Issue 238

thewaterfront

Free Issue 238 10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

the official student newspaper of swansea university

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A SIZZLING SUMMER BALL LINE-UP!

NO MORE PAGE 3!

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA students have voted to support the ‘no more page 3’ campaign, but stopped short against a ban on the sale of The Sun newspaper on campus.

A motion in support of a ban was put forward at a student forum by Swansea students’ union women’s officer, Rosie Inman, and seconded by LGBT+ officer Rachel Hodgson, backed by the Feminist Society.

It suggested banning the sale of The Sun and The Daily Star in the students’ union Costcutter in order to take a stand against the photographs of topless women featured in both newspapers.

Women’s officer Rosie Inman spoke of the implications that the images in the newspapers had on society, describing

page 3 as a cultural extreme. Many students in attendance showed their support by wearing tops sporting the message ‘No More Page 3.’

Her arguments were rebutted by students arguing that the proposed ban infringed on their rights to decide themselves what they would read, and brought up the issue of censorship.

Students present at the student forum called for parts 1 and 2 of the motion to be removed, leaving part 3 of the motion to go to an online student vote.

Parts 1 and 2 of the motion suggested that the union should discontinue stocking and selling copies of The Sun and The Daily Star until such a time that page 3 would be removed, and mandated representatives on the trustee board to stop the sale of the newspaper in the students’ union.

Part 3 of the motion, which resolved the union should openly support the

national ‘No More Page 3’ campaign, was passed in an online referendum after the meeting. The votes were as follows: Yes: 66; No: 46; Abstained: 3.

Many students took to social media over the issue, with opinion being greatly divided on the issue.

Lewis Griffiths, a fourth year language student said: “Everyone has a right to an opinion, if these are to come from the aforementioned newspapers, then this should be respected. A newspaper is not and should not be influenced by a single page, and everyone will have their own view on the subject.

“Either let all papers be sold (freedom of thought) or don’t sell newspapers… then no one will be offended.”

Fred Kirby, a first year Politics and French student said: “There should be an effort to inform people of the harms done by such vile pages, but at the end of the day, we’re adults, and it’s insulting to imply that we can’t make

an informed choice over what we buy.”

However, many students have argued in favour of the ban, with one student commenting that the ban was a “move in the right direction.”

Hilary Webb, a first year English Literature and French student said: “Any newspaper that thinks the right place for topless women is in an everyday family newspaper shouldn’t be supported by our generation. It’s outdated and just kind of weird that it still exists.”

Final year student Charlie Brilliant said: “They hardly make any money for the union, are probably the worst sources of information available and are degrading to women.”

On the announcement of the result of the student forum, student Rachael Legg said: “Seriously disappointed in the results of today. We are not dropping this!”

•Should we sell the Sun? Page 9

The biggest student event of the year, the summer ball, has been announced.

The end-of-semester party will be on 9 June and tickets will cost £40.

A free funfair will be on site and the big stage will be back.

The Ghetto Blaster will also be making an appearance.

The bars will be serving Tomos Watkins, local real ales, as well as popular beers and ciders.

Summer ball tickets are to go on sale from 24 March.

Acts will be announced soon.

INSIDE

Agony uncles Ryan and Chris page 21

02 I NEWS

thewaterfront 10. 03. 14

thewaterfront Third floor, Students’Union Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP (01792) 295 988 web: waterfrontonline.co.uk twitter: @waterfront facebook: The Waterfront Swansea Editor Kay Byrne editor@swansea-union.co.uk News

Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk Crime & Investigations

Chris Flynn

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk Deputy Editor & Website

Jon May front@swansea-union.co.uk Features

Samantha Booth waterfrontfeatures@swansea-union.co.uk Sport

Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk Music

Olivia Rosenthall waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk Film

Saul Masters waterfrontfilm@swansea-union.co.uk Culture

Lauren Phillips

waterfrontculture@swansea-union.co.uk Societies

waterfrontsocieties@swansea-union.co.uk Fashion

Nanette Turkson waterfrontfashion@swansea-union.co.uk Travel

Verity Ockenden

Students heading over the border - with Welsh money waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk CALLS are being made to the Welsh Government to stop funding English universities at the expense of Welsh ones.

The number of Welsh students applying to study in England has risen by nearly 20% since 2010, while those applying to study in Wales have fallen by 9.5%.

Welsh students who study outside of Wales pay only the first £3,500 of their tuition fees, and the Welsh government pays the rest.

With English universities charging £8,000 a year on average in tuition fees, this costs the Welsh government £4,500 per student.

This means the 7,370 students from Wales who will start university courses in other parts of the UK this year could take more than £33m with them - money which could otherwise be used in the higher education sector here.

The situation is being made worse by Chancellor George Osborne announcing that he is lifting a cap restricting how many students English universities can recruit.

Higher Education Wales said this could result in an extra 1,500 students leaving Wales to study over the border next year.

Opposition parties are questioning the Welsh government policy of paying most of students’ tuition fees, regardless of where in the UK they study.

The Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns said: “We have an extraordinary fee-paying policy here in Wales which enables an awful lot of English universities to benefit at the expense of Welsh universities.”

Welsh Liberal Democrats education spokesman Aled

waterfronttravel@swansea-union.co.uk Relationships

Holly Miller

waterfrontrelationships@swansea-union.co.uk International

Atoke

waterfrontinternational@swansea-union.co.uk Advertising

Annie Cottam (01792) 602496

HEADING FOR THE BORDER: Welsh students leaving Wales.

Roberts said: “I think we’re starting to see problems with regards to the level of investment in higher education in Wales compared to England. Certainly I’ve been having representations from many of the institutions regarding the quality of living accommodation and the quality of teaching.”

A Welsh government spokesman said: “Our tuition fee policy recognises that the choice of institution and course should be driven by individual circumstances not by the cost of fees.

“Whilst our policy offers freedom of choice for our students, Wales is a great place to study and we would recommend institutions in Wales encourage students to consider the merits of higher education in Wales.”

Sharp rise in price of parking on recreation ground prompts protests waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk

PARKING prices have risen drastically in the Recreation Ground this year.

Following a Swansea Council budget review, prices have risen from £2.50 to £3.50 per day.

The budget review aimed to reduce the overall budget by around £26m as part of a savings programme of £45m in the next few years.

This price hike has angered many

by a Waterfront reporter front@swansea-union.co.uk

by a Waterfront reporter

by Alex Hughes

Part-time degrees win a reprieve

university students.

Alicia Nugent said: “I noticed that the price had gone up after Christmas from £2.50 to £3.50 which I thought was a bit unfair as it is mainly students who park there.

“It now costs me £17.50 to park each week and there are no other parking options as you can’t park on campus.

“When I first started university, it used to be £2 to park all day. I don’t understand why it has gone up so much.”

A Swansea Council spokesperson said: “We are trying to get as many people as possible who park at the

Recreation Ground to car share, which helps reduce congestion on the roads in the area. This is why it’s 50p less for drivers with passengers in their cars to leave their cars there for the day.

“It’s also still just £2 for people to leave their cars there after 1pm.

The Recreation Ground remains the cheapest all-day parking in the city.”

The budget review also includes other cuts to local council public services.

These include school crossing patrols, increased school meal charges and the withdrawal of community meal provision.

PART-TIME degrees, which looked set to be axed from the end of this academic year, have been given a year’s reprieve, The Waterfront has learned.

Recruitment for the year 2014/2015 will now go ahead as normal, pending the outcome of a major review of parttime and adult education provision at Swansea University.

Students who are already doing a part-time degree will be supported until they have finished their courses, whatever the outcome of the review.

There are currently 242 students enrolled on the BA part-time degree at Swansea University.

The review has been prompted partly by changes to funding and revenue streams, which means that some courses, including Pathways programmes, can no longer continue.

The university is also working with local authorities, employers and HE and FE providers across the Swansea Bay region to streamline the currently fragmented provision.

New pay talks by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk A MARKING boycott by lecturers could be averted following the announcement of new pay talks between unions and employers.

University chiefs agreed to open pay discussions with striking university staff following their threat of a marking boycott.

The University and College Union had said the boycott would take place unless there was a breakthrough in their dispute over a 1% pay offer by the end of April.

Third and fourth year students were facing the prospect of not being able graduate this summer if exams and coursework were left unmarked.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “It is in everyone’s interests that this dispute is resolved and we will approach any talks positively.”

Pretty shitty city By Alan Daventry

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 03

Anguished students are waiting months for work to be marked

by Rahul Vashisht

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk SOME third year students have faced waits of more than two months for their work to be marked.

The problem has affected students across a variety of courses since November, most notably amongst the English and Ancient History departments.

Whilst all work has now been handed back, students were dissatisfied with how long they had had to wait, given that the usual waiting time is three weeks.

One third year English student

said she had been waiting over six weeks for her Further Poetry Writing coursework.

She said: “I’m a typical worried student who just wanted to know the mark as soon as possible.

“In a class of say 50 pupils I understand a delay. But I have been waiting for this work for that amount of time and there were only six students in the module.”

One Ancient History student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had waited to get a dissertation chapter back since the 22nd of November.

She said: “I could not continue onto my main piece of the dissertation, the final part, without that chapter

being back.”

She said that she had tried to contact the lecturer in charge over Christmas, but had no response.

“I am now going through formal complaints and compensation

How Elijah made my day!

HOLLYWOOD: Actor Elijah Wood, centre, pictured with staff at Swansea’s Pizza Express, including former Swansea University student Catrin Williams, second from right.

by Alicia Nugent waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk HOLLYWOOD actor Elijah Wood made one former Swansea University student’s day when he turned up at the city restaurant where she is now assistant manager.

Wood was in Swansea to film a new movie about Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

The actor, who is best known for his role as Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was spotted dining in several different bars and restaurants whilst in the area.

Catrin Williams, a former Swansea University student and assistant manager of Pizza Express said that Wood had come into the restaurant three or four times during his stay in the city.

She said “He told me that he was filming and staying nearby. He was really down to earth and friendly and was happy to give us autographs and have his photo taken with us.

“One of his friends who was with him even showed me photos from that day’s filming!”

The actor has also been seen on Wind Street in the No Sign Wine Bar and in The Wild Swan on Orchard Street.

The film, ‘Set Fire to the Stars’ has seen many of Swansea’s buildings such as the Guild Hall and Mayor’s house used as film sets and streets have been temporarily transformed to replicate a snowy New York.

Wood plays the role of Canadian poet John Malcolm Brinnin who was known for bringing Dylan Thomas to America and who wrote a book about the experience.

English dept is in top 200 in world

by Emma James

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA University has been recognised as one of the top 200 institutions in the world by the QS World University Subject Rankings.

The 2014 QS World University Rankings by

Subject show that Swansea University has maintained its top global 200 in Engineering (Civil and Structural) and, appearing for the first time, English Language and Literature. Pro Vice- Chancellor Hilary Lappin-Scott said: “ To be in the top 200 institutions in the world in these subject areas is outstanding. The university has also continued to move upward in the top 20 UK universities for employability.”

requirements. I am so disheartened by the university. I have had to send so many emails and had to find things out for myself rather than the uni say which lecturer to go to in the meantime.”

Dr Martin Johnes, head of History and Classics at Swansea University, said in a statement: “The Department of History and Classics is committed to providing students with useful and timely feedback.

“It is regrettable that in the last few weeks staff illness has caused delays in the return of work from two ancient history modules. The department is very grateful for the support and patience of students through this situation.”

Apply for summer programmes STUDENTS are being invited to apply for summer programmes abroad after the deadline for applications was extended. Organisers said: “We have closed the deadline for some of the programmes but we are accepting applications for USA, China and India until March 14th.”

Students can find more information here: www. swansea.ac.uk/summerprogrammes or email studyabroad@swansea.ac.uk

Your election candidates:

by Jon May front@swansea-union.co.uk THESE candidates have been nominated for election to the team of students’ union full time officers on 28 March: PRESIDENT Ceinwen CLONEY Aron MCGILL Harry NODEN WELFARE Shareena (Zarina) EKHITIARI Joel GASCOYNE Becky GRIMES Rhydian MORRIS Chuks NWABUGWU Dharani VIJAYAKUMAR Verity WILLIAMS EDUCATION Oliver BELL Ilana COHEN Dylan HOPKINS SOCIETIES & SERVICES Jerry ISOKARIARI Jazmin KOPOTSHA Kat MOLLOY Nick TOWNSEND Glyn WILLIAMS SPORTS Chanté LEE Charlotte PETERS Lauren WALKER

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 05

Warning goes out to students after five men arrested over bike thefts by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk POLICE have arrested five men and charged two of them following a spate of bike thefts on campus.

Students are now being warned to invest in good quality bike locks to avoid having their property stolen.

The men were arrested after a sting operation by police. Officers left bikes with GPS trackers attached to them in the racks around campus and, when the bikes were stolen, were able to follow and apprehend the people who had taken them.

Twenty bicycles were stolen in a three week period in February alone, with thieves finding easy pickings on campus, according to Police Community Support Officer Clive Dainton.

He said: “Some people don’t even lock their bikes up at all and others use cheap locks that a thief could put their foot in and snap quite easily.”

Clive advises people to use solid metal D or U locks like the one shown in the picture, right.

“Flexible wire or chain locks can easily be

cut so invest in a good quality solid metal lock. Attach it to the frame of the bike, not the wheel, as most wheels are detachable.

Use a second lock for the wheels.”

On a tour of the campus bike racks, Waterfront found many bikes left unsecured or with poor quality locks. One bike rack contained just a wheel attached by a lock. “That bike has probably been stolen,” said Clive.

Students are also being reminded to make a note of the bike’s frame number, which is usually on the underneath of the frame, near the pedals.

“Even if we recover a stolen bike, we can’t prove it’s been stolen unless we have the frame number,” said Clive.

PCSO Clive Dainton is warning students to lock their bikes securely.

Goddesses of Avalon pay a visit

Dawn Kinsella of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Avalon, was one a group of priestesses who visited Swansea University recently as guests of the Pagan Society.

Join Egypt Centre’s day trip to Oxford by a Waterfront reporter

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk THE Egypt Centre at Swansea University is organising a day trip to Oxford on Sunday, 23 March.

It includes a visit to both the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums or trippers can just spend

the day sightseeing, shopping or visiting the university.

The bus departs Swansea University at 7.30am and leaves Oxford for the return journey at 5pm.

Tickets cost £18 for students and concessions and £23 for adults.

To book a place or for further information email l.s.j.howells@swansea.ac.uk or ring Syd Howells on 01792 606065.

Are you satisfied?

by Rahul Vashisht

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk FINAL year students are being urged to give their feedback on Swansea University in the National Student Survey.

The annual survey allows students to say what they like about their university and course as well as things they feel can be improved.

The survey, which can be completed online, asks students their views on areas such as teaching, assessment and feedback, personal development and the students’ union.

Third year English Literature student, Will Brealey, said: “It’s so good to see so many people wanting to share their Swansea experiences.

Swansea’s a great place to be.”

Once completed, their feedback is compared against other universities to help prospective students decide where to study.

Upon completion of the survey, students are sent an email which can be redeemed for a £2.50 voucher to spend in one of the university’s eating venues, JCs, or on printing credits in the library.

•http://www.thestudentsurvey. com

waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 07

Pub landlords lash out at ‘unjust’ laws on football match screenings

by Alan Erdem Daventry

waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk PUB landlords across Swansea are worried about the implications of the Rhyddings court case for them.

The popular student bar in Brynmill is facing up to £125k costs after losing a legal battle with the Premier League over football match screenings. The pub was using a Danish satellite card, intended for private home usage and the Premier League barrister said it was“not for use in commercial premises, such as the [Rhyddings] pub”.

But local pub owners claim copyright laws controlling the viewing of Premier League football matches to be unjust and costly.

Adam Harris, landlord of The Mill, believes pubs in Swansea are being hit hard.

He said: “I think pubs are struggling more and more every year and I feel this may force more than a few to close their doors for good.”

When asked about the state of copyright law, Mr Harries said: “I feel it should be amended as Sky and BT currently hold the monopoly, allowing them to charge inflated prices.

“If the customers are happy with a Bulgarian system that costs a fraction of the price then surely we should be allowed to use one.”

Another pub landlord cited a 2011 case where a pub landlady, Karen Murphy of Portsmouth, won a court case after being fined £8,000 for using cheaper foreign decoders.

This case set a precedent for pubs like the Rhyddings to display matches using foreign cards, but which resulted in them being taken to court.

Ms Murphy used a Greek TV station, called Nova, to screen matches which cost £800 for the entire year.

This is much cheaper compared to screening Premier League matches which cost up to £8,400 per year.

Ms Murphy took her case to the European Court of Justice which ruled that having an exclusive system was “contrary to EU law”.

Bonnie guests at Welsh festival

Bonnie Tyler with members of the Gwalia Singers.

by Gemma Parry

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk INTERNATIONAL singing star Bonnie Tyler was a a special guest at Swansea University to celebrate the Welsh Food Festival.

The festival, held annually in the last week of February, celebrates Welsh culture and food. In honour of the week, the university provided a special menu of national dishes at The Venue restaurant in Fulton

House all week.

The week culminated in a Bara Brith service on Friday February 28th, where the Gwalia Singers performed.

Among the audience was Bonnie Tyler. She said: “It is great to be here at the university celebrating the Welsh Food Festival and St David’s Day. The food made by the campus caterers is fantastic.

“The Gwalia Choir was a real highlight of the day and I feel very lucky and privileged to be here to listen to this beautiful Welsh music.”

Reunion of 1960s engineering graduates

by Neil Matambo

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk THE University Alumni Department has organised a reunion of students who attended the university over 50 years ago.

The engineering graduates came from all over

including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, America and Dubai to attend.

Many graduates recalled the introduction of computers to campus, as well as the opening of JC’s in Fulton House.

Sally Thurlow, Alumni Relations Manager, said: “It was a pleasure to meet the group of graduates and their families.”

This is an area where UK and EU jurisdictions of law are in conflict.

But a spokesman from the Premier League said: “We want to help pubs, we want to help educate licensees and when we go in and we find evidence of use of foreign satellite systems, we’ll give them the opportunity to get rid of that system.

“However, if they choose not to then they face a very real prospect of prosecution.”

Students have expressed concern on the matter as they think this could negatively impact pubs, which they think play an important role in the life of Swansea University students.

Ancient History student, William Murphy, said: “They’re vital to any student experience, drinker or not. It’s a place away from the SU, away from campus where you can just socialise.

“You can’t be on campus constantly, you need a break even if it’s to just play pool or hang out somewhere different.”

PPE student, Rebecca Irvine, said: “I think it’s unfair they’ve been made an example of The Rhyddings and it’s certainly affected the Mill’s ability to show Swans games as now we’re on Sky. “I don’t think its fair Sky essentially has a monopoly on broadcasting and are using court cases like the Rhyddings to scare other pubs into compliance.”

When asked about the importance that university students play in pubs making a living, Mr Harries said: “Yes, students are the difference between surviving and making a profit, for me at least.”

Applications to Swansea Uni up 56 %

by Rachael Howes-Tonks waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk APPLICATIONS to Swansea University have increased by over 56% in the last two years.

The largest growth in applications came from English students with a 24% increase, and a 47% increase in applications from international students in the last year.

By subject, the largest increase in applications this year has been to the Engineering department, which was recently placed in the top 200 in the QS World Rankings by subject.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Davies said: “These figures show that students from Wales and England recognise Swansea as a university which is on the way up with facilities and an outlook geared for the opportunities and challenges of the modern world.”

Keran Williams, Swansea University’s Head of Admissions, said: “The university’s investment in recruitment and marketing has played a large part, as has the new EU recruitment post.

“The Making Waves marketing campaign increased the university’s profile beyond our standard catchment areas – hence the significant increase in applications from the South East of England. Also, our improved league table position has attracted more applicants.”

08 I NEWS

thewaterfront 10. 03.14

WELSH Dydd Gwŷl Dewi Sant Hapus

by Laura Fiteni

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk ROEDD prifysgol Abertawe yn falch iawn o ddweud y byddai hi’n cynnal yr Eisteddfod Ryng-Golegol eleni pan ddatgelwyd yn gynharach yn y flwyddyn.

Rhwng 28 Chwefror a 2 Mawrth daeth myfyrwyr prifysgolion Cymraeg o bob cornel o’r wlad i Abertawe er mwyncystadlu’n erbyn ei gilydd mewn categorïaufel llenyddiaeth, cerddoriaeth, celfyddydau perfformio a chwaraeon.

Dechreuodd digwyddiadau’r penwythnos gyda gala chwaraeon â thimau dynion a menywod yn cynrychioli eu priod brifysgolion mewn pêldroed, pêl-rhwyd a rygbi.

Brwydrodd y cystadleuwyr yn galed ar y caeau mwdlyd ar Lon Sketty gan gynnwys Bangor, Aberystwyth, Abertawe, Caerdydd a Chaerfyrddin i gael eu coroni’n enillydd.

Yn anffodus, roedd Abertawe yn y safle olaf tra cafodd Aberystwyth eu cyhoeddi’n bencampwyr y gala chwaraeon.

Yn y cyfamser, cafodd twrnamaint pêl-rhwyd ei gynnal yn y neuadd chwaraeon lle cafodd Aberystwyth eu henwi’n enillwyr unwaith eto.

Ond wnaeth y merched Abertawe yn well na’r bachgen gan gynnal ar safle yng nghanol y tabl.

Ar ôl eu gwaith caled ar y cae, roedd amser i ymlacio a chael peint yn nhafarn yr undeb JC’s er mwyn clywed canlyniadau’r dydd.

Cwis a baratowyd gan Gymdeithas Gymraeg y Brifysgol (GymGym) oedd yn gofyn i’r cystadleuwyr i brofi eu gwerth unwaith eto (wrth iddynt gael ychydig mwy o gwrw) cyn mynd i mewn i’r dref am noson o gerddoriaeth a dawnsio yng nghlwb nos Sin City.

DATHLIADAU DYDD GWYL DWEI SANT: Chwaraewyr rygbi yn brwydro.

Ar ddydd Sadwrn, cynhaliwyd yr Eisteddfod Ryng-Golegol yn y ffreutur lle’r oedd cyfle i weld a gwrando ar wahanol fathau o berfformiadau.

Mynychodd dros 500 o fyfyrwyr y digwyddiad dyd Sadwrn.

Beirniaid oedd Magi Dodd (C2 Radio Cymru), Owain Wyn Evans (dyn tywydd ar y BBC) ac Iwan Evans (darlithiwr yn y Brifysgol), a buodd Tudur Phillips (Stwnsh S4C) ac Aled Warwick (cyn myfyriwr yn y Brifysgol) yn arwain y dydd.

Roedd yn amlwg faint o ymdrech oedd wedi cael ei dywallt i mewn i drefniadau’r dydd.

Codwyd llwyfan yng nghefn yr ystafell ar gyfer y berfformiadau a chafodd yr ystafell ei haddurno gyda phob peth Cymraeg.

Roedd cystadleuwyr o’r pum prifysgol wahanol yn gwisgo crysau o’u lliwiau unigol

gyda phenillion ffraeth wedi eu hysgrifennu ar y cefn. Erbyn hyn, roedd cwrw Cymraeg arbennig a ddarparwyd gan y bragwyr Cymreig Tomos Watkins a ‘banter’ yn ogystal yn llifo’n iachus.

Dywedodd lywydd y GymGym Llyr Roberts, “Er i mi golli dipyn o gwsg yn trefnu’r Eisteddfod Ryngol roedd gweld popeth yn rhedeg yn esmwydd a gweld gymaint o bobol yn mwynhau drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg yn Abertawe yn gwneud popeth gwerth chweil.

Roedd bob un brifysgol yn gallu gweld cymaint o ymdrech aeth mewn i’r digwyddiad ac yn hael iawn gyda’i chanmoliaeth!”

Yr oedd y cystadleuwyr wedi bod yn paratoi eu darnau ar gyfer yr Eisteddfod yn yr wythnosau yn arwain at y gystadleuaeth. Gwnaethon nhw eu ‘gwaith cartref’ a oedd ar gael ar-lein yn

gynharach er mwyn creu ac ymarfer eu darnau i berffeithrwydd.

Cynhwyswyd y categorïau canlynol; barddoniaeth fel telyneg ac englyn (ac wrth gwrs y Gadair a’r Goron), rhyddiaith megis straeon byrion a blogs, celf a ffotograffiaeth, drama, dawnsio megis gwerin a chreadigol a disgo, canu, cyfieithu a hefyd cystadleuaeth ar wahân am ddysgwyr.

Roedd y ffreutur yn llawn y sain o bobl yn canu, dawnsio, adrodd a mwynhau eu hunain. Serch hynny, roedd rheswm mwy ar gyfer Bangor i ddathlu wrth iddynt godi yr enillwyr cyffredinol.

Yn y cyfamser, roedd ffair hwyl yn ei hanterth i lawr dir y Brifysgol tra’r aeth cefnogwyr Varsity i gasglu eu tocynnau ar gyfer y gystadleuaeth i ddod gyda Chaerdydd.

Gallai’r sŵn chwerthin a sgrechian plentynnaidd gael eu clywed ar draws y brifysgol gyda myfyrwyr wrth eu bodd ar y reidiau a stondinau gêm ar gael.

Ar ben hynny, daeth gŵyl fwyd a diod Cymru i Brifysgol Abertawe i ddathlu’r diwrnod gan gynnig i’r ymwelwyr dewis o fwyd gorau a chwrw mwyaf blasus y wlad.

Ond mae mwy hefyd, trefnwyd gig Gymraeg i ddod â’r penwythnos i ben gyda line-up arbennig sy’n cynnwys enwau mawr megis Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Yr Eira a Sŵnami . Wedyn aeth pawb i lawr i’r dref eto i dystio i frwydr arbennig rhwng y bandiau Cymraeg a’r DJs yn Sin City o’r enw Saint Savers!

Crynhodd lywydd GymGym Llyr, “Er bod Cymdeithas Gymraeg Abertawe yn un bach i gymharu gyda’r cannoedd sydd yn mynychu Aberystwyth, Bangor a Chaerdydd dangoswyd bod ein hansawdd yn uchel! Roedd bod yn rhan o dîm mor dda yn yr Undeb wedi gwneud gwaith y trefnu lot yn hawsach!

ENGLISH Happy Saint David’s Day

by Laura Fiteni

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA University was delighted to say that she would host the 2014 inter-university Eisteddfod when it was revealed earlier this year.

Between 28th February and March 2nd university students from every corner of the country came to Swansea to compete against each other in categories such as literature, music, performance arts and sports.

The weekend’s events kicked-off with a sports gala with both men’s and women’s teams representing their respective universities in football, netball and rugby.

The competitors including Bangor, Aberystwyth, Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen battled it out on the muddy fields at Sketty Lane to be crowned the winners.

Unfortunately, Swansea came in at last place whilst Aberystwyth were pronounced the sporting champions.

In the meantime, a netball tournament was underway in the sports hall where Aberystwyth were once again named the champions. However the Swansea ladies performed better than the boys – managing to uphold a mid-table position in third place.

After all their hard work on the pitch, it was time to relax and have a pint in JC’s in order to hear the results of the day.

A quiz prepared by the Welsh Society (GymGym) asked the competitors to prove their worth once again (whilst enjoying a couple more pints) before heading into town for a night of music and

ST. DAVID’S DAY CELEBRATION: Rugby players fight it out. dancing at night club Sin City.

Saturday saw the inter-university Eisteddfod continue in style in the refectory where there was the opportunity to see and hear a rainbow of different performances. Over 500 students attended the Saturday event.

Magi Dod (C2 Radio Cymru), Owain Wyn Evans (BBC weather man) and Iwan Evans (a university lecturer) judged the fierce competition with Tudur Phillips (Stwnsh S4C) and Aled Warwick (an ex Swansea University student) leading the day’s events.

It was obvious just how much effort had been poured into organising the event. A large stage to host the performances had popped up at the back of the refectory and the room was richly decorated with all things Welsh.

The competitors from the five opposing universities wore individual shirts in their respective colours with witty verses written on the back. Special Welsh beer provided by Welsh

brewer Tomos Watkins was flowing healthily by this point with the banter too boot.

President of GymGym, Llyr Roberts said, “Although I lost quite a bit of sleep arranging the Eisteddfod, seeing everything run smoothly and seeing so many people enjoying themselves through the medium of Welsh made everything worthwhile.

“Every one of the other universities could see how much effort went into the event and were very generous with their compliments.”

The competitors had been practising their pieces for the Eisteddfod for weeks in the lead up to the competition . Their ‘homework’ was made available online prior to the event in order practise and perfect and their creations.

The following categories were included on stage; poetry of all kinds (including the ‘chairing’ and ‘crowning’ pieces) , prose such as short stories and blogs, art and photography, drama, dancing such as folk dancing, creative and disco

dancing, singing, translating and also, a separate competition for learners.

The refectory was alive with the sound of people singing, dancing, reciting and enjoying themselves. However, there was a bigger reason for Bangor to celebrate as they emerged the overall winners.

In the meantime, a fun fair was in full swing down on the university grounds where Varsitygoers were collecting their tickets for the upcoming competition with Cardiff.

The sound of laughing and childish screaming could be heard across the university with the students making the most out of the rides and game stalls available.

Furthermore, a Welsh food and drink festival had arrived in Swansea to celebrate the day by offering students and guests a choice of the country’s finest culinary delights.

But there was still more that Swansea had to offer, a specially organised Welsh gig had been arranged with an exciting line-up that included big names such as Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Yr Eira and Sŵnami.

Afterwards, students raced into town once again to witness the epic battle between the Welsh bands and the Sin City DJ’s at the St. David’s day ‘Saint Savers’.

GymGym president Llyr summarised: “Although Swansea’s Welsh Society is quite small in numbers compared to the hundreds which comprise the Welsh societies at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff, we are not lacking in quality.

“Being part of such a good team, together with the union has made arranging everything a lot easier.”

www.waterfrontonline.co.uk

NEWS I 09

Independence could land Scotland with hefty bill for tuition fees

by Will Brealey

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk AROUND 20,000 students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to study for free in Scotland if the country votes for independence.

Currently, Scottish students can study in their own country free of charge. Undergraduates from the European mainland studying in Scotland are also entitled to free tuition because of EU antidiscrimination laws.

However, this protection does not apply within the same EU member state, allowing Scottish universities to charge youngsters from the rest of the UK £9,000 a year.

Higher education minister David Willetts has warned that this anomaly would be removed in the event of Scottish independence as the remainder of the UK would

become a separate state.

He said around 20,000 students from the rest of the UK study in Scotland each year and they would have to be given free tuition under independence.

Academics Together, part of the Better Together campaign, claim that this loss of fees would create a £150 million black hole in Scotland’s higher education budget.

Harvey Jones, a Marine Biology student said: “The British government are just focusing on this problem in another desperate attempt to maintain the current status of Scotland as a member of the United Kingdom.”

Rahul Vashisht, a third year English Literature student said: “If I’d have known about [potential] free tuition fees in Scotland, I’d definitely have been tempted!”

Hannah Tracey, a third year English Literature student said: “If you’re Welsh, the Welsh Assembly ensures

that you won’t have to pay more than £3,685 a year, wherever you choose to study in the UK. “England should be offering more support for their students.”

Should we stop selling The Sun and The Star on campus?

YES

by Rachael Legg

At first, I didn’t really care about Page 3. I don’t buy The Sun, I don’t look at the Page 3 models.

I convinced myself that Page 3 didn’t affect me. That is, until one day when I went over to a friend’s house for a party and a small group of boys were gawking over the image of one of the Page 3 models. This made me feel very uncomfortable and they seemed to sense this and started waving the image in my face and telling me that I was jealous because I didn’t look like the model and they said that all women should aspire to look like this. I felt incredibly hurt by this incident and went onto the internet to vent my anger which is how I discovered the No More Page 3 campaign on Facebook and Twitter. There, I read even

NO

by Jon May

Page 3 is an outdated concept which, everyone agrees, objectifies women. What I disagree with is the heavy-handed approach the ‘No More Page 3’ campaigners proposal to to ban the newspaper entirely.

For some students and local residents, the Sun is their only source of news. Without that, they wouldn’t know that Putin has invaded Ukraine or that Downing Street has a cute cat called Larry. Making people less educated because of bare breasts seems a bit backward.

The whole idea of banning an entire newspaper because of the contents of one quarter of one page is simply ridiculous. Should we ban the Daily Mail for its xenophobic undertones? Or the Guardian for being ‘too liberal’? Should

more stories written by girls and women, talking about how they had been harassed and discriminated against thanks to The Sun and Page 3. Some of them were very similar to my story and others were a lot worse and I was truly shocked.

Ever since, I’ve been an avid supporter of the campaign. It’s not about banning the newspaper. It’s not about covering up the problem and acting as though it doesn’t exist.

It’s the first step in stopping the media from sexualising young women. Boobs are not news and have no place in a family newspaper where young children can see them.

we just ban all the newspapers and just have a junta approved news roundup of what the trustees think is appropriate for students?

The word censorship means to ban something because it is obscene or a threat. A free press is an established human right. Something citizens of countries like China, Russia and most recently Ukraine and Thailand don’t have access to.

“A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize,” said Winston Churchill on his insistence on a free press during WWII. The ability to buy and absorb news from different sources is part of what a free society is. Restricting that ability is not only immoral, it goes against everything civilised societies believe in.

Banning newspapers is censorship. Fight for the freedom of the press. Oppose the Sun newspaper ban.

The University of St Andrews in Edinburgh could soon be attracting more students from south of the border.

WOULD you like to write for The Waterfront? If so, write to editor@ swansea-union.co.uk

English students left out in the cold COMMENT by Will Brealey waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk TUITION fees have been in the spotlight in recent years, with the decision to triple costs in 2012 causing student protests that brought the capital to a halt.

With most students now looking at £36,000 worth of tuition debt, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking a few extra jumpers to brave the northern climate is a small price to pay for no-strings-attached free tuition.

Sadly I can’t see us all dropping our leeks and picking up bagpipes any time soon though.

Firstly the whole issue assumes Scotland will vote for independence and if Glasgow University’s mock referendum this month is anything to go by, with 62% voting no, this isn’t looking likely.

The EU law would also only cover 20,000 spaces, less than 10% of available spaces in Scottish higher education.

Whilst pro-union politicians are bearing down on Scotland’s free tuition for nationals policy, using the tuition fee deficit as another example of Scotland’s financial incapability, it’s hard to ignore the fact that both Scotland and Wales are doing more for their students than England.

10 I NEWS

thewaterfront 10. 03.14

Bunk beds and school dinners go down well on psychology retreat

by Laura Cosgrove

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk “Education survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten.”

This quote, by B.F. Skinner shows us how over our degrees we can be taught many things, not all of which we will remember, but with any luck, what we have learned, will inspire us and make us want to learn for the sake of learning and to further develop ourselves.

This is exactly what Swansea University’s Psychology Department did on a retreat to the Gower, for 3rd year students. The aim of the retreat was to help students who are finishing their degrees with the big, ‘What happens next?’ question. The retreat was organised by a team of students, (Laura Cosgrove, Rebecca Owen, Ross Kelly and Heidi Muir) and the department heads (Prof. Mark Blagrove and Dr Michelle Lee).

Twelve students embarked on the coach to the Gower on Thursday 30th January and were all pleasantly surprised by the facilities of the St

Students on the Psychology retreat in Gower.

Madoc Christian Centre. The centre was modern and well furnished. After the usual fight over who gets the top bunk, the day started with an ice breaking activity of presenting an interesting fact about a person we did not know in the group.

We then discussed areas of interests in the field of psychology and the fields we hoped to enter in after university. These ranged from clinical psychology to electronic gaming psychology.

After a school dinners kind of lunch with home made fairy cakes for pudding, we had an extremely helpful talk from the careers advisor for Human and Health Sciences, Rebecca Vaughan.

She gave us tips on how to present ourselves in interviews and help with our CVs. The main thing that students got from it was that it’s ok not to know what you want to do after university and that many careers come about

from trying new experiences after university and seeing what arises.

Many students felt reassured that if they didn’t have their whole lives planned out, that was ok and normal.

Students also discussed good topics to discuss in interviews and how to really sell the key points of our degree, in order to make it look attractive to employers.

After a busy day discussing and taking part in employability activities, we had a dinner of sausages, chips and home made jam tart, (really felt like school dinners and we were loving it!). The lecturers left and we socialised into the early hours of the morning, the content of these activities being on a strictly ‘what happens on the retreat, stays on the retreat’ kind of basis!

Bright and early the next morning at 8am, students, feeling a little fragile and sleepy, were once again joined by lecturers after breakfast. Work on the dreaded third year projects were then discussed and lecturers broke down a daunting and rather intimidating report into sections and students put post-it notes about their own projects into these sections. By the end of

it we had essentially planned out our report and this once mammoth work load had become less stressful and perfectly manageable. The head of department even took part and planned out his research work paper!

After another hearty lunch we went for a reflective walk along the Gower to take in the beautiful beaches, breathtaking views and reflect on what we had learned from the few days. On the coach back students were buzzing with hope and insight into what happens after university and their once worried and nervous temperament was eased.

Overall the retreat was a great experience and success. Hopefully it will run again the following year so more students can gain from the event. A big thank you needs to be said to the lecturers who helped, St. Madoc’s Centre and the department for paying for the whole trip.

It is nice to know that the Psychology department is following B. F. Skinners’ idea and investing in our development, by inspiring students to obtain a career in something they really enjoy and help in every way they can to do so.

Students help children’s hospice in social enterprise

by Rachael Howes-Tonks waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk STUDENTS from the School of Management are raising awareness for Tŷ Hafan, an independent charity which provides support for life-limited children all over mid, south and west Wales.

As part of a Social Enterprise module, students selected a charity which they would try to increase awareness of and fundraise for. So far, this has included bag packing for Iceland, and a bake sale.

The conditions of children the charity supports range from Cystic Fibrosis to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Tŷ Hafan supports children’s families, and relies on government funding to run its hospice at Sully near Cardiff.

Nadia Rahman, one of the students involved, said: “We truly believe that this is a worthy cause.

“We hope to establish Tŷ Hafan as a key charity that Swansea should be involved with... their unique services need as much help as possible from the public.”

City in bid to block new casinos

by Alex Hughes waterfrontci@swansea-union.co.uk SWANSEA City Council is attempting to stop new casinos from opening up in the city.

It is consulting on a change to casino licencing policy.

June Burtonshaw, Cabinet Member for Place, said: “The proposal to introduce a ‘no casino’ resolution is part of the council’s anti-poverty policy and, if approved, would last for three years.

“It won’t affect any existing casinos but it would mean no more would be allowed in Swansea.”

This means that, if this policy is approved, Grosvenor casino would be the only casino in Swansea.

Head of the unofficial Swansea University Poker Society, James Lewis, said: “I don’t think the policy will have an effect, as the policy will only last three years if approved. As far as I’m aware there are currently no plans for a new casino… seems more of a safeguard for Grosvenor monopoly, and will keep the backalley games going.”

He added: “If people want to gamble they still will.”

Cllr Burtonshaw said: “Research has shown that vulnerable families, the unemployed and those living in poverty are most likely to experience the adverse effects of gambling.”

Historians help out BBC

by Lauren Phillips waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk TWO Swansea University lecturers are helping BBC Cymru Wales with a major history project on World War I. Historians Dr Gethin Matthews and Dr Gerald Oram are conducting research into the history of Welsh people whose lives were transformed by the war, for the project called World War One at home.

The project is a series of 200 broadcasts and online stories, which will eventually bring 1,400 stories to life on TV, radio and online in a unique broadcasting event.

Dr Matthews said: “This will put the war into a Welsh context using snapshots of rural and industrial life from every corner of the nation.

“Its effects on Wales were profound but far more complex than might appear at first.”

“This is a fascinating project to be involved with” added Dr Oram. “It will highlight the parallel narratives of people on the home front in Wales – in schools, churches, hospitals and factories.”

Broadcasts begin in the run-up to the August centenary of the outbreak of war.

front!

Photo of Rossili Bay by Heather Cowper on Flickr

Don’t miss the beauty on your doorstep p25

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

11

fashion 14-15

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

features 13

L i f e s t y l e f o r S wa n s e a s t u d e n t s

features

Every day sexism... or just a little fun?

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

WITH SAMANTHA BOOTH

fashion 14-15

13

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

I love how theres only one person in the entire room who is looking and wondering why theres a giant bear in the library.

What do you think?

T

HE Harlem Shake, NekNominate and university meme crazes; all internet crazes that seem to have passed quicker than the next torrential rain storm, writes Hilary Webb.

Many expected the Facebook Spotted pages to perhaps run their course within a few months. But it seems, considering The Waterfront investigated the Swansea University Library page more than a year ago, that this craze may be sticking around.

These are a collection of Facebook pages, usually university specific, which allow Facebook users to message in and then the page anonymously posts them to the page about the people and happenings of a university.

In the descriptions users are encouraged to reveal secret crushes and complain about annoying roommates.

With four main Swansea pages: one each for the library, the gym, the campus and the student village; collecting over 9000 likes between them, what impact, if any, are they having?

The pages have recently come under criticism from feminist journalist Laura Bates who ridiculed posts as ‘everyday sexism’, including this one from Spotted: Swansea University Campus: ‘To the dirty skank… for God’s sake buy some new leggings!! Jesus Christ! I can see your m***e!’

Sadly, there are many posts like this on the Swansea pages: ‘To the stunning fit girl that walked past tooters\ divas at around half 7ish.. you have a fine behind’ and ‘A guy from the winning quiz teams wants the two hot brunettes behind the bar to sit on his face’ being just two examples.

Most of these female subjects are blissfully unaware that they’re being objectified until someone says ‘hey, is this about you?’

It would be wrong to say that there are no posts about guys, but while women seem to be objectified, sexualised or criticised men are either being praised or, in one example, called on for watching porn- ‘To the dirty f***er watching porn. Flat 205’.

Insults to men also include digs on physical attributes: ‘I’m sorry my flatmate kicked you out she was genuinely scared by your small penis! Steroids from a young age?

There’s support groups I’m sure’.

It does pose the question whether it’s the community

University Facebook trends have taken over news feeds over the recent years.

Hilary Webb investigates how the long standing ‘Spotted’ pages are continuing to impact students’ lives and whether the craze will ever die down. and the social network that poses the problem. While similar pages do exist on other sites, Facebook’s rival Twitter does seem to be having more positive effects: Laura Bates’ huge success with the Everyday Sexism campaign and the growing awareness of the No More Page Three campaign, thanks to Twitter, have had huge success in creating awareness in the fight against misogyny, whereas Spotted pages’ existence on Facebook seem to be promoting sexism.

Despite the presence of these somewhat hostile and often downright creepy posts on the pages, there is a lot of (mostly harmless) funny posts that capture student life perfectly: ‘Guy in Rhossili North chundering into kitchen sink, you stay classy’. More and more, though, the pages seem to be turning into a destination to post lost and founds and moan at people for turning up late to lectures, so perhaps after ruling Facebook for a impressively long time, Spotted: Swansea may be coming to an end.

Rosie Inman, the students’ union’s women’s officer commented on the Facebook craze: “Unfortunately, anonymity tends to bring out the worst in some people and enables them to write whatever they want about other students without fear of repercussion.

“There are countless posts shaming women for their sex life or the way they look, and though the submitter remains anonymous, the comments are usually rife with speculation about the target of the post.

“We’ve had students come to us who now feel too nervous to even go into the library for fear of appearing on these pages and it’s awful that they’ve been made to feel this way.

“Students should remember that the Dignity at Work and Study and Zero Tolerance policies still apply to social media use.”

A masters Psychology student: ‘Sometimes the posts are genuinely funny, but often they seem to be shaming women and people’s bodies generally’ Faye Vilestra, level one Criminology student: ‘Spotted Swansea brings the university community together, and provides a touch of humour to dull lectures’ Shannon Jones, level one American Studies student: ‘Spotted Swansea is a bit of fun and banter within the university but at the same time there are a few moments when it gets a bit wild. Admittedly my friends and I have been guilty of using it but not to offend.’

Joseph Hamilton, level one Spanish with Business student: ‘As long as the comments don’t overstep the mark it’s highly entertaining and brings the Swansea campus to life.’

Jake Smith, level one Medical Biochemistry student: ‘I think Spotted Swansea is harmless fun but needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.’

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

14

with nanette tur ks o n

fashion

Swansea student fashion show wins backing of famous showbiz name!

S

TEPHEN Fry has backed a fashion event by students at Swansea University in support of Asthma UK. The QI host and actor has tweeted in support of the event which will be held at the city’s Grand Theatre this month and which is also being supported by retailers at the Quadrant Shopping Centre.

It’s the brainchild of economics student Lawrence Porter, 20, a lifelong asthma sufferer, and his girlfriend, fellow Swansea University student Rebecca Sirett who devastatingly lost her sister to the disease when she was a child.

The show will revolve around a Parsian theme, featuring the latest student trends mixed with vintage garments and will be held at the theatre on Thursday, 20 March.

Goodie bags will be on offer which will include cosmetics from a Quadrant outlet, The Body Shop who will also do the hair and makeup for the student models at the show.

Lawrence said: “I thought of the idea last summer.

I mentioned it to Becca and some of our friends and they all thought it a great plan. We later roped in our

university fashion society and since then it’s just snowballed.

“I can’t tell you how grateful we are for all the support from our university colleagues and from outside, especially the stores who’ve been so keen to help.”

The Quadrant Centre got on board almost immediately and Rosie Evans, manager of the Body Shop, said: “We’re happy to support such a good cause and it’s great to see the city’s students getting involved in something like this.

Student style “It should be a fabulous event and to have Stephen Fry supporting is brilliant – I’m sure they will do very well.”

Lawrence said: “Superdry and the Body Shop and the support we’ve had from the Quadrant Shopping Centre has been invaluable.

“The theme for the show will be Student Style, combining the latest fashion with vintage wear.

Students just love to mix up the two! There’ll be some fabulous, trendy looks up there at affordable prices.”

Originally from Reading, Lawrence and his parents, Sian and Mark, who also suffer from asthma, have always had to live with the killer disease in the family and regularly turned to Asthma UK for information and support on coping with it.

“My attacks are far less frequent now, but I still have to use my inhaler every day,” said Lawrence.

As a result of their first-hand experiences both he and Rebecca have set themselves a goal of raising awareness about the dangers of sufferers not treating their condition seriously.

Biology student Rebecca, 20, and her parents, Kay and James, from Bromley, south east London, know only too well how insidious asthma can be.

Rebecca said: “Many people tend to downplay asthma and think they’ve not got it so bad. But they don’t realise how much of a danger it is.

“My sister died on bonfire night when I was eight and she was ten. Before that she’d never before had a big asthma attack;

though her condition had been diagnosed, it was only as mild to moderate.

“But attacks can be provoked by the most unexpected triggers and can strike at any moment out of the blue.

It’s so important people are aware it can be lethal.”

More than 1,000 people in the UK suffer asthmaassociated deaths every year.

Among well known sufferers is actor and TV presenter Stephen Fry, who has been an advocate for Asthma UK since 1999. He tweeted his support for the Swansea fashion show within hours of being contacted by Fashion Society President, languages student, Lowri Evans, 20.

Lawrence said: “His support and that of the Quadrant Centre have been unbelievable boosts for us. We also had a grant from the Arts Foundation in Bristol and lots of good luck messages from other universities which have held fashion shows.

Surprises in store “This will be the first at Swansea but we hope to make it one of the best. I’m in my final year right now but I’m hoping the show will be taken on by future students and become a regular fixture of the Swansea calendar.”

As well as about 30 volunteer student models showing off outfits on the night, there will be additional attractions including music, fun live entertainment, sales stalls and one or two surprises.

“We’re not giving everything away yet, but it’ll be a great night, that’s for sure,” added Lawrence. “We aim to fill the theatre.”

Quadrant Shopping Centre Manager Ian Kirkpatrick said: “The centre is very popular with students as we have plenty of stores here that appeal to them and so we have been delighted to back them.

“Superdry were instrumental in getting our own Student Fashion Night started two years ago and we are always happy to get involved with events like this in the city.”

Tickets at £8 will be via the student union website, https://www.swansea-union.co.uk, Fulton Outfitters and also in hand as the date of the event draws closer.

•For more information, please email Lawrence Porter on 655710@swansea.ac.uk or Lowri Evans on lf.evans@hotmail.co.uk

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

fashion 14-15

15

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

Get ready for spring: SS14 beauty trends Effortlessly stylish Waterfront fashion contributer LIL JAMES-CROOK gives us the rundown on which products should be on our vanity tables this spring.

Ready to banish the winter blues and bury those coats and jumpers? Yes, me too! Welcome in the springtime with these easy and wearable beauty trends that will be sure to put a spring in your step this coming season.

THE ORANGE LIP An orange lip? You may be asking yourselves…how could I ever wear that? Sure enough this is a bold statement but couple this colourful lip with soft eye makeup and the results are outstanding, adding some intensity to a simple base. If you’re brave enough to give this look a go, MAC Cosmetics Lipstick in Morange is sure to blow your socks off; alternatively the new Revlon Colour Burst Crayons are easy to apply and won’t dent your student loan.

DEWY, BRONZED SKIN Bronzed and dewy skin anyone? Yes please! Greet the springtime with a fresh and flawless face that is easily achievable and will give you that effortless and youthful appearance that no-one would say no to. Pair Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturiser with Honey Bronzing Powder from The Body Shop for a radiant glow this spring.

MAC COSMETICS LIPSTICK IN MORANGE £15

Photo by Karrie Nodalo on Flickr.

STRAIGHTEN THOSE LOCKS Say goodbye to those bouncy, wavy locks this season as sleek and straight is back. It’s time to revive the straighteners and head to your nearest Boots to rummage for straightening shampoos, Mark Hill and Charles Worthington are the best for this. These ghd lavender straighteners go hand in hand with the spring pastels trend and brighten up anyone’s dressing table.

LAURA MERCIER TINTED MOISTURISER,£33.50

THE BODY SHOP HONEY BRONZE BRONZING POWDER, £13

We’ve all seen the fancy nail art that’s been floating around social media sites on the hands of celebrities such as Rihanna and Rita Ora, however the catwalks have shown that this trend isn’t going anywhere. From glitter to ombre, to floral and tie-dye, we’ve seen it all and there’s more to come!

Check out Barry M’s Nail Paint and Art Pens, Ciate also do a Caviar Manicure Set, which is promised to wow, so get creative!

MOISTURISE!

NAIL ART

CHARLES WORTHINGTON STRAIGHT & SMOOTH SHAMPOO, £5.99

Spring is around the corner and that calls for one thing - bare legs! There are so many fantastic moisturisers to choose from which will prepare you for those warmer days, a few favourites of mine are the Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Body Lotion, which smells divine and is very affordable. For a hint of self-tan, let’s face it, we all need a bit of help entering the springtime, the Garnier Summer Body Lotion is perfect for a gradual and natural looking glow.

CIATE CAVIAR MANICURE, £18

GARNIER SKIN NATURALS SUMMER BODY MOISTURISING LOTION, £5.10

GHD IV LAVENDER STYLER, £110

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

fashion 14-15

with Hilary Webb

17

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

food

Yes, it really is better than Pot Noodle T

than buying a Pot Noodle, as the classic Chicken and Mushroom flavour has over 13g of fat. This homemade version has only 5g. It makes the perfect amount to feed just one hungry student.

HERE are thousands of student cooking websites and recipe books available in shops and online but it can be hard to know which site is the best.

This week I decided to trial some from the BBC’s GoodFood Student section, bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/ student and they were good hearty dishes and relatively easy to make.

Smoky Bacon Pot Noodle for one INGREDIENTS 1 rasher of smoked back bacon, trimmed and chopped 2 finely sliced spring onions, whites and greens separated 50g frozen peas Quarter tsp paprika 2 tsp cornflour 200ml vegetable stock

Sausage & Mushroom Pot Pie INGREDIENTS 2 tsp olive oil (more if meat starts to stick) 1 small chopped onion 6 pork sausages 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 4 tbsp low-fat crème fraîche Small bunch of parsley, chopped 85g ciabatta, torn into small chunks METHOD 1. Heat some of the oil in the pan and add the onions, cook until they’re softened, this will be about 5 minutes.

Push them to the side of the pan.

2. Squeeze the meat out of the sausages and roll it into balls. Fry in the pan for 5 minutes until golden.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.

4. Season, then stir in the mustard and crème fraîche and 4 tbsp of water.

Bubble for a couple of minutes and then

150g block straight-to-wok noodles or equivalent of dried, cooked Splash of Worcestershire sauce METHOD 1. Fry the bacon for a few minutes in a non-stick pan 2. Add the white parts of the spring onions, peas and paprika and cook for another minute 3. Mix the cornflour with a bit of stock to make a paste, stir this into the pan with the rest of the stock, noodles and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Simmer for a few minutes until thick and saucy, then scatter with the green parts of the spring onion to serve.

take off of the heat and add the parsley.

5. Heat the oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 6. Transfer the mixture into a baking dish and toss the torn ciabatta over the top and drizzle the remaining oil over.

6. Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden.

This dish serves two people, or lasts if you keep it in the fridge for a couple of days or can be frozen. It’s a surprisingly filling meal but will have you scraping your plate.

The second recipe I tried out is their take on a student favourite, the Pot Noodle.

Since I’ve discovered this recipe I’ve made it several times because it’s so easy and delicious. It’s also a lot better for you

Have you got a recipe you’d like to share? Email editor@swansea-union.co.uk

Vegetarian food with Hannah Etienne Bruschetta I couldn’t abide tomatoes in their raw form until I discovered bruschetta. It changed everything! By blanching and de-seeding the tomatoes you remove the slightly acidic, watery juices and are left with delicious, juicy, Italian goodness. This is perfect for lunch if you are bored with sandwiches, or as individual appetizers if you’re cooking for a group of friends. It also gets me feeling a little summery too as my mind wanders off to parties, picnics, barbeques...

Photo by Dion Hinchcliffe on Flickr.

INGREDIENTS 6 large and ripe plum tomatoes ½ a red onion 1 clove of garlic Ciabatta loaf or baguette Olive oil Balsamic vinegar Handful of chopped fresh basil Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD 1. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 60 seconds and peel off the skin.

2. De-seed the tomatoes until you are left with the flesh. Chop them into 1-2cm pieces and put them in a large bowl.

3. Dice the onion and add to the bowl, along with the chopped basil and a generous 6 tbsp of olive oil, 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.

4. Mix this together, add salt & pepper to taste and then cover to put in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.

5. At around the 1 hour mark, prepare the bread by slicing however large you would like and putting under the grill.

6. When the bread is lightly grilled, chop the clove of garlic in half and rub this on the bread so that you have a nice, but not too overpowering, base flavour of garlic with the bruschetta.

7. When this is done, simply dollop the tomato mix over the bread and enjoy with a little more olive oil drizzled on top.

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

18

W H AT ’S ON

front row

Ugly Duckling

1

Sin City, 22 March £5 entry

Our Next Sink Installment .... Ugly Duckling Formed in Long Beach, California around 1993, Andy Cooper, Dizzy Dustin and Young Einstein have been putting out classic hip-hop records and touring the world for the last 11 years.

They’ve earned worldwide acclaim and respect within Hip-Hop culture while consistently selling records and even grabbing an occasional international chart position.

Amazingly, U.D. has rocked five continents on a quest to spread their positive and exciting brand of music.

The group is renowned for their energy-filled live shows which they have honed to perfection over the years, performing various antics on stage and interacting with the crowd.

What is SINK ?

You can expect to hear party vibes from across the musical spectrum all night long. We have a team of local artists that lay down some of the freshest visuals in the form of live art week in week out. Each week you will be blown away by these talented individuals this combined with our team of resident Djs will keep you partying week in week out. Not only that but we have a drinks deal that makes going out on a Saturday that much easier … Any four drinks for £8.

Poets at Dylan Thomas Centre with Nia Davies Dylan Thomas Centre, 27 March Standard £4, concessions £2.80

2

A regular evening at the Dylan Thomas Centre, which invites published and amateur poets to take part. The poet, Nia Davies, will be reading some of her poetry, along with an allocated open-mic slot for anyone who wishes to read.

Under Milk Wood Opera Taliesin Arts Centre, 3-5 April Standard £20, students £18

3

Come and join the inhabitants of the fictional Welsh town, Llareggub - which spells “bugger all” backwards - and listen to an operatic re-imagining of Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas.

Dapper Laughs Oceana, 10 March Tickets £3.50

4

Since bursting onto the scene only a matter of months ago, Dapper Laughs has now gained over 800,000 fans on Facebook, and embarked on a sold-out 14 date stand up tour across the country.

If that wasn’t enough the “proper lad” has broken into the UK Top 10 with his single “Proper Moist”!

Now it’s time for him to take on Oceana Swansea! - See more at: http://www. oceanaclubs.com/swansea/event/167700/ dapper-laughs

St. Patricks Day JC’s Bar, 17 March

5

Campus will turn green for the Irish celebration of the Irish patron saint St. Patrick.

JC’s will be stocked up on Guiness and Irish treats will appear on the menus.

Originally a radio play, and quite possibly one of the most illustrious radio plays of all time, both in the UK and worldwide, you are sure to be captivated by the poetic style and humour that is firmly rooted in all of Thomas’ writing.

Corrosion of Conformity.

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

WIth OLIVIA ROSENTHALL

fashion 14-15

19

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

music

Reverend & the Makers: ‘Our best work to date’ J

AMES Rawlings talks to long-time band Reverend & the Makers frontman, Jon McClure about their sell out tour, gigging in a camper van and their latest album, ‘ThirtyTwo’.

JR: So fourth album now?

JM: It’s called ‘ThirtyTwo’ after my age and is our best work to date.

JR: I saw you recorded it with Martin ‘Youth’ Glover and James Welch. How was that different?

JM: Well Martin Glover’s worked on ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ which is a bonafida classic and a total

legend and James is great, he’s a big house producer, knows about how to make proper dance music so we can straddle the gap between rock n’ roll and dance music better than anyone before.

JR: Is that the new direction you’re going in?

JM: Well the last album was very dancey and people love it. The tour sold out. We’re lucky that we’re totally independent from the mainstream because of word of mouth and twitter and we’re killing it. We provide a bit of an antidote for that and make the songs we want to make.

JR: You’ve been using word of mouth and twitter to promote a lot of the house gigs you’ve been doing. How many are you doing?

JM: We’re doing 32 in the van. It’s been cool, even had a successful wedding proposal. Rather than national press you’d rather read a blog or something. It’s great because it breaks down the barriers that the press use to contain.

JR: After that you’ve got a big tour?

JM: It’s been selling really well and we’ve got some great venues lined up, then after that its festivals.

Onwards and upwards.

JR: What’s it like going out in the van?

JR: Are there any particular festivals you’d like to play?

JM: It’s me and my mate Breaking Bad style in the camper van. It’s amazing, people love you for it. People love it. Mix up the demographics or people who don’t follow the music industry.

JM: It’s a bit early yet, only the big headlines announced so far. But I love it, it’s sunshine music. It’s a great thing, I do like a festival and I’m hoping to do as many as possible.

Read the full interviews online at: www.waterfrontonline.co.uk

Reviews Runaway

Nadine Shah On first listen I didn’t really get very much from this song, but after persevering for a little while I think I got the unique sound Nadine Shah is chasing after, and maybe that is a tidy way to explain this song a song for chasing or being chased, writes Lawrence Porter.

It is conveniently named Runaway. The guitar is simple but poignant and the simplicity of the song fits with the title and lyrics and Shah’s voice. I like the sound; it is strong and is similar the Mercury Award nominated Anna Calvi. I am glad female artists like this are emerging as they are opening up a new bleak folk genre. It is a genre that feels like it has seeped from the ground and the earthiness feels unexpectedly comforting. Minimalist rock at its finest.

Little Monster Royal Blood

‘Little Monster’ is the second single to be released by Brightonbased alternative rock duo Royal Blood, writes Liam Turner. The song dives straight in with a heavy groove that practically demands you at least nod along to its infectious rhythm. Followed then by a verse that juxtaposes lead singer Kerr’s smooth, almost calculating, vocals with the tune’s main riff you will find that the song does not disappoint.

The chorus only improves on the track’s first impressions as Kerr belts, “I’ve got love on my fingers, and lust on my tongue,” over punchy drums and bulky base. Throw in a simple, yet effective solo and you’ve got yourself one hell of a tune. The song becomes even more impressive when you realise that the only two instruments being used are a drum kit and a bass guitar.

Foreverly

Billie Joe and Norah Can we just clarify here and now that there is (in the present day, at least) nothing ‘punk’ about Billie Joe Armstrong, writes Emma Hislop.

Even after decades of putting on theatrical rock shows and enduring an alcohol related meltdown, the latest musical offerings by the Green Day front man include writing ­and starring in­a Broadway musical and now covering a slightly obscure 1950s country classic.

Yet even considering his recent mainstreaming, I think it is clear to say that absolutely no one saw this album coming.

Foreverly offers yet another solid modernization of the Everly Brothers country­centric back catalogue, including cheesy cowboy songs and murder ballads such as ‘Kentucky’ and ‘Down in the Willow Garden’. Mostly, the album is a genuinely touching tribute to an iconic group by a bizarre collaborative pairing. Yet whilst Armstrong’s name sounds a little country, his voice certainly does not. It is very much the dusky vocals of Norah Jones that make this album work in terms of melody and overall sound, especially adding the sensuality of a female vocal to tracks such as ‘I’m Here to Get my Baby Out of Jail’.

However Armstrong does contribute strongly to the musical feel of the album by offering a mostly low ­key, acoustic fare.

Yet although the tempo may have been upped on various tracks (‘Barbara Allen’ to name one), this is still very much a faithful recreation of a classic album ­albeit a charming and raw one.

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

20

with LAUREN PHILLIPS

culture

The unlikely heroes of art W

HEN we see the Mona Lisa or a Monet painting or a sculpture by Da Vinci we rarely think about the difficulty in preserving these masterpieces, writes Lauren Phillips.

We think less about the power and prestige it is to own just one of them.

The Monuments Men is based on a true story written in a non-fiction book by Robert M Edsel and has now been adapted for the big screen.

Both the book and film are about the theft of artwork by Nazi Germany during World War II. That’s where the ‘Monuments Men’ came in. A daring band of middle aged men and women who were not soldiers but scholars, educators, archivists, curators and museum directors. All brought together by their determination to save Europe’s major artistic and cultural achievements.

Their story is a real life treasure hunt, as they risked life and limb to retrieve these stolen artefacts from Nazi Germany, and return them to their owners (even if it meant going behind enemy lines). An impossible task to even think about let alone carry out, yet the Monuments Men did just that.

George Clooney stars and directs the film adaptation, playing art conservationist and team leader, Lt. Frank Stokes. His unlikely crew is

a star-studded cast featuring Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and John Goodman.

The film blends the effects the war had on the destruction of historical cities with comedic elements. The scenes between Richard Campbell (Murray) and Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban) are very funny and provide the right amount of comic relief.

Seeing the various famous paintings, sculptures and historical locations that appear in the film, you can really appreciate the European culture and artwork that we have,

which has survived today.

The story of the Monuments Men shows how the assault from Nazi Germany was not only an assault on lives but also on the foundations of our artistic and cultural civilisation.

And these men and women believed that that civilisation was worth risking everything for.

The Monuments Men film adaptation is in cinemas now and is being screened at the Taliesin Arts Centre on Tuesday, 11th March.

First world problems FANCY seeing the funny and talented comedian, Jason Manford live on tour? Here’s your chance!

The successful comedic genius himself will be performing live in the Grand Theatre, Swansea on the 15th of March, writes Emma James.

He will be returning to his comedic roots with his brand new UK tour, ‘First World Problems.’

After his recent win on the British Talent Show ‘Born to Shine’ he said: “I’m excited to getting back to what I really love the most – stand up.”

Manford has kept himself busy by appearing in the West End production of Sweeny Todd alongside Downton Abbey stars Michelle Dockery and Brendan Coyle.

Students may recognise the comedian after appearing on popular TV shows including QI (BBC 2) and the sixth series of ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ (Channel 4) where he participated as the team captain. Previously, Manford has performed his stand-up comedy on BBC 1’s ‘Live at the Apollo’ and several Royal Variety Performances, which has made him a big success.

Explaining the origins of the show’s title, Manford said, “I [had] seen the phrase online [and] I think it emphasises those times when we moan about the most trivial things.

“I Imagine someone in the Third World just thinking that we were all complete idiots.”

The show itself will include witty and

hilarious anecdotes from one of the most loved comedians in Britain.

Critics including The Guardian have been full of praise for the star saying: “What Manford does best: classic, chirpy-chappie stand-up.”

Tickets are £23. It has been advised to secure tickets quickly as a result of the popularity of the tour.

Tickets can be purchased online at http:// www.jasonmanford.com/.

Broken: Our shifting world

Motionhouse’s production, Broken, is coming to Taliesin Arts Centre on March 13th.

Using harnesses, six highly athletic dancers and digital imagery, the show explores our precarious relationship with the earth, writes Rachael Howes-Tonks.

The fast-paced spectacle begins by contrasting the caves of our ancestors with modern buildings and apartments. It examines the difference between a mythical underworld and a visceral over-world, questioning our ambivalence towards our world until disaster strikes.

The result is an original and intricate spectacle, which captures a world of shifting perspectives where nothing is what it seems.

This successful production company has already received much critical acclaim, and now takes the audience on a journey to earth as they have never seen it before. Whether you have ever seen modern dance before or not, this promises a great evening of a spectacular visual experience.

Tickets start at £11.

Free books = a healthy bookshelf and planet IN our town centre located on The Kingsway opposite the large Co-operative is a free book shop set up by Healthy Planet, a charity organisation that use empty buildings to open free book shops, writes Natasha Marsh.

The shops are made up of donated books and stop these unwanted books from ending up in our overflowing landfills, giving both the books and the buildings a new lease of life. Any money donated for the books helps towards conservation work.

When walking into the building you see a buzz of activity as people of all ages rummage through boxes crammed with 30 genres of books. This is every bookworm and student’s dream come true. With a general education section you can find books relating to all university students and speaking to volunteer Paul Mcadan these are largely due to donations from students who have finished their modules and studies.

Paul said: “Surprisingly there has been lots of interest from students.” With three free books per person and 1000 books to choose from everyone leaves with something. This free bookshop is here to stay and Paul says that if they need to close this unit, one will pop up in another unit nearby. There are many more like this free bookshop - they can be found all over the UK including Cardiff and Newport.

With a welcoming atmosphere, nostalgic library aroma and colourful array of 1000s of different books this place is well worth a visit and as the year is nearly up, donate and give your well used books a new home instead of closing the bin lid on them forever.

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

with HO LLY M ILLER

fashion 14-15

21

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

relationships

Blind Date Revisited After Lucy met Will

Lucy Reynolds, 20, a Material Science and Engineering student, and Will Yard, a 20-year-old Business Studies student met for The Waterfront blind date a year ago. We catch up with them.

Lucy on Will

Ask Uncle Ryan and Chris This week, we’ve had a visit from the wise and all-knowing Agony Uncles, Ryan O’Callaghan and Chris Horne, who answered your questions with their exclusive life advice.

Dear Ryan and Chris, I’m a little embarrassed about an issue I’m having at the moment. Basically, I have had an awful time recently and I physically can’t stop crying when it’s my time of the month!

It’s got to the point that I always wear sunglasses no matter what the weather is (so that people can’t see my tears) the boys in my house keep telling me to ‘man up’ but this is such a sexist response… they have no idea what emotional turmoil I go through every month. Not even a hot water bottle will get rid of the pain… should I see the doctor or is this something all girls experience? How should I deal with my housemates? I’m fed up of their constant ‘banter’. Help me guys!

Love Claudia Dear Claudia, First of all let us say, never is it acceptable to make fun of a woman’s menstrual pains, period.

Unfortunately, as two blokes we may not be the best pair to advise you on this subject as we haven’t had our first period yet. Perhaps if you pretend to be crying about something else your housemates will be more sympathetic, i.e. death in the family, exam stress or worms. Okay, maybe not worms. What sort of hot water bottle are you using? Maybe it’s time for an upgrade, we recommend the Alpaca Fur Hot Water Bottle. Although PETA may not approve, at £85 you can’t go wrong.

Don’t go near the water for a while, we don’t want a shark problem in Swansea.

Ryan and Chris

Dear Ryan and Chris, I’ve really liked this girl off my course for ages and I really want to ask her out on a date as we get on amazingly well but am really worried I’ve been friend zoned (nobody wants to be in that zone). I am a good looking lad, yet I am terrified of rejection and not sure whether to broach the subject with her or just try and get with her on a night out so if I’m rejected I can blame it on being pissed. I have previously tried pulling some seductive moves on nights out, but she just thinks I’m joking and laughs… complete nightmare! I have been trying to hint at her for months, some flirty looks here and there, along with some intense eye contact, I even gave her my last malteaser the other day (do I want to make it any more obvious). What do you think? Please help.

Thanks, Gary Dear Gary, We think your first problem here is the fact you refer to yourself as a ‘good looking lad’. As much as we understand what you’re going through, possibly waiting to make a move when you’re both too pissed to think straight can come off a little creepy. You don’t want to be known as Gary The Creeper. We all think we have seductive moves on a night out but it usually just looks like that scene in The Inbetweeners Movie. We reckon that with April 1st fast approaching you should wait until then to tell her. If she happens to reject you, laugh it off as an April Fools joke and she’ll look like the moron. Hopefully, that Malteaser will turn into a two fingered KitKat. P.s. Grow a pair, Ryan and Chris

How did you feel after the Blind Date was published?

Excited! I couldn’t wait to see if he felt the same way as me, although I’m pretty sure he gave me a lower compatibility score but he was definitely playing hard to get.

Now that some time has passed, would you want to go on another date?

I never want to date anyone else ever again after meeting Will...

Have you considered meeting up for another date with the other person since?

Yeah date night is every other Friday, usually we go wine tasting or to a still life drawing class.

Have you drunk text/phoned them?

Always.

Do you still make eye contact when you’re walking past them on campus?

And hold hands, yes.

Are you Facebook friends?

We’re married on Facebook (and totally in real life too..)

Would you recommend the blind date to your friends?

Yes! Maybe you’ll be as lucky as us and find your soulmate! (I also have convinced two friends to do it since, Cath and Meg haha)

Will on Lucy How did you feel after the Blind Date was published?

I felt so excited that everyone could hear our success story, I love her truly, madly, deeply. To say it was a match made in heaven would be an understatement #4lyf2k13.

Now that some time has passed, would you want to go on another date?

We did the next day, it was like in Dear John, a walk on the beach followed by a night of passionate chess playing.

Have you considered meeting up for another date with the other person since?

Yeah I mean I wish we could see each other all the time, ‘ma baby never leave my side’ and all that. But now we’re married I’m moving in so date night will be every night and morning giggidy giggidy.

Have you drunk text/phoned them?

As soon as the beer touches my lips, I call her, why wouldn’t I? She’s on speed dial 2, number 1 will always go to my tortoise, Erik Shion.

Do you still make eye contact when you’re walking past them on campus?

Often, often I gaze at her when she can’t see me, it’s not stalking.

Are you Facebook friends?

Yeah for suresies, my profile picture is our wedding day.

Would you recommend the blind date to your friends?

Yes! My life was missing something, that space has been filled. It’s like a Chameleon re-growing its legs, it’s a beautiful process.

If you are interested in taking part in the blind date, email your name, age, course and level to waterfrontrelationships@swanseaunion.co.uk

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

22

with saul masters

film

Oscar 2014 winners and losers E

VERY year for the last 86 years all of Hollywood’s best and brightest have made their way to the Academy Awards hoping to come on stage and a get their hands on one of the little gold statues, writes Saul Masters.

And this year was no different. The red carpet was littered with some of the greatest talent cinema has to offer. Whether you are well known like Brad Pitt or Martin Scorsese or up and coming like Lupita Nyong’o and Barkhad Abdi, the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was where you needed to be.

While James Franco was at home in bed eating a burger and Seth MacFarlane was somewhere insulting someone, TV show host Ellen DeGeneres took over the job of hosting. She definitely took a leaf out of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s book with sharp wit and hilarious gags. Not to mention quite possibly the best selfie anyone has ever taken.

The trip this year to the Oscars had been an odd one. Most years two films are picked out by bookies and critics that are most likely to win but this year the competition was far more open than before. Most critics thought it would be between Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity up against Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave and sure it looked like that for a while. But some people thought American Hustle, for some reason, was going to break out of the pack and grab the golden statue.

Some thought underdog Dallas Buyers Club was going to sneak in and take the top prize, after the love the Golden Globes showed for the film. At the end of the day the obvious film won out, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave took home the main award.

Since the run up to the awards most people had

their money on either Chiwetel Ejiofor or Matthew McConaughey taking home the award for Best Actor. I think if most of the public got their way the award would have gone to Leonardo DiCaprio, who seems to top all the actors never to win an Oscar lists.

Although the Oscars were unlikely to award DiCaprio for his performance as Jordan Belfort.

Instead the award went to the once romantic comedy king, Matthew McConaughey. Gone are the days when McConaughey leaned on actresses on soppy film posters for poor romantic comedies.

Cate Blanchett won her first Best Actress award for her role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. The supporting awards went to Jared Leto for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. The Oscars handed the Best Supporting Actress award to newcomer Lupita Nyong’o for her much revered role in McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.

12 Years a Slave also went home with Best Adapted Screenplay. Not only did Gravity walk home with the Best Director award but it also scooped up pretty much everything else, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Score.

One of the pleasant surprises of the night was the Best Original Screenplay going to Spike Jonze for his science fiction romance, Her. Maybe the Academy wanted to give the award to someone who would actually turn up.

One of the biggest shocks of the evening was The Act of Killing losing out to 20 Feet of Stardom for Best Documentary. Oh yeah and Jennifer Lawrence fell over again. So that is it for another year, roll on another year of amazing performances and excellent pieces of cinema.

GRAVITY: Winner of seven awards.

Film News: New Godzilla trailer explodes online/ Jeff Goldblum returns for Independence Day 2/ Masters of the Universe film one the way?

List of Winners and Nominations Best Picture American Hustle Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity Her Nebraska Philomena 12 Years a Slave The Wolf of Wall Street Best Director David O. Russell, American Hustle Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity Alexander Payne, Nebraska Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street Best Actor Christian Bale, American Hustle Bruce Dern, Nebraska Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club Best Actress Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine Amy Adams – American Hustle Sandra Bullock – Gravity Judi Dench - Philomena Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips Bradley Cooper – American Hustle Michael Fassbender - 12 Years A Slave Jonah Hill – The Wolf Of Wall Street

Best Documentary Feature 20 Feet from Stardom The Act Of Killing Cutie And The Boxer Dirty Wars The Square

Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle Julia Roberts – August: Osage County June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight Billy Ray – Captain Phillips Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope – Philomena Terence Winter – The Wolf Of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature Frozen The Croods Despicable Me 2 Ernest & Celestine The Wind Rises Best Cinematography Gravity The Grandmaster Inside Llewyn Davis Nebraska Prisoners

Best Original Screenplay Spike Jonze - Her Eric Singer & David O. Russell – American Hustle Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club Bob Nelson - Nebraska Best Foreign Language Feature The Great Beauty The Broken Circle Breakdown The Hunt The Missing Picture Omar

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

fashion 14-15

23

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

Looking back: the ones that got away

A

ll Is Lost, Tom Hanks, Sean Bobbitt and Paul Greengrass.

What do all these have in common? They were all snubbed from this year’s Oscars, writes Saul Masters. But it isn’t the only time the Oscars have got it wrong. Here just a few examples of when the academy dropped the ball.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Best Film

One of the most bizarre choices the academy have ever made is never awarding Stanley Kubrick with one of their golden statues, despite the fact Kubrick is often cited as one of the greatest directors to have ever sat behind a camera. Even more bizarre is not nominating 2001 for best film let alone awarding the great piece of cinema with an accolade. Instead in 1968 the Academy went for the mediocre musical Oliver! It could be that the Academy just didn’t get what Kubrick was doing and just enjoyed the visuals seeing as they award the film Best Visual Effects.

2. Bob Mottin - Best Visual Effects for The Thing The academy basically ignores the existence of science fiction and only awards the genre with special effects accolades. And they seem to make it their job to ignore anything from the horror genre, with the exception of The Silence of the Lambs. So when in 1982 John Carpenter remade the 1950s classic The Thing, no one was holding out for it to sweep the Oscars off their feet. Okay, it was never going to be up for best film or best actor, despite Kurt Russell, but Bob Mottin deserved to go home with the award for his skill in the creation of the monster in The Thing. The film’s amazing special effects still hold up to this day and cite it as the finest example of physical special effects.

3. Ben Mendelsohn -Best Supporting Actor for Animal Kingdom If Ben Mendelsohn had been nominated in 2011 he would have been going up against Christian Bale for his role in The Fighter, tough competition. But even so Mendelsohn’s role as Pope in the underrated Australian crime film Animal Kingdom is worthy of an award. Animal Kingdom tells the story of a young orphan J, who is taken in by his estranged grandmother Smurd (Jacki Weaver) and it doesn’t take long for J to discover that his family are a violent gang of bank robbers wanted by Guy Pierce’s police detective.

Mendelsohn plays Pope, the unhinged oldest brother of a family of bank robbers. The Australian actor brings fierce menace to the role that haunts the film. No doubt it was the role that won him work in the likes of The Dark Knight Rises and The Place Beyond the Pines but the academy deemed the likes of Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner as more worthy of a nomination.

4.Trainspotting- Best Adapted Screenplay It’s no surprise that the academy completely ignored this excellent piece of cinema; it involves a group of heroin addicts stealing, swearing and shooting up their way through Edinburgh. Irvine Welsh’s source material is thick with Scottish dialect but John Hodge’s script is an expert piece of adaptation that lost out to the more Hollywood friendly, L.A. Confidential in 1997. Trainspotting would go onto become one of Britain’s finest films ever and director Danny Boyle would go on to become one of the best of his generation.

5.Steven Spielberg - Best Director for Jaws The academy has made bizarre choices in its time but sometimes they make just plain stupid ones. How Spielberg was not nominated for Jaws in 1976 makes absolutely no sense to anyone who has watched the film, the director himself resented the academy for not being nominated and rightly so. Spielberg’s work on Jaws is one of the most outstanding pieces of directing made by a director in the last few decades. The academy rarely hand out awards to new and upcoming directors but Jaws was a ground-breaking film that would go on to define cinema.

6. Dark Water - Best Foreign Film The academy has a system when it comes to foreign films and it works like this: only one film can be put forward to be nominated from each country. Sadly Hideo Nakata’s ghost story, Dark Water, did not make the cut in 2006. Centring on a divorced woman going through her separation and possibly losing her child while living in a haunted apartment block, the film does not rely on Hollywoodlike shocks but instead is a much more subtle and quiet film. No doubt the academy would not award a horror film, let alone one directed by the same guy who did The Ring.

7. A History of Violence - Best Film/Director Most people would associate the Canadian director, David Cronenberg with body horror films and rightfully so, but in the last few years the director has matured and so have his films. The likes of Eastern Promises and especially A Dangerous Method, seemed to be something the Oscars could get behind - but no.

Cronenberg has never had any luck with the Oscars and has been overlooked for every effort he has directed. A History of Violence being sidelined by the Oscars in 2006 was pure stupidity. Perhaps they were put off by the graphic violence depicted or just perhaps their judgement shouldn’t be trusted. Cronenberg has won at the likes of Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival and even managed to bag himself a Diamond Jubilee Medal but the golden statues still elude him.

8. Bill Murray - Best Actor for Groundhog Day Oscar prefers his male protagonists to be oppressed and challenged or Daniel Day-Lewis. So it is no surprise that Bill Murray was ignored by the academy for his performance in the late Harold Ramis comedy, Groundhog Day, a story of a grumpy weather man forced to relive the same day till he learns to change. Murray’s role in the film offers so much and went onto become something of an icon film but sadly the academy didn’t see it as worth bothering with in 1994. The academy have had a problem with rewarding comedy roles over the last few years with the likes of Jim Carey and Robin Williams being heavily ignored by Oscar voters. But Murray’s performance is as touching as any previous Best Actor winner.

9. Roger Deakins - Best Cinematography for Miller’s Crossing It’s an odd choice by the academy to completely overlook Miller’s Crossing in 1991, especially as how much the academy now love the Coens. But what is more tragic is the academy have failed to reward Roger Deakins despite being nominated 12 times. Deakins is the cinematographer behind the likes of Skyfall, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Deakins work on the Coens’ gangster flick is nothing but amazing, a true example of the amount of talent the man possesses. A pity the academy have been so stupid in ignoring him.

10. Olivia Colman - Best Actress for Tyrannosaur Anyone who witnessed Colman’s performance in Tyrannosaur would have found it difficult to describe her as anything but powerful. Colman plays Hannah, a caring charity shop worker who looks after Peter Mullan’s alcoholic and violent Joseph but it is her life at home where the drama lies. The chances of Colman getting nominated in 2012 were incredibly slim, having been snubbed by both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs but the Sundance Film Festival made the right choice offering her the award for Breakout Performance.It’s a travesty that the best actress award went to Meryl Streep for her performance, or rather imitation of everyone’s least favourite Prime Minister Margaret Thacter in The Iron Lady, when it should have gone home with Colman. No doubt Colman will be back at some point to have the last laugh.

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

24

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS

societies

Team work ensures St David’s Day weekend is a big success T

HE weekend of 1st March saw the joining of three exciting events at the university – Varsity collection day, St David’s Day and the long standing tradition of the Eisteddfod ryng-golegol for which many of our societies were involved in making the event a huge success.

The Eisteddfod is hosted by a different university every year and fortunately for us fell this year on the feast day of the patron saint of Wales. Starting way back in January, the societies and services officer, Y Gym Gym, the Welsh affairs officer and many of the union staff have had weekly meetings to coordinate the events to ensure that the 500 visiting students had the best experience possible at our university.

“One of the greatest resources available to us as a planning group was the societies and sports team here in Swansea who all pitched in to help out,” said the societies and services officer.

“We had referees from the football, netball and rugby teams as well as volunteer stewards to guide the visiting students.”

The involvement of our societies was immense over the weekend’s events St. John LINKS provided first aid cover for the whole event which included a “delightful and enlightening” over night shift to ensure the safety of those students sleeping on campus.

The Choral Society gave a fantastic performance to the VIP guests and to

Photo by Llyr Roberts. close the Eisteddfod competition, for which they received a well deserved standing ovation.

SUCS were also essential to the day and aided the event by filming and live streaming the competitions into JC’s and online.

Furthermore, we were also treated to a set by the Welsh folk musicians group and the Macmillan Society offered

handmade daffodils and leeks for donations.

“The weekend was a tremendous success and has set a benchmark for future Eisteddfods and St. David’s Day celebrations here in Swansea,” said societies and services officer. “The legacy of this year’s Eisteddfod is clear and provides us all with a stepping stone to embrace the culture of the

Shoreline Theatre members to stage Lord of the Flies FOR what has already been a particularly busy year for our drama society, having put on a number of performances that include the hugely successful ‘Vagina Monologues’, Shoreline Theatre are returning to Swansea Grand Theatre’s Arts Wing for two performances of ‘Lord of the

Flies’ on Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th March. Nobel Prize winner, William Golding’s novel has been skilfully adapted for the stage and has been acknowledged as effectively ‘encapsulating the horror’ met by the novel’s young boys on a deserted island. Shoreline never disappoint

with their performances and there is much excitement and anticipation surrounding their performance of the well regarded classic – definitely not one to miss! Curtain: 7.30pm, Tickets: £8.50, Concessions: £6.50.

Tickets available online at www. swansea.gov.uk

SWansea Come Dancing!

THE Dance Society put some of our full time officers and Sports Swansea representatives in sequins, lycra and tutus on Monday 3rd March for their annual rendition of Strictly Come Dancing.

All nine of the nervous contestants took to the stage at Oceana, demonstrating dance styles such as ballet, tap, swing and disco. Each participant performed very well with reasonably high scores all around from the panel of judges. Particular favourites of the evening’s events were student union president, Zahid Raja’s performance with Polynesian (a combination of Hula, Hawaiian and Tahitian styles) teacher Maria Morales and the efforts of Tom Cullimore, football captain, in

a classical ballet performance, pictured. In the end it was women’s rugby representative Robyn Lock who won overall after her impressive salsa performance with teacher Chris Monkhouse.

With a lovely performance from the Glee Society and the wonderful presenting skills of Charlie Ajomale and Fred Cooper, the audience were kept well entertained. The support from our rugby, football, kickboxing and netball teams, Dance Society members and union staff was enormous which meant the evening was once again a huge success for the third year running, this time raising a generous amount of money from ticket sales for Swansea based charity Local Aid.

Societies news round-up ON top of the success of the St David’s Day weekend, our societies have been busy with their own internally organised events, all of which deserve recognition.

To name a few: The finale to LGBT+ History Month culminated with drag karaoke in Divas; The History Society held a well appreciated dissertation workshop for students needing extra help; Hitch Society held their first health and safety meeting of the year much to the excitement of our societies and services officer to which she commented “Yay risk assessments!”

We have also seen the Pagan Society transforming the Mandela Suite to host the Goddess of Glastonbury; ISOC’s hosting of Islamic Awareness Week and a range of outstanding evening lectures; the Christian Union’s ‘Discuss Week’ went down a storm with lunch bar talks and themed evening events including a Narnia night and an catered international evening.

The societies and services officer tells us that “it was in this same week that UNICEF roped me into their annual Valentine’s speed dating event and while I didn’t find true love I did have fun meeting lots of new people and realising that I don’t know any cheesy chat up lines!”

In amongst all of these festivities, she has still managed to take part in dance rehearsals for her brilliant debut performance at the Dance Society’s Strictly Come Dancing event.

“I wanted to round off by saying how incredibly proud I am of each and every society! I try to make my way to as many events as possible. If you’d like me to come along to any of your events drop me a message or email. Every day societies throw new exciting and entirely amazing things at me so keep it up - the awards are coming.”

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

with verity ockenden

fashion 14-15

25

features 13

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

travel Photo of Rhossili by Michael Watson.

Don’t miss the beauty right on your doorstep M

ANY students don’t know about the majestic Rhossili, even though it’s been voted the 3rd best beach in Europe and is literally on our doorstep. A quick Google search will describe its wonders far better than I will be able to, so in this article I will simply and briefly tell you how to get there and what you can do when you arrive.

Perhaps the most accessible way for your average Joe is the trusty Swansea bus service. The 118 route starts in town, passes through Uplands, past the Student Village, through the Gower countryside before reaching Rhossili Bay at the end of its route. It takes just over an hour from town and drops you in Rhossili village, leaving you just a short walk to the beach and cliff tops.

If you’re one of the lucky ones with a car, or even better a friend with a car, get on the A4118 (the main road in Uplands high street that again passes the student village) and follow it out of Swansea through Killay, then carry on until you reach Scurlage, then follow the signs to Rhossili, all clearly visible from the road. Once in Rhossili you can either park in the church car park (small donation to the church) or follow the road down to the main car park (charges during peak

Photo of Rhossili cliffs by Michael Watson.

Second year Mechanical Engineering student Michael Watson writes about Rhossili in the first of a series of articles about local attractions. times of the year).

So, you’ve arrived. What now? Well, it’s really up to you. Take the path down to the beach, watching out for the sheep and either relax for a bit and take it easy (weather dependant!), or if you’re feeling energetic take a stroll down the 3 mile stretch of sand.

Alternatively (or additionally) walk along the clifftops to get the classic view of the bay and Worm’s Head. If you go on to Worm’s Head be sure to check the tide times to make sure you don’t get stranded.

Feeling peckish? Pop into the Bay Bistro for a hot drink and a cake, or go to the Worm’s Head Hotel for a meal with stunning views over the bay.

So, instead of just reading about Rhossili, get out and experience it for yourself.

Photo of the path to Worm’s Head by Michael Gwyther-Jones on Flickr.

Photo of Worm’s Head at sunset by 2benny on Flickr.

The driest place in Britain Although travelling is definitely not advised during the sorts of storms that we have been suffering recently, there is one place in Britain that you might feel tempted to visit nonetheless, writes Verity Ockenden. If you are tired of sitting through lectures with soggy socks, having your face unexpectedly exfoliated with sand and hail as you carry your shopping back from Tesco or have ended up spending more on replacement umbrellas than on your actual food shop, then this could be the dream holiday destination you never knew existed.

The town of Loftus in North Yorkshire has recently been revealed as the driest place in Britain this winter and incredibly, has received even less rainfall than last year. Apparently it has also been unusually warm there, as shown by the abundance of flowers already in bloom.

To see this for yourself, it is suggested that visitors take a walk along the Cleveland Way, a national trail that passes through the area on its meandering path from Helmsley to Filey around the picturesque North York Moors National Park. At £103.60 for a one way ticket purchased spontaneously with a student rail card, it is certainly a lot cheaper than emigrating to the Sahara.

careers

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

26

With JO DAVIES

Answers to all your questions T

HE Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) held a successful ‘Question Time’ event last month at the Mandela Suite in the students’ union.

Managed by the careers & employability team, it was held in association with the Bright Futures and Konetics student societies. This event was also filmed

by Swansea University’s SU-TV team.

‘Question Time’ was very much modelled on a popular political television programme of the same name which is chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby.

However, this event was chaired by our very own careers adviser, Gareth Hill.

The theme of event was employability and entrepreneurship and it provided an open, informal forum for all students to ask any career-related questions they felt were important to them. No question was too general or specific and it could relate to any career or industry. Even how to start your own business.

The people in the ‘hot seats’, answering students’ questions, were not politicians but recruitment and careers professionals. The panel consisted of Jenny Jones, an HR Officer from JCP Solicitors, Adam Curtis, CEO of Hoowla and Owner of Clockwork Bear, and Naomi Boast, Assistant Civil Engineer at Vinci Construction, based on Swansea University’s new campus site.

Lucy Williams, who co-ordinates the SPIN (Swansea Paid Internship Network) & WoW (Week of Work) work placement programmes for Swansea University, was also on the panel, mostly drawing on her experience as a former recruiter in the commercial sector.

The careers & employability team felt it was important to provide speakers from various backgrounds in order to cater to the wide breadth of career aspirations and interests held by Swansea University students. Jenny Jones of JCP was able to provide an insight into how prestigious, corporate

graduate recruiters make their selections and also provided direct advice for those studying Law. Adam Curtis, speaking as an entrepreneur, gave advice on careers in IT, as well as how to set up your own company.

He has offices in Swansea, is CEO of Hoowla, an online conveyancing com and owner of Clockwork Bear, a software development and web design business.

Careers adviser, Gareth Hill and head of careers & employability, Pauline McDonald, were also on-hand to draw on their in-depth knowledge and experience within careers guidance.

Naomi Boast has a very interesting story. She joined the SPIN & WoW work placement programmes in 2013 and was successful in gaining a WoW placement with Welsh Water. She then used skills and experiences developed on this work placement to gain a SPIN placement with Vinci Constructions’ site in Swansea.

Naomi dedicated herself to this opportunity and after her summer placement, she was invited to apply for Vinci’s national graduate scheme.

She was successful in gaining a place on the scheme and is now one of the only women working as a civil engineer at the Swansea site. She is currently highly involved in developing Swansea University’s second campus and is an active advocate of work placements as a vehicle for gaining graduate-level employment - often speaking at SPIN & WoW events.

‘Question Time’ attracted a full house on the evening and students in attendance studied a very widerange of courses, which made for highly interesting discussions throughout the evening. The event also provided a useful opportunity to network with employers from the panel.

Questions posed by students on the evening were varied and each panel member was able to offer unique answers and insight based on their respective experiences. Questions ranged from how to deal with stress at work, to how to effectively interview via Skype, how to make your CV stand out, how to succeed at interview, what to do if you decide that your chosen career is not for you after all, as well as trends within the current recruitment landscape. @swanworkplaceme (Twitter account) will shortly tweet video coverage of the event in order for you to watch selected highlights. The SEA Academy and careers & employability teams will be holding similar events in the future as they have been successful and popular to date.

Follow @swanworkplaceme on Twitter so that you are always informed of useful events and opportunities that will boost your employability.

Events are always free and evaluated afterwards to ensure that we are delivering events that are relevant and useful to Swansea students.

Laura Bailey, MA Communication, Media & PR, on placement at The Wave radio station.

Apply Now For SPIN & WoW CONTINUING the huge success of Swansea University’s SPIN and WoW work placement programmes, we are accepting student applications for summer 2014.

Applications are open until 21st March.

The following programmes take place over the 2014 summer vacation period: SPIN (Swansea Paid Internship Network) Paid 6-8 week internships (£200 p/w) WoW (Week of Work) Unpaid ‘taster’ weeks of work experience (expenses covered) Applicants attend a free employability master class and assessment centre as well as having the opportunity to gain the SEA Award.

Applicants will gain work experience in roles suited to their skill-sets and career aspirations.

Placements are open to students of all levels and disciplines. We work with a wide-range of organisations to cater to a vast array of career aspirations. Examples of organisations who have previously taken part include: BBC, Tesco, Welsh Water, Vinci, Morgan Cole, Welsh Government, Unit 4, South Wales Evening Post, Bevan & Buckland, alongside many SMEs and notfor-profit organisations.

For full information and to apply for SPIN and/or WoW, visit: www.swansea.ac.uk/work-placements/ Queries: workplacements@swansea.ac.uk

Need careers advice? Check out www.swansea.ac.uk/careers or via Twitter - @SwanUniCareers

Careers talks/skill sessions 2014 Monday 10/03/2014

12:00-13:00 Writing an effective CV and covering letter

Tuesday 11/03/2014

17:00-18:00 Train to teach English Abroad + teaching in Thailand summer 2015 Fulton House - seminar room A

Weds

13:00-14:00 Writing an effective CV and covering letter

12/03/2014

Library - Level 7 seminar room Library - Level 7 seminar room

Thursday 13/03/2014

17:00-18:00 What is entrepreneurship? Fulton House - seminar room A

Monday 17/03/2014

12:00-13:00 Introduction to assessment centres

Library - Level 7 seminar room

Tuesday 18/03/2014

12:00-13:00

Library - Level 7 seminar room

Tuesday 18/03/2014

17:00-18:00 Fujitsu graduate scheme Fulton House - seminar room A

Weds 19/03/2014

13:00-14:00 Sourcing graduate jobs

Thursday 20/03/2014

17:00-18:00 What is entrepreneurship? Fulton House - seminar room A

Go Wales placements and jobs

Monday 24/03/2014 12:00-13:00 Writing an effective CV and covering letter

Library - Level 7 seminar room Library - Level 7 seminar room

International 27

careers 26

travel 25

societies 24

film 22-23

relationships 21

culture 20

music 19

front row 18

food 17

fashion 14-15

With Atoke

27

features 13

international

10 March 2014 waterfrontonline.co.uk

Everybody needs someone to count on L

ONELINESS. It is sharp and piercing, and leaves you with an incomprehensible hollow feeling.

When you’re away from thousands of miles away from home, this feeling is not a stranger. As an international student, you are away from family and friends – people who know and love you. So you cope by either immersing yourself with a lot of school work.

You could also go out, get piss drunk and hook up with any random person.

However, nothing really beats the scourge of loneliness than finding that special person who gets you. It is that person you can open up to; express your deepest fears and anxieties to – grades, money, health... anything. It is finding love away from home.

Relationships when you are away from home are one of the trickiest things ever. They become even more complicated if there is a loved one waiting at home – someone to whom you have promised that you will return after the term time.

Then, you go away to school and you are hit by the wave of loneliness. It is something that Skype can’t take away. You find someone that you can actually sit with at Swansea Bay; it is this person you go running with in the Mumbles; it is this person who gets you when you say you are going to have a wild night out on Wind Street.

So when you find this person, you struggle to hold on; because that is the only anchor you have against the tide of loneliness. It is immaterial that the person is of a different race or tribe. The only thing that matters is the fact that the person is YOUR person in this place that is

Photo by Juliana Coutinho on Flickr. completely removed from all that you are used to.

When you’re younger (as an undergraduate), there is a tendency to roll with the crowds and have as many friends as possible. The feeling of being away from home is welcome because of the independence that comes from living alone. However, this does not in any way reduce the emotions that come swirling. As a postgraduate student, you’re more experienced and probably more used to the winds of change.

It is therefore very sad when you hear stories about a love that can never be. You come to Swansea, many miles away from home; then find love and companionship. After three years (or one year, if you’re a post grad student) you have to go back home.

Separated from the one you have shared some of the most memorable times of your life, you’re sure to be gutted.

A lot of times, you are unable to take a relationship to the next level because of the transient nature of your stay. You are aware that your time here is limited, irrespective of how long it appears that you might have, it is actually too short a time. It is absolutely nerve racking and heart breaking.

As an international student, there are a lot of immigration restrictions which could mean two things: the fear that you cannot stay beyond the time stipulated on your visa (your love has a closing date) and two, the suspicion about the ingenuity of your affection.

Let me explain the latter point. When you start a relationship while you’re out here, all is going smooth and rosy; as things start to get serious, you begin to wonder if it could lead to anything beyond just having a good time.

If the person you’re in a relationship with is a resident/ EU citizen, then there is a presupposition that if all things end up well (as in fairy tales) then there will be an exchange of rings. There will also be the ability to apply to reside in the UK. Relationships thus hang in the balance where one there is a suspicion of an ulterior motive behind the love and affection.

However, in the midst of all these challenges, one has to live strong, live free and live happy. Don’t be afraid to seek love and pursue it, because in the loneliest moments, everybody needs someone to count on. In the darkest of times, when all you know and love is thousands of miles away from you, you need to know that there is someone you can walk across Singleton Park with.

waterfrontonline.co.uk

SPORT I 29

SWANSEA INTRAMURAL FOOTBALL Resounding victories see Team Sloth and SUMFC 6ths ease through to intramural final SUMFC 6ths 5-1 PHOTOSINTHESIS After a slow start, the 6ths took the lead after captain Haider Al-Qaddo prodded home a dangerous low cross. Photo took the game to their opponents, but struggled to create any real menacing chances in front of goal.

The 6ths soon doubled their lead, as a seemingly harmless cross from right back Daniel Stone floated over the wrong-footed Photo ‘keeper and in.

Minutes later, the 6ths capitalised on a downhearted Photo defence, as Al-Qaddo latched onto a through ball and finished confidently one-on-one.

Just before half time, Photo were handed a lifeline as they

by Ned Bristow waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

were awarded a penalty, which Joe Mitchell duly swept into the bottom corner for 3-1.

Photo’s defensive issues persisted in the second half, as the unmarked Eddi Campbell nodded home past the helpless ‘keeper.

The match petered out with the 6ths controlling possession and dispelling all hopes of a comeback. Minutes from time, Ian Hughes made it 5-1 as the Photo ‘keeper failed to make a routine stop, allowing the ball to pass through his hands and in.

Al-Qaddo was not expecting such a walkover, but was happy with his team’s performance.

“I think the scoreline does reflect the game today, but that is

Ashleigh Road round-up THE league is back up and running following the bad weather, and the battle for the title is hotting up.

SUMFC 7ths sit top of the table and maintained their unbeaten record following a hard-fought win over St Helens. Having conceded just 12 goals in the league this campaign and with games in hand,, the 7ths are in pole position to become champions.

Team Sloth upped their claim for a league and cup double with a 3-0 against the previously unbeaten Fulton Wanderers, leapfrogging them into second place.

Golden Showers, Crayola and SUMFC 6ths make up the chasing pack, with Crayola making the most of their games against strugglers Pitches & Bitches and Crackwell.

The mid-table battle stretches from seventh placed Clinical Finishers down to Hardly Everlusen in 13th, as all sides look to finish the season strongly.

History FC recorded a brilliant 3-1 win over SPR, who in turn surprised Armadillo with a 2-0 upset.

Bottom club Crackwell have condeded a massive 116 goals in just 14 league games, despite holding fellow strugglers Real Engineers to a 0-0 draw.

possibly down to us being more prepared than Photo. My team was excellent today.

“We know that Sloth will be incredibly tough to beat, but we will take confidence from our league win against them earlier this season.

“We will have to be at our best to beat them, and will think about how best to utilise the bigger pitch [at St Helens] and cause them problems.”

SLOTH 8- 2 AJAX TREESDOWN The holders opened the scoring early on after dominating possession, courtesy of Lewys Thomas heading home.

Ajax were determined not to go down without a fight, however, and

waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Latest league table 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

University 7ths Team Sloth AFC Fulton Wanderers Golden Showers Crayola FC University 6ths Clinical Finishers Ajax Treesdown Team Armadillo Gladiators FC Photosinthesis Ladzio FC Hardly Everlusen History FC Singleton Park Rangers St Helen’s Athletic Pitches & Bitches Real Engineers Crackwell

SUMFC 6ths 5 - 1 Photosinthesis Team Sloth 8 - 2 Ajax Treesdown

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

12 10 13 10 13 9 14 9 14 8 13 8 14 7 11 7 13 7 13 6 13 6 13 6 13 5 13 3 14 2

2 1 3 1 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 0 2 2 3

0 2 1 4 3 2 4 2 5 6 6 7 6 8 9

43 46 51 50 51 41 53 35 46 31 26 22 30 28 25

12 13 17 28 24 16 34 15 37 25 29 34 25 41 51

31 33 34 22 27 25 19 20 9 6 -3 -12 5 -13 -26

32 31 30 28 27 27 24 23 22 19 19 18 17 11 9

13 13 12 14

2 1 2 1

9 10 10 13

30 50 19 42 7 47 22 116

-20 -23 -40 -94

8 7 2 1

2 2 0 0

•The final will be played at St Helen’s Rugby Ground on Wednesday 12th March at 5:30pm. Entrance fees will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Wednesday 26 February (cup)

All information correct as of 06/03/2014

1

captain, was delighted with Sloth’s performance.

“The second half, we were brilliant.

It was such a convincing display all over the pitch and everyone’s attitude – from the warm up to the last minute – was exactly what I asked for.”

Marenghi is relishing the prospect of exacting revenge over the 6ths, who beat his side earlier in the season.

“Our priority was always to win the cup for the third successive year.

It’s my last year of uni - a cup hat trick is the dream!”

Results round-up Your guide to the cup final

by Ned Bristow

P

pulled one back as a corner caught the wind and beat the ‘keeper. Soon after, however, Dave Morgan broke through the midfield and finished to make it 2-1.

Lewys Thomas then added Sloth’s third on the stroke of half time, deflating Ajax spirits.

After the break, Sloth continued to control the game. A good spell of possession resulted in Rhys Thomas scoring from close range.

From there, the goals kept coming as Ajax tired. Tom Davies powered home a fifth, while substitute James Tranter made an immediate impact to make it 6-1.

A fierce drive from Lewys Thomas completed his hat trick, before Tranter added a final Sloth goal. Ajax netted a late consolation to make it 8-2.

Alex Marenghi, the winning

Sunday 2 March Clinical Finishers 3 - 0 Hardly Everlusen Crackwell FC 0 -0 Real Engineers Pitches & Bitches 0 - 1 Golden Showers University 6ths 1 - 1 Fulton Wanderers University 7ths 2 - 1 St Helen’s Athletic Wednesday 5 March Clinical Finishers 4 - 4 Photosinthesis Crackwell 1 - 6 Golden Showers Gladiators FC 0 - 1 Ajax Treesdown Team Armadillo 0 - 2 SPR Team Sloth AFC 3 - 0 Fulton Wanderers University 6ths 4 - 1 Ladzio FC

SWANSEA intramural cup final, the league’s biggest event of the year, will take place on Wednesday 11th March at St. Helens.

Team Sloth and SUMFC 6ths will battle it out for the prestigious intramural trophy on the hallowed turf of St Helens Rugby Ground.

Spectators are advised that entrance to the ground will be through just one gate, which is opposite the Patti Raj restaurant.

Prior to the game, The Cricketers pub will be offering reduced prices of £2 per pint on selected beers for all those attending.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 5:30pm, with official proceedings such as handshakes and team photos taking place just before.

While no alcohol may be consumed in view of the pitch, St Helens lounge will be open, serving hot and cold food and drinks.

Matchday programmes will also be on sale around the ground.

Half-time entertainment comes from Swansea Sirens Cheerleading Society, as well as a penalty shootout featuring the league’s varsity squad.

After the match, all fans are invited to The Cricketers to celebrate before heading on to the league’s sponsor bar, Peppermint Swansea.

30 I SPORT

thewaterfront 10. 02.14

Cross Country

Athletics

Runners impress at Blaise Castle Athletes set new standards

ALL SMILES: The university’s cross country team enjoyed their final Gwent League fixture.

ON 1 March Swansea University’s Cross Country team travelled to Bristol to run in the fifth and final fixture of the prestigious Gwent League at Blaise Castle.

The men’s race consisted of three large laps, totalling 9.6km, whilst the women’s was significantly shorter and faster-paced, being just 4.9km.

Despite some challenging parts of the course in which the ground had become increasingly churned up, such as a particularly treacherous uphill rocky incline, the team enjoyed favourable weather conditions.

The pressure was on for the men’s

by Claire Cuddihy waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

team, whose position in Division 1 following promotion last year was at high risk, having missed a previous fixture of the League.

However, the team of seven all ran well, and their solid individual performances allowed them to retain their impressive Division 1 status, and avoid relegation.

James Dean had a particularly good race, and was the first runner around the course, placing 91st out of a field of 240 competitive runners.

Another notable performance of the day was that of Matt Shepherd, who finished 139th in his debut Cross Country race, a great result that he can build upon.

Rebecca Miller was Swansea’s only representative in the women’s race, due to a large number of injuries.

She ran a strong race despite the difficulty of running on her own, finishing in 22nd place, a significant improvement on her previous Gwent League result of 35th.

In the University league, the men placed 3rd, above Bath, Bristol and UWE, and the women placed 4th, above Cardiff Met and UWE. Captain Chloë Crossman was pleased with the results.

“Both male and female teams have managed to maintain their position in their division,” she explained.

“Following promotion last year, the men remain in division 1 and the women narrowly missing out on promotion.

“The teams have been performing well in both training and racing, so I am hopeful that we can place well in the final two races of the season in the West Glamorgan league.

“This year we have had a lot of members who have not competed in Cross Country before, so it has been nice to see them develop and become more confident throughout the season.”

at indoor championships SWANSEA University’s Athletics team competed at the annual BUCS Indoor Athletics Championships, hosted by the English Institute of Sport, in Sheffield, for a packed schedule of events.

Verity Ockenden was the star performer, coming 4th in the final of the 1500m whilst bettering her personal best by half a second, running a quick 4:30:55, a new club record.

“I had secretly hoped to be in the final, having calculated everyone’s pb’s, but I wasn’t sure of it as I had a cold,” Ockenden commented.

“I usually mess up my first track race of the season, so it was a good feeling.

“The final was great, I had three 4.17 runners to chase, so it was always going to be fast - hopefully at the outdoors I might actually be able to give them a run for their money!”

Other notable individual achievements include Athletics captain Frankie Courtney and Alice Vage both achieving season bests in the 400m.

Callum Rea, who competed in the most events (60m, long jump,

by Claire Cuddihy waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

high jump and 4x200m) managed to achieve a personal best of 1.8m in the high jump, whilst Claire Williams also had a great 60m, reaching the semi-finals.

Club records were also broken in both the men’s and women’s 4x200m relay.

The girl’s team, consisting of Frankie Courtney, Chloe Crossman, Victoria Harding and Alice Vage, ran a time of 1.57.1, with Courtney running the fastest leg.

The boy’s team of Callum Rea, Jack Vanner, Karl Williams, and Gary Read finished in 1.35.7, with Karl Williams running the quickest lap.

Captain Courtney was very pleased with the team’s performance as a whole.

“The team had an astounding competition overall, I was very proud to be captaining them during the BUCS. “We have all assessed our targets and are now back training hard in preparation for the BUCS outdoors in May, which everyone is excited for.”

waterfrontonline.co.uk

SPORT I 31

Basketball

Women’s team progress to semi-finals of Western Conference cup with tight win over UWE SWANSEA 1st 49- 44 UWE 1st

PHOTO: SOPHIE WIGGINS

EXTRA EDGE: The women’s basketball team progressed to the semi-finals of the BUCS Western Conference Cup with a narrow win over UWE. THE women’s basketball first team edged out UWE in a tightly-fought cup quarter-final.

The game started very quickly with both sides scoring points

by Sophie Wiggins waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

within the first few minutes.

UWE quickly overtook Swansea

in the first half of the game and Swansea found chasing the game difficult.

However, Swansea’s players worked well together as a team,

Rugby

playing to each others strengths excellently.

Anna Zashev was very quick on her feet, intercepting on multiple occasions, which gave Swansea’s play an extra edge throughout the game. She also scored a number of impressive long-distance baskets to further increasing Swansea’s score.

The teams went into half-time with the score at 11-17 to UWE, and both teams worked hard to keep up their defence, with numerous blocked shots and interceptions.

Swansea caught up with UWE after the second half of the game and the scores remained close throughout the remainder of the game.

There were numerous fouls called throughout the game, and Zashev was sent from the court for the last five minutes of the game after racking up five fouls.

However the team continued to work well together despite their loss of a player, and fought their

way to a 49-44 victory to progress.

Swansea’s vice captain Brenna Newell was delighted with the team’s performance and with the result.

“The game went really well,” she explained. “We played with a lot of team chemistry which is an improvement.

“We’ve been mentally preparing for Varsity and had some fun. I think this could our year.”

It was a tense game with Swansea hitting hard on all aspects of game playing, focusing mainly on their defence, being quick on their feet, and taking control of the ball as much as possible.

The game was fast paced and on edge with the scores being very close on each side throughout the game.

The team are clearly preparing very hard for Varsity and their success in this game shows us a glimpse of what is to come in their upcoming 2014 Varsity game this April.

Swimming

McAlister rues poor discipline Swimmers impress ahead SWANSEA 1st 12 - 24 BRISTOL 1st CAPTAIN Peita McAlister expressed her disappointment after Swansea threw away an early lead to lose to Bristol.

After beating Bristol 0-19 away earlier in the season Swansea went into the game with high expectations.

Bizarrely, Bristol turned up to Sketty Lane with only 13 players and Swansea were forced to cut down to size.

Swansea dominated the first few minutes, and after some great passages of play full back Megan Griffiths went over the whitewash for the first points of the game, although missing her own conversion.

Swansea continued to control the game asserting their dominance in the scrum. Strong tackles, particularly from McAlister, forced Bristol to commit handling errors.

However the home side needed to proceed with caution as the referee warned against some questionably high tackles.

A first try for Bristol looked certain before Emily Roberts resorted to the high tackle, which proved one too many for the referee who sent

by Ellie Caddick waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

the player to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

With 20 minutes gone the rain lashed down and the wind picked up, giving Swansea a kicking advantage.

However, with the yellow card Swansea played it safe keeping ball in hand.

Despite desperate calls from the bench, Swansea’s defence neglected one side of the pitch allowing Bristol’s winger to cross the line with ease. A poor attempt at conversion saw the teams draw level at 5-5.

Swansea created some great opportunities as the half time whistle drew near but handling errors saw them squander their chances.

McAlister recalled her half time talk. “My instructions were for all of the girls to lift their game and clean it up in terms of penalty count.”

After a quiet first 20 minutes of the second half, both sides scored a try within 5 minutes.

The first came from Bristol’s full back, undoubtedly the biggest thorn in Swansea’s side all afternoon.

Swansea’s try came from another

great run by Griffiths. After the ball went to ground, Chante Lee gathered the ball, saw the gap and went down under the posts, Griffiths successful conversion took Swansea into the lead.

As both teams started to tire Bristol took their opportunities scoring two converted tries in the final ten minutes to take secure a 12-24 win, an unjust end to a game that Swansea largely controlled both in terms of possession and territory.

McAlister reflected on the loss.

“Discipline was slack today and was the reason we didn’t come away with the win, we gave away too many penalties.

“It wasn’t a case of Bristol being a better side, we just threw away our lead through silly mistakes,” she added.

The girls remain in good spirits following the game. Woman of the match Griffiths said, “The result today was slightly disappointing but we cannot dwell on it.”

McAlister agreed and looks forward to Varsity.

“We were missing some key players through various reasons so are not at all disheartened.

“We have coaches in and the girls are all fully committed to making this year our year.”

of Commonwealth trials AT the BUCS Gatorade Nationals Long Course Swimming Championships in Sheffield, Swansea finished third overall in the points table thanks to some superb team and individual performances.

The team got off to a great start on the first evening with a table-topping end to the distance events. Libby Mitchell recorded a personal best in an unchartered event, the 800m freestyle, and went on to finish fourth overall, whilst Chris Suggitt achieved the same position in the 1500m freestyle, also securing his own personal best.

Day two saw the team finish in third overall for the day, with some exceptional individual achievements, including Commonwealth hopeful Alys Thomas’ gold in the 100m butterfly with a season best time, Mitchell returning to pick up a bronze in the 200m freestyle, and Suggitt winning silver in the male 400m individual medley (IM).

Thomas and Mitchell then came together with team mates Ella Hatton and Hannah Mc Carthy to win bronze for the second successive year in the 4x100

by Tom Nightingale waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

freestyle.

Day three saw Swansea stave off a close contest from their rivals, with Alys Thomas winning gold in the 200m butterfly, just ahead of Swansea teammate Fern Davies in second. Both competitors picked up a further individual medal each with a bronze in the 50m butterfly and 200m IM respectively, with teammate Alice Tennant winning the silver medal in the latter.

Meanwhile, Lewis Smith produced an excellent season’s best in the men’s 200m butterfly to win bronze against some international competition. Suggitt carried on where he had left off on day two with another podium performance in the 200m IM, finishing in bronze position with a lifetime best.

Paralympian Gemma Almond, who had proven a valuable member of the Swansea team, picking up numerous individual points in the Multi Classification (MC) events, won gold in the MC 100m backstroke, whilst also scoring valuable points in the 200m IM and 100m butterfly.

sport thewaterfront

t

f

@Waterfrontspor1 Follow us and get the latest Swansea Uni sports news, latest scores and results via our sports Twitter account.

Free Fortnightly

W

facebook.com/waterfrontsport Whether it’s the latest articles, results or photos, you can check them all out now on our sports Facebook page.

Issue 238

waterfrontonline.co.uk All of our articles throughout the year can be found on our website, it’s updated regularly so check it out today !

10 March 2014

2nds fight off relegation threatened Gloucestershire

Inside This Issue Intramural Football

Cup finalists decided

p29 Cross Country

SWANSEA 2nd 15- 8 GLOUCESTERSHIRE 1st

Good performance at Blaise Castle

PHOTO: TOM BIRCH

SOLID VICTORY: The men’s rugby second team were made to work by Gloucestershire before eventually running away with the game.

SURFC 2nds dug deep to secure victory against Gloucestershire 1sts in a hard fought game at Sketty Lane .

The game got off to a quick but messy start with a penalty to Swansea within the first few minutes.

A kick to touch and a quick line-out provided an attacking opportunity for Swansea but a succession of handling errors from both sides slowed down play allowing Gloucester to clear.

The pace began to slow and the home side were very much relying on the set piece to make any progress.

A successful penalty conversion from Gloucester put the first three points of the game on the board.

However patience paid off as a determined run from the forwards through Gloucester’s defence led to the game’s first try by Swansea’s Arun

by Laura Fiteni waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Thompson, which was converted.

A penalty from Spencer Crawley put Swansea ahead by seven points but the first half came to a close with some relief as Gloucester threatened to equal the score pushing towards the home side’s try line.

Gloucester returned to the pitch in the second half looking promising, but finally a nice tackle from Swansea’s inside centre caused a spill allowing them to attack once again.

Working the lines well, the ball travelled up and down the wings but without quite making it across the line.

Pressure from a driving maul forced errors from the visitors which eventually led to a missed penalty

Selected Results

from Swansea. This was followed by an equally disappointing disallowed try produced by an exciting charge down and chase.

There was no denying the rivalry and a series of frustrating penalties called on both sides caused some pushing and shoving on the pitch.

Twenty minutes in, Gloucestershire showed real potential for a try only five minutes away from the Swansea try-line.

Swansea clung on defensively, desperate not to concede and finally manage to kick the ball out downfield.

The following ten minutes were frustrating as both teams earned and lost both territory and possession in equal measure.

A Swansea prop was denied what would have been an exceptional try

Selected Fixtures

26 February

5 March

12 March

Men’s Badminton

Men’s Football

SWANSEA 1st 6 - 2 BOURNEMOUTH 1st

SWANSEA 1st 5 - 1 UWE 1st

Golf (Cup)

Women’s Badminton (Cup)

Women’s Rugby

Netball (Cup)

Men’s Rugby League (Cup)

Men’s Rugby

Men’s Tennis (Cup)

Netball

Men’s Rugby League (Cup) SWANSEA 1st v BRISTOL 1st Men’s Rugby Union (Cup)

SWANSEA 1st 7 - 1 GLOUCESTER 1st SWANSEA 1st 45 - 0 UWE 1st ABERYSTWYTH 1st 18 - 52 SWANSEA 1st

SWANSEA 3rd 0 - 34 SWANSEA 4th

SOUTHAMPTON 1st 4 - 8 SWANSEA 1st SWANSEA 1st 50 - 31 GLOUCESTER 2nd

USWP&C 1st v SWANSEA 1st CARDIFF MET 2nd v SWANSEA 1st

SWANSEA 1st V LEEDS 1st

in the left corner but then the tides turned as Swansea conceded their first try to a well-worked break-away from a Gloucestershire scrum.

A missed conversion made the score 10 – 8 to Swansea, who worked hard to extend their lead before Will Roberts dived over the try line to end any hopes of a Gloucester comeback.

Despite a missed conversion in which the ball narrowly glimpsed past the left post, and Gloucester desperately trying to exploit the same corner where their previous try was conceded, the away team failed to salvage the match.

Fifth in the BUCS Western 1A league, Swansea currently sit two places above Gloucestershire in the table, just three points behind Bristol 2nds.

p30 Basketball

Women through to semi-finals

p31

CURRENT BUCS 2014 1 2 3 4 5

Loughborough Durham Birmingham Bath Nottingham

30 Bournemouth 31 Swansea 32 Kings College

3193.5 2592 2242 2195 2194 807 800 768