Issue 198

THE SAINT The independent voice of St Andrews students since 1997

Empty beds in halls may indicate progress in accomodation level

ISSUE 198 • FREE 26 November 2015 thesaint-online.com

Viewpoint Isaac Leaver on why the NUS referendum was always irrelevant

Total of 362 beds available across both Unviersity owned and private halls Rachael Miller Editor Despite worries about accommodation amongst students in St Andrews, the University has revealed that there are 155 vacant beds in University halls of residence. Across the private sector, in Ayton House and East Shore halls of residences, there are a further 207 beds available.

Of the 169 beds which are occupied in these private halls, 50 of those in Ayton House are currently home to pupils from St Leonards school, whose own dormitories are currently under redevelopment.

Pat Mathewson, President of the Students’ Association, warned Ayton House that their rents were too high to attract students earlier this year.

In the light of these statistics, he said: “The vacancies in private accommodation are the product of two factors, price point and late advertising. A vacant room is of no use to students if it is unaffordable, an issue on which the Students’ Association has been particularly vocal. Likewise, a room substantially advertised after the ac-

commodation rush is of no use to students, such was the case particularly with the East Shore site, completed just before term time began.

“Our housing challenges are about more than empty beds, they are about the quality and price of student homes.”

When asked to explain the high number of vacancies in University halls, Niall Scott, director of corporate communications, told The Saint: “It is a very broad mix of factors – some residents have found private sector accommodation and moved out, some deferred entry for a year, some are on leave of absence, some have transferred to other universities and on the whole we had a smaller entrant class this year than in previous years, at the same time as the redeveloped Fife Park was reopened.”

The redeveloped Fife Park apartments opened for the first time at the start of this semester, providing an additional 248 beds compared to the last academic year.

Mr Scott emphasised that these Continued on page two

Page 26

Money We bring you the lowdown on the St Andrews’ Christmas markets

Page 13

Arts & Culture The a capella society’s festive concert kicks off Christmas

Photo: Maryam Golafshani

Principal Louise Richardson bids farewell to students as she leaves for University of Oxford As we bid farewell to Louise Richardson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, The Saint looks back upon her extraordinary time in the Bubble, in a one-on-one interview with Professor Richardson herself.

As the first female principal of the University of St Andrews (and soon to be the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford), Professor Richardson arrived at the University in 2009, not sure of what to expect.

Despite a wealth of experience, with her CV boasting such illustrious names as executive dean of the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University well before she arrived in Fife, she confides that the Bubble provided an entirely new experience.

The interview covers a variety of issues, reflecting the wide variety of challenges that Professor Richardson has faced over the years. From the financial problems facing higher education institutions across the UK since the recession, to guiding the University steadily up the League Tables to nip at the heels of Oxford and Cambridge, Professor Richardson has certainly had her work cut out for

her.

Professor Richardson also spoke about the divisive accomodation issue in the town, saying that the problems may be exagerated by the “rumour mill” in St Andrews, whilst acknowledging the need for the issue to be taken seriously by her successor.

She discussed current talks ongoing throughout the University of switching to an American style Grade Point Average system, to alleviate current concerns surrounding degree classifications.

The Principal, who is also a recognised expert on terrorism, also im-

plored students not to live in fear in the wake of the recent attacks in Paris.

Reflecting fondly on her time in St Andrews, Professor Richardson also picked out the highlights of her time here; from meeting Hilary Clinton (who she told The Saint she firmly supports in her Presidential ambitions), to guiding the University through the Scottish Referendum (a subject she passes by in silence), and managing to raise £68 million for the University during the 600 year anniversary celebrations.

The full interview can be found on page 16 and 17.

What to wear to the Hogwarts themed Christmas Ball Page 32

Events Leighton Lacey questions the value of Champar

Page 25

thesaint-online.com

Inside the paper

We interview Louise Richardson as she prepares to leave St Andrews

Features, pages 16-17 Photo The community gardens through Page 23

Viewpoint

Arts & Culture We publish the winners of the Medsin and Frank Muir writing competitions Page 31

Events

Lila Velcoff on whether switching to a GPA system would be worth it

We interview Israeli diplomat Yiftah Curiel

Page 10

Page 26

26 November 2015 • The Saint

155 empty beds in University halls still available for second semester Continued from page one figures across both University and private residences show there is a sufficiency of accommodation in town, but “whether there is a sufficient variety to cater for mixed needs and different price points is entirely another question.”

“Care should be taken before drawing superficial conclusions from

£660

Photo: The Saint

2 News

one month’s rent for the cheapest Ayton House bedroom these figures,” Mr Mathewson added.

“University accommodation is currently above 96 per cent occupancy, with the overwhelming majority of those vacancies due to personal matters such a deferrals, leaves of absence and withdrawals from a student’s course.”

Mr Stuart agreed with this sentiment, saying “it would be dangerous to over simplify an interpretation of these statistics.”

He continued: “We are very much aware of the pressures students can face in trying to find suitable accommodation and in some cases dealing with private landlords offering substandard properties at relatively high

The opening of Fife Park apartments has perhaps helped alliviate accomodation problems prices. We remain committed to providing more new university managed accommodation in St Andrews to lessen pressure on our students and to take some of the heat out of the accommodation market in central St Andrews.”

Any student wishing to take up one of the empty beds in University halls for next semester is still able to do so.

These figures come in the wake of Principal and Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson’s comments in an interview with The Saint published today, who reassured students that the accommodation problems may be being

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number beds free in private halls exaggerated by a “rumour mill” and that “people get themselves into a tizzy unnecessarily.” She pointed to the empty rooms in University halls to back up this statement.

Both Ayton House and East Shore refused to comment on this matter when approached by The Saint, as did St Leonards school.

Editorial board Editor Rachael Miller editor@thesaint-online.com Deputy editor (print) Mina Omar print@thesaint-online.com Deputy editor (online) Devina Puri web@thesaint-online.com Video editor Alex Miller video@thesaint-online.com Illustration chief Dillon Yeh illustration@thesaint-online.com Business manager Kim Kay business@thesaint-online.com Business team Thomas Bradley Quarton, Claire MacPherson, Teresa St Goar advertisig@thesaint-online.com

Editorial

A fond farewell to Principal Louise Richardson

As Principal Louise Richardson prepares to leave us for the hallowed halls of the University of Oxford, The Saint would like to thank her for all her years of hard work. Many will miss her, and we wish her the best of luck as she moves on to the next stage of her illustrious career.

In the wake of our interview with Professor Richardson (published on pages 16 and 17), it has become clear that there are many issues that her successor will need to put serious thought towards. A whole host of issues face the University, from accommodation to the grading system. During her interview, Professor Richardson raised the discussions currently being held about potentially changing the current marking system over to a Grade Point Average (GPA) system. The GPA system, used almost universally in the US, calculates students’ academic achievements by averaging the grades they receive over the period of their courses.

This subject will likely cause much debate in the upcoming months, and

perhaps even over the course of the next few years. We here at The Saint would like to encourage this debate as much as possible. The current marking system – the 20 point scale - and the system of degree classification seems to be failing many students.

To start with, there is too much breadth in what constitutes a 2:1. As previously reported by The Saint, 59 per cent of students graduate with a 2:1. This may understandably lead those graduating with an average mark of 16 to feel slighted that their degree is given the same status as somebody scrapping a 13.5.

The problem is compounded when a staggering 85.9 per cent of graduates receive a 2:1 or above. To think that 85.9 per cent of the approximately 8,200 students can be sorted into one of two grade bands seems ridiculous. The huge variety in both quality of work, and effort put in, which can be found in any seminar room is testament to this. The problems with the current system are clear, and Louise Richardson is right to highlight them.

The Saint is glad to see that these much-needed discussions are taking place. Yet agreeing that a problem exists is only the first step.

On the one hand, having a GPA calculated over the full four years of study could alleviate some of the intense pressure felt by honours students, and prevent the phenomenon of a vast majority of students entering third year with little idea of how to study, because their grades never mattered to them before.

On the other hand, this would arguably detract from some of the fun and appeal of a St Andrews degree, as many of us only find our own unique style of writing after a year or two of practice. The fact that grades – assuming you pass, and it’s hard not to – do not count for much in first year other than personal pride is a blessing to many Freshers. The stress of leaving home, often travelling to a totally different country, making friends and learning to do your own washing (heaven forbid) is a daunting enough experience, without adding the pressure of grades into the mix. But is it

worth a little more stress in first year, to stop the headache of third and fourth?

This is all up for debate, and The Saint hopes to see Professor Richardson’s successor fully engaged in this discussion.

Another important issue for the next Principal is the subject of accommodation, which though worn thin by this point is still imperative. It remains to be seen what long term effect the construction of both the New Fife Park Apartments and the two private halls will have. Though the sheer number of empty beds across Ayton House and East Shore halls could be a positive sign that the housing crisis may be dying down, it could also be a worrying indicator that they are simply too expensive to be of much benefit. East Shore may also have been built too late for many students to learn about them this year.

Either way, Professor Richardson’s successor will hopefully appreciate the importance of both accommodation affordability, as well as availability.

Clearly the new Principal has a lot to think about, and rather big shoes to fill.

The Saint is an entirely independent newspaper, run by students of the University of St Andrews. It is published fortnightly during term time and is free of charge. The Saint is not affiliated with the University or the Students’ Association. The text, graphics and photographs are under copyright of The Saint and its individual contributors. No parts of this newspaper may be reproduced without prior permission of the editor.

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News editor: Joseph Cassidy Deputy editors: Catriona Crookes, Lauren Charlton, Jamie Macwhirter news@thesaint-online.com

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Campaigners for St Andrews rail link to meet with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, met with St Andrews Rail Link (StARLink) campaigners and officials from Transport Scotland yesterday, in order to discuss local and regional transport plans for the future.

Speaking to StARLink last week, members told The Saint that they are hopeful this meeting will lead to plans for the reopening of the St Andrews railway line, which has been closed since January 1969 following a decline in use.

The meeting was proposed by the First Minister after an enquiry was made by Willie Rennie MSP (Mid Scotland and Fife), with Ms Sturgeon stating that the Scottish government is willing to consider suggestions for new passenger services where there is evidence of benefits.

In an online statement, StARLink expressed their confidence “that the manifest benefits of a reinstated St Andrews rail link can be robustly demonstrated and we will continue to develop our case until we secure a governmental commitment to a new St Andrews rail link.”

Railway lines in the Borders and Midlothian area were recently reopened as part of Transport Scotland’s

current £5 billion investment programme, which hopes to “ensure that as many people as possible have access to the rail network.”

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland stated: “Although the St Andrews Rail Link does not feature in our current investment programme, we are committed to on-going improvements to rail services and connectivity and are willing to consider proposals for new stations where there is clear evidence of benefits, subject to affordability and a suitable business case being identified.”

StARLink campaigners note that the St Andrews and Borders railway lines were closed on the same day in 1969, making now a good time to pursue a new link to the Fife town.

Jane Ann Liston of StARLink noted the “fresh impetus” which the reopening of the Borders line has given to the campaign in St Andrews. She stated, “The construction of 30 miles of railway shows that building the 5 miles required for St Andrews can and should be done.”

Ms Liston continued, “It is nothing short of a national disgrace that St Andrews, the Oxbridge, Canterbury and Wimbledon of Scotland all rolled into one, does not have a railway. It is the only Scottish university town without a station, sharing this doubt-

ful honour across the Border with only Buckingham, Cranfield, Keele and Lampeter.”

Though estimates indicate that the required construction cost could come to over £76 million, Mr Rennie, who is also leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has also advised ministers to seriously consider proposals: “We have seen from the new Borders railway the positive difference that improved rail links can have in terms of the number of visitors coming into an area and extra jobs.

“The Scottish Government should investigate if St Andrews could benefit in the same way.”

Ms Liston similarly vouched for the economic incentives of restoring the link, saying that connections to St Andrews would “greatly enhance the town’s ability to boost the economy, especially the chance of increasing the knowledge economy centred on the University.”

She also mentioned the environmental benefits of students, tourists, commuters and golfers reaching the town by train.

The StARLink convenor expressed her belief that the University has a large role to play in this campaign.

She told The Saint: “Back in 1969, with 2000 students due to return after Christmas on Monday 6 January, the

University pleaded with British Rail (BR) to delay the closure by just one day to allow them to return by train; however, BR refused and the last train ran on Saturday 4th as planned.

“Since then the number of students has quadrupled, adding to the pressure on the town and strengthening the case for a railway.”

“We are glad to say that supportive comments have been made by the Chancellor Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, Principal Louise Richardson and Rector Catherine Stihler,”she said.

Miss Liston recommended that students contact their local politicians and visit the StARLink Facebook page if they want to support the campaign, stating: “The louder the town shouts, the more likely the politicians are to listen.”

Tata Steel released a report and track-layout proposal in 2012, suggesting a shorter 4.8 mile route which is now being pursued.

StARLink has also secured a meeting with the new Head of Economic Development at Abellio Scotrail, in the hopes of pursuing their case.

Photo by Wikipedia

Lauren Charlton Deputy news editor

The original St Andrews rail station before it was closed down in 1969 after 117 years

St Andrews property named as Fairmont hotel to undergo rennovation the “best building in Scotland” Joseph Cassidy News editor

Photo by Wikipedia

Fairmont St Andrews, the five-star and award winning hotel, will undergo a multi-million pound interior refurbishment programme over the next 18 months.

The result will see the existing atrium area re-designed with new features including the installation of a bespoke lighting sculpture by renowned designer George Singer.

Commencing in January 2016, the refurbishment programme has been planned to maximise the experience for leisure, corporate and event guests at one of Scotland’s leading hotels and will be carried out in phases so as not to interrupt normal business.

The refurbishment will begin with the re-modelling of the Kittocks Den Bar, the lobby and the atrium, followed by the corridors and bathrooms.

John Keating, Fairmont St

Andrews general manager, said: “We are committed to ensuring the hotel remains one of the most prestigious resort properties in Europe and therefore are continuing to invest to ensure our bedrooms and facilities exceed guest expectations.”

The 520-acre estate has commanding views over the Tay Estuary, the North Sea and the St Andrews medieval skyline, as well as boasting two championship golf courses and impressive conference and event facilities. The hotel is a major draw for US, Chinese and European guests who consider St Andrews one of the most significant golf locations to visit, as well as an in-demand venue for business meetings and private milestone events.

Opened in 2001, the hotel is a major local employer and helps contribute to 9 per cent of the local workforce, with tourism revenues in Fife valued at £98m per annum.

Jamie Macwhirter Deputy news editor A St Andrews property has been named the best building in Scotland for 2015.

West Burn Lane was awarded the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Andrew Doolan prize after topping a field of twelve projects which included the Glasgow’s Theatre Royal and the Dalmunach

Distillery in Moray.

The high-end contemporary development’s designers, Edinburgh-based Sutherland Hussey Harris, received the £25,000 award at a ceremony in the National Museum of Scotland last week.

Previous winners of the prestigious award include the Museum of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament building.

The judging panel looked for pro-

jects displaying “innovation and design excellence, irrespective of size or type.”

They also praised the residential commercial development for being “expertly woven into the existing fabric of St Andrews.”

They also added that “although uncompromisingly contemporary, the development acknowledges the historic street pattern and the scale of its special context”.

Introduction of Forth cruises may be boost to tourism in the Bubble Joseph Cassidy News editor Increased funding for tourism could potentially open up a new visitor market for St Andrews and the East Neuk.

CruiseForth has been awarded £13,500 for its Project Inspire campaign, aimed at promoting cruise passenger tourism opportunities in east central Scotland, including the River Tay. St Andrews is already a popular tourist destination and it is thought that cruise passengers from ships

docked at Dundee could significantly boost visitor numbers.

Patrick Laughlin, of St Andrews Partnership, told Fife Today that: “Dundee already welcomes around 10 cruise ships and year, and the good news is that they are looking to increase that and that presents even more opportunities for St Andrews and north east Fife.

“We will be looking to work closely with CruiseForth and tour operators to make passengers aware of what we can offer – golf, of course, but two distilleries and a host of other destinations.

Ken Dalton, chairman of the BID St Andrews steering group, said: “There is a lot of interest here for passengers.” He added that the BID would hope to see the introduction of regular day trips to St Andrews from Dundee.

Local councillor Brian Thomson stated: “I hope more can be done to attract cruise ship passengers. I will be discussing the potential further with council officers.”

It is hoped that the cruises will help to keep tourism figures in St Andrews high after the boost from The Open golf championship last year, which saw thousands of visitors to the town.

4 News

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

Fife Council orders the removal of a 54 foot long pergola in the West Port’s beer garden Fife council is to order the removal of the 54 foot long structure used as a cover in West Port Bar and Kitchen’s beer garden.

The original application for plannig permission innacuartely described the structure as a pergola – defined as ‘an arched framework with climbing or trailing plants.’

It was initially built three years ago after being granted planning permission by Fife Council.

However, since its construction, local residents have claimed it should not have been given the go ahead due to a large amount of opposition to the plan.

Before construction began, locals demonstrated their disapproval of the plan, saying the pergola would “scar” the historic area. St Andrews resident David Turner, who owns the property which overlooks the West Port beer garden, was particularly opposed to the plans. He told The Courier that it was a “remarkable planning scandal.”

After the retractable roof was constructed over the beer garden, Mr Turner claimed that his late mother was unable to sleep due to the noise from customers and suffered from stress as a consequence during her illness.

Fife Council have now apologised to Mr Turner for its failure to deal with the application properly.

A recent ombudsman’s report showed that when the pergola was initially proposed, councillors wrongly stated that no objections had been received and the application was approved prematurely. It had also beenbuilt higher and closer to Mr Turner’s garden than orignially permitted.

To solve this problem, the officers recommended an enforcement notice be served requiring the 12 foot high frame and retractable roof be reduced by 30 inches, to bring it in line with the initial plan.

Following this report, Fife council was forced to consider whether to carry out these suggestions or to take away the planning permission entirely.

Last week at a joint meeting of the council’s north-east Fife area and north-east Fife planning committees, the decision was made to revoke the planning consent altogether and order the structure to be taken down.

This was despite warnings of the potential costs that Fife council could incur in paying compensation to the West Port owners and in removing the structure, which may well be significant.

Changes to the West Port’s licence have recently limited the use of the beer garden, but councillors at the meeting voiced concerns that there restrictions could be relaxed in the future.

Councillor Dorothea Morrison said that the decision to remove the pergola was the only option, saying “I don’t think the recommendation resolves the problem.”

Planning senior manager Pam Ewen argued the ombudsman’s recommendations were a reasonable compromise for all parties concerned.

Had the structure been built according to the reccommendations, she

said, it would not have been overbearing in the town’s conservation area.

Mr Turner said: “It is a horrendous embarrassment to Fife Council that it still proposed this action, even at this stage.”

In reaction to the ombudsman’s report, the council say they have improved the process of objection log-

ging, issued new advice to staff and are reassessing procedures for recording notes and photographs from site visits.

The West Port Bar and Kitchen manager was unable to comment on events as they said that they are still in the midst of ongoing legal proceedings.

New divinity institute founded University acquires Virginia Woolf letters by father and son academics A large collection of Virginia Woolf’s personal letters has been obtained by the University. The letters allow an exclusive insight into the author’s life and work and include two previously unseen photographs of the writer.

Brownlee Kirkpatrick, who became the official bibliographer for Virginia Woolf in 1951, collected the letters and photographs after consulting the writer’s husband, Leonard Woolf.

The collection includes many letters from Leonard to Kirkpatrick.

These reveal how Kirkpatrick’s role as official bibliographer brought her close to Leonard Woolf and enabled her to contact many of the surviving members of the Bloomsbury movement, including Vanessa Bell, Vita Sackville West, Harold and Nigel Nicolson, Quentin and Olivier Bell, John Lehmann, George Rylands and many others who are present in the collection.

The letters written by Leonard Woolf after the death of his wife reveal much about the writer and the couple’s relationship. They also discuss the projects they worked on together including the publishing house, Hogarth Press, which Leonard and Virginia Woolf established and which went on to publish Virginia’s novels, T. S. Eliot’s masterpiece The Wasteland, Dostoyevsky’s The Devils (which was partly translated by Virginia Woolf) and the complete works of Sigmund Freud.

For some time the special collections unit of the University of St

Andrews has been working with school of english to create a Virginia Woolf and Hogarth Press research collection. The archive material will be open to both academic and public audiences and is located in a dedicated special collections reading room.

Susan Sellers, professor of English at the University, is general editor of Virginia Woolf’s writings for Cambridge University Press.

Professor Sellers has written an award-winning novel, Vanessa and Virginia, about the dramatic relationship between Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell.

Professor Sellers said: “The value of this acquisition cannot be overstated. This archive provides a wealth of information not only about Virginia Woolf the writer, but also offers fascinating glimpses into Virginia Woolf the woman through the letters of the people who were close to her.

“Various members of the so-called Bloomsbury circle are here, and it is fascinating to see history in the making as Virginia Woolf’s posthumous reputation begins to be recorded and manufactured. This archive will put St Andrews even more firmly on the map as a world-ranking centre for the study of literary modernism in general and Virginia Woolf as one of its great proponents in particular.”

The University acquired the collection through the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Friends of the National Libraries. The archive has greatly expanded the University’s strong holdings of literary manuscripts, which are made accessible for teaching and research at all levels

Joseph Cassidy News editor A new institute to study global problems will be based in St Andrews, it has been announced.

The Logos Institute will specialise in the study of analytic and exegetical theology.

The range of questions it will consider concern the existence and nature of God, God’s relationship to time, the nature of the person and the conceptual and social challenges confronting religious belief.

The latter will include interdisciplinary analysis of the challenges of religious hostility, sectarianism and, indeed, terrorism.

The institute is being launched by a £1.6 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation which supports research relating to the major questions of human purpose and ultimate reality.

Photo: University of St Andrews

Catriona Crookes Deputty news editor

The work of the institute is founded in the collaboration of father and son academics Alan Torrance, professor of systematic theology at St Mary’s College of the University of St Andrews, and Dr Andrew Torrance of the University’s School of Divinity.

Alan Torrance applied to the Templeton Foundation for funding to launch an institute for analytic and exegetical theology to be based at St Andrews and, separately, Andrew Torrance applied for funding to expand his work on communication with schools and churches, for which he had previously received a grant of more than £500,000.

The Foundation decided to combine the two applications to create the Logos Institute.

The new institute, which will open in the summer of 2016, builds on existing resources at the University.

These resources will be accompanied by the appointment to part-time

Photo by Sammi McKee

Catriona Crookes Deputy news editor

positions of four leading international thinkers and a further full-time, senior appointment.

In addition, there will be research fellowships, six PhD scholarships and a new Masters programme as well as a series of public lectures, a blog, a website and podcasts.

Professor Alan Torrance said: “The impetus for the new institute is the remarkable sea-change that has taken place in philosophy.

Over the last three decades, a sizeable proportion of academic research in philosophy has been directed toward questions bearing on the existence of God. This renewed interest has resulted in major advances in the field and a wealth of published research. It is in the light of these significant developments that ‘analytic theology’ has emerged.

The Institute will bring this new generation of theological research into conversation with the world-class expertise we have here in biblical studies, philosophy, psychology and international relations.

“Our primary concern will be to explore the immense explanatory power of Christian theism and its relevance for how we understand the ultimate significance of human life,” said Professor Torrance.

“We shall be doing this in dialogue with exciting new developments in contemporary Biblical scholarship.

“One of the key research topics will be the nature of forgiveness and what this central Christian notion might mean for how we approach religious enmity, sectarianism and, indeed, terrorism.”

The Saint • 26 November 2015

News 5

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Study finds white English youths are less likely to go to University than other ethnicities A recent study conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has shown that young people from every ethnic minority group are “more likely to go to university” than their white British peers.

Even groups which have previously underperformed academically, such as those of Black Caribbean ethnic origin, are now more likely to go to university than white British pupils.

The study, which was conducted in England, also recorded the socioeconomic background of its participants, finding that less than 13 per cent of the poorest white British children (those who come in the lowest socioeconomic quintile group) go on to university.

This means that working-class white British children are now the least likely of any group to go on to higher education. They are followed by young people of mixed ethnic origin from the same socioeconomic quintile, only 24 per cent of whom enter university.

The research also found that the

numbers of white British children from from the highest socioeconomic backgrounds attending University are falling behind compared to individuals of other ethnic groups within the same social class and who attain similar academic results.

55 per cent of white British youths from upper tax-bracket households go to university, meaning they are now being outperformed by every ethnic group within the same socioeconomic quintile, with the exception of Black Caribbean (53 per cent) and Other Black (48 per cent) young people.

Moreover, 66 per cent of the poorest youths of Chinese ethnic background enter university, making them 11 per cent more likely than the richest white British pupils.

The report showed that overall Indian and Chinese youths are the most likely to attend university.

13%

of the poorest white children in England go to university

Government proposals to potentially exclude univeristies from FOI Act Marco Marcelline Universities will potentially be excluded from the Freedom of Information Act, if government proposals are passed.

In a government green paper, released on 6 November, the Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson set out a vision which would mean that universities cut costs in the long-term, as Freedom of Information requests are quoted as being responsible for a cost of around £10 million per year to institutions.

However, the plan to exclude universities from Freedom of Information requests has been attacked by Labour politicians who accuse the government of “removing accountability from public services.”

Louise Haigh, the shadow Cabinet Office Minister said: “On the government’s logic, we would have to exempt almost all public services from Freedom of Information given how far their privatisation programme has gone.”

The government retorted by pointing out that vice-chancellors of universities have argued that as universities today rely more often on private funds, they should no longer be compelled to respect Freedom of Information law.

Ministers established an independent commission on Freedom of Information to review the act in July.

The commission has been heavily criticised for being a“stitch-up” to counter the work of journalists, campaigners and members of the public.

In addition to the backlash to the current events, there has been mounting concern at the way in which the government has handled civil liberties.

Critics point to the creation of the Snoopers Charter, which they argue greatly diminishes the right to privacy, and the planned axe of the Human Right Act last month.

Chris Grayling, a cabinet minister, was criticised for having said that the Freedom of Information Act was being used as a “research tool” to “generate stories” for the media.

The Student Publication Association (SPA) condemned the proposals, writing on their website: “The Student Publication Association is calling on all its members to help fight any proposed changes to weaken the Freedom of Information Act. “We believe it’s important that power is held to account, and the FOI Act is a vital tool in making sure this happens.”

The green paper also includes plans to set up a social mobility advisory group which would aim to increase the number of black and ethnic minority students by 20 per cent by 2020, and it is currently undergoing consultations until January.

Freedom of Information requests have previously been used by The Saint to find out how much money was raised by the Univeristy each year and how many students graduate with a first class degree. It has also been used to gain information on student numbers and the size of the Union’s block grant.

Experts have blamed a lack of ambition amongst white British youths for these results.

The study focused on those taking their GCSEs in 2007-08, who thus could have either started university in 2010 at age 18 or 2011 at age 19. This predates the increase in tuition fees which occurred in 2012.

Claire Crawford and Ellen Greaves, research fellows at IFS and publishers of the study, stressed that their findings do not necessarily mean that British ethnic minorities do not face bias in the selection processs for entry into university, as indicated by other studies.

They suggest that the discrepancy may be caused by young white British people from the lowest socioeconomic quintile being less likely to apply to University in the first place.

The Saint contacted the University to request a breakdown of students by ethnicity.

The results indicate that 91 per cent of all students at the University are white.

A spokesperson for the University explained that: “The IFS paper was based on only English students, and progression to HE does differ

91%

of St Andrews students are white in Scotland from the UK in general.

Therefore the results of the paper cannot be applied to Scotland.”

The spokesperson went on to explain that the focus in St Andrews “has never been on ethnicity, but on breaking down barriers regardless of background.”

“That is why the University has introduced a new package of financial support which removes upfront costs for undergraduate students from the RUK whose household income is less than £42,600,” they said. “Meanwhile our most ambitious fundraising drive to-date continues to fund scholarships, while the University commits 40 per cent of the additional fee income it receives from RUK students to bursaries and financial aid.”

They concluded: “Our mission is simple: to remove any obstacles to the brightest and the best fulfilling their potential at St Andrews.”

Game, set, match: students reprimanded for storing partridge Joseph Cassidy News editor Students in Agnes Blackadder Hall have been reprimanded for storing game animals on the premises.

In an email sent to residents, the hall administration staff said: “We are aware that some students enjoy shooting game as a sport, however as you are living in a communal hall it is not appropriate to store/prepare game animals on the premises.

“Disciplinary action will be taken against those who persist in this practise.”

A spokeswoman for the University said: “Some complaints were received after a student tried to cook game in a communal kitchen. Residence managers responded with a reminder of the need for consideration in commu-

nal spaces. No disciplinary action has been taken.”

One of the students who was reprimanded over the issue, speaking to The Saint on the condition of anonymity, said that the animal (a partridge) had in fact been shot by one of their friends. They said: “To be honest I thought the whole thing was quite funny, I couldn’t really see why it was any different from having a chicken to roast.

“Mostly I just wanted to eat them so it was vexing in that sense.”

The email, which was posted on the Overhead in St Andrews’Facebook page, gained considerable attention on social media, receiving nearly 900 likes on the page and also being mentioned on Twitter by Buzzfeed reporter and St Andrews alumnus Jamie Ross.

The St Andrews Boys’ Brigade group is on the verge of collapse.

If the group cannot find anyone to replace its leaders and officers, most of whom are nearing retirement age, it may be forced to disband.

Captain Steve Donaldson told The Courier: “It’s not just a BB company which if it folded could start up again in the future.

“It is a business which generates several thousands of pounds a year.

We have the hall to operate and the cottage.”

He said the shortage of affordable housing for families in St Andrews contributed to the lack of adult volunteers, as former brigade members moved away from the town in adulthood.

New whale migration study released Cultural traditions among Southern right whale populations are shaping their genetic patterns, according to a study led by the University of St Andrews.

The research, published on Monday 9 November in Nature Scientific Reports, reveals that migratory behaviour, learned from a whale’s mother in its first year of life, is an important factor in shaping the genetic structure and recovery of the endangered whale.

New “stormy stars” are discovered The discovery of a tiny new “super stormy” star could have major implications for the search for habitable planets outside the Solar System.

A team of astronomers, including researchers from the University of St Andrews, has identified a small star with a monstrous temper which shows evidence of much stronger flares than anything our sun produces.

Most read online

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St Andrews Boys’ Brigade may have to shut down

1) Delayed exam timetable release causes frustration for students 2)Invesitagtion launched after complaints from students about The Big Space storage service 3) Police appeal after man found seriously injured in St Andrews 4)NUS referendum cancelled

6 News

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

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InFocus: Alexandre Ciric, the Students’ Association’s Accommodation Officer

“There’s no need to panic when looking for houses and I hope that is the message that gets conveyed to students” Following the recent How to Rent talk, The Saint sat down to chat with the Accommodation Officer Joseph Cassidy News editor Accommodation is persistently one of the most confusing, complex and often stressful issues that St Andrews students face. Therefore, the Students’ Association Accommodation Officer, Alexandre Ciric, arguably has one of the hardest jobs of our volunteer student representatives.

As part of his, along with Naomi Edwards’, the Accommodation advocate and the Accommodation Sub Committee’s, efforts to improve students’ access to information about housing, a major talk to teach students “How To Rent” was held this month (10 November), the sub-committee has held drop-in sessions in all student halls and has released a revamped, easier read to guide on how to deal with accommodation in St Andrews.

These new initiatives mark a renewed approach to concerns surrounding accommodation in St Andrews, as Mr Ciric, who was previously the Member for University Accommodation says. “What we did last year was we went into halls, [Ms Edwards] spoke for 15 minutes, giving a very dense talk, talking about contracts and deposit schemes, things that a first year does not necessarily need to know when they first think ‘I need a house.’”

Mr Ciric explained that he felt this

Our pitch in general, is based on a student going in clueless and then build up from there

Photo by Lorelei Pfeffer

caused some problems for the team.

“Not every hall had great attendance, not a lot of people asked questions, we didn’t have the guides to give out that we do now.”

As a result, both Mr Ciric and Ms Edwards agreed that their approach needed “tweaking.”

“We ended up, after some brainstorming, saying ‘ok, how about we do one big talk in the Union?’ Anyone can come, then we’ll follow that up in halls with these drop-in sessions where residents can come and ask us questions and it will be more informal,” Mr Ciric said.

“I think that’s a lot more conducive to people asking questions than [Ms Edwards] throwing all this jargon at

them and then me trying to say ‘it’s going to be ok guys, don’t worry’,” he added.

The events held by the Accommodation team so far this year have been enormously successful.

Over 120 people were in attendance at the How to Rent talk. This is a stark comparison with the team’s most successful event last year, which only 15 people attended.

“People want information about housing, and what the SRC subcommittee is trying to do at the moment, at this time of the year, is provide that information from a student’s perspective,” Mr Ciric explained.

“What we sort of focused on in the talk was ‘this is what the landscape is like’. We said there are letting agencies, private landlords, explained things like ‘this is where you find property lists from the letting agencies, this is where you go and find a private landlord’.”

The team are pushing for students to use online services like Zoopla and the St Andrews Student Pad more,.

They also provided information on what to consider when deciding to become a commuter student, presenting the advantages and disadvantages.

“Our pitch in general, is based on a student going in clueless and then build up from there,” explained Mr Ciric.

The talk itself was designed to cover most major concerns and questions over housing, with the drop in sessions providing an opportunity for people to put forward more specific queries.

“At some of these drop in sessions, people have come up to me saying anything from ‘how do you start?’ to ‘one of our flatmates last year had a health issue, how does this affect our

likelihood of getting a house?’

“I try to provide as honest answers as I can, people come to us with a really wide background and varying amounts of knowledge about how to get a house,” Mr Ciric said.

In giving people advice, Mr Ciric says he will often ask if they know what the first step for getting accommodation is. Most students who are

We’re there to help students navigate, what is arguably a very nuanced landscape trying to secure private accommodation for the first time can not tell him.

If this is the case, he starts his advice with the basics. The first piece of advice he gives is to decide who you want to live with early on.

“My favourite spiel to give is that you can live in the nicest house in town but if you hate your flatmates, you’re going to have a terrible experience,” he said.

“Secondly I’ll say ‘go and ask your warden right now for a reference’, because that is something that they can give to you in five minutes.

According to Mr Ciric, the team always try to give students concrete pieces of advice which they can take action on immediately.

“It is daunting,and we’re there to help students navigate, what is, arguably, a very nuanced landscape,” he said.

Mr Ciric also told The Saint that many students often struggle with the legal language that they encounter in the process of signing a lease and securing private accommodation.

“Students should absolutely go to [Ms

Edwards] if they ever just aren’t comfortable signing an agreement,” he said.

He also added that “very few contracts are malicious, but the Union offers a lot of support if you need it.”

Mr Ciric also outlined how the team deals with the subject of private landlords at their talks, a topic that is of particular concern to many students following allegations earlier this year that some private landlords in St Andrews were charging students illegal fees.

“We told the students, be sure to apply common sense, as a general rule of thumb and be proactive. And when it comes to private landlords that includes things like a simple Google search and checking that they’re registered with the council.”

The accommodation team does not intend to slow down after their recent events, Mr Ciric emphasised.

They are planning to hold another drop-in session, but instead of having them in halls, they will host them in places more accessible to most students. “In sub-committee meetings we are talking about doing it in the library, or in the Union, and aiming to have it around that first or second week of second semester when letting agencies will be releasing their lists,.

That’s when the big rush for housing begins to start,” Mr Ciric explained.

Another major event which the team plans to host during second semester is an accommodation forum, where students can discuss their concerns, issues and ideas with representatives from the Union and University.

“Last year when we held it, the Director of Residential and Business Services was there, the President of the Students’ Association was there, people from Student Services were there.

“There were about a dozen students who went, and even though there was a relatively low turnout, people who went were able to voice their concerns, and after speaking to all of the people from the University, they said that was really helpful. So we’re looking to hold an event like that again,” Mr Ciric said.

He also spoke to The Saint about the more regular, everyday work that is involved in his role as accommodation officer.

This includes convening forums for senior students from every hall to discuss their concerns and ideas, sitting on the Student Representatives’ Council (SRC) and working with other representatives on various projects.

As an example, Mr Ciric pointed to his recent work with the SRC Environment officer, Alice Pickthall, to publicise a service from Transition (an environmental group within the University) where they offer low energy lightbulbs for free.

Mr Ciric also explained how revamping the How to Rent guide to make it simpler and easier to read

was a major project that took a significant amount of time and effort.

Asked what he felt the accomodation team have improved on since last year, Mr Ciric said: “Last year, we only really did things like flatmate speed dating events and that was it. I said we should change it up “I think there is more focus now on the drop in sessions and the how to rent talk that there was last year. I feel like we’ve done a good job in changing events.”

Explaining what he hopes to hvae achieved by the end of his time as accommodation officer, Mr Ciric said : “By the end of the year I just hope that students feel less clueless about housing, so people who are now in first year, or are looking for a house for the first time whatever year they may be in, won’t feel as clueless in upcomg years. I hope that they will feel comfortable giving advice to other students.”

Mr Ciric also emphasised that

By the end of the year I just hope that students feel less clueless about housing “there’s no need to panic when looking for houses and I hope that message gets conveyed to students.”

He added that “if you go about your housing application in a common sense way, if you’re proactive, if you’re organised, if you’re looking for a flat with the right people, you’ll get a house.”

“I’ve applied for houses as a student and it hasn’t always been easy, but everyone eventually finds a house that’s good for them,” he reassured students.

Mr Ciric also praised the work of the accommodation sub-committee, saying that “everyone does a great job in helping me make sure everything runs smoothly, especially in helping to run and organise events.”

He highlighted that as a result of the the sub-committee’s work, Angus and Stanley Smith, the post graduate student hall, now has a student-run committee for the first time in five years.

Overall, Mr Ciric and the accommodation team have invested a huge amount of time and effort into helping students navigate the problems of finding accommodation in St Andrews. As the interview concludes, Mr Ciric reiterates how he and the team simply want to be there to “answer questions from the point of view of a student.”

V IEWPOINT

Would switching to GPA be worth it?

Why awkward run ins need to be avoided

Editor: Tom Coombes Deputy editors: Alison Quinn, Beckie Thomas, Lila Velcoff

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Is the NUS referendum’s failure simply testament to our independence?

After the ‘Yes’ campaign withdrew from proceedings, Isaac Leaver considers the reasons why

R

eferendums are one of the most democratic forms of decision making. They provide a mechanism for bypassing the various layers of representatives and committees and ascertaining a resolution to a debate directly, through the people.

However, turnout and engagement are key to keeping a referendum credible, so logically the kinds of issues that are resolved with referenda are those which excite passions and mobilise otherwise apathetic voters.

Referendum topics are often those age-old, deeply divisive, questions of identity and autonomy which we saw manifest in the high-turnout referendum on Scottish independence and will no doubt see again when the UK electorate determines its future within the European Union. Referenda with low turnout, such as the far more technical proposition of mildly changing the UK’s voting system in 2011, are forever remembered as the damp squibs of attempted direct democracy.

These fundamental points render the recent and frankly embarrassing implosion of the scheduled university referendum which would have determined our continued independence from the NUS mystifying. With a majority of the student body not having had a say in the last referendum on NUS membership, the timing of the one set to take place on the 19th and 20th November is not entirely puzzling. However, a largely new electorate is not a sufficient prompt: it should have coincided with a radically new perspective on and appetite for the NUS that was at least palpable within the current discourse amongst students and preferably demonstrated through some sort of expression of popular will, such as a petition.

These criteria were categorically unfulfilled at the time that the SRC called for this recently-defunct referendum last April in an instance of what Pat Mathewson unequivocally described as “malpractice”.

I certainly do not remember a single person at any point last spring self-righteously thumping their pint down and declaring “You know what this university needs? NUS membership!”. Quite what those on the SRC who voted for the fateful motion were thinking would happen between then and now is anybody’s guess.

The last referendum on this subject in 2012 appears to have generated substantial chatter amongst student politics aficionados and caused a great deal of spilt

Do we really need the NUS? vacated positions. The campaign was suspended, and then shut down without the slightest hint of contention from either within the SRC or student body as a whole.

What is it that makes St Andrews students so unresponsive to the idea of NUS membership? Firstly, student activism and politics beyond the annual SRC elections (with a heavy focus on the position of Association President) is practically unknown to our quaint cobbled streets. The ‘Yes Scotland’ tellers who faced me as I entered my polling station to vote in September 2014 were local residents, not students filled with the youthful idealism of a popular movement sweeping across the country.

Even within the passionate throes of a general election, the sole expression of student political engagement were three tweed-clad young men with Tory rosettes and a Union Flag, trampling up and down South Street singing ‘Jerusalem’ in an act which I assume was in part self-satirising.

Purely as an observation, St Andreans are more content with their charity and creative events than with putting the world to rights and fighting the classic ‘studenty’ battles for equality and justice. Can you imagine that pageant of privilege, the Kate Kennedy Club, being free from attack by some fiery left-leaning fringe group in a much

more mobilised university such as Warwick or Sussex?

For the most part, we would take a glass of port and a cosy presentation about poverty over a protest in the pouring rain outside Parliament any day. The NUS, with its speakers at TUC conferences and mass demonstrations against tuition fees, simply does not appeal to a group of people for whom the last great outrage was the queue for Christmas Ball tickets.

This apathy towards grassroots activism, and the NUS in particular, is a result of both the geographic credentials of our university and the composition of the international and domestic students.

Out on a limb, in a small town bookended by the North Sea on one side and miles of farmland on the other, without a train station and with all of the basic amenities available at our doorstep, life in St Andrews can be famously insular and isolated from the rest of the country. It is not unheard of to never leave for weeks on end, inducing oneself into a comforting rhythm of library, class, grocery shopping, going out, and more library.

The great emotive issues of social injustice that undoubtedly spur some of our metropolitan counterparts into action seem a world away, barely ever touching our corner of Fife. Given our distinctively large international contingent, students instead maintain their ethical sights on international and global problems, using the power of their voice to educate their peers in the lecture theatre than to petition a government which does not even allow them a vote on the streets.

Couple this with a predominantly conservative student body, for whom the current status quo both in terms of the affairs of the state and St Andrews’ independence from a notoriously partisan left-wing organisation such as the NUS is totally satisfactory. If you like the way things are then apathy is as good as opposition to change, especially when that change does not appear especially forthcoming. The NUS has neither the outlook nor the agenda that would gain any traction with the students of St Andrews and incite them into pleading for membership.

In addition to the St Andrean cultural milieu, there is history. St Andrews has been independent from the NUS since 1975, and in that time we have evolved from a relatively poor cousin of Oxbridge (a mature student once told me of the ridicule Dundee students used to pour on their contemporaries across

the Tay during the 1980s, a curious inversion of circumstances to anyone au fait with our university’s Yik Yak feed) to a thriving institution with an academic record which precedes it across the world.

We have one of the most consistently buoyant student satisfaction rates in the country and have maintained a sense of community and heritage which is unparalleled at other larger universities. No one is saying that everything is perfect, but if one were to see a general trend in St Andrews’ fortunes over the last four decades, then the line would certainly slope upwards. Whether or not these accomplishments are directly related to our unaffiliated relationship with the NUS is immaterial; the point is that we feel generally happy, successful and secure. In that sort of climate, there is little enthusiasm for altering what appears to be a winning formula unless there is an absolute guarantee that only more good will come from doing so. Moving the centre of political gravity away from the comforting proximity of St Mary’s Place and towards a more distant and vastly less accountable organisation does not provide that kind of guarantee.

If the general mentality and particulars of the average St Andrews student already work to the d i s a d va n -

Illustration: Valeria Duca

Isaac Leaver

ink within the pages of The Saint, but, as with many elections, the great victor at the crucial moment of voting was apathy. The ‘No’ campaign may have claimed a fairly decisive 75% of the vote, but when this is put in the context of a turnout of 26% their triumph is somewhat diminished. Barely 1 in 5 students enrolled at St Andrews at the time cared enough about opposing NUS membership to actively vote against it. I need not say anything about the popularity of the ‘Yes’ vote. Fast-forward to 2015, and the situation remains unchanged.

The almost microscopic levels of discussion generated by the proposed November referendum voiced only weary disbelief that the matter had been raised yet again.

Even the claims of implicit partiality and misconduct on the part of the SRC and wilful ignorance of the preliminary meetings of the campaign teams on the part of Union- accompanied by the resignation of both spokespeople for the ‘Yes’ campaign- did nothing to motivate more than one student to attend the ‘Yes’ EGM held to replace the

tage of any pro-NUS campaign, the current events weaken their position even further. At a time when serious questions are being asked across the media and beyond regarding the tightened de facto parameters for freedom of expression within universities, the NUS’ “No Platform” policy has fallen, quite justifiably, under a spotlight of considerable criticism.

The prevarication of the NUS executive committee in passing a motion condemning ISIS last year is unlikely to cast the union in a better light following the tragic incidents that unfolded recently in Paris.

Finally, the worsening opinion of several institutions concerning the NUS has seen the disaffiliation of Imperial College, Southampton and Durham as well as the membership of Oxford hang precariously in the balance. There is a widespread tendency to approach the NUS with a certain degree of mistrust, especially regarding its recent dubious record in maintaining the accountability befitting of an avowedly democratic organisation. There may have been a time to join the NUS, but this is not it.

After all, do we really need the NUS? Apathy from most and ferocious opposition from some: these attitudes towards the NUS membership are the product of a university with a rich history of independence and internationalism, coupled with a detachment from the rest of the UK that has enhanced a global outlook.

As the debating chambers of member universities find themselves besieged from protestors with radical and often censorious agendas and the organisation empowering them to do so faces criticism for questionable democratic practices and greater readiness to condemn UKIP over ISIS, there is scant likelihood of those attitudes ever changing.

If I hadn’t made my position clear throughout this article, I welcome the probability that I’ll never witness an SRC with an NUS officer. With even the most left wing students in St Andrews wanting nothing to do with the NUS, I believe this sufficiently illustrates just how thankfully slim the chances of affiliation are.

Let us hope that the next student referendum will be over an issue that we all actually care about.

The views expressed in Viewpoint represent the views of The but The views expresseddo innot Viewpoint do not represent theSaint views of are Theindividual Saint but areopinions. individual opinions.

The Saint • 26 November 2015

Viewpoint 9

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Devil’s Advocate

Are we really exaggerating the extent of the housing crisis?

YES L

Tom Coombes

ouise Richardson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University, has claimed that there is no housing crisis. Yet last year, as every year before, we have been reminded that there was a crisis through the medium of Facebook groups, angry YikYaks and even a small demonstration. It was all terrifically exciting. So if it isn’t a crisis, what could Principal Richardson think it is?

Perhaps she is right, and the word ‘crisis’ is too strong. After all, having to walk in the rain in order to get to Boots isn’t exactly on a par with the Gaza strip is it? The fact is that the housing issue is exactly that: an issue. In spite of the slightly patronising assertion that people are working themselves into a ‘tizzy’, I do feel that people are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

There seems to be an obsession with living as close to town as possible, but where do you live at home?

I’m sure that some of you will indeed live close to the centre of some throbbing metropolis, where you stumble out of your door directly into a cultural melting pot, replete with markets, shops and the general to and fro of the big city, but I am sure that many of you live some walk from the closest place to buy a pint of milk or stock up on cheap burgundy.

Why is it that when put in a place far smaller than many of us originally come from there seems to be some sort of necessity to be a fireman’s pole away from the nearest caramel latte?

I won’t lie, I would be annoyed if I were to live some way out of town, not least because lectures are struggle enough to get to without having to strap on your hiking boots in order to make it down in time for the beginning of the presentation. But it really is something which we must simply cope with. It is not ideal but the fact is that you cannot change the size of the town. It is not well stocked on the housing front, but that is simply the fact of it.

Not only that but she also goes on to tell us that there are 376 beds available across two private halls with 155 vacant in university accommodation.

While certainly it is not ideal to live in accommodation under jurisdiction of the notorious fun police, known as wardens, the fact is that there ARE beds to be had in accommodation provided by the university, many

NO

Danielle Golds

of which solve the apparent issue of proximity to the bustling epicentre of St Andrews, with its single fountain and numerous ubiquitous paragons of high street consumerism. It is not necessarily a solution, but it is an option if one is as desperate as those who are to be heard loudly proclaiming ‘I may as well move to Dundee mate’.

Well go on then, it’ll probably be more fun anyway. There’s a McDonald’s.

In truth though there is no doubt an issue, I feel that Louise Richardson is right to hold back on naming it a crisis, though doing so does smack slightly of washing her hands of the situation before swanning off south to the considerably more numerous streets of Oxford. It is not yet a crisis.

There are not people living on the streets, nor are there a large number of people living in places which are genuinely only accessible by bus or car. But if the university does not act soon it could well turn into one.

It is likely to be a cornerstone of what the next Principal concerns themselves with, and it has not been helped by some of the mind-numbingly stupid ideas which have been given the go ahead; not least the opening of the private accommodation at Ayton House, which will no doubt continue to be a hilarious example of the ineptitude of the council and the Student Housing Company for some time, or the decision to raise the number of students accepted to the University without also raising the number of rooms on offer.

But right now we are not yet at the tipping point. Some of the issues really have been exaggerated, and while the current system could use some streamlining (something to get rid of those queues for a start), it has been slightly overblown at times. With a bit more sense from the university regarding the matter, the problems can be solved before it has a chance to become a genuine crisis.

It really is something which we must simply cope with. It is not ideal but the fact is that you cannot change the size of the town

“

We’ve all seen those lines outside of the letting agents... it’s as impossible as getting a Christmas Ball ticket

11%

21 votes

M

y walk into town only takes about fifteen minutes, and it gives me time to think and listen to music and get a little bit of extra exercise. But throw five heavy history books and a computer in my bag and I’m much less content with my walk. Then add maybe one bottle of wine, one jug of milk and a tub of ice cream and I get even less happy (it’s probably why I bought the ice cream in the first place).

As a student who cannot afford to have a car, cannot afford to take a cab everywhere and also cannot afford to live closer to town, I have found myself living further away out of necessity. And this is due to the housing crisis that is currently taking over our tiny town.

Sure, you find people once in a while who get a great deal right in town, but that is extremely rare. The sheer amount of luck required to get the flat you actually want is unrealistic and you hardly ever hear stories of people who ended up with exactly the price they were looking for.

During the housing rush of February 2015, I found the perfect flat on Greyfriars for an actually reasonable price because I was splitting it with someone. We jumped on it immediately. We were the first people to view it, the first to submit our application, and the first people to interview for it. But guess what? We didn’t get it.

I still don’t know what went wrong or how it could possibly be that when you are there first and the process is on a first come first serve basis, you still might not get the one you want.

This example demonstrates the four key problems in St Andrews’ housing market today. For one, there are simply not enough properties for every single student to live in or near town. The student population grows every year and the housing industry is

89%

176 votes

having a hard time keeping up. This issue is even present in the library where, because of an increase in students, there are literally not enough seats for everyone who needs to go.

Even the bathrooms aren’t sufficient.

Secondly, because there are not enough properties, letting agents are given a huge amount of power over students. On our side it is mostly chance.

Sure, you need to get your references in and everything but after that it’s all about luck. In the real world obviously letting agents still make those decisions, but usually you will be one of maybe five people applying, compared to here where you could be one of fifty. We’ve all seen those lines outside of the letting agents at 8am on a Monday morning, a trial usually reserved for Christmas Ball tickets.

Thirdly, pretty much everything you need is in the town centre. Yes, some of us live closer to Morrison’s than we do to Tesco or Sainsbury’s, but if you need to get a notebook or a library book, then a house on the outskirts of St Andrews or beyond is nothing but a disadvantage.

This isn’t like the student housing you find in London or other cities where no matter how far you are from campus there will still be a study space, Tesco Express or a Ryman close to where you live. Also, if you did live far away in London you could at least have access to multiple cheaper public transport options.

Finally, with demand for housing so high, the prices sky-rocket. We have all heard a thousand times how much more it costs to live here than anywhere else in the UK (don’t even get me started on the US) but somehow the story never gets old, it only gets worse.

The more students the university accepts, the worse the problem will get. It’s ridiculous how much cheaper it is to live only 15 miles away from town but, for the majority of students who need to come to town every day, this just isn’t feasible.

We all learn the hard way that we can’t always have the flat we fell in love with at the beginning of the housing season, but that doesn’t mean we should have to settle for the worst possible, and still most expensive option.

This is a crisis, and something must be done.

The The views views expressed expressed in in Viewpoint Viewpoint do do not not represent represent the the views views of of The The Saint Saint but but are are individual individual opinions. opinions.

10 Viewpoint

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

Is a switch to GPA really worth the trouble?

After Louise Richardson’s comments over a potential switch, do the pros outweigh the cons?

S

tudents who make the choice to attend St Andrews do it with their futures in mind. Whether this future includes an additional degree or a job, our university looks impressive on a CV. For Americans who come here, there is the extra consideration of applying to graduate school in the States after their time at St Andrews.

Universities in America, unlike those in Scotland, evaluate students in the form of GPAs (Grade Point Average). The specific GPA scale varies from one college to the next, with some being out of 100, some being out of four, and others consisting of letter grades. Either way, any of these scales can be easily converted to the next, which is essential for the application process. This is not the case for the University of St Andrews, with our results out of 20 and our Honours and Sub-Honours.

The most comforting phrase one hears as a fresher is “it doesn’t matterit’s only first year!” The knowledge that only a 7 is necessary to continue on to second year provides first year

Sarah Zearfoss, informed us that when we apply to universities in the United States, where it says GPA on the application, there is a zero.

Of course, this does not reflect our grades, but it’s still a little daunting.

Instead, our marks out of 20 for all of our courses from all four years (including first year) are provided. The marks out of 20 are given labels; a 15 is average, a 14 is below average, a 16 is above average, and an 18 is high above average. Four years of hard work converted to the simple phrase “average” is pretty depressing.

We asked Professor Hudson of the School of History here at St Andrews whether being an applicant from St Andrews puts us at a disadvantage when applying to universities in the United States. Professor Hudson is also a Global Law Professor at the University of Michigan, so his advice is valuable. Professor Hudson explained that although St Andrews students are not necessarily at a disadvantage, students with “average” grades are not very likely to get in, even with impressive LSAT scores.

It is hard for admissions teams at American universities to understand our grading system, which makes us require more effort to consider, and puts us in a position where our intelligence can easily be negatively misconstrued. For these reasons, the introduction of a GPA system would be helpful and beneficial for students

applying to universities in the United States after their time at St Andrews.

These advantages do not, however, outweigh the hindrances. The possibility of being judged on first year grades is not only dispiriting; it is also unfair to students who come from outside the United Kingdom.

In fact, it takes time for all students, whether from the UK or not, to become accustomed to university life here, so counting first year grades seems unfair and misleading.

First year is the time to find your friends, find your own voice, and find your writing style, so shouldn’t be under the pressure of seeking high

conversations for fun in the dining hall, preaching socialism and equality for all people. She wore her graphic tees and black outfits all the time and enjoyed her vegan Starbucks choices.

Patch was an enigma, and I think she both knew and loved it. We all did.

Though we didn’t agree on twothirds of what we ever talked about, I always knew she was truly listening and wanted to actually hear me out; to know what I meant. Nothing about Patch said “judgment” or “indifferent.”

On the contrary, she fought against real issues like eating disorders and the stigma surrounding mental illness. She promoted acceptance and understanding. She jumped at the chance to participate in humanitarian efforts. She liked “weird.” She wanted everyone to feel included and safe. Sadly, she had not always felt that way herself, but it made her that much more set on helping others.

Losing someone we care for can quickly make us question a whole host of things in our lives. Often, we may find ourselves feeling alone, assuming other people can’t understand, questioning what the purpose of this life is, and becoming heartbroken over little things that previously did not hold the least amount of significance to us.

After Patch passed away, I started crying while taking a shower, simply knowing that she would never again do the same. Seeing that she had been listed as “Going” to a future event on

Facebook really hit me hard. And, for days after her death, I became angry when I saw people laughing and joking because it just seemed so cruel.

Disrespectful, even. How could they be going about their days normally, when someone so young had just died? When someone with so much potential suddenly had none at all?

My purpose for writing this is to reach those who have lost someone and to let them know they are by no means alone. Patch was the first person I have lost who I saw every day; whose absence I really feel. I know what it feels like to be going through the healing process. I’ve been there. I am there. And, I know it’s hard to talk about all of the feelings that accompany a heartbreak like this. There’s no right way to grieve. It takes time, and that’s okay.

It’s also important to realize that a person’s passing can affect everyone who knew him or her differently. I was Patch’s friend, but my grief is extremely different than her childhood friend’s, her parents’, those who met her even once. We are all still affected by the loss. It changes us, and it hurts us.

But, there’s something special about the differences in the hurt we all feel, the differences in the specific things that I miss about Patch compared to those her best friend may miss, those that her professor misses.

Relationships are different because people are different. What has affected me most about Patch may have

gone unnoticed to someone else who knew her, while the same applies to their relationship with her.

This has become clearer to me since I looked at Patch’s Facebook after her death. I got a glimpse into just how influential she had been in so many different ways as I saw how many posts were from people who had spent time with her for a day a few years ago or who knew her only in passing. They shared their personal stories of how Patch made them feel appreciated, how she showed them friendship, and how they had admired her personality and fighter spirit. They felt like they really knew her, even just after those meetings, and they felt like she really knew them. All of them, but in different ways. That sums up Patch to me in a fantastic way.

I want to be more like her.

I want people to associate me with passion, and compassion, and I want them to know I will be there for them, to accept and listen to them. I want to believe a s strongly as she did in

grades.

The added and significant pressure of having to achieve grades high enough to get into universities that students do not even think about applying to until their final undergraduate year would be detrimental to student health and happiness.

Students should be able to enjoy their first year at university with freedom and spontaneity. The pressure of third and fourth year, as well as the stress of future academic degrees or careers, is more than enough as it is. GPAs might be beneficial in some ways, but happiness should, to a large extent, be the priority.

Photo: Wikipedia

Lila Velcoff

students with endless relaxation and the enjoyment of a “YOLO” attitude.

If that requirement of only a 7 was taken away, the future generations of first year students would not have the same experiences we did. This is not to say that first year students actually do only receive marks of 7, as this is not the case at all. It is about the consolation of knowing that even with a 7, success is yours for the taking.

Louise Richardson revealed in her interview with The Saint that the university is considering introducing GPAs in St Andrews. As someone who used to work at Harvard, she can be trusted to know the benefits and drawbacks of GPAs, and how the GPA system compares to our form of assessment. Still, I doubt that other University officials will consider how much it would affect the experience of St Andrews.

There are, of course, substantial academic benefits to introducing a GPA system. I recently attended a video-chat session between the University of Michigan Law School and our university. The law school at the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor, is one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States.

It is currently ranked at #11, following a majority of the Ivy Leagues. The UMich law school has a steady stream of applicants from St Andrews, most, but not all, of which are American. The Dean of Admissions from Michigan,

Loving and losing: in fond memory of Patch Reynolds

I

t’s taken me a while to be able to write this. The tears have gotten in the way. But, I suppose that’s a normal reaction after losing someone.

Death is hard to talk about. It’s hard to deal with. It’s even harder to actually comprehend. And I have to admit, I haven’t accomplished much of any of that since Patch passed away.

Patch was one of the most memorable personalities that stood out when I arrived here. She was loud, she was independent, and you pretty much always knew when she was in the room. I mean all of that in the absolute best way.

She was loud because she was passionate, she was independent because she truly didn’t care if people approved of her or not, and she was noticed because she was so clearly invested in what was going on around her—the people who were around her.

She stood up during a meeting at the beginning of the semester, before many people even knew who she was, and she gave her story of surviving assault so that people knew they could speak with her if they felt the need. She started fire-fueled political

The The views views expressed expressed in in Viewpoint Viewpoint do do not not represent represent the the views views of of The The Saint Saint but but are are individual individual opinions. opinions.

Illustration: Flo McQuibban

Kate Williams

the things that make me, me. I think we all want to do the same when it comes to the loved ones we’ve lost.

We take what we feel we learned best from them, or what we most admired about them, and we try to share it with other people because we saw the good they did with it during their time here. We want to help their memories live on, and we do so by letting them influence us. They can be seen in us through the way we treat others, and ourselves, for the rest of our lives.

We keep them in our hearts by putting their love, and what made them s o special, into other people. It doesn’t make losing them any easier. But, I think it’s a beautiful thing for them to leave behind.

The Saint • 26 November 2015

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Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

But seriously...

Chaplaincy spreads festive cheer with welcoming message for all Isaac Leaver

T

o perhaps stretch a cultural approximation, Christmastide is to Christianity what St Partick’s Day is to being Irish. People are usually completely uninterested in that ancient, spired building at the heart of their towns and villages. Yet come the big night, they flock towards it in their droves. Cold and empty pews are filled by young and old alike and the dust collected by hymn books over the course of another year is swept off in a festive flash.

What is it that these spontaneous attendants seek? I can guarantee that, for the most part, it is not the worship of God incarnate or enough robust doctrinal reinforcement to last until the succeeding December. And that is not a complaint, but simply a fact.

No, what they seek is the warm glow of a group of people who have congregated under the umbrella of one broad hope: that there is something higher and better than the individual human experience and its endemic frustrations. They look to reconfirm their aspiration that, amongst all the terrors and miseries of this world, moments of harmony, concord and, ultimately, peace can be found.

The Church, with its obvious attachment to Christmas and it’s hope that all can find peace and comfort in the darkest of times, has the intellectual, cultural and spiritual framework and infrastructure to provide a location for all congregate this Christmas.

The Chaplaincy of this university is

no different: I have been to two university carol services, and both times the vastness of Holy Trinity Church has been packed to the rafters. I have no doubt that it will be again on the third time that I attend.

It is the only church service for which I have ever factored in queueing time when deciding when to arrive at the venue. Furthermore, it isn’t just various Christians who are present. A typically woolly Anglican I may be, but my staunchly atheist girlfriend has already expressed her excitement at crossing the sacred threshold for this particular event.

The peculiar composition of the congregation is totally appreciated by the unmistakable and energetic University Chaplain, the Rev Dr Donald MacEwan, who delivers the sermon at the carol service. Naturally, he always delivers a befitting and emotive address from his own religious background, but the tone remains equally inclusive to less-religious attendees.

For the last two years he has framed the Christmas message in a way that has universal appeal, that there can be peace on Earth, and that fear can be banished. This annual flock (both Christian or not) comes looking for hope and welcoming, and their shepherd offers it in the most accessible way he can.

This ability of the Chaplaincy- a religious body- to fit within the rhythms of and respond to the needs of the university- a secular institution, is not reserved for Christmas. Beyond traditional civic-religious offices such as Remembrance Sunday, it constantly validates its position within a university with a mixed views body.

Last Thursday, Rev Dr MacEwan participated in one of the UDS’ debates (many others of which he has attended), demonstrating his prepara-

tion to engage on a potentially hostile intellectual level with other speakers and students alike. Additionally, he is there every year with a team of volunteers to wash the foam off the cold and hungover students emerging from the final rite of passage of Raisin Weekend.

The base of the Chaplaincy- the Manse- is open to hosting events which cover a broad spectrum of student interests from interfaith groups to political societies to VegSoc dinners. Finally, in times of great tragedy, it has been the Chaplaincy which has stepped in and organised counselling for friends and acquaintances of the deceased as well as any initial funereal arrangements.

Questions about personal belief are irrelevant. What matters is that when members of the university have been shaken by great sadness and are yearning for a sign of hope, they have a potential source of comfort to turn to.

“Whether you share the Christian faith of this chapel or do not, you are most welcome.” These are words with which Rev Dr MacEwan prefaces every Sunday service at St Salvator’s Chapel. Luckily for us, the team based at the Manse is not some closed cabal of clerics catering for a shrinking number of God-fearing students.

It is an active and dedicated team who strive all year around to ensure that the sense of community on which we pride ourselves in St Andrews is never threatened, and that every student has a safe haven they can call in at if weary and rocked from the journey thus far.

The Chaplaincy’s continued presence at our university is something for which we all, regardless of what we believe in our hearts, can give thanks, especially as walk on down with our friends to another lovely carol service.

Tom Coombes

B

ack at home I used to work in a pasty shop. God alone knows why, I can’t stand the things myself, but it did mean that I spent a lot of time around pensioners (unsurprisingly it is only them who feel the need for a pasty at 11am on a Wednesday).

While occasionally tiresome, not least due to the strain of shouting “would you like a carrier bag” for the eighteenth time, it did allow me to see one of the greatest differences between our generation and those who have preceded us. We simply do not travel in quite the same way as we used to.

Naturally, as people of leisure, they would often sit in the shop and speak for hours, waxing lyrical about days gone by, and tell me of the sights they’d seen in their youths. One thing stood out about almost every one of them: each of them would have had a period in their lives, usually around the twenty-something mark, where they would go rogue, and find themselves a job in some far-flung corner of the world doing some job which I had never considered even existed anymore.

I spoke to one man who spent two years working as a fisherman in Denmark, another who had been a goatherd in southern France for half a decade and even one woman who had simply upped sticks to Zambia in order to teach at schools throughout the country for nearly ten years. Each of them would tell me this with a look of pure happiness etched across their faces, eyes shining with pleasure at the memory before turning back to the brown sauce covered pile of meat and pastry in front of them.

How many of us have genuinely spent a considerable amount of time in another country? Of course some of us had gap years, or travelled over the summer, but that is not quite the same as settling in a country for a period of months and genuinely immersing oneself in the country (the best way being through working there).

Even if the distance is not as great as Zambia, some time spent working in Europe would be worthwhile to all of us. Sadly, with the job market in its worst state in arguably a century (despite some improvement over the last few years), most of us cannot afford to take a few years out in order to do

something actually interesting.

Instead we pass through the education system, and upon graduation get unceremoniously bundled into the city to be a ‘data analyst’ or some other meaningless job title for a life of soul-crushing slavery to some faceless firm, dragging our knuckles through an endlessly repeating flurry of tube trains, stark office lighting and Pret a Manger. No wonder we are one of the most miserable countries in Europe.

While many companies would insist that they love seeing something in a CV which ‘sets them apart from the crowd’ I would suggest that many of them would be highly suspicious of a two-year gap in your previous jobs explained simply by the phrase ‘Orange picking on a kibbutz in northern Israel’.

Instead they would far rather hire some besuited android who can boast a four-week internship at Morgan Stanley in which they learnt precisely how many sheets of paper can fit into a shredder and how to carry three cups of coffee in each hand to some bloke wearing a Savile Row suit who would sell his own nan for a quick fiver. And that is a crying shame. Maybe if there were more people who had actually seen a bit of the world and spoken to a wider range of people than just the village rotary club in charge of things we might not be in the sorry state we are in.

I recognise that things such as internships are important, as is using the momentum of a series of good jobs in order to further your own career, but it seems a shame that we have to start so young. There’s no chance to just head off somewhere for a few years and do your own thing or, as much as I loathe the phrase, find out a bit about yourself or to simply have a bit of fun.

I’d wager you’re not going to have your eyes opened to the plight of man on the 7:43am from Bedford to St Pancras.

They say that our advances in technology and travel helped shrink the world, making us more connected than ever, a species united, but really I feel that we have never been so far apart. We have become too serious, too concerned with building our CVs to actually see the bigger picture and live a little bit. If you ever have the urge and the means to go and have that rogue few years in your life where you do something actually worthwhile, I would sincerely encourage you to, as our own Shia LaBeouf reminded us, ‘do it’.

The The views views expressed expressed in in Viewpoint Viewpoint do do not not represent represent the the views views of of The The Saint Saint but but are are individual individual opinions. opinions.

12 Viewpoint

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

The unparalleled terror of greeting someone in the street Amy Elliott gives her insight into the most feared social activity of all: the greeting of a friend...

N

early three months has passed since I decided to set up shop in this glorious town. By now, I am fully persuaded that the ‘bubble’ phenomena is true, and not in the slightest an exaggeration.

Before I came, I knew that St Andrews was small. I just didn’t know that my life would consist of wandering around literally three streets, very quickly becoming acquainted with hundreds of people, and not being able to go out without bumping into at least four of them.

Suffice to say, every day involves many different greetings with many different people. In order to avoid a Groundhog Day vibe, it is imperative that these greetings be appropriately dynamic. There is an ideal greeting for each individual one might happen upon - friend, foe, tutor, or person whose foot you stepped on once in the Union - all of which vary widely.

There’s a huge range of choice (‘what’s up’, however, will always create confusion and should almost always be avoided), but generally, a smile is universally applicable to all situations. However, sometimes, something unprecedented happens: my smile is not returned.

nal dilemma, that greeting people in general is a ponderous thing.

It seems to be one of those rituals which is both necessary and done on a regular basis, yet is done well by no-one (such as the post-ball walk of shame).

A greeting is the preface to social interaction. A good greeting will relieve all involved, giving whatever interaction that follows an added boost through everyone being that little bit more zen.

As a little girl I used to feel petrified at the thought of greeting any male family friends or even relatives. Even now that I have grown up somewhat and like to think of myself as somewhat socially com-

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

Amy Elliott

Granted, it’s difficult to remain festive for each social encounter you will most likely have on the way home when the essay feedback from your tutor began with ‘unfortunately.’

The realisation that you now really have to do laundry because you quite literally have no pants left will hardly put a massive smile on your face.

We’re only human.

However, try as I might to convince myself that you just didn’t see me, when my smile is not returned, I will assume either that a) I have done something grossly injurious to offend you b) my personal appearance has repulsed you in some way or c) you just hate me.

This brings us back the origi-

petent, I still find it hard to embrace the awkwardness of greeting distance family members.

The zone of bodily contact with male acquaintances also remains enigmatic to me. Innumerable times have I ended up in a weird, vice-like hug with a stranger, my head perched uncomfortably on their shoulder as they search for somewhere appropriate to place their hands.

The back seems to be one of those generally accepted non-erotic zones, but it seems not everyone got the memo. Sometimes, confusion will addle the situation; places will be touched, things will be felt, and embarrassment and acute awkwardness will prevail.

The French have it down - two kisses, one on either cheek. Simple.

Easy. Chic. Yet to attempt to implement it with a Brit? Disastrous.

Despite Britain supposedly having strictly regimented social codes and complex ideals of decorum, we still (unlike the French) have no idea how to respond when confronted with a ‘hugger’.

The handshake seems to universally go down well, but what about the sweaty hand dilemma? Before we go in for a handshake, we must consider the myriad ways we might be received: too forceful and someone might assume we are attempting to be overly dominant - but no one wants the flaccid sardine association that entails a weak handshake.

To confuse an already complex situation, what about the opposite

sex? I admit to being floored by the right amount of pressure - never underestimate the power of the handshake - but what is the right amount?.

Humans are egocentric creatures.

To an extent we are programmed to be selfish, because we will never escape our own subjective viewpoints; whether we like it or not we are stuck with ourselves indefinitely.

Therefore we might as well look after ourselves.

Man is also (Aristotle might remark) a social animal; we are used to living and interacting with others. Couple our social desire to please, with our selfish desire to promote ourselves, and one can begin to understand why we obsess over minutiae such as greetings.

After all, why should anyone return my smile? Ought I not just put my smile out there to be taken or left on a whim? Why should I care if it is returned or not?

That being said, there is something quite lovely about a returned smile. The slow walk across Market Street with the distinct chance of bumping into some familiar, lovely, sea-beaten face is a joy. We shouldn’t question why we should enjoy this social interaction, even if on our worst days the interaction is a chore.

Despite greetings being difficult, and us all having bad days, we should savour those moments of recognition in the street, of everyone we know and will come to know.

The month of December, or why exams are the nectar of the Gods

Flo McQuibban

“

Lequel, monsieur?” she asked me.

Le-f*cking-quel? Are you kidding me you dog, I want the premium stylus and no other. It is the only feathered quill that will do for this sumptuous task. You see: I had flown to Saint Tropez for the weekend in search of the perfect pen, because as we all know, December is looming around the corner. It’s a month of happiness, celebrations, and gift giving. It’s a month of pure frill where students are graced with a bit of cold weather and cozy tea-fuelled revision.

And my revision shall surpass them all.

François was as always sitting in the corner of the common room ogling my new apparatus full of scornful jealousy upon my return. I can tell that he is whiffing the fumes of the French ink from a mile away, loathing every second of my hedonistic self-indulgence. He knows it’s the expensive stuff. There’s only a day left and this pitiful provincial has yet to purchase the go-to transparent pencil case – this fresher knows nothing of the intimacy

My paper arrives like a sealed billet-doux. I am tempted to turn her over like the inside of an autumn leaf, but I’m well acquainted with the rules ers and my rear clenches, hoping to preserve the moment eternally. I can smell the freshly printed paper and new highlighters. Yum, I think.

For three hours straight I shall be drinking the nectar of the gods. This International Relations exam has yet to meet my eye, and already I have tamed it. I am the master, and the paper, my inferior.

Lost in a reverie, I think of the

corrector laughing at my quaint and cultured witticisms - academically appropriate, surely.

He sips his Laphroaig Single Malt, much applauding my use of the word “fungibility” in connection to my analysis of certain US legal disputes.

It’s not an illusion, my thesis statement does in fact complement my body paragraphs and conclusion perfectly – and I am a cheeky one word under the limit because, I blush, I just couldn’t help it sir.

The waiting is perhaps the only arduous part of this ceremony. I wink at the girl next to me, as if to say: “IR is the only thing worth studying, right?” She seems offended, but only by my sensually poised confidence. A whisper.

“Excuse me? Can I help you?”

I almost burst out in laughter at her attempt to ridicule my intellect, but I retained my fervent urges, and simply let a suitable scoff slip out of my mouth.

-“Are you being funny, mate? I’ve been waiting my existence for this exam. I’m ready, you fool.”

The seconds tick by and I burn with envy at those who have already placed their rapacious hands on the script. I sit speculating audaciously on the nature of its content. Perhaps the United States, or maybe China? I ponder the thought, secretly hoping I can incorporate both to show my vast

array of knowledge.

I catch a glimpse of François – he has his paper already. In the corner of his eye I see a glint with an undertone of mockery in it. He turns and observes me like a bald eagle in some indie music video. You fool. I will never be bald because I do not stress for exams, because I love exams. I love them more than you will ever love anything. I love them so much that I weep at their mere existence, wondering how I could possibly be worthy.

They are all fools, yet here we are: ready to suckle on the honey.

Finally my paper arrives like a sealed billet-doux. I am tempted to turn her over like the inside of an autumn leaf, but I’m well acquainted with the rules. I sit longingly, waiting for the clock to strike two.

Now. I turn my new prize. China.

“Fungibility” will be of no use here, alas, but luckily the beauty of this treat for one is adapting. With stealth, I lower my head, close my eyes, and think pensively of a new term that might seduce my marker.

“Hegemonism” is my saviour. I begin to write profusely, with newfangled hunger. I am well structured, eloquent, and clever. My essay is balanced, and the minutes left match exactly the Stanford Guide To Mind-blowing Exams’ recommendation for the adequate amount of proof reading time.

I exit the hall with renewed energy.

What an absolutely marvellous experience. The month of December is a blessing. An American acquaintance approaches me.

“What are you doing for Christmas, dude?”

“For what???”

The The views views expressed expressed in in Viewpoint Viewpoint do do not not represent represent the the views views of of The The Saint Saint but but are are individual individual opinions. opinions.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

of this process.

The day is upon us now, and as I enter the room, my nether lip quiv-

MONEY thesaint-online.com/money

St Andrews themed gifts worth bringing home to family PodoFit moves to Market Street

Editor: Danielle Golds Deputy editor: Antonia Wade @saint_money

money@thesaint-online.com

Local Christmas markets spark festive cheer As the winter holidays approach, cities across Europe are preparing to host their annual Christmas markets.

Between selling Christmas wares and serving seasonal food and drink, Christmas markets often fill a prominent place in winter festivities. For those hoping to get into the spirit of the season without going too far from home, St Andrews may have the answer. Three local businesses will host Christmas markets in the course of the next month: the Christmas Emporium at the Old Course Hotel, the Christmas Market at Mitchell’s Deli and the Luxury Christmas Market at Fairmont St Andrews. They are each hosted on different dates with no entrance fee, so those interested in visiting all three Christmas markets will have the opportunity to do so.

The first of these events is the Christmas Emporium, hosted by the Old Course Hotel on Sunday 29 November between 11 am and 4 pm.

An established favorite beginning to the holiday season in St Andrews, this year the Christmas Emporium is one of the concluding events of the St Andrews Food and Drink Festival.

The Festive Market and Food Hall will be open throughout the day, offering a wide range of crafts and gifts ideas from Fife, as well as food and seasonal produce from around St Andrews. The hotel itself will be festively decorated, with visits by carol singers and Santa Claus throughout the day.

Additionally, the Christmas Emporium will offer other events elsewhere in the hotel. These will include cookery demonstrations from 12 pm until 3 pm and a café in the Sands Grill restaurant, which will serve hot chocolate, tea and coffee. From 12:30 pm until 2 pm there will be a jazz

Illustration: Nicole Slyusareva

Kyhl Stephen

brunch in the Road Hole Restaurant (pre-booking recommended) and from 12 pm until 3 pm there will be a hog roast at the Jigger Inn. The final event will be afternoon tea from 2 pm until 4 pm (again, pre-booking recommended). Turnout throughout the day is expected to be somewhere around 2,000 people.

The second event that will take place in the coming month is the Christmas Market hosted by Mitchell’s on Tuesday 8 December between 5 pm and 8 pm. At a smaller venue and for a shorter duration than either of the other two events, the Mitchell’s Christmas Market will likely be a more low key affair with a

greater emphasis on socializing with food and drinks. While there does not promise to be a wide range of gift ideas for sale, Mitchell’s will be offering special samples of Christmas coffee and cocktails, and will have mulled wine and cider available.

Mitchell’s Christmas Market will feature live acoustic music, as well as a visit from Santa Claus. Additionally, seven other businesses will hold stalls at the Christmas Market. These include Thistly Cross Cider Co Ltd, Allan’s Chilli Products, Good Life Farming, Watson’s Chocolates, Amaryllis, Gourmet Dog Treats and Sofia’s Aloe Secrets. Though not as large as the other Christmas markets,

the Mitchell’s Christmas Market may prove more subtle but just as festive.

The final Christmas market in St Andrews this winter will be the Luxury Christmas Market, a two-day event on 12 and 13 December from 11 am until 4 pm at the St Andrews Fairmont Hotel.

In the past, this event has been part of a Christmas in November event put on by the Fairmont. While Christmas in November will not be returning, the Luxury Christmas Market will take its place. As the name may suggest, many of the market stalls at the Luxury Christmas Market will offer higher end items, such as handmade tweed accessories and fine jewelry. Stalls will also offer artisan bread and cakes.

The market will include stalls and displays from thirty exhibitors, ranging from Eden Mill to Little Bird Café and The Jewelry Tree.

Like the Christmas Emporium, the Luxury Christmas Market will feature additional events alongside the main market. The full schedule is yet to be released but promises to include live entertainment, seasonal movie showings and visits with Santa Claus.

This will also likely be a large event, with turnout expected to be well over 2,000 people during the two days of the event.

For more information on the markets, check out their Facebook pages.

do to get your profile set up.

One of the key features that is most beneficial to students is the ‘People’ tab. Here you can search for, and engage in a conversation with, alumni in your industry who are interested in offering advice and perhaps mentoring.

When a user messages another user, the message is sent straight to their email inbox meaning that they do not have to be an active user for you to contact them. This facilitates conversation outside of the service. Both the industry specific and subject specific groups also allow users to ask public questions. This means that more than one of the highly knowledgeable alumni can answer and the user can

expand their network faster.

Virtual events and jobs are publicised in different sections. Few jobs are published on the network because, as it was pointed out, going to St Andrews does not necessarily mean that you are a suitable candidate. A strong network exploited successfully is a better route to a job, as a user can gain advice on applications and often tips on unpublished job adverts. Events such as the Alumni Insight series are publicised on Saint Connect, and provide the opportunity for students to gain a better understanding of what is needed to get a similar role.

Within a network it is of critical

importance that a contact is bona fide, especially when the network is based on a shared educational history. Saint Connect guarantees the credentials of members through a series of checks before the full capabilities of the site are made available. This is an important aspect of the network which provides assurance and a base level of trust from which networks can grow. Additionally, by joining Saint Connect, alumni indicate a willingness to give advice to both current and former students, and possibly become a mentor.

It was here that the talk dovetailed from Saint Connect into further correct networking practices. The invalu-

able advice shared included: how to engage with potential contacts, how to ask for advice and how to demonstrate knowledge through asking questions. For example, it would be highly presumptive to put the burden of a job request onto a connection in the first message. However asking for small requests such as where they think the market is going, or which sector to focus on, places a smaller expectation on the alumni and often makes them happier to help.

Networking is the business necessity many people think is easy, but when it comes down to it there are so many small actions that can make or break your connection. As the talk underlined, 60 to 70 per cent of jobs and internships are not advertised, which makes your networking skills critically important. Saint Connect facilitates the growth of your network and by starting to use this resource now, you could see real long term benefits.

Not only for alumni: networking through Saint Connect Antonia Wade Deputy money editor If you missed the latest talk on Saint Connect, here are a few of the key features that provide the greatest benefit to students. Saint Connect is the University of St Andrews’ alumni networking service, which provides networking opportunities, advice, a mentoring service, industry interest groups and degree groups. The network is experiencing a few teething problems, however the University is working on these, and is set to roll out a new search feature soon. The service pulls information from LinkedIn which means that there is very little to

Illustration: Nicole Slyusareva

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A new place for burgers in town Meilan Solly

We strive to produce an awesome burger, and only use the finest, freshest produce we can find. Our burger mix is made to our specification using 100 per cent beef from local farmers delivered daily for you.”

Menu options at BlackHorn are divided mainly between burgers and wraps. Prices range from £3.20 for a single beef burger to £6.60 for a double grill burger. A single Blackhorn burger is £4.20.

Comparatively, prices at Burger range from £2.95 for a mini classic kids burger to £8.20 for a double bacon cheeseburger. A single classic burger is £3.95, while the restaurant’s special Burger burger is £6.95.

Casey Terrel, a student who has eaten at Blackhorn but not Burger, said he enjoyed the Blackhorn burger he ordered because it was tender and had tasty sauce.

He thought Blackhorn was an “economical” dining option and rated its price value at a 7 out of 10 compared to other St Andrews restaurants. He did say, however, that he would be open to trying Burger. Mr Terrel concluded: “I’m looking for a bigger burger at a cheaper price.”

Photo: Maryam Golafshani

A new burger restaurant, aptly named Burger, opened last week at 129 South Street.

Burger, which claims to fulfil the need for “a radically simple, delicious, affordable burger,” is a small business with two additional locations in Edinburgh.

The restaurant’s menu features classic burger varieties like Scottish beef cheeseburgers, bacon cheeseburgers and hamburgers, as well as less familiar options like a chicken katsu burger. Burger also offers veggie burgers and plain kids burgers. In addition to these selections, Burger sells hot dogs and a variety of fries, including beef chilli cheese and curry poutine. Dessert options include ice cream, shakes and a sorbet of the day.

Burger also has a rotating specials menu which currently features options like the Chihuahua, a grilled pork or veggie dog with chipotle relish, grilled onions, spiced black beans, sour cream, coriander and crunchy tortilla strips, and a French martini, including homemade raspberry sorbet blended with vodka, Chambord

and pineapple juice.

St Andrews’ newest burger option differentiates itself from other restaurants in several ways. Its website says: “We want to be accessible – so you will find us in the most buzzing areas of the city. We want to be affordable – but to always offer the freshest ingredients, prepared and cooked exceptionally well. But above all we want to be highly personal. And that means cooking everything just for you, just when you order it.”

Burger also focuses on using local ingredients and promoting sustainability by making its packaging fully compostable.

Kyhl Stephen, a student who dined at Burger, said: “The ingredients tasted quite fresh, and some of the menu options were really interesting. It was a little expensive, but I enjoyed my meal.”

Burger’s main competition in St Andrews is BlackHorn, a popular burger restaurant on Church Street that offers students a burger, chips, and drink combination for £6 on Sundays.

BlackHorn’s goal is “to produce honest food to be enjoyed by many.

Some advice from a retiring money editor Danielle Golds Money Editor Nowadays, as I wake up most mornings to auto-rejection emails from graduate jobs, I cannot help but reflect on the last four years and wish that I had done more to prepare for this moment. If I could do it all over again, I would do some things exactly the same and some things completely differently. So, here is my money and careers advice, as I retire from my position of money editor and graduate from university.

The first piece of advice I can offer is something that I did during my last two years here: get free loyalty cards. Whenever you are going to live somewhere for a time period like four years, it is worth it to go get loyalty cards for your favorite businesses. I recommend getting a Tesco, Boots and Ryman card because you get discounts

every time you shop.

While shopping at Tesco can save you money, I also recommend shopping at local businesses and going to the Farmer’s Market. St Andrews and Fife have excellent products from meat to vegetables to cheese and it’s important to take advantage. The local business community in St Andrews is very strong and eager, they are even hosting a Food and Drink Festival this whole month to promote local business. So it’s worth it to support them, even though sometimes it can be a little more expensive.

On the career side of things, my main piece of advice is probably something you’ve heard before: network. The Careers Centre works really hard to bring us interesting alumni speakers from all different fields in order to educate us and get us some first-hand advice when we start our internship or job hunting.

Shake hands with the speaker, ask a question, and get his or her email address. Alumni love to chat about their time at St Andrews and what their lives have been like since they left. Ask them questions and listen to what advice they have. The most important thing I’ve learned while job hunting is to get out of your comfort zone. Don’t listen to your doubts, just apply for jobs, ask questions, connect with people, you never know where it’s going to get you.

The other things I’ve learned during my time here are more obvious: don’t spend all your money trying to go to every ball, keep track of how much you are spending on a night out and be organised about things like gas, electricity and wifFi bills. Basically, be responsible and think about your future. Have sympathy for fourth year you when you are deciding whether or not to apply for that internship.

26 November 2015 • The Saint

PodoFit moves to Market Street

Photo: PodoFit

14 Money

Antonia Wade Deputy money editor Sports lovers all over St Andrews will be excited for the new active lifestyle shop that opened on Market Street last week. The Saint sat down with the owner and podiatrist, Sara Boardman and two managers, Ashley Penman and Irena Najy-Vizitiu to discuss the business and its vibrant new look.

The business, which has existed for 25 years on Argyle Street as a podiatrist, has expanded into its broader range of active wear and accessories over the past two years. In the back of the shop is a podiatry clinic wjere the former physiotherapist to the Red Lions, the English rugby team, works.

Treatments on offer range from basic foot-care to biomechanics assessments using cad/cam technology as well as personalised feedback on how movement affects pain. Additionally they sell a wide range of shoes, active wear and accessories, with personal fittings as standard.

The shift in location necessitated the extensive redevelopment of the Market Street shop; the guts were torn out and the interior was built completely anew. This has resulted in a modern, fresh interior, approved by the high-end active wear brand Bjorn Borg. The brands stocked by the new shop include Bjorn Borg, New Balance, Saucony and Brooks.

Whilst the selection may be more expensive than a generic trainer, the price has the technology built into the price because, as M. Boardman emphasised, the price affects the quality.

Whilst certain brands cannot be found at Podofit, this is because all sizes from three up, including half sizes, are stocked, and there is a limit on the quantity of shoes that can be held.

The aim is to appeal to both town and gown, as evidenced by their loyalty scheme, which was chosen over a student discount. This will thank loyal customers and attract repeat business, even when the students are not in town. The scheme is currently in development, however if customers keep their receipts they can be added to their rewards later.

Every part of the shop has been fully thought out, from the brands specially selected for their quality and technology, to the shop fittings chosen for their sustainability from local suppliers. An efficiency advi-

sor suggested using sustainable, ecofriendly technologies, such as the rubber flooring, which maintains high levels of hygiene, as well as being sustainably made. The led lights and infra-red heating system keep costs low and have minimal impact on the environment.

The move itself was incredibly stressful for the team; alongside the redevelopment of the Market Street premises, 1,200 shoes had to be packed up, transferred and logged, a new till system set up, and an advertising campaign built.

Whilst the biggest change for the shop has been the location, Ms Boardman has also noticed a difference in customer behaviour. The shop had previously been a destination; customers came to the shop for the services it offered rather than discovering it through browsing. However, since opening on Market Street, particularly because of significantly greater footfall, more people have been happening upon the shop after being attracted by the colourful shoes and gear in the windows. Even before they opened, when the windows were covered in paper during the construction, they cut eyeholes so that people could take a peep inside if they were curious.

However this footfall brings many of the problems small shops have to deal with when faced with the might of the internet. The phenomenon of customers spending a long time with the consultants choosing the correct shoe, then buying a cheaper version online, undercuts small retailers whilst the customer benefits from their expertise free of charge. However, Podofit is not as badly hit by this as other retailers are. The main source of their income is not in retail, but rather in the physiotherapy and podiatry.

The brands chosen also have a policy of supporting small retailers.

Certain retailers sold in Podofit do not sell shoes online cheaper than what they would be in stores. This reduces the impact of the undercutting phenomenon and supports repeat business.

The business has ambitious aims.

There are hopes to open a second shop further south at some point, perhaps closer to Cumbria. However, after such a stressful move, the main focus is Market Street and building the business’ presence within the town.

The Saint • 26 November 2015

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Money 15

St Andrews themed gifts worth bringing home to family

1. Eden Mill Gin

No one is expecting you to buy a bona fide Barbour jacket, but the Barbour scarf is a great little piece of the iconic unofficial brand of many a St Andrean that need not cost a fortune. Weave in a classically tedious (and British, for you international students) joke about the windswept conditions of Market Street as you give this tasteful gift to a family member who never misses an opportunity to ‘inform’ you as to how little sun there apparently is in Scotland.

Available from Caledonian Country Wear for £24.99 (Lambswool) or £42.99 (Cashmere Blend).

There is always that one member of the family who thinks that student life at St Andrews is just one long round on the Old Course, and will not fail to ask you if you got to see Zach Johnson’s final putt at the eighteenth hole this summer. You may have spent the majority of your term cooped up in the library or the pub, but here is an opportunity to whet their fanatical enthusiasm for that Good Walk Spoilt.

Be careful to not accompany your present with an offer of accommodation for their next golf holiday.

Available online or the Old Course Shop for £9.00

Photo: Jolie Tran

Our own local brewery may have recently been acquired by the beverage giant Carlsberg, but its products still retain that small-town quaintness and artisanal quality which made it originally so popular. For that outrageous drunken uncle or giddy aunt ever-relegated to the bottom end of the Christmas dinner table next to the kids, give them a bottle of Eden Mill’s finest gin and regale to them your own embarrassing stories of drinking from your own flask during Fresher’s.

Available from Mitchells and Luvians for around £35.

3. Golf Balls

5. St Andrews Book

4. Red Gown Mug And then there are the grandparents: singularly clueless as to what you are studying and where and as clueless as you as to what you’re going to do with the degree afterwards.

The ‘Red Gown’ mug is one of many available for purchase, but is unique in its depiction of one of our most celebrated and salient traditions, the Pier Walk. An ideal prompt for your explanation when the inevitable question of “So… is it Oxford or Cambridge you’re at again?” is raised over a cup of tea.

Available from the University Shop for £9.50.

Your proud mother is sure to have told her neighbours at her latest coffee morning about St Andrews’ enviable reputation amongst established academics. However, did she know that Carly Brown, a winner of the Scottish Championship for Slam Poetry, also hails from our classrooms? The book, ‘I Love St Andrews,’ that she has coproduced with illustrator Gillian Gamble is the perfect, somewhat sanitised, representation of St Andrews for a parent who still wants to believe that their raucous, Vic-going son or daughter is still the innocent child they dropped off in September.

Available from Bonkers and Waterstones for £14.99.

Photo: I Love St Andrews

As holiday time approaches, so does the time when your grandma is going to ask you for the umpteenth time if you’ve found a suitable significant other and your parents will interrogate you about that unedifying picture uploaded onto Facebook after your last trip to the Lizard. But instead of just bringing stories of St Andrews back home with you, why not take a little piece of our charming town as well? Here are some of the Christmas presents which embody St Andrews to the full:

2. Barbour Scarf

Photo: Danielle Golds

Isaac Leaver

In 2014, several St Andrews students founded re:fashion, a business dedicated to providing the community with discounted designer clothing, after drawing inspiration from an enterprise creativity module in the School of Management, disappointment with the amount of clothing in landfills, and experience re-selling charity shop clothing on eBay. Re:fashion, which re-sells students’ second-hand clothing at more affordable prices, held its third seasonal sale on 16 November at Parliament Hall.

This event, featuring about 500 pieces of clothing ranging from knitwear to dresses, attracted hundreds of students, many of whom arrived early and formed a line that wound down South Street.

The majority of clothing came from brands like Top Shop, Zara and J. Crew, although designer clothing and more unique items were also sold. “[We had] random boutique stuff,

I couldn’t have found better prices at a charity shop which is where a lot of the interesting pieces come from,” re:fashion director Kirsty Gordon said. “I think because St Andrews is so cultural, that’s where we get a lot of interesting brands.”

In the months before the sale, members of re:fashion collaborated to organise sellers, prepare items and publicise the event.

All of the clothing sold through the sale comes from student sellers who receive 70 percent of the proceeds.

This year, in an attempt to profes-

sionalize the event, re:fashion created a website that allowed sellers to indicate their interest in participating.

Mary Chan, who works on outreach for re:fashion, said the quantity of items given by sellers dropped this year, but the quality went up. She attributed this trend partly to the new website.

Ms Gordon agreed, saying the website attracted “people who really wanted to do it, rather than [people who say], ‘Oh, here’s a bag of clothing.’”

To promote the event, re:fashion organised a photoshoot featuring items available at the sale. They posted the photos, along with quotes about fashion, in the days leading up to the sale. “[This is the] majority of what we do leading up to the event,” Ms Chan said, “trying to create that sort of brand awareness and brand appeal of having a kind of luxury shopping experience.”

These aspects of the planning proc-

Photo: Lorelei Pfeffer

Meilan Solly

Photo: Lorelei Pfeffer

Re:fashion rebrands its business with third seasonal sale

ess are key elements of re:fashion’s evolution, with members working to adhere to their core missions of sustainability and charity in addition to setting the correct professional tone.

In previous sales, re:fashion has donated a portion of its proceeds to charities like the St Andrews Charities Campaign. This year, the charity aspect of the sale comes from donating unsold clothing to Save the Children, a group that aims to provide clothing for Syrian refugees.

In terms of creating the right atmosphere, Ms Chan said re:fashion’s goal was: “to increase the whole feel of having a shopping experience rather than just going in, having a quick browse, and then [leaving]. We want shoppers to stay there a little bit longer and actually enjoy themselves.”

Additional entertainment, including tables with hand-popped popcorn and mocktails for sale, as well as live music performances, helped create this ambiance.

Event attendee Leia Moran said she liked the live music aspect, as well as the broad range of apparel. She

spent £19 on a Zara blazer, a sweater and a scarf and said, “I feel like these pieces were definitely a bargain because I couldn’t have found better prices at a charity shop, plus the clothing styles were more targeted towards students.”

This description falls in line with re:fashion’s reputation as, according to Ms Chan, an opportunity to buy “really high quality stuff at very affordable prices.”

Building this reputation of affordability and style has required the entrepreneurial skills of all members of the re:fashion team.

Ms Chan said: “What makes the whole thing entrepreneurial is the fact that we started the idea… around a table talking about how we were going to plan this, what is going to work, and now continuing on it feels like it’s matured quite a bit. “[We’re] passing that vision on to new team members, learning from mistakes that we’ve made or improving on what we’ve already done, and just thinking of new and innovative ways of doing things all the time.”

F EATURES

Editor: Emma Freer Deputy editors: Lara Güneri, Kirsty Hardwick, Olivia Gavoyannis features@thesaint-online.com @saint_features

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“I will certainly always feel close to the place. I will leave a bit of myself here and I’ll take a bit with me.”

The Saint sat down with Principal Louise Richardson to discuss her legacy and advice for her successor Rachael Miller Editor

T

he Principal’s office in College Gate, with light edging its way through high windows on a dreary Friday morning, seemed steeped in gravitas as I walked into the room. For now it remains the workplace of Principal and ViceChancellor of the University Professor Louise Richardson, who has paced its wooden floors 2009. However, it won’t be for much longer. From 1 January, Professor Richardson will be leaving the Bubble to start a new chapter of her life as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Born in Ireland and having spent many years in America, most notably as the executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University, Professor Richardson’s accent is certainly unique. Her voice lilted as she began to speak, reflecting on the most memorable moments of her time in St Andrews.

“There have been so many, I honestly don’t think I could reduce it to one,” she said. The 600th celebrations, however, stand out to her as a wonderful time.

“Marching down the town in the dark to the top of the harbour

and seeing the entire town, students down on the East Sands, fireworks and crowds of people – it just seemed to capture the excitement, the beauty of the place,” she told me.

Other stand out moments for Professor Richardson include the New York Gala at The Met last year, as well as the opportunity to meet Hilary Clinton during the 600th celebrations. On Clinton, Principal Richardson said, “I very much hope she is the next president of the United States. I think she is supremely well qualified [and] it’s high time we had a female president.” She has strong ties to America and became a naturalized American citizen whilst living in the US, and is a registered Democrat. In fact, Principal Richardson previously voted for Clinton over Barack Obama in the Massachusetts primaries, thinking that Obama needed more experience to be President at that time.

Looking into Scotland, Professor Richardson said that the period surrounding the Scottish Independence Referendum was an extraordinarily exciting time. Although denying to comment outright on which side she had voted for, she did hint that people would prob-

ably be able to guess her thoughts on the matter.

On the topic of memorable experiences, Principal Richardson stopped to add, “There have been much quieter moments too, which have been wonderful.” She has enjoyed conversations with students “coming in and talking about what an impact their time [at the University] has [made].”

On the opposite side of things, Principal Richardson also spoke of all the things she wishes she had had the chance to take part in during her time at St Andrews. She regrets all the plays she has missed, as well as the student events to which she was invited, but couldn’t make. Her biggest regret, however, remains the failure of the plan to build a new Madras College on the North Haugh site. “It just seemed like it was real opportunity to do something really new and creative that was a real win for everyone,” she said. “That was a big disappointment.” ince Professor Richardson took over as principal in 2009, the University has seen a swell in the number of international students, as well as a steady growth in overall student numbers. Today, around 30 per cent of the student population is international. In the academic year 2009-10, 1,395 undergraduates entered the University through UCAS applications. By 2013-14, this figure stood at 1,540 and the total number of students at the University now stands at about 8,200. This increase in student numbers, although a positive sign of the University’s growing popularity, has left many students worried about issues such as class size and accommodation. Professor Richardson assured me that matter of balancing growth with financial need is one that is discussed constantly. She recognized that part of St Andrews’ appeal is its intimacy. “We have taken a very gradual approach to growth precisely so as not to disrupt what we have,” she said.

When asked about the accommodation problems we have seen as a result of these increasing student numbers, Professor Richardson was quick to note that she doesn’t want to label it an ‘accommodation crisis.’ “One of the downsides of living in a small place is there tends to be a rumour mill and people get themselves into a tizzy unnecessarily,” she said. I know there is a crunch, but we are providing more and need to work on alleviating the sense of panic amongst students that they won’t get a good living situation.”

Pressed on this idea of a “rumour

S

mill,” Professor Richardson defended her stance, saying: “I’m not denying that students do have difficulties finding accommodation in that moment.

[However,] if you have to live in these three streets, it’s much more difficult to find what you want than if you’re prepared to live further afield. I absolutely concede that there are difficulties getting housing, but I do think that they can be exaggerated.”

In terms of class sizes, she stated that our student staff ratio is one of the best in the country, although admitting that it is variable amongst the different schools. Principal Richardson was also quick to point out the lack of direct correlation between student satisfaction and student staff ratio.

“We think there is room to adjust,” she said. “We have the demand to grow at a much faster pace, but we don’t want to because we cherish what we have.” She added that before deciding to grow staff, the University wants to ensure its facilities are prepared.

As far as the perception that St Andrews is full of Americans and that non-Scottish students are pushing the Scots out, Professor Richardson emphasised that the University accepts the amount of Scottish students set out for them by the Scottish Government.

“If we take any more we’re fined, if we take any less we’re fined. People outside don’t understand that,” she said, clearly exasperated.

The University has put a lot of effort into persuading the government to allow them to increase their Scottish numbers, and Professor Richardson seemed delighted to be able to say that they had succeeded over the last few years. “We want to have a stronger proportion of Scots here,” she said.

W

hen asked to look to the future about what she thinks the biggest problem her successor will face, Principal Richardson responded without hesitation: finances. Currently, UK universities are facing a comprehensive spending review, likely to lead to budget cuts in higher education. “We don’t know what it will entail, but we know it will be grim,” she said. However, Professor Richardson was keen to add that, “the fact that we do so much and achieve so much on such tight finances is really, really impressive.”

Unfortunately, with St Andrews facing not only the UK wide spending review, but also the Scottish Government’s Higher Education (Scotland) Bill’s reform proposals, things are looking pretty foreboding. On the government’s proposals, Professor Richardson said, “They

have never identified the problem that they’re trying to solve.”

An element of these proposals that have been labeled ‘anti-democratic’ are those surrounding the appointment of the senior governor, which many have seen as threatening the position of rector. When the proposals were announced earlier this year, the Students’ Association launched a petition with the tagline ‘Save our Rector’ which received over 3,000 signatures.

On the various governmental proposals, Professor Richardson said, “Scottish higher education is really pretty impressive. We have three universities in the top hundred in the world; we have five in the top 200 in the world. That’s remarkable; we shouldn’t take it for granted. Why tinker with something that’s working really rather well?”

Another issue facing the University as Professor Richardson prepares to leave is the fact that its current grading system makes it extremely difficult to get a first, whilst large amounts of students graduate with a 2:1. Upon discussing the problems many students face when trying to decide between prioritizing work and taking part in extracurricular activities, the principal said, “Life is about making trade-offs.” She added that, “These are the kinds of decisions people are going to have to grapple with their whole lives.”

Professor Richardson announced that there are talks about moving towards an American style GPA system, which would mitigate this problem somewhat as “it would be a reflection of one’s whole four years and employers would be able to see how one did in one’s area of interest and not.”

It is also hoped that the GPA system would help to solve the issue of the huge discrepancy between a 13.5 and a 16.4, even though they both constitute a 2:1. Professor Richardson pointed to the University’s innovation of presenting graduating students with much fuller transcripts than other universities as a point of progress on this front. However, the GPA system would go a long way to fixing this situation.

A

s the first ever female Principal of St Andrews, and the soon to be first female Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, Professor Richardson is certainly a role model for female students.

When asked about what her advice would be for women she said, “Just go for it. I mean absolutely go for it.

Don’t ever consider that there are any positions which you would be precluded from occupying because you are female.”

thesaint-online.com

Features 17

Photo: Maria Faciolince

The Saint • 26 November 2015

Hillary Clinton received an honourary degree from the University in September 2013 as part of the 600th anniversary celebration.

She continued to speak about the importance of having women in senior positions of power for both men and women, “I think it’s important for men too to realise that leadership comes in many colours, sizes, shapes and indeed genders, that it isn’t just a male thing.”

However, she acknowledged that academia, similarly to most professions, is shaped like a pyramid. At St Andrews, 60 per cent of undergraduates are female. 40 per cent of the un-promoted faculty are female. But only 20 per cent of the professors are female. Although Principal Richardson is pleased that under her leadership, the senior management of the University is now 50 per cent female, she is seriously concerned about this narrowing pattern.

According to the professor, it is completely understandable why individual women decide to take time out at different stages of their careers. “Individually, I completely understand those decisions,” she said. “But collectively it means we are still left with professions shaped like pyramids.”

Despite this cross-discipline pattern, Professor Richardson said the pace of change has been dramatic in her lifetime. “It’s been slower than I would have liked but it is accelerating. So our young female students should not hold themselves back in any way,” she said.

Continuing the discussion of recent changes to higher education, our discussion moved on to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act passed by Westminster earlier this year. At the time, the Students’ Association launched a petition entitled ‘Students not Terrorists’ to protest the changes. As an academic expert on terrorism, Professor Richardson has been vocal on this issue in the past, condemning the act publicly. “We should not be banning objectionable ideas from campus. We should bring them to campus and challenge them, that’s where we can do it,” she said.

“I think the notion that students who are vulnerable to radicalization should be identified by universities is just not

something that I think people in my position should participate in.”

Professor Richardson said that, although the legislation did not specify, she was aware that it has Muslim students in mind. “I would worry that Muslim students I would worry that Muslim students might feel that they are being treated separately or that there is suspicion upon them and I would hate them to think that,” she said.

I

n her capacity as a terrorism expert, Professor Richardson also had words of advice for St Andrean students in the wake of the recent attacks in Paris.

“I would like to say that I hope [you] don’t feel frightened and I hope [you’ don’t constrain what they do,” she said.

Though this is a safe town, she acknowledged that not everyone is from this area, or even this country, and that some students may face greater fear at home.

However, she stressed, “I absolutely think that student should live their lives without fear.”

There was a long pause before the principal, a pained look on her face, continued. “I think it’s somewhat unfortunate, as I read the papers veraciously, and the last few days most of the front pages of the papers have had pictures of the perpetrators of this atrocity on them and I wish they didn’t,” she said sadly.

“I think we should be focusing on the victims, the extraordinary young people who were massacred. They are the people whose faces should be on the papers and the lives that have been snuffed out so brutally. I worry that all the attention going to the perpetrators will just seek to inspire others who want to acquire the kind of glory that they’ve gotten for themselves.”

I

n terms of the recent changes to immigration policies - which have led to the introduction of charges for the

NHS for international students and a shorter period of time allowed in the UK post-graduation – Professor Richardson had a lot to say. “There’s no doubt that these policies have made it more difficult for students educated here to work here through the constraints on the poststudy visas,” she told me. I’d encourage students to do all they can by lobbying the government, lobbying our local politicians to work in Westminster to that effect.”

“I’d love to be able to say to our students you have nothing to worry about.

But it’s becoming more restrictive not less,” she continued. “I think it’s unwise from a government point of view and it is detrimental to our students who want to get the experience of working here.

Raising the issue of the recent debacle over the NUS referendum which was cancelled due to lack of student interest – after the leaders of the ‘Yes’ campaign stepped down in protest and nobody volunteered to fill their shoes – Professor Richardson was keen to stress that she didn’t blame this on political apathy amongst St Andrews students.

“I think students individually are engaged, but they’re deciding their own priorities rather than taking them from some national union.”

Professor Richardson was quick to praise the student representatives she has worked with during her time in St Andrews, saying they have had a really positive impact by working with the University, rather than against it. “They are committed to the wellbeing of the University,” she said, pointing to the introduction of the school presidents system as an example of this.

L

ouise Richardson has clearly used her time in St Andrews well. When asked to pick out her greatest achievements, the list was impressively long. During her tenure, St Andrews has soared up the league tables: to third in the national rankings, by 25 places in the

Times Higher Education, and by 20 places in QS. “I really think in my time here we have raised the profile of the University and I’m enormously proud of that,” said Principal Richardson.

Another change that has occurred during her tenure is the way in which the University is governed. The change from 11 large core committees to four smaller ones has saved time and made tedious processes more effective. “I think we’ve professionalized the staffing here,” the principal said.

Professor Richardson made to sure emphasise, however, that all of this would not have been possible without her wonderful team in College Gate and in the schools, as well as the students.

She would not comment on who her successor will be, but she did say that they will “inherit a fabulous institution where things are really in very good shape.”

“I think our student body is terrific,” she enthused. “There’s a combination of people who are committed intellectually, but [also] really engaged beyond themselves. That’s an unusual mix.”

On staff, she said: “Both support and academic staff are genuinely committed to the University and the institution as a whole.”

L

ooking forward to her move to Oxford, Professor Richardson may be daunted by the task of learning about a whole new governance system, and getting to know the ins and out of such a huge university, but she is also incredibly excited.

“I think I’m the luckiest person alive to have had these extraordinary jobs, both this one and the next one,” she said.

Though she was not able to go into details about her plans for Oxford, she did voice concern about the difficulties she might face in executing them.

“It’s very hard for successful organizations to change,” she said. “It’s easi-

er for an organisation to change when it’s clear where they want to go.”

Her major concern seemed to be that the University is very decentralised, and she hopes to make it more holistic. Despite this, she was full of praise for the benefits of the college system, which she says offers a highly personalised experience. Although the 38 colleges will be difficult to manage from a governance perceptive, she finds it “remarkable” for the amount of personal support and interaction it provides students.

Asked what she thought of the admissions process for Oxford, in which prospective students apply to individual colleges rather than the university as a whole, she replied that the system “is so deeply embedded that it can never change.” When asked if she would change it if she could, the principal replied: “I don’t know what the British equivalent of the 5th amendment is but I plead it.”

T

here is still no word on who Professor Richardson’s successor will be. When she leaves on 1 January, two members of the College Gate staff will share her duties temporarily to ensure a smooth transition: Gary Taylor as acting principal and Derek Watson and acting CEO. The new principal can be expected to take up office for the start of the next academic year.

Our new principal and vice chancellor will likely be announced in the spring.

Principal Richardson wished her successor the best of luck, saying: “I think whoever gets this position will be a very lucky person, it’s a fabulous, fabulous job.”

For Louise Richardson, it seems, St Andrews will always be a home.

“I’ll certainly always feel close to the place. I’ll leave a bit of myself here and I’ll take a bit with me.”

18 Features

thesaint-online.com

26 November 2015• The Saint

Photo: Tommy Vermeir

Finding enlightenment at the DKI

Tommy Vermeir with his students at the Drikung Kagyu Institute (DKI) in Dekyling, a Tibetan settlement in northern India.

Natasha Franks

I

n the shadow of the Himalayan Mountains lies the Drikung Kagyu Institute. Known as DKI, the school operates as a monastery and education centre that seeks to provide its pupils with both spiritual and modern knowledge. Two St Andrews students recently had the opportunity not only to visit the institute but to volunteer as teachers of English and maths to the monks and nuns. In turn, they themselves were able to obtain empirical experience in the Buddhist lifestyle and to participate in the dayto-day operations of the monastery.

Perhaps the most integral aspect of Buddhism lies in its status not as a religion but as a way of life. It doesn’t have a God; instead, Buddhists simply seek to ameliorate the suffering that constantly accompanies man’s existence. According to Buddha himself, humanity is the belief system’s number one priority.

This sentiment was uttered by Shanta, a monk at DKI and companion to his two St Andrean guests.

Ogyen Verhagen, who made the initial peregrination to the institute, did so with the animus of educating himself about Buddhism, an oft-misunderstood concept in the West. Both he and Tommy Vermeir describe their heuristic conversations with the monks as one of the most significant takeaways from their experience at DKI. Mr Verhagen’s expedition was initiated by his guardians, who first arranged for him to stay at the monastery as a visitor. At the monks’ suggestion, he agreed to take on the role of an English and maths teacher and his first day of class took place on Christmas last year. As the first St Andrean to undertake such a project, Mr Verhagen had been given the opportunity to shape the future of what could potentially become a permanent relationship between our uni-

versity and DKI. His temerity proved to be efficacious, as he was followed six months later by fellow student Tommy Vermeir.

The journey itself is not for the faint of heart: a flight from Heathrow to Delhi will run just over eight hours.

Upon arriving in Delhi, visitors have the choice of taking a bus, a train or a plane to their penultimate destination, Dekyling, a Tibetan settlement near the northern city Dehradun. Both Mr Verhagen and Mr Vermeir elected to take the bus, giving them the chance to witness the environs of the Indian countryside first-hand as they drove through the night.

When Mr Verhagen disembarked in Dekyling, he found himself alone beneath the foreign firmament, his 5 am phone calls to his contacts at the monastery going unanswered.

By the end of an hour, fortunately, he had successfully gotten in touch with Shanta, who set off to escort Mr Verhagen to his final destination.

The Drikung Kagyu Institute is housed within Dekyling, itself a place of refuge for Tibetans seeking freedom from persecution by the People’s Republic of China. By learning English, the refugees at DKI will have access to more extensive life opportunities, such as higher education, that would otherwise be out of their reach.

The optimistic nature of Buddhism is evident in the fact that even in the face of such hardship, the residents of DKI continue to channel their energy towards peaceful self-improvement. Mr Vermeir recounted afternoons spent meditating, following a meagre meal of bread and soup.

The modesty of the monks’ and nuns’ lifestyle was visible in all aspects of the monastery. Mr Verhagen, as their first guest in many years, was assigned to sparse living quarters that, in his words, opened his eyes to the massive disparity between the classes in India. A single light bulb illuminated the basic stone room that contained no more than a thin mattress, a desk

and a plastic chair. This simple space differed greatly from the homes of his wealthy hosts in Delhi and bring to mind the teachings of Buddha - that a wise man will take pleasure in the elimination of craving, rather than in material wealth.

Such a gracious phrase defies the stereotype of Eastern beliefs as being overly ascetic; rather, Buddhism relies on a certain mental calmness, an acceptance of our own helplessness.

The monks reject the idea of wanting, focusing instead on living in the moment and embracing life in every form, refusing to give in to luxuries or self-indulgence. In the wake of his visit, Mr Verhagen noted that the monks saw their own bodies as temporary, mere vessels, as they sought to spread compassion throughout the world.

Even their school lessons had the ultimate goal of personal growth, as they hoped to achieve an education that would bring them closer to bettering themselves and others.

This welcoming environment offered support to Mr Verhagen and Mr Vermeir as they embarked on their teaching programmes. Mr Verhagen, the institute’s inaugural St Andrean teacher, was essentially the programme’s test subject. He suggested a move to more comfortable living quarters (where Mr Vermeir would later stay) after finding his headphones chewed through by rats, and he established communication between himself and the monks with the intention of allowing future students the chance to teach at DKI. Although the programme is open to anyone, it would particularly benefit those who hope to pursue a career in teaching, as it places the attendee in a classroom setting from the get go. Mr Verhagen was assigned to his class of young monks with little instruction, using his mobile phone and the school office’s wireless network to aid him as he planned his lessons. His pupils, ranging in age from sixteen to twenty, could have been his peers.

Despite this, the basic material that he taught was previously unknown to them. For two hours a day (with the exception of Monday, a holiday), Mr Verhagen covered introductory-level maths and basic English, allowing his class to progress gradually over the course of his four week teaching stint.

When not teaching, Mr Verhagen was able to offer the monks accounts of his life in the UK, in between games of football and discussions on Buddhism. Mr Vermeir also infused his own background into his curriculum. Walt Whitman factored heavily in his lessons on idioms, also giving him the opportunity to teach his pupils about non-Buddhist belief systems. He identifies this as the principal reason for his agreeing to take on the position; although volunteering as a teacher, his focus during his time spent in India was on studying his surroundings and finding fulfilment from entering such a novel environment.

In addition to this exchange of philosophies, Mr Vermeir sought to explore the metropolitan side of India, not only the agrestic. Cheap bus rides allowed him to venture to cities near the monastery, visiting local friends and monuments. Mr Verhagen, too, stepped from beneath the patulous trees of Dekyling to see the Taj Mahal and India Gate in person. Considering that teaching only occupied two hours of his day and three hours of Mr Vermeir’s day, they were given ample time to stretch their legs and make the most of their month-long stays.

Having returned safely from DKI, both Mr Vermeir and Mr Verhagen speak of the experience with fondness.

Their pupils’ eagerness to learn and to educate, the beauty of the institute (particularly the Songsten Library) and the warm nature of the residents all helped to quell the culture shock that both of them took in their stride.

To embrace such foreign environs, such a conglomeration of ideas, and to fit in with such ease shows a will-

ingness to get stuck in and embrace life shared by many at our university.

We plunge into the North Sea every May, we blind ourselves with shaving foam, we navigate cobblestone streets in high heels. A partnership between St Andrews and the Drikung Kaygu Institute would be fostered well by our bold student body.

Buddha said: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” To draw from this, we may say that as more students participate in the mutual education at DKI, more candles can be lit. We are lucky to live in comfort, with food and water never more than a bicycle ride away, as we skip lectures to nurse hangovers sprung from balls or dinners or nights out that occur with such frequency that they blend together. Perspective is unquestionably the essence of this expedition; we would all do well to see how fortunate we are in our daily lives.

With this experience behind them, both DKI and St Andrews hope to encourage more students to take on temporary teaching positions at the institute. Humanities students would likely find themselves the most comfortable in the role of a teacher, as learning English is the primary aim of the Institute’s pupils; however, all degree subjects are welcome to the programme. The intention of the project is not necessarily to train aspiring teachers, but to allow any and all students the opportunity to become a part of the community of the monastery.

This budding relationship with DKI is something to be cherished and the project’s aims - to teach and to be taught by our contemporaries across the world - perfectly exemplifies Buddha’s beliefs.

For further information on becoming involved in DKI, contact either Mr Vermeir (tv20@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Mr Verhagen (osev@st-andrews.ac.uk).

The Saint• 26 November 2015

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Features 19

Fostering student talent in Kirsty Hardwick Features deputy editor

T

he archetypal writer is a mysterious creature. Are they brooding outsiders? Unassuming wallflowers silently storing up material? Or else do we envisage the Hemingway-esque figure setting up shop in Parisian cafés, drinking and name-dropping to excess?

Inklight, St Andrews’ creative writing society, has disproved these stereotypes time and again this semester, providing St Andrews with an unpretentious, supportive and talented community of student writers.

Inklight plays an integral and active role in the St Andrews’ arts and culture scene. So far this semester, Inklight has put on nearly an event a week, an impressive feat that has provided opportunities for students to share their work, appreciate literature and to learn and be inspired by each other. ***** President of Inklight, Alexandra Julienne, was first introduced to the society in her first year by her academic mother. Soon she became actively involved with Inklight through their poetry slams, where she found other students who shared her interest in spoken word. The slams, she explains, offer great variety and an inclusive atmosphere as “with the slams we try not to limit people. Every kind of performance poetry, not just the stuff which you would hear on YouTube, the button poetry. But if you are into sonnets you can do sonnets, or if you like an epic ballad, we’re cool with that too.”

A personal highlight from the semester for Ms Julienne is the Open Mic events “because we get to see most of our members,” she says.

These popular events are intentionally kept “really casual” so that anyone and everyone can bring along their poems, stories or raps and take part. Those who would prefer to sit and watch the performances are more than welcome and can soak in the friendly atmosphere at Aikmans, a must for any St Andrean.

Students looking to improve their craft without taking to the stage might be interested in the regular postgraduate workshops offered by Inklight.

These sessions are a great way to find out more about a wide range of writing genres or meet people with similarly literary interests. For instance, this semester there have been workshops on what creative writers can learn from print journalism, on the art world building for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers and on the art of mastering metre. There are many more planned for next semester.

Inklight also enjoys close links with other societies in St Andrews,

which have led to events on an even larger scale. This year, it worked with Student Minds as part of Mental Health Awareness Week to host a poignant Open Mic night focused on mental health. Inklight also frequently collaborates with other art societies, such as in September for their biannual creative lock-in at the Barron Theatre with Mermaids. Most recently, earlier this month Inklight joined up with the Feminist Society for a Feminist Poetry Night, which proved so popular that the societies are hoping to organise a similar event next semester. ***** Inklight’s primary aim is to bring together student writers so that they can ultimately improve each other’s writing. Independently, it can often be difficult to find time to write during our hectic schedules.

Although we might like to believe that great writing flows effortlessly from the writer’s pen, Ms Julienne encourages us to reconsider: “I think that it’s about 10 per cent imagination, that stroke of imagination, but 90 per cent of it is really working,” she says. “I think a lot of people see it on the page and they think, ‘Oh this is wonderful, this has probably sort of

spawned out of nowhere,’ and that’s the illusion of writing. There is a lot of work that goes into good writing...

You have to learn to love the grind even though it kind of bites you in the ass sometimes.”

Yet even the most dedicated writers will sometimes reach a standstill.

Ms Julienne advises: “I think the best thing to do if you feel that you’re stagnant and you’re kind of stuck is to go to one of the many events on offer: Toppings runs tonnes of readings, we do postgraduate workshops in the school of English throughout each semester, we have open mics at least every month. Getting to those can help you get into the rhythm of writing, and really it is just about making time.”

Each writer will tackle time management differently but Ms Julienne says: “If you’re one of those people who is heavily scheduled just take maybe 15-20 minutes a day. Insert it into your schedule, maybe after breakfast, and you’ll find that it will start to add up after a while into a lot of work.” ***** If you are wondering what to do with all this work you have now accumulated, why not submit it to

Illustration: Inklight

Spotlight on St Andrews Inklight? Each year, Inklight showcases the work of St Andrews students in its own independent journal of creative work. Journals from previous years, which are available for purchase at all Inklight events, are treasure troves of the very best of student writing.

I think that it’s about 10 per cent imagination, that stroke of imagination, but 90 per cent of it is really working Alexandra Rego, this year’s journal editor, has championed a new theme-focussed approach. This year’s theme, Adhesion, defined as “the force of attraction between unlike molecules, or the attraction between

the surfaces of contacting bodies,” offers plenty of scope to play with ideas about contrast and just what it is that brings things that are unlike together.

Given the volume of submissions that Inklight receives, Ms Julienne provides some helpful advice about how to stand out: “Usually a lot of the time with university writing you start to see a lot of similar things because we’re all in this town. There are a lot of poems about St Andrews, there are a lot of poems about relationships in St Andrews, romantic relationships, break ups in St Andrews, and those are all great. But really I guess what we are looking for is something that sets itself apart, even within a shared experience that we all have here…

[Submissions that do] something stylistically daring or [talk] about something that we haven’t see a whole lot of yet.”

Another difference in this year’s journal is that it looks set to feature more prose than in previous years.

Up until this year, the journal has predominately featured poems. But the editorial team chose to increase the submission word limit to 5,000 words for both fiction and non-fiction, a change that they hope will help correct this ratio. The guidelines also greatly encourage visual artwork submissions that can be digitalised or scanned for even more variety of content. The society is officially dedicated to creative writing, but Inklight encourages creative production in all its forms.

Although the first semester deadline has recently passed, there will be another opportunity to submit entries on the same theme next semester. The second deadline will be in March, about halfway through the second semester, giving those interested the winter break to perfect their submissions. The 2015-2016 journal itself will be available from April, hopefully around Week 11, and copies will be sold outside the library. ***** Writing can often seem like a solitary pursuit, making it especially important for societies like Inklight to bring writers together. By cultivating these relaxed and supportive environments through their events, Inklight allows students to push each other to greater heights. Perhaps even more importantly, Inklight allows us to share and appreciate the huge wealth of talent here in St Andrews.

To see this talent on display, be sure to mark their final event of the semester, a poetry slam on 2 December, in your diary. *****

Saint staff photographer Maryam Golafshani interprets this year’s Inklight journal theme with this photo of a snail sticking to a leaf.

To find out more about Inklight, join their Facebook group (www.facebook.com/ theinklight) or sign up for their mailing list by emailing inklight@st-andrews. ac.uk

20 Features

26 November 2015• The Saint

thesaint-online.com

United we stand:

St Andrews comes together in the wake of the Paris attacks Emily Allen

I

west along the Seine, and the dozens of Red Cross vans and ambulances speeding everywhere around me... It was a real state of emergency. I left work an hour late; if it hadn’t have been for that delay, I would have been in the area at the time of the tragedy.

It hit me that it could have been me.”

As St Andrews is a university

t is a timeline of events that has now become infamous. In the late evening of Friday, 13 November, an escalating catastrophe of chilling and horrific events ripped through the French capital and brought the whole world to a standstill.

The injured and deceased had not publically spoken out against ISIS; they were not protestors or activists.

They were simply innocent, young citizens, of various nationalities and walks of life. enjoying the start of the weekend. Never could they or anyone else have imagined the carnage that would ensue. For the 130 people who lost their lives, and over 300 injured, many of whom remain in critical condition, the night started out like any other Friday evening.

At around 8:17 pm (GMT), an explosion caused by suicide bombers rang out outside the Stade de France where a football match was underway between France and Germany, with France’s president, François Hollande, in attendance. In the following hours, gunmen opened fire on the restaurants and bars, such as Le Petit Cambodage, Le Carrilon bar, La Casa Nostra and Belle Equipe renowned for its international student bar. One group entered the Bataclan body, many of its students were concert hall, where American rock directly or indirectly affected by the group Eagles of Dead Metal were atrocities. Third-year student Jacob performing.

Arnould said: “I have lots of close As confusion and disbelief cousins in Paris who are around the momentarily reigned during the same age as those who were killed. immediate aftermath, the news of Like all young Parisians, they go a disaster in Paris reached all four out on Friday nights. My immediate corners of the globe, including St concern was knowing if they Andrews. With updates and videos were unharmed, as they of the attacks flooding in thick and didn’t all get back to me fast, many followed the attacks immediately.

I in real time. Former St Andrews went to bed student Emilien Saugrin, who is now at 3 am that studying in Paris, says: “I’ve been morning still shocked by the unprecedented scale waiting to of the attack.” As the hours slipped hear from by, the full horrifying extent of the tragedy became apparent. Out and about in the town of St Andrews in the early morning, the usually pleasant atmosphere was chilled, with students replacing their lighthearted greetings with the one question: “Have you heard what’s happened in Paris?”

Martin Lyle, a recent St Andrews graduate who is currently living in Paris, talked about the moment he understood t h a t something was wrong, saying: “I realised things w e r e n o t right as I s a w all the police cars going St Andrews French Society east as Photo: well as

It is crucial to continue living life as usual, and not to give them what they want.

War, or terror attacks, leave a lot more than they take

some of them, still not knowing.”

Former St Andrews student PaulEmile Delcourt, who is currently studying in Paris, said that in the days following the attacks: “Everyone is in a bit of a shock here. Many of my friends still are very worried about their own security, especially since the attacks targeted mostly young people. Everything is closed, the metro lines are empty. I think it is the saddest thing about all this, that these attacks not only killed so many people but also scared all Parisians.

The lightness of life of [the] French lifestyle for which Paris is known has vanished.” Mr Saugrin echoed these thoughts about France’s damaged joie de vivre lifestyle and noted “the symbolism of such gruesome attacks which occurred in the heart of the so-called ‘City of lights.’” The effect was acute. “I felt my ‘Frenchness’ damaged,” he said.

Jonathan Bucks, previous editor of The Saint, described how he was also personally effected by the tragic events. Jonathan explained “I lived in Paris a few years ago, [and] have a cousin who lives very near the Bataclan”. Jonathan recalled being overwhelmed with emotion by “one particular photo from the Bataclan, taken from the stage minutes before the attacks began.” Seeing “a lot of beaming faces” in those precious moments before the attackers arrived was

exceptionally moving.

In the days after the attacks, the University’s student body was at its best, d i s p l a y i n g resilience and unity.

The French Society organised a silent Pray for Paris Pier Walk.

Gathering in St Salvator’s Quadrangle at 4 pm the next day, as the attendees, some in gowns, some in black and some in their everyday wear, proceeded towards the pier in silence as a French flag was held high

at the front of the procession. The atmosphere was palpably different to the pier walks which take place every Sunday after the church service. Gone was the cheery post-mass atmosphere, the groups of friends laughing and chatting as they clustered down to the pier in gaggles. Quiet and muted the group walked, the only sound being the gowns flapping in the wind. But the silence said more than any words possibly could have. Early on Sunday morning, an event entitled ‘Stand United for Paris; Dress in Black’ took place, providing another means by which St Andrews students could show their respect, and mirrored such events which took place in major cities across the globe, such as New York, London and Sydney.

One portal that was not silent however was social media. For all their flaws and controversies, the various social networks which exist were a beacon in the darkness in the wake of the tragedy. Facebook enabled a feature allowing people who were in Paris to check in if they were unharmed following the attacks, alleviating the worry of their friends and family.

The network also gave its users the opportunity to add a French flag filter to their profile

picture.

T h e anonymous discussion app Yik Yak changed its refresh screen to the French tricolour, with the phrase “One herd, one love.”

(The top Yaks in St Andrews were concerned with expressing shock and condolences.) A simple black ribbon was added on the Google homepage with the tagline: ‘In memory of the Paris victims.’

Some feel that social media outlets provided a welcome sense of unity and togetherness, especially for those of us who were unable to do anything physically to aid in the aftermath of the attacks. This solidarity could be shared and participated in from around the globe.

However, second-year student Alexandra Georges-Picot expressed concern about the use of social media in this way. She says: “Although social media provides a form of unity, I think that it also has the power to detach solidarity from the actual horrors of the event. It is almost too easy add a ‘Pray for Paris’ filter to your profile picture. So much so that one does not even have to acknowledge the painful death of 130 people before they click.

Ironically, they might forget to pray for Paris while they do.” Alexandra went on to say “Perhaps this shines through most clearly when we look at how fast the blue, white and red

has blended and blurred into the background of Facebook. Just five days after the events, the profile pictures seem completely detached from their original meaning. It is as though Facebook is saying ‘#prayforparis?

That is so last weekend.’ When did solidarity become a trend or form of self-promotion?”

The attacks were a sign that the violence in the Middle East had escalated so as to reach Europe. Mr. Lyle said: “It is all the more shocking that these attacks should happen in France, in Paris, because we have spent the last 200 years of our history creating and protecting a land in which these types of events should never happen. Yet these attacks undermine us, and they underpin how unbelievably fragile our peace is. You get a chill to your bone; your home is under attack. I began to realise how much it hurts when it happens to your hometown, to where you live, to the streets which you have walked in.

It hits home, literally. My people and fellow citizens were being killed.”

Yet throughout these hours of terror, the message that France unwaveringly portrayed was one of unity and strength in the face of the terrorist attacks. It is often said that it is crises such as these that bring a community together, but Mr. Delcourt sadly noted that: “There is a great solidarity, but a solidarity in fear, which I find very disturbing.”

The question that now remains is how France will overcome this day of terror and what impact it will have on the country’s future. The answer is, of course, that there is only one thing to do: try to rebuild the community and do everything in our power to make sure that an atrocity like this does not happen again. Second-year student Dillon Yeh visited Paris in the week after the attacks. He said: “With extra airport security, expectation of the city was tense. And yet upon arrival it seemed like any other day here.

Elderly patrons sitting at corner cafes, laughing children running on the street, commuters hurrying to work.

But then you’re reminded of what occurred: assault-weapon carrying soldiers patrolling, national police security checks, Gendarmerie vehicles lining streets. In the distance, a siren is heard, and everyone turns their head.”

As Mr Lyle put it with the oft-used British phrase: “We must keep calm and carry on.” He added: “It is crucial to continue living life as usual, and not to give them what they want.”

We should not give into “the fear, the pain, the trauma, the anger, that can divide, destabilise or threaten the core of a republic like France.” In the wake of the tragedy that has occurred, the message that France, and indeed the rest of the world, must now portray is that it will come together in the face of evil and violence, that we will not turn on our fellow citizens, and that above all, terrorism will not terrorize us.

Photo: The St Andrews French Society Pray for Paris Pier Walk on 14 November

The Saint• 26 November 2015

Features 21

thesaint-online.com

36 hours in Cusco

Phoebe Jones

C

usco is the Inca capital of Peru and a place that I believe is criminally underrated. Most people visit Cusco because it is the gateway to Machu Picchu. But while the ruins are an absolute must-see, they should not be your only reason for visiting Cusco. This is a city that was conceived in the shape of a Puma by the Incas (something that can still be seen from above), contains some of the best surviving Inca ruins, seems to host an endless carnival and is home to some of the most generous people that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Furthermore, there is so much more to Perah than trekking in the Andes, chundering everywah and finding yourself.

Friday The flight from Lima to Cusco is an experience in itself and you should try desperately to get a window seat.

The flight travels over the Andes, and the view of the communities that live up there as well as of the mountains themselves is unparalleled.

I recommend Loki hostel; even though its position at the top of the hill may not seem ideal, the views are more than worth it. (The acclimatisation process will also prove priceless if you plan on doing one of the treks.)

Loki also has a friendly, party atmosphere. Its bar serves a blood bomb challenge, which is a great way to start a night out; the Israelis have the unfortunate advantage of always being much better than the Brits at this! The hostel also offers an endless supply of coca tea, which is essential in fighting altitude sickness. (N.B. If you are using Cusco as a stopover before the trek, then the Mama Simona hostel is a much more suitable alternative.)

If, like me, you are lucky enough to arrive on the feast of Corpus Christi, then the first thing that you should do

is head to the Plaza de Armas as there are processions and festivities taking place all day. Even if you do not arrive on Corpus Christi you should definitely head to the Plaza not least because it is home to the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, also known as Cusco Cathedral. The cathedral offers a fascinating insight into the way that Andean traditions tried desperately to survive under the onslaught of Western European ideology. This is seen most notably in the painting of the Last Supper by Quechua artist Marcos Zapata, which offers a very distinctive twist as the meal depicted consists of a cuy (guinea pig). It is simply not to be missed.

Also keep an eye out for the frequent depiction of the Virgin Mary wearing a mountain-shaped skirt with a river running around the hem, identifying her with Pachamama, the Inca goddess also known as Mother Earth.

Dusk is the best time of day to visit the Plaza as it is a lot less crowded and the cathedral is even more beautiful when it is all lit up.

Head down one of the many side streets off the Plaza and you will find any number of restaurants offering traditional Peruvian cuisine. I particularly recommend Adobo de Chancho a traditional dish from the Arequipa region that consists of pork cooked in turmeric, ground garlic, vinegar and salt. Nothing could be more comforting after a morning of travelling.

After dinner you will find that the temperature has suddenly plummeted, so head to the night market on Calle Plateros to buy an alpaca jumper – the cheapest, warmest and greatest purchase that you will ever make!

Walk back along the Siete Cuartones and you will be greeted by the sight of locals dancing. They will be delighted if you go and join them and more than happy to teach you some moves.

Saturday After beginning the day with an-

other cup of coca tea you should take the time to go out the back of the hostel and admire the view. It really does seem as if the whole of Cusco is laid out beneath your feet.

Head to the Plaza Regocijo where there are a number of guides who provide a free walking tour of the city for a small fee. This is definitely worth doing as you get to see parts of the city that you would never have thought of visiting on your own.

Highlights include a visit to a charango workshop, the Andean answer to the guitar; Hatun Rumiyoc Street, which is one of the best remaining examples of an Inca road and home to the famous Twelve-Angled Stone; and a free pisco sour. One of my favourite parts of the tour was one of the more overlooked features of the plaza: the 1992 plaque that commemorates the victims of the invasion and Andean resistance, which helps to provide a sombre reminder of Cusco’s and Peru’s poignant past.

For lunch, head to the San Pedro market and try one of the battered cuy. (If you do not know what to look for, keep an eye out for guinea pigs on sticks.)

In the afternoon head to Sacsayhuaman (pronunciation: “sexy woman”), a magnificent Inca fortress that overlooks Cusco. As Sacsayhuaman can be reached on foot, my main advice would be to wear walking boots and to bring water. The climb is well worth it as the site offers some incredible views of Cusco as well as stunning examples of the Incan ruins. The sheer size of the individual stones makes it difficult to comprehend how on earth humans built this. (If you happen to be in Cusco on 24 June, then this is the ideal time to visit the site as the city will be celebrating the Inti Raymi, or the festival of the Sun, which is a long standing tradition still celebrated today.) The most important thing that you need to know about getting to Sacsayhuaman is that you need the

Boleto Turístico General, a ticket that allows you to access sixteen attractions in the Cusco region. You can get a student ticket for 70 soles, which is just over £10 and definitely worth it.

I was incredibly fortunate as when I was in Cusco the Copa América was being played. I was watching the game with a group of Peruvians when Peru scored a goal against Brazil, and I do not think I will ever witness joy like that again. Even if the Copa América is not being played though, you should definitely try and watch a football match with a group of Peruvians. I would challenge you to find a country where football is more adored.

Dinner should consist of alpaca steak; a saltier, more flavourful version of its beef cousin.

In the evening head back to the Plaza and go to Mama Africa, the best night club in Cusco. Learn the choruses to Bailando by Enrique Iglesias and El Taxi by Pitbull, and you are guaranteed an almost endless supply of Pisco Sours and salsa partners.

Sunday

If the coca tea is starting to drive you insane, try and get hold of a cup of yerba mate, a smoky green tea that comes from Argentina. In your final few hours head over to the San Blas and take a wander around the shops and stalls there. Keep an eye out for panpipes, beautiful blankets and ponchos, amongst other things.

While I normally avoid Western food like the plague when I am travelling it seems almost immoral to not visit the Meeting Place Café in the San Blas, not least because they aim to reach out to the community of Cusco by giving all of their profits to a handful of specific, local projects. If philanthropic reasons fail to convince you though, then I hope that their milkshakes and waffles will!

Before leaving, grab a final cup of coca tea and pray that the sniffer dogs at the airport do not stray too close.

Photos: Phoebe Jones

22 Photography

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

Week in pictures

Photo: Taylor Almeraz

Photo: Taylor Almeraz Photo: Sammi Ciardi

Photo: Terry Lee

Photo: Sammi Ciardi

Photo: Terry Lee

Photo: Taylor Almeraz

Photos from Welly Ball, Concrete Catwalk, Label Launch, Pangea, and Sports Stripped

Photography editor: Lorelei Pfeffer Deputy editor: Terry Lee thesaint-online.com/pictures

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Staff photographer Maryam Golafshani highlights Transition St Andrews’s community gardens

Events thesaint-online.com/events

Interview with debating society speaker, Yiftah Curiel Champar: a wild success, or extreme failure?

Editor: Nora Stai Deputy editors: Antonia Ward, Emma Galligani @saint_events

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Tuesdays at Ma Bells: “come one, come all!”

The Saint gives a satirical account of the hottest night on the St Andrean social scene

Rylie Booth-Fitzgerald Amongst the hallowed halls of the English-speaking world’s third oldest university live the best and brightest students of their day, emanating from all walks of life and various schools of thought. The students of St Andrews find common ground on one issue: Tuesday night is for drinking. This community-wide activity culminates in one venue: Ma Bells. Easily the most prestigious drinking institution in the KY16 area code, Ma Bells has a reputation for greatness and importance bestowed by the Duke of Cambridge himself and, in the opinion of this experienced journal-

toss her bag into a corner and get moving to the truly unique mix that engulfs the well-defined, spacious dance floor? The music emits steadily from a series of speakers strategically placed on the floor for best acoustics, which allows me to completely lose myself into the lyrics of generational anthems like “All-Star”

by Smash Mouth or even a vintage Taio Cruz hit, if I’m lucky, while the aforementioned acoustics send the baseline straight into my soul: truly an ethereal experience.

As my gin buzz fades, I usually determine that it’s time to act as a social creature of t h e

new people. When you’re inside the venue, everyone is your friend.

This sense of camaraderie translates into the non-existent dress code. Your friends (and fellow party-goers) will never judge you for having a bit of an off night. For best Ma Bells success, gentlemen, you are advised to throw on your beloved snapback and turn it backwards, once you are drunk enough, to truly be the King of Ma Bells. Don’t forget your club tie, though surely no one will judge you if you’re lacking in the club tie department: again, the

night and engage, not only my friends in conversation, but also make some new friends as well. After all, everyone is so friendly and wonderful in a place as magical as Ma Bells. One of my personal all time favourite things about Ma Bells is the way they keep the lights low in order to encourage you to meet

Ma Bells’ motto is “Just be yourself”.

Ladies, consider something delicate and in need of dry cleaning. You can rest assured everyone around you cares just as much for your Karl Lagerfeld blouse as you do. As a last

One thing I can say, as I am often the sober friend, if there is anyway I can attempt to assuage your fears about Ma Bells it will be by informing you of the frankly lovely ambiance of this cosy joint. Always warm enough for you to ditch your jacket on one of the plentiful hooks, Ma Bells’ only struggle in the realm of climate control. The problem is, you recommendation to all, might get so comfortable with your make sure that you’re surroundings that you may even wearing a coat that find yourself taking layers off! is incredibly dear to Make yourself at home in this y o u , p o s - sibly judgment-free zone: personal comfort is what Ma Bells Tuesdays are all about.

Speaking of comfort, to all the ladies out there, your prayers have been answered! Another defining feature that I can honestly say is one of my personal favourites of Ma Bells is the floor that always keeps you balanced.

But this journalist has always wondered, what gives the floors in Ma Bells their characteristic Illustration by: Valeria Duca stick? Shame?

Spilled vodka cranberry? The tears of those who were unable to b r i n g get Oktoberfest or Christmas Ball tickets something of sentimental (or get into Oxbridge)? We may never value as Ma Bells is, as I continue to know, but I thank those who provide it state, about respect for both you and all the same. your possessions.

So come one, come all! If you love Ma Maybe drinking and dancing Bells, I’ll see you there next Tuesday. aren’t for you, or you’re a little new And if you hate Ma Bells, I guess I’ll to the Ma Bells on Tuesday scene. see you there next Tuesday.

sized outer-layer upon arrival, the next course of events was to make a beeline straight to the bar. Expecting large queues again I was surprised to find the wait for a drink to be rather short.

The Welly Ball Committee had promised us a full line-up of promising musical acts, plus a great DJ. It is the opinion of this writer that they didn’t disappoint! Too busy bumping into friend after friend, I didn’t spend that much time on the dance floor, but when I did the dance floor was pleasantly packed and the music was a lot of fun.

Having danced, drunk, and socialised my way through the

evening, the night ended far too fast with it soon being time to board the buses once again and head back to town. However, this was where the night went more than slightly downhill, in my opinion. One guest described this sudden change in mood: “the bad end of the evening was caused by poor organisation concerning the buses, compounded by people’s drunken behaviour.”

For those who waited till end, the queues for the buses developed fast and caused a back up of students pushing onto buses that seemed to not be pulling up fast enough. The night was freezing, and the situation with the disorganisation of the

coat check did not help, with guests freely searching the masses. Sorry St Andreans, but seeing all that pushing and queue barraging when we were all obviously freezing was not one of our finest moments as a student body.

I am disappointed that the night ended on such a low note when I had genuinely enjoyed the rest of the evening. The Welly Ball Committee could have definitely handled the queues and bus situations better.

After speaking to guests in at the end of the night, it seemed as if the bad had drowned out the good for most

Cheap drinks that will hardly stretch your Mulberry wallet ist, the glamorous hotel basement locale lives up to scratch in every possible way.

When one imagines a student haunt, the images of cheap drinks, pleasant music, and a comfortably sized space with appropriate lighting might come to mind.

Once again, I can say, Ma Bells delivers. As advertised, Ma Bells has cheap drinks that will hardly stretch your Mulberry wallet, as the standard fare of gin and tonic (Bombay Sapphire at the least, Ma Bells is far superior to use anything less and frankly so are you, you Tuesday night lush!) comes in under £7.

We’re really not in Kensington anymore! G&T in hand and braced to start my partying, the dance floor calls me; so what’s a girl to do but

You may even find yourself taking layers off!

Welly Ball: did we have a welly-good time?

Welly Ball has come and gone again: a truly fantastic evening in spite of its flaws that has likely left most attendees nursing their hangovers.

There is no doubt that the weather was co-operating with last night’s theme, with wellies becoming not only a part of the dress code, but a necessity as the rain started coming down on those in the queue for the buses. With 800 tickets sold for just the after party alone - a completely sold out event - the rain didn’t seem to sway anyone’s excitement for the night ahead.

Having rid myself of my over-

people.

Photo: Wikipedia

Char Uppal

The Saint • 26 November 2015

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Events 25

Champar society: champagne for the...pain?

The Saint gives an exclusive look into Champar’s event: “a night to forget, if not already-forgotten” With the constant posting and advertisements popping up on our newsfeed, I’m sure we have all heard of this year’s addition to our uni’s collection of ‘societies.’ If you haven’t, let me give you a clue: first there was pain and champagne. It was all fun and games, and we had a good time going to a relatively well planned house party. This year, however, it’s a champagne party. ‘Champar’ was brought to the table; it’s purpose – drinking, forgetting, and ... regrets?

We’re all used to the ‘classic’ drinking societies in this town – though we may perpetually scoff at them, they have a sort of established presence which cannot (perhaps unfortunately) be denied. But what is Champar?

Besides sounding like a cheesysketchy-not-so-funny-posh pun and organising so-called mass ‘parties’, does it have a purpose, let alone a

Unsafe? I would say so.

Messy? Without a doubt

place in the Bubble?

Now as completely, utterly, studydrained students, how could we deny

the pleasure of socialising and drinking to dry our tears, but do we really want our university to be represented by societies like Champar?

At least the actual drinking clubs in this town either stay on the down low or pretend to have an actual ‘purpose.’ I don’t recall the Kate Kennedy Club’s ‘Charity’ May Ball being openly referred to as the KK Gets Drunk May Ball, though everything Champar seems to advertise (besides trying to look like FS and Don’t Walk) involves the words ‘boozy’ or ‘alcohol.’ So what really is Champar – a society highlighting the worst of St Andrean stereotypes (feeding into the Edinburgh Tab’s despise, might I add)? Perhaps.

That being said, last year’s Champagne For The Pain parties were a huge success. I remember stumbling out after a night with all of my friends, more than satisfied and thinking it was definitely a night worth spending in a cramped flat. People brought their own alcohol, didn’t have to pay entrance and could spend the night dancing and mingling with friends. Why did they decide to make it so official then? Was it spur-of-the-moment fun, or some odd form of social climbing? Either way, so far, it has not delivered.

I attended Champagne For The Pain 2.1 last Saturday to see if it still retained some of the fun and charm it had last year, and was thoroughly displeased. As I entered the large,

dark church hall (taking the saints and sinners thing a bit far?), I spotted copious amounts of opened bottles of alcohol on the table at the back. Whilst I am sure others, including myself, would seldom be opposed to free alcohol, there was something a little daunting about the fact that they were just laying

It’s purpose - drinking, forgetting and ... regrets? out, in a room with hundreds of other friends and strangers alike, for all to touch and drink. Unsafe? I would say so. Messy? Without a doubt.

The VIP room was also spectacularly odd, with one small flashing disco light placed in a cramped space, filled with multiple champagne bottles (the only pleasing part of the night) and drunk socialite-wannabes either standing awkwardly in the middle or sitting on chairs in the corner, definitely giving me the ‘intimate’ feel I’d been waiting for all night…

Trying (too) hard to be an actual event, but also trying to uphold last year’s flat-party standards, whilst being held in a church hall, resulted in the place feeling like a large 12-year-old-disco-party, only with added alcohol and out of control students, writhing and flailing about to oddly resonating music. Moderation was not taken into consideration, with people walking around the room pouring drink down (and all over) others’ mouths. By midnight, people were falling over in the bathroom. By one, I don’t remember.

Overall, the party seemed t o be stepping o n an odd line between an organised event, which had

the potential to be fun, and a simple flat party, creating a disturbingly bizarre blend of the two, which simply did not deliver and warded me off for any future Champar events. If anything, all I got from the provided champagne, was, ironically, more pain.

Illustration by: Zoe Schodder

Leighton Lacey

Catwalk’s anniversary: “glitz and glamour” The Saint reviews last week’s Concrete Catwalk classy cocktail party and sizzling surprise launch

Emma Galligani Deputy events editor Not knowing what was in store for the night, ‘charming’ was my preconception of what an event at the Adamson Bar would be, and ‘charming’ is the best way I can describe my arrival upon the fairy-light strewn alley up to the bar. If one imagines every potentially good stereotype of St Andrews mulled into one night, then Concrete Catwalk’s first birthday succeeded in bringing that to life.

Photo: Taylor Almeraz

A twist to the classy monochrome

Cosy, cheerful yet chilled street-style vibe

Greeted by a doorman, a camera and hostesses echoing ‘I love your outfits’, I felt transported into an eclectic vision of glitz and glamour, before even having had the door opened for me. The idea of impressing was not only reserved to the dress code, with an array of beautifully crafted Adamson cocktails and wine laid out for guests at the entrance, pleasing every student’s deadlinedrained eyes. The room was filled with Concrete Catwalk’s pictures and the Adamson’s Christmas deco-

rations, creating a cosy, cheerful, yet chilled street-style vibe that carried on through the first part of the night.

The Adamson offered a perfect layout: with guests casually filling out the tables and empty spaces – forming clusters of monochrome and the occasional standout red – conversation bubbled in every corner of the bar, everyone looking chic and satisfied. I overheard an entertaining ‘bestdressed, worst-dressed’ conversation,

with the worst-dressed category being unsurprisingly difficult to determine on a night where everyone looked ‘on point’.

Though some foot trampling was unpleasantly experienced near the bar, it was not unexpected, and the bartenders did an effective job of swiftly serving guests without letting anyone wait too long. Being in the Adamson, though, a ten minute wait for a perfect £5 cocktail cannot be put on the same

spectrum of comparison as a wait for an overpriced cheap-vodka-coke at any other event. The trampling, therefore, was quickly overlooked.

As many will know from the St Andrean student experience, glitz and glamour often don’t go longer than a couple of hours without the addition of an eyesore Pablo or wine and cheese stains. However, the Concrete Catwalk committee planned a certain surprise that definitely brought

a twist to the classy monochrome night without the unwanted stains and regrets. Shuffling made way to a closed bar, wiped clean with the addition of a stepladder, transforming the Adamson’s bar into a marble catwalk for the first guerilla fashion show of the academic year. Barefoot female models confidently strutted down the catwalk, followed by shirtless male models, brooding into the room as we all craned our necks and enjoyed the display. Dancing on the bar then ensued, marking the second wave of the night, where composure and elegance were no longer the central focus.

After attending a somewhat mundane Vic launch for Don’t Walk earlier this year, the originality of Concrete Catwalk’s ‘birthday’ and model launch was definitely standout. Only a year into its emergence, Concrete Catwalk managed to create a stylish event, perfectly representing its purpose in the St Andrews community and, though new, established itself as a worthwhile event.

26 Events

26 November 2015 • The Saint

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Interview with UDS speaker, Yiftah Curiel

The Saint interviews Israeli diplomat, Yiftah Curiel, for the debate on counter-terrorism strategies On Thursday 5 November, Yiftah Curiel, Head Spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in London, came to St Andrews to take part in the union debating society’s discussion entitled, “This house believes all is fair in counter terrorism.” Speaking alongside esteemed professor, Richard English, Yiftah Curiel gave us unique insight into the personal and political impact of terrorism.

Sitting down with Mr Curiel, who was accompanied by Matt Keston, Academic Liasion Officer, I asked how our tiny bubble had garnered the interest of the Israeli Embassy.

“We attend many campuses, because many issues that Israel is facing have a regional and global impact on the UK,” he tells me. Having just come from Aberdeen University the day before, Mr Curiel is keen to stress the importance of engaging with the student body, as well as the complexity of Israel’s unique position on the topic: “We are the Western democracy at the forefront of the counter terrorism dilemma and I am here to offer practical insight into aspects of Counter Terrorism,” he said.

Mr Curiel outlined the challenges of working as a diplomat, particularly in terms of the challenges of representing a very complex nation. “Diplomats are taught to portray the best of their country,” he explains. “One of the most difficult things for Israel is that we are the only democracy in the Middle East. We have a thriving economy and a free press. Yet we are facing threats that Europe has not experienced since the Second World War. These strategic issues are hard to get across to the West when you have not experienced them.”

The matter of tactics over strategy in Israel’s counterterrorism

policy was a particularly relevant for this debate topic. Agreeing with Daniel Byman’s sentiments in the 2011 Israeli counter terrorism book, Mr Curiel commented, “We are stronger on tactics than strategy in most areas.” Though acknowledging that he did not wish to challenge Byman’s book, he further elaborated: “We are good at finding on the spot solutions for many of our problems. We are not so good at planning ahead. And I think the reason for that is we live in such a volatile reality that often times we don’t know what the future will be like anyway.”

Speaking on the topic of another Israeli counter terrorism expert, Boaz Ganor, Mr Curiel’s response is more vague. The utilization of the words ‘eradicating’ and ‘eliminating’ terrorists has been pointed out by many as a somewhat loaded and disturbing terminology.

Yet, Mr Curiel explained that we shouldn’t judge him on the use of language, one word or another. “We need to isolate groups of extremists who are beyond negotiation or refuse to renounce terror.

Our late Prime M i n i s t e r Rabin, murdered 25 years ago yesterday, stated that we must fight terror as if there is no peace process and pursue peace as if there is no terror. The problem with terror, especially in

Israel, is that it has caused such fear, hatred and hostility: one must really deal with this problem. This is true even today with the stabbing sprees we are witnessing.” He went on further to say, “You need to be able to provide the most basic security for your citizens.”

Upon being asked whether Israel advocates an aggressive approach rather than one of deterrence, he replies that the Israeli doctrine has always been one of strong offence being the best defence: “Take the battle to your adversaries field.”

This is particularly important in Israel where our citizens are always on the frontline. We can’t afford to be fighting on our own turf. Israel was one of the first. I shouldn’t go into that.”

There were several subjects that Mr Curiel did not wish to discuss, and this sudden

HamletatPrince of Denmark Xmas the Old Course

Christmas Market

Groove at The Rule

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n Sunday 29 November the Old Course Hotel will transform into a winter wonderland. With everything from a food hall to a festive market, this event is not to be missed. The hotel will also offer a jazz brunch, as well as cooking demonstrations for food-enthusiasts.

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etween 12 and 13 December, Fairmont St Andrews will be returning with their luxury Christmas market. Their stalls will include everything from artisan breads and cakes, to jewellery and tweed accessories, as well as live entertainment.

The market will be open almost all day, from 11 am until 4 pm.

Photo: Debating society

Antonia Ward Deputy events editor

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he African and Caribbean Society will be hosting Groove at the Rule on Thursday 26 November. Hip Hop, R&B, Afrobeat and Dancehall are on the entertainment agenda. Entry will be £3 for members and £5 for non-members.

pause was due to a reference to targeted killings, to which he responded, “We don’t speak publicly on the issue of targeted killings and drones.” Israel was, in fact, one of the first countries to employ the use of targeted killings and in 2006 the High Court legalized the use of targeted killings in certain circumstances. He does, however, acknowledge that the blurring of lines between civilian and soldier and the rise of non state actors has led to this being a tactic employed by many states. Moreover, he is keen to stress that the soldiers that operate drones in Israel differ from those in the West because there is no detachment: “This is personal for our people. We are defending our borders. When a drone operator takes out a rocket launcher he is taking out the rockets that will hit those in Israel.” When quizzing him on Netayanhu’s recent comment regarding the culpability of Palestine in the Holocaust he is also dismissive.

“Let’s skip that question. That was a statement he later rescinded.”

On the topic of the rise of ISIS as a threat, he commented, “It is a difficult and long struggle and we need to look at the different actors playing in this field. Western intervention formed a deterrent, but this has been eroding as can be seen by Asaad’s use of chemical weapons. Just as intervention in Iraq caused controversy, non involvement also has its price. We are seeing that with the millions of refugees.”

He is also highly critical of Iran: “The Asaad regime would not be there without Iran. They are the number one state sponsor of terrorism. It is a difficult situation. Non involvement is not how we defeat ISIS. We cannot have our cake and eat it.”

When questioned about the relationship between Israel and Iran, Mr Curiel emphasized there is no territorial dispute and that “We, Israel, have no dispute with the people of Iran.” He went on to say

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that “We had a great relationship before the Revolution. We have an issue with a the Iranian Regime, which is anti Semitic, holding a Holocaust cartoon contest every year in Tehran; they have called for Israel to be wiped off the map. Iran is the main backer of Hezbollah and Hamas.” He further adds, “This radical Islamist ideology of the regime is averse to all principles espoused by the West and this is a universal problem.”

On this subject Mr Curiel has his own personal experience, relaying his memories of hiding with his two young daughters when missiles were raining over Tel Aviv. “It is something that is very tangible. This was in 2012 just before I came to London, and it was the first time there were air raid

We don’t speak publicly on the issue of targeted killings sirens in Tel Aviv: the first time Hamas acquired rockets that could reach 70 km from Gaza to Tel Aviv. It was the first time rockets had fallen since the first Gulf War. Most Israelis have experienced these kinds of attacks.”

While Israel is certainly similar to Western countries in certain aspects, it is also an extremely unique nation.

This being said, Mr Curiel’s experiences really relay the personal fear and difficulties faced by the Israeli people as a result of terrorism. In an age of increasing terrorism, it is clear Mr Curiel and Israel’s own extensive experience of terrorism has provided new and important ways of learning to counter this particular security issue.

Turkey Trot

ith American Thanksgiving cheer, on Thursday 26 November at 10 AM, UNICEF St Andrews will be hosting a 5K race on West Sands. There will be a prize for the winner and turkey costumes are encouraged. Raising over £15 for the even will also win you a free turkey trot t-shirt. Admission to the race is £3, and is payable at the starting line. eight

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The Other Guys

n Friday 27 November The Other Guys will be performing their Christmas concert at the All Saints’ Episcopal Church. Featuring festivity and beloved a cappella, the evening is sure to set us all into a feeling of cheer. Tickets will be available for £5.

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602 Ball

n Friday 27 November the Fellowship of St Andrews will be celebrating the University’s 602nd birthday on Lower College Lawn. The proceeds for the event will be going to Class Gift in order to raise funds for student bursaries, as well as funding a week of free events in honour of St Andrews Day.

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St Andrews’ Day

his year’s St Andrews’ Day celebrations will take place on the weekend of the 27-30 November.

There will be live entertainment, dance, books food, drink golf – and much more. Join students and locals alike at St Andrews’ biggest party to celebrate the town’s historic origins.

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Christmas Ball

he highly anticipated Mermaids Christmas Ball is back again on November 29, bringing wizardry to the table. Hogwarts at Christmas will feature chocolate fountains, mulled wine and butter beer. Re-live your childhood fantasies and celebrate before exams with music from the Alleycats, Blueswater, Joe Jones and DJ Matt Edmondson for a night of imagination and magic.

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PJ Harvey performs at The Byre, full story p.34 - Photo by University of St Andrews

28 Arts & Culture

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26 November 2015 • The Saint

Cult film of the week: Spaceballs

Director Joe Russo speaks to aspiring film students F

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M Photo by Fi Pollock

Marissa Visci Film editor

Stephanie Araneo On 19 and 20 November in the Byre Theatre, the film studies department led a tripartite, interactive opportunity for students to engage with film and television director Joe Russo about contemporary filmmaking. It was a discussion with Russo about his career, a master class to discuss a scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and a more personal conference meeting between Russo and film students.

Although St Andrews sees its fair

Russo was nothing but humble as he spoke to students share of talented individuals, it is not every day that such a celebrated Hollywood figure devotes hours to a discussion with fans—especially a man as involved with Marvel Studios (a corporation known for their secrecy) as Russo is. However, Russo spoke candidly with students about his early struggles to establish himself within the business, the importance of academia and what to expect from his upcoming Marvel pictures.

Russo is one half of the directing team known as the ‘Russo Brothers.’ He and his brother Anthony were the creative minds behind some of Community’s quirkiest and highest rated episodes and helped raise Arrested Development from cult status to one of the most beloved shows of the decade. However, Russo was nothing but humble as he spoke to students on the stage of the Byre. Within the first few minutes, he opened up about his failed first film, Pieces, which was never released due to the $1 million budget they used solely on music, before copyright. An unglamorous debut that he was willing to laugh at.

“My brother and I say that we never made anyone any money un-

til Captain America,” Russo joked, referring to his last feature film release, The Winter Soldier, which raked in almost $715 million worldwide. Yet, financial performance, he admitted, is not something he prioritises. Instead, he values the input of the fans most, even reading internet forums for potential story arcs. This is especially pertinent to his upcoming Marvel features, and Russo hinted that those who fretted over that controversial Black Widow and Hulk romance in Avengers: Age of Ultron may have reason to be hopeful.

“We create what is best for the story. Continuity is not something that we are bound to. Marvel is v e r y free-spirited,” Russo t o l d h i s audience.

Captain America m a y a l s o b e re-envisioned: Russo deems t h e char-

acter “too moral,” and says that as the world he avenges gets darker, he “moves away from everything he has believed in in the first film.”

He briefly mentions the more “aggressive” action sequences that fans can expect (particularly two Black Widow scenes that were positively received in private screenings), but he emphasises the “emotional realism” that he wants to bring to even his sillier projects.

“It is important for the work to not

Events like this make our dreams seem more tangible become too abstract. It’ll lose its heart,” he said.

Russo’s affable personality was apparent throughout, but it was his sincere passion for his craft that bubbled to the surface, particularly when he offered advice to budding filmmakers. One that he could not emphasize enough, was the need to practice your art. “Become a multi-hyphenate. Whether it is directing, shooting, writing, do not limit yourself,” advised Russo. “If you want to fully submerge yourself in your craft, relocate to where there are more opportunities. “If you want to learn how to make cars, you go to Detroit. If you want to learn how to make movies, you need to go to LA,” he continued.

Above all else, however, Russo advises to value your academic career. I don’t know if I’d be in film without my academic back-

ground,” he said plainly, citing his studies as giving him a better appreciation of past work that later influenced his directing style.

His constant film references showed his avid, inner fanboy. He referred to the bank robbery scene from Heat several times, calling director Michael Mann a prominent idol, and described Community’s Dungeons and Dragons episode as very Peter Jackson-esque and the paintball episodes reminiscent of Star Wars.

“Events like [meeting Russo] make our dreams seem more tangible,” said school president of film studies and music, Kit Klaes, who interviewed Russo directly. “I read many scripts and work on my own pieces, but I also now plan to use [academic] analysis to broaden my interests with the industry.”

Klaes feels encouraged to indulge more in her admiration for film, after finding Russo does the same.

We may feel inspired to achieve things larger than ourselves, but we often do not know where to begin The bittersweet part about meeting such a creative man, especially for students, is that we may feel inspired to achieve things larger than ourselves, but we often do not know where to begin.

We can sometimes see ourselves trapped in that awkward stage of adulthood, where we are too old to remain apathetic but too young to truly make a difference.

According to Russo, holding back a passion benefits no one. Not all projects can turn out like the Winter Soldier, particularly when we’re just starting out. Sometimes we have to create a few Piece-type disasters before we truly find our niche.

With the premiere of The Force Awakens just three weeks away, it seems only fitting to make this week’s cult film article a tribute to Star Wars. Although the franchise has a rabid fan base of its own—some of whom even dress up as Stormtroopers in their spare time, just for the fun of it—Star Wars has become a staple of pop culture, too mainstream to really qualify as a cult film anymore.

And so, in honour of The Force Awakens, I propose a different, though equally appropriate, cult film for this week: Mel Brooks’s 1987 parody of the original Star Wars trilogy, Spaceballs.

Much like its inspiration, Spaceballs takes place “in a galaxy very, very, very, very far away.” There, Planet Spaceball is facing an oxygen shortage, so the president sends his villainous agent, Dark Helmet, to kidnap the princess of nearby Druidia, in order to steal air from her planet. His plan is complicated when a rogue-forhire, the Han Solo-esque Lone Starr, is sent to rescue her, with help from his half-man, half-dog companion, Barf—that’s right, there is actually a character named Barf. Others include Yogurt, a parody of Yoda, and Pizza the Hutt, who is the stuff of nightmares. If you’re looking for subtlety in your satire, Spaceballs is not for you.

Spaceballs’s humour is Brooksian at its core—Yogurt teaches Lone Starr about “the Schwartz” instead of the Force—but it lacks the bite of Blazing Saddles or the sheer outrageousness of The Producers. It’s a mix of gags that an 13-year-old boy might come up if you gave him a screenwriting gig (The lightsabers are their penises!) and wry, meta moments, such as when Dark Helmet and co watch a VHS copy of the very film they’re starring in, so that they can track Druidia’s location. The balance between slapstick and self-awareness is uneven at best, and many of the jokes fall flat, but when Spaceballs is funny, it is funny, in the winking way that Brooks excels at.

While Star Wars is Spaceballs’s main target, no piece of classic sci-fi or fantasy is safe. John Hurt makes a cameo in a diner scene where an alien bursts from his stomach, a nod to Hurt’s role in Alien, where the same thing occurs.

Snotty, Spaceball City’s transport operator, is a send-up of Scotty from Star Trek, complete with a kilt and tam. And later, fragments of a destroyed ship resembling the Statue of Liberty land on a deserted beach, à la Planet of the Apes.

Spaceballs is much more than just a Star Wars parody. It skewers set pieces from all pieces of science fiction and fantasy that fans tend to take so seriously.

Mid-way through the film, Lone Starr asks Yogurt, who is played by Mel Brooks himself, if he thinks they’ll ever meet again. “Who knows?” replies Yogurt. “G-d willing, we’ll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.” With luck, those words will prove prophetic: The comedian, now 89, confessed he was open to the possibility of Spaceballs sequel earlier this year. The Schwartz Awakens, perhaps?

The Saint • 26 November 2015

Arts & Culture 29

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Mörder, mystery & On the Rocks An quick conversation with Jen Grace, writer and director Caroline McWilliams Theatre editor

for ceilidhs and even hosted a production of Macbeth. Ms Grace feels that the student body is so lucky to have access to such a remarkable historic landmark, which is right on our very doorstep.

Mörder was this year’s second On the Rocks event, part of the festival which out-does itself year after year.

The festival hosts over 40 events annually, the majority of which are sell-out performances. The festival offers the opportunity to societies and individuals to put on arts related events, including offering those in the wider St Andrean community the chance to perform.

This, they hope creates a sense of overall community and permits people to work with those they would not normally have a chance to. With over 50 events that run over 10 days in April, the festival showcases the incredible variety of talent in St Andrews.

The prestige and success of the festival is highlighted by the fact that some of the most highly respected names in theatre, (Sean Connery, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Siobhan Redmond, Crispin Bonham Carter, Joanna Lumley, Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis) lend their patronage.

Event applications for On The Rocks 2016 are now open and the committee is looking for drama, music, photography, art, dance, fashion, comedy, spoken word, film, food, anything at all!

The final application deadline is 6 January and more details can be found at http://www.ontherocksfestival.com or https://www.facebook.com/ ontherocksfestival/?fref=ts

Photo by wikimedia commons

Think of a fairy tale… Got one? Without even hearing your choice, I can probably predict that it was written by the Brothers Grimm. Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, the list goes on and on. And what do all of these have in common, except their authorship? They have captivated readers since their publication in 1812 with their strong depictions of the struggle between good and evil. This struggle is one that has captured the minds of authors and readers alike for centuries, the general view backed up by history being that good will always triumph.

Fairy tales have been augmented and supplemented with Arthurian legends, classical myths, the works of Hans Christian Anderson and others time and time again, until we all know them back to front. References to these tales fill literature and everyday culture. They even feature as the names of restaurants, and reworked versions have fuelled the entertainment industry for decades.

That is the charm of all fairy tales, the simple formulaic stories lend themselves so very well to being reimagined and that is just what Jen Grace, On the Rocks director of events did. The Saint sat down with Ms Grace prior to the performance of Mörder and discussed its origins and this year’s On the Rocks Festival.

Ms Grace recalls when she saw a multi-million pound performance of Alice in Wonderland over the summer and immediately fell for the idea of us-

ing fairy tale characters to create a centrepiece for this year’s first semester festival events. Mörder was an interactive murder mystery in which participants toured the St Andrews Castle with one of four “detectives”, in an attempt to discover who murdered Hansel. The first character encountered was the victim’s sister Gretel, played in a disturbingly wonderful way by Kate Kitchens.

The victim’s father was next, a distraught Shayan Yousefi capturing this role as the darkness of the night washed over him. Rumpelstiltskin (Jack Briggs), a self-professed paedophile and Cinderella (Helena Jacques-Morton) playing the post-marriage wife with a grudge against the world, were followed by Rapunzel (Libbi Carruthers) who, thanks to being locked up for sixteen years, had missed her chance to grow up. The final character, after some harassment by the wolf and the stepmother and stepsisters of Cinderella, was Little Red Riding Hood (Hannah Ritchie) who had been reimagined as the girlfriend of Hansel. These terrifyingly real characters, the howling wind over the North Sea and the pitch black sky combined to create a truly thrilling experience.

Ms Grace praises her cast for their creative improvisation and the superb ideas that they brought to the table. The number of people who attended auditions and the quality of the improvisation pieces they performed astounded her. As ever, she says, the castle was been a wonderful venue and the staff so pleasant to work with.

In the past, the castle has been used

Cinderella: a preview Caroline McWilliams Theatre editor The nights are drawing in and as the darkness covers our little town, The Byre Theatre is preparing to be lit up again with laughter and smiles that the annual Bard in the Botanics pantomime draws from students and locals alike. Following the success of last year’s Jack and the Beanstalk, the company is back under the direction of company artistic director Gordon Barr to perform their take on Cinderella. The Saint interviewed Mr Barr on his last day of rehersal with the cast in Glasgow before they transferred to St Andrews.

Mr Barr describes the show as “very much the story we all know and love with a twist.” He promises Hollywood glamour and some inspiration from the popular television show Strictly Come Dancing. The plot concerns Prince Colquhoun who is on a quest to find a new dance partner and of course, there are many people standing in poor Cinderella’s path. Mr Barr promises a show full of excellent dance. The Byre stage perfectly facilitates dance performances, being used for musicals and dance shows many times throughout the year by the University.

This year, the stage will be high-

lighting a real life romance with leads Lynne Jenkinson and Tom Duncan, playing Cinderella and Buttons, having married earlier this year after meeting during the production of Snow White in 2012. Ms Jenkinson said “I’m delighted to be returning to the theatre where I met my husband, Tom. After tying the knot on Halloween, I get to share the stage with Tom once more, as Cinderella to his Buttons.”

In addition, many St Andrews pantomime favourites will be returning this year including Robert Elkin (Harpic), Alan Steele (Windolene) and Stephen Arden (Prince Colquhoun). Taking on the role of Fairy Sparkle/Madam Zsa Zsa Diabolique is Donna Hazelton, Fife-local and West End star.

Having performed in Chicago and I Will Survive, Ms Hazelron has also won the Channel 4 programme Musicality in 2004. Her powerful voice will be a welcome presence on the stage this Christmas season.

Acting alongside the professionals will be 24 local children who are all part of The Byre Youth Theatre. These impressive young people have been rehearsing since September and Barr describes them as a “fantastic, absolutely cracking bunch of kids.”

PLAYING IN ST ANDREWS

C

inemagoers in St Andrews are hardly spoilt for choice when it comes to venues but can take solace in the fact that the town’s sole theatre, the New Picture House at 117 North Street, offers an excellent viewing experience and a varied selection of quality movies across its three screens.

So whether you’re into rom-coms, dramas or good old-fashioned action flicks, here you’ll find what’s on at NPH this week.

Branagh Theatre : The Winter’s Tale Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh follow up their magnificent staging of Macbeth with a new collaboration, this time taking on The Winter’s Tale.

Tonight only, see Branagh alongside the incomparable Judi Dench as they perform live at London’s Garrick Theatre. All without leaving the comfort of the Bubble.

The Dressmaker

Mockingjay: Part II

The Lady in the Van

Kate Winslet makes over an entire Australian town, while love interest Liam Hemsworth seems unable to keep his shirt on, in this decidedly stylish adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s novel. Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving costar in this must-see for believers in the power of fashion.

The fourth and final installment of the Hunger Games quadrilogy picks up where Mockingjay, Part 1 left off, with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen fighting for the freedom of Panem. For fans of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian bestsellers who want to give the series a salute goodbye.

Maggie Smith reprises her 1999 West End performance as a homeless woman whose life has been a series of adventures, which include training as a pianist, joining a convent and escaping from a mental institution. Based on a true story, and sure to contain a goodly amound of laughs.

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26 November 2015• The Saint

Assasin’s Creed Syndicate: bright, immersive, Star Wars Battlefront 3 is a detailed, but ultimately a disappointment sci-fi fan’s dream come true Assasin’s Creed Syndicate is the highly anticipated sequel to the popular video game Assasin’s Creed Unity.

It is a historical action-adventure game set in London in 1868 during the Industrial Revolution. The story follows twins Jacob and Evie Frye as they fight against the Templars, the negotiators of an organised crime network that operates in the back alleys of the city. Game players take a third person stance in helping Jacob and Evie take back the city by infiltrating London’s criminal underworld.

The game features cameo appearances from many of history’s most notable figures, who help the twins with their quest. This includes novelist Charles Dickens, biologist Charles Darwin, female figurehead and nurse Florence Nightingale, fa-

ther of communism Karl Marx and Alexander Graham Bell to name but a few. Fans of history and mystery should definately give this game a try.

After much playing I can say that the game is very immersive, the detail to attention (graphics are great), the story itself is also very intriguing and in my opinion the game has succeeded its predecessor Assassins Creed Unity.

Unfortunately, only 10 minutes into the game-play and I had already found several bugs. Throughout my game-play experience I encountered two cut scene glitches where the character was invisible.

Another downside to the gaming experience is that the story mode feels very short and the game-play battle difficulty feels too easy .

Another, slightly less important, issue I had with the game which

started to get on my nerves was that all the characters, didn’t matter where you were in London or if they were your enemies or random folk on the street, would use the same phrases over and over again. It became very monotonous.

Overall the Assassins Creed franchise has certainly improved in terms of detail, but has failed to pay attention to the other arguably more important areas of the game and sustain a good balance. I think that the game suffers from the hype surrounding the previous instalments as well. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate would have been successful as a game in itself, but compared to its predecessors, it simply can’t compare and ultimately falls short.

In my books this game would rank 6/10. Although it is a good laugh, it is no where near as impressive as I had hoped it would be.

John Clyde This year, the Star Wars franchise has had a huge revival in the face of the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens which will come out this winter. The recent release of Star Wars Battlefront 3 was a continuation of this trend, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Star Wars Battlefront 3 was one of the leading titles to come out this year along with Fallout 4 and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. It may have had less hype than the other two, after all you can barely go online without being made aware of Fallout 4’s presence, but I personally think that it is a better quality game than both of these.

Star Wars Battlefront 3 can be played from either a first person or third person view. Players navigate their way around the famous Star Wars universe, playing as either rebel alliance soldiers, or imperial stormtroopers.

There are a whole plethora of missions in which players can walk or fly, navigate numerous sorts of starships and explore planets such as Hoth, Endor and Tatooine. This game definitely should not be missed by Star

Wars fans. Players have the opportunity to play as all of the characters who have made the brand great, including Han Solo, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, The Emperor and more.

I have played the open beta, and even though I haven’t had a chance to thoroughly have a look at the official game release, I have to say that it was definitely worth waiting for. The game-play is excellently designed, and the scenes were exactly the way they were portrayed in the movies.

My main critique would have to be that there is no campaign for the game as of yet, but I am ecstatic to see Battlefront 3 release with splitscreen, which will allow gamers to play with their friends.

I haven’t found any bugs in the game yet, and am finding the maps within the game very enjoyable to play with and explore. Even if it occasionally feels like your opponents have better knowledge of the maps and are completely dominating you.

Overall, Battlefront 3 in my opinion has definitely found a great balance. This game can easily be rated a 9/10.

Photo by

John Clyde

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The Saint • 26 November 2015

Winner of The Medsin War and Conflict Writing Exhibition 2015

Insatiable Insatiable I came back late on a Tuesday, and my old life washed over me like a wave; people clasping my shoulders, and my hand, and exclaiming over me the way they usually reserved for prize pumpkins and the occasional litters my aunt’s cat produced. I don’t really remember much of the next days.

My ears started ringing around Friday. There was so much talking.

I do remember waking up Saturday, early and all at once, the way that’d been drilled into me over the past

few months. I dragged on a sweater, shoved my feet in a pair of elastictopped shoes, and went to see Gran.

She lived on what used to be the outskirts of town, and although what

I lacked the vocabulary, the ability to translate the odd horror in my gut into a compelling arugument was meadows when she moved in was now a neighboring bar and strip mall, she still kept a lonely goat in her front yard. The goat looked at me as I crunched up the gravel path.

For a brief, blinding moment, I was hungry again - kneeling in a frozen potato field, barely pausing to wipe the dirt off before stuffing them in my mouth, gritty and crisp and poisonous, unable to stop, and wishing for an animal to kill for something fresh to eat. It passed; I touched the goat’s ear in absentminded apology. It shoved its nose into my palm, looking for food, and wandered off when it found none. Gran didn’t let me knock for long. She wrenched the door open after a moment or two, and let out a soft huffing sound at seeing me on the doorstep. “Oh,” she said. “Sorry. The door binds a

bit.” She frowned briefly, as if she were trying to puzzle something out. “Well, I suppose you can still make yourself useful.” When I was a child, Gran’s house unsettled me I remember crying once, on the way there, wanting to tell my mom that it was a wrong place, somehow, too bare. I lacked the vocabulary, the ability to translate the odd horror in my gut into a compelling argument. She didn’t have much in the way of furniture, a few chairs, a chipped formica table. There was a thick, beautifully woven rug in the corner and a pile of paintings stacked in the corner. The top one was yellow and blue, geometric and abstract. The walls were bare. She brought me apples, and a knife to cut them up with while she peeled them. I struggled a bit positioning the slices. “It’s sharp,” she said.

“Shouldn’t give you any trouble, dear.” I hummed noncommittally.

The apples smelled tart, and parted neatly beneath the knife. “So when are you going back?” I snorted a laugh, surprised. “I don’t think they’ll want me back.” “I suppose not.” She went back to work, green strips of peel curling out between her fingers. I waited for her to go on. She didn’t. “Aren’t you going to tell me that I’m lucky? That it could have been so much worse?” She flicked a quick glance at me. “Go on, tell me. I know it was worse for you.” I wasn’t going to cry, I knew. I hadn’t cried in months. I wondered how much of the apple I could cram in my mouth before I choked on it.

I’d starved on a wintry road far from home, knocked holes in ice-covered puddles to drink the brackish water underneath, and part of me seemed

forever stuck there, insatiably hungry. Gran kept peeling, didn’t even look at me. “I don’t know that it was worse for me.” “Well, I’m not going to end up alone, in a dump of a house, because I don’t trust anyone won’t take things away from me. It must have been worse for you, because I’m not this pathetic.”

I blinked at the table. It blurred a bit. “I’m not.” She touched my right wrist below the knob of scar tissue, and I winced. No-one had touched my arm since I came back. I tried not to look at it, wore long-sleeved sweaters. “I don’t think anyone will

The winner of this year’s Frank Muir Prize for Comedic Writing was Rose Harris-Birtill, a second year PHD student in the school of English. Her fantastic piece The charge of the writing blockade was definitely worthy of coming first in the competition. Have a read!

The charge of the writing blockade Rose Harris-Birtill Half a page, half a page, Half a page onward.

My deadline’s tomorrow, My word count: six hundred.

Three thousand words, I need; Thoughts don’t flow well at speed.

Into the recycle bin Go the six hundred.

I wasn’t going to cry, I knew. I hadn’t cried in months take this from me,” she said, gently, and I wished she’d shouted instead.

“I am used to this. I have what I need. These are just...” she waved her hand dismissively at the empty corners, the bare walls “...absences?” They gave us equipment in the army, and the equipment broke, and we wore out our clothes, and there wasn’t more to be had, we couldn’t buy sugar or butter from the locals, because they had none, and people went on missions and didn’t come back - a small loss compounded, a thousand tiny emptinesses. She shrugged. “You learn to live with it.”

Forward, my essay plan!

No, I won’t make a flan…

How many eggs again?

(Someone had blundered.)

Short breaks can help the brain: Join Buzzfeed’s cat campaign.

(What was the task again?

- rewrite the six hundred.)

Flour to the left of me, Eggs to the right of me, Laptop in front of me.

(Stop now? I wondered.)

Top flan with almond flakes, Quick Youtube while it bakes: Watch dog on roller skates (… take that, six hundred).

What have I done? A flan?!

Three hours down the pan!

No more. Youtube is banned.

Rewrite the six hundred.

Flour in my laptop keys – SpacebarstoppedworkingPLEASE Pickbatteroutthekeys.

Recycle six hundred.

Make coffee. Up all night.

Cold shower at first light.

End is now within sight.

Words left: six hundred.

Deadline’s at 12pm.

More coffee. Flan again.

BATTERY DIES: 6AM. Essay grade: sundered.

Legend

Maze Runner: Scorch Trails

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Photo by allworldwars.com

The Medsin War and Conflict Writing Exhibition aims to find a student who has the potential to be the next young J.K.Rowling or George Orwell. The competition is based on the theme ‘War and Conflict’, more specifically on the effect the two have on people and their health. There has been a shift in focus when looking at war and conflict from the effects on soldiers to how it displaces families and the consequences for refugees and asylum seekers. Medsin felt that reverting this shift and focusing on war in reference to both physical and mental health would provide an opportunity for St Andrews students to show off their writing talents.

The winning piece comes from Kristen Ogilby. Her piece Insatiable is raw and emotional. She will be performing the piece at the Medact Conference ‘Health Through Peace’ from the 13-14 November in London.

Winner of the Frank Muir Prize for Comedic Writing

Find charger… plug it in…

Hold breath as screen grows dim.

Open Word. Is it in..?

Holy shitballs. I’ve blundered.

Put on some Eminem.

Start typing crap again.

Word count by 11am: No Escape Six sodding hundred.

Give up. Faceplant on bed.

Wake up. Write poem instead.

Submit to Department Head: Room KH600.

Please see above for why My essay’s gone awry.

At least I didn’t lie.

(Tennyson: plundered.)

32 Arts & Culture

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26 November 2015• The Saint

What to wear to Mermaid’s Christmas Ball Whether you belong in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, here’s our ideas for how to look magical on the night

The Mermaids’ Christmas Ball is one of the most iconic events of the year and will be taking place on 29 November at Kinkell Byre. Every student’s secret fantasy of attending Yule Ball will come true this November, as this year’s theme is Christmas at Hogwarts. Do you belong in Slytherin?

Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw? Gryffindor?

If you’re a true St Andrean, you know that in order to “ball so hard” you need to dress to impress! So why not represent the house of your choice through your festive ball attire?

Oz.” But these colours not only coincide with Syltherin, but also with the traditional colours associated with a mermaid’s tail fin. The most cunning and sinister House (‘not Slytherin, not Slytherin’) provides everything you need to inspire a classy yet imposing outfit. A perfect dress that fits Syltherin’s aesthetic is ASOS TALL One Shoulder Scuba Maxi Dress With Exposed Zip in Forest Green, which is priced at £60. This dress is a fashion steal with its sexy one shoulder neckline and deep thigh split. If you find a long evening gown in the emerald green colour family, I’d suggest you pair it with silver accessories and a bold red lip.

Famous Slytherins: Harry’s nemesis, Draco Malfoy, is probably the most notable Slytherin in the world of Hogwarts, obviously excluding Lord Voldermort himself, who was a Slytherin in his school days.

Slytherin –Emerald & Silver I know what you’re thinking, “Emerald and silver? This ball is based off of Harry Potter not The Wizard of

Hufflepuff – Yellow & Black Anyone else singing Black & Yellow by Wiz Khalifa in their head? Hufflepuff, the dopiest of the Hogwarts houses also happens to be the kindest- perfect for anyone going for the sweet look. I know it might be difficult to pull off a yellow evening gown, which is why I suggest you wear a long black dress with gold accessories. New Look is currently selling a Black Sequin V Neck Maxi Dress for £54.99. It has a beautiful black sequin bodice and simple long sleeves.

The good thing is that New Look can be considered a one-stop-shop, as you can also find Gold Snakeskin Texture Ankle Strap Heels for £22.99.

These heels are perfect since they incorporate yellow and black, and have a snakeskin texture which is reminiscent of a mermaid’s scales. Never underestimate the Christmas effect of gold jewellery. There is no denying that silver is usually the go-to Christmas accessory colour. After all, silver earrings scream snowflakes. But a splash of gold will put the sparkle in any black tie attire, and links in with the Hufflepuff theme.

Famous Hufflepuffs: Harry’s friend slash rival Cedric Digory was the pride of Hufflepuff before his tragic death in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He got all the ladies and even beat Harry in a Quiddich match (the only one Harry ever lost). Cedric is the perfect preppy boy, and is played

by Robert Pattinson in his pre-Twilight days.

Ravenclaw – Blue & Bronze

Gryffindor – Scarlet & Gold

Ravenclaw is the house associated with intelligence and knowledge, so make the smart choice and coordinate your outfit with it’s traditional colours, blue and bronze.

H&M has a beautiful, blue Crushed Velvet Maxi Dress for £29.99. It has many appealing elements, such as a halterneck, a high slit in the front, and is backless. Accessorize’s new Belle Butterfly Hardcase Clutch Bag would be the ultimate fashion statement, as it combines beautiful butterflies with metallic designs.

The bravest and proudest of all the houses provides a bold and striking look-book for black tie attire.As seen on ASOS.com, New Look has a Sequin Strappy Maxi Dress in the red family for £49.99. It is nothing short of elegant with its sequin embellished fabric and slim fit. If one were to enhance this look with gold strap heels and Pat McGrath’s trending Labs Gold 001 eyeshadow, one would be representing Gryffindor in all of its glory!

Famous Ravenclaws: Cho Chang, Harry Potter’s first crush is one of the most notable Ravenclaws.

Channel her chic allure for the perfect Christmas look! Who could forget Cho and Harry’s kiss in the room of requirement? I know I wasn’t able to...

Famous Gryffindors: Where to start? It seems that anyone worth anything in the Wizarding World was a Gryffindor in their time. Harry, Dumbledore, Hermione and every Weasly for generations was a proud member of this house. Use this theme to build your own legacy!

Illustration: Nicole Slyusareva

Natalie Correa Fashion editor

The Saint • 26 November 2015

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The Saint talks to Michael Miller, author of The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King Caitlin Lewis Arts and culture editor Michael Miller graduated from the University in 2014 with a first class degree in History. Now, at the age of 23, he has published his first novel a fantasy entitled The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King. The Saint sat down with him to talk about the book, his advice for student writers and his future plans. *** The Saint: How long have you wanted to be a writer?

Michael Miller: Looking back, it was the only thing I ever really wanted to do. I just didn’t have the guts to admit it for a long time. There were signs early on though. Tucked away somewhere back home there might be a folder of poorly hand written stories from when I was nine years old.

I think one might have been about mice who were also gangsters, because why not? There might even be extremely early bits of The Dragon’s Blade hidden there.

TS: Have you always been interested in fantasy as a genre?

MM: Absolutely. I’ve never been into general fiction. I seem to need some form of escapism, be that in real history or in fantasy. I reckon that if you are going to need good characters and plot for any story, then why not also have all the cool things as well? Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter were definitely what got me into it all.

TS: What were your inspirations for the world in which your book is set?

MM: My history degree helped me out a lot here. I loved studying the Roman Republic and Empire, and I used some Roman history as inspiration for my race of humanoid dragons. I also love Scottish history and studied a lot of it at St Andrews, from Bannockburn (shout out to Dr Michael Brown) to the Union (shout out to Dr Roger Mason) to the notion of modern nationalism (shout out to Professor Colin Kidd). Also I am Scottish so it makes sense that the world has a more northern, Scottishslash-Scandinavian-slashCanadian feel to it. There are snow-

capped mountain ranges, rugged highlands, big fat rain clouds, lochs and smoke houses. The odd character even has a light Scottish accent, which is always fun.

For my main character, Darnuir, I was also inspired by a random first year philosophy module I took. In one lecture, a question was asked along the lines of ‘what would happen if you inserted part of the brain from one person into another?’ It is a rather philosophical question, as we can’t do such things in real life. But we can in fantasy! With Darnuir I played more along the ideas of memories from one life carrying over into another. If Darnuir is anything to go by then the answer would be ‘you would get a very confused person with a massive identity issue.’

TS: Who is your favourite character and who is your least favourite?

MM: Within The Dragon’s Blade? I suppose my personal favourite character would have to be Dukoona. He’s a demon lord who has some serious issues with authority. He’s complicated, oddly alluring and has the potential to end up doing some extremely cool things in the future. He is probably one of my most original creations.

But trying to have me pick a favourite is like asking a parent to choose between their kids. I have a soft spot for all my major characters. I’ve had to work hard t o

understand them, I know how they tick and this means I can understand why they do the things they do.

It is therefore very hard to pick my least favourite. You’ll have to read it yourself and decide on that one!

TS: How easy was it entering into the world of publishing?

MM: There are many avenues out there now from shooting for a big traditional publisher, a smaller press, a hybrid press and full on self-publishing. What’s important is to decide which one will work best for you or which one you would be happiest pursuing.

I loved studying the Roman Republic and Empire, and I used some Roman history as inspiration I ended up taking a hybrid route. I met a director of my publisher (Acorn Independent Press) at an event as part of my writing group in London and we got to talking. We agreed I’d send in the first five chapters and I heard back from them within a few weeks.

That is lightning speed compared to a major house, where you generally need an agent to even submit to them these days, and getting an agent can take a very long time too.

If anyone out there is interested in writing and publishing, the best thing I can say is don’t ignore smaller presses, or hybrids like Acorn. The quality control check is still there, after all they are putting their name and logo on your book. They are backing you and they won’t just publish any old thing otherwise it looks terrible for them. Small presses may not have the prestige or the marketing money to throw around, but as a debut author you are unlikely to receive much attention from those departments at a major house. They will be focused on the big names.

Any route you take is viable however, just don’t assume one is going to be automatically better than the other.

The best thing is to write every day if you can. It’s a well-worn phrase, but it’s true.

TS: That sounds like good advice.

Do you have any more for aspiring young writers in St Andrews?

MM: Don’t worry if what you write at first isn’t very good. One day things will just click. I think that moment for me came when I was about two months into writing seriously.

Even then, it was nowhere near good enough, just a lot better than it had been. I’ve had many more moments where I’ve felt like this; where suddenly I just understood what I was doing, and cringed a little at chapters

I hadn’t revisited for a while. The best thing is to write every day if you can.

It’s a well-worn phrase, but it’s true. If you’re a student you are usually writing in some way everyday anyway.

TS: So did you take any formal creative writing classes or did you teach yourself?

MM: I essentially self-taught. What helped me greatly was watching interviews with authors I admire. Search around for interviews or advice on writing from them and you are likely to take it more seriously because you know how good they are.

The writer who helped me the most was Brandon Sanderson. He is a huge fantasy writer who actually has years’ worth of lectures free online at Write About Dragons. I must have watched each one of those videos a dozen times over. So whilst I didn’t attend any formal classes, I had some teaching, from afar.

TS: Lastly, do you have plans for a sequel?

MM: I have plans for a trilogy! *** The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King is available to buy now on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions.

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26 Novemvber 2015• The Saint

The poet and the rock star: PJ Harvey and The Saint Paul Muldoon perform at The Byre theatre P L A Y L I S T Adrianna Smith Two artists, both virtuosos of words and music, took to the stage for performances and an intimate conversation at The Byre Theatre on Wednesday 4 November for the kick-off event of the new artists series at St Andrews, Soundings.

Paul Muldoon opened the night by reading several poems and songs, the latter coming from his work as lyricist for the Princeton-based music collective, Wayside Shrines. I fell in love with Muldoon’s rich, Irish voice through listening to his New Yorker Poetry podcasts, where he serves as poetry editor. Muldoon, who holds an honorary degree from St Andrews, is one of the world’s most known living poets, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and T. S. Eliot Prize.

He is currently a professor of poetry at Princeton University, NJ, and has published over 30 books, most recently One Thousand Things Worth Knowing in 2015.

PJ (Polly Jean) Harvey followed by reading several poems from her new book, The Hollow of the Hand, her first attempt at poetry. The book is a collaboration with the photographer Seamus Murphy, capturing their travels together to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. But the six-time Grammy nominee didn’t disappoint her many fans in the audience and

performed two songs, on guitar and piano. Harvey has released eight critically acclaimed albums, including her most recent Let England Shake (2011).

At the beginning of her career, in 1992, Rolling Stone named Harvey “Best Songwriter” and “Best New Female Singer”. She is the only artist to win the Mercury Prize twice.

Soundings, responsible for bringing the two artists together, is an experimental, new series of ‘in-conversation’ style events in St Andrews.

The series looks to bring artists from different disciplines, specifically pairing leading writers and musicians, to discuss the similarities and differences inherent to all artistic processes.

Reif Larsen, who founded Soundings, is an acclaimed writer himself and is in his second year as International Writer in Residence at the University. Larsen collaborated with others from the department of English, including poet Don Paterson, as well as the department of music and The Byre Theatre, to create the series.

Larsen has big dreams for Soundings. He hopes ultimately to make St Andrews a hotspot for the contemporary avant-garde and sees the series as a step towards this vision. “There’s a collision between the modern and the ancient here in St. Andrews,” Larsen said to me before the performance. He hopes Soundings

will be a way to further engage the creative history, and future, of the city.

Although there was no designated moderator for this first Soundings event, in order to make the form of the conversation itself exciting, Larsen told us, Muldoon became the de-facto interviewer of the night. Though he did not dominate the conversation, he did the vast majority of questioning, leaving many of us in the audience wishing he had allowed himself to be more vulnerable.

Nevertheless, Muldoon expertly directed a wonderful conversation probing the depths and nuances of the creative process. “To do the thing that I’m drawn to do I have to live in chaos. I have to let the chaos reign. It’s the most beautiful and terrifying experience,” Harvey said. Muldoon agreed, “The nerve to write, if one thought about it…”

Words are obviously important to both artists, but it didn’t start out that way with Harvey. Before her career as a musician began, Harvey says she wrote solely for herself, putting the emphasis on the energy and sounds of her songs. Now, as she’s matured as an artist, and especially as she steps into her newer role as poet, she pays more attention to the lyrics of her songs. The words have to work on the page, she said.

Notably, the conversation kept

turning to age and aging, how the artist and his or her art changes over time. Harvey especially lamented the decreasing necessity of energy to her work. “Now I get angry that I don’t get angry”, she laughed. “I’m 46 now.

While I’m fond of my older songs, I can’t perform them. It comes down to the words. It would feel lyrically inauthentic”.

Muldoon, 64, focused more on the dangers and inevitability of sounding like his younger self. “One has no right to go back,” he said. Though, he added, it’s also dangerous not to read one’s work in order not to repeat oneself.

During the Q&A following the nearly one-and-a-half-hour conversation, the artists looked encouragingly to the many younger members of the audience. Those who have yet to begin their careers have the greatest potential to do something great, they told us, somewhat wistfully. But Muldoon and Harvey seem a long way away from ending their careers, and are still just as busy writing. “The angst from those teenage years stays with us,” Harvey said.

There are two more events lined up for Soundings this academic year, both set in 2016: Tansey Davies with Michel Faber on 17 February, and Robert Macfarlane with Johnny Flynn on 17 April. Tickets are already on sale at The Byre and Soundings websites.

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The St Andrews Symphony Orchestra pulls out all of the stops Jason Isbit On Tuesday 17 November the University of St Andrews Symphony Orchestra held a concert during which they performed two late nineteenth-century pieces: Antonín Dvořák’s celebrated Cello Concerto and the less well-known Symphony No. 1

by Jean Sibelius. They could hardly have chosen better pieces to play; with their rich textures, beautiful melodies, and plenty of epic climaxes, both pieces made for an exciting and engaging performance.

Let me start my review by saying that the Symphony Orchestra did a fantastic job given the difficulty of these magnificent pieces. I am a cellist in the Chamber Orchestra, so I can sympathise with the players, half of whom I know personally. These pieces are definitely hard to execute properly. That being said, the performance was not perfect.

Being a concerto, the Dvořák featured a guest solo cellist, Christian Elliott, who did a remarkable job. The cello solos are accompanied by the orchestra some of the time, while at other times they are unaccompanied. There are also times when the soloist does not play, and the orchestra carries the main themes and developments; the piece is an interplay between the orchestra and the solo cello, as well as between the various sections of the

orchestra. With many very fast runs, ascending and descending chords, as well as beautiful, romantic melodies, the solo part is extremely challenging, and Elliott did a great job.

There were some problems with the orchestra, however. The clarinets, who are meant to start the piece with the main theme of the first movement, forgot to play, making for a rather novel and bare opening to the piece.

Another issue was balance; the winds were far too loud and the orchestra often drowned out the soloist, which slightly ruined the performance.

Whether Elliott should or could have played louder, or the orchestra should have played more softly, it is impossible to say. The acoustics of Younger Hall may be partly to blame, but this should have been accounted for, as this is where the Symphony Orchestra usually plays.

Moreover, the horns had some squeaks and there were some problems with the different sections of the orchestra staying in time with each other, although this issue was generally rectified immediately by conductor Chris George. Despite these issues, the performance was generally very good, especially for a non-professional orchestra! It may well be that I have heard too many nearly perfect (and surely edited) recordings of this famous piece, so anything less than that sounds a bit disappointing. The

orchestra played with vigour and confidence, which are far more important than playing all the notes perfectly.

Overall, great performance!

The Symphony Orchestra did an even better job with the Sibelius, to the surprise of some of the players, who told me afterwards that they felt less confident about playing the second piece. Perhaps it is simply that I am not very familiar with it, but I thought it was performed almost perfectly. There were some tuning issues, but generally the orchestra was much more together and created a vibrant, intense sound.

This piece has some truly gorgeous melodies, which the players brought out with great passion. These are the kinds of melodies that inevitably cause you to smile. Go ahead, give this piece a listen, and you’ll see what I mean.

This symphony, in typical Sibelius style, is formed of many fragments that eventually come together into fantastic broad melodies, and (like the Dvořák) features some truly tense chords, the kind that make your heart skip a beat and inspire wistful feelings. In all seriousness, the climaxes are to die for, and I couldn’t stop grinning during the beautiful, broad string melodies.

Excellent performance.

One final note is that the programme notes were very well done.

In a large enough font to facilitate easy reading and packed with loads

of information on the pieces, composers, conductor, and soloist, they were useful to me, and I’m certain that a less avid listener of classical music would find them extremely helpful in understanding the pieces. Good job to Maebh Martin and Mairi Warren for this!

Overall, I would give the concert

I couldn’t stop grinning during the broad string melodies a 9/10. It wasn’t perfect, but university orchestras shouldn’t be judged by the standards of their professional counterparts. Of course the Dvořák didn’t sound quite like the Jacqueline Du Pré recording, but it was still really well done and very enjoyable; well worth £4! According to the internet, it is alleged that Ludwig van Beethoven (currently my favourite composer) once said, ‘To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.’ Whether or not he really said that, the Symphony Orchestra poured their heart and soul into this performance, and the audience loved it!

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Town, not gown: St Andrews United uncovered

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Andrew’s column Write from the off

Sport provides the chance to unite amid Paris horror

After all, there is definitely something to be said for running when the weather is crisp and cool. For its own sake, it can be exhilarating. In addition, as each mile covered slowly inches the team closer to promotion, you can effectively kill two birds with one stone; and work off the Christmas turkey whilst you’re at it!

Indeed, given the raw intensity of BUCS, it would almost seem strange not to go for at least the odd jog.

Student sport pulls few punches in terms of pitches: running in snowy slush can be a good preparation for playing on a muddy pitch. While the quality of pitches in St Andrews is generally quite high, there is only so much that can be done to avoid mud. Therefore get out for a run over the holiday season; running through sludge this winter might be one of the best things you could do for your team this spring.

To the casual observer then, winter is clearly of more significance to student sport than would appear at first glance. Even the break it affords is an important factor; it is plausible that BUCS wouldn’t be anywhere near as intense were there not such a long break over winter. It provides a great chance to rekindle competitive spirits. In more ways than one, it seems, winter is a time when fires are stoked.

Therefore when BUCS does finally resume at the end of January, it will be all the more worthwhile. The thrill of stepping out on (or diving in to) the arena, court or muddy pitch will only be amplified by the break that precededed it, with all players hungry to get stuck in. The Christmas runs will have ensured the players remain on top form. As a result, the sport itself – muddy pitches very much withstanding – will be all the more fun.

Sadly, this is my final section as sport editor (work commitments and all that). I hope it’s gone at least some way to capturing the truly incredible experience of playing sport in St Andrews. There aren’t many things in life as fulfiling or as fun.

Finally, I’d like to wish Andrew, my successor as sport editor, all the very best!

Here’s to the future: ‘Mon the Saints.

“We are in a privileged position in Sport, and above all in football,” said Hugo Lloris, the French goalkeeper, after the England-France friendly at Wembley. “We have a platform. We could send out a message through our solidarity with the English. That message was very strong, very emotional.

We lived together. The sense of respect out there was incredible.” England won the match 2-0, but the result was far from what will be remembered about that game of football.

What will be remembered is the giant arch of Wembley coloured red,

It is hard to even imagine what it must have been like to play in such circumstance white and blue, the words liberté, égalité , fraternité written all around the stadium. Solidarity was certainly the name of the game; with 70,000 French and English fans singing La Marseillaise in unity. A standing ovation welcomed French midfielder Lassana Diarra, who lost his cousin in the Paris attacks which have claimed the lives of 130 people.

The mood was heightened by the awareness that it was an international football match that had been targetted during the attacks; the France v Germany game. Since then, Germany v Netherlands was called off due to intelligence that a similar

Photo: Wikimedia

Sam Connolly

Charlie Wood

A

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attack was planned. Belgium v Spain was cancelled for the same reasons.

Yet as the attacks on Paris united the world, the attack on the stadium seems to have united sport. Minutes of silence were held the world over, from the European Rugby matches involving French teams, to Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory in Australia.

Jockeys at Cheltenham wore black armbands. Others, including Formula One star Romain Grosjean wore the French tricolour on their armbands.

In North America, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings ice hockey teams paused for a moment of silence whilst the rink was draped in the colours of the French flag.

Across the sporting world, fans used the opportunity to hold up flags and signs of solidarity, with messages like “Pray for Paris” common, such as at the US tour of the Cricket All-Stars Series in Los Angeles. F1 drivers also paraded around the Interlagos circuit, marching under the French flag.

Novak Djokovic asked fans to join him in a round of applause for the victims and used his post-match interview to offer his own sympathies.

Those sporting fixtures that took place, especially the France-England game, have been seen as acts of defiance. Not only were several French

players who took the pitch directly affected by the attacks, but all had been within earshot of the several explosions that rocked Paris.

Sport can provide a platform for shows of unity worldwide, by providing emotionally charged, organised shows of solidarity. Sporting events, by their very nature, spontaneously bring people together. Possibly the most moving rendition of La Marseillaise at Wembley wasn’t the one at the beginning of the game, but was the rendition that took place in the final moments, the French fans singing, the English fans loudly applauding. It is an often said in sport that it is not the result that matters, but it is only in situations such as these that such a statement has any meaning. Those acts at the end of the game show that in spite of current events, people of different nationalities can come together and, rather than be divided by the competition, be united by what it represents. England may have won, but the courageous performance of the French players, in spite of everything, was commendable. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like playing under the current threat level, but the French proved that in the face of terror, we can be resilient and carry on.

Photo: Wikimedia

First paragraphs are like this. They have a 4mm indent in the first line.

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Sequat iliquis nibh et eugait do euis eum nulla am dui eugue te ent illam zzrilit aliquisit dit dolum ilit dolor in henis er ipit lum irit, consed s Christmas approachtet auguera esectem dunt volesto es and winter looms, elent landre faccum quis elessequam sporting campaigns start dolut adigna facipis cillamet vullaor to hibernate. Pints take priority over eriliqu iscing er sis ex ercipit augait points; festive parties replacing nim incipis dolore dolore mincidunt changing room banter. BUCS, the essi. heart of the action up until now, Lorper alisciduisi. In esto del estakes a back seat. Even winter sports sequisl ilit, conse min estrud do elis wind down as the cold nights set in. essisl utem ip ea acilit, volore do Despite the sheer length of seodolumsan ut lum zzriure et veratin mester one, it seems to have whizzed velisi te conullum dolorerosto delby; a whirlwind, whistle-stop tour of iquisit, quis estrud tatie tie ming ea nearly fifteen action packed weeks. facipsumsan henismo dolore delisisi This can be attributed to the sheer tie velenissis aut dolorpero consenis importance of this season to every adi sports team involved. For better or for worse, campaigns can already be shaped by this point in the year.

Before advent calendars are even opened, in fact, that long-awaited promotion could be just around the corner for many St Andrews’ teams. As this newspaper previously reported, the men’s football firsts currently sit comfortably astride BUCS Division 2A: caught between Christmas and promotion, there will be little excuse for the team to not celebrate this holiday.

Therefore, it seems an apt time to soberly (well, not necessarily soberly) reflect on the season so far. Both how the campaign has gone so far, and what players need to improve upon

by January.

Perhaps there’s a certain strategy that’s not paying off; maybe there’s a certain manoeuvre that’s yet to be mastered. Being on the cusp of success is no reason to relax, so once those turkeys have been gobbled and those pints polished off, all minds will surely towards how to improve in the new year. A word to the players; remember to enjoy yourself over Christmas, and try to avoid devising a tactical masterplan for next semester during Christmas lunch (fat chance).

If putting sport to one side for the holiday sounds a bit (or very) far-fetched, then how should you best prepare for the coming spring?

Firstly, there’s always the option of post-Christmas running to stay in shape. Slogging through the streetside slush might not sound like your ideal winter, but if promotion is to be secured in May, a wintry run may be the best (pun intended) forerunner to your ideal spring and summer.

Editor: Charlie Wood Deputy editors: Alison Hendry, Andrew Sinclair, Dom Gibbons

Cross Country Club embraces winter chill

The rousing ‘La Marseillaise’ sweeps round Wembley, sung by all those who could, and applauded vigorously vy all those who couldn’t

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The Saint 2015 The Saint •2618November September 2014

Sport Sport37 33

Despite the sport’s reputation for lone-wolf individuality, this reputation is far from true Alison Hendry Deputy sport editor If you are eager to try your hand at something new, but not sure where to turn, don’t worry; the Canoe Club have it covered! With pool sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings, this is the ideal place for people to hone their skills or learn the basics. Whether you are paddling up and down the pool, or doing Eskimo rolls, the club caters for all; from novices through to the more experienced kayakers.

Alongside this, Wednesday afternoons are spent in the sea. This may

appeal to the more adventurous, with conditions dependent on the weather, tide and the time of year!

Sounds like a busy schedule, right? Aside from the weekly training sessions, the club participates in three BUCS competitions spread throughout the semester including White Water Racing, Canoe Slalom and Canoe Polo. But sport brings out the competitive side in everyone! As Hugo, Canoe Cluib President, notes, this year, 29 St Andrews competitors were due to take part in the White Water BUCS event. But these were not just advanced kayakers, 15 of

these paddlers were beginners! This is testament to the fact that the training schedule provides novices with ample opportunity to improve their skills.

Whilst BUCS events are important, this need not be the club’s sole focus.

Hugo mentions Johnny Hawkins, an alumni of the club, who has recently led expeditions in Nepal and Borneo!

There is definitely an element of exploration- the club offers trips during preseason to kayak some of Scotland’s rivers and a trip every two years, to

Out on the river, leaders are born

so successful, as they have become such a cohesive group, trusting themselves and the others around them.

Whilst this may be a more serious aspect of the Club, there is plenty of opportunity to form new friendships on dry land! With pub sessions, Wednesday night socials or events organised for Raisin and May Dip- it sounds as though you will never be bored!

It’s not just about fostering a community within the club, but also working with people outside the university. With a dedicated Charity and Outreach Rep, fundraising for their selected charity is easily facilitated. In terms of outreach, the club is involved with BASE (Blind Activities Support

the Alps!

Throughout my interview with Hugo, it became abundantly clear that this was not just about the sport, it was about friendship and community.

The bonds that you form are strengthened out on the water as you become dependent on the others around you. Hugo reminds me that this sport can be dangerous, and safety is always at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Out on the river, leaders are born as you become more aware of your responsibility to yourself and others. This is what makes their trips

and Events) and has run sessions in tandem with this organisation, helping to get people out on the water.

In keeping with their title as Green Club of the Year, they organise litter sweeps, beach clean-up sessions and even clear the Kinnessburn annually!

So, it’s not all about the sport. Of course, competition is an important component to any team but it certainly does not define the Canoe Club.

From charity fundraising, to kayak expeditions, socials and community outreach, the Canoe Club seeks to represent something more! As Hugo stated, kayaking is a relatively new sport which is continually pushing boundaries - I think that this applies to the St Andrews Canoe Club too!

Photo: Saints Canoe

Photo: Saints Canoe

Charitable canoe club goes far beyond sport

Photo: Marcela Leiva

The ‘other’ St Andrews football club: St Andrews United

The unassuming home pitch of little-known St Andrews United, on Langlands Road - United play at the highest Scottish junior level Richard Hunter When you think of football in St Andrews, what image immediately arises in your head?

If you’re the type who plays football, it might be the University’s football club, or the six-a-side leagues that are popular with the more amateurish among us. If you’re just an enthusiastic spectator, then it might be gathering alongside other nervous

souls in The Rule or The Whey Pat for a big game, or frantically refreshing wiziwig.com to look for a stream while you sit and pretend to work in the Library. If you’re neither of those, then your only contact with football might be accidentally overhearing a pub game while walking down Lade Braes on a Saturday afternoon.

What you almost certainly don’t think of, however, is St Andrews United, the local team that represents

our town. You might not be aware that they exist, being very much a town organisation, rather than a gown one. If you happen to live outside the centre of town, then you might have walked past their ground, Recreation Park, tucked away on Langlands Road, and wondered what kind of club plays within its walls.

The answer is that St Andrews United is a historic club, having been founded in 1920, and they current-

ly play in the East Super League, the highest level of Junior football in Scotland, and therefore the sixth or seventh level of the Scottish League Pyramid, depending on how you define it. In that league they play against the cream of junior football in the East of Scotland, including teams from Tayport, Musselburgh and Carnoustie.

Reaching that level is a step up for United, as last year they managed to come second in the East Premier League, guaranteeing promotion. The step up to higher level has, however, proved a difficult transition, with United currently occupying fifteenth place in the sixteen-team league, having managed to gain only three wins and eleven points from their thirteen games so far this season.

At this point, I would like to give a personal account of what going to see a St Andrews United home game is like, and give a journalistic summary of what you, as a reader of The Saint, might expect if you saunter on down yourself.

However, since I personally began researching St Andrews United, and became interested in attending myself (after all, without my support, how else are they going to fight their relegation battle?) they have played two away games on the trot, and their website shows no information for when their next home game is. It does advertise that replica shirts are available (Both home and away, for the low, low price of £40) but alas, no fixture information for the rest of the season.

Therefore, this article can’t end like that. However, it can end with the

pondering of a question: Why does no-one care?

I think it has something to do with how we conceive of ‘The Bubble’. Not just as a physical space in terms of the town of St Andrews, but as a conceptual space containing the University and its students. St Andrews United is, though definitely within the physical boundaries of the town, outside the insulated life of the University,

You may well be unaware that they even exist, being a ‘town’ rather than a ‘gown’ team such that you can completely ignore it if you didn’t know it was there.

The same can go for a whole different range of town institutions: You walk past them and around them every day, but you’re not aware of them because they’re not inside of what is normally taken as constituting the St Andrews Bubble.

This might be too pretentious an explanation it is overwhelmingly more likely that seventh-tier Scottish football is simply not interesting to people but I still think it says a lot about what we think about and prioritise in our four years in this town.

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Sport Page 38 34 34 Sport

November 6 November 2015• The The Saint 18 26 September 2014 Saint

Men’s football firsts continue winning streak

From the off, St Andrews were in early control The weather was chaotic; the wind howling with the odd shower, storm clouds menacingly brewing in the distance, and even a rainbow making a brief cameo. The pitch was also slippery under foot, with Storm Abigail having dumped several tonnes of rainwater over the last week. Boots, socks, and legs were about to be caked in mud.

From the off, St Andrews were in control. The game was scrappy, but

St Andews winger Max Balmford retains possession amid intense Aberdonian attention even with the wind going against them, St Andrews were able to push the ball up the pitch with what appeared to look like relative ease.

The team were certainly looking good on the left flank, with the leftback and left-wing combining well and managing to get the odd cross into the box. However for the first twenty minutes, Aberdeen’s centre backs remained resolute. With a few St Andrews’ free-kicks flying into dangerous areas after several dodgy challenges, spectators were certain that something would eventually have to give. And finally, after a bit of pinball in Aberdeen’s penalty area, the ball fell to the St Andrews’ right wing, who, evading a few tackles, was brought down illegally, by a reckless challenge in the box. Penalty to St Andrews.

Captain Alex Dodgshon calmly stepped up and easily converted, sending the keeper the wrong way, and nestling the ball in the bottom left

corner. St Andrews 1-0 after 25 minutes, and looking good.

As the first half drew to a close, Aberdeen began to exhibit more control on the ball, passing it well around their midfield as the game opened up, but failing to really test St Andrews’ defence with any threats.

The first half hadnt put on the prettiest football display, but St Andrews were ahead, and deservedly so. Their left side had been particularly effective, with special mention to Max Balmford, who’s scintillating forward runs had been asking big questions of Aberdeen’s defence.

St Andrews started the second half extremely positively, and were able to convert in the first minute, scoring a clinical goal that juxtaposed the scrappy quality of football on show in the first half. A lovely one two between striker Sam Carp and Dodgshon gave the aforementioned striker space to pass the ball across the penalty area, finding St Andrews’ no. 9, Alex

Quinn, who easily sailed the ball past the keeper. St Andrews now had the wind in their sails, both literally and metaphorically.

The team were demonstrating some superb passing, and seemed intent on scoring again. Indeed, after an unsuccessful Aberdeen attack, Dodgshon played the ball up to St Andrews’ right wing, who, in turn looked up and found Quinn in the box, scoring another from point blank range.

St Andrews were 3-0 up and sitting pretty, but still with a desire to fulfil their insatiable appetite for goals. It was only a few minutes later, after an anxious Aberdeen clearance from a corner, that St Andrews’ Quinn once again popped up seemingly out of nowhere and smashed it home, with an extremely well-timed volley. A well deserved hat-trick for Quinn, who Aberdeen had simply failed to cope with throughout the match.

As the game wound down, both

Tennis club’s postgraduates take centre stage It has been an interesting year in the world of professional tennis. The past decade has seen the proliferation of tennis legends whose names will go down in history as being what Stefan Edberg has described as “the greatest generation of all time in tennis”.

However, in the eyes of those who have kept their eyes on the headlines of this year’s four grand slam events, and tennis generally in the past few years, there really is only one star.

Novak Djokovic has won three out of the four Grand Slams, won 81 out of 87 matches this season, and has obtained nearly double the amount of ATP points than Andy Murray who ranks in at No.2.

Similarly, whilst the golden era of tennis plays out on the international stage, the St Andrews tennis club can boast their very own era of ‘golden oldies’. Our postgraduate first team have saved the day and are showing Scottish University tennis what St Andrews is made of, and they’ve come just in time.

At the end of the 2014/15 season, the tennis club said goodbye to an invaluable member of the men’s first team, Craig Stevens, proclaimed once to have been a mere eight rankings behind Andrew Murray, in the North of Scotland. His departure left an uncomfortable void in the men’s squad,

Photo: Craig Doyle

Tim Hyman

one which gave Gav Harkness much concern. Concern not for relegation, but for the fact that he might well be stuck with myself as a doubles partner, a fate I would wish upon no man.

To his delight, this eventuality never materialised. Instead, all Gav’s apprehension was in vain: As of the 2015/16 season, there are new kids in town.

Some say he sleeps standing, raquet in hand, for self-defence.

Some say he’s an underwear model for Calvin Klein at weekends. Some say that it’s impossible to escape the gaze of his big blue eyes. All we know

is, he’s called Thomas Kroczek. But what we really know about Thomas?

Probably that he has the best win/lose ratio of all the players in the Scottish National League. I know because he’s told me six times today and it’s not even 9 am.

I jest, of course. Playing at No. one, Thomas has taken Scotland by storm losing only three matches thus far this season.

At number two is Christof Royer, a new heartthrob for the tennis club.

To the disappointment of Gavin Harkness and Vice President David

teams were visibly beginning to tire.

Aberdeen were making the most of the extra space, playing some nice one touch football, but it was all too little too late. Both St Andrews and Aberdeen went incredibly close to scoring in the dying moments, with Aberdeen forcing an incredible double save from keeper Kota Horiai. And at the other end, Dodgshon, needing only to find the back of the net, unfortunately lost the ball over the crossbar. A minor hiccup in an otherwise admirable finish from St Andrews.

Overall, another fine performance from St Andrews in fairly unpleasant weather conditions. As the rest of the teams in the league jostle for positions, St Andrews, on sixteen points, are riding high with a huge seven-point difference between them and second place Glasgow. Perhaps it’s too presumptuous to talk of promotion at this time of the year, but St Andrews already look like early title favourites.

Photo: Sammi Ciardi

On a blustery Wednesday afternoon, St Andrews secured another three points to continue their impressive run of form in the competitive Division 2A. The team overcame Aberdeen 4-0 at home, to extend their current winning streak to seven, and to further cement their insurmountable league position of first place, with 16 points.

Aberdeen, in mid-table position, arrived in St Andrews intent on causing an upset in the league, and overtaking Dundee for Second Place.

Their last fixture against St Andrews had been a tricky 2-2 draw at home, the only game this season that St Andrews have not come away with full points.

Photo: Sammi Ciardi

Dom Gibbons Deputy sport editor

Price, Christof has stolen both the position of most ancient playing member of the tennis club (we really should get a trophy for that position), and quite possibly the hearts of all it’s younger members. A trained lawyer from Austria, Christof does himself justice both on and off the court.

At number three is Daniel Borbely, who has also performed well for us so far this year. Daniel, like Christof, has maintained the aura of mystery surrounding the men’s first team. We’re not sure what he does, or how he does it; but he certainly gets results.

At four is a man who needs no introduction. Old man Gavin Harkness has been an integral part of the club for God knows how long (was I even born when he started here?), and has provided the backbone of the 1st team for many years. Despite creaky joints and a constantly ‘injured toe’, Gav rarely fails to deliver sound results on court and off. Shame about his backhand, though.

Three of the four members’ departure after this season will prove to make this golden oldie era short-lived however. Yet, with four new indoor courts on the way, the tennis club can hope to attract a wave of talent in the next few years.

With luck, this golden era of St Andrean tennis will never end; Gavin’s creaky joints and ‘injured toe’ notwithstanding.

Fight Night will include local clubs Continued from page 40 will consist of 10 fights showcasing fighters from the University Boxing Club and from surrounding boxing clubs in local areas like Dundee and Glenrothes. It will have all of the usual features and feels of a ‘Fight Night’ environment, with fighters having their own walkout tracks and an MC, usually someone who works for Sky Sports, to call the introductions and the results. In addition, Amateur Boxing Scotland judges and referees will be present.

Tickets are reasonably priced, usually not much more than £10, and help offer one of the best nights of the year. Any money made from ticket sales is given to charity and in particular the local St Andrews charity, Families First, which aims to help atrisk families. With the proceeds for a very good cause and a great night set to be on offer, there is no reason not to get involved, and maybe even take up boxing yourself!

Therefore why not try taking up a new sport; it promises to be a great way to get (or stay) in shape, learn a new skill, meet new people, and of course to embrace a sport which is rapidly growing everyday.

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The Saint 2015 The Saint •2618November September 2014

Sport Sport 39 35

Cross country club revels in scenic escapism Robert Chadwick For most people the idea of running for a long time with no real aim or purpose seems like a terrible idea. But there are people who enjoy it, who thrive off it, and who even go to university and think- ‘I want to join a club so I can do it more often!’

I know, imagine that! Anyway, I was assured that these people existed and was put in contact with them to have a chat. So here is our chance to delve into the mind of the other, to

learn what makes them tick…and run.

The Cross Country Club are making great strides. Regular competition and a friendly atmosphere has seen these mountain goats excel at a variety of tournaments across Scotland. Each weekend sees runners sent out across the land to represent the university in a plethora of races with silverware becoming increasingly frequent.

Last year at the ‘Scottish Uni’s Road Relays’ St Andrews placed 2nd in both the Men’s and Women’s division, the best result in the clubs history, whilst last weekend saw them compete in the prestigious ‘Scottish Unis XC

Photo: Saints Cross Country

St Andrews isn’t just limited to the beach and golf course in terms of great places to run

The rolling Fife hills provide an awe-inspiring place to run - club runs go at mutiple ‘paces’, meaning the view can always be savoured Championships’ in Edinburgh. 2015 also saw the inaugural 5k ‘Chariots of Fire Fun Run’ which welcomed running teams from across Scotland to the bubble for a day full of running and a night full of drinking related tomfoolery. The winner of the event, a man from the University of Aberdeen ran 5k on sand in 17 minutes, whilst St Andrews student Angela Richardson won the women’s competition, polishing off the gruelling challenge in a mere 18 and a half minutes.

You might have been fooled into thinking that all this high speed running sounds a bit intimidating, a bit inaccessible for us mere mortals. Well you would be bloody wrong and I am about to tell you why.

This club, whilst extremely successful at the top level, is also open to all abilities regardless of endurance levels or propensity towards asthmatic attacks. Training sessions are varied and tailored for all abilities ensuring that no one is left out. The start of each

semester sees beginners runs a plenty, allowing everyone to ease themselves back into the swing of things.

On top of this club runs go at various paces guaranteeing that no one is left behind. Beginners are encouraged to attend regular socials whose friendly environment has installed a positive ethos of inclusion in the club. So whether you want to get in shape, join a club with a vibrant social life, or simply embrace nature at a jog, then the Cross Country Club has got you

even started, as United lost all of its preseason games. United’s dismal form continued, as they won only one out of their first nine games.

This abysmal run led to the sacking of manager Jackie McNamara, the man who had brought the club within touching distance of the title in recent seasons. In his place came former Dundee United player Mixu Paatelainen, who promised to introduce the natural pairing of both more aggressive and more honest styles of play. However, the Finn has failed to improve the fortunes of the club since his appointment at the beginning of

October as they remain at the bottom of the table.

To understand why Dundee United have failed so spectacularly this season, it is necessary to go back to January, when the club sold midfielders Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong to Celtic. These two players were key to the club’s impressive form in the first half of last season through their formidable attacking abilities.

Following their departure in January, the club struggled as they dropped from title contenders to finish seventh by the end of the season.

Dundee United lost more key players in the summer, as striker Nadir Çiftçi, defender Jarosław Fojut, and goalkeeper Radosław Cierzniak departed. Nadir Çiftçi was a critical part of United’s attack last season, as he scored eleven goals and was the focal point of the team’s attack. New signings Darko Bodul and Adam Target have so far failed to score, while Mario Bilate was let go due to injury.

United are currently tied for having scored the least amount of goals, with a dismal ten goals this season. At this point two years ago, they managed to score at least four goals in five successive matches.

In Paatelainen’s five opening games United has only scored once, the goal coming from the penalty

spot. The club clearly misses the offensive talents of Çiftçi, Armstrong, and Mackay-Steven, but can find some comfort in the fact that new signing Billy McKay has managed four goals in 10 appearances. However, McKay will need more help in the scoring compartment to help propel United out of the relegation zone.

Dundee United have also struggled defensively this season. They have conceded 28 goals in the league this season, the most in the league.

United lack defensive cohesion and always look likely to concede anytime the opposition goes forward. This was emphatically emphasized in the 5-0 drubbing they experienced at the hands of Celtic at the end of October.

Paatelainen was furious with this performance, labelling it as “absolutely rubbish”. In order to help solve this disastrous defensive situation, United signed the experienced Japanese international goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima at the beginning of November (subject to a work permit).

While all seems doom and gloom at Tannadice, there are glimmers of hope for a second-half of the season revival of fortunes. Midfielder John Rankin has continued his reliable performances, while defender Ryan McGowan has shown glimpses of quality at the heart of the defence.

Left-back Paul Dixon’s return from in-

covered.

Running doesn’t have to be a chore, it can be fun (so I am told) and running in St Andrews is particularly rewarding. Just on our doorstep is the famous beach of West Sands, and of course St Andrews golf course. Both make for great running spots, the sea breeze providing a refreshing antidote to booze related ailments and the golf course a good reminder of what happens if you don’t keep in shape.

Yet St Andrews isn’t just limited to a beach and a golf course (I promise). There are other things to do, other places to run. Lade Braes conceals many a hidden gem of a running trail, apparently if you keep on running you’ll eventually get to Craigtoun Park, which looks lovely.

For the ambitious amongst you there is a hill next to Morrisons called Scoonie Hill, another recommendation of the clubs for those wishing a scenic expedition and a sharp gradient. Once you’ve gained a bit of confidence in your own running and started to fancy yourself as a time- trial specialist there are weekly ‘free timed 5k runs’ which happen bright and early on Saturday morning. These are races not just against other students, but against yourself, in a battle of mind over matter that is both testing and rewarding.

So there you have it: an introduction to the Cross Country Club. This friendly bunch are welcoming and competitive with a fantastic social calendar to boot. The club are always looking for new members of any ability or year group.

Therefore with the semester drawing to a close, it could be worthwhile joining, and working off all those unwanted drunken Empire’s in time for the festive season.

Local club Dundee United struggle against losing streak Alex Hayes

Photo: Flickr

Dundee United share a special connection with St. Andrews. The Scottish Premiership club train at our sports facilities and are the closest professional football club to our town (Dundee FC are located 500 metres farther away). We should therefore be concerned with the spectacular fall from grace experienced by the club.

Dundee United are currently languishing at the foot of the Scottish Premiership, with only two wins and eight points. The club’s poor performance began before the season had

Dundee United train in St Andrews last month; the cricket pavilion is in the background

jury has also brought some semblance of dependability at the back.

In order to remedy the club’s many problems, it is vital that they perform better as a cohesive unit and start to perform consistently. This may not be possible to remedy this late in the season, as Mackay-Steven and Armstrong’s distributive qualities out of the midfield have not been adequately replaced. In January, Paatelainen desperately needs to find the right group of players to solve these issues, whilst not upsetting the chemistry of the team further.

Relegation from the Premiership could prove to be disastrous for United. The Scottish Championship is anything but easy to get out of, as Hibernian and Rangers have demonstrated in recent seasons. It is therefore vitally important that the club finds its feet in the second half of the season.

Online this week Pep assessed Josh Lee weighs up Pep Guardiola’s tenure as Bayern Munich manager will his world-famous brand of tiki taka pay off at a club for whom the treble is the only possible success?

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Cross Country trailblazers Page 39 @saint_sport

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Stoical men’s rugby firsts defeated as the Nottingham Trent team prove formidable The St Andrews Rugby 1st XV’s poor start to the season continued earlier this afternoon after suffering a 34-15 defeat against Nottingham Trent at University Park.

Following promotion at the end of last season, St Andrews faced an uphill battle to keep doing what they have been doing in recent seasons – punching above their weight against sides who have more experience and more players at their disposal. The massive travel implications have also put a strain on the team, as their nearest away fixture is against Durham which is 4-5 hours away.

Director of Rugby David Ross pointed out the quality of Nottingham Trent, currently third in the league, before the game but wanted a big reaction from his players after losing very narrowly in their previous away games against Worcester, Birmingham and Manchester.

The heavy rain that blighted most of the morning subsided for the kickoff, meaning there were flashes of blue sky to accompany the players.

The game itself was a highly competitive affair, with St Andrews certainly giving everything they could in what the Director of Rugby called a ‘mustwin’ game, thanks to their poor performances recently.

Notttingham Trent began as the stronger of the two teams, heavily pressuring the Saints backline in the opening minutes. Saints showed much improved defensive organisation here, a rewarding sight to see after it became a key focus in training.

That said, the pressure was unrelenting, and after five minutes Trent were awarded a penalty which they con-

Photo: Saints Rugby

Andrew Sinclair Deputy sport editor

Saints scrum-half Finn Murphy spreads play from the ruck in a physical affair, sniping for openings in the Nottingham Trent backline verted to take an early 3-0 lead.

Three minutes later that lead was extended to 10 points after a try, scored direct from a Trent breakaway.

Saints had resisted well but after resuming play, lost the ball just inside the Trent 22. This quickly led to a Trent try.

This seemed to light a fire under the Saints players, who redoubled the pressurise on the Trent defence.

Constant waves of attack put poured forth from the Saints. This culminat-

ed in a lineout, leading to a fierce maul and from this maul, No.8 Henry Lawrence powered over to make it a five-point game after Finn Murphy missed the conversion.

Mirroring the tempestuous game below, a short period of rain started to shower the valiant Saints. With both ball and pitch clearly becoming more slippery, an increasing number of handling errors was displayed by both teams. This weather change seemed to suit the Saints play howev-

er (training in Scottish weather pays off) and they managed to secure a sorely needed penalty. This was taken and scored by Murphy, reducing the deficit to two with as much ruthless determination as George Osborne on Budget night.

There is an adage in sport that you are most vulnerable after just having scored and this was proved true in this game. In common parlance it is called ‘complacency’. Just two minutes after narrowing the lead to just

two, St Andrews conceded a frustrating try. Following a lineout, Trent had formed a driving maul on the edge of Saints’ 22 and drove it all the way to the line, with their man at the back breaking off to score; extending their lead back out to seven. Thankfully Trent’s fly-half missed the conversion; a small mercy eagerly savoured by the Saints.

An injury to a Trent player had delayed the half-time whistle and it was after the resumption of play that Saints began to make their mark. In similar fashion to the Trent try, Saints formed a maul after the lineout and then spread play, with left-winger Brodie Hunter crashing over.

Murphy, presumably aware of the pressure his team was under, waded in to equalise the scores by half-time.

The second half, sadly, was not as close. It was here that Nottingham seized control. Following a strategic kicking game with several handling errors, Trent managed to score 14 minutes in – managing to convert it to make it 22-15.

Another try five minutes later, after a questionable Trent knock-on, saw them go 14 points clear, their biggest lead of the game. With ten minutes to go they scored their fifth try but missed the conversion, meaning the game finished 34-15.

The Saints displayed admirable sportsmanship in the face of defeat. Ahead lies the reverse fixture next week, to be followed by home ties with Loughborough 2nd’s and Birmingham and the last fixture before Christmas, an away trip to Durham 2nd’s.

Let’s hope they have more success in the game next week, and display as much grace in victory as they do in defeat.

Andrew Sinclair Deputy sport editor Boxing is often a sport that brings with it a lot of stigma and scepticism from the wider public, but the Boxing Club here at St Andrews aims to change that.

The club is open to members of all abilities, with no experience required.

Members do not necessarily have to spar during the three training sessions a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays – they can merely come along for the fitness aspect of the club to get into better physical shape. The club is an incredibly friendly and supportive one that includes people from all walks of life.

One of the main stigmas attached to the sport is that it is supposedly harsh or violent, and something that

will have long-lasting impacts on your facial features. However, the Club President Mark and Secretary Ellen point out that this belief is misguided and wrong. The sport is all about a competitive showing of your technical boxing ability and is not fought with any malice, with many fighters embracing each other after fights, the sport founded upon a mutual respect for your fellow combatants.

The other stigma that the club want to address is to do with the sport supposedly being incredibly male dominated. This is not true – Women’s boxing is rapidly growing as a sport and is now an Olympic discipline; as a result the gender balance of club members is almost 50:50.

Due to the nature of the sport, competitive action is not as regular as with other sports, as fighters need

to be in peak physical condition and be on weight for their fights. The two main competitions on the club’s horizon are the Scottish University Championships coming up later this semester, and then the BUCS competition in February. The Scottish Championships often prove troublesome for fighters because of their close proximity to the exam diet and therefore is conceivably more challenging. However BUCS carries the emotional heavyweight, with members about to begin their training now, ready for next year.

The main local event for the Boxing Club this academic year is the Fight Night event which they plan to hold during next semester. These begin with lighter weight category fights and then progress through the night up the weight classes, meaning every

Photo: Saints Boxing

Boxing club line up ‘Fight Night’ event for next semester

The Fight Night constitutes the biggest event in the Boxing Club’s calendar for 2015-16 level of competitor get’s some time..

It will take place in the Union, and although a date has not been set yet, the club assures that it will be heavily advertised by the club before it takes

place, so we dont miss what promises to be a great night.

The event, provisionally scheduled to happen in mid to late April, Continued on page 38