ACCAPELLA
THIS BUS IS NOT
SENSATION!
THE BLANKS
PLAY RUBIX:
LORNA
SALMON
INTERVIEWS
Page 28
The Stag
Tuesday 1st March 2011
FEATURES Union
cheaper than town
Find out whether or not Surrey
Union is cheaper than Guildford
Town Centre. One of our
reporters investigates how to
have a cheap night out. Page 10
SCI & TECH Pen and
paper vs. keyboard
Tired of staring at that computer
screen? Research shows that
writing helps retain memory
better than typing on a
computer does. Page 14
MUSIC My night at
the Brit Awards
The Stag’s lucky music reporter,
Liam Conroy, wins tickets to the
Brit Awards 2011 after listening
to Radio 1. Read his amazing
account of the event. Page 29
SOCIETIES Islamic
Awareness Week
‘Discover the religion of more
than 1.5billion people’. Don’t
miss out on various hot topics
including, ‘The Purpose of Life’
and ‘Islam and Media’. Page 19
SPORTS The return
of the Wiff Waff
Table Tennis sports club reforms
to highlight the importance of
this amazing sport which has
been previously neglected at the
University of Surrey. Back Page
RUN BY ARRIVA!
THE 2011 CENSUS IS
ALMOST UPON US.
ARE YOU READY TO
BOARD?
Page 5
FR
The University of Surrey Students’ Union Newspaper
EE
Issue Number: 28
Universities Minister
to stop £9K overkill
University of Surrey has their own Go Green Week JACK WHITE
News Reporter
U
niversities Minister David
Willetts has proposed
further legislation to
stop too many universities from
setting fees of £9,000 a year. The
Minister is also looking at making
further cuts to the education
budget.
A host of universities are
looking at the maximum allowed
fee of £9,000. Elite science
and maths institution Imperial
College has led the charge,
of�icially announcing its intention
to increase fees to £9,000 across
the board last week. Cambridge
and Oxford have also announced
they are veering towards the top
level. A Cambridge report leaked
to the BBC has said it would be
“�iscally irresponsible¬” not to
charge the highest possible level
of fees and might re�lect poorly
on the University’s reputation for
excellence.
The £9,000 top rate was
introduced on the condition
that universities charging it
would ensure that working
class students would not be
at a disadvantage. Currently
Cambridge only takes around
60% of its students from state
schools, despite 93% of children
attending state educational
institutions.
The upshot of the need for
Go Green Week (28th Feb - 4th Mar) is a week where students hold activites and events in order better access programmes is
to raise awareness and develop their projects to make their campuses and communities greener. that universities which already
As part of Surrey going green, students are wearing green to Wednesday night’s Citrus and they
will be ditching thier clothes altogether for Friday’s ‘No Clothes’ Flirt! Continued on page 4
 Editor’s Letter Your Stag Team
As some of you might have noticed, the stag has changed colour again
and this time we have gone GREEN! Next week is Go Green Week so Your Stag Team
The Stag, along with the USSU and the University is going to promote
awareness about our environment. The whole week is centred on Comms Officer | Chris Whitehead
making the most of our resources and affectively save our environment. ussu.communications@surrey.ac.uk.
It kicks off with a ‘Recycled Jewellery Workshop’ and ends with a
lecture on ‘Fairtrade in the 21st Century’, hosted by Traidcraft’s Editor | Mariam Nasir
editor@thestagsurrey.co.uk
CEO and Friday night’s ‘No Clothes’ Flirt! So do your bit by being
environmentally friendly. Deputy Editor (Design) | Bakita Kasadha
design@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Other than that, the Sabbatical Elections are coming up in the next few
weeks. It is an amazing opportunity for anyone to run for any of the six Design Team | Zoe Kitchener, Rowan Ling, Amrin
positions which are open and help run the union. If you are interested in any of the positions, go Lokhandwalla, Jack White, Stacey Hunter &
along to the union for more information. Nominations close on the 18th March! Charlotte Clarke
Finally I would like to wish all final year students good luck with their dissertations. I know that
this is a hard time for all of us but let’s try and see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can do Deputy Editor (Marketing) | Eunice Njag
this! On a happier note, The Stag is giving away two tickets to Odeon cinema. If you can email marketing@the stagsurrey.co.uk
me which film this quote is from, you will be entered in the raffle for the tickets. The quote is:
Marketing Officers | Harriet Drudge , Imogen Jones &
Kristel Tchamba
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”
News Team
Email me which film this is from at editor@thestagsurrey.co.uk and you could be the lucky News Editor | Tom Goulding
winner of the Odeon tickets. news@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Team | Andrew Markland & Jack White
Have a good week!
Features Team
Features Editor | Jyoti Rambhai
Mariam features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Team | Charlie-Louise Akintino & Fran White
(Fashion) | Christie Campbell &Nisha Aubeeluck

Science & Tech Team
Your Executive Team Science & Technology Editor | Helen Finn
sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk
President | Malcolm Hunt: Ussu.president@surrey.ac.uk Team| Rachel Lismore-Burns &
VP Education | Stef Jones: Ussu.education@surrey.ac.uk Emma Cooper
VP Welfare | Georgina Hancock: Ussu.welfare@surrey.ac.uk
VP Sports | Trung: Ussu.sports@surrey.ac.uk Societies Team
VP Societies | Osama Salih: Ussu.Societies@surrey.ac.uk Societies Editor | Utkarsh Sharma
societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Union Chair | Rowan Ling: ussu.chairperson@surrey.ac.uk Team | Jahir I. Rafiq & Apoorva Sondhi
Ethics and Environment Officer | Nat Harding: ussu.environment@surrey.ac.uk
Post Graduate Development Officer | Nick Bright: ussu.postgrad@surrey.ac.uk Entertainment Team
Communications Officer | Chris Whitehead: ussu.communications@surrey.ac.uk Dance & Theatre Editor | Rachel Gildea
Equality and Diversity Officer | Victor Bamigboye: ussu.equality@surrey.ac.uk dancetheatre@thestagsurrey.co.uk
International Student Development Officer | Ang Sherpa: ussu.international@surrey.ac.uk Team | Lucy Al-Zoghbi, Sian Goldby &
Events Officer | Sam Ratzer: ussu.events@surrey.ac.uk Alex Sutton

Community Officer | Becky Robinson: ussu.community@surrey.ac.uk
Film Editor | Ollie Sim
film@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Literature Editor| Christina Webb
literature@thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag is an editiorially independent newspaper and is Team| Demitri Levantis, Miranda Sullivan &
published by the University of Surrey Students’ Union. Hollie Rowe-Roberts

The Views expressed in the paper are those of the individual Music Editor | Lorna Salmon
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the music@thestagsurrey.co.uk
educational team, the Students’ Union or the University of Surrey. Team: Liam Conroy

Surrey & Berkshire Media Ltd. Sports Team
8 Tessa Road, Reading Sports Editor |Marisa Guerreiro Da Costa
RG1 8NS sports@thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag reserves the right to edit all submissions and the Copy Editors | Remy Richard Martin, Vijay Bhaskar,
right to decide which articles are published. Yemi Dipeolu, Nicole Vassell & Faha Zahid
Please direct all enquiries to the relevant section editors. copyteam@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Webmasters | Ankur Banerjee & Andy Smith

webteam@thestagsurrey.co.uk
 news@thestagsurrey.co.uk
News
Aaron Porter U-turns over
re-election for National President
The NUS National Confrence at the end of April will elect the new President
TOM GOULDING
News Editor
N
US President Aaron Porter
has said the union needs
a “fresh start”, and will
stand down amid criticism that
he did not do enough to prevent
the trebling of university tuition
fees.
Porter, who played a programmes at Surrey.
fundamental role in persisting
that Lib Dem MPs should sign
a pledge against an increase
in tuition fees, has faced
condemnation by students who
accuse him of not taking a harder
stance against higher education
cuts.
An NUS spokesman con�irmed
that Porter had received
personal abuse from students in
Manchester last month, where
he was scheduled to speak at a
rally. Porter was forced to cancel,
fearing that some had gone there
to intimidate him.
Porter is a member of the
Labour Party, but was elected
as an independent candidate for
the NUS Presidency. He won by
a 65% majority, and at the time
stated, “Students, families and
the wider public overwhelmingly
oppose higher fees and I will
�ight to ensure that politicians
listen to them.”
The �irst major rally against
the tuition fee increase occurred
on 10th November 2010, resulting
in the vandalism of Conservative
Headquarters in Millbank.
After the ensuing crackdown on
Potential presidents :Liam Burns
(left) and Shane Chowen (right)
students by the MET police force,
Porter sought to distance the
NUS from the violence.
Porter’s failure to act after
the �irst protest caused anger
among student activists. One
protestor told the Guardian he
had “admitted defeat before
the battle over tuition fees had
started.”
A new president is to be
elected in April, with NUS vice-
president Shane Chowen and
head of NUS Scotland Liam Burns
as potential candidates for the
job.
The Stag NEWS 03
PG/Rs: It is
important
to be heard
Surrey will be participating
for the �irst time this year
in the live Postgraduate
Research Experience Survey.
The purpose of the survey is to
collect feedback and opinions
from our Postgraduate
Researcher community
about their experience of the
Postgraduate Research degree
PRES will open on 1st
March 2011. All Postgraduate
Researchers will be contacted
by email with their username
and password on the day the
survey opens.
PRES is completely
con�idential and we encourage
all Postgraduate Researchers
to complete it. It provides
the ideal opportunity for
Postgraduate Researchers to
tell us what we are doing well
and where we need to make
improvements to enhance the
experience of postgraduate
research at the University.
If you would like more
information about PRES, please
contact Shane Dowle (Assistant
Registrar – Postgraduate
Research Student Support) on
Aaron Porter as he backs out days before the nominations deadline S.Dowle@Surrey.ac.uk
thestagsurrey.co.uk
04 NEWS The Stag news@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Fees only cover this year’s cuts;

top universities go all out for £9,000
Continued from front page
attract working class entrants
may not be eligible for the £9,000
fees. This could only worsen
the situation, with socially
elite Universities like Oxbridge
getting access to the extra funds
while institutions for ‘the rest of
society’ make do with £6,000.
The Minister has stated
that only a doubling of fees is
required in order to make up for
the budget decrease. A document
seen by The Stag shows Surrey’s
government funding dropping
from £50m to £25m, which
would be made up by an increase
to £6,000 fees.
Despite Willetts’ words,
many universities are simply
playing catch-up with their
budgets. Surrey Vice-Chancellor,
Christopher Snowden recently
said in a letter, “The problem
is that government funding for
universities has shrunk in real
terms by over 50% per student
since 1998”. David Willetts holds the universities budget in his hands

Complete the National Student Survey

Visit the website from 7 February

RADUATES
SU RV EY FO R FI NAL-YEAR UNDERG
AN INDEPENDENT

thestagsurrey.co.uk
 news@thestagsurrey.co.uk The Stag NEWS 05

Off Campus!
TOM GOULDING extreme caution. The UK is the using the country’s former
News Editor
latest nation to feel the pressure, prime ministers as scapegoats.

T
hey say 24 hours is a
long time in politics. It is
hardly surprising then
that within hours of the last Off
Campus! reaching the printers,
Egypt was already in a state of
jubilant celebration, and former
President Hosni Mubarak had
�led into exile.
Before the revolutionary tide
that has since swept through
the Arab world, no one could
have believed that 18 days of
protesting could put an end to
what can only be described as a
thirty-year totalitarian regime,
especially in a nation that seemed
so passive. It has also raised
where a previously stable alliance
with the dictatorial state of Libya
is now unraveling due to a brutal
crackdown on protestors.
Unfortunately, unlike
Mubarak, Libyan leader
Muammar Gadda�i is less
swayed by public pressure.
Over the course of two days,
he has already sanctioned
the massacre of 200 unarmed
demonstrators who refused to
leave the streets, prompting
international outrage. The UK’s
alliance with Libya, reputably
built on a £550m deal with Shell
for exploration rights, as well as
the “war on terror”, has already
However, having recognised the
severity of the current uprising,
Gadda�i has shed this pretence,
rejecting civility for a course of
brutal suppression. This urgency
to stamp out the protests in Libya
may be his undoing: UK foreign
secretary William Hague has
already condemned the dictator’s
actions as “unacceptable and
horrifying” and suspended all
arms licenses to the area.
Despite this veto, it is unlikely
that the UK will risk any further
action against Gadda�i. When
Blair shook hands with the
dictator in 2004, he said, “It
was strange, given the history,

uneasy questions over Western
af�iliations with the entrenched
dictators who control the Middle
East, and the bumbling response
from the Obama administration,
whose u-turn of support could not
have looked more hypocritical if
Nick Clegg had �lown into Cairo
pledging free education for all.
Not that the Western world
should be disgraced that their
leaders are �inally endorsing
real democratic change rather
than spouting hollow rhetoric in
a bid to sound popular, but like
all international exchanges, this
is a diplomatic mine�ield that the
politicians are sweeping with
proved controversial in the past.
Gordon Brown’s decision to
release the Lockerbie Bomber in
2009 on compassionate grounds
drew criticism from the US and
relatives of the crash victims,
a decision that is rumoured to
have been in�luenced by lobbying
over BP’s commercial interests in
Libya.
Traditionally, Gadda�i has
used a series of manipulative
tactics to maintain power. His
41-year rule, one of the longest
in recent history behind Fidel
Castro, has only succeeded by a
strategy of siding with the people
during times of civil unrest,
COMING
to come here and do this and,
of course, I am conscious of the
pain that people have suffered
as a result of terrorist actions in
the past.” Ironically, Blair united SOON
with Gadda�i to �ight one cause
of extremism, whilst choosing to
overlook the torture, inde�inite
detentions and violence that
his new ally openly authorized
against his own people. As in
Egypt, the West will once again
point �ingers in order to distance
itself from a failing tyrant, but
it is naïve to think that a few
consolatory words will make up
for all those years of sanctioned
neglect.
Gaddafi: at lastest speech

ONS Census Campaign gets underway

TOM GOULDING
News Editor

A
census campaign bus is
currently touring England
and Wales in advance of
the upcoming national census.
The purple double-decker
bus, featured in the 2011 Census
TV advert, will stop at many
locations across the UK giving
people the opportunity to ask
any questions they may have
about the census, which will be
conducted on 27th March. The bus
will provide helpful information
about what the census intends to

Students will also

bene�it from the
campign

achieve, and how people can �ill

out the questionnaire.
The 2011 Census, the �irst in
ten years, attempts to provide
an estimate of the current
population, while helping central
and local government plan and
deliver services in order to
address the various needs of the
Census 2011: The bus will be arriving on 27th March 2011
nation.
Students will also bene�it
from the campaign, with the
chance to consult community
advisors and area managers
about how they can get involved
with local activities.
Glen Watson, ONS Census
Director, stated, “After many
years of planning and testing we
are now just a few weeks away
from the 2011 Census. With ten
years since the last one, we know
people will have lots of questions
for us.
There may also be people for
whom this is their �irst census
because they were not living here
in 2001, who are not sure what
it’s all about.”

thestagsurrey.co.uk
06 NEWS
Robotic
World Record
Attempt Fails
SAMANTHA ARNOLD
News Reporter
T
he University of Surrey
attempted to break the
Guinness World record for
the largest robotic dance of all
time.
The Surrey bid came after a
series of attempts to break the
record in recent years. In 2007
the University of Kent broke the
record for most people doing the
synchronised robot with a total
of 276 people participating.
The motivation behind their
attempt was to raise money for a
local hospice.
The record was broken again
on 17th May 2010 at Stamford
Bridge by 429 school children in
honour of Peter Crouch’s famous
celebration at the ESFA Danone
Nations Cup, of which he’d just
become ambassador.
Unfortunately the 430 people
needed to bring Surrey students
into the record books did not
arrive on the day. Despite the
advert printed on the events
calendar, only 20 people turned
up.
It has been argued that the
advertising strategy, a narrow
band of plain writing under a
colourful promotion for Citrus
on the planner, meant that not
enough people saw it.
A Facebook event that was
created to promote the dance
also failed to encourage the
numbers needed.
Daniel Speller, the person
behind Surrey’s attempt, has
stated that he wants to try again,
and is optimistic that there will
be a better turn out when they
do.
So keep an eye out for the
con�irmed date and let us robot
our way into the Guinness world
records!
Guardian publishes best Universities for Postgraduate Study
ANDREW MARKLAND
News Reporter
E
ven those with a double
�irst Bachelor’s degree
from a prestigious
University can easily be
marginalised by the hordes
of other equally successful
graduates. In the world today
people require something
that makes them stand out
amongst the rest. This is why
postgraduate degrees are
rapidly becoming a popular
choice for fresh university
graduates.
However, post-grad degrees
frequently offer excellent
job opportunities and �irst
class facilities at the expense
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
David Cameron: Big Society Not Big Government
David Cameron Defends ‘Big Society’
TOM GOULDING
News Editor
P
rime Minister David
Cameron has defended
the ‘Big Society’ amid
criticisms that the policy is too
vague.
In a recent article for The
Observer, the PM told readers,
“Ignore the sceptics, I have a
compelling plan to engage us all
in transforming Britain.”
The PM went on to address the
three major criticisms facing the
Big Society, including the notion
that the policy is an excuse for
cutting public services.
“As the state spends less
and does less, which would be
happening whichever party was
in government, there would be a
positive bene�it if some parts of
society were to step forward and
of heinous tuition fees. For
instance, in exchange for a
high quality postgraduate
course in Sociology at the
London School of Economics,
the fees on average range
between £9,888 and £19,224
per annum. Likewise an
Oxford postgraduate course
in Mathematics would cost
between £5,390 and £8,500.
High fees are common
for postgraduate study (this
being the primary reason
why completion rate is often
correspondingly high),
especially from institutions of
high esteem. For this reason
The Guardian has recently
published a league table for the
do more. We can either stick our
heads in the sand about this or
“Ignore the sceptics, I
have a compelling plan
to engage us all”
work out how best to galvanise
that social response.”
He added, “This is not another
government initiative – it's
about giving you the initiative
to take control of your life and
work with those around you to
improve things. It has the power
to transform our country. That's
why the big society is here to
stay.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband,
called the project a failure,
stating that the idea had
been undermined by massive
best institutions to conduct
postgraduate study.
The tables can easily be
found online and give precise
data on speci�ic subjects,
including the tuition fees
and expenditure per student.
Expenditure per student is
ranked out of 10 and is based on
full-time equivalent (FTE) study.
Using this table would make it
High fees are common
for postgraduates
looking to study
easier for those contemplating
further study after their degree
news@thestagsurrey.co.uk
government cuts. He said, “What taken it on themselves to drive out
does all this substance and style crime. Beecham said, “There you
remind us of? The early 1980s, have it in a nutshell. Cameron's
and the Thatcher government big society – volunteers taking
which appeared intent on ripping over the legitimate functions of
apart our social and economic the state – rather than ordinary
fabric." citizens working co-productively
Labour peer Jeremy Beecham with the professionals for a
also responded to one example permanent solution.”
cited in Cameron’s article, that
residents of Balsall Heath had
What is the Big Society?
Launched in 2010 the Big Society is a policy idea of the
coalition Government. Aimed at creating a climate that
empowers local people and communities, the Big Society
hopes to take power away from politicians and give it to
people.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, believes that groups of
people should be able to run post of�ices, libraries, transport
services and shape housing projects and the Big Society,
using dormant bank accounts, allows them to do so.
to choose a course that gets the student-teacher ratio and a high
most out of their money. For completion rate for a much more
instance, those hoping to do a humble sum of £3,390-£3,900.
Similarly a course in Biosciences
from Cran�ield University offers
the same high quality with
tuition fees of £3,950.
For any new graduates
pondering further studies, the
league tables certainly provide
useful information to make a
well-informed choice.
The idea of further study is
becoming a necessity for people
who want to securely, and even
LSE Graduate
pro�itably, emerge from the
recession.
post-grad degree in Mechanical Now is the perfect time to
Engineering will �ind a well leave the work force and enter
funded course in Leeds with a
the classroom.
student expenditure of 10, low
08 FEATURES
Features
Election time – it could be you...
W
hat will you be doing
next year?
If you’re a bright-
eyed fresher or researcher
starting a big project then your
path forward is probably quite
clear.
You’ll continue progressing
with what you’re doing. Yet for
those of you with placements
still to �ind or courses coming to
an end, your plan for next year
may be a tad uncertain.
That’s exactly how I felt when
entered my �inal year. With
the job market less buoyant
than a few years ago and heavy
competition from high student
numbers, even those blessed
with bags of talent face a
challenging search.
Now, at this point I’d
normally tell you to speak to
the excellent careers service
we have at Surrey. Or maybe
log on to a student jobs website
and have a scout around. But
today I have a far more unique
opportunity for you: becoming a
sabbatical of�icer.
Picture this: you’re sitting
browsing through vacancies and
schemes for employment next
year. Suddenly one jumps out
at you – the opportunity to be in
charge of a whole organisation.
Surely that can’t be right? There
must be a catch? But wait, the
pay is decent, there are some
nice perks and there’s no need
for a commute. Perfect eh?
VP Societies attends gala with
Mayor and Chinese embassy staff S
OSAMA I.
SALIH
USSU VP Societies
I
am very proud to see that
some of our societies have
been rely active and have
been involving a greater audience
including the Mayor of Guildford.
On the evening of Sunday
20th February I attended the
Chinese Student Scholar As-
sociation (CSSA) gala night cel-
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
MALCOLM
HUNT
USSU President
That’s exactly what an ad
for a sabbatical of�icer would
look like. And because you’re in
charge of what you do, you can
approach the job in whatever
way you want.
If you’re an inspirational
motivator you can go out and
about spreading information
Successful election campaigns can demand a certain amount of sillyness as well as seriousness, as last year’s
presidential election shows. Get your thinking caps on if you plan on running!
ebrating the Chinese New Year
of the Rabbit. The event was
really successful attended by a
lot of the Chinese students from
Surrey and other universities.
Alongside the public there were
a number of university staff,
some delegates of the Chinese
embassy and the Mayor.
The second event that I have
attended was hosted by the
African Caribbean Society.
It was a cultural show that
gave an insight on the lives of
African families. There was also
a fashion show and exhibition
and opportunity far and wide. If
you’re �iendishly organised you
can manage the organisation to
squeeze every last drop out of
the resources it has.
If you’re an inspired problem
solver you can work out new
ways to overcome the hurdles
the Union encounters on an
almost daily basis.
With so many approaches
to take, we see people apply
from all parts of University
life, across faculties, home and
international, female and male.
You don’t even need to have any
existing involvement with the
which showed colourful cloth
designs, up-beat dancing and
vibrant music from African and
Caribbean families.
On a different note, Union
executive election nominations
are now open. If you would like
to know more about what we
do and are thinking of running
please come and speak to us at
the students’ union.
The International Festival
programme is up on the website
so please visit www.ussu.co.uk/
ifestival and watch out for this
logo.
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Union – I certainly didn’t when
I ran!
There is one catch though
– Sabbatical positions aren’t
for those of you looking for
an easy ride. With heaps of
responsibility and 16,000
students to please, you’ll rarely
have an easy day!
So if you’re wondering
what you’ll be doing next
year consider running in the
Sabbatical elections. It could be
the best decision you ever make.
For more information visit
ussu.co.uk/elections
Sports news
TRUNG
USSU VP Sports
Surrey Sports Park mailout
W
hat information would
you like on them?
This week I’ve
managed to branch out student
the communication streams
through SSP. From feedback
I have received about the
weekly SSP student member
email, I have contacted the SSP
Communications Department
asking whether I could have
some input into it. You will
shortly see a few lines from me
about sport / events relative to
Students. I am especially trying
to reach out to students not in
Sports Clubs. My questions to
you are:
• What kind of sport
information would you like
in the SSP mail out?
• What do you want to see less
of?
• What is currently useful in
the mail outs?
Please send your feedback
to me by email: ussu.sports@
surrey.ac.uk
I also hope that this should
help advertise the University
Clubs that run tournaments
and events for all and provide
all students more opportunity
to know how to get involved in
sporting events!
Tell me your thoughts!
Kingston University think
they are better than us!
urrey vs Kingston Varsity
Games 2011, Held at Surrey
Sports Park from 1pm, 30th
March 2011.
The second year of the
Varsity Games is coming near.
We have over 20 different
teams competing collectively to
achieve the prestigious Varsity
Cup! When I went to Kingston to
talk about some arrangements,
their media interviewed both
of us and Kingston thought they
were better than us, to which
I replied that we will destroy
them on the 30th of March!
So make sure you came along
and support our teams in what I
believe will be an inevitable win
for Surrey this year!
Join the facebook event,
search “Surrey vs Kingston
Varsity 2011”
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
The F Word
Feminists from the Virginia branch of the US National Organisation of Women
My Name is Alexandra Wilks and I am a feminist
ALEXANDRA WILKS
Contributor
F
eminists are few and far
between. It has become
almost a taboo to admit
that you are a feminist. Feminism
is the butt of many chauvinist
jokes and something which many
people claim that they “don’t
think about too much.”
Yet men still earn more
than women: in 2010, full-time
male workers earned just over
10% more than their female
counterparts. Men are still more
successful than women: four
out of the twenty nine cabinet
ministers are women. Even
women who do battle through
the glass ceiling have to make
choices between their career
and having a family.
Women are forced to reject
their femininity and assume
more 'masculine' qualities in
order to succeed in a male
dominated society. Girls
outperform boys at GCSE by
72.4% A* – C grades compared
to 65.4% for boys (2010
Guardian Study of GCSE results)
and then again at A-level. So
why are women less successful
in the work place and why do
their feminine traits hinder
rather than help their progress?
It wouldn’t surprise me if you
told me you’d heard this barrage
of information before. Anyone
who studied Sociology A-level
will no doubt be tired of hearing
about the ‘gender gap.’ Yet
despite the fact that nationally
we are aware that women are
earning less, we still argue that
feminism is no longer needed in
today’s society. Despite all the
evidence of a patriarchal society
‘feminism’ is still a dirty word.
Why?
The stereotype of a feminist
is the Radical Feminists of the
1970s. These women publicly
burnt their bras and hated men.
Statements such as, 'All men are
“the advocacy of
women’s rights on the
ground of the equality
of the sexes”
potential rapists' and 'a woman
needs a man like a �ish needs
a bicycle' made this approach
to women's rights unpopular.
After asking several of my male
and female friends what they
most associate with Feminists
the most popular choices were,
'bra burning', 'lesbian' and 'man
haters'.
So I looked up ‘feminism’
in a dictionary. The dictionary
de�inition of feminism is “the
advocacy of women's rights on
the ground of the equality of the
sexes” – nothing about burning
your bra, hating men or being a
lesbian. In fact, surely every well
informed person would believe
men and women are equal and
should be treated as such.
© cliff1066
Emily Davison of the
suffragette movement died
under the King's horse in 1913
for women’s right to vote. A
century later and women are
rejecting the idea of feminism
all together. The word 'feminist'
has been misconstrued. To be
a feminist you do not have to
wear trousers or dump your
boyfriend and for men, being
a feminist doesn't make you a
'poof'. Every person I know
believes in equal rights for men
and women. Therefore every
person I know is, by de�inition,
a feminist.
Our generation has seen the
world change in countless ways,
with the birth of the internet,
the invention of the mobile
phone et cetera, yet we still live
in a society in which women are
treated differently to men. We
jumped at the chance to march
against the increase in student
fees, but a rights-for-women
march would probably have
been less popular. The word
‘feminist’ needs rebranding. It
has been claimed by patriarchal
society and �illed with negative
connotations. Surely in 2011
men and woman can stand up
for equal rights. Surely, the
word feminist need no longer be
a taboo.
My name is Alexandra Wilks
and I always wear a skirt, love
wearing red lipstick and enjoy
receiving �lowers. My name
is Alexandra Wilks and I am a
feminist.
The Stag FEATURES 09
"Y'know what really
grinds my gears?":
forgetting your ID on a night out.
BAKITA KASADHA
Deputy Editor
T “Y’know what
he pre-drinking has ended,
the levels of banter were so
unreal due to the insane al-
cohol consumption of the last two
really oils?..”
hours.
You’ve got into the cab,hopped
Paddy McGuinness
on the bus or made the 15 min- in Take Me Out
utes walk to your destination
G
ready to continue a night of danc- otta love his Boltonian
ing, drinking and stumbles. self, “Let the wallet
You arrive at the entrance of
the club. Naturally the bouncer
see the wonga”:
enough said. But if I had to
has his intimidating swagger on elaborate, I honestly don’t
and won’t allow entry without think any other television
proof of age. You check your pock-
show has ever given me so
ets/wallet/purse. Sh*t! much satisfaction (other than
Now it’s cool for you people Sesame Street).
who look like adults, but most of
the time I look like I’m playing
My favourite bit, other
dress up when I go out. I mean it’s
than the awful dresses
not easy having a baby face and
worn by the single ladies,
being around (but over) 5ft. Iden-
ti�ication is necessary!
is that the show tries to
So now I either have to hang advocate quality with its
in a park, like I’m 16 again or go women. A standard black
home with the emotional drunk one, eccentric one and one
whose life is de�initely coming to mature lady- they never get
an end now that she won’t be able chosen by the lucky single
to be in the same venue as the love man!
of her life. Where she would’ve
stared at him, but said nothing. See, I told you I wasn’t
I swear I’m not a moany mare
a moany mare all the time!
all the time; it’s just I’m tipsy, with “I’ll see you in a nicky nacky
my make up and I can’t go out. It noo.”
just really grinds my gears!
Pan Cake Day
Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent and it is traditional to eat
pancakes on this day. This year Pancake Day falls on 8th March so get
together with your family and friends to enjoy some pancake fun!
thestagsurrey.co.uk
10 FEATURES
No homosexuals allowed?
Eunice Njagi
Deputy Editor
A
s you read this article there
are a range of scientific
studies taking place on
Surrey campus, led by students
and staff. Some are trying to
discover something new – that
one big breakthrough – while
others may just be filling in a
requirement for their degree/
doctorate/etc. But either way
chances are you’ll receive at
least one email this week in your
university inbox asking you to
take part in their research.
In the past I’ve usually sent
these emails straight to the Bin
box; there never seems to be
time to schedule a 10-30 minute
Union vs. Town
On average a night in Channies is cheaper
Joe Porter
Contributor
I
t’s a commonly heard
conversation on campus:
“I thought Students’
Unions were supposed to be
cheap – ours definitely isn’t, it’s
so unfair.”
I took some time out of my
week to find out once and for all
if we were getting a good deal in
the Union, or being ripped off.
After extensive research, the
results amazed me. The Union
is by far the cheapest place to
drink in Guildford. On average,
a pint of draught costs more in
Spoons, Bar Med, Tickled Ivory
(even on a Tuesday), Fahrenheit,
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
experiment or take part in a
survey.
However, last January I found
myself running low on funds,
my student loan providing little
consolation by just covering
my rent, and so the prospect
of a £20 reward for taking part
in a hormone study seemed
promising.
I followed the link to the
site for further details, only to
be extremely surprised when
the criteria for applicants
basically stated: “homosexuals
need not apply” in its list of
specifications... and nothing
else.
No explanation, just thanks-
but-no-thanks to lesbians at
Surrey. Other elements of the
criteria seemed equally random
The Star, George Abbot, The
Britannia, and Pews, to name a
few. In fact, if you went out to
Tickled Ivory on a Friday night,
every single pint would cost
you £1.50 more on average, and
you’d pay more to get in! Is it
really worth the trek into town
and a £20 taxi home again?
To put it into context, we did
a survey to find out just what
people do drink in the pub on a
Friday night. The results are as
follows: guys – five pints of lager
and two double vodka-Redbulls;
girls – three glasses of wine and
a double vodka-Redbull.
If you came to Channies,
guys would spend £23.45 and
it would cost the girls £12.95.
in their discriminations and I
wondered what the researcher
had against psychology students
and people with claustrophobia.
What made it worse was that
underneath these criteria was
the slogan stating the survey
had received ‘favourable
ethical approval’ by the Surrey
University Ethics Committee,
which made me wonder why
they allowed the study to run.
Rather than jumping to
conspiracy conclusions I met
with the researchers organising
the study: Dr Adam McNamara
and Kaylee Moakes (PhD
Student), who filled in the gaps
concerning their study. Dr
McNamara explained that their
research is centred around
the effects of hormones on the
That’s an average of £18.20/
person. Compare this to Spoons,
where you’d spend an average
of £19.91 and you’ve already
saved yourself £1.71. That
doesn’t seem much, but over
your University career, you’d
save yourself £328.32 by going
out twice a week.
If you were to follow that
with Rubix, rather than Dusk,
you’d save yourself another
£2,265.60. That’s a total saving
of... £2,593.92!
And you thought Spoons was
cheap! Think what you could
buy with that... a new car, a
new wardrobe full of designer
clothes; it could even pay off my
huge student overdraft.
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
behaviour of women, and one
of the factors they are looking at
involves facial attractiveness.
‘Participants have to judge
males on facial attractiveness –
whether they’d like to date them
or not, so obviously if you’re
going to take part you need
to find male faces attractive...
including female faces would be
too big a variable, and we would
have to double the entire study.’
He also clarified the rest of
his criteria, as some of the tasks
used in the study may have
been already been looked at by
psychology students leading to
unfair results, and part of the
experiment involved being in an
MRI scanner; ‘that feeds into the
claustrophobia stated... it’s such
a small space.’
Kaylee also filled me in
on what the study is hoping
to achieve: “We’re looking at
how your hormones change
behaviour, because a lot can
change over a woman’s cycle,
such as vocal chords and colour
preference.” She also discussed
studies taking place that have
linked hormones in women
to increased vulnerability to
addiction at particular times
of the month, demonstrating
the importance of hormonal
research projects on how we
understand the female body.
Dr McNamara did recognise
his error in not explaining the
no homosexuals criteria on
the study’s website, and also
sincerely apologised for any
offense it may have caused:
“We’ve added an explanation
now... the Ethics Committee did
a very good job – they picked it
up and told me to add an asterisk
saying why you don’t want to
take on homosexuals and over
Christmas I forgot... it was my
fault because I didn’t notice.”
Therefore, even though the
explanation didn’t have the
sex, lies and scandal it initially
appeared to promise, it did
make me more aware of the
wide field of research taking
place at Surrey University,
particularly in the Psychology
and Neuroscience Department.
At the very least, the 10-30
minutes of you time you give
up is helping someone with
their degree (and remember
kiddies, what goes around
comes around). More so, you
may also be part of something
groundbreaking. Keep that in
mind the next time an invitation
to be part of a research project
flashes in your inbox.
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk The Stag FEATURES 11

Student brand managers

The changing face of on-campus marketing?
the role seems to be trying to into a new era of marketing or
Peter Bailey stake a claim to students over simply a throw away exercise in
Contributor
their competitors. We are a student brainwashing? Perhaps

M
ost of us will have seen
(or heard) one of the
increasing cohort of
student brand managers during
their operations on campus. A
growing recognition of student
buying power seems to be
sparking the creation of ever more
inventive marketing techniques,
which are both designed and
carried out by students on behalf
of large firms within Universities
across the country.
For those of you who are
unfamiliar with the concept,
these brand managers are
students of UK universities, who
apply to represent a specific
commercial outfit at University.
The tasks vary from secreting
energy drinks in court kitchens,
to hosting full blown events and
promo days to supplement a
wider corporate launch by their
employers.
prime market and ripe for the
picking by large firms that want
to try and ensure our custom for
the rest of our lives with loyalty
being a valuable commodity.
The brand managers are
given a good degree of freedom
and an even greater amount of
trust in their mission to uphold
brand values and communicate
them to us as students effectively.
This, in no doubt provides them
with good experience, but are
they really effective and is their
message getting through?
One brand aficionado
told me that on paper his
operations were always going
to be financially loss making,
with thousands of pounds a
term being shelled out by a big
business in order to compete in
the emerging game of student
‘land grab’.
Another expressed concerns
this is the start of an emerging
trend in trying to better
address a younger market and
keep pace with the mammoth
amount of online and social
network interaction, which now
underpins our lives.
An insightful point raised
during The Stag’s investigation
was that we are in fact leading
the companies in this respect,
not vice versa, so it is worth
remembering you don’t have to
swallow everything that they
offer.
We are an intelligent market
segment, which is all too often
talked down to by big business.
The student pound and vote is
seen as easily relinquished and
programmes such as student
brand managers could be seen
to perpetuate the idea that by
knocking up a social network
page or eagerly handing out

Companies obviously value
these programs which got me
thinking about the motivation
behind such schemes. From
speaking to several brand
managers a significant part of
that many such managers are
likely to be unable or unwilling
to uphold the brand message
with the zeal these large
organisations might like.
So does this mark a shift
© Hugh Lee
some free samples we will be
coaxed into a lifetime of brand
loyalty.
Remember there is no such
thing as a free lunch, or a free Gimmics like this energy drink cars have been used by corporate reps for
gift. several years now.

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If you are aged 16-24, live in Surrey and you complete
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text fitter followed by your name
address to 80010
www.gocheckyourself.com
Born and Bred as a British Bangladeshi in the West Midlands, Kiz was doing the ‘Balle Balle’ to Bollywood
and your ever since he could lift his arms.
Kiz has a great passion for this genre and believes that it should be promoted more within the mainstream.
Kiz is also involved as a film and music critic for the BBC Asian Network reviewing the latest Bollywood
films and soundtrack. He also is an events promoter for Sanj Singh/Vibe Artist Management, which has sup-
ported many successful artists within the British Asian music scene including The Dark MC and Jaswinder
Dhagamia who brought the super smash bhangra anthems ‘Chori Chori Takna’ and Jaadu !

thestagsurrey.co.uk
12 FEATURES
Why should
I ‘Go Green’?
NAT HARDING
USSU Ethics and Environment Officer
T
here are many reasons
to ‘go green’. On a per-
sonal level, in many cas-
es, reducing your environmen-
tal impact saves you money
and can improve your health.
And when you’re at university,
these changes can save the uni-
versity money – for every 5%
the University reduces its car-
bon emissions by, it can save a
whopping £225,000 that could
be immediately reinvested in
students. These savings come
from things like energy and
resource use, waste disposal
costs and Government incen-
tives to reduce emissions.
These reasons, of course, are
part of trying to avoid the looming
threat of climate change. In fact,
this ‘looming threat’ is already be-
ing felt in the developing world,
where some already attribute a
massive 600,000 deaths a year to
the effects of climate change.
Even if you ‘don’t believe’ in
climate change (in disagreeing
with the overwhelming majority
of the world’s scientists), there is
still the need for society to wean
itself off of its dependence on fos-
sil fuels, as the �inite oil reserves
begin to disappear, and reduce
its wastage of water, as many are
predicting future wars over water
resources.
So what can I do, I hear you
cry? Here are a few simple tasks
for you to try and incorporate into
your daily living. Give them a go,
and grab a friend or two to join
you!
1. Switch Off!
Switch off all appliances at the
plug when not in use, and turn
off lights when leaving a room;
lecture rooms too! As well as sav-
ing money, switching off chargers
when fully charged also prolongs
the life of batteries. If you live
off campus, make sure you have
energy-saving light bulbs, which
use up to 5 times less energy than
regular incandescent ones!
2. Become a Part-Time Car-
nivore
Eating meat and dairy prod-
ucts plays a surprisingly large
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
part in a person’s carbon foot-
print, from its inherent inef�i-
ciency to produce (it takes 7kg
of feed to produce 1kg of beef!),
to the farming practices, which
often contribute to rainforest de-
struction, and from cows belch-
ing methane into the atmosphere!
A diet lower in meat has many
health bene�its too. Tasty and nu-
tritious alternatives are not hard
to �ind!
Become a Part-Time Carnivore
at www.parttimecarnivore.org,
with 6 options to choose from,
such as Meat Free Mondays and
Meating Out (only eating meat
when out of the house)
And why not try taking the
Surrey Go Green Week veggie
challenge? See if you can go with-
out meat this week!
3. Save Heat
Turning your thermostat
down just 1 degree can save up
to 10% on your heating bills, and
over-�illing your kettle can waste
enough energy to power a TV for
24 hours! Close doors and cur-
tains to stop heat escaping, and be
cunning about placing furniture
away from radiators.
4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
We all know all about this, but
we don’t always do it! As the uni-
versity expands its recycling pro-
gramme, keep your waste with
you until you get to a recycling
station. As British households
throw away one third of the food
we buy, make sure you only buy
what you need! If you have too
much, why not whizz it up into a
soup or a smoothie?
5. Travel Light
Travel accounts for around
40% of a typical university’s
emissions. Get on your bike in-
stead of the car! Also, plane �lights
are horrendous for the climate –
if you must leave the country, try
to seek alternative transport, and
if you must �ly, try and plan your
trips so that you minimise the
number of �lights you take!
If you want to help reduce
the university’s environmental
impact, or have any ideas, sug-
gestions or questions, email
Nat Harding, USSU Ethics and
Environment Of�icer, at ussu.
ethics@surrey.ac.uk
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
TUESDAY 1ST MARCH
Recycled Jewellery Workshop
1-2pm, Student’s Union Committee Room,
Free entry
A necklace made from old magazine? Come
along and make your own recycled jewel-
lery!
Hosted by the People and Planet Society
WEDNESDAY 2ND MARCH
Citrus – Wear Green for Go Green
Week!
10pm-2am, Rubix
Show some love for the environment by
dressing all in green! And while you’re
there, donate some spare change to the
WWF Rainforest Rescue scheme.
THURSDAY 3RD MARCH
Discussion on Carbon Trading and Cli-
mate Change
7pm, TB22, Free entry
Is carbon trading an innovative solution
to climate chaos, or is it doing more harm
than good?
Surrey
Hosted by Surrey United Anti-Capitalist
Society
FRIDAY 4TH MARCH
Q&A with the Centre for Environmental
Does
Strategy
1-2pm, Lecture Theatre L, Free entry
Distinguished experts in residence Profes-
Thorpe
sor Roland Clift, Dr Katrina Charles and
Professor Ian Christie answer and discuss
your questions on all things environmen-
Park
tal: energy efficiency, climate change and
health, sustainable development – the lot!
Hosted by the People and Planet Society Make sure you
‘Fairtrade in the 21st Century’, with book your seat on
Traidcraft CEO
7pm, Lecture Theatre E, Free entry Saturday
Paul Chandler, Chief Executive of Traidcraft
(the largest Fairtrade company in the UK) 2nd April
comes to Surrey University with his presen-
tation on the future of Fairtrade.
Flirt – No Clothes Night – Recycled
Buy your tickets
Clothing!
10pm-3am, Rubix
in the
Cardboard box shirt and hat made of bot-
tletops? Skirt made of lecture handouts?
Union Shop
What will you reuse for your Friday night
party gear?!
For more information
WEDNESDAY 5TH MARCH
www.ussu.co.uk/
FREE Fairtrade Ice Cream Van
All day on campus giveitago
Dig in to some free Fairtrade ice cream
courtesy of The Co-operative!
features@thestagsurrey.co.uk
University of Surrey cares about the environment?..
E ver thought the univer-
sity didn’t care about its
environmental impact?
Think again! Here, some of the
key staff members reveal how
they are working to make the
university more sustainable…
Alan Donnachie, Deputy Di-
rector of Estates and Facilities
Management
Our Central and Residential
Services team (C&RS) team work
hard to collect, reuse and recycle
a whole range of waste material
around the university. Our cur-
rent recycling rates are about
41% a fantastic achievement and
increasing daily! As Deputy Direc-
tor of Estates and Facilities
I head up this team but, hon-
estly, this is one of the most re-
warding areas I have ever worked
in. The enthusiasm and commit-
ment of the frontline team make
this a very enjoyable task. Al-
though we have achieved enor-
mous success we won’t until we
have zero to land�ill.
John Davis, University Sus-
tainability & Environmental
Manager
My role is to ensure the Uni-
versity develops and maintains
its buildings and systems in a
sustainable and cost effective
way. I also manage a programme
of events, projects and activities
to improve the University’s sus-
tainability. The University has
invested signi�icantly to improve
the estate and I work closely
with other University colleagues
to help manage the key environ-
mental impacts, including Energy
Ef�iciency, Carbon Management,
Waste Management, Water Ef-
�iciency, Ecology & Biodiversity,
Sustainable Procurement, Sus-
tainable Catering and Transport.
Recent notable projects in-
clude:
-Installation of energy meters
for both residential & non resi-
dential buildings, enabling us to
identify the least ef�icient build-
ings.
-Installation of new LED light-
The Stag FEATURES 13
ing in many campus buildings, re-
ducing energy and carbon emis-
sions by up to 70%.
-The application of carbon
neutral biomass heating at the
Surrey Sports Park.
You can follow the work of the
sustainability team on twitter @
uniofsurreysust
Robin Hunt, Director of Pro-
curement
Part of my responsibilities in-
cludes sustainable procurement
and the highlight for me last year
in this respect was getting the
Vice-Chancellor to sign our �irst
Sustainable Procurement Policy.
My main challenge this year is
Are your habits killing the world?
to implement this policy and we
have made some good progress so
Did you know?...
six units – staff and students can
far e.g. tracking our carbon emis- help to support these schemes
sions from air travel, switching by recycling their waste in our
paper procurement to sustainable designated bins. Our used oil is
sources and using our purchasing
system to help implement re-use
also collected by a local charity At the beginning
who converts it into bio-diesel to
of surplus furniture across the power their vehicles. Plans for the of this academic
University.
Simon Booth, Director of
future include the introduction year, The Stag got
of eco friendly reusable take out
Hospitality Catering Services boxes. rid of its staples
Part of my role is to minimize
the negative impacts the cater-
If you want to help reduce and decided to use
the university’s environmental
ing outlets on campus have on impact, or have any ideas, sug- recycled paper.
the environment. In conjunction
with the waste management and
gestions or questions, email We’ve been going
Nat Harding, USSU Ethics and
sustainability teams we have suc- Environment Of�icer, at ussu. green, now it’s your
cessfully implemented waste seg-
regation and recycling in all of our
ethics@surrey.ac.uk turn!
thestagsurrey.co.uk
14 SCIENCE & TECH
Science & Tech
The ‘ouch!’ factor
Nataliya Gerasimova
Science & Tech Team
P
ain is the universal ‘safety
device’ that warns the brain
of something going wrong
in the body. Our perception of
(and tolerance to) pain, the ‘fifth
vital sign’, varies so widely that
it makes its definition a Hercu-
lean task. However, studies that
suggest that there is more to
acupuncture than just a placebo
effect, and illustrate the accompa-
nying activation of certain brain
areas responsible for pain per-
ception, beg to differ.
Unlike any other sensation our
brain interprets, pain comes in
very different ‘flavours’: aching,
pinching, stabbing, throbbing et
cetera. Even a non-existent body
part can trigger pain, the ‘phan-
tom’ pain – a sensation felt by am-
putees.
The phenomenon puzzled
mankind for centuries and it was
only relatively recently proposed
by research that when it comes
Writing vs typing
A child’s writing is better when using a pen rather than a keyboard.
Helen Finn
Science & Tech Editor
T
here’s no denying that
computers are everywhere.
Most students will own one
or use one on a regular basis for
their studies. However, they are
not the best method for learning
information; we go back to the
trusty old pen and paper to help
your memory more than typing.
The reticular activating sys-
tem (RAS) is an area of the brain
responsible for regulating atten-
tion and sleep-wake transitions. It
acts as a filter to the information
needed to be processed by your
brain and assigns some memories
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
to pain- the dismissal ‘it’s all in
your head’ may be quite relevant.
It brings about the concept of ev-
ery body part being somewhat
‘mapped’ in the brain. Conse-
quently, upon amputation, the
missing body part
fails to input to
the brain,
which,
in turn, strives
to compensate for
this ‘understimulation’
by activating the neighbour-
ing areas instead, generating the
painful sensations in the limbs
that aren’t there to start with. The
legitimacy of this theory can be
successfully argued though: it still
doesn’t explain why people who
are born without limbs (in other
words, their brain never received
the stimulus to begin with) still
describe these rather ‘real’ pains.
The phantom pain of the ‘ghost
organs’ exemplifies how little we
know about the mechanisms of
© Tariq’s Fantasy World
with a greater importance. When
you write, you are actively focus-
ing on a subject which brings it
to the forefront, thus assigning it
with more importance. Writing
triggers the RAS, sending a signal
to the cerebral cortex which plays
a key role in memory, attention,
perceptual awareness, thought,
language, and consciousness.
Virginia Berninger, a professor
of Educational Psychology at the
University of Washington stud-
ies reading and writing systems
and their relationship to learn-
ing processes. She discovered
that children’s writing ability was
consistently better (they wrote
more, faster, and more complete
pain origins, which has the in-
evitable impact on multi-million
pound industry of ‘new genera-
tion’ painkillers. Despite the in-
depth scientific efforts, what we
know today about pain seems to
resemble cooking: although good
ingredients have been identified,
it is always a bit of an experiment.
sentences) when they used a pen
rather than a keyboard. She stat-
ed that it may be because when
you write, you use your hand to
shape and connect the letters,
which more actively engages the
brain. Typing does not make this
connection – all the keys are the
same.
Another possible reason for
this is that when you write some-
thing down, you are consciously
evaluating and ordering the in-
formation as you write, putting it
into a more logical order. This can
help secure the concepts more
securely, and later on will lead to
better recollection when it comes
to reproducing the information.
You are also creating special re-
lationships between each piece
of information. This increases the
amount of pathways that link your
information, for example connect-
ing verbal information with the
special relationship, making them
easier to recall. Writing can also
help to visualise the information
that we receive. This will make it
easier to memorise.
So writing helps you clarify
your thoughts, improve your
memory and (hopefully) help you
achieve more. Remember this the
next time you feel like revising on
your laptop.
sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Breast cancer
treatment gets
a boost
Rachel Lismore-Burns
Science & Tech Team
S
cientists working for Cancer
Research UK at Cambridge
Research Institute and the
British Columbia Cancer Agency
in Vancouver, Canada have iden-
tified a gene which they believe
may trigger some forms of ag-
gressive breast cancer.
The ZNF703 oncogene was
found to be overactive in 1/12
breast cancer patients – possibly
contributing to around 4,000 cas-
es in the UK per year. 1,172 breast
cancer tumour samples were col-
lected for the experiment and all
samples showed an overactive
ZNF703 gene on chromosome 8.
In 2 samples, this was the only
overactive gene which provided
strong evidence for the role of
ZNF703 in the development of
breast cancer.
Cancer oncogenes are genes
that when over-active, can cause
cell division to occur too fre-
quently leading to a cancerous tu-
mour. Her2 is another oncogene
that is tested for in breast cancer
patients. Her2 positive patients
receive Herceptin as treatment
and it is hoped that the discovery
of ZNF703 will pave the way to
more breast cancer drugs. Iden-
tifying the oncogene that is driv-
ing the breast cancer means that
a more tailored treatment pro-
gramme can be established lead-
ing to higher survival rates.
The experiment relied upon
the use of ‘microarray technol-
ogy’ which allows considerable
quantities of tissue samples to be
concurrently tested and identifies
any differences in gene activity
between healthy cells and cancer-
ous cells. Whilst scientists have
been aware for nearly 20 years
of the potential of chromosome
8 to hold cancer driving genes, it
is only with the recent advance-
ments in technology that they
have been able to investigate it.
The director of cancer infor-
mation at Cancer Research UK,
Dr Lesley Walker, commented on
the breakthrough saying, “This
is the first gene of its kind to be
discovered in breast cancer for
five years. This is exciting because
it’s a prime candidate for the de-
velopment of new breast can-
cer drugs designed specifically
to target tumours in which this
gene is overactive. Hopefully this
will lead to more effective cancer
treatments in the future.”
sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Smelly socks?
Beware!
EMMA COOPER
Science & Tech Team
A
ll you students out there,
who have rooms that smell
distinctly of sweaty socks,
beware! Next time you whip
those sweaty socks off to get into
the shower and leave them lying
around, spare a thought to the
mosquito eating spider that loves
smelly socks and could be lurking
in your bedroom ready to feast!
This was �irst found by sci-
entists who were interested in
this species because it is the only
known predator that speci�ically
preys on blood-carrying mosqui-
toes.
This is especially useful be-
cause as you may be aware, mos-
quitoes carry malaria, so more of
these spiders means less malaria,
which is obviously good news.
Scientists say that in malaria
zones, people should welcome
these particular creepy crawlies
into their houses.
Anyway, back to the fascinat-
ing sweaty sock loving spiders.
It was already suspected that hu-
man odour was attractive to the
spiders before the experiment
was even conducted. This was
the case because scientists gen-
An evolutionary detour
Global warming is gradually increasing the Earth’s temperatures.
NATALIYA GERASIMOVA
Science & Tech Team
G
lobal warming, a gradual
increase in planet-wide
temperatures, is certainly
not a new topic. It is still, howev-
er, an undoubtedly hot one; quite
thestagsurrey.co.uk
erally found these spiders in the
tall grass next to houses or other
buildings occupied by people.
To test this suspicion, scien-
tists devised an aroma-based ex-
perimental set-up called an olfac-
tometer.
They put each “test spider”
into a small holding chamber into
which air was pumped, either
from a box containing a clean sock
or one containing a worn (and
therefore smelly) sock.
Each spider was able to leave
its holding chamber at any time
and escape into an exit chamber,
which did not have sock-scented
air pumped into it.
The spiders supplied with the
aroma of worn socks always re-
mained in the holding chamber
for longer than those exposed to
the freshly washed sock.
Fascinating stuff right?
Now to really send shivers
down your spine, here are a few
more spiders and some other sur-
prising facts about them!
Spiders can’t chew or swallow
so scientists have often pondered
how they eat. It has been found
that they can only eat “liquid
lunches.”
To do this, they inject their
literally.
Today, Earth is thought to be
the hottest it has been in at least
400 years and although rather
debatable, the human kind and
its industrial endeavours ought to
take a bullet for this one.
The global warming debate,
however, has recently unmasked
The Stag SCIENCE & TECH 15
The mosquito eating spider that loves smelly socks.
prey with poison using their fangs. Silk is used for climbing, to cre- something called ‘draglines’. This
The poison turns the insides of an ate webs, to build smooth walls in is a rope-like web that helps the
insect to a watery concoction and burrows, build egg sacs, and wrap spider climb back home if they fall
the spider sucks it up. The insect prey. or let themselves drop.
will often look normal, whilst the Most spiders have four or However, spiders aren’t all bad
body is in fact empty. Web-spin- more openings, or glands, on news. Most spider bites are not
ning spiders will wrap their prey their abdomen called spinnerets. deadly, only producing mild reac-
in a web and then crush its body When the spider releases the silk, tions no worse than a bee sting
with their teeth. They then pour it looks like one thread but it is and spiders would only bite a hu-
digestive juice over the body and actually many thin threads that man in self defence. In the 20th
liquefy it. stick together. As soon as this liq- century there were only about
Also, all spiders produce silk uid silk hits the air it hardens. 100 reliably reported deaths from
but not all spiders spin webs. Many spiders use their silk for spider bites.
a rather unexpected twist: it
seems to be no longer just an en-
vironmental issue only. Apparent-
ly, it is also an evolutionary one.
Over the last century, the
global temperatures are thought
to have only increased by 0.6 de-
grees Celsius.
Today, Earth is thought
to be the hottest it has
been in at least 400
years...
Scientists from the University
of Michigan, however, insist that
even this tiny temperature change
may just be enough to push the
evolution of the species to take on
another route.
Fundamentally, survival of
the �ittest always comes down to
genes and it’s an open question
whether with the rising tempera-
tures the gene evolution in re-
sponse to warming of the Mother
Earth will surface.
However, one thing is clear:
change is coming.
 EVENTS
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15th July 2011 to Olympics

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RSDAY FLIRTDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

GR K
Beatbullying
ce Ibiza’s Lewis Ryder Volunteer Training

Acoustic Night
m Festival
nagement goes to the Movies NIGHT
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School
Touch IT Premiership Footy in Channies
6pm
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Video Game Soc 6 - 9pm From 10am Italy v Wales 2.30pm 6 Nations Rugby in Channies
in The Living Room England v France 5pm Jail Break Scotland v Ireland 3pm

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Night
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in The Living Room Climate Change Sunday Salsa
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Al
the nAtion
Love Food HATE waste
Premiership Footy in Channies
Video Game Soc 6 - 9pm Complete v ey
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in Chancellors Wolves v Tottenham 4pm ebsite fro
visit the w
y

GR K
7 februAr

ey for
NIGHTin Rubix Acoustic Night
in Chancellors
An indepe
finAl- ye
ndent surv
Ar un dergrAdu
Ates

DEV
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in The Living Room
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BaLL
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CHAV
Scotland v Italy 2.30pm
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2011
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NIGHT PR Society in Chancellors
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Presenting

GR K saturday 14th may

Effectively Netball
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NIGHT Acoustic Night epsom downs

in Rubix in Chancellors racecourse
TIckeTs nOW on saLe
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in The Living Room Premiership Footy in Channies from the students’ union
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vote.ussu.co.uk
Steve the Stag
wishes you all Th
FREE

a happy Easter Stag

The e S
Stag
FR
EE

The
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in Chancellors For more information please email ussu.giveitago@surrey.ac.uk

www.madtvsurrey.co.uk www.thestagsurrey.co.uk

Georgina Hancock Trung Osama Salih Union House

The University of Surrey
VP Welfare VP Sport & Recreation VP Societies & ID Stag Hill
ussu.welfare@surrey.ac.uk ussu.sports@surrey.ac.uk ussu.societies@surrey.ac.uk Guildford
GU2 7XH

T: (01483) 689223
SMS : 07624 805349
nd go to the Information point or call on (01483) 689223 or email ussu.information@surrey.ac.uk
18 SOCIETIES The Stag societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Societies
BruSurrey Lib Dem Society:
I’m George and
ABDUL
I’m proud to be a
BINI

T Lib Dem
he University of Surrey’s
Brunei Society celebrated a
religious event on the 15th GEORGE W. POTTER
of February 2011.
The event was to commemorate

the Birthday of the Last Prophet
of Islam, Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH). There were invited guest
speakers present at the event.
They are the respective of�icers
from the Brunei Student Unit
based in London. In particular,
the Religious Of�icer Mr Haji
Sammali Bin Haji Adam and
the Academic Coordinator Mr
Khalid Bin Haji Sulaiman gave
inspirational presentations
regarding this Islamic event as
well as a reminder for Bruneian
students about their academic
responsibilities while studying in
the United Kingdom.
Other teachers that were present
from Brunei Student Unit were
the Financial Attache Mr Al-Aseer
and Brunei Hall’s Warden Mr
Pengiran Wahab. The function
was held at The University of
Surrey’s Lecture Theatre M from
6 to 10PM.
Approximately around 36
Bruneian students of the
University along with their
family and friends attended
this special event. Aside from
commemorating this blessed
day of the Islamic calendar, this
Members of the Brunien society celebrating their Religious Festival
event was another way to further
strengthen the relationships
amongst the Bruneian students.
The event was hosted by the
committee members of the
Brunei Society. The event started
with the arrival of guests and
society members. The President
of Brunei Society, Abdul Muiz Bin
Haji Bini then gave an opening
speech to welcome and thank
everyone for coming to the
event. Before the guest speakers
started their presentation, the
Male Religious Representative of
Brunei Society, Muhd Saifullah
Bin Haji Chuchu, of�icially started
the ceremony with the recitation
of Al-Fatihah (verses from the
Holy Qur’an). The event then
went on to its main attraction
where the guest speakers
presented to the society for
an hour and a half. After the
presentations were over, all
Muslim Bruneians stood up to
recite the ‘Dzikir Marhaban’,
a speci�ic prayer to praise the
Beloved Prophet (PBUH) which
was led by Mr Haji Sammali.
Afterward, group photos of the
whole society were taken with
the guests and the Bruneian �lag.
The President then closed the
ceremony by emphasizing to the
society members that all of them
should take inspiration from the
presentations given by the guest
speakers.
Along with the announcement
of further society activities to
come and dinner at the end of
the event, he once again thanked
everyone for cooperating and
supporting the event to make it a
success.
The commemoration of the
Prophet’s Birthday, or more
commonly known as Maulidur
Rasul in Brunei, is a yearly
tradition in Brunei. Since there
is an established Brunei Society
at the University of Surrey, the
committee members felt the need
to bring tradition from home to
the United Kingdom.
It is indeed another milestone for
the society, to be able to celebrate
its country’s National celebration
far away from home. The event
was above expectations and
everyone who attended enjoyed
it.
I
’m proud because the Liberal
Democrats are in government
doing things that no other
party would have done. We’ve
got 64% of our manifesto
implemented which means
things like taking a million of the
lowest paid out of tax altogether
by increasing the tax threshold
to £10,000 and creating a new
Green Investment Bank to help
create new jobs and new industry.
Things like the pupil premium,
which means £430 extra funding
for the poorest pupils in the
country - funding which will help
them get the teaching they need
at the most critical stage of their
lives.
Or there’s the huge advance
for gay rights where gay people
will �inally be allowed to get
married and a possible end to the
archaic prejudice that disallows
gay men from donating blood.
We’ve also stopped innocent
children from being locked up
in detention centres where they
were traumatised and suffered
physical abuse. Thanks to the Lib
Dems, child detention has been

Christian Union : Free week returns to Surrey abolished.

There’s the biggest reform of
the political system in 80 years,

T
he week of 7 February
saw “Free Week” return
to the university campus.
Organized by the Christian Union
(CU), this annual week of events
encourages students to consider
life’s big questions and the
answers Christianity has to offer.
Each day of Free Week
included a lunchtime talk with a
free lunch and an evening event.
Members of the Christian
Union could also be seen serving
free hot drinks in the lecture
theatre building every morning to
promote that day’s events.
Lunchtime talks included
topics such as, “Does God care
about me?” “Are science and God
compatible?” and “Why does
God allow suffering?” Evenings
featured a Ceilidh (barn dance),
a classic game show, and a pub
quiz, among others. Turnout
was good throughout the week,
averaging 40-50 people for the
lunches and around 100 at some
of the evening events.
The Christian Union has been
putting on annual events weeks are completely free of charge talks, but also demonstrating the scrapping of New Labour’s
for years, but this years was and open to anyone from any God’s love toward people through attacks on civil liberties and
only the third one held under background. free lunches and hot drinks etc. much more. None of these would
the “Free Week” branding. The The branding also attempts Following on from Free Week, have happened without us in
name emphasizes that all events to capture the sense of freedom the CU is running a Christianity government.
Explored course for those who You may be angry about
are interested in �inding out more tuition fees - I’m angry myself.
about what Christians believe. I think the wrong decision was
The course runs on Tuesday made and most of us in Guildford
nights until 29 March in LTJ from do too. But fees aren’t just what
6:30pm - 8:00pm. we’re about. Despite the negative
The evenings are based media coverage, we are changing
around short DVD clips and group Britain for the better. That’s what
discussions. Anyone is welcome we are about and that’s why you
to come, regardless of whether should support us and be proud
they came to any of the Free to do so.
Week events or not. As with Free
Week, Christianity Explored is
The Christian Society members and guests participating in an evening event completely free-of-charge.
The Christian Union meets
and peace Christians �ind in their that each person has the right every Thursday at 7:00 pm in
beliefs when many people think to make up his or her own mind TB18.
Christianity is just a long list of about whether to even believe in
boring rules. a God and what to believe about For more information:
The overall goal of Free Week God. University of Surrey Christian
was to create opportunities for The CU wants to make sure Union: http://www.surreycu.com
people to discuss God, beliefs, that the Christian perspective Christianity Explored: http://
the relevance of Christianity, and is accurately represented on www.surreycu.com/christianity-
similar topics. The CU recognizes campus. This includes organizing explored

thestagsurrey.co.uk
societies@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Iranian society
does‘Javad Night’
NAZANIN
O
nce again the Iranian
Society is proud to have
organised a successful
event held in the Living Room
last Saturday. ‘Javad Night’ as
it is well known in the Iranian
culture, was the theme for the
party, representing the ancient
culture of the lower-class
Persians.
An attractive event which
focused on reliving the lives
of such people in style by
gearing up in strange and
funny out�its, with men
�launting their moustaches
and generally awesome antics,
often considered to be a Persian
equivalence to Britain’s Chavs.
The originality of the theme
not only attracted the current
Iranian population on campus
but also students from other
nationalities. In addition, to
appreciate the effort put in by
students, prizes for the best-
dressed male and female were
given out.
The experience as described by
the Persians was to relive their
The National Treasures of Iran
The Stag SOCIETIES 19
forgotten celebration memories
back in Iran.
-Surrey Islamic Society is proud to present:
The event was well organised
and planned in advance which “Discover the Religion of More Than 1.5 Billion People”
was implicit in the success of the Monday 28th February to Friday 4th March 2011
night.
The future plan for the society
is to organise many more theme Speakers include Muslim Philosopher Adam Deen, British ex-
based events. actress Myriam Francois-Cerrah, British Journalist Yvonne
A signi�icant opportunity to
showcase the Iranian culture
Ridley and
and spread its awareness is Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth.
the International Gala Festival.
Rehearsals for the performances
are already in full-swing and this
year the Iranian society plans
to include many diverse acts
to paint a vivid picture of the
rich heritage of the country. To
highlight the Persian New Year
falling near the festival, a play
(Norouz) would also be included
in the performances.
Students from all backgrounds Don’t miss out on various hot topics:-
are welcome to join and
contribute to the society, Monday: ‘The Purpose of Life’- Adam Deen LTD
providing a unique opportunity
@ 6pm
to indulge in the Persian culture.
Come and enjoy the Iranian Tuesday: ‘Islam and Media’- Anas Tikriti & Lauren Booth
delicacies including various LTD @ 6pm
desserts during the International Wednesday: ‘Women in Islam: Liberated or Oppressed?’- Myriam Francois Cerrah
food festival. Other future events LTD @ 6pm
include the traditional bon�ire
Thursday: ‘Was Muhammed (PBUH) Really A Prophet?’- Jalal Ibn Saeed
dance with a lavish meal to mark
the end of the Persian year Uni Hall @ 6pm
(Chaharshanbe Suri). Friday: ‘My Journey to Islam’- Yusha Evans & Yvonne Ridley LTD
Following from @ 6pm
the success of
this event in the
past, possible Islamic and Cultural Exhibition will take place every day from 11:00am – 5.30pm at
collaborations with Concourse, Lecture Theatre Block.
other university
students are still
on the cards. Who are we?
Please do not
hesitate to Surrey Islamic Society is committed to the promotion of peace,
contact the
Iranian love and respect both on campus and with the local community.
Society. We aim to increase the understanding of pure Islam - free from any
misconceptions and distortion.
It doesn’t matter where you are from; feel free to join us at various
talks throughout the week and come discover the truth of what Islam is
really about.
Free entry to all events and free refreshments will be provided.
For more information please visit www.surreyisoc.net
thestagsurrey.co.uk
 t o n C h a r i t y
y vs K i n g s

y
r r e

t
S u

Var s i 2 0 11

M a r c h 12 - 7 p m
d n e s day 3 0 t h
W e

Vs

n g l a n d s p o r t star!
e s e n tat i o n b y a top E
Trophy Pr , G U 2 P LU S L O TS more!
Beer Tent

C h e erleading
Hockey poline (TBC)
Football T r a m
Netball w o n do (TBC)
Rugby T a e k
Volleyball itsu (TBC)
Tennis J i u J
Fencing
Badminton
Boat
Golf
 o o d M o o d
- G
o d
Fo
Good

If you eat five pieces of fruit and veg a day -

you ‘re helping you body and mind.

Eating well stops you feeling sluggish and helps aid your concentration,
giving you all the energy you need to stay awake through the last ten
minutes of your Friday afternoon lecture...
For more advice on staying healthy in body and mind, contact Student Health Care.
If you feel troubled and want to talk to someone, try the Centre for Wellbeing

Student Health Care - T: 01483 68 9051 E: studenthealthcare@surrey.ac.uk

Centre for Wellbeing - T: 01483 68 9498 E: centreforwellbeing@surrey.ac.uk
22 ENTERTAINMENT: D&T
Dance & Theatre
Will We
Rock U?
REVIEW
WE WILL ROCK YOU!
Dominion Theatre, London

JESSICA HUNNYBUN
Dance
L
ast Friday I went into
London to see my very �irst
West End Show (a little late
I know); we saw “We Will Rock
You”, at the Dominion Theatre
and it was most de�initely worth
the wait.
I was warned by my brother that
the musical based on “Queen”
songs was, although excellent,
very cheesy. Do I agree? Well I
suppose the basic storyline is
quite cheesy, yes.
It is uncomplicated and easy
to follow, but it is laced with
sharp wit, glossy costumes
and a mesmerizing cast which
accompanies some of the best
music of all time, in my opinion.
Brenda Edwards, as seen on
X-factor in 2005, without a doubt
makes the show, with her slight,
yet amusing facial expressions,
the chemistry created between
herself and the character of
Kashoggi and with the strongest
voice onstage (possibly the
strongest voice I have ever
heard in musical Theatre). Her
performance of “killer queen”
had the ‘make the hairs on your
arms stand up’ effect on me; she
was truly breathtaking to watch.
Sarah French and Ricardo
Afonso, coupled to play Galileo
and Scaramouch, and again
performed to an exceptional
standard.
Sarah French in particular
was the bulk of the show’s
humour with her dry one liners
and perfect timing. I must also
mention the outstanding band
and lighting team who not only
re-created legendary music
but where responsible for a
captivating atmosphere.
Although I had never seen a
show in the West End, theatre
has always been an enormous
part of my life,
The West End experience
however is in a league of its own,
and this show had me riveted
from the moment the curtains
went up right until the very last
line of “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
If you haven’t already seen it, I
fully recommend you do!
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
Symphony Orchestra and
Choir at the Cathedral proves
to be a concert to remember
REVIEW
CARMEN, MAHLER AND FINZI
Guildford Cathedral

LEXI SUTTON
H
aving never attended the
annual performance from
the University Symphony
Orchestra and Choir in the
Cathedral, I was shocked by how
many people attended.
The �irst act of the
performance was not Bizet’s
Carmen but Mahler’s Symphony
No 4, which was epically
beautiful, the professionalism
from the orchestra was
unbelievably apparent and the
music completely �illed the
cathedral.
The Symphony Orchestra
blew me away with its ability
to change the mood of an entire
cathedral in just a few moments,
with audience members reacting
to every single section of music.
The soloist in the �irst act
sang wonderfully, crisp yet
magically, the only downfall was
that there were moments when
we could not hear her and we
were only sitting half way back.
Bizet’s Carmen, is a fantastic
19th Century opera, which the
majority of people will probably
have heard. Carmen captures
the story of a gypsy girl who
falls for a bull�ighter but is
adored by a corporal.
The two soloists who
performed at the beginning
of the piece, although
looking nervous, were
precise and smooth.
Every emotion was
noticed and the power
in their voices was
stunning.
The Orchestra
provided fantastic
backing that came
together perfectly.
dancetheatre@thestagsurrey.co.uk
The conductor was so passionate
about every single note, that it
was dif�icult not to notice his
ability to in�luence so many
performers.
The guest soloist sang well,
which is especially dif�icult
with such a famous extract as
the majority of people can be
more critical of it. The only issue
was that her voice was very
overpowering and harsh, not
in keeping with the rest of the
performers.
Besides not mentioning the
orchestra in the second half,
they were fantastic; they kept
the mood and pace of the piece.
I really enjoyed
this evening and
now completely
understand why
the Cathedral
was packed to
capacity to hear the
orchestra and
choir come
together.
What’s on…
March 2011
Dance
Film
Theatre
Music
I’m sure you’re all working hard
in the new semester but if you
want to take a break from study-
ing here’s a selection of events
in the month of March that will
help you do just that. For a full
programme of events please visit
www.surrey.ac.uk/arts or pick
up an Arts Brochure from the
PATS building lower foyer or the
Art Gallery which is situated next
to the bookshop.
Film Screening: Sign
O’ the Times
Sign O’ the Times is Prince’s
most personal and ambitious
work for the screen: uniquely
fusing live concert footage, the-
atrical staging, and music video,
he presents his startling view of
urban life in 1987.
(Tuesday 1 March, 7pm, PATS
Dance Studio £Free)
Lost Banditos Theatre
Company presents:
As Loud As Silence
A show that tells stories about
people and music. It deals with
people’s struggle to be heard.
Perhaps it is a tragic story of a
girl who had her heart �illed with
passion and laughter…
(Wednesday 2 March, 7.30pm,
PATS Studio, £8, £5 students.
Tickets 01483 686 876)
Yael Flexer & Nic
Sandiland present:
The Living Room
The Living Room is an intimate
dance set in what appears to
be the bare bones of a living or
rehearsal room. The perform-
ers interfere or seemingly assist
each other’s ‘solo moment’
together inhabiting an imagined
domestic space.
Wednesday 9 March, 7.30pm,
PATS Dance Studio, £10, £5
students. Tickets 01483 686
876)
dancetheatre@thestagsurrey.co.uk
‘A Collaboration’
REVIEW
‘A COLLABORATION’
PATS Dance Studio

LUCY AL-ZOGHBI
A
unique evening of
contemporary dance
was presented in the
form of ‘A Collaboration’.
As the title suggests, the
emphasis is on the collaborative
approaches to choreography
between two groups of artists -
the student led Actual Size Dance
Company and Surrey based
Nutshell Contemporary Dance.
Creative choreography was
shown through a variety of
pieces, some with quite thought-
provoking content whilst others
focused more on the exploration
of choreographic intension
through location, relationship
between dancers, dance as
abstract and dance as light relief.
Opening the show was ‘Trend
Setting’, as choreographed by
Sian Goldby for Actual Size Dance
Company.
thestagsurrey.co.uk
Dressed in a rainbow of
Superdry hoodies and t-shirts,
the eight female dancers perform
salient motifs of ripples and
turns which are well executed, if
a little repetitive. However, it is
what they do with these motifs
that secures this choreographic
work.
Movement is used as an
example of the habitual qualities
associated with trend, the
dancers reveal interesting
narratives out of the vocabulary
they use.
As the dancers spread
themselves in a horizontal line
across the stage, they frantically
tug at their clothes and limbs
revealing their insecurities and
a suitable conclusion to the piece.
Other commendable work
came in the form ‘Untitled’ by
Rachel Gildea where dance
�ilm merged into live dance
through the experimentation of
movement in differing locations.
Movement was put into
context as hand gestures that
were once miscellaneous in
the air, are now taken to the
�loor where dancers shift their
The Stag ENTERTAINMENT: D&T 23
weight on their hands as a way
of consuming the performance Surrey
space. The �ilm which was
Does
created by George Spyris,
was particularly notable, and
initiating the piece, it was
displayed on a backdrop screen.
To �inish ‘A [quite literal]
Collaboration’ featuring dancers
from Actual Size and Nutshell.
Thorpe
A woman rolls her way into
the performance space whilst
draped in an extremely long
sheet of black material.
Thirteen other dancers enter
weaving in and out of the soloist
and prop.
Park
Movement is the outcome
of improvisational tasks where
the prop’s purpose is explored
as a support, a guide, a barrier.
The piece deploys contrasting
movement dynamics to retain
choreographic interest whilst a
compilation of Baroque music
contributes to a supportive aural
setting.
A humble showing of
choreographic talent and strong
performance, well devised and
clearly presented - what a shame
that the turn-out was so small. Make sure you
book your seat on
Saturday
2nd April
24 ENTERTAINMENT: Film
Film
INSIDE JOB
Cert 15, 108 mins

Dir CHARLES FERGUSON
Inside Job is one of the
documentaries up for the
Academy Award for Best
Documentary (as at the time
of writing this review). If
there is one documentary this
year that really demands your
concentration, this is it. It is the
investigation of how the Global
Financial Crisis came about in
2008 and is still ongoing. Matt
Damon, whose voice does not
overshadow the film, but rather
brings a name to it, narrates the
documentary. And, deservedly
so. You will forget his name by
the end of this expose, because
the names you will remember
are the ones who are getting
away with it right now. Not only
are they getting away with it, but
they are in the higher echelons of
the present US government.
The documentary starts with
the banks collapsing in Iceland.
Afterwards, the rest of the film is
taken up by interviews, including
an academic who was sneered by
Larry Summers for producing a
paper back in 2004 called, “Has
Financial Development Made
the World Riskier?”. It does not
stop there. There are various
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag film@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Bieber
Fever!!
Don’t laugh its fatal
JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER sell-out world tour.
What is amazing to me is
Cert U, 105 mins
how he is sixteen years old and
 already, he has a fan base and
Dir JON CHU audience as big as The Beatles.
I not really saying anything There is much evidence to Big Momma is back!
that most people do not know. suggest that as a phenomenon, BIG MOMMAS: LIKE
Justin Bieber is a huge sensation as he ages, he will probably die FATHER LIKE SON
among the female teenage down. Why? Well, personally, Cert PG, 107 mins
demographic. He came from a his music does not really stand 
family in Stratford, Canada who the test of time. As a person, you
taught him to sing and play the
Dir JOHN WHITESELL
have to admire his energy and he
guitar. Soon after, he posted Martin Lawrence is starting
sure knows how to connect to his
videos on YouTube and was to become my least favourite
fans (and believe me, there are
discovered as well as taken in by comedian, let alone actor.
many). The documentary itself,
Usher. The kid, in other words, However, that is probably just me
it critic-proof. There is not much
is a star. Never Say Never is a . For a lot of other people “It is
thorough investigation into the
superficial documentary about funny because he’s in a fat suit!”,
psychological toll the success
his roots and how he became a “Oh, he is naked, but he’s got a
must be bringing, but what do
success. At the same time, we see penis!”. Big Mommas: Like Father
you expect? It is for the fans.
him get ready for his upcoming Like Son belongs in my opinion, to
the College Frat comedy market.
Shall I explain? Well, think
of all the people you hate, what
interviews from people who would appeal to them? Start with
have refuted knowing that the the homophobic jokes and not
financial crisis was oncoming just once, but also twice every
to prostitutes whose ‘services’ minute. “Look, they are gay! It’s
were paid for under corporate funny because it’s unusual!”.
accounts (no surprise). Yet the Next, try the anatomy jokes.
questions that are being asked, Try the fart jokes. Try the racist
puts them in a position that they jokes. Try the homophobic jokes
were not expecting. Squirming, again. Try sexism! Mash them
trying to find a way out and together for a one hour fifty
ultimately being aggressive. One minute movie and you have got a
executive is so angered by the pile of crap that will appeal to the
question he is being asked that most Neanderthal 13 – 23 year-
he threatens to walk out, offering old.
only one more question. “Give it So the film is homophobic,
your best shot!”.
racist, sexist and crass, but do
My reaction mirrored the one
of the French finance minister you know what? That probably
would not bother me as much,
when told about the Lehman
Brothers collapse: “Holy cow!”. apart from the fact that it is just
It is a complex story surrounded not funny. Hardly has there ever
by people who not only know been an actor and a character
better, but also are sneering and that I wanted to punch at the
stealing. Do they get away with same time.
it? Of course they do. It is after The smugness, the chauvinist,
all ”a Wall Street Government”. the sexist sensibility of Big
Inside Job could be read like an Mommas: Like Father Like Son
essay, but it is more like a Michael was just too much. By the end
Moore film that withholds all of the film, I was just blankly
the aggrandising or pulling staring as I plonked myself on
off various stunts to move the the escalator down towards the
documentary along. The brilliant mezzanine.
thing about Inside Job is that there Unflinching, disappointed
is a lot of talking, but it is more and just at a loss. And they say
captivating, more humorous and horror films have a bad influence
more blood curdling than any on audiences. No, the PG-rated
film you are likely to see any Big Mommas will leave you
other week. What nerve.
Dowload you own: Justin B wallpaper catatonic.
film@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Coen Brothers back
True Grit is the Coen Brothers
being laid back. It is probably
the most genre �ilm they have
directed to date. Do not expect
many surprises, this is old
hat, and they pull it off almost
effortlessly. The only surprise
would be this; it is as good, if not
better than the 1969 version. The
plot is simple; Hailee Steinfeld
(the best actor in the picture)
portrays Mattie Ross, a galvanic
14-year old girl whose father is
murdered by roving outlaw Tom
Joel and Ethen Coen
Top Film Picks
ANIMAL
KINGDOM

THE KING’S
SPEECH

THE
FIGHTER

thestagsurrey.co.uk
TRUE GRIT
Cert 15, 110 mins

Dir JOEL COEN, ETHEN COEN
Chaney (Josh Brolin). In order to
seek vengeance on the outlaw she
hires self-destructive and gruff
Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to
track him down through Native-
American country.
There are touches of the
original �ilm (and perhaps the
source novel), including lines
of dialogue and character
traits. However, what True Grit
lacks in anything new makes
up for with a more caliginous
tone and a stylish sheen. The
cinematography by Roger
Deakins is breathtaking and
the wintry landscape is elegiac.
The music by Carter Burwell
is melancholic with a touch of
religious overtone. It is hard to
�ind technical fault, that to point
out the �ilm’s unoriginality would
be pointless.
However, there are few things
to point out. One of which is
Jeff Bridges, who in one scene
in a courthouse, with the best
will in the world, is almost
incomprehensible. Not exactly
INSIDE
JOB

TRUE
GRIT

BLACK
SWAN

The Stag ENTERTAINMENT: Film 25
the problem you had with John
Wayne.
Another is that, when the
villain reveals himself, the �ilm
seems to fall short to �ind a true
embodiment of evil. Josh Brolin
also looks and sounds like Pierce
Brosnan in Seraphim Falls. His
voice almost sounds mocking.
The two standouts in True
Grit is Hailee Steinfeld (leading
actress, Academy) who manages
to not be too sassy or dainty.
She is the real �ind of this �ilm
and on the basis of this, has
a well cut out future for her.
Josh Brolin also sounds
like Pierce Brosnan in
Seraphim Falls
Another asset is Matt Damon,
who almost shadows Jeff Bridges
as the cheesy Texas Ranger who
is out to �ind the same man. As
for the Coen Brothers, there are
fewer quirks than many of their
previous �ilms and it makes their
presence all the more subtle.
Remember, in some cases such as
this, that is a good thing indeed.
25% off student tickets*
with NUS Extra
Discount valid Monday to Thursday on Student and Teen tickets only
*Terms and conditions apply, visit odeon.co.uk or ask a team member at the box office for details.
Calls cost only 10 pence per minute from a BT landline.
Mobile and other providers may vary.
90294 Guildford NUS quarter-2.indd 1 14/02/2011 10:44
26 ENTERTAINMENT: Literature
Literature
First time novelist listed alongside Nobel Prize winner in the Man Asian Literary Prize
A Tabish Khair - The Thing About Thugs
first time novelist has been
listed alongside a Nobel
Prize winner in the shortlist
for the Man Asian Literary Prize,
the leading international literary
award for Asian writers. The five
strong shortlist includes writers
from Japan, China and India.
Founded in 2007, the Man
Asian Literary Prize is an annual
award given to the best novel by
an Asian writer.
A total of 54 works were
submitted for this year’s award
Bi Feiyu - Three Sisters
What the judges say
“A moving exploration of Chinese
family and village life during the
Cultural Revolution that moves
seamlessly between the epic and
the intimate, the heroic and the
petty, within a gripping tale of
familial conflict and love.”
Bi Feiyu: author of Three Sisters
Manu Joseph - Serious Men
Manu Joseph is the deputy
editor and Mumbai bureau chief
of OPEN Magazine. Previously, he
was the National Features Editor
of The Times of India. He has been
a journalist for fourteen years.
Serious Men is his debut novel.
Ayyan Mani works in the
Institute of Theory and Research
as a lowly personal assistant to a
brilliant, insufferable astronomer.
Mani is one of the thousands of
men stranded in the slums of
Mumbai, but is an astute observer
and sly eavesdropper.
Mani weaves an outrageous
fiction that captures the interest
of his superiors and threatens
to start an unstoppable and
disastrous chain of events.
Mani, struggling to keep his own
dreams alive, sees opportunity in
everything.
thestagsurrey.co.uk
The Stag
and the overall winner will be
announced on Thursday 17th
March 2011.
Professor David Parker, Chair
of the Board of Directors of the
MALP, said, “Our judges have
chosen five very different novels,
each in its own way brilliant and
captivating, representing the
achievements of three major
Asian cultures.”
The Stag takes an in-depth look
at the five shortlisted nominations
Bi Feiyu is a Chinese journalist,
poet and novelist; he has been
awarded a number of literary
prizes, including the prestigious
Lu Xun Literary Prize. He co-
wrote the film Shanghai Triad
- directed by internationally
renowned director Zhang Yimou.
His first novel is the critically
acclaimed Moon Opera.
Three Sisters begins with the
birth of the Wang family’s eighth
child, a long sought-after boy.
But the stars of this novel are not
boys, but women – three of Little
Eight’s sisters.
From the petty treachery of
the village to the harried pace of
city life, they strive to change the
course of their destinies, battling
against an infinite ocean of people
in a China that does not truly
belong to them. Three Sisters
is an irreplaceable portrait of
contemporary Chinese culture - of
lives unknown, but immediately
familiar.
Joseph: anything but serious
What the judges say
“A seriously funny, ingenious
novel, part satire, part comedy
of manners, and an intelligent
commentary on both Dalit-
Brahmin issues and academic
science.”
Tabish Khair is an acclaimed
Indian poet and novelist whose
recent novels have been short-
listed for the Encore Award (UK)
and the Crossword Prize (India).
As well as being a published
author, Khair is a professor of
English at University of Aarhus in
Denmark.
His works include Where
Parallel Lines Meet and The Bus
Stopped.
Amir Ali leaves his village in
Bihar to travel to London with
an English captain, to whom he
narrates the story of his life.
While Meadows tries to
analyse the strange cult of
the Indian Thug, a group of
Englishmen set out to prove the
inherent difference between
Oe is a Nobel Prize winner
Yoko Ogawa - Hotel Iris
Yoko Ogawa’s fiction has
appeared in The New Yorker, A
Public Space, and Zoetrope. Since
1988 she has published more
than twenty works of fiction and
nonfiction and has won every
major Japanese literary award.
Her fiction has been translated
into twenty-five languages. Her
epic novel The Professors Beloved
Equation was made into a feature
length film.
In a crumbling sea-side hotel
on the coast of Japan, quiet,
seventeen-year old Mari works
the front desk as her mother tends
to the off-season customers.
When one night they are
forced to expel a middle-aged
man and a prostitute from their
literature@thestagsurrey.co.uk
races by examining their skulls,
with bizarre consequences.
Set in the industrial Victorian
London, this story of different
voices draws intricate lines of
connection from the nineteenth
to the twenty-first century,
between England and India,
across individual and cultural
differences.
What the judges say
“Crossing continents
centuries, Khair’s inventive
and
multiple narrative subtly
subverts expectation and post-
colonial narrative traditions
by simultaneously echoing
Dickens’s London and inserting
a totally fresh voice at its centre.” Khair has been nominated for
numerous awards before
Kenzaburo Oe - The Changeling
Kenzaburo Oe is the recipient his lifelong friend has jumped to
of the 1994 Nobel Prize for his death.
Literature and one of Japan’s However, Goro’s voice
leading post-war writers. He continues to speak, promising
published his first novel, Nip Kogito that he will remain in
the Buds, Shoot the Kids, while contact from the Other Side.
an undergraduate at Tokyo Kogito embarks on a journey
University, where he was that spans the forests of Japan
studying French Literature. to the streets of Berlin, where
His novels include A Personal Kogito confronts the ghosts from
Matter, A Quiet Life, Seventeen his own past and Goro’s.
and The Silent Cry.
The book tells the story What the judges say
of Kogito, a writer in his
early sixties, who receives a “A richly complex work that
mysterious package from his centres on a tale of brotherhood
childhood friend and estranged and loss, and plunges deep into
brother-in law, Goro. the nature of artistic desire and
Goro has sent him tapes with ambition, at once questioning
recorded reflections on their
relationship, and Kogito learns
every impulse and yet remaining
stunningly assured.”
room, Mari finds herself drawn
to the man’s voice, in what will
become the first gesture of a
single long seduction.
In spite of her provincial
surroundings, and her cool but
controlling mother, Mari is a
sophisticated observer of human
desire, and she sees in this man
something she has long been
looking for.
What the judges say
“In beautifully sparse elegant
prose, Ogawa lays bare the dark
side of intimacy, the nature of
obsession and the indefinable
qualities of what bonds one Yoko has won every Japanese
human being with another.” literary award
28 ENTERTAINMENT: Music The Stag music@thestagsurrey.co.uk

Music
FIVE An evening with The Blanks
A
LORNA SALMON
Music Editor

F
or those of you who

DAY
LORNA SALMON
Music Editor
With the recent split of The
White Stripes, I took a look
back on some of their more well
known tracks and dug out an
old favourite, ‘Blue Orchid’; this
week’s number 3. At Number
1 is a recent discovery for me;
‘Finally’ brings together the
talents of both Skream and La
Roux again, who as a team are
better known for Skream’s well
played remix of ‘In For The Kill’.
attended The Blanks
performance on Valentine’s
Day, it goes without saying how
good they were. Blending a
cappella with hilarious sketch
comedy, they provided non-
stop laughter and fantastic
entertainment. The performance
was unlike anything I’ve ever
seen live; it’s original, it’s witty,
and they effortlessly showcased
a cappella, bringing it bang up to
date. Needless to say, I loved it,
and was lucky enough to get the
chance to interview them prior to
their set.
Upon entering the dressing room
I was greeted with a bottle of
Bulmers and they told me to ‘take
as long as I wanted’. That’s what Surrey Student Laura Kent becomes the The Blanks new Manager, after signing the ‘toilet paper’ contract
I loved about these guys; they of being able to use many instru- or alive? here at Surrey Uni?
were happy to answer all the ments, but we do try. Sam: Without doubt The Beatles. Sam: Well, I can promise the per-
questions I had. Who are your main in�luences? Me and Paul have a separate per- formance will be full of surprises!
(Long pause, �illed with plenty of formance group called ‘The Butt- Paul: And Mrs Claus will certain-
‘umms’ and ‘errrrs’ and ‘it begins ies’ and we do Beatles covers. ly be making an appearance.
The ‘Pumpkin’ song was epic...
with a... erm... K?’) Tour Manager Steve: Ellie

one
Hap-Hap-Happy,
Paul: Kris Kringle. Yeah, Kris Goulding! And �inally, Surrey Uni is near
Happy Halloween!
Kringle. a Cathedral where Led Zep-
- Mike Sherlock
Me: So... Santa Claus is your only What do we have to look plin had their �irst gig. What’s
in�luence musically? forward to tonight? Have you special about your Uni?
‘Finally’ George: Yeah, but he has an Ital- learnt any special songs for us Sam: Well, apart from Phil, we
What’s your favourite song to ian accent which makes things were all at the same College. I
by Skream/La Roux perform live?
(Outside the Box) confusing. Mrs Claus is a big studied Musical Theatre with
Sam (aka Ted): I love perform-

two
in�luence too. She appears in the George.
ing all of them- it’s pretty hard to show, but she’s lost her accent. Paul: I was a �ilm major, and we
choose. Me: Are you sure you have no all met Phil due to our involve-
Phil: I’d have to say the ‘Radio other in�luences? ment in the music scene.
One Medley’ we did for Scott Sam: Well, I’d say the King Sing- Sam: Both of our Universities
‘In�inity Guitars’ Mills. That’s a new favourite for
by Sleigh Bells ers on Benny Hill. I’m heavily
sure. in�luenced by The Beatles.
(Treats) The ‘Maniac’ song featuring
Paul: I’d say we’re also in�lu- Mrs. Claus was amazing!

three
‘Blue Orchid’
by The White Stripes
(Get Behind Me Satan)
What’s the strangest prop/in-
strument you’ve ever used on
stage?
Sam: Well, we use various props,
but probably the toy soldier and
the pumpkin.
George: Due to the nature of a
cappella we don’t have the luxury
enced by Monty Python, de�i-
- Owen ‘Aled’ Jones
nitely.
Phil: Yeah, I’d go with that. I’m
really into classical music, too.
offered a lot musically; we were
With the Brit Awards tomor- able to get involved in a lot, and
row, who do you feel DESERVES had auditions for musicals.
an award? Old or young, dead Hap-Hap-Hap -Happy Halloween!

four ‘Rewind’
Guildford International Music Festival; 5 - 26 March 2011
The Music Festival is coming very soon and promises to be the best yet!
by Paulo Nutini

five
Guildford International Music Festival is, to the initiated, one of the �inest of its kind. Music fanatics really have something to sink their teeth
into here. With over 60 events making up the programme and featuring a whole host of musical ensembles, local and international, there really
is something for everyone.

‘Georgia On My Mind’
by Ray Charles
(Giorgia On My Mind)
Saturday 5 March – Guildford Guitar Day, featuring the ChromaDuo and legendary guitarist John Williams.
Sunday 6 March, 7.30pm – University of Surrey Big Band. The Electric Theatre
Sat 12 March, 7.30pm – An evening of Bollywood Music, featuring the Bollywood Brass Band.
Wed 16 March – Composition Day at the University of Surrey featuring students competing for two composition prizes with 1.10pm and
7.30pm performances.
Thurs 17 March, 8pm – Jimi Hendrix Film Night. The Electric Theatre
Sun 20 March, 7.30pm – Warsaw Village band, University Hall

thestagsurrey.co.uk
music@thestagsurrey.co.uk
My Night At The Brit Awards
Liam Conroy
Music Reporter
N
eeding any excuse not
to get on with work
last Monday I thought
it would be a productive use
of time to ring in to Radio 1 to
win tickets to the Brit Awards.
After answering a ridiculously
easy question about the Arctic
Monkeys I found myself with
two VIP tickets to the Brits and
headed into London for the big
event the following day.
Tuesday was an incredibly
surreal day, starting off with
an interview on air with Greg
James before the other compe-
tition winners and I made our
way down to the O2 arena to
watch the Brit Awards. As part
of the prize we were treated to a
3-course meal before the awards
began, the real treat however
was having Jessie J perform pri-
vately as part of the after-dinner
entertainment.
Recently everyone has been
lauding Jessie J as the ‘next big
thing’, especially the BBC who
crowned her with the title of
Sound of 2011, but if I am honest
I had not been totally convinced
by the Brit school alumni’s sin-
gle ‘Price Tag’. Jessie proved all
the sceptics, including myself,
wrong with her miniature set at
the Brits dinner that proved just
how impressive her voice is.
Starting with an acoustic ver-
sion of ‘Do It Like A Dude’ Jessie
J blew everyone away with her
powerful vocals and demanding
stage presence, ensuring no one
could look away. She may use
the word “mandem” but do not
hold it against her as she looks
set to be one of the biggest Brit-
ish artists this year.
Having been well and truly
warmed up by Jessie J we moved
into the main arena for the main
event and took our seats close
to the front of the stage, right
behind Mr. Tinie Tempah him-
self! Even though the Brits is an
awards ceremony, the highlight
of the night has always been the
performances by the biggest
artists of the year. 2011 broke
the Brits’ record for the most
performances in one night and
not one of them disappointed.
Take That opened the show
The Stag ENTERTAINMENT: Music 29
with a version of their forthcom-
ing single ‘Kidz’ and whilst they
may not be everyone’s choice of
music there is no denying that
they know how to put on a show
in such a big arena like the O2.
Accompanied by a flock of danc-
ers dressed as riot police, who
bizarrely all stripped off by the
end of the performance, Take
That set the bar high for the
night’s performances.
However, it did not take
long for them to be outdone as
Adele took to the stage shortly
after them. Proving that no
dancers or flashing lights are
required, Adele completely
stunned the entire audience
with her amazing voice and the
sole accompaniment of a piano.
Vocally, Adele was the star of
the night moving the entire
arena to silence with her raw
and emotional performance
of ‘Someone Like You’. If the
Brit awards are a celebration
of British music Adele should
be praised as the finest British
artist of her generation.
Like Adele, the following
performance also stunned the
audience but it was mostly due
to Rihanna’s dance moves as
the Barbadian singer belted
out a medley of her biggest
tracks. Having stripped down
to a black leotard to sing her
latest single ‘S & M’ Rihanna
brought sexy back to the Brits
and emphasised the point with
her impressive thrusting during
‘What’s My Name?’ definitely
earning her right to be called
‘Best International Female’.
Other highlights included
Tinie Tempah proving why ‘Pass
Out’ rightly won ‘Best British
Single’, Plan B recycling the Take
That riot police to start his own
prison riot on stage before a
very strange moment when a
random dancer ran across the
stage whilst on fire and Mumford
& Sons playing a stripped back
Rihanna’s dance moves remind the audience why she should be the only girl in the world
version of ‘Timshel’.
Between performances of anyone over with her awkward, redeemed themselves by rightly who performed a 007-inspired
course were the presentations mumbling speech but her latest presenting two awards to version of ‘Forget You’.
of the awards, which seemed album ‘I Speak Because I Can’ Arcade Fire, who proved their Tinie Tempah received the
like an excuse for a toilet break certainly speaks volumes about worth with a striking version of recognition he deserves, Cheryl
rather than the reason everyone her talent. The Brits committee their hit ‘Ready To Start’. Cole’s attempt at singing in
was there. may have let themselves The event closed with the French on ‘Promise This’ was
Laura Marling surprised down by giving Justin Bieber Brits tradition of an unexpected overlooked and Adele won the
everyone to win ‘Best British an award and encouraging duet, this year between Cee- heart of the nation, a triumphant
Female’ and did not win further ‘Bieber fever’ but they Lo Green and Paloma Faith night all round!
32
Sports
Is the Cup losing its magic?
SAM LIMBERT
Sports Team
W
ith �ixture conges-
tion and clubs �ielding
weakened teams in the
competition, is the FA Cup losing
some of its traditional magic?
There does seem to have been
a steady devaluing of the compe-
tition by some Premier League
clubs; this can be traced back to
Manchester United not entering
the competition back in 2000
to compete in the World Club
Cup. More recently however, the
money involved in the Premier
League has caused clubs to value
avoiding relegation more than
making progress in the cup.
Some clubs’ attitude towards
the tournament has also been re-
�lected by their fans. For example,
the fourth round replay between
Wigan and Bolton Wanderers
was attended by just over 7,000
fans and these were two Premier
League sides. There have been
arguments that replays should be
scrapped altogether, however for
some of the smaller clubs these
Interest in table tennis has grown significantly over the past few years.
thestagsurrey.co.uk
SPORTS The Stag
Chelsea’s Frank Lampard shoots and scores his goal against Everton during their FA Cup match.
can be invaluable in terms of tick- been seen many times that clubs
et sales and TV money. have avoided relegation after
However a good cup run can building momentum and form in
help galvanise a team that might the FA Cup.
be struggling in the league. It has As this season’s tournament
The return of Wiff Waff
SAM SMITH
Sports Team
N
ow for a fact a lot of people
at the University of Surrey
are unaware of.... We �inal-
ly have a table tennis club! Now
before you all jump out of your
seats to sign up, I think it best to
tell you a bit about the goals of the
club and where we see it going.
Table tennis is an ever grow-
ing sport and the Brit stars will
be looking to make their mark
at London 2012. Having been in-
vented in our very own country in
the 1880’s, I think it’s only right
that it be brought back to our
shores and be as big as football,
rugby, tennis or cricket. Interest
over the past few years has grown
signi�icantly, despite large budget
cuts from the government that
have affected many of the smaller
sports. However there have been
a number of publicity stunts, like
randomly placed table tennis ta-
bles in public areas within Lon-
don, which were very well met by
© BeFinding
the public (very few were stolen!).
A table tennis club can be very
hard to �ind in comparison to a lo-
cal football club however they do
sports@thestagsurrey.co.uk
made it to the �ifth round and
were only just beaten by Man-
chester United, gallantly going
out with a 1-0 defeat. That was
followed by League One Leyton
Orient securing a replay against
Arsenal; just days after the Gun-
ners had beaten Barcelona in the
Champions League. On the same
weekend, holders Chelsea went
out in a penalty shoot-out to Ever-
ton.
Even though some of the less-
er Premier League teams don’t
take the FA Cup seriously, it still
produces great stories and excite-
© Catatan Bola Photo Gallery
ment up and down the English
football ladder. Only in England
could Arsenal go from Barcelona
to Brisbane Road and Leyton
Orient. Replays and more games
might annoy some top manag-
ers, but they are part of the best
domestic cup competition in the
world and they provide some
approaches the quarter �inal smaller clubs their shot at glory,
stage, there have been plenty of and as this season’s competition
instances where the magic of the is proving, it deserves to be left
FA Cup has been there for all to alone.
see. Non-league Crawley Town
exist in some places and our Uni- At the moment there is no pres-
versity is now one of those very sure to play well, only to have fun
sites. A small number of dedicat- and socialise! So come along, any
ed table tennis fans put the idea to skill level is welcome.
the sports standing earlier in the If you’re interested, do not
�irst semester; an AGM decided hesitate to contact Ian or myself
the committee members and now in order to get more information.
we have an hour of training on Obviously a Sports Park member-
Wednesdays at the Sports Park, ship is required (half price now
with tables and bats waiting for as there is only half a year left!)
Table tennis is an ever growing sport and the Brit
stars will be looking to make their mark at London
2012.
players to once again pick up and or you can just turn up at 6 on
play. a Wednesday on Court B at the
Ian Hughes is the President Sports park and help our club
and the treasurer role is taken up grow. We do have bats to provide
by yours truly and we have big if you don’t have your own but
ideas to drive the club forward, you are more than welcome to
including entering a team into the bring your own.
BUCs leagues next year. We hope So I guess I’ll be seeing you for
to get funding in order to buy training; let’s bring table tennis
more tables and grow into the home!
club it deserves to be. Ian Hughes (President):
Near future plans include ih00026@surrey.ac.uk
tournaments where all are wel- Sam Smith (Treasurer):
come to put their skills to the test. ss00279@surrey.ac.uk
literature@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Life & not much laughing A Painted Doll
MICHAEL McINTYRE:
LIFE & LAUGHING
304 pages

MIRANDA SULLIVAN
Literature Contributer
I
t is two weeks into the
new term and I am already
procrastinating from the
mountain of books I should be
reading for my course. His cheery
face has been beaming at me from
my bookcase since Christmas, and
my curiosity �inally got the better
of me.
I usually don’t buy into these
autobiographies, which seem
nothing more than a desperate
attempt to remain in the limelight
whilst making a hefty Christmas
bonus. However, when this
autobiography was published, I
suddenly became intrigued as to
what he had done before his big
break. I love him on screen but I
V EY FO R FI NA L-YEAR UNDERGR
SUR
AN INDEPENDENT
More information: Michael McIntyre’s book fails to get the laughs
imagine where someone like him
would �it into real life.
However, it seems I will never
�ind out, as I gave up reading at
chapter two. On �licking through
the rest of the book I conclude
that it is a series of jokes (which
anyone who has seen his stand
ups will have heard many a time
before) and which seem to be a
drawn out method of �illing up
pages until he decides to give us
ADUATE
a snippet of information about his
life.
I realise it may be slightly
unfair to be “reviewing” a book I
have not even attempted to �inish,
but for anyone thinking they
want to know more about the
comedian– Google him.
It has con�irmed my original
opinion of celebs who try their
hand at writing: stick to what you
do best.
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The Stag ENTERTAINMENT: Literature 27
JAMES CASTLE
Literature Contributor
D
olls are everywhere. In
fact, they surround me
with their dead eyes and
rosy cheeks - hair plaited neatly
and clothes immaculate in every
detail.
With painted features and
perpetual smiles they grin and
grin no matter the situation; no
reactions and no depressions. I
cannot fathom them.
They seem to me pale
imitations of one model
argument: you.
They wear their hair up
because they remember that
change you made one day to
surprise me with such happy
effect.
They paint their faces to try
and compete with your perfect
skin.
S
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They smile constantly in the
hope that by practice they might
properly imitate the animate joy;
your smile could �ill a room with
in a moment’s lapse.
They don’t react because they
want to ascend to that level of
coldness you can treat me with;
that utter disjointedness that
could undermine me in seconds.
They surround me
persistently to copy the way
your mind �ills my thoughts, both
waking and sleeping.
They have dead eyes because
so do you.
When I see you now it is as
if your soul has gone and what’s
left behind is a shell - you are off
trying to imitate those dolls.
And I just want to scream,
“Don’t be like them! You are the
best, you are above them; they
copy you! Stay neurotic - it made
you so erotic.”