The Knowledge May , June 2011 issue

THE KNOW LEDGE THE FAREWELL ISSUE MAY / JUNE 11

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EDITORS NOTE Hello and welcome to this years last Knowledge edition (sob sob) So much has gone on throughout the union since september and its more than fair to say, its been an amazing year, a year which we hope you have enjoyed as much as we have! One of our personal highlights was meeting The Blanks and interviewing them for all you lovely readers to enjoy. This edition is once again full of stories and news to feast on. From third year reflections to summer ball excitement, we’ve got loads of tales stories. On another note, we would like to thank everyone this year who has got involved and helped to create The Knowledge.

From the editorial and design team to all you lovely readers who month by month send in interesting stories that you want to share; thank you‌. The Knowledge would be nothing without you. So read on, enjoy and have an amazing summer!

Lots of Love Steph and Eilidh xxx

CONTENTS 4

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 8

STUDENT OPINION 28

UNION NEWS 40

SPORTS & SOCIETIES

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SUMMARY of the

YEAR

Well

the end of another year has flown by and I can honestly say it ain’t been half bad! Plymouth SU has stepped up to the mark and provided us with some memorable nights (or not so memorable for us drunk students); from live music to original fancy dress. With guests such as Bowling for Soup, Nero, Benga and Skream and my personal highlight of the year; The Blanks. The radio re-launched and the open mic night proved as popular as ever. And to top it all off this year’s Summer Ball sees one of the most impressive line up’s so far! So I would like to give my thanks to the SU for ending this Uni year with some of the best moments of my life, and if this is your final year I hope that you too will leave with many a crazy memory.

by Ali Tudor

James Frey’s Picks up the ‘Pieces’ at the Grazia Book Club

By Eloise Wales

On Tuesday 12th April I was lucky enough to attend a talk and book signing by the controversial American Author James Frey, alongside a civilised glass of champagne and those amazing French Fancies!

This was one of Grazia’s many successful book clubs that have also enabled readers to meet Nigella Lawson and Sarah Brown.

I have always been curious to meet James Frey – for back in 2004 he was publicly ousted for his memoir ‘A million Little Pieces’ by Oprah Winfrey live on American TV for fabricating his drug addiction – this resulted in him quickly becoming the literary worlds most hated figure. The backlash meant that he was dropped by publishers, condemned by the media, exiled from America and driven into hiding.Yet James Frey has maintained his own, stating that he had said all along he did not want his books published as memoirs and the character he had created in the novel he had created as a way of coping when he was in rehab yet against the novel was published as a memoir which was never his intent. This means he is now very strict with any new books to be published, apart from grammatical changes, Frey no longer allows any of his work to be edited.

Yet, the James Frey we met did not strike me as the same person depicted in the media. He was surprisingly normal, extremely funny and friendly, speaking to every single attendee of the event and even commenting at one point how quiet we all were. So much so, that it started at 7pm and we were told the event was to last an hour and a half tops yet we did not actually leave until at least 10:30pm!

Frey discussed how he tries to create books that stress a voice that is raw and truly speaks to you, which in turn helps you to explore life through literature. He also states than within his work he is just trying to play with truth and reality, toying with the rules that people place on literature.This is apparent in his new novel ‘The Final testament of the Holy Bible’ focusing on the protagonist Ben Zion in contemporary New York: ‘The book is an attempt to tell the story of what it might be like if the Messiah was actually alive today living in a world with nuclear weapons, advanced physics, the internet, genetic testing, one where we know homosexuality is not a decision,’ Frey explains. The result is a man who believes in curing people through sex, as Frey has suggested that an orgasm is the closest any one on earth can get to heaven.

His new book is certainly controversial and it certainly won’t be forgotten but is it actually any good? Now that’s for you to decide…

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With all the excitement of the Summer Ball at the moment we know that it will be a night to remember. So with the awesome acts that will be playing we wanted to know what songs of theirs sparked off your own personal memories...

The Wombats – “Kill the Director”

N-Trance – “Set you free”

“Jumping around at about 3 in the afternoon with my friends at Glastonbury 2009. I had a can of cider in my hand and the sun had started to break through the gray clouds.” Ali, 2nd year English.

“Driving to pizza hut in the back of my mate’s car when we were 17. It randomly came on his car CD, after rinsing him turns out we realised it was a damn good tune.” Aaron, 3rd year Biology.

“I had never really listened to them before, but at Reading they were unforgettable! They really got the crowd going and it was such a sunny day!” Eilidh, 2nd year English.

“It reminds me of all the house parties we had when we were 15, with a strobe light and many an alcopop.” Sarah, 1st year Criminology.

Professor Green – “I need you tonight” “Dancing at the SU for my 21st birthday last year. We all went out dressed as Crayons, as you do.” John, 3rd year Business.

“It takes me back to when I was sunbathing in Turkey last summer with my girl mates. By the pool with a mojito; it doesn’t get better than that.” Beth, 1st year Graphics.

by Ali Tudor

Be par t of a memor y...

Levi Roots

Sub:lime Thursday 31 Levi Roots; “reggae reggae” chef sensation, dragon slayer and all round nice guy; welcomed the students of Plymouth with open arms into his ‘rasta-raunt’. To start the evening off everyone was treated to food; obviously created by the chef himself. Dominoes teamed up with Levi and provided a Jamaican style pizza – it was good.

Now with the taste of the Caribbean in our stomachs and the vibrant stage in our sights, the anticipation lingered as we were all ready to meet the inspiring man himself. Being the final show in his tour you could tell his heart and soul was in his performance; yet it all came naturally to him as he genuinely loved every second of it.

The evening was like nothing I have ever seen before!

Not only was it an explosion of live reggae music, Levi entwined the laid back tunes with an interactive cooking show: showing how influential music is on his cooking.

When one guy in a Q & A asked which he preferred music or food; Levi laughed and quite simply explained how it was impossible to choose as they both work together. His constant interaction with the crowd lifted the atmosphere and watching him cook was actually pretty mesmerising as his passion and creativity oozed into the crowd: along with the incredible smells from his pots and pans.

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From learning recipes in the early 70’s from his inspiring Grandma in Jamaica, to bringing the flavours over with him to England and gaining popularity at the Notting Hill Carnival; where will Levi head next? He suggested hopes for crossing the pond and partying with the Obama’s and Oprah – something I am sure will happen one day.

When the performance was over each student was treated to a generous gift bag containing a jar of sauce, a bag of nuts and a large ginger cake. Levi and the band stayed, mingling with their new fans. As Levi signed my gift bag with a well crafted autograph I took the opportunity to ask him who his music and chef admirations are. Musically he admires Jessie J, believing that she is an excellent and talented singer/songwriter. As they use the same recording studio he hopes one day to collaborate with the young star.

As for his chef inspirations he gave a grin and said “none.”

And I’m not surprised; Levi Roots is one of a kind. With his unique techniques and creations along with his welcoming and inspiring attitude, Levi cannot be compared with anyone in this industry.

by Ali Tudor

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SEASONAL FOOD Cooking to a budget is a skill every student has to learn when they come to university. One simple tip to help save the pennies is to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables.   Current recommendations are that everyone should eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day, to reduce the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease and

many other chronic diseases.

Yet the average fruit and vegetable consumption among the population in England is less than 3 portions a day.

So to help increase your fruit and vegetable intake, and save money when shopping, why not use the seasonal food table on the next page and the tips below to give you some ideas.

SEASONAL FOOD INFORMATION AND TIPS

Asparagus is a rich source of folate. Folate is a water-soluble B vitamin that helps produce and maintain new body cells. Folate is also needed to make DNA and RNA, the building blocks of cells, therefore may help prevent changes to DNA that cause cancer.

How to Cook: Asparagus can be boiled or steamed, for best results keep the tips away from direct heat as they cook faster. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness and freshness of the stalks. To boil, place the bundles upright in a pan of boiling water to come threequarters of the way up the stalks, cook for 3-8 minutes or until tender.

Add cooked asparagus to rice or pasta salads, pasta sauces, quiches or risottos. Hot asparagus can also be served as a simple but flavoursome starter with classic vinaigrette dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper.

How to Prepare: Wash each stalk and snap or cut off the end if it is woody or tough.

Trim the stalks to roughly the same length to ensure even cooking and tie in bunches of 6-8 stems.

Try to eat a mixture of fruit and vegetables, as each one contains a variety of vitamins and minerals in them – this is what makes them all different colours! For example:

Watercress is a rich source of iron - its main function is in haemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the body. If the body runs short of iron, iron-deficiency anaemia develops with symptoms including tiredness, pallor, irritability and reduced resistance to infection.

Women, in particular need to ensure enough iron in their diet.

How to Prepare: Trim off the ends of the stems of bunches of watercress and rinse thoroughly.

How to Cook: Watercress is usually added directly to recipes such as soups or sauces; it takes very little cooking so does not need to be pre-cooked

LOW-FAT WATERCRESS SOUP (SERVES 4) Ingredients:

Recipe:

1 onion, peeled and chopped 2 pints vegetable stock 2 potatoes, peeled and diced 2 bags watercress (150g)

1.Make up 2 pints of vegetable stock and pour into a large saucepan

This soup can be served hot or cold, and will last in the fridge for a few days. Cream can be added to the soup to give richness, or a teaspoon of horseradish sauce gives an added kick.

2.Add the chopped onion and diced potato into the stock 3.Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft

I hope this article has given you some inspiration to get cooking with the season.

If you would like any further information, recipe ideas or personal advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail or through the UoP Food Society – look for us on Facebook Katherine Murphy

4.Add the watercress to the stock mixture, a handful at a time. Stir and simmer for a couple of minutes.

5.Take off the heat, season with black pepper and liquidise.

katherine.murphy2@students.plymouth.ac.uk

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Vegetables:

SEASONAL FOOD GUIDE Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

(March, April

(June, July &

(September,

(December,

& May)

August)

October & November)

January & February)

Asparagus Cauliflower

Aubergine Beetroot

Beetroot Carrot

Beetroot Brussels

Cucumber

Broad Beans

Celeriac

Sprouts

Jersey Royal New Potatoes

Broccoli Carrots

Fennel Field -

Cabbage Cauliflower

Purple Sprouting

Courgettes Cucumber

Mushrooms Kale

Celeriac Chicory

Broccoli

Fennel

Leeks

Fennel

Radishes

Fresh Peas

Jerusalem -

Savoy

Garlic

Lettuce Marrow

Cabbage

Potatoes Pumpkin

Kale

Sorrel

Green Beans Lettuce and

Spinach

Salad Leaves

Rocket

Parsnips

Spring

New potatoes Radishes

Sorrel

Potatoes Red Cabbage

Rocket

Sweetcorn

Runner Beans

Tomatoes

Salad Onions

Watercress

Greens Spring Onion Watercress

Squashes

Artichoke Leeks

Swede Turnips

Sorrel Tomatoes Watercress Fruit:

Rhubarb

Blueberries

Apples

Apples

Currants –

Blackberries

Pears

black, white and red

Damsons Elderberries

Elderflowers Greengages

Pears Plums

Loganberries

Quince

Plums Raspberries

Sloes

Strawberries Tayberries

TAKE THE

TOUR! GET ON BOARD!

No more trudging about, book a tour of the best student properties in Plymouth today!

CALL NOW: 01752 600 485

11-12 Gibbon Lane, North Hill, Plymouth PL4 8BR

www.plymouthstudents.co.uk

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MENTAL ILLNESS Amber Ward

Ben Stiller, Kylie Minogue, Jim Carrey, Winona Ryder, Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Stephen Fry and Halle Berry. What comes to mind when one imagines these celebrities? Apart from their status, what common denominator links them all?

They have all suffered from mental illness.

Mental illness is not usually associated with the glamorous, outgoing and seemingly happy members of the celebrity culture. But, mental health problems, just like physical health problems, can and do affect anyone.

More recently, A-list actress Catherine Zeta-Jones began to shed light and awareness to Bipolar Disorder, a mental illness that has a stigma surrounding it.

Let’s be honest, mental illness isn’t a conversation topic that many of us feel comfortable approaching. The list of what we commonly refer to as “mental illnesses” is long and growing with more and more research. Depression, Bipolar, OCD, Borderline Personality Disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, addictions...all words that can shock and scare us with their connotations and attached stigma.

It’s easy to believe that being diagnosed with a certain disorder or syndrome changes a person from a friend you were comfortable around, to a scary and erratic person you barely know. Many people simply do not even know how to approach the topic of mental illness, let alone fall into a conversation about it. For someone who has never suffered from any mental illness, empathizing can be a struggle, no matter how close you are to that person.

Sadly, this can make said person feel more alone; mental illness is a terribly lonely and scary place, and sufferers need as much support and love around them to recover and learn to cope with what they are dealing with.

And it doesn’t even have to be heavy, life changing conversations every day. A simple “How are you feeling today?” can work wonders to someone who feels desperately alone in their own brain.

Time to Change is a new, non-profit organisation programme to work on ending the stigmas around mental health problems, and ending discrimination against those who suffer. The basic idea of Time to Change is that one of the best ways to combat these things is simply to talk. Talking about mental illness, shedding a light on it means more people are able to

understand and empathize with those who do have mental health problems. More information can be found at www.time-to-change.org.uk, and you can show your support by giving their Facebook page a quick like: www.facebook.com/timetochange More people than you know, or expect, could be suffering from a mental health problem. Studies shown by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2003 revealed that 25% of university students suffer from mental illness at some time. Many people go through phases of mental illness and recover, and never relapse.

Others are born with a mental health problem which never goes, but they can learn how to cope with their disorder or syndrome. Some people develop problems because of events in their life. Others simply happen to develop them for no reason at all. There are patterns, in diagnosis, but there are no set paths for development of mental illness. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, social class, background.

If you know a friend or family member of yours has been diagnosed with a mental health problem, then all you can do is be there for them. You cannot cure mental illnesses with a pill or medicine; the healing process takes time and support from loved ones. A simple hug if you know they’re feeling down, or just a text to know that you’re thinking about them, these seemingly little gestures can mean more to them than you know.

And if you are suffering from a mental health problem, then make sure you have the support and help you need.

Plymouth University runs a Student Counselling service, which provides free emotional support and counselling for those who may be long term sufferers, have recently been through some emotional distress, or simply just need some trusted advice from a trained counsellor.

They can be reached by telephone on 01752 587701 or by emailing studentcounselling@plymouth.ac.uk.

It is imperative, for people with mental health problems and for their family and friends, that the stigma surrounding mental illness is taken into account, and eventually destroyed. It is time to change, and individually, you can help, by learning more about how exactly mental health issues affect those living with them, and being there for those who may need you.

I FINISHED UNI TODAY! I finished university today. I thought I’d be well chuffed with myself but to be honest I feel a bit flat. It’s over, and I ain’t got a plan. Anyway! I think I did it pretty well, I managed to balance the classic fun to work ratio adequately. If I could go back I doubt I’d do too much differently, but here’s some advice to those of you who have another year or two left at Plymouth.

Try new things, I know it sounds cliché, but seriously try new shit. I don’t mean try badminton or join the gym, they’re boring and you can do that when you’re old and lame. I mean try stuff you can only get away with during the three years of Uni. Try weird stuff, wrong stuff and certainly try illegal stuff. Make friends that don’t look, act and dress exactly like you. It’s bloody easy to become close minded if you see the same people who have the same opinions as you every day.

Get out of Plymouth. Now that you’re here, that’s super, and I’m sure you’re going to continue having a great time. But make sure you get out of the city, get into Cornwall or up onto the Moors. Staying in your room isn’t good for you, and you’ll start getting miserable and blaming poor Plymouth for your boredom. The architecture in Plymouth is probably some of the most depressing in the country, but the West Country has some of the most beautiful country-

side. So get out, leave drake circus and that disgusting police station behind and go see some nature.

My other advice is very arbitrary, and doesn’t deserve bold letters, but here’s a list: Live in a big house. Always ask for the drinks deals at the SU. Go to house parties.

Don’t shop at co-op, it’s a rip. Read a paper. Pre-drink to save money. People only ever seem to moan about the library, so I wouldn’t bother trying to work there. Mature students are a pain in arse, never ask them a question.

by George Marsden

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40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS. THE FACEBOOK DETOX…

By Eloise Wales

So it has come to the end of my Facebook detox and as you know it has been a challenge! Some friends like to tell me I have failed the whole thing altogether…. You see, technically I have not been completely Facebook free. There has been the odd scroll on friends pages but then it’s pretty much impossible not to when you are living in a flat with 8 other people who are all avid followers.

The strangest thing I have noticed is that when asked what it is like without Facebook, I have compared it to losing a sense. I managed to sustain a brain injury a couple of years back, resulting in the permanent loss of my sense of smell and people seem to always ask me to smell something forgetting I can’t. It is something that comes up often in conversation and it’s not until you lose the sense whether it’s from a cold or injury that you realise this. It’s the same with Facebook… until you realise it’s gone you have no idea of its influence! Whether it is discussing the photos from the messy night out, or the latest social group, it is constantly coming up in conversation. I have also noticed it helps spread news rapidly, for example on the morning of Osama Bin Laden’s death my news feed was full of status’ noting he was dead which continued throughout the day, one friend even commented: “Love how I haven’t even seen the news and I know Bin Laden is dead, apparently, thanks Facebook” Before Facebook, news would have taken hours to spread. Now it literally takes seconds with over 500 million active users being able to access the site instantly.

Another thing I notice is the power Facebook gives people. For example:” friend culls”. One friend regularly deletes a load of people:

“Just removed 250 people from my friends list!

So if you’re reading this...you made it” It’s crazy how disposable people are these days. It’s now very easy to let the whole world know you are no longer friends just from a simple delete friend button or a bitchy status. It seems to give people a far too easy option of publicly humiliating others and being cruel without facing the consequences, but then that’s just my opinion!

I was going to try and maintain the detox until after the deadlines were done but that would have just made it an 80 day ban and that’s far too long, I miss my friends too much. The only problem with this is I have three HUGE deadlines at the end of the week and as I am living in the library, I am regularly getting distracted on Facebook discussing ridiculous things such as names for the micro pigs we are getting next year! (Not that the rest of the house knows this yet!)

Since the first article there has been one interesting turn of events… After a good night out I am no longer the proud owner of a blackberry and am having to use an awful £10 blackberry impersonator, which definitely doesn’t have Internet let alone a Facebook… This means I am right back to square one.

All in all, I have benefited from living without Facebook as it really does help you get more work done but then in the long run it’s definitely more hassle being Facebook free at University. I will just make a mental note that the next time I get a smart phone; I will just avoid that Facebook app…

NEXT STEP...?

By Lucia Paulis

The time is looming for a lot of us, when we’ll have to make that big decision on which career path to follow, where to live, how we are going to afford to live there, and just about every other life changing decision that seems to follow after graduation.

I have exactly one year to prepare myself for the ‘real world’, and pop this student bubble that I am so comfortably living in. The question is, after university life comes to an end, your degree is complete, and that student loan has well and truly been spent, how does one prepare themselves for the next stage of their life? With so many options available to the up and coming graduate such as travelling, volunteering, work placements, post grad study or even delving straight into the world of work, the future is filled with an exciting but endless list of opportunities. However, I don’t think it is knowing what you want to do which is the hard part; it is physically applying yourself to that dream which is the real challenge.

I am almost twenty one, preparing for my third year of university and still questioning how quickly time has gone; convinced I am still only sixteen. When I think how fast time has flown by, I realise I still have the same ambitions as my teenage self, I have just tweaked them slightly. Therefore, if you know what you want, that is

very simple and very different to actually going out and getting it. You need to be disciplined, determined and be prepared to take that leap which will make you stand out from every other graduate – now that is the hard part.

The part that I struggle with is questioning how I will afford to live in the big city, or whether I should search for a job in my ideal destination before or after I move there?

The actual getting a job part I don’t like to think of as a negative. Just because there will probably be ten or even twenty people applying for the same job as yourself, that doesn’t mean you will not be the one to stand out from the others, as long as your ideas and ambitions are unique and beneficial to the company you want to work for. You have to believe in your ability if you want that dream job.

Therefore, although many of us will have our own worries about the next step and which direction we should follow, it is important to remember than every opportunity that you take will be beneficial to you.

Yes, it is a big responsibility having to decide on your future now as it feels too soon to be in this position, but the future doesn’t have to be ten years time, it can be as near as one month away. As long as you figure out your aspiration, following it through will be the most challenging but worthwhile decision you make.

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DISSERTATION CRISIS VS THE BATTLE OF KOROMO RIVER The deadline for this article is looming dangerously close and for the past few weeks, despite feeling I should contribute something to this final issue, my inspiration has been stuck in some horrible neutral. Now, a mere day before this bastards due, my attempts to write something, anything, are being hindered somewhat because I am feeling distinctly un-normal.

I have a collection of hangovers. The worst of which is a contest between the one inside my brain making my face feel paralyzed, and the one that’s triggered something my guts and I’ll have to deal with shortly. The reason for me feeling this way is not the result of any crazy celebration, or the fact that my girlfriend just left me, which she surely did, but rather a result of the inherent selfsacrifice that all true friends must make for one another at some point in their lives.

If i’m honest, I can’t think what it must feel like to be stood before someone in nothing but one’s pants the day before a deadline and stating that the dissertation doesn’t exist. But this is precisely what I was confronted with on the morning of the 5th as I passed my housemates doorway and asked him why he looked like shit. It’s bad, to be sure. And of course I was obligated to stop skulking around like a heartbroken child in order to console him, listen to his self-contemptuous rants, and help him drink as much as possible. However I feel that now, before this bastard in my brain succeeds in killing me, a moment should be taken to put this calamity in context. To do this I shall draw on a story of another pair of friends, who lived and died in the opening years of 12th century Japan.

Minamoto Yoshitsune was a war winning samurai, and was largely responsible for victories that led to one of the biggest political upheavals in feudal Japan. His contribution to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate would alter the political landscape of the country for centuries to come, effectively giving the nation’s power to the samurai and making himself a hero.

However Yoshitsune’s brother, Minamoto Yoritomo, had installed himself as shogun (a military dictator) and

was jealous of this success. So that his title might remain undisputed he sent an army to go and waste his young sibling. And so it was that Yoshitsune and his band of dwindling allies were pursued through the country with frequent assaults further culling their ailing numbers.

The pursuit culminated in 1189 at the Battle of Koromo River and it was here that the warrior monk Benkei, Yoshitsune’s only surviving friend, made a last stand in the entrance of a derelict fort so that his master might commit a ritual suicide. Seppuku, as this suicide was known, was the act of taking a short-sword and disembowelling oneself in order to preserve ones honour.

Well I suppose it’s true that my housemate, who stood weeping in his underpants that day, may lack something in the way of honour. But I maintain that his situation should be acknowledged as comparatively insignificant to having to gut oneself amidst the flames of a burning building.

The dissertation situation is but one aspect of University life, which in itself is just one small facet of life’s myriad of possibilities. It seems absurd to me that my housemate should be considering whether a jump off a certain multi-storey car park would succeed in offing him or just cripple him bad. It is in the nature of many of us to blow up situations disproportionate to their actual significance, and I think the aforementioned scenario should remind us to keep this in check. After all it is incredibly rare, having put things in perspective, that there is not an avenue for progression and success.

Especially now we live in a society where we aren’t expected to ritualistically kill ourselves in order to make amends, or receive a faceful of poisoned arrows to prove that we are good friends.

by Will Dawson

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THE BEGINNING OF THE END Lynsey Elliott

As I struggled to wrestle with my dissertation, the final deadline of my university life (or 12,000 words of pure creative genius) which I could probably by now recite off by heart after reading it through endless times before going completely insane, I thought about the past three years of my life that have sped by far too fast for my liking.

Back in Sixth Form, a million years ago now or so it seems, I made the quick decision that I wanted to go to university to study English and Creative Writing. This was news to my parents but they pretty much made all the arrangements for me to start a new chapter in my life away from my home island of Guernsey, or the ‘rock’ as it is more commonly known. A wonderful 3 hour boat journey (it’s supposed to take 3 hours anyway but we are always delayed and the boat is usually broken so this can take much longer) across the channel and then roughly a 3 hour car ride to Plymouth.

I chose Plymouth because of its location and how much it reminded me of home being so close to the sea. People ask me where I prefer to be; Plymouth or Guernsey and I never have a concrete answer. Whenever I went home to the rock, I often found myself saying that I wanted to be back at home and I always got the sense that my parents were upset to hear that I had called Plymouth home even though I had only lived there for a few months. Like every place that people have lived in, both have good things and bad things about them. There are too many to go into now but my time in Plymouth has created so many good memories that will be difficult to replicate and re-live elsewhere. It is definitely the people that you build these memories with that make them worthwhile. To me, Plymouth is my second home and I will be extremely sad to leave it behind and all my

friends that I have made. I just hope that they can afford the cost of a flight to come and visit me on the rock!

That is one of the off-putting things about being an overseas student is the expense and difficulty with travel. Sometimes I have envied my friends who can simply get on a train and go home if they ever feel like they need to get away. But for us islanders, it is much more complicated and pricey than that.

Some might say that it makes going home after three months for Christmas and Easter that little bit better because you haven’t had the luxury of just ‘popping home’ for a few days. Maybe that’s why I also call Plymouth home, I can never be too sure but I know that it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Are there things I wish could have never happened?

Yes, of course. It’s almost impossible for no one to have thought that in their lives, but then there are far more things that have happened to me that I wouldn’t change for the world.

I wish I could offer some words of wisdom and how to make the most of life at university but you really need to get out there and do it for yourself. Some of my friends at home have been stuck in office and bank jobs from the moment they left Sixth form as the money they would make was ridiculously attractive but I do not envy them for a second. There have been many occasions when I couldn’t afford to buy things that I wanted and after living on Sainsbury’s basics and Tesco value food, not to mention using Wilko’s lush ‘Designer’ toilet paper as they call it, I will be quite glad to enter the working world and have a regular flow of money into my bank account. Not having to do my own washing and food shopping anymore will also be a treat after three years of having my clothes

horse taking up too much space in my bedroom not to mention making me trip up over it every now and again.

To answer the question; what am I going to do with my degree? The first answer has to be; no I am not going to be a teacher. I have lost count the amount of people that have assumed that I wanted to be a teacher simply because I study English. I could never imagine myself as a teacher and I would not want anymore to have to put up with me trying to teach them something as simple as how to spell or construct decent sentences.

I probably should have thought about what I wanted to do with my life before I went to university.

Back in 2008, all I knew was that I wanted to continue studying English and whack a bit of Creative Writing on the side of it and then maybe the answer to my future career would come to me over the three years of uni.

That hasn’t really happened for me. I am heading back to the rock this summer to go back to my holiday job that I have had and loved for three years to get as much money together as possible and send my CV out to a range of

employers in the hope that they will take me on. One of my regrets is that I did not get involved with anything from the start. I only started writing for The Knowledge in my third year and I have enjoyed it and love hearing everyone’s thoughts on what I write. I have definitely become more confident with my writing now that I have had people read what I have written but I just wish that I had pushed myself and submitted something in my first year but I can’t change that now. I am just glad that I have had the opportunity to write before it was all too late.

So here I am, at the end of my university life, trying to make the most of my freedom before I have to go home and enter the real world. For my last few words I would like to tell all readers to enjoy the time that they have at uni and make the most of it because three years will just fly by and you won’t even know how it happened or what you were even doing for half of it! Oh and just one last thing, Terminators from the Fresher and Professor and Kryptonites from BacBar may seem like a good mix at the time, but you’ll pay for it the next day...

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DREAM A LITTLE DREAM Hayley Bennett

Being in my third year, I have learnt three crucial things that I hadn’t anticipated happening: . The complete breakdown of a social life . The ability to get emotionally involved in So .

You Think You Can Dance . Freaky dreams Now, with the sheer work load of third year in any course, I can imagine third years across the uni have had to say “no” to more drinking sessions than the first and second years put together. When the sun is shining outside; we’re in the library. When first years are nursing hangovers; we’re discovering how to use the rare book section. When children are having water fights, middle aged men are getting pissed, and first years are getting ready to do it all over again; we’ve got old book smell on our clothes.

Third year does kind of suck. It’s just as much work as second year, except on top of that already established fun, we’ve got a bundle of joy in the form of a dissertation. For me and my fellow English course mates, it was 12,000 words of pure heaven. Or not. It’s not that bad really, it’s just that when you suddenly realise you haven’t got any paper for your printer, and you haven’t left time to bind your work, things get a tad serious.

The complete breakdown of my social life started about March, when things went from “I’ll just see what my tutor says about my dissy so far” to “Oh my God why did I think I had time to sleep?!”.

When you’re work load gets a bit too much to handle, you get stressed out. Not only are you spending eight hours in the library a day, you’re also tending to wonder just how much you actually need sleep, and whether it would be a good idea to just stay awake for the last two

weeks. Which I attempted: It did not bode well.

This was about the time that I started watching So You Think You Can Dance on iplayer at 2am on a Sunday morning, almost crying when I thought a dancer “brought the dance to life”.

I also discovered dreams are not you’re friend when you have several deadlines looming. Every lecture me and a friend would discuss just how odd our dreams had become, and how with every deadline nearing, every night turned into a collection of nightmares you had when you were a kid. And if we weren’t having nightmares about people getting brutally murdered or being chased by headless Queens, we weren’t sleeping.

So to all the students about to enter their final year, I’d just like to offer a small incentive in getting through the toughest year of uni so far: The night you finish your course will be the best, most drunken and eventful night of your student lives. …However you will probably still end up waking up at 8am with a banging headache, temporarily forgetting that you don’t need to be a nerd anymore, and planning your next trip to the library.

Good luck!

“THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE”

by Rhiannon Haydock

As I was applying for university during the winter months in 2009, it seemed like every adult I knew was telling me, “These will be the best years of your life. They will whizz by so make the most of them.” At the time, a three year course seemed like a lifetime and I thought they were talking rubbish; but now look. It only seems like a few months ago when I was introducing myself to my flatmates and getting to know the city of Plymouth, but in fact this all happened nearly two years ago.

I cannot even begin to think what has been the best moment from the past two years, there are just far too many. Obviously nights out provide a lot of the laughs.

Fresher’s week is always memorable because you are just getting to know everyone and drinking definitely breaks the ice, especially when you find yourselves in the same toilet as a flatmate you just met a few hours ago! Fancy dress always comes into play throughout the year too and some of my collection includes zombie Pocahontas, Russel Brand and the infamous Morphsuit.

This year, Plymouth has also introduced me the lethal Kryptonite drink which consists of gin, rum, blue Hawaiian schnapps, blueberry schnapps, vodka, triple sec and a selection of Sourz shots. Needless to say, once you’ve had one of these the night becomes a bit of a blur. Bac Bar and the Skiving Scholar are to blame for these monstrosities! Organising a bake sale for Comic Relief in March was also a highlight of my year.

We managed to raise £90 from generous students and staff around the uni and in return they got yummy treats such as flapjack, cupcakes and brownies.

However, university does also bring some lows.

Living 400 miles from my boyfriend who lives in Durham is definitely challenging and brings tears and tantrums from time to time. It is made a lot easier though when a lot of fellow students and flatmates are also in long distance relationships.

“FRESHER’S WEEK IS ALWAYS MEMORABLE” It’s a good job there is so much to do at uni to keep you distracted! When I first left home back in September 2009, it came as a huge shock when I had to do my first food shop. How did a block of cheese come to more than £2?! That’s like half way to a 35cl bottle of vodka! It definitely did take a lot of getting used to, discovering the true cost of living.

Although I still have one more year left, I am constantly reminded by the past two years of how quickly it will go. In a house with 6 other housemates, I am the only one who is finishing my course next year which is even more daunting. Barely 21 years of age and I will be entering the big nasty world of working for the next 45 years. Best make the most of these next 12 months eh? Pass me the vodka!

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ANOTHER YEAR DONEWHERE DID IT GO?

By Mandy Gardner

I’m sat here with two years of university behind me and one left to go and an impending sense of doom is slowly rising in my stomach. I am finding it increasingly upsetting how quickly time is going, and if there was ever a time in my life when I wished for a stop button, it would be now! I swear one day it was September, then I woke up the next and it was May! Obviously I have enjoyed second year- but in so many ways I’m heaving a MASSIVE sigh of relief now it’s ending. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else, but, my god this year has been hard. I don’t really understand why; I see everyone around me managing this balancing act of work-social life- volunteering- extracurricular activities etc etc, and still coming out with top marks. I however have struggled to keep my head above water- and ok, I’ve achieved fairly good marks, but it has definitely been at the cost of my social life. I’ve struggled from start to finish and feel incredibly inadequate as a result.

When you’re deciding to go to university there is definitely nothing that warns you what a massive culture shock it is leaving the safe haven of ‘sod it, I only need 40%’ of first year to embark on the ‘omg-this year counts-i need to do well or my parents will kill me’ of

second year! What’s worse is that I can see third year getting even harder. Many people will read this and think ‘duh, you’re at uni, what do you expect’; and you’re right- it’s so obvious that it will get progressively difficult. But I honestly didn’t expect it-which I would guess is the reason why it took me six months to adapt!

I definitely regret not making the most of this year because I was too caught up in trying to keep up, but I’m looking at it as a learning curve; my regrets from this year will only reinforce in my mind how amazingly mind-blowingly AWESOME i want third year to be.

I really hope nobody has found themselves in the same position as me; sadly though I doubt this is the case. But if you are, just breathe a sigh of relief it’s over and be positive that you made it through- congratulations!

Now however, as I bid farewell to second year, I’m happy that it’s over but sad that it’s another year ticked off of my university career. Over summer I definitely intend to brace myself for what will be, by the end of it, a very emotional third and final year at the University of Plymouth! Whatever you’re doing this summer, have a good one- and if you’re finishing first year right now-be prepared for change come September!

A RETURNING STUDENT’S REVIEW (OR ‘MY DECLINE INTO MADNESS’) March 2010 Sat at my desk, watching the rain trickle down the window, as once more I tried to get my sums to work, my tether began to unravel. Do I need the hassle of my boss telling me I’m not working fast enough? Do I need to travel all this way each day to be moaned at for being 5 minutes late? Do I need to be told not to rub against the photo copier in such a manner? This list could go on and on. I drink too much caffeine through the day; I don’t move around enough, I talk more bullshit than ever. I can’t go on…

Present Day After succumbing to my revelation last March, I near the end of my 1 year course at the University of Plymouth after giving up a relatively well paid job as a Civil Engineer. Did I make the correct decision? Not sure, but whatever I have done, has come at a price…

The thought of becoming a student again did fill me with excitement and joy (and a slight amount of trepidation). My first stint as a student some 8 years ago was a wonderful experience. I learnt to booze like a king and eat like a lord. Within the space of 8 months I managed to increase my body mass by 50% from a dainty 10 stone to a whopping 15 (am back to normal now though). – will this happen again??

As a university returnee, I did realise that being a slightly older student meant I had different responsibilities…I shouldn’t be turning up each morning stinking of vodka, and I really should try and avoid fingering any freshers on the dance floor of the SU. So taking this into account I approached last September in my tightest jeans and brownest cardigan looking forward to what was ahead.

I managed to potter along to chrimbo and made the majority of lectures without being under the influence of any substances, and more importantly my digits completed their mission without any Christmas treats.

The rest of the year followed in a similar pattern. My mental age regressed more, physical not so much. In my head I’m a fully fledged 24 year old – not ageing a day. I feel like Peter Pan but with slightly more deviant thoughts towards Wendy.

Returning to Uni, not having a job any more and having an awful lot of spare time has led me to a conclusion.

Being a student has done something to me. I have discovered that I’m no longer a real person. I have removed myself from normal society and live on the edge, much like Nightrider or the Littlest Hobo but without solving any crime. A student’s life when you are 31 is not actually real. It’s a mixture of a bit of homework that you can take a long time to do and telling yourself you shouldn’t be sending a fire bomb to Jeremy Kyle because that’s bad - even if the man is an abomination. (Although as an aside, Piers Morgan deserves everything he gets.)

Living in a real world as a fake person is tough sometimes. Being a former real person with real friends can lead to difficulties. People who have jobs don’t want to go to the pub every day of the week. They can’t spare a 3 hour lunch break. They don’t appreciate students who look like tramps traipsing into their place of work to ‘see what’s going on’. The latter practise I soon had to stop, as I found myself behaving like David Brent after he’d been sacked from Wernham-Hogg…I was about to walk into the office with my pet dog to introduce to everyone, when I realised this wasn’t a good idea. I had to sit down and have a long hard talk with myself. No more corporeal visits to the office. So I tied the dog to the bike rack and left to return to the unreal world of the uni campus.

Much safer to see out my time in a fake world. No more visits to my former universe for me – until I can become a normo once more. Go back to the goths, forever young professors, the other few unreal students like myself, the short wearers in winter, the haircuts, the 18 year old alcoholics and the punks. I can hide here, no one can tell I’m not real here, I can feel wanted here.

As I approach the end of the year, exams complete, little bit of course work to do, I wonder if I can survive the summer. No job arranged. Even more spare time to myself. Maybe I could just become a full time Littlest Hobo and just keep moving on…maybe.

What will happen I don’t know, maybe one day I may even become a real person again.

by George Marsden

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RACISM WARNING IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL WARMING

By Karl Gardner

Being fond of writing, I’m also fond of debate, and so recently on an online forum I found myself wasting an hour discussing the topic of racism; an area of particular interest to anyone living in England, due to our multi-cultural status, and history of race riots.

My first argument was that in all honesty racism didn’t really matter, so long as those opinions were not acted upon. Afterall in Europe we’re lucky to have freedom of speech, but this freedom must come with toleration. You can hate someone for their race, sexuality, and nationality as much as you like, as long as you tolerate them. Afterall not everyone will always get along, and as long as you’re not a teacher, policeman, politician or in any kind of authority where your views could impact your behaviour in your job or influence others, does being racist really matter that much?

One person wrote in response to my argument that, “statistically the black is a criminal”. I think that what the forum poster meant to say was “statistically more blacks are arrested proportionately to their number in comparison to white people.” However he re-worded this to fit in with his racist opinions. Those statistics don’t take into account the reasons for the crime, or the class background of the individual. Its known that when immigrants move in to Britain, particularly those from less economically developed countries, they move into housing of low market value. Britain being expensive as it is, if you come from a poorer background, you will find yourself in a run down housing estate. With this in mind then, if those immigrants don’t manage to climb their way up the property ladder, whether through bad luck due to the current work climate

or they just like it there, their children will end up attending lower class schools. Those schools will more than likely not have a high level of achievement and will probably be neglected. With the government currently cutting funding to schools, we can expect those inner city schools that need help the most to only get worse. With this in mind, it is not “the black” that is the criminal but actually the class system, which raised him/her to become a criminal in the first place.

We can’t trial the upper classes for keeping this system in place, and we could say (as one forum post did) “Well I lived on a council estate and my parents worked hard and moved out. I know right from wrong.”

To this I can only reply with the following scenario: What would happen if you didn’t move out? Let’s assume you’re a second generation immigrant. Your parents speak English, but not as well as you and they have always worked since leaving school at a young age.

As a result they expect you to do the same, so you don’t focus on your studies. Your teacher then overlooks you and before you leave primary school you’re already bottom of the class. You become depressed because you feel you’re not good enough to achieve then you meet a group of lads who also felt like they weren’t good enough, and they form their own little gang and they look out for each other. They’re harmless at first, but as you get older you begin to realise how much these people mean to you, treat them like family. Then you leave school, you’ve started drinking and smoking, got to die sometime right? Then you can’t get a job. The economies low and young people are struggling to find work, especially if they don’t have qualifications. Your

dad gets made redundant, and his benefit isn’t enough to cover all the bills. Your mums income is low and you also can’t find a job. Your gang is experiencing the same problem and they get angry at society, angry at that crappy situation and they need money or they’re going to be evicted, they’re struggling just to put bread on the table. So you rob a store, mug a white woman (chances are she’ll have more money). A girl from another gang saw you do it. What’s she going to do?

Blackmail you for the money of course, because she’s in exactly the same situation. You might even shoot her.

This is far fetched and a worse case scenario, but it could happen, and with our government neglecting its schools and targeting the poorest of society things are only going to get worse. It’s unbelievable that the government recently accused Oxford of not admitting enough black people, yet that same government isn’t funding its schools, which is going to effect black children early on, especially those that live in the inner cities.

With this is mind we need to be aware that the number of immigrants is going to rise drastically. British environmental academic, Norman Myers has predicted

that by 2050 there will be 200-million climate refugees worldwide. With sea levels rising people on low-lying islands will have to leave their homes. Weather change could also result in draught, causing more people to be left with the choice of emigrate or face death.

Our country needs to be prepared for these people, and as part of this preparation we need to change our attitudes towards race. The black is not a criminal.

The upper classes, who enforce the class system is the criminal, and if this system doesn’t change then we’re going to see a growth in the inner cities and lower classes as large numbers of asylum seekers make their way to London. Perhaps, with such a large amount of individuals being kept in the lower class, we might eventually experience a rebellion against the upper classes leading to communism in the UK. Unless of course, we do something now to prepare for these individuals, starting with using our freedom of speech to change racist attitudes.

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LESSONS LEARNT FROM NATIONAL CONFERENCE

By Emma Wilson VP Education and Welfare

Well, what an exciting, frustrating and memorable few days NUS National Conference 2011 proved to be.

It was a fantastic experience to get a real insight into how NUS sets policy and also the politics portrayed by the different groups of students representing their unions and student bodies. The conference opened with a greeting from Sally Hunt the secretary of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), while more UCU members from Newcastle College were making headlines and striking over the proposed loss of 171 staff, despite the college turning over a £10 million profit last year and recently announcing it will be commencing on two major building projects later next year. Yet another headline demonstrating the needless and ideologically driven cuts to areas of education where more money could be and should be invested for the future of students in this country.

Having not been to National Conference before I was not quite sure what to expect, many policies were debated, predictably the most heated surrounding student fees, funding and EMA with debates surrounding affiliation to organisations such as Unite Against Facism and ‘No Platform Policies’ coming close on the passion Richter scale.

However I was saddened to hear the sentiments of some of the students in attendance. After months of student action witnessed up and down the UK, which undoubtedly inspired and galvanised action from

university staff in disputes over pay and inspired over 250,000 people to take to the streets of London in the recent TUC demo in March, student representatives and current members of the NEC drove a wedge between delegates on the conference floor by portraying a false choice for unions in either choosing between more actions at a local scale or another national demo. In my opinion (and it seems those of NUS National President Elect Liam Burns) both types of action are essential for a successful nationwide campaign to effect change. Of course students should mobilise and engage with their MPs and local community groups and lobby and their institutions with regards to postgraduate fee setting. But we cannot deny that the scale of the demonstrations in the run up to the parliamentary vote laid the foundations of the current anti-cuts movement sweeping the country. Witnessing a conference floor being coerced into voting against more actions on a national scale, was extremely frustrating, and I feel, is a huge blow to those students who worked hard to organise themselves and engage other students in activism, instead playing directly into the hands of those politicians who hope that the debate around university fees and funding will disappear as university education is marketised and students are priced out of education. Tuition fees are new as a concept (they have only been around for 10 years) and I honestly believe that with enough resistance from the public the government can be pressured into

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reversing some of the cuts it has imposed, whether in this term or the next. Already there are worries that because so many universities (ours included) have decided to charge the full 9k fee, there is not the capital to provide loans for the projected numbers of students who will apply to start university in 2012.

I feel that as a delegation group we should have done more to consult our members on how they would like us to vote in terms of the policies brought to NUS Conference. This would have resulted in our representatives acting as a unit on UPSU’s behalf rather than as individuals voting often in a personal capacity which often differed from each other.

Motions were passed and debated about every part of NUS, they shaped the future of the fees campaign, delegates decided to delete any mention of UAF in their anti facism policy, rejected calls from UCLU and Sheffield University SU to look into introducing a one-member-one-vote (OMOV) system for elections and to begin to support activists working to end banks investing in the unsustainable exploitation of tarsands in Canada. I believe that you should have had more of a say in these discussions and there should have been proper consultation with our members in order that we might properly reflect thier views.

A substantial amount of your money (£200 per delegate) is put aside for sending NUS delegates from UPSU to NUS National Conference. In the coming weeks I will

be submitting motions to our student parliament here at UPSU in an effort to try to ensure that in future years this money is invested to ensure that UPSU is represented more effectively. I will push for the delegate elections to be made more accessible and visible to students and for the introduction of a threshold number of votes that much be reached in order that a candidate is elected to become a delegate. How do you feel knowing that the most votes that any delegate was elected by was only 25 vote from a student body of over 30,000 students? How can this even attempt to be truly representative? I will also campaign to ensure that future documents are scrutinised by all UPSU Sabbatical Officers and delegates before the conference so that your representatives agree UPSU’s position on each and every motion that is brought to conference to avoid votes based on purely subjective opinion.

Election proceedings aside, I look forward to engaging with you in the important debate to decide our unions position on fees especially postgraduate fees – and I would like to leave you with a quote from Sally Hunt the Secretary of UCU - ‘If the government really wants to improve social mobility and remove the barriers that stop many from taking a place in higher education it should make education free for all those who would benefit.’

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NUS National Conference 2011 In April your elected representatives made a long trip to Newcastle to debate and vote on NUS policy for the year ahead. The event is the sovereign decision making body for the national union and where the president, vice-presidents and all the committees are elected. The conference was launched with a video of Nick Clegg from last year and his pledge to vote against a tuition fee rise. I probably don’t need to mention that this did not receive the warmest of responses from over 1,000 students who had voted for Mr Clegg and his trail of broken promises. NUS have always been a left wing organisation, a career powerhouse if you will, for Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians.

I expected a sentiment of anger towards the government policies surrounding the cuts and I was not disappointed.

What I was not prepared for was the extremist views which were held by a large proportion of the conference.

The communists and socialists rule at NUS and you could be forgiven for believing that the country was on the verge of a revolution by the poor. I don’t know about the rest of you but I do not think for one second that the extremist and alarmist views held by many of these so called “representatives” do not hold true with the students of Plymouth.

The debate around tuition fees returned to the top of the agenda. Now this is an issue that you would assume we would be united on… but no! The majority of students I speak with accept that we should make some contribution

to our education, after all University is a choice… right?

However there are those in NUS that would have us fight for free education, which in my opinion and many of my colleagues is a pipedream which is causing more damage to the student movement than help. How can we as a movement be taken seriously if we actually think that free education is prospect still within reach? No major political party thinks this is a reality and it’s foolish and counterproductive for us to do the same. The same old rhetoric was heard at conference. Tax the greedy bankers more, scrap Trident and stop getting involved in foreign conflicts. This will pay for our education, at the cost of driving business away with higher taxation, leaving the country totally defenceless and leaving the Middle East in the hands of some evil dictators.

I will make it no secret I dislike NUS immensely and I had hoped that attending this conference would change my views and I would feel more engaged with the national movement but alas… I feel just as disenfranchised as many of you do. Apart from organising a fight against the 9k fees that failed and giving you an NUS card that you have to pay for, what does NUS do for us in Plymouth to warrant us paying them £40,000 a year in affiliation fees?

By Ben Millward (UPSU Parliament Chair)

The Censorship of Art

By Marcus Crandon Over my three years studying Fine Art at Plymouth University I have had a range of complaints and made up a series of lies to the older generations of my family and friends because of the nature of work I produce.

I’m in no way ashamed about the adult content of the things I make and am completely unapologetic, but I’m very aware of how people react to my artwork.

These reactions, in some way, hold back a lot of artists who may wish to work without limits.

Art has always been seen as something outside of the real, and in this sense it is hard to put restrictions and boundaries on what is made and shown. Censorship within the art world is very unclear, and where one person may think there should be no issue with what is displayed as long as the viewer is of age to be able to take it for what it is, some people feel that they should not be put into the position where they feel uncomfortable.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts: “art, in all its forms, feeds and nurtures the soul of a society; provokes thought and debate; causes critical thinking; and fosters understanding of things foreign to our own immediate world. In the end, art plays a primary role in encouraging healthy tolerance of the diversity in any culture.”

Art that doesn’t challenge the artists or the viewer doesn’t ask anything. I can appreciate effort and skills that painstakingly produce classical and well-produced artwork, but for me the work needs to have more. I want to feel something when I walk into a space, be it sheer repulsion or the overwhelming feeling of lust… It doesn’t matter, as long as the work conveys or invokes an emotion. When I create work this is the main drive for me and I consider the finished feeling rather than the materials or processes. The general public needs a level of maturity and understanding to know that artwork is not ‘real’ and take it for what it is, a fleeting experience that may or may not have a lasting effect on them as a person.

The issue that young artists face today is exposure; with gallery space and funding being controlled by organisations that, rightly so, consider their reputation above anything else. Artwork is inevitably forced to tone down its potential impact to suit a wider range. Although in many cases artwork is forced intentionally or otherwise into your vision, people still have the choice to avoid a connection with a piece.

On June the 10th the University of Plymouth will be holding their annual Fine Art degree show in Roland Levinski room 101 at 6:00pm and, Royal William Yard at 8:00pm. I’ll be displaying work in both sites along with a great range and selection of fantastic artists. If you have never been to an exhibition before, I promise you won’t be disappointed; you may be shocked…but where’s the harm in that?

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Jacob Plant Interview

By Ali Tudor You’ve probably heard of Jacob Plant without even realising. At the age of 19 he has already established himself as a respected producer and DJ, having worked with the likes of Katy B, Nero and Dizzee Rascal. Set to play at this year’s Summer Ball I wanted to find out more about this young and talented artist.

Ali: So, how does it feel to have broken into music industry at such a young age?

Jacob: Really Good. I’ve been really lucky; it’s very exciting at the moment.

A: How old were you when you first got into DJing?

J: Well I started making music when I was 14/15 and then started DJing properly when I was 18.

A: Who have you most enjoyed working with?

J: Everyone in the studio. I have also worked with Chrome, Dizzee Rascal, Nero and Katy b. I have been really lucky, I have learnt so much from working with them.

A: Who would be your dream collaboration?

J: Nero, again. Or Redlight and probably Professor Green.

A: Well you’ll be performing at the Plymouth Summer Ball where Professor Green is set to play as well, are you looking forward to DJing?

J: Yeah! I really am!

It should be a great night and I’ll be staying in Plymouth for the weekend as well as I’ve got some mates down there.

A: So you’ll be staying on to party after your set then?

J: Definitely.

A: So, did the option of going to university ever appeal to you?

J: Yeah, I mean I went to school then took a Gap year where I worked on my music. I then got a job offer and a uni offer but then I also got offered a record deal. I do wish I went to uni but I was really lucky to get the record deal.

J: (Laughs) Well, no, probably South East London.

A: Just one more question, what are your future plans?

J: Well it’s been nonstop since January, it’s been really full on, but I am going to carry on remixing; producing artists music and my own stuff. And I will also continue to gig.

A: Yeah you can’t really miss out on that opportunity! So what would you have studied if you went to uni?

A: Well thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me today and I will see you at the Summer Ball!

J: Either Music Production or Business.

J: No problem!

A: At Plymouth uni yeah?

Check out Jacob Plant’s latest remix of The Knux’s - She’s So U 33

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One Year Later...

By Emma Wilson

To even try to put into words what an emotional, exciting, draining, frustrating and fantastic this year has turned out to be is practically impossible! I cannot believe that it’s nearly a year since I moved my many pairs of shoes and other mess into the office in the Hive ready to learn how to steer the ship that is UPSU.

I can still remember my first day, I couldn’t sleep the night before and turned up to work really scared about what people would expect that I already knew about being a ‘Trustee’ and also worrying that my skills on Microsoft Outlook weren’t that hot! Over ten months later it’s crazy how quickly the time has flown by and also how many amazing things both myself and many of UPSU’s fantastic students have achieved.

If you ask me for a few words to describe some of the best memories I have of this year the first one would be – GRADUATION – one of the happiest days of my year, it was such an honour to be able to speak as VP Education and Welfare at my own graduation ceremony – I don’t think my nerves will ever recover from standing on the

stage in front of all my friends and the other 700 people in the graduation marquee, but being able to get a few jokes into my speech to make my fellow Environmental Scientists laugh was fantastic.

Next words – megaphone, march, and occupation – you guessed it the DEMO-lition campaign. This was the largest project I have ever undertaken from start to finish, and after 3 months of planning al the small details over the summer, seeing the campaign kick off as soon as all you guys came back from your summer holidays was a great thing to behold. Being part of a 200 strong march through the streets of Plymouth, part of a delegation of over 100 Plymouth students joining the 50,000 strong demo in London in November and representing you inside the Houses of Parliament on the day of the vote was another honour that I will never forget! Alongside this, over 20 students, who felt so strongly that the government’s plans to cut education funding were wrong, decided to occupy the now famous ‘Room 008’ was another, mildly stressful, but definitely exciting, highlight of the year.

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Other changes and projects that I have worked hard on this year with the help of the other Sabbs and lots of students that I think are definitely worth a mention are: • The many changes to the course rep system; improving the election system and the training to give students a stronger and louder voice on campus • Getting the first SSTAR Awards off the ground; awards to recognise the many great course reps, parliamentarians and teachers we have here at Plymouth • Getting lots of our super sports teams involves in our Chlamydia Screening programme often resulting in more than 70 tests being carried out in any one session • Delivering a great Discriminh8 campaign – fantastic music and funky t-shirts • Pressing with Student Parliament and Course Reps to get the Library to go 24/7 –we did it!

• Hearing the election results announced and finding out that I would keep the job that I love for another year!

So what is in the pipeline for next year I hear you ask……?

I’d like to concentrate more on issues that affect our students on the ground here at Plymouth. I want to co-ordinate a campaign to address the issue of feedback (for both coursework and exams), it needs to be more in-depth and more consistent! I also want to examine student expectations and exactly what students perceive good feedback to be.

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‘IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER….

YEAR IN REVIEW’

By Tom Davidson

Although there has been something of a spate in recent Knowledge issues of articles entitled ‘One year: a reflection’, ‘A year at UPSU’ or some other related account of the past academic year, I feel that it is time for sports to stick it’s oar in, swing for the fences and strap on a pair of boots for a quick trip over the 2010/11 season at UPSU. In short, we aced it.

If you would like a slightly more expansive commentary on our sporting achievements then look no further. Our sports teams have proven that Plymouth is a force to be reckoned with be it on a pitch, in a pool, on a boat or hurtling round a go kart track with your backside perilously close to the tarmac; we have shown continued excellence wherever and whenever we have competed.

Our clubs have enjoyed record levels of success in BUCS competition with eight teams promoted in BUCS leagues, numerous teams reaching the finals of the BUCS championship and our teams bringing home record medal hauls at numerous events.

But competitive sport doesn’t end with BUCS, many of our clubs compete in local, national and international competitions outside of BUCS competitions and here too we have seen exceptional dedication and commitment to competition. From our rowing teams to the yacht club, UPSU sportsmen and women have done a brilliant job of representing the university across the country and further afield.

And our successes don’t even end there. More students than ever before have been given the opportunity to get involved in sports through internal leagues set up and run by students. This year the Futsal and Netball clubs have given hundreds of students the opportunity to get involved in competitive sport in a more casual environment, a trend that I hope will continue in tahe coming years.

As Vice President Sports, I have tried my best to keep this machine running smoothly, and although there may have been a few hiccups along the way I like to think that we have done a great job with the limited resources that we have. A situation that I am working hard to address as this article goes to press.

And on the topic of what I have been working on this year, as your sports sabbatical officer I have organised UPSU’s inaugural intramural football league, which I hope to expand next year with the inclusion of more teams and a number of new sports. I have also been working hard to rectify the, once again, stalled Team Plymouth programme and I am happy to announce that we are back on track to provide a professional and united image of UPSU sport for September 2011. Alongside these major projects I have continued to represent the Faculty of Health and have done my best to listen to members of our sports clubs that need representation, advice or just someone to have a good moan at.

Although this is only a small review of what we have achieved this year, I hope that it is clear to all that sport at UPSU is going from strength to strength and shows no sign of doing anything different in the coming years.

The view from the sabbatical office has never been better.

PLACEMENT REVIEW

Hello, my name is James Ansell and I am currently studying BA (Hons) Business Studies at the University of Plymouth. I am now nearing the end of my third year work placement as a Bar Shift Manager here at UPSU. The nature of the job requires me to work flexible hours, including night shifts and weekends, in order to meet the operational requirements of the post. My main duty as a Bar Shift Manager is to ensure the smooth running of the busy Student Union bars, delivering customer service of the highest quality in order to enhance the student experience at the University of Plymouth.

My key responsibilities include; directing and organising all staff within my direct span of control, monitoring an ongoing training programme to a large team of part time student bar staff, ensuring implementation and strict adherence to the 2003 Licensing Act, implementing, controlling and reviewing all procedures relating to stock control, cash handling, purchasing and waste disposal.

My role has evolved over time, largely as a result of on the job training, which has enabled me to acquire new skills, develop competencies and respond to oppor-

tunities and changing demands. It has been extended horizontally (job enlargement), through Incremental changes which have taken place in the scope of my work and vertically (job enrichment), by increasing my responsibility and degree of autonomy.

In addition, I have attended a number of training courses throughout the year, which have broadened my knowledge and improved my performance, by providing me with the necessary skills to respond quickly to emergency situations and to maintain a safe working environment. I have been trained in First Aid, Manual Handling and Fire Marshal procedures. Moreover, I have attended a Personal License course which gave me a sound understanding of the Licensing Act 2003 and will provide me with the necessary qualification to sell or authorise the sale of alcohol, which will prove essential if I am to work in this industry.

This year has proven to be extremely valuable, enabling me to better understand the academic subjects studied at University and to appreciate the integration of these subjects in the business context. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone working in the Student Union for giving me such an unforgettable experience and to offer my sincere thanks to Caz Stenson (Bars Manager) for providing me with this opportunity and acting as a source of constant support during my placement year.

This experience has benefited me both personally and professionally, providing me with numerous life and industry skills. Moreover, it has made me better prepared for when I make a career choice upon graduation and has helped to significantly enhance my personal competence, adaptability and ultimately my employability for the future.

I couldn’t have wished for a better placement.

Thank you.

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PUBLIC ART GALLERY In a time where the products of the world are littered with warnings, about the potential damage that can cause, why is it that fast food doesn’t fall into this bracket? Arguably one of the most vivid issues worldwide currently is that of obesity.

This project intends to improve awareness and remind the general public just how damaging fast food can be.

The project will take the form of a real life art gallery focusing on real life issues, that of personal health. The gallery will be based in the centre of Plymouth, there are two possible routes to chose from; one advertising the consummation of healthy food via various artworks represented in the form of the green route on the map and the other a red route portraying works expressing the damaging nature of fast food. The specific artworks will be at the locations of the ‘tube’ stops.

The art gallery is interactive and along with other aspects the main reason for this is to contain an element of stealth, where the major companies being ‘attacked’ do not realise. So instead of simply putting posters up

in the desired spots, small stickers containing shot code technology will be used. The shot codes are barcodes that smart phones can read, taking the user straight to the artwork, held online, via the in phone internet service. To download the programme simply go to the link: http://web.scanlife.com/uk_en/download-application.

Each member will also be given either a red or green set of glasses depending on the route selected, this glasses will allow the wearer to see the stickers, containing the shotcodes easier via a hidden message. This only becomes readable thorough the use of the glasses. – shown below.

The gallery will be running from the 24-27th May at the sundial. People wanting to take part in the trail will be given a copy of the map, a pair of glasses, colour specific to the desired route and a phone that will allow both the scanning of the shotcodes as well as a gps app that makes sure you are keeping to the route.

APPEAL OR COMPLAIN? You may be forgiven for thinking that appealing and complaining is essentially the same thing. This is not the case and the University of Plymouth has a different procedure for whether you are making an appeal or making a complaint and it is important that you complete the correct form.

If for example you have experienced problems with the delivery of your course, supervisory issues or the availability of facilities. You should use the University’s complaints procedure to pursue these issues.

WHEN CAN YOU APPEAL?

Complaints can be made at any time during the academic year in which the problem arose, although the sooner you make the complaint the easier it may be to resolve the issue.

Appeals can only be made within 10 working days of the deadline for the publication of results. Not necessarily the date on your transcript. For 2010/2011 the deadline for making an appeal for standard undergraduate degrees is 22nd July 2011. Any student receiving results outside of this time will be given details of your deadline.

WHAT CAN YOU APPEAL ABOUT? The University will only consider appeals where you can evidence that one of the following happened: a) Assessments were not conducted in accordance with the current Assessment Regulations. b) Some other material irregularity, related to assessment, has occurred.

Therefore you cannot use the procedure to appeal against academic or professional judgement. So, disappointment with your results if your marks were accurately recorded, assessment regulations were followed, and there is no evidence of material irregularity in the way in which the assessment was carried out, does not constitute grounds for appeal.

HOW TO APPEAL?

WHEN CAN YOU COMPLAIN?

HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT? You should use the formal Complaints Procedure that can be found in your student handbook on the portal.

UPSU:ADVICE We offer an independent and confidential service, and as a result you can discuss any issues you are having with us without it going any further. We can discuss which procedure is the correct one to use, and your chances of a successful outcome, based on the information you give us. We can also help you to ensure that the University follow their procedures correctly, for instance ensuring responses are received within the designated time frame.

If your are unhappy with the outcome of your appeal or complaint we will also advise on taking the matter further with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

UPSU:advice will be open throughout the summer, however, we would suggest that you check our contact pages for details of our opening hours. These can be found at www.upsu.com/advice

The appeals procedure can be found in your student handbook, under Rules and Regulations, on the portal.

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SPORTS EDITORS NOTE What can we say! It’s been an incredible year of sport at the University of Plymouth; we’ve had ludicrous winning streaks, dramatic twists, and heaps of talent on show around campus.

From the agony at our last minute varsity loss, to our ecstacy at some of our team’s Bucs and Nationals performances. Our rankings table has followed the dominance of three clubs in particular, the Rugby Men’s 1sts, the Netball 1sts and the Squash Men’s 1sts. A big congratulations must go to them all.

As your Sports Editors we have followed the progress and activities of all of your clubs, and we are proud to announce that in our debut year as Editors we are to award our own ‘Club of the Year’ award. Due to their incredible acheivements in competitions all year long, their attitude and presence around campus, and their continued commitment to charity, the Netball club have won the Knowledge’s ‘Sports Club of the Year’. Well done to you!

Thanks to all of your contributions to this years newspapers, we are looking forward to what Plymouth societies and sports are going to bring to the table next year. See you all in September for another successful year.

Nath and Sarah

VARSITY

By Nathan Gornell

It was an eventful finish to the year, with arguably the most exciting varsity that Plymouth has ever seen.

Coming off the back of Plymouth’s second consecutive Varsity win, a huge 31 points to Marjon’s 21, our teams began with confidence; and this was clear from the off.

With an outstanding 22 – 2 victory for our Men’s Waterpolo, we bombarded through for 6 wins on the trot, with wins from Women’s Waterpolo, Cricket, Badminton, Rugby and Swimming. Come the end of Monday we found ourselves 17 – 5 in the lead, and surely headed towards a third consecutive victory.

However, the next two days saw just two wins from thirteen, with only the Men’s Lacrosse and Women’s Futsal (of whom I am the very proud coach) clinching those vital 2 points for a win. This left the points on 25-22 to Plymouth with just the Men’s and Women’s 1st’s football matches to go, where just one draw would seal victory. Unfortunately, under tradition,

the football matches would be decided by penalties, meaning Plymouth needed to win at least one.

The Ladies did all they could, including an incredible 30 yard screamer that levelled the match to 1-1, but couldn’t muster the nerve to beat Marjon’s in the penalty shootout, despite our German Goalkeeper Matilda’s brave performance to deny a number of attempts. The Men’s match ended in stalemate, and with the final contact of body to ball in the entire competition, Marjons sealed victory. Though we lost, we must look at the positives of the event, and carry the passion and commitment that we showed as fans and competitors into next year’s event. If you ask my prediction, I think the trophy is coming home.

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PLYMOUTH ARGYLE SEASON REVIEW The 2010/2011 football league season will be one to forget for all those associated with Plymouth Argyle Football Club. After beginning with an excellent 1-0 victory away to Southampton – which seems a lifetime ago now – it ends with a disappointing 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient.

Relegation was confirmed on Monday 2nd May losing 3-1 at home to Southampton, who on the same day confirmed their promotion to the Championship. It was the second year running when Argyle had been relegated on the same day their opponents had been promoted; as Newcastle had the previous year – watching on enviously at celebrations proved hard work for the Pilgrims in consecutive years.

The overriding question that emanates out of Home Park is, ‘Where did it all go wrong?’. The directors behind Plymouth’s finances have some serious and lengthy answering to do as ultimately the 10 point deduction in the league, for going into administration, relegated the club to League two.

The club had reported debts of £17.7million and finding a buyer has been a prolonged process; understandably considering how unattractive a prospect Plymouth Argyle Football Club appears at the moment. However, a ‘mystery’ buyer has been found and arranged, who has ‘no previous connection with the club’ and for whatever reason cannot be revealed until the 14th June. With the

announcement of this proposed buyer, Argyle’s debt has been reduced; with those owed money paid less than a penny to the pound!

On the pitch, Argyle have also been disappointing and even without the point deduction the team would have finished 19th in the league and only 5 points from safety – which would have been unacceptable prior to the season. Of course it has to be recognised that the ‘best’ players have been sold to make funds available and there has been a reliance on youth, but a team coming down from the championship should be able to perform in League one. The manager, Peter Reid, has come out of the season in glory as he has stuck with the club through trials and tribulations; and in fact has expressed his desire to stay.

The limited positives to come out of a season of disappointment is the effort and commitment shown by the players, the development of youth, passion of the fans and the fact that Plymouth Argyle is a football club that still exists! There is plenty of affection for Plymouth Argyle Football Club, and there has been a lot of effort to make sure the club stays alive; so let’s hope the effort has not gone to waste and Argyle can bounce back to the dizzy heights that were once found at Home Park.

TEAM RANKINGS After an enthralling year of sport, our rankings table is topped by the Rugby Union Men’s, who managed an outrageous eighteen wins out of nineteen. A big shout out to them, the Netball 1sts and the Squash Men’s 1sts who maintained a 100% win record until the late end of the season, still only having one defeat inflicted on

their entire campaigns. A massive congratulations to the Lacrosse Women’s 1sts who anwered our call for an unbeaten game to draw their final tie of the season. Well done to all our teams, and we hope to see some more emphatic competition in the rankings table next year!

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ATHLETICS Mens 1500m Indoor Championship Gold

BADMINTON Womens Western Conference Cup Quarter Finalists Mens Western Conference Tier 2A Promoted to Tier 1

BASKETBALL Mens Western Conference Cup Semi Finalists Womens Western Conference Cup Semi Finalists

Western Conference Tier 2A 2nd

CYCLING

Womens Individual Mountain Bike X Country 4th Team Mountain Bike X Country 1st – Gold

FENCING Mens Individual Championships – Espee Gold Mens Western Conference Cup Finalists Western Conference Tier 2A 2nd

FOOTBALL Mens Western Conference Tier 3A Promoted to Tier 2 Womens Western Conference Cup Quarter Finalists

CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING

JUDO

Mens Championship 7th out of 227

Mens Championship U90kg Silver

FUTSAL

Mens Championship Team Bronze

Mens Trophy Finalists

UPSU logo & BUCS LOGO

HOCKEY Womens Western Conference Tier 2A Promoted to Tier 1 Western Conference Tier 4A Promoted to Tier 3

LACROSSE Mens Western Conference Tier 1A 2nd

SAILING & POWERBOAT Fleet Racing Firefly/Larks 2nd, 3rd and 4th

Laser 2nd and 4th Team 2nd

SQUASH

Womens Western Conference Cup Semi Finalists

Mens Western Conference Cup Semi Finalists

NETBALL

Western Conference Tier 2A 2nd

Womens Western Conference Tier 3A Promoted to Tier 2

SURFING

Western Conference Cup Semi Finalists

RUGBY Mens Western Conference Tier 2A Promoted to Tier 1

Mens Team Championships 2 teams joint 3rd Individual Championships 4th Womens Team Championships 2nd Individual Championships 3rd

Western Conference Cup Finalist

WATERPOLO

Womens Western Conference Tier 2A Promoted to Tier 1

Mens Trophy Semi Finalists Western Conference Tier 2A Promoted to Tier 1

Western Conference Cup Finalists

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FIN