Bangor University Students’ Union December 2013 English Language Issue No. 236 Newspaper FREE @SerenBangor Seren.Bangor.ac.uk - SOCIETY OF THE YEAR 2013 - TERAS IN DEPTH DECK THE HALLS HAPPY 50TH DOCTOR WHO Savings Scheme: A year on Update on last year’s £5 million de cit scheme by LJ TAYLOR ing them to look and see if they can eas for is a huge step forward within identify areas for reductions and im- the savings scheme a year on from hree areas of ‘university activity’ provements that may go otherwise when Seren originally reported on have been highlighted in the unnoticed by the team leading the the de cit last October. Tongoing e ort to manage the process. The £5 million de cit comes after £5 million de cit, Seren has learned. ‘Although £5 million sounds rather cuts were made to the subsidiaries Research and Enterprise, Financial dramatic we’ve saved, just through that the Higher Education Funding Management and Student Admin- e ciency savings, nearly half of that,’ Council of Wales makes to student istration are facing changes to their Professor Hughes told Seren after tuition fees. internal structure as part of the sav- the initial announcement. Bangor University’s decision to ings programme launched last year. Since the beginning of term a num- charge the full £9,000 tuition fee is ‘It’s important to note that whilst ber of new programmes have been part of the reason for the £5 million we are looking to make savings rolled out, such as online registra- loss. This is due to HEFCW being un- through operating more e ciently tion and the new printer systems, able to subsidise such a high amount we are determined that this will not which are all linked in with the sav- of Welsh students and has resulted adversely a ect frontline services ings scheme. These improvements, in the University losing 201 student to students,’ said David Learmont, dubbed the ‘summer of change’, places. Director of Business Improvement, have already reformed the way in A year on from the announce- who is overseeing the programme. which students and sta at the Uni- ment however Mr Learmont and his This process aims to look at ‘back versity work. team are still con dent that it can o ce functions’ such as nancial It has been a positive start to the be achieved without a ecting the work ows and helping colleges and savings which has seen the Univer- University or its students. As things central services to operate as e - sity keep to its word in not a ecting stand the savings scheme not only ciently as possible. the student experience, in fact they appears to be doing its job but is Whilst the initial announcement seem to be saving money whilst im- helping the university to discover felt as though it would have a det- proving frontline services. better ways of running. rimental a ect on the University, Mr The University has also put a lot Bangor Students’ Union are still Learmont and his team have always of work into the development of working closely with the University looked at it in a postitive way. Bangor 360, a system which aims to to not only help in identifying areas The ‘savings scheme’ has been join together a number of di erent for change but ensuring that the stu- viewed by them as a unique chance services resulting in increased e - dent experience continues to remain to take another look at the way that ciency within the institution. at heart. the University works and not only This has seen a rebranding of the ‘We’ve been working closely with save money through that, but to programme now known as My Ban- the University throughout this pe- make improvements also. gor which will provide a centralised riod, and it’s gratifying to see some ‘It’s an opportunity to re ect on service within the institution to both of the ongoing investment, includ- how we currently operate, a unique sta and students alike, replacing ing new IT projects, library resources, opportunity that we can grab with older systems such as Bangor Portal. and Maes Glas.’ said Antony Butcher, both hands,’ he said last October. ‘There’ s a lot still to do, but I am President of Bangor Students’ Union. When the University rst an- con dent we’ll be able to enhance To nd out more about the de cit nounced the shortfall the Vice- the student experience, whilst be- go to our website for last October’s Assassin’s gather in London for the Chancellor, Professor John Hughes, ing able to reduce our costs,’ said Mr front page. bi-annual Comic Con event. looked to the University’s sta urg- Learmont. 46 The identi cation of the three ar- December Issue 2013 | Seren 3 CONTENTS BECKI WATSON EDITOR [email protected] Welcome to our third issue of Seren, and our last edition of 2013! 33 I think I speak for the whole team when I say that this has been an exhausting issue. With essay deadlines approaching and work levels increasing in the run up to the holidays, the stress levels have been high, especially with this being the biggest issue of Seren so far this year. We did manage to nd ways to re- lieve the tension though. Whether it was Kev blasting Christmas tunes at 4am, Sinnead fraping everyone who left their Facebook alone for more than 10 seconds, or LJ and Becci 45 hysterically laughing for 20 minutes 14 at the Amazon drone, we managed News 4-7 to nd a way through, and have a Comment 8-9 produced an issue of Seren that I’m Politics 10-11 43 truly proud of. As you may be able to tell, Seren Science 12-13 has really embraced the Christmas spirit. Check out the Fashion pages Environment 14-15 for hints and tips on what to wear Union 16 this holiday season, and on the Food and Drink pages we have recipes for Societies 18-19 Christmas drinks, as well as vouch- Movember 20-21 ers for Christmas Dinner at the Teras Lounge. Not only that, we’ve got a Gift Guide 22-23 gift guide with some of our favourite Deck the Halls 24-25 presents on the market this Christ- mas, as well as a feature on how Doctor Who 26-27 to decorate your at or house on a TV 28-29 student budget. Don’t say we never give you anything! Film 30-31 Plus, in even more exciting news, Music 32-33 10 the rst video from Seren TV has been produced! Keep an eye out on Books 34-35 Seren’s social media for the rst epi- sode, as well as many more projects Fashion 36-37 to come. Health & Beauty 38-39 Remember, it’s never too late to join us! Just send us an email or Arts & Culture 40-41 come along to our meetings in the Creative 42-43 New Year, any new contributors for Seren are more than welcome. Games & Gadgets 44-45 Now, all that’s left to say is: Merry Comic Con 46-47 Christmas, and a very Happy New Year! See you all in 2014! Food & Drink 48-49 The views presented hereinafter Travel 50-51 do not represent the views of Seren Breaktime 52 Bangor, Bangor Students’ Union or Bangor University. Sport 53-56 21 Seren is printed by NWN Media. 30 Emma Asberg Adam Sharpley Yousef Cisco Megan Gardner Franceska Zerelli Jo Caul eld Callum Lewis Heather Boyles Aled Meredith Victoria Allen ‘Demola Fashola Liam Ashbrook THE TEAM Luke Barrett Becky Smith Harriet Weller Editor Becki Watson Food Harriet Weller Rachel Dunbar William Tracey Katie Middleton Deputy: Content Nicola Hoban TV Ida Vaisanen Chris Glass Adam Burns Iain Detrey Deputy: Design Becci Jameson Film Jack Nicol Laura Sutton Jon O cer Joe Keep Secretary Ali Keshtmand Music Tom Bickerdike Gemma Simmons Peter Clarke Eleanor Hirst News Charlotte Parker Books Amy Blackwell Laura Doody Clara Mc Neely Scott Willey Environment Will Johnson Fashion James Holman Richard Dallison Portia Dodds Emily Rimmer Science Edwin Pynegar Creative Laura Pozzi Al Hulley Anna Selbmann Wyatt Warner Comment Sinnead Towey Travel Steph Yeabsley Sarah Phillips Elin Haf Edwards Jon Williams Arts and Culture Megan Townsend Sport Kevin Gri n Ash Kierans Ana Victoria Health & Beauty Sara Williams Design LJ Taylor CONTRIBUTORS Zakee Pandor Dan Turner 4 Seren | December Issue 2013 NEWS In Brief An Evening With Lord Coe Law Teacher of the Year shortlist announced A BANGOR University lecturer has been shortlisted for the prestigious Law Teacher of the Year 2014 award. Sarah Marie Nason from the School of Law is one of six law teachers who have been nominated from universi- ties from across the UK. Nason said that she was ‘bowled over’ at being nominated for the award, which is the only one of its kind in the UK set up speci cally to reward great law teaching. Professor Dermot Cahill, Head of the School of Law, described Na- son as a ‘superb researcher, [and] an equally dedicated law teacher’. e next stage of the judging pro- Olympic hero shares his life story at Bangor University cess will involve a campus visit to over £500,000 and welcomes two full Jones Hall that was opened up to the I was committed but the work was observe Sarah’s teaching methods, as size netball and tennis courts. public as well as students. h a r d ”. well as interviews with students and Sport Wales have contributed He discussed many topics that he e debate-like talk lasted just over fellow lecturers.