The Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947 Whose American Dream? We take a trip to the Oscars and trample all over the red carpet BEN JONES CUSU: The Oxbridge Gap the race begins Cambridge claims to accept 10% more maintained sector pupils than Oxford Rachel Divall CUSU FACES a “candidate accepted into Cambridge as undergraduates. drought” as the number of Raj Bavishi According to the Reporter, released on the same candidates standing in this day, of all UK based applicants who were admit- year's Executive elections is CAMBRIDGE'S OFFICIAL undergraduate admis- ted for entry in 2005 and deferred entry in 2006 the lowest on record. In the last sions statistics released on Tuesday by the (3029 people), only 53 percent came from the five years, numbers have never University Press Office indicate a much higher maintained sector as opposed to the 58.1 percent fallen below 22. But this year, intake from the maintained sector than compara- claimed in the press release. just 15 students are standing, tive figures at Oxford. Yet both the data released The maintained sector figure in the press release with only three positions by the University in its official press release, and is calculated by a straight comparision between contested and three as yet the extra figures requested by Varsity relating to students from maintained sector schools and without candidates. the Oxbridge comparison, fail to correlate with those from independent schools and completely Three students have put the highly detailed admissions statistics published ignores the “Other” students who make up a themselves forward for the in the Cambridge University Reporter on Tuesday. significant 8.8 percent of those accepted. “Other” CUSU Presidency: Mark The figures given to Varsity, for entry in 2005 students in the Reporter’s figures cover all home Ferguson, Nadia Khan and and deferred entry in 2006, show that 62.4 applicants who did not apply to Cambridge Dave Smith. Nominations were percent of all applications and 56 percent of all through a school or college in Britain. This also announced this week for admissions were from students from the main- includes all mature and home-schooled appli- the 13 other cross-campus tained sector. This is up from 60.6 and 55.6 cants. elected executive positions. All percent last year. A spokesperson for the University dismissed this candidates now have less than The Cambridge figures compare favourably to disparity as “standard practice”, and added, a week to campaign before those of Oxford, where only 46.5 percent of all “media outlets such as the Times Higher know facing a vote this Wednesday. applicants and 46.4 percent of those admitted what we mean”. When pushed further as to why All three positions without come from the maintained sector. This appears to “Other” students were ignored, and why the press contenders are welfare roles. show that there are almost 16 percent more release did not make this clear, the spokesperson This is despite each presidential students applying from maintained sector schools accused Varsity of not understanding the figures. candidate stressing at hustings at Cambridge than Oxford. But a spokesperson for the University that welfare is “the most Dr Geoff Parks, Director of of Oxford refuted this concept of important thing that CUSU do” Admissions for the “standard practice”, and said and comes just two weeks after Cambridge colleges said, “meaningful comparison CUSU Council voted to replace “the very high quality between universities is very the current CUSU Ents Officer and increasing diversity difficult because each position with a part-time of Cambridge’s student university has slighly differ- Mental Health Officer. Current body shows that the sole ent ways of calculating the CUSU President Laura Walsh criterion for admission is percentage of students told Varsity “It's very disap- academic ability. No one coming from the maintained pointing given that welfare is at should be deterred from sector. At Oxford, we include the heart of CUSU. There will applying here because of certain students in our figures have to be a by-election next misplaced fears that their back- which Cambridge do not and that could term, hopefully that will get ground will count against them, be it account for some of the discrepancy.” more people.” ‘advantaged’, ‘disadvantaged’ or somewhere in In response to questioning from Varsity a She admitted that CUSU's between.” spokesperson from Durham University said that recent and much publicised in- A spokesperson for Cambridge University said, although Durham don’t routinely issue pressure- fighting, which culminated last “we pretty much always get a higher number of leases on admissions, when they do they “use the month with a motion of no applicants from the maintained sector, but we’re same terminology as used by the Higher confidence against her, had not really into comparisons.” But she also noted Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in its probably put people off that “it does seem odd [that the figures were so Performance Indicators. This involves using the running. But, she insisted that different to Oxford’s] because we do work togeth- categories state, independent and other.” numbers were “not way below er on access initiatives”. Speaking to Varsity, CUSU President Laura average”. On further investigation these positive findings Walsh made clear her concerns about the ambigu- CUSU's perceived failings do not stand up to scrutiny, as Cambridge are ous statistics. “It is worrying that the University Who’ll be moving in? continue to fuel discussion at a selective in which figures they choose to include can use two different ways of calculating figures collegiate level. Emmanuel in their releases to the press. The statistics from over an issue as controversial as this. There is no Meet the candidates College JCR will hold a refer- which the press release percentages are drawn better time for the University to be open and endum this week on whether ignore as many as 8.8 percent of candidates transparent with its statistics.” >>page 2 to disaffiliate from CUSU. No. 636, 3rd March, 2006 www.varsity.co.uk Gyp Room God A chequered path The Memory Machine >> Guess who’s coming to Edd Billig, the newly New technology that means you’ll never forget a face dinner? Nigel Slater, and crowned Su Doku Champion Rose Gray of the River Cafe, of the World, talks about the are among the famous food- tension, the training and the Dissonant Dissidence >> ies sharing their top tips for glory that comes with being Was Shostakovich a political revolutionary? the perfect dinner party in a Su Doku Grand Master. our Food and Drink special. Kind of. The fairest of them all >> pages 6 & 7 >> page 9 Lifestyle leads you into a dark fairytale world >> 2 Varsity News 03.03.06 Trinity student The Candidates has bail cancelled Sabbatical Officers: The 22 year-old Trinity Anyone for CUSU President? student arrested in connec- Academic Affairs tion with the January parcel David Ewings incident at the college has been released without charge. Candidates put under the spotlight Access The student was initially JAMIE MARLAND Luke Pickering arrested on suspicion of possession of gamma hydrox- Varsity News Team President ybutyric acid (GHB), with Mark Ferguson intent to supply. Police now Nadia Khan believe the substance in the SHRUGGING OFF Varsity’s Dave Smith package, which burnt the observations regarding the hand of the college porter uninspiring presentation of Services handling it, was gamma buty- their manifestos, Dave Smith, Grey Baker rolactone (GBL), a legal Mark Ferguson and Nadia Ashley Aarons solvent chemically similar to Khan settled down to the task GBH. Nobody else has been of persuading us that behind Welfare and Graduates arrested in connection with the slapdash appearance lies No candidates the incident. diehard enthusiasm and mean- ingful policies that can impact Women’s on a diverse electorate of Harriet Boulding Not so ‘X-treme’ 18,000 students. RAG Jailbreak A common complaint Part-time Executive: Last week’s RAG Jailbreak expressed by the candidates in winners, who made it all the CUSU elections is that the Education way to Egypt, illustrated a three-minute guillotine at Jacob Head definite lack of ‘X-treme-ness’ hustings prevents the exten- in their adventure. Will sion of their pitches to Wednesday’s hustings (l-r): Mark Ferguson, Dave Smith, Nadia Khan, current President Laura Walsh Green Horwitz and Steph Hunter, potential voters beyond tired Aneaka Kellay both of Emmanuel College, sound bites. Varsity’s panel have happened on my watch”. motions in any detail. Each candidate was permit- ending up spending a mere interview was an attempt to The debate as to what CUSU Posed with the hypothetical ted to ask the other two the Higher Education Funding 45 minutes in the Land of the address this, and the candi- can and should do to improve situation of unsanctioned mili- question he or she would most Liana Wood Pharaohs, making it no dates proved themselves the lives of individual members tary UK involvement in an like to have posed should they Dan Swain further than the aeroplane willing to engage with each has often centred on the issue international conflict, the three have attended hustings as just steps. Hunter admitted “we other from the outset. of the politicisation of Council. gave very different answers as another CUSU member. Mental Health didn’t actually touch a foot Given the criticisms levelled When asked what it was that to how they would act should Perhaps the most challenging No candidates down on Egyptian soil”, at CUSU over the past two had earned student politics they be firmly against it. Khan was Khan’s question of how adding “[we] didn’t even see terms, Varsity first asked the such a bad name, the candi- replied that her “absolute prior- the President would ensure Target Campaigns any of the country from the candidates what had gone dates were divided.