The Founder Volume 5 Issue 4

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8 The Founder | Thursday 4 November 2010 tf Comment& Debate The Real Ring of F ire Nick Coleridge-Watts examines the phenomenon of student drinking After a bad day of cramming for seminars, earning the minimum wage, or simply because you aren’t getting laid as much as you’d like, you may find solace by crawling into a bottle of something mind-altering. I know I do. Alternatively you may be predrinking before a top night out with your mates, or engaging in hefty sessions of ring of fire (on behalf of the final group I’d like to take this time to issue a personal message to the last king in every deck of cards – you, sir, are a cunt). Whichever it is, we all regularly enjoy the pleasures of drinking, frequently to excess, which forms an integral part of 21st Century youth’s mission of self-abuse. With the government’s slow dismantling of Britain very much dominating the news recently, many of you may have skipped over a report published by Alcohol Concern regarding the estimated NHS costs of treatment for underage drinking amounting to £19 million. The report offered the shocking statistic that alcohol contributed to 5% of young people’s deaths, and that the UK has the highest rate of alcohol-related injuries in Europe. Sobering stuff (that’s right pun police – come get me). The under-18 drinking phenomenon is just one aspect of a broader issue; one in five men and one on seven women drink more than double the recommended daily allowance. In 2003 it was revealed 17 million working days in the UK are lost to hangovers, whilst 22,000 premature deaths occur each year as a consequence of alcohol. Demographically-speaking, there will be a substantial increase in alcohol-related illnesses as the quantities consumed by the young go far beyond appropriate levels. If your parents are anything like mine then you’ll have frequently been on the receiving end of lectures decrying young people’s behaviour, and claiming that in their day standards were far more restrained. This is, in a word, bollocks. Or rather, it’s a crass oversimplification. Bad behaviour, or fun, depending on your point of view, ‘17 million working days in the UK are lost to hangovers’ has been a consistent feature of our species since time began. Only the extent to which it affects society as a whole varies. It was 1962 when my dad was my age, looking down the barrel of a decade in which drug use, free love, women’s liberation and many other extra-curricular activities abounded in glorious Technicolor. The difference between then and now was not restraint; it was naivety. The fact is that in the century before mass communication BC life was slower, and influences were mainly local as opposed to global. Knowledge of the consequences of drinking, and other vices, was limited. Censorship made spreading the message of what was out there difficult at a mass level. Similarly, unpleasant truths in public life were swept under the carpet, adding to that rose-tinted shine frequently tagged to the past. Anyone ever watched a sitcom from forty years ago? The families presented are perfect, the children never disaffected and each episode ends with a moral. They were safe to an extreme degree. As this protective bubble burst towards the tail end of the Sixties, the cynicism quickly set in, and the social consequences of freedom have provided a stick for the Rightwing to beat us with ever since. The potential, and desire, for self-harm was clearly always there, it only needed to be stimulated. Therein lays the generational difference between us and our parents: we know exactly what we’re doing. We know the risks of excessive alcohol consumption, just like we know the risks of promiscuity, drug abuse and so on. And we do it all anyway, this time not because we’re naïve, but rather because we can’t ever envisage it going wrong for us individually. We’re supermen, and bad things only happen to other people. The superman mindset affects us all, and the actions it leads to are freedoms which should be enjoyed. But just because you have the right to stick a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. By the time this story is published I will have attended my first session at an alcohol and drug abuse clinic. I have no idea what their recommendations will be, but after well over a year of indicators e.g. not remembering the night before, concerned friends saying ‘I think you have a problem’, a loyalty card from the medical centre etc., it’s time to call a halt.
The Founder | Thursday 4 November 2010 9 What’s a-mattican with the Vatican? Thomas J. Cooke defends the recent attacks on the Catholic Church in the wake of the Pope’s visit to the UK From my point of view, the past few weeks have proven quite interesting as far as on campus journalism is concerned. Both the Orbital and this esteemed publication have produced some real gutter journalism as regards the Catholic Church and its leader. The Orbital ran an article on page four by Ms. Boodt, with various inflammatory remarks. She mistakes the organisation for individuals within it. Looking to the founder as the balanced voice of reason, I was to be disappointed again... Mr. Douglas James’s article, although marginally better written than Ms. Boodt’s, was in essence more of the same bile. In the wake of the visit, the Church has seen a massive revival, with lapsed members, and new converts packing out our churches. Last Sunday I had trouble finding somewhere to sit in the church it was that packed. Most of them it should be said, were young couples, students, teenagers, and families. This archaic and unequal organisation that promotes the death of millions throughout the world, that has no place in modern society seems remarkably popular. But what I really take issue with here is the lack of balance or tolerance. I do not believe that any of the writers of these articles and comments would ever have the integrity or courage to attack any other faith. Christianity and in particular, Catholicism is a nice comfy target. There is no risk in slagging off the Pope because in this country it is a majority view and therefore acceptable it seems. I am by no means a good catholic. I am a sinner through and through. Not for one minute would I defend a lot of Vatican policies (not to be confused with actual doctrine), especially the handling of the abuse scandals, plus their use of funds in the world. The Church is ridiculously rich, and from time to time, poorly governed. But it is also an enormous force for good in the world.. No Church is perfect, but people are renewed through the sacraments; the Christian faith is a faith of reconciliation. It is where God becomes human to live as one of us. You are free not to agree with this faith, but what I have come across in these articles appears to be (ironically), a betrayal of the very ideals being championed: tolerance, understanding, fairness... I challenge you all to reconsider whether you truly do believe in an equal society and treating all beliefs and people fairly. The etiquette of (student) dining Douglas James explains why he feels poor etiquette is reflecting badly on us all There are few things in life that are quite as enjoyable as dining out. Nothing can beat the creak and pop of a pulled cork followed by the glug of a rapidly emptied bottle of wine, all the while safe in the knowledge that it wont take you take you the best part of an hour to clean up a demolished kitchen. The right combination of restaurant, wine and company is the perfect escape from the ‘Holloway bubble’ and the stress of chasing that elusive first. However, there a few things quite as painful as having to wait those tables. As both a waiter, working to fund my degree, and a lover of food I feel in the perfect position to comment and pass judgement upon the more ill-mannered habits of my fellow students when eating out. From the offset I should say that this article is inspired by my own personal experiences and that for every table that commits the sins found below, many more avoid them and are an absolute pleasure to serve. Chances are if you eat out within a ten-mile radius of most universities you’re going to be served by another student; waiting tables has after all always been a favourite student profession due to its few skill requirements and flexible working hours. Yet I find it continually strange how students behave when being served by their fellow students. The rudeness, impatience and general lack of manners is astonishing. Having worked fifty-hour weeks over the summer it wasn’t until one evening in October that I would experience being clicked at for the first time. If you thought it only happened in films you’re sadly mistaken, and what shocked me even more was that it was someone who I had seen on campus only a few hours earlier. It doesn’t seem to make any sense when students who act so pleasant towards each other on campus act so badly off it. Ill manners, however, are quickly forgotten when the subject of money is brought up. Nothing fills me with more dread than the sight of a student table of twelve trotting up en masse each with a ten pound note clutched in their hands. This inevitably being followed by the demand to pay separately, something they would have done well to mention before they sat down. For those who have never experienced the joys of waiting tables, a table asking to pay separately is incredibly awkward ,requiring a lot of time that should be spent making sure other diners are having the best possible time. Many students also tend to be fantastically forgetful at the very moment it comes to paying. The onset of such sudden amnesia often manifests itself in an inability to perform simple arithmetic functions or indeed remember what they ordered in the first place. The result, a small collection of wellthumbed notes far short of the bill total and one poor member left to make up the difference. Seeing the birthday boy or girl having to cough up because their cheapskate ‘friends’ have decided to leave without paying is infuriating and embarrassing. Then, finally, there is the issue of the tip or indeed lack of it. There aren’t many things that the Americans can truly claim to be ahead of us in, however tipping is one of them. Tipping is not only expected it’s all but demanded, just look at the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs if you’re in any doubt. The question therefore presents itself, why don’t students tip? I’d like to take a brief pause here to say that anyone reading this and formulating a retort that includes the words; “money”, “tight”, “poor”, “student”, “loan”, “frugal” or in any other way complains about your lack of money, stop it right now because guess what, that’s why I work. I cannot decide whether the reason behind this is unawareness of what is considered polite or a conscious decision, however, when compared to the general public the difference is clear. Obviously if the service is terrible then don’t leave a penny and please do complain, but the vast majority of tables I have served leave smiling and saying what a lovely a time they have had, so why not leave the standard 10%? Whereas it is a rarity that a table of non-students won’t leave some form of gratuity, it is equally rare for a student table to leave a tip at all. Is there something I’m missing? It is little wonder there is so much anti-student animosity around if many of us behave in such a way. Again I would like to reiterate that many of the students I encounter are a pleasure to serve, yet a not inconsiderable number of our fellow students continue to behave in a manner that brings scorn upon us all.
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