The Blend - Christmas Edition 2010

WHY A SAY? University of Bedfordshire

Students’ Unions Annual Student sAtisfaction surveY

2010(15th November – 15th December 2010)

UBSU is making every effort to develop and extend its services to its members. As a developing and membership led organisation we are keen to listen to your views every year, ensuring the satisfaction of the services and welcoming the opinion of the members. Hence, we would request you to take part in the survey (UBSU_aSAY2010-2011). To take part in the survey please go online to the following link above. This survey provides you with the opportunity to express your views which will be heard by the Students’ Union. This helps your students’ union to improve and implement your opinions in all your activities.

Thanks for taking part in the survey.

Best Wishes!, By Jay Chinnasamy

Luton and BedfordCarols by CandlelightSpecial guests – Luton Youth Cantores

Thursday, 9 December at 6.30pmSt Mary’s Church, Luton

Free entry including mulled wine and mince piesDonations will be taken towards LAMP – www.lamp.uk.net

Further information:T: 01582 743360 E: team@tree-house.org.uk or visit www.beds.ac.uk/faith

A traditional Carol service with carols, readings and prayer

Luton presents

Carol 10 A6.indd 1 19/11/2010 08:33

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UBSU_aSAY2010-2011

BlendThe

DECEMBERl2010lCHRISTMAS EDITION

UBSU.CO.UK

100+ STUDENTS MAKE A CHANGE TO THEIR UNIONOn Tuesday 30 November more than 100

students from across the University at-tended the Students’ Union’s Annual

General Meeting and voted on motions (propos-als) put forward by fellow students about the run-ning and direction of UBSU.

The most hotly debated topic was the proposed removal of the VP Communications position, to be replaced with a Communications internship of 1-2 years. It was argued that sabbatical officers did not always have the required level of skill and experi-ence for the technical role, and that current mar-keting by UBSU needed to be improved. After a long discussion, the proposal was passed with the proviso that within three years UBSU will look into reintroducing the VP Comms position if finances al-

low. The internship will be a new position open to all recent graduates of the University and will be available from 01 July. More details will be avail-able soon.

UBSU will also be looking at the Student Offic-er positions and will be adding a Communications Student Officer, as well as removing some of the positions that are never filled. This was suggested and approved to increase representation to all stu-dents at the University.

From this week, sabbaticals will also be increas-ing their accountability to you, the students, by publishing what they have achieved each week and what they have been working on. You will also be able to see where they will be each week and what campus they will be working from. This

can be viewed on the website under the ‘Your Un-ion’ tab.

Other motions passed included an increased representation and support for PhD students at senior University committees due to the Universi-ty’s recent policy of scrapping the ‘write up’ fees, a comprehensive review of the student activities provision, a tightening up of sports teams behav-iour and discipline and also a motion to overhaul the funding for societies.

For more information about the AGM and motions passed, please contact UBSU President Lyndsay Murphy

lyndsay.murphy@beds.ac.uk By Jon Stanley

The AGM, what you decided…It’s all change!

BEDFORDSHIRE MARCHEDAGAINST EDUCATIONALCUTS ANDTUITION FEE RISE

Hundreds of students from the University of Bedfordshire marched in the historic na-tional demonstration against educational cuts and tuition fee rise on 10th November, which saw over a 50000 students joining to-gether nationally. This is a biggest demon-stration within the student movement for over a decade. University of Bedfordshire students were involved in a peaceful pro-test and expressed their solidarity towards

the anti-tuition fee rise movement. Even af-ter the march we have shown our solidarity as many students have written to their MP’s to vote against the tuition fee rise. Nation-ally, we still have a strong campaign under progress, I urge students to write to their MP’s regarding their concerns over the tui-tion fee rise. This is the right time to stand up as a student to give a voice for the future of education. Also, ask your friends, family members and every one who this affects to write to their MP’s. Together we can win the campaign. The rise in student fees and edu-cational cuts would increase the gap in so-ciety and many students will lose spaces at University in future. I would say as a good na-tion, the government should make more in-vestment into education to drive the future of a knowledge-based economy. Once again “I urge you to act now, because never blame it on the act of people who are in power, but on the in-act of people who brought them to power.”

By Jay Chinnasamy

DEMO 2010 FROM ASTUDENT’S PERSPECTIVEDemo 2010 took place in London on the

10th November 2010. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest through the streets of London with 52,000 students from all over the country, marching against the raise in tuition fees. Unfortunately the march took a turn for the worse.

As the students walked past the Con-servative Headquarters, Millbank was am-bushed by a small group of socialist work-ers. You could tell there was going to be trou-ble when we reached this point of the march, when people started covering their faces and putting hoods on.

The first attack was in Millbank Tower, where a green smoke bomb was set off in-side and the fire alarms were set off, then people stormed the building. They were quickly removed from the building. Out-side in the Millbank centre a sit down pro-test started. It seemed to be going peaceful-ly until a small group of people took it upon themselves to start a riot.

Millbank was not heavily policed and stu-dents managed to break into 30 Millbank, by smashing the main doors. Nick Clegg and David Cameron effigies were being burnt in the middle of the crowd.

People from the march then continued to smash the windows on the ground floor of the Millbank Centre. A fellow journalism stu-dent and myself went along to the march, and we were at the front of the protestwhen it started to take a turn for the worse.

I was interviewing a fellow student from The University of Bath at the front of the pro-test, when a glass window was smashed over the top of our heads, and an orange flame-thrower was set off. It was an extremely scary point of the march.

I continued to stay at the front of the march interviewing people, once the win-dows had been smashed, it looked like the march was beginning to take a better turn, a sound system was set up and the students all came together and was dancing through-out Millbank and the centre. Unfortunate-ly it didn’t stay this way when members of the march managed to get to the top of the building. A fire extinguisher was dropped from the roof, luckily no members of the public were harmed, but at this point we all realised that the march was not going the way it had been planned.

From being there at the frontline of it all, it was one of the scariest moments of my life being covered in glass. It was a shame to say that our peaceful protest had taken a turn for the worse.

You can get involved, even if you didn’t go to the march simply log onto www.demo2010.org and you can access letters which you can send to your local MP’s to ask them to repeal the bill when it reaches par-liament. Although our march took a turn for the worse we can still help to make a differ-ence.

Robyn Sach

EDITORIALWe welcome any content in the form of

pictures, letters and articles, however we re-serve the right to edit everything that is sub-mitted. If there are any issues with the con-tent please take this directly to the Editor Yinka Adeniyan

Yinka AdeniyanUBSU - Campus Centre

Park Square, LutonLU1 3JU

Yinka.Adeniyan@beds.ac.uk01582 479 368

ContributorsRebecca Heard, Ciaran O’Brien,

Jon Stanley Robyn Sach

EditorYinka Adeniyan

WritersAnna Kingham, Jay Chinnasamy

Tautvydas Tamulevicius, Robyn Sach, Andrew Goodman,Andrew Clements, Sophia Mead,Ariel Mcpherson, Ciaran O’Brien,

Evi Earle, Paula Mayes,Louise Tadiar, Dishon Arivandham

Jon Stanley, Leigham Stone,Rob Searle, Lucinda Rodrigues,Robyn Sach, Steven Lambart,Sophia Mead, Shuang Zhang,

Mary Norman, Andreas Vasiliou,Fillippos Makridis, Alex Raspin,

Matt Stratton, Matt Hobbs,Merle Niederhuefner,

Muhammad Raheem Awan& Yinka Adeniyan

Design LayoutYinka Adeniyan

A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ENTIRE UBSU TEAM FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THIS PAPER.

NewsBThe

IS THE LRC ANDROID APP A WASTED INVESTMENT? It looks like someone is really excited about the new LRC application for android phones. All the posters and the banner on the main website look really nice, but first thing you learn in marketing (which I am studying), is that you can only fool people once - adver-tising will encourage them to try, but if you don’t have a good product, it won’t stick.

The current version of application needs a lot of work. Instead of doing something that comes naturally to mind when thinking about the LRC, it does things like leading you to the library via GPS and Google map, or simply directs you to the main website (its faster to do it yourself, instead of using addi-tional application which only opens your de-fault browser anyway).

“if you don’t have a good product, it won’t stick”

Books are the first thing that comes to my mind - search for them, reserve them, renew them - that is the things that need to be im-plemented, so you could do it anytime you get the notice about the book being over-

due, or lecturer suggests a reading list. There is more - book rooms (for societies) or pods (for group work), ask for technical help (not by email, but by direct message system, so you could get someone to help you and con-tinue with the lecture asap), check the work-ing hours, your balance (for printouts) and many other things could be done. Expensive to develop? Why couldn’t we make a compe-tition for people who study computers and programming? Or make an assignment?... Aren’t there hundreds of students like that?

In general, I am glad that someone out there is trying to move ahead with the times. And I am not surprised it is the LRC, because they always provide a premium service. Smartphones are becoming more and more sophisticated, and people who have them would appreciate yet another efficient way to interact with the University. The first step is made, lets hope that this is one of many ahead, and not the final one.

By Tautvydas Tamulevicius

STUDENTS STRIKE OUT!Bedfordshire students

and UBSU Staff headed to London on 10th November to join the national protest against rising tuition fees.

Central London came to a standstill when 50,000 students from all over Brit-ain marched through the streets in protest. What began as a peaceful march trying to put across a serious message showing their dismay at the dramatic raise in fees and cuts in funding sadly ended in violence when the Millbank Tower was hijacked by a minority of students, causing riot police to move in.

Many students, including Danielle Daly, who is studying here at Bedfordshire was at demonstration, and saw the violence as “proof of the students’ anger” towards the cuts, however she believe that the violence “has taken away from the initial point of the march”. Our Students’ Union’s own Yinka Adeniyan goes on to summarise the event as receiving a “cold-hearted reaction” but being a “warm-hearted protest”, Adeni-yan, amongst others, felt the march “was over-shadowed by the Social Activists par-ty claiming all the headlines for the wrong reasons.”

Throughout the sea of demonstrators most banners, placards and t-shirts, sport-ed by students and lecturers alike includ-ing those from Bedfordshire, were aimed at the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who pledged to vote against a rise in fees before

gaining a place in government. He is now being seen as a traitor to those who vot-ed for him - especially when a large num-ber of first time voters in his contingency of Sheffield Hallam are students. Clegg stat-ed in an interview on breakfast television the morning after the demonstration that

he “should have been more careful” about signing the pledge and now fully supports the new plans for the fee increase - which PM Cameron is set to implement.

The fees which currently stand at around £3,299 a year are set to rise from 2012 to a staggering height of up to £9,000. Clegg stated that these increases will allow “poor, bright kids,” to receive the education they deserve as not one student will have to pay the fees whilst studying - they will just have a debt of around £27,000 when they exit university. Current students that have been asked about the fees and cuts have admit-ted that the increase would put them off studying in the future, no matter when they have to pay the debts. Amilea Vella, psy-chology student, speaks of how she would “probably not bother” attending if she had to pay the increase as “once you’re working there won’t be much any money for your-self when the uni debts have been taken”.

Unfortunately it now appears that the angered, passionate cries of students will fall on deaf ears for fairer fees, as the only coverage coming from the event refers to the violence that took place - not the be-trayed, fearful and outraged message that was trying to be put across by the students. It seems to be true what they say - action speaks louder than words.

By Sophia Mead

Valuing your feedback The National Student Survey (NSS) kicks off in the New Year 2011 and it’s your chance to make your opinions count at a national level.The survey takes a maximum of ten minutes to complete and you can collect loads of freebies for filling it in, so don’t miss out.Eligible final-year students will be able to complete the survey between January and the end of April 2011. Last year eight students won £50 Amazon vouchers after being entered into a prize draw to thank them for taking part.One of the winners, Sharon Dooley, said: “I think the National Student Survey is very important as it gives students a chance to speak out.”Charlotte Stone had just completed her BA in Childhood and Youth Studies when she said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my university experi-ence and have been lucky enough to have some great lecturers.”The results are published on Unistats.com for future students to see and are also made available to those institutions taking part.

By Anna Kingham

On the Proposal to Scrap Write-up Fees for Research StudentsDear Vice Chancellor,

At a recent training workshop on ‘Self Management and Organi-sation’ provided for research students, Professor Angus Duncan stated that you had recommended that write up fees for PhD students be eliminated. Professor Duncan has stated that this is to help completion rates of PhD students.

The length of a full-time PhD is theoretically three years. I say theoretically because in practice hardly anyone is able to com-plete in this time. Things go wrong, plans have to be changed, and one inevitably has to wait for committees or contacts to respond at various stages in the process. What often happens is that the bulk of the work is done in three years, but a fourth year (or part of a fourth year) is needed in order to finish writing up. Due to the reduced resources that a student in the write up stage needs, a reduced fee is usually paid for this fourth year.Over the summer of 2010 the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) released some troubling statistics. Times Higher Education ran an article on the data (available at http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=412628).

The important finding as far as the University of Bedfordshire is concerned is that it was shown to be one of the worst perform-ing universities in the UK for PhD completion. I can understand how troubling this must be, and that you must be seen to do something. However, you will not make our lives as research stu-dents any better if this proposal is passed.Research students, by and large, are not rich. Many research

students have families, and are already on very tight budgets. Even without financial concerns, we are already under a great deal of stress. Every research student I know is now under even more, thanks to this proposal. I began my studies with the expectation of the write up fees being available. I am now left in the position of having to locate a substantial sum of additional funds. Many of us had an expectation that we would have four years to com-plete our work in. We are now being told that we should take no more than three years, despite many of us knowing how rarely this is possible. I know a number of people who are now contem-plating whether they will have to drop out. Will this improve the figures for the University of Bedfordshire?This proposal will not help us complete our research any quicker.

We do not need ‘motivation’ in this form. I think that this proposal also demonstrates a basic confusion over the identity of research students. Most of us pay fees. Some of us are sponsored by outside bodies: organisations or governments. Most of us are not employed by the University in a permanent capacity. Surely our relationship with the University must be as customers to a service provider. Yet we are being essentially told to expect sanctions for not meeting a deadline that very few are ever able to meet. Perhaps employing us all would be a step in the right direc-tion? That, unfortunately, is unlikely to be a practical solution.I am sure that there is a sensible way forward. I do not think that the removal of the write up fee is the proper approach. We will not idly stand by while our strains are unnecessarily increased. I beg you to open a dialogue with the research students of the University, regarding both the fees and the expectations of time. We want to succeed, just as much as you want us to, if not more.

By Andrew Clements, PhD Student

A SELF-HELP GUIDE TO HOMESICKNESS AND CULTURE SHOCKLeaving home and moving somewhere new will be excit-

ing and you would have spent a good deal of time in choos-ing your university and preparing for the inevitable chang-es in your life. Despite plenty of planning, lots of students are surprised by the effect that the changes can have, and some experience homesickness or culture shock. Whether you are an International, EU or Home student, there will be some new challenges for you to face in the first few weeks away from home. You may come from a country where the climate is much warmer, where you don’t hear English spoken every-day or where the food is completely different. You may not be accustomed to the diversity of our student population or you may be leaving behind a family you have never been away from.

These changes affect people differently but feelings that students sometimes experience are: loneliness, nervousness, shyness, anxiety or not trusting people. They sometimes get more headaches than normal, don’t eat properly or feel with-drawn.

All of these feelings and side effects are unpleasant but are quite normal. There are lots of things you can do to help your-self settle into university life and adjust to your new environ-ment.

Here are some tips on what you can do along with some useful contacts:

• Rememberthatmanyotherstudentswillbefeelingthesameasyou-youarenotalone

• Keepintouchwithfamilyandfriendsfromhome

• MakenewfriendsbyjoininginwithStudents’Unionclubs,societiesandactivitiesorbyvolunteering

• StayingintouchwithyourownfaithcommunitymaybeveryimportanttoyousogetintouchwiththemultifaithchaplainciesattheUniversity,theTreehouse(Luton)andSeedBeds(Bedford).TheChaplainsandassistantscanletyouknowaboutfaitheventsandplacesofworshipbothintheUniversityandthewidercommunity

• Makesureyoueatwell...plentyoffruitandvegetablesanddrinkplentyofwater.Findasupplieroffoodwhichisfamiliartoyouandwhataboutinvitingotherstudentstocookandeatwithyou?

• EveryoneintheUniversitycommunitywantsyoutoenjoyyourtimehereandtobehappy,healthyandsuccessful.Thereareplentyofpeopletohelpyougetthroughifyouarefeelingabitdown.

Useful contacts:For sports, activities, clubs and societies contact Ciaran.Obrien@beds.ac.uk

For the Treehouse (Luton) contact Andrew.Goodman@beds.ac.uk

For SeedBeds (Bedford) contact Cass.howes@beds.ac.uk

For volunteering it‘s Zane.dzerina@beds.ac.uk

Always check out www.ubsu.co.uk to keep up-to-date with events and remember…even though you are not at home, University can be your home from home!

By Louise Tadiar

Have you got your C- card???What it is...The NHS is currently running a scheme called ‘Walk on in’ which provides free condoms to under 25s.

Who can get it...Anyone under 25 who is living, working or studying in Luton can register for a Condom Card which then entitles that person to free condoms.

How it works...You can register for a C-card at different sites across Luton. In order to register you need to provide your initials, date of birth, gender, ethnicity and the first part of your postcode.

Where to come to get your condoms...You can get free condoms from a number of different outlets across Luton. For full list visit www.dontcrossyourfingets.co.uk Your nearest registration/distribution point is UBSU Advice Centre, Campus Centre H111.

All of the outlets should display the Walk on in logo

How to use condoms – the facts:• Checkthepackagingisnotdamaged/nocracksortears

• Checktheexpirydate–eg20010/12=yr/mth

• UseacondomwithBritishkitemarkorCEmark

• Pushthecondomdowntoonesideandriptheedgeontheotherside,donotusescissorsorothersharpobjectstoopenthepackagingasyoumaydamagethecondom

• Makesurethecondomistherightwayupbeforeputtinginon

• Pinchthetipofthecondomtostopaircominginandrolldowntothebaseofpenis,airtrappedinthecondomcouldcauseittobreak

• Donotuseoilbasedlubricantssuchasbabyoilorlipstickwithlatexcondomsastheymaycausethecondomtobreak

• Removecondomsoonafterejaculationwhilepenisisstillerectanddisposeofit,donotflushacondomdownatoilet

• NEVERuseacondommorethanonce

• REMEMBERnocontraceptioncanprovide100%protectionagainstpregnancy

• OnlycondomscanprotectyoufromSTIsandpregnancyatthesametimeifusedcorrectly

If you have had unprotected sex and you are worried that you may be pregnant or have an STI you can visit www.dontcrossyourfingers.co.uk for advice and information on sexual health or you can drop in to see us at the Student Union Advice Centre, Campus Centre, H111 or email: ubsu.advice@beds.ac.uk

REMEMBER some STIs have no symptoms so if you think that you are at risk it is best to get tested. Better Safe than Sorry.Please note that you can still get free condoms from the Advice Centre if you are over 25 but we cannot register you for C-card.

http://www.brook.org.uk/about-brook-luton/ccard-walk-on-in-http://www.dontcrossyourfingers.co.uk/mysite/documents/

condomflyerDec08EMAIL.pdfhttp://www.ccardfreecondoms.co.uk/free-condoms-in-bath.phphttp://www.peterborough.gov.uk/pdf/CYPS-C-Card-Leafleta.pdf

By Evi Earle

WelfareBThe

HAVE FUN, BUT GET HOME SAFE!UBSUare askingyoutobemoreawareofsafe-

tyissueswhentravelinghome.Howeveryouaregetting home you need to stay aware of yoursafetyandyoursurroundings.

When it comes to getting home, its best to take a registered taxi, if you can. Here are some smart tips to keep you safe.

Make sure you use a reliable and licensed firm, and keep these numbers in your mobile phone. Try and keep money for a taxi separate so that you don’t spend it during the night, and if you can pre-book your taxi home early in the evening.

When using private hire taxis always ask the operator for a description of the car (colour, make, and so on) and check these details when the vehicle arrives, make sure you are en-tering the correct vehicle by confirming the booking with the driver (ask them your booking details) and always ensure the driver is wearing their private hire badge.

Never enter a car that you have not booked and nev-er get into a vehicle which is not displaying their licens-es. Remember, cars cruising the streets are illegal and un-insured.

If you are using a hackney taxi ensure that the driver is wear-ing their hackney carriage driver’s badge and make sure that the vehicle is fitted with the rear yellow license plate. Whether you are using a private hire or hackney cab try not to go home alone. If you have to use a taxi on your own, always sit in the back seat, behind the driver. It is also a good idea to make a note of the license number of the taxi, text this number home, or to a friend, when you start your journey. And remember that if at any point you feel threatened, trust your instincts ask the driver to stop in a busy area and get out of the car.

Once your home, always ask the driver to wait until you are inside your home before they drive away, and use a buddy sys-tem, you can arrange to call a friend when you get home, or get a friend to call you to check you got home safely.

If you can’t get a taxi home, try and avoid going home on your own, ask a friend to walk home with you. If you do end up having to go home on your own, always be aware of your sur-roundings. Do not listen to your MP3 players or IPods or talk on your phone while you are walking, it might make you feel safe, but you may not hear someone approaching you.

You could choose to carry a personal attack alarm, which you can buy from the Students’ Union for £1.

If you do decide to carry one, don’t carry it on your hand-bag or pocket; you wont be able to find it if you need it. Carry it in your hand when walking around. Walk with confidence; try not to look scared or vulnerable as this can make you an easier target and be sure to avoid shortcuts which are not safe, such as alleys and parks.

Be smart, stay safe and have a safe journey!

By Paula Mayes

UBSU understands that for many, though not all students, drinking is a vital part of your uni-versity experience. With that in mind, and with Christmas parties round the corner, we would like to highlight things, which may affect you when you are out socialising.

The B.A.N.D scheme is something which ALL pubs and clubs in Bedford town centre have joined. The idea of B.A.N.D is to combat and re-duce alcohol related anti-social behaviour, re-duce the supply and use of drugs and to tack-le underage drinking in Bedford town centre.

So what does this mean to you, as students?Well according to B.A.N.D, anyone who is ar-

rested in or outside a licensed venue in Bed-ford town centre could potentially be barred from EVERY pub and club who is signed up to the scheme. Bedford town centre venues are working together to operate a banned from

one, banned from all policy. There are current-ly around 35 people who have had such a ban enforced on them.

You do not have to have been charged with an offence or attend court; a police rep-rimand or caution is enough for the B.A.N.D policy to be enforced.

This could mean you would be unable to drink in any pub or club in the town centre for up to 12 MONTHS, and this would be adminis-tered by all door staff at all town centre venues.

So when you are out with your mates be mindful that an arrest for violence, assault, criminal damage or the use and supply of drugs could result in a 12 month banned from one banned from all punishment being enforced.

Enjoyyourselfandhavefunwithyourfriends,butifthisinvolvesyoubeingoutinthetowncentremakesureyoudon’tgetB.A.N.D.

By Paula Mayes

Welfare and Advice comes to Bedford

Bedford UBSU now has a newly opened Welfare and Advice Centre; you can find us in the Students’ Union on the Polhill campus. We offer a free, impartial and confidential advice service to ALL Univer-sity of Bedfordshire students.

So whatever problem you may have, whether it’s with your accommodation, finances, your health or any academ-ic problems (or any other difficulties you may be experiencing), you can come and see us. We are always happy to help in any way we can and if we can’t help our-selves we will know someone who can.

We offer an advocacy service for those who need it. We provide condoms and Chlamydia home testing kits, both of which can be collected free of charge from

the Bedford Advice Centre.We also stock personal attack alarms

which can be purchased for £1 (£1.50 for staff members) and provide person-al safety information including lists of li-censed taxi companies in Bedford.

So should you feel like you need a little help to work out how to resolve any prob-lems you have, or if you just need some-one to listen then the UBSU welfare ser-vice is here to help you.

So why not drop into the Bedford SU Welfare and Advice Centre?.

By Paula Mayes

Howdidwe(UBSU)celebrateBHM?UBSU recognised the signifi-

cance of Black History Month On 27th & 28th Oct at special events organised around campus. The celebration included an interactive exhibition Top 10 Most influential Black personalities in UK for the year 2010 according to Power List foundation, Cultural food festival – African Caribbean and Asian food

tasting, Black History Quiz, Movie night and Storytelling.

Many of our students from vari-ous backgrounds participated and got involved. Over100 students celebrated throughout the day, with more than 30 students ac-tively engaging in the evening en-tertainment.

By Dishon Arivandham

COMMUNITYBThe

SP IR ITUAL ART University Centre Milton Keynes

welcomed the great and the good last night to an exhibition of inter-faith art.

The evening was a celebration of religiously inspired art created by artists of different faiths from across the city.

Hosted in the light filled first floor atrium, the art took centre stage and created a focal point for con-versation.

Anouad Kassim, chair of Milton Keynes Art Heritage and Culture Organisation arranged the evening in conjunction with Adrian Pinck-ard head of Art, Design and Media at UCMK.

It was a busy evening with two separate talks held in the lecture theatres to explore the art concepts in greater detail.

Those who attended were im-pressed by the art and the idea be-hind the evening.

Steve Barnes, the chaplain at Wil-len Hospice expressed his belief in the importance of fostering rela-tions amongst people of faith.

He said: “As a minister I am very interested in interfaith events. At Willen Hospice we cater for peo-ple of all faiths so it is good to come here tonight and be immersed in

other cultures. This type of events helps us to understand one anoth-er better.”

Kathryn Dunn, the former inau-gural vice-chair of Milton Keynes Council of Faiths, thought that the mix of art and faiths was exactly what communities needed.

She said: “The art is so lovely here tonight; so bright and vibrant, it takes you into another world. It is so important that communities get to know one another, that way me-dia stereotyping does less damage to our thinking.”

Faiz Kayani, 15 attended with his sister Yusrah Kayini, 12, who both saw the evening as an opportuni-ty to see the positive side of hav-ing faith.

Mr Kayani said: Often the media uses stereotypes that I find upset-ting. It is good to come here and be amongst people who think dif-ferently.”

Maryam Beg, a biologist, and friend of the curator Mr Kassim, came along to support the idea of interfaith dialogue through art.

She said: “Faith is a common theme; it should bring people to-gether. Nobody could view tonight as threatening, it is a good environ-ment in which to meet and talk. My only concern is that art is seen as a bit middle class; it might not attract a wide enough audience.”

By Mary Norman

PAG A N S P R OT E S T AG A I N S T “ FA L S E ” H A L LO W E E N .Holy Day unrest results in mass protest.

There was growing unrest among the Pagan ociety that their annu-al holy day is now thought of as a gimmick, rather than a serious reli-gious event. As the growth in Hal-loween gets bigger with each year, so do the negative views. Lizzie, the head of the Pagan and Wiccan So-ciety, blasted Halloween as “embar-rassing” and “false”. She comment-ed: “Samhain (Halloween) is now classed as nothing but sweets and costumes and nothing more. It is an-other excuse for money making an-tics and gluttony. To us, it is a major holiday and an important part of our religion. The fact that it is now noth-ing but a marketing tool is very sad and disrespectful for us.”

Samhain is a holiday that cele-brates death and is a time to honour those who have passed away. For Pa-gans, death is nothing but the cycle of life.

Although the idea of trick-or-treating does derive from a long tradition of Pagan practices, it has somewhat lost its true meaning. Children dressed in costumes and were used, as a process, thousands of years ago, when house owners would dress children as demons to sway actual demons that may be present that the house was already under the presence of the dark forc-es. For this act, the children were re-warded with treats and food. This is widely believed to be the origins of trick-or-treating, although not too many people are aware of the fact.

The majority of the Pagan faith agrees that the holiday has lost all meaning of its true heritage. Some are less alarmed than others, how-ever. Vincent Nicholson, an online blogger for the Pagan Society told me: “The thing is, all religious holi-days have been forgotten for their

origins. How many kids know what Christmas and Easter are about? How many kids know why we give out gifts and eggs? As long as we know what it means, does it real-ly matter? Of course, I do under-stand why people are angry about it but nothing can be done. We could preach all we want but it wouldn’t change. I never took part in the pro-test.”

The idea of protests comes from within the Pagan circle. Online blog-gers and website promoters had been working overtime, trying to re-cruit members of the public to join their protests before 31st October. The protest was to ignore the com-mercial aspects of the holiday and to get people to truly understand the nature of Samhain. The aim was to boycott the “Americanised” tra-dition of the holiday and to try and teach people the true values. One

blogger suggested that Paganism should be taught in schools along-side Christianity and other “cosmo-politan” and “mainstream” religions, writing: “Why not teach the ideas of Paganism in schools? Every person should have the chance and oppor-tunity to learn what they want. I cer-tainly wish I had the chance to learn this in school”

Speaking to John Stone, the Chair-man of the Pagan Society at the University of Bedfordshire, he ex-pressed mixed views on Halloween. “I hold a ritual, to honour those that have passed. I light a candle for the spirits and then I reflect on the past year.” John planned to hold a tradi-tional ritual at the university in hon-our of Samhein, but was disheart-ened by the small group of peo-ple interested in Paganism. He ex-plained what the ritual consists of: “We cast a circle and call in the el-ements and the Gods Anubis and Hecate, both guardians of the spirit world. We invite our ancestors’ spirits

into the circle and we light candles for them.” Although John is a tradi-tional Pagan, with strong beliefs, he does contribute towards the mod-ern style of Halloween. “ I do dress up, yes. It is something I enjoy do-ing, but I usually dress as a vampire, since in a way it represents the dark-er side of human nature”

If one could take anything from Pagan views and beliefs it would be that they view all things as equal. They view death as a cycle, and no man, mineral or matter has a high-er rank than the other. Although the modern Halloween is classed as dis-respectful to some Pagans, others are willing to see past it. For most, religion is a personal choice and a sacred part of them. Some will con-tinue to fight the modernized world, battle to re-establish the proper meaning of the holy day. Internet forums were made for this very pur-pose, and they are not hurting any-body by doing so.

By Steven Lambert

AN INSIGHT INTO CHRISTIANITYThe University of Bedfordshire is proud to be rich in culture and religious diversity. To celebrate this, each month we will be looking at a different religion to help us learn more about each other. This month we take just a brief look at Christianity.

Christianity is the most popular religion in the world with over 2 billion adherents. 42 million Britons see themselves as nominally Christian, and there are 6 million who are actively practising.Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They also believe that God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins. One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and rising from the dead after the third day (the Resurrection). Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God:

o God the Father o God the Son o The Holy Spirit

Christians worship in churches and their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers. The Christian holy book is the Bible, and consists of the Old and New Testaments. Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular calendar.Jesus Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save mankind from death and sin. Jesus Christ taught that he was Son of God. His teachings can be summarised, briefly as the love of God and love of one’s neighbour. Jesus said that he had come to fulfil God’s law rather than teach it.Justification by FaithChristians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.The TrinityChristians believe in the Trinity - that is, in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some confuse this and think that Christians believe in three separate gods, which they don’t. Christians believe that God took human form

as Jesus Christ and that God is present today through the work of the Holy Spirit and evident in the actions of believers.Life after DeathChristians believe that there is a life after earthly death. While the actual nature of this life is not known, Christians believe that many spiritual experiences in this life help to give them some idea of what eternal life will be like.The SaintsThese days, the word saint is most commonly used

to refer to a Christian who has lived a particularly good and holy life on earth, and with whom miracles are claimed to have been associated after their death. The formal title of Saint is conferred by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches through a process called canonisation. embers of these Churches also believe that Saints created in this way can intercede with God on behalf of people who are alive today. This is not accepted by most Protestants.

In the Bible, however, the word saint is used as a description of anyone who is a committed believer, particularly by St. Paul in the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 1.1. and 1.15).

The BibleThe most important Christian texts are the two volumes of the Bible, called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible. The New Testament contains the story of Jesus and the early Church.

By Ciaran O’Brien

7Studying in the U K as a Chinese studentHave confidence and look to the future!!!

Hello everyone. I am an international stu-dent from the joint programme between Bed-fordshire and International College at Beijing. This is my first year and everything is different from my life back home.

When I arrived here, the first day, sleeping in the unfamiliar dormitory, I missed home very much. But I knew I needed to get used to the new circumstances as soon as possible. To overcome the language barrier and im-prove my English, to study my major and to find a part-time job to support my living, etc. I know now is the time for action rather than to reminisce. Now, I have been here for about two months. Some bad things have upset me while some happy things make me build con-fidence. After I settle down here about three weeks into term, I lost £300 pounds in my room because I forgot to lock the door. I was very upset and crying. But my roommates and friends are very compassionate. They helped me to contact the police and they comforted me. Although I haven’t got the money back I felt the warmth in this new environment. Thanks to them!!! The main difference be-tween the dormitories in the UK between Chi-na is one person in a room for dorms in the UK. In China, sometimes 4 or 6 share a big flat. So I am very satisfied with the living conditions. And about the studying, my lecturers are all

excellent. The good thing is (because my ma-jor is media practices), some films and televi-sion programmes which I cannot access in Chi-na I can view. The lecturers are patient to all my questions. I can learn a lot of various inter-esting things. Although it’s simple some words such as “Well done, good” will give me a lot of encourage. I find it hard to read an article with-out checking the dictionary all the time but thanks to the language centre, for helping me.

Then talking about my hobby. I am a big fan of Japanese Animation. There was an an-ime expo and cosplay performance in London. But I wasn’t sure how to go there, and wheth-er to book the tickets or buy the ticket after I reached the last station as I have never been to London. My classmate Sarah helped me. She introduced me into the anime and manga so-ciety of the university. I am very appreciative about this. In the there are a lot of people who love anime and manga and we had a fantastic time at the Expo. So, if you have some prob-lems, just ask about the people around. They are very kind.

Finally, that’s all my two month’s life. Haha, I hope every international student feels encour-aged and is looking forward to the bright fu-ture!!!

For more information about the activities and sport you can get involved in, please vis-it www.ubsu.co.uk/studentactivities or come and see us in the Students’ Union.

By Shuang Zhang

DIWALI AND EID UBSU, the International Office and the Tree-house have once again joined forces to deliv-er both a Diwali and an Eid celebration on the Luton Campus.

On Wednesday 10th November, a Diwali cel-ebration was held in Park Square, where a lo-cal priest from the Hindu Mandir in Luton held a pooja, following an introduc-tion and speech from Revd An-drew Goodman, University Chaplain. Afterwards, 180 stu-dents enjoyed a luscious feast laid on by the International Of-fice before being treated to a large selection of music which was played by students, includ-ing Hindi, Gujurati and Tamil songs. The night was filled with much talking and laughter, and after a great deal of dancing, all students, staff and sabbaticals left with smiles on their faces!

Then on Tuesday 23rd No-

vember, an Eid celebration was held, with support from the Pa-kistani Students Association (PSA). Nasir Akram, a friend of the Treehouse from the local Muslim community, welcomed everyone and then PSA Pres-ident, Muhammad Raheem Awan, followed by starting the event. Over 180 students were again present, and a large buf-fet meal was enjoyed by all. Af-ter eating, some students got involved in a number of games,

and the night ended with a mixture of songs and even a dance competition!

Future events planned by UBSU, the Interna-

tional Office and the Treehouse include Christ-mas, Hanukkah, Holi, Shivaratri and MORE! Keep your eyes open for future promotions....

By Ciaran O’Brien

EventsBThe

THE GOLDEN YEAR - OU EST LE SWIMMING POOLLaced with sadness for many reasons, Ou

Est Le Swimming Pool’s debut could be their last album

It’s impossible to review Camden synth-pop Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s debut album The Golden Year without mentioning the trag-ic suicide of frontman Charles Haddon. Sim-ilarly, it’s impossible to listen to The Golden Year and not be amazed and saddened at the same time, purely because what Ou Est have produced so well may be their last. The deci-sion to switch ‘You Started’ as the album open-er ultimately proved poignant. Harrowing pi-ano notes scatter like raindrops in your mind to the point where they force themselves out your eyes as Haddon declares, “You have start-ed the beginning of my life.” Frankly, beautiful doesn’t do it justice.

Things are kept in check and injected with pace when Ladyhawke-like ‘The Key’ drops be-fore ‘These New Knights’ attacks every sense in your body via a throbbing bassline that could demolish a building. It’s all very deli-ciously synth-pop, yet it somehow manages to shrug off the 80’s decor that has followed La Roux, Ladyhawke and the like for so long. The Golden Year and Ou Est remain very much in 2010. In this sense, they’re the real pioneers for current synth-pop. The aptly named ‘Cur-tain Falls’ best displays this as Haddons love felt lyrics float over a 2010 Phillip Oakley back-drop which borders on Justice-esque synths. It’s slightly exaggerated but brilliant none the

Debut single ‘Dance The Way I Feel’ is Ou Est’s ‘D.A.N.C.E.’, whilst highlight ‘Jacksons Last Stand’ announces Ou Est as one of the most exciting bands in Britain at the moment. Peo-ple will suggest The Golden Year only garners such attention and praise because of Haddons suicide. They couldn’t be further from the truth. ‘Better’ sounds like a Sega MegaDrive crying in La Roux like eccentricity as Had-don mumbles to himself, “The quiet walls are more than a friend could be.”, and ‘Our Lives’ lays bare the frontman’s ability to mean every single word he sings.

Yes, it’s unlikely that Ou Est Le Swimming Pool will carry on. The tragic loss of Haddon not only as a musician but a friend will test their resolve. But then again, it could be the catalyst that pushes Ou Est into the band they should be. They’ve played Glastonbury before. What’s to say they can’t play the Other Stage in a couple of years? As The Golden Year proves, they’re more than capable.

7.5/10

Top 3:1) ‘Jacksons Last Stand’2) ‘You Started’3) ‘Curtain Falls’

By Matt Hobbs

ANSWER ME THIS?‘‘When it comes to Christmas, what do you look forward to the most?’’

Next issue: Valentines Edition, New Answer Me This: “Whatwouldyouridealvalentinesgiftbe?”If you have an opinion on this and wish to share it with the student body? Send a max of 100 words to: yinka.adeniyan@beds.ac.uk

The annual sensation the media call Christmas is soon approaching us all. However what does it mean to you as an individual.

Not everyone has the satisfaction of celebrating it with family & friends, everyone has a different story to tell. So i went around asking students what is it they are looking forward to this Christmas. As for me well it’s a seat infront the telly, sky+ remote at hand and flick-ing through the festive sport and movies. I mean what else is there to do during the holidays?

by Yinka Adeniyan

Jane“ThethingthatImostlookforwardtoat

XmasismylittleSonshakingwithexcitementasheopenshismound

ofpresents.”

Derek “I look forward

to spending time with friends and

family. It is always a pleasure to eat my

mums food.”

Reynel‘Presents,butIdon’tevenget

thatanymore.Soit’sspendingtimewiththe

family,Christmasdinnerandboxing

daysales.”

Mary“My

Family.Because

I’mnotalwayswith

myfamilyduringstudies,

soatChristmasweall

cometogether.”

Ashana

“Shopping,

movies,playing

theNintendoWiiwith

myfamily&making

dumplings.”

Uddy“Ihaveanextended

familysoIdon’tgettoseethemall

thetime;onlyonceayear.Wedon’tgetpresentswegetmoneyinstead.

Danyelle“Tobehonestat

thisagenottoomuch,butthegifts,thefoodandfamilyaroundyouthat’sprettymuchit.”

April“Spending

timewithmum&dad,Idon’tget

toseethatoften.1dayoutofthewholeyearme&twinbrother

don’targue.

John“Going

hometosee

myfamily,because

I’mfromIreland,I

don’tgetachanceto

gohomeduring

studies.”

Paige“Spendingtimewiththefamily.

Thefestiveness,theChristmassongs,andthefeelingyouget…It’sahappytimeoftheyear.Thefeelingspreads

toeveryone.”

100% RECYCLED PAPER

ANSWER ME THIS?Day 1: Christmas Tunes

As the snow begins and Christmas is near, what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by listening to the must have festive songs. So here are a few to get you started:

Mariah Carey All I want for ChristmasPaul McCartney Wonderful Christmas Time

Destiny child 12 Days of ChristmasJohn Lennon Happy Christmas

Aly&Aj Jingle Bell Rock.

Day 2: Love actuallyRight; by now you should be all festively tuned up for those snowy walks. But what about the nights, when

the snow is thick and it’s too cold to even think about venturing outside? Well, there’s nothing better than a romantic, British comedy when snuggling up in the warm at night. Try renting Love actually, it is defiantly worth it and a must watch festive movie.

Day 3: Special DeliveryMake sure all presents and cards are wrapped, labeled and sorted before Christmas, otherwise you could

be facing a huge disaster. It might sound cheesy but if you can, buy a card making set. We aren’t five anymore so they don’t have to look dreadful; it also shows that a lot of thought has gone behind it. Every one loves re-ceiving a card that’s had a little time spent on it.

Day 4:Capturing everythingYou need to capture those holiday special moments. The best way to keep memories is with camera. A phone is all well and good but the quality isn’t always too great. If you have a camera great, if you haven’t I suggest you get one.

Day 5: NailsFrench manicure? Whatever you like, get it done before

Christmas. It’s one of those little things that will complete your Christmas look.

Day 6: SledgingIf you have a hill near you, defiantly try sledging, It’s great

fun and even if you don’t have a sledge, just go sliding down, be brave! Yeah its cold, yeah you might fall off the sledge and get wet but, it’s Christmas, who cares? Oh and there’s ice-skating, so many places have an outside rink dur-ing December, it’s tons of fun!

Day 7: Dressing upChristmas is coming up in 4 days and you need an outfit!

I think reds, smooth velvet, pale blues and anything spark-ly is what Christmas is all about.Buy a pair of heels to match that dress, a pair of comfy cute shoes for your casual days, a pair of boots for those snowy walks and you’re all set!

Day 8: CookiesChristmas cookies are always fun, there’s loads of

easy recipes on the Internet. Kids love to do it and I know when it comes to Christmas I always take a day out to bake some cookies with my little cous-in.It might not be much but she loves it and it only takes an hour of my day.

Day 9: Red LipstickMight not seem like a big thing but

oh, it so is. Red is one of those colours that stand out and at Christmas it’s al-most a crime to not have red lips. So head down into town and pick out a shade for Christmas day!

Day 10: Me dayHave a “me” day. Just take time out to just relax and

be you. Lush is a great store when it comes to bath soaps and those little balls that fizz. If you haven’t tried one then you are missing out!

Also Body Shop are great for facial washes, masks and body creams. All their stuff is natural, so no need to wor-ry about sensitive skin. Try the tee tree facial wash and strawberry body butter!

Day 11: Your hairIt’s Christmas eve and wheth-

er you admit or not you wont be sleeping too much because it’s CHRISTMAS tomorrow!! Some-thing you may want to try at night to get perfect? Your hair. Glitter hair spray if you’re brave? Or may-be just a sparkly hair band. There’s no crime is taking the sparkles overboard at Christmas, it’s the only time of year we can do it and get away with it! Show off your face and pin your hair back into a nice clas-sic bun or have it down pushed back with a headband.

Day 12: Christmas DayIts Christmas day there’s no task for today just

have fun, relax and enjoy the festivities. When ev-erything gets a little crazy and your having to thank people for presents just remember what Christmas is all about. Maybe today you can thank your fam-ily for being by your side rather than that new car-digan they brought you?

It’s early but have a very merry Christmas.

By Lucinda Rodrigues

Students’ CornerBThe Students’ CornerBThe

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DOYOUWANTTOSEEMOREGAMESINYOURSTUDENTPAPER?LETUSKNOWWHICHONESANDWEWILLLOOKINTOGETTINGTHEMINFORYOU!

GRUMPY CORNERRecently in the football world Tottenham Hotspur

footballer Gareth Bale has hit a rich vein of form - prompting many tabloid papers to label him ‘World-Class’. Grumpy Corner pondered the fickle subject of world-class. What constitutes a world-class footballer? For Grumpy Corner- it has to be someone who is in the top one or two for their position in the world - but crucially for a consistent time period of at least two seasons. Two seasons ago Bale was much derided for not having won a game for Spurs - after a very lengthy spell in the first team. At the same time, Redknapp also considered sending him on loan to a championship club. So, the transformation into the player he is now is certainly exceptional. But surely to be considered world class you need to be producing great form season after season- not match after match.

Which in turn led me to think, are the tabloid media-hyping Bale up as the next British super-talent? Much in the same way as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs or more recently Wayne Rooney? Is the tabloid press biased towards British players despite no Brit-ish footballers having made this years Ballon D’or award shortlist?

This much is certain- he’s a decent player having a purple patch but settle down folks- the boy still hasn’t won anything. If he helps Spurs to the Double or any major trophy, then let’s re-think this. Grumpy Corner certainly thinks this much- World Class means you are the elite without peer. A bit like Grumpy Corner then…

This brings us nicely to the subject of inefficient workmates (did you see the spurs link there!) Now many people have been tell-ing us of their work place and the inefficiency of work colleagues lately and there are a few things that we have surmised from said conversations. The first and foremost is that whoever you are and wherever you work you are always going to be surrounded by id-iots who don’t have a clue what they are doing and expect every-one to cover for them and back them up when they are complete-ly incapable of doing their job properly.

Once you have managed to balance this, looking out for them, as well as doing your own job to an acceptable standard mental-ity, then it is time to grab a coffee and come join us for a chat in grumpy corner for we are certainly no different to anyone else in this regard. Our theory is that there is a very evil person some-where in the world who has us filmed every second of the day to see how we deal with intensifying levels of incompetence, kind of like the film “The Truman Show” and we believe that in the end only the strong of character and pure of heart will prevail.

Actually that is a lie-we don’t care in the slightest about your

work colleagues but we have the respect to listen to your rants none the less all in the name of grumpiness!

The last but by no means least subject is the government! This is a conversation that for legal reasons we have to state proba-

bly never happened between the political parties and the public:

Government “Hi, we are the candidates for the upcoming elec-tion please vote for who you like.”

Public “Ok what are your views on University fees?”

Government shouts “We will lower them and to hell with what the education secretary says, students are our future!”

Public “Wow they all seem very convincing, I can’t decide who to vote for”

*Intermission where voting takes place and indeed no-one could decide who they wanted to vote for so no-one got in*

Mr D “YES! I thank you all for making me your new prime min-ister”

Public “Err you are not as you didn’t get enough votes”

Mr D “Really? Oh well what if we added them together with Mr N?”

Public “Well that would give a government that no-one actu-ally voted for”

Mr D “But I’d still get a big office and Mr N to make my tea though right?”

Public “Yes but it is immoral”

Mr D “Yey I’m the new PM, right first things first, I think Univer-sity fees should be trebled”

Public “See this is why no-one voted for you”

Mr D “I don’t care I’ve got a big chair so nerrr”

Public sighs “Twat”.*Please note: If this offended you in any way, we don’t care-we didn’t force you to read it!

By Mr Pink and Mr Brown

Christmas for StudentsChristmas has come around once again, and we all

know how expensive it can be, especially with the increase in VAT being put into action from the 6th De-cember. It will be increasing from 17.5% to 20%.

It can be difficult for students at university to af-ford Christmas, whilst living off their student loan, with buying for family and friends and especially for freshers, who have made friends throughout their first term and have more people to buy for.

There are ways though to still make Christmas spe-cial whilst keeping to a student budget. One way is it to make some of your Christmas presents. A favorite of mine is making calendars. I make them for most of my family and friends. I use a Publisher application which creates the calendars and I add my own pic-tures to them. It gives Christmas a special touch; it is a cheap and also doesn’t take a lot of time so you still have time for your assignments.

A great gift for your friends at university is to buy inexpensive photo frames, which you can buy an-ywhere, and print a picture of you and your friends, again it is still a personal present and something that people can keep.

There are many ways of saving money over Christ-mas. One way to do this is, is to shop around and do not buy the first thing you see. If you find a DVD or CD you wish to buy as a present, make sure you look around for the cheapest price, it means you are still buying a great present but you are saving money along the way.

Whilst Christmas shopping, don’t forget to keep your handbag safe, unfortunately although ‘tis the season to be jolly’, there are people who will take ad-vantage, so make sure that you stay safe, and keep your eye on your purse.

By Robyn Sach

BEATTHEVATINCREASE

Staying safe this ChristmasChristmas is the time for celebration,

and spending time with your family and friends. New Year is a time of say-ing goodbye to a year gone by, and bringing in the coming of an amazing year, but throughout all of the celebrat-ing, your safety should be your number one priority.

Over the Christmas break it is im-portant that if you go out with your friends, drinking and partying, that you remain safe. If you are away from home always make sure that you have ‘emer-gency’ money. Keep a separate section

of your purse or wallet for extra mon-ey to make sure if you get separated form your friends that you can get a taxi home safely.

If you are using a taxi over the Christ-mas break then make sure that you use a registered taxi firm and always call in advance. Do not get in a car without seeing proof of identification. Wher-ever you go this Christmas make sure that you have a taxi firm number in your phone, or a keyring, or a card in your purse or wallet. Only use a firm you can trust.

Whilst out and about never leave your drink unattended. If someone you do not know wants to buy you a drink, then make sure that you go with them when buying your drink, and that you keep an eye on it. If you do leave your drink unattended then do not go back to it, you never know if someone may have put something in your drink. Over the Christmas period there are a higher percentage of drinks getting spiked as people get careless. So keep safe!

By Robyn Sach

Do you have the Amazing Four Friends?ARE YOU COOL WITH

THE NEW UNI HOMIEs?Making true friends at university is sometimes hard, but I already have a group of friends that all intertwine into all occasion, The Amazing Shift Shapers. These friends have everything when my home friends are too busy. Everybody has friends too far away, so make the best of the friends while you’re here.

Do you feel as if you have a friend for every occasion? I think we all categorise our friends or associates to groups, for instance who belongs in the circle and who is out. As the saying goes “Show me your friends and I can tell what kind of person you are.” But what if this is my identity when I am raving. I like having fun people but when I am studying the nerds or ambitious ones get a call. I even categories my best friends. There is one friend for emotion, a protector, shopaholic, alcoholic, spiritual, mind readers, innocent one, smarty pants (I just hope they never get this article!)I think friends are like your partners; they shouldn’t be exactly like you, which is the fun of it. Like my ultimate BFF is a B*** and people always say that we don’t suit as friends. “If you were her would you be friends with you?” The answer is probably NO but you love someone because of their differences. Start to realise what kind of friend your friends would categorise you in; don’t be surprised when they tell you.

How far would you go for a friend?No matter how much you think you have grown you’re never too old to be played. People who you think are friends are actually just people you know. They is always a of limit of what you would do for a friend, that will help you categorise, like would you lend that person money without asking for it back, or jump into a fight or help them out with homework. The simple things determine a strong relationship, but do realise that your peers could be useful contacts. The things you would do for someone just because of the wonders of your ability. Just be nice, think of the Secret Millionaire.

Do you always have to impress?Skills are useful to have in friendships; the one with the car, cooking lover, funny one, stylist. People always share their ability with their friends and it’s a better way for them to bring you more options in the future. Let them be aware of your skills, the potential in life will differ.

Can you go in the deep end?For some newcomers always be aware of what you can or cannot say to the people you have just met. Always be direct even though it can be dangerous; you could be respected. If you’re not a good judge of character or they have tempers don’t be direct. It is not going to make them change their minds. ‘Girls, do I look bad? Think it best for you to change. Guys, do I look bad? You look like a furry chicken.’ Never take things to heart but beware of the way you say things (boys are the best bitches.) Learn to test the water, see how far you can go.If things never work out, you have friends at home (hopefully) but if you’re lucky, you have friends to take home.

By Ariel McPherson

John Perkins' storyRugby captain John Perkins is

“Ecstatic” about the talent of both the rugby squads and has set his sights on the 1st team winning the league this sea-son.

John is in his third and final year of university now. He has played and cap-tained the rugby men’s team for two seasons and every year his side has im-proved. True, this season the talent he has to choose from is vast compared to previous years, but good individuals don’t necessarily make a good team.

However, in this case, good individu-als make a “Mustard” team. John is very excited about the new recruits and feels silverware is a more than realistic goal.

This year he said: “Our aim this year is for one of a teams to win our league. We should be able to achieve a one-two in the table.

“Anything outside the top three would be a disappointment. The most positive thing is we have a large squad so even if we do have injuries this season we will have the strength and depth to put out two strong teams.”

Mentioning the new lads he said: “They are looking great. We have some amaz-ing talent there and a few have played or still do play at a competitive level. Some of them have played for quite a long time, they have a lot of experience and I’m hop-ing it will benefit us and we can use that over the season.”

“When we set the team up in my first year we had between 5 and 15 players but now we have around 50, so that’s bril-liant for us. I’m really excited about the new season and some of our new recruits look sharp, look keen, look mustard.”

As the old saying goes - you learn from your mistakes. Last season the rugby team fell just short, of promotion after a couple of disappointing results and per-formances saw the league title slip away. So where did it all go wrong last year?

“Last season could and maybe should have gone better,” said John, “But some-times things just don’t go your way. Some of the players didn’t turn up on occasions, we had a lot of injuries as well, then before we knew it we had lost two games on the bounce and we were in third place. This year should be a different story.”

With so much optimism in the air and last year’s mistakes aiming to be recti-fied, the season ahead looks good. Al-ready the rugby men’s 1st team have won all three of their opening match-es, so a few more wins on the board and maybe, just maybe, John will leave the University with a winners medal around his neck.

By Leigham Stone

Student ActivitiesBThe 23A NEW SOCIETY IN TOWN

UniversityofBedfordshirestudentstakeactiontorefurbishlocalcharityNoah,SIFE@UoB

Luton, 26th November 2010 - How do you create a sustainable business model for a not so well known charity that supports homeless, unemployed, criminals and others in need by selling second hand furniture?

The newly-founded SIFE society of the Uni-versity of Bedfordshire and its President Iri-na Bucsa formed a workforce to answer this question. The society is run like a small busi-ness itself with responsibilities in the fields of HR (Heidi Petijova), Finance (Jennifer Mo-ses -Obah), Corporate Relations (Anna Kono-va), Communication (Andreas Vasiliou), Mar-keting and Sales and Project Management (Merle Niederhuefner). The progress and out-come of the project and a professional busi-ness plan will be presented at the upcoming regional SIFE competition in March 2011 and compete with project from other Universities of the area.

AboutSIFEInternational:Founded in 1975, SIFE is a US based

non-profit organisation which involves 42,000 Students at over 1,500 Universi-ties in 40 countries. This makes SIFE the world’s largest student organisation. A central event is held annually to evalu-ate and celebrate the work of participating students, who compete at the SIFE nation-al competition and a world-cup ceremony. The SIFE projects have the purpose to support others and – on a small scale – make the world a little better.

The project mutually benefits both the Uni-versity and Noah Enterprise by giving students the opportunity to learn in practice what re-sponsible leadership means and utilising that knowledge to implement best practice busi-ness etiquette. Jose Martin, Transport Manag-er of Noah’s Luton based furniture shop states:

“it’s good to have someone new on board. I believe it will help us raise awareness among the community... and that’s the most impor-tant thing raising awareness about what Noah does, where Noah is going and what we do here”.

The UoB SIFE society is confident that “By working with Noah Enterprise Luton’s BEST KEPT SECRET will finally be exposed and the spotlight will be on Noah”.

To find out more and participate: Projects.Contact:President: Irina Bucsa – irina.bucsa@study.beds.ac.ukHR Manager: Heidi Petijova – Heidi.petijova@study.beds.ac.uk

The SIFE society welcomes FRESH ideas for starting NEW PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES.

by Andreas Vasiliou and Merle Niederhuefner

UoB SIFEMembers atVolunteering Fair (from the left)IrinaBucsa,M.SameerAliJinnah&HeidiPetijova

PSA Welcome Party: An Eye Catching Event!

The Pakistani Student Association (PSA), in collaboration with UBSU, arranged a welcome party on 5th November for new and return-ing students. It was the first main event by PSA during this current academic year. In this marvelous event students got an opportuni-ty to congregate with students from different countries, cultures and religions. The event was started with recitation of Holy Quran and Praise for Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). It was amazing for the audience to listen to the Pakistani National Anthem and giving standing tribute in flying Pakistani and British flags followed by national songs.

PSA President Muhammad Raheem Awan, appreciated the efforts of University of Bed-fordshire and UBSU in his speech for providing opportunities to new students to get famil-iar in new environment and culture through these kinds of events. Considering that the

The University of Bedfordshire has students from about 120 countries of the world, he urged students to spread a message of love, peace and harmony as ambassadors of their countries and cultures. Students were en-tertained with refreshments throughout the event and they also enjoyed music of their own choice.

Various games and competitions were fol-lowed by prizes for the winners. This made the event more stunning and interesting for participants. Another important aspect of the event was that it had been attended by Indian, German, Thai and Caribbean students which indicate that the Pakistani Students Associa-tion is appropriately playing its role to bring closer the students of diverse cultures.

By Muhammad Raheem Awan

GREEKANDCYPRIOTSOCIETY:TRIP TO WARWICK

On the 7th of October the Greek and Cypriot So-ciety had arranged a day trip to Warwick Cas-tle, a medieval castle located in Warwick, War-wickshire. The Castle was built on a bend on the River

Avon in 1068 by William the Conqueror.Fifteen members of the Society attended

this event, which turned out to be a fun and exciting adventure in the historic medieval Castle. On the arrival of the group in the Castle there were many interesting, entertaining side shows performed by fantastic characters, in-cluding a short show of King Arthur’s Excalibur in which the group had a chance to participate in. After enjoying the side shows the group had the opportunity to take a tour in the facilities of the caste, in which furniture and wax figures were displayed in order to give visitors the feel-ing of how people used to live in the 1060’s. At the Castle premises the group had the chance to dine in the restaurant after finishing the tour and also buy souvenirs from the little souve-nir shops.

The Society was pleased that members had a great time and is promising to organize oth-er great, similar adventures for the members to enjoy.

By President: Filippos Makridis

LUTON TEAM DATE OPPOSITION HOME / AWAY RESULT

BasketballMen's1st 10-Nov CranfieldUniversityMen's1st Home W79-59

FootballMen's2nd 10-Nov UniversityofNorthamptonMen's3rd Home W3-0

FootballMen's3rd 10-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Men's1st Home L9-0

BasketballWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofLeicesterWomen's1st Away L60-62

FootballMen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's2nd Away D2-2

FootballWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofNottinghamWomen's2nd Away W6-3

NetballWomen's1st 10-Nov NewmanCollege1st Away W36-29

RugbyMen's1st 10-Nov StaffordshireUniversityMen's3rd Away W51-3

RugbyWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofNottinghamWomen's2nd Away L46-10

FootballMen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Mens1st Home L1-0

FootballMen's4th 17-Nov CranfieldUniversity(Bedfordshire)Men's1st Home WWalkover

NetballWomen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)3rd Home W49-21

RugbyMen's1st 17-Nov AstonUniversityMen's2nd Home W55-0

FootballMen's2nd 17-Nov UniversityofWorcesterMen's5th Away L3-1

FootballMen's3rd 17-Nov UniversityofNorthamptonMen's4th Away D3-3

HockeyMen's1st 17-Nov OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's3rd Away L3-4

HockeyWomen's1st 17-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversityWomen's1st Away L3-0

RugbyMen's2nd 17-Nov DeMontfortUniversityMen's2nd Away L22-5

RugbyWomen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofNorthamptonWomens1st Away L36-26

FootballMen's1st 24-Nov UniversityofNottinghamMen's4th Home L1-1(lostonpens)

FootballMen's4th 24-Nov StaffordshireUniversityMen's4th Home WWalkover

Netball1st 24-Nov OxfordUniversity1st Home L8-99

RugbyMen's1st 24-Nov OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's2nd Home L20-3

BasketballMen1st 24-Nov DeMontfortMen's1st Away L75-125

BasketballWomen's1st 24-Nov NewmanCollegeWomen's1st Away W89-33

RugbyMen's2nd 24-Nov UniversityofNottinghamMen's5th Away LWalkover

NetballWomen's1st 01-Dec UniversityofLeicester2nd Away L37-25

BEDFORD TEAM DATE OPPOSITION HOME / AWAY RESULT

BadmintonMen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofLincolnMen's1st Home L5-3

BadmintonWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofWarwickWomen's2nd Home W5-3

FootballMen's2nd 10-Nov UniversityOfBedfordshire(Luton)Men's1st Home D2-2

FootballMen's4th 10-Nov CranfieldUniversity(Bedfordshire)Men's1st Home W9-0

FootballWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofBristolWomen's1st Home W4-2

HockeyWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofLincolnWomen's1st Home W7-0

HockeyWomen's2nd 10-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Women's1st Home L2-0

Netball2nd 10-Nov UniversityofEastAnglia2nd Home W40-28

RugbyMen's2nd 10-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Men's1st Home W55-0

BasketballWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofNottinghamWomen's1st Away L60-45

FootballMen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofCambridgeMen's1st Away L2-0

FootballMen's3rd 10-Nov UniversityofEastAngliaMen's2nd Away D2-2

FootballWomen's2nd 10-Nov UniversityofWarwickWomen's2nd Away W8-3

HockeyMen's1st 10-Nov NottinghamTrentUniversityMen's3rd Away W6-3

Netball1st 10-Nov UniversityofBirmingham4th Away W42-38

Netball3rd 10-Nov UniversityofLincoln2nd Away L39-24

RugbyMen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofEastAngliaMen's1st Away W20-17

TennisMen's1st 10-Nov DeMontfortUniversityMen's1st Away W10-2

TennisWomen's1st 10-Nov UniversityofBirminghamWomen's2nd Away L12-0

BasketballWomen's1st 17-Nov NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Home L58-64

FootballMen's2nd 17-Nov UniversityofNorthamptonMen's1st Home L2-1

FootballMen's3rd 17-Nov CoventryUniversityMen's3rd Home W10-0

FootballWomen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofWorcesterWomen's1st Home L6-1

FootballWomen's2nd 17-Nov UniversityofNottinghamWomen's2nd Home W6-2

HockeyWomen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofWarwickWomen's1st Home L3-0

Netball1st 17-Nov OxfordUniversity2nd Home W49-35

RugbyMen's1st 17-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Men's1st Home W63-10

RugbyMen's2nd 17-Nov UniversityOfWorcesterMen's2nd Home W17-8

TennisMen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofLeicesterMen's2nd Home W10-2

BadmintonMen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofLeicesterMen's2nd Away L8-0

BadmintonWomen's1st 17-Nov NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Away D4-4

BasketballMen's1st 17-Nov CranfieldUniversityMen's1st Away W65-48

FootballMen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofBedfordshire(Luton)Men's1st Away W1-0

FootballMen's4th 17-Nov AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Men's2nd Away W3-1

HockeyMen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofLeicesterMen's2nd Away L3-1

Netball2nd 17-Nov UniversityofNottingham4th Away W31-27

Netball3rd 17-Nov UniversityofBedfordshire(Luton)1st Away L49-21

RugbyWomen's1st 17-Nov UniversityofNottinghamWomen's1st Away L12-5

BasketballMen's1st 24-Nov StaffordshireUniversityMen's1st Home L67-61

BadmintonWomen's1st 24-Nov LoughboroughUniversityWomen's2nd Away L8-0

BasketballWomen's1st 24-Nov UniversityofEastAngliaWomen's1st Away L65-62

FootballMen's4th 24-Nov OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's3rd Away L3-3(lostonpens)

FootballWomen's1st 24-Nov LoughboroughUniversityWomen's2nd Away W3-1

FootballWomen's2nd 24-Nov OxfordUniversityWomen's2nd Away L3-2

RugbyMen's1st 24-Nov UniversityofWarwickMen's3rd Away W21-13

RugbyWomen's1st 24-Nov StMary'sUniversityCollege1st Away W33-30

Netball1st 24-Nov DeMontfortUniversity2nd Away W90-5

Netball2nd 24-Nov DeMontfortUniversity1st Away W37-30

FootballMen's1st 24-Nov UniversityofDerbyMen's3rd Away W6-1

FootballMen's2nd 24-Nov UniversityofNorthamptonMen's3rd Away W4-1

FootballMen's3rd 24-Nov NottinghamTrentUniversityMen's2nd Away L0-4

HockeyMen's1st 24-Nov UniversityofEastAngliaMen's1st Away L3-2

BadmintonMen's1st 01-Dec DeMontfortUniversityMen's2nd Home W7-1

BadmintonWomen's1st 01-Dec UniversityofWarwickWomen's1st Home L7-1

Netball3rd 01-Dec NottinghamTrentUniversity4th Home L36-25

BasketballWomen's1st 01-Dec UniversityofWolverhamptonWomens'1st Home W65-61

Netball1st 01-Dec OxfordUniversity1st Away L42-28

23Student ActivitiesBThe 23Student ActivitiesBThe 23

MIGHTY OX SLAYS BEDSOxfordBrookes2ndsovercomeresilientLuton1sts20-3.Three leagues separated the two Rugby teams going into

this 2nd round cup encounter. Oxford were massive favorites, however, as the game paned out, they didn’t have it all their own way.

Luton came out the blocks firing. They were determined to keep their 100 percent winning record intact and for large chunks of the match they must have felt they had more than a chance of producing an upset. Although the home team gave a more than valid effort they will be a little disappointed with the way Oxfords forwards dominated. Luton committed far too many bodies into the rucks, so when the ball was out the home side were outnumbered.

Despite the domination of the Ox-ford forwards, praise has to go to the Luton defence. The hard hitting and the determination to not let Oxford get into a passing rhythm was evident from start to finish. No one can ques-tion their effort which made, for any spectator, a thoroughly entertaining match to watch.

The start was an edgy affair with the ball being kept in the forwards as Luton looked to test their opponents in the tight with a number of pick and drives. They were rewarded in the third minute when an Oxford player infringed at the ruck, Chris Stubbs stepping up to con-vert the penalty from near the 22.

Oxford started to settle into the game and began stringing some phases together but couldn’t break down a resilient Lu-ton defence. Their forwards began to make ground around the rucks and exert pressure on the home sides scrum and lineout.

After a period of exerted pressure the ball was kicked through by Oxford. John Winters did well to get back and gath-er the ball but was forced to carry over his own line by a strong Oxford chase resulting in a 5m scrum to the visitors.

Oxford got the shove on at the scrum and managed to drive the Luton pack back over the try line, the number 8 dropping on the ball for a try under the posts.

The try was converted to take the score to 7-3.Oxford came straight back looking for a second score to kill

off the game but strong tackling kept them at bay, Ross Wil-

liams putting in a number of big hits.Luton found it hard to get the ball moving quickly with the

visitors doing well to slow the ball down in the rucks. A strong defensive line from Oxford seemed to have Luton in check un-til the ball was spread blind from a midfield ruck on half way.

Quick hands created an overlap which sent Niall Dunkley rac-ing off down the wing. A pass inside to the supporting John Winters took Luton well inside the Oxford 22 with the visitors scrambling back in defence. From the ruck the ball was spun wide only for a big tackle on Josh Wolfe to force a knock on just short of the line.

Oxford regained their composure and steadied themselves, earning a penalty on the Luton 22 which was kicked to make the score 10-3 at half time.

The second half began as the first half ended, with Oxford piling on the pressure looking for another score. Luton in com-parison began to struggle as their opponents superior fitness began to tell.

Midway through the second half Oxford had the try they wanted. After sustained pressure near the Luton 22, the ball was spread wide where gaps appeared in the home sides de-fence and Oxford sent their centre through for their second try. The conversion was missed.

Luton’s defence began to struggle and found themselves back in their 22 with a few minutes left. Quick ball allowed Ox-ford to spread the ball wide where an overlap appeared send-ing the winger clear to touch down in the corner.

Luton can take heart from the performance against a strong team who remain unbeaten.

By Matt Stratton

LUTON TEAM DATE OPPOSITION HOME / AWAY

MATCHTYPE

FootballMen's2nd 08-Dec UniversityofWarwickMen's4th Home League

FootballWomen's1st 08-Dec OxfordBrookesUniversityWomen's1st Home Cup

RugbyMen's2nd 08-Dec UniversityofDerby(Buxton)Men's1st Home League

FootballMen's4th 08-Dec OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's4th Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 08-Dec StaffordshireUniversityMen's3rd Away League

RugbyWomen's2nd 08-Dec UniversityofEastAngliaWomen's1st Away League

BasketballWomen's1st 08-Dec CoventryUniversityWomen's1st Away League

HockeyWomen's1st 19-Jan LoughboroughUniversityWomen's4th Home League

HockeyMen's1st 19-Jan DeMontfortUniversityMen's1st Away Cup

FootballMen's3rd 19-Jan StaffordshireUniversityMen's6th Away League

FootballMen's2nd 19-Jan UniversityofWarwickMen's4th Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 26-Jan UniversityofNorthamptonMen's2nd Home League

FootballWomen's1st 26-Jan UniversityofNottinghamWomen's3rd Home League

BasketballWomen's1st 26-Jan UniversityofNorthamptonWomen's1st Away League

FootballMen's2nd 26-Jan StaffordshireUniversityMen's5th Away League

HockeyMen's1st 26-Jan AngliaRuskinUniversityMen's1st Away League

NetballWomen's1st 26-Jan NottinghamTrentUniversity4th Away League

RugbyMen's1st 26-Jan DeMontfortUniversityMen's2nd Away League

RugbyWomen's1st 26-Jan UniversityofNottinghamWomen's2nd Away League

BasketballMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofCambridgeMen's2nd Home League

FootballMen's2nd 02-Feb StaffordshireUniversityMen's5th Home League

FootballMen's3rd 02-Feb StaffordshireUniversityMen's6th Home League

NetballWomen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofLincoln2nd Home League

RugbyMen's2nd 02-Feb UniversityofDerby(Buxton)Men's1st Home League

BasketballWomen's1st 02-Feb AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Women's1st Away League

FootballMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofEastAngliaMen's1st Away League

FootballMen's4th 02-Feb AngliaRuskinUniversity(Cambridge)Men's2nd Away League

RugbyMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofNorthamptonMen's2nd Away League

BEDFORD TEAM DATE OPPOSITION HOME / AWAY

MATCHTYPE

BasketballMen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofLeicesterMen's1st Home League

FootballWomen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofBirminghamWomen's2nd Home League

RugbyMen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofNorthamptonMen's1st Home League

RugbyWomen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofBirminghamWomen's1st Home League

TennisWomen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofWarwickWomen's2nd Home League

BasketballWomen's1st 08-Dec UniversityofCambridgeWomen's1st Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 08-Dec UniversityofNottinghamMen's4th Away League

BadmintonWomen's1st 12-Jan OxfordUniversityWomen's1st Away League

BasketballWomen's1st 19-Jan UniversityofNottinghamWomen's1st Home League

FootballMen's3rd 19-Jan UniversityofCambridgeMen's2nd Home League

RugbyMen's1st 19-Jan UniversityofNottinghamMen's4th Home League

TennisMen's1st 19-Jan UniversityofEastAngliaMen's2nd Home League

BadmintonWomen's1st 19-Jan UniversityofWarwickWomen's2nd Away League

HockeyWomen's2nd 19-Jan HarperAdamsUniversityCollegeWomen's2nd Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 19-Jan OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's2nd Away League

BadmintonWomen's1st 26-Jan NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Home League

FootballWomen's1st 26-Jan UniversityofLeicesterWomen's1st Home League

Netball2nd 26-Jan UniversityofNottingham5th Home League

Netball3rd 26-Jan NewmanCollege1st Home League

TennisMen's1st 26-Jan UniversityofCambridgeMen's2nd Home League

BasketballWomen's1st 26-Jan NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Away League

Netball1st 26-Jan UniversityofWorcester1st Away League

RugbyMen's1st 26-Jan OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's2nd Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 26-Jan UniversityofEastAngliaMen's1st Away League

FootballMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's2nd Home League

FootballMen's3rd 02-Feb UniversityofWorcesterMen's3rd Home League

FootballMen's4th 02-Feb OxfordBrookesUniversityMen's4th Home League

FootballWomen's2nd 02-Feb NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's2nd Home League

HockeyMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofNottinghamMen's4th Home League

HockeyWomen's2nd 02-Feb NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's4th Home League

Netball1st 02-Feb UniversityofWarwick1st Home League

RugbyMen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's2nd Home League

RugbyWomen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofWarwickWomen's1st Home League

TennisWomen's1st 02-Feb NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Home League

FootballMen's2nd 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's1st Away League

HockeyWomen's1st 02-Feb LoughboroughUniversityWomen's4th Away League

Netball2nd 02-Feb DeMontfortUniversity1st Away League

Netball3rd 02-Feb UniversityofLeicester2nd Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's1st Away League

RugbyWomen's1st 02-Feb UniversityofWarwickWomen's1st Home League

TennisWomen's1st 02-Feb NottinghamTrentUniversityWomen's1st Home League

FootballMen's2nd 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's1st Away League

HockeyWomen's1st 02-Feb LoughboroughUniversityWomen's4th Away League

Netball2nd 02-Feb DeMontfortUniversity1st Away League

Netball3rd 02-Feb UniversityofLeicester2nd Away League

RugbyMen's2nd 02-Feb UniversityofBedfordshire(Bedford)Men's1st Away League

November - Deceber Results & Fixtures 2010-11To Check the latest fixtures and results visit www.ubsu.co.uk/sport

COMMUNICATING

WITH THECOMMUNITY

COMING SOON - 2011 CAMPAIGN

Student ActivitiesBThe 2317

MS FIX

Lights out for cup dreamUoB(Luton)1st1-1UniversityofNot-

tingham 4th (Nottingham win 4-3 onpenalties)

Luton’s interest in the BUCS Football Cup ended in farce as the 1st team crashed out in extraordinary fashion to a team two divisions below them.

An accident on the motorway caused the Nottingham team to arrive at 3 o’clock, a full hour after the scheduled kick-off time. With light already fading it was agreed by the captains that both teams would press ahead with the tie regardless, playing 30 minutes a half instead of the regulation 45 minutes each way.

Having waited over two hours for the game to begin, Luton started poorly and were immediately put under pressure by a hungry and determined Nottingham side.

Barely 15 minutes in, a lapse in concen-tration from Dennis Nyarko in a relative-ly unthreatening position allowed the op-position an unchallenged strike at goal, which was impressively dispatched from 25 yards, giving Nottingham the lead they richly deserved.

With light fading dramatically, the vocif-erous Luton support were probably glad of the fact that they couldn’t see what was happening in front of them.

Luton failed to muster a shot on target in the remainder of the first half, and it was at half-time that the home side finally began to live up to their tag as favourites.

Almost immediately after half-time a through-ball from Christopher Lewis of-fered a chance to fellow striker Obi Nene, who stylishly lobbed the keeper to grab his first goal of the season.

Lewis and Nene were the pick of the bunch for Luton, linking up time and time again to produce some outstanding saves from the Nottingham goalkeeper,

the most notable being an acrobatic scis-sor kick from Lewis that seemed destined to hit the back of the net.

Again Luton were frustrated as Captain Anthony Kew rattled the crossbar with a thunderous half-volley, before Lewis was denied once more by the Nottingham ‘keeper who was by this stage keeping his tiring team in the game almost single-handedly.

With the light all but gone, and the game rapidly turning into a shambles, the referee blew the full-time whistle. With no light or time to play extra-time, it was de-cided that the game would go straight to penalties.

All of the first six penalties were suc-cessfully converted before Nyarko’s weak effort was comfortably caught by the Nottingham goalkeeper. Nottingham dis-patched their next effort, meaning that the responsibility fell to Nathaniel Beck-ett to keep Luton in the game, and he proceeded to smash his effort against the

crossbar leaving Luton to ponder what might have been.

Theoretically this was a game that Lu-ton should have won comfortably, but in reality the darkness was extremely dan-gerous for both teams and the 60-minute match was simply a game that shouldn’t have gone ahead.

By Alex Raspin

Luton:Stone,Olowo-Okere,Beckett, Jones,Phillips,Ka-buye(Omotosho50),Nyarko,Kew,Aga,Nene,Lewis.

23SPORTBThe

SNOW STOPS PLAY!

November was an exciting month for our University sports teams - but early Decem-ber has seen mostly postponements due to the adverse weather conditions up and down the country! The 10th November saw Basket-ball Men’s (Luton) 1st beat Cranfield Men’s 1st 79-59, Netball (Luton) 1st continuing their un-beaten league run against Newman College 1st by winning 36-29, and Rugby Men’s (Luton) 1st dominate Staffordshire Men’s 3rd in a match which saw them win 51-3. Rugby Men’s (Bed-ford) 2nd thrashed Anglia Ruskin (Cambridge) Men’s 1st 55-0, and Football Women’s (Bed-ford) 1st beat Bristol Women’s 1st 4-2.

The high scores continued at the Bedford Campus on the 17th November as Football Men’s (Bedford) 3rd heavily defeated Coventry Men’s 3rd 10-0, Rugby Men’s (Bedford) 1st beat Anglia Ruskin (Cambridge) Men’s 1st 63-10,

and Netball (Bedford) 2nd narrowly beat Not-tingham 4th 31-27. On the Luton Campus, Net-ball (Luton) 1st beat Bedford 3rd 49-21, Rug-by Men’s (Luton) 1st beat Aston Men’s 2nd 55-0, and Football Men’s (Luton) 4th were award-ed a walkover against Cranfield Men’s 1st, thus walking away with the 3 points without even kicking a ball!

Highlights from the 24th November includ-ed Basketball Women’s (Luton) 1st registering their first win of the season by beating New-man College 1st 89-33, and Football Men’s (Luton) 4th being awarded a second succes-sive walkover against Staffordshire Men’s 4th. On the Bedford campus, Netball (Bedford) 1st thrashed De Montfort 2nd 90-5, Football Men’s (Bedford) 1st beat Derby Men’s 3rds 6-1, and Football Women’s (Bedford) 1st overcome Loughborough Women’s 2nds to win 3-1.

The 1st of December brought mainly post-ponements, due to frozen pitches, ice and snow all over the country. A few matches did proceed however, as Badminton Men’s (Bed-ford) 1st beat De Montfort Men’s 2nds 7-1, Net-ball (Bedford) 3rd convincingly beat Notting-ham Trent 4th 36-25, and Basketball Women (Bedford) 1st were victorious against Newman College 1st winning 89-33.

At this halfway point in the season, we are well placed to win a number of leagues as the season concludes next term. UBSU wishes all of it’s sport players a very Happy Christmas, but hopes that not everyone gorges on too many mince pies, as the season will kick off again on 19th January 2011. Have a great holiday - and see you soon!

By Ciaran O’Brien

UBSU SPONSORS EXPERIENCED STUDENTUBSUisproudtoannouncethatitwill

besponsoringoneofourstudents,AdilMaqbool,whoisanexperiencedsquash

playerandhasbeenrankedashighas66thintheworld. Adil Maqbool, 22, was born and brought up in the UAE. Since the tender age of 3 he has been playing squash under the watchful guidance of his father cum coach, Maqbool Khawaja. Adil was a very well established junior player on in-ternational junior squash circuit who at the age of 15 years had already won more than 17 internation-al junior titles from countries as diverse as Scotland, Spain, Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden, Nether-lands, England, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and United States of America. He attained the NO.1 on the ESF International Rankings in the Under 13, 15 and 17 categories. Being born in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, he has the honor of being the youngest ever UAE Men’s Open Champion at the age of 12, the country’s Number 1 ranked player at the age of 13 and of be-ing the highest ever world ranking player to be born in the UAE, in both the Junior and Senior World Squash Circuits. By the age of 15 he had already achieved the NO. 1 position in International Junior Under 17 Ranking and at the same time had started the Internation-al Senior World Circuit (PSA Circuit). At 15 he quit the junior circuit, and started participating in PSA circuit events. Starting at a ranking of 300+, with-in a year and a half he broke into the world’s top 100 and achieved a career high ranking of 66 in June ‘09. Since joining the PSA he as spent over 43 months in the top 100. Currently Adil has been on a break form the profes-sional squash tour for the last six months in order to concentrate on finishing his bachelors degree; he is doing his final year in the Computer Science Under-graduate program at the University of Bedfordshire. On finishing his degree in the summer of 2011, Adil

is planning on going full time on the pro tour. He is also representing the Bedfordshire County in the Inter-County championships playing at the No.1 string for the team and has already reached the quarterfinal of the ongoing Beds County Closed Championship. His future fixtures include the CSRC Open 2010 being held in December in Canterbury and the Boston Open 2010 being held the week af-ter. His National (UAE) achievements include being the winner of over 40 National junior titles, 30 National senior titles, and he has been the 7-times Abu Dha-bi Open (National Open) Winner. Internationally, he has been the winner of 17 international junior titles and been ranked No.1 in the European junior rank-ing U13 in 2000, No.1 in the Asian junior ranking Un-der 13 in 2000, No.1 in the European junior ranking Under 15 in 2002 and No.1 in the European junior ranking Under 17 in 2003. Upcoming international events which he will participate in include: OPEN DU GARD 2011 in France LE SPORT OPEN 2011 in Wales INTERNACIONAL D’SQUASH ESPORTIU in Spain ARTEMIS EDINBURGH OPEN 2011 in Scotland To find out more information about Adil and his global achievements, please visit www.adil-maqbool.com

By Ciaran O’Brien

YOU CAN’T SQUASH THIS!

HongKongOpenplayingagainstformerWorldNumber1TherriyLincou

TournamentofChampionsplayingagainstWorldNumber12ArslamIskander(ABOVE),AustralianOpenplayingagainstWorldNumber4DavidPalmer(BELOW).

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