Newspaper of the students of the University of Surrey

Issue 63 - Monday 28th October 2013

Take a look at our double sided centrespread for Black History Month, and Mental Health Week.
NEWS Will Guilfest Return? Hows the outlook for the return of the music festival return this year?... Page 4 FILM The Fifth Estate. Benedict Cumberbatchs takes the role of Julian Assange, wikileaks founder...Page 28 FEATURES Halloween is Here! Take a look at our guide to halloween with fashion, food and top tips... Page 10 OPINION & ANALYSIS Hollywoods Heyday. Joshua Langley talks to us about the fame, fantasies and film stars... Page 8 SCIENCE & TECH The Conservationists Red List. A guide to the endangered and near extinct animals... Page 23
Fixers

If you are interested in getting involved with the stag, we are having a recruitment session on October 31st at 5:30pm. The locaton will be announced soon on our facebook page.

NUS Takes Action On Student Mental Health

MUSIC Kerri Watts Coffeehouse Session. We speak to the singer about her recent performance... Page 24 SPORT
Sachin Tendulkar Retires.

Cydney Beagley, a campaigner for greater support for young people who are struggling with mental health problems. By Shunayna Vaghela, News Editor Representatives from student services, mental health agencies and students are gathering for the first time in central London to discuss student mental health and the role of education in relation to this. Figures released by NUS in May this year found that almost all respondents (92 per cent) identified as having had feelings of mental distress, 20 per cent of students consider themselves to have a mental health problem, while 13 per cent have suicidal thoughts. NUS is committed to changing institutional attitudes on mental illness and this conference, the first of its kind to be held, is the next step in examining current student support and increasing the understanding of mental health on campus. Tasha Danvers, the Olympic athlete who has spoken out about her own mental health also provided Continued on page 3...

The so-called God of Cricket calls stumps on his career... Page 36

n conjunction with World Mental Health Day, (10th October) the National Union of Students (NUS), supported by Mind and hosted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is taking action on student mental health.

Inside:

Nobel Prize Winners

Mental Health Week

Black History Month

EDITORIAL

The Stag|28th October 2013

editor@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Editor|Alex Smith editor@thestagsurrey.co.uk Editor-in-Chief| Andy Smith ussu.editor@surrey.ac.uk Deputy Editor (Head of Design) | Paul A Richmond design@thestagsurrey.co.uk Design Team | Vacant Deputy Editor (Marketing) | Nicole Vassell marketing@thestagsurrey.co.uk Marketing Team | Vacant News Editor | Shunayna Vaghela news@thestagsurrey.co.uk News Team | Shaneezah Ally, Joe Trueman Opinion & Analysis Editor | Sam West opinion@thestagsurrey.co.uk Opinion & Analysis Team | Maria Cabral, Siobhan Harris, Josh Langley, Nicky Fenn Features Editor | Rebekkah Hughes features@thestagsurrey.co.uk Features Team | Alex Watts, Lily Pearson, Tilly Tasker, Sophie Dyer, Jas Smith, Dan Gautrey, Alex Cheung, Saskia Parks, Mahfuj Ali Science and Technology Editor | Siobhan Harris sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk Science and Technology Team | Andrew Cottrell, Rebecca Hillard, Fahmid Chowdhury, Joanna Moch Societies Editor | Alice Wilkinson societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk Societies Team | Annabel Driscoll, Tifanny Stoneman Dance and Theatre Editor | Amy McGivern dancetheatre@thestagsurrey.co.uk Dance and Theatre Team | Denise Bennett Film Editor | Sophia Field film@thestagsurrey.co.uk Film Team | Ankur Banerjee, Candice Ritchie, Music Editor | Candice Ritchie music@thestagsurrey.co.uk Music Team | James Campbell, Leo Blanchard, Denisse Bennett Literature Editor | Shiri Shah literature@thestagsurrey.co.uk Literature Team | Ankur Banerjee, Joe Trueman Sports Editor | Santiago Aviles Sport@thestagsurrey.co.uk Sport Team | Sudeep Devpara, Richard Reece, Andy Vile Webmaster|Vacant webmaster@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Letter from the Editor

The Stag is an editorially independent newspaper and is published by the University of Surrey Students Union. The views expressed in the paper are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the educational team, the Students Union or the University of Surrey. Trinity Mirror (South) 8 Tessa Road, Reading RG1 8NS The Stag reserves the right to edit all submissions and the right to decide which articles are published.

nce again we find ourselves smothered by awareness season. The Uni Boob Team has breast cancer, the equality officer has black history and VP welfare has mental health. Stoptober is just finishing and around the corner will be housing awareness week. It seems to never end. But if there is something to take from these next two weeks, its the power you possess to make a difference; be it your lifestyle or a cause you believe in, these weeks (normally quite successfully) show you where help is or

what you can do make change happen. Depression and anxiety can often be suppressed over time by a few simple lifestyle changes - and with help: eliminated. Mental Health Week aims to not only raise awareness of these pathways to a cure but also to get people talking about it and treating their mental health as they would their physical health. Go to the middle of the paper to see what Tom Windibank and the Centre for Wellbeing are doing to help and raise awareness.

News Editor: Shunayna Vaghela

Continued from page 1... a message of support via video for the conference and to all students across the country who might be dealing with mental health issues. Each attendee is sending a postcard to David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, for World Mental Health Day to alert him that the discussion on student mental health is open, and that NUS is starting to take action.

The Stag|28th October 2013

NEWS

Hogs Back land under threat

By Shaneezah Ally, News Team

Black History Month

By Shunayna Vaghela, News Editor

ogs Back land is recognised for its rural beauty and is one of Surreys most renowned backdrops, offering acres of country land. However, this may be eradicated, as The University of Surrey have announced plans to make Blackwell and Manor Farms available for property developments. There are plans to build over 2,000 residential homes on the land, with 300 being built within the next five years. Campaigners have felt that this would inevitably

destroy the natural beauty of Hogs Back. Residents have voiced their concern by campaigning to stop developments from going ahead. Although this is not a formal proposal it still raises distress within the community. Residents have suggested that developments will be categorised as an act of vandalism. Even though the University will benefit financially from the development, campaigners believe that this will be at the detriment to the wider community. Some concerns include the increase in traffic

which will be created causing pressure on road networks on the west side of Guildford and may also affect emergency access to the RSC Hospital. Residents have also complained that it will impact on their access to local doctors, school and dentists. Alternatively, The University of Surrey have argued that there is a demand to find land to build these new homes which will benefit the community economically in the long run. Overall campaigners have suggested that an alternative location would be more appropriate in order to meet

the Guildford Borough Councils housing requirements. There is currently a petition underway with more than 100 signatures and an aim of reaching 10,000 signatures. The campaigners have voiced their concerns that the University is putting their interest above of those of the wider community. If plans do go ahead to build on Blackwell and Manor Farm, then residents hope that the University will make every effort to make further road developments.

lack History Month will be kicked off this year by Surreys own Equality and Diversity Officer Taku Parvin, with his event Black History Month: a Celebration. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin King Jrs I have a dream speech, and Black History Month celebrates not only the empowerment of black people, but also equality and integration of different cultures within society. Parvins event will take place in Rubix on the 31st of October, with an array of societies showcasing various talents; from a Fashion Show by the African Caribbean Society, a performance by the Gospel Choir, food by the Nigerian Society, a joint spoken word performance by PEN Soc and Lit Soc, and much more. Parvin says at university we are exposed to people from all walks of life: different races, religions, sexual orientations, ages, gender and people with different abilities. This makes university the perfect place to break down social barriers and hopefully the knock on effect will be a more tolerant culture in society beyond University.

Hogs Back

BHM: A Celebration will take place on Thursday 31st October at 7.30 PM at Rubix.

Studentbeans.com Reveals UK Students Dont Cook, Cant Cook

By Joe Trueman, News Team

esearch undertaken by popular website studentbeans. com have unveiled depressing statistics about UK students cooking capabilities. The results claim that a rather horrific 1 in 10 students never cook for themselves during term, and a quarter only cook a meal from scratch once per week. Funnily enough, students voted

the microwave as their must have cooking utensil. This isnt quite so surprising when you consider that more than a quarter of students are splashing out on takeaways each week, leaving the maximum daily food budget of over half of students at a meagre 2.50. And even when students do cook for themselves, over a quarter stand by typical student favourites of spaghetti Bolognese or a cheese toastie. An overwhelming 65%

of students worryingly skip the most important meal of the day, breakfast. 59% are even skipping lunch, while 29% skip dinner each week. The founder of studentbeans. com, James Eder comments over half of students wish theyd learnt to cook at school and therefore go off to university with limited cooking know-how. The website has created a solution, and will be releasing The Ultimate Student

Cookbook with the websites food editor and home economist Rob Allison, who has worked with the likes of Gok Wan and Nigella Lawson. Eder describes the book as a clear and simple-to-use cookbook that makes cooking cheap, easy and fun for students and encourages them to get in the kitchen and cook for themselves.

NEWS

The Stag|28th October 2013

news@thestagsurrey.co.uk

NUS Responds To Universities UK Review of Part Time/ Mature Education

By Joe Trueman, News Team

he NUS has expressed concern at falling numbers of part-time and mature students nationwide. A recent review by Universities UK revealed that the amount of students enrolled on undergraduate part-time courses in England fell by 40% in the past two academic years. NUS representative Rachel Wenstone (Vice President (Higher Education)) expressed gratitude

that the issue is finally getting the attention it deserves, saying that too many so-called part-time courses are provided full-time for only half the time, rather than being truly flexible. The NUS are keen to emphasise the social and economic value of part-time and mature study, particularly because they believe students with ties to local employers and communities can act as a way for institutions to demonstrate their benefits to society as a whole and their ability

to run in the interest of the public. Wenstone went on to commend the governments decision to partially reverse ELQ policy, as it demonstrates they are well aware that reversing this fall in numbers cannot be done by the sector alone, reiterating that the government needs to take meaningful action to give potential part-time students the confidence to apply, and universities the ability to support them.

NEW IN.
New Fairtrade branded hooded gillets and B EST tops. hooded MEAL VALUE DEAL ON C AMPU S S

NUS UK

Will GuilFest Return?

By Shunayna Vaghela, News Editor

JUS Scan T me 45

uilFest organisers have failed to secure a guarantee that the event will return to Stoke Park in 2014, despite clear council support in principle. A total of 15 speakers, including event director Tony Scott, made the case for the return of the popular festival following a one-year hiatus. However, the crowds enthusiasm and speakers passionate pleas failed to escape

the bureaucratic process, which insists that organisers make a formal application, containing financial details, before permission can be given. Throughout a series of impassioned speeches from a range of representatives and organisations, including a short film played in the chamber, the event was described as Guildfords heart and centre of culture. Supporters were looking for a guarantee from the council

that it would be GuilFest, and not Magic Summer Live - the event which replaced the festival this year - that returns in 2014 and in perpetuity on that site. Although no representatives of Live Nation the organisation which ran Magic Summer Live - were present at the meeting, the organisation has expressed a desire to return next year. The decision has yet to be made, but locals are rooting for a return of the festival.

ORIGINAL EPONA UNIVERSITY

Mental Health
4th - 8th Nov

Week

Its time to talk about mental health. Start the conversation now at -

www.ussu.co.uk/advice

OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Stag|22nd May 2012

opinion@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Give Mental Health Priority Thank you Cameron Maria Cabral

ccording to the Care Minister Norman Lamb there is an institutional bias in the NHS against mental health, but do we really care about this? How many of us talk about the lack of funding in mental health services? Why should we care about such issues, unless we are going through a mental health problem ourselves? While many of us do not experience any mental health problems, at some point a relative or friend could. How would you feel if they could not access the appropriate services? When there is a shortage of funding in other areas of the NHS, there is usually outrage and lengthy discussions on how this is unacceptable. However, due to the stigma attached to mental health, many of us are scared to talk about it. It is like religion and politics, one of those taboo subjects that makes us uncomfortable. While we continue to avoid discussing it, less priority

Opinion & Analysis

is given to these essential services. There is a lot we do not know about mental health services, and perhaps this lack of knowledge leads us to avoid discussing it altogether. There is a lot we do not know about other areas of healthcare, for example we do not know a lot about cancer. However, many would agree that funding for research and treatment of cancer is vitally important. We may find ourselves talking about the prevalence of this disease and how it affects those who have it. This may lead us to be better equipped to support those we know who develop this disease. It is this kind of mentality we need to develop in regards to mental health problems. Do you know someone who has a mental health problem? Have you asked them about how they feel about these cuts? Could you ask them about what it is like to have a mental health problem? Only by listening with empathy and raising awareness of mental health, can we empower those who are unwell and ensure that they receive the best possible care.

Lets All Learn or Earn

Is The X Factor Moving In The Wrong Direction?

Nicky Fenn

ear after year, millions tune in to watch the latest X Factor hopefuls sing their hearts out for the chance to become the next big thing. Its the repetition of fresh faces going through the same process which captivates our attention every weekend. But, in an attempt to stay current and win the ratings battle with peak time rivals Strictly Come Dancing, have producers now gone too far and ruined the format of the show? The new double auditions mean that viewers now have to give up nearly four hours of their weekend to see every act perform not just once, but twice, before finding out if they make it through to the next round. If thats not time consuming enough, a staggering amount of acts who have auditioned for the show in previous years have returned to sing for a second,

third and even forth time. The producers seem to feel they need to relive every past audition, rather than spending time showing the public fresh talent that might actually have a chance this year. Worse still is the revamped bootcamp audition stage. Contestants, who have gone through the emotional rollercoaster ride of thinking they are finally through to the judges houses, are made to sit and watch the acts that come after them, knowing they could be replaced at any time. The judges indecisiveness over which acts to take through seems like nothing more than mental cruelty, as if they are replacing one box of supermarket chocolates with a better one. Any sympathy X Factor may feign to show through contestant sob stories is undermined as acts as young as 16 are sat there in floods of tears in distress and feeling they have no future. One of the few positives of the new X Factor is that there will be no Jedwards or Rylan Clarks on your screen this year, with the judges and producers finally deciding to focus on the serious singing talent.

Siobhan Harris

t the recent Conservative conference, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his plan to prevent young people under 25 claiming jobseekers allowance and housing benefit if the party win the 2015 election. Its time for bold action here. There are still over a million young people not in education, employment, or training said Cameron. It is a proposal made by a Tory government held back by the LibDem coalition and the move would only go ahead if they were elected in 2015. So I guess well see just how many people agree with this, and personally Im all for it. Currently people can leave school at 16, move into a council flat, have children, and claim housing benefits, job-seekers allowance and living benefits, as well as child benefits. This option, when compared with the hardworking options of studying to get into university, or finding a job and working hard to earn a living, it seems like paradise for most, so its no surprise over 385,000 people under the age of 25 are currently claiming the dole. The cycle of unemployment and benefit dependency must stop, and pulling

the option to do so is the way to make sure it does. Of course, there are a lack of job opportunities and the unfortunate scenario of redundancies, so the question is still unanswered as to what would happen in these cases, not to mention all the single young parents. Whether there will be an exception to the rule, and what form that will take, is still unknown. Those attacking Camerons proposal and claiming it is a further blow to the war on the young are mistaken. The aim is not to push young people into poverty; it is to create a fairer society where taxes arent going on all those benefit-claimers, but instead on healthcare, education, creating more jobs, training schemes, the armed forces, etc. You know - all those important things that are suffering under budget cuts as a result of the endless cycle of benefit dependency. You could slate Cameron and the Tories forever for their mistakes, but this is an excellent proposal. Im not a Tory, and this is one of the rare occasions Ive agreed with anything hes said. Im in favour of this policy, and I cant be the only one. Taxes could also be lowered further for all the hardworkers, eventually. Thank you, David Cameron, for envisioning a hopeful future for Britain.

Number 10

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OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Stag|22nd May 2012

opinion@thestagsurrey.co.uk

My take on the history of Hollywood: Fame, Fantasy and Filmstars

Joshua Langley

have recently become very interested in the Golden age of Hollywood. Even before its heyday in the 50s and 60s, it was rife with the elements that would come to define the movie making industry; vice, excess and power were all present, and remain so in varying degrees today. In fact one could say that while the world around Hollywood has changed dramatically, this small part of Los Angles has changed only in the types of film made and the techniques used to create them. Hollywood became a Mecca for the movie making industry just over a hundred years ago. After being incorporated into Los Angeles in order to take advantage of the citys water supply in 1910, the area began

to grow dramatically. The arrival of the famous director D.W Griffith in the same year, with a group of actors and actresses that included among others, Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford, established the village as somewhere friendly to the industry. At the same time filmmakers were encouraged to move west in order to get away from the thugs employed by Thomas Edison, to enforce the patents on the film camera that he had produced. Hollywood is very much an arena for stardom. Over the course of the last century many stars have risen and fallen, indeed the clich of the washed up movie-actor is one that we are all familiar with. The best example for me is the 1962 Sunset Boulevard, in which washed-up Gloria Swanson plays a character that is in the same position as herself. This film demonstrates how very seductive fame is, and how fickle

the viewing public who made these stars famous are. However, there are some movie personalities who move beyond the normal realms of stardom and enter the realm of superstardom. This rare commodity allows actors whose careers are over and who are long dead to remain household names and to continue to be discussed in terms of their impact upon cinema. Perhaps the first to fall into this category is Charlie Chaplin, who made thousands of films throughout a career over 50 years long. Through his character the little tramp, Chaplin came to define the silent film era, which is why he remains so well-known today. Hollywood was once ruled by a small number of film studios including, Universal, RKO, Paramount, Fox, Warner Brothers and Columbia. This concentration of power in such small hands ensured a tight control over the industry. In the era of the movie musical,

the practice of dubbing voices was common, and both stars and the singers that replaced them were sworn to secrecy, and told that their careers would be over, if they did speak out. Two of the most famous films in which dubbing played a major part were My Fair Lady in which the voice of Audrey Hepburn was replaced, and West Side Story in which the voice of Natalie Wood was dubbed. The worst part about these practices was that since the singers whose voices replaced the stars were not credited for their work, they did not receive any royalties. Deception has always been a key part of Hollywood and demonstrates very much that like the films it produces, it is a world of fantasy. This combination of light-hearted entertainment and corruption is why I love learning about the golden age of Hollywood.

Party Conferences Season : My Take

Sam West Opinion Editor
Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg UKIP - Nigel Farage Labour Ed Miliband Conservative David Cameron

It might have been around a month ago now, but here is my analytical take on the leaders speeches at the party conferences 2013. Sorry Alex Smith, it is my turn now!

s a whole, Nick Clegg came across better than expected. Although he is the most unpopular party leader in the opinion polls, it is fair to say that most of his party are behind him. While half of his 2010 voters deserted him after jumping into bed with the Tories, the half that remain are more supportive. Not supportive of the Tory Party, but supportive of coalition governments. Nick Clegg did fairly well at getting this message across. He repeatedly spoke of how they are the only party that can finish the job, curbing the excesses of both the Tories and Labour, and how they are now where they always should have been. If Nick Clegg wants to do well in the 2015 general election, then he should continue with this rhetoric, because his broken promises, such as on student tuition fees, are nothing to stand by.

ike always, Nigel Farages speech was not one of the centre ground, but of the common ground. His speech reflected the issues that the majority of British people are talking about, but are ignored by the political elite. He spoke of the over powerful EU, the risks of unlimited immigration, and our need to regain strong relations with the Commonwealth. However, Nigel Farages speech was overshadowed by the remarks and actions of fellow UKIP MEP, Godfrey Bloom, who called a group of women sluts for not cleaning behind their fridges, and smacked a journalist over the head with a party brochure. Not only was it the media diverting all the attention to Godrey Bloom, but also the UKIP leadership itself. Nigel Farage should have partially ignored Godfreys actions, rather than giving him attention, because this in itself diverted away from the main message.

ver since his election as Labour leader, there have been some questions over whether he is the right man for the job. Labours current and fairly large support is probably down to it being perceived as the only left-of-centre party, especially since the coalition agreement. There has never been as much support for Ed Miliband himself. However, gradually over recent months and since the party conference, people are beginning to like him more. Rather than just being an anti-cut pressure group leader, Ed Miliband laid out some real policies that he would introduce as leader. One was to freeze gas and electricity bills in every home and business for 20 months. The high price of bills is something we all suffer from and it seems to only be Ed Miliband who is offering a solution on issues like this. If Ed Miliband wants to gain power in 2015, then his only chance is by appealing to the common man, by which these populist policies could go down well.

avid Cameron probably had the hardest task of all; by being the prime minister, the leading coalition partner, and having no governmental policy to attack. He also tried his best to get his tone of conservatism right, by which he could lose support to either Labour or UKIP, if perceived as too rightwing or too liberal. While David Cameron touched upon policies, his main emphasis was on ideology; a free-market ideology based on profits, tax cuts and enterprise. He spoke about how the economy is turning the corner, which it gradually is. He also spoke of how the land of hope is Tory. Claiming that the land of hope is Tory was a very brash thing to say, especially since we have not seen the full promises he made us back in 2010. We have a long way to go before we reach that land of hope and glory again. And until David Cameron starts delivering, he shouldnt expect us to believe him.

J. Griffin Stewart

10 FEATURES

The Stag|28th October 2013

features@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Fashion: D.I.Y Halloween!

by Tilly Tasker, Features Team

Features

BOO! Scared you, didnt I?! No? Oh...

A
nyway, Halloween is just around the corner, but hello limited amount of money and student budgeting. My old nemesis. Every year I see the people who LOVE Halloween, and then those not so much. Im looking at YOU lot who just stick to a little fake blood and some cat ears. Right, heres my guide on how to have a spook-TASTIC Halloween for a fraction of the price!

The Do's & Don'ts of Halloween Fancy Dress

by Lily Pearson, Features Team

face paint dish and mix it up with a sponge creating easy to use paint. Using black eye shadow, give yourself two, deep, black eyes that get darker towards your actual eye. If you have yellow, throw that in too to a bruised look! Okay, NOW you can go wacko with that fake blood you all love so dearly. 1.39 from the Party Superstores in Guildford.

Zombie!
I think its official. You can wear whatever you want, and as soon as you add a little fake blood around your lips youre an umm zombie. 0 points for effort. Go to Primark and get a cheap t-shirt. 2-3 maximum. Then attack it with a pair of scissors. I dont mean make lots of little snips, properly get at it! Rip it! Shred it! Chew it! Especially around the neckline. Now, put your money together with your housemates and buy some fake blood. Mix said fake blood with a bit of water and, while wearing the t-shirt, splatter the neckline with the blood. If you have any brown makeup or black face paint, get some on a sponge and the t-shirt in

Cat Woman
Cast your eyes to the right of this article and you will see an item of clothing which can be reused again and again and again. I call it the costume staple! Great thing about getting your hands on a rather skimpy top is that you can use it again and again for fancy dress purposes (ahem I said FANCY DRESS purposes!) so get one of these (ASOS, 18.00 with NUS). Wear it with leggings/ black jeans and with a black belt slung around your hips for an easy Cat Woman look with a pair of cat ears to finish it all off. (Cat fancy dress set, 3.99, Party Superstores)

t the tender age of 10 I arrived at a Halloween party dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein. My blonde hair was crispy with black hairspray, my face caked in thick, white powder and my Mum had helped me meticulously apply fake blood from the corners of my mouth down to my neck. I looked positively scary - I even won a prize for it. This, however, was not how the other party guests thought Halloween was done; when an older girl told me I looked gross she tainted my dressing up experience from then on. This brings me to my first tip: 1. ALWAYS find out what your friends are wearing. The infamous Mean Girls scene where Cady arrives (in full scary bride attire) to a room of sexy bunnies has left in many the fear of doing Halloween properly. It is almost as embarrassing to under-dress too; a pair of lonesome cat ears

won't look good when your friends have put in the effort. 2. On the subject of underdressing, remember that sexy isn't scary. Whether it be a (dead) school girl, cheerleader or cute animal, it demonstrates a phenomenal lack of imagination. 3. If you want to look bloody, buy fake blood and don't use an inventive/cheap substitute. Tomato ketchup/nail varnish/ lipstick will make for messy and sometimes smelly substitutes. 4. Look for inspiration in horror movies: think the twins from The Shining, or if you're feeling extra scary get yourself a mask and try out Leatherface. 5. eBay is a quick-click solution for those (myself included) whose sewing skills are beyond inadequate. I've found a wonderful pumpkin costume in which I'd spend every occasion if society would allow it. 6. Finally, be inventive and Happy Halloween!

Vampire

Why Is My Fruit Scaring Me?

by Alex Watts, Features Team

Once again, look reuse the ASOS body I listed above but this time vamp it up with a big, billowy maxi skirt and elbow-length gloves, with some novelty vampire teeth for that Countess Dracula look.

Witch / Wizard
Same top and skirt as the Countess Dracula, minus teeth and blood, but with a spiky hat instead boom! Youre a witch! But if youre a bloke reading this article and feeling a bit lost at sea, dont worry. Im not asking you to put on a slinky body vest, however buying a simple cape will transform any ordinary outfit into a supernatural one with a twist. This hat, 1.39 from the Party Superstores, can be unisex and will look good either way!

general look a bit dirtier. Youre a zombie, not a Daz ad. Thank you, Google Images, for your fabulous example shown here. Costume sorted. Now, makeup: you want to cover your skin in white face paint, but you want to look PALE, not pure, virgin white. To do this: only add a few drops of water to the

Ghost

Sheet from Primark (5/more-or-less), cut some holes in it, done. Done. Now you can tell everyone how hard you partied in a sheet.

our fourth favourite day of the year has arrived. Its the carve scary faces into a mushy fruit day, but despite your comprehensive knowledge of Harry Potter spells, and similar to the other leaves on the randomyearly-ritual-celebrations-tree knitted into your neurological quilt, you have no idea why you are doing it. However, defenceless to society, you begin the excavation stage whereby you rip out the organs of an orange fruit, scoop up its brains, and then instigate stabbing a face into it. A few hours later you have demonstrated how violent you can be with cutlery, but why do we do it? This pretence originated from a myth about a man named Stingy Jack who, similar to many misguided men in the darker days, befriended the Devil. Having taken the Devil for refreshments, Stingy Jack, being a tight little excrement, convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin to pay for their drinks. However, Stingy

Jack kept the coin and put it in his pocket beside a silver cross, hence preventing the Devil from transforming back to his original form. In the end, the Devil made a deal with Jack saying he would not claim his soul when he died in exchange for releasing him. On agreement, Jack was not bothered for a whole year, until once again, he played his nasty trick and the Devil was forced to make another deal stating that he would not bother Jack for ten years. Soon after, Jack died, and for being a pain in the backside, God refused him entry into heaven. The Devil kept his word too and did not claim his soul nor allow entry to hell. I bet he was gutted... Instead he presented young Jack with a piece of coal and sent him off into the dark. Jack lit the coal and placed it into a hollowed-out turnip, and has been roaming the Earth ever since. Due to the size of turnips and uncooperative properties of humans keeping to tradition, we buy pumpkins and stick a candle in them to represent the Jack OLantern.

Features Editor: Rebbekah Hughes

The Stag|28th October 2013

FEATURES

11

Ghosts: Medium or Rare? Blonde Moments

by Jas Smith, Features Team

veryone (whether they admit it or not) likes to have a good scare every now and again, especially around Halloween. So I thought Id throw caution to the wind, ignore every lesson Ive learnt from horror movies, and delve into the complicated and transparent world of ghosts. I began like every other modern ghost hunter; I typed do ghosts really exist? into Google. Now I have to admit that no, I do not believe in ghosts in the slightest, and Google, or any other browser wont convince me otherwise. However a lot of people do believe in our phantom friends, and a lot of people are trying to make contact with the other side. This is something I can understand completely. Who wouldnt want to communicate with a dead loved one? And who are the people that claim they can do this? Mediums. As far as my knowledge and research goes, a Medium has not yet been found who can communicate perfectly with the dead. Often, the reception is fuzzy, to say the least. A lot of people pay to see Mediums, to deal with grief and loss of a

loved one. However, Mediums often use a technique known as Cold Reading; they pick up information from the seeker, through involuntary body language, making guesses based on the seekers response. For example, they might throw out phrases like They were a happy person, but sometimes could feel sad. This statement could apply to literally anyone, yet this is ignored when looking for a loved one. Also, people often ignore the bits of information that were guessed wrong. The Medium might have guessed the name of the loved one wrong at first, but as long as they get there in the end, it doesnt matter. I understand that dealing with loss is difficult, and some people find comfort in going to see a Medium. However, if you cannot communicate with the dead, surely its immoral to lie to the bereaved, and then take their money? It would be a wonderful thing to be able to communicate with the dead, and I understand the sentiment completely, but for now, I dont believe it and dont condone messing with the bereaved. Those who have now left us should be left to rest in peace and remembered for their lives, not a fuzzy reception.

"Sorry, I'm having a brunette moment - no one ever

by Sophie Dyer, Features Team Blonde moments. We've all had them. A moment of stupidity. We say something that sounded totally dumb and like our common sense was non-existent, but why blonde? Why that particular hair colour? Where did all these blonde references come from? Blonde stereotypes have been around for decades. Traditionally, blonde hair has tended to be associated with ideas of beauty, especially in advertising and the media. However, over the years, blondes have also been associated with lower intelligence and an emphasis on beauty over brains. This is reflected in blonde jokes and moments, reinforcing the stereotype of a "dumb blonde". Furthermore, such jokes nearly always involve a female; from a feminist perspective, this gender bias undermines the power of women. Thus, not only can the jokes be viewed as degrading blondes - they're degrading women in general. The fictional character Lorelei Lee in the 1925 novel "Gentlemen Prefer blondes" by Anita Loos was probably the first dumb-blonde figure with an emphasis on looks and senselessness; this stereotype was arguably reinforced further by Marilyn Monroe's portrayal of the character is the 1953 film version. More recently, a notable example of the blonde stereotype was enforced in the book and film "Legally Blonde". The film captured the stereotype that can be applied to blonde women in the workplace; main character Elle Woods has to prove her worth to be taken seriously in the field of law. Elle is viewed by the other characters as frivolous and unintelligent, with even her love interest saying "You're not smart enough, sweetie". What a jerk. Meanwhile, the brunette women at Harvard Law School are portrayed as clever and capable. Despite Legally Blonde's exaggerated nature, the film does raise the question: does your hair colour affect how you're viewed in the workplace? Behind closed doors, blonde references appear to be an innocent joke, but could they really be affecting women's careers? I'd like to think its effect wasn't as extreme as this. But the fact that the "dumb blonde" stereotype is even still a "thing" in society is slightly worrying. Article from A little bird told me sdyerblogs@wordpress.com

28 Scans Later
by Dan Gautrey, Features Team

y heart races as my hand rests steady on the holster, ready to draw quickly as my target slowly comes into sight. I can feel my finger twitch nervously on the trigger. BANG... and the chocolate buttons are mine. I have added them to my cart, so far I've saved 20p, could this get any more exciting? Unfortunately cowboys don't kill each other for chocolate buttons (now that would make a movie) but you certainly get a similar thrill when they let you use your own scanner at Tesco. In case you haven't seen the new set up they have at Tesco, they've added an armoury of scanners that sit on your trolley and allow you to scan your shopping as you pick it up. Although I'm not sure what time this actually saves, it certainly makes you feel like some

sort of yogurt assassin. I admit I was nervous at first, my hand shaking in anticipation, but after a few squeezes you start to really enjoy it. I imagine the staff are fed up of customers aiming scanners at food from the greatest possible distance, but I can't resist. I need my target practice in case I'm recruited by MI5 or the world ends or something. You do get to enjoy a sense of trust from your friends at Tesco, they let you pack your shopping as you go round and just pay at the end, but don't be getting any ideas; they have 'random checks' to keep you honest. Overall I enjoyed the experience and I certainly think it's worth a try. My childish imagination got the better of me but let's be honest, it's hard not to pretend you're a cowboy, but that's true for life in general.

12 FEATURES

The Stag|28th October 2013

features@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Crunch into Autumn

by Ardy Cheung, Features Team

he summer is over, its back to study, work and self-made promises of wont leave things until the last minute this time (sadly, always broken promises) but dont forget to enjoy the little wonders of Autumn this year! EAT...the Harvest. Add festive food into your autumn! The season is rich with the ripening of apples and obviously the Halloween pumpkin! Im quite ashamed to say that I dont know what pumpkin actually tastes like because Im not adventurous enough to try it. There is sure to be much pumpkin themed food around though. Im quite wary of the 'Pumpkin Spice Latte' as well. Pumpkin flavoured spices and pumpkin syrup and cream all in coffee sounds a bit too much... SPLASH Autumnal tones into your living dcor if you fancy a seasonal update to your interior. I think mustard yellows, wine reds, muted oranges and faded tans can be a great colour palette. A light orange lampshade will give your bedroom a warmly Autumn glow in the

evening, much better than screen glare (I know you sit at the laptop being too lazy to turn on the light as it gets dark; the screen gets brighter and brighter until your room looks like some eerie space station out of an alien film). Autumn also reminds me of squirrels and foxes; plonk a quirky (fake!) one by your living room sofa or fireplace to bring woodland spirit inside! CRUNCH through a crispy bed of Autumn leaves when walking. Just because its strangely satisfying to hear the rustle. Wear on-trend chunky lace-up or ankle boots for extra kick (you might as well do it properly!) and you will thank a burgundy jumper for keeping out the chill. This Autumn Im watching (well, trying to catch up on, because of crazy busy times) No, not the X Factor (sorry to disappoint) Its Strictly Come Dancing! I loved a cheesy Charleston dance by Sophie Ellis Bextor and Brenden Cole. (Catch it up from week 2 if you havent seen it yet!) The moves are so neat and quick, it's quite squirrel-like. Plus, her hair and dress is very autumn. Maybe not the lack of material but the golden sequins: definite shimmers of the season!

Health and Beauty: Pump up the Power!

by Tilly Tasker, Features Team

ts that time of year again. As the weather gets colder we slip into hibernation mode. Our metabolism shoots through the roof as we try to stay warm. Feeling sluggish and sleepy is the norm, but fear not people! I have a few aces up my sleeve, which will keep you feeling energetic even on the coldest of mornings! P.M.A: Positive Mental Attitude. Seasonal Affective Disorder is an actual thing and anyone can get the winter blues. S.A.D is a combination of our ancient survival instincts to eat less (equals low mood) and lack of social activity in the winter. Together they can cause feelings of being a bit depressed. Personally, I LOVE winter. Crispy mornings, blue skies and fluffy scarves... Snow! Christmas! Oh, and mittens! Think of the beautiful things that winter can bring and turn that S.A.D attitude into a happy attitude! A proper breakfast: Sometimes cereal just doesnt cut it. You gotta have yo carbs. Have a piece of toast or some hot porridge for breakfast and a cup of your favorite hot beverage. Yum. Berocca: If you like Berocca, down one of these bad boys in a glass of water for an energy boost. If you dont like Berocca Hold your nose and shoot it. Mildly caffeinated and packed with vitamin C, Berocca does what it says on the tin. You but on a really good day. Get some exercise: Even in the yuckiest of weather, walk to your

lectures. If you roll out of bed in the morning and crawl onto the bus, you never shake off the sleep mode. Youll be dozy and sluggish all day. Walking, especially in the cold, will help warm you up and switch you into active mode. Sorted!

Tillys pick of the week:

The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash - 5.00 Get into a habit of using tea tree daily and all your dreams will come true Okay maybe not that one where you rode a unicorn across Guildford. But hey, less acne, less blemishes, less oiliness, those all sound pretty dreamy right? Tea tree is a bit of a miracle substance; naturally anti-bacterial by nature, rubbing it on your skin will zap zitcreating germs and cleanse your skin from the inside out.

The Many Uses of Vinegar

by Rebekkah Hughes, Features Editor

ecently, Ive waged war against the washing machine in my house. It seems that the machine smells for some reason, and I never want to go near it again, in person or with my clothes, unless something drastically changes. Thus, I pushed forward in my long and unforgiving battle, with the power of vinegar. White distilled vinegar seems to be the unchallenged frontrunner in versatile and economic natural cleaning products, so its handy to have a bottle under the sink at the ready. Besides using it in cooking, it can be used as a cleaning or health product and it can aid in laundry washing. Its all mostly down to the acid content. So, just in case you werent already convinced, here are some ways in which white distilled vinegar can be a right little gem: 1) Stains. All those strong cups of tea and tomato-based sauces kept in Tupperware are going to take their toll: using a small amount of vinegar will remove the stains from your teacup and plastic containers almost instantly. 2) Nail Polish. If you clean off your chipped and tired-looking nail varnish, and then wipe some vinegar over your nails before re-

applying some snazzy polish, itll make it last a bit longer. 3) Stains #2. Vinegar has the ability to tease out clothes stains and makes white clothes look brighter. A distilled vinegar and water solution can prise out stains if you dab with a cloth before washing. 4) Mould. Areas of the house that arent too well ventilated can start to build up black mould, and this includes when you get condensation on your windows and black mould appears around the seal. Wiping over with a distilled vinegar and hot water solution will help to get rid of that pesky mould. 5) Kitchen. Vinegar can be used to clean literally every appliance in your kitchen (fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher) by simply making up a hot solution and wiping everything over. It also gets rid of any smells. 6) Odour. By teaming vinegar with some baking soda, you can rid yourself of drain smells. Pour one cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a cup of hot distilled vinegar. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then wash it away. So, it seems to me that white distilled vinegar should be a staple in every students kitchen. Its cheap, versatile and natural, whats there to lose?
Artizone

Features Editor: Rebbekah Hughes

The Stag|28th October 2013

FEATURES

13

"I've been at uni for three weeks now and I can't shake the feeling that I should give up and go back home. I miss it there so much. What should I do?" - Lucy.

Kate

Your Agony Aunt

Winter Warmer Recipes

Pumpkin Soup
As students were always trying to save money, so instead of cutting your pumpkin to smithereens, why not eat it instead? Some of you may be frowning in disgust, but honestly this soup is better than any you will have bought and its also really simple. Serves 8 900g Pumpkin flesh 55g butter 2 onions chopped 2 teaspoons of Thyme 1 to 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, to taste tablespoons are the biggest ones (I still get confused) 600ml milk Salt & pepper 1. Peel & cut up the pumpkin roughly 3cm cubes 2. Melt butter in saucepan and add onions and cook until soft 3. Add chopped pumpkin and coat in the butter 4. Add Thyme, salt & pepper, sugar & milk and bring to the boil, simmer for about 15 minutes until pumpkin is tender 5. Liquidise the mixture and season to taste The great thing about this recipe is that it can be left and reheated later, so make a big batch and thats a few dinners and lunches covered for the week.

Winter is fast approaching and the lecture theatres are getting cold. Here are a couple of toasty recipes to warm your cockles after a long by Saskia Parks, Features Team day of learning.

Warm Spiced Apple

This beverage is the epitome of winter and is great just before a night out of waiting in cold club ques. Serves 8 2l cheap apple juice 10 cloves 10 pepper corns 2 cinnamon sticks 2 un waxed lemons sliced cm thick 2 whole oranges sliced cm thick Demerara sugar to taste Limited edition toffee apple Sourz (optional but recommended only 9!) to taste 1. In pan, pour apple juice along with the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, lemon & orange slices 2. Heat gently, bringing almost to the boil and simmer for 10 mins 3. Strain into a clean pan, adding demerara sugar to taste 4. Serve warm Some of these ingredients may seem a little lavish; however if you make a big batch and share with friends you can split the cost between you. The cloves and pepper corns are also a good cupboard staple for other recipes!

E-mail your submission to agony@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Curious Anxieties
by Rebekkah Hughes, Features Editor

t seems that a very small, reasonably harmless creature causes a lot of problems. Arachnophobia, or the fear of spiders, troubles many people and is one the most common specific fears in Western societies. So, when the news and other media outlets decided to cover the story of the actually-not-that-deadly false widow, there was a lot of hype about nothing. In actual fact, Greg Hitchcock, a conservation officer at the Kent Wildlife Trust, claims that a bite from one of these spiders is no more dangerous than eating a peanut. So, in the spirit of identifying weird and wonderful spider species, here are (what I reckon) are some of the most unusual fears the knowledge of the Internet has to offer: 1) Xanthophobia is the fear of the colour yellow or

the word yellow. 2) Anatidaephobia is defined as the fear that one is being watched by a duck. The anatidaephobic individual fears that no matter where they are or what they are up to, a duck watches their every move. 3) Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. 4) The one that weve all seen before: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, which is, in all its irony, the fear of long words. Why anyone would want to try and pronounce and/or remember that word is completely beyond me. 5) Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut better sticking to the roof of your mouth. 6) Peladophobia is the fear of bald people. 7) and finally, spectrophobia: the fear of looking at ones own reflection in the mirror, or a fear of mirrors itself.

Pamela Svoboda

here are lots of people here feeling exactly the same as you Lucy. Its estimated that up to 70% of students feel homesick in the first few weeks of university. Often its made worse by high expectations as in I ought to be having a wonderful time. But Im not. Why not? Whats wrong with me?! The truth is theres nothing wrong. Settling in to Uni presents many new challenges - social, academic and financial. Facing challenges is difficult at times but the good news is if it feels challenging, it means youre putting yourself outside your comfort zone. And if youre putting yourself outside your comfort zone it means youre learning a lot. The important thing to remember is that it takes TIME to settle, make friendships and get the hang of everything. Sometimes people feel they shouldnt feel homesick or that its a sign of weakness. In fact its just a sign that youve got family or friends back home with whom

youve got strong relationships, so theyre worth missing! Talking to a fellow student about how you feel can help - chances are theyll know how you feel. Its great if you get on with your flatmates but it doesnt always gel. Keep busy and meet likeminded people by joining clubs and societies. If youre finding the course challenging, talk to your tutor to get some pointers, or go to SPLASH who can help with study skills. Try not to drown your sorrows in too much alcohol as this is actually a depressant. Keeping a regular lifestyle with enough sleep and good food helps. Invite a couple of people round for dinner eat well and make life friendlier at the same time! Dont rush a decision about whether you should be here or not. If youre still struggling dont suffer alone. Talk to someone, a friend, student mentor, or come along to the Centre for Wellbeing to talk to an advisor or counsellor wholl help you find your way through.

Serve in a hollowed out pumpkin for a rustic effect

Features Editor: Rebbekah Hughes

The Stag|28th October 2013

FEATURES

15

I Went To North Korea CAREERS SERVICE

By Sarah Kendall, Hannah Roberts, Alex Tromp Careers Ambassadors

Notable events in November: CV Checks every Friday with various employers i.e. ICAEW, Coca Cola, IBM and many more! Tesco drop in session and presentational skills. Join John sessions every Wednesday where you can practice assessment centre skills. We have regular newsletters which outline all our recent happenings. To sign up and receive the newsletters, please email careers@surrey.ac.uk. We would welcome your feedback on the Careers Fair and the Service as a whole. Please feel free to drop by, send an email, Facebook message or Tweet us to let us know what you think! Thanks for reading!

By Mahfuj Ali Physics BSc Hons with Professional Training Year

o the term is now in full swing and the Careers Service has kicked off their employability events! Weve been busy recently as we hosted the Careers and Placement Fair on PATS field and welcomed 124 organisations including Philips, BAE Systems, Boots and EY. The Careers Fair was packed from start to finish and we received positive feedback from employers about students enthusiasm and maturity. Of course the day wouldnt have been possible without the student helpers (Chris Delivett, Zoe Cox and Naomi Barbour) who worked tirelessly to support the Careers Service team and ensure the smooth running of the day Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/surreycareers Twitter: @careerssurrey

ell technically it was the De-Militarised Zone. During the summer of 2013, nine Surrey students including myself ventured into what would become a life changing experience. Across the globe, we packed our bags and set off for a six week summer school to South Korea at Seoul National University (SNU). The International Summer Institute (ISI) is an annual summer school where approximately 500 students from all over the world visit SNU to study various academic modules, but also have the opportunity to experience the unique Korean culture. As Surrey students our fees were waived due to an exchange agreement between Surrey and SNU; however spaces were limited so there was an application process. After being nominated for the ISI programme, I was somewhat hesitant whether to actually follow through or not as this was a huge decision; I decided to just go for it in the end! Upon arrival we were greeted with a tropical summer heat wave, soon to be followed by the monsoon season. All students were placed within the same building in shared accommodation. Over the next month and half we studied academic modules, went on field trips and had plenty of social outings. Our induction to the ISI programme included a tour of the SNU campus, which we soon realised was massive and consisted of many hills;

fortunately it also had dozens of restaurants, shops and student facilities. There were over 60 modules on offer: I took up Korean Language, Ceramics and Computer Science. All three were enjoyable and now I can even read and write Korean, which people find hard to believe when I tell them. With Fridays off we had extra-long weekends to fully engulf ourselves with the wonders the city of Seoul has on offer; from high speed internet and free open wifi, to dog and cat cafes (dont worry you dont eat them, you pet and play with them), a rich Korean cuisine and finally not forgetting the nights out in Gangnams many clubs and bars. There really is something for everyone in this vibrant modern city with surprises around every corner. What I took away from the ISI programme was not only memories and friends for life from all over the world, but also the opportunity to taste another culture and see that there is a whole new world out there waiting to be discovered by you. Now I want to continue travelling with the prospect of doing a similar programme abroad in the future. If youre interested in the ISI programme be sure to attend this years Study and Work Abroad Fair at Splash from 2-5pm on Wednesday 13th November where you can find out all the information you need or visit the summer school website http://www2.surrey.ac.uk/exchanges/outgoing/ Summer%20Schools/index.htm If you are thinking about applying for the summer school just do it!

It's time to talk

W

When was the last time you stopped and thought about how youre taking care of your mental health? Everyone has mental health, but not Tom Windibank everyone is aware just how important it is to maintain a healthy mind. Even the simple VP Welfare
ere constantly being bombarded with information about our physical health, and there are so many reasons to keep your body healthy. But there are just as many, if not more reasons, to maintain a healthy mind. A staggering 92% of students have experienced symptoms of mental distress during their studies at university according to a recent survey conducted by the National Union of Students. Out of those students, 26% have not told a single person how they are feeling, and another 13% have had suicidal thoughts. If you have a headache, the likelihood is that you would probably do something about it, whether that would be taking paracetamol, a glass of water or getting five minutes of shut eye. But if your symptoms werent so physical would you know what to do?

in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Three quarters of the population know someone with a mental health problem, but we still tend not to talk about it. What are we afraid of? You don't need to be an expert to talk about mental health, just a few small words can make a big difference. Thousands of people, including some household names such as Stephen Fry and Gok Wan, have made a pledge to start a conversation, with the aim of ending the silence around mental health. Theyve done so in response to a campaign called Time to Change. Time to Change is run by the leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink. The campaign is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief and is evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London. A key principle that Time to Change is built on is social contact. This means knowing someone with a mental health problem, or having met someone who is open about it. Research shows that this is one of the most powerful indicators of improved attitudes and behaviours, so a lot of the campaigns work is about creating

opportunities for more members of the public to come into contact with people who are open about their mental health problems. Since Time to Change launched in 2007 there has been a significant increase in the number of people who say they know someone with a mental health problem. As a society, we are becoming more open about mental health. Crucially, more people with mental health problems are now living lives free from discrimination. But there is still a long way to go to reach that tipping point where ignorance and stigma in relation to mental health are unacceptable, and where everyone with a mental health problem can be open about it without fear of stigma and discrimination. According to evaluation of Time to Change, there is a clear and consistent link between awareness of the Time to Change campaign and improved knowledge, attitudes and behaviour around mental health. This link is growing over time, which suggests that awareness of the campaign is building. And now you know about it too! Find out more at http://www.time-tochange.org.uk/

things like keeping active and having a wellbalanced diet can have a bearing upon how you cope with certain situations, and even some effective time management can help alleviate some of the stresses that come with those fast approaching course work deadlines. Its important for you to keep a check on your mental health throughout your time at university and to keep an eye out for your mates too. We dont talk about mental health enough, and the purpose of this week is to begin the conversation about these issues here at Surrey. The end of Mental Health Week is not the end of the campaign, far from it. This signals the beginning of our mental health campaign so keep your eyes peeled throughout the year and there will be further updates and information available at: ussu.co.uk/advice

Celebrating Black History

ZeHawk

Black History Month is not only a time to celebrate culture and diversity; it is also a time to remember the social activists that contributed to the empowerment of black people. Personally BHM is also a time to celebrate equality and integration of different cultures within our society which was unheard of. This year marks 50 years since the iconic I Have a Dream speech by Dr Martin Luther King Jr the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement which fought for black peoples rights in America and and sparked a dominos effect across the world. On October 31st I will be hosting a FREE event in Rubix entitled BHM: A Celebration. I felt it was necessary to hold this event, not only as a way of celebrating the rich culture but also as a way to bring together a number of societies. The event will feature a Fashion Show by the African Caribbean Society, Performance by Gospel Choir, FREE African food by the Nigerian Society, a joint performance by LitSoc & PENSoc, Spoken Word & much more. At university we are exposed to people from all walks of life: different races, religions, sexual orientations, ages, gender and people with different abilities. This makes university the perfect place to break down social barriers and hopefully the knock on effect will be a more tolerant culture in society beyond University. I am a firm believer that lack of exposure is what contributes to some of the ills in our society as the clich goes, people fear what they dont Taku Parvin know; racism being a prime example. This is why events such as BHM: A Union Equality & Celebration are essential not only for embracing different cultures but Diversity Officer also for educating.

Centre for Wellbeing

We know that being a student is a great opportunity. We also know it isnt always easy. Everyone has times when they need advice, the opportunity to talk something through or just someone to listen without

Mental Health Week

judging. Thats why were here. With the right kind of support, you can find your own solutions to realise everything youre capable of.

Need to talk?

Advice for those with mental health conditions Workshops for learning new life skills Advice on health and personal issues Drop in sessions Time limited counselling

Contact us for more information:

Centre for Wellbeing, University Court (opposite Millenium House) 01483 689498 Email: centreforwellbeing@surrey.ac.uk Web: www.surrey.ac.uk/currentstudents/health Centre for Wellbeing, University of Surrey SurreyCWB

Were here!

ALL OUR SERVICES ARE CONFIDENTIAL & FREE TO STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY

Learning for Life

Aimed at men who experience low mood and depression, this group focuses on the development of practical skills to help you effectively and independently manage this very common problem. This course will help you to understand some of the ways in which stress and anxiety can become a habit, and equip you with a toolkit of strategies to help you change it.

Develop new skills for living, in a friendly and supportive group environment. Come and join one the Centre for Wellbeings Groups or Workshops.

Mood Management for Men

Overcoming Stress, Anxiety & Worry

Cant Work Drop In Coaching

This workshop offers a 20 minute one-to-one session for any student who is stuck with their work, struggles to motivate themselves or has a habit of procrastinating. Mindfulness training for students gives you tools to help you remain calm, sustain your attention, and be able to focus. It reduces stress and anxiety and boost levels of attention

Mindfulness

Relaxation To Go
Take time out of your day to relax. This session will explore different techniques to support the bodys natural relaxation . To book or find out more, go to the Centre for Wellbeing Groups and Workshops booking page http://www.surrey. ac.uk/currentstudents/health/learn/workshops/

ALL GROUPS AND WORKSHOPS ARE FREE TO SURREY STUDENTS!

Sci/Tech Editor: Siobhan Harris

The Stag|22nd May 2012

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

21

Science & Technology

The Nobel Prize Physics
deemed it as Something small that makes all the difference. Shortly after Higgs published, more physicists (including Englert) independently proposed the same theories. It wasnt until July 2012 that the Higgs boson was actually discovered at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland by the Atlas and CMS experiments. For this reason, there has been wide

Brought to you by your Science & Tech Editor, Siobhan Harris

The brilliant Englishman Peter Higgs and Belgian physicist Francois Englert have been awarded a shared Nobel Prize for their work on the Higgs boson particle. It all began in the 1960s when a young Higgs began investigating why matter has mass at Edinburgh University. He developed the idea that particles acquired mass fractionally later than the beginning of the universe as a result of interacting with a theoretical field - a field which gives mass to all subatomic particles that interact with it. It is a central part of the Standard Model of particle physics that describes how the world is constructed, and is an incredible breakthrough. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences committees secretary announcing the prize

Something small that makes all the difference.

acknowledgment for all scientists and engineers who contributed to the discovery, and Higgs himself has been modest about winning the prize. I am overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the Royal Swedish Academy, He said in a statement released by the

University of Edinburgh. The award can only ever go to a maximum of three people, and since it cannot go to somebody deceased, the committee were unable to recognise Englerts colleague Robert Brout who died in recent years. Nor could they award Cern as an organisation, but of course they have recognised the particle physics laboratorys achievement. Gerard Guralnik, Tom Kibble and Carl Hagen were three other physicists, and the last, to publish their contributions to the theory. Higgs has since announced that he will be retiring age 85 in 2014. Himself and Englert will receive their prize at a formal ceremony alongside other Nobel winners in Stockholm on December 10th.

Awarded every year since 1901, the prestigious Nobel Prizes are given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their fields.

SteFou

Taking chemistry into cyberspace has really paid off for Michael Levitt, Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel who are to share this years Nobel Prize in chemistry. They have been rewarded for their work devising computer simulations to understand chemical processes which has laid the foundations for new kinds of pharmaceuticals. They demonstrate new ways to model chemical products by using computers, making it possible to optimise catalysts, drugs and solar cells. Their work began in the 1970s developing powerful computer programs that are used to understand and predict chemical processes. Martyn Poliakoff, foreign secretary and vice-

Chemistry

Splitting the $1.2m prize for Medicine this year are James Rothman, Randy Schenkman and Thomas Sudhof. The trio are awarded for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells. In other words, cellular shipping. Vesicles, which are tiny bubbles of fat, act as the cells internal shipping service sending material such as enzymes, neurotransmitters and hormones, around the cell. Discovering the way vesicles act like a fleet of ships transporting their stock to the exact destination, is a crucial development. Each cell is packed with precise machinery and in order to function properly it must possess the right materials in the right place at the right time. Without the precise organisation, the cell would lapse into chaos - seen in diabetes and brain disorders.

Medicine

Schekman describes this chaos as resembling a poorly planned public transport system. His work involved finding the mutations in the genes which regulate the transport system in yeast. Rothman showed how proteins enabled vesicles to dock and fuse with their target sites on the complex network of internal membranes separating the compartments within a cell. Sudhof worked on nerve cells, finding that the calciumcontrolled mechanism at the heart of vesicle function enabled the delivery of chemical messengers or neurotransmitters across the tiny gap or synapse that links two or more communicating neurons. Each of the winners, in turn, have transformed the way we view transport of molecular cargo to specific destinations inside and outside the cell, said the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

president of the Royal Society said: Their novel approach combined both classical and quantum physics and now enables us to understand how very large molecules react. One way their work is being used is to determine how a drug could interact with a protein in the body to treat disease. Ive told people that the silent partner in this prize is the incredible development in computer power. said Levitt. The three winners applied quantum mechanical effects to their computers, devising methods that use both classical and quantum physics.

Madhu Babu Pandi

Abhijit Bhaduri

22 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Stag|22nd May 2012

sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Science & Tech Viewpoints

By Rebecca Hillard, Science & Tech Team The International Union for Conservation of Natures Red List is an inventory of great importance. It documents the global conservation status of species. Essentially, the list evaluates a species according to a strict list of criteria, to assess its risk of extinction. The Red List places the species into one of nine groups. These groups are; Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concerned, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in The Wild, Extinct. The Red List attempts to raise awareness of the urgent need for conservation efforts and issues to both the public and those in a position to change policies. The Red List is urging our international community to become aware of the rapidly growing list of species and subspecies appearing in the Endangered and Critically Endangered categories. This plea for the world to help is falling on already full or deaf ears, as the worlds issues continue to increase. As cancer becomes more common, terrorism threatens daily life, global economy collapses, mass production of weaponry grows and poverty surges; the extinction of species is being pushed to the back of our minds. A large part of the population may believe it simply wont happen, or if it does, it wont happen in our lifetime, so it isnt our problem. This is a huge issue as most of us displace the blame. The truth is, extinction of species is happening, its happening now and the situation is getting increasingly worse.

Flash News
By Fahmid Chowdhury, Science & Tech Team
Giant Air-Breathing Fish Discovered

The Red List

The IUCN calls for the category of each species to be re-evaluated every five years. Regional Red Lists produced by countries and organisations are assessing the risk of each species and the 2012 release of the Red List was a wakeup call. In the 2012 release 4 species were put on the extinct list. IUCN revealed out of the assessed total of 63,837 species 19,817 are threatened with extinction. 3,947 species are listed as Critically Endangered, 5,766 species are listed as Endangered and over 10,000 species are listed as Vulnerable. A major example is the announcement of the extinction of the Western African Black Rhino. In 2011, the IUCN declared the subspecies of the black rhino was extinct. The Western Black Rhinoceros population declined after heavy poaching continued with relatively little opposition as protection efforts dwindled. By 2000, it was estimated that only ten survived in the wild and that no known animals were in captivity. In 2006 a survey of Northern Cameroon was undertaken but failed to find any surviving individuals. The world desperately needs to realize that the extinction of species is a major issue that will continue to affect the world and our lives far into the future. Ecosystems are kept in delicate balance and if any level were lost it would have a huge snowball effect. Conservation efforts, protection of species and prevention of poaching need to become forefront issues in global governments before we lose any more species to our mistakes.

giant fish which is able to breath in air has been discovered in the Amazon River. It also has a strong, scaly skin which scientists believe can withstand piranha bites. Another interesting fact about it is that its scales are made up in layers.

Kenya to Plant Microchips in Rhinos

Next Gen Viewpoint

By Andrew Cottrell, Science & Tech Team When Microsoft first announced the Xbox One, there were a lot of rumours about the digital control Microsoft would be putting into their new next generation systems. The silence around these rumours from Microsoft made a lot of people worry - with good reason. Along came the reveal of the Xbox One, alongside the Playstation 4. Then Microsoft let it slide; your console had to be connected to the internet once every 24 hours for it to continue working like normal. You wouldnt be able to trade or sell used games. Not only this, but the Kinect, a device for voice and motion interface with the Xbox One, had to be always plugged in and was always listening even when the device was turned off. While they had announced that it would only be listening for a single voice string while turned off - the turn on command - there was a huge lack of trust on the side of potential consumers. Then there was a huge backlash that hit Microsoft hard. Preorder numbers between the PS4 and the Xbox One were hugely in the PS4s advantage. Polls were indicating that above 90% of pre-orders were going to the PS4 instead of the Xbox. Since then Microsoft has been slowly announcing more and more changes of policies regarding this. Theyve scrapped the need for it to be constantly online - you now only need it to be online once during setup and then never again. Theyve announced used games can be traded and sold the same as before with the Xbox 360. This doesnt mean that there will be no limitations, but more the limitations will not be in place by Microsoft. For example, with a lot of games produced by EA - you get an online pass with each purchase which can only be used once, so if you buy a used version of the game you are limited to only single player gameplay. Theyve announced that now the Kinect will not be required to be plugged in for the Xbox to function, which makes a lot of us more comfortable about having the device in our living rooms. This now makes the Xbox One a far more tempting piece of equipment for the living room, and brings it back to being a competitor into the next generation market. But is it too late? Everyone at first decided that the Playstation was by far the better choice and in doing this set their minds on it. If Microsoft want to make it into the market, they need to do something that will make everyone actually want to switch to this after having already decided on the Playstation 4. Much like when EA wanted people to use Origin instead of Steam, they released Battlefield 3 - a game to tempt everyone onto a system that no one wanted to use. Playstation are still winning the fight, but its a lot closer than it used to be.

Frederik Hermann

n ambitious plan in Kenya to plant microchips in the ears of all the Rhinos in the country has been revealed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is helping by donating the equipment for the project, including more than 1000 chips and 5 scanners. This is being done to curb the amount of poaching that is occurring in Kenya.

Largest Ever Meteorite Found in Russia

meteorite has been pulled out of a Russian lake after plunging into it from the sky on 15th February. The meteorite measures 1.5 metres long and scientists believe that this is the largest meteorite ever found. More than 1000 people were injured when this rock was in its full form, hurting towards the earth. However, it disintegrated into 3 smaller pieces as it hit the water.

Jupiter Has Diamond Rain

possibility of carbon in its shiny, dazzling form falling from the sky has been calculated by scientists based on new atmospheric data. Lightning storms turn methane into soot(carbon) which turns into solid as it falls thus creating graphite, and then diamond.

Help save this little guy, the Red Panda, who is listed as Endangered. They can be found in China, and like to snack on bamboo leaves. Cute, right?

Cliff

Sci/Tech Editor: Siobhan Harris

The Stag|22nd May 2012

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

23

App Corner

The Incomplete Map of the Cosmic Genome

By Siobhan Harris, Science & Tech Editor

Stoptober Special: Effects of Brain Stimulation in Smokers

By Joanna Moch, Science & Tech Team Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) wow, thats a mouthful has recently been linked to reduction in cigarette cravings. Researchers from Harvard suggested that in the near future brain stimulation would be able to cure our nasty addiction to nicotine. If you know a little bit about neuroscience of addiction, it may come to you as no surprise that smoking-related brain areas like dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or superior frontal gyrus (SFG) seem rather tempting to stimulate especially when there is a chance of reaching those deeper regions (i.e. insula and amygdala) and making positive effects on addicts health. Yet remember there is no evidence that tDCS can actually penetrate those buried under millions of neurons brain structures! Nevertheless, its effects do not only seem to be associated with smoking-related cues manipulation, but potentially also with control inhibition, abstinence period and nicotine pharmacokinetics. In English, six studies showed cigarette cravings reduction and two of them even reduction in self-reported cigarette consumption. This is fairly impressive; however those effects seem only short-term at the moment. There is a theory that noninvasive brain stimulation could work better (and possibly for longer) in combination with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This reminds me of Professor Robert Wests studies on smoking cessation. Precisely, years ago West found that NRT in combination with strictly controlled glucose consumption seemed to be able to reduce cravings in smokers. Would this mean that with stimulating your brain and eating loads of sweeties you will have a greater chance of quitting smoking for good? Im not so sure about that, however it definitely takes us back to why people gain weight when fighting the dependency. Which now makes me think that temporary weight gain could actually be needed to succeed? Anyway...the question also is whether we know enough about the effects of the stimulation itself in order to progress into repeated stimulation and use the method as a treatment for smokers. The area investigated appears to be still at the initial stages of development when it comes to smoking cessation, however to date results seem promising. For now weve got NHS Services! Talking of which, as you may know we are coming to the end of Stoptober campaign so well done to all those who managed the whole month Smokefree and good luck to those still planning to give up!

Presented by Robin Ince, this app is a guide to modern thoughts on why we are as we are, and why the universe is as it is. Featuring thoughts from Brian Cox, Ben Goldacre and Richard Dawkins, its a chance to watch and listen to some of the greatest minds that see the fascination in the big and the small from stellar nurseries to earthworms. Its designed to be easily accessible, entertaining, informative and amusing. All interviews and videos are exclusive to the app - so dont miss out! Subscriptions start from just 3.99 a month.

24 MUSIC

The Stag|22nd May 2012

music@thestagsurrey.co.uk

The Coffeehouse Sessions: Kerri Watt

By Candice Ritchie, Music Editor of little ones in Scotland. Awesome, how were they? Brilliant! I like the Festival vibe, its fun to be outdoors when youve got good weather for them. The Camden Rocks Festival was probably my favourite gig ever, because everyone was buzzing. Camden is such a lively place anyway, then it was a Saturday and there was a huge music Festival on. And youve got your new EP coming out soon? Yes, Im aiming to launch that in early 2014, probably February time. Off of that will be my first mainstream single release. Are you playing many of the singles from that today? Yeah, I am. I play about a third of my set. I kind of switch the set up a bit. Which genres do your songs fit into? Theyre country, soul and blues influenced. A little bit of folk in there as well. Ive studied, travelled and gigged in the US a

Music

cottish singer-songwriter Kerri Watt has been taking part in a tour dubbed the coffeehouse sessions a series of performances across UK universities, which aims to put upcoming artists in the spotlight. Having recently toured the US, supported Brian McFadden on his UK national tour, hit the UK festival scene and performed at many of Londons iconic venues, Kerri is a busy lady and set to be a successful one. On Friday 11th October, Kerri visited the University of Surrey, and performed to a lively, heaving lunchtime crowd at Chancellors. Playing an array of country, blues and soul inspired tracks, her strong voice soared above the noise and attracted many an eye to the stage. Beginning with songs from her upcoming EP, drifting into covers of John Mayers Queen of California and a Bob Dylan number and rounding off with the soon-to-be-released Maybe, she displayed both her talent and versatility. The Stag was lucky enough to have a few words with Kerri before her set

[My music is] country, soul and blues influenced. A little bit of folk in there as well. [...] Theres also a kind of pop-edge to it as well, to make it commercially viable and fitting to todays music.
Hi Kerri! Youve been doing coffeehouse sessions around different universities what ones have you been to so far? I started in Scotland, which was nice, as I was in my homeland. Then Ive done a North to South tour, so Ive moved across. This week, Ive been mostly around London; I was in Wales the other day, though. Today is actually my last day. Oh, thats a shame! Have you enjoyed them? Yeah, Ive had a great time! Its been really busy, you know, two gigs a day, so Ive been running between venues and at some of them Ive had gigs in the evening. Its been busy! Sounds great! I hear you toured with Brian McFadden? I did youve done some research! That was back in May, I toured around the UK. Hed just come back from Australia so that was kind of his comeback, solo tour. Im actually supporting him again at the Jazz Caf in London in a couple of weeks for his new single launch. What about the Festivals? Over the summer, I did the Camden Rocks Festival, and Party in the Park, which is around the Surrey area. Then I did a couple little bit, so there are a lot of those American influences: West Coast and also a bit of the Southern influence in my country songs. Theres also a kind of pop-edge to it as well, to make it commercially viable and fitting to todays music. Whos your major influence? John Mayer. Ill maybe play a John Mayer song today See if I feel like it. I usually kind of have to judge the audience: do they want something upbeat and fun? Do they want to chill out? So, Ill see what I think. It must be difficult performing in the afternoon people arent on a night out, having a drink and listening to live music? Yeah, there are pros and cons. These last couple of weeks have really come down to the universities how much they promote the event, and exactly where they put you in the union. Ive been somewhere thats not even been in a coffee shop, just a big open space, and it was difficult because the sound kind of gets lost. Whereas, this is my perfect kind of venue because its a much more concentrated area and theres lots of people. Theyre also not drunk! Who do you most aspire to be like? There are just so many different artists that inspired me and influenced my song writing. If I could give you a collection of everyone whos ever had any influence over me: Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, John Mayer, Van Morrison, Sheryl Crow something like that. What about the more modern Country, like Taylor Swift? Yeah, Taylor Swift is awesome, definitely! I really draw my influences from older artists, stuff thats a little bit before my time, but there are loads of great current artists too. John Mayer is current, a guy called Amos Lee I really like. Do you think Taylors kind of brought back the Country? Yeah, I think she made it cool. Obviously her stuff is a bit more commercial sounding now, but she still has her roots in country, she still plays her guitar she did kind of make it more acceptable to listen to that stuff, not only in the US but in the UK as well. Kerri will be supporting Brian McFadden at the Jazz Caf, London, on 9th November. Visit, follow, like and listen to Kerri on: Website: www.kerriwatt.com Twitter: @kerriwatt Facebook: www.facebook.com/kerriwattmusic YouTube: www.youtube.com/kerriwattmusic

Music Editor: Candice Richie

The Stag|22nd May 2012

MUSIC

25

Alter Bridge - Fortress

Pusha T - My Name is My Name

By Leo Blanchard, Music Team With numerous EPs and mix-tapes preceding it, a lot of anticipation has surrounded Pusha T's debut studio album 'My Name is My Name', and with good reason. Despite previous success as one half of the hip-hop duo Clipse, Pusha T truly established himself in the mainstream by signing to Kanye West's GOOD Music label in 2010, and appearing on several tracks on the compilation 'Cruel Summer' including the Grammynominated 'Mercy'. Production on the album is handled primarily by Kanye himself and his influence is made immediately apparent to us on the album's opener 'King Push' which makes use of the same sample as 'New Slaves' (taken from Madza's 'Nothing Bad' for those interested), giving it a pervading, sinister feel. The album's subject matter is a great deal gloomier than previous Pusha releases such as 'Fear of God II', paying a greater amount of attention to the negative aspects of the drugdealing lifestyle. It even extends into Rick Ross's verse on the Hudson Mohawke-produced 'Hold R&B artist. Songs 'Numbers on the Boards' and 'No Regrets' are both integral to giving the album an edge, without which it would undoubtedly fall flat; however, in spite of excellent production on both tracks, they never go as hard as they really should, failing to live up to their true potential. The album's highpoint is undoubtedly 'Nosetalgia' which actually convinces us, at least momentarily, of his first-hand experiences with cocaine, namely because of the familiarity and detail with which he describes it, letting it "sizzle on the stove like a minute steak" using a "Gem Star razor and a dinner plate". Unfortunately for Pusha, Kendrick Lamar continues his trend of outshining rather than reinforcing the artists of the tracks on which he features on, introducing himself with a simultaneously comedic and unnervingly childlike "you wanna see a dead body?" and proceeding to deliver his verse with the ferocity and excellent wordplay that has become expected of him. Upon first listen, many tracks on 'My Name Is My Name' can feel forgettable and leave little impression on the listener, in

By James Campbell, Music Team

aving rolled up their sleeves and flexed their musical muscles, Alter Bridge are back to rule the roost once more with their latest critically acclaimed musical endeavour, Fortress, an album bristling with hard hitting riffs, cavernous choruses, transcendental vocals, the hypnotic chugging of guitars and tirade after tirade of whirlwind solos. Mustering their creative forces to powerful effect, Alter Bridge have spawned a musical incubus of Frankenstein proportions which quivers with bombastic energy, given up to pacify the insatiable appetites of the eagerly expectant hard rock and metal community. The album commences at a gallop in the form of a Spanish flamenco inspired, acoustic shredder, Cry of Achilles, an authoritative rock screamer spurred on by a relentless rhythm and such battle cry wailings and whoopings from vocalist, Myles Kennedy that would give the Valkyries a ride for their money. To Valhalla we are dragged, therefore, as the four horseman, Kennedy, Tremonti, Marshall and Philips charge onwards at a frenzied pace with Addicted to Pain, a vigorous belter, which churns out devastating rounds of fuzz and thrash, raining down like bullets on unsuspecting eardrums and with enduring vocal screeches straight from the sepulchral depths of hell. After the storm ebbs and the tidal waves of energy temporarily subside, beckons the first of the albums anthemic ballads, Lover, a song which oozes emotional efficacy, encapsulating the euphoric quality of early Guns N Roses with powerful chords and soaring vocals. The sea rises and drowns listeners with a deafening roar once more though on the ominous and haunting tracks, The Uninvited, Peace Is Broken and Farther Than the Sun, encompassing a maelstrom of dark emotions and fathomless textures, emphasised by Kennedys celestial harmonies, Tremontis technically

jaw dropping lead guitar work and voluminous, goose bump -inducing choruses. Alter Bridge go back to basics to emblazon the heartstrings with the melodically sublime, All Ends Well an inspiring ballad written by Kennedy to represent maternal figures worldwide, driven by the theme of loves resilience in the path of adversity and uncertainty, echoed by a universal message of hope, If you believe in nothing else, believe in yourself. The culminating track, Fortress completes this epic tale of musical venture and auricular battering, reinforcing the stronghold of diverging soundscapes found throughout the album. Nevertheless, despite the seemingly effortless production and sheer musicality of this release, some may find Fortress tedious listening, as after a while the chugging grows predictable and lyrical arrangements slightly too theatrical and bland, such as on tracks Bleed it Dry and Waters Rising. Overall, though, there is a reason why Alter Bridge are lapping up the accolades; Fortress does exactly what it says on the album cover, delivering a meticulously well constructed citadel of sound, which you just cant help but bob your head to. By producing an entire disc full of intrepid, melodic hard rock thumpers, Alter Bridge have distanced themselves from competition of their ilk by plunging into a evolutionary musical void, whilst others continue to hang precariously over the precipice of change, arguably too afraid to take the risk and traverse a new world of audible opportunities. For Alter Bridge, a new musical adventure beckons, and their fortress of sound isnt likely to be besieged any time soon Preaching to all rock n rollers, not only the converted! Bang your heads along to the radio-friendly Addicted to Pain, Lover and Peace is Broken for a full flavour. Fortress is available via ITunes at 7.99.

The albums subject matter is a great deal gloomier than previous Pusha releases such as Fear of God II, paying a greater amount of attention to the negative aspects of the drugdealing lifestyle.
On', wherein he mentions "being that boy's pallbearer", marking a rare shift in subject matter for the Maybach Music rapper. On 'Pain' and 'Suicide', Pusha continues to come across as genuinely cynical and disillusioned with the music industry, with the former of the two songs also expressing an awareness of the racial-divisions that continue to plague America: "Tre-eight on, coulda been Trayvon/ But instead I chose Avon/Powder face like a geisha"a reference to both the cosmetics company and the character in The Wire. 'Sweet Sernade', the album's third and latest single, features vocals from Chris Brown and is a clear move to garner the radio airplay that will be integral to determining Pusha's commercial success. However, Brown feels distinctly replaceable on the track as though the hook could be sung just as well, and probably better, by any relevant spite of the presence of lines that clearly exist to grasp the attention - namely on 'Hold On': "Scoring from the heights but I wanted mine purer/Aryan, blonde hair, blue-eyed like the Fhrer". It's lyrics like these that are a continual reminder of Yeezy's influence upon the album and Pusha T as an artist; this isn't necessarily a bad thing (unless, of course, you aren't a fan of Kanye) but it's difficult not to compare their output against one another - a competition in which Pusha stands little chance. There's no denying that Pusha T's signing to GOOD Music has greatly improved the quality of his output, with 'My Name is My Name' marking a significant improvement upon previous releases such as the forgettable 'Wrath of Caine' mixtape, but the Pusha T putting 'numbers on the boards' seems to rarely appear on here as often as he should.

Music Editor: Candice Richie

The Stag|22nd May 2012

MUSIC

27

iTunes Festival 2013: Kings of Leon

By Denise Bennett, Music Team A huge American band in a small London venue: whats not to like? Ive loved the Kings of Leon since first seeing them at the V Festival in 2004, and although I have seen them another 5 or 6 times, its always been in an enormous muddy field with many, many thousand others. The ITunes festival now attracts major acts to Camdens Roundhouse, which has an audience capacity of only about 2000. I resorted to utterly shameless begging to get my tickets and I was ecstatic to be there. Critical success and cult status followed KoLs early albums of Nashville tinged dirty-blues rock, particularly here in the UK, but the 2008 single Sex on Fire, beloved of karaoke rock star wannabes everywhere, took KoL into the mainstream. The usual pressures of success and touring, no doubt compounded by the rumoured in-fighting between these hard-drinking brothers (plus one cousin), culminated in 2010s implosion, when singer Caleb staggered drunkenly off-stage mid-set to vomit and drink and never returned. A string of tour dates was cancelled and the band retreated into a hiatus. 2013 marked their return to touring, which timed to coincide with the release of their sixth album. An excellent, energetic set from the support band, the enthusiastic pop-rockers Jimmy Eat World, ensured that the crowd around me was ready and pumped. Seeds of doubt were sown however, when KoLs roadies produced two hoovers and began vacuuming the stage before they came on: a novel sight in my 10 years of gig-going! I was reminded of the notorious pigeon-shit incident when they abandoned a show just 3 songs in, after the bass player was hit by pigeon droppings. So, whats it to be, hard drinking rockers or pampered prima donnas? Well, they played a full set, and the crowd liked it. Some of the crowd loved it. Their early, urgent idiosyncratic sound was showcased by Mollys Chambers, Four Kicks, The Bucket and Knocked up, whilst the more recent Use Somebody, Be Somebody and Crawl drew appreciative roars. These were interspersed however, with too many bland, mid-paced, generic rock tracks from the last two albums. The new Mechanical Bull displays a clear intent to recapture a grittier edge, but set-opener Supersoaker, though beefy and catchy, sounds like a straight lift from indie pioneers The Strokes. Drummer Nathan Followill has also stated an influence by Queens of the Stone Age, evidenced by the fast grungy thrash It Dont Matter. Having seen QOTSA here a few days previously, I can tell you KoLs effort was a pale imitation. Most fans who have been with a band from the beginning whinge when their band hits the mainstream. The problem for KoL in concert is not just the Sex-on-Fire divide and nor is it that their recent offerings tend towards arena-friendly, mid-paced, generic safety. No, the problem is that they just dont cut it in live performance. Drummer aside, they could have Skyped their performance. They looked bored. Singer Caleb Followill had the charisma of a potato. His country-rock voice drifted into a whine. The women near me talked all the way through. Sex-onFire generated some euphoria of course, but no more than at, say, a birthday party or a pub karaoke night. There was precious little crowd bouncing and just the occasional moments of fist-pumping. Id seen an electrifying ITunes Festival performance from QOTSA here and Muse last year. No, its not the venue, its not the audience: its the Kings of Leon. One of the few big bands who are a live let-down.

Kristen

28 FILM

The Stag|22nd May 2012

film@thestagsurrey.co.uk

The Fifth Estate (2013)

I
IMDb Top 100 Do You Agree?
cant be the only one who runs to IMDb for support when choosing a film to watch. In an attempt to avoid wasting hours of my life watching terrible movies, checking out the rating it has received by our trusted peers and critics is essential in finding out the score. But do we all agree with these ratings?

Film

#90 Rashomon (1950) IMDb rates 8.3/10

Rashomon, by Akira Kuroswa, is a relatively obscure film (beyond film buff circles) to pick as a favourite. The plot is based on an encounter between a samurai, a bandit, the samurais wife, and a woodcutter in forest, ending in which the death of samurai. Whats unique about this idea is that the story of the encounter is told from the perspective of the four main characters and none of the stories match up. Kurosawa was also a pioneer in among films in techniques such as handheld cinematography, contrasting shots, and extreme close-up montages. Its fascinating how the film leaves the viewer hanging about the nature of truth in a narrative. Rashomons ranking in the late 90s on the IMDb Top 100 is perhaps because its a film from the 1950s, but it perhaps deserves higher for its sheer novelty and innovation in the art of cinema. By Ankur Banerjee

By Ankur Banerjee, Film Team

he Fifth Estate is the highly-publicised film based on the story of Wikileaks, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. While I have followed Wikileaks closely ever since its Collateral Murder leak of the US Army killing Reuters journalists in Afghanistan, for most viewers the entity of Wikileaks is something they certainly would have heard of in the news, even if they do not know about it in detail. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Daniel Berg, played by Rush star Daniel Bruhl, an early Wikileaks volunteer who gets involved because he practically hero-worships Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder. The plot then follows the rise of Wikileaks through its initial teething stages, and eventual notoriety through its leaks about the US military and diplomatic regime. Much of the attention around the film has been focussed around Benedict Cumberbatchs portrayal of the larger-than-life persona of Julian Assange, because of the rabid fandom Cumberbatch has accumulated in recent years due to his role in BBC series Sherlock. Its only fair to take to Cumberbatch to task, then, for a half-assed effort, speaking in a British accent for most of the time and only occasionally slipping into stressing Assanges Australian accent by saying nitwurks instead of networks. (In terms of bad effort, this was only slightly better than Daniel Craigs Israeli accent in Munich The only blid that matters is Jewish blid.)

A major problem with the film is that it feels like a dramatic reading of Daniel Bergs book about Wikileaks, which is the source material for the story, rather than trying to stand as a screenplay of its own. Director Bill Condon formerly associated with Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Twilight Breaking Dawn feels like a terrible choice as he resorts to dated visualisations of rows of desks to try and represent the technical concepts in the film. A lot of screen time is devoted to watching people type on a screen in an effort to portray the drama unfolding. Yet, this misses the point: what makes the story of Wikileaks interesting is not the use of technology per se, but the confluence of different personalities that gave rise to it. The Social Network, for instance, was a film that understood this motivation well and focussed on the personalities rather than the technical details. My friend commented that she learnt more about Wikileaks by reading its Wikipedia article rather than watching The Fifth Estate. In attempting a documentary approach, it misses the exciting story of the people behind the story as well as feels too long a film to properly portray all the events. The only redeeming feature was a fourth-wall breaking piece-to-camera from Cumberbatch at the end of the film, but by that point its a gimmick from a dumb film attempting to appear intelligent.

continued on next page...

Film Editor: Sophia Field

The Stag|22nd May 2012

FILM

29

Girl Most Likely (2013)

Kristen Wiig was the one and only selling point for this film. Anyone who has seen Bridesmaids knows her as the hilarious one from Bridesmaids and viewers of Girl Most Likely may be disappointed that this film didnt live up to that performance. Of course, Kristen Wiig was still funny, but without the hilarious lines and set-ups, she was a shadow of her former self. From start to finish the aim of a joke could be seen, but never quite achieved, in the most unfulfilling way possible. The story was neither hilariously unbelievable, nor believably heartfelt, meaning it fits into a strange non-genre and did not find a target audience. Girl Most Likely is the story of Imogene (Kristen Wiig), a woman who loses everything after her handsome boyfriend breaks up with her. She is unsuccessful in her love-life and career and after losing her uptown status, she ends up living back in Jersey with her absurd family. It is a story that has been played out many times in rom-coms, but unfortunately for directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, this was not one of the best attempts. The title, Girl Most Likely is confusing in itself. Is it the start of a sentence? Girl Most Likely to flop at the box-office? to get a bad review? Or is it a bizarre title questioning the gender of our main character? Either way, it does not sell the movie. Another problem was that Kristen Wiigs character was fairly unsympathetic, and in fact, none of the characters were personable enough to generate an emotional connection with the viewer. It seemed that the writers had tried too hard for laughs and created one obscene character after another, but it proves too much and

#13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Placing at number 13 in IMDbs top movies chart, One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest really deserves its ranking. Director Milos Forman does a stunning job of providing ingeniously funny moments, with a real sincerity when examining the seriousness of the characters we meet in the mental institution. It is thoroughly heart-warming whilst in places, quite disturbing, but what makes it stand out from the crowd is Jack Nicholsons breath-taking performance as McMurphy. He brings such depth to the character that it is impossible not to fall in love with him. If hes crazy, what does that make you? By Sophia Field

By Sophia Field Film Editor

has the opposite effect. Generally, Girl Most Likely was a swing and a miss. Despite a few charming moments including the twinkle in the eyes of Darren Criss and Imogenes unique brother Ralph coming (literally) out of his shell, the movie did not find the laughs it so desired.

#7 12 Angry Men (1957) IMDb rates 8.9/10

At number seven on the IMDB top 100 is the 1957 drama 12 Angry Men. I first watched the film during a sociology class, as an example of the influence of crowd behaviour; to watch it leisurely and to be gripped by its plot seems obscene, because nothing really happens. It is 90 minutes of 12 jurors sat at a table, deliberating on the outcome of a convicted murderer. However, there is a brilliant natural feel to the film which I cannot criticise, buoyed by the excellence of both the acting and cinematography it seems so real, its as though it was never intended for an audience. Nonetheless, it didnt excite me or grip me, and to place it as high as number seven on the list is way too generous a position. By Candice Ritchie

If you have an opinion on any of the highest rated films found on IMDb, feel free to email Sophia Field (Film Editor) at film@ thestagsurrey.co.uk to give your view.

30 LITERATURE

The Stag|22nd May 2012

literature@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Literature
Dude, This Book Is Full Of Spiders review
By Ankur Banerjee, Literature Team

have been a fan of David Wong, pseudonym for comedy writer Jason Pargin, ever since I read his first book John Dies At The End and followed him on the Internet comedy sinkhole Cracked.com. In style that can only be summarised with a Braveheart-style battle-cry of "Wong!", he's back with a sequel to his first novel, this one titled Dude, This Book Is Full Of Spiders. The sequel picks up after the events of John Dies At The End, with David Wong and his friend John coping with their life as people who will have to put up with the only ones to be able to see the weird shit that goes on in their town of [Undisclosed]. Unlike the previous book which was dark and was based around demonology, this one is centred around another beloved geek genre: zombies. In typical David Wong style, the book is peppered with black comedy; admittedly a hard feat for the grim topic of zombies. Yet, the book delights at every page-turn with characteristic Wong-isms, such as: John and I have made this stuff our hobby, in the way an especially attractive prisoner makes a hobby out of not getting raped. Wait, did I just give away a spoiler that John doesn't, in fact, die at the end of the last book? Soz! But as you can figure out from the quote, the novel doesn't shy away from jokes that other comedians might not consider kosher. And this is precisely what sets Wong's writing apart: that it's unabashedly, unapologetically funny. For a book which is written by a comedy writer, there are quite a few moments in the plot that dive into existential questions of how mass media is controlled, time travel, love, and much more. Similar to World War Z, it explores how mass hysteria can spread through a population in the face of a "disease" that is supernatural in origin and can go undetected. There are parts of the book that are genuinely terrifying. Yet, it doesn't shy away from mocking the culture of zombie-killing worship that

Nobel Prize for Literature Won by Alice Munro

By Shiri Shah, Literature Editor

A
is perpetuated by popular video games in the genre either; that killing zombies in real life would pretty much be like mashing buttons to kill them on a screen. The ending to Dude, This Book Is Full Of Spiders is somewhat tamer - almost as if written for a Hollywood screenplay - than John Dies At The End, but the book overall is a fascinating bizzaro world with intriguing characters and subtle humour. I haven't read anything of a similar tone other Alice In Wonderland.

lice Munro, writer of Open Secrets won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2013 and has been awarded 770,000. The prize is to be awarded to a living writer, and she is the 13th woman to have won it since its inception in 1901. She said I really would hope that this would make people see the short story as an important art.

Previous winners include the likes of Ernest Hemmingway. Her book Open Secrets is actually part of the reading list in the Gender and Sexuality module for second year Literature students here at the university. The collection ranges through two world wars and from Canada to Brisbane, depicting the lives and secrets of bold and strong women, fighting the conventions of society.

The Perks of Owning a Kindle

By Joe Trueman, Literature team

Guildford Book Festival is Back!

By Shiri Shah, Literature editor

s an English student, I am constantly surrounded by book-lovers. I dont mean literature, I mean books specifically. It seems as e-readers become more widely used; a strong nostalgic impulse arises in readers. Countless times I have heard people romanticise the new book smell, or claim they just like the feel of a book while squirming at the thought of using an e-reader. Im trying not to ridicule this peculiar affinity for the printed page, but rather point towards the practicalities of being a Literature student in 2013. English Literature isnt the cheapest degree choice. Reading up to four books a week doesnt come for free although with an e-reader, sometimes it does. E-books cost sufficiently less than their physical counterparts, and in the Kindle store, many classics are available to download completely for free. For Literature students, it takes no time before the amount of money saved exceeds the amount

initially spent on an e-reader. There is, the even cheaper option of relying on the library. However, this limits access to books and the ability to make notes freely. Coincidentally, notemaking is also simplified by e-readers. After all, why would students who sentimentalise books scrawl all over them, when they could just type notes on a Kindle? You can even search through Kindle notes to find exact quotations to reference for assignments, and search entire texts for key words to help find relevant passages you might have missed upon first reading. Furthermore, as obvious and tragically lazy as it sounds, an electronic 700 page novel weighs less than a physical 700 page brick and makes life slightly easier walking between lectures. It also saves space in cramped student housing with limited storage. It might not be quite as romantic as turning the first page of a new book, but investing in an e-reader certainly makes economic and practical sense, and simplifies studying.

eep your eyes peeled for Guildfords annual Book Festival! Book fanatics here at the University of Surrey would know about the annual event which takes place in town where writers and comedians, publishers and esteemed guests come and give talks on books, advice, writing, comedy, all sorts! But to the newcomers here, the events normally take place at G Live or the Electric theatre and events run over the course of five days, from Saturday the 12th of October, until Sunday the 27th of October. Its a great opportunity to hear what people have to say for your own

benefit, and take advantage of the lovely town and get your name out there. Theres a Doctor Who celebratory event for all you Whovians out there, a book club extravaganza, and a Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey, special. Take a look at the website, theres something for everyone. The tickets are at a reasonable price, averaging at 8. If you cant make it, then never fear! Well be covering some of the talks and writing about it right here in The Stag so you wont miss a thing. Happy reading / listening / writing! www.guildfordbookfestival. co.uk/index.php?page=events

Dance/Theatre Editor: Amy McGivern

The Stag|22nd May 2012

DANCE & THEATRE

31

Live Review: The Book Of Mormon Review: The Mousetrap

Dance & Theatre

By Amy McGivern, Dance & Theatre Editor

Prince of Wales Theatre, London

By Denise Bennett, Dance & Theatre Team

he writers of The Book of Mormon are fearless. The creators of TVs South Park have written a multi-award winning original musical in which Monty Python meets Broadway and black humour cartwheels exhiliaratingly into the ridiculous. This is a show for todays generation, its dark underbelly offering a fresh contemporary perspective, and it is either deliciously outrageous or potty-mouthedly blasphemous depending on your point-of-view. We follow the fortunes of a group of young Mormon missionaries who are posted around the world to convert non-believers. Our heroes are Elder Price, a popular good-looking high achiever, and his needy, misfit side-kick Elder Cunninham, who are disappointed to have been sent as trainee preachers to Uganda, and not to the desirous posting at Orlando (Disneyland). Price plans to achieve as many African baptisms as possible to earn promotion and a transfer asap, his rampant egotism equally matched by youthful naivete. The Ugandans, however, mired in poverty, disease and war, prove to be hilariously resistant to his over-optimistic enthusiasm. Slick Broadway song and dance numbers are directed with exaggeration to maximise comic potential in a sly parody of the traditional musical form. The pace never slackens as drama is interwoven with big production numbers: the interval needed for respite from the physical exertion of uncontrollable laughter. And yet the narrative visits audiencesensitive territory including Aids, poverty, the cutting

of women, the raping of babies, war, homophobia and religious beliefs. The writers make a statement, perhaps, about the hypocritical arrogance of the US superpower which attempts to impose Western values upon a poor Third world: when our young missionaries first attempt to convert the Ugandan villagers they are met with the savagely funny song in which the Africans decry their misery and angrily spit a chorus to the heavens of Fuck you, God ! The obscenities tumble over one another. We laugh. Price then, has to face failure for the first time. Cunningham, who lies naturally to bolster his poor self-image, embellishes his bible stories with tales of Star Wars, and is taken to heart by the African villagers; falling in love with the daughter of the village leader, he becomes a winner for the first time. They fall out, make-up, and encourage the charismatic African village leader to resist the evil Army dictator. The immediate messages are that Biblical stories do not serve well as literal guidelines to life, that power corrupts, and that loyalty to friends and community will triumph over evil. The Book Of Mormon is at heart a story about friendship, young love, working out who you are and finding your place in the world: in short the storys real emotional pull centres the pains of growing up. Price and Cunningham take us with them on their path to self-discovery. For all its explicit and shocking subject matter, somewhat cynically exploited here, the Book of Mormon is a feelgood show with a conventional core. Just dont take your granny.

s part of its first UK tour, Agatha Christies The Mousetrap came to G Live. Agatha Christie is well known regardless of whether you are a theatre fan or not and so I was excited to see how this production would be staged. The auditorium at G live is massive, and I mean huge. Unfortunately it was a little empty but I am sure this is only because of the sheer size of the venue. The set design was amazing, very intricate and realistic. You felt as if you were in the guest house watching the story unfold in front of you. They managed to create the effect of snow outside well and the costumes were well designed and in various shades of beige. The show was quite slow in pace to begin with but Giles kept it entertaining with his good sense of comic timing but it picked up as you could see the cast growing with

confidence. The story reminded me very much of An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestly. As each character arrived it made you question if they were responsible for the murder or just being a little bit weird. Just as I would turn to my boyfriend and proclaim I knew who it was (obviously very quietly) I would suspect somebody else, it was like playing Cluedo, but less effort. If I had to be cruel I would complain about a lampshade falling off in the first scene and then again a little later on. I am sure this is something entirely out of the actors control but I dont think laughing was the best way to cover up this situation. Miss Casewell was a great character as she was witty and sarcastic and added some exciting variety to the ensemble. The show continues its tour around the UK so if you fancy a bit of a mystery you can catch it at another one of its venues across England.

G LIVE TICKET OFFER!

*A 2.00 per ticket booking fee will be added to all transactions. Offer not applicable on previously booked tickets & is non-transferable. Subject to availability.

Live is offering University of Surrey students the chance to see Three Phantoms on Tuesday 12 November for only 10* Simply quote the promo code phantomstudent when booking tickets online at GLive.co.uk, over the phone on 0833 7701797 or in person. T & Cs apply

Anna

32 SOCIETIES

The Stag|22nd May 2012

societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk

The Climb of my Life

By Tiffany Stoneman, Societies Team

Societies

Black History Month

By Annabel Driscoll, Societies Team

his summer Tiffany Stoneman climbed Africas highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, with Surreys RAG society. After seeing an advert on Surreys Student Union page Tiffany signed up for the climb of her life and raised 2,650 through sponsorships for the charity Practical Action who work alongside communities to relieve the poverty that they face. Such an adventure like this is a head game extreme environments and unusual stresses affect your body, and thats to be expected. But you have to prepare yourself for the mental impact; some will feel it more keenly than others, like I did, and its something you can never quite anticipate, nor know how you will deal with it. Day one from Machame gate started well in the clouds and mist and drizzle, we were enthusiastic and nervous, but feeling good. The hiking was fine and easy through the jungle. I kept reminding myself to look up and take in where I was. Vines hung everywhere; we passed clumps of the rare impatiens Kilimanjaro flower that only grow on these slopes. During the hike a break in the clouds gave us a glimpse of the summit an unusual sight for the first day. As a group we had barely met before arriving in the airport, but gelled very quickly. Being in close confinement, experiencing the same things, with little to no privacy (using long drops or, if necessary, the shadow of boulders is a good way to get people closer!), meant that we relied on and supported each other. Day four from Barranco camp to Barafu Ridge (base camp) was incredibly difficult, as it would consist of 15 hours of hiking including the Barranco Wall scramble. For those who were inexperienced in hiking or climbing, ascending vertically proved a huge challenge mentally and physically I enjoyed this section as it broke the monotony of hiking, but it still all seemed so impossible, a flat plain stretching ahead for a mile or so before the base camp, and rising above it the snowcapped summit. No matter how strong you may feel, such views can strike you as both awe-inspiring and terrifying all at once. Midnight at base camp, two down jackets, thinsulate gloves, mittens, Kilimanjaro playlist on my iPod it was about -10C. Just another 8 hour walk, nothing out of the ordinary, and with my headtorch focused on the boots in front of me, things seemed better. Jelly babies at the ready, camelbak not yet frozen, the summit night might not be as appalling as Id thought. After an hour of hiking, occasionally looking up to gaze at the Milky Way, and glimpse the glowing snow of our goal, my knees started to buckle. After three hours, my speed was little more than a shuffle, and my knees buckling every few metres. According to those who were walking around me, it was scary as Id crumple in front of their eyes - I dont remember hitting the floor, just being hauled to my feet by two porters, sat down on a boulder. I couldnt focus, my head was fuzzy, I couldnt talk; the lead guide came up to me, pointed to the porter who was carrying my rucksack, and told me to return to base camp. My summit attempt was over at 5000m. It took another three hours to return to camp, the sun rising as I stumbled down, occasionally helped by Jaffa who without I wouldnt have made it down.

s some of you may know, October is the annual host to Black History Month, a time in which people across the globe are joined together in the celebration of cultural diversity and the recognition of those historic figures that have fought for equality and integration in todays society. At Surrey University, we pride ourselves on our accommodation of a huge amount of cultures and nationalities and want to take this opportunity to reflect upon those individuals, movements and communities have worked so hard to create a society in which equality and interaction between these is made possible. In honour of this, Taku Parvin, the Universitys Equality and Diversity Officer is hosting a free event at Rubix on the 31st October. Everyone is welcome to come and take part in the experience, which will include a fashion show by the African

Caribbean Society, a performance by Gospel Choir, free African food by the Nigerian Society, a joint performance by Lit Soc & PEN Soc, Spoken Word and much more. Surrey Student PEN seeks to promote and raise awareness of the paramount notion of the right to free expression, and there is no better example of the power of such than the political activists that pioneered the African-American Civil Rights Movement, a progression that would go on to change the world. This year is further particularly special in that it is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings iconic I have a Dream Speech. Undoubtedly everyone is familiar with this incredible piece of writing, but if you do nothing else this month, take a few moments to sit down and read through it just once and appreciate the sheer power and positive change that can be made possible with the right to expression.

On the 31st October, come to our free event in Rubix, featuring a fashion show, a performance by the Gospel Choir, free African food, a joint performance by Lit Soc & PEN Soc, Spoken Word and much more.
Once back in my sleeping bag, it clicked that the entire reason for the trip was no more Id not reached the summit. But I was safe and well again. Had I continued, Im certain I wouldnt have been able to return under my own strength, which would have been dangerous not just for me, but for the porters and guides who would have had to get me off that mountain. Either way, Id given it my best attempt all the will in the world couldnt stop my body from letting me know when enough was enough. Thats the biggest lesson Ive learnt from hiking Kilimanjaro. You never know how your body or mind is going to react when put under incredible stress and extreme environments. After informing my family of my failure, I received dozens of texts of support and encouragement, including reports of elite athletes such as Martina Navratilova whose attempts were also thwarted by altitude related issues. These stories reminded me that in fact I hadnt failed there was nothing more I could have done on that mountain to get me up, and it was just the luck of the draw whether or not your body was able to continue. You dont know until youre up there. And when you are, all you can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other for as long as possible. Read part one of my journey at: http://adspiceprospice.wordpress.com

A Warm Welcome by Surreys Hellenic and Cypriot Societies

By George Mavrantonis Vice President of Hellenic Society

y now you have all probably settled at your new accommodation, life and academia at the University. The Hellenic and Cypriot Societies have traditionally held a strong position within our Universitys everyday life, as they are fortunate to represent more than nine hundred Greek and Cypriot undergraduates and postgraduates that study here. Following years of excellent cooperation with Surreys Students Union, our Societies stance has been recognised and the Hellenic Society has been nominated by students themselves as one of the top three Societies for the annual award of Best Society of

the Year, for three consecutive years. Throughout the year we hold several events such as Greek Nights at Rubix with visiting DJs from Greece and Cyprus playing an ecstatic blend of both Greek and English music, traditional Mpouzoukia Nights, tasty barbeques and souvla, RnB parties at the Living Room and of course an unforgettable participation in our Universitys iGala Festival. Make sure you keep an eye on our posters around campus and do not forget to join our Facebook group and like our Facebook page. Hoping to see you all take part in our exciting events, we would like to warmly welcome you and wish you all the best with your new academic year.

34 SPORT

The Stag|22nd May 2012

sport@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Welcome to sport at Surrey!

Georgie Smith Sports Executive Communications Officer

o Freshers Week is now over and you have all had your first week of lectures and BUCS Wednesday. This year Active Freshers Fayre saw a huge turn out with every session looking full of enthusiastic people! The weekend saw over 800 students trying out a wide range of different sports from Jiu Jtisu to Dodge Ball to Ballroom Dancing. If you missed Active Freshers Fayre, dont worry you can still get involved with our Team Surrey clubs! Check out their pages on the Union Website, pop into the activities office and grab a planner with all the club training times on or find them on Facebook. A lot of clubs have been holding trials this week and if youve made a team then congratulations! If you didnt quite make it we still have lots to offer for the rest of this year. For example on Wednesday 9th October Surrey held their first social sport tournament of the year Halls vs Halls. 28 teams took part in 3

different sports and the day was a huge success. BMF who all live in Stag Hill took the winning title huge congratulations to them! We will be holding a number of different social sports tournaments throughout the year so keep your eye out as they are great fun and definitely worth getting involved in. Last week the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) season really kicked off with 17 games at home and 30 overall, this Wednesday we managed to win 22 out of the 30 games. Highlights include Womens Football winning 19-1 against Reading, Mens Basketball 2nds winning 79-37 to Chichester 2nds and Womens 1st Hockey team winning 11-0 to Brighton 3rds. Next weeks matches plan to give just as good a set of results a with every game played within the BUCS leagues and cups contributing towards Team Surreys total as this year we aim to break into the top 40 of the BUCS league tables for the first time! There has never been a better time to get involved, train hard and help Team Surrey reach its target! Now Thats What I Call Top 40!

Keep an eye out for updates and results throughout all the campus medias. If you want to feature in The Stag whether it be regarding the club you play for or a sporting issue you wish to write about get in contact with the sports editor.

Sport Editor: Santiago Aviles

The Stag|2nd May 2012

SPORT

35

A Little Bit On The World Cup Qualifiers

Four years have passed, and the worlds eyes now turn to Brazil. The land of sun, soccer and samba. What better stage than the country that truly embodies football like no other?
By Andy Vile Now for some nations such as Italy and the Netherlands, its been an easy battle for a spot in the worlds greatest sporting event. However for many the nail biting action continues! All of the above have all qualified and it does look like this world cup is going to be a great one, with only France and Uruguay being the only former winners yet to secure a place. But lets be honest, do we really want the likes of Luiz Suarez to ruin this World Cup with his constant cheating and diving (first Argentina and now Newcastle in less than a week)? However, In case youre partial to the gentlemans sport of professional diving, theres still Busquets, Neymar and maybe even Ronaldo to look forward to. Most of us saw England cruise into a comfortable victory against Poland which saw us qualify. We witnessed the team gelling together much better than in recent times. Rooney at last in slightly better form and of course Stevies magical goal which guaranteed us success. Gerrard has no doubt been both the attacking force and the defensive rock England has needed him to be since taking up the captains band from Terry. Sadly the victory over Poland was overshadowed by yet another racism allegation, this time against manager Roy Hodgson and player Andy Townsend. Townsend claims to not have taken the poorly judged space monkey joke as an offence and has tried to defuse the situation, to keep the team united and out of the harmful scrutiny of the media. Although England made it through, it wasnt with the same amount of difficulty as previous qualifiers. The 2002 World Cup qualifiers come to mind (or even the embarrassing Euro 2008 blunder), when we were at the edge of our seats, 2-1 down against Greece and the prospect of a tough playoff against Spain or whoever was drawn was not a favourable one. The memory of Beckham stepping up to that all important free kick, and the feeling of relief soon after the ball curled in beautifully, probably still remains in the memory of most. Throughout the qualifying campaign, heroes have been made in their nations eyes, just like Beckham became ours. Of course there are far too many over the past four years to be able to go into any great amount of detail in a modest university newspaper, but here are some honourable mentions. One such hero is the young striker Ral Jimnez, who helped keep Mexicos world cup qualification hopes alive despite their all-round poor form (up until then having only won a single game out of nine). In a critical penultimate game against Panama at El Estadio Azteca, he lifted Mexico from a great depression in style! On the 85th minute Jimnez received a heavy pass at the edge of the box, but failed to control it, resulting in it bobbing high up. However he remained composed and in a fraction of a second pulled off an elegant overhead kick, leaving opposition keeper paralyzed, the ball at the back of the net and the home stadium in a frenzy!

Whos in?

This 2-1 victory would have been meaningless given that they lost their last game. Had the US not pulled back an amazing comeback from 2-1 down against Panama, with two goals in added time, Jimnezs efforts would have been in vain. Mexico will now face off against New Zealand in two intercontinental playoff matches midNovember. Another nation had two heroes on the 15th of November, non-other than City star Edin Deko and Vedad Ibisevic. Both players were instrumental in Bosnia and Herzegovinas historic first ever World Cup. An impressive achievement, given the countrys short eighteen year existence since gaining independence. A second half cross from Deko saw Ibisevic tap the ball past the Lithuanian defense to make them tied top scorers and save them from a potentially dangerous playoff match, which Greece will now have to endure. Bosnia held onto this lead until the final whistle at the humble eight thousand capacity Lithuanian stadium. Blazing pyrotechnics lit up the Bosnian city of Sarajevo and crowds thronged the street to sing and celebrate. Whats interesting to note is that during the qualifying campaign Bosnia scored thirty goals, almost three times as many as the Greek runners up! Bosnia is indeed a great up and coming footballing nation to look out for, even avoid if we are to go the distance this time around.

Argetina Australia Belgium Bosnia & Herzegovina Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador England Germany Honduras Iran Italy Japan Korea Republic Netherlands Russia Switzerland USA

On the 15th and 19th of November eight European countries will battle for the four remaining spots

36 SPORT

The Stag|22nd May 2012

sport@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Farewell to a Legend

Sport

Reading 8 - 7 Team Surrey, Wednesday 16th October

Richard Reece Team Surrey Lacrosse Kit Officer

Ladies Match Report

With two goals coming from Tasha Moody in her first Ladies game, one from Treasurer Melissa Raske and another three from Mackenzie Smith, the ladies closed in on the Reading lead, never quite managing to overturn the hosts. The outstanding final quarter saw Surrey with all the momentum and five fantastic goals, and a Reading reply of only two. The final score of 8-7 shows great promise for the Ladies Lacrosse team. Unquestionable commitment was shown from everyone, including girl of the game and newcomer to the sport, Becky Brown. Team Surrey Lacrosse's first win of many is on the horizon!

Team Surrey Lacrosse

By Sudeep Devpura, Sports Team

4,273 international runs, 661 international matches, 24 years, one man. Sachin Tendulkar, also known as God of cricket has announced his retirement from test cricket, thus retiring from all forms of the noble sport. He will play his last two test matches against the West Indies as they tour India. This is the end of an era. The end of a career that will leave a gaping hole behind in the Indian national team, the hearts of his followers

the new kid on the block, became a legend, and as they say, the rest is history. Known as one of the most loved and admired sportsmen, being compared to Donald Bradman (considered by many as the greatest batsman in history), by none other than The Don himself, Tendulkar will retire knowing that he has done justice to the talent he was born with. He currently holds the record for scoring the most runs in both tests and ODI's, the most centuries both in terms of scores and match appearances also. He is the first

fter a strong recruitment drive and fantastic uptake of new members, Team Surrey Lacrosse Ladies took to the field for the first time on a BUCS Wednesday, travelling north to face Reading. After some early jitters and going down 4 goals to none in the first quarter, Captain Olivia BirkinHewitt led in defence to lock out the Reading attack. With the succession of goals stopped, Club President Alex Mackenzie Smith opened Surrey's scoring with the clubs first BUCS goal. At half time the score stood at 5-1, and from here Team Surrey began their fightback.

He currently holds the record for scoring the most runs in both tests and ODIs, the most centuries both in terms of scores and match appearances also [...] The list goes on and on.
and the lovers of the game. On the 10th of October Tendulkar announced his wish to leave the game after playing his two hundredth test match. This news was well on its way as he had already announced his retirement from one day internationals (ODIs) December last year, having retired from Twenty20s (T20s) even prior to this. These two matches will be the last time the great man will walk into the pavilion, take his guard, and prepare to dominate the bowlers and mesmerise the spectators. Tendulkar was first introduced to cricket by his elder brother Ajit in 1984. It didnt take long before his talent was recognised by Ramakanth Acherakar, an acclaimed cricket coach. From here on Sachin never looked back and donned the Indian jersey for the first time when he was just 16 years and 223 day old (becoming the second oldest debutant in history) in Karachi Pakistan, in November 1989. Though his start was slow, he had the support of some of the greatest players from India and abroad and since then, he rose in the ranks of the Indian cricket team becoming the prolific scorer we all know him to be. His best though was still to come, and this happened during Indias tour of New Zealand in 1994. Tendulkar was asked to open the innings and went on to score a whirlwind 82 runs of 49 balls, leaving the crowd and the opposition dumbstruck. This was indeed the beginning of a decade in which Sachin, from being person to score a double century in one-day cricket and the first person to reach the mark of 12000, 13000, 14000 and 15000 runs in both tests and ODIs. The first and only player to play more than 450 ODIs, also being awarded 76 Man of the Match awards, more than any other player. The list goes on and on. One look at his statistics and you know this is man is a titan, with his closest competitors lagging far behind. In 1997 he was chosen as one of the Wisdens cricketers of the year and till this day is still ranked as the second best batsman in test and ODI cricket! His retirement has received reactions from some of the greatest cricketers including Muttiah Muralitharan, calling it a bad day for Indian cricket. Others such as Ian bishop commenting with low spirits The sight of the straight lines of the bat on its downswing; the power of the back foot punch; thanks for the memories Sachin. Glad you came. He leaves behind him hundreds of young followers hoping to emulate the great man and become the next Sachin Tendulkar. It is indeed a sad moment as the great man walks back with his head held high having given cricket a meaning for two decades. A good bye it is to the wristy flicks, the gutsy punches, and the child like passion for the game. The show is indeed over.

Junaidrao

Sport at Surrey University

f you missed out on Freshers Fayre, Active Freshers or maybe didnt make the team after trials, dont worry! There are still lots of ways you can get involved. Most clubs are still recruiting for members and welcome new members all year so check out the Union website, find them on Facebook or pick up a sports planner from the Students Union Activities Office! Anyone that wants to take part in something less competitive, or if you dont want to commit to training every week then you should have a look at our PlaySport Timetable (next page). There is something

Its not too late to get involved!

James Lovell VP Sport
running every night of the week! These sessions dont require a Surrey Sports Park membershipjust pop along and play! We also will be running a number of social sports tournaments throughout the year. Keep an eye on the PlaySport Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ playsportuos for all the information you need about social sport at Surrey!