Issue 51 - University of Surrey's Student Union

Newspaper of the students of the University of SurreyIssue 51 – Wednesday 14th November 2012Want to win a pair of ticketsfor the Surrey Heat homegame? Turn to Page 43The Stag talks to upand coming bandLawson! See whatthey said on Page 25NEWSStoke Park fireworksdisplay is a greatsuccess... Page 4UNIONWhat does Dave Hallsthink about the freedomof speech? Page 6FEATURESTips on how to write acracking CV... Page 10OPINION & ANALYSISSam King reviews thesituation in Afghanistan...Page 7SCIENCE & TECHDo you dry your clothesindoors? Maybe youshould stop... Page 16MUSICMercury prize special canbe found on Page 27SOCIETIESGeorge Mavrantonisexplains the tragedy ofCyprus 1974... Page 38By Nathan Taylor, News TeamTuesday 6th November markedthe 2012 US Presidential election.Barack Obama won his secondand final term in office with astronger margin than many hadexpected after the campaign trailsleft all polls showing neither himnor his competitor and Republicancandidate Mitt Romney to have aclear or definite lead.On election day, the BBC’s pollof polls (an average of all availablepolls) held both competitors on 49%of the popular vote.On the night however, it was notthe same story. As the first resultswere announced it was looking likeMitt Romney might have defeatedGOBAMA!© Joe Grimmingsthe President with a very strongperformance in one of the crucialswing states, Indiana.Republican supporters had highhopes at this point but it was far tooearly to make any strong predictions.As more results came in, it becameclear that the support of the swingstates which Mitt Romney had hopedto capture stayed with the President.American news agenciesput enormous emphasis on theimportance of Ohio in the election. Itis the state which has backed everywinner in the Presidential electionssince 1964. As Ohio was called forObama, it gave him 18 very importantElectoral College votes. This pushedContinued on page 3...

News Editor: Rachel Thomason | Copy Editor: Tina MormanThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012NEWS 3NewsBarack is backContinued from page 1...him closer to reaching the required270 votes which would secure himanother term in the White House.Romney could have navigatedthe rest of the map to reach 270without Ohio, but at this point itwas near impossible.Throughout the night, it didseem that Obama’s unprecedentedsupport from 2008 was waning.News channels showed clips ofvoters commenting that theyweren’t impressed with whatObama managed to do in his firstfour years, but were quick to pointout that it’s difficult to achieveanything with only 4 years in office.A phrase which kept recurringamongst voters was “we arestaying with the devil we know”,rather than the devil they didn’t.However, Mitt Romney was notthe man to capture the hearts andminds of America. Instead, it wasObama who emerged victorious.The continuation of Obama’stenancy in the White House meansthere will be little change in thepolitics of the US. Nevertheless, howthe President fares over the comingyears will show some signs of whatwe can expect in 2016, when boththe Democrats and Republicanswill have to field new candidates.Until then, Obama promises that“the best is yet to come.”Comment...What did you think about the outcome of the US Election?“It’s definitely a good thing that Obama is back. I couldn’tbelieve how close it was.”- Becky Atyeo, Psychology“I didn’t like Obama’s campaign this time around, but Idefinitely think he’s the lesser of two evils.”- Harry Metters, Business Management“I think most of the British population are relieved thatBarack’s back.”- Isabel Boulder, French and Business“It was inevitable that Obama would win, Romney was neverreally a candidate.”- Joel Kass, Economics and FinanceHigher fees are deterringstudents from universityBy Hattie Elkins, News Teamstudy has shown that almostA 60% of sixth formers whohave opted out of university havedone so due to concerns over theincrease in fees.Whilst not a representativescientific poll, the research carriedout by The Guardian incorporatedthe views of almost 1700 students,all of whom were aged 16-21.It found that almost a thirdof those who were yet to makea decision said they didn’tunderstand the way in which thenew financing system works. Thishas triggered concerns on access tohigher education.John Lewis in Guildford?By Sophie Vickery, News TeamJohn Lewis has shown interestin developing a store inGuildford and could introducethe department store in the nextthree years.Michael Harper, owner ofCasino nightclub, has recentlyexpressed keen interest inworking with the store on his site.The buildings on Onslow andBridge Street offer easy road andrail access and a central locationwithin the town. The site couldeven meet one of the store’stop priorities for a pedestrianThe introduction of the newfees has seen a noticeable dropin English students applying foruniversity this academic year;a shortfall of 15,000 applicantscompared to the number expected.Worries have also emerged onwhether students are being madeaware of all the financial supportoptions available to them.Of the 13% questioned who werenot planning to start universityimmediately, 58% said the increasein fees was the key factor in theirdecision. Of those still deciding,28% said they did not understandthe student loan system.Those attending understoodthe system better, with only 8%route with a link from Guildfordrailway station to the high street.However, the Bedford Car Parkbehind the buildings is owned bythe borough and Harper has beenstruggling to begin talks with thecouncil.There has been a lackof development for the pasttwenty years despite the site’spotential and Harper is becomingfrustrated that nothing ishappening.The development could alsogreatly benefit local businessesas well as attracting new storesto Guildford.stating they are struggling with it.However, almost a third said thevarying annual fees have affectedthe institutions they applied to,with 4% saying they will be studyingabroad. It was also found that 9 outof 10 felt they needed a degree toobtain work, while 80% expectedto do an unpaid work placement toenhance their chances.The government is insisting,however, that equal access hasincreased; with more loansand bursaries available, lessstudents will be paying upfront.Furthermore, loans will only berepaid once graduates are earningover £21,000 — 40% higher thanpreviously.‘Out in Sport’ campaignA new NUS scheme to make sport more accessableby Beth Goss, News TeamIn a report published on the 31 stOctober, NUS announced thatalmost half of those in college anduniversity who do not participatein any sport at college or university(46.8%) find the culture of sport tobe alienating.41.9% of these studentsadmitted that they had a previousnegative experience at schoolwhich had resulted in them notwanting to get involved in anyfuture sport.It was also found that only 34.6%of students who would identifythemselves as LGBT participatedin sport at university. One in sevenexplained the reason they didnot want to participate in a teamsport is because of homophobic,biphobic, or transphobic commentsbeing made in the past.37% of students who did takepart in sport claimed that theychose not to inform team mates/coaches of their sexual preferences.NUS have thus come up with ascheme which aims to help counterthis abuse. NUS’ Out in Sportreport recommends that sportsteams publicly demonstrate theirinclusiveness and make clear theywill not tolerate abuse.Finn McGoldrick, a NUS LGBTOfficer said: “No student shouldfeel excluded from participatingin any activity open to their peers– particularly not something asintegral to university and collegelife as sport.”© Lewishamdreamer

4 NEWSThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012 news@thestagsurrey.co.ukFireworks go off with a bangMicrosoft Cube on CampusBy Shunayna Vaghela, News Teammassive white tent appearedA on campus this week, as theTeam at Microsoft arrived fortheir ‘Cube Event’. The giant tent,which was situated outside theAustin Pearce building, housedthe latest Microsoft gadgetry,available for students to playwith.Microsoft has recentlybeen named as one of the bestcompanies for Graduate jobs, andso it was an exciting opportunityfor students to network withprospective employers, as wellas with the current intake ofMicrosoft Interns and graduates.It wasn’t all business relatedhowever, with chances to explorethe features of many products,such as Windows 8, the SurfaceTablet and Window’s Phones,as well as playing on the X-BoxKinect, and even a possibilityto win a Kinect. It seems safe tosay that Microsoft may have wonover quite a few students duringthis event.Change one thing in UniSThe union has launched itsnew ‘Change One Thing’campaign.The poll is on the homepageof the Union website whenSurrey students log in and allowsstudents to vote on what theythink most needs to be changedwithin the university.From wi-fi in universityaccommodation, to reducedprices in Chancellors, studentshave already taken to the websiteto add things they would like tochange at Surrey.Students can also add theirown suggestions to the poll forothers to give a five-star rating ofimportance.To see what was changed lastyear as a result of this poll, seePresident Dave Hall’s recent blogpost.To get voting, check out:http://ussu.co/changeonething© Jim RudoniBy Hannah Craig, News TeamDespite the chilly eveningFriday 2nd November 2012 sawPATS field crowded with people forthe University’s annual fireworkdisplay.Staff, students, friends andfamily all gathered along withthe local community of Guildfordfor the free event. Steve the Stagalso couldn’t resist making anappearance on the night.The sky was lit up with coloursfrom the display which lastedaround twenty minutes.Among the fireworks,refreshments were available andproceedings went well apart fromthe slight mishap when there wasalmost a fire incident inside theburger van.The university’s fireworkdisplay was a chance to enjoycelebrating Guy Fawkes Nightsafely. For information on fireworksafety please visit the NHS Livewellwebsite.Early plansfor Christmasin GuildfordChristmas lights to beturned on in Guildfordon 22/11/12, at 7pm.By Shunayna Vaghela, News TeamThis year’s Christmas lightswill be switched on at 7pm onThursday 22 nd November.Susie Blake, star of Aladdin atthe Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, willbe switching them on. She will bejoined by the Mayor of Guildford,Councillor Jennifer Jordan, and96.4 Eagle radio's Peter Gordon onthe Guildhall balcony.The event will precede theday’s activities, which include atraditional Christmas craft marketon the Town Bridge and festivestalls in the High Street, visitsby Father Christmas, a mascot’sparade from 4pm, a balcony showfrom 6pm, and an impressivefirework finale.The celebrations will also markthe start of late night shoppingin the town centre, which willrun every Thursday until the 20 thDecember.There will also be a specialpromotion, the Guildford Starpromotion, which will giveshoppers an additional 10%discount to mark the Christmaslights switch-on and start of latenight shopping.Jonnie Peacockcoming to SSPBy Chris Sibthorpe, News TeamSurrey Sports Park has beenchosen to host the first everParalympicsGB Sports Fest.The event will run overMonday 3 rd December and Tuesday4 th December. The festival aimsto provide an opportunity fordisabled people to try out andexplore different disability sportsand find out how they can getinvolved.Both summer and winterParalympic sports will be onshow, whilst the event will alsoshowcase para-triathlon andpara-canoeing which will featurefor the first time in the RioParalympics.Stars of ParalympicsGB fromLondon 2012 will also be present,including T44 100m gold medalistJonnie Peacock, who is keen tosupport the festival. Peacock wasidentified by the BPA (BritishParalympic Association) andreceived support through theBPA.Tim Hollingsworth, BPAChief Executive, explained: “Thefestival is about building on themomentum of the London 2012Paralympic Games. We know thatthe performances of our athleteswill have inspired many disabledpeople to take up sport."The festival is free to attendand includes come-and-trysessions and information standsfor the vast majority of the 22summer and three winter sportsin the Paralympic Games.RAG Safer Sex Ball CancelledRAG’s Safer Sex Ball on 5 thNovember was cencelledearlier this month as part of RAGWeek.This year’s theme would havebeen Seven Deadly Sins. Poledancers, a nighttime bake saleand other entertainment had alsobeen planned.The night in Rubix wascancelled due to “unforeseencircumstances”, as announced onRAG’s Facebook page.It is set to be rescheduledfor next term. RAG promised:“We’ll make sure it’s even biggerand better when it comes backaround!”© Farrukh

News Editor: Rachel Thomason | Copy Editor: Tina MormanThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012NEWS 5NUS Welfare Zone Conference ReportJack White visits Manchester and finds that an expanding crisis in housing and worries about the police, top the agenda.Well! Now we knowwhere the £135 feegoes when NUS puts onits zone conferences. ThisJack Whiteyear's Welfare conferencewas accommodated at thePalace Hotel in Manchester, abuilding so thoroughly imperial in its opulence that at times adelegate would be forgiven for imagining themself a Victorianmerchant.Thankfully the discussion was considerably more downto-earthand in fact centred on student welfare. Nominallythe conference was focused on the Localism Act 2011, but infact other topics dominated, ranging from interfaith relationsto the elections of the Police and Crime Commissioners whichtake place this week.The conference was a great success, with the mostapplauded speakers describing how they are delegatingunion authority to ordinary students and using the powerof numbers to win campaigns for better accommodation andvoter registration, and to build up support for this month'sNUS demonstration.Housing Crisis and Article 4 DirectivesWhat on Earth are Article 4 directives? This strangeterminology refers to an aspect of the Conservative localismagenda. Councils have been given the power to set a cap onthe number of houses in an area that are able to be rented bya group of unrelated people – houses in multiple occupancy(HMO). The targets of this policy are students. Reactionarycampaigns by long-standing residents all around Britainhave lobbied the Government for many years for the rightto cap student numbers in their area, due to students' nonengagementin the community and a perception that studentsare all loud and perpetually drunk. Furthermore landlords areable to charge students vastly increased rents, while studentsgenerally are less demanding when retrieving deposits atthe end of a tenancy. This makes students a very attractivebusiness proposition and budding families much less so.The folly of the Article 4 directive is plain. Firstly students“Landlords are able to charge studentsvastly increased rents.”are increasingly unable to find a place to live in the privaterented sector. Where the directives have been implementedmost stringently, students are finding themselves homeless.Secondly the directives do not only affect students, but allHMOs. With house purchase prices so high, the average agefor a first purchase is now 37. Non-students are also findingit almost impossible to find an affordable place to live. TheHead of Campaigns of the housing charity Shelter cited theshocking example of Leeds Council's policies: at current levels,around 150 new HMOs will be licensed by 2020, but 33,000 newhouseholds will be in need of an HMO by that time.Outside the debate over student housing caps, Shelter wasthe star of the show. Head of Campaigns Antonia Bance led ahighly informative discussion of the problems facing studentsin the private rented sector. The complaints came thick andfast: high prices; poor maintenance; agents unfairly takingdeposits; the need for guarantors; nosy landlords and so on.Many unions have been taking a lead in tackling badlandlords by conducting their own surveys of studenthousing and running rate-your-landlord web sites. The needfor discretion was a big worry though, with some shamedlandlords threatening to sue unions unless all charges couldbe proven. Other conference delegates countered that bycompiling a list of all rated landlords, the bad ones can beexposed by simply praising the good ones.Known mostly for its work with homeless people, ShelterDid you know... the official definition of“affordable housing” is 80% of local marketrent rate, with no accounting for income?was in fact founded to help people in trouble with theirprivately rented homes. Of particular interest is its onlinesystem for tenants to discover whether or not their depositsare protected. This deposit protection is a legal requirementfor landlords yet many do not put their tenants' depositsinto the scheme. Students are especially at risk from badlandlords, since they often only stay in a house for a year,have little renting experience and do not have the know-howor the courage to pursue landlords when they make unfairdeductions from deposits at the end of a tenancy.With 70% of people saying that there is a crisis in housingsupply, housing is set to start making the headlines. Watchthis space for Surrey's contribution toward tackling theproblem.The Pound in Your PocketOver the last 10 months, NUS has conducted an enormouspiece of research on all the aspects of students' personalfinances that do not relate to tuition fees. The Pound in YourPocket campaign is due to report in early December.Pound in Your Pocket has found that many students aresuffering great financial hardship because of huge oversightsin the allocation of government. The policy focus thereforewill be on rearrangement of student funding strategieswithin the current funding limits. Rewriting of the processesby which students access that cash is set to be a recurringdemand of Government in forthcoming NUS policy.The possibility of overall increased funding for studentsthemselves was a moot point, however following the Decemberlaunch of Pound in Your Pocket, students' unions will be partyto a consultation process and will be able to table amendmentsto the Welfare Zone Committee's policy recommendationsbefore NUS National Conference 2013.#demo2012“Many students are suffering greatfinancial hardship.”For those living under a rock, the NUS has planned a largedemonstration against unemployment, inadequate studentfunding and the disempowerment of students, in centralLondon for Wednesday 21st November. The Zone conferencewas buzzing with enthusiasm during a session devoted tosharing best practice among attendant unions.Lee MacNeal, Campaigns Officer at the Universityof Central Lancashire Student Union was a particularlyimpressive character, talking about how he and his team hadshown leadership of the student body by knocking on doorsround the student residences to raise awareness of the demo.Police and Crime CommissionersEngland's first political police commissioners will beelected this week and the conference devoted a specialpanel debate to this topic amid concerns over how the entryof politics into the administrative arm of government willimpact upon the public.The entire panel expressed worry at how different groupsof the public will be affected. Around eight in 10 candidates inthe election are white men and the far-right is fielding manycandidates.Despite castigating the Government for making thepolice more political, the panel all supported engagementwith the election process, saying that despite the turnoutprojections indicating a historicly low vote, the Governmentwould consider the successful candidates to have a popularmandate and would not abolish the new commissioners. Someprojections have said that turnout could be as low as 8.7%.Check if your deposit is protected:http://tinyurl.com/bta2tcg© Red Morris

6 UNIONThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012editor@thestagsurrey.co.ukSabbaticals Say...NUS reform draws ever closerDave HallsUnion PresidentIt’s been a big week for Surrey’sinteraction with the NUS, andeven after the recent referendum,we’re still being sat up and listenedto. This is for both good and badreasons.At the end of October, NUSBlack Students Officer, AaronKiely, launched a petition to forceLeeds University’s newspaper,the Leeds Student to removean interview with Nick Griffin,attempting to enforce the NUS’“no platform” policy against thoseexpressing fascist/racist views.The no platform policy in itself isno problem, and is good to protectpotentially vulnerable studentsfrom prejudice and hatred. TheSam RatzerUnion Vice-PresidentEducationissue here was that a member of NUSwas attempting to control the rightof an individual students’ union tochoose what was acceptable for itsown students. The editor of theLeeds Student had considered thearticle and deemed it acceptableto publish; but Aaron Kiely felt itessential to take matters into hisown hands and launch a nationalcampaign to have it removed.Ironically enough, Kiely’sreasoning for this was that bypublishing said article, it givesGriffin exposure and a platform,something he now has far more ofgiven the level of attention Kielydrew to the article. I certainlywouldn’t have known about it untilhe nationally demanded sabbsnationwide join him in insistingthe article is removed.Myself and Union Chair, CharlieEastaugh; whilst- of coursestaunchlyagainst the fascist andracist ideals the BNP stand for, arebelievers in the human right offree speech; and more importantly,the autonomy and individualityeach students’ union has tooperate itself without dictat froma national body. We published aletter of support for Leeds Union,the first students’ union in thecountry to openly do so (you canfind this on the Union website).Since, numerous unions have comeout in support of not only Leeds,but in our ‘speaking out’; andagainst the micro-management ofindividual unions.First with the referendum,and now with this, Surrey arecreating a stir at NUS. The noncontroversialunions are startingto find confidence and a voice, andmuch-needed reform at nationallevel draws ever closer.”How to improve your courseWe are now 7 weeks intothe new semester and bynow you would all have formedopinions on the way your courseis being run. Not all of these willbe negative, some of you willhave identified where there is anexceptional level of teaching andassistance being offered by yourdepartment. Whatever opinionsyou and your fellow coursematesor fellow researchers have formedit is important that you feedthis information back to yourdepartment.A good way of making sure thecollective view of your course isfed back is through your academicrep. By now all of them should bein place. They would already havebeen in contact with you and it isimportant that you maintain agood level of contact with them.In the circumstance where youhaven’t heard from them, feelfree to get in contact me at ussu.education@surrey.ac.uk and I canprovide you with the contact emailof the rep for your course.I am sure they will appreciatehearing from you, as all of themhave put themselves forward forthe purpose of making a differenceto your academic time at Surrey.They will maintain regular contactwith the senior academics in yourdepartment throughout the year,raising issues on your behalf.This week we will be selectingthe Faculty Reps, 1 per each ofthe four faculties from the pool ofelected Academic Reps, they willwork closely with me and the restof the Reps across their faculties tomake the system the best it can.Play your part and get youropinions across.It’s never too lateEm BollonUnion Vice-President Societies& Individual DevelopmentThis year has got off to a flyingstart for societies, and theirpresence here on campus is evergrowing!You may have spoken tothe Christian Union over someyummy hot-chocolate and abiscuit on a night out, or beencared for by St. John LINKSwhen you’re a little worse forwear. Perhaps you’ve bumpedinto a massive boob from theCopperfeel! team? Societiesare reaching out to the studentcommunity in a variety ofdifferent and exciting ways.It’s never too late to getinvolved and join a society!They each have their own webpageson ussu.co.uk. Head toZone ConferencesIn October, I attended theNUS Welfare and Society &Citizenship Zone Conferences.The conferences provide UnionOfficers (in similar positions) theopportunity to network, impacton NUS policy and vote for thenext Zone Committees.Over the three days, Iattended various workshops thatincluded discussing the role ofStudent Unions (SU) and theirrole in terms of approachingthe environment and ethics; theimportance of encouraging activestudents and the importanceof citizenship; Pound in YourPocket; improving students’experience in rented housing.The Pound in Your Pocketmotion was passed aftercollaboration between ourStudents’ Union and otherSUs, in the South East. Thismotion brought to the NUS thatUniversities in areas outside ofLondon can have as high livingcosts as London, but without thesame level of loans/maintenancegrants. A report on all theresearch collated will be releasedthe societies’ homepage andcheck the list on the left-handside. Whether you’re interestedin Arts, Departmental, Faith,Special Interest, International,Student-Run Services or Politicaland Campaigning societies,there’s something for everyone.One big society event we havecoming up is Surrey Arts Live!This will be on two nights: Fridayand Saturday, the 7th and 8thDecember.This is a collaborative eventheld by the Arts societies toraise money for state-of-the-artequipment that all students canbenefit from. Student tickets areavailable from the Union Shopor www.eventelephant.com/surreyartslive for just £5! Comealong, support the cause andcheck out some of the incredibletalent of our students here at theUniversity!Conferences, campaignsand bus complaintsBakita KasadhaUnion Vice-PresidentWelfareby the NUS in next month.Arriva buses servicesOn Wednesday 7th November,I met with Guildford’s GeneralManager of Arriva. RobertPatterson, expressed his sincereapologies at the inconvenienceexperienced by those travellingbetween Hazel Farm and campus.Now that the source of theproblem has been discovered, busservice should now run on time.Moreover, due to you getting intouch, there will now be an Arrivapanel review, aiming to not onlymaintain but also improve thelevel of service.It’s a constantNow the campaign dedicatedto promoting the importance ofyour mental wellbeing may beover, but remember that healthincludes mental health. In ouranonymous survey, prior to thecampaign, 98% of Surrey studentsasked, said that they had orcurrently were experiencingstress and/or anxiety.

Opinion & Analysis Editor: Justine Crossan | Copy Editor: Emma Fleming Wednesday 14 th November 2012OPINION & ANALYSIS 7Opinion & AnalysisThe Afghanistan conflictSam KingI, as many, remember the eeriescenes just over eleven yearsago of the dark plumes of smokeascending above the World TradeCentre in the United Statesfollowing the devastating strike inManhattan. With this new chapterof international affairs came thedecision of the United States andthe United Kingdom to launchOperation: Enduring Freedom; aninvasion into the unstable and thenTaliban-controlled nation that hasbecome all too familiar withinthe media and wider society:Afghanistan.The key reason as to why theUnited Kingdom is part of ISAF(International Security AssistanceForce), and is therefore allocatingtroop numbers to the Afghantheatre, is summed up clearly onthe British Army Website. The threeapparent reasons provided on thesite are as follows: rid Afghanistanof the Taliban and consequentlyreduce the breach and impact of AlQaeda, develop a secure future forAfghanistan itself, and oversee thetransition of the responsibility ofnational security from ISAF forcesto those of the Afghan Army andPolice. As furtherance to theseaims, the mission in Afghanistanhas also become one of a rebuildingmission, of an infrastructural andalso a social connotation. Rather alot, don’t you agree?The conflict in Afghanistan hasnot been without controversy andscrutiny. For one predominatelyhistorically-based reason;Afghanistan has been a problemcountry for invading forces before.The Persian, British and Sovietventure into the geographicallyhostilenation ended in defeat forthe then superpowers. And so itmay appear appropriate to expectthat a current placing of bootson the ground may play out to asimilar conclusion as previousinterventions before.The death toll is anotherreason for such scepticism ofour nation’s role in Afghanistan.Since the launch of hostilities onthe 7 October 2001, 437 Britishservicemen and women have losttheir lives upon Operation Herrick(the name given to UK ops. in thecountry), the two soldiers from the1st Battalion Royal Gurkha riflesbeing the latest casualties of theconflict.With previous historicalknowledge of past militarymanoeuvres within Afghanistanand the rising death toll, these twofactors can surely only be mitigatedby ISAF fulfilling their missionobjectives. In May 2011, OsamaBin Laden was killed by a US NavySeals mission in Pakistan. This,in my eyes, can be viewed as anaccomplishment. As for defeatingthe Taliban, that objective israther difficult to measure dueto the Taliban being classified asa non-state actor, and not beinga conventional fighting force inuniforms with specific corps,regiments and divisions.In the case of defeating theTaliban, deterioration in violenceand terrorist attacks in Afghanistan1bn Royal Anglian Regiment Afghanistanand the wider world will be thetell-tale sign of this objective, butthis will require a substantial timeframe to determine.With regard to the rebuilding ofthe nation, especially in the barrenand generally underdevelopedred zone of Helmand Province,progress is yet to be seen. Takethe region of Lashkar Gah forinstance. In 2006 and the arrival ofBritish troops, Lash was a volatileand desolate environment. Inthe present day, Lashkar Gah hasmade a hugely positive transitionfrom a highly volatile region toa far more secure and businessorientateddestination, where pastcommerce has returned due to thework of ISAF pushing the Talibanout of such areas. This evolvingsuccess story breathes a sense ofworthwhile-ness into the presenceof ISAF in Afghanistan, and moreprecisely, British troops.The presence of British forces inAfghanistan is a hot bed of publicopinion, and has been even more soof a contentious subject in recentyears. The increasing death tolland a sense of disillusion as to whyBritish servicemen and women arein this nation appear to formulatethe two primary reasons thatcontribute to the foundation ofsuch debate. In such a short pieceas this, I cannot possibly representevery point of opinion concerningthis topic and come to a reasonedconclusion as to whether the forcesof our country are right to be inAfghanistan.Yet I feel it appropriate to statethat good work is being orchestratedin Afghanistan, such as the successstories of the capturing andkilling of Osama Bin Laden, andthe heightened sense of securityin various regions of HelmandProvince. As a final closing piece,and as a potential future officer inthe British Army, I wish to make thepoint that, whilst our troops are inAfghanistan, we should supportthem and be extremely proud ofthe tremendous work that they areperforming under such adverseconditions and great danger. As asubsequent closing note, payingour respects to the fallen soldiersof the Afghanistan conflict is aconsideration to be made. Lest weforget.2014 withdrawal in twenty sixmonths, watch this space…For a first hand insight of BritishArmy actions in Afghanistan, DougBeattie (MC)’s: An Ordinary Soldieris a rather good starting point. Asis Patrick Hennessey’s: The JuniorOfficer’s Reading Club.

8 OPINION & ANALYSIS The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012opinion@thestagsurrey.co.ukWhat’s wrong with us?Edward AndersonFour o’clock in the morning in London andI still have not gone to bed. On my waywalking back towards my youth hostel I walkdown a road which seems perfectly ordinary.That is until I see two lads who are lookingback over their shoulder in the direction Iwas walking. It is only walking past that I seewhat they were looking over their shoulderat, then walking away from.On the floor, unconscious and shaking likea leaf… a girl. She looks about the same ageas the people wondering around this campusevery single day. A girl dressed pretty muchthe same as most girls here are when they gofor a night out as well. You know the get up,short hot pants black tights, etc. I have noidea how long she has been there or whetheranyone is looking for her or if she has anyfriends. What do I do here? Well I could justwalk past her, ignore and completely forgetabout it. To be honest I thought about thatand was standing there for five minutesumming and arring over whether I shouldjust walk off.Eventually, I rediscovered my humanity,phoned an ambulance and after aconsiderable amount of time of followingtheir instructions she was picked up andhopefully is now ok. So, what is the point ofthis? Well, take a rough guess of how manypeople live in London? Then how manypeople were in London that night? She musthave been there for an hour at least; it’s anarea which is about half an hour from thenightlife. The population is over 8 millionand there were plenty more people who hadcome to visit. So, now to the real question…how many people, how many hundreds orthousands (which is possible if she had beenthere since 12 or 1 am) of people walkedpast…. And did nothing?How many people just looked, shruggedtheir shoulders and thought “not myproblem”. Or people who, like me, wonderedwhether they should help but then walkedoff instead. Of all the people who walkedpast her that night, a girl shivering on a slabof concrete after it had been pouring downall night with clearly no one around her whyhad we all collectively done nothing? What iswrong with us?One objection which I heard after Imentioned it to a couple of flatmates was“well she got herself drunk, it’s her fault”.Many of you may be thinking the same thingand in part it’s a fair question. The problemwith this is you don’t know. She could verywell have got drunk out of her brain, told herfriends to f*ck off and collapsed on the side ofthe pavement. Or she could have been spiked,abandoned by her friends who wanted tohave fun and not be dragged down by her andwell you can imagine the rest for yourself.We don’t know but it sure says a hell of alot about us that people will assume the veryworst about someone they have never met.For the sake of argument, even if it’s all herfault 100%, even if every cynical response iscorrect then just put yourself in her shoes.You will have want point got yourself drunkand been ill, throwing up and in some casesvery upset, paranoid , whatever.Now how much would you give to knowthat there is at least someone watching outfor you? Simple things like checking you’reok, not going to choke on your own vomit, notfreezing and that you are safe. How gratefulwould you be after having collapsed in thestreet to be waking up in a hospital bed withpeople checking you’re ok? Imagineyou’re her parents. Let’s say she is back athome, told her parents she will be back in acouple of hours. Mum goes to check if she isback in, it’s one o’clock and she isn’t in bed,rings her, no answer. Now she is panickingand this goes on for hours. How gratefulwould you be, after spending a whole nightdesperate to know anything about yourdaughter to get called from the hospital tosay “Your daughter is safe, someone rang usafter spotting her and we picked her up, sheis ok”?The alternative is not something weshould really allow, especially if it’s a youngwoman alone. You get hypothermia perhapsand instead of being ok you become criticallyill. “Someone” picks you up and you can guessthe rest of where I am taking this for yourself.What would you say to her parents: “She did itto herself/ was none of my business”. I don’tthink so. In fact, I doubt you would be evenable to look her in the eye. The question youwould be asking to yourself would certainlybe …. “Why the hell didn’t help? What the hellis wrong with me?”Now, I don’t know that girl’s name, I nevermet her before in my life and I doubt I willmeet her again. Nor do I know her parents butif I ever did meet them at least I would be ableto look them in the eye. I don’t do preachymuch but for God’s sake, if you’re out withfriends (or in with them) look out for them,don’t abandon them. Most importantly, ifyou’re ever in my shoes make sure you do thehelpful thing. If you are in two minds just askyourself… If I was the one on the floor whatwould I want the stranger to do?BNP vs. NUSAlexandra WilksLeeds Student, the University of Leeds’ Student Newspaper,has caused a national stir by conducting an interview withBNP leader Nick Griffin. The controversial leader had onlyrecently hit the headlines himself for publishing the addressesof a homosexual couple who took the owners of a Swiss B&Bto court for refusing the couple a room. When confrontedby a reporter for Leeds Student, himself a homosexual, whoasked what was wrong with people like him, Griffin suggestedthat homosexuals needed to ‘get over it’ and accept that somepeople found their sexual preference ‘creepy’. The interviewitself is an interesting one, and well timed, given Griffin’srecent moves. I wish to congratulate Editor Lucy Snow onmaking a brave editorial decision.The NUS, however, had other ideas. An open letterpublished on NUS Connect’s website from Aaron Kiely, theNUS Black Students’ Officer, demanded ‘that the Editor ofLeeds Student remove this interview that gives a platformto a fascist immediately’. Kiely furthered this by saying, ‘inpublishing this interview the Leeds Student risks givinglegitimacy to a fascist organisation, and boosts the BNP’sattempts to join the political mainstream when we shouldbe isolating them’. Snow, rather than be bullied by the NUS,explained her reasons for publishing the Griffin interview onGuardian Student Blogs; ‘It insults student’s intelligence toinsist that they must be protected from extreme views’. Snowalso disclosed that members of the LGBT committee in Leedswere also consulted before publication.Dave Halls, President of Surrey’s Student Union, wrotean open letter in support of Leeds Student; ‘We are amongstmany disappointed and concerned by the action taken bycertain members of the NUS National Executive Committeein an attempt to stifle the freedom of the press’.It is interesting to note that the NUS then released anotherpost on NUS Connect, from Liam Burns, President, statingthat although they have a ‘no platform to Fascists’ policy,the NUS is a ‘member- led organisation’ and ‘[they] cannotand should not attempt to comprise the independence andautonomy of our members by dictating to them’.The Stag contacted Lucy Snow, Leeds Students’ editor,and she said, ‘I am confident we made the right decision topublish the article and will not be removing it. Without aplatform on which to reveal just how ridiculous he is, Griffinis as legitimate as any other elected MEP. Fighting fascismwith censorship is completely illogical, and, as Liam Burnshas acknowledged, student media should not be stifled by theNUS.’This isn’t the first time Student Media has had a brushwith controversy. Recently Forge Press, Sheffield University’sstudent paper, was embroiled in a row with their ownuniversity, over the paper’s claims that the university wereusing a legal loophole in order to pay their staff less. Thisarticle led to Forge Press being banned from distributing thatissue to campus owned accommodation. The university laterlifted the ban and argued that they had been ‘misrepresented’by Forge Press.The Stag is no stranger to contentious issues, but hasnever been banned or censored by either the Union or theuniversity, even when publishing articles that have beencritical of them both. Charlie Eastaugh, Union Chair, says,‘The Stag is published by the Union, and is free to criticisethem if the claims are justified.’ Our Editor in Chief, the lovelyAbbie Stone, says, ‘I believe everyone has the right to freedomof speech! In my role I endeavour to support and protect TheStag and its writers, by avoiding the publication of anythingdefamatory but without limiting that right.’©Ian Visits

Opinion & Analysis Editor: Justine Crossan | Copy Editor: Emma Fleming Wednesday 14 th November 2012OPINION & ANALYSIS 9Thought-night... Alice LincolnWhy pretend to be something you’re not?saw an advert today saying;I ‘Why pretend to be somethingyou’re not?’ with a picture of a redchameleon on a green leaf.In the chameleon’s case, I wouldimagine not being eaten would be apretty good incentive to blend in.However, my initial reaction wasfar more personal.The reason many people I knowpretend to be something they arenot is due to society’s reaction tothings deemed to be ‘abnormal’.If you are different, societycarefully piles brick upon brickon your back to see how many ittakes before you break. It grindsyou down with rejection afterrejection, difficulty upon difficulty.It stigmatises and ostracises you.In my case, I (partially) seethis through disability. On forms,do I select; ‘Visually Impaired’?‘Impaired Mobility’? Or, ‘Other’?The UCAS form was fun; whenselecting ‘Other’, you were given200 words to explain. I had to ringup and ask if they wanted me toexplain my disability, or how itaffected my studies. Apparently,they had never been asked thisbefore.I always try to represent myselftruthfully, but I can see whyothers who are extra-ordinary (asopposed to ordinary) – be it in theirlevel of ability, sexuality, religionor even gender – choose to pretendto be something they are not.In the end, we all just want tobe ‘normal’ – whatever the hellthat means.If the shoe fitsWe women have it prettygood in the western worldof the 21st century; our culture isfar more equalised, and alleviatedfrom sexism than other partsof the globe. Yet it is still notperfect (and possibly never willbe). The trouble with using theterm ‘sexism’ is that peoplethink it refers to something menimpose on women or vice versa.But sometimes we inflict it uponourselves. I have a bone to pick,and it is with the shoes womenwear today. I’ll start with theobvious: high heels. Wearers,we put ourselves at serious riskof sprained ankles and injureddignity if ever we lose balancein them. But the damage doesn’tstop there. The downwardpressure on the toes impacts thejoints at the front of the foot, andover years of continued wear thiscan lead to horribly deformedfeet in unnatural triangularshapes.Christian Louboutin is wellknown to ridicule the conceptof comfort, claiming it “is notpart of [his] creative process”.Sure, some women can afford towear impossible heels if she isdriven to work and sits behinda desk all day. I remember oneTV personality remarking to hisfemale colleague about her heels,to which she replied, “these arefor sitting down in”.Another quote fromLouboutin says “the core ofmy work is dedicated not topleasing women, but to pleasingmen”, hence the eye-catchingtrademark red soles. Ladies, thisattitude and the resulting abusewe are doing to our feet for thesake of fashion is not worldsbetter than the old Chinesepractise of routinely breakingand binding feet. This was apainful and disabling practisewhich most likely originatedamong upper-class court dancersin 900 AD, with later spreadamong other social classes due tomen thinking it highly attractive,feminine and dainty. Honestly,when has a guy ever told you helikes your heels? If heels wereso great, men would be wearingthem too (ok, a few men do).But if anything, the persistenceof gender roles and men beingdeemed as ‘protectors’ suggestsa guy may prefer to be tallerthan you and not appreciate ifyour heels mean the roles arereversed. I acknowledge we oftendress up for the benefit of otherwomen these days, but whytorture ourselves for the benefitSarah JaneGregoriof judgements we only imagineare taking place inside other’sheads?It’s not only heels though.Modern flat shoes like balletflats are often the day-todayfootwear of choice in thewarmer months. They are tooflat to support the arches of thefeet with next to no cushioning,leading to hardened skin aroundthe soles of the foot. Again, likewith heels, the rounded toeshapeof the shoe still causes thebig toe to curve inward and thejoint rubbing against the edge ofthe shoe causes the bone to overrepairitself, enlarging the jointand ultimately creating a bunion.We tend to think that only oldladies have such things on theirfeet, but anyone can developone. The NHS suggests thefollowing treatments: painkillers(seriously - call that a solution?),modifying footwear, bunionpads, toe spacers or, when severe,surgery. Jimmy Choo has said“shoes are like the foundations. Ifthe foundations aren’t right, thebuilding won’t stand upright”.Thankfully, foot-bindinghas now died out despite lastingfor around 1000 years. Troubleis, when we are immersed ina culture we can’t see thatsome normal practises andattitudes promote more pain anddiscomfort than they’re worth. Iknow that life can often feel likea fashion parade, and sure, I’mfar from practising what I’ve justpreached. I’m not saying all highheels are bad – a friend of minerecently put together a smallIkea table using a high heeledshoe as a hammer. However, weshould be kind to the things werely upon to take us places - don’tmake the foot fit the shoe. Afterall, happy feet = happy soul.©markusram

Features Editor: Ellis Taylor | Copy Editor: Tessa MorganThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012FEATURES 13FeaturesThe worst thing for breakfastBy Annika Gonnermann, Features TeamOn my way to understandthis country and its peopleI am trying my best to leave anyexperience untried. Since I livewith a landlady this works outquite well, because she unravelscertain mysteries of British cultureand customs to me. One that lefta huge impression was my firstencounter with English spread.The other night she introduced meto an innocently-looking, honeycolouredcream called “Marmite”.It was half past seven in themorning and I was sitting on thekitchen table having breakfast.My meal consisted of two deliciousNutella-Toasts and a glass oforange juice. While I ate me sweet,delicate breakfast, I watched herpreparing her own: baguette fromthe oven, buttered and topped withsomething called Marmite. SinceI am curious person and alwayseager to learn something aboutEnglish culture that I have notknown before I asked here, whatthat was. She answered “Marmite”.She handed me the little bottle,filled with that brownish stuff.“And what is it?” I wanted to know.© pinkangelbabe / Flickr“Marmite.” Obviously she did notknow of what it was made off, soshe helped herself out by saying:“It’s good, try it.” Well … I tookthe bottle and squeezed a tiny biton that part of the toast that wasuntouched by my nut-cream. Inexpectance of a sweet and tastyexperience I took a big bite – Ohhow I was mistaken. My landladymust have noticed that I did notlike it, because I myself could feelmy countenance fall apart. It wasdisgusting – a mixture of salt,vinegar, and fish. I do not know howto describe it correctly, but I assureyou: Marmite – to me – is the mostdreadful thing to eat for breakfast.I managed to swallow this bite andtook a gulp of my orange juice.“You do not like it?” I was beingasked. My face must have givenher that hint. “No!” Later I learntthat this is actually the marketingstrategy of this product, when Igoogled it. Wikipedia describes itlike that: “The British version ofthe product is a sticky, dark brownpaste with a distinctive, powerfulflavour, which is extremely salty.This distinctive taste is reflectedin the British company’s marketingslogan: “Love it or hate it.”” Well – Ihave made my choice.Keep calm and take regular dance breaksBy Laura Colledge, Features TeamChances are, as you’re readingthis article, you have a millionother things you should be doing.Writing this is just one task onmy to-do list of three essays, fourbooks, and a poem to write. Youonly have to log onto Facebook tosee it: everyone’s stressed.I don’t know who hasn’t hada minor breakdown within thepast week or so, due to the hourswe’ve spent locked in our rooms,frantically typing our essaysand getting nowhere. What’shappened to uni consisting oflying in till 3pm, watching a wholeseries of Desperate Housewivesin one afternoon and attendingevery themed event at Rubix?Without fail. My housemates andI haven’t been out in over twoweeks and already our idea of agood time is taking a five minutebreak to discuss what we’re goingto make for dinner later (don’tjudge, the prospect of pasta bakeseems a lot more exciting after aday of researching ElizabethanDrama).So although the thought ofslowly trudging your way overthe mountain of work makes youwant to hide under your duvet andcry, there are a number of waysto tackle that pile of assignmentswithout sobbing into your bowl ofWeetabix every morning.1. Write ListsThere’s nothing like thesatisfaction of crossing tasks off alist once they’re complete! If youfeel like you’re achieving a lot,you’ll be more motivated keep upthe good work!2. Reward YourselfBribe yourself into completingthings with small rewards, from acup of tea to a chat with a friend;rewards will make you thinkforwards, rather than strugglingin the present.3. Take BreaksIf your concentration beginsto slip, don’t fight it. Do somethingphysical to offer a contrast to thepassivity of sitting. Personally, Ilike to spend five minutes dancingaround my room to the SisterAct soundtrack (my housematesaren’t as convinced that I’m readyfor the West End though), butperhaps you’d prefer a jog aroundthe block, or another less ‘special’way of stimulating your brainback into action.4. RoutineGet into a routine of eatinghealthily, exercising regularly andsleeping well. You’ll feel betterphysically and mentally, and getmore out of your time.Even if you only add one ofthese steps to start, you’ll noticedifference. And remember, a list aday can keep the stress well away!© Martin Abegglen / FlickrWoo employers with a fabulous CVBy Megan Cherry, Features TeamIt’s about that time to startapplying for jobs whether it’slooking for a graduate job, goingon placement or just looking forpart-time work. As a recruitmentinitiative, Raw Egg Interns, get theinside scoop on what employerswant and look for in a CV andcovering letter, so naturally, we’regoing to spill the beans.Your CV, along with a coveringletter, are your first points ofcontact with employers. Imaginegoing on a date; how you woulddress, what you would say - a CVis only slightly less flirty. Its solepurpose is to promote you and yourcapabilities, not just as good, but asbetter than the other applicants.It’s vital to format these docs insuch a way that you stand out, showoff and even get a bit flashy with it.To help you, we have condensedour experience into 4 handy tips,highlighting the most importantpoints that make all the differencein landing in the shortlist, or therecycling bin.Make yourself stand out! Aunique and interesting fact aboutyou creates a memorable andpersonalised feeling to your CV. Itpushes a recruiter to consider theperson and not just the grades.This can be a personal interest,a life experience or future goals.Something relevant to the jobyou are applying for is best so getyour thinking cap on. This can bewritten in a short paragraph at thetop of the CV.Explain yourself...why did youchoose that particular job in thepast? Why don’t you have any workexperience? In terms of the latteryou could show off the skills youhave gained through hobbies orvolunteering to compensate foryour lack of vocational experience.Don’t waffle on though, keep itneat.What makes you suitable for thejob? Promote yourself! This is moreimportant for your cover letterthan CV. Why do you think youwill be good at THIS job, what skillsdo you have that will make you agood employee. Do your reading,show knowledge of your chosenindustry and relate not only to thespecific job but to the company,and department you want to workin. Your cover letter is like anextension to your CV and gives youthe opportunity to point out themost relevant skills on your CV.DO NOT write an essay!Employers are not looking fora dissertation…they don’t havethe time to read through yourautobiography (especially whenthey consider you a fledgling). YourCV only needs one or two pages andyour cover letter just one - this isplenty. It’s the quality not quantityof the document that matters.Also remember to proofread yourCV and cover letter several times;poor spelling and grammar are adefinite turn off!These few pointers are thebasics; follow them and you shouldhave a good chance of attractingemployers and will improve yourchances of getting a job! Good luck!Raw Egg Interns Ltd.info@rawegginterns.comwww.facebook.com/RawEggInterns0843 289 2554

Features Editor: Ellis Taylor | Copy Editor: Tessa MorganThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012FEATURES 15CAREERSStreet eats in TaipeiBy John Watkins, Director of Careers ServiceThe first of the Semester’sEmployability Forums revealedsome interesting and variedpractices amongst a range ofgraduate recruiters. In a ‘QuestionTime’ style format students wereable to pose searching questionson the current market and heardinsights on the aspects that makea difference in the recruitmentprocess.All of the employers wereconsistent in their view thatapplications and cvs need a‘narrative’. They defined this termas equivalent to a story in whichthe applicant is the main characterand can demonstrate their journeyto the point of putting themselvesforward for a particular job.The skillset required bythe different employers, whichincluded a small market researchcompany, and larger engineering,financial, technology andeducational organisations, wereunderstandably varied. Thishighlights the importance ofthorough research before applyingto identify the priorities thatmatter most. Amongst thosesingled out as most critical wereacademic achievement, workethic, commercial awareness andcustomer service.The panel also differed ontheir attitude to social media.Half explicitly noted that theyavoid looking at any social mediapresence of candidates. The otherhalf indicated that they alwayslook at Facebook and LinkedIn tosee how those applying representthemselves online. There are clearlyopportunities here to impress witha professional image conducive tothe company, as well as dangersfrom failing to recognise the publicnature of profiles and the widevariety of stakeholders with access.One cautionary tale was told of theapplicant whose past involvementin the adult entertainmentindustry was graphically availableto a wide public audience includinghis prospective employers who,on discovery, decided againstproceeding with a job offer!The next forum takes placeon 15th November on the topicof business and commercialawareness – one of those vitalemployability skills.The last few weeks has alsoseen prizes awarded by employersas part of their sessions, including aKindle and an I-pad. In addition, theCareers Service also identified twostudents of the month for Octoberfor outstanding commitment todeveloping their employability –finalist, Annabel Barnard, whois studying Physics, and BusinessManagement second year, ChandniKapoor.By Ankur Banerjee, Features TeamThe first thing that hit me whenI walked through the streets ofTaipei, the capital of Taiwan, is theutter lack of tourists. Even in theoff-chance that I did spot a fellowtourist in regulation backpackand-cameraattire, what mademe particularly self-consciousis that I was the onlybrown face in sight,throughout my trip. Icertainly got stared at –a lot – especially whenI attempted to speakto locals in (broken)Chinese.My reason forwandering throughTaipei was to samplethe street cuisineof the Shilin NightMarket, considered tobe one of the best inAsia. Every evening,dozens of hawker carts spring upamong makeshift stalls sellingeverything from pirated DVDs tohipster clothes which stretchesout for kilometres. The smell offood wafting from the carts is soheady that you can smell it evencrossing a busy intersection,pushed along by a crowd of peopleequally eager to grab dinner.Street cuisine may conjureimages of cheap hotdogs orkebabs, but that’s not what’s onoffer. Most dishes are offered inportions on skewers, each portioncosting a fraction of a dollar,with the implicit expectationthat patron will be hopping fromcart-to-cart to eat what catchestheir fancy. Sausages covered ina fried potato coating similar tohash browns; watermelon chunksglazed in hardened sugar syrupwith ants stuck on them (reallycrunchy and sweet – loved it!);jellyfish with tofu in oyster sauce;warm and crispy fried doughsticks filled with custard and icecream; barbecued stingrays; softflat buns sprinkled generouslywith ground pepper – there is suchan incredible variety of innovativefood that I wholeheartedly agreewhy Taipei is famous for this, andI found myself craving for more.Part of the charm is theatmosphere of the night marketsthemselves. Popular hawker stallsprominently display pictures oflocal celebrities who frequentthem. Someone tries to sell youtoy helicopters while you fumblethrough change for a snack, whileoff to one side you can hear peoplefiring airguns at balloons to trywin Angry Birds stuffed toys. If allthis gets too much, you can alwayssit down at one of streetsiderestaurants instead to savourcrispy pork noodles in chickenbroth with jasmine tea.What’s Hot: Bubbletea. Bubble tea is milkytea, often infused withfruit or other flavours,with ‘bubbles’ or ‘pearls’made of tapioca balls ina jelly-like consistency.This drink was inventedin Taiwan – so even ifyou have tasted thiselsewhere, you musttry it in its birthplace– and is now massivelypopular throughoutEast Asia. It’s incrediblyfun to slurp up the ‘pearls’through the fat straws providedwith your glass.What’s Not: Frog eggs. Youwill see signs for these every fewhawker stalls, but they aren’tactual eggs from frogs. I was sorelydisappointed. ‘Frog eggs’ is simplya term the hawkers in Taipei seemto have settled upon, for somebizarre reason, for grass jelly – adessert popular throughout muchof East Asia made by boiling mintleaf stalks and starch into a jelly.Surrey student crowned Miss UK Nepal 2012Surrey student Parika Ale talks to Hiba Khan about her experience in Miss UK Nepal 2012By Hiba Khan, Features TeamLast year the Nepalese societywon the award for BestInternational Society, and a fewweeks ago, one of our Nepalesestudents won First Runner Up ofMiss UK Nepal 2012. So who is she?I caught up with Parika Ale, FirstRunner Up of the Miss UK Nepal2012 on campus to find out!So Parika Congratulations! Howdoes it feel to be the First Runner Upof Miss UK Nepal 2012?Thank you! It’s such an amazingfeeling. For me, winning FirstRunner up wasn’t just about thetitle, it was more about fulfillingthe expectations of my family andfriends. I’m so grateful that theybelieved in me and supported methroughout the whole process. Itwas so overwhelming when I wonthe title.How did you have to preparefor the Miss UK Nepal 2012 beautycontest?It was really hard because wehad to train every day for threeweeks 11am-6pm straight. Trainingincluded public speaking, catwalkpractice and talent practice.I actually ended up gettingblisters on my feet because I waswalking in heels so often. Therewas a great emphasis on publicspeaking because the way each ofus portrayed ourselves was veryimportant. It was essential that wedidn’t show that we were nervouson stage and were diplomatic aboutwhat we said.You also won Miss Talent in thecompetition. What did you dance toand why do you think you won?That was THE award I wasactually aiming to get. It meanta lot to me to win Miss Talent. Iwas confident because I workedextremely hard and I have beenperforming for many years; I kepttelling myself that I could do it. Itwas really tough because the othernine contestants were so talented,and many people chose to dancefor the talent section. I danced to“K bhul bhayo priya” which is asemi-Classical Nepalese song.What impact has being at theUniversity of Surrey had on you?Education is a really bigpart of your life. You learn, youget involved in extracurricularactivities and you socialise. TheUniversity of Surrey is a wonderfulplace to be! I’ve been inspired byso many people here, the studentsare always doing something! I wasthe Events Co-ordinator for theNepalese Society at Surrey lastyear which really helped me withmy interpersonal skills. It helpedbuild my confidence and allowedme to see things from differentperspectives. I think these skillshelped me a lot when I entered theMiss UK Nepal competition.What are your plans for thefuture?In Nepal there are some issuesregarding access to clean water andI want to change that. I really wantto improve the water sanitationquality in Nepal and I feel that myuniversity degree will enable me todo so. When I finish my ChemicalEngineering degree at Surrey thefirst thing I will do is go out thereand complete this project. MissUK Nepal 2012 gave me the rightplatform to do this. This title hasexposed me to sponsors and hasallowed my voice to be heard.

16 FEATURESThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012 features@thestagsurrey.co.ukPlacement to final yearBy Lasika Jayamaha, Features TeamAfter living and working inLondon for a year, life backat Surrey was never going to bethe same. All my course matesand peers would have graduated,clubs and societies would havenew members and I would besurrounded by faces I wouldhardly recognise. Towards the endof my placement, I was not sureif I was looking forward to beingback at university and spending aflexible routine or if I preferred theorganised lifestyle of working 9-5.However, at the end of the year,I was knackered living the busycity life that the real world had instore for us and somewhere deepdown I was thankful at the thoughtof returning to university with itspeaceful surroundings.It is the strangest feeling beingback at university, especially afterspending a year on placement andearning a good salary. The biggestfear I had was, ‘what if I didn’tknow anyone?’, ‘I will have to getused to budgeting my financesand spending less’ and I will haveconcentrate on the pressures thatfinal year has in store for us’.Twelve months on placementflew quicker than I imagined. Justas much as I had enjoyed working,it was time to resume student lifewith assignments, labs, examsand dissertation so I could finallygraduate, the main reason I cameto university for.I had visited Guildford and thecampus and kept in touch with afew friends so it was not the endof the world. I was familiar withthe new library, amigos and thebookshop that had since relocated.During the first few weeks Ibumped into many a known facesand re-joined the various societyand volunteering activities that Ihad been a part of prior to going onplacement. Getting involved withfresher’s moving in and welcomeweek was also a great opportunityto meet new people and made mefeel at home. After a few weeksit seemed that I hadn’t really leftand I am really looking forward toenjoying my final year at Surrey!‘Keep Searching’: A Night at Student AlphaTrouble sleeping?By Sophie Vickery, Features TeamOne in ten can’t dropoff to sleep at night,while many struggleto stay asleep andfrequently wake up andthen struggle to dropback off. For students,insomnia is a commonproblem. Noisy Rubixand strange beds (thereis no bed as comfortableas the one at home)are likely causes. But,insomnia can alsodevelop followinganxiety and depression,often suffered bystudents facingimminent deadlines,exam stress or homesickness.Typical student habits can alsobe blamed as irregular sleeproutines, late night eating,smoking and alcohol all increasethe chances of disturbed sleep.The University of Coloradofound that 69.7% of students whofound it difficult to fall asleepalso had lower grades and 72.7%who had trouble to fall back tosleep upon waking during thenight, struggled to concentratethroughout the day.Fortunately, a few simplelifestyle changes can help reduceinsomnia, without medication.A regular sleep pattern isrecommended, with 8 hoursof sleep each night. Ensurethe bed is comfortableand is kept as a sleepingenvironment, rather thana sofa or kitchen table! It isimportant to let the brainunwind prior to sleeping, solate night revision should beavoided and replaced withrelaxation time by takinga warm shower, watchingtelevision or reading.Alcohol, heavy meals, sugarand caffeine should also beavoided late at night. Finally,for those with frustratinglyactive minds, pen and paperare bedside necessities toallow lists of jobs and ideas toescape the mind, leaving roomfor sweet dreams. Meanwhile, forthose enduring hours of constanttossing and turning, hide theclock and forget the fact that it isonly two hours until lecture.Surrey, Sex and ShamblesBy Tom Gouldinghad come to the Student AlphaI meeting at St Saviour’s Church,Guildford, armed only with a leafletprovided by the Surrey ChristianUnion and an insatiable desire torelieve my curiosity.As a confirmed but nonpracticingChristian, like millionsof people around the world I havespent most of my life strugglingwith the concept of faith. Why arewe here? Where are we going? Isthere an afterlife? If such questionshave confounded the best mindssince the dawn of time, then Iwas unlikely to find the answersnursing a beer outside the Students’Union on a Friday night.For ten years, the StudentAlpha course has promoted itselfas a place to “relax, share yourthoughts and explore the meaningof life”. In other words, it is aseven-week introductory courseto Christianity, which strives tooffer young people and studentsan essential grasp of the religionwithin the limits of a universitysemester.Upon arriving at St Saviour’s,I’m directed to a table whereAssociate Rector Tom Darwent andhis wife Kate are discussing theplan for the evening.Tom has been rector for 20months and explains that he triesto accommodate young peoplealongside the more traditionalservices, a consideration thatis reflected in the estimated 80people who attend Student Alphaat the church each week. Ofthese, just under half are regularchurchgoers. “It’s a very laid backatmosphere here,” he tells me.“After we’ve eaten I’ll give a shorttalk about this week’s subject andthen we’ll all discuss it within ourindividual tables.”I look around. In place of a pulpitthere is a well-lit sofa. Instead of anorgan comes the sound of Mumford& Sons wafting across the room. Itis a million miles from the archaicdescriptions of fire-and-brimstonethat have come to plague theChurch’s image.I find myself talking to asecond year Law undergraduatecalled Luke, a member of theSurrey Christian Union who foundhis faith at the age of fifteen. Iask him how someone with suchentrenched beliefs could benefitfrom a beginners’ course likeStudent Alpha.“I’ve brought friends to thesemeetings, so it’s partly on theirbehalf,” he says, “But it’s also justto meet people who want to learnmore about the Christian faith.”The week’s talk, entitled‘How Did Jesus Die?’ is brief,with Tom drawing on vox popsand contemporary analogiesto illustrate the significance ofChrist’s sacrifice.As he sits back down, asustained silence fills our table.Questions for the discussion havealready been anticipated, typed upon worksheets in front of us. Theatmosphere is reminiscent of a Year9 R.E lesson. “What is your reactionto the crucifixion?” Tom asks,trying to prompt conversation.“Ouch”, a girl across the tableremarks.There are more questions,followed by more awkwardshuffling. Unsurprisingly, it is Lukewho often fills the silences.As people began to trickle out,I reflected on the evening. I foundmyself praising St Saviour’s effortsto rejuvenate the Church for a newgeneration of followers, a bold stepthat many parishes have so farneglected.Yet I also found the conceptof Student Alpha condescending,and a little misleading. For allits hashtags and informalities,the bullet-point questions andregimented script ironicallystifled some of the freethinkingexploration it strived so hard tosupport.I might not have found what Iwas looking for, but looking around,it was strangely comforting torealise that I wasn’t alone. Beforeleaving St Saviour’s, I decided toask a group of ACM students whythey had come along.“Us?” they looked at me,quizzically, “We’re just here for thefree food.”By Tom Greenaway, Features TeamArguments. However muchwe like to think we’rethese reasonable amicablepeople, we often find ourselvesin unavoidable arguments;forced to deal with people weotherwise would not, such isuniversity life. This past weekI’ve single-handedly managedto piss off someone from everyfacet of my life, work colleagues,course piers, family membersand friends of friends. You knowwhen you’re just having one ofthose weeks where nothing goesyour way (world’s smallest violinplaying in the background). Buthey there’s always a silver-lining,at least these stories (hopefully)keep you entertained! Let’s startwhere most of my shambolic talesbegin shall we, you guessed it,Brighton. So I went down to visitmy best mate for her birthday, asyou do, bought her flowers andchocolates so constantly got the‘aww, you’re such a good friend’comment, and the ever-so cringe‘why are all the best guys gay?’,but I digress, as the evening wenton everything seemed to be asuccess, I even managed not topull any of my friends (result!)but in steps psycho housemate.You know those people whoappear to be pretty standard andjust blend in to the background,but underneath that smiley ifnot dull exterior lies some batshitcray demon. Instead oftelling her housemate to turn themusic down, she locked herselfin her room, shut the door andthreatened to call the police ifpeople didn’t leave; c’mon girlsI know (at least I’ve heard) youalways have that ‘time of themonth’ but seriously?!?! Anywayssometimes you crazy girls cementmy happy position as a flaminghomosexual; I can assure you Iam hormonal and temperamentalenough for two people (thisprobably has something to dowith my being in love withsomeone very straight laced andstable).On a completely unrelatednote I need all your help. Youknow when you have an extremelyhorrendous habit that you justcan’t break? Well I’ve taken towinking at people and it’s just notok. I have the uncanny abilityto look like a 12 year old boyand a pervert at the same time,so winking is an absolute no go.If any of you catch me doing itaround campus – whether I knowyou or not – please tell me, I needto nip this in the bud, who winksin this day and age?!?! Also Teaseis coming up in the next few daysthen I’ll be in Brighton againsoon so be sure to read up on allthe latest horrendous tales. Yourshambolic friend, T.

Features Editor: Ellis Taylor | Copy Editor: Tessa MorganThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012FEATURES 17GamesAnswers in the next edition of The Stag. Send correct answers to letters@thestagsurrey.co.uk to get a mention in the paper.Last Week’s Sudoku5 3 6 2 8 9 4 7 18 1 9 4 5 7 2 6 3WordsearchF T R A R H B U R G L A R Y BT Y K A M N R A U O E S L J WW Q U D G E I U B L T M V N O7 2 4 3 1 6 8 9 52 7 5 9 3 8 1 4 66 9 8 1 7 4 5 3 23 4 1 6 2 5 9 8 79 8 7 5 6 1 3 2 41 6 2 8 4 3 7 5 94 5 3 7 9 2 6 1 8Don’t worry, we’ll give you a new suduko next week!WEHAVE AWINNER!Olivia Crittenden, Applied Psychology and Sociology student,was so desperate to win the £50 Boux Avenue voucher thatwe at The Stag felt there was no option other than to award itto her! Thank you for your honest entry Olivia, enjoy!“I deserve to win the Boux Avenue vouchers for a multitude of reasons and I shalllist them according to importance.1. I am currently single and if I get myself some real nice underwear maybe peoplewill be able to see past my awful personality and quite frankly relentless halitosis,and appreciate the person inside the shell suit.2. I currently own 3 bras, one of which is grey in colour and has a hole in it, oneused to be white but is now also grey and has a hole in it and the third is incrediblywhite however has a grip like that of a boa constrictor and should only be worn incase of emergency and severe need of a busty lift.3. I don’t have the money to shop in Boux Avenue currently because I’m a poor,desperate student but I’d love to walk in and wipe the smug look of the shop assistant’sface when I turn up with a £50 voucher and proclaim I won it from practicallybegging. It’s like inviting a tramp into the Radisson, class clash at its finest.I was considering writing some more lewd reasons as to why I should win thevoucher but as they say the best arguments come in three so I shall leave youwith one final thought. If I win the voucher, I will immediately head down to Boux,purchase some rather fetching underwear and head home. I will then put on saidunderwear and immediately put Jessie J’s ‘Domino’ on and dance on my bed. Andyou, The Stag, would be bringing me this pleasure.“I L O Y I Q E S D G J O P U NT H P W D S H O P P I N G T DT A B A L C O H O L P E F E EE L W R Q S B I R A D Y H A RR L C T U C S A Z O J L K M LC O A H P O Y O K M N G R S AU W E T U S Q C A I T B I U NU E E N L T O Z L X A P T R DQ E H A E U R I L I O O G R PC N A R S M T P L K N B S E AU T O T Y E V Q H A R G C Y ZA E P O R Y M T I H O C L A XARTHALLOWEENCOSTUMEMONEYRAGCYCLINGALCOHOLTEAM SURREYTWITTERSHOPPINGBURGLARYWONDERLANDF U F A I R Y T A L E S K C TX V H W X B N E P A L O P Y CE I O R O U G H P A T C H U OR N A U W N K R V C M M J E UH T W E I O D J Q E A I F V RC A S I N O B X N E R D H T SL G I E T J R D B Q R F F I EG E V H E N E L Z R O W B K WP U I D R E A C S V W Y G N OE B N R E S K M J I L M V A RN Z X P L N F R O T C K I S KS W E A P L A C E M E N T S PO K X Z Q L S L O O F D N U XC F Y D R R T J I Y E V E T SG J U R S C V T W Q P I S S BVINTAGEPLACEMENTNEPALMARROWBREAKFASTCOURSEWORKVETSCASINOWINTERFAIRYTALESPEN SOCROUGH PATCH

10 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.ukScience & Technology©Alf StormBritain’s Ashtree populationin dangerThe Ash tree is Britain’s third most common and covers 130,000 hectares of woodland.By Melissa Raske, Science & Tech Teamban on the import of Ash treesA and seeds was implemented onMonday 27 October in an attemptto prevent the spread of the diseasecaused by the fungus Chalarafraxinea. The disease, called Ashdieback, was first discoveredin February at a Nursery inBuckinghamshire and since, morethan 1000 sites have been surveyed.This has been called a crisis andis reminiscent of the Dutch elmdisease which devastated the elmpopulation in the UK in the 1970’s.Trees were first recordeddying from dieback in Poland in1992, however the asexual stagewas first described in 2006 andthe sexual cycle in 2010. It hasalready destroyed 90% of Ash treesin Denmark and has been foundwidespread in the UK in placesincluding Yorkshire, Scotland,Durham and Leicester. Recently,the fungus has been found inolder trees in East Anglia, whichhave had no contact with nurserytrees, suggesting that perhaps thedisease has spread to the UK vianatural means, for instance onbirds or carried by the wind. In anattempt to stop the spread, 100,000trees have already been destroyedand the public are being urged toreport any signs of the fungus tothe Forestry Commission or theFood & Environment ResearchAgency (Fera).The restriction on Ash treemovement has arrived just beforethe main growing season whichbegins in late November. Dr. JohnMorgan, Head of the ForestryCommission’s Plant health Servicespoke about the restrictions saying:“This is a sensible precautionto protect Britain from furtherintroductions and internal spreadof the disease while we assess theoverall situation. I am encouragedthat although awareness of Chalaradieback has been high among thesegroups, we have received very fewreports of ill health in ash trees inthe wider natural environment.”Britain has about 320,000acres of Ash forest, about 5.5%of its woodland, with about12 million more distinct fromforests. Ash forests are importantfor biodiversity in the UK as thehigh canopy provides a goodenvironment for a varied floragrowth which in turn provides ahabitat for a number of insects,birds and animals. The diseasehas been listed as a quarantinepathogen and the ForestryCommission has released guidanceon how to identify signs ofinfection. The symptoms includeleaf loss, crown dieback and maylead to death.Surrey’s new veterinary schoolBy Siobhan Harris, Science & Tech TeamThere have long beenpossibilities of a veterinaryschool for Surrey, and now we canannounce that Surrey’s School ofVeterinary Medicine will openits doors in 2014. This world-classschool will be constructed aroundthe theme that human and animalhealth are intrinsically linked.The school is set to embrace the‘One Health – One Medicine’philosophy and collaboratesefforts of multiple disciplines,working locally, nationallyand globally, to reach optimalhealth for people, animals andthe environment. This will alsoinclude the development of aunique, research-led veterinarymedicine degree programmewith an emphasis on research,veterinary pathology andlivestock medicine.Professor Noel Fitzpatrick says:“The philosophy of One Health-One Medicine is undeniably thesingle most important movementin medical science today. Bymaking this a cornerstone of theeducational platform at the newveterinary school, the Universityof Surrey will undoubtedlyinspire a new breed of veterinaryscientists. This next generation ofvets will be eminently employableas clinicians, scientists orresearchers in a globally changinghealthcare market for animalsand for humans.”This exciting news is coupledBy Mike Colling, Science & Tech TeamIt has been forty years sinceman last set foot on the Moon,but now scientists in Europe areexpressing an interest in sendinghumans back to the lunar surface.The ESA – the European SpaceAgency – has already begunplanning an unmanned missionto land on the Moon’s South Polebefore 2018. It aims “to probethe moonscape’s unknowns andtest new technology to preparefor future human landings”. Theteam behind the project intendto send a landing craft intoorbit around the Moon aboarda Russian Soyuz rocket, beforewith the fact that this school willbe the first of its kind in SouthEast England, and the eighth tobe launched in the country. Itwill be developed at the heart ofthe university’s Manor Park siteand will attract students andstaff from different disciplineswith those studying towards adegree in veterinary medicinebeing exposed to cutting edgetechnology in engineering andphysics as well as receivingtraining in core business skills.Luckily, the university alreadyhas strong relationships with keypartners who will help deliverthe new school. These include theAnimal Health and VeterinaryLaboratories Agency (AHVLA),the BBSRC Pirbright Institute, theVeterinary Medicines Directorate(VMD), Fitzpatrick Referrals,Liphook Equine Hospital andWestpoint Farm Vets. Over thecoming year the University ishoping to extend its relationshipswith regional veterinarypractices.“As a research-intensiveUniversity we have the expertise,reputation, technical andbusiness skills which our studentscan benefit from, allowing us totrain the veterinary leaders ofthe future”, comments ProfessorLisa Roberts, Dean of the Facultyof Health and Medical Sciences atthe university. The foundationsfor the new School have alreadybeen laid. Teaching and researchactivities have been expandeddemonstrating its ability tonavigate and land autonomouslyin the mountainous terrain of thelunar South Pole. This locationwas chosen following its extendedexposure to sunlight, allowing forsmaller lunar rovers to operateusing energy from the sun forseveral months, and as a moresuitable area for humans to liveand work in the future.It is hoped that the designof the lunar lander will lead totechnological developmentswhich could enable further spaceexploration; engineers currentlyworking on the navigation andpropulsion systems believe that,in future, similar craft could bein the Faculty of Health andMedical Sciences, including thelaunch of the BSc programme inVeterinary Biosciences in 2009and in October of this year a newMSc in Veterinary Microbiology.A new MSc in VeterinaryPathology is also currently underdevelopment.The timing of the developmentprogramme for the new schoolprovides an alternative to thetraditional veterinary educationand will respond to the demandsof a changing profession withfresh plans, ideas and enthusiasm,says Professor Andy Durham of theLiphook Equine Hospital. Beinglocal to several specialist partnersis also a major advantage for thenew school. All in all, Surrey’s newSchool of Veterinary Medicine isset to provide a new, innovativeapproach to veterinary educationfitting for the 21st century.The University is alreadyin consultation with the RoyalCollege of Veterinary Surgeons(RCVS). Vice-Chancellor SirChristopher Snowden andcolleagues will be workingalongside Freda Andrews, Headof Education from RCVS overthe coming months. The nextyear will be fundamental in thedevelopment of the new school,with the university looking torecruit new academic staff andbeginning building works inpreparation for the first cohort ofveterinary medicine students of2014.Back to the Moon by 2018?developed to land on all mannerof objects within the solar system,including asteroids, moons andplanets.The project, currently largelyfunded by Germany, is expectedto cost around €500 million.A meeting will be held in lateNovember of this year to furtherdiscuss the mission proposal.National space ministers willdecide whether to provide the€100 million extra fundingdeemed necessary. However, withthe unstable economy in Europe,there can be no guarantee that wewill see a human – or even a robot– on the Moon anytime soon.

Sci/Tech Editor: Alex Smith | Copy Editor: Sophie Vickery The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 11Why drying yourclothes indoorsis bad for youThe Rosetta mission and the roleof DLR - Q&A with Ed TrollopeBy Alex Smith, Science & Tech EditorWithout trying to make anyof you homesick; you mustrecall a time when a parent(or even grandparent) decidedagainst hanging wet clotheson the washing line (perhapsbecause of the somewhatstereotypical ‘great’ Britishweather) and got out the clotheshorse instead.It’s cheap, it’s effective, andit was commonplace in the erabefore washing machines andtumble dryers, and from myexperience, it’s still commonamong students living in halls.However researchers fromthe renowned Mackintosh Schoolof Architecture have found thatfar too many households havetoo much moisture in the air andhave called on architects andbuilders to design specialiseddrying areas in homes to combatincreasing levels of domestichumidity and the adverse healtheffects that follow.Simply put, a moist and warmhome is the perfect environmentfor bacteria, mould and dustmites to grow. And for peoplewho suffer from asthma, hayfever, or who have breathingdifficulties, rooms like these canbe an incredibly perilous place toventure into.In the Glasgow area wherethe research was carried out,they found that 87% of peopledried their washing indoorsduring bad weather, and that acertain mould spore was presentat 25% of households, which hasbeen identified as triggeringlung infections. AlthoughScotland might seem rather farfrom campus, let me bring yourattention to halls with a simplequestion: How many people doyou know who dry their laundryon a clothes horse (or airer)?For those living on theground floor it isn’t always anoption to leave your windowopen to let the damp air out andinstead they have to live with thehealth risks. One load of washingleft to dry adds approximately 2litres of water content to the air,and in small, confined spaces thisleads to heavily humid air andthe perfect breeding ground formould.So next time you decideto save a little and not use thetumble dryers, remember the riskof mould and try to remove asmuch moist air as possible - evenif it means opening the windowsfor a few hours or splashing-outon a dehumidifier for your room.Drying your washing on a clothes horse may be cheap and old-fashioned butone load of washing can cause 2 Litres of water to evaporate and increase thehumidity of the air. The infamous black mold can be an often oversighted healthrisk which can lead to headaches, vomiting and even bleeding in the lungs andnose.©MatthiasSpace scientist and software engineer, Ed Trollope, is operations engineer for the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Lander, andoperates from DLR, Cologne, Germany, which is the lander control base for the mission.The German Aerospace Centre(DLR) is undertaking theRosetta Mission which aimsto research the origins of theuniverse by investigating a comet.Ed Trollope is the project managerfor the software simulator withinthe DLR and has been talking toThe Stag’s Ruth Smithers.Ruth: What are the main theaims of the Rosetta mission?Ed Trollope: We want torendezvous a spacecraft with thecomet Churyumov-Gerasimenkoand then land it onto the comet’ssurface.Ruth: How is the spacecraft isgoing to reach the comet?Ed: Rosetta was launched in2004 from Ariane 5 and there wasa subsequent ten-year journey toget to the comet. We have donea series of planetary swing-bys,three of the Earth and one of Mars,each time stealing a little bit ofenergy of the planet and throwingourselves into a useful orbit. We arenow on our way out to rendezvouswith the comet. We are going todo a manoeuvre, called a Delta Pmanoeuvre, which is a change invelocity to match our speed withthat of the comet so that we can gointo orbit around it.Ruth: How will the comet helpus to learn about the origins of thesolar system?Ed: Comets are basically leftover rubble from the formation ofthe solar system. They spend themajority of their life not beingcomets; they all start off in theregion out there near Pluto – eitherthe Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt,depending on the type of comet.Out there it’s extremely cold soyou don’t have a lot of chemicalreactions going on; there’s notenough energy for them to takeplace. Comets are also quite small –the one we’re going to, for example,is only a few kilometres across –so you don’t have the geologicalprocesses that would happen onthe Earth. There’s no atmosphere,no weathering, none of these sortsof things going on, so the comet isessentially unchanged since thedawn of the solar system.Since becoming a comet,Churyumov-Gerasimenko hassubsequently been coming evercloser to the sun. It can onlysurvive a limited number of passesclose to the sun before it getscompletely vaporised, and so weknow it hasn’t been doing this formillions of years; it’s comparativelyquite young. Most of its life it hasbeen out there near the Oort cloudand now it’s coming in – we want totake a look at it.Ruth: Have there been anysurprises or problems with themission so far?Ed: One problem we experiencedwas with the propulsion systemon Rosetta; we weren’t able tore-pressurise the fuel tanks. Ifyou can imagine you’re sprayinga deodorant can: the force withwhich you spray your deodorantincreases with time. If you were tosomehow make your can smalleryou would be able to increase thepressure, and you’d get out whatyou would expect at a higherspeed. Obviously we can’t makeour fuel tanks smaller but we canre-pressurise them; we tried to dothis with the aim of keeping ourthrusters at ultimate efficiency.Unfortunately we were not ableto do this, so our thrusters areoperating below their nominalefficiency, which means every timewe do a manoeuvre we use up alittle bit more fuel than we wouldhave done had we been able to repressurisethe tank.Ruth: How are problems withthe spacecraft rectified?Ed: It depends what theproblem is. In the case of the fueltank, we did some investigations,trying to work out what theproblem was. This was not easy aswe had a limited amount of datacoming from the spacecraft to goon – it’s not like Star Trek whereyou can commence a diagnosticreport and it tells you that there’sa hole! Typically, the only thingwe can do is send telecommands.If it’s a software problem we canjust upload a replacement piece ofsoftware; if it’s a hardware problemthen maybe we have a redundanthardware system which we canlocate. Of course there’s no way torepair anything that’s broken.Ruth: How far away from earthis Rosetta at the moment?Ed: At the moment it is 4 AU[four times the average distancebetween the Earth and the Sun]away from Earth.Ruth: What is the next stage inthe mission?Ed: Currently, we’re in a modecalled hibernation – we’re so farfrom the sun that even our verylarge solar panels cannot getenough power, so we keep thespacecraft fully switched off.Rosetta is in a special hibernationmode which is basically designedto just keep it alive – it is not evencommunicating with the ground.The next phase will be for it towake up from hibernation andget in touch with us. We will thenrun a lot of diagnostics and makesure everything is still workingcorrectly – make sure there is nodamage resulting from it gettingtoo cold.Rosetta currentlyhas a completion date of2015. To find out moreinformation about theDLR and Rosetta visitwww.dlr.de©mfrissen

12 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.ukLiving with netbooks: are they worth it?By Ankur Banerjee, Science & Tech TeamOne of the most indispensableitems among a student’sbelonging these days is thepersonal laptop. Not everyonecan afford to get a ‘good’ laptopthough and purchase a Netbookwhich are much lighter, withscreen sizes ranging from 6 to 12inches, intended primarily for webbrowsing and word processing; butare they really worth the money?At prices ranging from £200onwards, it can be hard to resisttheir siren call if you are ona budget. I found myself in asimilar position and over the pastthree years I have used Netbooksfrom Lenovo (I christened mine“Froggy”), Asus, and Advent as myprimary computing devices.Netbooks typically come withIntel Atom processors. Withoutgetting into too many technicaldetails, this means that they aremade from a different technologythan Intel ‘Core’ processors foundon costlier laptops. Intel Atomprocessors use much less powerso its battery lasts longer thanlaptops. Netbooks can oftenbe used for six-to-eight hourswithout needing to be recharged.This, in addition to their lowerweight, comes in handy. I usedmine a lot during lectures,confident in the fact that I wouldnot have to recharge through aday of use. I travel a lot too and Iliked the fact that I could carry acomputer around without havingto worry how much it would weighmy backpack down.The trade-off for thisadvantage, however, is that IntelAtom processors are slower atrunning software than ‘normal’laptops. Netbooks can runWindows 7 Professional Editionjust fine (although they morecommonly come installed witha stripped-down edition calledWindows 7 Starter), or if youprefer, a distribution of Linux suchas Ubuntu.How much a less-beefyprocessor affects your work willdepend on what you use laptopprimarily for. For me, I was quitehappy using my Netbook for webbrowsing, word processing, alittle coding. However, as I startedusing a full-fledged laptop onmy placement year, I found theNetbook to be noticeably slower inrunning apps.Opening Skype, for instance,took a good two minutes and madeall my other applications lock up.Opening too many browser tabscaused the browser to freezecausing more frustration. Thiswas the case regardless of whetherI was using Windows or Ubuntu, soit appears that as updated versionsof software were released, withhigher processing requirements,the worse netbooks fared in theirperformance.Graphics capabilities areanother aspect where netbooksare sorely lacking. To save bothcost as well as battery, netbookstypically do not have graphicscards that allow you to play gamesor edit videos. This is usually okayfor most people who do not needto do either tasks, except thatsometimes playback HD videos onsites such as YouTube can result instuttering playback.Surprisingly though,netbook keyboards can be quitecomfortable to type on, onceyou get adjusted to the smallersize. Many manufacturers offerkeyboards in ‘chiclet-style’ –where each key is an isolated fromothers – which makes it incrediblyeasy for touch typists as well asslow typists to type without yourhands feeling cramped.Whether you should get anetbook or not ultimately boilsdown to what you use computersfor. For most users who browsewebsites with only a couple oftabs, with a bit of use of officeapplications now and then,netbooks offer excellent value.If price is not a concern andyou simply want a laptop that islight or lasts long, get an ultrabookinstead. Think about your usageand if you even occasionally needto do tasks which require multipleapplications to be open at the sametime or do thing such as photo /video editing, you will be betteroff paying a hundred pounds extrato buy a cheap laptop.Technologyround-upBy Fahmid Chowdhury, Science & Tech TeamRussia’s internet filtering lawbeginsRussia’s new andcontroversial internetfiltering law goes into effectthis week. On the surface, itseems beneficial by supposedlymainly aiming at websitescontaining child pornographyand information on drugsor suicide, but it could leadto nationwide surveillanceand blocking of the websitesof political rivals therebythreatening free speech.The FCC chairman describedthis move as “troubling anddangerous”.Online carpooling helps peoplewith post hurricane routinesThe beer or the Mars bar?By Saskia Wilson-Barnes, Science & Tech Team calories!and mixer add up very quickly;FIn fact, you will be shocked to to almost 2000 kcals in one night.ollowing the whirlwind of hear that a pint of Lager contains This is the equivalent to a woman’sfreshers week and many theme 250 kcals, a shot of vodka is 68 daily recommended intake for thenights at the union, I thought itwould be a good opportunity tostop and think. What is alcoholkcals and a pint of Cider can beup to 250kcals (equivalent to aMars bar!) Alcohol has ‘emptyentire day!The government recommendsthat men and women should notand what is the nutritional calories’; this means that it has no be exceeding 3-4 units and 2-3consumption when you’re simplyhaving ‘pre-drinks’ with yournutritional value. It is also easy toforget the calories consumed atunits respectively daily. Did youknow that for every unit you drinkfriends? Many people don’t Pizzaman on the way home. it takes your body up to an hour toconsider alcohol’s nutritional When you think about it for metabolise it? So that means yourcontent, however it’s time tobe told the truth; alcohol hasexample, the take away, 2 pints ofbeer and 3 single shots of vodkamedium glass of wine will takeroughly 2-3 hours for your liver toRunning out of magnetsBy Lauren Petrie, Science & Tech TeamIf you ask someone to thinkabout uses of magnets ineveryday life, most people willstruggle. Although, they holdthings on your fridge, boy scoutsuse them in their compasses, andPhysics teachers move iron filingsaround with them, in reality theyunderpin all modern technologyfrom computers to hoovers, carsto headphones. But supplies arerunning out.These aren’t the bulky irontype, but ones made from alloyswith rare-earth metals likeneodymium. Using these alloys wecan produce magnets which havea much higher magnetic energydensity than normal, meaning youget a stronger field from a smallermagnet. These elements can befound all over the world in severalparts per million in the earth’scrust, but demand exceeds supply,and global reserves are finite.The best place to find them isin China, where there is anotherrare-earth metal in the rock -dysprosium. This element makesthe magnets more stable athigher temperatures, which isvital for magnets used in “green”technologies like wind turbinesand electric cars. Unfortunately,China now imposes large exporttariffs on the elements due toits own internal needs and thecosts have increased drasticallybetween 2009 and 2011, just asdemand for technology intensifies.Mines have been reopened in theUS, and new mines have openedin Australia to try to meet thisdemand, but they’re missing thedysprosium, and thus the hightemperature stability.The US Department ofEnergy has invested $22 millioninto research projects to findalternatives to rare-earthmagnets. None of the projects havereached a breakthrough yet, butin the last week researchers at theAmes Laboratory in Iowa, US haveannounced that they have founda way to effectively recycle theneodymium and dysprosium fromthe other materials in a magnet,while maintaining the usefulproperties of the rare-earths. Thisclear it from your body.Many people suggest that,as they don’t drink to excess ona daily basis this won’t affecttheir liver. But actually it ismore detrimental for your liverif you ‘binge’ drink. It can giverise to conditions such as livercirrhosis, pancreatitis and cancerif intoxication persists.So next time you think thatanother pint is harmless, justthink of 250 kcals and another 2hours worth of work for your liver.I leave it to the readers to decidewhether it would really be worthit.will hopefully reduce dependenceon expensive Chinese imports,while the search for alternativescontinues.The extraction process is stillbeing optimised, but if successfulthis technique could be usedto keep costs down and supplygenerations into the future.Neodymium magnets are the mostpowerful of all known magnets.©Tor PaulinAfter hurricane Sandyravaged through New York,people have resorted to postingon Craigslist to help them findtransport. As most publictransport such as buses and thesubway are slowly getting backon track, most people haveresorted to using the internetto get on with their daily lives.They just post an advert andsplit the cost of gas for thejourney - with some offeringdrop offs for free.Doing maths could perhaps hurtyour brain - literally!group of researchersA conducted studies on14 people who experiencedanxiety about doing math andimaged their brain activity.When they were asked toprepare to do a math problem,there was significant activityin the part of the brain whichis associated with experiencingpain and responding to threats.Oddly, it is the preparation partbefore doing the math whichhad greater effect than actuallydoing it, such as sharpening thepencil and trying to rememberthe formulae.

18 LITERATUREThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012literature@thestagsurrey.co.ukLiteratureMe Before You by Jojo MoyesBy Rachel Burgess, Literature TeamAt first, Jojo Moyes’ debut novel, Me Before You,appears as your average girl meets boy lovestory, but in reality it’s a sensitive, heart-warmingtale, with an interesting twist.The novel focuses on Lou Clark, a youngwoman whose comfortably consistent life getsusurped when she loses her job, as well as herindependence. Desperate to offer her parents somesupport while she lives under their roof, she findsa new job working with Will Traynor who showsno enthusiasm for her employment or her help. Hecomes across as angry, frustrated and unsatisfiedwith life. While Lou makes it her mission to changehis attitude, she in turn discovers an adventurouspart of herself which she had buried away amonglong hidden memories. What consequently ensuesis a story full of laughter, tears, and poignancy.Moyes successfully portrays realisticcharacters with authentic feelings and reactionsto everyday events, but who also have their ownstories to tell, and it’s a thrill to uncover. Lou isthrown from her nondescript lifestyle into a newand challenging position, which in turn allowsher to become more of the person she alwayswanted to be. Will transforms from a hostile andunsociable individual, to a man full of compassionand humility. Their differences eventually pullthem together with an uplifting tendency.However, what gives this book its winningformula is the author’s ability to portray asensitive and particularly controversial subjectin a refreshing and moving perspective. Thematter is dealt with tenderness and empathywhile considering both sides of a much debatedargument. The ending is unexpected, but writtenbeautifully and delivers a thought-provokingpunch; should someone that unhappy with life beallowed to leave it behind?Roald Dahl’s collection of books, well worth re-reading when you have the time!Reminising over childhood booksat Guildford Book FestivalBy Marilyn Johnston, Literature TeamRecently I volunteeredat the Guildford bookfestival and I had the fortunateopportunity to sit in on one ofthe children’s events. AndrewCope was promoting his books;the fantastic Spy Dog series (Iam now a proud owner of asigned copy!). He was asking thechildren what their favouritebooks were and one repliedGeorge’s Marvellous Medicine. Thisbrought me right back to mychildhood when Roald Dahl wasmy own favourite author.When I was younger, likeMatilda, I read avidly. I’m sureI am not alone in saying thatI marvelled at the chocolatefactory with Charlie, washorrified by the witches whoturned children into miceand laughed when the vicarof Nibbleswick reminded hiscongregation “not to krap allalong the front of the church.” Infact, Roald Dahl has been such aresounding influence on my life;he’s created memories (howeversmall) that will remain with meforever.I remember reading aboutMatilda’s visit to Miss Honey’sbare house and being filled withglee because my mum let meeat bread and butter with them,despite it being almost bedtime.Another fond memoryis the day when I thought itwas a clever idea to stick gumbehind my ear to save for later;just like Violet Beauregarde.Unfortunately, a lot of my hairhad to be chopped off and Iwas left with a shameful ‘boyhaircut’ for weeks. And to thisday I can still chant off by heart:“Boggis and Bunce and Bean,One fat, one short one lean,These horrible crooks,© Wee Sen Goh / FlickrSo different in looks,But nonetheless equally mean! “I could ramble on foreverabout how Roald Dahl’s legacyhad such an impact on mychildhood, but I just don’t haveenough words.At the event Andrew Copeasked the children what the mostimportant thing about readingwas. After some very creativeand intelligent answers, still noone had guessed. The audience,including myself waited ontenterhooks to discover the trueanswer. Cope then revealed thatthe most important thing aboutreading is to have fun. Of course,being swamped in an endless listof tedious books to read for ourstudies, we forget that reading issupposed to be enjoyable. Nexttime I go home I’m going to dustoff my Roald Dahl collection andremind myself of just that.Top novels you mustread before you die, asrecommended by studentsBy Samantha Goodburn, Literature TeamI don’t know about you, but I’m fed up of being toldthat I should’ve read certain canonical novels becausethey’ve achieved all these ostentatious awards bypompous critics. So The Stag have decided to asknormal, everyday people like you, the students ofSurrey, to recommend their own personal favouritesthat must be read at some point in your life.1) Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier:Becky Richmond recommends thisone as it’s ‘an unconventional lovestory.’ Published in 1938, the noveltells the story of the unnamednarrator as she reminisces about herpast, and more importantly, the lifeand death of her husband’s previouswife. The book is mysterious andgothic; the unknown pulling you inas you desperately want to know thefate of the Previous Mrs de Winter…2) Invisible Monsters – Chuck Palahniuk:Author of Fight Club, Palahnuik’snovel Invisible Monsters is suggestedby Sam Curtis, who explains thatthe novel is ‘about the eventssurrounding a model who had her jawshot off whilst driving, leaving herdisfigured and incapable of speech.’The subject matter is questionable;but like Palahnuiks’ other books, thenon linear plot means there are manygreat twists in the story. Sam notesthat she’s read the book ‘countlesstimes and still feels shocked andsurprised!’When reading the book, onemust expect nihilism, dark humourand beautifully crafted one-linersthat really make you think aboutyour perspective on life, and withan ambiguous ending, the reader isleft with hundreds of unansweredquestions.3) The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald:This canonical novel may appearon those pompous lists I mentionedabove, but Lewis Hobday states thatit’s his favourite book because ‘it isso articulately written, presentingnot only a love story but a depictionof American history and metaphorsfor the American dream.’ The novelis told by Gatsby’s neighbour, whotells us of Gatsby’s complicatedlife, and those surrounding him.4) Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger:This 1951 novel was recommendedby Mungo Bain, who simply statesthat ‘it can make you laugh out loud,make you want to cry AND makeyou want to meet Holden Caulfieldfor a pint. What more does a bookneed?’ I personally don’t think youneed any more persuading thanthat, but if you did want more detail;seventeen-year-old narrator HoldenCaulfield, who addresses the readerdirectly from a hospital in SouthernCalifornia., retells the story of hismental breakdown and struggle.5) Up From Slavery – Booker T Washington:Nicholas Allen believes thatWashington’s autobiography isdefinitely worth a read. Followinghis life as an African-American civilrights campaigner who was actuallya slave during his younger life, thebook is ‘both inspiring and realisticfor his time. He is an undervaluedhero.’ Up From Slavery focuses on afifty year period of Washington’s life,wherein he climbs the social ladderthrough hard work and establishesa variety of relationships with greatpeople.

Lit Editor: Emily Smart | Copy Editor: Sophie Vickery The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012LITERATURE 19HALLOWEEN COMPETITION:WINNERS ANNOUNCED!Thank you to everyone who entered! Paulwished to inform you that he “very muchenjoyed reading all the entries – thanks to allwho contributed for some thrilling and evendownright disturbing reading!” We had somany impressive and accomplished entries,which made it very hard to pick a winner. Thetwo runners up were Annika Gonnerman, 2ndRough Patch:Amira kicked me out at thestart of the zombie invasion. Iknow we’ve had our problems,but I didn’t see it coming.I’ve been living in the backgarden for a couple of nights. Ican see the zombies through theslats in the fence, face after faceof waxy skin and mouths thathang open. Edvard Munch faces.They grope at the wood withyellowing hands, but we used agood contractor last summer andthey haven’t got in yet.I’ve begged her to open thepatio door. I’ve pressed my faceagainst the glass, mouth wide,but I can’t find the right words.By Annie Driscoll, Literature TeamJust recently, as part of theGuildford Book Festival,Surrey Pen Soc was able tothrow an event in celebrationof revolutionary text; BonesWill Crow, the first anthology ofBurmese poetry to be publishedin the Western world. Thecollection is hugely significantin light of the political situationin Burma, and is hopefully anoptimistic symbol of change.Burma has often been listed asone of the worst human rightssituations in the world, and witha police state typically comesa high level of censorship andextreme prevention of freespeech. Even now, amongstWe have triple glazing and Imust sound like I’m moaning.But I’ve see her in the kitchen,crying and making meals out ofcrackers and the last few packetsof instant custard, so I knowshe has to come out sooner orlater. In the meantime I’ve beenhunting the frogs that live in ourfishpond. They’re so quick andslippery I haven’t had much luck,but I keep trying.At least it’s summer andthe dry weather means stayingoutside isn’t as bad as it couldbe. At first the heat made thezombies smell ten times asrancid, but I’m getting used to it.It’s the isolation that’s theproblem. I’m thinking strangely.There’s a bloody double-crescentblossomings of progress andchange within the country(several political prisoners beingreleased in the last few years),there still runs a huge dangerto anyone that seeks to questionor criticise the political regime;an estimated 600-1000 politicalprisoners remain captive.Being a more subjective andmetaphorical form, poetry issignificant as an easier way forwriters to touch upon forbiddensubjects. That being said, BonesWill Crow extraordinarily evencontains works from writers thathave been imprisoned for theirwords.During the PEN event,representatives Deputy Directorof English PEN, Heather Normanyear English Literature and Emily Rossiter, 2ndyear Accounting & Finance! Paul Vlitos’ feedbackwill be emailed to you shortly. However, forthe second year running Danielle Coombs haswon, this year with her entry The Rough Patch. Abig well done to Danielle and I hope you enjoyspending you £15 Waterstone’s voucher! Here isDanielle’s piece for you to read:wound on my arm, and I don’tremember where it came from.I’ve been camping before.Amira hated it. We argued allweekend.Our arguments seempointless now. I keep thinkingI’ll get her back. It’s all going tobe fine. I’m so hungry I’d forgiveher anything. If she’ll only letme in before the zombies breakthrough, I can have her all tomyself.Congratulations toDanielle! Don’tforget to keep an eyeout for futurecompetitions!Pen Soc Event- Bones Will CrowPen Soc - “allow yourself to learn that free speech is not a liberty available to all, on the contrary, it must be fought for. “Söderlind, and GuildfordBookfest’s Patricia Grayburn,stood alongside our very ownChurnjeet Mahn and severalmembers of the student PENcommittee to speak aboutPEN and to illuminate issuesof censorship within Burma.Several students from GuildfordSchool of Acting also attended toperform a selection of works fromthe anthology. If you haven’tattended a PEN event already, letthe prospect of discovering moreabout the world we live in temptyou; allow yourself to learnthat free speech is not a libertyavailable to all, on the contrary,it must be fought for.Annika Gonnermannis wondering whatclassical fairy talesreally try to tell usWhat are these stories trying to tell you?Halloween was the most recentopportunity to see them inall their glory; princesses, fairiesand other fairy tale figures weknow and love. Many jump at thechance to dress up as Little RedRiding Hood, even if they are pasttheir teenage years. It seems thereis some sort of deep impact these“innocent” stories have on us –even if the last time you heard themwas when your mother was puttingyou to bed. However, even thoughthese stories are so familiar, amuch more complex world ishiding among the pink dressesand disguised by ever-lastinglove. I’m sure everyone knows theFrench tale of Beauty and the Beast;beautiful young girl falls in lovewith a hideous beast because sheis able to overlook his ugly exteriorand see the good within. Whatsounds like a lovely story in itsmessage not to judge a book by itscover, is in fact a sad story abouta girl falling for the Stockholmsyndrome (you know the one thatexplains why a hostage falls inlove with his or her kidnapper.)Another example is Cinderella. Thepoor orphan who sneaks away tothe ball to meet the man she wantsto marry. The only problem is thatshe has a lot of work to do. Luckilya good fairy comes her way to help.The message conveyed is simple;do not write your essays but go toRubix and party till dawn. Sleepingbeauty; Marry the first guy youmeet. Arielle; A little deal with evilis fine as long as it turns out well.And so it seems Fairy tales are acharming way to take on boardlife’s lessons to interpret life, butmaybe they should not be takentoo literally or else we all couldbe left with useless pumpkins atmidnight!The Stag’s own twitter fictionStarting from this issue, a member of The Stag team willwrite a 140 character line to a story which will be continuedthroughout the year. We start of with an intriguing line fromMarilyn Johnston, Literature Team. Look out for the nextline of the story by Ellis Taylor in the next issue.Running is not fun. Especially whenyou’re running away from something,or someone. I had no idea where to go,how was I going to escape?...

20 LITERATUREThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012literature@thestagsurrey.co.ukCould a forgotten manuscriptbe your ticket to wealth?By Sophie Vickery, Literature TeamRejection, criticism, disregard;common outcomes for thenaive writer seeking publication, toresult in disappointment, dejectionand through self-destruction.There are those writers who showthat a successful title can earnmillions. J.K. Rowling’s earningsequated to £5 a second and lastyear Patterson’s thrillers earneda healthy $84 million, yet it is acommon acknowledgment that onlya minuscule number of submittedmanuscripts actually make it to thebookshelves. Unfortunately, thisdiscourages many talented writers inpursuing a writing career; howeverthere may be some hope for thosehoping to turn words to pound signs,thanks to the e-book.At the Kindle UK store thereare around 650,000 titles for sale,with another one million free titlesavailable to wide audiences using theKindle, PC, Mac, iPhone and manyAndroid devices. With adherenceto simple e-book characteristics,publication can soon be embraced.It’s wise to adopt a crime, thriller,fantastical or romantic genre, witha captivating description to attractreaders in just 4000 characters.Yet no matter how thrilling orentertaining a book is, there arestill processes required to increaseprofits, but the e-book makes thesemuch more accessible than thosewithin a competitive paperbackworld . Amazon offers two royalties;70% of the cover price if the booksells between £1.49 and £6.99, and35% for titles priced at 75p. Therefore,it’s advisable to price titles as lowas possible, often below a £1. Onceon sale, promotion is key. But thisdoesn’t mean hiring marketingconsultants or purchasing expensiveadvertisements. Social networkingsites and blogging enable easy selfpromotion,while specific magazinesor websites are often looking to spotnew releases, promising excitementand thrill.There are now an estimated700,000 authors e-publishingworldwide. For many buddingwriters this means a greateroptimism in unfinished manuscriptsas the e-book offers a simpler wayto writing success, without thedaunting prospect of bookshelfrejection.Children’s spelling hits all-time lowBy Emily Smart, Literature EditorOxford University Press (OUP) has recentlyengaged in research to discover new waysto help children spell correctly. The researchfollowed the introduction of new spelling tests,conducted by the Government, which found thatsurprisingly many children aged seven to thirteenwere unable to spell common words such as “until”and “differently.” Whereas, in an analysis of morethan 33 million words written by students of thesame age group, unusual words like “denarius,” (aRoman silver coin) and “cerulean”, (a term for awide range of colours), were spelt correctly nearlyevery time.Although the latter is highly impressive, onemight question whether a generation, brought upin a society abundant in technological, need tolearn how to spell when they have spell checker ata click of a computer mouse. However, as always,technology has to fail in some way. It has beenrevealed by the OUP that “children still needspelling support in spite of spell checkers” as ITequipment is unable to pick up on slight mistakessuch as “their/there/they’re”.Pleasingly, children still desire to learn tospell in order to enhance their writing. This isextremely promising and many also have aninterest in reading, which will enable them toimprove spelling further. Meanwhile, authorssuch as Tolkien and Rowling have brought anexciting change to literature which will hopefullymotivate those destined to write and produce thenext literate generation.The Screwtape Letters by C.S.LewisC.S Lewis’ The Screwtape LettersBy Alice Lincoln, Literature TeamC.S.Lewis, though best known for his children’sbooks (especially The Chronicles of Narnia),was also an ardent Christian.This is seen in the character of Aslanthroughout the Narnia Chronicles, particularlywhen Aslan dies on the stone table and isresurrected; his cry of “Ever on, ever up!” alsosupports the reading of Aslan as a Jesus-likefigure.C.S.Lewis also wrote adult books in which hisChristianity is far more apparent; for instance,The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ.However, a short story of his (of which Iwould recommend to adults), Christian or not,is The Screwtape Letters. This book is availablefree online and is written as a series of missivessent by a senior devil to a junior one, detailinghow he should aid a corrupt human.Though it is strongly Christian, its humouris spot on. If anyone reading this article cannotpicture the M25 as having been created by thedevil, what are you doing at university?!?It’s a great read – short, and well worth thetime.Nanowrimo, GO!By Tessa Heenan, Literature TeamNo, it’s not a pokemon; it’sNational Novel Writing Month!It is often thought that everyonehas a novel inside them and now isthe time to let your inner-authorfree.Nanowrimo is a month longwriting project, encouragingparticipants into ‘literary abandon’over the 30 days of November. Theaim is to write 50,000 words (a 175page novel) before December begins.Even if you’re a bit late to start, itdoesn’t matter, you can still submityour novel at the end of the month.Last year over 200,000 peoplerose to the challenge and just over36,000 beat the 50k target; earningofficial verification of their noveland a beautiful winner’s certificate.Participants can sign up online atnanowrimo.org and receive benefitsincluding word count scoreboardsand pep talks from authors such asNick Hornby.Alternatively, you can take partunofficially or race your friends.There are no rules regarding content,although repeating the same wordover and over is obviously prohibited.So if you’re lacking in facial hairfor Movember, why not try your handat writing instead? Go forth, reader!Write your magnum-opus.

Channies Xmas 6 Sheet 2012.indd 110/18/2012 4:36:11 PMTS PLANNERwww.facebook.com/surreyunionwww.ussu.co.uktwitter.com/surrey_unionThese are fundraising events for the University of Surrey Students’ UnionY THURSDAY FLIRTDAY SATURDAY SUNDAYWALLYryVideo Game Soc 6 - 9pmin The Living RoomMarket Dayin the Union10am till5pmin ChancellorsMarket Dayin the Union10am till5pmVideo Game Soc 6 - 9pmFIFA 13 Tournament (6pm, The Living Room,£3 entry)with Legendary FabricDJ Eddie Richardsin The Living RoomRadio 1’sMatt Edmondsonin The Living RoomDisney / Cartoon Characters& CartoonCharactersin TheLiving RoomLeicester v Nottingham 12.45pmAston Villa v Man Utd 5.30pmGRNightTrip to OxfordKArsenal v Tottenham12.45PMNorwich v Man Utd5.30PMPoker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmLive Premiership FootballMan. City v Tottenham 1.30pmChelsea v Liverpool 4.00pmPoker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmMillwall v Leeds 1.15pmFulham v Sunderland 4.00pmtastetheOF CHRISTMASJust £6.95Roast turkey served with asausage wrapped in bacon, stuffing,roast potatoes and a selection ofseasonal vegetables and topped with gravy.Vegetarian option and Christmas puddingsavailable on request..........................................WE WILL BE SERVING FROMMONDAY 3RD DECEMBERUNTIL THE 20TH OF DECEMBER.........................................Make sure youMake it apick up yours!Chancellors ChristmasFor parties of 10 people or more, please book a table and contact theChancellors Manager on 01483 683254or email h.meza-gonzalez@surrey.ac.uk or s.steward@surrey.ac.ukWelfare Walk-inChancellorsEvery last Wednesdayof every month at 3.30pm - 5.00pmFor parties of 10 people or more, please book in advance by the 16th ofDecember. Christmas servings for parties less than 10 people will ONLY be served from 12pm midday till 5.00pmMarket Day in the Union10am till 5pmPoker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmVideo Game Soc6 - 9pm in The Living RoomBass Musicin The Living Roomin Chancellorsin The Living RoomLive Premiership FootballSwansea v Liverpool 12.45pmAston Villa v Arsenal 5.30pmLive Premiership FootballSunderland v West Brom 1.30pmChelsea v Man. City 4.00pmVideo Game Soc 6 - 9pmin The Living RoomPoker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmBizsoc Pub QuizFirs Room 8pmMarket Dayin the Union10am till5pmin The Living Roomin The Living RoomGRKWest Ham v Chelsea12.45pmRNB Night in The Living RoomSunderland v Norwich 3.30PMDisney tripThe best brands.The largest choice.The cheapest prices.Market Day in the Union10am till 5pmPoker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmBaileyVideo Game Soc 6 - 9pmin The Living RoomToddTWolves v Birmingham 7.30PMChristian UnionCarols at Rubix8pm FREEin Chancellorsin Thein The Living Living Room RoomTrip to WinchesterLive Premiership FootballMan City v Man Utd 1.30pmWest Ham v Liverpool 3.00pmMarket Day in the Union10am till 5pmVideo Game Soc6 - 9pmin The Living Room‘Ultimate Frisbee TournamentXmas Party’Poker Tournamentin Chancellors - 7pmwww.thestagsurrey.co.ukXmas Bassin The Living RoomSlumber PartyUniversity Hall7pmin Chancellorsin TheLiving in The Room Living RoomNewcastle v Man City 12.30pmBarnsley v Sheff. Wednesday 5.15pmGRKRNB Night in The Living RoomLive Premiership FootballTottenham v Swansea 1.00pmWest Ham v West Brom 3.30pmFor www.stagtv.co.ukmore information please email ussu.giveitago@surrey.ac.ukwww.gu2.co.ukRatzerducationeducation@surrey.ac.ukBakita KasadhaVP Welfareussu.welfare@surrey.ac.ukArabella GilbyVP Sport & Recreationussu.sports@surrey.ac.ukEm BollonVP Societies & IDussu.societies@surrey.ac.ukUnion HouseThe University of SurreyStag HillGuildfordGU2 7XHhe Students’ Union and go to the Information point or call on (01483) 689223 or email ussu.information@surrey.ac.ukT: (01483) 689223SMS : 07624 80534910/30/2012 5:28:11 PM

FAITH Inter @ Faith SURRWSometime in the 1960s it was assumed that religion would ainevitably disappear as society got more sophisticated owith advances in technology. Religious faith would be dconsigned to the ancient world order of superstition and dfable. People would come to see secularism as a grown upway to understand the world and human beings.fBut it hasn’t gone that way. Religious faith, wsand more generally spirituality, continues wto play a part in the lives of men and women cand communities across the world. It seems othat Western Europe is the exception in its secularity, oand not the pioneer as was once assumed (in the West). tPeople of faith are not a problem to be managed, but Ware imaginative, generous and robust in seeking the aCommon Good of society. And that is true of universities ttoo. Faith is not left behind when students oarrive on campus, whether international orhome students. And so at Surrey there is a aEvibrant ‘faith scene’. You can encounter thisithrough the various faith societies affiliated ato the Student Union.The University of Surrey is a secular institution,in that it privileges no system of belief over any other.The University does though acknowledge the presenceChaplaincy at Surrey is here to…• enable students to live out and practice their faith on campus• foster dialogue between those of diverse faiths and no faith andthose of different values and lifestyle• be part of enriching the student experience at Surrey• play a part in building a rich, diverse and respectful communityat Surrey• meet pastoral needs of those who inhabit the University campusboth students and staff, academic and support.What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law;all the rest is commentary.Talmud, Shabbat 3idI’m Dániel from Hungary, doing my first year ofsociology here at the University of Surrey. Mytradition is very important to me, because theenvironment I grew up in formed me in to who Iam, and It always ensured me that there is a placewhere I can reach to, where I belong.I’m restarting the Jewish Society here at the Uni. Ifyou are interested in any ways feel free to contactme: muci@viragneked.huMy name is Obu Anaduaka and I am a postgrad Enigneering student. Faith is very importantto me because it is focused on believingin God. It is present in every part of my dailylife; from my inter-personal relationships toprivate reflection and development. Faith hasdeveloped the way I view and interact with myenvironment. It has shown me the importanceof helping the poor, feeding the hungry andassisting the less privileged. My faith made mewho I am and I do not think that I will be whoI am without it.Chaplains at SurreyMy name is Hannah and I am a first year Physicsstudent. Since starting university I have joined theSwimming & Waterpolo club and have become amember of SIFE.I am a Christian and my faith is important to mebecause it is something I can always rely on. Thingsmay not turn out the way I want them to but myfaith means that I am supported through any challengesthat I may face and I can take comfort fromthe fact that I believe things will turn out for good.Some Chaplains are full time, some are part time, and they come as a‘gift’ from their faith communities to the University. They are not paidby the University but are part of it. They are available to everyone andseek to serve all confidentially and discreetly.Chaplains at Surrey are here to…• be representative practitioners who, true to their own faith orspirituality, engage openly and honestly with those of all faiths andnone;• act as advocates for the place of faith within the University;• give faith specific advice to the University staff and students;• nourish those of their own faith, encourage those of others faithsand spiritualities and inform those of no faith;‘Jesus Christ is the imageof the invisible God, thefirstborn of all creation’Colossians 1.15’Hurt not othersin ways that youyourself would findhurtful.Udana-Varga 5,1That nature alone is good whichrefrains from doing anotherwhatsoever is not good for itself.Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5Hello, I’m Sidath Madhuwantha and I’m a second year , sElectronic Enigneering. Prof Geoff Hunt has helped me inways as the Buddhist Chaplain for the university. I first talhim last November 2011. This was because when I first caversity I felt let alone. And I couldn’t integrate well with thand culture. Originally I’m from Sri Lanka and my culturedifferent from that in the UK. Normally in my country stuof my age do not drink alcohol and do not go out much atwas surprised to see that people do this quite often here. Namong my class mates but also among my house mates I fsame way, alone. As I felt left alone I thought that I need sance, someone who has a vision, someone kind and someunderstand me.After my first meeting with Geoff I felt like huge btaken off from my shoulders. Finally I have someone to tathan my family overseas, which of course I cannot do in thbecause they’ll worry about me too much! He also invitedcome to the Buddhist sessions on campus. This was a greanity not only being a member did allow me to meet and mfriends but also I would be able to practice meditation whaLto

EY eek 2012nd contribution of people of faith through its policiesn equality and diversity, the freedom to wear religiousress and the practice of faith on campus, so long as thatoes not constrict the wellbeing of others. People ofaith have much to give and plenty to learnithin a University. The role of chaplains alsoupports this. Coming from different faith communitiese are true to our own faith and at the same time areommitted to engage openly and honestly with people ofther faiths and none. We are also advocates for the placef faith within the University and for adequate provisiono be made for students to live out their faith commitment.e can give faith specific advice to the University, staffnd students. In a nutshell chaplains nourishhose of their own faith, encourage those ofthers faiths and inform those of no faith.Religion is never a neutral thing. Bigotry existsmong religious people, but is not restricted to them.qually dialogue is not served by phony consensus, so it’smportant to disagree respectfully and well when that isppropriate.Where is faith found on this campus? Well, it’s allround you in people you meet, live with and learn with.et’s celebrate the place of faith on campus, not to bereated with kid gloves, but so that we all – people of faithr not – can engage robustly and respectfully.No one of you is a believer untilhe desires for his brother thatwhich he desires for himself.SunnahSurrey Faith WeekThis is drawn from the work of Inter-Faith Week (interfaithweek.org). And itseems a good opportunity to think about faith at Surrey.Surrey Faith Week eventsFaith Fair – Lecture Theatre Concourse, Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21stNovemberFaith Themed Décor – Chaplaincy, Wey Flat, Surrey Court. Drop in and see thechaplaincy decked out in the style of a different faith community, refreshmentsavailable on certain days.You can find the Chaplaincy on Campus, by Surrey Court Wey Flat.tudyingmanyked tome to uniesocietyis quitedentsnight. Iot onlyelt theome guidonewouldurden waslk to otheris caseme tot opportuakenewich I’veWhat is hateful to you, do not do toyour fellowman. This is the entireLaw; all the rest is commentary.Talmud, Shabbat 3idalways loved and done since I was in first grade at school!On the following Saturday I made my first visit to the QuietCenter. The atmosphere was fantastic. What I liked most about itwas that it’s the most peaceful place at university where people cango to relax, enjoy a cup of tea, and make new friends and to takeaway few thoughts on how to improve your life.When I was doing my first year I emailed him quite oftenjust to have that someone listen to what I have to say was a greatrelief and very helpful in a complete foreign environment. At thetime I was preparing for my exams I was alone in my room revisingand reading lecture notes when most of my friends had left to spendtime with their families since it was a month holiday before the finalexams. I couldn’t pull myself together enough to concentrate on mystudies. I emailed Geoff quite regularly to seek advice and to discusssome of the problems that I had. His replies to my emails keptme focused and made me believe in myself for whatever tomorrowmight bring. As a result I did really well in my exams and I got73.1% and a university performance scholarship. I believe with allmy heart that most of this credit should go to Prof Geoff Hunt andthe Buddhist group.SHHHH....want to hear a secret?Places of worship on Campus:The Quiet Centre (so Quiet, no one has heard of it!): gothrough Cathedral Court past the reception and follow thepath, accessible by your University card. It can be bookedby groups and used by individuals. Contact the ChaplaincyAdministrator m.chiles@surrey.ac.uk for information andto book.The Islamic Prayer Rooms: at the bottom of ThomasTelford (AA) building for Muslim Brothers and Sisters.Contact the Islamic Society who can arrange access fordaily prayers.Wider Guildford & Surrey Information is availablethrough the Chaplaincy chaplaincy@surrey.ac.uk

EVENCHRISTMAS COFFEECoffee still JUST £1 (excluding shots and syrups)NEW Festive drinks will be served from 2nd NovemberMONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAFREE bottle of fizzFREE entry and queue jumpfor the birthday person and10 friends before 11pm05/11to11/11WEEK 20125TH-11TH NOVMONDAY - SAFER SEX BALLTUESDAY - RUBIX BAKE SALEWEDNESDAY - WHERE’S WALLYBAR CRAWLTHURSDAY - RACE NIGHTFRIDAY - RAG YOURSELFSUNDAY - LOSTALL PROCEEDS DONATED TO RAG’S SUPPORTED CHARITIESwww.facebook.com/surreyrag www.ussu.co.ukRAG W ek Poster 2012.indd 1 10/23/2012 3:49:19 PMRAGSaferSexBallALL PROCEEDSDONATED TO RAG’SSUPPORTED CHARITIESSexual Health Awareness Dayin RubixThousands of gags.4 Comedians.1 Venue.Songs for a new WorldMusical Theatre SocietyBar CrawlCrafternoonPark BarnDay Centre 1pmWHERE’STrip to Wicked the MusicalFREE bottle of fizzFREE entry and queue jumpfor the birthday person and5 friends before 11pmPlease email :jade.johnson@surrey.ac.uk(Proof of birthday will be required)12/11to18/11MIXED UPMONDA YSSELECTED DRINKOFFERS INCLUDINGVengaboysRuibix 1-3pmIn Roots, with No WaveTrip to Hogs Back Brewe19/11to25/11Live Premiership FootballWest Ham v Stoke 8.00pm26th, 27th and 28th of November26/11to02/12MIXED UPMONDA YSSELECTED DRINKOFFERS INCLUDING£1.50 nightwith CaptainMorganPhotographic Workshop7th Nov Do>More CrafternoonPark Barn Day Centre, 1-4pm28th November Do>MoreMake a Christmas Card for a Sick ChildRubix, 12-3pm5th December Do>MoreChristmas Shoebox AppealRubix, 12-3pm03/12to09/12Live Premiership FootballNewcastle v Wigan 8.00pmThousands of gags.4 Comedians.1 Venue.featuringMason Noise & Simon J10/12to16/12Live Premiership FootballFulham v Newcastle 7.00pmYourSabbaticalsDave HallsPresidentussu.president@surrey.ac.ukSamVP Eussu.HELP OR INFORMATION - Any questions, then pop into tEvents Planner 6 weeks Nov 2012.indd 1

Music Editor: Becky Worley | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012MUSIC 25MusicThe Stag interviews upand coming band LawsonBy Rachel Thomason, News EditorGuildford’s ACM welcomed backtwo of their alumni on 18thOctober who just happened to alsobe two quarters of popular new boyband, Lawson. Reaching number3 with their song ‘Taking OverMe’ in the Official Top 40, Andy,Adam, Ryan and Joel returned tothe college to do a Q&A session andThe Stag and GU2 radio were luckyenough to sit in.The Stag: Take us through thehistory of the band, how did youcome together?Adam: It started about 4 years ago.I was at a music college similarto this down in Brighton. After Ifinished my course there, I sawAndy’s music myspace page online,back when myspace was still alive,and sent him a message saying “I’dlove to drum with you one day, doyou want to start up a band?” Hegot back to me about 2 months laterand said yeah let’s do it…. We had adrink and started the band.Andy: I got Ryan involved, whowent to ACM. We had a few mutualfriends and Joel came along.Lawson was formed! You guys goback a long way though don’t you?Joel: We knew each other [Ryan]before we came here and we didn’tknow we were both coming. […] Weused to get together in a differentband and then you asked me to joinLawson, and here we are.TS: Out of the band, who doesthe song writing? What’s yoursecret?Adam: It’s Mr Andy Brown…[applause ensues]Andy: I’ve never had a round ofapplause like that before! [Hesmiles] Um… heartbreak? Gettingdumped. The only time I can writesongs is when I’ve been dumped!Adam: Yeah, he’s been dumped alot…Andy: I’ve always written from ayoung age, I’ve always just pickedup a guitar and tried to write asong. […] I’m all about melodies soI’ll maybe start on a piano or anacoustic guitar.Members of The Stag and GU2 meet the gorgeous LawsonTS: There’s an interesting storyabout how you got your name,could you take us through that?Andy: We called ourselves Lawsonbecause when I was 19, back beforewe’d started the band, I had quitea big operation to remove a braintumour and the guy who did theoperation, who saved my lifebasically, was called Dr Lawson. Sowe named the band in his honour.[…] We wanted a name that meantsomething to us all.TS: What influences the band?Which artists do you draw upon?Joel: We all like the same sort ofmusic, we’re all big John Mayerfans… Coldplay, Kings of Leon, theScript.Andy: Just real bands who play realmusic.TS: You guys must get up topranks. Can you tell us about afunny story or something alongthose lines?Andy: When we were recording inLondon, next door there was thisreally haunted house and for somereason the label put us there…Ryan: There was a bad vibe, a verybad vibe.Andy: It was honestly likeParanormal Activity, I don’t likereally believe in ghosts but therewas definitely a presence in there.We fell asleep and I woke upabout 4:00 in the morning, from anightmare actually. I just lookedaround and the whole room wastrashed. Literally, there werechairs on the floor and there was aspare mattress, which had been onthe floor, against the wall.Adam: You even said to me: “it’s notRyan and Joel, I would have wokenup! It can’t be them.”Ryan: Basically we reduced them totears!TS: If you could collaboratewith anyone, who would youcollaborate with?Andy: If we could do some stuffwith Jessie J that would be nicewouldn’t it?Adam: Yeah, we’d definitely like afemale singer.Joel: We love Lady Antebellum,that’s such a good sound. We’d liketo have someone to complimentyour lovely pipes [to Andy].Andy: A proper rock chick, we weregoing to do a song with AmeliaLily for this first album. She’s got areally cool, rocky sort of voice. […]Katy Perry, that would be a greatone…Adam: Anyone who’s a girl… Andquite fit. Only joking… [Pause] Butseriously.TS: Have you discovered anysuper fans or fans that have donesome weird things?Andy: All our fans are awesome.Ryan: Someone the other weekasked me if they could have a hair…to eat, which was quite strange.Adam: But most of our fans havebeen there from the start. Theywant to see you do well.Andy: We have had some weirdones though. We had a scary one inPlymouth who was sending otherfans death threats, saying “If youmeet Lawson before I do, I willsmash your face in.” Those werethe exact words.Ryan: People contacted us saying,we want to come to the gig but wedon’t want to die so…Lawson’s album‘Chapman Square’is out now andthey are currentlycompleting theirheadline tour.

26 MUSICThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012music@thestagsurrey.co.ukREVIEW: Ellie Goulding - ‘Halycon’By Becky Worley, Music EditorEllie Goulding’s follow up albumentitled ‘Halycon’ comesafter the critical and commercialsuccess of ‘Lights’ in 2010. Afterlistening to ‘Halycon’ all the waythrough, it became apparentthat Ellie hasn’t seemed to havelost what made her essentiallydifferent from other femaleartists in the charts. The albumhas an extremely atmosphericfeel running throughout, withhaunting, echoing lyrics andsynthetic sounds mixed withcrashing guitar and sometimesgentle piano notes. With everysong, as a listener, you get a strongfeeling of a specific emotion:sadness, anger, desperation orstrength as this really is a breakupalbum and a half. I can’t helpbut wonder what her music wouldsound like without the macabrecircumstances, as this is whatseems to set it apart. Her song‘Anything Could Happen’ was thefirst single released off of thisalbum and hit number 11 in thecharts, not her biggest success.However, I do love this song, itreally grows on you and then aftera while you find you can’t stopsinging it. It is very typically Ellie,with slightly pop/ dance elementsbut slightly quirky, but I don’t feelit makes the most of her voice. Asong of the album which trulyshowcases her vocals is the song‘Joy’, which is ironic as the songreally is quite sad, and her voicetakes centre stage and is trulystunning, sometimes tremblingwith emotion. At the very end ofthe album there is a bonus trackwith Calvin Harris which is in acompletely different vein, as hisupbeat, dance style has infiltratedEllie’s more melodic music tocreate a very catchy dance song,which stands apart from theothers. I would also recommend‘Hanging On’ which features TinieTempah.Slash! Mapping the career of a musical legendBy Craig Martin, Music TeamAlmost 16 years today sinceSlash officially left Guns ‘N’Roses and it appears that theguitarist has never looked back.Having already founded supergroupVelvet Revolver, he hasnow put together a new cohortof musical talent to continue hislegacy.His self-titled album ‘Slash’,released in 2010, featuring anumber of guest singers wasfollowed up by ‘Apocalyptic Love’earlier this year. Having featuredon two tracks on the first album,Alter Bridge frontman, MylesKennedy, was recruited full timeon lead vocals for ‘ApocalypticLove’ and the subsequent worldtour.This tour descended on the O2Academy in Brixton for a two nightstay in mid-October and I was oneof the lucky few to catch one of theshows.Having monitored the set-listsfrom previous shows it seemednearly impossible to predict theever changing opening song. Aftera tantalising wait the band’s casualwalk on stage was accompaniedby the catchy opening riff from‘Ghost’, the opening track on hisfirst solo record, and was greetedby thousands of crazed fansbouncing roughly in time.After a couple of new tracksthe first Guns ‘N’ Roses number,‘Nightrain’ was dropped intothe mix, which Myles Kennedyexpertly made his own, as with allof the cover tracks.Riff after riff was shreddedout before the inevitable yet stillincredible improvised guitarsolo from the main man followednew classic ‘Anastasia’ in whichSlash and Kennedy fought for thelimelight. There was just timeto squeeze in arguably the twomost notable tunes from Slash’sback catalogue, ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ and ‘Slither’ before the bandretreated backstage.However, as is usual practice,they re-emerged a couple ofminutes later joined by MylesKennedy’s Alter Bridge companion,Mark Tremonti, whose new selfnamedband had played a supportset earlier in the night, to jam theirbiggest hit ‘Rise Today’ which wasvery well received by the laggingcrowd.Despite the tired legs, everyonemanaged to conjure up the energyto receive the final two G’N’R hits,classics ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and‘Paradise City’ to round off a trulyawesome night of music mappingthe career of a music legend!Why I love...Lady GagaBy Faye Waterfield, Music TeamWhen asked to do an articleabout my favourite artist,there really was no competition.Lady Gaga has become quite an iconover recent years and, in my opinion,it is seriously well-deserved. Withall of the controversy that seems tosurround her (let us remember theincessant hermaphrodite rumours)it is easy to forget just how talentedthis woman is. Not only does Gagahave an incredible singing voice,but she writes her own music andcan play a whole heap of differentinstruments, including the pianoand her beloved keytar. She alsoputs on one hell of a show, which Iwas lucky enough to see, covered inglitter, in both 2010 and 2012.But it’s not just Gaga’s musicthat I am drawn to, it’s everythingin between that makes her sospecial. Love it or hate it, her senseof style is certainly unique, and Iam always amazed at her ability tolook downright sexy in anythingshe decides to wear. We all sawher in the notorious ‘meat dress’at the MTV video music awards,which unsurprisingly causedquite a stir. She defended her dressvehemently however, and on theEllen Degeneres show argued that‘if we don’t stand up for what webelieve in, if we don’t fight for ourrights, pretty soon we’re going tohave as much rights as the meat onour bones. And I am not a piece ofmeat!’Lady Gaga has also fought backafter receiving harsh commentsabout her recent weight gain,“Not only does Gaga have an incredible singingvoice, but she writes her own music and can playa whole heap of different instruments”telling fans she is ‘proud at any size.’She has created a web page calledBody Revolution in response to thecomments, which features picturesof the artist in her underwear,urging others to ‘be brave andpost a photo that celebrates yourtriumph over insecurities.’ Her aimwas simply to ‘inspire bravery’ andthere is no doubt in my mind thatshe has.Gaga’s determination to use herfame in a positive and constructiveway is really quite refreshing. I loveher inspirational music, her uniquestyle and her sex appeal.Stay tuned for Gaga’s new albumPop Art which will be releasedsometime next year. I can safely sayyou won’t be disappointed!Lady Gaga vamps up another stage performance

Music Editor: Becky Worley | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012MUSIC 27MERCURY PRIZE SPECIALThe Mercury Prize:an insiders insightBy Denise Bennett, Music Teamwas lucky to be invited to theI Mercury Prize Awards ceremony,now in its 20th year, which wasoriginally established as analternative to the monolithic BritAwards. The best album of the yearis announced from a nominatedlist of twelve, which are chosen bymusic industry representatives.The winner tonight is Alt-J, fordebut album, ‘An Awesome Wave’.The Mercury Prize canbe seen as refreshing oras unrepresentative/irrelevant,depending on your point of view.Nominees are musicians, i.epeople who get on stage, play theirinstruments and sing. They arenot representative of computerprogramme generated electronic,or image-is-all packaged popprincesses/boy bands.At the iconic CamdenRoundhouse, the circular floor areaseats the great, good and hopefulof the music industry. LaurenLaverne hosts in bossy head-girlstyle. Disappointingly, there areno drunken bad-boy incidentsor controversial mud-slingingpronouncements.The stage is arranged on twolevels, performance areas to rightand left downstairs and a long stagebalconied above, enabling slickcontinuity as 12 nominees performsequentially. Plan B, nominatedfor ‘Ill Manors’, the soundtrack tohis gritty social commentary film,opens upstairs with a blisteringperformance. This is rap to inspire:street, political and aggressive, hepogos into his bandmates snarling“Oi, what you looking at?”. TheMaccabees perform their melodicindie rock professionally. RichardHawley, guitarist from Pulp, playsheavy rock from his nominatedside-project album. Like manyguitarists who seek independence,the result is tight but dull.None of these establishedartists are expected to win. Thenominated albums are mostlydebuts, and this prize is usuallyawarded to the up-and-comingrather than the already-arrived.The winner of this prestigiousaward will see an increase in albumsales and potentially a huge boostto their career. Previous winnersfor their first albums such asThe Arctic Monkeys and DizzeeRascal, have gone on to have stellarsuccess. Not all nominees are ready,however; for The Klaxons their winAlt- J go cray cray after winning the Mercury Prize 2012was too early. They were unable toperform reliably well live and theyimploded soon after winning theaward.Singer song-writer nomineesinclude Ben Howard, Lianne LaHavas - her rich honey-dippedsoulful voice accompanied bygrand piano - and Jessie Ware, whois unfortunately drowned out byher amp-ed up drummer. Sam Leeis the most original, tapping intothe folksy resurgence, his storytellingpiece inspired by travellerstales handed down the generations,and backed by fiddlers, cello, adomed percussive, and the weirdstringed mouth held instrument,the jew’s harpThe fact that the winnersAlt-J are named from the Mackeyboard key says much aboutthem. Sharp suited graduates fromLeeds University, they are an arthousesoulful indie guitar band.Joe Newman’s beautiful vocalssoar effortlessly over the melodiccomplex guitar and synth lines.They accept the award saying“It’s just us who were all at unitogether….. we had that chemistrywhen we first started off in ourrooms”. An inspiration to you unimusicians perhaps?“Alt-J’s ‘An Awesome Wave’ combinesunexpected shards of sound with mesmerisingrhythms, compelling melodies and intriguingsongs. A tantalising and delightful album” -Simon Frith, Chair of Judges.Who cares aboutthe Mercury Prize?By Elliot Tyers, Music TeamSo, recently it was announcedthat Alt-J with their debutalbum ‘An Awesome Wave’ wonthe 2012 edition of the BarclaycardMercury Prize. I’m sure that wecan agree that this event will godown in history, that scholarsin centuries will reflect on thisas one of the great momentsin musical history, alongsideBeethoven’s first performance ofhis Ninth Symphony, alongsideThe Beatles appearance on theEd Sullivan show. Or maybe, in 12months we’ll have forgotten allabout this.This shouldn’t be seen as acritique of Alt-J, aside from astupid name they’re a perfectlydecent band, with a perfectlydecent sound that’s just likeplenty of other perfectly decentjangly, indie-pop bands that havepopped up across the past fewyears. What I’m saying is thatthey simply did not make the bestalbum of the last twelve months.However, they were odds-onfavourite from the moment theshortlist was announced, andwhy was this? Because they tickthe boxes of being arty and cool,and vaguely familiar for one oftheir songs that you might haveheard but you’re not sure. Butthey’ll never set the world onfire. And never deserve, in myopinion, to win such an award.It appears that the MercuryPrize doesn’t know what it’s for,and due to this lack of directionends up picking a choice thatnobody cares about. Should itbe about supporting unknownmusic, in which case surely theexcellent Jazz outfit Roller Triowould’ve won? Is it about the“best” album of the year, asdebateable as that is, in whichcase maybe The Macabbees‘Given To The Wild’ stands outas a mature and well-roundedalbum, or Richard Hawley’s retro‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’? Andthat’s only looking at those luckyfew to make the short-list, nevermind countless British albumsthat didn’t get the nod.Once upon a time theMercury stood as an actuallyrespected institution with asvaried winners as Badly DrawnBoy (2000) or Ms. Dynamite (2002)and championing the rise ofBritish Indie Rock with the ArcticMonkeys’ ‘Whatever People Say IAm, That’s What I’m Not’ (2006).However, as the years went onthe musical variety went fromembracing a whole variety ofBritish music in all its beauty toessentially being a homogenouspile of guitar driven bands withlittle originality, with the odd“out there” artist thrown in toappease critical audiences (seeBurial in 2008 or Ghostpoet in2011). The Mercury also stoodup as an institution not afraidto make controversial choicessuch as Dizzie Rascal in 2003,whereas now it appears to justpick the ‘safe’ option and end uppleasing nobody, apart from Alt-Jpresumably.It seems that for the bestpart of a decade the Mercuryhas been on the decline, withmaybe only 2010 being a standoutyear, and that was arguably dueto the strength of the Britishmusic that year, from the rockyScottish outfit Biffy Clyro, tomore cerebral indie darlingsthe Foals, or the rise of folk actsLaura Marling and Mumford &Sons to eventual winners, thebrooding XX. The question is,what should the Mercury do? Ifit could truly reinvent itself asan actual institution then I’d bein favour of that, but it seemsthat 2013 will just continue thetrend, and by 2020 every act willbe men in tight jeans and coolhair, with guitars, writing janglyindie tunes that you might’veheard that one time somewherebut you’re not quite sure. To me,that sounds awful, so I proposewe should abolish the MercuryPrize. And if the Mercury didvanish in 2013, would you reallycare? Would you even notice?

28 MUSICThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012music@thestagsurrey.co.ukREVIEW: Leona Lewis - ‘Glassheart’By Thea Spalding, Music TeamArguably (although not reallyarguable at all), Leona Lewis isthe biggest superstar to come outof the X Factor. The 2006 winneris back with a bang after releasingher third album ‘Glassheart’ onOctober 15th. There is no doubtthat Leona Lewis is showing a more“edgy” side to her music, with thebrand new album being far fromher usual taste of heart-stoppingballads that filled her previous twoalbums.Despite many critics oftendubbing Leona’s music as “boring”,her debut album ‘Spirit’ and followup ‘Echo’ have collectively sold10 million copies worldwide, andtopped the charts in countries allover the globe. Stepping out of hercomfort zone for the ‘Glassheart’album was a big risk to takeconsidering the huge success of herprevious sound, not only for hermusical reputation, but also for herdie-hard fans that are used to themore mellow side of the Hackneybornsinger.By Tanya Noronha, Music TeamGreenday are back, and theywant you to know about it.However, they aren’t content withjust one album after a 3 year gap.‘¡Uno!’ was released on Septemberthe 25th, but it’ssequel, ‘¡Dos!’ isdue on Novemberthe 13th, followedby the grandfinale ‘¡Tré!’, duefor release onDecember the12th. For a lesserband, the release ofthree full albumswithin a space offour months wouldseem a dauntingfeat. Then again,Greenday formed25 years ago, andit’s safe to say ifanyone knowswhat they’re doing,they do.Being unable tojudge the trilogy inits entirety meansthat it is hard to tellif their risk has impressed criticsor not. It can be safely assumedthat the band have once againdelivered, according to the varietyof generally favorable reviews.However, the strength of this albumis up for discussion, especially incomparison to previous work.When tracks are produced in‘Trouble’ is the leading track forthe album and reached number 7 inthe UK top 40 after it was releasedon the 5th October. The song is amid-tempo ballad that combinesHip-Hop with Leona’s hauntingvocals, expressing the singer’spersonal experiences of a pastrelationship turning destructive.‘Trouble’ was written by a varietyof British songwriters includingScottish sensation Emeli Sande,and produced by well acclaimedNaughty Boy.‘Come Alive’ is without doubta standout track for the album,showcasing an uplifting electricsound with throbs of dubstep thatstrays far away from anythingLeona Lewis has ever producedbefore. It would be no surpriseif the song soon becomes a hitamongst the clubbing scene, withthe track containing all of the keyingredients required for a moderndance anthem. Leona Lewis hasrevealed that the album, and inparticularly ‘Come Alive’ wereinfluenced by 90’s dance group“Faithless” highlighting her desiresuch volume, there is always a riskthat the quality of songwritingwill suffer. After all, howmuch inspiration can Billie Joerealistically have? There are tuneswhich do hold their own against themight of previous hits. Single ‘OhLove’ has a quiet intensity unusualto a relatively acoustic track, while‘Stay The Night’ walks the linebetween catchy and edgy withoutfalling into the trap of clichéd.Greenday retain their attitude, asseen in ‘Carpe Diem’ and ‘NuclearFamily’, but ‘¡Uno!’ is not the grandsocial commentary that ‘Americanto change her style into a more uptemposound.‘Fireflies’ is a quaking balladaccompanied by a piano beat,boasting huge notes and highsopranos that only the likesof Leona could hit with sucheffortlessness. The song has a darktwist, with lyrics such as “I’d knowyou found your silence, Instead ofbeing wrapped up in me, Wrappedup in this violence” adding toLeona’s new edgy persona.‘Glassheart’, the album’s titletrack, contrasts Leona’s stunningvoice with grimey dubstep, makingit a truly mesmerising listen. Thecontemporary beats are sure tobe popular amongst the teenagescene,potentially transformingLeona’s usual fan base.After the release of the albumbeing delayed for 11 months,the hype around Leona’s newproject has certainly built, but inmy opinion the risk paid off and‘Glassheart’ is the X Factor stars’best album to date, and certainlyworth giving a listen to.Greenday are back with new album ¡Uno!Idiot’ or ‘21st Century Breakdown’were. In fact, the subject matterseems much lighter. Whether thismakes it easier to listen to, or analbum with far less to say, is for thelistener to judge.However, it can also be arguedthat Greenday havethe experience bynow to be churningout hits by the dozen.‘¡Uno!’ is definitelyworth several listens.Perhaps the secondand third offeringswill build on the solidbase that is this firstalbum. However, it isnot outstanding byany means. It has asoundtrack feel to it,so it can accompanya long car journey ora large pile of workwithout causing ahuge distraction. Yetthere are a few trackswhich do fade intoobscurity, which is adisappointment.In conclusion?There will always bea certain amount of commercialsuccess, because Greenday hasthe ability to shift records byname alone. The album is by nomeans a disaster, and it contains agood amount of listenable tracks.However, I would hesitate to buythe sequels unless the band hassaved the best for last.New: FletcherAn upcoming indie pop band with a UniS bassistBy Shiri Shah, Music TeamAn upcoming indie pop bandcalled Fletcher who haveplayed alongside the likes of BobGeldof and who perform regulargigs in London have their veryown bassist, Harry Johnson,studying Tonmeister at theUniversity of Surrey. He says “Iappreciate the facilities here forme to use and improve my skills,it’s also really convenient havingLondon next door so I can go forband practise more regularly.”They use simplistic yet catchybeats and harmonize well in theirmusic for enjoyable and easylistening. Look out for an articlecovering their next Londonbased gig with an interview inthe next issue! Fletcher wouldlove to perform a set on campusfor everyone who loves the indieor alternative scene. For moreinformation and to check outtheir music, subscribe to them onYoutube under FletcherOfficial.

Music Editor: Becky Worley | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012MUSIC 29REVIEW: deadmau5 -‘>album title goes here albumtitle goes here album title goeshere

30 MUSICThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012music@thestagsurrey.co.ukReview: 2:54 – ‘2:54’By Jason Hough, Music TeamIt’s a curious notion to name yourband after your favourite basspart in a Melvins song (‘A Historyof Bad Men’ if you’re interested)but that’s exactly what this Bristolbased,doom-tainted, atmosphericrock quartet fronted by twin sistersHannah and Colette Thurlow did.This group has hurled elements ofgrunge, psychedelia, post-punk,indie, a twist of the blues andearly Queens of the Stone Age intoa blender and made an audiblychilly but yet satisfyingly uniquesmoothie. With added ice.Every song sounds like itwas written inside of a fog-filledcavern or on a frozen lake, devoidof human civilisation. The album’sopener ‘Revolving’ sounds like itwas thrown inside a well, but ina good way. The vocals resonatebeautifully, guitars softly cry andbass lurks over as an ominousmenace present throughout. Atseveral moments in the song,tension does accumulate tobursting point before subsidingback to more ambient levels. Thisis one of the album’s strengths,the threat of imminent danger andtension is sustained constantly,keeping the listener unsettled butalso enthralled. ‘You’re Early’ luresyou in with its tribal drumming,like wandering into a valley at duskunaccompanied. ‘A Salute’ is theworrying walk down back alleypaths on your own. Lead single‘Scarlet’ is the story of sirens,with vocals mimicking perfectlysailors being lead to their demise.‘Circuitry’ is the possible hardshipof a couple in a violent dispute,the aftermath too saddening tocontemplate. All of these scenariosseem plausible by how the solidarityof guitar, bass and vocals craft theatmosphere driven by pounding,primal drum beats, pushing theseindividual stories into a flowingnarrative. Of which I have no ideawhat is going on. But not all songsmaintain this perspective. ‘EasyUndercover’ and ‘Sugar’ lack theambience of most of the songs,being standalone indie stompersin a sea of perilous uncertainty.My only other criticism is thatthere are no real stand-out songsto write home about, the albumis an almost seamless soundtrackof glacial tones with a shiver ofthe melancholy to complimentthose moody, grey-skied days butperforming all the better becauseof it.

Dance/Theatre Editor: Tiffany Stoneman | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann Wednesday 14 th November 2012DANCE & THEATRE 31Dance & TheatreAn Audition ExperienceBy Freya Poole, Dance & Theatre TeamBeing a theatre student with ambitions of goinginto the theatre industry, one would presumethat the audition process would be a walk in the parkfor me. However, in any audition I go to there is nofeeling more prominent than an overwhelming senseof terror. My legs shake, my heart pounds, my voicewavers, and my face quivers whilst it slowly and surelyturns beetroot. This all too familiar feeling is exactlywhat I experienced recently when auditioning for thisyear’s MTSoc production of ‘Fame’.The preliminary round of auditions kicked off withthe dance audition where we were all taught a shortroutine. As the first taste of the audition process thiswas handled very professionally; the choreographertaught the routine clearly and at a suitable pace whilstthe assistant choreographer was moving around theroom lending a helping hand. Afterwards, the generalconsensus was that it was executed very well, runningsmoothly and efficiently.For an acting audition I am used to getting up onmy own and performing a monologue, or sight-readingscripts, which I consider to be rather intimidating.Yet this acting audition was a refreshing workshopwhich aimed to get everybody acting comfortably andworking in a team. Together we played improvisationgames which helped all the auditionees feel at completeease in a friendly and humorous atmosphere.The final part of the audition was the singingaudition which I was dreading as I was now on myown and there was nowhere to hide. The room wassmall and somewhat claustrophobic and for me, theworst part of this audition was that I was completelyin the open and no mistakes could be covered up. AsI have always been self-conscious and insecure aboutmy singing abilities I found the experience extremelynerve-wracking. However, the creative team yet againhandled the entire process professionally and werenothing but encouraging.Overall, the audition process was a refreshing,professional and enjoyable experience; drawing on myown audition history, enjoyment in auditions is veryhard to come by. Tips that I’d give to anyone auditioningfor either amateur or professional productions is touse your nerves effectively. Try to turn the jitters offear into excitement and ambition, but make surethat you keep in the back of your mind that the panel,whoever they may be, are looking for the potentialin you, and not necessarily for a completely finishedproduct. The MTSoc creative team did a great job withthe organisation and execution of the audition processand if the show is anything like the auditions, ‘Fame’ isgoing to be MTSoc’s best show yet!© Max SparberInspiring Innovation- Student CompaniesBy Tiffany Stoneman, Dance & Theatre EditorPerformance and live theatre is a growing communitywithin the Surrey campus. With three theatre societies,the steadily growing theatre-studies degree, the everbuddingdance degree, and the newly emerged SurreySapphires Dance crew, you’re never short of entertainment.It is a thriving hub of creativity and talent, providing uswith incredible entertainment at a brilliantly professionalstandard. However,theatrical activity notassociated with the Unionor any society is steadilyincreasing, and studentsare becoming more andmore independent in theirvarious stage endeavours.But when you look intoit, student-led companiesaren’t actually all thatnew. In 2005, studentson the BA Dance courseestablished Actual SizeDance Company – anindependent, dedicated,and passionate companywhose aims include theopportunity for original choreography, as well as educationfor children and young adults. Over the past 7years, ASDChas been involved in World Aids Day on campus in 2010, aswell as participating in the ‘Moving Oxford’ event in whichthey supported Animaneaux, of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’fame. They are a fantastic example of student innovation andindependence.Last year, three theatre-studies placement students(the first of their kind) decided that, alongside theirinternships, they wanted to create something to come backto. FaceFirst Theatre was born – with their first productionin the works right now, they’re involving many students fromall years in a promising new project.I myself have been involved in some rather excitingdevelopments; in April of this year, my course mate AbigailOscroft approached me with a proposal. She wanted to createtheatre that was more than entertainment – somethingphilosophical, that got you thinking about the world aroundyou, but she wanted my help. Ad Meliora Theatre Companywas developed following a 5-week research project in a pubin Shalford and, despite a few hiccups, we have many plansfor the future following the launch of our website just a fewweeks ago.As well as these thriving companies, whose aimsare to produce opportunities for students to showcase theirtalents and creativity as well as to provide something a littledifferent to the Union-based societies, there are chancesto just test out your skills of discussion and academia. Areading group has recently emerged from the theatre-studiesstudents, providing a forum for existing plays to be read in anintimate, non-pressurised format, and for new writing to getits first glimpse of performance.So, keep a look out around campus for the buddingdirectors, choreographers and actors who may be just a littlehidden from sight – there’s a lot going on out there, and whoknows where it will lead...

Dance/Theatre Editor: Tiffany Stoneman | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann Wednesday 14 th November 2012DANCE & THEATRE 33Revelations from the Rehearsal RoomBy Abigail Oscroft, Dance & Theatre TeamWorking in a rehearsal room can beincredible; chock-full of creative peoplebouncing ideas around like big inflatable beachballs. On the other hand, rehearsal rooms canalso be a place of tension and high stress.Honestly, some rehearsal situations in thepast have led to my firm conviction that not allof us would leave the studio alive. Fortunately,in this respect, I have always been incorrect andalthough egos have been brutally slaughtered,real people have very rarely been injured.I am currently in rehearsal with the TheatreSociety, and with the performance of ‘TheImportance of Being Earnest’ looming evercloser - just over a month away in fact - it wouldbe easy for those involved to become extremelystressed.However, this has not been the case, and ingeneral I don’t think it usually is. To be frank Idon’t think that I have done the rehearsal roomjustice in this article. You see, although thestudio can occasionally be a place of anguish, itcan also be a place of joy and wonder. In a trulygreat rehearsal room actors feel safe to makebold character decisions, play with the text andto take risks - this has been my experience so farwith ‘Earnest’.For when rehearsals pass by like a sleepydog charging energetically towards a glasspatio door, and everyone comes crashing backto earth realising that they are not in thelush, green garden that was hoped for. A greatrehearsal room flings open the sliding glassdoor to creativity and yells “Run Fido! Run! Thewhole garden is yours!” But whatever you do inthe rehearsal room, do not make a mess in thegeraniums.© Chris MedleyWatch This Space:Arts At SurreyThe Guildford School of Acting are in full swing,having already put on two productions this year,and another two over the next coming weeks.Keep an eye out for their next shows.What: The Gut GirlsWhen: 21 st -24 th NovemberWhere: The Mill Studio, Yvonne ArnaudPrice: £5 (£10 full)___________________________________The theatrical societies are in the midst of rehearsals,and there are two fantastic productionscoming up for you to enjoy.Who: MADSocWhat: You’ve Been TaggedWhen: 26 th -28 th NovemberWhere: TBCA piece of straight drama filled with mystery and currentthemes. Keep a look out around campus for the SmileyStickers. Have you been tagged?___________________________________Who: TheatreSocWhat: The Importance of Being EarnestWhen: 10 th -11 th DecemberWhere: Ivy Arts Centre, Studio 2Time: 7:30pmThis classic play by Oscar Wilde is being brought to life bythe Theatre Society. Filled with class humour, innuendo,and mistaken identity, it’s sure to be a sophisticated giggle.

34 DANCE & THEATRE The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012dancetheatre@thestagsurrey.co.ukHip Hop BringsThe House DownSome Like It Hip Hop by ZooNationBy Rachel Gildea, Dance & Theatre TeamThe cheering had started even before the curtain was raised…Then, the performance was ablaze with dancers, colour, singers and storytelling.Quick changes of scene, song and set kept us on the edge of our seats, and the adorable andcomplicated characters engaged us further. The dancers embodied the beats imaginatively,© Simon Princethe choreography slick and clever. It was postmodern in its referencing of other dance stylesand popular culture.At the heart of it, a story of a man’s grief and anger, and his power to ‘shut out the sun’. Theplot speaks of the struggle to survive for women in a man’s world. Characters Jo-Jo and Kerridress up as men and act like them, just to be accepted. Beyond the plot, this subtlety sends upsome of the attitudes still present in the Hip Hop culture.Choreographed and directed by Katie Prince, this dance theatre extravaganza wasmeticulously-crafted and fiercely executed. Above all, ‘Some Like It Hip Hop’ succeedstriumphantly in telling a timeless story of loss, female friendship and forbidden love; one thatis conveyed wickedly through the animated hip hop body. On the side lines, the narrator-comebeat boxer held the tale together with charm and skill.By the end, we were all standing and dancing in the stalls. The power now in our hands(and feet) to dance. Never have I seen such a diverse audience at GLive in Guildford – the oldand the young, the hip and the hopping all flocked to the top of the high street for this nightof entertainment. It is a tribute to the Hip Hop style and to ZooNation’s irresistible charm formaking this production a hit for all.The Monk - The hottest show in LondonBy Jesse Rose McNaughton, Dance & Theatre TeamTension was high in The Barons Court Theatre on 17thOctober as ‘The Monk’ (by Matthew Gregory Lewisand adapted for stage) opened for press night. Truly anappropriate location for a gothic horror, the audiencefiltered into the intimate space and was immediatelyfaced with a dimly lit cellar. With stonework pillars, alarge crucifix and bare candles casting dark shadowsaround the auditorium, the atmosphere foreshadowedterrible things to come.During the second act of the play, the worst thingthat could happen to a cast occurred; the leading man(Francisco Ortiz), whilst handcuffed, standing slightlytoo close to the bare candles, went up in flames!Unnoticed by the actors, an audience member verypolitely stated “excuse me, you’re on fire” from thefront row. The entire cast handled this fantasticallywell, especially Oritz himself, who quietly fell to thefloor and extinguished his back, allowed a momentfor the audience to settle down, and continued hisperformance from the ground, with just as strongcharacterisation and emotion as he had embodiedbefore.The cast came from all walks of life; Francisco Ortizhailing from Argentina and University of Surrey’s veryown Lucy Dascalopoulos starring in her professionaldebut. The standard of acting was exceptionally high,and the closeness of the audience to the stage meantevery thought, reaction and expression could be clearlyseen, which added to the intensity of the production.The programme stated that several actors were nottraditionally trained, and did not have many creditsto their names, however there was not a single weakmember – it is always fantastic to see a talented castwho work together well.There were, however, a couple of moments duringthe show that could have been better staged. Due tothe cellar structure, two pillars block part of the spacefrom large sections of the audience’s vision. Generallythis was not a problem as the action moved around, butthe poor directorial decision to place the Monk’s firstmoment of corruption – when he kisses a woman, acrucial moment in the plot – was placed against one ofthese pillars, so even though I was seated in the middleof the second row, the pillar blocked my, and at leasta third of the audiences’ view of this, which created ahuge anti-climax as everyone strained their neck andguessed what was happening.The main criticism I have for ‘The Monk’, is that theproduction team let it down. With frequent costumeerrors such as large missing buttons, modern dayhair accessories, sportswear knee pads being visibleunderneath costumes, the illusion of theatre wasconsistently being shattered which was incrediblydistracting in a space where you could see everythingthat happened on stage.Yet despite the limitations of the small theatreand low budget, the Director Benjamin Sperring andTarquin Productions should consider this a successful,horrific show!Bits O’ The Bard“Play, Music! And you, brides and bridegrooms all,With measure heap’d in joy, ot the measures fall.”– Duke Senior, As You Like It, Act5 Scene4

Film Editor: Candice Ritchie | Copy Editor: Sophie Vickery The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012FILM 35Film50 years of Bond: SkyfallBy Ankur Banerjee, Film TeamBond 23 has taken a long time coming to the big screenfollowing the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s bankruptcy in2010, but it finally hit theatres last month. Unsurprisingly,there’s an insane amount of Bond-themed merchandise, fromBond-themed watches and cars, to fragrances (“the smell ofa British spy, now available in a bottle near you”), and thenappears Bond-themed Android tablets and phone contracts(“available only on O2”).What you really want to know when reading a film reviewis whether the film is worth watching. Skyfall is undoubtedly athumbs-up according to that criterion. The film opens with ahigh-tempo motorcycle chase weaving through the rooftopsof Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, straying slightly from the parkourbasedopening sequences favoured by the previous two Bondfilms, and then continues to up the stakes in a chase acrossthe globe that spans Shanghai and Macau. At the same time,the plot is also centred much closer to home, as much of thelater acts in the film are based in central London.I was apprehensive of Sam Mendes being the director forSkyfall. On one hand, Mendes is undoubtedly a good directorwith the pedigree of Revolutionary Road and American Beauty– surely one of the most iconic films of the 90s, but on theother hand he also directed Jarhead, which I personally findto be a needlessly boring and pointless war film. Mendesthankfully played to his strengths and made Skyfall into a filmthat is much more grounded in reality and provides characterdevelopment throughout. One of the key plot points involvesa list of secret identities of NATO agents and a turned agentthreatens to expose these names online: a nod, undoubtedly,to the recent Wikileaks saga. It’s small touches such asthis which make the film more realistic than the almostcartoonishBond villains of old.Yet, the tone has also been heavily influenced by othersfilms such as the Bourne series or Christopher Nolan’s DarkKnight trilogy. There are times when scenes in Skyfall seemlike pastiches of films that have come before it; motorcyclechases (Bourne series), interrogation of the villain in ajumpsuit imprisoned in a glass cage (Silence of the Lambs,X-Men, The Avengers), the villain disguising himself as a policeofficer in attempt to kill an important character (the Jokerin The Dark Knight). Such heavy borrowing distracts the filmfrom standing as a truly great film in its own right.Daniel Craig is one of my favourite Bond avatars becausehe brings a kind of aloofness and suaveness which you wouldexpect from a cold-blooded killer. Craig’s performancecompliments the equally strong screen presence of JavierBardem as Raoul Silva, the villain. Bardem is particularlymasterful in portraying a wounded MI6 agent and themayhem he causes by leaking the identities of secret agents isonly part of a bigger plan to kill M out of personal enmity. Asever, Judi Dench does a fine job as the straight-talking chief ofan intelligence agency in a world that does not understand theimportance of what secret agents stand for. Also introducedin this film are Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory and BenWishaw as Q.Another point where Skyfall departs from tradition isthat it doesn’t have a titular Bond girl. Bérénice Marloheas Sévérine, in gaudy make-up, does provide a ‘bad girl’character, but that sexual attention is also shared withNaomie Harris who plays Eve Moneypenny. There’s somehomoerotic sexual tension between Bond and Silva in somescenes too, especially in one scene with Bond tied down to achair with Silva running his fingers through Bond’s suit andasking “What’s your regulation training for this?”Overall, Skyfall is a worthy addition to the line-up of JamesBond films – now in their fiftieth year – with a lot of emphasison realism, yet every bit an action film that keeps you hooked.

36 FILMThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012film@thestagsurrey.co.ukComplianceBy Ankur Banerjee, Film TeamCompliance premiered at Sundance FilmFestival and has been gathering acclaimfrom critics ever since its public release inAugust this year. This low-budget indiefilm from Craig Zobel is based on real lifeevents called ‘strip search prank call’scams. Managers in fast-food restaurants,often ones located in small towns, usedto get a call from a person claiming to befrom the police. The impersonator on thephone would then mention the name ofa specific employee, often young teenagegirls working at the restaurant, and accusethem of petty theft. This person would thenconvince the restaurant managers to stripsearch the employee. Over a decade, morethan 70 such incidents were reported untilthe arrest of the perpetrator in 2004.This film is based on the events of Bullittcounty McDonald’s case. Dreama Walkerplays Becky, a young female employee ata fast-food restaurant called ChickWich,where her manager Sandra (played byAnn Dowd) gets a phone call from a policeofficer. Over the period of hours, the callerconvinces the manager, as well as otheremployees to strip Becky of all her clothes- and even convinces Sandra’s fiance tosexually assault Becky.Compliance is horrifying because it’shard to imagine how easily people weremanipulated into doing such thingsunquestioningly. It reminded me of thefamous Stanford prison experiment, howthe appearance of authority could makepeople do terrible things. This film is sureto leave you questioning: what would otherpeople do in the same situation?Seeking a Friend forthe End of the WorldBy Candice Ritchie, Film EditorThere have been countless films withinthe past few years relaying the infamousoncoming ‘end’ of the world (December 21st2012, for those who want to prepare). From2012, to Sunshine, and even the similarlynamed The End of the World (which is duefor release in, ironically, June 2013), theyare never-ending. Quite frankly, they aregetting boring. But Seeking a Friend for theEnd of the World is different; tying romance,comedy and sci-fi into one neat knot.Steve Carell stars as Dodge, a lonelyman with a predictable life, whose wife hasjust left him. With the news that Matilda(an asteroid expected to destroy Earth)is near, Dodge begins to reminisce on hispast romances and decides to embark on ajourney to find his childhood sweetheart,Olivia, before they cease to exist. However,then comes Penny (Keira Knightly), who isin a similar relationship situation, and isdesperately missing her family. As a riotbegins and the two make a getaway, Dodgesuggests that he will help Penny find herfamily if she’ll aid him in his search forOlivia - she is unanimously compliant, andso the trip begins.What follows is a series of comedicmoments, unlucky occurrences, and trueromance. Oh, and a dog called Sorry, whoDodge names after being left with him anda ‘sorry’ note by an unknown. The filmcould be said to also adopt the ‘road trip’scenario, but the ever-looming destructionof mankind serves to alter it somewhat.What is inspirational about the film is itsscreenplay. The film industry currentlyseems to be dominated by novel adaptations- from One Day, to The Hunger Games, andThe Woman in Black – all genres are takingpart. So, the fact that Lorene Scafaria (boththe writer and director) produced originalscreenplay for the film is optimistic.Perhaps the end is not so near for screenwritersafter all.The most perplexing aspect of thisfilm, for me, is the pairing of the twoprotagonists. Without giving too muchaway, the increasing proximity of KeiraKnightly and Steve Carell seems slightlyabsurd – it’s like Pirates of the Caribbeanmeets The 40 Year-Old Virgin - bizarre!Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see them inlead roles together for the first time. NancyCarell, Steve’s real wife, even appears in thefilm for a brief scene as his ex-wife Linda.New faces are appearing all over the place!Besides all the positive feedback, thereis a central negativity to Seeking a Friend forthe End of the World – the concept is overused.I mentioned it previously, but it is the onlyrecurring problem. It might be differentfrom the usual apocalyptic disasters in itsadded elements of romance and comedy,but the idea has been done to death. Stopmaking them; please. After The End of theWorld is released, obviously…A Nightmare onElm Street (1984)By Beth Goss, Film TeamIn many ways a true horror classic, ANightmare on Elm Street has inspired manya parody. But, just in case you’ve been livingunder a rock here’s a quick plot summary. Agroup of teenagers who all live on Elm Street(surprise, surprise) are being tormented by aclawed and deformed killer that goes by thename of Freddy Krueger. Nancy Thompsonand a group of her friends including TinaGray, Rod Lane and Glen Lantz must find outhow to stop these murderous dreams beforethey are all picked off, one by one.Now I know there has recently (well acouple of years ago now) been a remake, butnothing quite beats the shocking specialeffects that comes hand in hand with thishorror staple.I know that I am as guilty as anyonewhen it comes to laughing at the out of datespecial effects. It’s easy to forget the randomsplit seconds of wobbly arms (oh stagemakeup, how you’ve grown!), but the plotmakes a lot more sense than the remake. Itdoesn’t try to be something it is not.If you are a bit of a softy when it comesto horror movies then this is the film for you- decent plot, obviously-fake gore and lotsof shouting “WHY THE HELL WOULD YOUEVEN DO THAT?!?”Interested in films?Whether you prefer Cannes, Hollywood or just your localOdeon, we are looking for you! Get involved and become partof The Stag, just by reviewing releases new, old or obscure. Getin touch through film@thestagsurrey.co.uk.

38 SOCIETIESThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012 societies@thestagsurrey.co.ukSocietiesCyprus 1974: The facts of a tragedyBe a Ledge, Go Veg!By Caroline James, VegSoc Media ConsultantAre you looking for a societythat’s a bit different from thenorm? A great place for meetingnew people? Or one that involvesplenty of delicious, fresh food? Ifyou’ve answered ‘yes’ to at leastone of the above, then Surrey’sVegetarian Society is the place foryou!VegSoc, an award-winningspecial interest society, is open tovegetarians, vegans, raw-foodistsand any carnivorous folk who fancyflirting with the choices availablein a meat-free diet.As a society, our fundamentalgoals are to spread awarenessof plant-based diets on campus,encouraging places that sellfood, such as the Union Shop andChannies, to have more optionsavailable for vegetarians andvegans and to show members howto reduce their consumption anduse of animal products - for theanimals, for health and for theplanet.VegSoc also holds numeroussocial events throughout the yearto get everyone together, such aslunches, bake sales, movie nights,Veggie BBQs and more.Following up the success of ourquiz night in Roots two weeks ago,we plan on hosting a lunch in townon November the 14th. If you’reinterested in joining VegSoc, emailus at ussu.vegsoc@surrey.ac.uk,or find us on Facebook (wherewe have an archive of deliciousveggie recipes for you to sample foryourselves!)By George C. Mavrantonis, Treasurer of theHellenic SocietyThe Hellenic and CypriotSocieties of our University,as supporters and promotersof peace, will be distributingpamphlets on campus and in townbetween the 16th and 17th ofNovember 2012, informing peopleabout the 15th of November 1974, atragic anniversary for us.Turkey, as it is well-known,illegally invaded the island ofCyprus in 1974. 2,000 GreekCypriots were killed with anadditional 1,694 still missing. Justimagine the pain of losing a parentor sibling and being provided withno information at all if they arealive or dead, for 39 years.The aggressor nation had - andstill has - the aim of unethicallyaltering the demographics of theregion they occupy. As a resultthey illegally transferred 200,000Turks from Anatolia into Cyprus’snorthern part, a clear breach ofthe Geneva Protocol.However they did not stopthere: most Christian churcheswere turned into stables, toilets ormosques under the condemnationof UNESCO. Furthermore, anyonethat had had their property takenby the Turkish troops in 1974 werenot allowed to return back and nocompensation was given.Following the prominentcase of Loizidou v. Turkey, theEuropean Court of Human Rightsfound that Turkey was in violationof Art. 1 (Protocol 1) of theEuropean Convention on HumanRights providing an absolute rightof one’s free enjoyment of theirproperty.On November 15th 1983 Turkeydecided to create a ‘statelet’ in thenorthern part of Cyprus seekingrecognition and thus some muchwantedeconomic prosperity. TheUnited Nations Security Councilresolution 541 of 1983 stood firmopposing the Turkish government"Those who denyfreedom to othersdeserve it not forthemselves"-Abraham Lincoln.“reiterating to all States not torecognise the purported [pseudostatein Cyprus]”.Via this resolution, theinternational communitydecisively emphasised that sucha ‘state’ is not recognised as itbreached the sovereignty of theRepublic of Cyprus. As a resultthe UN imposed an internationalembargo on that region of theisland that still exists stronglytoday.In November 2010, the TurkishPM had stated that “if Turkey hadto choose between Cyprus andher EU [accession potential], shewould choose Cyprus” (RobertEllis, The Guardian). We believethat our cause is just and henceask for your support to save ourcountry, our heritage, our religionas Christians and our ancientHellenic civilisation as Europeans.On that day we seek to remindthe students of Surrey, and thecitizens of Guildford, that visitingthe occupied northern part ofCyprus - a haven to escapingBritish criminals – still remainsillegal under EU and internationallaw.Additionally, we want to stress,following the 2011 UK SupremeCourt Case of Apostolides v.Orams, that purchasing any kindof property in the embargoedTurkish-occupied part of Cyprusremains illegitimate. Turkeymurdered, raped, stole, oppressedand violated.We support that Turkey’sreprehensible actions undermineany efforts to bring back peaceand stability. Finally we couldnot agree more with AbrahamLincoln, who had once rightfullysaid: “Those who deny freedomto others deserve it not forthemselves”.Politics SocietyBy Denise JuvaneThe Politics Society is a smalldepartmental society whichaims to bring together Politicsstudents from all years, as well asall those interested in politics aswhole and current world affairs.The society aims to engagemembers through various debates,trips and by inviting guestspeakers. In the past, the societyhas put together events such asDebate Tuesdays, Parliament Tripand a Politics Ball to mark the endof year.This year, the society has aimedto broaden its horizons by relaunchingModel United Nations(a set of political stimulationsand debates whereby individualsrepresent UN member countriesand aim to uphold its best interestthrough careful debating andcompromise), organising a Politicstrip in months to come to apolitically rich European countryand to bring more guest speakerswith Anne Milton, Guildford’sConservative MP, being its firstspeaker this academic year. We willalso wrap up 2012 with a PoliticsSociety Christmas event.With such ambitious targetsahead, the society would love tohave you join and take part inwhat is due to be an enrichingexperience. To join, simply visitour University of Surrey StudentUnion page, and register- it is freeof charge and you will be kept up todate with all the amazing events tocome.For the mean time, please don’thesitate to join our Facebook pageby simply searching for “Universityof Surrey Politics Society”. Whilstat it, feel free to join our News andDebates page for a chance to takepart in thought provoking debates,as well as to share current issueswith the rest of the memberssimplysearch for “Politics Society:News/Debates” and you will beadded in no time.PS: Guest speaker Anne Miltonwill be at the University of Surreyon Friday 23rd November from12:00, Teaching Block 01

Societies Editor: Shalini Thondrayen | Copy Editor: Hannah Wann Wednesday 14 th November 2012SOCIETIES 39Shalini ThondrayenSocieties EditorSocieties’ Events PlannerDear all societies,Just a quick note from myselfand your VP Societies, EmBollon; we’re constructing atrail Societies’ Events Plannercovering the last four weeks ofthis term. The planner’s datesaim to start from 19th Novemberto 16th December. This will bein a similar format to the UnionEvents Planner and Team SurreySports Planner.What do we need from you?Please include any SET eventsyou have going on between thesetwo dates. Such as weekly thingslike Gospel Choir’s rehearsals,CRAFTSoc’s workshops and Fridayprayer... As well as, BIG EVENTSthat you might have betweenthese dates. Examples being MTSoc’s shows and Surrey Arts Live!We require the following:What is it? Where is it? When is it?And the logo (300DPI, if you haveone).Can these please be sent in as soonas possible, to Em’s email with thesubject title: “Events Planner”Thank you!Now foran oldclassic….VictoriaSpongeLitsoc Does HalloweenIngredientsThe cake:200g caster sugar200g softened butter/margarine4 eggs beaten200g self raising flour1 tsp baking powder2 tbsp milkMethodThe filling:100g unsalted butter, softened140g icing sugar, sifted1 drop vanilla extract (optional)Good amount of jam to spreadinside (strawberry or raspberry,whatever you prefer!)Icing sugar/caster sugar to decorate.1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.2. Butter two 20cm sandwich or round cake tins and line with non stickbaking/parchment paper.3. In a bowl combine all cake ingredients and mix together until you havea soft, smooth batter.4. Divide mixture equally between two tins, and smooth out with a spatulaor back of a spoon.5. Bake for around 20 mins until golden and cake springs back whenpressed. Can check if cooked by using a cocktail stick or knife.6. Turn onto cooling rack and leave to cool completely.7. To make the filling, beat butter until smooth and creamy, thengradually beat in the sieved icing sugar and add vanilla extract.8. Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, put jamon top and put both sponges together.9. Sprinkle some icing sugar/caster sugar on top to decorate.10. Now enjoy with a big cup of tea!Harley Quinn (Shalini), Pirate (Hannah), Werewolf (Tiffany), Santa (Bill) & Black Swan (Neeta).By Clowance Lawton, Litsoc Events ManagerHalloween at the University ofSurrey is usually a frightfulaffair. However this year, deep inthe heart of the fifth floor of theAC building, things went bumpin the night. Entering the dimlylit English Literature commonroom, the eerie intro of MichaelJackson’s ‘Thriller’ could be heardand strange creatures could beseen in and amongst the fog andcobwebs.However, this is not agothic narrative, it was LitSoc’sspooktacular celebration! Studentsfrom all year groups of Litsoc hadcome together to enjoy Halloweenbefore going on to Citrus later inthe night. The green-tinted lightsand fog machine created a ghostlyatmosphere in which membersof the society could drink, danceand discourse. It is needless to saythat the fluorescent vodka jellyshots, blood-coloured punch andthe provided buffet went down astorm.This year it was clear thateveryone had made a terrificeffort with costumes, consideringthat the majority of students werecovered in so much blood (fake)and torn clothes it is arguable thatthe common room could easilyhave been a scene from ‘Shaun ofthe Dead’. There was an extensivevariety of unique costumes,equally as scary, ranging from theBlack Swan to Harley Quinn andVelma from Scooby-Doo.On a final note, Sarah Duarte,the president of the society,comments that “it was a greatnight, I can’t wait to tell you allabout the next big event we havecoming up!”GU2 welcomes brand new Digital DeskBy Sophie SmithThis week, GU2 celebrates thearrival of a brand new digitaldesk to its studio! Last year’sstation manager, James Bale, andassistant station manager, SarahCooper, decided that as the currentdesk could do with updating,buying a new one would be a greatway to mark the 40 years since theUniversity of Surrey’s student radiostation began broadcasting.Head of technical, James Hall,therefore suggested that GU2upgrade to a digital desk, somethingthat no other student radio stationshave. After travelling to Londonand researching their options, theteam decided on a touch-screendesk made by Preco, one of thelargest broadcast suppliers in theUK, as well as the most advanceddigital radio automation system,Zetta. James and Sarah then appliedfor a grant from the Alumni fund,which much to GU2’s delight, wasapproved.A complete overhaul of Studio1 followed during the summerand the new equipment is nowfitted and fully functional. Head oftraining, James Bale, commented:‘After the initial thought me andSarah had this time last year, wecouldn't have imagined the studioto have this level of technology init so soon’.Present station manager AndySmith spoke of the changes thatthe new system has already begunto make: ‘Both new and continuingmembers of GU2 have beenmotivated to produce better radioand it's great to see GU2 continuingto move forward and still be one ofthe leading student radio stationsin the UK. Thank you to everyonewho's been involved’.Meanwhile head of music, AdamRead, explained how GU2 listenerswill also benefit from the changes:‘We’ve had a total refurbishmentof the playlists’ says Adam, ‘so wewill bep l a y i n gwhat thestudentswant tohear’.

40 SOCIETIESThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012 societies@thestagsurrey.co.ukSurrey Elevation NetworksBy Anwar HassanWhy join Elevation Network ?Elevation Networks is an awardwinning youth employment charitywhich seeks to develop the leadershippotential of young people to increasetheir employability. We work withyouth ranging from 11-25 years of age.We specifically try to focus on groupswhich are underrepresented withinthe labour market and in variousindustries. EN works with groups whichare identified as ethnic minorities,women, young people from low socioeconomicbackgrounds etc.The key aspects EN looks intoare Leadership, Employability andDiversity. We are in place in order tobroaden EN’s network of students. Weaim to encourage students to engagethemselves in various activities oncampus. In this way, students will beempowered and challenged to achievetheir potential by providing them withthe necessary resources. We know thatemployability is a key thing sought afterby employers so EN will aim to ensurethat students are provided with theresources needed. “Your employabilityis your job security not the job itself”.Some of the skills we will offer toour members are :• EXCLUSIVE networking opportunities• Skills development workshops• Mentoring opportunities• Community outreach projectsUpcoming EventsTeach First :Q) What is Teach First ?A) Teach First is a leadership eventwhich we will plan to host soon. We willbe inviting a guest speaker to talk to allour members.Community ProjectsIf you are the kind of person who lovesvolunteering or helping out in thecommunity then this will be a goodopportunity for you ! It also looks goodon your CV ! If anyone is interested inhelping out please do contact us and wewill make sure to inform you when wehave our dates and place confirmed.Social eventsWe are also planning to have a fewsocial events such as movie night, nightout in Rubix etc.For further information pleaseemail us onussu.elevation@surrey.ac.ukor like us on Facebook -www.facebook.com/groups/Surreyelevationnetwork/Are ya’llbready for this?By Fiona Buckland, Culinary SocietyImagine, it’s Sunday. You’re loafing about the house,cup of tea in one hand, digestives in the other. All of asudden, a familiar, warm, comforting smell fills up thehouse, making you knead a bacon buttie: it is the smellof freshly baked, hot bread, fresh out of the oven. Next, afamiliar sweet, sticky crumbly cookie scent mixes in withthe bread... Perfect!This week, culinary society has been on the rise, inmore ways than one! Some may say it’s perhaps even thebest thing since sliced bread.This week we held a bread making and cookie session,led by our very own, KangShen Ooi, where he taughta fantastic crowd of baguette loving, bagel munching,barmbrack adoring fans how to mix, raise and bake theirway to panatone paradise.Now, why go to all the hassle of being able to makeyour own bread at home when you can just pop down toTesco, pick up a hunk of value white loaf and bumble backto your flat-bread? Well, something you probably doughn’tknow is that a major benefit of being able to bake yourown bread at home is it’s more healthy as there are lesschemicals and salt than a normal shop-bought loaf. Crustme, on the wholemeal, it is a lot cheaper, tastier, messierand therefore, a lot more fun! Plus, if your housemates arereally nice and loaf you more than the whole wheat world,they let you have some when its straight out of the ovenand may even cover it in Nutella... and if not you’ll start tonotice a roll lot of fat pigeons flapping about.And what could be better for the festive season thanto treat yourself to some tasty, crunchy or chewy cookies,when the winter creeps in and it’s too expensive to put onthe heating yet. Warm yourself up with a batch of freshbiccie munchies, great with a cuppa or a hot choc to toastyour icy- tingly toes!Either way, nothing is more welcoming and satisfyingthan the taste of fresh bread. So if you’re feeling crumby,unable to find loaf in a loafless place, then rye oh ryewould there be any butter reason than to email us:uosculinarysociety@gmail.com or join our facebookgroup by searching for ‘University of Surrey CulinarySociety’ to keep up to date with our up and coming events!Things are hotting up in the Culinary Society kitchen,with naan a chance of going stale.Culinary Society’s Bread and Cookies Session

42 SPORTThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012sport@thestagsurrey.co.ukSportThe University of Surrey Table Tennis ClubOBy Connor Mcloughlin, Sports Teamn the 1st November, theUniversity of Surrey TableTennis club were lucky enough tobe joined by level 3 coach, AndyLaws. During the evening he wentover skills including practicingserves, touch play, bodyweightdistribution as well as other skills.He worked with all the players ofvarying ability. He was particularlyuseful, in helping the players whowere not so able – who all showedsome kind of progression.The table tennis club have beenrunning for only a few years nowand are relatively small in numbers.However, this is a good thing forthose who may be interested injoining up. When coaches are in,you receive more one-on-onetime; as well as having more timepracticing in order to improve yourgame. There is a range of abilities atthe club, so everyone will have thechance to play.If you are a top end player,the table tennis club has onemen’s team playing in BUCS. Thestandard of the club has goneup recently, so to get involved inthis you have to be particularlytalented. There is potential for amen’s second team, particularly ifmore people join the club. Thereis also potential for a women’steam, and this is something thatthe club is interested in gettingstarted. If there are any specialwomen’s players out there, I canonly encourage their involvement.If you are thinking of takingup a new sport, the University ofSurrey’s Table Tennis Club offersa great opportunity. It is morethan just whacking a ball arounda table. The club offers some greatchances to learn a technical sport,with friendly people who wereextremely open to me coming inand seeing how they work from theoutside. They train every Thursday,from 6pm to 8pm, in Arena B at SSP.Contact:ussu.tabletennis@surrey.ac.uk

Sport Editor: Anna Giles | Copy Editor: Emma Fleming The Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012SPORT 43Surrey Men’s FootballSurrey Men’s 1st vs. ReadingBy Connor Mcloughlin, Sports TeamSurrey Mens 1s: 1Reading Mens 1s: 5Last week the USFC men’sfirst team picked up a great 4-2win away at Brighton, but werewithout Captain Matt King forthe game against University ofReading FC Men’s first team. Inhis place, Liam Hark took over thearmband for the game.Surrey was a bit slow to getstarted in the game, concedingtwo goals inside the first tenminutes. One goal coming inthe form of a looping headerafter a free kick, not long aftera deflected free kick went pastgoalkeeper Jonathan Grilo. Afterthese early goals, the game evenedout, although Reading producingbetter chances and seeing Grilohaving to make multiple saves.However, Surrey did begin to getmore into the game. They limitedSurrey BasketballReading to counter attacks,maintaining possession insidethe oppositions half for longperiods. The best chance of thehalf for Surrey fell to Neil Swann,but his shot was well saved by theReading goalkeeper.Against the run of playReading scored again, from acounter attack. Their striker ranstrongly with the ball and had hisshot saved, but the rebound fellkindly to his feet for him to finish.Surrey would have felt unlucky tobe 3-0 down at half time whenthey were the better side in thegame for long periods.Coming out at the start ofthe second half Surrey lookedthe more dangerous of the twoteams, creating multiple chances,including a chance for EmekaNwaubani who was unlucky tonot score after another good savefrom the Reading goalkeeper.From a Surrey corner the ballcame out to Neil Swann, he beat aman before putting in a dangerouscross which eventually fell to thecentre back, who finished at thefar post.Goals were conceded late onwith Surrey pushing more playersforward in order to try and getsomething out of the game. Therewas one goal for Reading fromthe edge of the box and anotherwith their striker beating a highdefensive line to race throughand finish neatly.There was no way the resultjustifies the way the game wasplayed, however, Reading didfinish their opportunities betterthan Surrey. Stavros Panagiotouwas the best player on the pitchand tried hard to push the teamforward late on.Surrey 1s Line Up: Grilo, Hark(C), Osei-Bonsu, Panagiotou,Sargeant, Howells, Odusina,Rossides, Nzandi, Swann,NwaubaniSubs: Davidson, Platt, RoscoeSurrey defeated in the HeatsBy Alex Beddoe, Sports TeamThis weekend saw the SurreyHeat, a team who wereunbeaten on home soil this year,take on the Plymouth Raiders ina very important game, the BBLCup Quarter Final. Unfortunately,despite a valiant fight from bothteams, The Heat struggled with anearly ankle injury resulting in adisappointing loss of 74-79.Surrey’s Coach, CreonRaftopoulos, expressed hisfrustration post game - “The feelingin the locker room is very low now,which is good. I want the guys tofeel the same pain I do and not treatit as just another game. We had achance to get to the Cup Final, butthat’s gone now. We didn’t reallyplay our game and never got into aflow in the first half.”Despite the final score, Surrey’sHome crowd proved that the SportsCOMPETITION - Win 2 Heat Tickets!Park knew how to throw an array ofentertainment, not just a game ofbasketball, with Mini Grand Prix’s,Bongo Cam’s, Cheesy Songs, Streetdancers, and who could forget thecomical contrast between coachesopinions on the dress code!For your chance to catch all theaction, get your tickets for Surrey’snext game on Sunday 18th againstGlasgow Rocks at 3pm, and enterour competition below for freetickets!Where do Surrey Heat home games take place?A) The SpectrumB) Surrey Sports ParkC) University HallThe Stag has secured two pairs of adult ticketsto the Surrey Heat home game on Saturday 1December at 7pm. This year, Surrey’s only premierleague basketball team have had a fantastic startto the season, and are hoping for yet anotherhome win when they take on the ManchesterGiants at the Surrey Sports Park.As always, the game will feature exciting andfast-paced action from one of the world’s mostdynamic sports, as well as performances from theincredible street dance group, Heat Street 13, andmascot Scorcher playing his usual games with theaudience!Tickets are normally half price for studentsat £6, but we have two pairs to giveaway byanswering the question above:Email your answers, A,B or C, to:sports@thestagsurrey.co.ukThe first match after Christmas will be 2 ndFebruary against the Newcastle Eagles.For more information about upcomingfixtures or to buy tickets visit:www.surreyheat.comA Geek...Turns pizza into sportBy Adam Lodowski, Sports TeamI’ve always been awful at sport.I’m that kid who was alwayspicked last for the football team,not because I’m unpopular, butbecause I would inevitably manageto fall over my own feet before Imade it to the start line. However,I’ve heard everyone is good atsomething, so in this column I tryout a new sport every fortnight tosee if that’s my hidden talent… noluck so far!You may have read my columnin the last issue, I said howmuch I wanted to get involvedwith RAG and the failure thatensued when I attempted torun a marathon. Well, the goodnews is that it turns out thereare other ways to get involved.The bad news is that I’ve been sobusy organising my new team ofRAG volunteers that I haven’t hadtime to try out a new sport.But fear not! Instead, I’veused my limited time to createan entirely new one! And the bestthing of all is it features:PIZZA!!!You may have already heardthat all this month Pizzamanis teaming up with Surrey Heatto run a competition where youdesign your own “Surrey HeatPizza” to be featured on their newJanuary menu, with 20p fromevery pizza sold going directly tothe Surrey Heat Foundation.This definitely isn’t a sportin any way, so I decided to spiceit up and actually make my pizzaas well… oh and I only allowedmyself an hour to do it.So on Tuesday I sat down atexactly 10am and scribbled downthe four ingredients I’d put ona Surrey Heat pizza (meatballs,green chillies, pepperoni andminced beef, if you’re interested)and rushed to Tesco to buy them.Now it’s a 20 minute walk thereand back from my house so I hadto sprint to have any chance ofpulling this off in an hour!If, like me, you were a massivefan of Supermarket Sweep youcan probably imagine how Ilooked. A sweaty 20 year oldguy stampeding down the freshmeat aisle screaming “Where arethe f**king meatballs?! I don’thave time to make these fromscratch. Who do you think I am?!Gordon f**king Ramsey?!” I musthave been quite a sight for thegrannies and parents with theirinnocent children (who, it turnsout, are all on half-term and willask their parents what “f**king”means…). The only thing missingwas a rather brightly colouredjumper and Dale Winton cheeringme on from the side-lines.On the plus side, I did geteverything in time and got back tomine within 25 minutes so I nowonly answer to Adam “The Flash”Lodowski. The only problem wasI forgot tomato sauce to put onthe base, and it turns out a tinof chopped tomatoes is not asuitable substitute… It was lessbuttery biscuit base, more soggybottom.Much to my surprise, I didcomplete the challenge. The pizzawent in the oven with 6 minutesto spare and was (kind of) fullycooked at exactly 11am. Somemay argue this is still not a sportbut merely an amusing anecdote.I DISAGREE! For the Union toconsider something a Sport itmust be two of the following:physically active, competitive,and be a part of BUCS. I admitPizza Project isn’t a part of BUCS,but I ran to and from Tesco sothat’s definitely active, and Icreated it for a competition sothat’s competitive. Keep an eyeout because Pizza Project couldwell be the latest addition toTeam Surrey before you know it!If you want to get involved indesigning and naming your ownpizza it’s very easy. Simply emailPizzaman@surreyheat.com withyour four toppings and the nameof your creation. The winner willthen have their pizza featuredon the Pizzaman menu and wintickets to a Surrey Heat homegame of their choice.For more informationand the range of toppingsto choose from, visitwww.pizzamanonline.co.uk© Ramen Kuriso

44 SPORTThe Stag | Wednesday 14 th November 2012sport@thestagsurrey.co.ukRecurring racism in footballBy Connor Mcloughlin, Sports TeamThis article comes out of allthe recent occurrences,particularly over the last year,of racism in football. The mainissue that this concerns is theEngland Under Twenty-Ones, andthe problems they experiencedwith racist abuse in the EuropeanChampionship against Serbia.Then, of course, in the light of theJohn Terry affair and the racistabuse towards Anton Ferdinand ina Premier League match last year.These are both issues thatrelate to two of footballs governingbodies. UEFA’s response to theevents in Serbia is not confirmed,but on previous responses similarto these issues, we should probablynot expect much. The FA’s responseto the Terry issue also needs someform of analysis.Football bodies in general havenot dealt with racism well enough,in my opinion. In Serbia on the16th October, Danny Rose, a blackmember of the England UnderTwenty-Ones squad, reacted toalleged racist abuse and was sent offafter the game. The issue has nowbeen passed onto UEFA, after theFA made multiple complaints aboutfans making racist comments.This situation could have beenavoided. Firstly, Serbia chose toplay the game one hundred milesfrom Belgrade, in the most hostileenvironment possible. This wasdone in an attempt to intimidateEngland and their players.Although UEFA cannot solvethe social problem of racism, theycan raise awareness in the countryby fining them heavily. It is a start.However, racism is an issue thatUEFA do not fine countries forcorrectly.When looking at the history offines for racism by UEFA, nothinghas gone above £35,000 for a singleincident. Though, in the most part,the fines for racist abuse by fans arein the £10,000 to £15,000 bracket.This is ridiculous. Especially whenyou consider that fines given outby UEFA in recent years include£25,000 to Manchester City forcoming out for the second halfof a game late, or the even moreridiculous £80,000 fine that NicklasBendtner was given for displayinga sponsor’s name on his underwearafter scoring at Euro 2012.The message that UEFA sendout with their history of fines isthat they do not take the issue ofracism seriously enough. They needa change of culture, and should seta precedent by dealing effectivelywith the Serbian FA on the issue ofthe game on October 16th. I am inno way saying that every footballfan in Serbia is a racist, but we doneed to address the problem ofracism that is clearly evident in thefootball fans that go to the nationalteam games in the country.If you heavily fine and removethem from the next big Europeantournament, Euro 2016 in France,this will at least begin to send outthe correct message, and at leastcause some reflection to occur bythose fans who were at the game.The issue of John Terry, AntonFerdinand, and the incident ofracist abuse by the Chelsea captain,occurred in a game on the 2ndNovember 2011. In July 2012, Terrywas found not guilty of raciallyabusing Ferdinand in court, ashis wording was not consideredan insult, but rather a questionto Ferdinand. Where the burdenof proof was much lower, the FAreview of the incident in October2012, and found him guilty of thecharge. This eventually led to afine of £220,000, and a four-matchban for John Terry. The fine was farmore appropriate than any UEFAcharge.But the four-match ban handedout was far too short for the verdictfound. He needed to be banned formuch longer, as in the eight-matchban given to Luiz Suarez for hisincident of racial abuse involvingPatrice Evra. Although, personally,I believe a far longer ban, or eventhe sacking of the player, would bemore appropriate.If anything, standards shouldbe far higher considering the rolemodelstatus most footballers havewithin society.If any normal person in a morelow profile, normal profession wereto be found of racial abuse to a coworker,or anyone they had comeinto contact with at work, theywould lose their job.Racism is morally wrong, andthat is how it is seen throughoutsociety. Then again, football ishardly known for being a moralbusiness, it is a results business andsometimes this clouds the obviousand correct moral judgement bythe parties involved.© PALance Armstrong: Drug Cheat, Charity AmbassadorBy Connor Mcloughlin, Sports Teamwould like to look at the LanceI Armstrong saga and give mythoughts on the whole story, andsome of the factors involved.Firstly, I would like to getthe facts straight, as I understandthem. Essentially, the story is thatArmstrong has been accused ofcheating throughout his time atthe Tour de France, through the useof performance enhancing drugs.During this period it was necessaryto use the drugs if you wanted to bepart of the team he was leading, USPostal.Throughout the period theycovered themselves from drugstesters, through a variety of waysincluding delaying and hidingfrom the testers themselves.After his retirement, the US Anti-Doping Agency compiled a reportunderlining these facts, whichArmstrong has stated he willnot ‘fight’ but still insists he isinnocent. In recent weeks he hasalso been dropped by his sponsorNike, and stepped down as thechairman of his Livestrong charity.The first, and probably thebiggest issue, is the sophisticationof the doping network and the bullyculture that was part of the teamsin the late 1990s and early 2000s.The fact that others were forcedinto drug use, at the instructionof Armstrong, is sickening. Thesetechniques, and the drugs theywere using, such as EPO and blooddoping, are extremely dangerousand their long-term effects can beextremely damaging.A whole team was built on theidea that they must cheat, andit was encouraged throughoutthe team. The fact that it was asecret for so long is confusing andshocking.The fact that Armstrong haschosen not to fight the chargesis just a huge pointer to the factthat he knows he is guilty. This isespecially true when you see thatthe entirety of riders who werepart of his team all admitted toperformance enhancement, andhave stated he was the ringleaderin all of this.It may be in the interest of oneor two people to make up a storyfor financial gain, but not an entireteam, including his closest allies inthe sport. These guys know theywill no longer have a career if theyare still riding, but they will knowthey have done the morally correctthing. That is helping uncoverthe biggest drugs ring in sportinghistory, even if they were a part ofit.It personally surprised methat Armstrong lasted at Nike solong, with the case against himbuilding up more and more as thedays passed. The reason why it tookthem so long is a huge questionmark, but I guess when you have aman who’s been the face of a sportfor nearly 15 years, you may givehim a few more chances than usual.I do, however, applaudArmstrong for one thing – the facthe walked away from his highlysuccessful charity. Now, I am surethat he will still have some kindof involvement, but at least he hasattempted to move his face awayfrom this charity.Livestrong does great work, andthat should continue regardlessof the professional record ofArmstrong in cycling. It is justsuch a shame that Livestrong willprobably be tainted forever due tothe stupidity and deceiving natureof Lance Armstrong as a man and acompetitor.© Ken Conley