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Day: 25 November 2013

Live: Kodaline

Written by Shanda Moorghen on . Posted in Music.

17th November

The Ritz

7/10

Previously known as 21 Guns, Kodaline made history in 2007 when their independently released track “Give Me A Minute” topped the Irish charts. With Steve Garrigan at the helm, the band from Dublin arrived at The Ritz in search of an even bigger audience for their album In A Perfect World

Starting the night off was talented young singer James Bay. His first EP having just been released, it proved a perfect opportunity to showcase his talent with tracks like ‘Move Together’ and ‘Stealing Cars’. Following the opening act, Irish folk pop duo Hudson Taylor took to the stage. As soon as they started, it became clear that they were destined for greater things. With excellent songs like ‘Care’ and ‘Battles’ highlighting their set, they even managed to get the crowd to sing along. By the time Hudson Taylor finished, the crowd was demanding for more and the duo hinted that they would be back in town at the end of the month for their own tour.

It was soon Kodaline’s turn to shine. Opening with ‘After The Fall’, Garrigan immediately connected with the audience with his beautiful pure voice. In a skillful and emotional statement of intent, cinematic in scope and able to cause goose bumps almost at will, Kodaline mastered the beginning of its set like rarely before. However, as strong as the start was, they struggled a bit to keep the audience in their grasp with their less known tracks. Given their album was only out this year, it was no real surprise.  Nevertheless, Garrigan was bound to make an impression. Disappearing after their performance of ‘All Comes Down’, they reappeared on the balcony of The Ritz, in the middle of the crowd, to sing ‘Bring It On Home To Me’, to the delight of the audience. In a somewhat expected turn, they closed with beautifully written song ‘All I Want’ with backing vocals from Hudson Taylor, hence providing an adequate finish to a great night of music.

Kodaline have still a long way to go before claiming their place as big-buck contenders but they have all the components for greatness, with choruses so beautiful and heart-wrenching that the drawing of thousands of people holding festival lighters singing in unison paints itself.

Warehouse Project DJ plays Fallowfield house-party

Written by Gawain Owen on . Posted in News.

A DJ duo who played at Warehouse Project turned up at a house-party in Fallowfield on the weekend.

Lancaster upcoming music duo Bondax headlined the party hosted by Kieran Jandu of The University of Manchester. Jandu grew up with the two members of Bondax, George and Adam, and was fortunate enough to have them play a set in his basement only hours after playing at The Warehouse Project on Saturday night, 16 November.

Alongside Bondax, Transmission Collective also played a set in the students’ basement. The house on Victoria Road was transformed into an unofficial after party for The Warehouse Project.

But, this was not the only big name playing at a house party in Fallowfield on Saturday night. Only a few streets down on Granville Road, well known garage and grime DJ, Preditah, graced attendees with an unexpected visit.

After playing a set in Red Rum, Fallowfield, two Manchester students invited him to a house party nearby.

To their surprise he agreed and within the hour was playing in their living room.

Interview: David Rieff

Written by Sam Dumitriu on . Posted in Features.

What gives a humanitarian institution in London or New York the right to go into someone else’s country and say they know what should be done?

It was this question David Rieff attempted to answer when he gave the annual public lecture at Manchester’s Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute. The question is not merely academic for Rieff, who as a journalist throughout the nineties covered almost every major humanitarian disaster, from Rwanda and Congo to Bosnia and Kosovo. If Rieff was in your country in the nineties, the odds were good that something bad was happening.

“I think there are a bunch of questions that need to be asked that we take too easily for granted about humanitarian action.  What gives it its legitimacy? People start in the middle when they talk about this question. They talk about what should be done, which is entirely appropriate. But, what gives a humanitarian institution in London or New York – or for that matter Rio De Janiero or Cape Town the right to go into someone else’s country and say they know what should be done?”

Rieff is correct; when we see the suffering on our TVs caused by super typhoon Haiyan, our first response is how can we help. Questions of legitimacy never enter into the equation.

“Kofi Annan’s favourite saying, which was taken from Edmund Burke was ‘the only thing needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing’. But, wanting to do something and knowing what to do are two different things. Saying something should be done and saying you have the right to do it, are not the same things.”

One aspect of humanitarianism where the question of legitimacy has come up is humanitarian intervention. Earlier in the year, when intervention in Syria was floated the public, along with MPs, broadly opposed it.  The optimism for intervention in the wake of Kosovo seems to have disappeared; Rieff has shifted with the public from optimism to scepticism. Why have the public fallen out of favour with humanitarian intervention?

“Humanitarian intervention and humanitarian action are two different things. What we mean by humanitarian intervention is humanitarian war, or war in the name of preventing massive war crimes. That is one extreme side of the humanitarian world.

“I don’t find it surprising that large majorities are against intervention in Syria because nobody knows what they would do there. I think there’s a lot of buyer’s remorse about Libya. Lots of things were promised by France and the US about what would happen if Gaddafi was overthrown and for the most part it doesn’t seemed to have worked out rather well.

“I don’t find that surprising at all, but let me be clear, to condemn that is not to condemn all humanitarian action, the things that Oxfam does, the things that Doctors without Borders do.”

Crises like Syria seem unsolvable; any action we take can seem futile in the face of all the suffering that will happen regardless. Is there a sense of pessimism challenging to humanitarian action?

“Did it live up to all of its promises? No. But what does. The relief organisations do a lot of work, think of medical relief work, of public health work, of famine relief. All that has been very successful, there used to be a famine every 30 years in some places in the world. Now, when there is a famine, at least in the last 15 to 20 years, fewer people die.

“If you look at just the vector of Somali famines in the past 100 years, you’ll see horrible as they are, tragic as they are, that actually they are stopped more quickly and efficiently. I don’t think there’s some general disenchantment.

“I think that’s what true is that in the first decade after the cold war that is in the nineties, the humanitarian actors seemed like magicians and a lot of hopes were vested in them that they couldn’t possibly have fulfilled. They were thought to be ten feet tall, and then there was a period where everyone was disenchanted. But I don’t think in 2013 that people still having the fantasies they did about Doctors Without Borders in Bosnia in 1994. That was 20 years ago.”

Various critics of humanitarian action have questioned the way we portray the subjects of humanitarian action. They argue that the way we portray victims of genocide and famine fails to respect their agency. Rieff is highly sceptical of the idea.

“What would agency for someone who is starving to death mean? I know people use these words but I don’t know what they mean. Humanitarian action is an emblem of social failure, political failure, state failure. Remember emergency relief isn’t the same as development aid. In development, I think those questions are very legitimate, to talk about agency, to say that big development agencies in the global north and in the UN system should listen more and lecture less. But when people are dying of hunger, if they could do something for themselves they would.

“Obviously when a crisis is over, then whether the relief agencies always do the right thing is in question and there is a problem with relief agencies exaggerating the disaster and the helplessness of the people suffering.

“Evangelical agencies that have been accused of trying to convert starving people, obviously that’s outrageous. But if somehow there’s an idea that this could be made into an equal partnership between the starving and the non-starving.  I think that’s wishful thinking.”

The popular view in humanitarian circles suggest that humanitarianism derives its legitimacy by being a part of political action as well as just providing aid. Oxfam International, for example, alongside helping the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan actively campaigns for governments to take action against climate change.

“My view of humanitarian relief is that it does a limited number of things. It’s palliative it is not transformative. There are people within the humanitarian world who think of themselves as part of some larger solution. But there I agree with the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata who said ‘There are no humanitarian solutions to humanitarian problems’.

“I’m a sort of humanitarian fundamentalist, in the sense that humanitarianism does a comparably small, important, restricted thing very well. But no, it’s not an Archimedean lever to change the world.”

Rieff illustrates his fundamentalist view of humanitarianism with reference to his 2003 book A Bed for the Night, which is based off a Bertolt Brecht poem.

“He tells a story of a guy in New York at the height of the depression, who gives homeless people a bed for the night. The poem says the man won’t change the world, he won’t bring social justice, but for a night people won’t have snow falling on their heads. “

For Rieff humanitarian action derives its legitimacy from its limited scope. When humanitarianism becomes merely part of a broader political project we face problems, most importantly that people disagree. Rieff’s fundamentalist humanitarianism gives us reason to keep helping even when we lost faith in our political projects.

For more information on upcoming events hosted by the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute you can visit thier website: http://www.hcri.ac.uk/events/

Interview: Vicky Pryce

Written by Sam Dumitriu on . Posted in Features.

“I don’t think anyone expected me to go to prison, I was about the only who did.  I didn’t have anyone telling me what it would be like.”

Convicted in May of perverting the course of justice, Vicky Pryce was an unlikely candidate for prison.  Few expected her and politician ex-husband Chris Huhne to have been sentenced to prison for what ultimately amounted to lying about a few points on her driving license. Pryce chronicled her experiences in her new book, Prisonomics.

In not being fully prepared for prison, Pryce is hardly alone. She cites stats saying that 50% of women didn’t expect to be sentenced.

“I have met women who were in exactly that position, who were told by their probation officers and their solicitors that the chances of them going to prison was very small, so they turned up with just their handbag with nothing in it. And then were shocked, then the next thing that happens, is either; your sent straight down to the cells, assuming there’s any time to spend in there or you are taken straight to the prison.

“The only person you can talk to is your lawyer. You can’t ring anyone; you have to give away your mobile. It’s very anachronistic; it’s like going back to the Middle Ages. Once you’re there of course, you have to beg to have to make a phone call to select numbers and there’s no internet.

The worrying thing in some cases is that the woman convicted has made no long-term arrangements for her children. The Revolving Doors Agency found in a survey of 1400 women prisoners that 42 women had no idea who was looking after their children. Aside from the terrifying prospect that the children might be left on their own, it is intensely traumatic for the women entering prison.

“There is panic. In a number of cases the women would have left their children with a neighbour and expected to return in the evening. They have no contact and no ability to get anything in the next few days, in terms of anything to keep them warm and so on. It’s not very comfortable.

“It’s very difficult for the children as you can imagine. Also, sadly there are some women who don’t tell anyone anything about their children because they’re afraid they’ll be taken into care. They go away without any form of support.”

One of the most surprising things about Prisonomics was just how nice all the other prisoners seemed.  This wasn’t like in Orange is New Black where the prisoners starved Piper out (a show that coincidentally Vicky Pryce has not seen). Was she surprised by how nice the prisoners were?

“To tell you the truth I didn’t know what to expect. The moment I left the courtroom, and then got into the van to go to prison – the people in the van, the officers, another girl who was on remand, we were all in there in these separate cubicles – the photographers who were mostly men were banging their cameras against the walls of the Black Maria which takes you across to the prison trying to pictures of me through the cubicles. The interesting thing was that the Serco staff in there and this girl were so sympathetic. I realised there is a solidarity there and I found that in great measure once I got into Holloway and then again in East Sutton again.

“It wasn’t just for me, because of course I was well known. But, everyone who was coming in also was given a huge amount of help. It wasn’t just me they nice to.”

Pryce served time in two prisons. Four days in Holloway and two months in East Sutton Park open prison.

“The difference was black and white. I had no idea what open prison was about. I assumed you had slightly more freedoms . But I wasn’t expecting to go to a place in the middle of the country in an Elizabethan country house, with huge grounds around it, no fences, no lockups.

“People were running around doing their own thing. People didn’t have a cell; they had a room they shared. It was how I imagine a boarding house to be, not that I’ve ever been in one.”

Pryce reaches some radical conclusions, she argues that the vast majority of women prisoners shouldn’t be behind bars and that community sentencing is a better alternative. One of the many problems with Britain’s prison system is its inability to deal with drug addiction.

“A big percentage of prisoners do drugs for the first time while in prison.”

Many women who enter prison either have serious drug problems or suffer from mental illness. For instance, 37 per cent of women sent to prison have attempted suicide at one point in their lives, while just over half of female remand prisoners were addicted to drugs in the year before entering prison. Is prison really the best option in these cases?

“I seriously think that turning a prison into an amateur psychiatric unit, which happened in Holloway and happens elsewhere is a mistaken policy. Women on drugs are not necessarily responsible for what they are doing. They should be possibly treated in residential establishments for their particular problem or dealt with by the various women’s centres where are there are actually courses going on, instead of going to prison and being given Mephedrone.

“That’s not really what prisons were meant to be there for, and they’re frankly a huge strain on the prison officers and everyone else around them. “

When the topic of short sentences comes up, Pryce is scathing. Do they serve any good to society?

“I presume they make people happy that some action is being taken, the Daily Mail readers feel satisfied. But of course, they come up out and reoffend quite a lot. I’m not in favour of making sentences any longer, I’m in favour of not sending anyone who would get short sentences to prison, particularly mothers, when there are other ways of dealing with it.

“Community service and community orders are much cheaper and they have a better record in terms of reoffending. I mean they are hugely cheaper, they keep people in close with their families and they allow therefore integration to happen much more easily. It’s a no brainer really.”

But is community service an effective deterrent?

“All the studies suggest that prison is not a deterrent for crime. So if prison is not a deterrent, you might as well use something that’s cheaper. In terms of deterrence from crime, the greatest deterrent is the likelihood of being caught. It’s not the length of the sentences; it’s the whether you expect to get caught. Most criminals commit crimes because they don’t think they are going to get caught. People generally do not get caught. Targeted policing is a better deterrent than anything else. “

Britain puts more people in prison per 100,000 than any other country in the west bar America. Why is the prison population so large?

“What has happened is that sentences became longer. Particularly during the end of the Major years and the beginning of the Labour period when they were getting tough on crime and wanted to be even tougher than the conservatives. The whole climate changed and there were longer sentences and many more things people did were classified as offences. We saw a doubling of the prison population in 20 years. If we went back to where we were we’d save huge amounts of money.

“People try to link the reduction in crime to the increase in the prison population. But the correlation doesn’t work that way, we are putting more people in prison even though crime is going down.”

So how do we make prisons work?

“I think education and employment are two of the most important things which have the greatest return in terms of value for money. My view is that the cost-benefit analysis has not been done yet in government. Helping people find jobs and taking away the stigma of being convicted would be the biggest contribution to society. It would reduce unemployment and reduce the rate of re-offence.”

Vicky Pryce’s book Prisonomics, published by BiteBack Publishing is out now and available in all good bookshops. Royalties from the book will be donated to Working Chance a charity that helps former women prisoners find work.

 

University reception moved amid ‘security concerns’ over course closure protest

Written by Gawain Owen on . Posted in News.

‘Security concerns’ apparently posed by a student protest meant a social responsibility reception hosted by the University of Manchester had to move location last week.

The protest was in reaction to a recent decision made by the University to close Learning Disability Studies from 2014 onward.

The pre-planned protest was set to coincide with the Social Responsibility reception, which was originally to be held in the University’s John Rylands Library at Deansgate. But, concerns the protest would cause too much disruption to the event meant it was moved to Whitworth Hall on the main campus.

“Given the prospect of a protest, the main campus was considered to be a more appropriate venue,” a University spokesman said.

Support for the protest against the closure of the Disability Studies course has increased over the past couple of weeks. The online petition to save the course has exceeded one thousand signatories.

But there appears to be no signal from the University of any plans to u-turn on their decision to closing the course.

A spokesman for the University said, “We do not believe that we will be able to recruit sufficient students in the future to make this programme sustainable.”

Elbow singer opens £34m MMU School of Art

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

Manchester Metropolitan University unveiled a £34million School of Art building last week – with a little help from Elbow frontman Guy Garvey.

Garvey, who was awarded an honorary degree by the University last year, said he accepted the invite because “the measure of a community is how it treats its arts.”

“When arts funding is so scarce and MMU is investing £34m, it makes me proud to be a Mancunian,” said Garvey.

“I think the arts are a barometer of a city’s spiritual and moral health.”

Garvey was joined by property developer Tom Bloxham MBE, graphic designer Malcolm Garrett, and Director and CEO of Cornerhouse Dave Moutrey for the opening of the ‘Benzie Building’ last Monday, on the School’s 175th anniversary.

The building is named after outgoing chair of governors Alan Benzie, who also spoke at the event. Benzie was instrumental in securing funding for the building, which is England’s first municipal art school.

Starting life as the Manchester School of Design in 1838, the school provided, for a period in 1880, the only higher education offered to women. Eventually, the school joined with Manchester Polytechnic in 1978 and was later absorbed by Manchester Metropolitan University.

David Threlfall, best known for playing Frank in Channel 4’s ‘Shameless’, called the new Benzie building “a wonderful place to try out your artistic endeavours” when he spoke via video link at the event.

Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese said the new building is “quite revolutionary” and spoke of the School being “one of the city’s great institutions.” Sir Richard also spoke of the need for more acknowledgment of the arts as “economic drivers” and “improving the quality of life”.

Also appearing via video was animator Brian Cosgrove, who met friend Mark Hall at the original Manchester Regional College of Art and went on to form Cosgrove Hall Films – producing such classic cartoons as Count Duckula and Danger Mouse. Cosgrove spoke fondly of his time studying in Manchester, praising the feeling of “being among artists” and “understanding what art was”.

The Benzie Building is now open, and can be found on MMU’s main All Saints campus.

Apathetic turnout for Halls Committee elections

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

Halls of Residence Committee elections were marred by lack of interest, with one halls – Owens Park – having seven positions unfilled after the first election, The Mancunion can reveal.

During the first set of elections for Owens Park last week, nobody ran for the General Secretary, Men’s or Women’s Sport Officer, Environmental Officer, Community Officer, or two Communications Officer positions – seven out of the eleven positions.

Nominations were reopened and a second paper ballot was held, but the Women’s Sport Officer position still remains vacant.

Disinterest was not only limited to the positions themselves. Seven per cent of Owens Park residents voted in the first election – a number which rose to just 13 per cent for the second vote, despite the ballot taking place during dinner-time in the dining hall.

President of the Owens Park Students’ Association, Megan Taylor, defended the turnout.

“Many students showed interest, whether it be nominating themselves or by voting,” said Taylor.  “And we are very grateful for their contributions.

“I am pleased to announce that we had a very successful by-election to fill the vacant positions on the Owens Park Committee.”

In addition to Owens Park, six other halls commitees had positions that nobody applied for. Oak House had four roles unfilled, with Whitworth Park and Wright Robinson having three vacant roles. Opal Gardens, Richmond Park and Victioria Hall had two positions uncontested. Only Grosvenor Halls managed to fill all of their roles.

Information for Ashburne & Sheavyn halls was unavailable when The Mancunion went to print.

Charlie Cook, Community Officer, suggesed student’s lack of confidence in politicians marred voting numbers, rather than a lack of interest in the committees themselves.

“Before they come to University, students are often either unable to vote or feel that politicians offer them very little,” said Cook. “I think this is more likely to be the reason for low engagement rather than not valuing the committees themselves.”

Cook also hinted towards steps being taken to remedy situations such as that at Owens Park.

“One objective of next year’s elections will be to raise engagement levels across the democratic process from candidate nominations to voter turnout,” she said.

Students’ Union to cut staff in face of deficit

Written by Jonathan Breen on . Posted in News.

With over a half a million pound deficit, the Students’ Union is set to implement cuts, including to staff and society funding, as part of a last ditch savings plan.

After an emergency meeting of the Trustee Board on 8 November, £400,821 of budget cuts, and £68,000 of additional income generation was agreed. But, this still left £130,000 of savings needed, for which the Trustees have turned to staff for income-generating and cost-saving ideas, or to ultimately make redundancies.

“There is still an extra £130,000 worth of savings to be made and this can only come from any further ideas that staff may present to us that could assist to bridge the gap,” said General Secretary of the Union Grace Skelton. “Short of that, we will have to concede that job losses will be an eventuality and the Union will be in the regrettable position of initially having to implement a voluntary redundancy programme.”

She added, “We are also currently giving all staff members the option of requesting voluntary redundancy, however the Union reserves the right to decide whether or not to accept the request.”

The University of Manchester Students’ Union conducted a review of its commercial performance in October and found they faced around a £619,000 deficit. Previously, the Union’s Trustee Board received an internal financial report in August, which showed they would end the 2012-13 financial year with a deficit of a similar amount.

A document sent to staff, seen by The Mancunion, showed, among other things, savings of £32,000 were made by reducing staff training and travel budgets, £17,000 by cutting the campaign budget and society grants budget – existing grants will not be affected – £11,500 from not replacing existing minibuses, and £4,500 by replacing student staff from the Activities reception with existing permanent staff or interns.

Other cutbacks include the closure of Biko’s North Cafe on North Campus, which has been running at a loss.

“The closure of Biko’s North Café would have been inevitable at some point in the next few years due to the University of Manchester’s decision to vacant North Campus as part of the Campus Masterplan,” said Skelton. “This process has been brought forward by the Students’ Union as it has been indentified that Biko’s North Café was operating at a significant loss.”

It is not yet clear what caused the significant deficit, but an investigation is underway.

“The Trustee Board is in the process of investigating the causes of the financial situation however at this stage our priority is to deal with the ongoing consultation process,” said Skelton.

Staff with cost-saving or income-generating ideas can go to their Head of Department or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Mystery of moving statue at Manchester Museum solved

Written by Inez Dawoodjee on . Posted in News.

An Egyptian statue in the Manchester Museum that captured the attention of the world’s media as it appeared to rotate on its own, wasn’t cursed after all.

Vibrations expert Steve Gosling has solved the mystery. He discovered that vibrations from museum-goers and outside traffic at peak times in the day caused the 10-inch statue to move.

In April, a time-lapse video captured footage of the 1,800 stone statuette rotating inside its sealed display case, causing rumours of an ancient curse. Museum curators had no explanation as to why this happened.

But Gosling was able to provide an explanation, after he placed a three-axis sensor underneath the display case to track vibrations over an entire day.

He found that noise vibrations were loudest at 6pm and then tapered off, but began again in a daily cycle.  Vibrations from the noise propelled the statue’s movements.

“The statue was rotating due to vibrations entering the display case.  We installed an accelerometer and found that vibrations from both road traffic and footfall within the museum were the cause,” Gosling told Reuters news agency.

He added, “The vibration is a combination of multiple sources so there’s buses outside on the busy road, there’s footfall activity. And it’s all of those things combined.”

Gosling discovered a lump at the base of the statue made it more effective at picking up vibrations than other statues with flat bases.

The statue attracted attention from press all over the world when curators at the Museum first revealed that it was rotating.

The 25 cm statue was donated to the museum 80 years ago.  Its portrays an Egyptian man making an offering to Osisris, god of the underworld.

Gosling undertook this investigation as part of a ITV series Mystery Map which aims to solve mysteries.

“Miracle material” graphene to be used in condoms

Written by Inez Dawoodjee on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

Scientists at the University of Manchester have been given funding to develop a new condom using graphene and latex.

Graphene is made up of only a single layer of carbon atoms, but is stronger than diamonds.  Condoms made from graphene will be stronger, yet thinner and safer too.

Professor Aravind Vijayaraghavan of Manchester’s School of Materials said, “This composite material will be tailored to enhance the natural sensation during intercourse while using a condom, which should encourage and promote condom use.”

He added, “This will be achieved by combining the strength of graphene with the elasticity of latex to produce a new material which can be thinner, stronger, more stretchy, safer and, perhaps most importantly, more pleasurable.”

Professor Vijayaraghavan has been awarded £62,000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in an attempt to solve health problems in developing countries—particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Researchers Sir Andrew Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov from the University of Manchester won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 for their discovery of graphene.

Nicknamed the “ miracle material,” graphene’s lightweight quality, tensile strength, transparency  and ability to conduct electricity has made it a hit with researchers.

It is currently being adjusted for use in electrical equipment, new types of solar panels, lightweight body armour as well as non-stick coatings on pans.

It is hoped that graphene-based condoms will be more desirable to use and therefore encourage the widespread use of condoms.  This in turn could have a knock-on effect in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and reducing unplanned pregnancies.

Professor Vijayaraghavan  explained his hopes for incorporating graphene into everyday materials.

“Since its isolation in 2004, people have wondered when graphene will be used in our daily life.

“Currently, people imagine using graphene in mobile-phone screens, food packaging and chemical sensors.

“If this project is successful, we might have a use for graphene which will touch our everyday life in the most intimate way.”

 

Request for witnesses after attempted daylight robbery

Written by Jake Bhardwaj on . Posted in News.

Police have urged for two key witnesses to come forward in relation to the attempted robbery of a mobile phone.

The incident took place at 12 noon, Saturday 16th of November, on Oxford road, close by to the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, when a woman’s mobile phone was snatched from her. The thief, who then fled from the scene, was chased down by University security who managed to retain the stolen phone and returned it to its rightful owner.

Police are calling for two members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward, as they alerted the University security team to the incident and could help with any further police inquiries.

This incident follows a trend of similar crimes occurring in this area of Manchester over the last few months, with over 60 thefts from a person occurring in September alone.

Though the phone was recovered, police remain keen to talk to the two witnesses, in the hope that this sort of criminal activity can be prevented in the future.

If you were the victim of this theft, or of any other similar incident, Greater Manchester Police have requested that you contact university security on 0161 306 9966 or any police officer or go to your local police station.

Opportunist thief burgles unlocked student home

Written by Jake Bhardwaj on . Posted in News.

The Police have issued a warning for students across the Fallowfield area, after a burglary at a student house.

Thieves entered through the front door of the home on Lombard Grove between the hours for 6.30 am and 10.30 am on Saturday 16th November, stealing both an Apple iPad with Manchester Medical School and the university logo printed on its back, as well as a Samsung laptop, before leaving.  It seems that the front door of the property was left open, allowing the burglars to make both an easy entrance, and exit.

Police have warned that leaving doors and windows unlocked may lead to similar incidents over the course of the festive season. Police Constable Matthew Harvey, from West Didsbury Police Station said, “Unfortunately, the front door of the property was left ajar and an opportunist thief has struck inside.”

He went on to say that as Christmas soon approaches, “Thieves will be testing doors and windows to see if they are open.  Don’t give them an easy opportunity and ensure you keep them locked.”

In order to help the police with their investigations, Constable Harvey has also stated, “If you have been approached by anyone trying to sell electrical goods under suspicious circumstances, I would ask you to contact police.”

This incident comes after recent news that less than one in ten burglaries which took place in Greater Manchester between January and March resulted in charges being made against the thief and fewer than 2% saw the thief being jailed.

Anyone with any new information is urged to contact the police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Police also recommend any electrical goods be registered for free at, www.immobilise.com, which can help to return stolen electrical items to their rightful owner.

Manchester students protest privatisation of student debt

Written by Sean Doherty on . Posted in News.

Students from the University of Manchester took part in a series of ‘debt-ins’ around the University campus last week as part of a ‘National Day of Action’ protesting the privatisation of the student loan book.

The students who took part in the protest on Wednesday 20th November morning lay on the floor under a pile of red boxes representing student debt. The protest began in University Place before moving on to Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, the Stopford Building, the Library and the Roscoe Building.

“Manchester Students’ Union and the Defend Our Education campaign group will continue to take action against government proposals to privatise student loans,” said Clifford Fleming, Campaigns and Citizenship Officer. “The privatisation of the student loan book will see debt sold to private organisations and in order for this deal to be profitable private organisations would either need to change the terms and conditions of payments (including raising interest rates) or for the deal to be subsidised by the UK taxpayer.”

The government has announced its plans to sell off all student debt to private companies by 2015. A secret government report last year proposed that in order for the student loan book to be profitable to private companies, the cap on interest rates for repayments of loans would have to be removed.

Such a move would affect all students who graduated after 1998, meaning that current students would be faced with accumulating a higher debt than they believed they would when they agreed to the terms of their student loans.

Protests such as the one seen in Manchester took place in over twenty campuses all over the country, in a day of action co-ordinated by the Student Assembly Against Austerity.

Fiona Edwards, of the SAAA said, “We recognise that the privatisation of our student loans will cause interest rates to rise. We are demanding that they drop this outrageous policy immediately or expect further protests in the New Year.”

David Willetts, the Universities Minister, claims that privatisation of student loans will not lead to students having to pay back a greater amount of money, “There will be no change to the terms of repayment so students shouldn’t be affected by the privatisation of their loans.”

Harriet  Pugh, Undergraduate Humanities Faculty Representative and the primary organiser of Defend Our Education was critical of the move.

“It is almost certain that the privatisation of student debt will lead to an increase in the interest we have to pay back in the future. This affects ALL students who still have debt to repay, including those who have already taken out their loans.

“The government claims they are doing this as part of their plan to tackle national debt. What this really means, is that they are going to shift responsibility of student debt away from the government at the expense of graduates and, ultimately, (and ironically) the tax payer because the government is likely to have to subsidise the extra interest to private companies anyway.

As well as being a ridiculous financial decision, the privatisation of student debt is likely to have disastrous social consequences. It is already far more difficult for young people from ‘lower socio-economic backgrounds’ to go to university; you only have to look at the stats to work that one out.
This decision will only add to the financial burden of graduates and deter more people from getting the formal qualifications that open up so many opportunities and career prospects.”

Those at Defend Our Education are calling on students to contact their local MPS in an effort to persuade them not to sell the student loan book.

Those who would like to support the campaign can send an email to their local MP by visiting:
www.thestudentassembly.org.uk/lobbying-tools.html

Jabez Clegg closes

Written by Sean Doherty on . Posted in News.

Jabez Clegg, the popular student venue located next to the University of Manchester campus, has closed its doors after being sold to the University.

The former home of the controversial BOP club night, prior to its move to 256 in Fallowfield earlier this year, officially closed for business on Monday after being open under its ownership since 1991.

Hale Leisure Group, the owners of the site who also own The Thirsty Scholar, were granted planning permission by Manchester City Council to convert Jabez Clegg into 79 student apartments. However, it is believed that they were unable to find a developer willing to buy the venue and instead it was sold to the University.

A representative from the University has confirmed that the building was purchased as part of the £1 billion Master Plan, a ten year investment plan which aims to create a world-class campus at University of Manchester, a move which will include the integration of the sites which currently form North Campus into the main campus.

Although it is likely that Jabez Clegg will be part of a proposed biomedical campus in the area, there has been no decision made as regards its specific purpose.

Jabez Clegg confirmed the closure early on Monday morning as they posted a message on Twitter, “The rumours are true – I’m sorry to say we’re closed indefinitely. Good luck to all our friends. PEACE OUT.”

The XS Malarkey comedy club, a night which was based in Jabez Clegg, is currently seeking a new home. Although the banner on their Twitter page reads, “Currently homeless…” they have posted, “We’re not closing down, it’s just our venue. We plan to be back better than ever in 2014 :)”.

The news of the closure came as an abrupt shock to some of the staff. Krystie Kate Norcliffe, former employee at Jabez Clegg and a second year English Literature student at the University of Manchester felt that the venue’s shutting down on Monday was a sudden surprise.

“It came as a massive shock and I can’t quite believe it still, I knew that we were struggling as a business but I didn’t have any idea about the extent to which we were struggling.

“I have no choice but to look for a new job, I live permanently in Manchester now over the holidays as well as term time and I cannot afford to live here on my student loan alone.”

Krystie was told that while the owner of Jabez Clegg would attempt to find the staff jobs in other sites owned by the Hale Leisure Group, such as The Thirsty Scholar, that there were currently no jobs to be had. The staff received redundancy pay amounting to a week’s worth of wages as well as any holiday pay or wages that they were owed.

Top 5 Songs… in the field of Pulling

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

Joy Orbison – Elipsis

It’s been an unsuccessful night so far, you’re a stuttering mess every time you approach a potential lover. Time for another drink to boost your confidence.

MK – Love Changes

The night wears on, the club is emptying and still no luck. Time to lower those standards, and have another drink.

Levon Vincent – Man Or Mistress

You’ve found someone and they seem interested. After all those drinks, you can’t be certain that they’re the gender you desire, but that’s neither here nor there.

Scuba – Adrenalin

Your excitement peaks as it finally happens. You’re kissing! You’re in a taxi home! You’re under the sheets! *Fade to black*

American Football – But the Regrets are Killing Me

It’s morning. Ouch, your head. You roll over and now it’s not just the sun that hurts your eyes. Time to make a hasty, sheepish exit.

Fury over students ‘blacking up’

Written by Aidan Gregory on . Posted in News.

Students across the UK found themselves embroiled in different race rows in both York and Edinburgh last week.

A group of Law students were subject to serious criticism after deciding to ‘black up’ as Somalian pirates for a Law Society ‘around the world’ themed social.

The Edinburgh University students donned camouflage trousers, scruffy shirts, bandanas, and painted their faces black before heading out to the party.

Pictures of the event were uploaded to Facebook, where they were seen by journalists from The Student, Edinburgh University’s student newspaper.

The choice of costumes has been met with condemnation from several student societies at the University.

Keir Barlas, President of the Law Society, personally apologised to anyone who was offended, and said that he was “shocked and mortified” by the incident.

The law society then issued a statement on its Facebook page, declaring that the LawSoc is “vehemently opposed to discrimination in any form”, and that “insensitivity is intolerable and is “something that we are completely opposed to”.

In a statement to The Student, Nadia Mehdi, Edinburgh University Students’ Association Vice President for Societies and Activities, said:

“I’m really shocked to see that in this day and age these students weren’t aware of or chose to ignore the offence they would cause by painting their faces black. It’s not acceptable and should not be condoned.

“The Law Society is not a EUSA society so we can’t discipline them but I will be bringing this to the attention of the Law School.”

The incident happened in the same week as another incident involving students ‘blacking up’ at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities.

A separate race row at York University was triggered by a group of students deciding to black up as the Jamaican bobsleigh team from the film Cool Runnings, and causing £2000 of damage in a drunken rampage across the campus.

The four students have been described as “completely shameless” by Kallum Taylor, the York University Union President, and the story even made it into the Jamaica Observer.

The four responsible have since unreservedly apologised in a letter addressed to the students and staff of York University. It explains that “We are writing to apologise for the offence we have caused following our idiotic choice to ‘black up’ for our Halloween costumes, where we dressed as the characters of ‘Cool Runnings’, the Jamaican bob sleigh team of 1988 winter Olympics. There was no intent of malice or offence, the costumes were not chosen to mock or insult the BME students of York, or any members of the wider community.”

They continue further, confessing that “We were not aware of the connections between black painted faces and the minstrel shows of the 19th and 20th centuries, which promoted the mocking of stereotypes, the perpetuation of which is harmful to the stability of our increasingly multicultural society. Had we been aware of this at the time, we would have never have considered this a Halloween costume.”

We are also profoundly sorry for the damage we have done to the University’s reputation and stature.”

Live: Mount Kimbie

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

7th November

Gorilla

8/10

Whilst Mount Kimbie are ostensibly a band now and this is ostensibly a gig, they hit the stage at the relatively late time of 11pm showing an enduring connection to the club scene.  The late start time allows for the audience to get suitably alcohol fuelled during danceable support slots from producers Lapalux and oOoOO, eliciting an exuberant atmosphere for the arrival of the main act.

Mount Kimbie need no introduction as they launch immediately into ‘Carbonated’ amidst greeting roars of approval from the assembled revellers.  The addition of a live drummer and a host of new gear for this tour means their sound is considerably amped up from when I last saw them in 2010, a wholly positive progression. In a live setting their songs are reworked into elaborate constructions involving any number of guitar pedals and synthesizer settings; the effect is thrilling.

During ‘So Many Times, So Many Ways’ stuttering synth loops cut through the room atmospherically before fading into a bass guitar groove. This continues through the song, building to a climactic swell of reverb soaked sounds that wash over the enthralled crowd. When the familiar drum machine loop of ‘Made To Stray’ emerges out of this the euphoria of the room peaks; the anthem of many summer festivals impressively has the same impact in a dimly lit Manchester venue as on a blazing beach in Croatia.

After leaving the stage to wild applause, Mount Kimbie return for an encore of ‘Mayor’, the standout track from debut Crooks & Lovers. Kai Campos leaps around the stage, mirroring the audience who are induced into movement by the chopped up vocal samples and infectious synth hook, ending the night triumphantly.

Alumni donations reach £460,000

Written by Inez Dawoodjee on . Posted in News.

The Alumni Association has raised £460,000 in the last academic year to fund scholarships and research projects across campus.

It has also raised over £100,000 in the last three months.

The money was raised from a variety of sources, including telephone campaigns conducted by current students.  The recent Autumn campaign has led to donations from 450 alumni, including recent graduates.

The majority of donations will be directed towards the Undergraduate Access Scholarships. The beneficiaries of this scholarship are students from Greater Manchester who complete the Manchester Access Programme.  They receive financial support of £1,000 per year from alumni, in addition to the support they already receive from the University.

Annual Fund Manager Rob Summers said, “There are so many students, especially in the local area, that have the knowledge, talent and potential to really make the most of University education.  University shouldn’t just be for people that can afford it; it should be for people who have the capacity to succeed.”

The donations are currently supporting 550 students at the University this year. Along with Undergraduate Access Scholarships, the funds are used to provide Masters Scholarships for students from developing countries, Hardship Grants for students facing financial difficulty and Research Scholarships for PhD students.

Developmental Biology PhD student Rebecca Williams received a grant to fund her research into breast cancer. Williams won the New Researcher Prize for her work earlier this year.

She said, “At the end of the year, I just want to reiterate how grateful I am to my Alumni donors for funding this PhD. It makes a very personal difference to me, and my life, but also to the lives of so many people suffering with breast cancer.”

This year the Association is aiming to raise £500,000 from over 4,500 donors and to widen participation to students. It also aims to widen alumni engagement on campus.

Summers added, “We get alumni back on campus to provide careers talks and engage with students to offer advice on the opportunities available to them once they graduate. There’s a big focus on graduate employability at Manchester and getting alumni involved in this way is really important.

“By providing this support, donors are doing something absolutely amazing.”

From The Vault: Erykah Badu – Baduizm

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Music.

Released February 1997

Kedar/Universal

Few albums have done for music what Erykah Badu’s debut ‘Baduizm’ did for R&B on its release in 1997. Winning a Grammy for Best R&B album, ‘Baduizm’ sounds just as relevant to the charts today as it did over 15 years ago – the proof of a timeless album that surpasses the passing whims of its period.

The album has elements of old-school Soul that earned Badu comparisons to Billie Holiday and Diana Ross by Rolling Stone Magazine critics of the time. This comparison is most apparent on ‘On and On’ that won a second Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance and proved arguably the most commercially successful of the tracks. Capturing the humble daily chores of much of the USA’s Afro-American society in the South, ‘On and On’ resembles Holiday’s ‘Summertime’ in Badu’s vocal inflections that give an honest sincerity to anything she sings.

The album’s success is unsurprising considering the star-studded line-up that made up the production team. Former Miles Davis bassist Ron Carter complements the rich tone of Badu’s voice on the funky yet heartfelt “Drama” whilst renowned trumpeter Bobby Bradford and R&B producing legend James Poyser helped create the profound “See You Next Lifetime” and freestyle skit “Afro” that transport the listener back to the underground Jazz clubs of 1950’s New York.

Badu headed the Neo-Soul movement that was to pass the baton onto household names Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill. This considered, it’s surprising how little ‘Baduizm’ is recognised today outside of today’s R&B community for helping establish the sounds of the 21st century.

Turner Prize ’13: David Shrigley

Written by Jack Sheen on . Posted in Arts.

Ever since it’s establishment in 1984, the Turner Prize has become possibly the most colloquial yet controversial award for the visual arts, having previously been won by Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley, as well as being drunkenly discussed on live television by Tracey Emin.

In the run up to the Turner Prize being announced on December 2 four Arts & Culture contributors give introductions to the four nominees of 2013. This week Jack Sheen introduces David Shrigley…

Shrigley was born in Macclesfield in 1968 and now currently lives and works in Glasgow. His work manifests itself within a variety of medias, however he is mostly known for his series of bizarre cartoons released in postcard packs. They seem to flirt with the idea of absurdity in subject matter, presentation and technique. His drawings often bizarerly depict the seemingly pedestrian and inconsequential everyday occurrences,but with an unusual twist. His freehand drawing is purposely lacking in detail, strength or virtuosity, yet is often contrasted with the stark, clinical use of rulered straight lines, creating an unsettling presentation of his subject.

Shrigley’s work also displays a very critical and self aware engagement with contemporary art and its public perception, often playing with the everyday questions of ‘is it art?’. His exhibition opens with a 7ft naked male model, as crudely constructed as his freakish cartoons, creating a life class scenario where visitors can sit down and attempt to draw his already subtly distorted figure. Many already have, with the many further misrepresentations of the human form lining the walls of the constantly evolving exhibition of possibly the most exciting and talked about artist nominated this year.