Leeds Student (Volume 40 Issue 17) by Leeds Student

Election Pull Out Plus Summer Ball and Kate Nash

LEEDS STUDENT Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year

Vol 40 Issue 17

Friday April 30 2010

www.leedsstudent.org

Student dies in kayak accident • Family and friends pay tribute • Canoe club: ‘She died doing what she loved’

‘DOING WHAT SHE LOVED’: Student, Emily Parker died in a kayaking accident

Tom Knowles

Friends and family of Leeds student Emily Parker, who died after her kayak overturned, have paid tribute, speaking of her ‘infectious laughter’ and ‘tireless enthusiasm in life’. The final year Psychology student had been kayaking with friends on the River Coe in the Scottish Highlands over the Easter holidays when she got into difficulty on Tuesday morning, April 6. Police, coastguard, Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team and a Royal Navy helicopter searched the River Coe after Emily’s kayak overturned and rescuers later recovered her body. Emily, originally from Doncaster, had been a prominent member of Leeds University Union’s Canoe Club and tributes have flooded in on the club’s website forum. In a statement issued to Leeds Student, members of the club said: “Since Emily Parker joined Leeds University, she made an immediate

impact on those she met and no bigger an impact was felt than on the river and off the river with Leeds University Union Canoe Club. As a hugely confident, talented and passionate kayaker, Emily shared her tireless enthusiasm in life with everyone, gaining so many great friends in the club who loved and respected her.” Emily had kayaked in the Alps and Uganda where the club said she showed she could tackle ‘what others can only dream of’ in some of the best white-water areas in the world. But it was not just her kayaking skills that gained Emily friends across the kayaking community. The club also spoke of her “beaming smile and infectious laughter.” They continued: “How Emily dedicated herself to kayaking whenever she could and still save quality time for her family, friends and studies is beyond the skills of most, but her life is a stark reminder that we can truly live life to the full, and do it with a smile on our faces. “It has been a very hard time for the club to come to terms with the death of Emily, but we can try to take

Photo: Darragh McCambridge

comfort knowing that she died doing what she loved.” Tributes have also been made at the Yorkshire Army Cadet Force where Emily was a member for five years, reaching the rank of Cadet Sergeant. The Psychology student’s former Detachment Commander, Vince Moran, said: “Emily was an inspiration to all cadets and young people. The younger cadets who she helped to train will be heartbroken at the news of her loss. She reached the rank of Cadet Sergeant, was a leading member of our shooting team and was selected to train in shooting in Canada for six weeks. She will be sadly missed.” In a statement, Emily’s family said: “Emily had such a vibrant personality and was always full of love for life. She was in the final year of a Psychology degree at Leeds University and was looking forward to graduating shortly.” The family added: “Emily always had boundless energy and a big smile, often described as ‘lighting up a room’ when she walked in. Her tragic death has left a huge void and we cannot imagine life without her.”

Leeds Student Inside LS1 this week... LS looks at the campaign to save Tetley’s pg. 12, news extra

LS Sport takes a look around the new sports centre pg. 20, sport

LS interviews a celebrated human rights lawyer pg. 16, features

LS interviews a Gaza journalist pg. 17, features

Got a Story? Email us at news@leedsstudent.org or call 0113 380 1450. All correspondence will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. Correction? If you feel we have reported something innaccurately or unfairly, we want to hear from you to put things right. Contact us at editor@leedsstudent.org

To advertise in Leeds Student please contact Daniel Smith: d.e.smith@leeds.ac.uk

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Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Image: Luke Farookhi

News

The reverberations of the political moment have stirred S k e t c h to the very core this week. The rusty wheels of change are in motion once again; the people transfixed by the ideological clash of political titans, with the great rival factions embracing all the

Union body seeking representatives As of today nominations have opened for the Activities Executive. Activities Executive is the body of the Union which helps decide how much funding clubs and societies receive, gives the go-ahead to new groups, deals with any disciplinary issues, and helps the Activities Officer with many different initiatives relating to Clubs and Societies. It is hoped that following the next meeting of the Union Council, to formally ratify the decision, the newly elected Activity Reps will also form a key part of the ‘Better Union’ forum which will discuss all policy directly related to the Union. ‘Better Union’ is one of three new forums being proposed to replace the existing Union Council, alongside ‘Better University’ and ‘Better Leeds’ which will discuss matters concerning the University and the wider community respectively. ‘Better Union’ will be the meeting where all policy that affects just the Students Union will be discussed and voted upon. Members of Activities Executive will help shape that discussion. Prospective candidates can only stand to be an Activity Rep that covers the Activity group you are part of yourself. For example only members of Performing activity groups (such as Theatre Group) can run for Performance Rep. The Activity Groupings are; Dance, Departmental, Faith & Culture, General Interest, Martial Arts, Media, Outdoor, Performance, Political & Campaigning, Sports & Volunteering. For more information please head to the Campaigns and Democracy Support Office upstairs in the Student Union. You can nominate yourself online from now until 4pm on May 6th at www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk. Voting will take place between the 10th - 12th May.

dark magic of modern propaganda to sell their message. That’s right. It’s LUU Referendum time. Opponents to Motion 4 spoke of a “dirty secret” behind its cogently articulated, thoroughly well planned façade of substance. Sketch, however, has sensed a putrid odour elsewhere. On entering the plush new LUU entrance, Sketch encountered an aroma so repulsive from the adjacent building site, that Sketch was even distracted from Justin Beiber on Sketch’s iPlod: the vile scent of poorly-argued Socialist rhetoric. Now, Sketch has no problem with Socialism per se: Sketch wants everyone to equal Sketschself. However, the nauseatingly Marxist outpouring from these idealogues

struck a chord. Sketch bent over backwards for them earlier this year, receiving punitive measures from your deities in the Exec office, but as soon as Sketch dare act in the newspaper’s own interest, cries of ‘end of days!’ fill the air. If you were one of the great unwashed campaigning against Motion 4, Sketch strongly suggests you get a grip and realise that non-statecontrolled media actively enhances the coverage of your causes. You fucking prats. Next on Sketch’s list of gripes comes the last three weeks of electoral campaigning for the Labservative Democrats on national TV. Sure, episode one thrust Golden Boy Cleggy into the limelight, but since then (and since Broon and

Cameron have realised that saying ‘Look at them bickering!’ is a fantastic way to suggest you’re the alternative) the three have come to sound almost identical. Sketch passionately hates all three parties, and will be voting Green this election: being paid a living wage would suit Sketch just fine, and means Sketch need never seek employment from one of those dirty capitalist nationals. Hot on the heels of the televised debates comes the brouhaha from Broon calling an ex-Labour member a bigot. Well, who’d have thought it? It turns out politicians are people too! They have opinions! Sketch would gladly be called a bigot. It might even turn out to be true.

Train station ordeal Matthew Power

A female student who was attacked by two thieves at a Leeds train station has told how she finds walking through town “a nightmare.” Della Cain, 21, was waiting for a train inside the platform shelter of Garforth train Station, Leeds, at 10.35pm last Tuesday night when she was set upon by a pair of robbers. “It’s made me uncomfortable travelling alone at night,” she said. “I look over my shoulder all the time. I don’t want anyone walking near me. It makes walking through town at night a nightmare.” The student was waiting for her train in the station’s shelter when the robbers surrounded her and tried to

steal her handbag. “The train was due five minutes after I got there and just as they could see the train coming one of them came past me on my right and the other one came at me from my left. The one on my right was trying to block me in so I couldn’t run away and the one on my left tried to grab my handbag. He swung me around for my handbag and forced me to the floor,” she explained. The student managed to keep hold of her bag until the robbers then ran off when the train arrived at the station. “I think they came down on to the station purposefully to try and attack somebody. I travel from [Garforth station] and catch that train every week. I thought there was something dodgy about the one that came down on to the platform. I normally feel safe,” she said. Della added: “You can’t stop it from happening – just keep hold of

your handbag. If they don’t get anything then they’ll stop doing it eventually. I just didn’t put my handbag down and kept hold of it as hard as I could. If they don’t get anything from it they’re going to stop eventually aren’t they.” One of the robbers was described as about 20, 5ft 8in tall and of medium build with short, dark brown hair. He was wearing a black zip-up jacket with two white lines around the collar. The other raider was of medium build, wore a white hooded top and black trouser bottoms. Det Sgt Granville Sellers of British Transport Police said: "This was a frightening offence which targeted a vulnerable woman on her own. "Anyone who has any information regarding the incident or the men involved, is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 405040, quoting incident 661 of 20/04/2010."

Election analysis in this week’s Leeds Student... Comment - hung parliment, drugs and defence. pg. 10-11 The Big Debate - Who should you vote for? pg. 9 Election Pull Out pg. 23-26

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

On the run for charity Jay Smith

A Leeds student will go face to face with six bulls in the name of charity this summer as he takes on the Pamplona Bull Run in Spain. Marc Scarisbrick, an Arabic and Spanish student, hopes the money he raises from sponsorship for completing the Bull Run will help fund his journey to Brazil, where he will work unpaid for one year for International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE). The Run consists of running in front of six bulls that have been let loose, on a course of a sectioned-off subset of Pamplona’s streets, until eventually finishing the race in a Bullring in the centre of the city. Marc hopes to raise £3,500 in total for the trip, and although there are obvious dangers in the Bull Run, he hopes this will inspire others to sponsor him. “The fact that only one person died last year provides me with a shred of comfort,” said a fourth year undergraduate. “I am hoping the years I spent playing rugby will aid me in achieving fast-moving, large objects. I admit that the fact that these particular fast-

moving, large objects have horns is a slight worry!” “I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been offered a privileged and relatively comfortable life so far.” “By dedicating a year of my life to help people who have to deal with constant hardship, I’m hoping to experience what it must be like to live this way and see the benefits (if there are any) that come from this existence.” The Pamplona Bull Run is the most popular Bull Run in Spain and is broadcast live over two television channels. If successful in completing it and raising the money, Marc will teach English and Sport in an orphanage in Salvador, a costal City in eastern Brazil, after graduating in July. “The Company I will work for (ICYE) do a lot of great work, sending out volunteers to under-privileged, developing nations… I’m hoping that people will realise this and sacrifice a small amount of their own finances to help me help others,” he added.

Leeds Student Radio’s Max Dickins, has been nominated for the ‘Rising Star’ Sony Radio Award. The award was launched in 2008 to find the biggest radio stars of the future. It is the only people’s choice award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony and past winners include George Lamb, for his show on 6Music. The third year Philosophy and Politics student is up against the likes of Jarvis Cocker for his late night show on Absolute Radio, and is thrilled to have been nominated. “Being nominated for a Sony whilst still an undergraduate is unheard of. It has brought me to the attention of all the industry big-wigs, and in the long run that I hope it will lead to bigger and better things,” he said.

ON THE RUN: Student Marc Scarisbrick (right) is hoping to raise £3,500 by taking part in a Spanish bull run

LSTV sweeps up at awards Fred Searle

DOOR TO SUCCESS : LSTV picked up nine awards as last month’s National Student Television Awards (NaSTA)

held at Oran Mor: a converted Church in Glasgow’s West end. Since LSTV began broadcasting back in 2004, it has fared incredibly well at NaSTA award ceremonies, picking up more gongs than any other student broadcaster. Andrew Cheetham, LSTV Station Manager, said: “If you’re out there with your mates enjoying it, you’re going to get good TV as a byproduct.”

Student radio DJ up for Sony award Elaine O’Flynn

Anyone wanting to Sponsor Marc can do so by visiting justgiving.com/marcscarisbrick.

Leeds Student Television (LSTV) has once again swept all before it at the National Student Television Awards (NaSTA). At a ceremony in Glasgow, held on March 27, the team picked up nine awards, making 2010 LSTV’s most successful year on record. NaSTA is a student broadcasting association with 30 affiliated members and this year’s award ceremony was the most competitive ever, with 19 university broadcasters battling it out in 18 categories. LSTV added to its everexpanding trophy cabinet by claiming the much-coveted honour of ‘Best Broadcaster’ – for the second year in succession – as well as other awards such as ‘Best Female’. The latter went to the talented Alice Salfield, LSTV’s soon-to-be President, who is definitely one to look out for on your television screens in the future. The ceremony which was a black-tie affair ‘very much like the Oscars’, according to LSTV’s current President Andrew Cheetham, was

News

LSTV’s output ranges from the ever-successful news programme, the Essential, to light hearted entertainment in the Waffle House. In recent years the station has also produced impressive drama series. This year ‘Commitment’, a hardhitting themed drama surrounding pregnancy, came away with an award in the Open category. According to Cheetham there has always been “a bit of pressure”

on LSTV because of past successes. “People are looking to us to do something new...we have flair here,” he said. As a final year student, Cheetham will soon be handing over the reins at LSTV. He added: “We’ve had so much fun along the way, we do deserve it and it’s wonderful to be recognised and appreciated for what we do.”

LSR’s Max Dickens has been nominated for the prestigious ‘Rising Star’ Sony Radio Award

When asked how he rates his chances, Max responded: “Obviously beating a world famous pop star in a popular vote is a tall order, but I've not given up hope. If you’re reading this: vote for the underdog now!” Max started his radio career on lsr.fm with his popular Hometime show and the infamous Monkey Tennis, which was the most downloaded show on LSR for two years in a row. He is also busy on the stand-up circuit, and has twice reached the finals of the national Chortle Student Comedian of the Year competition and performed in Edinburgh with the university sketch group Leeds Tealights. LSR is run entirely by student volunteers and broadcasts 24 hours a day during term time on the station's website. To vote for Max, go to risingstar.sony.co.uk.

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Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

BBQ ban inflames debate Jess Elliott

Woodhouse Moor barbeques are being doused by the local council. Parkswatch Patrol, which came into force on April 1, are policing the park to ensure barbeques are put out and litter is not dropped. One of the Parkswatch Patrol officers, who drive the white golf buggies around the park explained: “Our duties are to put people’s barbeques out, picking up litter and generally making the park nicer.” The patrol has been placed in Hyde Park to attempt to prevent the amount of litter and damage to the grass that was seen last summer. The Parkswatch Patrol put out barbeques with a small hose. Local residents felt strongly enough about the damage done to the park to write to the Yorkshire Evening Post to ask for something to be done about it. “Locals seem to support the scheme”, explained the worker, who preferred not to be named. “Some people are not too happy when we put their barbeques out but we explain that it damages the park.” Hannah Greenslade, Leeds University Union (LUU) Community Officer, stated: “The council are obliged to enforce the bylaws that state barbequing is illegal on Woodhouse Moor. However, it

does seem that students were given little warning about the patrol.” The Union had been initially informed of plans to create a purpose built barbeque area in the park by April so that the bylaws could be enforced and offering an alternative place for barbequing. However, the plans have been pushed back with no definite date as to when the project will get under way. A scheme is being set up that will see students volunteering to pick up the litter on Woodhouse Moor. “When asked students acknowledge that they are responsible for their own litter but believe that there are not enough bins provided, or that they are not emptied regularly enough,” Greenslade added. Ben, a Chemical Engineering student said: “I think the patrol is funny. They were around on Saturday putting out the barbeques around the park and people were booing and giving them banter.” Signs can now be seen around the park informing visitors that no barbeque or fire of any kind can be lit along with a ban on loud music being played. The patrol has been a centre of controversy for students and young people alike with social networking groups being set up that deem the patrol ‘Anti-fun.’ The Parkswatch Patrol will be in effect until the end of summer.

WATCHING: Officers will patrol Woodhouse Moor and will put out any barbeques

Photo: Richard Smith

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

News

Students stranded by ash cloud aviation shutdown

Iona Serrapica I was in Rome to visit family. My flight was cancelled on Saturday 17, two days after the whole thing started, and I had an essay to give in by Monday 19th at 12am. There were no flights, no trains, no ferries (initially). I only had my Dad (who lives in Rome) who was willing to drive me up to Calais – a 15-hour drive. At the train station in Rome the people in front of me in the queue were from Leeds, so I got really friendly with them and they ended up coming with us in the car. The trip was devastating since we left Rome at 10pm and arrived in Calais at 2pm the next day. I arrived in Leeds on Sunday at 10pm after “sipping” expensive white wine in first-class for all the train journey from London to Leeds. I managed, also, to successfully submit my essay on Monday morning.

Angela Mak I was visiting my family in Hong Kong and I didn't know anything about the disruption until I got to the airport and checked in my luggage. The communication between the airport in Hong Kong and UK airports was poor and I had to go to and from the airport a few times just to check whether I could fly or not. When the ban of flights first broke out, I was told that the earliest flight back to England would be May 1 - I would have missed the last few weeks of lessons! In the end my flight was delayed for five days and I ended up arriving in the UK at 1.35am in the morning with no train services. So I had to sleep in the airport before I could get a train and back to Leeds. It caused me a lot of inconvenience but my flight company didn’t compensate anything. Leah Townsend I was stuck out in Dubai but was luckily staying with family so I didn’t have to deal with Dubai’s outrageous hotel prices. We were supposed to be home eight days before we managed to eventually get a flight out of Royal Brunei... who just couldn’t deal with the situation. They were awful, and my parents had to go to their office every day we were stuck to try and find out any new information. Eventually we just went to the airport to see what empty seats there were on any airline, and hopefully get me and my dad on a flight home because I was seriously panicking about not having enough time to revise. We managed to get Brunei to transfer us over to air France. We got a flight that night to Paris and then had a 15-hour wait for another flight. It was in a propeller plane - they must have been using any planes they could get hold of! I eventually got back to Leeds on Monday.

DISRUPTION: Some lectures were cancelled last week as the aviation shutdown left staff and students stranded. Photo: Henrik Thorburn Second year business student Leah “I was very worried about getting Townsend was left stranded in Dubai my essay in since I only had two days to Matthew Power after visiting friends. get to Leeds in order to hand it in on “I was stuck out in Dubai but was time. Since my flight was cancelled on a luckily staying with family so I didn’t Saturday, I couldn’t even contact the Students caught up in travel chaos have to deal with Dubai’s outrageous department to see what I could do and to let them know about my problem,” caused by the spread of ash from hotel prices, she said. “Eventually we just went to the she told Leeds Student. the Icelandic volcanic eruption last The ash that spewed out from the week continue to make their way airport to see what empty seats there back to Leeds for the start of the were on any airline, and hopefully get Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull was me and my dad on a flight home deemed harmful to airplane engines. It new term. The flight disruption forced because I was seriously panicking forced the grounding of over 65,000 cancellations of some lectures after about not having enough time to European flights. The European Commission staff and students struggled to make revise.” Another student, Iona Serrapica, a estimates the cost of the disruption to their way back to Leeds after the Easter second year history and politics the European aviation could reach break. Leeds University confirmed that a student, was stranded in Rome after £2billion. number of lectures were cancelled but staying with her parents. She managed Go to pg 11 for comment ‘Ash said they are as yet unable to determine to get back to Leeds after being driven cloud’s real casualties’ the full impact of the travel disruption. to Calais by her father. It is still unclear how many staff and Your questions answered students are still stranded abroad. A University spokesperson said: “It Will I lose my attendance marks if I account when work is being marked. has not yet been possible to gauge was absent because my flight was I was stranded overseas and precisely the disruption caused, but we cancelled? missed an essay deadline. What do know that it did lead to the will happen? cancellation or postponement of a few The University has said that no student lectures and tutorials.” will suffer academically if the flight was The University says any students “Schools will advise students of any cancelled and couldn’t get back to delayed as a result of the disruption to alternative arrangements required for Leeds. Students who have missed air traffic will not be disadvantaged the submission of assessed coursework lectures or seminars because they academically. Your school will advise and, where possible, for the could not get home will be classed as you of any alternative arrangements rescheduling of any missed tuition.” absent with good cause and will be required for the submission of University staff have also been told treated in the same way as a student assessed coursework. You are also that they will not be forced to use days absent because of illness. advised to keep records which prove from their holiday allocation if they are that your missed deadline was due to stranded abroad. I missed a week of revision time cancelled or delayed international Last week, as statement on the and my work has suffered. Will this flights. University website advised that staff or affect my grade? students stranded abroad could be Still in doubt about something? repatriated as part of arrangements Students who feel that their work has made through their school or faculty. suffered because they missed classes or Any specific questions should be sent A group of art students were left revision time are urged to inform their to your school or service, or to David stranded in Barcelona after visiting the school so this can be taken in to Wardle (d.wardle@adm.leeds.ac.uk) city on a trip.

Poor turnout in referendum Elaine O'Flynn

The final referendum of the year has received an even lower student turnout than usual. Despite some controversial motions, such as a lifting of the ban on bottled water, few students participated in the Union’s April referendum. Only 1,861 students voted out of a potential 30,000. There were twice as many voters in the previous referendum held in November 2009. Building work outside the Union building, alongside exam and essay pressure have been cited as contributing factors to the lower numbers of student voting. Efforts to encourage students to vote by offering them £5 off their Summer Ball ticket has had little impact on voter turnout. But Stephen Dowson, LUU Democracy Coordinator, declared the referendum a success. “We’re really happy that each of the motions had enough votes to pass, as this hasn’t happened in previous years. It’s a tribute to our Democracy Reps, who have worked very hard to promote the referendum and encourage students to vote, a difficult task especially given the problems we’ve faced this time around,” he said. Volunteers manning the voting station at the Info Point echoed this view, commenting that student participation was the same as usual. All motions passed quorum, the amount of votes needed for results to

be totalled, with all but two motions going forward to be Union policy. The two that failed were over whether to introduce bottled water and ‘Should LUU oppose industrial action?’, which was the most closely contested vote. Students voted to overturn LUU’s restrictive advertising policy, and also to expand the facilities of the Peanut Gallery, a controversial proposal after a motion had been submitted to close the facility. Elsewhere, students voted almost unanimously for the Union to work to reduce its edible waste, whilst also voting to implement the new democratic review. Results Motion 1: Should LUU oppose industrial action on campus that negatively impacts on the education of students? Total: 1777 Yes: 717 No: 891 Abs.: 169 FAILS Motion 2: Should LUU adopt the proposed new democratic system? Total: 1699 Yes: 1090 No: 184 Abs.: 425 PASSED Motion 3: Should LUU expand the current facilities of the Peanut Gallery? Total: 1694 Yes: 954 No: 427 Abs.:313 PASSED Motion 4: Should LUU Advertising Policy be amended to better support Student Activity Groups? Total: 1751 Yes: 1153 No:369 Abs:229 PASSED Motion 5: Should LUU commit to reducing its edible waste? Total: 1697 Yes: 1421 No: 154 Abs.: 122 PASSED Motion 6: Should LUU reintroduce the sale of bottled water? Total: 1731 Yes: 646 No: 1004 Abs.: 87 FAILS

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Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Lectures are full of rubbish Raissa Ioussouf Attempts are being made to stop students using the floors of lecture theatres as bins following complaints about the level of waste left there. Cans, empty bottles, crisps packets and sandwich wraps are among the mess deposited in auditoriums at Leeds University. Aware of the problem the institution has decided to take steps to encourage students to put their litter in the bins. A University of Leeds spokesperson said: “We strongly discourage students from taking food and drink into lecture theatres, and notices to this effect are displayed in many lecture theatres. “Spilled drinks, dropped food and crumbs, together with discarded packaging and other litter, create an unpleasant environment for all of us. The lecture theatres are regularly cleaned but many spills and stains

LECTURES ON LITTER: University staff have told students they must stop littering lecture halls

require specialist cleaning which, in turn, requires extra resources. “Litter bins are available either immediately outside or nearby lecture theatres so that people can dispose of their litter before going into a lecture or when they leave. “All 1,000+ bins on campus are emptied on a regular basis, so it should always be possible for campus users to dispose of their unwanted litter in an appropriate place.” Lecturers and members of staff will be involved in helping to reduce the amount of litter and encouraging students not to leave their rubbish on the floor at the end lectures. Complaints about the level of litter have come from staff and students. Becky Davis, a fourth year French and Spanish student stated: “It isn't cleaned up until the end of the day which is frustrating if you have a lecture later on in the day and there is loads of rubbish in a room where you are supposed to be learning.” Davis added: “If you see the rubbish, you want to sit somewhere

else which makes less seats accommodating for students”, she adds. Students have pointed to the lack of bins in lecture halls as a cause of the problem, but not all believe that litter is a problem. Stephanie Byrom, a second year broadcast journalism student said: “I don't see that as a problem. I have seen people bringing food, but I don't really see any litter, maybe because I have class in very small lectures.” As well as asking students not to leave rubbish behind, other action such as posters to promote cleanness in the lecture halls has been suggested. Mike Gladstone, LUU Education Officer said: “There is a ban on food and drink but you can't really police and stop the students, so we just want to ask people to be responsible.” Gladstone added that the University and LUU hope to stimulate students “to be a bit more considerate of other students and of staff.”

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Appeal group closed Natalie Dunn

A Facebook group set up to help find the person responsible for a sexual attack on a Leeds student has been shut down on the advice of West Yorkshire Police. The group, set up by Katherine Parker, a second year Biology student, had originally been made to search for the attacker and to help students be vigilant of further attacks. But offensive comments began to be posted on the wall of the group and Police urged Miss Parker to close down the group. Sophia James, LUU Equality and Diversity Officer commented: “Generally, there were two types of problematic posts being left on the group. “Primarily posts which implied that the woman had somehow brought this on herself but also, there were posts written by people who had their Facebook accounts hacked by friends who felt it funny to claim that they had raped her. Evidently, both these responses were incredibly upsetting.”

Katherine posted a message to members of the group saying: “Hopefully the group has fulfilled its aim of providing publicity to encourage people with information about the case to contact the Police.” She continued: “I hope that female students will also be more aware that sexual assault can happen to anyone, even if they

think they're not 'dressed like they're asking for it', and that they will be more vigilant when traveling across Leeds and other parts of the country” The appeal to find the man who assaulted a student in Hyde Park on Wednesday February 3 between 2am and 4am, continues. Detective Inspector Mark Gaunt said: "As you would expect, the victim of this offence is distressed by the incident. We are working with her to ensure she gets the best support possible. “Both she and we are very keen to trace the man in the photograph to progress the enquiry. We would like him to come forward” Police are looking for a male in his early 20's with short dark hair in a messy style. He is of a slim build with delicate features and spoke with a local Leeds accent. If you have any other information about this incident or recognise this man please contact Operation Topaz on 0845 60 60 606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

PHOTO APPEAL: Police are searching who assaulted a student in Hyde Park

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Man, 38, pleads guilty over Taps attack Tom Knowles

A man who set fire to a student dressed in a sheep costume in the Headingley Taps last October has pleaded guilty to arson. Jason Whatley, 38, who caused Leeds University student Stuart Mitchell’s upper body to engulf in flames, told court the incident was a “stupid prank”. Whatley, from Portsmouth, is facing a possible prison sentence after pleading guilty to arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Leeds Student reported last October how 19-year-old student Stuart Mitchell suffered serious burns at the pub, on North Lane. Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West, expressed his anger over the incident at the time, saying: “People have the right to go out and enjoy themselves without fear of being attacked.” Richard Gioserano, prosecuting, said: “The crown accepts that, believe it or not, that in his (Whatley's) state of mind at the time, the defendant thought this was a joke.” Mitchell sustained burns that

required ongoing treatment for months after to the event, including a major skin graft operation. Two of his friends were also injured, with minor burns. Witnesses at the scene reported that the trio, due to the flammable material of their costumes, rapidly went up in flames, turning them into “human torches”. Another witness and Leeds student, Sarah Grindal stated: “It was a scene of chaos outside the The Headingley Taps. Due to the number of police cars and ambulances I assumed there had just been a drunken fight, but the arrival of a fire engine made everything seem slightly more serious.” Police, fire crews and an ambulance were called to the pub around 5.40pm. Locals had already attempted to aid the students’ rescue, putting out the flames as they rolled on the floor. Bar staff were also quick to be involved, using fire extinguishers to put out the fires and were commended for their actions. Sentencing has been adjourned for three weeks for reports. Whatley was granted bail until the next hearing. No indication was given by Recorder Jackson as to what Whatley’s sentence will be.

Campus Watch Jay Smith

entering higher education in Scotland in 2008/09 were from lower socioeconomic groups.

Scotland

University College Dublin

Students in Scottish universities are more likely to drop-out than students in the rest of the UK, a study has shown. A recent investigation carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that 9.9 per cent of students dropped out in Scotland in the year 2008/09, compared with 8.6 per cent across the UK as a whole, with the National Union of Students (NUS) blaming ‘poverty’ for the dropouts. The research also revealed that students from state schools are less likely to get into university in Scotland. “I’m very disappointed to see Scotland’s continuing poor record on student drop-out and on getting people from poorer backgrounds to study at university,” said Liam Burns, NUS Scotland president. Only 28.2 per cent of students

A 23-year-old Irish student is in a critical condition in a Chicago Hospital after being attacked while returning with a friend from a night out. Natasha McShane, a postgraduate student, is studying at the University of Illinois in Chicago as part an exchange program. She was assaulted at 3.30am on Friday morning with a baseball bat by the attacker, who stole their purses and fled from the scene. Mrs McShane’s family are travelling to Chicago to be with her in hospital.

LEEDS STUDENT: LS1 EDITOR Virginia Newman editor@leedsstudent.org

DESIGN ( i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h S ch ool of D esi g n S ocie ty) Laura Crane, Tom Jivanda, Tom Reilly, Katie Szadziewska design@leedsstudent.org

ASSOCIATES Rob Heath Dafydd Pritchard associates@leedsstudent.org

SPORT Ifor Duncan, Michael Glenister, Joe Short, James Green sport@leedsstudent.org

Portsmouth A Portsmouth University student has been named Pharmacist of the Year after beating 400 UK rivals to the award.

“I am very honoured and shocked to have won this prestigious award,” said Rosaline Kennedy, a third-year masters student in pharmacy. “This is the first competition I have entered related to my degree and I did not expect to win.” Mrs Kennedy had to participate in quizzes and impress with both essays and interviews in order to win the award.

most serious and someone is going to be badly injured or worse - indeed a number of injuries have already occurred." The swan is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act which means a formal request to remove the swan has had to be made to the monarch.

Scotland

Cambridge Terrified river users in Cambridge have been forced to appeal to the Queen to have an aggressive swan, nicknamed "Mr Asbo", removed from the River Cam. The swan first appeared on the river last year, attacking rowers near Fen Ditton but has now moved closer to the city centre and has become a menace once again. The President of the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association, Bill Key, said: "The swan situation is

PHOTOS Sarah Greene, Richard Smith photos@leedsstudent.org COMMENT Charlie Cooper comment@leedsstudent.org DEBATE James Legge debate@leedsstudent.org

Dublin

Cambridge

Portsmouth

NEWS Marcus Chippindale, Tom Knowles, Matthew Power, Joey Severn news@leedsstudent.org

FEATURES Suisse Osborne-James, Evelyn Prysor-Jones, Adam Richardson, Chris Stevenson features@leedsstudent.org

NEWS FEATURES Laura Mackenzie, Fliss Inkpen newsfeatures@leedsstudent.org

COPY EDITORS Mark Sellick, Stephen Beckett copy@leedsstudent.org

News

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

LeedsStudent

letters@leedsstudent.org Elections ‘bloc’

-Use your vote-

Radio 4 news programme recently interviewed young people outside Topshop on Oxford Street. The journalist was trying to gauge the youth’s opinion on the general election. Her results were not encouraging. One teenager said: “I won’t vote because I don’t understand it, and I’m not going to vote in something I don’t understand.” It’s tempting at this point to shout: ‘Well try to understand, you ignorant fool.’ But perhaps this guy has a point, the elections are confusing. Party policies seem to change by the day, First-Pastthe-Post defies common sense, and no party seems to have a clear ideology we can attach ourselves to anymore. But, hopefully our election pull-out will deconstruct some of the confusing issues students are most interested in: tuition fees, environment and employment.

Four million people will be eligible to vote for the first time on May 6. That’s a lot of power we hold. Leeds Student does not endorse any party, but it does endorse greater understanding of something that will affect our lives for at least the next few years, if not many more. Read our supplement, take a view and get out to the polls on May 6. The NUS says students aren’t being listened to, students are saying we’re not being listened to, politicians say other politicians aren’t listening to students. Make our voice heard. Most of us were too young to feel a part of the 1997 landslide election, something which changed our country in ways unimagined. Now it’s our turn. Come May 6, let’s make history again. Let’s show we understand.

-Anti fun park patrol-

t’s a sunny day, everyone’s out in the sun and a group of you have headed over to Hyde Park with a mini barbecue for a long day of chilling in the sun, eating cheap meat and drinking warm beer. As your sausages sizzle away under blue skies, a man in a golf buggy drives up, gets out and sets an extinguisher all over your fun. Yes, the Park Patrol has arrived, in force throughout the summer, to stop students enjoying their barbecues. It’s easy to demonise the Park Patrol. Their comical golf buggies, pantomime boos from students, and ‘no loud music’ signs mean Facebook groups such as ‘Hyde Park Anti-Fun Patrol’ garner massive student support. But there’s a reason they are there: students with barbecues are ruining Hyde Park. Type ‘Woodhouse Moor’ into Flickr and hundreds of photos pop up showing the destruction

caused. The grass is pockmarked with large black, charred stains; mini barbecue trays are scattered across the park; children playing football in the morning must move around smashed Smirnoff bottles and abandoned sofas. It sounds like a scene written up by the Daily Mail; unfortunately this time it’s true. Everyone likes a beer and relaxing day at the park during the summer, especially after the stress-inducing world of revisionpacked libraries have been experienced. But we shouldn’t be surprised that locals have protested against us essentially trashing a park that is very much theirs too. Of course, there’s an easy way to solve all this – show we can take rubbish home and not indulge in mini barbecues. Or, we can continue this ‘teacher vs. naughty pupil’ scenario every summer. It’s our choice.

-Sexual assault appeal-

The actions of certain students in relation to such a sensitive case are worrying. You can never dress rape up in excuses, but is seems some have tried. A Facebook group which attempted to help West Yorskhire Police find a rapist was hindered by comments from visitors saying women invite rape when they dress in short skirts or low-cut tops. Women should be free to dress as they wish without fear of unwanted attention. The

perception that dress insinuates a certain attitiude to sexual relations can be understood, even if it’s wrong, but to act on such impulses is beyond any justification. Yet it seems some continue to think it isn’t. The intent behind the offensive comments is unknown and may have just been merely been ill-thought out, but they resonate on a higher level as they remind us that these old fashioned views about sexual assault still exist.

The last edition of Leeds Student highlighted students’ concerns about the impact of ‘bloc’ voting on the LUU executive elections. Firstly, I can only assume that some of the concerns raised in the article were directed at myself and the other winning candidates. It frustrates me that some people seem to have made the assumption that a ‘bloc’ got me the necessary votes, because, quite simply, blocs do not win elections. I am a Jewish student, and therefore, quite naturally, I decided to join JSoc upon arriving at university. However this is where the labeling ought to stop. Being a JSoc member does not, and should not, automatically make me ‘a JSoc candidate’; it does not define my campaign. Those who readily sought to categorize me as ‘a JSoc candidate’ seemed to skim over the fact that I had started up my own society, (PCI Performance and Cultural Industries society) and that it afforded me significant backing. I got help from friends I made working at the Terrace Bar, and from being a presenter on Leeds Student Radio, but I have heard no mention of me being a part of an LSR or Terrace Bar ‘bloc’. Why should being a

member of JSoc automatically change my status? My point is that the backing of any number of societies will not win you the election alone. In order to win you need a clever campaign, one which stands out and connects to students, as simply putting out posters saying ‘vote for me’ will not get students engaged. I would say the reason I won was down to clever publicity, networking, and a strong, loyal, campaigns team. I’m sure if you asked every successful candidate how they won they could list of a whole array of reasons. To believe it is as simple as one ‘Union Super Power’ sending off an email saying ‘vote’ and 800 students blindly following is extremely naive. I am sick of the political divide within the Union, and this is the primary reason I never got involved in Union politics up to now. It alienated me, as it does to the majority of students. It was argued in the article that ‘bloc’ voting is the cause of the consistently low turnout at elections. I would argue that this is not the case. I would argue that the reason most people are apathetic about voting in elections is that the issues brought year on year to referendum are not relevant. How many times has the IsraelPalestine debate been brought to the

forefront of Union politics in recent years? Now, of course people have the right to express their views, but I believe the place for this is within societies. Constantly trying to change the Union’s view on global issues, and going back and forth year on year, succeeds in nothing but convincing students how pointless referendum and elections are. I like to think that one of the ways I won my own election was by speaking to students one-on-one, and convincing people who wouldn’t normally vote of the importance and relevance of student elections. If the Union can communicate effectively on relevant issues, then I’m convinced there will be higher turnouts in the future. If this was ever achieved, and the Union became relevant to all its members, then it will be apparent how small and insignificant the ‘blocs’ really are. Jack Cheyette LUU Welfare Officer Elect Corrections and clarifications We would like to apologise and clarify that Brear has been jailed not Cook (Friday March 12). Letters may also be posted to PO BOX 157. Leeds Student reserves the right to edit letters.

New Union boss vows Lecturer’s to continue fees fight £20,000 Jessica Elliott The new President of National Union of Students (NUS), has said he will continue to oppose rising tuition fees when he comes into office. Aaron Porter won the election to be the 54th NUS President with 65 per cent of the vote. He will succeed Wes Streeting who leaves office in June. Speaking about his election victory, Porter, former NUS vice-president for Higher Education, said: “I’m honoured at being able to lead NUS and students through such a significant time, the formation of a new government and the outcome of the Browne review.” Neither the Labour Party or the Conservative party have unveiled their plans for tuition fees. They argue that they will wait until an independent review of student finance, the Browne review, has revealed its findings. Lord Browne, conducting the review, will then recommend whether or not tuition fees should be raised. The review will not be made public until after the General Election. The Liberal Democrat party have said they will phase out tuition fees in six years. Speaking about the Browne review Porter has said: “If there is a recommended rise, we would lobby the government to stop it. The worst scenario would be for the cap to be lifted to a place where there is a market, where different institutions charge different fees. That would alter the choice of course students make.” Porter has stressed the issue of tuition fees will be his main priority when he becomes President in June. Although that is after the general

election in May Porter said: “I am currently working with student unions to encourage students to register to vote. I still believe that NUS play a vital part in student life and can help in many ways.” He also assures that NUS will make clear to students what their local candidates’ policies will be. “If students go to voteforstudents.com and register we will send out an email nearer the election that makes clear what local MPs are supporting so that an informed decision can be made when it comes to the election,” he said. Aaron Porter will take over from Wes Streeting as NUS president in June Currently, NUS are asking MPs and candidates to sign a pledge that agrees that they will support tuition fees staying at the present level of £3,225. Porter explained this pledge: “We have had roughly 1,000 MPs sign the pledge. Of the major parties roughly 300 Liberal Democrat candidates have signed, 200 Labour but only 13 Conservative candidates have signed.” NUS is not party political, but they will support whoever supports their campaigns. As for the aims for the duration of his period as NUS president Porter hopes to achieve “seeing students get a fair deal with regard to tuition fees and to get a better standard of teaching and resources for all universities.”

cancer grant

Natalie Dunn A ‘groundbreaking’ Leeds research project has landed a grant of £20,000. Dr Martin Stacey, a lecturer in Immunology at the University of Leeds, received the funding which will enable him to investigate the spread of breast cancer. He aims to discover the exact role of the molecule that is found on white blood cells, and its importance in the future of diagnosis. Dr Stacey said: “I am very grateful for this funding from Breast Cancer Campaign which will help me uncover the exact role EMR2 plays in breast cancer spread and its importance in disease progression.” The grant, which is part of the £5 million awarded by the Breast Cancer Campaign in 2009, allows the project to take place and increase the general understanding of the growth of breast cancer cells. Arlene Wilkie, Director of Research and Policy of the Breast Cancer Campaign said: “This groundbreaking project will increase the understanding of what influences breast cancer cells ability to spread and could one day form the basis for laboratory to predict how a person’s cancer will develop. This will ensure each patient receives treatment that is most appropriate to them.” Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK effecting nearly 46,000 in a year, which is a staggering 125 diagnoses a day.

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

The Big Debate

Election 2010

Most of us will be voting for the first time in a general election on Thursday and this choice is as important as any for generations. So, with the three mainstream parties neck-and-neck in the polls, this week’s Big Debate asks:

Who should you vote for in the General Election? Labour Mark Sewards Labour Students The next 5 years will determine the direction of Britain for decades to come. It is absolutely essential that the next government make the right decisions. And because these decisions will affect everyone in this country for a long time to come it is crucial that Labour, a party of the many and not just the few, win on the 6th of May. The economy will take centre stage at this election and it is only Labour’s plan, a plan adopted by all the world’s major economies, which will see Britain through the recent crisis. Only Labour will deliver on their promise to secure the recovery in which working people can feel more secure in their jobs, where families don’t have to worry about having to deal with another recession and where businesses can operate without the constant fear of insolvency. Yes, there will still have to be cuts to public services in order to pay off the debt amassed and the economy kept afloat - but they will not be the ideologically driven cuts that the Conservatives have become infamous for. Nor will they come too early, again as the Tories are proposing, pulling

Liberal Democrats Chris Lovell Lib Dems at Leeds Uni The election that is coming is likely to be the closest and most uncertain that any of us have experienced in our lifetimes. But what is the real choice? The choice is between the old ‘labservative’ parties or something new and something different. Do we really want to vote for the same old broken election promises, the same old political corruption, the same old wars, the same old recessions and the same old scandals? We need change, but we need change that really means something – not the empty promises of the old parties. At the last election more than one in five people voted for the Liberal Democrats, yet they got less than 1 in 10 of the seats in parliament. I don’t think this is fair. Over a million people marched against the Iraq war in 2003, but they were ignored by the government. I don’t think this is fair. Hundreds of thousands of students marched against tuition fees but they happened anyway. I don’t think this is fair. Millions of low earning people were made worse off by Labour abolishing the 10p tax rate and I don’t

Conservatives James McFarland Conservative Future In 1997, people thought that the future was bright, the “New” Labour government promised that things could only get better. The last 13 years has seen our great country turn into the laughing stock of Europe, completely out of money and no sense of future for the people of tomorrow. It is students who are the people of tomorrow. By voting for anyone other than the Conservatives on May 6th, we risk another 5 years of Gordon Brown, another five years of spiralling debt, waste and unemployment. Here at the University of Leeds, most students will be voting in the constituency of Leeds North West. The Conservative party candidate here is Julia Mulligan, a local business woman who was born and bred in the area. For nearly four years Julia has been working hard to engage with the students here and to understand what issues are important for them. To achieve this, a series of “meet the candidate” days have been held around the University. These events were attended by all of the Conservative candidates for the Leeds area. The candidates had two objectives on these days, which were to register students to vote, and to listen to the concerns of students, as the candidates recognise that the views of

much needed funds from recovery and strangling it at birth. In a time when all nations have come together to take the similar action to secure our future prosperity, it would be insane to suddenly change direction and work against the plan which so many governments have advocated. And of course this isn’t just a vote for a party; it’s a vote for an MP. Many students studying at Leeds live in the Leeds North West constituency where the Labour candidate is none other than Judith Blake. She would be a wonderful asset to Leeds, focusing on actually working for the constituency rather than chasing ministerial posts. She’s pledged to stand up for students voting against any rise in tuition fees while her Lib Dem opponent has a parliamentary record of making more statements about alcohol than asking questions about tuition fees. And yes, while the Lib Dems set out plans to make university free they do not properly explain how they will find the extra funds other than unrealistic projections based on old figures. At the same time Labour have set out realistic and long term plans to help everyone in our society; from a National Care Service, to a continued commitment to ensure free entry to museums. This article, due to its length, cannot sway any one person to go out and cast their vote on May 6th. But, if anything, it will encourage some to take a long look at what all three parties are actually offering in terms of substance. While it’s tempting for parties to fall into the trap of offering token gestures in exchange for votes, especially in such a close election, anyone who examines the Labour manifesto will see that they are the only ones committed to a future fair for all.

think this is fair either. So what’s the alternative? Why not vote for the party that’s different? Vote for the Liberal Democrats. So why should people vote Lib Dem at this general election? The answer is simple. It’s fairness. We want to build a society in which anyone, no matter what their start in life, can achieve their full potential. That’s why (no matter what you read in the press) we are still going to scrap tuition fees. That’s why we want to take everyone who earns below £10,000 out of the tax system altogether (paid for by closing the tax loopholes for the very rich and non doms). That’s why we want to introduce green taxes to control pollution. That’s why we want to change the voting system to stop the scandal of safe seats for life. That’s why we want to devolve powers of policing and health to local communities. That’s why we want to scrap the costly ID cards scheme. But most of all we want change that works for you. This election is a once in a generation opportunity for vote for real change. If you don’t vote because nothing ever seems to change, then vote for something different this time. Most importantly, your vote really means something in Leeds. The Lib Dems jointly run the council in Leeds and we also have an MP in Leeds North West (covering parts of Hyde Park, Headingley, Bodington Halls and beyond). There are 20,000 students in Leeds North West constituency, but the Lib Dems only won in 2005 by 1,800 votes last time over Labour. Show the old parties what you think of their old politics this time and choose the Liberal Democrats. students are important. A variety of student surveys and work experience programmes have also been carried out by Julia Mulligan to hear what students have to say. For many students, a major fear at the moment is that once they finish their degrees, there will be no graduate jobs available. Under Labour, youth unemployment stands at nearly one million, the highest since records began. This is where the fear of jobs comes from; Labour have destroyed our economy by indebting every man, women and child in our country with £23,000 worth of debt. And as well as giving us this debt, Labour now want to impose a jobs tax which will kill the recovery and cost thousands of jobs. The Conservatives will tackle the debt, put Britain back on the road to recovery and reverse Labour’s job tax, by cutting waste which makes government more efficient and getting better value for money. I believe this is a positive reason to vote for the Conservatives, showing that we are now the progressive party in British politics. But why vote for Julia? Julia will be an MP for all in our area, regardless of age, sex, wealth or sexual orientation, unlike the sitting Liberal Democrat MP, who has something of a questionable record on LGBT rights. During the recent LGBT month, a debate held by the Leeds University Union, all but one candidate dropped out - Julia Mulligan was the only candidate to attend and was disappointed the debate did not go ahead. It’s a scandal that neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats could send a representative when they apparently believe in equality. So on May 6th, I urge you to look at Labour’s record, and at the record of Liberal democrat MP for Leeds North East, who has done little for the needs of students and will not represent the diversity of students at the University of Leeds. The power to change the government is in your hands, vote for change, vote Conservative.

Comment 10

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Hanging the English parliament The media have overlooked them, but chances of a hung parliament make Welsh and Scottish national parties more relevant than ever

If you believe David Cameron, a hung parliament is the worst case scenario for British politics. There are others, however, who will be hoping that an inconclusive outcome to the general election will produce a “balanced parliament” and initiate radical electoral reform. The latter group includes the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, who are both eager to demonstrate how a greater influence of theirs could benefit not only Scotland and Wales but the United Kingdom as a whole. Nick Clegg has used the leaders’ debate to revive the notion of three-party politics, and inspire a cult of personality fervent enough to make even the Supreme Leader Brown blush. Yet in Scotland and Wales, the television studios have seemed suspiciously bare with only three podiums, as both the SNP and Plaid remain conspicuous by their absence in these historic debates. Alex Salmond, SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland, has described the exclusion as “extremely unfair”. Salmon has also mentioned that the SNP have

considered taking legal action against the BBC, as the minority ruling party of the Scottish parliament strive for parity. “The most likely outcome of this election is a balanced parliament,” Salmond says. “Don’t you think viewers across these islands would like to know what the SNP and Plaid, who could be very important in that context, will want to do? It’s important for everyone on these islands.” Salmond’s sentiments have been echoed by Angus Robertson, the SNP’s Westminster representative for Moray, who has cheekily suggested that the BBC should rename itself the English Broadcasting Corporation. Having long been overlooked in the British national media, the SNP and Plaid are now braced for what could be a breakthrough election, as a hung parliament could mean for them a louder voice in Westminster and greater law-making powers for the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly. And as Salmond suggests, while both parties are primarily concerned with affairs in Scotland and Wales, they could also have a profound influence on British politics should a balanced parliament materialise. With this in mind, the SNP and Plaid Cymru have presented manifestos which have at their core ideologies and policies relevant to populations throughout the United Kingdom. Both plan to increase public spending,

and they intend to generate additional funds for healthcare and education by reforming the financial sector and scrapping Trident. In the shorter term, Salmond has also suggested that abolishing the House of Lords – which costs an estimated £100m a year – would be another way of cutting the deficit. Plaid’s manifesto has been particularly well received by the local and national press, as its clear and succinct policies are in tune with the deepest concerns of a population

person’s pension to from £59 to £130 a week. The armed forces are also attended to in the manifesto, as Plaid have vowed to take troops out of Afghanistan. Indeed, Plaid proudly announce in their manifesto that they were “the only major party to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the very start”. As Britain drags itself out of recession, the deficit has proved to be a key issue in this election, and this is reflected by its prominence in the SNP and Plaid’s manifestos, which would include the introduction of “Robin Hood” taxes for the “super-rich”. These policies illustrate how both parties are capable of initiating positive change not only for Scotland and Wales, but for many people in England. According to a News of the World editorial earlier this month, a hung parliament “is the worst of all worlds”. It is hardly surprising that a Rupert Murdochowned publication should warn against an outcome which would seriously harm the Conservatives, a political plaything for the Australian mogul’s News Corporation. What the electorate will hopefully deliver next week, however, is a fair result which will puncture Murdoch’s dangerously bloated political influence, and give greater voice to both the SNP and Plaid Cymru in a radical, balanced parliament.

“

Dafydd Pritchard Associate Editor associates@ leedsstudent.org

The SNP and Plaid remain conspicuous by their absence at the debates

disillusioned with Westminster politics. Indeed, it is a manifesto that addresses the needs of those who have been marginalised by recent governments. While the Conservatives and Labour squabble over who is guiltiest of scaring Britain’s neglected senior citizens, Plaid have drawn proposals to increase a single

Clegg irresponsible on defence The Lib Dems want to scrap the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent, but they risk putting the country’s security and influence under threat Natl Abramov First Year Arabic and Politics jl09na@leeds.ac.uk

They say this election is revolutionary, new, different. Don’t believe them. The truth is that it's been brewing for years. In Britain our politics is moving from party-based voting to personality politics. The Britain of today is more interested in character and judgement in a leader than the colour of his tie. Whilst some have called this a battle of style versus substance, I see it as a necessary change of emphasis. We care to know the priorities, values and temperament of our future leader and the emergence of televised debates is testament to that fact. The Americans however, being used to such electioneering, often see foreign policy as a defining factor in their choice of candidate – something we ought to do much more. It seems unreasonable that, in a world where State-sponsors of terrorism are acquiring nuclear weapons and where irresponsible banking on the other side of an ocean leads to the collapse of our economy, what divides us at the polling station is free eye tests for the elderly. Britain holds one of only five permanent

seats on the UN Security Council, an extensive network of diplomats across all continents and one of the strongest armed forces in the world. This election is about how you want to see these used in the world. Central to that question is whether Britain should renew Trident – its independent nuclear weapons system. We are currently one of five democracies in a small club of nine states who possess nuclear weapons. Scrapping Trident is advocated by two equally unrealistic groups of people. The first group believes that Britain should scrap all nuclear armament and cease to be a nuclear state. Supporters include the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and, on some days, the Liberal Democrats. I invite you to contemplate the ramifications of this. Britain’s diplomatic clout and its ability to apply pressure on

Unilateral nuclear disarmament is a dream tyrannical regimes would diminish overnight. After all, what impelled Libya’s military dictatorship to abandon its nuclear weapons project in 2003 was not decades of UN

resolutions but rather the pressure of Britain and the USA drawing Libya’s attention to the fate of Iraq; then believed to have had an active WMD programme. Yet the dreamers keep on dreaming as if their agenda of unilateral nuclear disarmament is the path to a world ‘free of nuclear weapons’. Multilateralism is the only way to safely reduce nuclear arsenals as proven by the recent summit in the USA culminating in the RussianAmerican agreement to cut nuclear weapon stockpiles. Renewing Trident means maintaining the roughly 160 nuclear warheads in Britain’s armoury as a deterrent – a far cry from the 10,000 or so warheads in each of the Russian and American arsenals. A further twist in the tale would be how we would deal with Iran in light of Nick Clegg’s proposal to scrap Trident and formally rule out military intervention against the Islamist Republic. Iran is a clerical theocracy that engages routinely in torture, murder and the hanging of homosexuals. It proudly and openly sponsors listed terrorist groups and anti-Semitic militia. Central to its leaders’ beliefs is the messianic return of the lost Imam after an apocalyptic war, and yet Iran is on track to obtain apocalyptic nuclear weapons. It is worth pointing out that despite several rounds of UN sanctions, the only time Iran suspended its nuclear programme was in 2003 when it felt the threat of military action in reaction to its WMD activities. Mr. Clegg in his wisdom thinks that we should relay to Mr. Ahmadinejad that we

will not prevent him from obtaining these weapons but we will even dispose of our own without receiving anything in return. This has led Nick Clegg to frantically join the second Trident-opposing group; namely those who plan to replace it with a so far unexplained alternative. The are two possibilities: either a replacement nuclear system is bought from the USA, resulting in Britain’s ultimate security and existence being dependent on another state. Alternatively, Britain develops a new nuclear warhead and delivery system at a cost of far more that £100 billion and then be forbidden from testing it due to its commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Both are clearly quite undesirable outcomes. I hope that Trident’s significance in Britain’s international affairs is both understood and appreciated by the electorate. When you mark your ballot paper on May 6th, remember that your decision will not only determine next year’s tuition fees, but also what kind of world you will walk into when you leave university.

‘Who gets your vote?’ Leeds Student’s Guide to the Election

inside LS2

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Comment

Ash cloud’s real casualties Global trade’s dependence on air travel means that disgruntled holiday makers should be the least of our concerns James Killin First Year English en09jak@leeds.ac.uk

To those of you whose lecturers have surprisingly been absent this past fortnight, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier and resultant ash-cloud may well have turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Conversely, those students who were stuck in far-off lands with dwindling funds, unable to attend family events or hand in their work, might be feeling somewhat aggrieved by Iceland’s decision to ‘chunder everywhere’ without proper consideration for the people of Britain. But behind the breakfast show sofa-stories are pressing concerns that suggest a world dangerously dependent upon the globalisation brought about by air travel. Until recently, the majority of press coverage concerning the ash cloud centred around the British and European tourists stuck all over the world. Some hundreds of thousands of air passengers whose return flights were grounded were faced with the choice of sticking it out in the airport or travelling over whole continents, by any means necessary, to return home. Government contingency plans to send rescue

coaches to the British Embassy in Madrid proved disastrously ill-considered and ineffectual. The human-interest stories of isolation, ingenuity and cross-Channel derring-do were plastered over the news. Ultimately less attention was given to such issues as the $3m daily losses of the Kenyan horticultural industry highlighted by contributors to the Guardian, and the millions of tonnes of fresh produce left to wilt because it could not be flown to the European countries that purchase it. Farm workers have been laid off, and the dip in tourism has had a troubling effect on the trade of East African coastal towns. It’s a terrible irony that people, who may never have the means to fly themselves, are almost wholly dependent upon clear air travel routes. But then this isn’t an irony unique to our modern age; it’s one the like of which is inherent in any large-scale economic system conceivable outside of regionally devolved Communism, and one which is almost essential to the lives led by many Britons. What is unique is the unprecedented stage of globalisation that we’ve reached: a level of worldwide interdependency more than adequately illustrated by the universal fallout of a predominantly Western banking crisis. When ceaseless global travel is impeded, some of the most devastating human ramifications occur in the furthest reaches of our perception. The real threats to peoples’ livelihoods rarely come from spending a few

days inside a sleeping bag in JFK Airport, but sadly they do come from impediments to our consumerism. Any kind of solution to the matter is difficult to reach. The ever-contentious issue of the third runway at Heathrow, still doggedly pursued by Labour, would purportedly create jobs and generate commerce into our economy, and those of the countries with whom we trade. Simultaneously, it would establish Heathrow

The true threat to livelihoods comes from impediments to our consumerism as the single largest emitter of carbon in Britain, and run up a greater cost in climate damages than it would create in profit. But what if Britons, some of whom have never before been able to go abroad, want a holiday? What if farmers in East Africa need buyers of crops in order to stabilise fragile local

economies? The greater our dependence on globalisation and global trade, the greater the repercussions, for all involved, when it is threatened. In the last week of Easter, I went to Bruges, by way of Eurostar to Brussels. When I told people about my holiday, some expressed incredulity that I managed to get back okay, from which I inferred an assumption that I couldn’t possibly have travelled so far as Belgium without being flown there. The evolution of air travel has undoubtedly made the world more accessible and, coupled with the advent of low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet, inexplicably cheap. But it has also fostered a never-beforeachieved means of global trade, the disruption of which can have massive repercussions to the people ‘on the ground’. And globalisation shows no signs of slowing. The nigh-on 3m tonnes of carbon, absent from our skies for a short while, will soon make a return, and with them the opportunity for farmers and labourers in the developing world to reestablish a source of revenue. In his February article, Hugh Alderwick highlighted the difficulty in redressing the balance between ‘your money or your planet’. You can’t often have both. And who are we to say, saddled as we are with a legacy of economic imperialism, that we may have one at the expense of someone else having the other? Today, it may not even be a decision that we can make.

Drug laws lacking in substance Britain needs to break free from government kill joys and tabloid scare stories. Legalising drugs responsibily is the sensible approach Mike Deegan First Year English mike.deeganjr@ hotmail.com

“If you don't think drugs have done good things for us then take all of your records,tapes and CD's and burn them.” - Bill Hicks. The only way to tackle the drugs issue in the UK is to legalise them, all of them. This is the only socially responsible and ethical solution to a problem that has suffered from Government incompetence and judicial archaisms long enough. We all know the risks, but we choose to ignore them; the culture of excess has always been here and will always be. If alcohol and tobacco came out now, they would be banned immediately. Scientists have proven that those two conveniently taxable drugs are actually more hazardous to your health than many illegal substances, and herein lies the hypocrisy of a confused and superannuated social attitude. Prof Nutt, the ex-government expert, stated publicly: ‘you are more likely to be killed horse riding than you are from taking ecstasy, or cannabis.’ He was duly sacked for his candid and rational thinking. Look at you, making sense like that, get out! Still, the potential for sleaze by the parasitical

killjoys in Westminster should drugs be legalised is frankly terrifying. Firstly we would need independent expert medical watchdogs to ensure there was no foul play. It should be virtually non-profit, in order to keep prices affordable and eliminate competition from the black market and the gangs associated with it. Secondly, you control what is in every narcotic that you sell, be it over the counter, or in Tesco’s. No more pills with rat poison in. No more cutting the stash up with persil to increase bulk and thus profitability. Only pharmacies could dish out narcotics, rather than private enterprise: "Taste the difference MDMA anyone?" Perhaps not… The supermarkets would just become the new crack-pimps and dope pushers. Furthermore, the more

In banning certain drugs, MPs have paved the way for more lethal substances

discerning ice fiend may find that "this is not just crystal meth...” slogans bring about a new elitist consumerism, where the more economically challenged members of society would have to settle for their hit of smack from Lidl. It should be communist coke, egalitarian E, and everyone gets the same quality of product every time. For the smack heads each batch could come with an NHS approved hypodermic. Prohibition of any kind, does not work. In banning substances like M-Cat, politicians have paved the way for drugs that will actually kill people. For example, NRG-1- the replacement for M-Cat that even some dealers have warned could kill people with a single hit. The only reason Alan Johnson and his sycophant cronies pushed the legislation through, with all the enthusiasm of a teenager who had recently discovered the joys of masturbation, was because the gullible public inevitably bought the hyperbolic lies in the papers, and ignored the scientific evidence. Some of the leading experts, like Eric Carlin, even offered themselves up for sacrifice at the altar of ethical science, to halt this irrational legislation. Tragically, their selflessness only slowed the marching goose step of the ‘Brownites’. Only one person officially died as a direct consequence of taking mephedrone. Nine times that number a year die from nut allergies, so ban dry roasted? Despite this, the corrupt tabloids went about their daily business of creating more fear over nothing, claiming 25 people had died and that one young man had ripped off his scrotum (a joke on a forum as it

turned out, that some moron at The Sun picked up on). Labour, with a general election fast approaching, had to be seen to be tough on drugs, regardless of the scientific facts. But as per, the tabloid’s veteran pimps of fear continued their daily business of terrifying us for the wholly reasonable sum of 40p - £1 a hit; depending on how eloquent you want your latest dish of terror-prose to be. I like mine cooked articulately with a topping of bathos and irony on the side, so am willing to pay that little bit extra. It really is as simple as this: educating people about drugs in an ethical and truthful manner is the only way to prevent misuse. A couple of pills on a night out can be wonderful and euphoric. An entire bag can be lethal. That is just common sense. Has anyone noticed that the drugs that keep you docile and distracted are legal and taxable and enormously profitable, but those that threaten to awaken you from your somnambulist state and make you realise how badly you are being shat on everyday, ah well, those drugs are illegal. Coincidence?

Comment online Usmaan Amin on new British liberalism Steve Akehurst in praise of free speech James Huckle on the television debates

www.leedsstudent.org

News Extra

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

If Carlsberg did takeovers... Concern for the future of Tetley’s have finally come to a head as Carlsberg have signed deals that confirm that, for the first time since it was founded in 1822, Tetley’s cask ale will be brewed outside of its county of origin – Yorkshire. Since late 2008, Yorkshiremen and women have been voicing their outrage at the Danish take over of Tetley’s and the closure of the Leeds Brewery. Now, two years on, their worst fears have been confirmed. The ale will now be brewed in two different locations. One at the Molson Coor’s brewery in Tadcaster, and the other at the Marston’s brewery i n

Wolverhampton. Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West and Leeds Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have set up a boycott campaign in the hope that it will make the company realise the importance of the brewery to local people and go back on their decision to brew the ale outside of Leeds. It now has the support of many Leeds residents, beer lovers and Leeds city councillors who are angry at Carlsberg’s betrayal of Leeds as a city. Many are also unhappy with Tetley’s as a brand and feel that they sold out to Carlsberg in the first place.

One Tetley’s drinker commented on The Publican’s website: “Sadly just one more nail in the coffin for traditional brewers and the local pub alike.” Stuart Long, from lovingleeds.com, endorses the boycott. The petition states “I/we, the undersigned commit to boycott all Carlsberg products, except for Tetley’s ales whilst Tetley’s is still brewed in Leeds, unless Carlsberg change their plans and find a way to brew Tetley’s in Leeds.” It is hoped that Carlsberg will decide to find another site in Leeds as a result. Mr Long explains that, as well as losing a 188 year old

landmark, the closure of the Tetley’s brewery also means a loss of at least 145 jobs. Numerous Facebook groups have unsurprisingly emerged both in support of the boycott and to give fans a chance to share their views.

We need to keep Tetley's at the heart of Leeds where it belongs The closure of Tetley’s can be compared to the brewing of Guinness in Dublin. In 2007, the St James’ Gate brewery was threatened with closure and movement to a new site on the outskirts of the City. Following pressure from the local media and campaigners, Dublin City council proposed a motion to prevent planning permission for the new site being granted in an attempt to save the original brewery. Plans were reviewed and St James’ Gate was kept open and renovated instead. Guiness for Dublin is the equivalent to Tetley’s for Leeds. It is more than a beer, it is a trademark

and the boycott is aiming for similar success. Greg Mulholland on his website argues: “It is not good enough for it to be kept in Yorkshire: we need to keep Tetley’s at the heart of Leeds where it belongs.” He alleges that Carlsberg have “no other reason than to make money.” John, an Architecture student, was more understanding of Carlsberg’s decision, explaining “It’s unfeasable for local businesses to stay local for ever”. In regards to the boycott, he felt that from a student’s perspective price is the deciding factor for most rather than politics. Councillor Andrew Carter, the leader of Leeds City Council has promised to support the many smaller breweries in and around Leeds in the hope of securing the future of brewing in the city. He is also in full support of the boycott and has encouraged people to sign the petition. Andy, a Leeds local, commented saying “Tetley’s is already not the local beer it was”. In his opinion it was already lost when it was taken over by Carlsberg and does not taste the same as it once did. “Tetley’s has become a national rather than local ale. I would love to see some of the smaller breweries coming back”. The petition can be signed at: bit.ly/bPdEp5 Genevieve Osborne-James Photos: Felicity Hewitt - Dutton

photo: Sarah Greene Ash at Leeds Met 24/04/10 Read the review at www.leedstudent.org

Menswear Fashion Shoot Between Kismet and Karma Kate Nash

5 THINGS

300410

...not to wear for fancy dress There’s always one who goes the extra mile with their fancy dress costume but in most cases it’s a mile too far. You’ll find them sitting (or standing, depending on the size or shape of their costume) in the corner looking sorry for themselves and kicking themselves for trying to be original. To avoid future dress up disasters, here’s a list of five things not to wear to fancy dress.

1 3 5

B o x - s h a p e d o b j e ct s Whether it is a microwave, a telephone box or a racing car, any outfit that involves turning yourself into a cuboid means trouble. It may seem ingenious at first but two pubs into the Otley Run you realise that public places are made for human shaped objects. This makes it rather difficult to fit man-size boxes at the bar, on chairs or into toilet cubicles. Locals will look at you and complain that it’s their pub and if you’re the size of at least two people then you should drink for at least two people. Then of course removing this cardboard frame would leave you lacking in costume and most likely standing shivering in your underwear. You’re stuck square shaped for the whole night.

Bo dy pa in t Now this may seem like a good idea at the start of the night and the pictures will be appropriately comical but on a hot sunny afternoon or in a tightly packed club your body will perspire, it’s only natural. Because of this, much like a Smurf King Midas, everything you touch will ‘turn to blue’ and there will be a snail trail of watered down body paint to accompany it. On the plus side, you’ll never lose your friends because they’ll be able to follow your trail from the smears on the bar to the blue patches on the dance floor to the grip marks on the toilet door to find you lying, sweating in a pool of blue liquid which could be the paint but could also quite possibly be the WKDs you’ve been drinking all night reappearing against your will. By the end of the night you will look like an Avatar who’s been through the wash.

2 4

B a l lo on s We’ve all seen them, turning up at the beginning of the night dressed as a bunch of grapes, with a full set of balloons covering their dignity and feeling pretty smug with their incredibly ‘unique’ idea. We have also all seen them at the end of the night with only one balloon remaining, running madly away from all the conveniently available safety pins holding everyone else’s outfits together. Not only this, but bursting the balloons on their bare skin will leave them sore for days and explaining the red marks to their boss the next morning might be harder and more embarrassing than they thought. Any outfit that involves an easy way to embarrass the wearer is too tempting to a bunch of students, especially when alcohol is involved.

J o i n e d t o ge t h e r Admittedly this makes everything a lot more fun, at least at the beginning of the night. But when you’re six drinks in and your bladder has acknowledged the influx of alcohol, the frequent trips to the toilet make everything a lot more confusing, especially if you’re dressed as a train. If this is a mixed sex train then this idea clearly wasn’t thought through. With single sex toilets men will have to pretend to be women, women will have to pretend to be men and someone will have to sit on the cubicle partition whilst the carriages on either side of them use the facilities. Not only this but it leaves you facing one way the entire night and unable to converse properly with anyone except the carriages immediately attached to you. You may like them at the start of the night but five hours down the line when all you’ve been staring at is the back of their head, you might think otherwise.

M a sk s A simple solution to a fancy dress problem, however, in order to stay in character this mask has to be worn for the majority of the night. Therefore, the condensation layer from your breathing will slowly grow until it begins to form water droplets meaning that your face is constantly ever so slightly damp. Automatically you want to take the mask off and remove the dampness but you don’t want people to know you have a sweaty face, therefore spend most of your time in the bathroom next to a concertina-ed train and a naked man with one balloon.

W o r d s : El l a M a y n e

LOWDOWN 300410

In light of the current general ele ction, and in an apparent bid to economise on time, we have printed a political debate held by none other than you much loved Lowdown Editors, Toby and Wi ll. Toby: I’m beginning to fin d the BNP increasingly more attractive.

T: I think that’s a bit unfair on

Will: You mean you want to sweaty fascist? I’m not sure be swept away by a big have following that up – apphow much luck you’ll whole idea of men kissing “a arently Griffin finds the bit weird”. T: Especially Jewish men. I mean in the sense that I honestly think it might be wh at’s best for the country. W: You mean better than free Warburton’s loafs for all? T: No. Although that would improvement, I’m thinking be a marked at a higher level than gratis baked goods… W: I’m intrigued. Do go on . T: As a human being with at fibre in my body I still have least a strand of moral government’s involvement issues with the Labour as the Conservatives would in the Iraq War. Seeing to cannonball arse first into have been just as likely bloodbath they are a no-no the Middle Eastern Dems but seeing as their poltoo. This leaves the Lib on Trident has been judged icy to cut the spending optimistic forecasts that nu naïve considering the around the corner I see nowclear apocalypse is just choice remaining is the BN that the only sensible P. W: But we survived that hu fall out couldn’t be worse… ge cloud of ash. A nuclear protect us anyway? There’s How could the BNP only a dozen of them and the rest are in gaol. T: It’s not that this once fair protected by he spirit of St Isle will again be George, rather that if we have the BNP running the cou other nations will see Britain ntry hopefully all worth it, gone to shit, like theas a lost cause, not park that everyone leaves alo crazy tramp in the ne. W: But with a view as pessim other parties running in thi istic as that about the think that we could have thas election, don’t you of the winner? Cameron, Brot same effect regardless have definitely been spendingwn and even Clegg street, and none of them are a lot of time on the fresher for it T: Nick Griffin never called anyone a ‘bigoted woman’. W: That’s because Nick Gri ffin

women.

W: OK, that was a bit unfair . T: You are forgiven. So in wh swing-o-meter pointing, so ich direction is your to speak? W: Straight over to Clegg, sla the face on the way. Althou pping Cameron in Cameron’s policy of “not friggh I have to admit, very credible. If I were 60 yeahtening people” is that patronising tone like a rs older I would lap up pure breed puppy with a mental disorder. T: Are you angling at the opi Cameron don’t care ‘bout oldnion that David people? W: In a nutshell, yes. I’m no can have your free prescriptt sure that snapping “you Brown doesn’t snap out pol ions!” counts as a policy. icies willy-nilly. He just snaps at the electorate. T: I like the idea of making though. Maybe in the next up policies on a whim shout out uncontrollably “Frdebate we’ll see Clegg ee spatulas for teenage mothers!”

Toby

Will

Going UP

Free Water Get it while you still can you lucky lucky whippersnappers.

Boobs

W: Or “Fuck the Pope!” T: I can’t imagine him com ing honest. I can imagine Griffin out with that to be make great mates though, Naand the Pope would zi background and all that. W: You’re not selling the BN were earlier, I have to say. P quite as well as you T: Yeah, I probably won’t vot too much hassle sowing a Stae the BNP. It would be jumpers anyway. Some of ther of David into all my m are designer… W: Red and white were nev either. Pastel shades are muer really my colours ch nicer. T: I’d quite like it if there wa salmon colour. Their policies a pastel party, like a philosophy of Bill Hicks ands could follow the Jefferson Airplane. W: And they could promote writing on the streets with their campaign by chalk! “Free crayons for all!” T: Nick Clegg is definitely mi ssing a trick there.

is a bigoted woman.

Want to write the Lowdown next year? We’re looking for two new columnists for next year’s Leeds Student “ think you’re up for the job tell us about yourself in 100 words so if you in a humorous personal-ad style and send it in to e d i t o r @ l e e d s s t u d e n t . o r g. Next week we’ll print all the entries and LS readers will vote for their favourites.

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FEATURES 300410

Huw hyped-up for his big weekend Having been at Radio 1 for over a decade, becoming an integral part of the station’s output of new music, LS catches up with the affable Welshman to see what makes him tick. The reliably optimistic Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens is very upbeat. So upbeat in fact that he honestly believes that Swindon is worth a visit. When it’s put to him that, as a Welshman, this year’s Radio 1 Big Weekend will surely be more enjoyable in Bangor than last year’s choice of the Southern railway town, he retorts, ‘No. To be honest, I like going to places I’ve never been to before so I loved it in Swindon. The Fringe gigs were good and the actual weekend was good but there’s no one place better than another. It’s all down to the people and the bands playing.’ It is this positive outlook that has taken Huw from being the manager of a mate’s band in school to being BBC 1’s youngest ever DJ at the age of 17, beating out Noel Edmunds by about a year. Since then he’s become one of the key figureheads for Radio 1’s Introducing faction, and listeners who regularly tune in to his In New Music We Trust and Introducing shows will know that he’s a reliable source when it comes to new music. On Wednesday nights he takes the helm and is given free reign over his playlists. “I get to play three hours of whatever I want. Which is amazing. What an absolute honour.” He does, however, limit himself only to new, rising acts. “I sometimes have to bite my musical tongue and not play stuff even though I love it. I love Kate Nash’s ‘Doo Wah Doo’ which is on the Radio 1 playlist at the moment. But I wouldn’t play that on my show because it’s getting a lot of support elsewhere on Radio 1.”

The results are still an eclectic mix of whichever new artists have caught Huw’s attention that week but he doesn’t feel the burden of catering to everyone. “With the certain music I do play, I make sure that it’s good and it’s the best quality of that genre. So I don’t go ‘Right I’ve got to play Gabba and I’ve got to play Folk next to it, then Drum n’ Bass.’” Even so, Huw’s on-air taste has often proven so diverse that he’s had to modify it for the festival crowds. “Do you know what, it’s hard because people don’t really want to hear new stuff necessarily when they’re dancing to a DJ. They want to hear stuff that they know or will get them moving. So now and again I’ll do DJ sets where I can play exactly what I want to and just play stuff that you can’t dance to but then for the bigger DJ sets, I’ll try and play bigger hits and I don’t mind that but it’s good to do both just to balance it out.” So no ‘Woof Woof’ by Dan Deacon then? “Hahaha. I wish I could play ‘Woof Woof’ by Dan Deacon next to ‘Sex on Fire’ by Kings of Leon but I know that it would go down like a big fat lead balloon. But if I was DJing between bands somewhere then maybe I would play Dan Deacon.” Either way, both Huw’s Radio work and his DJ sets have taken him all over the world, even coming to Leeds University’s Riley Smith Hall last year to talk at the Student Radio Conference hosted by LSRfm.com. “Working with student

radio has always been really interesting. You get to meet good people and hear their ideas and opinions. I had a great time thanks.” Some of the people he meets are not always so good to him though. Part of Huw’s job often entails filling in for his fellow Radio 1 DJs. In January, Huw had to co-host one of Zane Lowe’s Takeover shows with Dizzee Rascal, in which the rapper turned up late, had no idea who he was and repeatedly forgot his name throughout the show. “Yeah. I did feel insulted by that” he jokes. “But you know, Dizzee Rascal’s a legend and he must meet new people every day so I don’t expect him to remember my name to be honest. It’s Dizzee Rascal. I’d be honored if he did but it’s all good man.” This modesty is typical of Huw. Despite being amongst the first to play acts who then go on to huge success he denies being responsible for their success. “Maybe I have a hand in the rise but I don’t think that play or support from me is the be all and end all. Last year I was playing Marina and the Diamonds and supporting her big time and it was only this year that she broke through. Whereas I’d…not written her off but I didn’t expect her to break through and it’s a nice surprise that she did.” Similarly, he refutes the idea that he’s filling Radio 1 Legend, John Peel’s shoes, although he admits, “To be on the same station as him was an absolute honour” and remembers a trip to his house with total reverence and adoration. “We saw where he broadcasted his show from and I interviewed him there which was amazing! But there’ll never be another Peel.”

Regardless, Huw is excited about the forthcoming Radio 1’s Big Weekend and it’s highly likely that you may bump into him there. “I’ll be doing a bit of DJing, compering, presenting, watching all the bands and just running round really soaking it all in. It’s always jam-packed and they’re really busy times. And of course, if you can’t go to it you can watch it all online or listen to it on the radio.” So can Huw Stephens give Leeds Student a heads up on anything new to check out at the event? “Well it’s only Pixie Lott that’s been announced so far…” So is he willing to divulge any information on some of the acts yet to be announced? “No I honestly can’t” he laughs. “Because I’ll get into loads of trouble. But considering Pixie Lott is the only artist that’s been announced my tip is to go and see Pixie Lott.”

words: Luke Fear

Photo courtesy of BBC

MUSIC 300410

INTERVIEW COLUMN

KATE NASH: “BECAUSE MY BOYFRIEND’S IN THE CRIBS...” RECORD STORES, YAY! LS: Are you looking forward to this evening? Yeah, I’m really excited. I love the Brudenell, I played here when I first started touring.

really different. I leave the talking to Brett. It’s just something I enjoy doing and that’s it really.

So you’ve been away for a while - what have you been up to? I really just wanted to take time out from the music industry because it started to do my head in. I’ve still being doing music and writing songs, and I started a band with two of my friends, called the Receders.

I saw you a couple of years ago and you released loads of balloons into the crowd. Is there anything balloon related for the people of Leeds tonight? There isn’t, no! I’m going to have to get some balloons! [To tour manager] Ian, go and get some balloons! I’ve got some sheets to hand out to the audience for the crowd to sing along to ‘Mansion Song’.

Is the band something you’re looking to develop in the future, or is it more of a side project for now? I would love to develop it in the future. I’ve never been in a band before and it’s a really different feeling and so much fun. We’re a punk band - I play bass and sing and Brett sings and plays guitar. It opens you up to new things because I’ve never written with anyone before, and now I’ve done that I feel I could kind of collaborate with people on a different level. It’s a different type of writing. There’s more room to bounce ideas off each other too. Do you feel you have developed as a musical artist? Yeah, definitely. That’s why I’m so happy with the new album, because I’ve grown up as a person. Some of the songs on the first album I wrote when I was sixteen or seventeen, so I think you kind of hope to get older and wiser. I mean, I still like writing pop melodies and stories but I do think there are definitely different influences. Anything in particular? ‘Mansion Song’ is this spoken word piece, and it’s pretty aggressive; it’s about, like, sexism and groupies and girls being used and stuff. And then there’s ‘I’ve Got a Secret’ which is about homophobia, There are a couple of little things that are political about it, but much of it is to do with my thoughts on contemporary issues. How does it feel performing with the band is there more of a collective vibe as opposed to being about you and expressing your personality? With the Receders, I feel totally different on stage. I don’t talk on stage when I’m with the band, I just play and sing and shout, but it’s

Do you prefer intimate gigs or festivals? I like the small ones; I feel comfortable with the audience. I haven’t toured in so long, that I might have a new outlook on it because I was never able to understand bigger gigs. I didn’t know how to feel comfortable or communicate with such a large audience. With the small ones, you can look people in the eye and talk to them. Whereas with a big crowd if you have one joke with someone then another person at the back might be like “What the fuck is she doing?” It’s good to see you appreciating smaller venues. I want to give the songs to the fans first, so that they have the ownership. Like, they are people that put me where I am and really supported me so I want them to own them. I don’t want them to come out and feel distanced from me. This is for them and for me to have fun and do some warm-up shows because I am a bit nervous, but it’s mainly to give the songs to them. As an established artist, and with 2009 seeing the rise of the female artist, are you happy to associate yourself with people like Lady Gaga and Florence Welch? I always get frustrated with the media about this and I did speak out at the Brit Awards about it. Female isn’t a genre. I mean we might all be women, but it doesn’t mean that we have the same music or are the same type of artist. I think it’s important to understand that every artist should be independent of one another and they have the right to kind of be judged by that and not as a group of girls. Because some people might be like “All those fucking girls are so annoying.” Just take everyone for who they

are and take every girl as a different artist, because you could have a thousand fucking boy bands and everyone is happy to give them their own spotlight, whereas people might just be like “Yeah, girls, that’s the type of music I like.” You mentioned the Brits. How did you feel about JLS winning? Oh yeah, that was a bit weird, wasn’t it? I watched the Brits - I thought it was awful. It was so corporate! The best part about it was Peter Kay, though. He was so funny, and one of my favourite bits was when he called Noel Gallagher a ‘knobhead.’ And then every time after a break he would say [northern accent] “If you’ve just turned over from Ice Road Truckers...why?!” I thought he was brilliant, and when he said “Lady Gaga” that was the best thing I’ve ever heard he was like [northern accent] “LADY GAGA! Well done love!” It just sounded as ridiculous as it is. How’d you feel about Leeds? Have you been here before? I’ve hung out here before because my boyfriend in the Cribs used to have a flat in Leeds, so we would hang out here. But yeah, it’s cool. I really love this venue; a lot of cool bands seem to play here too. There’s a good music scene here, and I like the little venues like this; they’re just so full of character. The thing actually that’s good about Leeds is it seems to protect its venues. London is shit for protecting venues; if you’ve got a good venue, guaranteed in like a month some phone company would’ve plastered its fucking name all over it and destroyed its originality. So I like when you come out of London and venues are more important to towns. There is such a community here that no one could ever come in. Like, O2 would never come along - the venue wouldn’t allow it. I think it should be more like that in London. [ed: obviously she didn’t make it to the Academy...] Well, thanks for letting me to talk with you. Make sure you pass me a lyric sheet so I can sing along. Oh yeah! I’ll sort it. I’ll make it into and paper aeroplane and shout out “This is for him”! interview: Chris McLachlan

Record Store Day came and went, but its vinyl delights live on, be it via Ebay chancers (ie: Blur’s single hitting triple-figure bids) or true fans of the format. Here’s what you may have missed: Blur ‘Fool’s Day’ Their first release since reforming keeps the flame of hope alive for dedicated Blur fans. ‘Fool’s Day’ is a melancholy song, documenting the dull, everyday life of a British citizen, and sounds just like their old stuff. Damon Albarn’s monotone vocals pull you into his ‘mundane’ lifestyle effectively, but the focus on its vocal leaves the rest of the song to plod along. Those who missed out, have no fear: the band have since released the song as a free download. CocoRosie ‘Lemonade’ Always an acquired taste, the two sisters’ new single continues their use of bizarre sound effects and wailing vocals. The song builds up with synths, strings and pianos supplementing the hauntingly, arresting vocals. The B-side features a magical music box cover of the Beach Boys’ ‘Surfer Girl’. Julian Casablancas ‘11th Dimension’ This limited edition coloured vinyl features a live version of his previous single, recorded at Electric Lady Studios. With bongos at the start and the eighties synths interweaving with the guitar to create a video game sound, it’s fun, cheeky and catchy. of Montreal ‘Back to School’ A cover of a song by cult American indie band Royal Trux, the single features wah wah guitar, and heavily delayed vocals, which merge to generate an experimental, bubbly sound. Sombre B-side ‘Subtext Read, Nothing New’, with its slow electronic drumbeat and synthesisers, sees Kevin Barnes continue to document his ever-changing personality. words and photo: Katie French

MUSIC 300410

COLUMN LIVE

GIG OF THE WEEK

THE VINYL COUNTDOWN Saturday 17th April: not just a good day for those enjoying the beautiful weather, but also for music lovers everywhere attending Record Store Day. This annual event, now in its third year, sees more bands joining in to release exciting, new and highly anticipated material. The whole idea is to raise awareness of the struggling independent record stores, the number of which has dropped in the UK to as few as 300. We need to keep them alive, and promote these places where music is nurtured and enjoyed. Strolling into Jumbo at 10am, it seems I underestimated the record collectors of Leeds. The counter was swamped with a crowd of people, waiting patiently and discussing music with the strangers next to them. People had travelled from all over Yorkshire to be there, with hardcore collectors and fans queuing before the shop was even open. One avid Pavement fan from Chester turned up at 8:30, then had to wait for a further 3 hours to be served, by which time most of the rare special editions had been bought. Fortunately, as he started to lose hope, a misplaced copy of the Pavement release was found. The excitement, vividly apparent on his face, shows just how important music is to some people and proves places like Jumbo can still make someone’s day. The staff were all really friendly and excited about the event, with one member stating, “The start of the day was madness. I can’t wait to go and listen to some of the records, especially the of Montreal 7!” The guys working here know what they are talking about, and have a real enthusiasm for music and want to help you discover new and exciting bands. This community spirit of helping each other out in the record stores of Leeds was enhanced further by the raffles and in store gigs that were put on throughout the day. You couldn’t get any more intimate than the tiny basement of Crash Records, where the Sunshine Underground, Pulled Apart By Horses and the Paddingtons played. Their performance was exceptional, and even though lead singer Tom admitted “You can probably tell we were on a mad one last night,” it wasn’t obvious. Although only a few people turned up to watch the Paddingtons, many of those people then bought the special edition of their latest EP ‘The Lady Boy Tapes’, which the band had signed, showing again how influential this day has been on the local scene, in introducing people to innovative and exhilarating music. In a world that has become increasingly ephemeral, Record Store Day managed to show that music fans still want something personal and tangible. I hope it helped any struggling independent record stores, as they really do deserve to continue running. Hopefully more people discovered the friendly, personal and exciting atmosphere of the independent stores and will now keep visiting. What’s important is that these places help music reach and inspire people. The indies of Leeds seemed to have raised a lot of awareness and money to keep them going through this year. Here’s hoping next year gets even bigger and better, with more artists helping to promote these nurturers of unsigned raw talent, as well as the well-known, independently-minded musical geniuses! words: Katie French

Mark Lanegan Brudenell Social Club 24/04/10 A hush descends as Duke Garwood takes to the stage at the dimly-lit Brudenell. His set comprises of just him and an acoustic guitar, establishing the evening’s theme: less is more. The London-based singer blurs the lines between blues and country, adding the odd element of jazz to break up the monotony. While several songs (mostly taken from his LP Emerald Palace) descend into indistinguishable mumbling, there are moments when the jagged and shuffling diversity of sounds incorporated in the minimalist set bring to mind Tom Waits in his early bohemian period. His fractured music makes for uncomfortable listening but is also rewarding and highly commendable. However bluesy and gravely Garwood’s voice

is, it is completely overshadowed by the granite of Lanegan’s which emanates effortlessly throughout the room, capturing the rapt attention of the diverse crowd amassed for the sold-out show. Mark Lanegan might be the most socially awkward performer of our generation. He stands virtually stock still throughout with his eyes shut and his hands firmly clasped round the microphone stand, seemingly the only thing preventing him from walking off stage. However the singer comes across as endearing, and the sheer power of his voice alone is unparalleled. Particular highlights include ‘Resurrection Song’

and ‘Like Little Willie John’. The silence in the room and the emphasis on the vocals means that every word takes on a significance much rhythm based contemporary music overlooks. Lanegan’s music, be it with Screaming Trees, Gutter Twins, Soul Savers or Isobel Campbell, has an earnestness which makes it beautiful. Indeed there are several moments, most notably during ‘Miracle’ when there is an audible intake of breath from the audience as the desperation and anguish of the lyric “so lonesome in my playground” really hit home. Having said that, the singer appears to be in a relatively good mood. Dave Rosser on guitar and additional vocals certainly seems to work, and after a rapturous reception the pair return for an encore. The final three tracks are the best of the show, including a glorious rendition of ‘When Your Number Isn’t Up’ and a rare treat in the form of ‘Hangin’ Tree’ from Queens of the Stone Age. As everyone heads for either a cigarette or a whiskey the terms “breath-taking” and “genius” are banded about quite freely and justifiably so. words: Rebecca Atkinson photos: Ishara De Silva

MORE GIGS Hudson Mohawke Nation of Shopkeepers 23/04/10

Hudson Mohawke, at last! Glasgow’s finest graces Leeds with his presence at tonight’s Nation of Shopekeepers show. Even the smell of hundreds of pounds worth of hair product can’t mask the sweaty anticipation in the air. For his first headlining tour, hardcore fans are treated to mixtape classics as well as hefty chunks from his debut album, Butter. Hudson Mohawke has a typically nerdy demeanour, but soul singer Olivier Daysoul is on hand as a hypeman for the tour. Not that much hype is needed - HudMo’s talent lies in combining the glitch-laden electronics with early nineties funk to make anthemic classics . As well as disgustingly cool tracks like ‘Gluetooth’, he also offers up his unique interpretation of ‘Ooops’; For those still unconvinced of his talent, the fact that he succeeds in making Tweet’s blissed-out ode to touching herself even sexier should be worth something. Another set highlight was Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’, a Timbaland-produced hit brilliantly in keeping with Hudson Mohawke’s eclectic style. Ross Birchard wows the underground and mainstream critics alike because he is capable of both deconstructed hip hop and experimental electronic. Admittedly, the beautifully sad ‘Star Crackout’, reminiscent of an early Boards of Canada track, jars a little with the club vibe, but by that point the sweat-soaked crowd needs a break anyway. Besides, tracks as stunning as ‘FUSE’ would absolve any DJ’s sins. ‘Joy Fantastic’ invites us to walk the “yellow brick road” with him, and it’s undeniable that Mr Birchard is indeed an electronic wizard, creating Technicolour masterpieces that really are out of this world. words: Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura

Fuck Buttons TJ’s Woodhouse Club 23/04/10

Never threatening to steal the show, openers Factory Floor barely progress beyond the basic, bare bones of a tune. By the time the headliners come on, there is a palpable sense of relief. Fuck Buttons are a very interesting live act, and much of what makes them great on record translates surprisingly well to the venue. Visually, Fuck Buttons create a decent spectacle; Andrew Hung and Benjamin Power keep it interesting with a reasonable light show and a novel stage set up. The two Fuck Buttons are stationed opposite each other, loaded with an impossible amount of equipment: pedals and synths galore, among a mess of wires. The boys energetically bounce around, still concentrating on button mashing or knob twiddling and, of course, synthesizer playing. The energy of the band injects life into the audience. In fact, it’s a testament to Fuck Buttons’ live show that a duo that has been categorized as a ‘noise band’ can move a crowd, and keep them invested and mesmerized. This stems not only from the visual arrangement, but also from the quality of their musical performance. The lads put their vast array of complicated machinery to great use, combining elements of rock with electronic and dance sounds.The duo make vast soundscapes, at times epic and grandiose, hypnotic but never repetitive. Fuck Buttons aren’t bereft of a tune, a fact recognised by the audience. I’ll leave you with one final post-gig thought: Fuck Buttons are loud. All those dense layers of noise really do mount up and forgetting my ear plugs left me, well, fucked. words: Oliver Claxton

LCD Soundsystem Academy 27/04/10

I have a theory that dance acts are tailored to one of three body parts: the head, the heart or the feet. What sets James Murphy apart from the pack is his ability to cater for all three at once. Tonight’s sold-out show proves that he can pull this off, not only in the sterile confines of his lab-like recording setup, but onstage too. The six members of his ridiculously flexible band hit the stage one by one, building up the layers of synths that make up the captivating intro to ‘Get Innocuous!’, leaving Murphy to bumble on in his trademark white t-shirt, offering a curt “Hi,” before giving the track his best pseudo-David Byrne delivery. This Is Happening, the forthcoming ‘final’ LCD album, is represented by its most concise cuts, most notably lost Berlin Bowie cut ‘All I Want’ and the boneheaded genius of the VelvetUnderground-playing-the-Wayne’s-Worldtheme-tune single ‘Drunk Girls’. Still, it’s the earlier stuff that truly captivates - ‘Movement’ is a rare descent into big dumb punk, while ‘All My Friends’ (this scribe’s favourite song of the last decade) sounds just as breathtaking live. Sadly, Murphy’s more song-based material seems lost on the crowd compared with electro favourites like ‘Tribulations’; even Sound of Silver’s theatrical closer ‘New York I Love You’, which rounds the night off, is met with indifference. Fortunately, the encore’s pairing of the tragic twinkle of ‘Someone Great’ with ‘Losing My Edge’’s self-hating hipster-baiting works better, proving LCD’s emotional versatility. It’s moments like these that prove my theory; James Murphy is unquestionably the latest and greatest to follow George Clinton’s philosophy: “Free your mind...and your ass will follow.” words: Alex Wisgard

7 RECORDS Kate Nash My Best Friend Is You Fiction Kate Nash has been on a welcome sabbatical for the last couple of years, irritatingly referred to in her press release as her ‘gap year’. So that means pretentious new ambitions that your talent will never fulfil? Sounds about right. Whilst her marketing team are awash with excited murmurings of how much she’s grown up, this record shows a Peter Pan-like inability to leave behind the tweeness of her debut. Any attempts to mature feel gimmicky, as though she realised the LDN factor couldn’t drag her through another album. Now, Nash can do pop. That much is undeniable. And there are a clutch of decent, even good, pop songs on this album. ‘Doo-WahDoo’ and ‘Later On’ in particular are string-laden sugar rushes. ‘Early Christmas Present’ is a ‘Foundations’-style future hit, if only for its

typical sing-ing-a-long-with-ev-e-ry-beat delivery. Yet they’re all so far inside Nash’s comfort zone that she practically has her feet up. Indeed, without Bernard Butler’s pristine production, they would have all slipped seamlessly onto her debut. And in this incoherent mess of an album it’s as if she sporadically remembers she’s meant to do something different, creating a tension between her old and frankly dull self, and this

half-baked new direction. So when Nash sticks with what she knows, we get ‘I Hate Seagulls’, a chronically bland and annoying list of her likes and dislikes. But when she attempts a departure the result is ‘I Just Love You More’, a hopelessly misguided attempt which can only be described as cockney karaoke - think Karen O minus any sense of style or subtlety. Yet it gets worse, and the runaway winner of the WTF award is ‘Mansion Song’, which is a bitterly snide, three-minute monologue imitating a loud hailer at a rally. Pop psychology might suggest this is a rant against the groupie (her boyfriend is a rock star after all) with lyrics loaded with venom. You can tell that Nash is painfully conscious to avoid making Made of Bricks 2, but doesn’t have a clear picture of where to go, or how to make it listenable. ‘Growing up’ seems to mean stumbling clumsily into genres she has no business to be in, or unleashing bizarre tantrums; all she has achieved is the impressive feat of becoming more annoying. Where does a one trick pony go from here? The line “I hate anyone who if I was serving chips wouldn’t talk to me” seems prophetic. words: Thomas Hinton

MORE ALBUMS Anais Mitchell Hadestown Righteous Babe

Hadestown is an underground walled city in post-apocalyptic America, run by the propagandist dictator Hades and kept interesting by his wife Persephone and her speakeasy. This strange ghetto is the setting for Anais Mitchell’s concept album, which mixes elements of Greek mythology with country and western influences to create a self-described ‘folk opera’ which features Ani DiFranco and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. If the term puts you off then don't worry; the 20 songs which tell the story of Orpheus’ attempt to rescue his wife from Hadestown are brilliantly off the wall. The project was created mainly in rural Vermont, seemingly out of boredom, which might go some way to explaining its unique nature. The majority of the songs can stand alone outside of the wider context of the album, particularly on the bluesy ‘Way Down Hadestown’ which is more than a little reminiscent of Son of Dave, and the Latininspired ‘When the Chips Are Down’. There are a variety of styles - duets, ballads, acapella - but the record manages to stay coherent with its overall roots sound. There is, however, the severe danger of the entire thing sounding incredibly pretentious, not least due to its affiliation with opera; however, Hadestown is saved by its down-to-earth country feel and the strength of the songs themselves. This is a bold album with a distinctive sound that certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste; without any visual element, the story can be difficult to follow. But the songs are brilliant and suck you into its strange, alternative world. Besides, I bet you won't be hearing about another folk opera this year. words: Hazel Ensing

SINGLES

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Songdog

Ash

A Life Eroding One Little Indian

A-Z Vol. 1 Atomic Heart

When analyzing Songdog’s choice of album title, you wonder if from the offset it’s the most alluring choice. Instantly the record sets the unprecedented impression of a slow and deterring process, in essence whittling away life’s precious hours. Never one to judge a book by its cover, listening to the album proves they could not have found a more fitting description. Opening track, ‘A Life Eroding (So Much Sorrow)’ gives an accurate description of what’s to come, without the need to listen to it. Eerily resembling Dylan on a narcissistic downward spiral, the constant repetition of “Why’s there so much sorrow?” isn’t rhetorical so much as a justified question for anyone listening. ‘Obediah’s Waltz’ may be more versatile choice than the rest of the white noise posing as an album, but it doesn’t compare to Elliott Smith’s take on a waltz; similarly their ‘1979’ is no Smashing Pumpkins. ‘Shaman’ displays Songdog’s inclination towards uplifting lyrics: “Paracetamol, valium and wine” - seemingly the essential ingredients of a self-indulgent album. That the succinctly titled, ‘I Got Drunk and I Wrote You a Poem’ follows seems befitting. ‘It’s Raining on the Old Cat’s Grave’ displays the most personality, revealing Songdog’s vocal potential, yet lyrically he’s a poor man’s Nick Cave. The aim of the album, if any, seems like an endurance test; by listening to it the whole way through without an emotional episode is quite challenging. Bruce Springsteen used one of their tracks for walk-on music - surprising, given their lacklustre appeal. Whilst offering glimpses of what The Boss would sound like if he was Welsh, the album tries to keep up with the greats, but merely sounds like a dog being put down. words: Anna Conrad

Ash have had a busy year. Starting last October, they’ve released a single every two weeks over the course of a year. It is prolificacy on a par with the Beatles, while putting well-documented megalomaniac douchebag Axl Rose (who infamously took 13 years to release Chinese Democracy) to shame. They even took time out to fuck up everybody’s flights over the last month. Nice going, Ash! After the band decided to stop releasing conventional albums in 2007, A-Z Vol. 1 is a breath of fresh air that allows Wheeler and co. to explore new territory without taking themselves too seriously. Opener ‘True Love 1980’ is a delightful slice of eighties electropop that hooks you instantly, whilst ‘Arcadia’ is a driving pop anthem with catchy hooks and soaring harmonies. ‘The Dead Disciples’ sees the band get in touch with a more adventurous side, sandwiching explosive, euphoric choruses between downright dirty metal riffs - the kind which brought Muse such universal acclaim. The good oldfashioned pop-rock stomper ‘Ichiban’ and the piercing guitars licks of ‘Dionysian Urge’ show that Ash haven’t lost any pop sensibilities. When justifying the record’s unconventional format, Tim Wheeler acknowledged that the “emphasis has reverted to single tracks” whilst also pointedly remarking that “it hasn’t helped that most people have forgotten how to make a decent album.” Ouch. Two fingers up at the music industry, then. In any case, Ash are good at what they do. Conventional album or not, let’s hope they keeping making music. words: Jacob Mignano

Gorillaz ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ EMI

Plastic Beach may not have featured anything that screamed “SUPERHIT!”, but it wasn’t without its superthrills, and its second single is a case in point. De La Soul provide a supersilly summary of the album’s eco-conscious themes, while Gruff “Superfurry” Rhys’s superbouncy chorus (“The sea! Is raaaadio-active!”) is a supernonsensical joy. Super! words: Superalex Jellywisgard Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti ‘Round and Round’ 4AD Although armed with the lo-fi synths and cheesy flanges of his previous work, this is notably cleaner and funkier. The motorik bass line and repetitive monotone vocal bring to mind a slightly more rustic LCD Soundsystem, albeit with his sixties fetish fully in tact. words: Michael Waters’ Haunted Graffiti Mini Viva ‘One Touch’

Polydor

With a hook straight out of late eighties Chicago, and lyrics that barely disguise their drug references, Mini Viva squeeze another vapid single from an album only Heat readers would buy. Seriously, E’s been around for thirty years now. Get over it. The candyraver bassline and Ibiza chords feel like a ploy to appear on a future Dance Anthems compilation. It won’t work. words: Tom Bush <3 Mini Viva Jesca Hoop ‘Whispering Light’ Last Laugh

You’ve got to feel sorry for Jesca Hoop - a folky, surreally tinged female vocalist who is doubtlessly destined to be referred to as a poor man’s amalgamation of Bjork/JoNew/Bat for Lashes. Well worth a listen, once you put aside the similarities to her contemporaries. words: Dan Lester Faithless ‘Not Going Home’ Cheeky Records

“It’s not over, I’m not going home ‘til I can take you with me...”, sings Maxi Jazz, in homage to the fine line between courtship and stalking. This club symphony takes some time to grow on you before hooking you with relentless beats and escalating synths that will eventually get you dancing, proving Maxi’s theory of the importance of persistence. words: Jacob Mignano

FASHION 300410

Nautical but Nice... For this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoot we have fused the gritty urban with the vibrantly nautical, combining sailorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stripes with city greys.

Left: Navy blazer and cream chinos, both by Gap. Pink rugby top with denimcollar and pink long sleeved polo both by Reiss. Navy wool coat and navy chinos by Urban Outfitters. Deck shoes by Timberland. Right upper: Double breasted denim jacket and pale grey jeans both by Reiss. Dark grey jeans by Firetrap. Grey trench coat and striped T-shirt both by Gap Right lower: Tan trench coat and multicoulored flannel shirt both by Gap. Blue jeans by Reiss. Deck shoes by Timberland. Flat cap by Urban Outfitters. Grey cricket jumper by Fred Perry. Striped T-shirt by Gap. Dark grey jeans by Firetrap. Styling: Tom Purdie, Charlie Bland, Tomas Jivanda Photos: Sarah Greene and Richard Smith

CLUBS 300410

On Friday 4 June , thousands of students will gather in the grounds of Lotherton Hall for the University of Leeds Summer Ball. Now in its ninth year, the Summer Ball is the biggest in the country. Four arenas will showcase international artists with state of the art production and lighting, as well as a free funfair, seating, bars, and a variety of food stalls serving through the night. With over 6,500 tickets sold, the 2010 Ball will be the biggest yet. Florence and the Machine have received much critical acclaim since their inception. They were chosen in 2008 as one of the BBC’s Sound of 2009 shortlist - an honour previously bestowed on the likes of Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele Florence and the Machine’s sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including pop, rock and soul. Florence Welch describes the sound of her music as like “Throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe. It’s something

overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” The band’s debut album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009. On 17 January 2010, the album reached No. 1 on the UK album chart, having remained in the chart for 28 consecutive weeks up until that point. At the 2010 BRIT Awards, Lungs won the Mastercard British Album award.

The Sunshine Underground sold out London and Leeds venues on their first headline tour, following successful support slots for LCD Soundsystem and local gigs, which earned the group the Live Band of the Year Award at the Independent Leeds Music Awards for 2005. The Sunshine Underground play a variety of punk, funk and indie. Their debut album Raise the Alarm, was released on 28 August 2006, after playing Carling Stage sets at both Carling Weekend Reading and Leeds Festivals. They have also performed on the ‘Other Stage’ at the

Glastonbury Festival and headlined the ‘Future Stage’ at T in the Park. The band’s second album, Nobody's Coming To Save You was released on 1st February 2010 and reached No. 86 on the UK album chart. Their next single to be released is 'Spell It Out', which will appear as part of a digital download along with remixes of the first two singles and an official release of the much aired demo, 'Fall In Line'.

Erol Alkan was resident DJ and co-founder of Trash (helping launch The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, Peaches and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs in the UK) and had a hand in the running of its successor, Durrr, at the infamous ‘The End’. His salacious, anarchic DJing style helped him become an international name during the electroclash/dance-punk movement of 2004. Alkan as remixed, amongst others, Death from Above 1979, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Justice, Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers. Recent projects have included being one half

of psychedelic rock act Beyond The Wizards Sleeve and producing The Long Blondes, Mystery Jets, Klaxons and Late of the Pier. He was recognised in 2002 as 'Best Newcomer' at the Muzik Awards, and in 2009 Top Magazine voted him “the best DJ of the world”.

Turntablist DJ collective, the Scratch Perverts, include members Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Plus One. The well established trio have played an unfaltering array of events near and far, as well as having previously headlined many-a-Metropolis event in Leeds and elsewhere. Known for their scratching, they have contributed techniques and pioneered innovations in skills development achievable on turntables. As individuals in the team, (ranging from 4 members at their start in 1996, expanding to 8, underwent a split, and then reform in 2000 consisting of the present 3), Prime Cuts has obtained 2 consecutive ITF World Scratching titles (first beating A-Trak in Hawaii and later defending the title in LA the following year, in 1999). Whereas Plus One won the 2000 Vestax Champion battle, and brought about the return of the DMC World crown to the UK after a

Daisy Dares You is a 16-year-old future pop sensation from a sleepy village in rural Essex.

She has been profiled by The Times, the BBC and the Guardian as a young artist to watch for in 2010. Daisy describes her music as “delirious funky produce” and, as to be expected, songs like ‘Daisy Dares You’ and ‘Number One Enemy’ are giddy electro-pop.Her debut single was available to download from 28 February 2010 and is called ‘Number One Enemy’, featuring UK rap artist Chipmunk. The video for this song attracted around 160,000 views in the first week and was 4Music’s VIP track for the week commencing 10 January 2010.

Little Comets are a “four-piece multi-pronged

Boy 8-Bit, aka David Morris made his first steps onto the electronic scene when DJ Touche included his track ‘The Colonel’ in his Radio One essential mix in 2004. In 2004 he also released his first single for Touche’s new Body Clap label. The track was an hiatus of 10 years. Since their dominating streak they have now retired indefinitely from competing. The collective now focuses on headlining live DJing acts which govern events worldwide, as well as holding residency at Fabric. Their take on Hip Hop production has been rendered atypical and has been used to the broadest degree; they are also notable for their adoption of DnB. With an agenda full of upcoming events ready for the summer, and including double bookings on occasion, DJ Friction is a man of high repute in his game; in the words of Pete Tong, Brighton raised Friction has become one of DnB’s “Big Dogs”. With multi-award winning titles under his belt, this member of the DnB domain has smashed it through the ranks with releases on a host of top labels in the likes of Valve, Tru Playaz, Passenger, Hardware,

quadrilateral” from Sunderland and Newcastleupon Tyne. They play ‘kitchen sink indie’ music, citing Debussy, Roald Dahl, Ella Fitzgerald and Paul Simon as influences. In early 2009 the band were signed to Columbia Records and are currently recording their debut album in France. In early 2009 they released the single '’One Night in October’ through Lucky Number Records, reaching No. 3 in the UK independent singles charts. The single was played by Huw Stevens, Zane Lowe and Sara Cox amongst others on Radio One. ode to the Commodore 64 of his childhood. ‘Turbo Loader’ was followed in 2005 by his melodic bassline roller ‘Long Jeanne Silver’, which was described by IDJ magazine as an “awesome electronic masterpiece” and given top marks with five stars out of five. Up to date, the Boy 8-bit has almost 30 official remixes to his name. Recent remixes include Chromeo, Midfield General, Lethal Bizzle, Mika, Hybrid and The Black Ghosts. He has recievied much praise from DJ’s Such as Radio One’s Annie Mac and Kissy Sell Out and Kiss FM’s Sinden and The Loose Cannons amongst others. In more recent years, Friction has also begun producing within the Breaks scene. DnB and Dubstep duo, Dan Stephens and Joe Ray aka Nero, have become a prominent title in the forefront of today’s bass scene. As of their start up in 2007, they have been highly recognised and supported by the likes of Andy C, Grooverider and Friction. 2009 saw Nero’s first release on the laudable label, Breakbeat Kaos, with track ‘Act like you know’ which was followed by a Dubstep refix. Their debut Dubstep hit tune of 2008- ‘This Way ft. Alana’became one of the year’s biggest tracks, gained them widespread acclaim steering them into foreground of the scene’s most talked about producers. Having recently been signed onto Chase and Status’s label MTA Nero are currently working on their debut album.

Tickets

Transport

Tickets are £42, and include transport to and from Lotherton Hall. There is no limit on how many tickets you can buy, but a University of Leeds student card must be presented on purchasing.

The Summer Ball ticket includes transport to and from Lotherton Hall. When purchasing a ticket you will need to choose what carriage time you want to take to the Ball.

With a maximum of 8,000 to be sold, the Ball will sell out. Tickets are available from the Union Information Point, Cats, and LMUSU Met Bar. Online from www.leedsummerball.com Tickets can be picked up from union on the night

8pm, 9pm and 10pm have already sold out. 6pm, 7pm and 11pm are still available (7pm predicted to be the next to sell out) Carriages will take 25mins from Parkinson steps. Prior to carriages leaving, there will be a champagne reception from 5pm in the Terrace (champagne not complimentary).

No ordinary election L S gives you the lowdown on the General Election 2010 factor that has made this election historic. For the first time the country has been be able to see the party leaders go head to head on the big issues, bringing politics to life for millions who might otherwise have remained apathetic. The revelation of the first debate turned out to be the third man on the podium. The rise of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats as a serious force in British politics is the third reason this election will be remembered as historic. After that first debate their poll rating soared and they now find themselves the second placed party for the first time since the 1980s.

As we approach the final stages of this election, however, the thing that is really interesting commentators is the fact that this could be the last election of its kind in this country; the last of the old era of British democracy. Its not only a chance to change the government, but to change the whole shape of British politics. It’s often forgotten that our current democratic system isn’t very democratic at all. Since only one candidate can win in each constituency, and all it takes to win a seat is one vote more than anyone else, the system can throw up some truly bizzare results. In theory, a party could come second by one vote in every constituency in the country, and nevertheless send not a single MP to Parliament. This sounds far-fetched, but in 1983, the alliance of Liberals and Social Democrats that eventually became today’s Liberal Democrats, won 25% of the popular vote. However, because most of their candidates came a close second rather than actually winning in their constituency, they won only 3.5% of seats in Parliament. Naturally, the Lib Dems have wanted to change the voting system ever since. Now, however the call for vote reform is gathering momentum. There’s a serious chance that, under the current system’s idiosyncracies, Labour will come third in the popular vote but nevertheless win the most seats in Parliament of any party. If this happens it will make a lot of people very cross. The Lib Dems say that one condition on them supporting either Labour or the Conservatives in a hung parliament - which, remember, is still the most likely outcome - is vote reform. Labour also say they want to make the voting system fairer and more representative, after an initiative spearheaded by former LUU President Jack Straw. So what are the likely outcomes if we accept that a hung parliament is bound to happen? There might be a Liberal-Labour coalition that will bring in vote reform, so that the next election is completely different, the door open to all parties, big and small, to win seats in Parliament. Britain would be more democratic and the shape of its politics changed forever. Or, there might be a

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'These are no ordinary times, and this is no ordinary election'. So says the Prime Minister himself. David Cameron calls it 'the big choice', Nick Clegg 'the most exciting and unpredictable election for a generation'. On one point at least, all the parties agree; this General Election is historic. Exciting and unpredictable because it’s completely unclear who’s going to win . For most of us first-time voters, this is something new. Not long ago it looked be in the bag for the Conservatives. Disillusionment with an incumbent government that’s been around too long, strikes, unemployment: its exactly the set of circumstances that swept Margaret Thatcher to power in 1979. The back and forth pendulum of British politics seemed set to swing back to the blue corner. But the Conservatives failed to capitalise on the situation. They have a leader who has done much to ingratiate his party to the people – like Blair did for Labour. They also have their big idea. That idea is fixing ‘Broken Britain’ by replacing big government with ‘Big Society’: less state intervention, more individual responsibility. But whatever you make of this (and it is certainly a ‘love it or hate it’ manifesto) it hasn’t been enough for the Tories. Every poll that’s been taken – and there have been many – has them in the lead, but not by much. Everything points to the same outcome: a hung parliament. A hung parliament is one where no one party has an overall majority, meaning they have to rely on the votes of MPs from other parties to get any laws passed. This means that the role of smaller parties suddenly becomes all-important – they have the casting vote between the two opposing, largest parties. This is where the Liberal Democrats come in. Even at the start of the election people were calling their leader Nick Clegg ‘the kingmaker’ because, in the event of a hung parliament, the party he chose to back up with Lib Dem votes will be able to govern, and have their man – Brown or Cameron – as Prime Minister. Then came the television debates; another

It’s the most exciting and unpredictable election for a generation.

Nick Clegg

The Lib Dem surge has been fuelled by another factor new to this election – online activism. Before the election even started, the subversive power of the internet was on display. More people have seen a photoshopped version of the Conservative’s infamously air-brushed ‘We can’t go on like this’ poster on MyDavidCameron.com, than have seen the real thing. Facebook is full of groups backing the various parties (and ones that slag them off), YouTube is over-spilling with amateur satirical videos and Twitter has become such an important vehicle for public opinion that BBC Online has a permanent link to it on it’s election page.

Inside What the parties are saying on fees, jobs and environment, pg. 2,3 The election online, hung parliament, pg. 4 Your local Leeds candidates, pg. 4 Conservative-Liberal coalition. The Conservatives are opposed to any kind of vote reform, but might the concessions of coalition government force their hand? Of course there’s a strong chance that negotiations on any kind of coalition will fail. In that case we might well be facing another election very soon, as happened in 1974. Exciting and unpredictable indeed. But with the economy in such a fragile state, too much uncertainty, the wrong economic policy, or a result the people simply aren’t happy with, could put the UK on a very rapid downward spiral to serious social unrest. Is it to be an era of unemployment, poverty and unrest, or one of austere but fair governance, where the vulnerable don't slip through the inevitable gaps that will be left by the public spending cuts all parties concede must be made? Greece, Spain and Portugal are already a long way down the first road. Which road Britain takes depends on the people's choice at this election, and the decisions that party makes. There could not be more at stake.

With this election set to be the tightest for a generation, every policy will be scrutinised intensely as voters try to make sense of the various manifesto promises. Higher education, the environment and employment are three issues in particular that divide all the major parties. Leeds Student speaks to key members from each party to sort fact from spin in a definitive guide to the essential issues affecting you, the students.

Higher education funding Higher education funding features prominently in the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto, and the scrapping of tuition fees is an integral part of their plans. They claim to have a “financially feasible plan to phase fees out over six years”, and also promise to “immediately scrap fees for final year students”. While a complete eradication of student fees remains a long-term goal, party leader Nick Clegg is currently focused on preventing a rise of the current £3,000 cap on student fees. “We, the Liberal Democrats, will fight the lifting of the £3,000 cap, but we actually want to see the scrapping of tuition fees,” Clegg says. “We had once hoped that we could scrap tuition fees overnight. Because money is tight we are being quite open with people and saying that this is going to take a little longer.” As part of this gradual overhaul, the Lib Dems would “reform the current bursary scheme to create a National Bursary Scheme for students, so that each university gets a bursary budget suited to the needs of its students.” Clegg believes that the Lib Dems’ stance on tuition fees can help distinguish them from their rivals, and attract the key demographic of students voting for the first time. “I think that is a policy of scrapping tuition fees which neither Labour nor the Conservatives offer, which students can believe in.”

The three major parties are waiting for the outcome of the Brown review, an investigation into higher education funding, and Labour’s Minister for Higher Education, David Lammy is anticipating significant findings. “I’m not going to pre-empt the review, but I suspect that when the government has considered it, there will be a big and passionate debate about the way forward,” Lammy says. “Of course there are big issues about how we fund universities, how we continue to ensure that students from poorer backgrounds are able to access universities, and what the student contribution will be.” Lammy is also critical of the Liberal Democrats’ plans to scrap tuition fees. “I think the Lib Dems are the most disingenuous party that I can think of, and I ask students to look very closely at this.” “One, because the Lib Dems have changed their position five times in two years and two, because I like to think that students, as a cohort of people in society, are progressive and are often pushing society in a progressive direction. And there is nothing more progressive than working-class students, students from poorer backgrounds, getting the opportunity to experience higher education.” “Of course we’d like to say, ‘let’s not pay fees’. Some people say ‘let’s not pay tax’! But we pay tax because we believe in society and we believe in opening up these opportunities and that is what the student contribution is about.”

The Conservatives claim in their manifesto that “young people are among the biggest victims of Labour’s economic mismanagement”, and their higher education policy is formed around plans to deliver an extra 400,000 training opportunities for young people. Among the Conservatives’ plans are the creation of 10,000 extra university places and the introduction of an “early repayment bonus on student loans which are repaid ahead of schedule”. According to the manifesto, they also plan to “provide an extra 100,000 extra college places over two years” and “create an extra 100,000 apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships each year”. The Conservatives do not propose to scrap tuition fees, and William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, has dismissed the Liberal Democrats’ plans as unrealistic. “I don’t think that the Liberal Democrat policy is realistic,” Hague says. “Most of the people that have studied this have said that that is not the way forward. Unless they have a big pot of money hidden away somewhere. I think that they’re just saying that to make students happy, but it is not a deliverable policy.” “I voted against fees when they came in. But it is not realistic to say that we can get rid of them – they are a part of financing higher education. I think that if they were got rid of, then the shortfall in money would affect access to the number of places available in higher education.”

Climate change The Conservative party don’t have a strong history on environmental issues but William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary, when speaking to Leeds Student insisted that they have changed. He said: “David Cameron took a lot of stick for it at the start on his trip to the North Pole and so forth. We have developed a lot of policies, which the other parties have used, and they’re welcome to them.” The Conservatives want an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and want to generate 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020. They also want to speed up the planning process of new nuclear power plants. Hague explained: “We will pay an advance for people to do energy conservation in their own homes and then the energy companies give them the money and get it back in bills over time. In international affairs, pursuing agreement on climate change will be very important to us in foreign policy, my own area of responsibility. The Conservative party has become a ‘Green’ party.”

The Liberal Democrats are the only party that will not invest in nuclear power, and have set a target for 40 per cent of UK electricity to come from "clean, non-carbon-emitting sources" by 2020, rising to 100 per cent by 2050. Vince Cable, Treasury spokesman, told Leeds Student that all their policies have a green thread running through them. He said: “We have a specific green economic package that will create jobs and help move us towards a zero-carbon Britain by 2050. We will invest in renewable energy projects, build more affordable homes and improve the energy efficiency of schools and homes.” “We propose a green tax switch, so that taxes will be more heavily based on pollution rather than work, savings and innovation, the key elements of a sustainable future. Increasing some environmental taxes is part of our manifesto so that the Lib Dems won’t make anyone pay tax on their income below £10,000. That’s £700 back in the pocket of all average earners.”

Labour want to cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 34 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. They aim to have 40 per cent of UK electricity come from "low-carbon" sources by 2020, including 15 per cent from renewable sources. They want to create 400,000 new green jobs by 2015. As part of working towards a greener Britain, Labour want a ‘zero waste’ Britain. This would bring into effect a ban on all recyclable and biodegradable materials going into landfill. They also want to change the planning process so a new generation of nuclear power stations can be built. In addition to this, they want to work on a legally-binding international agreement on climate change to limit global temperature rises to two degrees Celsius. They similarly want to work to campaign for an EU-wide ban on illegally logged timber.

Youth unemployment David Lammy spoke positively to Leeds Student about graduate unemployment: “The first thing to say is that I’m very pleased that graduate unemployment is falling and that we’re seeing a pattern that we expected, which is that as the economy picks up graduates tend to benefit with the opportunities that are there.” He defended his internship and apprenticeship policy: “When I tried to set this up 18 months ago people said that I couldn’t do it, they said it wouldn’t work, there was no history of internships in Britain, we didn’t need this scheme. And it’s been a huge success. We’ve had over 22,000 vacancies on the scheme, young people are getting opportunities and they’re often getting employment, I’ve had interns in my office who’ve got employment. Over 60 per cent of the internships are paid and organisations like the BBC and others are advertising.” In their manifesto, the Labour party want to create 200,000 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund, which gives a job or training place to a young person out of work for six months. Benefits would be cut at 10 months for those who refuse work. He sympathised with the position students are in: “I graduated in a recession and it wasn’t easy actually, but obviously university and a degree are always worth it for the individual who has taken it and there are, I think, social, and cultural, and of course economic benefits that come as a consequence.”

According to Julia Mulligan, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Leeds North West, a study of students conducted by the Conservative party shows that there are two big issues in regard to unemployment. The first was graduate unemployment; the second was the inability to get part-time work during their studies. The Conservatives claim that unemployment for under 25s is one in five. They want to propose a scheme whereby young people are allowed to pair up with somebody who runs a business. They want to create 400,000 work pairing, apprenticeship, college and training places over the next two years. Similarly, the Conservatives want to expand the number of apprenticeships available and remove the age cap on the scheme. They plan to do this by re-working the ‘Train2Gain’ scheme. One of the big issues of the election is that the Labour government want to raise National Insurance contributions. This is seen by the Conservatieves as a ‘jobs tax.’ Mulligan argues that, “I run a small business and in the middle of a recession the last thing we need is more tax. We need to be investing in our businesses and giving more tax to the government is no way to do this.”

Vince Cable, Treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “This recession is hitting young people hard and we must support those that need help.” The Liberal Democrats want to invest £900 million in creating opportunities to ensure that unemployed young people can acquire the skills to get a foot on the jobs ladder. They want to create 800,000 funded internships or work experience placements. People doing these schemes would get £55 a week for a three month placement. Cable believes that, “Currently internships are mainly the preserve of young people and students from better-off backgrounds; we want to open up these opportunities to people from all backgrounds.” The Lib Dems promise that no young person will spend more than 90 days on Jobseekers Allowance before they are given help. This help will come in lots of different guises, so it could be either in training, education or internships. In addition, they want to fund extra places for further education and cover the costs of adult apprenticeships.

What the other parties have to offer... Respect - 40 % of energy renewable by 2020 - More energy savings in the home - Free home insulation - New high speed train lines - Green jobs in new recycling facilities - Raise minimum wage in line with earnings - End lower wage limit - No cuts to public services.

The William Hill Monster Raving Loony Party - Floating bikes on Thames to combat congestion - Combat global warming by putting air conditioning on outside of buildings

Plaid Cymru

Green - No Tuition Fees - ‘Grants not loans’ - Introduce a ‘living wage’ - Make the minium wage 60% of national average earnings (£8.10 currently) -‘Green New Deal’ to create 1 million new jobs

- Reform financial sector - Recall troops from Afghanistan - Increase single person’s pension to from £59 to £130 a week - Scrap Trident - Long-term goal of Welsh independence

UKIP

BNP

- Restore Grants - Fees a ‘retrogressive step’ - replace with ‘student vouchers’ and ‘training vouchers’ - Abolish costly EU schemes such as carbon capping, emissions trading and landfill taxes - Sceptical on man-made climate change. - Increase nuclear power - Protect environment by controlling immigration - Create 1 million new jobs 500,000 in manufacturing

- Abolish Fees, restore grants - Immigration as destructive of the environment: Reduction in population required. - Renewable energy; inter-city train network; new nuclear power stations. - Produce goods in the UK (reduce foreign imports and exclude certain firms); increase domestic competition; protect British companies

Who will get your vote? Leeds Central

Leeds North West

Where? Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Central Leeds Who’s got it? Labour, Hilary Benn Who’s got a chance? Hilary Benn’s held the seat since a 1999 by-election and had a 12,000 vote majority in 2005. The Lib Dem’s probably represent his biggest threat, but he should be safe.

Where? Headingley, Weetwood, Adel, Otley Who’s got it? Liberal Democrats, Greg Mulholland Who’s got a chance? Greg Mulholland won the seat from Labour in 2005, with a slim majority of 2000. The Conservatives were not far behind, and this time it’s a real three-horse race.

Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrats

Hilary Benn, Labour 2005 Result:

17,526

2005 Result:

Mick Taylor, Liberal Democrats

16,612

Judith Blake, Labour 2005 Result:

2005 Result (Ruth Coleman):

5660

14,735

Alan Lamb, Conservative

Julia Mulligan, Conservative

2005 Result (Brian Cattell):

2005 Result (George Lee):

3865

Also contesting... Kevin Meeson, British National Party Dave Proctor, Independent ‘We beat the scum 1-0’, Independent

11,510

Also contesting...

Trevor Bavadge, Alliance for Green Socialism Geoffrey Bulmer. British National Party Alan Procter, English Democrats Martin Hemingway, Green Party Mark Thackray, United Kingdom Independence Party

Hung out to dry? The UK political system is fully under the microscope for the first time in a generation. In the eyes of the public, a cloud of corruption has engulfed the Houses of Parliament from which no party or MP has escaped. This has led to the most open race in years, as well as bringing the ‘first past the post’ (FPTP) voting system into focus. In order for one party to govern they need the majority of seats in Parliament. For this election that is 326. There is a very real possibility that this will not happen, as there will be a more even split in the number of seats each party receives. Labour are set to lose many of the seats they currently hold, but will either the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats gain enough in order to force them out and gain complete control of the House of Commons? If there is no clear majority, then Parliament will be ‘hung’ leaving it very difficult for the party with the most seats to pass laws. There are three solutions to this problem, all which are less than straight forward. The first option is for more than one party to form a coalition, however this will be easier said than done. Many believe that this scenario will give the third party, the Liberal Democrats, more power as Labour and the Conservatives will not work together. But it is difficult to predict if a coalition

would work at all. The second solution is for the party in control to try and pass laws by working with smaller parties on an issue-by-issue basis, again this will be difficult. The third solution is to dissolve parliament and call another election. This is a final option and will be used if the first two options are unworkable. The FPTP system brings with it another problem if there is a hung parliament. A party can gain enough control of enough seats without winning the most votes from the public, as any vote for a candidate who does not win a seat is essentially wasted. An example of this was seen in the last election in 2005, when the Liberal Democrats gained nearly 6 million votes to Labour’s 9.5 million, but only won 52 seats to Labour’s 356. In terms of a hung parliament, it would be very difficult for Gordon Brown to justify staying in power if he finished third in the popular vote, even if he formed a coalition government with him at the head. A situation like this could force a change from the FPTP to that of proportional representation, where each party gains seats on the basis of how many votes they gain across the country, rather than in individual constituencies. The potential pitfalls of a minority government are highlighted by the example of Canada. The last three parliaments have been ‘hung’ and none

of them have lasted particularly long. In the UK we are used to governments being stable and in power for four or five years at a time, but the last three Canadian governments have lasted a year (Oct. 2004-Nov. 2005), two years (April 2006Oct. 2008) and two years (Oct 2008 onwards) respectively. While this may not seem ridiculously unstable there have been two instances between October 2008 and 2010 when the parliament has been prorogued (put on a break) at the request of the Prime Minister of Canada to be reconvened a few months later. One of these occasions was to avoid a vote of no confidence in his government by a coalition of other parties and the other was for the Vancouver Olympics, but it was alleged that the reality was to avoid an enquiry into the actions of the Government in Afghanistan. While it is unlikely that the British Parliament will be prorogued, other than to call another election, the lack of stability in Canada over the last five years shows that a hung parliament could be very damaging in terms of Parliament being able to do its job effectively. While some countries have ruled with coalition governments, Britain is not used to this style of governance and therefore a hung parliament will probably lead to the clamour for the proportional system to grow.

Inventive on the internet Even though the last election was only five years ago, the way we engage with it has completely changed. Now, if you want to tell everybody who you’re voting for, you join a Facebook group rather than the traditional living room window posters. Read a manifesto? Go online. Register for a postal vote? Do the same. Want to rage about the issues? Start a blog. The BBC has a special area of its election coverage dedicated to first time voters, with a breakdown of each party’s policies on the key issues and constituency guides, making everything a lot more simple than it at first appears. This year, there has been an increase of 17 per cent in electoral registration, and a huge spike in the number of postal votes. A survey of visitors to the electoral commission website showed that 40 per cent were aged between 18 and 24 and a lot of this is owed to internet coverage. But more importantly, if you want to mock the other side – you go online. Hours of fun can been had from visiting mydavidcameron.com and making up your most hilarious ending for ‘I’ve never voted Tory before but...’.

Debates a bit boring? Why not slap along to every ‘I agree with Nick’ on slapometer.com that, instead of polling whom you’re most in favour of, finds out who we want to slap most. It doesn’t beat around the bush about it either – your mouse becomes a huge hand and little Cameron, Clegg and Brown dolls fume with outrage and reel off sound bites as you virtually express all that pent up rage about your least favourite policies.

The three potential PM’s have even had kitchens designed around their personalities and policies thanks to the creative minds at Ikea: http://bit.ly/cvLcAJ It is also allowing for greater interaction with we can watch the debates over and over and over again on iPlayer and the like. The internet has both made the election more interesting and accessible, both by poking fun at it and breaking every aspect of it down into bite-sized pieces.

Contributors: Design: Tomas Jivanda and Katie Szadziewska Writers: Charlie Cooper, Dafydd Pritchard, Adam Richardson, James Legge, Victoria Gray, Virginia Newman, Dominic Scott and Chris Stevenson

11 11 Erol Alkan, Boy 8 Bit, Doorly, Eskimo Twins, Bowski, Ado, Preamptive VJs

The Sunshine Underground, Little Comets, Fruity DJ Hazy Dave

Scratch Perverts, Friction, Nero, Ras Kwame, Prophecy & Steppa, Central Beatz DJs, MCs Tonn Piper, ID, Skeez, Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Naughty

Preview Florence & The Machine, Daisy Dares You, Fruity DJ Will Peel, Fruity DJ Poppy, LUU Dance Band

Itchy Feet Tuesday 4 May Elbow Rooms Itchy feet returns with its usual mix of Rock n Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk and Swing. Tuesday will also see a performance from the superb Leeds University Big Band Society.

FEATURES 300410

It’s Berlin or rust Everyone likes a gentle bike ride and sailing along in the sun, taking in the scenery fills you with contentment. RAG’s ‘Bike to Berlin’ was not a gentle bike ride, but it was a jolly good adventure. Evelyn Prysor-Jones reminisces about those crazy eight days in March. This trip is exac tl y w hat it s ays on the t in . We biked fro m L eeds t o Berl in ov er a perio d o f e i g h t d a y s , t o r a i s e m o ne y f or Pa rkin so n’s UK , aimin g to ride 5 50 miles b u t i f y o u i n c l u d e a l l o f t h e c o mp l e t e l y i n t e n t i o n a l ‘ d e t o u r s ’ i t w a s mu c h , m u c h l on g e r ! I’ll admit that the cycling was what caught my eye but actually, the charity became more and more important as the days went by. Thinking of those less fortunate than you, can really power you up a hill. But before I become too melodramatic let me set the scene. On March 22 2010, 37 riders, eight van team members and assorted family and friends met at 7.30 am outside the aptly named Parkinson steps. Already dressed in incredibly sexy cycling gear, everyone checked their bikes and made several trips to the toilet. About to set off on our adventure, we were full of apprehension about our survival. Little did we know our bikes would become an inseparable part of our souls and we would learn to know more about each other than would normally be socially acceptable. Instead of writing a day-by-day account, which would be different for everyone, here are some situations and feelings that everyone would have experienced. Your bike is not just a bike, it is far more than that. It starts simply; your bike is christened. I was riding Lady Elizabeth Scott. Your attachment grows as your bike survives each day. Even if the tyres puncture and it falls apart frequently, it is character building - for you and your bike. By the end of the trip they will not only

have names, but life stories and personalities. Lady Elizabeth Scott lived a wild life of rich husbands and dirty affairs with mountain bikes. Feeling like you are about to die is a completely normal feeling. Whether it is

can deep throat bananas is side-splitting and seeing someone cycle like a frog while wearing an ethnic blanket is absolutely priceless. You also begin to notice or think things while biking that you normally don’t. Examples include whether it is the

hurtling down hills and being too scared to brake because you’ll fly over the handlebars, or crawling up them, nursing the fear of a cardiac arrest, it is all good fun. Things are a lot funnier when deliriously tired. Using bike lights to create a tentdisco is hilarious, seeing how well people

law in Holland to own a goat, why are there so many dead frogs and if I were a bike what would I look like? It’s best to keep such things to yourself. You will look awful for eight days. Although the campsites may be tonnes nicer than British ones and hot showers are always available, don’t be fooled into thinking you will ever be clean. Mud, blood, sweat and tears find their way everywhere and oil marks do not rub off easily. Add helmet hair, no make-up, a lack of ordinary clothes and styling products to the equation and it makes for some very un-sexy times. Don’t even bother wearing mascara to try and prove you’re a girl, it will be running down your face in no time. Cycling shorts, lycra, waterproofs and a balaclava over the ears is normal attire, you actually start judging those people who dress ‘normally’. You seem to forget how to act like a normal human being, as if to fit with your new barbarian style. Conversations alternate between pain, chafing, blisters, food, beds, bikes, and the digestive system. When it comes to socially acceptable behaviour, going to the loo behind a bush, or even just on the side of the road is fine, and repeating quotes from Gavin and Stacey is expected. Just because one day went well doesn’t mean the next day will. Your muscles will laugh cruelly at your optimism. Every

minor hill is a mountain, every fiveminute break feels like a second and every ten miles feels like a hundred. It doesn’t help that mileage becomes warped. GPSs do not like route planners and route planners do not like maps. Maps, in turn, do not like actual terrain, so this generally leaves you making many a U turn, cycling ten extra miles and attempting to understand directions given by a very friendly, but very German speaking, German. Biking takes over your life. You ride all day and you dream you’re riding all night. You also see the world in a completely new and impressive way. It is an experience that is so full of ups and downs - literally - that all the complaints mean nothing when you finally cross the finish line. We were, obviously, dressed as superheroes and blowing many pink whistles as we headed towards the Brandenburg Gate. Typically, we got stuck at every traffic light but eventually rode in, straight through someone’s street performance, ecstatic that we had made it. You make such good friends on a trip like this and the tent camaraderie and team spirit makes any amount of chafing totally worth it. It’s definitely best to remember tents aren’t soundproof though! It makes you push yourself, physically and mentally, but even if you’re tired, just imagine what your team leader is feeling, ours all looked dreadful by the end. I would definitely recommend this trip, as by the next attempt all the bumps will have been smoothed out, just about. It all adds to the adventure. Pho to graphy: K irs ty Du nc an

A few little reminders for the Berlin crew. ‘I’m talcing my chafe.’ ‘Crap’ ‘Breaking!’ ‘Gear change!’ ‘Pot hole!’ ‘WOW’ ‘Do you mind if we spoon?’ ‘Excuse me’ Overall, we raised £14,000 for Parkinson’s UK and had a whole lot of fun in the process.

ARTS 300410

FILM

COMEDY

Cemetery Junction Set during the 1970s in Reading’s Cemetery Junction, the epitome of small-town dead-endedness, the big screen collaboration between Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant follows three twenty-somethings facing a turning point in their friendship, in a town they have long since outgrown. The film mostly focuses on misty-eyed Freddie (Christian Cooke). Determined to shake off his working-class upbringing, he takes a job selling insurance door-to-door. His ambitions change however after he is reunited with boss’s daughter and childhood sweetheart Julie. There is very little new here, but it is competently executed and at times passably entertaining. Moments of dinner table bickering and offhand racism between Freddie’s grandmother and factory-worker father (Ricky Gervais) excellently articulate the tone of a town that ‘missed the swinging sixties.’ Yet the frustrated-youth storyline is undermined somewhat by the filmmakers’ portrayal of its setting. The Reading created by cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, with rolling green hills and quaint small-town imagery, conveys a sentimentality completely at odds with the film’s central theme of working-class desperation. Traditional gritty British realism (see This is England) is replaced with an optimistic endless summer more reminiscent of a John Hughes offering. The film’s main shortcoming is its failure to balance multiple narratives and contradictory

Comedy Session Hifi 24/04

themes. In attempting to be part feel-good coming-of-age drama, part romantic comedy, and part wry social commentary, it manages, rather spectacularly, to be none of the above. It is neither as touching as it could have been, nor as funny as it should have been. There are moments of genuine brilliance - a Vigilant Life employee being rewarded for a lifetime of service with a cut glass bowl is heartbreaking - yet these are overshadowed by uncon-

vincing melodrama. There is a sense that the film focuses on the wrong lead, and could have been so much more had any of the other narratives not been so tragically half-baked. The contrived attempt to tie up every loose end during the final minutes is a frustrating conclusion to a film that never quite knows which story it is trying to tell.

Like Peter Parker, Dave is nerdy and slightly lacking in friends. But that’s where the comparison ends because, unlike Spiderman, Kick-Ass doesn’t have any real superpowers – just plenty of optimism and the ability to fill a scuba-diving costume nicely.

I watched most of Kick-Ass through the cracks between my fingers, squirming and wincing at Jane Goldman (writer) and Vaughn’s daring and unapologetically violent advert on ‘why not to be a superhero.’ Aaron Johnson does a great job as lead role, full to the brim with childish enthusiasm that is soon extinguished by his merciless opponents. The young Chloe Moretz dominates the screen as Hit Girl, a foul-mouthed homage to Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and Nicholas Cage is hilarious as her sidekick and slightly ‘over-involved’ father. Together, the two vigilantes make a fearsome team in their quest to bring down menacing drug lord Frank D’Amico, played by Mark Strong. Kick-Ass, like any Lady Gaga outfit, is so ridiculously tasteless that you cannot help but revel in its obscenity. Goldman and Vaughn’s imagination for ‘ways to die’ is impressively revolting, namely their invention of the ‘human microwave.’ Even for the squeamish, the gory fight scenes are strangely enjoyable – rip-roaringly exciting and played against a great soundtrack. I doubt Kick-Ass will be remembered in years to come as a movie masterpiece – it definitely favours style over substance. But in doing so, it makes for a really fun few hours. If the idea of Judd Apatow rewriting Sin City sounds good to you, chances are you will like this.

words: Benjamin Holmes

FILM

Kick-Ass Matthew Vaughn’s latest film tells the story of teenager Dave Lizewski who, on becoming disenchanted with a morally unprincipled society, endeavours to restore order in the world, promoting himself as its first ever superhero, Kick-Ass.

words: Charlotte Gill

The stand-up circuit is like a box of chocolates: rectangular, encased in cardboard, and given at Christmas by relatives with no imagination. Or more accurately, you get a mixed selection and you never know if what you'll pick out next will be the delicious caramel barrel or the nasty raspberry fondant. The Hifi club is an ideal venue for such a night; a small, cosy, subterranean club whose comedy club attracts a young and friendly audience. The night was ably compered by Sam Avery, who dealt in largely improvised chit-chat with the front few rows, and set a good mood for the evening which prevailed throughout. The first big act, Chris Ramsey (pictured), bounded on stage like a rather chipper scarecrow and proceeded to provide solid entertainment for the next half hour. His act was a little like a night down the pub with an unusually witty mate, based largely on the recounting of such anecdotes as his time as Gok Wan's warm-up man, or a cautionary tale of a friend who tried a curry challenge, and the ensuing crazed hunt for yoghurt which followed. A likeable everyman, Ramsey was quick, funny, and, although maybe a little middle-of-the-road, reliably packed in the laughs. In comparison, the headline act, Simon Bligh, turned out to be a bit of a letdown. While his act contained a couple of marvellous set-pieces, including a spot-on impersonation of a Dalek telling bedtime stories and an excruciatingly accurate mime of a nervous 14year-old attempting to touch his first boob, much of his set relied on themes that have been done a hundred times before - and often much better. There’s still, with the right person, much mileage to be had from jokes about men and women, families and growing up, but Bligh had nothing new to offer the audience, dealing largely in clichés about incompetent teenage boys, paranoid fathers, and other well-worn subjects. So if this night was a box of chocolates (to return to my opening metaphor) it’d be a Milk Tray: reliably pleasant, but with nothing within to surprise or innovate. words: Tim Boden

ARTS

300410

ART

POETRY

Between Kismet and Karma:

Sticks and Stones Strawbs bar 26/04

South Asian Women Artists Respond to Conflict Leeds Art Gallery until 09/05 South Asia has been the site of some of the bloodiest conflicts in the twentieth century. From nationalist struggles to oust the British from South Asia, and violence accompanying the generation of new states, to the present political and economic struggles of South Asia, it is often women who have endured the most emotional and physical turmoil. Against this destructive backdrop, Between Kismet and Karma showcases the work of eight South Asian women, using drawings, sculptures, paintings and sound to provide forms of healing as well as critiquing concepts like the home, bodies, cities, borders and the nation. Despite its serious subject matter, many of the pieces engage with these issues in creative and often humorous ways. Sujeewa Kumari Weerasingle, a Sri Lankan based artist, turns herself into a living sculpture adorned with tea bags whilst standing on a nondescript British beach, complete with bewildered Britons hovering around in the background, in her film Skin of a White Tea Bag. This surreal set-up

Elastic Dress by Anoli Perera

explores one of Sri Lanka’s major industries, tea, and serves as a potent reminder to many consumers that this quintessentially British hot beverage has its origins in South Asia. Particular focus is made on the body throughout the exhibition, especially by Anoli Perera and Naiza H. Khan who use it to dispel the benign femininity stereotype that is often imposed on South Asian women. Perera’s explosive elastic dress installation was the most striking piece of the exhibition. Its power stems from its reddish hues and the empty dress’s ability to contour to the shape of the body, creating something that provides freedom to the female form rather than constriction. Shilpa Gupta provided a more explicitly political edge to her work. In Our Times (Singing Mobile Microphones) sees the Indian artist weld movement with sound, forcing the audience to compare the speeches of Jinnah and Nehru (first leaders of Pakistan and India respectively), thereby critiquing the process of nation building. Similarly, 100 Hand Drawn Maps of India showed a surprising amount of variation

In Our Times by Shilpa Gupta

in its conceptions of India, challenging usual cartographical and nationalistic representations of the country. Yasmine Kabir’s film The Last Rites proved to be one of the understated highlights of the exhibition, exploring the environmental degradation within Chittagong’s ship breaking yard in Bangladesh. A poignant contrast is created between the insignificance of the fishermen working tirelessly whilst the gigantic silent ships stand in the background. Between Kismet and Karma has brought something pioneering and unique to Leeds Art Gallery. It deals with actual historical conflict briefly, mostly in Shilpa Gupta’s Partition piece, neglecting the bloody conflicts that have plagued other countries. However, it many ways this proves to be a boon, making their work transcend the ‘postcolonial’ or ‘women’ category that they could easily be bracketed into, providing nuanced perspectives of the human condition in conflict. words: Nali Sivathasan

Body-Bullet by Naiza H.Khan

THEATRE PREVIEW

An Ideal Husband Seven Arts, Chapel Allerton 06/05 - 08/05 Leeds Student talks to director Poppy Rowley and cast members George Rowell and Joanna O’Malley to discuss their adaptation of one of Oscar Wilde’s often overlooked masterpieces. What’s the play about? Poppy Rowley: It’s a satire on London’s aristocratic society, set in 1895, during the season when men and women try to find husbands and wives. There’s a bit of romance mixed with political scandal, and lots of wit too. Have you modernised it at all? PR: No, we tried to keep it set in 1895. It spans 24 hours, set in three different rooms within different houses. You mentioned a political scandal – did you want to draw any links with the current political climate? PR: We might try to link it to modern day politics but I don’t really want people to leave the theatre thinking “Ahhh that meant so much.” It’s meant for enjoyment! More people are familiar with Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Why did you choose An Ideal Husband over The Importance of Being Earnest? PR: An Ideal Husband is very similar in terms of script and wit to The Importance of Being Earnest, but it has a slightly more serious

storyline which we thought would be interesting to recreate. George Rowell (Lord Goring): Besides, everybody knows The Importance of Being Earnest. This will be an original, fresh look at Oscar Wilde. So you guys are educating people... GR: (Laughs) That sounds a bit forced. More like bringing more of his plays to the forefront. More importantly, has anyone found an ideal husband or wife on set? PR: Well we did a speed dating event last Tuesday, called “Find an Ideal Husband.” A couple of people met each other through it so maybe we have. But within the cast itself... GR: Well there’s still time... Lastly, why should we come see it? PR: It’s great if you want an intellectual push. There are so many profound life statements and it’s wordy. But in a good way! Joanna O’ Malley (Mabel Chiltern): A lot of student theatre today is very modern and improvised. We like to think that this play is more traditional; it’s taking theatre back to its roots. And we’ll hopefully be hiring costumes

from the West Yorkshire Playhouse. So it should be a visual treat... PR: Yes, definitely. One that no one should miss out on.

Tickets are on sale in the Refectory foyer this week and next week, between 12 and 4pm. words: Shirin Marker photography: Poppy Rowley

For some, the thought of poetry evenings can incite images of troubled artists and bad Haikus in people’s minds. But at Sticks and Stones, you can thankfully leave these poetic preconceptions at the door. The first half of the night was open mic, which attracted a range of styles and subjects. From falafel to the internet, love to Cash in the Attic, the poetry on show was varied and exciting. Arguably one the most memorable performers was Al Cummings who displayed a lively style that set an energetic tone for the rest of the evening’s shenanigans. The guest poet for the night was Preston-born Byron Vincent, who describes himself as having emerged from “the cloying conurbation of various Northern sink estates.” Having appeared on BBC 3’s The Verb and Radio 4’s Bespoken Word, Vincent has also made quite an impression on the festival circuit, performing at both Glastonbury and Latitude. With a name that simply oozes literary credentials, his vivacious fusion of comedy and spoken word is witty and engaging. Vincent might resemble “one of the elves on the side of a Rice Krispies packet”, or someone whose genetic makeup is “90% Twiglet”, but his poetry doesn’t fail to pack a punch. His poem ‘Alchemy in Nowhere Town’ was a bleak yet droll portrayal of an average night out in Preston, where you can expect to stumble across “underage bungee drinkers – what goes down must come up” and girls “drunk on a dream from Heat magazine.” At times Vincent might seem more of a comic than poet, but not only is he painfully funny but he manages to paint a brutally honest picture of contemporary society. With its informal and welcoming atmosphere Sticks and Stones manages to avoid falling into the precarious world of literary pretension. And for anyone interested in having a go at performing their own work, it offers the perfect space for you to do so. As one of the poets said, “If anything makes the slightest of sense then I must be doing something right.” words: Laura White photography: Matthew Ruttley

15 LOOKOUT POST

THEATRE

The Count of Monte Cristo West Yorkshire Playhouse until 15/05 The idea of staging a tale that took Alexandre Dumas 1,200 pages to tell at first seems impossible. To condense such a story into two and a half hours may seem improbable. To do so with just six cast members is inspirational. In this version of what is often deemed as Dumas’ greatest work, writer Joel Horwood has managed to collaborate a plot with more twists and turns than a bank holiday jive night, forming a fascinating and enjoyable account of revenge in politically volatile nineteenth century France. The main problem with a storyline so extensive is how to condense it. The solution: keep the tempo high and the cast active. The result is a delightful representation of the novel described by lead Daniel Rigby at the start as, simply, “long.” Our scene is set, therefore, for a fast and energetic depiction of corruption, betrayal and revenge. For the betrayed Dantes (Rigby), his passage through religious enlightenment and his fight for liberty provides the drive for an emphatic first half of drama, humour, and creative ingenuity. Flowing choreography from all six cast members seamlessly portray time shifts, and yet it is the raucously likeable old prisoner Faria (Duncan Wiseby) who steals the show. For Wiseby manages to add what Rigby at times loses: an endearing likeability with the audience. His ragged garments and battered

photography: Keith Pattison

In a play that won the Pulitzer award in 1945 and whose critique of capitalism is as pertinent now as it was then, 61 year old travelling salesman Willy Loman struggles to readjust as thoughts of the past continue to haunt him. To book visit www.wyp.org.uk or call 0113 213 7700. Comedy Sessions: John Gordillo, Justin Moorhouse, Dave Twentyman Hifi 01/05 7pm

looks play upon Dumas’ original Faria, the eternal optimist embedded in mad delirium. Sadly, the second half loses the momentum gathered in the first, as the introduction of characters inevitably comes into play. Dantes is sidelined in favour of Villefort (Wiseby again) but the intense psychological conundrums that Dumas inspires are glossed over. Rather than the cast intermingling drama with time sequences, we are instead introduced to a paparazzi style headline act – projected on the back wall – that slows the tempo, providing the audience with plot context. This modern intake into a story deeply set in the French Revolution does have its advantages, especially with the comedic ‘teenage’ interaction of the young Eugenie (Tilly Gaunt) and Benedetto,

played by the excitable Pieter Lawman. Lawman also dons marigolds and apron to become Dantes’s ‘work experience’ jailor in a scene which is greatly ironic compared to the tension and emotion of Dantes’s captivity. And yet, with all the humour and drama, sword fighting and shooting, what lets the play down is the directness of speech. All too often you will be told who someone is, rather than identities being found through clever interaction. A fascinating restoration of a classic novel, The Count of Monte Cristo is truly enjoyable. What the cast and script lack in subtlety at times can be ignored for their willingness to play with the audience. words: Joe Short

THEATRE

HiFi’s Saturday night Comedy Sessions continues with three brilliant comedy acts. While Gordillo is a Perrier Award nominated director and comedian, Moorhouse is described as “one of the brightest stars” on the current comedy circuit and Twentyman’s act is “lighthearted, positive fun.” With all this in one sitting, how could you resist? Beyond Biba: A Portrait Of Barbara Hulanicki Hyde Park Picture House 06/05 As the founder of the famous clothes store Biba, Barabara Hulanicki was an influential figure on the 1960s fashion scene. This documentary shows a glimpse of her today, as well as a retrospective look at her life, providing a rare insight into a fascinating woman. With appearances from Twiggy and Ronnie Wood, this film should not be missed. The Pirates of Penzance Riley Smith Hall 05/05-08/05

D re a m / Pl a y

stage@leeds 28/04 - 01/05

photography: Richard Smith

Death of a Salesman West Yorkshire Playhouse 30/04 – 29/05

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the theatre to see Dream/Play. The PR campaign had been deliberately vague but a few things had been whispered: the production would be performed by third year students from Leeds University PCI (School of Performance and Cultural Industries), it would be something entirely new and exciting, and full of design-led touches. It would be a theatre experience unlike any other, past or future. This was very intriguing. However, I had also heard that the show was going to be the very thing that every audience member dreads a show to be – 'interactive.' I was nervous. Using Strindberg’s surrealist work A Dream Play of 1901 as a stimulus, the performance branches off into its own strange world, incorporating the students’ own interpretations, thoughts and dreams, and forcing them all together to create a unique experience. However, it is not one of those shows where you can sit, watch, applaud and then leave. Every audience member is invited to move around the performance space, interact with the actors and physically become part of the ‘dream’. Two factors particularly stand out. Firstly, the design-led features such as voice-overs, projections, lighting and music are used extremely well to create the unnatural, eerie world in which dreams are created. Audience members are constantly blanketed by darkness and sound, creating an atmosphere

that complements the production. Secondly, the actors are very consistent in their roles, able to stay effortlessly in character, and therefore allowing the mood to be sustained. However, this unusual experience is bound to divide audiences – some people will absolutely love it, whereas others might struggle to understand the concept. Thus, the best mode of preparation for watching this piece is to completely discard all preconceptions of what it could be. But if you expect nothing more than the unexpected, allow yourself to become part of the PCI-created world of dreams. You’ll be fine, and you might even enjoy being ‘interactive.’ words: Hannah Astill

OperaSoc’s latest offering is Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic masterpiece. Frederic is released from his apprenticeship to a band of loveable pirates. He manages to find a lady friend but, as in any love story, it’s not as simple as that... Tickets are £5/£6 (£5/£4 on the opening night). More information at www.operasoc.co.uk words: Hannah Astill

WHAT’S ONLINE leedsstudent.org - Fiona Lamont takes a peek at the British Pathe film archives... - Nali Sivathasan sees Cherrybomb... - Joe Miller reviews Agora...

D o y o u n e e d t u t o ri a l s u p p o r t f o r u s i n g S P S S o r N V i vo f o r y o u r d a t a c o l l e c t i o n & a n a l y si s ? D o y o u n e e d he l p w i t h u s i n g M i c ro s o f t O f f i c e a p p l i c a t i o n s t o s t ru c t u r e , f o r m a t , a n d p r e s e n t y o u r d i s s e rt a t i o n o r t h e s i s pr o f e s s i o n al l y ? P a r t - t i me s t a f f m e mb e r o f f e r s o n e - t o -o n e o r g r o u p t u t o ri a l s e s s i o n s a t r e a s o n a bl e c o s t . C a l l 0 7 9 4 6 2 6 1 3 1 2 o r e m a i l c m e 6 t c @ l e e ds . a c . u k

TV 300410

COMMENT

What is the impact of TV debates on this election?

Ben Heath asks, with the introduction of the latest political TV debates, has British politics become too focused on image, or is it now a subjects accessible to the masses?

Whether an attempt to appeal to a wider target audience, or simply following suit with our transatlantic counterparts, the newly envisaged television debates certainly do add a new dimension to the previously dull general election. It becomes a glamorous affair, and with a primetime slot on ITV, one available to many viewers. But with the focus shifted from traditional politics to one now premised upon image, has British politics finally evolved into a multimedia affair or are the traditional values suffering? When the three party leaders made their first

television debut on 15 April, it was difficult not to draw comparisons with the Kennedy-Nixon debate of so many years ago, when the photogenic JFK arguably won power through the medium of television. Indeed, Gordon Brown of the Labour Party looked more like a wilted rose rather than the standard upon which British politics are currently based. Awkward at times, pitiful at others, Brown lacked conviction and the ability to use one word that resonated through his oppositions’ speeches: change. On the contrary, David Cameron represented the fresh-faced youthful alternative to an inevitably

Pick of the week

Sleepy Hollow

doomed party. Cameron’s crisp suit and clean image certainly summed-up his party’s manifesto; out with the old and in with the new. But perhaps the real victor in this television first was Nick Clegg, of the often overlooked third party. Clegg’s decision to avoid the heated tussle between the two powerhouses of British politics, followed with a deliverance of facts rather than false promises is represented in the ever growing support evident in the latest polls. However, should we, the public, rely on such media events to make an informed decision on the future of our government? It was hard not to overlook the presentation of each political leader; sympathy felt for an ageing Brown, a slight distrust in Cameron’s arrogance and respect for Clegg’s calm deliverance of facts. The debate also targeted a much wider audience; Facebook abundant with politically-charged statuses and more definitive opinions on an often misinformed subject. It was also a little strange to hear political terms amongst the usual array of conversations on subjects a little less serious that comes with the university lifestyle. Certainly, the debates are making politics much more accessible to those with little interest. One of the must-see events of 2010, it represents the new era of a traditional institution. Whether this is fair on the fledging parties that cannot be afforded such prime opportunities, or the less media-friendly characteristics of characters such as Gordon Brown could be a much-contested argument.

The previous approach to politics; that of the occasional fly-on-the-wall approach, made it difficult to fully understand the intentions of those who govern so much power in our country. While the new approach may not be fair in a monopolised political environment, it does allow the public to feel part of the political process. It was a mediated event that had strict ruling on the interrogation process, but it did show the leaders in their true light and how they reacted under the pressure from the British public. In perhaps a less optimistic view, television politics may degrade the political process and remove the importance of substance in favour of image. You only have to look across the Atlantic to see the negative effects this can have on the political system; after all, who would want the Austrian-born Terminator controlling our education system? So, the television debates have undoubtedly created a new and exciting atmosphere around a previously dull subject. Politics has now become more accessible and encouraged more people to vote. Whether it is suitable to base opinions on image remains to be seen and will be decided on 5 May. If Cameron is elected into power, and change does happen, it is difficult to ignore the importance of his media-image in the road to his success. Alternatively, if Nick Clegg - against all odds - manages to sneak into power, he will surely credit these debates with his eventual success.

Film & TV

1/05/10 at 10.50pm Channel 4

Tim Burton’s unashamedly barbarous adaptation of Washington Irving’s 1820 short story (written while he was in Birmingham, history has it) is one of his better offerings that still stands up to repeated viewings, certainly more authentic than his take on Alice in Wonderland. As usual, Johnny Depp plays the scholarly antihero, combining his trademark amalgam of clownish, spinster and erratic human deficiencies, whilst he is supported by a stellar cast consisting of Miranda Richardson, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon and Christopher Lee. The film is as beautifully lit and photographed as any Hammer horror film with that yankee pastiche twist. Sleepy Hollow is an audacious expedition into the 19th century realm of the romantic chiller, into the depths of that quintessential New England gothic, even if at times it lacks the tension it needs to sustain the 105 minutes, veering onto making it slightly hollow. Nevertheless it is essential viewing for all Burton fans and it will probably be remembered as the sterling collaborative work of the director and Johnny Depp.

Facejacker

w o r d s : J a c k S t r i n ge r

30/04/10 10pm Channel 4

He became a cult legend with the edgy prank call series Fonejacker, and now Kayvan Novak is coming out from behind the telephone to meet perplexed victims face to Facejacker. In this sequel, Novak uses prosthetics, ridiculous wigs and his own chameleon voice to bring to life well beloved characters such as dodgy car salesman Terry Tibbs and the hilariously awful con merchant, Augustus Kwembe. Novak has added to his already bulging smorgasbord of infuriating characters, with Saddam Hussein’s plastic surgeon and charlatan art critic Brian Bedonde. Hidden behind his new secret weapon of makeup, Novak goes about beleaguering anyone unfortunate enough to stumble into one of his many fake consultancies and shops, managing to catch the hilarity on hidden cameras. Kayvan Novak again displays his absolute ability as a comedian, voice talent and all round nuisance in Facejacker, quite literally giving his old characters a facelift. Be prepared to laugh not only at the all round gullibility of the general public, the speech impediments and the hysterically bad plastic masks, but at Novak’s sheer nerves of steel. A must watch programme.

words: Melissa Welliver

Unless you’re literally in Burma, it’s unlikely that bit more special and hilarious than your you’ll have missed the endless references to average sketch – the fact ‘Orlando’ is carrying ‘just chundering EVERYWAH’ and if you want an iPhone around Burmah, and has already to know what everybody’s going on about, look been to Parah (Parah dahling, Parah! Peru?), no further. The Unexpected Items, a sketch and Tanzanah show the thoughtlessness of group formed by a collection of Oxford ridiculous gap yahers who claim to be finding graduates, have managed to summarise themselves, but really are more interested in everything we love to mock about both rahs ‘going on the lash’. Even managing to have a and irritating gap yearers into three minutes of dramatic twist towards the end, this video is hilarious bliss. It shows a typical private school one of the best things on YouTube. The group leaver informing his friend Tarquin that he have just put up gap yah 2, raising ‘awahness’ ‘can’t come shopping on the King’s Road for the Haiti appeal, but the jokes seem just a today’, as he’s on his ‘gap yah’, as if maybe he’d little more forced, and just goes to show that be able to come tomorrow because nothing will be able to compare to the original. obviouslaaah money is no object. It’s words: Victoria Gray observational touches like this that make this Watch online now at: bit.ly/dv5sxK Any favourites? Email us at tv@leedsstudent.org

BOOKS 300410

COMMENT

Why read?

Reading the Guardian’s Why I Write – a series of interviews with contemporary writers – I began to contemplate why it is I read. In writing, an author creates a world, creates people, who without him would previously never have existed, in reading their creations, are we really experiencing anything? Or are we simply escaping into the world of someone else’s mind, as a means to escape our own? Is there really any substance in experiencing the arts, books, theatre, music, if we ourselves add nothing back to it? Or is reading something more? In reading, are we contributing to more than ourselves? We read, ultimately, for pleasure – to entertain ourselves in a way our own imaginations cannot. Authors take us away into an imaginary world, where we follow the

imaginary events of imaginary people, but for what ends? Is this something our own imaginations really cannot do? If our entertainment derives from the imaginative aspects of literature, then surely we should be content with our own imaginations. Yet, from novels, we gain more than we could ever gain from our own imaginations. We gain access into the world of another person’s imagination, an impossible feat without books. What is more, in reading Jane Eyre or Great Expectations, we are not only transported into another person’s mind, but to another time, another century, even another country. From the comfort of our own favourite reading spots, we are able to enter into the abyss of an unfamiliar imagination, exploring thoughts we ourselves

would never have had. Through reading we are, therefore, enlightened. We are made aware, through the words of the author, of another world, another time and another’s mind. We are able to understand things we have never experienced. We can live a whole other life through the pursuit of literature. And in writing – books, articles, diaries, lyrics, poems, we are opening our minds to the world, inviting others to see into our thoughts and imaginations, inviting the reader to join us on the journey through our own lives.

Lean on Pete

The Lessons

The Protestor’s Handbook

Willy Vlautin

Naomi Alderman

words: Vicki Mortimer illustration: Meghan Allbright

Bibi van der Zee

Red Tory

Phillip Blond

Lean on Pete tells the tale of Charley Thompson, a lonely and desperate 15 year old, and a tired racehorse named ‘Lean on Pete’. After fate deals Charley a terrible card, he pursues his only hope – to find his Aunt in Wyoming – by hopping from place to place through theft, generosity, heartless employers, and a horse he rescued from a ruthless and decaying race track. Charley’s search for a friend, father, or child, has been seen before. The novel has elements of Free Willy and The Horse Whisperer, with a troubled youngster seeking solace in an equally lonely animal. And like these films, the scenes in which Charley confides in Pete with complete conviction, and works tirelessly to keep him well, are incredibly touching. What is interesting about Vlautin’s novel, in particular, is that the futility of Charley’s situation, compounded by the brutal bare-as-bones style of writing, is one of its main draws. At times you feel that a profound desolation typifies the novel, with each character and event seeming ultimately disposable. However, this very emptiness immerses you in Charley’s limited world, leaving you willing him to just carry on. It is better than it looks.

The Lessons follows the stories of six Oxford students through their charmed and challenging university lives and beyond into a world of harsh realities for which they have been poorly prepared. The story’s narrator, James, is a lonely damaged physics student who finds that being considered merely adequate at Oxford, after a life of excellence, is utterly intolerable. As James begins to sink beneath a tidal wave of disappointment and pressure a lifeline is thrown to him in the form of Jess, a kind and passionate musician. Jess brings James into her very unusual group of friends at the heart of which is the charismatic and mysterious Mark. It is Mark, a troubled, unpredictable character with a vast trust fund at his disposal, who drives the book forward, dominating and manipulating the others. A remarkably compelling novel, The Lessons is impossible to resist as it progresses effortlessly towards some unknown eventual tragedy. Alderman shows great talent in making this future disaster ever present in the back of the reader’s mind throughout the novel. Even in the most lighthearted of scenes we know that this charmed life must come to its end. Dark, powerful and extremely insightful, The Lessons is definitely not a book to be missed.

Within just one week we’ll know who is to lead the (un)United Kingdom through the first half of the 2010s. But the water will still be rising, human rights will continue to be violated, the ugly hoof print of injustice will remain. Both for the emerging malcontent and the disillusioned activist, environmental journalist Bibi van der Zee (the Guardian, New Statesman, the Spectator) has produced The Protestor’s Handbook, a comprehensive guide for those wanting to nudge the world in the right direction. From full chapters on civil disobedience and direct action protests to reminders of why petitioning and letter writing still matters, Handbook takes in all the methods that the modern day protestor has at their disposal. Alongside the practicals of legality, publicity and fundraising, van der Zee’s comprehensive ‘how to’ is illustrated with case studies of successful protests that are both fascinating and essential. Perhaps one of the book’s most illuminating features is its ‘Why I Fight’ boxes – first person testimonies from prominent activists, from a whole range of causes, which inspire without denying that frustrations do exist. It’s too dense to pass as a quick-reference textbook (sometimes the examples do become a bit superfluous) but those who find themselves holding a copy are probably looking for more than just a toiletside paperback to glance at. Until Joanna Lumley becomes Prime Minister, Britain needs this book.

“Something is seriously wrong with Britain. This is an intuition that everybody, whatever their politics, shares.” Such ‘broken Britain’ grumbling runs throughout Blond’s book and can distract from any larger argument. When Blond discusses Britain’s individualism, in which people are obsessed with free choice but not moral values, he refers to those in favour of free choice on abortion but who still think fox hunting is cruel. Such offensive comparisons are hard to ignore, but there are some interesting ideas here. Society, Blond says, was eroded by creating a post-war welfare state that relied too heavily on central government. Local power vanished. Liberal individualism of 60s hippies and free-market individualism of 80s yuppies followed. Moral decay ensued. Now we no longer join community groups or political parties, but only enjoy mass zombielike consumption. Without social institutions within local communities, authoritarian government has taken place. Blond offers vague ideas for solving this problem before ending on God. Apparently the best way to hold society together and stop selfish individualism is through a ‘transcendent God’. Such a view ignores today’s diverse and mainly secular Britain. Blond mourns a ‘golden age’ of strong morals where communities acted as one voice. Perhaps he should remind himself individualism also meant diversity and freedom from uniformity and this should be praised, not criticised.

w o r d s : S a r a h H i ll

w or d s : Ka t y D ow d e n

words: Matt Hutchinson

words: Tom Knowles

OBSERVATIONS 300410

V for vapidity

The dangers of comfort zones

Studying: Nanotechnology If Had Superpower: The ability to stop time Favourite Film: V for Vendetta Sam Fin Favourite Cartoon: American cham Dad

Studying: History and Philosophy Celeb Crush: Gordon Brown Hates: Dub-step Childhood Toy: White Power Ranger

s this what it’s come to? Bribery and corruption in our union? Plying people with (somewhat substandard) toffees to vote? And more shockingly, £5 off the summer ball ticket price for voting (though, as the unfortunate purchaser of a ticket after the early tickets and between these late ones, I have missed out). Quite aside from the issue of ‘money well spent’ (if the organisers can afford to subsidise the price by £5 for a significant number of people, was every penny of the £42 really necessary?) The fact remains that people are effectively being paid to vote; a privilege that people historically have died for. Whether we consider the topic meaningless or not is irrelevant (no matter what the poster-bearers with emotive imagery of burning rainforests may believe, I doubt Shell are going to be publicising their brand on the team shirts of a university who regularly reminds them how much they are hated) and if anything, I think the entire premise is a tad pointless when even the upcoming general election just decides which group of posh boys gets to waste the money we’ll soon (hopefully) be earning and, as far as I can see, little else. It seems a bit trivial to decide whether we should reintroduce bottled water when the government seeks no public opinion on whether we should have medically unproven terahertz scanners at airports, for instance. The fact is, people have never changed governmental structure unless they used gunpowder. It may be unfashionable to say so, but it doesn’t matter who you vote for; taxes will still be spent unwisely, politicians will still be corrupt and, assuming there are no outbreaks of ebola or Rage virus any time soon, overpopulation will still be rife and consequently, rampant immigration will still go unchecked. And I still won’t have a job by the end of the year! My concluding point here is this; democracy is not a right, it’s a distraction. It fools the general public into believing they have some kind of say in politics. The truth is, most people aren’t intelligent enough to be able to run a country, nor even judge objectively who would be best to (I include myself here – who has the authority to give someone that sort of power?), so laws are virtually a foregone conclusion, and a sufficiently powerful corporation can bypass them regardless, with their standing armies of lawyers and lobbyists, but the voting process gives people a sense that they ‘didn’t vote for this’. The only truly efficient political system would be one not involving people and thus functioning solely on logic; so a computer. However, even setting the issues of coding, mistrust and the ramifications of power failures aside, I have a feeling it would realise what an inefficient waste of space our civilisation is, and promptly level it, only to replace us with its own creations. Nevertheless, all I can say is; vote Monster Raving Loony Party on May 6, and roll on SkyNet.

WLTM? DDF? WTF!?

Sebasti an de Z ulueta

veryone has their own little comfort zones whether it be at home, with friends or by yourself. They’re great environments since you can feel totally secure and sure that whatever you do or say will be loved and/or laughed at. However, like anything, they can be abused. How and when did it become acceptable to treat people you don’t know with minimal respect? Perhaps the pathetic fallacy is actually true and everyone is in a bad mood because of the weather. This would be a welcome poltergeist were it

Instead of “please” and “thank you” it would be “bugger off”... proved true but I have a feeling that the inhabitants of the Middle East/Africa/Spain etc. are not measurably happier than the Brits. In most places all over the world, it is very offensive to not offer a hand shake. It seems that in our beloved England, this pleasantry has been somewhat ‘left on the side-walk’. For a nation with a reputation for good manners and hospitality, we’re not doing ourselves justice. I am guilty as well as everyone else; perhaps we need to be bombed again, because that seems to be the only time we Brits pull together and actually treat each other (especially those we don’t know) with respect. I have heard, as I’m sure you have, too many times ‘he’s a fucking good bloke when you get to know him’. The likelihood is that I am not going to get to know this person so why the hell can’t he/she put themselves out there, just the tiniest bit and politely introduce themselves instead of just sitting there nursing their pints thinking they’re a bit cool. The reality, however, is simple insecurity. They think that by standing up and introducing themselves they have somehow shown a weakness, they would be stepping outside the place they know so well and that is a terrifying and dangerous place for them. Everyone’s afraid of the dark so get over it! This scarily infectious behavior spreads like clap in freshers week; I’ve recently found myself doing the same thing and end up looking like a wanker. It is important what others think of you to a point; this is a good thing, because if no one gave a shit, imagine the social anarchy that would unfold; instead of “please” and “thank you” it would be “bugger off” and “get lost.” I don’t mind if someone thinks I’m an ass hole as long as I’ve had the opportunity to meet them and give an impression. At least then I have given myself the chance to be considered a decent human being. I am far too young to offer a resolve but can at least attempt to encourage a bit of social awareness and salvation of endangered etiquette.

Studying: English Literature and Language Loves: Pimms Favourite Book: Wuthering Siobha Heights n Brew o Wyatt od-

‘B

ald, overweight, Dr Who fan, 49, WLTM slim, attractive 20-25 year old woman. Interests include puzzles and tree bark collecting.’ We’ve all got an idea of what dating services are like. From women seeking men, men seeking men and even couples seeking an extra; desperate dating adverts are everywhere. However it occurred to me after seeing three television adverts for dating sites in one evening, just how acceptable these services have become. While many of us have flicked through dating pages cruelly laughing (myself included) we are now in the firing line. Young people, including students, are more and more frequently signing up to dating websites. Although some people may find still find it a taboo, the acceptability of dating services is on the rise. As summer approaches and the need grows to gaze lovingly into someone’s eyes while sitting on a blanket in Hyde Park, is it any wonder some students turn to dating websites? After all there are only so many relationships that can start in a lecture/at The Cockpit/through a friend. Wouldn’t it be nice to cut the crap and jump to the good stuff? No more, ‘Oh God! I was so drunk, what if he doesn’t like me anymore! I knew I shouldn’t have thrown up in his hat!’ Instead you have a website that pairs you up according to interests and bingo, after a few messages you’ve got a perfectdate-in-a-box. Piece of cake. After thinking about this for a few days, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to get involved. I signed my friend - I’ll call him Tom (sorry George) - up to mysinglefriend.com. After writing the dutifully egoboosting review of ‘Tom’ we sat back and waited for the magic to happen. We learnt a few things pretty quickly. First of all, bubbly or vivacious means fat. People who have a GSOH usually don’t, and well-travelled usually (but not always) means really old. Then appeared the weird abbreviations. Sure we knew WLTM and TLC, but DDF? (For the record, it means drug and disease free, to which surely the only response would be, ummm great?) It’s also important to be aware of the risks lest you start getting flowers daily and realise that 22 year old Matt is lying about their age, name and gender. However, there are undeniably good aspects. If you don’t have the time or inclination to spend yet another evening flirting with an uncertain outcome, then give it a try. Sure you might not get a life partner, two kids and a nice suburban semi out of it but it’s a bit of fun. What struck me about the sites was how normal everyone looked and it fully challenged my (I’ll admit it, wrong) preconceptions of the murky world of online dating. Perhaps Leeds Student should start a dating service (ah the possibilities!). Who knows, wedding bells may be on the cards after all.

MINI OBSERVATIONS “Module feedback forms : Is it inappropriate to confess my undying love for the tutor in the ‘any further comments’ section?” Rosie Driffill

“Definitely going to be riding home the park patrol golf cars after Fruity!”

Mark Shields

“Stand-up comedy is the last art form.”

“Fruity: where the booze is cheap and the women are easy.”

Xander Edwards

Calum Chance

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

How clean is your house? Aggie MacKenzie, star of reality TV series ‘How clean is your house?’ and ‘Dancing on Ice’, recently visited the University of Leeds to take part in a National Science and Engineering Week event. Organised by the West Yorkshire branch of the British Science Association, the event took 60 school children on a journey through a specifically developed experimental house. The pupils were treated to hands on practicals, ranging from making paper to using enzymes found in biological washing powder, whilst live bedbugs and dustmites provided a creepy addition to the experience. Aggie MacKenzie, expert in keeping her house both clean and green, was at the University all day to talk to the children and help with questions. “These trips help students to realise science is all around them,” says Aggie, “It really brings science to life and shows it’s not all just about getting stuck into a good text book. It allows the children to see science with their own eyes and on a day to day level.” The British Science Association, a registered charity that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering in the UK, organises

National Science and Engineering Week each year. This year the University was involved in over 50 events, and it’s not just the school children that benefited. A post graduate volunteer commented that “not only have the kids had a

and Engineering Week and The Leeds Science Festival, the University of Leeds continues to extend its reach of science to the public. Nicole Timms

Aggie of ‘How clean is your house?’ fame joins school children on a household science adventure at the University of Leeds. Photo: Nicole Timms

Gene therapy provides steps towards cancer cure University of Leeds researchers, supported by Cancer Research UK, have developed a way of targeting and destroying cancer cells using viruses. Though still in the early laboratory stages, this important work has shown very promising results. The research exploits unique markers that appear on the surface of cancer cells. Specific proteins, attached to viruses, recognise and target these markers, attaching themselves and the virus to the cancerous cell. The virus particle can then invade the cancer, delivering gene therapy to the cell nucleus. The gene therapy works by altering the genetic code of the cell, making it more sensitive to drugs, commit cell ‘suicide’, or even replacing the defective genes that caused the cancer to develop in the first place. “Gene therapies have been out of fashion over the last couple of years,” says Dr. John Chester, who led the study. “Our research

great time and really got involved with some hands on work, but I have had loads of fun mucking in it really helps remind me how inspiring science can be.” With the successful events this year during both National Science

points to a new method to optimise viruses for gene therapy and has so far been promising in the lab.” Gene therapy has been tried before, but with limited success. Attempts to deliver such treatments have not been efficient or specific enough to only target tumour cells. Though this new research has only been tried on bladder cancer cells so far, the scientists are optimistic that the technique could be successful on any type of cancer. Dr. Lesley Walker, Director of Cancer Information at Cancer Research UK believes that "This exciting early laboratory work points to a new way of attacking cancer cells by targeting the unique markers on cancer cells. It could have real benefits for patients with treatments tailored to their cancer but we first have to test it through clinical trials."

Fancy bat! Research led by University of Leeds’ Professor John Altringham has led to the identification of a species of bat not previously found in the UK. The myotis alcathoe or

Felicity Inkpen Photo Courtesy of Cyril Schonbachler

Alcathoe’s bat has a body the size of a man’s thumb print and weighs in at about the same as a jelly baby, and has so far been spotted in Sussex and Yorkshire. Bats make up one third of the UK’s land mammal species, and therefore contribute massively to our mammalian diversity. This new discovery brings the total number of bat species known in the UK to 17. Chloe Bellamy, a student working in Professor Altringham’s lab explains the importance of this discovery ‘this species belongs to a group of bats known as the whiskered bats, the conservation of which relies on understanding their behaviour and habitat. Discovering that there are in fact three types of bat in this group allows them to be better understood and helps ensure their conservation’. Nicole Timms

News Extra

Critical Analysis Science Commentary with Fliss Inkpen

Science - a political act Science and politics doesn’t always mix well; with only 27 MPs in the last Parliament having a science degree, the closest many seem to get to science is the use and abuse of shady statistics, as David Cameron recently demonstrated. Extolling the perils of UK cancer services, he claimed that fewer people die of cancer in Bulgaria than in the UK; this might have less to do with the limitations of the NHS and more to do with the far lower life expectancy in Bulgaria, where you may not get old enough to get cancer in the first place. But ignoring their creative use of data, science does enter the manifestos of all three main parties. The Conservatives have described themselves as a “vision free zone” when it comes to science policy, but their manifesto has intentions to provide stability for research councils. They have pledged commitment to getting more science and maths graduates into teaching, and claim to be keen to reform the National Curriculum. Labour increased its investment in science from 1997 to 2007, but hasn’t so far indicated any outstanding changes to policy. They pledge to have a ‘ring-fenced’ budget for research, but crucially, they don’t say how big that budget will be. Expansion of higher education will continue, and priority will be given to students who study a science. The Liberal Democrats claim to want to create “a dynamic environment for science and innovation” and have pledged not to cut the science budget for the next year. They are committed to revising the ministerial code to protect the academic freedom and independence of scientific advisers and claim to want to make drugs policy based on independent scientific advice. Perhaps the issues are not the manifestos, but the beliefs and attitudes of the individual politicians. Lib Dem MP for Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland, signed the Early Day Motion 1240, calling for the positive recognition of NHS homeopathic hospitals; a move that could be seen as a huge waste of valuable resources. Apathy towards science, it seems, is infectious; Leeds Labour candidate Judith Blake’s scientific leanings show no evidence of going beyond supporting cancer research and the Tory option, Julia Muligan has absolutely no mention of anything to do with science in her manifesto. But maybe trying to increase political interest in science is fighting a losing battle; in a survey of the 650 members of the last parliament 584 described themselves as having no political interest in science and technology. When it comes to electioneering, science may never get the popular vote, much to the frustration of hardworking researchers. Science, it would seem, falls into the realm of issues outside of public consciousness, or possibly lacking in public support all together, but that makes it no less vital.

Features

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

The ugly face of poverty on our streets

Every day, as we walk through Leeds or any other city, we’re confronted with the cruel reality of people forced to live on the streets. James Legge found out about the problem and how to fix it. And is the giving of spare change really helpful? Now it was my turn to walk past him, with my eyes fixed determinedly on the path ahead, hoping not to catch his eye, like everybody else had done. The lurching guilt at seeing somebody less fortunate than me led me to scramble round in my pockets, identifying coins by just their size and shape. But I couldn’t find an appropriate denomination. To give the five pence would have been stingy. And the pound coin was a bit much. And let’s not even mention the tenner. I just gave him an awkward look - in the hope of conveying a sense of pity without any moral responsibility - and carried on, into campus. We all know Les. Or, at least, ‘Les’ is what he’s come to be known among the students of Leeds. No one can be sure of his name because he lost the ability to speak last year as a result of a throat condition on which we can also only speculate. But everybody recognises him when he stands at t h e corner of Hyde Park, with h i s

grey beard, his battered skin, and clothes as weathered as the park tarmac which he treads every day. And his note, which explains to passers-by that he’s hungry and homeless, and would like some spare change. People like Les, the rough sleepers who populate cities like Leeds, both in the UK and across the world, elicit in most people a peculiar maelstrom of conflicting emotions and moral considerations, which are hard to settle in the short time it takes to pass them in the street. Given that we’re all human, and generally care about others who are experiencing hardship, the first feeling which enters our consideration is clearly one of sympathy and a desire to help. But as we get older, this blind benevolence is laced with an acute cynicism about what any money we donate into the broken paper cup might be spent on. Indeed, that’s the first thing my friend said when we were talking about this ethical labyrinth over coffee: “But if I give them my money, I’m probably just funding a crack or heroin addiction.” My response was suitably naïve: “I’m sure that’s not the case. Why, if they can save enough money they can get a bed in a hostel or YMCA and probably get some food. It seems reasonable. Surely they realise that their longterm interests are better served

by doing this than by doing hard drugs?” As it turns out, we were both wrong, but me more than him. Like all endemic social problems, the psychological state of beggars and rough sleepers is much more complex than people care to appreciate. It’s not just that these men and women had a cash-flow problem and are between houses, or that they couldn’t bear their housemate any more. If something like that happens, the local council can normally sort people out with temporary accommodation in a hostel or a B&B. But rough sleepers tend not to take these options. They’re what the government terms, ‘the intentional homeless’. But this misleading term doesn’t mean that these people prefer the street to more conventional housing options or that they made the active decision to become rough sleepers. It denotes a group of people who have taken long and unfortunate journeys which they ended without the financial, physical, or mental wherewithal to escape the margins of society to which they have been confined. Studies into the mental health of rough sleepers across the UK have shown that just under three quarters have psychological problems, to do with any number of terrible life experiences, including clinical depression and schizophrenia. The condition of rough sleeping doesn’t just include the visible characteristic of sleeping on the streets or in basic shelter, but involves the mentality of complete withdrawal from society. That everybody has the ability to integrate properly into the economy is taken by some to be obvious, but the state of victimization and loss of selfesteem engendered by the fact that most pedestrians ignore street users and that they are often being stigmatised their own misfortune builds into a conclusion that the world just isn’t fair and that the street is, and always will be, the only place for them. That’s not to say that drug and alcohol abuse aren’t prevalent among the rough-sleeping community. In fact, it’s probably as prevalent as it was in my aforementioned friend’s preconceptions. I spoke to Nia Pritchard, who is a substance misuse worker at Ty Gobaith, a homeless hostel in Cardiff, about the problem: “Unfortunately, I would say that drugs and/or drink play a big role in their lives, whether as part of the cause or as a result of homelessness. None the less, I think it’s important to try and empathise with these individuals, to try and imagine being street homeless, to live with the uncertainty, the coldness, the discomfort, the loneliness and the hopelessness. “If I could take something that would give me temporary comfort, that would take away the pain, would make things better for just a moment and help me forget the futility of my

situation, whether that would be a drink or drugs, then I think I would eventually succumb to this.” Drug and alcohol abuse is just a small part of the enormous raft of problems which face rough sleepers, and is in many ways incidental. It seems that it’s often either a symptom of the wider personal issues which lead to homelessness, or a desperate and understandable way of gleaning some pleasure from a life in which moments of happiness are few and far between.

“Rough sleepers are some of the most vulnerable people in society” “But”, said my friend the cynic, “Why don’t they get down to the job centre, or sign on for the dole?”, betraying another misunderstanding of the problems which perpetuate homelessness, which I explained to him at length: In addition to the psychological barriers to selfimprovement, there exists a blockade of structural and administrative barriers between the streets and mainstream society. To apply for a job or for the dole, you need an address- something which rough sleepers, by their very definition, don’t have. And they won’t be able to afford an address until they have an income, which they can’t get unless they get a job or benefits. It’s a hopelessly cyclical problem, which not only leaves street users bereft of an income or a home, but which also reinforces the feeling that society cares little for their plight. He looked slightly chastened by this rebuke, which I was pretty happy with, and in anger resorted to the last bastion of sink-or-swim ignorance of social injustice. “Well, they’ve made their ill-advised choices, and they can live with the consequences”, he said as he took back a pull on his Morlboro Red, presumably oblivious to the irony. And what he said was loaded with odd assumptions. The refusal to help out people on the basis that they brought it upon themselves seems doesn’t sit well with the welfare liberalism which has engrained itself so snugly into the collective political morality. If we were to leave the victims of unfortunate twists of fate helpless against the rising tide of unintended consequences, then there’d be a bouncer at the door of every NHS hospital, barring entry to anyone who: fell off a horse; contracted an STI through unprotected sex with someone they didn’t know; had any alcohol-related injuries; etc.

And to complicate the matter further, the evidence given by research into the causes of homelessness show that there are as many reasons for rough sleeping as there are rough sleepers. As Nia added when I spoke to her: “It’s also worth remembering that rough sleepers are some of the most vulnerable people in society: They have lost, or never had the security and stability the majority of us take for granted, that is a place we can call home with people we love”. A massive section of the rough sleeping community were born either in care or into poverty, and started life at a massive disadvantage, so it seems hard to place blame at their doorstep. And 30 per cent of those hostel users questioned at Salvation Army centres across the UK report being emotionally, physically or sexually abused during their childhood. Generally, the victims of child abuse are judged to be ought some sympathy and help from society, but these particular victims end up with blame and judgment. The breakdown of the family unit and the support network which comes with it is another massive contributor to homelessness. It can be hard to imagine for people like us in university, who even in the direst of circumstances can get in touch with our family for help, either emotional or financial. But perhaps there’s a startlingly obvious correlation there; that only the people who had that support network for their entire childhood are those who made it to the hub of social and economic advancement that is a redbrick university. We are talking here about are people who, even when faced with spending the night at a bus stop, in a cradle of chocolate wrappers and cigarette stubs, couldn’t find someone to help them out. When someone loses this, it contributes exponentially to the feelings of rejection and low self-worth which drive the homeless condition. But rather than conceding that he’d underestimated the problems facing street users and concluding our inordinately long and in-depth coffee house symposium, my still quite heartless and increasingly Thatcherite friend pointed out that it still wasn’t clear whether or not giving change to beggars in the street was a good thing. If anything, paltry sums of money are of little practical use to people with these multifarious problems which require specialist attention, except maybe to cheer them up and prove that society hasn’t completely forgotten about them. But what is clear is that these are people worthy of help rather than disdain, and that something must be done to break the psychological and structural cycles which keep people trapped in dehumanising poverty. To find out more about the ways in which homeless people are helped in Leeds, I went to St. George’s Crypt, on

Friday, April 30 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student Great George St in Leeds city centre. Newly opened after a £1.3 million re-development, it offers a thoroughly modern approach to helping homeless people. Inside the brand new reception with magnolia painted walls and marble-effect reception desk I met Martin Patterson, who is head of Media and Fundraising for the Crypt. Martin showed me into the day room, which serves breakfast and dinner for free to people who are staying the night, which is also free, and a threecourse lunch to all comers for one pound every day.

30%

The amount of rough sleepers who were victims of child abuse “It wouldn’t look out of place on a university campus, would it?”, he asked rhetorically, in a voice which throbbed with deserved pride. And he’s not wrong. £25,000 worth of kitchen equipment, donated for free by Pret a Manger, and the clean, bright, modern setting really doesn’t fit in with one’s expectations of a centre for the homeless. There are fifteen private rooms for people to spend the night, a chapel, and teaching rooms in which service users take part in classes on debt management, drug and alcohol misuse and literacy. In development is also a dentist’s surgery. What Martin was keen to stress was that this is what the government calls a ‘Place of Change’, which recognises the need for the development of personal and practical skills to help break the cycle of poverty. It has been recognised that resources in the battle against street homelessness have to be deployed in a targeted way, to avoid institutionalisation of individuals: “If you’re in an institution, be it a prison, or nursing home or a care home, all of those decisions that you normally take are taken away from

you. You don’t do anything for yourself, they do it all for you. Then you become institutionalised”. Because lots of people on the streets have spent time in care, in mental institutions, in prison, or in the armed forces, they have never been forced to cope with long-term planning and the setting and achievement of even the most basic goals or looking after themselves. This meant that in the past, while people could be fed or given a bed for the night, they would remain in the ‘revolving door’ of living between the street and a variety of institutions. “The only way that people are going to be able to sustain the whole business of recovery, and move into independent life successfully, so that they don’t have to come back here, is if they aren’t institutionalised”. Which is why the Crypt’s new approach is attracting so much praise and funding. In teaching its users new skills and helping them to take practical steps towards entering mainstream society, it is getting results. As for my question about whether or not we should give to street beggars, Martin’s answer was clear: “My message would be: Don’t give money to beggars. Because we’re here. We’re here to provide the basics to people. There’s a danger that the money might not go to what we might see as being the most pressing of concerns”. What places like St. George’s Crypt prove is that, while we can’t deny that rough sleepers are in need of help, and are most of the time victims of circumstances beyond their control, and that society owes them a helping hand, the giving of loose change can only provide the simplest of comfort, and can’t be much more than a stone thrown in the hope of felling the a Spartan army of intractable problems. But with a continued effort of targeted funding for community-based projects, this massive humanitarian problem which puts to shame any country which claims the term, ‘developed’ can be fought.

HELPING THE HOMELESS: St. George’s Crypt.(above), housed beneath St. George’s Church, (below)

Feature Features

Features

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

‘Hypocrisy is yeast that ferments hatred’ Leeds Student caught up with human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith on tour promoting his charity, Reprieve, who use the law to enforce the basic human rights of prisoners.

Stafford Smith is a human rights lawyer specialising in the release of inmates from the infamous Guantánamo Bay prison. 50 of his clients have been released while another 33 are being represented. In 1999, Stafford Smith returned to the UK from America to set up Reprieve, having spent the previous two decades helping the most vulnerable inmates on Death Row. In 1987, he was the fresh-faced attorney at the centre of the documentary ‘Fourteen Days in May,’ which tracked the final two weeks of the life of his client, Edward Earl Johnson, before he was taken to the gas chamber. Stafford Smith later proved that Johnson did not commit the crime he was sentenced for. This is one of only six death row cases he has ever lost. Post 9/11, his focus shifted. There was a new breed of vulnerable people to defend and the epicentre for this injustice was Guantánamo Bay. Although it was yet to surface in public, the prison had been created by President Bush to separate the accused from the law. All had allegedly been ‘caught on the battlefield’ in Afghanistan but many were often sold to the US. For Stafford Smith, the switch from Death Row was a natural progression: “Everyone in Guantánamo faces the death penalty. Instead of being banged up in some prison God knows where in Mississippi, they are put in Cuba, instead of having a crap lawyer, you get no lawyer at all, instead of giving you an unfair trial, they give you no trial at all.” In 2010 I find him to be exactly as I’d remembered in 2004 when he spoke at a local Amnesty International meeting; the optimism is still there, it’s just his emphasis that has changed. Underneath the mellow exterior is a sense of urgency. Despite President Obama’s pledges to close down Guantánamo, the problem of Bagram and other ‘black sites’ where

prisoners are held without trial becomes ever more pressing. This urgency is fed by an ever-present determination: “Hopefully in the long term we’ll get most of them out, rescue them from their lawless holes. My positivity is never dampened, we win 98 per cent of the cases we take on, and that’s because we’re working against forces of evil, and what they’re trying to do is just wrong.” This is something his most notable client, Binyam Mohamed, knows all too well. Tortured both in a Moroccan ‘black site’ as well as Guantánamo, Mohamed was released after requests from the British government. This is tempered

We’re working against forces of evil by the fact the UK had known that Mohamed was a victim of ‘special rendition’ by the USA, but had done nothing until a court forced them to. I asked Stafford Smith if there is any resentment there, and he tells me none at all. “In fact he is a lot calmer and more rational than the rest of the world. Nobody I have represented is desperate for revenge. However, they do want people to admit what they have done. Binyam will tell you, ‘I have been tortured, nobody can take that back, but what we can do is prevent people from torturing in the future.’” Binyam was the first prisoner to accuse Britain of being actively involved in the torture of Guantánamo inmates, claiming that MI5 knew what was going on and deliberately suppressed it. In February of this year the Court of Appeal demanded that the document

detailing what Washington had told British intelligence about his treatment be released, leading to the infamous excised ‘seven paragraphs,’ something Stafford Smith told the BBC were, ‘mere crumbs of a vast body of other information out there showing Binyam Mohamed was abused.’ Despite the implications of this, Stafford Smith quickly declines my invitation to attribute blame: “I think that is a game for people who like to look backwards. I don’t want to blame people. Instead I want to figure out publically what the truth is and make rules so it doesn't happen again.” Stafford Smith seeks ‘truth and reconciliation’, not blame and punishment. “Britain needs to admit what they did and say sorry. But I don’t think we need to have an international war crimes trial. If the police show up and say they want to talk to you about whether you tortured people, you get a lawyer and you don't answer their questions. Instead everyone should get together and admit that there were some really bad mistakes made in the panic of post 9/11, let’s figure out what they were and make sure they don’t happen again. Truth and reconciliation commissions are much more effective at getting the truth than police investigations.” If there is no prosecution, what can be done? “The notion that there isn’t any evidence out there that can be used to prosecute them fairly is not true. If you look at the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he’s the best example. He actually went on television and bragged about being behind 9/11. Nobody was water boarding him then. The reason they won’t do it is because they don’t want to be embarrassed by a real court exploring how much people were tortured. You can't say ‘we tortured them therefore we can’t give them a fair trial.’ They haven’t forfeited their rights because we behaved so badly, so that’s a flawed argument anyway.’

He is understandably scathing about those who would claim that in ‘war time circumstances,’ military tribunals with military attorneys are the only way to deal with prisoners. “We call everything a war, the ‘war on drugs,’ ‘the war on poverty’. It is not a good idea when you are fighting a ‘war,’ supposedly in the name of democracy and the rule of law - to jettison the rule of law as the first casualty. The world is now a massively more dangerous place, whereas if we had stuck up for these principals we are supposedly trying to protect, it would be a lot easier. This hypocrisy is the yeast that ferments hatred.” After their release, these men would effectively be refugees, persecuted in their own countries, but with nowhere else to go. Should Britain be leading by example and take them in? These questions are constantly fired at Stafford Smith and the answers are well polished. The media has long been his battleground when legally he could do nothing. He refuses to talk in terms of responsibility, “but if they had any sense they’d do it. The issue here isn't who must, legally or morally, do something; it's just a general principal. If you want the world to be a safer place, you behave in a decent and moral way. If you want to convince Muslim people that we’re not out to get them, you take in refugees who are innocent of any offence and need a place to live. By doing so you make Europe safer.” I ask him about Moazzam Begg, another former client, who is currently on an Amnesty endorsed tour to persuade Europe to act on this ‘general principle’. Begg recently found himself at the centre of a media storm when Amnesty suspended their gender officer, Gita Sahgal, for criticising the charity’s involvement with Begg and his organization, Cageprisoners, branding him ‘a known Taliban sympathiser.’ Stafford Smith’s support is unwavering, despite insisting that there should be no punishment for Sahgal, he asserts that “she behaved incredibly badly. I know Moazzam very well and what she said is just not him. He wrote to Amnesty immediately telling them not to sack her, I don’t want her penalised for free speech. But she didn’t even bother to talk to Moazzam before her sad rush to pre-judgement. She would have realised that he is not the

person she made him out, very publically, to be. What she tried to do to Moazzam was rather sad, rather anti-human rights.” This lack of resentment is admirable. Even at the prospect of a custodial sentence Stafford Smith remains calm and detached. The US Department of Defence is suing him for Contempt of Court after he detailed Binyam Mohamed’s torture in a letter to President Obama, all of which was censored apart from the title. “It’s all intimidation I think. I thought it was an April fool’s joke, I can’t say it bothers me... when people feel they are losing, they feel the need to lash out, they have a lot of power and they abuse it, which it too bad.” His prevailing optimism seems rooted in his ability to rationalise everything, not to get bitter and fired up in the face of gross injustice, as he did in 1987. He puts things into perspective by recognising that the Superpowers have been abusing human rights for years. “It’s just that nobody talked about the fact they were covering it up before. For example, when the Americans incarcerated every Japanese American in the country in 1942, nobody even knew about until 30 years later, it takes a while for things to reach the public consciousness. However, that doesn’t mean one should be complacent and say that the last few years were business as usual. But it is worth putting things into perspective for anyone who thinks today is a more dangerous place to live than 30 years ago, when we had mutually assured destruction with nuclear weapons. So, even though we have made some terrible mistakes, we’re living in a society that is nowhere near as threatening. That’s something to be optimistic about, but of course these situations will happen again because the world is not perfect.” Stafford Smith seems resigned to the inevitability of corruption, yet he is steadily working against it, not wasting his time on ranting and revenge seeking. Instead he saves his drive and determination for the victims rather than the perpetrators. There is plenty to admire here.

Instead of having a crap lawyer, you get no lawyer at all

For the full interview, visit leedsstudent.org Interview by Lucy Snow Photos: Phoebe Newman

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Features Features

Reporting from the front line Following a talk he gave on campus last term, Leeds Student met with fellow student and journalist, Sameh Habeeb, to talk about his experiences as a reporter during the 2008 attacks on Gaza.

A man walks through the ruins of a destroyed building in the aftermath of the attacks (left); shrapnel falls in Gaza City on day two of the War (top right); a Palestinian child surveys the damage (bottom right). L S : What drove you to start? with selling your work to Palestine and Israel both as big SH: No. While I was making one stay there? SH: The environment I was in - mainstream news organisations powers when in reality it is only of my daily dispatches a bomb SH: There should definitely be when you look around you and such as the BBC and CNN - Israel that is the big power. exploded only metres away and more media outlets in Gaza. Gaza see people being killed and people could you elaborate on this? there was shrapnel flying is safer for journalists now than suffering you have to use all the SH: I was not selling my work to L S : How did you first establish everywhere. My own house was any time, and there haven’t been abilities you have to do something these organisations; I was offering your links with international also partially destroyed by a bomb. any kidnappings since Alan about it. With the media blackout it for free. These organisations are news organisations? This didn’t scare me or make me Johnstone. It is Israel that is that is going on I felt I had a duty unaccustomed to showing the SH: I was working as a citizen submissive, however; reporting stopping journalists from entering to speak on behalf of those other side of the story and didn’t journalist in the Gaza War, and during the War was like being in the Gaza Strip not the risk of suffering around me. I first began publishing daily ‘dispatches’ on my hell but there was never a time danger from within. blogging and then after managing blog, when I was approached by when I felt like giving up. L S : How to get a camera started taking several news agencies, including can student photos. A photo alone is not the BBC, CNN, and Sky News, to journalists within Britain avoid enough, however; what is going on report for them about the events becoming part of the media in Gaza is much bigger than what on the ground; none of the major ‘blackout’ you have described? either photos or words alone can news organisations have SH: Obviously it is very difficult tell – it is important to combine correspondents stationed within for student journalists to actually both. Gaza and so they were forced to go to Gaza at the moment and rely on citizen journalists like me experience it for themselves. I L S : Is there any kind of student for information. would advise them to be open to journalism in Gaza? more ideas, however, and not let L S : Do you believe these SH: Yes - there is a journalism the thought of risk put them off. department at the University of mainstream news organisations As a journalist you cannot have Gaza but they are not taught in want to show certain sides to the to have a hidden agenda? fear; journalists should be stronger English which can make it difficult story, such as bloody photos. SH: They are certainly pro-Israeli. than soldiers. for them to have their voices heard There is a major blackout in terms I think you have to ask youself L S : How important do you Sameh Habeeb is the founder and editor within the international of what is going on in the Gaza who controls the media. community. Strip and the rest of Palestine in think it is to have international of the Palestine Telegraph. For more general. For example, the L S : Were there any moments correspondents stationed in information visit: www.paltelegraph.com L S : During the talk you gave at terminology used is biased in during the invasion of Gaza Gaza? After what happened to Leeds University earlier this favour of Israel. Parallelism is also when you saw your role as Alan Johnston do you think it is Photos: Sameh Habeeb year you mentioned problems commonly used which depicts futile? safe for foreign journalists to Interview by Laura Mackenzie

“As a journalist you cannot have fear; journalists should be stronger than soldiers.”

“Reporting during the War was like being in hell but I never felt like giving up”

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Sport

LS Sport THE WEEK IN

NUMBERS

1972 The last time Inter Milan reached the final of the European Cup.

Games Fulham have played this season, including yesterday evening’s 2-1 over Hamburg.

Oh suits you sir M

any footballers like to believe that brightly coloured neon boots inevitably imbue the wearer with equally dazzling skill on the ball. Most football fans, however, will tell you that the equation rarely proves to be an accurate one. Rather, a player who pre-empts his talent with outlandish footwear typically fails to match up to the flash footed types such as Cristiano Ronaldo from whom they take their fashion advice. Nonetheless, the increasingly popular fetish for fluorescent green and yellow boots proves that, like it or not (and i suspect most fans belong to the latter school of thought) fashion is an important part of football in the contemporary era. Generally speaking the most catwalk-worthy attire belongs to the players but wise managers might well like to think about extending a degree of fashion consciousness into their own wardrobe. For a manager's choice of

matchday attire is not a selection to be made lightly. Take the Martin O'neil tracksuit for example. The torso garment is of particular interest here. Specifically, the sleeves, which, for O'neil, act as a kind of barometer to his team’s performance. O'neil is a serial sleeve roller and one can be certain that the further up his arm the cotton cuff resides, the more frustrated he is by the way the game is panning out. In a tense derby against Birmingham City recently O'neil might well have given birth to the manager's tank-top had the thickness of the material not prohibited such ruffling of the garment. Accesorising too ought be judged carefully. Just ask Steve Mclaren, who infamously adopted an over sized umbrella when taking charge of the lats game of a disastrous spell in charge of England. A metaphorical shield for the last

Glory, glory Man United

Jose’s nous at Camp Nou

L PUNDIT WATCH

”

Oh no! He’s hit the beans on toast!

Paul Merson, after Jimmy Bullard hits the post from a penalty against Sunderland, lets his cockney roots get the better of him.

COMMENT

ast week I was asked the question one lad asks another when they don’t have much to say and, as ever, a sense of dread hit me. ‘Which football team do you support?’ For most fans the chance to show off their allegiance is met with pride, but for the ‘glory-fan’ it’s not so simple. ‘Man United’, I very quickly muttered. Things would be very different had I been born and raised in Moss Side or Stretford, but unfortunately for me, Kent is not exactly local. The lad who enquired was a Blackburn fan, from Blackburn of course, and he was unimpressed – “so where are you from?” This question tends to follow once the ‘proper fan’ has established from my accent I live nearer the Stade de France than Old Trafford. And so awkward silence turned into mockery in an instant. But is it justified? Are we really a lower class of fan? I should explain that my dad, brother and uncle are life-long Chelsea fans. The painful truth is that I would love nothing more than to have grown up a Blue with them. But the glory-fan doesn’t have the chance to go to matches with family and sing songs with

friends. I had to learn ‘Viva Ronaldo’ from the internet. The best thing about football is sharing the beautiful game with other fans – it can be a lonely time following football otherwise. And, perhaps just as importantly, had things been different I would no longer dread the football-fan question, but answer with pride that I support the team I was born to follow. However, that’s not how things turned out. I’m told I had my prizepossession, the Man United 93-94 season boot-bag (still used every Saturday) in my grasp years before they took me to the Bridge, and that was that – “once you’ve made your bed, lie in it” was the message. And that’s what the glory-fan does, and takes a lot of stick in the process. So I think it’s time to end the dread and angst and be proud to support your team, whoever it may be – or you could switch teams and pretend to be none the wiser. Lawrence Ostlere

e described it as the “greatest moment of my career”, and you could tell from his frenetic full-time celebrations, taking his Inter Milan side to the Champion’s League Final by defeating the holders is perhaps Jose Mourinho’s supreme achievement. Inter lost 1-0 on the night, but their fantastic 3-1 victory at the Giuseppe Meazza a week ago was enough to set up a date with Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu on May 22nd, where the master tactician will have his eye on a second Champions League winner’s medal. Inter were much the better side over the two legs, but this win was all about the manager. Mourinho has a plan for every team he faces, and over the two matches he gave the perfect example of how to contain the most potent attacking force in football, outscoring a Barcelona team who have hit 83 La Liga goals this season, 26 more than Inter in Serie A. Mourinho has already filled his cabinet with trophies won in Italy, providing he hasn’t continued his habit of discarding all his own medals, but the UEFA Champions League is still the one he covets most, given it eluded him during his stint at Chelsea.

stand of an embattled chief, Mclaren's umbrella was transparent in its purpose not to deflect the rain but the verbal attacks of a dissatisfied crowd. Surely the finest wardrobe catastrophe of recent times, however, must be the infamous Phil Brown moustashe. Looking like your mum's favourite crime fighter from a generic 70's police drama, Brown combined comedy facial hair with an unnecessarily dense brown overcoat and exposed himself to endless jibes. Clearly the right choice of outfit is essential to a manager these days. And it's with this in mind that I urge David Moyes to reconsider his matchday wardrobe if he intends to fulfill the future which numerous pundits have prophesied. Becasue, quite simply, a bloke with tracksuit bottoms tucked into his socks cannot possibly take charge of Manchester United. Michael Glenister

Inter sit top of Serie A with 3 games remaining, 2 points clear of second-placed Roma, in search of their 5th consecutive league title, and 2nd under Mourinho. ‘The Special One’ has brought solid home form to the Milan club, and is unbeaten at home in the league for 135 matches, since a 3-2 defeat in 2002 whilst managing Porto, an unbelievable statistic. Known for his flamboyant media-handling style, Mourinho has drawn many criticisms over the years, but none can dispute his record of success. Twelve major trophies in a little over 7 years is a record few manager’s can better, and with Inter on course for a famous treble this season, that trophy count will surely increase in the near future. With a tough tie away at Lazio on Sunday, Mourinho will now turn his attentions back to league duty before the two massive finals, but don’t expect to have heard the end of ‘The Special One’ just yet. Jamie Presland

Sport

Friday, 30 April, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Unveiling The Edge

With the much anticipated opening of Leeds University’s new sports complex ‘The Edge’ just around the corner, LS Sport’s Jonathan Brewer takes a look at the new facility: The UK’s largest higher education gym is set to open on Tuesday as part of the ‘The Edge’, Leeds University’s brand new sports complex. The £12.5 million building project, funded by the University, boasts a 25 metre, eight-lane swimming pool, 3 brand new dance studios, and an extended climbing wall. On opening, the old sports centre will be combined with the new facility creating one building accessible through a new reception. A sauna and steam room accompany the swimming pool, which uses a combination of lower chlorine levels and UV light to maintain cleanliness. Indeed, the superb facility

is geared for use in BUCS championships, something it is hoped the University can host in the future. In the gym, Sky TV is viewable through all equipment, and users are able to track their progress through the Wellness Key System. Similarly, the sports centre is now able to offer personal training on a one to one basis. ‘The Edge’ now hosts three studios, and 125 classes a week will be available from September (the largest program on offer in Leeds). Fitball, Aerobics and Pilates classes will be available, amongst others, throughout the week. In addition, it is hoped that Leeds

University Union clubs can benefit from the new facilities, with societies such as water polo, canoeing, and swim club having sessions reserved for swimming pool use. Due to the state-of-the-art sports equipment available in ‘The Edge’, membership prices have inevitably increased. The most expensive membership, giving 12 months unlimited access to all facilities, will set back students £250. This figure increases to £342 if spreading the cost monthly. The cheapest membership option available, offering access to the pre existing sports facilities, comes in at £70. As Leeds University provides no money for the sports centre to run their services, membership costs must therefore cover the running of the facility. Though students are assured that what little profits are made in ‘The Edge’ will be reinvested into the sports facilities. As an incentive for users to sample the new facilities, students can pay £45 for a three-month summer membership, benefitting from unrestricted use of all the facilities. Addtionally Freshers in Leeds Univeristy halls of residences from September are in for a treat as they will be given ‘Club Edge’ membership included in their fees, which provides access to all the new facilities at certain times. LUU Activities Officer Josh Landy thought this was an exciting

development. “Come September, Freshers will only have to pay for the costs of the Club membership they join rather than having to additonally sign up to ‘The Edge.’ This was a major boundary to some and I’m delighted at the prospect that this will increase particpation across all our Clubs.” Student’s opinions on ‘The Edge’ have differed however. A second year accounting and finance student claimed the facilities are now at an “average” standard after the redevelopments, adding that he would not be signing up for the £45 membership offer for the next three months. Ollie Waterhouse, a second year English student, and a current member

of the Virgin Active gym in Leeds, will be returning to the University gym in September. He described the addition of the pool as a “big bonus”, and added no objection to the membership costs. Josh Landy is also positive, suggesting “The Edge offers excellent value for money and will provide an excellent base for Leeds University Sport to flourish in the coming years.” Despite a few misgivings about costs, Leeds University can boast a superb new resource able to compete with rival University facilities across the country, and will certainly serve students well once open on Tuesday. Photos: Richard Smith

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

the

big debate: Stick to tradition

Joe Short

t’s a dark day in any sport when contestants, pundits and supporters alike suddenly realise their game is failing. In these desperate times, lots of highly paid men in well-cut suits that hide their stomachs sit down in boardroom meeting after boardroom meeting, in endless debate and discussion over how to improve their sport. The result: no cricket World Cup, a reduced 50-over schedule, a franchised Rugby League championship, 3 points for a win, and a split darts franchise that has substituted the drunken players with drunken crowds. As for F1, those guys have been locked up in a boardroom with old Bernie so long cabin fever must surely be kicking in. Granted, there are advantages to change. The Twenty20 World Cup, which comes along at the end of the month, has been a great success over the last two years; rugby’s Super League is strong both financially and entertainment-wise; darts is… watchable. So should snooker go the same way? Barry Hearn’s introduction behind the scenes suggests it may very well do whether you like it or not. However, before we jump on the proposed bandwagon of glitzy entertainment, we must appreciate both what the pros we would lose in the historic sport are, and what cons we would gain. One of the most endearing aspects of snooker is the tension. Like in tennis, during a tricky snooker, the atmosphere is on edge. It is the silence that creates this tension; the lip-biting pressure not to shout out with joy as Ronnie lines up to sink the pink. As the waistcoated players grace around the felt, rhythmically potting ball after ball, the sweet sound of the double kiss off the cushion in your ear, one cannot resist being

Sport

Double-kissing the good life? With darts reviver Barry Hearn swapping the cork board for the felt turf, LS Sport asks: Should snooker evolve into a game of flair and ‘razzamatazz’, or stick with the traditional, silent crowd?

victim to the game’s tranquil serenity. Snooker is an amazing game to watch and become transfixed by. Just look at Steve Davies’ performance against John Higgings this week. You don’t need a shot clock or beer-swilling drunkards heckling footballstyle anthems to create a spectacle. Those are just two of the cons I allude to. Do we really want players coming out to ‘Who let the dogs out’, surrounded by scantily clad women, the same women who would most definitely walk across the screen in their pants, holding a large sign saying “Frame 4”? Do we really want players with goldplated cues, supporting sovereign rings and heavy medallions round their necks, waddling to the felt after downing eight pints in the pre-frame binge? Because that is what will happen. Fascination in snooker would also be lost. It’s bad enough having colour TV – watching in black and white and trying to figure out which ball is which can alleviate hours of boredom – but if we had raucous crowds and half naked females falling over the crucible, no one would concentrate on the game.

Go with the flow

Jamie Presland

he words “exciting” and “snooker” are not two that most people would associate with each other. The game on the green baize has long been considered a pursuit of old, boring men with no personality but a mind like a protractor and the patience of a saint. Yet Barry Hearn, the sports tycoon who reinvigorated darts and boxing, has set his sights on transforming snooker’s image to one of glitz and glamour. Hearn’s radical new proposals began gently with the introduction of walk-in music, akin to that of darts and boxing, with great success at this year’s Masters tournament. The Leyton Orient FC chairman’s plans have been backed by a host of snooker stars, including current world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan. And why not, as since the turn of the millennium the game has regained the thrills that made it so popular in its prime. Characters like O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson keep the sport fresh and entertaining, after two decades of dominance by the supremely skilled but lessthan-charismatic Steve Davis and S t e p h e n Hendry. Hearn’s plans should give snooker the n e c e s s a r y showmanship and all-round entertainment to go with the high standard of play

fans currently enjoy. No one player dominates the sport any longer, it is 2008 since the same player won consecutive world ranking events, O’Sullivan claiming the World Championship in May and The Northern Ireland Trophy in August. And it isn’t just players from Great Britain and Northern Ireland winning titles either. With China producing a number of talented professionals, including this year’s UK champion, Ding Junhui, and Australia’s Neil Robertson currently ranked 9th in the world, the game looks set for a diverse range of stars. Hearn’s current aspirations include a short version of the game, similar to 20/20 cricket, which would provide fans with quick, exciting matches without impinging on the quality of snooker on show. The variety of tournaments in the current snooker calendar give any proposals ample opportunity to be tested in a variety of circumstances, and thoroughly tweaked before introduction to the showpiece events. As a case in point, intro music has not been used in this year’s World Championship, despite success in the Masters. Furthermore, with tradition of the utmost importance in the snooker world, many of Hearn’s proposals may be best suited to the smaller, non-ranking tournaments. Players will vote on Hearn’s proposed takeover of the sport, and the changes that would entail, on May 5th. A 51% share is enough, with the majority of current players, including world champion John Higgins, backing the bid.

Sport

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Success through the ranks It hasn’t just been Leeds University Men’s 1st football team who have triumphed in the BUCS leagues this season. On the last week of fixtures, the Gryphons Men’s 2nd team needed a win over rivals Leeds Met to secure the league title. Leeds Student’s Lawrence Ostlere reviews a triumphant year for the 2nds: Leeds Uni Men’s Football 2nds have won the Northern Conference 3B league after an outstanding season. The team put together a run of 8 league wins from the start of the season to set up the perfect tie to clinch the title, away to fierce rivals Leeds Met. Uni made a fast start and hit the woodwork twice in quick succession during an early spell of pressure. Their dominance was rewarded midway through the first half when Clairemont charged down the right and delivered a cross into the box, which was cleared to Uni captain Drew Tyler. The midfielder’s half-volley was rifled into the top corner to put the visiting side ahead, prompting rapturous celebrations. The match and league appeared to be wrapped shortly after, as Ben Tobin’s creative build up allowed Gaz Brinkhurst to score from 8

yards. Met responded well to the setback and finished the first half in the ascendancy. The home team continued to press in the second half, forcing the Uni back four of Tobin, Boyle, Scantlebury and Cook to soak up huge pressure. Met finally got themselves a goal back with half an hour remaining to set up a nervy ending for Uni but the team held on to record a vital victory and win the title in impressive style with a game to spare. The performance of early attacking quality and late defensive steel epitomised a fantastic season for Uni, coming out on top in many close fought encounters. Clinical finishing from forwards Mike Ward and Gary Brinkhurst, along with important strikes from Tyler in midfield ensured the team found the net in every game, adding to consistent performances from veterans Matt Cook and Stef

Colligan. The likes of Boyle, Keating and Tobin will be pushing for first team places in the future in order to continue Uni’s BUCS success of 2010. Tyler said afterwards: “It’s been an unbelievable season and the lads have outdone themselves winning every game. “It’s a great way for me and the other 3rd years to bow out whilst there is some really exciting talent coming through…to clinch the title with a win against met just made it that little bit more special.”

Cricket Sunday 25th April Leeds University Men’s 1sts 217-8 Manchester University 1sts 123 all out Leeds won by 94 runs Sheffield University 1sts 149-8 Leeds University Men’s 2nds 152-4 Leeds won by 4 wickets Leeds University Men’s 3rds 146 all out Newcastle University 3rds - 84 all out Leeds won by 62 runs Wednesday 28th April Leeds University Men’s 1sts 269-9 Manchester University Men’s 1sts - 170 all out Leeds win by 99 runs

More success to cheer about Women’s Cheerleading ICC National Cheerleading Championships Hannah Shariatmadari

After winning first place at both the ICC National University Cheerleading Competition last December and the Future Cheer Heart of England Cheerleading Competition in February, the Leeds Celtics Cheerleaders finished their year at the ICC National Cheerleading Competition at Nottingham Arena in March. This competition was by far their largest and most challenging of all. Not only did the Celtics enter into an open category meaning that they didn’t just compete against other universities but also non-university squads – but they also competed in two additional categories, All-Girl Group Stunt and Hip-Hop dance. The pressure on the team to uphold their premier reputation was bigger than ever before. The first group to perform were the Hip-Hop dancers lead by choreographer and Leeds student, Bridget Leonard. The girls pulled of a stunning performance, impressing the crowd with individuality and style. The routine was up against seven other university teams from around the UK. With stronger competition than ever before, the girls’ marvellous effort saw them take away third place at the awards presentation on Sunday evening.

For the first time in years, the Celtics entered the All-Girl Group Stunt category. This section of the competition requires a group of five girls to showcase top-level stunts. The routine is very much a test of stamina and technique. Both groups impressed the judges and the crowds so much so that the Celtics came away with both first and second place trophies, beating a host of other open-level teams. The central focus of the weekend for the Celtics came in the form of their main routine that involved the whole squad competing against nonuniversity teams in an effort to prove their worth in the cheer world. The Celtics produced a great performance on Day 1; however after seeing the other squads perform, it was hard to predict where they would place. After a long day on Saturday, the team were back at Nottingham arena to perform again, this time, knowing that the routine had to be flawless if they were to have a chance of placing. Every stunt, tumble and basket hit perfectly. The squad could only pray that they’d done enough. The Celtics were awarded second place – a fantastic end to a year that has seen the squad go from strength to strength. The weekend proved very rewarding overall with the Celtics walking away from the mat with four trophies to add to their cabinet.

Interested in cheerleading?

Taster sessions held 4th and 11th of May. 5.30-7.30 Kirkstall: ‘The Hanger’, Unit 5, Canal Wharf, Leeds, LS5 3BT The sessions are open to boys and girls of all levels and are a great chance to find out what cheerleading entails and meet the current squad before try-outs next September. It is a great opportunity to see cheerleading at first hand and may even persuade you into trying out out to be part of one of the UK’s finest cheerleading teams.

Friday, April 30, 2010 | www.leedsstudent.org | Leeds Student

Sport

Leeds alive and kickboxing Kickboxing

2010 National University Championships Josh Powling The 2010 National University Kickboxing Championships, held at the University of Leeds' own Sports Hall, pitted 215 competitors from around the country against each other, last month. The event saw heavy contingents from Loughborough, Bath, Kent, Southampton Solent, Reading, Newcastle and of course Leeds Uni; plus other fighters from Bristol, Staffordshire, Edinburgh, Leeds Met and Bradford. Fourteen titles were up for stake in both men's and women's competitions in junior, intermediate and advanced categories; with these sections split again into weight divisions. Hosts Leeds took home two titles, with James Oliver triumphing in the Intermediate Heavy Weight category, while Earle Jameson triumphed in an all Leeds Intermediate Middle Weight final against Oli Michalakis. Meanwhile, Leeds were denied a hat-trick of trophies as Andrew Sunderland was beaten by Bath's Ahmed Suleiman. The Uni team will undoubtedly be proud with their achievement, but it was Loughborough who dominated the competition, taking 6 of the titles on offer, although four of these were in all-Loughborough finals, and two of them in junior categories. The competition rules were semicontact, with the winner judged on points scored during the two rounds, each a minute long. Knock-out rounds narrowed the field of around 200 to 28 finalists. With the earlier fights providing some very scrappy boxing, the later intermediary level fights were more focused on speed and technique, rather than power. Some of the intermediary fights were a bit more fierce, but the standard

was decent throughout the levels, with most of the junior titles competed for by fighters who had less than a year of Kickboxing experience. One of the event's organisers and competitors, Leeds Kickboxing Societies' Co-Captain Alex AshallKelly, thought that the expansion of new categories had attracted far more fighters than previous years when the event was held in Kent. Since 2009 the field had been nearer 100 than 200. Of all the categories, Leeds dominated the Men's Advanced Middle Weight division, providing three of the four semi-finalists. Michalakis defeated his opponent from Southampton, while Ashall-Kelly and Jameson vied for the second place in the final. The fight was technically far superior to the earlier knock-out bouts, with both fighters aiming kicks at each other's head. Jameson won the fight with a

barrage of well timed punches. Afterwards Ashall-Kelly said, with a smile, that he did not mind losing to

Jameson “since he has about ten years more kickboxing experience than I have.” Of the 28 finalists, Loughborough provided 12, Bath 5, Leeds 4, Reading and Southampton 3 a-piece and Newcastle had a solitary competitor in the final round. Loughborough took 6 titles, with Southampton, Leeds and Bath winning 2, with Newcastle and Reading having one winner each. Andrew Sunderland was the first Leeds finalist, and he sounded disappointed but not disheartened after his defeat, citing his opponent being “ridiculously quick with his punches.” The Uni fighter had been content to sit back and conserve energy, staying in the centre of the ring, while his opponent Suleiman dancing closer to the ropes. “I'd won the last two fights by staying in the middle of the ring,” Sunderland admitted, “but this guy was just too quick.” Arguably this handed the initiative to his opponent who capitalised on the Leeds fighters' lack of agility, and a couple of instances where Sunderland dropped his guard. Leeds received the perfect rebound with Oliver taking the Uni’s first trophy of the day, pounding the head of Reading's Aidan Nazaro. Oliver, a converted boxer, took the initiative to his opponent, and during the second round was more adventurous, combining roundhouse kicks between spurts of punching. Oliver had a few inches on his opponent, and he made it tell towards the end as the Reading fighter seemed to have given up towards the end. However, come the final bell the Leeds fighter won the bout, and the title, on a 2:1 majority decision by the judges. One of the most entertaining final matches was one of the allLoughborough bouts, where Dani Walker triumphed over Claire Kirkwood in three rounds in the advanced light middle weight category.

Photos: Richard Smith

The first of the advanced fights, it proved to be much more technical than previous stages, as both showed caution in the early round, focusing more on kicking than boxing. Considering both the women were from the same club, they showed real verve and aggression, but both exposed signs of tiredness towards the end of the third round. Walker took the fight narrowly, providing a nice warm up for the main spectacle of the event. The penultimate fight of the day, and the most widely anticipated for most home spectators, was the all Leeds final. Michalakis and Jameson began the bout by circling each other warily, like

two wild animals, but it was Jameson who used his height advantage to control the fight in the first round. Having several inches on Michalakis he landed an array of punches on his opponent, taking the round easily. Michalakis responded in the second, recording some beautiful kicks to get himself back in the fight. After stopping for an ankle injury, Jameson finished the contest in blistering style, keeping Michalakis on the run with yet more jabs. Considering the success of the weekend's spectacle, if the event continues next year it should attract fighters from further afield in 2011.

Who’s the greatest of the golden oldies? With Steve Davis upsetting the rule book by ending John Higgins’ reign as World Champion at the Crucible last week, proving that, even after 30 years on the circuit he still hasn’t lost it, Leeds Student explores the other sporting greats that have made it to success, even when their age suggests a bus pass is more achievable: SIR BOBBY ROBSON

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

STEVE DAVIS

JULIO FRANCO

In the year of his cancer diagnosis Robson won the first of his two league titles with PSV Eindhoven. He then took over at FC Porto in 1994 and reinvigorated the stagnant club to win the league and Portuguese Cup. The following season illness forced Robson to miss the start of the campaign, but the great man’s incredible passion for the game saw him return to retain the title. Robson’s treble winning achievements with Barcelona elevated him to European Manager of the Year in 1997. His 5 year stint as manager of Newcastle took him into his 70s and surely cemented his place as one of sport’s greatest veterans. Lawrence Ostlere

Has there ever been a better racing driver, performing at a consistently high level, despite his advancing years? Schumacher may well have been branded ‘over-rated’ by Stirling Moss this week, however 91 grandprix victories in 16 seasons, and seven World Championships need no superlatives. His decision to return to the sport at the age of 41, and Schumacher’s ability to cope with the physical exertions Formula One requires, speaks volumes of his desire for success. “I can't really imagine life without Formula One” were his words on his return to the sport. How fans of the sport share his feelings. Jonathan Brewer

Steve Davis qualified for his 30th Snooker World Championship, becoming the first man to have played at Sheffield’s historic Crucible Theatre in each of the last five decades, since his debut in 1979. Yet the man from Plumstead has rolled back the year’s to produce some of the best snooker he has played in recent years, reaching the quarter finals and eliminating reigning champion John Higgins en route, although beaten by Neil Robertson 13-5. Davis dominated the snooker world in the 80s with 61 tournament wins, and it might have continued had Stephen Hendry not burst onto the scene. Jamie Presland

An obscure sportsman to most people, Franco was forty-nine when he retired in 2007 from Major League Baseball, finishing a career that had spanned twenty-six seasons, at thirteen teams, including three spells abroad, twice to Japan, and once to Korea. Considering most players retire well before they reach 40, Franco was a freak of nature, by three years the oldest position player to play in the majors. Franco finished his career with a respectable .298 batting average, his longevity was amazing considering the stresses and strains on the body in an 162 game long season. Josh Powling

LS SPORT

Big Debate: Should snooker inject some razzamatazz?

www.leedsstudent.org/sport

Adair clubs Birmingham into submission Men’s Cricket

Leeds University 1sts 269-9 Birmingham University 1sts 170 all out Leeds win by 99 runs Josh Powling On a muggy spring afternoon, with the weather alternating between swirling winds and periodic sunshine, Leeds 1sts provided a calm and steady performance to defeat Birmingham on Wednesday. Batting first, the hosts posted a dominant 269 score, in large part thanks to a virtuoso fourth wicket stand between George Adair and captain Ben Kingsnorth. Back in the BUCS Premier Division after promotion last season, and the nucleus of his side still intact, skipper Kingsnorth sounded confident of the year’s prospects after a confident victory,

praising his team for dominating “in all aspects of the game, outclassing our opponents.” Defeated Birmingham were left with a sour taste in their mouths, seething at the perceived injustice of several key umpiring decisions that did not swing their way. Having lost the toss, the hosts were sent into bat: a decision that did not seem to bother the captain, who would have batted had he won the flip of the coin. Openers Olly Howick and Simon Barrett got off to a steady if not spectacular start, seeing off the opening bowlers to reach 60 without loss after the first fifteen overs. With the hard work done, Howick was then given out lbw, before next man in, Harry Bush, was run out by Barrett after facing only three balls.

IN A SPIN: Birmingham unable to defy Leeds’ batsmen Photo: Matthew Ruttley Barrett then picked up his fifty in nervy at the crease, facing twelve Robottom was brought back to style before smacking a full toss consecutive dot balls after his finish his ten overs, and responded straight back to the bowler for an partners’ dismissal, and could only with two well deserved wickets, easy catch. watch on as a Howick snorter while Stiff finally put Birmingham At this point, the Leeds innings trapped the new man plumb lbw for out of their misery for 170, a could have floundered, as the score, a duck. hundred runs short of victory. 120-3 after 30 overs, was Richard Flood and James The Uni will now face Leeds unspectacular. Robottom, the first bowling change Met, with both sides having won However, controlled aggression for Leeds, started to turn the screws their two opening games. paid off for Kingsnorth and Adair – on Birmingham, holding the both left handed batsmen – whose visitors to three runs in their Birmingham won the toss superb running between the wickets first three overs combined. gave the initiative to the hosts. Robottom in particular LEEDS innings The two shared a 104 beat the bat on several S. Barrett lbw Pipkin ..................................69 (92b) partnership for the fourth wicket, occasions but failed to find O. Howick c & b Patel ..............................29 (62) and after an hour together in the an edge, and as tightly as the H. Bush run out ..........................................1 (3) middle, the captain lofted a drive two bowled, they could G. Adair c Pipkin b Boukhobza .............79 (66) B. Kingsnorth c Riches b Shackleton.....44 (34) straight down mid-off’s throat, after dismiss neither Pipkin nor W. Stiff b Boukhobza ................................8 (7) making 44 in 34 balls. the new man Murphy. S. Burge b Shackleton ................................5 (9) Adair’s swashbuckling effort Birmingham reached the T. Roy b Ebanks .........................................5 (7) soon came to an end as well, caught half way stage of 25 overs at W. Stickler run out .....................................4 (4) Robottom not out ..................................7 (6) in similar fashion on 79, with his 85-2, only ten runs behind J.Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 4, nb 2).....................18 team 247-6. The dismissal brought Leeds at the same stage, but Total (9 wickets 50 overs)................269 an end to a fine innings, a balance they failed to motor on, and DNB Richard Flood of attacking flair, placement and, at the dual spin attack of Bowling: J. Shackleton 10-1-44-2, R. Ebanks 10-1times, brute strength. Barrett and Bush proved 59-1, J. Boukhobza 10-0-48-2, L. O’Driscoll 0.2-0The wickets soon tumbled, with effective on such a large 5-0, J. Riches 4.4-0-25-0, J. Pipkin 10-1-38-1, H. Birmingham’s openers, Shackleton pitch. Patel 5-0-39-1 and Ebanks, reintroduced into the Pushed to the edge of attack, reducing Uni to 269-9 at the frustration, both batsmen BIRMINGHAM innnings close of the innings. were out stumped due to a D. Wood run out ...................................12 (25) Set a target of 270, the visitors’ mixture of decent spin J. Pipkin st Burge b Barrett .................39 (89) opening batsmen employed the bowling, adept keeping and H. Ilangeratne lbw b Howick ..............0 (2) D. Murphy st Burge b Bush ...............33 (57) same tactic as their Leeds abject batting. J. Riches c Burge b Bush ......................2 (7) counterparts in attempting to see Keeper Sam Burge had L. O’Driscoll c Robottom b Bush .....2 (5) off the opening quick bowlers. three stumpings on the day J. Shackleton c Adair b Robottom ....35 (41) Pipkin and Wood looked steady and one catch, and all too R. Ebanks st Burge b Barrett ..............2 (5) at 42-0, until after running a quick quickly Leeds rattled H. Patel c Adair b Robottom ..............7 (14) Walder not out ..................................4 (17) two, the former called the latter for through the visitors’ middle T. J. Boukhobza b Stiff .............................4 (18) a third, before hesitating and order. Extras (7 b, 9 lb, 5 w, 6 nb) ................26 sending him back. Will Stiff, It was only Shackleton Total (all out, 46.2 overs) .............170 bowling at the time, took the bails who provided any resistance, J. Stiff 6.2-0-34-1, O. Howick 6-0-17-1, off at the non-strikers end for Uni’s knocking a respectable 35 Bowling: R. Flood 4-0-8-0, J. Robottom 10-1-32-2, S. Barrett first wicket. after the game had already 10-0-36-2, H. Bush 10-1-34-3 From then on, Pipkin looked been lost.