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activate!THE STUDENTS’ UNION ACTIVITIES GUIDE.

Whether your sport is of thetraditional variety, something a littlemore extreme or you fancy tryingsomething completely different andoff the wall, then the Students’ Unionhas lots on offer for you!

activate! has details of all theactivities on offer throughout the2008/2009 academic year.

Discover all the opportunitiesavailable: Sports Clubs & Societies,Volunteering projects, the Give It AGo activities programme and studentmedia. There’s also contact info soyou know who to speak to if you’reinterested!

And if there’s anything we’ve missed,or you want to come and join the funthen visit The Zone, on the first floorof the Students’ Union.

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Sports Whether you want to keep fit, meet newpeople, take part in your favourite sportor play competitively there are plenty ofsports clubs to choose from inHuddersfield. Football, rugby and netballrepresent some of the traditional sportingclubs that we offer, but have you everthought about trying Hurling orTaekwondo?

If you are reading this you are probablynew to Huddersfield and Uni life, andonly been here for a few days. Havingleft family, friends and familiar faces backhome, you might be feeling a little lonely.A great way to overcome this feeling is tojoin a sports club! Choose from over 25clubs and meet a varied range of people.

Whether individual or collective, indoor oroutdoor, contact or less physical, we aresure one of them will suit you.

More than just meeting new friends in achilled atmosphere, they can help youdevelop new skills.

Having a go at something new is also away to add a line to your CV and to makeyou stand from the crowd.


This guide will help you to decide whichactivity is best for you… or you could eventry them all!?

Check online atwww.huddersfieldstudent.com for fullsports club listings and contact details

SPOTLIGHT on the HUDDERSFIELD HAWKSThe Huddersfield Hawks American football team began in2006 and have just completed their first season in BUAFL(British Universities American Football League). The teamis made up of over 50 members, but there’s always roomfor more! There is a great atmosphere within the team,every member is friendly and co-operative, bursting withtalent, quality coaching staff and after a tough seasonlast year, they are aspiring to show the university and therest of the league they are here to stay!

The Hawks train every Friday 8pm-10pm and Sundays11am-3pm at Storthes Hall Park.


Societies Coming to University has never been aboutjust gaining a degree, and if you thought thatthree years of lectures and essays meantgiving up your favourite hobby orpastime…then think again!

The Students’ Union has many societies whichcater for students with political, sporting,religious and cultural interests. Whether youwant to hang out in rock clubs, campaign forthe rights of others or pursue conservationissues, then you’ve landed in the right place!From meditating to music, skateboarding toonline gaming, the potential is only limited tothe imagination.


SPOTLIGHT on HUBAThe Huddersfield University BoardridingAssociation is one of the University’s mostlong-standing societies. Founded by twosurf enthusiasts, the society has providednumerous surf trips to all areas of the UK and somesnowboard trips within Yorkshire. The society has grownto include around 90 members and has acquired a varietyof equipment to improve the accessibility of boardsportswithin Huddersfield. There are a number of planned tripsover the year, to many different places within the UK,making the most of the variety of landscapes and tidesand, of course, the amazing British weather!

HUBA meet socially every Monday at 8pm in Varsity. Withtrips to Newquay and Wales planned already, HUBA arehoping 08/09 will be bigger, better and sunnier than ever!


Volunteering Gone are the days when volunteeringjust meant helping out in a charityshop. For every career there is avoluntary position that could help yougain the skills you need to get aheadin the workplace. Boost your CV, getsome much needed experience, andgive something back, all at the sametime.

You can choose to volunteer for a dayat a one-off-event maybe just to seewhat it’s like, or for a few hours aweek as a break from study, then ifthose idle summer months are toomuch to bear, you can volunteer full-time. It’s a great way of tryingsomething new, being constructive,adding skills to your CV, and doingsomething worthwhile.

Most organisations which involvevolunteers offer training, so you don’tneed to have any qualifications tobecome a volunteer - just loads ofenthusiasm!

of volunteers say that volunteering has

provided them with extra skills for life.96%


Spotlight on Sam Mallen: 3rd year Social Work student.

I volunteer with the READ Book ProjectHuddersfield which collects old textbooks,and raises funds to ship those books toschools in Tanzania. I was telling somefriends about the project, when one of them said thatthey didn’t see the point in trying to save the world. Myresponse was ...

‘I don’t want to save the world, but whileI’ve got some spare time on my hands Imay aswell do something useful with it‘!

“Put aside preconceptions: volunteering is work experience withthe added possibility that the act of choosing to be a volunteer

can show even greater initiative and commitment"

Mark Killingley, Senior Manager, HSBC Bank

Okay, so you want to have a go, first step isdeciding what area of volunteering youwant to try. A list of up and comingopportunities are posted on theVolunteering notice board in The Zone, firstfloor of the Students’ Union, or you can checkonline at www.huddersfieldstudent.com/volunteer forupdates.


VarsityThe annual Varsity event seesHuddersfield face it’s old arch enemy,Bradford University, in a sportingextravaganza. A wide range of differentsports teams, from rugby to tennis andfootball to fencing, battle it out acrossthe pitch or court to prove whichUniversity rules supreme in thesporting stakes! It’s crazy, fun andsomething well worth watching.

This year the matches will be held inHuddersfield in March 2009. Make sureyou get your ticket and don’t miss atreat. Look out for more details onlineat www.huddersfieldstudent.com


2008 Varsity ReportLike lots of other Universities and based on themodel of a more famous example, opposingOxford and Cambridge, the University ofHuddersfield also has its local rival. Every year thetradition of the Varsity is to compete against ourlocal and friendly adversary Bradford University invarious sports in a full day event. Organisedalternatively by both institutions, the Varsity will,this year be organised and held in ‘sunny’Huddersfield. Last year was an innovative year aswe included 2 new disciplines - archery and icehockey. This year again we hope to increase theparticipation of our clubs.

This year the University of Huddersfield lost 6-4against Bradford, managed to draw the rugbyleague game, but most importantly we won therugby union match, which means we retain thecup for another year. Although we lost all of theteams that played performed 110% and had fundoing so, because at the end of the day, sport issupposed to be fun. Get involved, whether itsjoining the teams or just poppingalong for the day to show yoursupport, it all counts!!!

Report by Julien Boville.


Give It A Go Give It A Go is the Students’ Unions programme ofactivities that provide low cost entertainment to studentson a budget. Whatever your interests we will havesomething for you.

If you haven’t got the time to devote to becoming a fullmember of a club or society, or you’re not entirely surethat a particular activity is for you but you’ve alwayswanted to try it out for size then our Give It A Go!programme is perfect for you.

This years activities include: shopping trip to Ikea, tripsaround Yorkshire, Edinburgh and The Lake District.

Other activities include Paintballing, Skiing, Danceand Craft Classes, as well as First Aid, SignLanguage and Self Defense classes.


Spotlight on Alton Towers... Wednesday 11th June 2008.

After a slightly wet experience on the LogFlume, Claire gives her report on the AltonTowers trip!

After a short journey we had arrived. Firststop, food! Probably not the best ideaconsidering we were about to climbaboard some of the most stomachchurning rides known to man! We spentthe day being drenched, spun, flipped,and twisted in every direction possible, goingfrom the log flume, to Rita, then Oblivion and Nemesis,before finishing on everyone's favourite, the spinningbarrels. Roll on next year!!

Keep an eye out for posters advertising our events fromthe beginning of term or check out the Give It A Go pageon our web site at www.huddersfieldstudent.com

Tickets will need to be bought in advance from theStudents’ Union Reception or online for all of the sessions,unless otherwise stated. Each event has a limited numberof tickets so please buy early to avoid disappointment!

For further information please call 01484 538 156 or [email protected]. Alternatively check online atwww.huddersfieldstudent.com for terms and conditions.


Spotlight on HUPS(Huddersfield UniversityPhotographic Society)

“There was a group of us intophotography, but not everyonehad dSLR cameras. We approached theStudents’ Union about becoming an officialsociety. We needed to nominate a president anda Treasurer and fill out a few forms; but we gota free stand at Freshers Fayre and signed upover 30 members. The SU got us some decentcamera kit to experiment with, and helped usout with a trip to Chester Zoo. A few of us havesince entered photo competitions and won!”

Mark. President, HUPS. 2007/2008

Do your own thing!If you’ve got a passion or a quirky hobby andthere is no club or society here at Huddersfieldyet, then why not create one of your own?!

Gather a few friends and put down some ideas.Gaz Weeks, the Vice President Sports &Societies will clarify whether your project canbe supported, materially and/or financially, bythe Students’ Union. All projects are important,so do not be scared to come ask for help withyour project.


Who to contactGaz Weeks, VP Sports & SocietiesGaz is the Vice President Sports &Societies, which means it’s his job is tosupport all sports and societies currently available; andwork with students to provide even more clubs torepresent what you, the student public, want.

If you want to join a club then Gaz is the guy to help youfind the right contacts; or if there isn’t a club which suitsyour interests, he’ll help you set one up.

Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473456 Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.

Sarah Fawcett, Volunteer CoordinatorThe Volunteer Coordinators job is toencourage students to get involved involunteering projects within the localcommunity. Volunteering is essentialwhen gaining experience for a futurecareer, helping a worthy cause, or just fillingyour spare time.

Sarah will be encouraging you to get involved, if you wanta new challenge, to have a taste of your dream career, orsimply lend a hand.

Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473455 Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.


The ‘Huddersfield Student’ is the official publication forStudents at the University of Huddersfield. It’s a freemonthly paper, covering student life – everything fromnews, music and film reviews to student sporting andsociety achievements – and this year hosts a new look!

Huddersfield Student was founded in 2001 and has sincedone well in nominations for The National StudentJournalism Awards, giving students the opportunity tocompete with some of the finest writers around thecountry for national recognition and the chance tonetwork with the industry’s elite.

If you want experience in journalism, the‘Huddersfield Student’ is the ideal placeto gain some. Every part of theproduction is student led, from thenewspaper team, to anyone from theUniversity who has the passion to seetheir words in print.

Huddersfield Student | News | December

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Huddersfieldstudent.com

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Welcome one and welcome all

to this, your Diary – reporting

from the comfort of his own home

to bring you an interesting slant

on the news from the last month

(well, kind of).

I’ve spent the last 30 days indulging

in the latest craze, only to realise that

it’s left me considerably out-of-pocket.

This ‘throwing coins at football

matches’ lark seems to have taken

the nation by storm and I’m not sure

why, because most of the victims

aren’t worth the ten pence coins that

are being thrown at them. I mean,

come on, Robin van Persie? The

coin-throwing trend is spiralling out of

control as some individuals –

probably the same band that vote

BNP and smoke around children –

realise that, after the match, they’ve

just lost their bus fare home.

Talking of the BNP, Nick Griffin (and

his mate whose name no one can

remember) was found not guilty of

inciting racial hatred after a retrial at

Leeds Crown Court. In a cringe-

worthy speech following the verdict

Griffin said: “What has just happened

shows Tony Blair and the government

toadies at the BBC that they can take

our taxes but they cannot take our

hearts, they cannot take our tongues

and they cannot take our freedom.”

Oooh, can you hear that? It’ll be the

sound of your teeth grinding in

embarrassment. He probably sat at

home and worked on that the night

before, you know.

It’d be unfair not to mention the

fortune bestowed upon Saddam

Hussein, after he was sentenced to

death in an Iraqi court of law. The

case, which was one of the longest in

history considering we all knew what

the final verdict would be, concluded

that Saddam had indeed been a

monster, and not even the

eccentricities of number one creep

George Galloway – no doubt purring

away in a lycra costume as we speak

– will save him from the gallows. The

sentence itself raised the sensitive

issue of corporal punishment, and I

found an interesting discussion about

it on a football message board of all

places. Your Diary lost his balls for

argument many moons ago, as I kind

of agree with the fact that he should

be hanged but at the same time

understand why sentencing him to

death holds an unerringly ironic and

uncomfortably evil twist about it.

Moving from one dead horse to

another (pitiable link, I know) Desert

Orchid has died at the age of 27,

which has come as a bit of a shock to

the racing world. It shocked me too,

but perhaps not in the same way, as I

have always been of the

understanding that that the life

expectancy of a horse is similar to

that of a dog. ‘Dessie’ was amazing,

apparently – so successful it became

boring. I suppose that’s why it can’t

be much fun supporting Chelsea

these days.

The Ashes is upon us and no doubt

Glen ‘Five-Nil’ McGrath has been

making another outrageous and

incredibly insulting (however

accurate) prediction about the

outcome of this series. We’ve

basically lost all our form and

momentum from the giddy heights of

2005, so if you happen to be a cricket

fan like myself, then line up the

Prozac and Diazepam.

To be honest, much of last month has

been a blur although that’s possibly

explaine-d by the serious amounts of

Pocoyo viewing that has been

happening on a daily basis. It’s also

been a tumultuous time at my football

club in recent weeks, where my

attention has been captured by the

new manager being someone we’ve

had twice before. But that’s your lot

for this month, so excuse me while

your old Diary puts on his comfy

cardigan, steps into his old trusted

slippers and sits back in his rocking

chair (or should that be soapbox?)

before exclaiming how the Arctic

Monkeys are the most over-rated

band ever, and that everything was

much better in the past. Ciao!

Richard Lord

A DIARY OF THE LAST MONTH

Where do you think you would

get a Church built for 2500

people? America? London?

Manchester? Huddersfield?

Huddersfield Christian Fellowship,

who meet at Harvest House on St.

Johns Road, are planning to move to

a 2500-seater Auditorium on St

Thomas Road, opposite Visage. But

why? Aren’t Church attendances

dwindling? What is the need for a

Church of this size? Well, I’ll let the

Pastor of the Church, Colin Cooper,

explain in his own words why the

new church is being built.

“About 10 years ago the

congregation met in an auditorium

that seated 350 people maximum.

From 1987, when there was only a

handful of people, the congregation

began to grow steadily until the

building called ‘Fellowship Centre’

was full with an overflow room

showing the service on a TV relay.

“In 1999 we purchased a Comet

electrical superstore which we

refurbished into an 800-seater

auditorium to house our growing

congregation. Of course, we all

thought this was our final move, but

the church has kept on growing, and

now only a handful of seats are free

in a normal Sunday service and we

are having to move into double

services. So, after only six years, we

all agreed that new and bigger

premises were needed.”

The Church, Huddersfield Christian

Fellowship, reaches out into the

community in various ways, such as

providing food parcels for the poor

and asylum seekers; working with

young people and also the elderly;

youth groups are run from the ages

of 13 to 30. Because of high demand

it was decided that a purpose-built

church would be best suited to meet

the many needs of a growing

community.

The area in which the Church is

being built is being redeveloped by

the council. It is being labelled the

“Waterfront Quarter” by the council

and will see a £200m redevelopment

of a 12-acre area, which just

happens to be around the region of

land where the new church building

site is. 500 new apartments are

planned, and it is believed that the

new investment will create 2000 new

jobs for the area.

The building is going to cost £10m to

complete and the Church hope that it

will be ready to move into by the

beginning of 2008. As a student who

attends the Church, I find the

prospect of a new building very

exciting and hope that it will act to

enable the Church to reach out into

the community more. The Church

really helped me to settle into

University, not only because of the

warm friendships I received, but also

the teaching. I attend the Church

youth group Enfuse, which is made

up of young adults. Although I will

have graduated by the time the

Church is ready, I hope to still be in

Huddersfield when it opens.

Huddersfield Christian Fellowship

meets at 9.00 & 11.30 on Sunday

mornings. The Youth group Enfuse

meet at 8pm on Saturday evenings

at Harvest House.

For more information phone: 01484

514 088, or visit our website at

http://www.huddersfieldchristianfellow

ship.com

Mark Doggett

BIGBIG Plans FPlans For Churor Church Bulidch BulidWi-Fi trial in

LibraryThe Library are currently trialing Wireless

internet. As you’d expect it does mean that

you will need anti-virus software, at this stage

though they are not intending to offer more

than McAfee,

Norton, F-Secure

and AVG plus

Bullguard as &

when it becomes

available.This is a

pilot service

which is under

development and

as a result they would actively like to seek

student feedback via the Feedback form to

help us in the development of the system.

Wireless internet is of course fantastic news

for the Library as it will hopefully free up

computers in the PC labs as more and more

student who have laptops bring them to

University. At the time of going to print we

were unable to get a list of what you can and

can’t do i.e. printing etc. though as the trial

matures it is likely the services on offer will

expand. More information about the trial is

avaliable on the university website.

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Huddersfield Student | Sport | December

Nowadays any business is tough,but the growing business ofmotorsport is becomingincreasingly tough – especially if

you’re a young racing driverworking your way up through theranks. Although it’s easy to crackunder pressure, many of today’srising stars are able to cope with itsurprisingly well.

Take James Sutton, for example, a21 year old talented racing driverfrom Hertfordshire. He manages with

it just fine, “I do not feel extrapressure to make a name for myself.”He said. “If I drive the way I want tothen I can achieve the drivingreputation that I wish to have.”

James has always had anenthusiasm for cars. He begankarting as soon as he was legally oldenough, at the age of 8, and with themuch needed approval and supportfrom his family, he began on his pathto motorsport domination.

Although not quite in the phase ofdominating one of the world’s mostexpensive and prestigiousbusinesses yet, James is working

hard at making a name for himself ashe climbs his way up through thesingle-seater ranks, having justcompleted his second year in theFormula Renault UK Championship,

finishing a respectable 6th overall,driving for the experienced Fortecteam.

Motorsport is a very expensivebusiness, for all of its participants,whether they are an old-timer at thehighest point of their game, or ayoung fresh-faced new comer who

has just got their feet on the first rung

of the ladder. The difference beingthat the ‘old-timers’ have their fundingalready sorted out, and most likely aclear idea of where their next pay slipis coming from.

Imagine you’re a teenager who’s justgot hold of your first motor-racinglicense. The first thing you want to do

is jump in a car and go racing. Afterspeaking to a few different racingteams you then realise that there’s

more to just jumping in a car anddoing a good job – it all comes at acost, and a high cost at that.

Before securing a drive at a racingteam, a driver preferably needs tohave sponsorship backing, bringingmoney into the team. Motorsport isknown for having a ‘cut-throat’ nature,so the driver bringing the mostmoney is the driver more likely to be

employed. And, of course, if they’retalented that always helps.

A lot of the time, these days, manytalented young racing drivers areover-looked due to the fact that they

have no or very little financial backingto bring to a team, despite havingoutstanding ability. Although this is afact of life, not everyone agrees withit. “It’s a shame that drivers getoverlooked when they clearly have

the talent.” said Sutton. Motorsport has always been a difficultbusiness for young talent whenmaking their names. But was itharder 10 or 20 years ago than it is

today? Sutton believes not. “I believethat it is far harder for a driver to berecognised now,” and with the vastexpansion of motorsport in all itstrades it is becoming more and more

difficult.

Over the past few years, particularly,scholarships have been set up inmany series, to give young drivers

who don’t have the funding thechance to go racing. Sutton, alongwith one of his 2006 Fortec teammates, Sam Bird, competed in the

Formula BMW UK Championship,which has a scholarship programme,prior to Formula Renault. FormulaBMW awards five drivers each year ascholarship to enable them to race inthe series. This is just one of themany programmes that has beenformed to aid young racing drivers. As for the funding side of things,Sutton, amongst others, would like to

see more being done to help those

that really need it, “Iwould love to seemore money beingspent on talenteddrivers.” He said.“But realistically it isnot really financiallyviable.”

Sam Bird, 19, fromSurrey, is anothervery talented racingdriver, who, likeJames is working hisway up the ladder.After competing in avery successful firstyear in the Formula Renault UKChampionship, finishing the seasonin 4th place, he has recently beentesting for a number of FormulaThree teams, as his plans take form

for next season.

Like many other drivers, Sam has thesame views as James when it comesto the issue of funding for youngerdrivers. “We have talked about thislong and hard with the BRDC (BritishRacing Drivers’ Club), butunfortunately they don’t have thefunds and I’m not sure where else

funds would come from.” He Said.“It’s certainly harder for a youngBritish driver today – the sport is so

expensive now.”

Not only do young drivers have theissue of worrying about funding fortheir careers, but also expectationand, as was previously mentioned,the pressure put on them to succeed.Bird is another driver who copes wellwith pressure, which is a difficult thingto do when hundreds or eventhousands of people are watching

you. Sometimes the most criticalpeople of a driver’s career are thedrivers themselves, as they want tobe the best they can be. “I don’t feeltoo much outside pressure, the mainpressure is that which I put on myselfto improve all the time.” Said Bird. With the pressures of being a racing

driver comes the pressure of havingto be a good communicator – notonly with the team, but also sponsorsand the fans. Some drivers have anatural ability to do both of their jobsequally well, whilst others find itdifficult. It is particularly hard foryounger drivers, as it is all new to

them, and possibly a bit daunting. Sutton is one of those who can doboth, “I have never found talking tothe media a problem.” As is Bird, “I

don’t find it too difficult, and I think it’sa crucial part of the racing driver’smake up.”

As both drivers contested theFormula BMW UK series they hadthe beneficial experience of a BMWmedia training day, which taughtthem about speaking to the media

and sponsors, however it may havebeen more beneficial to some than itwas to others. “I did theatre studiesand English at A-Level at school andfound this far more beneficial thanthe BMW media training day.” SaidSutton, whereas Bird said, “Mostinterviews are fairly straight forward

and fortunately for me I had trainingwhen I was a BMW scholarshipwinner.”

With more opportunities beingopened up for young driversnowadays, there are a lot of talenteddrivers coming through the ranks, allwith the same goal – to be asuccessful racing driver at the highest

level they can.

There are many young drivers whohave paved the way for others, suchas Gary Paffett, Danny Watts, whoSutton sees as “one of the mosttalented racing drivers Britain has

had,” Mike Conway and LewisHamilton, who “is a fine example of adriver who’s gone into everychampionship fully prepared,” Said

Bird. Each of these have begunworking their way up the motorsportladder, even though they are stillexploring their careers, proving that

determination and hard work mixedtogether with raw talent and thatextra bit of money can get them to

where they want to be.

Leanne Fahy

Watch This Space The Future of Motorsport

The Vice Chancellor, John Tarrant

retires from his Job as head of the

University at the end of this term.

The Vice Chancellor has been

instrumental in changing the

University into what it is today,

including the Students’ Union

building. In Janurary’s issue we will

feature the Vice Chancellors last

interview on these very pages and

start off a series of articles on the

Universites 15 years since it

became a fully fledged University. If

you would like to help with

information about the last 15 years

email:

[email protected]

Vice Chancellor we wish you all the best in the future, from everyone

at the Huddersfield Student and the Students’ Union


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Huddersfieldstu

dent.com

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In 2006 a crack student team

was sent to prison by the

University court for a crime

they didn’t commit. These

people promptly escaped from

a maximum security stockade

to the University of

Huddersfield Library. Today,

still wanted by the University,

they survive as Advisors of

fortune. If you have a problem,

if no one else can help, and if

you can find them, YOU can

Ask the Student Advisor-Team

(cue great 80’s theme tune)

Ok so the new Student advisor

scheme isn’t as exciting as

busting out of prison and making

tanks in a barn out of a tractor,

hay and the obligatory blow torch.

But they will help you get to grips

with a strange computer program

or show you new things in one

you thought you knew, help you

find the book you’ve spent most of

your lunch hour hunting for, or

help you work out how to use the

new self service machines. They

are there to answer any questions

you might have about the Library

regardless of how silly the

question might seem.

The Student Advisors are all

students and there are 8 bright

orange T-shirt wearing advisor’s in

total, all willing to look silly so you

don’t have to. The Student

Advisors work 11am till 3pm

Monday to Friday and 5pm till

7pm Monday to Thursday during

term time and at least one is

almost always available unless

they are already helping

someone, so next time your not

sure what to do, don’t see red,

see orange.

The Library Gets A-Team

of Student Advisors

Freezing your dangalies

shaking that collection tin at

passers by that largely ignore

you, wheezing in dusty charity

shops trying to put together a

decent looking window display

out of 80's taffeta ball gowns

and nylon cardies - what do

you mean volunteering your

precious time does not

appeal?!

My name is Rebecca and I have just

joined the team here in The Students

Union as your new Volunteer

Coordinator. I am here to arrange

and advise you on every aspect of

volunteering and inform you of the

opportunities that give you valuable

work experience and enhance your

CV in an increasingly competitive job

market whilst at the same time

enabling you to make new friends

and have fun. Brilliant!

I've volunteered extensively over the

years and worked on some great

projects both overseas and in The

UK that have included mentoring

children, teaching English as a

foreign language, being a support

worker to people with special needs

and yes even shaking collection tins

and having fun with those window

displays!

The main message that I wanted to

get across is that volunteering has so

much to offer. It really is for everyone

and the best thing is that you really

see the benefits and truly get out as

much from the experience as you put

it. Whatever your skill there will be

people and places who can benefit

from it. Volunteering is not confined

to the stereotypes, although these

too can be fun, rewarding and

worthwhile projects!

I have been impressed looking

through the universities lists of

existing projects to see opportunities

such as becoming Specials Police

Constables, mentors, rugby coaches

for disadvantaged kids as well as

opportunities ranging from

bookkeeping to marketing

experience, researchers and health

promotion volunteers. Experience on

placements such as these will prove

invaluable to make your job

application stand out when you

graduate and supplement and enrich

both your university studies and your

existing skills base.

For many people volunteering can be

an opportunity to do something

totally different as a break from their

studies, or to broaden their

knowledge and social life. You can

get out into the countryside and

assist with hedge laying, woodland

regeneration or dry stone walling.

You can become a brownie or cub

leader or help disadvantaged people

with sports or IT tuition. You can also

fundraise, help paint murals in a

community centre or join a one-off

projects such as a sponsored events

or the 'Make a difference Day'.

There is a huge range of fantastic

opportunities for you to get involved

in and you can even approach us

with your own ideas for a completely

different placement that we can try

and arrange just for you.

I think the time commitment can

sometimes be a factor that puts

people off of volunteering but this too

is varied and flexible and can be

anything from an occasional one day

event to a regular two or three hours

a week. Schedules are flexible and

you can get involved with a project

that fits in with you.

My contact details are:

[email protected]

Hands on Volunteering in the

Students Union

01484 473455

For further information you may also

like to take a look at our website at

http://www.huddersfieldstudent.com/

and simply click on information and

then volunteering.

If you have any questions at all

please do not hesitate to contact me

and we can look at arranging a

placement for you. Feel free to pop

into the office to find out more and

pick up some leaflets.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

Rebecca

Hands on Vounteering

is back at a Union near you, Now!

Good Bye to The Vice

Chancellor, John Tarrant


Page 3


myspace.com/uhsu

Welcome one and welcome allto this, your Diary – reportingfrom the comfort of his own hometo bring you an interesting slanton the news from the last month(well, kind of).

I’ve spent the last 30 days indulgingin the latest craze, only to realise thatit’s left me considerably out-of-pocket.This ‘throwing coins at footballmatches’ lark seems to have takenthe nation by storm and I’m not surewhy, because most of the victimsaren’t worth the ten pence coins thatare being thrown at them. I mean,come on, Robin van Persie? Thecoin-throwing trend is spiralling out ofcontrol as some individuals –probably the same band that voteBNP and smoke around children –realise that, after the match, they’vejust lost their bus fare home.

Talking of the BNP, Nick Griffin (andhis mate whose name no one canremember) was found not guilty ofinciting racial hatred after a retrial atLeeds Crown Court. In a cringe-worthy speech following the verdictGriffin said: “What has just happenedshows Tony Blair and the governmenttoadies at the BBC that they can takeour taxes but they cannot take our

hearts, they cannot take our tonguesand they cannot take our freedom.”Oooh, can you hear that? It’ll be thesound of your teeth grinding inembarrassment. He probably sat athome and worked on that the nightbefore, you know.

It’d be unfair not to mention thefortune bestowed upon SaddamHussein, after he was sentenced todeath in an Iraqi court of law. Thecase, which was one of the longest inhistory considering we all knew whatthe final verdict would be, concludedthat Saddam had indeed been amonster, and not even theeccentricities of number one creepGeorge Galloway – no doubt purringaway in a lycra costume as we speak– will save him from the gallows. Thesentence itself raised the sensitiveissue of corporal punishment, and Ifound an interesting discussion about

it on a football message board of allplaces. Your Diary lost his balls forargument many moons ago, as I kindof agree with the fact that he shouldbe hanged but at the same timeunderstand why sentencing him todeath holds an unerringly ironic anduncomfortably evil twist about it.

Moving from one dead horse toanother (pitiable link, I know) DesertOrchid has died at the age of 27,which has come as a bit of a shock tothe racing world. It shocked me too,but perhaps not in the same way, as Ihave always been of theunderstanding that that the lifeexpectancy of a horse is similar tothat of a dog. ‘Dessie’ was amazing,apparently – so successful it becameboring. I suppose that’s why it can’tbe much fun supporting Chelseathese days.

The Ashes is upon us and no doubt

Glen ‘Five-Nil’ McGrath has beenmaking another outrageous andincredibly insulting (howeveraccurate) prediction about theoutcome of this series. We’vebasically lost all our form andmomentum from the giddy heights of2005, so if you happen to be a cricketfan like myself, then line up theProzac and Diazepam.

To be honest, much of last month hasbeen a blur although that’s possiblyexplaine-d by the serious amounts ofPocoyo viewing that has beenhappening on a daily basis. It’s alsobeen a tumultuous time at my footballclub in recent weeks, where myattention has been captured by thenew manager being someone we’vehad twice before. But that’s your lotfor this month, so excuse me whileyour old Diary puts on his comfycardigan, steps into his old trustedslippers and sits back in his rockingchair (or should that be soapbox?)before exclaiming how the ArcticMonkeys are the most over-ratedband ever, and that everything wasmuch better in the past. Ciao!

Richard Lord

A DIARY OF THE LAST MONTH

Where do you think you wouldget a Church built for 2500people? America? London?Manchester? Huddersfield?

Huddersfield Christian Fellowship,who meet at Harvest House on St.Johns Road, are planning to move toa 2500-seater Auditorium on StThomas Road, opposite Visage. Butwhy? Aren’t Church attendancesdwindling? What is the need for aChurch of this size? Well, I’ll let thePastor of the Church, Colin Cooper,explain in his own words why thenew church is being built.

“About 10 years ago thecongregation met in an auditoriumthat seated 350 people maximum.From 1987, when there was only ahandful of people, the congregationbegan to grow steadily until thebuilding called ‘Fellowship Centre’was full with an overflow roomshowing the service on a TV relay.

“In 1999 we purchased a Cometelectrical superstore which werefurbished into an 800-seaterauditorium to house our growingcongregation. Of course, we allthought this was our final move, butthe church has kept on growing, andnow only a handful of seats are freein a normal Sunday service and weare having to move into double

services. So, after only six years, weall agreed that new and biggerpremises were needed.”

The Church, Huddersfield ChristianFellowship, reaches out into thecommunity in various ways, such asproviding food parcels for the poorand asylum seekers; working withyoung people and also the elderly;youth groups are run from the agesof 13 to 30. Because of high demandit was decided that a purpose-builtchurch would be best suited to meetthe many needs of a growingcommunity.

The area in which the Church isbeing built is being redeveloped bythe council. It is being labelled the“Waterfront Quarter” by the counciland will see a £200m redevelopmentof a 12-acre area, which justhappens to be around the region ofland where the new church buildingsite is. 500 new apartments are

planned, and it is believed that thenew investment will create 2000 newjobs for the area.

The building is going to cost £10m tocomplete and the Church hope that itwill be ready to move into by thebeginning of 2008. As a student whoattends the Church, I find theprospect of a new building veryexciting and hope that it will act toenable the Church to reach out intothe community more. The Churchreally helped me to settle intoUniversity, not only because of thewarm friendships I received, but alsothe teaching. I attend the Churchyouth group Enfuse, which is madeup of young adults. Although I willhave graduated by the time theChurch is ready, I hope to still be inHuddersfield when it opens.

Huddersfield Christian Fellowshipmeets at 9.00 & 11.30 on Sundaymornings. The Youth group Enfusemeet at 8pm on Saturday eveningsat Harvest House.

For more information phone: 01484514 088, or visit our website athttp://www.huddersfieldchristianfellowship.com

Mark Doggett

BIGBIG Plans FPlans For Churor Church Bulidch Bulid Wi-Fi trial in LibraryThe Library are currently trialing Wirelessinternet. As you’d expect it does mean thatyou will need anti-virus software, at this stagethough they are not intending to offer morethan McAfee,

Norton, F-Secureand AVG plusBullguard as &when it becomesavailable.This is apilot servicewhich is underdevelopment andas a result they would actively like to seekstudent feedback via the Feedback form tohelp us in the development of the system.Wireless internet is of course fantastic newsfor the Library as it will hopefully free upcomputers in the PC labs as more and morestudent who have laptops bring them toUniversity. At the time of going to print wewere unable to get a list of what you can andcan’t do i.e. printing etc. though as the trialmatures it is likely the services on offer willexpand. More information about the trial isavaliable on the university website.

Burglaries at Storthes Hall, at Snow

Island, more disappointment at Aspley,

it seems the students of Huddersfield

are facing horror at every corner when

student accommodation are involved.

Following last months report of an

Aspley Hall employee speaking out in

disgust after the way he felt he and his

fellow students were being treated,

news comes of more disaster in other

halls.

News of burglaries at Storthes Hall

Student Village recently came to the

attention of the Students’ Union.

Obviously concerned, we contacted

Storthes Hall to find out more

information. Storthes Hall responded

with ‘no comment, due to data

protection’. However, we at the

Students’ Union wanted to find out more

so arranged an interview with the

affected students, to find out what had

happened and give them advice.

Two confirmed burglaries took place in

the Lower Heartly and High Green

bocks. As there is almost no security

cameras or lighting in this area it is no

surprise that the wire fences are cut and

trampled down. There are also talks of

more unconfirmed burglaries.

Items that were stolen included a

student’s computer, stereo and other

smaller items. Luckily the culprits have

been caught, and the victims shall be

attending court to give evidence.

Storthes hall have told the students the

‘will be looking into it’, however the

students feel that this is simply not good

enough and that they ‘don’t feel safe

anymore as there is a potentional that it

could happen again’.

Following last months article, we had

numerous students agree with the

claims that Aspley Hall staff are simply

not efficient, and cases of deposits

being kept for no reason. In fact,

students were voluntarily contacting the

Students’ Union to tell us that they

wanted to be included in a follow up

article because their experiences ‘were

far worse than those mentioned’.

Just one day after the newspaper came

out we received an email from a very

angry tutor, who had lived at Aspley Hall

over the summer and was ‘appalled at

the rudeness and lack of cooperation of

the staff’. He had issues with ‘the

inventory, health and safety, the general

state of the building, the plumbing, the

internal telephone systems, the

broadband network and a host of

others’.

Continued on Page 2

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers, from everyone at the nearly award winning Hudddersfield Student Price: FREE

The Huddersfield Student was

proudly short listed for ‘best

small budget publication’ at the

National Student Journalism Award

2006, the National Union of Students

(NUS) run event saw the

Huddersfield Student pitted against

four other publications from around

the country at an award ceremony at

the Marriot Hotel, Canary Wharf.

NUS explain that each publication which is

short listed beats off competition from

hundreds of other journalists. ‘Judges

ranging from media as diverse as channel

Four, Closer, The Mirror and The Press

Association have spent the last few months

deliberating over hundreds of meetings’.

Stephen Brown, NUS National Secretary,

said: ‘Once again we have had a high

number of entries and the excellent

standard of work has made the task of the

judges a tough one. Congratulations to

everyone who made the shortlist.

The paper was short listed along side last

years winner:

‘Medical Student – University of London

Union’,‘Leek – University of Glamorgan’

‘York Vision – University of York’ ‘Medical

Student – University of York’ and ‘Sharp

Magazine – St. George’s University of

London’

Sadly we were beaten by York Vision, but it

still means we are in the top five

in the country.

"I travelled to the awards courtesy of GNER:

advance purchase return fares from West

Yorkshire stations to London start from £19

Standard Class or £59 First Class. To book,

visit www.gner.co.uk, call 08457 225 225 or

visit any staffed rail station".

Huddersfield Student Short Listed For

Prestigious Student Media Award

Halls Horror ContinuesMore Misery f

or Students

as Burglaries hit Snow

Island, Storthes Hall and

Aspley Hall update

Snow Island has seen a spa

te of Burglaries since Septe

mber

Inside this Issue:

News: From NUS extra

owning dogs to Wi-Fi in the

Library from Page 3

Features: Travel and a

Christmas message from

Page 9

Student Life: Catherine

Tate starts off this new

section as well as all your

music, film, book and fashion

needs and more from Page 12

Sport: Talk of the Town,

Motor racing and more from

Page 28


The award winning newspaper for the students of the University of Huddersfield and surrounding areas Easter 2007

Inside this Issue:

NNeewwss:: Election Results

PPaaggee 33

FFeeaattuurreess:: Howard Jacobson

Interview PPaaggee 55

SSttuuddeenntt LLiiffee::

Music Special

PPaaggee 1100 -- 1166

FFiillmm::2 for 1 offer at Odeon

Page 22

TThhee SSppoorrttiinngg MMoonntthh::

Varsity photo special

PPaaggee 2266

THE UNIVERSITY OF

HUDDERSFIELD HAVE

DONE IT AGAIN!! That’s right,

the annual Varsity tournament

between Huddersfield and

Bradford’s sports teams which

took place on March 14th,

confirmed that our University

are the champions for a

second year in a row.

Proving an excellent day, our teams did

us proud with incredible performances in

all of our sports. We had victories in

Basketball, Men’s and women’s

Badminton, Netball, Mixed Hockey,

Rugby League and Rugby Union. The

Tennis team and the women’s Football

team put up good performances to secure

draws, and commiserations to the

unlucky Fencing team and Men’s football

team, well played though and there is

always next year to bounce back.

A big thank you has to go out to the

American football team who did a 25

minute demo before the big finale build up

the atmosphere to an amazing finish. The

pick of the games has to be the Rugby

Union’s 1st team who performed like true

Huddersfield students to secure a hard

fought 29-23 victory over Bradford. Also a

massive congratulations has to go out to

the Rugby League team who secured a

easy victory, with Neil Hutchinson playing

to a fantastic standard to and winning the

MOM award for a change.

With Varsity now over for another year, I’d

like to give a last thank you to all those

people who participated and helped out

stewarding etc., also to Lockwood Park,

the Sports Hall, Huddersfield Lawn Tennis

Club and Woodfield Park for letting us

use there grounds, and finally to Jane

Beck, Jenny Haigh and Marcus Woolcock

who ensured that Varsity happened.

Jason Southwell, VP Sports and

Societies

Huddersfield secure an 8 - 2 win over Braford at this year’s Varsity

We Stuffed Them!!

Welcome one and welcomeall to this, your Diary –reporting from the comfort ofhis own home to bring you aninteresting slant on the yeargone by… in a way.

It’s been a fun year, hasn’t it?Your faithful and trusted Diaryslipped into unconsciousnessthroughout the whole of Mayupon completing and submittingmy dissertation, therebycompleting and waving goodbyeto my life as a student. But notto worry, young folk – thepowers that be (you lot) electedme as your next VPCommunications officer,entrusting me with the smoothrunning and production of thisnewspaper for the nextacademic year – so I’ll bereappearing in 2007/8, much toyour collective relief. Is it relief?Perhaps not, but I’ll be hereanyway.

It promises to be an excitingsummer of films, which can beseen as some sort ofcompensation for the lack offootball at the moment. I’d getexcited about the cricket but Ican only see highlights on Five. Iguess there’s Wimbledon justaround the corner, where ourcrack team of perennial also-rans will no doubt get the nationthinking that one of them mightwin the tournament, even thoughwe all know we specialise in

producing quarter final or semifinal losers. I don’t mind that welose at that stage in almost anyworldwide tournament; it’s justthat the viewing public seem tothink we have a divine right towin everything on offer. We’rehardly a nation steeped in awinning tradition, let’s be honesthere. It’s all about expectationmanagement, and we’re rubbish

at it.

So anyway, films… Die Hard 4.0(why the decimal place?)promises to be a smash hit, butnot the same kind of smash hitthat left Auntie Diary in hospitalfor six weeks and needing a newhip (she’s finally admitted it washer fault entirely, but is now

gloating about the fact that sheavoided accruing points on herdriver’s license). The thirdinstalment of Pirates of theCaribbean has been showing fora while now, but it has just cometo my attention that there is afilm section in this newspaper(as there has been ever since Istarted writing for it back in

September) so I shall stoptalking about films and suggestthat you should take a peek atthe film section instead.

“Well, they’ve convinced me.”Those were the words of the lateGrandad Diary, on a fine Aprilafternoon in 1997. He was, ofcourse, talking about the Labourparty in 1997. “They haven’tconvinced me, son.” Those werealso the words of the lateGrandad Diary, this time utteredin the autumn of 2003 when hediscovered changes to his statepension (he also had some other‘choice’ words to say on thesubject – probably not fit forrepeating in a high-end classynewspaper such as this). I stillremember his rant that night,which got so heated and angrythat it left him spitting as he

talked, and the dog licked theparts of the carpet where thespit had landed. Anyone wouldthink that he never got fed (the

dog, not my Grandad). He, like alot of people, vented his spleen(and other bodily parts) over thewar in Iraq, and howuntrustworthy Tony Blair was.But now, finally, after little overten years in the job, our Tone isstepping down as PrimeMinister, closely followed by thatvast mountain of lard with aheart condition, otherwise knownas John Prescott. I readsomewhere (probably in a tackytabloid) that Tony Blair’s farewelltour cost £1m. I don’t really havea problem with that, because itworks out at a voluntary

contribution of 1.6667p perperson in this country to givehim the send off he deserves. Idon’t see why we can’t put himon a dumper truck and paradehim across the country as a

target to throw rubbish at. Afterall, successful people get toparade on an open-top bus, soit’s only fair that unsuccessfulpeople should have to endurethe pain, misery andembarrassment of a publicprocession too.

If the world was ever in anydoubt as to how TV bosseswould handle contentious issueswith political and socialdecorum, they certainly didn’tbargain for Channel 4. Thispiece of terrestrial genius provedonce again that it wasn’t goingto shirk away from controversyafter they planned to screen thedetailed programme about thedeath of Princess Diana. This isthe channel that gave us the BigBrother racism row – not

forgetting, of course, Brass Eyeand other suspiciousprogrammes thinly disguised asentertainment. You can havemany complaints about Channel4 (Hollyoaks, and the endlessstream of Top 100 countdownprogrammes) but it has given usThe Peep Show. And at least ithasn’t sunk to the depths of

Confessions of a Handyman orLet’s get Laid! like Five has (atleast for the time being). I’m justglad Russell Brand will be offour screens for a bit. If I wantedto watch an egotisticalchimpanzee jump about the

place I’d have gone to the zoo.

It’s been a pleasure to be yourvery-important-but-not-that-important-when-you-think-about-it Diary for the past year, offeringa sideways and satirical look atnews that you already knewabout. I’ve basically been letloose this year to write andentertain, and I know there areplenty of students who wouldlove to do the same, so get intouch and be a part of thenewspaper team for next year!Ciao!

Huddersfield Student | News | June

Page 3


myspace.com/uhsu

Diary of the Last Month

Your new comms officer.. fills youhope doesn’t it?!

Hold back the

tears, grab the

cheesy

melancholic

music…it’s the final column.

So, here we are. The final newspaper of

the year, which means this will be my

final President’s Column. It has been a

busy year, one particularly of change in

the Students’ Union and I am delighted

to have been part of it.

Instead of using this space to have a rant

like I usually do, I have decided that I

would use it to celebrate (a.k.a gloat) the

achievements of the Students’ Union

since the current sabbaticals took office

way back on June 30th 2006.

The Students’ Union exists to represent

our members to the University and we

have done so this year, attending more

University committees than ever before

and, I believe, building the strongest links

yet with the University Management. We

have worked closely with the University

on several major issues this year. We

held extensive talks that prevented the

closure of the on campus nursery this

coming August, ensuring those students

currently using the service would not be

forced to suspend their studies to take

care of their children. The Students’

Union also played an integral part in the

University’s collaborative provision audit

that took place in February. Working

closely with the Pro-Vice Chancellor for

Academic Affairs the Union submitted a

written report and was involved with the

interview process and the University

came out with a fantastic broad

confidence.

As some readers may have noticed in

previous editions, there have been some

issues with some Halls of Residence and

our VP Education and Welfare Officer

has worked with the halls and University

to come to a resolution, though this

campaign will be on going into next year,

including an awareness campaign on the

importance of personal awareness in

September.

I have also been working on introducing

a new Halls of Residence Representative

Programme, so that students can take

responsibility for their living environment

and allowing students to actively involve

themselves in the representational side

of University. This empowerment, we

believe, will allow students to continue to

develop personal skills whilst making a

real difference to the student community

here in Huddersfield.

Another campaign we have run this year

was our Fair Trade Campaign, headed

by the VP Finance and Commercial

Services, raising awareness for students

to make ethical choices when purchasing

goods both on and off campus. We

believe that the University should be

taking a leading stance in the education

of students on such issues. A campaign

run in February led to the University

agreeing to pursue Fair Trade status.

Hopefully this status will have been

gained by September but it will up to

next year’s sabbaticals to carry on this

work.

This though is not the only work the

Union has done on ethical and

environmental issues. A major focus of

our activities this year has been to

become a greener Union, from cutting

down our energy usage to improving

recycling facilities. The VP Finance and

Commercial Services again has worked

with the University to achieve this and

we were awarded the Sound Impact

Bronze Award at the NUSSL Convention

in March, which highlights our dedication

to helping the environment.

The Union too has been

involved with other Awards this

year. Continued accreditation

for the National Best Bar None

scheme, which is awarded for

bars and clubs with high safety

standards, and a national

award nomination will hopefully

be complemented by the

Kirklees awards (which we

were over all winners of last

year) later this month.

The Huddersfield Student was

nominated for the Best Small

Budget Publication award in

this year’s National Student

Media Awards and we had

some success through our

Sports Clubs, with the Men’s

Basketball Team reaching the

final of the National Plate,

having already won their

division. For the Rugby League

Men’s team it was a case of

what could have been, after withdrawing

in the Quarter Finals of the National

Shield, deciding to compete in the Varsity

match against Bradford instead.

We were successful in Varsity, beating

Bradford University 8-2 overall and the

Rugby Union team winning the final

game of the day to retain the trophy,

following a dramatic finish to the match.

This year has seen the first ever Sports

and Societies constitutions, again giving

students the opportunity to take more

responsibility in the running of their clubs

and societies and to allow their members

to hold the club officials to account.

In terms of democracy and

representation, this year’s General

Elections saw another increase in the

number of voters, though disappointingly

only half the number of candidates who

stood last year. Congratulations though

must be given to all those who were

elected and will be taking office at the

end of June.

Those officers will be responsible for

implementing the new constitution, which

is a result of the governance review that

has been taking place over the last year.

Due to the new Government Legislation

that comes into affect next year, the

Students’ Union will have to become a

registered charity, and with this will have

to have a board of trustees. The review

allowed us to restructure the Union

accordingly and also meant we were

able to completely overhaul the outdated

constitution so that it would be relevant

for the Students’ Union as it is now.

The constitution was passed in typically

dramatic fashion. With the last chance of

passing it being at the OGM in the final

semester, the Union needed 100 people

for the meeting to go ahead, and with

minutes remaining before the meeting

had to be cancelled, one more person

came into the room allowing the meeting

to go ahead and the constitution being

passed with a unanimous vote.

The Student Rep programme, another

important part of the Union’s

representational structure, has continued

to be a success, with over 500 student

reps signed up to the programme, and

the nationally unique University Student

Council and Academic School Student

Councils continuing to be a fantastic

addition to the University committee

structure.

In March I took a delegation of 5 people

to the NUS Annual Conference in

Blackpool where there was discussion on

every student related issues imaginable

(and some not

related to

students, but

that’s a debate

for another day).

I was delighted

that our motion

on bullying was

passed without

any objections,

quite a feat at a

conference

where there is

such diverse

political and

social opinion.

Regionally, the

Students’ Union

has been an

integral founder

of the NUS North East, Yorkshire and

Humber Area, and I was delighted to be

chairing the meeting where the

constitution was finally passed. The Area

will continue to represent students on

issues affecting us in our region and the

Students’ Union had three elected

officers for the region, myself as South

and West Yorkshire District Officer, Verne

Lewis as LGBT Officer and Paul Blair

(our VP Internal Affairs Elect) as Mature

Student’s Officer.

Finally I have to touch on the success of

the Student Plus Card, which has

allowed students to save hundreds and

hundreds of pounds, both within the SU

and also in Huddersfield. The card giving

such discounts as 10% off in the Venue

and the Lounge and also in such stores

as HMV, Top Shop etc. has been integral

to creating a student community here in

Huddersfield, and this card will be

available to purchase again next year

and I am sure will go from strength to

strength.

That just leaves me to say thank you to

everyone I have worked with during my

two years as a sabbatical officer here in

Huddersfield. Good luck to Marcus

Woolcock, who is going on to teach at

the Huddersfield Technical College, Mark

Freeman who is finishing his final year

on his Multimedia degree, Verne Lewis

who is travelling Australia for 6 months

and Jason, in whatever he does when he

gets his arse in gear and finds a job.

Of course thank you to the staff, who will

be here when we leave and when the

next set of sabbaticals leave, they’re

work is integral to the running of the

Students’ Union. We owe our successes

over the past twelve months to them.

Finally, good luck to all of you guys and

girls who are getting your results in mid-

June and don’t celebrate too hard!

So for the final time, see you all soon,

Martin Rix

President

2006/07

Huddersfield Student | News | June

Page 4

Huddersfieldstu

dent.com

myspace.com/Hudders

fieldstudent

President’s ColumnHuddersfield Student | Student Life | Easter

Page 14


myspace.com/Huddersfieldstudent

It has been two years sinceKaiser Chiefs released Mercury-nominated album Employment.Now they have returned withtheir new album Yours Truly,Angry Mob and recent singleRuby. This is accompanied by theobligatory promotional tour,where Becki Johnson caught upwith Peanut for HuddersfieldStudent.

It’s a chaotic day, and journalists only haveten minutes for their interviews. Despitethe rush, Peanut appears to be in goodspirits:“I’m ok yeah. It’s the first day of thetour today and I’m quite looking forwardto it.The last proper tour we did must bethe one last April. I can’t wait to get backinto things.

“We did dates at Doncaster Dome and inLeeds last week. But actually now, on tour,we have our full production, our full lights,everything.You realise you’re going to bedoing this for another ten or eleven nightsand you actually look forward to gettinginto the routine.”

Kaiser Chiefs proved to be a majorpresence at the 2006 festivals, followingtheir lower billing the previous year.Perhaps unsurprisingly Leeds Festival wasone of the highlights for Peanut: “We didquite a few festivals round Europe, andone in Belfast, leading up to Leeds andReading, which was pretty cool.

“We did Reading the first night, which isgood because that’s where all the pressare, so you can get in touch through that.Then you go to Leeds. Reading is filmedbut Leeds isn’t, so it feels more relaxed.When a show is being filmed, or recordedfor radio it’s in the back of your mind, andyou’re never quite on it, and then you dothe Leeds one. It’s obviously like the homepride of coming back to Leeds and doinga festival.”

According to Peanut the Leeds set wasmade complete by something quitesimple. He said:“I think it got dark duringour set.The sun was going down and youcould see our KC lights. I think we’regoing to use those again, because it’s justsimple. People try elaborate stage setsand then we show a giant flashing K and Cand everyone goes mental.

“Obviously we’ve never seen it from outwhere you guys are. But I’ve seen it.Literally, it was right next to my headhere! I was nearly getting burnt down theside of my head. But it looked prettycool!”

At the time of this interview Ruby hadbeen number 2 in the charts for twoweeks running, thanks to downloads.Thatweek the hard copy had just gone on sale,and things were looking optimistic: “I’veheard how it’s going, and it’s doing betteryes. But who knows? It’s only Wednesday!“We’ll see what happens towards the

weekend, and the album is out on Monday.We’ll keep our fingers crossed and therecould be good times ahead hopefully!”(Both the single and the album made it tothe coveted number one spot!)

And what of the new album you may ask?Well let’s find out: “We recorded it afterLeeds and Reading, and spent about sevenweeks recording. We’d rehearsed allthroughout the year, writing songs, andthe majority of them were finished andready to go.We finished it in October andI’ve had it since Christmas.

“I’ve not had a copy recently because wekeep destroying them to make sure wedon’t leak it anywhere. It’s amazing that ithasn’t leaked yet. Well, either it’s quiteamazing or no one really gives a s**t andno one wants the record!”Peanut certainly feels that this continuous

recording session was good for the band.He said: “It was nice having that longsession in the studio. We’ve never reallyhad anything like that before. We didEmployment in a few weeks here andthere. It was nice to go back to songs, andall play in a room together nice and loud!”It hasn’t been all work and no play for the

band. Peanut and Simon recently got toplay darts with the legendary BobbyGeorge. “Yes! As documented onYoutube!” Peanut laughs. “Last year wewere in Japan in January and the dartswere on. Me and Simon were like ‘we saidwe were going to try and go to this’. Sowe tried to sort it with one of ourcontacts, and this year it happened.”

“We were the most famous people

there,” he jokes. “We met all the players,their wives and the family.Then we playeda leg of darts with Bobby George, andsome other guys like Wolfie and JohnWalton.”

Darts aren’t the only sport he’s beeninvolved with: “Last year I went to theFormula 1 and I was out on the grid! I textmy friends,‘Guess where I am?’ They wereall like, wow! It’s really tough security toget onto the grid walk, but they managedto get me out there.That was good. I wantto go to the FA Cup final, and the snookerin Sheffield.Then I’ll be complete!”

So what else does Peanut get up to on aday off? He said:“We went to the footballlast night at Elland Road.We’ve got friendsin a lot of different bands now, so we goto see them in gigs.We just try to take iteasy you know. We’re not part of thatLondon party crowd, where we’re goingto be on the front page of The Mirror ifwe do something we shouldn’t.”

Despite this, he did make it into the pagesof The Mirror recently, for using a ladiestoilet: “That’s my first taste of being doneover by the tabloids. I did go into theladies toilet, I’ll say that. But it was onlybecause the men’s one was locked and wewere on stage in about a minute!

“I went in and there was nobody in there.Then a girl came to the toilet, and one ofour radio guys asked her to wait becauseone of the band was in there. I wouldn’thave minded; there’s a cubicle round thetoilet, so it doesn’t matter. But thesethings happen and then you get in TheMirror!

“Then you read it and realise you’reactually the person they’re referring to.You realise how horribly misquotedeveryone else in those pages must be. IfChris Martin does something, or PeteDoherty- much as he’s a bad lad- they’llalways spin it in the worst possible way.But all we get up to most of the time isdealing with our houses.”

Not all is going to plan, however, as headmits: “In my house one room just gotdestroyed yesterday. I pulled the roofdown… on purpose! It made more messthan I’ve ever seen in my life. But now Iget to go on tour and leave it, and by thetime I get back it’ll probably mostly bedone.”

Hit single I Predict A Riot has become ananthem at football matches, and theirsongs have been covered by variousbands. Which is his favourite? He said:“Not any of the covers, definitely notGirls Aloud! Our friend called Overseerdid a remix and that’s pretty good. Myfavourites are the remixes that cross overto the dance crowd and get people intoit.”

There was briefly talk of a Girls Aloudcover in retaliation, of which he says:“Wecould do a Girls Aloud cover and changethe lyrics, but we don’t need to.We coulddo a real guitar heavy version, but I don’tthink we’d look as good in bikinis!”

As we end our discussion talk turns tothe latest music craze, nu-rave.“Apparently we invented nu-rave!” hedeclares. “The NME- the ‘bible’- says thatEveryday I Love You Less And Less wasthe first nu-rave song.That’s what startedit all off apparently. It’s quite cool, but thenwe very quickly left it behind.We’re happydoing what we do.”

Becki Johnson

Kaiser Chiefs give the HuddersfieldStudent a Peanut of an Interview!

Huddersfield Student | Student Life | Easter

Page 10


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STUDENT LIFE......

fashion music games film comedy books interviews fashion music games film comedy books interviews fashion music games film comedy books

What's Inside:

AAddvveennttuurreess IInn SStteerreeooPaperback Writer: Pg 18

Your usual installment of the

latest book reviews

Film: Pg 22 - 23

A two for one offer and

interview with Renee

Zellweger

A Pinch of Salt Pg 18

More comedy from the

strange one

Fashiom: Pg 20 - 21

Heather Swallow takes you

through what’sin this month

Welcome to Easter’s edition of Adventures in Stereo!

Spring is finally here and as if they’re mirroring nature a number of musical titans

like: The Arcade Fire, The LCD Sound System and The Kaiser Chiefs have

emerged from a long period of hibernation. Whilst these old favourites release

new material into this world there is no shortage of competition from new

pretenders such as Shitdisco, The Klaxons, and The Yell.

This year has already been great for live and recorded music with performances

from Jarvis Cocker and more new releases than you could shake a maraca at.

And it has barely started… Currently there are ten albums I want to buy, seven

festivals I want to go to and at least six bands I desperately want to see live.

(Much like everyone else!)

Recently I’ve had lots of work, not just getting through my ever growing pile of

new releases but essays as well. Luckily when I got some brief respite I got to

interview one of my favourite small indie –folk bands: Monkey Swallows the

Universe (you’ll get to see that one next month.)

I was also lucky enough to meet a member of one of my favourite electo-pop

bands, The Rapture. So this has been a very good month! I doubt next month

will be exciting, most likely it will be spent a under another pile of books whilst I

dream of getting Glastonbury tickets.

Wish me luck! If that fails at least there’s no shortage of gigs to watch instead,

so if you’re getting stressed with work take some time out. Put on a good CD

and dance like a maniac to whatever you like even if its just for a short while, it’ll

make you feel great.

Any one who fancies their hand at writing music features, gig reviews or even

reviewing new releases let me know by e-mailing me on: [email protected]

Correen Robinson.

When asked if I wanted to interview The Rapture in

Leeds and review a gig I couldn’t believe my luck.

Obviously I said yes. Who wouldn’t want to meet the

makers of dance floor classics such as Sister Saviour or

House of Jealous Lovers? So after giving their listening

to 2003 classic Echoes and their most recent album

Pieces of The People We Love I set off to Leeds. Once

there I met up with Gabriel Andruzzi Keyboardist,

saxophonist, percussionist and when I got there

spokesperson for the band.

So how are you?

Pretty good thanks.

Are you enjoying your tour promoting your recent

album: Pieces of the People we Love?

Yeah, its going fine. Somebody just told me we’ve been

touring with this album for six months now. I was like,

really?!?

How have people reacted to the material you’ve

played from your latest album?

Pretty good. When we first started touring in the UK in

2006 people didn’t know the new material that well, but

now its been around a bit longer they seem to be

enjoying it more.

There’s been a gap of three years since you last

toured Britain to promote your last album Echoes in

2003 and the release of Pieces of People You Love in

2006. I heard this was due to having to take time out

from each other after touring extensively. Have you

resolved these problems now? Could you give any

tips on living with your friends/ touring?

Hahaha! No... Take time out, go for a walk. Try to make

your first action of the day a polite one.

Have you had chance to listen to many other bands

whilst you have been touring?

Well, we’ve enjoyed watching Shitdisco live as they’re

supporting us and The presets who supported us in

America. We also supported The Fall, who I am a big

fan of. SO that was great. Otherwise I haven’t been

listening to much new music.

So do you mainly watch films on the tour bus

instead then?

Mmm, no.

Or Sleep?

Yes I do like sleeping but I’ve mainly spent my free time

on the Internet.

So have you heard much about this New Rave scene

which is being feted at the moment? Do you think

you may have influenced some of these bands?

No I think they all have got their own influences. I don’t

think that we influenced them.

What made you want to form a band?

Me? I’ve been in bands since I was twelve. I’ve always

been into music it was always around as I was a kid. I

got a paper route so I could afford to buy my first guitar.

What would you say are your influences?

We have a lot. Musically I’d say dance records old and

new, old soul, old disco, new disco...

My other influence is working together as a band even

though we don’t always see eye to eye.

Is that how you get your ideas?

We mainly get our ideas for songs in the same way.

You’ll be working together then someone does

something that clicks. Then we follow that.

Later in the year you’ll be touring a little further a

field, are you looking forward to that?

Yeah I’m looking forward to going to Australia, Japan and

New Zealand. We’re also going to Singapore and I’m

really looking forward to that as I’ve never been there

before.

Thanks for your time.

No problems.

Interview the rapture

by correen robinson

Lauren Stewart, VP CommunicationsLauren is the Vice President for allcommunication coming from the Students’Union to you, from the newspaper to thewebsite. She works to deliver you all thenews and information you could want as

a student a Huddersfield. To find out more about gettinginvolved with Student Media contact Lauren.

Email [email protected] • Phone 01484 473441Visit The Zone, First floor, Students’ Union.

Whether you want to write a one-off articleor be a regular contributor with a section ofyour own, your input is always welcome. Ifyou think there is something missing, fromcontent, photography, design or layout thenwhy not have a go at creating it yourself?The newspaper uses industry standarddesign packages (Quark and Adobe CreativeSuite) on big shiny Apple Macs and trainingis available for anyone wanting to take part.


Onlinewww.huddersfieldstudent.comThe official website of the Students’ Union is your placefor regular updates and a comprehensive what’s on guideand also includes news on current issues, information onall student services and commercial areas and events.There are individual pages for each sports club andsociety plus a whole host of interactive parts for you toget involved in, including a forum where you can chat tofriends, new and old!

Sporting Linkswww.culture.gov.ukwww.london2012.comwww.sportengland.orgwww.visitbritain.com

Students with disabilitieswww.britishblindsport.org.ukwww.bwsf.org.ukwww.disabilitysport.org.uk www.ukdeafsport.org.uk

Volunteering Linkswww.csv.org.ukwww.millenniumvolunteers.gov.ukwww.studentvol.org.uk


activiate

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students unionhas

rock clubs

new friends

societies whichcater

plenty ofsports clubs

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great atmosphere