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Month: November 2012

Why universities need a ‘smart drug’ policy

Written by Antonia Jennings on . Posted in Opinion.

Brainpower enhancing substances, such as Ritalin and modafinil, are being taken by an increasing number of students. New research from the US has discovered that at an average university, one in six students have experimented with some kind of performance enhancing drug. With their popularity growing in the U.K. also, universities need to develop a ‘smart drug’ policy.

Ritalin, the medicine given to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is fairly easy to buy online. Heightening the mind’s alertness, it improves concentration and short term memory. In short, everything you want to be at its best on exam day. It’s not expensive either – around £3-£5 a pill. If it’s real. A huge counterfeit market is emerging, to satisfy the increasing demand for the drug. Coming mainly from Pakistan, there are many fake pills on the market for cheaper prices, usually £1-£2. These counterfeits are often just a mix of caffeine and ephedrine, yet these placebos are said to often still work. Similarly, modafinil is prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness. It stimulates the mind, keeping it alert and able to process things quickly. Many students use it as a revision aid, helping them to put in even longer hours into revision.

Whether taking these drugs counts as cheating needs to be established. On the one hand, Ritalin is not an illegal drug to those who obtain it through prescription. For those who obtain it otherwise, it is a Class B drug, alongside cannabis and some amphetamines. Surely for those obtaining it through prescription, it is legal and right for them to be able to take it into an exam? After all, you wouldn’t stop somebody bringing in a prescribed asthma pump. However, it seems as though something fundamental changes when the person taking the drug has not obtained it through prescription. Speaking to students at the University of Manchester, they all thought that taking a drug to overcome some deficiency was fine, but to heighten the brain to some unnatural level gave the remaining students an unfair disadvantage. If the university agrees, the question is then left what they should do about it.

In some universities in the US, they have already brought in random drug testing before exams. Liberty University, the largest university in Virginia, subjects its students to ‘random, mandatory drug tests’.  Students coming to the university sign a contract agreeing to cooperate fully with Liberty University’s drug testing program, including the supervised furnishing of hair, urine or blood samples at a time and place determined by the University. A similar system could be brought into UK universities, where a random selection of students are drug tested before every exam. Many people, even those who believe taking ‘smart drugs’ does count as cheating, are against such an intrusive and untrusting system. It would subject many innocent people to quite invasive testing; an arguably stressful experience right before an exam. Furthermore, we treat other forms of cheating in a completely different way. For example, to tackle people sneaking notes into an exam, there are invigilators walking up and down the aisles. There are not mandatory random strip searches as you walk into the exam room. It would seem silly to bring in invigilators to look out for people who look like they might be taking a performance enhancing drug. There are no outward signals to look for. What, then, should the universities do?

One option would be for universities, and other institutions who feel they might have students or employees taking performance enhancing drugs, to put pressure on the government to develop stricter drug rules. As the majority of Ritalin sold in the country comes from unwanted prescriptions, there must surely be a case for tightening up how freely these prescriptions are given out. This is an option that will require time and effort, it will not solve anything in the short run.

Another option would be for the universities to invest in sniffer dogs. Trained specially for ‘smart drugs’, certain sniffer dogs can detect Ritalin and modafinil, amongst others. This would be a less intrusive method, with the benefit of checking everyone for the performance enhancers.

If universities want to maintain the credibility of their exam results, they need to formulate a comprehensive ‘smart drug’ policy. The usage of them is becoming more and more frequent, as is other students’ dissatisfaction at the fact their university is doing nothing about them. There is no obvious route for universities to take, but doing nothing is not an option.

My Political Hero: Leo Tolstoy

Written by James Jackson on . Posted in Uncategorised.

Tolstoy was one of a number of princes of his era within the Russian Empire who, while both capitalism and imperialism were exploding and oppressing the common people, rejected this not with the dreary “scientific” state socialism epitomized by Marx and Engels, but with a critique of the nature of the state itself. Kropotkin, Bakunin and Tolstoy all imagined a world were humans were viewed neither as the value of their labour nor as a market commodity, but simply as human beings deserving of dignity by the sheer virtue of their humanity.  These were the anarchist princes, and, though as a political philosophy this may seem somewhat idealistic, it was rooted in the humanist aristocratic virtues of the period. Where Tolstoy differed from the other anarchist princes, apart from his dislike of the term ‘anarchy,’ was his emphasis on the life of Jesus Christ.

Tolstoy detested the institutional mystical Christianity of the Russian Orthodox Church, writing in his theological magnum opus The Kingdom of God is Within You that a priest would more likely try and sell a copy of the Lives of the Saints than direct a believer to the Gospels, which tell the story of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.  For the rationalist Tolstoy, the divinity of Jesus was not an abstract doctrine, but was rather rooted in the deep compassion and true humanity of his teachings, particularly of the Sermon on the Mount. Tolstoy took these commandments literally, extrapolating from teachings such as “turn the other cheek,” and “do not swear oaths” a radically pacifist political philosophy that was opposed to not just the militarism of the Russian Empire and its state church, but also opposed to the notion of statehood itself, as for Tolstoy the state is dependent on institutions of violence such as the army, the police and the legal system, echoing Weber’s definition of a state as that which has a “monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.” Tolstoy’s essays are as starkly beautiful as his fiction, emptying imperial claims to religious authority with the simple “How can you kill people, when it is written in God’s commandment: ‘Thou shalt not murder’?” He was the first modern, and still most prominent, Christian anarchist.

In his opposition to the Russian state, Tolstoy created a religious theory of non-violent resistance, and it was this in particular that influenced those key 20th century political figures of resistance Martin Luther King and Mohandas Ghandi. Ghandi himself corresponded with Tolstoy and was advised that only through passive resistance and love could the British empire be defeated, which he translated into his doctrine of Satyagraha. Tolstoy’s reasoning on non-violent resistance was dual; firstly, violence begets violence and is therefore an inappropriate tool for the creation of a peaceful society , expressed in the Gospels as “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword”; secondly, violence, even if it leads to a positive consequence, it is forbidden by God.

Vegetarianism and teetotalism may seem an odd adjunct for a worshipper of a man who caught precisely 153 large fish in one load and famously preferred wedding guests to drink wine over water. In this sense Tolstoy probably had more in common with 1980’s hardcore punk fans than Jesus Christ, who was never known to describe himself as either vegan or straightedge. However, his vegetarianism was based on spiritual means, a Christian love of humanity extending to a love of all living beings, and he saw the slaughterhouse as a brother to war, violating man’s supposedly natural propensity towards sympathy towards living creatures, as is testified by the massive turnover of workers in slaughterhouses. Often I am personally struck by the weak connection made by many flesh eaters between animals and meat, although my convictions on vegetarianism are based on a more modern ecological arguments.

Though Tolstoy is most famous for his works “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” his influence extends far outside the literary world. After resisting state violence for many years, and inspiring this resistance in countless others, he died in 1910. He was a man of unrivalled spiritual maturity, literary talent and political conviction.

If you want us to endorse your hobbies, endorse our politics

Written by Thomas Lee on . Posted in Opinion.

This writer is not the sort of person who often engages in marching for democracy or participating in mass protests. This is not because I don’t value my freedom or regularly disagree with actions taken in Westminster, but because I choose – for reasons which are entirely my own business – not to demonstrate on the streets. I respect the choice of those who do. And I’m sure we would agree that in a democracy it would be fundamentally not in the spirit of things to disrespect or penalise me for my choice. I am not somehow an inferior citizen simply because I have not felt the compulsion to take to the streets.

It is with this in mind that I voice my grave concern about the University of Manchester Students’ Union’s offer to ‘fast-track’ student societies to Silver and Gold STAR Awards if they send five or ten of their members to Demo 2012. The STAR system determines ‘levels of funding and resources’ available to societies – Gold or Silver status permits discounts and services unavailable to Bronze societies, and more importantly, Bronze societies get less money. This status is upgraded partly through society members taking part in ‘Student Action’, including fundraising and volunteer work which is itself an estimable attempt by the Union to make a difference in the community. Even this, however, can worry smaller societies – or large societies that do not engage with political or social affairs – with the thought that their resources are being undercut by more politically active groups. The penalisation of societies that are – in the eyes of the Union – not as politically useful is a disturbing notion. But the attempt to coerce students into taking part in a political protest for financial recompense is nothing short of bribery.

Asking societies that usually concern themselves with interesting board games, Red Dwarf marathons or comic operettas to either turf out their members as warm bodies to boost the numbers at a political demonstration or suffer from low levels of funding – whatever the cause of the demonstration and however just – is alarming and offensive on several levels. The Exec Team shock me alone by the fact that they would willingly drag a cause which they clearly feel so passionate about into the muck of Muamar Gaddafi level politics. The democratic integrity of their cause is clearly less important to them than increasing its apparent popularity, using tactics that were last seen in Manchester in the duplicitous electioneering of the 18th century. The Union executives are using their power over people – a power routed in the control of the funds without which many societies would be unable to operate – to commandeer the freedom of action and expression which is unique to each of those people, and utilise it to further their own political agenda. This is a violation of our right to think for ourselves.

What’s more, the sheer ignorance of the gravity of their actions is readily apparent in Tweets made by my union representatives, entirely missing the point of the uproarious reaction to their announcement by saying pro-cut marches would be ‘against Union policy’. This shows a sad inability for the Union to see politics in anything more than black and white – simply because I find their ultrapartisanship so disgusting, I am not necessarily an ardent member of the Tory party wishing to go on a pro-cut march. Manchester University encompasses students with a broad spectrum of political ideologies and an even broader spectrum of hobbies. The Students’ Union should be mature enough to realise this, and more importantly to realise that its constituents are too intelligent to be duped into shouting chants that they don’t necessarily agree with purely so that they have the money and support to pursue their extracurricular entertainment.

In short, I’m not going on their damn march just to foot the fee for my society’s next batch of member-specific novelty hats, nor would I be doing so if I had intended on going to Demo 2012 in the first place.

Students who are not left-wing in their politics, or merely can’t muster the enthusiasm to go all the way down to London and mill around with a placard for a day, already found it difficult to identify with the University of Manchester Students’ Union, or foster a sense that it is an organisation which caters to their needs or represents their opinions. This recent policy, grounded on an abhorrent miscalculation by the Union themselves about the political makeup of Manchester’s students, will hardly help matters.

Pure Love

Written by Fin Murphy on . Posted in Music.

8th November 2012, Apollo

8/10

It’s a question of which countless music journalists have spilt litres of ink  over: in a music world dominated by pop-R&B and club hits, who will be the saviours of modern guitar music? Many bands have promised to fit that mould in genres ranging from indie rock to grit-pop (who remembers that?) but few people claim it with the conviction of Pure Love, an earnest, transatlantic rock-n-roll revivalist duo.

Taking to the stage of the Apollo as the first opener to an act of the magnitude of Lostprophets is a daunting proposition for any band, let alone one that doesn’t even have an album out. If there are any nerves, they don’t show; the group burst into ‘She’ with the tight interplay of seasoned veterans, not the stand-in members who make up the rhythm section and guitar/keyboard. This is to say nothing of frontman Frank Carter. He imbues the upbeat jams with a fervour and crowd relation that harks back to the dangerous days of rock, only without the menace which dogged (or made, depending on your view) his tenure as singer of hardcore punk band Gallows. This newfound good nature is evident in his response to an audience member shout of ‘ginger prick’ of which his reply is to laugh compare the heckler to ‘Justin Bieber’- where once he may have gone for a slap.

His energy is matched, and often rivalled, by lead guitarist and collaborator Jimmy Carroll. Carroll is a figure seemingly born to rock; this is evident in his guitar theatrics, from soloing to thrashing it around in front of his amplifier for feedback. To say that the group only gets by on being a spectacle would do them down, however. Whilst Carter may cajole ‘snail pits’, arm-waving and Freddie Mercury-style vocal displays out of his audience, they have no problem displaying their moody, soulful side on ‘Anthem’. Prefaced with a dedication to every worker in the room, the sombre tune has every right to be called a ‘classic’, a rarity considering the fast-paced nature of modern music.

Leaving the stage to applause from a crowd who doesn’t even know the lyrics is a good omen for a young band with eyes firmly set to bigger things. Saviours of modern rock? Maybe so.

 

 

Tame Impala

Written by Harry Cooke on . Posted in Music.

On a mercilessly cold Mancunian evening, the Ritz played host to Australia’s proud sons of the stage – the psychedelic quartet, Tame Impala. The band has enjoyed unbridled success since their formation in 2008, rising to international acclaim after the release of their debut album, Innerspeaker – they have not looked back since. Tame Impala can be described as riding on the crest of a wave, which is understandable given that this current tour coincides with the release of their second album, Lonerism. Prior to the album’s much anticipated release, fans were offered a tantalising taster of what to expect with the release of the single ‘Elephant’. In the milieu of hyped-up expectation, it goes without saying that the Ritz enjoyed a full house, consisting of young and old alike.

But the responsibility of warming up the crowd (and boy, did we need it!) was left to a Norwegian, glockenspiel-sporting, dream-pop collective, aptly named Young Dreams. The band, eased the crowd with a toe-tapping performance, the combination of their rustic and intricate instrumentals being somewhat reminiscent of Fleet Foxes. But regardless of the upstarts’ impressive display, it was to be Tame Impala’s night.

One can be forgiven for assuming they was in the band’s hometown of Perth as they walked out barefooted across the stage, clothed in little more than attire suited for the beach than for a Mancunian winter, donning oversized t-shirts and frayed denims. Opening with ‘Be Above It’ off the latest album, it proved to be a wise choice as it eased the crowd in gently before erupting into ‘Solitude Is Bliss’, providing enough incentive for the first crowd surfers to be seen overhead. From here, they slip into an astounding display of a psychedelic free-for-all, peppered with the driving drum beats of Julian Barbagello and the heavy bass lines of Nick ‘Paisley Adams’ Allbrook. After a lengthy instrumental, the opening to ‘It’s Not Meant to Be’ captures the audience, but this comfort blanket is swiped away and is replaced with the lesser known ‘Music to Walk Home By’.

“Go wild to this next one if you know the words!” Kevin Parker, lead vocals, tells the audience. Half muttered suspicions of Elephant were correct, and this crowd pleaser has the entire audience thrashing around. ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ and an Innerspeaker favourite ‘Lucidity’ quickly follow, before returning to the latest album offerings of ‘Alter Ego’ and ‘Mind Mischief’.

All the while, the visuals presented on the screen behind the band show a pulsating green dot that develops into an eye, complete with pupil and iris. Forgive this fan, but the promise of Tame’s reputation for providing stimulating visuals was alluring, and this particular display was ultimately an anti-climax.

Those not deterred by the visual display were euphoric, prompting dad dancing among the older generations and a number of girls on shoulders among the audience. The band was now clearly in high spirits as they effortlessly jam their way through ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?’ and ‘Desire Be Desire Go’, but it is ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ that is chosen to close the set. For their triumphant encore, synth player Jay returns to the stage first and throws sweets out into the crowd, cheekily adding “taste the rainbow!” after asking “who wants skittles?”. ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’ is chosen as the concluding song and whilst Kevin is swigging at his beer, the band improvise, with the heartbeat bass line filling the void until he regains control of the mic to close the gig and what was, for an hour and a half, an altered state of consciousness.

Savages

Written by Rachel Bolland on . Posted in Music.

7th November 2012, Gorilla

8/10

I’m about to make two statements from which you can draw your own conclusions.  Savages are a group of young women playing incredibly raucous rock music who performed on Later…with Jools Holland a few weeks ago.  Their show at Gorilla seemed to be attended primarily by middle-aged men.  Are their genders and the average age of the audience connected?  Who knows (probably).  Would all those men have been there if it had been four fat guys playing loud music?  Who knows (probably not).  Regardless, Savages played the absolute hell out of that venue, performing with significantly bigger balls than many male musicians I’ve seen lately.

Despite the number of people who were seemed to be there out of curiosity, or to show that they’re still cool, Savages really seemed to connect with the audience.  From the word go, they were giving it absolutely everything they had, while still managing to look impossibly cool.  It reminded me of the kinds of shows I used to go to when I was fifteen, where my friends and I would go absolutely batshit crazy just because we could, and there seemed to be quite a bit of that going on at the front.

There were some moments that could have been awkward, but singer Jehnny Beth managed to smooth them over.  One of those was the theft of a 12” from the merch stand, prompting her to shoot the crowd with an incredibly intense glare while half singing, half chanting “There’s a thief in the room”. Which begs the question, why would anyone want to steal from someone so utterly terrifying?  They closed their show with the same track they performed on Jools, ‘Husbands’, which was one of the most raucous, rousing performances I’ve seen in a long time, ending a genuinely mind-blowing show.

Debate – Should the Students’ Union boycott brands?

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Opinion.

YES – Alex Goldhill

The Students’ Union is first and foremost a democratic organisation, run by students elected from the body it represents, and with a limited amount of funding. It is bound by two main duties, the first to represent the will of the student body (or at least the part of the student body that actually bothers to take an interest in these things), and the second, to ensure that the resources under its control are used in the interest of the students.

I believe in maintaining the Union boycott of certain brands for two reasons; one ethical and the other health related.

The ethical reasons are fairly straightforward.

Coca Cola, which is not stocked in the union on ethical grounds  has a long history of human rights abuses, both against its workers and against third-parties. The Colombia Solidarity Campaign (CSC) started the International Boycott following the murders of eight Sinaltrainal (Colombian Food and Drinks Workers’ Union) which they say the company is complicit in. There have been numerous past boycotts against the company also, and elsewhere it has been reported that Coca Cola is responsible for groundwater shortages at their bottling plants in India, according to the India Resource Center.  The boycott allows the Students’ Union to send a message to the world, on behalf of its members, that this will not be tolerated.

Firstly, by continuing to punish brands for their past actions we send a message to the industry that these policies will have long-term negative effects, discouraging others from employing them and also by making an example. Secondly, Coca Cola is an industry leader and by highlighting them we send a message to the industry as a whole.

As for the health reasons, I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that the fizzy drinks and sweets provided by brands such as Nestle and Coca Cola are not exactly healthy. Now I won’t argue that the Union should boycott Coca Cola in order to save the students from unhealthy products; that argument is flawed on so many levels. It’s patronising to students to tell them what they can and cannot drink, the widespread availability of these brands makes such an effort ineffective, and it’s downright hypocritical whilst the Union still supplies cigarettes, alcohol and other unhealthy products (another debate for another day).

By boycotting Coca Cola the Union frees up its budget to supply the students with better alternatives, both in terms of health and ethics.

NO – Antonia Jennings

Our Students’ Union is not there to make our decisions. It is there to support students, and represent the diverse demographic that makes up our student body. The range of opinions the students at the University of Manchester have should be reflected by our Students’ Union, which should be impartial and politically independent. By boycotting certain products it appears as though the union is acting politically on our behalf, something I don’t think anybody wants or expects it to do.

If people want to boycott brands such as Nestle or Coca Cola, of course they can and will. If enough students wanted the SU to not supply certain brands, they would choose not to buy them – resulting in a lack of demand, and the SU would stop ordering these products. The fact is the Students’ Union not stocking certain brands does not even make a negligible impact. If students are determined to buy a Nestle product, a two minute walk to Sainsbury’s will let them.

The companies and brands the Students’ Union boycotts seem to be chosen in an ununiformed manner. While it is true Nestle and Coca Cola have terrible unethical scandals to their name, we should scrutinise other companies such as GlaxoSmithKline. The University continues to receive huge amounts of money from the pharmaceutical giant, despite its $3billion fine from the Food and Drugs Association (FDA) this year for improper marketing and unethical behaviour. The Students’ Union has not publicly protested about this at all, even following Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK receiving an honorary degree from the University this year.

I am all for boycotting unethical brands. However, I do not think that the Students’ Union should be doing this on our behalf, without all students voting on the matter. With turnouts as low as they are for referendums such as this one (often less than 5% of the student body), it is unjust for the Students’ Union to make a decision that will affect all students. If people want to boycott products they can and should, but it is not the place of the Students’ Union to do so.

New: Crystal Castles – (III)

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

The release of their eponymous debut album in 2008 saw Crystal Castles pioneer a unique brand of raw, glitch-electro. Two albums later, the Toronto duo have broadened their musical horizons considerably; Ethan Kath claimed to have disposed of all his old recording equipment to aid this musical revamp. Various influences are evident through the record, yet it still retains the unmistakable Crystal Castles identity. III is their most streamlined and mature effort to date.

The pair’s willingness to evolve is underlined by ‘Sad Eyes’ which contains a polished trance hook that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Tiësto set, were it not for Alice Glass’ woozy lament “you can’t disguise sad eyes”. Elsewhere, Kath’s production excellently compliments the vocals. ‘Insulin’ sees Glass unleash her now trademark Banshee screams, first aired on debut single ‘Alice Practice’, and in turn, Kath’s accompaniment is explosive and harsh, whilst ‘Transgender’ exhibits Glass’ more melodic verse and, sonically, is suitably subtle.

The lyrical themes of III stem from Glass’ anger at societal injustice, but her recent revelation that “A lot of bad things have happened to people close to me … it’s profoundly influenced my writing as I’ve realized there will never be justice for them” prove this to be a more personal matter than it first appears. She often takes the position of an apparent spiritual guardian aiming to fix the problems society could not, “I’ll protect you from all the things I’ve seen” she promises on ‘Kerosene’ in a mournful tone that still retains a strong sense of resolve. Glass is lyrically arresting, and her refusal to do more than one studio take based on her belief that the first is the rawest expression of an idea contributes to the feeling of purposeful urgency flowing through III.

‘Child I Will Hurt You’ sees Crystal Castles achieve a level of emotion they could only formerly reach with a guest spot from Robert Smith. The use of a vocoder, which acted as a barrier to engaging fully with Glass on previous releases, lends an angelic quality to the vocals, whilst the production is similarly elegant, meaning the album closes on an exceptionally beautiful and affecting note.

 

The Manchester Students’ Food Co-operative

Written by Harriet Hill-Payne on . Posted in News.

I think the first thing we always try and do is dispel the myth that everyone involved in the Students’ Food Co-operative is vegan/votes green/carries a jute shopping bag everywhere with them in case of emergency. Of course, some of our members and volunteers are those things, but most people are just greedy, appreciate good food and are trying to avoid Fallowfield Sainsbury’s hell.    
 
We started last year, as a student-run buyer’s co-operative that provides ethically sourced food at cost-price to Manchester’s students. The idea is that we buy in bulk a wide range of goods – both dried wholefoods and fresh produce – direct from suppliers and then sell these on to our members at cost-price, who all pay £2 to be part of the co-op. We sell a huge variety of things: organic red pesto, crystallised ginger, coffee beans, Green & Blacks chocolate – as well as pastas, pulses, nuts and dried fruits. We like to think we take requests, criticisms and compliments all equally, and try and get as much feedback as possible from our members, and are constantly changing what we order in to try and get a more interesting selection of produce.
 
We also run an organic and local vegetable box scheme – it’s £7, ordered a week in advance via email or Facebook, and provides enough for a week with two people who eat an average amount of vegetables. We try and make it a bit more interesting than just loads of muddy root vegetables (even though there are some of those too) and so far have had celeriac, red pak choi, kohl rabi… perhaps not hugely exotic, but an improvement on that delicious student staple of baked beans.

If you’re interested, email [email protected], or go to Manchester Students’ Food Co-operative on Facebook.

The Function Room

Written by Emily Clark on . Posted in Food & Drink.

There’s a new night club on Oxford Road, upstairs from Odder Bar. Before it was called The Function Room, it was a bar with a sofa-cushy-peach beer vibe. Now it’s a lot more modern, with space for a sizeable dancefloor. Think of it as a lighter version of 5th Ave – but unusually combining intimate and industrial, with its many metal roller shutters.  The atmosphere was a bit more relaxed as well, and its clientele isn’t solely student-based. The bar doesn’t offer a particularly wide variety of alcohol, then again, what it does offer is good: dark and light bottles of Krusovice beer, some nice flavoured Stolichnaya vodka, Weston’s Stowford Press cider on tap, rum cocktails and so on. The prices are mid-range – a £3.30 Becks is the cheapest pint of lager, the Stowford Press is the same price. A glass of red or white wine costs £3.40.

I was at The Function Room for their ‘More Bounce’ Thursday night, described as hip hop, funk and soul. In reality, DJ Lee Majors only played us hip hop; bring back the funk and soul. The Function Bar prides itself on its club nights, playing combinations of hip hop, funk, disco, electro and house. As well as More Bounce,  Friday and Saturday nights have Murkage, Thank FUNK, Consortium, Chips With Everything, Disco Transisco and Clique on rotation.

The busy bar staff were very friendly and offered me advice me good advice about the beer. But in all honesty, I’m not sure I’ll be back soon. If I wanted a night out dancing with my friends, I’d go somewhere where I liked the music. That isn’t to say the music is bad; just not to my taste. If I wanted to talk and drink with my friends, I’d go to the nearest pub, where we wouldn’t have to shout at each other to have a conversation and where there were enough tables to guarantee a seat. This bar offers a mix of both bar and club worlds, a bit like Fallowfield’s 256. To students who like to dance to hip hop, house and electro and occasionally want a sit-down, this bar is for you.

Event Listings

Thursday 29th November– More Bounce (weekly) – Hip Hop

Friday 30th November – Consortium – Alex Coulton, Hodge and Brunks

Saturday 1st November – Get It On – Manchester DJs on rotation

Friday 7th November – Thank Funk It’s Friday – Funk, Soul, Groove, R&B

Experience: Edinburgh

Written by Lucy Gardner on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Sometimes you just want to escape the city without having to queue at security, check in bags and get ripped off by buying £5 burgers on the plane. An easy, cheap getaway perfect for even the most broke of Manchester’s students? Edinburgh. You could spend an entire week in the Scottish capital without seeing all it has to offer so if you’re heading up north for the weekend here’s a quick guide to what Auld Reekie has to offer.

Day 1

Drop off your bags, grab your camera and head out onto the Royal Mile. The road connects the castle at the top to Holyrood Palace at the bottom and the entire Old Town and New Town have been labeled as World Heritage sites, remaining preserved in their Medieval and Georgian styles. Take a trip up to the castle for some amazing photo opportunities and to look down at the bustling Princes Street Gardens and the Grassmarket below. If you’re wanting a spooky experience however, as many who visit what is said to be one of the most haunted cities in Europe are, forget going inside the castle. The Edinburgh Vaults were rediscovered in the eighties and are now thought to be filled with the ghosts of Burke and Hare’s victims and those trapped during the Southbridge fire.

The underground passages hosted Most Haunted Live during 2006’s Halloween and this year between the 27th and 31st of October you can book midnight tours of the vaults – the ultimate way to spend this year’s All Hallows’ Eve. Similar creepy experiences can be found at The Edinburgh Dungeons and the old plague riddled Mary King’s Close. To relax after an evening of paranormal activity numerous student friendly bars and pubs can be found on Cockburn (yes, that’s really its name) Street, leading off the Royal Mile.

Day 2

In search of culture? The city is home to five National Galleries and the Scottish National Gallery is situated on The Mound – conveniently next to Prince’s Street, home to the high street shops, if art isn’t really your thing. Museums can be found throughout the city with the National Museum of Scotland being free of entry charges and full of everything from Egyptian mummies to robots you can interact with.

The museum is located near George IV Bridge, near which you can find W. Armstrong and Sons vintage shop. If you are looking for top hats, bomber jackets or just something quirky to dress up in, look no further. If you don’t mind hopping on the bus, easy to do from the roads surrounding Prince’s Street, then visit two of Edinburgh’s most famous residents. Yang Guang and Tian Tian are the two giant pandas who now live at Edinburgh Zoo. A busy day might have left you craving some comfort food, head back to George IV Bridge and grad dinner for less than a tenner at The Elephant House where J. K. Rowling spent time when writing Harry Potter (they even have themed Hogwarts toilets to commemorate the event).

Stay – easyHotel rooms are available from £19 per night per person.

Get there – Coaches leaving Manchester Coach Station daily and cost £30 one way.

Fuse FM star wins Best Female at Student Radio Awards

Written by Jonathan Breen on . Posted in News.

Congratulations are in order for Fuse FM’s Hattie Pearson after she won Best Female at the national Student Radio Awards this month.

Pearson, from the University of Manchester Students’ Union radio station, netted the accolade for her show ‘Hattie’s Happy Hour.’

“It’s a great stepping-stone for me to be able to approach people and say ‘here I am I’ve just won this, take me seriously,” she said.

As part of the award, Pearson will have a one-off show on Radio 1 next year.

“The idea is for it to become a permanent thing, but at the moment it will be a one-off,” she said. “But you never know what it can lead to.”

The award ceremony, hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw and Capital FM’s Dave Berry, took place in London on November 8.

She added, “The award ceremony was really cool and it was such an inspiration.

“One of the highlights was – I have a massive tattoo down my arm and Nick Grimshaw said he really liked it.

“Student radio is a massive part of the radio industry, it’s where the radio industry look for people today.”

While studying for her degree in English Language Miss Pearson hosted a weekly  radio show on UMSU’s Fuse FM, as well as working part-time as an assistant producer at BBC Radio 6 Music and as a freelance producer for alternative radio station Xfm.

“Radio was always something I wanted to do,” said the Newbury native. “Before I even came to uni I spent a month in Africa working at a French radio station in Senegal doing the news in French everyday, which was probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

“I never wanted to do a degree in media production or broadcasting or anything like that because I didn’t really see the point. I wanted to get a normal standard degree from a decent uni and do all this stuff on the side.

“My advice to people is don’t give up. If you want it that bad you need to prove yourself, because there is not that much paid work in this industry, especially entry level.

“The competition is so fierce you need to make sure people know that you’re better than the next person and not afraid to get up at 4 o clock in the morning on a weekly basis even though you’re doing a degree.”

The runners up in the Best Female category were Rachael Cole of University Radio York, who snatched second place and Claire Chambers from Nottingham Trent University’s Fly FM.

The award for Best Station went to University Radio Nottingham, and Ethan O’Leary of University of Sunderland’s Spark FM snagged Best Male.

Other categories included Best Newcomer, Best Interview, and Best Live Event.

In her spare time Miss Pearson organises club nights in Manchester, such as Girls on Film at the Deaf Institute on Wednesdays.

Tax evasion campaigner urges Starbucks boycott

Written by Jonathan Breen on . Posted in News.

A leading expert on tax evasion has advocated Manchester students boycott Starbucks coffee on campus.

Speaking to The Mancunion last Monday, John Christensen, director of Tax Justice Network, said direct action should be taken against the multinational company for their alleged practice of tax-avoidance.

“Should this be something they should be taking direct action on? I would argue yes – support a boycott,” he said. “Companies don’t like boycotts, they don’t like the reputational harm.”

Starbucks have been in the news recently after appearing in front of the Public Accounts Committee, accused of large-scale tax evasion in the country.

The American corporation’s coffee is sold on the University’s North Campus at the Students’ Union’s Biko North Cafe.

“I think the student body in Manchester needs to think very carefully, there are alternatives to Starbucks,” Mr Christensen said. “Do they want to support companies that are undermining the economy in this country and elsewhere?

“Corporate responsibility begins with paying tax, you cannot run a democracy without tax.

“The litmus test of corporate social responsibility is not how many orchestras and how many kindergartens they’ve given beads and bangles to, its are you paying tax in the right amount, in the right place, at the right time.

After studying the affect of tax havens on developing countries Mr Christensen, from notorious tax haven Jersey, decided to do some secret investigating.

“In the early 1980s, after finishing my first degree, I went undercover,” said the former student of the University of Reading, Oxford and London School of Economics.

“I went back to Jersey, got a job at a major accounting firm, worked inside their optional division, and found out how these things happen, “ he continued. “Rather extraordinarily I was recruited by the government of Jersey to become their senior economic advisor.

“When something like that happens, not only is the salary very tempting, but it was too good an opportunity to explore how governments shape tax havens, the relationship between Jersey and the City of London and the relationship between Jersey and the [British] government.

“I was the only person in Jersey who knew what I was doing. I had a team [in England] who knew what I was doing, there were three of us, but it wasn’t until I came back to London in 1998 that what I was doing became public knowledge.

In 2002, having worked on an Oxfam report on how tax havens affect developing countries, Christensen helped found Tax Justice Network to draw focus to tax avoidance, an issue he believes students should pay attention to.

“This is a real potent issue, because it affects everyone,” he said. “And in an age of austerity when governments are saying we have to impose cuts, we’re saying well hang about if you were to tax multinational corporations on their products and tax the wealthy people who are using off shore accounts to tax evade, there would be no need for any of these austerity cuts.

“Students are having to pay massive fees which my generation did not have to pay, precisely because the government says we can’t raise the tax revenues we need to pay the universities.

“I would suggest to students this is a totally artificial argument, far from there not being revenue out there, there is an awful lot of money out there being held offshore evading tax and avoiding tax.

“So this impacts virtually everyone in this country.”

General Secretary of the Student Union Nick Pringle said in a statement, “I think that Starbucks should pay their taxes and that the Students’ Union should provide services and products that students at Manchester want.

“And that if John Christensen was a student he could influence the products that the union does and doesn’t sell.”

MMU student presents manifesto at Brussels

Written by Anthony Organ on . Posted in News.

A Manchester Metropolitan University student has delivered a manifesto on climate change to the European Parliament.

Tehseen Mirza, a first year student of Biomedical Sciences, was chosen by the Make the Link – Climate exChange project to present the proposal in Brussels.

She said: “I felt quite privileged, I felt like I was representing a lot of people, including loads of young people in the UK.

“I think that young people need to get involved in the issue because people in power now won’t live with the consequences as long as the youth of today.”

Make the Link is a three year project funded by the European Union and aimed at linking European youth groups with those in Africa to promote action against climate change.

Three years ago, Ms Mirza was chosen as one of only six people worldwide to take part in the project’s youth scholarship programme.

She said: “I was 18 at the time. I was volunteering and received an email about the opportunity so I applied.

“I was really happy to be chosen to represent the UK, I felt quite privileged.”

She presented the manifesto to a workshop of around 30 MEPs as part of a campaign to involve the European Parliament in action against climate change.

She said: “They were quite intrigued that we had come up with something like this and taken such a big stance on the issue. They were all willing to sign it.

“I hope it gets passed next year and that it provides a base for decision-makers to act on. Then we could see changes being made in the future.”

Asked about her future plans, she said: “I’m looking into a career in Biomedical Sciences but I’d definitely like to keep up my work on the voluntary side.”

The issue will be voted on by the European Parliament and the verdict will be announced in February.

Tory MP stoned off campus

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

A Conservative MP was pelted with rocks, eggs and tomatoes as he was due to give a talk at the University of Sussex.

Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove, East Sussex, had been invited by the Conservative Society at the University to debate squatting laws. The format of the event had previously been changed from a lecture after coming under fire on Facebook.

Weatherley has been a target of criticism from squatters since his election to Parliament in 2010, due to his campaigning for the criminalisation of squatting.

Despite the incident taking place on campus, the University of Sussex denied student involvement.

“We believe that the violent disruption was led by activist protestors from outside of the University, not by our students”, said Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Farthing.

“The Squatter’s Network of Brighton, however, rebuffed these claims.

“There were students, squatters, and supporters present”, read a statement on their website. “The government consultation on squatting came out as 90% opposed to banning squatting, [which] is why a broad range of people chased him off campus today”.

Just before the debate was about to start, a group of around 50 people surrounded him, shouting “Whatever they say, squatting will stay”.

“As soon as I walked in to the lecture theatre, someone attempted to punch me”, explained Weatherley.

Campus security escorted the MP to a room in a different part of the campus while the group followed throwing rocks, eggs and tomatoes at him. He was eventually escorted to safety in the back of a police van.

“Weatherley was literally chased away[…] woo hoo!”, tweeted Sanjeedah Choudhury, an Associate Tutor at the University of Sussex.

“We condemn the behaviour of these individuals”, said Matt Boughton, President of the University of Sussex Conservative Society. “Our society will not allow violent groups to impeach our freedoms.”

Shisha bosses walk out of council meeting

Written by Ellen Conlon on . Posted in News.

Shisha bosses met with council members to discuss the future of their venues on the Curry Mile but some refused to stay and walked out after 20 minutes.

As The Mancunion recently reported, Shisha bosses requested the meeting to discuss compromises with the law to allow for them to continue with their smoking businesses indoors, illegally.

One shisha café owner was asked to leave the meeting by the chair of the meeting, Manchester City Council deputy leader, Jim Battle. Ten other traders then walked out in protest.

Councillor Battle said: “The meeting was very productive, however a number of traders tried to disrupt the meeting and as a result I asked them to leave. But the meeting continued in a constructive manner. The majority of people stayed and afterwards said it was the right thing to do.”

“I think a group of people came along with the intention of being disruptive because they didn’t want to hear what was being said,” he added.

Ali Alaw, of Star Café was asked to leave the meeting. “I directed a question to the council’s legal officer and Councillor Battle interrupted and answered on her behalf,” he said.

“When I queried this he dismissed me and asked me to leave. It was a public meeting, he had no right to dismiss people.”

Shivan Amin, of Shalal Café walked out with Alaw. “They were just telling us their own points, and wouldn’t listen to what we had to say,” he said. “The attitude was awful.”

The shisha bosses put forward their own alternative ideas in order to ‘compromise’ with the law, as The Mancunion previously reported. This included the possibility of using strong extractor fans or special ‘smoking licenses.’

“I was asked about the use of extractor fans but clearly the legislation doesn’t allow for that,” said councillor Battle. “The law is clear and must be complied with.”

“The hope is that there will be compliance with the law from now on. If that’s not forthcoming then it will be enforced by a team made up of the fire service, the police, excise and customs and environmental health,” added Battle.

Mohamed Haider, of Passion Shisha Lounge said: “I think the meeting went very well. The law has been clearly explained in various languages and everyone knows where they stand.

“The council are trying to help us run our businesses legally. Any law changes that people want would have to go through parliament.

“If these places shut down, it will make it fairer for places like Passion Lounge, because at present we do business properly and we’re losing out to the illegal traders.”

 

 

Public vote for best research photos

Written by Anthony Organ on . Posted in News.

Winners have been announced for a contest featuring photographs taken by University of Manchester researchers.

The ‘Images of Research’ competition asked for images showing how research affects the wider world, and fifteen shortlisted finalists were displayed online and at the Deansgate John Rylands Library.

The winning photo, named “Borders Beyond Borders”, was taken by Benjamin Tallis, a PhD researcher looking at how borders in the Eastern region of the European Union relate to a nation’s identity.

He said: “This is a great boost for my research, both in raising the profile of the issues it deals with and in confirming that it is of interest to people.”

The image was captured at a Soviet war memorial in Lviv, Ukraine at a moment when hundreds of birds erupted from the trees and filled the sky.

Runners-up included an image of hands covered in UV paint showing bacteria thriving on them, and a computer generated photo of a 305-million-year-old arachnid.

Mr Tallis, who has previously had his photography exhibited in Didsbury, said that he has “been into photography for a long time.”

“I thought that the competition was a very good initiative, providing a way of promoting visual research as a way of understanding the world,” he continued.

He believes that measuring the “impact” of research shouldn’t be about putting it into economic practice but about making it more accessible to the public.

The photo was taken on a cold December day after a visit to the monument.

He said: “As I was about to leave, I heard an amazing sound: thousands of starlings exploding out of the trees behind the monument, streaking the sky in swirling black swarms.

“It was one of those moments where you fill up with feeling and emotion but it’s really just a wonderful time.”

He managed to compose himself long enough to take the photo in what he described as “an instant reaction,” hoping that he “would do justice to what was an amazing moment.”

Asked about his future plans he said: “Whatever I do I know that I’ll continue to take photos, I get plenty of moments of inspiration.”

Mr Tallis won a £200 Amazon voucher for his winning entry, chosen by a public vote.

Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP)

Written by Kate Bullivant on . Posted in Societies.

ASAP (Academics Stand Against Poverty) is an international organisation that aims to use the skills of academics to eradicate global poverty. The ASAP society describe themselves as an ideas forum, hoping to get students involved with the scheme in bringing together all their different skills to help combat poverty. It is new to Manchester University but has been really successful in other universities such as Birmingham. The society holds bi-weekly meetings where students can brain storm ideas how to overcome poverty and how to bring to light problems abroad to the Manchester and Student community.

I spoke to Omid Mojabi, a member of ASAP who explained a bit more about the society. ‘’We are looking for students who have volunteered abroad to give talks and share their experiences with other students. Through these talks we want to explain the benefits of volunteering alongside the potential problems. It is a great way for people to understand cultural differences which volunteers have to overcome and how people can get the most out of volunteering abroad.’’

Through ASAP Omid and other members took part in the ‘Poverty Line’ Challenge. They had to live off £1 and day for one week, and donated what they would normally spend (around £20 a week on food) to the charity of their choice. ‘’It was really tough to do and really made me realise how hard life in poverty is. As a group we managed to put our money together for food but that didn’t leave anything extra for travel. It meant I had to walk to university and going out was not an option. I had just enough money to survive and that was it.’’ ASAP also offer unique internship opportunities with the charity itself. All you have to do is visit the website http://academicsstand.org/ to find out more.

Mancunion Recommends (then): Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III

Written by Tom Ingham on . Posted in Music.

The album starts on somewhat familiar terms; the trademark wails from Plant coupled with one of Jimmy Page’s many killer riffs. The songs real heaviness comes from Bonzo and JPJ, who are the real engine behind the lush exterior of Page and Plant. However, from then on in we’re introduced to a much more acoustic, folk-inspired side of Led Zeppelin that caused some difference in opinions amongst critics at the time.

Tracks like ‘Friends’, ‘That’s the way’ and ‘Tangerine’ blend the bands early American blues influences with British folk artists of the time like Bert Jansch, and most notably Roy Harper who even gets his own song title. These songs showcase a whole new dynamic that makes bands that do acoustic versions of already existing electric songs seem a tad lame. The stand out acoustic track for me is ‘Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp’ named after the welsh cottage in which the album was written. The intricate, country-style riff lifts Page up above so many of his axe-wielding peers at the time who survived solely on a distortion pedal and the pentatonic scale.

The true pièce de résistance comes from the spine tingling ballad ‘Since I’ve been loving you’. It’s frankly astonishing to hear the sound achieved with just three blokes, pretty much no overdubs, and John Paul Jones playing organ as well as bass, with his feet no less! Plants delivery is so on the money it more than makes up for his slightly clichéd blues lyrics.

Led Zeppelin III introduced fans to a whole new side of Led Zeppelin, unfortunately it also marked the start of Robert Plant’s fascination with Celtic folk tales which would go on to feature on other albums, as well as in the cringe worthy scenes from The song remains the same. The album was a launch pad for the band to go on experimenting with their folk influences, mixing their acoustic material in alongside more familiar rock sounds, and of course leading to the composition of one particular song that must not be named.

Tuition fees ‘biggest contributing factor to inflation’

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

Higher tuition fees are the largest single contributing factor to inflation, a report by the Office of National Statistics has found.

The Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation rose from 2.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent last month – its first rise since July.

0.36 percent of this 0.5 per cent rise came from education.

The £1.3 billion per year savings that were projected to be made from the fee increases will be “mostly taken up” by the extra annual spending created by this inflation, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute.

The HEPI report estimated that the inflationary aspect of higher fees would range anywhere from £420 million to £1.15 billion.

“[The government] told us that trebled tuition fees were a necessity to save money”, said Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, “but it will actually cost ordinary taxpayers billions more.”

“The government was determined to abdicate responsibility for university education and got its sums badly wrong in a way that affects not just students but all of us”, Burns continued.

“The student movement has been saying for quite some time that this hike in tuition fees is wrong for students”, said Cat Gray, Wellbeing Officer at the University of Manchester, speaking on BBC Radio Five.

“I think these figures today on inflation demonstrate that this is actually really wrong for the economy too”.