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Students who have previously had accessibility issues, and are then unable to attend their lectures, have previously had to raise their accessibility issues with Student Services. Once the issue was raised, students then had to hope that the staff at Student Services would have time to fill the form out in time for the issue to be fixed before the next time they needed to get to a lecture in the same place.
SU Community Officer Sally Williamson has been working on implementing this system since the start of her term in office, regularly raising the issues of this during university meetings covering disability requirements.
In the initial phase of negotiations, the Department of Estates were worried about students abusing this flagging system and sending in an influx of complaints, and thus causing genuine complaints to be filtered out. They proposed that only students who were registered as disabled would have access to the service, but this idea was vetoed due to students not being obligated to disclose any disability they may have. This idea would also restrict people dealing with any temporary incapacitation, such as a broken leg. It was agreed that the flagging system would be available to all students, but strictly for accessibility issues.
Sally Williamson told bathimpact that: âItâs something that was raised in the student submission to the institutional review and it has been one of the SUâs Top Ten issues this year, so we are delighted to have made such solid progress in improving access to campus for all students with access issues.â
After agreement during the recent Council/Senate/Studentâs Union (CSSU) meeting, a trial version of the system will be in place by Christmas. During this trial period, the performance of the system will be constantly reassessed by both the University and the SU, and any required changes will be made. However, this should be seen as the start of a long term plan for an online mechanism for reporting accessibility issues. Â
10. If you have a ridiculously well-stocked fridge with ginger or coconut water then grab these bad boys and have them. If youâre HARDCORE, then eat that ginger whole. If youâre less cool and a bit of a sissy, then just grate a bit into your cup oâ tea and itâll relieve your nausea. Coconut water on the other hand will basically do the same thing as water and help hydrate your now sucked-to-the-bone-dry brain - but! It has loads of electrolytes in it, which, are, well, good for you and stuff.
9. Is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S?! Make sure to eat at least 20 bananas the day after a big night out. This way youâll stock up on the potassium and magnesium which can help reduce nausea, weakness and tiredness and can leave you feeling completely rejuvenated!Â
8. If you are feeling really motivated and are not dying in bed from the pain of a hangover or are a complete freak then go for a run. Even though the âsweat it outâ theory is a myth, doing exercise can release endorphins and make you feel better, just make sure you have water so you donât dehydrate yourself further.
7. Simply donât get out of bed. Sleep more. Sleep forever. Just think of a hangover as a big bully, ignore it, and itâll eventually get bored and leave you alone. Trust me on this one, itâs basically scientific fact and not something I just thought of. But seriously, just sleep it out.
6. Do you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain? Good. Then, if you have had too many of those delicious piña coladas the night before, help cure that horrendous hangover by getting caught in the rain, which in the UK is quite easy to do. Or, simply take a shower. Itâll make you feel fresh and less queasy and will hopefully let you wash off any guilt from the shenanigans you got up to the night before.
5. If youâre a complete baby and canât deal with your hang over and wonât stop whining then just take some pain killers. No one wants to hear your incessant bitching, youâre just annoying everyone. Just donât take Tylenol because that can cause liver damage, although, you might have already caused that with your binge drinking.
4. Avoid âThe Hair of the Dogâ, this weird Norwegian saying basically involves drinking more alcohol the morning after, but although it might help numb out the pain of the hangover, in the long run youâll be dealing with twice as much hangover-ness. Note: donât eat dog hair. I imagine that wonât help with a hangover.
3. Do you like your eggs sunny-side up? Scrambled? Boiled? Poached? Either way, anyway you want it â thatâs the way you need it. Eggs are almost the best cure for a hangover; eggs in their infinite-amazingness contain Cysteine which helps break down acetaldehyde, the yucky headache-causing chemical thatâs left over when the liver breaks down ethanol. So eat up!
2. Letâs talk about sex, baby. Letâs talk about you and me. Just do it. Although, it has been proven that sex canât actually get rid of a hangover, itâs a good way to pass the time and it makes you happy so, it must help in some way. Just careful with your motions, too much movement might just make you feel sicker.Â
1. Finally, the best cure for a hangover: water. It is as simple as downing that sweet H20 before you go to sleep and youâll find that your hangover will be greatly reduced the morning after. Letâs not forget that water, is, after all the elixir of life. So, drink up baby!
Bath student fashionistas were out in style on Monday 25th November, to celebrate all things student - drinking!
Hidden away from the common boozers of the city, a group of refined and stylish students drank the night away mastering the art of making the perfect cocktail. Already known for their array of tasty flavoured vodkas and delicious cocktails, Revolutions Bathâs expert mixologists imparted their cocktail mixing wisdom to those students who enjoy the finer things in life.
Who wants to be spotted downing ÂŁ1 shots at Spoons when one can be spied basking in the ambiance of cocktail luxury?
After being greeted in the private upstairs bar with a strawberry daiquiri welcome drink, the Revolutions team stepped behind the counter teaching participants, to great acclaim, on how to mix like professionals in a unique 90 minute master class.
Recreating 5 drinks in total, ranging from the Classic Mojito to the Porn Star Martini, inhibitions were left at the door as guests were transported to the magical era of 1920s America.
Daisy would have been proud as the fashion on show would rival that of one of Gatsbyâs infamous parties. Biteâs fashion reporters spotted Mulberry handbags, Alexander McQueen rings and art deco necklaces all channelling the ritzy theme of the evening demonstrating to society that fashion and alcohol can make an unlikely pair.
After 90 minutes of sumptuous drinking, devilish dancing and outfit ogling I think itâs safe to say - a little party never killed nobody!
To a lot of people, this means very little â itâs just a expression many people use to mean that something bothers them, or something is amusing to them but they want to state that they are laughing at it and not with it. When the word âgayâ is used like this, a lot of the time it is not meant in a homophobic way â but there are of course a lot of times when it is. We at bathimpact fully understand language and connotational change, and know that the way something is used may not actually correlate with its dictionary definition. In fact, the word âliterallyâ has not been used to add emphasis so much that it can also be used as the exact opposite of its definition, to mean âmetaphoricallyâ, but also to drive the point home. This much is true, and this is something we understand.
 It is, however, false equivalence to compare the use of the word âliterallyâ with a phrase like âthatâs so gayâ, and this is for a multitude of reasons. The first is that these words do not carry the same connotations, and their uses do not have the same weight. âLiterallyâ is a word that just tells the listeners in a conversation how accurate the story being told is. âGayâ, however, is an entire identity. To be gay â or any other alternative to heterosexual â is still a very contested thing for a lot of people. People are still persecuted for their sexuality, even put to death in a lot of countries. Some people have their wants and wishes deemed unacceptable because of something they have no control over. For some people, when they are gay, the simple knowledge of their identity - that they know who they are - is one of very few comforts. Even for people who are not in such a delicate position, being gay is still part of who they are, and they have the right to be proud of this irrespective of how vocal they may or may not be about it. To these people, to hear someone use the phrase âthatâs gayâ, regardless of the speakerâs intent can hit close to home for them in a very uncomfortable way.
 Many people hearing such phrases are not even gay themselves â they may be bisexual, or they may be expressing gender traits that others do not consider normal, and so they equate the negativity of âthatâs so gayâ with their own sexual differences. The listener may even be going through a questioning phase that will ultimately help them to define themselves and feel comfortable in their identities. The point is that, for anybody going through any of these things, the phrase âthatâs gayâ can be very hurtful. It can make them afraid to be honest about who they are, especially if they are already suffering. Used enough, it can make a person so afraid of giving themselves space to work out their own identity that they never do, which can lead to much greater problems later. It seems a bit melodramatic, but here at bathimpact we feel that words are powerful. Words affect people, or we wouldnât do what we do.
 The gay rights organisation Stonewall in particular feel that there is power in this phrase, and are calling for schools to tackle this use of the phrase to insult people after having found that 99 per cent of young lesbian, gay, and bisexual students hear this phrase directed towards them at school. Their eye-catching posters with the words âGay. Letâs get the meaning straight.â make quite a statement, and bathimpact are on their side. Homophobia is wrong at any stage of a personâs life, but especially for impressionable school pupils, who are trying to grow up and define themselves in this context, the effect can be even more detrimental. For the sake of others who may be affected, remember that your intent is irrelevant if it causes harm â think about how youâd be affected if an arbitrary part of yourself was thrown around as an insult.Â
Universities focus on research rather than teaching
Written by: Simon Rushton
A shift in focus for universities has seen current students receiving less contact time than previous generations of students, despite increased tuition fees and being instructed by the Government to âact as consumersâ. This shift in focus would seem to suggest a move away from teaching for undergraduates onto increased importance placed on research.
Universities Minister David Willetts has declared that this shift is not acceptable, and that there must be a âcultural changeâ within universities. This change would aim to switch the focus of academic staff back to teaching, and can be quantified by looking a governmental report from 1963. The report stated that on average 55 per cent of an academicâs time was devoted to education (be it teaching or marking), with the remaining 45 per cent spent on their individual research. Mr Willetts now estimates that the split is 60 per cent in favour of research.
This change in the priorities of lecturers' time has had a great affect on the undergraduate experience; according to a survey by Which? of 17,000 undergraduate students in 2012, it was found that average contact time was 13 hours and 42 minutes per week. The 'average student' also had to hand in one piece of assessed coursework every other week, in comparison with the results of the report from 1963 where a piece of assessed work needed to be handed in every week alongside an extra hour and six minutes of contact time per week. Another problem is that now over three quarters of students will only receive marks and written feedback, whereas the original report found that nearly two thirds of students received face to face feedback as well.Â
The Which? Survey also unearthed large discrepancies between contact time at different universities; for example, it was found that Maths students were receiving between 13 hours and 22 hours of contact time a week depending on which university they were attending. This is a fairly big difference.
In his speech, Mr Willetts also pointed out that there are large differences between the amount of time spent on research and teaching across the board; staff from the universities formed in 1992 from polytechnics tended to spend around 89 per cent of their time teaching. This would indicate that the more prestigious, older universities are spending less time on teaching then their newer counterparts, a fact which may influence the choice that new students have to make when they come to choosing their university. The data from the Which? Survey aims to help with their Which? University tool, which aims to compare average contact hours from a variety of courses at different establishments.
 Whether or not this bold tactic of relying on league table results from old universities will have an effect in the future remains to be seen, especially when student numbers look set to rise dramatically.Â
Ethanol is a renewable source of transport fuel made from plant material and, thus, is a valuable alternative to fossil fuels. Although ethanol has a lower energy content than the same amount of fossil fuel-based petrol and increases the chance for corrosion, it does have its advantages. Its higher octane content can be used to make the engine more efficient, which is also why ethanol blends have been a favourite race fuel for decades.
Burning ethanol reduces harmful exhaust emissions and â depending on the carbon-foot print of the production process - green-house gases. So, what is the catch?
Making large amounts of fuel from plant material has proven a challenging and costly process. Its production requires multi-step processes to release sugar from the plant material, which can then be fermented and distilled to yield pure ethanol. Unfortunately large-scale production has so far been more expensive and much less convenient than just drilling a little deeper for oil.
Nonetheless, there is a global effort to increase production and consumption of bioethanol. Brazil has been leading the field â closely followed by the USA - since the 1970s, when the Brazilian government made ethanol-petrol blends up to 25 per cent (E25) mandatory. Together, the two countries produced over 80 per cent of the worldâs ethanol fuel in 2011. In the EU, current obligations require that 10 per cent of the European transport sector should be powered by renewable sources by 2020.
However, these elaborate government mandates have caused farmers to divert land, water and capital into growing corn and other crops for fuel rather than food. Most of the ethanol produced globally is âfirst generation bioethanolâ made from starchy plants, which could otherwise be used as food for people or livestock. 40 per cent of the corn produced in the USA currently goes into ethanol production. This has led to the âfood vs fuel debateâ.
2008 saw a spike in food prices that was thought to be linked with the increased production of biofuels and diversion of agricultural land for their production. However, in March 2010 a report by the UKâs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that âavailable evidence suggests that biofuels had a relatively small contribution to the 2008 spike in agricultural commodity prices.â The World Bank also reviewed their 2008 suggestion that biofuels were playing a large role in higher food prices and found that âthe effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thoughtâ in a 2010 analysis.
This may be true. Nonetheless, the large scale diversion of land from the production of food crops to the production of âfeedstocksâ for biofuels has placed the industriesâ âsustainabilityâ at the centre of controversy. The increasing demand, driven by US and EU policies, has promoted the production of biofuels in developing countries. This is further supported by views that poverty in developing countries is best alleviated by creating local employment opportunities. Research at the University of Bath has found that even though intentions may have been only the best by governments and companies alike, the reality is a far cry from secure jobs and secure provision of food. In fact, production of biofuels in sub-Saharan Africa has led to increased poverty and local food insecurity, as jobs are temporary, âidleâ fields are converted into biofuel feedstock plantations even though fallow land is important for future food security, and compensation for farmers is insufficient. Â This can only be alleviated by responsible and balanced production in these areas.
The fact is that these mandates have turned the ethanol fuel market into a big mess. And there is no stopping them. The US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which was created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2005, originally required 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2012. This was extended in 2007 under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
The result is that the fuel industry is about to hit a âblend wallâ, as mandates demand more ethanol to be blended into petrol than the market can absorb. Recent changes in life-style habits and advances in technology have led to a decrease in fuel consumption that is unlikely to recover. Â In the US, compliance with the mandates is implemented through the use of tradable RIN (Renewable Identification Number) credits; so rather than purchase an excess of ethanol, refiners meet their quotas by buying RIN credits.
Since the spark of the âfood vs fuel debateâ, governments have realised the drawbacks of first generation biofuels. Second generation bioethanol may be able to alleviate some of these limitations. It is produced from cellulosic feedstocks, such as agricultural and brewery waste and non-food plants, such as grasses and wood chips.
Commercialisation of this advanced bioethanol has been extremely challenging technically and financially. Cellulosic plant material requires chemical and enzymatic pre-treatment to release sugars from cellulose and lignin, which can then be converted to fuel using thermochemical processes (high temperatures and pressure) or biochemical processes (natural or engineered bacteria, yeasts or algae). Industrial-scale plants are still small compared to corn-ethanol plants, and the ethanol produced is too expensive to be competitive with first generation ethanol.
The ethanol fuel market is already saturated, so again policies and mandates were introduced to create a market for second generation bioethanol. The EPA envisioned the US supply to be 21 million gallons by 2022. Production challenges have caused supply to fall short, so the EPA has cut the mandate for cellulosic ethanol from 14 million to 6 million gallons this year.
Earlier in September this year the EU parliament voted in favour of introducing a cap of 6 per cent on first generation biofuels and a swift transition to second generation renewable fuels in order to fulfil the 10 per cent renewable fuel quota required by the Renewable Energy Directive. While this has thrown a lifeline to start-up companies producing second generation biofuels, it has put producers of first generation biofuels under pressure. This vote also strengthened the accountability for indirect land usage change and greenhouse gas emission in future analysis of the carbon-foot print of biofuel production. However, the vote was not as strong as was hoped and a second reading of the legal text has been called for, so a final decision may be delayed until later next year.
With a mandated lifeline and market created, up-scaling highlights another challenging limitation in the production of second generation ethanol: the availability of appropriate waste generation sources. A factory with 140 million litres ethanol output per year requires 350,000 tonnes biomass to operate. Organic waste is abundant, but generally thinly spread. Getting it to one location will be costly. And just as with diverting land for food crops to ethanol feedstocks, diverting wasteland will be controversial. Perhaps, we will see a âbiodiversity vs fuel debateâ if this is not managed carefully.
So what does the future hold? It seems the most successful strategy will be the collocation of a waste producer â this may even be a first generation ethanol plant - with a waste-to-ethanol plant. In this model, second generation bioethanol will fill a commercial niche and create more profit while also reducing waste. This is already being trialled in Brazil.
As for the UK, for now we remain in the bottom three of the EU renewables league table, but we are working hard to expand sustainable renewable energy opportunities. Even the University of Bath has several research groups in a variety of departments working on commercially viable and sustainable solutions. So perhaps there is hope for a way out of the mandate mess.
A story in a Fantasy world should be as uninhibited as the human imagination but when we hear âfantasyâ we can pretty much quote the plot: a young every-man is taken from his comfortable, if boring, life into a strange new world, be it terrestrially or socially, where there is a looming evil power which must be destroyed. The hero initially enjoys this dream world but slowly starts to realise that it is more of a nightmare, as he delves deeper. Eventually he discovers something which hitherto has remained unnoticed, he is the âChosen Oneâ and the evil is defeated. The plot gains bonus points for a badass love interest that has to be saved at least once, an originally benevolent father figure that turns out to be evil and by having a magical pointy eared race that are definitely not called elves.
Go on, think about it. How many stories have you read that resemble this structure? Even if a novel intentionally subverts a point for a plot twist it is only a twist because we presume it will follow this âGeneric Fantasyâ structure. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy novels but after reading so many any new ones are instantly compared to better favourites and so what might be a good story is spoilt as the seemingly kindly lord is labelled as sinister before he has even spoken. We tend to consider this âGeneric Fantasyâ to be the only base of a Fantasy novel and so most of such fiction can now be divided into those that follow the formula and those that subvert it to appear âedgyâ but, pitiably, are just the antithesis to the formula itself.
However, crushed at the bottom of the library by the Inheritance cycles and Dark Materials you can find the occasional gem. One of my favourite series is the âEcho Chroniclesâ by Svetlana Martynchik regarding Max, an unemployed layabout as he is transported to the magical city of Echo. The reason I cherish Max's exploits is that they are the refreshing sorbet in my narrative feast as they pay no heed to the formula. It astounded me that Max enters a world that has no looming evil as the magical world war, normally the main storyline, is finished before Max's arrival and I spent the first book fruitlessly awaiting its return. Also it took me two books to admit that Sir Juffin Hully, Max's âfather figureâ, brought him to Echo with no evil designs or ulterior motives but purely because he was bored. Time and time again the book gave me scenarios that I thought I recognised and instead of taking the one of the forked paths of standard plot or twist, headed off through the trees, looking back at me as if to say âWhat are you staring at? Keep up.â
And I wish I could find this more often: a fantasy world where a basic knowledge of Tolkien wonât spoil the story, but I fear that the Echo Chronicles are a dying breed. As shelves become saturated with more of the Generic Fantasy so they dictate the mental worlds of young, budding authors and I soon plot evolution may make nigh unexplored worlds like Echo extinct. So please, pick up a crushed gem and help save a species
Photo credit: Eduardo Ramirez
Written by: Daniel Robinson
Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, 63, a former leader of Mexicoâs ruthless Tijuana Drug Cartel - the Arellano Felix Organisation (AFO) - was assassinated on Friday 18th October. Whilst attending a family gathering in the resort of Los Cabos he was shot twice by a man disguised in a clown outfit, once in the head and once in the thorax, authorities have stated. The motive and identity of this murderous clown, who escaped the crime scene, is still unknown.Â
During the 1990s, the AFO was one of Mexicoâs most feared drug cartels due to their two main leaders, BenjamĂn and RamĂłn. BenjamĂn, a gifted businessman and RamĂłn, who was undoubtedly one of the most ruthless men in Mexico, controlled the AFO along with their five other brothers and four sisters from 1989 to 2002. Their list of offenses is long, from drug trafficking, to bribery of a large portion of the local police and government officials, and even extensive counts of murder. This enabled them to maintain an effective operation of smuggling drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin into America. The cartelâs smuggling methods utilised miles of long tunnels, boats and ultimatums of âsilver or leadâ, a method of controlling the police with bribes or bullets.
BenjamĂn reinforced their operations in the 1990s by recruiting gang members from America and made David Barron head of the cartelâs enforcement sector. This secured the AFO with Barronâs countless American enforcers and helped establish a strong distribution network in the United States. Despite their once strong position, however, it is questionable what the future holds for the high profile cartel.
Their problems started in 1993, during a catastrophic mix up, which resulted in Cardinal Posadas Ocampo being killed in an assassination attempt that was meant for the Sinaloa Cartelâs leader, JoaquĂn GuzmĂĄn Loera. Ocampoâs murder resulted in a wave of hatred directed towards the AFO, who were now hated by most of Mexico as the stated Public Enemy Number One, thus becoming a priority of many government officials in Mexico. Things went from bad to worse for the AFO, following their involvement in the assassination of Presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio in 1994, which led to US President Clinton dispatching a task force in 1995 to specifically combat the AFO. Â
With the death and incarceration in 2002 of RamĂłn and BenjamĂn respectively, and many other leading members being imprisoned or killed in the years that followed, the cartel has shown excellent resilience in its refusal to go down without a fight. To this day this is exemplified by the on-going drug war which has taken many lives and caused tens of thousands of Mexicans to give up on Tijuana and flee. The recent death of Francisco is therefore simply another casualty of war. Having endured the loss of leaders such as BenjamĂn and RamĂłn, the cartel has already proved that it is stronger than its individual parts. The centralised infrastructure of the AFO has proved many times now that it is a near impossible task for anyone to remove the influence of the cartels which plague Mexicoâs streets, and this time it will be no different.
However, what is concerning are the possible repercussions that this masked assailantâs actions may have for the people of Tijuana, who could potentially face an exacerbated drug war as a result of retaliatory attacks by the AFO. The question on everyoneâs lips, however, is will Mexico ever kick its drug problem? Â
The casino has already been granted a provisional license by Global Gaming Ventures, with a 12 month deadline period. This means that the firm has until February 2014 to convert the provisional license into a premises license. The agreement terms include the formation of 80 full time casino jobs, with a council spokesman announcing: âA casino will bring substantial economic benefits to the area, including the regeneration of a part of the city centre.â Bathâs first casino will take the place of the current Gala Bingo centre.
Developer Deeley Freed expects the project to create 116 jobs, whilst demolishing several buildings in the process. The extensive designs have been drawn up by Bath based Aaron Evans Architects, and will see the demolition of the kiosk, one and two Bridewell Lane, the Regency garage and the former clinic building. The Market pub will also close, and the northern rear extension to the Gala Bingo hall will make way for a new modern four-storey building despite the hall being a Grade II listed building.
Planning consultant Chris Hays confirmed more than 150 members of public attended a summer exhibition on the plans, stating that âthe proposals have been worked up and refined over a long period of time, with input from the Councilâs technical officers, local interest groups and businesses, and the wider public. This process has been invaluable in ensuring that we put forward a development scheme that is sensitive to the historic environment and a good fit with neighbouring uses. The scheme represents important investment in Bath City Centre, rejuvenating a key central space and delivering new uses that will underpin Bathâs entertainment and leisure sector.â
A formal decision on the plans will be made in February 2014, by Bath and North East Somerset Council.Â
Foreigners, who needs âem? We do, actually, quite a lot.
This topic has reared its racist head recently when England and Arsenalâs Jack Wilshere posted on Twitter, the following:
âThe question was should foreign players be allowed to play for England, and in my opinion I donât think they should!â
Many people thought that this was in reference to his English teammate, Anglo-Belgian Adnan Januzaj. He then backpedalled quicker than Chris Froome, whom he must also have a problem with, played in reversed by twatting, not a typo:
âJust to clarify a few thingsâŠ.again! Seems to be a trend in this country, poor journalism in my eyes! I wasnât referring to JanujazâŠâ
And then:
âI wish he was English! Iâm sure most of you agree with me even if some journalists are trying to make me look badâŠ.again!â
I wouldnât even empathise with him if he had got his grammar right. So is this imbecile a visionary or a racist?
FIFA states that a player can play for a national side if one of the following is fulfilled:
 (a)  He was born on the territory of the relevant Association;
(b)Â Â His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant Association;
(c)Â Â Â His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant Association;
(d)Â Â He has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association.
 Janujaz fulfills the last point and so now, in the eyes of FIFA and the FA, he is as English as a Bulldog wearing a Union Jack Sweater called Bob.
 Many people are of the opinion, such as the EDL, that this is wrong and that only people who were born via the NHS to two British parents whose British Heritage dates back to when we were a collection of Druids near a magic rock and who have never left the country and so had to holiday in Devon each year in a Caravan. Obviously I have exaggerated a tad but it might not be a ludicrous as first thought.
 If a non-English person plays for the national side then it may prevent someone who is actually English. Someone who grew up watching England play with their Dad and whose dream is was to play for England after they learnt that being a frog was not a viable career. This non-English person however probably supported someone else when they were younger and who probably only learnt how to speak English when they arrived, the fact that their tutors were their illiterate teammates really doesnât help either.
 On the other hand by allowing people who are not native to this country play for us, we are opening up a new wealth of talent. Take Manu Tuilagi, he weighs 17 stone and can run the hundred meters in about 11 seconds. Power like this is impossible for a British player to have, itâs all down to genetics â donât quote me on that, I donât do Biology. If Manu Tuilagi had not been allowed to play then the win last year over New Zealand would have not ended the same way.
 Mo Farah is Somalian by birth and he has accomplished the double doudle, a worldâs first, representing Great Britain. In doing so he has cheered up what is usually a very depressed nation. If he had not been allowed to compete for us weâd all be that bit sadder.
 Chris Froome obliterated the Tour de France and Kevin Pietersen is one of the greatest batsmen to ever have donned an England Jersey. Without any of these people and countless others, many of our greatest sporting achievements might have not been our greatest achievements; they might just have been achievements.
 So, where does this leave us racist pricks? In my opinion anyone who represents a national team has to be proud to play for their country whether they are born there or not. Playing for a country is the highest achievement for any athlete and so they should be proud to do so because they have reached the highest level possible. If they arenât proud then they arenât going to do a good job and hence donât deserve to play for the country especially if they were born there. I say foreigners should be allowed to play for England or indeed any country, as long as they want to. Plus Manu Tuilagi is quite good to have in the centre, so until he retires my opinion wonât change.
Photo credit: bathimpact
Written by: Marsha Kabeleva
If you are not a Fresher living on campus, you will already be well acquainted with our bus system and the Thorpe-Park-esque queues witnessed at Brougham Hayes in the morning. Last year these were improved upon slightly with the introduction of the X18, which cuts out the town part of the route. This year the U10 is now timetabled twice an hour, which is great news for those of us that live further from Oldfield Park. Despite this, however, completely full buses far before town remains very much a problem for those within the town centre and beyond, and Oldfield residents continue to unnecessarily experience the nightmarish rush hour traffic jams while packed like sardines. Yet none of these issues take the cake for the most enraging and pressing transport complaint: namely, that the timetable appears to be as fictional as a Harry Potter book.
After my non-existent U10 bus debacle, the obvious thing to do (apart from going back to bed, hung-over and defeated) was to talk to my peers to see if theyâd had similar experience with Wessex Connect. Maybe Iâd been caught in a freakish accident involving an abducted bus driver? Perhaps there was a flower show in Southdown that day and traffic was hellish? Not so; upon discussion, it became obvious this was happening regularly, and to everyone. People have found themselves waiting half an hour in town for a service that was promised every 10 minutes or having to walk up the hill after realising that hitchhiking would probably have more success than waiting at Bathwick. Paying for a taxi to an important lecture has unfortunately had to become an option following another U10 never showing up, which is being the worst if you live far down the U10 route and have no other choice of bus.
One 3rd year sociologist commented that they waited 50 minutes for a bus in Oldfield, and after waiting for another bus in town ended up waiting another 40 minutes in town for a bus to campus. The also commented that the worst part was this didnât even occur at peak time. Indeed, if any other business routinely provided such a poor service, people would simply stop using them and find a better alternative. Maybe itâs because weâve already paid ÂŁ180 for an annual pass, or because weâre students (so obviously donât deserve respect, or the privilege of getting to our classes on time), or donât have the fitness of an athlete or time to trek from doorstep to the dreaded Bathwick Hill and upward. The point is, there is no justification for such a sorry bus service, and I really hope for all our sakes that they sort it out. Preferably by 8:41am tomorrow.
However, letâs put Mr Cleggâs new promise into context. Lest we forget Mr Cleggâs 2010 position, which was that under a Liberal Democratic government, these fair lands would âSay goodbye to broken promisesâ. Pah.
Yes, we have ended up with a coalition Government, so what we seem to get is compromise in smoke filled rooms (democracy in action, kids). Nevertheless, the whole ÂŁ9,000 debacle still to this day, with many of Bathâs student body now paying ÂŁ9,000, reeks. The Lib Dems, however rightly or wrongly are a party of the establishment now; they can no longer complain from the side lines, not fearing the consequences of what they say. This latest promise could very well be some last minute tinkering to prevent annihilation in under two years time.
Political parties are never pure, and they will never be perfect. They will never keep all their promises. Most of us grew up under Labour, who of course promised no tuition fees at all before being the ones to introduce them in the first place. This is not bathimpact calling people naïve to the political system, no; people should expect their politicians to keep to their word. The question is whether we should maybe  should all take it with a pinch of salt.
Nick Clegg is different though, isnât he? He played the political game and won. He seemed like the good egg who would keep all of his promises, but he let us down. He let the students down. The pill of ÂŁ9,000 fees is always more difficult to swallow when a party seems to make out that free higher education is one of the founding and enduring principles it holds, like Labour and the NHS, or the Conservatives and low taxes.
Higher education funding is an absolute mess, Â that much is undeniable. As the UK government has cut the amount of money it gives to universities, they have in turn been forced to increase fees. To the credit of Clegg though, the ÂŁ9,000 cap which the current government introduced was not recommended by the Browne Review (which said there should be no cap whatsoever).
Mr Clegg wants us to look âat the reality of the systemâ. Whatever the arguments over the fairness of the new system - as far as what you pay, when you pay and all that political gumph â as far as bathimpact sees it, the hypocrisy of the UK government is clear. What we have is a government that trumps on about the financial situation, the ânational debtâ, and the benefits of fiscal prudence but yet are willing to see generation after generation of young people start their lives with a crushing amount of debt to pay back over the rest of their lifetime.
Perhaps this is why Mr Cleggâs ÂŁ16,000 âpromiseâ seems so empty. Heâs âpromisingâ it in response to the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Professor Andrew Hamilton, who has said that it costs ÂŁ16,000 per year to educate each student. Professor Hamilton may be perfectly correct, but bathimpact would suggest that the burden to cover the cost of students should be placed back on the state â we are of course as his mate, the Prime Minister likes to remind us, in a âGlobal Raceâ which requires young people to have the best skills possible.Â
We are getting to a point in Britain where the state is shedding all of its responsibilities. It may be higher education first, but whatâs next? Iâve got a promise for Mr Clegg though that I will be keeping; I wonât be voting for his party in 2015.Â
An insight is also granted into Learyâs own personal use of psychedelics. The archives, containing over 300 boxes of letters and reports promise to open up the secret world of the scientist who famously coined the phrase âtune on, tune in, drop outâ, urging people to explore their inner consciousness and remove the constraints of society. A series of photographs taken at Learyâs Cambridge home show an intimate group tripping session, scratching only the surface of the intense emotions experienced during the experience.
The files not only detail Learyâs life but also include other academics at the forefront of the 1960âs counterculture movement. In one letter addressed to Leary, poet Allan Ginsberg describes his experience with LSD "I lay down and drifted off into a reverie about the origin of the universe which involved the visualisation of a sort of octopus of darkness breaking through out of the primal voidâ. A series of letters also reveals an attempt by Leary to secure 100 grams of LSD from Albert Hoffman, the scientist who famously synthesised the chemical. These interactions highlight how those academics on the fringes of what is considered socially acceptable often had to band together against the growing stigma associated with their research.
Despite Learyâs repeated imprisonment during the 1960âs and 1970âs the archives are amazingly intact and are unique in how they capture the psychedelic movement. William Stingone, the New York Library curator described the archives as having âthe power to allow all of us to continue to engage with Timothy Leary and his life and his thoughtâ. Leary fought for the freedom of expression and for the love of life, a message that is still very much relevant today.Â
University of Bath's fresher accommodation debacle
Written by: Helen Edworthy
The usual practice for the University of Bath when admitting students is for admissions and accommodation services to consult each other to make sure the numbers remain even, and so accommodation can be given to those who require it, and who apply for accommodation within the deadline. However, this year a problem occurred when this communication between the two departments did not happen. Where there is usually a cut-off point for admissions, for the academic year 2013-14 the problem occurred when admissions accepted too many late applications, clearing students, and those who had Bath listed as their insurance university rather than their first choice. While some rooms are usually left unoccupied in case a small admissions mishap should occur, this year the issue is greater than can be easily dealt with, even taking into account the fact that priority accommodation access was given to students who were either under-18 or international. The result of this is that some first year students have been housed in accommodation that would not usually be used as such, or in private accommodation.
For the students who have been housed in places that are not usually used for accommodation, the University have attempted to give shared rooms wherever possible. In previous years, any rooms that are left over when admissions are finished with applications are opened for students who are having issues with the accommodation they have been given; for example, if they are having issues with their housemates, or if they applied for particular accommodation and were then placed somewhere else. For 2013/14, this will not be done due in order to at least in part deal with the problem of students who are sharing rooms with others.
In some cases, University space which is not typically used for accommodation has been turned into living space, such as offices around campus and the Department for Health located in Eastwood. A few commercial buildings have also become accommodation for first years, such as the âBeds @ Bathâ building which is located two miles from the city centre and is usually used for the purpose of housing groups who are visiting Bath. âThe Lodgeâ, which is also located on campus and was the previous Vice-Chancellorâs house, has also become first year accommodation.
However, even these measures were found insufficient for housing the extra applicants. A further measure taken out by accommodation services was to organise a house hunting weekend in Bath, offering food and a place to stay for all attending students. The University contacted three letting agencies and eleven landlords around Bath, asking them to take their houses off the market and promising to underwrite them should the houses not be filled after the house hunting weekend.
It is thought that around 120 students attended the house hunting weekend, and that all of those who attended found somewhere to live for the year. However, the search for private accommodation resulted in some other problems for those who attended, such as having to deal with landlords who wouldnât typically be interacting with students and as such dealing with extra costs that other students looking for houses did not have to pay. For example, some landlords insisted that a holding fee be placed for two days.
Other issues faced by students in private accommodation include things like dealing with buses due to living in inconvenient areas, and feeling a lack of connection to the campus itself. During Freshersâ Week, one first year in private accommodation mentioned that they didnât have a wristband at all. This is despite efforts by the University to include students not living in University accommodation as much as possible, such as giving the students in private accommodation their own Freshersâ Week crew and captain, and giving them access to the Carpenter House social space. First years living in private accommodation were also given the âbedroom bagsâ that all other first years received, and any students living in inconvenient areas have either been given a bus pass, or been reimbursed for one they may have already bought.
One first year living in private accommodation commented that being informed of the fact that they didnât have accommodation just two weeks before coming to Bath was âan absolute nightmareâ, but that they decided to attend Bath in the first place because it was a good place to continue their chosen sport. When asked whether the issues with accommodation have changed their view of the university, they commented that they didnât feel they were getting the whole university life experience, but also that they were happy within their house and with their housemates. They also finally commented that their appreciation of Freshersâ Week had not been affected in any vast way.
