Phantom Media is Done and Dusted

Move the University graduation to July?Daisy Giuliano appeals to the University to keep graduation in January >> page 6

Meet The Phantom - your new look student newspaper that has replaced Dusted Magazine. The newspaper is part of an overall rebrand of student media here at the University of Derby Students’ Union, bringing everything un-der one media organisation known as Phantom Media. This means that d:one is now Phan-tom Radio and we’re launching a brand new TV channel known as Phantom TV, giving students more opportunities to get in-volved in media and journalism whilst studying.

The decision to combine all student media operations into one media group is to align what we do with mainstream media, for example The Guardian Media Group not only publishes The Guardian and Observer, they also produce a huge amount of video and audio content for their web-site and other outlets. By making

our media more akin to that of national media we believe that

students will be better prepared if they go on to look for work in journalism or media organisa-tions after graduation.

If you would like to get involved with Phantom Media at any level

then get in touch by emailing phantom@udsu.co.uk or check out what we’re doing online at www.phantom-media.co.uk.

phantom media //your free newspaper

www.phantom-media.co.ukissue 1 // Feb 2015

Lukas HosalaDerby Worldwide are living life to the fullest

Phoebe TancockSaying no to sexism in sport

Kirsty Reynolds‘Girls Like That’ – a thought provoking and emotional performance

Amy HornerOver £20,000 raised for RAG so far this year!

Stacey MurrayThe Creative Arts Collective are finding new talent at the open mic

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As a Union we feel it is important to give students plenty of options to do something outside of the lecture theatre that will not only be a fun experience but will give them an advantage in the competitive graduate job market. For all those budding journal-ists studying at Derby, Phantom Media is a great way to gain experience in print, radio and tv — Sophie Hewitt, Vice President Student Community

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issue 1 // Feb 2015 // £0.00 (That’s free)

Photo by University of Derby

Photo by University of Derby

Athletic Union UpdatesThe latest from your AU clubs >> page 13

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If you would like to contribute to The Phantom newspaper it’s really simple. If you want to talk to us first you’re free to email phantom@udsu.co.uk and ask any questions – otherwise the process is straightforward.

Submit the text of your article as a Word document or text file, include any images that accompany your article separately (not pasted into the document) as JPEG files. The bigger the images the better!

Make sure you include your name, contact details, year of study, course name and title (if you’re on a committee) at the start of the arti-cle so we can credit you and can get hold of you if there’s any changes or extra information we need. If you can submit your contribution early, before the deadlines, this gives us time to make any changes that are needed. Your article can be submitted at any time before the deadline.

Feel free to contact the Editor or Sub-Edi-tors for advice if you are not sure what to write about, we have lots of stories that need covering

and are happy to offer advice and support with your article.

Make your articles specific and focus on one topic. For example, rather than write about racism in general, write about a specific case / how it affects society / the psychological or so-cial issues related to the topic. Get facts from a reliable source such as the Office for National Statistics or the BBC and make sure you write in a style suitable for a newspaper (try to avoid headings and bullet points).

Articles can vary in size drastically. A full page or double-page feature would contain many more words than a short article on cur-rent affairs. Try and keep your article as concise as possible but do not worry too much about the final size – the editors will ensure that the article is an appropriate length and may cut portions of the article if it needs to be reduced. As a guide, a full page would need around 1,500 words; a short update may only be 250.

Contribute to The PhantomWe’re after student writers/journalists

A word from your Editor

By Kirsty Reynolds The Phantom Editor

Brain Food

If you’re not a writer then don’t despair, at The Phantom we’re open to art-based contribu-tions – if you’re a budding photo-journalist or a cartoonist then we’re just as happy to hear from you. Many articles (especially local news and university topics) would benefit from be-spoke imagery. Events and sports team reviews are always enhanced by photography, and a hard-hitting feature can often cry out for a political or poignant cartoon/illustration to ac-company it.

The submission process is identical, though you may want to contact the editors first in case they can point you in the direction of a requirement for a specific article.

On behalf of the entire committee, happy be-lated New Year and welcome to the first ever is-sue of The Phantom, your official student news-paper!

Saying goodbye to Dusted magazine was a sad affair for all of us. I remember picking up my first copy when I attended my own Open Day, three years ago. Reading through the articles on the car drive home and seeing the sheer pas-sion and enthusiasm that each of the students who contributed to that issue had for Dusted, and how strong the voice of the Students’ Un-ion could be, I immediately knew that student media was something I wanted to be a part of.

Many of you will be wondering why student media has been re-branded and why your stu-dent newspaper now sits under one media group with your student radio and TV stations. The main reason behind this re-brand was to strengthen student media, allowing for greater collaboration between each output - ultimately creating more opportunities for you to get in-volved with your student media, and develop your skills through a variety of voluntary roles.

One of the greatest things about changing from a magazine to a newspaper is the amount of additional content we have been able to in-clude. You will find that this issue is packed with

features and updates from societies and sports clubs that you may wish to join.

In this issue; Sórcha Haverty, your VP Wel-fare and Student Rights speaks to The Phantom team about the Students’ Union’s It’s Not On Campaign and how the SU are working with local charity First Steps to tackle eating disor-ders, Sarah Chapman provides advice for final year dyslexic students making job applications, Anne Johns explains why you should vote in the May General Election, and our News and Poli-tics sub-editor, Phoebe Tancock, explores the issue of sexism in sport.

I’d like to thank everyone involved in creat-ing the first issue from our devoted sub-editors; Clodagh Churm, Phoebe Tancock and Geor-gia Benns, Editor-in-Chief, Sophie Hewitt, and marketing team, who spread word of the re-launch and pushed for submissions, to all our contributors and design team.

The Phantom is essentially for students; therefore if you have any thoughts or sug-gestions on how we can improve content for our next issue, please email the committee at phantom@udsu.co.uk.

To current and new students alike, good luck with your studies this semester. I hope you en-joy reading this issue!

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Across

1 Hypothetical virus that didn’t cause global computer chaos on 1/1/2000 (10,3)

8 Sea (abbr) (3)9 Occurred later in time — adopts Ted

(anag) (9)10 Spring plant with bell-shaped

flowers (8)11 Sicilian volcano (4)13 Me taut? (anag) — change

fundamentally (6)14 Soup dish (6)16 Egyptian port (4)17 Make small adjustments (to)

(4-4)20 Convert to sloping type (9)21 Sign of the zodiac (3)22 Container with a teat for the very

young (7,6)

Down

1 Infectious childhood disease (5)2 Legendary keeper of Arthur’s sword,

Excalibur (4,2,3,4)3 Push through faster (8)4 One failing to appear as booked

(2-4)5 Cancel — reverse (4)6 Grasp the nettle (4,3,6)7 Blasted — odd G-man (anag) (7)12 Part of the unconscious mind —

pose urge (anag) (8)13 Powerful, smooth-coated dog used

for security work (7)15 Supposedly, the secret of great

comedy (6)18 Portray feelings theatrically (5)19 Short skirt — small car (4)

Gra 12” veWell known saying

PAGE 3News

#ItsNotOnBy Sórcha Haverty VP Welfare & Student Rights

#ItsNotOn is the Students’ Union’s priority campaign this year. The campaign places the emphasis on talk-ing to students and asking them what they think needs changing at the University and in the Students’ Union. Throughout this campaign you can tell us what you think needs improving. We want to hear your thoughts, no mat-ter how big or small your is-sues may seem.

As a representative of the Students’ Union I often talk to students who ask various questions and give feedback on a variety of issues such as the library opening hours, the frequency of the university shuttle buses (many students have said that the buses are not frequent enough), and the length of halls contracts.

Ultimately, the aim of this campaign is to collate all of this feedback together and

to direct it to the relevant people within the university responsible for addressing each of these issues. As we receive answers to your com-plaints and questions from individual members of staff, and changes start to take ef-fect, we shall put up feedback on our website as a win.

I genuinely loved my three years as a student at the Uni-versity of Derby. The purpose of this campaign is to help make your experience at uni-versity better where possible, and to provide the Univer-sity with lots of feedback if students aren’t happy with something.

Perhaps you’re not satis-fied with the way you get feedback on your course, or you’re not happy with your cold eggs from The Atrium then let us know by tweeting us your issue at @UDSU us-ing the hashtag #ItsNotOn.

The purpose of this campaign is to help make your experience of university better where possible

By Kirsty Reynolds The Phantom Editor

On Thursday 5th February the University’s second year Theatre Arts students presented their ad-aptation of Evan Placey’s award-winning play Girls Like That for the first time at the Derby Theatre.

First performed in 2013 at the Old REP Theatre by The Young REP as part of the Young REP Festival, Girls Like That explores gender in-equality and the pressures faced by teenagers today as a result of ad-vancing digital technologies.

The play, directed by Amanda Wallace and co-directed by Ava Hunt, starred an all-female cast of thirteen; Emma Burbage, Camilia Cara-ion, Casey Wheeldon, Rachel Edmund, Sarah Hartshorn, Amy Wright, Charlotte Graves, Melissa Martin, Kara Spriggs, Oana Iones-cu, Amanda Nickless, Jade Boden-de-Mel and Angelina Davy.

The off stage crew included; Ai-mee Bishop (Stage Manager/Cho-reographer), Sophie Jacks (Deputy Stage Manager), Alice Garland (Assistant Stage Manager), Han-nah Johnston (marketing), Robyn Horton (lighting) and Amy Hally (sound).

The play revolves around 16 year old Scarlett, a student at the St Helen’s School for girls, who sud-denly finds herself publically ridi-culed after a naked photo she post-ed of herself online goes viral. All of the St Helen’s girls are quick to pass judgement and as the weeks pass the hazing becomes worse. A passive Scarlett remains silent as friends abandon her.

A history project, researching into her female ancestors, helps Scarlett to become more self-con-fident and overcome the bullying.

Emma Burbage, who portrayed Scarlett, said: “At the start of the play Scarlett is very naïve. She

strongly believes that the St Helen’s girls will be ‘friends for life’. When she begins to research into her fe-male ancestors, she learns that they have all been oppressed by men in some way or form.

“One of her relatives was refused an abortion whilst another experi-enced sexual discrimination whilst working as a Pilot during the Sec-ond World War. Scarlett comes to realise that she is no different to her ancestors. She is also being op-pressed but by the St Helen’s girls.”

Scarlett’s story was told through a series of harsh narratives from the St Helen’s girls. The play also

included numerous time jumps, with flashback scenes to Scarlett’s childhood and flash forwards to her adulthood. The stories of Scar-lett’s female ancestors were also conveyed through flashbacks to each era of her research.

The constant time jumps and multiple roles make Girls Like That a difficult play to present, but every single member of the cast rose to the challenge, delivering a thought provoking and emotional perfor-mance. With no clear character descriptions to go upon, the cast did a great job in creating engaging and relatable characters from the original source material.

Emma commented: “As the play touches on bullying and cyberbul-lying, it could be rather sensitive at times since there was that chance that we had all experienced some form of problem around each of these. Diving into each of these themes and learning about the harsh reality of how it can affect people, that’s what I found most challenging.”

Director Amanda Wallace add-ed: “The topic of gender equality is an age old issue. Although much has been done to tackle gender equality throughout the years, there is still more that could be done to address the issue in today’s society. What I hope our young audiences took away with them is the power

that Scarlett finds at the end of the play, not to allow your persecutors to ruin your life.

“Being focused around a group of secondary school girls, Girls Like That was a perfect choice for our students to perform as part of their second year project. They could each relate strongly to the is-sues facing the St Helen’s girls. Girls

Students explore gender equality and pressures of digital generation in award-winning play ‘Girls Like That’

Scarlett’s story was told through a series of harsh narratives from the St Helen’s girls.

Girls Like That explores gender inequality and the pressures faced by teenagers today as a result of advancing digital technologies.

Like That is a highly physical contempo-rary piece of theatre and one that was great for our students to get their teeth into.”

The cast of Girls Like That, via Derby

Theatre

Exploring pressures

result-ing from

advancing digital

technolo-gies in Girls

Like That, via Derby

Theatre

PAGE 4 News

2015 is shaping up to be the year we put our foot down on inequality and sexism in sport. With Glamour magazine’s campaign ‘Say no to sexism in sport’ and the success of ‘This Girl Can’, it’s time all women slipped on their trainers, grabbed their water bottles and began re-writing the way in which women are perceived in the sporting in-dustry, once and for all.

I spoke to two past University of Derby students who aren’t afraid to defy the stereotypes associated with women in sport. Verity Snell and Danielle Raymont both played American Football for Team GB last year in a friendly game against Sweden. I caught up with them to find out what their views are on sexism in sport, their greatest sporting achievements and what it’s like to represent their country, playing a sport that they love. Have you ever faced inequality or judgement when playing American Football?

Danielle: I wouldn’t say I have personally faced inequality as the people I surround myself with are very supportive and most likely play the sport themselves. The ma-jority of the time, when I tell people I play American Football it’s more of a shock to them.

Verity: I haven’t faced any in-equality whilst playing this sport as all my friends and family think it’s pretty cool. Most people are sur-prised when I tell them I play Amer-ican Football, although that’s due to the fact the sport isn’t that big or well known in the UK, but it’s grow-ing fast.

Many people have told me that American Football is just rugby in pads and that it isn’t as hard hit-ting, but I just invite them down

to play and have a go rather than judging a sport that they haven’t tried. I’ve had no real judgement against my gender. The only in-equality I’ve faced is in the lack of availability of equipment for wom-en and the lack of support for lesser, well-known sports.

Do you think there are enough op-portunities for women to play sport at a national level?

D: No, I don’t think there are enough opportunities to play sport at a national level. If I hadn’t been introduced to American Football I wouldn’t have known being part of something like this was even pos-sible. For women especially, it’s not really advertised and the media doesn’t tend to report on it.

V: I think opportunities to play at a national level are hidden and hard to access. There are not as many clubs available to women and they seem to be less established, meaning the level of coaching is lower. The links required with the governing bodies to allow players to access national level are also less established.

Establishing the Derby Braves Women’s Club has taken lots of time and funding. The coaches have been really committed. The gov-erning body, the British American Football Association (BAFA), have been very supportive, as have our

men’s team. It has been possible for us to gain the opportunity to play at national level because of how com-mitted they’ve all been.

It’s really common for men’s national teams or individual pro-fessional sportsmen to be paid to play sport. Their job is to train

and compete. Women, on the other hand, have to pay to play and have to manage full time jobs on top of training. Twenty players on Eng-land’s Women’s Rugby team, who won the world cup in 2014 and were winners of the BBC’s Team of the Year, have only just been award-ed a salary. They had to manage

jobs whilst training for the rugby world cup, fitting in their exercise schedule around their careers.Do you think there are enough opportunities for women to play a sport which is considered to be more ‘masculine’?

D: Since our first Team GB game against Sweden I have noticed that more masculine sports, such as rug-by are slowly becoming more popu-lar. I think some women such as myself want to beat stereotypes and be involved in contact sports.

V: The opportunities are there but not nearly as well advertised and there aren’t as many clubs for women available. I think this is due to popularity as masculine sports are still not as popular as more traditional feminine sports for women. I think a lot of women are too afraid to try a masculine sport due to injury and the strength and physicality required to play.

When I invite my friends down to training, the general answer is, “I can’t play American Football. I would be crushed” or “I don’t think I would be very good.” A lot of wom-en write off masculine sports before trying them.What was your best sporting achievement?

V: My best sporting achievement would have to be representing my country. Pulling on my Team GB jersey, walking out onto the pitch and hearing the national anthem play was amazing. Being selected to

play at a national level was some-thing I never thought I’d achieve.

D: I would have to say that be-ing picked for Team GB and being awarded defensive Most Valuable Player for the Derby Braves Team are my best achievements.How does it feel to be a Team GB player?

V: When you’re part of such a close team it’s a great feeling. The emotions shared on the pitch mean you’re very close. American Football is such a team sport, each person has their own job to do, so each vic-tory or loss is felt as a whole team. The Braves are the same. I feel like they’re part of my extended family and when we play on the field, we play as a family.

D: I agree with Verity that being part of a team, whether it’s Team GB or The Braves, is like being part of a family. You are able to share every moment with forty other peo-ple. Knowing that I am representing my country and raising awareness for American Football is an honour.

The Women’s Team GB players and coaches are all up for re-selec-tion. Their next challenge will be against Russia when they compete for a place in the Women’s Euro-pean Championship (WEC), which will take place in Spain in August 2015.

If you want to find out more about Women’s American Foot-ball at the university visit facebook.com/BravesWomen.

Equality in sportBy Phoebe Tancock News & Politics Sub-Editor

Verity and Danielle, Plastow Photography

Derby Braves Women’s Team, Plastow Photogra-phy

Women, on the other hand, have to pay to play and have to manage full time jobs on top of training.

PAGE 5News

The General ElectionWhy your vote counts

By Anne Johns Student

History is about to be made and students could have a key impact as to what happens. The May 7th General Election is set to have one of the most unpredictable outcomes the UK has seen for decades.

Already, following a Tory-Lib Dem coalition of question-able success, knives are out and back stabbing is rife. Verbal abuse, lies and half-truths, dubiously interpreted statistics, blaming and shaming, personal slander, brawling in the House of Commons, opaque funding, and more dirty tricks than have characterised the last twenty General Elections combined, are making this one of the most vicious and un-pleasant campaigns in living memory.

Many students will be first time voters. And yet the run up to polling day coincides with assessments, assignment dead-lines and exams, then celebrations before the long summer break – so why bother with the General Election? Surely, just one vote won’t make much difference? As a current mature student at the University of Derby who has voted in every election in the last half-century, may I share a few non-par-ty-political thoughts?

People were imprisoned and died for universal suffrage. In recognition of this I have always exercised my right to vote, since if I don’t I have no moral right to criticise whoever wins. Furthermore, there are constituencies with wafer-thin majorities. How would I feel, in this first-past-the-post sys-tem, if a candidate who stood for policies I abhor won by a few votes, perhaps then contributing to a small overall ma-jority for that party in Parliament and enabling it to imple-ment them? It has happened before and it could very well happen again this time.

As never before minority parties are attracting support from huge numbers of the electorate thoroughly disillu-sioned with politicians of all parties perceived - not always fairly - as wealthy, elitist, manipulative hypocrites ‘in it for themselves’, driven by ideology, unaffected by the austerity they impose on the weakest members of society and com-pletely detached from reality and ordinary people. Many students reportedly intend to vote Green. When enough did that in 2010 in Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, the first ever Green MP, was elected to Parliament.

Do you intend to vote? Have you registered to do so? Pre-viously voters were formerly registered by the head of the household in which they lived. This time, everyone, even if previously registered, has to make the effort to register in-dividually. Reportedly, around a million eligible voters have been caught out and not done so. But there’s still time.

The deadline for registering to vote in 2015 is 20th April. No registration means no vote. What is more, students can register twice – at home and at their university address. Registration is easy just go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, complete the form (you’ll need your National Insurance number), and look out for the confirmation making you eli-gible to vote in person or by post (if you apply in time).

If you experience any problems registering to vote in Derby, you can email elections@derby.gov.uk or call 01332 640837. Elsewhere, the local Electoral Registration Officer at the town hall will help you.

Students can vote in both places in local elections but only once in parliamentary elections. Our votes carry seri-ous weight, since we are able to assess both constituencies and decide where our votes are more likely to make a differ-ence before choosing where we vote.

A vote really will count if either address is in a marginal constituency. In 2010, one (Sinn Fein) parliamentary major-ity was just 4 votes (2 Labour and 3 Conservative), ranged from 42-92, and 35 (15 Labour, 15 Conservative and 5 Liberal Democrat) were between 106 and 991. So, in 41 seats, fewer than 1,000 more voters could have affected the outcome. As

for ‘safe’ seats, previous landslides in both directions have seen the country’s safest MPs ousted. This time there’s eve-rything to play for and politicians know it.

Take Derby North, a targeted marginal seat. Though the main Kedleston Road campus is in Tory mid-Derbyshire, the Derby city electoral wards of Abbey, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Littleover, Mackworth and Mickleover (includ-ing Lodge Lane, Bridge Street, Markeaton Street and Agard Street), therefore many of the halls and other student houses are all in Derby North. It is where you live not where you work that decides where you vote.

In Derby North, though 72,617 were eligible to vote in 2010, only 45,080 did so and Labour held the seat with a ma-jority of just 613 votes. Only 614 more Tory votes would have returned a Tory MP; and had this been replicated 23 times nationally the Tories would have had an overall parliamen-tary majority. However, the Lib Dems were only 2,258 votes behind Labour and fewer than 3,000 behind the winner. Maybe you would want that, maybe not, but either way it could happen. If everyone in halls or living in those streets and wards registered and voted, they really could influence the result. Those studying at Leek College (Staffordshire Moorlands) or Buxton (High Peak) could also considerably affect their local outcomes if they all voted.

There are Conservative, Class War, Labour, Lib Dem and UKIP candidates in Derby North. However many students are turning to the Greens, who are seen as having a good chance of success in constituencies in Bristol, Norwich, Cambridge, Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and London. Students wanting to vote Green who live in these cities might consider voting there, by post if necessary. If you are uncertain as to which constituency you live in, the MP and constituency for any postcode can be checked at www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps.

Governments traditionally look after the grey vote, since a substantially higher proportion of over 65s turn out on poll-ing day. Thus, grey interests are protected by all parties at the expense of the younger generations – remember the tui-tion fees betrayal? New voters can change this by registering, checking out their candidates, assessing where their vote will carry most weight in line with what they want - and then voting. Yes, we could make history! If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll vote on May 7th. Will you?

Many students reportedly intend to vote Green. When enough did that in 2010 in Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, the first ever Green MP, was elected to Parliament.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

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PAGE 6 News

A letter regarding Graduation

University Executive,

I am writing to you all to ask you to reconsider your decision on moving the award ceremonies from January to July. Having just graduated in the ceremonies held at the Derby Arena, I firstly wanted to reiterate and remind you all of the outstanding feedback that was received, by both the Governing Council, the wider community and most importantly from the graduates. I actually watched the DVD at the weekend and was reminded of how much I enjoyed it all over again…

I’d appreciate it if you’d let me indulge one last time and talk about my experiences of the ceremonies. Having attended the first two ceremonies, I was surprised when it was my turn to graduate, how nervous I felt and how truly special the day was, given that I was familiar with the event (and the speeches). I had also attended my sister’s graduation at the University of Warwick 3 years earlier and therefore have a comparable experience to draw upon. My parents attended both ceremonies and, putting sibling rivalry aside, it struck me how emotional and sentimental my, not usually emotional and sentimental, father was following my ceremony. He commented on how special the ceremony had felt to him, how proud he was to be seeing the diversity of graduates adding to the city he has lived in all his life and how intimate and personal the ceremony felt to him. My older sister is currently living and working in Osnabrück, Germany. She watched my ceremony on the live stream and commented on how pertinent all parts of the ceremony were, yet whilst still maintaining the tradition and pomp that is to be found at all ceremonies. I equally felt very similar feelings to my father, one of immense pride, reflection, community and celebration. Speaking to a number of my graduating class, I could not tell you one person who did not comment on how special the day had been and how nice it had been to be reunited with everyone again. One particular friend specifically commented on how special it was to be able to celebrate over the 3 days and the Graduation Ball with her friends who were not on her course. Testimonies aside, below are some of the issues which I feel will diminish the experience I have experienced and tried to describe above.

It is my understanding that if the ceremonies move to July there will be a number of students unable to attend their own award ceremonies. This is the single biggest factor that I have issue with. My understanding is that if, for a variety of reasons, a student does not make a particular assessment board in time; they will not be eligible to attend the July ceremonies. Those reasons may include; failing a module, having to defer, or just by being on a professional programme. This University prides itself on being a widening participation university, and executes that very well indeed. The support from before day one for a student is second to none and continues throughout their time studying here. What irks me the most therefore is that, for me, moving the ceremonies to July is making the final hurdle so big, that for some it will be insurmountable and they will be unable to attend their ceremonies with their peers, the conclusion of all of their hard work. Whilst I have no doubt they will not be branded as ‘mop up ceremonies’, I am struggling to understand how they will not feel like that and how the same experience I had will be translated to these ceremonies. Certainly, if my life circumstances had meant I was unable to attend the main ceremonies and I found myself sat as the only History graduate at the second set of ceremonies, I doubt I would be feeling the same amount of pride, community and celebration that the main ceremonies induce. For me, holding the ceremonies at this time of the year directly contradicts the ethos and values of this University.

I also have issue with the risk that should University of Derby Buxton students be unable to attend the first set of ceremonies they would have to wait a year to graduate with the cohort below or attend the Derby second set of ceremonies. I think location is so important to the ceremonies and I feel confident that I can predict the attitude of Buxton students should they hear they have to go to Derby for the ceremony; an attitude of anger, injustice and upset.

The Governing Council discussions I have been part of have perpetually returned to the issue of making the University of Derby a university of choice particularly as we move towards a new academic year with the removal of student number control. Derby is seemingly unique in its award ceremonies by holding them in January. I am more than happy to concede that should you go and ask the current finalists the question, ‘do you want your ceremonies moved to July from January?’ there would be an overwhelming majority of ‘yes’ answers. However I am equally certain that should the current finalists be made aware of the implications of moving the ceremonies, their answers would not be so emphatic. Students here do not just talk about the sense of community and pride we have in one another for the sake of it; we talk about it because it exists, because this university has created that environment. I would be interested to hear in more detail the reasons behind wanting to align with the vast majority of other universities, and why it has been decided to give up on what is a unique event for our university.

Should you decide to stay with your decision to move them to July, the class of 2016, 2017, 2018 etc. will not know the difference or have a comparison to draw upon and therefore they will think that the ceremonies have always been this way. The responsibility I feel I have as President of the Students’ Union and a Governor of the University is to highlight my experiences and the implications of the proposed changes. I do urge you to reconsider your decision but should you not then I strongly advocate strong student consultation in the planning and execution of the moved ceremonies. Without sounding over dramatic, the student experience of these ceremonies is everything to the graduating student body and you got it spot on for the Class of 2014. I’m yet to be convinced that you will be able to replicate that outstanding student experience for the future graduating classes should the ceremonies move to July.

Daisy Giuliano Students’ Union President 2014-15

Can you imagine not being able to remember your own child, your part-ner or your best friend? Can you imagine not being able to physically eat, drink or look after yourself? Can you imagine not being able to remember when your own birthday is?

This is the reality for some of the 800,000 people living with Dementia in the UK. Dementia is a progressive condition that worsens over time and there is currently no cure. As the condition worsens, sufferers must increasingly rely on carers to support them.

Dementia UK provides Admiral Nurses to those that need them- spe-cialist dementia nurses who give expert care and support to family carers, as well as the person with dementia. Admiral Nurses give sufferers the possibility of staying at home, the ability to live more independently and live more positively with dementia. However, the support to the family of sufferers is just as priceless – they help families by providing support and they help them to cope as the condition progresses.

Dementia UK believe that every single person affected by Dementia deserves an Admiral Nurse. The support that they provide is second to none and they need money to fund their current nurses and to expand their team.

This is why I decided to do a skydive for Dementia UK. I had always wanted to do a skydive, and I wanted to do it for a charity that I was pas-sionate about, so when Dementia UK invited RAG to recruit for a sky-dive, I jumped at the opportunity. There are so many advantages of tak-ing part- you are helping a great cause, you can cross something off your bucket list and you can even do it with friends!

Dementia UK provide amazing support and give you all of the resourc-es you could need and RAG will support you with any fundraising events that you decide to do. The only requirement to do the skydive is that each person raises £395 for the charity.

In the future we plan to organise more events like this, which will give you the opportunity to do more out-of-the-ordinary activities during your time at university. Great experiences for great causes, it’s simple.

To get more information about upcoming challenges and events, please email rag@udsu.org.uk or for more information on fundraising for Dementia UK, please email students@dementiauk.org.

There is no cure for Dementia, but together, we can make this horrible condition that little bit more bearable.

Why I decided to jump out of a plane

By Louise Jakes RAG Fundraising Rep

Run out of money? Don’t worry Introducing our Student Safety Scheme

Book a taxi using our FREE app or by ringing our call centre (journey up to the value of £5.00)

When the taxi arrives you will get a text message stating the vehicle make, model, colour and registration

Give the driver your student ID card as a deposit and get a receipt off the driver

Collect the Student ID card the following morning from the Students’ Union and pay the taxi fare to them

PAGE 7University

Imagine for a moment that it is your first time away from home. What would it be like for you, go-ing to a country thousands of miles away, where the culture is different from your own, even down to the language and traditions? Nothing is familiar, you step outside your new front door and you’re imme-diately lost, you don’t even know where you can buy food from your home country. Everyone seems to have their own friends while you’ve not spoken to anyone for days, perhaps weeks. Even the way you study is different, not to mention the side of the road you drive on!

The University’s International Buddy Network was set up to pair UK students with international students to make their transition into life in the UK easier.

Interested in taking part in the scheme? All we ask is for you to find two hours every two weeks to meet up with one international student or a small group of international students, and to offer them your friendship and support for a mini-mum of four months.

There are numerous benefits to participating in the International Buddy Network, for instance: • You’ll have the opportunity to make new friends. • You’ll have something extra which you can add to your CV that will help you stand out to employers and give you a great talking point at interviews. • You’ll gain an understanding of different cultures. • You’ll be given a certificate. • You’ll get support from the Inter-national Student Centre.

Christine Woodham is in her third year at Derby and is studying for a BA (Hons) in Business Man-agement. At the start of her second year she decided to take part in the International Buddy Network. When asked about her personal involvement and experience of the scheme, Christine said: “At the start of my second year I decided to take on some extra activities due to me only being in university three days a week. I joined the International Buddy Network and was paired up with a student from Vietnam. He was studying the same course as me

which was a great starting point! He knew very little English and didn’t understand many of our cultures. I met up with him several times for a few months. Gradually, I began to notice changes in his understand-ing of how we do things over here.

“Being a buddy does have its benefits. Whilst I was teaching him about England, I was also learning about life in Asia.

“One major problem which I faced was not his lack of spoken English, or my Vietnamese – but the fact that he had been given four assignments. He didn’t understand what an assignment was and he was expected to write them in a lan-guage that was not his own. Being on the same programme, he had the same assignments that I had in my first year. I would proofread his work and give him a few tips that lecturers had given to me.

“After successfully completing his first semester here at Derby I decid-ed it would be best for me to leave him to it, but I continued to keep in touch with him through Facebook. I would speak to him every cou-ple of months online to see how he was coping. Every time that I spoke to him his English became clearer and clearer to the point where you

would think English was his native language.

“Yes volunteering does look great on your CV but the satisfaction you get from seeing a person you’ve helped evolve in just one year is far more important.”

To become a Buddy you must be a current student at the University of Derby who’s studied here for at least one year and be fluent in Eng-lish. If this is you and you’re study-ing at one of our Derby campuses (Kedleston Road, Britannia Mill or Markeaton Street), please email in-ternationalstudentcentre@derby.ac.uk, or call 01332 591616.

If you’re studying in Buxton, please express your interest to Mi-kaela Balder in the International Student Centre in DO/104 or you can contact Mikaela by email on m.balder@derby.ac.uk or by phone on 01298 330350.

The Futures Award is the Uni-versity’s extracurricular award which aims to develop and recog-nise your employability skills, and prepare you for graduate employ-ment.

The award is made up of three levels; Recognition, Plus and Leadership. There are also several strands in which you can complete your award. These include:

• Volunteering in the community • Students’ Union roles (if you are a course or programme representa-tive, on the committee for or a member of a sports club, society, RAG, student newspaper, radio or TV station then you are eligible for the award) • Employer mentoring • Entrepreneurial skills • Social media • Team Derby Sports Activator

By participating in the Futures Award you’ll gain the knowledge to market yourself to potential em-ployers or set up your own busi-ness.

The three levels of the Award al-low you to build your experience and skills at a pace that fits in with your other commitments. Your Futures Award experiences can be recorded on your Higher Educa-tion Achievement Record (HEAR) which you’ll receive on graduation.

For more information on the Futures Award visit www.derby.ac.uk/careers/futures-award. Alternatively you may con-tact the Futures Award team on 01332 591316 or email them at futuresaward@derby.ac.uk.

The International Buddy Network

By The University of Derby Student Experience Team

The Interna-tional Buddy scheme at work, via University of Derby

A helping hand from the University’s International Buddy Network, via University of Derby

From 26th January the Student Experience team will be run-ning their annual Student Feedback campaign, giving you the chance to express your thoughts about the university, your programme, the facilities that are currently available to you and the learning environment.

It’s very important that you tell us what you think so that we can make changes to ensure things are the best they can

be for you and that you enjoy your time here at Derby. Some of the most positive changes that have occurred to the uni-versity over the past few years have only happened because of what previous students said in these surveys.

You may think that your thoughts and any suggestions that you make aren’t listened to or taken into account. Well, here at Derby, we do listen and your suggestions are regu-larly put in place. We have a feedback system in place known as ‘You Said It, We Did It’ which aims to keep you informed of any changes that have been made throughout the university

as a direct result of student feedback. All of these changes seek to improve your experience of university and help you achieve your full potential.

These are some of the things that previous students have said in the survey that have been put in place: • You said you wanted more help with employability skills. We’ve now opened The Hub in the Atrium to help you. • You said that you wanted more casual/fun sport ac-tivities that weren’t competitive or club based. We now run lots of ‘Give It a Go’ taster days where you can play for free. • You said that you wanted a late night food and drink option. We now have Subway open until 8pm Mon-Thurs. • You said that you wanted a summer graduation instead of having graduation in January. We’re now in the very early stages of planning our first summer graduation in 2016. This will be for students who are awarded in June 2016.

If you’re not around when we are, you can always fill out the survey in your own time. Click on the Student Survey link in the UDo Your Voice section from 26th January and look out for our email in your Unimail account.

Survey Season

By The University of Derby Student Experience Team here at Derby, we do listen and your

suggestions are regularly put in place. We have a feedback system in place known as ‘You Said It, We Did It’

PAGE 8 Welfare

Do you know when International Women’s Day is? If not don’t worry. We, the University’s Femi-nism Society, have got you covered.

Starting on 2nd March, the Feminism Soci-ety has a full week of events for students to get involved with. At the time of writing, some of these events are preliminary so be sure to check our Facebook page (UOD FEMSOC 14-15) for updates and confirmation.

Monday 2nd March – In Heap Lecture Theatre we’ll be showing the film ‘Miss Repre-sentation’ as seen on Netflix.

Tuesday 3rd March – We’ll be kicking off with a women’s only self-defence class in Kirtley Hall in the early evening. After that there will be time for a quick shower before we head to Fat Cat in town for a women themed Pub Quiz. It’s sure to be a fun night.

Wednesday 4th March – This is our #WOMENSWEDNESDAY. Kedleston Road’s atrium will be jam packed with stalls of all kinds for you to check out.

Thursday 5th March – Join us in Blends for an Inspiring Women’s event. We’ll have spo-ken word artists, poets, and possibly comedi-ans!

Friday 6th March –The Feminism Soci-ety is heading off to Manchester for a social me-dia and feminism conference.

We would also like to invite you to our art-ist showcase of female talent which we shall be holding throughout the week. You can check out our petitions in the Students’ Union shops at each campus. Don’t forget to keep up to date with us online where we’ll be posting informa-tion about other upcoming events for the week. We shall be using #WWDerby (Women’s Week Derby) up to and during the week.

Can’t make the above events but want more information on the Feminism Society? We have regular socials in the society and it’s not too late to join up. Joining our society will not only look great on your CV, but you will also find that we have a lot of fun going out as a group. For our last social on Thursday 5th February we went to see the second year Theatre students perform their adaptation of the play Girls Like That at Derby Theatre. For our next social we’re plan-ning laser tag.

What are you waiting for? Put those dates into your calendar and get ready! Internation-al Women’s Day will take place on Sunday 8th March. For more information about the day, our events and how you can get involved, email us at feminism.soc@udsu.org.uk.

The Feminism Society invites you to Women’s Week

By Emma Ward Feminism Society Treasurer

We have regular socials in the society and it’s not too late to join up. Joining our society will not only look great on your CV, but you will also find that we have a lot of fun going out as a group.

I hear comments around skipping meals, obsessive dieting and general anxiety around food.

By Sarah Chapman 3rd Year Education Studies

Finally, after all of your relentless hard word work and dedi-cation you are approaching the end of your degree. Well done! Whereas most of you will be dreaming of walking into your dream careers, I suspect some of you will be beginning to panic about your next move. If you are dyslexic finding a job might not be as straight forward as you had hoped. No doubt you will have been battling your whole life, so please don’t stop now. You will have some impressive skills greatly valued by employers. It’s up to you to make sure that you re-ally get those skills across in your job applications and dur-ing your interviews.

According to Life Coach Monique Craine, dyslexic strengths are no longer the best kept secret in the employ-ment market. Sadly not all employers got this memo. I don’t want to scare you but as a dyslexic student myself I want you to be fully informed and feel confident in your ability to do the jobs that you are applying for. Relying on employers to know everything about what it means to be dyslexic can lead to frustration and nobody wants that. The fact is the stigma that often accompanies dyslexia is socially imposed. You need to prepare yourself with the right answers to stamp out doubt.

By now I would hope that you have figured out what your strengths are. What are you good at? Where do you excel? What makes you tick? What do you have to offer a potential employer?

If you don’t know this yet that is OK. Spend some time writing some of these things down and include examples. Have you been involved in volunteering or any projects or awards during your time at university, such as the Futures Award? Link your strengths to the job specification for the role you are applying for.

You also need to identify what your limitations are. This is just for your eyes so please be honest with yourself (these are things that you can work on and needn’t be an issue). Now look at some of your awesome coping strategies. You may have very good problem solving skills that have helped you through university. Try and think of how you have overcome any difficulties in a positive way and write them down (you may be able to use some of these examples later on).

I strongly suggest that you seek out roles to suit your passion, but don’t be scared off from applying for a job just because you’re dyslexic. There are jobs where you’re abun-dance of creative, problem solving, out of the box thinking, visualisation and management skills will give you the edge over your competitors.

Whether you choose to disclose being dyslexic, and when ,is entirely up to you. It’s not an easy choice to make. Under-standably this is a big concern for many dyslexic graduates embarking on professional careers. I recommend that you come to this decision on your own terms.

As I said previously, know what your strengths and limita-tions are. If you don’t disclose, how is that going to impact on your ability to work effectively and efficiently? Do you want to struggle and feel unnecessarily stressed when things can be put in place that will allow you to thrive? You have a lot to offer so be proud of who you are! Your brain is wired differ-ently which can be a good thing.

Access to Work is a government scheme that will pay for practical support for you to start work, your own business or to stay in work after an illness. Whether you consider be-ing dyslexic a disability or not, if you choose to disclose it you are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act (2010) and the Access to Work Scheme can help you to maximise your potential.

You must contact them during the first six weeks of em-ployment and they will pay 100% of the approved costs. If you wait some of these costs will fall with your employer. Access to Work can cover costs such as equipment, software such as Global Auto Correct, TextHelp Read and Write Gold, and provide you with disability awareness training which could prove invaluable. Your employer has a statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments and to not treat you less fa-vourably than any of your colleagues.

For more information about the Access to Work Scheme visit www.gov.uk/access-to-work/how-to-claim or call 0345 268 8489.

You can also seek support from the company EmployAbil-ity, who work with disabled university students and gradu-ates to ease the transition from education into employment. Their highly skilled team can offer you free support, advice and guidance throughout the entire recruitment process and beyond. For more information about the company and the different types of support you can apply for visit www.employ-ability.org.uk.

Dyslexia: Final year fears The transition from HE to employment

By Sórcha Haverty VP Welfare & Student Rights

Research tells us that eating disor-ders affect 1.6 million people in the UK. Mental illnesses do not dis-criminate; they can and do affect anyone.

Eating disorders are a serious mental health issue and like many other forms of mental health they can prove very hard for people to talk about. It is claimed that eat-ing disorders are one of the most common mental health issues in

females aside from depression; however it is incorrect to think they are solely a female issue. The prob-lem of men and eating disorders appears to be even more of a taboo subject.

Eating disorders are often part of everyday conversations. I hear comments around skipping meals,

obsessive dieting and general anxiety around food. This may well sound dramatic and uncommon but it is not unusual. So, why aren’t we talking about eating disorders more?

When there are magazines encourag-

ing us to ‘love our bodies’ but then on the next page telling us how to lose significant amounts of weight in a short period of time, ultimately our heads are filled with very con-fused messages. Am I supposed to be confident in the way I look or

desperately obsessed with losing more and more weight?

For this very reason I have creat-ed a group of student volunteers to raise awareness of eating disorders on campus. We are working along-side the local charity First Steps in this. The purpose of this group is to raise awareness to students about the support available for those who are struggling with issues sur-rounding eating disorders, to en-able people to know that there is help for them.

Our first event arranged from this volunteering group will be on Wednesday 25th February during National Eating Disorders Aware-ness Week. We will be based in the triangle in the atrium at the University’s Kedleston Road site, raising awareness of eating dis-orders. You can come and see us on this day or drop me an email at vpwelfare@udsu.co.uk if you would like more information.

Let’s Talk About Eating Disorders

PAGE 9Welfare

An interview with GP Dr Paul Wood

By Phoebe Tancock News and Politics Sub-editor

It can be extremely daunting moving to a new city and start-ing university, especially as there are so many things to think about, from finding your way around to making new friends and getting involved in sport clubs and societies. However, there is one crucial thing that shouldn’t be overlooked; your medical care.

When you first start university, you’ll usually be given a form to fill out on arrival to sign up to The Park Medical Prac-tice at the University’s Kedleston Road site. It’s worth noting though that there are other options out there that you might not necessarily know about, services that can be extremely useful to you if you find yourself needing medical care on weekends, out of hours, or if you want a more confidential service.

One of the key things is to know which service is best for you at the time you need it. For this reason, the NHS launched the ‘Choose Well Campaign’, a campaign to pro-mote the right use of medical services to help you get the best care when you need it most.

I spoke to Dr Paul Wood, a GP at Dr Wood and Partners, to find out more about the ‘Choose Well Campaign’ and the services available to students in Derby.

Can you tell me more about the ‘Choose Well Campaign’?I’m part of the health service in Derby and we’re conscious

that there’s an enlarging population of students in the city. It’s important to welcome them and make sure they know what services are available to them, so that they’re choosing the right service and getting the best outcomes for themselves.

It can be quite difficult when you come to university since you don’t know what’s in the city and you’ve never really had to sort out organising your own health care before. It’s impor-tant for all students to register at a local general practice as GPs have access to all the health services in the local area that can help them. The ‘Choose Well Campaign’ is really about making students aware of what is available to them beyond a GP or at times when the GP’s services may not be open.

A lot of things students need support with are going to be able to be dealt with in a walk-in-centre of which there are two in Derby. If you don’t know where to go for services you can ring 111 and they have a Directory of Services. The sup-port team can give you advice as to where to go. Even knowing these basic things can get you a long way down the road to sorting out what you need as a student.Have you had a problem with students using the wrong services in the past?

I think it’s possible at times. Students don’t always know where to go and can sometimes end up in A&E which of course isn’t the right place to go. Most things aren’t accidents or emergencies; they’re often emerging, straight forward, rou-tine problems that can be dealt with in your practice by a GP, in a walk-in-centre or at a minor injuries unit.What services are available at walk in centres?

Walk in centres do all your basic general practice work and if you’ve got straight forward things like insect bites or simple injuries such as sprains or strains, you will be seen on the day. They will sort out the problem or if they can’t they’ll direct you to the right place.

Walk in centres are a service designed for people struggling to get into a general practice during the week or on the week-end. They are a place to go in the day if you’ve got a problem,

say a cough and cold, a water infection or something equally straight forward.Where can students go if they have a sexual health problem that they don’t want to go on their records?

There’s a clinic in town called the William Donald Clinic. It is near to the city centre and the services are completely con-fidential. Anything that you choose to disclose doesn’t get out into general practice records or any other records. Clinics like the William Donald Clinic are designed to be open when peo-ple may need them the most; such as on weekends and im-mediately after.What advice would you give to students on drink awareness?

I think it’s important for students to enjoy themselves but to also understand that they need to have reasonable control and support around alcohol. I think once young people are not at home, the environment is different. Young people can sometimes go over the top with their alcohol consumption which can later present problems for their health or result in an injury. Drinking alcohol now and again is fine as long as it’s consumed within reasonable limits.Are there services that can help students in terms of eating well and exercising more?

Basic advice can come through the general practice and the nurse support in that practice. There is a programme in the city called the ‘Live well’ program, which is supported by the NHS and the City Council. People can self-refer to that. It’s important for young people to explore their options so they can then decide what is right for them as individuals. Some young people may need support with how to prepare food and what a normal diet is whilst others may require a com-bination of advice around weight management and exercise. The ‘Live well’ program is available to students as well as the wider community of Derby.Do you think some of these programmes could be tailored bet-ter to students?

We’re keen to improve and to learn from the student com-munities as to what works. Students use different media and different outlets to communicate than the health services have traditionally used so we’re trying to understand that and learn from students. They’re an important and on-going com-munity in the city and we’re willing to listen to them.

Walk in Centres in DerbyOsmaston RoadWalk in hours: 8am-7.30pm (Appointments can be made before 8am and after 6.30pm by calling your GP after hours.)207 Saint Thomas RoadWalk in hours 8am till 8pm

It can be quite difficult when you come to university since you don’t know what’s in the city and you’ve never really had to sort out organis-ing your own health care before.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DERBY

STUDENTS’ UNION HELP AND ADVICE

SERVICE IS HERE TO HELP

STUDENTS WITH ANY WORRIES THEY MAY

HAVE01332 591507

suadvice@udsu.co.ukudsu.co.uk/advice

PAGE 10 community

By Amy Horner Chair of the RAG Committee

The Union’s Raise and Give (RAG) committee has raised over £20,000 for charity through its fundraising efforts since the start of this aca-demic year.

£13,000 was raised for the three nominated charities in the first semester alone. Each year RAG supports one local, one national and one international charity. The nominated charities for the 2014/15 academic year are First Steps Derbyshire, a local eating disorder charity; Dementia UK, who provide specialist dementia nurses to give practical and emo-tional support to families affected by dementia, and Water Aid, who seek to provide access to safe water and sanitation worldwide.

RAG has also been working with individual charities since Septem-ber on an event by event basis, to allow students to independently raise money for causes that they are particularly passionate about.

The committee hosted RAG Week from 24th-30th November. Several societies and clubs within the Students’ Union offered their support by holding their own fun-draising events throughout the week. Overall, RAG week raised £2,437.73 for charity.

The second semester proves to be an equally eventful one for RAG with the arrival of new fundrais-ing activities, which promise to

be even more exciting. The com-mittee have already had a busy start to 2015. In January RAG took part in Refreshers’ Fair, hosted an information evening about an up-coming skydive to raise money for Dementia UK, provided popcorn at the Academy Comedy night and held a Newlife MEGASALE.

The Newlife MEGASALE took place on the evening of Janu-ary 20th and raised a massive £2,351.85. 100% of the money will provide support to disabled chil-dren in Derbyshire.

David Reeves, the Regional Fun-draising and Awareness Manager at the Newlife Foundation said: “The megasale at the University of Derby was a resounding success, es-pecially considering that it was our first public event in a university. We thank the Students’ Union for their enthusiasm and support.

“The money raised from the event will be used directly to help disabled children in Derbyshire, delivering life changing equipment to children who need it most.”

Evan is one such young boy who has benefitted from RAG’s fund-raising efforts. Evan has learning and physical difficulties. He also suffers from Epilepsy. His balance is unsteady; he lacks an awareness of danger, and thus, has to use a wheelchair when he goes out. Evan doesn’t speak and all his needs are anticipated by his carers.

For the past eight months Evan has been

sleeping in a Safespace voyager, bought by his family while they wait for a specialist bed from statu-tory services. The voyager recently stopped being collapsible due to so much use. As a result, Evan couldn’t attend overnight respite. This had a big impact on his fam-ily. The money raised from RAG’s clothes event allowed Newlife to buy Evan a new Safespace voyager and he is now able to continue his overnight stays.

RAG’s fundraising efforts don’t stop there though since this se-mester also sees the introduction of an outrageous London Megaraid in aid of Dementia UK, on 27th February. This event will include a free overnight stay in London with accommodation and breakfast in-cluded. There are no set activities for Thursday so those attending are free to explore the city before returning for some fundraising in London on Friday. This is a public event and the committee will be joined by RAG committees from universities throughout the UK.

If you don’t fancy any of these events then you can let the com-mittee know what fundraising activities you would like to see in the future by sending a Facebook message to their ‘Derby Raise-andgive’ account, or by email to rag@udsu.org.uk.

The team shall also be recruit-ing for a new RAG committee over the next few months, ready for the 2015/16 academic year. If you want the opportunity to join a committee which is genuinely changing lives through fundraising

then look out for updates on RAG’s Facebook page and on the Students’ Union website at www.udsu.co.uk/rag.

Amy HornerRAG COMMITTEE CHAIR

Miriam KingRAG FINANCE REP

Frankie WalshRAG FUNDRAISING REP

Annette AbrahamRAG FUNDRAISING REP

OG ErhahonRAG VICE CHAIR

Lorna BuddRAG PROMOTIONS REP

Imogen HobsonRAG FUNDRAISING REP

Louise JakesRAG FUNDRAISING REP

Meet your 2015 RAG committee…

RAG so farWe’ve raised over £20,000 for charity through fundraising efforts

The RAG committee at the Macmillan Coffee Morning, Georgia Pulford

PAGE 11SOCIETIES

Join the CollectiveBy Stacey Murray Creative Arts Collective Society President

The Creative Arts Collective hosts Open Mic at Bar Number 5, via Stacey Murray

The Creative Arts Collective raises money for the Royal British Legion by hand-mak-ing crochet poppies, via Stacey Murray

The Creative Arts Collective had a fantastic first semester. As a so-ciety, we launched a successful Open Mic night at Bar Number 5 in town, tried our hand at the ukulele, raised money for charity, and ex-plored a new city on our weekend trip to York.

We have lots of events planned for this semester too, giving non-members plenty of time to find out more about our society and get involved with some of the projects we shall be running later in the year.

Open Mic Nights Every other Wednesday, following our mem-ber meet-up, we host an Open Mic night at Bar Number 5, just off of Friar Gate. This event is open to the public as well as students from the University of Derby, which makes it a great way for our society to get involved with the local community. Our Open Mic nights are an enjoy-able evening out since students can meet other musicians that play regularly in Derby. There is always a supportive and enthusiastic au-dience ready with a round of ap-plause.

We have seen some amazing new talent on the stage recently from members and non-members alike. Performers have used the space to experiment with new material. Some performers have formed impromptu collaborations with other musicians, whilst others have performed on stage for the very first time.

Our Open Mic nights sum up what we the Creative Arts Collec-tive Society stand for. As a society, we aim to bring people together to

partake in new activities, which al-low them to have a great time shar-ing their creativity with others.

Handmade Poppies Another project that deserves a special shout out is our fundraising pro-ject for The Royal British Legion. Gill Bowler, our Creative Skills Of-ficer led the project which involved making and selling unique, hand-crafted and crocheted poppies. We collaborated with the committee for the Disability History Month and helped to organise some of the activities that took place. We ran workshops to show both students and the public how to make the poppies. We also recently hosted a poetry evening to mark Remem-brance Sunday.

These events are all examples of how our society and its members have shared their skills and used creativity to make a difference in the community. It is projects like these that our society is here to support.

Get Involved! Do you have a talent you would like to share, or a project you want to get off the ground? Maybe you just like the idea of meeting more like-minded people in and around the university. We are a fun and social society. We are always look-ing for more students to get in-volved. For more information on our previous and current pro-jects, as well as upcoming social events, visit our Facebook page at /creativeartscollectivesociety, or email the committee at creative.soc@udsu.org.uk.

The Criminology Society aims to provide all stu-dents with an interest in criminology, regardless of whether they study it or not, with a social hub where they can socialise and network with peo-ple with similar interests and goals.

We want to give our members the oppor-tunity to learn about and get involved with organisations related to criminology, through volunteering opportunities, web-links, articles, guest speakers and training events. We hope that these links will help our members improve their CVs and overall employability. We also aim to help our members find their specific inter-ests and aid their studies (this applies to those studying criminology or related degrees).

For this reason we have planned several guest speakers for this semester. One of the most interesting guest lectures that we shall be holding will be from two researchers from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. During the lecture our speakers shall discuss the current state of the prison system in England and Wales, and the future of it.

We also have representatives from political parties coming to the University in March to host a ‘Question Time’ style debate over crime, criminal justice and the state. This event is open

to the public. Further information will be an-nounced once all details have been confirmed.

If you would like to find out more about the Criminology Society you can send them a Facebook message at their Facebook group page /groups/UDSU.Criminology.soc or leave a post. You can also email the committee at criminology.soc@udsu.org.uk for further in-formation.

An introduction to the Criminology Society

By Simon-Lewis Menzies President of the Criminology Society

We also have representatives from political parties coming to the University in March to host a ‘Question Time’ style debate over crime.

PAGE 12 SOCIETIES

The University of Derby’s Liberty Society was formed last year by a group of students based at the Ke-dleston Road campus. We act on behalf of the Liberty Organisation, based in London, which aims to promote and protect your human rights. In fact, the Liberty Organi-sation is responsible for the Hu-man Rights Act.

Our society was put together to help raise funds for this organisa-tion as they run simply through public funding and donations. As a new society we have had an amaz-ing response to our first year run-ning. We managed to raise £100 for the organisation in our first semes-ter.

This year’s committee includes Katie Payne (President), Georgina Worrall (Treasurer), Emily Heslop (Secretary) and Johnathan Banks (Social Secretary).

The Liberty Society has many upcoming events in the current semester which we hope will be-come as successful as the first. We will be holding several members meetings, as well as social and

fundraising events, with a helping hand from our sponsor Revolu-tion. These include selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a quiz night and two debates on 50:50 parliaments and the death penalty. So why not come along and voice your opin-ion? The current committee are happy to answer any questions and queries that you may have. We hope for the society to develop and grow next year.

Joining our society is a brilliant way to make new contacts, gain a new understanding on human rights and help support a char-ity which has made exceptional changes to the way in which we live.

If you would like any fur-ther information on the society, please visit our Facebook page /uodlibertysociety or contact one of our committee members.

For further information on the Liberty Organisation, please visit: liberty-human-rights.org.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Liberty SocietyBy Georgina Worrall Liberty Society Treasurer

The Liberty Society spread some love at Freshers’ Fair 2014, via Georgina Worrall

The Architectural Society are an innovative and ambitious academic society. As a society, we hold field trips, organise guest speakers and provide support for architectural students with any course related issues they may have. We also host a number of non-academic activi-ties such as social gatherings for both members and non-members. We are open to new recom-mendations from members and non-members alike.

The current committee includes Ka-Ming Chong (President), Peter Hooley (Secretary) and Winnie Ho (Treasurer).

We recently organised Studio Time which benefited architectural students since they were able to use a studio based classroom to enhance their existing projects and share their thoughts on these with one another.

We are also in the process of setting up a real life project with a client. The client is a current student at the University of Derby, who would like the society to help her develop one of her existing project ideas into realistic visuals.

As part of the project, all participants will be given a set design brief from the client to work to. The project is part of a competition and is open to members and non-members. The win-ning student design will be used and taken forward by the client. The project will allow all participants involved to use the skills they have learnt to interpret the context of the project brief and fulfil the client’s expectations.

For further information about the Architectural Society email us at architectural.soc@udsu.org.uk or you can visit our Facebook and Twitter pages facebook.com/UoDArchSoc and twitter.com/Uod_ArchSociety

An update from the Architectural Society

By Peter Hooley Architectural Society Secretary

Derby WorldwideMore than just a society

By Lukas Hosala Derby Worldwide Vice President

A group of Architectural Society members socialise, via Peter Hooley

University represents a small yet significant part of your life. You can act like a grown up, become more independent and gain new experi-ences.

Moving away from home for the first time and adapting to a new environment can be difficult, no matter what your age. Now imag-ine that you are an international student. Not only are you leaving home for the first time in your life, you may also be leaving your coun-try for the first time too. Many stu-dents at the University of Derby are internationals, which brings even more uniqueness to the colourful background already created in the city.

To make sure that you get the most of your time here at universi-ty, we advise you to join at least one society or sports club. It’s a great way of getting to know new people and you may find that more doors open for you.

Derby Worldwide is one society that you should consider joining. We have hundreds of new and ex-citing things planned for this se-mester that you can be a part of. As a society, we challenge all inter-national and UK students to live their lives to the fullest, to socialise on many different levels, try new things, healing the homesickness by getting you to meet new people from across the globe.

We hold many ‘Give It A Go’ events throughout the year includ-

ing movie nights, weekly meetings, Open Mic nights and games nights (where we all discover our geeky side, flexibility and leadership skills).

We also hold trips to different cities so you can discover the beau-ty of the UK and Europe. As a so-ciety we’re proud to announce that we will be going to Dublin at the end of the year. We shall be leaving Derby on 28th March and return-ing on 30th March. We will be post-ing more details on our Facebook page soon.

Derby Worldwide offers lan-guage courses to all students with-in the university. Following the success of our ‘Learn a language’ event during the last RAG week, we are now planning longer courses where you can learn a language with a native speaker. More details about these can be found on our Facebook page.

Now that you know all this we would like to challenge you to join our society. You will meet new and amazing people from all over the world, all coming from a different culture and gain an understand-ing of how others live. You will be able to practice your English, build your confidence and learn a new language.

PAGE 13SPORTS

Welcome back! The New Year has brought a lot of change for our student media with our brand new look and name, but don’t fear Team Derby is staying exactly the same. We’re back for another ac-tion packed semester of Winning Wednesdays and Winning Week-ends.

Team Derby, as a whole, are currently sitting 59th in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sports) league. We have seen some truly outstanding performances this year from both players and supporters, with some teams go-ing unbeaten all season and look-ing hopeful for taking the league as their own. We’ve also witnessed some impressive socials and club events including the week long Snow Tour.

There are lots of games and events coming up this semester including Varsity on 25th March against rivals Northampton, and the infamous Sports Tour on 6th April. There are also the last games of the season, which will be huge for some of our teams. Finally, to finish off what has been a truly wonderful year so far, there are the Team Derby Sports Awards where all of our teams can celebrate their successes.

Every issue, from now until the end of the academic year, I’ll be taking updates from all of our Athletic Union clubs, to keep you informed on what is happening sports wise in and around the uni-versity.

If you’re new to Derby this Janu-ary or if you’re a current student who never got around to joining a sports club back in September, don’t worry as it’s not too late to do so. All of our clubs are always look-ing for new members. So whether you’re a pro or just want to try something new, make sure you go onto udsu.co.uk and check out the A-Z list of sports clubs. You might just find the perfect club for you.

Volleyball As one of three per-formance sports at the university, volleyball is enhancing its capa-bilities. The volleyball club were awarded ‘Best New Club of the Year’ at last year’s sports awards. The Men’s team have gotten through to the second round of the cup and are now facing Loughbor-ough University.

The Women’s team are also im-proving, signing new players from the January starters to strengthen the team, which seems to have worked to no end, resulting in their first win of the season against Loughborough University. The Team Derby performance pro-gramme is having a positive im-pact both physically and mentally on club members.

For more information on our vol-leyball club, please email the com-mittee at volleyball@udsu.org.uk.

Netball All four of the teams have come a long way since game-play began back in September. Both of our BUCS Teams currently

sit at third place in their leagues and our two development squads are putting in some fantastic per-formances in their games against local universities.

Netball aren’t just performing well as a team, we’re also perform-ing well as a club. We’ve held sever-al social events this academic year, including the highly successful Spookabout. This semester proves to be just as eventful as the last as we prepare for our next social, 50 Shades with Netball. The team are

also busy with some charity work. We will be completing a 5K Run and Spinathon very soon.

For more information on our netball club and how to join, please email the committee at netball@udsu.co.uk.

Table Tennis After losing their first game of the season, our table tennis club have stormed on to win every game since. Not only do they now sit second in the league; they are also in the quarter finals of the cup. There are two big games coming up; the first of which will decide who will take second place in the league, and the second of which is the quarter final of the Midlands Cup. The team are cur-rently training hard for those BUCS points. The Women’s team have played half of their fixtures to date, putting in a good fight but unfor-tunately not coming home with a win.

Squash Our squash club plays in the top division in the Midlands. They have faced fierce competi-tion so far. Despite having incurred a few injuries for some of the first team players, the team battled through their matches and went on to play against top England ranked players, such as Birming-ham University and Warwick Uni-versity. Unfortunately the team have only come out with 4 points so far. They’ve had some new re-cruits this year from members of the other sports teams, including both the American Football and Table Tennis clubs, and our very own AU President, Liam Moloney.

If you're interested in join-ing our banterful squash club, just email the committee at squash@udsu.org.uk.

Lacrosse Lacrosse needs you! Do you want to learn a new sport or be a part of a great social club? Both the Men’s and Women’s clubs

are recruiting new members for only £10. Training is held on the 3G pitch on Tuesday nights from 6.00 until 7.30pm. The team are coached by an ex England player.

Badminton Our badminton club have had a great first semester, re-cruiting a fantastic group of new members. It’s not too late to join the club. The main club nights are on Thursdays from 7.30-10.00pm and Sundays from 1.00-5.00pm. All abilities are welcome and all

equipment is provided if you need it. The team are currently planning an event at walkabout in collabora-tion with Team Derby Rowing.

Braves The Braves are looking to finish the season strong with a weekend trip away to Stirling. This will have taken place on 14th February. The final match against Sheffield University will take place at home on 22nd February. The team are grateful for any support offered. Having already beaten Sheffield earlier on this season, our Braves are hoping to end the year on a high.

Men’s Hockey The Men's hockey team have had a tough first half of the season, only picking up three points from their first five fixtures

which included defeats by a one goal deficit to both Nottingham University and Nottingham Trent University. The aim for the team now is to secure their place in the fourth tier of the BUCS league for next season. If you are interested in training and competing, email Social Secretary, Isaac Raynor at ike.raynor@gmail.com.

On 19th February the team will have staged their second Thursday night event, Noah's Ark. After the hugely successful Minion's Event in October they expect Noah's Ark to be even bigger and better. Don't miss out on a fantastic night out at Walkabout with all of your friends.

Trampolining Trampolining has officially arrived at the University! The Phoenix Trampolining club are in their first official year and al-ready they have come a long way. The team held two ‘Give It a Go’ days this year. Both of these were a great success and allowed the team to make connections with local clubs and universities.

The team have been invited to an unofficial varsity with Notting-ham Trent University in March. Having seen that Phoenix Trampo-lining will continue to be a success, the AU has provided the club with funding to help them develop.

The building of the new sports centre means that trampolines will be available on site next year. This will allow the club to increase the number of training sessions that they currently run and accommo-date more people. This is a huge step forward for the club and will hopefully see it increase in size and popularity. With the success they have already had and the interest shown, they plan on having a part-ner club at the University’s Buxton campus next year. There is also the possibility of representation at BUCS.

For further information on the trampolining club and their upcoming events visit: facebook.com/UODtrampolining or follow them on Instagram @derbyunitrampolining.

Rugby Union This year has been a good year for the Rugby Union. They held a successful first event in October (Fathers and Sons). Both teams have put in some excellent performances and our BUCS squad are currently on a three win streak. The Union have many events planned for this semester including the best barn-themed event of the year and leg waxing for charity. It’s not too late to join the club, just email rugby.union@udsu.org.uk for more information.

Dance Derby Dance Team (DDT) has no intentions of slow-ing down. With several event per-formances already done and two major upcoming competitions to prepare for, DDT is having one of the busiest years yet. The team welcomed many new members last semester but are always on the lookout for more. Anyone is wel-come to join the team or attend one of their ‘Give It a Go’ sessions. No previous experience is neces-sary. Some of our members have danced for years and others are complete novices.

For more information and up-coming events, visit DDT’s Face-book or Twitter pages by search-ing for Derby Dance Team. You can also find updates from the team on their official website at derbydanceteam.webs.com.

The Athletic UnionUpdate from the clubs of the Athletic Union

By Clodagh Churm The Phantom Sports Sub-editor

Every issue, from now until the end of the academic year, I’ll be taking updates from all of our Athletic Union clubs, to keep you in-formed on what is happening sports wise in and around the university.

Women’s Football celebrate during at match on the 3G Pitch, University of Derby

PAGE 14 SPORTS

Team Derby Ravens Cheerleading SquadDon’t believe in stereotypes!

By Abby Wilson Ravens Cheerleading Secretary

Too often we are told Cheerlead-ing isn’t a sport. A sad but true fact. We would beg to differ. Why should gymnastics and weight-lifting be considered sports but not cheerleading? Why is it that when we combine the two and add some dance, these sports suddenly become less valued?

If you think lifting weights is easy, try lifting a person and catching them. We train three times a week all year round in preparation for two and a half minutes on a blue sprung floor. Our team has suf-fered and succeeded through sprained wrists, broken ankles, multiple black eyes and bust lips, but there we stand, a year of practice behind us, ready to perform. Can you imagine how hard it is to stay in the air with lights blinding you and adrena-line coursing through your body?

We aren’t the made up, short skirt, glit-tery haired people you think we are. Come see us in training and you’ll find us in our sweats with no make-up on, adding bruises to our ever growing collections. On competition day we will be on the coach in pyjamas and onesies only to get changed into kit at last minute.

We work hard. We are unlike any oth-er University Cheer Squad as we do not tryout for our team. Team Derby believe in ‘sport for all’ and anyone is welcome to join our team. This means we have to work twice as hard to beat those teams. And we do. This is evidenced by our grow-ing collection of trophies.

The common stereotype of Cheerlead-ers isn’t a good one. We are constantly fighting against it. This is more than a team, it is a family. Every day we trust each other with our lives. These stunts are dan-gerous. But we do all this, we tumble and we jump. We throw our friends five meters in the air and we catch them. We train all year for the most physically demanding 150 seconds we can give. And we do it all with a smile.

We will soon be travelling to Birming-ham for our first national competition where we will be entering four divisions. On 11th February we would have held our first showcase in the Kirtley Hall, at the University’s Kedleston Road site. We will have completed all of our routines for the first time in front of an audience. We look forward to showing you what we can do over the coming year. But don’t stereotype us until you’ve seen us perform!

We are the Athletic Union’s American Football Club. Regard-less of whether you have played American Football before or not, we could be the team for you. You don’t need any prior experience or knowledge of the sport to join the Braves. Our amazing coaches will soon have you playing kitted ball with the rest of the team.

As a club, we have had numerous players go on to play for Great Britain. We also have players playing semi-profession-ally in Germany for the Wernigerode Mountain Tigers. These include; Rob Urquhart (Defensive Lineman), Antony Thom-as Black (Offensive Lineman) and Marcus Francis (Running back and Quarter Back).

We have excelled not just in the Men’s division, but during the entire 2013/14 season with huge efforts from the coach-ing staff. We created a ladies team who compete in both flag and kitted tournaments. Under Head Women’s Coach, Ga-reth Ellison, the ladies have competed in the 5v5 Opal flag series, in which they came 5th, and in the 5v5 Sapphire con-tact series, in which they came 4th. Four of the ladies will now go on to play in the 11v11 Diamond Series, the first Women’s 11v11 game in the UK.

Three of the Women’s American Football players; Danielle Raymont, Sam Hand and Verity Snell, along with Coaches Gareth Ellison and Jon Maisey, were selected to play for Great Britain in the first International game. This took place in September in Stockholm, Sweden.

The 2014/15 season is presenting new challenges and op-portunities for us, such as the creation of the first BUCS Pre-mier League. The best teams in the country will play a total of eight games (four home and four away). We will be com-

peting against national champions from previous years. This is one of the many reasons why you should join the Derby Braves because “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

We are a massive team off the pitch and have one of the biggest names at the University. As a club, we hold lots of socials and events throughout the year. We have three main social events throughout the year; Bedrock Party, Life’s A Beach and The Super Bowl Party. We also go on nights out with other clubs in the Athletic Union, such as Netball and Cheerleading.

We host welcome parties in September and January for new members to give them a chance to meet current and former players. Most of our events are held at Walkabout in town.

We usually train between two and three times a week depending on fixtures, with classroom sessions, fitness, strength and conditioning training, and full kitted team fix-tures.

We have had new coaches join the club this season. In ad-dition to the coaches we had from last season, we now have coaches with ex-Braves; ex-GFL and ex-American College football experience. These new additions have provided us with the strongest group of coaching staff we have ever had.

Along with the scheduled team training sessions, play-ers do their own training over the summer between seasons. Prior to the 2014/15 season a group of players started the hashtag on Facebook #100daystobraves, posting videos and pictures of their training efforts. You can follow this on Face-book, or join the team and post your own.

The remaining fixtures for this yearSunday 22nd February - Sheffield Sabres Home

We haven’t had an ideal start to the season; however our losses have given us the drive to accept that we are the underdogs. Our results from the 2014/15 season are as follows:Derby Braves 2 – Stirling Clansmen 19Derby Braves 28 – Sheffield Sabres 12Derby Braves 10 – Loughborough Students 26Derby Braves 0 – Durham Saints 44Derby Braves 11 – Durham Saints 32

With three games ahead of us, we still have a lot left to play for. We look forward to seeing you on the side line either as a Brave or as one of our supporters.

We are The Derby Braves

By Dan Smith Men’s American Football Vice President

The Men’s and Women’s American

Football Teams show what they’re

made of, University

of Derby

We are a massive team off the pitch and have one of the biggest names at the University

PAGE 15SPORTS

Throughout the winter months, our girls have been enjoying a well-deserved rest and recuperation, after a busy and successful first term. From charity tournaments to climbing Kilimanjaro (in a fash-ion), the Women’s Netball Club had a hectic first term but we are excit-ed to take on 2015.

And now the time is upon us! It’s time for our girls to come back rar-ing and ready. We are prepared to work harder than ever for the new season ahead of us. We’ve got plen-ty going on this year. I speak for all our girls when I say that we have a very exciting year ahead of us.

On 28th January we had our first home team game against Staf-fordshire 1st Team. Having a home game was a great boost for us as we did not get many home games in the last season. It certainly paid off as we won the game 26-24.

As well as on court activities, we will be partaking in plenty of other events this semester. Our second annual event is coming up soon and in February we shall be hold-ing ‘50 Shades with Netball’. This will be our debut event and we hope for as much support as possi-

ble from other clubs, societies and students. It will certainly be a night to remember. We’ve got games and plenty of other ideas lined up to keep you entertained. Further de-tails will be revealed nearer to the event.

Along with this, we have plenty of charity events coming up. As a club, we are really excited to par-take in our annual Spinathon. Here, our girls will be peddling for a whole 24 hours to raise money for charity.

In the mean-time, we are look-ing forward to welcoming all Janu-ary starters and encourage them to come and join the Netball family. There are plenty of opportunities for joining the team and playing competitive games. There are also lots of opportunities for you to get involved in that are not just on the court.

Our training sessions take place on Tuesdays from 5:30-7pm and Thursdays from 4-5:30pm. We look forward to welcoming you and hope for lots of support through-out 2015. Let’s have another crack-ing year!

Netball Ladiesready to bring on 2015

By Becky Bargh Women’s Netball Secretary

Archery - the ‘Sport for All’

We’re in Oar of Yasmin earning 6 BUCS Points in Rowing towards our Top 50 target!

SERIOUS ABOUT SPORT

Help the University of Derby achieve a BUCS top 50 place. Contact

anton.orlandi@udsu.co.uk for more information

How can you help us?

Happy New Year from all of the Athletic Union Archery Club! As it’s the 10th anniversary of our club this year, we thought we would take the opportunity to tell you about some of our recent achieve-ments and upcoming events. We know archery isn’t one of the most mainstream sports here at the Uni-versity of Derby, so we’ve decided to give you a little summary as to what our club is all about.

Modern target archery is known worldwide as being one of the most accessible sports. It is often described as ‘the sport for all’. Our club reflects this by being one of the largest clubs within the Athletic Union.

The club consists of archers of all levels of ability and experi-ence. Some of our members have coached whilst others are learning to become coaches. Members can shoot recreationally and competi-tively.

We compete in both the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) and our own local league, BUTTS (named after the Birming-ham University Toxophily and Toucan Society), in a range of bow styles, from Olympic style recurve bows to the traditional English longbows you see in films. During most of the year, and in the major-ity of our competitive events, we shoot indoor Portsmouth rounds in the sports hall.

A Portsmouth round is essen-tially five dozen arrows shot three at a time at a 60cm target face from 20 yards. The minimum score for each arrow (assuming it isn’t a

miss) is one and the maximum is ten.

The scores from each group of three arrows (called an end) are totalled up to give you your overall score. The number of hits and tens is also recorded, as these can be used in the event of a tie.

During the warmer months (usually from late March onwards), we shoot a wider range of distanc-es on Sturgess field just behind the Markeaton Street campus.

Last year was the most success-ful year in the history of the club.

Both our experienced and novice recurve teams came 1st place in the BUTTS league (our local mid-lands league consisting of Derby, Nottingham University, Notting-ham Trent University, Loughbor-ough University, Birmingham University, Warwick University, the University of Oxford and the Uni-versity of Cambridge). The shields were displayed proudly in the Stu-dents’ Union. We also had good re-sults in the BUCS Indoor Champi-onships. 46 universities competed in the championships and some of our more experienced members came 7th. Our novice team also

performed extremely well, receiv-ing 2nd place out of 39. We won in-dividual medals in both the expe-rienced gents’ longbow and novice gents’ barebow.

February is set to be a busy month for us with our home leg of the BUTTS league in the first week-end of the month and BUCS In-door Championships on 7th Feb-ruary. The final two weekends of the month shall be taken up by our final BUTTS leg in Cambridge and the BUTTS Indoor Championship in Birmingham. From 14th to 15th

March we will proudly be hosting the Derbyshire County Archery As-sociation (DCAA) Indoor Champi-onships for the second year.

If you’ve read this far, the chanc-es are we’ve made you curious to know more about archery. So why not give it a try? Throughout March we will be running our second and final beginners course of the year alongside our usual weekend ses-sions in the sports hall at the Uni-versity’s Kedleston Road site.

If you’re interested in giving ar-chery a try, please email the com-mittee at archery@udsu.org.uk.

Modern target archery is known worldwide as being one of the most accessible sports. It is often described as ‘the sport for all’

Our training ses-sions take place on Tuesdays from 5:30-7pm and Thursdays from 4-5:30pm. We look forward to wel-coming you and hope for lots of support throughout 2015

PAGE 16 SPORTS

By Hollie Thacker Derby Dance Team Vice President

After the long Christmas break, Derby Dance Team (DDT) were straight back into rehearsals as the countdown begins for Manchester and Loughborough Dance Com-petitions, as well as other perfor-mances including the recent event, ‘Take Me Out’.

All the team members involved in the routines for the Manchester and Loughborough Dance Compe-titions have worked solidly to make these routines better than ever, and with over 30 dancers at each competition, they are sure to be amazing weekends. The Manches-ter Competition will have takeen place on Saturday 14th February, with DDT competing in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop and the Wildcard cat-egory. We performed our routine from ‘Spookabout’ in the Wildcard category. We are hoping that Man-chester will set us in good stead for Loughborough, the biggest inter-university dance competition in the country. Here we will be enter-ing Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contempo-rary and Hip Hop. We will also be looking to reclaim the Team Spirit award.

Our members have worked hard towards these competitions, and with many of them being new members, we are very proud of their commitment. We would also like to thank our choreographers. This year we have a mix of team members and external choreogra-phers, all working towards giving DDT the best chance of bringing home the trophies. If you are in-terested in coming along to either of these competitions to support DDT, please do not hesitate to contact us as supporter tickets are available for both events.

We are also preparing to repeat last year’s fundraising event, ‘the 24 Hour Danceathon’ which we raised around £360 from. Last year the event was held the week before Loughborough Dance Competi-tion. This gave us a great opportu-

nity to practise all of our routines. Dates for this event will be con-firmed soon, so make sure you look out for the posters and come and join us in the atrium at Kedleston Road to show your support.

We are now starting to think about our end of year showcase where all of our members, their friends and families get the oppor-tunity to come and see all of our event performances and competi-tion routines. This is a great event where all supports of DDT come together for one final performance before the summer. We will also see some of our former members return for the showcase. Further information will be available soon as will tickets.

As a club, we are always wel-come to new members. There are still classes to attend for anyone

looking to join, especially Janu-ary starters. If you are interested in joining our team or would sim-ply like to come and give dance a go, please search for Derby Dance Team on Facebook or Twitter. You can send the committee a message to find out about training times. Anyone is welcome regardless of whether they have prior dance ex-perience or not.

Derby Dance TeamReady to take the stage!

We are now starting to think about our end of year show-case where all of our mem-bers, their friends and fami-lies get the opportunity to come and see all of our event performances and competi-tion routines

Derby Dance Team’s annual showcase 2012, Ben Martin

With the University of Derby Rug-by Union Club sitting comfortably in 3rd place in their league, we’re going into the second half of the season with high hopes. The Brush signed off for Christmas with two comfortable wins, beating the University of Leicester 19-5, and University of Northampton 27-0. Squad members utilised the break to help plan the next social night and charity event coming up in the near future, as well as strengthen-ing their links with local teams, including both the Derby RFC and Belper RFC. We’ve been putting in good performances and this has been resulting in positive results on the score board and in terms of each of the players own personal development.

With successful training ses-sions after Christmas in the Baltic Winter weather, the team prepared for the first away game back against Coventry University. As a squad, we replicated our pre-Christmas winning streak and beat our oppo-

nents with a healthy 41-0 win. Af-ter this, we feel more than ready to tackle the rest of the season.

Future home fixtures will be against Nottingham Trent Univer-sity Men’s 3rd and University of East Anglia 1sts. These games will hopefully be organised for a later kick off time to allow supporters to come and watch The Brush at Der-by Rugby club on Haslams Lane. Any support is much appreciated and really does help us secure these much needed wins.

Our Women’s team are con-tinuing to get an influx of players, strengthening the depth of their squad and they’re now tied with Derby Vipers, as well as fixtures, for getting regular games for the uni-versity.

Any new students interested in taking up Rugby Union, should contact the teams through their so-cial media accounts @UDRFC1987 and @udwrfc

Catching Up with the Brush

By Sam Powell Men’s Rugby Union PR Rep

For more information please call:

01332 591790E-mail: teamderbyfitness@derby.ac.ukwww.teamderbyfitness.com

Team Derby Fitness, Nuffield Health, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB

An excellent fitness facility available to staff, students and graduates of the University of Derby.

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:

• Gym Induction

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• Health MOT*

• Comprehensive Timetable of Studio Classes**

• Use of the Outdoor Tennis Courts (Plus One Free UoD Guest)

* Health MOT tests include Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist:Hip Ratio (WHR), Blood Pressure, VO2 Max, Resting Heart Rate, Blood Glucose and Total Cholesterol.

** Classes are subject to room availability and a minimum of 4 participants.

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OPENING HOURS:September - May

(not inc. December)Weekdays: 06:30 - 21:00Weekends: 09:00 - 17:00

December and June - AugustWeekdays: 06:30 - 20:00Weekends: 09:00 - 13:00

PAGE 17SPORTS

We are the Athletic Union’s vol-leyball club. We provide a fun and informative place for serious com-petitive volleyball players to learn volleyball skills, gain experience to become stronger players and de-velop a life-long love of the game.

We have an energetic and highly skilled coach. We feel there is no better balance than Darkstar. Join-ing Darkstar could help you im-prove your communication skills, allowing you to develop in other areas of your life.

Working out on your own can get dull. Believe it or not, volleyball involves a lot of cardio. Darkstar has a team of dedicated members. Our women's team won the league last season whilst our men's team came second. This year, after a

series of wins, we hope our men's team will win their league. Our women's team are starting anew this year. This semester we are on a mission to prove ourselves in the BUCS competition.

Our team training sessions take place on Tuesdays for both men and women. The women’s train-ing sessions are at 7pm and the men’s training sessions are at 9pm. On Sundays we hold recreation-al sessions. These sessions start

at 5.30pm and are open to both members and non-members for £1 on the day. Within these ses-sions there are opportunities to be invited to try out for the team. All training sessions take place at the Sports Hall at the Kedleston Road site.

Join us today and add value to your life. The word is still: Play! De-velop! And Compete!

Darkstar Volleyball

This year the tennis club has taken a new look in getting more peo-ple that don’t think they are at the standard of the BUCS squad to play in matches. We have done this by entering teams into the Derby Winter League, which is played at Derby Tennis Centre through-out the week. All games start at 8:30pm. We have three teams in the leagues; one Men’s, one Ladies and

one mixed. Out of all the members in the club we have had sixteen people play matches across all for-mats that we offer. The Men’s team have played three matches to date, winning two and drawing one. This has left them top of the table with only three more matches to play.

The biggest achievement for the club this academic year has been having our first ever ladies tennis team play matches. They too have played three games to date, two of which they drew and one of which they lost. As a team, they are show-ing steps in the right direction to get a Ladies BUCS squad for the University. The mixed team have played two games, both of which they drew. As a team, they are

showing consistency. All of these games have been a great success. As a club, we are being competitive on all fronts in all the matches.

This year we are part of the Derbyshire LTA. This has given us extra credit in the whole of Derby-shire as all the clubs in the county are pleased to see university stu-dents playing the game and help-ing Derbyshire tennis become stronger. We have been invited to the Derbyshire LTA awards night in March at the iPro stadium. Six-teen of our members will be going to this event. We have two tables booked at the awards night. Any spare spaces will be offered to non-members.

We have also been nominated for ‘Club of the year’ in the Der-byshire LTA awards. This is a great accomplishment for the club, hav-ing only just joined the Derbyshire section.

We hold two training sessions a week which take place on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5-7pm. Our Monday training sessions take place on the courts at the Kedles-ton Road site. Our Tuesday train-ing sessions are led by level three Coach Katy Wilson, who is also a county player for Derbyshire. These sessions take place at a lo-cal club called Woodlands Tennis Club.

Anyone who is interested in joining the club, or who simply wants to try a new sport should email tennis@udsu.co.uk.

The Tennis ClubBy Alex Roome Tennis Club President

We have also been nominat-ed for ‘Club of the year’ in the Derbyshire LTA awards

PAGE 18 SPORTS

Women’s Netball would like to of-ficially present their brand new event‘50 Shades with Netball’. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner we couldn’t have thought of a more appropriate theme than for everyone to get dressed in their best and join the Netball girls for

what was a sensational night. We had plenty of exciting props that made it a night to remember. With everything Valentines and 50 shades themed, the evening defi-nitely did not disappoint.

This event raised money for two important charities, Coppafeel and Rethink Mental Illness. Coppafeel raises awareness for early breast

cancer detection whilst Rethink Mental Illness aims to provide sup-port and advice to all those who suffer from a mental health con-dition, as well as their families, so that they are able to cope. We will be donating a third of our takings to Rethink Mental Illness.

These charities are fantastic in the work that they do and we ap-preciate all the support offered with this event. Even if you didn’t attend the event, any donations that you are able to give to these incredible charities would make a significant difference to their causes.

50 Shades with Netball

By Rebecca Bargh Netball Secretary

Derby County Transfer Roundup

Snowsports does tour

By Jasmine Hammonds Snowsports President

By Clodagh Churm Netball President

As you all know us Netballers like to think we’re a very tough bunch! We have decided to put that theory to the test and get involved in one of our biggest challenges yet.

As a club we will be partaking in the Brit-ish Military Fitness’s Major Series Run. This is no simple 5k run. This is the ultimate test, an assault course that is set to challenge even the fittest of participants. As well as proving our fit-ness levels, we will be pushing ourselves to the limit for what we believe to be an extremely worthy cause. We will be fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust. This charity not only does phenomenal work for teenagers and chil-

dren that are suffering with cancer; but also helps to provide support for their families who will be battling their illness with them.

Cancer has affected many families includ-ing those of some of the girls in our club. As a club we feel very privileged to be fundraising for such a worthy charity and we encourage any-one that would like to make a donation to do so. Any donation, big or small, will always make a difference.

So let’s see how tough we actual-ly are and take this challenge head on. You can like our page on Facebook at UOD Netball Club and follow us on Twitter at @TEAMDERBY UDNC. To make a donation email me at clodagh-daisy@hotmail.co.uk.

Look out for our video blog that will be track-ing our progress in training for the challenge!

Netball Club takes on ‘Major Series Run’ to help raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust

Tour blues have well and truly hit the members of BOSS’D, the Athletic Union’s Snowsports Club after their return from what can only be described as an unforgettable week at Rise Fes-tival in the French resort of Les Deux Alpes.

The group of 48 set of on their journey on Friday 12th December. After news of a signifi-cant lack of snow in many of the French ski re-sorts, it’s safe to say everyone was on the edge of their seats throughout the entire 20 hour long journey to the resort. Upon arrival late Satur-day evening, the group settled into their rooms, eager to hit the first lifts the following morning. Up bright and early, the groups awoke to breath taking views of the French mountains and with the sun shining, headed out for their first day on the slopes.

With its extensive array of ski runs, 3,000m high glacier and over 225km of skiable runs, Les Deux Alpes did not disappoint, catering for skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels. The group spent their following days shredding the piste and hitting the après bars, and their evenings partying to the likes of Clean Bandit,

Hannah Wants, DJ EZ, Redlight and many other incredible DJs. Despite a few minor injuries, everyone who headed out to Rise Festival had an incredible time and the French resorts have not heard the last of Derby Snow Sports.

A big thank-you goes out to Wasteland Ski for organising our trip, our rep Gilmour, the whole of the BOSS’D committee and everyone who joined us on our trip! Look out for our tour vid-eo which we will be uploading to our Facebook page Boss’d Snowsports Derby very soon.

For more information about the club email the committee at bossderby@hotmail.co.uk.

The Snowsports club pose outside the Kedlestron Road Site to advertise the Rise Festival, via BOSS’D

the French resorts have not heard the last of Derby Snow Sports

This event raised money for two important chari-ties, Coppafeel and Rethink Mental Illness

udsu.co.uk/sports

By Ben Waldron BA Hons Journalism

And so shuts the January transfer window, in which Steve McClaren opted to significantly strengthen the Derby County side, with no less than four new players joining the club.

The first piece of business saw experienced English striker, Dar-ren Bent join the club from Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season. Bent adds Derby onto a list of Championship clubs, which he has represented, including Bright-on and Ipswich Town. He arrives with bags of experience, after play-ing for prestigious, Premier league clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Sunderland; the later of which being where he arguably made a name for himself, scoring 32 Premier league goals in just 58 games. Bent has already been able to demonstrate his attacking prow-ess to the ‘Rams’ faithful, scoring the opening goal in Derby’s 2-0 victory over Chesterfield, as well as scoring a brace against Blackburn.

On the 16th January, Derby an-nounced the ambitious signing of Spanish centre half, Raul Al-bentosa. He joined the club from La Liga side, Eibar from around £500,000 on a two-and-a-half year contract. Standing at a massive 6ft 4in, Albentosa brings physical-ity and height to Derby’s backline.

His experience in helping Elbar to promotion into La Liga last season will show a sign of intention to fans of Derby County, as they attempt to achieve similar success, in order to earn promotion into the Premier League.

Transfer deadline day saw the acquisition of a further two play-ers, with both Jesse Lingard and Thomas Ince, of Manchester Unit-ed and Hull City respectively, join-ing on loan until the end of the season.

Lingard has impressed with his performances in the Champion-ship in his two previous loans at Brighton and Birmingham City, even earning himself his first start for Manchester United against Swansea, back in August. He joins the club to add some competition to the likes of Will Hughes, Jeff Hendrick and Craig Bryson in the advanced slot in midfield.

Thomas Ince returns to the championship following a difficult couple of seasons, where he failed to establish himself in the Premier league at clubs, Crystal Palace and Hull City. However, McClaren will hope Ince can replicate his form for Blackpool, in which he scored 31 goals in 86 appearances for the ‘Seasiders’.

Derby rarely improve their squad during the Winter period, but will be hoping these additions will improve their chances of pro-motion into the Premier League, for next season.

PAGE 19SPORTS

A face of concentration from James, Red Square Photography

It’s 6.30am when the alarm goes off on another Saturday morning. The day has just started, and yet for many the night before has only just ended. A regular weekend ritual for members of the rowing team, whatever the weather; rain, snow or even occasionally sunshine, they drag their sleepy bodies down to the rowing club for another gru-elling session. This is the reality of winter training, a special time of year where you have to push yourself to be the best you can be, and to test yourself against others ahead of the summer racing sea-son.

But how have our squads been doing during winter training? It has been a busy few months, with a lot of kilometres put in on the river. Back at the start of October we looked at recruiting new mem-bers into the squad by running daily learn to row courses over two weeks. This enabled us to replenish the numbers in the Novice Squads.

In November, our President Theo Carter-Leay and Senior Cap-tain Graham Farr along with James Bennett and Christopher Booth (all part of the senior men), rowed as part of two Derby City RC fours at

the Fullers Fours Head, a 4¼ mile (6.8km) race over the same course as the Oxford/Cambridge boat race. They finished well against crews from the UK and abroad, placing 93rd and 192nd out of around 400 crews.

The rest of November was marred with bad weather and a series of cancelled races due to flooding. But in early December, the Novice Squads, Senior Women, Graham and two special rugby league guests in the form of Danny Halton and Sam Harby, com-peted at the regional BUCS Indoor Row-ing Championships, in Nottingham. All of them fared well with the Novices posting good enough times to win in most other re-gions, but up against the likes of Loughbor-ough and Nottingham we finished middle of the pack. Despite being ill, BUCS individual Yasmin Marks finished first in the lightweight category and picked up 6 points overall for the University.

In Mid-December Derby City RC held its first head race on the river. It was a great event and run with the help of the university students, with members baking cakes, mar-shalling and making up the entire timing team for the event. Several university crews raced including Laura Stanley and our Secretary Louise Guest, in the double scull and Graham in his single scull. It was a great way to round off the se-mester before the Christmas break.

Since returning to university in this New Year, the squads have been training hard and looking for-ward to the summer regatta season with high hopes of some good re-sults in the coming months. We are planning to run a 24 hour row on rowing machines to raise money for RAG (Raise and Give). We shall also be running an event called ‘Shipwrecked’ with the badminton club, so get your ‘Wilsons’ ready.

If you are interested in join-ing the team please email Novice Captain Josh at novicecaptainstd-row@gmail.com.

The Novice Captain’s View from the River

By Joshua Rhodes-Hook Rowing Novice Captain

RugbyNot just a man’s sport!

By Neret Navarro Women’s Rugby Treasurer

Despite being ill, BUCS individual Yasmin Marks finished first in the lightweight category and picked up 6 points overall for the University.

An overly excited Laura ahead of her race next to a not so excited Senior Captain Graham, via Rowing Club

Rugby is a sport for everyone. Although many people are frightened by the idea of playing a contact sport, rugby is not as terrifying as may seem.

Training is made for the team by the team. This means that not only will it help you im-prove your skills, it’s a laugh too. Through play-ing rugby, you will improve your physical fitness and learn important skills such as teamwork, communication, concentration and confi-dence. These are skills needed not only on the pitch but also in your university life.

Rugby is a disciplined sport which requires dedication. Foul play and dirty tactics are not tolerated, meaning that even though it involves contact it is a safe and skilled game. You will im-mediately notice how well your body reacts to the exercise and how great you feel after train-ing. The relationships that you build with your team mates in a rugby club are like no other and you will be welcome at any rugby club wherever you are.

A common misconception about rugby is that you need to have a certain body type in or-der to play. This is false. Anyone can play rugby; tall, short, fast or slow, it doesn't matter! Every-one is capable of making tackles and receiving them in the right way. That is something you will learn as soon as you get onto the pitch and start training.

Another common misconception is that rugby is a man’s sport. This summer England’s Women’s team won the world cup and because of this, women’s rugby has become more popu-lar proving that it’s not just a sport for men. We as a university team fully intend on reinforcing the trend. Sports are genderless and anyone should be able to play any sport they want. Rugby is no exception, so why not come along to one of our training sessions.

We train once a week on Wednesdays at Der-by Rugby Club with a coach who is always will-ing to help us improve our skills and boost our self-confidence, which it isn't just important on the pitch but also in everyday life situations. The coach helps us improve our gameplay and fitness. Once you start playing the game, you will feel incredible.

As a club we go out most Wednesday nights and all the fun we have on the pitch continues in some of the bars and clubs here in Derby. We are in full support of all the other sports teams representing Team Derby and hold regular Ath-letic Union socials. Next April we will be going on tour for a week to Spain. We will be playing rugby with other universities.

Since we are a brand new club we are not currently playing BUCS fixtures. We are having regular friendlies until everyone is confident enough to play BUCS next year.

If you are a more experienced player you can attend one of our training sessions and also play in the league for the Derby Vipers, who have regular Sunday fixtures.

Come and join us on Wednesdays at 6:30pm at Derby Rugby Club.

Why not give rugby a try? You never know, you may find your new passion.

Anyone can play rugby; tall, short, fast or slow, it doesn’t matter! Everyone is capable of making tackles and receiving them in the right way

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STUDENT LIVING DERBY. GET MORE. PRICE

FREEEEZEPRICES HELD AT

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HALLS*APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.DERBY.AC.UK/HALLSCALL 01332 594111OR IF YOU ALREADY LIVE IN HALLS SPEAK TO YOUR HALL MANAGER

*THIS OFFER DOES NOT APPLY TO PEAK COURT, FLAMSTEED COURT AND LAVERSTOKE COURT OR EN SUITE PLUS ROOMS AT SIR PETER HILTON COURT. SEE WEBSITE FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

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