Students unimpressed as Union announces Summer ... - The Founder

Darning Jilly 

Students 

off to 

Edinburgh 

Pages 10-11 

Race for 

Life 

Cheerleaders 

do 

their bit for 

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Page 19 

Indiana Jones 

A film only 

for fans of 

the saga 

Page 12 

thefounder 

the independent student newspaper of royal holloway, university of london 

Students unimpressed as Union 

announces Summer Ball lineup 

free! 

Volume 2 | Issue 12 

Wednesday 28 May 2008 

thefounder.co.uk 

Royal Holloway 

goes on tour 

to Edinburgh 

Fringe Festival 

‘Right Said Fred’ will “probably go down well once everyone’s drunk”, but is all this worth the £65.00 price tag Photograph: René/flickr 

The Students’ Union announced 

the lineup for the Summer 

Ball on Wednesday last week to a 

mixed reaction from the student 

body of Royal Holloway. The lineup 

features Jason Donovan as the 

headline act and 90’s one-hit wonder 

Right Said Fred along with BBC 

Radio 1’s JK and Joel. Also on the 

bill is Maybe Winehouse, an Amy 

Winehouse tribute act, and popular 

campus band, Handshake. 

The announcement sparked considerable 

debate from students with 

Facebook groups forming within 

hours of its publication. One group, 

which had been the campaign vehicle 

to raise support for Handshake’s 

appearance on the bill almost instantly 

became a forum for discussion. 

Third year student 

4-5» 

Phil Pyke commented: “I 

really do love Handshake dearly – 

being a massive folkie – but I think 

A considerable delegation of students 

have spent the past few weeks 

and months preparing for their 

Summer break at the Edinburgh 

Fringe Festival. The Drama Society 

will be sending its production of 

‘Darning Jilly’ (featured on pages 

10-11), accompanied by the fantastic 

Michaelmas term production of 

‘Flush!’. Edinburgh will also be finding 

itself in the uneasy company of 

Holloway’s homegrown comedians 

Max and Iván. 

The Fringe started out in 1947, 

when the Edinburgh International 

Festival was launched. It was seen 

as a post-war initiative to re-unite 

Europe through culture, and was 

so successful that it inspired more 

performers than there was room 

for. Well aware that there would be a 

good crowd and focused press interest, 

six Scottish companies and two 

English decided to start their own 

event alongside the festival. 

Last year saw the 61st Fringe. The 

Fringe is viewed as a modern alternative 

to the Edinburgh International 

Festival, shifting and changing 

from year to year to accommodate 

all of the people who want to 

3» 

attend. 

Now, a small delegation of Royal 

Holloway students trip up to Edin- 

Comment & Debate 

The cult of 

personality 

Nick Teasdale returns for a study 

on the cult of personality and its usage 

in modern politics from 

Obama to Putin. 

15» 

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Time for some 

honesty about Israel 

Israel from a different viewpoint? 

Tom Friedemann reconsiders the 

position of the country in the 

20th century. 

7» 

QUAD 

Summer special in this edition of The Founder 


Why we should have 

invaded Burma 

Is it right for the UN to stand by and 

wait until the Burmese government 

let them in? Jessica Freeman 

thinks not. 

8» 

Farewell 

I did it my way 

Jack Lenox signs off on the last 

edition he will ever edit. Long may 

The Founder bring light to 

Royal Holloway 

14» 

Books 

1001 books to read 

before you die 

Vikki Weston returns for the last 

issue of the year for a final column 

looking at the novel, ‘Brave 

New World’. 

13» 

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2 The Founder | Wednesday 28 May 2008 

The Founder 

The Independent Student Newspaper of Royal Holloway, University of London 

Email: editor@thefounder.co.uk 

thefounder.co.uk 

For the latest news, reviews, and everything Holloway, get online 

Submit Online 

Write your articles online with our new submission feature! 

Just navigate to: 

thefounder.co.uk/articleupload.php 

Please recycle this newspaper when you are finished 

Recycling bins are located at: 

Arts Building, The Hub, Gowar and Wedderburn Halls, T-Dubbs 

Our annual Volunteering Week provides an opportunity for students 

to get active in serving the community. This year we have 

more projects than ever and so we will need more volunteers than 

ever too! 

See below for a list of projects… then visit the web link to the online 

sign-up form which needs completing to get involved. 

http://www.rhul.ac.uk/volunteering/forms/vw-volunteer.shtml 

MONDAY 2nd June 

• Good Companions Clubhouse – interior painting (Age Concern 

Spelthorne) 

• Sensory Garden (Birchlands residential home) 

• Outside in Project – includes erecting shed, painting fences & 

playhouses, and various gardening activities (Trumps Green 

Infants) 

• Outdoor wall mural - continue from MADD team (Christ Church 

Infants) 

• Painting playground fence (St Cuthbert’s) *CRB required 

• Englefield Green Youth Centre exterior of building 

TUESDAY 3rd June 

• Good Companions Clubhouse – interior painting (Age Concern 

Spelthorne) 

• Sensory Garden (Birchlands residential home) 

• Outside in Project – includes erecting shed, painting fences & 

playhouses, and various gardening activities (Trumps Green 

Infants) 

• Indoor wall mural (Christ Church Infants) 

• Regeneration project (St Jude’s cemetery) 

WEDNESDAY 4th June 

• Cleaning toys, physiotherapy equipment & windows (White 

Lodge Centre) 

• External face-lift (Thorpe Lea) 

• Outdoor mural (St Jude’s) 

• Painting fences, digging allotment & garden areas (Manorcroft) 

• Befriending elders (Manor Farm day centre) *CRB required 

THURSDAY 5th June 

• Cleaning and gardening (Lynwood residential home) 

• youth allotment (NACRO e2e) 

• External face-lift (Thorpe Lea) 

• Outdoor mural (St Jude’s) 

• Painting fences, digging allotment & garden areas (Manorcroft) 

• Befriending elders (Manor Farm day centre) *CRB required 

We would ask you to choose to get involved by offering at one day 

of your week to be part of a project team (the online form allows 

you to say which day(s) you are available) – then also to invite any 

friends to get involved too. 

We really do need your help with this one so if you could complete 

the online form ASAP then project teams will be arranged next 

week and information emailed out to you. 

Happy Volunteering! 

Phil and the Community Action student team

The Founder | Wednesday 28 May 2008 

News 

Royal Holloway goes on tour to Edinburgh Fringe Festival 

3 

» continued from page 1 

burgh on an annual basis. Performing 

at the event can become very 

costly for those involved and thus 

students normally have to save up 

a considerable amount of personal 

cash as well as raise funds around 

campus. 

Fortunately, the Students’ Union 

partly fund the Drama Society 

productions (via the Drama Society 

budget), although such funding 

has been a topic of debate in recent 

sabbatical election campaigns with 

many students feeling that it is a 

waste of Union money that only 

benefits a small amount of students. 

This argument is met with equal 

antipathy from arts students who 

believe that Holloway’s performances 

in Edinburgh are the pinnacle 

of what the College in the realm of 

drama and arts and that such funding 

helps maintain the College’s reputation 

as one of the best universities 

in the country for Drama. 

Second year students ‘Max and double act. The duo found success 

Iván’ will be making the trip independently 

Students half of the page Students’ sunbury Union 23/5/08 they created 13:02 ‘Los Page Guapos’. 1 A Borat- 

in their first year at Holloway when 

with their well-known comedy esque Argentian themed double-act 

Max Olesker and Iván Gonzalez pictured for their Insanity promotional material 

in which they acted as two immigrants 

getting to grips with the English 

(more specifically, Holloway) 

way of life. Often featuring songs 

with ukulele accompaniment, the 

act went down very well with the 

student body boosting their popularity 

as campus comedians. In 

September 2007 they launched a 

serialised radio show named ‘Max 

and Iván: Exposed’ in which they 

cast a wry eye over current affairs 

and student-related stereotypes, 

“exposing” such topics as education 

and religion. One pair of characters, 

two public school rappers known as 

‘Eton Alive’ was particularly wellreceived. 

‘Flush!’, a play that takes an uncompromising 

look at sex, death, 

deceit and society today, was the 

Drama Society’s first production 

of the year, performed in the Michaelmas 

term 2007. Met with rave 

reviews highlighting the quirky plot 

and strong acting, it is set to do very 

well at the Fringe. The cast comprises 

Patrick Scaglioni, Jack Tidy, Tom 

Bridges, Sian Gordon and Grace 

Felton with Benn Cody directing. 

Finally, Darning Jilly will also be 

staged during August. We have interviewed 

the cast and crew on pages 

10 and 11. 

If you want to know what all the 

fuss is about, head to Edinburgh 

over the course of the next couple of 

months. Full details can be found at 

www.edfringe.com. 

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Summer Ball lineup 

“Unimpressive” 

lineup announced 

by Students’ Union 

» continued from page 1 

it really says something when the 

best act signed up to play the Summer 

Ball is home-grown, Holloway 

talent, who’ve rocked Crosslands 

Unplugged. 

“There really needs to be an honest, 

open review about why the 

Summer Ball consistently fails to 

achieve compelling acts to play. I 

don’t blame the organisers this year 

– I’m sure it has been a bitch to organise 

– but structures and reforms 

need to be put in place for next year, 

given the high cost of tickets. I heard 

some rumours about Kate Nash this 

year; obviously came to naught.” 

Many other students have aligned 

themselves with Phil’s words, agreeing 

that Handshake are the best act 

on the bill. However the band faced 

a battle with the Students’ Union in 

order to secure their place and were 

snubbed as clearly not being the 

first choice. Further, Handshake are 

the only act on the lineup not being 

paid for their performance - the 

band members are only receiving 

free admission for their troubles. 

Another student, Hannah Smyth, 

a veteran of the Summer Ball had 

the following to say: “Being my 4th 

Summer Ball personally I find the 

acts just a waste of money. Reduce 

the ticket price by twenty quid and 

have some tribute bands... we’re too 

happy and drunk to care... 

“If we wanted to go to the ball because 

of the line up, they wouldn’t 

sell out before we knew who they 

were!” 

The Students’ Union normally defends 

itself by pointing out that demand 

is always so high for the event 

that lowering the ticket prices is not 

something that needs to be done. 

“I’ve been to the Summer Ball 

in 2006 and 2007, thoroughly enjoyed 

it both times and expect to 

have a fabulous time again this year. 

However in previous years, at least 

the acts were fairly ‘modern’ pop 

acts compared with this years onehit-wonders 

from the 1980s. Girls 

Aloud, Lemar, Rachel Stevens and 

The Automatic are all far from ‘credible’ 

but at least they are vaguely 

popular with songs that 20 year old 

students can recall. 

“The Summer Ball is about more 

than the main stage - I’ve had a 

great time milling about, chatting 

to friends and breaking out the 

moves in the Dance Tent. However 

this years line up makes one wonder 

whether those in charge are spending 

their money wisely - Jason Donovan 

has *reportedly* been playing 

free gigs around the country this 

year. I’d be interested to see a full 

financial break down of how much 

the union spent on acts this year - 

not a basic pie chart with ‘20%’ on 

music listed. I’m pretty sure the union 

could have got the popular Pendulum, 

a cheesy ‘old’ pop act (if so 

desired) such as Jason Donovan and 

perhaps a few modern and upcoming 

bands (Late of the Pier? Crystal 

Castles?) who would be more than 

willing to play for a grand or so, 

perhaps even less. It just seems that 

whoever is in charge (Mark Austen) 

has absolutely no clue how to spend 

money wisely, which is truly shocking. 

“The Amy Winehouse tribute I 

don’t have a problem with - the union 

have put on a soul covers band 

in the early hours both years and 

they’ve gone down a storm every 

time (I can’t recall their name, 

Funky Divas perhaps?). I think most 

people are just a bit appalled at the 

high costs involved in booking awful 

‘cheese’ acts who will play at the 

Hawth in Crawley for £100. 

“Essentially, it is obvious that the 

money is not being spent wisely.” 

said Charlotte West, last year’s Head 

of Programming for Insanity Radio 

and a history finalist. 

One student who wished to remain 

anonymous further stated: 

“The Union needs to purge outmoded 

elements (i.e. 30 year old DJs 

and Events Managers who have no 

clue what 21st century students are 

interested in) as soon as possible to 

avoid a serious economic crisis and 

collapsing morale from the student 

body!” 

However, not all students were as 

disappointed with what the Union 

has brought to the table. “Another 

somewhat disappointing line up at 

first glance but then one ponders 

should we really complain when we 

get an all night party in the unparalleled 

wonderland of Founders?! I’d 

rather pay £65 for less well known, 

quirky bands than £80 or more for 

chart toppers, most of whom are so 

manufactured that they can’t sing 

anyway.” says Jaimie Crooks, also a 

finalist at Holloway. 

“In my first year when I first heard 

the price of a summer ball ticket I 

was a little skeptical - where on earth 

can all that money go I thought - but 

then the SU put up those pie charts 

illustrating the breakdown of costs. 

It was a really effective medium they 

should still use. Much of the cost 

goes to insuring Founder’s and I for 

one would rather go to our summer 

ball in fantastic founder’s with less 

well known artists and a truly fabulous 

atmosphere than go to a summer 

ball featuring chart toppers but 

in an uninspiring modern venue, 

and I know many feel the same. And 

of course it’s of far greater duration 

and diversity than any other event 

so is absolutely worth it. 

“The Vengaboys were awful last 

year, as was Rachel Stevens in my 

first year, but both were fairly amusing 

and ultimately there’s so much 

going on at the ball you don’t have to 

watch all or indeed any of the acts, 

although of course you are paying 

for them. 

“Perhaps next year the SU could 

have a poll on their website to find 

out students SB09 priorities by asking 

either or both of the following: 

A) would you rather have more 

semi-famous one hit wonder bands 

Above, Jason Donovan 

seen as “unsuited” for a 

modern student audience. 

Photograph: Phil Guest/ 

flickr 

Left, Right Said Fred 

are fine for support 

but the ball “needs a 

proper headline act”. 

Photograph: Howie/flickr 

or tribute and local bands and B) 

would you rather have the ball in 

founders or for the ball to feature 

chart-toppers. Then the price could 

either go up and offer both founders 

and famous performers, or the 

price could be maintained but costs 

restructured by changing the venue. 

I’d hope students would choose to 

continue the extant tradition.” 

Despite the criticisms, there seems 

to be little doubt that the one thing 

students agree on is that the event 

will be very enjoyable, if a bit painful 

on the pocket.


5 

Summer Balls around the country 

Royal Holloway, University of London 

Students: 

7,620 

Summer Ball lineup: 

Jason Donovan, Right Said Fred, JK and Joel 

Price: 

£65.00 

Goldsmiths, University of London 


7,615 


Artful Dodger, Naboo (from Mighty Boosh) as DJ, Punjabi Hit Squad, The Legendary DJ Derek 

Price: 

£30.00 

Bath Spa University 


6,595 


Kaiser Chiefs, The Queens, Kashu, Co.Jack 

Price: 

£27.50 

University of Winchester 


5,480 


Hollyoaks’s Max and OB, MTV’s Emma Griffiths, DJ Taffy, Cool Beans 

Price: 

£25.00 

Note: Many Summer Balls around the country also include a champagne reception, 

free food, free casino and fireworks 

Poll 

Are you satisfied with the lineup for the Summer 

Ball? 

Yes 16% 

No 84% 

Your view 

SOURCE: thefounder.co.uk 

What do you think about the Summer Ball? 

We are currently hosting a discussion on our Facebook group. Share 

your views with other students and The Founder as this article will be 

followed up online in due course. 

Are you satisfied with the Summer Ball lineup? 

Head to our online poll at www.thefounder.co.uk to make your opinion 

known. 

What are your experiences? 

Did you go to the Summer Ball last year? What did you think? 

thefounder.co.uk » 

Keep up-to-date with this news story online 

Vote in the online polls 

Discuss your views on the forums 

Go to www.thefounder.co.uk 

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tf Comment & Debate 

The Beginning of a new history... 

Liam Hoare 

As a global humanity 

we are entering 

into a new era 

of geopolitics. For 

the last seventeen 

years since the 

Soviet Union plummeted into the 

post-socialist abyss, politics has 

been operating under the shadow 

of an unchallenged American 

hegemony. After the Berlin Wall 

fell academics proudly declared the 

end of history, while 

“ 

economists 

sold the idea of 

the peace dividend 

across the world. 

History though 

never ended: for 

where communism 

was once the 

world’s great evil; 

Islamic fundamentalist 

terrorism 

and new totalitarian 

states merely 

replaced it. This placed America on 

the defensive and thus she has been 

forced into reasserting herself on 

the world stage. Following September 

11 this manifested itself into the 

neo-conservative led, imperialistic 

effort to rebuild nation-states in 

their own image. 

Nation-building isn’t really a new 

idea. Throughout the Cold War 

both the US and the USSR shuffled 

money and arms across the world 

in order to secure another outpost 

in their ideologically-driven proxy 

war. The world had hoped, perhaps 

too optimistically, that when the 

Soviet Union collapsed, this era 

would be over. After all we were entering 

into the post-modern, postsuperpower 

end of history. But the 

disintegration of the Soviet Union 

only created 

a vacuum for 

another evil to 

take its place. 

When the 

communism 

system imploded 

right 

” 

the way across 

the Second 

World, 

capitalism 

was unleashed upon it in its place. 

China was ultimately the main beneficiary 

of the flowering of the free 

market. Her leaders abandoned the 

economic aspects of Maoism in the 

The disintegration 

of the Soviet 

Union only created 

a vacuum for 

another evil to 

take its place. 

1980s, while retaining the repressive 

political system. With her economic 

power came serious political 

clout, to such an extent that she is 

now a superpower and a threat to 

fair and free liberal societies. 

Just as Britain and France did in 

the nineteenth century, and America 

and the Soviets in the twentieth, 

China has chosen Africa as the 

terrain on which to exercise her 

politico-economic power. Through 

brute strength she’s plundering the 

continent; some have described her 

inevitable and relentless drive as 

a second ‘long march’. In 2005 for 

example China poured $1.6 billion 

in the coffers of African regimes. 

Perhaps what shocked the world 

most of all is China’s unwavering 

support for some of the world’s 

most horrific governments. Over 

$300 million went into Sudan in 

2005, while its government committed 

genocide in the region of 

Darfur. Whereas the West offers aid 

in return for humanitarian concessions, 

China’s dirty money comes 

with no strings attached. Perhaps it 

is this that has allowed China to so 

easily dominate Africa. 

The truth of the matter is that 

for whatever reasons, perhaps guilt 

for past offences, governments like 

Britain feel a duty toward Africa. 

America for instance donates millions 

to fight Aids, while we offer 

our funds to end malaria. Yet, China 

is merely pillaging: for copper in 

Zambia; for iron ore in Gabon; for 

oil in Angola. They import all their 

own materials and workers at the 

expense of the indigenous population. 

Their work does little for the 

people of Africa. 

Possibly the saddest and most 

worrying part of this whole sordid 

affair is that the West has allowed 

“ 

this to happen, up to a 

point where we can no 

longer control the situation. 

We continued with 

the old Cold War idea 

that an enemy’s enemy 

is our friend, so long as 

they cooperate with us of 

course. China’s economy 

was permitted to expand 

as they were following 

capitalist principles, yet, 

at the same time we put 

little pressure on them to open up 

politically. On that front our chickens 

really have come home to roost. 

Western ideas of liberty and 

freedom are now therefore, under 

direct threat more than ever. In 

the Middle East fundamentalist 

ideologues are taking over from 

moderate Islamists, as seen in Gaza. 

In Africa, China is crushing the 

continent with her economic fist. 

Back at home she’s suppressing the 

people of Tibet, and funding the 

violent junta in Burma that’s murdering 

her own peoples. 

Truly, then, we are entering into 

a new political epoch. The communist 

threats are long dead and 

American supremacy is on the 

wane. In its place we have a new 

In Africa, 

China is 

crushing the 

continent with 

her economic 

fist. 

grand narrative, 

where Western 

liberalism 

is fighting an 

ideological war 

on two fronts, 

against Islamic 

fundamentalism, 

and Chinese 

economic imperialism. 

The 

naïve promises 

of peace and 

” 

prosperity failed to materialise. We 

have unwittingly returned to the 

age of conflict and of the superpower. 

History never ended, we merely 

turned the page. 

In defence of the arms’ trade! 

Charles Patrick 

The move to withdraw 

investment 

from universities 

to businesses in the 

arms trade will likely 

be hailed as a victory 

for ethical reasoning. Yet, the 

advocates for such a policy would 

be hypocrites. The arms trade has, 

whether we like it or not, made this 

world today. A lot of the technology 

we use today has had direct lineage 

from the arms industry. This fact is 

casually brushed aside by protesters 

against the arms trade who shove 

grotesque pictures of the victims of 

warfare in your face. 

I am not supporting warfare by 

saying that it is ethical. Warfare is a 

horrible place to be, for both sides, 

but the sheer self-righteousness of 

some of the arms trade protestors 

in saying,‘we stop selling arms here 

so all war will stop’ is a sheer maniacal 

and delusional thought. If we 

don’t sell them, someone else will. 

So has warfare stopped? Warfare 

has and will probably always be 

present in human history. With 

the development of more precise 

weaponry, military forces nowadays 

are able to drastically reduce the 

collateral damage whilst hitting 

their targets. That is surely a good 

thing. 

The organisers of protests against 

the arms trade probably 

“ 

used the 

internet, which 

was a product 

on the initiative 

of the Pentagon. 

Likewise 

another history 

changing 

moment, the 

Space Race of 

the 1950s and 1960s was a product 

of the arms industry. Yuri Gagarin, 

the first man in space was hurled 

aloft atop a missile, originally 

designed to carry a thermonuclear 

package to New York at the Soviet 

taxpayer’s expense. Likewise, Werner 

Von Braun used the Nazi arms 

industry to design and build the 

V-2 missile, which he would then 

adapt in further designs for more 

peaceful purposes in his dream of 

spaceflight e.g.: the Saturn V rocket. 

The satellites that supply us with: 

the internet, TV, phone lines, etc is 

progeny of the first ones originally 

designed 

to spy on the other side. 

The aircraft you fly on to go on 

holiday has origins in requirements, 

issued by defence departments, 

to design 

Warfare has and will 

probably always be 

present in human 

history. 

long-range 

warplanes. 

For 

example, 

” 

the Avro 

Lancaster 

bomber 

that 

bombed Dresden on February 14th 

1945, supposedly causing a war 

crime, was developed into the Avro 

Lancastrian civil transport that 

helped restart civil aviation after 

World War 2. 

Restricting the investment of the 

arms trade by universities would 

be bad for education as some of 

the most exciting engineering and 

science jobs, on the cutting edge of 

their fields, are in the arms trade. 

By fulfilling your self-righteous ego 

you sacrifice someone else’s job opportunities. 

It is the environment of the 

arms trade that allows eccentric 

or even mad ideas to flourish: 

Project Orion, anyone? The aspects 

of money and risk investment are 

not as prevalent in the arms trade 

as they are in the free market and 

its resident cutthroats. The arms 

industry can, therefore, be one of 

the most creative environments for 

human ingenuity. 

Photograph: Campaign against arms’ trade/UCL 

Man is at his best when he is at 

his worst. That is regrettable but 

since we see the products of that 

area adapted to a peaceful function, 

we should at least acknowledge 

where they came from. 

So, as you sit down to watch a 

television programme when you 

reach for the control, just remember. 

The infra-red sensor inside was 

probably developed from the seeker 

system of an air-to-air missile, a 

product of the industry you went to 

protest against.



7 

Time for some honesty about Israel 

Tom Friedemann 

To mark Israel turning 

sixty the BBC 

aired a Jeremy Bowen 

documentary 

entitled ‘The Birth 

of Israel’ but this 

was no birthday present. While 

hiding beneath the guise of an 

impartial analysis of the origins of 

one of the world’s bitterest conflicts, 

it carried an unmissable subliminal 

message. Rather than taking this 

opportunity to celebrate the creation 

of the region’s only real democracy 

(the first country in the region 

to give Arab women the vote) it 

characterised Israel’s existence as 

being synonymous with a genocidal 

disaster for Palestinians. Really 

such claims are laughable when it’s 

“ 

considered how 

dramatically the 

Palestinian population 

has grown in 

the last sixty years. 

While greatly 

sympathetic to 

the humanitarian 

dilemmas facing 

the Palestinian 

people I feel that 

in the face of this 

type of agenda 

driven reporting 

it’s important that informed people 

speak out. After all, Israel is one of 

the world’s most liberal countries, 

whose army discriminates neither 

along the lines of gender or sexuality 

and who has opened its doors 

to Palestinian individuals forced to 

flee from fundamentalists within 

their own community. 

The above BBC documentary is 

representative but really only the tip 

Yet, really all 

that Israel 

has attempted 

to do is exist 

and protect its 

citizens 

Photograph: FREEPAL/flickr 

of the iceberg of a bizarre phenomenon 

in how the rest of the world 

treats this small fledgling Jewish 

state. To put things in perspective; 

Wales covers an 

area of 20,000 sq 

km, Israel covers 

20,770 sq km, 60% 

of which is uninhabitable 

desert. It 

has a population 

of just 5 and a 

half million Jews, 

” 

1 million Arab- 

Israelis (all fully 

fledged equal citizens) 

and around 

3 and a half million 

Palestinians living in the Gaza 

and West Bank. Yet, despite Israel 

being so demographically and geographically 

insignificant it’s not 

China, Iran or Zimbabwe that have 

received the most U.N resolutions 

against their conduct, it’s Israel. 

Indeed more U.N resolutions have 

been passed against Israel than 

all other countries and Israel is 

the only country in the world not 

eligible to sit on the U.N Security 

Council. Meanwhile journalists 

and academics alike have labelled 

Israel a racist Apartheid state, called 

it the worlds worst human rights 

violator, accused it of genocide and 

likened this country, created as a 

sanctuary for Holocaust survivors, 

to Nazi Germany. Whatever Israel 

has done it must be pretty serious. 

Yet, really all that Israel has attempted 

to do is exist and protect 

its citizens and Israel has every 

right to exist considering the ancient 

historical claim it has to the 

land and the fact that the twentieth 

century began with anti-Jewish 

pogroms in Europe and ended 

with Iran denying the Holocaust. 

This country the size of Wales is 

called imperialist and expansionist 

as though it were nineteenth 

century Russia. Israel acquired the 

so-called occupied territories when 

it was invaded in 1967 by all of its 

Arab neighbours simultaneously; 

Jordan and Egypt had been occupying 

the land allocated for a Palestinian 

state since 1948 and without 

much international complaint. 

After pushing back its invaders 

Israel held onto these areas for 

obvious strategic purposes and has 

since continually offered them for 

a Palestinian state and returned the 

Sinai to Egypt in return for peace. 

However the Palestinians have been 

turning down the option of sharing 

the land ever since it was first 

proposed in 1938 and most recently 

in 2000 when Yasser Arafat rejected 

the Israeli offer of all of the Palestinian 

territories with Jerusalem 

as its capital. Even today Hamas, 

which controls Gaza, refuses to 

recognise Israel’s right to exist. 

Many claim that one of the biggest 

obstacles to peace is the presence 

of some 200 thousand Israelis 

living in the West Bank. However 

if Israel can incorporate over a 

million Arabs living in its territory 

why can’t the 

“ 

Palestinians 

accommodate 

a handful of 

Jews living 

in theirs, to 

remove them 

really would 

amount to 

ethnic cleansing. 

Another 

allegation is 

that Israel’s 

security fence 

(dubbed the 

illegal apartheid wall) is undermining 

the peace process, yet this 

measure is vital for protecting 

civilians from being the target of 

suicide attacks. If Israel has seemed 

cautious about removing its presence 

from the west bank who can 

really blame it given its experience 

elsewhere. It pulled out of southern 

Lebanon in 2000 but by 2006 was 

It’s time those 

who oppose Israel 

started being honest 

with themselves 

about why they 

really oppose the 

world’s only Jewish 

country. 

having its northern cities rained 

down upon by Hezbollah’s missiles. 

In 2005 it pulled out of Gaza but 

today its southern territories face 

a daily barrage of Qassam rockets 

from Gaza, making life impossible 

for civilians living there. 

This is a fully democratic country 

with a free media and independent 

judiciary that can hold both 

its government and military to 

account, and yet, of all countries 

it’s Israel that has been selected for 

an academic boycott by lecturers in 

this country. How would they feel 

if universities in Europe boycotted 

them because of the British government 

going to war in Iraq? It’s 

wrong to hold academics accountable 

for the actions of their governments 

and completely flies in the 

face of freedom of thought. Israel 

has the highest number of degrees 

per capita in the world and with its 

economy focussed 

around technology 

and medicine this is 

a clear attempt to hit 

the country where 

it hurts. Israel is 

far from perfect but 

given the huge threats 

to its existence that it 

has had to withstand 

” 

in its short sixty year 

history it’s hardly 

surprising if it has 

ended up being heavy 

handed at times. 

It’s time those who oppose Israel 

started being honest with themselves 

about why they really oppose 

the world’s only Jewish country. 

But for those of you who still 

want to boycott Israel may I suggest 

you start by binning your mobiles, 

the technology that made your 

mobile phone possible is Israeli I’m 

afraid. 

The passing of a friend 

Chris Hall 

It is the sad and solemn duty of this 

paper to announce the sad passing 

of Morgan Hamilton-Griffin, 

who has become one of a growing 

number of young people seduced 

and tragically killed before their 

time by zoo-based snowboarding. 

The extreme sport involving zoos 

and snowboards is the latest craze 

to infect the political elite, offering 

“an unbeatable buzz” and was 

described by one as “a bigger rush 

than hippo chess”, however whilst 

not actually dead, Morgan’s passing 

will surely affect us all. 

To many he was a friendly face in 

and around campus, cropping up 

in numerous elections and societal 

activities, which had earned him 

the affectionate name of ‘Morgan’. 

‘Morgan’ or ‘Lilly’ as his friends 

used to call him, had a variety of 

names, including ‘Morgs’, ‘Eric’, 

‘Hugh’, ‘Bruh’ and ‘The kingpin’ as 

he was lovingly known by Interpol, 

however vast his legacy of election 

rigging and black market dealings, 

it is for his more social side he will 

be remembered. 

Morgan became People and Planet 

President in 07/08 and also ‘enjoyed’ 

a brief spell as the one of the 

editors of The Orbital and then the 

working ‘undercover’ (allegedly) as 

a member of The Founder’s illustrious 

team. Morgan was also elected 

to a post within the Union structure 

as well. In light of his excellent 

record of student participation we 

can now dramatically unveil a new 

darker side to the well established 

myths. Morgan ‘Gerry Mander’ 

Hamilton-Griffin was born in East 

London, before having to relocate 

to the country, he left the city in a 

car, and has returned after spending 

some time out of the country all 

under some circumstances. 

‘Comrade’ Morgan’s oppressive 

regime has now come to an end 

with many shocked and dismayed 

by the Union Chair elect decision to 

leave, however undercover sources 

suggest that recent allegations of 

his death in a frankly implausible 

‘zoo based snowboarding’ accident 

are somewhat over stated and that 

the news of his ‘death’ is merely an 

elaborate front for the next stage of 

his plan. The details of this plan are 

somewhat sketchy on the grounds 

however we can confirm rumours 

of high class cheese and frogs in 

this most sickening plot. 

He is survived by his numerous 

illegitimate children which he 

has left destitute in the squalor of 

Egham, which is forcing many of 

his ‘children’ to embrace the darker 

side of life, including numerous reports 

of drunkenness and alcoholism 

which played an important role 

in Morgan ‘the person’s’ life and 

earned him many friends 

Morgan ‘gosh! what a long name’ 

George Bartholomew Hamilton- 

Griffin will be sorely missed and his 

oppressive regime is all we have to 

remind us of a fellow class mate and 

peer who shared the same spirit as 

our dubious founder. 

Go easy, our friend.



Why we should have invaded Burma! 

Jessica Freeman 

Imagine the face of a Burmese 

mother crammed into 

an emergency relief tent 

with the remnants of her 

surviving family. Imagine 

the confused expressions of 

her four frightened, starved and 

disease-ridden children. Then extend 

your mind just that bit further 

to picture the UN secretary general, 

Ban Ki-moon, crouching down at 

the opening to their tent with these 

words of wisdom: “The United Nations 

is here to help you. The whole 

world is trying to help Myanmar”. 

The images from Ban Ki-Moon’s 

brief visit to Kyondah relief camp 

in Burma are UN propaganda. 

They are fuelled by Ban Ki-moon’s 

hollow words of support for the 2.4 

million people affected by Cyclone 

Nargis. The mother in that tent and 

the millions of others 

“ 

who have yet 

to find shelter, 

clean water or 

rescue can be 

excused a sigh 

of desperation. 

What have the 

UN done to 

help? What is 

the world doing? 

Why are we not 

doing more? 

Since the cyclone struck 22 days 

ago the Burmese junta have acted 

with the utmost contempt for the 

lives of the people they govern. 

As of the 17th May they had only 

allowed three foreign aid workers 

into the Irrawaddy delta, the 

area where most of the estimated 

134,000 victims died. The UN 

estimates that 1.8 million people 

have yet to receive any aid. Malaria, 

life-threatening diarrhoea and 

dysentery will be writing the death 

warrants for thousands more in the 

following weeks whilst the flooding 

of the rice fields and the destruction 

of 60% of the delta’s infrastructure 

mean that the death knell is 

going to be continually sounded for 

months or even years. 

It is, therefore, laudable that our 

world citizen’s protection body, 

the ‘United Nations’, state that 

protection is its ‘most important 

obligation’. The Protective Action 

report created by the Humanitarian 

Policy Group defined protection 

as ‘seeking to assure the safety of 

civilians from acute harm’. In 1992 

the then UN Secretary-General 

Boutros Boutros-Ghali published 

Agenda for Peace affirming the 

right of the UN to interfere with 

a state in order protect the human 

rights of its citizens. In 2001, 

What have the UN 

done to help? What 

is the world doing? 

Why are we not 

doing more? 

the International Commission on 

Intervention and State Sovereignty 

(ICISS) established the doctrine of 

the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) 

which bestowed responsibility on 

the international community to 

protect a population 

suffering 

serious harm. At 

the UN summit in 

2005 109 governments 

endorsed 

” 

the use of force to 

achieve protection 

in certain circumstances. 

Yet, instead of honouring their 

bold words by instigating protective 

action, the UN and the international 

community are not standing by 

their honourable promises. By any 

humane standards, the Burmese 

people need immediate protection. 

Force is what is required if the junta 

will not allow aid to enter. Ban 

Ki-moon’s 4 hour helicopter visit 

of Myanmar is a pitiful symbol that 

the United Nations, ergo the world, 

is happy to display a choir-boy 

conscience, whilst they can fly away 

and leave the people they were designed 

to protect rotting face down 

in the mud they have for graves. 

“ 

The ‘United Nations’ 

” 

enter now. 

is succeeding in further 

distancing one 

of the most isolated 

nations. 

Whilst Gordon 

Brown claims that 

the actions of the 

junta are ‘inhumane’, 

and Ki-moon 

declares that ‘our focus now is on 

saving lives’ the people of Burma 

hear nothing, receive nothing, and 

live as ‘nothings’. 

We have heard that our aid 

agencies are ‘prepared to enter’; we 

have heard that Ki-moon has tried 

phoning Than Shwe, the country’s 

senior general, and has received 

no reply. There are four American 

Naval ships, situated near the delta 

region, ready to supply massive 

quantities of relief and support to 

those most in need but Burmese officials 

will not allow this foreign aid 

to enter. The ships cannot stay there 

forever and will leave, according to 

a Pentagon Spokesperson, ‘‘in days 

or weeks, not months’. 

Of course mediation is providing 

slow responses but, whilst we 

are mediating, people are dying. 

It is farcical for the UN and the 

world to stand by any longer. The 

longer they exchange meaningless 

civil words, then the longer we all 

endorse the murders of thousands. 

General Thein Sein, the Burmese 

Prime Minister, ludicrously 

exclaimed in the junta’s mouthpiece, 

New Light of Myanmar that 

“we have already finished our first 

phase of emergency relief. We are 

going onto the second phase, the 

rebuilding stage.” If Myanmar’s own 

government is ignoring the needs 

of the dead then, by our inaction, 

we are complicit in genocide. 

Earlier this year Ki-moon visited 

Rwanda, 14 years after the tragedy, 

and he declared that “the United 

Nations has a moral duty to act on 

the lessons of 

The people of 

Burma hear 

nothing, receive 

nothing, and live 

as ‘nothings’. 

Rwanda”. Well 

it is failing. We 

need aid to enter 

and it needs to 

Unfortunately, 

Burma is not 

Iraq or Afghanistan. 

This 

is not a quest for oil. This is not a 

demonstration of military power. 

It is not a Western tragedy. This is 

Asia and this is human decency. 

The longer the UN and the 109 

countries which agreed to protect 

international civilians play on their 

diplomatic puppet strings and 

achieve nothing, then the longer 

Photograph: Khin Maung Win/AFP 

thousands die in our name. 

Perhaps using military power to 

help the people in desperate need 

in Myanmar will do nothing but 

whilst we do the alternative we 

are achieving little, and allowing a 

country which uses rape as punishment, 

gives guns to children and 

violently suppresses any freedom 

of speech to continue its acts of 

murder. Do you want that on your 

conscience? 

“The United Nations is here to 

help you. The whole world is trying 

to help Myanmar”. Seems a bit hollow 

now does not it? 

New features 

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College Information 

9 

Moving into accommodation off campus 

So your essays are all handed in, the first year of exams are finished and you 

can lie back and bask in the sun outside Founder’s. Sounds great but for many 

students the next hurdle to jump is the move into accommodation in the private 

sector. For most students the people you chose to share a house with will become 

the friends you invite to weddings, christenings and university reunions 

for years to come so you need to get things right! 

Housemates: Think carefully about who you want to share a house with for a 

year or two. The person who was the life and soul of your halls flat may become 

infuriatingly distractive when the pressure of your second and third years builds 

up. The person you sit next to in lectures may be perfect for spending time debating 

your chosen subject but how compatible are you socially? Are they likely 

to be up for a big night every time you’d like a quiet night in in front of Gavin 

& Stacey? Do you get driven mad by overt tidiness or do you like everything in 

its place? Think all these things through before you sign up to a house and try 

to set some ground rules with your chosen housemates in advance so it doesn’t 

all go horribly wrong. You don’t want to fall out housemates over something as 

trivial as a pint of milk! 

Neighbours: The independence of a student house also brings the responsibility 

of being a good neighbour. Poor relationships with other residents can spoil 

your year and add stress that you could do without. When you move in, go 

round and introduce yourselves to them; consider giving them your contact details 

so they can get in touch with you if there is a problem. It’s always good to 

have someone to keep an eye on your house during the holidays when you may 

return home. 

Noise: Don’t expect to party every week; the general expectation is that there 

should be no excessive noise and no noise after 11pm on a weekday night, when 

people have to get up for school and work. If you do hold a party make sure you 

let neighbours know well in advance and try to agree a mutually acceptable 

time for it to finish; if you really get on well you might even want to invite them. 

Be aware of how noise travels; some houses in Egham and Englefield Green have 

very thin walls and we have heard of students who can hear their neighbours 

brushing their teeth! If you have friends round, try to minimise any potential disturbance 

by keeping doors and windows closed and making sure doors are not 

slammed as people leave. Everyone knows how frustrating it can be when you get 

woken up in the middle of the night by something like that! 

Rubbish: Make sure you put your bins out at the right time so you don’t miss the 

collection and recycle as much as you can. Bins are collected in both Egham and 

Englefield Green on a Tuesday so try to put your bins out on a Monday evening. 

The local Council have a policy not to collect a bin if it is not completely closed; 

neither will they collect bags left outside of the bin. This is all part of their waste 

management plan aiming to encourage recycling and the reduction of waste. 

They will also collect newspaper and magazines, cans, glass jars and bottles, foil 

and textiles. You can find all the details at www.runnymede.gov.uk. Keep your 

garden tidy as well or make sure your landlord does if it is their responsibility. 

Money: Tenancy Deposit schemes came into force in April 2007 meaning that 

landlords have to protect tenants’ deposits either by handing the deposit to a third 

party or by taking out insurance. Ask your landlord before you sign your contract 

how your deposit will be protected. If your house is solely occupied by full-time 

students the property will be exempt from council tax; however this changes if a 

tenant is not in full-time study, so make sure you check. You will also need a valid 

TV licence for the house; make sure you organise this as the fine can be up to 

£1000 with prosecution. 

Support: Royal Holloway is leading the way as a university with its community liaison 

and support. We are one of the only universities to offer support to students 

living out in the local area. We have a dedicated community liaison team, with two 

Deputy Community Liaison Officers each for Egham and Englefield Green. They 

are there to visit new student households and help you sort out any settling in 

problems. A dedicated web page is available at www.rhul.ac.uk/for-students/Localsupport 

or you can contact them at DCLO@rhul.ac.uk. 

Helen Groenendaal, Community Liaison Officer 

Support & Advisory Services


Edinburgh Feature 

Darning Jilly 

Royal Holloway’s Edinburgh Fringe Production 

They’re at it again, Royal Holloway’s Drama 

Society are off to Edinburgh…this time to 

show of the work off an avant garde feminist 

play by the playwright Aerin Davison who 

sadly passed away last May. Her poetic 

and poignant play Darning Jilly was written 

during her MA in playwriting and will be 

performed in Edinburgh for the whole of 

August by this uber talented cast… 

G - Tamar Karabetyan 

J - Lara Stavrinou 

Jack - Marcus Griffiths 

K - Charlotte Higgins 

L - Cathy Devlin 

R - Ali Christian 

By Beth Turrell 

BT: Can you tell us a bit about 

the plot? 

TP: The plot is a tricky question 

actually! It is about a young London 

woman called G who has committed 

a series of murders in the style 

of Jack the Ripper-but against men. 

That is the back story. When you 

meet G she is in a mental hospital 

and she has a psychiatrist who 

is treating her and then you can 

follow her mental breakdown and 

her obsession with Jack the ripper. 

The plot then, I guess, is a series of 

questions. Is G a monster? Is she 

Jack the Ripper’s re-incarnation? 

The script ten breaks down into 

a series of images and pulls away 

from formal dialogue. By the end 

of the play, words are invading 

the page and there is, for example, 

some pages in the script that blood 

drip down so it’s a very visual piece 

I’d say. 

BT: Wow, sounds quite poetic… 

TP: Yeah it’s really exciting, it’s definitely 

drawn on the poetic practise 

course that can be studied here-it’s 

been a huge inspiration in terms of 

concrete poetry etc. 

BT: Sounds great, why was 

Darning Jilly chosen to take to 

Edinburgh? 

TP: I got the ball rolling and I 

chose it because Aerin Davison-the 

playwright-wrote it for her masters 

in playwriting and she passed away 

last may just after she finished the 

play. I hadn’t read the play myself 

yet but I had written a play with 

Aerin in my second year so I knew 

she was talented I knew she was 

really into feminism and gender 

studies and the more poetic aspect 

which I am really interested in 

pursuing as a director. Then I approached 

Sophie Robinson who is 

doing a PhD in Queer Poetics and 

was Aerin’s housemate and so we 

started building up a small team. 

When I finally read the play I loved 

it, I thought it was phenomenal and 

I really wanted the challenge, it’s 

very testing. 

SR: Aerin did a degree in English 

and Drama and then an MA in 

playwriting along the way she got 

involved in the experimental poetry 

world in London. I think the play is 

half influenced by her MA and also 

seeing stuff performed by people 

such as Sarah Kane, Martin Crimp 

and Joe Orton and critical theory. 

She experimented with sound and 

visual elements and with her drama 

theory I think she was trying to 

blend all three with Darning Jilly. 

The cast of Darning Jilly rehearsing on campus 

It’s a fantastic play; I wanted to 

do something with it but didn’t 

know how! With such great actors 

at RHUL and the atmosphere 

of innovation we wanted to do 

something with it. Tom and I chose 

it because of our friendship with 

Aerin and professionally because of 

my interest in the avant garde and 

his directing background. 

BT: How are the rehearsals 

going, how are the cast getting 

on? 

TP: Working with the cast has been 

brilliant, we have mainly working 

on physical activities, and there 

have been so much workshops 

and different exercises. I have only 

just introduced the script so we’ve 

definitely been building up by doing 

activities and exploring ideas 

using loads of different techniques. 

The cast are unbelievable they went 

through a horrendous audition 

process and somehow managed to 

stick with it, they work well together. 

The characters the really underwritten 

so there’s loads of room for 

interpretation and manoeuvring. 

We are looking at character work in 

the next couple of weeks too! 

BT: You have been getting 

the cast involved with lots of 

extra activities such as poetry


Darning Jilly 

11 

“Darning Jilly is about 

a young London 

woman called G who 

has committed a series 

of murders in the style 

of Jack the Ripper - but 

against men.” 

Tom Pinhorn, Director 

When & Where? 

Preview Performance 

Darning Jilly’s preview 

performance will be taking 

place in London: 

Date: Sunday 20th July 

Tickets: £5 

Venue: 

Chisenhale Dance Space 

Mile End 

Edinburgh Performances 

Darning Jilly’s performances 

at the Fringe Festival in 

Edinburgh will be taking 

place throughout August at 

the CVenues SoCo Basement 

readings, how do you intend 

these sorts of exercises and 

experiences will impact the 

characters or perhaps help as a 

research method? 

SR: I think the readings have allowed 

us to bond better, so we 

wanted to develop something more 

organic and provide influences for 

the play for the cast. 

TP: I’m not sure it will help to develop 

character but I think the play 

is so steeped in avant-garde postmodern 

poetry. Aerin was reading 

a lot of Maggie O’Sullivan at the 

time so some of the readings we 

have been to Maggie O’Sullivan was 

at and the cast are able to hear that 

poetry being performed to provide 

a little insight, we’ve also developed 

some workshops around the poetry 

too. I think it’s good to know the 

history behind the play. 

Edinburgh Blogs 

thefounder.co.uk will be 

featuring a series of blogs from 

Hollowegians at the Edinburgh 

Fringe Festival this year. 

Keep an eye on our website for 

more information as and when 

it becomes available.


Film 

‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skill’ 

A film for fans of the original trilogy only 

Mario Creatura 

When James Bond first hit our 

screens back in 1962, the world was 

awestruck. Here was a man who had 

it all - charisma, wit, charm, good 

looks and a string of women lying 

in his wake. Men wanted to be him 

and women wanted to (apparently) 

be with him. But there was one 

problem, he was English. Or more 

specifically, he wasn’t American. After 

dominating the filmic stage from 

day one, they simply could not stand 

being left in the shadow of a successful 

foreigner on the action stage. 

So Indiana Jones was born. Infinitely 

more human than Bond, Jones 

brought a level of grittiness to the 

genre of action hero that has made 

him a blockbuster hit ever since. 

So it is perhaps not a surprise that 

after millions of fans nagging them 

for the last 19 years, that Steven 

Spielberg and George Lucas gave 

in to make ‘Indiana Jones and the 

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. Every 

“ 

As a standalone 

film it is totally 

substandard 

despite the 

high level of 

sophistication 

from Lucas’s 

effects 

man will resort to a childlike state on 

entering the cinema, wishing that he 

too would be able to crack that whip 

and rescue buried treasure from the 

hands of the villainous Russians. 

Unlike in the previous films where 

the baddie was usually a Nazi, the 

film accurately moves on in the 

temporal world of Indy’s life. Set in 

1957, 20 years on from the last, the 

political situation of the Cold War is 

accurately highlighted and encompassed 

by the steely persona of Irina 

Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett. 

Spalko plays a role similar to that of 

the female villain in ‘The Last Crusade’, 

a doctor working for an evil 

dictator and trying to grab as much 

magical material as possible to help 

in his world takeover bid. 

With Indiana enlisted to help stop 

the Russians by the young and virile 

Mutt Williams (Shia LaBoeuf), the 

adventure inevitably has the explosive 

action and mystical storyline 

that we as an audience have grown 

accustomed to over the years. But 

therein lies the problem, the story 

is weak and ultimately totally reli- 

” 

ant on the previous branding of the 

franchise. As a standalone film it is 

totally substandard despite the high 

level of sophistication from Lucas’ 

effects. The only saving grace lies 

with the cheeky nods to the past 

films that will make many a die-hard 

fan grin with nostalgia. And that’s it. 

John Hurt is sorely underused and 

Ray Winstone’s recurrent cockney 

character fails to emit the right level 

of sympathy. 

Harrison Ford picks up the whip 

again for what will hopefully be his 

last foray into the world of Indy. 

Carrying on his smart-alik retorts 

he now readily fulfills the mantle of 

bumbling old academic taking large 

influences from the idiosyncrasies 

offered by Sean Connery in ‘The Last 

Crusade’. LaBoeuf is not as bad as he 

was in ‘Transformers’ and seems to 

have finally transformed into the 

young male actor that is worthy of 

a Spielberg flick even though the director 

seems to have made this film 

in his sleep with little creative challenge 

and originality. 

Well worth the price of a cinema 

ticket but only for those who love 

with a passion the previous 3 films. 

If you are one of the very few sad 

people left on the planet not to have 

seen an Indiana Jones film then you 

really should not start with this one! 

Sit down with a large tub of something 

sweet and enjoy the original 

magic of a geeky university lecturer 

with an amazing part time habit 

that will almost make you want to 

become an archaeologist... 

Summer Break 

Writing during the Summer 

Want to keep reviewing and 

writing during the Summer? 

We’ll still be publishing material 

that we receive online. 

Write online 

www.thefounder.co.uk/ 

articleupload.php 

Email your articles 

editor@thefounder.co.uk 

Want to get involved? 

The Founder has now closed 

applications for positions on the 

editorial board. 

However, we are still looking for: 

• Designers 

• Business Team 

• Photographers 

• Cartoonists 

• Correspondents 

Email editor@thefounder.co.uk


Books 

13 

1001 books to read before you die 

Vikki Weston 

It’s been a while since I’ve had to 

come up with a review for a book 

to read before you die, but this week 

I’m offering you one that sits firmly 

in my top 5. Written in 1932 Aldous 

Huxley’s Brave New World is a work 

of literary beauty and genius. Not 

only is he a superior writer, but for 

a book that pre-dates the Second 

World War Brave New World is 

phenomenally prophetic. Set in ‘The 

year of our Ford 632’ better known 

as 2540 A.D. Huxley’s work sees the 

global population living a utopian 

existence. This utopia is created 

through the extinction of individuality, 

art, religion and free thought. 

Humans are not created equal, they 

are created happy. Family is not only 

unnecessary, but evil and offensive, 

as is the concept of monogamy, that 

in the Pavlovian manner (look up 

Pavlov and his dog if this doesn’t 

mean anything to you) is sleep instructed 

to children as they grow 

up to perform whatever job or duty 

they were born into. 

The title is a direct quote from Miranda’s 

speech from Shakespeare’s 

The Tempest. Huxley uses many 

Shakespeare quotes from various 

plays throughout the second half 

of the text after the introduction of 

John Savage, a man born in a ‘savage 

reservation’ outside of ‘normal 

civilisation’. John is one of the only 

humans to have ever come into contact 

with the works of Shakespeare 

and uses his plays and his language 

to make sense of the world. John, 

himself, refers ironically to the new 

concept of civilisation as a ‘Brave 

new world’. 

Further contextual references 

stem from the names of characters 

such as Mustapha Mond, Bernard 

Marx, Benito Hoover and Lenina 

Crowne (if these don’t ring any 

bells, look them up on Wikipedia). 

Huxley’s political and historical 

context is instantly evident. He uses 

the year of the first Ford car made 

on a production line as the standard 

date for the new world; which is a 

superb, yet subtle, indicator of the 

connection with creating human 

life on a production line. Huxley is 

a genius of political allegory and of 

literary creativity. Brave New World 

is famous for its multiple stream of 

consciousness style that, although 

sometimes confusing, has an obvious 

purpose in the ultra-modern 

aesthetic of the text. 

John Savage’s desperation and 

self-destruction having been introduced 

to the new world is beautifully 

written and sublimely tragic. His 

flawed relationships with his Mother, 

Lenina and Bernard all represent 

the flawed aspects of the supposedly 

perfect new world. His character is 

the only ‘reality’ that a reader can 

identify with, as the other characters 

are all born of a culture that is, 

as it is for John, impossible to understand. 

Surprisingly the only cinematic 

version of Brave New World 

was made in 1998, starring Leonard 

Nimoy and Peter Gallagher (of O.C 

fame) and is only very loosely based 

on the novel. Perhaps this lack of literary 

integrity comes from Huxley’s 

work being too brilliant a novel for 

anyone to successfully recreate the 

complex themes on screen. 

Brave New World takes everything 

we hold dear, from love to 

Shakespeare and sacrifices it on the 

altar of utopia. The bizarre thing is 

that utopia so very frightening and 

disturbing for a world that exists 

without disease, old-age, poverty or 

war, something that we seem to constantly 

strive for. Which, of course, 

begs the question, why is it so disturbing? 

Why would social stability 

and an end to unhappiness make us 

so unhappy? John is the man with 

the answer; he demands his right 

to be miserable, disease ridden and 

unsatisfied, for without it we cannot 

truly know happiness. John Savage 

refuses to exist in a ‘brave new world 

that hath such people in it’. 

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thefounder 

Students’ Union 

Poor show for renowned event 

Letters to the Editor 

Sir: There are few points that I wish to make. Looking 

at these ridiculous articles by Sam Kiss: I think its 

high time someone pointed out to him that however 

interesting his subject matter and opinions may be, 

writing in this absurd fashion, serves only to thoroughly 

obscure any point he may be trying to make... 

Harry Rowe 

Sir: I wonder, like many students, whatever happened 

to The Orbital? My SU wallplanner informs me that 

there should have been an issue on 12 May and again 

on 27 May. How much Union money does it cost? 

Victor Bernards 

Union ever believed that it could put a positive spin 

on the announcement of this year’s Summer Ball line 

up. Perhaps, by not listing the bands on the Student 

Union website, the Union were hoping to cause as 

little of a furore as possible. In the mean time, the 

ticket-buying guests to this years summer, ‘surprise 

party’ would remain as little insulted as possible until 

the, greatly anticipated, ‘star act’ fails to appear; instead, 

two beaming, middle-aged, balding men take 

to the stage looking like a z-list version of the chuckle 

brothers. We are, of course, talking about Right Said 

Fred. Who? You know the two brothers still famous 

for their one hit wonder ‘I’m too sexy for my shirt’. 

Although, the saddest thing is in the title for their 

song; they just are not sexy any more. 

Whoever organised the event must be stuck in 

some eighties, nostalgic time-warp, and is thus, illequipped 

to co-ordinate a soiree with a band which 

still has a modern student following. Another 80s 

talent taking to the famous Royal Holloway stage, 

which was once graced with the likes of Radiohead, 

is neighbours star Jason Donovan, famous for his 

perma-tan and his stint in the ‘I’m not a celebrity 

anymore but need to raise my profile, and gain some 

money from Heat magazine’ ITV television show. 

Where the party-planner did succeed was in 

booking Amy Winehouse. Yes, Amy Winehouse! Oh 

no wait, “sorry students, Amy had to back out for a 

stint at Glastonbury, and that gig for Abramovich’s 

girlfriend. So we booked the just as good ‘Maybe 

Winehouse’ to make up for it”. To slight all of us, who 

queued four hours for a ticket, even further JK and 

Joel, and H “Two” O Ft. Platinum will also be showing 

their not too recognisable faces. 

Of course, being a small university many will argue 

that we could just not get anyone better. However, as 

Warwick have The Wombats and Feeder, for a £40 

ticket they will also wine and dine you, and as Bath 

have Scouting for Girls one would have thought that 

we could have tried a little harder. Being an ‘acclaimed’ 

top 20 university, with Royal Holloway’s ‘international 

reputation’, it is not ridiculous to assume 

that we could have managed to gain a headliner with 

more than one recognisable song – no, Donovan’s 

duet with Kylie does not count. Honestly, if we could 

not have got anyone better then we should hope 

the university would not spend our money on such 

embarrassments. 

Another, pitiful excuse being fluttered around is 

that it really does not matter who the acts are because 

there is such a high demand for the ball; tickets 

will sell regardless. Let us break the costs down. We 

all pay £65 for a ticket. £25 from each ticket goes 

towards the bands. 2,500 tickets are sold. The acts, 

therefore, get around £62,500. Whether we would 

pay this amount of money for a ticket is unimportant, 

what is important is that £62,500 of our money 

goes towards a commercial service which does not 

provide an adequate return. The union is complacent; 

they believe that students will not complain 

because there is always someone else to be duped out 

of £65. 

Therefore, we have the following proposal. We cancel 

the current line up. Every student is refunded £20 

of their ticket. The remaining (£5 x 2,500) £12,500 

goes towards Holloway talent such as: Handshake, 

who are currently playing unpaid because the Union 

ludicrously ‘does not think that they are talented 

enough to be paid’, Absolute Harmony, Undergraduated 

and a set by Poison Lost, a Holloway band who 

did an unbeatable remix of Amy Winehouse’s ‘You 

Know I’m No Good’ at Battle of the Bands. The rest 

of the night should be filled with our own talented 

DJs. Thus, for £45, we, as consumers, get a night of 

dance and modern, high quality music. The university 

has talented student musicians which deserve to 

be showcased instead of a bunch of expensive and 

unremarkable has-beens. 

To further add insult to our wallets the Union have 

organised the £35 Colours and Societies’ Balls which 

included free wine, a three course meal, a deluxe 

hotel location and free transport. On Thursday 29th 

May the Union’s the free Laurels take place, which 

include a meal and drinks for all. For no free food, 

no free drink, and our own location we are paying 

double the money for the year’s main event. The 

union can organise a successful event at little or no 

cost to the attendees. Why then does it choose to 

rip-off students at their final farewell? If the union is 

really a ‘profit-free’ organisation then they are being 

a spendthrift with the money they swindle out of the 

students who pay it to represent them. 

As students we have entered the world of 

academia. Our union is belittling our intelligence if 

it believes that we can be appeased with the musical 

crud left at the bottom of the expense pile. It is patronising 

us with excessive pricing for an event which 

does not fulfil its criteria. 

Here is our complaint about Summer Ball 2008. 

Where is yours? 

Sir: I would like to express my distaste at something 

that I heard at the AUC elections on Monday 19 May. 

Darea Ellis, the newly elected editor of The Score, was 

asked how she would ensure that sports were better 

publicised in The Orbital. Her response was that club 

presidents should be blackmailed into not sending 

their results and match reports to The Founder, if 

they do, they should have their funding cut. This 

seems rather bizarre considering that the two biggest 

sporting successes this year (Men’s Football winning 

the ULU Cup and the rowers’ success at the Allom 

Cup) were only covered by The Founder. 

Anonymous 

I did it my way 

tf editorial team 

Editor-in-Chief 

Jack Lenox 

Deputy Editor 

Cristina Lynch 

Arts Editor 

Beth Turrell 

Media Editor 

Jesse Klein 

Sports Editor 

Barry de Silva 

Podcast Editor 

Tom Matthews 

Webmaster 

Adrian Hayter 

Editor 08-09 

Jessica Freeman 

Chief Subeditor 08-09 

Camille Nedelec-Lucas 

Business & Advertising 

Manager 

Simon Hepher 

Business Assistant 

Bonita Norris 

The Founder is the independent 

student newspaper of Royal Holloway, 

University of London. We distribute at 

least 5,000 free copies every fortnight 

during term time around campus 

and to popular student venues in and 

around Egham. 

The views expressed in this publication 

are those of the author and not 

necessarily those of the Editor-in- 

Chief or of Wise News and Media Ltd, 

especially of comment and opinion 

pieces. Every effort has been made to 

contact the holders of copyright for 

any material used in this issue, and to 

ensure the accuracy of this fortnight’s 

stories. 

For advertising and sponsorship 

enquiries, please contact the Business 

& Advertising Manager: 

simon@thefounder.co.uk 

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© Wise News and Media Ltd. 2008, 53 Glebe Road, Egham Surrey, TW20 8BU 

Designed by Jack Lenox and Jessica Freeman 

23rd Issue 

Well, this is the 23rd time I have spent no less than two straight days (with 

very little sleep) laying out this newspaper for your reading pleasure. Alas, 

this is the last time I’ll be doing it. Apparently, I’m also supposed to be 

doing this irritating thing called a degree and it’s suffering without my 

attention. 

It genuinely does seem like only yesterday that I sat down with a 

few fellow freshers in Wedderburn and discussed the idea of starting a 

newspaper. It’s all very vivid: from the first ever business meeting (which 

I think was with Mick at Gemini Taxis) to the evening that Simon, Mike 

and I went out under cover of darkness to stick up our rather enigmatic 

posters: “The Founder - coming soon”. On a chilly December morning 

(Friday 8th, 2006) a pallet arrived at the Union with 4,000 newspapers on 

it. There were the looks of disbelief on the faces of the then President and 

VPComServ, Rob Coveney and Harry Bryant respectively. Then the look 

of mild frustration on Rob’s face when he realised that my article about 

the smoking ban (which had been proposed at the previous GM) was 

wildly inaccurate! Yet, on the whole, it went down pretty well. I hope that 

everyone has noticed it gradually getting better and whether you enjoy 

what you read or not, I hope that everyone at least appreciates what we’re 

trying to do. Indeed, if you’re reading this bizarre little comment then you 

must read this whole thing quite carefully! 

I would like to thank all those who have helped the cause over the past 

two years, the editors from the first year: Beth Turrell, Michael Dean, Dan 

Nicholls, Tim Ruffles, Joe Fitzpatrick, Lara Stavrinou, Allison Ealey, Will 

Sudlow; newcomers in the second year: Fern Riddell, Cristina Lynch, 

Jesse Klein, Barry de Silva, Adrian Hayter, Tom Matthews and Morgan 

Hamilton-Griffin. Of course, this paper wouldn’t be what it is without the 

tireless work of Simon Hepher running the business side, it would have 

been more or less impossible without him. But most of all, I want to thank 

you, the students of Royal Holloway. I hope that you all have a great Summer. 

Long may this last. JL


Special Feature 

15 

The Modern Cult of Personality 

Nick Teasdale compares cultural attitudes in Britain, Russia and the USA 

Suspend your disbelief and imagine 

the following: 

It is spring 2003, and 

hundreds of students 

gather in Trafalgar Square 

to catch a glimpse of a 

political superstar: Prime 

Minister Tony Blair. He 

stands in front of the National 

Gallery, addressing the crowd. The 

familiar gestures are there to be 

seen. You hear that earnest and 

emphatic style of delivery, replete 

with dramatic pauses. The eyebrows 

dance; the smile gleams. He speaks 

on behalf of the British public, and 

he is clearly in his element. 

Feeling the hand of history on his 

shoulder, Blair advocates pre-emptive 

military action, preaching the 

spread of freedom and democracy 

throughout the Middle East. An 

assertive foreign policy, delivered 

through a coalition of the willing, 

can re-shape the world in the wake 

of 9/11; for the kaleidoscope has 

been shaken (here he re-visits the 

phraseology of an earlier, muchadmired 

speech) and the pieces 

have yet to settle. Pre-emptive 

action; regime-change; 45 minutes; 

WMD; Britain’s moral imperative; 

the Special Relationship: these ideas 

are consumed by students standing 

in awed-silence, feeding off every 

word. New Labour, New Britain. 

And a new world-order, too. 

The reader may be puzzled by 

this account of a pro-Blair, pro-war 

youth rally, and with good reason: 

I made it up. Blair perhaps dreamt 

of support like this, but the rally 

makes no sense in a British political 

context. In reality, people rallied 

against Blair, not for him. In February 

2003 over 750,000 people of 

all ages marched through London, 

protesting against Blair’s decision 

to support the American invasion 

of Iraq. 

Blair once stated that he did not 

“seek unpopularity as a badge of 

honour”; unpopularity was simply 

the “price of leadership and the 

cost of conviction”. It is true that, 

in the run-up to the 1997 general 

election, Blair’s photograph was 

prominent in the Labour Party’s 

campaign literature: his face filled 

the front cover of the party manifesto. 

Adoring crowds did greet him 

upon his arrival in Downing Street. 

But Blair’s value as an electoral asset 

was severely compromised during 

his second term in office. 

There is a reason for this, quite 

Failed cult of personality 

Tony Blair at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland 

Photograph: World Economic Forum 

aside from the Iraq war: British 

people soon tire of personality 

cults. In cultural terms, the political 

cult of personality is an alien concept. 

British television celebrities 

enjoy more respect than politicians. 

Writing in The Times recently, 

Alice Miles proposed that public 

interest in politics could be reinvigorated 

through appointments 

to the House of Lords by popular 

petition; she anticipated that Ant 

and Dec and Davina McCall would 

benefit from this hypothetical 

system. Professional politicians 

could never hope to gain enough 

signatures; the British attitude to 

politics, mired in apathy and cynicism, 

would prevent this. It is this 

cynicism that makes it difficult for 

us to comprehend foreign examples 

of the political cult of personality. 

There is a country where largescale 

political idol-worship exists 

within the framework of an ostensibly 

free society. That country 

is Russia. And the man who 

commands the zeitgeist? Former 

President and new Prime Minister 

Vladimir Putin. 

Like Blair, Putin has overseen an 

economic resurgence at home. Putin 

has also embraced an imperialist 

defence policy, brutally crushing 

dissent in Chechnya. Blair often 

refuted the claim that his attempt 

at spreading liberal values through 

“ 

Blair once 

stated that he 

did not “seek 

unpopularity as a 

badge of honour”; 

unpopularity was 

simply the “price 

of leadership 

and the cost of 

conviction” 

” 

military action was essentially 

imperialist. Putin tends not to be 

so equivocal when discussing his 

desire to promote Russian influence 

abroad. His nostalgia for a 

Russian empire is explicit: he once 

remarked that the collapse of the 

Soviet Union was the “greatest 

geopolitical catastrophe” of the 

twentieth century. 

Yet in most respects, the two men 

have nothing in common. Unlike 

Blair, Putin is still adored by his 

people. Now that his constitutional 

limit of two presidential terms has 

expired, Putin retains his popularity 

and his grip on power. As Prime 

Minister he will serve under his 

chosen successor, new President 

Dmitry Medvedev; but as Chairman 

of the United Russia Party, 

the largest party in the Russian 

parliament (the Duma), Putin continues 

to hold all executive power. 

Medvedev has no popular supportbase 

to call his own; Russians voted 

for him purely because of Putin’s 

endorsement. Medvedev would 

be rendered politically impotent 

and unable to govern effectively 

through the Duma were Putin to 

retract this endorsement. Putin 

is too popular and therefore too 

powerful to be crossed by the new 

head of state. 

According to a recent opinion 

poll conducted by Moscow nongovernmental 

organisation the 

Levada Centre, Putin’s approval 

rating in Russia stands at 86%. This 

is the highest genuine approval rating 

for any statesman in the world. 

66% of Russians believe it is a good 

thing that nearly all power lies in 

the hands of Vladimir Putin. 

Putin’s popularity amongst the 

young is especially striking for a 

man who has dominated Russian 

politics since 1999. This support 

is widespread and perhaps best 

demonstrated through a strange 

phenomenon: the Nashi youth 

movement. 

We are in 

Moscow. 

It is the 

evening of 

2 March 

2008, and 

a concert attended by thousands of 

young people begins in Red Square. 

On stage, a Russian rock star 

wearing a black beret sings, playing 

acoustic guitar. Massive video 

screens bathe the audience in light. 

Two musicians on electric guitar 

enter the fray as the lead singer 

launches into an aggressive, triumphant 

chorus. This is a patriotic 

rock anthem, and the guitars give 

voice to a rhapsody of escalating 

notes. In Red Square, hundreds of 

Russian flags wave in time; banners 

emblazoned with slogans rise from 

the crowd. 

St. Basil’s Cathedral is illuminated 

by orange flood lights. There are no 

stars out tonight; a heavy blanket of 

cloud looms large over the city. 

The snow turns gradually to rain. 

The song has reached its climax 

and a woman on loud speaker takes 

her cue, announcing the arrival of 

President Putin and his chosen successor, 

First Deputy Prime Minister 

Dmitry Medvedev. According to 

overwhelmingly-favourable exit 

polls in today’s election, Medvedev 

is now President-elect. Stage lights 

flare and the crowd screams; two 

men in black stride up to the 

microphones. Vladimir Putin, the 

most popular man in Russia, has 

joined his protégé on stage for a 

victory speech. 

Medvedev begins: “This is a 

special day for our country. We are 

choosing a course for a pretty long 

period of time… We shall maintain 

the course that President Putin 

has proposed… We will continue 

to move ahead together.” It is a 

deferential, cautious and uninspiring 

speech. 

The crowd begins to chant: “Putin! 

Putin! Putin! Putin! Putin!” 

Medvedev shifts uncomfortably 

on his feet, glancing at his mentor. 

Putin’s face breaks into a broad 

smile as he presses his lips to the 

microphone. 

This is a man who knows 

how to work an audience. Putin, 

his voice characteristically highpitched, 

shouts: “You’re freezing!” 

The crowd, buffeted by snow, rain 

and sleet, bellows back: “No!” 

Putin asks: “Can you give me one 

minute?” 

His audience roars back: “Yes!”


Special Feature - Cult of Personality 

Successful cult of personality 

Photograph: Miguel A. Lopes 

Putin begins his 

speech, intermittently 

jabbing his 

finger at the crowd: 

“Our candidate 

Dmitry Medvedev 

is victorious… The presidential and 

parliamentary elections were held 

in accordance with the constitution 

of our country, according to the 

dates set forth in the law… But such 

a victory is also a great responsibility.” 

The crowd chants: “Putin! Putin! 

Putin! Putin! Putin!” Thousands of 

fists punch the air in salute. Putin 

does not attempt to conceal his joy. 

He continues: “This victory will 

ensure that we maintain the course 

that we have chosen together 

and the course that we have been 

implementing together; this course 

will continue… Everybody who 

loves Russia will join our efforts as 

we work for the citizens of our great 

Motherland!” 

Who are the thousands of young 

Putin-supporters who brave the 

inclement weather, screaming with 

excitement at every word he utters? 

They are not wearing the distinctive 

bright-red and white uniforms 

of the Nashi youth movement; 

nevertheless, they almost certainly 

are Nashi activists, bussed into 

Moscow from every corner of the 

Russian Federation. Nationalistic 

and fervently loyal to the outgoing 

President, these Nashi members 

represent the hard-core of Putin’s 

support base, but they also reflect 

the tremendous popularity enjoyed 

by Putin across Russia. 

Nashi was founded in 2005 by 

politician Vasily Yakemenko. It 

was created in response to the immense 

street protests that brought 

pro-western leaders to power in 

countries that have historically 

existed within the Russian sphere of 

influence. Georgia’s Rose Revolution 

in 2003 and Ukraine’s Orange 

Revolution in 2004 both involved 

a large number of students. Putin 

especially felt that Viktor Yushchenko’s 

victory in the Ukraine 

was enabled through the protests 

of youth group PORA. Nashi, 

therefore, was created in order to 

counter opposition youth groups 

seeking revolution in Russia. 

Nashi’s purpose was to create 

a cult of personality for Putin, 

thereby reducing the likelihood of 

a popular uprising against authoritarian 

rule. The organisation grew 

rapidly, and by late 2007 it claimed 

a membership of 120,000 Russians 

aged 14-25. 

Nashi insists that it is funded 

by independent businessmen who 

wish to gain the Kremlin’s favour. 

In reality, Nashi is mainly funded 

by grants from the state-owned 

energy giant Gazprom (formerly 

chaired by Dmitry Medvedev). The 

movement also receives money 

from Norilsk Nickel, a mining 

and smelting company principally 

owned by billionaire Putin-loyalist 

Vladimir Potanin. Nashi is entirely 

dependent on the patronage of 

Putin and his cronies, and it exists 

to do his bidding. 

“ 

The former head 

of the FSB and 

an ex-KGB agent, 

Putin revealed his 

ruthlessness when 

he launched the 

second Chechen 

War in 1999 

” 

Nashi members are indoctrinated 

with nationalist ideology. They call 

themselves the ‘Putin Generation’ 

and are motivated by slogans such 

as “Russia Forward!” The name of 

the organisation is designed to inspire 

nationalist, anti-western (and 

therefore pro-Putin) sentiment: 

‘Nashi’ can be roughly translated 

as ‘Ours’ or ‘Our People’. This title 

conveys both a sense of Russian 

identity and Russian sovereignty, 

and it implicitly suggests an antagonistic 

attitude towards foreign 

influence in Russia. 

Nashi members receive rewards 

for their political work: members 

often gain internships in government 

departments and state-owned 

energy companies. In this respect 

Nashi operates in much the same 

way as its communist-era forerunner, 

the Soviet youth movement 

Komsomol. 

Yet, now that the threat of a 

revolution in Russia has passed, 

Nashi seems increasingly redundant. 

Putin’s cult of personality has 

penetrated the popular consciousness, 

and he no longer needs his 

youthful shock-troops. Before the 

presidential election in March there 

was talk in the Kremlin of Nashi 

being dissolved. It is expected 

that regional Nashi organisations 

will be assigned new tasks: they 

will be subsumed into the voluntary 

groups founded by Nashi, 

and Nashi members will focus on 

community service. Putin is at the 

height of his popularity, and he no 

longer requires the security provided 

by Nashi’s existence. 

But why is Putin so popular? 

Strongman 

Putin presents himself 

as a strongman 

who has set out to 

re-instil pride in 

the heart of Russia. 

The former head of 

the FSB (successor to the KGB) and 

an ex-KGB agent, Putin revealed 

his ruthlessness before his first 

presidential term when, as Prime 

Minister under Boris Yeltsin, he 

launched the Second Chechen War 

in August 1999, brutally suppressing 

the Chechen rebel movement. 

In the world of Kremlin internal 

politics he was equally ruthless 

following his rise to the presidency. 

Putin turned against the deeply 

unpopular business oligarchs who 

“ 

He is especially 

adept at using 

Russia’s strength 

as an energy 

superpower to 

punish dissident 

countries - he cut 

off Ukraine’s gas 

supply 

” 

had thrived under Boris Yeltsin. 

Boris Berezovsky, the man who had 

played kingmaker on Putin’s behalf, 

fled fraud and corruption charges 

in Russia, settling in the UK (he 

now lives near Royal Holloway). 

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former 

head of the now bankrupt Yukos 

Oil Company, was tried and imprisoned 

for fraud and tax-evasion. 

There is a great deal of corruption 

in Putin’s Russia, yet he has cultivated 

the image of a man who is 

unable to tolerate crime. 

Putin’s aggressive foreign policy 

posturing explains a great deal of 

his popularity: it recaptures the 

spirit of Cold War-era Russian 

pride, which evaporated after the 

collapse of the Soviet Union in 

1991. His approach to relations 

with former Soviet satellite states 

reflects the Russian desire to overcome 

the post-imperial melancholy 

that set-in under Boris Yeltsin’s 

administration. Putin is especially 

adept at using Russia’s strength as 

an energy superpower to punish 

dissident countries. Most notably 

he cut off Ukraine’s gas supplies 

shortly after the Orange Revolution 

in 2004. 

Putin even threatened to place 

nuclear warheads near Kaliningrad 

if NATO carried out its intention of 

installing a missile defence system 

in Poland and the Czech Republic; 

these warheads would be pointed 

at Europe. Putin’s rhetoric became 

conciliatory only on 6 April this 

year when he signed an agreement 

with George Bush declaring the 

willingness of both sides to compromise 

on missile defence. 

Meanwhile, Putin threatened 

that he would materially-aid the 

independence movements in Georgian 

regions Abkhazia and South 

Ossetia; this was in retaliation for 

international recognition of Kosovo’s 

independence from Serbia. 

The failure of NATO to earmark 

Ukraine and Georgia for membership 

in April was a consequence of 

Putin’s forceful diplomacy, which 

halted NATO encroachment on 

territory that Russia traditionally 

considers its own.


Special Feature - Cult of Personality 

17 

“ 

Putin is the 

physical 

embodiment of 

national strength. 

He is a judo black 

belt who fought 

with judo masters 

on a state visit to 

Japan 

” 

Britain, too, has felt the impact 

of Putin’s abrasive foreign policy. 

France and Germany were reluctant 

to condemn Russia for its failure 

to extradite Andrei Lugovoi (chief 

suspect in the poisoning by radioactive 

polonium-210 of former FSB 

agent and British subject Alexander 

Litvinenko). The European fear of 

upsetting a key energy supplier is 

significant. Mother Russia flexes 

her muscles because she is strong, 

and that is all the reason she needs. 

The person who benefits most from 

this policy is Vladimir Putin. 

Putin is the physical embodiment 

of national strength. He has been 

filmed bare-chested and musclebound, 

wielding a fishing-rod. He 

is a judo black belt who fought 

with judo masters on a state visit to 

Japan. Putin fits the image of a great 

protector: a physical strongman. 

Much of Russia has consequently 

fallen in love with him. 

A personality cult operates in 

Russia, backed up by overwhelming 

popular support. This is not 

an exercise in neo-Stalinism; these 

people need not fear the gulag if 

they fail to support Putin. Those 

who do support Putin support him 

voluntarily. And, while Nashi may 

seem particularly strange, in truth 

it is simply the youth manifestation 

of a spirit of popular consensus, 

holding aloft the figure of one man. 

But is Putin’s extraordinary 

popularity, his ability to excite 

intense emotions in his followers, a 

uniquely Russian phenomenon? 

It is St. Valentine’s Day 2008, and 

Putin is holding his last Kremlin 

press conference as President. 

Faced by over 1,000 journalists, 

Putin answers questions for nearly 

five hours. At times he is good-humoured, 

occasionally he is indignant 

and sometimes he is menacing. 

The camera zooms in towards 

his face as a young woman hands 

him a heart-shaped Valentine’s 

Day card, and we see a mixture of 

amusement and bemusement in 

his expression. Certainly he looks 

rather stern, but he accepts the 

card graciously and hands it to an 

assistant. 

“ 

If Barack Obama 

can, over the 

next few months, 

continue to build 

a personality 

cult, it will truly 

demonstrate the 

strength of his 

appeal 

We pull out 

of the 

Kremlin, 

high into 

the sky, 

and the 

globe spins. An ocean flashes past 

and we zoom in once again, but this 

time the landmass in the frame is 

America. We’ve arrived in Dallas, 

Texas. The date is 20 February 

2008. We are just in time, because a 

momentous event is taking place at 

the very heart of the city. 

Standing at the centre of a 

stadium packed with thousands 

of people, a tall, thin, handsome 

man with a deep voice delivers his 

speech. Reaching the end of a sentence, 

he interrupts himself: “Going 

to blow my nose here, for a second.” 

But as he fills a handkerchief he notices 

something strange. A wave of 

excitement is passing through the 

crowd. People are cheering, holding 

up their banners, and they begin to 

chant his name. The man pockets 

his handkerchief, surveys the crowd 

and then, finally, breaks into a 

smile. His speech has suddenly become 

irrelevant; Barack Obama can 

get applause for performing simple 

bodily functions. 

For the time being at least, Putin’s 

popularity in Russia has its echo 

in another phenomenon on the 

other side of the globe: the presidential 

campaign of Barack Obama. 

Obama seems to draw a great deal 

of his support from young people, 

and the coming few months will de- 

” 

termine whether or not this can be 

sustained. His campaign sometimes 

resembles a cult of personality, but 

the Senator from Illinois still has a 

long way to go before his following 

matches that of Russian spy-master 

turned politician, Vladimir Putin. 

Nevertheless, Obama is exciting 

more interest in youth circles 

than is ordinarily the case for US 

politicians. In a recent interview 

with The Times, actor and director 

George Clooney identified the 

nature of Obama’s appeal. Speaking 

to Ginny Dougary, Clooney said: 

“Barack Obama is that person who 

comes around very rarely,” adding 

that “he’s just spellbinding.” 

Elaborating, Clooney observed that 

young Americans are “voting right 

now like you cannot believe. So 

maybe this is that moment where, 

for the first time in our history, kids 

are going to understand that they 

have to take the reins of our country 

and that may be why Barack 

Obama is around right now.” 

No stranger himself to popular 

adoration, George Clooney knows 

what he is talking about, but it is 

debatable whether a high turnout of 

young people could secure Obama 

the White House in November’s 

election. It is also true that Obama’s 

embryonic personality cult, if it can 

be so-called, has been kept in check 

by the negative revelations hindering 

his campaign. Enthusiasm for 

Obama’s presidential bid has been 

dampened by the following: the 

incendiary comments of his former 

pastor the Reverend Jeremiah 

Wright; the friendship with slumlandlord 

Tony Rezko (now on trial 

for corruption); the unfortunate 

connection with William Ayers (a 

former member of terrorist organisation 

the Weather Underground); 

the recent comments about 

small-town Americans clinging 

to “guns or religion” because they 

feel “bitter” about their poverty; 

and the incident in which Obama 

called a female reporter “sweetie”. 

Obama’s popularity looked like 

an unstoppable phenomenon in 

February. Now that he has suffered 

greater scrutiny from the press, his 

image in the popular imagination is 

tarnished on several fronts. Intense 

scrutiny from the press is something 

Vladimir Putin has never had 

Cult of personality in the making 

Photograph: michaëls/flickr 

to fear, and his cult of personality 

has consequently grown unabated. 

If Barack Obama can, over the next 

few months, continue to build a 

personality cult, it will truly demonstrate 

the strength of his appeal. 

Recently I received a message on 

Facebook from the Obama campaign 

inviting me to become an 

‘Obama Organising Fellow’ (the 

campaign is obviously unaware 

that I live in the UK). The Obama 

Organising Fellowship is a “program 

that’s going to train a new 

generation of leaders – not only 

to help us win this election, but to 

help strengthen our democracy in 

communities across the country”. 

Clearly the campaign needs dedicated 

political activists to promote 

Obama’s message in the months 

leading up to November, but the 

Organising Fellowship still sounds 

very similar to an official Obama 

youth movement. Accusations that 

Obama is encouraging a personality 

cult appear to be gaining 

legitimacy. 

Young, politically disaffected 

adults in Britain cannot understand 

the psychological conditions 

underpinning the modern cult of 

personality. We watch, we smile 

and then we shake our heads in 

wonderment and disbelief. Could 

those conditions ever be replicated 

here? Would it be desirable? 

Whatever the case, I rather doubt 

that we shall see any British politicians 

being applauded for filling a 

handkerchief in the near future.


Crossword & Sudoku 

Crossword and Sudoku 

From The Founder 

team 2007/8: 

Have a great 

Summer! 

Graduating? 

Good luck! 

Staying? 

See you in 

September! 

Easy Moderate Hard


Sports 

19 

Holloway girls run race for life 

On Sunday the 18th May 18 cheerleaders took part 

in Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in Richmond. 

All of the girls were clad in their uniform and showed 

their cheer spirit by teaming up and doing the race 

three-legged or running or walking the 5km track. 

A Tom Cat mentioned that “doing it three legged 

turned out to be harder than we imagined, but it was 

great fun and was a brilliant way to raise money for 

such a fantastic cause.” The Tom Cats have in fact 

raised over £2,000 for the appeal which helps fund research 

into many types of cancer and covers all aspects 

of the disease. 

The girls stood out from the crowd with different 

finishes, most notably would be the president and the 

president incumbent, Kim and Al, making an impressive 

finish with a shoulder sit. Whilst the three legged 

girls were interviewed on the finish line. 

As usual, at these events, the U2 song ‘It’s a beautiful 

day’ belted out of the speakers. Yet, for once it did not 

sound cliché because it was. One lady even completed 

the race after being given the all-clear four days before. 

The message of the day was one of solidarity and support, 

people ran the race for ‘Mum and Grandpa’ whilst 

others ran for ‘everybody affected by cancer’. It seems 

highly plausible that with the combined support of over 

3,000 women on the day a cheerleader can claim that 

“running the Race for Life with Tom Cats added a whole 

new meaning to the day; we were raising money for a 

great charity whilst having a brilliant day together which 

will definitely not be forgotten.” 

There were a total of 48 Holloway girls at the womenonly 

event. Congratulations to everyone who took part. 

In the words of cheer captain Jess Quiligotti: “Bring 

on next year!” 

Holloway’s Team Rankings 2007/8 Season 

Team P W D L % of Wins 

Rugby Union Women's 1st 13 12 0 1 92.31 

Football Men's 1s ULU 12 10 2 0 88.89 

Football Men's 2nd 14 12 0 2 85.71 

Basketball Women's 1st 7 5 0 2 71.43 

Badminton Women's 1st 8 5 2 1 70.83 

Tennis Men's 1st 10 6 0 4 60 

Football Mens 1st 10 6 0 4 60 

Basketball Men's 1st 5 3 0 2 60 

Golf 1st 11 6 1 4 57.58 

Tennis Women's 1st 6 3 1 2 55.56 

Badminton Men's 1st 10 4 4 2 53.33 

Football Women's 1st 10 5 1 4 53.33 

Football Men's 3rd 10 5 0 5 50 

Rugby Union Men's 1st 15 7 1 7 48.89 

Hockey Men's 2nd 10 4 2 4 46.67 


Hockey Women's 1st 10 4 1 5 43.33 

Squash Men's 1st 10 4 0 6 40 


**All Results BUSA, unless otherwise stated (I.E. ULU)**

Liquid 

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free entry 

and free vk 

b4 11pm 

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student fun 

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eclectic mix of 

r’n’b, club classics 

and cheesy 

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every thursday

Students unimpressed as Union announces Summer ... - The Founder

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