radio; Dari Samuels, BBC Radio 1Xtra; Dan Hudson, Kiss. Room: K2.31 13:00 – 14:00 - An Introduction to a Career in PR Speaker: TBC, Ketchum Pleon. Room: K4U.12 17.30 – 19.15 – Media Alumni Panel (17.30 – 18.15) followed by networking with more alumni (18.15 – 19.15), Speakers: TBC. Room: Council Room (K2.29) //Friday 2 March 12:00 – 13:00 - Television News:
How to get into it and Interning at CNBC Speaker: TBC. Room: K2.31 13:00 – 14:00 – How to get into journalism and tips for a career in the media Speaker: Georgie Clarke, Deputy Editor and News Editor of Money Management, publication of the Financial Times. Room K3.11 15.30 – 16.30 – Competition Results with companies offering the prizes to present the winners, in the Careers Library, Level 1, Macadam Building. Enter by the 27th Feb to be in with a chance of winning! All media week events are at the Strand Campus except for the New Scientist presentation which is at FWB (Waterloo) Find all the info you need, about registering, events, and competitions at www.kcl.ac.uk/careers Remember: tweet #mediaweek!
12 Student Groups
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Tag your tweets to @roar_news with #lgbthistory to jump on the LGBT History Month twitter bangwagon!
LGBT MONTH 2012
Having A Gay Old Time In London
Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell is set to speak at King’s for LGBT History Month and One World Week about why equal rights alone are not enough.
Matthew Pitt Living in London perhaps offers some of the greatest opportunities available to mankind. Internationally known for its cosmopolitan mixture, England’s capital is the city of relocation for thousands every year, and for good reason. London undoubtedly has something for every type of individual, and close-knit communities are formed ubiquitously. This is no exception for LGBT – that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender – people. Consistently ranked within the top ten gay cities in the world, London has a prominent scene spread throughout its districts. The most famous of these, of course, is Soho, with Old Compton Street as the unofficial centre of the gay community. A wide range of eateries and bars line the road, as well as the odd sex shop, and this is echoed in the surrounding streets. Vauxhall – typically cited as comparable to Soho – is known for its more mature and intense scene, and various spots around the city fill the gaps in between. Every July also sees London’s annual gay pride parade, and with this year’s event chosen as the location of WorldPride, it is guaranteed lure a vast crowd. Naturally, not everything is about the party scene, and London is also noted for its cultured approach to gay issues. February is designated as LGBT History Month to celebrate all that the community has offered society, with numerous shows and talks nationally and, of course, in our fair city. The month’s upcoming events, as well as others throughout the year, are frequently detailed in Time Out and gay-related publications. For students, there are further opportunities; many universities have active LGBT societies with regular events that are inclusive of the groups’ diversity. King’s LGBT, for instance, often hosts nights out, as well as more leisurely film screenings and tea parties. With such a variety of activities for such a varied community, it is unfortunate when these opportunities are ignored. Being a student in London is not an eternal state, and therefore making the most of this is strongly advised. However you define yourself – even straight – and whatever your cup of tea is, you are bound to find something that suits you. And remember that although London can be a frightening place, particularly if you are new to the city, there are few communities as welcoming as the LGBT community.
What’s On Guide
The King’s LGBT committee have been working overtime to pack in a great schedule of events as a part of LGBT History Month... See below for some teasers, but check the KCLSU website at www.kclsu.org/lgbthistory, or search ‘King’s LGBT’ on Facebook for the full schedule and more info on the month in general. Many of these events are free and also open to non-King’s students, so check the full details before hand and bring along some friends if you want! Tuesday 14th February - Kingky Valentine’s Speed Dating, 7pm-late, Ku Bar Wednesday 15th February - Trans* Event, 6pm-8pm, KCLSU Macadam Building, Lobby Meeting Room Tuesday 21st February - Peter Tatchell at King’s - ‘Is Equality Enough?’, 5pm, KCL Waterloo Campus, Stamford Street Lecture Theatre Wednesday 22nd February - Guest speaker from Galop + Stonewall, 2:30pm4pm, Guy’s campus, Meeting Room 2 at Guy’s campus Wednesday 22nd February - King’s LGBT Film Screening: Clapham Junction, 7pm-late, KCL Strand Campus, Room S-2.08, Raked Lecture Theatre Thursday 23rd February - Coming Out Workshop/Discussion, 6pm-8pm, KCLSU Macadam Building, Lobby Meeting Room Monday 27th February - Legally Blonde Theatre Trip, 7pm-late, Savoy Theatre 20 tickets at £25 up for grabs Tuesday 28th February - Women’s Event, 8pm-late, Waterfront & Ku Bar
Peter Tatchell has been campaigning for gay and human rights for 45 years. His public actions have included two attempts of performing a citizen’s arrest on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, confronting boxer Mike Tyson for his use of derogatory homophobic language and throwing himself under Tony Blair’s car in protest of the Iraq war! On the 21st February, Tatchell will speak about how the aspirations of LGBT people changed and moved away from defining our needs on our terms, and instead adjusting to the heterosexual consensus. “I don’t feel comfortable with the way most of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has dumbed-down its aspirations to the limited goal of equal rights.” “Equal rights for lesbians and gay men inevitably means parity on straight terms, within a pre-existing framework of values, laws and institutions.”. You can expect quotes such as these, and more discussion on related hot topics. Come and find out the thoughts of this legendary activist.Peter Tatchell is a truly inspirational speaker and this is an opportunity not to be missed. Tuesday 21st February - Guest Speaker Peter Tatchell at King’s - ‘Is Equality Enough?’5pm, KCL Waterloo Campus, Stamford Street Lecture Theatre, FREE
Student Media get involved KCL Radio will be covering some of the month’s events with a series of podcasts. Listen out for a King’s LGBT ‘Society of the Week’ special, highlights from the Peter Tatchell and Galop talks, as well as a roundtable discussion of the LGBT movement’s history and relevance to students today.
Roar! will also be covering the events from LGBT history month on the website www.roarnews. co.uk
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Go to www.kclradio.co.uk to find out more. The King’s LGBT society are active all year round organising events, get togethers and there to support the LGBT community at King’s. Find more info on their facebook page, King’s LGBT, follow them on twitter @kingslgbt or have a browse of their website. You can also always email committee@kingslgbt.co.uk President Michael Fanner is also a the LGBT Officer on your Student Council, making sure that KCLSU aren’t overlooking equality and diversity issues all year round.
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Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
One World Week 2012 One world is KCLSU’s largest celebration of faith, culture and diversity. Uniting students from across all backgrounds and campuses to work together to host activities ranging from events, performances and sporting tournaments. Join us in celebrating the vibrant King’s community!
Monday 20th Feb A week of Global Food begins, bringing exotic flavours of faraway lands to King’s, warming up your February and celebrating world cuisine. On Monday, sample the taste of Thailand in the Waterfront & Guys Bar with Thai King Prawn Curry with Rice: Juicy King prawns cooked in an aromatic Thai sauce, with choi sum, spring onions, red peppers and whole lime leaf complimenting the flavour. In Chapters and the WEC at IOP, tuck in to some delicious cuisine from the Far East, Malaysian Halal Chicken curry with coconut rice: Succulent chicken pieces in a rich, spicy sauce, accompanied perfectly by creamy coconut rice.
Tuesday 21st Feb Sancte et Sapienter (with holiness and with wisdom) A week of events coordinated by the chaplaincy: Pancake Party! Time: 12.30-14.00 Place: Franklin Wilkins Building Conservatory, Waterloo Celebrate Shrove Tuesday by tucking into fresh and delicious free pancakes. Ceilidh, a good old traditional Barn Dance Time: 6.15pm till late Place: Tutu’s Night Club: Strand
Campus, Surrey Street, WC2R 2NS. Nearest tube station: Temple Enjoy a fun evening of dancing to traditional folk music played by The Ship Band, with full instructions on how to do it! The bar will be open from 18.15. Dancing starts at 19.30. Time 18.30 till late Tickets available £2.50 from the chaplaincy offices or on the door £3.50 or from kclsutickets.com. For more info: chaplaincy@kcl.ac.uk Guest Speaker Peter Tatchell at King’s - ‘Is Equality Enough?’ Time: 5pm Place: KCL Waterloo Campus, Stamford Street Lecture Theatre Gay/human rights activist Peter Tatchell is set to speak at King’s for LGBT History Month and One World Week about why equal rights are not enough. Peter Tatchell has been campaigning for gay and human rights for 45 years. His public actions have included two attempts of performing a citizen’s arrest on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, as well as throwing himself under Tony Blair’s car! This is a truly inspirational speaker and an opportunity not to be missed. Free event. The Opera Group - Babur in London: Time: 6.30pm Place: Strand Campus Join the Opera Group at King’s with a discussion with the creative team behind the Group’s latest opera – Babur in London – which tackles issues of religious fundamentalism, terrorism, love and sacrifice. The Opera Group are a professional touring opera company, resident in the music department of King’s College London. Free event
Wednesday 22ndFeb African Achievers Awards: Time: 3.30pm Place: Tutu’s Night Club: Strand Campus, Surrey Street, WC2R 2NS. Nearest tube station: Temple The African Achievers Awards (AAA) recognizes all those who have made a positive contribution to the African Continent. The theme of
this year’s event is ‘Africa Rising’. Distinguished guests from Africa and students from across the UK with come together for an evening of celebration and enjoy performances from KCLSU Activity Groups. A limited number of free tickets are available on a first come first served basis, email Simi.smith@kclsu.org for your ticket. KCL Islamic Society present... ‘The Hijab - Mindless Modesty?’ Part of a series of events for Islamic Awareness Week 2012 Time: 5pm Place: Strand Campus, S-2.18 Arthur and Paula Lucas lecture Theatre An interesting discussion exploring the Hijab from a range of perspectives. Guest speakers Myriam Francois Cerrah (freelance journalist , The Times and The Huffington Post) joins KCLSU President Hannah Barlow who will be sharing her one-day Hijab experience. Also an opportunity to hear from KCL medic Yosra Al-Beyatti about her Hijab story from and KCL Strand ISoc Head Sister Saba Malik. KCL Dance Society presents... An open taster session of Latin Dance: Join the Dance Society in swinging those hips to the sound of Latin music in this free taster session. Time: 1-2pm Place: Guy’s Campus, Boland House, AR2 One World Cup 2012 Time: 1-5pm Place: Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Sports Facility, St Georges Road, London, SE1 6ER. Nearest tube station: Elephant and Castle. Are you the next Ronaldo? Messi? Maybe even Balotelli?! Polish your boots, grab your orange slices and get ready for the One World Cup. KCLSU’s first One World Cup will be a mixture of teams from all campuses, sports clubs and student groups. Who will triumph and become the first One World champions? To find out more and how to enter email: studentcentre@kclsu.org Wednesday Night in Guys Bar: 7pm – 2am
Time: 7pm - 2am Place: Guy’s Bar, Boland House Dust off your fancy dress and come dressed up in the theme of ‘Countries’, to celebrate KCLSU’s first One World Week 2012. Great prizes will be awarded for Best Dressed and Most Original Costume. Winners will be judged by KCLSU President Hannah Barlow and Vice President of Activities & Facilities, Holly Walsh. Get involved!
Thursday 23rd Feb ACS Present: Culture shock 2012: Time: 6pm Place: Greenwood Theatre, Weston Street, London Bridge, SE1 3RA Uniting cultures and celebrating diversity, Culture Shock 2012 will showcase various aspects of African and Caribbean Culture through Drama, Fashion, Poetry, Music, Comedy and other artistic and creative forms. The show is held annually and hosted by King’s Afro Caribbean Society to raise money for a host of charities. This year, all the proceeds will be going to ACLT (African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust), The Steven Lawrence Charitable Trust and Watoto - a charity dedicated to ensuring the welfare of orphaned children and vulnerable women affected by war in Africa and looked after. Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th February 2012, Greenwood Lecture Theatre. Early bird tickets will cost £7 for members and £10 for non-members and will be sold until Sunday 12th February 2012. Thereafter tickets will cost £10 and £12 (for members and non-members respectively). For more information contact the Publicity Team on 07534975548 / 07800805636. Tickets available from KCLSU Student Centres or kclsutickets.com. Mythbusters Event: Time: 6pm Place: Strand Campus, Arthur & Paula Lucas Lecture Theatre
Mythbusters is a thought-provoking and entertaining panel event supported by 9 faith Activity Groups During the evening, the audience will have chance to witness students asking questions difficult questions to representatives of faith and belief, in the name of understanding and building stronger, sustainable relationships. Following the panel event, there will be an opportunity to network and explore themes over food and drinks. Free event. For more information contact: Joe Walsh: larryharry99@hotmail.com / Mohammedabbas Jaffer: 0751 740 2994
Friday 24th Feb ACS Present: Culture shock 2012: Time: 6pm Place: Greenwood Theatre, Weston Street, London Bridge, SE1 3RA Early bird tickets will cost £7 for members and £10 for non-members and will be sold until Sunday 12th February 2012. Thereafter tickets will cost £10 and £12 (for members and non-members respectively). Tickets available from KCLSU Student Centres or kclsutickets.com. WTF Flag Party in Tutu’s, hosted by King’s International Network (KIN) Time: 10.30am till late Place: Tutu’s Night Club: Strand Campus, Surrey Street, WC2R 2NS. Nearest tube station: Temple Welcome to Friday is your official start to the weekend! To celebrate One World Week 2012 come dressed up in the colours of your country flag and enjoy an evening of the very best in mainstream Pop, RnB & International beats. Prizes are on offer for the Best Dressed! Tickets available from KCLSU Student Centres or kclsutickets.com. You can also find more information about One World Week on the kclsu website, just search for One World Week!
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Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Features Edited by Matt Lever features@roarnews.co.uk
THE WORLD OF ‘STUDY’ ABROAD
OUTBOUND... Life as an Erasmus student isn’t always easy. Like most people, I was pretty apprehensive about leaving my family, friends and London life in order to move to a different country where I felt I could barely speak the language, and didn’t know anyone. But now, having already spent one semester studying in Montpellier in the south of France as a compulsory part of my French degree at King’s, I’m really glad to have gone. The Erasmus experience, as I’ve learned, isn’t just about progressing to a near-professional level of croissantordering, and other such linguistic achievements (although I can now command breakfast like a native). It’s also about embracing new cul-
Grace Hetherington tures, and that doesn’t necessarily just mean the one of the country you are living in. In a town like Montpellier, which is very student-orientated, you quickly meet Erasmus students from all over the continent. My friends are not only French and English but Finnish, Swedish, Romanian, Belgian and Spanish. I have discovered that Northern Europeans have a far greater capacity for drinking, but that Eastern Europeans are better dancers (although I suppose any late night out in London could have taught me that). People here take the Eurovision Song Contest seriously, and most people really aren’t that fussed about drinking tea and eating fried meat, eggs and beans for breakfast…
The advantages of a year abroad, many of which I hadn’t really considered until my arrival, now seem obvious: while I enjoy highs of 16 degrees in January, the beach a mere bus-ride away and a beautiful medieval city full of students, bars and bookshops waiting to be explored, my friends back at King’s fret about dissertations and get all misty-eyed for the days when they actually used to have lives. OK, so I realise I may be deferring rather than avoiding the pain altogether, but right now that suits me pretty well. At the university I attend here I am able to study subjects I wouldn’t be able to at King’s, and find my French improving every single week. Whereas in the first few days and weeks, striking up a conversation
Margarida Hourmat
What’s love got to do with it? Holly Newson All sorts of strange revelations come out when playing ‘Never Have I Ever’. But I never expected to learn something quite so profound about myself. With Valentine’s Day upon us I can’t help but question whether I think this day is one signifying love and romance or one which should be avoided as a consumerist scam. I know I want to think the former, but for years I have been exposed to my parents’
opinion of the day, leaving me with a less than positive outlook. Nonetheless, is a bunch of flowers really so bad? I’m also inclined to consider why it is that we only have one event a year devoted to our loved ones; surely it should be a daily occurrence. For me this occasion has ranged from a corny ‘I want him to ask if I’ll be his Valentine’, to a nonchalant ‘Oh look, it’s come and gone’. This year, however, I have found myself con-
with a French person seemed a daily nerve-wrecking challenge, I can honestly say that my French is now better than I ever expected, and I count French students among my good friends. The French certainly know how to party, and all the usual expressions – ‘cul sec!’ meaning ‘down it!’ (or literally, ‘dry arse’), ‘apéro’ which means ‘prelash’ and ‘bourré’ meaning ‘wasted’ – are now an essential part of my vocabulary. Er, I’m getting lots of work done here, honest… Of course, there are some downsides. Never again will I underestimate the organisation, staff and resources at King’s. The university here is woefully unorganised, and the members of staff love nothing more than to
So there you have it, what I hope has been a comprehensive account of my holiday… oops, I mean Year Abroad. As I said, life as an Erasmus student isn’t always easy, but someone’s got to do it!
...AND INBOUND
I came to King’s because I wanted to escape the classical Erasmus destinations available in my department back in Portugal. Being a study abroad student is supposed to be all about having the time of your life and acting a little wild, isn’t it? Well, I can’t really imagine anywhere else to do that in but London!
life by joining societies, sports club and volunteering groups (which are excellent ice-breakers for newcomers like me!), not to mention the creativity of its academic modules and the never-ending cycle of conferences, workshops, and seminars constantly thrown at you through the digital board at the Strand reception!
King’s adds more value to the experience by offering students the opportunity to actively participate in campus
London is that place that (almost) never sleeps, where old and new meet up every evening at the pub and
templating the more pressing matter: that I’m not even sure what love is.
about. But I’m still left wondering.
The statement posed in the game was ‘Never have I ever said ‘I love you’ without meaning it’. Only boys drank; I won’t comment. What surprised me about this probe was that I suddenly realised I have never said ‘I love you’, in a romantic sense, to anyone. The same is true about it being said to me. So then came the bombshell: I don’t think I’ve ever been in love. Those around the table tried briefly to describe what love was and what it felt like. Words such as ‘consuming’, ‘protective’ and, the ever so helpful, ‘indescribable’ were banded
take a three hour lunch break just as you begin your search for someone to sign an urgent form. But that is one of the defining characteristics of life in the south of France: so laid back, you may fall over. And naturally I miss London, but at the same time I get a thrill telling people that that’s where I normally study – KCL’s reputation is well known here, and often just the word ‘London’ is enough to provoke a sense of awed admiration!
So this Valentine’s Day I’ve decided to celebrate the love that I do know, that of friends and family. Escaping consumerism, the days before the 14th will see me making cards instead of buying them and trying not to frown at oversized teddy bears holding heart-shaped boxes of chocolates in shop windows. I’m also likely to be noticing couples on the street and pondering on whether they could explain what love is. I might ask around, or maybe even find out for myself. Who knows, but perhaps this time next year I’ll have a definition, so watch this space.
where I have so far spent the most exciting night of my life – 31st December 2011, midnight, Westminster Bridge! I’ve started to feel like a real King’s student now that I’ve officially found myself lost at the Maughan library, but I’m no Londoner yet – I still insist on trying to get a three hundred and sixty degree view before crossing the road and flapjacks just aren’t my thing.
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Features
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Sir Lawrence Philip Murray Warson
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman talks to Philip Murray Warson about Chilcot, not being an advisor to Tony Blair, and not knowing anything about the Falklands War…
If Barack Obama is, to use Chris Rock’s wording, the ‘long-legged Mack Daddy of American politics,’ then Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman is certainly held in similar esteem at King’s College London. A prominent figure of late, following his position on the panel at the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War, and a renowned writer on political and strategic thought, Sir Lawrence is one of the college’s most prolific academics; indeed a perfect match for my rather lackluster interview skills.
Bizarre and Beautiful:
the real alternative party Betsey Blaze Die Freche Muse is a London-based alternative events company that organises themed vintage parties every six weeks or so. Starting off from humble beginnings in Dalston, over the past three years they have grown in fame and popularity but remain true to their roots, and have not sold out to the commercial sphere, which is what makes their nights truly unique. Entering the party is like entering a hidden underground world. The people are beautifully dressed in exquisite vintage clothing. The atmosphere is relaxed with people dancing and chatting. Faces are familiar with the same crowd attending most of the parties; numerous people have attended since the very beginning. The guests chat freely as if they were at a house party and it’s a great opportunity to socialise with interesting people. The party-goers consist of art school (notably Saint Martins) graduates, vintage lovers, drag queens and designers. At times it can feel a little pretentious, but this always happens when you have an intimate gathering of people from the art world. Every part consists of live music and burlesque, this being the key to the party’s success. Only the performers
at the top of their industry are invited to perform and previous parties have included Miss Banbury Cross, Billie Rae and Marianne Cheesecake. There is no stage, which adds to the feeling of intimacy and creates the illusion that you are part of the performance, the whole party being a stage, and that you have come not to watch but rather to take part in it. Beware though that often the burlesque performers have little or no announcement: I was caught by this, slipping away for a smoke only to discover I had missed the Japanese Bondage act. This issue can easily be avoided though by asking the party’s host, Baron Von Sanderson (an alias of course), when the acts are due to start. Although the live music goes on throughout the night, sometimes you are kept waiting for the burlesque acts, with the first burlesque performer coming on as late as 2.30am. The nights are a mix of the creative and bizarre, providing good value for money, with advance tickets priced at £15. However, depending on the venue, drinks can be expensive, with a cocktail costing around £9. I still would highly recommend attending one of the parties as it is truly one of the best alternative nights London has to offer.
I first tried to organise an interview back in March. It took until the autumn term to pin him down. His office overlooks the IMAX at Waterloo and boasts a spectacular view of London. But I don’t get the impression that he spends much time admiring it. Papers are strewn across his desk, and countless volumes have transcended the shelves to the radiators and windowsills. “It’s fair to say I’ve had a very busy year,” he muses as we sit down. The Iraq War Inquiry has occupied much of his time since it started in March 2009. “We’ve done the hearings,” he says, “so essentially what’s going on now is trying to turn it into a serious and useful report, and that does take time.” Professor Freedman is one of a number of academics from the college’s War Studies department to hold prominent advisory positions. “I think it’s important that academics engage with the community,” he stresses, “that’s one of the ways you can be in service of society, to demonstrate the extent to which your research can have value for public debate and public policy.” He arrived at the college in April 1982, just as the British task force was heading for the Falklands. He professes to have known ‘damn all’ about the Falklands campaign as it was happening, and jokes that he proceeded to make it up as he went along. This developed into the publication of his acclaimed official history of the conflict. He has also written extensively on nuclear strategy, which he admits took a back-seat as war and global dynamics changed. “We talk about our teaching being research led, our policy advice should be research led too. It’s got to be grounded,” he enthuses. When Sir Lawrence was named on the panel for the Chilcot Inquiry, he was roundly touted as a former advisor to the Blair government. “I was never an advisor to Tony Blair,” he says bluntly, “but it’s a matter of record that I helped with one particular speech.” He’s referring to Blair’s famous Chicago speech in 1999, in which the former Prime Minister outlined his ‘Doctrine for the International Com-
munity.’ He acknowledges that the speech was heavily influenced by his academic work, but is quick to note: “My interpretation of what I wrote might be different to Tony Blair’s interpretation of what I wrote… it became the Prime Minister’s policy, not mine.” He’s conscious of academic work becoming politicised, but appears content with the distance he’s kept from government: “You’ve got to accept when you attach yourself to a government in that way that you have a responsibility for the outcome and to defend it. I don’t have that. I’ve never felt that.” He explains that his suggestions were made in the context of the Kosovo campaign and he did not communicate with the Prime Minister directly. “Whether it’s a political party in opposition, or a government who wants my views, I’m always happy to share them,” he reasons.
Nevertheless, the influence of Sir Lawrence’s research on Blair’s foreign policy must have posed a challenge to his position on the Chilcot panel. “Look, when I got appointed to the Iraq Inquiry, people made all sorts of claims about me,” he says sharply. One of these was his widespread depiction as a Zionist historian. “Yes, well that was actually pretty unpleasant at times,” he says, “the annoying thing is actually I’d written a hell of [a] lot on Iraq.” Aside from a history of the Gulf War, he’d also written A Choice of Enemies, which addressed policy following the 9/11 incident. “I’d written quite a lot which didn’t seem to me to identify myself with the positions that were being claimed for me,” he concludes. These misconceptions are clearly a bone of frustration for Sir Lawrence, but he agrees an inquiry into Iraq was always going to be scrutinised and criticised. For the many who saw the war appearing irrevocably wrong and unjust from the outset, the Inquiry was dismissed as a forum for excuses,
or as one Liberal Democrat MP described, a “PR offensive to rewrite the history of the Iraq War.” “I think there were a lot of people who were very sceptical of us when we started and understandably so,’ Sir Lawrence concedes, “I hope and think we’ve won a lot of people over… we’ve shared difficult issues.” Freedman’s article, ‘Prevention, Not Preemption’, published in the spring of 2003, was outwardly critical of American foreign policy following 9/11, to which Britain inarguably subscribed to preceding the war in Iraq. During the hearings, he also highlighted what he described as a ‘cavalier attitude to planning,’ probing as to what accounted for the chaos that ensued after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Was this the main failure of Iraq? “It’s pretty clear from our questioning,” he says cautiously, “that whatever happened after the war we weren’t wholly ready for. That had large consequences, in terms of the Iraqi people in particular, I don’t think there’s much doubt.” At the Inquiry, he emphasised the inherent security problems that followed the invasion and the detriment this caused to the lives the Iraqi people, to which Tony Blair could only nod. With opinion still harshly divided over Iraq, many feel it is unlikely the Chilcot Inquiry will bare any firm conclusions. “The test will be the report,” Sir Lawrence contemplates. “If people feel that it’s not the judgements that they would really like,” he continues, “at least we’ve backed them up. I think as an account of what happened it will be pretty substantial. So people, if they want to disagree, will have to find the evidence to show why we got it wrong. I think that’ll be the ultimate test of what we do.” With a cloud still hanging over the publication of certain classified information contained within the report, we may have to wait some time to see if he is right.
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Campus Spy
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Roar!, February 14th- March 4th 2012
Roar!, February 14th- March 4th 2012
Campus Spy
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The KCLSU Elections 2012 President, Vice President, Trustees... Who will they be? You decide! The Job Descriptions President - Represent King’s students to KCLSU, the college and external groups and individuals - creating policy and external campaigning agendas for KCLSU - Chail of KCLSU Trustee board -External KCLSU representative to NUS, ULU Sentate and The Aldwych Group - Manage the overall running of KCLSU -Ambassadorial duties -Responding to government policies which affect higher education.
Vice President Student Activites and Facilities -Mediator betweent College and students in lobbying for improvements to College, KCLSU Facilities, services and residences. - Ensuring equal opportunities to engage in extra-curricular and skill boosting activites - Represnet King’s to BUC Sports Conference and ULU sports and activits forums
Vice President Academic Affairs - Primary representative of students to academic staff
- Primary liason between KCLSU and student councillors
- KCLSU advice service
- Lead officer on college run communication
- widening participation, equality and diversity in academic issues which are linked to welfare problems
- Student media editor in chief.
Anyone wanting to stand is encouraged to contact the current Student Officer and ask to shadow them, to get a better idea of what it is they all do! Can’t beat hands on knowledge! If you would like to come and chat to Roar! about the paper email editor@roarnews.co.uk or have a nose in the radio room stationmanager@kclradio.co.uk.
1.
Decide which position you’d like to run for.
Get one other King’s student to support your nomination.
- Lead officer on KCLSU comms
-Overseeing student media budget.
-Lead on environmental issues and ethical initiatives.
3.
-Ensuring KCLSU and College are engaging with students
- Lead office on academic quality issues
What now??? So you want to run? Here is the easy step by step guide to elections!
Vice President Student Media and Engagement
2.
Attend one of the “I’d Like More Info Sessions” (if you need to that is). Kinetic KCLSU, Waterloo - 17th Feb 12 - 2pm
Think about how you could “change it” at King’s and write your “Candidate Pledge”.
5.
Fill in the online nomination form remember to include your “Candidate Pledge” and a photo.
7.
Hit the campaign trail, speak to students and get them to vote for you!
It is that time of year again when you can make a choice to run in the Student Officer and Trustee elections! As I reflect back this time last year I was up to my eyeballs in coursework, the various activity groups I participated in were all on the go and of course the obligatory Wednesday night socials meant my weeks were jammed packed. If this sounds familiar, yes its hard work but wash away ideas of ‘too much on’ and let me encourage you as, win or lose, running in these elections will change your life. Have I been a little dramatic? I hope so.
IOP (TBC), Denmark Hill - 17th Feb 12 - 2pm
4.
Hannah Barlow, Current President: “What it means to run in the election”
6.
Attend one of the “Candidate Meetings” (where we will run through all the info and give some training on how to campaign).
The extraordinary week which is ‘Campaign week’ can seem daunting. Ideas around how you want to change KCLSU and our university, the ability to chat away to fellow students and a smile are the most valuable tips. Whatever the outcome skills, lessons and friends are made. After being elected the other Officers and I have been able to influence college projects, initiate union changes and contribute our voice to National campaigns, whilst being emerged in the unique world of student politics! The experience is truly extraordinary and as President I am ever grateful for this opportunity to represent King’s students. If you don’t think you can run, why not? Be the Change you want to see. Good Luck! Hannah x x
8.
(and remember, even if you don’t want to stand, you can still change King’s for the better by voting for the candidate you think will be best for the job!)
WIN! (we cant guarantee this but the harder you work then the bigger the chance).
GOOD LUCK!!
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Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Fashion & Life Style Edited by Coryn Brisbane fashion@roarnews.co.uk
King’s Style
Victoria Barata took to the corridors of King’s in hunting down the most stylish students and proving once again that KCL is as fashionable as the city it is in.
James Prints
Jason
The Long Coat
We’ve seen plenty of fur on streets and catwalks alike. Polly shows us her own take on the trend, keeping it casual with cool white pumps.
Stay warm and super stylish this season with a long coat. Keep it balanced with a clean silhouette underneath.
Fashion Plagarism
Fashion lovers, do you find yourselves eagerly anticipating Fashion Week season for its new trends, fresh silhouettes and innovative, groundbreaking designer offerings? Then do you experience a disappointing déjàvu as you watch each ‘cutting edge’ look stride down the catwalk, checking with desperation as to whether the year is pre-, post- or mid-Kennedy? In recent years, designers have all been guilty of borrowing heavily from the past; is this plagiarism or is it a new take on an old classic? Designers colour over their ‘borrowing’ with claims of nostalgic inspiration, and all too often we hear the excuse of having “been given exclusive access to [insert famous established fashion house]’s archive” in order to “keep the essence of the brand, but provide a modern twist”. But we ask: are Christopher Bailey (Burberry) and Ricardo Tisci (Christian Dior), the voices to these affirmations, just desperate to recreate and emulate the heyday of their designer forbearers?
However, it is easy for the rest of us to view these tired reinventions as simply lazy. 2011 and 2012 have been killer years for fashion plagiarism. This winter was about fur, a perennial material of the 1920s, as seen all over Chanel a/w 2011 and across the high street. The decade of Hollywood’s Golden Age is seen again on March’s Vanity Fair cover, with various future female film stars adorned in long silk evening dresses and draped in jewels for awards season. Mad Men headed the 1960s resurgence with ladylike silhouettes, shifts, polka dots and kitten heels. The 60s actually provided much innovation, a lesson for designers today; Mary Quant’s short hemlines and Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking tuxedo changed fashion forever. Even the 1980s and 90s have not been forgotten. Versace featured a yellow mini dress with 80s angular shoulders, while 90s beanie-grunge was at Roksanda Illinic. However, if inspiration from the past
Marieca
Fur
Colour
Inject a bit of colour into your life! Print tee, accessorised with geek chic glasses, banana and milk carton Bolts of cobalt blue and mustard yellow make this a stand-out in hand - this guy is oozing with ensemble. cool.
Lauren Clark
Polly
is required, why is it restricted to the twentieth century? What is wrong with Chanel Grecian togas and Prada Stone Age fur mini dresses? Is all this due to a genuine love for the vintage craze, with complementary vintage ‘charity’ shops springing up everywhere, or a desire to save cash in the economic downturn by re-using that newly on-trend crop top and Fair Isle jumper? However, as any fashionista will tell you, style boredom soon overwhelms, and people move on. It is necessary that designers do the same in order to maintain their business’ viability, but the expected innovation of any brand each season is difficult to master, particularly if your output is then judged mercilessly by fashion editors. It is no wonder they stick comfortably to the safe bets if they can - the classics, as they would put it. Let us hope that this season will get the words contemporary, now and aucourant rolling off front-row tongues.
Fashion & Life Style
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
TRENDING David Beckam for H&M - if only all men could look like that in a pair of £5 briefs New Girl making every guy want Zooey Deschanel and every girl want to be her. We also have a soft spot for Schmidt ‘has anyone seen my driving moccasins?’ Daniel Radcliffe in The Woman in Black - proving there is life after Harry Potter. Markus Lupfer’s collaboration with Shu Uemura. Topshop’s T-Shirt collaboration with NEWGEN bringing 20 t-shirts from 20 top UK designers including Giles and Christopher Kane. We are EXCITED.
London Lockdown in the snowy weather. Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents. We love the progreamme but parents watching our drunken antics is one for the bin. Madonna’s new song. She might be coming back but not with a bang. Lana Del Ray’s SNL performance despite looking amazing on the front cover of Vogue. Rihanna. It pains us to do this but what were you thinking with your recent outfit choices?! Damion from Take Me Out. A little heads up - the way to win a girl is not by insulting them repeatedly.
TRAILING
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Valentine’s Day: Lover’s Delight or Singleton’s Plight?
Valentine’s Day, ergh. Maybe because I’m single this year I am conditioned to hate the day, but even when I’ve spent the day with someone it never ends up quite how I expected. Maybe it’s because I’m not the kind of girl who swoons over a dozen red rosed and a teddy bear holding a love heart with an insipid message. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be swept away by a Mr Darcy, or any Jane Austen hero for that mater, but for some reason the men of the 21st Century don’t have the same romantic bone in their body. It belongs to a different time when chivalry was alive and feminism was dead and whilst I love equality it would be nice for a genuine romantic gesture every now and then from a guy. But, I wasn’t settled in letting my pessimistic view be enough for you readers so I thought I would get three of my best writers to give their honest opinion..
Benjamin Rabinovich
Christobel Hastings-Knowles
The ‘self lover’
The ‘corporate beast’
When I was asked to write something about Valentine’s Day I immediately thought of something that began like this: It is upon us again, the day all singles and dads fear: Valentine’s Day. It is a day when one can go to his or her special someone and say “I love you so much, be mine forever” and actually mean “You understand that this is the peak of our romantic year/potential future together, right?” Sounds a bit hackneyed? It should, considering that’s what every story about V-Day sounds like. I recently asked my best friend whether he had anything special planned for Valentine’s Day with his girlfriend of two years to which he just grunted and mumbled something along the lines of “food and sex”. When I asked my other friend’s girlfriend about her plans for V-Day, she replied in a snarky tone, “I’m not one of those insecure girls that needs a specific day to be told how much my man loves me.” This was particularly funny since a week earlier she said how she might break up with Mike because “he only called me twice this week”. It seems that people, single or in a relationship, are all too happy to dismiss VDay as a meaningless saccharine day that is sooo clichéd. Mind you, these are the people that justify their views with phrases like “it’s a myth created by Clinton’s” or “love is just a evolutionary process that is meant to ensure the parents stay together until their offspring has matured.” Jesus, as if we don’t have enough things to hate in the ‘real world’, we now have to view Valentine’s Day as an international conspiracy that benefits Clinton’s and destroys trees in the Amazon? If anyone should hate V-Day it’s me. On paper it seems that I am about to have the worst Valentine’s Day ever. I am single, am currently fighting the most horrendous cold, and most depressing of all, I have recently received a pity invite from my parents to join them for their Valentine’s Day dinner since “we know you won’t have other plans honey.” It’s not the thought that hurts; it’s the conviction. Well, thanks mum and dad but I won’t let the cynics win. In fact, I just got a very interesting email from Bloomsbury Lanes inviting me to a ‘Lovers and Loners’ night of bowling and karaoke on V-Day. Who says that Valentine’s Day is a rubbish day? Haters do, and to prove them wrong I will have the most awesome Valentine’s Day a single Jewish guy with a cold can.
The time arrived recently when I decided to self-love. After a string of disastrous rendezvous with increasingly dysfunctional and elusive men over the past few months, in the midst of January exam week, I had a mini breakdown. My relationship with the latest unscrupulous suitor, an electrician with an advanced commitment complex, was in tatters and I found myself, once again, lying on my bedroom floor, my sobs sound-tracked by Careless Whisper while the rain lashed the windows. My best friend Tom dropped by, bestowing tea and sympathy, and announced in a dramatic, sepulchral whisper that he’d discovered an anthem chronicling my life. Tom’s music is suicidally depressing and I anticipated that before long my status as a tragic love pariah was to be confirmed by the tormented wailings of some painfully alternative teenager. But I was wrong. As I lay sprawled and incapacitated, my resident DJ for the broken-hearted played me Lana Del Rey’s latest offering, ‘This Is What Makes Us Girls’. I eyed Tom suspiciously as Lana lamented her best friend that swayed in the wind, high heels in her hands, “mascara running down her little bambi eyes”; nothing if not an unwelcome and untimely moment of lucidity and further awkward confirmation of my physical and emotional disintegration. But as I processed the message of the song, that the ability to feel such great emotion is what makes us human, and that we needn’t persecute ourselves over it, I felt considerably better. Music was my catharisis. George Michael telling me never to dance again was not what I needed anymore. Sure, we all need a cry-session to Adele every now and then (if you haven’t watched SNL’s Adele sketch You-Tube it now) but now was not the time. I was empowered. In an epiphanous moment, I knew how to transcend my melancholy. Armed with a marker pen and pink sugar paper I created a large banner that screamed ‘SELF LOVE’ and stuck it on the wall next to my bed. The nice thing is, every time that pestilential inner voice reminds you of your singlehood, the poster permits you to treat yourself. Mars Bars are my vice. And Valentine’s Day isn’t about being oppressively labelled as single or paired like a redundant sock; nor does it call for any saccharine love sonnets. It’s about celebrating independence. It’s time to be your own valentine.
I will start by saying that I like the underlying sentiment of Valentine’s Day. If we strip away the presents, the cards, the psychotic girlfriends and clueless boyfriends, we reach the core idea of love, which is wonderful. However, Valentine’s Day has manifested and mutated from essentially a day celebrating a martyred saint called Valentine into a corporate beast. Women become delirious with expectation and men... well I don’t really think men care. They just try their best to console their hormonal girlfriends with a bottle of Blossom Hill and a trip to Pizza Express and are surprised when that fails to set the mood. The fact is that Valentine’s Day has swelled and escalated so greatly that it has become practically impossible to meet the exaggerated ideals most women hold for the day. It’s a bit like New Year’s Eve, in that every year, despite the knowledge that each past year has been awful, we suspend our doubts and hope that this year will be the one to remember. It has become a day symbolising selfish indulgence and the massaging of one’s ego. James M. Barrie once said that if you have love you don’t need to have anything else. If this is true then why do we spend the good part of January and the first half of February planning what we will do and receive on this pointless day? Love isn’t found in a box of Thorton’s chocolates. Furthermore, if you are in love, should you limit the expression to one day of the year? So many bloody poets, writers and lyricists have written about how brilliant a thing love is, so surely you should express love to all those you care for (not just your current partner) at every moment you can? It’s not that I’m an unromantic person; it’s because I am romantic that I despise this day so. In my opinion, it epitomises everything love isn’t: selfish, predictable and bland. It brings out the worst in people rather than the best and is therefore terrible, awful and unromantically mechanical. By the way, if any of you are wondering how I will be spending February 14th, I will be volunteering for the National Youth Theatre, hoping to assist candidates with successful auditions. In my view, this is far more satisfying that a pepperoni pizza and a few too many glasses of wine.
The ‘let’s prove haters wrong’
Butter-icing: 70g caster sugar 150g icing sugar ½ beaten egg yolk 75g butter 1 tspn vanilla 2-3 tbspn milk extract ½ tspn vanilla extract 150g plain flour Decorations (optional) 75g icing sugar Valentine Heart 2-3 tspns water Biscuits: Pink food colouring 125g softened butter 1. Firstly make the cupcakes: Preheat Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 4 and line a muffin tray with muffin the dough until it is the thickness of a cases. In a bowl, cream the butter and pound coin. Cut out heart shapes and caster sugar together until pale and place on a lined baking tray. Bake for creamy and beat in the egg. 8-10 minutes until light golden brown 2. Combine the cocoa powder, food around the edges but still looking a litcolouring and vanilla and mix into the tle pale. Allow to cool. Sieve the icing butter and egg mixture until the batter sugar and add a little water. Mix into a is evenly coloured. smooth pourable paste. Colour the ic3. Pour half the buttermilk and sieve ing if desired and either pipe or use a half of the flour into the batter and mix teaspoon to decorate the biscuits. thoroughly. Repeat with the remaining 6. Make the butter-icing: Sieve the icDivide into the muffin cases and bake ing sugar into a bowl and add the butfor 20 minutes. Allow to cool. ter. Add the vanilla extract and a little 4. Make the biscuits: Preheat oven to milk. Cream everything together until 160 °C/350°F/Gas Mark 3. In a mixing pale and spreadable. bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar 7. Pipe or spread the butter-cream onto together. Sieve the flour into the bowl; the cupcakes and decorate. Top each firstly mix in with a spoon and when cupcake with a biscuit and share with the mixture becomes too stiff, use your your loved one, or keep them all to hands to bring it together into a dough. yourself!
60g butter 150g caster sugar 1 egg 10g cocoa powder 40ml red food colouring For those of you who want to treat your ‘special someone’ this Valentine’s ½ tspn vanilla extract Day, Krisina Freeman has turned all romantic with these decadent cupcakes. 120ml buttermilk 150g self-raising flour
Valentine’s Red Velvet Cupcakes with Love Heart Biscuits
Rachael Krishna
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Arts
Roar!, February 14th- March 4th 2012
Edited by Theodora Wakeley arts@roarnews.co.uk
Flying Solo…
Steph Fairbairn Let me make a grand statement by saying that there’s quite a big stigma about sitting in front of a big screen, in a dark room, with a box of popcorn on your lap… alone. I mean nobody wants to be sat next to the creepy 40 year old touching himself in the couples’ aisle, do they? Let’s be honest, not many of us have been to the cinema or to the theatre, or to any kind of production alone. And if we have, we certainly don’t want to admit it. The truth is, we’ve all got too many friends to do that kind of thing, right? Well, here it is. This week, I went to the theatre, alone. In truth, it wasn’t out of choice, I was actually given a free ticket and didn’t want to waste it. But I decided that I would let Chicago ‘razzle dazzle’ me at the same time as I conducted a social experiment. I would go to the theatre alone, and see if the rumours of feeling alone, judged and laughed at, really were true. If I’m honest, everything about the day of the show felt a little unnatural. When I went to pick up my ticket alone, I envied the queue of couples behind me preparing to pick up their joint tickets. When I looked at the seating plan to find
myself sandwiched between groups of friends and families, I felt embarrassed. And when I put on one of my best, slightly cleavage showing tops just to make myself feel good, I knew that I’d hit an all time low.
the ticket allocator? So considerate of her to attempt to give me a friend. He was in fact, a very nice guy, we talked a little before the show began and shared niceties during the interval and after the performance had finished.
Despite the negative self judgements constantly resounding in my head, I decided to carry on with my mission. I was a strong, independent woman, who did not need a clan or a group of friends every time she wanted to go out and enjoy herself. I was going to see Chicago. No, I was going to Chicago. I was Roxie Hart. These are the kind of fantasies I like to play around with in my head when I need to do the big things by myself. You know, visiting the theatre, doing my laundry, buying condoms. For the latter, I find the porn star fantasy works best.
The show itself was wonderful. The cast, especially the two leads, were fantastic, as was the orchestra. Due to the size of the stage, props and backdrops were rare, and the audience were required to use their imaginations at numerous points. This didn’t matter though, if anything it got us more involved in the show, and gave us more appreciation for the diversity and talent of the cast. I came away from the show excited at what I’d seen, and content that I’d seen it alone. As I walked myself home, I sang the Chicago songs on repeat, really giving it some during ‘All That Jazz’.
So I got to the theatre, The Garrick, to be precise, and I went through the motions. I got myself a programme, I visited the toilet, I found my seat, and although I was paranoid that all eyes were on me, I found myself feeling rather excited! The theatre was pretty small, but it was intimate, and I had a great view. I’d loved the movie and I was really looking forward to seeing the stage show. And most importantly, I didn’t have any annoying friends sat to the side of me, stealing my food, telling me stories I really didn’t want to hear. I was ready to enjoy the spectacle of Chicago by myself. Just before the show began, a young guy came in, about 25, and he sat next to me. He was alone too! And we’d been sat together. Wasn’t that nice of
I suppose the thing I’m trying to say with this is that it’s okay to go to the cinema or the theatre alone. It’s okay to want to take yourself out now and again. And it’s even okay to get excited about it. As we come up to Valentine’s Day, there are many of us who don’t have anyone to spend it with. Instead of crying about it, and overdosing on the chocolate, why not take yourself out? I mean, I’ve got my Valentine’s week planned. Monday, I’m taking myself to see the newly opened Titanic, Wednesday is my alone meal night at Zizzi, and on Friday, oh Friday, I might even try making a baby by myself. Just kidding...
On the 25th and 26th of February, Fusion @ London will launch their first gala, a dazzling show fusing fashion, music and dance at the iconic Troxy, Limehouse and hosted by *Made in Chelsea stars. Each show will incorporate 11 themed acts, 16 dance scenes, 15 modelling scenes, 2 circus aerialists, sword dancers,a choir and a Jazz band. With themed acts ranging from Circus, Beyond Retro, Arabian Nights, African & Classical syncopation to the roaring twenties, it will be packed with stunning performances and visuals. Tickets avaliable from fusionatlondon. com from £10.
Ubu- Roar! Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi is a French surrealist play and the other day I met with Bryony White, who is directing and producing her own version alongisde Bryony Stone in February in association with the King’s College English Society.
First of all, tell me a little bit about Ubu Roi... The plot centres around Papa Ubu and Mama Ubu, a grotesque couple who ambitiously plan to usurp the King of Poland, along with their sleazy advisor Bordure, in order to rule over Poland. However, once they’ve succeeded in killing the King, the King’s son Buggerlaus seeks revenge in order to take his rightful place on the throne. The play ends as Mama Ubu and Papa Ubu find themselves in a cave together having being pursued by the Russian army; they argue, they fight, have sex and finally decide to head for France.
The play sounds a little bit like Macbeth...
Yes, the play does forge allusions to Shakespeare’s work and that is extremely exciting from our point of view; it gives us a huge theatrical tradition to play with. It is also interesting as a lot of audience members may come to the performance with this preconception; a preconception we hope to conform to as well as undermine. More importantly however, Ubu is also quite different. Mama Ubu is certainly not as slick, sexy and manipulative as Lady Macbeth and Papa Ubu is certainly far more grotesque than Macbeth; Papa Ubu snorts, coughs, spits, sneezes and breaks wind on stage – something we certainly can’t see Macbeth doing!
I’ve heard interesting things about the process you undertook when casting and rehearsing the play... Yes, we wanted to make things a bit more exciting than usual. We both have important ideas about the way we see the process of putting on a performance and wanted to bring this to the forefront with Ubu. When we held auditions we informed people that they wouldn’t be cast into par-
ticular roles straight away. Instead we wanted to think more in terms of creating a company where people felt they existed as part of something. I think this has been a success so far. Our rehearsals and workshops aren’t actor or director led – we like to see it as a collaborative process. Therefore, once the auditions were over, we asked twelve people if they wanted to join us as part of a company. The twelve members of the cast range from first years to third years studying subjects from English to Law. Last week we cast the play, yet before we did this, we had two weeks of intensive workshops, ranging from performance poetry, Augusto Boal inspired forum theatre, physical theatre, voice activities, and the cast themselves even held their own workshops. So far, it’s been a really stimulating process. Having fully cast the play now, we’re both really excited to get going with fashioning Ubu into a really exciting theatrical experience!
Tell me a little bit about the ‘experience’, I understand you’re trying to do things a bit differently.... Well firstly, we’re performing out-
Win! A pair of tickets to the art event of 2012, David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, is up for grabs. Send 30 words explaining why you think you should be the lucky winner to arts@roarnews.co.uk by 21st February to be in with a chance. For more information visit www.royalacademy.org.uk side of King’s. This in itself feels really exciting. We’ve hired a space in New Cross which is called the Old Police Station. The building is a ‘Doit-Yourself’ art centre and boasts all the original features of an Edwardian Police Station including four original detainment cells which we will be using throughout the performance. However, the performance will be an immersive experience where the audience will have a degree of choice to what they experience during the evening. Different scenes will take place in different rooms and most audience members will come out having had entirely different experiences to their friends. We have tried really hard with the conception of Ubu to forge a performance which isn’t focused on individual actors and magnificent spectacle. Rather, we are creating a performance where what the audience experience creates the performance itself.
Sounds absolutely Good luck.
fabulous.
Ubu Roi, in association with the King’s College English Society will be taking place on the 27th and 28th of February at 114-116 Amersham Vale,
New Cross. Directions can be found online at http://www.theoldpolicestation.org/#!contact. Tickets start at £6 for concessions and £8 full price. Performance time to be confirmed. To follow the process of Ubu Roi, check out: http://intothetrappresents. tumblr.com/
Arts
Roar!, February 14th- March 4th 2012
Review: A is for Adolf Aoife Nechowska We all know Senate House Library. We have all used it as a last resort for completing a last-minute essay when all the relevant material has been checked out of the Maughan. I never knew, however, of the Wiener Library, almost next door, which focuses specifically on the Holocaust, despite the fact I basically live opposite both. It is currently putting on its first exhibition on how the Nazis tried to influence children, and although it is a rather small affair in the reception of the building, it does not fail to leave an impact on the visitor. The display lines two walls of the room, with an unsettling board game
taking centre stage and acting almost as an extension to the receptionist’s desk. At closer inspection it reveals a prime example of the sinister ways in which Nazism managed to pervade even the most simple of pastimes. The aim of the game is to ‘collect as many Jews as you can’, who are represented as crude, stereotypical characters. To win you must ‘succeed in chasing out six Jews’ from the walled ghetto. Pretty chilling stuff, especially as everyday stores for clothes, food, jewelers and sweet shops are important markers in the game, therefore normalising the idea of prejudice in children. The corresponding walls are lined with information and photos from the period, as well as illustrations from colouring books and fairytales. The displays explain the aims of the regime to permeate every part of life and society, with their ideology and iconography taking prime position from your first writing companions to your teenage diaries. Some things just seem too absurd to accept as
Critical Dictionary ‘live’
real, such as the woodblock letters of ‘HITLER’. Can they really have succeeded in replacing what we now imagine are standard geometric shape games? Equally hideous were the playing cards embellished with the faces of Nazi leaders – a sinister Top Trumps. The most troubling aspect of the exhibition is that you have to accept that these are real artifacts, that this did mold a generation of German children. The curriculum under Hitler’s regime, so radically alien to us now, contained lessons on how to distinguish Germans from Jews by appearance and family tree.
hideously so. Despite the relief I felt when I stepped out of the room, I have promised myself to visit the Wiener Library again to learn more. Unlike school, it seemed a far more potent experience. I thoroughly recommend a visit.
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A for Adolf is showing at the Wiener Library until 6th March. Free.
We all learn about the Holocaust as part of our school curriculum. It is not unknown to us that these events took place, but it is one thing to know this from a textbook and another thing to see everyday items emphasising such disturbing racial themes in propaganda for children from the cradle. I found the exhibition fascinating,
A Spot Of Bother Sam Spencer
Julia Schell If you’re unsure whether to judge a book by its cover or not – go inside and find out! The Critical Dictionary is a playful, thought-provoking and inspiring compendium of 51 illustrated terms from A-Z that informed and transformed artistic creation and interpretation throughout the last hundred years. Now, author David Evans has created an exhibition out of it at WORK Gallery. But don’t feel intimidated: you don’t need to understand the language of art to enjoy the visual artwork! Inspired by George Bataille’s surrealistic anti-dictionary (1929), Bertolt Brecht’s War Primer (1955) and Guy Debord’s Situationist movement of the late 1960s, Critical Dictionary by David Evans seeks to de-classify and un-define common perceptions and interpretations. Thus the tape-works on windows by Justin Hibbs question spatial orientation: in confusing three-dimensional perception with flat-layer constructions, they involve you in an explorative dialogue with the very site you’re standing in. Think about your association with the term ‘Research’ and immerse yourself in the landscape photographs by the Overt Research Project, which depict test sites for biological warfare, power stations and high-security telecommunications. Be prepared to test your own pre-judged interpretations and perceptions. In publishing The Critical Dictionary David Evans engaged in the ambitious project of comprising some of the best works from his ongoing online magazine criticaldictionary.com into a huge collection. After the webpage and the book, his third coup brings some old and very new pieces into real space and time. At WORK Gallery you can grasp the context materialised and see works that were created especially for the site. Feel free to be critical, radical and subjective about the proposed connotations between words and visuals, but please…don’t take anything too seriously!
Critical Dictionary is showing at WORK Gallery until 25 February.
Sometimes it’s very difficult to be a modern art fan. As much as I desperately try to explain its benefits and virtues to my friends, there is always someone who will instantly dismiss me, with a statement I’m sure all of the art-minded amongst us have heard: “But modern art is crap,” they cry. “How can you say that someone’s dirty bed/bricks/a white canvas is art?” In all cases, I’m able to at least attempt a response. All cases, that is, until the moment I was asked this week why I had gone to see the Damien Hirst spot paintings. I had no response for that. Why did I go? Don’t get me wrong here. I like Hirst. I find much of his work – the butterflies, the bisections, the bling skulls – interesting and illuminating, and feel they address very well our attitudes towards death, consumerism and art itself. And I really willed myself to understand this exhibition…surely it’s Hirst’s latest clever
mockery of the art world – a worldwide exhibition to satirise globalism? But no. For once, I’m afraid I have to agree with the most philistine of my friends. It’s just spots. Some big, some with letters, some in circles, but all just dots nonetheless. Meaningless, monotonous dots arranged in grids. But still I desperately tried to invest meaning in the show. Perhaps by just presenting us with the fundamental building blocks of art, Hirst intends for his audience to enter a higher state of awareness regarding art – by presenting us with nothing but block colours, your eye becomes more attuned to colour, picking up on every blemish or tone shift. But is this really a higher state, or simply just an upper-middle-class reworking of ‘Ispy’: “I-spy with my little eye something beginning with a spot of burnt umber”? The only message I could glean after 60 of these paintings (with another 48 waiting for me at the Gagosian, Davies Street) is the damaging effects on
creativity caused by the international art trade that created the demand for 1500 of these. What one reviewer called their ‘calming but addictive’ air I found greatly distressing – longterm exposure to this exhibition is like being trapped in the hauntingly inoffensive world of an Ikea art section, without even a punnet of Swedish meatballs to look forward to at the end. So in short, I actually will you to go to this exhibition. See it as a test – if you can leave it still ready to defend modern art, you are clearly worthy of being an art fan. Celebrate by booking tickets for the real thing – Damien Hirst at the Tate Modern.
Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings is showing at the Gagosian Gallery, Britannica Street (and all other Gagosian Galleries around the world) until 18 February. Free.
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Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Music Edited by Shivan Davis music@roarnews.co.uk
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: THE SOUNDS Thomas Flannagan Q: Hi guys, thanks for doing this with us. First of all, how excited are you to be playing in London again? Hey, hey, hey, excited! It’s always fun to play in London, so we are really excited to be back. Q: Would you say there’s a largely different atmosphere amongst the fans here, compared to, say, your fans back home in Sweden?
Q: Is there a ‘something’ you’d die for, then? My passion for music, I would say. Q: Finally, this album is far more oriented around an electronic sound - a departure from your previous albums. What was the reason for this? It’s just a natural reaction when you write music, I think. We don’t want to repeat ourselves and always want to develop. It wasn’t anything we talked about when we started to write, it just happened to be like that when we wrote. I capture feelings when I write music, and I guess how we felt at that time [was] more dark and messy, which we translated to an electronic vibe.
Well, I think here you go to a show, and see a band you really like. In Sweden it’s more of a combination of a show and then a club. So I guess people in the UK and rest of Europe are more into the band than just having a night out with some live act then a drunken party. Nothing wrong with drunken people at shows that we like. They let loose more and what we want from the crowd is to see them happy and just letting themselves go nuts. Q: You describe your shows as ‘pure energy’ and that you like to see your fans ‘go nuts’. Would you say the more mental the fans, the better you play? Exactly. That is true. I see our show as an energy trade between the fans and us. The better they are the more we give back to them. Q: There are some artists who are great in the studio, but aren’t accustomed to playing live. Is playing live your strength as a band? I would say we are a really strong live act. We love to get the direct response from the crowd. I like tempo and I like energy. That’s what you get when you are up on stage. Q: Your new album is titled Something To Die For. Talk us through the inspiration behind naming it that. That represents something positive. For us music has always been the number one priority, and we believe in us and what we do 100%. I think nowadays it’s important to believe in something that can make you a better person. I don’t mean that you have to go and kill yourself because you love writing songs, but you should never let anyone tell you what you can’t do and achieve. Believe in yourself and you will make it.
Roar Playlist: 1.LeonardCohen:Come Healing 2. John Talabot: Depak Ine 3. M.I.A: Bad Girls 4. Cults: Abducted 5. Tribes: We Were Children 6.Allysa Reid: Alone Again 7. Katy B: Easy Please Me 8. Cosmo Jarivis: Sure As Hell Not Jesus 9. Frankie Rose: Interstellar 10. Flo Rider: Wild Ones
For their only London show, The Sounds performed at KCL’s Tutu’s on Saturday 4 February.
Review: ‘Old Ideas’ Leonard Cohen **** Sam Spencer Pop music laws dictate that there comes a point in all musicians’ careers where the balance between new fans and long-term fans evens out, and all an artist is left with is a loyal fan base. For example, I doubt you can name the last Dylan or Neil Young album, or any Paul McCartney album after Band on the Run - even as a borderline music obsessive, I struggled. This petering out of new interest seems to me a great shame, leading to great music being ignored by the majority of us. Therefore, this issue I set out to listen to the latest album of that monarch of misery, Leonard Cohen. Although perhaps best known for writing that XFactor casualty, ‘Hallelujah’, throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, he was re-sponsible for some of the most gloriously depressing music ever written. Without Cohen, it’s difficult to imagine R.E.M, the Smiths, or even Radiohead, and his latest album, wittily titled Old Ideas, is a fine addition to his discography. Old Ideas is definitely the right title – as well as not messing with the classic Cohen formula (sparse accompaniment, his unique said/sung vocal style), it seems almost completely at odds with the exuberant and lavish production so typical of music circa 2012, framing his fantastic lyrics, such as on ‘Crazy to Love You’ or opener ‘Going Home’, one of the only songs in all of pop music that successfully features a singer talking about himself in the 3rd person – not bad for a 77 year-old. In fact, his aged voice only improves the songs – like fellow 60s singer Marianne Faithful, the ravages of life have left him with a voice perfect for songs of despair and melancholy, especially when contrasted to the almost choral voices used throughout, such as those used to devastating effect on ‘Come Healing’. This, then, is the sound of a man cementing his reputation as he nears the end of his life – something that becomes hauntingly clear as the instrumentation starts to resemble the sound of a funeral organ. Although this instrumentation occasionally veers towards the cheapsounding, as on ‘Amen’, this is more than compensated by the beauty of the poetry. So although this is perhaps not the album for anyone looking for any shred of happiness, it is perfect for those melancholy late nights in darkened rooms that we all have from time to time.
Music
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
I’m With You: A perfect example of King of Limbs Syndrome? *** Dan West The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ latest entry into their vast (and in my opinion, impressive) discography has been the topic of some hot debate amongst their fans. Even amongst my own friends I found myself on the side of ‘It’s not terrible but is it the standard we were hoping for?’. King of Limbs syndrome (I do hope that catches) is a tricky thing; you expect such high things from a band. Then, when you finally hear the album, as your own odd mix of expectations - some unrealistic, admittedly - combined with the band’s own new creative direction, which means the end result leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, and the word ‘Why’ permanently staining your lips.
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you could sing along to it I’ve never found lyrics to be a particularly important part of the Chilli Peppers. They’re there to give you something to follow but as for meaning? Even a devout postmodernist such as I struggle to find any meaning in their often fragmented style. Having said all of this, there are some saving graces to the album; one of my major criticisms initially was that the album was sorely missing the guitar stylings of former guitarist John Frusciante (now turned full-fledged solo artist). But I think you need to put that issue to one side here. John Frusciante is obviously a god among men, but Josh Klinghoffer is a more than adequate replacement. His guitar work is a large part of why this album has some merit; it borders between the classic California style the Chilis normally have and some interesting modern directions. Flea is on form yet again pulling out huge riff after riff in his signature style, and Chad Smith’s drumming is resilient and technically impeccable as-per-always. Anthony Kiedis has a lot going for his vocals and he sounds great (especially on ‘Did I Let You Know’; great track!) Overall conclusion? Not as good as Californication, By The Way or Stadium Arcadium but definitely not one to throw away either.
I proceeded after my first listen to ignore the album for a few months, although I did enjoy occasionally hearing the flagship single ‘The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie’ which, while it has a catchy driving bass, borders (or leans rather heavily) on the repetitive side of things. Having come around to listen to it again recently and deciding to pay it serious attention, I’ve unfortunately found that repetitive theme to be a little overused. The songs tend to be verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus ANOTHER chorus. Too much chorus frankly, and although
KCL Band make the Quarters of Uni At a time where the country’s students find themselves feeling a lot of uncertainty, it’s great to see something positive emerge. That is exactly what the Uni Music League is- a fantastically positive initiative that hopes to give the unsigned, unsung heroes of the creative communities within London’s universities a much-deserved break into the highly competitive world of the music industry. With King’s College being represented in this year’s contest by funky pop group Miss Terry Blue, it’s time we took a look at this innovative concept. So what is it all about? Essentially it is a scheme designed to tap into the widely neglected source of unsigned music talent that lies within the student communities of London. The League has a strong belief in live music, but also understand that many students throw away their potential to make it as artists because they simply don’t have the time or opportunity to give it their best shot as they work for their degrees. This initiative aims to overcome that. It is the first official live music platform that connects universities across London in a single music challenge, and there are plans to go nationwide in the future. Competitive platforms in terms of sports and academia have been already successfully established but this is the first official university league of music in the UK. It’s free to enter but every act that applied had to have at least one student from one of the capital’s higher education institutions in their line-up. This year’s competition is already well underway. Initial entries were whittled down to a top fourteen following a series of local rounds and now enters a quarter-finals stage with four gigs taking place at London’s prestigious venue, ULU. The whole system works on public voting (no X Factor style panel) both online and at gigs... but each vote at the gigs count for more in order to encourage people to come down. The winner will receive a cracking prize of an EP recording session with Charlie Hugall, who’s produced stuff for Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine and Kaiser Chiefs amongst others. It’s not often that an opportunity for such exposure and a potentially lucrative prize comes along for emerging musicians, and the Uni Music League are proud to be able to offer such a platform for deserving talent. As the competition heats up, news has just broken that there will be an additional incentive of airplay on Absolute Radio during their Emerging Icons chart show playlist. Just when you thought things couldn’t get much better, eh? KCL’s Miss Terry Blue will be playing their quarter final gig on Friday 10th February. Tickets, online voting and more information can all be found on the Uni Music League website at www.unimusicleague.com
What’s On at KCLSU? Roar’s picks... Sunderland based Indie outfit ‘Field Music’ will be performing at Tutu’s on the 24th February. The band have had huge success critically- with their last release ‘Field Music (Measure)’ receiving an impressive 7.5/10 from the notoriously aloof website Pitchfork. Tickets are just £10 so make sure you get hold of them before they dissapear. Wednesday 15th February will see Guy’s bar alive with activity as MedSoc plan a referendum signing party to co incide with the ‘Should KCLSU continue to support separate teams’ vote. Go to www.kclsu.org/sportvote between the 13th and 17th Feb and cast your vote. And, for those with *ahem* less refined tastes, the legendary Truffle Shuffle returns on the 17th. So dust of those legwarmers and get ready to boogie. Ticketed events are available at www.kclsutickets.com, or from any KCLSU student centre desk!
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Film
Roar!, February 13th - March 4th 2012
Edited by Beth Cohon film@roarnews.co.uk
Roar!’s Guide to Valentine’s-Movies-Of-Every-Variety
Beth Cohon
Whether you like it or not, it’s Valentine’s season. Love and bitterness will soon perfume the streets of London in equal measure. Couples with penchants for PDA will squeeze into crowded, dimly-lit restaurants to share overpriced bottles of wine. Meanwhile onlooking, disgruntled singletons will inevitably kick back a few more drinks than usual with their mates. And at the end of the night, the city is aglow with the tired and tipsy faces of many--a beautiful sight. However, if fighting for a spot at your local with this sudden influx of Valentine’s Day patrons isn’t your scene, then Roar! has the solution, with Valentine’s-Movies-Of-Every-Variety. From ‘lovestruck’ to ‘loathsome’, however you’re feeling this Valentine’s Day, we’ve got a film for you!
Young, innocent and blinded by love seems a good place to start. And while this might sound like a recipe for heartbreak, Say Anything is a very real depic-
THE LOVESTRUCK
tion of first love. Not to mention it has one of my favourite endings Say any Anything offilm.
Though it’s not your typical musical, who doesn’t want to see Woody Allen and Edward Norton sing? It’s just a fun
THE MUSICAL
time, and one of Woody Allen’s purely lighthearted gems, not to be missed. Everyone Says I Love You
Embrace your inner 80s angsty teenager. In fact, I bet you haven’t watched Sixteen Candles since you were an angsty sixteen-year-old.
Love is strange. This is not your normal Adam Sandler movie; director Paul Thomas Ander
It’s one of Hughes’ funniest and most well-written films.
son’s vision of romance is dark, daring and visually stunning.
THE JOHN HUGHES
Sixteen Candles
THE QUIRKY
Punch Drunk Love
Yes, this rom-com princess gets a whole category. Her best by far is When Harry Met
THE MEG RYAN
Sally. Can a man and a woman ever be just friends? When Harry Met Sally
Sometimes we all need a good cry. Set in Harvard in the 70s, this cathartic story of young
THE TRAGIC
love and loss is a classic. Love Story
In the Mood for Love is a perfectly paced romance, drawing out the sexual tension between neighbours, Tony Leung and the gorgeous Maggie Cheung, as they
I dare you to try to not swoon over Cary Grant in this 1940 rom-com about a newspaper editor who tries to trick his journalist ex-wife out of remarrying,
THE STEAMY
THE CLASSIC
while they’re both hot on the trail of an escaped criminal.
begin an affair with one another in this film set in 1960s Hong Kong. In the Mood for Love
His Girl Friday Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play two strangers who meet on a train and decide to spend the night walking around Vienna. A beautiful and thought-provoking
Two musicians, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, meet and fall for Marilyn Monroe. Only problem is
THE COMEDY
THE CEREBRAL
that they’re on the run from the mob and are disguised as women. Some Like it Hot
film with a brilliant script by Richard Linklater. Before Sunrise Not for the faint of heart. You aren’t just bitter about Valentine’s Day, you downright hate love. This is a masterpiece which follows the escalation of tension and cruel games between Elizabeth Taylor and
So what if you’re alone on Valentine’s Day? So! You’d rather be alone than spend another minute with that worthless piece of-sorry, got a bit carried away didn’t we? Take our your frustration
THE DOWNRIGHT BITTER with the completely sexy and totally malicious Cruel Intentions.
Cruel Intentions
Film for a Fiver: Badlands Emma Cooke Badlands, the debut film of Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line & The Tree of Life) is a must-see classic. Set in 1950s America when the onset of teenage rebellion had exploded with the advent of rock and roll, this factually based killing spree juxtaposes nightmare with fairytale. As sociopath Kit (Martin Sheen) seduces naïve and impressionable Holly (Sissy Spacek) the film unfolds into a bizarre account of the young lovers running off into the sunset together. Kit’s trigger-happy activity plunges the pair into a solitary world of chaos and exile where they detach themselves from reality. Fairytale narrator, Holly contrasts the seriousness of events with her innocent interpretations of the pair’s beguiling romance. However, as the soundtrack plays out (this will ring bells – ‘True Romance’), the enchanting landscapes become increasingly removed from the plot and Holly finally concludes that this car-crash of a relationship needs to stop; it is clear there will be no happy ending. Sheen is magnificent as the idiosyncratic serial-killer that is impossible to pin down as a typical ‘bad guy’ or a complete ‘madman’. In typical Malick-style, nature is always in the background of this carefully-scripted masterpiece that allows the audience the freedom to draw their own conclusions on these deeply evolved characters. Badlands is not the conventional runaway thriller, it is a beautifully artistic and mysterious interpretation of young love’s innocence and the inner workings of the chillingly deranged. A lowbudget film that was made with passion and creative art at its forefront, this is a must see for all art-house lovers.
THE LOATHSOME
Richard Burton’s characters over the course of one night, as they slowly manipulate a younger couple to join Who’s them in their Afraid traumatic world of of distrust and lies. Virginia Woolf?
KCL Cinemateque
Want to see films for free, right here at King’s? Relax after a day of classes? The KCL Cinemateque offers free screenings for King’s students and staff every Monday and Tuesday! Screenings are in the Arthur and Paula Lucas Lecture Theatre at the Strand campus (room S-2.18) at 5:15pm (doors open at 5:05pm).
Mondays at World Cinema
Tuesdays at Repertory Night
13 February: Early Summer (Ozu Yasujiro, 1951, 124 min.)
27 February: Tokyo Twilight (Ozu Yasujiro, 1957, 140 min.)
14 February: La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, France, 1995, 98min) Introduced by Ginette Vincendeau
28 February: Green Card (Peter Weir, 1990, U.S., 103min)
Film
Roar!, February 13th - March 4th 2012 Love film? Up for watching just about anything? Roar Film gets press invites from everything from new blockbusters to the Hong Kong film festival. Get on the writers mailing list by emailing Beth at film @ roarnews.co.uk
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Sub Editor Maurice Loach
Oscars: Shame, Snubs and Secrets
Maurice Loach Upon the announcement of the Academy Award Nominees on January 24th (early morning in L.A, afternoon in the U.K) social network and water cooler conversations were briefly turned towards peoples’ opinions of the films of the past year, and whether their’s aligned with those of the Academy. Many angry Facebookers and Tweeters complained about absences in the list of nine best picture nominees, most loudly regarding Shame, Drive, and Harry Potter’s concluding entry. These voices may have realised that the Oscars have almost never, and probably will never, accurately reflect the ‘best’ films of the year, but few are acutely aware of the process a film goes through to become one of those nominated. An Oscar-winning film goes through a process more similar to an election than an assessment of artistic value or quality. Perhaps key to understanding the nature of the Oscars is who is voting: retired and current industry workers. It’s all the more logical that foreign or independent productions are shut out because the films recognised were worked on by the friends and colleagues of those voting. The best indicator of Oscar winners are those with a similar groups of voters; for example, some members of BAFTA are also Academy members, but are more likely to vote for homegrown talent at BAFTA because they know it stands a better chance here. Even better are Guilds such as the Directors and Editors Guilds who are closely observed by Oscar pundits when making their picks, in particular for best picture. Similarly, actors and directors must set themselves apart from the pack by appearing at parties and Q&A’s and delivering witty, concise and charming acceptance speeches when they win at other ceremonies. Arguably public warmth alone can win Sandra Bullock or Colin Firth Oscars. Directors can achieve similar nominations, winning as much for work accumulated over time than their film that year. The Help is easily ruled out of contention for Best Picture because of its lack of a best director nomination for Tate Taylor. While he has appeared at awards shows and done press for his film, the fact that he gained the rights to the novel The Help through his friendship with its author stands against him, and Dreamworks’ failure to expose him to voters sealed his fate. Tom Hooper’s absurd win last year for The King’s Speech over the long beloved David Fincher can be explained by his reported presence at every key insider’s party. Per-
haps above all else, like The English Patient, No Country for Old Men, Chicago, and Shakespeare in Love before it, was the presence of Harvey Weinstein in its corner. Nicknamed ‘the punisher’, Weinstein’s influence on the race since the early 1990s is hard to overestimate; his unrelenting campaigns and supposedly slanderous tactics have only exaggerated the race’s absurdity. This year Harvey’s heft is behind The Artist for best picture and this only makes its lead in the race so far stronger, and its almost inevitable win less interesting. Furthermore, The Artist’s reverence of American cinema and its stars, as well as the similarity to the plot of the all-American A Star is Born, appeals to a similar sentimentality. The Academy can be sure they will not offend by choosing a film without anything out of the ordinary. In the form of Hugo, Scorsese perhaps has his best chances in many years, because of the film’s warm tone, and the idolisation of cinema in its conclusion, a theme bound to appeal to the nostalgia of retired academy members. Fear of causing offense explains the absence of Shame and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, whose director even acknowledged the unlikeliness of a film featuring an anal rape scene being nominated. Similarly, the presence of Shame’s star Michael Fassbender alongside Charlize Theron at the Hollywood Reporter’s Oscar roundtable was inevitably uncomfortable considering the stars’ films are far too crude to truly be in the running with the conservative Academy. If films like these intend to ruffle feathers they will almost certainly not be nominated in any major categories. In one sense The Artist is unconventional because of its formal experiment of being silent. But this charming gimmick is enough to set the film apart from the pack. To hear cries of “why wasn’t Fassbender/Dunst/Potter nominated” is to an Oscar watcher almost humorous, as they were never in the race. There is, for a dedicated observer, little surprise left to the Academy Awards, but this is not to say they are irrelevant or uninteresting. This notion may be depressing and cynical but the Oscars are a fascinating window into the minds of the people who control our cinematic diet. Which film wins may not reflect your tastes but it sets apart what Hollywood, both its workers and its giants, see as the films they think you like, the films it thinks are winners—the Hollywood films Hollywood wants to be defined by.
Review: The Descendants Nathan Olliverre It doesn’t take long in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, his first film since Sideways, to establish Matt King (George Clooney) as a tired, overworked and burdened lawyer, in stark contrast to his usual suave and collected characters in the likes of Up in the Air and Michael Clayton. He (under)plays to perfection Matt King, the sole custodian of a family trust that controls tens of thousands of acres of pristine Hawaiian land. Due to new laws, the trust must decide on the sale of their inheritance whilst all of Hawaii looks on with baited breath. Matt is the ‘backup’ parent, a role that must change when his wife is left in a comatose state from a power-boating accident. Matt must now find ways to connect with his two daughters, 10 year old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17 year old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley). His load becomes more laden when he discovers the real heart wrenching reason for Alexandra and her mother fighting at their last family Christmas. His character seems an even more pitiful and clueless soul. Yet he still remains buoyant. Clooney is on real form here, better than in Ides of March (his own creation), bringing comic mannerisms (see his running in flip flops) yet retaining a stoic and dignified attitude. Shailene Woodley puts in a great performance as
the lost and hurting Alexandra. Special mention should also go to Nick Krause who plays Sid, Alexandra’s stoner surfer friend who ends up becoming one of Matt’s more understanding confidants. The Descendants is a brilliantly funny yet tender film, largely thanks to Clooney’s stand out performance that never veers into schmaltz. But Payne’s feat in never giving his characters breathing space gives the film its emotional charge. For instance, in one scene Matt is given another low blow from information unwittingly told by his cousin Hugh (Beau Bridges) in a small bar. He then returns to sit down with his daughters who are oblivious to his pain and are all smiling and content. Payne keeps the camera close in on Matt’s face as he struggles to keep calm in front of his suffocating yet paradisiacal surroundings. A scene which could have easily been turned into melodrama, Matt confronting his comatose wife in her hospital room, venting his anger and frustration along with his guilt and fears, transfixes and highlights the prose of Payne’s direction. Overall, The Descendants is a nuanced and subtle drama full of turmoil as well as humour behind it all. Payne’s works have demonstrated a keen eye for human stories without any overacting needed, and I look forward to his next work but hope that I won’t have such a long wait.
Sports
28
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Edited by Charlotte Richardson sports@roarnews.co.uk
Timeline of GKT: The ‘other’ rugby club
Become a King’s Sports maker...
Jonathan Stewart
Holly Walsh, Vice-President of Student Activities and Facilities Sport Makers are simply people who make sport happen. The Sports Makers programme is an Olympic-inspired programme to encourage people to record their sports volunteering hours. These hours can range from coaching a team, holding a committee position, organising a kick about in the park, running a sports fundraising event or planning the route to the game.
King’s is well known for its sporting pedigree, with many alumni going on to representative honours; notable examples include the British Olympic rowers Katherine Grainger and Frances Houghton, and England rugby internationals Ayoola Erinle and Chris Sheasby. The university puts out strong sides in a number of sports on the university scene. While the KCL Rugby team are well-known to all on campus, for their off-field antics in the Waterfront Bar as much as on the field, there exists at King’s an even more venerable institution.
This is open to people of all levels of involvement if you already do sports volunteering or if you are interested in becoming involved and need idea’s. Our Sports Makers Workshop We are hosting a Sports Makers workshop in Tutu’s on the 20th Feb 5pm-7pm. People must register to come to the event via the below link. People can also just turn up on the day if they want. www.sportmakers.co.uk/ln/central/registration/applicant There will be free refreshments at the workshop. So why become a Sports Maker? Free stuff - As well as receiving official Adidas kit, once you start to make sport happen there’ll be chances to win some exciting rewards. Olympics tickets – You will be entered into a draw to win Olympic tickets Enhance your career prospects and build your CV It’s extremely rewarding Its flexible You’ll be part of the Olympic legacy
Thomas Marshall
KCL Sports Referendum
Vote NO in KCL Sports Referendum Vote No in KCL sports referendum!!! The instinctive reaction of most KCL students when asked about merging GKT and KCL sports teams is an emphatic ‘no’. Which is a shame; that initial reaction really hinders the development of KCL as a sporting force. Let’s begin by addressing the ridiculousness put forward against the merger. Firstly, the utter codswallop that the medic schedule means they aren’t able to train and compete with other KCL teams. KCLBC, for example, manage just fine incorporating KCL and GKT training into one boat. Secondly, that the division of GKT and KCL is an age old tradition which should be perpetuated. Need I point out how ridiculous that is? So, why should KCL and GKT teams merge? Well, because it makes sense. Obviously! Remove this debate from the internal college rivalry level and look at the bigger picture, and it’s clear that we should merge the teams. Everyone wants King’s to display as much sporting prowess as possible. Having separate GKT and KCL teams divides resources, talent and perpetuates a pointless student divide between medics and those doing medical degrees and the rest of the university. The point is this: do we really want Netballers from GKT and KCL squabbling over the GB girl? Don’t we just want to win things, with the best team, regardless of the degree people do? Intra-college rivalry is all very nice, if it comes in the guise of a once yearly piss-up, but let’s come down off the antiquated high horse and face up to reality. KCL sport can continue to develop and get better, but only if we pool our resources. Just a small note from me this issue. If you haven’t already, check out KCL Radio’s debate on the Sports Referendum. The link is on our website: www.roarnews.co.uk. Have a listen and give us your feedback via Twitter, Facebook or drop an email to sports@roarnnews.co.uk And importantly VOTE from Monday 13th to Friday 17th February online at kclsu.org/sportvote Charlotte
Kirsten Johnson
Vote YES between February 13th and 17th to maintaing support of KCL KCLMS sports teams
Guy’s v Cambridge University, 1932 Guy’s Hospital has the honour of being the world’s oldest rugby football club, founded in 1843, and has produced a number of internationals and British Lions over the years. It merged with St. Thomas’ Hospital in the early 1990s following the creation of the United Dental Medical Schools in 1982, and again in 1999 with King’s College Hospital. The present-day incarnation, known as GKT, are fiercely proud of their heritage, and after a nomadic existence are back playing at their spiritual home of Honor Oak Park. The club puts out teams in both the BUCS student leagues on Wednesdays and Kent regional leagues on Saturdays. Coupled with two hours of training every Tuesday and Thursday, this results in a taxing week, both physical and time-wise, for medical students who are already under a great deal of time pressure. While GKT is not exclusively open to medics, with three ‘Strandies’ forming part of the squad, the vast majority of the team study either medicine or biomedical sciences at Guy’s Campus. According to centre Charles Ovenden-Filsell (2nd year Spanish and Portuguese), ‘playing rugby at Guy’s is a great way of meeting people who I wouldn’t otherwise have met’, and Guy’s is beginning to make its presence known to others in the student environment with the GKT Ski Trip and their racy photo-shoot for the KCL charity calendar
2012. The year the Olympic Games come back to London. The year when the Government is encouraging increased participation in sport. The year when we could potentially merge KCL and GKT (or KCLMS if you prefer) sports teams. Bad idea on so many levels. Should we merge, club sizes would shoot through the roof (initially), and the sense of community and the knowledge of most people’s names in your club would be lost. It’s then likely club sizes would dwindle, as many people would be disheartened at being in the KCL 10’s. Less participation, less talent and less opportunity for beginners to get their foot in the door. Bye bye people who play for fun, meaning less people keeping fit. Add to that less Committee members whose skills are admired by graduate recruiters, and less potential sponsorship, meaning less contact with employers. Let’s not forget Macadam, which would leap into the growing chasm removing one of the big social events of the year and leaving Varsity on its tod and sports other than rugby without a major event in the year. Could it make our teams stronger? Potentially after a few years, yes. Or the loss of wanting to be better than each other could reduce our respective competitive edges, not only making teams less prolific but also team players less attractive as graduates. In the meantime expect major infighting for positions, coaching nightmares, loss of team spirit, a decline in league scores and playing KCL teams multiple times in the same league. Variety ftw. The HOP or Berrylands? We don’t have enough space at either to support training and matches at one place. Slice the clubs into top teams and lower teams, that makes more sense than the current situation right? Speaking of which would we drink Beer or Gin? Wear Red and Blue or Blue and Gold? All sing about holes in the Strand [awkward.....]? Some traditions should be left to history. Not this one. A rivalry based on historical and geographical situations with a dash of course similarity is in this case a healthy one is it not?
GKT in action With a highly mobile set of forwards led by inspirational club captain Fergus Devonport and a back line marshalled by former England Students fly-half Duncan Steele, the GKT philosophy is to play attractive running rugby whenever possible. The key fixtures of the year are undoubtedly the Macadam Cup match between GKT and their fierce rivals KCL, and the United Hospitals Cup, which GKT last won in 2009. Since the arrival of new coach Richard Aitken from South Africa, there has been a far greater emphasis on high fitness standards, with a two-and-a-half-hour fitness assessment highlighting exactly who was up to scratch (and more importantly, who was not…) This unwelcome but necessary development has had a notable impact on results. The 1st XV are currently top of the BUCS Division 2B with a points difference of 164 (aided somewhat by a 100-3 victory over RUMS 2nds) and the 2nds are performing admirably in their Saturday fixtures, despite a slow start in BUCS 4B. Each and every member of the squad pushes each other on to do better and win their place in the team, as evidenced in the fitness trials. Despite the obvious competition for places in both the student and Saturday XVs, the players remain friends off the pitch, and are renowned for enjoying a drink or two in Guy’s Bar after midweek games. From speaking to some of the players, it is evident that pulling on the blue and gold of GKT is a pleasure as much as it is a privilege and provides a unique rugby experience. Every member of the squad follows the mantra that Aitken repeats at each training session: that ‘rugby is the greatest game on the planet’. The Saturday matches are undoubtedly more physical, particularly for front-row forwards playing against seasoned men of Kent who know their way around a scrum (but little else). However this not only stands the team in good stead for fixtures against student teams of similar size, but encourages them to play in the attacking style which they have been using to devastating effect this year. The players themselves are also a diverse bunch, both in terms of age and interests - one of the flankers is writing a fantasy novel, whereas a second row is a graduate of the Academy of Contemporary Music – but unite under the common banner of GKT. It looks as if they will be able to sustain their strong start in the league, and fingers are remaining tightly crossed for their crunch matches of the season.
Sports
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
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2012:Time to meet the King’s elite...
Kings College has recently introduced an Elite Athlete Support programme. The sportsmen and women you are about to be introduced to are the crème de le crème of sporting talent here at King’s. From diverse sporting and academic backgrounds these guys have to balance their studies with their sport, enough to deserve a gold medal in itself. King’s offer in-depth support and advice in the areas of nutrition, strength and conditioning, training and sports massage to these selected students to enable them to give the best to both. These selected athletes are some of the top student athletes in the country and potential Olympic prospects.
So let’s find out more shall we? The Questions: 1) What targets have you set yourself for 2012? 2) Do you compete or train with King’s College London or ULU? 3) If yes, how does this help you achieve your targets for the year? 4) Has King’s helped you improve as an athlete? 5)Who is your hot tip for Olympic success?
Alek Makucewicz-Swimmer 1)For this year aiming to get back onto the fencing circuit competitively, and improve my areas of weakness, such as endurance and flexibility, to better aid my performance. 2) Yup! I compete for the men’s team, and when I have a free day or no matches, help run a few sessions for the uni club. 3) It’s good to know and stay in the loop with which fencers will be attending the individual championships in March, but apart from that, I mainly do the uni circuit for enjoyment and an excuse to fence all 3 weapons with no immediate pressure at all. Overall it does not really affect my targets, but sometimes it’s good to practice particular aspects or tactics which you obviously can’t dwell on too much in an actual competition match itself. 4) Access to the gym and a sports & conditioning coach has helped me improve rapidly in areas I was always extremely weak in. I’m becoming a more well-rounded fencer as a result and gaining good knowledge and insight on how to maintain my body plus how to work on improving it. 5) The cyclists probably won’t disappoint this year, and again the same with athletics. I would love to see fencing gain a medal this year and they have a chance of doing so with the men’s foil team! They won the Olympic test event last November, and we haven’t won a medal in quite a while! Plus, if they achieve this, further inspiration and interest into the sport will develop, which would be amazing.
Daniel Cromb-Hockey 1) Re-selection for the England Mixed squad in summer 2012, with as many international caps as possible; as much National League experience as possible with Holcombe HC, hopefully involving promotion to the EHL Premier league in the next two years, Promotion in BUCS with KCLMS Hockey 1st XI 2) Yes - I’m captain of the KCLMS men’s hockey club 1st XI and I play for United Hospitals, which is a select XI from all the London Medical schools. 3) It’s always useful to play, train and develop as a player as much as possible, especially when it comes to match practice. It’s also great to be able to play with friends and ensure that hockey remains enjoyable at times when the sixth training session or game of the week might seem like a lot of effort! Being involved with KCLMS also allows me to develop coaching skills which are always handy to have! 4) The elite athlete scheme has been fantastic - from the gym membership through to strength, conditioning and training advice from all the staff. Having this support has helped develop the weaker aspects of my game, which I’ve struggled with previously and it certainly acts as extra motivation to do late night or early morning training sessions when sleep seems like a better option! 5) Mark Cavendish is almost certain for gold in the Men’s cycling road race, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see both the men and women GB hockey teams finish in the medal positions!
Antonio Infantino-200m Track Athlete. 1) Targets: Training has been going really well the last few months and I’m fitter and stronger than I’ve ever been moving into 2012. My 2012 aims are: - Indoor Season (Next month) = Make the Senior national 200m final and go one better from my BUCS silver from 2011 to win the 200m Indoors for KCL. - Outdoor Season = Make Olympic Trials 200m Final and win BUCS Outdoors (in the Olympic Stadium!) 2) No, I train 5 days a week with UKA coach Mike Macfarlane at Lee Valley Athletics Centre. 4) The Kings Elite programme has supported me with travel expenses, kit, Physiotherapy and Strength and Conditioning work at Kinetic Gym. 5) My training partner Jodie Williams, (18-years-old and fastest woman in Britain). Look out for her in the Olympic 100m Final.
Alexander Lushnikov- Karate WSKF (World Shotokan Karate-Do Federation)
1)Be the best and Win Gold for Russia at 2nd WSKF World Cup 2012 (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) in October; Attend the International WSKF Seminar by Sensei Hitoshi Kasuya (8 Dan WSKF) in Brussels, Belgium and pass the examination to become an official WSKF Referee in February; Attend the International WSKF Seminar by Sensei Hitoshi Kasuya (8 Dan WSKF) in Dublin, Ireland in June. 2) Yes, I am a Kinetic Elite Athlete and train at Kinetic Gym at Stamford Street which is great. 3) I am looking forward to using the Elite Athlete Programme in full and learn some expertise from Kinetic’s boxing guys which will be useful to apply in karate. 4)King’s gives me an additional inspiration to go forward and progress in karate. The care that I get from Anthony [Currie, Strength & Conditioning trainer] is a great thing to have here, while studying at one of the best universities on the planet. King’s ‘forces’ me to remember at what level do I live, study and compete and this is a great addition to being an Official Member of Russian National WSKF Team. These facts alone bring about the adrenaline which I truly love and enjoy more than winged angels enjoy Red Bull. 5) My hot tip? Yelena Isinbaeva.
Sarah Westwood-Swimmer 1))I will be competing at the British university long course championships in February, I won two bronze medals at the short course (25m pool) championships in November so I would love to achieve this again long course (50m pool). I would also like to qualify to compete at the Olympic trials in the 50m front crawl. 2) Yes I train with two clubs and one of these is the London University swimming team (LUST). 3) LUST competes in the British University Championships which is one of my main competitions of the year. It helps as their training cycles are focused specifically on these events. Then I get to be part of a great team and compete for them. 4) They have provided me with gym access. I am a sprinter so strength and power work in the gym is really crucial to my training. 5)Francesca Halsall. I trained with Fran when I was younger and she is one of the most determined athletes that I have met. She has already won many medals at commonwealth games and world championships, I definitely believe she will win an Olympic medal, hopefully gold!
Josh Sharpling-Gymnast 1) My plan for 2012 is to be keep training and competing well really, and balance that out with keeping up to date with university. The British Championships is the focus for my training this year, in 2010 I finished 5th on the pommel horse in this competition, so it would be nice to be aim for, and build on that this year. 2) There isn’t a lot of elite university gymnastics competitions in the calendar, so I only compete for KCL once a year at BUCS. The rest of the time I either compete for my club, Woking Gymnastics Club, or the South East region. The reason I don’t do a lot of training with ULU gymnastics club, or at KCL is that most of the training is very specific towards gymnastics, so it needs to be done in a gymnastic facility, with highly qualified coaching staff, and the best club in the area for this is Woking Gymnastics Club. 3) The support I receive from the King’s Elite athlete scheme and also the dental school keeps me training; without their support I simply could not finance the cost of coaching fee’s, competition fee’s and travel costs to Woking up to 6 times a week. At the moment I am still part funding training etc myself in order to make ends meet, but without the support I receive from KCL it would not be possible for me to train at all. 4) King’s has helped me improve as an athlete as it has ensured I can keep training! We have also had some outside people come in and talk to us from Lucozade; and that gave me a new insight into the right nutrition for me to train well. The elite athlete scheme also provides ability to get sports massages, which is brilliant. When you train up to 20 hours a week it is inevitable that your body is going to get small injuries all the time, and the sports massages help to ease these niggling pains. 5) For the first time in my memory Great Britain have qualified with a full men’s team for artistic gymnastics, which is really exciting. The talent in the team is incredible, and for the first time in years, we are able to compete with the big players of China, Japan, USA and Russia. The person to look out for in the British team would probably be the two young members; Max Whitlock and Sam Oldham, both of them are the junior members of the team, but are already pushing, and often beating, the more senior members.
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Sports
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
Edited by Charlotte Richardson sports@roarnews.co.uk
THE Holly Walsh: Vice President of Student Activities and Facilities
President’s Report Duncan Castle: President of King’s College Rugby Club
The 1st XV have had a difficult start to the season so far. With an injury hit squad, they struggled to find their feet in the competitive league they were promoted into at the end of last season. However, since entering the new year, things have begun to change. The team is now gelling, playing with increasing style, pace and precision. This can only be bolstered with the return of key ‘Having been promoted last season the KCL players from injury helping to increase the depth of squad. Men have had a tough season. Now in BUCS The varsity 32-man training squad is set to be announced PLAYER 1A, they have faced some of the toughon the 4th February with each player pushing for a PROFILES: Tier est competition in the country. Losing key place. This will later be cut down to the match day-22 KCL MEN’S ensuring during the month of February all eyes are individuals at number 8 and in the half backs, on the match. this season was always going to be a struggle, Training has stepped up a level with the FORWARDS however, Varsity is what our KCL Men live two sessions a week increasing in intensity. for. They are training hard for 2nd March and There are also planned training sessions at Phil Jones; Second row. will be looking to echo their performance last the Twickenham Stoop itself to help the Returning from placement year. varsity squad gain some insight into what adds a crucial dimension of As for our Women, they are currently undeit may be like on the highly anticipated experience to the side. Has a lot to feated in the league and there is no stopping evening. live up to with a man of the match them! Seeing as a few of them are currently As the current varsity champions, performance in last year’s competiwe are keen to hold onto the varplaying for the Harlequins and looking at sity trophy and by all accounts tion. their current performance, I am confident that the game will not disappoint. they will give a very strong performance, this We say: bring on the night, Ed Lawless; Prop. is providing UCL turn up on time this year.’ bring on UCL and let’s Entering his 3rd Varsity, stalwart of the Has bring it home. King’s ’Til team a rock in the front row. I Die. become Angus Hortop; Prop. another Unfortunately injured for much of the anchor of season but a great all round player with the back row good loose play skills. with strong performances at Adam Wheatley; Prop. ‘I think the ladies are definitely going to wipe number 8 controlReturned from ankle injury to fill a hole the floor with the UCL lot. KCL Women are ling the ball well at in the front row. top of their league at the moment with a huge the back of the scrum.
William Docherty; Second row. An injury plagued season for “Mike Philips” but hoping we can have his enthusiasm back in the team for the most important fixture of the year. Jacob Seeds; Second row. Currently injured but hopeful for a return before varsity. Joe Calnan; Hooker/back row. Acting captain, heading for his 2nd varsity and looking to continue his good performances by leading from the front. Deji; Aecond row. Has a good rowing background is a good addition to the strength already in the 2nd row. Nnamdi obigwe; Second row/back row. Masters student, returning to King’s after a degree at Newcastle, to try for a place in another Varsity. Dan Kenny; Back row. Having played for two years in the second team, Kenny has progressed this year to become an integral part of the first team back row. Chris Shrubsole; Back row. A 1st year, whose competent performances for the second team have earnt him a call up to the Varsity squad. Tim Fawcett; Back row.
Billy Fraser; Back row. Powerful performances for the second team warranted a call up to the 1st team for Fraser. If he can continue his current form will hopefully be available for selection for Varsity. Simon Edwards (Captain); Hooker/ back row. Currently injured but working hard to get fit for off the pitch, invaluable to the team.
BACKS Dan Cudlipp; Scrum half. Aiming for his 3rd varsity, working hard to stay on top of his game. Will Gibson; Scrum half. Has proven to be a good addition to the squad over the season.
believe they’ll be able to pull out some rugby magic and re-create the epic win of last year. Fingers crossed! And if you can’t make it down to Twickensome ham on the day, be sure to listen in at kclrastrong dio.co.uk and follow Roar’s live blog!’ performances breaks defensive lines with ease.
Reggie the Lion: Official King’s Mascot
George Lane; Centre. Accomplished, consistent performances for the second team has earned him a call up for the Varsity squad.
Having defeated UCL last year in such style I have every faith our boys and girls are going to smash this year’s Varsity. Regardless, if I have my way it will be a tasty little affair. Don’t forget guys we have a battle off the pitch too. We need to get out and support our Josh Wald; Scrum half/centre. two teams and make sure we are an extra An injury plagued season but still just man in the battle. So if you haven’t got your as devastating at breaking the defensive ticket yet- what are you waiting for? line.
Robin Cumming; Fly half. Since Christmas Cumming has grown into the role of fly half and led the back line well in attack.
Jay Johnson-Crooks; Wing. Slow start to the season but has no shortage of pace has seen his inclusion as a clear attacking threat.
Lucas Anglin; Fly half/full back. Versatile player who is able to play at fly half, centre or full back, a calm head in attack.
Nick Salisbury; Wing/full back. Unfortunate to miss out on last years’ Varsity through injury. Has been working hard to return to top form and secure a shirt for this year.
Stef Cook; Centre. Rock in defence and experience in attack, never fails to make the gain line or throw in a few big hits. Alex Curie; Centre. Finding his feet in the first team and with
L ION NE ICT PA
Fraser Padmore; Second row. Recently joined the club at Christmas. Good performances in 2012 will see him run out for his first varsity.
goal difference... they’ll be sure to get quite
a few tries in this Varsity game. I definitely Sam Bardwell; Back row. urge everyone to go down a bit earlier for the One of the most versatile women’s game – it’ll be a good one. players in the squad. This season The Men I’m a bit unsure about to be honhe has produced some impressive est. They’ve had a bit of a rocky ride in this performances in the back row, having year’s league, but, when it matters I still previously played in the front row.
ED
Will 0-G; Prop. Enjoying his first season as part of King’s rugby. Has been playing well for the seconds and has progressed through into the first team.
PR
Fran Allfrey: Vice President of Student Media and Engagement
Alex de Chazelles; Wing/ full back. 2nd year, hoping to return to the Varsity pitch where his try sparked the come back that saw the boys take away the Jeremy-George Shield last year. Tom Morgan; Wing.
“When I was just a little cub, I asked my mother what will I be…” Solid performances at both wing and full back for the seconds has brought Morgan into the 1s and Varsity selection squad. James Cookson; Wing. 2 varsity shirts already, hoping to play his way to a third.
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Sports
Roar!, February 14th - March 4th 2012
President’s Report Rosie Allison: President of KCLWRFC
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BIG Chris Sawyer: King’s College Sports Development Coordinator
As wise and wonderful women’s rugby president, I’m telling you to get to Varsity this year; it’s going to be a good’un. KCLWRFC have gone from strength to strength this season, currently topping the ULU league and our BUCs league with a pretty impressive point’s difference. We’ve had to stop counting before the end of a few matches to save face for our opposition (because we’re nice like that) and I I wouldn’t let the current BUCS performdid put a GKT girl in an ambulance (because we’re KCL ances and results get too in the way of a like that) We’ve built up experience in our existing players prediction for this one. The men’s match is in the last few years and have been very lucky with the likely to be as close as it was last year and freshers we gained this year. There are several notable I wouldn’t be surprised if there were only players who all in one team are pretty unstoppable. I PLAYER a few points in it at the final whistle. With really think that this could be our year. After putting PROFILES: King’s being promoted last year and losing our first five points on the board last year UCL KCL WOMEN’S won’t know what’s hit them this. I was unlucky key players in Tom Wall, James Duffus and enough to share some time with them at the Jake Janes, it was always going to be a diffipublicity photo shoot, and can’t wait to wipe cult season as new players settled in. As the the smug looks off their faces. Building up players have progressed through the season to match we are ordering named shirts Mia Certo; Fly half. their performances have improved and The like the pros and aiming to implement Her first season for King’s Mia London Varsity is by far the biggest game no drinking policy... The only way is an experienced player who reads for them. It’s the culmination of their season to see if it works (and to see some the game well, is constantly providand they will never let the opportunity to godless Gower Street scum getting beat the godless scum slip by without a fight. shamed) is to get down there on ing much needed support and surviving the day. some massive hits.
The real excitement on the night is going to be in the women’s match. It’s going to be a tight game from start to finish. As long as Lara the UCL girls can get to the ground on time, Ellis; I’m confident the girls will combine solid Second forwards play with expansive and excitrow. ing backs play to seal the win. King’s want Lara ensures their revenge from last year, and with some her presence on incredible results so far this season I’m sure they’ll get it. One of the players to watch the pitch is felt is obviously Kiki Johnson, given her great by never missing a performance last year but keep an eye out tackle, hitting rucks for commanding performances from team hard and providing supcaptain, Anna Macdonald and club president, port wherever it is needed. Rosie Allison.
Photo credit: Paul Black paulblackimages.co.uk
Here is the link for you to get your ticket NOW online: www.uclu.org/shop/product_ info.php?cPath=
Linda Sjöblom: Former KCL WRFC Captain
Women’s: The girls are coming off their An most successful season to date, after havexing used the last 2 seasons to build up an periimpressive squad. They are currently at the enced top of both their BUCS and ULU league player who (which includes UCL…), and are chasing can break promotion in BUCS. With goal difference through any of +354 UCL look rather pathetic with tackle, constantly their +80. With focused training, good gaining important coaching and a brilliant captain to lead the team, I think this is the year King’s women metres for the team. will claim their first varsity win. I predict a 25-15 win for KCL. Rosie Allison; Hooker
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Men’s: With KCL Men at the bottom of their league, and UCL at the top of the league just below the men’s match looks to be just as exciting as the women’s. Whilst KCL are coming to the match as underdogs after having lost several valuable players, a determination to have a win under the belt to show for the season may just pull them through to a win. It is one to watch.
Zoe Tipler: Editor of Roar!
Having followed the girl’s rugby team all season I think they are the safe ones to back for a clear win over UCL. However, I’m sure the boys will bring it home too.
FORWARDS
Bethan Phillips; Prop. A committed player whose contact skills and power make her an integral part of the scrum.
Lynn Januszewski; Prop.
Our President and a veteran on the team. She puts her body on the line every game and always manages to get up again for a few pints afterwards.
Claire Smith-Jordan; Hooker. A first year in the team she has shown strong commitment at training and matches despite an injury early on in the season. Harriet Orrell; Second row. A move from front row to second row has seen Harriet able to show off her pace and handling skills. Lucie ‘Glee’ d’Heudieres; Second row. Despite injury Lucie makes her case for a place in the starting team through her experience in the game, robust contact skills and aggression.
Sara O’Rourke; Back row. Despite being unable to play due to injury Sara has remained a committed player. Her aggression in the contact element of the game makes her a force to be reckoned with. Ophelie Poillion; Back row. Don’t underestimate this tiny back row; her passion for the game ensures she puts in heavy tackles and shows no fear. Lizbeth Grant; Back row. One of our fantastic fresher’s, Liz terrifies the opposition with her fiery natureon and off the pitch. Anna MacDonald (Captain); 8. Skipper of the best team King’s Women’s Rugby has ever seen, brings valuable experience and impeccable analysis to the game.
BACKS Sophie Thew; Scrum half. A dynamic scrum half who’s resilience to contact is surprising considering her size. Kelly Burke; Scrum half. An experienced player Kelly is a strong choice as scrum half with accurate passing and excellent knowledge of the game. Sophie Richards; Fly half. Now in her third year for King’s Sophie reads the game perfectly, bosses the backs and makes many try saving tackles.
Trudie Mercer; Wing. A fresher in the squad this girl’s insane pace will surprise any team- UCL haven’t got a chance of catching her. Lucy Hayes; Wing. A committed and devoted team member who never misses a training session her dedication has meant her presence is always felt on the pitch. Jennifer Finnamore; Wing. Another one of our brilliant fresher’s Jenny has stormed her way into the squad never missing a tackle and being a consistent choice on the wing. Kirsten ‘Kiki’ Johnson; Inside centre. This crash centre cannot be stopped and smashes anything in her path. This season as already seen her represent at county level. Samantha Hull; Outside centre. Her long legs make her impossible to catch and the spring in her step sees her run through the majority of tackles. Another player who has represented at county level. Sara Eskola; Outside centre/wing. First year in the squad, constantly testing the opposition’s defensive line and proving herself to be a fitness machine! Lilly Hunt; Full back. Self-titled ‘the ultimate player’, most of our opposition would agree. Stephanie George; Wing. A player who has now represented King’s for several years, her pace and consistent tackling have been vital in many matches.
Head down to the warm up event at Tutu’s! The Saturday before the match, the men’s and women’s varsity teams are hosting a showing of the England v Wales 6 Nations match. See you there!