1. Art and Diseño

gair rhydd
y
In this week’s issue: One man’s battle with
the most frustrating supermarket in the world,
GM mosquitoes, DNA in food and why we
should take a statutory citizen’s income seriously
Monday February 2nd 2015 | freeword | Issue 1042
Auf wiedersehen, test: German exam grade void
Students informed ten days after sitting test that results are to be
discounted because of “unfair advantage”
Maria Parker
M
arks for a third year German exam have been discounted after confusion
over whether the exam was intended
to be ‘seen’ or ‘unseen’.
Approximately 40 students sat the
exam, which accounted for 70 per
cent of a compulsory module for all
third year students, on the 16th January. Just 10 days later students were
informed that they would all have to
re-sit it.
This decision followed an investigation, which revealed that Marc
Schweissinger, a lecturer in the
Do public health ads work?
P11 >>
School of Modern Languages, had
wrongly provided students with the
exam questions prior to the exam.
The majority of students were of the
understanding that the exam was a
seen exam and therefore prepared
answers to the paper.
However, not all students were
aware of this and consequently complained the examination was not a
fair assessment. It was therefore ruled
that some students had been given an
unfair advantage and that marks for
all students should be discounted.
After meeting with the students af-
fected, the department proposed
two alternative courses of action. In
an email sent to the students, they
outlined the options to either to take
forward the average of their two best
course work marks or submit two
alternative assignments by week 5 of
the Spring semester.
Students were also given the option to
re-sit the exam with a new exam paper.
In response to concerns, the email
stressed that they have ‘pledged that,
at the final degree classification examination board, the mark for this module will be scrutinised’ and ‘discounted
Politics interviews Cardiff MP Willott
P16 >>
should it impact negatively on degree
classification’.
A Cardiff University spokesman
said: “We were made aware of an
exam irregularity affecting finalyear German students and took
immediate steps to remedy this
in a fair and equitable manner.”
Amongst the options outlined to
resolve the situation, it was added
that all students have been given
“the opportunity to meet individually with senior members of the
German teaching team to discuss
the best option for them.”
Want to start a business?
P8 >>
Pictured:
The school of
modern languages
(Photographer:
Greg McChesney)
Continued on
page 4
THE FREE WORD
Go to gairrhydd.com!
EDITOR
Michael O’Connell-Davidson
DEPUTY EDITOR
Georgia Hamer
GAIR RHYDD CO-ORDINATOR
Elaine Morgan
NEWS
Georgia Hamer
Katie Evans
Alexander Norton
Anna Lewis
ADVICE
Kirsty Fardell
COMMENT
Anne Porter
Gareth Evans
Olivier van den Bent-Kelly
COLUMNIST
Jason Roberts
POLITICS
Carwyn Williams
Lauren Boyd
Rhiannon Tapp
SCIENCE
Shanna Hamilton
Meryon Roderick
SOCIETIES
Hannah Sterritt
PARK LIFE
Tim Nagle
TAF-OD
Steffan Bryn Jones
Morgan Owen
SPORT
David Hooson
Rory Benson
Joe Atkinson
It’s pretty spiff y
S
o here’s the thing. I was speaking to one of
my editors earlier in the week who asked me
to add some pages to the newspaper, and they
made this request because they didn’t want to put
things online when people don’t think about the
Gair Rhydd website on the same level as the newspaper. At least right now, they added.
It’s right to be concerned about what contributors
might think about where their writing ends up because they’re one of the most important groups this
newspaper serves. Equally, I won’t lie -- our first semester’s web coverage was pretty bad. I could understand a writer being disappointed about something
ending up on the web on those grounds alone. Looking at the past two weeks, however, I’d hazard that
the time for thinking of the website as something
lower than the print product is over.
There are three people to thank for that: Digital
Editors Greg McChesney and Jordan Adams, who
both helped extensively on the print copy of this issue, and have lead the charge in converting analog
content into stuff for the web. Seriously, all those
posts have been put together by two guys. That’s
partly down to the fact that Wordpress is a lot friendlier than InDesign (which is AKA Death, Destroyer
of Worlds), but it’s also a result of the sheer dedication that both Jordan and Greg have displayed lately.
So hey, duders - here’s to you. I know you joined the
team a little later than everyone else, but I’m very
glad you did.
But thanks are also owed to Union web designer
Joe Birkin, who’s done a fantastic job of acting on
the myriad requests we’ve submitted recently. We’ve
pushed through all sorts of tweaks and adjustments
and Joe’s been great to work with every step of the
way. Web design isn’t easy -- in emails, I try and
speak that language, and I imagine I look a little bit
like Jeremy Clarkson did in Argentina -- and some-
times stuff designers agonise over is the sort of thing
nobody notices. I know that feeling, because I’m a
print designer; it took bloody ages for people to really “get” the margin spaces on our redesigned templates, when I spent all night thinking about them
after I first drafted this layout up.
The above individuals are arguably as important
to this publication as I am. On those grounds alone,
you’d be remiss not to consider the website a labour
of love in a similar manner to the newspaper. But
for those who the newspaper is more important than
its digital counterpart, I’m going to put this in print
and embrace the finality that comes with that: online
news really is the future.
Note that it’s not the whole future. Stow your tinhats, as this isn’t a subtle nod to a conspiracy to stop
printing Gair Rhydd that’s already in motion. The
decline of print has been overstated, in my opinion,
and nothing quite beats the quiet reflection a newspaper offers. Breaking news so often gets it wrong
that we can’t afford to live in a world where the only
constant news value in producing news coverage on
is “more and faster.”
But when it comes down to it, if you don’t have
gairrhydd.com in your bookmarks bar alongside
WalesOnline and the Cardiff Tab, it’s not because of
our website. And it’s not because people aren’t hungry for up-to-the minute news coverage. It’s because
we’re not embracing the path this industry is taking, and there’s no excuse for that. Gair Rhydd has
undergone numerous transformations over its long
history, and since none of those translations have
been particularly recent, I’d say we were due one.
We’ve made some internal changes, and now we
distribute almost every single issue of Gair Rhydd,
with few, if any, left over. We’re good at print. But
print isn’t the be all and end all, and it’s not where
our work should end.
With that in mind, we’ll be offering out more digital-exclusive content, and that won’t be considered
secondary by anybody here. Some things just work
better in the browser, and we’ve all seen the research
-- digital spaces are where more and more young
people are going for their news coverage, and we’ve
allowed ourselves to be left behind. In my own opinion, the answer to getting our content in the hands of
Cardiff Students isn’t a delivery scheme or anything
like that; the answer is producing content on a constant basis that people want to read, and publishing
that content in a way that fits in with the day to day
life of students.
So here’s the thing. We always need more hands
on deck, and if you read the above and were remotely excited, I want to hear from you. We’ll never
have enough contributors to cover everything that
happens in Cardiff as it happens, but we can give
it a good shot. If you want to help us cover breaking news, then join our contributors group on Facebook. Find it at http://tinyurl.com/grcontrib or
head to your newsfeed and search for “Gair Rhydd
Contributors”. It’s the 14-15 group you’re looking for.
And if you are print focused, here’s a forewarning: some of your writing might end up online. The
pagination of the newspaper isn’t set to go down,
and with supplements for Varsity and the General
Election in the work, it’s only likely to go up. But
we’re going to be pushing harder and harder into the
digital space, and I think that, even if it’s a surprise,
you’ll love what we’re doing.
If you’re just a passive reader, do me a favour and
keep gairrhydd.com in your bookmarks or your RSS
feeder or whatever new-fangled technology people
use to keep track of blogs and online writing. We’ve
only just started on this journey, and we’re already
pretty good. Keep us in mind - we’d love to have you
along.
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Sum Sze Tam
DIGITAL EDITORS
Jordan Adams
Gregory McChesney
Want to join the team?
Editorial conferences are each
monday at 5PM. Proofreading
takes place on Thursdays at 6PM
in the media office during print
weeks.
Write us a letter
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Online at:
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At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest possible standards.
Sometimes, because of deadline pressures,
we may make some mistakes. If you believe
we have fallen below the standards we seek
to uphold, please email [email protected].
You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and
Complaints Procedure at
cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints
Next year will define the half-decade that follows.
Opinions expressed in editorials are not reflective
of Cardiff Students’ Union, who act as the
publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and
should not be considered official communications
or the organisation’s stance. Gair Rhydd is a post
office registered newspaper.
You can do so right now at http://www.cardiffstudents.com/love-cardiff/general-election/
Stand up. Be counted. Register to vote.
EDITORIAL
3
Campus In Brief
Joe Atkinson
A
Cardiff professor has been appointed the new
children’s commissioner for Wales. Professor
Sally Holland, who is director of the Cascade
children’s social research centre at the university, said:
“I will work with the children and young people of
Wales to ensure that their rights are safeguarded and
promoted”. Professor Holland will take up the role in
April.
The University Hospital was forced to cancel a
third year medic placement as pressure on A&E grew
amid staff shortages and cutbacks. Another potential
victim of government cuts are libraries, and students
took part in protests to help protect Cardiff Central
Library from the loss of jobs and services.
Princess Anne visited Cardiff University’s School
of Healthcare Sciences and the College of
Occupational Therapists to commemorate 50
years of the school’s work. Meanwhile the editor
of The Guardian Alan Rusbridger was welcomed to
the university’s School of Journalism, Media and
Cultural studies to celebrate the launch of two new
courses.
People and Planet’s university league tables
revealed that Cardiff were the 46th greenest
institution in the country. The university was rated
100% in terms of ‘environmental policy’, but 0% on
‘carbon reduction’, in what can only be described
as ‘all talk and no action’. This definitely/maybe has
something to do with the university’s £2.5million
investment in the fossil fuel industry.
Mesuro, a technological engineering company
developed from research at the university has
been sold to Montreal-based Focus Microwaves.
The company was born out of Cardiff University’s
Institute of High Frequency and Communication
Engineering in 1997, by Professor Paul Tasker.
A Cardiff University poll in conjunction
with YouGov and ITV revealed that the Liberal
Democrats (6%) have now fallen behind UKIP (16%),
Plaid Cymru (10%) and the Green Party (8%), and on
current projections will only retain a solitary seat in
the Welsh parliament. Students rejoice.
National
The former leader of Plaid Cymru Lord Wigley
carefully placed his foot into his mouth as he
compared the Trident base in Scotland to Auschwitz.
This was in the same week that commemorations
were held to mark the 70th anniversary of the
liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.
MEP Amjad Bashir became the high-profile
defector between UKIP and the Conservatives as he
moved over to the blue side. Nigel Farage derided
his former colleague, describing how his party
were becoming “increasingly alarmed” by Bashir’s
behaviour.
Fracking has featured heavily in the news over the
last few weeks, and protests against the controversial
extraction method forced the government into a
swift U-turn in which it vowed not to go ahead with
plans to immediately roll out the process, and also
prevent possible future fracking in national parks
and areas of outstanding natural beauty, signalling
bad news for Cathays.
Nurse Pauline Cafferkey declared that she was
“happy to be alive” following her full recovery from
Ebola. Ms. Cafferkey became the second Briton to
survive the disease, after at one point being in a
critical condition in hospital, and vowed to return
to her normal life.
Cardiff hosts the opener of this year’s Six Nations
championships this coming Friday night, with Wales
taking on England looking to avenge last year’s 29-18
defeat at Twickenham. The Welsh will be hoping to
wrestle back the title from Ireland, who prevented
Wales from achieving three championships in a row
in the 2014 series.
World
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died last week
after illness, and with the news dominated by
Americans talking about what his death would
mean for America, it was left to Tony Blair to be the
world’s moral compass and pay tribute. Blair praised
Abdullah’s record on improving women’s rights, in a
country ranked 127 out of 136 for gender equality.
Greece declared war on austerity as government
headed by radical-left party Syriza swept into
power and promised an end to spending cuts and
a freeze on privatisation. With the state of the Euro
in jeopardy as a result, Germany, who contributed
enormously to recent Greek bailouts, have appealed
for new PM Alexis Tsipras to not waver from the
economic plan currently in place.
Aussie PM Tony Abbott awarded Prince Philip
with a knighthood on Australia Day, a decision
derided by his critics who felt the honour should be
bestowed on someone actually from Australia, and
not someone who represents the country’s colonial
past. Given Abbott’s affinity to making public
mistakes, he presumably knighted the Prince for
services to gaffes.
As an inquest into the 2006 death of Russian spy
Alexander Litvineko got underway, Russia’s President
Vladimir Putin was accused of being “a common
criminal dressed up as a head of state”, and was said to
have given the go ahead for Litvinenko’s assassination
by polonium poisoning in his green tea.
In an attempt to regain his good-guy reputation,
Putin will likely meet with North Korean dictator
Kim Jong-un in the Great Leader’s first ever state
visit. Perhaps Putin is of the opinion that if he is seen
alongside an even more sinister man, the spotlight
will be averted temporarily. Good plan Vlad.
Having been long-stripped of his seven Tour de
France championships, disgraced cyclist Lance
Armstrong solidified his title as sport’s biggest
douchebag by asserting that were he to have his
time again, he would still have cheated by taking
banned substances. In an exclusive BBC interview,
Armstrong also stated his belief that he should be
forgiven. Somehow, it feels as though that won’t
happen any time soon.
Pictured:
Alan Rusbridger,
current editor
of The Guardian
(Source: The
Guardian)
NEWS
tweet us @gairrhyddnews
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/news
Cont’d: German
students tested by exam
“irregularities”
Continued
from front
page
“
Students have
consistently
praised the
department
for their
handling of
the situation
Despite the error, students have
praised the department for their handling of the situation. One student
commented “MLANG handled a
difficult situation very well.” Adding:
“A seen exam seemed like a reasonable format because the quality of the
written German is more important
than our ability to come up with, say,
complex arguments about the EU on
the spot.”
“The lecturer probably didn’t realise he’d made a mistake. It’s frustrating to have to decide whether to do
more work for last semester’s module
when I have new work to do this semester.”
Another student on the course reiterated these views, adding: “I was really impressed by how relevant members of staff within MLANG met with
us and prioritised everyone’s indi-
vidual options for resolving the issue.”
“Having discussed the outcomes of
the meeting with other German students, I feel the consensus is that the
department dealt with the situation in
the fairest way possible whilst ensuring the academic integrity of our chosen method of assessment.”
Errors were also reported in a
Politics exam and a Bioscience exam.
Mistakes in the wording of questions
in each led to students being interrupted during the exams.
The error would appear relatively
minor in comparison to reports given
by first year Bioscience students last
year.
Speaking to Gair Rhydd students
reported to have been given half
printed exam papers, interrupted
multiple times and asked to answer 12
questions when only 10 were given.
Fit for a Princess: Anne
tours Occupational
Therapy facilities
C
ardiff School of Healthcare Sciences has marked fifty years of
Occupational Therapy teaching with a visit by Her Royal Highness
Princess Anne.
The sixty-four year old royal – the
only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II
– is Patron of the College of Occupational Therapists and joined students
at a day-long conference.
The event was organised to celebrate the landmark anniversary of the
subject’s teaching in Cardiff, which
began in 1964.
Former Olympian Princess Anne,
who was en-route to a fundraiser organised by Welsh cancer charity Tenovus, took the opportunity to tour the
new Occupational Therapy Children’s
Clinic.
The facility, opened in 2014, forms
part of a broad range of facilities
available at the University Hospital of
Wales – a far cry from the semi-terraced house allocated to the subject
fifty years ago.
In that time, the University estimates that more than two thousand
students have graduated with degrees
in Occupational Therapy.
The degree programme teaches
students to solve physical or mental
ailments through the utilisation and
adaptation of the patients’ everyday
lives.
Applicants are promised at least
1,000 placement hours over the
course of their studies, with British
and European students having their
fees paid by the Welsh government.
These factors have contributed to a
rapid rise in the programme’s popularity – something which is only likely
to be boosted by the Royal visit.
“We are delighted that HRH, The
Princess Royal has agreed to join us
and officially mark 50 years of occupational therapy education in Cardiff,”
said Head of Occupational Therapy
Dr Steven Whitcombe.
Henrietta
Painter
Pictured:
Princess
Anne visiting
Occupational
Therapy students
(source:
WalesOnline)
“
“Extreme Pressures” stretch University Hospital staff
Pictured:
University
Hospital of
South Wales
C
ardiff University Hospital has
been forced to cancel services
due to ‘extreme pressures’ on
staff and resources.
On Monday, January 26th, the
primary teaching hospital for Cardiff University announced that they
were forced to cancel and re-organise a number of both outpatient and
elective appointments, allegedly affecting hundreds of patients.
According to the Chief Operating Officer, ‘extraordinary measures’
were taken to cope with the pressure, as all available staff were redirected from original duties in order
to help manage the situation.
As a result of the pressure, a tutorial for third-year Medicine students
was cancelled as staff were called
away to deal with emergency cases.
University Hospital Llandough
was also affected by high demand,
and was forced to cancel similar
outpatient services. Reports from
local patients explain that they were
not notified of the cancellations beforehand and were told upon arrival
at the hospital that a ‘major incident’
had taken place.
Shadow Health Minister Daren
Millar said: ‘Operations and appointments cancelled at short notice
can be very distressing, not to mention frustratingly inconvenient for
patients and their families who may
have changed their plans to accommodate a hospital visit.
‘It is worrying that health board
bosses have taken this extraordinary
step which will increase pressure in
the coming days, weeks and months
when all cancelled appointments
and operations have to be rear-
ranged.’
A Cardiff University spokesperson apologized for the inconvenience caused, explaining that ‘all
medical students are aware that
patient care has to remain the main
priority.
‘For some senior clinicians this
means teaching commitments may
have to be cancelled.’ It was emphasized that no student would be disadvantaged as a result of teaching
cancellations.
The spokesperson continued:
‘NHS Wales is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of patient demand. As part of a series of
measures designed to manage this
demand, Cardiff and the Vale UHB
have asked doctors to move some
work from outpatients to acute admissions and ward environment.’
The announcement follows in
the wake of a string of recent complaints made about the University
Hospital of Wales, including criticisms voiced by an A&E Nurse who
described her work in the emergencies department as ‘worse than her
time in Iraq’.
Placements for health students at
the Heath campus have also come
under scrutiny as Gair Rhydd reported in October that students felt
uncomfortable speaking out against
a lack of contact hours.
These criticisms form part of a
wider attack on NHS Wales, as it
was revealed last week that ambulance times in Wales are ‘worst on
record’. According to statistics, target times for Category A emergencies were met only 42.6 per cent in
December 2014.
“
Extraordinary
measures
were taken to
cope with the
pressure, as
all staff were
redirected
from original
duties
“
Anna Lewis
NEWS
5
Student constituencies elect for change
Cardiff Uni / YouGov research shows Welsh constituencies set to swing
Alexander
Norton
A
poll commissioned by Cardiff
University’s Wales Governance
Centre has revealed that two of
the Welsh capital’s four constituencies
are likely to change hands at the upcoming general election.
Produced by YouGov in conjunction with ITV Wales, the survey results
suggest that the student-populated
areas of Cardiff Central and Cardiff
North are likely to elect new members
of parliament.
However, the same cannot be said of
the rest of the country – with thirtyseven of the forty Welsh constituencies set to remain in the same hands,
according to the poll.
The localised shift is reportedly set
to favour Labour, with the party predicted to gain both Cardiff North (Mari
Williams) and Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens) from the Conservatives and the
Liberal Democrats respectively.
If the projected result were to materialise then Labour would control all
four of the city’s constituencies.
Both Cardiff North and Cardiff
Central – which boast a combined
electorate of approximately 130,000 –
are heavily occupied by students, and
have been targeted by Labour accordingly.
Both areas appear on the party’s official list of “battleground target seats“,
released in January 2013.
Their focus on the area appears to
be paying off, with Ed Miliband’s party
set to consolidate their control of the
Welsh capital. The city is currently run
by a Labour council and represented in
the Senedd by four Labour AMs.
In 2010, Conservative candidate
Jonathan Evans earned a majority of
just 194 to win Cardiff North whilst
Liberal Democrat Jenny Willott enjoyed a more comfortable margin of
4,576 in Cardiff Central.
However, the latest poll suggests
that they are both set to lose their
seats.
Professor Roger Scully told WalesOnline: “Our new poll seems to suggest that Labour have stopped, and
may even have begun to reverse, this
Pictured:
Welsh polling
stationw
erosion in their support. “
However, he added that Conservative support had remained surprisingly robust – and the new poll “supports
this pattern“.
The 2015 General Election is set to
take place on 7th May 2015.
You can find comprehensive coverage of both local and national politics
in the run-up to the general election
in the Politics section, home to Gair
Rhydd’s election coverage.
You can find
our politics
section on
Page 16
Porn is the new sex ed, says NUS survey
Greg
McChesney
A
study recently released by
the National Union of Students (NUS) has revealed
that a worrying 60 per cent of students in secondary school and university alike are using porn as the
main method to educate themselves
about sex.
In a group numbering more than
2,500 students, a mere 30 per cent
felt that anything covered in their
Sexual and Relationship Education (SRE) could be applicable to
their everyday lives, with the same
amount admitting it did nothing to
help their sexual confidence.
As a result of the inefficacy of
SRE, 40 per cent of those interviewed believed that pornography
has ‘helped their understanding
about sex’ despite a worrying threequarters also agreeing that pornography can warp perceptions of sexual norms and generate unrealistic
expectations of themselves and their
sexual partners.
Despite the potentially damaging
nature of education via pornography, these results aren’t altogether
unexpected. SRE is treated as an
academic and scientific discipline;
topics like puberty and contraception were present in 87 per cent
of students’ SRE syllabi, while the
sensitive issue of consent was altogether absent for two-thirds of the
surveyed students. The topic of relationships – a supposedly key part
of SRE – was left incomplete or
untouched by over half of students,
while LGBT awareness received attention in a meagre 20 percent of
SRE curricula.
In reaction to the publication of
these statistics, Jack Wallington, Director of Community at the Student
Room, believes sex and relationships
programmes are “patchy at best”.
He adds that “friends and websites” are left to fill the “black hole”
of questions left by the inadequacy
of SRE education, and in many cases
young people are being left to ‘hunt
for pieces of the puzzle themselves.
Wallington believes that the only
method by which young people can
be steered away from this limited
and detrimental pseudo-education
is through ‘greater standardisation
in our sex and relationships programmes, which directly address the
needs of young people’.
Wallington’s commentary is echoed by NUS vice-president Colum
McGuire, who claims “SRE is failing
millions… Sex is not a science lesson. People are being left with gaps
in their education.”
Students throw the book at planned council cuts
Protestors speak out against budget cuts threatening Cardiff libraries
Anna Lewis
A
protest involving students
from People and Planet has
been arranged to speak out
against budget cuts to Cardiff ’s Library Services.
The mass protest will take place
outside the city’s Central Library on
February 7th as part of National Libraries Day. With hundreds expected
to take part, it will feature a combination of students and local residents
armed with books, banners and placards in ‘a symbol of freedom’.
The campaign is supported by a
number of prominent local figures
and politicians, including children’s
author and illustrator Jackie Morris.
Those talking part are urged to take
along their favourite book and conduct a three-minute reading.
One member of the University’s
People and Planet group said: “Libraries are important for everyone in
society, especially since they provide
access to information and culture.
“Access to libraries shouldn’t be
based on money and budgets.”
Now going through its second year
of budget cuts, Central Library has
faced a series of cutbacks over the
previous year. Despite being voted
one of the six best libraries globally,
this has included the loss of the top
floor of the facility, the loss of a quarter of staff, and closures of one day
per week.
Next year will see the conversion
of Central Library into a ‘Super Hub’,
following plans to incorporate the
housing benefit and council tax centre into the building.
According to Michael Sweetman
from Cardiff Unison, staff have been
warned not to talk about budget cuts
on social media.
He also criticised plans to transfer
the duties of paid workers to volunteers.
He said: ‘Libraries are more than
a place to store books – they are the
only free space where residents can
meet in the winter, and a vital place
for elderly, disabled and unemployed
people to access computers and to
search for work.
‘Our right to participate in cultural
life is essential for a democracy, and
if we don’t put up a fight for these
libraries now we won’t get another
chance.’
The closure of six other libraries
has also been threatened across Cardiff as part of significant budget cuts
introduced by Cardiff Council. This
includes services in student areas in
Roath and Cathays.
Pictured:
Cardiff Central
Library
NEWS
tweet us @gairrhyddnews
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/news
University launches free online courses
Anna Lewis
F
ollowing their popularity last
year, Cardiff University has relaunched two free online cours-
Pictured:
Community
Journalism
organiser
Professor
Richard
Sambrook
(Source: Nato
Images)
es.
After attracting more than 15,000
people in 2014, the University is offering two courses titled ‘Muslims in
Britain’ and ‘Community Journalism’.
The courses, hosted on the online
learning platform FutureLearn, hope
to attract a global audience, with participants from over 120 countries taking advantage of the free resource last
year.
Both subjects run for four hours per
week for a maximum of five weeks.
Starting on February 9th, ‘Muslims
in Britain: Changes and Challenges’
will be led by Professor Sophie GilliatRay of the University’s Centre for the
Study of Islam in the UK. The course
will explain the work of the centre
and their research conducted about
the ‘everyday lives of British Muslims’.
The course forms part of the IslamUK centre’s aims, launched in 2005, to
promote better public understanding
of Islam and the life of Muslim communities in the UK. It will be followed
by a series of public lectures throughout the semester featuring subjects
such as dealing with Islamophobia
and the challenges and opportunities
facing Muslim women.
The ‘Community Journalism: Digital and Social Media’ course will begin
on March 16th with Professor Richard
Sambrook from the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies and
the Centre for Community Journalism.
The second of the two MOOC’s
(Massive Open Online Courses), it
will allow students to develop their
digital and social media abilities in a
combination of traditional and modern journalism teachings.
A third-year Journalism and Sociology student said: “the Community Journalism course was useful
for picking up helpful tips and tricks
and learning how to check facts. This
was especially relevant for journalists
without professional budgets.
“I found that the course was more
focused on those wanting to get involved in the entrepreneurial aspect
of community journalism rather than
journalism in general. However, for
those wanting to get involved in community journalism, it will definitely
prove useful.”
The courses are part of a marked
increase in the quality and number of
online study opportunities provided
by universities throughout the UK.
The creation of FutureLearn forums has been hailed a success by
Professor Mike Sharples, who remarked that the ‘water cooler’ discussions that take place online between
students is ‘proving successful’.
The developments follow concerns
voiced that online students require
more support than traditional classrooms, after it was suggested in the
Guardian that isolation has a detrimental effect on those studying on
the web.
The ‘Muslims
in Britain’
course is
available at:
http://tinyurl.
com/nfto6vm
The
‘Community
Journalism’
course is
available at:
http://tinyurl.
com/naaczhs
Student Support boasts new services
Rise in students seeking counselling is ‘not worrying’
T
he rise in students seeking
counselling is ‘not worrying’
but an indicator of successful
preventative initiatives, according to
the Head of Counselling, Health and
Wellbeing at the University’s Student
Support Centre.
The number of students seeking
counselling at Cardiff University is
up 32 per cent since 2011, with 1,494
students having received counselling
from Student Support during the last
academic year.
However, according to John Cowley, Head of Counselling, Health and
Wellbeing, the continuing rise in
figures is testament to the greater
awareness of services across campuses and the diminishing stigma
surrounding mental health issues,
rather than being symptomatic
of growing mental health issues
amongst the student body.
Over the past twelve months, the
Support Centre has increased capacity and begun offering telephone
and Skype counselling sessions to
meet demand, as well as invested
in a specialist mental health nurse,
with plans to appoint another wellbeing practitioner in the near future.
Students currently wait on average
two to three weeks to be seen by a
counsellor, with daily drop-in slots
for students to be seen the same day.
A pool of flexible staff is also drawn
from to meet demand during busy
periods.
Structural changes such as these,
alongside the launch of preventative
policies and initiatives such as the
‘Time to Pledge’ campaign, have allowed the support centre to reach a
greater number of students before
their situation escalates to crisispoint. Meanwhile, the Support Centre is working with Residences and
Security to identify and reach out to
vulnerable students who would benefit from counselling services.
But Student Support is aware that,
as the number of students seeking
counselling continues to rise, the re-
sources and support available need
to keep pace with the growth in demand.
Since joining the ‘Time to Change’
campaign in June last year, the University has been eager to display its
commitment to challenging stigma
and discrimination faced by students and staff with mental health issues. A student Wellbeing team was
launched last year as well as the online support resource, SilverCloud,
that provides support to students experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, stress, depression and body image
issues. The computer-based service
is available 24/7, offering support
and coping techniques for common
experiences of anxiety, depression,
stress and self-esteem issues.
The growing amount of help on offer, teamed with greater publicity of
services, is helping to tackle common
issues such as anxiety and depression
among students, especially during
assessment periods when stress levels are running high, who may not
otherwise have taken advantage of
what the Support Centre can offer.
Colwey reflected how ‘greater
awareness of mental health issues
and our genuine commitment to
the Time to Change Pledge which
focuses on reducing stigma, means
that students persuade friends they
are concerned about to seek support,
and the students themselves know
how to access that through our increased social media presence, wellbeing hotspots and other publicity.’
‘Undoubtedly the Student Wellbeing Team have found a new cohort
of students in need of support’, said
Cowley. ‘This might range from the
recommendation of a helpful book,
app or website to some face-to-face
work or referral into counselling or
mental health advisors.
‘Their success in reaching this
group, [which] we always knew existed, has we believe contributed significantly to the substantial increase
in numbers.’
“
The
continuing
rise in
figures is
testament to
the greater
awareness
of services
around
campus
“
Katie Evans
Silvercloud,
the online
support
resource,
is available
at: http://
tinyurl.com/
pfgem6k
7
NEWS
Rowdy students disrupt exam revision
at Julian Hodge
Students and staff voice concerns about on-site alcohol consumption,
noise and antisocial behaviour in 24-hour study centre
Pictured:
The IT room
of the Julian
Hodge building
eports have noted “unacceptable behaviour” in the Julian
Hodge study centre, including
students consuming alcohol, littering workspaces and making excessive noise.
Throughout the Christmas break
and January examination period,
complaints were received from not
only students but also University Security and cleaning staff - all expressing dissatisfaction with both the state
of the study centre and the behaviour
of the students using it.
Amongst main concerns were: the
state of the toilet facilities, noise levels
and the lack of clean, tidy workspaces.
The centre, located on the second
floor of the Julian Hodge building,
provides a large IT workstation room
available for use by all staff and students of the University 24-hours a day
- even out of term time.
The space has become a popular
location for students to work but recent events have been off-putting for
many.
Adam Clymo, a third year Economics student at Cardiff University,
said: “The state of the Julian Hodge
study centre before term had even
started was ridiculous. Students
were clearly ordering dominos and
takeaways there and leaving piles
of rubbish next to computers or the
already overflowing bins, meaning
people would have to clean someone
else’s dinner off the desk before being
able to us the computers.”
“All students are stressed and
pushed for time in exam periods but
it’s not too much to put rubbish in
the bin as you walk out and not leave
someone else to wipe day old garlic
sauce off the keyboards.”
Another student commented: “It
would some students don’t understand the meaning of quiet. On one
occasion I was unfortunate enough
to sit within earshot of an individual
who deemed it appropriate to explain
animal behaviour to a friend through
a performance of different birdcalls.
This is not something I appreciate at
1am when trying to cram in some last
minute revision.”
Dave Atkins, Manager of the Julian Hodge Building, acknowledged
that a number of complaints had
been received, stating that: “It was
apparent from what we have been
told that students were using the
building not just as a place to do
some studying but were staying over
extended periods and bringing in
as well as having delivered food in
large quantities.“
In addition to this, he noted that
the toilets were not “used as expected” – “with water, social and toilet paper left around the sinks, toilets and
the floor.”
Above all, he stressed that “perhaps
the most worrying issue” was that students reported that their requests for
others to remain quiet were often met
with ignorance or “impolite” replies.
During the period the building was
Pictured:
Julian Hodge
building
(All photos:
Greg
McChesney)
visited by security during their 24hour shift period and cleaners who
emptied the bins and refreshed the
toilet facilities every couple of days.
This has been the case in previous years and although incidents of
students misusing the facilities have
been reported in the past, these have
tended to be isolated incidents on a
smaller scale.
Atkins added that: “University IT
have been looking into what we can
do to address the recent issues around
student use of the Julian Hodge Building and the concerns that have been
raised due to the behaviour of some
students.”
It is hoped that raising awareness
of the issue will encourage students
to “respect the facilities that are provided as well as their fellow students”.
The situation is currently under
review. Rhys Jenkins, Vice-President
Education, said that: “The university
have suggested that if this carries on
resources will have to be diverted into
staffing the area.”
“When there isn’t much 24hr space
at the university, at the moment, it is
unhelpful of students to be damaging
the case for more space.”
Julian Hodge is one of few 24-hour
workspaces available to students
across the University at this time of
year. University libraries are not accessible out of term time and continue
to operate with normal opening hours
until the spring semester examination
period.
Concerns have been raised that not
enough space is available for student
study during the night and over the
weekend.
Toby Seabright, a third year student, commented: “Over the exam
period there were limited places
available for students to work late at
night and over the weekend. When
the libraries closed it was difficult to
find any space to work in the Julian
Hodge.“
“People often stay there for long
periods of time in fear of losing their
space.”
In response to the suggestion that
more spaces should be made available
24/7 over the January exam period,
Rhys Jenkins, added: “The difficulty
in extending library opening hours is
the uptake. The libraries are heavily
used in the January exam period but
generally not as much as the summer
period.”
“If there was a massive increase in
demand for 24 hour space over the
January period I am sure the library
staff would be willing to consider trialling it next January period.”
“
Students
were clearly
ordering
Dominos and
takeaways
there and
leaving pilles
of rubbish
“
Students
were clearly
ordering
Dominos and
takeaways
there and
leaving pilles
of rubbish
“
Pictured:
The stairway
of the Julian
Hodge building
R
“
Georgia
Hamer
ADVICE
Welcome to our Advice section, where we
bring you tips for surviving Cardiff university life
email us: [email protected]
How to build a business
Got a business idea? Cardiff University Enterprise are
available to help with funding and advice
Kirsty Fardell
Pictured:
John Penketh,
founder of
letting agency
business ‘My
House Mate’
F
or the entrepreneurial-minded
among us, Cardiff University
Enterprise is ready to help.
They strive to support those who
have a business idea but need advice
and funding to start it up, or those
who want to build their confidence
and entrepeneurship in the workplace. Several workshops are provided throughout the year, as well as
competitions and expert advice for
sector-specific mentors. Their main
aim is to build the confidence of entrepreneurial students so that they
can enter a competitive workplace or
start their own business and assert
original ideas to make a difference.
One of the ways students can get
help for their ideas is through Ignite,
Enterprise’s four-day programme
from 19th-22nd February which
provides workshops, guest speakers
and a test-trade challenge. It uses the
model of a business start-up to help
participants develop their enterprise
skills, including team working, creative thinking, decision-making and
ways of pitching and presenting an
idea. Students then participate in a
40-hour business challenge in which
they will pitch for seed money in a
Welsh Dragons’ Den and go into Cardiff city centre to put their new skills
to the test. Their goal is to develop
and implement their business idea
from scratch, and any profit they
make is available for them to keep.
Students can apply for the Ignite
programme by filling out the application form on the website www.entrepreneurship.ninja/ignite/
Another event Cardiff University
Enterprise are holding is Concept,
a four-day programme focused on
advertising, which will run from
30th March-2nd April. Every year a
large corporation get involved such
as Cineworld and Capital FM Wales,
and this year it is Santander. Participants are tasked with creating
an advertising campaign to suit the
brief they are provided with, which
will be pitched to a team of marketing professionals. The winning
team will have their campaign used
around Cardiff. All students and recent graduates (within the last five
years) are able to apply, and it is open
to those from all subject areas. Apply
by completing the application form
on their website www.entrepreneurship.ninja/concept/
Spark is a competition to win
funding for a business idea, with
three categories for entry staggered
according to the individual’s business level. The ‘Idea’ level is for those
with an idea without a structure so
the entry form is only one page. The
first prize is £1000 for the best business idea and second prize is £750.
A two-minute video must also be
submitted with the application that
details the ideas of the plans, which
will be separately judged for the
chance to win £250. The ‘Plan’ category is for those with an idea that
includes their own market research,
and possibly some testing of the idea
or product. The winner will receive
£2000 and the runner-up £1000 to
spend on their business. The third
category is the ‘Ventures’ category,
aimed at those who have already
starting running a business or even
freelancing. Their prize money is
Pictured:
Cardiff
University
Enterprise
students
“
Concept is
a four-day
programme
for students
focused on
advertising
£3000 and the runner-up receives
£2000. Winners from all categories
receive on-going support, as well as
a business mentor for a year, developmental funds, free office space for
technology based ideas. The ‘Plan’
and ‘Ventures’ category winners get
the opportunity to be entered to win
the Santander Universities Award,
with winners receiving a share of
£40,000. The deadline for applications is Friday 13th March, and all
three application forms can be found
at http://tinyurl.com/lgfb67a.
They also offer a mentoring programme for new start-ups that offers
”
support and potentially financial assistance. The mentors could be Cardiff University alumni or role models from a relevant sector. Mentors
aim at establishing viable ideas and
building confidence and skills within
students, as well as providing their
unique expert knowledge. Businesses could be offered up to £1500 that
could be used for marketing, product
design and prototyping, and anything
else that will develop the business or
idea. Likewise mentors are offered up
to £1000 for their expertise. Either
mentors or mentees can register their
interest to get involved by emailing
“
1-2-1 drop-in
sessions are
available to
brainstorm
ideas with an
experienced
business
adviser
”
What do
you think?
Have your
say: advice@
gairrhydd.
com
9
ADVICE
Continued
from the
previous
page >>
“
Elsie and
Arthur
clothing and
My House
Mate letting
agency are
two examples
of Enterprise’s
work
”
enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk.
The 1-2-1 business advice drop-in
sessions offer students the opportunity to brain storm their ideas with
an experienced business adviser who
knows what works and how to achieve
success. This could range from students with only a small idea to those
that are struggling to run their business. They also have links to a range
of specialist external advisers such
as accountants, intellectual property
experts and marketing and business
mentors who will be able to lend their
knowledge to benefit your business
or idea. These drop-in sessions run
every Wednesday from 11am-2pm
and to book an appointment, email
enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk with details
on the issues you are facing.
Their next event will be a ‘Pitch
and Present’ workshop on 11th February from 6-8pm on the fourth floor
of the Student’s Union. It focuses on
developing presentation skills that
would be useful not only in pitching a business idea, but also in job
interviews, defending dissertations
and project reporting. Vital tips on
how to deal with presentation anxiety will also be taught, which will
come in useful when pitching your
ideas to a panel of judges during the
workshop. They will be able to offer advice and will give a prize to
the team or individual with the best
presentation, so you can test your
new skills and potentially witness
their advantage.
They have continued workshops
throughout the coming months
that will build skills for anyone who
wants to start a business, build confidence in the workplace or just add
some new skills training to their CV.
All of their workshops have limited
places so book yourself onto them
from the page www.sites.cardiff.
ac.uk/cuenterprise/workshops-january-march-2015/
Some examples of success stories that have used Cardiff University Enterprise are Allie Lawson and
Jack Williams, who came up with
the idea for the clothing brand ‘Elsie and Arthur’ after establishing
their first business ‘StudentReads’
that sold used textbooks through
a website. They originally tried to
fund their new business idea themselves, but quickly found that they
needed extra support which they got
through the Start-up Loans scheme.
They started their business during
their degree in May 2013 and are
still going strong, with plans to start
up high street pop-up shops in cities
such as Bristol and Plymouth.
John Penketh has started his own
letting agency business ‘My House
Mate’, which has been set up in the
launch box area of the Students Union during Refreshers week. His
idea first started when he felt his
Engineering degree was not going to plan, and he attended some
workshops provided by the Cardiff
University Enterprise, providing invaluable networking contacts that
gave him his original idea of a café.
However, after trade-testing his idea
on a stall at the Christmas market
he decided that a letting agency was
the way to go – especially since he
already owned the student house he
was living in and acting as a landlord. He previously participated in
one of the ‘Concept’ four-day programmes which used Capital FM
Wales to provide a brief that each
Stay cool:
Fire safety 101
Advice on fire safety in Cardiff,
including cooking safely
Kirsty Fardell
C
entral Cardiff has been identified as the area with the
highest number of cooking
fires for the last six years. Out of 130
callouts in the last year, 71 were by
adults aged 18-25, so students are
definitely among those who need fire
safety advice. Most accidental dwelling fires are caused by cooking and
happen during January and February,
so the South Wales Fire and Rescue
Service are aiming to raise awareness
of the risks and share some cooking
safety tips.
They have planned a free event
with a Ready, Steady, Cook style
competition on the 4th February
called ‘The Heat Is On’. Its aimed at
promoting cooking safely at home
as well as eating healthily. It will be
held in the Atrium conference cen-
Pictured:
A stall at the
Christmas
Market with a
business start
up
team had to create an advertising
campaign to fulfil, and John’s team
were picked as the winners. He now
attends as many workshops as he
can and pitched his idea to Cardiff
University Enterprise successfully to
get the launch box space during Refreshers week.
After speaking to the people at
Cardiff University Enterprise, it is
clear that their main goal is to build
confidence in students so that they
can either start up a business idea
with all the skills it takes to accomplish success, or enter a work environment with the ability to think
innovatively and confidently assert
their ideas to their superiors. All
their workshops provide free training in specialised areas and offer
opportunities that can enhance any
CV. For the business-minded among
us, the prospects for funding an idea
can be a really big help, especially
considering the financial restrictions most students suffer. Their
ability to provide free office space
is also a great help for new businesses without the funds to rent a
space. So if you have an idea, want
to strengthen your CV or build your
confidence in the workplace seek to
get involved with the events Cardiff
University Enterprise produce.
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Visit their
website at
www.sites.
cardiff.ac.uk/
cuenterprise
Pictured:
‘The Heat
is On’ event
poster held
by the South
Wales Fire and
Rescue Service
"
#!" #$(
tre next to the University of South
Wales building, starting at 6:30pm.
BBC Wales’ Derek Brockway will be
a Team Captain alongside the Station Commander for Cardiff Central
Justin Jones. Made In Cardiff TV will
be filming the event and Mariclare
Carey-Jones from the channel will
be hosting. Cardiff Central fire fighters will be available for a meet and
greet before and after the event for
advice, and you will have the chance
to sample some of the dishes made.
Cooking tips and free food, with
some safety advice thrown in to ensure you receive your full deposit?
Sounds like a perfect student event.
To sign up for the event visit
www.swfrstheheatison.eventbrite.
co.ukas the event is held on a firstcome first-served basis.
&
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“
The highest
number of
cooking fires
occur in
Central Cardiff
”
Student
viewings until
8pm.
Rents
starting fro
m
£
2
3
0
per person
per month
34 Woodville
Rd, Cathays
Cardiff’s biggest student
housing provider
02920 668585
11
COMMENT
FOR & AGAINST
Pictured:
Public Health
England’s 2013
‘Toxic Cycle’
anti smoking
campaign
PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGNS
Is anybody actually listening?
FOR:
Tom Morris
“
Wales
isn’t a rich
country, and
in this case
preventative
measures
will help to
reduce the
strain on the
NHS
”
T
here are simply too many
public health campaigns.
We’re lucky in the UK that
they’re not too numerous or pretentious, as they are in America.
But the fact is that a public service
announcement can often go unnoticed amongst the endless drive for
further consumption. They do have
their uses though. A human life cannot be valued. If even one person
lives a longer, fuller, life as a direct
or indirect result of watching a grotesque advert, then it is money well
spent in my opinion.
I know many people would argue
that public health campaigns interfere with free will. The public should
make up its own mind. I should be
allowed to eat/smoke/drink myself
to death if I want to! That is a totally
rational thing to want to do! But that
just proves my point that most people are idiots. So who better than the
government themselves to point out
to people, through graphic imagery,
that smoking does in fact cause cancerous tumours that will not only
shorten your life by a good fifteen
years but also make your remaining
years less active than others.
The big thing it comes down to of
course, as usual, is money. May I remind you that it is absolutely incredible that we have gone from having
a government that sent its former
prime minister to go and work for
Phillip Morris tobacco to mess with
the country’s actual health after
she had finished messing with the
country’s economic health. The government, it would seem, no longer
revels in taking huge taxes from the
sales of cigarettes, and now prioritises the public’s respiratory health
instead! And like I said earlier, you
can’t put a price on a human life.
I myself was fortunate enough to
be in the Millennium Stadium for
the launch of NHS Wales’ Stoptober campaign. I could see a variety
of people who had pledged to stop
smoking for the 28 day campaign the PR people, the journalists, the
politicians, and smokers. Outside
of there I didn’t hear much about
it, but as the saying goes it’s the
thought that counts, and if that campaign managed to help a few people
to quit now then that’s money saved
for the struggling NHS in the future
(when it will undoubtedly be struggling even more). Wales isn’t a rich
country, and in this case preventative measures will help to reduce the
strain on the NHS much more than
the ultimate solution to ingrained
bad habits (operations and such)
ever will.
One bad habit that appears to
be rife among students is smoking. Smoking areas in clubs are full
of students - even if this includes
social smokers. Clearly for these
people, the messages of the public
health campaigns either doesn’t get
through, or they consider themselves above them.
So yes - maybe the adverts don’t
get through. Maybe those who
smoke and over-eat consider temporary pleasure much more important
than long term quality of life. Maybe
they take pride in being above what
they might see as government brainwashing. But to give up on their
cause entirely? That would surely
be the ultimate failing of the system.
You want laissez-faire? Go back to
America and take out some expensive health insurance, see how much
you like it then.
P
ublic health campaigns cover a
wide variety of conditions and
are targeted at many individuals.
They aim to improve our health, but do
they work?
Despite their positive aim, there
is no denying that people are free to
ignore the campaigns. Sitting in the
doctors a few weeks ago, I noticed the
poster that warned me that antibiotics
wouldn’t cure my cold. I already knew
this, but others who had already made
their way to the doctors requesting
treatment for a cold wouldn’t. A public
health campaign needs to be more than
a poster in a doctors’ surgery. It needs
to engage people and inform them to
allow them to make better choices.
Speaking of better choices, the
latest anti-smoking campaign by
Public Health England is attempting
to show the dangers of roll ups highlighting how they are just as
dangerous as manufactured cigarettes.
It’s grim, I won’t lie. A guy sits in the
park and smokes his insides in roll
up form. The ignorance of the British
population astounds me. Cigarettes
are dangerous? Woah, now. We need
more than a public health campaign to
make people quit smoking. People that
I know who smoke do it because they
like it, because they get pleasure from
it and because quitting is too much
stress to deal with. Yes, it’s addictive.
Yes, it’s dangerous. But the majority of
people who smoke already know these
risks.
So public health campaigns beg us
to make better decisions. It’s tragic that
it takes a television advert or poster
to tell us how dumb we are. British
common sense seems to fail us on
regular occasions. Instead of relying on
an external force to tell us how to we
should treat ourselves well, we should
use our own heads to make sure that
we do this. Thinking for ourselves?
What a shocking thought.
These campaigns cost a great deal of
money. If we used our common sense
and ate well, didn’t inhale carcinogens
on a regular basis and took exercise
every so often then perhaps we
wouldn’t need an entire organisation to
tell us how to live. As students we don’t
pay for these campaigns. But when
we start paying tax (and apparently
we will, someday) the tax we pay will
fund them. So let’s save ourselves some
money, and use our common sense to
maintain our own health, rather than
getting someone else to do it for us.
Using common sense to make our
own decisions also means that we
have the power to ignore these public
health campaigns. I’m sure that they
have good intentions. But I can turn
off my TV and ignore that poster. I can
smoke or drink as much as I want, if I
so choose. Parents were encouraged to
‘change for life’ and make sugar swaps
to help their children live a healthier
life. But will a public health campaign
get into people’s homes and influence
their lives? There is no way to check
on people 24 hours a day, this isn’t an
Orwellian dystopia, after all. So there
are no guarantees that any public
health campaigns will work.
The most influential public health
movement, upon my life at least, has
been the Time to Talk about mental
health campaign. Perhaps we can use
public health campaigns to change
people’s perceptions of society, rather
than changing their actions.
We can’t necessarily make people
eat in different ways, or smoke less
through a campaign, but we could
change the way they think. So let’s do
so.
AGAINST:
Anne Porter
“
Despite their
positive aim,
there is no
denying
that people
are free to
ignore the
campaigns
”
COMMENT
tweet us @gairrhyddcomment
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/comment
Homosexuality does not equal promiscuity
Joe Crocker
“
Promiscuity is
not practiced
exclusively by
homosexuals,
and nor is
it practiced
by all
homosexuals
”
I
n modern society in Britain, the
understanding of homophobia
and tolerance of homosexuals is
slowly becoming a social norm for
the current generation. However, the
issue of religious intolerance in the
UK is still prominent in certain areas,
and has been known to cause many
people distress when coming to terms
with developments of homosexuality
in culture; for example, the passing of
the gay marriage bill that was given the
green light and put into practice last
year.
It is perfectly acceptable for a
person to express their beliefs, be
they rational, reasoned or otherwise.
I take issue, however, with certain
opinions voiced about homosexuals
that are not accurate or representative;
they can be incredibly offensive and
damaging, especially to homosexuals
who have not yet come to terms with
their sexuality. I am currently finishing
my dissertation, which examines the
moral value of homosexuality based
on the harm that it causes without
social and religious influence, and
whilst researching this I discovered the
extent to which some homophobes fall
outside of necessary objectivity when
talking about homosexuality.
One of the most prominent
facts brought against homosexuals,
particularly homosexual men, is the
fact that homosexuals are more likely
to pass on HIV, and HIV is statistically
more common in homosexuals than
heterosexuals. One Christian website
proclaimed that “2% of the U.S.
population is gay, yet it accounts for
61% of HIV infection: “If homosexual
sexuality does not harm anyone, then
why are the statistics for homosexual
AIDS percentages so much higher
than the heterosexual population?
Again, there is a connection between
the redefinition of sexual morals, the
increase of promiscuity due to that
redefinition, and the proliferation
of disease due to the promiscuous
behaviour”. The author suggests that
homosexuality causes harm using
the premise that homosexuals are
more likely to be promiscuous than
heterosexuals, and therefore contract
HIV more commonly and endangers
other people’s lives.
Articles like these use facts to
represent homosexuality as immoral
based on the ‘harm’ that is caused,
without considering the implications
of this. In the first case, it can be
said that homosexuality is immoral
because it promotes and practices
promiscuity. So it needs to be noted
that it is not homosexuality as a state
of being that is considered immoral,
but the practice of promiscuity.
Evidently, promiscuity is not practiced
exclusively by homosexuals, and nor
is it practiced by all homosexuals.
If the author wishes to make a claim
about the morality of homosexuals
in relation to promiscuity, then he
is also committed to saying that any
individual that practices promiscuity
is immoral. The same logic can be
ascribed to the claim of HIV. Though
HIV is more commonly found in
homosexuals, it is not exclusively
contracted and harboured by this
group of people, and is found in all
groups who practice sexual interaction.
Again, if we are going to connect
morality with the spread of disease,
it cannot just be used as an argument
against homosexuality as it is not an
alienated feature of homosexuality, but
of sexuality as a spectrum. This is the
argument I want people to consider
when thinking about homosexuality
as immoral. There is no feature of
homosexuality that causes a sufficient
amount of harm that does not occur
in heterosexuality or other forms of
sexuality. I’m inclined to suggest that
the only way to say homosexuality
is immoral, based on harm, is if you
are willing to commit to the entailed
premise that all sexuality causes harm.
This is not a consequence that I believe
the author has considered here.
However, I can immediately hear
the objection that this is irrelevant if
you are considering religious scripture,
which states homosexual acts are
morally wrong. It is not my intention
to disparage religious belief, or to say
that it is an irrelevant point of view.
Here, I simply wish to demonstrate
that there can be extremely damaging
consequences for individuals in the
current use of certain religious views
against homosexuals. This idea came
to me when watching a TV debate
titled “Can you be gay and Muslim?”
In the debate, it is mentioned that
there are rising teen suicides for
Muslim teens and a rising number of
hate crimes against gay Muslims, as
being homosexual is explicitly against
Muslim teachings. Admittedly, I
am writing on the assumption that
homosexuality is not a choice, but
a state of being that you are born
with, just as other sexuality identities
are. This is an idea that will always
be contested, but for the sake of
this argument, I shall assume this
is true. In terms of the statistics put
forward, it seems to me that the
Muslim community in the UK are
committed to two options. The first is
that the suicides and hate crimes are
justified as homosexuality is against
Islamic teachings, however this would
appear to be counter-intuitive as
Islam teaches a general scope of love
and tolerance. The second is that the
Islamic community addresses that hate
crimes and suicides are something
to be avoided, but this is difficult as,
again, Islam does not have a large
tolerance of homosexuality. There is
a cycle here that involves the religious
teachings and moral logic that causes
homosexuals within the Muslim
community to be subjected to serious
anguish, which I do not believe anyone
would wish to endure. I wish to state
again that I am not trying to criticise
the teachings of homosexuality within
religion, I just wish to highlight the
potential scope of damage that could
and is sometimes being associated
with these beliefs.
My intention is not to force
acceptance of homosexuality onto
people, but I have hopefully shown
that homosexuals are a group of people
that cause no harm to others based
on the ideas presented. In modern
society, it is exciting to be able to
speak openly about issues such as this,
and I think it important that people
consider the logic of their prejudices,
not just for homosexuality, but in all
aspects of intolerance. To most people,
I hope it is clear that statements such
as “the very lifestyle of homosexuality
is highly promiscuous and brimming
with disease” is unfounded and
illogical, and leads me to say in the
words of Christopher Hitchens “I was
born sick; command me to be well”.
Pictured:
Reykjavik Gay
Pride 2013
Source: Gisli
John, Flickr
What do
you think?
Have your
say: letters@
gairrhydd.com
COMMENT 13
Bishop Lane must mark change
Callum
McAllister
“
It’s hard to
stress how
overdue this
is, and it is
certainly
tempting to
underestimate
its importance
”
L
ast week Libby Lane was
consecrated as the first female
bishop of the Church of
England. Although women have
served as priests in the church for
just over twenty years, and have
been campaigning for the right to
be consecrated as bishops for just as
long, it was only in 2013 and again in
2014 that the General Synod voted
overwhelmingly in their favour.
And yet, to no one’s general
surprise, there remains some dissent.
During the act of consecration
itself, the controversial Rev. Paul
Williamson objected with the words
‘Not in the Bible’, asking Archbishop
Dr Sentamu to allow him to speak.
The Archbishop of York, however,
continued the ceremony, having
already asked the cathedral at large
whether it was their will, and (I like
to imagine) thinking privately that
whether it was in the Bible or not was
flagrantly missing the point.
But otherwise – good news all
round. This is clearly another victory
for equality. But still, the Catholic
Church, by far the largest Christian
denomination, is not budging on the
matter.
However, I find this attitude
to be hugely lacking. It’s hard to
stress how overdue this is, and it is
certainly tempting to underestimate
its importance. This is an example
that the Church of England should
have been setting long before now.
Not only are women bishops already
practising in many countries in the
Anglican Communion around the
globe, they have been since as early
as 1989.
Given its claims to be a ‘reformed’
church, it has been severely lagging
behind in movements away from
tradition. In England, the issue of gay
marriage and official blessings for the
church is still in a transitional grey
area, particularly for gay members
of the clergy. And in appeasement
of Lane’s consecration, the Church
will continue to make concessions
to those who disagree, such as Rev.
Philip North, who in his consecration
this week will not be touched by
hands of anyone who treated Bishop
Lane as a real bishop.
Furthermore, I think this is
particularly important given the
power of the Church of England,
and its continued relevance is not
to be dismissed. Due to the arguably
backwards nature of UK politics,
certain bishops and archbishops still
hold seats in the House of Lords. And
not unfamiliar for many students
is the involvement of the Church in
Pictured:
Libby Lane - a
part of history
Source: BBC
many state-funded schools, as well as
its influence on small communities
and public discourse. In these areas,
more progressive attitudes towards
equality and church doctrine
would not go amiss, and in many
ways Anglicanism is falling short
of the mark. That the upper levels
of the clergy have for so long been
comprised mostly of crinkly old
white dudes, who have not only been
wholly male but wholly male by law,
is at the very least troubling, and only
leads to further implicit bias in the
powers that be.
So I wish all the best to Bishop
Libby Lane. I hope to see more
women becoming bishops, and
considerably
fewer
‘not-in-theBible’ priests. It can only be positive
for religious discourse. However, I
hope that this change is indicative
of a more progressive and accepting
Church of England for the future. If it
wants to remain relevant the church
is going to have to make more serious
moves in the direction of equality,
and realise that increasing equality
is a move to more fully embody the
people it wishes to represent. The
consecration of women bishops
should have been at the forefront of
this change a long time ago, and it is
still likely and unfortunate that a lack
of full respect for their role is set to
continue.
In a different class? Just work harder
Research shows that a student’s background can dramatically affect their chances of gaining
a university place. But is determination the true path to success?
Em Gates
“
Throughout
my childhood,
my parents
instilled a
particular
work ethic
in me: if you
work hard,
you will be
rewarded
”
A
report published by The Sutton
Trust has recently issued
findings that suggest children
from working class families are less likely
to attend a top university, even when
achieving the same grades as children
from a more prestigious upbringing.
Throughout my childhood, my
parents instilled a particular work
ethic in me; if you work hard, you will
be rewarded. My dad left school at 16
and worked his way up from kitchen
porter to head chef, while my mum
graduated secondary school and quickly
transitioned into full time work in a
local clothes shop, only cutting back her
hours twice when having my brother
and I. Though neither of my parents put
great emphasis into their own academic
career, they both were very clear that
I could be or do whatever I wanted; in
school or not.
It is true that when starting university
applications, parents with experience
are more useful to point their children
in the right direction, help them with
what to include and what to leave out,
but a lot of students don’t get this luxury.
Teachers at sixth forms are relied upon
to check personal statements, and the
responsibility of research into subjects
and courses lies purely on the student
themselves. My parents attended open
days with me, but they didn’t ask any
questions nor had any idea what was
expected of them throughout the day,
so I may as well have attended alone.
Dr John Jerrim, of the Institute of
Education at the University of London,
concluded this research that children
of a less academic or professional
upbringing were less likely to attend
a Russell Group university overall,
preferring to opt for a less prestigious
institution. Now it can be said that either
I, and many other people I know, are
the exception to this rule, or Dr Jerrim
has made quite a drastic assumption.
Though all the people I know who go
to Oxbridge come from academic and
professional families, I think it’s maybe
gone a little too far to say the same for
Russell Group universities as a whole.
Not only is it classist to assume that
children from working class background
won’t even want to attend one of the top
universities, but it sends out a message
that there is a class structure within
higher education as well. About half of
the students I have spoken to about this
come from a professional or academic
background, showing it’s quite a fair
divide between the two, so I actively
disagree with Dr Jerrim’s research.
One of my friends from home came
from a family of teachers, one of whom
Pictured:
The Glamorgan
building. What
brought you
to Cardiff
University?
Source:
Guardian
Cardiff, Flickr
was actually a headteacher. She was
tutored by her parents, had her Ucas
application checked over and over
again by them and eventually gained
three A*s and was accepted into Oxford
University. However, another girl that I
know was accepted into Cambridge and
the only help she received was from her
hairdresser and tree surgeon parents.
Maybe it’s not the family? Maybe it’s
the effort and dedication given by the
student? If we start telling students
what type of university they deserve
based not on their grades, not on their
personal preferences, not even on the
student themselves, but that of the class
and education of their family, well, I
think society and education has reached
a spectacular new low.
There is so much more to a uni
than academia, there are domestic life
skills, the ability to put yourself out
there and make friends, and pushing
yourself to achieve rather than having
someone fight your battles for you, and
these are all skills that are learn at every
university up and down this country.
For Dr Jerrim to publish these findings
that specifically belittle non-Russell
Group universities and also people from
working class backgrounds, it seems
to me to be not only discriminatory
and unfair, but also in my experience
completely untrue. Achieving a place
in any university is something to be
celebrated, not compared or belittled.
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11
JASON ROBERTS VS THE WORLD
Lidl Shop of Horrors
One man’s struggle with the most infuriating shop in the world
Jason
Roberts
A
s countries go, Germany is a very
good one. There are bad things,
of course. Their language, while
logical and efficient like the Germans
themselves, is unexciting and sincere.
Also much like the Germans themselves. Their food is a goddamn travesty
(with the notable exception of the wurst
which is probably the number one reason God decided to make the pig). And
their history is, erm… checkered. Let’s
say that. Germany has a checkered history.
However, Germany has given the
world many wonderful things, for which
we must be thankful. Their beer is beautiful, their cars are amongst the best
in the world, and their football team is
certainly the best in the world. If Britain does something, the chances are the
Germans will figure out how to do it
cheaper and better, and then sell it back
to us. Look at the Royal Family. Just a
German twist on an English institution.
So now we drive German cars, drink
German beer, watch German football
players and get outraged when a German goes to a party dressed as a Nazi,
it only seems fitting that we should shop
at German supermarkets. Enter Lidl.
The German supermarket chain has 590
stores in the United Kingdom, and there
are plans for more on the way. It’s cheap,
it’s efficient, and I utterly despise it.
Actually, that’s not strictly true. I despise it because I love it. And in turn, I
love it because I despise it. The relationship I have with Lidl is one of total emotional turmoil; euphoria inducing peaks,
as well as valleys of total despair. It’s
seriously damaging my wellbeing, but I
can’t stop myself going.
Let me explain. There are things that
Lidl does that make me really angry.
Most of these things revolve around
the fact that there are only three people
working in the store at any given time.
As a result, the queues at the till are so
long that by the time I’ve paid for my
shopping, I’ve already eaten half of it to
stave off starvation. As a result, I have to
go back in and buy more food, get stuck
in more lines, and continue the vicious
cycle until either death or closing time
comes to rescue me.
Since any fewer than three people
working the tills would result in a fullon hunger crisis and massive loss of
life, Lidl put all their staff there, and nobody on the floor. This means that once
something is out of stock, it’s gone for
the day. About two weeks ago, I saw two
grown-ass men arguing over the last
sweet potato left in the box. The thing
is, I couldn’t even blame them, because
I knew as well as they did that there
wouldn’t be more in stock for another
24 hours. The poor bastard who eventually lost the battle (which was decided,
by the way, through the infallible primary school rule that is “I touched it first”)
had to drag himself to the nearest available sweet potato vendor, lest his family
starve. Lidl are ruining lives here.
And then there’s the stuff that Lidl
will actually try and sell to you. This is,
by far, the worst thing about Lidl. It’s
not that they don’t have recognisable
brands, in fact that’s quite a good thing.
Most branded and unbranded products
are damn near the same thing anyway,
so if Lidl wants to cut costs by selling
unknown brands at a cheaper cost to
them and the customer, I can’t com-
plain. No, we’re talking the actual stuff
on the shelves pallets. If you want something like, let’s say brown rice, you’d be
shit out of luck. But if you want Crocs
with wooly insoles, you could buy them
by the dozen. There’s a section in Lidl
dedicated to the most random-ass junk
ever found in a supermarket, a place I
now know as The Aisle of Shit. I’m not
going to list everything I’ve ever seen
in The Aisle of Shit, but know this: the
aforementioned wooly Crocs are NOT
EVEN CLOSE to being the worst thing
I’ve ever seen in there. How do things
end up in there? Do Lidl executives
trawl boot fairs for a living, conducting
a bizarre social experiment to see what’s
the dumbest thing they can sell to populations on a massive scale? Eternal mysteries.
And yet, The Aisle of Shit perfectly
is a perfect visualization of the very essence of Lidl. It’s a place where no matter how many people walk past laughing
at what’s on offer, eventually somebody
will say to themselves, “Actually, I really
do need waterproof trousers that turn
into shorts when you unzip them below
the knee!” And that’s Lidl’s raison d’être.
I don’t know what their actual slogan is,
but it should be “Don’t Pretend You’re
Better Than Us.” In an age of austerity,
people are starting to drop more and
more of our pretences and starting to
acknowledge that actually, we ain’t shit.
I can tell Lidl that their queues are too
long, they run out of stock too quickly
and that they have a specific section
of their store devoted to stuff that was
most likely stolen from someone’s garage, but they know I’ll be back the very
next day.
And there are actually some genuinely good things about Lidl. Because
they don’t hire anyone, the majority
of their stuff is cheaper than than the
packaging it comes in. If it even comes
in packaging. This is obviously good for
the customer and an awful deal for the
employee, but Lidl doesn’t really seem
to care that it’s pushing the limits of capitalism as far as they’ll go. And honestly,
neither do I. In a world where I can do
a decent shop for under £20, fairness for
all can take a back seat. Then there’s the
Lidl bakery, which is living proof that
you can buy a slice of heaven for about
30p in the shape of one of their cookies.
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they
bought in 20% of Lidl’s revenue on their
own.
But really, the best thing about Lidl
is that you never know what you’re going to get when you go there. You could
get Bad Lidl, where there’s nothing
in stock, the lines stretch back to the
freezer section, and you die of starvation before you can leave. This probably
happens 90% of the time. But that other
10%, Good Lidl, is a consumer paradise. You can do a shop for easily under
£20, probably leaving with something
that you’ve never tried before because
everything is so Euro, and you might
even pick up some wooly Crocs from
the Aisle of Shit. It’s the dream of Good
Lidl, the dream of that 10% chance,
that keeps me going back. I went in last
week at about 8pn, looking for eggs,
limes, and sweet potatoes. There was
nothing there. As I walked out I saw the
manager, and he smiled at me, knowing
I’d be back the next day. He was right,
the smug prick.
Pictured:
Mad shoppage
for the boys
“
Do Lidl
executives
trawl boot
fairs for
a living,
conducting a
bizarre social
experiment
to see what’s
the dumbest
thing they
can sell to
populations
on a massive
scale?
”
POLITICS
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or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/politics
Jenny Willott MP: the Gair Rhydd interview
Electoral reform, the bedroom tax, and the rise of the far right
Interview by
Rhiannon
Tapp
“
It’s a very
rewarding
and
interesting
job. I’ve
done lots at
constituency
level and in
parliament
”
Do you think you you’ve been a successful MP for Cardiff Central?
I hope so. It’s a very rewarding and interesting job. I’ve done lots of different
things at a constituency level and in
parliament as well. There are a couple
of campaigns that I’ve been very heavily involved in that have been quite
successful in the longer term. Before
I was even elected I was involved in a
campaign to restore pensions to thousands of steelworkers whose company
has gone bust in 2002. In the end we
managed to persuade the previous
government to put a lot of money into
restoring a large chunk of the pensions
of those thousands of people affected
by that.
I’ve also had smaller campaigns and
smaller issues like last year the council
was looking at how bins were collected,
so that bins would only be collected
once a month rather than once a fortnight. This is clearly a massive issue, especially in student areas where people
generate more rubbish than you can fit
in a bin for four weeks. We’re working
to stop them doing that again this year.
So yes there’s lots of big campaigns and
also lots of small ones.
How hard was it to go against your
party on the rise of tuition fees?
That was a really difficult one actually.
It was very simple in some ways in that
I knew I didn’t agree with it and I felt really strongly about it. Not just because
I have a lot of students and I represent
them, but also because I disagree with
it, I think it’s wrong to charge people
that amount of money for a degree.
In parliament parties do work together, the people that you work with
are your colleagues in your own political party and it’s really difficult decision
that you’re going to vote against them
and go into the lobby with a different
political party. That’s hard to do and
also I had to resign from government
to do it so I knew it was going to get a
lot of publicity, which was going to be
a challenge. But I never doubted that it
was the right thing to do.
“
The reason
the Lib Dems
went back on
that promise
is because
neither Labour
nor the
Conservatives
would support
our position
”
What would you say to those who
may never trust a politician again as
a result of tuition fees?
Well, I think politics is a difficult area
to build trust. The reason the Lib Dems
went back on that commitment is because neither Labour nor the Conservatives would support our position; they
didn’t agree with us so we were actually
the only party who held the position
that people shouldn’t pay tuition fees.
I think the trust issue is a much more
difficult one, and it’ doesn’t just apply to
the Lib Dems; Tony Blair promised not
to bring in tuition fees in the first place
and went back on that promise and
brought them in, and later increased
them, so it’s an issue that comes up
over the years. The reality of what you
can do in government is often different
from what you think it would be when
you’re outside of government.
I don’t have all the answers, I don’t
know how you resolve [trust issues].
I would be worried that politicians
would stop making commitments
ahead of elections in order to avoid
the possibility of breaking that promise because people need to know what
they’re going to vote for. Coalition governments do change the situation.
Do you think we should change the
electoral system so that we don’t end
up with a hung parliament?
No, I actually think [hung parliaments]
represent the way the British public
thinks. If you look at the way people vote
there hasn’t been a party which has had
half of the support of the British public
in a really long time. So actually having a
system where a party which gets 30 per
cent of the vote, a third of people want
them to be in government, and yet they
have an outright majority to be able to
do what they want when the majority of
people didn’t want them; that is a very
undemocratic system.
I’m a Lib Dem and I think we should
have a much more proportional system
so that the government actually represents the views of what people actually wanted. We’re going to have to get
used to a mix in government because
smaller parties are getting a lot more
support. I don’t think we’ll go back to
a system where you just have Labour
and Tories and nothing else. I think we
will end up with hung parliaments and
coalitions governments for often. Personally I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Do you believe welfare reform has
benefitted your constituents?
Has it benefitted them? No. But that’s
not what it was designed to do. There
are some things as part of the reform
program, which are good, and then
there are other things that have been
done to save money and they’re not
done to help people. There has been
greater emphasis on helping people
get to work with whatever support that
they need to do that.
One of the things which has been
popular is the support to set up businesses. Under the new system, people
can get paid benefits for six months
while they’re setting up a business.
There have been some really difficult
things as part of the welfare reform as
well. A lot of benefits, tax credits and
things have been frozen; clearly for
people who are on lower incomes and
rely on them, that can make life really difficult. The economy was in total and utter mess, and whoever came
into government after the last election
would’ve had to make really difficult
decisions. I don’t completely agree with
all the things that have been done and
have raised concerns over the years.
People on lower incomes have had a really tough time over the last few years,
and I don’t think anyone would deny
that.
Would you support a revision of the
bedroom tax policy?
Yes, when the bedroom tax came in, it
was in the welfare reform bill and I was
on the committee looking and raised
“
The idea was
to make the
system fairer
for those who
are waiting.
But the way it
was done was
too blunt
”
quite a few concerns at the time. We
managed to get the government to put
a lot more money into the discretionary pot so that people can stay in their
homes if it makes more sense rather than
moving. We got more groups of people
exempt: for example foster carers, who
have a spare room because they’re waiting for another child to come and people
in the military who are overseas.
It does highlight a difficult and challenging issue as there are people in
houses that are technically too big for
them, and there are other people in
houses that are overcrowded. We do
need to make sure we are making the
best use of the homes that we have. I
have a lot of people coming to see me
because they’re crammed into small accommodation and they’ve been on the
housing list for years and years waiting,
so it does go both ways. The way it’s being applied however, is too blunt.
One of the things we said is that
we would want to change it so that if
you’re offered somewhere smaller and
you turn it down then you should be
responsible for paying the extra benefit
but if there is nowhere for you to go
then you shouldn’t be penalised. We’ve
drafted that bill and are trying to get the
Tories to negotiate with us but when
one of my colleagues Andrew George
wrote a bill on it, the Tories blocked it.
Many see it as an attack on the poor,
what would you say to that?
That’s not what it was intended to do
at all. I honestly think the intention of
it was to make better use of the housing stock. Funnily enough Labour
brought it in for private accommodation under the last government. So we
had a system that wasn’t fair because if
you’re getting benefit for social housing then you get all of your rooms paid
for so there is a disparity there. The
idea was to make the system fairer for
those who are waiting but the way it
was done was too blunt.
How do you feel about the rise of
the far right across the UK?
I find it quite scary. It’s happening
everywhere, especially across Europe.
I heard this morning about Marine
Le Pen potentially becoming the
president of France which is pretty
terrifying. I think it shows that people have been having a tough time.
At a time when people are struggling
financially they like blaming obvious
targets and the far right are populist
and they basically serve up victims
on a platter. I think it’s incumbent on
the rest of us to point out where their
arguments are quite damaging. But I
think it’s indicative of people feeling
like they’re not being listened to. People in Greece for example, where it’s
a far left party, feel as though mainstream politicians aren’t listening to
them and it’s the responsibility of
the mainstream to make people feel
they’re heard so they don’t need to
turn to extreme governments.
Do you feel like you achieved what
you wanted to achieve when you
first got into politics?
When I first got involved I had
worked in the voluntary sector. A lot
of what I wanted to do was social justice issues: disparity and inequality. I
think some of that is making sure that
I have, as a local MP, helped as many
people as I can. I’m very proud of my
record on that; I’ve helped literally
tens of thousands of people over the
last ten years. That’s a really satisfying
part of the job, knowing I’ve made a
difference to people’s lives.
The job has its down sides but
it’s very satisfying; especially when
you push through cases you’ve been
working on for a really long time.
There aren’t that many jobs where
you have the chance to do things on
a really big scale but also small scale,
local issues which are both hugely rewarding.
“
I’m very proud
of my record;
I’ve literally
helped tens
of thousands
of people over
the last ten
years
”
“
It’s a really
difficult
decision to go
against your
own political
party amd
go into the
lobby with a
different party
”
POLITICS 17
NHS satisfaction rates plummet
Emily Jones
“
A £225 million
increase
in health
spending has
been proposed
in the Welsh
Government’s
2015-16 draft
budget
”
Keep
Updated:
Follow us on
Twitter
@GairRhyddPol
N
ew polls by YouGov and ICM
have uncovered that confidence in the Welsh NHS has
been in a steady decline over the last
16 months. The YouGov poll for ITV
Wales found that of those questioned,
53 percent said they were confident
the NHS in Wales would provide a
high standard of care. While this remains more than half, satisfaction
rates hover dangerously close to an
alarming dissatisfied majority. Figures show a substantial drop from
the 72 percent satisfaction that was
gathered in 2013 in a BBC Wales
poll and lag behind England’s 70 percent confidence rating obtained this
month. The ITV poll found that 72
percent of individuals were satisfied
when asked about their own specific
treatment carried out by the Welsh
NHS, which, whilst more promising,
remains lower than previous years.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford
avidly defended the Welsh Health
Service, commenting to ITV Wales:
“I’m immensely proud of the NHS
that we have.” However, a similar
BBC poll has found that a mere 50
percent were satisfied with the running of the NHS in Wales, against 32
percent who were dissatisfied, with
middle aged individuals manifesting
themselves as the most dissatisfied
age demographic. Whilst 21 percent
of people think the NHS performs
better in England than in Wales, 47
percent thought performance in the
two countries was generally equal,
with almost two thirds of the Welsh
public (64 percent) believing that the
NHS is good value for money.
55 percent of people answered that
they believe the Welsh Government
was mainly responsible for the problems with the NHS in Wales, resulting in a backlash from Labour politicians arguing that David Cameron’s
public attack on the Welsh NHS in
the media and in Parliament in recent months is overly responsible for
creating an incorrect portrayal of the
state of the NHS in the minds of the
Welsh public. In response to these
polls, Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen
Smith, MP for Pontypridd, said: “This
is entirely down to David Cameron’s
despicable war on Wales.”
Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford has accused Conservatives
for spreading blatant lies about the
healthcare situation in Wales. UK
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has
claimed patients in Wales were getting
a ‘second class service’ and ministers
at Westminster have called the NHS in
Wales “substandard” over the last year.
Cameron seems to have taken a hard
line against Wales, commenting to the
BBC that people in Wales had been
‘dying on waiting lists’ due to cuts
made by Labour politicians in Cardiff
to the NHS.
Miliband has relentlessly criticised
Cameron for his attack on the Welsh
NHS, accusing him of distraction
techniques to shift focus from the failings of the English NHS, stressing the
failings of England when it comes to
patient waiting lists and A&E waiting
times.
The Welsh NHS Confederation has
created a document highlighting the
major issues that must be addressed
by the new government. The report
emphasises Wales as the poorest re-
gion in UK. Whilst these recent poll
results suggest that 39 percent would
be willing to pay £10 to guarantee
they see a GP at a time of their choosing, perhaps relieving some financial
pressure, criticisms have arisen arguing that charging for some services
is likely to extradite the poorest demographic in Wales from accessing
services.
As demand for the Welsh NHS
has increased and finances become
alarmingly constrained, speculation
over the future for the Welsh National
Health service is rocky and unknown.
In Wales, health spending currently
makes up 42 percent of total expenditure, however it seems this falls short
of allowing the system to flourish and
perform to expected standards. A
£225 million increase in health spending has been proposed in the Welsh
Government’s 2015-16 draft budget;
however this is not likely to relieve all
the pressures the service faces. It may
be speculated therefore, that public
opinion in the future is likely to decrease further as the aging population
above 65 is set to increase in Wales
from 16 to 26 percent by 2033 causing more strain and increased costs
in order to accommodate this. During this May’s election campaign, the
NHS will be a hot topic for sure, with
Mark Drakeford facing intense pressure from David Cameron over the
failings of Labour in Wales, while Ed
Miliband will hope Welsh Labour can
bring the NHS back from the edge of
ruin and regain the dwindling public
confidence in a system that we all hold
close to our hearts.
These satisfaction results come
A week in the Senedd with Carwyn Williams
First Minister’s Questions
Kirsty Williams started questions to
the First Minister from party leaders this week bringing up the issue of
health, but this week non-emergency
waiting times were on the agenda.
Using data from the Wales Audit Office, she stated that one in ten people
have to wait longer than 6 months for
non-emergency treatment, and patients are fed up of waiting. Carwyn
Jones responded stating the NHS is
under intense pressure and that he
has put extra resources into the service in recent weeks. The First Minister conceded to Ms. Williams’ idea
that the time has come for an all-party commission into what we want the
future of the NHS to be. This comes
in the same week as Cardiff and Vale
Health Board were forced to cancel a
raft of appointments and operations
on Monday, which will not help waiting times of non-essential treatment.
Andrew RT Davies commented
on how the Welsh Government does
not have a plan for Welsh Councils,
after Leighton Andrews rejected the
three voluntary mergers last week
by Welsh Councils and that it was
clear the relationship between Welsh
councils and the Welsh Government
had broken down. The First Minister rejected this point, calling on the
other parties in the chamber to let
the government know what shape
they would like Wales to look like,
and if no cross-party agreement can
be made by the Summer, he would
continue with how the Williams
Commission has recommended what
Wales’ map should look like.
Bringing up fracking in Wales,
Leanne Wood said Plaid Cymru is
calling for a moratorium on the activity, stating Mr. Jones can’t seem
to make his mind up on the matter,
“saying one thing and doing another.”
The First Minister stated clearly he
does want fracking licensing to become devolved however it is part of
the St David’s Day process and devolution is not an ad-hoc for powers,
but Plaid Cymru rejected this saying
‘all talk no action’.
The First Minister also stated
about holding some of the Rugby
World Cup in Cardiff, stating it will
benefit Cardiff ’s hotels, hostels and
restaurants and is great for the city.
New Children’s Commissioner
Named
Cardiff University academic Sally
Holland has been named as the new
Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
The current commissioner Mr
Towler has previously spoken of his
frustration at naming his successor
and that the process was “less than
perfect” Prof. Holland is the direc-
on the same week that ambulance
response times for December were
released, and it shows the worst ever
response times on record. Category
A call response times within 8 minutes were 44.6 percent, well below the
target of 65 percent, which has been
reached only once since 2012. Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething
said the times needed to improve urgently. What is even more worrying
is that 15 percent of Cardiff urgent
Category A calls were not responded
to within half an hour, and that across
Wales, police took over 100 patients
to hospital instead of ambulances.
Having been in the role of Health
Minister for almost two years, and
yet another set of poor results, Mark
Drakeford will be under scrutiny and
intense pressure to improve in the
coming months.
tor of the Cascade Children’s Social
Research Center at Cardiff University. On appointment of the role she
said ‘“I will work with the children
and young people of Wales to ensure
that their rights are safeguarded and
promoted.”
Qualifications Wales Bill could
be restrictive
A bill working through its way
through the Assembly is a bill providing for an independent regulatory body for all non-degree qualifications. Stephen Wright, the Chief
Executieve Federation of Awarding
Bodies stated in the committee that
he wanted to ensure there’s a “full offer for students in Wales” and it could
lead to smaller bodies having more
requirements making their work less
economically viable.
Report on Inequality
Lesley Griffiths announced a report
on inequality in Welsh public bodies and 3rd sector organisations for a
detailed picture. The minister stated
improvements and the many different frameworks to tackle hate crime
and discrimination. Assembly Member Peter Black reminded the Welsh
Government to “consider wider
transgender issues within the public
sector equality duty.”
Pictured:
Health Minister
Mark Drakeford
(Welsh Government Flickr)
POLITICS
tweet us @GairRhyddPol
mail us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/politics
£72 a week Citizen’s Income
Why we should take the Greens’ flagship
economic policy seriously
Lauren Boyd
“
Should we
feed people
who surf
all day and
smoke pot
all evening?
Van Parijs
”
O
ne of the Green Party’s key
policies at the next election
will be an unconditional basic income (UBI) or Citizen’s Income
of £72 per week, replacing many
benefits such as Job Seeker’s Allowance. The proposed Citizen’s Income
would allow unemployed people
to do voluntary work without having their benefits cut. People could
choose to work shorter weeks, decreasing unemployment. Keynes predicted we would work 15 hour weeks,
so what happened? According to the
anthropologist David Graeber, when
technology decreased the amount
of labour needed for manufacturing, what he calls “bullshit jobs” were
created. The people working in these
roles don’t see the point in them, but
the market creates these jobs anyway.
The market is distorted by wealth
disparities, and thus reflects what the
very rich think is important rather
than what most people regard as
socially useful. If a Citizen’s Income
were in place people would have a
safety net, allowing them to retrain
if, for example, they thought their job
was not socially useful or interesting.
This way, employers cannot use their
employees’ fear of unemployment to
exploit them.
Citizen’s Income could support
aspiring musicians and artists. It is
well known that unfettered capitalism does not do a great job of supporting the best art. Most people do
not have the funds necessary to support valuable creative projects. For
example Transformers was the highest grossing film of 2014, but it seems
that next to nobody actually enjoyed
it. Think of your favourite band: I’m
99% certain Justin Bieber is making
more money than they are. Devotees
of local music scenes regularly see
their favourite bands quit to get “real
jobs”, which may, in fact, be dreary
and not clearly necessary “bullshit
jobs”. A Citizen’s Income would also
further feminist goals by compensating women for the unpaid caring
work they do, and would help women who suffer domestic violence, but
were previously unable to leave due
to financial constraints.
The political economist and philosopher Van Parijs calls the opportunities that would be afforded to
people by an unconditional income
“real freedom”. Capitalism does not
currently allow real freedom: some
people may have disposable income
that they are free to spend as they
wish, but even the well-off have their
working lives largely dictated by the
market. Communism on the other
hand, dictates people’s working conditions without even allowing people
freedom as consumers. Van Parijs’s
real-libertarian position allows people freedom of choice in how they
live their lives.
The idea of an unconditional income has been supported by a number of great thinkers for hundreds of
years, such as Thomas Paine (one of
the founding fathers of the United
States) and the philosopher John
Stuart Mill. James Tobin - the Nobel
Prize winning economist best known
for the “Tobin tax” - supported a similar idea: negative income tax. Citizen’s Income is not, as The Telegraph
seems to think, a bad idea concocted
by Natalie Bennett last week.
Some journalists have triumphantly declared that the Green Party have
no plan to fund this. Of course, the
Green Party’s economic competence
is an unknown quantity, but it is not
impossible to implement a UBI in a
developed economy such as ours.
The Citizen’s Income Trust has published a fully costed plan for Citizen’s
Income which would result in £6bn
savings due to the elimination of administrative costs that come from
deciding who is entitled to benefits
and who is not, as well as the elimination of tax reliefs and allowances
that only benefit the middle class.
The economy would be stimulated,
as poor people spend all their money,
whereas the rich tend to add to their
savings rather than spending, (having
more money than they know what to
do with).
Another objection to the scheme
is that some people may not deserve
the money. Van Parijs asks this question: should we feed people who
surf all day and smoke pot all evening? Besides the fact that anybody
who wanted to spend their evenings
smoking pot would have to get a job
to fund it, we live in an age of rampant consumerism, and even the
very lazy are generally willing to
work in order to have extra money.
According to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
‘Everyone has the right to […] food,
clothing, housing and medical care.”
It is not right to decide who deserves
to eat. The government feeds criminals and gives them somewhere to
sleep, while innocent people can die
of exposure on the streets. Maybe the
unusually lazy would benefit unfairly
from Citizen’s Income, but we have
to accept others’ undeserved good
luck in life, financial or otherwise.
Capitalism distributes money to the
‘undeserving’. We accept landlords’
largely unearned money and other
rent seeking behaviour. Preventing
bad things happening to good people is a noble cause, preventing good
things happening to ‘bad’ or lazy people is based on resentment.
It is, for the most part, not in people’s natures to do nothing productive with their lives. When a basic income was introduced experimentally
in a Canadian town, only teenagers
and mothers worked substantially
less. Those who advocate capitalism, as it currently functions, as the
only means for social progress are
misunderstanding people’s motivation when they create or invent new
things. Although I would be cautious about taking a “do what you
love and you’ll never need to work
again” approach, many people do
enjoy using their creativity and intelligence for their own sakes’ or to
help others. Taking computing as an
example: Alan Turing, the father of
modern computing, worked for the
government and universities; Tim
Berners-Lee didn’t make a profit out
of the web, because that would have
prevented it from being a universal space; Aaron Swartz developed
RSS and creative commons licensing
when he was still a child, and when
he made a profit from his work developing Reddit he was uninterested
and devoted himself to finding ways
to use his abilities for social and political purposes.
A Citizen’s Income should consequently appeal to the left and the
right. It already has widespread support with 300,000 people signing a
European’s Citizen’s Initiative for a
UBI in 2014.
Pictured:
Surfer by
Duncan
Rawlinson
“
Preventing
bad things
happening to
good people is
a noble cause,
preventing
good things
happening
to ‘bad’ or
lazy people
is based on
resentment
”
POLITICS 19
Greece rejects austerity
Katja
Bertelsmann
A
fter the election in Greece, the
Europe-wide response to the
result of the election varied as
some Member States reject Tsipras’
aim to write off large amounts of
Greece’s public debt categorically,
while others demonstrated willingness to negotiate the conditions of
debt repayment.
The president of the Eurogroup,
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, emphasized
at a gathering of Eurozone’s finance
ministers that “there is very little support for a write-off in Europe”. Furthermore he said that: “we all have to
realise and the Greek people have to
realise that the major problems in the
Greek economy have not disappeared
or changed overnight just because an
election took place.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of
the European Commission, agreed
with Dijsselbloem and announced
that Greece has to live up to its commitments to its creditors and that
there was no need for urgent action,
because Greece would already benefit
from the extended credit period until
2020.
However, the new Greek Prime
Minister Tsipras, who won the election with 36% of the vote and 149 out
of 300 seats in the Parliament, insists
on questioning its €240bn (£179bn)
bailout terms. He vowed to renego-
tiate Greece’s debt and it is very unlikely that he will abandon his aim of
reversing cuts in public services and
increasing salaries and pensions. But
under the current terms it is not possible to increase public expenditure.
The troika of lenders, consisting of
the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary
Fund, imposed budgetary cuts and
structural reforms in return for the
money. Therefore, further payments
are bound to the bailout agreements
Greece had signed. Nevertheless the
majority of EU member states declared that they are willing to negotiate with the newly elected Greek
Government. But negotiations won’t
include debt cuts as the Irish Minister
for Finance Michael Noonan specified: “Making debt more affordable is
a better solution than writing off. The
solution for Greece’s debt problem is
a new arrangement on the length of
their loans and the interest rates to
be paid.” Germany especially, which
contributed about 25% to the bailout
funds, will insist on Greece to fulfil
all agreements. The German Minister for Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble,
said, “the new government would
have to abide by the bailout agreements Greece had signed.” A spokesman for the German Government
emphasised that a part of potential
Pictured:
Alexis Tsipras,
Syriza leader
and new Greek
Prime Minister
negotiations is “Greece holding to
its prior commitments and the new
government being tied in to the reform’s achievements.” Greece has “to
take measures so that the economic
recovery continues.” In spite of everything, write-offs and debt-cuts won’t
be part of any negotiations if it was
up to Germany. Hans-Peter Friedrich,
a member of Merkel’s parliamentary
party, said that “The Greeks have the
right to elect whoever they want [but]
we have the right to no longer finance
Greek debt.”
The following weeks will reveal
whether a consensus can be found.
Until then, the negotiations will undoubtedly be tough, difficult and
long. However, negotiations are inevitable. As Pierre Moscovici, the EU
Commissioner for Economy put it:
“When people vote, we can’t ignore
that vote. There shouldn’t be a division, either a geographical or ideological one.” But it remains highly questionable whether a division of Europe
either into Northern and Southern
countries or austerity-supporting and
austerity-rejecting countries, can be
avoided.
“
The majority
of EU member
states declared
that they
are willing
to negotiate
with the newly
elected Greek
Government
”
Western leaders pay tribute to Saudi King
Victor
Degorce
O
n the 22nd of January, King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia died. After 10 years in
power, he will be replaced by his
79-year-old half brother Salman.
After Abdullah’s death, world leaders expressed their condolences and
paid tribute including David Cameron, the Queen, Barack Obama, Ban
Ki Moon. President Hollande and
Angela Merkel even announced they
would visit Saudi Arabia.
Obama referred to him as a “force
of security and stability in the middle east”, while Cameron emphasised his “commitment to peace”.
Others highlighted his progressive
stances and his promotion of freedom and tolerance; John Kerry saw
him as a “man of wisdom and vision”; Ban Ki Moon said he achieved
“remarkable progress and prosperity
for its people”, while Cameron highlighted his “work for peace” and for
“strengthening understanding between faiths”.
During his reign, it is true that
King Abdullah did some efforts to
promote liberty, tolerance, freedom
and peace. The king worked for the
emancipation of women, though he
did not grant them equal status to
men, he took steps for their progressive integration in the public and
political life.
In 2011 he decreed that women
would be allowed to vote and run for
office in the 2015 general election,
and he opened the Shura, a legisla-
tive advisory council, to women. In
2012 he authorized women athletes
to represent Saudi Arabia for the
Olympics game, and enabled women
to access the “King Abdullah University of Science and Technology”,
which is considered a world-class
university. Finally, in 2013, he decreed that domestic violence would
become a criminal offence.
After the successive revolts in
neighboring countries, King Abdullah tried to improve the living conditions of the Saudis and invested in
public infrastructure, healthcare and
education. He also appeared committed to foster cooperation and tolerance between religions, by pushing
for the creation of the “international
center for religious and intercultural
dialogue”, and by becoming the first
Saudi ruler to visit the Pope. However, as world leaders and main political figures praise King Abdullah’s
progressive stances, many voices
rise to denounce their hypocrisy,
and point out the very harsh restrictions placed upon human rights and
the repeated violation of these rights
under Abdullah’s reign.
Concerning political freedom and
civil liberties, Saudi Arabia is still
the second lowest ranking country
in the world, with only North Korea
being worse. Arbitrary arrests, trial
and detention of political opponents
or journalists, torture, and the use
of force against peaceful demonstrators are still frequent.
During the Arab Spring, Abdullah
initiated a brutal counter-revolution and sent tanks into the streets
of Bahrain to repress the uprising.
In this regard, his “commitment to
peace” seems remote. Saudi Arabia’s
constitution does guarantee religious freedom, however, in reality,
people’s freedom to practice another
religion than Islam is extremely restricted.
Since 2011, people that criticize
Islamic laws or report on matters
that would “threaten internal security” can be fined and journalists
imprisoned. Recently, a blogger was
arrested and will receive 1000 lashes
for having “insulted Islam”, he only
asked for the separation of state and
religion. Human rights associations
argue that the reforms implemented
had only superficial effects and that
Abdullah didn’t deal with the root
of the problem. Indeed, the ‘male
guardianship system’, which stipulates that women need agreement
from a man to obtain a passport or
travel wasn’t abolished.
Women activists fear that even
the limited reforms will not be applied in such a strongly conservative
society, and that King Abdullah did
nothing to change mentalities. Instead, he has fostered a climate of
fear for women, with the frequent
arrest and imprisonments of women who dared to claim their rights.
Thus, the international community’s
praise of King Abdullah as a pro-
Pictured:
King Abdullah
gressive leader seems inappropriate.
Some could argue that Saudi Arabia
remains the most stable regime in
the region and one of the only Western “footholds” in the Middle East,
and that maintaining good relations
is essential to preserving stability
and promote peace in the region.
Others think that Western powers
are too dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil supply and cannot afford
jeopardising their good relations
with its government. In any case,
Western leaders should balance
their praise of Saudi Arabian regime,
and acknowledge the victims of King
Abdullah. Especially in these times
where religious extremism is growing, Western powers need to defend
human and civil rights against obscurantism.
“
Concerning
political
freedom and
civil liberties,
Saudi Arabia
is still the
second lowest
ranking
country in the
world
”
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POLITICS 21
G4S complicit in Guantanamo abuses
Michael
Arnott
“
At the
centre of the
allegations
made in the
complaint
is the claim
inmates are
force-fed
at the US
government
run camp
”
T
he private security firm G4S
will be subject to a police inquiry, after a UK based human
rights charity, Reprieve, submitted a
formal complaint about its potential
involvement in human rights abuses
at the Guantanamo Bay detention
camp.
Reprieve is a human rights charity, which represents a number of
inmates at Guantanamo, who they
allege have been subject to unlawful
treatment at the camp.
The Met’s investigation will seek to
establish whether G4S is guilty under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
This Act outlined the illegality of
profiteering through an involvement
with human rights abuses. A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that
the Met had received the complaint,
and that it was now considering how
to deal with it.
At the centre of the allegations
made in the complaint is the claim
inmates are force-fed at the US Government run camp. Reprieve argues
that G4S should take partial responsibility for this, with the complaint
stating that it is ‘highly plausible’ that
the security company participated in
this practice.
G4S began its involvement at
Guantanamo in August 2014, when it
won a £70m contract to supply janitorial and cleaning services. However,
the company seemed keen to wash its
hands of this contract shortly after,
when it sold its US Government solutions division, which ran its services
at Guantanamo, in November 2014,
to an undisclosed buyer for £85m.
G4S is a company with a history of
controversy, with an ever-widening
remit. The Crawley based company
lists services including ‘manned security services’, ‘security systems’, ‘monitoring and response systems’ and ‘secure facilities services’.
The company, which is the world’s
largest security firm, is perhaps best
known for its involvement in the London 2012 Olympics. Having agreed a
£284m deal to ensure safety, at possibly the biggest event this country has
known, G4S failed to provide enough
security guards. Even Nick Buckles,
who was chief executive at the time,
acknowledged that the incident had
been a ‘humiliating shambles’.
This embarrassment was not
enough to deter the US Government
from employing them at its notorious
Guantanamo Bay prison. The camp,
set up in 2002 and based in Cuba, has
become associated with the war on
terror, with suspected terrorists from
Afghanistan forming a large propor-
tion of the inmates.
The future of the camp is currently
under threat, with President Obama’s
recent State of the Union address outlining plans to close the prison. However, this may be difficult to carry out,
as Obama’s previous attempt to close
Guantanamo, launched in 2009, was
first delayed, and then blocked.
The same fate may await
Reprieve’s legal action, which is sure
to be met with evasions and excuses.
What happens inside Guantanamo
is subject to the highest security
classifications; obtaining the proof
of G4S’ direct involvement in
human rights abuses will therefore
be difficult. G4S is a company
used to working in these sorts of
environments, and so is likely to
have covered its steps sufficiently to
avoid legal ramifications. Their main
interest is profit: as long as they
keep winning big contracts, they are
unlikely to be overly concerned with
the human cost.
Pictured:
Guantanamo Bay
graffiti
(Walt Jabasco)
24,000 Cardiff voters dropped from list
‘A generation of young people dropped from the system’
Rhiannon
Tapp
“
Cardiff has
been the
worst place
affected in
the UK with a
drop in 24,000
registered
voters since
the Spring of
2014
”
L
ast week, the Gair Rhydd Politics team headed to the Senedd
to meet with Leighton Andrews,
AM for the Rhondda, Beth Button, head of NUS Wales and Stephen
Twigg, Labour MP for Liverpool West
Derby, to discuss the impact of Individual Voter Registration. It is claimed
that a generation of young people have
been lost from the electoral register as
a result of this new system. Cardiff has
shown the worst fall in the UK with a
drop of 24,000 registered voters since
the Spring of 2014 as a result of the
change.
This new system means people are
not registered under households and
must register to vote individually. This
will inevitably affect young people
since they move around more, and are
less likely to register each time they do
so. Many students are already apathetic
to the political system and this change
will inevitably worsen that. Various
issues were identified and some solutions discussed about how to tackle the
problem.
University students are particularly
affected by this change to the system;
they are likely to move each year and
don’t know whether they should be
voting away from home. Under the
previous system, halls of residence occupants would be registered together,
but these thousands of students are
now dropped off the register unless
they individually register. Stephen
Twigg talked to us about a debate that
will take place in the House of Commons this Wednesday; Labour will
be requesting that halls of residence
should be exempt from this system,
in order to avoid a massive loss of students from the electoral register.
It was noted that the issue with online voter registration, despite being a
relatively simple process, is that many
simply aren’t aware about the change to
the system or the need to register so far
in advance. As we discussed, the worry
is that many won’t think to register until potentially the week, or days before
voting day, May the 7th, at which point
they would have missed the deadline.
Beth Button, discussed the needs to
have a mandate on universities and colleges to actively reinforce the need for
people to register and vote. Another
aspect of her work on this involves
citizenship. If the aspect of registering
to vote were included within citizenship processes then perhaps this would
prove less hassle, correlating to an increased number who register. Registering to vote could be included within the
process of moving house, and students
should receive voting forms with their
council tax exemption forms.
Everyone agreed that an app and
website should be created to get information about the available parties and
allow people to register through. Such
processes are much simpler, and easier
for people to do without feeling like
there is much effort involved. It seems
a huge barrier to getting people registered is the simple knowledge that they
need to do it and how to do it. Using
technology which young people are familiar with, particularly in terms of an
app would be helpful.
With regards to Wales in particular,
devolution means that the Welsh Government should take control of how
their democracy works, as Beth Button pointed out. The Welsh Assembly
wants to take action to get their electoral processes changed. For example,
the Assembly supports lowering the
voting age to 16 and as Leighton Andrews pointed out, the impact of allowing 16-17 year olds to vote was
seen during the Scottish Independence
referendum which saw a 66% turnout
among the age group 16-24 year olds.
This group of 16-17 year olds were described as enthused, politically minded
young people who feel they have a say
in the system. As we mentioned, lowering the voting age could only increase
the habitual nature of voting so that
once you reach the age of 18 you are familiar with the process and more likely
to engage.
It was also agreed that positive persuasion and education are better methods for getting people to vote, and the
idea of compulsory voting was generally opposed. However changes to the
electoral system should be considered
to make it more accessible to those
apathetic towards the available parties;
as seen within the Indian ballot system
that includes a ‘none of the above’ option.
Ultimately it was agreed that if young
people want to see change in the country, then they must vote in order to get
that change. Most politicians we have
spoken to have expressed some concern that low voter turnout could lead
to an unwarranted five years of the
same hardships following May’s elec-
tion. Jo Stevens summed up the issue
saying: ‘Nick Clegg and David Cameron have failed to heed warnings about
rushing through changes to electoral
registration and now tens of thousands
of students and young people in Cardiff
face being disenfranchised.’
All students need to take action by
registering to vote before April the
25th.
Pictured:
Jo Stevens and
Stephen Twigg
Register to
vote before
25th April:
https://www.gov.
uk/register-tovote
SCIENCE
tweet us @gairrhyddsci
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/science
Court of public opinion condemns
genetically modified advances
Meryon
Roderick
“
The fact
that Dengue
Fever is
known as
‘breakbone fever’
speaks for
itself
”
S
cientific breakthroughs have
the potential to be extremely
controversial. When it’s just
down to a scientist wearing an inappropriate shirt during a press release
then public fears can be quite easily allayed but when the backlash is
against the science itself then it can
act as a barrier to progress. There is
no area of research that incites strong
reaction quite like genetic modification.
Research into genetically modified
(GM) organisms is constantly increasing in both quantity and scope
with many different applications very
close to becoming a reality. Two high
profile examples have come to the
fore just within the last week. The
first of these sounds like pure science
fiction but could be a completely normalised pest control technique in a
few years.
British biotechnology firm Oxitec
are planning to release millions of
GM mosquitoes in the Florida Keys
to stop the advance of the tropical
diseases dengue fever and chikungunya into the US state. There are
now 67 confirmed cases of dengue in
Florida compared to only 24 in June
last year and there were 11 locally
contracted cases of chikungunya in
2014 which accounts for 100 percent
of US local cases.
Both diseases are renowned for being extremely painful. The fact that
dengue is also known as “breakbone
fever” speaks for itself and chikungunya is known to be so agonising
it causes contortions. Clearly this
makes the spread of these diseases a
terrifying prospect and huge amounts
of money and effort have been put
into finding a way to curb the expansion of the species of mosquito that
carries them (Aedes aegypti).
There are currently six pesticides
in common use to control A. aegypti
mosquitos but various mutant strains
have emerged that are resistant to
four of these. Enter Oxitec with their
GM mosquitoes. Oxitec have hybridised mosquito DNA with genes
fragments from organisms as varied
as coral, cabbage, and the herpes virus. These genes are used commonly
in laboratory genetic modification
and are thought to pose no threat to
other animals. When implanted in
mosquitoes however, they prevent
larvae from developing properly so
they never hatch from their eggs.
Oxitec are planning to release male
GM mosquitoes as only females feed
on blood; males are happy to feed
on plant sap so theoretically there is
no risk of them biting humans. The
plan is for the males to breed with
wild females who would then lay eggs
that never hatch, thereby diminishing the mosquito population. This
scheme has already been field tested
in the Cayman Islands which led to a
96 percent reduction in the targeted
bugs and another scheme in Brazil
was also apparently successful; both
countries have now signed up to larger, more long term schemes.
Despite this apparent level of success in real world tests, and despite
the potentially dire consequences of
dengue and chikungunya epidemics in the state of Florida, resistance
to this new scheme is fierce. Several
prominent geneticists have publically criticised the scheme with Guy
Reeves from the Max Planck Institute
saying that Oxitec needs to do more
to prove that if a female was released
by accident, they couldn’t do any
harm to humans.
Whilst these reservations are valid,
a lot of the language surrounding the
debate is highly emotive. Marilyn
Smith, a Key West resident stated
that she felt Oxitec were treating citizens of the Florida Keys like “guinea
pigs”. This feeling of uncertainty and
fear from the general public doesn’t
match the seemingly extensive testing Oxitec have already carried out
in the Caribbean and South America.
Though the US is thought of as
particularly conservative when it
comes to science, this mistrust of
GM organisms is widespread in the
developed world. The Green Party for
example, who often prove themselves
to be the most scientifically literate
UK political party, are strictly anti
GM. They, like many people, seem to
want biotechnology firms who develop GM crops to simultaneously thoroughly research all potential dangers
of GM organisms whilst also backing
off from producing them at all.
The other breakthrough in genetic
manipulation this week could hold
part of the answer. Two independent
research teams at Harvard and Yale
universities have created E. coli that
cannot survive without substances
that do not exist in nature. There are
20 amino acids that exist naturally
and they act as the building blocks
for all proteins in every organism on
Earth. However, it is possible to create a near endless array of artificial
amino acids by altering one chemical
chain on the molecule.
What the research groups did was
to alter the genetics of the lab grown
E. coli so that they require one of
these artificial amino acids to make
vital proteins involved in DNA replication and interpretation. This means
that without this man made chemical provided to them, they die very
quickly. The ramifications of this is
that GM organisms could potentially
be made that have no possibility of
living outside a controlled environment so fears over contaminating
wild animals and plants or rampant
superbugs can finally be put to bed.
The hope is that one day this technique could be applied to plants to
make super safe GM crops.
Whilst such advances are clearly
vital if genetic modification is ever
to find true public acceptance, public
education and discourse between scientists and laymen are arguably just
as important. A recent report from
a US poll revealed that 80 percent
of adults asked did not realise that
there is DNA in food (incidentally
neither did certain members of the
Gair Rhydd editorial team). However,
science blogger Ben Lillie argues that
that number comes from a flawed and
slightly misleading poll which tricked
respondents into seeming ignorant.
Whether the number is accurate
or not though, the implication is the
same. That is that professional scientists and the general public do not
understand each other. According to
a recent Ipsos Mori poll, 72 percent
of people believe that it is important
to know about science in your day-today life and 71 percent of people want
to be told about scientific advancement as it happens rather than afterwards. This reflects a growing desire
from the public to engage with science. However, 45 percent of people
believe that science does more harm
than good and 43 percent of people
would not want to be personally involved in science policy decisions.
Combine this with the propensity of science writers and scientists
to naturally believe the worst of the
public and it’s clear there is a lot of
work to be done by both sides. If
something as simple as misinformation is holding back potentially world
changing scientific advancement
then surely addressing that should be
a priority.
Pictured:
The Aedes
aegypti
mosquito
that carries
chikungunya
and dengue
fever.
“
... this
mistrust
of GM
organisms is
widwespread
in the
developed
world
”
SCIENCE
23
The Doomsday Clock says it’s time for us to change
Meryon
Roderick
“
The clock has
only been
closer to
midnight once
in its history
”
O
n the 26th of January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
announced that they had
changed the time on the Doomsday
Clock to three minutes to midnight.
But what is the Doomsday Clock and
why are its hands moving forwards?
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic
clock face maintained by the Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists, which is a
magazine that documents security issues surrounding nuclear weapons.
It is displayed both in their offices in
Chicago and on their website. The
Doomsday Clock represents how
close humanity has come to causing
our own destruction. It was initially
started in 1947 as a reaction to the
deployment of nuclear bombs by the
United States during World War II.
Over the years the state of the clock
has also factored in global issues such
as disease and climate change to calculate how close we are to the end of
the world. When the clock reaches
midnight, everything is over. The clock
has only been closer to midnight once
in its history, which was in 1953. This
was caused by the US and Russia testing thermonuclear weapons within
nine months of one another which
was seen by many as nuclear muscle
flexing.
The clock has only reached three
minutes to midnight, as it is now, on
tqo other occasions. Once in 1949 after the Soviets tested their first nuclear
Pictured:
Physics Nobel
Prize laureate
Leon Lederman
moves the
hands of the
Doomsday
Clock in 2002
(Source: imgkid.
com)
bomb and then again in 1984 when US
cruise missiles were deployed in Western Europe, causing the Cold War to
reach one of its most intense points.
The furthest the clock has ever been
from midnight was 11:43pm in 1991
when the Soviet Union was dissolved,
ending the cold war permanently and
massively lessening the risk of all out
nuclear war. The clock has been creeping back towards midnight ever since
meaning we are now at the latest time
on the clock face for 31 years.
The main reason for this was the
continued political apathy towards
climate change after the UN climate
summit in September last year. Nine
of the 10 hottest years have occurred
since the year 2000 and 2014 was the
hottest year on record. Greenhouse
gas emissions that cause this temperature rise have also been far higher in
the 21st century than all other recorded years combined.
Lack of action over building levels of nuclear waste and the fact that
many nations are modernizing and
expanding their nuclear armouries
were given as supplementary causes
for the clock’s recent move towards
midnight.
“We are not saying it is too late to
take action”, said Kennette Bennedict,
the executive director of the Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists “but the window to take action is closing rapidly”.
Bill Gates on vaccines: HIV hope and pharma cost defence
Shanna
Hamilton
“
...the Gates
talk about
eradicating
polio by 2030,
finding the
‘secret to
destruction’ of
malaria, and
‘forcing HIV to
a tipping point’
”
B
ill Gates has been particularly
vocal the past few weeks
on
medical
matters.
Inventor, computer programmer
and consistently ranked one the
richest men in the world, Gates is
a formidable businessman. Most
famous for co-founding Microsoft
and revolutionizing computers as we
know them today, few seem to know
Gates also pours billions of pounds
into a philanthropic foundation,
conducting medical research to target
our global health problems.
The Bill & Melinda Gates
foundation aim to “take on tough
challenges: extreme poverty and poor
health in developing countries, and
the failures of America’s education
system.” A large focus is defeating
HIV, citing that “while huge progress
has been made…more than 33 million
people are currently living with HIV”.
In the 2015 Annual Gates letter,
husband and wife Bill and Melinda
talk about their “big bet for the
future” – that the lives of people in
poor countries will improve faster in
the next 15 years than at any other
time in history.
Within this bold and ambitious
letter, the Gates talk about eradicating
polio by 2030, finding the “secret to
destruction” of malaria, and “forcing
HIV to a tipping point”.
Speaking at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill
Gates predicted that two HIV
“miracles” are within reach – a
vaccine for prevention, and more
intensive drugs to combat the disease.
“We’re pretty optimistic in this 15year period we will get those two new
tools.”
Although
optimistic
about
the prospects of treating and
preventing HIV infection, Gates
last week dismissed criticisms of
the humanitarian aid organisation
Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF). They
called for two large pharmaceutical
companies to significantly drop the
price of the pneumococcal vaccine,
a focus of the Gates foundation’s
research.
According to the World Health
Organisation, pneumonia is the
number one killer of children under
the age of five worldwide, with over
1 million children dying each year
from the preventable and treatable
illness. Multiple interventions and
vaccines are available for some of the
more common bacterical causes of
infection, but uptake is sporadic and
infants are needlessly dying before
immunisation.
A “top priority” of the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation is to
“promote full-scale delivery of
currently available pneumococcal
and
meningococcal
vaccines”.
Currently only two pharmaceutical
companies, GlaxoSmithKleine and
Pfizer, produce these vaccines and
while $7.5 billion has been pledged
for immunisation of children in poor
countries, MSF have still lashed out
at what they see as an unfair price.
Rohit Malpani of MSF said, “The
price to fully vaccinate a child is 68
times more expensive than it was just
over a decade ago, mainly because
a handful of big pharmaceutical
companies are overcharging donors
and developing countries for vaccines
that already earn them billions of
dollars in wealthy countries.”
Speaking at an international
vaccine-funding
conference
in
Berlin, Gates denied claims that the
pneumococcal vaccine costs were
too high. “This general thing where
organisations come out and say,
‘hey, why don’t vaccines cost zero?’
– all that does is that you have some
pharma companies that choose never
to do medicine for poor countries
because they know that this always
just becomes a source of criticism.”
Although not naming the MSF and
in defence of his own work, he added,
“I think there is an organisation that’s
wonderful in every other respect, but
every time we raise money to save
poor children’s lives, they put out
a press release that says the price of
these things should be zero. Every
five years when we are raising billions
– that is the most effective foreign
aid ever given, that saves millions of
lives.”
Pictured:
The Bill &
Melinda Gates
Foundation
pour billions
into medical
research
(Flickr)
nominations
Are Open!
positions available:
SU PRESIDENT
BLACK & MINORITY ETHNIC OFFICER
VP EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ OFFICER
VP HEATH PARK CAMPUS
ETHICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER
VP POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
LGBT+ OFFICER (OPEN)
VP SOCIETIES
LGBT+ OFFICER (WOMEN’S)
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WELSH LANGUAGE OFFICER
WOMEN’S OFFICER
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO NOMINATE YOURSELF NOW: CARDIFFSTUDENTS.COM ELECTIONS
All students at Cardiff University are eligible to stand in this election
SCIENCE 25
Extending telomeres in human cells to combat aging
Shanna
Hamilton
“
Now we have
found a way
to lengthen
human
telomeres...
This approach
paves the
way toward
T
he shortening of the protective
caps of our chromosomes is
linked to aging and certain
illnesses, and in the laboratory,
scientists have developed a technique
to rapidly extend them pointing to
new ways to treat disease.
As our medical understanding
advances, we are surviving heart
attacks,
diabetes
and
cancer
for longer, with the average life
expectancy gradually increasing
every year. We have a growing and
aging population bringing forward
new health challenges to tackle. The
examination of telomeres has hence
become an attractive field of study.
When we are born, telomeres start
at 8000 nucleotides (DNA subunits)
long, but during cell division and
aging, they shorten dramatically.
Can we stop telomeres shortening by
every cell division? Can we extend the
human lifespan, or improve the quality
of life we have left?
A chemical messenger, messenger
RNA, carries instructions from DNA
to protein-making factories. This
RNA contains a coding sequence
for TERT, a pivotal component of
an enzyme, telomerase. This enzyme
stops telomeres becoming unhealthy
and shortening too often.
By modifying this messenger RNA
to code for a variation of telomerase,
scientists have forced telomeres to
lengthen for 48 hours before the
modification dissipates. Although
you might think telomeres extending
forever could lead to immortality, it
would open us up to the growth of
uncontrollable cancers, so this timestop acts as a safety net to protect the
telomeres.
After the 48 hour extension, cells
in the laboratory then revert back
to becoming progressively shorter,
but this allows telomeres to live 10
per cent longer than normal. If this
technique were to theoretically be
applied in the human body, this would
be the equivalent to many more years
of life.
The report compares this new
technology of temporary extension
to being like “tapping the gas pedal in
one of a fleet of cars coasting slowly to
a stop. The car with the extra surge of
energy will go farther than its peers,
but it will still come to an eventual
halt when its forward momentum is
spent.”
Helen
Blau,
Professor
of
Microbiology
and
Immunology
at Stanford, led the work: “Now
we have found a way to lengthen
human telomeres by as much as 1000
nucleotides, turning back the internal
clock in these cells by the equivalent
of many years of human life…. This
new approach paves the way toward
preventing or treating disease of
aging.”
Blau and her research team first
became interested in studying
telomeres when looking at the
degenerative
disease
Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). A
disorder that only affects males, DMD
has a particularly poor prognosis
with an average life expectancy of
only 25 years. Studying muscle cells,
Blau found that telomeres were much
shorter in DMD sufferers than males
of the same age without the disease.
Her latest findings therefore have
implications in treating conditions
linked to a shorter lifespan.
“One day it may be possible to target
muscle stem cells in a patient with
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for
example, to extend their telomeres,”
Blau said. “There are also implications
for treating conditions of aging,
such as diabetes and heart disease.
This has really opened the doors to
consider all types of potential uses of
this therapy.”
Pictured:
Telomeres
are at the end
of chromosomes, and
shortening of
these has been
linked to aging
(Flickr)
” Common psychiatric disorders
Pictured:
Certain
biological
pathways
have been
implicated in
some of the
most common
psychiatric
disorders
linked by more than just genes
Shanna
Hamilton
“
Biological
pathways are
important as
they are much
broader drug
targets than
single genes or
proteins
”
N
ew research finds that
common psychiatric disorders
are not only linked by mutated
genes, but that these mutations cluster
and work together in pathways that
are shared between the disorders too,
giving new hope for drug discovery.
Investigating problematic pathways
- sets of genes that carry out a process
in our body - rather than single gene
changes in one disorder may be the way
forward in finding suitable treatment.
The genetic overlap between disorders
could lead to broader treatment options
that can treat a range of symptoms.
Professor Peter Holmans of Cardiff
University, a corresponding author
of the published work said on this,
“They’re likely to be more promising
druggable targets than individual
genes”.
This comes at a time when new
psychiatric drugs are in need. According
to the World Health Organisation,
approximately 450 million people
worldwide have a mental health
problem, with 1 in 4 British adults
experiencing a diagnosable problem
in any one year. This represents a large
proportion of the UK disease burden
and costs £70 billion a year. All while
pharmaceutical giants, including
GlaxoSmithKleine and AstraZeneca,
have been shrinking their neuroscience
research spending.
On this note, a fresh look at old
research may have shed a new light
on treatment opportunities. Mental
health disorders may have more in
common than first thought. Hundreds
of authors, as part of the Psychiatric
Genomics Consortium, looked more
closely at genome-wide association
studies. These studies examine
markers across the sets of DNA of
many people, to find common genetic
differences that may be associated with
mental illness. Although thousands
of genetic variations have previously
been identified to increase the risk of
psychiatric conditions, so far it has
been unclear how these changes affect
biological processes and pathways that
lead to disease.
By studying data from over 60,000
participants, the authors developed a
framework to find common pathways
across three disorders – bipolar
disorder, manic depression and
schizophrenia. Comparing those with
psychiatric disorders to those without,
the authors could examine genes that
act together along a pathway in the
body. By ranking pathways by their
contribution to disease risk (these had
a higher number of mutations relevant
to mental illness), authors could
discover which pathways were relevant
to many disorders, instead of just one.
They published their findings in journal
Nature Neuroscience this month.
Dr Gerome Breen, corresponding
author from King’s College University,
said, “When we grouped the genetic
data together, we found that genes
relation to histone methylation –
molecular changes that alter DNA
expression – and immune function
are risk factors associated with the
development of these disorders.
Biological pathways are important as
they are much broader drug targets
than single genes or proteins.”
This finding also reminds us of the
challenges to classify mental disorders
– if there are shared biological pathways
in several disorders, it may be time to
treat symptoms directly, rather than
categorize patients by type of illness
and treat them accordingly.
Holmans
of
Cardiff
further
commented, “Future studies of
psychiatric illness should be perhaps
based on the actual symptoms
observed in the patients rather than the
traditional criteria.”
SOCIETIES
Barney’s Note
M
y goodness it has been a
long time since I have written for Gair Rhydd! I hope
you have all had a lovely Christmas
and survived exams with the least
possible stress. Now you are back, I
am going to resume the elaborate attempt to distract you from your de-
gree that I call a job. There are now
over 8000 of you guys as registered
members which is somewhat insane
but keep signing up; it means we are
getting more and more people involved!
The world of societies keeps turning and term two has several big
What’s On
tweet us @gairrhyddsoc
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/societies/
events that you should keep your
eyes peeled for. When you read this,
refreshers will be over and we will
be looking forward to the February
elections! You can put yourself forward for any of the officer roles (including mine) as long as you get your
application in by the 5th. For more
information, go to cardiffstudents.
com or get in touch!
Also, we have two big festivals
coming up! Our performance and
artistic societies will be showing off
during Cardiff Fringe week starting on the 16th of March. The 21st
of March will see the annual return
of Go Global, our festival of international culture and diversity. These
events are always incredibly popular
and often sell out in advance so be
sure to act quickly when tickets go
on sale in about a month. If you want
to get involved in any of our over 190
societies and are not sure how, drop
me an email on VPSocieties@cardiff.
ac.uk.
Erasmus Society
Tandem Café
8pm - 10pm
The Lodge, Students’ Union
6th February 10am - 8th February
11pm
Dublin, Ireland
Saturday 7th February
Monday 2nd February
Student Advice
Drop In
Noon - 2pm
Meeting Rooms close to the IV
Lounge, Heath Park Campus
Global Health Student Network
Cancer In Developing Countries
6.30pm - 8pm
4J, Students’ Union
Wednesday 4th February
6pm - 8pm
4C, Students’ Union
Students For Life
Ethics at the End of Life
7pm - 9pm
Michael Griffiths Lecture Theatre,
Heath Park Campus
Act One
Much Ado About Nothing
4th February 7.30pm - 7th February
10pm
See article below for more details
YMCA Theatre, Roath
Thursday 5th February
Student Enterprise
Speaker Session: Confessions of an
Entrepreneur
6pm - 8pm
4J, Students’ Union
Marrow Society
Marrow Variety Night
7.30pm - 11pm
Koko Gorilaz
Friday 6th February
History Society
History society - Dublin trip
Women’s Association
CWA Film Night: Obvious Child
LGBT+ History Month is an awareness
raising month looking at how far
society has progressed on Lesbian,
Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans* and Plus issues.
We look at role models within the field
of sports, politics, music, business and
other major fields to inspire the next
generation of LGBT+ individuals. As
a liberation movement, the LGBT+
Association has come a long way. The
Students’ Union is proud to present a
series of events aimed at informing,
engaging and transforming students’
viewpoints on LGBT+ issues.
Erasmus Society
St. Fagans and Big Pit Trip
9am - 6pm
Surgical Society
Clinical Neuroscience Launch
Conference
9.30am - 4pm
Michael Griffiths Lecture Theatre,
Heath Park Campus
Wilderness and Expedition Medicine
Brecon Weekend Mark II
7th February 10am - 8th February
5pm
Brecon Beacons
Bi Poster Competition
3rd February noon - 17th February
6pm
What’s On this week:
Creative Writing Workshop
7th February 1pm - 3pm
Tucker Cafe, 23 Salisbury Road
Introduction to LGBT+ at the Heath
2nd February 1pm - 2pm
2/21 in Ty Dewi Sant
For a full list of events and more info
www.cardiffstudents.com/lgbtplus
Have an
event
you want
covered?
Email:
societies@
gairrhydd.
com
Act One present Much Ado About Nothing
Felicity Box
M
uch Ado About Nothing is
widely recognised as being
one of Shakespeare’s greatest
comedies. It has been performed time
and time again by some of the world’s
leading comedic actors and between
4th-7th February, the Act One drama
society has decided to take on the challenge. It is a remarkably modern tale
of a woman fighting for her place in a
man’s world and it deals with themes
which are still relevant in modern society: love, denial, deception, secrecy
and trust. The cast relished the challenge of the Shakespearean language
and have managed to communicate
the comedy despite the jokes being
over 400 years old.
So what’s different about this
version, and why should you come
and see it? For starters, it’s funny. A
little light relief to start off the spring
semester can’t be a bad thing. We’ve
really worked with the actors to make
the most of the numerous insults, the
witty interactions between characters
and of course, that old favourite, the
sexual innuendo.
Secondly, you will get the chance
to hear some original music. We are
going to have live music throughout
the show which will really set the 1940s
tone. The famous masquerade ball
which features in every Shakespearian
production takes the form of an uptempo jive in ours. The cast have been
working incredibly hard on this, and
despite not necessarily being natural
dancers, it has really taken form.
Thirdly, the 1940s setting. The
costumes, set and music have all been
designed to evoke this era. It also helps
us to bring out the more serious side
of the play and the very real issues
that it addresses. The director, Katrina
Grier, told us that in this version
‘Beatrice represents the more modern,
confident woman who has played her
part in the War and feels herself equal,
demonstrating the great advances
that women’s involvement in World
War II brought to feminism’. It’s not a
modern interpretation of the text, but
somehow the 1940s setting and the
Shakespearean language seem to come
together really nicely. Small reminders
of the war allow the important themes
of Shakespeare’s masterpiece to shine
through the laughs.
Bursting at the seams with
comedy, romance and conflict, this
stylish adaptation of Much Ado
About Nothing brings the genius of
Shakespeare to the run-down glamour
and precarious patriarchy of the late
1940s. Tickets can be purchased online
for all four nights on the Students’
Union website or at the box office.
Doors for each night open at 7pm with
the performance beginning at 7.30pm.
The performance is suitable for ages
14+ due to mild sexual content.
Tickets are £8 and £6 for students at
the YMCA Theatre, Roath.
Pictured:
‘I love you
with so much
of my heart
that none is
left to protest’
Beatrice and
Benedick
Poppy Parker
& Rob
Maddison
29
SOCIETIES
New society showcase: Dermatology
Hannah
Sterritt
C
ardiff University Dermatology
Society is a new society that aims
to promote awareness of the importance of dermatology in the medical
curriculum. This will therefore increase
exposure during training and in addition, will enable members to meet clinicians and academics. Founded by medical student Cliff Duah in September
2014, the society will allow those with
keen interest in dermatology to build
contacts and learn more about a career
in the field. It will also provide annual
medical students with a dermatology
handbook from the British Association of Dermatologists and raise public
awareness of preventable diseases such
as most melanomas. The society also
hopes to affiliate to charity organisa-
tions including the British Skin Foundation for events including fundraising.
The first event this term is a welcome
evening on Tuesday 17th February,
which will be an excellent opportunity
for you to see what we are all about as
well as a varied range of talks from what
life is like as a dermatologist to getting
published! This will be held in the Michael Griffiths Lecture Theatre, Heath
Park Campus between 7-9pm.
Professor of dermatology, Alexander Anstey, an international expert in
phototherapy and a director of the
Academic Dermatology Unit in South
Wales has developed new treatments
for skin diseases. He is very keen in
helping students interested in dermatology through the society. He has offered his maximum support for promoting the society as well as many
other dermatology professors and clinical lecturers. Dermatology offers an interesting clinical or surgical career with
a balanced and flexible working life and
fewer on call shifts.
Skin problems are very common and
if you want to become a GP or a dermatologist, you will frequently encounter
these conditions. As a medical student,
you have to take responsibility of your
own learning, therefore is important for
you to improve your knowledge on dermatological disease in order to manage
patients effectively. Despite the limited
amount of teaching, future physicians
are expected to diagnose and manage
patients while in practice with many
several skin manifestations. Membership is just £3 and recently, the formation of the society has enabled students
to voice concerns to the medical school,
resulting in changes to the existing curriculum, with more teaching in dermatology.
Email: [email protected]
DanceSport
Every Tuesday
Great Hall, Students’ Union
6.00pm Salsa £1
7.15pm Latin & Ballroom £2
9.00pm Technique £2
You will need: appropriate dance clothing,
footwear and a bottle of water.
Email: cardiff[email protected]
Opera
2pm 1st February 2015
Room 4J, Fourth Floor Students’ Union
Email: OperaticSociety@cardiff.ac.uk
Languages
ESN Tandem Cafés
8pm – 10pm The Lodge, Y Plas Nightclub
Wednesday 4th February 2015
Email: sadlerh@cardiff.ac.uk
Email: [email protected]
All events must be signed up for in advance.
To sign up and for more information, go
to cardiffstudents.com/giveitago. Unless
specified, events are free and no special
equipment is needed.
Sports
Fencing
5.30pm Every Monday / 7.30pm Every
Friday
Talybont Sports Centre
You will need: Wear loose tracksuit bottoms
(no shorts), a comfortable top and trainers.
And bring a bottle of water.
Email: callinae@cardiff.ac.uk
Jiu Jitsu
6.00pm Every Monday
Talybont Dojo
You will need: Loose sports clothing,
(avoiding jeans) and belts and a bottle of
water.
Email: PengBF@cardiff.ac.uk
Creative
Anime Film Screening
7pm Every Friday
Large Shandon Lecture Theatre, Main
Building
Email: Animesocietynew@cardiff.ac.uk
Manga Library
6pm Every Monday
The Lounge, Third Floor Students’ Union
Email: Animesocietynew@cardiff.ac.uk
Creative Writing
6.45pm Every Tuesday
Meeting at the front of the Students’ Union
Email: B.guymer@cardiff.ac.uk
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
6.45pm Every Monday
Meeting at the front of the Students’ Union
Email: B.guymer@cardiff.ac.uk
Music, Dance & Performance
Complete Fitness
4pm 1st February
Strength and Conditioning Centre, Park
Place
You will need: Appropriate gym clothing, a
drink and desire to become better.
Slash Hip Hop
8pm Open Class Every Monday
CF10 in the SU, 28/01, 8-10pm.
You will need: appropriate dance clothing,
footwear and a bottle of water.
For more
information
visit http://
tinyurl.com/
o22ptme
Email: [email protected]
Thought, Culture & Faith
Debating
7pm Every Thursday
Bute Café
Email: debatingsociety@cardiff.ac.uk
Model United Nations Society
6pm Every Tuesday
Room 4H, Students’ Union
Email: rabbitta@cardiff.ac.uk
Screening of ‘Obvious Child’
7pm Wednesday 4th February
Students’ Union
Email: womensofficer@cardiff.ac.uk
CathSoc: Film Screening of ‘The Way’
7.15pm Friday 6th February
Catholic Chaplaincy
Cost: £2
Email: cardiff[email protected]
Skills
Dealing with Perfectionism
2pm Wednesday 4th February
Sikh Society: Feed the Homeless
2.30pm Every Wednesday
Back of SU, by Magic Wrap
You will need: Warm clothing
Email: midlandgarseva@cardiffsikhsoc.org.
uk
Leadership in Difficult Situations
10am Friday 6th February
SDS@Cardiff.ac.uk 029 2078 1489
Student Senate
Tuesday 3rd February 2015 6pm
Room 4J, Students’ Union
Cardiff Award
Speaker Session: Confessions of an
Entrepreneur
Thursday 5th February
Room c0.13 Sir Martin Evans Building
Welfare
Motivation
5.30pm Monday 2nd February
Heath
Healthcare Basketball
2pm Every Saturday
Heath Sports Hall
You will need: Appropriate sportswear,
trainers and a bottle of water.
Email: okorochaci@cardiff.ac.uk
Medics Ladies Hockey
4pm Every Sunday
Talybont AstroTurf
You will need: Appropriate Sportswear and
Trainers
LGBT+ Brunch
11am Every Saturday
Tucker, Salisbury Road
LGBT@cardiff.ac.uk
C-Card Sessions
Every Thursday Lunchtime 12pm – 3pm
Room 4F, Students’ Union
SHAG@cardiff.ac.uk
@SexualHealthCU #CUshag
Student Minds
Eating disorder support group:
6.15 – 7.15pm Every Thursday
Room 4F, Students’ Union
Cardiff@studentminds.org.uk
@StudentMindsCDF
,"&$$./"#).#..&)%
%#)!1
$##-
OWNED & RUN BY CARDIFF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION
2000! ,"&$$-./"#).'#..&)%!*(
#'+&)%æ)"1*/,
! ,"&$$-./"#).'#..&)%!*(
call US on 029 2078 1525
February
The Stranglers
KERRANG! Tour 2015
Sleaford Mods
13/02/15, £16.50 ADV
Halestorm
Chelsea Grin
Four Year Strong
The Jesus And Mary
Chain
CARDIFFBOXOFFICE
CARDIFFBOXOFFICE.COM
All tickets subject to booking fee
10/03/15, £10 ADV
Enter Shikari
17/02/15 - SOLD OUT
17/02/15, £10 ADV
@CARDIFFUNION
10/03/15, £23 ADV
27/02/15, £25 ADV
Treatment presents...
Ten Walls Live
27/02/15, £18.50
March
Stiff Little Fingers
08/03/15, £18.50 ADV
13/03/15, £15 ADV
24/03/15, £14 ADV
April
Lower Than Atlantis
09/04/15, £12 ADV
Limehouse Lizzy vs
Livewire AC/DC
17/04/15, £20 ADV
29
SOCIETIES
Sikh society feed the homeless
Abhishek
Mohan
C
ardiff University’s Sikh Society
has teamed up with the
Midland Langar Seva Society
to start serving ‘langar’ (food) on
the streets of Cardiff. This is part of
a national project that aims to help
the homeless and provide food and
hunger relief to those who need it
regardless of background, caste, creed,
colour and religion.
Langar is at the centre of the
Sikh teaching about equality. Every
‘Gurdwara’ (place of worship for
Sikhs) has a langar where anybody is
allowed to come and eat. All the food
served is vegetarian. The first Guru
and founder of the Sikh faith - Guru
Nanak Dev Ji - established the langar.
He strongly believed that everyone
was equal, no matter his or her social
class or background. Sikhs believe
that being involved in the preparation
and serving of food is a form of ‘Seva’
(selfless service).
The first langar on the streets of
Cardiff took place on Wednesday 14th
January 2015. In the last two weeks
over 100 people have been successfully
served. The first two feeds were done
during very cold weather but the Sikh
Society feel that serving langar on the
streets of Cardiff and inviting people
to eat and drink in these temperatures
is nothing compared to what homeless
individuals have to face every day and
night. They strongly believe that there
should be no difference between those
who are fortunate to have blessed lives
and those who are homeless and hope
to do what they can to produce a more
equal society.
We are very grateful for this service
initiated by Midland Langar Seva
Society. The langar takes place every
Wednesday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
The food is distributed beneath the
Queen Street Railway Station Bridge
on Newport Road. If you would like to
help cook, distribute or donate langar
or clothing supplies please contact
Nick Singh Robson on 07765824900
or Amerpreet Singh Khalsa on
07583195356. We hope to see you
there.
New society showcase: Anthropology society
Tom Fletcher
“
We base
our activities
around the
study of
humans,
whether it’s
llama herders
or prostitution
”
Jan Hng
Pictured:
Ratu Kelantan
C
ardiff University Anthropological Society is the most selfish society of all because we
are only interested in one thing: humans! From human origins, huntergathers, and indigenous religions, to
drug culture, the effects of internet
use on human interactions, and the
integration of immigrant culture into
developed nations, we’re looking to
explore some amazing different cultures, with plenty of socials (alcoholic
and non-alcoholic), guest lectures,
and day trips. This society is for those
with an interest in how humans have
developed, socially and biologically,
throughout history.
We base our activities around the
study of humans, whether it’s llama
herders in the Andes and huntergatherers in Papua New Guinea, or
prostitution, gangs, and online trolling. Our events range from lectures
from guest speakers to coffee-meets
and a day trip to Pitt Rivers Museum
of Anthropology, Oxford. Being truly
inter-disciplinary, the Anthropological Society is an opportunity to
meet people of different degrees who
share similar interests but can offer
different insights and approaches to
the study of humans. As an almost
course-based society without an actual course, we welcome everyone
from medicine students to fine art
students.
The first lecture was held on the
27th January with the topic Tibetan
astrology by Dr Nick Swann from the
University of South Wales. This was
very well received, and we look forward to future lectures: February 10th
– ‘Looking good’ and ‘good looking’ in
school: an ethnography on body image in a London school with speaker
Dr Sarah Winkler-Reid from Bristol
University, February 24th – Human
Behaviour: A Zoologists Perspective
with speaker Dr Rob Thomas from
Cardiff University, March 25th –
Gods, Heroes and Monsters: Exploring Celtic Myths by Professor Miranda Aldhouse-Green from Cardiff University and April 21st – Mindfulness:
Psychological, Social and Historic
Dimensions with speaker Dr Steven
Stanley also from Cardiff University.
Membership is just £2, so if you’re
looking for something beyond the ordinary, this is the place for you!
Pictured:
Above:
Individuals who
volunteered
their time
to feed the
homeless
Left:
Pitt Rivers
Museum of
Anthropology,
Oxford
For more
information
visit http://
tinyurl.com/
poxloxo
Malaysian society announce Festival of Diversity XII
M
alaysia is more than just one
of the buzzing economical
hubs in Southeast Asia.
It is more than just home to
the Orangutans and the ever-sopopular spicy Nasi Lemak. We have
become a developed nation with a
proud multiracial and multicultural
population whose stories and cultures
have been mixed and melded. There
are many stories that come to mind
when you think about Malaysia,
from modern day news stories you
most likely would hear only about,
to simple fables and lore. We are
what we are today– a nation rich in
its heritage and diversity because of
the melting pot of cultures in our
country. We wish to share with you our
story of what it’s like to be Malaysian
and offer a taste of Malaysian culture.
This year, on the 15th February 2015
at 2pm, we the Malaysian Students’
Society
of
Cardiff
University
(MSSCF), welcome you to witness
th
the 12 instalment of our awardwinning Festival of Diversity, held at
St. David’s Hall. The Festival of Diversity exists for
two main reasons: the first being to
promote the diversity of Malaysian
culture to the local and also the
international community here in
Cardiff, the second being our chance
as Malaysians to reconnect with
our own culture and heritage. Every
year over a hundred participants,
regardless of age, race, religion or
Malaysian heritage, come together
to produce this spectacular musical
performance. We become more than
just participants in a one-off musical,
we become a memory that each of us
hold for years to come– a memory
that we will retell. We would like to
invite you all to share our story by
coming to support us. This
February,
we
present
“Ratu Kelantan: Queen of Kelantan”,
a historical fiction musical that
retells the tale of the first Queen of
Kelantan, Cik Siti Wang Kembang,
a young princess who is forced to
become Queen in a world largely
dominated by males in one of the
eastern coastal states of Peninsular
Malaysia. It is set in 16th century
Malaysia, a time when the states were
still independent, and when there was
a cultural boom growing in Kelantan. With a whole new cast of talented
individuals and a spectacular lineup of vivid traditional Malay,
Indian
and
Chinese
dances,
accompanied by live performances
of
popular eastern, western,
traditional and modern music, we
live up to the standards of being
awarded the ‘Best Malaysian Night
of 2014’. You are sure to be immersed
in the beauty of our Malaysian
culture, particularly with our
iconic Dikir Barat performance,
a traditional dance that is done
whilst seated in a large group, each
individual performing a synchronized
movement that forms part of a
bigger formation, accompanied by
traditional percussion and acoustics. Come and join us on this adventure
through Malaysian history and
indulge in a magical evening of music
and art with our dedicated team of
ever amusing, fun and hardworking
students from Cardiff University.
“
We are what
we are today
- a nation rich
in its heritage
and diversity
because of the
melting pot of
cultures in our
country
”
For more
information
visit http://
tinyurl.com/
k5gsdu6
TAF-OD
Morgan
Owen
trydar @taf_od
ebost [email protected]
ar-lein gairrhydd.com/tafod
Hunan-gasineb cenedl dan sawdl
C
afwyd yn ddiweddar drafodaeth danbaid ar fater yr iaith
Gymraeg; yn benodol, agwedd
negyddol y Cymry tuag at y di-Gymraeg ynghyd â’u culfrydedd honedig.
Ni thâl i mi ddyfynnu o’r cruglwyth
o lyfrau ac ysgrifau a sgwennwyd
am hyn o beth. Ymataliaf rhag llusgo
geiriau pwysfawr Saunders Lewis i
mewn i’r ddadl, er mod addas ydynt,
oherwydd y bu’r ddadl wreiddiol mor
amddifad o ymchwil ac awdurdod; ac
yn wir, ni raid i neb lafurio yn y llyfrgell i gael hyd i synnwyr cyffredin.
Yn y bôn, dadleuwyd mai rhyw fath
o ardd gaeedig yw’r bywyd Cymraeg
na chaiff neb loches ynddi oni bai ei
fod yn arddel safbwynt gwleidyddol
arbennig (pleidleisio dros Blaid Cymru) ac ei fod yn aelod o Gymdeithas
yr Iaith (sefydliad sydd yn feirniadol
o Blaid Cymru!). Ac anwybyddu ffolineb amlwg y gwrthddywediad uchod,
y peth mwyaf brawychus am y rhefru
hwn yw ei fod yn ystrydebu holl siaradwyr Cymraeg, sef yr union beth yr
honnwyd i siaradwyr Cymraeg hwythau ei wneud parthed y di-Gymraeg!
Dywedwyd yn gwbl ddi-sail bod
balchder yn yr iaith, neu hyd yn oed yr
awydd i’w hamddiff yn, yn ymgnawdoliad o genedlaetholdeb peryglus ac
nid oes raid i ni fel cenedl ddiffinio ein
hunain yn ôl ein hiaith.
Dyma’r maen tramgwydd. Heb yr
iaith, ni fyddem yn genedl; pe na bai’r
iaith Gymraeg yn iaith fyw ar ein tir,
ni fyddem heddiw yn dadlau am y
cysyniad o genedl Gymreig yn y lle
cyntaf.
Ymhelaethaf. Yn anffodus, nid oes
y fath wlad â Chymru’n bodoli yn
swyddogol fel gwladwriaeth sofran.
Er bod gennym ymwybyddiaeth o’r
hyn yw Cymru, darn o dir ydyw yn
rhan orllewinol y Deyrnas Unedig yng
ngolwg y drefn sydd ohoni. Rydym ni
a aned neu a drig y tu mewn i’r darn
hwn o dir yn ddinasyddion y DU. Yn
hyn o beth, nid oes dim yn ein gwahanu yn gyfreithiol oddi wrth drigolion eraill y DU. Yn gam, ‘Prydeinwyr’
ydym ar bapur. Ymhellach, ni reolwn
yr hyn a ddigwydd ar y darn hwn o dir
a elwir yn Gymru: braint llywodraeth
Seisnig yn Llundain yw honno. Felly
nid yw ein geni o fewn ffiniau Cymru
yn golygu dim.
Ond nid ydym er hynny yn genedl
Gymreig ar sail ein gwaed, am nad oes
gan neb waed Cymreig. Nid adwaen
gwaed genedligrwydd. Tarddodd teulu bob un ohonom o rywle arall yn y
pen draw. Felly beth sy’n ein gosod ar
wahân? Yr iaith Gymraeg, yn syml.
Siaredir yr iaith Gymraeg o fewn
un diriogaeth: Cymru. Mae’r iaith
hon yn nodwedd unigryw y darn hwn
o dir a dim ond trwy yr iaith yr ydym
yn wahanol. Hebddi, does dim gennym i dystio i’n harwahanrwydd. Nid
yw tîm rygbi, ambell i gân Saesneg
fabwysiedig a manion distadl eraill
yn gefn i genedl. Mae hyd yn oed y
di-Gymraeg yn dibynnu ar fodolaeth
yr iaith i allu galw eu hunain yn Gymreig , oblegid heb yr iaith yn iaith fyw,
bydd ein holl hanes hyd at yn ddiweddar iawn yn ddiystyr ac yn hollol ferfaidd.
Dylem, felly, seilio ein cenedligrwydd ar ein hiaith. Pan fo cynifer o
‘Brydeinwyr’ bondigrybwyll yn lladd
arnom am feiddio siarad ein hiaith,
sef yr unig beth a wnawn yn genedl
Gymreig, ergyd angheuol iddi yw pob
Cymro a Chymraes sy’n mewnoli’r
gorthrwm a wynebwn a throi yn hunangasáwyr. ‘Hawliau a chydraddoldeb i bawb… ond ni’ yw eu bloedd.
Gall unrhyw un ddysgu iaith, felly
mae’n sylfaen eang a democrataidd i
genedligrwydd. Nid cul o gwbl mo’r
pwyslais ar ein hiaith fel conglfaen
ein hunaniaeth.
" !
" "
Llun:
Gwynedd
“
Mae’r iaith hon
yn nodwedd
unigryw y darn
hwn o dir a
dim ond trwy
yr iaith yr ydym
yn wahanol
”
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Get in touch
[email protected]
Find out more cardiffstudents.com/your_voice/student-senate
SPORT
tweet us @gairrhyddsport
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
BUCS results: Wednesday 29th January
Presented by:
H/A
Sport
Team
Opposition
Result
W/L/D
H
Football
Cardiff University men’s 4th
Swansea University men’s 3rd
1-1
D
H
Rugby Union
Cardiff University men’s 5th
Bath Spa University men’s 1st
74-0
W
H
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 4th
Aberystwyth University men’s 1st
1-3
L
H
Basketball
Cardiff University women’s 1st
University of Exeter women’s 1st
67-43
W
H
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 2nd
Cardiff Met University men’s 2nd
5-2
W
H
Netball
Cardiff University women’s 1st
Cardiff Met University women’s 1st
28-33
L
H
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 5th
Cardiff University men’s 6th
1-0
W/L
H
Hockey
Cardiff University women’s 6th
Bath Spa University women’s 1st
7-1
W
H
Tennis
Cardiff University men’s 2nd
University of West of England men’s 3rd
10-2
W
H
Netball
Cardiff University women’s 2nd
University of Bristol women’s 3rd
32-17
W
50-89
L
10-0
W
University of South Wales Pontypridd and
Cardiff men’s 1st
University of South Wales Pontypridd and
Cardiff women’s 1st
H
Basketball
Cardiff University men’s 2nd
H
Football
Cardiff University women’s 1st
H
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 1st
University of Exeter men’s 3rd
3-3
D
H
Hockey
Cardiff University women’s 4th
University of Gloucestershire women’s 2nd
8-1
W
H
Tennis
Cardiff University men’s 1st
University of Gloucestershire men’s 1st
2-10
L
A
Hockey
Cardiff University women’s 1st
Oxford University women’s 1st
2-4
L
A
Lacrosse
Cardiff University men’s 1st
Oxford University men’s 1st
7-8
L
A
Hockey
Cardiff University women’s 2nd
Swansea University women’s 1st
1-1
D
A
Netball
Cardiff University women’s 3rd
Swansea University women’s 1st
21-38
L
A
Rugby Union
Cardiff University women’s 1st
Swansea University women’s 1st
17-7
W
A
Squash
Cardiff University men’s 2nd
Swansea University men’s 1st
0-5
L
A
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 3rd (Medics)
Swansea University men’s 2nd
3-1
W
A
Basketball
Cardiff University men’s 1st
Swansea University men’s 2nd
48-39
W
A
Badminton
Cardiff University women’s 1st
University of Southampton women’s 1st
3-5
L
A
Badminton
Cardiff University men’s 1st
University of Southampton men’s 1st
4-4
D
A
Rugby Union
Cardiff University men’s 2nd (Medics)
University of Southampton men’s 1st
10-20
L
A
Hockey
Cardiff University men’s 6th
Cardiff University men’s 5th
0-1
W/L
A
Netball
Cardiff University women’s 4th (Medics)
Cardiff Met University women’s 4th
29-27
W
A
Netball
Cardiff University women’s 8th (Medics)
Cardiff Met University women’s 6th
34-12
W
BUCS report: Ladies’ rugby sink the Swans
Swansea University.......................7
Cardiff University.......................17
Kelli-Jo Davies
W
ith all the trash-talk from
Swansea’s ladies this week
in response to the Varsity
launch, Cardiff knew that they were
in for a tough game.
The conditions were not great to
play in, as the wind and hail battered
the players.
Cardiff were playing into the wind
for the first half and spent most of the
first period in their own 22. They did
manage to break through the Swansea
line, which allowed Megan O’Sullivan
to score the first try for Cardiff, but it
could not be converted.
Swansea pushed Cardiff back to
their own try line and constantly
put pressure on the Cardiff defence.
Several times they tried to score but
each time they were held up until just
before halftime.
Swansea managed to break the
Cardiff defence to score their only try
of the match, which was successfully
converted.
The second half was much of the
same, constant pressure by Swansea
and most of the play happening in
Cardiff ’s own 22.
Under immense pressure from
Swansea, Cardiff conceded a
succession of penalties. And with an
accumulation of fouls, the referee was
left with no choice but to give out a
yellow card.
Even with some scrappy attacking
play from Cardiff, two more tries
were scored by Megan O’Sullivan
and Kasia Davies, one of which was
converted by Elinor Davis.
Cardiff did very well defensively in
the second half, fighting by their own
try-line most of the time. Several
times Swansea attacked, but every
single time the Cardiff defence held
them up.
The game was a tough one but
a well deserved win for the Cardiff
Ladies.
Squad: N. Harrison, A. White,
H. Cox, J. Benton, L. Cooper, A.
Fleming, A. Berry, B. Strafford
(C), H. Brench-Jones, K. Davies, N.
Earl, E. Davis, H. Beatle, J. AP, M.
O’Sullivan, K. Davies, S. Hamer, L.
Waddelove, R. Harris, C. Francis, E.
Badhams, M. Compton.
33
SPORT
Six Nations: Home comforts key for Welsh
championship hopes
Continued
from back
page
faces is Sam Warburton, who enters
his fourth Six Nations as captain
with his side in decent form. This
autumn Wales ended their southern
hemisphere hoodoo by grinding out
a 12-6 win over South Africa, after
narrowly losing to Australia and
being well beaten by New Zealand.
This is certainly not imperious form
but is also not a bad shape to be in all
things considered.
The Friday night floodlights
will add to the atmosphere at the
Millennium Stadium, and this
amphitheatre is poised to welcome
England in the series opener. This
already emotionally-charged fixture
carries heightened importance; a
good or bad result here could set
the tone for the rest of the campaign
for both teams. England have an
extensive injury list in an already
relatively inexperienced squad, and
Wales will surely look to capitalise
and assert themselves on their
opponents from the first whistle,
to put right the 29-18 defeat at
Twickenham in March 2014.
The settled and tested Welsh
centre partnership of Roberts and
Jonathan Davies should have the
beating of their as-yet undecided
English counterparts. Gatland has a
back three of Leigh Halfpenny, Alex
Cuthbert and George North at his
disposal whereas Stuart Lancaster’s
likely trio of Mike Brown, Jonny
May and Jack Nowell (or Anthony
Watson) do not carry the same
threat. In a recent European cuptie between Racing Metro and
Northampton Saints, Roberts faced
Luther Burrell, a likely candidate for
the role of inside-centre in England’s
line-up. What was evident in Metro’s
32-8 win was the sheer dominance
Roberts enjoyed over Burrell with
the ball-in-hand, which boded well
for Friday’s fixture.
The last time Cardiff hosted
this game, the home side humbled
their noisy neighbours 30-3.
However, another result of this
magnitude is improbable; despite the
aforementioned injuries, England
still boast a strong pack. In the
Autumn International series the
English scrum went tail-to-tail with
the best the Southern Hemisphere
had to offer, and often got the better
of them. However, the Red Dragons
can be quietly confident that if they
perform to their optimum, backed
by a partisan home crowd, the defeat
eleven months ago at Twickenham
will be avenged largely thanks to the
firepower of the backline and the
boot of Halfpenny.
The only other side to visit Cardiff
are Ireland, who travel to the Welsh
capital in week four. The Irish have
injury problems of their own with a
shortage at fly-half, though Jonathan
Sexton is only set to miss the opener
and should be back for the game in
Wales. Since the retirement of the
talismanic Brian O’Driscoll, Ireland
approach their first Six Nations
without him in impeccable form; in
the autumn they won all three games
versus South Africa, Australia and
Georgia. Again, home advantage
might be the deciding factor in the
game, as Wales look to banish the
demons of last year’s 26-3 drubbing
Pictured:
Left: Wales
players after
last year’s Six
Nations defeat
to England.
Bottom left:
Blues’ Gareth
Anscombe
could made his
Wales bow
“
The Red
Dragons can
be quietly
confident
that [...] the
defeat eleven
months ago at
Twickenham
will be avenged
in Dublin.
For what should be one of the
easier games of the series, Wales
travel to Scotland in week two. That
said, Gatland’s men will be wary of
an ever-improving Scotland side
under Vern Cotter. After a week’s
rest, a trip to Paris is next on the
agenda in what is a potentially
tricky tie against an inconsistent
French outfit. Les Bleus have some
international heavyweights such as
Thierry Dusautoir, Wesley Fofana
and Matthieu Bastareaud, who will
provide a physical test. On a good
day France can compete with the
best in the world, but often fall short
– as seen in Cardiff last year. That
day’s result of 27-6 in favour of the
Dragons will act as encouragement
to Warburton and co.
A spring afternoon in Rome is
the most ideal finale for a wannabe
title - or even Grand Slam-winning
side. Wales could very conceivably
achieve this accolade, but so much
hinges on the opener against the old
enemy this coming Friday.
The full squad list:
Forwards:
Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Bath),
Rob Evans (Scarlets), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys),
Samson Lee (Scarlets), Scott Andrews (Cardiff
Blues), Richard Hibbard (Gloucester), Kristian
Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Alun
Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Jake Bell (Scarlets), Bradley
Davies (Wasps), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro),
Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), James King (Ospreys), Sam
Warburton (Cardiff Blues), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys),
Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons)
Backs:
Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Rhys Webb (Ospreys),
Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Ospreys),
Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Gareth Anscombe
(Cardiff Blues), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Jamie
Roberts (Racing Metro), Jonathan Davies (Clermont
Auvergne), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Tyler Morgan
(Newport Gwent Dragons), Hallam Amos (Newport
Gwent Dragons), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues),,
George North (Northampton Saints), Liam Williams
(Scarlets), Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon)
”
Fixtures
February 6th, 20:05
Millennium Stadium
Wales v England
February 15th, 15:00
Murrayfield
Scotland v Wales
February 28th, 17:00
Stade de France
France v Wales
March 14th, 14:30
Millennium Stadium
Wales v Ireland
March 21st, 12:30
Stadio Olimpico
Italy v Wales
SPORT
tweet us @gairrhyddsport
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
IMG Netball Team Talk: ENCAP
Netball novice James Lloyd sheds some light on the IMG netball competition this
week, questioning ENCAP B captain Polly Holmes
James Lloyd
How does IMG Netball work?
During first term we play other IMG
teams randomly and then in the
second term we get seeded as to how
we’ve done so far. So this term we are
all in different groups, depending on
the teams ability.
How did your team form?
I have been part of ENCAP for three
years now and this is our biggest year.
We have thirty, maybe forty members
so we have enough for two teams I am actually captain of ENCAP B.
Everyone comes to training and we
pick from there really; it’s not just on
the best players, teams are picked as
to who comes to training. We train
once a week for an hour.
What is your role as captain?
I plan training sessions and pick
the team. We were also part of the
UNICEF netball tournament and
that was fantastic as we got many
people who weren’t in the team to
play. We had three teams entered for
that so that was really good, it’s a lot
of organisation and the toughest bit is
Michael
Cantillon
Mark Hammett’s Cardiff Blues squad
returned from France last weekend
buoyed by their 28-3 bonus-point
success over Grenoble, clinching a
European Challenge Cup quarter-final in
the process.
Scores by Lloyd Williams and the everconsistent Josh Navidi sandwiched two
penalty tries as the Blues stormed their
way into the last eight, albeit as a best
runner-up courtesy of an excruciatingly
close one-point difference in their headto-head record with London Irish.
This means that to eclipse their
success of 2010 the Blues will have to do
making sure everyone gets a game: I
don’t like taking people on or off but
it has to be done.
How popular is IMG Netball?
There’s loads of teams, around
thirty eight I think, so this year is
one of the most popular years for
it. There’s so much going on and it’s
very competitive. There are so many
competitive teams in the IMG and
the quality is of a high standard.
Which team do you look forward
to playing the most?
We always look forward to playing
Cardiff A because they are one of the
best teams and they always give us a
good match. Last year we beat them
and, funnily enough, we had a great
game against our A team where our B
team came out on top.
Do you have your own kit and
sponsors?
We are sponsored by Varsity and we
have to go there every other week for
a social, and we have a team dress
that everyone in the squad owns.
it the hard way with both the quarter and
semi-finals drawn away from home. First
up is a Welsh derby with Newport Gwent
Dragons at Rodney Parade, before the
winner faces a trip to either Edinburgh or
London Irish.
There were a number of plus points
from the Grenoble win, with Gareth
Anscombe and Rhys Patchell proving
that they coexist in the same side with
Anscombe continuing at ten, and Patchell
excelling at full-back.
In other news there were some
noticeable Blue absentees from Wales’
Six Nations squad. The most obvious
Who is your best player?
Kirsty Fardell has been very good. She
joined this year as a shooter and has
fitted in perfectly. There is another
girl, Melissa Hufton, who started this
year and has been really good.
What style of netball do you play?
We do have a few set plays but I’m
not a huge fan of them. Everyone
knows who should be getting the ball
next, but we wouldn’t do long passes.
It’s always very short and dodging
into a space.
How does a set play work?
So every time someone scores you
have to restart and usually you know
if one person gets the ball so and so
will get it next, and then someone
will come out from the deep. It
should be straightforward and they
usually work very well; in a small area
it’s easy.
sure how everyone would get on. I
was impressed by how the team gelled
quickly and managed to get into a
good playing rhythm - the first few
matchs were especially memorable.
Do you have any targets for the
rest of the season?
We would like to be the top of our
group and I think we could be. It
would also be nice not to lose a
match, but it’s a tough group this
year, so realistically I would like to
finish in the top two or three.
If you could pick one sportswoman
to join your team, who would it
be and what position would they
play?
I don’t really know, I do gymnastics,
so I suppose Beth Tweddle would be
good, she’s small and could be a really
good centre as she is fast too.
What has been the best moment?
I suppose our first game was quite
impressive as we had so many new
players this year and I wasn’t really
Finally, who is the biggest
character in the team?
That is so difficult to pick, I’ll say
Sophie Payne. She is always so up for
the Lash, she loves it.
of those was Adam Jones, and whilst at
this stage in his career the big tight-head
wouldn’t have been first choice with
Scarlets’ Samson Lee performing out of
his skin, he would surely have been an
able and vastly experienced deputy to call
upon so close to a World Cup.
Picked ahead of Jones was current
Blues teammate Scott Andrews, a man
yet to start a Pro12 game this campaign.
This can be interpreted as yet another
example of Warren Gatland’s distasteful
and disrespectful dealing of players who
have given so much to the game; see his
treatment of Brian O’Driscoll, a legend of
the sport, during the most recent Lions
tour.
To pick a player three steps below him
in his position at his own club stinks of
bitterness and acrimony and it is a sad
way to see the highly decorated Jones
bow out of the international arena.
On top of this, Gatland has once
again over-looked Navidi and Josh
Turnbull both of whom have performed
fantastically and deserve international
recognition. At least Anscombe and
Kristian Dacey have been awarded an
opportunity alongside fellow teammates
Warburton, Jenkins, Allen and Cuthbert.
Photo: Taliesin
Coombes
35
SPORT
LGBT+ History Month: Coming out in sport
Sport Editor David Hooson asks whether it matters if sportspeople are publicly open
about their sexuality
David Hooson
W
hen
Olympic
medalwinning
diver
Tom
Daley revealed in a
YouTube video just over a year ago
that he was in a relationship with
a man, it was generally met with a
resounding chorus of indifference,
particularly from members of the
LGBT+ community. It was seen as
inconsequential information that
should be of little interest to anyone
except Daley and his boyfriend Dustin
Lance Black, an Oscar-winning
American screenwriter. At best, the
news received lukewarm praise.
This reaction, along with the public
response to former Wales rugby
captain Gareth Thomas’ coming out
in 2009 after his international career
had ended, represented an extremely
encouraging development for the
visibility of gay and bisexual men in
sport.
Such visibility is one area in which
women’s sport has developed far
more quickly. Since tennis legend
Billie Jean King had her contracts
terminated after being outed in 1981,
sportswomen opening up about their
sexuality voluntarily has become more
and more common. There are now
openly lesbian and bisexual women in
just about every sport, competing at
all levels.
Despite encouraging signs, the
world of men’s sport is still far behind
this progress and moving very slowly.
There are no openly gay or bisexual
players in the entire English football
league or in any of the four major
sports leagues in the United States. It
should be pointed out, however, that
players from all of these leagues have
come out after their retirement.
Even significant efforts towards
progress have quickly fallen flat.
Jason Collins became the first openly
gay man to play in one of the major
American leagues early last year.
The 35-year-old then signed for the
Brooklyn Nets and had minimal game
time in the NBA before retiring later
that season.
Ice hockey player Brendan Burke
was tipped to become the first openly
gay athlete to be drafted into one of
the big four leagues, but was tragically
killed in a car accident before having
the chance to do so. Justin Fashanu,
the first openly gay English football
player, committed suicide several
years after his career was ruined by
coming out.
With such considerations, the
trepidation and turmoil Daley and
Thomas
respectively
professed
over their revelations, which this
article is not intended to belittle, are
completely understandable. While a
neutral response to one’s sexuality is
rightly the ultimate aim, the subject
of gay and bisexual men in sport is
still somewhat of a taboo. This means
that Daley, Thomas and others are
deserving of far more praise for their
bravery than they have been given.
We are not yet quite at the stage
in society, and certainly not in sport,
where coming out can be dismissed
as inconsequential or unimportant.
“
It is important
that
sportspeople
are encouraged
to come out
and the sporting
community is
encouraged to
embrace them.
”
The January transfer window has
offered Cardiff City manager Russell
Slade his first opportunity to truly
revamp his squad since taking
over the reigns in October. Having
inherited a team assembled largely
by former managers Malky Mackay
and Ole Gunner Solskjaer, Slade has
been hard at work to put his own
stamp on the club.
The City boss has been talking
to the media about the wage bill
at the Cardiff City Stadium, and
how it is unsustainable for a club
at Championship level. While many
fans may feel slightly anxious that
the club are settling back into the
current level of competition amidst
expectations at the start of the season
for City to go straight back up, the
departures of players on large wages
who have not performed as expected
have been warmly welcomed; flops
such as Guido Burgstaller, Magnus
Wolff Eikrem and Jo Inge Berget are
among those that have left during
the current window.
While there have been many
departures from the club, Slade has
not been slow to bring in new faces
Openness and visibility are the keys
to fighting age-old stereotypes and
the residual stigma that remains from
bygone eras. And as long as these
things are present in society, coming
out will remain a daunting prospect
for the individual in question.
For some in the world of sport,
this prospect has proved far
too daunting. Multiple celebrity
publicists have repeatedly stated that
some sportsmen, most commonly
footballers, have employed them to
cover up their sexuality. Before his
imprisonment as part of Operation
Yewtree, PR mogul Max Clifford
claimed to have helped two Premier
League stars remain in the closet and
advised others to follow their example,
alleging that football was still “steeped
in homophobia”.
Former Leeds winger Robbie
Rogers was one individual who hid
his sexuality while playing in England,
only to come out during his brief
retirement at the age of 25. Rogers
now plays in Major League Soccer for
LA Galaxy.
Both Thomas and gay rugby referee
Nigel Owens have opened up about
the suicidal thoughts they experienced
when coming to terms with their
sexuality – so unthinkable was it to
them that they might be accepted as
gay men by the rugby community.
The pair have since described the
overwhelming support they have
received from that community. Just
over 16 years after attempting to take
his own life, Owens is now widely
regarded as the best rugby referee in
the world.
At least publicly, the only sign
of homophobic sentiment toward
either of them appeared during the
recent autumn international, where
Owens was the target of jeers from
the Twickenham crowd as England
lost to New Zealand. Following this,
the RFU set an ideal example for other
governing bodies by immediately
investigating the incident.
The main reason that all of the
people mentioned in this article must
have feared rejection from the sporting
world is a lack of precedent. The fact
that the sportsmen mentioned by
name in this article constitute an
almost exhaustive list in British terms
demonstrates the sad fact that it is
still statistically exceptional to be a
prominent openly gay sportsman.
The significance of these individuals
placing themselves as role models for
young gay and bisexual sportsmen
will continue to reveal itself over
time. This will hopefully happen in
conjunction with the disappearance
of the apparently ubiquitous internal
anguish that has been described by
just about every athlete who has come
out.
Their reach does not extend only to
those in the sporting world, however.
The coming out of prominent
individuals in as many fields as
possible has a trickle-down effect on
the rest of society and its perceptions
of all LGBT+ identities. As an
industry with which the British public
shares a special affinity, sport can
perhaps have the greatest influence in
this regard but is almost certainly the
area with the most ground to make up
to get to the stage where it needs to be
to make a real difference.
For as long as my instinct is to
think twice before reaching for
my boyfriend’s hand in public, it
is important that sportspeople are
encouraged to come out and the
sporting community is encouraged
to embrace them. A gay diver, a gay
rugby referee, and perhaps one day an
openly gay Premier League star, can
have a profound effect upon society
and upon the lives of people like me.
to freshen up the squad. Two fullbacks who have proven themselves
at Championship level - Scott
Malone and Lee Peltier - have been
brought in, along with big striker
Alex Revell and Crystal Palace
reserve midfielder Stuart O’Keefe.
While they are not currently bigname signings, these are the types
of player who know how to perform
in the division, and are hungry to get
going at a larger club - they may well
be just the signings that Cardiff are
in desperate need of right now.
Recent results have been a mixed
bag for growingly frustrated City
fans, with the team currently sitting
mid-table and an ever-widening gap
emerging from the playoffs. There
are additional concerns surrounding
the release of former fan-favourite
Kim Bo-Kyung and the loaning of
talented striker Adam le Fondre to
Bolton Wanderers.
Slade will be calling for fans to
look more toward the long-term
success of the club rather than the
short-term, which could be just what
is needed at City after a rollercoaster
two years.
Pictured:
Left: Rugby
Union referee
Nigel Ownes
Bottom left:
Footballer
Justin Fashanu
“
The coming out
of prominent
individuals in
as many fields
as possible
has a trickledown effect
on the rest of
society and its
perceptions
of all LGBT+
identities.
”
Jack Boyce
SPORT
tweet us @gairrhyddsport
email us [email protected]
or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
Cardiff primed for Six Nations kick-off
Gair Rhydd looks ahead to Wales’ Six Nations campaign, and assesses their
chances of wrestling the title back from Ireland
Harry Elliot
W
elsh rugby players and
fans alike will be hoping
that the atmosphere at the
Millennium Stadium will prove to be
decisive during their home games in
the upcoming Six Nations campaign.
The tournament begins this Friday
with a fixture that has raised the pulses
of rugby fans on both sides of the
Severn Bridge in anticipation: Wales
versus England.
Blues column: Jones omission
“stinks of acrimony” P34>>
Head coach Warren Gatland’s thirty
four-man squad selection was largely
unsurprising, although the respective
inclusion and exclusion of Gareth
Anscombe and Adam Jones did raise
a few eyebrows. Jones’ failure to make
the cut follows on from him missing
out in the Autumn Internationals, and
has prompted his retirement from
international rugby - the iconic style
of rugby and hair associated with
the Cardiff Blues prop will be sorely
missed.
Jones has stated that he is happy
with his international career in
retrospect, despite being tantalisingly
close to a century of caps; he will
reflect positively on ninety five caps
for his country, five British & Irish
Lions appearances, as well as three
Welsh Grand Slams. New Zealandborn Anscombe brings versatility to
The implications of coming out in
sport P35>>
the squad as he is competent at fullback, centre and fly-half. The Blues
player is eligible through his mother
and has been in fine form at Arms
Park this season. Current Cardiff
University medic Hallam Amos, of the
Newport Gwent Dragons, and 2013
graduate Jamie Roberts, of Racing
Metro, also got the nod from Wales’
director of rugby.
Leading the old and the new
Continued on
page 33
City column: Fans restless as Slade
rings the changes P35>>