Issue 43 - University of Surrey's Student Union

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16 FEATURES The Stag | 6 th March 2012 features@thestagsurrey.co.uk Food Lovers: No more shopping The iExhibition is for you! By Hannah Wann, Features Team This being my first iExhibition, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I really knew was that it was to celebrate the diversity of our campus at Surrey and that there was free food - always good. I turned up ten minutes in to the start, expecting to be pretty early, and to my surprise it was already packed! People were queuing all the way through Rubix to get to the main area of stalls where crowds were jostling to get a taste of what was on offer, bongo drums were beating and lively music playing from the GU2 Radio Station. And I was not disappointed – there was food, and lots of it. Now, before this event, I liked to think of myself as quite a diverse eater... I mean, I like Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Greek, Italian... what surprises would there really be at this iExhibition? Boy, was I wrong. Going around the stalls I didn’t recognise half of the food being served by all the different societies - it was great! Firstly, I made a bee line for the Indian Society’s stall – curry being a favourite of mine – and before I knew it was being persuaded to try a hollow fried crisp-looking thing that they poured a spicy concoction into, which you had to eat whole in one go. They told me, amusedly, as I coughed and cried and gasped for water, that it was called a ‘Pani Puri’. Their faces showed me I was clearly not as much of a hardcore-spice lover as I had hoped. Although it did make my eyes water so much I wished I’d worn waterproof mascara, it was definitely something I’d never tried before, or even heard of, and not anything I’d usually order off the menu of my local Indian on a Friday night. First new food experience – check. My next tastings were less traumatic; I stocked up on a few of my favourites like chorizo from the Spanish Society’s stall and camembert from the French, and instantly fell in love with Sri Lankan food as soon as I reached their table. Not only did it look brilliantly colourful and exotic but it all tasted amazing. I’d never experienced Sri Lankan food before, I’d never really even considered it, but their kiribath (sticky coconutmilk rice) with katta sambol (a kind of chilli paste) won me over. I also found that, shock horror, I did actually like chickpeas – something I’ve always pretty boring and tasteless – just when they were cooked in the right way, Sri Lankan kadala style. The Nepalese Society also caught my attention, and not just because they were by far the loudest and liveliest of the stalls! Their curries – aloo dum and chana masala – were seriously good, making me re-think why I always only stick to Indian curries?! Throughout the night I also lost my chocolatejelly-virginity at the Malaysian Society’s stall, after dropping my first two pieces – jelly with a fork... really? – and noted down that I should attempt to make Nigerian jollof rice some time, as it tasted great and looked pretty simple to make, with few complex ingredients; student-friendly. Overall, I think the event was a complete success, from not just my own experience, but everyone else’s that I’ve talked to. It was lively, free, fun and most of all, different! I tried many traditional cultural foods I would never have got the opportunity, or initiative, to try elsewhere and it made me realise how boring my diet actually is! So if you love food, like me, here are my top 5 foods of the night that I experienced for the first time - I highly recommend you try: 1. Kiribath and katta sambol (Sri Lankan) 2. Chana masala (Nepalese) 3. Serra da Estrela cheese (Portuguese) 4. Jollof rice (Nigerian) 5. Gol Gappa Pan Puri (Pakistani) Food lovers, do not miss the next iExhibition! By Ellis Taylor, Features Team What’s your favourite thing to do? We all have that one thing that cheers you up when you’re feeling like poop and passes the time when you’re bored. Now, try and give that up for a month. Tough, right? Well, I’m giving up shopping for a whole month. I KNOW. It’s like I’ve gone mad or something, or just realised that food just might be more important than clothes. However, I can’t go a whole month without any new addition to my bulging wardrobe, so in times of little money I’ve been doing some mind maps (literally), trying to figure out how I can do a Matrix style bend around the rules I set myself. Some ideas, as I’ve now realised, are a little unrealistic, but if anyone has a Tardis I can borrow so I can travel forward one month to a time when I can shop, please let me know. We could even have a future-celebratory shopping trip together. For my first idea, I’ve been trying to come up with a cool name for it. It’s not clothes swapping because you don’t keep items, and borrowing isn’t an exciting word. So I think it should be called wardrobe merging. That sounds a little more interesting, but it’s basically borrowing and lending. However, the negative to this is that since coming to University, I’ve realised that I have an abnormal amount of clothes, so I seem to be lending more than borrowing. It does store up a few “I lent you this so you have to lend me that” grudges though. So make your mate a cup of tea, and bribe them into lending you that piece that would look totally perfect with that other thing for that night. Now, some of you may argue that this next idea can be classified as shopping, but if the money goes to charity and the clothes aren’t brand new then it doesn’t count! Charity shops are some of the best things ever. Not only does it give you karma points and count as your good deed of the day, but you can find some real gems in there. You may find some classic 90s styles that make you wonder who let them survive, and you may even want to do a very loud laugh at some items (I’m guilty of that one). But trust me, charity shops are great. Personally, I’m against buying second hand shoes, however make sure you check out the jewellery and look deeper before you run out the shop, afraid you’ll end up smelling like your dear old Gran. So you’ve hunted through the charity shops, dressed like Indiana Jones (fancy dress noncompulsory) and found a dress that either a) is a little too long for your liking/height; b) has a great skirt but an ugly top; c) a great top and an ugly skirt. STOP. Don’t put it back on the rail, hand over the £3 and let your inner seamstress out. Simple adjustments are easy-peasy; all it requires is concentration and touch of patience. Better yet, make something from scratch. A skirt is the simplest thing to make –however, I would only recommend such a task if you have access to a sewing machine, unless, of course, you’re amazing at hand stitching and have a heck of a lot of spare time. It’s going to be a tough month, but all that time away from the shops might mean a hand stitched something is in order. ©mrjoro Sometimes you just have to make do and mend
Features Editor: Nicole Vassell | Copy Editor: Michaela Fulton The Stag | 6 th March 2012 FEATURES 17 The countdown begins! By Sophie Vickery, Features Team The 6 th July 2005 was an important day for London – it was announced that our capital would be the hosts of the 2012 Olympic Games. Since then time has flown and the 27 th January marked six months until the opening ceremony. As the countdown intensifies TV has become abundant in adverts involving sporting figures and shop windows have replaced winter coats with sport inspired fashion. Unfortunately, there are those critics who remain cynical about the games, claiming that security threats, poor GB performance and high expense are enough to dampen Olympic spirit and bring disappointment to the nation. Despite this pessimism, there is still plenty of eager anticipation as the hype heightens. The Olympic Village holds equally, if not more, excitement than the games themselves. This could be a result of the controversial ticket allocations which excluded around 1.8 million fans from viewing the events live. Instead, the village is open to everyone, giving all the opportunity to experience some of the promised aura. The village, located in the Olympic Park, Stratford, is principally designed to cater for the 16,000 athletes and official members of staff from 200 countries. As a result, the village has been prepared with 170,000 coat hangers, 5,000 toilet brushes and 64,000 bed sheets. It also has a 24 hour restaurant complete with 5000 seats, capable of producing 60,000 meals a day. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) expect some 25,000 loaves of bread, 232 tonnes of potatoes and 75,000 litres of milk to be consumed. The village even includes a school and 3000 apartment buildings. For members of the public the village plaza is home to shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment services which will only add to the vibrant atmosphere furnished by the village. Following the games the village hopes to maintain its key role in public service by becoming an important part of East London’s community. There are plans to add 2,800 new homes, parks and Chobham Academy; an education campus for 1,800 students aged three to nineteen. As time continues to fly the nation looks forward to hosting the games and many intend to use the Olympic village as a way of participating in the celebrations without holding an Olympic ticket. The next six months certainly look to be a busy time for organisers as the world watches London prepare to deliver an event of such expectancy. ©spcbrass How are complaints handled at the Union? By Dave Halls, VP Welfare Amongst the varied tasks that the VP Welfare is involved in, is sitting on the Union’s Disciplinary Committee. This is a panel, consisting of the Union’s Commercial Manager, HR Director and the VP Welfare. This panel meets every week, discussing, and taking action on incidents that occur within the Union building. The panel also discusses action taken on complaints received by the Union; and I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly run through the process that is used for all complaints the Union receives. Contrary to popular belief, we take each and every complaint the Students’ Union receives as seriously as the last. The process is simple, as detailed in the Union’s Complaints Procedure (a thrilling read from start to finish if you’re ever stuck for some light reading, and can’t be bothered to pop to London to buy Heat magazine...): 1. Any individual may submit a complaint, be they a student, group or representative body. 2. A complaint is put in writing and sent to ussu. complaints@surrey.ac.uk. This does not have to be from your student account, but anonymous complaints will not be accepted. There is no prescribed format, nor do you have to state you are making a formal complaint- by writing to ussu.complaints, it is assumed you are! 3. All complaints will be acknowledged within three working days. This acknowledgement will give an estimated timescale for resolution of the complaint, and the name of the individual who will be dealing with it. And that’s it. We aim to have complaints dealt with within two weeks from the date of submission, though obviously this varies depending on the nature of the issue. At the end of the day, this place is here for you, the student. It is our responsibility to ensure that you. We have a responsibility to ensure that Rubix is safe for all attendees to have an enjoyable evening, and by dealing with complaints in a consistent, fair and speedy manner, we are able to use this method of feedback to ensure that you are getting the best service we can provide. Rest assured, getting the best outcomes for Surrey students is our utmost priority. If you have any complaints, please email ussu.complaints@surrey.ac.uk
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Page 33 and 34: Societies Editor: Chris Dighton | C
Page 35 and 36: Sport Editor: Jordan Vine | Copy Ed

Issue 43 - University of Surrey's Student Union

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