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gair rhyddMonday October 27th 2014 | freeword | Issue 1035
Heath students hit by Welsh NHS ‘crisis’
As the National Health Service in Wales comes under intense political scrutiny, a signifi cant
number of medical students have told Gair Rhydd that they are unable to share their concerns about the service or the standard of teaching at the University Hospital for fear of any ramifi cations.
Although Cardiff University has both an established whistleblowing policy and a long tradition of free speech, numerous students approached for comment by this publication expressed
concerns over “put[ting] their neck on the line” – adding that staff would not want word of any problems with the service to “get out.”
� ose who did speak on the record either retracted their statements or asked for their names to be redacted from the fi nal version of this article.
An elected student representative was equally reluctant, stating that they were unable to off er a full response as they hoped to secure a job with the NHS in future and did not want to damage their career.
� is collective wariness amongst the academic health community has led to some suggesting that students on clinical degrees lack the same basic right to free speech that is aff orded to those on other courses as a result of strict fi tness to practice rules.
Cardiff University itself also adopted a similar policy of silence, off ering no comment on any matters concerning the University Hospital’s teaching and its relationship with the Welsh NHS. When pressed over the concerns of students, the University encouraged
those with problems to speak to their tutors and academic representatives as a matter of protocol.
� e University also declined to comment on whether recent media controversies had aff ected their ability to recruit students, off ering no remark on whether or not they held concern that the reputation of their placements may be endangered by persistent negative coverage of the Welsh NHS.
Of those students who did speak to Gair Rhydd, a number raised issues with the standards of their placements.
In this week’s issue: Stories from the Synod, NHS fees for international students revisited, morality in sport, INSRV issues and the continuation of Cagegateyy
Students and staff fear exposing failings at University Hospital
EXCLUSIVE:Michael
O’Connell-Davidson
Continued on page 4
Has justice been served?P10 >>
Bed Bugs ‘cause PTSD’P20 >>
Does the Human Race matter?P21 >>
Pictured:� e University Hospital of Wales (Photographer: Gair Rhydd)
THE FREE WORDEDITOR
Michael O’Connell-Davidson
DEPUTY EDITORGeorgia Hamer
GAIR RHYDD CO-ORDINATORElaine Morgan
NEWSGeorgia Hamer
Katie EvansAlexander Norton
COMMENTAnne Porter
Olivier van den Bent-KellyZach Hughes
COLUMNISTJason Roberts
POLITICSCarwyn Williams
Lauren BoydRhiannon Tapp
SCIENCEShanna HamiltonMeryon Roderick
SOCIETIESHannah Sterritt
PARK LIFETim Nagle
TAF-ODSteffan Bryn Jones
Morgan Owen
SPORTDavid HoosonRory BensonJoe Atkinson
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTSHolly Duhig
Sum Sze TamAmin Rali
Lauren JohnsonJamie Williams
Toby Mott
Want to join the team?We hold editorial conferences each
Monday on 5PM in the student media office on the Third Floor of the union, so
come along with any ideas you have.
Alternatively, search “Gair Rhydd Contributors” on Facebook to join our
contributors group, where we’ll be giving out articles online.
Tweet us:@gairrhyddEmail Us:
gairrhydd.com
At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest
possible standards. If you believe we have fallen below these standards, please email
You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at
www.cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints
Less politics, pleaseIf there’s one thing the Westminster politi-
cal class do a little too well, it’s playing the blame game in issues that they had a hand
in creating. How are you supposed to keep a straight face
when English politicians accuse their Welsh peers of slashing the NHS budget when Wales as a nation is underfunded? It’s the political equivalent of making somebody punch them-selves while saying “stop hitting yourself.”
So it is, then, that our front page story has become something of a battleground for local political representatives (barring the Labour party, who saw fit to exempt themselves), de-spite many of the structural reasons for any “NHS Crisis” taking root before many of those in the assembly even came to power.
While I respect their opinions, I can’t help but feel as though that it’s extremely hard to tri-angulate who is wrong and what the problem is
for as long as our elected officials spend all of their time arguing about which of them is the worst - especially when they all sound the same.
This is made worse when those with vested interests in the institutions in question feel un-able to speak. It is a shame that students of any discipline feel unable to share problems with their course freely. Why should somebody who complains about the standard of treatment be declared unfit to practice?
The notion that somebody would feel unable to share the “reality” of their studies as they see fit - both good and bad - is against everything this newspaper stands for. And I know that some of the academics in this institution feel the same way.
JOMEC’s professor, Richard Sambrook, was quoted in the Guardian this week, saying that “universities are in favour of academic freedom and freedom of speech, so it is against their
core values to sit on someone who is trying to do investigative journalism, however uncom-fortable that might be.”
Medics must be afforded that same option and the same rights as other students, and fear not for their careers, but for the lives of the people they serve. If there is a sort of collec-tive misunderstanding (as opposed to a man-dated conspiracy of silence), then the university has not clarified the rights of its students well enough, and should seek to clarify things with students as soon as possible.
Print media scares people because it’s quite permanent, but permanence is precisely why they should speak out. Because for as long as we have politicians living quite comfortably in a perpetual stalemate, and everybody else afraid to talk, we’ll never see any improvements in the Welsh NHS, and the NHS is bigger than any one person’s career.
Devolution must extend to England, tooI’ve got a confession to make. I’m English,
and, as a result, I hadn’t had much expo-sure to the culture and politics of Wales
before I arrived. But in some regards, I feel as though I’ve gone native, and though my career will likely lead me to London, my politics have changed for life.
Of course, I’m still learning. But the same is true for other students from the east of the border, and I’d like to think that we’re all be-coming better because of it.
I’m glad for the experience, as it changed my perspective on the Scottish Independence referendum and plenty of other recent politi-cal events. And now we’re finally talking about devolution across the UK, it’s changed my per-spective on that, too.
The West Lothian problem isn’t much of a problem at all. Certain matters concern us all -
border control and national security being two key examples - but politicians should remain as close to home as possible. And so, if the Scots are to have maximum devolution (and it would be both an insult and a terrible shame for Westminster to back out now), so too must England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Of course, that’s not the only thing that has to change. London is essentially a law unto it-self - indeed, it’s essentially got its own par-liament in Westminster, while everybody else tags along. While it’s hard to deny London’s importance to the wider UK economy, it’s also hard to deny how disproportionately impor-tant it is to those in Parliament.
Really, the entire damn system has to change. Nobody has a cogent vision of what that change actually looks like yet. But shak-ing up Westminster by breaking it up and
placing its powers closer to those who would most benefit from their use can only be a good thing.
It’s a poisonous mentality for those living in England to think of Westminster as “their parliament” and the United Kingdom as “their country.” Because, sure, it is their country - but it’s not all England, and that Parliament has an undue amount of influence and author-ity that extends beyond that nation’s borders.
We stand on the edge of a precipice, and, for the first time, an English Parliament and de-volution throughout the UK seems like a pos-sibility. It’s the next step on the path to a better democracy, and those interested in furthering the narrative of devolution must support it on both sides of the border.
Because, really, it’s not about borders or na-tionality. It’s about bringing politics home.
Canada’s strengthThe Ottawa Parliament shooting that
took place last Wednesday has dominat-ed the news. It’s pretty easy to see why:
it conforms to the post-9/11 narrative of terror-ism and the perceived failure of multicultural-ism. We’re not fighting a war with an enemy we can see - we’re fighting a war with enemies we can’t see until it’s too late.
So it is, then, that our attitude towards basic freedoms has hardened in the face of an un-known enemy. ISIS followed Al-Qaeda, and one day something else will follow ISIS. Terrorism, by definition, will never go away.
But in the face of such abstractions, Canada has remained resolute. Thanks to Kevin Vick-ers, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Canadian Par-liament, the government building remains an open place that accepts people of all identities and nationalities. There are no walls, nor any
other dividing lines. Before taking the job, which effectively amounts
to head of security, Vickers said that for as long as he held the position, there would be no walls around the Canadian Parliament. And though Vickers shot the gunman who initiated the attack, there is no sign that his position will change.
Canada has remained strong as a nation, offer-ing condolences to the family of Corporal Nathan Corillo, who was tragically shot and killed. There is talk of increased security measures around the building, as there would be, but Canadian politi-cians have remained stalwart in their own beliefs.
While British politicians have remained cal-lously populist, following (and sometimes en-couraging) public opinion informed by fear, the Canadian leader of the opposition responded to calls for increased counter-terrorism powers by saying that the country “cannot allow [its] open-
ness and freedom to be rolled back.”And Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party,
added that those who attacked the nation “will not make the rules about this land we share.”
It is truly a shame that our government does not see things the same way. With each passing day, the Home Office seems to gain a new power, and the police gain a new toy to play with. Inevi-tably, it’s in the name of terrorism, or national se-curity, or another ‘need-to-know’ issue.
These measures do little to intimidate those who already exist out of the reach of society. And worse, they’re proof that those who might attack our nation have already set the rules. We should follow Canada’s example - and remain true to our beliefs in the face of fear, rather than change them to our detriment. The more we err and forgo our freedoms, the closer we are to a world where the terrorists have already won.
3EDITORIAL
Campus In Brief
This week saw the return of the lovely Made in Roath, a hyper-local cultural event. If you missed it, you missed out on a treat - there
was lots of lovely food, music, and a debate over where Pen-Y-Lan started and ended.
Just up the road on campus, it was all change at the Students’ Union. Tom Eden, who served as the edi-tor of this paper last year, resigned from his position as VP Media and Marketing on the 21st of October.
He released a statement saying, “Having given my all in the role throughout the past year and a half, I have decided that now is the right time to step down, believing this to be the best step for me both person-ally and professionally.”
Sum Sze Tam, editor of Quench, was sad to see him go. “Tom was always respectful and supportive, and helped me get Quench off the ground.”
Meanwhile, Xpress Radio started broadcasting to-day from 8am. Th ey have a launch night planned at Undertone on Tuesday 28th at 11pm, so if you fancy rubbing elbows with other media types, make sure to head down!
In academic news, A Cardiff University study re-vealed that one in ten antibiotics fails. Th is comes part of a wider, more worrying trend of antibiotics losing eff ectiveness.
A member of the University’s academic commu-nity, Sophie Coulombeau, is set to give a talk to be broadcast on Radio 3. Th e subject? Marriage. More specifi cally, whether women - and, indeed, men - should feel the need to change their names when they get married. She’ll be giving the talk on Satur-day, so make sure you dig out your radios and tune in!
Th e lovely team at Cardiff University Enterprise are looking for promising postgraduates and early career researchers to work with “real research initia-tives” in order to fi gure out the best way to commer-cialise them. If you fancy yourself a biomechanical Mark Zuckerberg, email Owen Bidder at biddero@cardiff .ac.uk and ask him for an application form - but hurry, as applications close at 12th noon on the 30th of October.
NATIONALWelsh international footballer Ched Evans was released from prison after serving two-and-a-half years of a fi ve year sentence following his con-viction for rape, and issued a public statement expressing some remorse for his actions. Debate continues to rage as to whether former club Shef-fi eld United should re-sign the twenty-fi ve year old striker.
Just days after recording an interview explaining her decision to end her treatment for bowel cancer, actress Lynda Bellingham has passed away. Th e for-mer All Creatures Great and Small star and Loose Women panellist had been hoping to spend one last Christmas with her family, but tragically fell two months shy of her target.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones welcomed Northern Irish counterpart Peter Robinson and deputy Martin McGuinness to Cardiff as the latter duo toured the constituent nations of the United Kingdom to discuss the next steps for the devolu-tion movement. Sinn Fein’s McGuinness, described it as a “great delight” to be visiting the Welsh capital.
Outgoing Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, told BBC Question Time that he hasn’t “made up [his] mind” over whether to launch a bid to return to Westminster in the 2015 general election. Th e SNP leader was previous a Member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan for twenty-three years be-tween 1987 and 2010.
Comedian, Miranda Hart, disappointed fans when she announced that her eponymous sitcom is to end imminently. Th e forty-one year old told BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright, that the upcoming Christmas specials were going to be “the fi nale of the show, full stop” and that she wanted to “go out on a high.”
Th ere was one death and four injuries as the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo hit north-western parts of the United Kingdom, causing substantial damage
and travel disruption. Winds of up to eighty-eight miles per hour were recorded, with force nine gales forecast in the English Channel.
WORLDTh is week saw fi rearm violence in North America rear its ugly head once more, with Corporal Nathan Cirillo shot and killed as he stood guard at the Canadian Na-tional War Memorial. Th e gunman, thirty-two year old Michael Abdul Zehaf-Bibeau, then proceeded to attack the Centre Block parliamentary building before being killed himself by Sargeant-At-Arms Kevin Vick-ers. Th ree others received non-life threatening injuries.
Ebola continued to dominate the headlines, with over three hundred deaths attributed to the epidemic in the last week as the total number of cases rapidly approaches ten thousand. Six people remain in quar-antine in the US state of Connecticut as the Red Cross warned it could be six months before the outbreak can be controlled.
Pope Francis I accelerated his reform of Catholic Church policy by stepping in to defend the rights of prisoners, calling on countries still utilising the death penalty to abandon the practice and also expressing a preference for rehabilitation and societal reintegration over life sentences for convicted criminals.
In South Africa, Oscar Pistorious was sentenced to fi ve years in prison for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines’ Day 2013. Th e twenty-seven year old Paralympian could serve as little as ten months in jail, and is likely to be placed under house arrest after that period has elapsed. Representatives claimed that he is unlikely to race again.
A doctor who treated Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, 45, in the aftermath of his December ski-ing accident claims that the seven times world cham-pion could yet make a full recovery – although it is likely to take three to four years of rehabilitation before the most successful driver in the sport’s history is able to live a normal life.
Alexander Norton
Michael O’Connell-
Davidson
In South Africa, Oscar Pistorious was sentenced to five years in prison for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines’ Day 2013. The twenty-seven year old Paralympian could serve as little as ten months in jail
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Pictured:Made in Roath, just off Albany Road (Photographer: Gair Rhydd)
NEWStweet us @gairrhyddnewsemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/news/
Continued from Front
Page
One noted that, “for students, it is unclear what they should expect while on placement. None of us know what the minimum require-ments are, so we are unable to raise any issues.”
“Students in the Heath feel they are taught in very large groups [and] that teaching is often cancelled.”
One student, who found their placement to be a “valuable part of [their] degree” told this newspaper that “the interaction with staff dur-ing my time at the hospital was not as good as I expected,” adding that “it was clear the staff were very busy, and at times I felt like I was a bur-den. � ere were occasions when I wanted to ask questions but felt like I couldn’t.”
“Students should feel like they should be able to speak up about their course and their institution without hesitation,” one student said, “and it doesn’t matter if they study medicine or the media.”
� e revelations come the same week that the Welsh Assembly blocked a UK-wide inquiry into the Welsh NHS, which has been de-scribed as by observers as being “at risk of crisis.”
� e British government commis-sioned an OECD study of the health service in all four of its constituent nations, but Wales (where health is devolved and handled by the La-bour government in Cardiff ) did
not participate, with representatives suggesting that fi gures published by the OECD would be unverifi ed, endangering the party’s electoral chances next year.
As an alternative, the Welsh Gov-ernment has proposed an identical survey - but one that is carried out and verified by its own inspectors rather than those in Westminster.
The University Hospital of Wales is the third largest hospital in the United Kingdom, host of the Heath Park Campus and the ma-jority of clinical students and part of the Welsh NHS. It hosts a large number of students across mul-tiple clinical disciplines, including Medicine, Physiotherapy, and Ra-diology.
The institution’s performance has been a sustained subject of concern, its numerous failings part of a wider trend of missed targets in Welsh healthcare – with ambu-lances in Cardiff falling short of response time targets during every single month of 2014.
In August, only 58.1% of the city’s ambulances arrived at Cate-gory A (immediately life threaten-ing) emergencies within the eight-minute target set by the Welsh Government; the government ex-pects at least 65% of ambulances to meet this target. Around 3% do not arrive within half an hour.
Documents provided to Gair
Rhydd by the Welsh Liberal Demo-crats show a trend of poor perfor-mance in Cardiff and across Wales more generally.
Jenny Willott MP told Gair Rhydd “these unacceptably long waiting times and painfully slow ambulance response times are typ-ical of the problems facing the La-bour-run Welsh NHS. Not only are Welsh targets less ambitious than their English equivalents, but they are consistently not being met.”
“This is a concern not just for patients relying on the Welsh NHS, but also for staff and students working in our hospitals.”
Representatives of multiple par-ties in the Welsh Assembly also spoke to Gair Rhydd, offering fur-ther criticism in a bipartisan show of concern.
The Shadow Health Minister for Plaid Cymru, Elin Jones, said, “when we compare the perfor-mance of the Welsh NHS with England and Scotland, it is clear that devolution is not the problem here, but a Welsh Government that is performing badly.” The Shadow Minister added that it was impor-tant for both the NHS and Univer-sities to be on the “cutting edge” of medical research.
Darren Millar, the Shadow Min-ister for the Welsh Conservatives, said that “Wales has the lowest ambulance response time target
in the UK, and even that has only been met once in the past two years.” He also criticised above av-erage A&E waiting times and death rates at multiple hospitals.
The Welsh Labour party did not respond to a request for comment.
The NHS has typically been a major issue for the Labour Party, who currently hold a majority in the Senedd. Recent criticisms emerging from Westminster have been described by those within the party as part of an “unrelenting” campaign branded a Conservative “war on Wales.”
There are also those that feel the entire affair has been politicized by the London-based national press and representatives from all parties.
“Many problems with the Welsh NHS likely stem from the Welsh Government’s underfunding,” said Gair Rhydd politics editor Lauren Boyd. “There should be an inde-pendent enquiry, but it could back-fire on Westminister if it turns out a funding shortfall [on the part of central government] is to blame.”
The English NHS (which oper-ates entirely independently of the Welsh NHS and is controlled by Westminster) has also come un-der scrutiny, with calls to increase funding and reform the service emerging over the past week from across the political spectrum.
Placement Problems with the Welsh NHS: Cont’d
it was clear the staff were very busy, and at times I felt like I was a burden. There were occasions when I wanted to ask questions but felt like I couldn’t
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Pictured:� e University Hospital Emergency Unit(Photograph:Gair Rhydd)
Students who have upgraded to the Yosemite edition of Apple’s
OSX operating system have been left unable to access INSRV
services on University premises.INSRV routinely encourage
students to keep their computers updated with the latest available
software, but those reliant on a wireless internet connection have found themselves unable to access the internet since Yosemite’s release on 16th October.
The issue is particularly troublesome for users who reside in University accommodation, all of whom are reliant on the Eduroam network for their connectivity.
A Cardiff University spokesperson told Gair Rhydd that INSRV employs various systems to keep the network “free from computer viruses”, and that the institution is “dependent on the manufacturer of these systems” to recognise new releases before access can be regained.
A patch to allow connection
via an Ethernet cable has already been released by suppliers Khipu – but few portable Macs on sale since 2012 have featured ports for physical connection, leaving users of more contemporary hardware with no access to the network.
The spokesperson added that a patch for wireless access would be released “as soon as technically possible”, but was unable to give a date for when connectivity might be restored.
Instead, students continuing to experience issues are advised to take their hardware to the IT Clinic in the Students’ Union building in order to be manually registered and have their computer reconnected to the network.
5NEWS
Pictured:Vice Chancellor, Colin Riordan and First Min-ister, Carwyn Jones speaking at the event. (Photographer: Georgia Hamer)
Alexander Norton
Katie Evans
Our aim is to make a real difference, not just here on our doorstop but further afield and across the world.
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Cardiff University launches ambitious community plan
Cardiff University has launched its “most ambi-tious plan to date” to trans-
form communities spanning from Cardiff to sub-Saharan Africa.
The milestone project aims to encourage local residents across the city and further afield to work alongside the University to trans-form their communities and estab-lish a lasting relationship between the University and local residents.
Vice Chancellor Colin Riordan was joined by the First Minister of Wales in launching the five flagship engagement projects on Tuesday, 21st October at The Senedd, the National Assembly for Wales in the Bay.
With the support of the Welsh Government, the project looks to make a positive impact on health, economic and social issues, particu-larly across Grangetown, Butetown and Merthyr Tydfil.
Schemes such as community journalism, the development of lo-cal economies and working with youth and elderly residents in com-munities are just some of the proj-ects to be introduced by the pro-gramme.
Both the Vice Chancellor and First Minister, Carwyn Jones, stressed that the University’s in-volvement in developing commu-
nities will not be a hand-out, but will aim to empower people “on the ground” to transform their commu-nities for themselves.
The Vice-Chancellor announced: “this is not just Cardiff University coming in and, as it were, directing things. We’re going to work, and we are working, hand-in-hand with the people of Wales and further afield.
“It’s not a top-down approach” he announced, adding “local people [will be] working with us to figure out what the issues are that they want tackled and together working out how to do it.”
In line with the Welsh Govern-ment’s Wales for Africa Programme, the University has also established a partnership with the University of Namibia. The two universities will collaborate on The Phoenix Project to develop expertise and exchange educational resources.
The Pheonix Project ‘will provide many new international opportuni-ties and experiences for staff and students’ in both Cardiff and Na-mibia, reaping a “mutual benefit” for both universities.
The partnership will also aim to develop communities local to the University of Namibia as well as communities further afield in sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking at the launch event, the
Vice-Chancellor addressed the au-dience, saying: “This is the Univer-sity’s most ambitious plan to date for communities, and is the most forward thinking of its kind, we be-lieve, of any university in the UK.
“Our aim is to make a real differ-ence, not just here on our doorstep in Grangetown but further afield and across the world. We think that’s ambitious, and we hope you do to.”
Depending on its success, the project will go some way in helping the University rise in ranks amongst the league tables. The University climbed 13 places to rank joint
123rd in World University Rankings this year, but Vice Chancellor Colin Riordan hopes for Cardiff Univer-sity to rank within the top 20 uni-versities in the UK and top 100 in the world by 2017.
The First Minister concluded the launch, saying: “we can’t afford to let any drop of talent go to waste, and that’s why it’s so important that the University is working with commu-nities, not just here in Cardiff but outside Cardiff as well, to make sure people can lead the most fulfilled lives they can and to make sure the talent that they have has the oppor-tunity to flourish.”
Mac users locked out as INSRV rejects OSX upgrade
University unveils five projects aiming to transform lives from South Wales to sub-Saharan Africa
Vice-Chancellor, Colin Riordan
Pictured:a Macbook Pro running Yosemite(Photographer:Gair Rhydd)
NEWStweet us @gairrhyddnewsemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/news/
Bronwen Weatherby
It’s worrying that many students have to work throughout term-time just to pay the bills
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A recent survey by Santander has revealed that two thirds of students have to work to
fund their way through university. The survey shows that the av-
erage student works eight hours per week during semesters whilst working 30 hours per week (equiv-alent to a full time job) outside of term time.
The information, collected from students who have a Santander 123 student current account, also reveals that there are several rea-sons why students are increasingly seeking part-time employment.
The primary concern for stu-dents choosing to work part-time is easing university and living costs not covered by student loans. Oth-er reasons given were to gain work experience, maintain a good stan-dard of living and saving for life after university.
Retail was found to be the most popular type of employment, with around a third of employed stu-dents working in that sector. Other popular sectors include catering, hospitality, and the office work.
However, due to the increase in numbers of students choosing to work alongside their studies, student leaders have questioned whether employment is a help or a hindrance to students’ academic performance and all round health.
Gordon Maloney, President of NUS Scotland, told The Journal Online, “It’s really worrying that so many students have to work throughout term-time just to pay the bills.
“With over half of students stat-ing they’re working to cover their costs, this could be a clear warn-ing sign that our poorest students aren’t receiving the financial help
that they need.”Many, including Steve Pateman,
Head of UK Banking, stressed that “Paid employment offers students valuable work experience”.
Cardiff student Hannah Turner, who works part-time, said: “Work-ing whilst at university is good, jobs that offer casual hours such as Job Shop or The Millennium Stadium are perfect whilst study-ing - but I would struggle to hold down anything with a weekly com-mitment.”
However, educators involved in talks on the subject stress that a balance must be found between working and studying.
Oxford and Cambridge strongly discourage students from taking up any type of part time work, as they believe that it detracts from studying and becoming involved in extra-curricular activities.
However, Oxbridge universities are able to offer generous bursaries to students to prevent them from being forced into part time work – whilst other universities may have to take a more realistic approach in their view of part-time employ-ment.
Following the survey, student advisors have set out guidelines on how to make the most of working during term time, such as apply-ing for jobs relevant to your course and future career choice, seeking employment that fits well around study hours and to apply for in-ternships or volunteering to boost your CV.
However, the reality may be that the number of students working menial jobs whilst at university is set to rise further as the rising cost of living hits those in full time edu-cation.
Two thirds of students forced to work alongside studies
SarahHazelwood
Georgia Hamer
The introduction of multi-mil-lion pound residential block, Talybont Gate, follows the
lead of other universities in a trend of high-end student halls of resi-dences.
The new ‘luxurious’ accommoda-tion, located an equal distance between the Main Building and the Heath Park Campus, houses 179 rooms with small double beds.
Each flat also includes large com-munal areas and televisions with pre-paid TV licenses worth £145.50.
However, these ‘student luxuries’ come at a price - costing £4645 for a residential period running from September to June.
Taly Court, Cardiff University’s former high-end halls of residence, charges only marginally less than Taly Gate, costing £4,595 for the same residential period.
At the other end of the spectrum, Senghennydd Court, the cheapest of Cardiff ’s halls of residence, charges £3,367.
Despite reports that Taly Gate residents have been stigmatised by other students in neighbouring accommodations who have labeled them as ‘the posh kids’, students have said they believe the facilities to be “worth the price”.
“A few hundred quid isn’t bad considering what we are getting”, one student added.
Some even commented that they were “surprised what other students were putting up with.”
Older residences in the Talybont complex, Talybont North in particu-lar, have come under fire in recent years for their small rooms and age-ing infrastructure.
The option for a more luxurious
place to stay has always been there for students; there are many pri-vately run accommodations around Cardiff that offer ‘better’ facilities at a higher price.
Victoria Halls offers similar facili-ties to Talybont Court and at a simi-lar price. A 42-week residential peri-od costs £4,158.
Student Castle, charging no less than £5,862.45 a year, houses a gym and 24-hour reception.
Other universities have under-gone similar renovations to offer high-end accommodation for their students. Salford University offers accommodation with access to an on-site gym at the cost of £4,074.
Plans have also been put in place for accommodation, set to open next year, which will include a cinema and games room amongst other ben-efits.
Roehampton is also set to open accommodation with an on-site gym, swimming pool and balconies in a new South West London loca-tion for its students.
In comparison the new Talybont Gate facilities may even seem lack-ing.
In 2012 Gair Rhydd reported a 100 per cent rise in the average of rent for university owned accommo-dation in the previous decade. Although specific stats are not known, it is evident that this trend has continued.
Results of a survey conducted by the NUS and Unipol in 2001/2002 found that halls and university hous-ing charged, on average, £59.17 per week.
By 2012 this figure had increased by a staggering 97 per cent to £117.67 per week.
Talybont Gate follows
trend of rising student living
standardsGair Rhydd follows up reports of rising costs
of university-owned accomodation
Pictured:Talybont Gate (Photographer: Gair Rhydd)
7NEWS
The Environ-mental and Ethical Officier is pushing for a motion at the Student Senate to ‘condemn the cage’.
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Pictured:Students exhibit the fruits of their summer labour in the Main Building last week.
Georgia Hamer
Alexander Norton
CUROP students unveil research findingsSeventy-six undergraduates who
spent the summer break under-taking university funded
research projects exhibited their findings last week.
CUROP (Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme) is one of the largest such schemes in Britain, and is based upon student research projects pioneered by the United States’ prestigious Ivy League group.
The programme gives students the opportunity to design, carry out and eventually present research per-taining to a range of subjects set by academic staff from twenty Cardiff University schools.
Project titles for 2014 included ‘Microsatellite marker development for an invasive earthworm species adapted to volcanic soils’, ‘an artifi-cial intelligence player for Angry Birds’ and ‘the acquisition of Welsh phonetics and phonology by adult learners’.
These were just three of a wide range of subjects represented at the exhibition, which ran in the Viriamu Jones room in the Main Building on Friday, 17th October.
One exhibitor, a Journalism stu-dent, told Gair Rhydd that the expe-rience had provided a positive addi-tion to his CV.
“It was a nice experience. I mean, I did have to stay inside for the few sunny weeks of the year that we get in Cardiff, but I’m very proud of what we produced and at the end of the day it’s another string to my bow,” he said.
The poster conference was split into two ninety-minute sessions (one each for the Colleges of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences and the Colleges of Physical Sciences and Engineering & Biomedical and Life Sciences) and was well attended throughout.
Some 97.9% of students said they had enjoyed the experience, with 98.4% happy to recommend the pro-gramme to future potential appli-cants.
CUROP administrators told Gair Rhydd that many of the students who have undertaken projects – around 500 to date – have gone on to apply their experience at postgradu-ate level and in a commercial con-text.
The controversy surrounding the ‘homeless cage’ outside the biosciences building is
set to continue as student-run cam-paign group People and Planet dis-cuss plans for further action.
The cage, which was put up over the summer, covers air vents previ-ously used by homeless people as a source of warmth.
Last week a sign was put up on the cage, allegedly by a member of People and Planet, which read: ‘This is an anti-homeless cage. Please be mindful of the homeless.’
The sign was removed the same day.
When questioned, a member of People and Planet stated that the sign, ‘as far as they were aware’, was put up by one of their members. However they were quick to point out that they are a ‘loosely organ-ised group’ and whoever did so ‘acted under their own initiative’.
The cage, labelled by national news as an ‘anti-homeless cage’, has recieved a great deal of media atten-tion following a blog post by Cardiff University student, Lewis Hopkins.
In response to criticism the University defended their actions by releasing a statement claiming that the ‘safety grilles’ were put up to protect people from the ‘boiler flue vents’ which ‘can potentially pro-duce products of combustion’.
A statement posted on People
and Planet Cardiff ’s public Facebook page detailed a meeting held last Monday which was attended by a representative from Cardiff Homeless Action who made a speech on ‘what can be done to help the homeless community [...] made all the more pressing by the recent anti-homeless cage that was installed by Cardiff University next to the biosciences building.’
The Facebook post quoted fig-ures, stating that in 2010 Cardiff
had 220 rough sleepers, a number ‘which is likely to have increased’.
The post also claimed that the area in which the cage was installed was ‘a dry and safe area’, an area which for rough sleepers is ‘hard to come by’, ‘especially as bus stations and bus stops have recently been modified to try and keep people from sleeping on them.’
In a statement, a spokesperson for People and Planet Cardiff said: “The cage structure attached to the
steps area of the biosciences block is a fundamentally flawed response to the problem of homelessness, and we reject the idea of deterrents in public space.”
“Several of our members have also emailed staff in the University and we are currently planning more collective action to take place in the next couple of weeks, working with Cardiff Homeless Action.”
“While we understand the health risks for the homeless who sleep in front of the vent, we ultimately feel it is the University’s place to help rough sleepers and the homeless, rather than deter and push them away, as they are the most vulnera-ble in society.”
They added that Daniel Roberts, Environmental and Ethical Officer, is pushing for a motion in the Student Senate “to condemn the cage”.
The first meeting of the Student Senate is due to take place in early November.
In a statement Roberts said: “I, like many other students, want our university and students’ union to be forward-thinking and progres-sive institutions. I find the move to deter rough-sleeping people with an anti-homeless cage to be crass and deeply worrying, and merely moves the problem of homeless-ness along rather than helping to solve it.”
‘Anti-homeless cage’ controversy continues
Pictured:The sign placed on the ‘anti-homeless cage’ by campaign-ers last week. (Photographer: Lewis Hopkins)
Campaign group People and Planet outline plans for further action
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9COMMENT
The NHS is a stalwart of British society. Formed in 1948, the free healthcare that our coun-
try receives is unrivalled worldwide. However, this unprecedented system is costly. This is why I argue for the introduction of fees for NHS use for international students.
As Gair Rhydd reported last week, Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt plans to introduce an £150 flat rate fee for international students studying here, no matter how much they use the service (if at all). While it is fair to question why somebody should pay for a service that they may never use, it is fair to argue that the NHS is unrivalled world over. So we should make people pay to keep the service afloat. Americans, for instance, rely on health insurance to pay for any medical treatment. Having a baby? You’ll have to pay for that. Bleeding to death? It’s gonna cost you. The NHS simply has no rivals.
The NHS protects us a great deal, so we should be more grateful for it, and show this by funding it. Every single one of my family members, myself in-cluded, has used the NHS, on multiple occasions. It is an amazing system and I would defend it to the death (chances are, I’ll end up there on my deathbed).
That said, our free healthcare sys-tem is not without its faults. Waiting lists longer than our arms, delayed ap-pointments and cancelled operations all occur. I am currently on an NHS Wales waiting list that is 40 weeks long (and counting). I just have to wait. Mental health issues are another area
where the NHS falls down. Waiting lists for NHS run counselling are nine months long. The biggest killer in men under 40 is suicide. The fees for inter-national students would help to keep a huge system working effectively and potentially save lives.
I have been discussing the NHS as if the whole system was free. Dental care, optical prescriptions and medi-cal prescriptions issued in England are not free at the point of use. Money for these services can be claimed back if you are on a low income, for instance, but if you have savings over £16,000 you are unable to claim back anything. A student over the age of 19 (all treat-ment is free under 19 years old) could, therefore, be paying for their treat-ments. So why should international students get away without paying fees that home students may be paying al-ready? It’s just unfair.
Studying for a degree in a new country means that you need to care for yourself. Students coming together inevitably means that illnesses run rife. My freshers’ flu lasted the whole of my first term. Payment for healthcare by non-EU students may mean that, when you’re far from home, that treat-ment comes more easily to you. The flu you’ve had for a month may disappear if you can get treatment from a doctor - and that may mean paying for it.
So we should treat our beloved NHS with respect. I believe that that may require some international students to pay for the services that it provides. I have paid for NHS treatment in the past - why shouldn’t other people?
FOR & AGAINST
NHS FEESAre the Home Office’s plans for NHS fees for international
students realistic, or a waste of time and money?
The UK’s health system is fa-mous worldwide. Although I know that it is not perfect, I see
that the NHS cares for us in times of a crisis without a steep bill to harshen the blow. Of course, this money has to come from somewhere, and the NHS is one of the establishments pooled from our taxes. This benefit is avail-able to everyone in the UK, mean-ing that the costs of everything from a broken ankle to chemotherapy are covered.
The £150 fee could be said to be just a minor expenditure on top of what international students already pay, but is it necessary to add costs to a student already paying a £18,000 fee? Total living costs of university could rise to £20,000 for international students. The thing thought to be most bizarre about this issue is that students from within the UK are not expected to pay for these healthcare fees as that is covered under the tax bracket, something that students earning under £192 a week do not pay. It seems odd that an internation-al student, who is in fact paying dou-ble a UK student’s fees, is expected to pay for something that we get for free. It’s not even that the student is evad-ing fees, as no one in the UK is asked to pay taxes without an income, so it seems unfair and almost discrimina-tory that we’re asking people from outside the UK to pay this charge.
The stance on this would be com-pletely different to a person arriving in the UK with no intention of studying, and only to work, however then that
person would pay taxes like everybody else and the need for the NHS extra charge would be nullified. It could almost be said that since the Conser-vative-Liberal Democrat coalition has increased the students fees paid by students within the UK and now this unexpected charge to international students, it seems as if the British gov-ernment is trying to put people off studying.
Studying abroad is a daunting enough prospect as it is. To arrive in a country that you perhaps have never been to before, where you know no-body, where perhaps the language is not your mother tongue and the culture is completely different to that of your own, I believe to add more fi-nancial difficulties to this mix seems not only strange and peculiar, but also grossly unfair. Having international students in our universities is not only great advertising for the UK as a whole, but also broadens the horizons of British students. By making friends with students who have travelled far and wide to be here, British students learn things about other cultures that can’t be learnt from books or the in-ternet. To actively discourage young people from studying here not only seems a shame for the students cur-rently studying, but also to the univer-sity as well.
Everyone involved, including stu-dents from in and outside the UK and the university itself, would feel the detriments of this legislation, causing a very different experience of further education in the United Kingdom.
FOR:Anne Porter
AGAINST:Em Gates
It seems odd that an international student [...] is expected to pay for something that we get for free
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It is fair to argue that the NHS is unrivalled world over. So we should make people pay to keep the service afloat
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Pictured:Clinicians in intensive care unit.(Photographer: Calleamanecer, Wikimedia Commons)
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The fastest man on no legs. The Blade Runner. An Inspi-ration.
Despite being one of South Africa’s most successful athletes, formerly a hero to millions, Oscar Pistorius’ legacy will forever be tar-nished by the shooting of his girl-friend Reeva Steenkamp in early 2013. The unmaking of Oscar Pistorius is one of the most publi-cised trials and high profile cases of a sporting figure in recent history, arguably since the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995, and will have an incessant effect for years to come on athletics, South Africa and our society as a whole.
While many tuned in to the World Cup in Brazil this summer, it was the trial of the Paralympic champion
that stole the headlines and had mil-lions wanting justice for his actions. After Pistorius underwent a psychi-atric evaluation, it was said that he could be held criminally responsible for his actions. But as the final ver-dict was delivered this week, it can be argued that Oscar Pistorius may have in fact, gotten away with mur-der.
Over a month ago, Pistorius was found not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide, and on the 21st October he was sentenced to five years in prison – with a chance of that changing to house arrest after just ten months. But what does this mean? Has justice been served? What is the bigger picture?
No matter who you ask, everyone will have a different opinion on what happened; he’s suffered enough, he deserves a harsher sentence. In ret-rospect, both sides are right. If you take the mental health issue – a card that the defence arguably played in their favour – you can understand that he might have faced enough; suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the loss of his girl-friend, by his own hand, is a terrible thing to go through, but he still took an innocent life. His girlfriend, a young successful model, who he undeniably knew to be in the house that night.
It’s hard to know the full extent of what happened exactly that night and the case has developed more into a “his word against a dead girl’s”
scenario. Pistorius was notoriously known for his temper; whether this had any effect on him pulling the trigger and firing at “the intruder” we may never know. But of course, firing and killing an intruder would have been completely justifiable, right? It shouldn’t. Whatever hap-pens over the course of the next five years, one thing is certain, society and sport will change.
With such a high profile sports-man killing Reeva Steenkamp inside his own home, there may be a dark silver lining to all this. Legislation on guns within South Africa – a coun-try notorious for gun crime, may be adjusted and an implementation of a new fire-arms registration could be potentially considered. The case has drawn attention to the rising mental health issue that is still somehow ignored by many within society. As well as this, major sporting figures will be under further scrutiny regarding these issues and their abil-ity to abide by the law - on and off the field.
Judge Masipa stated that “it would be a sad day for this country if an impression was created that there is one law for the poor and disadvan-taged and another for the rich and famous” and she is right. But among millions around the world, it feels like this might be the case. Pistorius would be eligible to be considered for parole after serving just a third of his sentence, where he could spend the rest of it under house arrest.
What does that mean? It means he’ll most likely end up spending less than two years in prison… Personally, that seems rather lenient on some-one who was convicted of culpable homicide.
While Judge Masipa expressed that she wanted to strive for a sen-tence “neither too light nor too severe”, it has strongly split opinion on whether she has achieved that and I feel that she hasn’t. The prose-cution pushed for ten years which, for someone who took an innocent life, seemed to resonate much more with the public as a satisfactory sen-tence. But were they really going to let a sporting icon, a former national hero and inspiration to millions, suf-fer more than he has already? The sad reality is that despite the judge’s intentions, there is one law for the poor, and another for the rich and famous.
So what happens after the sen-tence is served? Should he be allowed to compete afterwards? Personally, i think athletics governing bodies would be foolish to allow him to compete again. It would only taint the sport beyond repair for not tak-ing a ‘no tolerance’ stance on crimi-nal activity, something that should be enforced more. But there is that old saying “forgive and forget”. I’m sure, in time, some will learn to for-give Pistorius for his actions, and accept their consequences. But to forget that he took an innocent life? I for one will not.
COMMENTtweet us @gairrhyddopemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/opinion
The Pistorius Paradox
Alex Miarli
Pictured:
Left: Oscar Pistorius, the first round of the 400m at the London 2012 Olympic Games(Photographer: Jim Thurston)
Right: Oscar Pistorius leading South Africa’s Paralympic Team in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London (Photographer: Michael Greenwood)
Oscar Pistorius’ sentencing: has justice been served?
Pictured:Oscar Pistorius at first round of
the 400m race at the London
2012 Olympics(Photographer: Jim Thurston)
Athletics governing bodies would be foolish to allow him to compete again
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COMMENT
Mountaineering has obvi-ous risks. Great heights, sheer drops and sheets of
ice are just some of the challenges faced by those who dare to reach new heights.
On Saturday 18th October 2014 a deadly blizzard struck a popu-lar hiking route in Nepal, the An-napurna circuit at the Th orung La Pass (5416 m), killing 43 hikers and leaving 518 to be rescued. Defi nitely not the fi rst deaths during a moun-tain climb, and by no means the last, the appeal of mountain climbing remains because of the incredible scenes witnessed during every stage of a climb.
Th e possibility of avalanches which consume everything in their path and rapidly dump more than 30cm of fresh snow onto steep slopes do not mean that mountaineers are being put off . Dangers pile up but mountaineers keep on coming.
Th e unfortunate accident in Ne-pal has raised an age-old question, why do we climb? Famously, Sir
George Mallory, the climber who made the fi rst attempt at reaching the summit of Everest, replied ‘’be-cause it is there’’ his response dem-onstrates how mountaineers love a bit of ambiguity. Dive deeper and climbers will tell you that climbing a mountain is an enriching experience because of the element of danger it entails, it tests their endurance and bravery, and they enjoy the camara-derie as they work as a team to reach the summit. Th e principle of climb-ing is always the same; it is more than just reaching the summit.
During the summer of 2013 Car-diff University Mountaineering Club (CUMC) travelled to the European Alps. Myself and two friends were traversing the ‘Glacier du Tour’ by jumping between cracks in the ice know as crevasses. We reached ‘La Jonction’, a section of the route noto-rious for hiding wide and deep cre-vasses caused by the confl uence of three glaciers. It was my turn to jump across. I made it to the other side with no problem but I soon heard
the sound of a dull crack and, with no time to react, the ice collapsed beneath my feet, and I plunged 8m into the depths of the glacier until I was caught by the rope I was tied to, swinging me like a pendulum into the vertical face of the rigid ice wall.
Twenty minutes later, with the help of my friends, I managed to climb out suff ering only a bruised and swollen left hand. We looked at each other and decided to retreat back to the valley. A couple of days later we summited Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the European Alps at 4810m. Th e route we took involved confronting hazards such climbing in darkness, knife edge ridges, rock-falls, freezing temperatures, ava-lanches, crevasses, low oxygen, and mild altitude sickness. Despite the very real risk of accidents I return to mountaineering again and again.
We only spent 10 minutes at the summit of Mont Blanc, but the most poignant memories I have are of the two days climbing and watching the sun peacefully peak around the Earth
and fl ooding the mountains in a golden haze, bringing about a feeling of elation after having successfully overcome the hazards of the previ-ous days.
To some of you what I have de-scribed would seem dangerous and foolish; why travel to the world’s most remote places to deliberately seek out danger? I’ve been climbing with CUMC for nearly fi ve years. Th e most emotive memories I have are of the people I’ve met and the ex-periences I’ve shared with them and the landscapes I’ve seen.
I will always expect to face dan-gers and challenges at some point whilst climbing. Experience and having the right equipment can help mitigate the dangers of climbing but it can’t lessen the chance of be-ing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Th e hikers tragically killed last week were fully aware of the dangers but equally attentive of the benefi ts. Th ey, like all climbers, want to keep the adventure alive by meeting na-ture at its own terms.
Pictured:CUMC mem-bers at the summit of Mont Blanc, sunriseSource: Huw Mithan
Huw Mithan
Last week saw the pinnacle of the Extraordinary Synod (council) in the Catholic Church. Running
for two weeks at the start of October, 253 bishops gathered urgently to dis-cuss numerous issues concerning pas-toral challenges of the family. Over-whelming interest was generated from the topics included such as potentially allowing divorced individuals to take Communion and fi nding a place for homosexuals within the Church.
However the Catholic revolution that perhaps some liberalists were hoping for came to an abrupt end last week. Pope Francis’ attempts to incorporate more out-reaching teach-ings and inclusive language aimed at Catholics were rebutted and excluded from the conclusion of the Synod. Th e proposals made during the Extraor-dinary Synod caused many Conser-vatives to feel that Catholic teaching was at risk of becoming blurred. Pope Francis has already crossed the line of clear teachings in numerous isolated incidences – including marrying a
couple who had already been cohab-iting. Liberal bishops have been pro-posing for greater progression in the Church, something they now feel is long overdue.
But now that the Synod is over, what does this mean for the Catholic Church? Th e answer remains unclear for all 1.2 billion Catholics. Th e real-ity is that it has served to further un-veil the increasing amount of internal p o l i t i c s , arguing and friction that occurs in the Vatican City.
What the church is facing, and what was made clearer than ever at the end of the Synod is the confl ict between following traditional church teachings and refl ecting shifting cultural atti-
tudes. Conservatives argue that fol-lowing original teachings promoted by the Vatican has sustained contin-ued growth for the past two thousand years. Th at said, Catholicism moves at a snails pace when making decisions. It was pure optimism for liberalist on-lookers to expect a sudden sweeping change.
Should the Catholic Church be dic-tated by age old doctrine, or should they look outside the confi nes of St Peter’s Basilica to society? It’s an awkward situation. Whilst it is easy to think that the decline in Christian-ity prominence in Western society is the case across the world, it couldn’t be further from the truth. A shift
southwards has occurred where now Catholicism has increasing follow-ings in Latin America, Africa and Asia. What this has now caused is not an internal split of liberalism ver-sus conservatism, but that of North versus South. Th e cracks that have been apparent within the Vatican for the past few years have been further highlighted, reaching a pivotal mo-ment. Th e Church is coming of age in Africa as the decrease in its Western infl uence is all too clear. Th e Vatican is having to look itself in the mirror and regard what today’s Catholics actually think, and whether altering doctrine will benefi t the Church. It is a sad fact that despite the Church continuing to grow and increase its followers, it is a risk of splintering into factions. Instead of one unifi ed Church there is a Church that has a huge amount of varying opinion and dissatisfi ed bishops on all sides. Pope Francis is in an intimidating position where he is struggling to keep hold of the reigns of the Church leadership.
Olivier van den Bent-Kelly
Synod: progression for Catholics afoot?
Reaching new heights
Cardiff ’s Mountaineering President discusses the addiction to climbing
despite the risks it poses
Pictured:Th e Pope at the Final Session of
the Extraordi-nary Synod on
the family(Photographer:
Catholic Church of England and
Wales)
11
It’s worrying that many students have to work throughout term-time just to pay the bills
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Pope Francis is in an intimidating position where he is struggling to keep hold of the reigns of the Church leadership
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13jason roberts vs the world
University is a way of occu-pying young people who, if let loose into the big wide
world, would pose an inherent threat to organised society. Not because young people are danger-ous, we’re just staggeringly incom-petent at life. Sometimes I genu-inely wonder how I’m not dead or broke, simply because of some of the terrible, terrible decisions I’ve made at various points in my life. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with this, such mistakes are often ironed out throughout the course of your life. You learn that you shouldn’t watch shopping channels after heavy drinking, because then a man arrives at your door seven to ten days later with a JML Microfibre Supermop and tells you that even though your blood alcohol was higher than Snoop on a trampo-line, the payment still stands. University is good in this regard. It forces you to live with other like-minded (read: also inept) individu-als, hoping that at least one of you will know that it’s probably not a good idea to throw mouldy vegeta-bles at random strangers from the window of your Talybont flat. But long before you arrived here, you should have at least considered if university was the right choice for you. Because many don’t. And then they get mad about how much money they’re wasting.
Firstly, consider the chance that your degree is very likely a sham. You’re probably an intelligent per-
son but there is every chance that your degree, in some way or anoth-er, isn’t worth the bother. A degree is a reasonable idea in principle; I definitely wouldn’t want teenagers fresh out of sixth form with a sin-gle biology A-Level performing open-heart surgery. But the reality is that there are a great deal of stu-dents at university in spite of their degree, rather than because of it. University has become a tax on the smart.
Just look at the initial value of a degree. There are now more uni-versity students than ever before, meaning that four billion graduates are competing for the eight jobs that are left out there. Couple this with the fact that you could prob-ably buy Neptune with the price of a university education, the value of getting a degree is completely diluted in comparison to our par-ents generation. My dad went to Warwick, free of charge, after get-ting there through clearing with grades of B, C, E. If I were to ring Warwick on Results Day with those grades, they’d give me the number for Coventry and assume I was too simple to use a phone properly.
Since a degree is no longer even close to guaranteeing a job, we’re constantly told that we should do some sort of work experience in order to make ourselves more appealing to prospective employ-ers. This nugget of wisdom was first passed on to me at age eleven. ELEVEN. I couldn’t even master
fractions at eleven, and someone genuinely thought it possible that I could assist in the operations of an organisation. But it isn’t incorrect to say that work experience will make you employable. No, in many cases the right amount of work experience will make you so employable that the need for a degree is totally negated. It might be considerably more boring, you won’t be able to drink three bottles of wine on a Tuesday, and you’ll probably have to work a second job to survive, but you won’t be jobless and crippled with debts compara-ble to a third-world nation.
So why are we here? Because we’ve bought into the idea that university is an experience worth having. And we’re right. There will never again be a time in your life in which it is socially acceptable to turn up to the majority of your personal interactions feeling like Lindsay Lohan after a four-day bender. Universities know this as well as anyone. The value of the degrees that they award have dropped so much that they are now looking to sell themselves by pin-ning themselves to their cities and their nightlife. In their defence the demand is clearly there, otherwise Cardiff would only have one uni-versity instead of three. I’m part of the problem; I spent a little bit of time reading information about my course, but a lot more researching the price of beer and the quality of kebab establishments.
We have to be real with our-selves when we make the choice to come to university; we have to understand what we’re paying for. For some students, the cost of uni-versity is not an issue, for some students it’s a major impact on both them and their families. A survey done in May by the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy found that a third of students in England believed their course offered poor value for money, a figure I found surprising because I thought it would be considerably higher. I generally don’t consider my course poor value for money, however there are occasions where I think about how expensive it actually is to read some books and assemble a slideshow on those books. If you come to university expecting £9,000 a year’s worth of education alone, there is every chance that you will leave disappointed. If you come to university expecting to try a variety of new things, meet new friends, live independently and start a new phase of your life, then you may consider it money well spent. But it is what you make of it. For every person who con-siders university an invitation to do everything they’ve always wanted to do, there are far too many who waste their time either doing utterly pointless things or absolutely nothing at all. They’ve paid so much in, but gotten so lit-tle out.
Be real about why you came to universitySMART MONEY
jason roberts
If you come to university expecting £9,000 a year’s worth of education alone, there’s every dhance that you will leave disap-pointed.
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Pictured:Cardiff University MainBuilding(Photograph:Gair Rhydd)
The state of the Welsh NHS was once again in the media spotlight last week, with both
the Welsh Health minister and UK Health minister conducting a rather heated debate with the press directly involved.
� e First Minister has once again denied calls for a public inquiry into the state of the Welsh NHS, despite calls from the other Assembly parties, the British Medical Association and even Labour MP Ann Clwyd.
Mark Drakeford, Welsh Health Minister, described the need for a ‘mature debate’ on the future for the Welsh NHS on the 19th of this month, but what came in the following days was anything but that indeed.
UK Health minister last week stated in the commons that ‘Welsh patients get a second class health service’ because of the failings of the Labour-led Welsh Government. Jer-emy Hunt pointed out that for every one English patient treated in Wales there were fi ve Welsh patients treated in England. Despite these fi gures be-
ing correct for the year 2012/13, Mr Hunt seems not to take into account the fact that there are more Welsh people living on the border with their closest hospital in England than the other way round.
Locally, the Cardiff and Vale Uni-versity Health Board has been at the heart of the problems facing the NHS, with reports that A&E depart-ments were often ‘gridlocked’ and the board’s Chief Executive stated ‘we need to do better’ in July of last year. However, after another investigation this year, the Royal College of Sur-geons reported the health board had taken work to improve the situation but still had substantial work to do.
� e Welsh Government last month announced an extra £425mil-ion for the NHS budget over two years to try and overcome the diffi cul-ties that the service was facing. How-ever this fi gure may not be enough to get the NHS out of the media eye. NHS Wales staff last week voted in favour of going on strike, rejecting a £160 payment to all staff members.
With around 60% of the NHS funding being spent on wages, this could lead to more and more money rolling into the NHS service with fi nances run-ning out of control.
However, Carwyn Jones stated in First Minister’s Questions that talks are still ongoing in order to avoid a strike taking place, unlike in England and Northern Ireland where there have already been NHS strikes. Mr Jones also stated that the Welsh Gov-ernment will not ‘play politics with people’s health’ which is what he be-lieves the Daily Mail and even the De-partment of Health are doing.
Of course with more money in the NHS, there is less money elsewhere and thus far local councils have faced tough times with an average four per cent budget cut, but more services could be at risk with future cuts to fund the bloating NHS budget.
It seems this issue will not go away in the next few months, especially with a General Election next year and the NHS being a key policy point. Even Mark Drakeford issued a letter
to NHS Wales staff last week stating this political argument will continue and will have an impact on morale within the service.
We must also remember that it’s not only the Welsh NHS under severe strain - the English NHS is also being critisised with Hereford county hos-pital being described as inadequate and unsafe. � e Welsh ambulance service is also in disarray with the worst ambulance response times any-where in the UK, missing targets for the most urgent calls for the tenth month in a row.
However, it may not be in the UK government’s best interests to criti-cise the Welsh NHS and say that it is a ‘second class service’. � e Welsh NHS has not ‘collapsed’ despite fears for years. � ere are actually many signs that the service is improving, with cancer testing waiting times ac-tually better in Wales than in England in August this year, proving that the two health organizations face diff er-ent challenges with their own weak-nesses and strengths.
POLITICStweet us @GairRhyddPolemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/politics
Disagreement on State of Welsh NHS
Carwyn Williams
Pictured:Welsh Health
Minister, Mark Drakeford
Welsh Government under pressure to defend the Welsh NHS after it is classed a ‘second class service’
The issue of rural broadband was also on the agenda this week, with Conservative AM
Mohammad Asghar stating an eye opening statistic that 40% of disabled people do not have access to the internet compared to just 12% of non-disabled peo-ple. Mr Jones assured ministers that project Communities 2.0 has helped over 50,000 individuals, including disabled people, to get online.
Andrew RT Davies, Welsh Conservatives, started questions from party leaders to the First Ministers this week, asking why the budget, mentioned an 18%
cut for rural affairs. This is a substantial cut with Carwyn Jones replying that ‘tough decisions had to be made in this budget.’
The Conservative leader admit-ted in the chamber that the food and drink sector across Wales has been a success with almost 20% of Wales’ manufacturing jobs from the industry.
Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Williams mentioned the report that poorer pupils in Wales are not performing as well as in England and Scotland, and asked the First Minister when the Welsh Government’s actions will get results. In response, Mr
Jones named the Pupil Deprivation Grant, the Child Poverty Strategy and Foundation Phase as all plans to solve this issue. It does take time to get the results that are needed, but it was looking prom-ising as the number of young peo-ple entering higher education is on the rise.
Leanne Wood stayed on the issue of health this week report-ing patients in Wales will have concerns that must be addressed to after damaging reports, espe-cially concerning diagnostic test waiting times. Mr Jones agreed that the health service does have its difficulties and demand has
increased.Mr Jones thanked the Plaid
Cymru leader for bringing up these difficult questions without turning the issue into a “political football” like the Daily Mail and the Department of Health.
A promising outlook for Welsh farmers as Plaid Cymru AM Elin Jones brought up the subject of farmers’ income, with the First Minister responding that despite a fall in lamb prices, there will be a review into the prices of beef and milk to see if the Welsh Government can act in a positive way to ensure a positive future for farmers.
Carwyn Williams
First Minister’s Questions
The Welsh NHS has not ‘collapsed’ despite fears for years.
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Pictured:English Parliament Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
In Mainland China things are calm. People come home from a busy day at work; they sit down
with a drink and turn on the TV like most places in the world today. However, over in Hong Kong, the story is very different, especially for the students of the city.
As we saw reports of the situa-tion in Hong Kong, there have been prolonged protests, police fighting, many umbrellas and peaceful protests. The Chinese media spoke of a demonstration ‘celebrating the government’, and more recently that ‘external forces’ have been playing a role in causing the unrest in Hong Kong. There is very little coverage of the tear gas-sing, or alleged brutality on the behalf of the police.
The Hong Kong protests or ‘umbrella revolution’ started as a peaceful protest against the Hong Kong government in July, as Beijing has announced plans that they will begin to ‘vet’ candidates for the Chief executive in the 2017 elec-tions. This is a sign that the Chinese government is slowly closing in on the former British colony, which was operated under a different
political system, with China agree-ing to allow freedom of speech, free elections and a different eco-nomic system to the mainland until at least 2047; 50 years after the handover of Hong Kong back to China from the British state.
China argues that it is still allow-ing democracy, as part of the agreement, with elections; it just doesn’t allow candidates to stand unless they have been vetted for any anti-government sentiments. In recent talks between students and the government, officials have said that stopping the reform is ‘impossible’.
It would appear that the pro-democracy protesters are running out of options. Whilst they contin-ually push for more people to join the cause, their numbers are dwin-dling. There was a spike on the weekend after police caused anger amongst the community, as police started tear gassing people, causing around 9000 people to return to Mongkok, and other occupied areas, however with the working week, people have gone back to their jobs, or to their studies, leav-ing streets comparatively peaceful,
but still littered with umbrellas along with the last 200 dedicated protesters.
Whilst it may be optimistic to think that the protests will make a difference, and that the Chinese government will listen to the will of the people, in all likelihood, not much will change. The Hong Kong government will be vetted by a committee, and Hong Kong is a step closer to being controlled by China. If free and unbiased elec-tions fall, then it’s a gateway to make wider political and economic change with fewer barriers to stop them.
There may be a chance though for some damage control, but only if the spokespeople for the pro-democracy movement play their cards right and don’t ruffle too many feathers. As it stands, the people who would be on this com-mittee would be unelected and the majority would be pro-Beijing. However, there is evidence to sug-gest that the committee could be used as a bargaining chip to stop the occupation of areas around Hong Kong. The Chief Executive (equivalent of Prime Minister of
Hong Kong) CY Leung has said himself that the committee might ‘offer room for negotiation.’
This may mean that there is a minimum loss of democracy with-in the system. A system where the committee was elected by the pub-lic would be comparable to the UK system, where members of the party choose their leaders, who subsequently get voted into power. Alternatively, there is a chance that they secure a larger, more diverse vetting committee, making the process less Beijing-centred. However, this long process will continue as the student majority protestors fight for democracy.
Umbrella revolution stalemate?Alex Stewart
15POLITICS
In all likelihood, not much will change
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Pictured:Pro-democracy protesters clash with police
Pictured:José Manuel Barroso (Photograph: the offi ce of Antonies Samaras)
Cameron Battles EU on Immigration
David Cameron’s fight against the European Union continues this week
as he calls for an immigration cap on immigrants from the EU. Cam-eron’s success in this mission is yet unknown but certainly took a set-back last week.
UKIP’s win in the by-election ear-lier this month was a serious blow to traditional political parties, and sent a strong message to the Conservative leader only six months before the general elections.
To combat this growing electoral threat, Mr Cameron has recently tackled one of the themes around what UKIP is built: immigration from the EU and its alleged burden on British public and welfare sys-tem.
During the campaign in the last election the Conservatives vowed to control immigration, but numbers have increased substantially in re-cent years.
Though he did not give any details about his plans, Mr Cameron is widely expected to announce a series of measures to lower immigration along with seri-ous talks with other European countries in the EU. Cameron’s pandering to UKIP’s electorate is a dangerous game and could finally threaten the UK’s position in the EU.
Despite this call, it may not be-come a reality as one of the found-ing principles of the modern Euro-pean Union was the free movement of people and trying to limit this
would be a problem. Jose Manuel Barroso (the president of EU com-mission) reminded Cameron that the ‘freedom of movement is a very important principle in the internal market […] my strong advice to Britain is not to put in question that principle.’
Cameron responded to Barroso by announcing that the UK has a right to control the number of people migrating to its territory and will be one of the measures included in a larger re-negotiation of UK and Europe relations. However, in order to modify the European constitu-tion, UK government will need the approval of every member of the union. � is situation represents a huge and almost impossible chal-lenge for the government, who will
have to use every diplomatic, politic or economic tool available, to con-vince the reluctant member states to reform.
Unfortunately for Cameron, dif-ferent EU offi cials and ministers have already announced they will fi ercely oppose his proposition. Germany’s foreign minister, Stein-meier, even declared that ‘whoever questions the freedom of movement damages Europe and damages Ger-many,” leaving Cameron completely isolated in his attempt to reform EU’s legislation. He was also iso-lated fi ve months ago in his attempt to block the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker. Cameron’s pledge for an In/Out referendum in 2017 might convince these countries to reform on our terms.
VSPictured:
David Cameron(Photographer:
Number 10 Press Offi ce)
Victor Degroce
Cameron’s pandering to UKIP’s electorate is a dangerous game and could finally threaten the UK’s position in the EU.
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A protest organised by mem-bers of the Kurdish dias-pora took place on Cardiff ’s
Queen Street at midday on the 18th October. Placards declaring Solidarity with Kurdistan were on display along with calls to ‘Save the children of Kobane’, the Syrian town which has been under siege by ISIS militants for the past month. Pro-testers echoed chants denouncing ISIS and expressed their admira-tion for the Peshmerga fi ghters of the Kurdish region of Iraq/South-ern Kurdistan. Calls were made denouncing ISIS as a racist organ-isation, ‘We don’t want Racism! We don’t want Fascism!’ � e protesters came from across the Kurdish re-gions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran with each protester representing an individual town or city. Many pro-testers had been living in the UK for over a decade but a great bulk had arrived within the past 3 months due to the current crisis in Iraq and Syria.
Salah Riasool, originally from the Kurdish region of Iraq, expressed a sense of betrayal at the Global re-action to ISIS’s advance. Drawing comparison between the Islamic State’s current actions and the Iraqi Ba’ath party’s Anfal (spoils) cam-paign of the early 1990s, designed to solve the ‘Kurdish problem’ and ending in the deaths of thousands of Kurds, he stated “� e World watch-es, doing nothing. Just like Saddam
Hussein, look what he did to us!” Salah was adamant that the gov-ernment should strip proven ISIS fi ghters of British citizenship. He expressed his shock and disbelief that people from “this beautiful and free society. People die in millions to reach this country. � ey [British volunteers] must be mental to fl ee to Iraq and Syria.”
Syrian Kurd Khalid Ali, hav-ing lived in the UK for the past 6 years, displayed contempt for the militants he referred to as ‘Daesh’, the Arab acronym for ISIS. � ough not an Arabic word it is similar to verbs meaning to tread underfoot, trample down or crush, its use is widespread across the Middle East to degrade and insult ISIS. � e use of this word is banned by ISIS and often results in severe punishment. Khalid went on to describe the treatment of civilians in those ar-eas controlled by ISIS, stating that the group had “no humanity, they kill children seven years old, even beheading them.” He recounted reports of the cruel punishments used; “[a few days ago] two 18 year-olds were taken to the city centre, covered with bin bags, and shot in the head, what kind of humanity?”
Ayse Atlun fi rst came to this country from Turkey 15 years ago. She described the Turkish govern-ment’s treatment of its Kurdish population. For years any sense of a distinct Kurdish identity has
been forcibly suppressed, in Ayse’s words, “to be safe you have to sound Turkish.”
A report by the European Com-mission against Racism and Intol-erance in 2010 referred to public prosecutions of those offi cials who used the Kurdish language publicly, any public defi nes by individuals of Kurdish origin is also likely to face prosecutions under the Criminal Code. � e International Human Rights Law Group and professors such as Dr Abbas Manafy have drawn comparisons between Tur-key’s treatment of its Kurdish mi-nority and the South African Apart-heid constitution. Ayse spoke of the way she was treated for speaking her own language; “Myself, when I was a child, we couldn’t speak our language. Turks would call me ‘ter-rorist’ for speaking my language.” She expressed disappointment and anger at the recent NUS NEC vote rejecting any move towards build-ing solidarity with Kurdish groups, trade unions and women’s organisa-tions on the grounds of ‘Islamopho-bia’. “Yes, they are terrorists. � ey say they are an Islamic group, they are terrorist, see how they treat people, this is not human.”
Many protesters displayed sup-port for the PKK (Kurdistan Work-ers’ Party), a leftist, nationalist group currently listed as a terrorist organisation by NATO, the United States, United Kingdom and Eu-
ropean Union. � e group assisted Iraqi Peshmerga fi ghters against ISIS, leading to calls in the West for the group to be removed from terror watch lists and supported in their fi ght. Ayse echoed these calls stating that the PKK were “freedom fi ghters, not Terrorists […] we are fi ghting for our rights!”
Protesters heavily criticised the current Turkish policy, which bans Kurdish fi ghters from crossing into Syria to fi ght, and accused the An-kara government of open collabora-tion with ISIS. Khalid referred to a ‘place near Istanbul where ISIS mili-tants are trained before being sent across the border […] an ISIS fi ght-er captured by YPG admitted this.’
Like many other protesters pres-ent Khalid expressed disappoint-ment not just with the international reaction to ISIS, but the failure to depose Bashar al-Assad last year. When asked if ISIS would have the same reach over Syria, or if they would advance into Iraq, Khalid was adamant that earlier Western intervention could have strangled ISIS at birth. ‘100%, no question’ he declared raising vocal agreement from fellow protesters. A common feeling among the protesters was that the Kurdish people had been ignored and betrayed by the inter-national community, we can only hope that recent events prove to be a turning point in the fi ght and that current air strikes will be enough.
POLITICStweet us @GairRhyddPolemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/politics
Jamie McKay
Kurds protest in Cardiff
Earlier Western intervention could have strangled ISIS at birth
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Lauren Boyd
1 in 6 UK children living in poverty
Wales needs more tourists
Carwyn WilliamsOne in six children in the
UK are living in relative poverty and poor chil-
dren in Wales are lagging behind their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Wales is one of the re-gions worst affected by child poverty.
The effect of this can be seen from a very early age: half of three-year-olds in deprived areas of Wales are below the expected level of development according to the newly released State of the Nation report.
Only Yorkshire and the Hum-ber has higher levels of relative and absolute poverty with 22 % of children are in relative poverty and 24 % in absolute poverty Ac-cording to the new report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. “Urgent” changes need to be made as the Institute for Fiscal Studies ex-pects poverty to rise by as much as 15 % in Wales.
The Liberal Democrats claimed the report was a ‘damn-ing indictment of Welsh Labour’s
policies.”’However, the report ac-tually praised many of Labour’s policies including Flying Start, which supports children under 4 in the most deprived areas of Wales. The report also com-mended the commitment to the UN Rights of the Child in Wales. The focus on child rights and a right to play has led to higher levels of child wellbeing in Wales.
The fall in child poverty has stopped not only in Wales but in the UK as a whole. Child poverty groups are concerned about the impact of welfare cuts on chil-dren especially since only half of austerity measures have come into effect with 33bn of savings yet to be made.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson claimed that ‘Welsh Government lacks the powers to seriously confront poverty’ The Barnett Formula which decides the bud-get allocated to Welsh Govern-ment does not take account of social need. In 2009 it was cal-culated that Wales was losing £300m a year.
The number of people visiting Wales has declined signifi -cantly since 2006, from 1.14m
to 854, 000, according to the Offi ce for National Statistics.
A committee of MPs have said that Wales is being undersold to the rest of the world and a coherent brand for Wales needs to be developed in the near future to increase the country’s revenue from tourists. � e committee reports that Wales is an ideal tourism location as a ‘natural destination for the growing market of cultural and enviromental tour-ists’. � e report states concerns that as an ideal tourism location the in-dustry is not performing as well as it could do.
� e Welsh Government certainly hopes that in the next few years the
tourism industry will continue to grow, especially after the purchase of Cardiff Airport, to increase pas-sanger numbers from the UK and Europe.
Last week, Bristol Airport claimed that any powers to devolve Air Pas-sanger Duty would be unfair, giving Cardiff Airport an advantage over its own.
Should the duty become devolved, the duty could be signifi cantly re-duced or abolished by the Welsh Government potentially resulting in cheaper fares for customers. Bris-tol Airport and the mayor of the city announced that Cardiff and Bristol should work together rather than compete to make a stronger South West and Wales against the rest of the UK.
Pictured:� e Gower Peninsula, Swansea (Photographer: DS Williams)
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We won’t ever let you LIVEin a house of horrors
NOagency
fees
Bed bugs may be more than just a nuisance – according to new research they have
also been linked to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
These new findings have been brought to light by Jerome God-dard, of Mississippi State Univer-sity. His research involved analys-ing blogs by victims of bed bugs to check for signs of emotional trau-ma associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He found people suffering from nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety and other symptoms which suggested PTSD.
According to Goddard, one of the participants “scored high enough to actually be considered a PTSD patient.” Summarising the findings of his study, Goddard said “I think all these things […] suggest that at least bed bugs are associ-ated with anxiety and sleep distur-bance.”
He is not the only researcher to find the potential psychological consequences of bed bugs. Ste-phane Perron, of the University of Montreal, surveyed tenants both with and without infestations. He found that those who had been suffering a bed bug problem were more likely to report anxiety issues.
Perron has said that for mentally
vulnerable people, suffering an in-festation may leave them with “a pathological fear of bedbugs.” He has also pointed out the impor-tance of research on the issue, with the goal being “to say we should deal with it because it has more than skin deep consequences.”
� e creatures carrying out this psychological torment are not overly imposing; they do not exceed 5mm in length. � ey do however have a dogged survival instinct, and a taste for human blood. � ey live in crevices in beds, and emerge dur-ing the night time, feeding as well as laying hundreds of eggs.
Suffering from a bed bug infes-tation does appear to be the sort of traumatic event that can cause PTSD. Symptoms of this anxiety disorder include an intense fear suffered during a traumatic event, persistent recollections of the event, the persistent avoidance of stimuli linked with the event, and trouble sleeping, as well as angry outbursts. The new research on bed bugs found several of these symptoms present for those sur-veyed.
Frighteningly, there have previ-ously been reports of bed bugs af-fecting Cardiff students. In 2010 there was a major problem in a
block in Talybont South, with sev-eral students forced to move out of their accommodation.
It is important to spot a bed bug infestation quickly, in order for it to be dealt with efficiently. If you are suffering unexplained itchy bumps, or find black spots on your mat-tress, then you may have a prob-lem. Other signs include finding mottled shells that bed bugs have shed.
Although this new research is not conclusive proof that bed bugs directly cause PTSD, it does high-light the stress caused by them. However, a quick response can de-feat these irritating foes, allowing you to sleep tight again.
SCIENCEtweet us @gairrhyddsciemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/science
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite: Possible Link Discovered Between Bedbugs and PTSD
Michael Arnott
Call a professional extermination firm with Bedbug credentials.
Don’t try to remove the infestation yourself. An woman in the US blew up her home by lighting insecticide foggers, the propellant gas in the canisters ignited her gas supply.
Don’t throw away your furniture, this could spread the bugs through your home.
Talk to your neighbours to prevent bugs retransmitting between houses.
Don’t panic. Bedbugs do not carry diseases or make you unclean.
...bedbugs are associated with anxiety and sleep disturbanceJerome Goddard
Mississippi State University
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Harvard Diabetes Stem Cell Professor Presented Medal at Cardiff Lecture
Professor Doug Melton, whose diabetes stem cell discoveries have brought him to recent
fame in the scientifi c community, has been presented with a Marshall Medal at Cardiff University.
Presented by First Minister Car-wyn Jones at a celebratory lecture last � ursday, Professor Melton was awarded the honour ‘for his long standing contribution to UK and US science.’
� e Marshall scholarship pro-vides funding for talented US stu-dents to study postgraduate degrees at UK universities. � e scheme aims to provide bonds between Britain and the US and to give American students a chance to experience con-temporary Britain.
� e award was initially established in recognition of the Marshall Plan, a US funded recovery strategy set up to aid the regeneration of Europe af-ter World War II. It is considered a highly prestigious scholarship, with many prominent politicians, scien-tists and authors counted among the alumni.
Professor Melton, originally fund-
ed by a Marshall Scholarship to work at the University of Cambridge in his early career, was thankful for his time in the UK and said it was ‘life changing’, emphasising that his latest work would not have been possible without it.
As reported in last week’s issue of Gair Rhydd, Melton and his team at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have recently published work that makes tremendous steps towards a more permanent treatment for diabetes.
After the medal presentation, Melton continued to give an elo-quent lecture on the possibilities of stem cells and how they have an “astounding potential that can be un-locked.” He has discovered a way to programme immature human stem cells to change into insulin-produc-ing beta cells. � is could potentially revolutionise the way we treat the 347 million people who suff er diabe-tes worldwide.
Melton also eluded to the fact that his work, recently published in giant science journal Cell, could be a “…disruptive technology on the indus-try of making insulin” which earns
pharmaceutical giants over £20 bil-lion a year.
Although unable to answer ques-tions as to when his techniques would translate to treatment, Melton was very confi dent that producing enough cells for the human popula-tion would be possible. He suggested that if they can fi nd a suitable immu-noprotective device – something to prevent the body rejecting the pro-grammed cells - diabetics would no longer need daily insulin injections and only have to visit clinic twice a year.
Also in attendance was Cardiff University’s Nobel Prize winner, Sir Martin Jones, whose work in cultur-ing embryonic stem cells was noted by Professor Melton as pivotal to his research and a persuading factor in his choice to lecture in Cardiff .
First Minister Carwyn Jones ex-pressed the importance of the event to Wales and its ties to the US. He also discussed his own experience with stem cell research when it was in it’s infancy and described it’s po-tential as an “incredible possibility in terms of human wellbeing.”
Shanna Hamilton
Meryon Roderick
Pictured:Professor Doug Melton lectur-
ing on his latest work
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Dealing with a Bedbug Infestation
Lockheed Martin, one of world’s largest defence con-tractors, have claimed that
they are only 10 years from pro-duction of small-scale nuclear fusion reactors. These would be capable of recreating the same nuclear reaction that heats the sun within a reactor compact enough to fit on the back of a truck.
Whilst the prospect of a clean energy source that will be able to meet the world’s energy needs has been met with excitement by the public, many nuclear physicists have expressed scepticism.
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which the nuclei of two atoms are forced to collide and join with each other by extremely high tem-peratures and pressures contained within magnetic fields. This results in a large amount of usable energy with no greenhouse gases or toxic waste produced contrast ing with nuclear fission.
Some academics are not con-vinced that the obstacles in order to make this dream become a real-ity, have been overcome. This is due to Lockheed Martin failing to provide sufficient evidence. The idea of a compact reactor goes against accepted practices of reac-tor development and size, calling into question the stability and safety of their idea.
Concerns have been raised as to whether the small size of the reac-tor allows for a design that is strong enough to be safe. ITER is a large-scale experimental project with the same nuclear fusion con-cept which is in the process of creating a reactor to investigate the viability of fusion as an energy source. The large size of the reac-tor will mean it will weigh 23,000,000 tons - as heavy as three Eiffel towers. Not exactly some-thing which can be put on the back of a truck.
What does this mean to the general public? Lockheed Martin are primarily involved with defence (in 2009 74% of Lockheed Martin’s revenues came from mili-tary sales) and are looking for military investors. This means the possibility of utilising this tech-nology to power cities and advance space exploration is likely to only happen well after it has been put to use in defence. Whilst it seems the prospect of this pipe dream becoming a reality is already very slim, the descriptions from Lockheed Martin of their reactor being able to power an aircraft the size of a C-5 (a military transport aircraft) demonstrates their main focus is in developing their mili-tary capabilities, not in making the world a better place.
21SCIENCE
Pictured:A nuclear fusion reactor
Lockheed Martin Announce Breakthrough in Small-Scale Fusion Reactors
Rahul Modhvadia
Thomas Firth Pictured:� e Andromeda Galaxy
Do we matter? This may seem like an atheist claim, but if you believe in modern science and its origin, and consider our existence as beings on a lump of rock in an endless Universe, you might start to wonder how truly irrelevant we are.
Astronomy, as a science, has grown very popular in the previous decade, mainly due to an increase in astronomical documentaries, space-related films and an upgrade in modern star-gazing facilities. Recent observations have led to discoveries beyond our imagination; gargantuan stars, distant exoplanets, pictur-esque supernovae, frightening black holes and billions upon billions of other unidentified objects. Our “known” Universe is currently based on conjecture and astronomers are still dubious whether there is a defi-nite ending to space.
As humans, we can easily find ourselves enveloped in our own lit-tle world and few of us have really contemplated how infinitesimally
small we are compared to the rest of the cosmos. There’s no denying that we are quite unique in our own cor-ner of space, but beyond that we’re no more than particles of dust. Notable Welsh poet, T. H. Parry Williams, once wrote in his poem Dychwelyd (Return), ‘dim ond crych dros dro’, which roughly translates to ‘only ripples for a time’. He admitted that humans make a lot of noise, but ultimately, the only differ-ence we make are a few ripples in an ocean, which is a fairly shrewd observation to say the least.
Ignorance is one of our greatest downfalls as a race, as is evident when we first investigated the skies. During the early years of the 16th Century, according to the Commentariolous, we believed that the Earth was at the centre of the Solar System, and if we’re really honest, at the centre of the Universe as well. As our familiarity with space has grown, we’ve learnt that this is far from the truth. But even with new knowledge that we orbit around the Sun, are we still too ignorant to make any judgement?
During our time on Earth, we’ve planted a massive footprint. With
our mass of satellites, probes and shuttles, we’ve already conquered a lot of the space around the Earth and moon too. But how much time have we really spent on Earth, and does it really seem significant at all?
If you’re still sceptical about my reasoning, then consider this: try planning out the Earth’s timeline over one year by reducing its age down to 365.25 days with the 1st of January being the creation of the Earth and midnight on 31st of December being right now. Considering the Earth has an esti-mate age of 4.53 billion years, the Dinosaurs didn’t make an appear-ance until December and even more amazingly, the human race arrived 21 minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve. To make you feel even smaller your own life is shorter than two tenths of a seconds to midnight
on New Year’s Eve. If you want to incorporate the age
of the Universe into this, then suit yourself, but it might only make you feel even more insignificant. My aim here isn’t to ruin your self esteem, but I want you to consider for a moment how you compare to the Universe.
If you look on the bright side though, the fact that we can imag-ine and see beyond our own exist-ence, makes us very special indeed. Our intuition has made us unique and perhaps we’re not so irrelevant after all!
If you are interested in dis-covering more, check out Tour of the Universe, an event at the New Theatre, Wednesday 29th October at 7pm.
Does the Human Race Matter?In the fi rst instalment of his Astronomy column, � omas Firth discusses our place in the Universe.
Monday 27th October
XpressXpress radio start of broadcastingFrom 8am-1am dailywww.cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/lis-ten/
Maths SocietyCareers Talk: Deloitte4.10pm - 5pmSchool of Maths Room M/0.40
Journalism SocietyFright Night Movie NightCreepy-themed movie night, show-ing Woman In Black from 5.10-6.45pm, followed by The Conjuring from 7-9pm. Free popcorn, Halloween themed snacks and Domino’s Pizza will be provided!5-9pmBirt Acres lecture hall, Bute build-ing
Baking Society Halloween Bake off!8pm – 9.30pmCF10, Students’ Union
Tuesday 28th October
Student Minds Look After Your Mate WorkshopThis workshop aims to advise stu-dents on how best to support friends and peers with mental health difficulties, run by represent-atives from National Student Minds. Free refreshments available.6.30pm-8.30pmCF10, Students’ Union
Healthcare Music Society Orchestra Rehearsal7pm - 9pmChapel B5, Heath
Cardiff Links (St John Ambulance) SocietyPub Crawl – Halloween 999 theme8pm – 11.30pmstarting at the Taf
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Society Halloween Party8pm – midnightKoko Gorilaz
Black & Ethnic Minorities Association and Cardiff Women’s Association Non-Alcoholic Halloween SocialFancy dress compulsory! Expect mocktails, music and lots of old school games like bobbing for apples, twister etc! Tickets - £4 on the door or from http://www.car-diffstudents.com/events/6987/3969/8pm - 11pmThe Lodge, Students’ Union
Wednesday 29th October
Art Society Sketch Group1pm - 3pmMeet by the steps of the SU
Art Society Portraiture6:30pm - 8:30pm4C, Students’ Union
Film Society
Screening: Cinema Paradiso7.30pm - 10pmTucker
Christian Union‘Convinced’ events week launchTalk from the speaker for the week, Adrian Holloway. A chance to come along and find out more behind Convinced week and how to get involved with the events. A com-pletely informal night, free tea, cof-fee and chat.7.30pm -10pmHighfields Church, Monthermer Road, CF24 4QW
Music Society Halloween SocialPrize for the best dressed on the night so get your thinking caps on and get your best out!9pm – 3amGassy Jacks then Retro
RELIGsoc Halloween Social8pm - 3amThe Taf then YOLO
Thursday 30th October
Surgical Society All Wales Surgical Final Revision Series 1/26pm - 9pmMichael Griffiths Lecture Theatre, Heath
Student Enterprise Speaker session - Confessions of a Local Entrepreneur6pm - 8pmc/0.13, Sir Martin Evans Building
Effective Altruists SocietyPledging, giving and happiness
6.30pm - 8pm
Healthcare Music Society Choir Rehearsal7pm - 9pm
English Literature SocietyPub Crawl8pm - midnightStarting at the Woodville
Fashion & Beauty Society Halloween Social8pm - 2amStudents’ Union and then into town
Sinatra Society Show - Black History Month Celebration8pm – 10.30pmY Plas
Friday 31st October
Boardgaming, Roleplaying and Wargaming League Halloween Party8pm - 3amKoko Gorilaz, Miskin St, CF24 4AP
Graduate CentrePostgraduate Halloween Party8.30pm – midnightVanilla Rooms - Park Place
Saturday 1st November
RAG Bridgwater CarnivalWe will be part of the Bridgwater Carnival procession collecting for the Red Cross.2pm – 1.30amBridgwater
SOCIETIEStweet us @gairrhyddsocemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/societies
What’s On
H ello Cardiff! I hope things are swell. Societies are set-tling down after the first
crazy month – regular events are cropping up on the ‘What’s On’ section and all seems well. If you
want to get involved, best do it as soon as you can on cardiffstu-dents.com!
In other news, a new video se-ries is starting this week! ‘Societ-ies in 60 Seconds’ will debut on
Friday 24th October, featuring me explaining key information about societies to you! Each video is a minute long (I would hope you had guessed that) and will be up-loaded weekly. Keep an eye on the cardiffstudents youtube channel for more!
As ever, get in touch on social media, email or in person if you need help getting involved.
Barney WillisVP Societies &
Campaigns
Barney’s Note
Heard of the Fruit and Veg Coop? No surprises if not, with too few volunteers
we’ve been unable to run this year. But with your help, that could change.
The Fruit and Veg coop is a purely student led service and had previ-ously been running for 5 years sup-
plying students and staff with a tasty selection of quality, cheap fresh fruit and veg. Every Tuesday, from 11am - 4pm, on the 3rd floor of the Students’ Union we would set up a stall with all of the week’s orders. With a choice of fruit, stir fry, vege-table or salad at only £3.50 per bag, you will be unlikely to find this kind
of deal anywhere else. However, we now need more vol-
unteers and from as little as 1 hour per week you can help set this amaz-ing service back up again. Also, if you’re looking for a more inclusive role, you can get involved in the run-ning of the service itself and become a committee member which would be a 2 hour weekly commitment. All of this would looks great on your CV. It’s a very casual role and also very social!
For more information on volun-teering, search ‘Cardiff University Fruit and Veg Coop Volunteers’ on Facebook or check for updates on our general Facebook page.
The Fruit and Veg Coop Needs You!
Will Baker Morrison
23SOCIETIES
Xpress Radio: you have prob-ably heard us around the Un-ion, seen us at the Societies
Fayre, and maybe even had a cud-dle with our mascot, X Rex. If you haven’t, then for your benefit, Xpress are the 4th quarter of the Cardiff Student Media’s offering (consisting of Gair Rhydd, Quench, and CUTV) – we are the other, less visual, quar-ter. We broadcast live from the Un-ion from 8am through till 1am, with shows touching all genres and top-ics, from heavy metal hour to the debate show and so much more. This year, Xpress are running a fort-nightly show dedicated to societies. It will include exclusive coverage from events, interviews with mem-bers, and general information about all the different societies Cardiff has
to offer and their activities. For the first show we already have a roundup of RAG week scheduled, informa-tion on big events happening in November within the African Carib-
bean Society and an exclusive inter-view with the director of The Falling from the BFI film festival in London. If you are involved in a society, this show is a great opportunity to cre-
ate great publicity for your society events as well as promoting the soci-ety and encouraging other students to join. As a listener, you’ll have an extra insight into the amazing things our vast amounts of societies get up to. The first show is looking great already and the more socie-ties involved, the better! The show will start on Tuesday 4th Novem-ber, with the provisional dates for this semester following this being broadcast on the 18th November and 2nd December from 5pm un-til 7pm. A lot of our coverage will also be pre-recorded so it is not a problem if these times are incon-venient. If you’re interested in get-ting your society involved with this show, please email me, Alice, at [email protected]
Alice Robbins
Xpress Radio launches Societies Show Pictured:Head of Day-time, Alice Rob-bins, X Rex and Hannah Sterritt
All events must be signed up to in advance at cardiffstudents.com/giveitago
Maths Society - Charity Live Music Night 27th October Come along the Maths Society Charity Live Music Night in Koko Gorillaz for a great evening of Live Music! Tickets are £3 on the door.Koko Gorillaz
Rowing 28th October A great way to get really fit and meet loads of new people, come along to Talybont Sports Hall and enjoy one of our excellent sessions run by an experienced coach. At just £2 you won’t be disappointed!Talybont Sports Centre
Spanish Language Taster 28th October
Transform your travel experience with our free language class for Español! All abilities welcome, sign up then turn up for this fun and easy going Spanish taster class. Definitely not an opportunity to be missed!4J, Students’ Union
Student Minds - Look After Your Mate Workshop 28th October This free workshop aims to give advice and guidance on how best to approach difficult friendship situa-tions. It can sometimes be really hard to know what to say to friends when they’re suffering with difficult situations – but this Student Minds session has some top trips on how to go about it.CF10, Students’ Union
Capital City Jazz Orchestra with
Jess Hooper 28th October Book your discounted SU tickets now at cardiffstudents.com/giveita-go for Capital City Jazz Orchestra! An absolutely spectacular night of mind-blowing jazz performance – this is not a night to be missed!Meet in Students’ Union Reception
Law Society - Public Speaking Workshop 29th OctoberA ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch with participants choosing random items from a table and having to ‘sell’ their item to a panel of judges. Constructive feedback will be given by the special guest speaker and prizes awarded to the top 3!0.22 Law School
Enterprise - How to Run an Online Shop 29th October Interested in starting an online shop but not sure where to begin? This ses-sion is run by a successful online retailer. Come along to learn more about the practical aspects of running an online business, and get some insider hints and tips so you can.Centre for Skills, Enterprise and Volunteering, Students’ Union
Jazz Society Jam Night 30th October Come and join in Jazz Society’s monthly Jam Nights! No obligation to play or sing, you can just come for a relaxed evening to see what we get up to within the Jazz Society. We take it in turns to jam, improvise and
most of all socialise in our own space.YARD Bar and Kitchen
Bath City Day Trip 31st October The beautiful and unique city of Bath has been described as one of England’s most beautiful places to visit. And so obviously Cardiff Students’ Union would take you there! Nestled in the countryside of South West England and famously designated a World Heritage site, Bath boasts a fascinating Roman and Georgian heritage. It’s outstanding architectural beauty and natural thermal springs have earned Bath international recognition as a centre of culture and beauty. This is defi-nitely a stylish place you’ll want to visit.
Welsh National Opera - Orchestra 31st October Exclusive Students’ Union tickets at Saint David’s Hall. This music demands to be experienced live, and in the hands of the WNO Orchestra conducted by Music Director, Lothar Koenigs, this is an opportunity you will not want to pass you by. Tickets are heavily discounted at just £7!Meet in Students’ Union Reception
Catholic Society Film Night 31st October Comfy sofas, popcorn and a cheesy film… what more could you want? Come and unwind with us and enjoy a classic film. Bring a friend!The Catholic Chaplaincy, 62 Park Place
SOCIETIEStweet us @gairrhyddsocemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/societies
MathSoc are presenting a charity live music night for Meningitis Now at
Koko Gorillaz on 27th October from 7:00pm till 11:30pm. There will be many local acts playing in-cluding a few of our own Maths students – who’d have thought Maths students could have so much talent!? Entry to the event will be £3 to be purchased on the door. Everyone is welcome; bring your housemates, bring your
coursemates – it’s all for a good cause!
MathSoc is a society for Maths Students, though anyone is wel-come. We run regular socials, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. We also offer careers talks on Maths in the real world, past talks have been from GCHQ and the Met Office. For more details don’t hesitate to contact us or check out our Facebook page.
Maths Society Live Music Night
James Ledward
Fundraising Night for Meningitis Now
Cardiff Marrow is the daughter charity of An-thony Nolan and organ-
izes several sessions to sign people up to the bone marrow register. The chances of being a match for someone with blood cancers such as leukemia are 1/1200; by adding more people to the register, we can increase the chances of saving a life. We also hold events where funds raised go towards adding people to the register and organizing life-saving transplants. Altogether as a charity in the year 2013-14, Marrow added 12,835 people to the register
and raised £160,000.Last weekend, the Cardiff Marrow
committee travelled to Leeds University for the National Annual General Meeting. There are over 40 Marrow groups in the UK and through this AGM where more than 200 students were present; we cele-brated each other’s achievements as well as sharing ideas to attract more people to the join the register and tips for successful fundraising.
The weekend comprised of work-shops, lectures and talks by donors, recipients and their families. A talk by a recipient and his donor was
particularly interesting: they ran the London Marathon together side by side to raise funds for Anthony Nolan!
There was an awards evening on Saturday. With only a few catego-ries and such a high standard of Marrow groups, the chances of winning an award wasn’t that high. However, not only did our group manage to get shortlisted, but we actually won the award for Special Contribution to Fundraising out of 40 groups!
Overall, we had an amazing time and it was invaluable experience,
which really will help us to ensure a successful and exciting year ahead.
We have a few upcoming events: Volunteer Training Session:
Monday 3rd November, 6-7.30pm, Sir Donald Walters Board Room, Students’ Union
Registry Session: Wednesday 12th November, 12-6pm, Catholic Chaplaincy, Park Place
For more information about how to get involved, please get in touch:
Facebook: Cardiff MarrowTwitter: @cardiffmarrowEmail: [email protected]
Cardiff Marrow
attend National
AGM
Louisa Sham
Think there’s something your society does that needs publishing on these pages?Celebrate the brilliant things you do by promoting yourself: writing an article, including an up-
coming event in the What’s On section, a review, or featuring in the Society Profile.Email: [email protected]
Pictured:Cardiff Marrow committee with ex-Marrow President and current International Coordinator for National Marrow, Aimee and Federicco from Switzerland Marrow
02920 668585
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Student AdviceCyngor i Fyfyrwyr
[email protected] 029 2078 1410
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Rents starting from £230 per person per month
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Dau o uchafbwyntiau calendr Y Gym Gym yw’r Ddawns Ryng-gol a’r Eisteddfod
Ryng-gol. Digwyddiadau unigryw fel ei gilydd, sy’n rhoi cyfle i fyfyr-wyr prifysgolion Cymru gystadlu a chymdeithasu gyda’u cyd-Gymry. Yn Aberystwyth y bydd y ddau ddigwyddiad eleni, y naill ym mis Tachwedd a’r llall ym mis Mawrth.
Dyma fwrw ati i ddechrau tre-fnu ar gyfer y Ddawns felly. Un o nodweddion amlycaf y Ddawns yw crysau pob prifysgol. Mae’n drad-dodiad i bawb wisgo lliw eu prifys-gol gyda balchder gan herio’r pri-fysgolion eraill gyda cherdd (limrig neu englyn) ar gefn y crysau polo. I roi syniad bras i chi, rhai o themâu limrigau ac englynion y gorffen-
nol yw bod disgwyliadau pwyntiau UCAS uwch i gael mynediad i Bri-fysgol Caerdydd ac ein bod ni, fel y gŵyr pawb, yn well nag Aberys-twyth, Abertawe, Bangor a’r Drin-dod! Y mwyaf o sarhad i’r prifysgo-lion eraill, y gorau...
Gyda hyn mewn cof, dyma gy-hoeddi cystadleuaeth arbennig i aelodau’r Gym Gym - gyrrwch eich ceisiadau fel neges breifat i dudalen facebook Y Gym Gym ac fe fydd yr enillydd yn cael y wefr o gael ei gerdd ei hun ar gefn crysau pawb a phum punt oddi ar gost y trip. Croeso ichi yrru ymgeisiadau ar y cyd gyda’ch ffrindiau.
Y dyddiad cau yw 5pm ddydd Iau, 30 Hydref. Edrychwn ymlaen at dderbyn eich cynigion!
Gym Gymwyr... Gwrandewch!Gethin Davies
Yn y rhifyn hwn, ceir erthygl hoenus gennyf i, Morgan, eich cyd-olygydd, am ymwybyddi-aeth cenedl, ac yn benodol, eiddo’r Cymry Cymraeg. Ymhellach, ceir sôn am yr ymwybyddiaeth hon yng Nghaerdydd. Nid ydyw mewn cyflwr iachus, ac rydym ni fel my-fyrwyr Cymraeg ein hiaith yn diod-def o’r sefyllfa sydd ohoni yn hyn o beth. Yn ogystal â’r erthygl honno, ceir myfyrdod gan Dewi Alter ar ffawd ddiweddar tîm pêl-droed Cymru, a’r cwestiwn rydym oll siwr o fod yn gofyn i’n hunain: ai oes euraid yw hon? A fydd ein llwyddi-ant yn parhau? Trowch at ei erthygl am driniaeth gytbwys o’r mater.
Yn olaf, mae gennym erthygl fer gan Gethin Davies yn esbonio trefn dawns ac eisteddfod y Rhyng-gol. Bydd y GymGymwyr yn ein plith eisioes yn gyfarwydd â rhialtwch a miri’r Rhyng-gol, ac nid oes angen eu perswadio nhw! Ond i chi fyfyr-wyr newydd, tâl i chi fwrw golwg dros ei erthygl er mwyn ymgyfar-wyddo â’r digwyddiad, ac rwy’n siwr y bydd e wrth ddant pob un ohonoch. Gair byr i gloi. Daw te-itl yr erthygl a gyfrannaf i o gerdd gan Dylan Thomas, cerdd â thinc eithaf hiraethus iddi yn y ffordd mae’n ymdrin â marwolaeth. Oni cheisiwn ni gyfrannwyr i’r papur anfarwolaeth wrth i’r geiriau hyn ddiflannu i lwch yr archif? Dyma eich cyfle chi i adael eich ôl yn ei-riau, felly cyfrannwch, ac fe gewch lawn croeso gennym!
Canu Yn Ein Cadwyni
Gair GolygyddolSteffan Bryn Jones
Morgan Owen
Gyd-fyfyrwyr, mae’n hen bryd i mi dynnu eich sylw at gamwedd druenus yr ydym
hyd yn hyn wedi ei hanwybyddu yn llwyr— neu fel arall ei goddef yn wylaidd. Pa un bynnag sy’n wir, ad-das a chyfiawn yw ei dwyn i olau dydd yn ei hagrwch digymysg.
Dichon mai dan ormes yr ydym fel cenedl wedi bod ar ein huotlaf. Wedi’r elwch, tawelwch sydd, ac onid yw tawelwch yn porthi hira-eth a’r awydd i droi ein golwg tuag at orffennol delfrydol na fu erioed, neu wynfyd y dyfodol lle mae ga-lar yn deimlad estron, a rhyddid yn dynn yn ein gafael? Bid a fo am ein gorffennol, er tristed ydyw; ni thâl broffwydo ynghylch ein dyfodol ychwaith. Dyma ni yn eithriad hanesyddol, cenedl a gadwodd ei hiaith yn groes i bob tebyg a phob ymgais i’n cymathu a’n dileu.
Ond, yn wahanol i’r dyddiau a fu, mae gennym bellach y cyfle i hawlio ein priodol le heb orfod codi arfau, a thrwy hynny, gwahodd ein dinistr gan luoedd trech. Cofier, gwlad fechan ydym. Ni ellir esgusodi hed-diw y fath hunanfaldod hiraethus a roes i ni gynifer o gerddi, a delwedd dwyllodrus y Celt yn canu’n brudd am ei golled o’i ffau fynyddig.
Pe baem ni Gymry’n uno ac yn gweithio ar y cyd â’n gilydd gyda rhywfaint o drefn, bydd gennym wlad i’w hennill ac neb i’n rhwystro. Ac dyma graidd yr erthygl hon. Yn ein prifddinas ni, yn ein prifysgol ni a godwyd gan geiniog y werin, fe’n tangynrychiolir yn enbyd. Bron na ellid dweud ein bod yn anweladwy yn y sefydliad hwn, yn enwedig pan ystyrir bod dros 1,500 ohonom yma a chyn lleied o Gymraeg i’w gweld. Nid oes angen arnom dro ar fyd, ond ymdrech ar ein hanner i newid y sefyllfa waradwyddus sydd ohoni. Ai gwell gennym ganu i alawon dolefus ein gorthrwm na chymryd cam ymlaen?
Diosgwn, felly, ein galarwisg; taflwn ar oddaith ein hangerdd yr hen ddifaterwch; yn lle ennyn pêr hiraeth, deffrown o’n cwsg. Gymry, safer ar eich traed eich hunain ac mynner llais yn eich prifysgol chi, ein prifysgol ni. A chyfeirio’n ôl at deitl yr erthygl hon wrth ei chloi, dywed Dylan Thomas yn ei gerdd Fern Hill: “Time held me green and dying / Though I sang in my chains like the sea”. Ni chanwn yn ein cadwyni bellach, ond fel y môr, ni chydnabyddwn ffrwyni ar ein rhyddid.
... Diosgwn felly ein galarwisg; taflwn ar oddaith ein hangerdd yr hen ddifaterwch; yn lle ennyn pêr hiraeth, deffrown o’n cwsg ...
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Morgan Owen
27TAF-OD
Dewi Alter Uchel yw gobeithion y Cymru ar ôl gwylio’u bechgyn yn curo Cyprus 2-1 ar y 13 o
Hydref, yn enwedig wrth ystyried nad oedd llawer o’n prif chwaraewyr yn bresennol. Wrth gwrs, mae colli chwaraewyr fel Aaron Ramsey, 23, a Joe Allen, 24, ar gyfer unrhyw gêm yn golled, yn enwedig ar gyfer gêm ryngwladol a oedd yn rhaid ei hen-nill. Enillodd Cymru heb rai o’u prif chwaraewyr, amlygiad clir o ddyf-nder y tîm presennol yn ogystal â’r gobaith sydd gennym am gyrraedd y Bencampwriaeth Ewropeaidd yn Ffrainc yn 2016. Ond oes modd ystyried hwn yn gyfnod euraid i bêl–droed Cymru?
Ar y cyfan chwaraeodd Cymru’n dda yn erbyn Cyprus. Hal Robson-Kanu, 25, rhaid bod ganddo iâ’n rhedeg drwy’i wythiennau ar ôl saethu’n syth drwy goesau’r gôl geidwad. Gwelwn ddyfodol disglair asgellwr ifanc Fulham, George Wil-liams, 19, yn dod i’r amlwg unwaith eto ar ôl perff ormiad safonol a dewr.
Gwelsom berff ormiad aeddfed
gan Ashley Williams, 30, a James Chester, 25, ar ôl i Gymru syrthio i 10 dyn ar ôl anghyfi awnder carden goch Andy King. Rheolon nhw’r cefn yn gampus gan gyfyngu Cy-prus i gyn lleied o gyfleoedd ag oedd yn bosib. Yn wir dim ond dwy waith lwyddon nhw i brofi Wayne Hennessey, 27. Ond nid oes modd siarad am y tîm presen-nol heb air am seren unrhyw dîm, Gareth Bale, 25. Mae’n anodd coe-lio ar adegau sut lwyddai Bale i gy-flawni rhai o’r campau a wnâi ar y cae. Ei ôl-fflic oedd yn gyfrifol am ryddhau Robson-Kanu i wynebu’r gôl ar ei ben ei hun. Llwyddodd i wneud hynny a dal y gwrthwyneb-wyr yn anymwybodol a rhoi’r gôl gyfan i drugaredd Robson-Kanu.
Gareth Bale yw’r chwaraewr y gellir dibynnu arno i ennill gemau ar ei ben ei hun. Llwyddodd Bale i oroesi’r driniaeth erchyll a dder-byniodd gan chwaraewyr Cyprus. Ond yn bwysicach na hynny, ar-weiniodd y tîm, ac ar ddiwedd y gêm Bale a alwodd y chwaraewyr
ynghyd yn dilyn y chwiban olaf, rhywbeth a werthfawrogwyd gan y cefnogwyr.
Ar hyn o bryd eistedda’r tîm rhyngwladol ar frig grŵp B, ond wedi chwarae un gêm yn ych-wanegol na Gwlad Belg ac Israel. Pan fanylwn ar y tîm dim ond 2 chwaraewr a ddechreuodd y gêm sy’n chwarae yng Nghymru. Neil Taylor, 25, ac Ashley Williams, chwaraewyr Aertawe. Chwaraea’r gweddill yn Lloegr ar wahân i Bale sy’n chwarae yn Sbaen dros Real Madrid. Ymhellach, wrth edrych ar dimau gorau Cymru, Abertawe a Chaerdydd, nid oes llawer o chw-araewyr Cymru yn chwarae dro-styn nhw: pum i Abertawe, a dau yn unig i Gaerdydd. Er y gwna’r tîm rhyngwladol yn dda, gwelwn nid yw timau Cymru yn llwyddo i fagu na chadw chwaraewyr Cym-reig. Posib cyfnod euraid i’r tîm rhyngwladol gan lwyddo i fod ar frig y grŵp yw hwn, ond dioddefa’r timau eraill o dan-gynrychiolaeth o Gymry yn eu plith.
Cyfnod euraid i bêl-droed Cymru?
Gareth Bale yw'r chwaraewr y gellir dibynnu arno i ennill gemau ar ei ben ei hun.
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Cloriannu llwyddiant diweddar y tîm cenedlaethol
Photograph:Gareth Bale(Photographer:Andor Kish)
Student AdviceCyngor i Fyfyrwyr
“Eich gwasanaeth cyngor a gwybodaeth cyfrinachol ac annibynnol”
Materionacademaidd
Tai
Defnyddwyr
Cyflogaeth
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CYNGOR • GWYBODAETH • CEFNOGAETH • CYFRINACHOL • ANNIBYNNOL
PARK LIFE tweet us @HeathparkCSUemail us [email protected]
Claire Blakeway Well it is fair to say that it
has been a hectic few weeks. � e madness of
Freshers has ended and the autumn term is now in full swing. I hope that all Heath students enjoyed the Fresh-ers period and are settling well into their fi rst few weeks of lectures and placement.
Two weeks ago, the Students’ Union held its fi rst ever service fair on the Heath Park Campus. � is event involved fi fteen services from the Students’ Union having indi-vidual stalls in the IV Lounge; each service had to create a game that in-formed students about their specifi c service. Students were encouraged to participate with at least three games from three diff erent stall in order to claim a free Krispy Kreme doughnut!
As you can imagine, this went down a treat with students and the dough-nuts soon ran out. � e fair was a great success, as 167 Heath students took part. � is is a huge Heath Park engagement boost for the Students’ Union. Following this success, we’re now looking to run events of this na-ture on a termly basis. So keep your eyes peeled for the next time we give out Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
As part of Mind Your Head Week, a Meditation evening was held on � ursday the 9th of October in the IV Lounge. � e evening aimed to help students fi nd ways to relax and cope with stress or problems that they may be facing. � e evening at-tracted over 25 students, and was enjoyed by all.
Have a great fortnight!
Pictured:Clare Blakeway, VP Heath Park
NurseSoc social raises funds for suicide awarenessNurseSoc held their first
social of the year with a theme of ‘When I was 3
I wanted to be…’ (no dressing up as nurses allowed for professional reasons!). As with all good socials held at the start of the year the aim was to allow students to meet new people, catch up with friends after the summer, have fun and, most importantly, raise some funds for worthy causes.
This year the society’s charity of choice is Papyrus, a foundation helping young people who may have suicidal thoughts and their families. They work to reduce the number of young people who lose their life to suicide each year as well as support the families and
friends of those affected. Sui-cide is the leading cause of death amongst young people and many of these deaths can be prevented by appropriate interventions.
Last year NurseSoc raised over £1000 for their three chosen charities and hopes to surpass that total this year by holding a range of social and fundraising events. The first social raised £107.20, an impressive start to the year. For details of the next socials you can follow NurseSoc on Twitter or Facebook. If you have any ideas of ways to raise money or would like to get in-volved with the society please contact a member of the com-mittee.
Tim Nagle Pictured:Various Society stalls at the Heath Freshers’ Fair
A note from Claire
Meet Vidya: your Students With Disabilities officerCome to meet Vidya, your
Students With Disabili-ties officer.
Vidya represents all students with disabilities within the stu-dents union and lobbies the uni-versity to make the changes you need, enabling you to complete your studies.
Vidya holds weekly drop in sessions in the office opposite the HCARE common room each Wednesday between 1-3pm. These are confidential and allow
you to raise issues which may be affecting you that you would like to see changed. Vidya will be able to direct you to any other university or student union ser-vices which may be able to sup-port you.
If you are unable to attend a drop in session then you can contact Vidya by email on dis-ab i l i t i e s o f f i cer@c ard i f f . ac .uk or contact her via Facebook: h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /SWDofficerCSU.
Vidya Brainerd
29HEATH PARK
Two weeks ago we saw the Stu-dents’ Union by-elections, with a number of positions up for
grabs. � ese by-elections had a record number of Heath Park Students run-ning, and winning, with at least 2 Heath Park students running for each position. Successes and disappointments oc-curred across the board as results were announced, but there is argument that the biggest success of these by-elections is that there is evidence of a changing at-titude of Heath Park students.
Recent times have seen the Stu-dents’ Union struggle to engage with the 6,000+ students based at the Heath, a struggle in which they are not alone. University Services also report a lack of engagement with the elusive medical and healthcare campus. National Stu-dent Satisfaction (NSS) Survey results
from 2013 show Heath Park students to be signifi cantly less satisfi ed than their colleagues closer to Main Building, with Cathays students giving the Students’ Union an average satisfaction score of 84% in comparison to 69% for schools based at the Heath. � ese results im-proved for 2014, with an increase to 86.4% and 77.1% respectively.
Increases in satisfaction and increas-es in candidates running in elections certainly paints a positive picture; it is unlikely to be a coincidence that the schools where more students are typi-cally more engaging with the Students’ Union are experiencing increased levels of satisfaction with the services that are on off er. Hypothetically speaking, this theory could be applied across the board to all types of services, from Careers and Employability to Student Wellbe-
ing. Lack of awareness correlates with dissatisfaction; the point of increasing satisfaction is laboured by course lead-ers around the time of the NSS deadline and references are made about moving up league tables, but there is a bigger picture where an increase in satisfaction is worth a lot more than that.
� e more extra-curricular opportuni-ties students engage with whilst at uni-versity, the more they learn outside of the course and the more skills they are able to develop as a person. � is skills development is highly relevant for the doctors, dentists and allied health pro-fessionals of tomorrow. Not just because we live in a more competitive world, but to make them a better practitioner.
� e reasons behind lack of engage-ment are more far stretching than just awareness, with lack of access for stu-
dents on placement being a prominent complaint, so it is obvious there is still a long way to go in order to get more students engaging with activities across the board. � e role of VP Heath Campus this year is to fi ght for the right resourc-es and to create positive attitudes so that every student at the Heath will be able to access the opportunities more readily available in Cathays.
Regardless of the success of the Heath Park candidates who ran in elections (although obviously, well done!) the fact that more students are putting them-selves forward and engaging with the opportunities on off er through the Stu-dents’ Union is positive. It shows that the healthcare professionals of tomor-row are engaging and developing them-selves personally, which can only make them better clinicians in the long run.
Heath Park student success at by-elections
Gemma Wheeler
Are students at Heath Park becoming more engaged with the Students Union?
It is really sad to read about yet more shocking abuse allegedly carried out by healthcare professionals against
the most vulnerable in society. It is equal-ly distressing to read that this abuse was ignored and covered up by those in po-sitions to do something about it. Abuse of any kind is devastating to the victims but, following the recent revelations from Ysbyty Glan Clwyd; the Trusted to Care Report following care failings in the Prin-cess of Wales hospital; fi ndings by Rob-ert Francis QC following the Mid-Staff s inquiry, as well as broadcast investiga-tions into abuse at places such as Win-terbourne View, we must remember that this level of care is not the norm.
� e most recent fi gures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) show that only 0.2% of registrants were sanctioned following an investigation, the General Medical Council (GMC) held only 208 fi tness to practice hearings in
2012 when there are over 270,000 regis-tered doctors. Abuse is hidden and not easily spoken about but these numbers tell us that the overwhelming majority of care professionals are compassionate, caring, honest and kind; they would nev-er knowingly harm a patient.
Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists and any other care professional are in a position of trust. Any person who comes into contact with us is vulnerable by the very fact that they are unwell or are approaching us for some kind of treat-ment. As professionals, we have skills and knowledge that our patients and their relatives do not; people do not know if we are giving the right advice or follow-ing correct processes when administering care.
As students we are in a privileged posi-tion. We get to work in a wide range of clinical areas and question everything that we see. ‘Why did we do this?’, ‘Why
did we do it that way?’, ‘Why didn’t we do that?’, ‘I thought we should have done…’ are all questions we can ask of staff under the auspices of seeking to further our own knowledge and understanding. At diff er-ent stages in our training we will have very diff erent levels of knowledge and, like a patient trusts their carer, we trust our mentors but we must always be aware that we will often not be aware of what we do not know, as Donald Rumsfeld said once ‘� ere are unknown unknowns…there are things we don’t know we don’t know’. If we are asked to do something, or witness something on placement that makes us wonder ‘is this right?’ then we must ask a question. We must not be afraid to look stupid, or be wrong as we cannot defend ourselves by stating ‘I did not know it was wrong’.
I am sure that every single student studying at Heath Park is aware of what is right and what is wrong but it is frighten-
ing to question the practice of those who we rely on to sign documentation to say we are competent. It is frightening, but we must do it if we are concerned be-cause it is easy to become accepting of a standard which is not what it should be.
If you are concerned about something which you see while on placement follow your schools procedures for raising con-cerns, speak with your mentor or your personal tutor. � ere is lots of support from the university, the Students’ Union and any professional union you may be a member of. Lt. Gen. David Morrison, on abuses carried out by the Australian Army said that ‘the standard you walk past is the standard you accept’. Do not walk past care which you think is not correct, do not let something remain an ‘unknown unknown’, ask the question, raise the standard and let us all be part of a generation of caregivers that does not tolerate any abuse.
Tim Nagle
Shocking abuse of patients revealed in North Wales hospital
Students must not stand by - we have to speak out against abuse
Let us all be part of a generation of caregivers that does not tolerate any abuse.
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The healthcare professionals of tomorrow are engaging and developing themselves personally
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Cardiff Students'Union
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The price of football has risen exponentially over the last century, taking football from the working
class game to a sport for the rich and famous.
� e lowest fare an adult can pay for a ticket to watch Cardiff City, who are currently in the second tier of English football, is £18. Although this seems reasonable, paying the lowest fee relegates the fan to the worst seats in the stadium.
In order to watch the football from the best view possible, an adult must fork out £40 to the box offi ce, which puts many supporters off making the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium.
Season tickets are also expensive, with the top-of-the-range ticket be-ing sold at £689. � ere are cheaper options, with the least expensive sea-son ticket only costing the fan a mere £439, or £15 per game.
Compared to the Blues’ array of fi xtures, spread between league and cup matches, Cardiff City are only guaranteed 23 Football League home matches, even though fans can pay up to £689 for a season.
Although ticket prices may be high at the Cardiff City Stadium, in 2012 the club lowered the price of a draft beer to £3.50, a reasonable price compared to the £4.30 that Arsenal fans pay at the Emirates Stadium.
Cardiff City shirts are also rela-tively cheap, with an adult paying £38 for replica jersey, in comparison to the £56 required for the Blues’ equivalent.
Although City’s ticket fees aren’t extortionate, in comparison to the rest of the English leagues’ teams, comparing them to the prices Ger-man football fans pay, makes them seem grossly overpriced.
Borussia Dortmund fans, who regularly see their team qualify for European competitions, can go to a game at the Westfalenstadion for as cheap as £13, with the most expen-sive ticket being only £50.
In addition, in 2013 Bayern Mu-nich fans could purchase a season ticket for the Allianz Arena for just £104, compared to Cardiff City’s £439.
English football could take a leaf out of German football’s book and bring the beautiful game back to the people.
Joe Atkinson
SPORTtweet us @gairrhyddsportemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
The price of sport in Cardiff
Cardiff City are only guaranteed 23 Football League matches a season, even though fans can pay up to £689 for a season.
With the price of foot-ball continuing on its upward trajectory with little sign of a
plateau, it is no surprise that some fans are seeking a cheaper alternative to get their sporting fi x.
� e capital’s major rugby club, Cardiff Blues, off er adult tickets for as low as £13 to competitive match-es, with a cap of £23 for the best seats in the house at ‘category A’ ranked games being very much aff ordable for those looking for an alternative to pricey tickets at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Season tickets at the Arms Park peak at £250 and can be purchased for as little as £185, giving much bet-ter value for money than Cardiff City season tickets – the most expensive Blues season tickets work out as half the price of equivalent Cardiff City tickets in terms of price per game.
A season ticket at Cardiff Blues includes entry to all PRO12 matches, all European Challenge Cup pool matches, and all Anglo-Welsh Cup pool matches. In addition season ticket holders are given free entry to all Blues friendly matches and all matches of Cardiff RFC, a feeder club of the Blues.
On last week’s Price of Football survey, Chief Executive of Regional Rugby Wales, Mark Davies, said: “� e study released by the BBC high-lights the gulf in pricing that exists for supporters to enjoy live profes-sional club sport both here in Wales and across the UK.”
“Regional rugby off ers great value for money for those wanting to en-joy live sport considering the level at which our professional teams com-pete both in Europe and the Guiness PRO12.”
Davies also revealed that despite recent doom mongering around the future of the Welsh club game, all Regions had reported increases or maintained sales of season tickets recorded last year.
It’s not all penny-saving for Blues followers though: a full kit comes in at just under £100, and with three kits available, there are sure to be accusations that the club are taking advantage of their loyal following. A jersey on its own costs £55.99, a sig-nifi cant outlay and close to £20 more than a Cardiff City shirt.
Rory Benson
Following the the BBC’s Price of Football survey, Gair Rhydd Sport looks at the cost of supporting the capital’s two major sports clubs: Cardiff Blues and Cardiff City
The most expensive Blues season tickets are half the price of equivalent Cardiff City tickets in terms of price per game.
Bryn Griffiths VP Sports &
AU President It’s week three in the BUCS calendar and it’s full steam ahead in the Athletic Union on all fronts! Team Cardiff as a whole executed an exceptional start to
the season last week. Special mention has to go to our men’s
rugby clubs, both medics and university, who completed a clean sweep, winning all five fixtures they played. There were also flawless performances in a number of rack-et sports with men’s badminton and tennis 1st teams and women’s squash 1sts not dropping a single match.
Other highlights from last Wednesday include a crushing victory from medics ladies’ netball 2nds who travelled to Pontypridd, and probably made themselves unwelcome guests in the future, despatch-ing a USW team 89-7.
Aside from BUCS, we’ve been planning the annual dodgeball tournament that will be held on the 6th November. It’s a rare chance to compete against other Team Cardiff clubs, or put together a team from your halls, house, course or society – lacrosse were crowned champions last year,
will your team take them on for the title this year?
Finally I am very proud to announce that this year will see the first ever Medics Varsity. The clash with Bristol medics will take place over the bridge at Coombe Dingle on Sunday 23rd November and will include rugby, men’s and women’s hockey, netball and football. Get yourself over to Bristol to support our medic’s sports teams and be part of history when the first Medics Varsity shield is carried victoriously back to Wales!
Bryn’s Note
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MOST EXPENSIVE TICKETS (IN £)
MOST EXPENSIVE TICKETS (IN £)
CHEAPEST TICKETS (IN £)
CHEAPEST TICKETS (IN £)
MAX SEASON TICKET PRICES (IN £)
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33SPORT
Joe Atkinson
Sport’s Pitch: Morality in professional sport
Following the release from prison of Wales internation-al footballer Ched Evans last week, a number of questions
have been raised around the issue of his potential reintegration into pro-fessional football.
Evans, who was convicted of rape and was imprisoned in 2012, has been strongly linked with a return to former club Sheffi eld United, prompting the creation of a petition against the forward resuming his £500,000 a year contract at the York-shire club.
So far that petition has received over 150,000 signatures from those dismayed that a man who has been found guilty of a crime as serious as rape could be set to take up such a lucrative contract, and become a role model for young supporters.
However arguing against the dis-senting voices are those that believe that having served his time in prison, Evans should be al-lowed to return to his profession. In light of this debate, the ques-tion needs to be asked whether sport stars should be put un-der greater scrutiny than “regular” mem-bers of the public who commit similar crimes when they return to so-ciety.
� e sport of football is no stranger to wel-coming back convict-ed criminals; Marlon King, currently serv-ing his third prison sentence for danger-ous driving, signed a one-year deal at Cov-
entry City in 2010 having served a nine month sentence for sexual as-sault and actual bodily harm against a female student.
In 2007 Oldham Athletic signed Lee Hughes who had just fi nished serving a four year jail term for causing death by dangerous driv-ing. Goalkeeper Luke McCormick served a similar sentence for the same off ense in 2008 that involved the deaths of two children - he was picked up two months following his release by non-league Truro City and now plies his trade at Plymouth Argyle, the club he was playing for prior to his conviction.
One of the most talked-about as-pects of Oscar Pistorius’s fi ve year conviction for the manslaughter of his girlfriend has been his potential
return to athletics when he becomes a free man - this is certainly a big issue at the moment following some high-profi le cases.
Again outside of football, Mike Tyson served three years of a six-year rape con-viction, but on his release in 1995 en-gaged in a number of comeback fi ghts that earned him millions of dollars and cemented his
rep- utation as one of the greatest boxers of the 20th century.
Clearly then there is a precedence for forgiveness in sport, even for serious crimes.
Should this be the case though? Sportsmen and women are noto-
riously well-payed and, more impor-tantly, are in the public eye - in the
case of footballers, on a weekly basis.Most worrying is the potential ef-
fects on children, and the message that a sports person’s return to the competitive stage sends about com-mitting crimes; if Ched Evans, or any other disgraced competitor is to seamlessly and immediately be rein-tegrated back into their profession, how will young supporters interpret the crimes that they commit?
� e concept of consequences for your actions looms large in this de-bate; it is highly doubtful that a dis-graced high-level member of staff in any company would be allowed to return to their previous role with such ease following a sexual assault or manslaughter conviction. It seems sports stars are held in a diff erent regard in this light, and that should never be the case.
But why is it the case? Why can Mike Tyson walk back into his life-style of fame and fortune when he has taken so much away from his victim. Similarly, why should Ched Evans be welcomed back to Shef-fi eld United when the woman he was convicted of raping is now living in witness protection and has had her name revealed on Twitter a number of times?
It should be noted that Evans is adamant of his innocence in the case and has lodged appeal in an at-tempt to clear his name. In addition, people will argue that having served his time, Evans should be allowed to resume his role in society without restrictions.
PFA Chairman Gordon Taylor believes Evans should be allowed to return to football, and expressed the previously explained argument: “I didn’t know there was a law that said once you come out of prison you still
can’t do anything.”Taylor also defended the astro-
nomical wages that the Welsh for-ward would undoubtedly pick up on signing a contract, saying: “If he earns money he’ll pay taxes. � ose taxes will go to help people who maybe can’t get a job.”
It must be noted though that it is the PFA’s duty as a trade union to defend its clients, and Taylor has declined to consider and explore the privileged and public-facing role that sportspeople occupy in today’s soci-ety.
If history has anything to say about it, then Ched Evans will be-come one of a long line of sports stars that have returned to their pro-fession following a stint in prison for a serious off ence. Having served his time, there is nothing in British law preventing the Wales striker re-suming his career, but with a public backlash brewing against his return, perhaps the heightened reputations that sportspeople enjoy in the mod-ern day will end up coming back to bite him.
Tweet us @GairRhyddSport to have your say.
Kelli-Jo Davies
Bath pull the plug on ladies’ rugbyLast Wednesday, Cardiff ’s
ladies rugby team travelled to Bath to take on their rivals in the BUCS Western 1A
Division.The first 20 minutes of play was
all in Cardiff ’s favour, as they kept pushing Bath backwards with a few great breaks by Jenny Benton. When put under pressure, Bath tended to make errors and turn the ball over to Cardiff. This, combined with their constant pushing forwards, led to the first try for Cardiff, scored by Anna White, but there was no con-version and the score remained 5-0.
Cardiff continued to press for-wards once the game got started again, putting Bath under even more pressure. Often Bath would lose their own lineouts as Cardiff ’s sec-ond row Lauren Cooper constantly interrupted them and once or twice
stole the ball. More breaks by Beth Stafford, Kelli-Jo Davies and Abbie Fleming kept putting Bath under ever increasing pressure and finally breaking down their defence so that the fly half could run through and score Cardiff ’s second try of the game.
Unfortunately, in the final 20 min-utes of the first half Cardiff did start to tire, allowing Bath to push them back and make breaks. This meant that gaps appeared in the defence and Bath took the opportunity to grab back a try, and halve their defi-cit to 10-5.
Once the second half had kicked off, Cardiff got straight back into their habit of putting Bath on the back foot, although their task proved harder this time around, as Bath managed to score a second try in the first 10 minutes of the second half
and level the scores.After this, Cardiff continued to
apply pressure to the Bath lineout, and both Betsan Morris and Sian Hamer produced some cracking breaks. Finally, Cardiff broke through Bath’s defence to score again and regain the lead at 15-10.
After this, Cardiff began to tire, allowing for Bath to push forwards and break through the defence to score another try and the only con-version of the game, bringing the final score to 17-15 in the home side’s favour.
Cardiff narrowly missed out on scoring one more try in the final minute, as Abbie Fleming managed to break away at the halfway line, only to get tackled right by the try line and get penalised for holding onto the ball.
Despite their narrow loss, the
ladies enjoyed the close game, in which they played well and they will undoubtedly take a lot of confidence from this encounter.
Despite their narrow loss, the ladies enjoyed the close game, in which they played well.
Amid speculation of Ched Evans’ return to professional football, Joe Atkinson takes a look at the duty professional sportsmen have to be role models for younger generations
lucrative contract, and become a role model for young supporters.
However arguing against the dis-senting voices are those that believe that having served his time in prison, Evans should be al-lowed to return to his profession. In light of this debate, the ques-tion needs to be asked whether sport stars should be put un-der greater scrutiny than “regular” mem-bers of the public who commit similar crimes when they return to so-
� e sport of football is no stranger to wel-coming back convict-ed criminals; Marlon King, currently serv-ing his third prison sentence for danger-ous driving, signed a one-year deal at Cov-
his girlfriend has been his potential return to athletics when he becomes a free man - this is certainly a big issue at the moment following some high-profi le cases.
Again outside of football, Mike Tyson served three years of a six-year rape con-viction, but on his release in 1995 en-gaged in a number of comeback fi ghts that earned him millions of dollars and cemented his
rep- utation as one of the greatest boxers of the 20th century.
Clearly then there is a precedence for forgiveness in sport, even for serious crimes.
Should this be the case though? Sportsmen and women are noto-
riously well-payed and, more impor-tantly, are in the public eye - in the
Pictured:Mike Tyson (top right)Ched Evans (bottom left)
It seems sports stars are held in a different regard in this light, and that should never be the case.
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SPORTtweet us @gairrhyddsportemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
Team Talk:Maths F.C.
Jamie Smith
Maths F.C. captain Ben Morgan talks Saints and socials
Mark Hammett has gone on record in stating how painful he has made the first two months of his tenure for his players. As this column has previously stated the straight-talking Kiwi is big on culture, and where certain players have failed to live up to his standards they have been axed.
In the past fortnight the former Hurricanes coach has deemed two sum-mer signings in former Bristol winger George Watkins and the thought-to-be promising number eight Ieuan Jones, as well as hooker Mark Breeze surplus to requirement at the Arms Park.
This comes off the back of a horrid opening period of the season which has resulted in the Blues winning just once from their first six Guinness Pro 12 encounters.
Despite possessing 289 international
caps between them, the Blues’ first choice front five have failed to give the Welsh region a platform so far this season.
The scrum and the lineout have also been suspect, which has more than likely contributed towards the omission of scrummaging legend Adam Jones from the Welsh squad for this autumn’s inter-nationals.
Hammett was always going to need a couple of seasons to turn around the fortunes of an ailing Blues squad, but worryingly there have been very little signs of improvement in the opening six games of the season, with the Welsh Region already facing an uphill task to qualify for next seasons Rugby Champions Cup.
There was however improvements to be seen when the Blues welcomed French Top 14 outfit Grenoble to the Arms Park.
The Blues may be competing in Europe’s second tier Challenge Cup, but it pro-vided an opportunity for the home side to wipe the slate clean, and to try plays that they would not normally attempt in the high pressured environment of the Guinness Pro 12.
With the pressure on Hammett’s side being temporarily lifted, the Blues pro-duced their most rounded performance of the season, to comprehensively see off Bernard Jackman’s side 37-14, which showcased what Hammett wants his side to develop into.
The challenge facing the Welsh region over the coming weeks will be to take their European form into the Pro 12, where they will perhaps be a little strong-er than other sides in November having provided only four players to Warren Gatland’s autumn squad.
Steffan Thomas Pictured:
Mark Hammett
Pictured:� e Maths F.C. of the Premier League
Maths FC endured a dif-ficult season in the bot-tom division last year despite producing
some impressive performances. Captain Ben Morgan, an avid sup-porter of Southampton, is hoping his side can overcome last year’s disap-pointments and qualify to play in the top divisions after Christmas.
How did the Maths team perform last year?We were really unlucky last season. We played really well at times but we were a completely new team so it took a long time for the players to gel. Now, the team has established a strong bond so we are really hopeful of improving and having a much more successful season this time around.
What responsibilities do you have as captain?I have a number of responsibilities as captain. I have to organise training and the kits for the team. I’m also involved in the administration aspects of the club, which includes securing a sponsor for the team. I speak to the other captains in terms of organising the matches and, of course, I am responsible for selecting the team.
Which teams will you be playing against in your group this year?In our group, we have one of the engineering teams. I think we also play Eurex, which is accountancy, and Borussia Teeth. I’m quite sure that they’re dentistry! We also have Comp-Sci. They should be interest-ing opponents because a few of our
players used to play for them so there is a bit of rivalry to look forward to.
If you had to compare the Maths team to their Premier League equivalent, what team would it be and why?Definitely Southampton. Firstly, because they are the best team in the Premier League! We have also had a number of new faces over the sum-mer whilst other players have left. And we have a new captain so we’re just like Southampton. Another rea-son is that it will annoy my teammate Ali because he’s a Portsmouth fan.
What has been your highlight in IMG football?It has to be getting to know my course mates. IMG football has been a really good opportunity to bond with the players. Obviously we all have something in common in that we study maths so it’s good to make friends and it has certainly been ben-eficial as a social activity.
Describe your best goal in IMG football.Well, I didn’t score against the lectur-ers, which was slightly annoying. But my best goal came in a friendly. I did a little sidestep and then managed to do a finesse shot that went past the goalkeeper. I’d certainly call it a FIFA goal.
Who is the worst dressed player in your team?Tom can be an interesting character as he has a wide range of football kits for lots of different teams. Connor is always wearing a Celtic top so that’s really disappointing and
Ali, well, I can’t say much more about Ali!
Who is the most memorable char-acter at socials?Matt, or ‘Thumper’ as he is known, has to be the most interesting char-acter. He has been to two training sessions in one year. To be fair, he splits it up. He went to one before Christmas and to one after Christmas. However, he has been to every social that we’ve had so he makes up for it.
Finally, how do you think Southampton will get on this sea-son?A lot of people have said Europe. Some have gone as far as saying top four but that is more of a long-term ambition. It would be good to try and get 6th place and maybe the FA Cup as well. The team had a really difficult summer but the new squad has gelled really well and really quickly. I think it would be good if we can show that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to compete at a high level.
We are really hopeful of improving and having a much more succesful season this time around
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35SPORT
Badminton is one of the most popular sports in BUCS
In my last column, I called for Russell Slade to ‘hit the ground run-ning’ in his first game in charge of Cardiff City and defeat then-unbeaten Nottingham Forest. Come full time in that game, he and his team had done just that, the narrow 2-1 victory not reflecting the quality of the perfor-mance City produced against the former league leaders. This form was continued into the outstanding come-back 3-1 win against Ipswich the following Tuesday.
For the first time this season, in fact for the first time since the start of last season, City played with what appeared to be unity, dedication and a real determination – all things
that were missing so often under the reign of Ole Gunnar Soskjaer. Cardiff looked like the home team,
which they rarely did under the Norwegian, and played with a
confidence that can only come from having
an understanding of one another – and of who is in charge.Slade has had
very little time to work with the group of highly talented but completely unconfident players dur-ing the international break, but has adopted a philoso-phy that is already starting to pay off. It is his way or the highway. Players can
either commit themselves to performing week in-week out – or face being dropped, or worse excluded from the squad.
Already, the more
industrial players have shone under the former Leyton Orient man, with long-serving City players and natural leaders like David Marshall and Peter Whittingham looking twice as sharp as they have ever done.
Perhaps Mr Tan has for once proved his doubters wrong in this
appointment. He appears to have picked a down to earth, hard-work-ing manager who will strive to get positive results – and play good, flowing football in the process. I for one will be interested to see were this new-look Cardiff side will go from here.
Dan Heard
We may be one of the biggest and most suc-cessful sports clubs at Cardiff University, but
Cardiff University Badminton is not just about BUCS. With hundreds of members who join to play social bad-minton every Sunday at Talybont Sports Centre, we are a club for eve-ryone.
Most people have, at some point in their lives, played badminton. Whether it be with family, friends or at school, it is a sport that can be played at low cost and with little equipment. The combination of the fast shuttlecock and the relatively small court size means it’s fun to play at any level. However very few peo-ple will play consistently, and as a club we are constantly looking to get people back playing the sport. Membership is only £30 for the year or £4 for one session, and for that you can come along on Sunday between 12 and 3.30pm and just play. No strings attached.
One of the best aspectss of the club is that badminton is only one part of it. We have tournaments, social leagues and for the first time this year, an IMG football team. There is also the not so small matter of socials which regularly involve Wednesday night adventures in the Lash (or should I say YOLO…) but also involve more civilised trips out for organised runs and to watch international tournaments.
However, we’re definitely not just a social club. Badminton is one of the most popular sports in BUCS and the university attracts many talented badminton players. The training squad, which has high performance coaching sessions, consistently pro-duces teams capable of competing at the highest level of BUCS.
Formed of three teams plus reserves the squad has a great mix of freshers and older years. Our men’s
and women’s first teams play in the premier division and our men’s sec-onds, having been promoted last sea-son, are now in the first division. The first teams also compete (and win) at Varsity every year.
While badminton is a great sport to play casually, it is an even better one to play competitively. Physically demanding, badminton requires a balance of agility and power which from top players results in shuttle speeds in excess of 200mph. This, for the record, is faster than either tennis or squash.
The image of competitive badmin-ton has improved greatly in recent years. Since being made an Olympic sport in 1992, it has become progres-sively more popular. Many remem-ber Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson’s Olympic silver in Athens 2004 and London 2012 brought renewed interest. However to many badminton is still one of those sports that comes on every four years and then disappears.
Unlike tennis, badminton enjoys very little coverage in the UK despite the huge number of people who play it. The brand new National Badminton League is hoping to change that a competitive league fea-turing the UK’s top players live on television. The aim is to generate more interest in competitive bad-minton and to demonstrate what an exciting sport it is. Combined with the fact that para-badminton will now be included in the Paralympics Games from 2020, it is hoped that badminton in the UK is on an upward trajectory.
As for Cardiff Badminton, 2014-15 looks like being another top sea-son. We had literally hundreds of people turn up to our taster session and turnout at social sessions since has been great. As for the squad teams, the mens firsts started the season with an 8-0 victory over
Bristol, with two new freshers mak-ing their debuts in the team. The men’s seconds, now in the tougher first division, were beaten 6-2 by a strong Bath thirds side. A better result is expected against Exeter firsts this week. The ladies were also beat-en 6-2 by a strong Brighton team in a close game, but again plenty to build on for the upcoming season.
Many freshers will arrive in Cardiff looking to try a new sport or get back into an old one. Some may just want to meet new people. Some may just love badminton. The popularity of the club, the variety on offer (sport-ing or otherwise) and the fact you get to play such an exciting sport makes Cardiff University Badminton a great choice.
John O’Rourke
Sport’s Spotlight: Badminton Club
Pictured: New Cardiff boss Russell Slade (left);and former boss Ole Gun-nar Solskjaer with owner Vincent Tan
Pictured:Cardiff Univer-sity Badminton in action at Varsity
ning’ in his first game in charge of Cardiff City and defeat then-unbeaten Nottingham Forest. Come full time in that game, he and his team had done just that, the narrow 2-1 victory not reflecting the quality of the perfor-mance City produced against the former league leaders. This form was continued into the outstanding come-back 3-1 win against Ipswich the following
For the first time this season, in fact for the first time since the start of last season, City played with what appeared to be unity, dedication and a real determination – all things
Cardiff looked like the home team, which they rarely did under the
Norwegian, and played with a confidence that can only
come from having an understanding
of one another – and of who is in charge.Slade has had
very little time to work with the group of highly talented but completely unconfident players dur-ing the international break, but has adopted a philoso-phy that is already starting to pay off. It is his way or the highway. Players can
either commit themselves to performing week in-week out – or face being dropped, or worse excluded from the squad.
Already, the more
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On the back of the BBC’s Price of Football investigation, Gair Rhydd Sport has taken
a look at the price of sport in Cardiff.Prices of match-day and season
tickets were sourced from five of the city’s top-class sports clubs to deter-mine whether Cardiff ’s sport fans are getting a raw deal.
Cardiff City Football Club charge up to £40 to attend a league game. In comparison Cardiff Blues Rugby Club tickets cost up to £23, while
they are £15 for Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey Club.
Tickets for T20 matches at Glamorgan County Cricket Club also cost £15, and fans are expected to pay £10 for entry to Celtic Dragons Netball Club games.
These ticket prices provide fur-ther evidence that the price of foot-bal is getting out of control; the BBC’s survey concluded that the price of regularly supporting a English league club has now exceed-
ed the cost of living in the UK.Season ticket prices back this up
further; Cardiff City charge up to £689, with the Blues’ most expensive equivalent costing just £250. In addi-tion season tickets to the Cardiff Devils are £445 and those to Celtic Dragons are £55.
With Cardiff City’s 5 year season ticket price freeze plan for existing season ticket holders coming to an end in 2015, supporters face yet another steep price hike come the
end of this season.City fans may find solace in the
astronomic prices that other football club’s charge their fans; Arsenal for example have match-day tickets costing up to £97 and their most expensive season ticket comes in at an eye-watering £2,013, while their cheapest comes in at £1,014, nearly triple the price of City’s cheapest.
Find an in-depth comparison of the cost of supporting Cardiff City and Cardiff Blues on page 28.
SPORTtweet us @gairrhyddsportemail us [email protected] visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport
Football fans fouled by farcical fees
David Hooson
Cardiff City supporters pay much more for tickets than their Blues counterparts, despite football’s background as the ‘working class game’
Should athletes be held to a higher moral standard? << P33
Blues column: How much progress has been made this season? << P34
Sport’s Spotlight: Badminton Club<< P35
Continued on page 32
