The original Captain Corelli tells a new story: Louis de Bernières on varsity.co.uk The Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947 | varsity.co.uk | Friday November 03 2006 | Issue 645 Ents Manager loses Crowd Control »CUSU night closes after only 40 attend ALICE WHITWHAM News Editor CUSUents’ major new club night, Crowd Control, has closed after levels of attendance failed to reach the required targets. It was revealed to Varsity that only 40 people had passed through the doors of the 720 capacity Soul Tree on Monday 23 October, the last night of Crowd Control. Soul Tree was forced to end the night around midnight having deemed the provision of further entertainments to be futile. CUSUents had based their years’ budget on making £7000 from the Crowd Control night. In the same week, CUSUents Manager Peter Brizio took the step of trying to entice clubbers to The Sunday Service, another CUSUents’ night held at Club Twenty-Two, JOE GOSDEN through a guest-list competition to Last week’s Sunday Service: The congregation though large in number was somewhat slow to arrive win individual bottles of free alcohol marketed as “champagne”. have only so far recovered £2300, not One King’s second year who attended more every evening than it did under It had been hoped that both enough to balance the £3000 CUSUents Crowd Control on its night of lowest Shah’s stewardship. Brizio claimed nights would help to fill the sub- investment in the evening. attendance told Varsity it had been “a that the Sunday Service evening at stantial hole in CUSUents’ finances, Brizio told Varsity “the night was joke”, whilst another clubber asked Club Twenty-Two also managed to a hangover from the failure to col- never allowed the chance to grow”, but “how can you expect a night to suc- attract 110 more revellers than the lect revenues from CUSU’s popular when Varsity presented this to Soul ceed when there are so few people to rival Hawks’ Club night at Soul Tree Urbanite evening at Soul Tree last Tree, General Manager Benjie begin with?”. last week, despite the apparent year. It emerged during the course Hamilton responded that the night Despite the problems associated social kudos of the Hawks’ Club. One of the investigation into Crowd needed “a few customers to grow on”. with Crowd Control, it would appear Selwyn fresher described last week’s Control’s collapse that the monies Despite Brizio’s belief that the evening that CUSUents’ other clubnights Sunday Service as being “particular- lost in the debacle could have been a could have grown into a successful one, have remained remarkably success- ly well organised with the lot more than first thought. Hamilton explained that the cancella- ful. The Tuesday night “Kinki” pro- “feel of a real club night”. Another CUSUents were expecting to tion was a “mutual decision”, and sug- motion at Ballare attracted 1300 attendee called it “one of the receive £21,000 from the new ven- gested that CUSUents had also been clubbers in Freshers’ Week and con- ture but according to current accounts unconvinced of the night’s potential. tinues to attract on average 200 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FEATURES ARTS FASHION Manage your Its good up Tread the ARTS & money North, Cambridge FEATURES honest Catwalk »PAGE 14 »PAGE 21 »PAGE 32 2 varsity.co.uk/news | 03.11.06 Write for Varsity News: Newsdesk Meet 5.30pm Sundays in King’s College Bar In Brief Battle of the clubnights Number of science RSPCA award for »Revellers drawn by free “champagne” graduates seriously Holley the Collie CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE Welfare Officer Sam Rose was “fully aware of what we were doing”. Yet overestimated A dog who was found tied up and left to best nights I have yet had in when Varsity questioned him further, die at the side of a road has been Cambridge”. Rose agreed that giving out free alco- Admissions Officer at the Faculty for crowned Eastern England's RSPCA But controversy remains about the hol did encourage student drinking. KATY LEE Mathematics, partly attributes this to dog of the year. Holley the Collie, now Moreover, this comes in the wake of the use of quotas by some colleges. a Cambridge resident, was muzzled CUSU President Mark Ferguson’s Top scientists have accused the gov- “As far as we can tell, we do not seem and left covered in bruises from kicks “It’s difficult proposed campaign to encourage ernment of seriously overestimating to be turning away suitable students,” and punches when she was found four responsible drinking in Cambridge. the number of graduates leaving he said. “If there has been a national years ago, but has now overcome her starting from The latest CUSUents promotional British universities with science and decline or increase in Mathematics, it fears and anxieties. RSPCA organiser drive for the Sunday Service night maths degrees. would be unlikely to affect the top end Pat Atkinson said “Holley’s story square one. You involves giving away a free Apple A report published by the Royal of the spectrum from which our stu- brought a real tear to my eye. She’s iMac computer. Society last week claimed that a rise in dents are drawn.” managed to overcome all the obstacles have to hedge Simon Calder, who organises inde- the number of Mathematics and Biology But concerns are being expressed life has thrown at her.” John Walker pendent student clubnights in graduates shown in government figures that not enough British students are your bets the Cambridge with company TeNTs, was “apparent rather than real”. It laid choosing traditional science courses. emphasised the difficulty of success- the blame on changes to the way in Cambridge top right way” ful promotion. For a good clubnight, which students on combined courses Calder said that “a large turnout and are assigned to subject areas. “stagnation of in humanities big bands” are needed. He added The Royal Society had commis- A recent survey by the Times Higher that “It’s difficult starting from sioned the Higher Education graduations Educational Supplement (THES) has square one. You have to hedge your Statistics Agency (HESA) to voted Cambridge the best place in the nature of the rivalry between the bets the right way.” reanalyse their previous statistics on from traditional world to study the arts and humani- competing Hawks’ and CUSUents’ A new budget, revised by CUSU university graduates. HESA’s initial ties. This is considered by some as a promotions on Sunday Services Officer Ashley figures showed a 35 per cent rise in science courses” significant achievement in light of evenings. Brizio accused the Aarons, with the assistance the number of Mathematics graduates American universities’ sizeable Hawks’ evening of being of Brizio indicates that between 1995/6 and 2004/5. The actual research funding. One professor “largely based around CUSUents hope to make rise was found to be only 7.4 per cent. praised the emphasis on research led drinking games”. But, £71,500 from the three The report argues that the original teaching, while another highlighted when pressed by Varsity remaining CUSU-run statistics masked the true stagnation the large degree of autonomy each fac- on the welfare issues sur- nights over the course of of graduations from traditional science Last month, the University of ulty has here at the University as a rounding the distribution this year. This figure is courses. The increase in Biological Reading announced the closure of reason for the success. Simon Allen of free bottles of “cham- greater than the £63,000 Sciences graduates was in fact due to their Physics department, following pagne” to those who man- that CUSUents was hop- more students taking subjects such as similar closures at Exeter, Swansea aged to put together the ing to make from its club Sports Science and Psychology. In and at some London colleges. “There Intel lab closure largest guest-list for the nights under the old budget. 1994/5, Biology students formed 31 are concerns over whether the edu- Sunday Service, he replied Whether this is a realistic tar- per cent of the Biological Sciences cation system can provide enough Intel is to close its research labs at the that get remains to grouping; they now form only 17 per scientifically skilled people for the University’s West Cambridge cam- CUSU be seen. cent. In contrast, Psychology students UK to be a globally competitive econ- pus. Closure of the lab, which opened now account for 47 per cent, up from omy,” said Professor Judith Howard, in March 2003, is planned for 33 per cent. Chair of the Royal Society’s Higher December as part of downsizing the In Cambridge, applications for Education Working Group. “It is corporation. Over the past few years, Mathematics and Natural Sciences extremely important that we Cambridge has formed close links have remained steady for the last have a sound picture, based on con- with Intel. A University spokesperson Peter Brizio decade. Dr Stephen Siklos, sistent data.” said “While the closure is unfortunate, our researchers will continue to work with theirs to explore new network- »Donnacha Kirk’s diary of a protest London, Sunday 29 October: ing, platform and development tech- Last Sunday was a beautiful autumn clear that there’s actually very little nologies”. Rebecca Lester day. There was a bright sun beaming apathy: that’s what happens when a NUS marches against top-up fees down, it was dry, mild and the leaves political issue hits your own pocket. I were beginning to turn yellow and did meet a few students who were Cambridge meat flutter down from the trees.