Your Free Union Magazine October 2008 Freshers’ Issue 2 SPAGHETTI JUNCTION EDITOR’S NOTE Hi everyone and welcome to the first Spaghetti Junction this academic year! If you are a returning student, welcome back. I hope you had a great summer and that your results for this year were good. If you are someone who is just joining us, welcome to Birmingham City University! I hope you are settling in and that you have a great time while you are here. Welcomes over and done with, this is an extra special issue! Not only do we have a brand new look, this is also the Freshers edition! This month, we have coverage of Freshers week, some great articles for all the new students, as well as some old favourites like Cookery Corner and, of course, all the latest film, album and DVD reviews. We also have some new features this issue, check out ‘Student of the Month’ where a student who has made remarkable achievements is celebrated. As ever, I hope you enjoy this issue (which I’m sure you will) and remember, the magazine is now completely student run so if you want to get involved, get in touch! See you next month! Roxanne Carmen Hawker Editor-in-Chief: Roxanne Carmen Hawker [email protected] Deputy Editor:Natalie Marchant [email protected] News, Current Affairs, Features & Student Groups Editor: Georgie Campbell [email protected] Design & Graphics Co-Editor: Jak Flash [email protected] Design & Graphics Co-Editor: Poppy French [email protected] Communications Officer: Jennifer James [email protected] With thanks to all those who contributed to this issue, UP FRONT and to Paul Muller for the Freshers’ events access. Meet the Team 4 Safety Tips 6 Union News 8 Recycling 10 Mature Students 12 LGBT 13 Gay Out Much? 14 Gosta Green 16 FEATURES What’s on in the City? 18 Freshers’ Week 21 STUDENT CULTURE Health & Fitness 27 Natalie’s Cookery Corner 28 Fashion on Campus 30 Student of the Month 32 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Bridging the Gap 34 Bands in University 35 Reviews 36 Horoscopes 42 SPAGHETTI JUNCTION 3 Illustration: Jak Flash UP front meet the team Spaghetti Building Blocks The roads that cross to bring you the Junction Hi everyone! I hope that you have had a great Moved out when I was 16, left the Shire to summer and welcome back or, a big hearty come to the city. Came to university on a whim welcome if you’re a Fresher and are just joining (probably the best whim of my life), decided us at Birmingham City University. I am now to change my name, met some pretty decent starting my second year at Birmingham City on people, and moved in with my mates, leaving the Visual Communications course, specialising me in my current position. in Photography. Although I’ve slacked towards the end of In this edition of Spaghetti Junction - the very the year I love to go out, get wasted, have a first of the year, you can find plenty about what dance, find myself in unknown places, general to do in Birmingham, as well as university responsible behaviour. You can’t go wrong focused events and issues – we hope you with a gig at the Barfly followed by some find them useful and interesting! I urge you to homosexual based fun at DV8 fuelled by free especially check out the Cookery Corner where alcohol. I’ve thought up some quick, cheap and tasty recipes for you! When I’m at university you can probably find me milling about BIAD, as I too am studying Like I did last year, you too can get involved Viscom. I’m specialising in Graphic but I have with Spaghetti Junction. Just contact us via no real idea what I want to do with myself (do email if you want to write gig reviews, get your any of us really? Live fast, die young and all writing published and even if you’re an aspiring that jazz). Me and Pops have re-designed the photographer. We are always on the lookout for magazine giving it (what we hope is) a fresh fresh talent, especially as the magazine is now new look. completely student run! I’ll see you about sometime. I wish you a happy and successful year ahead! Jak Flash Natalie Marchant Design and Graphics Co-Editor Deputy Editor 4 SPAGHETTI JUNCTION Picture:Poppy French & Jak Flash UP front meet the team Welcome students! Woo! We are finally back. This year already Old or new it’s good to see you! Please do looks hot to trot with our fortnight of Freshers, come round for tea, Jak is always baking. new students and our ever expanding I too am doing Vis Comm and we are certainly University - so what else are you waiting for? a hard working bunch. If you are a hard worker To find out about all the mischievous events of too, why not join us? We are always looking for the forthcoming year, make sure you watch this people to join the design team. space. But you all still need to keep in touch to So a little about me? I have big dreams and make sure this magazine is exactly what YOU I’m hoping that university will help me to fulfil guys want. them, but then I guess success and happiness is everyone’s dream right?! Moving into the second year is a somewhat scary step – as now the real work begins. But, 2008/2009 will be the year of change. You no, that doesn’t mean I’ll forget about all our should be aware the student magazine has readers – far from it. I hope this issue proves had a total refit, not just a new lick of paint but helpful to our newcomers with handy safety a wonderful redesign which we are all really and fitness tips. Oh, and make sure you all proud of! check out the cookery corner when you’re scratching your head for an idea for dinner. So I want you, yes you to tell me what you think about Spaghetti Junction. Like it? I want to I can’t emphasise enough how much we all know about your student life, where you like to want your involvement in the magazine. After go out, what makes you happy and angry. 2008 taking control last semester, it really has given shall be the year of your opinions because us students a platform to discuss pressing what’s a student magazine for if it’s not all issues and get things done. Working with the about us? Students’ Union, we can really make some changes around here. We’ll keep you updated Poppy French with all the dirt behind the scenes but, we need Design and Graphics Co-editor. your help... It’s our University – so pipe up and have your say! Georgie Campbell News, Current Affairs, Features and Student Groups Editor SPAGHETTI JUNCTION 5 UP front safety tips It’s a scary world out there! So Georgie Campbell has very kindly taken the time to give you a few handy hints on how to keep Safety 101your for stuff safe andFreshers those thieves at bay. Some of them may seem a bit ridiculous, some may be stating the obvious, but believe me when I say you will thank her one day. So Freshers, you’ve made it... your parents Getting right down to business... numero uno from have finally stopped fussing and left you alone my list of advice. This may be the most obvious to get on with it! But do you really know what but, amazingly it does happen. Do not, I repeat, you should be looking out for? Who’s lurking DO NOT leave your purse, wallet, keys or MP3 round the corner, in the bathroom or even the player unattended. In the past, students have kitchen? shown genuine surprise when they come back to the canteen to discover their treasured possessions are no longer there. The security guards will not be impressed when you tell them you “just popped to the toilet!” The one killer characteristic of the young gun Fresher is, of course, going to be naivety. Being at university is probably the first time you’ve lived away from home, probably the first time in a few years you have had to make new friends and the first time you’ve entered an unknown city on your own. All this means you have to take extra care. So get wiser. Now to the tricky stuff... as your bank account swells with your first loan instalment, the one thing Freshers must NOT do: flash their cash. It may very well be the most money that your account has seen in a long time after partying through the summer, but it is not something to boast about. Buying the first round may very well entice your new friends, but you can’t buy friendship and your so-called mates will remember that first night with Mr Moneybucks. Tactic – be conservative, that money does have to see you through until Christmas. 6 SPAGHETTI JUNCTION UP front safety tips Living in halls throughout your first year will seem like Your first year should be full of fun fun, but you still need to remember you don’t actually memories, drunken nights out and, of know these people as well as you think you do. When course, a wee bit of studying – so make the first slice of bread goes missing from your fridge, sure it is.