universe 13 and final issue by Marek Nusl

June 2006

Volume 13 Issue 6

Interview with Speedy Pete Page 5 The era of bad spelling is over!

Student Strikes at Keele Page 7

Circulation 5000

World Cup and Summer Ball Pullouts

Free

A celebration of sport Page 38

Is this the sign of things to come?

inally after two years we can say goodbye to Maz and his creative dyslexic style of writing, his constant political incorrectness, his tipsy shenanigans in the venues and his all round odd personality traits. As his term of office is nearing an end, he will be taking his succsesor under his wing (and maybe under his blanket too...) to explain how this crazy place works. Claire-Michelle Pearson said “Firstly, I’d like to express my thanks to everyone who voted for me during the elections. I’m very excited about my new position, as I’ve got some great plans for next year. I’d also like to thank Maz for all of his hard work. I am grateful for the heart-warming induction he is giving me (ed: you ain’t seen nothing yet baby) to my new role. It will be an honour to fill his shoes. He will be missed.” Maz responded “I’m sure that Claire will do an excellent job in the role as V.P Communication & Media. I have the upmost confidence that the paper could’t be in safer hands. Goodbye to our loyal readers, it’s been great being your V.P”

he Students’ Union’s face may be changing again. The redevelopment of UHSU has been one of the major issues of this year, but in October another change may happen, this time directly affecting our student represantation on a natinoal level. You, the student body, will be asked to vote on whether UHSU should

continue to afﬁliate to the National Union of Students (NUS). The question was put to the Executive Team at the last Student Council meeting of the year (page 8). Council accepted that 668 student signatures produced were proof that this debate should be carried out with the student body’s involvment. If UHSU

does disafﬁliate from the NUS then we could see some major changes that would certainly change the way UHSU operates and it’s future within the University’s developments scheme. Read all about it on pages eight and nine for more information, and don’t forget to vote.

Win VIP tickets inside!

02 Issue 6 Vol 13

Editorial

Editor in Chief Marek Nusl Vice President Communications & Media uhsu.comms@herts.ac.uk 01707 285 005

Editor Tamer Asfahani Sub Editors Claire-Michelle Pearson Kimberley Temple Photos Marek Nusl Tamer Asfahani Issac Marivdas Advertising Miranda Hall Advertising and Fundraising Manager 01707 286157

Masters of the Universe

The obvious feelings of sadness subside when I look back over the six years of my university life. Feelings of accomplishment and found memories start to overwhelm me. I’ve had a great time here thanks to the students union. I played for the Hurricanes for four years, presented my very own radio show on Crush for a couple of years, and now 2 years of working on your paper and representing you.

UHSU

Sharman & Co Ltd Peterborough PE1 5TD

as they were all so, so…well, so apt! On page 10 there is an article on estate agents Wrights, and Maz had managed to misspell Wrights…ahhh, the little things.

s I sit here in the early hours of Monday morning a couple of hours before this, the ﬁnal issue of Universe I will be involved with, goes to print I see Tamer opposite me. He’s stressing out because his computer keeps crashing. It dawns on me it’s the last time I will be seeing my friend/editor like this. This will be the last time I will be working this late, it’s the last time I will have to drive home to go to the toilet as all the facilities are locked around here during the night. Last editorial, last page four, last well… everything to do with the paper.

The knowledge and experience that have shaped who I am over Thanks to the past six years will stay with me Andy Macall forever, not my academic skills Mike Kelly (they were promptly forgotten Xav Mondoloni after my last exams). Relationship The Font Venue skills, money, cooking, bills, everything really. It was the Students’ Union which gave me a chance to try new things meet people and have a great time. I College Lane think of all the stories I could Hatﬁeld tell, the stories Tarquin could Hertfordshire tell about me, and the stories I AL10 9AB could tell about him. As both of us have been regular patrons of Tel: 01707 285 000 our venues we sure have eventful Fax: 01707 251 118 stories, we’ve both gotten up to E-mail: www.uhsu@herts.ac.uk some silly things… but that’s for Web: www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk another time. I’ve had the fortune of meeting some great people in my travels from bar one to bar two in the font and be rest assured that For all the latest info on our student I will be continuing to go to my media check out: bar really for the rest of the term. I want to make every day count www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk/studentmedia before I leave. Printed by:

universe@uhsu.co.uk

For those of you who will be returning next year, get involved, try something new. We are all about opportunity here. An opportunity that presented itself to me and has given my a roller coaster of a ride… and if I had a chance to go back in time and to do it differently? Na… I’d do the same all over again. My only regret is that I still have not managed to seduce Katie Wilde. Enough reminiscing and soppy feelings. In my two years of ofﬁce I’ve be blessed by being paired with Tamer, and his gigantic afro.

2004 - 2006 He has been there to support me all the way and the paper would not be what it is today if it was not for him. I’ve also been fortunate that my fellow executive offers have been great. Yes we’ve had disagreements but I wouldn’t swap them for anyone else. It’s been sh*ts and giggles in the ofﬁce most of the time. Adj has given me skin care tips when I started to worry that I was starting to look too old compared with freshers. Katie often wiggled her bum. Laura gives awesome hugs and Tarquin… well you provided me with a name I used when I had some dealings with the police- his name! (he still hasn’t forgiven me). Thanks to every one who contributed to the paper and the radio station. It’s been a really successful year and it’s down to you. However, there is a huge thank you due to some other people. They lurk behind the scenes, seldom taking credit for what they do. The staff of the Students Union. They make this paper possible, run our bars, make sure crazy exec members don’t do crazy things. Thank you all, and good luck with your assessments and future plans. I am Maz and I fully indorse this statement. Marek Nusl V.P Communications & Media 01707 285005 uhsu.comms@herts.ac.uk

he covert siege of Adrian Smith’s desk is nearly over. He doesn’t know it, but I hijack the Vice President for Commercial Service’s desk every time I work on the paper. I have spent many intimate nights with his desk, my only witness is Maz, and for those of you that know Maz that isn’t

necessarily a good thing. It’s been a good two years for the paper, we’ve tried more new stuff than ever and have tried to make your paper informative, fun and something to look forward to. Universe is your paper, you guys make it just by picking it up. With that in mind I would like to thank everyone that has picked up the paper over the last few years and hope you have enjoyed it. Thank you for supporting your paper, Maz and I are always impressed with the speed at which the paper disappears. I also want to say thank you to everyone that has contributed in any way, shape or form, from writing articles to proof reading, from layout to general complaints! I would like to especially thank the regular contributors and section editors for their dedication and commitment to the paper. I am sure the erratic phone calls at stupid o’clock in the morning’s won’t be forgotten soon! I feel like I am giving an Oscars speech! I would like thank my mother for giving birth to me, because obviously that was a good choice, Gaia for hosting me and the aliens for making me (am I sounding like a Hollywood star yet?!). All joking aside though, thanks to everyone and please continue to contribute and make your paper better and better. It’s been a long night, Maz and I are frantically typing these up before we go to print. As usual we haven’t slept and because of that I apologise for any spelling mistakes in the ﬁrst few pages of this edition. Having said that I have spent most the night agonising whether I should change any of Maz’s spelling mistakes

But hey! Enough of this drivel! IT’S SUMMER TIME…well, nearly, although I swear it’s going to be the middle of June soon and we still haven’t seen a decent streak of weather. This year has flown past though, it’s been a very strange year for almost everyone I know. 2006 brought some major shake ups to all aspects of my life certainly, and, like I said, to a lot of people I know. Change is important, and it can be very daunting, but even forests have to have fires sometimes. I suppose what I am trying to say is 2006 has proved that time doesn’t stand still for us to work things out, we just have accept time for what it is and to make sure we utilise it to its maximum. “Isn’t that right Maz?” “Yeah, don’t we say that every year?” “Hmm” I am going to sign off now, but before I do I have to thank the guy to my left here, on the page and right now as I am typing this. I have known Maz since my first year, in fact, we shared a flat for a week, but he was then taken away into Roberts Way. I thought that day that I would probably never see that crazy Czech again. We became great friends over the years, but I never expected to be here now, listening to Maz saying things like “F*ck it, I’ll never get it done!” Six years on I am in an office with him working on Universe, something that I have been involved with since my first year. Maz has been one of the best VP Comms and Media that I have worked with and I feel that the paper has taken a great gust of wind into it’s sails over the last two years. Thank you again everyone and well done to everyone on a successful and exciting year. And well done to you too Maz…if you see this man (and you’re a girl), let him play with your boobs…it’ll make him so happy! Go on…he deserves it! Good luck with exams, have a great summer, and see you next year. For those of you that aren’t coming back, we hope you enjoyed your time here and that we gave you a little light relief! Tamer Asfahani Editor

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

UHSU

Tarquins Titilation

Issue 6 Vol 13

A round up of the student world from your President

moving onto there ﬁnal year. I encourage you to air your views to the university regarding the situation. I know a number of students have made some inquiries about the situation and these have been addressed. There are growing concerns about amongst you and I’m doing all that I can to ensure you are not effect ed too much by this disruption.

“

So now the end is near and so I face the ﬁnal curtain…” well everyone this is it. My ﬁnal article as President of UHSU. Where should I begin? It has been an eventful two years to say the least with plenty of highs and lows! Anyway before I get into all that lets look at what been going on and whats up coming in the world of UHSU. Firstly there is the on going industrial action by AUT/NATFHE with a marking boycott in effect nationally at the moment. Since the statement released on StudyNet there has been some discussion between UCEA (University negotiation body) and AUT/ NATFHE (now merged as UCU). They have met once again with UCEA reworking its last offer of 12.6% over three years to 13.1%, which UCU have rejected but they are willing to explore a two year raise instead so they can get closer to the 23% requested. This means that the action will continue until an agreement is met, which may not be for a little while. Here, the SU is in continuous dialogue with the institution to ensure that assessment and exams are marked. That will allow you to progress to the next stage whether that is graduating, placement or

We are also in the process of having a full Governance review, which I have discussed on a number of occasions. This review is looking at the democratic structures and processes of the union. As the last review was nearly a decade ago is long overdue! The effects of the review will be huge as the commercial discussions are a major part of the review and the whole culture of the union may change. Baites, Wells and Braithwaites have been assigned to the review; they are the leading organisation in Charitable Law and have been involved in a number of reviews. The ﬁnal report, with recommendations, will be ready by the end of July hopefully so my successor will be updating you next term. On the commercial redevelopment: a number of meetings have been held looking at the design of the new building, which will look very good. I hope! Regarding the corporate structure our lawyers are in the process of preparing a proposal for the university. It is a delicate situation as you can imagine with a number of variables to factor in, so this will be ongoing for a while. The last Student Council for the

year was held last month, which was tense to say the least. The main topic of discussion was question about disaffiliation from NUS by holding a referendum every year. All the motions fell. However, a member had gone around and got students to sign a petition to call a referendum. This was a great achievement considering the member did it by themself. The petition was presented to me in the meeting and a referendum has been called for next year so watch this space. The Colours Awards were a great success especially due to the opportunity to meet Gordon Banks -the legend. He gave a very funny after dinner speech and I feel he enjoyed meeting all the young ladies receiving awards, as you can see in the picture on the website! After the awards a band played the night out, which I have to say were good playing some classic tunes which I haven’t heard in ages. A special thanks to whole C&S and commercial department who coordinated the event. Then we had our second annual varsity day, which no doubt Katie will discuss. I can say, however, that the first University Challenge between the Sabbaticals were outstanding, with some quite difficult questions. However, answers were plucked out of the air when the final question was asked. We got it right, the scores were added up, the tension was unbearable, then the results were read out and we had won on the last question! Talk about drama! The perspiration was in full flow and a very bitter Bucks union President complained to me for ages. Sore loser!

Then we have the Volunteer recognition evening where we honoured all our volunteers who have been involved with the union in many different ways. There were over 100 students attending the event which was hosted by yours truly. There was an empowering talk from Craig Stephens UHSU Deputy General Manager. The event was enjoyed by all and we look forward to next year when it will be even bigger! On the entertainment side of things we have had PA’s from Justin from Hollyoaks and Stuart Parker from Neighbours. As always our nights out have been eventful, with Maz making a fool of himself, even impaling himself on a fence(he is happy to show you pictures!). We have very little time left until term ends and the biggest event of the year will commence. However, before then we can look forward to Ben Richards from Holby City, the last St Trinians, Maz birthday (Monday 12th June) and my birthday (Wednesday 14th June drinks: will be accepted). Of course that leaves the Summer Ball! What more can be said 5000 people, 17 acts performing, dodgems plus much more! It‘s a fantastic event with a chance for everyone to get suited and booted then have outrageous fun until the early hours. I hope to see many of you there that night I’m gonna have some crazy fun! Well that nearly brings me to the end of my era here at Herts it has been an eventful six years! I have had some great times from playing with “the family”, that is the Hurricanes, especially winning the National title in 2004. Also the many stories that I have gathered

over the years, mainly about Maz and his escapades (I think he should write an autobiography) It will be very surreal when I don’t have to come into the SU anymore, having different people talk to me who I have never met before, but know all about me it was a pleasure to meet you all (obviously there were some numptees). I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here. I wish Adrian and next year’s exec the best of luck and I hope you achieve everything you want! For those who know me well it’s been real and we will keep in touch in the “real world”. So until then, I will see you all at the ball. If not then, Freshers and for some of you I will see you at graduation to party once again. Hopefully the union is still here in one piece! That’s it ladies and gents I’m done, this is my ﬁnal bow. Thank all very much for the fun times, I hope I have helped you to enjoy you time here. For the last time (now crying!) Keep it real! Peace out! p.s. I’ve got nothing but love for you all. Quote of the month “It seemed like a good idea at the time!” Word of the month “Motorboating!” Mr T Tarquin Stephenson UHSU President 01707 285 004 uhsu.president@herts.ac.uk

Negotiations are taking place between the University and the Students’ Union concerning the future of YOUR commercial services. Email your concerns to: uhsu.president@herts.ac.uk Left: This picture was taken at last years voulenteer recognision evening. Vice Chancellor Tim Wilson pictured with Helen Dewey holding the issue of Universe which ﬁrst revealled thier plans; it reads Goodbye UHSU, UH taking the SU out of UHSU.

04 Issue 6 Vol 13

Page 4

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Page 4... lie back and think of England! After two years of working together, Maz ďŹ nally gets Katie into bed.

Feature

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Speedy Man of Mystery

By Tamer Asfahani

he slivery silhouette of a seasoned rocker shadows the DJ booth, playing his air guitar like no one else on the dance floor. The long, wispy, cloud-like hair sways with every movement of this strong, weathered man, but still his aura captivates and intrigues all who watch him. He could almost be out of place in a venue packed with groups of students forgetting the worries of their course. Always alone and known only as ‘Speedy Pete’ to regular Font goers, especially those of the Alternative Night inclination, his presence always begs the question “Who IS that dude?” It all happened one evening in the Font when Maz and I were discussing the paper when Maz turned to me and said, “We should interview Speedy Pete”. We had both seen him in our first year (six years ago…I know!) but we knew that Speedy had been a visitor to the Font long before we ever got here. We had seen him out that night and we decided to set up a date for an interview there and then. We couldn’t find him though; we had to ask the DJ to shout out for him. Even then it wasn’t until I had given up hope, waiting for 20, minutes and started walking back to Maz that I bumped into him. At first I was thrown back by the heavy Eastern European accent and found myself struggling to decode his English over a very loud, offensive and out of tune live band. After 10 minutes talking to Speedy we had agreed a date. By this time Maz had found us and had joined the end of our conversation.

“my views probably didn’t coincide with theirs [lecturers and classmates] and I was expecting something more interesting” that Speedy would have been here even before the Universe started up. Maz and I met Speedy on a glorious spring day. The sun smiled on us as we approached Speedy’s house. As we turned into his road we could see him waving at us like an excited old friend, dressed in jeans, a pale blue captain shirt and sporting sandals…with no socks! After the niceties and greetings we were taken up a ﬂight of stairs and into Speedy’s apartment. It was a compact little apartment with books and magazines of aircraft packed into every corner of the apartment. Posters of military aircraft lined the walls,

‘Maz and Speedy ﬁred off in Czech and I was left nodding and smiling with an expression of loss on my face’

It turns out that Speedy is a child of the Czech Republic, like Maz…if only I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have had to wrestle with the language over the music and the drunken students!

Maz and Speedy fired off in Czech and I was left nodding and smiling with an expression of loss on my face. After a few minutes chatting Maz turned to me and confirmed: the Universe was going to do the first ever interview with the veteran of the Font (and all other names that preceded it). I had a funny feeling

all making their ﬁnal approaches to different parts of the apartment. His love for aircraft was reiterated by his voluntary work: translation of aircraft almanacs from Russian to Czech. There was no way we could have managed to squeeze between the magazines and books, so we decided to head back to College Lane to do the interview. It turned out that the more we asked Speedy, the more in common he had with Maz! I started to wonder exactly how long Maz would be sticking

around… From a Czech father and an English mother, Speedy had grown up in the former Czechoslovakia but found that there was “no prospects” for him after he had finished his military service. So on the 27th of December 1968, Speedy got on a plane and headed over to London. Landing at Heathrow he described how he was excited about “the adventure in England” he was going to have. For 12 years Speedy worked as a Hydraulics Brake Machinist Operator in the car industry, but after the motor industry fell into the slump in 1980 Speedy was made redundant and made his way to Hatfield to work at the then booming British Aerospace (BAe) site. He quenched his thirst for flying working at the site, he was allowed to fly for next to nothing and steadily racked up the hours. He left BAe in 1985, the site was due to close down in ’94, again leaving Speedy without a job. He went to re-train at a college in Letchworth in admin skills. In 1991 Speedy went to Oakland’s College, which was actually the de Havilland College and based in Hatfield. After doing the course he was advised to go onto higher education and started a course at the Watford campus, Wall Hall, not long after Hatfield Polytechnic became the University of Hertfordshire. His course was Contemporary Studies combining history,

sociology, anthropology and politics; Speedy wasn’t impressed,. “I was thinking it was going to be interesting, but I lasted one year.” Asked why and he said quite simply “my views probably didn’t coincide with theirs [lecturers and classmates] and I was expecting something more interesting.” But Speedy continued to go to the Font even after leaving university, for years Speedy has been air-guitaring in the same place in the Font. We asked him why he insisted on playing in the same place. “Before the Font was refurbished “it was the only place you could move without getting in the way of the trafﬁc [to the toilets]”, the speakers were also placed there and Speedy enjoyed the boom of the speakers, putting him in the right frame of mind to ‘air-rock’. Speedy always seems to be alone and we wondered whether or not it was out of choice. Did he feel too old to mingle with the student body? It was hard to understand why, given his generous and kind nature. Speedy donates blood three times a year, and has been doing so for the last 30 years. Not just a old rocker, but a hero

as well. Because of his commitment to his favourite instrument, the air guitar, I asked Speedy if he had ever entered any air guitar competitions. He laughed and looked up at me from the gaze he had held on the grass for so long. “Yes, I accidentally won a competition in the Font one night and I didn’t know I was even entered.” But Speedy never learnt how to play a real instrument, he attempted to learn the accordian when he was younger but gave it up to build model aeroplanes! So what does the future hold for Speedy? Avoiding the question of whether he was getting more lonely, he said that he wanted to head back to the Czech Republic at some point. He ﬁnally answered with a mumbled “yes, sometimes I do feel lonely.” But for the time being he will continue to rock in the Font and his love for live music will be expressed in the melodic movement of his body, embracing his trusty air guitar close to him. Why don’t you join him?

06 Issue 6 Vol 13

Feature

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Life, the Universe and Everything Allan Smith, University Chaplain

can hardly credit it, another year gone by. I suspect that many of you reading this, in between or just after your final exams, found it a bit of a surprise how fast it came round too. But that just goes to show how flexible our perception of time really is. I became aware of this during the charity event I mentioned in my last column. For the Vision Marathon myself and three other brave (or possibly mad) members of the Hurricanes joined in the fun of running 42 kilometres between us. I had volunteered to run the first section of 10.5 kilometres. My theory was simple: I was the oldest, heaviest and slowest (at

after having arrived for a studio class, had been ‘volunteered’ by a team who were a runner short at just twenty minutes notice. It’s amazing what people will do for a worthy cause. So it wasn’t with any great trepidation that I pressed the ‘start’ button and started the treadmill rolling, and despite wearing a helmet and shoulderpads the ﬁrst 15 minutes passed easily enough. I had decided that my target should be to complete the 10.5 kilometres in under an hour. I thought that wouldn’t be too unreasonable, after all I’d been able to keep up that kind of speed in training. And after 15 minutes I was pretty conﬁdent. Warm, but

The Team least over shorter distances) so I needed something to give me an added spur. I chose psychology. If I went ﬁrst I had to set the tone, so I couldn’t just give up or slow down and take the whole thing at a walking pace. Well I could, but I do have some pride.

“I had to ﬁght the urge to rip my helmet off just to ease the pain” The event, at the Sports Village, started in pretty much a party atmosphere (at least as much of a party as you normally get at 9.45am on a Sunday morning). As well as four of us in American football kit there were several teams in fancy dress, and clear variations in standards of ﬁtness and preparation. One person,

confident. The trouble was, I was getting warmer all the time. And that’s when time seemed to start moving more slowly. The next twenty minutes or so felt like an hour as my body temperature kept on rising. The strange thing was that everyone I had to spoken to about the run had assumed it would be the weight of the helmet and shoulder-pads that were the problem. I hadn’t thought so (after all when you’ve had to carry a canoe on your shoulders over a rugged portage trail in the wilds of Canada, a few kilos of shoulder-pad and helmet don’t seem that significant). It was the amount of heat they kept in that really caused the problem. With three kilometres and about twenty minutes to go time seemed to stretch to an eternity. I had to keep taking on water (through a tube of course, otherwise it would never have got through the facemask on my helmet), but it felt that I was rapidly melting. Logically I know that a significant amount of body heat is lost through your

head, practically I knew that my scalp felt like it was being set on fire and I had to fight the urge to rip my helmet off just to ease the pain. Time seemed to stand still as I neared the 9.5 kilometre mark, in theory less than 6 minutes to keep going but the second hand on the gym clock seemed to have given up moving, and the distance refused to tick over on the treadmill. This was the point when I could have most nearly given up, and yet somehow I kept going. Somehow? Well this was when the psychology paid off, I wasn’t going to be the one to fail the plan, the team depended on me. The team who were younger and fitter and faster, but that didn’t really matter as much as my own pride at being able to say I made the goal I had set myself. So with a minute and a half to spare the display changed to show 10.5 kilometres and I could let my Fabrizio take over from me. The pain was at an end for me, just beginning for him. It was quite a team effort I have to say. Fabrizio and Tom took on the mid-sections, I think discovering why distance runners have a saying about marathons, ‘You start slow and get slower’. And then came Casey. Hats off to you Casey (or should that be helmets off?), I was in awe. The man seemed to run 10 kilometres in about 40 minutes, in kit. And with me waving Krispy Kremes

The Rev showing good sportsmanship... in front on the treadmill. My wife had kindly arrived with a dozen of the world’s finest doughnuts to give us an incentive to keep going and I’d declared that none of us would eat them until we had finished as a team. It’s the only time I’m ever going to wander around a gym with a box of doughnuts, I had to fight

off attempted muggings more than once! Thanks to Casey’s magniﬁcent run we managed to complete our run in 3 hours and 55 minutes. Predictably enough the last three hours, when I wasn’t running, passed pretty quickly (for me at least). Out of this we raised more than £500 for the Anthony Nolan Trust, and the event as a whole raised more than £6000 for them. We met our goal as a team in terms of overall time, ﬁnished fourth out of 13 teams and came away feeling we had achieved something. Not bad for a morning’s work. Then, someone started talking about doing it again next year. Now how fast is that going to come round?

Allan Smith University Chaplain Tel: 01707 284456 (University internal 4456) Email: chaplain@herts.ac.uk Website: http://perseus.herts. ac.uk/prospectus/student_ support/dos/chaplaincy/

The start of a long journey

Allan has written for every Universe in the last eight years. Universe wishes to thank him for his time and literary skills!

News

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 5 Vol 13

News... because we are a newspaper! We Will Not Keele

By Tim Thom

he lecturer strikes of late that have swept the country have resulted in direct action taken by students at Keele University. On the 25th of May, Keele students participated in a sit-in protest on the main University car-parks to prevent lecturers from parking on the morning of Thursday 25th May 2006. Students want to take a stand against the University and lecturers. The AUT/NATFHE pay dispute means that their work is not being marked and so many finalists will graduate not knowing their true degree mark until the dispute is over. Keele students who attended an Emergency General Meeting which was held on Tuesday 28th February in the Students’ Union, voted in favour of a motion that supported the lecturers in principle in their claim for fairer pay and would show support for them on the one day strikes. No support, however, would be shown for any Action Short Of a Strike (ASOS), which could include boycott of assessment and examination activity. Keele University Students’ Union (KUSU) President Paul Butters stated, ‘Students are clearly disenchanted with the decisions of the lecturers to pursue Action Short Of a Strike. Whilst we are sympathetic with their claims for fairer pay, the general feeling of the student body and of the Students’ Union is that enough is enough: students want to be listened to and see a desperate need to put pressure on the two parties to end this disagreement.’ In a press release KUSU stated: “Such behaviour will inevitably have a detrimental effect on students’ futures, particularly finalists and create added stress at such a vital stage in their degrees. Students are an innocent party in this dispute. They have earned their degrees through hard work and extensive financial debt and do not deserve to be penalised. The AUT’s decision to use students to fight their cause is considered wholly unfair and unacceptable.” Matthew Smith, a final year

“It begs the question of what would happen if all universities in the country decided to hold sit-in protests. It would be detrimental to the university and may force the issue to be resolved quicker.”

student waiting to graduate, and one of the organisers of the protest said, ‘The lecturers have been using us, the students, to make a point to the University. Now it’s our chance to use the lecturers to make our point to the University. We should not be caught up in this dispute, we have done nothing wrong and we are fed up of being used as weapons between the two parties.’

It is surprising that not many other universities took this option and held sit-ins and protests. Many students this year will face complications as some exam papers will not be marked and others not even written. It begs the question: What would happen if all universities in the country decided to hold sit-in protests? It would be detrimental to the university

and may force the issue to be resolved quicker. The Students’ Union urged Keele AUT members to suspend any Action Short Of a Strike (ASOS) as a matter of conscience, until pay negotiations had actually taken place. If all students’ unions nationwide took a similar stand and called upon their university and the an University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) to end jeopordising the students future

and giving the staff th pay they need, maybe a resolution would have been reached. The NUS would have to have supported the student population and this combined force from the NUS, AUT/NAFTHE, and the student body would have sent a clear message that students and staff are united. How much is your degree worth?

08 Issue 6 Vol 13

News

universe@uhsu.co.uk

News... because we are a newspaper! Student Council cherry popping! First time Student Council attendee Henna Khan explains what her ﬁrst visit was like.

he last Student Council meeting of the year took place Tuesday 23rd May, 6pm on the College Lane campus. The meetings are attended and are open to all students and the Executive Team (Exec). Student Council are the sovereign body of the UHSU - they represent all the students at university. The Exec get direction from Student Council as to how to best fulfil our students’ needs and requirements and to act in the best interests of students at the university. This happens to be the first student council meeting I have ever attended and ironically it is the last meeting of the year. I am a Humanities student based on de Havilland campus and didn’t even know that such meetings took place, until I was informed and invited by another student on the council. The meeting was set out so that the executive members, in their black T-shirts, were sitting on the opposite side of the student members, with the Chair of Student Council at the front. Also present at the meeting, were student observers and two guest speakers from NUS. The meeting began with ‘apologies for absence’, where names of people who were absent from the meeting were called out. The chair started off by confirming the number of members who were present; there were 21 members which is a good turnout for this year, however with 22,000 students one wonders why there aren’t more at council. In order for a meeting to commence there needs to be a certain number of elected members present. Meetings will be cancelled if there are not enough members. The minimum quota must be reached (50% elected members + one). The chair started by asking members if the order paper was okay. The order paper states the schedule for the meeting. To my surprise, immediately one of the executives challenged the order of the paper, wanting the motions (actions bought forward by members of council to implement change, which require a vote) to be brought forward in the schedule. The Exec wanted to go over the motions before the other matters

as they were expected to create a lengthy debate due to their important nature. The Exec argued that not only were the motions an important aspect of the meeting, but also they had not yet ﬁnished their presentations and this would allow them time to work on it. A member from Student Council objected stating that it is was not “councils business to wait for the presentations, and that the presentations should have been ready for council.” I didn’t expect it to get so interesting so early on! I am just excited to see what happens next in the debate. Any resolution to any arising matter is put to the vote which has to be taken amongst the council members, majority vote wins. In this particular case a request for a vote by secret ballot was put to the Council. First of all there is a vote for if there should be a ‘secret ballot’ to vote on this matter. More members voted against the secret ballot so it didn’t take place. Then the actual vote for the executive’s decision of moving the motion forward took place with more members voted for it than against it. Due to this change I found myself confused

during the debate as to where we were and was constantly checking the order paper! Just as the debate had calmed down and the members were ready to move on, a very awkward question was put forward to the executives by Tamer Asfahani, a member of student council. Tamer asked “Do you think the University of Hertfordshire should disafﬁliated from NUS?” You could

ﬁnally the order of the meeting began. It took 40 minutes before the schedule of the meeting (order paper) was agreed. It asked the question of whether it is really worth bringing up even a small factor if it will take up more time on deciding whether to not answer than answering it! However, this only goes to highlight the nature of council as being fair and democratic.

“The executive team get direction from student council as to how to act in the best interests for students at the university.” immediately see the surprise reaction of many people’s faces in the room, not to mention the faces of the two NUS guests! Immediately an Executive pointed out that the question Tamer had put forward was in conflict with the constitution because one of the motions already covers this point so he believed there was no reason in bringing it up. A vote was once again held to decide on whether the question Tamer put forward was in conflict with the constitution. More members voted for it being in conflict with the constitution than not. So the question was left till later when the motion would be analysed and

The motions were ﬁnally discussed, motions are written statements usually a page long. These are put forward by member(s) of council highlighting issues and putting forward suggestions. This time Tamer put forward two of the motions, the ﬁrst motion involved ‘union awareness’. This is how the Student Union could better improve the communication between themselves and the students. A vote was held amongst members and it was approved that the issue would be taken to a sub-committee (a smaller group of people). The next of Tamer’s two motions were about the

separation of the Student Union from the National Union of Students (NUS). The reasons for this suggestion (which brought up many disagreements amongst the student council members) was because it was felt the NUS were not being very supportive with students. The vote to take a secret ballot on this issue was not passed by the executives. Then the chair put the proposal forward, and the majority voted against it. The final motion was bought forward by the V.P Student Activities Katie Wilde, concerning her office placement. The motion highlighted the fact that Katie felt the VP Student Activities could better serve the needs of the students if they were based on the de Havilland campus. After a debate, council voted and the motion was passed. The meeting ended with short presentations from the Exec on their achievements over the past year. Overall, it was a very different experience for me. I did find the first half interesting as it was so heated. As a first timer, there were aspects of council that I didn’t completely comprehend. The voting process seemed quite lengthy to me and the meeting itself was quite long.

News

News... because we are a newspaper! www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Disafﬁliation on the Agenda! Satpal Bassan and Tim Thom

he University of Hertfordshire’s Student Council consists of a group of students who meet on a quarterly basis to discuss issues central to the student body. Made up of the University of Hertfordshire Students’ Union (UHSU) Executive Ofﬁcers- both full-time and part-time, elected course representatives and presided over by an independent chair; the student council allows its members to question the Exec. It is the Student Council members’ chance to raise any issues arising from the student body to be put to the executive and holds the executive accountable for their work towards student representation, both internally and on a national

We look at the pros and cons of your Students’ Union staying afﬁliated with the National Union of Students’

Universe, who felt that affiliation was costing the union money that could be pumped back into the student venues. He also argued that the NUS were there to “represent students on a national level and act in the students’ best interest and that they (NUS) hadn’t with their initial support of the lecturers strikes and the failed lobbying of parliament with regards to top up fees” as recent examples. UHSU wouldn’t be the first to disaffiliate from the NUS, Southampton University for example runs an extremely successful Students’ Union. The executive team disagreed stating that the NUS is more than just a national voice and that there are benefits, such as

“The NUS was first established in 1922. By 1924 all university colleges were members. It was in the 1960s that NUS actually developed as an educational pressure group. ” level. Along with the full-time sabbatical officers there are the part-time officers: St Albans Site Co-ordinator, De Havilland Site Co-ordinator, Internal Affairs Officer, Student Media Officer, Entertainments & Promotions Officer and RAG (Raise & Give) Officer. Course representatives, elected to sit on Council by Council, can raise any major issues that affect or disrupt a student’s education which they feel the university is not addressing sufficiently. Each member has a voting card which allows them to express opinions and reach majority resolutions. Having been a member on Student Council as a course representative since September 2006, action has been taken to resolve a number of issues such as the use of Hutton Hall as an inadequate lecture room and the redevelopment of the Students’ Union (Issue 7, Volume 12). Most recently the major issue brought to Council was whether UHSU should be independent from the National Union of Students (NUS) have come under scrutiny by certain council associates. Is UHSU better off concentrating on itself rather than with national issues. The proposer of the question was Tamer Asfahani, editor of the

national buying terms for the bars and shop, the National Students Learning Program (NSLP), and other matters which we would lose if we disaffiliated. This issue created a heated discussion amongst the executive and student members. This report brings you, the student body, the facts and figures on the proposals put forward to council regarding the suggested independence of the UHSU, allowing you, to judge for yourselves. The NUS was first established in 1922. By 1924 all university colleges were members. It was in the 1960s that NUS actually developed as an educational pressure group. By 1977 NUS negotiated with banks to provide cheque cards and free banking for students. Since then, the NUS have shown an impressive record on lobbying on behalf of students’ rights. Elected student officers at universities across England carry out the day-to-day affairs of the national union making sure national policies, such as on-going campaigns, are implemented. Every student has the opportunity to take part in making decisions on policy through general meetings or elected councils, and it is up to the Students’ unions to decide whether they wish to affiliate to the NUS. So what are the affiliation fees and

how much does it actually cost the university to be a part of NUS? Every constituent member of NUS pays an annual subscription fee. The amount they pay usually depends upon the number of fulltime and part-time students who are members of the union and the amount of money the union receives from their college or university. UHSU currently pay over £35,000 per annum to NUS. The funds raised from affiliation with the NUS are used to finance the campaigns and activities of the University Students Union, including the running of all of the democratic structures in which the union is entitled to take part. Is it worth having UHSU working with the NUS? What do the students actually receive by being part of the national body? Firstly there is unity, or ‘collectiveness’ as NUS members say. The student voice at the University of Hertfordshire will be much stronger if part of a larger body who acts in the interests of the students. Who is it that is supporting the student’s viewpoint on the current lecturer strike action, for example? NUS. Who is it that rallies and lobbies against the MPs regarding the unfairness of top-up fees? NUS. And who is ultimately responsible for providing funding for the student services currently available? NUS. Imagine a university with no national student representation: Who would hear the voice of us University of Hertfordshire students? If the student body at the University needed support, the NUS wouldn’t hesitate to help. Katie Wilde, Vice President of Student Activities at the University of Hertfordshire’s Student Union, supports this, saying: “There are some universities that do not affiliate to NUS, UHSU though feels that the benefits received from being a member far outweighs the £35000 cost. NUS offers many services that students do not directly associate as a benefit to them. One example is the National Learning Programme (NSLP) that is open to all students who wish to participate. NSLP gives students essential employability skills for free. “Being part or NUS also gives UHSU access to NUSSL, the largest student buying consortium in the UK, which gives discounts

??? on many products from crisps to beer, saving UHSU £70000 last year. This money goes straight to pay for all the other services UHSU offer (e.g. the Advice and Support Centre). NUS also lobbies the government on issues affecting students i.e top fees.” She added, “We can’t put a price on collectivism.” This view seems to be a majority across the student council, which is made up of students and also act in the interest of the university’s students. Tamer Asfahani stated that “Although the NUS does offer services that we may not be able to be a part of, the money generated from our bars and shop could be used to set up similar programs that would just simply not be affiliated to the NUS. “As for consortium buying, NUSSL compares its prices to a select few consortiums and if the UHSU did disaffiliate I am sure they would be able to find independent consortiums that would match, or better, some of the deals that NUSSL provide without compromising variety. It also allows our students to decide what we want in our shops and bars.” With respect to NUS acting on a national level Tamer said: “As I said in Council, the NUS weren’t successful in lobbying parliament with regards to the top up fees, and they initially supported the lecturers strike. How is that in the best interest of students? There will be some students nationally that will not be able to graduate.” In theory and in practicability the idea of UHSU being separated from the NUS seems a little extreme. NUS have been around

for years, representing the students on a national level, and personally I would be sad to see its presence disappear from the university- not only will there be no more NUS cards, but there will be no-one to back the students on a national level if incidents relating to discrimination etc occurred. The list is endless. So should UHSU remain with the NUS? But the issue is for our student body to decide. From the 22,000 students we have at this university very few come to the council meetings or find out about their students’ union. The student body doesn’t seem to understand what the NUS and the UHSU do. Do you know what they do? And maybe that was the question Tamer was really asking. If the student body don’t know what the NUS and UHSU do, then what difference does it make if we are affiliated or not? And who’s responsibility is it to inform them of the union and it’s potential power? The student body will go to referendum (a vote put to the whole student body) in October. I strongly suggest you find out as much as you can about the NUS and UHSU so you can make an informed decision when you go to vote. Believe me, there will be a wave of change if the student body decide to disaffiliate, so utilise your union officers and listen to what they have to say. Further information about the student council and how you can contribute to student democracy next year can be found at the UHSU home page: http://uhsu. herts.ac.uk/su/council/ Information about the work of the NUS can also be found on the web at: www.nusonline.co.uk

10 Issue 6 Vol 13

News

universe@uhsu.co.uk

News... because we are a newspaper! Getting the Wright estate agent!

Guest writer: Neil Merchant

Exploring the possible problems in deposit retrieval from student properties last months rent he had not paid, £30 EACH to go to the washing machine we asked to be repaired and it was not our fault it broke. Money to repair damage we did not cause (and wrote on the original inventory it was damaged) and loads of silly little things including replacing the locks as the same house mate who did not pay the rent; did not return his keys. We got charged to remove bedding that was already in the house when we arrived. All this mounted up to £230 each for all 6 of us a total of £1380.

t’s that time of year again. Oh yes! All you guys are getting ready to move out of your houses and looking forward to the return of your deposits, but estate agents are notorious for not returning deposits. Last year at about the same time we ran an article about estate agents, and we thought it was high time we gave you another insight into

troubles with estate agents. Neil Merchant is this year’s contributor and this is what he has to say: We moved out of our house after our second year of university and went to live elsewhere. I made numerous calls to Wrights and we ﬁnally got our deposits back 5 months after we moved out. To our shock and horror we only received £70 of our original £300. We had a run down of where they had taken the money. But part of the money was to cover a house mates

News in brief: You bring the candles Tony; I’ll do the rest.

Prime Minister Tony Blair got more than he bargained for on a recent trip to his ‘special’ friend Dubya. At a press conference in the White House the ﬂirtatious president turned to the Prime Minister and sincerely said, ‘Mr Prime Minister; could I buy you dinner?’ Shortly before the proposal Bush commented on the idea of Blair resigning, saying ‘I want Mr Blair to be here as along as I am president.’ A special relationship indeed...

Dubya statement. After the Scenes of ﬂirting with Tony Blair, Dubya has made a

statement opposing Gay Marriage in the US. The President asked the senate to amend the constitution to make it clear the idea of marriage as a heterosexual man/woman partnership. The move may be seen as Dubya’s way of shifting the focus of public debate over Iraq and ensuring a vote for the November mid-term polls. Maybe dinner didn’t quite turn out as he hoped.

Two-Jags, one secretary and one croquet lawn. Deputy Prime Minister John ‘Two Jags/One Punch’ Prescott is under heavy pressure to resign. In the past month the errant Minister has been rocked by revelations of an affair with a secretary, to scenes of him playing croquet during the working week while he was meant to be running the country. He remains adamant that he will stick to his post leaving many to speculate that he should have not been there in the ﬁrst place.

Obviously this was unacceptable so we tried to call Wrights many times and no one answered the phone so we went into the shop and demanded to speak to someone. We got snubbed by one of their agents saying these were normal fees that everyone has to pay and that there was nothing we could do about it. We asked to see the house and see what work had been done so we arranged a meeting with the manager of the estate agents to view the house. We arrived at 6pm and then at 6:30pm and after many calls one of their junior representatives showed up, but knew nothing about the house and

Mike Kelly The Drugs do work. An extract of the cannabis plant has been found to aid pain management after surgery. Research at Imperial College London has found that the extract Cannador was effective in helping to relieve the pain of people who had recently had knee replacement surgery. Lead researcher Dr Anita Holdcroft said: “Pain after surgery continues to be a problem because many of the commonly used drugs are either ineffective or have too many side effects.’ The new breakthrough is said to be more proof of the positive nature of canniboids in pain management. Doesn’t make it legal to smoke it when you stub your toe though!

was there purely to let us in. When we stepped foot in the house we could clearly see that none of the work had been done, none of the cleaning we were charged for had been done, the locks had not been replaced, the bedding had not been removed. Basically the house was the same as it was when we left it (no one else had moved in the following academic year). We took photos of this and went back to Wrights the next day; they said there was nothing they could do and was out of their hands, we would have to speak to the landlord directly. They ﬁnally gave us his number and we called him, but surprisingly there was no joy, he didn’t want to know and hung up. At this point we thought there was nothing we could do, but a housemates parents got involved as he was outraged by all of this and he found out about small claims court in St Albans. I think it was £80 to put forward a case (which is returned if you win your case). We sent off all the evidence and the judge reviewed the case and sent us a court date and his initial ﬁndings that ruled in our favour.

So it is possible for students to get their deposit money back, they just have to fight for it! For more information on what to expect from your landlord and your rights as a tenant, check out www.shelter.org.uk to make sure you don’t get stitched up. The views expressed in this article do not reflect the views of the UHSU. Universe is a tool used to inform our readers, by our readers. Universe is here in a informative capacity. For further information on where to live please contact the UHSU Lettings Office based in the Ele House on the College Lane campus where the staff will be more than happy to help. The Wright choice. Call: 01707 286152

Bringing all the news in nice, bite-size chunks! British icon.... we must ensure it’s there for the next 100 years’. The sauce makers Heinz have plans to ship production to the Netherlands. Mr Dromey went on to explain ‘This march is not just about the sauce and the 125 workers whose jobs are at risk, it is about the local community, a prime British brand and keeping manufacturing jobs in the UK’.

the house on e-bay before ﬁnding out that it had already been sold by the vendor. The house was sold to the Exeter City chairman for over £400,000 pounds but it has not been made clear how much Geller had paid before ﬁnding out about the bogus deal. They must’ve seen him coming. The only question is if he’s such a powerful psychic why didn’t he see them coming.

Pirates lose loot.

S.O.S (Save Our Sauce). Hundreds of people turned up in Birmingham to protest against the closure of the HP factory, home of brown sauce. Jack Dromey, head of the Transport and General Workers’ union said ‘HP is a

Suddenly we got a call from our landlord asking if we could settle out of court. He admitted he was in the wrong and did not want to go to court so he offered us an acceptable amount plus the £80 to cover the court costs so we dropped the court case.

Uri and the King. Psychic spoon bender Uri Geller has lost out on buying a house once owned by the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. He attempted to buy

The bit torrent website ‘The Pirate Bay’ has been closed when police seized all the hardware earlier on this month. The office of the site, which distributes films, music, games and television programmes, was taken raided as the Swedish authorities obtained a search warrant to finally shut the site down. Up until recently Swedish authorities have been allowing such sites to run allowing users to download the latest cinema releases and episodes of such TV shows as ‘Lost’, which have only just been aired in the US.

News

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

News... because we are a newspaper! Body Shop Boycott? Mindi Chahal

ame Anita Roddick has sold the beauty company the Body Shop for 652 million to L’Oreal, a company that uses ingredients that have been tested on animals, in their products. Many consumers are concerned that if they continue to support the Body Shop they will inevitably be supporting L’Oreal and therefore animal testing. Ethical Consumer magazine had told its readers to boycott Body Shop because of this controversial sale. Ruth Rosselson from the Ethical Consumer magazine has said: “Its ironic that a company well-known for its anti-animal testing stance should sell-out to one that has yet to show its commitment to any ethical issues.” Nature watch, the non-proﬁt animal welfare organisation, are also taking the boycott approach and are holding a protest on the 26th of June outside the Body shop Headquarters. Anita Roddick has been accused of abandoning her principles and told the Times: “I don’t see it as

selling out. For both Gordon and I, this is without doubt the best 30th anniversary gift the body shop has ever received. Pressure groups have reacted against the sale because of the allegations of animals testing against L’Oreal, but also because the company is 28 percent owned by Nestle. Nestle has been a target for a long running campaign against their promotion of baby powdered milk and other products in the developing world. The campaign against Nestle is partly to do with the fact that artiﬁcially-fed infants are more likely to suffer illness that breastfed infants and in the poor conditions these infants face in the developing world, the risk is greater and can lead to death. Roddick has admitted that she harbours concerns over the ethical history and record of Nestle. She said: “Yes I object to the way Nestle behaves. I’m not an investor myself. I’m not giving them my money. I’m not even taking money from them. I am taking money from a company where they have a small share.

Roddick has also warned against boycotting the Body Shop, claiming it would be counterproductive. She told the Independent: “If you have to bloody boycott - then boycott. Boycott all the products that Nestlé own 100 per cent Perrier, Kit-Kat, Shredded Wheat, Nescafé, and Carnation Milk. “And boycott every pension fund that may have holdings in Nestlé for whatever reason, and everyone who beneﬁts from them. But for goodness sake strengthen the arm of anyone who sees an opportunity of changing the black hole of the corporate world.” Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon founded the Body Shop 30 years ago in Brighton with a four thousand pound loan and three thousand from friend Ian McGlinn.The pair are now set to earn 130 million from the sale with Ian McGlinn earning 137 million. The Body Shop which sells natural products from natural ingredients is a far cry from L’Oreal and its products. The founder has spent years campaigning for issues such as fair trade and animal testing

Have you got a UPVC door? Read on....

tudents are being warned that shared houses off campus are being targeted by burglars – particularly those with UPVC doors. Student houses are particularly tempting to burglars because of the number of people who live in them and the subsequent number of laptops, iPods, stereos, mobile phones etc. Burglary statistics have shown that a high number of targeted houses have UPVC doors. They are vulnerable because many residents are unaware of how to double lock them. It’s not enough to simply close the door and believe it’s fully locked. In order to fully engage the locking system, always make sure you use the key to double lock it. This applies when you leave the house OR when you lock up for the night before you go to bed. In many cases, all burglars have to do is reach through the letterbox and open the door from the inside. In many cases, residents are asleep at night while their property was being stolen. Pushing the handle up once you’ve closed the door is not enough. Because UPVC doors do not have a chubb-style lock, it is absolutely vital that you use the key both inside and outside to turn the key one more time. You may need to lift the handle up in order to complete the double lock. If in doubt, contact your landlord for more information.

The recent controversial sale of the Body Shop to L’Oreal has sparked debate about L’Oreal’s history with animal testing

and Roddick says she will stay as a consultant and that Body Shop ethics will not change. The chief executive of L’Oreal, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones told the Daily Mail: “We have always had great respect for the Body Shop’s success and for its strong identity and values created by its outstanding founder. “I can’t use, overnight, the Body Shop approach in all of the L’Oreal companies but our longterm commitment is to join Body Shop on this issue.”

It is not the ﬁrst type a non corporate business has been snapped up by major corporate businesses. Ben and Jerry, the two hippies who made ice-cream became hate ﬁgures for the antiglobalisation movement after they sold their company to Unilever six years ago. MacDonald’s also bought out socially conscious sandwich chain Prêt-a-Manger, and fair trade chocolate makers Green & Blacks has recently been bought by Cadbury Schweppes.

TV Licensing... How to claim your refund

: What do you get when you cross a It is more difﬁcult living in a shared house Herfordshire student and a TV licence at the because people are coming and going at different times – but why not stick a note on the end of the university year? inside of the door to remind everyone to double A: A refund! lock inside and out.

In case of ﬁre – have an agreed place where It’s the end of the university year, and TV Licensing is reminding students at the University a set of keys will be stored. Everyone should of Hertfordshire, who have a TV licence that they know where they are in case of an emergency. may be eligible for a refund. If you are not staying at university over the summer, it’s likely that you don’t require the ﬁnal three months of your TV licence. If this is the case, and there are three full calendar months before it expires, you are entitled to a refund for that unused quarter.

But don’t leave them on a hall table or within sight of the letter box. It is also a recognised technique of burglars to use a pole through the letter box to hook keys out. In these cases, not only have the burglars entered the house and stolen property – but they’ve also used the owner’s cars to ferry their booty away with Jenna Frost, spokesperson for TV Licensing, said: “This punchline should bring good news for them. many - as long as you purchased your TV licence in October 2005, and you don’t need it for July, August and September, you could be eligible for a refund of £31.62. ” “Whatever you’re watching on TV on a HD, surround sound system, or PC, you need to be covered by a valid TV licence. Make sure you get your licence by the end October so that you Also be aware of general crime prevention qualify for a refund at the end of the academic advice. Burglars are often opportunistic and year.”

Whether you share a house with family or friends, please make sure you make everyone aware that from now on, the front door will be double locked – and that they MUST double lock up themselves.

will hone in on an unlocked back door or open window. Veronica King, NUS Vice-President Welfare says, “Students have never been poorer and every

Don’t think ‘It won’t happen to me’. Once it’s little helps - especially at the end of the year when happened, it’s too late. Don’t take that chance. the ﬁnances have run out. Call TV Licensing as soon as possible to make sure you will be able to

For more information about crime prevention, apply for your refund.” go to www.herts.police.uk.

Your parents’ TV licence will not cover you away from home. Anyone without a valid TV licence who watches or records television programmes on any channel (including terrestrial, satellite, cable or digital television channels) as they are being broadcast in the UK risks prosecution and a ﬁne of up to £1000. • If you live in halls of residence and use a TV in your own room, you need your own separate TV licence. • You also need your own licence if you are sharing a house with other students and use a TV in your room, and your room is a separately occupied place (a separate tenancy agreement would normally indicate that this is the case). • If you have a separate tenancy agreement but a television is only being used in a communal area, then only one licence is required. • If you are sharing a house with other students and you use a TV in your own room, but the house can be treated as one place shared by all, then only one TV licence is required (a joint tenancy agreement would usually be evidence that the house is a single licensable place for this purpose). Costs and refunds: A TV licence currently costs £131.50, and a black and white licence is £44. Most students would need to buy a TV licence at the beginning of term in October in order to allow enough time at the end of the year to qualify for a refund. To arrange your refund, or if you require further information, please contact TV Licensing on 0870 242 1417.

12 Issue 6 Vol 13

Feature

A look back at: Cultural Awareness Week

universe@uhsu.co.uk

n 13th to 15th March the University of Hertfordshire Students’ Union put on a cultural extravaganza to bring together students from all over the world who are studying at the University. The main event, the Cultural Fair took place on Wednesday 15 March from 11.00am4.00pm in a marquee at the front of the Students’ Union, College Lane Campus. There were stalls set up by cultural groups to showcase their culture for others to learn about them. There was also music and live performances, the chance to taste some international cuisine and learn about some of the many cultures represented at the University of Hertfordshire. Throughout the week students celebrated cultures from around the world, a different culture each day, starting with the Americas on Monday, followed by Asia, Australasia, Africa and finishing with Europe on St Patrick’s Day. Each day different dishes from each continent were served up and highlight phrases of the day. The other events involved a film day, showcasing films that illustrate the modern culture and historical influences of three nationalities as well as film nights during the week, Art Over Lunch highlighting the current exhibition by German artist Annette Schröter and the chance to sample a variety of German sausages. All this before St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Friday 18 March that offered a samples of Irish stew and a shot of Irish Whisky or half a pint of Guinness. Prizes were given to the winners of the quiz, the person who performed the best Irish dancing, and also the person that can make up the best original Irish limerick. The plan is to make International Culture Week an annual event, so if anyone has any comments that they would like to make, things you liked, things you would like to see next year etc. Please email Naomi at volunteers@herts. ac,uk

All these pictures and more are available to download at www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk/live/gallery/

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Advice & Support

than a caffeine drink. This helps to maintain your blood sugar as it contains natural sugar and so helps you to maintain your energy levels and it’s healthier! 3) If you ﬁnd yourself thinking that chewing your arm off is more interesting than revising, try doing some exercise even it’s a quick 10 minutes run a day. Your brain probably needs a break and some fresh air.

ell it’s been a whirlwind of a ride for many of you this year. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, made some long lasting friends and are still alive after the dreadful exams! Just think in under 3 weeks it’ll all be over! On a random note: Thirds years have you noticed that you can no longer pull all nighters in the LRC as you may have done in the 1st year? I think as we get older we become less able to put our bodies through that amount of stress! Here are some helpful hints to keep your blood pressure down over this exam period:-

4) Try and keep to a sensible diet – and no, kebabs from ‘Hatﬁeld Best Kebab’ do not count even if there is lettuce inside it. Try not to skip breakfast and keep to the routine of only having meals at the correct time that way your energy levels wont be up and down all the time. You’ll ﬁnd that you can revise for longer and more effectively. Very few people enjoy exams and most students experience some anxiety from time to time whilst revising and during the exams themselves. This anxiety can be helpful in motivating us to study and in improving performance, but very occasionally, it can lead to students feeling paralysed and unable to perform to the best of their ability.

1) SLEEP! How is your brain going to keep all that information inside if its got no time to process it!!! It is essential that the brain gets enough of the REM period in sleep so that the information you’ve learnt can be properly assimilated. So don’t pull all nighters in the LRC!

If your experiencing symptoms such as “butterflies” in the stomach, trembling, palpitations or difficulty with sleeping, or if you are irritable, unable to concentrate or cry for no apparent reason you may be suffering from stress (no shit Sherlock you may say). But if your finding it too overwhelming make sure you talk to someone about it.

2) Avoid too much caffeine, e.g pro-plus, coffee, tea and ﬁzzy drinks. These give you a quick ‘high’ followed by an energy slump. If your energy does slump, have a banana rather

Equally many students suffer from panic attacks and having thoughts such as I’m going to pass out”, “I’m having a heart attack”, “I’m losing control of myself”, I’m

Issue 6 Vol 13

going mad” Panic attacks can be a frightening experience, but whilst they are very upsetting they do not cause permanent harm. Fortunately there is advice available on how to deal with such an attack. Useful information can be found at:

Extenuating circumstances during Examinations

http://www.mhf.org.uk/html/content/all_ about_anxiety.pdf http://stressbusting.co.uk/ http://www.nopanic.org.uk/ http://www.phobics-society.org.uk/ http://stress.org.uk/

As most of us are aware sometimes exams go wrong due to circumstances outside your control. Fortunately the University allows students to draw to its attention signiﬁcant circumstances beyond their control that they believe may have affected their performance during examination.

Don’t forget that the Advice and Support Centre is open from 10am til 4pm if you want to have a chat and talk through anything that you’re going through. Alternatively you can contact Ingrid Morgan on 01707 285022 or asc@herts.ac.uk. This is my last ever article, sniff sniff, so thank you to everyone for a fantastic year. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Student Union and working with students. Goodbye to the rest of the Sabbatical team and the Student Union staff, its been a pleasure working and having fun with you all. After I finish my year of office I will be working for the International office in the Mercer Building - I just can’t seem to escape from Hatfield!! Anyways good luck to everybody in their exams and in whatever their futures hold! Hugs and kisses Laura Mudge VP Education and Welfare 01707285003

Free and conﬁdential listenig service

Minor illness’ such as colds, sore throat etc. everyday stress and strain, financial pressures, work pressures, emotional pressure caused by study, the exam timetable, matters of personal preference (such as religious observance) that clash with the University timetable and other similar circumstances do not count as extenuating circumstances! However serious medical problems, death of a close family member, serious ill health or injury to a partner or child could be considered as extenuating circumstances that you need to let inform the University of. These examples are not intended to be exhaustive. Pre-existing, longterm medical conditions should have been be notified to the Scheme Administrator as soon as they occurred and medical certification should have been provided to cover the examination period. You can collect an extenuating circumstances form from your faculty reception. Fill it in and attach supporting evidence of your circumstance and return it to your Scheme Administrator. This needs to be submitted at least 5 days, before the Principal Board of Examiners meets. Your tutor should know the date of your particular examination board. If you have sufficient evidence it will be taken into account when you are awarded your grade. If you need any advice regarding any academic matters please contact:-

Call: 01707 275 808

Laura Mudge VP Education and Welfare 01707 285003 uhsu.support@herts.ac.uk

14 Issue 6 Vol 13

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Advice & Support

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Meningitis (Meningococcal disease)

Bunmi Odubanjo is planning on becoming a journalist and is starting right here; writing this medical section. Every month she will be addressing a new health issue. So if you have an medical issue you would like discussed contact her at parttime-journalist@hotmail.co.uk.

eningitis is caused by a micro-organism that infects the meninges. The meninges is the lining of the spinal cord and brain. The infection causes inﬂammation of the meninges which affects

for treatment. The main types of bacteria that cause meningitis are streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides. In some cases the germs are contained in the nose and throat and only become

symptoms which, develop at a later stage are seizures and rashes. Note when a glass is applied against the rash; the rash does not fade away. This is a strong indication of the individual having a meningococcal disease and is known as the tumbler test.

“Protection against meningitis is easily accessible, and every newborn is vaccinated against meningitis. This means that a As expected there are more practical ways to test for meningitis. A majority of us have been administered a patient who is suspected to have meningococcal C vaccination.” the circulation of spinal fluid and brain fluid. Restriction of fluid circulation can resolve in brain damage, learning disabilities and hearing lost. Meningitis is mainly caused by viral and bacterial infections, however in rare cases it can be caused by fungal infections. A viral infection is classified as aseptic meningitis and is not very severe. Aseptic meningitis can be treated by paracetamol and plentiful rest. A bacterial infection is classified as purulent meningitis and is fatal if left untreated. Knowing the type of bacteria enables selection of the correct antibiotics required

infectious when the immune system resistance is lowered. When the immune response is lowered the germ can spread to the brain and cause the meninges to swell, it is also likely that the germ can enter the bloodstream and cause the individual to go into shock and collapse. With bacterial infections the symptoms may develop over several hours and last for 2-3 weeks; however in some cases it can kill within several hours after infection. This often makes it difﬁcult to treat. Symptoms to be aware of are severe headaches, stiff neck, jaundice, fever, vomiting, drowsiness, nausea and sensitivity to bright lights. The least common

meningitis may undergo a brain scan that details any abnormalities in the circulation of fluid in the brain. If a problem is depicted a sample of the spinal fluid is collected using a spinal tab. The spinal fluid is then analysed to see what type of bacterial infection is present, with this information appropriate antibiotics can be used to treat the patient. The main antibiotic that is used is penicillin. This is supplied to the patient over a period of 10-14 days through a drip. If treatment is given at an early stage of the infection, the risk of dying is reduced to 15%. Protection against meningitis is easily accessible, and every

Haggis… Scotch… Nessie… UH Students! C

laire Fiddeman, Darren Corner, Jemma Jones, Matthew Peachey and Robert Notley are walking the Great Glen Way in June to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. For those who have not heard of the Great Glen Way in Scotland, it is a 73-mile trek, starting from Fort William and ending in Inverness. We are starting the walk on Sunday 18th June and plan to ﬁnish the walk by Friday 23rd June 2006. We have decided to walk the Great Glen Way to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. As a group of university students, we identify with young people and we feel that teenagers are an age group who are not often thought of as cancer sufferers.

We are paying for our own ﬂights, accommodation (haggis and whiskey!), so every penny you donate will go to Teenage Cancer Trust. Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on the needs of teenagers and young people with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The concentration of medical expertise within the units brings advances in knowledge. It is anticipated that treatment in a Teenage Cancer Trust Unit improves chances of recovery by up to 15%. The charity’s work pushes the parameters of knowledge in the ﬁeld of adolescent cancer. They strive not only to improve the quality of life for young cancer patients but also their chances of survival.

Additional to its work in NHS hospitals, Teenage Cancer Trust provides an education and awareness team across the UK for schools. They run a programme, which gives information, education and advice, which can be included in the curriculum. Please access the Teenage Cancer Trust website to ﬁnd out more about the charity: www.teenagecancertrust.org We would be grateful if you could take a moment to sponsor us. It’s really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address: http://www.justgiving.com/ greatglenway2006 All donations are secure and sent electronically to Teenage Cancer Trust. Please join us in supporting Teenage Cancer Trust and a fabulous cause.

newborn is vaccinated against meningitis. This means that a majority of us have been administered a meningococcal C vaccination. Individuals that have a high risk of catching meningitis are students living on campus, travellers, and young infants. Note that meningitis is a contagious illness that is spread through kissing and coughing.

To conclude meningitis shows no discrepancy against whom it affects so if you are not vaccinated against it be attentive to any rapid changes to the way you feel, especially if you experience the symptoms listed above. To ﬁnd out more about meningitis check out www.meningitis.org or call up the 24hour helpline free on 080 8800 3344.

One of the largest student events in the country! Buy your ticket

Buy your Summer Ball souvenir T-shirt from the Students’ Union Shop. Only £8.99! Or buy online at: http://shop.uhsu.co.uk

Simon Webbe At only 26 years old, Simon has already gained more experience in the music industry than many artists attain in a lifetime. As a member of Blue he has achieved phenomenal sales ﬁgures not only in the UK, but across the globe. Blue have had an amazing forty No.1 singles worldwide, selling over 9.5 million albums and 3.5 million singles.

: Other acts include • Keke Ke Roc • Hi-Teck • Hoodman • Mike Davies • Mary-Anne Hobbs • DJ Guy

ing: Arena feature n • Chris Harringto • Dan Bailey • Jason Vereka n • Andy Warburto

As a solo artist, Simon’s debut single ‘Lay Your Hands’ stormed into the UK charts at No.4 this August and remained in the Top 10 for an amazing three weeks, gaining massive radio airplay in the process. Now with the single ‘No Worries’, and his debut solo album ‘Sanctuary’, Simon‘s position as one of the UK’s leading singer/songwriters will be established once and for all

Just check out some of the acts! Visit the website for a full list of Acts. years they . Over the last 2 rt po ew N of ld or st nationally the sunny w p music. Their fir e GLC, hail from ra th to or ch , in oa ha pr C ap in lack of ith their new Goldie Look e group’s previous across the UK w th s on es ay cc pl su a d e ye m evious six jo have en atest Hits, the na ions from their pr re ct G le d se lle d ca an l as ia w um er released album r 5 in the UK Alb ixture of new mat be m m a nu d le at pi d m te co bu it ess; 2004, and de commercial succ ed in September as le re as w It s. unofficial album yle Chart. s to record r&b st er pp ra of cy en the tend lled R&B, satirises ca y pularity. pl m si , le ng e mainstream po ev hi ac GLC’s latest si d an e ag soften their im ird place songs in order to He finished in th . K U e th in er th ebrity Big Bro appeared on Cel t go ag M , 06 ton. 20 In January Chantelle Hough ity br le ce ux fa ly ious arrymore and prev behind Michael B

pendulum

, ised of Rob Swire pr m co p, ou gr The . and Paul Harding Gareth McGrillen ased their debut In 2005 they rele Colour. Critically, album, Hold Your ell received. In the album was w e of the biggest addition, it was on bass releases selling Drum and lum have also of all time. Pendu The Freestylers, collaborated with le “Fasten Your releasing the sing da and Tenor Seatbelt”. MC Spy vocalists on Fly also feature as “Tarantula”.

KUBB

Keisha White White British RnB act Keisha so far, has released one album album Seventeen. Her second in 2006. is due for release later -old had The now nineteen year likes of collaborated with the Eagle Discs, Oakenfold and Desert album even before her debut d ry 2006 Keisha release was released. In Februa an , a cover of the 1975 Jo “The Weakness In Me 7, e single charted at #1 Armatrading track. Th the British limelight. Launching Keisha into

Harry Collier, Kubb’s frontman, was born in Liverpool and raised in Tobago. On his return to the UK, he moved to London and whilst working as waiter he sang “Happy Birthday” to Dido’s brother Rollo. Rollo quickly scooped him up and started recording with him, and forming the Kubb line-up. With ex-Reef drummer Dom Greensmith, John Tilley on keyboards and Adj on lead guitar, this new and challenging four-piece promise to be one the UK’s future superpowers in music.

and Dylan When Kaz James tralia. Ever since Burns met in Aus left school at 16 vowing when he ake a penny that he’d never m her than music, from anything ot Dylan had spent Canterbury-born of the netherworld over a decade in and ﬂy-by-night ts hi e nc da f of eon Melbourne, was projects. Kaz, from zkid DJ who’d a 22-year-old whi re from Miami played everywhe otégé of house to Tokyo and a pr nuckles. While legend Frankie K as Coloursound, touring Australia up with Kaz, Dylan was hooked hile Dylan was who would DJ w ested that as singing. Kaz sugg ylan should play well as singing, D s DJing set. “I his guitar over hi r and the musical plugged my guita st phenomenal chemistry was ju ing like we’d been – we were jamm for ten years,” playing together . remembers Dylan destined to BodyRockers are rs and young appeal to old rave strong songs rockers alike, the erything they which underpin ev hugely appealing do making them one end of the to music fans from her. radio dial to the ot

4 DAYS TO SET UP

The Event of the Year

he most eagerly anticipated event of the University calendar is nearly upon us. This year it’s going to be bigger and better, with more acts than ever hitting our five stages! Whether you’re celebrating the end of your first year or having your final fling as you finish your last year, Summer Solstice is surely going to be one to remember. The entire bottom end of the college lane campus is transformed into a student festival. Wherever the eye looks, it see’s marquees and arenas set up all over the car parks. The nose picks up the scent of burger vans and generators, and the ears hear music to suite everyone. With five Arenas, a bigger Fairground than ever before, Casino, a Food Court, VIP Suite and much nicer toilets this year, there is something to keep everyone amused for hours. Taking place at the end of the academic year on June 16th 2006, the event starts at 8pm and partying will go on until the early hours of the morning with bars trading through right until 4am the next morning. For those of you who can survive that long, prove to those who didn’t quite make it that you lasted all the way by showing them your copy of the survivors photo.

goers: Hot tips for summer ball als no withdraws! 1 cash point equ • Bring Cash - 5500 people and only

t. shop will be selling them all nigh • Buy disposable camaras - the SU t/ n if it’s a baking hot day, the nigh • Bring a warm coat/jacket - eve early morning will get cold. ticket - you won’t be coming in • Remember your Student Card and without them! in friends - arrange a meeting point • If you’re arriving with a group of case you lose each other. heels - then bring a pair of comfy • Girls (and boys) if you’re wearing at kroom, you’ll be grateful of them shoes and leave them in the cloa the end of the night!

• 4 days to set up • 25 crew • 100 bar, security and other staff • 100,000 watts of sound • 300 different lighting ﬁxtures • 8 generators using 300 litres of diesel • 7 tonnes of staging • 6 miles of cable • 5 tonnes of ice • 2 miles of security fencing • 400 cases of beer and alcopops • 100 bottles of vodka • Shop selling ciggys, sweets & cameras. • The kitchen sink as well • 14 hours to dismantle after you all leave...

Read about their Balls! “I must admit I was wasted, but from what I remembered it was really good night. I spent most of the time in the Live Arena, it was excellent!” -Simon Caley, 3rd Year “I’ve been to 3 balls and they just keep getting bigger and better, It’s like the entire campus turns into a masive party. I pulled in the simulater ride” -Ben Starkin, 4th Year

! r o v i v r u S l l a B Be a Summer

Win a pair of VIP tickets to the Summer Ball! The closest two entries to the following question will win! How many pints of draught Budwiser beer were sold at last years summer ball between 8pm and 10.30pm Send your answers to universe@uhsu.co.uk for a chance to win.

“I remember walking home with some friends and the sun was starting to come up. You know when you leave a party and it’s light it was rockin.” John Dearly , 2nd Year “I had a great time last year. In fact thats where I met my boyfriend. We’re going togeather this year. -Sara Johnson , 2nd Year “It was a great way to end my university experience. I said my ﬁnal goodbyes to many people, some of which I knew! It was awesome! -Andy Weston, ex-student “Wicked! Every one is on such a high, you kinda forget that your at university. It’s massive, it’s loud and totally buzzing full of life. I’ll be there this year. -Daniel Smitson, 2nd Year “It’s an awsome way to end the year. Everyone looks amazing drassed up it’s a great way to kick back after exams. The acts are always wicked. Must remeber to go to the Chill Zone this year!” -Anita Rohan, 4th Year

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be hell of

Uni Salut

een one f a party!

iverse tes You!

22 Issue 6 Vol 13

Water Works!

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Water way to go!

Universe gave someone the chance to win £1000 earlier in the year. All you had to do was log on to Three Valleys Water and ﬁll out one of their surveys. UH student, Maria Halford, was the lucky winner!

pledge to save water has won a University of Hertfordshire student a £1,000 prize So has she kept to her pledges and have they from local water company, Three Valleys made a difference to how she uses water? “I have kept to my pledges because I believe Water. it’s important that we all do our bit for the The company ran a water-saving campaign at environment,” said Maria. “As a future teacher, the university at the end of 2005 to encourage I hope my own actions act as an example for students to save water and to promote the health young people to follow.” benefits of drinking tap water. As part of the campaign, students were asked to go online Ellie Turner, of the University’s Environmental to carry out a water audit and to undertake a Team, said “The campaign was very well series of pledges to help save water – with a received by our students and definitely gave them something to think about. We are always chance to win £1,000 in a free prize draw. keen to promote positive environmental Third-year BEd Primary Education student, messages to our students so it was good to have Maria Halford, was one of 1,588 students who worked with Three Valleys Water to stress the logged on and was chosen as the lucky winner importance of using water wisely.” last week. With the current drought situation in the south In her pledge, Maria promised to: turn the tap east of England, Three Valleys Water is keener off when brushing her teeth; use the washing than ever to promote the water efficiency machine only with a full load; fill the kettle message to all its customers and students at the with only enough water for what she needs; University of Hertfordshire were more than drink tap water to keep hydrated and use her happy to take the message on board. washing-up water for other uses.

It’s three cheers as Zoe Stubbs of Three Valleys Water hands over the winning cheque to Maria Halford, with Tarquin Stephenson, President the University of Hertfordshire’s Student Union, toasting to her win.

Peter Darby, Managing Director of Three Valleys Water, said “Caring for our water resources is an ongoing commitment that will affect future generations, so young people starting a new chapter are in the perfect position to take the message on board and carry it through into the future.”

UHSU

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

De Havilland Round Up Final farewell W from Corry From Levi thorne

oah! this year has managed to roll past so quickly, last time I looked I was writing my ﬁrst article, now I’m onto my last one of the year.

reasons, with the highest of which being the student population not caring because they are only here for 3-4 years, or a lack of notiﬁcation about what really goes on.

y Time is Now!

After three fantastic years at university, three years of working for UHSU, and one year of being a part time executive, my time here at UH is finally upon me. With all my coursework finished, and only four exams to go, these next four weeks will spell an end to what can only be described as “an awesome time at uni”. When Maz asked me if I would write an article for his last edition of Universe; I was only too happy to, as it would be kind of rude not to. But what I would talk about is another thing? I could go on to talk about how Spurs were unlucky to finish 5th in the Premier League and that Barcelona rock, but that would leave me with a whole list of complaints, that quite frankly, I couldn’t care less about. But in honesty Arsenal were unlucky even if I don’t like them. Also, I could talk about the last Student Council, and writing this before council occurred could see us going to a referendum over our affiliation to NUS. But this would confuse the majority of students as they do not know, or care, about NUS, UHSU, or really about anything. This comes down to several

Many of the people who are close to me are finishing this year, and I thank you all for some great times. As with anybody who goes to University, there are obviously highs and lows, and it is great that you meet some people to share these with. I won’t go into individual issues, but those around should probably know many of them. Thanks again. Good luck to all the executive who are leaving, I wish you all well in your future careers. Similarly, to those officers elect, hope it all goes well and that you are held accountable for your actions. A mention must go to all the Font and Ele staff who I have worked with over the last three years. You know I love the place, and am really sad to leave. I must mention Chris for giving me the job in the first place. Thanks a million. That about sums it up really. Hope everyone’s exams go well and you get the results that you wanted. I’ll know doubt see all of you before we finish, so say hello. Bye for now Richard Corry PT Ents & Promotions Officer ep@herts.ac.uk

Well if you don’t know me now, you never will so no introduction, after all, next year I’ll be internal affairs ofﬁcer, so from 1st July 2006, you won’t be able to reach me on my regular email address. Would like to take this chance to say congrats to all the new elected ofﬁcers from the byelection, especially Michael Lloyd, who will be serving my role next year Not really been up to much since the last article, like the

most of you I have exams coming up in the new couple of weeks and need to be studying for those, sorry to all those who came out expecting to see me for the open forum on Monday 15th May but I was feeling a bit under the weather and really couldn’t make it down to de Havilland. If you need to speak to me for anything, please use my email address and I’ll get back to you asap. One thing I did kinda learn over the last few weeks tho is that very few know about the night buses, buses run from Collage Lane to de Havilland after the Font closes just as normal (690 service I believe), this is a service that we pay for, so please do make

the most of it if you don’t wish to walk back.

Well that’s about it, thank all you guys for a great year, I wish you all luck in your exams and hope you have a great summer! Levi ‘Spike’ Thorne de Havilland Site Coordinator uhsu.dehav@herts.ac.uk p.s – damn you Maz and Ginger for the smile campaign!

Calling all font party goers to... Dress Up!!! By Andy Weston

t seems, rather unfortunately, that we are in the minority when we dress up to go out. Not just once this year we have plagued toy shops and pound lands for essential accessories for a night at the Font. It is understandable then that after all this effort we feel a little disappointed when we stroll into the Font and ﬁnd we are the only mugs dressed up. Freshers, where are you?!? It’s not embarrassing; it’s about having good stories to tell, if you remember them that is. Please shamelessly dress up in random clothes or cross dress proudly (and not just on themed nights). Drink stupid

amounts and understand this is what the ﬁrst year is about…. there’s always time for work during the day.

We only have one bar in Hatﬁeld worth going to; so lets make it a memorable place, dress up for Doctors and

Nurses, you have the outﬁts in the bedroom, put on your Chaviest gear, go Commando, in both senses and strive to get in the Universe centrespread and why? Well, it’s been said before, because we’re students darn you, and that’s what we do!

UHSU’s First Beer Festival Joe Luckham reviews...

hen I first got wind of a beer festival right on our very doorstep, I was filled with a plethora of emotions. Fear: How can a University without a Real Ale society expect to pull off a successful beer festival? Hope: With CAMRA located just 4 odd miles down the road, maybe they’ll lend a hand and sort us out with some lovely beers. Finally, excitement: At last I’ll be able to go and have a night that doesn’t involve stale tasting Carling, marginally more commendable Grolsch or – should I be brave enough to venture off campus – the occasional pint of wife beater. So, adorned with wristband (a fiver for four days…bargain) and my drinking shoes, it was time to begin, which, if you believed the

posters, was 9am. Typos aside (it didn’t actually start until 9pm), I meandered down to Hutton Hall to start the festivities 12 hours later than anticipated. My attentions were drawn immediately to the three sides of the hall unoccupied by casks, perhaps my expectations were too high, or maybe I’m just greedy, but I expected more. Still, after realising where I was it seemed the selection was admirable for a ﬁrst ever UH beer festival. With beer in hand, (initially a delectable pint of Merlin’s Magic) several things crossed my mind; why is there nowhere to sit? Why is the music so loud? And why is there someone trying to sell lager over in the corner? Nevertheless,

I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. There is not a lot more fun than watching students discover that they can buy beer that actually tastes of something, subsequently realising that it’s not for them and skulking back down to the comfort zone of the Font Bar. But maybe that’s just me. Several delightful ales later and

with a pint of Liquid Lobotomy baiting me, I couldn’t help but think of how it could be much better than it is, and perhaps next year would address certain issues for the beneﬁt of everyone. If we have wristbands, make sure the bouncers know that we should be able to come and go as we please, dial down on the pumped in club music and for the love of god,

give us somewhere to sit down! Perhaps more important than all of these things is that the Beer Festival should be exactly that… a festival. Tying it in with the Font made it seem more like a novelty night than a stand-alone event. As years pass, I have no doubt that the Festival will gain status in the University calendar, and maybe then a marquee wouldn’t be completely out of the question. Finally I feel I must say long live the UH Beer Festival, and may it forever provide students with the opportunity to stray from their nightly lager induced comas onto a much healthier ale induced slumber.

26 Issue 6 Vol 13

Park & Ride

universe@uhsu.co.uk

��

1 in[arts] in[arts] Pull Me Out...

Issue 6 Volume 13

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Feeling Artsy - Fartsy in Hertsy?!

in[arts] - special

1 2 3 4

Ross Billington meets Adam Buxton and finds out just what the student hero does with his time...

in[theatre]

This month we look at two totally different plays, both running a similar theme..can you find out what it is...?

in[games]

Xav and team get down to work reviewing the long awaited console releases...

in[film]

The hottest films showing at the big screens this month... Articles by Chris Mirzai, Mike Kelly and Garlic

FINDYOUR

PERFECT JOB

STOPWASTINGTIMEANDVISIT www.gradseast.org.uk The East of England universities supporting graduate and student opportunities in the region

BUXTON’S BACK! Ross Billington

imes are changing for Adam Buxton, previously forming the Adam part of the late cult 90’s ‘Adam and Joe Show’, set in a London bed-sit set to a vibrant backdrop of pop-culture. Buxton and best friend Joe Cornish were responsible for bludgeoning the late-night TV format into submission with the help of some teddy bears, Star Wars and oddly Adam’s Dad. TV has never really recovered. Life has since changed however, Buxton is now a Father of two, married and going effectively on his lonesome. A stand-up career is blooming alongside a regular radio slot on Xfm and a recent appearance in hit C4 show ‘The I.T Crowd’. Are we now looking at Adam Lite , a diluted version of the student’s hero of yesteryear? Thankfully not as Buxton quite clearly is still has that ‘Ken Korda-esque’ derangement, ‘Just today I came up with a new show set in a lighthouse. I would be the lighthouse keeper and I would have an army of tiny humorous creatures who live beneath the lighthouse and help me present the show, which could incorporate all kinds of surreal and hilarious items! This is an amazingly good idea and I would not have had it if I’d been changing nappies at 7am instead of lying face down on my pillow.’ However, normality descends as ‘In the bath I realise that my idea is Fraggle Rock.’ Following a hearty breakfast, Buxton retires too his ‘glorified shed at the bottom of the garden’. This office of sorts serves as the central hub and creative hotbed for the thirty-seven year old, ‘I turn on the computer and check my e-mails. I never get anything until at least 10:30 when my agent gets in. If I’m lucky I’ll get a few offers to increase the girth of my winky, or fraudulent requests to confirm bank details but that’s it.’ Lunchtime beckons, and following a ‘weekly trip to Sainsbury’s’ where Buxton ‘swishes through the aisles alone, listening to music and feeling on the verge major creative breakthroughs’ he returns to the safe haven of the sofa. ‘I flick through satellite channels in the hope of seeing something that might be useful, either for a sketch or for the radio show I do with Joe on Xfm wherein we spend a lot of time talking

about film and TV. I try to record everything I’m watching for that reason but it means I have hundreds of crudely labelled DVD’s lying around my shed, which I’ll probably never watch again.’ ‘In the afternoon I might have a meeting or two. These usually take the form of an hour of excited chatter with someone from a production company about a project that will never happen, either because it turns out I’m too busy or we realise it’s Fraggle Rock or more often than not it simply ‘goes away’. Truly however, this fits Buxton’s work ethic, a man who prefers setting his own ‘pace’ and ‘doing things the way I want them done and there’s only my enthusiasm levels to maintain. Most of the time it’s great fun to be sat at my computer playing with bits of footage or writing short sketches or stand up material’. Working with others is not out of the question completely, ‘I look forward to getting involved with something more substantial that forces me to work with other people again. Ditch digging perhaps. I’ve got some great ideas for ditches. I need to line up a meeting and pitch some ditch.’ As afternoon merges into the evening, ‘I shut down my computer and head upstairs to read to the boys before they go to sleep. This is one of my favourite parts of the day unless they’ve been watching TV. The main thing I try to explain to them is that too much crap TV leads to apathy, lardiness and in extreme cases Gillian McKeith, and nobody wants that.’ Our time with Adam enters its twilight as domestic normality takes hold at 9pm. ‘We try to have at least one good show on DVD that we know we can fall back on. Best of all is The Sopranos which really is the kind of show that makes you believe that TV is the best medium going. Having said that, Celebrity Big Brother this year came pretty close too. If only they’d set it in a lighthouse with me as the lighthouse keeper and added even more hilarious creatures, it would have been just about perfect.’

Special thanks to in[arts] design editor: Vicki Webb

2 in[theatre] Electrifying fun at Candlelight... Claire-Michelle Pearson

lectric Candlelight was sent shocks down my spine and sent my body into spasms with laughter. Written by Pete Hawes who also played the part of Perry, the show was directed by Marty Spain. Having laughed out loud for the hundredth time, it became apparent that it was so funny because it was it was so accurate. The story revolved around the love life of Stuart (Richard Fish, Harry Potter). The play opens with Stuart taking a bath to the “Niagara Falls” effect of his girlfriend Kelly (Tania Harris), of three weeks peeing. Stuart knows that he loves Kelly, even if she has quickly become a fixture in his flat, but he finds himself falling in love with the new girl at work, Sascha (Helen Marchant). Stuart works for Perry’s (Pete Hawes) events company ‘Big Banana’ as one of three men in an office with 11 women. All hired for their looks. Notably one of my favourite lines was, “there must be an angel walking around without a bottom” when Perry was describing the new girl. Turning to the stereotypically lad’s best mate, aptly named Dave (Charlie Harden), Stuart finds himself increasingly confused. So we see love from its many different, but accurately truthful angles. There’s Stuart,

in love with two women, Kelly, who pees in front of her boyfriend, Perry who “cant remember a girl’s name unless its printed on her chest”, or bottom, Cassie (Carrie Gilham), who’s married to a man only interested in her money and Dave who has a fetish for posh accents and thinks its “bad luck to sleep with the same woman twice.” Hawes’ writing and Spain’s direction was very engaging. A number of times the main character stood out of the action to perform a reflective, often hilarious monologue. In doing this, the director effectively entwined the narrative and the thoughts and feelings of Stuart. The funniest scene, in my opinion, was the anarchy that ensued after the office cocktail tasting (‘Singed Minge’ and ‘Fudgy Nipples’) at 9.30am. Finally, the play concludes with all characters on the stage as they go about resolving the conflict and pairing off. There was a definite feel good factor about the play and I’d compare the writing to Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity for wit and enthusiasm. Throughout the play the laughs kept coming and I felt that Perry’s drunken poem received the biggest response. “When I was bending my PA over my desk, I was thinking of you.”

The atmosphere in the 100-seater theatre was very intimate, but highly professional. The performance was given by Act2 productions at the Trestle arts base in St Albans. The arts base itself is a converted 100-year-old chapel boasting state of the art sound and lighting. The cast and crew were fantastic, giving a seamless performance. Only one of the cast was not a member of the University of Hertfordshire Alumni, with most having studied Drama. This is the 7th production to date listed on Act2’s website. The St Albans Observer had this to say about An Ideal Husband: “Amateur Theatre group Act 2’s production

Dumbing Down Review P

hil Humour is the new English teacher who is launched into a school where the students run riot and the teachers should be sectioned under mental health. The young mans naive hopes and dreams of teaching the most inspirational aspects of English are swiftly squashed by piles of forms, procedures and more forms that he has to deal with before he even gets a chance to say the word Shakespeare. With the advice of ‘try not to care too much’ from fellow teacher Jeff, Phil can sense that he is in for a rough ride at this school. The cast of three performed the roles of teachers and students giving the audience at the Western Auditorium such a good performance that you got ﬂashbacks of your own school days.

At one point in the show the audience members were given a good telling off, and made to pick up rubbish by the head teacher! Phil, played by David Sullivan, had only one role and he played it well, with his look of utter bewilderment at his situation at the school being the most entertaining aspect of his character. George Marsh was equally as amusing as the neurotic ‘ten words a second’ Daphne in charge of forms, uniforms and proper form in the classroom, Roberta the sophisticated procedures manager and Kevin the troubled, cocky, and disruptive student in class The entire comedy of the night was largely produced by Mark O’Sullivan as you watch in amazement while he swaps from his character of Becky, the whiney girl with big hoop earrings to the straight laced

suited and booted head teacher, and ﬁnally slumping into the role of unenthusiastic teacher Jeff. We get to see the ups and downs of Phil’s teaching career, and we had the privilege of hearing the troubled students Becky and Kevin rapping the story of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Nights Dream. Even the low points were hilarious, as Phil is at the point of being sacked he argues that if he teaches in the ‘proper’ way “they’ll learn nothing” and the head teacher’s response, ‘Well that’s a risk we’ll have to take.’ The show ended with one message that completely summed up what Phil’s character was feeling throughout the play, boards were held up emblazoned with the words ‘Fast track to failure. Set us free.’

contained all the propriety of Victorian society coupled with the dry satiric humour necessary to critique it.” I highly recommend looking out for more performances by this talented group. Electric candlelight showed Thursday 1st June 2006 to Saturday 3rd June 2006 at Trestle Arts Base. For more information about the cast and their other performances: www.act2productions. co.uk and for information and up coming events at the Trestle arts base www.trestle. org.uk

in[games]

Nintendo WII: Console Underdog?

Joey Okansey

Gamers all around the world are waiting in anticipation as that time of year is slowly drawing nearer and nearer, Q4, and the release of the remaining next gen consoles. What about the Nintendo WII? Well unlike the other developers the WII is keeping their spec sheet out of the race, not only because they believe the next gen battle isn’t purely about silicon brawn (partly because the spec of the Wii does not stand a chance) but because they believe that gaming is about giving the user a new experience and that is exactly what the Wii promised and will do. The Wiimote is the new control pad for Nintendo and it will revolutionise the way games are played forever. At a ﬁrst glance the Wiimote looks like a normal TV remote control and that’s where the similarities stop. A host of technology, creativity and ingenuity has been graced on the Wiimote Firstly it is wireless, which gives the user more freedom.

The Wiimote will have motion sensors, which detect the users movements, and transports it to the character on the screen. In other words, if you move your hand to the right so will your character, if you make a slashing motion your character will slash his enemy. This feature will add so much more depth and user interactivity that has ever been seen before. There is even a speaker in the Wiimote. Imagine playing ‘The legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ and you have an enemy above you on a balcony, you reach for your trusty bow ‘n’ arrow, you draw and ﬁre. The Wiimote will let you hear the sound of Link drawing the bow and releasing the arrow before it gets to your TV or speakers. This gives games a depth that no other has ever dreamed of, you can literally hear the arrow travel from the palm of your hand to the TV.

an add-on feature called the ‘nunchaku’, it is connected at the bottom of the Wiimote and acts as a stand alone analogue joystick, this means that you don’t have to have both hands on one controller any more like older consoles, one hand can be hanging down on the right side of your sofa and the other hand could be hanging down the left side of the sofa and you will still be in perfect control. Also the fact that the ‘nunchaku’ is equipped with motion sensors as well so you can move both hands and the character will respond is in itself amazing. The Wii console will be backwards compatible just like the PS3, it will not only allow you to play normal Gamecube games as well as Wii games but you can download and play NES, SNES, N64, SEGA Megadrive and turbo grafx games as well.

XBox 360 Look

With Q4 approaching so fast all I can say is, the Nintendo Wii is a console that should not be On the third day was Microsoft’s turn to impress the gaming community. overlooked and is definitely not Microsoft and Peter Moore were keen to emphasize their conference on their second-generation titles for the 360. The Xbox unfortunately will be This new controller even has the UNDERDOG the first victim of that politic. Microsoft started the conference with the trailer of Gears of War, a shooting action game with amazing graphics. Other impressive second generation titles like F.E.A.R. or Prey were shown at the he first to kick off the E3 was then Sony. On this for November 11th and a week later for the US and E3. Over 160 games will then arrive before the end of the year. What was Monday everything you wanted to know about Europe. Around 2 millions of consoles should be more interesting was the announcement of big franchise like Fable 2 from the PS3 was to be revealed. And from the very first shipped for day one. The most surprising move form Lionhead and Forza MotorSports, exclusively on the 360. If no gameplay minute it was clear that it was to be axed towards the Sony was certainly the announcement of two different sequences have been shown for the first one, we already know that more than next generation more than anything. Sony confirmed versions. You will therefore have to choose between a 300 cars and that an 11 players online mode will be available. a couple of more titles for the PS2 like the sequel of ‘rich’ version including a ps3, with a 60g hard drive, However, Peter Moore had more than one trick in his hand or should I say one of the best game last year on the PS2, God of War: Wireless inbuilt structures for immediate connectivity on his arm as, like he did for Halo 2, he again showed a tattoo on his arm, Divine Retribution. and memory sticks card reader. The ‘poor’ version featuring the name GTA. Yes one of the most famous franchises of these Phil Harrison was more eager to make shock will offer a 20g hard drive ps3, which will be stripped last years will be playable on the 360. The only information available for declarations like for example that the playstation 3 will of all its wireless abilities and of its HDMI port. Yes, GTA 4 is that it will be out in Europe of the 19th of November this year and be fully retro compatible with the old playstation 1 and the poor version of the ps3 won’t feature a HDMI exclusively on the 360 for at least until 2007. Halo 3 was also not forgotten, 2 catalogue. There was some uncertainty about this but port although the whole leitmotiv of Sony was the as a short trailer was shown right at the end of the show. No information Sony has confirmed it. It was then brief presentation PS3’s capacity of using Full High Definition. The UK via teaser trailers of some of the first ps3 games we price has not been officially communicated but it is regarding any release dates has been communicated. Along with the games for the 360, the famous HD DVD player for the 360 was finally announced. will be able to play. Trailers were illustrating Sony’s estimated at around £425 for the 60g pack. It will be plugged via the USB port and will therefore allow you to play HD announcement of titles like Genji 2, Coded Arms Assault or a next gen version of Gran Turismo. Sony saw its press conference as an opportunity to DVD, as the first titles have been announced for the end of the year. give all the final and important information we all However Microsoft is not only Xbox as the future of gaming on PC was The most interesting part of the show was probably were waiting for. However an E3 press conference evoked. The new Windows Vista platform has then been branded a game the exclusive fifteen minutes long trailer of Hideo would not be so without its last minute shock friendly system. Conversion of games from the PC to the 360 and vice versa Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot. The announcement. The controller for the PS3 was the will be easy and quick and players from both systems will benefit from the trailer instantly reassures you on the capacity of the centre of all debates as the boomerang controller was Live market. Bill gates himself came onstage to explain his vision of the machine, as it simply looks superb. far from being accepted. Sony then goes back to the future of Xbox live. Every Windows platform will be able to access Xbox live original dualshock we all know but this time it will be and multiplayer gaming between these different platforms will be possible. Sony also presented one of its most famous franchises wireless (using Bluetooth 2). What we did not expect A PC player should be able to play against a 360 player if they both have the for the ps3: Singstar. The game will be playable online was that the dualshock was hiding a small difference same game. and it will allow you to also download music titles and to its predecessor. The controller will feature a 6- Microsoft delivers a strong and solid performance mainly axed on games videos to enhance your game. Sony announces free axis gyroscopic motion sensor. The game presented and its network capacity. Xbox live and Live market are a huge advantage online gaming and an online virtual store similar to with the controller’s new ability was a plane game to Microsoft and their experience will prove handy as they get ready to face Microsoft’s live market. called Warhawk. The controller then allows you to their second Christmas with their Xbox 360.

The Long awaited PS: Ready yet?

The console has ﬁnally been ofﬁcially announced

control your plane movements just by moving your controller.

Xavier Mondoloni

4 in[films] The Da Vinci Code Xavier Mondoloni

he Da Vinci Code was probably the most controversial novel of 2004 and it was then with curiosity and excitement that the film was awaited. The film, by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) came out on the 19th of May and finally the wait is over. The film in the end offers an entertaining moment for those who can see it as it is, a fiction film. We follow Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), an American specialist in symbology who found himself to be the main suspect of the murder of the Museum Louvre’s curator Jacques Sauniere (Jean Pierre Marielle). With the help of Sophie Neveu (Audrey tautou), a French cryptographer, he will face riddles and enigmas based on Da Vinci’s paintings in order to unveil one of the biggest secrets ever on mankind. Ron Howard’s direction in this film promises a good thrilling scenario that follows the book well. The actors without being excellent, give adequate depth to the characters especially Audrey Tautou, famously known for her Amelie Poulain role. The film also features great acting from Alfred Molina who plays Bishop Aringarosa and Sir Ian McKellen performing as Robert Langdon’s British friend, Sir Leigh Teabing. Jean Reno who plays captain Bezu Fache however, often seems lost and gives a rather non-inspired

performance. The film mixes successfully breath taking action sequences and mind sizzling investigation sequences. Langdon and Neveu explore famous historical locations like the Saint Sulpice church in Paris, the Westminster abbey in London and the Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Ron Howard’s direction gives, sometimes, slightly slow moments at the beginning as the plot is being introduced, but it then succeeds in captivating the audience’s attention in psychological and theological thriller. The flashback sequences are especially well made and blend well into the narration of the film. The ending sequence however follows all the stereotypes of the spectacular Hollywood blockbuster with exaggerated camera angles. Ron Howard delivers a rather satisfying suspense film. The whole controversy around the film has no reason to be if everything is put back into context. This film is a fiction film portraying imaginary characters. It is nevertheless a film that will attract your curiosity and surprise you right until the end. Importantly enough, the film is not reserved for those who have read the book as the plot is well narrated and explained. A entertaining film then to watch and one which will also make you think!

X-Men 3

t has been 3 years since the X-Men last graced so many fans have been waiting for the third and supposedly final instalment of the franchise. As the film went into pre-production Bryan Singer left to tell the story of another superhero, Superman leaving the directors chair open for a suitable replacement. Two directors later Brett ‘Rush Hour’ Ratner signed on and The Last stand began production. The story of the film takes up after the events of the second film. A wealthy business man has found a ‘cure’ for the mutant gene and plans to offer it to the world. While protests rage, Magneto attempts to build a mutant army to stop mankind from destroying all mutants. He is joined by the resurrected Jean Grey, controlled by her alter ego the Phoenix more powerful than in the previous films.

Mike Kelly Ratner has produced a film that places emphasis on the idea of a cure rather than the themes of segregation prevalent in the first two films. The action while well placed and fluid does not detract from the thin plot and the underused characters heavily advertised on the trailers and posters. For fans of the films the use of the new characters such as Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, Dr. Hank McCoy but the under-use of Archangel does offer the question: Why was he there in the first place? All in all the action is good but the rushed storyline and way in which Ratner introduces ideas that are not used may be infuriating. Saying that if you fancy watching a film that is aesthetically pleasing and doesn’t need any thought to keep up with it, it is well worth a look.

Mission Impossible 3 Chris Mirzai

xplosions, espionage, death-defying stunts and the famous latex mask trick - J.J Abrams delivers just what you would expect from the third instalment of Mission: Impossible. Six years on from M:I II and Ethan Hunt has settled down with fiancée Julia (Michelle Monaghan) to play happy families, or so it would seem. When a fellow agent is kidnapped by sadistic arms dealer Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Hunt is called in to bring her back. Taking us from Berlin to the Vatican City, all the way to Shanghai for the showdown, leaving a long, bloody trail of dead people along its way, Hunt soon finds out there is more to the kidnapping than he first thought, and must now shoot it out with Owen Davian for

control of the mysterious Rabbit’s Foot, all along the way never quite finding out exactly what it is, or what it does. Packed with big-budget stunts and stylish escapades that seem to serve little purpose other than to titillate the audience, Mission: Impossible III is nothing different from the previous two films, although I did raise my eyebrows when Ethan managed to shoot down a drone travelling at super sonic speed during a chaotic gun battle on a bridge. Overall, it’s not a bad effort considering how some trilogies pan out (think the bilge that was Matrix Revolutions) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a great performance as the psychotic Davian with unnerving realism. Go and see this film for what it is, and if you’re still craving more, Casino Royale will be out in November.

That’s it from this years arts team. We’d like to thank everyone that has contributed to making the arts section bigger and better this year. The editors would like to especially thank the team of regular contributors and we hope to see new faces as well as old next year! Have a good one! in[arts] team

Faith

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Is lack of faith changing the way we are? Guest writer: Norahmad Daulitzai

ake a look around you from where you sit. You will notice that everything in the room is ‘made’: the walls, the ceiling, the chair where you sit, the newspaper you hold in your hand, the glass on the table and countless other details. None of them happen to exist in your room of their own accord; they did not appear spontaneously or by chance.

amino acids by chance, amino acids formed proteins by chance, and ﬁnally proteins formed living creatures again by chance. However, the probability of a living creature being formed by coincidence is less than the probability of the Eiffel Tower being formed in the same manner, because even the simplest human cell is more sophisticated than any man-made structure in the world.

A person who is about to read a book knows that it has been written by an author for a speciﬁc reason. It would not even occur to him that this book might have come into being by chance. In the same way, a person who sees a sculpture has no doubt whatsoever that it was made by a sculptor. Everywhere where there is an order – either small or big – a founder and protector of this order must also exist. If somebody came forward and said that raw iron and coal came together to form steel by chance, which in turn constructed the Eiffel Tower again by chance, wouldn’t he and those who believed him be regarded as insane?

We come across a number of philosophical prejudices which shape the beliefs of atheistic people. Generally deﬁned as materialism, this philosophical view holds that the universe is eternal and operates without any need for a Creator. All atheist philosophies that deny creation directly or indirectly embrace and defend the idea of evolution. According to atheists, matter is the only power that exists. Matter is not created and it functions in an uncontrolled fashion without the intervention of a Creator.

This article is written to point out the reality from which some people turn away because of it being at odds with their interests, and also to disclose the frauds and senseless deductions on which these allegations stand. The claim of the theory of evolution, the unique method of denying the existence of God, is no different to the claim of the Eiffel Tower. According to the theory, lifeless atoms formed

Their denials, rest on no solid ground. They have simply convinced themselves about the eternity of matter and have strongly embraced this belief. They have accepted the theory of evolution with the same reasoning and persevered in their belief. The claims of the materialist philosophy, which is simply a 19th century system of belief, are invalidated by 20th century science. And as the famous saying goes, “when confronted by the realization that life is too complex to have ever originated by chance, they can only keep silent and change the subject”

How is it possible to think that the balance in the world came about by coincidence when the extraordinary harmony of nature is observable even with the naked eye? The coming of the universe into being from non-being is the greatest proof possible that it has been created. The fact that all scientific evidence points to the existence of a Creator has forced these ideas to invent alternatives to create confusion in the minds of people. Nevertheless, the evidence of science itself puts a definite end to these theories. So, who is this Creator that ordained everything so subtly and created all? He cannot be any material being present within the universe, because His must be a will that existed before the universe and created the universe thereupon. The Almighty Creator is One Whom everything finds existence, yet Whose existence is without any beginning or end. Religion teaches us the identity of our Creator Whose existence we discover with our reason. The theory of evolution with baseless claims as “man is an animal; he has no spirit, evolved as a result of coincidences and by means of a struggle for life”. This evil morality advises people to be egoistical, selfseeking, cruel and oppressive. The only possible solution that can save humanity from this benighted way of thinking is the widespread acceptance of the values of religion. Claims of this kind not only represent a threat to the

society in which they are propagated, but are also unacceptable in a society largely consisting of believers. Within ourselves we are capable of ruining a society’s unity, harmony, peace, and social fabric. People who regard themselves as animals and believe that they cease to exist after death have a tendency to turn towards all forms of immorality, violence, and crime. It is a simple matter for such people to be convinced to kill, torture, and harm others, because they regard those others not as beings with spirits, but as animals. Forms of immorality such as falsehood, corruption, and theft increase rapidly in irreligious societies, and it becomes impossible to prevent them until the moral and religious structure of society is reinforced. Feelings of love, compassion, affection, and devotion entirely disappear in atheist societies, to be replaced by anger, violence, selﬁshness, neglect, and cruelty. Hence one arrives at this important conclusion; all creatures in nature, including us, are of a design. You live in a world subtly-planned down to its slightest detail and created specially for you. You had no part in this process. You opened your eyes one day and found yourself amidst countless blessings. You can see, you can hear, you can feel... Be assured: He does exist and He is very close to you...

The views expressed in this article are not those of the Universe or UHSU. We provide a forum for discussion for our readers and strive to ensure that all voices within our student body are heard

32 Issue 6 Vol 13

Motering

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Behind the Wheel with Nathan Ridgwell. Our new motering feature is back!

Well, for lots of reasons really. First of all, even though designed in England, It really does look awful. One look inside and your ﬁnd a cock as a gear stick, and two dildos as indicator switches… welcome ladies and gentleman to the Moulin Rouge of driving! It really is an aggravating bad car, especially knowing how good it has the potential to be. You see what Renault have obviously done is forgot about the looks and outer image, and concentrated on the mechanics. Not a bad thing necessarily, but what is annoying, is that they have tried too hard.

y microwave is broken! The one tool that any man bar none requires for daily usage, has frozen, failed, destroyed itself, broken into tiny little bits and has ruined the once famous Ridgwell cooking speciality! What am I to do next…cook? I’m useless! In fact the last time I boiled up some water to cook some rice, I burnt the bloody pan?!? I later heard that it was something to do with a too higher temperature, and that boiling oil doesn’t mix with water apparently…but never mind, I’m sure I’ll work out something.

But here is the problem, I have become reliant on a machine to cook me my food, well while the

girlfriend is away anyway. I have lost the whole concept of cooking as a whole because someone has tried to make my life easier by just adding a few radioactive waves and a “start” button. How dare they! It wasn’t until my beloved microwave broke that I soon started to realise that there are way too many things out there that are making my life easier and easier, therefore making my lazier and lazier. For example, I now have a vibrating razor?!? Someone actually must have said, “you know what, shaving is getting such hard work, lets put a battery in it and see how easy and exciting it can be…” Are we all mad? Umm…no.

Quite simply, we love it. It must be something to do with that all important British attitude we have built inside of us that makes us think why do something the hard way when some professor in a lab is inventing a way of getting around it? But hang on, and I want to tell you this quietly so that not many people hear it…but the French are at it too! Renault, that all so famous over the canal car manufacture, has joined in the game. For a bit of fun, I decided to test drive the new Clio. It’s a cheap car, does a reasonable 0 – 60 time for its class, and has an NCAP rating that goes beyond belief, so why not?

I drove one of the sporty diesels they have on offer with high expectations from it’s previous models, and experience from the V6s of past, but I soon as I stepped into it trouble began. Of course, they now have a “start” button, but now they have a super-fancy computer on board as well. IT’S RUBBISH! I pressed the button (with my foot on both brakes and clutch, just in case it decides to take off or something) and waited…and waited…and waited. For a split second, I seriously thought that I had broken the damn thing, “someone should stop trying to make this a French brothel, and start making it into a car that works” were thoughts running through my head at the time. “What the hell is happening” I asked the proud sales man, “oh it’s just doing some random checks before we set off…” he replies thinking that this would actually impress me, “sorry I didn’t release that we were planning a mission to

the moon and back, I’ll give it a bit more time…”. This computer checks everything, brilliant if it actually worked, but infuriating when it doesn’t. For the whole of the journey I kept on being told that my tyres were 0.1 PSI below the recommended range and that I should pull over to get some petrol soon…Thank you for telling me because I’m sure I would have never looked at the needle telling me that if you hadn’t said! Oh, and to make sure you know when it’s raining, they have fitted automatic windscreen wipers, that don’t go on while your sitting at a traffic lights, and don’t stop when the clouds finally disappear! What Renault has done is make a perfectly good car, into the world’s most overcomplicated car. What is pretty good though is the price. If you want the most irritating computer car, it will cost around £12,000. For that you do get quite a lot, included it’s amazing safety record that speaks for itself, but as a car itself, it doesn’t tick many boxes in brilliance. It’s a shame as this new Clio could be one of the hottest competitions in the hot hatch race, but then focusing back to my broken microwave, I don’t need fancy buttons, a fantastic computer, or an intelligent hard drive, to cook my chicken and mushroom pot noodle. All I need is Asda “smart price” (on this occasion), and that’s what Renault should have done, kept it simple yet brilliant.

Death of the Two-Seater Sports Car

he two-seater soft-top sports car was once a British institution, vital for the summer months and a symbol to the outside world that you’d ﬁnally made it! However, with sales now plummeting to an all time low it would seem Brits have fallen out of love with the vehicle that once symbolised freedom and are instead turning their attention to fourseater cabriolets and coupe cabriolets. According to NewCar-Discount.com sales of two-seater

convertibles are steadily falling month on month despite the onslaught of the summer months, with vehicles such as MX5, BMW Z4 and Street Ka attracting little interest. The UK’s largest online car retailer has seen a 116% drop in 2seater convertible sales, compared to a whopping 708% rise in sales of 4-seater convertibles. Terry Hogan, Managing Director of New-Car-Discount. com, says: “For decades hard working

Brits have aspired to own a zippy twoseater sports car. However, consumer needs have changed and it is simply not viable for many people to only have two seats. Today’s ‘Friends’ generation is focused on having fun and cars with two seats that are simply bought to impress are impractical.”

Four- seaters can also be excellent value for money and the Renault Megane makes up a third of all of our four-seater cabriolet sales. The decline in the two-seater market is a trend that has also been recognised by manufacturers and both Volkswagen and Ford are due to launch new coupe cabriolets later this year.”

Terry continues: “Four-seaters look just as stylish as two and, along with being far more practical, many actually provide a higher speciﬁcation.

“So all in all it looks like there could be an uncertain road ahead for the car that once epitomised British summertime,” concludes Terry.

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

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The Hertfordshire Sirens

Come watch us! Future Cheer National Championships 2006 Date: Sunday 2nd July 2006 Venue: The Brighton Centre Entry: Adults £8.00

British Cheerleading Association (BCA) International Championships 2006 Date: Friday 28th July-Sunday 31st July 2006 Venue: Nottingham Arena Entry: Adults £7.00 (Day) NUS £4.50 (Day)

Issue 6 Vol 13

34 Issue 6 Vol 13

Stitched up

STITCHED

universe@uhsu.co.uk

The student spirit is very much alive, with you crazy kids getting up to all kinds of shenanigans and your mates taking pictures of it. So why not have a little fun and maybe a bit of revenge and stitch them up?! Just send them to: universe@uhsu.co.uk

These days there’s no point holding it in... you can just go on the dance ﬂoor.

The University of Hertfordshire Ninja!

Check this temptress out...

And this was the result the when Winnie the Poo transplant went abit wrong.

How are you doin???

Its been great fun stitching you up all year long. You’ve all been great sports.

Not bad... pitty about your arm pits though!

There are many ways how you can play your instrument.

Feature

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Universal Moments

We look back over the last two years at some of the more memorable moments in the Universe’s history.

budget and built a bus shelter out of sheet wood. It lasted a couple of days before another, not so spirited, student trend occurred. Some drunken kids nicked it! However, the pictures of the bus shelter were captured in our Students’ Union history on the front page. Representation was accomplished.

t was the summer of 2004 when Maz took up his post as V.P Communications & Media. A few months later he was teamed up with Tamer, and that’s when they ﬁrst took Universe for its joyride (although Tamer has been riding the Universe for quite some time now, the thought of Maz driving scared Tamer…he knew what the crazy Czech was capable of. None the less, the joy ride has lasted two years, but there have been a few near misses!

£1,000 pounds of UHSU stock, missing-work he and Tamer spent all night on. After an hour searching the UH security CCTV footage it became apparant that the University’s estates department collected them thinking they were old papers (even though it had that days date on them) and that they were on their way to get recycled. Final emotion “sh*t, double sh*t, university numpties are going to destroy the Universe”. Fortunately all was saved when the papers were retrieved from the skip. Within a few hours that same paper sparked controversy when Universe named and shamed a student who was expelled. The university pressured the union to withdraw the issue for some time, as they feared that it would affect As one of the pair deﬁantly departs the wonderful and crazy world of student media no one knows what awaits the other, we look back at some of our favourite moments. Straight away the name of the game was ‘do more papers’… “We’re sure we’ll ﬁll it”, and that they did. Already the front page of the second issue these two got their hands on a picture of a Mercedes impaled on the extendable bollard on College Lane. The headline read; ‘Oh Bollards, Nah brov, I told you to get it lowered innit’. What journalism! It seemed that the headline story was missed by a couple of readers, as that year a further three cars ended up as write offs in the same way. The next month’s paper got off to a bid of a bad start. Maz walked past the SU corridor, noticing a bulk of 5,000 newly printed papers delivered. When he walked past 15 Minutes later they were gone… First emotion, “strange I swear I saw the papers here a minute ago” Second emotion “ weird!” Third emotion “oh sh*t”. At this point it kinda sunk in that he’d lost over

his appeal. As a show of good faith we complied… for less than a day, before the editor, in the form of a crazy Arab, found out and brought it back. The story, however, doesn’t end there. That paper contained probably the most famous Universe misspelling in Universe history. One headline read ‘STUDNET expelled’. Something that everyone is keen to remind the dyslexic editor-in-chief about! Later that year, Universe decided to poke fun at the newly branded Uno bus service. ‘Unos what they were thinking’, was the pun this time. Accompanying this was a pink themed paper to show that pink is infact a horrible colour that should stay in Barbie’s wardrobe and not on serious brand. They promptly received a lighthearted letter from the Director of Uno Bus. Pink then became THE colour for the summer. What can we say? Trend setting editors! This year more bus related issues found their way into the paper. The long awaited bus shelter still hadn’t appeared on de Havilland campus. Solution?… Build a bus shelter! In true spirit of the students the duo spent £47 out the Universe

Regular favourites such as ‘Stitched Up’ kept us chuckeling through out the years, esepically the ones that we could not publish as they were just too obscene. Lets not forget the feature that was introduced half way through thier ﬁrst year and turned a few heads... naked people otherwise know as ‘Page 4’.Oh boy have we seen some amazing bodies... It’s a hard job but someone has to do it. Much of the humour used and the sometimes-crazy shenanigans of the editors, often masked a serous issue. not However, all articles and were issues about sh*ts and giggles. Issues such as the prices of the shop on de Hav were addressed and allegedly resulted in the discipline of a member of staff spoke who to Universe reporters. Another time entire the executive were pulled up on a lack student of awareness. Also we highlighted issues of the University trying to take over your commercial services. More recently, Universe paid tribute to a student who sadly passed away. A big thnk you to all of you who have contributed, Universe is what you made it. We hope that it’s been a pleasure to read as it has been to put together. What’s your favourite moment? It’s the last ride the boys will have together! Had fun?

Read past issues of Universe online :

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk/media/universe

36 Issue 6 Vol 13

Sport

universe@uhsu.co.uk

Who was the greatest? by Ralph Camp

he recent demise of George Best set the debate in motion. Was he the world’s greatest footballer? Simon Barnes in The Times said that when it comes to genius with a football at his feet, Best exhausted the medium. He played in the “hard days” before the red and yellow cards gave the protection they now afford to our overpaid modern stars. Chopper Harris and Billy Bremner may well have put paid to even the genius of Pele. Best dealt with them in his own way, with genius that made their crudity all the more apparent. He must have been bruised and injured in most parts of the body, but I never recall him complaining or calling for more protection from the referee. When ever the question is asked the name of Pele will be mentioned. Perhaps we saw more of Best than we ever did of Pele who graced football pitches around the world. He scored 1,283 career goals in 1,363 senior matches and 97 goals in 92 Brazil internationals. He also scored a world record of 92 hat-tricks and he boasts three World Cup winners’ medals. You cannot though, judge the man just in ﬁgures. To me he was brilliant on the ﬁeld and also a sportsman in the true sense of the word. Both he and Best rose from inauspicious surroundings. Both were brave and beautiful on the pitch although it is a fact that George wasted his talent by retiring early from the topclass game and going into a spiral of drink and debt. He makes an appalling role model for those aspiring to his greatness. Perhaps we should divorce the

genius on the pitch from the drunken womanizer and fool that he became in later years. However the fact remains he abused his talents as he did the chance given to him by the person who donated his liver so Best could survive. George you were good, at times brilliant, at times pure genius, but the Best in name only and certainly not greater than the legend who is Pele. The debate about the greatest sportsman ever is stock bar-room stuff. Although I suggest the debate will have to be shortlived. There is one man whose genius will never be matched, to whom all those who aspire to greatness in sport will have to look and judge themselves. Mention Pele, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, Bjorn Borg, Michael Jordan, Jack Nicklaus, Martina Navratilova, Tiger Woods, Red Rum, Roger Federer and you have most of the contenders and also those whose names live far outside their own sports. However I suggest that they sit at the feet of the greatest ever, Sir Donald Bradman. Records will come and go, cricketers will take 600, 700 test wickets but never will the success of Bradman be equaled or overtaken. His test match average was 99.94 and he scored over 300 runs on six occasions. He scored a century, on average, every third innings. Today the mark of a good test player is to average 40 or over. The greats, Sobers, Tendulkar, Lara, Richards, Border average in the high 50’s and yet Bradman averages virtually twice that of the nearest contender. Not in any other sport is there

such a vast gap between the best and the rest. A scientist in Australia, Charles Davies has made a study of the various talents displayed in sport and compared one to the other. To reach the heights of Bradman a golfer would have to win 25 major titles and a footballer would have to score a goal in every game over the course of 100 internationals. It may be a fact that Tiger Woods can become the successor to Bradman. However Bradman has done it and Woods has it all to do. I’ll take your ﬁvers now to say he won’t. Remember that Bradman had the opposition invent a new game, Bodyline, just to hinder his brilliance. No helmets, no chest guards and he still managed to average 56 in that series. He missed six years of what could have been his golden days for the Second World War. I suggest that in being asked for the top ﬁve of the greatest cricketers of the last 100 years, one name would be in all lists and one name at the top of every list. No need to name him. My father saw him play and said he tended to spoil the game, he scored too many runs. On average his stay at the crease was 2 hours and 14 minutes, it was a privilege to see him bat, and you generally did get your money’s worth, but the match was usually over as a contest if he was on song. The Don retired in 1948 and was knighted for services to cricket. He died in February 2001 at the age of 92. By the way, he was an extremely nice chap.

Sport

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Issue 6 Vol 13

Wildes “last” Words 1st hockey in the SESSA cup. Well done to all those that took part in sport at UH this year!

i Please! Well, I guess that this is Goodbye! After two years of reading my ramblings this is my ﬁnal Universe column, I’ll keep it brief! It has been yet another successful sporting season! With 6 BUSA teams getting promoted last year, this season was about maintaining higher league status, and that’s exactly what happened. The majority of 1st teams are now competing in 1A of their respective leagues and with both Men and women’s football in the premier, this is really putting Herts on the map and just goes to show what great sports men and women you are! Both Women’s Basketball and Badminton won promotion this season, a great achievement for Badminton as it was these ﬁrst year of competition. Men’s basketball were runners up in the BUSA trophy, as were Women’s

Over the Easter break a group of female Footballers and Netballers went to Rimini, Italy on a Sports Tour. Unfortunately due to the rule of “what goes on tour, stays on tour”, I am a little restricted as to what I can tell you. All I will say is that plenty of antics took place, I clearly scored the winning point in volleyball and Gloucester netballers cant hold their ﬂuids for more than 5 bloody minutes!! Buggers! The 4th of May saw the 4th Annual Colours Award ceremony, the largest one so far. The 180 attendees enjoyed motivational words from 1966 World cup Winner Gordon Banks OBE, the awards presentation followed by the 70’s tribute band that played into the small hours. The chocolate fountain also went down well too! Congratulations once again to all the award winners and special thanks to everyone that made the event possible. Oh and obviously you lovely lot for attending! The sporting calendar was wrapped up with the Herts Vs Bucks Varsity

day. The event, first introduced last year, was held at Bucks and Herts were again worthy winners, however it was a lot closer this year. We won 1 Men’s Football, both Netball games, Men’s Hockey, Men’s Badminton (8-0!) and Men’s Basketball. Womens Hockey drew and Men’s Rugby, Golf and Football narrowly lost. Tarquin, Laura and Maz took part in the final event of the dayUniversity Challenge. Tarquin won it for Herts on the very last question, and the icing on the cake was the fact we had over ran by 2 mins and it shouldn’t have counted! Oh well! Herts 7.5 Bucks 3.5. Next time Bucks, next time! I’d just like to say good luck to all those taking exams this year. I’m sure you’ll all be fine! But if you are close to tears remember, one day it will all be over, and there are always September referrals. It is now about time for me to leave you in Mike Thomas’ capable hands. I wish him and all our sports men and women all the best for next year. I will now finish with the mushy bit, as I fight back the tears!

UHRC 12 Hr Rowathon Outcome

I have had 5 great years at the University of Hertfordshire and have been lucky enough to meet and work with some fantastic people. I can honestly say the best years of my life have been spent here, yeah I know how sad!! I have made some great friends (and a few enemies!) and I don’t want to leave, but alas the time has come for me to venture into the big wide world. I will certain miss n Saturday 27th of May the the place, and all that ﬁll her, but University of Hertfordshire I am sure that I will back at some Rowing Club (UHRC) did a 12 point! (anyone got a sofa I can hour rowathon to raise money for crash on?!) the Anthony Nolan Trust and the Rowing club. The team toughed it My ﬁnal mention must go to the out from seven in the morning till two lovely ladies of the C and S seven in the evening. Within the 12 department. Working with you hours we achieved 165000 metres over the past 2 years has been great with each rower taking turns in 15 fun. I’m so sorry for driving you minute slots. The weather was far up the wall constantly!! Thank from ideal with it raining for the you Katy and Laura for all your majority of the afternoon. The team help and support throughout the spirit was kept high gaining loads of years. Big up to you both! publics’ interest in rowathon. They raised £695. Well guys, it’s been emotional. Take care and bye please!! “The team did really well and did the University proud,” said Men’s Katie Wilde Captain Dave Bell. “We had loads V.P Student Activities of support from Marks and Spencer 01707 285 006 and Sports World. We are glad we uhsu.activities@ could do our bit for charity and boost morale of the team to have a successful season ahead.”

St. Audrey’s take the intramural cup

t. Audrey’s til I die read the banner pegged to the fences of the de Havilland pitches as two sets of fans had battled the elements to come and watch the 2006 Intramural Knockout Cup Final. With impressive displays on their way to the final, De Hav Superstars and St. Audrey’s FC looked evenly matched on paper but would the strong wind and rain spoil this eagerly anticipated final? Both teams started brightly but attacks were met by two well organised defences; neither team able to carve out a clear chance. It was therefore no surprise that a set-piece was needed to break the deadlock. A pinpoint freekick from St. Audreys’ ‘Kaz’ Alnakkash was met with a thumping header from Ollie Pryor which flew into the net to give Saints a 1-0 lead. Both teams continued to pack the midfield with an epic battle unfolding. With the centre of the pitch congested it was a wonderful passing move down the St. Audreys’ left that created the second goal. Peter Wilson played a neat one-two with Tony Spina before crossing into the box, a neat turn and shot from Stephen

Harris found the corner of the net and Saints were two goals up. Audreys’ backline of Jon Kendal, Adam Powell, Darren Cooper and Peter Wilson were having a solid game in front of goalkeeper Eric Fournaise and it took a moment of individual brilliance to bring Superstars back into the game. The Superstars number 6 picked up the ball in the middle of the park and beat four players before shooting, an unfortunate deflection off ‘Bez’ (Cooper) left Fournaise stranded as the ball went in at the near post. Getting back to 2-1 lifted De Hav to a new level and they pilled the pressure on for the remainder of the first half with St. Audreys happy to hear the half time whistle. The message from the Saint’s management was simple: ‘Don’t panic, keep it simple, we’ve got the quality to win this’. After constant running in the first half Scott Baxter was given a rest and Richard Wyatt came on to replace him. Wyatt, determined to show why he should have started, made himself available for everything and was instrumental in much of Audreys’ build up play. Saints seemed to have found another gear as they began to

dominate all over the pitch and two goals in quick succession gave them total control in the ﬁnal. The ball fell to an inform Pryor just outside the box and his deft lob over the ‘keeper gave him his second and Saint’s third - the Tottenham fan wheeled away to celebrate in true Robbie Keane style. John McGovern scored the fourth and became Saints only player to score in every game of the competition. A horrible afternoon for the Superstars ‘keeper was

made even worse when his miscue clearance fell to the striker 30yards out; Lil’ John made no mistake as he exquisitely volleyed home with the ‘keeper back peddling in vein. With a three goal lead Audreys rung the changes; the fresh legs of Hirad Riazi and Luke Grant were introduced and both showed brilliant team play as they created chances and defended from the front. As Superstars pushed on Baxter was reintroduced to support the Audreys backline and they held

ﬁrm. As the fulltime whistle went the Saints celebrated a convincing victory against a very strong Superstars side. As Captain Peter Wilson collected the trophy from the SU representative, supporters applauded in awe at how a group of players, that four weeks earlier had never played together, had produced an immense performance to make St. Audrey’s FC Intramural Knockout Cup Champions!!

38 Issue 6 Vol 13

Sport

universe@uhsu.co.uk

A Celebration of Sport at the

All these pictures and more are available to download at www. uhsu.herts.ac.uk/ live/gallery/

www.uhsu.herts.ac.uk

Sport

Issue 5 Vol 13

Colours Awards Dinner 2006

n the 4th May 2006, Hutton Hall was transformed into a glamorous venue to host this years Colours Award Ceremony. The aim of the evening was to recognise the effort and achievements of UHSU Sports Federation members and bring the many sports men and women into the limelight to celebrate their many successes on and off the field. The night began with a champagne reception, which was followed by a delicious two-course meal. Judging by the noise, the complimentary wine and drinks promotions were thoroughly enjoyed and certain people (mentioning no names!) were a little tipsy when the guest speaker, England’s 1966 World Cup Winning Goal keeper Gordon Banks OBE, was invited up on stage. After some motivational words on this summer’s World Cup, the awards presentation commenced. A total of 53 individuals were awarded their University Colours and the three prestigious team awards went to Basketball (Club of the year) Women’s Badminton (Team of the year) and Swimming (VPSA award). A new “Coach of the year award” was presented to the University of Hertfordshire & Hatfield Swimming Club Head Coach Nick Jube. Following the awards presentation, 70s tribute band ‘Groove machine’ played into the small hours and the chocolate fountain that everyone had had their eye on all night was finally uncovered. Special thanks to everyone that helped to make it a memorable evening.

40 Issue 6 Vol 13

Sport

UH Rugby Club...

sk most people around campus if they know much about the University Rugby Club and you will either be met with a somewhat blank look, as if they were unaware that we even have one, or they will say something along the lines of “ oh those idiots who get wasted in the Font”.

the club to acquire the use of a full length synthetic astroturf pitch for training, as opposed to just a 1/3 last season. This allowed the club, with the help and full

performance is judged on the pitch but this year has seen wonders off the pitch. Club secretary Andy Warner said “the support of a Regional Development Ofﬁcer

universe@uhsu.co.uk

fancy a ruck?

colours awards ball, where all three members receive awards for their efforts. The awards ceremony ended on a high for Saracens Academy player Aaron Liffchak

Since the Rugby club’s 1st team promotion last season there has been a radial change in its organisation and structure. At the start of this season the UHRC committee and coaching staff worked together to implement a 2year RFU Development Plan. This plan has seen instant rewards in improving the club at all levels and has aided the 1st team to ﬁnish 3rd in their new league. When asked how has the UH Rugby Club improved this season?, Chairman Lee Gayler said “With the introduction of the RFU Development Plan and the support of fellow committee members such as Andy Warner (club secretary), Adam Clarkson (club captain) and especially club coach Peter Engledow (RDO Herts) , the club has improved vastly this season. Although there is still plenty of room for improvement we are well on track to meet all the targets set in the Development Plan. The start of the 2005 season saw a record number of players join the club which included 4 Saracens Academy players. This enabled

presented awards to Joe Lovejoy for Most Improved Player, Moses Kasujja for 1st Team Players Player, Andy Bolton 2nd Team Players Player, and Lee Gayler for Club Man of the Year. The meeting concluded with a thanks and farewell presentation to Colin Johnson (RUSLO) for his efforts and commitment over the past four years. Club captain Adam Clarkson said “Colin has been an inspiration to the club and his presence at our training sessions will be greatly missed by all”. Preparations have already started for next season. Additional funding from the RFU will allow next season’s committee to develop the club further. The club has recently purchased two new playing kits and £1000 worth of training and ﬁtness equipment ready for September.

commitment of 4 coaching staff, to concentrate on the current squad as well as coaching players new to the game. Due to the large amount of players this season the club saw the introduction of a pitch-up-andplay team. This was in addition to the existing men’s 1st and 2nd teams and women’s team. Generally

sports

clubs

(RDO) for rugby in Hertfordshire Peter Engledow has had an enormous impact on the club. With his wealth of knowledge and experience in the game combined with his no nonsense attitude the club has laid the foundations to build a prosperous future”. On 4th May 2006 the rugby club committee proudly attended the

who received a Full Colours Award in recognition of his England Universities representation. On 17th May 2006 the club held its ﬁrst ever Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the De Havilland Sports and Social Club. The evening started with club photos followed by a review of the clubs performance this season. The club

Finally the club would like to thank Peter Engledow (RDO Herts), Jamie Traxon and Ben Taylor (Hertfordshire Community Rugby Coach’s), Colin Johnson (Former Rugby Union Student Liaison Ofﬁcer), Nick Brooking (Director of Sport at Hertfordshire Sports Village), The lovely Katy Hollands and Laura Johnson (UHSU) and Terry Wright (De Havilland Sport and Social Club) for their support this season. Checkout www.uhrc.tk

Good luck with your exams and have a great summer. Lots of love, your Universe xxx