THE GAZELLETuesday 9 April, 2013 • WEEK 12 • ISSUE 10 The student paper of Richmond, the American International University in London

OFF WITH HIS HEAD!Laura Rutkowski revisits Victorian London as she braves the dungeons, p. 2

ASK A YOUNG ENTREPRENEURVedica Podar answers all your business questions, p. 2

Hill campus welcomes prospective students at bi-annual Open Dayby Philip TacasonEditor-in-Chief

Prospective students were wel-comed to Richmond during the uni-versity’s bi-annual Open Day at the Hill campus. Hosted by the Student Ambassadors’ organisation and the Admissions team, the event allowed prospective students and their fami-lies to tour the campus and learn about Richmond’s academic programmes.

The day started with a welcome address from Provost Phil Deans and Dean of Students Allison Cole-Stutz. The students and their fam-ilies then embarked on a tour of the university grounds. Led by the Stu-dent Ambassadors, the tours covered the main academic areas in the Sir Cyril Taylor Library, as well as the dorm rooms, common room, and dining hall areas in Main Building.

Afterward, the families learned a

bit about admissions, internships, fi-nancial aid, and student affairs. The families were then free to choose to attend one of four lectures that were given by Dr. Ira Konstanti-nou, Dr. Sabine Spangenberg, Dr. Martin Brown, and Dr. John Chua. Finally, the Student Ambassadors and the Admissions staff were on-hand to answer individual questions during a meet-and-greet reception on the ground floor of Taylor Library.

“The day featured an interac-tion with student ambassadors, staff, and faculty that was absolutely crucial,” says Nick Atkinson, Di-rector of U.S. Admissions. “Today is our chance to give a real rath-er than virtual experience, and to show these prospective students and their families who we really are.”

Elizabeth Stalberg, Market-ing Communications Manag-

by Philip TacasonEditor-in-Chief

The most recent Learning and Teaching Policies Committee featured discussions regarding the latest devel-opments in university policy, as well as the new programmes that are to be introduced this coming September.

The L&TP Committee is chaired by the Provost, Dr. Phil Deans, and was attended by the deans and associate deans of the various departments, reg-istry, and accreditation. As Academic Chair of the Student Government, Philip Tacason also sat on the com-mittee as the student representative.

The committee engaged in discus-sions regarding the terms and refer-ences of the Academic Committee’s three subcommittees – the Academic Progress, the General Education, and the Grievance and Appeals Com-mittees. The meeting then covered various academic procedures, as well

RIASA introduces new B.A.as minor changes to degree require-ments and course names. All agreed proposals will now move to the Senior Management Team for final approval.

Finally, the committee discussed the programme specifications of the new degree to be introduced at Rich-mond’s sports academy located in Leeds, the Richmond Internation-al Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA). The new programme, a B.A. in International Sports Management, is designed to engage students in the business elements of the sports world. The programme will be introduced in the autumn of 2013, and has already sparked excitement amongst the members of the academic committee.

The Learning and Teaching Pol-icies Committee is always the site of exciting and interesting new de-bates regarding developments in the academic affairs of the university.

You Aren’t What You Eat: Food Poverty in Londonby Magdalene ThomasLayout Editor

Published in serial. Look out for next week’s installment.

On the opposite side of the food chain are Mindi and Stephen Carter and their three-and-a-half year old daughter, Victoria. Mindi is the Head of Product Marketing at GAM, an investment management firm, and Stephen has been working in I.T. for years although he recently took time off to transition into a new career.

With their higher salaries, the Carters can afford to frequent top-shops like Waitrose or Whole Foods. Instead, they do the majori-ty of their shopping at the lower-end Asda and family-friendly Costco.

“We find that the quality [of Asda] is just as good because we tend to buy ingredients as opposed to ready meals,” says Mindi. “Every-thing is fresh and it’s the same stuff you can get at Sainsbury’s. If you’re buying an ear of corn, it’s an ear of corn. But you’re going to pay 10% less at Asda and it’s all just fine.”

Despite their higher social stand-ing, the Carters buy groceries from the same stores that the poor and working poor typically shop at. While their food sources may be the same, the Carters are privileged in two ways that many impoverished fam-ilies aren’t: time and personal space.

Because of their higher wages, the Carters don’t normally have to work weekends or nights. This ex-

tra time in their schedule is some-thing that many poor and working poor families simply don’t have.

Mindi uses this surplus time to prepare food, like their favorite veggie-filled lasagna, to keep her family fed throughout the week.

Both sides of Mindi’s fami-ly came from farming stock, and she remembers growing up think-ing it was “normal” to make your own food. When her friends came over after school one day and found her mother making pizza dough, they asked why she hadn’t just or-dered in a pizza or bought a frozen crust. Likewise, Mindi was shocked when she saw her first TV dinner.

After the birth of her daughter, Mindi made it a priority to use her extra time to prepare and pureé all of Victoria’s baby food for the first year-and-a-half of her life.

“The thought of just opening a can or a packet even if it was the or-ganic posh baby food, I just thought it wasn’t really ‘me’,” says Min-di. “She eats really well. She loves mussels and scallops and curries.”

For other mothers working in Lon-don’s largely service-based economy who may have conflicting sched-ules, lower wages and less family support when raising their children, the homemade baby mash isn’t al-ways an option. As children age and their palettes change, feeding can become even more of a struggle.

Caraher says that fast food is a popular choice for parents who are

struggling to keep their kids fed.“It makes financial sense...and

social sense, because you buy take-away and your kids usually will eat it,” he says. “You don’t have the battles over ‘eat the greens, eat the greens’ and you fill them up. It’s high fat, salt, sugar generally in those take-away foods and pre-pro-cessed foods, but they fill kids up.”

While efforts like the “Healthy Start” initiative sponsored by the NHS and a wide variety of food banks around London are working hard to prevent hunger within low-income families, Caraher says that food banks and charities are only short-term solutions. A sustainable solution is in the hands of the government through state benefits system, and the establishment of food taxes and subsidies to encourage healthy eating.

Caraher says that an “ade-quate welfare system, not just a philanthropy-based system” is crucial to pulling families out of food poverty and enabling them to change their circumstances.

While charities do an admirable job, he’s keen to say, they cannot plan what food they’ll have in stock ahead of time. Charities are subject to what-ever food is donated to them. One week, that may include lots of cheese and vegetables, but no real proteins. Another week, it may include most-ly proteins, but very little produce.

“The other [part of the solution] is having a minimum benefit lev-el which is related to food pric-

es, so no family falls below a lev-el of income that they can’t afford to access healthy food,” he says.

Caraher also says that “tax-es and subsidies” are another way of ensuring that people can access adequate healthy food.

The so-called “fat tax,” which has recently spread to Denmark, would complement a subsidy of healthy, locally grown food.

One reason a taxation and subsi-dy system is so agreeable is because it doesn’t negate consumer choice- “people don’t like that, of course.” Instead, it only makes healthful food more affordable. Consumers would still have all the options available to them, from sweets to greasy crisps, but at a higher cost relative to their subsidized, healthier counterparts.

Families like the Carters also have a spatial advantage over other low-income families.

Mindi says she and her husband buy meat in bulk and then freeze it to last them through the month be-cause it’s significantly cheaper. While this may seem like a simple concept, low-income families often live in cramped flats where kitchens don’t have enough space for a large freezer box or refrigerator. This leaves them buying groceries on a weekly or even daily basis, which ends up costing more than buying groceries in bulk.

This disadvantage applies to pantry space, also. While pasta or canned vegetables and fruits have a longer shelf life than fresh foods, they take

up space in a cabinet. But purchasing foods in bulk like the Carters could save low-income families a signifi-cant amount of money over time.”

Even though the Carters don’t “buy into” the organic craze- “It’s significantly more expensive! A parsnip is just a parsnip!” Mindi interjects- their garden space en-ables them to eat what Caraher calls a “privileged peasant” diet.

“People who can afford it are ac-tually going back to almost peas-ant-like diets and they’re eating locally,” says Caraher. “ That’s to be applauded… but it’s [a matter of] resources and it’s a privilege.”

He explains that developing and de-veloped countries go through some-thing called the “nutrition transition.”

In the first stage of the nutrition transition, middle- and high-in-come groups adopt a fast-food diet. New and quick foods are available for a premium cost as they’re intro-duced, so the only people that can afford to eat them are wealthier.

The second stage of the nutrition transition is when those higher-in-come groups revert back to eating more “peasant-like” diets for a pre-mium price: organic, locally- and home-grown foods. The cost of fast food drops as it becomes more in-dustrialized, so take-aways and fast food meals become a low-class food.

“There’s a lot of evidence that peas-ant diets - like the Mediterranean diet - are pretty healthy. There’s an irony,” says Caraher with a frown.

er, says that this semester’s group provided for a turnout larger than any Open Day in the past.

“It was great to see our student ambassadors in full force,” notes Stalberg. “It was also good to see faculty members making a commit-ment to help students figure out if they want to come to Richmond.”

Atkinson says that the day’s event was yet another step to-wards a progressive expansion of the university’s student body.

“Next year’s goal is to welcome 100 new students from the U.S., and 175 from Europe, the UK, and the rest of the world,” Atkinson tells The Ga-zelle. “This is all a part of our goal to increase our population by 50% over the next five years, and we are well on our way to reaching that goal.”

Leeds sports academy expands degree offerings for athletes

2 9 April, 2013

Features

The London Dungeon: Enter at your peril

by Laura RutkowskiStaff Writer

I saw the face of Jack the Ripper. I learned how to use torture devices. I watched a live dissection. Oh, and I chopped off my boyfriend’s head.

Before you stop reading, let me ex-plain. The London Dungeon has been deliciously gruesome for almost 40 years and makes sure that its audience is involved in the gruesome process. My parents, my boyfriend, and I de-cided to be tourists for a day and check out one of London’s most popular at-tractions. You don’t want to go alone!

After relocating from Tooley Street to County Hall, the London Dungeon reopened on March 1st. It is now sit-uated across from the London Eye and overlooks the Houses of Par-liament and Big Ben. I recommend booking in advance, because the line that snakes inside the attraction is a long one. If you are easily fright-ened or at all squeamish, sit this one out, but I assure you the London Dungeon is more fascinating than

it is chilling. Before the 90-minute experience begins, each ticket pro-claims the ticket holder guilty, call-ing us names such as “traitor” and “thief,” or in my case, “murderer.”

The London Dungeon delves into the past 1,000 years of London’s dark history through the help of 18 new in-teractive performances and 20 actors. Through sights, sounds, and smells (unpleasant ones at that), the London Dungeon aims to capture a realis-tic setting. Highly informative and amusing, it relies on audience par-ticipation, so go along with the show!

Everyone clung tightly to their friends or loved ones, shuffling to the very back of the rooms, not want-ing to be targeted by the actors, nor knowing what to expect. Our journey started somewhat explosively by wit-nessing what would have happened if Guy Fawkes successfully blew up Parliament. After that, things only got better. One of the highlights was being asked to “take a seat” at Swee-ney Todd’s Fleet Street barbershop.

Heads roll as Laura Rutkowski decapitates her boyfriend (not really). Photo courtesy of The London Dungeon.

When Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewellyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932, the original Alice in Wonderland came face-to-face with the original Peter Pan. In John Logan’s remarkable new play, enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bear the lives of these two extraordinary characters.

Peter and Alice shows both the wonderful and terrible sides of their characters’ lives and fairytale sto-ries. The show takes our naïve, ide-alistic understandings of fairytale and breaks them down around us, exposing a brooding, darker side. It beautifully illustrates the corruption of childhood, playing the fiction-al versions of Alice and Peter Pan off their more mature namesakes.

The stern, cynical Alice is a per-fect foil to the fairytale character Alice, whose bright-eyed, chirpy at-titude bordered on obnoxious (but she was this way in the book, too). Peter struggles with growing up, while a slightly strung-out Peter Pan absolutely refuses to allow him to do so. Throughout the play, all four characters demand emotion and at-tention from each other- pushing and pulling, from joy to mourning.

Simple set design and props fur-ther developed this contrast. Bounc-ing between a truly dingy bookshop and a technicolor fantasy, the Peter and Alice pushed characters into the setting they were least comfort-able. This visual contrast helped keep the show dynamic, especial-ly as Dench waltzed in between sets and her character of ‘cynical pensioner’ and ‘innocent child’.

Dench was stern and forceful, or light-hearted and bubbly at all the right moments, capturing the contrasting

energies of Alice as an adult and a child. While Whishaw slipped into his role as child much less frequently, he still believably captured the cor-rupted cynicism of a child who grew up far too quickly. They performed well together, smoothly and casually, showing a clear trust for the other.

At its climax, all six characters are on stage interacting with each other. Amidst all the shouting, dancing, foot-stomping and longing glanc-es, the story shines through rather simply: paradise has been lost, and replaced by a disappointing adult-hood. It is a story of contrast, and a story of a relationship that ended as suddenly as it began. Just as the au-dience is whisked into the fairytale and fantasy, they are whisked out.

With superb acting and a pow-erful (if sobering) message, it is worth trying to snatch up tick-ets for a Saturday matinee.

Peter and AliceNoel Coward TheatreStarring: Ben Whishaw (Merlin, Sky-fall) and Dame Judi Dench (James Bond series, Chocolat)Showing until 1 June 2013

Peter and Alice - reviewby Magdalene ThomasLayout Editor

by Vedica PodarGuest Columnist

When did you become an entre-preneur and what is your vision for your business?

I started Young Scholars, Inc. be-fore I joined Richmond in Spring 2012. Young Scholars, Inc. provides a variety of programs – both online and offline – that can help allow stu-dents to work with renown business organisations from around the world. Our online projects allow you to do projects and internships for compa-nies around the world without having to travel! I see Young Scholars, Inc. as an avenue to redefine the future of student research and Internships.

If you could be anything other than an entrepreneur, what would it be?

Ever since I started Young Schol-

New column: Ask a young entrepreneur

Horror, guts and gore find London Dungeon guilty of a good timeAdmittedly, I was petrified when I felt my hair being played with in the pitch-black room. We spoke with one of Jack the Ripper’s victims, Mary Jane Kelly, before she died. After fumbling through a maze of mir-rors, Jack the Ripper came to life, holding a knife to two poor women’s faces before he disappeared again.

A highly humorous courtroom scene declared members of the audi-ence guilty and forced them to take to the stand and explain themselves. Unfortunately, we all ended up be-ing guilty and sent to the gallows to be hung. Encouraged by a cheering crowd, we hoisted ourselves onto a drop tower ride and were lowered to our deaths. It wasn’t how I expected to go, but hey, at least it was eventful!

Speaking as a fan of all things gory and ghastly, I found the London Dungeon engrossing in its unconven-tional way of exploring a great city’s past. Every city has a dirty, grimy un-derside, and finding out about Lon-don’s has only made me love it more.

ars, I’ve never looked back on my de-cision or thought of alternative career options. However, I’ve always been interested in Business and Sports – so before this happened, other than get into the Business world I did consid-er becoming a Sports Psychologist.

If you could offer a first-time entre-preneur one piece of advice, what would it be?

The only advice I can really give is to believe in yourself and nev-er give up! As an entrepreneur you must be confident and have full faith in your idea. There will be times when things may get tough, but that’s when the tough get going!

How do you hope to bring the spirit of enterprise & entrepreneurship to Richmond?

I would like to use the Young En-trepreneurs Society as an avenue to bring the spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise to Richmond. Last week we hosted the ‘Idea Incubator’ at Richmond which was well attend-ed and I’m hoping in Fall 2013 we can have a one-day conference where we get in businessmen from all walks of life to speak to students about their experiences and share their advice.

Vedica Podar is the founder of Young Scholars, Inc. and chair of the Young Entrepreneurs Society at Richmond. If you have a ques-tion you’d like to have answered, email her at her student email:vedica.podar@students.richmond.ac.uk

Find out more about her organiza-tion at : http://youngscholarsinc.com

9 April, 2013 3

Whether you’re a player, referee, or socializer, it’s an event you wont’ want to miss!

Location: Kensington ParkDate/Time: TBA

Visit: facebook.com/events/43819958_6274647

STUDENT FOOTBALL MATCH

TOMORROWFinance $ociety

presentsguest speaker Seana Hull from America’s Growth Capital

Wednesday 10 April, 5-6pmAsa Briggs 210

The Tail EndCONTACT US Editor-In-ChiefPhilip Tacason

Layout EditorMagdalene Thomas

Copy EditorJessica Vaughan

Diary EditorSusan Bergreen

Lead PhotographerHaley Stevens

Staff WritersMaria BadilloSusan BergreenNia DannerAriel DaukDevan DiLiberoCharles EbertKiely HealeySarah LisewskiHeidi MaunderNompi Majola Bahja NorwoodCarlos RestituyoTeyonna RidgewayLaura RutkowskiJulia SchwenkMariah Timms

ABOUT USThe Gazelle strives to present information fairly, accurately and completely.

If we have made an error, please contact us. If you want to contribute an alternative viewpoint to a story, please contact the Editor and not the student who wrote the article.

WE WANT YOUAdvertising designersSeeking creative individuals to design advertisements for weekly edition. Commitment will involve two hours per week. Experience with Adobe InDesign a plus. Contact Magdalene Thomas for more information.

Business managerSeeking business manager to coordinate external and internat advertisements. Con-tact Philip Tacason for more information.

Staff writersSeeking staff writers interested in publishing regular articles. Can focus on one section of the paper, or publish a variety of articles. Contact Philip Ta-cason for more information.

CLASSIFIEDSROOM FOR LETRoom available for let over summer. Shared with 21 year old LSE master’s degree student. Located directly next to Pimlico Underground Station on Victoria Line. Contact Camila Studart via Facebook or school email.

ROOM FOR LETFemale roommate needed for Hammersmith flat starting Sept. Contact Julia Schwenk via school email.

FLAT FOR LET3BR flat in West Kensington near tube stations available 12 June. £580/week + bills. Contact Marine Strauss or Rowenna Chaskey via school email.

by Bahja NorwoodStaff Writer

Below are some free, cultural events around London to keep you and your wallet happy.

Frozen Yogurt Party 2013This Saturday, Tutti Frutti in Cov-

ent Garden is hosting a free Frozen Yogurt Party event from 3pm to 10 pm. There will be free frozen yo-gurt, free cupcakes (before 6 pm), and games. Video games like Mario Kart, Beat the Beat and Super Smash Bros will be available for game play on an Xbox 360 and the new Wii U console. Prizes are available for the tournaments that will be held on the two game consoles along with the Jenga tournament. There will also be a Popup shop with t-shirts, snapback caps and the new Samurai Chef Man-ga book for sale. To register for this event, go to www.mayamada.com.

Fringe! Queer Film & Arts FestivalFrom this Thursday until April 14

Fringe! is hosting its third queer film and arts festival taking place at vari-ous venues in East London. There will be over 30 films, four exhibitions, and parties held at the Hackney Picture-house, the Rio Cinema, the Audin Cinema, the Acrola tent and at secret Popup avenues throughout East Lon-don. Many of the venues are within walking distance, but some may re-quire a short bus ride. To book tickets for this event go to www.fringefilm-fest.com. Some films require you to pay for the tickets but the £8 fee is more than worth it. You will have to book tickets for each screening you want to attend, so make sure you plan out a whole day of exciting films and art!

The Black Cat CabaretThis Friday from 7 pm to 3 am at

Cafe de Paris the Black Cat Cabaret has a new April line-up for its audi-ence. If you are interested in the dark and unusual for excitement then this definitely for you. Their acts include street singers, “mad” musicians, ac-robats, dancers, illusionists, “delir-ious” comics and “exotic” artists. This is not a free event however the admission price is not that pricey at only £15. If you want to make an evening out of it you can purchase a two-course meal with the show for £47.50. These tickets sell out fast quickly so book soon! If you miss this week’s show do not worry, the show takes place every Friday. To book tickets, visit www.theblackcat.info.

This week around town

Photo by Sonya Moorjani.

Photo by Haley Stevens.

Spotlight on: student photography

Philip’s fun cornerThat’s Punny: A theatre performance all about puns... it was a play on words.

Fun fact: During her eleven years as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher reportedly cooked din-ner for her husband every night.