The Stag - Issue 36

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Newspaper of the students of the University of Surrey Issue 36 – Tuesday 25th October 2011
A
pproximately 60 people had turned up for the
Literature Society bar crawl that night, which
started in Weatherspoons, followed by Bar Med,
where all students had been allowed to enter.
Although they were not the only group of
students out on a bar crawl that night, it came as
shock when multiple students, who had a Jersey ID
were refused entry into Flares.
One student, who asked not be named said:
“They basically said, ‘if you’ve not got an English ID
you’re not allowed in’, even though Jersey is part of
Great Britain.”
It is believed by many students who were out
Wednesday night, that the Flares bouncers were
unsure as to whether the IDs were real. What is
more is that the same thing happened to a student
with a Gibraltarian ID, despite the fact that they
had been let into Flares many times before.
New section coming – Opinion and Analysis: To start the Great Debate,
we’re asking, “Is Gaddaf’s death and possible execution acceptable, or
should he have been taken to trial?”
Your answers to: [email protected]
Meet Surrey University’s
new Poet in Residence,
Sophie Robinson
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP JUST £195 PER YEAR!
[email protected] | surreysportspark.co.uk | T:01483 689111
NEWS
The NUS backs student
protests on the rise of student
fees on November 9
th
...page 3
FEATURES
‘Beware the politics of fear’
explores the rise of extemist
political parties in Britain...
page 8
SOCIETIES
Find out more about Black
History month and what GU2
Radio has on offer...page 14
SCIENCE AND TECH
Taking a look at health issues
in the UK such as smoking,
obesity and mental health
problems...page 33
DANCE & THEATRE
Investigating ‘accidental’
plagiarism in Beyonce’s new
video and the best place to
see Dance and Theatre live in
Guildford...page 17
SPORT
Catch up with Surrey’s latest
results from football, rugby,
hockey and everything else...
page 34
LITERATURE
An afternoon with English PEN
and a conversation with poet
Sophie Robinson...page 27
Acceptable in the ‘80s
Club refused entry to international students
12
th
October, the Lit Soc
bar crawl: Flares refused
to allow students onto
their premises on the basis
that they had presented an
international ID.
By Jyoti Rambhai, News Editor
Guildford’s popular nightclub ‘Flares’ refuses accept any form of international ID other than a passport
EDITORIAL 2 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Editor | Jack White
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief | Bakita Kasadha
[email protected]
Deputy Editor (Design) | Hollie Rowe-Roberts
[email protected]
Design Team | Ellie Brodie, Paul A Richmond, Hannah Roberts-Owen,
Joanna Zalis, Christina Morman
Deputy Editor (Marketing) | Tom Goulding
[email protected]
Marketing Team | Shervin Hejazi, Imogen Jones and Eleanor Pearson
News
News Editor | Jyoti Rambhai
[email protected]
News Team | Bethany Goss, Sophie Howard, Geoffrey Pullen, Sophie
Smith and David Williams
Features
Features Editor | Nicole Vassell
[email protected]
Features Team | Peter Bailey, Ellie Brodie, Dimitri Levantis, Amy
McGivern, Becky Powell, Jase Vickers
and Sophie Vickery
Science and Technology
Science and Technology Editor | Nathanael Roome
[email protected]
Science and Technology Team | Lawrence Finn, Dave Holcombe,
Shourya Khanna, Kate McAtamney, Melissa Raske, Alex Smith and Ruth
Smithers.
Societies
Societies Editor | Jaz Broughton
[email protected]
Societies Team | Vacant
Arts
Dance and Theatre Editor | Hannah Jelliman
[email protected]
Dance and Theatre Team | Emily Bourne, Sarah McDowell, Beth
Hedges, Lucy Jarvis, Tiffany Stoneman and Lexi Sutton
Film Editor | Tiffany Tucker
[email protected]
Film Team | Laura Howard, Caroline James, Kristie Marchant and
Christina Maria Webb
Music Editor | Sophia Field
[email protected]
Music Team | James Campbell, Liam Conroy, Dan Davidson, Amy
McGivern, Tanya Noronha
and Elliot Tyres
Literature Editor | Alexandra Wilks
[email protected]
Literature Team | Stephanie Davies, Tom Goulding, Candice Ritchie,
Emily Smart, Emma Thomas and Sophie Vickery
Sports
Sports Editor | Jordan Vine
[email protected]
Sports Team | Douglas Elder, Arabella Gilby
and Sam Limbert
Copy Editors | Megan Barnacle, Michaela Fulton, Emma Giles, Candice
Ritchie and Louisa White
[email protected]
Webmaster | Andrew Smith
[email protected]
Photo Editor | Raisa Joseph
[email protected]
The Stag is a newspaper editorially dependent on and 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
whole 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.
Letter from the Editor
Jack White – Editor
[email protected]
T
he major news this week
has been the death of
Colonel Gaddaf. I cannot
imagine there are many
of us who have not seen
the remarkable and brutal
images sent around the world from Libya. Among the
rejoicing over the fall of a dictator however, these pictures
have themselves caused a storm of controversy.
Was it right for the Colonel’s bloodied, lifeless face
to be presented to the world like it was? Certainly some
people think not.
Even further, there is the highly divisive matter of the
manner of Gaddif’s killing. Was he executed as originally
thought, or was he killed by a stray bullet as the Libyan
government now makes out? Activists have not been slow
in condemning his possible execution or assassination as
a breach of his human rights and indeed, the UK’s own
Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “‘we don’t approve
of extra-judicial killings.” But is that the only view? Had
Gaddif surrendered to be taken to trial, or was he only
kept alive long enough for his killers to get documentary
evidence of his capture and death?
The Stag would like to hear from you, your view of
the manner of Gaddaf’s death and whether or not you
think execution or assassination is tolerable in war. We
are starting a new section of the paper in the next issue:
Opinion and Analysis, featuring The Great Debate page,
where issues like this will receive an airing, along with
arguments for and against.
If you would like to contribute to
the Great Debate, send your letters
to [email protected].
NEWS 3 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Another student made the
comment: “My ID lets me into the
country, but it doesn’t let me into
Flares.”
President of Lit Soc, Imogen
Jones said: “They turned away
every remotely international
ID that night, saying it was club
policy.
“There was no warning of this
when we had phoned ahead for
our pub crawl, and considering
how many International students
there are here, I fnd it shocking
they don’t accept International ID.
But what’s even more shocking is
their ignorance of not accepting a
Great Britain ID.”
A spokesperson for the
Stonegate Pub Company who
owns Flares in Guildford told
The Stag: “Our company policy
regarding acceptable forms of
proof of age identifcation include
a PASS accredited card, a UK
Drivers photo card licence or a UK
passport.
“However, the manager has
discretion in areas where there
are a high proportion of foreign
students to permit entry if they
are in possession of a valid
international passport only. We
have investigated the matter with
the door staff on duty that night
and we have been advised that
nobody carrying a passport was
refused entry into the premises.
“We would suggest that if
these group of students plan to
visit the premises in the future,
then the best form of them
securing entry would be to obtain
a PASS accredited card. www.
pass-scheme.org.uk ”.
A
report by centre-right think-
tank CentreForum has
recommended that up to £10,000
in government loans be made
available for full-time masters
students, to be paid back when
the former student earns between
£15,000 and £21,000 a year.
According to public services
website Direct.gov, students
currently looking to continue
into postgraduate education are
expected to fund their tuition fees
by “using savings” or “combining
studies with work”.
Other options for postgraduate
funding include scholarships or
career development loans, which
unlike student fnance are supplied
by banks and can come with up to
6% APR.
Universities and Science
Minister David Willetts welcomed
the report as “timely and thought
provoking.”
Deputy Prime Minister, Nick
Clegg also made a comment:
“Access to postgraduate degrees
is important in promoting social
mobility.”
Stronger support was received
by academics and Professor Andrew
Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor, Oxford
University said: “I am glad to see
such a timely contribution to the
vital policy issue of UK graduate
funding”.
Likewise Professor of Public
Economics at LSE Nick Barr
praised the report as “important
both because it addresses a badly-
neglected area and because it shows
that practical solutions exist”.
A full time Masters degree at
the University of Surrey can cost
anywhere between £5,000 and
£18,000.
Think-tank proposes
higher Masters loans
By David William, News Team
T
he Offce for National Statistics
has published employment
statistics, showing that the
unemployment rates for those aged
16-24 are at an all-time high.
This news comes after the
National Union for Students (NUS)
warned that the government has
left little alternative for young
people, other than to depend on
government benefts as a means of
income.
Statistics published show that
there are currently 991,000 young
people (aged 16-24) unemployed.
President of the NUS, Liam
Burns said: “The Government is
slamming the door in the face of
an entire generation. Those not in
education or training are now left
with ever fewer alternatives to
the dole queue and all the wasted
potential that entails.
“Ministers must immediately
reinstate EMA, properly fund
careers services, and reinvest
in education and training if
individuals and communities are to
avoid the permanent scars of youth
unemployment.”
By Sophie Howard, News Team
NUS responds to record
unemployment figures
©
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T
he University Careers services
held a fair on PATS feld on 13
th

October in aid of giving students
the opportunity to meet different
organisations and see what they
have to offer.
Each year over 1000
organisations are invited to attend
the fair and this year 113 different
companies were represented.
Employer Liaison offcer at
the Careers Service on Campus,
Catheryne Jobson said: “The
careers fair this year attracted
more organisations than ever
before and the careers service was
delighted that so many students
were able to attend.”
Despite the 3,000 students that
attended the fair, many students
criticised the fair as being a
‘pointless event’ that had very
little opportunities for students
taking a degree in subjects such
as English Literature, Dance and
Theatre, Psychology etc.
One student commented on
a Facebook post saying: “I spoke
to a few companies about PR
and Marketing positions and
they said ‘Yeah we do have those
opportunities, but I’m from the
engineering/ manufacturing
department so I don’t know much
about it’.”
A second year micro-biologist
student said: “It would’ve been
nice to have stalls for science
that wasn’t just engineering or
computer science.”
Final year English Literature
student Imogen Jones told The
Stag: “I got turned away from
most of the stalls because I wasn’t
doing engineering or business
and from the few stalls that were
interested, I got told that I’d have
to contact the companies directly,
not through the ambassadors they
had sent.”
In response to this Ms Jobson
stated: “As a company’s presence
at the fair refects both the state of
the labour market and the type of
recruitment that the organisation
undertakes, the majority of those
attending are large companies
looking to recruit hundreds
of graduates. For smaller
organisations, such as publishing
houses, such a large open fair
would be inappropriate for their
needs.
“For those students who are
hoping to work in rather more
niche areas, we have developed
a series of networking events
including Careers in the Public
Sector, Working for an SME,
Working for a Charity, Careers
using Science and Starting you
own Business.”
For more details on the services
careers offer visit: www.surrey.ac.uk/
careers
By Jyoti Rambbhai, News Editor
...Continued from front page
Flares causes anger
in non-UK ID rebuke
Careers fayre: how helpful was it?
‘‘My ID lets me into the
country but it doesnt
let me into Flares’’
NEWS 4 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
S
urrey Street Angels are a team
of volunteers offering help to
young people after a night out in
Guildford town centre.
Until now they have patrolled
the streets on Friday and Saturday
nights, but as of this week, they will
also be out on Mondays.
Street Angels are a team of
Church Volunteers, formed in
October 2008, currently consisting
of 110 members, all of which patrol
the streets of Guildford.
Monday night is a popular night
amongst current students of the
University of Surrey, due to cheap
deals labelled as ‘student prices’ in
local bars and clubs, and this move
is a bid to support them.
Their contribution has been
much appreciated by local pubs/
bars and clubs, thanking them for
cutting down on alcohol-related
incidents in the streets of Guildford.
Surrey Police have also
continued this support, claiming as
well that during their frst year of
operation they reduced incidents in
the town centre by almost one third,
showing a strong appreciation for
the service that they provide to the
local community.
A
motorcyclists life was put at
risk when a 999 operator failed
to show basic local knowledge of
Guildford; asking if Silent Pool was
a spa.
The accident occurred on
October 2
nd
on the A25 between
Newlands Corner and Shere and
involved a motorcyclist being
thrown off his bike and having a
head on collision with a signpost.
A 20 year old woman, who
witnessed the accident, had called
999 asking for an ambulance.
When the operator had asked her
to clarify her location, she was
shocked when she was then asked
if the famous landmark, the Silent
Pool, was a spa.
Luckily another witness had
also rang for an ambulance, which
arrived promptly.
A spokesperson for the
ambulance services commented
that all staff working in the South
East Coast Ambulance Service’s
three Emergency Dispatch Centres
have received extensive training
on identifying the location of 999
callers.
The patient, described as being
in a serious condition, was taken to
the Royal Surrey County Hospital
after being treated on scene.
999 operators’ confusion
putting lives in jeopardy
Street Angels: out
on Mondays too
By Bethany Goss, News Team
By Sophie Howard, News Team A
report published last month
by the Erasmus Student
Network has suggested that
students who participate in
the foreign exchange program
may struggle to have their work
recognised.
The survey of almost 9,000
Erasmus participants from
between 2010 and 2011, revealed
that one in fve students was
forced to re-sit exams after failing
to gain enough credit to pass their
courses.
Approximately 25% of those
surveyed reported only receiving
partial credit for their work
abroad, while 3% claimed to gain
no credit whatsoever.
A record 12,873 British
students were involved in the
scheme last year; however the
research, published last month,
implies that by taking part in the
scheme, students may be damaging
their chances of achieving a good
degree.
One of the authors of the
report, Justyna Pisera explained:
“One problem is that programmes
are very different between
countries. This is good because we
do not want everyone to be the
same; but the diversity can also be
diffcult, and there is sometimes a
lack of trust by some professors.”
Moreover, all students on the
Erasmus programme are required
to sign a learning agreement
before going abroad, but Ms Pisera
also admitted that: “Learning
agreements between universities
are not always respected.”
The results of the survey
confrmed Ms Pisera’s point,
with one in four agreements
shown to be left unsigned before
students depart. Further issues
identifed by the report included
varied grading systems and
measurements of workload,
which differed drastically across
countries.
Erasmus scheme could harm degrees
By Sophie Smith, News Team
A
fter a week of turmoil the
popular smartphone maker
RIM has managed to restore
full network functionality to its
Blackberry phones.
In the crowded marketplace
for smartphones, and with an
already shrinking market share,
this technological and PR disaster
could be the latest stumbling
block in RIM’s decline.
The outage, which involved
the loss of web browsing, email,
and Blackberry’s messaging
service (BBM) across Europe, the
Middle East and Africa, started
on 10t
h
October and was not fully
resolved until Thursday of that
week.
The fault with the networking
equipment that caused the outage
has been identifed as occurring in
Egham, Surrey.
In an investigation by RIM it
was revealed that the cause of the
outage was the result of a failed
Cisco switch in its core network.
These switches are one of the
basic components in establishing
the running of Internet networks
and communication within these
networks: in this case the BBM,
emails and those listed above.
A backup system was also
noted to have failed; however,
the reasons behind this remain
unclear.
RIM has been widely criticised
for its handling of the situation,
the frst acknowledgement of the
issue came via Twitter, hours after
Blackberry users themselves had
been posting on the same site.
It was not until Thursday that
either of the company’s CEOs
stepped forward and offered some
form of apology and explanation
for what had happened. This
alongside premature claims of
having resolved the issue Monday
evening has only exacerbated the
problem.
Blackberry’s image and large
market share is largely based on
wide business use of their phones,
with reliability and their phones
normally excellent email facilities
encouraging this.
This fault will surely have
shaken the confdence of these
users and tarnished the once
respected company irrevocably.
Rival’s, Apple, themselves
experienced issues this week with
the rolling out of new operating
systems and email facilities,
something that may have been
larger news had Blackberry not
stolen the limelight so capably.
The true outcome of a week
which saw the two largest players
in the smartphone market
struggling may be the continued
growth of Android, Microsoft and
other alternatives.
Blackberry outage: what happened?
By Geoffrey Pullen, News Team
©

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NEWS 5 The Stag | 25th October 2011
A
ccording to the most recent
fgures, published by
Guildford Police, Bridge Street
remains the hotspot for crime.
The area is home to some of
Guildford’s popular bars including
Wetherspoons, Flares and Bar
Med, coupled with the Casino
Nightclub not far away. In August
this year, offcers were called to
the area 55 times.
Bridge Street is close to
Chertsey Street, where a total of
32 incidents have been recorded.
Bedford Road and North Street are
also nearby and had 27 incidents
recorded.
It has also been revealed that
this area has some of the highest
levels of anti-social behaviour,
with 24 incidents being recorded
during the same time period.
In July this year, there was
a total of 605 reported crime
incidents. Although this dropped
to 472 in August, Acting Chairman
of East Guildford Residents’
Association, Gerald Bland has
said how this does not come as a
surprise, especially as there are
more venues and retail outlets
with late-night opening licenses:
this is combined with the fact that
there are less people living in town
to deter people from behaving in
such a manner.
In Bridge Street alone, there
were at least a dozen of the
incidents recorded to be violent
crimes in August. This was
followed by eight violent crimes
being recorded on Chertsey Street.
There were also reports of two
burglaries on Chertsey Street and
along with Scholars Walk; these
were the only areas in which a
burglary took place.
Later night opening hours
lead to higher crime rates
By Jyoti Rambhai, News Editor
9
th
November national
protest backed by NUS
T
he National Union of Students
(NUS) has endorsed a 9
th

November demonstration against
changes to Higher Education
funding in central London after the
NUS National Executive Committee
passed a motion allowing support
for protests by external anti-cuts
groups.
Michael Chessum of the
National Campaign Against Fees and
Cuts (NCAFC), which is organising
the demonstration said: “We are
expecting tens of thousands to come
down to the demo on November
9
th
. It’s clear that the movement
that we built last year has grown
into something much bigger, and
it’s vital that we keep fghting on
education as well as linking to the
broader movement.”
The demonstration is a
continuation of the protest
against government increases in
tuition fees, cuts to public services
including education and the
privatisation of the public sector.
And it has been timed to occur just
two weeks before the strike action
on 30
th
November.
Mr Chessum also commented:
“This government has scrapped
support for the poorest school and
FE students and made millions
unemployed, while making
the worst cuts in the history of
education. We are determined to
save education as an accessible
public service.”
After the £9,000 fees hike along
with the 80% cut to the HEFCE
teaching grant, students are now to
face a white paper that proposes an
uncertain future for all universities
across the country.
In short, the white paper
implies that universities will be
forced to compete in a market,
thus ultimately changing the
relationship between students and
their institutions.
NUS President, Liam Burns
said: “The proposals in the white
paper are even more damaging
than the prospect of £9,000 fees.
The coalition is about to create
the exact opposite of the ‘pupil
premium,’ where students from the
most debt adverse backgrounds are
asked for less money to be spent on
their education.
“We’ll carry on trying to work
with politicians of all parties to
stop these damaging reforms,
but when fees are trebled, EMA
scrapped and even less money
is spent on supporting students
fnancially, don’t be surprised that
demonstrations are here to stay.”
By Jyoti Rambhai, News Editor and
Denise Juvane, News Team
©
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G
addaf had been trying to fee from
his home city, Sirte, when his convoy
apparently came under attack from French
NATO Jets.
As Gaddaf loyalist defended the dictator
in a shoot-out, Gaddaf himself was found to
be cowering in a nearby drain.
It was reported that he was then attacked
and beaten by group of fghters loyal to the
new government. Video footage shows him
alive, being dragged around on the outskirts
of Sirte.
Video footage later shows his corpse with
a bullet wound on his temple.
A doctor who accompanied Gaddaf in the
ambulance stated that he died from two gun-
shot wounds, one to the head and the other
on the chest.
BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse is the only
known British broadcaster to be in Sirte at the
moment and has reported the atmosphere in
the city, after Gaddaf’s death as ‘jubilant and
ecstatic’.
Libyan students at the University of
Surrey commented on the death of their
former ruler. Zeyad Azzabi said, “There’s
nothing better than tasting the feeling of
freedom. Gaddaf was a typical dictator for 42
years, but the chains around our hands and
minds are fnally destroyed.”
Ahmed Salem continued, “In the 1980s,
he was in charge of publicly hanging students
who stood against his regime; also he killed
1,200 people in the prison without trial in the
1990s. Besides that, this violence was really
clear when Libyans rose up against him in
February. So in my opinion I believe he got
what he deserved, and the way he was killed
just refects how Libyan people suffered from
his regime.”
The Prime Minister of the Interim
National Transitional Council, Mahmoud
Jibril said how Gaddaf’s death had been long
awaited for: “His death has brought an end
to this blood battle that has been going on for
months”.
So far it has been reported that alongside
Gaddaf, roughly 20 of Gaddaf’s senior
supporters have been either been killed or
captured.
Gaddaf’s son Mutassim and the leader
of his Armed Forces, Abu Bakr Younus
are amongst those that were killed in the
crossfre.
Recent updates have suggested that there
may be a secret burial for the dictator – some
reports have suggested that he might be
buried at sea, like Osama Bin Laden in order
to prevent his grave being turned into shrine.
Others suggest that his body is likely to be
kept for a few days for an autopsy; however,
there is still a disagreement as to what to do
with the body.
Despite this it is clear that most of Libya’s
citizen’s have welcomed the death of Gaddaf
and his dictatorship.
By Jyoti Rambbhai, News Editor
Libya’s dictator Colonel
Gaddafi dies in crossfire
Gaddaf: ‘A tyrant who will live in hell.’
©
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FEATURES 7 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Sabbaticals Say...
T
his week has been quite busy
with many meetings with senior
University staff such as the Deputy
Vice Chancellor and the Directors of
Finance and of Corporate Services
to update and discuss issues facing
students.
One of the topics touched upon
was the state of the Foyer in the
lovely newly built LRC. Every time
I walked across there I have seen
pizza boxes all over the place and
the lack of furniture. So I have
brought these issues across to the
attention of the senior management
and hopefully over the next couple
of weeks you will see some changes
implemented.
You know how I was going
about getting involved and trying
something new, well this week for
the frst time I have tried rugby:
not touch rugby, but full-on contact
rugby and you know what? It
wasn’t that bad. I have played with
the University’s 2nd team against
Brighton and got our frst win of the
season, hopefully will carry on that
path.
On Friday I have joined some
of my housemates and went to the
GSA ball, it was a lovely evening met
some wonderful people with great
talent and passion for their studies.
I can’t believe it that one day I will
be sitting watching a musical in the
west end and say to friends I know
that actor on stage they came to my
University. It is a great experience
being at University and having
the opportunity to meet all these
different people so make the most
out of it.
Osama Salih, the president of Surrey Students Union makes the most of his opportunities and joins the Surrey rugby team
A
s I write this article, I have just left a
meeting regarding one of the biggest
talking points for students who live away
from the Stag Hill campus: busses. More
specifcally, busses on ‘student routes’.
As part of my role, alongside the
University’s Transport team, I meet with
Arriva Buses several times a year, to
discuss those services that provide Surrey
students with a means of getting to and
from campus. The 3, 17, 26, 27, 36 and 37
all serve the University campus directly,
with many other routes provided to help
get students around Guildford. Believe it
or not the University, Arriva and myself
all have the common goal of ensuring
Surrey students get the best possible
service, to get you to lectures and back on
time, every day.
However, sometimes things don’t go
to plan. In order to ensure you receive
the service you need, I am able to take
your feedback back to Arriva and we
can work to fnd solutions. Obviously
a degree of understanding is required
here – sometimes things going wrong
are just one-offs – but through collating
feedback, we are able to spot trends and
fnd workable solutions.
If you have any feedback regarding
the buses, good or bad; if you are able
to take a few moments to let me know,
you’ll be helping ensure that the service
is continually improving for you and for
your fellow students. Either fll in the
form on this page (excusing the less-than-
catchy URL), http://www.ussu.co.uk/
advice/Pages/Welfare/Transport/Buses/
Buses.aspx, or feel free to email me at
[email protected].
VP Welfare works with
Arriva for better busses
W
hen you re-enrolled
this year, you signed up
to follow the new academic
regulations; there are big
changes that could potentially
affect your time here at
Surrey. The regulations
were re-written over the
last year in consultation
with the Students' Union.
Focus groups were held,
polls were conducted and we
consequently helped advise
those writing them to achieve
what students wanted: clear
and fair regulations which
are equally applied across the
whole university.
One of the key changes
include the toughening of
penalties for those found
to be guilty of academic
misconduct, with any piece of
assessment where academic
misconduct is deemed to
have taken place receiving
zero, if you still pass that
module the mark will be
capped at the pass mark.
At the third instance you
will be out of chances. To
accompany this you should
be receiving more advice on
how to avoid misconduct,
through the active promotion
of “academic integrity”,
taking pride in your work and
obtaining information from
creditable sources.
Another of the main
changes is in how the
university handles mitigating
circumstances, now
referred to as “extenuating”
circumstances. It will no
longer be your module leader
or your personal tutor who
can apply extensions to
deadlines, but rather a central
person in your department.
They need to receive
evidence: NO EVIDENCE, NO
EXTENSION!
Make sure you are
familiar with these changes,
but the list goes beyond
these. I will during this year
keep you informed but in the
meantime feel free to contact
me.
Tough but fair: new academic rules
in line with what students wanted
To fnd out more read
my latest blog on my
profle at my.ussu.
co.uk
Osama Salih
Union President
Big Dave Halls
USSU VP Welfare
Sam Ratzer
USSU VP Education
FEATURES 8 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Features
The politics of fear
I
n recent years it has appeared that far-right
groups are on the rise in the UK, namely the
infamous British National Party (BNP) and the mob
oriented English Defence League (EDL). As a politics
student, I think it’s time such things were discussed
as these groups are something we all must be aware
of as we progress into the globalised world of work.
Firstly, why have these groups come about?
Many people seem astonished at how anyone can
have such extremist views following the defeat of
Nazism in World War Two, though I am sorry to
say that ideas, however good or bad they seem,
cannot be destroyed. And I am further ashamed to
say that these ideas are as equally valid as those of
the political parties that govern this country. The
reason why such groups have made it onto the
political scene with such intimidation in the last
few years, is due to the economic struggle we are
locked into at present. Due to how many people in
this country refuse to take responsibility for their
own actions, the anger is directed towards those
deemed either a minority or usually portrayed as
dangerous. In this case, British muslims are taking
the hit. These groups are imposing fear upon us and
it is something we must be aware of in the coming
years as we go on into the multicultural world of
employment.
The biggest point to make about such groups
is the racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic
political views they express and how much damage
such things will do to this country if ever imposed
upon us. Having been at Surrey University for
several years now, I can say that multiculturalism
is the only way forward in the world, as it appears
to be the route to peace and order amongst us
without the need of some supernanny telling us
how to behave. EDL and BNP are trying to make us
fear one another, and from the friends I’ve made
here and the incredible things I’ve seen people do
in university, it would appear absurd to simply fear
another person simply because of their religion or
skin colour.
Democracy is only true if such groups are
allowed their right to speak, but it is not complete
unless both sides express their opinions on such
matters. I therefore urge anyone reading this to be
aware of such groups the next time they take to the
street and whenever you hear a news report that
appears to express fear of groups of people. The war
of politics is still going strong, and I ask you to stand
up if you feel thesegroups are as bad as I see them.
Self-expression is the truest form of democracy,
and if you don’t want such groups trying to recruit
you or your friends in the future then make a stand
and have your say on the subject matter. Politics
comes into everything so make it known what
you don’t want to see in the future world, as that
is how the world shall be shaped. We students are
the future world so let’s do what we think is right to
keep it as good as we can.
By Demitri Levantis, Features Team
U
niversity is great. You’ve got:
booze, mates, and more fancy
dress than you could shake a stick at.
But dubious night time conduct and
staggering walks home aside, it’s also
a great time to exercise the ultimate
beneft of university: freedom.
The ultimate expression of
freedom, as I see it, is to start your
own business. Whatever your choice
of study you will presumably get into
some kind of employment once the
hallowed years of being a student are
behind you. Whilst there are brilliant
parts about working for someone
else, now is the perfect time for you
to engage that entrepreneurial fair
you may have been nurturing over
the last few years and start a venture
whilst you are still studying.
There are a number of reasons
why now is a good time. Firstly, you
are in a hotbed of ideas. With a wealth
of academic and industrial activity
going on around you, it’s relatively
easy to pick up business inspiration.
And even better, you have the time
and space to consider the ideas
without being pressured by a full-
time job which might distract you
from the next big thing.
Secondly, you are surrounded by
people (some of which are hopefully
now mates) who could form the
building blocks of your business or
the support network you need. The
university mind-set is often one of
not being tied down, and you can use
this to your advantage by harnessing
the spirit of “we can do anything”
into a business idea. You might all
be relatively inexperienced, but you
won’t be beaten on enthusiasm. (One
caveat to this: if you didn’t know who
your friends were when you went
into business, you certainly will when
you come out).
Now of course, blind, insatiable
enthusiasm does not always result in
success, particularly in the business
world. But that is the beauty of
starting something now, by keeping
your overheads low by working on
the idea in your spare time and having
interested mates do the same, you
can drive an idea forward and make
your all-important frst sale without
having to fret too much about bank
managers and mortgages. Once the
frst money is in your pocket, you
might be surprised how the rest falls
into place with the right team and a
bit of mentoring.
Also, never again will you be
surrounded by so much free stuff.
Finding it all is half the fun of time
at university so I won’t spoil the
treasure hunt, but don’t be afraid to
ask, especially if it’s for your fedgling
business as there is money and advice
galore for the right inquisitors.
So why No Dragons, and why
No Sugar? Personally, I feel that
programmes like Dragons Den and
The Apprentice have served their
purpose when it comes to raising the
profle of British business. As with
any television format it needs to stay
fresh, and fresh doesn’t always equal
good business practice. Take from
them the inspiration and confdence
to do what you want, but there is
no right answer when it comes to
business. If your business sells and
you are turning a proft, then nobody
gets to judge you. More to the point,
nobody gets to point a stubby fnger
in your face and show you the door.
By Peter Bailey, Business Columnist
No dragons, no
sugar, just you
BUSINESS
Campaigners protest the BBC’s decision two years ago to allow BNP leader Nick Griffn to appear on Question Time.
FEATURES 9 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Eat happy!
A
lthough we’ve still been getting the odd sunny
week, there’s no denying that the days are getting
shorter and the nights are getting colder. Winter is
most defnitely on the way, and some of us are able to
see a close correlation between the colder weather and
feeling more down in the dumps.
There is actually a name for that sluggish, lazy
feeling that most of us get during winter: ‘Seasonal
Affective Disorder’ (SAD). According to mental health
charity Mind (mind.org.uk), up to a third of us may
suffer from mild SAD at some point.
With winter fast approaching, eating a salad might
be the last thing on your mind. For many of us the cold
weather evokes images of snuggling up on the sofa
eating a nice warming, stodgy ready meal or mum’s
best stew. Yet, a few diet changes can help you can beat
the winter blues!
Feeling good
We tend to crave refned carbohydrates in winter
such as chocolate, cakes, chips or pasta. However, in
the long term these foods actually make us feel more
lethargic as they cause sudden surges and then crashes
in our blood sugar levels. So while the sugar surge may
make you feel better temporarily, the crashes make us
feel fatigued all over again. Instead, try eating foods
that release energy throughout the day such as fresh
fruit and vegetables (which you can buy for a bargain
at the Unique Fruit market every week in Rubix) and
wholegrain foods (just change to brown rice or pasta).
These slow-release energy foods will help you feel
fuller for longer and more energetic.
Staying warm
Staying active in winter is just important as in any
other season. Aim for just thirty minutes of activity a
day, anything that makes you breathless and a little
sweaty! Even just walking briskly up Stag Hill, walking
up Guildford High Street or maybe taking a couple of
workout classes at the Surrey Sports Park with a friend
is something. Exercise causes the release of endorphins
(the stuff that makes you happy) so although it may be
tiring, in the long run you’ll feel better plus you can
do yourself a favour and get a head start towards that
great beach body for next summer!
In winter we seem to act as though we are going into
hibernation, we want to build up fat stores and become
very inactive. This is not true! Inactivity will simply
make you feel more sluggish so get out of bed with a
spring in your step and you’ll soon be feeling much
more positive!
Treat yourself
Do have treats. If you don’t, you certainly will be
grumpy. Just recognise any recurring triggers: if you’re
craving a bag of crisps because you always have one
whilst you’re watching Eastenders then think again,
are you really hungry? Treats don’t always have to
be edible. Perhaps organise a girls night in, get cosy
and watch a couple of movies. Boys, arrange a games
marathon or a poker night or whatever foats your
boat.
Try for yourself: Chicken Winter Warmer
(serves 1)
You will need:
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 red pepper
• 1 onion
• Tomatoes
• Aubergine, butternut squash or other similar
vegetables
• Olive oil
• Mixed herbs
Heat the oven to about 180°C, chop up all the
vegetables and lay in an oven dish. Drizzle over some
oil and mix it all up (hands work best) lay the chicken
breast on the top and sprinkle over some herbs. Bung it
in the oven for around 40 minutes or until the vegetables
have softened and the chicken is golden. Then dig in!
By Becky Powell, Features Team
With winter on our doorsteps it’s easy to feel down in the dumps...
A day in the life of a fresher
By Sophie Vickery, Features Team
S
o, frst semester has well and truly begun. I know I speak for many
of us when I say that memories of Freshers Week are somewhat
blurred, but then who can blame us when the union offered a handful of
awesome nights: Loick Essien, a headphone disco, DJ Fresh, a foam night
- even David Hasselhoff turned up!
However, the most fantastic part of arriving at Surrey was the
warm welcome we received. I would like to say a massive thank you
to the societies and organisers behind the Freshers’ Fayre. It was such
a fantastic way to integrate ourselves into the Surrey community. The
energy inside the marquee was enough to make even the most shy feel
welcome. Four weeks on and the teary goodbyes seem mere distant
memories.
So what is a typical day in the life of a fresher like?
An average Wednesday normally begins with rolling out of bed, into
lectures and utilising the best hangover cures (especially the good old
cup of tea!). A heavy lecture may be followed with a heated discussion
during a seminar. The two hours are bursting with new information; a
lot to take in with a sore head! Next, it’s time to stop off at the library.
Some pause at Whispers Café for a coffee whilst others curse the stairs
as they climb all fve fights to seek next week’s reading.
After stocking up on books, many break for lunch at Hillside
restaurant, whilst others tuck into beans on toast at home and catch
up with MadTV or GU2 radio. Now is the perfect opportunity to catch
up on household chores and thus IKEA bags are packed and taken
to the laundrette. Inside we are faced with a new world of choices;
temperatures, lights, darks, delicates; who knew washing could be so
complicated? At least the forty minutes can be easily passed with a good
read of The Stag.
Hurrying back to drop off the laundry, campus is busy with people
heading in all directions; society meetings, Starbucks and Surrey Sports
Park. Wednesday afternoons are dedicated to team competitions, a dip
in the pool or a session in the gym. As the evening draws in we return
to campus, pausing at Natwest to withdraw cash for the evening and
Amigos for booze. A quick ready meal is popped in the oven before the
preparations for a night out begins; heels and make up for the girls,
shirts and cologne for the guys.
Housemates then gather in the kitchen for pre-drinks, perhaps a
pack of cards will be found to play ‘Ring of Fire’ or ‘I’ve Never’. Feeling
a little more ‘merry’ it’s time to dance to the biggest tunes at Rubix
because it’s Citrus time! The early hours soon arrive and we stumble
home, not before grabbing a kebab from Pizzaman of course! The day is
ended on a high and pillows are hit to catch up on some much needed
sleep before facing another busy day tomorrow.
T
he State of New York legalised equal marriage on July 24
th
, 2011. Following
this, it is the perfect time for Britain to promote marriage equality.
Currently under British law, gay people are unable to marry their partner
and ‘straight’ people are unable to have civil partnerships. The law not only
impacts people who are gay but also people of a transgender. Presently,
people going through a transition in gender would have to legally disband
their union and re-enter into a marriage or civil partnership with their
corrected gender.
Western marriage has historical roots sprouting from Christianity and
some people argue that for the sanctity of marriage to be maintained, it
should be kept between opposite-sex couples. But hasn’t society changed?
The country is increasingly non-religious and marriage is no longer a purely
religious phenomenon. Many gay people feel they are being denied the right
to the same marriage as everyone else by having a different term. Can
separate truly be equal? If partnerships and marriage carry the same
connotations, why have different names for different sexualities?
Should a supposedly modern society, where only 1/3 of British people
are religious be following the dictation of religious biases? Especially
when maintaining this legal status-quo has lead to the current state of
inhumane discrimination. Equal Love has started a petition calling on
the government to end the twin bans on same-sex civil marriages and
opposite-sex civil partnerships. In a democratic society, everyone should
be equal before the eyes of the law, no matter their gender, race, religion
or sexuality.
Marriage equality
By Ellie Brodie, Features Team
Four weeks on and the teary goodbyes
seem mere distant memories
To support the Equal Love Campaign by signing the
petition, or read more, visit: http://equallove.org.uk/
petition/
FEATURES 10 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
S
tarting at University can be quite a daunting time and the last thing
you want to think about is your clothes. But why? University is a great
chance to start to develop your own sense of style and we’re here to point
you in the right direction. Being students ourselves, we understand that
you don’t want to splash out to look and feel good. Okay, maybe not ‘want
to’, everybody wants to, but let’s face it, we don’t really have a choice!
Shopping for the latest trends may seem like a good idea at the time,
but on a student budget, it really isn’t that cost effective. Picking out
key pieces and looks for yourself is a much better idea and the golden
rule here is, try to stick to a palette of three colours. Of course, dressing
up like a traffc light really isn’t going to work, but picking items that
compliment each other will save you time, and mean you’ll always have
an outft to wear.
Another golden rule (we have many) is to buy things that will last
(especially key items). Winter coats and a good pair of boots are essential
for the British winter. You may at frst think you are spending a lot of
money but really you are saving it in the long run – think of it as an
investment. Spending that little bit extra means you will have something
you know will see you through this season, and here are some items that
probably justify you buying Sainsbury’s basics beans.
StagStyle
University is a great chance to start to develop your own sense of style...
By Jase Vickers and Amy McGivern
T
here is nothing like a careers
fair to remind you why you are
at university. It is one of the few
times where your purpose is really
questioned. In a non-predatory
way the smart, starched, smiley
lady at the stand who coos “what
do you do?”, staring intensely into
your eyes as she tries to sell the
organisation to you.
The question can be posed by
someone whose job purpose is to
spend the year attending events
such as this, or if your lucky,
someone who directly contributes
to the company’s efforts and
results. It’s very easy to spot those
who haven’t a clue how to talk to a
student: they become nervous in the
throng of the crowd, with curious
eyes assessing their company stand
down to the colour. Hidden behind
a mountain of freebies are people
who are ambassadors for their
company’s brand.
We are the same. We go to the
fairs and talk to them about our
degrees, interests and experiences,
some of us go in a suit, shirt or
pencil skirt. We engage in the
general trade-fest. It is an exchange
of info – but how many of us are
successfully using this exchange,
this trade, this market?
Now take my words with a
pinch of salt as the market is always
easier to navigate when you have
an aim or a fast approaching goal
such as graduate job, placement or
internship. And although it seems
effortless and as though nothing
is expected, the reality is quite the
contrary. Everything is expected,
from your CV to your smile,
greeting and questions. You have to
bring your full artillery to a careers
fair because not to is like sending an
unfnished application to apply for
your dream job.
You wouldn’t go to Portobello
Market without money, so don’t
forget to bring yourself when you
go into the job market because
you never know who the smart,
starched and smiley lady could
really be.
Supermarket and
careers fair have
more in common
than you think
By Jaz Broughton, Societies Editor
StagStyle on campus
Here are a couple of people that
caught our eye when strolling
around campus this week.
W
e spotted Charlotte sporting
her tailored trench, a timeless
classic; defnitely another must
have for this season.
Charlotte says: “I got my jeans
from TopShop, my trench from LK
Bennett and my shoes from Russell
& Bromley. I’d say that my fashion
inspiration comes from Fearne
Cotton and it’s defnitely a good
idea to make an effort with what
you wear, even if you’re not going
anywhere fancy!”
E
d caught our attention for
donning his dark-lensed
RayBans in Mid-October! Not
to mention his chinos that are
sticking around for A/W11.
Ed says: “I always tend to go
for the casual look and comfort
is important too. I can’t really
remember where my shirt is
from; I think it was a chain store
in Portugal. My chinos are from
TopMan and my Toms are from
Schuh.”
Photos taken by Mark Glaister
Charlotte Newton
Level 1 Economics Student
Ed Morris
Level 1 Economics Student
The careers service can
help with a wide range
of careers related issues.
Contact: 01483 689001,
[email protected] or
call in to Philip Marchant
building, next to the
International Student
Offce.
S
o, the student loan has dropped. Sorry if this
hits a nerve and Student Finance England
has decided to muck you around for yet another
year, or you're a fresher and you thought that
when they said Monday 26th September that's
what they meant. This is probably not the most
appropriate time to say that I got mine two
days early because I'm a star (with a NatWest
account). Anyway, every year it amazes me
how quickly students start acting like the four
fgures in their bank account are in fact six
fgures that will be reappearing weekly. I’m
going to presume anyone reading this is not one
of those people so that I can really say what’s on
my mind.
As a bartender in Rubix, I see the amount a
person can come to the bar with at the beginning
of the night. Say what you want about Union
prices, but £10-15 is enough to see you through.
It's not, however, enough to see you through if
stupidity is dictating fnancial decisions. So why
is it that Mr Eager, who seems to forget that he
has the whole academic year to spend money,
went all out before Freshers' Week even ended
and Ms Generous (sometimes with the same
personality traits as Mr and Ms Beg-A-Friend) is
in the habit of buying drinks for the majority of
people in a night club because:
a) they're their 'friend' (fair enough)
b) they actually think their drunk self stands
a chance with the person serving them so try to
bribe them
c) even in their drunken state, they have
the sense to realise that their drunk self doesn't
stand a chance but they don't have enough sense
to realise that attempting to give the bartender
beer goggles isn't going to work
Presumption flter removed (just in case you
are one of said people): there is nothing wrong
with getting a round in, just make sure that
you're not the only mug in your clique doing
it! Once they realise that you are one of these
people they will rinse you. How do you think I
manage to go out with only £10 a night? (Joking,
of course...)
Now, this lifestyle that you've come
accustomed to over the past month, can you
keep it going? If you have the funds to upgrade
from Primark to Prada then go you - but make
sure you're not eating into the funds set aside
for eating.
I swear I'm not a moany mare all the time; I
just like moaning.
"Y'know what really grinds my gears...":
Those of you who think this new ‘lifestyle’ is sustainable
If you have serious worries
about your money situation
then please contact Dave
Halls (VP Welfare) ussu.
[email protected]. I
moaned about lighting in
Guildford in the last issue
and Dave rang the Council
to air these concerns!
By Bakita Kasadha, Editor-in -Chief
©
S
t
a
c
e
y

H
u
n
t
e
r
FEATURES 11 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Games
Answers in the next edition of The Stag. Send correct answers to [email protected] to get a mention in the paper.
In addition to this The Stag would like to apologise for the mistake made in the Issue 35 Sudoku. We apologise if we ruined
anybodys fun.
1 5 4 6
6 4 3 2
6
5 9 8 3
4 6 2 7 5
8 7 5 1
3
1 5 9 8
9 4 1 7
Sudoku
Last issue’s answers
Wordsearch
The words to fnd were:
• ACTIVE
• DANCE
• PRIDE
• TEASE
• COMIC
• DIVER
• HUMID
• LAUGH
T N T B I H B V J
Y E Y L D U R E O
F X A I R M U C C
V S V S R I A N O
S E V D E D M A M
R X Y I D Q N D I
B Q H G U A L X C
Y Q A E V I T C A
E D I R P L C Y R
L E L Z Z I R H C
S B O J X K I N R
M H Q K S T Y L E
N C H I C K E N U
M A R R I A G E D
N O B E L S N R B
S E R A L F I A K
A Q C A J V L B D
A D J R E L Y V I
Wordsearch
The words to fnd are:
• NOBEL
• CHICKEN
• MARRIAGE
• STYLE
• JOBS
• FLARES
• DRIVE
• BALL
• RIZZLE
1
2
3 4
5
6
7
Crossword
ACROSS
1. An eerie apparition, usually
transparent.
3. A large metal cooking pot used to make
potions.
5. The vehicle of choice for any discerning
witch.
6. What is the 31st October?
7. A wooden box for the dead, ‘wheezing’.
DOWN
1. A place for multiple
graves.
2. A member of the
undead.
4. A large orange fruit,
usually carved.

T
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U
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r
s
it
y
of Surrey S
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s


U
n
i
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n


Your Exec
Get in touch!
www.ussu.co.uk
www.facebook.com/surreyunion
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VP Welfare
Dave Halls
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Jake Willis
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Osama Salih
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LƚŚŝĐƐ ĂŶĚ LŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ CĸĐĞƌ͕ CŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ CĸĐĞƌ͕
ÞŽƐƚŐƌĂĚƵĂƚĞ uĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ CĸĐĞƌ͕ ĂŶĚ lŶƚĞƌŶĂƟŽŶĂů
uĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ CĸĐĞƌ
vÞ LĚƵĐĂƟŽŶ
Sam Ratzer
Your Sabbatical Team 2011 - 2012
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 13 The Stag | 25th October 2011
W
ith the media providing
ample coverage of the
revelations about the speed of light,
Professors Paddy Regan and Jim Al-
Khalili took to the stage to try and
explain the impact of the results
on current scientifc thinking, with
the former appearing on BBC News
and the latter appearing on Radio
5Live, World Service and Newsnight
– where he vowed to eat his shorts
live on TV if the speed of light was
exceeded (and if there was a good
amount of Heinz on the side).
Prof. Al-Khalili, Surrey’s answer
to Brian Cox, has just started a new
12 part weekly radio series where he
interviews world leading scientists
about their life and work. Jim also
presents ‘Shock and Awe’ on BBC4,
for the documentary lovers, about
the story of electricity. He also had
a rather comical chat in the School
of Management Lecture Theatre
with Dara O’Briain at the beginning
of the month, which is available for
viewing on the University YouTube
channel.
More good news – the joint
Surrey Space Centre/Surrey Space
Technology Ltd (SSTL) team, who
plan to control a satellite by mobile
phone, have been nominated for an
award by the Time Higher Education
Magazine. SSTL, a spin-off company
of the University of Surrey, also
announced that it plans to build
radar satellites in the future.
Winners of Space App Competition –
University of Surrey:
http://bit.ly/mWtnsV
Science & Technology
O
n September 22
nd
, particle physicists at the Gran
Sasso facility in Italy announced that they had
evidence of subatomic particles travelling at speeds
greater than that of light. Surrey University’s own
Professor Jim Al-Khalili has declared that he will “eat
his shorts” should the fndings be true - but what
could this mean for our current understanding of the
universe?
In 1905, Albert Einstein published his paper
“Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy-
content?”, in which he describes mass-energy
equivalence through what is possibly the most
famous equation - E = mc2. One of the consequences
of this theory is that, for a particle that possesses a
rest mass, an infnite amount of energy is needed to
accelerate that particle to light speed; close to light
speed a particle’s mass will increase along with its
kinetic energy. This alone invalidates the fndings
at Gran Sasso, as travelling at light speed would – in
theory – lead to the particle possessing an infnite
mass which alone is impossible.
In addition, Einstein’s Special Theory of
Relativity is the foundation for much of modern
science. Should the fndings be true, this theory would
be invalidated and, much like taking the foundations
of a large building away, the whole thing would just
collapse, leaving the scientists to start all over again.
This would mean that you could take a very large part
of physics and literally burn it.
This is an exciting discovery for not only
those interested in science, but anyone interested in
the very foundations of the world we live in. Watch
this space for more details on the discovery.
The OPERA Collaboraton: T. Adam et al, arxiv.org/
abs/1109.4897 (pre-published, 2011)
E=mc
2
... or does it?
By Alex Smith, Science and Tech Team
Showing off Surrey
O
ctober 5
th
, 2011 saw the death
of a technological visionary and
co-founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs.
Alongside Steve Wozniak and
Ronald Wayne, Jobs founded Apple
on April Fool’s Day 1976 with
the original intention of selling
motherboards. The technological
advances that followed included
the launch of the Macintosh in 1984
and the 17lb Macintosh “Portable”
in 1989, which boasted a 12-
hour battery life. Presently, Macs
account for 9.63% of the operating
system market, their distinctively
simplistic style setting them apart
from other PCs on the market.
As CEO of Apple, Jobs has an
impressive collection of products to
his name, including – but certainly
not limited to – fve iPod models
spanning up to six generations;
four iPhones and, most recently,
two iPads. His company has had
an undeniable infuence on the
electronics market, and he will
be remembered for being a truly
innovative inventor.
Jobs passed away in his home
following respiratory arrest after
a lengthy battle with pancreatic
cancer. He is survived by his wife,
Laurene, and four children.
R.I.P. Steve Jobs
T
he Surrey Space Centre and Surrey Satellite
Technology Ltd have recently announced1 the
four winners of their ‘Space App Competition’ that will
be sent into space on the STRaND-1 satellite. For those
unfamiliar with STRaND-1, the satellite is powered
by Google’s Nexus One, and aims to test smartphone
technologies, potentially saving the space industry
money by sparing the expense of building a satellite
from scratch.
The four apps all use a different aspect of the
Nexus One. ‘Scream in space’ tests Alien’s premise ‘in
space no one can hear you scream’ by playing videos
of people screaming, and tries to detect any sound or
vibration from the speakers. ‘Postcards from space’
and ‘360’ were joint winners, both engaging with the
public in a similar manner to ‘Scream in space’, in that
the public can request a satellite image of a certain
place on Earth, taken by the smartphone’s camera.
The two remaining apps focus on the scientifc
value of using a smartphone in space; ‘iTesa’ uses
the magnetometers on the phone and satellite to
record the magnitude of the magnetic feld around
the phone whilst in orbit, and ‘the STRaND data’ app
shows smartphone telemetry (the general functions
of the phone) on the screen, which is then imaged by
another camera on board. The success of this mission,
which is set to launch in 2012, will demonstrate the
usefulness of smartphones to the satellite industry.
Smartphone apps to fly
on Surrey nanosatellite
By Dave Holcombe and Ruth Smithers, Science and Tech Team
By Kate McAtamney, Science and Tech Team
By Ruth Smithers, Science and Tech Team
©

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 14 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
R
ockefeller University
immunologist, Ralph
Steinman, who in 1973 discovered
Dendritic cells, has been awarded
one half of the 2011 Nobel Prize
for Medicine & Physiology. These
cells process antigen materials
that help the immune system in
mammals to curb infections and
other communicable diseases.
Tragically though, Steinman died
just three days before the prize
was announced. He had been
battling pancreatic cancer for four
years and had in fact developed
experimental treatments based on
Dendritic cells. Although, these
were clearly not good enough
to treat his cancer, Steinman’s
colleagues say he survived much
longer than expected, thanks to his
self-experimentation, considering
only SIX percent of pancreatic
cancer sufferers are given a fve-
year life expectancy.
The other half of the prize is
shared between Bruce Beutler,
Texas University and Jules
Hoffmann, Strasbourg University,
for their work on innate immunity.
Meanwhile, the Chemistry
prize of £940,000 went to Daniel
Schectman from the Israel Institute
of Technology, for his discovery of
quasicrystals. These are crystals
with regular patterns in the
structure, but never repeating.
This gives rise to properties such
as negligible surface friction and
resistance to oxidation and rusting.
STSCi’s Adam Reis shared the
Physics prize with Saul Perlmutter
(Berkeley), and Brian Schmidt
(ANU), for their discovery of an
accelerated expansion of the
Universe propelled by dark energy.
The group studied redshifts of
distant Type – 1a supernovae and
surprisingly found the universe
to be expanding at an increasing
pace, rather than contracting
under its own gravity. This 1998
discovery is believed by many to
have reshaped astrophysics and
will hopefully boost funding and
interest in upcoming missions such
as Hubble’s successor, James Webb
Telescope.
See http://www.nobelprize.org/
for full list and biographies of the 2011
Nobel laureates.
E
-coli: the very name is
enough to strike fear into the
hearts and minds of the public.
Yet scientists at the Nanyang
Technological University,
Singapore have successfully
engineered the bug to seek and
destroy the bacterial pathogen,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa- the
cause of life threatening infections
in cystic fbrosis patients. Its
Achilles heel is a lethal protein
it produces called pyocin. By
manipulating E-coli to ‘detonate’
in the presence of P.aeruginosa
and release the protein, they
were able to eradicate 99% of the
bacteria in lab tests-and prevent
them from banding together.
These ‘bacterial clusters’-
called bioflms, are held together
by a sugary secretion, able to act
as a shield against antibiotics. This
makes them diffcult to destroy
and a menace among patients. Yet
before they can do anything, the
E-coli have to be able to fnd their
target. This requires a technique
called quorum sensing- involving
a chemical signal produced by P.
aeruginosa-called 30C
12
HSL. It is to
this that the E-coli are drawn, like
fies to a corpse.
This is certainly a triumph
in bio-engineering, but let’s be
honest- a bout of E-coli is hardly
what the doctor ordered! Before
we can begin any kind of clinical
trial a safer bacterium needs to
be found, says Richard Kitney-a
Biologist at Imperial College
London. It is not clear how
effective in vivo treatment would
be. Yet it holds the potential for a
revolutionary new way of fghting
deadly infections where antibiotics
increasingly fail. That has got to
be worth striving for.
Chang, M.W.C; Leong, S.S.J.L; Ling,
H.L; Lo, T.L; Nguyen, H.X.N; Poh,
C.L.P; Saeidi, N.S; Wong, C.K.W. (2011).
‘Engineering microbes to sense and
eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a
human pathogen. Molecular Systems
Biology, 7, 7:521
Clark, D.P.C; Dunlap, P.V.D;
Madigan, M.T.M; Martinko,
J.M.M. (2009). Brock Biology of
Microorganisms, p158 & 233
E-coli with a bang?
By Lawrence Finn, Science & Tech team
T
he recently published BUPA
Health Pulse Study 2011 found
that middle aged Britons were the
unhealthiest in the world under the
categories of obesity, depression
and smoking. Over 13,000 people
across 12 countries, including the
UK, the USA, Australia and India,
took part in the study which aimed
to get a view of world health.
More than a third of Britain’s
45-54 year olds were found
to be obese compared to the
international average of 17%,
which may be related to Britain
having had the lowest percentage
of people that felt they were
encouraged to have a healthy
lifestyle during their childhood.
Britain also had a higher than
international average percentage
for smoking and depression. With
these factors it is unsurprising that
the UK had the most pessimistic
people across all age groups.
Overall, the report indicated that
Asian countries appeared to be
healthier than Western nations.
It’s not all bad however as the
most recent data published by
OECD in the “Health at a Glance”
report showed that despite the
stereotype, Britain has the lowest
levels of tooth decay. The study
involved looking at the dental
health of 12 year olds in a number
of countries and working out
the average number of decayed,
missing or flled teeth.
Britons worst for obesity,
depression and smoking
S
ince the late 19
th
century
scientists have been attempting
to discover a treatment for cancer
that uses the patient’s own
immune system, and fnally there
has been a breakthrough. The frst
therapeutic cancer vaccine has
been approved for use recently
in America. Prior to this, there
were three treatment options
for patients with malignancies:
chemotherapy, radiation and
surgery.
The drug, Provenge, is used in
conjunction with chemotherapy
and works by utilising the body’s
own T cells, a type of immune
cell, specifcally the CD4+ and
CD8+ cells. This vaccine aims
to train these cells to recognise
and kill malignant cells both
during treatment and continually
afterwards.
It has already been used to give
advanced stage prostate cancer
patients a few extra months of
life that they would not have had
previously. Possible side effects
are similar to the symptoms of fu.
As this is the frst of this type of
cancer treatment, there is a huge
amount of research going on to
improve it. For instance, currently
the number of cells needed by
each patient is enormous and
the process for getting these
cells is not effcient because the
immune cells have to be removed
from the body, cultured and then
reinserted. The aim of much of the
current research is to fnd a way to
stimulate the immune system so
that it produces enough cells on its
own.
Drug trials offer new
hope for cancer cure
By Melissa Raske, Science & Tech Team
Honouring this Year’s Nobel Prize winner
By Shourya Khanna, Science &Tech Team
By Melissa Raske, Science & Tech Team
The above image shows distant supernovae (indicated by arrows) and host galaxies (below) studied by Reis and colleagues in
the High-Z Team’s 1998 discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
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These are the four Students’ Union
strategic themes, chosen by you.
Find out more - visit www.ussu.co.uk
UNION ELECTIONS 16 The Stag | 25th October 2011
The Positions up for Election are:
Community Officer
The Community Offcer is responsible for initiating debate and action on issues affecting students in the local
community, with an aim to providing cohesion between the Students’ Union and those living in local private
accommodation.
Postgraduate Development Officer
The Postgraduate Development Offcer facilitates the development of activities to support the postgraduate
community. This post is also charged with ensuring the Students’ Union is aware of issues effecting students
studying at postgraduate level and representing the collective views of Postgraduate Students
Ethics and Environment Officer
The Ethics and Environment Offcer is charged with facilitating debate and action on ethics and environmental
issues affecting both the campus and the wider world.
NUS Delegate (4 positions available)
As a delegate, you will be representing the University of Surrey Students’ Union, and you will be entitled to
speak during the debates and as a delegation you will need to decide which way to vote for each motion. The
motions presented at the conference will collectively make up the policy for the NUS for the next year.
UNION ELECTIONS 17 The Stag | 25th October 2011

V VO OT TE E P PA AT TR RI IC CI IA A O OR RO OZ ZC CO O
V VO OT TE E P PA AT TR RI IC CI IA A O OR RO OZ ZC CO O
V VO OT TE E P PA AT TR RI IC CI IA A O OR RO OZ ZC CO O
YOUR COMMUNITY
OFFICER
My Aims:

 Promote quality accommodation (Secure, Safe and Affordable) on and off campus using existed services like Campus Accommodation
Services, Campus Security Department, and Local Letting Agencies, local government, local police and local fire brigade.

 Develop a feedback system in order to deal with community issues affecting YOU. A site you can log onto and find a wealth of information
about landlords within the local area. A site that tells you things like which landlords are accredited, the number of properties they operate,
the details of their leases, deposits, council tax, legal rights and other sources of support.

 Build a relationship between students and the local community through community work and volunteering, community events and
community meetings. By this way students should be able to contribute positively the local community and economy.

 Work closely with the Sabbatical Officers and Union Executive contributing to develop strategies and policy in order to achieve a common
goal: Represent YOU, Support YOU and Help YOU to Resolve any issues.

If you are interested about my proposals just ask me. I am very approachable and friendly person and I have
an aptitude to work hard and heartfelt commitment.
I am Patricia Orozco, student nurse. I
want to have the honour to represent
YOU as your Community Officer. I am
willing to listen to and voice your views
initiating debates and pro-actions on
issues surrounding YOUR student living in
and off campus.
My Experience:
 Volunteer Community Support Worker for Woking Street Angels
 VP of Equality and Diversity Team (2010-2011), Brooklands College Student Union
 Outstanding Student Award (June 2011) awarded by Brooklands College for contributing towards the student community via the SUT
 Community Worker (10 years) for World Mission Association Charity
 Member of Safer Neighbourhoods Ward Panel from Finsbury Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team (London, 2008-2009)



If you are interested about my proposals just ask me. I am very approachable and friendly person and I have
an aptitude to work hard and heartfelt commitment.

UNION ELECTIONS 18 The Stag | 25th October 2011
¡a tigat risiag taitiaa
tees tar ¡astgraáaate
staáeat. |a ·»·¡»·at|»a
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staáeats: "· ua|a ¡»a| |s t» !·c·|»¡ a ¡»||·· ¡·|»·|t·. a|t| t|·
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Ny name is Aiian
Steais anu I am
asking foi youi
suppoit in iunning
foi postgiauuate
officei.
Baving hau such a
gieat oppoitunity
anu expeiience
stuuying heie foi
the last 4 yeais anu
now uoing a NA, I
feel uigeu to give
something back to
the stuuent
community. I have
the knowleuge anu
the unueistanuing
of the issues
conceining
stuuents anu I am
yeaining to
iepiesent you anu
iesolve these issues
in these uifficult
economic times.
If electeu my main goals aie:
I am iunning foi this job foi you, the stuuents, not foi myself. If you woulu like to know moie about my values anu
piinciples feel fiee to uiop by foi a coffee oi tea. If you aie not inteiesteu in politics my uaughtei will still love to
see you 
E-mail: asuuu2uÇsuiiey.ac.uk, Mobile: u786S 888797, landline uSSSS8 – S2u26, Skype: "aiiansteais",
Facebook: Seaich "vote Aiian Steais" Address: Wey flat S, Suiiey Couit, 0niveisity of Suiiey, uuilufoiu, Suiiey,
I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr
¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl
UNION ELECTIONS 19 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Hi My name is Leia Achampong, I’m an International Politics Final Year, and I am asking you to Vote 1 for me as YOUR Ethics and
Environment Officer.

At the moment I am completing an internship with an Environmental NGO, the Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO), I have
learned at EIO that many organisations do not understand the full scope of their carbon emissions.

As YOUR Ethics and Environment Officer will:

1) Work with the Union to make sure that they are aware of current environmental issues such as the New GHG Protocol
Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) standards.

2) Work with the University to find various ways in which we can reduce our Carbon footprint as a whole, and liaise with the
Sabbatical Officers to develop strategies to tackle this issue.

3) Work with the University and local farmers to try and grow our own vegetables and fruit, which we can sell, proceeds of which
going to various charities, and the University’s Annual Fund.

4) Work with the Union to make sure that all students can feed into the process so I can take forward YOUR views.

I would love a chance to be YOUR Ethics and Environmental Officer, I would use my position wisely to benefit YOU.


UNION ELECTIONS 20 The Stag | 25th October 2011












There has never been a more important time for the representation of students at the NUS conference. As the new fees structure is introduced, with
inflation running at record levels, the standards of living for students at our University are in decline. The theme of the NUS conference this year
should be to address this trend.

As such my main priorities as your NUS delegate would be:

To argue for policies that are aimed at securing and improving standards of living for students at Guildford;

To support any policy that argues for widening representation in Higher Education;

To vote for candidates that best reflect the views of the majority of students at the University of Surrey Students' Union.

As you current Union Chair I believe I can best give voice to the concerns and views of our students at the NUS conference. As your delegate I will
not be afraid of making the case for progressive policies in Higher Education and making the case for students at Surrey, in what are very tough
times.

Do a good
Deed. Vote
Oliver Deed
[1] for NUS
Delegation
In addition to Oliver Deed, Arran Stears and Jack White,
the following people have been nominated to stand in
the NUS Delegate Elections, however have not submitted
a manifesto: Sam Ratzer and Ransford Stanley.
UNION ELECTIONS 21 The Stag | 25th October 2011
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Ny name is Aiian
Steais anu I am
asking foi youi
suppoit in iunning
foi N0S uelegate.
Baving hau such a
gieat oppoitunity
anu expeiience
stuuying heie foi
the last 4 yeais anu
now uoing a NA, I
feel uigeu to give
something back to
the stuuent
community. I have
the knowleuge anu
the unueistanuing
of the issues
conceining
stuuents anu I am
yeaining to
iepiesent you anu
iesolve these
issues in these
uifficult economic
times.
If electeu my main goals aie:
I am iunning foi this job foi you, the stuuents, not foi myself. If you woulu like to know moie about my values anu
piinciples feel fiee to uiop by foi a coffee oi tea. If you aie not inteiesteu in politics my uaughtei will still love to
see you 
E-mail: asuuu2uÇsuiiey.ac.uk, Mobile: u786S 888797, landline uSSSS8 – S2u26, Skype: "aiiansteais",
Facebook: Seaich "vote Aiian Steais" Address: Wey flat S, Suiiey Couit, 0niveisity of Suiiey, uuilufoiu, Suiiey,
I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr I´µ ;czing [cr
¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl ¡n¡¡q çccl
• Dedicatedvoiceforstudentwelfare
• Previousexperienceof NUSConferenceandstudentlinksacrossUK
• AwardedMost Active Society Member2010/11
• Editorof The Stag2011/12
+ Morefar-reachinglobbyingonstudentfees/unifunding
+ Betterdealforinternationalstudents
+ Moremoneyforstudentsinexpensiveareas
(likeGuildford)
Vote JACK WHITE
for NUS Delegate #1
Vote25
th
–28
th
Oct
vote.ussu.co.uk
SOCIETIES 22 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Societies
Black History Month
bonanza for everone
W
ise words from Marianne
Williamson are a foundation
of what the African-Caribbean
Society is about this year. As we
embrace and celebrate what is
considered to be a diverse and
profound culture, we are taking
the society to the next level. In
collaboration with our sponsor,
Deloitte LLP we aim to provide a
platform for students not only to
aid personal development but also
to have an amazing university social
experience. We cater for everyone
from every background, whether
you are a fresher, returning
undergraduate or post-graduate!
If you missed ‘Freshers Go Hard’
featuring Lethal Bizzle in Rubix or
our opening Black History Month
event of the year, The Great Debate
Tour and David McQueen, there is
more in store! Upcoming events in
courtesy of Black History Month
include: ‘Connections’ Networking
Event with guests from Deloitte
LLP, Elevation Networks and SEO
London. The perfect opportunity
to meet industry contacts and
another opportunity to think
about professional & personal
development on Tuesday 18
th

October 6pm in LTG. The month
is then rounded off with a movie
night 21
st
October at 6pm and again
all are welcome.
We will be opening the month
of November with a Coach Party
(details TBC) and after that watch
out for our Urban Night in the
Living Room and the Christmas
Cook-up! Can you sing, act, dance,
rap, or do poetry? What use is
talent if it is not utilised? We are
bringing you the second rendition
of Afro-Fusion talent-showcase this
year and auditions will begin this
semester!
For further information visit:
www.facebook.com/surrey.acs
Twitter- @surreyacs
Email – [email protected]
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, it is that we are powerful beyond measure”
By Sandra Mayenda, ACS Secretary
T
he Food & wine Society was
ordained a society in 1985 and
with more than 25 years under
its belt it is now open to ALL. By
all we mean every single member
of the university population that
enjoys food & wine and all that it
brings to our lives, especially as
students. Whether it is the glass
of rose on a night out in Rubix
or a birthday meal in town food
and wine are accessories to life.
The society aims to bring people
together through amazing social
experiences such as trips to 5 star
hotels, cocktail evenings, brewery
and vineyard trips to name but a
few.
The Food & Wine committee
2011 chaired by Kirsten Brown
kicked off the year with a wine
and sign event at the Lakeside
Restaurant on Tuesday 18
th

October followed by a social
at Tickled Ivory with cocktail
specials for all members on
3
rd
November which promises
to be a night of great music,
entertainment, memories and
Food & Wine!
For further information visit:
www.facebook.com/fwssoc
Email: [email protected]
Food and wine for all
By Petra Hrdlickova, F&WS
O
ctober is the month in which
Black History Month is
celebrated, as a time to positively
commemorate the journeys
and experiences of historical
events since the diaspora. The
African Caribbean Society held
several events this month to
commemorate this occasion with
a night in Rubix, A great debate,
networking event and movie
night. The great debate took
place on Tuesday 11
th
and was
an engaging event with guest
speakers and voices, but that’s
just my opinion, for more read
The Review (on the next page).
The event – the great debate
SOCIETIES 23 The Stag | 25th October 2011
G
U2 Radio provides brilliant
media experience for students.
Work experience is an essential
thing for graduates to have when
leaving university; a degree on its
own will not make you stand out
when trying to get a job out in the
real world.
If you are thinking of getting
any job in media, journalism,
music or management then GU2
is perfect for you. Showing an
extra-curricular effort will make
you much more employable than
someone with just a degree.
It will be incredibly diffcult to
get this level of media experience
once you leave university so make
the most of these opportunities
when you’re here.
GU2 offers you the chance to
get involved in a great variety of
felds, from being a journalist and
news reader in the news team, to
reviewing the latest music tracks
before everyone else hears them,
and you could have your own
radio show on top of all this.
At GU2 you get the chance
to do some amazing things that
no other society offers. In the
past year, GU2 has met Example,
Fearne Cotton, Chase and Status,
and Zane Lowe, to name just a few.
Who knows who they’ll meet this
year?
For information on joining GU2:
email: [email protected].
GU2 Radio wants to hear from you
M
any are imprisoned and even
killed for their political,
religious and personal views.
Surrey PEN will publicise these
voices around campus and highlight
their fght for freedom. For ninety
years, English PEN has been
fghting for the freedom to write
and the freedom to read at home
and abroad. At the next societies
standing hopefully Surrey PEN will
be ratifed, if this occurs it will be
the frst PEN Society in the country
supporting students to fght for
the freedom of speech and actively
engage in the world around them.
All Surrey students are welcome
to support the right to write.
For more information regarding
English PEN please contact:
Amanda Finelli:
[email protected]
Surrey PEN, the right to write
T
he frst part of the evening,
The Great Debate, was
fantastic and raised real issues
enabling strong minded people
to think about the other side of
the coin; but I was completely
captured by the second part of the
event where David McQueen was
invited as a motivational speaker.
McQueen asked attendees to think
about their position in the market
and what they had to offer, but
importantly this was not just about
the job market but life in general.
So to continue his message - what
value do you bring? How are you
described amongst your peers
when you’re not in the room to
defend yourself? Make sure you
perform – because people pay
more attention to what you do
than what you say. To paraphrase:
promise less, deliver more.
It seems obvious, but do we
ever think about the steps we’re
going to take and how we can
achieve them? David McQueen’s
advice to all attendees (and to
you is) think SMART. Let your
goals be Specifc, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic, and impose
a Time frame. Honestly, his words
touched all; I saw numerous tweets
and Facebook updates singing his
praises. I am grateful to him for
reminding me to not be so blinded
by the ‘big picture’ that I forget
the steps needed to reach it.
By inviting these speakers to
the University, Surrey ACS has
shown the commitment they
have not only to bettering the
opportunities for their members
but their inclusiveness. Well done
Surrey ACS.
The Review: Journey to the big picture
By Bakita Kasadha, Union Comms Offcer
S
o the Mechanical, Medical
and Aerospace society known
as Mechsoc had their AGM on
Wednesday 12
th
October where the
new committee was elected for the
coming year. The new President
for the society is Chris Dighton, a
third year Aerospace engineer and
the new treasurer is Shalimar Ali,
a second year Medical engineer.
Angelina Acaster Huaringa, a
second year Mechanical engineer,
was voted in as the new Vice
President while the position of
Social Secretary went to Shuna
Beasley, a second year Aerospace
engineer. Congratulations to them
all.
For an insight into Mechsoc,
it is a society not only for MMA
(Mechanical, Medical and
Aerospace) students to meet each
other and go out on social events,
but also somewhere for students
to get any form of help with their
course. It is open to all levels
of study, so that help is always
available. The committee also are
able to organise course based trips
to various companies, giving MMA
students an insight into the careers
achievable once graduated, these
trips are also useful in giving Level
2 students ideas on what to do for
their professional training year.
Mechsoc is certainly the society
where MMA students can shine.
For further information visit:
[email protected]
Mechsoc AGM: new committee
DANCE & THEATRE 24 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Dance & Theatre
A
re you a new dance, flm or theatre student? Been
told by your lecturers to see productions but have
no idea where to go? Well, never fear because we have
the lowdown on the best places to see shows around
Guildford without breaking the bank!
Firstly, make sure you pick up a copy of the Surrey
arts calendar in PATs which lists all the events going
on around the university during the year: from
experimental plays to Kathak and contemporary
dance, including work by the University’s on-campus
drama school, Guildford School of Acting. Beyond
campus, there are two theatres in Guildford town
centre, the frst of which is called the Yvonne Arnaud.
This mostly shows the work of touring companies and
more mainstream productions such as pantomimes
and children’s shows. It’s also home to the Mill
Studio which offers a more intimate setting for both
well-known plays and new work, including a piece
of experimental theatre by the third year Theatre
Studies students this July. The other venue is the
Electric Theatre and is the home of fringe theatre and
amateur dramatics in Guildford.
In addition to this, Guildford is lucky enough to
have its own Shakespeare Company, who specialise in
portraying some of Shakespeare’s best known work in
unusual settings. In February they put on a very eerie
production of Hamlet in the Holy Trinity Church on
Guildford High Street. While we are spoilt for choice
for things to see on our very own doorstep, don’t
forget that London is only a 40 minute train journey
away, where it might be easier than you think to fnd
cheap tickets for the shows you want to see!
Where to watch in Guildford
By Emily Bourne, Dance & Theatre Team
I
t’s that time of year again when pumpkins are a-plenty, white
sheets get attacked by children with scissors, and the shelves
bubble purple, green, and orange. Then there is all the blood,
severed limbs, un-dead, screams, and shivers down spines.
But how has theatre harnessed this most commercialised
and feared week of our calendar? Bringing that same feeling
of terror onstage may seem impossible without attacking the
audience, but many companies have succeeded in some truly
terrifying spectacles.
I have seen very few scary performances, the most notable
being The Woman in Black, which has actually chilled me twice.
The key to horror theatre is simplicity – whereas on the big
screen you can have lots of effects and multitudes of traipsing
CGI corpses, on stage too much ‘stuff’ can turn it into farce. The
Woman In Black is a story within a story; an old man haunted by
the memories of a haunted house, retold by a young director
keen to get his tale out. The simplicity of the set, the imaginary
horse and trap, and the recognition of the theatre immerse
the audience in their world whilst drawing almost entirely on
the actors’ abilities to keep us engaged. Suspense and a sense
of the unknown reach numerous points of climax at which the
audience either scream, or laugh with relief. It is easy to see
why this show has been successful for the last 23 years and
continues at the Fortune Theatre.
This year the horror shows seem somewhat hidden,
lurking in the corners, their posters seeking out those who are
curious; I have managed to unearth two such performances.
Terror 2011: Love Me to Death at the Soho Theatre brings together
short plays by new writers, and creepy cabaret for a night of
strange, macabre theatre. Another company who cater solely
for the grisly and morbid crowd is Theatre of the Damned,
specialising in twisted and forgotten horror classics, this year
with four gruesome tales ready to test your wits.
Theatre is not just for upper-class rich folk to while away
hours peering through opera glasses. It can be a place of
nightmares and reach-out-and-touch-it terror, the kind we
now see at theme parks and Halloween houses. If you think
you’re man enough, or have someone big enough to hide
behind, delve a little deeper and see what terrors you can
uncover this Halloween. I dare you.
Sinister stages
By Tiffany Stoneman, Dance & Theatre Team
©
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REVIEW:
THREE DAYS IN MAY
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
11
th
October 2011
T
hree Days in May begins with
fve men, kneeling in a church,
facing the audience. The narrator
explains these men: Lord Halifax,
Neville Chamberlain, Churchill,
Arthur Greenwood and Paul
Reynaud. The year is 1940. The
‘Three Days in May’ are the 26
th
, 27
th

and 28
th
. The narrator, playing Jock
Colville, speaks slowly, articulating
the seriousness of the play, setting
the tone of the play, and creating a
slight chill above the audience.
This play is based on truth,
whether every moment actually
happened would never be known
by anyone today, but I was instantly
sucked in by the severity of the
situation. The acting in the play as
a whole was phenomenal, I (and
several audience members around
me) believed every moment, every
decision made by the actors and
every lingering silence. During
this performance I did not see an
actor on stage, only the characters
that they were portraying. Details,
such as Halifax without use of his
left hand, were convincing but not
played upon. The set was exhausted
to every potential but there was no
need for anything more.
My only fault with the
production would be that all
the details were not quite given,
perhaps the fact that I was not born
a part of the generation that would
know slightly more information
(unlike the majority of the audience)
factored into it, but other than that,
this was superb.
If you do get a chance to see
Three Days in May, whether it be
this production or another, I fully
recommend it - possibly the best
show I’ve seen all year.
By Lexi Sutton, Dance & Theatre Team
The Electric Theatre: Guildford’s de facto residence of the amateur and the unusual
©
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DANCE & THEATRE 25 The Stag | 25th October 2011
Jelliman’s Gems:
“I personally would like to bring a
tortoise onto the stage, turn it into
a racehorse, then into a hat, a song,
a dragon and a fountain of water.
One can dare anything in the
theatre and it is the place where
one dares the least.”
Eugene Lonesco
B
eyoncé’s new music video for Countdown premiered
earlier this month. But, within days of it hitting our
screens, controversy began to develop as similarities
were drawn between the video and the work of Belgian
choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.
In a statement issued last week, De Keersmaeker
cited two works that she believes to have been copied in
Beyoncé’s video: Rosas danst Rosas (1994) and Achterland
(1990).
When viewing Countdown, anyone with knowledge
of De Keersmaeker’s work will instantly spot the
likeness. Not only the dance moves, but the set,
costumes and some of the shots are pillaged. Countdown,
just like De Keersmaeker’s Rosas danst Rosas, is partially
flmed in a warehouse and dancers wear loose tomboy
style clothing. Furthermore, dancers perform on chairs
with the gestural idiosyncrasies characteristic of De
Keersmaeker’s work.
Coincidence? I suggest not. Taking a closer look
at the two videos perhaps reveals more than just an
accidental replication.
In Countdown, an almost identical movement
sequence appears as in De Keersmaeker’s Achterland. In
both videos, the dancers perform a syncopated stepping
pattern of the feet with the legs open, shimmying the
shoulders, and fnally turning around away from the
camera.
Similarly, two sections of Rosas danst Rosas have been
almost directly copied. The most shocking of which
involves virtually indistinguishable camera shots.
Both are shot through panelled windows into a bleak
warehouse, with the lead dancer in the foreground.
Likewise, in both, dancers wear loose tops and skirts,
and perform swinging arms gestures. Lastly, in both
videos the leading female fgure sweeps back her hair,
pulls her top off her shoulders and hugs her stomach.
In response to the issue, De Keersmaeker has said
‘People asked me if I’m angry or honoured. Neither.
On the one hand, I am glad that Rosas danst Rosas can
perhaps reach a mass audience […] On the other hand,
there are protocols and consequences to such actions’.
Beyoncé vs Anne
Teresa De Keersmaeker
By Lucy Jarvis, Dance & Theatre Team
“J
ust because you do the stupid
accent doesn’t make you one
of them.”
Akram Khan, repeating
the words of his own father,
addresses one of many cultural
and racial dilemmas confronted
in his newest work Desh. The piece
explores not only Khan’s ancestry
in Bangladesh, but also the much
confusion and troubles faced by
a Bangladeshi child, born and
raised in a multicultural British,
Western society. Despite being
Khan’s frst full-length solo work,
the audience remained captivated
throughout with his clever use
of characterisation, comedy and
some remarkable staging. The
piece was Khan’s own exploration
of his Bangladeshi heritage, taking
the audience on a journey through
different real and fantasy stories
from his life. Khan’s extensive
training in Kathak, a traditional
South Asian Dance form, were
evident throughout in a physical
and metaphorical sense; from his
use of fast spins, precise hand
movements and Kathak footwork,
to the piece’s ‘storytelling’ quality,
a vital feature in the traditional
form. The mix of this tradition
with contemporary movement
refects Khan’s multicultural
identity and the confusion of
belonging to several different
cultural and ethnic groups. The
piece shows a constant struggle
of national and cultural identity
through different scenarios, from
dodging traffc and begging on a
Bangladeshi street, to Khan as a
Bangladeshi-British man arguing
with a Bangladeshi child in a
‘British’ company call centre.
Desh may essentially be a solo
work, however, the audience
becomes familiar with a number
of different characters. Khan
encourages the audience to use
their imagination and to put
themselves in the characters
shoes in the many scenes,
often in a comedic fashion, yet
also exploring deeper issues
such as protest, racism, child
neglect, slavery and identity
confusion. Desh is easily one of
Khan’s greatest works, exploring
important issues, yet still being
a piece of sheer beauty in
movement quality, choreographic
technique and visual design.
Akram Khan explores his
ancestry in new work ‘Desh’
By Hannah Jelliman, Dance & Theatre Editor
©
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FILM 26 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Film
A
pocalypto, made in 2006, is
undoubtedly Mel Gibson’s
fnest work. The flm’s essential
greatness is diffcult to express
through words, and this statement
in itself stresses how extraordinary
it really is.
The flm centres on the
ancient Mayan civilization, a close-
knit, peaceful tribe, who are one
morning brutally attacked by cold-
hearted warriors. The flm’s main
character is the proud Jaguar Paw
who tries desperately to save his
family and friends from death and
destruction. Although they are
ultimately defeated, he manages
to hide his pregnant wife and
their adorable toddler in a deep
hole hidden from any enemy eyes.
Those who are deemed physically
strong enough are then forced on
a distressing journey in which they
will be sacrifced to the Gods.
What happens is epic,
sensational and horrifc: as each
member of the tribe is killed, we
see a piece of their history and their
hope die with them. Apocalypto
shows how the villagers deal
with the horrifc trials that their
captivators thrust upon them. The
movie is flmed in an ancient native
language, and subtitled in English,
which adds a sense of authenticity
and tradition to the story.
Apocalypto is visually
beautiful and every aspect of
the mise-en-scene is taken into
consideration. The flm is set mainly
in Catemaco, San Andrés Tuxtla and
Paso de Ovejas in the Mexican state
of Veracruz. The surroundings are
stunning and the jungle-feel works
perfectly with the flm’s action
packed sequences. The actors look
visually convincing as Gibson does
well to portray the Mayan culture,
with unique styles of dress, hair,
tattoos, body piercing, decorative
scars and weapons. All provide
a fascinating anthropological
backdrop for what is essentially a
compelling, thrilling, fast-paced
struggle between the forces of good
and evil.
R
yan Gosling takes a
spectacular acting u-turn in
this pumped-up, gritty action
thriller recently released in UK
cinemas. Leaving behind the
tear-jerking storyline and steamy
love scenes flmed with Rachel
McAdams in The Notebook, Gosling
plays a mechanic, stunt driver
and get-away driver, intent on
protecting the girl next door and
her little boy from the violent mob
hunting her criminal husband.
Gosling suits the motto that
actions speak louder than words:
rarely offering more than one
word answers, he contrasts heart-
warming tenderness towards
his love interest to the type of
brutal violence that would make
even the hardest movie veterans
wince (watch out for the elevator
scene).
Despite being relatively short
(approximately 100 minutes),
Drive seems to be shot in slow-
motion, and the dim lighting
can make you feel like you’re in
some sort of trance. However, the
high-speed car chases and strong
violence scattered throughout
defnitely make this flm worth a
watch.
Drive
By Tiffany Tucker, Film Editor
Apocalypto
M
issed it at the cinema?
Planning a movie night?
Grab some popcorn and curl up
on the sofa – here's a pick of flms
recently released on DVD.
Source Code
From the director of Moon,
sci-f thriller Source Code is a
captivating, unique account
of a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal)
who wakes up in the body of a
stranger. Gyllenhaal delivers a
moving performance in the race
against time to save millions
of lives, before the chance
to understand his own life.
Defnitely worth purchasing.
Attack the Block
An alien invasion, urban street
gangs and gritty British humour,
Attack the Block depicts the
violent, fast-paced account of
unusual events in South London.
It falls short of laughs owing to
the expectations of the producers
of Shaun of the Dead, and could
have steered clear of social
clichés. An interesting concept,
disappointingly delivered.
Scre4m
It's the ffteenth anniversary of
the original murders and ‘slasher’
villain Ghostface is back in the
series fnale. A generation on,
there are new rules to abide by if
the characters want to survive.
Likely to entertain and cause a
few chills, Scream 4 is a neat and
exciting conclusion to the series,
but, sadly, nothing we haven't
seen before and not nearly as fun
as the original.
Movie Night: New DVD releases
By Christina Maria Webb, Film Team
By Kristie Marchant, Film Team
FILM 27 The Stag | 25th October 2011
M
ulholland Drive (2001), written
and directed by David Lynch,
is the best flm I’ve seen as of yet. It
bestows all the traits I really enjoy
in a flm: it is thought-provoking,
has an unconventional plot, is
left open to interpretation and
has beautiful cinematography.
The flm’s concept concerns two
young women in Los Angeles Betty
(performed brilliantly by Naomi
Watts) who aspires to become a
successful movie actress and Rita
(Laura Elena Harring) who becomes
an amnesiac after being victim of a
car crash during the flm’s opening
sequence. The two try to work out
what happened to Rita before the
accident along with discovering her
real identity.
What makes this flm so special
for me is David Lynch’s screenplay.
Initially, the flm was a television
pilot, which would have been
left open-ended for a potential
series. However, after television
executives rejected it, Lynch
completed the project, turning it
into a feature length flm. The half-
pilot, half-feature flm, along with
Lynch’s trademark surreal style,
has left the general meaning of the
flm’s events open to interpretation.
This shift from TV pilot to flm is
apparent in the middle of the flm,
when Rita unlocks a blue box she
found in the same bag she had with
her during the accident. As soon as
this happens, all of the flm events
change.
This dynamic shift of narrative
is what makes Mulholland Drive so
potent. Some viewers argued that
this made the remaining action
inaccessible. However, I fnd that
with each viewing of the flm, I
notice something which I hadn’t
understood before. Therefore,
what makes Mulholland Drive a
masterpiece, in my opinion, is not
only the fact that it’s a well-written
mystery story, but also because the
flm itself is an incomplete mystery,
leaving audiences guessing and
spawning their own interpretations
of the flm’s action days after
watching it.
Mulholland Drive
By Caroline James, Film Team
I
admit that it’s easy to have
preconceptions about a flm like
this. To the more casual cinema-
goer, a black and white animation
set during the Iranian revolution
may sound like a two hour journey
to Yawnsville, but in fact, this
couldn’t be further from the truth.
Persepolis – a true story – is a
coming-of-age tale centered on the
protagonist Marjane, who begins
her journey as an outspoken young
girl with a penchant for western
music and an obsession with Bruce
Lee. Unfortunately for her, the
Iranian government does not share
her interests, and she is forced to
secure her music fx (frst the Bee
Gees and later Iron Maiden) illegally
from street sellers. Eventually,
worried that her non-conformist
attitude will get her into danger,
her parents send her to Austria.
It is here she spends her teenage
years, before returning to her home
country, where she fnds that things
have changed dramatically.
Naturally, being set against the
backdrop of war, torture and state
murder, there’s a vast amount
of sadness in this movie. This is
intensifed in the way that Marjane
struggles with her identity, and is
made to feel like an outsider both
in Austria and later in Iran. Yet
despite all of this, the flm remains
warm and often very funny;
Marjane is bolshy and likeable, and
her interactions with her family
and friends provide laugh-out-loud
moments.
Despite critical success, this
flm has proved controversial
in certain areas of the world. It
was initially banned in Iran and
Lebanon, and last week protestors
in Tunisia attempted to burn
down a TV station which dared
to air it to the public. But, despite
political undertones, Persepolis is
no propaganda piece. Instead, it
is a poignant and personal flm, a
remarkable biography of an Iranian
woman who wasn’t, and isn’t, afraid
to speak her mind.
By Laura Howard, Film Team
F
ollowing the controversy
when he announced he was
to distribute the flm himself at
Sundance Film Festival, Kevin
Smith (director of Clerks and
Dogma) certainly raised the
expectations of his new action
horror Red State.
Infuenced by the infamous
Westboro Baptist Church, we
follow three teenage boys on a
journey that is, essentially, to 'get
laid', but which leads them into a
terrifying trap. As the characters
fnd themselves amongst a violent
religious cult in the heart of the
Mid-West, the flm begins very
well, and briefy succeeds in its
shockingly sinister events.
The cast cannot be faulted.
Michael Parks is believable
and incredibly apt as the eerie
preacher, moving between family
man and coercive church leader
with ease.
However, it was one thing
to encounter diffculty in
empathising with any of the
characters and in fnding a ftting
protagonist for most of the flm,
but to keep switching genres
throughout scenes – I assume
unintentionally – was a mistake
too far. Smith plays with the
unconventional in the wrong ways.
Think Saw's twisted moral lessons,
blended with Burn after Reading's
governmental confusion and Die
Hard's shoot-outs: an arguably
incompatible combination.
Smith stated that Red State
would be markedly different to his
past projects, that there would be
no toilet humour. Perhaps, though,
toilet humour is something he
pulls off better. Sadly, the motion
picture failed to impress, though
on the whole it held much promise.
Red State defnitely gets the heart
racing, but ultimately leaves one
feeling underwhelmed.
Red State
By Christina Maria Webb, Film Team
Persepolis
LITERATURE 28 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
B
efore you read this, Google
Sophie Robinson and read her
poetry, because it’s great. Now
you’ve Google’d her I’ll tell you the
really exciting thing: Sophie is the
Poet-In-Residence at the University
of Surrey. She was kind enough to
let me interview her and explain in
her own words what that involves.
The Stag: Hi Sophie. To begin, I
was wondering if you could tell
me more about your role at the
University and what that means
for Surrey students.
Sophie Robinson: There are a
number of things that the Poet- In-
Residence does. I teach a course
on Contemporary Poetry (a second
year module). However, the most
interesting thing I am doing for
Surrey students is to organise the
Surrey Poetry Festival, which will
be at the end of May.
TS: That sounds really
interesting. What are your plans
for the poetry festival?
SR: I defnitely want to continue
the work that Amy De’Ath (the
Poet-In-Residence last year) started
by bringing people from all over
the place to Guildford. My aim is
to get Guildford on the map as a
place where exciting poetry events
happen. I’d like to have readings
from a combination of Surrey
students, younger less-well-known
poets from around the country and
some more famous international
poets.
TS: What a brilliant opportunity
for Surrey students! It is often
said that poetry is only for the
‘academic elite’. Do you think
that poetry is accessible to
everyone?
SR: Yes, I do. One of my
favourite poets, Gertrude
Stein, was often accused
of writing poetry that was
diffcult to understand. In
response to this she said
‘If you enjoy it, then you
understand it.’ I think
that you don’t
have to understand everything
about poetry to enjoy it. It’s not
a code you have to crack; it’s
something that you can enjoy on
any level.
TS: When did you frst start
becoming interested in poetry
and why?
SR: I remember when I was about
eight or nine, being given some
Christmas money from my Grandad.
With the money I bought a copy of
Poetry on the Underground and I
got really obsessed with this poem
by Gerard Manley Hopkins called
‘Margaret are you Grieving?’ At
the age of nine I defnitely didn’t
understand what the poem actually
meant, but I just enjoyed the way
it sounded; I loved the repetitions
and the rhymes. I started writing
poetry off the back of that, and
didn’t really stop, although I hope
that the quality has improved!
TS: Moving on from your frst
inspiration, when do you write
now and what inspires you to do
so?
SR: Sometimes I get the best stuff
from eavesdropping on people’s
conversations! I use my phone to jot
things down any words or phrases





I like. I’m always trying to write and
pay attention to language. But, In
terms of actually sitting down to
write a poem, I know it’s a cliché,
but I often do it late night because
of time constraints - 11pm until
1am is a good time for me.
TS: I know the feeling...
TS: This might seem like an odd
question, but it’s one I’ve asked
myself a lot so I’d like to hear
your take on it. Do you think
poetry is important and why?
SR: It is an interesting question.
Sometimes I do wonder if poetry is
important. It’s such a complicated
world with a lot of egos and
arguments, which makes me wonder
if poetry does matter compared
to everything else. However, I
fnd teaching always makes me
think and re think, whether that’s
from coming into resistance from
students or explaining how poetry
works. Teaching poetry makes me
continually re think my perspective
on poetry, if you see what I mean.
When I see what poetry can do and
how it can affect people, it makes
me feel that it is important.

TS: I couldn’t agree more.
Bringing the conversation back
to the University of Surrey, a
lot of the readers of The Stag are
budding writers and poets. What
pieces of advice would you give
them?
SR: I suppose the best thing you
can do is to read a lot of different
poetry and prose in order to
broaden your work. Making
friends from writers and
attending events, such as the
Surrey Poetry Festival, is also
a good shout. Don’t be shy
about sending your work
off to people and asking for
feedback. Above all, keep
writing.
TS: Thank you Sophie,
we are very lucky
to have you here at
Surrey!
Literature
By Alexandra Wilks, Literature Editor
T
omas Transtroemer, an
80-year-old Scandinavian
and trained psychologist, was
recently awarded the 2011 Nobel
Prize for Literature. He has been
able to give readers of poetry
a “fresh access to reality” said
The Swedish Academy. Although
suffering a stroke in 1990, which
affected his ability to speak, his
poetry still possesses immense
power. So much so, that his work
has been translated into over ffty
languages.
Transtroemer is one of
the most critically-acclaimed
poets in Scandinavia due to his
extraordinary skill of dealing
with a mix of natural, mystical
and deeply personal themes. In
Prelude, he writes “Waking up is
a parachute jump from dreams”
which, along with the recurrent
motif of falling in his poetry,
demonstrates his competency
in transforming something so
simple into a beautiful metaphor.
Transtroemer is considered
to be an inspiration to many
and is an incredibly deserving
recipient of the 108th award,
which includes receiving a
diploma, a medal and the life
changing sum of £944,246. Ken
Worpole, a writer and researcher,
cites that Transtroemer has
received much less recognition
than he deserves. Hopefully, this
prestigious award will bring him a
much larger readership and allow
him to infuence and inspire more
writers and readers across the
globe.
By Emily Smart, Literature Team
Tomas Transtroemer,
Nobel Prize Winner
Tomas Transtroemer: “An inspiration to many, though still much less recognised
than he deserves to be.”
In conversation with Sophie Robinson
LITERATURE 29 The Stag | 25th October 2011
M
arcus Brigstocke is an atheist,
and his confrontational work
demonstrates this, with all the wit
and piercing insight he has grown
popular for. However, it should be
noted that this is not an extended
comic rant against religion.
God Collar is at once a tribute and
the emotional expression of a man
who, when faced with a tragedy,
had his world shattered, and now
attempts to pick up the pieces of his
atheist standpoint in a search for
“a thing that feels like it might be
missing”. Brigstocke invites you to
join him in a journey of “precarious
uncertainty”, through the madness
of the high-octane battle of the bus
ads, the depressing nature of the
British press and the sins of wearing
mixed fabrics. All spiced with the
pizzazz and satire we’ve grown to
appreciate, but also an enlightening
insight into the Brigstocke that can
be found outside of the limelight.
Brigstocke reveals the struggles
he has faced in his life, which leads
to his seeming ability to put blind,
irrevocable faith into a God who
he is not even sure he’d get along
with, and the people who do believe
for better or for worse. Brigstocke
gives equal space to the concept
of “divine homicide” and “queer
bashing” as well as the seeming
peace and serenity which can come
from religion. But can faith really
quash that feeling of loneliness and
insecurity? Would a God be such
a bad thing if it meant the end of
corruption and Anne Robinson?
Do we break under the acceptance
that we are alone without an
omnipresent guardian or do we just
live our lives and say “Everything
that is living dies. Give someone you
care about a dirty great orgasm.”
By Emma Thomas, Literature Team
Marcus Brigstocke enlightens
us with his views on religion
F
or many readers, censorship is
an abstract concept confned
to the pages of some of our most
treasured writers; Orwell, Huxley
and Bradbury are just a handful
of heavyweights to have taken a
satirical swipe at totalitarianism.
Yet for millions more, censorship
is still a very real concern that
continues to rear it’s ugly head in
nations around the world.
This is where English PEN steps
in. On 15
th
October, the University of
Surrey’s English Department hosted
the PEN Roadshow, an event that
saw contemporary campaigners
celebrate the actions of past
contributors in a spoken word
performance. Readers that took to
the LTM foor included English PEN
Deputy President Carole Seymour-
Jones, Moris Farhi and Neil
McKenna, as well as Surrey’s very
own Amanda Finelli and Professor
Marion Wynne-Davies.
An engrossing performance, the
readers delved into a wide range
of subject matter from the birth
of English PEN, the tireless efforts
of it’s Writers in Prison committee
and the now infamous debate
surrounding Salman Rushdie’s
fatwa in 1989. In one emotionally
charged piece, the performers
read extracts from A Minor Mistake,
in which former Canadian PEN
President Reza Baraheni recalls
his near execution in Iran’s Evin
prison, where a marking on the
sole of a prisoner’s foot meant the
difference between life and death.
With the Q&A session that
followed, the discussion moved
into challenging territory. What for
instance, did English PEN make of
the phone-hacking scandal? Should
writers be defended regardless of
their principles? And what happens
when those principles contradict
the ideals of PEN itself? In light of
the afternoon’s success, Amanda
Finelli said, “hopefully it served as a
call to action of the work that is left
to be done both globally as well as
here in the UK and a reminder that
free expression is not a privilege,
but a necessity.”
For Surrey students, it is
our privilege to enjoy a unique
collaboration that will hopefully
provide further stimulating
performances, debates and
interviews in the near future.
To get involved with PEN
email: [email protected]
Writing freedom:
an afternoon with English PEN
By Tom Goulding, Deputy Editor
T
ake the ingredients of a romantic genre, female
writers and chocolate and you get an irresistible
blend of heroes, lovers and enthralling plot lines. Choc
Lit is an independent publisher, established in 2009
offering contemporary, historical and fantasy novels
with the promise of thrillers to also arrive soon!
They pride themselves in their delicious selection of
romantic fction which focuses on the hero’s point
of view. To accompany the femininity and romance
they also hold the belief that ‘the enjoyment of a good
read is enhanced by the taste of chocolate’ and thus a
match made in heaven is created.
On Thursday 29
th
September the editor and fve of
the Choc Lit writers held an intimate talk in Appleseed
Bookshop to discuss and celebrate their publications
whilst enjoying some delicious chocolates. Led by
Dr Paul Vlitos, the programme director for Surrey’s
English and Creative Writing course, the ladies
were invited to talk about their heroes, inspiration,
techniques and backgrounds. The fve writers are very
diverse. Margaret James draws her inspiration from
the war and has written The Silver Locket and The Golden
Chain. Sue Moorcroft’s Choc Lit publications include
All that Malarkey and Starting Over meanwhile Kate
Johnson concentrates on romance and paranormal
fction with her novel The United Kingdom. Juliet
Archer’s stories are modernisations of Jane Austen’s
classics and include Persuade Me and The Importance
of being Emma. She plans to modernise all six novels
in the near future. Finally Christina Courtenay joined
the ladies. She has written Highland Storms and Trade
Wind and admitted she even draws inspiration for her
heroes from Kerrang Music Channel.
Following a fascinating discussion on the perfect
hero and the backgrounds to their novels the
audience were given the opportunity to ask their own
questions. Some sought advice on how to pursue their
own writing careers whilst others enquired how to
overcome the daunting prospect of the blank page;
how to actually write a story from an initial idea. The
ladies emphasised the importance of perseverance in
writing and when looking for publication. Amusingly
the top advice given was to buy the publishers a drink!
They also stressed that asking a publisher to read a
text in person is much more effective than an email;
it’s harder to refuse someone face to face that to say
no to an email.
The audience came away enriched with priceless
advice and an exclusive insight into the world of Choc
Lit Publishers. Many in the audience were inspired
to read the novels and to consider a future career in
writing. The ladies certainly highlighted that such
a career can be highly rewarding. The evening was
overall a success of invaluable discussion regarding
the most engaging subjects; literature the perfect
hero and chocolate!
By Sophie Vickery, Literature Team
The taste of Choc
Lit and Appleseed
Surrey favourite, Dr Paul Vlitos, talks to writers and staff
from the Choc Lit publisher
MUSIC 30 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
Music
I
t's always nice to be one step ahead of the charts. There
is nothing more satisfying than when you knew a band
before they became famous, back when you could still
afford to go to their gigs. With festivals becoming cooler
than ever, introducing stages are packed with bands and
artists who could become the next big thing. Some of them,
granted, are not as good as others so it can become a bit of
a challenge trying to decide which of them will be worth
a watch. However, if you can’t make it to one of the big
festivals MySpace is a great way to look for bands from your
area and fnd venues that put on live music locally. You can
listen to tracks for free and fnd out about the band, which
means if you don’t like them you can just choose someone
else to listen to. Soundtracks to television programs
are also a good source of new music, for example in The
Inbetweeners, The Rumble Strips song “Boys And Girls In Love”
was featured and now they are becoming festival regulars,
playing Love box, Bestival and at the ITunes festival. This is
also true of Pete and the Pirates, they are upbeat and their
songs are catchy and full of energy. They started off playing
smaller venues such as the Oakford Social Club (an amazing
pub which has had artists such as the xx, Laura Marling and
Jack Penate on its previous guests list) and are now touring
the UK and Europe, but are still under the radar. The most
popular of their songs is “Mr Understanding” which again
you would probably recognise from The Inbetweeners. They
are a great alternative if you want to hear new indie music.
If you like ska and reggae there is Gentleman’s Dub Club.
The nine person piece from Leeds were one of the main
acts this summer at the Jack Wills varsity Polo. You can
download the track “Fly Away” for free at the moment from
the website and is well worth a listen. They have supported
The Streets and Roots Manuva and played at countless
venues all over the UK. However, if you fancy something
more lyrical and poetic there is Adam Barnes. After seeing
him support Luke Pickett in a tiny bar in Reading I was
amazed. Considering his age he has talent well beyond his
years and his lyrics rival that of other similar artists such as
Laura Marling. “Lighthouse” is one of the best among his e.p
which you can get from iTunes or his website. But these are
just a few; you only have to do a small amount of research
to update your iPod with music you might not normally
know about. The smaller the band, the better the fnd and
if the tracks are free that can only be a bonus!
Ones to watch
©
k
D
a
m
o
By Amy McGivern, Music Team
A Night with Rizzle Kicks!
O
n Thursday the 6
th
October special
guests Rizzle Kicks visited the
University of Surrey as part of a superb
Say Something live music night. The
boys from Rizzle Kicks, Jordan Stephens
and Harley Alexander-Sule, gave an
unbelievably energetic and refreshing
performance and were even kind
enough to talk beforehand to a team of
student press consisting of The Stag, GU2
Radio and MADTV.
The Stag: We’ve got to say welcome
here to the one and only Rizzle Kicks,
cheers for coming!
It’s all good man, we like student union
gigs!
TS: So are you excited about
performing tonight?
Yeah very excited, like we said uni gigs
are f**king awesome.
TS: The crowd out there are buzzing
for you! Part of your success so far
must be due to Radio 1, they have
championed you, how does it feel to
know they are behind you?
It’s a bit surreal really, this time last
year we were just in our part time jobs
not doing much.
TS: What were they?
Harley: I was a teaching assistant in my
old secondary school...
Jordan: And I worked in a greyhound
stadium at the fast food section. To say
the least it was awesome . . .It was quite
cool though because my boss was a
complete tw*t, and I said to him “I can’t
work anymore because I’ve got a record
deal!”
TS: So you haven’t written any songs
about him yet then?
No but I did talk about him in an
interview, but they had to cut it out
because it was before the watershed.
TS: Well it’s going in here!
So what about Radio 1’s Big Weekend?
That was a pivotal moment for you.
Basically, the thing about music is that
the whole world is quite small. You
have weird links to people. I have a
godfather who does photography, and
he happened to have Ferne Cotton in for
a shoot and he started playing our music
in the background and…*Jordan talks to
whining mystery dog sitting between
them* Do you not like my story?
So yeah yeah, Ferne Cotton said she’d
like to play one of our songs!
TS: So do you put a lot down to the
Brit school?
Well neither of us did music, I did theatre
and Jordan did media but It helped us
come together as a group.
TS: Is that where you met?
No, we knew each other years ago, but
it was at Brit School where we thought
let’s properly put this together. Brit
School is a really creative environment,
I think it’s quite funny that people
have a preconception of Brit, they’re
like ‘Brit’s just like a factory for female
singers’. Adele went to Brit, Kate Nash
went to Brit, Amy Winehouse, Katy B,
and people are like ‘there’s something
going on there’ . . .or it’s just a really
good college?
TS: How old are you guys now?
Nineteen.
TS: So what about the new album, two
weeks until it’s coming out?
Yeah we’re so excited!
TS: That’s going to be a big moment
isn’t it?
Well it’s our frst album, frst record
sort of sets the pace. I haven’t actually
listened to it all the way through
because I’m quite a perfectionist and
I’m kind of scared, but we’ve had good
reactions to it.
TS: So you’ve done a lot of gigs but
what would be your favourite type?
F**king fresher’s man! And when we
went to Ibiza and Majorca.
TS: So what about Reading festival?
That was f**king crazy man, cos big
weekend was like three months before
and that was like 200 people.

TS: Finally, tell us, where did your
name come from?
When I was at soccer school... soccer??
When I was at football school when I
was younger, there was a crew called
the ‘green rizzler’ crew, and an older
kid thought it would be really funny to
say I’m in the green rizzler crew, I didn’t
even know what it was, and they called
me green rizzler for ages and it just stuck
to rizzle. And it seemed a bit outrageous
to be called Rizzle and be a rapper, so I
added Kicks because I like footie and at
the same time Harley joined so I just left
it how it was. My friends still call me
Rizzle.
TS: So do people think that you’re
called Kicks because he is called
Rizzle?
Sometimes. They say, ‘So if you’re called
Rizzle are you called Kicks?’
Rizzle Kicks’ album Stereo Typical is out
31st October.
Interviewed by Sophia Field and Liam Conroy
Rizzle Kicks ravin’ with the freshers
MUSIC 31 The Stag | 25th October 2011
S
o this is the part of the issue where I go out into the wild
world, fnd a willing participant and discover exactly what
they like to hear. So if you see me walking around, armed with a
voice recorder and a camera, do not fear… although saying that,
I may be coming for you.

Name: Whitnie Parkes
Age: 18
Studying: Music – Level 1
Favourite Genre: Neo Soul
Top 3 Artists: Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, The
Roots.
Guilty Pleasure: Paramore,
Ultimate song: Jill Scott ‘Getting in the way’ (live)
HEAR ME OUT!
I
am a massive Joshua Radin fan,
however, I have a confession to
make. The frst time I saw him live, I
knew only one song, and if you asked
me to spell his name I probably
would have got it wrong. He played
a set at Godiva, the UK’s largest
free festival, which also happens to
be in my home town. I went along
with my friends to have a look, and
surprisingly found myself sitting
up straight from the frst notes. I
became, by my own admission, a
little obsessed. So when one of my
best friends mentioned that he was
playing a set on her doorstep there
was no question of whether we
should attend.
I went in with certain
reservations. Firstly, the last gig
of his had faded somewhat in my
memory with the passage of time
and I was concerned he would not
be as I’d remembered. Secondly,
I had listened through his newest
album (The Rock and the Tide), and
it was listenable but nothing had
leapt out at me. Thirdly, who was
the support act? My friends and I
Googled Joseph Arthur as we waited
outside. Oh, one of his songs was
featured on Scrubs… Right.
Joseph Arthur was the frst
surprise of the night. I do not
normally listen to ‘folk rock’
(Wikipedia quote). However, I
found his performance inspiring
for a number of reasons. Not only
does he use looping techniques so
that he can play entire sets with
little aid from any other musician,
harmonising with himself, but he
also made the stage itself a work
of art, closing his fnal number by
drawing on a canvas as he sang.
Surreal, but captivating. I could
understand why he was the ideal
support for Joshua. By the end of
his set, the majority of the audience
were completely chilled out. As I
scanned the people around me, I
realised that his range of fans varied
widely, from people perhaps twice
my age to a group of tall, muscular
guys in the balcony wearing T-shirts
spelling out ‘JOSHUA’.
Joshua himself was greeted
by screams and wolf whistles. He
appeared alone at frst, and opened
with quieter numbers – ‘Winter’
being among the highlights. The
crowd became notably silent as
he began to sing, and I instantly
remembered why I was such a fan.
His voice was full of raw emotion
without ever faltering in tune. At
one point he stepped away from
the microphone while still singing.
He remained perfectly audible to
the entire audience. There was
a personal element to his live
performance which no recording
could manage to capture.
He made a deliberate point
of starting each song with the
story which led him to write each
one, and was endearingly honest
about writing from heartbreak.
Interestingly, his songs were often
written about or for other people,
as in the case of ‘Will’s Lullaby’
(for a friend’s baby son, to try and
convince him to sleep). Despite
the fact he was standing in front
of a crowd of at least 200, he was
completely at ease. He didn’t have
to try to make the audience warm
to him. He simply did what he
did best – played an amazing set,
mixing old tunes that everybody
could sing along to with his newest
songs, including one written on
tour. The thunderous cheering at
the end was well deserved. The
night had confrmed that my love
for his music was not based on
the fact that he had written a few
catchy tunes. He is simply a very
talented musician, and next time he
is in town, I know where I’ll be.
Joshua Radin –
Live in London
By Tanya Noronha, Music Team
T
here is one problem I’ve
consistently encountered with
long-established icons in popular
music: the classics that made them
household names tend to greatly
overshadow their later work.
I certainly don’t wish to imply
that artists shouldn’t be known
for their enduring hits. After all,
there are reasons that records
gain classic status in the popular
consciousness. Nevertheless,
this tendency to overlook the
discographies of musical legends
past the eras they are most
strongly associated with is an
issue this series seeks to rectify.
Thus we are brought to
the frst album to be featured in
‘Old Dogs, New Tricks’: Songs From the
West Coast by Elton John (2001), his
27th studio album. Although such
undertakings as the soundtrack
to The Lion King (1994) helped to
bring him further commercial
success, Sir Elton’s work in the
80’s and 90’s generally failed to
produce LPs as critically lauded as
the 70’s efforts for which he is best
known. As a result, Songs From the
West Coast was approached with a
decidedly nostalgic frame of mind.
As if having long-time collaborator
Bernie Taupin provide the lyrics
was not enough, Elton opted to
forego contemporary recording
technology in favour of analogue
tape.
This refective mentality
becomes immediately apparent
from the opening track, ‘The
Emperor’s New Clothes’. Through
a series of amusing metaphors,
Elton and Bernie’s initial steps are
explored in a manner evocative
of 1975’s Captain Fantastic and
the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Other
appreciable throwbacks to
Elton’s classic years include
‘Dark Diamond’, featuring Stevie
Wonder on harmonica much like
Elton’s 1983 hit ‘I Guess That’s What
They Call It the Blues’. The most
resonant of these retrospectives,
however, is arguably the closing
track, ‘This Train Don’t Stop There
Anymore’. Over Elton’s melancholic
composition, Bernie’s lyrics form
a surprisingly cynical outlook on
their years of superstardom.
That said, one should
avoid the impression that the
album serves purely as a trip down
memory lane. ‘The Wasteland’ is a
bluesy rock number that injects
some needed dynamism into the
middle tracks. Meanwhile, ‘Ballad
of the Boy in the Red Shoes’ provides
a heartbreaking narration from
the perspective of a dancer dying
of AIDS-related complications. The
centrepiece of the LP, however, has
to be ‘Original Sin’, a guilt-tinged
expression of romantic yearning
brought to its full potential by a
stirring arrangement of strings.
Of course, it would be
misguided to claim that this is a
perfect album. At times it seems
that Elton and Bernie play a
little too much on the safe side,
especially with their ballads. Yet
such complaints can only detract
so much. Ultimately, the LP is
driven by one aim; to remind
people precisely why the public
fell in love with Elton John to
begin with. It likely won’t come
to replace Honky Château (1972)
or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
in the hearts of lifelong fans,
but there are more than enough
echoes of those days to make
Songs From the West Coast a
resounding success.
OLD DOGS, NEW TRICKS:
Elton John –
‘Songs From the West Coast’
©
v
i
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c
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t
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By Dan Davison, Music Team
MUSIC 32 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
T
here’s something of a popular (mis)conception that
music today is awful. People recall a time when MTV
was music – not orange people shouting at each other,
when the charts were actually a measure of talent, not
how much you can auto-tune the human voice. But are
we looking at the past through rose tinted glasses?
We always hear about how good the past was for
music. The 60’s were an orgy of amazing music, amazing
musicians and well… orgies. A time of Hendrix’ and
Dylans and true genius. But is this all? America 1969 – a
time of social upheaval against the Vietnam War. You’d
expect one of the great protest anthems of the era to
have topped charts? Maybe The Creedence Clearwater
Revival’s “Fortunate Son” or the Rolling Stones “Gimme
Shelter”? Nope. It was ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by The Archies. Never
heard of it? Well then your ears should thank you for not
having been tortured by such hard-hitting lyrics as “Oh
Honey/You are my candy girl”.
The thing is we only have the classics from past
generations. Only the diamonds of past generations still
remain – not the other 95%.
We may think that music today is all derivative trash
and mass-marketed generic garbage – but yesterday’s
music was the same, and so is tomorrow’s. Ultimately the
music landscape hasn’t got worse – there are amazing
bands out there who’ve been around for a decade or
more like Radiohead or Kasabian – proving that today’s
music landscape isn’t just for the Simon Cowell factory
producing one-hit-wonders. If anything the musical
landscape is getting better – popular music is branching
into newer genres - proof that mainstream is willing to
embrace new sounds, the recent popular growth of drum
‘n’ bass through acts like Chase & Status and Nero. The
Internet and instant accessibility means that we can hear
niche genres and independent artists – a possibility that
didn’t exist for past generations.
Maybe a lot of music today is awful. But don’t believe
the past is any different. And don’t believe that there
aren’t amazing artists out there right now just waiting for
you to discover them.
When I was younger...
By Elliot Tyers, Music Team
©
r
o
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f

v
e
n
e
m
a
E
vanescence return once again
to serenade tortured souls with
the dark and melodramatic sound
which originally catapulted them
to success upon the release of Fallen
in 2003. Armed with a powerful
arsenal of new tracks, gothic
Goddess Amy Lee and her musical
juggernauts have successfully
retained and refned a sound that
encapsulates a supernatural umbra,
a spiritual presence that has been
heavily rooted in their music since
day one. The repertoire of tracks on
Evanescence are catchy and melodic,
fusing a catharsis of the celestial
and the forsaken; Amy Lee’s lyrical
content once again exposes an inner
emotional egress that has ensured a
solid fan base from the bands early
beginnings.
The album’s structure is simple
yet effective; grit and grunge
emitted from the guitars inevitably
complements Lee’s piercing vocal
lines, which she bellows out with
great gusto. As Evanescence is
unveiled, track by track, Lee’s voice
transmogrifes from the alluring
wailings of a bewitching siren to
the screeching of a banshee with a
sudden lurching change in dynamic.
In recent years, Amy Lee has had
to go up against competition from
contemporaries such as Hayley
Williams, lead vocalist of Paramore,
and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil,
but has persisted in delivering a
performance on Evanescence that
arguably secures her position as a
transcendental rock queen of our
times.
The opening track, ‘What You
Want’, delivers a power driven
ballad of menace and melody,
demonstrating Lee’s trademark
vocals and piercing harmony
arrangements, reminiscent of ‘Bring
Me to Life’ from 2003. The album
then plunges into ‘Made of Stone’, a
raw and cutting track that refects
Lee’s embittered conviction, ‘I’m
all out of love baby…I’ll numb the pain
till I am made of stone’. ‘The Change’
‘Erase this’ and ‘The Other Side’ are
riding examples of Evanescence’s
musicianship, as dynamical shifts
and deafening crescendos are
accompanied by the clamours
and warbles of haunting vocals.
‘My Heart is Broken’ leaves nothing
to suggestion, as the tragic and
mournful lyrics prevail behind
a stomping rhythmic chorus,
a tinkering of piano keys, and
a rampancy of distortion. The
fnale ‘Swimming Home’ provides
a shining contrast from the rest
of the album. Sorceress Amy Lee
serenades us with the plucking of
a harp, encapsulating the ethereal
elements of Evanescence, conjuring
up something similar to a ‘lullaby
electronica’ led by Lee’s hypnotic
voice, culminating into a lasting and
powerful anti-climax to complete
the album.
In a time whereby our fascination
for the paranormal in literature and
on the big screen is becoming ever
more infectious, Evanescence are
still able to haunt the airwaves as
pioneers of a ‘supernatural sound’
unique to them. Despite everything
the name suggests, Evanescence
have not dwindled into ethereality
just yet; their supernal sound has
endured. Evanescence will not just
strike an evanescent chord with
existing fans but more so those that
are not well acquainted with their
music, revealing to fresh ears the
preternatural enigma of Amy Lee
and her band, encompassing a very
available sound that all rockers can
relate to.
Recommended for those who
have an appetite for hard hitting
brazen rock, washed down with an
incredible array of vocals, courtesy
of the empyreal Amy Lee. Calling all
fans of the otherworldly!
Evanescence is on sale
via ITunes for £7.99 and
Evanescence will be touring in
the UK throughout November;
check out www.evanescence.com for
more details.
REVIEW: Evanescence – Evanescence
By James Campbell, Music Team
Lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee











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fi


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in
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The cheapest prices. Pop into the U
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SPORT 34 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
BUCS Sports Results
Badminton
A Brunel Men’s 2nd 6 vs 2 Surrey Men’s 2nd
H Surrey Women’s 1st 4 vs 4 Portsmouth Women’s 1st
Basketball
A Sussex Men’s 1st 54 vs 61 Surrey Men’s 1st
H Surrey Women’s 1st 41 vs 48 Bucks New Women’s 1st
Fencing
A Imperial Men’s 2nd
135
vs
90
Surrey Men’s 1st
H Surrey Men’s 2nd
116
vs
111
Herts Men’s 1st
H Surrey Women’s 1st
133
vs
124
Kent Women’s 1st
Football
H Surrey Men’s 1st 2 vs 3 Bucks New Men’s 1st
H Surrey Men’s 2nd 2 vs 1 Reading Men’s 2nd
A Kingston Men’s 4th 1 vs 0 Surrey Men’s 3rd
A Brunel Men’s 5th 0 vs 2 Surrey Men’s 4th
Golf
A Bucks New 1st 0 vs 6 Surrey 1st
Hockey
H Surrey Men’s 1st 0 vs 3 Chichester Men’s 1st
A Imperial Men’s 3rd 1 vs 2 Surrey Men’s 2nd
H Surrey Women’s 1st 2 vs 0 Brighton Women’s 2nd
A Brunel Women’s 3rd 0 vs 3 Surrey Women’s 2nd
Netball
H Surrey 1st 41 vs 38 Brighton 2nd
A Brunel 5th 25 vs 22 Surrey 2nd
A Imperial Meds 5th 8 vs 60 Surrey 3rd
Squash
A Essex Men’s 1st 2 vs 3 Surrey Men’s 1st
H Surrey Women’s 1st 4 vs 0 Brunel Women’s 1st
Tennis
H Surrey Men’s 1st 10 vs 2 Brunel Men’s 1st
H Surrey Men’s 2nd 8 vs 4 Kingston Men’s 1st
In the non-BUCS Ultimate Frisbee London Ultimate League, Surrey lost at home 7 – 12 to Brunel
Rugby Union
H Surrey Men’s 1st 29 vs 20 Brighton Men’s 2nd
H Surrey Men’s 2nd 38 vs 17 Imperial Medics Men’s 3rd
A Chichester Men’s 2nd 0 vs 38 Surrey Men’s 1st
SPORT 35 The Stag | 25th October 2011
N
ot so different to attending an
interview in order to obtain
your perfect job, trials conjure up
the same feelings: the inability to
eat breakfast, that nervous sick
feeling laying in your stomach all
day, building up to 6pm and the
eight minutes you have to impress
the interviewer, or in this case the
coaches.
Last week 93 girls ventured over
to Surrey Sports Park all with the
same goal – to be chosen for one of
the three Surrey University Netball
Teams. After the success of last
year’s University Netball, an extra
team has joined the BUCS league
which meant the trials this year
were more competitive than ever.
The 93 people had to be whittled
down to just half, with each person
only having two chances to show
off their ability. By 6.30pm the
frst games were well underway
with everyone determined to
be better than their competitor.
The atmosphere in the hall was
somewhat exciting, yet tense.
The irony is that most of these
people will end up becoming close
friends, maybe even housemates, or
at the very least, team mates, yet on
this one day at that very moment,
everyone’s intentions are rightly
selfsh.
With Tamsin Greenway, frst
team coach and England player,
playing away, the pressure was on
the Surrey Storm Manager, Naomi
and second team coach Sharon,
to make the right decisions. After
two hours of intensely fast and
professional playing, the frst
people were cut. Disappointed faces
left the hall, the eight minutes of
play had not gone their way and
the competition was ferce. Some
not minding, after all, trials were
a shot in the dark for them, but for
others, not making a BUCS team
was a huge blow. However the
remaining 43 hopefuls were asked
to return for the second round. The
second round became even more
competitive, but after a further
2 hours of game play, the frst
and second teams were selected,
with their frst BUCS game on
Wednesday 19
th
October - not long
for a completely new team to bond,
but due to the careful selections,
hopefully will be a success.
As for the remaining 19 girls,
a third round of trials was to take
place. This was seemingly a long
process, but people turned up for
their last chance of team play with
the thought lingering that only
fve people wouldn’t make the
team. After this fnal hurdle, the
successful players were notifed
by email and the three University
netball teams for this academic
year have been selected.
Trials are often seen as the end
for some people and the beginning
for others, but this is not the case.
For anyone not in a team but still
wanting to play netball, a ‘social
session’ is now run on Wednesdays
6-7pm for anyone to play, whatever
ability, and often movements are
made between teams throughout
the year. As anyone will tell you -
employers, interviewees, coaches,
netballers - one interview, or
eight minutes of play is often
never enough to determine the
best outcome. So congratulations
to everyone who made the frst,
second and third teams, but just
remember trials are not the end, but
only the beginning, for everyone.
Surrey 1st XV 29-20 Brighton 2nd XV
I
n their frst BUCS fxture of the
season, the Surrey Men’s Rugby
Club 1st XV produced a winning
start to their campaign. The team
will be pleased to start the season
with a solid win.
It would have been wrong to
expect Surrey to be at their fuent
best since the side is much changed
from last year. With players
returning from placement years,
and freshers joining the team, as
well as the new leadership of James
Lovell, the 1st XV had to pull itself
together quickly.
Following a scrappy line-out
on the right touch line, Surrey
managed to secure the ball, went
through a few phases and gradually
shifted the ball towards the left. The
ball reached Leon Hon-Sum Wei just
inside the Brighton 22, and he drew
the tackler in before offoading to
left winger James Cattermole as
the overlapping player. He then
had a clear run into the corner to
touch down. Having fallen behind,
it wasn’t too long before Brighton
reduced the arrears. Surrey were
judged to have been offside, and the
Brighton fy half dissected the posts
to make it 5-3.
Before the 20 minute mark,
Surrey scored their second try.
It stemmed from an excellent
tackle from James Lovell following
a Brighton scrum, forcing the
opposition into conceding a
penalty. Fly half Matt Ody knocked
the ball into touch, before Joseph
Winstanley claimed the ball at
the line-out. The Surrey forwards
forced themselves over the
Brighton line on the left hand side.
Lock Guy Cologne-Brookes was at
the bottom of the pile of bodies to
touch the ball down. Having played
in the back row of the pack last year,
he made a good impression in the
second row. Brighton were quick
to reduce Surrey’s lead with the fy
half slotting over another penalty.
Surrey were penalised for crossing
on the edge of their own 22.
What followed before half time
was a strange passage of play that
saw Adam Smith denied a try in one
corner before scoring one on the
opposite side. Following a scrum
in the Brighton 22, Surrey went
through the phases before the ball
headed right. After the ball was
initially spilled backwards Surrey
recovered the ball and Smith,
having joined the line in attack,
thought he’d got the ball down in
the corner on the right. However
without a touch judge on that side
of the pitch, the referee didn’t think
he could award the try.
With the play reset, Surrey
tapped a penalty after Brighton
were penalised at the ruck inside
their 22 and the play quickly moved
left. Adam Smith was quick to
appear in the attacking line again,
and whereas he’d been denied on
the right, he found the space needed
on the left to make his way over
for the hosts’ third try.Brighton
were next on the scoreboard as
the visiting fy-half made it three
successful kicks from three as he
brought the score back to 15-9.
Despite the good start to the
second half by Surrey, with the ball
almost exclusively staying in the
opposition’s half, it was Brighton
to score the frst points after the
break. The hosts were penalised
at the ruck, giving the visiting fy
half another chance to score with
a penalty, bringing Brighton within
three points of Surrey.
With Surrey in danger of
having the game wrestled from
their grasp, they crossed for their
fourth try to extend the lead again.
More pressure in the Brighton half
resulted in the ball coming towards
the right touchline, before prop
Leon Hon-Sum Wei burst through a
couple of tackles and showed great
pace to touchdown under the posts.
Matt Ody added his frst conversion
of the afternoon.
Once again a successful Brighton
penalty followed a Surrey try,
reducing the hosts’ lead to seven.
The hosts continued to hold the
territorial advantage in the second
half, and they converted that into a
ffth try following a line-out. Despite
Brighton’s best attempts to stop
the Surrey forwards, captain James
Lovell touched down in amongst a
mass of players in the left corner.
Matt Ody followed the try with a
fantastic touchline conversion.
As time ticked away, Brighton
crossed for their frst try with less
than fve minutes to go, as the
winger touched down after William
Li couldn’t make the interception
coming out of the defensive line.
The conversion was missed, all but
securing the victory for Surrey,
they still had to secure the ball in
the last few minutes. Leon Hon-
Sum Wei made the turnover in the
last play of the game, allowing club
chairman Dave Nolan to punt the
ball into touch to seal victory for
Surrey.
By Sam Limbert, Sport Team
By Arabella Gilby, Sport Team
93 girls had the goal to join the netball team... only 14 scored a place
Leon Wei on his way to the line for the fourth try
Surrey Netball
Surrey Rugby
Guy Brookes offoading from the tackle.
SPORT 36 The Stag | 25th October 2011 [email protected]
I
n less than a month, the Surrey
Sharks have developed from a
personal desire into the 40th sports
club at the University of Surrey,
picking up ffty supporters along
the way!
Although a minority sport, ice
hockey has had a presence in the
United Kingdom for a very long
time. With several amateur leagues,
two professional leagues, and an
improving National Team, there are
plenty of opportunities to progress
in the domestic game.
What’s it all about?
The Surrey Sharks are about
promoting the sport of ice hockey
through social events as well as
developing a competitive team that
can bring home the Silverware.
Quite a few of our members are only
interested in the social side of the
club (i.e. coming to games), and are
involved with other sports. This is
the best option if you are curious
about the sport but don’t want to
compete.
To ensure the longevity of
the Sharks, the development of
talent needs to be taken seriously.
It is important for beginners to
understand how the game works;
because when you are travelling at
about 25mph in an enclosed rink
you need to think and react very
quickly (just YouTube “hockey hits”
and you’ll see what I mean!). As the
club matures, a full development
programme will be put in place to
accommodate newer members.
Our aim for this season is
to secure regular inline (roller)
hockey training times at Surrey
Sports Park as well as on-ice
sessions at Guildford Spectrum
with some friendly games against
other university clubs. The season
culminates with the National
Championships at the end of April.
Every university club in the
country competes in this weekend-
long tournament for the title of
“National Champion”, and we want
to be involved in that fght! From
September 2012 we will compete in
the British University Ice Hockey
Association league.
Who are the Surrey Sharks?
This year’s committee is made
up of three second-year hospitality
students:
Jeremy Dawson, President:
I taught myself to ice skate when
I was twelve, and since then I have
played for teams in Ireland, Canada
and England. Previous committee
experience includes two years as
Sponsorship & Marketing Manager
of the Newcastle University
Wildcats.
Alex Cufey, (Social) Secretary:
Alex’s primary role will be to
oversee the social side of the club.
In his own words, Alex is a good ft
for the role of secretary because he
is “pretty good at answering the
phone”. He also has extensive bar
and restaurant work experience.
Barbara Kaczmarek, Treasurer:
Barbara’s experience as
an assistant restaurant manager
makes her the ideal person to look
after the club’s fnances.
Want to know more?
Email:[email protected]
...or fnd us on Facebook:
Surrey University Ice Hockey Club
Sport
By Jeremy Dawson, Ice Hockey Club
L
ast Wednesday, despite a largely
encouraging performance,
The University of Surrey were
well-beaten by The University of
Portsmouth 4-1. But this tells only
a fraction of the story.
Within a minute Surrey were
behind when a poor back-pass
let Portsmouth’s number nine
through, who was left with the
simple task of rolling the ball into
the goal. Undeterred, Surrey sought
to gain a foothold in the match and
for the next fve minutes both sides
scrapped hard but were unable
to put any meaningful attacks
together.
After a while Surrey were
able to produce consistently good
football. Surrey set about gaining
the initiative with midfeld pair
Andrew Fox and Tasos Rosides,
putting in a number of tackles
which could cause wide scale panic
in the shin-pad manufacturing
industry. The duo were also able to
set up a number of raids down the
fanks, and although on a number of
occasions the fnal-ball was lacking,
Surrey were gaining momentum.
Despite the match being a
friendly, the tackles remained ferce
and to Portsmouth’s detriment,
their players’ attitudes to the
referee were disappointing. Surrey
did not indulge in such dissent,
and focused on their football to the
extent that twice in a minute
they were agonisingly close to
the deserved equaliser, with both
chances falling to Murray; frst
a missed header from a devilish
Nicholas Boutal cross, and then,
following a defensive error, his
jinking run ended unsuccessfully
when he fred inches over.
By this time Surrey were
looking the likely team to score -
Fox was strong in midfeld, with
captain Kye Hunter and Boutal
causing constant problems for
Portsmouth. Surrey also looked
solid at the back with Stavros
Panagiotou particularly impressive
in repelling any sporadic attacks.
Yet for all their efforts Surrey could
not force a goal and were fortunate
not to concede themselves, when a
breakaway attack resulted in a one-
on-one chance, which goalkeeper
Jonathan Grilo did very well to save.
Portsmouth - encouraged by this
rare opportunity - started to get
back into the game again, creating
a few half-chances. Unfortunately
they let themselves down with
poor discipline; the referee fnally
losing patience with a bad tackle
and the subsequent back-chat
from Portsmouth’s goal-scorer and
booking him.
The half ended with a great
chance for Surrey; a corner half-
cleared to Fox whose venomous
drive was brilliantly headed
behind for another corner which
was nervously (but successfully)
cleared. As the half-time whistle
blew, Surrey were left scratching
their heads as to how they remained
behind, thinking that the equaliser
would surely come.
However it was Portsmouth who
were again brighter at the sound of
the whistle. There was plenty of
concerted pressure on the Surrey
defence, but the visitors were
continuously thwarted by a strong
and disciplined back-line. Surrey
substituted Fox for James Selby
with a view to changing things in
midfeld, but Portsmouth continued
to threaten and after two close calls
fnally succeeded; a through ball
putting the Portsmouth number
twelve clear to score the second
goal which Portsmouth’s second-
half display had warranted.
Surrey continued to work hard
and two more dangerous crosses
from Boutal were turned away, with
a third headed just over as Surrey
desperately scrapped for a way
back into a game that was rapidly
slipping away.
Portsmouth continued to
threaten on the break, their number
thirty-three repeatedly causing
problems which Liam Hark did
just enough to solve. Another good
save was required by Grilo to keep
Surrey alive, but their hopes struck
down with a deadly blow when a
counter-attack resulted in a tap-in
and a second goal for Portsmouth’s
number twelve.
With fve minutes left Surrey
created another chance; a good run
by Hark resulting in a corner, which
was subsequently powered into the
net by the impressive Boutal, with
a header which could only have
been more emphatic had it been
fred from a cannon. So could the
home side muster one last effort?
Surrey continued to work hard but
with the fnal action of the game,
Portsmouth’s number thirty-three
showed yet more magic and quick
feet to jink through the defence,
forcing a good save from Grilo, but
the rebound fell kindly for their
number twelve, completing one of
the simplest hat-tricks imaginable.
So Surrey - in spite of an
industrious and often effervescent
display - were ultimately handed
defeat by a Portsmouth side who
simply took their chances when
they were on top. This being a
friendly, Surrey should not be
discouraged.
Men’s football team suffers first loss
The efforts of Surrey’s 1st XI were in vain, as
Portsmouth won the hotly contested friendly
Surrey Football
By Douglas Elder, Sports Team
Ice Hockey arrives at the University of Surrey

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