Friday March 6th 2009 e Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper since 1947 Issue no 693 | varsity.co.uk »p17 Features »Centrefold Special pull-out »p18 Fashion We speak to Pomegranate: exclusive Hats off for the Oliver Letwin four-page preview issue inside return of hats Cambridge MICHAEL DERRINGER report attacks One in ten takes state education Beth Staton State school students are failing to get drugs to study in to top universities simply because they don’t get good enough grades, Survey reveals extent of students’ medication usage according to research by Cambridge Assessment. Prescription-only drugs readily available online Social mobility in education will struggle to improve until “the perni- Natasha Lennard da nil for the rst time. All of the ve cious link between deprivation and ed- reported increased alertness on the ucational attainment is broken,” Cam- Ten per cent of Cambridge students have day of taking the drug, with four of the bridge’s admissions chiefs have said. admitted to taking medication without ve stating that their ability to concen- “State school students are not, by and prescription to help them work. trate on work improved. large, being deprived of places at lead- A Varsity survey, completed by Two students reported that they ing universities by their choice of A- 1,000 students, has revealed that one also felt more motivated. Further- level subjects. e critical obstacle for in ten Cambridge students has taken more, none of the five students try- them is achieving the highest grades,” drugs such as Moda nil, Ritalin and ing the drug reported detrimental Geo Parks, the University’s director Adderall. side effects. of undergraduate recruitment, and Ri- Meanwhile one third of respondents One third-year Sidney student, who chard Partington, the chair of the Cam admitted that, given the opportunity, has taken a 100mg Moda nil tablet outreach steering group, said in a joint they would take concentration-en- every day for a number of weeks, did statement. hancing medication. report a feeling of “despondency” in e study, carried out by Cambridge Modafinil has been the focus of the evenings. “Although Moda nil has Assessment at the request of the Uni- media attention, including a BBC undoubtedly aided my concentration, versity, examined the educational back- documentary, in recent months, as a er a Moda nil-fuelled library day I grounds of students achieving three or off-prescription use of the drug is nd it very hard to engage with people more A grades at A-level. growing in popularity. socially,” she said. e ndings reveal that state school e possession of prescription-only e stimulant, prescribed by doctors pupils make up only 64 per cent of medication without a prescription is to treat patients with chronic sleep dis- those achieving three A grades at A- “a serious criminal o ence” according orders such as narcolepsy, has a broad level, despite constituting 86 per cent of to the Home O ce. It is, however, easy non-medical use. Shi -workers, the the A-level candidacy. to obtain prescription-only drugs, like military, pilots and nurses have been Furthermore, 17 per cent of the Moda nil, via online pharmacies based prescribed the drug to prevent tired- highest achievers attended grammar outside the UK. ness and enhance alertness. schools, meaning just 47 per cent Varsity spoke to ve Cambridge Students can obtain generic versions of pupils achieving AAA were from students who have recently tried Mo- of the drug from the Internet, which comprehensives. are sold under brand names Modapro The report also discredited com- and Modalert. e drug is o cially mon claims that choice of subject manufactured under the brand names often disqualified state school pupils Provigil and Alertec. from the best universities, further 10% Under both the generic and brand highlighting the grades themselves as The percentage of students who names, the content of the drug should the problem. have admitted to taking academic be the same: Moda nil. Generic ver- Of the 24,580 AAA students, only performance enhancing drugs sions of the drug are not subject to reg- 1,011 took combinations including ulations, however, and concerns have more than one of the 20 less traditional been raised about their purity. subjects which Cambridge believes On one online pharmacy, 30 pills, Something to build on provide “less e ective preparation” for 90 manufactured by Cephalon under the the University’s academic courses. 224 The amount in pence each pill costs brand name Provigil, are sold for £17 New sabbatical team celebrate their victories of these 1011 were students at inde- when buying a batch of 30 with a £10 with an additional £10 shipping charge. pendent schools. shipping charge Continued on page 5 in this week’s CUSU elections » p3 Continued on page 8 Government cuts funding for Cambridge research Caedmon Tunstall-Behrens government study into the quality of Research funding, however, has only the amount of funding that Cambridge e Russell Group has warned that university research, carried out in De- increased by 1.89 per cent from last receives continues to be the highest in the funding announcement is unsat- Cambridge research faces a funding cember last year. year to £113.7m. is level is below the the country. “ e funding was in the isfactory for many universities. “ is cut next year, the government an- e results, published by the Higher current rate of in ation of 3 per cent, band that was expected, so all research settlement does not go far enough for nounced yesterday. Education Funding Council for Eng- resulting in a cut in real terms. e in- planning for the next year has already many of our leading research-intensive e allocation of £1.6bn of funding land, reveal that the total recurrent grant crease in Oxford’s research funding was taken that into account. Oxford has universities to meet these tough [eco- to universities is based on the ndings received by the University has increased 4.7 per cent. more funding as there are more re- nomic] challenges,” the group said in of the Research Assessment Exercise, a by 3.1 per cent to just under £181.3m. A University spokesperson said that searchers there,” she said. a statement. Something to say? [email protected] Friday March 6th 2009 2 Editorial Call the Editors directly on 01223 761541 varsity.co.uk A special preview issue of Pomegranate, an online poetry magazine, can be found inside the centrefold. It is the fifth in a series of magazine previews in Varsity. Contents Modafinil: be careful he growing use of Modafinil and other cognitive-enhancing drugs is a worrying trend. They are new technology, and as Twith any new innovation, great care should be taken in their application. Modafinil’s long-term effects are completely News »p1-8 unknown; just because they appear safe in the short term, we cannot assume that such a powerful drug is truly harmless. Beyond those concerns, there are also ethical implications for the use of Modafinil. Its use has been compared to the use The rise of Modafinil » p4-5 of anabolic steroids in sport, and it is undeniable that it gives users a great advantage in their ability to revise and process An in-depth look at the growing information. This advantage is not available to everyone, not only because some are unwilling to risk their health, but also because it is relatively difficult to obtain. It is unfair that those who are less careful with their bodies should be able to get popularity of cognitive-enhancing drugs ahead academically. among Cambridge students. This is not to say that the University should explicitly ban the use of Modafinil and related substances, except insofar as their legality is dubious. We are all adults, and should be able to grasp the implications of our actions. However, all of us Varsity Profile » p6 should think very carefully before taking the plunge with a drug of which so little is known. We speak to soon-to-be-former-CUSU- President Mark Fletcher. Cambridge Spies » p8 Chigbo has work to do The only part of Varsity anyone cares about. ongratulations to Tom Chigbo and the other new sabbatical officers. CUSU is not the most exciting place in the world, but it has important jobs to do, and it was heartening to see students recognise that by coming out to vote. The election’s Conline presence was well overdue, but it had the desired effect. Comment »p9-11 The new team’s priorities must be to lobby the University over the construction of a new sports centre, and to sort out the perennial mess that is CUSU Ents. Those ents are often so low-profile that it could damage CUSU’s reputation; Chigbo and The Essay » p9 friends should not regard them as simply a cash cow, and should not be afraid to scrap any that threaten to embarrass the organisation. Matthew Kramer on why an Finally, congratulations also to Mark Fletcher and the outgoing sabbs. Despite some troubled times, they have kept a atheist would spend years writing a steady ship, and CUSU has rarely looked anything other than a stable and well-functioning union. commentary on the Bible. Morality’s back » p10 It was dead, now it’s back. Bad news for baddies. Edit this newspaper Magazine »p13-30 Applications are currently open to edit Varsity in May Week or in the Michaelmas term, and to become a section editor in Michaelmas. For more information see p31 Food & Drink » p14 Pig out, it’s the end of term! or visit www.varsity.co.uk/jobs Mega.