the Waterfront issue 264

Free Issue 264 25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

The official student newspaper of Swansea University

WE DID IT!!!

MUSIC Newton Faulkner Interview, P.16

Varsity coverage starts on page 33

WELSH VARSITY 2016 TAINTED

BY POOR EVENT PLANNING

by Rhydian Morris

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

Varsity this year had all the elements to be an exciting and landmark event in the University calendar, incredible sunny weather, a fantastic cooling sea breeze and a day of engaging sport.

This year’s varsity, however, has been marred by a state of extremely poor organisation by the organising committee and demonstrably misleading and disingenuous engagement about the event to the student body.

Over the past week students have been expressing their outrage and frustration over the decision by the varsity committee to prohibit external alcohol from the Sketty lane site, a prohibition that has not been the case in previous years. The outrage spread following the decision of organisers to not inform students

about this prohibition until only a week before the event, long after most students had bought their tickets and had expectations for how the day would unfold.

The outrage students and the bile from social media sites, such as Yik Yak, was so severe that organisers including the students union made many statements about the event, insisting that organisers were prohibiting alcohol on the basis of licensing agreements and the change was done on the basis of police pressure and the goal of increasing student safety.

Students prior to varsity have been incredibly sceptical of the organisers abilities to deliver effective alcohol service to such a vast number of students, especially over the extremely lengthy queues for ticket collection and t shirt collection (Of which many were delivered the night before

varsity). This concern reached boiling point the day prior,with organisers only providing 2 bars instead of the 4 they had initially promised on widely shared social media statements.

It can be confirmed that students concern and outrage has largely been justified, with many students reporting lengthy queues to enter the Sketty lane site, and many students waiting upwards of 40 minutes to an hour for a drink from the provided bars. Many students have also criticised the safety of said bars, with multiple reports of inappropriate conduct towards female students and the crushing of students waiting in said queues. One student had this to say on the organisation of the bars “Chronic understaffing and s**t beers for too much It may have started as a safety policy but CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 ...

FASHION Runway looks on a budget, P.18

TECH Insomnia 57 review, P.28

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Some students queued for over an hour, leading them to miss many of the days sporting events ... FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

it’s turned into money making. Another student had this to say on the issue of safety “I feel bad criticising because they are good guys but the bars are awful waited 35 minutes the only real health and safety is the crush at the bars felt more at risk than last year by far, honestly the bars are actually quite dangerous”.

The difficulty of attaining alcohol on site and the requirement for cash has led many students to abandon the varsity events in Sketty lane and to drink either at home or on campus. Some reports have stated the hospital have made complaints due to the presence of students carrying open alcohol onto hospital premises in search of ATMs. Some students have missed out on the event entirely due to poor communication by the organisers that tickets would be required to visit the Sketty lane site at all. One student who missed out had this to say “I wanted to go and watch my boyfriend play one game, obviously couldn’t get in. I think it’s excluding staff and those who only want to go and see a few games. I know this isn’t 100% the SUs fault, but I do feel they have commercialised the event. It’s clearly one of the most talked about and loved days of the year, and I feel this year people haven’t gone to watch the sport as much because they are stuck waiting for drinks. I’m actually really

gutted I missed out on the day events, as it was poorly communicated in advance (when the tickets came out) that you needed a ticket for Sketty lane”.

Controversy has also been raised over bus collection for the main varsity rugby game at the liberty stadium, with some students reporting lengthy and disorganised queues for getting on the coaches. One student had this to say on the situation “Its frustrating to queue early for the coach when you end up queuing for ages in Cardiff Vs Swansea drunken chaos and for the coach to leave late” Poor organisation extended to the Liberty stadium event with students following the game reporting big crowds and difficulty leaving the stadium.

One student had this to say “Chaos leaving the stadium, few people were having panic attacks. Crowds and way too many people packed tightly together trying to leave, I was stuck for 40minutes”.

While Varsity has by no means been an unmitigated disaster this year, the student union and other organisers do need to be held account for the unacceptable organisation and the badly handled information dissemination for the event. Hopefully the student’s union and other bodies involved will take the issues this year into account when planning future events.

Charity Abseil from Swansea University Halls of Residence

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waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

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The Kilvey building is 150ft tall

Fancy falling 150ft for Charity? Well we have some good news…

This summer, in celebration of Discovery’s 50th Anniversary, two locally based grass roots charities are giving past and present university staff and students, and the local community the opportunity to abseil from Swansea University’s Kilvey Building.

Following on from their successful Swansea Civic Centre Christmas Abseil, this exciting new fundraising event is brought to you by SOS Africa and the Swansea Siavonga Partnership, two African organizations

founded with the support of the Swansea community and takes place on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th June from 9am to 5pm.

Standing approximately 150ft tall, on a clear day the 10 storey halls of residence building provides a scenic view of the Swansea Bay Area and is the ideal height for both first-time and experienced abseilers. It is also a fantastic opportunity to confront fears and do something truly life changing for children in Africa.

And if that isn’t motivation enough, for every additional £50 a team raises over their £300 target they will receive an entry

place into a draw to win two tickets flight tickets to visit one of our projects in africa!

Likewise, entry places will be given for every additional £50 individual participants raise over their £50 target.

The fundraising event’s fancy dress theme “What I want to be when I grow up…” has been chosen because the invaluable funds raised at the sponsored abseil will enable many African children to fulfil their childhood dreams. They are hoping to raise 30,000 with this target through the successful fundraising of its teams.To enter a team of 6 or as an individual, all you have to do is email info@sosafrica. com with your team name, team leader’s contact details

and preferred abseil date/ time. We will then provide you with a provisional time slot and sponsorship forms, which will be confirmed once your send in your £15 abseil deposit (per person).

In addition to your deposit, all we ask is that each team raises a minimum of £300 for our causes or a minimum of £50 per individual.

There has already been a entry by Swansea’s Own Student Support Services.

Sian Elin Thomas, Kevin Child, Jane Williams, Alice Davies, Annette Harry and Catherine Perrett under the team heading “Wrong Direction” will be abseiling the height of 65 sheep from the top of Swansea University’s 150ft Kilvey Building.

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Controversy Over First Black Female NUS President

by Rhydian Morris

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

NUS national conference made history today by electing their first black student president in its history. Malia Bouattia defeated the incumbent NUS president Megan Dunn by upwards of 50 votes, being one of only two people to ever defeat an incumbent NUS president.

Malia Bouattia, a left-wing former University of Birmingham student who has been the union’s black students’ officer for the past two years, stood on a radical grass roots platform opposing the government’s anti-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, and pledging to reignite the traditions of NUS activism.

Malia Bouattia had this to say in an interview following her victory ““Running against an incumbent is always tough. I believe it has only happened before once in the NUS’s history. “It feels like a really powerful statement, especially to be the first black woman, the first woman of colour in the post.”

In her first speech following her victory Malia promised to “put liberation at the heart of NUS work. From cuts to maintenance grants, college closures, the black attainment gap and the Prevent agenda, the number of voices and groups being silenced by this government grows by day.” Key campaigns Malia has been involved with over the past year include opposition to the conservative governments PREVENT strategy and “Why is my curriculum white”, an investigation into inclusivity and diversity of university course content.

While Malia has numerous supporters among the student movement her election has sparked considerable controversy among many groups.

Foremost of which have been Jewish students who consider Malia an antisemite, based on her past statements and association with questionable antiSemitic groups.

In 2011, she co-wrote a blog for a Friends of Palestine campaign group saying that “the University of Birmingham is something of a Zionist outpost in British Higher Education”.The group also publicised that they were “re-enacting an Israeli checkpoint outside the university’s main library”.In a 2014 video from a Gaza and Palestinian Revolution event she questioned the value of the Middle East peace talks and warned of the influence of “mainstream Zionist-led media outlets”.

It was widely reported in the media that Malia had refused to condemn ISIS in an NUS motion, though the NUS has denied this was the case. “Some committee members felt that the wording of the motion being presented would unfairly demonise all Muslims rather than solely the group of people it set out to rightfully condemn,” said an NUS spokeswoman. The NUS says a

subsequent motion condemned “the politics and methods of ISIS” and that this re-worded policy was supported by Ms Bouattia.

Malia Bouattia was forced to respond to an open letter signed by 50 Jewish Societies asking to clarify her position on Israel and Jewish students preceding the National Conference. The Union of Jewish Students released a statement following her victory, stating it hoped that the relationship would be positive, though many Jewish students remained extremely concerned, ““There will, however, still be many Jewish students who have not been satisfied with Malia’s response so far to the concerns raised by Jewish students over the last few weeks,” it said. “Now, knowing the result of the election, these questions still need to be answered.”

Malia Bouattia has frequently denied being an anti-semite in multiple statements over the past few weeks, “I celebrate the ability of people and students of all backgrounds to get together and express their backgrounds and faith openly and positively, and will continue to do so, I know many of you will have seen my name dragged through the mud by right-wing media, and might think I am a terrorist and my politics driven by hate,” she said.“How wrong that is. I know too well the price of terrorism, the consequences of violence and oppression. I saw a country ripped apart by terror and was forced into exile. I know too well the damage done by racism and persecution, I’ve faced it every day. And I will continue to fight it in all its forms.”

Lewys Aron the current student union president and Robiu Salisu the union Education officer openly supported Malia during the election. In a facebook statement following the victory Robiu Salisu had this to say “Today, students from all across the country came together to Brighton and made history electing the first ever Black Muslim Woman to be their president. At the same time in our Parliament, we have the Prime Minister spouting Islamophobic rhetoric about Sadiq Khan.

Malia Bouattia has faced abuse in the right wing media in the past and is currently facing online abuse from anonymous trolls attacking her for her colour, gender and faith. It is without a doubt that Muslims face a big backlash when we become political, we have the government PREVENT agenda which actively spies on Muslims and Ethnic Minorities for being involved in activism on Campus or in their college. This needs to stop! I have every faith that our students movement under Malia’s leadership will challenge this abuse and hatred. I look forward to working with her in my role next year as Swansea Education Officer.

Malia Bouatia at the NUS National Conference

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NUS Wales to work constructively with UKIP

by Rhydian Morris

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

NUS Votes to Ban Yik Yak on University Campuses

by Rhydian Morris

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

NUS sparked controversy this week by a vote at national conference to seek to restrict Yik Yak use on university campuses.

The motion proposed

by University of Surrey Student’s union called for the NUS to seek to work with Yik Yak to restrict the app during election periods.

While the motion addressed that social media generally does more good than harm, the proposers stated that the apps have a tendency to ““shield racists, sexists, and cyber bullies” from campus disciplinary procedures.

While the motion was not limited to Yik Yak, and named other social media sites with anonymous accounts like Facebook and twitter, it’s clear the main purpose of the motion was to target Yik Yak. Many Nus members have publically decried Yik Yak including Nus President Megan Dunn who posted on twitter that “The rise of Yik Yak was a particular menace”.

Then motion comes after the university of Lincoln student’s union attempted to campaign to block Yik Yak on campus. The student’s union announced that they would ban the app from all university Wi-Fi networks and within a 5km radius due to “much distress” caused to some students.

The news of the decision has attracted criticism from many, with the decision

being used as further evidence of the NUS’s anti free speech tendencies. One Student had this to say on the decision “Just another example of how out of touch the NUS actually is and how totalitarian they are when faced with something they don’t like - banning is always their first response.

Terrible organisation and I wish we weren’t affiliated with them.”

Thought not all students have been critical of the decision with one student suggesting that anonymous posting shouldn’t be necessarily regarded as protected free speech “People should be allowed to say whatever they want, just by the nature of what free speech is and should be, but at the same time need to be shown that there are consequences for saying the wrong things.

Just because you CAN say something doesn’t mean you SHOULD, but at the same time you should be able to say whatever you want. You also must face the consequences for what you say, however. It’s a tough topic.”

While the decision has been criticised on the basis of censorship questioned have been raised over the possibility that the NUS have any ability to actually restrict Yik Yak in the way the motion proposed. It is questionable whether

Yik Yak as an organisation would be willing to restrict Yik Yak on campus during the specific period of elections.

One student had this to say over the full motion and conference decision: “Fundamentally, it seems like a relatively pointless endeavour to continually go after any site that offers anonymous messaging.

You ‘ban’ YikYak people will just move to whatever else offers them the same ability.

If they ban the app within Universities it will just p**s people off, those who weren’t using it to spread whatever message was opposed, and turn them further against the NUS. The NUS has been fundamentally appalling at talking to students who are not actually in the NUS circle. It continually does things that seem to go against the logic or consensus of the majority of students, and while some of these may be good actions they don’t explain it at all. Meaning that the NUS becomes increasingly insular as it alienates and ignores major parts of the student body it is meant to represent.

I like the idea of the NUS, I just wish they would fucking talk to students.

Like, it is genuinely mind blowing how many people have literally no idea of what the NUS do apart from ‘pass stupid rules’.”

Eyebrows have been raised recently by the Nus Wales 2016 conference decision to back a motion for Nus Wales to work constructively with UKIP for student’s interests in Wales, following the May Assembly elections.

UKIP are projected to gain anywhere from 6-12 seats in the assembly, the first time UKIP will be involved in Welsh politics to this high of a level.

The motion named “Rules of engagement” was proposed by Coleg Sir Gar student’s union. The motion proposed that Nus Wales should work constructively with UKIP, for the benefit of student’s interests in Wales.

It recognised that while some members of UKIP have expressed views that are functionally incompatible with the goals and values of NUS, it suggests that there is some ground that can be met where Nus and UKIP can work together in the Assembly to benefit students. The motion further resolved that UKIP would not be given a platform unchallenged and that the party will be held to a much higher degree of scrutiny than other parties.

Finally, the motion resolved that Nus would review this relationship based on UKIPs further policies, in relation to education and student

interests.

Robiu Salisu, Swansea Student’s Unions Education Officer had this to say about the decision “The NUS Wales’s motion to work with UKIP was something that I disagreed with due to the nature of the party.

The passing of this motion will further exclude women, black and LGBT students.

I believe any party which stands to divide and demonise sections of our community should not be given a platform”.

The motion was passed at the March Nus Wales 2016 Conference and the majority of Full-time officers voted for the motion.

NUS Wales to work constructively with UKIP Eyebrows have been raised recently by the Nus Wales 2016 conference decision to back a motion for Nus Wales to work constructively with UKIP for student’s interests in Wales, following the May Assembly elections. UKIP are projected to gain anywhere from 6-12 seats in the assembly, the first time UKIP will be involved in Welsh politics to this high of a level.

The motion named “Rules of engagement” was proposed by Coleg Sir Gar student’s union. The motion proposed that Nus Wales should work constructively with UKIP, for the benefit of

student’s interests in Wales.

It recognised that while some members of UKIP have expressed views that are functionally incompatible with the goals and values of NUS, it suggests that there is some ground that can be met where Nus and UKIP can work together in the Assembly to benefit students. The motion further resolved that UKIP would not be given a platform unchallenged and that the party will be held to a much higher degree of scrutiny than other parties.

Finally, the motion resolved that Nus would review this relationship based on UKIPs further policies, in relation to education and student interests.

Robiu Salisu, Swansea Student’s Unions Education Officer had this to say about the decision “The NUS Wales’s motion to work with UKIP was something that I disagreed with due to the nature of the party.

The passing of this motion will further exclude women, black and LGBT students.

I believe any party which stands to divide and demonise sections of our community should not be given a platform”.

The motion was passed at the March Nus Wales 2016 Conference and the majority of Full-time officers voted for the motion.

NUS creates Full-time Trans Student Officer in Historic Vote

by Rhydian Morris

waterfrontnews@swansea-union.co.uk

Trans students rejoiced today as NUS officially voted to create a full-time Trans officer and autonomous trans campaign at the NUS 2016 national conference.

The motion passed without much controversy, a stark difference to the 2015 conference where the motion failed due to a large number of absentions.

The road to a trans officer has been contentious with the autonomous Lgbt campaign last year voting down the motion at their

conference. The motion was then brought to national conference where it was voted down on the basis that “national conference should not overrule the decisions of the autonomous lgbt campaign”.

The tide has changed over the past year with a majority of candidates for NUS election showing support for the introduction of a new Full-time position to represent trans students, with many including the support in written

manifestos, including the two presidential candidates of Megan Dunn and Malia Bouattia.

The new role will be paid and have parity with similar full-time roles in the organisation. Hannah Stewart the current Swansea Union Lgbt women’s officer posted on facebook following the result “NUS has made history in creating an autonomous Trans campaign as well as a Full Time Trans Officer!”.

Current affairs

with Harry Ballmann

THE PANAMA PAPERS: A ‘DODGY’ DOSSIER? Scandal. An word all too familiar to the British public, all we have to do is cast our minds back to Piggate or the expenses scandal which created a deep rooted hatred for everyone even remotely involved in politics. Even now, when I say that I am studying politics to a stranger or a distant family member, they all give the same reaction, a disgruntled look of distrust, as if I should have undertaken a more morally sound degree like nursing.

Nevertheless, the public (of course enticed by media hyperbole) jumped on the scandal bandwagon and blow things completely out of proportion. This was not helped by Number 10s seeming inability to control this matter, for when they suggested Cameron’s involvement in his Father’s offshore fund

should remain a private matter, not only was Downing Street hounded by the newspapers, but a strong sense of distrust lay in the minds of many.

However, despite David Cameron not actually undertaking an illegal act, the question remains whether it’s completely fair to blame him for the entirety of the papers as we seem to be doing, simply because there is nobody else in Britain whom we are able to blame. Whilst many other world leaders and politicians were implicated in these papers, David Cameron remains the Great British scapegoat, we couldn’t exactly hold Putin responsible, could we? The same issue arose with the 2009 Parliamentary Expenses Scandal,

whilst it was only a minority of politicians who claimed inconceivable items on the public’s wallet, the whole government was tainted by the bad press that should have only been directed at a few MPs. It seems apt to explain the crux of the scandal being associated with Cameron and the 143 world politicians associated with the Papers. Over 11m files were leaked from an offshore law firm (Mossak Fonseca) and were acquired by a German newspaper from an anonymous source. In the case of David Cameron, it has been shown that Cameron’s father Ian, had pooled money alongside a group of people into various ‘securities’ in order to spread their wealth.

Money was invested into various shares, and Panama was used mainly for administrative purposes rather than for the purpose of devious tax evasion. It is important to note that Ian Cameron paid British taxes on the income earnt from the various investments.

Had Cameron’s father not paid tax on the investments made, then indeed, those on the scandal-wagon may have had something to go on, calling for Cameron to resign. However, this should not be

focussed on the PM and his family, nor any particular individual, but the nature of the taxation system allowing for this type of avoidance to occur. British Politics is certainly characterised by slender nuances with eye-rolling potential to send the media into frenzy, which is why the blame for the Panama Papers should not (entirely) be blamed on Cameron.

COPING WITH REJECTION HOW TO TAKE CHARGE & TAKE ACTION Trying to find the right graduate job for you can be a frustrating experience.

With the high numbers of students graduating with 2:1’s or above each year finding your dream job can seem a challenging task. It’s highly likely that in the current economic climate you are likely to

by Gareth Hill have to face rejection from careers advisor @ Swansea Uni employers at some stage and this article has been written to help you to deal with rejection effectively.

Take charge, take action, make marginal gains The best way for graduates to bounce back from rejection is to take charge and take action. Use rejection to gather clues about how to make your job hunt even more effective – thereby increasing your chances of not being rejected next time. This approach is known as ‘marginal gains’, developed

by Sir Dave Brailsford in his work with British Cycling. You can improve in your performance if you break any task down into small parts, and seek improvements in each of these small areas.

Until you are offered a job, it’s helpful to be asking yourself “What could I be doing differently that might yield better results?” There is always something different you can do to increase your chances. It’s your future, and now is a good time for you to take control of it. By being reflective, and analysing the areas in which you can improve, you can then adopt more effective job search strategies. It’s not always the case that you need to spend more time on job search; sometimes you just need to work smarter by channelling your energies more effectively.

Here are five tips to help you get over job rejection and move on towards success in a positive way: 1. Get advice

You can invest a lot of time in making applications, and being turned down can come as a blow. It can be helpful

to get someone else’s perspective on your work. Ideally this should be someone who is impartial and qualified to give advice. The University careers service (Swansea Employability Academy) is here to help you with this; you could ask them to read through what you have submitted to the company.

There are some excellent resources and advice on our website at https://myuni.swan.ac.uk/employability, and you can also make an appointment to talk things through with a Careers Adviser. We will be able to suggest small but significant improvements that you can act upon.

2. Your job search strategy – if it’s broke fix it!

How are you deciding which companies to apply to? Are you tailoring your applications and spending sufficient time on them? These are questions to ask yourself and to get feedback from an adviser on. I have seen a student previously who applied to over 150 companies, and only heard back from 2. When we discussed his applications it became apparent that he was not amending his application at all, and not explaining what he could offer that individual company.

At the other end of the spectrum are those who write too few applications, or do not spend enough time on them. Job search takes effort. Are you devoting sufficient time to your future plans, and is it focused correctly?

3. Get feedback and act on it

It’s important to understand why you were rejected and how to improve your application in order to improve your future job chances. If you can understand what employers want, then you can shape your applications accordingly.

Getting the employer to respond to requests for feedback following applications can prove difficult. This is frustrating, but don’t give up in your quest for feedback at this stage – try contacting them sometime later on and they may be more helpful, especially if they’re less busy once they’ve finished interviewing. SEA runs a number of employer events that are an excellent opportunity to get feedback from employers – see information under the ‘What’s on?’ tab at https://myuni.swan.ac.uk/employability/. If you get an opportunity for mock interviews these can be an excellent way of hearing directly from employers what your strengths are and what are your areas for improvement.

4. Don’t be too hard on yourself

It can prove hard to be resilient in the face of rejection. It can be very easy to blame yourself and give up – this is a natural human reaction. An alternative view of rejection is that it is not necessarily a comment on whether or not you are good enough for the job. The employer may have been looking for someone with different skills or experience than you currently have. There may have simply been large numbers of applicants.

Try to find the positive aspects in this situation, focus on what you have achieved. This is known as positive reframing. For example if you made it through a number of stages of the application process congratulate yourself on this achievement. If you managed to gain an interview write down all the questions you were asked and consider how you could answer them more effectively next time. Job search is a process we all go through; use it as a learning experience.

Treat it as a long distance race, rather than a sprint.

5. Stop or Continue?

You may feel you have the qualifications, the experience and the skills to succeed. You seem to match the criteria for the job, and the values of the company. Then you feel terrible when you find out the employer disagrees. You have 2 options at this stage – you could take a break from applications, and get yourself in a negative thinking spiral. What is wrong with me? Will I ever get a job? It’s much better to get past this is by applying for another job straight away. Applying for another position will distract you from these negative thoughts and give you something positive to focus your efforts on.

Is rejection good or bad?

Some very successful people who faced rejection early in their careers include The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, James Dyson and Stephen Spielberg. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter was turned down by a dozen publishers before Bloomsbury agreed to publish it. What these examples have in common is that they had the growth mindset that finds setbacks motivating. Rejection can be informative, a wakeup call, and can spur us on to take charge and take action.

“Life is ten per cent what happens to you and ninety per cent how you respond to it.” - Lou Holz

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NUS Women’s conference as reported by your 2016 delegates

by Heather Wood

waterfrontunionnews@swansea-union.co.uk

Each year the NUS Women’s Campaign hosts an annual conference who define to discuss, debate and vote on motions and all importantly elect the political leadership of the campaign for the year ahead. As well as having the opportunity to participate in workshops, plenaries and have an opportunity to network and share best practice. This year NUS provided some amazing speakers and workshops. Workshops at the conference ranged from Lad Culture, Self-care, intersectionality and much more.

Three delegates from Swansea University were sent to represent the female population. They were Heather Wood (Womens Officer), Amy Das and Hazel Stabler attended the conference early this month in Solihull. Below are their reports from the conference and some tips for next year’s delegates.

What part of the conference did you enjoy the most?

Hareem Ghani elected NUS UK Women’s Officer for next academic year The decision to elect the newest NUS UK Women’s Officer was undoubtedly a difficult one. Two candidates, Hareem Ghani and Anna Lee, gave campaigning their all in an atempt to win the top Women’s spot in NUS. During the conference held in Birmingham Hareem Ghani was appointed UK NUS Women’s Officer.

Women’s vote of approval for Full Time Transgender Officer Position

Heather Wood: I enjoyed conversing with other officers and comparing different campaigns on each campus. It was interesting seeing how they dealt with the problems I too have faced and how they overcame them. I thoroughly loved the ‘Self-Care’ workshop that the current NUS UK Women’s Officer, Susuana Amoah took the lead on. It was a great insight into how to ensure self care is the top of my list. Additionally, it gave me some great ideas on how to present my own self care workshop at Swansea University. I hope this workshop with help promote self care in many students, something that among the pressure of part-time work, university work and socials can be forgotten.

Amy Das: I thoroughly enjoyed voting for motions; it was incredible hearing passionate speeches about particular motions, and observing the support and overall positive vibe. I also enjoyed the ‘Lad Culture’ workshop. It gave me the opportunity to explore possible ways for tackling Lad Culture by speaking to other women officers about their experience at their universities.

Hazel Stabler: One of the most exciting parts of the conference was voting on motions which I knew would play a huge role in the NUS. Every delegate had the opportunity to make a difference, and it was a wonderful feeling knowing that so many students from so many universities and colleges had such a huge impact.

Who was the most interesting person/speaker you talked to at the conference?

Heather Wood: I was inspired by Anna Lee and her bravery for

The NUS Women’s conference gave a resoundning YES vote for a Full Time Trans Officer to be appointed. Thanks to the strength of such a unanimious decision, the motion will have tremendious support when it reaches the the National NUS UK conference in Brighton from the 19th to the 21st of April. Although the motion recieved backlash the year previous, it is hoped that the unanimous YES vote in conferences across the country will promote the position.

NUS Women’s Conference 2016 in support of a Full Time Trans Officer

fighting for Trans rights despite the critics and the trolls online after she announced her candidacy for UK Women’s Officer. She was an amazing woman and my full solidarity is with her and her inspirational work. In addition to Anna Lee I was in absolute awe with everyone I met. It felt amazing to be in a room with some many passionate feminist students.

Amy Das: Unfortunately I forgot to catch her name, but I had a four hour conversation with a delegate who gave me so much insight as her experience as a woman officer at her respective university, and provided possible ideas on how to encourage or educate people on feminism.

I was also incredibly moved by Anna Lee and Hareem Ghani’s speeches for when they were running for NUS Women’s Officer.

Both candidates acknowledged their struggles; Anna Lee talked about her struggles as a transgendered woman while Hareem Ghani talked about her struggles as a Muslim woman – and yet both were (and are) determined to persevere and tackle many other issues that women face. They are extraordinarily inspiring individuals.

Hazel Stabler: Throughout the conference, it was not one individual who made the experience exceptional, but the collective of delegates on a whole who came from different universities and cultures and made decisions which would affect their time at university together. Each and every person I came across was excited to discuss their own universities and experiences, trading ideas to combat women’s issues and engaging in heartfelt discussions.

If you could do anything to improve the conference, what would it be?

Heather Wood: I would introduce more training for the delegates, despite the booklet given at the start of the conference it still hindered first time delegates as the body of the conference is rather complicated. I would like to see a more hands-on training workshop for delegates to ensure that they can grasp the opportunities that the conference offers.

Amy Das: I was overall really impressed by the conference; I do not feel that any aspect of the conference needs to be improved upon.

Hazel Stabler: The long hours can be exhausting, and even though the majority of the conference is spent seated, it is draining to spend so much time concentrating your energy onto motions which

NEWS

waterfrontonline.co.uk sometimes do not pass. (Imagine a lecture where you are expected to vote on each sentence shortly after learning what it means.)

How did you represent Swansea University?

Heather Wood: I represented Swansea University by voting on motions that shaped how NUS will continue to help the best interests of female students over the next few years. I also voted on the NUS Women’s Committee and the NUS Women’s Officer.

Amy Das: As mentioned earlier, I voted for motions which hopefully supports the views of majority of the students at Swansea University. I also interacted with other people from other universities and mentioned my experience as being on the Feminist Society committee at Swansea University.

or the NUS UK Conference these elections are held at the start of the academic year.

Amy Das: I would thoroughly recommend that you go to the conference with an open mind, and with the intention of interacting with as many people at the conference to apprehend – and maybe even empathise with their personal experiences.

Hazel Stabler: My advice would be to enjoy every second.

It is a huge privilege to be a part of such a wonderful event, and especially to meet people who share your same

Hazel Stabler: In numerous caucuses and discussions, I talked with delegates about their own universities and brought ideas of tackling women’s issues straight from our own university. It was exciting to find out exactly how so many opportunities there are to make a difference to the student body, from supporting our Women’s Officer, to fighting for motions within the Students’ Union on women’s issues.

For students who are interested in representing Swansea university next year in the delegate elections, what advice do you have for them?

Heather Wood: Ensure you approach your according liberation officer as soon as possible the delegate positions are filled quickly as deadlines for these conference approach fast. There are many NUS Conferences from Students with Disabilities, to Black Students Conference. More information about these conference can be found on the NUS Website.

If you are interested in attending the NUS Wales Conference

L-R: Amy Das, Hazel Stabler & Heather Wood (Womens Officer)

9

passions and ideas. Very few members of each university are able to attend each event, and each and every person speaks for their fellow students. How often do you have the ability to vote on behalf of your entire student body?

On the 29th of April there will be an NUS Wales Women’s Conference where there will be a focus on how NUS will help the female students in Wales. As well as passing motions, the delegates will be electing the next NUS Wales NUS Conference, taking the role Rosie Inman has held for the past two years. Rosie is Swansea own and will be returning to Swansea University to finish her degree next year.

tech

food

societies

fashion

film

music

creative writing

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

culture

features

Lifestyle for Swansea students

Mikah Meyer speaks to Tim Morizet about his record attempt, p.12

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

12

features

with Shona Johnson

Mikah Meyer on his world record and happiness

“Are you going to your job everyday so you can survive or are you doing something you enjoy, that gives you life, that fulfills you?”

by Tim Morizet

tim.morizet@gmail.com

This week I had the pleasure to talk with selfconfessed travel maniac Mikah Meyer, who some of you probably recognise from his blog Travel Beyond Convention. Born in the United States, Mikah, a professional singer currently based in Washington DC, is planning on visiting all 410 U.S. National Park Units in only 3 years and therefore, would become the sole person to visit all 400+ units of the US National Park System on one contiguous trip. Mikah Meyer talks about how his traveling passion started, his big upcoming trip and happiness. Here are excerpts from the interview.

You have been traveling quite a bit over the past years. How did that interest start?

Travel was always a big part of our family lifestyle. We never really took lavish, airplane trips or international travel. I never left the country until I was 21. But we did a lot of road trips. We often would drive to and from

Florida, which is about a 28-hour drive. So, I grew up, always wanting to travel a bunch, not having really the money to do it. And when I was 19, and my dad passed away, we had our very first road trip planned already for what turned out to be just days after this funeral.

So I ended up taking that road trip anyway with my best friend at the time and it was just a perfect time to escape my hometown, which would just remind me of death and a lot of sadness. Hit the road for new wisdoms, new scenery and new people and it was an amazing experience.

So, you are leaving for 3 years now. Breaking a few world records as well.

I’ve been thinking about this since I was 28, because I knew that age 30 would be the first planned epic road trips. So in June 2014, I started thinking about what I wanted to do and remembered the amazing places I saw during my previous trips and I decided that I wanted to see all the National Parks. Once I realised that there are so many, I determined that it would take a little bit longer than one year to reach that goal.

You’re leaving in a month. Already feeling nervous?

Oh, I’m completely scared! I’m insane, like, I wake up nightly like how crazy I am, and that I can’t believe that I’m actually doing this and all the things that could go wrong.

Many people are currently living for their nine-to-five jobs. For them, traveling is happiness. Do you agree?

How do you define happiness for yourself?

There is a wonderful saying. ‘Are you living to work, or working to live?’ Are you going to your job everyday so you can survive or are you doing something you enjoy, that gives you life, that fulfills you? So I think, happiness for me, is not regretting the one life that you get. When I reach 65 or 80, or I don’t, I don’t want to regret the way I lived my life. You regret more the chances you don’t take than the ones you do. And happiness for me is knowing that I don’t have to say to myself in 5 years, what if?

There we are - traveling makes you happy. But, you don’t need to travel far to experience that tickling in your stomach.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

13

Have A Trip Coming Up? Good News: Travel Makes You Happier!

Photo: Tim Morizet @ Rekvik, Norway

by Tim Morizet

tim.morizet@gmail.com

Happy belated 4th International Day of Happiness everyone! Having been founded in June 2012 by the UN, the first International Day of Happiness was celebrated March 20th in 2013 and has now become a day for people from all parts of the world to celebrate the importance of happiness.

Inspired by the country of Bhutan whose political philosophy measures and prioritises happiness across their population over income, March 20th is the day for us to sit back and think about what makes us happy and take action.

Not only amongst students, we know it’s rather unanimous that travel makes us happy. But what exactly about traveling is it that makes us happy? The little things, the main destination? Does it start even before you leave while planning our getaway(s) and you evaluate what to pack?

Travel makes me happy because...

“There are countless adventures waiting for us to be experienced and lived.

Travelling doesn’t only make you discover the world; it also makes you discover different or new parts of yourself that you couldn’t even imagine to exist.”

Luca “My worries are left behind.”

Liz

“It’s like an endless journey that always inspires you to look forward to what’s next.”

Christophe “I love being outdoors, in nature, reconnecting with myself and exploring new areas, cultures, and possibilities.”

Tammy Philosopher and author Alain de Botton hit the nail on the head when we wrote: “Travel agents would be wiser to ask us what we hope to change about our lives rather than simply where we wish to go.”

The very idea of travel makes us happy as it offers us the excuse, space, and time to step outside our self-constructed, worn out routine. It provides us with a platform to explore and form an ideal vision we have of ourselves. An ideal version, admiring the awesomeness of Scotland’s mountain range from the lofty heights of a hot air balloon at sunset -- divorced from our concerns and anxieties about status, safety and security.

Travel expands the mind and spirit. It is educative and puts us in contact with new ideas and people. It doesn’t matter if you’re visiting a great city with a vibrant culture or a beautiful countryside. It is the constant resetting of our inner happiness ratio that’s forcing affluent travelers to seek for more happiness.

Looking into studies and previous personal experiences, it would seem almost impossible to escape the well-known postvacation crash. The best antidote to the post-holiday blues probably is to simply: start planning another trip!

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

14

film

with Joshua Vaughan

Natalie Dormer in The Forest

THE ISSUE WITH MODERN HORROR

In the film world, there are two genres which stand out as the most difficult to get right. The first is comedy, and the second is horror. The Forest certainly takes all of its elements from the latter, and has some discernible success (and fun) with it.

For a genre once so saturated in dense psychological and supernatural dread, with classics such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, it is disappointing to the see the likes of Paranormal Activity enjoying the rewards of bad screenwriting and the influence of fad-culture. Long-gone are the days of crucifix masturbation and “your-mother-sucks-cocks-in-hell” quips, replaced by flashing lights in hallways and cats jumping out of dustbins. Never before have had cats enough air-time to be nominated for Oscars.

So, without further ado, the 21st Century brings us our newest passable horror film in The Forest, starring Natalie Dormer as both Sara and Jess Price, twin sisters joined by a symbiotic “humming” noise.

Once Jess goes into the Aokigahara Forest, Japan, where residents know it to be a place where people carry out their own suicide, it is up for Sara to rescue her sister, and discover the evil lurking in the forest around her.

With hues from the likes of The Blair Witch Project, The Evil Dead and even moments reminiscent of The Omen, The Forest finds its successes not in the jumpscares which it boasts, but in the psychological twists which the narrative undertakes. Although these are largely unexplained, pinned by a tour guide as the forest making you “see things, bad things”, there is

an element of suspense which, unfortunately, usually leads to another jumpy part, which the film doesn’t need.

The formula is simple: exposition, quiet, quiet, BANG, exposition, quiet, quiet, BANG. The characters are simple: a can-do-nothing-wrong yet unfortunately naïve female protagonist, a shifty-butattractive side-guy and a “helpful” tour-guide who doesn’t really do his job all that well. The scares are simple: the occasional masked figure lurking in the background, a laughable GCI ghost-face which pops up in the dark and the odd trip or crunch of branches which creek behind the protagonist. All the while, we are left wondering where the story is going. The director was probably wondering the same.

Although the acting is dependable, and the sense of dread disposed for a cheap jump-scare, it is a film which in this day and age, stands on its own two feet; albeit limping along. In an era where a film like Annabelle has the same admission price, I am thankful that creative ideas like The Forest still exist, despite its dependency on clichés.

So, What Does This Mean?

Despite the fact that The Forest was half-dependable, there is still the jargon in the film industry that the only good 21st Century horror films are either: (a) well-financed reboots, (b) thrillers which can be called horrors or (c) are foreign independent films which (luckily) are seen by enough people to pull it from obscurity. In a day and age where the Internet is

a major feature of our lives, it is harder to find things scary. That is why jump-scares and bloody gore are so beaten to death, and why psychological scares are harder to come by; film industries are lazy, and directors don’t want to mess with the formula.

With the likes of The Boy coming out, which was one of the more anticipated horror films of this year, it is clear to see that the genre needs a shakeup. This doesn’t include rebooting old franchises (I’m looking at you Carrie, The Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw 3D).

Although some slip the woodwork, like Goodnight Mommy, The Babadook, The Witch and The Conjuring, these films are few and far between. With up to five Superhero films coming out every year, and even more comedy movies hitting the big screen, the demand for horror (and the expectations for it) is slipping away from our big screens. The reasons are two-fold: (a) horror films are age-exclusive, so they make less money, and (b) the rarity of good horror films is starting to make companies nervous to make them. Horror fans have never had it so hard.

Horror films coming out this year include The Conjuring 2 (judging from the trailer, likely to be just another O.K. horror sequel), The Purge: Election Year (another thriller passing as a horror), Amityville: The Awakening (oh boy, another Amityville film), Leatherface (another Texas Chainsaw reboot film), Ouija 2 (because we all need more after the first one) and Emelie (another babysitter horror). Don’t mind me if I just switch off an entire genre for a year; it seems that 2016 already has.

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25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

16

with Gareth Matson

music

An exclusive interview with Newton Faulkner

by Harry Ballmann

waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk

The Waterfront’s Harry Ballmann caught up with acoustic hero Newton Faulkner before his show in Cardiff.

Q: How old were you when you started to play guitar, what were your first memories of music?

A: I’m from a really musical family, there were classical guitars lying all around the house. But, my earliest musical memory is actually playing bass. My friends were in a (Green Day) cover band and I wanted to join in, but I had to play bass in order to do that.

Q: What do you like to listen to, do you use much of what you listen to as inspiration?

A: Yeah definitely, I don’t tend to listen to much mainstream music, but I tend to listen to a lot of music from different countries to analyse the sounds and the playing. At the moment for instance, I’m loving the Chinese folk scene which is full of delicate intricacies.

Q: Your music is certainly very intricate at times, are there any songs you tend to avoid when you play live?

A: I like a challenge so I enjoy playing most of my songs live. If I had to pick the hardest song to play, it would certainly be Treading Water from Studio Zoo; there is a lot of mid song tuning and it’s also based around a lot of harmonics which can be difficult to play.

Studio Zoo was an interesting album in that respect, as I took 30 days and didn’t leave my home to record the album, you’ve got so

BLOC PARTY DIsCUSS NEW ALBUM HYMNS, ahead of their forthcoming tour

by Jack Spencer

waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk

How does your new album HYMNS differ from your previous releases? Has the change within the band’s line-up brought new influences to the sound?

No, as most of this record was written by Kele and

myself; we are working on new material as the four of us now, though.

Is there an overall concept and lyrical theme in the album?

Yes, but that’s for Kele to

discuss, he wouldn’t tell me about it.

What songs from the album do you think will come across best live?

The Love Within has been popular so far and Virtue as well.

Why did The Love Within stand out as the lead single for you?

It’s always difficult to pick singles but everyone felt like this would stand out.

How are you going to look to balance your set lists with a new sounding

many different sounds going on there, even the birds outside.

Q: Your first two albums were really closely linked in name and in style; are you enjoying your gradual change in musical direction?

A: Certainly, I wrote, Hand Built by Robots and Rebuilt by Humans when I was very young, it definitely depicted my naivety as a human and as a song writer. People Should Smile More is a great example; it was a really quite depressing song, but I managed to turn the music around and make it the complete opposite. I also did that a lot on Human Love, the new record, but in answer to your other question, it’s a direction of natural progression, it’s certainly heavier and I’m trying a lot of different sounds with it.

Q: How do you decide on your set lists, knowing what to play and what to avoid?

A: Firstly, I try to change the set around every time I perform as there are some really committed fans who follow me around and so it would be really boring for them to hear exactly the same songs seven or eight times in a tour. I also just play what feels right, and what will suit the mood of everyone I perform with. Of course, I try to mix the old with the new, but definitely focussing on Human Love at the moment.

Q: In five words, how would you describe your new album and your 2016 tour?

A: Fun. Drums. Harmonies. Dancing. Loud.

album?

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, there’s something for everyone …

Do you still enjoy playing your old songs; any in particular?

Yes. She’s Hearing Voices is always a favourite to play From all of your songs, which one do you think best soundtracks a night out on the town?

Ratchet If you could have one artist cover one of your songs, who would it be?

Justin Bieber; good royalties to be made there.

BLOC PARTY, HYMNS is out now.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

Album Review: Kano Made in The Manor

by Jack Spencer

waterfrontmusic@swansea-union.co.uk

Kano’s latest album is his fifth, marking a little over 10 years since he released his début album Home Sweet Home back in 2005.

In this project, named after Manor Road on which Kano grew up, we see a more mature side to the Rapper as he moves towards tackling more of the deep emotions that he has experienced in, what he describes as, his most autobiographic album so far. This aside, Kano was always going to face a lot of scrutiny with this release.

The grime scene has seen a lot of change in the five years since his last LP release, but he hasn’t disappointed.

The first thought that comes to mind when listening to Made in the Manor is how accessible an album it is. There are songs with obvious pop appeal like 3 Wheel-Ups and New Banger, but alongside those, we see this deeper, darker side to Kano. Tracks like T-shirt Weather in the Manor, Little Sis and Strangers explore a more emotional story and allow an insight into the artists

past that we haven’t seen before.

The album does suffer from a lull across its middle section though, with going from the punchy, big bass of Hail as its opening track, this was going to be a problem. However, Kano does manage to bring this back with the ending of the album with Seashells in the East and the closing song My Sound (next to some bonus tracks).

Kano doesn’t fail to bring bangers, nor does he fail to bring a big-name features and some quality production across the board, especially on songs like T-shirt Weather In The Manor and This is England.

Made in the Manor leaves a lot for you get your teeth into. There is definitely something for anyone here and is a nice bridge for someone looking for a place to start with grime.

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25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

18

fashion

with Ellie Thompson

GET THE LOOK YOU WANT ON A STUDENT BUDGET THIS SUMMER

With spring finally here and summer on its way, now is the time to update your wardrobe.

From super natural accessories to bold utility wear, I give you some affordable but fashionable ideas to take your closet into next season – whatever your style.

Whether its days at the beach, walks in the countryside, festival going or city shopping, the spring/summer catwalk has something for everyone.

THE PERFECT SLIP

Not just for evenings, the 90s slip dress has had a versatile update. Dress it down with a parka coat, black vans and a matching black backpack for a casual feel or make the look more grunge by pairing it with with a grey cotton cardigan and heeled chunky sandals. Out for a night on the town? Dress up by buying a black version of the slip dress and go rebel with all-black everything including a leather jacket, clutch, sandals and earrings. Look to the catwalks of Rag & Bone for inspiration on how to give your dress more attitude.

Softly coloured silks are also having a moment as seen at Chloé and Calvin Klein. Go for pinks, whites and soft sandy colours and you’ll soon go to the trusty slip dress for the everyday outfit ensemble. On the high street, Matalan offer a bralet which is a nod towards the trend alongside Yumi with their polyester camisole, perfect with jeans and flats.

NINETIES

This is possibly the easiest look to master this summer.

Alongside being effortlessly cool, the nineties is the perfect era to nail while walking around university as you can look comfy but individual at the same time. Look no further than icon Kate Moss for pin-up inspiration – her leather jackets, dungarees and cool street style in general (just give ‘Kate Moss 90s fashion a Google) has definitely made a comeback so opt for street wear such as jeans and slogan t-shirts. At Chloé, girls were kitted out in sporty tracksuit pieces but

weren’t afraid to go half-feminine with free-flowing floral pieces. At DKNY street style was perfected to a literal tee where dresses draped over a t-shirt ran the catwalk and were completed with white trainers. Go for relaxed colours like red, navy blue and white for that summertime feel. On the high street, look no further than Topshop for a sophisticated tracksuit and Primark for it’s neutral separates such as a halter-neck top. As well as being cool, the 90s trend is an affordable update so finish your look off with simple gold jewellery and canvas backpacks that offer durability and space.

PRAIRIE CHIC

While not for everyone, the notable feminine look breathes lace, soft ruffles and a comfy colour palette which will take you into summer. Look no further than Canadian fashion line Erdem for high-fashion inspiration and Alexander McQueen for a more futuristic on Victoriana clothing. Both brands revealed tailored white dresses with matching shoes and a pared-back face. French brand Claudie Pierlot offers some beautiful broderie-anglaise blouses for you to get all your style vision from and embrace your femininity.

As for high street versions, Miss Selfridge offers some lovely summer dresses (a possible early summer ball search?) and Warehouse houses an impressive range of cotton separates too if you don’t want to go all-out Victorian. Take the roundness off the trend and give your look an edge by going for a loose pair of striped linen trousers – Zara offer an excellent selection. Pair this look with equally delicate accessories such as laceup-the-leg sandals.

RUFFLES

This bold fashion statement is back for summer, with a rich red being the colour to dominate the catwalks. The brighter the colour and bolder the pattern the better, so this trend is definitely one to embrace if you want to be noticed. For a typical day at university, wear a red chiffon blouse under a black pair of dungarees that you already have from your autumn wardrobe. Bardot

necklines and ruffled sleeves will add extra style points and are perfect for evening cocktails with the girls.

Check out Mother of Pearl for a light and floral mood board or Oscar de la Renta for a more Latino one. As for shops on the high street, New Look offers some lovely Bardot tops that could be worn at the beach for only £7.99 (on trend and in-budget, win-win!) while River Island offers a smarter approach to the trend with colours and ruffles galore.

GLAM ROCK

A catwalk favourite, soft grunge was all over the summer runways. Black is definitely back but with a slight twist this time as fierce leather meets fine lace and ruffles merge with heavy-metal accessories. Wear biker-look leathers with softer alternatives such as a pretty pastel blouse or a cream lace skirt with a black top. Cara Delevigne nailed the glam rock style in a for Love & Lemons dress and delicate black heels (give ‘Cara Delevigne for love and lemons’ a Google to see what I mean) while on the catwalk Coach gave the perfect equilibrium of literal lace and leather. What is great about this trend is that you don’t have to spend a thing to get in on it – just dig out your leather jacket, throw it on with a white lace top, pair with black jeans and boots and you’re done - who says black isn’t for summer?

FOR THE MEN…

This summer the catwalks had two surprisingly plain colours on display with grey topping the list for the most seen hue. Green was the runner up and seen on coats, jackets (see Canali’s collection for a way to nail this look) and accessories such as backpacks. Jeans were more distressed than ever as seen at Tiger of Sweden’s show while a chinoiserie vibes (patterns that are influenced

by Eastern elements) were seen amongst all the highfashion labels such as Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Louis Vuitton. It’s safe to say that summer style is set for adventure – so try something different and experiment with your look.

Steal your look straight from the hottest runways

Black slip dress

by Rag & Bone

White slip dress

by Chloé

Nineties style dungarees

by DKNY

Nineties style vest and skirt outfit

by Chloé

Prarie chic dress

by Erdem

Prarie chic dress

by Alexander McQueen

Ruffled dress Ruffled jumpsuit

by Oscar de la Renta by Mother of Pearl

Glam rock dress

by Coach

Hoodie & shorts Jacket & shorts

by Dolce & Gabanna by Canali

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

19

The Award Winning Vintage Fair comes to Swansea!

by Heather Wood

waterfrontfashion @swansea-union.co.uk

The award winning vintage fair in the United Kingdom for 2013, 2014 and 2015 hit Swansea at Brangwyn hall.

For a small entry fee of £2, you can lose your self in rails and rails of vintage clothes, jewellery, homeware to fulfil your heart desires. The website raises the bar high as its boasts customers will find “stall upon stall of affordable vintage clothing, accessories and homeware’s mixed with vintage inspired handmade jewellery and clothing.”.

The vintage fair vists all over the UK with over 40 traders, results in an equation of lost treasures and colour squeezed. The fair also provides a a kitsch tea party with cake and a vintage beauty parlour.

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25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

creative writing

with Will Humphrey

THE MYSTERY OF FLIGHT 19

by S.Anthony.H

waterfrontcreativewriting@swansea-union.co.uk

The ocean waves are restless as they wax and wane in tune, And froth and swirl together below the yellow crescent moon.

The night is calm and air is clear as darkness breaks the morning.

While overhead she spreads her wings as daylight breaks on dawning.

The sound of birds that fly due south from winters golden grasp, Are heard amongst the frosty winds who upon the windows rasp.

The light that shines among the waves of waters down below, Reflects the warmth from passing ships that through the ocean plough.

The weather warning that unfortunately arrives a minute later,

The Breath of the Dragon

by Hazel Stabler

waterfrontcreativewriting@swansea-union.co.uk

Two months ago I woke up in the salt mine. Dray says its about a thousand miles below ground, and the way out is like a maze with over a million dead ends. Only the guards know the way. There’s an urban myth which circulates the mines. It says that there’s a secret path leading straight to the surface. Thousands have died trying to find it, and thus yet, nobody has succeeded.

I like Dray. He’s my friend down here. When you’re miles below the surface of the earth, trapped, you need a friend. He’ll walk with me through the mines on rest days and talk to me about the world above.

Sometimes we’ll guess where in the world we are. He likes to believe we’re miles below the catacombs in Paris. I, on the other hand, feel more inclined to the north, past meted ice and misty waters. You can never really tell. The cold air brushes through us as often as hot air does, and in burning nights you can still feel a chill in your bones. This doesn’t phase Dray: he sometimes talks in gentle dreams about a lady from the world above, selling roses and baguettes on the city streets of France. I think if he were to leave this place, he would like to go to her. All the other miners are scared of Dray. He is what some might call a gentle giant; a gentle giant with a pickaxe.

Occasionally I ask him things about myself, like when I got here and what my name is. He didn’t know the answer to the former, but apparently I’ve been here for six months, three weeks, and two days now. Dray is one of my campmates. That’s what he calls himself.

by Patrick Pink

Is far too late to let the plane turn even but an acre.

The darkness within the clouds ahead is deep and unforgiving, As lightning bolts that race around do scare the frightened living.

waterfrontcreativewriting@swansea-union.co.uk

LZD

The plane begins to toss and turn and lights begin to flicker, As passengers inside the vessel start to shout and bicker.

The air around begins to spark first white and then bright blue, As the engines stop and start again amongst the light and hue.

The winds that swirl around the carriage are violent and tenacious, As the rains that howl and beat the plane are not the least bit gracious.

The fog surrounds the metal tube and seals its fate with dew, And when the clouds do part again the plane is gone from view.

The last we hear of flight 19 is the sound of clasping thunder, As the radio contact cuts it off and leaves us left to wonder.

It’s easier that way, apparently, to act like it’s a holiday.

Like we’re all here on vacation escaping our regular lives in order to mine salt.

We’re prisoners. Murderers and rapiers; criminal masterminds and assassins. You walk past dirty gritty men with scars all over their faces, and women who growl. I don’t know where I fit in those categories.

Dray Reckons that, since I’m a little girl, I ‘got no place in a place like this.’ I disagree. I have to be here for something. I’m down here with all the rest of them, and I’m not so little either. Fact is, I’m taller than a fair few of the scrawny blokes; probably no younger than twenty… but I can’t be sure. I once asked Dray why he came here, but he stopped talking to me for a while and I didn’t ask again.

We have other campmates, of course. I don’t know them by name like Dray, but we’ve all got numbers on the backs of our necks. Dray’s number is 3143. There’s this old guy, 4322, who Dray and I call Cougher. And then there’s 2056. He’s a quiet guy… older than me or younger – I’m really not sure. Since his number starts with 20, me and Dray call him Twee. My number is 9194, so Dray calls me Nina. * Today started off pretty regular. The heavy winds above shook our mines, and dust settled in the air like toxic icing sugar. Dray and I slung pickaxes against our shoulders and flanked the mine cart driven by Twee and Cougher. Deep into the mine we walked, lighting fixtures on the walls at every waypoint to mark our movement. It was a silent walk which was only filled by the whistling of the winds that traveled with us even this far down. Dray told me once that the winds don’t come from above but instead, below. He told me that the center of the earth is a sleeping dragon, and its breath flows through the mines.

I’m not sure I believed that. Really, I’m wasn’t sure what to believe. Since waking up, everything had been

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guesswork, digging up the salt of the mines, and trying to fill up the gaps of memory where I’m sure my life before the mine is supposed to be. Did I have parents - and if so, what were they like? And what about siblings. I could imagine having and older brother.

Maybe he would have my chin? The same green glint hidden the darker browns of his eyes. Sometimes I saw Dray is a father. Our appearances were complete opposites: him, a giant of a man with dark skin and an egg shaped head that shined with sweat; and me, small with frizzy ginger tufts. Despite our differences, our time together had made him more like family than anyone I’d ever remembered knowing.

When we reached our digging point, Dray emptied the cart of the water canisters and we began to dig, carving metal against the stone carcass of our cave walls. Rasps of breath echoed through the cave, dry and dehydrated, and it was a while before anyone really spoke…

“Fuck me” Cougher chocked at last as a mound of dirty salt air found its way into his lungs. The old man stumbled away from the wall, chest heaving, and bent his body low to the floor. A dribble of thick salty blood fell from his lips, and in a few raspy coughs, he toppled to the ground.

We all stood stoned silence, unsure of what to do; whether to move the man or leave him, ass in the air, and face in the dirt. Plenty of miners had fallen ill to the toxic fumes, but we were an hours walk away from the mine camp, and without proper help, the old man could be dead in several minutes. His face was planted into the dirt, and the dusty rocks already immersed themselves in a deep red liquid that was now dripping from his nose.

Twee approached him first and pushed him with the heel of his boot. The old man rolled into the dusty floor.

“I should get help,” He declared, and with his pickaxe he left me and Dray in the dim light, submerged in the warm breath of the dragon.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

22

societies

with Molly Dowrick

English and American Joint Social

by Molly Dowrick and Ellie Drainey

waterfrontsocieties@swansea-union.co.uk

Students form the History Society ready to take on Berlin

Brilliant Berlin

by Molly Dowrick and Ellie Drainey

waterfrontsocieties@swansea-union.co.uk

On Friday 19th March at 1:30am, while the rest of the university were leaving Tooters and partying on Wind Street, the History Society were herding sleepy students onto a coach for the 10-hour journey to Berlin. One of the largest trips the History Society has ever organised, comprising of 60 students from a variety of different courses, the Berlin trip was a week of excitement, beer drinking and new experiences.

Despite a frustrating long and loud coach journey - it seems the coach driver had never heard of headphones, everybody was excited, albeit exhausted, for the week ahead!

Organising ourselves into two flights, we checked in, went through security, scoffed down some food and were on the plane ready to fly at 10am.

The planes landed at around 12pm and after collecting our luggage, we tried to navigate the S-Bahn system, only losing a few people on the way (when committee shouted “get off the train”, not everybody did!). We eventually made it to our hostel on the outskirts of this exciting city, rich in cultural history. After a quick nap – shout out to the crying child for stopping us from sleeping on the

flight – we all split off to discover Berlin for ourselves, with some students venturing into the centre of Berlin to explore the ‘Reichstag’ (the German government building) at night, others exploring the area around the hostel, and many going on a pub crawl organised by the student travel company Invasion, who had helped to plan and arrange the trip.

The next day, most of us were up early to make the most of the good weather and start working our way through the long list things we wanted to see. Berlin is a wonderful city, built on a diverse history and culture, and even the students that don’t study History were keen to explore and learn more about the city. Popular attractions included the Museum of German History, the Pergamon Museum, the Topography of Terror, the East Side Gallery, the famous Brandenburg Gate and the ever-popular Checkpoint Charlie.

Alongside exploring the city, visiting and photographing these popular attractions and spending far too much money on beer and souvenirs, we had many evening meals in German restaurants, where we experienced the flavours that make up Berlin.

What’s a student trip without some nights we don’t remember? With cocktails in the hostel bar at a mere €4

and obviously an extensive range of beers at very student-friendly prices, it was inevitable that we have many fun and amusing drunken stories and memories that we will never forget (or never remember)! Invasion and the History Society organised a great night in a traditional German Brauhaus (an authentic Bavarian beer hall) on the Tuesday which got everybody in a happy mood and instilled a love of German beer that lasted all week, while drinking cocktails and beer-pong in the hostel bar became a nightly routine for most! The favourite final venue for nigh ts in Berlin definitely became the infamous superclub ‘Matrix’. With 7 floors of various dance music and people from around the globe partying together all night, we all enjoyed our international night-life experience.

We returned on the 24th March, happy, but hungover and tired and already missing Berlin. After such an incredible and memorable week, we’d love to go back to Berlin together again. A massive thank you to the History Society Committee (Joe Swyny, Henry Payne, Ellie Drainey, Carlie Andrews, Fran Tate and Josh Packman) and a smaller thank you to Invasion, for organising the trip and keeping everyone safe and making sure they enjoyed their time!

On Wednesday 13th April, 23 members from the English and American Studies societies hit Bambu dressed as literary characters and famous American figures for a night of dancing and cocktails. The members really threw themselves into it, with a vast array of costumes and interesting conversations stemming from the amusing fancy dress outfits.

Recognisable characters included Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Audrey Hepburn, Little Red Riding Hood and the BFG. With buckets of Strawberry Woo Woos at £4 each and music to get everybody going, the night went swimmingly and even moved onto to Idols for more partying later in the night. Members from the two societies got on well together and all had a lot of fun.

The English Society arelooking forward to their upcoming joint social with the History Society later this month.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

24

food

with Sarah Harris

ALI’S KITCHEN

The nation’s most popular cury dish, Chicken Tikka Masala.

by Sarah Harris

waterfrontfood@swansea-union.co.uk

Despite living in Swansea for nearly two years, I have only had curry at a proper restaurant once. I generally prefer ordering curry online, whilst being horizontal and binge watching Gogglebox. After this realisation, I dragged my five friends out for a group meal, using the excuse of carb-loading for an alcohol laden night in Sin. With a rating of 4.5/5 on the ever reliable Tripadvisor website, Ali’s Kitchen seemed a solid contender for our meal out, however, being my lazy ole self, the deciding factor was the location, being less than 5 minutes away from my house. The choice was made and off we set.

We hadn’t booked a table, which is usually a rookie mistake for numbers over four, but despite our relatively large party, they sat us immediately. Ali’s Kitchen is a small intimate affair which white walls which hung Indian murals. Although we were told that the music was usually a collection of smooth piano music to add to the general ambience of the dining experience, we were treated to a blast from the past, leaving us reminiscing on our school disco

days to a soundtrack of Avril Lavigne and Busted.

Once seated our waiter asked if we wished to have poppadoms and drinks whilst we made our choices from the menu, of course we said yes. We were served the poppadoms with four sauces; mango chutney, a spiced vegetable mix, raw onions and a mint yoghurt.

The poppadoms we crispy and very large meaning that one was more than enough for us each. We had demolished them within minutes.

As a group, I can’t say we ordered a large variety of dishes, chicken tikka masala being ordered by all but one. Our starters arrived within minutes of ordering and the portion sizes made us question whether they were actually our main courses. When the waiter arrived to clear our plates he saw from our faces (and our proceeding stomachs), that the starters would need a while to settle and offered us to let him know when we were ready to divulge in the main attraction.

And a main attraction it was. The nation’s favourite, the chicken tikka masala was mildly spicy with a flavourful sauce, the chicken was delightful tender.

The pilau rice was slightly sweet offering a delightful balance to that of the curry. The naans were an allround favourite; Peshwari, garlic and plain. They had

been freshly made and they were all both soft on top and crispy on the bottom, they were utterly delicious.

The meal was incredibly filling and left us all glad for the restaurants close proximity to our house as we waddled away into the night. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive ensuring we left happy and content with our meal. To quote my flatmate “The best Indian in Swansea without a doubt.”

Ali’s Kitchen runs a special student offer of a 4 course meal for only £7.95 on production of your student card. This offer includes a starter, one main course and a choice of two sides.

Ali’s Kitchen is located at 67 Walter Road Swansea, just down from Uplands. However, if you generally do prefer the option of ordering curry online, whilst being horizontal they also offer a takeaway with 15% off all orders over £12.

Visit the website at: www.aliskitchenswansea.co.uk

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

26

culture

with Molly Dowrick

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY HOSTS A TALK WITH NICK YARRIS.

by Molly Dowrick

waterfrontculture@swansea-union.co.uk

“Hello”, a simple word that starts all our conversations: a word we say to friends, family, neighbours and strangers but a word that we don’t really see as overly important. But to one man, Nick Yarris, who walked out of prison as a free man in 2004 after serving 22 years on Pennsylvania’s death row for a rape and murder he did not commit, means so much more.

During his twenty-two years imprisonment, Nick Yarris stayed in Huntington Prison, notorious for inmates’ abusive and torturous behaviour towards other inmates and staff’s harsh treatment towards all prisoners, as well as many years in other Pennsylvanian prisons. Stripped of his rights as a free man and presumed to be a rapist and murderer, Yarris was denied medical attention, safety and all aspects of a ‘free life’ that we take for granted.

Tragically, for two of the years he spent on death row Yarris was even denied the right to speak in his own cell. With numerous prison wardens, journalists, lawyers and judges presuming Yarris guilty, Yarris’ freedom and voice was denied him, a voice that he now uses to tell his tale and inspire others with his story.

Starting his inspirational and incredible speech on 12th April in James Callaghan Lecture theatre with a simple ‘Hello’ undoubtedly meant so much to Yarris. Being able to speak to a room of mesmerised students and hear them respond with ‘hello’ (or ‘hiya’!) was something Yarris had thought would have never ever been a possibility when he was in prison and it became clear throughout the rest of Yarris’ speech that possibility and moving forward and talking about his experiences is extremely important to him.

Despite increasing impressive developments in technology, evidence and psychology, the American criminal and justice system is frequently criticised for its unfair portrayal of accused criminals before crimes has been proved, as well as the horrific stories of torturous prisons, unfair practises by the police force and the unimaginable horror of serving years in prison – or on Death Row – for crimes that the accused individuals did not commit. With 156 Americans freed from Death Row since 1973, the average

Nick Yarris appearing in court in 1982 after being framed for rape and murder

number of years d innocent or having charges acquitted is 11.3 years [source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/].

That is, Nicholas Yarris’ case is not an individual one with multiple Americans being found ‘guilty’ of crimes each year that they did not commit, often leading to years in solitude confinement in some of the US’ toughest prisons, only to be ‘pardoned’ and actually found innocent or had charges acquitted.

Nevertheless, Nick Yarris story is one of the most horrific and painful stories I have ever heard.

In 1981, Nick Yarris. Aged 20 at the time was driving in a stolen car when he got pulled over by a police officer and the encounter turned violent, the officer claimed. The incident ended with Yarris being falsely charged with the attempted murder of a police officer. When the case went to trial, Yarris was acquitted for the attempted murder but convicted of theft for stealing the car. While in prison, Yarris struggled with withdrawal due to his drug addiction and in an attempt to get released from prison, Yarris fabricated a story about knowing who killed a woman called Linda May Craig, who was famous in Delaware at the time for being horrifically raped and murdered.

Tragically, when the police could not

connect the person Yarris had claimed killed Linda May Craig to the crime, they suspected Yarris of being the murderer and following a brief trial in 1982, a Delaware County jury convicted Yarris and sentenced him to death.

In 1984, Yarris escaped while in transit from the prison to the courthouse and was subsequently placed on the FBI’s most wanted list. But life on the run was cruel and horrifically difficult and Yarristurned himself in to FBI after 25 days. Consequently, Yarris sat on death row for 22 years, a horrific sentence for a crime that he did not commit.

Gripping, thought-provoking and extremely emotional, with With inspiring words of wisdom like “good has got to win” and “kindness does pay off” as well as the insightful “the feelings of righteousness are the hardest feelings to stop someone having”, Nick Yarris’ speech about life on death row had the whole room mesmerised and in awe. Words can’t describe the pain and torture he experienced, only the hope and optimism he shows now. It’s rare that I am ever speechless(!) but Yarris’ speech left me overwhelmed and without words.

Nick Yarris even took time to answer questions from the audience and meet

many of us individually to sign copies of his first autobiography ‘7 Days to Live’.

A massive thank you to Chloe Harris and Amnesty International society for organising Nick Yarris’ speech at Swansea University.

Nick Yarris and his wife Jessica

/taliesinfanpage

@taliesinswansea

Taliesin Arts Centre is your on campus arts hub, providing a range of films, live performances and live stream broadcasts to suit everyonE Taliesin Arts Centre is your on campus arts hub, providing a range of films, live performances and live stream broadcasts to suit everyone.

Live music events include jazz, world music, folk and contemporary music.

Taliesin also offers top quality drama and international dance performances.

What’s coming up at Taliesin?

The coming weeks bring a mix of excellent live performances and high quality films to Taliesin.

Live

Live stream of the best plays, operas and ballets are now a feature at Taliesin, broadcast from National Theatre. Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company among others...

Pop in and pick up a brochure (we are opposite the library) www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk

to stop because of dementia.

The company producing the play is called Re-Live and it is their aim to inform and inspire audiences to help support families affected by dementia. They work creatively with people living with dementia, family members and professional carers; listen to their stories, their passions, their need to be understood and then share what they discover with audiences through live performance.

Great ticket deals for Swansea UNI STuDENTS See films for only £6 a ticket. If 8 or more book together, it is only £5.40!

See live drama, dance and music for only £3 a ticket (£5 if buying a ticket at the door on the night).

The code on the street is never black and white.

A group of criminals and corrupt police plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town. Their ultimate plan is turned upside down in an action-packed finale of double-crossing, greed and revenge.

See live streams from the major theatres for only £5 (less than half price).

Don’t forget, you must produce your student card to get the discount.

Hollywood’s Golden Age. Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.

Welcome to Leith (15)

Wednesday 27 April 7.30pm

La Bohème – Swansea City Opera

Friday 6 May 7.30pm The critically acclaimed Swansea City Opera are setting their production of La Bohème in war torn 1940s Paris. Sung in English and accompanied by chamber orchestra. There will be a pre-performance talk about the opera and production, given by the Artistic Director of Swansea City Opera, Brendan Wheatley.

We hope Belonging/Perthyn can help families, extended families, clinicians and health and social care professionals gain a deeper insight into dementia. For these reasons, the many at Swansea University involved with the study of dementia, both clinically, and on its effect on wider society, will gain from seeing this excellent new play.

A new play about Dementia comes to Taliesin in May

Belonging/Perthyn

Thursday 12 & Friday 13 May (two performances a day at 10am and 7.30pm).

Belonging/Perthyn is a powerful new bilingual play which is based on in-depth interviews with people living with dementia, family members and professional carers.

Although the play is in both English (70%) and Welsh (30%), it is entirely accessible for Welsh and non-Welsh speakers alike.

Inspiring and moving, Belonging/Perthyn follows the lives of two families as they discover that love and laughter don’t have

Film Triple 9 (15)

Tuesday 26 April 7.30pm Teresa Palmer, Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Welcome to Leith is the documentary which chronicles the attempted takeover of a small town in North Dakota by the notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb.

With incredible access to both long-time residents of Leith and white supremacists, the film examines a small community in the plains struggling for sovereignty against an extremist vision.

SU-TV Short Film Festival

Friday 29 April 7pm SUTV presents their debut short film festival.

An evening’s entertainment featuring a selection of student made films. With genres ranging from comedy to thriller, there’s sure to be a film for all tastes. SUTV is run as part of Swansea Student Media at University’s Students’ Union, it allows students to gain valuable experience working in front of and behind the camera.

Hail Caesar (12A)

Tuesday 3rd & Wednesday 4th May 7.30pm George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson Four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen write and direct an allstar comedy set during the latter years of

Check our facebook And twitter feed for the latest listings /taliesinfanpage @taliesinswansea

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

28

tech

with Declan Murphy

TECH REPORT: INSOMNIA 57

The Waterfront’s Tech editor, Declan Murphy visits Insomnia, the UK’s biggest gaming festival.

Founded in 1999, for over 14 years the Insomnia Gaming Festival has been a place for gamers of all backgrounds to gather and have videogamerelated fun. Insomnia is a unique gaming event combining LAN Gaming Halls, a huge Exhibition

Hall, Special Guests doing cool interatctive content, large-scale Esports Tournaments, and a whole host of fun activities tailored to gamers of all ages. It’s all of the social enjoyment of gaming as a hobby in a live environment; a weekend’s worth of gaming

action suitable for gamers both casual and hardcore.

With three events each year in many previous locations, the growing festival now looks set to make the Birmingham NEC its regular home from 2016 onwards.

The LAN hall drew massive crowds wjo were able o watch gameplay on the huge screens

THE LAN HALL Insomnia 57 was certainly something I’d never seen before. Over a thousand (at my guess) players in one hall, each one with a gaming PC. It was certainly a sight to behold even if you’re not interested in the gaming scene.

Amongst the LEDs on computer cases and back lights of computer monitors, I, along with a few members of the University’s Gaming Society, were sat playing our way through the weekend.

The games varied from casual Rocket League and Heroes of the Storm all the way up to people

competing for the chance of a $30,000 Hearthstone prize. It really was a mixed bag and in a way, that’s what made it.

One hour you could be sitting down playing Rocket League with a few of the people around you, next you could be sitting in the eSports hall watching two thousand people compete in a massive game of one life Runescape. Even then the hour after you could be playing something completely different again. I really didn’t know what to expect and on the tail end of it, I still don’t.

That in fairness could be because I find myself wanting to sample everything to understand the atmosphere, but you could quite easily submerge

yourself in one aspect of it for the whole weekend.

For instance we had a Counter-Strike team sat behind us which were competing in the on-site tournaments all weekend. You could tell by the inconsistent screaming of “yes boys!” and “c’mon!” which got so bad and entertaining that we made a game of doing it as well with whatever game we were playing.

Overall I’d say that anyone even remotely into social gaming would have a blast. Like I said, it’s such a mix that there is something for everyone, from the casual who isn’t fussed come win or lose, to the Hearthstone or DotA professional looking to win big.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

29

THE EXPO HALL Much like the LAN hall, the Expo hall had a lot of varied activities and stands to offer. In one corner of the room you had the Minecraft stage, dedicated to all things 10-year-old. In another sat the retro corner, full of men and women in their 30-40’s playing and reminiscing over what they’d have you believe were “better times”. Across on the completely opposite side sat card gamers playing against others from all corners of the UK. In between however, and my personal favourite bits, were the demos. Developers and publishers had come from all over the place. Microsoft had come down with their machines running copies of The Division whilst also showing FIFA. Other indie developers had brought along early alpha versions of their games hoping to run into their potential audience. It made for a large gathering of minds and, like the LAN hall, provided something for everyone.

It’s hard to comment on one particular thing because honestly they all built up to what was a great atmosphere. It wasn’t even just the stalls, you had people going round cosplayed up as their favourite character, others buying merchandise.

Everything combined really added to an awesome time. You could literally not know anyone and still come out on the other side loving it.

If you’re interested in going to Insomnia, tickets are currently on-sale online. Give Insomnia 58 a google and it’s sure to come up. We’re also planning a trip for next spring’s insomnia over at Swansea Gaming Society, which you can find online as well.

Lewis and company from the Yogscast play some games in front of a live audience.

The giant Expo hall featured stands from Indie developers as well as the usual big names of Microsoft and Sony

A DARK ROOM

John Robertson’s ‘A Dark Room’

“You awake to find yourself in a dark room, Darren”. John Robertson’s show, A Dark room, is indeed a unique one. Amongst all the madness of the day expo and all night gaming of the LAN next door, it was a welcome change of scene.

The show is as much an interactive experience as a purely visual one. Audience members are selected at random to navigate their way through a maze in the hope of “finding the light switch” and after that, take a shot at winning a considerable sum of money. If you

fail, well… “YA DIE, YA DIE, YA DIE”.

If I had to describe it bluntly, I’d say it is a mixture of old school RPG games reminiscent of the 80’s and your everyday run of the mill panto. Robertson’s quick wit combined with references to satisfy most ages really delivers a great display, however simple the concept may seem. Given that it follows a similar structure each “play through” it is anything but repetitive.

Although you’ll end up memorising certain phrases due to them being repeated, I wouldn’t for a second describe the show as repetitive. Instead it’s ingenious system of audience participation means the audience

will find new ways to play around with it and as such give back to the display as much as Robertson himself. In fact the only thing you will find every time is that the main character is called Darren. Just Darren.

I find it hard to review it any further apart from describing it like I have above because it is an experience every gamer should encounter, and luckily you can. Recently Robertson has started uploading week by week levels of the show which you can play through all on YouTube. He and his wife are also very active on the Twittersphere and show dates are dotted all over the country for those of you interested in seeing it.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

30

relationships

with Rhydian Morris

The Waterfront’s resident Agony Aunt, Rhydian Morris, answers your burning questions! union.co.uk

Email your questions to Rhydian at: waterfrontrelationships@swansea-

DEAR AGON Y AUNT,

I’M NOT SURE IF THIS IS WRON G OR NOT, BUT I REALLY DON’T TRUS T MY BOYFR IEND WHEN HE’S DRUN K, HOW DO I GET OVER THIS?

g from. Has he I’m Well the advice would really depend on where the feelings are comin really flirty, made any indication that he’s not entirely faithful when drunk? If he’s been are probably or outright cheated when drunk before, I think your feelings of suspicion entirely true, entirely justified. The old saying “Once a cheater always a cheater” isn’t s. but it does have some truth to it. Usually you should trust your feeling ned about his If this is bothering you make sure to talk with him that you’re concer exposing behaviour while drinking. Of course, this is very difficult to do as you’re you should be your insecurities, but the way he responds will let you know whether on, but if you suspicious or outright angry. It is entirely possible that nothing is going to ignore can’t cope with his behaviour with other women when drunk, then trying those feelings isn’t going to lead to a healthy relationship in the long run.

What would a student newspaper be without cringeworthy relationship advice and awkward blind dates!

With that in mind we are asking for applications for any brave/hopeful student for the waterfront’s blind date section. By applying you are guaranteed a date with an actual live student (conditions may vary) at a fabulous location in Swansea (probably Jc’s).

Or maybe you have some relationship worries. Worried your partner has a secret hobby? That your friend has a crush on you? That you might like wine a little too much? Well all this can be answered with professional objective advice Please send your submissions and application for the blind date section to waterfrontrelationships@swansea-union. co.uk.

DEAR AGON Y AUNT,

I HONES TLY HAVE NO MORE MOTIVATION FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, I HAVE TWO ESSAY S TO FINISH BUT SEEIN G AS THE REST OF THE YEAR HAS BEEN SO TERRI BLE I CAN’T WORK UP THE ENERG Y TO WRIT E THEM OR TO REVIS E FOR MY SUMM ER EXAM S. WHAT DO I DO? so one last Try not to give up so soon! There really isn’t much time left in the year the year has push will get you through it and you can relax afterwards. Even if the summer been terrible for you, most courses leave the majority of their marks in a good grade exams, so you can easily push through your earlier misfortune and get if it’s due to overall! One thing to question is why you are feeling so unmotivated, al tutor or low mood or personal issues it may be a good idea to talk to your person be indicative your wellbeing department. Feelings of low motivation or energy can any case, your of something more going on than just dissatisfaction with the year. In s if you are personal tutor and department should be able to talk you through option struggling and hopefully you can finish the year with a smile!

www.swansea-u

nion.co.uk/advice

advice@swansea-

union.co.uk

01792 295 821 * DISCLAIMER: The advice given above is the personal opinion of our relationships editor.

For professional advice and support, contact the Student Union advice centre.

25 April 2016 waterfrontonline.co.uk

31

Blind Date: When Emily met Laurence...

WHEN EMILY MET LAURENCE

No I don’t plan on introducing anyone to my parents until we have our first child together so I know he’s in it for the long run.

What were your first impressions?

He was very very tall, but everyone’s tall to me considering I’m a 5 foot and a bit. That bit is important.

Would you like to meet again?

It would be nice, but the likelihood is slim.

What do you think of the choice of venue (Pub on the Pond)?

Any awkward moments or silences?

Really nice, it wasn’t busy and the rugby was on so it was quite a chilled atmosphere (Wales won woo!)

Any striking conversation points?

We showed really stupid pictures of ourselves to each other, I’m not gonna lie I am a dab hand at MS paint and I like to think I impressed with my skills. Also he made a napkin origami crane which was really impressive.

Did you wonder why he wasn’t in a relationship at any point?

From my POV nah, I talk about everything and anything so I was quite comfortable.

Nope, a rough translation of the advice my mum gives me is “your love is not yet due” which is really good advice for everyone, people should be patience and shouldn’t rush things. Let nature take it’s course.

Any potential for a kiss?

No, kissing on a first date is not my style.

Generally how did you think that date went?

Out of ten, what is your compatibility score with the other person?

Really well, considering he could have been a murderer.

If you got married and had babies, what would you want your baby to inherit?

Probably about a 4

WHEN LAURENCE MET EMILY

Would you introduce him/her to your parents?

Laurence did not reply following the date.

My mad bants

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WELSH VARSITY ‘16 round up

Photo: Tammy Schuh & Nathan Shaw

with Will humphrey, WATERFRONT sports editor and

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On Wednesday 20th April, Swansea Uni faced off against their rivals from Cardiff University across a range of sports from American Football to Water Canoe Polo.

Welsh varsity is the second largest university varsity event in the United Kingdom behind Oxbridge and celebrated its twenty year anniversary since first being organised in 1996. To all the competitors whether you won your event, match or competition or lost, well done for representing Swansea University in the largest

sports event of the year. A big thanks to all the coaches, staff, referees and physio’s who supported the teams and athletes throughout the year and during Varsity. Personal thanks to Sadie Thwaites, Felix Mmenka and all the sports captains for your cooperation throughout the year helping with the coverage

of University sports events. The last thanks is to you, the students and University staff who came and cheered, shouted, screamed and whistled all for the green and white army.

WILL HUMPHREY WATEFRONT SPORTS EDITOR

AND Swansea student media were on hand to provide the entertainment and capture the ACTION on the day Swansea Student Media provides Swansea University students with a single information point for student life in Swansea. We supply news coverage, ignite debate and discussion, and capture what it’s like to be a student in our city.

Swansea Student Media consists of three different media channels: The Waterfront newspaper, Xtreme Radio and SU-TV the Students’ Union video and film service. All three channels are led by students and are completely dependent

on student input; students write, host and produce for each channel.

Swansea Student Media is always on the look-out for new recruits and as long as you’ve got passion and enthusiasm, you’ll be welcomed aboard.

To find out more about joining the team pop into the office in Union House for a chat or email iain.fisher@swanseaunion.co.uk.

VARSITY SHIELD REsULTS

Wednesday, 13th April

Sport

Venue

Winner

Cycling

Maindy Track

Swansea

Saturday, 16th April

Sport

Venue

Time/Result

Rowing

River Tawe

Cardiff

Sunday, 17th April

Sport

Venue

Winner

Archery

Sketty Lane

Cardiff

Rifle

Swansea Rifle Range

Cardiff

Monday, 18th April

Sport

Venue

Winner

Boxing

Fulton House Refectory

Cancelled

Equestrian

Dinefwr Park

Swansea

Kickboxing

Sketty Lane ­ Pavilion

Cardiff

Tuesday, 19th April

Sport

Venue

Winner

Waterpolo

Welsh National Pool

Cardiff

Wednesday, 20th April

Sport

Venue

Winner

Athletics

Outdoor Track

Swansea

Badminton

Bay Campus

Draw

Netball

Sketty Lane ­ Main Hall

Cardiff

Tae Kwon Do

Sketty Lane ­ Pavilion

Cardiff

Sailing

Tata Steel Sailing Club

Cardiff

Tennis

Outdoor Courts

Draw

Cricket

Ynysygerwn Cricket Club

Cardiff

Swimming

National Pool

Swansea

Golf

Pennard Golf Club

Swansea

Freshers' Rugby

Sketty Lane ­ Rugby 1

Cardiff

Men's Ultimate Frisbee

Council Pitch 2

Cardiff

Men's Squash

Tennis Club Squash Courts

Cardiff

Men's Fencing

Sketty Lane ­ Pavilion

Swansea

Men's Football

Sketty Lane ­ Main Pitch

Swansea

Ladies' Hockey

Sketty Lane ­ Astro

Cardiff

Ladies' Ultimate Frisbee

Council Pitch 2

Swansea

Ladies' Lacrosse

Council Pitch 3

Cardiff

Ladies' Basketball

Sketty Lane ­ Main Hall

Cardiff

American Football

Sketty Lane ­ Rugby 2

Swansea

Canoe Polo

National Pool

Swansea

Ladies' Volleyball

Bay Campus

Cardiff

Ladies' Rugby

Sketty Lane ­ Rugby 1

Cardiff

IMG Football

Council Pitch 1

Swansea

Ladies' Squash

Tennis Club Squash Courts

Cardiff

Men's Hockey

Sketty Lane ­ Astro

Cardiff

Men's Lacrosse

Council Pitch 3

Cardiff

Staff Netball

Leisure Centre

Swansea

Ladies' Football

Sketty Lane ­ Main Pitch

Swansea

Men's Basketball

Sketty Lane ­ Main Hall

Cardiff

Men's Volleyball

Bay Campus

Cardiff

Ladies' Fencing

Sketty Lane ­ Pavilion

Cardiff

Staff Football

St Helen's

Cardiff

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Photography: Nathan Shaw

SUCCESS FOR SWANSEA SWIMMING TEAM

WIN FOR EQUESTRIAN

by Wil Humphrey

waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Training every week at the home yard Dinefwr definitely paid off for Swansea University Equestrian team, whose team competed in both dressage and show-jumping at this year’s Varsity and won by a staggering 60 points against Cardiff University.

After finishing 2nd and 3rd in their BUCS leagues respectively, as well as having one rider, Charlotte Hicks, qualifying individually for the regional round in the league, the Equestrian 1st and 2nds were feeling positive and somewhat confident going into Varsity this year but as Cardiff won last year’s Varsity and this years BUCS leagues, certainly Swansea were somewhat nervous - although clearly they didn’t need to be!

Swansea University were leading from the start, with a strong lead of 30 points after the first phase of the competition;

the dressage round, despite some very challenging horses.

Individually, the 1st Team Captain Anne Kemp was leading during this round and Swansea University’s Equestrian Team were able to widen their lead in the show-jumping round, with Swansea showcasing many stylish and competitive jumps.

Overall 2nd Team Captain Matthew Moors placed 2nd and Equestrian team members Meryl Hamner, Sarah Perry-Wright and Charlotte Hicks placed 3rd, 4th and 6th. Meryl’s high placing is even more impressive due to the fact Meryl had been unable to compete or train with the team for months, due to illness!

The team would like to thank their trainer Victoria Jenner BHSI for all her hard-work and support for the team, as well as and the ‘amazing’ facilities at the competition centre and the yard Dinefwr.

Varsity was the last competition of the season for the University Equestrian team and with many team members graduating this summer, the team look forward to welcoming new members in September.

Charlotte Hicks and the mischievous Wally

SWANSEA’S INTRAMURAL FOOTBALL WIN ON PENALTIES AN INTENSE THRILLER

by Wil Humphrey

waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Swansea’s Intramural Football team were looking to build on the success of the Men’s First Football Team’s win over Cardiff earlier in the day. The original squad of 25 players were selected from a range of the intramural teams from SPR to Golden Showers. The team was then cut to 15 players which formed the final team who were going to face Cardiff on Varsity. The final intramural team was mainly made up of players from two of the top intramural sides AFC Sloth and Hangover 96.

The team was manged and coached from the selection process to the game by Liam Braiden and Jamie Ridley. Ridley was meant to be competing in the Varsity game but had to withdraw due to a broken thumb. The team was captained by AFC Sloth’s Lewys Thomas and George Veater was the vice-captain of the squad.

The team had only played 3 friendly games before the Varsity match in which they recorded three convincing wins over difficult opponents. The team’s first win was against the Staff Varsity Team in which they won 5-1. The next win came against the University’s Fifth Men’s Team another 5-1 drumming for Swansea’s intramural team. The final win before Varsity came against the University’s Thirds in which they won the match 5-0.

Swansea were on a good run of form going into the game after three successive wins and not mention the fact they beat Cardiff in last year’s Varsity 2-1.

I asked the manager Liam Braiden, what pre –Varsity activities such as fitness work did the squad do in the build up to the

match? Braiden replied: “Intense fitness training during training camp. Boys were also playing their own respective league fixtures during the trainings. One player Will Bazen was given a sports massage to help with a recurring injury.

Which payed off as he played a key role in extra time and scored one of the penalties in the shootout.”

I also asked Braiden what were the key strengths within the team. Braiden replied “Many ‘veterans’ such as Lewys Thomas who played his 5th varsity and coach Jamie Ridley who’d been involved in 3 varsities in different roles such as player and unused sub said it was the strongest all round squad they’d seen. Many players involved had suffered heartbreaks before such as being dropped from the squad (Alex Nicol) or losing in varsity (Joey Allison), meant they were more than determined to bury previous demons.

Both teams were playing good football and knocking it around the pitch with confidence. The fans continued to cheer Swansea on from the touchlines.

Cardiff scored the first blood of the encounter which saw them go in 1 goal ahead at the half-time break. Swansea needed a spark from somewhere if they were going to win this game.

Mangers Liam Braiden and Jamie Ridley foresaw this and brought on two changes at half-time James Burchill and Alex Carter as impact players.

Burchill was then involved straight after coming on. The ball was whipped in the box and Burchill rose the highest to

direct the ball goal wards but was denied by a superb save from Cardiff’s keeper. Finally Swansea got their the goal they deserved, Cardiff couldn’t clear the ball from their penalty box and Alex Carter stole it off a Cardiff defender and slotted it home with his left foot.

In terms of personal stand-out performances David Nezri, who only managed to get 10 minutes in last year’s game was a key role in the win. Nezri, started this year and played a defensive masterclass with some crunching tackles on Cardiff players which rattled them from the offset. Was everywhere on the pitch and even brought out a cheeky cruyf turn.

The game finished at 1-1 and was sent it to into overtime extra time via and a penalty shootout. Will Bazen James Henderson, James Burchill and Lewys Thomas all scored their penalties for Swansea. But it was the goal keeper Luke Wallace who gave Swansea the win with two great saves.

Swansea won 4-2 on penalties.

The players were swamped with a pitch invasion from all of the supporting fans which lead to a huge group pile on. The pitch invasion experience is one which all of the players will remember for the rest of their lives.

After the match I asked Braiden if there were any weaknesses within the team during the game but he could not find fault with any member of his team and rightly so.

Following the Varsity win each player will return to their home clubs to finish the rest of the season whereas other will graduate and head off into the working world.

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SWANSEA’S MEN UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TEAM ENJOY VARSITY WIN OVER RIVALS CARDIFF

by Wil Humphrey

The stadium seating area outside the pavilion was filled to the brim with all things green from t-shirts to banners even smoke grenades all in support of the Green and White Army. One of the stand-out performances for Swansea throughout Varsity day was Men’s Football who enjoyed a 2-0 win over Cardiff.

Like most of the events throughout the day the game was a closely fought affair from start to finish.

Both teams were regularly creating chances and opportunities to score but neither team could produce the finishing touches in the final third of the pitch. Cardiff found the break through when a slick passing move was worked into the penalty area and one was the left winger was brought down in the area by the Swansea keeper who was shown a yellow card. Swansea fans were all calling for the Cardiff player to be booked diving but the referee ignored their pleas in favour of a Cardiff penalty.

A chorus of boo’s erupted from the Pavilion stand, the fans in uproar about what they perceived to be the wrong decision.

Whether the penalty was the correct decision or not, Cardiff couldn’t capitalize on their fortune as their penalty beat Swansea’s keeper but went over the bar much to the relief of the Swansea fans. There was nothing between the two sides for large majorities of the game with both sides having their share of possession and periods of good play.

Swansea found the break through as one of their attacking moves was halted by a Cardiff foul and they were awarded a free-kick just outside of the Cardiff penalty area. The crowd’s cheers were silenced into anticipation as to whether Swansea were going to take the lead. 1-0 to Swansea, a centre back beat the Cardiff wall and the effort had too much power for the keeper to hold onto. The fans erupted back into fits of cheering and screaming for team Swansea with one fan setting off a green smoke grenade to show

VARSITY OFFICIAL CHARITY PARTNERs Swansea marrow & Anthony NOLAN

Photography: Tammy Scuch

waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Swansea take victory at Varsity

his appreciation for the goal. Swansea used their goal as momentum to control the game from there on out. A quick counter attack saw Swansea break into Cardiff’s area and the opposing player having to make a reckless tackle to prevent the Swansea player from scoring. Swansea were awarded a

penalty which their captain scored to give Swansea a two goal lead.

Cardiff tried to create a comeback but yet against inconsistency in the final third was letting Cardiff down again. The match finished 2-0 to Swansea.

Volunteers working at the Sports Village event

Foam fingers given away by the Marrow team

L-R: Lilly Ryan-Harper & Rachel Thompson

Members of the Swansea Rugby team showing their support

You can find out more about Swansea Marrow on their Facebook page at goo.gl/j4hOSY or @Swansea_marrow on Twitter.

Photography: Rachel Thompson/Swansea Marrow

Student volunteer group Swansea Marrow were in attendance at this years Varsity, alongside their counterparts from Cardiff, raising funds for Anthony Nolan to help beat blood cancer. On the day they were offering face painting and foam fingers in exchange for a charity donation. Funds raised during the days events at the Sports Village and Liberty Stadium are estimated at over £500.

Swansea Marrow president Rachel Thompson“We had a brilliant day raising awareness of blood cancers and the work of Anthony Nolan. A big thank you to Welsh Varsity, Sport Swansea and Swansea Student Media plus of course the amazing volunteers at Cardiff and Swansea Marrow.

Swansea Marrow supports blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan, which saves the lives of people with blood cancer, such as leukaemia, by matching them to people willing to donate their bone marrow, or blood stem cells, for a lifesaving transplants.

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welsh varsity 2016: in pictures

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Photography: Tammy Schuh

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A fantastic turnout and a strong line-up for both sides at Liberty Stadium ... FROM BACK PAGE

Photography: Giovanni Busi

into the half time interval, Cardiff managed to slip through Swansea’s defensive and score a try to make it 5-3 to Cardiff.

Cardiff’s fly half Julian Mogg converted the try with the game still close at 7-3 to Cardiff.

Shortly after half time, Swansea were then penalised for not releasing the man and the referee awarded Cardiff a penalty which Julian Mogg placed between the sticks yet again.

Cardiff was were now 7 points in front and Swansea needed a converted try to get back into the match. Swansea did not panic they went through the phases and the forwards did a no need for a superb work at the break down’s and rucks clearing out Cardiff players to recycle the baller quicker for scrum half Josh Guy.

After several phases Swansea were just a few meters out from Cardiff’s try line, the crowd was screaming for Swansea to score. Josh Guy spotted a narrow gap between one of Cardiff’s players and the upright and dived over the line and scored a try for Swansea. Unfortunately Guy was injured in the process of scoring and had to be replaced by Swansea’s other replacement scrum half Tom Hayward. Roy Garrett added the extras to tie the game up at 10 apiece.

Both teams continued to battle for possession and territory and the game looked to be heading towards a stale mate.

However Cardiff were penalised for handling in the ruck and Swansea were awarded another penalty but Roy Garrett’s effort drifted just wide of the posts. Cardiff ill-discipline’s at

the ruck lead to more trouble and the referee was left with no option but to send Cardiff’s scrum half to the side lines for 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

Rory Garrett made up for his early miss and slotted the penalty over to restore Swansea’s original three point lead.

Swansea continued to turn the screw on Cardiff who were still missing one of their half backs, Swansea were awarded another penalty which was the last kick of the match. Either way Swansea had won the Varsity Cup but Rory Garrett made sure scoring another penalty which meant Swansea won the match 16-10. Swansea players, coaches and physios stormed the pitch in celebration, fans sent into pandemonium and Cardiff’s players, staff and fans sent into delirium.

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Photography: Tammy Schuh

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by Wil Humphrey

waterfrontsport@swansea-union.co.uk

Defiant Swansea Edge Cardiff In Closely Fought Varsity Cup Affair At Liberty

After a long day of competitive sport Cardiff and Swansea faced off for one last time in the Varsity Rugby Cup at the Liberty stadium. Despite losing the Varsity shield to their rivals Cardiff, Swansea’s Men’s Rugby team restored some pride for the university by beating Cardiff in the Varsity Cup

by 16 points to Cardiff’s 10.

I spoke to the Men’s Rugby Union captain Jamie Williams before the game to ask how he and the squad were feeling.

Williams said “Yeah all good mate, off to the hotel now with the rest of the squad. The squad are starting to get excited”.

The scene was set at the Liberty stadium, the sun was shining, the beer was flowing and the fans were cheering and singing their hearts out for their teams.

The first half the game was a tight encounter which showed on the score line at halftime with Cardiff leading by 4 points.

Each team illustrating brilliant defensive work across the park and really showing off to the fans all of the hard work each player has put in, in the build up to the game. Swansea found a break through, mid-way through the first half through Cardiff’s ill-discipline at the break down. Cardiff were penalised by the referee for not realising the ball once the player had been tackled and Swansea opted for the penalty conversation. Rory Garrett Swansea’s fly-half slotted the ball through the posts to give Swansea a 3-0 lead.

Although Swansea were dominating the game leading CONTINUES INSIDE ...