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The fight continues Thousands take to streets in protest, P7

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02

Boy about campus//

Walking around campus, as Boy about Campus does, this sentence has been heard a lot: 'Wow it's so early but so dark J;lOw! And it's so.cold!'

Unless you come from abroad, you will have seen a few British winters in your life. fn those winters it's Probably got colder and darker earlier than in the summer. So why the fuck does everyone keep talking about how dark and cold it is?You know why it's dark and cold? It's fucking winter. Buy a torch if you're so bloody worried.

Sorry about the rnnt, Boy about Carn pus just needed to get that off his chest. It's probably all those hours spent cooped up in the library wondering how he ever managed to write an essay before, as every word seems more of a struggle than occupying a university building.

Boy about Campus is also becoming wonyingly attached to the lady in the library lift. Well, not so much a lady, more an automated female lift voice. And not attached in a sexual way, just a reassuring 'always there whenever you need her' kind of way. Is that weird? Also, is Boy about Campus alone in thinking Lift Lady sounds just like Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds?

But on Wednesday Boy about Campus got to head out for some fine marching. It was bloody cold and the fresh smells of Subway and Greggs floating through the air did make this

T0omany hours in the library hasmeanta diminsbed Boy about Campus

~particular protester think twice about staying at the rally iostead of heading to the warm confines of a reasonably priced pasty shop.

The chants and placards were good though, the J:Iogwarts ones never get old. Boy abo1.,1.ttilmpus could not hear any of the speeches, so just cheered when everyone else did. And booed whenever Nick Clegg was mentioned. Boy about Campus once had dreams of being Man about Parliament, but now he realises it's full of lying twats who wouldn't thinking twice about stabbing student voters in the ... [stop getting so poh'tJcal, this is meant to be an amusing update on campus life, Ed.J

So yeah, after his £1 chicken pie from Greggs (that's right Essentials -a pound), Boy about Campus headed off to lectures. But the Michael Sadler was not what it once was. Boy about Campus has never been involved in an occupation before but fell on this one without even realising. The occupation was either about higher tuition fees or Fredda chocolates, it was a bit unclear, but the free food was good regardless.

Lad about Campus was up for staying the whole night in the hope of a bit of protest action at the back of the lecture room, but Boy about Campus was getting a bit bored. The Lift Lady was calling him back to the library.

Has Clegg turned you to drink? Get in touch with us at editor@leedsstudent.org

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Laura Mackenzie editor@leedsstudent.org

I.S1EDITOR Tom Knowles ls1@leedsstudent.org

I.S2 EDITOR Tomas Jivanda ls2@leedsstudent.org

NEWS Lizzie Edmonds, Jess Elliott, Gemma-Louise Sutherland news@leedsstudent.org

COMMENT Lucy Snow comment@leedsstudent.org

DEBATE Hugh Alderwick debate@leedsstudent.org

Frida y , Novembe r 26, 20 I 0 rw le ~c:!.,~ 1dent.m Leeds Student

Leaders Leeds Student's views on this week's hot topics

-Sit-in comfortably?-Leeds University's role in the national 'Day of Action' began as a luke-warm affair with many students opting out of the proposed walk-out action.

Just two hours later however, and those taking part in the march had swelled to almost a thousand, and Leeds students found themselves at the centre of the nation-wide 'Day of Action' While a far cry from the scenes of two weeks ago - the march and subsequent occupation were peaceful from start to finish, and no arrests were made unlike in other parts of the country - the sight of over a thousand students and lecturers marching through the streets of Leeds was nonetheless awe-inspiring.

The fact that the National Union of Students (NUS) refused to support, or even be associated 1/o/lth the so-called 'Day of Action' cast something of a shadow over events, however, proving once and for all that students can not rely upon the organisation that is supposed to represent them.

Leeds Student believes that this was a shameful decision on the part of the NUS. Firstly, the National Union, whose sole purpose is to campaign on students' behalf, could have supported action whilst still condoning violence should it have occurred. Secondly, the assumption that the demonstrations would have

A great 'Challenge' lies ahead for our university this week.

No, this is not concerning fighting tuition fees, rather taking on the nations universities for the coveted University Challenge crown. The team has been announced after gruelling tryouts with questions so clifficult Paxman probably would not have pulled that sardonic look if you said the wrong answer. There is no question about it, the final five are some of the brightest Leeds has to offer, well equipped in the gladiatorial battle of knowledge they are about to embark upon. They will need to be to take on the Oxbridge competition, clearly reigning

SCIENCE AND SOC!E'IY Nicole Timms science@leedsstudent.org

FEATIJRES Ellie Brown, Mel Rideout features@leedsstudent.org

SPORT Jonathan Brewer, James Green, Jamie Presland sports@leedsstudent.org

become violent in the first place shifts the focus onto the few who tum to force for effect, rather than those who peacefully protest for real change.

On this note, there also appears to have been a change of heart regarding the traditional stereotype of today's 'apathetic student', a view that has been hanging around like a proverbial bad smell for some time. In just two weeks the public's impression of the student population has been transformed from that of the well-trodden lazy, Jeremy Kyle-watching slobs who wouldn't have noticed if Hitler had jump-started the Third Reich, into animalistic King-Kong savages with fire extinguishers as ammo. Student action has officially become 'too extreme' Vice Chancellor Michael Arthur confirmed this, condemning the protest at London's Millbank Tower as ~appalling", and detrimental to the ongoing fight against tuition fee rises. Leeds Student wonders whether students can ever get it right?

It is important not to forget the estimated five hundred school and college pupils who also attended the march in the city centre. Leeds Student applauds these students for standing up for their right to education by walking out of lessons to attend the demonstrations. We also applaud the non-patronising

- Starter for ten -champions for various colleges having won so many times. Most people are pleased when they answer two questions correct in the whole show when it is on the television so it will certainly be time to start memorising just about every book the Brotherton has to offer, this is no pub quiz!

Leeds Student think the team should be proud to be representing Leeds as it has been a few years since anyone has been so lucky. After all, who would not want to meet the tough taskmaster but none the less legendary Jeremy Paxman, and hear first hand the sonorous voice of Roger Tilling? Controversy is no

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COPY EDITORS Tracy Davnall, Lizzy Finn, Sophie

guidance of the university protesters and occupiers who helped the younger students to harness their political motivation rather than allowing it to spiral into vandalism and violence.

By occupying the Michael Sadler building, demonstra t o rs have worded a lasting message to both the University and to the government as a whole: we are serious about taking action against both cuts and the proposed increase in fees. Yes, in the short term, the occupiers may be prohibiting students from attending lectures, the very thing that the Browne Report is threaten ing. But far from th is being a selfish endeavour, these students should be commended for taking action -action that is not for themselves, but for a future generation and placing Leeds firmly on the map of student political action.

Local and student support of the occupation highlights that it isn't a lost cause. The fact that local families and restaurants have been providing food while vo lunteers lead yoga sessions suggests that this is bigger than just another student protest; it is also a community protest. With University action looming and the threat of expulsion imminent - not to mention essay deadlines approaching - Leeds Student offers support and luck to those inside the Michael Sadler building.

stranger to University Challenge, a team from the University of Manchester in 1975 answered every question with either 'Trotsky' , 'Lenin', 'Che Guevara' or 'Marx' to draw attention to the fact Oxford and Cambridge are allowed to enter up to five colleges, despite them not being universities. Hopefully Leeds will put up a worthy fight, no matter how many colleges they come up against.

Leeds Student wholeheartedly 1/o/lshes the team luck and will be with the rest of the university following their journey, leading us to a (hopefully) victorious end.

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"riday, November 26 , 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Lee ds Student 03

Hair today, gone tomorrow Resident care bear

Fromdreds ...

... to shaved

Celia Gaillard News Reporter

Fiona Christie, a 3rd year student has gone bald in aid of charity.

Fiona, who studies English and Theology and Religious Studies, cut

photo: Celia Gaillard

shoulder length dreadlocks on her 22nd birthday. Just before the shave she told Leeds Student, "I can't believe this is happening right here, right now!"

Fiona knew the time would come where she had to say goodbye to her dreadlocks as soon as she decided

Doing it for the kids Sophie Miskiw News Reporter

Th.ere was live music, dancing. comedy and even Jon Snow tweets during LSTV's impressive 7-hour live broadcast fundraiser for Children in Need.

An upbeat Leeds Student Television crew flooded Leeds University Union for day of charity stunts and events, all of which were filmed and aired live on the society's website.

The live broadcast, which took place on November 19, included acoustic renditions, dance expositions and a performance by the Swing Society.

One group of students busked outside Essentials, whilst later the entire LSTV crew performed a live rendition of the song that they had collectively written.

The Live Ald-style song, which was suitably named 'They Need Our Help (Give a Pound)" was performed in the union foye r with maximum enthusiasm by the crew. It included lyrics such as 'Let's stop that little boy

crying, show him the stars are shining'. Overall the song was a wild success

and was retvveeted by the likes of Jon Snow and The Guardian newspaper. According to zocial.tv, a website dedicated to the most shared videos on Facebook and Twitter, it was the 14th most tweeted video of the day and the 8th most tvveeted music video.

'The Times Higher Education even mentioned the song. saying "We were hoping for Michael Arthur on drums". LS1V Station Manager, Alice Salfield, told Leeds Student "Our current total is £2,394.09 which is incredible we absolutely smashed our target of £2,000, raising nearly £700 more than last year!

'We were a little bit wonied earlier in the day that the recession was kicking in and that perhaps we wouldn't quite make our target but thanks to the generous support online and to all the students and staff on the day that donated we exceeded all of our expectations!"

For those who missed the broadcast it is still available to watch through uStream at http://www.us team. tv/recorded/109 56350

t hat she wanted to do a Law conversion course, next year. "No law firm would sponsor or hire someone with dreads," she laughed.

The shave was in aid of two charities. The first, 'Medecins Sans Frontieres', is an independent medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid in more than 60 countries. The second, 'One In A Million,' works with underprivileged children and young people in the Bradford area .

The event was all part of Fiona's bigger charity aims, specifically Raise and Give's (RAG) Bike to Berlin and 3 Peak Challenge. In order to take part, she needs to raise a total of £500; £200 for MSF and £300 for One In A Million.

Although Fiona isn't sure if it is possible with dreadlocks, she is thinking about selling or auctioning her hair to raise money for cancer patients.

Fiona asked three of her friends to play hairdresser in the union come-salon. Her housemate James cut off each the 32 dreadlocks with scissors and then resulted to a razor. Fiona said, "It took longer than I'd expected. I thought it would be over quickly"

Many of her friends attended the event, giving her suggestions as to the benefits of her new look. One said, "youcangetyourhead tattooed now" Despite their reassurance about how 'good it looked' and how much it 'suited her', Fiona said she didn't "want to look at it yet!" For the time being she'll have to put up with everyone stroking her head.

It's not too late to donate now. Just go to either www.justgiving.com/Fiona-Christie or www.justgiving.com/Fiona Christie.

Lizzie Edmonds News Editor

Nigel the Nightline owl has a new friend, and that new friend is Nancy.

Mascot Nigel has worked with Nightline, a student listening and advice service, for many years. At the beginning of the year, the charity decided that it was time for him to have a companion , so a new bear joined the team. She, however, didn't have a name.

Hundreds of students entered the 'name a bear competition,' part of National Nightline Awareness Week. For SOp, each contestant could suggest a name for the bear, the winner receiving £25.

The winner competition was 3rd year, product design student Louise Fouracre who came up with the name of Nancy.

Louise told L e e d s Student, "I thought i'd just give SOP to a really good cause anyway, but winning £25 was a lovely surprise!"

Nancy, whose sudden rise to fame has been a little overwhelming, refused to speak to Leeds Student. National Nightline Awareness Week aimed both to publicize and fundraise for the

•• _,

charity. The Nightline team had a stall in the union throughout the week to increase awareness of their service. As well as some bucket shaking, other fundraising events included a quiz and raffle. The week raised about £130 for Nightline.

The fundraising coordinator for Nightline, who must be kept anonymous, stated: 'The week was a huge success and we made lots of money for a worthwhile cause."

Nightline is a telephone listening and information service for students at all of the Leeds Universities. The serviCe provides confidential, non judgmental and non advisory telephone support between 8pm and

Sam every night of term. They also provide information about anything

from taxi numbers to support group contact numbers.

The organization also run a daytime drop-in service from 12pm· 2pm every weekday, providing essential items such as contraception, pregnancy tests and attack alarms.

Nigh ti in e's spokesperson further added, "We hope that more

students now know that Nightline is there

especially for them." Nightline

Listening line 01133801381 and their

BETTER LEEDS

04

Author makes rare apperance Gemma-Louise Sutherland News Editor

One of Africa's most acclaimed authors, Chinua Achebe, made a rare i;:~ce at Leeds University

Mr Achebe, whose seminal text Things Fall Apart has sold eight million copies, and been translated into more than 45 languages, gave a poetry reading on November 22nd

The author also took part in a question and answer session with Proffessor Jane Plastow on themes explored in his life's work. Topics included the impact of colonialism, the Nigerian Civil and contemporary Nigerian politics.

The event, which took place in Rupert Beckett lecture theatre, attracted so many people, several 'overflow rooms' had to drafted in. These rooms were set up with live video stream from the main lecture theatre to cater to the surplus of viewers.

The reading at Leeds University is only one of two public appearances that Mr. Achebe, now 80 years old, made in his visit to the UK.

Jane Plastow, Professor of African Theatre at the Leeds University, said: "Chinua Achebe is arguably the most important African writer alive today. He is among Africa's most widely-read novelists and his work still has huge resonance to this day. We are delighted that he has agreed to speak at the University of Leeds."

Achebe's last lecture at Leeds was in 1964 and his visit led to the establishment of the University's renowned centre for studies in colonial and post-colonial studies literature.

interview with Chinua Achebe in next week's issue.

Danielle Sheridan News Reporter

Leeds Gty Council has promised to tackle the problems of Leeds 'Student Neighboumood'.

Earlier this year in July, local residents attended a full council meeting at the Civic Hall to discuss the 'crime and grime' of Hyde Park. Residents said they were concerned about the hidden deprivation and social cohesion in the inner city community.

Hyde Park is one of the most densely populated areas in Leeds, made up of students and long-term residents. It was Hyde Park's long tenn residents who urged the council to stop ignoring the 'hidden deprivation' that exists. One local resident believes the 'high student population masks a hidden layer of poverty among the areas permanent population'.

After the July meeting, Councillor Peter Gruen reported short and long­term solutions, the council will be using to solve the problems prevalent in Hyde Park. In the Short-term they aim to improve security awareness, out-of-hours dog warden patrols, an

Friday, November 26, 2010

annual summer 'deep clean' to clear bin yards, clear back alleys, remove graffiti, spray weeds and tidy green spaces.

In the long-term, the council will investigate ways of charging landlords for waste collection during the annual 'change-over' period. When thousands of students leave the area streets are often clogged with dumped rubbish. The council will look at changing the landlord accreditation scheme and statutory licensing to improve standards of secllrity for student homes. Gruen also said "People who live in an area know what's best for it, so the new management board will have people from the community who can work with us to make sure this produces long-term change for Hyde Park. A new 'Neighbourhood Board' will be created to get the plan rolling. It will involve local councillors, residents, students and managers from the council and other public services.

However as Paul Gold said, it is not the students who should be blamed for the condition of Hyde Park. "I sympathise with long term residents, as this area has undoubtedly suffered neglect. However, I feel most students are also victims of circumstance, with little say over where they live. The

important thing for all parties to remember is that we are all residents."

Yet not all local residents have the same idea about students as Gruen and Gold. Local resident Terrence, claims Hyde Park in no more than a "Ghetto". He said, "the student population are the cause of so many problems. Noise ... boisterous late night behaviour ... parties that go on all night. .. Litter and abandoned bins. Yards full of bags of rotting food." He further added how "student tenanted properties are scruffy, have unkempt gardens and overgrown hedges; they are in a general state of neglect." Yet Terrence showed his concerns were also for the safety of student's property when they go for a night out, "Ah, 7 bedrooms 7 laptops, no alarm set. Won't be back till 4am. Queue burglars and associated noise at 4am and more crime statistics."

Local resident Sarah sees an accessible solution to issues surrounding Hyde Park; "Hyde Park needs to have TLC all year round and for the council and university to ensure that the transient student community pull their weight too."

It seems Leeds Council needs to ensure it works with sNdents, as much as local residents in order to bring out the best of Hyde Park.

Watching TV for free? Hennione Wright News Reporter

Watching television online without a licence can cost you up to£1000.

The TV Licensing Authority has issued a reminder to students in Leeds that it could also result in court prosecution as well as the fine.

A recent study found that 99 per cent of students in university halls now own a laptop, and record numbers are watching television on line.

Concerns are raised about students opting out of buying a correct television licence as a way to cut costs.

The statement warns students that the TV Licence database lists addresses that

don't own a TV licence and enquiry officers are authorised to visit unlicensed properties. The database includes individual residences at university halls.

Tim Downs, spokesperson for TV Licensing in the North, said: "Anyone who watches or records TV programmes at the same time as they are shown on TV, must be covered by a valid licence, regardless of the equipment on which they choose to watch, including computers or mobile phones."

"The law is simple - if you watch or record programmes online at the same time as they are shown on TV, then you need to have a TV Licence."

A TV licence is not required for students exclusively downloading catch-up programmes over the internet

using websites such as 4oD and BBC iPlayer.

However, the study showed that 59 per cent of students watch live TV on their laptops and so require a licence.

A colour licence costs £145.50 per year, but students can apply for a 25 per cent refund if they leave university accommodation for the summer and have a full three months left on their contract.

Politics Postgraduate Tom Dunn commented that paying for a TV licence is unlike most household bills in that it can be paid annually, and many students feel that if they are not targeted at the beginning of the year they can get away with avoiding the pricey charges.

Leeds Student

News in Brief ·

Gritters on Twitter

Twitter is to be the latest medium :iro!1~e::. on icy road

The team responsible for gritting Leeds streets have launched the initiative on the social networking site and currently got over 3,000 followers.

For the first time, information regarding hazardous road conditions and the routes of Leeds' street gritters will be instantly accessible to the public.

The street tweets will be posted on weekdays during the winter period on the official Leeds City Council and LCC press office Twitter feeds: @leedscc and @lccpressoffice.

The most recent post read: ''Temperatures are expected to be above freezing tonight and over the weekend in Leeds. No gritting planned."

The council is responsible for keeping 800 miles of roads clear during winter periods and has 30 gritting trucks on constant standby.

Last year, poor weather conditions in Leeds led to a shortage of salt and meant only major roads could be gritted.

Russ Martin, highways maintenance manager for Leeds City Council, said: 'We have access to specialised weather forecasts and we thought the public may be interested in sharing this insight and finding out when gritting is t~~ place so they can take extra care.

Amanda Knox appeals

Amanda Knox began her court appeal on Wednesday 24 November.

She is currently serving 26-year prison sentence for the murder and sexual assault of her flatmate, Leeds student Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Italy's most famous lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno will be defending Knox against the murder charge, which was thought to be part of a sex game taken to the extreme. ·

Knox's defence team are seeking a full review of the forensic evidence, including the disputed traces of DNA on the alleged murder weapon and the clasp on Kercher' s bra.

Chris Mellas, Knox's stepfather said: "We have an amazingly strong appeal. I've been told that by I don't lmow how many people here today."

"Amanda thinks it's amazing. It's been like waiting for Christmas trying to get this appeal going because she feels it's so strong that she will get out."

Knox has maintained her innocence throughout the case, and if Bongiorno is successful, both 23-year old Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Solledto, will walk free.

words: Hermione Wright

Friday, November 26, 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Lee ds Student

Introducing ... the University Challenge team Julia Richardson News Reporter

The team for University Challenge has been announced.

After two selection trials, Leeds University Union (LUU) revealed on Monday who this year's competitors are.

The team is set to participate in the upcoming series of 'the programme, hosted by Jeremy Paxman.

The final team were selected following trials in early November, when around 150 people tried out. This was then narrowed down to 25 students who participated in the final selection round on Wednesday 17 November and from th is four

students were chosen and one reserve team member.

The captain of the team is Lewis Mills, a second year Biology student. He will be quizzed alongside Lucy Bennett, a second year English and French student, Peter Hufton, a second year Theoretical Physics student and Christian MannsAker, who is in his first year studying Classical Civilisation. The reserve is second year Richard Rosa who studies Chemical Engineering.

Lewis Mills told Leeds Student, Tm elated! I'm thrilled to be involved and even more so to be the captain"

University Challenge "is an academic quiz show broadcast on BBC2 where two university teams with four contestants each attempt

to outsmart each other in an erudite batcle.

The show, which began in 1962, gave birth to the famous catchphrase, "Your starter for ten" Since then, universities from Oxford, Cambridge and London have been the challenge's principal contenders, but it is hoped that this time Leeds will be able to show off its capability.

Up to this point, non-collegiate universities do not have a very good track-record of being first past the gong, winning only four times in fifteen years. Nonetheless, these statistics are not deterring the contestants. Peter Hufton says, 'Tm a little bit scared but I think it will be a laugh. I can't wait to meet Paxman"

The team have now submitted their application and are waiting to hear if they have made it through to the television rounds that will be broadcast. Previous Leeds University Challenge teams do not have a strong history of making it through to the next stage, despite its reputation as a top Redbrick University.

But, Tim Mortimer, LUU Activities Officer said, "In the past the Leeds teams have been made up like that of a pub quiz but this year the team stand a good chance of succeeding because they are so focused"

Though the team selection is final, they will need to go through further preliminary selection rounds.

05

Bonfire night assault

Sophie Wettlaufer and Amy Coles News Reporters

A student was seriously injured on Bonfire Night by three men, thought to be in their late teens.

The attack and robbery took place on Grosvenor Road, 1-leadingley, at about 9.40pm on Friday November 5. The 20-year -old male student was approached from behind by three youths. One grabbed him around the neck and threw him to the ground, causing him to sustain a broken ann and ankle. The three men in question then took his wallet.

West Yorkshire Police are now appealing for anyone who may have witness ed th e attack or has any infonnation to come forward.

One of the attackers was described as mixed race, slim, 5ft Bin to 5ft lOins tall. He wore a black zip-up waterproof jacket with the hood up, black Adidas tracksuit bottoms and Nike Air Max trainers.

A second attacker was described as white, slim, about 6ft tall, wearing a dark coloured woolly hat with ear flaps and tassels, a dark waterproof jacket and dark tracksuit bottoms.

So far there have been no developments on the case.

Students have been warned to be cautious when going home alone especially when it's dark and encouraged to go in groups whenever possible.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who has any information that could assist in identifying those involved is asked to contact Detective Constable Claire Craven at Weetwood police station via 0845 6060606 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously and in confidence, on 0800 555 111.

The Vice Chancellor answers your questions

James Killin News Reporter

Students got the chance to put their q~estions to the Vice Chancellor r:v.o. Michae!Arthur, this week.

During the Question and Answer session, which was held in the foyer of the Union, Michael Arthur has claimed that the NUS did not act soon enough to prevent funding cuts to Higher Education, and that students had been "sucked in" to voting for the Lib Dems in the

General Election. The session was dominated by the

i~d::~:ndn;~se ~fs~\~gtii~i~hne f~e~ proposed by the Browne Review. He criticised both Labour and the NUS for "messing around with grad~~te tax instead of fighting" the coaltt1on government's plans. "It seems to me the best time to influence cuts is as people start thinking of them. If you wait until the big cuts, it's too late."

The Vice Chancellor consistently reiterated that the government's cuts to university funding were already a

given, with Leeds itself facing a 75 per cent cut to its teaching budget. In a lighter moment he said that he "could go and dance n.aked on Parliament Green and nothi~ would haPJ:..en."

pro~~~~~~~~lo:l~!g~i1lb!~k Tower on 10 November, Arthur said that he thought what happened was "appalling", and detrimental to the i;ingoingfight against ~tion fee ris~s. It has liaraened up qwte a few Tones

who were wavering as to what to do on that vote."

Throughout the session, he repeatedly drew upon the example of the protester who threw a fire extinguisher from the roof of the building to justify his condemnation, at one point asking a student demonstrator how they would feel if the extinguisher had killed someone

on tf[~~;~~t to the fundin cuts the Vice Chancellor, a self-confessed Blairite, accused the Conservatives of "absolutely running on the austerity ticket", but encouraged students that "the country won't always be broke." He hoped that economic prosherity

ilid~JE~h~uldb: •i~fi~::1jcket ili1~ needs to be looked after."

In response to questions about the effect that increased tuition fees might have upon numbers of students applying to university, Arthur claimed that there had been 'a lot of talking up of the word debt", with "assumptions" made about the proP.?.sed figures of d~bt.

'The lower [earning] quarter of graduates will actually pay less than they do under the current scheme. It's been sorted out ma way that's as beneficial as it's possible to make any graduate scheme ... ! think it's dramatically fairer than a graduate tax."

Also prominent in the questions was the forthcoming closure of the Department of Classics. Asked to comment on the university's decision to close dassics, Arthur said "It's not a decision yet, it's a department that hasn't done terribly well in research terms ... its funding is not coming together in a way that's financially ana academically stable."

The President of the St. Marks Residents' Committee raised the issue of problems experienced by students with the internet at the halls. Arthur promised to speak to the Accommodation services to see that the situation was rectified, and told

the questioner "Ask me whether we've done anything about it at the next session."

Asked why the university was not granting a leave of absence to students taking part in Wednesday's demonstration, he responded saying that he believed participants in the walkout were 'not taking their education seriously."

After the session had ended, LUU Welfare Officer Jack Cheyette commended the turnout but

~~~~!rt~f si:d~~~e;h:;::1t~~!fed to be attracted to the cause.

"I think there's a lot of apathy amongst a lot of students, which is a real shame, because I think there's a lot of students that don't realise the effects of the cuts. They won't think ·it's going to affect them."

Members of Leeds University Aga.lnst Cuts interrupted the session early on, bringing in a gravestone reading "R.LP Higher Education, 1033-2010", criticising Arthur for "working very hard to bury Higher Education in this country"

The Vice Chancellor later thanked the students for a "decent debate" that accommodated a "small, legitimate, peaceful protest."

06

Pay your way through final year Students, with two years of debt behind them, are being forced to work to survive at university.

Julia Richardson News Reporter

A recent study has discovered that student s in their final year are resorting to working to finance hving expenses and pay off debt.

The latest report commissioned by the Higher Education Careers

Rehema Figueiredo Online News Editor

Oxford

Students at Oxford University are the worst behaved in the country, one in three saying they urinate or vomit in pubhc once a week

The poll, taken by M1V, revealed that most resorted to this behaviour due to the pressure of their parents' expectations.

The university were quick to discount the study, putting the result down to "exaggeration"

Other universities that rated high on the list were Bristol, Manchester, Leicester, Leeds Met, Bournemouth and Essex.

Southampton

A student has been arrested in Southampton after pictures of them were published in two national newspapers at the Demolition

Services Unit, showed that 78.2 per cent of students work. With 42.8 per cent of these working during holidays and term time.

By contrast, just 67.8 per cent, worked during their first year of university. Elicia Davis, a final year Chinese and Uistory student stated, "J have a job as my student loan does not cover all my expenses and my parents are not in the position to help me." She further told Leeds Student "I think the cost of coming to University for me is exacerbated due to all the commitments I have such as playing sports and paying

membership fees." The survey further found that 84

percent of those questioned said that meeting essential living costs was the most common reason for choosing to work during term time in their final year.

Laura Wilkes, in her final year of Communications Studies, explained to Leeds Student, "J couldn't survive

protest November 10. It is unconfirmed which

university in Southampton the student attends. The suspect has been accused of attempted murder after violence erupted at the demonstration, with windows smashed, fire extinguishers thrown and aggression between the police and protesters.

The president of the Solent Student Union was quick to assert "all Solent Union members returned to Southampton once scenes turned to violence.''

The president of the University of Southampton Student Union also condemned the violence.

Harvard

Students at Harvard University have launched their own version of Playboy featuring students from lvy League Universities.

'Diamond Magazine' was the idea of science graduate Matt di Pasquale, who has been accused of publishing the magazine due to his own vanity as the first ten pages featured pictures of himself.

without a job - I don't know how people do it. I've just been paid but my money's already gone on rent and bills, which seem to be getting more expensive. It takes up time that I should be doing uni work~

The majority, 79 per cent, of students who participated in the study said they worked to meet the cost of leisure activities and 66 per cent needed to finance books and study materials.

Jack Cheyette, Leeds University Union Welfare Officer says that he is not surprised by the results of the study, he added "J think it's a shame that people have to work during third year. However, it is a necessary reality at the moment- an increase in the maintenance grant is the last thing on the government's mind"

Almost two-thirds of final year students said they were working to avoid debt.

Jack further advised, "If you do have to get a job whilst studying !t's important to prioritise university work, and make sure that your employer does understand your studies is your main priority."

However, jobs that are less flexible or require long hours can have more of an impact on final year academic studies.

As Elicia says, "I work at night so if I finish at five or seven am I tend to catch up on my sleep, then before I know it, the day is done and I've done no work! I find juggling paid qnd Uni work very difficult"

The idea is to profile students who are intelligent as well as attractive and has, according to its foun der, been popu lar among students.

Cumbria

Students have been forced to live in cabin rooms smaller than prison cells after the University of Cumbria ran out of accommodation for new students.

Instead of turning students away from courses as they could not be housed the un iversity set up the Catbells Complex on Newton Rigg campus, near Penrith, where the temporary rooms measure 2.2 by 2.4 metres.

Many have uneven floors , leaking roofs and doors that do not lock.

Students are paying £63 a week to live in the temporary cabins. Some have even dropped out of unive rsity to avoid living in the cabins, which they were not allowed to see before moving in.

Friday, November 26, 2010 w le ck,; dent l ·g Leeds Student

~ti-cuts campaign

Occupation of a nation Jess Elliott and Llzzie Edmonds. News Editors

The 'Day of Action', a follow up to Demo 2010, saw protests and sit-ins across the country.

The protest was organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). Leeds Student summarises events nationwide.

The main media focus fell once again on London where around 5,000 protesters planned to demonstrate outside the Liberal Democrat headquarters. However, they only made it as far as Whitehall, the epicentre of Parliament buildings, before being stopped by police.

A carnival atmosphere was planned, with demonstrators bringing drums and cowbells that rang over chants of ~Nick Clegg shame on you for turning blue".

However, once the crowd reached Whitehall the atmosphere quickly turned to chaos. Police 'kettled' protesters, a technique where demonstrators are detained in a small area by police and not allowed to leave.

32 people were arrested and 17 injured, including two police officers.

Nearby a group attempted to start the engine of a digger left at

roadworks on Whitehall . As darkness fell, graffiti was

sprayed, windows smashed and vehicles vandalized.

Elsewhere, Jessica Linley, recently crowned Miss England, joined in the protest at her university in Nottingham where she is studying law. Miss Linley commented, "Raising tuition fees will ultimately lead to more educational inequalities and we will see a dramatic fall in the number of studen ts from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university."

In Cambridge a 600 strong march went through the city's streets and came to rest outside Senate House, a notable building where Cambridge students graduate.

A King's College student and an ex King's College president urged the protestors to climb over the railings onto the lawn.

300 people occupied the lawn for an hour and a half, however, when police heard they were going to attempt to get inside Senate House they took action and arrested two people.

Oxford University's Bodleian Library was also occupied by students. At the time of going to print the occupation was ongoing.

Occupations are currently happening in Sheffield, Cardiff and Bristol universities.

Cumbria

Oxford

Southampton

Friday, November 26, 2010 ,;ww.leedsstudent.org Leeds Student 07

Clegg, Cameron, action ',

Gemma-Louise Sutherland Mark Mckay Tom Knowles

Leeds City Centre came to a standstill on Wednesday as an estimated 3,000 students, school-children and supporters marched on the town to voice anger against cuts to higher education and the proposed rise of tuition fees.

In a day of mass action across the country,

~f~!t.ri~~!~~~~ch~[ ~iJ ~h~~et~~~!i~~~=d in an occupation of the Michael Sadler building that is still in place as Leeds Student goes to pnnt.

On a bitterly cold morning, the protest began with a scheduled 11am walk out of lectures and schoolrooms across Leeds. Over 1,000 Leeds University students rallied at Parkinson Steps before marching through the city centre, picking up additional students from Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds City College, and Leeds College of Art and Music.

The protest marched through the city centre to congregate at Leeds Art Gallery for the main rally. Both LUU's Communications and Internal Affairs officer Rachel Wenstone and Vice President of National Union of Students (NUS) Usman Ali addressed the crowd, with criticism of Nick Clegg generating the loudest cheers.

On the return to Leeds University hundreds of protesters began an occupation of the Michael Sadler building. On leaving University premises shortly after the taking of the building. one policeman was heard to say: ''This is up to University security now."

Several hundred protesters entered the One of those occupying, third year English building with some gaining access to the roof. Languag~ and Literature student Lorna Although the majority wanted a peaceful Gledhill said: "We're trying to make a bit more occupation,asmallgroupofyoungerteenagers of a point than a normal march, we're were keen to cause trouble. In a scene demonstrating how involved students should reminiscent from the 10 November protest in be in their own education and how it really is London, a fire extinguisher was ripped from just as much our space as it is the government's the wall and taken to the roof. In this instance, space." however, the unknown male was criticised by By early evening, protesters had settled into the surroundingprotestors with one Leeds Uni the Rupert Beckett lecture theatre for the night student forcibly removing the extinguisher and with rules in place to regulate b~haviour. ~h~se telling him to leave. included a ban on smoking inside the building

The occupiers firmly secured themselves and drinking alcohol prohibited to the within the Michael Sadler building installjng basement. delegated guards on all the doors. The masses The University has said that the occupiers congregated within the Rupert Beckett lecture are "technically trespassing". theatre where discussions were held on how to Kady Tate, a Leeds Metropolitan student proceed with the demonstration. There were and Leeds Revolution organiser told Leeds schreoautetsdothf:

1.5"Wfineanshc

1oalulmdetsasr.!',aentdt~We beasnhkosulwdhn~t Student "It's a symbolic thing, people haven't

come and trashed things, they've tried t<:> keel?, leave until Michael Arthur promises not to things tidy, I think it's absolutely inspirational.' make a single cut or fire a single member of Those sitting-in have been given free food staff." by local establishments and parents of local

Some students used the platform for more school children who support their cause. The light-hearted concerns with one student occupiers were even treated to a free yoga class demanding: "Freddos should be made lOp on Thursday morning. again" whilst others suggested more dancing Many lectures have been rescheduled or rather than talking. cancell ed whilst the University's most ..,., .... ...,, .... ..,....,.. ..... .....,-----

important lecture theatre remains occupied. Other sections of the Michael Sadler building are functioning as normal, however.

Leeds University Union has lent its support to all peaceful and legal forms of action but has not formally backed the occupation.

The City Council has now given its full backing to the Union's anti cuts campaign fo llowing a meeting last week where LUU Executive Officers requested councillors' support.

Liz Kershaw, Radio 6 DJ and Leeds University alumni has also spoken in support of the Union's campaign, highlighting the importance of a peaceful protest. She told Leeds Student "So make your voices heard, peacefully. Don't detract from the message by giving the r:?edia the violent sensational images they crave.

The march also drew in young students from other educational institutions such as Notre Dame and Roundhay High School. Many college students told Leeds Student they were protesting against the loss of the education maintenance allowance. Laura Place, from Leeds College of Art, said: "I can't come to college next year if I can't get my EMA."

Another college student, Augustine, who

hopes to go to university in two years time, told Leeds Student "It's not fair that we will have pay so much. We will be paying it back for so many years afterwards and so many people canno~ &o now because their families can't afford it.'

The march was accompanied by a heavy

ri~;!~ba~lt~!~h:,:e~~virtsh\:~~ou::~o~k no chances after the events of the recent 'DemoUtion' protest in London.

When Leeds Student asked NUS Vice President Usman Ali about the alleged disapproval of the nationwide protests by NUS he said: ''As a national campaign we weren't against it but because of the actions at Milbank, we couldn't be seen to be for it."

He added: "The NUS does endorse a peaceful protest, and today was a peaceful protest".

A Leeds University spokesperson sa!d: "Many members of staff in the University share the concerns about government cuts to higher education. However, the occupation of the lecture theatre is disrupting the work and study of many students and staff and we are ~~~:~n;d?,ted that lectures are having to be

08 Friday, November 26, 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Leeds Student

letters@leedsstudent.org Re. Occupation of Michael Sadler

Dear editor,

The protest in Leeds was a perfect example of peaceful protest. Something to make students proud as they made their voice heard in an ordered and civilised way.

However, the occupation of the Michael Sadler building is completely the wrong move and sends the wrong message. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want fees to rise. But occupying a building and preventing others from participating in the education they pay for? It's disruptive and infantile. But worse still, it defeats the good work done by the peaceful, law abiding protesters.

This illegal occupation should have been stopped shortly after it began. The University should have ejected them from the building and thrown the book at them.

Students might support it now as

it's novel and vaguely exciting, but come Monday morning they will want access to the facilities that they ultimatley pay for rather than the temporary ones they've been allocated to and it will suddenly dawn on them what a disruptive event this has been. Those of us who remember the Botany House occupation will remember how the student mood changed after a few days of disruption.

In addition, they are sending the message to politicians and the wider public that if they aren't going to lectures and are causing trouble, what's the point in spending public money on this rabble? They make the rest of the hardworking student population look bad.

It's one thing to protest peacefully about the rise in fees; it's another to disrupt thousands of people's education.

William Homes

~ leedsstudent

~ ,I ,I ,I

One evening last week.I found myself booking a last-minute flight from Valencia to Stanstead, via Seville, for

theg~~~o~f~ber, Stanstead and Seville stare more than just the obvious assonance of their names -they're both cold, and wet. And whereas I knew I had a whole winter's worth of knitwear waiting for me at home in England, a mixture of general knowledge and general naivety had me expecting sun from Seville in the meantime ..

Got an opinion on something you've read in LS? Send your thoughts into us at either the email address above or to

PO Box 157, Leeds, LSl lUH.

But no matter.Somewhere between the security checks and the hitherto simple task of boarding, thoughts of a country pub fires and home cooking made me giddy, urging me to splash out on cut-price airport booze. An hour later, and still taking

~~l~~\~iasBf:~:dt:n°d ~~~i~1f~f~~ concoctions I'd bought, I joined the rabble congregating loosely in front of Gate 10.

After half an hour's wait, during

Society Noticeboard d 's Celebrate StAn rew

Da:yl Corne for a . I FREE

complete Y try dance · hcoun scott1s ' . the Treehouse

lesson\ Its in St . t6prn on

in the Union, a: d 30 Andrew's Day,Tues ay d November. Drop in an

r e-rna1I dance, o . g@grnai\.corn scottishdancin for rnore info

N' ht Reclaim T~!rd:J 4th is back\ On ·11 be omen w1

December, w h Leeds to h. gthroug

mare in . i ht to feel assert their h~ ~ear of sei<Ual free from t t 5 30pm . Starts a · violence. d A.rt Gallery.

·de Lee s outs1 h is open to The first:~:~ supporters women, Briggate at are invited to 7pm.

Sleeping Rough in Seville

Matt Hutchinson English Language and Literature 1rurd year, study abroad

Location: Valencia, Spain

which nothing much passed besides the giving out of a series of apologetic announcements, out blared another from the tannoy. Feeling jubilant at my first opportunity to help confused tourists with my newJ-acquired

~~cd;r~~~~cfh~~ ~h=~~o:~::~~~~ We have to wait about half an hour' I told the man next to me, to which a woman turned round to correct me,

hf;ro'~~tt:J~~:o~~:.~:~d. We So, finding myself stranded in this suddenly unwelcoming hall of unflatteringly luminous fight, fake plants and sluttishly dressed budget­airline staff, I took stock of my situation.

Having now sipped myself into a state where rational and inoffensive negotiations with airline staff seemed impossible, and anyhow suddenly feeling reluctant to return to England at all, I took my things, set up camp on the benches where several Spaniards were already dozing, and waited for

Brianair's instructions. Minutes or hours latet", I was

waking up with a copy of The Daily Telegraph (an inadequate pillow at the best of times) stuck to the side of my face by that surprising drool which, I think you'll agree, is inevitable when sleeping in a strange place.

Anyhow, having cunningly slept while my fellow strandees clambered to the desk with their various

~:~i:~0r°ha1°~~!~~faf{t~~~1 ~f~e~ booking a flight for the next morning. Now, just me and a pair of elderly folk

~r~g~bJ; d~~~~1et~~tet: ~h:~ sleA;:1Js~r~he::~s little to do but wait- in the company of the paranoid chap over the tannoy reminding us not to leave our baggage unattended, this pair of corpses and a damp copy of The Telegraph - for the angels at the British Airways desk to come and take me home to apple pie and autumnal stew ..

...

Friday, Nove mber 26, 2010

YES

Elizabeth Wiggins

Ever since 9/11, we seem to be living in an age of suspicion. Almost all of us will have been

either directly or indirectly affected by security measures aimed at protecting us from such threats. The government claims its national strategy in combating security challenges is "to reduce the risk from international terrorism, so that people can go about their daily lives freely and with confidence" However, as more interventionist security measures are becoming commonplace in our society, we must ask, do measures that aim to protect our freedoms actually infringe our human rights?

Let us con~ider for example the introduction of body scanners ·in British airports. Gordon Brown claimed when they were initially introduced it was in response to "the emerging terrorist threat" from Yemen and Somalia. The scanners use advancing imaging technology to detect potential threats; ostensibly this may appear to be a useful tool in the counter­terrorism strategy, however the efficiency of this measure has come under great scrutiny. QinetiQ, one of the manufacturers of the body scanners admitted the scanners would be "unli_kely" to detect many of the explosive devices used by terrorist devices. They are a measure to address the perceived threat rather than actually increase security, which essentially exacerbates the atmosphere of suspicion. How can we "go about our lives freely and with confidence" when an atmosphere of suspicion prevails?

Furthermore, the detail of the images is so intricate that it breaks discrimination laws, breaches passengers' right to privacy and violates child pornography laws whilst exposing passengers in a virtual state of undress. What is the use in attempting to protect one conception of freedom, when it violates another? Therefore, this counter­terrorism strategy is not only ineffective, but inverts the overarching national security aim by breaching our personal privacy. When such a measure cannot be logically justified, perhaps it is necessary to re-evaluate and re-focus our priorities. Would the hundred thousand spent on each individual scanning unit not be better invested in intelligence services?

Let us now consider a less recent, but no less controversial example of western security strategy - the invasion of Iraq in 2003. When we look back on the reasoning behind the Blair-Bush decision; it had a predominantly moral basis. They argued that military action was necessary for both the liberation of the Iraqi people from a corrupt and autocratic regime, but also liberation for western citizens from the threat of international terrorism. What was

Leeds Student 09

? Travellers at US airports must now decide between being screened by full body scanners, or undergoing an extensive hand search which includes touching of the genital region and breasts. With this in mind, LS asks:

conveniently underplayed in public discourse on the subject was the insistence of policy officials that invasion was necessary on the grounds that democratisation was the only way of assuring political and economic security in the West. After seven years of armed warfare, stability has arguably never truly been achieved in Iraq, neither has the quality of life of its citizens been significantly improved. Furthermore, the

(

Extreme measures have to be taken for extreme reasons. The human race inevitably

constitutes a small percentage of undeniably evil people, who will insist on finding new exciting ways to harm each other. Men sneak onto planes with bombs concealed in their underpants. Men happily sit next to chi ldren and blow themselves up. Men fly planes full of weeping people

weapons, which l supposedly posed a great Don't forget to og on and into buildings. But

without resorting to sensationalist press, I make the point that people do bad things for bad reasons.

threat to Western citizens, ultimately failed to materialise. Therefore, it should be understood

have your say at

that the rhetoric of 'freedom', whilst partially used within the realms of a more conventional meaning, also acts as a useful guise under which wider hegemonic aims can be realised.

Whilst security measures are undeniably integral to the safeguarding of our society, more recent measures have revealed the inherent problems with the national security strategy. Our national·strategy places the protection of freedom at its core of its policy, yet in many cases this aim not only fails to be achieved, but is inverted as some conceptions of freedom are replaced by others. Furthermore, western security strategy can only continue to be justified whilst its remains focused on the freedom of its citizens rather than the hegemonic aims of the elite minority. In pausing to reflect upon where our priorities lie, perhaps more effective measures can be put in place.

We have been hit with an influx of media about terrorism over the past decade. The fact is that, after 9/11, people weren't complaining ab0l,1t increases in security - they were worried about the imminent threat of terrorism. This threat has by no means gone; only this month, our security services intercepted a flight stopping off in Britain from Yemen holding explosives. So, how do we prevent people taking such devices onto planes? The new solution is to use full body scans. They may be invasive and extreme, but ultimately right now, it's the best we've got.

The fact is, if we are going to go shooting through the atmosphere in a massive metal tube at 30,000 feet, to land at a destination which should by rights take weeks to arrive at, we have to be compromised in some way. Until now we

l\l ()

Amy Perkins

have been faced with the 'extreme' security questions about whether 'we packed our bag ourselves', hoping everybody tells the truth (can't see how that logic could fail). Such precautions are token gestures, displays that were aimed at covering the airports back in an event of an explosion, and certainly not prioritising the passenger's sa fety. We are now learning what rea l airport security amounts to, and it is a harsh reality to face. However, I challenge whether this is even comparable to other events we submit ourselves to daily. Are men now going to be standing up and walking out when offered a prostate exam because it violates their 'rights' as a human being? I severely doubt a grown man is going to risk his health in such a way so why in a less compromising position would he do exactly that?

I understand that the arguments of public and private are key here, with the destination of the photos being the main concern. We have to remember, not every doctor is a saint either. Most of these images will be immediately deleted from the system as promised, but there always exists a possibility that some may be leaked onto the internet. However, to be honest in any society, we must put our trust in any professional we are dealing with, even if sometimes they may fail us.

Sadly human society means we must often be punished for the crimes of the few, meaning that the one in a million humans planning to harm others must be rooted out from the thousands who only want a quiet break in the south of France. This means we need to make the choice between which is more important - a compromise of our privacy, or of our safety. The issue for the opposition to such measures is the simple challenge what do you suggest? It is all very well to criticise the big bad authorities for their poor ideas of rights to privacy, but the question remains, how would we otherwise solve such a crucial problem in the modern world?

The public is understandably concerned about where such invasions will end. It is all very well to start shouting about '1984,' but Communism failed for a reason. We must realise that everyone is not selfless, and a lot of people are evil. The sad fact is that it only takes one individual to harm many we need governments to use these body checks to search for concealed weapons. Instead of an unbearable infringement of our human rights, we should see extreme security measures simply as a sacrifice we must pay for the modern world we live in.

Comment 10 Friday, November 26, 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Leeds Student

'Extreme left' responds Students shouldn't dismiss the role ofleftist groups on campus, uniting behind them can work as a creative and constructive response to government cuts

Joseph Muller SociaLst Students First Year English

joseph_muller @hotmaiLco.uk

Last week's comment section included a piece by Louis Gill bemoaning the rise of the 'extreme !eft' on campus. /\s one of the groups mentioned by the writer we think it's only fair to respond.

The picture of left-wing activism the writer paints is the tired old cliche of humourless zealots and militant firebrands, quoting Lenin whilst frothing at the mouth and labelling anyone who does not agree with their own narrow viewpoint as class traitors and bourgeois scum. This is not the case for most socialists today (if indeed it ever really was).

We wholly agree with the writer that bullying and sectarianism are counterproductive in building mass movements. That is why we have been working closely with both the Student Union and the Leeds University Against Cuts (LUAC) campaign in building opposition to the current Government's unprecedented assault on higher education. Only through encouraging our

fellow students to get involved can we possibly hope to provide any effective opposition. We do not go around campus badgering people to sign petitions or running down the street after them for donations in the manner seen by the dreaded 'chuggers' (working for the apolitical charities Mr Gill endorses) who plague the city centre. Our own meetings

Yes, atrocities have been commited in the name of Socialism ... but let's not pretend that the Left have a monopoly on human rights abuses

are run on democratic lines, where every member is encouraged to voice their opinion on any issue raised in the understanding that their views will be considered respectfully and seriously

Whether you agree with the events at Millbank tower seen at the November 10 demonstration or not, please do not fall for

the myth that it was all the work of a minority of extremist nutters. Having spent some time at Millbank, we spoke to many students of no strong political leanings, with no real experience of activism, but who shared the same sense of frustration at the Conservative's reckless arrogance and the Lib Dem's craven betrayal of their student supporters. Whilst we do not condone the few isolated incidents of violence seen at Millbank, it is the case that direct action can be far more effective than any amount of polite lobbying. That well known extremist Emmeline Pankhurst knew the value of the odd broken window in the fight against injustice.

Mr Gill admits that he has never actually attended any protests, believing that he would feel excluded. This is a great shame as this is not the case for the vast majority of protestors. We would therefore like to extend an invite to Mr Gill, and anyone else who shares his concerns to come along to lhe anti-cuts movement's regular meetings and demonstrations so his own voice can be added to the growing uproar over the governments plans. We would also be happy to discuss our own tactics and beliefs with Mr Gill if he so wishes, we recognise that popular movements can only be successful if based on a broad plurality of opinion.

Finally, we wish to take issue with the

No knowledge, no sw-eat Highstreet shops seem willing to ignore their endorsement of sweatshops both abroad and in England, in favour saving time and money

Hannah Bowen Second Year French and ItaJian hannahpbowen@hotmail.couk

In my more optimistic moments, I like to believe that the world is a changing place, that humanity is finally beginning to learn from its mistakes and take an interest in the surrounding world. Every now and again certain environmental or humanitarian movements show people united in the pursuit of justice in a way which makes me feel warm inside.

But something always occurs which makes all that evaporate. Something always makes me despair. It seems even all the common goodwill in the world can be counter-balanced by the penny-pinching of a large corporation and then delicately concealed with neat PR and long chains of blame. Our desire to do good has become yet another profitable commodity.

Nowhere is this better illustrated than on the high street. Occasionally a 1V crew will realise what shocking human dramas occur. In the past, there have been successful campaigns to force change in Gap and Nike. We have seen children in sweatshops for Primark, clarifying their seemingly unfeasible combination of low prices and high standards. BBC 3, with typical tact and

taste, even sent some spoilt, materialistic teenagers to sweatshops in an attempt to draw in the wider audiences of reality television. Most recently Dispatches on Channel 4 returned to investigative journalism to uncover not cute children in far off Indonesia but an equally disturbing side of the clothing industry. We are in a sweatshop in the UK, in Leicester. The workers are consenting adults, desperate immigrants. The shops implicated - New Look, Peacocks, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop - are signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), promising not to employ this kind of labour or subcontractors who may be using these factories.

I like to think the best of people. You see I believe that those at the head of these stores did sign up to ETI membership with good intent. I do believe that the fat cats at the top are telling the truth when they deny knowledge of what is happening at the bottom of their supply chain. But ignorance is not an excuse. Surely if you are running a company and don't know all the details you are not running it well. These companies are willing to delegate, prepared to back off, to save time and money and to save lengthy investigations and assessments of subcontractors.

It seems left to the media to get anything done. These companies only launched investigations because they were caught red­handed on camera. Furthermore, the government wants to take further steps back,

leaving moral and ethical elements of the law in the hands of'BigSociety' and its 'interpretations' and 'flexibility'. Will the media become our sole defender of transparency and human rights? The grim irony is blatantly clear. The press should not have that power.

What, then, about consumer power? To be an ethical shopper you must not only always be researching and questioning, requiring a time commitment, but you must also be prepared to

Suppliers only have to reassure the University that their providers uphold minimum labour rights and standards

spend a bit more. We cannot blindly buy from the cheap shops that seemed to bring ethical policies mainstream; even ETI members seem to enforce only superficial measures to gain brownie points with thoughtful customers. After all, w.e cannot investigate thoroughly their suppUers when even they avoid the bother. Perhaps, considering overconsumption, polluting dying methods and unjust cotton

writer's assertion that a belief in Marxist ideas inevitably leads to genocide and repression. This is like saying that every Muslim is a potential Osama Bin Laden in waiting. Yes, atrocities have been committed in the name of socialism, but the policies of Stalin, Pol-Pot et al have long been condemned and discredited by the vast majority of left-wingers. Supposedly progressive, capitalist governments have a long history of supporting brutal dictatorships; from Franco to Pinochet to (initially) Saddam Hussein, not to mention the complicity in torture recently revealed in Abu Ghraib and Guantanomo, so let us not pretend that the left have a monopoly on human rights abuses.

The mainstream media loves to spin the myth of today's youth as either a generation of soft, apathetic hedonists or irresponsible, violent oiks. If they repeat the lie often enough, maybe they think we'll all start believing it. Political activism on campus is not asimply nihilistic, anti­everything posturing or empty headed sloganeering, but the creative and constructive response of a generation who are sick of being lied to, ignored, attacked and patronised by our supposed elders and betters. If Louis Gill wants to find an example of destructive, ideologically driven politics he would be better off examining the policies of the current government.

prices, the best thing to do for now is avoid buying clothes. How many of us can honestly say we would be unable to last maybe six months re­discovering and re-working things from the back of the wardrobe? Then after six months, spend on a truly ethical outfit and support and encourage innovators. We must look deeper and not be tricked by a label saying "Fairtrade cotton" on a top in New Look that was stitched by a desperate worker for £2.50/hour in a windowless basement in Leicester.

This week, the charities People and Planet and War on Want ask students across the world to question their Universities' policies on supply ~hains. 'Who makes those University of Leeds sweatshirts and where? The University spends £112,500 on uniforms for staff, healthcare and dental students, not including society clothing. Such enonnous purchasing power surely enables us to be demanding and know who and what we are supporting. Currently suppUers only have to reassure the University on a questionnaire that their providers uphold minimum labour rights and standards, we have no specific strategies or policies on ethical procurement or human rights standards within the supply chain and do not ask suppliers to even disclose locations of factories.

As in the cases of the high street stores we must ask ourselves about the ethics of ignorance and 'trust'. Asking questions is not hard; a consumer is entitled to make demands not pestering is in fact a shameful abclication of responsibility.

Friday, November 26, 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Leeds Student

Right or a privilege? 45% of young people in higher eduation has left our job market saturated. Maybe we should question the protesters' assertion that higher education is a right?

Phoebe Ryan Second Year

English en09par@

leeds.ac.uk

With student protests rampant across the country on Wednesday, a popular banner slogan has sparked the question at the foundation of the current crisis should education be a right, or a privilege?

Whilst every Briton may deserve primary and secondary education as a 'right', surely we should reconsider this when approaching university education. When the Blair government suggested the aim of 50 per cent university attendance by 2010, the mass media deemed it an unachievable figure. Yet, with 2008/09 statistics of 45 per cent university attendance and a dismal economy to boot, this figure seems to be damaging us all by continuing to rise. With a figure of 70 graduates applying for each job reported in The Telegraph earlier this week, is a degree truly the only way towards successful employment?

Writing this article from the position of a Leeds student, I'd say no. As the Labour era has passed and we move into the hands of a Cameron/Clegg government, the numbers of young people aspiring to a university education has skyrocket~d. The question our government has failed t( 3.n< wer is how they could possibly

provide graduate jobs fo r this 50 per cent. The devaluation of apprenticeships and

furthe r education outs ide of universities shows a disti nct lack of long- term consideration by our government and a suspicious focus on one particular short term goal - higher levels of employment. Decreased unemployment numbers in the short term as these students disappeared for the span of their degree would falsely skew figures in favour of economic recovery, thus making our government look efficient and capable. If 50 per cent of 18-20 year olds go into 'higher education', only to reappear after a possibly futile degree to find themselves permanently unemployable and trained in a discipline in which there is no spectrum for future employment, unemployment figures will undeniably take a long-term nosedive.

After years of trying to abandon social hierarchy in Britain, why do we approve and allow the devaluation of such relevant, non· graduate careers as plumbing, electrics and mechanics, to name but a few? Increasing the dignity and worth of this genre of job would surely provide a more competitive employment market all round, ensuring that those with academic strengths achieve employment at the end of a functional and valuable degree, whilst those with strengths outside of academia are equally valued, having been pushed to achieve in their field. Though the Cameron/Clegg manifesto claims to desire increased social mobility and provision of apprenticeships, they have taken the decision

to undermine any yalue these quali ficat ions could have by suggesting that a degree is the only way to gain employment, which surely puts a limit on social mobility, rather than in any way promoting it.

As we begin to reap the poisonous outcome of the Labour government's short-term solutions, who in their right mind would advise the continuation of such a trend? After such disastrous short-term decisions as renting hospital property instead of buying (providing a smaller annual bill but an extortionately higher price over time) amongst many others, Jong-term ruin for short-term gain seems the order of the day, and is something that neither students nor any other citizen should stand for.

A possible answer might be to revert to the meritocratic system which was in full force in the SO's. Instead of condemning children educated at private institutions because they might have had better chances than a state­educated child, bring up the standards of state schools, making any academically capable child worthy of a place at a university, with a total grant should their situation require it. Why did we change an institution which was far from broken in favour of this end product -by 2012, only those capable of paying up to £9,000 per year may be able to achieve the university education they are capable of. So we thought we had moved into a more liberal Tory era? This has old Tory values stamped all over it.

Taxing the innocent Britain should follow Denmark's example and implement a 'fat tax' rather than punishing companies who are trying to improve our health

Oms Terry Second Year

Social Pohcy and Philosophy

ss09ct@leeds.ac.uk

Innocent ha·,1e lost a 13 year court battle a~ainst the 17.5 per cent tax it has to pay on its smoothies whilst junk foods are getting away with killing the nation, tax free.

Every 250ml bottle of Innocent Smoothie contains '100 per cent pure and fresh fruit' and contains two of your government recommend five a day, but 35p out of every £2 bottle goes to the taxman. Fresh fruit is not subjected to tax as the HRMC considers it an 'essential' food, but stick 'three quarters of a pound of fruit' in a liquidizer and sell it as a drink and you have to pay tax on your beverage.' How is this fair when you stick the same amount of low quality meat in a mincer, pump it full of trans-fatty acids and sell it a as a burger and you pay diddily-squat on tax.

Denmark ha!i become the first country in the world to implement a 'fat tax' and it's time for the most obese country in Europe to do the same. Obesity now rivals smoking at Britain's biggest preventable killer and is

~~t~~n~! ~~~/~:~t bn ~g~~~i;'~s\~~~ costing the state 32 billion pounds a year

(fun fact: that's 32 billion McDonald's Cheeseburgers, around enough to stack as high as the moon twice).

The individual health cost is just as bad, Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me wasn't a myth, junk food is killing us with type 2 diabetes (a condition originally only found in adults over 40) at an all time high in teenagers and obesity being linked to heart disease, respiratory conditions, impaired fertility and premature death to list but a

It is not the state 'nannying' to impose a tax rise on saturated fat, it is vital to the nation's health

few. It's time to start taxing those responsible, not companies like Innocent who are making a difference.

BBC's Panorama last week investigated if a 'fat tax' would make the same difference in the UK that it has in Denmark. The Health Secretary has already announced that it will be cutting funds for it's health eating campaign 'change for life' but seems unwillingly to replace it with anything else. Imagine that all our indulgences like

chocolate, ice cream and coke, and our late night kebabs cost a little bit more - what difference would that make to your weekly spend? The Danes decided it wasn't enough to suppose the difference it would make, they'd been 'emphasising and relying on self responsibility' for too long so they tried the tax and for the first time, childhood obesity is on the decline.

The UK needs to wake up. It's not 'nannying' or a 'Big Brother' state to impose a tax rise on saturated fats, its vital to the nation's health. Imposing a tax on tobacco was the best incentive the UK has ever made to make people quit smoking, now it's time to make the same push for the fatty foods before obesity catches up. We know the health risks and what it's costing the economy in healthcare for the overweight, and yet individuals are reluctant to do anything about it. In 2007, Oxford and Nottingham University found that a 17.5 per cent rise on 'fatty, sugary and salty' could avert 3,200 deaths a year. At around 65p extra for your weekly shop, it hardly seems much to save a country's health

Innocent's mission is to make healthy eating easier, pick up a bottle f~om Essentials and that's 2 of your 5 a day ma couple of gulps, Britain needs to massively rethink its strategy on healthy eating by knocking off the tax on their smoothies and consider the benefits of taxing the fat.

11 Comment

This legislation must be challenged

John Denham Labour MP for

Southampton, ltchen

A longstanding principle of the UK's higher education system -- set out nearly 15 years ago by Lord Dearing - was the idea that the cost of universities should be shared between the taxpayer and graduates. The reasoning behind this was sound. Not only do students benefit from a top class education, so too does wider society.

At a stroke, and without real debate, the Coalition Government has broken this principle. They have decided that public sector cuts should fall disproportionately on universities, and that the cost of university funding should fall disproportionately on students.

University funding is clearly a difficult issue and one which requires tough choices. It is important that the UK's universities have a secure, long-term funding base that protects our world-class standards in teaching and research.

That's why one of the more concerning aspects of the government's plans is that, in most cases, universities will be no better funded than they are at present · even after a huge increase in the fees students pay. This is because the Conservatives and Lib Dems have chosen to cut funding for university teaching by 80 per cent.

Fees will need to be increased significantly just to maintain funding at current levels. Research has shown that many universities will need to charge fees of at least £7,500 a year just to avoid losing money. These cuts will leave many of our uni:'"ersities struggling with too li~tle money to mamtain their global status, at a time when the UK's co_mpetitiveneSs is fundamental to our economic recovery.

It also means students on most courses will now be entirely responsible for funding their own degrees. Students in England wilt face amongst the highest fees of any public university system in the industrialised world alongside some of the lowest levels of public funding for university teaching. Most graduates will still be paying off their debts 30 years later

And with some universities charging £9,000 more than others, my concern is that many students will be forced to choose the cheapest course, not the one that is best for them.

The Coalition Government has produced the worst of all possible worlds. It is why Labour is opposing these proposals and voting against the increase in fees.

Yet, the Government wants to rush through a vote on increasing fees within weeks -well before key details of the policy are published in the Higher Education White Paper due out next March. This is plainly wrong.

These changes hugely increased fees and ending public funding for most undergraduate degrees are the most profound in decades. We need to see the proposals in full At present, there are still many unanswered questions - for example we still don't know the number of students who will have access to loans and maintenance awards, nor what the provisions for improving participation will be or which degree courses are set to receive public funds after the government's 80 per cent cut - these are key questions and the Government should not be pushing for a vote before they are answered.

It looks very much like the Government is attempting to railroad through the increase in fees and the changes without proper public scrutiny and deny those opposed to plans to have their voices heard. This is unfair and should not be allowed to go ahead unchallenged.

12 Friday, November 26 , 2010 J www.leedsstudent.org J Leeds Student

leedsstudent online www.leedsstudent.org

Day of Action: LS reported live from the protest via twitter

Over 1500 students and lecturers protesting in leeds city centre. Traffic brought to a stand still. 12:50 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry*

http://twitpic.com/39qf3e - Police out in force in Leeds #demo2010 #leedsmarch #Jeedsprotest 1:16 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Never seen the queue for Leeds Greggs so big. Protesting obviously makes people hungry #demo2010 #leedsrnarch #leedsprotest 1:17 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBeny®

http://twitpic.com/39qizu - Crowd listening to speakers: "funding for ed is not the problem it's part of the solution"#demo2010 1:30 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for ; Black.Berry® l;

Students marching back to leeds uni and met to occupy #demo2010 #leedsmarch #leedsprotest 1:30 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry®

http://twitpic.com/39qnn6 - Police intervene as angry driver attempts to drive into march on gt georges st #demo2010#leedsrnarch 1:46 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBeny®

Leeds uni students have stormed michael sadler to occupy. Fire alarm is going off #demo2010 #leedsmarch 2:01 PM Nov 24th via Twitter for BlackBerry®

http://twitpic.com/39r1fw - Students occupy ms lecture theatre #demo2010 #leedsmarch Wed Nov 2414:31:40 2010 via Twitter for BlackBerry~

@UniversityLeeds"@LeedsStudent: Students calling for people involved in occupation not to be penalised by uni. #demo201 #leedsmarch"" Wed Nov 2414:45:40 2010 via Twitter for Black.Berry~

~ bro·g· ·or· fiie · we·ek · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ••• Definitely, Maybe, passengers side ot the conversation the argument. Although. perhaps the :

and my Australian friend and I were latter more than the former of course. • : Probably Not: saved from the humiliation of having So despite his interesting speech :

•. Lost in Translation said 'oh yes of course' to a question at0ndthperonn,·cuenScica

0~ns,hlmwiasnh twohs

0aydrhe

0llvoe •. .

• Whilst on a weekend away in • Newcastle, T encountered my first • experience with a monster. Albeit, a : nice, normal looking monster, but • one with a deadly weapon. A • completely unintelligible accent. • Monday afternoon saw myself : and two friends (one Australian and • one English) in the back of a taxi • attempting to converse with a • Scottish man who had the world's : strongest accent The whole situation • rendered me completely stupefied. I • was consciously concentrating very • hard to understand what he was : going on about but it all just came out • in this huge, drawn out, mumbled • syllable. The only thing I managed to • grasp was something about a sister • who lives in Australia and someone : who bottles someone in a pub • (hopefully the two weren't • connected). • Luckily for me, my English friend : had obviously taken some lessons in • Scottish and was able to hold up the

which was not of the 'yes' or 'no' u.1

variety... us to the train station. You can't help • It was only afterwards that it got it if no .one has a single due what you :

me thinking about the whole accents are saymg. phenomenon. It is the general consensus that everyone likes the sound of other people's accents over their own. I find it highly amusing that some of the English I have met love the Australian accent, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. It's so terribly nasally and we make up and shorten words like there is no tomorrow.

However, accents are useful tools for two main reasons. l. They make you recognisable as corning from a certain country or area and can thus perhaps give you something in common with another person from that country or area. Or, and most importantly: 2. It provides endless entertainment for the people who don't have your accent and are constantly laughing at the way you say things.

I can admit that I have been lucky enough to experience both sides of

. Do the English learn a lot about the • Australian accent from Neighbours? • DEFINITELY (and it's really not the : best teacher guys!) . Was the Scottish man talking about • glassing his sister in a pub in : Australia? MAYBE (but I hope not) . Will the English ever truly believe me : when I tell them that no one really • says 'throw another shrimp on the • barbie'? • PROBABLY NOT! (But please stop • asking!) :

Sarah Bown•

To read more biogs head over to : www.leedsstudent.org • . Got an idea for a blog? Get in • touch at blogs@leedsstudent.org : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

edsalkeld

your response

Excellent coverage of today's march from @LeedsStudent and the thanks from @WestYorksPolice was just great. Proud of how peaceful it was!

anywavewilldo @LeedsStudent is 'anarchist' blaming part of your reporting strategy -like publishing names ofleeds students to get them nicked? #demo2010

reallyopenuni @LeedsStudent 'A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having

Trends Leeds LeedsStudent, @leedsstudent is now trending in #Leeds h ttp://trendsmap.com/ gb/leeds

OwenBradley @LeedsStudent awesome. With you in spirit folks.

samwolfson We will fight them with our Turkey Pasties RT @LeedsStudent: Never seen the queue for Leeds Greggs so big.

Tweet @LeedsStudent and get your views in print.

Keep visiting our website throughout the week for occupation updates from Leeds Student's James Killin. For up-to­the minute reporting follow us on

twitter at 'LeedsStudent'.

also online this Week Thcutrc Kcvicw: Spring Awclkcning . .. Arts & Film review the Music Theatre society's production of Spring Awakening and Theatre Group's original play, Desolation Row .

... be a Prepare to release your inner socialite with LS2's sure-fire ways to win even the toughest popularity contest.

I Know Anchorman ' Peo.ple like jokes. They make us laugh. Therefore, people who can m_ake us laugh are

app1-eoated Conversely, some try unsuccessfully and we hate them for 1t The problem is that some people just don't get jokes. These people obstinately refuse to laugh at something unless it was in Anchorman. Wit is dead. Fortunately, this can be useful.

After all. why come up with your own material when you can shamelessly copy othe:, funnier people. It's perfect You don't need to be funny when you can JUst tell someone how milk was a bad choice.

'LOUD NOISES'. See? It's funny. It'll help you meet people. • ---------------------' "

-=-

'«~ "t)

Never discuss important stuff This is perhaps the most important point Nobody likes anyone who has something serious

to say about anything. It's depressing. Views and opinions are useless: lose them. They get in the way of pretending to like everyone.

If you absolutely must express some polrtical / feminist stance then you must express rt in uninfonned idealistic generalisations. People are more comfortable wrth those. Otherwise jump on whatever band-wagon trundles your way.

Similarly any topic that could possibly evoke and emotive reaction should be avoided

This IS very important. Obviously, you can't do anythins wi!? yourself; you might set embarra.s_sed or annoy somebody. However you don't want to seem bonng erther. You must remain on the penphery of any potential mayhem, but careful not get involved directly.

For this reason you need. to have o.ne. hopefully ~runk friend to draw attention to how edgy you are. This handy fnend happily stnps naked 1n whoever's kitchen and allows complete strangers to wax him/ her. Then you can pretend to be honified, shout 'not again' and join in the laughter at his expense. Voi!a! You'i"-e fun by association. .

The same result can be achieved with wildly exaggerated responses to everything

IJlllii1a Show your independence

Never let anybody think you like them. Even people you like. Otherwise they'll stop vying for your approval. So let everyone know that you're not quite sure about them by constant.ly switching the group you're with.

If you enter a room wrth fnends, then immE:diately leave them as you 1nconsp1c~ously scout for.faces you recognise. Hav!ng found a likely target. open with a meaningless, perfunctory greeting and 5"ra:rt talking about whatever. Dunng.this exchange be constantly searching for a new group, whilst taking a lazy interest in whatever's being .said The minute you see new people, cheerfully drtch the losers you're with and saunter over. Repeat

Thrs way you'll look popular.

"Pasta or Pasta? P

asta it. is then." "Doesnt

anyone els . e Wtpe th .

etrarse H· through

,, we've met./ yelled, 'you look like w· their legs?" ,// Ferrel/' at you last Week. I've faceb k

oo stalked you though."

low down

"Emma ! think coming here in our

p)jamas is a really bad idea". There we

were standing at the foot of a house

that now emanated a pure, unsifted brand of

social competrtion. Being the students

we are Le. easily swayed by invitations to various

parties, even if the result is Juggling the night away as you move from party to party, we were sti!I at a neN party dressed in our interpretation of the Lost Boys from our eanier Peterpan birthday shindig.

Don't get me wrong. House Party-whonng is a process easily accomphshable if you're not slightly idiotic and decide weanng pyjamas to what appeared to be Catpower's after-party is legitJmate. The aim is not to mix genres, would you go to your three year old Sister's b1nthday party dressed as a highft-pa1d male ~::::_~~~-::-:~~~~~~~1 stnppe~

d. g holidays "Lets 1ust say 'Hi', see what fs like. and then we can leave",

The pen in . tless lectures has now Emma looked atme as she stood in herbluestnped pyjamas and Srt:ting through po1n I almost laughed because she looked a little like a touchy-feef( old

definitely lost rt.s suicidal air. man who'd been given probation. &rt there was no room for

II:~~~~.:==::.:..--------humour in the situation, the party we had walked into was nothing like our group of on-the-fence hippies were used to.

losing your phone Youd be_ supnsed at how _communrcat1on is so much bbautiful this i~: imposed on you. Yay to th ?Per when it is not

e i1e of a herrnit.

Coke Zero And all the hippies threw rocks at me - well it's great. ok?

YThe price of c. offee

ah booo two d etc. , qui for a latte blah blah etc

Essays vs Cricket Th t ng of the Ashes series kicking off this

e im1 . d l Has there ever been a week 1s really not 1 ~at~ doze off blissfully on bhetterfsapt~1\~·~ fi~:nthough because degrhees t e so · d important Watc 1ng are really cdhehap an eu~f drongos ~ry into their Ponting an is poss BBQs 1s essential.

North Korea ;=i Come on guys J thought we all decided yvar w

1as completeJy Dobbins. Can't we all

Just pay 1t on COLJ?

GOING DOWN

Being a Journalism student of sorts I've regretfully spent rather a lot of my time reading the news. Any chance to nick through a paper was taken in a bid to keep up to date with the world at large and 1s an annoyingly effective fonn of what I call 'edifying procrastination'. Unfortunately however, when all's said and done this is still just 'procrastination'.

Having done this for the best part of three years l can safely say that I'm done with it. I finally came to the conclusion this morning that keeping up to date with the news 1s nothing more than an exercise in fortitude after realising once and for all that news is consistently crap.

The fact that I am something of an aloof tool, combined wij:h my deep hatred of any coverage of what dribbles out of Cheryl Cole's mouth, means I nonnal!y read any broadsheet paper going. However I couldn't take it any more.

Having read the same financial doom and gloom tales since 2008, the news this week that the Irish economy is doing its best impression of your arsehole after a heavy night of chasing girthy slags at Fruity (1.e. spluttering and wheezing down the shitter whilst causing an almighty stench for people nearby) was too much.

Fi_nanc1al sob stories are alanningly tedious, I've been reading them day 1n day out since 'THE CRUNCH' of 2008 and I'm still completely oblivious as to what the heirs going on.

And with this I Jacked it all in and took the plunge. I mean how lowbrow can the Muror really be? The Express surely can't be aimed entirely at paranoid old trollops and Diana

l was experiencing my firn pretentious party. And I am sure the people who attended it were not even that pretentious. Next to pyjamas the average high school geography teacher in mustard corduroys looks pretentious. &rt this did not change the fact that everyone else looked like they had walked out of American Apparel, been taught how to make extreme intoxication look like a shoot for Elle's night-life feature and had their hair done by Gustavo.

Also, most people seemed to possess the ability to keep their mouth open at a precise angle that enabl~ them to look erther compelling confused or heartbreakingly hungry, because this is "very attract.Ne".

We decided the only way to retaliate against any possible stares was to dance, and dance we did. And this is why I have now decided hipsters are pretty awesome because no one noticed our bedtime stnpes. This is because Hipsters expenence life partially, if not completely, out of their skulls just so they can deal with each other and say 'that's so avante garde' for the thousandth time without cornmrttmg suicide. The individuals who did not.Jee our attire thought rt was a new take on freedom -''That is so deck (this means cool). rt's JUst so 1940s liberal1st post­war, pre-Victorian, antJ-consequentialist" Needless to say I had one of the most amazing nights ever and must give hipsters three approval nods for knowing how to have a good pretentious tJme.

cynics? At first rt was

amazing. it was all so fun! Boobies combined wrth vacuous opinion all on one page was JUst soooo neadable. And I was endlessly entertained finding out which

Winiee Nzalo

Premiership star had just bought a 5-foot diamond encrusted statue of his bell-end to give to Danielle Lloyd.

But desprte this glorious start to my new life as a red top reader, the cracks began to show in our relationship and before long I read an article that was so bad I vomited all over the framed picture of Claire Balding that I keep on my desk. The groundbreaking headline in the DOIiy Express roared the words 'ROADS ARE DANGEROUS. SAY CHILDREN'. This media bombshell was explained with more golden prose as it explained 'Children are at risk from speeding drivers and "dangerous roads" around schools and homes'.

It's been rumoured that Hunter S Thompson has bought a trampoline to facilitate the somersaults he is cutTently perfonning in his grave right now.

Pete Starr

,1;~:1LIJHt.__ __________ _

Bug ies, bottles and boo s: finding the balance University is known as a time to be irresponsible. Most students are seen as lazy, unhealthy and barely capable of looking after themselves, yet alone anybody else. But there are some amongst us who do just that - for their own children. LS2 investigates how being a parent affects the student lifestyle, and how to juggle the two.

Looking after a crying, screaming, vomiting person whilst battling sleep deprivation at stupid o'clock sounds like a pretty accurate desaiption of Freshers' Week

Looking past the health implications of downing Asda-priced vodka, the first week of uni was no doubt one of the most memorbale - if not the best - weeks of your life. But what if that crying, screaming, vomiting person wasn't your 'I love you' shouting, toilet-hugging flat­mate. What if that person was your own child, your little bundle of joy who is dependant on you for absolutely everything?

Living away from home has made most students conclude that when it comes to looking themselves they are completely and utterly hopeless. Between trying to juggle a social life and falling asleep in the Edward Boyle library, most can just about manage to get by. In light of this, the thought of a student coping with a small child, as well as trying to cope with a university lifestyle would seem an impressive achievement.

And yet. the image of a Vicky Pollard-like, benefit-abusing, teenage mum getting pregnant just to get a council house is constantly promoted and perpetuated. Young women with children get repeatedly negative coverage from the media but at Leeds University there are plenty of examples of young women who have defied the stereotypes and successfully managed balancing motherhood with a degree.

One such parent is Charlotte Thornton, a first year Criminology and Criminal Justice student from Leeds who, like all freshers, is attempting to juggle her social life and education but with the added pressure of looking after 19 month old daughter, Summer Niamh Clayton.

20 year old Charlotte told Leeds Student, ''People assume rm just another teenage mum

"People assume I'm just another teenage mum and are so surprised when they find out I'm doing a degree"

and are so surprised when they find out I'm doing a degree; it's unheard of where I'm from." When Charlotte fell pregnant she was halfway through a college diploma

course and was told she'd never go back and finish it. However, little over two years later here she is sat in the Roger Stevens cafe and chatting away, surrounded by her course friends.

So how much does having a child affect your university experience7 Charlotte admits that she hasn't been on a night out since coming to university but does that really matter? Do we come to uni to drink our body weight in tequila and nurse a hangover over the next day or get a decent degree to improve our futures?

It seems having a kid at university has kept Charlotte focused and determined to succeed, not only for herself, but also for the future welfare of Summer: "I want to concentrate on my work as much as I can ... it would be nice to be able to go out more, but its not something I resent not doing."

Leeds Student also spoke to Josina Maynard who helps run the Leeds

Student Parents Society. a positive way in which

student parents can interact with each

.. ..-;M.!£: ....... ~ ·• : -o·•~ ·• -~

other in a supportive community. Josina said: "We hold social events for student parents and try and improve the student experience as

much as we can for students with dependent children.''

Like Charlotte, Josina admits her social life has "ground to a halt" and the only time she can catch up on work is aft.er her children are in bed. As both Josina and Charlotte assert. it would seem that being a parent at university is a "real juggling act"; an act which can be very overwhelming at times.

Nevertheless, josina explained what a rewarding experience it has been raising a child whi!e also furthering her education in the knowledge that she is improving her family's future prospects: "My chi ldren are the best motivation I could have. I'm very lucky to have a great support network of family and friends which makes a huge difference too. With strict time management and careful budgeting it is possible.''

Surely we should envy, rather than judge, parents like Josina as responsible, hardworking and focused students clear, on what they want in life. Isn't that why we're all at uni, to find out what we want to achieve in our lives?

Most students live by the motto 'If it ain't smart price, I ain't interested', spending half the time close to the poverty-line and eating instant noodles for the fourth time in a week while somehow always managing to find that extra fiver to spend behind the bar at The T enace.

However, for student parents, money is undoubtedly a real concern. In 2009, the National Union of Students conducted the first UK-w ide research into the experience of student parents, which highlighted the need for better information and guidance with an emphasis on student finance.

Charlotte lives at home with her mum, and receives a child-care grant of £7,200 per year. wh ich pays for Summer's £600 per month

n~rsery fees , a sum near impossible to pay without the help of the grant. As a part-time student, Josina isn't eligible for any loans or grants so claims income support and Local Housing Allowance while receiving the Leeds bursary which covers half of her tuition fees for the year.

Surely we should envy, rather than judge, parents like Josina as responsible, hardworking and focused students

A lthough having a chi ld has an obviou~ impact on your education and social life; student parents are given too much bad press by those who seem to be stuck in a judgemental time warp.

The reality is that young women can have children and still live fulfi lled and successful lives. If anything. young mums are people to look up to as examples of how responsibility, hard work and time management can increase prospects for the future. It's an example many other students should·take notice of.

words: Maddie Palaa

Above:Josina Manyard and her son.

I love Jamie Oliver, I really do.

And I genuinely believe we could have a beautiful friendship one day. I've always been a big fan of his shows back since the days of The Naked Chef yet have been a somewhat passive viewer, never actually cooking anything he's made.

I'm aware I'm no Nigella, but Jamie insists in his new show Jamie's 30 Minute Meals that his cooking can be embraced by the masses and is speedy, simple and fun. So what the hell. I gave it a shot. 30 minutes sounded practically generous, so I was sure it would be easy peasy. Also, I hate losing at anything, so I knew I could do it

I wasn't so cocky when I got to Sainsbury's and realised I had 36 ingredients to buy. THIRTY SIX. Jamie' Real!y? l also hadn't considered how near impossible some of the ingredients would be to find in oh-so-exotic Headingley. Black beans? No chance. And as for some obscure type of chilli I'm pretty sure is only found in the depths of a Peruvian village, think again.

After a bit of improvisation, I got home

and set the timer to make 'Jamie's Killer Jerk Chicken.'

I had all my equipment and ingredients to hand as if I was on Masterchef but unfortunately within IO minutes I was up you-know-what creek. I couldn't work out how to get the food processor to work, and far from being 'golden and crisp' my chicken was still looking decidedly raw. (N.B turning on the stove would have been a good idea).

I'm not going to lie. Reggae Reggae Jerk sauce was looking like a very tempting option. However, I powered through, and eventually managed to get all the dishes cooked and served.

The problem was, if you didn't keep up with Ja.mie's lightening speed, the rest of the timings get messed up, so when he's casually putting the finishing touches to dressing the salad, you're left wielding a saucepan of uncooked rice yelling, 'What now Jamie, WHAT NOW?!'

Overall it was actually pretty damn tasty, and there were empty plates all round. However, what was supposed to be a 3_0 minute cooking extravaganza culminated in an hour and a half kitchen nightmare. I'd pretty much turned into Gordon Ramsay anyway, screaming blue murder at sweet corn and spring onions.

To conclude, if you're a Michelin star

h full of Vitamin C, but they n at t e also happen to be an D0 exce11ent hangover cure

and are the perfect mixer with vodka - an easier way

winter blues foryouto

Surviving the British

winter is hard worl< at

the best of times, but living in student

accommodation on limrted funds means we students have the odds stacked against us.

First, when trying to keep healthy it might be a good idea to ditch those midnight take­aways, or at least cut down on the numbers.

Start getting vitamins into your diet: while making room in the weekly student budget for fresh fruit and vegetables may not be your first priority, it will be essential if you want to keep the sniffles at bay.

Try spinach. a good source of iron, tossed into your pasta or have a go at making your own soups, the perfect remedy to those ho!Tld winter evenings. Butternut squash and parmesan is always impressive or, for the less adv€nturous, pea soup is also a good, simple option.

But, my number one miracle cure for keeping healthy over the winter is oranges. They are a godsend; not only are they packed

incorporate your new healthy regime into every aspect of your life.

The cold winter winds and icy temperature will definitely leave your skin looking and feeling tired so if you want to avoid looking in the mirror in February and finding you've aged ten years in the space of three months, definitely invest in a decent moisturiser for your hands and your face.

Tinted moisturisers work miracles and can give your skin back the glow it's been missing. If that's pushing the boat out a little too much, try adding a bit of bronzer to your every day moisturiser. Making sure you keep drinking lots of water is always important, especially when hung-over, but in the winter it will be vital to ensure your -skin and body is kept hydrated.

As the evenings draw in and temperatures plummet it becomes very hard to resist the sudden urge to roll up in your duvet and hibernate till spring, especially as your normal 15 minute walk to uni becomes a treacherous hike avoiding swamps of mud and black ice. But, as difficult as it seems when your snooze alarm is going off for the third time in a row,

or you're an absolute nutcase, I'm sure Jamie's 30 minute meals are entirely achievable. As for the rest of us novice cooks (i.e Jamie's target audience) if you try it you will, from my experience, eventually end up with a somewhat less than impressive meal.

· As well as a headache, high blood pressure and a mountain range of washing up in your sink.

leaving your bed and the house is actually far more beneficial for you than lying in your bed and avoiding the cold in the rest of your house.

Keeping up a regular exercise regime will.

To attempt this recipe yourself visit,

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also help keep your immune system up and your body happy so, instead of slipping on the ice as you try to run around Hyde Park, try going to exercise classes at the uni instead. You could even try a workout DVD from the comfort of your living room (but probably warn your housemates first so they don't have a shock when they see you. red -faced, sweating, sprawled on the floor attempting a press up).

So, although it may not seem like it now. if you follow this advice you have every chance of making it through the winter without catching pneumonia, breaking your leg on ice or having your body become one with your mattress. Good luck.

words: Joanna Souter

Girls: What to buy a guy Shopping for men can be even more stressful than shopping with them. Hitting the shops can feel like a spee? trial, trying on clothes befo~ you buy is a sin and the pinnacle of the day 1s more about the. Subway (always a footlong) ratherthan finding the perfect shoes However, Christmas shopping for men leaves me mo1-e than just tired. The whole experience is completely overwhelming; ending up feeling Jost on a high street that was once my best friend but is now a living hell.

Every girl would acknowledge it is hard enough shopping for your friends, let alone your father, brother or boyfriend. With so many condemning Christmas as a commercialised monster, the worst crime is the impersonal gift. So no easy pre-packaged Boots 3-for-2 presents. There is also pressure to buy a present that is tasteful and useful, yet at the same time wrtty and memorable

Last year l bought my father a vintage­covered hardback collection of short stories by his favourite author. Feeling smug walking out of the shop, I imagined his face lighting up as he opened the gift. flicked through the pages and revelled in his favourite stories. The fact is it remains on the book shelf unread. Even when you think you have bought the perfect present rt can be completely wrong. Ultimatelythough, your parents will forgive you. You can carry on buying your Dad Turkish delight and books he does not read; he will still think you are the best thing since sliced bread.

My boyfriend is another matter. Not only is this is our second Christmas together, but our birthdays are both in January and we have agreed to only buy one present for each other. The pressure is mounting.

Last year we abandoned the romantic and meaningful gift. Instead of the stocking filled with a Pingu DVD, poetry book and milk bottles (Bonbon in Thornton's arcade do the best ones I have ever tasted) this is the time to invest mor~ effort an_d buy him something extra meaningful. But 1f he 1s not into art or books and has a limrt:ed interest in music, what else is there?

Perhaps something fashionable is the answer. But it can be difficult to get this right When it comes to buying clothes I feel a few

guidelines need to be set Numero uno, avoid dressing the bottom half. It is hard to find the right size, length and style to suit your own frame let alone a boy, so save yourself the time and effort Besides, most guys prefer to choose their own trousers, be it a tracksuit, chinos or skinny jeans. This rule also applies to shoes and this leads me on to rule Numero dos. Unless you know a specific type and size. for example black Converse in a twelve. then J suggest staying well away from any type of footvvear.

How successful would your boyfriend be in choosing the perfect pair of heels? I think my point is proven.

Apart from these golden rules, the world is your oyster. Jumpers, shirts or coats will always be wif)ners. Take a look at their own style and aim to buy something that resembles this. If they wear vintage branded t-shirts, head down to the Corn Exchange and pick up something quirky. Perhaps a cute cardigan to add that something extra to their existing look Accessories also make brilliant Christmas presents and there is such variation on the High Street it is hard to go wrong. From the traditional winter extras like hats, gloves and scarves there is an endless list of bags, wallets and watches.

Unfortunately for me, my boyfriend is not particularly interested in clothes erther. In a last­ditch desperation fuelled act, I sent a group text around my male friends. 'Am writing an article, need to know the best present you have been given by a girl.' Luckily they all read the message the way I wanted them too, and the replies were surprising. Bar one friend who cited a Cheryl Cole folder as his finest present, the emphasis was placed on inexpensive, home-made gifts. While it may not be the most glamorous Christmas gift, something home-made is a personal and sincere present

So, leaving the horrors of an over­enthusiastically festive high street behind, ! will be heading to the market and hobby craft for some inspiration ... in the hope of finally solving the mystery that is the perfect Christmas gift

words : Hannah Townsend and Louise Donovan

Stocking fillers With the cold weather creeping in, end-of­term deadlines approaching and Christmas parties looming, rt: seems the festive Season is

upon us. Yes, that time of year when greed is rife and we are thrust back into the giddy excitement of our childhood with Santa sacks

Get on board with this season's fur addiction, opting for faux with Urban Outfitters' faux fur head warmer, £ 15. Perfect for covering bad-hair days and warming ears on frosty mornings!

Guys: What to buy a girl W.ith the time of giving rapidly approaching. being male, it'_s the time where we have to pvt lots of effort into deciqing what we are going to buy for the females in our lives. If, like the large majority of the male population, you d1-ead this and have not got a clue where to start here's a quick guide.

To start from the top let's consider the p1-esent for your mum. A perfume, a scarf or a nice diary/notepad ai-e all usually pretty safe bets here, and it's maybe best advised to stay away from fashion.

When it comes to sisters, two words: T opshop jewelle1y. Pretty stylish and pretty cheap, a standard T opshop necklace works every time.

Now to move to the one you we t"e all wa!ting for: the girlfriend. If you a1-e simply dating then whether to buy a p1-esent or not 1s a real dilemma. If its been a couple of weeks then you should probably just get her a drink, if it has been longer and you think rt: may tum into a relationship maybe you should get her a small trinket He1-e it is best to go for an in­joke present For example if she's always losing her keys get her a key ring, if she likes some terrible band, buy her a CD or poster of the band, however, as with the mother, stay away from fashion.

Once you are in a relationship things get a little easier, here a big problem is what to spend. A relationship that is just a couple of months old around £20 is probably a good amount, if a bit longer, say around six, £ 40 is probably a good amount. Obviously the older the relationship the more you are probably required to spend, unless you have some 'agreement' (which she will want you to ignore). For the bigger spenders, go for jewellery. This is for the more established relationship, and it has to be fairly expensive designer jewellery. A Vivienne Westwood necklace or Links of London bracelet is a guaranteed winner, and you can pick up either for under [ I 00. But jewelle,y of this type should be avoided for the new relationships where it will seem a bit too keen and full on. Plus, if you're not sure how serious the relationship is it could be a bit of a waste of

and stockings fu ll of treats and presents. Here are some ideas of how to fill your super­stylish stocking this year.

words : Alice Tate

We can't keep our mitts off these and neither should you. Who knew it was so easy to get hands-on with the aviator trend? (Real leather too!) £26.99, River Island.

money! Purses or bags also work well but they

generally need to be qurt:e expensive, or at !east give that impression - a cheap Primark bag is not going to go down well. Ideally, if she is into vintage (you should be able to tell) a cool, quirky vintage bag or purse could be a good, cheaper alternative whether in a new or old relationship.

Another option for the newer relationship (or fo1-the cash strapped long-term couple) is to get a few .·sweet' stocking filler type pr:esents. A quirky hot water bottle coupled with a fun Christmas jumper could be an option. Sizing does become an issue when buying clothes though. tt is always a risk to buy a size too big or even small - if in doubt always go f<::>r the smaller size. A good option with sizing 1s to ask a female housemate of hers who will probably be able to tell the exact size or at least more accurately predict than you., and if it goes wrong you can just tell the g1rlfnend that you went for the size her housemate suggested.

The final option is underwear. Old or new relationship. this is a purchase to be made with confidence and approached with caution. You need to be sure the present wi ll be appreciated. Basically if she's all lacy underwear and suspenders she would probably love some sexy underwear. However if she wears more conservative, plain underwear then wrapping her up a corset and putting it under the Christmas tree isn't going to go down well. Just don't stray too far to the other side of the spectrum; a 5-pack of M&S 'briefs' is not very excrt:ing and frankly a bit odd. Whatever option you go for: it needs to be classy and relatively expensive If you fee\ confident that it will go down well then this also gives an excuse to spend a bit more on a new girlfriend if you wish - after all it is going to benefit you both.

So there's a small guide, try to remember it is just a guide and good luck!

words:T omas Jivanda

Biogs and street style photos have become the fashionista's go-to for all things chic; keep inspired year­round by flicking through Style Diaries -a culmination of personal style from worldwide bloggers. [ 16.99/rom Urban Outfitters.

I Ford Maxi dress. l I 08 at www.aquabyaqua.com I Brudenell Fashion Fair

After a term worth of drunken debauchery, those lucky few who have any student loan left would be w ise to save some ti ll December. Ma Cherie promotions brings you the best in local vintage fashion in aid of Cancer Research UK. Doors open at eleven and the re will be sta lls from Retro Boutique, All American Vintage, PDSA's Attic, Second Hand Vintage and many more. Each shop represented will also be providing one rt:ern for a raffle and all proceeds go to charity. So hop down to the Brudenell Social Club for fashion, food and festivities. This may be your last chance to buy a un ique gift for friends and family before you head off home for Christmas.

Saturday 12th December, Brudenell Social Club, I 1-4pm.

words : Louise Donovan

Aqua by Aqua has definitely made a name for itself in the past year. A Leeds base.d brand which. opened it~ fir-st London store in April, it celebrated rts fourth year 1n Leeds this September, and has recently become a major brand on Asos.com. Leeds Swdent caught Up with Jen from the brand to talk about its recent success.

LS: Congratulations, you've had quite a year. How is London comparing to Leeds? It's more similar than what we thought rt would be. London does have more of a dressed down, effortless feel to it whereas in Leeds gi ris like to get a brt more dressed up, but overall they are pretty similar

LS: Being a brand originally based in Leeds, how much of your inspiration comes from the city, and from where else does it stem? All the designers are from Leeds originally, and we've always been very close!y related to the city. When designing. the design team don't take their influence from one direct place, but they always ask for feedback and always want to know what girls are saying on the changing rooms; they want to suit what the customer wants.

LS: How would you describe the style of the Aqua brand for our readers? Fashion forward and confident

LS: You pioneer never to be "t rend led". How important do you feel it is for the brand to maintain awareness, alongside your own general interest, of the ever evolving world of fashion? It is impmtant, but I think because we differentiate ourselves from the high street, we don't rely on constantly having to know the key piece to have that month. I think because we're all naturally interested in rt, rt just comes as second nature. You want to go off on your own but at the same t ime you don't want to get rt completely wrong.

LS: Yo u do four collections a year as opposed to the regular two; why is this and how do you find it affects perhaps the designing process in any way? We always want to keep rt fresh looking in store, we pride ourselves on constantly having new designs coming in and we re-invent ourselves more or less four times a year. It's challenging, I'm not a designer, but I know when rt: comes to design time it is manic. What's great though is that our collection drops across a period of six weeks, so there are constant ly new

pieces being added

LS: For a brand that has such distinctive and intricate designs, you a,-e affordable, How important is this for you? It's really important I don't think Aqua would ever want to be at such a high price range that they were excluding people; we want to be exclusive in the sense that rt:'s a special piece. At the moment as well, it's grey and dreary enough wrt:hout us then putting our prices up. Students are a really big part of ourta1-get market We have a lot of students come in, so when September comes, we're happy!

LS: It is the time of year for the party dress, what is Aqua's perfect item for the more glamorous winter nights? It would have to be the Lloyd maxi dress. but the whole of the new collection "Sleigh" is absolutely gorgeous, it's really hard to distinguish a piece from rt, it's the strongest collection we've ever had.

LS: What's your favourite ~ardrobe piece that you're wearing at the moment? My favourite Aqua piece at the moment would be The Wendy D1-ess', which has one shoulde1- pad, and half a peplum. To me it's just a 1-eally classic dress. I love it My own favourite look would be my vintage style blouse and skinny jeans!

LS: What has been your biggest fashio n regret? Oh God, probably trying to do the coo! eighties, but rt just doesn't come over cool eighties and you JUst look r-eally bad. That's probably a fashion faux pas!

LS: Any words of advice for our students that are wanting to wo rk in the world of fashion? Not to give up, really not to give up. It's not an easy industry, so anything that knocks you down just make sure you get back up again, and you will get there.

LS: Top fashion t ip? Aqua's top fashion tip: Heels. Always wear your heels, rt: just makes an outfrt. Me: Wear what makes you feel good. and keep it simple.

words: Ellen O'Donoghue Oddy

VINTAGl: FASHION FAIR Item of the Week:

pants to politics

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Can't decide what to get your parents this Christmas? Designer Suzi WatTen's twisted twee 'coalition pants' (available for men and women) hold the answer. Choose either dynamic David Cameron (nght) or a pondenng Nick Clegg design. They are current, conversational and when worn will guarantee that your parents never ever have sex again At a student friendly l IO especially for Leeds Student readers, o rder online· and check out other cheeky gifts at www.twistedtvvee.co.uk

words: Babette Radclyffe-Thomas

Now who doesn't love getting new pyjamas? Our favour ites for the guys are these red check bottoms­keeping you toasty on those lazy hungover Sundays. £15, Men's Next

Boys, don't let Grandma knit you yet another back-of the-wardrobe bound jumper, encourage her to buy you something more on trend, like Farrah Vintage's Fairisle Jumper. £70, Urban Outfitters.

Gone are the days of expensive watches and vintage Rolexs; get your guy something super­cool this year, like this Obi-Wan Kenobi Lego watch. Oust make sure it doesn't encourage a Star Wars movie marathon for you, urgh!) £25, Asos . ._ _____ _

1111~ I''·

Absolutely. So long as you're not completely useless you can definitely manipulate her into ignoring her friends. After all, it's only her opinion that matters, right? Whatever happens bet\Neen you two is private: her friends have no right to criticise you.

They're just being judgemental. She needs to do vVhat's right for her. You'd stand by her, no matter what happened, wouldn't you7

Once you've established this it becomes even easier. She will slowly isolate herself from her meddlesome friends and in the end you will be all she has le~

At this point she can't afford to lose you. Now it's as permanent as you want it to be. Neat huh?

W ith this in mind it would probably be a good idea t o make sure you actually like her first. Might end badly for her otherwise. But, yeah. You could probably make it work even if they didn't like you.

words: lain Foss

Technically. in an ideal world. the answer to this question would be, 'nothing should matter other than the person you're with', but in reality we realise this is never the case.

~ing in a .relationship is a form of contra~ in which 'showing an interest' in their friends 1s a clause. In the event that these friends are idiots, problems will inevitably arise; painful evenings spent listening to the revolutionary nature of FIFA ! I , would probably cause any girl to question who they're going out with.

The opinion that an individual's personality is reflected in their choice of friends is where this problem lies. Is he a closet idiot. waiting to reveal all? Or does he merely have a very poor judgement on what is deemed decent conversation.

Whatever it is, it is inevrtably bad. On a more serious note, not getting along with friends often reeks of incompatibility issues.

words: Philippa Gumley

'I've just got some friends coming over a few beers is that okay?' Nothing should be particularly terrifying about that question, surely if in a relationship you abide by the rule, 'a friend of yours is a friend of mine'?

However, perhaps the vVrite of that wonderful saying hadn't had the pleasure of meeting some people's friends!

Pal, buddy or mate, whatever you call them, friends are a huge part of anyone's life with many being around long before any new potential partner came on the scene.

Yet for many, the constant strain of having to put up with a partner's friend's oh-too-frequent

visits or kind method of leaving all the tidying up to you can start to take rts toll.

I mean you wouldn't even accept this behaviour off YOUR friends. So my suggestion would be either bring your even more annoying frie~ds over as_payback, go out as to avoid them or simply suck rt up!

And if your partner isn't worth a few crushed beer cans or free reign of the TV when Strictly's on every once in a while then maybe your relationship was never going to work- whether you eventually end up murdering their friends or not

words: G\arlotte Jones

You can tell a lot about a person from the friends they have. Your girlfriend might be the most friendly, charismatic and beautiful character you've ever laid eyes on. Yet if you found out she was BFFs with an angry bunch of militant Nazi racists (for example) then I think you'll probably admit it's cause for concern.

Probability dictates your situation will most likely be a little less extreme than my example, but the point remains: a relatiOnship is built on commonality. Naturally, if you like your partner enough to want to enter into a relationship with them, then theoretically you should get on with their friends too.

However, partners do not always equal identi cal views,_tastes and humour (and it would be worrying 1ftheyz did). You may not get on with their friends but that's not to say you can't retain a bond with them on another level. just remember who it is you're in a relationship with.

words Will Brown

From my own experience, it has to be said that being able to get on with your boyfriend's ow_n friends will make your relationship a lot easier.

For most of us with other halves, we are likely to be at the stage where our partner lives in a shared house at university, meaning t hat others are a/ways around, so in an ideal world, you'd get on nicely with his mates.Not being so keen on his choice offriends doesn't have to be a relationship breakerthough.

It may lead to some awkward and difficult situations but in addition to this, it may mean that you are missing out- I've had many a good night with my boyfriend and his housemates, and now even consider them friends of my own. I recommend making an effort to get to know them- even if they do seem like total morons- you've only got more friends to gain.

words: Jenny ReddKJugh

LS MUSIC and-----

JIMMY EAT WORLD

Leeds Student caught up with Jimmy Adkins and Tom Linton to talk Prodigy covers and more ...

Leeds Student So, what have you been up to? Jim: We started touring Amsterdam and circled round and came back to the UK All the sho'vVS have been a lot of fun so far!

LS: How have you managed to still keep going -wtat's the secret to ,.our success? Tom: [Laughs] Well. one thing that helps is that ¥!e all get along! We've known each o~er since we were kids and that makes it a lrttle easier. I don't know, I think it's being proud of your records too. Everything stems from that so you've gotta make sure that your records are what you feel is your best work

LS: Nice. How personal is your nevv album Invented/

Seventeen years and seven albums on from their first demo, Jimmy Eat world casually s':'"'agger on stage. Lead singer Jim Adkins gives bassist Rick Burch a playful push and grins broadly as he takes centre stage, looking with his curtains not unlike an emo Charlie Sheen. It's plain to see they possess a confidence rarely seen in their understated alt rock peers. Not a defiant foolhardiness of youth but more of a confidence that can be seen through a long time playing together. Kicking off with Bleed American (Salt Sweat Sugar if you prefer) they lead the first of the many

J: Every song is its own thing - its own closed narrative. I look at our records as being the summation of where we're at with our own personal tastes and spirits, forthis period of our lives. It's not like we ever set out to make a particular kind of record. if that makes sense.

LS: Have you gone about writing the new material in the same way that you did when you first started? J: The songs vary in their development Sometimes the thing we're developing might be this little musical theme or rt: might be pretty close to a. flushed out song. There are no rules to any o~ rt - it's alwa~ different It's the same because rt's always drfferent [laughs].

LS: Is it different because you're in more of a comfortable position to when you first started? J: I think it's the same because we still didn't know how this album was going to go down. The fact that anyone would ever book us outside of our hometown was like ... success and still now! feel like we've established something. We don't take anything for granted. Your career is finrt:e and none of us are too caught up to forget that fact We appreciate it

LS What's your fuvourite song from the new album? T: My favourite is a song called 'Cut'. It's one of the slower songs from the record. J: Mine is starting to be title track. 'Invented', because we just started playing that out

LS: How's it going down lwel

J: Good! People bought the record right away and that's a song they've gravitated towards.

LS: Do you find it's a lot of the older funs turning up or are there some younger ones? J: It's all over the place. There are people that like bought the first records and saw the first tour, and then there's people who maybe heard or saw our latest video and that's al! they know. So it's like, an interesting selection of people.

LS: Your cover of Toe Middle'~ really well knovVn, who vVOuld you vVantto cover you? j: It'd be funny if some pop [group J or something like that did it If Lady Gaga did 'Higher devotion' or something [laughs].

LS: How do you pid< them, is it a band choice? J: I've picked songs to cover that aren't necessarily our favourite songs. But we just felt

massive sing-alongs alongside a burst of pent-up pop punk energy. The juddery. joyous roller-coaster that is 'Praise Chorus' rumbles along with a driving bassline

At times Jimmy Eat World are in danger of sounding a little too slick for their own good; with the odd glam solo and predictable chorus suggesting a move towards a safer, more pedestrian breed of pop rock. However, 'For Me This Is Heaven's' tender balladry alongside slow­dancing guitar shimmer across the room. However, by the time 'Your New Aesthetic' stamps the nastier side of the band into the crowd with its dissonant grungy distortion and quiet bitterness- 'I'll miss you when you're just like them'- you can feel the butterflies again.

Towards the end the Arizona four-piece rattle out anthem after anthem, from acoustic tearjerker, 'Hear You Me' to grand, cathartic song, 'Work' to the song that could be mistaken for Something Corporate, 'Invented'. Throughout, it's clear to see what makes Jimmy Eat World special: that ability to combine the epic with the concise energy of punk to make nearly every song feel like an anthem. This couldn't be showcased better than in their final flourish, in which 'The Middle' and

we could do something fun with it 'Firestarter'­rt:'s like completely different The only thing really the same are the lyrics. It's loosely based on the bass progression.

LS: he you Pnodigy funs? J: You know, we were asked to be on a compilation album called 'War Child'- the proceeds go to help children involved in conflict areas - the premise of it was everyone was asked to do a UK number one hit So, we were looking at a list of potential number one hits and someone said we should 'Firestarter· And the funny thing is two of us thought that 'Firestarter' was actually 'Breathe' because that was like the more popular song in America We didn't know a whole lot about.Two of us didn't even remember what it sounded like -which sounded like a fun way to approach a cover.

LS: So what's coming up in the future apart from touring? J: Right now, we're still in the touring mode -we might do that for a couple of months before the next plan. T: We're touring for a year and half J: Yeah! I think that we already know what we're going to be doing until next the middle of summer. Playing live is an important thing for us and travelling is a fun thing for us, so there's a lots of places to play and we like to play all of them.

wo1"ds: Anna Conrad

'Sweetness' battle it out for anthem of the night with the crowd singing their hearts out to each in turn.

words: Lewis Mills

LS2 interv·

LS: So, your album came out this year and your first single was out four years ago. W hy did it take so long? Uffie: 'Pop the Glock'. was ~he first song I wrote It took me a bit of time to find the songs I wanted. to make. The exciting thing with the album 1s I didn't have the pressure to make it all clubby.

LS: Did you want to make it more cohesive, with more of an ongoing theme? U: Definitely. 'Illusion of Love' was the first song I made with Mirwais and it's the first one in that direction. But I was also touring non­stop for three years, and the baby took anoth­er nine months out so it was like a load of stuff.

LS: Did having a baby change the way you write songs? U: Not really, obviously you have to grow up

~'?s ~~~TI~~e.,f ~d ~~~~iw~0~=v~~~~i~e~ ~h~! way''

Goldfrapp/

02Academy 16/1 1/10

4/5

Goldfrapp are pio­nee1~s of modern music. Each album exhibits innovative progression: fearless­ly _attacking every­thing from. trip-hop to folktron1ca. With this in mind. it was unclear how the night would unfold

Kicking things off was 'Voicething', the pulsating electric hum and breathy falsetto_ r-es~matin.g from the PA. The band. sh1mmenng 1n their futuristic silver fashion, took to the stage via a ~1ant 1nnatable silver portal, which was surreally 1nter-galact1c .. Whilst the wind-swept Allison Goldfrapp positioned herself ?t the front of stage an emerald haze filled the air, perfectly leading into the deep electnc buzz of'Crystall1ne Green'

P~riorm1ng an eclectic set of tracks from across their albums, the band managed to steer clear of their-down-tempo fourth album Seventh Tree and debut Felt Mountain until the encores Regardless of the early stage-times, the show was incredible. Grinding bass pounded and elec­tric violin screeched while aggressive strobes and other lights reduced vision to blurred snapshots. The Academy became a fantasti~ally disorientat­ed environment. matched by Allison Goldfrapp's strong yet tender vocals.

On the final throb of 'Ooh La La' the band exited through the portal. only to return with Allison Goldfrapp sporting lar-ge shoulder pads and glistening tassels. The most intimate track of the set 'Black Cheny' followed by 'Little Bird', saw the lead singer- keeping in tune with the manic surroundings, as she worked those songs into a frenzy, tassels and all. The evening ended with Allison Goldfrapp adorned in black feathers whilst rocking out to early hit 'Lovely Head' before marching to the drum as the audience clapped in unison to 'Strict Machine·. The healthy applause that ensued recognized a good effort frum a class act. Some would say it was out of this world (sony ... ).

words: Aled Chivers

LS: On your new album you collaborate with Pharrell. What was. it like workin.g with him? U: Unfortunately I didn't get to be 1n the studio with him. Maybe that's a good thing actually because I probably _would ~ave freaked out! But I met him shooting the video. He's a really lovely guy, really humble. really sweet But he was my teenage crush so it's all still quite scary.

LS: So now the album's finally come out, do you want to dabble in fashion afterwards? Or was the Diesel collaboration just chance? U: Well. fashion is a thing I've always been

interested in. You know as a kid you can always play dress up in your imagination and it makes you really excited. I kind of feel that when I go on stage and it helps for me on stage when I can transform myself through oL!1fits. It's something I l~ve~ and obviously I think the fact there's d_en1m 1n my album title kind of attracted a denim company.

Born Ruffians/

Brudenell Social Club 21/1 1/10

4/5

Canadian indie rock­er-s Born Ruffians are often compared to those Vampire Weekend boys Sure, they're Ivy League and wear boat shoes. but unlike Vampire Weekend, Born Ruf­fians come across as

truly loveable. Take for example, set-opener, 'Foxes Mate For Life', a song of love and mam­malian monogamy which warms the hearts of everyone in the Brudenell.The band seem pleased to be playing. and as s!nger Lalonde barks into the microphone over Jerky guitar riffs, one can't help but feel uplifted. The clamouring vocals ar-en't always peliect, but the band have an energy and naturalness which 1s very endear­ing.

The stylish 4-piece perform to a crowd t~at is eager to get involved in every way possible, something Born Ruffians make very easy to do. With all the 'hey~', 'oohs' _and handclapping you could ever want. rt.'s practically impossible not to join in. T_he_ band blaze through a set of songs frum their lively debut, and their more la1d-?~ck sophomore album, Soy It. However, the dec1s1on to consecutively play three songs from their latest release had the audience yearning for some more familiar material. The mood was quickly reignited with the Bor~ Ruffians bursting into crowd favounte 'Humm1ngb1rd', a melee of s1de­sticks_ an? tinny guitars

Highlights of the set include the harmonica­embellished 'Little Garr;on', and the boot-stomp­ing closer, 'I Need A Life'. The song 1s gradually brought from twitchy guitar work to pure silence, as the crowd is deathly still, much to everyone's amazement. As the encore What To Say' draws to a close, it's difficuh: to find a face in the Bru­denell that isn't wea1ing a smile. The Bom Ruffians bring both energy and wa1mth to their peliotm­ance in the Brudenell, and leave the elated crowd with a feeling of accomplishment at having hollered their hearts out

words: Peter Hufton

LS: Did they let you do your own thing? U: Yeah, I just made these designs and they helped me make it into reality, telling me which fabrics would work with each design.

LS: You've been touring non-stop for three years, with the album and fashion done are you going to be taking some time out? U: It's never fucking .ending! I just want to go home and sleep for like a year.

LS: Taking a little hiatus before the second album? U:_ I'm already working on the seco~d one and M1rwais have already asked me to sing.

LS: Everyone at Ed Banger seems like a fami­ly. Would you let them babysit your daugh­ter? U: Actually SebastiAn is a really good friend. We spent a whole day with her. We went to the park played with the ducks and h.e·s amaz­ing with her. Feadz is pretty good with her as well.

LS: Finally, I have to ask, is there any beef between you and Kesha?

Low/

Brudenell Social Club 16/ I I/ I 0

4/5

On Tuesday night the Brudenell was

~~;;1f ~~l~i' as~:~c~~ stand, let alone to sit had bec?me nigh on impossible The opening act, Paul

".' Thomas Saunders, ---- stilled the crowd

instantly from its pre­pe1for:mance hubbub with his piercing. mesmeris­rng voice, comparable to that of Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. His set was well received by the crowd, and he will certainly be one to watch

There was a great deal of crowd buzz in between the two acts, and everybody was stand­ing up in front of the stage even before Low had reached it. Onstage they were suitably confident , guitarist and. vocalist Alan Spar-hawk provi_ding a nice smattenng of banter and interaction with the crowd, some of it goat--related. Law's energy became apparent onstage, the three members working together to create a room-filling sound to which recon:ling does not do justice. Their songs, including the wonderfully harmonised 'In Silence·, work because of the steady build-up of sound through repeated patterns_ and lyrical refrain, ~ometimes into distorted. gurtar solos or moody instrumentals, and sometimes into noth­ing but the end of the song. Mimi Parker's sparse brush drumming ofte~ leaves out the bass drum,

ral1~ i~~ot~e1~;~~s~f:~ b°!:i~Tt!~~o~~:

sound to now unpunctuated by beats, and allows for the gradual crescendos which are characteris­tic of Law's sound

Overall, the performance was adeptly han­dled. The band dutifully performed a three song encore, dunng which they took requests from the crowd, and the disappointment was evident when th~y. departed the stage. To see them in such an 1nt1mate setting at the Brudenell was a treat, as Sparhawk commented when coming on stage: ''I feel very close to you, I hope you feel the same.''

wor-ds: Alexander Minshall

U: I really don't give a shit about the subject.

LS: Would you ever challenge her to freestyle? U: She's a complete commercial pop product and I'm completely underground. For me it's like I don't really care, we're fr6m such differ­ent worlds.

words: James NorrisKeiller

M.I.A./

02Academy 20/11/10

3/5

To describe M.I.A's performance at he Acdemy 0:1 Saturday night as a circus does­n't quite do justice to the surreality of the night Reports claim that tickets for the Nv\ Y /\ tour haven't

· sold well, with the Liverpool date being

cancelled altogether. Bizarrely, Lee_ds Ac;ademy wasn'.t exactly packed either, which begs the question - is M.I.A still relevant?

The woman herself is trying that answer with a resounding yes, with blogworthy controversies, rather than musical talent. Superficial as they may be, there's no denying the beauty of Ml.A's vsual setup - strobes decked out the stage like frozen lightning, and th~ video art that was th~ backdmp to M.I.A's antics was as eye-catching as the woman herself. The flashing lights and M.IA's fre­netic male backing dancers distracted from the music. but with the tracks on Nv\ YI\ paling in comparison to those of Ar1Jlar and Kala, these dis­tractions are a blessing. M.IA knows that her value lies in performance, Jumping_ into the half-empty ~rowd only a few minutes into the set, before 1nvrting the crowd to gyrate onstage during the 'Bucky Done Gone'. A nightmare for the bounc­ers, but fun for the audience.

Say what you will about M.I.A's lack of musical talent her stJ:le is undeniable.Tracks like the Sleigh Bells-esque Meds and Feds' and even the frankly awful 'Born Free', sound passable underthe cover of Ml.A's visual extravagances. Happily, 'XXXO' (who produced that? Katy Peny?) was left out 1n favour.of excellent older cuts,. including 'Boyz' and the bnlliant 'Galang'. Eve1yth1ng from the @e of her new album to the @-sign flowers on stage emphasises M.I.A's enthusiasm for modernity, yet it's difficuh: to tell whether her music is keeping up wrt:h her. But she is the Alice in Wonderland of the internet age. and if the day is coming when she has to wake up and face the realrty of her tal­ent (or lackthereoQ, it isn't here yet

words: Tabitha Thorlu-Ban ura

±:

Featuring ... Blue Note Records

4/5

Grai:1my Award­winning artist Norah Jones has seen her career soa1- since her critica lly acclaimed debut album, Come Away with Me, was released in 2002. Her distinctive voice and equally noteworthy style have propelled

her into the mainstream .... Fea~nng, a compila­tion of collaborat1ons with A-list perfom1ers, serves as yet another reminder of her raw talent and musical versatility.

Given that Jones has become famous for ~er u~iguely sootJiing vocals, the duet is daring choice. nsking the dilution of her unique sound. However ... Feawn·ng picks up where the last albums left off. delivering what is best described as the closest thing adults get to a bedtime lullaby. Collaboration works to Jones' favour,. adding another d1me_ns1on to her work. All eighteen tracks go .by with?ut feeling o.venndulgent due to the surpns1ng vanety of styfes

Jones has chosen her musical partners well. and even old favourite~ sound like new composi­ti.ons. Willie Nelson, sings a_ delightfully raw ver­sion of 'Baby, rt.'s Cold Outside'. and a duet with Ray Charles is equally poignant, but rt is the unex­pected collaboratmns which provide the album's highlights. 'Take Off Your Cool', featunng Out­Kast. reveals a new side to Jones, as does 'Ufe is Better' WJth rapper Q· Tip.

Belle and Sebastian and Herbie Han­cock are responsible for the two most enigr:iatic collaborations on the album, the latter with a Jazzy cover of Joni Mrtche!l's 'Court & Spark' ... . Featur­ing is a Norah Jones journey worth travelling. per­fectly balanced and refreshing in its range.

words: Joe Miller

Bruce S steen/ The Promise

Columbia Records 4/5

Jrwo• tprh,p\u ~ n. Pn•L • ~~;;:rs~nn~ ~:r: restless. When­Springsteen & The E Street Band were finally allowed to record after a year of legal battles they spent a year creating Darl<ness on the Edge of Town. Out of the

tracks of this prolific session that didn't quite make the cut the 2-CD The Promrse is formed. released wrt:h its companion album's reissue. What could have been a mere tie-in, however, is a solid dou­ble album in its own right

The tracks that make up this collection have been seguenced brilliantly. Side I opens with a fuller Spnngsteen alternate cut of 'Racing In The St~et' and closes IA'.rth .the song 'Candy's Boy', which would evolve into 'Candy's Room'. T anal­ly a.nd lyncally, the two songs differ greatly from their album proper counterparts. Through_ these points. of common gr_ound you catc~ fascinating little glimpses into Spnngsteen's creative process.

Although there are some lost anthems for the dispossessed amongst Side 2's mor-e stripped back instrumentation, rt can at times sound like a bar band doing a very good impersonation of Springsteen. It is understandable that these less imminently anthemic songs wouldn't qurt.e work their way onto a proper album, though they pro­vided an early hint at what was to come in his more restrained records.

Winding down into sublime title-track 'The Promise', the album more than makes up for its occasional lack of that trademark Springsteen spark. Though it will definitely appeal older fans, it is nevertheless a go?d introduction to Spri_ng­steen's unique captunng of the sp1nt of Arnenca

words: Sam Coe

The Drums MeAnd T he Moon

Island

With a beginning that sounds like Footloose. The Drums seem to be goin~ all eighties on us. W~_ a more electro sound, yet retaining their surfer pop ong1ns. 'Me and_ the Moon' is a great single to sing al~::,ng to and has a per:;uas1vely optmistic summer feel. Shame rt.'s nearly December.

words: Will Woodward

Enter Shikari Destablise

Ambush Reality

Enter_ Shikari's eagerly awaited new single 'Destabilise' does not disappoint Janing vocals scream out over a heavy dan_ce beat as the band produce another metalcore/electronica anthem. Not a song which will appeal to the masses, but a real treat for fans. Best listened to loud!

words: Lyndsey Gregory

Grinderman Worm Tamer Mute Records

Nick Cave moaning. "I guess I've loved you for too_ long", over classic metal chords: Grinderman have once a.gain cor­nered the market on dirty old man rock'n'roll, and rt's never sounded better.

words: Will Tompsett

Rihanna/ Loud

Mercury 3/5

Rihanna's latest offer­ing Loud promises a return to the dance­floor: leaving the flac­cid, Slash-infused Roted R at the door to squabble with the bouncers.

Hipsters, what you read next may shock you: this album is

good. Not in a post-post-modem so-anti-alterna­tive-its more-alternative-than-the-alternative kind of way but in a shamelessly addictive, clubland­tastic frenzy. It is an homage to. unembarrass.ed airbrushed ~P· .Try not to gNe 1n to the blazing Tue Only Girl 1n the World' or the ludicrous, stomping Eminem duet 'Love the Way You Lie (Part Two)'.

Like a toddler on a sugar hig~. the record is a frenzy of influences. Drake, Em1nem and ghetto sweetheart Nicki Minaj all feature on the record, in an attempt to authenticate Laud's hip-hop cred­ibility. However, skid-mark 'California King Bed' deflates the record somewhat. and is more nox­ious than a room full of carbon monoxide, with lyrics like ''My California king in this California king bed". 'Cheeis (Dnnkto That)' brings Avril Lavigne into the equation, for reasons unknown. Aside from the inevrtable number ones, on the whole the aJbum feels a little schizophrenic Rihanna flits from ballad songstress to ghetto superstar. to rockstar and sometimes pomstar.

However. despite the album's lack of cohe­sion. Loud is a guaranteed hit. When .this raging hit record rears its ugly head 'Only Girl ,n the World' and What's My Name' will infiltrate every crevice of your life for the next month. There is no escape. In Rihanna's own words on opener 'S&M': "I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it".

words: Grace Caff n

Kassidy/ The Rubbergum EP

Mercury 3/5

After a hectic sum­mer schedule playing

• . rt a variety of festivals, ... ,:~ ,(. Kass.1dy celebrate t_he r 11~ r-elease of their third

-

EP ,n the 'Rubber-gu. m' series. suitably. named The Rubber­gum EP Volume 3 Unfortunately they fail to build on vol­

ume two of the senes. The Glaswegian guitar quartet take the com­

mon approach to the 'folk rock' genre: think Deer Tick fused with Good Old War with lots of group harmonies thrown in. There is undoubtly poten­tial on this record. however. and this 1s no more evident than in the opening track 'Oh My .God' It's a very feel-good song that will have you s1ng1ng along after just the fir-st chorus and wouldn't be out of place as an accompaniment to a road tnp across Route 66.

Second track 'That Old Song' builds on this cheery start to the album wrt.h a much quicker paced song whil~ still holding on to the folky feel, and probably suits a bam dance more than a road trip. It's clearly the 5trongest of the album and employs all the ingredients to a great song; variation, very catchy guitar riff and singing on.e of the choruses higher than any of the previous ones. rt may be simple but rt works.

the ~i~~:J~3a~~l~~s~~:~ ~h;1Ga~b1!?dtho: album has peaked. 'The Next Move On' is an a capella song. with Just finger .dicking for- percus­sion. but 1s just too repet1t1ve to 1·eally get enthused about The final track. 'Heart' would be better suited to an O.C soundtrack With lyrics telling us the vocalist · 'should have listened to his heart, in order to be the best", perhaps Kassidy themselves know they could try harder.

words: A lex Russell

Gorillaz Doncamatic Parlophone

ft's unclear what's more shocking about the new Gorillaz sin­gle: their evolved sound or the fact that guest vocalist, Daley, 1s actually a man. Though rt. ~gins rather innocuously rt stands alongside the rest of Gonllaz's stellar hits. 'D0ncamat1c' reflects Dama~ Alba.m's flexibilitywrthin musical genres. Hard to believe this 1s the same guy who chanted 'Parklrfe' just 16 years ago.

words: Will Tompsett

Japanese Voyeurs Milk Teeth

Fiction Of late there's been a huge calling for a full blow gn.1nge reviv~I. Yeah right Who ar-e Japanese Voyeur"'S trying to convince? 'Milk Teeth' 1s utter trash. Someone needs to tell these voyeurs that baggy jeans aren't 1-eally the done thing anymore.

words: David Squire

Holy State Medicine Hat

Dance To The Radio Leeds-based quartet Holy State's new single boasts indie vocals fighting to ~ heard over catchy gurtar nffs. Not too edgy, but rt's a fun listen nonetheless.

words: Danielle Mendel

~;~:1LIJ;~t

You might be having great sex, While students are becoming more and more open about sex and relationships, with many seeing it as perfectly acceptable to air last night's exploits on the Roger Stevens' stairs for all to hear, seriously discussing sexual health remains a massive taboo. It seems the only time that Chlamydia is dared mentioned is in a joke, an alternate for 'you're­a-bit-of-a-slag'. But with Britain having the highest teenage preganancy rate and the worst sexual health in Europe, it is clear that our attitudes need to change and that students need to address the constant rise in the number of people contract ing and passing on infections. LS2 visited a real life STI clinic to see what all the fuss is about.

"Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, OK, p romise? O K, now e very body t ake some rubbers." So, how do we find a middle ground between Mean Girls' style sex education advice and just being plain reckfess with our health?

Why are we refusing to take the constant increase in sexually transmitted infections seriously? There has been a 150 per cent increase in the cases of Chlamydia diagnosed since 1998; more than double. Chlamydia has become the most common STI in the UK to date, according to numerous sexual health websites and statistics, with genital warts named as the most common viral infection. The Chlamydia screening report says that one in ten ·young people' have the condition. By this they mean the age group in which it is most common: ours. For women, the chances of getting an STI is most likely between the ages of 19 and 20, while men save it for a little late1- on in life, their STI peak age being from between 20 to 23.

Surveys have found that 57 per cent of young people have had a one-night stand, and 38 per

To win the battle for better sexual health, two things need to be addressed and

) improved: knowledge about risks and prevention, and making sure people take responsibility for their own health, with regular sexual screenings.

cent have admitted to not always using a condom with a new partner. Scarier is the fact that myths about how you could contract infection are sometimes proved to be true. No. you cannot catch Chlamydia from towels or toilet seats, but you can fmm ''intimate foreplay''

But it's not just some handsome stranger you dragged home after Fruity that could be over­sharing. Cosmopolitan highlighted that even in relationships ST! testing is an uncomfortable subject, with 73 pe'. cent admitting to never having raised the question of sexual health before sleeping with their new partner. Another 30 per cent say they feel uncomfortable about asking their partner to wear a condom. While the contraceptive pill remains the most successful protection ~gainst unwanted pregnancy, it cannot protect against infections. As we should al! know by now, a condom will. Fortunately. we amongst the student population

appear to be more open about these issues, with 87 per cent admitting that they would discuss contraception with someone they had just met. But what about you I 3 per cemt?

To win the battle for better sexual health, two things need to be addressed and improved: knowledge about risks and prevention. and making sure that people take responsibility for their own health, with regular sexual screenings. Sex education in schools plays a vital mle but up until

There has been a 150% rise in the cases of Chlamydia diagnosed since 1998.

now, sex education has been varied and. to be perfectly honest, generally flawed. The law in the UK has recently changed however, and sex education is now compulsory in secondary schools. Furthermore, parents can longer withdraw thei1- children from lessons if they are over the age of 15.

At present some schools currently discourage information on contraception for religious reasons: while Catholic schools refuse to display sex education information that goes against their religious bel iefs of abstinence before maniage and opposition to artificial forms of contraception, strict Muslims refuse based on their belief in proliferation and the need to increase the birth rate. W hilst th is new law is perhaps controversial considering rel igious grounds for opposit ion, overall it would seem to be a positive step in ensuring better knowledge about sexual health.

While the majority of people may have got the message that a condom is probably a good idea, however, the next concern is the number of people who are "sexually active" but have not

Surveys have found that 57% of young people have had a one-night stand, and 38% have admitted to not always using a condom with a new partner.

been t est ed for one reason or another. The Chlamydia screening program obviously aims to test everyone having sex, but unfortunately experts say that they are only reaching 47 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men at present. leaving a vast number in t he. dark about the ~ate of their sexual health. For th is reason we decided to "do our bit" and head down to the Sexual Health Centre in Leeds to try out getting tested for ourselves ...

Why are students so afraid of sexual health checks? Is it the prodding?The poking?The swabbing? Or, like the thought of your parents having sex, do you just not want to know?

!Top tips for getting tested:

Take a friend It's a lot less scary when you have a buddy to make jokes with. But unlike the girl who was sat opposite us in the waiting room, please don't talk loudly to the person beside you about your friend who has Chlamydia ...

Think about what to wear The nurse isn't going to be impressed with your best pants or your new"haircut", but I stupidly wore an all in one playsuit and the nurse ended up seeing more of my body than she bargained for.

Don't be embarrassed Whether it is in the waiting room or with the nurse, everyone is there for the same reason­sexual health.You're not being judged, no one thinks you're a slag, and people don't just presume you are infected because you are there.You're just being careful, responsible and cautious.

Don't take pictures It seems like everywhere I go in Leeds there is an excited little fresher taking pictures of'uni antics'.We were required to take a camera to the clinic for the article - as you can see weren't successful

Relax, relax, relax It's never going to be a fun experience but don't make it worse by tensing up your body during the tests. Impressing the nurse with your abs of steel will not be worth the discomfort

+

; ~!1 [IJ i~ ~1l~a

1Ut are you having safe sex?

Braved the test and want to get further involved in the future of British sexual health? Sexpression is a national organisation aimed at promoting sexual education, awareness and safety. The Leeds branch. which is run by medical ~udents from our own university, go into schools in the local area to teach Year 9 and Year I l pupils about the three sectioned program, Sex and the media, STls and contraception.

'Sex and the media' aims to explore the common perceptions of sexual activity in the nation's media, using newspaper and magazine extractions to discuss appropriate topics before spe3!<ing of peer pressure and various forms of relationships. The STI section requires discussion of sexually transmitted diseases, before the ambassadors teach the school students the most common forms. symptoms, where to get tested and what happens in a screening. Lastly, there is

the contraception section which often proves the most entertaining part of the program. After learning about the various forms of contraception, the school students learn to place condoms on artificial demonstrators, having light-hearted competitions based on the speed of the applications. The pupils are then able to post anonymous questions into a box, which the medical students will help to answer.

As one of the ambassadors for the program explained, programmes such as $expression break down seemingly awkward barriers between school students and sex education; instead of simply teaching 'science-orientated' lessons, $expression helps teenagers to discuss and ask questions with young university medical students aged between 18-25, which is often less embarrassing than with teachers.

If you are a student who would like to get involved in the programme please email $expression at leedssexpression@gmail.com or visit their website at www.leedssexpression.com

photo: Tomas ]Minda

Our verdict To prove that getting tested is really not that bad, we decided to go to a sexual health clinic and get screened for the full works: O,lamydia, Gonormoea, HIV, Syphilis and T richomoniasis.

After getting lost in the dungeons of Leeds General Infirmary. we arrived at the GUM clinic, which actually happened to be opposite the University's Edge Sports Centre. Upon our arrival at the clinic we were required to fill out a fonn to agree to the tests but it is possible to use a false name and refuse contact with your GP. You are then asked to wait in an exclusively male or female waiting room surrounded by magazines, a television and even toys for those of you wanting to embrace a moment of innocence.

After a short wait the two of us went into our separate consultations, and sat down with the doctor for a quick chat We were then asked a series of non­intrusive questions (though Steph is still offended that unlike her, Fiona wasn't asked if she "had ever paid or been paid for sex?"), before discussing what will happen in the tests.

We were then led into a private room and told to take off all clothing from the waist down but allowed a gown to cover up some dignity for a few minutes. Now this is where we can only tell you what happens for us girls:

For us, it was both a female nurse and a female doctor. You sit upon a comfortable reclining chair and open your legs onto those leg holders which women giving birth do in films. Now my mother always told me never to open my legs to anyone unless they bought me dinner but for once I lay my morals to one side ... And spread 'em. And aside from the initial shock of a gloved hand touching my crown jewels for the first time, it really wasn't that bad.

They feel about the area before inserting a speculum into you, which they have slightly warmed up to avoid the shock That is undoubtedly the most uncomfortable part but if you lie down and relax it really isn't too bad. (And this is coming from possibly the two most dramatic students at Leeds University.)

They take a few swabs, take out the speculum and then let you sit up and cover up. Then, after a standard blood test you're back getting dressed, and as quick as anything, like premature ejaculation, it's suddenly all over.

And that is it Clear and simple. Quick Not too painful. Easy. So to all of you who haven't been tested, what is your excuse?

How to get tested in Leeds:

\Ci Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine, .. Sunnybank Wing,

)\0 Leeds General lnfirmar~ Leeds,

- LSI 3EX

Call O I I 3 392 6724 to book an appointment An appointment can normally be made within 48 hours.

The appointment line is open between 8:45 -I I :45 and I 3:00-1 6:45, Monday to Friday

For further information visit www.leedssexualhealth.com/sti-testing

• )

ARTS

David Hockney, Henry Moore and Damien Hirst are just a few great artists who have northern roots, and the Northern Art Prize seeks to find new artistic talents working in the north of England. There has been a growing appetite for the visual arts in the north, leading to the establishment of enterprises such as The Henry Moore Institute and The Liverpool Biennial. This so-called cultural renaissance has aided the developing attitudes and the gradual breakdown of stereotypes regarding imaginative and creative excellence in the North. It is these precise values the award seeks to honour, in the hope of encouraging

Project Space Leeds 6th November - 11th December 2010

"I am used to office environments where people are there because they want to be, and are keen to achieve. There are sparks of that desire, but they are tempered by a need to be accepted by their peers"

Kirsteen Ashton left behind her world of corporate photography and spent her summer exploring the ever-eventful lives of a group of young offenders involved with the Summer Arts College, held at the Serendipity Art Centre in Bately. In partnership with Kirklees Youth Offending T earn. this project helps 14 to I 8 year olds discover the power of creativity, offering the opportunity to try something new, gain qualifications and perhaps set their lives on a different path. For theirs is a world of violence and struggle, that some would say is too far removed from the simplicities of an art project. Or so it would seem.

future generations to expedite this artistic momentum and to strengthen a sense of Northern cultural identity. The following artists have made the shortlist, and the winner will be announced on 20th January next year.

Alec Finlay's work evokes his concerns about how contemporary culture interacts with the natural world in the wake of climate change. Both Specimen Colony (2008) and Home to a King (2009) are installations that feature bird nest boxes as symbols of the modern hybrid city with Its constant transmigration. The exterior of the boxes are

Yes, the Arts College may well be a stark difference from the turbulent backgrounds the young adults come from, yet Sue Ellis (project arts leader) believes it is just the thing these individuals need to master their emotions and instill pride in their personal achievements. They participate in a range of activities, from scriptwriting and physical theatre to puppet stitching and poetry.

Ashton's photography captures this journey from disorderly, uncooperative offender into determined. passionate creators. When viewing her collection of work you are confronted with rather stereotypical, threatening black and white images of 'hoodies', seemingly angry and frustrated kids; some are even under the control of electronic tags.

The images in this exhibition are haunting and their unexpected vulnerability instantly challenges my notion of the term 'young offender'. Suggestions of crime or trouble would normally come to mind but here the viewer Is forced to challenge the common

decorated with graphic representations of different bird species. designed by Jo Salter, and represent biodiversity; a recuning theme repeated in the spectrum of variant colours, shapes and sizes of fruits in Apple Colour Wheel (20 I 0). Another thread through his work appears to be a need to document, record and somewhat enclose his subject. reminiscent of Joseph Cornell, particularly in the meticulously boxed and labelled vials of Siren (2006).

Lubaina Hamid's art focuses on the importance of African cultural contribution to our contemporary environment. Her work

misconception that these youths don't care. There is obvious emotion and determination present, echoed particularly in the display of a set of colourful snapshots and a framed collection of the young individuals at work, enhancing the extent of what can be achieved when you set your mind to it.

Ashton's social documentary 'A Different Window' also includes a short film, created by the young people showing the dangers of the drug Methadrone. The entire collection radiates the positives that come from hard work and determination but also the reality of these young adults situa~ions. ·it is definitely worth hunting down Project Space Leeds in order to see it.

words: Naomi Sanders

More information can be found at www.projeetspoceleeds.org.uk

Kirsteen's blog offi!rs brilliant insight into her journey if you're interested in ffnding out more:

l<irsteenashton.wordpress.com

references historical, social and political themes. In her Jelly Mould Pavilions (2009- 1 0), Hamid inimically combines plain, staid Victorian jelly moulds with resplendent African patterns and ebullient caricatures of inspirational figures from the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King. The jelly moulds, symbolically representing the sugar trade and therefore slave history, stand as imposing, immovable monuments next to miniature figurines in Hamid's imagines spaces The overall effect is compelling and vivacious.

David Jacques' Por Convenci6n Ferrer (2008) and North Canada - English Electric (2009-10) are both unashamedly and inescapably historical. His post-industrial photos and paraphernalia celebrate a marginalised historical and specifically Northern identity, concerned with political and social dissent with the corporate state. Haroon Mirza produces installations of multiple assemblages to create a multisensory experience. His auditory skills are most apparent here in Birds of Pray (20 I 0) where discordant sounds of malfunctioning electricity contrast with the tones of the Islamic call to prayer sonically suggest a contradiction in the Islamic outlook towards music.

So who should take the prize? I daren't call it as they all have their own unique assertions on the prize,: Jacques is the most unequivocally Northern; Hamid is the most visually striking; Mirza is the most receptive and multisensory; and Finlay is the most thematically cohesive and current. Decide for yourself at the free exhibition at the Leeds Gallery on from now until 6th February.

words: Jessica Ashdown

AUDITIONS FOR 18-25 YEAR OLDS

This December, York Theatre Royal Young Actors Company (Y AC) is holding auditions for their latest production as part of The Yorkshire Museum's Celebrating Severus festival, inspired by the objects, stories and life of Septimius Severus, York's last Roman emperor.

YAC was created for 18-25 year olds with the objective of providing performance opportunities for young adults.

Auditions are being held at the Theatre Royal's rehearsal space at The Maltings on Walmgate on 9 & IO December from 6.30 -8.30. Auditions will be a group workshop so there is no need to prepare anything in advance. This is an exciting opportunity to create and perform new pieces of theatre as part of an ensemble with an emerging company in a non-theatrical setting.

For more information and to book for an audition date email Julian 01/ive at

julian@forktheatreroY.al.co.uk orca// 01904 658162.

REVIEWED ONLINE

Spring Awakening by Musical Theatre Society

Reviewed by Hannah Asti/1

COMEDY

LS2 meets ... LEEDS TEALIGHTS La Commedia Dell Sketche & Special Guests Showing at The Library Pub, 8pm Sun 28th Nov, Tues 30th Nov, Weds 1st Dec Available at www.leedstickets.cam

Sitting in the T errac.e bar Pet~ StarT grimaces slightly as I ask the opening question of my interview, apparently "Say something funny" is not as original as I first thought The T ealtghts newbie is quickly joined by veteran member Patrick Turpin and between ~e~ they manag~ to t.um IO organised (and quite c1vil1sed) questions into 3 pages of illegible, debaucherous nonsense.

Originally set up in 2005/6 as a sideline project for Th.eatre Group, Leeds T ealights have risen to new heights in ~ecent years. Most notably this year sees the comedians awarded The National Student 'Best Student Sketch Group' and this promises to be another must-see show. Fonner Tealights members Mark Smith and Max Dickens form the supporting act of the final two days of the show whilst former ~.embers of The Durham Revue Gentlemen of Leisure 101n the sketch group on the opening night: 'that's two acts for £4.50! That's good value for money and in this age of austenty that's a lot of laughs per pence'

In amongst the anecdotes T ealights describe their style: 'it's silly, slick, student based comedy [ ... ] we're less dark this year and just really, really funny'. Talk eventually turns to pre-show rituals and I'm wonyingly described a game that involves downing as many WKD's as is humanly possible to Party Hard by Andrew WK: 'it's very decadent. It's the student equivalent of binging on FerTero Rocher[ ... ] Guns and Roses have nothing on the T ealights - the kind of d~bauchery we get up to!'. Questionable music tastes aside, the guys assure me they mean business, 'we've been around for a while; we're serious, experienced comedians and we're not just fucking around'.

The group boasts 6 members; 5 guys and one girl and ages range from 19-22, four out the six also do

stand-up. They're a mixed bag studying everything from Theatre and Performance ('no you don't, you take geography!' 'er ... no. I take Theatre and Performance') to Chinese and Biological Studies. The boys tell me that although they've worked really hare on the show all semester, the most challenging part to date was taking the gr?up shopping for this year's outfits; clearly a close knit group, if this is their biggest problem t~en th~y've got littl~ to wony about. Patrick ends the interview by adding 'T ealights have just ~otte_n b~tter and better every year' and if their 1n~lus1on into the Cambridge Footlights competition this rear (a national competition that usually only consists of the 'old s_chool' _societies; Cambridge, Oxford and Durham) 1s anything tog? by then things are on!y getting better for Leeds T eal1ghts.

So, 1f these guys are as funny as their table manners then La Commedia dell Sketche is not to be missed. And if all of the a~ove is still not enough to persuade you, they're all qurte good looking too.

Tealights H ighlights: - 20 I 0: Best Student Sketch Group award. - Leeds T ealights alumni Mark Smith was a 2009 ~nalist in So You Think You're Funny, the largest emerging comedian competition in the UK, which boasts former winners the likes of Peter Kay and David O'Doherty. - 20 I 0: Underbelly Sketch-Off winners - F<~>nner T ealights member Huw Beynon, described ?Y hrs pee_rs as 'a rugby ball wielding heartthrob' and an alarmingly average centre forward', currently presents Sports Tonight on TV3 in New Zealand. - ~lumnus Max Dickens is a presenter for Absolute Radio and was recently nominated for the Rising Star Sony Radio Award.

words: Daisy Mankee

West Yorkshire Playhouse until 15th January 2011

Hu_nched ove: his riches, bitt~rly lamenting the odious 'malaise' that is Christmas. Ebenezer Sc~ooge is brou~ht to life this season by the est1mably able Philip Whitchurch, an actor that manages to tease out his character's every trait from _the. pages of the novel and amplify them for our v1ew1ng pleasure.

If Christmas is a 'malaise,' the theme of sickness an~ ill _will certainly manifests itself throughout the maJ':mty of the play's scenes, incessant as the putnd fog that pervades Dickens' classic tale. From the disturbing pal/our of the characters to the cool lig~t tha~ bath.es both the balding Scrooge and the dying _Tiny Tim, the play has not been sparing when 1t comes to symbolism. and one would hope not, given that rt is this that hammers home the message of the story; the play reminds us that a la~k of human compassion and a preoccupation ":'1th wealth will _eventually plunge us into darkness, sickness and solitude.

lnde~d, it is contrast that makes the story's symbolism_ all the mor~ potent. and the play visually clanfies t~e polanty between passion for money and passion for others in a number of ways; those for whom Christmas spirit is in abundance are treated to roaring fires and a seasonal f~ast, whilst. Scrooge finds himself alone in his miserliness, banished to the shadows of his four-poster bed wi~h a meagre bowl of gruel

Seldom straying fr~m Dickens' original narr:a,t1ve. the sp1nts that visit Scrooge are similarly equipped with emblematic purpose; th~ ghost of Chris~mas Past is bald, bngh~ and wide-eyed, ordenng Scrooge to see the light; the ghost of ~hn~mas Yet To Come swoops down from on hrgh 1n a cloak as dark and foreboding as his sinister

discourse. Indeed the play boasts fantastic special e~ects, from Marley's ghost emerging in a billow of mist from. beneath Scroo~e·s bed t.o spectres disappearing (almost) as 1f by magic into the ~hadolA'.s. Yet perhaps a little c~mtrived is the way in which Scrooge's previous selves are represented: instead of actors, puppets are used t? play the role of the young Scrooge and his sister, characters that constitute what could have been a very moving episode in Scrooge's memory. As a re.suit, a scene that shou.ld e.mpha_sise Scrooges lo~g-for:gotten bond with his family is reduced to a Juvenile sketch, one that washes over the audience somewhat.

Nonetheless, the idea of the puppet and more importantly_ the puppeteer, ought not to be o~erlooked rn the play's broader context the director is perhaps urg!ng ~s to question the concept of f~te and who 1s ultimately in control of it The storyline 1s punctuated and driven forward by four nameless personas, spectra/ themselves in appearanc~,. who seem to _be orderi~g Di_ckens' ?nginal. spirits 1n thei'. act,rons, bawling sinister 1mperatrves from all d1rect1ons such as 'test him some more, he is not yet scared enough,' orders that eventually compel Scrooge to change his own fate after seeing. what could be his lonely death This technique 1s effective up to a point w~ contemplate our future, and the possibility that its outcome could be due to our own foresight rather than simply the worl<.ings of some abstract force -yet these four nameless characters will often break into song as a means of moving the story along, which smacks a little of a need to fill time as opposed to a thou~ht out add!tion to the play.

What 1s lacking 1n the music the acting makes up ~or, however. No character from the novel is omitted; each actor takes on their role with as much aplomb as their corseted frame or tailored figure will allo'A: for. which makes for an all round en1oyable evenrng.

worcs: Rosie Driffill

Director. David Yates Starring: Darnel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Released: 19th November 20 Io·

espite what Hany Potter apologists might force themselves to believe, the series is far from perfect. The books started off

promisingly with a convincing and original take on classic fairy tales and a genuinely enthralling mythology, but by the Hal( Blood Prince, rt had descended into convoluted storytelling, riddled with plot holes. Pessimistic readers could be forgiven forthinkingJ.K Rowling was SUl.Jggling to include important (previously forgotten) details, or worse: she was making it up as she went along.

Hany Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Part I breaks tradition. As a whole the films have proved better than the books, perhaps because so much effort has been put into making British blockbusters that can hold their own against their American counterparts. but the stronger films have definitely arisen from the stronger novels. The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Order of the Phoenix stand head and shoulders above the others simply because the books are so much more interesting in terms of narrative and individual scenes. The Deathly Hallows Part I turns this on its head by transforming something that was seemingly an exercise in filling pages to a genuine tale of action and suspense.

The film sees the evil Lord Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters infittrating the Ministry of Magic and transforming the wizard world into something re_miniscent ?f the Third Reich, just with more unicorns. Villains are seen weanng red armbands, propaganda leaOets are glimpsed depicting a logo not dissimilar to the Nazi swastika, and witches and wizards who aren't of pu1-e blood ar-e tried in court before presumably being killed It is up to Hany, Hermione and Ron to abandon Hogwarts in order to find the seven

Director: Javier Mariscal, Fernando T rveba Starring: Mario Guerra, Limara Meneses, Estrella Morente Released: 19th November 20 I 0

Chico and Rita is the animated lovechild of artist and designer Javi~r Mariscal and acclaimed Oscar winning director Fernando Trueba (belle epoque).

A Cuban love story, the film tells the story of Chico an aspiring pianist and the beautiful singer Rita, whose romance blossoms_ under the Havana sun. Set predominantly 1n pre­Castro Havana, when Batista turned the island into America's playground, and later in

items in which Voldemort has hidden parts of his soul (thus rendering him immortal) and destroy them.

This installment is a far cry from the children's farce that we witnessed back in 200 I . Gone are scenes of Ron shoving his wand up a bumbling troll's nose; these have been replaced by lengthy contemplation in the middle of woods, temfying encounters wrth Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini, and a hefty dose of teenage angst It is clear that the films have matured with the characters, and more importantly the audience, and The Deathly Hollovvs Port I is much better for rt.

It is the wealth of acting talent available that is

New York and Las Vegas, in which Rita leaves the playboy Chico in search of fame and fortune.

The story line is not your archetypal tale of 'star crossed lovers', focusing more on the flaws of Chico's character. His naivety, jealousy and stupidity inevitably keep them apart till the very end. Because of this you do not grow any real .aff1~1ty with the protagonists and their failing romance struggles to evoke much sympathy. Subsequently the 'love story' is cast a little to the side. However, this naw does not detract from what is a vastly gratifying and enjoyable film.

For anyone skeptical over the power of animation as a medium, this will give you serious change of heart. Having assembled

among the highlights of t~e film however. _Where else can you see the likes of Alan Rickman chewing the scenery alongside seasoned veterans such as Bill Nighy and David Thewlis? It does become a case of 'spot the thespian' but with the roles being filled so well, it is hard to notice or even care. Brendon Gleeson's Mad Eye Moody and Toby Jones' Dobby steal the show despite surprisingly b1-ief appearances, but Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter aren't far behind. Even the acting from the three leads, which has long been the most detrimentaJ part of the franchise, displays a maturity and subtlety more akin to the personalities they have grown

some of the most experienced animators in the industry, the directors set out to create a slick production that still _maintains. the s1mplic1ty of Mars1cal's original. designs Allegedly not all animators made 1t through but what we are left with 1s a sexy, sassy, explicit piece of film; crammed with vibrant images flying in from everywhere, leaving ~y eyes drooling at the visual feast. Funnily enough - one of the btggest problems was trying to read the subtitl~s. as_ it's hard to take your eyes off the action higher up the screen!

If the purr of Cuban spanish doesn't leave you .feeling fuzzy all over, the~ the magnificent score will leave you wan_t1ng to grab the closest stranger by the waist and rumba all over the picture house (for the sake of this review I managed to resist the temptation, but it was hard). This feature will satisfy any musician, as some of the biggest names in Jazz, Mambo, and Palladium bands 'cameo' in creating a diverse and succulent mix. Chana Pozo, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie (to name a few) grace the screen with their presence and Rita's (Limara Meneses) voice is particularly magnificent.

It is nice to see the Spanish directing duo paying homage to the Buena Vista social club, which is one of Cuba's most successful cultural exports, in the finale of the film when Chico (in his old age) is again plucked from obscurity and taken on tour around the world.

For any Potter-phobes who still want to visit a cinema over the next few weeks Chico and Rita is a fantastic feel good movie, which will stimulate every sense and emotion.

words: Olris Stavros Morrogh

up alongside The fact that the middle third of the film is

unnervingly slow suggests that the final two films would have worked better as a one three hour spectacular, but instead .we'll have to wait e.ight months for the conclusion. Luckily, the 1nsp1red treatment of the subJect matter, frankly sublime set design and effects. and tear-jerking final scene mean that The Deathly Hallovvs Part I warrants numerous re-watches - enough to keep us busy until Hany and friends' last hu11ah next July

words: Sam Ingram

PREVIEW

Frankinstein's Wedding Just when the supermarkets had almost got entirely rid of their H.alloween-based paraphernalia, spookiness 1s set to return to Leeds in the New Year for a BBC produced live musical called Frankenstein's Wedding. Performers are currently working together to finalise the show that will feature music, dance and drama to bring to life the love story behind Mary Shelley's classic horro.r, Frankenstein. Af a press conference here in

Leeds, the event's org~nisers at BBC shared their enthusiasm for this 'creatively ambitious project', but gave only teasers of information, forcing an air of mystery to surro~nd_ the event. They did reveal however that 1t_ will be televised live on 8BC3, that it will be aimed at younger viewers (teenagers. students) an~ that it will take place in and around the suitably gothic Kirl<stall Abbey.

There are epic plans in terms of staging, but hopefully this can be matched with great content in the musical. Chloe Moss provides the script and as a writer for Hollyoaks and Secret Diary of a Call Girl we can p_resumably expect some comedy and raunchiness. The live music on the other hand is under the control of Steve Sidwell, who has worked wrth Baz Luhrmann for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, making for another excit1~g addition to the project. We are given _a bnef glimpse into a dress-rehearsal too, sho_w1ng the Phoenix Theatre Company dancing to a Magnetic Man track-·· less exciting. . , However it turns out that 'Frankensteins Wedding' looks like it could be a fairly big deal

so keep your eyes open.words: James Kinnaird

Director: Kim Chopiron Starring: Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Matteo Moroles Released on DVD: 3rd January 20 I I

Kim Chap1ron's film follows Butch, Davis and Ange l: the latest additions to Enola Vale Correctional Facility. as they attempt to keep their heads down and their noses clean in a brutally aggressive and stereotypically hierarchical Juvenile Detention Centre.

We're introduced to car thief Angel (Morales). cocky high school drug-dealer Davis (Kippel) and eldest of the trio, psychotically violent 17-year old Butch (Butcher). By no means is the script original, when the three teenagers one by one, fall prey to the clutches of the resident bully, Banks. Think Prison Break or Scum and you've summarised this characteristically tense penal drama where violence. suicide and murder are commonplace. The film is littered with useful flashbacks, which allows us to piece together how the convicts ended up in juvie in the first place. There are smug snarls and bad-ass attitudes but other than showing a prison guard's nose get ripped off. the first half of the film is relatively tame. Yet after a somewhat docile first half. it gets violent with a refectory riot that even David Haye would wince at.

Using a cast that was largely found within US correctional centres, the level of realism is

impressive. Chapiron hints at just enough of their vulnerable sides to evoke some sympathy; especially anti-hero Butch, with Adam Butcher playing the role with such intensity you're tenified of him, yet absurdly want him to be okay.

fast paced, seemingly part- improvised and unpredictable, yet it's frustrating. At only 91 minutes it' s cut short with no conclusive ending, which only further highlights the fact you've never been moving towards an ultimate goal

words: Emily Coen Dog Pound is an adept piece of film making:

DVD CORNER GAINSBOURG Director. Joann Sfar Starring: Eric Elmosn,no, Lucy Gordon and Laetitia Costa Released: I 0th January 20 I I

Ga1nsbourg is a biopic unrivalled in the boldly poetic use of puppetry and forays into animation which invoke a sense of the elegance of Serge Gainsbourg's artistry as well as the origin of the narrative structure: the film is written and directed by acclaimed comic-book artist Joann Sfar and is an adaptation of his own graphic novel. The employment of puppetry manifests itself in the imaginary character,

La Guele, a long-nosed, lanky, ungainly entity with enormous hands, representing Gainsbourg's alter-ego. La Guele is the imaginary personification of Gainsbourg's ambition, avarice and lechery resulting in a sort of one-sided psychomachia with the real Gainsbourg playing the good angel. It also represents Gainsbourg's early insecurity about his looks. The use of La Guele and Gainsbourg's occasional interaction with him is highly effective in conveying a greater sense of intimacy and familiarity than would ha".e come across in an equally well-acted biopic. And, indeed, Enc Elmosnino's performance is worth seeing for the sense of quiet charisma imparted. The film tracks the seminal moments in Gainsbourg's career - the recording of 'Les Seccettes', the controversial reggae version of 'La Marseilleise' and the conception, creation and subsequent scandal of producing 'Je T'aime Mai Non Plus' In addition, equally compelling detail is given on his Russian/Jewish roots and the youthful! optimism of his intention to become a painter. Puppetry is also used effectively in conveying the mingling of precocious childhood fantasy with early experience of anti-Semitism in 1940s occupied Paris. Historically-informed costume and set design comes across with a sense of detailed accuracy.

words: Daniel Potts

THE LAST EXORCISM Director. Daniel Stamm Sta.ning: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr Released: 27th December 20 I 0

In 1973 the origin~I Exorcist sent shock wave_s thro~gh the cinema world. For viewers watching The Exorost retrospectively rt 1s hard to imagine the impact it had, not just on cinema goers, but also devout Christian groups in the 1970s. However it wasn't the gore or jump-out-of your-seat moments that made The Exorcist so frightening, but the psychological impact it had on the audience. Fast forward to 20 IO and we've pretty much seen it all. Blood, guts. death, mutilation, torture, hackers, slashers - our desensitization ~o violence often means the horror genre has become a bit of a joke and isn't real ly taken senously. However, The Last Exorosm remains true to the original and follows in the steps of other psychological horrors, such as the recent Paranormal ActJvity.

The film uses the documentary format reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project and documents the last exorcism carried out by Reverend Marcus. The Reverend is a phony preacher. He manipulates gullible Christian Evangelicals 1n the Deep South of the U.S. and preforms fake exorcisms for parishioners. A great opening scene shows him betting the filmmaker that he can say anything in_ his sermons and the congre~ation will lap it up. He proves this by enthus1ast1cally preaching about making a banana cake and receives a hearty "hallelujah, amen!" in response.

When the reverend is called to perform an exorcism on a sixteen year old girl living with her father and brother, he assumes it will be business as usual. From here we are on familiar tetlltory - sweet teenager turned demonic, possessed girl. However, there are some scenes that are genuinely creepy. This is a good attempt at an original take on a rather tired genre and at only 84 minutes one would need a pretty short attention span to get bored However despite some novel twists and good acting. don't expect to be too terrified by the disappointing climax.

words: Clare Yoke

LOOKOUT POST

The Nutcracker Northern Ballet Theatre, Leeds Gi-and Theatre 30th November - 2nd December

It's Christmas Eve in the drawing room of the Edward's family home. In the commotion the pile of presents grows ever taller. Children and adults are captivated by Uncle Drosslemeyer's box of performing toys, but it's the Nutcracker that grasps the attention of young Clara the most. Northern Ballet's The Nutuackertransports Clara from the drawing room into a magical winter wonderland where she meets the sugar plum fairy in Tchaikovsky's Christmas classic.

A Christmas Carol West Yorkshire Playhouse, 26th - 30th November

Ebenezer Scrooge: mean, miserly and coldhearted. The festive season is upon us and apparently he has no time for merriment Will the Yuletide warmth penetrate his cold, cold heart? Three spirits will attempt to persuade him to join in with the spirit of good will, beginning at midnight on Christmas Eve. Will they be successful and convince him to change his ways? Nicolai Foster puts forward his vision of this adaptation of the D1Ckens classic

Police, Adjective Hyde Park Picture House, 28th Novembe.r - I st December

Undercover cop Cristi is assigned to investigate a suspected schoolboy cannabis dealer. He is a martyr to the bureaucratic pettiness of low-level police administration and battles against his officious superiors, unable to countenance the incarceration of the apparently harmless boy. Comeliu Poruboiu's vision won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes in 2009.

Police, Adjective was reviewed in issue 3. Read the review online at leedsstLJdent.cxg

Wicked Words Poetry Christmas Party Seven Artspace, Chapel Allerton lstNovembe.r

This month Seven Artspace has had to tum away the guest poet slot to make way for as many as possible of their friendly regulars and, indeed, for newcomers in this friendly open-mic poetry evening. Brendan McPartlan to compere

A Rough Equivalent Mezzanine, Leeds Ati. Gallery, 26th November- 2nd December

A Rough E9uivalent brings together sculpture and ceramics from the 1950s to the 1970s from the major collections at Leeds and York Art Galleries. An exhibition juxtaposing work by sculptors such as Kenneth Am1itage wrth that of ceramicists such as Dan Abeid

words: Daniel Potts

2 . LS2's Melissa Welliver asks: should our programmers try to tiptoe around our problems? Soap Desperate Housewives recently introduced a new character, gave her Alzheimer's, got her son to discover the Alzheimer's and then carted her off to a home all in the space of one and a half episodes. Usually, this 1s a favounte show of mine. but I had to ask were they handling the very personal affliction of Alzheimer's with the utmost care and respect they could muster?

When Corne's Mike Baldwin developed the neuro-disease, it came on over a period of months. He found himself getting forgetful, then senile, and ending up in his old arch enemies arms m a moving death scene. Granted. Mike was a long lived and beloved character on the cobbles. whereas Tom's mother of Wisteria Lane fame was a

Pick of the Week

new character who hadn't yet had the chance to build up the same kind of fan base. But should she have been able to? In giving her such a quick send-off when she had contracted such a debilitating disease seems almost cruel to me and gave me the message that it's OK to ship off our loved ones to a home 1mmed1ately after they get sick.

Something that the producers didn't even contemplate was giving the viewers a number to call 1n case they had been affected by the show's content. This is seen a lot on British television screens, especially with long running soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street.

It's not that they particularly exploited the disease for the purposes of

What we think you should be tuning into this week Misfits -Thursday 2nd December, 1 Opm, E4

In case you hadn't guessed by the stunningly gansh adverts on the side of every 95 1n town. the eagerly awart.ed second senes of Howard Overman's Misfits has hit E4. It should be dire, a Bntish hybnd of Skins and Heroes, with a preoccupation with sex drugs and rock n' roll, and an 'edgy' scnpt that could easily come off as trying-too-hard .. But. particularly a testament to the actors. Robert Sheehan's bnll1antly arrogant portrayal of the immortal Nathan TV PICK being the standout. everything somehow works.

While in danger of relying too heavily on it's freak-of-the-week forumula last week's focus on Nathan's relationship wrth his Dad added a successful and unexpected air of sincenty to the show, whilst the masked figure that repeatedly steps in as the gang's Deus ex mach1na is giving the show a sense of d1rectJon and vague mystery. It's stylish, superbly acted, and stnkes a perfect

combination of bleakness and humor Apparently avoiding the shrt second senes syndrome of the programs on vVhich rt riffs, Misfrts contmues to be everything that Bntish drama should be.

words Dan Lester

A Bug's Life- Saturday 27th November, 5:05pm, Fiver This Saturday channel 5 is showing the wonderful Disney Pixars 'A Bug's Life', the follow up from the hugely successful 'Toy Story'. It centres on hapless ant Rik (voiced by Dave Foley) who accidentally destroys his colonies store of gram that they use to appease a gang of grasshoppers who expect

regular pay-offs. After being banished from his home, Rik meets a flea circus of colourful individuals in Insect City, vVhich is. of course. an upturned rubbish bin! As

the ants struggle to collect the replacement grain for the grasshoppers

looming collection visrt Rik returns wrth his new fnends and proposes that they built a bird to scare the grasshoppers away, leaving the ants to live in peace. But will the plan world Needless to say, this film is a brilliant

one for a lazy Saturday; it is beautifully animated, has a warm and funny scnpt and includes a fair share of tension. Although it lacks the social message that Antz possesses, rt. 1s no less entertaining. Thoroughly recommended to all.

words: Sarah Grindall

entertainment value. but more that they brushed it off as a minor storyline making it subconsciously sink in as a minor life diffrculty. I would have liked to have seen more care and attention taken with such a heavy subplot (emphasis on the 'sub'), for instance by using a long loved character, or by stretching it out a btt.

Then again, maybe I am just a viewer hungry for a dragged out, and ultimately depressing, storyline.

photo: Walt Disney

CORONA TlON STREET: Michelle spots Peter going into Carla's flat...

EASTENDERS: Syed's suspicions are aroused after he finds Masood's motel room key ...

EMMERDALE: Declan hosts a party at Home Farm 1n a bid for Alicia's heart. ..

I HOLL YOAKS: A fam1har villain returns to I Chester ...

I HOME AND AWAY: Alf is called in for Police I questioning ..

I NEIGHBOURS: Ramsay Street gather 1n I honour of Rmgo Bro\f./fl at the youth's funeral. I but Donna gets lost along the way ...

I I words: Melissa Wdlivec I ______ ..

Channel Clash Where do your loyalties lie?

'No publicity is bad publicity.' I'm not sure Katie Waissel would agree. Despite the constant reassurance from Simon and Cheryl that she is a genuinely nice person, the talent-show star has recetved endless bad press and even death threats from the general public. In entering the X Factor the contestants are aware of the media circus that awaits but despite her talent. Katie has found herself in the bottom two four times; showing the detnmental impact that the press can have on the success of a contestant.

However, it seems Wagner can do no wrong where the general public are concerned. Despite press reports of his pervy nature. Wagner remains in the compet1t1on with a strong fan base. The public's wish to see the judges squirm in their seats for one more week was stronger than their wish to save the talented Pa1je this week. But surely it ,s only a matter of time before Simon has his way and Wagner 1s booted off; it's too soon to lose Cher!

words: Kat Parle

With the competition relocating to Blackpool for th1s week's show all eyes were on the Stnctly Come Dancing contestants to see how they performed, both on and off the dance floor

Obviously part of the motivation for many of the celebrities to take part in the show is to raise their public profrle and generate some good publicity. The show always portrays the celebnties 1n a positive light with (dancing aside) rarely a bad word to say about them and, in contrast to main rival the X factor. the media tend to follow suit.

However, the coverage of this year's competition is mainly dominated with the hot gosstp that partners on the show Kara Tointon and Art.em Ch1gvintsev are dating, with the tabloids constantl.Y assessing the success of their relationship. The couple seem to b.e perfectly happy together and this IS

reflected in their success on the dance floor.

words: Sarah Harding

D

This is not just about football. The Promised Land pays homage to the city of Leeds, we are taken on a journey, a journey embedded within the cultural heritage of Leeds. From the Jewish ghettos in which author Anthony Clavane's grandparents cci.me to settle after escaping from war torn Russia, to the reinvention of a city desperately trying to shed its skin to reveal a cosmopolitan coat. Following the rise, fall and rise again of Leeds United, a club that

Mini Shopaholic is the sixth book in Sophie Kinse!la's Shopaholic series and it's sure to satisfy the needs of any Becky Brandon (Nee. Bloomwood) fan. Readers have followed Becky from Gucci, to Prada, from Fulham to Manhattan, from singleton to happily-married and now, into motherhood With baby Minnie in tow, Kinsella takes us on Becky's familiar journey, battling shopping addiction, hiding debt from her seemingly oblivious husband and royally screwing-up her ridiculous plans before setting everything right and living happily ever after.

Mini Shopaho/ic finds Becky, Luke and their two-year-old tearaway Minnie squashed into their parent's semi-detached 1n Fulham, when the financial crisis hits. Kinsella brings light to this dark and ever relevant topic, with Shopaholic Becky promising to wear every item of clothing in her wardrobe at least three times before buying new clothes and her parents' ster_eotypical arguments over the price of Wa1~rose shops and the necessity of John Lewis lampshades. As we have come to expect with the Shopaholic series, Becky

has seen more highs and lows then the Yorkshire Dales themselves, Clavdne creates a compelling study of the history of Leeds. Anna Richards met with Anthony Clavane and discovered a man with a deep passion for the history of our beloved city.

Expecting to meet a honorary­Southerner who speaks of his working class roots while sipping on an espresso, I was surprised to meet a man who is looking to reminisce and connect to the city he calls his own. Clavane doesn't adhere to the curse of the Northern man. migrating to the South to escape the impoverished constraints of the city from which he was born; his Leeds accent may have faded but every word, of his book and in conversation, is soaked with fierce pride of his heritage. It is not a pride that eclipses the truth. With his focus on Leeds United Football Club. Clavane is ready to address the issues that have tarnished his club and his city. throughout his book he learns from the past (and pushes his readers to do the same), while looking to the future with a sceptical yet hopeful eye.

Clavane's unconditional love for his club is apparent. it is a parental love. Promised Land illustrates how he has watched from afar allowing for mistakes, with the hope that with time, wisdom and therefore success will be achieved. Clavane follows

sets herself an impossible mission, to throw her husband Luke an extravagant surprise Birthday party in the midst of the recession. She tries everything, from a bartering website to recruiting the ever-present Janice to do the make-up and in true Shopaholic fashion everything goes wrong. The addition of Minnie, Luke and Becky's high-spirited daughter, who has been banned from multiple Santa's Grottos and Nurseries, brings a new dimension to the series and an altogether new challenge for Becky, who has to deal a 'Supernanny' style television childcare expert and teaching Minnie the importance of 'financial planning' Moments like these revisit the hilarity and spark (that had been lacking from Shopaholic and Sister) reminding readers why they fell in love with Becky Brandon (Nee. Bloomwood). The beauty of Kinse\la's Shopaholic series lies with her beautifully crafted, recognisable characters; there are flashes of everyone's parents in Mr and Mrs Bloomwood and every woman can see a part of herself in Becky Brandon. There are frustrating moments. as with every Shopaholic instalment. where Becky

the club's history from 1960-20 IO (the years of his lifetime so far), documenting the transformation of Leeds United from a national joke to a force to be reckoned with under the management of Revie (the "glory years"), to the financial crisis of 2004. their relegation to the third tier in 2007 and their revival to the championship this year. However, this is not just about the beautiful game, set against the backdrop of "dirty Leeds"; Clavane doesn't shy away from the dark-side of Leeds, inspired by his youth. growing up in the Jewish ghettos, Clavane has developed a love/hate relationship with both the club and the city, but his steadfast support, even through the darkness is a testament to Leeds' successful Leeds regeneration. For Clavane, Leeds is a city of parallels, a city struggling to make up its mind. From Harvey Nicks, a cosmopolitan nightlife and the University attracting students from all over the country, to the "dirty" heritage embedded in a city. whose football club has an inherent history of racism. Leeds is a city that has stopped at the cusp of innovative creation but has shed its impoverished, "dirty" roots.

Promised Land is not just your usual historic biographic of a football club, it is .a story of one boys love affair with his city, club and religion. If you were expecting a detailed history of Leeds United Football

becomes almost dislikeable and this adds to the charm when she rejects Suze's offer to create 'Luke Brandon Shortbread' it feels personal. we, as readers, are angry with Becky. This is the beauty of Kinsella's accessible, emotive writing, as when Becky apologises, she is apologising lo us we feel every moment of emotion in this novel and Becky becomes our lifelong friend.

Mini Shopaholic will leave you laughing uncontrollably at moments. while touching scenes will have you holding back tears. Kinsella writes with an endearing simplicity which hits the chick- lit spot perfectly, creating a fantastic balance between laughter and sentiment, while some moments are frustrating, utterly unbelievable and downright ridiculous this is the secret of its charm. We delve into the world of Becky Brandon, where everything goes wrong but her big-heart and entertaining personality mean everyone, characters and readers alike, cannot help but love her. Kinsella has outdone herself. The series seemed tired and overworked after Shopaholic and Sister but Mini Shopaholic is undoubtedly the best book of

Club, this book won't disappoint but it digs deeper than that. Clavane delves into the heart of life in Leeds over the last 50 years, creating an enlightening insight into the dark history of the cosmopolitan city in which we a!I live. A memoir of a lad who managed to escape the shackles of the Jewish ghettos of his youth to the affluent south only to find you can run but you can't hide; Clavane

"You can take the lad out of Leeds but you can't take the Leeds out of the lad." inspires his readers to reassert their heritage and to be proud of where they come from - darkness and all. One thing is for sure Clavane has stayed true to his heritage. He may have lost his Leeds accent but his heart has always been that of a Leeds born Jewish lad who will always have an affiliation with Billy Liar, the difference is Clavane did board the train but as he says: "You can take the lad out of Leeds but you can't take Leeds out of the lad."

words: Anna Richards

the series; it's a perfect Sunday afternoor"T"' read.

words: Vicki Mortimer

As ~e.chnology e dito r, it's a requ ir ement of my hallowed pos1t1 ? n t hat I stay way ahead of the curve, trying out bl e eding-edge te chnology and services. With that in mind, thi s week I jo ined a newfangled social media site known as 'Twit ter'

Yes.

Site of the Week: Rock, Paper, Shotgun rockpape rshotgun. com

Not e~actly an obscure b log but certain ly worth knowing if you_ like pc ~aming.

yY1th multiple updates a day covering news, game reviews and deals, RPS is one to check frequently. The writ~rs are all professionals who moonlight for publications such as PC Gamer and Eurogamer. This means posts are of a consistent quality (not like most the stuff I put out) and usually quite funny - so long as you like puns (the lowest form of wit).

The site's been running for a few years now but it is only recently that they partnered with Eurogamer and sta~ed actually receiving revenue for it. The result of which is a lot more community focussed activities by the site. Every weekend they boot up a server to play games

_ such as Team Fortress 2 and Counter Strike. They're a fun and friendly community S? if you're looking for something to do on a Saturday evening look no further (well maybe a little further. it's Saturday night GET OUT OF THE HOUSE').

words: Jules Benson

App of the Week: Uhhh .. . We're beginning to struggle for useful apps, so if you've got suggestions for us to cover, please send them in. Also, we'd gladly cover mobile apps but we're too poor to afford smartphones. So if you have one and fancy

helping us paupers out. get in touch. In the meantime, here are a couple of approximately useful apps I have on my computer but that aren't interesting enough to write very much about. I haven't given you links, because you're old enough now to Google them yourselves, or because I'm getting lazy. You decide!

7-Zip: Download 7-Zip and you'll be able to unpack ZIP and RAR files and pretty much anything else. It can also compress files into its own super-tiny 7z format if that's the sort of thing you need to do.

CCleaner: If, like me, you haven't quite caught up to the fact that modern hard drives are almost unnecessarily huge and consequently can't bear the thought of wasted kilobyte~, CCleaner will soothe your worries. It quickly and efficiently clears you_r system of cookies, temporary files, invalid registry entnes and other computational de~ris. It probably won't make your computer run not1cably faster, but you ca~ imagine it has saved you precious microseconds, which will eventually add up to compensate for all that time you're about to spend looking at hungover owls (http://hungoverowls.tumblr.com).

Game of the Week: Sydney Shark http ://bit .ly/dC2Lmf

Some_ might have said that insanely awesome webgame Miami Shark was unbeatable. But they'd have been wrong. The sequel, Sydney Shark is better. Much better.

Ok, so look, the th ing is, I' ve been avoiding it because I knew it'd develop into a raging addiction an d free-time black hole. Which it has. If there's just a blank space here next week, you 'll know why.

words: Mark Sellick

What's better than insanely awesome? Indescribably awesome. Both games see you playing as a shark. A hungry shark. A shark out for blood. A shark that can leap out of the water, bite passing planes and drag them down into the water onto nearby boats, which promptly explode. If that doesn't excite you, I humbly suggest that you are dead inside. If you 're not into the mass slaughter of humans, you can also dine upon swans, dolphins, orcas and even horses. Seriously, just go and play this. You 'll get repetitive strain injury, break at least two buttons on your keyboard and develop a craving for human flesh, but you won't even care. My high score so far is 4,043,731 and I missed the nuke on that run. Yes, there's a nuke.

words: Mark Sellick

Sy,t,ey Shark play this. Play it now.

DON'T RUSH INTO SIGNING FOR A HOUSE!

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~.Mende1 ~ing: l"hilosophy iM&litics Favourite Album: Californi~ation Ghildhooj Hero:AvriJ uvigne

A couple of weeks ago, to take our minds off the biting wind and relentless rain we found ourselves pounded by while walking home through Hyde Pank, my fri.end and I began to discuss, "if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to be?" Whi!e 1 began to fantasise about the obvious choice of hot beaches in exotic parts of the world, my friend unashamedly announced that she would be in Hogwarts. Drinking Butterbeer in the warmth of 'The Three Broomsticks' on a snowy winter's day. Although I initially scoffed at her idea ("you're twenty, for God's sake!"), I have to admit, it actually seemed a lot more appealing than mine

This got me thinking, among the mania surrounding the release of the penultimate film, what is it that's sti 1I so magical about Harry Potter?

I will confess. first of all. I am not an avid fan of HP. I have seen a!I the fi!ms, but failed to read more than half the books. After a fierce reaction from my housemates, I am fully aware of what a sin this is and would like to state, for the record, that it's not that I don't like Harry Potter.

I enjoyed the books I read and always look forward to the new films. Somehow though, Harry's broomstick just didn't sweep me away like it did everyone else. I guess this is why I'm so intrigued by Potter-mania. For the past week. my Facebook homepage has been flooded with the results of 'Which Hogwarts House are you? (Realistic)' W ell, if it says it's realistic, then it must be, but that's beside the point. I still marvel at the idea that a book that captured the attention of so many people at the age of ten has managed to maintain that attention so many years on!

To be honest, there probably isn't an answer to the question "what makes Potter so popular?" Maybe it is simply down to the fact that that everyone grew up reading the books in time with Harry's foray into adolescence. It could be due to the possibility that there is something about his world which you can relate to in the real world. Or simply the idea that magic is a possibility, despite our quintessentially Mugg!e conviction that it isn't (and who wouldn't want to live in a magic world, given the chance?). Most likely, it is a combination of all these things and more, but one thing is for sure; other than a brief stint of competition from the Twilight series, Harry Potter has lost no degree of popularity over the past decade. What remains to be seen is what the excitement will turn to when it's all over ..

Green around the Phils

Jasmin Andersson Studying: English Language and Literature Favourite Place: Gamla Stan in Stockholm Guilty Pleasure:A good pint of Guinness!

Despite the clothing wonderments that have been born out of Arcadia, Philip Green has always been a somewhat controversial figure. His extravagant lifestyle of living between big city hotels and the swish scene of Monaco paints a picture of a man who is not afraid of spending money. Now employed as a Conservative government adviso r he, as a billionaire, now has the power to advise the government upon how us plebeians should live. With an estimated l 1.2 billion income per year alone, where has t he money come from?

A Royal Bore

Lucy Cumming Studying: History of Art Unusual crush: Gordon Ramsay Favourite club: Mint

Kate Middleton, we learned this week, is now engaged to marry Prince William. There are many great things about Prince William: he is an officer in the RAF and is therefore helping to protect the country, he does a huge amount for charity and just generally seems like an all­round decent guy

BUT, dare I say it he does seem a wee bit boring. Britain, our beloved Isle, is a veritable hub of creativity and individuality. Our shores have bred some of the finest. most eccentric and dashing characters the planet has ever seen, and throughout the ages our monarchy has reflected this admirably. Our rulers are traditionally charismatic, sexy and more than a little bit peculiar. For example, Henry VIII, an enormous pudding of a man with a ginger beard, still managed to pull off sex-appeal and bag himself 6 wives. George IV, similarly enigmatic, pushed extravagance and decadence to its limit when he built an Indian style palace for his horses. You get the picture - we like our monarchs to be a bit on the wild side. Wills, however, just doesn't seem to fit the bill.

Yes, he's a bit of a hottie, in a toothy sort of way, but he almost radiates dullness. No rakish lothario here, just reliable. responsible Wills in his crewneck and loafers.

I just can't seem to detect any wild sex appeal about Will; I can imagine him folding his socks before embarking on a night of 'passion' but maybe this is just me. Then again, perhaps 'reliable' is a good thing - we all know how disastrously Charles' first marriage turned out

Even though I am a partial slave to it myself, I am astounded by people who pay for Topshop and Topm an clothing. Even by looking at the Topshop website I can see that the price range for just one dress ranges from £35- £300. The times I do shop there are now becoming m ore and more infrequent as I am convinced that the prices charged for clothing aimed at a younger audience are not on. Not only does this become an exploitation of the student budget but as I have more recently di scovered , an even further exploitation of basic human rights- and not that far from home. In as nearby as Leicester, workers are paid only half the legal minimum wage in cramped conditions with the emotional blackmail threat of the sack looming over their heads if they do not work to their optimum effi ciency. Representatives of Arcadia have passed the blame to the producing factories under the premise that such factories are a) not under their ownership and b) are under investigation.

This is al l getting a bit too heavy, I hear you cry: " I want to buy nice things! I want to feel good!" Furthermore, what ethical options are available? There are a few alternatives to the 'h ippie' on small online stores but they do not seem to cover a large enough market to have created a real impact. However, the rather more inte resting side of the fair-trade market seems·to be that it charges the same, if not lower than T opshop general range. There seems to be a rather large gap in the retail market yet I am· not surprised Philip Green is not involved- morality normally means lower profit margins. It is true that times are changing and we are becoming more ethical in our habits- is this a time to start caring what price we are paying for fashion?

- and he was a definite cad in his day. !_.,..

Taking all this into consideration, I just can't bring myself to get excited about the Royal engagement. Maybe it's William's wallpaper credentials (he blends into the background) or perhaps I'm simply getting cynical.

I suppose the main reason for my hideous lack of anticipation is that the whole situat ion just isn't that riveting. The couple have already lived together, they've been together on-and-off for more or less nine years; this engagement has been a loooong time coming for waity-Katie. Still. you can guarantee it will provide plenty of fodder for the media machine to gush over. and is sure to give our mums something to talk about.

I understand that at the bottom of most pleasures there lies a secret underworld that we should not expose if we do rea lly want to get to sleep at night. but I am not sure of how proud we can be of our latest clothing which gives the right image but conveys the wrong message. In a world of increasing moral consciousness, perhaps it is time we began looking into what we are buying instead of ignoring the facts. I too intend to tell that to my overdraft when it decides to attempt to lash out at me in Topshop in the future.

Like Wills, Kate also seems very ... sensible. Glossy and polished to a point that seems almost unnatural for an English girl; by all accounts they seem to be a perfect match. Even bearing this in mind, I don't fully understand why Kate would want to marry Will. Yes he's a Prince, but what does that actually mean? From where I'm standing, it signifies merely a lifetime of toeing the line, dressing sensibly and stopping after one drink (hopefully she's learnt from the roller-skating debacle). Then again. maybe it truly is as simple as a boy meeting a girl and falling in love, whatever that may be.

"I recently read "Those new fancy "Apparently I an advert saying hand-dryers 'haven't lived' that all a Polish definately don't because I've never man could want dry your hands in tried venison. Or in life is beer and ten seconds! Alas, perhaps, kind sir sausages. Isn't if only we were

who informs me of this, I've simply that what back in the day never lived in the

everyone is when everything vicinity of a looking for?" did what it said member of the

on the tin:· landed gentry. " Dawn Hayes Elissa Cross Holly Weiss

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UNIPOL accredited . code of standards LLAS - Leeds Landlord Accreditation Scheme

Unipol House Hunting date is the 15th January

13 - ---=:::..::===---....!..'.-~ er 26 , 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Lee ds Stude nt -----

~eeds research sheds .ight on Alzheimers manda McDonnell

\ew research by the Faculty of ~logical Sciences has sh ed light on !zheimet s disease. The research explains why other udies have been unsuccessful at ;ovidinganswers to the causes of the sease. It is estimated that Alzheimer's

fects more than 820,000 people in · r UK One third of those aged 65 and rer die from some form of the sease. The condition, which costs the k economy £23 billion a year, is a ogressive disease with symptoms eluding confusion, memory loss, ood swings and communication ::,b\ems. Previous studies have focused on

e protein APP, which can form a ptide that is toxic to netve cells. It is e gradual accumulation of this

~~tei~i~e!!e~t~~\h~s~0

s~di:~ ~e failed to distinguish between the ·ee forms of APP. Professor Tony Turner who co-led ~ new research by the University, )lains that despite a long history of :earch in the area as well as a number

clinical trials )thing has proved ly effective". The team has )Wn that just one m of APP, known as P695, is responsible production of the

de peptide. The 1dy is the first to >w the significance

the greater 1centration of P695. The research, which s published in the

Journal of Biological Chemistry, also explained the role of ano.ther protein -AlCD - which is formed when APP is broken down. It was discovered that specific genes within nerve cells are switched on only when AICD is formed from APP695. It is thought that the switching on of these genes leads to damage in the nerve cells.

According to co-researcher Professor Nigel Hooper: "AICD has been detected before, but because studies haven't differentiated between the different forms of APP, there was no consensus on its role"

The study has been praised by Professor Chris Kennard of the Medical Research Council, which provided part of the funding for the study. Kennard said the work was "a shining example of fundamental research" which could "provide the building blocks for potential treatments in future" The head of research at the Alzheimer's Research Trust, the UK's leading dementia charity, said that the study "could have significant implications for future research in the area" but added that more research would be necessary to "find an effective treatment for dementia"

Eureka!! Daubney

b. Wl:Jrld around us is made up of lfferent elements. We breathe in l<)>gen and diamonds are made up of lifun. but many seem to ffuget the I""' vital piece of mankind's puzzle: ,eatom.

'Atom' comes from the ancient re~~ ~d1·ective atomos meaning ndivistb e' since it was originally ~lieved that atoms were the !mdamental particles of matter and

could not, therefore be divided any further. The first scientific theory of the atom was the suggestion of John Dalton in 1808.

The most monumental scientific ingenuity to date founded on the understanding of the structure and reactivity of the atom: the atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project was a culmination of chemistry and physics from across the globe that created some of the most devastating science on earth.

Neils Bohr's experiments in determining a picture of the atom was a large contribution to the research as it could explain how radiation was emitted from an atom based on its constituent components, the nucleus and the electrons. Further developments were made throughout the twentieth century into the full

· 'lllt-"~'~,;;;;;...,1,1 structure of the atom, the climax of .:!,•.,,.,,.-;;;=""'1""' which was the splitting of the atom

from Otto Hahn. In 1938, following the previous

discovery of uranium, Hahn discovered that splitting a uranium atom released vast quantities of energy, energy that would later cause

i!~~~~~i:Ct1!b.tation as

Robots the future of surgery Sarah Griffiths

A lecture on robots in surgery has given insight into the future of

suiei ten percent of robots in the world are service robots, robots that aid the public rather than in manufacturing, and of this ten percent, only six percent are in the medical field. But the field of medical robots is growing fast, with the development of smaller robots to help incre.ase surgery which increases accuracy, 1s minimally invasive and is quick and simple.

The lecture, given by Dr P Finlay discussed the two main types of medical robots: Tele-manipulative and Image guided. The Tele­manipulative robots act mainly as slaves; they are directly controlled by the surgeon and are programmed to do set procedures. One of the main advanta&es are that they reduce surgeons hand tremors, enabling them to concentrate for longer. They are mainly used for keyhole surgery and have developed from just a camera giving feedback to the surgeon to a robot controlling the camera and moving it into position through voice control or head­movement of the surgeon.

Image Guided surgery was discussed, especially as it's becoming more important in medicine, it enables robots to follow set procedures programmed into them, producing more accurate results. At the moment, the can only perform on non-moving parts such as bone or the brain, but developments are being made so that they can perform soft tissue operations such as on the heart and liver and be able to deal with the movement of the tissue.

Another advantage of these robots is the piogression in remote operations, where the surgeon can operate in a different location using controls while the robot in the location performs on the patient. The first transatlantic operation was performed in 2001, where the team of surgeons were located ~ ­in New York and the ,<"" patient, several thousand t miles away, was in France. This type of oferation is really usefu for the military, especially the navy and also for aid in areas affected by disaster.

Micro-mobile robots are also starting to be used for exploratory procedures, one of the

most famous being the cameras shaped as a pill that take two pictures every second and go through the full system to show where the problem could be without performing any surgery. Several micro-mobile devices are being designed, being able to swim through the system and actually stop and take pictures or perfonn small surgical tasks on their way through. Another robot is swallowed in parts after the person has drank a lot of water, then, whilst floating on the water will assemble itself.

The sucessful event attended by the public, staff and students was informative, exciting and offered great insight into a dramatically changing research area.

New research sparks the old debate: Nature vs Nurture?

Sarah Griffiths

You got your brown hair from your mother and blue eyes from your father. But where did you get your love of music and your party-loving personality?

Science has shown that physical characteristics are hereditary, but we are still unsure as to where our. intelligence, personality and behaviours come from. How much of what ":'e are is determined by our life experiences and how much by our DNA? Nature vs nurture?

Nature dictates that skills and abilities are hard wired into the brain at birth and that you are born with certain ideas and knowledge. It asserts that not all knowledge is gained from experience. A Minnesota study on identical twins reared apart showed that the twins have about an equal chance of being similar to each other in terms of personahty, interests, and attitudes as twins who have been reared together. This helps show that a person can be developed in terms of genes rather than experiences.

Recently, the Liberal gene was discovered by scientists in a study by the Universities of California and Harvard. The DRD4 gene creates a receptor that responds to the dopamine neurotransmitter which produces an increased positive reaction to new ideas within society. The study showed that people without this gene are less likely to embrace new ideas. This shows that our nature can also have an effect on

Need more?

our political standings. Conversly, the arguement for

nurture asserts that knowledge is gathered from experience and that people learn via observing others and processing that information. It is against people being born with that

t~~w~!g: "cl~~::fa~e~'hat they are

A case study by the Universities of Leeds and Manchester has shown that children learn about sensible drinking habits from their parents. They showed that parents are the most important influence on a

~~~h~ ~~1~:~J~~~~dse:c:~s:ful1~ educating them about the social pleasures and risks' of drinking. Overall, this shows that drinking habits are nurtured by the parents and social experiences rather than something you are born with.

Conditioning can also have an effect as a type of nurturing. Scientist John Watson ~egan testing an

~~~g~~l~~~r~a1s° n1t/~~r';~i~~f~f anything except loud noises. Watson began to condition Albert by hitting a piece of steel every time he saw a rat; Albert soon developed a phobia of rats and then eventually of furry objects. Proving that the nurture was

stronger than nature. Ben, second year engineering

student voiced his opinion to Leeds Student: "You can fine tune your skills, but you have to have some to

~it~t.:tctll~b~~~~~:;~~ ;:~~?t it's going to want to do it. Overall, to develop, you need to have the ability to do something before progressing in it through nurture."

Science PhD student Sam agrees: "In early life nature plays the greatest role in the development of the brain and one's interest and capacity for knowledge, but as you grow up it's your surroundings, environment and peers that truly make you who you are"

Ultimately, the choice is yours to put in effort or not and in order to truly be go?d at something, you have ~o work at 1t and be passionate about 1t, but whether this comes from your genes or from your experiences, you can decide.

All the science and society articles are now available online, and in more detail, at h ttp://www Jeedsstudentmg/category/lsl-news/scienc1>-and-sodety. Why not V1s1t us there and add your comments to any of the stories?

14 Friday, November 26, 2010 iuww.leedsstudent.org Leeds Student (,

PETA: are you fur real? ~ Controversial PETA stunts have gone from eroticising vegetables to ~ encouraging students to replace milk with beer, but has the animal rights :i organisation gone too far and lost its message along the way?

It was the year in which music legend John Lennon was assassinated, 'Margaret Thatcher, Mille Snatcher' ruled with an Iron fist, and Hewlett­Packard announced the release of its first personal computer. Thirty years on and the effects of these events remain, but what about the lesser lmown founding of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)?

A third of the students LS surveyed state that PETA's extreme campaigning methods have put them off supporting animal rights. With so many young people feeling alienated from PETA's cause, has the organisation thrown one too many dead raccoons, driving people away from the anli fur camp?

Despite numerous attacks on PETA, many students at Leeds seem to agree with the group's slogan that

"They throw paint instead of letting the message

k " spea ...

"animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment." Second year student Olivia Long said: "Everyone should be on board with the good intention of treating animals." Instead it appears the majority of people who condemn PETA have an objection to the extreme methods they use to get attention, such as throwing red paint at fur wearers or urging.students to drink beer instead of milk. As bizarre as these actions may seem, would they receive so much attention without being controversial?

PETA's 'I'd rather go naked than wear fur' is one way in which the organisation has raised global awareness. The campaign has proved highly successful with celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and Naomi Campbell bearing all in support of animal rights. Successfully attracting big stars, PETA has become a household name, gaining the necessary influence to make a difference and exert political pressure on a worldwide scale, such as its

'Caring Consumer' campaign which has succeeded in urging companies to stop testing products on animals. l!owever as student Katharine Plackowski points out: "PETA's good campaigns are overlooked by their socially irresponsible methods, which is maybe why they have suffered a backlash recently."

Before PETA launched its campaign against fur wearing celebs in the 90s, fur was considered a fashionable item. The Td rather go naked' campaigns changed this opinion, causing the popularity of the ethical faux fur to soar. Yet in recent years, real fur sales have increased by a huge 58 per cent, implying that PETA's influence has severely lost its impact. The widespread use of faux fur has defused the issue to a point where people cannct tell the difference between real and faux fur, thus removing the stigma attached. This seems to have influenced Naomi Campbell, who despite being one of the first celebrities to claim she would rather go naked than wear fur, has been pushed into the pro·fur camp, promoting a luxurious fur coat for Dennis Basso's 2010 campaign.

PETA is certainly capable of grabbing headlines, but not always for the right reasons. Portrayed as a 'gangster' figure, bullying the public with its 'you're either with us or against us' approach; it seems there is no middle ground with the group. Rather than letting their message speak for itself the group appears unconvinced their argument can get across without throwing paint around. Images of animal rights protestors hurling paint at celebrities have become so overdone that their impact has diminished. This was proven when we surveyed a group of students and discovered all of them admitted that PETA campaigns have never had a positive impact on their view of animal rights, with first year Matty Pickles admitting: "PETA's extreme methods actually deterred me from supporting their cause."

This is perhaps not surprising considering the unruly PETA activists who threw a dead raccoon at Vogue Editor Anna Wintour. Such a

stunt is just one example of PETA activism that has caused controversy - they have also pressured ice-cream giant Ben and Jerry's to replace cow's milk with human milk, as well as targeting children with anti meat and anti milk propaganda stating: ''Your Mommy Kills Animals!"

Similarly, a recent 'Veggie Love' advert was banned from the interval of the Super Bowl after it was deemed simply 'too hot for television' as it featured half naked women

provocatively writhing around with vegetables. Outcry was also caused when PETA commissioned a billboard with the slogan 'Save the Whales' next to a picture of an obese woman, which was seen by many people as unnecessary 'fat shaming' and a prime example of how PETA simply refuses to share any of the empathy it reserves for animals with human beings.

PETA's elaborate stunts make it dear that it is not an organisation that will bend its ethics to appeal to the majority. The group's president Ingrid Newkirk has described her group's aim as 'total animal liberation', meaning no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, no medical animal research and no pets -who could agree to all these demands? In 2009, PETA euthanized 2,301 dogs and cats, a massive 97 per cent of the pets brought into its

headquarters in Norfolk, due to lack of funds. This is in comparison to the 54 per cent of animals put to death in the same county by the Norfolk city pound. Despite revenue of $34 million dollars, PETA claims that they are not an adoption agency and could do no more for the animals. This sparks the question: where is PETA's money being spent? As an organisation perceived as plotting more schemes than Evil Knievel, student Mark Holian rightly raises

the point: "Surely it all must come· at a cost?"

There's no denying that PETA still knows how to hit the headlines thirty years on. Victoria Beckham has been subjected to recent PETA condemnation following the release of her new range of handbags made from crocodile, lizard and calf skin. It is claimed that PETA have been planning ways to use her high profile status to create a massive media stunt by pelting her with a 'blood bomb' and crocodile feet, publicly tweeting: 'Skins are never posh, Posh'. PETA denies this, claiming that they have apprnached Mrs.

Beckham respectfully, simply asking her to reconsider using lizard skin and to watch a video showing behind the-scenes footage of the exotic skin industry. Whether the rumours regarding PETA's plots are genuine is irrelevant; what is most striking is the fact that due to their previous stunts they have lost the trust of the public to the extent that people see them incapable of peaceful protest.

Lady Gaga has also suffered the wrath .of PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk following the controversial Franc Fernandez meat dress that caused a stir at the VMAs. Lady Gaga commented that her dress was not aimed to disrespect vegetarians, but had "many interpretations", and she was in fact wearing it to support her gay fans who "feel like they have governmental oppression on them." 'i/vhatever Gaga's reason for wearing the dress - a feminist gesture, a

-·~ :i~ :,, fashion statement, an advocacy fo( gay rights? - PETA unsurprisingly issued a scathing statement, commenting that: "Meat is the decomposing flesh of an abused animal who didn't want to die.' When LS questioned students whether wearing certain types ol animals was more justifiable tha others, 72 per cent admitted tha they 'would never wear' raw meat compared to only nine per cent completely swearing off fur.

Clearly, this probably has more tc do with how the animal is presented

wearing a cosy fur coat is certainly more appealing that sitting in rottin~ meat - but it still brings to light thf fact that over 90 per cent surveyeC did not completely disregard the option. Student Harriet Judge wen1

"PETA's extreme methods deterred me from supporting their cause."

as far as stating: "I would definite! consider wearing fur because it look:/ fucking great!" In an age where wear~ used to celebrities wearing outrageous outfits and fur is: becom. ing less taboo, it seems PET~ may have more work to do t convmce students that the fur trad is unethical.

The question remains what does the n~xt 30 years hold for PETA? Isi' too late for PETA to create a legaci that will stand the test of time, or is il just a case of gradual decline for the once infamous group? There is no denying that students feel alienated by PETA's extreme campaigns and are sceptical of how convincing theit message is. PETA don't simply campaign; they shout, strip off, an~ throw paint. If they want to be taken more seriously maybe it is time thev wiped the slate dean and" implemented more diplomatic wa1 of conveying their message.

words: Catherine Noonan an Charlotte Jones

Friday, November 26 , 2010 I www.leedsstudent.org I Leeds Student 15

Leeds-ing the way tising carbon emissions and malnutrition threaten the lives of millions.

0rhankfully projects emerging from the University of Leeds are having a 8·onsiderable impact on global sustainability.

la recent university-wide competition and subsequent publication '10 Ways I I a More Sustainable World', Leeds University has emerged at the forefront of ~Llmarkable discoveries, doing its part to help the world. >mg. llt~· b;, &u., d·,

' ce, js graduate Emily Cummins is already changing the lives of thousands of people across

thern Africa. Her invention, a sustainable fridge, is perfect for use in the developing pore ·Jd. The fridge, which can be built from household materials, is solar powered by dirty ~ento:e r yet keeps the contents clean, dry and cool without using electricity. Emily said: 'Tm ~rtai ;ionate about encouraging young people to reach their creative potential, especially in

lrottin.ffeld of sustainable design. Hopefully this will inspir~ other people to think ab~ut how ght:'' can contribute to our global community in a positive way." Emily's in"'.ent10n has hm} 1ed the 23-year-old the Oslo Business for Peace Honouree award which is Judged by a ard i: el of Nobel prize winners.

ge r

ne 've heard of cleaning up the planet, ·but University spin·off company Xeros, has been rded as second place in TIME magazine's 'The 50 Best Inventions of the Year' for the ~lopment of virtually waterless laundry cleaning. Over 30 years of research by the versity of Leeds and Professor Stephen Burkinshaw, Xeros is the brand name for a tg •nted P?lymer·based cleaning system that reduces the cost and environmental impact of ning with water.

1 "1dry accounts for 15 per cent of domestic water consumption. Xeros uses up to 90 per

le. less water than conventional washing_by using reusable stain-absorbing nylon plast_ic

ls alongside a fraction of detergent. It 1s hoped to launch the product in late 2011.Bill

(

twater, CEO of Xeros Ltd, said: "We are delighted with this recognition. Genuine )vati~n in the laundry category is pretty hard to come by so Xeros stands out as a game-iger .

.

15e1t'

rere·,e-wear ppears Leeds University is changing not just the face of the world but also the world's d fur es as revolutionary discoveries are altering cosmetic make-up. By using clean

n rnsPtn nologies to extract ingredients from plant material, Dr Ri.chard Blackburn and te do fessor Chris Rayner have created a range of sustainable cosmetics that may be hitting iet~rW shelves within 12 months.

1paign>~ nnong~ ,n't si_~-

triP;~·)ou ~now how Jong you spend on the Internet each day? With the Internet ~urrent_~Y t_t0 . 1.--surnmg 3-5 per cent of the global supply of electricity, Professor Jaafar Elm1rghan1 s 1sti!11\arch project INTERNET ('INTelligent Energy awaRe N_ETwork_s') ai:ns to ~upport the clean. Nth of IT networks whilst reducing their carbon footprint. Elm1rga01 explams that the ornanc ect is "of great importance in seeking to establish the current limits on [CT performance ~ge ~o known environmental concerns", emphasising the advances that can be made to

/de enhanced perform;rnce through the innovative use of renewable_ sources. It m_ay come 0011an 10 s~rprise that Elmirghani's scheme has already attracted the interest of big name

pames such as BT.

Can you imagine 50 million tones of food? This is how much Professors Howard Atkinson and Peter Urwin have managed to increase Africa's annual food harvest by. The pair have succeeded in enhancing plant resistance in vulnerable crops to control plant parasitic nematodes.

.. - '"-=-"-"

The University of Leeds is also making transformations a little closer to home. The Sustainable Uplands project, headed by Professor Joseph Holden, is addressing the problems that threaten the sustainability of valuable UK uplands. The Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) is also helping the region move towards a climate-resilient regional economy by harnessing the expertise of Yorkshire universities, including Leeds' own Professor Andy Gouldson and Dr Nesha Beharry-Borg.

Many of the University's projects are providing solutions to seemingly insurmountable global issues. Professors Howard Atkinson and Peter Urwin are enhancing plant resistance in vulnerable crops to control plant parasitic nematodes, resulting in an increased annual food harvest of up to 50 million tones in Africa alone. Similarly, Professor Ed Stentiford's low-cost method of killing off pathogens in waste in order to make it suitable for use in the Third World means four billion people now have the opportunity to manage their waste, improving both soil yields and the storing of carbon.

As a third of people in sub-Saharan Africa are suffering from hunger, research group 'Africa College' set up by University of Leeds by Professors Tim Benton and Howard Atkinson helps to provide sustainable solutions by improving crops, food and transport. By 2050 it is predicted that the world will require 50 100% more food than it currently produces. Africa College helps develop strategies and policies to aid sustainable agriculture.

The university campus itself has not been forgotten, with student-led project Greer Streets aiming to reduce the waste left behind when students leave accommodation With the project earning three civic pride awards, and campus recycling rocketing frorr 16 per cent in 2002 to over 90 per cent in 2009, students are well on their way tc improving campus sustainability.

Waste not, want not: Professor Ed Stentiford's low-cost method of killing off pathogens in waste in order to make it suitable for use in the Third World means four billion people now have the opportunity to manage their waste, improving both soil yields and the sequestration of carbon.

words: Catherine Noonan All photos courtesy of University of Leeds

Friday, November 26, 2010 Leeds Student

December 1 is World AIDS Day. This day aims to bring to the forefront the issue of AIDS within the UK and to eliminate the prejudices surrounding the disease.

World AIDS day was set up in reaction to the prejudice surrounding HN and AIDS within the UK, by the National AIDS Trust (NAT).

It aims to transform attitudes of the British pubUc as well as educating those who are less informed on the matter of AJOS.

Often, there is ambiguity in public knowledge surrounding certain issues

regarding the disease, and World AIDS Day aim to inform-the UK public on these grey areas of knowledge.

Each year NAT chooses a different theme to highlight the misconceptions surrounding the disease. Last year the campaign was focused on the patent pool. This was a campaign to prevent large companies charging extortionate prices for HIV treatment. This year's theme focuses

on awareness. Although almost thirty years after the pandemic and with A1DS no longer at the forefront of daily news, the disease, according to WHO (World Health Organisation) is still present in the top ten causes of death worldwide.

HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body's immune system. The immune system is the body's natural defence against diseases, so if weakened, the body becomes more susceptible to disease. AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is contracted in the late stages of HIV when the bodies immune system stops working altogether, resulting in the sufferer contracting a disease, for example pneumonia, which often leads to fatalities.

HIV cases arose during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, with the spread to the Western hemisphere and incidence rates rising until an AIDS pandemic was declared in 1981.

Having reached a pandemic and with limited knowledge of the disease the Global Programme on AIDS first announced a national World AIDS Day in August 1987 and the following year it was coordinated in the UK On

this day memorials are often held to honour those who have died from AIDS, and since 1995 the President of the United States has made an official proclamation with many other nations following suit to commemorate those who have died as a result of the disease.

According to the international HIV and AIDS charity Avert, twenty five million people have died from AIDS since the pandemic with 19,457 fatalities in the UK alone. Although mortahty rates from AIDS have fallen, the number of people living with HIV has risen from eight million in 1990 to

The number of people living with HIV has risen from 8 million in 1990 to 33 million in 2010

33 million in 2010. This is precisely the issue that World AIDS Day is campaigning about this year: AIDS has not gone away.

There not only needs to be a continuous effort ensuring

prevention but also on the treatment of those already suffering. Due to the

progress since the pandemic, the importance of keeping developing countries stock piled with treatment has somewhat been curbed. Those countries where AIDS is most prevalent such as Uganda and Zambia, are already feeling the effects of the 'stock-outs' of medication. The global financial situation is, evidently, proportional to this.

Michel Sid.ibe, executive director of UNAids said: 'We know that the world is facing a major financial crisis, but I think it would be terrible if countries were to stop giving treatment to the five million people who have been put

on it." The Global Fund to FightAIDS, which funds grants for treatment for developing countries fell short of its fund-raising target this September.

It is World AIDS Day that instils the importance of the continuity of fundraising. If there is a consistent failure to meet fund-raising targets then our control on the prevention of AIDS will loosen and death rates will inevitably rise.

So what can the individual do to help raise awareness? This year the NAT is using World AIDS Day to call upon the Prime Minister to fulfil his commitment to put in place a national strategy to combat HIV.

The strategy will effectively meet the need for high quality HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care and support as well as combating issues of finance and prejudice. The day will not pass by unnoticed at Leeds University either. RAG society is collaborating with the Student Stop AIDS group for a celebratory evening with many other charity groups out in force on campus.

Be sure to buy your red ribbon and go to www.world.aidsday.org to find out how you can help raise awareness.

words: Emma Powell

Let's get creative Leeds has so much on offer to allow for students, and members of public alike, to express themselves and take part in artistic projects across the city. It's just a matter of getting in touch with your creative side ... The importance of creativi ty within our community is of an ever-increasing importance.

In light of the current 'cutting' climate, creative outlet is necessary to ensure that there is some comic relief within a community saturated with pessimistic news. It offers an escape and outlet from our studies, a realm of opportunity and expression to break the repetition of daily routine.

As enlightening as a flyer for a free Jaeger bomb is, it was those for the Leeds Film Festival that caught many a student's creative eye. There is an untapped expression of creativity waiting to be explored literally on our doorstep. And, amongst other artistic ventures taking place around Leeds, the Film Festival is a popular event that celebrates original thought and artistic development.

Lisa Brook, press co-ordinator at the Film Festival, commented: "Leeds' student population are fantastic in spreading the news

about what an amazing event we have ... we love to hear students telling their friends about [their enjoyment], [it is this] that keeps stud~nts coming back year after year.

Rebecca, a third year theology student, thoroughly recommends the Film Festival: "The Hyde Park

Creative outlet is necessary to ensure that there is some comic relief within a community saturated with pessimistic news

Picture House is such a lovely cinema and loads of people don't even know it's there. It's refreshing to see something a bit different" The Film festival encourages students' participation by volunteering throughout the

event: "They are the absolute life­blood of the festival." Applications to take part in the Film Festival open every September. It is. a wonderful experienc e to get involved with Leeds' wider community, and divert away from the student bubble.

A group of people who felt the need to reawaken a sense of unification amongst Leeds' general public are those at Invisible Flock. In reaction to the pessimism littering the front pages they have embarked upon a journey to allow Leeds to resonate with happiness. Located in Leeds indoor market, the Invisible Flock shop houses a giant map of the city onto which they collect and store as many stories and happy memories as they can. Over the course of the project Invisible flock aims to "create a large undulating city scape that represents the happiness of Leeds." Through the creative outlet of recalling a happy memory they feel this stimulates so many more questions: "a lot

can be inferred by simply asking how someone is." Through their live art project they ha,ve discovered affection for a past lost among the Leeds public.

Creativity can be a collective or individual expression. Clare, a third year History of Art student, argues that: "Art demands its audience to engage ... it provokes you then to think and reflect." It is this that deems it an important and necessary component of our community

Emily, a second year fine art student, argues "the essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail." When writing the dreaded essay can one abandon the guidelines and follow an inspired and creative thought? As creative as your subject matter may be, restrictions still apply. Students may feel university life lacks creativity in the freedom of their work. Despite being artistically confided within our degrees we are fortunate enough to have a wealth of opportunity available to us in and around Leeds, we just

need to be willing to join in. York based STRIFE, an

exhibition group set up by final year undergraduate students was set up in response toward difficulties of making art relevant to today. Through their work in installation, painting, photography and video they aim to engage the public culturally and socially.

It appears creativity is what you make of it. Whether we remain stifled and intimidated by limitations or transcend them it is our decis ion. Projects like the Film Festival and Invisible Flock present creativity uniting people in an uplifting and inspirational way. Leeds City Council also arranges many events throughout the year, like last week's Lights at Leeds and Party in the Park. Next time you look up and take a flyer not relating to 2-4-1 shots at your favourite bar, you may end up seeing something that will inspire your very own creativity.

words: Sarah Hatchard

Friday, November 26, 2010 NWW.leedsstudent.org Leeds Student 17

One night out could last you a l • f • Exposing unprotected ears to excessively loud music could cause long term,

1 e tlme irreversible damage to your hearing. New research has shown that tinnitus has links to to depression among sufferers, triggering a the nationwide 'Don't Stop the Music' campaign by RNID. Sarah Hatchard investigates ...

As students, we are frequently reminded about the dangers associated with going out; the drinking, drugs and debauched promiscuity. But little attention is paid to the damage inflicted upon our ears.

Tinnitus is a preventable symptom occuring within the inner ear. It is a constant, and permenant, high pitched ringing which may appear to originate in the head, and it is often caused by listening to exceedingly loud music.

The RNID, a charity working towards positive action against hearing loss, is attempting to offer advice and solutions to this very real problem. They have launched the campaign 'Don't Lose the Music' to raise awareness amongst students of the importance of looking after their ears.

Andy Glyde, Senior Campaigner at RNID says: "There is currently no cure for noise-

induced hearing loss but it is 100 per cent preventable." RNID research suggests that 90 per cent

Tinnitus has also been strongly linked with depression, and even suicide. of young people have experienced ringing in their ears after a night out, a clear warning sign of hearing damage.

Tinnitus is not only uncomfortable, but it has also been strongly linked with depression, and even suicide in sufferers.

The sound systems in place in the majority of clubs are operating at a level that can cause irreversible damage including permanent tinnitus.

Living "With Tinnitus Georgie, 21, a third year History of Art student talks of her experience living with tinnitus. She started suffering the symptom, that may lead to further hearing problems in the future, following only one night out at a dub. !had never had any problems with my ears until a night out in Manchester left me with ringing in my ears for four days.

It was uncomfortable but l didn't really think anything of it. The ringing stopped and I forgot about it. Then in February I was at a house party, where I didn't think the music was even that loud, and since then the ringing has never

u stopped. n I knew something ,y was wrong so I went !is tomyGPwhoin tum to referred me to a rk hearing specialist at Ile the hospital. They !al carried out various so hearing tests on me all ~< of which I passed. My at heanng hadn't been

v;t affected but the r ringingisconstant. 1ur be Tinnitus can't be cured it can only up tnanagedanddealtwith. In order to re pr€'_'ent damage they advise you not to

SUbJect your ears to excessive noise· obViously as a student and someon~

£rd who enjoys going out this is a bit

unrealistic. So I now protect my ears with

earplugs every time I know I will be around loud music. I had to spend £160 on ACS earplugs but it was necessary as otherwise my tinnitus would only get worse. They also

suggested using noise - reducing earphones when listening to my iPod as well.

I wa s given a counseling session at the hospital on how to deal with having tinnitus. I myself haven't suffered from depression from it but I know that a few people do. I mostly ju s t find it really frustrating and annoying.

My boyfriend is a DJ and warned me about not protecting your ears but l didn't really take it that seriously.

Now I would honestly advise anyone exposing their ears to loud music to wear earplugs. The damage it can do to your ears is irreversible.

This is not as astonishing as it sounds considering that noise levels ln clubs often exceed 110 decibels. As a comparison, this is likened to the amount of noise generated by an aircraft taking off.

Exposing your ears to this level of music for just 30 minutes can damage your hearing. James Daniel, manager at Wire, expands on the problems associated with continued exposure to this level of noise: "Wire operates a Funktion One sound system which reverberates throughout the club ... many of ITly staff experience discomfort from the

noise levels." The majority of clubs in Leeds

are taking up a responsibility in providing free earplugs for customers and we are encouraged to take advantage of this. Wire provides free earplugs for everyone; it is just a question of asking behind the bar.

Furthermore, Health and Safety laws also legally enforce sound limiters in many clubs.

The ultimate responsibility in protecting our hearing falls on us. The real danger of permanent hearing damage lies in the invisible symptoms.

Most students will not

Love Your Ears

experience any problems regarding their hearing now but may do so in twenty to thirty years time.

More worryingly, our parents' generation were not exposed to the same noise levels that we are so the effects of damage we are doing to our ears is still unknown. The NHS reported that in 2009 a total of 211 new cases of tinnitus were diagnosed.

This is a re latively novel and developing problem and one that needs to be addressed. The warnings and advice are clear, let's hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears.

1.W ear reusable earplugs, preferably ones that are designed for listening to music and reduce volume, not the quality of sound.

2. If frequently exposed to loud music, such as from musicians or DJs, bespoke earplugs are recommended ACS earplugs cost approximately £160 but are exceptional in their protection. Bands such as Pendulum and Babyshambles choose ACS.

3. Put the earplugs in before you are exposed to the music. If they need adjusting go outside to do so.

4. Don't stand too dose to the speakers - obviously the closer you are, the more intense the sound energy reaching your ears.

5. Take a break and use quieter 'chill-out' areas to let your ears recover.

18 Friday, November 26, 20 10 Lee ds Stude nt

Golden Memories A s a key member of the 1986/ 87 England squad that was the last side to win the Ashes in Australia, Chris Broad certainly knows what it takes to Ii~ the famous urn on foreign soil. LS Sport's Jonathan Brewer met up with the the Man of the Series in that glorious winter to discuss England's chances in the upcoming Ashes series, and to look back over the most successful period of his career.

Jonathan Brewer Ashes Correspondent

It is d ear to anyone who reminisces about the winter of 1986-87 with Chris Broad that the experiences of that series have stuck with the former opening batsman. 23 years on since England 's last Ashes victory in Australia, and Broad's face lights up at the mention of his time down under.

"It is every cricketers dream to tour Australia. I have extremely happy memories of that winter."

In that famous 1986/87 series, Chris Broad became the third Englishman lo score hundreds in three consecutive Tests in the Ashes, and a top score in the series of 162 in the second Test Match saw him pick up the Man of the Series award, contributing greatly to recording England's last series win on Australian soil.

Indeed, it was with good reason that England managed to record such a momentous victory back in the late 1980s. A 2-1 series win with a team full of stars such as Mike Catting, Ian Botham, Allan Lamb, David Gower, John Emburey. All instantly recognisable names to any English cricket fan, and Broad relished the prospect of playing in such a talented side as a youngster, relatively new to the Test scene.

"Their reco rds are standalone in international sport. They had tremendous abilities," he said. "We had a strong spine to the team, and mixed in with some really good youngsters like Phil DeFreitas and myself, we were all guys who were desperately keen to achieve. That was the key to our success."

The parallels with today's England side are plentiful. The older, experienced generation of Strauss, Collingwood, and Pietersen mixed in with exciting young talent such as

Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, and Eoin Morgan have enthused the English public, amongst whom there is genuine belief England can retain the Ashes. However if this promising England team, widely seen as the strongest touring side for a generation, is to make their mark on this winter's series, Broad sees the first Test Match in Brisbane as crucial to their ambitions.

"Whoever starts the first match the best will go on to win the series," he said. "After some poor warm up games [in the 1986seriesJ, there was a real sense at the eve of Test diner that the guys were serious now. It didn't matter what had happened previously, the first match in Brisbane was what really counted."

"We knocked the Aussies back in that first Test Match [recording a comfortable seven wicket win], and from there we gained so much confidence it felt that we were never going to be under any pressure from the Australians again. England have to make a strong start this winter."

"In 1986/87 Botham, Gower,

and Emburey picked up runs and

wickets and we ended up winning

the Ash es." When speaking of pressure, there

are few cricketing environments in the world that are more hostile than Australia. The MCC, the·scG, and the Gabba are fo r midable venues for players of any standard. Players have buckled under the intense pressure of such a big series in the past, and with some young and relatively inexperienced Test cricketers in the side, England must not cave under the

expectation. "There is always talk in football

about silencing the home crowd, and that applies to the boys this winter," he said. "It's about playing good cricket every session, every day, in every Test Match. If they play good cricket they will silence the crowd. And if they silence the crowd they can win this series."

Key to this strong start will surely be the senior England players in the squad. Ian Bell, playing in his fourth Ashes series, scored a magnificent 192 in the final warm up game last week. Similarly Strauss and Cook began the tou r in good shape, both contributing centuries.

"In 1986/87 our big guns, Botham, Gower, and Emburey picked up runs and wickets and we ended up winning the Ashes. That is the key for England, experienced players have got to come to the fore allowing the youngsters to grow into the series. The likes of Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Strauss are so important in the first innings of the first Test Match."

With regards to the younger members of th is England side, the

particularly exciting area is the English bowling attack. Broad, Swann, Finn, and Anderson have a superb combination of youth, enthusiasm, and skill, and English hopes rest on them taking 20 wickets a match in Australia, something England have traditionally struggled to do overseas. Indeed England have not taken 20 Australian wickets in a match in Australia when the Ashes have been at stake since December 1986. · Despite these worrying statistics the English squad is fitter than ever. Recent strength and conditioning courses that the likes of Stuart Broad have completed put the players at the peak of their phy~ical abilities.

"In comparison to when I was playing the fitness levels are so different. The abilities of batsmen to score at the pace they do is so entertaining to watch, and the effort bowlers put in as they force batsmen out of their comfort zone is fantastic."

"Back in 1986 there was a manager, a coach, a scorer, and a physiotherapist. That was it! We were left to our own devices, yet the back.­room staff is enormous these days .

There is no hiding place for players." Though as he assesses the state of

the game today, Broad did express some regret that the winter of 1986/87 marked the most successful era of his career.

''To go to Australia, to win Ashes, to win the Perth Challenge, the World Series, and Man of the Series was amazing,'' he said. "In some ways it was unfortunate that it was my first tour. I'm not saying the effort I put into performances after that were any less, but they didn't quite match up. My one regret is that I didn't score a Test Match hundred at home."

"Whoever starts the first match the b est will go on to win the

series ."

The current crop of English stars could take a lot from Bread's experiences. The side were not backed to win in 1986, yet a mixture of gritty determination from both their youngsters and their experienced players saw them record a momentous victory.

England must not crack under the pressure, especially as this is the greatest chance of win ning the famous urn abroad since Bread's experiences 23 years ago. They must not get caught up in the "media frenzy" that Broad believes the Ashes is nowadays, and concentrate on u?1ising the superior talent that they possess.

On paper England are the better side. In practice they will have to be mentally and physically strong to cope with the testing examination Australia will no doubt give. Let's hope that in January at the SCG it is Andrew Strauss holding the famous little um above his head.

Leeds continue unbeaten run Men's Table Tennis Leeds lsts 11 - 6 Durham l sts

Next fixture: Liverpool 1sts (a)

This Wednesday, Leeds University Table Tennis team continued their impressive unbeaten run to this year's un iversity championships with a victory against Durham. Having already notched up victories against Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Durham and Northumbria in the first half of the season, they began their reverse fixtures with a home match against Durham lsts.

In anticipation of the match, dub captain Chris Kendall emphasized the importance of a win, 'J think this will be a big match in deciding who wins t he nor t h ern t rophy division ... Durham were arguably the toughest team we've played so far'. Chris's words could not have been more true; Leeds won the previous away fixture 9-8 in a nail-biting match.

For those who are unfamiliar with the nuances of a university table tennis match, each team consists of four players, with each player playing four individual matches against the o p posi ng t ea m 's players. This is followed with a final doubles match, which is crucial if the match score is level at 8-8.

Given this format, it is not surprising then that a team cannot rely on one star player but need strength in depth throughout the team. In this particular match, Leeds were led at numbe r one by ex­international and ex-professional, Adam Bleakley (a 3rd year medic), supported by Chris Kendall (also a medic), Cui Jin ming (a one year international student) and Qingen Meng (playing for his final year as he completes his phD).

This strength in depth proved decisive. Durham could only tum out three players and Leeds capitalised on this fr om t h e s tart . The eve r­improving Cui Jin ming managed to secure an impressive opening victory against his German counterpart in a

blistering four set match - with both players playing fast attacking table tennis, it was Cui's strong and consistent forehand which overcame the German's counter-attacking style.

The excellent tab le tenn is

Men's Northern Conference 1A

Leedslsts

Dmhamlsts

Manchester lsts

Sheffieldlsts

Liverpool lsts

Northumbria lsts

w 6

Pt, 18

continued and the team performance was capped off when Adam recorded a straight sets victory over Durham's number one Jake Collins , who had previously been undefeated in almost two seasons. Wins each from the tenacious Kendall and Qingen Meng resulted in a final 11-6 victory for Leeds.

Reflecting on today's victory Cui commented, 'I was happy with my performance today, I made fewe r unforced errors than I usually do.' Furthermore, Kendall indicated the potential of this year's team, 'If we can get Adam fully fit, and the squad continues to improve and work on their match-play, then we will have a big chance of achieving something in the BUCS team championships.'

Friday, November 26 , 2010 Leeds Student

CATCH ALL THE REPORTS FROM THIS WEEKS BUCS FIXTURES INSIDE

19

English clubs in Prem.ier-ship shape T

his week's UEFA Champions League Matchday 5 saw three

qualify with a game to spare, and could pose a real threat to whoever they are drawn against in the knockout stage.

matches without conceding. which they lost 2-1 to Barcelona. Barcelona, boasting no fewer than 12 Champions League wins between them). The same is true of Italy and Germany, for whom last year's finalists Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are safely through.

of England's four representatives reach the competition's elite knockout stage. 2008 winners Manchester United, Premier League champions Chelsea and Champions League newcomers Tottenham Hotspur all won to ensure progression to the next round, which will be drawn next month. Arsenal are also heavy favourites to join the trio, and European heavyweights Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan, despite two consecutive defeats.

Chelsea came from behind to beat MSK Zilina and retain their 100 per cent record in this year's competition. The Blues are the only team not to have dropped points in the competition so far, albeit with a relatively straightforward group to deal with.

Arsenal are not yet sure of qualification following defeats to Shakhtar and Braga, but a win at bottom placed Partizan Belgrade will all but guarantee them a spot in the next round. The Gunners still hold the record for the most consecutive clean sheets in the tournament at ten in 2006, beginning in their third game and lasting until the final,

Which all begs the question: why is the Premier League considered inferior to its counterparts in Spain, Italy and even Germany. Of course, La Liga has the draw of Cristiano Ronalda, Lionel Messi and best of all Jose Mourinho to bolster its credentials, but fewer teams in the elite sixteen (though the teams it will have include Real Madrid and

Given the fantastic performance of our English clubs in Europe this year so far, there is no reason the sides cannol make serious progress in the latter stages of the competition, and perhaps even taste Champions League glory come May. One criticism of English performance in Europe in past years is our failure to turn heavy representalion in the knockout rounds into trophies, as Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United lost consecutive titles between 2006 and 2009. Yet with three, potentially four teams in the last sixteen, it is eminently possible that the trophy cases of London or Manchester could be home to the coveted Champions League trophy by the end of the season.

The ease with which the English dubs have negotiated the group stage of the prestigious tournament makes a mockery of the notion that the Premiership has fallen behind its European rivals in terms of quality. Tottenham have summed up this rejuvenation, topping their group ahead of holders Inter Milan, and beat the Italian club 3 -1 at White Hart Lane earlier this month. Spurs, making their competition debut, coasted past Werder Bremer 3-0 to

Manchester United needed just a point at Rangers to qualify at the Scottish champion's expense, but Wayne Rooney's late penalty saw them cross the border back to Manchester with all three. United's European form, like their domestic displays, has been steady if unspectacular, and Edwin van der Sar's clean sheet meant the Red Devils are the only team yet to concede in the Champions League this year. They become the first team since Juventus in the 2004/ 05 competition to keep dean sheets in their first five games, though no team has ever finished all six

Diary of an Ashes fanatic k

nd so it begins. 25 days of the most competitive Ashes series for years.1:here s no way I could contemplate missing a

second of the momentous English victory we are all expecting. Well, in an ideal world anyway. Apart from adopting the nocturnal habits of a hamster, watching the Ashes may prove a difficult task. Nevertheless armed with a crate of Red Bull, I decided to stay up for the entire first day's play. This is how it went:

10.00pm - I research methods of staying awake for the duration of the day's play. The Guardian tell me to nap immediately after a coffee ... It can't be that difficult to stay awake?

10.15pm - Seduced by 1981 Ashes hero 'Beefy's bets' on Sky bet I (optimistically) place £10 on England to win the first Test Match. false hope? Probably.

11.31pm - Clearly not a believer in 'tails never fails', Strauss calls heads, wins the toss and bats. Very glad we aren't going to experience a repeat of Nasser Hussain's catastrophic decision to field first in 2002. Another positive sign.

12.03am - Strauss out. 3rd ball duck. All previous hope has evaporated.

12.12am- Trott and England off the mark. A huge sigh of relief. Coffee needed.

12.47am - Not only are England struggling ?n the pitch, but my Sky Player stream on the internet dies. Thankfully Radio 4 Test Match Special saves me, and as I turn on Michael Slater claims Jonathan Trott has 'more movements than a Dvorak symphony'. 'Th.ink I'll store that one in the memory bank for use at a later date when I need to sound vaguely cultural.

Ol.09am - No signs of lagging yet, and I haven't touched the Red Bull either. Mainly for

fear of The Guardian S article warning that a monumental crash will follow the first sip.

Ol.48am - Doherty drops Cook at point! I momentarily feel some sympathy for the debutant, probably because I have dropped many an important catch in my amateur career.

02.SBam - In a strange tum of events Ian Botham recounts being hit by a chicken leg thrown from the crowd when he played in Brisbane whilst my drunken housemate, post Gatecrasher night out, staggers in with chicken and chips from the takeaway.

03.lSam - Things are looking good for Cook and Pietersen, I'm worried. Something has to go wrong soon. In other news as the smell of chicken and chips is lingering in the lounge I vow to venture to Sainsburys local at the tea break for a snack.

04.40am-Another absorbing session, three coffees down. A trip to Sainsburys for snacks results in a strange mix of purchases. Pitta breads, and a gingerbread man.

OS.4 0am - l hold my head in my hands. Siddle's hat-trick has ended any hopes of victory for England.

05.42am - After taking a moment to calm down, perhaps I was being a bit melodramatic. We're still in this, aren't we? What a superb spell of bowling though. Sky love the drama.

06.SOam - All over for England's innings, Definitely short of runs, I need another pitta bread to calm my frustrations ...

07.30am - I can barely keep my eyes open. No Aussie wickets, and time for bed. I think I've realised why the Australians call the Gabba the 'Gabbatoir'.

Jonathan Brewer

Jamie Presland

Why pay more? I

thought I would take this opportunity in my commenl piece this week to give you a piece of advice dear reader. Instead of

concentrating on the wider world of sport as I usually do, I wanted to draw your attention to a fantastic opportunity that is right on your doorstep.

For those who like watching sport being a student is difficult. The student loan can stretch to subscribing to Sky but it does mean not eating for the rest of the year. And when it comes to watching professional sport live, well you get a discount, but it's still pretty exorbitant for our increasingly empty wallets. So where can you watch high-level sport, for free, that is accessible by bus at the most? Why Leeds University of course.

Weetwood and North Pavilion toward Oxley and Boddington, the Gryphons sports centre just off campus and The Edge on campus every Wednesday are full are excellent and exciting sports fixtures that are complete ly free to watch and are ridiculously easy to get to.

There are 62 university sports teams competing over 16 different sports, so there is certainly the choice. Perhaps you are worried that the quality will not be high? Seven of these teams play in the Premier division in their respective sports. This means that Leeds has seven teams who are in the Barclays Premier League of University sport. Underneath that 20 teams are in the first division of their sports. Beyond that Leeds has the Gryphons scheme for increasing levels of professionalism and achievement in our Universities sports teams, which now includes 16 teams.

Coming 16th in the overall university

rankings last year (the BUCS results for this week can be found on page 20), the University of Leeds is a very strong sporting institution we are the Chile or West Brom of the higher education sporting world.

So watching university teams is easy, cheap ands the games are of a very high quaJity. The university gives you Wednesday afternoons off, if you're lucky, so you don't have to worry about lectures getting in the way of your sporting enjoyment.

As we come to half way through the season Leeds sits 9th in the overall university table and many of their teams are looking good to reach the university final days in Sheffield at the end of the year. Over J 0,000 vicarious fans packed into Heading!ey stadium to watch the rugby union varsity match so why not go along to watch how our rugby union team continues to do throughout the season. With the support of a strong fanbase behind them, just think what our teams could achieve.

The other reason to watch one of our teams is that you have an emotional attachment to their results already. Sport is always more enjoyable when you have a team to support and an interest invested in one of the sides. The pride of seeing your university side win is comparable with that of watching the football team you support being successful. Not only can you celebrate your university being strong in the fields of academia but also achieving great things in sport as well. And how many institutions in Leeds can claim that?

James Green

20 Friday, November 26, 2010 Leeds Student

BUCS round-up This weeks BUCS fixtures were fewer in number than in p~evious weeks, but Leeds' sports teams racked up twenty wins between them to make it a successful day's work overall .

. The men'~ tennis lsts finally ended their losing streak with a stunning 12-0 whitewash over Manchester, with the women's lsts beating Northumbria by the same score.

The Leeds Gryphons womens hockey teams were in gre~t form on Wednesday, four of the five teams winning their cup games, and the lsts staying top of the Nortern Conference lA with a 4 2 defeat of Manchester 2nds. The stand-out performers were the 3rds who ruthlessly defeated Northumbria 8-1, whilst the only defeat of the day came for the 6ths, going down 12-1 to an impressive Newcastle 2nds side.

Equally impressive were the Gryphons squash teams, who all won on Wednesday. Angus MacPherson led the 3rds to a tight 2·] victory over local rivals York, whilst the men's -lsts and 2nds and the women's 2nds all won comfortably.

Uni are born toRun Cross Country

Next meeting: Bramley Park, Leeds

With the UK Abbey Dash meaning the runners Leeds were able to put out was depleted, the Uni teams nevertheless put in another good performance that suggests that their growth over the season will lead to a strong finish to the season.

A number of alumni members and the first race since being named British Triathlon Male Junior Triath\ete of the Year for Tom Bishop helped Leeds to overcome their depleted numbers.

The fog of the preceding day thankfully cleared in time for the third race in the West Yorkshire Cross Country League series, which took place in Bramley Park just outside of Leeds on Saturday 20th November.

Unfortunately it was a diminished team that Leeds University was able to present in the competition.

Treasurer Adam Brown explained: "A lot of our runners are taking part in the Age UK Abbey Dash tomorrow, and so are giving today a miss. I'm racing tomorrow so am taking it steady, and I know Jocelyn (Payne, Women's Race Captain) is too."

Holmfirth's Katie Walshaw won the Women's race, which had a field of 83 runners, in 18 minutes and 58 seconds.

Leeds University's first female runner was Women's Race Captain Jocelyn Payne, who came 32nd in 22 minutes and 18 seconds, and Rebecca Jameson, in her first race for the University, was dose behind with 22.36 and in 38th place.

Andrew Pearson of Longwood AC won the Men's Race.

Tom Bishop sported his Leeds University vest in this race, pulling out third place in an impress ive 32.04. Freddie Slemeck (21st) and Tom Powell (23rd) sustained a high-pressure contest between them.

Adam Brown (79th) and Rowan Temple (89th) also competed for Leeds.

With a full line-up of runners for the next race Leeds will be hoping to push on for the rest of the season and are aiming to keep improving week on week.

Celtics drop the Bomb American Football Lancaster Bombers 26-20 Leeds Celtics

Next fixture: Huddersfield Hawks (h)

The Leeds Celtics, hoping to shake off defeat last week, travelled to Lancaster University to play an in form Lancaster Bombers team. Both teams were contending for one of the two play-off places available in the division and this was demonstrated in the dose and hard fought match.

The Celtics' offense was slow to start, picking up the first penalty of the match in their opening drive and then fumbled the ball, turning it over to the Bombers. This was a sign of things to come from the Celtics' offense who turned the ball over three times in the first half alone.

The first points of the game came in the first quarter where a strong Lancaster drive was finished off with a one yard run. The two point conversion was made and in a match that in many ways mirrored their last game, the Celtics went behind early on.

The Bombers built on their early lead throughout the second quarter at the expense of the Celtics' offense who turned the ball over twice, once through an interception and again through a further fumble, both of which led to Bomber touchdowns. With the score standing at 20-0 with time still to play in the second quarter, the Leeds Celtics had their work cut out.

An eventful first half also saw the ejection of one player from each side for unsporting behaviour, although in truth it was a harsh decision and both teams missed having key players for the duration of the game.

The Celtics finally kicked into life on the brink of half time when Josh Lisiuk caught the ball for a touchdown and Ben Kadory completed the two-point conversion.

An inspirational comeback looked on the cards when Lewis Dael ran in for a touchdown on the first drive after the restart, however it was brought to an abrupt halt at the end of the third quarter when the Bombers increased their lead to 26-14 with a touchdown pass.

A good day of running by the Celtics was topped off when a 37 yard run by Andy Kirk gave the Celtics great field position and Rob Wyatt completed the move with a touchdown pass.

Ultimately the Celtics were yet again let down by their slow start and left themselves a lot to do. They will be undoubtedly looking forward to the return fixture in the New Year, which will probably determine the future of their season.

Next Sunday sees the Huddersfield Hawks visit Lawnswood, with kick off at 1pm a strong home support could see the Celtics overcome this losing run.

Wednesday 17th November

Badminton

Leeds University Men's lsts 1 7 Leeds Met 2nds Leeds University Men's 2nds 5 3 Northumbria Uni 2nds Leeds University Women's 2 6 Sheffield Uni lsts

Basketball

Leeds University Men's lsts 52- 65 Sheffield Hallam lsts

Fencing

Leeds University Men's lsts 107 126 Sheffield Uni lsts Leeds University Men's 2nds 50 135 Sheffield Uni lsts

Football

Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 2 -1 Leeds Met lsts Leeds Gryphons Men's 4ths 1 4 Teesside Uni lsts Leeds University Women's lsts 4 2 Leeds Met 3rds

Golf

Leeds University Men's 1.5 4.5 Sheffield Hallam lsts

Hockey

Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 1 4 Nottingham Trent Uni lsts Leeds Gryphons Men's 2nds 7 - 0 Northumbria Uni 2nds Leeds University Women's lsts 4 - 2 Manchester Uni 2nds Leeds University Women's 2nds 3 2 Durham Uni 4ths Leeds University Women's 3rds 8 -1 Northumbria Uni 3rds Leeds University Women's 4ths 3 1 Sheffield Uni 3rds Leeds University Women's 5ths 7 -1 Hull Uni 2nds Leeds University Women's 6ths 1 12 Newcastle Uni 2nds

Lacrosse

Leeds University Women's lsts 6 13 Manchester Uni lsts

Netball

Leeds Gryphons lsts 31 83 Leeds Met lsts Leeds Gryphons 2nds 66 30 York St John lsts Leeds Gryphons 4ths 58 14 Teesside Uni 3rds Leeds Gryphons 5ths 24 50 Newcastle Uni 3rds

Rugby League

Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 10- 34 Leeds Met 2nds

Rugby Union

Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts O - 30 Durham Uni lsts Leeds Gryphons Men's 4ths 21-12 Sheffield Uni 3rds

Squash

Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 4 -1 Leeds Met 2nds Leeds Gryphons Men's 2nds 3 - 0 York Uni lsts Leeds Gryphons Men's 3rds 2 -1 York Uni 2nds Leeds University Women's 2nds 4 - 0 Bradford Uni lsts

Tennis

Leeds University Men's lsts 12 - 0 Manchester Uni lsts Leeds University Women's lsts 12 -0 Newcastle Uni lsts Leeds University Women's 2nds 2 -10 Northumbria Uni lsts

Volleyball

Leeds University Men's lsts 3 - 0 Bradford Uni lsts

+

Friday, November 26, 2010 Leeds Student 21

the Follo:"'ing David Haye's embarrassingly routine victory over Audley Htrnson :arlier i_n the month, many have accused the sport's promoters o producmg a mismatch of epic proportions. LS Sport asks:

Joe Short

The Audley Harrison that won the Olympi~ and ~eat Danny Williams in our

. second fight will_ destroy David Haye. It's gomg_ t~ ~e a tough fight but ultimately I will prevail, it 1s my destiny."

The immortal words of our nation's Olympic g~ld _medalist, Harrison - even by his own ad~1ss1on - has failed to live up to ~ ectc:tlons. At 39 years old the Haye-Harrison figh t billed by Sky Box Office as 'The Best of Enemies' was the Londoner's last chance at the big time, and he failed miserably.

Well, that seems to be the opinion of most. But ac~ally Harrison's defeat to Haye was less of a failure for the lifeless man, but a failure of boxing in general. For we all expected so much more from ~arrison, but why did we expect it?

It was simply marketing: boxing's most trustworthy ally. The amount of hype generated by_respective camps stirred up a beast that never existed. Proclaimed projections of a £10 million bou_t fuelle? the flames, which burnt every other boXIng fans wallet in the country.

o.f course ~e figh~ was never going to be the am~zmg clash 1t was billed to be. Boxing website boxmgnews24 nailed it perfectly: "It's strange ~at the fans are scooping up the Haye-Harrison bckets, because outside of the UK, this fight is seen somewhat as a joke.

It w~s a joke; it was a complete farce, as is he~vywe1ght b?xing over the past decade or so. With the dominance of the Klitschkos there is little any heavyweight title contender can do. Sin;e Lennox Lewis last fought Vitali is 2003, we ve had nothing to cheer about on the heavyweight front.

. Did anyone really cheer for Haye when he nICked the WBA Heavyweight Title off Nikolai Valuev? No. We weren't watching in support of !iay~, we w~re ':"'atching for the advertised DaV1d v Goliath narrative, in support of the potential freak show of seeing a 7ft bloke collapse onto the canvas, which is also why we watched a fortnight ago. The X-Factor, Rocky style drama of Harrison coming back from the depths of adversity was too much for us.

We were ~ duped by the pre-match hype, of Haye punchmg off the head of a cardboard Valuev, of telling us all how hard it will be to

shake Harrison's hand when he is being carted off to hospital

What were we thinking? Even the Klitschko bouts have become slugfests with overweight :~ts~ taxi drivers from Eastern Europe and

But most of all I blame Haye. He knew he was mugging us all off with the Harrison fight S~ did Sky. ~r_anted, he was good enough to out wit the petnfied tree trunk that is Valuev, but Haye needs to prove himself against a Klitschko before it is too late.

He's already bought himself another six months by pretending to focus on Harrison, but another slap and tickle jaunt like that and heavyweight boxing is seriously in trouble.

Because of pay-per-view the 1V channels of course have to hype up the bouts . But if heavyweight boxing wants to continue with any sort of reputation in tact, the fights must start living up to the speculation they generate.

Sky Sports News wouldn't shut up about it. They seem to have adopted Haye as their mascot. Heavyweight boxing is sadly becoming an entertainment business without any entertainment.

Wladimir's 'come and get me' video to Haye - easily accessible on Youtube - says it all a b o u t boxing hype; we're s 1 0 w J y heading \ /" down a ,. ,._ WWE style ... soap opera, where no one really cares about the fighter, but mainly about the storyline.

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As soon as Audley Harrison vacated his Eur?pean title in June of this year, it was O~V1ous he was targeting a fight with his once friend, now enemy David Haye. Five months of speculation later the fight happened and, contra.ry to popular belief, any reduction to the build-up and hype would have been to the detri_ment of the fight.

Big sporting ev~nts are special precisely because they are mfrequent. Cricket fans spe_nd two years anticipating each Ashes senes, and even when the outcome is as unpleasant as our last sojourn down under,

...-::: the build-up is essential. Ryder cups also occur only every

two years, while four years separate each FIFA World

' Cup. Only is a sporting

product over-hyped when it fails to

entertain. The last World Cup did not merit the attention it received

beforehand, but only because

England were feckless and as usual overwhelmed by expectation. Haye and Harrison did not entertain

.and therefore their fight was justifiably brand~d as over-hyped.

It ts worth noting that this all-British bout between former friends suffered more than most at the hands of marketing gurus. Two Brits competing for a worl? title inevitably captured the attention of our domestic media while known ill feeling betwee~ boxers usuaJly bodes well for a fight. Therefore ~arrison producing such tam e re s is tan ce to his fellow Londoner Haye was even harder for supporters to take.

Harrison' s shameful dis play made a mo ckery of his nau sea tin g a sse rtions that he would give Haye the "fight of his

life_". Indeed, until perceived as nervous at the weigh-in,_ Harrison was steadfastly bullish about his prospects against the WBA champion.

. B_ut he had to be. £14.95 was paid for the pnvilege of watching the fight. Not to buy a channel, as is the.case with most other sports, but to buy one fight. Harrison talked up his chances because no promoter could sell a fight where one party felt he would lose. For a few weeks Harrison had to be a gladiator.

This ~l~diatorial image and uncomprom1smg nature of boxing are what attracts fans. It is the rawest of tests for ~ankind. Two men left alone to settle their°"' differences. Going toe-to -toe, head to head. To a huge number of Britons there is no purer a spectacle.

Bu_t anyone who has w i tnessed the occas1o_nal mebri_ated ~raw! outside a pub late on a_ Fnd~y evening will testify that fights are not mvanably evenly matched. So it stands to reason, that boxing will occasionally throw up one-sided contests.

In the halcyon days of Muhammed Ali b?~i~g could live up to its hype. The top d1v1s1on was blessed with great fighters: George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Leon Spinks, ~enry C?oper to name but a few of those involved m epic battles with Ali. Yet even then Ali, as WBC champion, was able to twice defend his title in just three rounds

David Haye, meanwhile is fa; from an :i,

unchalleng~d heavyweight champion. He went the distance with the giant Nikolai Valuev to win the title, whi le his first challenger John Ruiz lasted nine rounds with the 'Hayemaker'.

The harsh t~uth is that Harrison, arguably ~attered by his Sydney Olympic Gold, was simply a poor choice as challenger. Everyone knew Haye would win. But such is the gladi~torial and comm~rciaJ nature of boxing, Harnson was never going to admit it.

_A thrashing in football still constitutes a 90 mmute match, even if the final score shows a hi?eous disparity. Unfortunately for boxing, mismatches last only a matter of minutes. Fans are left unfulfilled and the sport is open to_ the a~cusation of being over-hyped. But this slur 1s grossly unfair.

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22 Friday, Novembe r 26 , 2010 Leeds Student

Gryphons winning run comes to an end Gryphons

Men's Rugby Union Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 0-32 Durham lsts

Next fixture: Leeds Met lsts (a)

A disappointing day for Leeds Gryphons meant their previous back to back wins could not be built upon against a tough Durham University

~ side who continued their unbeaten run.

scored in the comer. A clever grubber kick through the advancing Leeds defence caught the Gryphon's backs sleeping and an easy pick up for the Durham attack was gathered up to score the tty.

Ten minutes later and there was another try, this time missed tackles from the Gryphons allowed the visitors fly half, Mike Ward to place the ball in the comer making the score 0-10. Missed kicks from a difficult position kept Leeds in a game that should have been beyond them.

With only a couple of minutes left until half- time, Durham furthered their lead as the referee awarded a penalty against the Gryphons for failing to roll away from a ruck. The visitor's full back Alex Graham gratefully took the opportunity for an easy three points right in front of the posts.

in the visitors winning quick turnover and attacking a broken Leeds defence. Durham were once again ruthless in punishing the home side's mistakes and another try was scored in the comer.

Further errors from the Leeds team led to more points for the opposition as an infringement in the scrum gave the referee no choice but to give a penalty try and an easy conversion.

The final points of the fixture were to be taken once again by the visiting side, however this time a little more fortunately than previous successes. As the Gryphons were down to 14 men with an injury, Durham made their numerical advantage count generating an overlap, which was once again placed in the comer.

A confident Durham team took little over seven minutes to secure the first points of the game as a try was

Whilst the ends may have changed for half time the story was still the same. A Leeds mistake and good pressure from Durham lead to a poor clearance kick from inside the Gryphon's 22-metre line.1his resulted

After the game Gryphon's head coach Nick Hyde said his team 'bad to be more ruthless in their attitude", and that they may have been ulax after their previous victories". Overall Hyde admitted he was Mdisappointed with the result", but hoped his team would bounce back ahead of their next game against Leeds Met. GRAB: A physical contest saw Uni beaten by Durham photo: Joel Harratt

Leeds finally get some home comforts Men's Tennis Leeds Men's lsts 12 - 0 Manchester Men's lsts

Next fixture: Sheffield lsts (a)

One could detect a slight nervousness amongst the Leeds University lsts, as the last two results of the season have set the side back quite significantly. This match was to be make or break for the home side, with no home victories to their name and two very close losses away to Sheffield Hallam and Manchester 2nds. Revenge, purely in the sporting sense, was in the minds of all the Leeds Uni players.

As is the case each week, the doubles started the match off and this feeling of nervousness immediately

~ vanished as the home side realised

that in both doubles matches they had a good chance of giving themselves their first 4-0 lead of the season. The first seed pairing of James Watts and Oli Sellers worked wonderfully, playing well within their capabilities, using the kick serve to great effect. These two traits combined created many opportunities for them both which they dutifully took. The match was over within the hour with the home side winning 6-1 6-2.

The second seed doubles match turned out to be an excellent combination of consistency from David Smith and aggression when needed from Ramzi Cherad. The pair also finished their contest rather rapidly with a result of 6-0 6-1 in Leeds Uni's favour.

One would assume, at this point that the Manchester side would step up and competitively challenge the home side in the four singles matches.

This was far from the case for the Manchester no.l seed that faced an incredibly nonchalant but nonetheless talented player in the form of James Watts. The Leeds Uni no.l started the match positively with an opening set score of 6-2. This initial display of confidence proved to be the case throughout the duration of the match, as Watts continued to dominate off of the forehand side leaving his opponent motionless and speechless at times. The second set sailed away from the Manchester challenger and the second set score was 6-2 to Watts.

With an unusual lead of 6-0 to the home side it was looking like they were heading in the right direction for the first time this season. David Smith was the next man to try and add to this promising score for the Leeds Uni 1st team. At 3-3 in the first set it looked like he was to be in for an arduous battle, however he managed

to pull through the next games with a confident display of consistently executed ground strokes, taking the first 6-3. This was all that the Leeds no. 2 had to do in the second set it seemed, as his opponents determination diminished rather rapidly giving Smith the chance to control much of the second set as he eased his way to a 6-3 6-1 victory.

Oli Sellers was now extremely eager to get his match underway. With the overall score set at 8"0 to the home side, there was no pressure on the no.3 whatsoever. It was to be another case of staying steady for the self-assured Sellers as he kept the unforced errors count to single figures in the first set giving him his second bagel of the season and boosting his morale to even higher levels. After this straightforward first set Sellers settled into a comfortable rhythm, continuing to maintain his first serves ata high percentage and also keep the

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ground strokes well within the lines as he waited for his opponent to make the mistake. The second set soon flew by the Manchester no. 3 and soon came to an end, with the final score 6-0 6-1 to Oli Sellers. Food was the topic of his match with a bagel and a chip proudly sitting next to his name.

With a victory now firmly placed in the hands of the home side it was down to Ramzi Cherad to give the team a much-needed 12-0 victory. The Leeds no.4 looked like he was thoroughly enjoying his match, executing his forehand with precision and power on many occasions. With his serve putting him in good stead he continued to prove too much for his opponent who had very little in response to what was being hit at him. Cherad dutifully delivered the much desired clean sweep and the home side were given their first win of the season. An emphatic and well deserved result for all involved.

.~

•,-'1_t'•k '."'3 ,--,,,,, _,,. .A- ,,. , . ,,_,.,J '-'··

Friday, November 26 , 2010 Leeds Student

First win for Uni , Women's Football Leeds lsts 4 - 2 Leeds Met 3rds

Next fu..'ture: Leeds Met 3rds (h)

The Women's first team are through to the next round of the cup after a game packed with goals against rivals Leeds Met. The Gryphons threw away a 2~0 lead in the second half before a penalty from Lauren Davies and a wonderful solo effort from Emma Cooper ensured victory.

Women's Northern Conference 2B

p w Sheffield lsts 4 4

Durham lsts

Leeds Met 3rds

York St Johns lsts

Leeds lsts

Sunderland lsts

Pts 12

]2

The game itself was not as open as the score line suggests. Chances were few and far between in the opening half hour as the teams battled for control of possession in the midfield.

The majority of the players struggled to make an impact because of this and were slow to get started. Fran Barrett was an exception however, as her pace and dribbling on the right wing troubled the Met fuJlback every time she was on the ball.

Barrett capitalised on her domination of the right flank by scoring the game's first goal on the half hour mark. Played through

by Davies in the midfie·ld, her pace oven,(helmed t(re Met left back and she was left tht-ough. on goal tct finish heautifuHy across '(he goalkeeper.

Things got worse shortly after for Met as Uni doubled the lead four minutes later. Hannah Roberts was .left unmarked from a low cross delivered from Barrett and had no trouble beating the helpless keeper.

The break at half time was just what the away side needed as they came out sharper and scored twice to bring the game level. Both goals came from careless mistakes in the Uni defence.

A mistake from the keeper for the first and a lack of communication between defenders in the second quickly launched Met right back into the tie. It appeared that the Gryphons' confidence was hit at the equaliser and that they would be lucky to be level after ninety minutes.

But five minutes later they were presented a gift from the penalty spot. Barrett was holding on to the ball at the edge of the.area but was going nowhere until the centre back tripped her from behind in a mad rush of blood to the head. Midfielder Lauren Mitchell took the penalty and calmly slotted past the keeper.

The best was yet to come from Gryphons' Emma Cooper, who scored a lovely goal after dribbling from her own half to weave through the Met defence and the win for the Gryphons.

Player of the Match Fran Barrett

Dominated the right flank throughout the game. Scored the first goal and won the

penalty that ended the game as a contest.

· (;ryphons

Men's Squash Leeds Gryphons Men's 3rds 2 -1 York2nds

Next fixture: Bradford lsts (h)

The men's 3rd squash team emerged as 2-1 winners from Wednesday afternoon's dash with York 2nds at the Gryphon Centre, progressing to the next round of the BUCS Northern Cup.

Angus MacPherson and Rakaan Al H uneidi battled through close encounters in the opening two matches to give the home side the two point advantage required to claim the victory against their North Yorkshire neighbours.

First to grace the 'T' was Angus MacPherson who fought through a cagey opening to the afternoon's play by claiming the first game 11 ·9. However, his opponent from York found his rhythm in the second game, leading Mac Pherson by seven strokes to nil, before drawing level with Leeds after a swift 11-3 victory.

The third game of the opening fixture proved to be the closest-fought of the day, with neither player taking more than a one point lead until York edged 10-8 ahead at the business end of the game. Yet the indefatigable MacPherson survived three game points against him before punishing the

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opposition, takirag advantage 9f his first game point to.claim the third game 13-11.

Building on his late flurry_ in the previous game Mat:Pherson strode into a 9-3 lead before finishing the tie confidently as he powered to~ 11 5 victory iruthe fourth game to win the match 3-1 overall

Knowing that victory in the second match of the afternoon would ensure Leeds' progression to the next round of the cup, Rakaan Al Huneidi Aew out of the blocks winning the first two games 12-10 and 11-4 respectively. Al Huneidi displayed some fine footwork and, at two games to nil, looked to be cruising to a demolition of the York opposition.

However, York refused to be brushed aside so easily and attempted to justify their short journey down the A64. After his bright start, Al Huneidi's concentration faded in the third game before a brave five point comeback in the fourth proved to be in vain as York clinched the game 11-9 and forced the two to play out an intense match- deciding fifth game.

Determined not to cave in to the York comeback,Al Huneidi took the final game 11-9. The two players emerged from the court exhausted after their five-game thriller to cheer on their captains in the final match. With the fixture already won by Leeds, it seemed the pressure was off for both players.

However, in light of the toil of his team­mates, the York captain seemed detennined to exit the Gryphon Centre with a consolation victory in the final match of the day. Leeds' Robert Mayne exhibited a strong backhand and was fast around the court but struggled to cut out the unforced errors that ultimately led to a three-nil defeat.

Despite defeat in the final match and a valiant effort from York in the two earlier encounters, the Gryphons always appeared the likelier victors and now look confidently towards building a run in the BUCS Northern Cup.

Trent tickled pink w-ith victory Gryphons

Men's Hockey Leeds Gryphons Men's lsts 1-4 Nottingham Trent lsts

Next fixture: Loughborough lsts (a)

A crucial ~ncounter on a bitterly cold afternoon at Weetwood was what awaited those brave enough to tackle the piercing winds and watch the Leeds Gryphons take on Nottingham Trent. Brimming with confidence following their first win last week against Nottingham lsts, victory against another East Midlands outfit would have been warmly received. Sadly, this was not to be as an open

match saw the visitors run out 4-1 winners.

The talking point before the game seemed not to surround the match itself but the Trent kit. Sporting pink, sleeveless shirts they were maybe trying to gain a psychological boost. As the game got underway however, it was the men in more traditional attire that made the brighter start. Yet the Gryphons fell behind as Trent converted a somewhat dubious short comer.

Neither side could gain a firm grip on proceedings as slippery conditions and poor ball control saw the game enter a scrappy period. Trent showed more attacking intent but failed to double their lead thanks to an incredible miss and an acrobatic save from Leeds' 'keeper Tom Daley - his skills mirroring those of his diving namesake.

Eventually Trent's pressure brought a deserved second goal. The home side however responded immediately and with their first real chance, Danny Mills smartly slotted home a short comer

The second half ran a similar

course to the first with the Gryphons quickest out the block with Gwaine Hogg's words clearly taking affect as they attacked with purpose. Again, however, the visitors rode the storm and with a sucker punch took a 3-1 lead.

Hogg was the more vocal of the coaches, offering his opinions to both his players and the umpires in a bid to get his side back in the match. However, Trent gained a stranglehold on the game, with their central midfielder, an England international, controlling proceedings.

With the Gryphons naturally pressing for a goal in an attempt to salvage something, Trent burst through with blistering pace and a brilliant finish which nestled in the top corner ensured there would be no comeback. Leeds had ultimately been overpowered by a team no better than themselves. On another day the result could have quite easily been reversed and no doubt the result flattered the away side. However, in a league as tough as this one, these are the sort of games you have to win.

photo: Joel Harratt

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. . . .. Coach Burchnall: ''Our best performance of the season'' Gryphons

Men's Football Leeds Gryphons lsts 2 1 Leeds Met lsts

Next Match: Edinburgh (h)

Leeds Uni stormed to a 2-1 victory over their city rivals in what coach Ian Burchnall described as "the best performance of our season so far." The match was won by star striker Wilcocks who made the Met defence look ordinary as he grabbed two goals in a battling display by the Gryphons.

The first half was a tense affair with both defences remaining strong under attacking pressure. Met retained most of the ball, with the Uni keeper being force_d into several acrobatic saves in order to keep his team on level terms.

Thankfully the Gryphons held a disciplined line at the back and caught the Met strike force offside during several promising attacks. As the half wore on the Uni midfield trio of Wood, Turl and Kelly were able to put increasing pressure upon their midfield opponents, punishing indecision from Met players with some crunching tackles. Their local rivals were reduced to speculative efforts from outside the box, of which few were accurate enough to hit the target.

After the half time whistle Uni pushed on, encouraged by their first half display. There was a controversial decision .five minutes after the restart when Smedley carved through the Met defence, broke into the box a~d after gaining _a clear sight on goal was shoved m the back by his marker. Although it was unclear whether the

0 Nyong

® ® ® Scantlebury Hurst

Kawaguchi ~ ® Wood ® ® Smedley Kelly

Tur! w Wilcocks

winger had the ball under control at the time of the push, there is no doubt the ref would have called for a free kick outside the box.

Fortunately for the referee, and Gryphons fans aLke, Uni didn't have to wait long for the opener, as only ten minutes later Wilcocks was able to capitalise on confusion in the Met defence to put his team in front. Uni were attacking their opponents with pace and power on the break and once Chapman fed Wilcocks the ball it was clear he only had one thing in his mind. The Leeds target man found space to take the shot, which deflected off a Met defender and trickled over the goal line to the jubilation of fans on the sideline.

Uni were attacking their

opponents with pace and power

Rather than galvanising the Met players in their search for an equaliser, the goal seemed instead to spur on the Uni side, reinforcing their belief that the game was theirs for the taking. The strikers worked tirelessly to prevent the Met defenders time and space in distributing the ball and their pressure almost paid off on 65 minutes when Smedley's acute shot rebounded off the right hand post, only for the goalie to grab it at the second attempt.

Nevertheless, Met failed to recognise this as a wake-up call and with five minutes remaining on the dock they were left facing a tvvo-goal deficit. Yet again the Uni number 9, Wilcocks, illustrated his clinical ability in front of goal when he slid the ball past the helpless Met keeper. Under pressure from three defenders the striker did extremely well to keep control of the ball and notch his fifth goal of the season.

Although the Met right back scored a c?nsolatory scr~amer from 30 yar?s before the final whistle, this was not to be theIY day.

Keating

® Chapman

After the match coach Ian Burchnall explained the importance of the win saying: "It puts us back in touching distance with the rest of the pack We had a game plan from the start; to get the ball into wide areas and stop them from passing it about in midfie ld." Thankfully for the Gryphons his tactics paid off, as the team gained some retribution for their Varsity defeat and put in a performance fans can be proud of .

RNALS: A much needed win for Leeds will hopefully get their season up and running photo: Joel Barratt

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