VARSITY MUSIC FILM Work for us Muse, Divine Bridget next year Comedy, live Jones Page 6 Page 22 Page 26 where 20p sold The Cambridge Issue 540 Student Newspaper 27th April 2001 www.varsity.cam.ac.uk FASHION: “With exams coming up, what students THESPS need is discipline” – Turn to page 13 ASH CASH and it’s just a question of access – HASHNews Team we are the only touring show that doesn’t ask for money from the The Footlights scandal took a cast to tour and we need funding bizarre new turn yesterday, as the somehow”. He says most of the group became enveloped in a pub- members of Footlights went to licity crisis on two fronts. Fearing state schools, and few can afford that British American Tobacco the huge cost of their largest-ever would pull out of their £25,000 tour. sponsorship deal with this year’s The group have been desperate tour, the group were vacillating to secure funding since the Arts over how to handle the scandal Theatre pulled out of a regular that erupted this week. They are deal in July 2000. The theatre concerned that they may experi- blamed falling box office sales for ence difficulty both with ‘ethical Defiant: Breen its move, claiming, “During the investment’ direct action cam- number of the cast of Far Too previous three years, the theatre paigners and the cigarette firm Happy, which previews to the pub- had sustained losses of £30,000 on who they appeared to deprecate in lic on 5 May, were amused by the Footlights productions”. Some a Guardian article on Wednesday. relation of their show’s ‘death students believe that the pull out At first they tried to fob off theme’ to the tobacco industry, was because the Arts Theatre fails reporters by taking a light-hearted and even posed for photographers to provide enough support for stu- approach to criticism. Phil Breen, with a scythe. However last night dent drama. One Cambridge thes- Footlights Director, told Varsity, “I they distanced themselves from pian told Varsity, “The Arts think smoking is cool, but my the publicity, and realising that the Theatre doesn’t give a shit about lungs can’t handle it. I may take it controversy may not go in their supporting Cambridge actors, up; I’m going to give it a damn favour, were scared that it could they only care about middle-aged good go”. It seemed they were fatally offend their generous but crap that no-one sees”. Others enjoying the attention, brought on contentious donors. The BAT have suggested that the scale of the when it came to light that since cash is not yet “in the bank”, said tour is overambitious – “about last term they have been negotiat- Breen. one-upmanship over last year’s ing a tour-saving sponsorship deal Breen commented, “There is a tour,” according to one source from British American Tobacco. A pitiful state of funding in the arts close to the group. Photo: Dan Lambert Eden revisited Top tunes Denis Healey Where can you find 5,330 Which record shop will sell “Prescott might have the plant species in biomes made of the you more Herbie Hancock than you face of a man that clubs baby seals. biggest bubble wrap in the wotld? can shake a stick at? Not that I’ve met any.” 2 News 27 April 2001 Vox-pops Is the Footlights-tobacco indus- try relationship unethical? SLAP IN FACE FOR HARD LEFT AT NUS Matt Hood CONFERENCE Photo: Sam Dobbin “Anything associated with Footlights is okay by me.” said that the overdraft was the result of of the insistence of the loony left to Chris Waiting Rob Jenrick cash-flow problems that would be Matt Hood include a government pledge of £10 bil- resolved by the end of the year. This lion spending on the health service and Owain James was re-elected as year’s President Owain James blamed ANALYSIS the renationalisation of the railways. President of the National Union of Miss Aspell for the deficit, but added Where does Cambridge fit into all this? Students at the end of this year’s confer- that there was no need for concern. Every year all of the NUS’s member insti- In recent history, we’ve been rank out- ence in Blackpool. James soundly beat Despite concern over her conduct, tutions send representatives to the annual siders at NUS Conference, representing his opponent, Helen Aspell, with delegates were shocked when the con- conference in Blackpool. To most stu- the extremes of the loony left, sacrificing almost twice as many votes. It is ference turned violent, as Miss Aspell dents this is a million miles away from the political gain for irrational half-logic. This believed that his victory will mean that was hit in the face by another delegate reality of student life – indeed to many has earned our delegation a bad reputa- the NUS will not veer further left as she walked outside the hall in the delegates at the conference the same is tion elsewhere at times, along with towards increased direct action or evening. She was understood to have true. But you ask, this time and money Oxford, for a failure to grasp the actuali- become any more critical of the govern- been very shaken by the attack and must achieve something? Well, yes and ties of life outside Oxbridge. Happily this ment. The Socialist Worker’s Party had upset by personal abuse she received. no. Conference consists of two things – year’s 15-strong delegation was more pro- supported his opponent, and many see The conference’s decision not to dis- elections on to NUS positions and debate active in make-up: three on the logical her defeat as halting the NUS’s slide cuss a proposed full-time black student about motions, which then become NUS left, one on the dithering left, ten on the “It’s disgusting that Footlights is sell- into far-left politics, a move losing it the officer until the last minute also pro- policy. Except of course that none of the loony left and one Liberal Democrat. ing itself like this.” support of the unions. voked anger. The current part-time members have to follow NUS policy at CUSU is bound over to publish the vot- Ed Rayne James is the first independent to hold holder, Denis Fernando called it “a real all. ing records of the delegates, so I won’t tell the position for over 30 years, however slap in the face for black students”, Sticking these two issues together causes you who is who, but the voting does speak critics have poured scorn on his claim while UCL’s welfare officer condemned problems. Elections hijack policy debates, for itself. to impartiality. James is a member of it as a “disgrace”. so that instead of rationally discussing Importantly Cambridge delegate Max the Labour Party and his voting record Despite being widely seen to have anything, all you get to listen to are noisy Curtis was elected to the NUS part-time exactly matches that of the Labour lived up to its reputation for faction- candidates speaking from their party’s executive committee – a real achievement Party. fighting, shouting and pointless argu- books. This means that policy is left in tat- for him and for Cambridge. In a heated debate at the conference ments, there were some formal debates ters due to political wrangling. Everyone Congratulations. the delegates voted to campaign for on old favourites like funding, welfare at the conference is basically after the All in all it was a successful conference means-tested grants for the poorest stu- and student rights. David Blunkett’s same things (free education, the fight for sense. The logical left succeeded in dents. The move was a victory over the pledge to rule out the introduction of against prejudice and discrimination, keeping the loony left – only one of their left wing whose demands for £8000 for top-up fees in the next term of a Labour etc.), but it’s how they go about it they candidates got a position – at bay for all students were seen as wildly over- government was widely heralded as a fight over. The logical left (the majority) another year, with Owain James and Ben ambitious and risked alienating unions success for the NUS, though the deci- and the loony left (the minority) – exclud- Monks re-elected as President and “Absolutely outrageous!” and the public. James dismissed Miss sion had arguably much more to do ing the 40 delegates from Conservative National Secretary respectively, and we Ben Ward Aspell’s plans for free education as with appeasing middle Britain’s parents Future – battle over methodology, spilling can argue that Cambridge partially “unachievable”. than students. James claimed that the over from bitter election debate. For restored their reputation amongst the rest The conference was shaken by revela- government’s announcement in instance the loony left kept demanding of NUS. But then again, others might tell tions that the NUS is £300,000 over- November, that it will increase funding the end to compromise and interim meas- a different story. drawn. The head of NUS finance, for high education for the first time in ures along the way, whereas the logical left Helen Aspell, has refuted the claims and around ten years, was influenced by the wish to take things step by step to achieve (Correction to last issue: Matt Hood was suggested they were only made to dam- march he led two days earlier through the same goal.