The Salfordian Issue 15

25 FEB 2013 /

ISSUE 15 FREE inside

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Students’ Union Elections: candidates announced!

LGBT special

Jonathan Blackburn Deputy News Editor Last Thursday was the final chance for Salford students to nominate themselves for one of the positions available in this year’s Students’ Union Elections. Across the University, the students who feel they have the skills to lead the Union took a deep breath, submitted their Election nomination forms, and crossed their fingers. Now the hard work has truly begun! For most of those hopeful candidates, several weeks of tireless campaigning has already started.

The Elections will determine which students direct the University of Salford Students’ Union in the 2013 / 14 academic year.

The students that have nominated themselves for the President role are: Rory Sparshott, Muftau Akintoye, Mishal Saeed, and Gabriel Ashok Buragohain. The candidates for the vice president roles are: Todd Hewitt, Barbara Peychinova, Zoe Swindells, Alex Thorp, Pokuaa OduroBonsrah, Wilf Reeve, Viktor Bratovanov, Rebecca Morgan, Ross Malloy, Daniel Rhodes-Mumby, Alexandra Iuga and Kieran Curtin. Finally, the candidates for the Student Council roles are: Marwa Anwar, Harry Compton, Risham Tanvir, Andreea Septelici, Michael Ebia, Olusina Olutade, Matthew Foster, Jacob Bond, Danielle Hinds, Lynsey Hamer, Ajayi Oluwole, Chris Hughes, Jesseca Stewart, Asif Omar, Ryan Stafford, Sonia Ekuase, Chris Johnson, Roger Giles and Andrew Kerr.

You might be wondering how the Elections affect you.

Perhaps you don’t feel like you know enough about the Students’ Union to vote or don’t feel that any changes will be made. In fact, it’s very likely that this year’s Elections could have a huge impact on the remainder of your time at University. Championing the student voice is the most important thing the Students’ Union does as an organisation, and the students you vote for will have the chance to make a real difference.

Rising tuition fees, reductions in enrolments and graduate unemployment are just some of the issues that students are facing in the current financial climate. That’s why now more than ever, the Students’ Union needs the best people leading it, so it is vital that you use your chance to vote.

Voting is open between 8-14 March. The process is easy and can be done in matter of minutes on the Blackboard portal. A list of the students you will be able to vote for will soon be available at www.salfordstudents.com. Pick up The Salfordian next Monday to read the full list, with information about each candidate. Still not sure about voting? Read our ‘Voting Mythbusters’ feature on on page two.

Sophie Larard, Rose Parkes, and Andy Bland at the MediaCityUK fun run in December

Salford students to embark on volunteering trip Amanda Mace

Editor Last year, three intrepid Salford students began making plans for a volunteering trip in Cambodia.

Biomedical Science students Rose Parkes, Andy Bland, and Sophie Larard are determined to make a difference this summer. In July 2013 the trio intend to spend two weeks in the province of Siem Reap, assisting the poorest and most underprivileged people in the third world. During their visit the group will be working side by side with the villagers in the area, as they struggle to lift themselves out of poverty.

On the ‘Project Cambodia’ Facebook page the three students explain the situation in Siem Reap: “Cambodia is a place of poverty and disease; this means that Cambodians face a large number of challenges.”

“Parents want clean water and dry homes, children want to learn English to allow them to work in the tourism industry and the community needs a regular supply of food and access to clean water to sustain itself.

We will be a part of building the future for this Cambodian village.”

Over the course of their twoweek stay the trio aim to provide

assistance to those who need it in a number of ways. They say: “In Siem Reap where villagers live on less than $2.00 per day, we will teach English at the local school, build brand new homes for families in need, and assist in delivering new facilities and life enhancing skills to disadvantaged rural children and orphans.”

“During the second week we aim to spend a week at the elephant refuge and help provide a home for displaced, mistreated and unemployed elephants that are too expensive for their former owners to maintain.”

To ensure that their volunteering mission will be successful, the group have dedicated themselves to raising funds before the summer.

In December they supported fellow University of Salford student, Soutik Das in a charity fun run at MediaCityUK, and all money raised went towards Project Cambodia.

Along with some of her friends and family, Sophie braved the cold in early January for a sponsored night walk across the Humber Bridge. The group took a total of 26 minutes to walk across the bridge and raised an impressive £400. The fundraisers then wasted no time in planning their next event, an 11.2 mile

sponsored walk across the Coniston Old Man route in the Lake District on Wednesday 13 February. Earlier this month, the group also raised £87 by offering a signed Wigan Warriors Rugby League signed shirt on Ebay.

Next month, they will be running an event at the Students’ Union bar, Bar Yours, with a live band and a raffle from which students can win instant prizes that have been donated by local businesses.

Without further fundraising, their trip to Cambodia in the summer may not be possible, so Rose, Andy and Sophie are asking Salford students to give all they can and support them at their upcoming events. You can visit their Facebook page at www.facebook .com/ ProjectCambodia. To donate, visit their fundraising webpage at ww.gofundme.com/22trwc If you would like to donate in other ways or find out more about the project and the group’s upcoming events, you can email them at: projectcambodia2013@hotmail.com The trio are planning their trip to Cambodia with the Reach Out Volunteers organisation. You can find out more at: www.rovolunteers.com/

Turn to page 4 for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender History Month full-page special!

Salfordian Q&A

Sally Leibovici meets the animation supervisor on Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’ on page 28

02 : News

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2012 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Contents Pages 1-3 News Pages 4, 5 and 6 Features & LGBT special!

Page 27 Viewpoint Page 28 Arts Page 29 Careers Page 30 Your Union Page 31 Activities Page 32 Sports

Editorial Amanda Mace Editor

Hullo lovely folk!

So we’ve come to one of the most exciting bits of the Students’ Union Election period! Keep an eye out for posters and candidate material around campus and online, because the next two weeks are your chance to read up about the students that have nominated themselves for the positions available and make an informed decision when voting opens in March. a section with clippings from old Salford student newspapers on page 30 - definitely worth a look!

Have a good week everyone!

Students’ Union Elections mythbusters: voting The Students’ Union Election period is now well underway! Voting is open between 8-14 March, and in the meantime you have will have the chance to learn more about the candidates and decide which ones are most suitable for the roles available. Perhaps you’re unsure about why you should vote in March. Here we dispel a few myths.

Myth #1: “It’s just popularity contest.”

a

While having friends definitely helps, thousands of Salford students vote in the Students’ Union Elections - no one can know that many people!

Use your vote to ensure the best people win.

Myth #2: “Elections are for people who are interested in politics.”

All Salford students can vote in the Elections. No previous knowledge or experience is required and the Students’ Union encourages everyone to have their say.

Myth #3: “I won’t have time.”

Voting online takes a few minutes and can make a huge difference to the year ahead.

Just log on to: blackboard.salford. ac.uk.

Voting is quick and easy so take a well deserved break from studying to cast your vote!

Myth #4: complicated.”

“It’s

too

Voting is simple, all you have to do is visit: blackboard.salford.ac.uk and click on the Students’ Union Elections module.

You’ll be able to read a bit more about each candidate here to help you make your mind up who to vote for.

Once you’ve made your choice, simply follow the instructions and rank the candidates in order of preference. We promise it won’t take you long!

Myth #5: “There’s nothing I want to change. I’m happy

with things at Salford.”

Sometimes small changes and improvements can make a huge difference to students.

Myth #6: changes.”

“Nothing

ever

Recently the Students’ Union has achieved all this for Salford students: •Secured a change in University regulations so you receive feedback on assignments within three weeks.

•Successfully campaigned for a free campus bus and extended library opening hours – making campus life more accessible for all.

•Secured funding for the ‘Give Sport a Go’ programme, offering free sport sessions for students on campus, including professional coaching, drop-in sessions and social leagues.

•Made many course and school level changes, thanks to our fantastic Student Rep system which operates using nearly 700 unpaid volunteers across the University.

Win fantastic prizes by taking part in the NUS energy saving campaign In a new campaign, national student organisation NUS is encouraging Salford students to become more environmentally aware. If you live in student halls of residence, you could take part in the Student Switch-Off Energy competition and win prizes like Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and NUS Extra cards, which can get you some fantastic discounts throughout the academic year.

Sound like your kind of thing? Of course it does! Who doesn’t want to be in with the chance of winning

sweet treats while preserving our lovely planet? It’s really simple to get involved, you just need to pledge to take simple actions to save energy like switching off lights and appliances, putting a lid on pans when cooking, only filling the kettle with the water needed and putting on an extra layer rather than turning on the heating.

Collectively the small energy-saving actions add up to big energy savings.

The Student Switch Off competition encourages students to have fun in

the dark by giving a party to the hall the saves the most energy by the end of the year.

The competition starts on 27 February, and all you have to do is take a photo of you (and your mates!) recycling, stick it on the Salford Student Switch Off Facebook page - www.facebook. com/SalfordSSO - and you could be getting your hands on some scrummy Fairtrade Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! If you’re quick that is: it’s the first 10 photos that win!

Editor: Amanda Mace Email: editor-ussu@salford.ac.uk

www.salfordstudents.com

News Editor: Cassandra Ward

Catherine Heuston

The Better City Forum, which was hosted by the Students’ Union, had an excellent turn out on the Tuesday 19 February. Specialist guest from Salford City Council, Councillor Stephen Coen, came to ask students their opinions on Salford’s image as a city. It was thought by many that Salford had a bad reputation as a city. The Student Representitive for Visual Media talked of how her friends from Manchester University were sceptical to visit, due to Salford’s bad reputation for crime related incidents. Many students found Salford’s bad reputation to be unfounded as a 3rd year Journalism student spoke of only witnessing one crime in her entire time at Salford.

This student spoke of how she believed people aren’t doing enough to help as she witnessed a woman being mugged on Eccles old road and found, despite construction workers being present, it was her who checked on the woman’s welfare.

Councillor Stephen then brought up issues with communication for students as he spoke of trying to contact volunteer students over summer to take part in NASA demonstrations to show the connections between students and the up and coming profile of MediaCityUK. He suggests improvements needed to

Features Editor: Lowri Williams

Postal address: Univerity of Salford Students’ Union, University House, The Crescent, Salford, M5 4WT

Visit Our Website

Students share their views at ‘Better City Forum’

C.Ward4@edu.salford.ac.uk

Comment Editor: Jonathon Norrey

J.Norrey@edu.salford.ac.uk

Arts Editor: Sally Leibovici

sally.leibovici@yahoo.com

be made between the Union and the council to make sure students can take advantage of every opportunity intended to improve their employability.

Issues were raised about the quality of degrees for employability after the student representitive for Media Performance spoke of how the BBC are not looking for specific field trained students in their line of work. He suggested their now looking to recruit those with no qualifications to train them up instead of taking on board students already training in the field.

Councillor Stephen spoke of contacting Peter Salmon, head of the BBC, to discuss these concerns as student reps felt their students were only ever being offered minor volunteer opportunities, which would offer them no more than a t-shirt.

Other issues raised included security in Salford, Salford’s image through regeneration, employability prospects and what could be improved.

International dishes were brought by many to enjoy throughout the forum which brought about an interesting discussion of Salford’s future. Councillor Stephen has said he wants to maintain contact within the Union itself to ensure students are offered the best opportunities were possible.

lowrix@hotmail.co.uk

Sports & Activities Editor: Bryony Pearce B.Pearce@edu.salford.ac.uk Careers: Amanda Mace Advertising : Stefan Redfern stefan.redfern@manchester.ac.uk Tel 0161 275 2930

News: 03

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Higher education news round-up budget to help MPs with mental health treatment.

Emily Burgin

Student’s interests are being overridden by university competition.

UCAS; the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, has withheld the number of applicants this year, for the first time.

The number of applicants by institution was supposed to be published after the application deadline last month on the 15th January.

This is leading to fears that universities competition with each other is over ruling the interests of prospective students.

In a UCAS statement it was said that, “The decision to change the publication schedule of (the) UCAS January applications digest was taken based on competition law considerations.”

UCAS has considered that ‘publishing the applications digest within a cycle could potentially change institutional or applicant behaviour in a way that is not helpful in a fair and competitive application process.’

Liam Burns from the NUS National Union of Students stated that it is the ‘competition rather than the student interest which has been put at the heart of the system’.

Mr Burns added: “That prospective applicants are now not allowed to know how the universities they are considering are faring on applications flies in the face of assurances that student interests would not be overridden by market imperatives.”

The house of commons has approved a £25,000

Low tuition fees are causing students to believe that the courses are not as good.

Volunteers requried for health research team project Jonathan Blackburn

Recently released figures have shown that 7,000 out of 20,000 places for students on courses costing less than £7,500 were left unfilled.

With the introduction of reduced fees in some courses, students are becoming to believe only the most expensive course are worth the money.

This year, 4,200 of the 9,600 places offered to higher education institutions were left unoccupied.

Universities Minister, David Willetts, said: “Some institutions were expected to recruit less than their allocation to compensate for overrecruitment in previous years. We expect there to be more full-time undergraduate students in higher education this year than any year before 2010.”

However, Labour’s higher education spokeswoman, Shabana Mahmood said the figures were “a damning indictment” of the Government’s higher education reforms.

David Cameron has opened Britain’s doors to Indian Students.

The Prime Minister has travelled to India to tell prospective students that Britain will welcome

them if they wish to study and work here.

He is promising the voters in Britain that he will cap immigration from people from Bulgaria and Romania, yet he is trying to convince Indian students to study in the UK. Official statistics this year showed that the number of Indians studying at British universities fell by a quarter last year, to 30,000.

In a television interview, Mr Cameron said he wanted to make sure that Indians are not put off coming to the UK. He has said there is no limit on the number of students who can come from India to study at British universities.

“All you need is a basic English qualification and a place at a British university. And what’s more, after you’ve left a British university, if you can get a graduate-level job there is no limit to the amount of people who can stay and work, or the time that they can stay at work.”

Share your views about the Students’ Union and you could receive a £10 voucher!

If you think that the Students’ Union shops should be selling hot food or healthier options, we want to hear from you. You could receive a £10 Amazon voucher for telling us your views. We’re running a second student focus group at 10am on Tuesday 5 March.

The Students’ Union has shops at Horlock Court (opposite The Library) and in the Adelphi and Allerton Buildings. When we asked students what products they would like to see introduced to our shops, hot food and healthier lunch choices were the most popular answers.

The Students’ Union will be running a focus group at 10am on Tuesday 5 March to find out a bit more the specific foods you’d like to see on offer.

The focus group will last for an hour and will involve

you sharing your views with other students. You don’t need any prior knowledge to come along, but you must be a regular customer of one of the Union shops, feel that either hot food or healthier food should be provided by the shops and be prepared to share your opinions.

If you’re interested in letting us know your thoughts, please contact Helen Robinson at h.robinson@ salford.ac.uk by 5pm on Thursday 28 February.

Those selected to take part in the group will receive a confirmation email and everyone involved will receive a £10 Amazon voucher for their time.

Can’t make 5 March? Get in touch anyway, as we may run a second session on another day that week. Email: h.robinson@salford.ac.uk

Researchers are today scouting for sufferers or previous sufferers of hand, arm or shoulder pains, in a bid to conduct further research into potential causes, as well as the prevention of pain.

If you have suffered for over three months with conditions such as tennis or golfers elbow, repetitive strain injury or wrist tenosynovitis, as well as many more conditions which span the arm, then it is would be greatly encouraged that you take part in the research, which may help reduce the problem in future.

If you would like to take part in the study, which consists of filling out a simple questionnaire, then be quick - the first 50 people to complete the study will get a box of chocolates as a token of appreciation.

For more information, contact Yeliz at y.greenhill@salford.ac.uk or Rob Peet at r.w.peet@salford.ac.uk.

Quays News to hold special event for Comic Relief Emily Burgin

This year for Comic Relief, some students at the University of Salford are doing something a little different.

The student-run news channel, Quays TV News is running a 12-hour news day. This involves constant streaming from seven in the morning to seven in the evening.

Included in the 12 hours, is a global special, where the students will be in contact with Australian students discussing issues surrounding immigration. There will also be sport, politics as well as ‘Coffee and Cake at the Quays’ a gossip chat show.

This has never been attempted at the university before and all the students are very excited. Ross LeesMcCowan, Senior Director at Quays TV News, said “I’ve been involved with Quays since it started back in January 2012. This is the most ambitious programme we’ve ever attempted, it’s going to require a lot of hard work but I’m quite confident that on the day it will be awesome.”

Start saving with an NUS Extra card today!

Don’t forget you can still buy an NUS Extra Card! The card will be valid until the end of the academic year and you’ll be able to make some fantastic savings, which include discounts in many high street shops.

To buy your card, go to: www.nus. org.uk/en/nus-extra/

The USSU Deals App has arrived!

The Students’ Union has introduced its first ever mobile app, designed to help you save money whether you’re on campus or in town.

USSU Deals offers a range of exclusive offers at the

Students’ Union shops and Bar and Café Yours, including a hoodie for just #20 and four bottles of Corona for #8.

If you’re out and about in Manchester, it’ll help you save the pounds with a range of discounts and offers at shops, bars, hairdressers,

restaurants and more. Simply search for offers and save your favourites.

Download USSU Deals for free from the iPhone app store or Google Play.

04 : Features

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2012 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

LGBT History Month special LGBT History Month is observed every February in the UK and USA. Join The Salfordian as we celebrate the lives and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people!

Dispelling the myths about transgender people Our writer tackles transphobia and clears up a few widely-held misconceptions about the transgender community Nikita May I am often asked by people, usually by someone who is drunk in a bar: “What are you?” to which I reply, more often than not, “I am Transsexual and bloody proud of it!” At which point the drunken man / woman stumbles off, muttering something about a cock in a frock. In reality, not a lot of people fully understand the concept of ‘transgender’ and what the term actually means, so I thought I’d go through a few basics.

Firstly the word ‘Transgender’ is an umbrella term, used to describe a whole range of people who do

not conform with society’s narrow standards of gender. Transsexuals, Transvestites and Shemales all fall under this umbrella, yet each one has very different meaning and each group has a different lifestyle.

Transvestism is characterised by the desire to wear the clothing of the opposite gender and can be simply shown in the meaning of the word transvestite, which is derived from the Latin words Tran = Cross and Vesta = clothing. So simply, put: cross-dressing.

Shemales are a bit more than transvestites. They prefer to look and live as women, sometimes by taking hormonal replacements or having breast enhancement surgery, but do

not wish to undergo the genital surgery, choosing instead to keep their own genitals for sexual activity.

I, however, am a Transsexual, which literally means a cross between the sexes and has many medical names, such as Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and Gender Dysphoria being the most common.

GID has nothing to do with sexual orientation. A transsexual person can feel an overwhelming belief that they have been born in the wrong body.

This is supported by some MRI studies which have shown that the brain of a male to female person does in fact have genetic similarity to the brain of someone who has been born female,

thus supporting the argument that it is psychical rather that psychological.

However, living as a transgender person does come with its own psychological problems, such as addiction, depression and even suicide. The national statics for suicide are shocking enough: around three in every 100,000. Yet in the transcommunity the figures rise to 31% for suicides, with at least 50% attempting suicide before their 20th birthday. Even more use self harm or self-mutilation

on a daily basis. Gender reassignment is the only long-term treatment there is. It is a LONG process, consisting of therapy and hormone replacement therapy for the rest of your life.

I hope this clears a few things up.

Conor Pritchard

The gay scenario: Brazil vs England Victor Gonçalves

From adoption to marriage, one of the most discussed topics this century is gay rights.

Although Brazil and England are more than five thousand miles away from each other, they are not so different when it comes to approaching this subject.

One thing that affects not only these countries, but also the whole world, is that the more education you have and the more developed your location is, the lower the prejudice levels are. Brazil is a typical example of this. On the more developed South-East coast where people generally have more money, they don’t really care about your sexuality. In fact, straights and gays mix together in clubs and bars, and there’s barely any violence.

Of course there are some people that are bothered when they meet someone who is gay, but this isn’t the norm in this area. On the North and North East side of the country, things are much worse. It is that part of the country where several cases of violence are reported.

England, on the other hand, is smaller than Brazil, has hundreds of years of history and is more developed - even though there are a lot of poor places too. England is, in general, more gayfriendly than Brazil. On average, someone who has been raised in England has more education than an individual from Brazil, so it is more likely that they are able to see that gay people are not a threat to them.

In both countries, many families are happy to accept a member of the family if they come out.

There are cases in which the parents don’t like their son to be gay, but also there are a lot of cases in which the family actually supports their child.

In Brazil or England, you can feel safe to walk holding hands with someone on the street along a few avenues, but it’s not practical everywhere.

However, both countries have made a visible effort to allow the marriage and adoption by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the public.

Overall, Brazil and England are not so different when you think about the gay scenario. It’s all connected to the education that both provide.

Canal Street, or as it has been colloquially coined, ‘The Gay Village’, is the beating heart of Manchester’s gay community; offering a safe and vibrant atmosphere with the many bars, clubs and restaurants that are located there. Today, Canal Street holds many positive connotations with people visiting all across the country to revel in what it has to offer. However, this was not always the case.

The street itself dates back to 1804 with the emergence of the Rochdale Canal that runs along the street and became Manchester’s main route of trade, with goods being transported to the Liverpool docks which were subsequently distributed amongst the British Empire. As time progressed and other modes of transportation became the norm, the Rochdale Canal and the surrounding area fell into disuse.

By the 1960s Canal Street started to become synonymous with gay people. Same-sex activity was not legalised in England until 1967 (restricted only to those in private and over the age of 21), and gay men began to take advantage of the deserted canal-way to engage in secret meetings, made simpler

due to the nearby transport links of the Oxford Road and Piccadilly stations. Although acceptance for homosexuality was growing with the ‘Sexual Offences Act’ of 1967, prejudice was still commonplace towards the gay community, driving those who wished to explore their sexuality down dark alleyways, further hindering the perception of homosexuality.

Fortunately, with the help of Manchester City Council in 1990 attitudes began to change, aided by laws of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexuality being passed in the late 1980s. The council’s championing of equal and gay rights and their efforts in creating a sense of community amongst The Village’s inhabitants has led to the realisation of Canal Street as it is today.

Canal Street has now become famous across the world and many good things have arisen from it. The street inspired Russell T Davies’ television series ‘Bob and Rose’ and ‘Queer as Folk’, and it was also the birthplace of the pride festival, Mardi Gras, in this country. The true date of the first pride festival is speculated to have taken place during the end of the 1980’s based on pictorial evidence and had originally started as a jumble sale with its sole purpose being to raise money for HIV and

Photograph: livepine @ flickr.com

A history of Canal Street

AIDS charities.

As the years passed, the event became bigger, eventually becoming a parade and a celebration of gay culture. Many famous celebrities have shown their support and performed at the Mardi Gras festival over the years such as Kelis, The Gossip, and Alexandra Burke.

Sir Ian McKellen also made an appearance in the parade of 2010.

Canal Street’s turbulent history is now exactly that: history. The Village today is a definite far cry

from its promiscuous early years, which shows a change in attitude amongst the country in general.

The Village offers a safe haven and an enjoyable time for any who walk its streets, regardless of whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and even straight. The street’s presence within Manchester has helped strengthen homo-hetero relations and will continue to do so for years to come. The Village may have had a dark past, but it most definitely has a bright future.

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Features : 05

Clubs and bars

Local hotspots: Cloud 23 Are you looking for an elegant, stylish night out with friends, a peaceful gathering with family, or maybe just a romantic drink with your partner?

Manchester’s Deansgate is the place to be. Reach the sky with the Hilton Hotel’s very own unique bar. Cloud 23, brings you the heart of Manchester at your feet.

Standing 23 floors higher than ground level, indulge at the mind-blowing views of Manchester, whilst choosing from a choice of exquisite drinks, signature cocktail, and the finest wines and champagnes, you can ever desire to have. Sit down and indulge in a night of sparkling contentment.

The Hilton Hotel being home to Manchester Fashion Week, Cloud 23 is the ultimate meeting and greeting party place for top fashion designers, magazine editors, make-up artists, photographers and models. Therefore a classy night in April couldn’t go without a miss.

Of course, some people think that it’s more expensive than it’s worth, therefore making it a complete waste of money; however, I believe it’s more about the experience. I celebrated my 19th birthday at Cloud 23. I took a group of 25 international students on a Saturday night without a booking. I thought the service was exceptional, considering reservations, in particular to weekends are made months in advance, and such a big group was catered for within half

an hour of waiting on such a busy night.

As soon as we walked in to the bar, my friends were amazed and admired the beautiful views of Manchester. Nowadays the bar can be seen as a replacement of the Manchester eye, which would really

encourage tourists. A classy night out at Cloud 23 on my birthday was special, one to remember. There was a feeling of dreams coming true, and it was a birthday celebration that people would still dream to have today.

Recipe of the week simple shortbread Amy Hughes

You will need: 300g plain flour 200g butter (softened slightly) 100g sugar Instructions: (preheat oven to 180) 1) Add sugar and butter together

10 ways to...reduce stress Lowri Williams Features editor 1.

Take a break. According to the international stress management association, taking a 10-15 minute breaking during work enables you to work produce better work. You will

perform more effectively after your break, so have some food, make a brew and put away your work for at least 15 minutes.

2.

Be positive. As cliché as this may sound, staying positive will enable you to fulfill any workload. A positive mind will produce positive work.

3.

Plan. Make a plan on a piece

of paper, working out what days you will cover what subject and from what time from and till. Having a set plan will push you to work to the timescale.

Once you have completed each session each day cross it off the plan. This will be satisfying as well as enabling you to see just how much work you are getting through.

4.

Don’t drink too much caffeine. This may seem really really difficult especially through times of stress and tiredness, but increased amounts of caffeine releases adrenalin into your bloodstream which in turn triggers stress levels. My personal advice would be to switch to green tea or white tea, as the health benefits are insanely good as well as the anti-oxidants fighting off the oxidative damage that stress can cause to your body.

5.

Sleep. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep; there really is nothing

in a bowl and beat together 2) once creamed, add the flour gradually until a smooth dough is formed.

3) shape into either fingers or rounds.

4) sprinkle sugar on top and bake for 15 mins.

Alternatives; shortbread is very versitile and extras can be added in like chocolate chips, orange peel, raisins, etc!

better when you are stressed. Have a hot bath and read a book or magazine before you go to bed and try and relax as best you can.

6.

Exercise. Trust me, of all the tips to reduce stress this is most definitely my personal favourite.

Exercise is a great way to let off some steam, releasing endorphins which make you feel really really good. Trust me on this one, try going for a run every morning before you sit down to work and you will hammer out your essay as soon as you get back.

7.

Music. Take a break to just chill out and listen to music, listen to something different and new, take your mind off everything and chill out, its really important to rest your mind as well as your body.

8.

Take a trip. This may seem difficult for many but getting away for a few days can really sort your head out. I have just been to Amsterdam for three days and had the most amazing time, so chilled out and just what I needed. I am now ploughing through my work with a really positive mindset, not sure whether it was something in the air in Amsterdam… or perhaps I’ve just realized I need to get my arse into gear!

9.

Learn to say no.

Learning to cut down your social life to a minimum is really hard yes, but after the work is done you will really feel pleased for doing so.

10.

Organise yourself.

Once you are organsied with a list of deadlines, dates and a to do list you will feel really head straight about your work and will find completing it all much much easier.

Photograph: Sara. Nel @flickr.com

Jasmine Patel

06 : Features

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Lowri Loves... stripes Lowri Williams Features editor This year, Summer/ Spring season has brought about a beautiful new trend: stripes! A print that has seemed to creep up on us ever so greatly on the catwalks this season is stripes. Clean vertical stripes were used by many designers on the spring summer 2013 catwalks, to continue on with that smart, fresh crisp edge the white trend had to offer. Some stripes on the runways appeared bolder and thicker, offering a different take on the classic pin stripe.

The designers that used the stripe print were the likes of Tommy Hilfiger Michael Kors Marc Jacobs, to name just a few. Osca de la renta used a bold stripe to make an elegant ball gown

classy and fresh rather than too cluttered and over the top.

Anything in black and white is key at the moment, but with stripes – well, it’s just even better. Around the high street you will slowly start to notice stripes creeping up everywhere and before you know it, it’s going to be on every item in the high street window. Zara, H&M, Nine West and Joe Fresh are just a few of the places offering some really nice pieces in the stripe print, from shoes to bags to skirts.

Stripes are a print that will never die in the fashion industry, it can come around whenever, and when it does

Photograph: Brett Jordan @flickr.com

Each week, The Salfordian’s features editor shares her fashion tips and the latest from the catwalks

its always massive. Stripes offer a simple nautical classic patriotic feel about them and have a modest and chic edge.

Whatever shape you are stripes can be flattering on anyone, be sure to opt for the vertical stripe for a slimming effect or similarly a darker stripe to

have the same slimming effect. Opt for the horizontal stripe for small chested people and a narrower stripe if you are short.

Erasmus corner

Portuguese student Marta Ribeiro, who is studying at the University of Salford this year, shares her experiences.

I’m back in England now, and seeing all the new people arriving in January made me think about my very first week last year. Since I couldn’t access to the internet, didn’t know anyone and couldn’t use my credit card correctly, I needed to find a way to not panic and hope I would survive it.

So I wrote letters to make me feel like I was talking to my sister and my friends. It helped, actually, and since I didn’t send them because eventually I got internet, it was funny reading them again. All my adventures on the first three days in England were documented on a lovely little 22-page letter.

Now, I feel like I own the place.

That’s completely ridiculous, since I’m always humiliating myself while I try to get used to this. I promise myself that I won’t fall again in the airport with all my luggage and end up not being able to stand up because they were really heavy, or I won’t take the wrong bus and go to the opposite side of the town by accident. The worst part is that I have a problem; I always laugh

when I’m really nervous. So basically I was in the floor of the airport laughing while three old ladies were looking at me also laughing. At least people were nice.

I think making fool out of ourselves is one of the most important things when going to live in a different country. No one expects us to be super brave and know what we are doing all the time, because we won’t and that’s not the point; we just need to laugh. I say that ice cream resolves all the problems in the world, but laughing is a good solution too and if you don’t do it and get sad every time something doesn’t work like it suppose to, you are in a real trouble.

So, laugh and remember that no one knows you here. You can take your time and be a lost soul, because you’re not from here so they’ll be easy on you.

Actually I think English people are very nice and try to help.

Maybe they have a foreignpeople-radar and know that we desperately need help, or maybe it’s just our terrible accents. I

wish there was something in the air that would magically make us speak with a British accent.

Not the Liverpool one, however, (sorry!) – more like Colin Firth and Keira Knightley.

I hope that after more six months my accent gets better.

Meanwhile I’m trying to improve my English and try to get a job since this is my last year - I’m sorry Portugal, it’s not me, it’s you, you don’t have jobs anymore - but the problem is that I never worked in my entire life.

I’ve done a lot of volunteering jobs and a lot of sports and workshops throughout my life, but I don’t have work experience so this has been really difficult.

For those of you that are trying to get a job, I advise you to take a look at the University website in the careers section since there’s a lot in there to see.

To finish this article, I’d like to welcome any new students that started University in January.

Good luck! I hope England will treat you as good as it has been treating me.

Salford student Nathan Thompson, is studying in The Netherlands as part of the exchange programme and writers regularly for The Salfordian about his time abroad Much like at home, here in the Netherlands, Valentine’s Day is not just the commercialised “holiday” for the loved up masses to exchange cards, plan romantic meals, and basically getting into the mood to hop on the good foot and do the bad thing. It is also a time for the single masses to don their best clothes, dowse themselves in a chokingly strong amount of perfume or cologne, and get into the frame of mind required for meeting another single member of the opposite sex.

The need to overcome the single blues is never more strongly felt then when all you see around you are happy couples. And so I, being a privileged member of the single people club, I also did my best.

My attempt though came in the form of attending a party titled “Superheroes in love” which,

as you might be able to tell, is a fancy dress party where all attendees were required to dress in something resembling a superhero.

Now, I am a guy that is always prepared to get into the spirit of things. I dug out my Halloween costume; donned the cape, hat, wig and mask of the great hero ‘V’ (from ‘V for Vendetta’ see it if you haven’t already) and went looking more like a creepy villain than a hero. However, fancy dress parties are a good excuse to go somewhere dressed like an idiot, so I was feeling quite optimistic as I went to the venue, a club called Shadrak – Worse.

Name. Ever – I gave it an hour to get there fashionably late, I should have given it two.

When I arrived, there was just me and another hero couple, standing around looking quite forlorn. After another hour a

few more people came, I was meanwhile drinking something in the hope of forgetting the fact that I was dressed as a knife wielding, Guy Fawkes impersonator. More people were coming in ones and twos, none of them wearing anything remotely superhero-like. I had been expecting you see Supermen dancing with Wonder Women.

Maybe a Batman finally caught kissing Catwoman. Instead, apart from one or two customers, and the bar staff, I was the only one in full costume, something which did nothing towards my feeling of self-consciousness. I quickly lost the hat, cloak, wig, and mask. And decided that the all black outfit I was also wearing would suffice, although in the darkness of the nightclub I must have looked like a floating disembodied head and hands.

Needless to say I didn’t stay long.

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Viewpoint : 27

A life in the day of a beauty pageant Jasmine Patel

To take part in a beauty pageant is not like an everyday job: accountant, a pharmacist, a doctor, a construction worker, a manager, a graphic designer, or any 9 to 5 working hour jobs. A beauty pageant could appear several times in a life for those that are lucky, for many people it appears once in a lifetime, yet for most people, they can only dream to appear in one. So that one time is the only time to shine. It’s a chance to release that inner goddess within and show everyone what you have got.

The main misconception about a beauty pageant or contest is it’s all about beauty: being judged on how you look, but that’s not true at all. It’s not all about looks, but the way your personality and your confidence as a women shines through.

I am Jasmine Patel, aged 20, and I am officially Miss Ashton Under Lyne 2013 in the Miss India Worldwide UK competition. A regional contest was brought to Manchester, at the Grand Palace Hotel for the first time to qualify for the Nationals, and it’s been an honour to be part of the first Manchester finalists and to be the first Miss Ashton Under Lyne.

Excitement, excitement and more excitement was running through my body as I had been chosen for the North

West finals to represent Ashton Under Lyne. I jumping up and down with joy!

I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. You have one day, one evening to showcase your talents, to be the best and to chase the crown. The preparations in the run-up are hectic. Hectic and manic are not even the words to describe it.

Two weeks before the live finals: for someone whose starting from scratch and wanting to break through is a struggle. A photoshoot and a show reel are in order! Every contestant needs promotion: who will be crowned the next queen? Fittings to ensure my gowns and dresses fit. The gowns are by the designer: Merabi by Nadine. Her dresses have recently been launched for sale in Selfridges. When I walk in to Selfridges and get a little excited, I start telling those around me that I wore this dress at the Miss India regional’s contest. It’s even more exciting when you see Michelle Keegan, more commonly known as Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, standing next to dress, as seen in the Style etc magazine. Catwalk training! Back straight, hand on hip, starting on the left foot, the right foot should come directly in front of the left. Remembering the choreography, everyone should be in synchronisation that too, to keep the femininity, the head shouldn’t drop and we scan with our eyes. You can’t talk or whisper to the next person to turn, count the seconds in your head and always keep smiling. When you make your entrance, don’t walk too fast, or too

slow, walk with the flow of the music, and POSE to the left and to the right for the camera. Remember, the catwalk is to show-off the fashion, so have the attitude.

As I was saying before, the contest is not just about beauty, it’s also a platform to showcase your talents. I had one week to get a dance prepared that would engage the audience and impress the judges. It’s always better to do something different.

Nearly every contestant had come with a dance. Tina Phillips, representing Bolton, sang a traditional Bollywood song. I thought her voice was amazing.

I must say, last year’s winner and Celebrity Big Brother contestant, Miss Deanna Uppal’s suicidal act shocked the audience with her creativity: The act was based on the actors boyfriend whom was considered dead over the phone, in which she commits suicide by drinking poison, as she cannot live without him.

In the end she dies, and her boyfriend is still alive.

The last round is a question and answer round and it’s all about giving an intelligent answer. Some questions could be personal about yourself and rude, but you can’t retaliate against it, the better you handle the question, the more marks you get. I remember they asked me: other than your mother, who do you think is the best women in the world and why? Since it was Miss India, and the judges are looking for a well Indian cultured woman, amongst great women, I thought it would be appropriate

to answer Aishwarya Rai (Bride and Prejudice), who is a Bollywood actor, as she is seen as a role model to other Asian individuals. She won Miss World in 1994, she is very well cultured, traditions lead her life, and she is also very talented.

She is rated as the most talented dancer alongside Madhuri Dixit.

That was it, of course in other beauty pageants there are more catwalk rounds with bikini wear and so on.

Sunita Pall, who won Miss Derby, participated in the finals of Miss England, and Miss Supernational. To express her differences in the beauty pageants, describing Miss England, she said, “This event is a lot bigger and has many more rounds than the regional’s, making it extremely competitive.”

However, the adrenaline rush was on to find out the final results. It became even more nerve- wrecking, when the judges asked us to do the catwalk again, to have a last look at the contestants. It’s quite hard to keep a smile, as your cheeks twitch and your teeth are shaking inside your mouth.

Of course they announced Miss Ashton first, and I came in second place, followed by Miss Bolton and Miss Manchester. The photoshoot at the end was something to look forward to, because it was an opportunity to take pictures with friends and family and you could receive the pictures for free.

I thought it was over, furthermore Miss Ashton had been disqualified, therefore I had to take her place and take the crown to the finals. The news was very last minute, and I literally dropped everything. With the support of my parents, I made it to Heythrope Hotel in Oxfordshire. As soon as I got there, there was a sign saying “Filming in Progress”, so it definitely felt big, more describable as famous, celebrity-red carpet. This was a great opportunity for to make new friends and meet people in the arts field. I was the only person from the North who showed in the finals. Jaya Patel, director of Miss India said: “Miss Jasmine Patel is Miss India WW (Worlwide) UK Ashton.

She represented the North as only a

Graceful Indian woman could. She will carry out all the duties for MIUK in the North in the absence of Miss Manchester and Bolton.”

I arrived the day before, in preparation for the finals. As well as a day of concentration, I was there to enjoy myself to and not to stress too much. The catwalk routines had to be learnt and practiced. The format was the same as the finals, 3 catwalk rounds in different types of dresses, (churidaar, choli suit, and a ball gown dress) a talent round, and a question and answer round. The talent round had more variety with roti-making, more singing, and different style of dance including belly dancing and Bharat Natyam. I think the judges at the national pageant were looking for an all-rounded Bollwood person, whereas the regional pageant, I felt as though the judges were looking for a more BritishIndian cultured girl. Meeting Nadine Merabi was a special moment, but meeting Bollywood star Anuj Saxena was also a big moment if my life too. In the national pageant, there were more chances of winning other titles, with the likes of Miss Bollywood Diva, Miss Photogenic, Miss Naturally Beautiful and Miss Charity etc. The winner of Miss India World Wide UK 2013 is Miss Nehal Bhogaitra from Leicester. I’m very pleased the judges chose Miss Bhogaitra because she has a disability of deafness.

Miss Bhogaitra said, “I want to break the barriers that society has created.

Having a disability isn’t an obstacle but an opportunity to exemplify nothing is impossible.” Miss Bhogaitra will now compete on a worldwide level in April.

Succeeding to the national level, with the first ever title of Miss Ashton Under Lyne has been an honour and a fantastic opportunity. Making new friends and meeting people with a celebrity status has made special moments in my book of memories. It’s not an everyday thing, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, making it unique. Before, I was just a dreamer; I can now say I’ve accomplished the dream. Stand tall, and walk like it’s your red carpet.

28 : Arts

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Film interview

Music review

The Virginmarys- King of Conflict Sally Leibovici Arts editor

The Salfordian Q&A:

Mark Waring

Our arts editor speaks to Mark Waring, the animation supervisor that worked with Tim Burton to bring Frankenweenie to life about what makes the film so appealing to audiences of all ages as well as what it’s like working on such a fun project.

Sally Leibovici Arts editor Sally Leibovici: Stop motion animation is possibly one of the finer sides of filmmaking, what type of challenges did you meet while filming Frankenweenie?

Mark Waring: We had to face many different challenges on all sorts of different levels. We based our whole film on inanimate objects, therefore it’s harder to work with than with actors. We also had to shoot everything for a later conversion to black and white, so it was harder to tell what certain shades would look like, sets, expressions and so on.

Shooting for black and white was harder for the camera department, I’d say. It was sort of like re-learning the techniques used in the 30s. The main challenge for the art department was probably distinguishing between all the different shades of white as well as black.

SL: Was it more difficult filming with a 3D conversion planned later on?

MW: Well, we could have shot everything in 3D right from the very beginning, but it would have taken too long and we were on a very tight schedule. Certain things were shot in 3D from the start, while others were not.

There were many different levels that we worked on. Everything has to be shot separately when you’re doing stop motion animations.

SL: The whole concept and filming techniques adopted for Frankenweenie resembled the cinema vogue of the 50s, why do you think this had so much appeal to audiences?

MW: The story in itself is timeless. It’s a genre that will never grow old. Tim Burton just took it and worked with it so well that audiences didn’t feel like it was out dated. There were

also different characters present that are still loved and played upon to this day, such as vampires, Godzilla, mummies, Black Lagoon Monster, etc. All the elements that appear in this film are timeless. It’s familiar territory that people will always be happy to revisit whether they are young or old. I think that Frankenweenie is literally a mashup of what Tim Burton loves as well as his personal experiences as a child.

SL: What is it like working with Tim Burton? Do you get a lot of say in the creative process or does he like to steer everything?

MW: Tim Burton is quite a generous director to work with.

Although he has a clear idea of characters and design he leaves

lee-way to other creatives working on the film. He has a core of people around him that he likes to work with closely. Even though he always has other projects going on he is always very involved with each project.

The thing about him is that if he’s happy, he’ll let people work in some of their input as long as the outcome is along the lines of his vision. If it’s mainly going towards his initial overall view of the project he is more than happy to immerse further creative input into the project.

SL: This movie is based on an earlier version from the 80s, how would you say the story has evolved?

MW: Well, Tim Burton always wanted to make Frankenweenie

The Virginmary’s “King of Conflict” is simply one of those finer things in life. It’s a rollercoaster of subtle tributes, raw emotion and superb inspiration. It doesn’t falter on any track, but rather sticks the knife in and refuses to stop twisting and believe you me, you’ll enjoy every second of it.

“Dead Man’s Shoes” blasts off with a groovy vibe only to propel you into a singeing anthem that does justice to rock music. It’s one of those adrenaline infused head-bopping tunes that works perfectly as the album’s opening track.

The second song “Portrait of Red” is no less enticing as its predecessor.

With “Baby treat my body like a canvass” as its repeating motif, there’s so much raw sex in this song that you’ll feel the need to draw your blinds. It’s dirty and naughty, and so down to earth with its Hendrix-like solo halfway through.

“Just a Ride” deserves to be the song of this decade. Lyrics that growl the derelict truths of relationships and a bass line that makes hairs stand on end can only make for the perfect musical display of hurt and anger.

There’s no other word to describe the song apart from “perfection” and this word isn’t thrown around easily.

The rest of the album is just as much of a contemporary urban portrait.

With songs like “ Running for My Life” and “My Little Girl” these guys grasp the notion of innovation all the while paying their respects to great bands of the past.

The Virginmarys are the next big thing. They should be on everyone’s shelf, in everyone’s mind and most of all in everyone’s earshot. Blast them up next time and they will surely blast your numbing mind away. They’re an antidote for the masses and deserve to proclaim themselves “Kings of Conflicts”, you won’t know whether to cry, laugh, have sex or punch the sad pathetic stranger that’s sitting next to you on the tram.

into a feature-length film, but due to money and pressure from Disney studios he wasn’t able to back then.

Now with his notoriety he was able to finally create what he always wanted to.

Obviously this new version of Frankenweenie is based on the short film that he made 20 odd years ago, but he realized that he needed to expand. He needed to develop his characters and storyline to work in a feature-length film. All the monsters are based on the initial movie and even though some things have been added, the main theme, the main message of the short film are still present in this one.

SL: There is an extra Sparky short on the Blu-Ray release, are there plans to continue making more?

MW: It was a great opportunity for me to work on it. I got the chance to direct it myself. I loved the idea of Victor making shorts on super 8 film. It was a nice thing to do, but it would have been even better if we could have done more while working on the feature length. When we were sitting and brainstorming for this extra bit we made a list of what else he could film. There’s a list that we might tap into in the future, or not, but I think it’s great that we’re keeping Victor alive through the possibility of him “directing” B-Movie style shorts in the future. It would really be something great to do.

Q: Thank you for your time!

A: The pleasure was all mine.

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Careers : 29

Spotlight on... a career in teaching

Work experience in teaching: a case study

Photograph: George Eastman @ flickr.com

Ellis Cullen is currently taking part in the UCATS high school mentoring project at Buille Hill Visual Arts College. Following her involvement on the project, Ellis has recently been successful in securing a place on a PGCE course. Here she blogs about her first day!

The UCATs high school mentoring project The University of Salford Community and Action Team are currently working in partnership with locally based High Schools Albion Academy and Buile Hill College for Visual Arts to offer support to pupils aged 11 to 16.

The programmes, which run on a yearly basis, are a great opportunity for Salford students to gain subject specific, classroom based experience of working with young people and mentoring skills with support from teachers and the lead mentor at the school.

The project provides relevant work experience for students considering a career in teaching or working with children and many students who have completed the project have been successful in securing an offer for a PGCE course.

Before embarking on the project, successful

students undertake training, which enables them to familiarise themselves with the classroom support students within the school require as well as learning about the methods and strategies of how this is delivered. The training includes: volunteer induction, safeguarding children, working with children training, and planning and designing teaching and learning.

The students then volunteer on a part-time basis over the course of the school year.

They work alongside the teacher to support pupils to succeed in the activities and tasks they are required to undertake.

The deadline for the 2013 / 14 intake is Sunday 3 March 2013. To apply online, go to www.careers. salford.ac.uk/page/uscatsprojects

Today was my first day as a Mentor at Buille Hill. I was a complete mix of feelings – I was so excited to go into something I just knew I was going to love – but I was also nervous, remembering the pressures of high school and the teenage angst and the hormones flying round – how would the students take to me, this intruder into their school?

Well. It was fine. Completely fine.

I was welcomed with open arms up into the LSU (Learning Support Unit) which will generally be my base for the year. I was shown to where all my files where, popped my bag away in a locker, and got down to looking through the scheme of work I would be guiding the students through.

This, at first, when I looked at it alone, seemed daunting, a huge mass of paperwork that I didn’t understand – especially when it started talking about phonics – I hadn’t touched on stuff like that since primary school so these kids were gonna’ know more than me – how am I going to mentor them? Then Gill sat me down, and went through the Catch Up Literacy programme with me, and explained everything.

What I found best about it was she said, if I think that this won’t work for me, I can do whatever I want, as long as, at the end of my time with the students, we reach a main aim – to get their reading age UP! (Here I should say that Catch Up Literacy is a programme of work that Buille Hill use to guide their

students through and get their reading age up – it consists of small spelling tests, phonics tests, reading record sheets and targets which I can set for the students and we can talk about together). I’m incredibly excited to be able to use my own initiative, and discover for myself what works for one pupil may not work for another and experience this, and deal with this first hand. This will all be invaluable experience not only for my PGCE application, but for my future career as a teacher!

After all this, I got to go and meet my first pupil! For the time being, I go and collect the pupils from their classes, which I did this first time with Gill. It was great getting to meet one of the students I’ll be working with and getting to know them. The student took to me really well, if a little shy – so all my worries about them all hating me were obliterated. The half hour I spent with the pupil went so fast. I introduced myself, went through a few questions, did a quick spelling test, then we went off to find a book and read for the rest of the time. I had a great time and hopefully my pupil did too! I picked up that the pupil wasn’t particularly expressive in their reading, so this is something I think we’ll try and work on next week.

I was amazed when Gill took me down to the library – there were loads of books that were perfect for the scheme of work I’ll be embarking on, and I felt really good as I came up with the idea of maybe next week, reading

a poem with afore mentioned pupil, in order to encourage expression.

What was also fantastic about my first day, was meeting Natalie, a student also in the third year of her degree who now conducts an after-school club for the school called Screen Reads, where the students that come read a popular novel that has been adapted into a movie. This week they were talking about The Hunger Games, and developing some protest posters about District 13, and “The Hunger Games” themselves and expressing their opinions on if they thought the games were right or wrong. I found this incredibly interesting and BIG thanks to Natalie for letting me sit in the club! I will definitely be going again next week. It gave me a chance to chat to pupils about their interests and was some down-time after taking in a lot of information through the day. Natalie is also applying for her PGCE, which is great for me as I have someone else I can talk through the application process with! Fantastic!

Overall it was such a good day, I really enjoyed myself. Hopefully next week will be even better with more students to meet and attend to and different challenges ahead. It’s going to be a busy few months but I am so excited about the experience and the time I’m going to spend here. All members of staff have been extremely accommodating and friendly. Let’s see what next week holds!

To read more blogs from Ellis about her experiences on the project, go to: www.universitysalfordcommunityactionteams.wordpress.com

To find out more about careers and opportunities, or to apply for the volunteering or job openings below, visit www.careers.salford.ac.uk

Volunteering opportunity

of the week Organisation: NOISE Festival

Job vacancy

of the week

Position: NOISE Event & Marketing Volunteers

Deadline: 1-Mar-2013 Friday Location: Manchester Part-time Position description: • Event ambassadors (marketing)– helping spread and marketing the event regionally (across educational establishments, community groups, youth/culture hotspots etc) • Artist and speaker liaison – looking after the professionals and invited NOISE guests • Stewarding – being on hand for to greet all our visitors, give information to guide them and make everyone feel welcome.

Person requirements: Reliable • Enthusiastic about fantastic customer experience • Good knowledge of local cultural/ youth hotspots for Greater Manchester Promotion • Attention to detail and hands-on approach• Self-starter and able to handle multiple tasks in demanding environments, Motivated, flexible and enjoys/ thrives working in a creative team, Passionate about arts, music and culture, Excellent verbal skills and great people skills

Organisation : University of Salford - Student Life Position: Casual Fitness Class Instructor - SELF EMPLOYED Salary: £neg Location: Manchester

Deadline: 1-Mar-2013 Friday

This is a ‘Self Employed’ opportunity. Successful applicants will need to arrange their own Tax and National Insurance paperwork and payments. International students from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) cannot apply for this ‘self employment opportunity’.

Person Requirements Individuals should hold a recognised Fitness Class qualification and the rate of pay will be discussed on application. Looking for individuals that hold the following Fitness Class qualifications: Exercise to music.Studio Cycling, Boxercise, Pilates, Yoga, Zumba.

30 : Your Union

From the archives Every week, The Salfordian brings you a clipping from a past issue of the Salford student newspaper.

This week: headline story, 9 October 2000

Want to buy a Salford hoodie? Confused about how the Students’ Union and want to know more about what it does for students?

Want to find out how to contact your Sabbatical Officers? You can find all that and much more at www.salfordstudents.com

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Sport & Activities: 31

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Sport & Activity groups at Salford Remember you can join a group at any time! For more information, visit www.salfordstudents.com

Pop goes psychology Scott George Robertson

inclusion of a bibliography”. (Witkowski, 2010 publications, the general public have a minimal andStollznow, 2010) understanding of what psychologists do and Some potential dangers of self-help books what ‘psychology’ is all about. according to areLum, (2001) are; people may Many believe Psychology was “mind reading falsely label themselves as psychologically and spiritualism”, (O’Connor, Joseph & John disturbed, people may also misdiagnose Seymour, 1993) and that it had no real application themselves and use material that deals with the in everyday life. wrong problem, and, people may not be able to In reality, psychology is more about studying evaluate a program and may select an ineffective human behaviours and experiences that could one. very well have strong applications to everyday Psychobabble is described as the misuse and life. or overuse of technical psychological terms as described earlier.

Sometimes psychological jargon is used to dress up sales pitches, selfhelp programs, and New Age ideas to lend these endeavours a respectable scientific appearance.

Other times, people use psychological terminology to describe every day, normal experiences in a way that musicalises a normal behaviour, such as feeling sad after a loss, by suggesting that unpleasant emotions are a type of psychopathology, like major depressive disorder.

People may use psychobabble because they believe that complex, descriptive or special esoteric terms more clearly or more dramatically communicate their experiences of social and personal situations, or because they believe that it makes them sound more educated.

Some of these terms that have an origin in psychological terminology and are typically misused include co-dependent, dysfunctional, meaningful relationship, narcissistic, and synergy.

Despite the various Famous psychologist: Sigmund Freud

Sebastian Niedlich at www.foter.com

As this is the first post, I would like to welcome you to the Psych’d Blog.

This week we will be looking at the generally recognised popular ‘pop’ psychology.

The term ‘pop’ psychology refers to concepts and theories about human mental life and behaviours that are predominantly based on psychology paradigms, these attain popularity among the general population. (Tosey & Mathison, 2006) This phrase is often used in a somewhat dismissive fashion to describe psychological concepts that appear oversimplified, out of date, unproven or misinterpreted.

However, the term may also be used to describe professionally produced psychological knowledge, regarded by most experts as valid and effective, that is intended for use by the general public.

The term ‘pop psychologist’ can be used to describe authors, entertainers etc. who are widely perceived as being psychologists. Not because of their academic credentials, but because they have projected that image or have been perceived in that way in response to their work.

Pop psychology can come in many forms, self-help books; The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck, TV, radio and print advice; Dr Phil (America) and Dear Abby and psychological terminology making its way in to everyday language or psychobabble; Inner Child, Freudian Slip or as it should be known Parapraxis, this we will get to later on. (Dilts et al, 1980 and Corballis in Sala, 1999) Pop psychology is an essential ingredient of the self-help industry. According to Freud and Schulte’s, criteria for a good self-help book include- “claims made by the author as to the book’s efficacy, the presentation of problemsolving strategies based on scientific evidence and professional experience, the author’s credentials and professional experience, and the

Salford beats and bass society

Salford’s brand new volleyball club G. Fenci After the sport’s great success at the 2012 London Olympics, for the first academic year the University of Salford Students’ Union has finally got a Volleyball Club.

The first semester has been extremely enjoyable with two training sessions a week during which we have all got to know each other and bond together, with the perspective of forming a men’s and lady’s team for next year. We are also planning on joining the BUCS tournaments, and initiating Salford Volleyball to compete against other universities.

Currently the training sessions are mixed and we welcome any kind of ability, we are trying to organise the sessions in order to make everyone notice improvements as we progress. A lot of beginners have already gained more confidence and control over the basic passes and game tactics. It is said that the coach can be a bit “bossy” at times, but loud and encouraging compliments are made for good game performances!

All in all, the club is extremely friendly and would like to see our numbers grow, making more people appreciate and enjoy what a great and fun sport volleyball is!

If you are new in Salford and feel like you would like to get to know more people and join in, or if you would like to give Volleyball a go, come down to one of our training sessions and meet the troop.

Aside agonistics, we also like to have fun and take part in every Rec Night and will be joining the rest of the sport groups on tour next April.

To find out more information about the club or join, visit www.salfordstudents.com/volleyball

Sport & Activties: 32

ISSUE 15 / 25 FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.SALFORDSTUDENTS.COM

Men’s badminton: Salford v Cumbria Luke Betts

Fencing: Merseyside Open Fencing Tournament Bryony Pearce Sports and activities editor

Other results: Women’s football: Liverpool 1st 7 – 2 Salford 1st Men’s football: Salford 1st 2 – 1 MMU Cheshire 2nd Salford 3rd 1 – 2 Blackburn 1st Salford 4th 2 – 2 MMU Cheshire 5th Men’s rugby league (cup): Oxford 2nd 6 – 68 Salford 1st

Next week: HOME: Men’s rugby union: Salford 1st v Bangor 1st 2pm, at Castle Irwell Men’s rugby league: Salford 1st v Manchester 1st Time TBC, at Castle Irwell Women’s rugby union: Salford 1st v Keele 1st 2pm, at Castle Irwell Women’s football: Salford 1st v Liverpool 1st 2pm, at Castle Irwell AWAY: Men’s basketball: Manchester 1st v Salford 1st Netball: Liverpool 3rd v Salford 1st For more details and information visit the BUCS website at www.bucs. org.uk

Women’s basketball:

Salford 1st 37 - 40 Liverpool Hope 1st Bryony Pearce Sports and activities editor

best novice award by just one place, overcame almost a third of the field as he placed 63rd out of 96 entries.

In the same event Matthew Holt, who along with Challinor was competing in just his second ever competition, fought hard to place 90th.

With over 100 competitors entered into the men’s Epee, Aden Peets and Luke Magnall were up against a broad field.

Magnall went into the competition with a back injury, and so did well to even compete, but he went down fighting and finished 103rd out of 107 men, in his second competitive fencing meet. Peets had a good weekend as he finished a few places higher than his team mate, in 83rd position.

Salford’s fencing club was founded in 2011 and has grown significantly in such a small period of time.

They meet every Wednesday in Allerton Hall, 5.307.30pm, and cover all three weapons and all abilities.

No experience is required and all are welcome.

For more information you can contact the team at ussufencing@gmail. com, or look them up on Facebook by searching ‘USSU Fencing Club.’

The women’s basketball team put up a strong fight last Wednesday as they came head to head with Liverpool Hope’s first team.

With two games still in hand, the Salford girls are currently situated in third place in their BUCS league, whereas Liverpool are down in fifth, bottom of the table.

Despite being the better team on paper, Salford narrowly missed out on victory as they lost a close battle 37-40, giving Liverpool their first win of the season.

Salford’s next game is on March 6th, against Sheffield Hallam Universities 2nd team, away. Sheffield are top of the league and will no doubt be a tough game for the girls, with just one loss all season.

Photograph: Hanna Sjöberg

Photograph: Hanna Sjöberg

Salford’s fencing team were back in action again on February 16 and 17 as they took part in the Merseyside Open Fencing Tournament.

The tournament was well supported and saw increased participation with record entries in the men’s Foil and men’s Epee events.

Salford displayed some encouraging performances, with Kieran Byrne topping the weekend with his eighth place finish in the men’s Sabre, just four points adrift from a podium position.

The Merseyside Open is one of the oldest and hardest competitions in the country, and with the event being some of the men’s second competition; the Salford team really stepped up to the mark.

In the men’s foil Stephen Challinor, who missed out on

walking away with the first game 21-18.

The second game started very slowly for Leong as he soon found himself five points down. However, through patient play he soon found himself leading 6-5 as Robertson repeatedly hit the net.

Through composure and confidence Leong eased his way through the game with a range of light dinks and smash shots to seal the game 21-14 and claim the match.

One of the final matches included a line-up of Ian Shorrocks and Carl Andrews vs Robertson and partner in a doubles showdown.

This was arguably one of the games of the day as both teams played a great flow of liquid badminton. Salford started lively with some particularly powerful and clever placements from Shorrocks which found the far corners well.

Cumbria were also quick to react to shots and came away 21-15 winners of the first game. The second game followed the same pattern as both sides battled it out with each other with some stylist play.

Unfortunately with a game that could have gone either way it was Cumbria who shared the spoils with a close 21-18 victory to seal the victory and the day.

With some talented Cumbrian players, Salford’s men had their work cut out this week but it can be safe to say they gave it their all to match the standards set.

The overall score Photograph: Hanna Sjöberg

Photograph: Hanna Sjöberg

Last Wednesday Salford’s badminton team were paid a visit by Cumbria and after last week’s matches, Salford came into this with their heads held high.

First up in the line-up of matches was a singles match for Carl Andrews. His opponent who paraded his England

t-shirt indicated that this would be a tough match up for Andrews.

The match started out pretty even with both parties creating a range of confident shots, forcing each other long before switching to tense net shot affairs.

Cumbria’s Robertson displayed some fantastic smash shots showing his talent, but Andrews matched these with some impressive placed smashes himself.

Unfortunately, through lack of concentration Andrews saw his opponent pull the scoring in his favour after the first game with some lacklustre

wide misses, with the first game ending 21- 12.

The second game looked to be following suit for Robertson who had a clear point margin thanks to his precise smashes, however, glimmers of a revival from Andrews kept the Cumbrian on his toes.

However these momentary acts of brilliance were spoilt when he gave away a succession of points through silly errors. Andrews will know he could have done better as he exited the court two games to zero down on this occasion.

It was then Salford’s Chieng Lee Leong who was next to step up, and he also faced Robertson from Cumbria in an attempt to restore some pride into the Salford camp.

The first game became the feeling out process as both players were not on top of their game, with many errors being produced, but it was Salford’s Leong who took advantage of this period of play