Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper ISSN 1755-7585 Issue No. 220 October Issue 2011 INSIDE: THE END OF AN ERA Competitions! e low down on Movember! St David’s College • University of Wales ends amid new scandal • Degrees braced for impact on reputation Jez Harvey ity and granting of awards was up to However, the University of Wales Caul eld, Students’ Union President is standard and in line with regulations. released gures showing that almost keen to see these students are informed is is the second such embarrass- all the other universities in Wales have of thir rights. ast week the University of Wales, ment for the University of Wales, a er bene tted nancially from the univer- “I have made representations to an institution that until 3 years it was recently revealed that the head sity, and argued that it was sta from the Vice Chancellor and other senior ago our own university was part of one of their validated colleges in the institutions such as Bangor and New- University sta about the importance Lof, closed its doors in a urry of scan- Far East was in fact a pop star, with two port who were directly responsible for of reminding all those students cur- dal and shame. e move came a er fake degrees. the validation and monitoring of both rently studying on University of Wales e news of the scam came a day the high pro le scandals. courses that they are entitled to switch e latest album the university was subject to an under- a er the university unexpectedly an- e gures released showed that to a Bangor University award.” she said, cover investigation by the BBC, which nounced that it would stop validating Bangor bene tted by far the most from “our concerns were listened to and reviews! unearthed some serious fraudulent ac- all degrees delivered through other the validation system, making over the University now inform me that all tivity happening at one of its university providers and focus on its own stu- £2.2 million between 2004 and 2011. those students eligible to switch de- Rowena climbs colleges: Rayat London College. dents in Trinity St. David’s & Univer- A spokesperson for Bangor University grees have been contacted.” Sta at the college, including the sity of Wales Institute, Cardi . stated that “Bangor University as an It is fair to say that this controversy senior Registrar, were caught on cam- e fall-out from the revelations has institution plays no part whatsoever in will go down as a sad day for higher Snowdon! era explaining to overseas students how not been pretty. A er criticism from these validations or moderations”. education in Wales and the rest of the to cheat on exams to receive diplomas the Welsh Education Minister Leighton is drama obviously has implica- UK. For decades, the University of so they could apply for a UK visa. e Andrews, who said that the institution tions for graduates of the University of Wales was a leading light in the provi- College then took a fee for this ‘service’ deserved “a decent burial” and that it Wales, many of whom will have gradu- sion of higher education to those pre- & the student was able to apply to work had “let Wales down”, others followed. ated from Bangor with University of viously thought of as too poor to de- in the United Kingdom, thanks to their A statement from the Saint David’s Day Wales degrees, and will be looking to serve it, and it should be remembered quali cation. Group, the vice-chancellors of Bangor, their alma matter for some guidance as such. e University of Wales comes un- Aberystwyth, Cardi , Glamorgan and on the perceived value of their quali- If you have concerns about your stuck in all of this because the College Swansea, stated that they were appalled cation. degree programme or wish to clarify was issuing quali cations in their name at the revelations and wanted the name Bangor University currently has at which institution you are registered and the university was legally respon- scrapped as it brought disrepute on to least 200 students registered on courses with, contact the Academic Registry at sible for ensuring that teaching qual- the other universities in Wales. with the University of Wales and Jo Bangor at: www.bangor.ac.uk/ar/ By train... 2 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk October Issue 2011 Editorial Hiya! Welcome to Seren’s second issue of the year, and what an issue it is! A massive 40 pages full of all the wonders Aaron and delights you could possibly imagine. My own personal highlight has to be the picture of our Travel Editor Rowena on page 36, words cannot describe the joy our team had when working on the issue. I also quite Wiles enjoy the Film and TV pages in this one; we have two copies of Bad Teacher on DVD to give away so be sure to enter the competition to be in with a chance of winning! We have some new features in this issue, our Classics page (17) features cool book reviews from some of your favourite authors, and our Environmental page (36) has some interesting articles and we’re also giving away a book from there too! We spoil you rotten! Don’t forget to check out the centrefold either, there’s a massive feature on Movember, the huge yearly campaign in which you boys can grow some pretty snazzy facial hair whilst helping to raise money and awareness for men’s health. Now we want you all to get involved with Seren, whether it be writing arti- cles, helping us design pages or proofreading the pages. If you want to get involved, our weekly meetings take place in the Students’ Union every Wednesday at 6pm. I hope to see you there! I’m going to fi nish by saying that Florence and The Machine’s new album is very good and it has gotten me through the all nighters. See you next Contents month! News 3-5 Politics 6-7 The Seren Comment 8-9 Features 10-11 Editor: AaronTeam Wiles Societies 12-13 Deputy Editor: LJ Taylor Union 14-15 News: Steven Freeman Creative Corner 16 Politics: Anna Hatfi eld Breaktime 17 Features: Rosie McLeod Creative Corner: Gemma Ellis This month’s contributors Centrefold 20-21 Music: Joe McNally Food & Drink 22-23 Food and Drink: Joe Russell Jez Harvey Will Osborn Film 24-25 Film & TV: Heather Boyles & Jack Armstrong Georgia Mannion Alex Thomson Rob Young Music 26-27 Amy Westlake Yousef Cisco Joe Horne Fashion 28-29 Music: Joey McNally Gemma Ellis Bob Chatterley Fashion: Kaden Wild Matt Ison Nicola Hoban Health & Beauty 30 Health & Beauty: Emily Tearle & Adam Morris Rhys Dart Advice 31 Sara Royle Katrin Lloyd Games & Gadgets 32-33 Tom Sayer Advice: Ashleigh Garnett Adam Farrand The Sabbs: Travel 34-35 Travel: Rowena Nathan Rachel Helsdown Jo Caulfi eld Environment 36 Sport: Tom Knott Sean Talbot Danielle Buckley Sport 37-39 Secretary: Luke Dobson Matt Cox Danielle Giles Design: Dan Turner Matt Jackson Rich Gorman October Issue 2011 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk 3 Local News Man Charged A er Attempted Skate Bowl Opens To Commemorate Teenager Steven Freeman HeatherKidnap Boyles Of Bangor Student new skate bowl has opened on group of skaters saw great success in round 10.30PM on 27th Sep- tempted kidnap and suspected sexual earphones and remember it doesn’t Bangor’s Beach Road in mem- getting plans approved for the skate tember a female student was assault. hurt to be wary. It is also advisable to ory of an inspirational Bangor park and work started on the building followed by a car along Ffrid- During a brief hearing before mag- travel in groups at night, and if you’re Ateenager Darren Rhys Frost. of the park in August a er supporters Adoedd road to the corner of Belmont istrates in Holyhead, prosecutor Diane tempted to walk alone in the dark, why Darren who was aged 18, died for the project worked incredibly hard Drive, where she was confronted by a Williams applied for the case to be sent not get a taxi instead for the sake of a whilst cycling home from work on to get the park opened as quickly as male who tried to abduct her. to the crown court and that Royle be few pounds? boxing day in 2009 a er he had moved possible. e student, who wishes not to be remanded in custody. Remember there are martial arts to his fathers ere are named, managed to shake the man o , Royle will receive his preliminary societies available to join and the house in further com- obtain a good I.D. on the vehicle and hearing for the next stage of the trial Greek pub in Upper Bangor has a gym Shrewsbury to memorations alert the police. on October 7th. and advertises karate classes. Maybe nd employ- to be added Friends told Seren “She is recov- DCI Iestyn Davies has said that it’s worth enquiring about when you ment a er he to this memo- ering well from the incident but she North Wales Police are pleased with are next there with your friends? had found rial a er the would like to urge fellow students the arrest but urged anyone with any Whilst this incident may come as a no success in project manag- of Bangor to be vigilant when out at information to contact North Wales shock, we must remember incidents Bangor. er in charge of night”.