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Mar 14, 2016
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activate!THE STUDENTS’ UNION ACTIVITIES GUIDE.
Whether your sport is of thetraditional variety, something a littlemore extreme or you fancy tryingsomething completely different andoff the wall, then the Students’ Unionhas lots on offer for you!
activate! has details of all theactivities on offer throughout the2008/2009 academic year.
Discover all the opportunitiesavailable: Sports Clubs & Societies,Volunteering projects, the Give It AGo activities programme and studentmedia. There’s also contact info soyou know who to speak to if you’reinterested!
And if there’s anything we’ve missed,or you want to come and join the funthen visit The Zone, on the first floorof the Students’ Union.
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Sports Whether you want to keep fit, meet newpeople, take part in your favourite sportor play competitively there are plenty ofsports clubs to choose from inHuddersfield. Football, rugby and netballrepresent some of the traditional sportingclubs that we offer, but have you everthought about trying Hurling orTaekwondo?
If you are reading this you are probablynew to Huddersfield and Uni life, andonly been here for a few days. Havingleft family, friends and familiar faces backhome, you might be feeling a little lonely.A great way to overcome this feeling is tojoin a sports club! Choose from over 25clubs and meet a varied range of people.
Whether individual or collective, indoor oroutdoor, contact or less physical, we aresure one of them will suit you.
More than just meeting new friends in achilled atmosphere, they can help youdevelop new skills.
Having a go at something new is also away to add a line to your CV and to makeyou stand from the crowd.
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This guide will help you to decide whichactivity is best for you… or you could eventry them all!?
Check online atwww.huddersfieldstudent.com for fullsports club listings and contact details
SPOTLIGHT on the HUDDERSFIELD HAWKSThe Huddersfield Hawks American football team began in2006 and have just completed their first season in BUAFL(British Universities American Football League). The teamis made up of over 50 members, but there’s always roomfor more! There is a great atmosphere within the team,every member is friendly and co-operative, bursting withtalent, quality coaching staff and after a tough seasonlast year, they are aspiring to show the university and therest of the league they are here to stay!
The Hawks train every Friday 8pm-10pm and Sundays11am-3pm at Storthes Hall Park.
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Societies Coming to University has never been aboutjust gaining a degree, and if you thought thatthree years of lectures and essays meantgiving up your favourite hobby orpastime…then think again!
The Students’ Union has many societies whichcater for students with political, sporting,religious and cultural interests. Whether youwant to hang out in rock clubs, campaign forthe rights of others or pursue conservationissues, then you’ve landed in the right place!From meditating to music, skateboarding toonline gaming, the potential is only limited tothe imagination.
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SPOTLIGHT on HUBAThe Huddersfield University BoardridingAssociation is one of the University’s mostlong-standing societies. Founded by twosurf enthusiasts, the society has providednumerous surf trips to all areas of the UK and somesnowboard trips within Yorkshire. The society has grownto include around 90 members and has acquired a varietyof equipment to improve the accessibility of boardsportswithin Huddersfield. There are a number of planned tripsover the year, to many different places within the UK,making the most of the variety of landscapes and tidesand, of course, the amazing British weather!
HUBA meet socially every Monday at 8pm in Varsity. Withtrips to Newquay and Wales planned already, HUBA arehoping 08/09 will be bigger, better and sunnier than ever!
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Volunteering Gone are the days when volunteeringjust meant helping out in a charityshop. For every career there is avoluntary position that could help yougain the skills you need to get aheadin the workplace. Boost your CV, getsome much needed experience, andgive something back, all at the sametime.
You can choose to volunteer for a dayat a one-off-event maybe just to seewhat it’s like, or for a few hours aweek as a break from study, then ifthose idle summer months are toomuch to bear, you can volunteer full-time. It’s a great way of tryingsomething new, being constructive,adding skills to your CV, and doingsomething worthwhile.
Most organisations which involvevolunteers offer training, so you don’tneed to have any qualifications tobecome a volunteer - just loads ofenthusiasm!
of volunteers say that volunteering has
provided them with extra skills for life.96%
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Spotlight on Sam Mallen: 3rd year Social Work student.
I volunteer with the READ Book ProjectHuddersfield which collects old textbooks,and raises funds to ship those books toschools in Tanzania. I was telling somefriends about the project, when one of them said thatthey didn’t see the point in trying to save the world. Myresponse was ...
‘I don’t want to save the world, but whileI’ve got some spare time on my hands Imay aswell do something useful with it‘!
“Put aside preconceptions: volunteering is work experience withthe added possibility that the act of choosing to be a volunteer
can show even greater initiative and commitment"
Mark Killingley, Senior Manager, HSBC Bank
Okay, so you want to have a go, first step isdeciding what area of volunteering youwant to try. A list of up and comingopportunities are posted on theVolunteering notice board in The Zone, firstfloor of the Students’ Union, or you can checkonline at www.huddersfieldstudent.com/volunteer forupdates.
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VarsityThe annual Varsity event seesHuddersfield face it’s old arch enemy,Bradford University, in a sportingextravaganza. A wide range of differentsports teams, from rugby to tennis andfootball to fencing, battle it out acrossthe pitch or court to prove whichUniversity rules supreme in thesporting stakes! It’s crazy, fun andsomething well worth watching.
This year the matches will be held inHuddersfield in March 2009. Make sureyou get your ticket and don’t miss atreat. Look out for more details onlineat www.huddersfieldstudent.com
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2008 Varsity ReportLike lots of other Universities and based on themodel of a more famous example, opposingOxford and Cambridge, the University ofHuddersfield also has its local rival. Every year thetradition of the Varsity is to compete against ourlocal and friendly adversary Bradford University invarious sports in a full day event. Organisedalternatively by both institutions, the Varsity will,this year be organised and held in ‘sunny’Huddersfield. Last year was an innovative year aswe included 2 new disciplines - archery and icehockey. This year again we hope to increase theparticipation of our clubs.
This year the University of Huddersfield lost 6-4against Bradford, managed to draw the rugbyleague game, but most importantly we won therugby union match, which means we retain thecup for another year. Although we lost all of theteams that played performed 110% and had fundoing so, because at the end of the day, sport issupposed to be fun. Get involved, whether itsjoining the teams or just poppingalong for the day to show yoursupport, it all counts!!!
Report by Julien Boville.
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Give It A Go Give It A Go is the Students’ Unions programme ofactivities that provide low cost entertainment to studentson a budget. Whatever your interests we will havesomething for you.
If you haven’t got the time to devote to becoming a fullmember of a club or society, or you’re not entirely surethat a particular activity is for you but you’ve alwayswanted to try it out for size then our Give It A Go!programme is perfect for you.
This years activities include: shopping trip to Ikea, tripsaround Yorkshire, Edinburgh and The Lake District.
Other activities include Paintballing, Skiing, Danceand Craft Classes, as well as First Aid, SignLanguage and Self Defense classes.
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Spotlight on Alton Towers... Wednesday 11th June 2008.
After a slightly wet experience on the LogFlume, Claire gives her report on the AltonTowers trip!
After a short journey we had arrived. Firststop, food! Probably not the best ideaconsidering we were about to climbaboard some of the most stomachchurning rides known to man! We spentthe day being drenched, spun, flipped,and twisted in every direction possible, goingfrom the log flume, to Rita, then Oblivion and Nemesis,before finishing on everyone's favourite, the spinningbarrels. Roll on next year!!
Keep an eye out for posters advertising our events fromthe beginning of term or check out the Give It A Go pageon our web site at www.huddersfieldstudent.com
Tickets will need to be bought in advance from theStudents’ Union Reception or online for all of the sessions,unless otherwise stated. Each event has a limited numberof tickets so please buy early to avoid disappointment!
For further information please call 01484 538 156 or [email protected]. Alternatively check online atwww.huddersfieldstudent.com for terms and conditions.
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Spotlight on HUPS(Huddersfield UniversityPhotographic Society)
“There was a group of us intophotography, but not everyonehad dSLR cameras. We approached theStudents’ Union about becoming an officialsociety. We needed to nominate a president anda Treasurer and fill out a few forms; but we gota free stand at Freshers Fayre and signed upover 30 members. The SU got us some decentcamera kit to experiment with, and helped usout with a trip to Chester Zoo. A few of us havesince entered photo competitions and won!”
Mark. President, HUPS. 2007/2008
Do your own thing!If you’ve got a passion or a quirky hobby andthere is no club or society here at Huddersfieldyet, then why not create one of your own?!
Gather a few friends and put down some ideas.Gaz Weeks, the Vice President Sports &Societies will clarify whether your project canbe supported, materially and/or financially, bythe Students’ Union. All projects are important,so do not be scared to come ask for help withyour project.
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Who to contactGaz Weeks, VP Sports & SocietiesGaz is the Vice President Sports &Societies, which means it’s his job is tosupport all sports and societies currently available; andwork with students to provide even more clubs torepresent what you, the student public, want.
If you want to join a club then Gaz is the guy to help youfind the right contacts; or if there isn’t a club which suitsyour interests, he’ll help you set one up.
Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473456 Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.
Sarah Fawcett, Volunteer CoordinatorThe Volunteer Coordinators job is toencourage students to get involved involunteering projects within the localcommunity. Volunteering is essentialwhen gaining experience for a futurecareer, helping a worthy cause, or just fillingyour spare time.
Sarah will be encouraging you to get involved, if you wanta new challenge, to have a taste of your dream career, orsimply lend a hand.
Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473455 Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.
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The ‘Huddersfield Student’ is the official publication forStudents at the University of Huddersfield. It’s a freemonthly paper, covering student life – everything fromnews, music and film reviews to student sporting andsociety achievements – and this year hosts a new look!
Huddersfield Student was founded in 2001 and has sincedone well in nominations for The National StudentJournalism Awards, giving students the opportunity tocompete with some of the finest writers around thecountry for national recognition and the chance tonetwork with the industry’s elite.
If you want experience in journalism, the‘Huddersfield Student’ is the ideal placeto gain some. Every part of theproduction is student led, from thenewspaper team, to anyone from theUniversity who has the passion to seetheir words in print.
Huddersfield Student | News | December
Page 3
Huddersfieldstudent.com
myspace.com/uhsu
Welcome one and welcome all
to this, your Diary – reporting
from the comfort of his own home
to bring you an interesting slant
on the news from the last month
(well, kind of).
I’ve spent the last 30 days indulging
in the latest craze, only to realise that
it’s left me considerably out-of-pocket.
This ‘throwing coins at football
matches’ lark seems to have taken
the nation by storm and I’m not sure
why, because most of the victims
aren’t worth the ten pence coins that
are being thrown at them. I mean,
come on, Robin van Persie? The
coin-throwing trend is spiralling out of
control as some individuals –
probably the same band that vote
BNP and smoke around children –
realise that, after the match, they’ve
just lost their bus fare home.
Talking of the BNP, Nick Griffin (and
his mate whose name no one can
remember) was found not guilty of
inciting racial hatred after a retrial at
Leeds Crown Court. In a cringe-
worthy speech following the verdict
Griffin said: “What has just happened
shows Tony Blair and the government
toadies at the BBC that they can take
our taxes but they cannot take our
hearts, they cannot take our tongues
and they cannot take our freedom.”
Oooh, can you hear that? It’ll be the
sound of your teeth grinding in
embarrassment. He probably sat at
home and worked on that the night
before, you know.
It’d be unfair not to mention the
fortune bestowed upon Saddam
Hussein, after he was sentenced to
death in an Iraqi court of law. The
case, which was one of the longest in
history considering we all knew what
the final verdict would be, concluded
that Saddam had indeed been a
monster, and not even the
eccentricities of number one creep
George Galloway – no doubt purring
away in a lycra costume as we speak
– will save him from the gallows. The
sentence itself raised the sensitive
issue of corporal punishment, and I
found an interesting discussion about
it on a football message board of all
places. Your Diary lost his balls for
argument many moons ago, as I kind
of agree with the fact that he should
be hanged but at the same time
understand why sentencing him to
death holds an unerringly ironic and
uncomfortably evil twist about it.
Moving from one dead horse to
another (pitiable link, I know) Desert
Orchid has died at the age of 27,
which has come as a bit of a shock to
the racing world. It shocked me too,
but perhaps not in the same way, as I
have always been of the
understanding that that the life
expectancy of a horse is similar to
that of a dog. ‘Dessie’ was amazing,
apparently – so successful it became
boring. I suppose that’s why it can’t
be much fun supporting Chelsea
these days.
The Ashes is upon us and no doubt
Glen ‘Five-Nil’ McGrath has been
making another outrageous and
incredibly insulting (however
accurate) prediction about the
outcome of this series. We’ve
basically lost all our form and
momentum from the giddy heights of
2005, so if you happen to be a cricket
fan like myself, then line up the
Prozac and Diazepam.
To be honest, much of last month has
been a blur although that’s possibly
explaine-d by the serious amounts of
Pocoyo viewing that has been
happening on a daily basis. It’s also
been a tumultuous time at my football
club in recent weeks, where my
attention has been captured by the
new manager being someone we’ve
had twice before. But that’s your lot
for this month, so excuse me while
your old Diary puts on his comfy
cardigan, steps into his old trusted
slippers and sits back in his rocking
chair (or should that be soapbox?)
before exclaiming how the Arctic
Monkeys are the most over-rated
band ever, and that everything was
much better in the past. Ciao!
Richard Lord
A DIARY OF THE LAST MONTH
Where do you think you would
get a Church built for 2500
people? America? London?
Manchester? Huddersfield?
Huddersfield Christian Fellowship,
who meet at Harvest House on St.
Johns Road, are planning to move to
a 2500-seater Auditorium on St
Thomas Road, opposite Visage. But
why? Aren’t Church attendances
dwindling? What is the need for a
Church of this size? Well, I’ll let the
Pastor of the Church, Colin Cooper,
explain in his own words why the
new church is being built.
“About 10 years ago the
congregation met in an auditorium
that seated 350 people maximum.
From 1987, when there was only a
handful of people, the congregation
began to grow steadily until the
building called ‘Fellowship Centre’
was full with an overflow room
showing the service on a TV relay.
“In 1999 we purchased a Comet
electrical superstore which we
refurbished into an 800-seater
auditorium to house our growing
congregation. Of course, we all
thought this was our final move, but
the church has kept on growing, and
now only a handful of seats are free
in a normal Sunday service and we
are having to move into double
services. So, after only six years, we
all agreed that new and bigger
premises were needed.”
The Church, Huddersfield Christian
Fellowship, reaches out into the
community in various ways, such as
providing food parcels for the poor
and asylum seekers; working with
young people and also the elderly;
youth groups are run from the ages
of 13 to 30. Because of high demand
it was decided that a purpose-built
church would be best suited to meet
the many needs of a growing
community.
The area in which the Church is
being built is being redeveloped by
the council. It is being labelled the
“Waterfront Quarter” by the council
and will see a £200m redevelopment
of a 12-acre area, which just
happens to be around the region of
land where the new church building
site is. 500 new apartments are
planned, and it is believed that the
new investment will create 2000 new
jobs for the area.
The building is going to cost £10m to
complete and the Church hope that it
will be ready to move into by the
beginning of 2008. As a student who
attends the Church, I find the
prospect of a new building very
exciting and hope that it will act to
enable the Church to reach out into
the community more. The Church
really helped me to settle into
University, not only because of the
warm friendships I received, but also
the teaching. I attend the Church
youth group Enfuse, which is made
up of young adults. Although I will
have graduated by the time the
Church is ready, I hope to still be in
Huddersfield when it opens.
Huddersfield Christian Fellowship
meets at 9.00 & 11.30 on Sunday
mornings. The Youth group Enfuse
meet at 8pm on Saturday evenings
at Harvest House.
For more information phone: 01484
514 088, or visit our website at
http://www.huddersfieldchristianfellow
ship.com
Mark Doggett
BIGBIG Plans FPlans For Churor Church Bulidch BulidWi-Fi trial in
LibraryThe Library are currently trialing Wireless
internet. As you’d expect it does mean that
you will need anti-virus software, at this stage
though they are not intending to offer more
than McAfee,
Norton, F-Secure
and AVG plus
Bullguard as &
when it becomes
available.This is a
pilot service
which is under
development and
as a result they would actively like to seek
student feedback via the Feedback form to
help us in the development of the system.
Wireless internet is of course fantastic news
for the Library as it will hopefully free up
computers in the PC labs as more and more
student who have laptops bring them to
University. At the time of going to print we
were unable to get a list of what you can and
can’t do i.e. printing etc. though as the trial
matures it is likely the services on offer will
expand. More information about the trial is
avaliable on the university website.
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Huddersfieldstudent.com
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Huddersfield Student | Sport | December
Nowadays any business is tough,but the growing business ofmotorsport is becomingincreasingly tough – especially if
you’re a young racing driverworking your way up through theranks. Although it’s easy to crackunder pressure, many of today’srising stars are able to cope with itsurprisingly well.
Take James Sutton, for example, a21 year old talented racing driverfrom Hertfordshire. He manages with
it just fine, “I do not feel extrapressure to make a name for myself.”He said. “If I drive the way I want tothen I can achieve the drivingreputation that I wish to have.”
James has always had anenthusiasm for cars. He begankarting as soon as he was legally oldenough, at the age of 8, and with themuch needed approval and supportfrom his family, he began on his pathto motorsport domination.
Although not quite in the phase ofdominating one of the world’s mostexpensive and prestigiousbusinesses yet, James is working
hard at making a name for himself ashe climbs his way up through thesingle-seater ranks, having justcompleted his second year in theFormula Renault UK Championship,
finishing a respectable 6th overall,driving for the experienced Fortecteam.
Motorsport is a very expensivebusiness, for all of its participants,whether they are an old-timer at thehighest point of their game, or ayoung fresh-faced new comer who
has just got their feet on the first rung
of the ladder. The difference beingthat the ‘old-timers’ have their fundingalready sorted out, and most likely aclear idea of where their next pay slipis coming from.
Imagine you’re a teenager who’s justgot hold of your first motor-racinglicense. The first thing you want to do
is jump in a car and go racing. Afterspeaking to a few different racingteams you then realise that there’s
more to just jumping in a car anddoing a good job – it all comes at acost, and a high cost at that.
Before securing a drive at a racingteam, a driver preferably needs tohave sponsorship backing, bringingmoney into the team. Motorsport isknown for having a ‘cut-throat’ nature,so the driver bringing the mostmoney is the driver more likely to be
employed. And, of course, if they’retalented that always helps.
A lot of the time, these days, manytalented young racing drivers areover-looked due to the fact that they
have no or very little financial backingto bring to a team, despite havingoutstanding ability. Although this is afact of life, not everyone agrees withit. “It’s a shame that drivers getoverlooked when they clearly have
the talent.” said Sutton. Motorsport has always been a difficultbusiness for young talent whenmaking their names. But was itharder 10 or 20 years ago than it is
today? Sutton believes not. “I believethat it is far harder for a driver to berecognised now,” and with the vastexpansion of motorsport in all itstrades it is becoming more and more
difficult.
Over the past few years, particularly,scholarships have been set up inmany series, to give young drivers
who don’t have the funding thechance to go racing. Sutton, alongwith one of his 2006 Fortec teammates, Sam Bird, competed in the
Formula BMW UK Championship,which has a scholarship programme,prior to Formula Renault. FormulaBMW awards five drivers each year ascholarship to enable them to race inthe series. This is just one of themany programmes that has beenformed to aid young racing drivers. As for the funding side of things,Sutton, amongst others, would like to
see more being done to help those
that really need it, “Iwould love to seemore money beingspent on talenteddrivers.” He said.“But realistically it isnot really financiallyviable.”
Sam Bird, 19, fromSurrey, is anothervery talented racingdriver, who, likeJames is working hisway up the ladder.After competing in avery successful firstyear in the Formula Renault UKChampionship, finishing the seasonin 4th place, he has recently beentesting for a number of FormulaThree teams, as his plans take form
for next season.
Like many other drivers, Sam has thesame views as James when it comesto the issue of funding for youngerdrivers. “We have talked about thislong and hard with the BRDC (BritishRacing Drivers’ Club), butunfortunately they don’t have thefunds and I’m not sure where else
funds would come from.” He Said.“It’s certainly harder for a youngBritish driver today – the sport is so
expensive now.”
Not only do young drivers have theissue of worrying about funding fortheir careers, but also expectationand, as was previously mentioned,the pressure put on them to succeed.Bird is another driver who copes wellwith pressure, which is a difficult thingto do when hundreds or eventhousands of people are watching
you. Sometimes the most criticalpeople of a driver’s career are thedrivers themselves, as they want tobe the best they can be. “I don’t feeltoo much outside pressure, the mainpressure is that which I put on myselfto improve all the time.” Said Bird. With the pressures of being a racing
driver comes the pressure of havingto be a good communicator – notonly with the team, but also sponsorsand the fans. Some drivers have anatural ability to do both of their jobsequally well, whilst others find itdifficult. It is particularly hard foryounger drivers, as it is all new to
them, and possibly a bit daunting. Sutton is one of those who can doboth, “I have never found talking tothe media a problem.” As is Bird, “I
don’t find it too difficult, and I think it’sa crucial part of the racing driver’smake up.”
As both drivers contested theFormula BMW UK series they hadthe beneficial experience of a BMWmedia training day, which taughtthem about speaking to the media
and sponsors, however it may havebeen more beneficial to some than itwas to others. “I did theatre studiesand English at A-Level at school andfound this far more beneficial thanthe BMW media training day.” SaidSutton, whereas Bird said, “Mostinterviews are fairly straight forward
and fortunately for me I had trainingwhen I was a BMW scholarshipwinner.”
With more opportunities beingopened up for young driversnowadays, there are a lot of talenteddrivers coming through the ranks, allwith the same goal – to be asuccessful racing driver at the highest
level they can.
There are many young drivers whohave paved the way for others, suchas Gary Paffett, Danny Watts, whoSutton sees as “one of the mosttalented racing drivers Britain has
had,” Mike Conway and LewisHamilton, who “is a fine example of adriver who’s gone into everychampionship fully prepared,” Said
Bird. Each of these have begunworking their way up the motorsportladder, even though they are stillexploring their careers, proving that
determination and hard work mixedtogether with raw talent and thatextra bit of money can get them to
where they want to be.
Leanne Fahy
Watch This Space The Future of Motorsport
The Vice Chancellor, John Tarrant
retires from his Job as head of the
University at the end of this term.
The Vice Chancellor has been
instrumental in changing the
University into what it is today,
including the Students’ Union
building. In Janurary’s issue we will
feature the Vice Chancellors last
interview on these very pages and
start off a series of articles on the
Universites 15 years since it
became a fully fledged University. If
you would like to help with
information about the last 15 years
email:
Vice Chancellor we wish you all the best in the future, from everyone
at the Huddersfield Student and the Students’ Union
Huddersfield Student | News | December
Page 7
Huddersfieldstu
dent.com
myspace.com/uhsu
In 2006 a crack student team
was sent to prison by the
University court for a crime
they didn’t commit. These
people promptly escaped from
a maximum security stockade
to the University of
Huddersfield Library. Today,
still wanted by the University,
they survive as Advisors of
fortune. If you have a problem,
if no one else can help, and if
you can find them, YOU can
Ask the Student Advisor-Team
(cue great 80’s theme tune)
Ok so the new Student advisor
scheme isn’t as exciting as
busting out of prison and making
tanks in a barn out of a tractor,
hay and the obligatory blow torch.
But they will help you get to grips
with a strange computer program
or show you new things in one
you thought you knew, help you
find the book you’ve spent most of
your lunch hour hunting for, or
help you work out how to use the
new self service machines. They
are there to answer any questions
you might have about the Library
regardless of how silly the
question might seem.
The Student Advisors are all
students and there are 8 bright
orange T-shirt wearing advisor’s in
total, all willing to look silly so you
don’t have to. The Student
Advisors work 11am till 3pm
Monday to Friday and 5pm till
7pm Monday to Thursday during
term time and at least one is
almost always available unless
they are already helping
someone, so next time your not
sure what to do, don’t see red,
see orange.
The Library Gets A-Team
of Student Advisors
Freezing your dangalies
shaking that collection tin at
passers by that largely ignore
you, wheezing in dusty charity
shops trying to put together a
decent looking window display
out of 80's taffeta ball gowns
and nylon cardies - what do
you mean volunteering your
precious time does not
appeal?!
My name is Rebecca and I have just
joined the team here in The Students
Union as your new Volunteer
Coordinator. I am here to arrange
and advise you on every aspect of
volunteering and inform you of the
opportunities that give you valuable
work experience and enhance your
CV in an increasingly competitive job
market whilst at the same time
enabling you to make new friends
and have fun. Brilliant!
I've volunteered extensively over the
years and worked on some great
projects both overseas and in The
UK that have included mentoring
children, teaching English as a
foreign language, being a support
worker to people with special needs
and yes even shaking collection tins
and having fun with those window
displays!
The main message that I wanted to
get across is that volunteering has so
much to offer. It really is for everyone
and the best thing is that you really
see the benefits and truly get out as
much from the experience as you put
it. Whatever your skill there will be
people and places who can benefit
from it. Volunteering is not confined
to the stereotypes, although these
too can be fun, rewarding and
worthwhile projects!
I have been impressed looking
through the universities lists of
existing projects to see opportunities
such as becoming Specials Police
Constables, mentors, rugby coaches
for disadvantaged kids as well as
opportunities ranging from
bookkeeping to marketing
experience, researchers and health
promotion volunteers. Experience on
placements such as these will prove
invaluable to make your job
application stand out when you
graduate and supplement and enrich
both your university studies and your
existing skills base.
For many people volunteering can be
an opportunity to do something
totally different as a break from their
studies, or to broaden their
knowledge and social life. You can
get out into the countryside and
assist with hedge laying, woodland
regeneration or dry stone walling.
You can become a brownie or cub
leader or help disadvantaged people
with sports or IT tuition. You can also
fundraise, help paint murals in a
community centre or join a one-off
projects such as a sponsored events
or the 'Make a difference Day'.
There is a huge range of fantastic
opportunities for you to get involved
in and you can even approach us
with your own ideas for a completely
different placement that we can try
and arrange just for you.
I think the time commitment can
sometimes be a factor that puts
people off of volunteering but this too
is varied and flexible and can be
anything from an occasional one day
event to a regular two or three hours
a week. Schedules are flexible and
you can get involved with a project
that fits in with you.
My contact details are:
Hands on Volunteering in the
Students Union
01484 473455
For further information you may also
like to take a look at our website at
http://www.huddersfieldstudent.com/
and simply click on information and
then volunteering.
If you have any questions at all
please do not hesitate to contact me
and we can look at arranging a
placement for you. Feel free to pop
into the office to find out more and
pick up some leaflets.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes
Rebecca
Hands on Vounteering
is back at a Union near you, Now!
Good Bye to The Vice
Chancellor, John Tarrant
Huddersfield Student | News | December
Page 3
Huddersfieldstudent.com
myspace.com/uhsu
Welcome one and welcome allto this, your Diary – reportingfrom the comfort of his own hometo bring you an interesting slanton the news from the last month(well, kind of).
I’ve spent the last 30 days indulgingin the latest craze, only to realise thatit’s left me considerably out-of-pocket.This ‘throwing coins at footballmatches’ lark seems to have takenthe nation by storm and I’m not surewhy, because most of the victimsaren’t worth the ten pence coins thatare being thrown at them. I mean,come on, Robin van Persie? Thecoin-throwing trend is spiralling out ofcontrol as some individuals –probably the same band that voteBNP and smoke around children –realise that, after the match, they’vejust lost their bus fare home.
Talking of the BNP, Nick Griffin (andhis mate whose name no one canremember) was found not guilty ofinciting racial hatred after a retrial atLeeds Crown Court. In a cringe-worthy speech following the verdictGriffin said: “What has just happenedshows Tony Blair and the governmenttoadies at the BBC that they can takeour taxes but they cannot take our
hearts, they cannot take our tonguesand they cannot take our freedom.”Oooh, can you hear that? It’ll be thesound of your teeth grinding inembarrassment. He probably sat athome and worked on that the nightbefore, you know.
It’d be unfair not to mention thefortune bestowed upon SaddamHussein, after he was sentenced todeath in an Iraqi court of law. Thecase, which was one of the longest inhistory considering we all knew whatthe final verdict would be, concludedthat Saddam had indeed been amonster, and not even theeccentricities of number one creepGeorge Galloway – no doubt purringaway in a lycra costume as we speak– will save him from the gallows. Thesentence itself raised the sensitiveissue of corporal punishment, and Ifound an interesting discussion about
it on a football message board of allplaces. Your Diary lost his balls forargument many moons ago, as I kindof agree with the fact that he shouldbe hanged but at the same timeunderstand why sentencing him todeath holds an unerringly ironic anduncomfortably evil twist about it.
Moving from one dead horse toanother (pitiable link, I know) DesertOrchid has died at the age of 27,which has come as a bit of a shock tothe racing world. It shocked me too,but perhaps not in the same way, as Ihave always been of theunderstanding that that the lifeexpectancy of a horse is similar tothat of a dog. ‘Dessie’ was amazing,apparently – so successful it becameboring. I suppose that’s why it can’tbe much fun supporting Chelseathese days.
The Ashes is upon us and no doubt
Glen ‘Five-Nil’ McGrath has beenmaking another outrageous andincredibly insulting (howeveraccurate) prediction about theoutcome of this series. We’vebasically lost all our form andmomentum from the giddy heights of2005, so if you happen to be a cricketfan like myself, then line up theProzac and Diazepam.
To be honest, much of last month hasbeen a blur although that’s possiblyexplaine-d by the serious amounts ofPocoyo viewing that has beenhappening on a daily basis. It’s alsobeen a tumultuous time at my footballclub in recent weeks, where myattention has been captured by thenew manager being someone we’vehad twice before. But that’s your lotfor this month, so excuse me whileyour old Diary puts on his comfycardigan, steps into his old trustedslippers and sits back in his rockingchair (or should that be soapbox?)before exclaiming how the ArcticMonkeys are the most over-ratedband ever, and that everything wasmuch better in the past. Ciao!
Richard Lord
A DIARY OF THE LAST MONTH
Where do you think you wouldget a Church built for 2500people? America? London?Manchester? Huddersfield?
Huddersfield Christian Fellowship,who meet at Harvest House on St.Johns Road, are planning to move toa 2500-seater Auditorium on StThomas Road, opposite Visage. Butwhy? Aren’t Church attendancesdwindling? What is the need for aChurch of this size? Well, I’ll let thePastor of the Church, Colin Cooper,explain in his own words why thenew church is being built.
“About 10 years ago thecongregation met in an auditoriumthat seated 350 people maximum.From 1987, when there was only ahandful of people, the congregationbegan to grow steadily until thebuilding called ‘Fellowship Centre’was full with an overflow roomshowing the service on a TV relay.
“In 1999 we purchased a Cometelectrical superstore which werefurbished into an 800-seaterauditorium to house our growingcongregation. Of course, we allthought this was our final move, butthe church has kept on growing, andnow only a handful of seats are freein a normal Sunday service and weare having to move into double
services. So, after only six years, weall agreed that new and biggerpremises were needed.”
The Church, Huddersfield ChristianFellowship, reaches out into thecommunity in various ways, such asproviding food parcels for the poorand asylum seekers; working withyoung people and also the elderly;youth groups are run from the agesof 13 to 30. Because of high demandit was decided that a purpose-builtchurch would be best suited to meetthe many needs of a growingcommunity.
The area in which the Church isbeing built is being redeveloped bythe council. It is being labelled the“Waterfront Quarter” by the counciland will see a £200m redevelopmentof a 12-acre area, which justhappens to be around the region ofland where the new church buildingsite is. 500 new apartments are
planned, and it is believed that thenew investment will create 2000 newjobs for the area.
The building is going to cost £10m tocomplete and the Church hope that itwill be ready to move into by thebeginning of 2008. As a student whoattends the Church, I find theprospect of a new building veryexciting and hope that it will act toenable the Church to reach out intothe community more. The Churchreally helped me to settle intoUniversity, not only because of thewarm friendships I received, but alsothe teaching. I attend the Churchyouth group Enfuse, which is madeup of young adults. Although I willhave graduated by the time theChurch is ready, I hope to still be inHuddersfield when it opens.
Huddersfield Christian Fellowshipmeets at 9.00 & 11.30 on Sundaymornings. The Youth group Enfusemeet at 8pm on Saturday eveningsat Harvest House.
For more information phone: 01484514 088, or visit our website athttp://www.huddersfieldchristianfellowship.com
Mark Doggett
BIGBIG Plans FPlans For Churor Church Bulidch Bulid Wi-Fi trial in LibraryThe Library are currently trialing Wirelessinternet. As you’d expect it does mean thatyou will need anti-virus software, at this stagethough they are not intending to offer morethan McAfee,
Norton, F-Secureand AVG plusBullguard as &when it becomesavailable.This is apilot servicewhich is underdevelopment andas a result they would actively like to seekstudent feedback via the Feedback form tohelp us in the development of the system.Wireless internet is of course fantastic newsfor the Library as it will hopefully free upcomputers in the PC labs as more and morestudent who have laptops bring them toUniversity. At the time of going to print wewere unable to get a list of what you can andcan’t do i.e. printing etc. though as the trialmatures it is likely the services on offer willexpand. More information about the trial isavaliable on the university website.
Burglaries at Storthes Hall, at Snow
Island, more disappointment at Aspley,
it seems the students of Huddersfield
are facing horror at every corner when
student accommodation are involved.
Following last months report of an
Aspley Hall employee speaking out in
disgust after the way he felt he and his
fellow students were being treated,
news comes of more disaster in other
halls.
News of burglaries at Storthes Hall
Student Village recently came to the
attention of the Students’ Union.
Obviously concerned, we contacted
Storthes Hall to find out more
information. Storthes Hall responded
with ‘no comment, due to data
protection’. However, we at the
Students’ Union wanted to find out more
so arranged an interview with the
affected students, to find out what had
happened and give them advice.
Two confirmed burglaries took place in
the Lower Heartly and High Green
bocks. As there is almost no security
cameras or lighting in this area it is no
surprise that the wire fences are cut and
trampled down. There are also talks of
more unconfirmed burglaries.
Items that were stolen included a
student’s computer, stereo and other
smaller items. Luckily the culprits have
been caught, and the victims shall be
attending court to give evidence.
Storthes hall have told the students the
‘will be looking into it’, however the
students feel that this is simply not good
enough and that they ‘don’t feel safe
anymore as there is a potentional that it
could happen again’.
Following last months article, we had
numerous students agree with the
claims that Aspley Hall staff are simply
not efficient, and cases of deposits
being kept for no reason. In fact,
students were voluntarily contacting the
Students’ Union to tell us that they
wanted to be included in a follow up
article because their experiences ‘were
far worse than those mentioned’.
Just one day after the newspaper came
out we received an email from a very
angry tutor, who had lived at Aspley Hall
over the summer and was ‘appalled at
the rudeness and lack of cooperation of
the staff’. He had issues with ‘the
inventory, health and safety, the general
state of the building, the plumbing, the
internal telephone systems, the
broadband network and a host of
others’.
Continued on Page 2
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers, from everyone at the nearly award winning Hudddersfield Student Price: FREE
The Huddersfield Student was
proudly short listed for ‘best
small budget publication’ at the
National Student Journalism Award
2006, the National Union of Students
(NUS) run event saw the
Huddersfield Student pitted against
four other publications from around
the country at an award ceremony at
the Marriot Hotel, Canary Wharf.
NUS explain that each publication which is
short listed beats off competition from
hundreds of other journalists. ‘Judges
ranging from media as diverse as channel
Four, Closer, The Mirror and The Press
Association have spent the last few months
deliberating over hundreds of meetings’.
Stephen Brown, NUS National Secretary,
said: ‘Once again we have had a high
number of entries and the excellent
standard of work has made the task of the
judges a tough one. Congratulations to
everyone who made the shortlist.
The paper was short listed along side last
years winner:
‘Medical Student – University of London
Union’,‘Leek – University of Glamorgan’
‘York Vision – University of York’ ‘Medical
Student – University of York’ and ‘Sharp
Magazine – St. George’s University of
London’
Sadly we were beaten by York Vision, but it
still means we are in the top five
in the country.
"I travelled to the awards courtesy of GNER:
advance purchase return fares from West
Yorkshire stations to London start from £19
Standard Class or £59 First Class. To book,
visit www.gner.co.uk, call 08457 225 225 or
visit any staffed rail station".
Huddersfield Student Short Listed For
Prestigious Student Media Award
Halls Horror ContinuesMore Misery f
or Students
as Burglaries hit Snow
Island, Storthes Hall and
Aspley Hall update
Snow Island has seen a spa
te of Burglaries since Septe
mber
Inside this Issue:
News: From NUS extra
owning dogs to Wi-Fi in the
Library from Page 3
Features: Travel and a
Christmas message from
Page 9
Student Life: Catherine
Tate starts off this new
section as well as all your
music, film, book and fashion
needs and more from Page 12
Sport: Talk of the Town,
Motor racing and more from
Page 28
Activate inside pages 08.08:Activate 28/08/2008 15:08 Page 14
The award winning newspaper for the students of the University of Huddersfield and surrounding areas Easter 2007
Inside this Issue:
NNeewwss:: Election Results
PPaaggee 33
FFeeaattuurreess:: Howard Jacobson
Interview PPaaggee 55
SSttuuddeenntt LLiiffee::
Music Special
PPaaggee 1100 -- 1166
FFiillmm::2 for 1 offer at Odeon
Page 22
TThhee SSppoorrttiinngg MMoonntthh::
Varsity photo special
PPaaggee 2266
THE UNIVERSITY OF
HUDDERSFIELD HAVE
DONE IT AGAIN!! That’s right,
the annual Varsity tournament
between Huddersfield and
Bradford’s sports teams which
took place on March 14th,
confirmed that our University
are the champions for a
second year in a row.
Proving an excellent day, our teams did
us proud with incredible performances in
all of our sports. We had victories in
Basketball, Men’s and women’s
Badminton, Netball, Mixed Hockey,
Rugby League and Rugby Union. The
Tennis team and the women’s Football
team put up good performances to secure
draws, and commiserations to the
unlucky Fencing team and Men’s football
team, well played though and there is
always next year to bounce back.
A big thank you has to go out to the
American football team who did a 25
minute demo before the big finale build up
the atmosphere to an amazing finish. The
pick of the games has to be the Rugby
Union’s 1st team who performed like true
Huddersfield students to secure a hard
fought 29-23 victory over Bradford. Also a
massive congratulations has to go out to
the Rugby League team who secured a
easy victory, with Neil Hutchinson playing
to a fantastic standard to and winning the
MOM award for a change.
With Varsity now over for another year, I’d
like to give a last thank you to all those
people who participated and helped out
stewarding etc., also to Lockwood Park,
the Sports Hall, Huddersfield Lawn Tennis
Club and Woodfield Park for letting us
use there grounds, and finally to Jane
Beck, Jenny Haigh and Marcus Woolcock
who ensured that Varsity happened.
Jason Southwell, VP Sports and
Societies
Huddersfield secure an 8 - 2 win over Braford at this year’s Varsity
We Stuffed Them!!
Welcome one and welcomeall to this, your Diary –reporting from the comfort ofhis own home to bring you aninteresting slant on the yeargone by… in a way.
It’s been a fun year, hasn’t it?Your faithful and trusted Diaryslipped into unconsciousnessthroughout the whole of Mayupon completing and submittingmy dissertation, therebycompleting and waving goodbyeto my life as a student. But notto worry, young folk – thepowers that be (you lot) electedme as your next VPCommunications officer,entrusting me with the smoothrunning and production of thisnewspaper for the nextacademic year – so I’ll bereappearing in 2007/8, much toyour collective relief. Is it relief?Perhaps not, but I’ll be hereanyway.
It promises to be an excitingsummer of films, which can beseen as some sort ofcompensation for the lack offootball at the moment. I’d getexcited about the cricket but Ican only see highlights on Five. Iguess there’s Wimbledon justaround the corner, where ourcrack team of perennial also-rans will no doubt get the nationthinking that one of them mightwin the tournament, even thoughwe all know we specialise in
producing quarter final or semifinal losers. I don’t mind that welose at that stage in almost anyworldwide tournament; it’s justthat the viewing public seem tothink we have a divine right towin everything on offer. We’rehardly a nation steeped in awinning tradition, let’s be honesthere. It’s all about expectationmanagement, and we’re rubbish
at it.
So anyway, films… Die Hard 4.0(why the decimal place?)promises to be a smash hit, butnot the same kind of smash hitthat left Auntie Diary in hospitalfor six weeks and needing a newhip (she’s finally admitted it washer fault entirely, but is now
gloating about the fact that sheavoided accruing points on herdriver’s license). The thirdinstalment of Pirates of theCaribbean has been showing fora while now, but it has just cometo my attention that there is afilm section in this newspaper(as there has been ever since Istarted writing for it back in
September) so I shall stoptalking about films and suggestthat you should take a peek atthe film section instead.
“Well, they’ve convinced me.”Those were the words of the lateGrandad Diary, on a fine Aprilafternoon in 1997. He was, ofcourse, talking about the Labourparty in 1997. “They haven’tconvinced me, son.” Those werealso the words of the lateGrandad Diary, this time utteredin the autumn of 2003 when hediscovered changes to his statepension (he also had some other‘choice’ words to say on thesubject – probably not fit forrepeating in a high-end classynewspaper such as this). I stillremember his rant that night,which got so heated and angrythat it left him spitting as he
talked, and the dog licked theparts of the carpet where thespit had landed. Anyone wouldthink that he never got fed (the
dog, not my Grandad). He, like alot of people, vented his spleen(and other bodily parts) over thewar in Iraq, and howuntrustworthy Tony Blair was.But now, finally, after little overten years in the job, our Tone isstepping down as PrimeMinister, closely followed by thatvast mountain of lard with aheart condition, otherwise knownas John Prescott. I readsomewhere (probably in a tackytabloid) that Tony Blair’s farewelltour cost £1m. I don’t really havea problem with that, because itworks out at a voluntary
contribution of 1.6667p perperson in this country to givehim the send off he deserves. Idon’t see why we can’t put himon a dumper truck and paradehim across the country as a
target to throw rubbish at. Afterall, successful people get toparade on an open-top bus, soit’s only fair that unsuccessfulpeople should have to endurethe pain, misery andembarrassment of a publicprocession too.
If the world was ever in anydoubt as to how TV bosseswould handle contentious issueswith political and socialdecorum, they certainly didn’tbargain for Channel 4. Thispiece of terrestrial genius provedonce again that it wasn’t goingto shirk away from controversyafter they planned to screen thedetailed programme about thedeath of Princess Diana. This isthe channel that gave us the BigBrother racism row – not
forgetting, of course, Brass Eyeand other suspiciousprogrammes thinly disguised asentertainment. You can havemany complaints about Channel4 (Hollyoaks, and the endlessstream of Top 100 countdownprogrammes) but it has given usThe Peep Show. And at least ithasn’t sunk to the depths of
Confessions of a Handyman orLet’s get Laid! like Five has (atleast for the time being). I’m justglad Russell Brand will be offour screens for a bit. If I wantedto watch an egotisticalchimpanzee jump about the
place I’d have gone to the zoo.
It’s been a pleasure to be yourvery-important-but-not-that-important-when-you-think-about-it Diary for the past year, offeringa sideways and satirical look atnews that you already knewabout. I’ve basically been letloose this year to write andentertain, and I know there areplenty of students who wouldlove to do the same, so get intouch and be a part of thenewspaper team for next year!Ciao!
Huddersfield Student | News | June
Page 3
Huddersfieldstudent.com
myspace.com/uhsu
Diary of the Last Month
Your new comms officer.. fills youhope doesn’t it?!
Hold back the
tears, grab the
cheesy
melancholic
music…it’s the final column.
So, here we are. The final newspaper of
the year, which means this will be my
final President’s Column. It has been a
busy year, one particularly of change in
the Students’ Union and I am delighted
to have been part of it.
Instead of using this space to have a rant
like I usually do, I have decided that I
would use it to celebrate (a.k.a gloat) the
achievements of the Students’ Union
since the current sabbaticals took office
way back on June 30th 2006.
The Students’ Union exists to represent
our members to the University and we
have done so this year, attending more
University committees than ever before
and, I believe, building the strongest links
yet with the University Management. We
have worked closely with the University
on several major issues this year. We
held extensive talks that prevented the
closure of the on campus nursery this
coming August, ensuring those students
currently using the service would not be
forced to suspend their studies to take
care of their children. The Students’
Union also played an integral part in the
University’s collaborative provision audit
that took place in February. Working
closely with the Pro-Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs the Union submitted a
written report and was involved with the
interview process and the University
came out with a fantastic broad
confidence.
As some readers may have noticed in
previous editions, there have been some
issues with some Halls of Residence and
our VP Education and Welfare Officer
has worked with the halls and University
to come to a resolution, though this
campaign will be on going into next year,
including an awareness campaign on the
importance of personal awareness in
September.
I have also been working on introducing
a new Halls of Residence Representative
Programme, so that students can take
responsibility for their living environment
and allowing students to actively involve
themselves in the representational side
of University. This empowerment, we
believe, will allow students to continue to
develop personal skills whilst making a
real difference to the student community
here in Huddersfield.
Another campaign we have run this year
was our Fair Trade Campaign, headed
by the VP Finance and Commercial
Services, raising awareness for students
to make ethical choices when purchasing
goods both on and off campus. We
believe that the University should be
taking a leading stance in the education
of students on such issues. A campaign
run in February led to the University
agreeing to pursue Fair Trade status.
Hopefully this status will have been
gained by September but it will up to
next year’s sabbaticals to carry on this
work.
This though is not the only work the
Union has done on ethical and
environmental issues. A major focus of
our activities this year has been to
become a greener Union, from cutting
down our energy usage to improving
recycling facilities. The VP Finance and
Commercial Services again has worked
with the University to achieve this and
we were awarded the Sound Impact
Bronze Award at the NUSSL Convention
in March, which highlights our dedication
to helping the environment.
The Union too has been
involved with other Awards this
year. Continued accreditation
for the National Best Bar None
scheme, which is awarded for
bars and clubs with high safety
standards, and a national
award nomination will hopefully
be complemented by the
Kirklees awards (which we
were over all winners of last
year) later this month.
The Huddersfield Student was
nominated for the Best Small
Budget Publication award in
this year’s National Student
Media Awards and we had
some success through our
Sports Clubs, with the Men’s
Basketball Team reaching the
final of the National Plate,
having already won their
division. For the Rugby League
Men’s team it was a case of
what could have been, after withdrawing
in the Quarter Finals of the National
Shield, deciding to compete in the Varsity
match against Bradford instead.
We were successful in Varsity, beating
Bradford University 8-2 overall and the
Rugby Union team winning the final
game of the day to retain the trophy,
following a dramatic finish to the match.
This year has seen the first ever Sports
and Societies constitutions, again giving
students the opportunity to take more
responsibility in the running of their clubs
and societies and to allow their members
to hold the club officials to account.
In terms of democracy and
representation, this year’s General
Elections saw another increase in the
number of voters, though disappointingly
only half the number of candidates who
stood last year. Congratulations though
must be given to all those who were
elected and will be taking office at the
end of June.
Those officers will be responsible for
implementing the new constitution, which
is a result of the governance review that
has been taking place over the last year.
Due to the new Government Legislation
that comes into affect next year, the
Students’ Union will have to become a
registered charity, and with this will have
to have a board of trustees. The review
allowed us to restructure the Union
accordingly and also meant we were
able to completely overhaul the outdated
constitution so that it would be relevant
for the Students’ Union as it is now.
The constitution was passed in typically
dramatic fashion. With the last chance of
passing it being at the OGM in the final
semester, the Union needed 100 people
for the meeting to go ahead, and with
minutes remaining before the meeting
had to be cancelled, one more person
came into the room allowing the meeting
to go ahead and the constitution being
passed with a unanimous vote.
The Student Rep programme, another
important part of the Union’s
representational structure, has continued
to be a success, with over 500 student
reps signed up to the programme, and
the nationally unique University Student
Council and Academic School Student
Councils continuing to be a fantastic
addition to the University committee
structure.
In March I took a delegation of 5 people
to the NUS Annual Conference in
Blackpool where there was discussion on
every student related issues imaginable
(and some not
related to
students, but
that’s a debate
for another day).
I was delighted
that our motion
on bullying was
passed without
any objections,
quite a feat at a
conference
where there is
such diverse
political and
social opinion.
Regionally, the
Students’ Union
has been an
integral founder
of the NUS North East, Yorkshire and
Humber Area, and I was delighted to be
chairing the meeting where the
constitution was finally passed. The Area
will continue to represent students on
issues affecting us in our region and the
Students’ Union had three elected
officers for the region, myself as South
and West Yorkshire District Officer, Verne
Lewis as LGBT Officer and Paul Blair
(our VP Internal Affairs Elect) as Mature
Student’s Officer.
Finally I have to touch on the success of
the Student Plus Card, which has
allowed students to save hundreds and
hundreds of pounds, both within the SU
and also in Huddersfield. The card giving
such discounts as 10% off in the Venue
and the Lounge and also in such stores
as HMV, Top Shop etc. has been integral
to creating a student community here in
Huddersfield, and this card will be
available to purchase again next year
and I am sure will go from strength to
strength.
That just leaves me to say thank you to
everyone I have worked with during my
two years as a sabbatical officer here in
Huddersfield. Good luck to Marcus
Woolcock, who is going on to teach at
the Huddersfield Technical College, Mark
Freeman who is finishing his final year
on his Multimedia degree, Verne Lewis
who is travelling Australia for 6 months
and Jason, in whatever he does when he
gets his arse in gear and finds a job.
Of course thank you to the staff, who will
be here when we leave and when the
next set of sabbaticals leave, they’re
work is integral to the running of the
Students’ Union. We owe our successes
over the past twelve months to them.
Finally, good luck to all of you guys and
girls who are getting your results in mid-
June and don’t celebrate too hard!
So for the final time, see you all soon,
Martin Rix
President
2006/07
Huddersfield Student | News | June
Page 4
Huddersfieldstu
dent.com
myspace.com/Hudders
fieldstudent
President’s ColumnHuddersfield Student | Student Life | Easter
Page 14
Huddersfieldstudent.com
myspace.com/Huddersfieldstudent
It has been two years sinceKaiser Chiefs released Mercury-nominated album Employment.Now they have returned withtheir new album Yours Truly,Angry Mob and recent singleRuby. This is accompanied by theobligatory promotional tour,where Becki Johnson caught upwith Peanut for HuddersfieldStudent.
It’s a chaotic day, and journalists only haveten minutes for their interviews. Despitethe rush, Peanut appears to be in goodspirits:“I’m ok yeah. It’s the first day of thetour today and I’m quite looking forwardto it.The last proper tour we did must bethe one last April. I can’t wait to get backinto things.
“We did dates at Doncaster Dome and inLeeds last week. But actually now, on tour,we have our full production, our full lights,everything.You realise you’re going to bedoing this for another ten or eleven nightsand you actually look forward to gettinginto the routine.”
Kaiser Chiefs proved to be a majorpresence at the 2006 festivals, followingtheir lower billing the previous year.Perhaps unsurprisingly Leeds Festival wasone of the highlights for Peanut: “We didquite a few festivals round Europe, andone in Belfast, leading up to Leeds andReading, which was pretty cool.
“We did Reading the first night, which isgood because that’s where all the pressare, so you can get in touch through that.Then you go to Leeds. Reading is filmedbut Leeds isn’t, so it feels more relaxed.When a show is being filmed, or recordedfor radio it’s in the back of your mind, andyou’re never quite on it, and then you dothe Leeds one. It’s obviously like the homepride of coming back to Leeds and doinga festival.”
According to Peanut the Leeds set wasmade complete by something quitesimple. He said:“I think it got dark duringour set.The sun was going down and youcould see our KC lights. I think we’regoing to use those again, because it’s justsimple. People try elaborate stage setsand then we show a giant flashing K and Cand everyone goes mental.
“Obviously we’ve never seen it from outwhere you guys are. But I’ve seen it.Literally, it was right next to my headhere! I was nearly getting burnt down theside of my head. But it looked prettycool!”
At the time of this interview Ruby hadbeen number 2 in the charts for twoweeks running, thanks to downloads.Thatweek the hard copy had just gone on sale,and things were looking optimistic: “I’veheard how it’s going, and it’s doing betteryes. But who knows? It’s only Wednesday!“We’ll see what happens towards the
weekend, and the album is out on Monday.We’ll keep our fingers crossed and therecould be good times ahead hopefully!”(Both the single and the album made it tothe coveted number one spot!)
And what of the new album you may ask?Well let’s find out: “We recorded it afterLeeds and Reading, and spent about sevenweeks recording. We’d rehearsed allthroughout the year, writing songs, andthe majority of them were finished andready to go.We finished it in October andI’ve had it since Christmas.
“I’ve not had a copy recently because wekeep destroying them to make sure wedon’t leak it anywhere. It’s amazing that ithasn’t leaked yet. Well, either it’s quiteamazing or no one really gives a s**t andno one wants the record!”Peanut certainly feels that this continuous
recording session was good for the band.He said: “It was nice having that longsession in the studio. We’ve never reallyhad anything like that before. We didEmployment in a few weeks here andthere. It was nice to go back to songs, andall play in a room together nice and loud!”It hasn’t been all work and no play for the
band. Peanut and Simon recently got toplay darts with the legendary BobbyGeorge. “Yes! As documented onYoutube!” Peanut laughs. “Last year wewere in Japan in January and the dartswere on. Me and Simon were like ‘we saidwe were going to try and go to this’. Sowe tried to sort it with one of ourcontacts, and this year it happened.”
“We were the most famous people
there,” he jokes. “We met all the players,their wives and the family.Then we playeda leg of darts with Bobby George, andsome other guys like Wolfie and JohnWalton.”
Darts aren’t the only sport he’s beeninvolved with: “Last year I went to theFormula 1 and I was out on the grid! I textmy friends,‘Guess where I am?’ They wereall like, wow! It’s really tough security toget onto the grid walk, but they managedto get me out there.That was good. I wantto go to the FA Cup final, and the snookerin Sheffield.Then I’ll be complete!”
So what else does Peanut get up to on aday off? He said:“We went to the footballlast night at Elland Road.We’ve got friendsin a lot of different bands now, so we goto see them in gigs.We just try to take iteasy you know. We’re not part of thatLondon party crowd, where we’re goingto be on the front page of The Mirror ifwe do something we shouldn’t.”
Despite this, he did make it into the pagesof The Mirror recently, for using a ladiestoilet: “That’s my first taste of being doneover by the tabloids. I did go into theladies toilet, I’ll say that. But it was onlybecause the men’s one was locked and wewere on stage in about a minute!
“I went in and there was nobody in there.Then a girl came to the toilet, and one ofour radio guys asked her to wait becauseone of the band was in there. I wouldn’thave minded; there’s a cubicle round thetoilet, so it doesn’t matter. But thesethings happen and then you get in TheMirror!
“Then you read it and realise you’reactually the person they’re referring to.You realise how horribly misquotedeveryone else in those pages must be. IfChris Martin does something, or PeteDoherty- much as he’s a bad lad- they’llalways spin it in the worst possible way.But all we get up to most of the time isdealing with our houses.”
Not all is going to plan, however, as headmits: “In my house one room just gotdestroyed yesterday. I pulled the roofdown… on purpose! It made more messthan I’ve ever seen in my life. But now Iget to go on tour and leave it, and by thetime I get back it’ll probably mostly bedone.”
Hit single I Predict A Riot has become ananthem at football matches, and theirsongs have been covered by variousbands. Which is his favourite? He said:“Not any of the covers, definitely notGirls Aloud! Our friend called Overseerdid a remix and that’s pretty good. Myfavourites are the remixes that cross overto the dance crowd and get people intoit.”
There was briefly talk of a Girls Aloudcover in retaliation, of which he says:“Wecould do a Girls Aloud cover and changethe lyrics, but we don’t need to.We coulddo a real guitar heavy version, but I don’tthink we’d look as good in bikinis!”
As we end our discussion talk turns tothe latest music craze, nu-rave.“Apparently we invented nu-rave!” hedeclares. “The NME- the ‘bible’- says thatEveryday I Love You Less And Less wasthe first nu-rave song.That’s what startedit all off apparently. It’s quite cool, but thenwe very quickly left it behind.We’re happydoing what we do.”
Becki Johnson
Kaiser Chiefs give the HuddersfieldStudent a Peanut of an Interview!
Huddersfield Student | Student Life | Easter
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AAddvveennttuurreess IInn SStteerreeooPaperback Writer: Pg 18
Your usual installment of the
latest book reviews
Film: Pg 22 - 23
A two for one offer and
interview with Renee
Zellweger
A Pinch of Salt Pg 18
More comedy from the
strange one
Fashiom: Pg 20 - 21
Heather Swallow takes you
through what’sin this month
Welcome to Easter’s edition of Adventures in Stereo!
Spring is finally here and as if they’re mirroring nature a number of musical titans
like: The Arcade Fire, The LCD Sound System and The Kaiser Chiefs have
emerged from a long period of hibernation. Whilst these old favourites release
new material into this world there is no shortage of competition from new
pretenders such as Shitdisco, The Klaxons, and The Yell.
This year has already been great for live and recorded music with performances
from Jarvis Cocker and more new releases than you could shake a maraca at.
And it has barely started… Currently there are ten albums I want to buy, seven
festivals I want to go to and at least six bands I desperately want to see live.
(Much like everyone else!)
Recently I’ve had lots of work, not just getting through my ever growing pile of
new releases but essays as well. Luckily when I got some brief respite I got to
interview one of my favourite small indie –folk bands: Monkey Swallows the
Universe (you’ll get to see that one next month.)
I was also lucky enough to meet a member of one of my favourite electo-pop
bands, The Rapture. So this has been a very good month! I doubt next month
will be exciting, most likely it will be spent a under another pile of books whilst I
dream of getting Glastonbury tickets.
Wish me luck! If that fails at least there’s no shortage of gigs to watch instead,
so if you’re getting stressed with work take some time out. Put on a good CD
and dance like a maniac to whatever you like even if its just for a short while, it’ll
make you feel great.
Any one who fancies their hand at writing music features, gig reviews or even
reviewing new releases let me know by e-mailing me on: [email protected]
Correen Robinson.
When asked if I wanted to interview The Rapture in
Leeds and review a gig I couldn’t believe my luck.
Obviously I said yes. Who wouldn’t want to meet the
makers of dance floor classics such as Sister Saviour or
House of Jealous Lovers? So after giving their listening
to 2003 classic Echoes and their most recent album
Pieces of The People We Love I set off to Leeds. Once
there I met up with Gabriel Andruzzi Keyboardist,
saxophonist, percussionist and when I got there
spokesperson for the band.
So how are you?
Pretty good thanks.
Are you enjoying your tour promoting your recent
album: Pieces of the People we Love?
Yeah, its going fine. Somebody just told me we’ve been
touring with this album for six months now. I was like,
really?!?
How have people reacted to the material you’ve
played from your latest album?
Pretty good. When we first started touring in the UK in
2006 people didn’t know the new material that well, but
now its been around a bit longer they seem to be
enjoying it more.
There’s been a gap of three years since you last
toured Britain to promote your last album Echoes in
2003 and the release of Pieces of People You Love in
2006. I heard this was due to having to take time out
from each other after touring extensively. Have you
resolved these problems now? Could you give any
tips on living with your friends/ touring?
Hahaha! No... Take time out, go for a walk. Try to make
your first action of the day a polite one.
Have you had chance to listen to many other bands
whilst you have been touring?
Well, we’ve enjoyed watching Shitdisco live as they’re
supporting us and The presets who supported us in
America. We also supported The Fall, who I am a big
fan of. SO that was great. Otherwise I haven’t been
listening to much new music.
So do you mainly watch films on the tour bus
instead then?
Mmm, no.
Or Sleep?
Yes I do like sleeping but I’ve mainly spent my free time
on the Internet.
So have you heard much about this New Rave scene
which is being feted at the moment? Do you think
you may have influenced some of these bands?
No I think they all have got their own influences. I don’t
think that we influenced them.
What made you want to form a band?
Me? I’ve been in bands since I was twelve. I’ve always
been into music it was always around as I was a kid. I
got a paper route so I could afford to buy my first guitar.
What would you say are your influences?
We have a lot. Musically I’d say dance records old and
new, old soul, old disco, new disco...
My other influence is working together as a band even
though we don’t always see eye to eye.
Is that how you get your ideas?
We mainly get our ideas for songs in the same way.
You’ll be working together then someone does
something that clicks. Then we follow that.
Later in the year you’ll be touring a little further a
field, are you looking forward to that?
Yeah I’m looking forward to going to Australia, Japan and
New Zealand. We’re also going to Singapore and I’m
really looking forward to that as I’ve never been there
before.
Thanks for your time.
No problems.
Interview the rapture
by correen robinson
Lauren Stewart, VP CommunicationsLauren is the Vice President for allcommunication coming from the Students’Union to you, from the newspaper to thewebsite. She works to deliver you all thenews and information you could want as
a student a Huddersfield. To find out more about gettinginvolved with Student Media contact Lauren.
Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473441Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.
Whether you want to write a one-off articleor be a regular contributor with a section ofyour own, your input is always welcome. Ifyou think there is something missing, fromcontent, photography, design or layout thenwhy not have a go at creating it yourself?The newspaper uses industry standarddesign packages (Quark and Adobe CreativeSuite) on big shiny Apple Macs and trainingis available for anyone wanting to take part.
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Onlinewww.huddersfieldstudent.comThe official website of the Students’ Union is your placefor regular updates and a comprehensive what’s on guideand also includes news on current issues, information onall student services and commercial areas and events.There are individual pages for each sports club andsociety plus a whole host of interactive parts for you toget involved in, including a forum where you can chat tofriends, new and old!
Sporting Linkswww.culture.gov.ukwww.london2012.comwww.sportengland.orgwww.visitbritain.com
Students with disabilitieswww.britishblindsport.org.ukwww.bwsf.org.ukwww.disabilitysport.org.uk www.ukdeafsport.org.uk
Volunteering Linkswww.csv.org.ukwww.millenniumvolunteers.gov.ukwww.studentvol.org.uk
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