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Month: March 2014

Female students more ‘psychologically resilient’

A study by Leeds Metropolitan University on students entering their first year has found that those with “psychological resilience” are likely to perform better, with women far outpacing men.

The study was carried out by a collaboration between Leeds Metropolitan’s Counselling Service and the Institute of Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure.

1,534 full-time students entering the University were tested for the “capacity to adapt to new challenges” and their scores used to predict their attainment mark at the end of the first year.

The results were presented in a study published in the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling.

Overall, it was found that those with the characteristic of resilience outperformed those who did not.

However, those who were both female and with the capacity for psychological resilience were two times as likely to achieve a 2:1 or first in their first year than similar men.

Leeds Metropolitan’s Jim McKenna, professor of physical activity and health, said “Although… the outcomes suggested similar academic performance by gender, higher resilience was progressively and incrementally associated with higher grade profiles for females”.

In certain cases, men with resilience clearly underperformed in comparison to those without the characteristic, and many dropped out of the study. This trend was not reflected in the women observed.

This may show that the system of higher education is better suited to tough-minded women than men.

“There are concerns at how the general nature of [higher education] has evolved to favour female students,” said John Allan, who carried out the study.

In regards to the underperforming male students, he added, “It could easily represent a purposeful and functional choice.”

The researchers also recommended that male students receive extra counselling to ensure they fulfil their academic potential.

At the University, targeted intervention in order for males to access counselling has already been brought in.

Preview: Steve Aoki @ Victoria Warehouse

Kicking off 2014 with a bang, The Mancunion are pleased to announce that Grammy nominated Electro/House DJ & Producer Steve Aoki will be hitting the UK shores in April for his biggest shows to date, his Manchester show taking place at the Victoria Warehouse on Saturday 5th April.

To be joined by stellar special guests in DJ Fresh & Messy MC plus Autoerotique with more expected to be announced in the coming weeks, fans are guaranteed an unforgettable live show experience.

Make sure you don’t miss out by grabbing your ticket to see Steve Aoki at Victoria Warehouse HERE.

40 days and 40 nights

Proving you’re a good person so often comes hand in hand with proving you can do without. In the midst of the Lenten season it’s somewhat common to be feeling guilty about almost everything. For most people this guilt comes in the form of sugar, alcohol and all those other things that make life ten times better.  We deny ourselves these luxuries in an attempt to empathise with those less fortunate. For some, shopping is the greatest luxury of them all. So if you’re anything like me, you’ll know all too well the niggling feeling that comes from spending more time scrolling the pages of ASOS than trying to change the world for the better. I feel pretty powerless in the wake of human suffering, but when it comes to tackling my ‘Saved List’? I’m pretty much the Secretary General.  No matter how good my purchases make me feel, I cannot seem to shake the guilt that comes from knowing my actions support, albeit in a minor way, the suffering of others. Beloved as they may be, most high street favourites provide their garments through the exploitation of children not much older than I was when I learnt to dress myself. So I’m doing something radical. I’m going off ‘new’. Yes, that’s right, I’m abstaining from Topshop, ASOS, American Apparel, M&S Bras and even, it hurts to write it, Zara. Some people forgo fast-food; well I’m forgoing fast fashion. For 6 weeks I’m hoping to address why I’m okay with wearing clothes made through such horrible methods and whether or not I can make a change. And then there’s the obvious money saving element: I’ve been choosing clothes over food for 3 years and perhaps it’s time to start buying meat again.  Plus, we all know that with a bit of effort it’s possible to update one’s wardrobe with the help of vintage shops and lends off fashionable friends.

I am not doing this as some sort of protest against the fashion industry; I’m doing it to prove that fashion is more than Topshop’s most recent stock order or that inexplicable desire to wear something new.  The Seasonal approach to fashion has worked for almost a century; the major fashion houses don’t produce a new line every week, it’s just not necessary. If a garment is truly worthy of your money, you should be besotted with it for more than a few weeks.  In fact, the gospel of Lagerfeld tells us to “Buy what you don’t have yet, or what you really want, which can be mixed with what you already own. Buy only because something excites you, not just for the simple act of shopping.” I couldn’t agree more.

I know there are much greater hardships than denying oneself new clothes for 6 weeks, but anyone who knows me will realise the magnitude of my decision.  Hopefully after these trying 40 days I will not only be a better shopper, but a more conscientious buyer.  So think of me as you click confirm on your ASOS orders. Oh and please do give my love to Zara. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

TV Catch Up – House of Cards

Netflix subscribers who are game for a dose of nostalgia will be delighted to discover that Pokémon: Indigo League (the original 1997 series) is now available to stream. While it is arguably no longer the cultural phenomenon it once was, Pokémon still remains a household name – those who grew up with the franchise might be able to touch base with their childhood. Once you hear the theme tune, you won’t be able to resist. As well as this, the Australian legal series Rake has hit Netflix too. Those who don’t see Pokémon as their thing might find this a more attractive proposal.

  Oh, and those on Netflix who haven’t seen House of Cards Season 2 yet, make it a priority right now! Shame on you even more if you haven’t watched the series at all! Kevin Spacey is a greedy, backstabbing US Representative and Robin Wright is his equally devious wife – one shouldn’t need to sell it any harder.

  And, of course, we cannot ignore the build up to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It was announced on Monday that Molly Smitten-Downes (a relative unknown compared to past competitors) would be representing the UK this year. Will the UK be in with a chance of winning the competition for the first time since 1997? You’ll have to find out on May 10th. 

Preview: Godzilla

Since his first roarcous outing in 1954, Godzilla (aka Gojira) has continued to grow in both size and popularity. This year the rampant reptile makes his 29th movie appearance in Legendary Studios’ Godzilla  remake, directed by Welshman Gareth Edwards. This will be the most immense Godzilla movie yet, and Edwards is an intriguing choice as its helmsman.

In 2010, debut director Edwards released his ethereal road movie Monsters,  a landmark in well-crafted low budget sci-fi and the antithesis of Hollywood event movies like War of the Worlds  and Cloverfield. Edwards not only scripted and shot the film, he also created the convincing and hauntingly beautiful CGI elements. Monsters dealt with alien invasion on an entirely new and thought provoking spectrum – hopefully Edwards’ new monster is given the same treatment.

Aside from the main, massive attraction (at over 100m high, this Godzilla is the biggest ever) there’s an astounding array of acting talent too. Starlet Elizabeth Olsen is top billed, and she’s really going places; look out for her turn as ‘Scarlet Witch’ in next years Avengers: Age of Ultron.  Perhaps a better known face is that of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the ass kicker of Kick-Ass, who plays a marine toughie charged with bringing down the scaly beast before it T-wrecks the Eastern seaboard. Most exciting of all, however, is the brilliant casting of Bryan Cranston. Hot off his world-wowing run as Walter White in Breaking Bad, Cranston will be kicking off his chemist’s hazmat suit for a role that’s a little more, well, physical (he’s playing a physicist). Cranston’s scientist is the man against the system, slowly attempting to uncover the truth about Godzilla and the conspiracy that’s kept it hidden in the murky depths.

The origins of the atomic amphibian are more profound than many people realise. It’s not just about a digitised dinosaur wreaking unstoppable havoc for the audience’s amusement, it’s a representation of America’s nuclear attacks on Japan. As Gareth Edwards says, the 1954 original was like ‘therapy for a nation’, a fantasy through which they processed the unthinkable atrocities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Unlike the disgracefully shoddy Roland Emmerich/ Matthew Broderick version, Gareth Edward’s take will be much more respectful to the lore of the kaiju king. The new ‘Zilla is absolutely huge (twice the size of the 1998 model) and certainly too large to clamber about a city skyline, so there’ll be no Jurassic parkour nonsense either. For a taste of the epic scale of the film, check out the darkly astounding international trailer, which features Bryan Cranston running around San Francisco as well as some really massive explosions.

Godzilla  crashes into cinemas on May 16th of this year.

Soul music for soul food?

Last week a phycology study came out of the University of Arkansas about the impact of background music and its effect on the taste of food. The essential thesis initially drew me in as it occurred to me that maybe there is a connection between by insatiable appetite for cheese and the fact that I listen to Bruce Springsteen for about 13 hours a day. Sadly the report concluded that until further research is conducted, musical genres cannot be broken down into particular artists.

Streets of Philadelphia?

 

 

Edam Raised a Cain?

The study did conclude that jazz makes milk chocolate taste measurably better, whilst hip-hop detracts from the taste satisfaction of a Twirl or Flake. I thus took it upon myself to become a guinea pig in this experiment (Guinea Pig is enhanced with Paraguayan-Mestizo polka). First I took that confectionary classic, the Galaxy bar and turned on some Kenny G; allegedly the smoothest things in their respective fields. My findings were that I did actually eat the bar faster than usual, but instead of savouring the chocolate, I was scoffing in order to get Kenny off Spotify (I don’t have any Kenny G on my iTunes).

With the theory under strain after the first test I broke out the big guns—Lindt and the Dave Brubeck Quartet.  It was here that I read between the lines of the report; if you get yourself some really good food and some really good music and listen whilst you eat, you will have a thoroughly enjoyable experience. This idea held actually held up as I consequently tripped out on eating a Crunchie whilst listening to Cold Lampin’ with Flavor smashing their hip-hop theory asunder.

After having clambered out of a jungle of wrappers and rappers, I set my mind to music in restaurants. The bottom line is that a restaurant has to be financially viable to survive, so a study of this kind could be of some use if music could contribute to enticing the punters into opting for a pricy ceviche starter, Chateaubriand main, or show stopping Crockenbush dessert. However how far would restaurateurs go? If the next instalment of the study said the tomato ragu tastes substantially better whilst eaten to brass music, would Giorgio Lochetti be seeking the finest Bavarian Oompah house band in all the land? The potentially insane combinations are literally endless, I mean Escargot and Chaz and Dave?

It is undeniable that there is more to food and eating than just our palate. The company, environment, our personal psychological and physical state all contribute to our perception of the pleasantness of food. Yet my final conclusion came whilst wading through the highfalutin scientific material. I could not help but think that almost any culinary concoction on God’s green earth is enhanced to levels of biblical deliciousness after spending all night attempting to dance at Mint Lounge’s Itchy Feet—swing and fried chicken anyone?

 

Review: The Pillowman

In an interrogation room, we meet Katurian, Tupolski and Ariel, the main characters of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. Acted out in one scene, similar to the stage versions of R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End, this 2003 play will have you reconsidering the sides you take while taking you on a sickening emotional rollercoaster.

The premise of the play is that there has been a murder that Tupolski and Ariel seem to have wanted the writer Katurian to commit. With much of the narrative based around Katurian’s stories, any reader will be drawn in instantly.

McDonagh’s entry into the drama world is by far one of the best plays I have read. The dark, horrifying themes and ideas explored by the characters, who you will soon learn are not to be trusted, will teach you to question everything. As Katurian realises, just because someone tells you something, it does not mean it is true.

It is McDonagh’s ability to create a tense atmosphere from the first line that makes this such a brilliant piece of literature. Throwing you straight into the story with nothing to grab onto leaves you just as confused as Katurian, who has been incarcerated for reasons unknown to him, and it is with him that you learn about his controversial and disgusting children’s stories. Unfortunately, these are not stories made for children but tales of sudden unjust endings of infants’ lives in order to tell some sort of moral. The most interesting of these is the title story that features heavily in the plot progression and, even for just a moment, has you reconsidering your understanding of the world.

McDonagh’s skill in characterising four people, including Katurian’s brother Michal, so well in the space of 100 pages is only a fraction of the talent shown within the covers. While the plot may be lacking in depth, you will find yourself astounded by the world that McDonagh lays before you. Enter into his world at your peril and find yourself asking questions like ‘what kind of criminal could be worse than a rapist or a murderer?’. It’s a narrative that will have you reading The Pillowman all in one sitting.

Students show solidarity with lecturers’ marking boycott

University staff and students have signed an open letter to the University of Manchester Vice-Chancellor after lecturers announced they would stop marking any exams, dissertations, or other coursework, in an escalation over a pay dispute.

The University and College Union (UCU) – the lecturers union – announced they would start a marking boycott from 28th April, the first day of term after Easter break, and the deadline for many students’ dissertations.

The open letter to Vice-Chancellor Dame Nancy Rothwell, made as part of a petition on ipetitions.com, reads, “I believe that all employees at this great university deserve your support and recognition for the role we play in delivering high quality research, education and services for our students.”

The threat from university lecturers – which could ultimately impact graduations – follows further industrial action this academic year, with six strikes since October 2013, over a one per cent pay increase offer, rejected by university staff.

Unions, including UCU, Unite, and Unison, are campaigning for a better pay deal after the last four years have seen lecturers suffer a 13 per cent pay cut in real terms.

Lecturers have also been angered by university vice-chancellors’ pay rises, which average five per cent, and who they say now earn an average of £235,000.

In an email to student society leaders, University of Manchester Students’ Union Education Officer Rosie Dammers called for students to support staff and to “take action” by signing the open letter to Dame Nancy.

“As students I believe we have a responsibility to make sure the staff who teach us are paid a fair wage,” said Dammers in the email. “If we are taught by over-worked and underpaid staff, it is our education that will suffer.

“We also have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with the Postgraduate Research students who teach, who are often those who are most exploited and, in some cases, don’t even get paid a living wage.

“You can take action now to stop this boycott from happening by signing this petition and getting your friends and family to do the same. It asks university management to support us as students and stand up for what is right in order to stop this marking boycott of our assessments.”

676 people had signed the petition as of Monday 10th March.

Commenters on the petition showed support for staff, and questioned the University’s financial decisions, “The Staff at this university deserve BETTER (sic),” said Francesca Saunders.

“How can you justify a £1 billion investment on facilities whilst not even paying your staff a living wage?” Asked Claire Laxton.

Nicholas Byres wrote, “As a student rep, I will be making my fellow students aware of this matter.”

The UCU last used a marking boycott as a tactic in 2006, which saw a deal worked out before any action was enforced.

If implemented, the boycott would see lecturers refuse to attend meetings in preparation for exams, meaning the disruption of final year exams for those graduating this year.

Dammers also said, “The marking boycott…could have a real impact on our education.

“I have spoken personally to the trade unions, and they are adamant they do not want [the] boycott to go ahead. They feel they have been forced into taking this action because their employers have so far refused to enter into negotiations with them.”

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association, who represent higher education institutions – including Manchester – in pay negotiations with staff, have agreed to enter “exploratory” talks with UCU.

UCEA declined to comment further until the exploratory talks take place later in March, but said in a statement last month, “staff carrying out such a ‘damaging course’ could face a full withdrawal of pay.”

The UCEA also said the union’s campaign had lost support, with recent strikes having little or no effect, and said it was “disappointed” at the marking boycott, which it called action “once again aimed directly at students’ education.”

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, called a marking boycott “the ultimate sanction, but an avoidable one if the employers would negotiate with us over pay.

“No member I have spoken to wishes to see this dispute escalate, but in the continued absence of meaningful negotiations from the employers, we are left with no alternative.

“I fail to see how any university can claim to have students’ best interests at heart if it is not pushing for talks with the union to resolve this dispute.”

She added, “The strong support for our action so far demonstrates how angry staff are at the hypocrisy over pay in our universities.

“The employers cannot plead poverty when it comes to staff pay and then award enormous rises to a handful at the top.”

‘Lost City’ Pangaea makes loss of £4,000

Pangaea made a £4000 ‘operational loss’ in January – despite a significant part of the £16.6k Activites & Development Officer role being dedicated to running the event.

The event, entitled ‘The Lost City’, suffered from a lack of interest compared to previous incarnations of the festival, with tickets failing to sell out as they have done in years past – despite the capacity being reduced by 1,000 from the September and June festivals.

General release tickets for January’s event, headlined by a DJ set by Hot Chip, cost £25 – a price point that was defended by a post on the event’s Facebook page.

“Before you dare complain about the price of tickets please ask yourself where else you get the same level of line-up, creative input and production value for less than £25”, a post by the event read.

The bar profits from the event were healthier – £22,000 was raised on the night.

However, the bar profits go into a separate budget, whilst Pangaea’s budget is a rolling budget with money made at preceding events going into the next event.

A meeting of the Trustees of the Students’ Union on the 12th February noted that January’s event made a loss.

Activities & Development Officer Liam Mayet downplayed the loss.

“We anticipate that our overall Pangaea budget will balance”, he said.

The position of Activites & Development Officer for next year was advertised on Twitter during the nominations with a post that read, “Could you organise a Pangaea even better than @Exec_Liam?”.

When asked for more detailed figures, Mayet declined to provide any further information, citing confidentiality clauses in the contracts of artists signed to perform at the event.

He issued the following statement to The Mancunion,”Pangaea is a not for profit event run by students, for students. Any surplus income made at each individual event is reinvested into the annual, overall Pangaea budget.”

Working classes must ‘fit in’ to ‘middle class world’ to go to university, says government adviser

Working class children must learn to act more middle class if they want to apply to the best universities, according to a government adviser.

Peter Brant, head of policy at the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, has said that in order for working class children to “fit in” to this “middle class world”, changes need to be made in their cultural experiences, relationships, clothes and food.

In his blog post, Mr. Brant said fear of “not fitting in” was deterring working class children from applying to top universities.

“It probably contributes to lack of confidence amongst those who are upwardly mobile as they struggle to adapt to their new social environment with a detrimental impact on their ability to reach their potential,” he said.

However, Tom Geddes, a final year English Language student, described himself as “working class with ease”, and argued that rather than being detrimental having a working class background “gives you the drive to get out of the situation you’re in”.

He said, “I think such a privileged view is not helpful, it just causes resentment. To say the places you go and pursuits you follow aren’t helpful to you is a horseshit perspective.”

Martin Browne, a second year Theology student, described himself as middle class but with parents from working class backgrounds.

“Cultural experiences would have made a difference when I was younger,” he said. “Things like that can inspire you, but being working class shouldn’t mean that you enjoy those things any less.

“You shouldn’t be obliged to take your children on expensive trips. Some games and books can be just as valid for cultural experience, and are more accessible.”

Mr. Brant identified “barriers” between the working class and middle class, including a lack of shared cultural experiences like theatre trips and hobbies, different lifestyles including clothing and choice of restaurants, different cultural reference points, a lack of career role models for the working class and different attitudes to relationships, describing “more subtext, nuance and casualness in middle class relationships”.

Mark Ramotowski, an MA student studying Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, attended a fee-paying school and did his undergraduate degree at Oxford University. He described himself as middle class.

He agreed with Mr. Brant’s view that his background made him more willing to apply to the top universities, “If I was from the north and came from a farm I would want to be a farmer.

“If you live in that environment you aspire to it.”

Recent research carried out for the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission showed that those educated in private schools are significantly more likely to be in the highest status jobs three years after graduating than state-educated students with exactly the same qualifications from the same university.

Mr. Brant described the “critical importance of educational attainment in determining future life chances and the large gaps by social background we know exist in early years’ outcomes, attainment in primary school, GCSE results, the chances of staying in full-time education post-16 and the chances of entering university, especially at the most selective institutions”.

He added, “One helpful thing would be more awareness of this as a potential issue – it can often be unappreciated by policy makers who mostly come from middle-class professional backgrounds.

“This often means that debate can all too easily assume that if educational inequalities can be reduced and aspirations of young people from working-class backgrounds raised then that alone will be enough to tackle the problem.”

However, James Birchenough, a third year English Literature student, said that he felt he was leaning towards being middle class because of his university education, despite being from low-income family.

“[Brant’s] view is really stupid, and it shows how out of touch the government are with reality and with real people,” he said. “People from a low-income background are helped by going to university, and we need to do more to encourage that.”

QS to fund MBS scholarships

Quacquarelli Symonds, the education information and services company which publishes annual world university rankings, has announced that they are to fund two scholarships at Manchester Business School, the largest constituent department of the University of Manchester.

The two scholarships, which are being offered in partnership with QS’s World Grad School Tour, will be worth 50 per cent of the tuition fees for any masters program at MBS.

Rachel Tufft, head of postgraduate marketing at MBS, said the school’s mission was to “give everyone the opportunity to transform their lives and, in doing so, help them transform the organizations they work for and the wider communities in which they live.

“We will be looking for students who can contribute original thought and enrich the diverse academic and cultural profile of the masters class.

“We understand the financial strain that students face when considering further study and do not want this to be a barrier to applicants.”

To meet the criteria for the scholarship any candidate will have to have attended the QS World Grad School Tour and be predicted to achieve at least a 2:1 in their undergraduate degree.

The University of Manchester was ranked as being the 33rd best in the world and the 8th best in the UK in the rankings most recently published by QS.

Fallowfield caterer reaches Food and Farming final

Head of catering for Fallowfield Campus’s Ashburne Hall Deborah Kermath has reached the final round of Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards 2014, in a year of a record-breaking number of nominations.

Deborah has made it to the final three of the Cook of the Year section. Her competition comes from a chef at Ravenscliffe High School, Halifax, and a team of caterers at an Inverness Hospice.

She is the head of Ashburne Hall’s Food in Residence, and provides two meals a day to the 180 residents of the hall.

As well as providing breakfast and dinner for the students, Kermath has worked with organisations to create opportunities for local producers and growers to sell their produce.

Deborah said she was “tremendously honoured to be nominated for this prestigious award.

“The inclusion of high quality sustainable products on my freshly-prepared menu from local growers and farms is undoubtedly a fundamental passion of mine and it is fantastic that my students can celebrate such good food every day!”

The finalists for the eight categories were announced at the end of February and appeared on a special episode of Radio 4’s Food Programme on Sunday 10th March.

Overall, the twenty-four finalists vying for the eight Food and Farming Awards come from a wide range of regions from East Sussex to the Isle of Gigha, Scotland.

Contestants include a street food vendor marketing unpopular cuts of meat and fish, a social supermarket selling low-price surplus to those claiming benefits, and a fifth-generation butcher from the Wirral.

Chef, writer, presenter, and chair of the judges Valentine Warner said “the scale of the public’s response has been overwhelming.” There have been over 6,000 nominations for the Awards, a record-breaking amount.

The Food and Farming Awards are held to celebrate Britain’s local food scene and the people behind it. It aims to “honour those who have done most to promote the cause of good food”.

Categories include Best Food Market, Best Food Producer and Best Street Food/Takeaway.

The Awards have been running for fourteen years and cover producers, chefs and initiatives both large and small. In recent years seven categories have increased to ten to reflect the rising popularity of things such as brewing and distilling.

The nominations, sent in by the general public, are narrowed down to three by a panel of judges, this year including chef Raymond Blanc and public health officer Gabriel Scally.

After this the judges travel to visit and meet the finalists before meeting to discuss and agree on a winner.

The Cook of the Year is described as “someone who is preparing tasty, healthy meals on a budget in a hospital, school, care-home or other workplace and deserves to be celebrated.”

Winners of each category will be announced at an awards ceremony held in Bristol on the 1st May 2014.

The winners of two further categories—the Derek Cooper Lifetime achievement award, which goes to an individual or organisation who has changed our relationship with food, and Food Personality of the Year 2014—will be announced at this ceremony.

Students occupy University of London as protests continue

Dozens of students stormed the University of London last week, in a display of upheaval against the metropolitan police and management of the students’ union.

The demonstrators called for the resignation of Adrian Smith, the University of London’s Vice-Chancellor. There were no police in attendance, and James Pestell, a spokesperson for the University confirmed that “No significant damage was done, although some confidential files were thrown into the street below”.

Students walked into Smith’s office and left a letter which read, “Please resign immediately. Give us our union back. Pay all your staff and get the cops off campus. Thanks very much. From London students.”

This action is the latest in a series of protests which began towards the end of last year.

University of London president, Michael Chessum, reflecting on the latest disturbance at the University, has warned of an “end game”, which might bring with it more “militant” protests and occupations.

Chessum has however called for negotiations with the University, saying that “the ball is in the University’s court”.

He added further that “This wasn’t a ULU demo. It’s much more hectic and superfluously all over the place.”

In response to Chessum’s remarks, Pestell said, “Michael Chessum has regular meetings in the diary with senior University staff and if he turns up to them he’ll be welcome”.

Earlier in the same week as the storming of the University a student was fined £1,010 for drawing protest slogans on university property.

The troubles started last December when more than a thousand students marched through the streets of London in a demo which led to a police van being attacked and vandalised.

At the same time, the University of London took out an injunction preventing “”violent and intimidating” protests on its premises.

Exeter students agree tuition fees may have to rise

Exeter University’s vice-chancellor announced “tuition fees may have to rise again”, in a debate held by Exeter University’s debating society last Tuesday.

Sir Steve Smith went head-to-head with Toni Pearce, president of National Union of Students in a debate over contentious student issues; including tuition fees and the recent privatisation of the student loan book.

Smith managed to convince the student audience to vote in favour of the view that tuition fees would eventually need to increase.

In 2010, the coalition government was met with overwhelming student protests throughout the country after the motion to triple existing tuition fees from £3,000 to up to £9,000 was passed.

Yet despite an initial overwhelming response in favour of ‘This House Believes Tuition Fees Should Not Increase’, the debate at Exeter resulted in the motion’s defeat.

The vice-chancellor defended his position by pointing to the need for increased funding, and suggested his main priority was to increase the standards of the University.

He then proceeded to reveal, ‘My personal preference would be for income tax to pay for university fees [but] it is unrealistic to hope for the public to pay.’

NUS president Toni Pearce spoke against Sir Steve, drawing some of her argument from the recent Parliamentary report in which it was revealed the government was underestimating the future debt of unpaid student loans.

Pearce highlighted fears that students will have to pay more due to the potentially crippling value of outstanding loans, which in the report is estimated to increase from £46 billion in 2013 to £200 billion by 2042.

An article in The Independent explained how students within Exeter’s society are advised to vote ‘on the merits of the arguments they have heard’, which may explain the debate’s outcome.

Student caught using university computers to ‘mine’ Dogecoin

A student at London’s Imperial College has been banned from use of all computing facilities after using his university’s computers to mine 30,000 ‘Dogecoin’.

The anonymous student had been accessing Imperial College’s computer lab at night and leaving machines to run, using their core-power and resources in an online currency mining operation.

The student told online forum Coindesk, “It seems they don’t have anything set up to bring attention to the fact I’m maxing out the CPUs, which is nice.”

The joke-alternative currency derived from the ‘Doge’ internet meme has also been the source of a similar incident at Harvard University in February.

An Ivy League student was permanently banned from access to all of Harvard’s research computing facilities after similarly using them to mine Dogecoin.

Harvard’s prestigious supercomputing system had been scheduled by the student to be used for the mining operation, and was reported to university administrators after unusual activity was discovered.

An internal e-mail from the institution, which was posted on Reddit reads, “Any activities using our shared resources for any non-scientific purpose that results or does not actually result in personal gain are also clearly and explicitly denied.”

Harvard University, upon banning the student from all research facilities have said the student’s actions were “strictly prohibited for fairly obvious reasons”.

An article in The Guardian earlier this year revealed how a group of supporters raised $250,000 in Dogecoin, in order to help the Jamaican bobsleigh team to enter the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Also, a burger stand in East-London’s Brick Lane has become one of the first places in Britain to accept the Dogecoin virtual currency.

The increasing popularity for cryptocurrencies has led to a demand for computer systems to engage in mining operations to bring Dogecoin into existence.

Managerial Hunger Games

It’s finally time to organize this. Which manager is really the best, and by best, I obviously mean the hardest.

We will only consider Premier League managers, but a few honourable mentions before we begin. First, Neil Lennon, any man who is sent a bullet and then releases his own calendar is a winner in my book. Secondly, there is Roy Keane. Without even discussing how hard he is, his put downs would be enough to make you cower in fear. Finally there is Mancini. Just to have a nice break from the melting pot of the Premier League, and a highly confrontational time at Manchester City, he decided to go to Galatasaray, a team that is renowned world over for its placid fans.

This is how it will pan out; first to go would be Tim Sherwood. The arrogant prick would go all guns blazing and hopefully be picked off early enough. (#TEAMAVB). Mark Hughes will be on the same boat. Fulham won’t have a pledge to offer. But if it were still Jol, one would presume he would remain totally ambivalent to the whole situation and, despite lasting an alarmingly long time, would eventually fade away, and no one would be that surprised.

Cowering in the corner would be the likes of Solskjær, Moyes, Wenger. The problem is that despite being district 2 or above, their scripts and fate were already predestined- they are bound to fail. The first has a poor team, only made to seem like they were doing better than they were because of what happened to their previous pledge, one has been sold a mid-table lie, and the other one will probably crack under the pressure.

Then you have the tactically inept. Yes they may do well at first, but don’t be fooled, they will soon enough fall by the wayside. I’m talking about the Pardews and Houghtons of this world. Yes, they may land a few blows on their opponents, but just as they are doing well punching with their right hand, they will try kicking with their left foot, and if it doesn’t work? Forget it. We will keep trying until it does.

Obviously there needs to be a quota filled for the games to have any sort of semblance of a competition. Therefore, welcome the filler pledges. In Hunger Games these pledges usually come from district 7 or 8 that the camera would never really focus on. Yeah they can be good, perhaps get a decent run going picking off a few lower pledges, but they were never in danger of winning, nor of dying first. In this category we have Steve Bruce, Gus Poyet, Sam Alladyce and Paul Lambert. Basically the teams that you look at and wonder how they are still 13th despite seemingly never winning a match since 2005.

Pelligrini is losing it. His alarmingly mental comments after the match with Barcelona are evidence enough for that. He is the one kicking off on top of the cornucopia in the last scenes before being pushed into the wolves. But who has sympathy for him? Just as the volunteer pledges from District 1 & 2, he knew what he was getting himself into, and he saw what happened to his predecessor.

In comes Jennifer Lawrence. This role, for me, will be played by Brendon Rodgers. Although she is not Scottish, she is as arrogant and generally annoying. ‘Liverpool can’t win the title’ rings the same as ‘I didn’t deserve the Oscar for Silverlinings.’ Both cases are true in my opinion, both shouldn’t happen, but both have either happened or will happen. This is because they are tactically astute, and are also fiercely loyal. Keeping Suarez in the summer is as smart as looking after Peta that is, he always has someone who can pull him out of sticky situations and win him matches he had no right to win. Their goal difference already this season could make a massive difference when the season ends.

Finally we have the game maker. Welcome to the stage Jose Mourinho. He will cause problems, play mind games, but he will have the season snatched away from him, and finish second to the formidable Jenifer Lawrence, and although not facing the same fate as previous failed game-makers, he won’t have that many chances to correct his mistakes.

That is how the season will unfold. For many of the managers involved the fate of their team was set already writer. Pardew and high team were never going to do anything except balance the books, Moyes and co. were going to struggle. Yet, Rodgers is the true success story. Should he be able to make it through the 20th Annual Premier League games, it will be as unlikely as it was for someone from district 12 to win the Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favour, Brendan.

Bets over Blade-Runner’s bullets

The opportunist bookmakers Paddy Power caused outrage last week by taking bets on the outcome of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

For them moral decency, respect for the judicial process and a lack of awareness about the dangers of promoting violence against women were inconsequential, with the publicity stunt going so far that the Advertising Standards Agency requested its removal.

The 27-year-old double Paralympic gold medallist is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the night of the 14th February 2013. He claims to have mistaken her for an intruder. Without contemplating the implications, Paddy Power offered 7/4 for a guilty verdict and 2/5 for not guilty, with a money back offer guaranteed ‘if he walks’. This is arguably one of the most distasteful advertising campaigns in the history of publicity as it shows now concern for the Steenkamp family, no consideration about the wider implications concerning violence towards women and ultimately, it has significant implications for the judicial process – which has already been questioned by some as the media circus descends on South Africa.

Social media outrage began with a vengeance immediately after reports about the scandalous bet filtered over Facebook and Twitter. A Change.org petition was shared rapidly across the internet and a staggering 126,000 signatures were added within a couple of days at the time of printing. This is a clear example of people power working to bring organisations to account. Last week saw a far less useful petition gather momentum – that of England fans begging manager Roy Hodsgon not to pick Tom Cleverley for the World Cup in Brazil, but that is a completely different matter. Thankfully the social media generation saw sense and were horrified with the tasteless Paddy Power publicity stunt and they piled the pressure on the Advertising Standards Agency who in turn forced the Irish bookies’ hand.

In response, the ASA made the following statements:

“We consider the ad may be seriously prejudicial to the general public on the ground of the likely further serious and/or widespread offence it may cause.”

“We are also concerned that the good reputation of the advertising industry may be further damaged by continued publication of this ad.”

It’s certainly not the first time that Paddy Power has been making headlines for the wrong reasons. In fact, they thrive on making headlines, relying on the saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity. In the past we’ve seen them cause offence to: the transgender community with an advert playing spot the mares from the stallions at the Cheltenham races, the religious community were upset with their depiction of Jesus gambling at the Last Supper with his disciples and animal rights activists and disability groups were angered by an advert in which blind footballers mistakenly punt a kitten while playing a game of five-a-side.

Betting on the Pistorius case isn’t the only morbid and judicially troubling publicity stunt the Irish bookmakers have pulled – in President Barack Obama’s first term in office Paddy Power offered odds on whether Mr Obama would be assassinated. As with many of these other cases, half-hearted apologies and a promises to remove the offending adverts allowed the disgraceful marketing department to get away with the most distasteful and disrespectful practices in advertising history.

I would advocate three solutions to this shocking publicity stunt: firstly, Paddy Power should wholeheartedly apologise to the Steenkamp family, secondly, they should make a donation to a charity that helps prevent violence against women and thirdly, they should refrain from creating tabloid filling publicity that promotes violence of any kind or any discrimination. These steps would go some way to repairing the damage caused by irresponsible campaigning.

If you want to sign the petition go to www.change.org and search ‘Paddy Power.’

Manchester archaeologists win national award

Ever wondered if in 11,000 years people will be digging up your house, looking through your belongings?

This is what a team of archaeologists from the universities of Manchester and York have been doing in East Yorkshire for the last nine years. The team have been piecing together the use of the Star Carr site by hunter-gatherers at the end of the last Ice Age around 9,000 BC.

Directors of the investigation, Professor Nicky Milner, from University of York, Dr Chantal Conneller, from University of Manchester, and Dr Barry Taylor, who now works at the University of Chester, were shocked but overjoyed when they discovered they had won  “Research Project of the Year” at the national Current Archaeology Awards 2014. The award was decided by a public vote.

“It has been a real privilege to excavate such an exciting site and to communicate our findings to the public. It’s great news that our work at Star Carr has caught the public imagination. We hope that our work will inspire future generations to continue to study this period”, Dr Conneller said.

The digging at Star Carr has revealed the oldest house discovered in Britain, along with some of the oldest carpentry in Europe.

The site was inhabited by hunter gatherers from just after the last ice age, for a period of between 200 and 500 years.

Professor Milner said, “We are delighted that so many people are interested in Star Carr and the lives of our ancestors who lived 11,000 years ago.”

Dr Taylor added, “This is a fantastic award to receive. The Mesolithic is a neglected period of our past, so it is great to see the work that we’ve been carrying out at one of its most famous sites receiving such an endorsement from the public.”

The team have published a book, and will also present their findings in a yearlong exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum.