Issue

Five

Issue

Six

CONCOURSE M A G A Z I N E

Plus: Keele News, Politik, KUSU Entertainments, Music & Film Reviews, TeamKeele , Games & Puzzles, Team Keele.... 30 Second Interview and so much more!

Any views expressed are not necessarily

the views of Keele University or Keele

University Students’ Union. No part of

this publication may be reproduced with-

out the explicit permission of the editor

Produced anProduced andd Edited byEdited by

Nick Heath Nick Heath

Vice President Vice President

Communication & DemocracyCommunication & Democracy

­­­­Editorial­/­Submissions

Nick­Heath­VP­Comms

vp.comms@kusu.keele.ac.uk

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features06..........................KUSU Elections

07..........................................Politik

08.........................................IAU & VE

12 ................................Film Reviews

13 .............................Music Reviews

14 ...........................Societies News

Sport19 ..........................Tough GUY 2010

20 .........................Match Reports

News04 ....................Safety on campus

05 ..............new vice chancellor

09..................................Green week

Entertainment10 .............Whats on @ the Union

15 ..................................KUBE Radio

17 ...................Games and Puzzles

14 ..................Found on Facebook

Hola! Welcome to the first issue of 2010,and welcome to the homestretch of the ac-ademic year, while it may not feel like it, Ipromise you the days are getting longer, andthat Spring is only just around the corner.KUSU has some major events coming up overthe next few months which should also keepyou in high spirits, there are the KUSU elec-tions at the start of March, a Massive Free

Student Scramble party coming your way, the KUBE Festivaland in the near future the highly anticipated Kayne WestHeartbreaker Valentines Party. Just a few dates to get downin your diaries.

Hope you enjoy this issue of Concourse!

Nick

CONCOURSE

NEWS

04

Constitutional Change Is Coming...Look BusyLauren Proctor – Campus Affairs Officer

The KUSU constitution, a document I would imagine most

students don't know exists. But why would you? It's over 100pages long, and pretty boring to be honest. That said, it's adocument that is inherent to the way KUSU is run, it setsout rules and regulations about everything from disciplinary(!) and complaints procedures to the job description of yourstruly (as part of my remit as Campus Affairs Officer) andother Union Committee Officer and the Sabbaticals.

That's jolly nice. So what? Well, for KUSU to stay in linewith amendments made to Charities Commission legislation,the constitution has to have some changes made to it.

President Adam Mason(yeah, that bloke offFacebook), has beenworking very hard toensure our constitutionis in line with the newguidelines. His final

copy of the new Constitution was presented to the last UGM,in December. Adam was on leave, so Roger Weston steppedin to present the motion.

After much debate and deliberation over the new docu-ment, many expressed concerns at a series of omissions.Consequently, the motion for the new Constitution was with-drawn by the proposer, with the intention of reviewing itbefore the next UGM.

So where are we now? Well, at the next Student Councilon Tuesday 26th January, the Constitution is to be scruti-nised by the student body further before the next draft istaken to UGM on Tuesday 2nd February.

This is your chance to get involved in the structuring of adocument that will long outlast your time at Keele (unlessyou’re Andy Hodder or Oli Cotterill...). Find out more byjoining us at the next Student Council on the 26th Januaryin CBA0.060 at 7pm or at the next UGM on the 2nd February,

details to follow...

Safety at Keele: What can be done?Adrian Rushton

Recent events at Keele have reignited discussion over the question

of safety on campus and what can be done about it. The assault ofa student and then the tragic death of a David Whitlock, have madeeveryone on campus more aware about security and keeping safewhilst living and studying here. Students have already been airingtheir views and Facebook has also sprung into action with a pagebeing set up containing many views on how the university should betackling safety on campus.

The question about security around campus is what would actuallybe effective. There have been many calls by students that lightingon campus in certain areas needs improvement. This cannot be ar-gued with. There are some areas of campus which are lit to agreater extent than others. The walk from the campus to Hawthornsis one area where the university have vastly improved lighting sinceI arrived in Keele nearly four years ago. On the other hand, thereare other areas which do not fare so well. Some students havestated that the walk to Barnes and from the sports centre and Hol-lycross are not lit well enough. More lighting would certainly makestudents feel more secure in their environment and provide less“shady” places where suspicious figures could lurk.

There have also been calls for more CCTV to be present on cam-pus. I have no idea exactly how many cameras there are on campus,but I am led to believe that the network is quite extensive. Theproblem with installing CCTV on campus, as deterrent or as a meas-ure to find criminals, is the very nature of Keele. Since the campusis quite spread out, with many small pathways leading to buildings,it probably would be near impossible to provide complete compre-hensive coverage of all the campus. The costs would also be astro-nomical and there would be the issue of personal privacy in halls ofresidence where cameras could point directly into the room of astudent. There have also been recent reports in the media as to theeffectiveness of CCTV in cutting crime.

Another measure raised is the role of security. Some have calledfor there to be an increase in security patrols around campus, es-pecially on foot. An increase in a security presence is nearly alwaysa deterrent to crime and the knowledge that security are never faraway perhaps would allay people’s fears.

I feel that as a collective community, though, that we could eachdo a bit to look out for each other. You can have lights, cameras andthe all infrastructure you want, but unfortunately crime will raiseits ugly head in one way or another. If you leave on a night out in agroup, make sure you all get back safely, or know where you aregoing at the end of the night and who with. Make sure no one is leftalone. Admittedly, this is easier said than done. After a night of one-too-many drinks at the union, people do drift off and to “say do notgo out alone at night” for many is an impossibility.

However it is probably important to stress that Keele is still a safecampus. I feel much safer here than I would do than if I was at aninner city university. Attacks are thankfully a rare occurrence, andwe should not feel scared of living here. I feel that the whole com-munity needs to work together closely. Security needs to engagewith the students more than at present, perhaps on a more personalbasis, perhaps where students actively recognise by face and namethose who help keep us safe. The university, the union, CFM and thestudent body themselves should all work closer to identify areas ofimprovement, but at the same time, we should all look out for eachother, and where there is suspicious behaviour, call security and letthem know, so they can investigate. Prevention is better than cure.

Have your say. Check out the Safety at Keele University Group on Facebook

David Whitlock

11 October 1988 -

16 January 2010

Rest in Peace

On behalf of all the Staff andSabbatical Officers at KUSU, theEditors of Concourse would like toextend thier sympathies and sup-port to the Friends and Family ofDavid Whitlock who tragically losthis life at the start of term.

GENERAL MEETINGUNION

February

Tuesday 2nd

19:30 in the BallroomCome have Your say over Your:Union

Free Drink

for Every

Student

Issue Six

NEWS

05

Keele University Annouunces NewVice-Chancellor

Chris Stone - University Press Officer

Keele University has announcedthat Professor Nick Foskett, cur-rently Dean of the Faculty ofLaw, Arts and Social Sciences atthe University of Southampton,will take up the appointment ofVice-Chancellor at Keele on 1 Au-gust 2010. Professor Foskett is aProfessor of Education, with aninternational research profile inHigher Education Policy.

He will succeed Professor DameJanet Finch, DBE, who is retiringas Vice-Chancellor of the Univer-sity next July, after 15 years

service. Born in Burslem, Professor Foskett's family lived for severalgenerations in Burslem and Wolstanton, working in the pottery indus-try. Professor Foskett lived in Stockton Brook until he was 18, attendingGreenways Primary School in Stockton Brook, then Wolstanton Gram-mar School (now Wolstanton High School) in Newcastle-under-Lyme,then read Geography at Keble College, Oxford. A keen sports fan, hiscareer has taken him away from North Staffordshire but he has re-tained a keen interest in the fortunes of Port Vale and Stoke City.

Professor Foskett, aged 54, began his career as a geography teacherin secondary schools and further education before moving into highereducation, firstly as a senior university administrator and then in ac-ademic posts, teaching and undertaking internationally recognized re-search in education. He has held senior posts in schools and in HE, hasworked as a consultant to government and to a wide range of educa-tional institutions both in the UK and internationally.

He moved to the University of Southampton as a Lecturer in Educa-tion in 1989 and was promoted to Professor of Education in 2000. Heheld senior leadership roles as Head of Initial Teacher Training, thenHead of the School of Education at Southampton before becomingDean of the Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in 2005.

Professor Foskett said:

I am excited by the opportunity to lead Keele University through thenext few years. Keele has an excellent reputation as one of the UK'sleading campus universities, and despite the inevitable challenges thesector will face, the University is well positioned to further establishitself strongly within both the national and international HE arenas.Keele also has a strong regional commitment and I look forward to theUniversity continuing to play a full part in the economic and culturallife of its home region."

Following the announcement earlier this year that Professor DameJanet Finch was to retire on 31 July 2010, the University conducted aselection process to appoint a successor. Led by the Chair of the Uni-versity Council, Mr Ian Dudson, the selection panel considered a widerange of candidates to succeed Professor Dame Janet.

The University's Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the UniversityCouncil, Ian Dudson, said:

"I was delighted that the University was able to attract a very strongfield of candidates for this key appointment and that Nick Foskettemerged from an extensive selection process as the unanimous choiceto be our next Vice-Chancellor. The whole Higher Education sector isexpecting difficult financial times as public expenditure is reduced fol-lowing the recession, but Nick Foskett has shown us that he has thevision and leadership skills to build on the outstanding work of our cur-rent Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Finch. I am sure he willalso want to play a strong and visionary role within North Staffordshire

as he returns to his roots. I look forward to working with Profes-sor Foskett when he joins us in August next year."

Professor Dame Janet Finch said:

"I am delighted that Professor Nick Foskett has been chosen tosucceed me as Vice-Chancellor next year. His strong backgroundin Higher Education management and policy, partnerships and in-ternational agendas makes him an ideal choice to lead Keelethrough its next phase and to make a strong personal impact inthe region where he was born."

Professor Nick Foskett - New Vice Chancellor

Professor Dame Janet Finch

Current Vice Chancellor

Its that time of the year again and KUSU Elec-tions are fast approaching. Do you think youhave what it takes to be a Sabbatical Officerand become a trustee of the Students Union? Doyou want to get the opportunity to influenceand be responsible in how the Union runs it

campaigns and or-ganises its nightsout? If so, thenmake sure to getyourself up to NickHeaths office on thetop floor of theUnion to find outhow to run in thenext election.

For all those who do not know what the Offi-cers do, why not come to the UGM on 2nd Feb-ruary and find out how the Students Unionworks for you.

This year KUSU has introduced a few newtechniques for campaigning for this election,we have finally moved in to the 21st centuryand adopted online voting and campaigning.This means you will be able tovote for candidates and cam-paign to the student body viaonline social networking siteslike Twitter and Facebook. Thisis the first time we are going totry this so there might be a fewhic ups, but nothing like jumping into the deepend to make an election interesting. So keepyou eyes pealed for further information abouthow you can vote online.

Finally, if you have any questions about theelections or just want to find out what your Of-ficers do for you please contact Vice PresidentCommunications Nick Heath on the top floor ofthe Students Union, or emailvp.comms@kusu.keele.ac.uk

Full Time Officers

President - currently Adam Mason

Vice President Communications & Democracy currently Nick Heath

Vice President Education & Welfare currently Rich Hill

Vice President Finance & Activities currently Oli Cotterill

Vice President Sports & Fitness currently Roger Weston

Part Time Officers and Union Committee

AU President currently Sonia Douz

LGBT Officer currently Jack Thistlewood

Non-Portfolio Officer currently Adam Palmer

Campus Affairs Officer currently Lauren Proctor

Environmental Officer currently Dan Hougham

Racial Diversity Officer currently Leona Russell

Female Gender Officer currently Holly Brown

Male Gender Officer currently David Igo

Disabled Students’ Officer currently Charli Bailey

International Students’ Officer currently Amanda Gross

Mature Students’ Officer currently Kate Lawrence

Off Campus Affairs Officer currently Morgan Ross-Inwood

Post Grad Officer currently Kunal Khanderia

Entertainments Officer currently Allie Coombs

Hospital Campus Affairs Officer currently Richard Bowman

Constitutional Affairs Secretary currently Carrie Martin

General Secretary currently Rob Griffiths

Chair of Student Council currently Hannah Gascoigne

Health Faculty Rep currently Adina Josephs

Humanities & Social Science Rep currently Laurence Mallows

Natural Science Rep currently Kelly Ross

Key Dates Nominations Open : February 3rd

Nominations Close : February 11th Hustings Full Time Officers : February 22nd Hustings Part Time Officers : February 23rd Polling : March 1st - 3rd Declaration : March 3rd

Available Positions

06

PolitikIssue Six

­Matthew Davies - Political Editor

A Busy Few Weeks

It has been a busy few weeks politically since thelast edition of Concourse. The New Year has startedoff with a lot of talking points.

5 months too early or 1 year too late?

The campaign for the General Election already ap-pears to be in full swing. However, with people say-ing that the campaign has begun too early andpeople will become bored of it by the election itself,has the campaign started 5 months too early or couldit possibly have started a year too late? In order togenerate public interest and winback people’s trust in politics isthere not a case that the GeneralElection campaign has started ayear too late in Britain? CouldBritain not adapt America’s systemof holding primaries for the elec-tion of the candidates who willfight the General Election? It cer-tainly seems to win interest inAmerica as the 2008 campaignproves.

Voters in each constituency could decide the can-didate that they want to stand for the three mainparties in a series of primaries. There would be nocentral control of who could stand, anyone could putthemselves up for the nomination to stand as a can-didate for whichever party they choose and then itwould be up to the electorate to decide which can-didates would be the best parliamentary candidates.There is always the risk that for example Labour vot-ers might turn out and vote for a radical Conserva-tive candidate to be selected and Conservativevoters turning out and voting for a radical candidateto stand for Labour, although this pattern does notseem to have emerged in the USA. Instead of peoplebeing able to claim that they do not vote because‘you can’t tell the mainstream parties apart’, itwould be the electorate who would have chosen thecandidates. This would surely make voters more in-terested by the time the election itself comesaround.

Obama v Palin 2012

One year on from the inauguration of the new Pres-ident and the talk is already of: Obama v Palin 2012It doesn’t seem long since the 2008 election wasbeing fought out but already it seems that the 2012

campaign is on the agenda. Sarah Palin seemsto be a lot of Republican commentator’s choicefor the nomination of the Republican Party tostand for the Presidency. However, it does seemtoo early to be start talking about the 2012election when President Obama has only justserved one year in office. The vacant seat inthe senate that the late Ted Kennedy has lefthas caused much panic for the Democrats as theRepublicans could in what would be a massiveshock win the seat. This could have repercus-

sions for the health care bill,so watch this space!

Higher Education on theFrontline in

Government Cuts

The budget for universitieswill be cut by £900 millionover the next three years.

This will make it very difficult for universitiesto be able to continue the way that they teach.It will mean cuts in academic staff and there-fore bigger class sizes. Several universities maynot even be able to survive the cuts. As manyas thirty universities could not ‘survive in theircurrent form’ if these cuts go ahead. This isvery serious as universities are relied upon bythe economy to supply the country with peoplethat are highly educated, individual persons.This cannot be the case if the government con-tinues to cut the budget of the universities.

Nature yet again shows its ugly side

The earthquake that has just happened inHaiti has proved once again what damage is pos-sible by natural disasters. The death toll is cur-rently estimated at 50,000 however someexperts have predicted that this could rise to200,000 or more. This is a scary reminder of thedestruction that nature is capable of and in onlya few seconds. It is heartening to see that peo-ple all around the world are rallying aroundHaiti and doing everything they can to ensurethat the people of Haiti get the support thatthey need at this most difficult of times.

07

Christmas is over, it’sa new year and examsare behind you! So whynot think about doingsomething completely

different? By volunteering for just acouple of hours a week you couldhelp to make a real difference to thelives of others! You will also be help-ing yourself: volunteering is a greatway to develop essential skills andyour confidence! But don’t just takeour word for it - even employers arerecognising the benefit of volunteer-ing experience:

"To build a successful and reward-ing career today, you need a roundedskill set, of which academic, or tech-nical, knowledge is just one part.Volunteering is a great way for stu-dents to gain the kind of practicalexperience and life skills that arehighly valued by employers, whilepositively contributing to greatcauses." Sky Chief Executive JeremyDarroch

From children to vulnerable adults,to conservation projects or fundrais-ing, VE @ Keele has a wealth of vol-unteer opportunities to choose from.You don’t need any previous experi-ence to volunteer, just commitmentand a willingness to help!

VE @ Keele also offers Awards inrecognition of volunteering experi-ences at levels Bronze, Silver, Goldor Platinum. Volunteering Awardslook great on your CV!

Contact Becky at VE @ Keele formore information at:

www.kusu.net/ve

08

National Student Volunteer ingWeek 22nd–28th February

Established in 2001 Student Volunteering Weekhelps to raise the national profile of student volun-teering in the UK. This year the focus for the week is: ‘Inspiring fu-tures, connecting communities’.

Planned activities throughout the week include:A day planting trees and shrubs at BiddulphGrange, a litter pick in Silverdale and Poolfields,Newcastle and afternoon tea in Keele Village. FordhallFarm are also hosting a volunteer working weekend from Friday 26th-Sunday28th February. Volunteers are needed to help complete the extension of the farm trail and will in-clude bridge building, shelter building, boardwalk building and much more...

More Keele students are needed to help with these events. Get-ting involved is easy, you could gain a VE Award and you will gainadditional essential employability skills to add to your CV!

If you are interested in helping to make a positive impact in thelocal community and would like to make a difference, or you wantto find out more, contact Becky or Paul atvolunteering@kusu.keele.ac.uk or Tel: 01782 733626.

Essential VE @ KeeleBitesize training designed to help you in your volunteering every Wednesday KUSU meeting

room 1, 1-2pm. Visit: www.kusu.net/vetraining to download a training timetable.

Looking for a volunteer placement orwork? Explore a range of volunteer &employment opportunities at our:ANNUAL VOLUNTEER & JOBSFAIR TUESDAY 16TH FEBRUARY 11 am-4 pm BALLROOMMeet a range of volunteer placementproviders. Apply for work with a vari-ety of national & local employers.

University Overseas Challenge - Thailand 2010 -

We have recruited 7 Keele students to take part in thisexciting programme to teach English in rural primary &secondary schools in Northern Thailand in the summer2010 and have just one place left. The cost of takingpart will be around £690, which includes your insurance,in-country travel, accommodation, food, VE @ Keele &VESL support. Volunteers must their own fund flights &vaccinations. You can fundraise to meet the cost of tak-ing part in this programme. VESL will provide Public Li-ability insurance and on-site support for volunteers andVESL & VE @ Keele can support you to do this.

No experience necessary as appropriate training will be provided, but you must be committed,flexible, resourceful & enthusiastic.

If you think you have the right skills, attitude and motivation to volunteer for Overseas Challenge2010, contact Becky at: volunteering@kusu.keele.ac.uk for an application pack.

University Overseas Challenge – Thailand 2010 is sustainable, benefits host communities andoffers Keele students a wealth of experience, including a cultural exchange experience.

Green WeekDan Hougham - Environmental Officer

February 8th - 12th is Green Week at Keele. Throughoutcampus the Universities Environmental Officer (Huw Evans)has organised various events to publicize what we as individ-uals can do to promote a greener world to live in. I haveworked with Huw and KUSU so that we can provide certainevents for you guys. These events provide everything fromfree food, cooking lessons, free movies and competitions(with Woodstoke tickets up for grabs).

Did you know?

Downstairs in the food court of the union is an Ecoverter,the machine recycles your empty cans, and for every can re-cycled, you gain points. The union is offering a free Wood-stoke ticket (2nd June 2010 worth over £25) for the first tenstudents to collect and hand in 500 points. Personally, consid-ering its likely to be cans you would drink anyway, and all youneed is the initiative to place them in to the Ecoverter

Free food anyone??

More importantly, free food prepared by a top class chefwho has won many industry and national awards? I must say,it definitely appeals to me more than my standard jacket po-

Protect Yoursleves From Burglaries on Campus

Rich Hill Vice President Education & Welfare

Did you know that young people (aged 16 to 24 year old) arearound three times more likely to be victims of burglary thanpeople in other age groups, which makes students all the morevulnerable.

We have just come back from the Christmas vacation and nodoubt many of you got treated to new iPhones, digital cam-eras, money, laptops etc and so it is even more necessary tokeep safe and remember some simple crime prevention tipswhen regarding theft.

As a student you will probably live inshared housing, either in halls or off-cam-pus. Following the advice on personalsafety and property will help keep yousafer.

- Many burglaries happen when a dooror window has been left open. This is usu-ally the circumstances of burglaries thathave happened at Keele. Therefore whenin halls, be cautious about leaving yourdoor unlocked, even if you are just goingfor a shower or to make a cup of tea.

- Make sure that the main block doorsclose behind you and don't let other people in with you thatyou don’t know - whether that’s the man from Delicious orsomeone that’s says they are there to see a friend this shouldstill apply.

- Be aware that you are likely to have more electronic goods(stereos, computers and so on) than many households.

tato. On top of the free food, let us throw in a free cook-ery lesson teaching you how to use all your leftovers.Hence not wasting any food (if we’re going to support amarket which supports killing livestock, it seems an ab-solute travesty to just leave parts of a once living creatureto rot in landfill), and furthermore, to save you money(money that can then be spent in our wondrous union.We’ll even top this afternoon of fun off with a free viewingof ‘The Age of Stupid’. How do you cash in on this list ofopportunities? Just be in K2 at 12 on Thursday 11th Feb!

We’re also going to hold a raffle. Everyone who turnsups name is going to go into a hat. We’re going to pull 4names out, and each of these lucky people is going to re-ceive 2 free tickets to that Fridays (12th Feb) ValentinesParty. With tickets for this event bound to sell out, thiswill be a last chance to get into the union for what isbound to be a good night.

Want to find out more?

Look out for news via union update formore details and more events nearer the time!

09

- Mark your property with your initials and postcode witha UV Marker (available from me for free, top floor of KUSU)this makes it harder for a burglar to sell on stolen goodsand can help the police to return items to you if found. Orif you really want to high tech purchase some Smartwaterfrom KUSU Security. (Each bottle contains a unique chem-ical ‘code’ which is registered to you – conclusively proving

ownership. It cannot be easily seenby the naked eye unlike a UV penand is almost impossible to remove.The liquid also glows under ultravio-let light making it easy for the Policeto detect).

- Every student room on campushas basic room insurance cover – butyou should still check to see if thepolicy covers all types of your pos-sessions e.g. your TV may be worthconsiderably more than what you’recovered for. You should keep lists ofthe make, model and serial numbersof your electronic items to help po-lice track them down if they arestolen.

By following these simple tips you should help to keepyourself that little bit safer. It sounds really simple but youwould be surprised of the number of people that havefound out the hard way. Many crimes are crimes of oppor-tunity. Don't give thieves that chance

CampaignsIssue Six

Don’t forget to join the

KUSU Entertainments Group

on Facebook to take part in weekly

free tickets and prize giveaways.

LOVE KUSU : LOVE KEELE

Are you in thesephoto’s?

If so you’re on theGuest List for our

Wednesday NightProject

Just go up to theents office to getyour name down!

FilmFrederike Dammé - Film Editor

Concourse

Happy New Year and Welcome to semester number two! Ihope you all recovered from last months stressful exams andare now back on track. On second thoughts though, you thinkyou had some bad weeks with insomnia and meal schedulesthat could be first signs of eating disorders, wait until yousee the newest vampire feature Daybreakers.

In 2019, a plague has transformed nearly all humans intovampires and the remaining ones are hunted and farmed forblood supply. Problems arise when it becomes obvious thatthe vampires are running out of blood or better to say hu-mans. Researcher (and vampire) Edward Dalton (EthanHawke) desperately tries to find a blood substitute for hisblood industry boss Charles Bromley (Sam Neil). Edward isnot too keen about being a vampire and through unexpectedcircumstances he encounters contact with a group of humanswho want to rebuild the human race. Even more, the group’sleader is Vampire-turned-human Lionel ‘Elvis’ Cormac .Ed-ward (Willem Dafoe) joins them, turning against his own kindand even his brother (Michael Dorman). Soon, it becomes

clear, that the real solution lies not within the blood. I don’t wantto give away too much of the story and as it would make it lessenjoyable. However, I can tell you that there are some twists andturns.

Let us be honest, there is only so much you can do and afterBlade, Twilight and suchlike, you could assume there is nothingyou did not know what vampires can or cannot do. Vampires arethe hot thing at the moment, so it is nice that this film offers somenew takes on the cold blooded creatures. Daybreakers achievesto be entertaining and fun to watch despite being a vampire film.It is not world class cinema and the story seems to be dragged outat some points, still the film has an amazing cinematography andgood performances by Ethan Hawke, Sam Neil and Willem Dafoe.The Spierig Brothers, who directed this movie, clearly paid atten-tion to details and created pictures, settings and movementswhich make this film look classy and dark. There is a lot of bloodin this movie which seems surprising considering that blood is oneof the key themes in vampire films but you hardly get to see some.Boys, you will not be disappointed, there is plenty of action andviolence and no sobby love story. Girls, there are some vampireswho are easy on the eye. Also, everyone who is not part of a loveunit at the moment might enjoy this film on Valentine’s Day. Thereis nothing better than seeing heads getting ripped off when every-one else is getting teddy bears and heart shaped candles. HappyValentine’s Day, folks!

I thought it would be good to have a look what 2010 has to

offer and I can tell you right now, there are some goodiescoming up! Let us start with the sequels. First, we have gotIron Man 2. I liked the first one; it did exceed my expectationsand thanks to Robert Downey Jr. In addition, we haveGwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke, soit looks promising.

Girls, attention, Sex and theCity 2 will be hitting cinemasearly this year. I have my Cos-mopolitans sorted, so get on it!I was also rather surprised thatthere will be a Toy Story 3. ToyStory came out so many yearsago that I cannot remembermuch to be honest. I have towatch the first and second oneagain. Anime fans also have an-other highlight coming up. Shrek

Forever After will be comingto your local cinemas in Maythis year.

Of course, we have the follow ups of some big budget films. Thethird part of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be out in June. Fansall over the world are counting the days already, though everyonewho dislikes Twilight will probably deliberately ignore that day. I‘m no fortuneteller but you should watch out for relationship trou-bles.

Coming up rather late in the year is Harry Potter and the DeathlyHallows Part 1. I’ m actually curious about this one as I thoughtthe last one was not particularly great. Nevertheless, I’ m sureyou are as ready as me to go on the final journey with Harry! Wecan also look forward to a middle aged Robin Hood played by Rus-sel Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. I watched the trailer, sofar I have not quite understood the concept, but I’ m open to sur-prises.

Tim Burton teams up with Johnny Depp for Alice in Wonderland.It looks like a typical Tim Burton film: crazy, colorful and JohnnyDepp. Finally a nyone remembers a TV Series called the A Team?Well, there is a film coming out in June. Liam Nesson and JessicaBiel are part of the cast, so I suppose this might be a reason towatch it.

There is obviously much more, but I think that the ones men-tioned are going to be highlights for better or for worse. I hope

you get around seeing a few. Let the year begin!12

Daybreakers

Film 2010

Issue Six

MUSICReviews

Feature

Andy Johnson - Music Editor

Rage­Against­The­Brit­Awards

It's­that­time­again­–­the­nominees­for­the­Brit­Awards­areout,­and­come­February­the­2010­show­will­be­on­our­screensonce­more.­Whilst­the­show­itself­has­usually­been­a­clumsilyconstructed­shambles­since­its­inception,­it­is­the­nominationswhich­increasingly­fray­the­edges­of­whatever­credibility­theconcept­of­the­Brit­Awards­once­had.­

Whoever­ decides­ the­nominationsseem­to­exist­in­some­entirely­separateplace­to­the­rest­of­us­–­where­amountof­ media­ coverage­ and­ hype­ is­ be-lieved­to­be­directly­proportional­withmusical­ quality­ or­ significance,­ andwhere­the­only­look-in­for­serious­musiccriticism­ is­ relegated­ to­ the­ “Critics'Choice”­category,­consisting­this­yearof­Delphic,­Ellie­Goulding­and­Marina­&The­Diamonds,­who­in­at­least­two­outof­three­cases­in­no­way­represent­anykind­of­positive­critical­consensus.­Oddities­persist­–­such­asLadyhawke's­nomination­for­International­Female­Solo­Artistdespite­having­not­released­an­album­since­2008­and­havingzero­charting­singles­in­2009.­

Owl­City“Fireflies”

There's­something­appealing­aboutOwl­ City­ AKA­ Adam­ Young's­ single“Fireflies”.­Perhaps­its­the­lax­attitudeto­ astrophysics,­ hilarious­ rhymes(“crack”­ and­ “insomniac”­ is­ the­high-light),­ or­maybe­ it­ is,­ admittedly,­ thepleasantly­ synthetic­ upbeat­ chorus.Word­ is­ that­ the­ full-length­ albumwears­thin­in­its­sugary­sweetness­aftera­while,­but­on­this­single­Young­cansustain­our­interest­long­enough.­Likea­ half-glimpsed­ shadow,­ this­ all­ col-lapses­under­close­scrutiny,­but­it­suc-ceeds­ on­ sheer­ pop­ sheen.­ It'scomplete­guff­in­a­very­real­sense,­butthere­are­far­worse­varieties­around.­

Codeine­Velvet­ClubCodeine­Velvet­Club

I've­never­been­much­of­a­fan­of­TheFratellis,­and­initially­had­no­idea­that­thisdebut­album­is­by­a­band­formed­aroundthat­band's­Jon­Lawler­and­female­co-vo-calist­Lou­Hickey.­Codeine­Velvet­Clubadopts­a­slick,­retro­rock­and­roll­soundwhich,­while­occasionally­a­tad­bloated,generally­works­extremely­well.­Hickey'sdramatic­vocals­are­a­real­highlight,­­butthere­ are­ also­ raucous­ guitars,­ stringsand­ brass­ galore.­ Possibly­ the­ bestsongs­ are­ “The­ Black­ Roses”­ and­ thefrantic,­brassy­“Little­Sister”,­coupled­to-gether­near­the­record's­core.­Impressive.

DelphicAcolyte

Last­January,­it­was­Animal­Collec-tive.­This­year's­candidate­band­toapparently­ have­ already­ releasedthe­album­of­the­year­is­Manches-ter's­ Delphic,­ who­ are­ thoroughlyless­exciting.­Less­than­convincing,Acolyte­will­definitely­be­outclassedby­ heaps­ of­ more­ accomplishedelectronica­albums­before­the­yearis­ out.­Competent­ but­ uninspiring,it's­an­exercise­in­doing­just­enough–­in­thrall­to­the­likes­of­New­Order,Delphic­come­across­as­methodical,clinical­and­sometimes­a­bit­boring.Look­ to­ past­ and­ future­ work­ byKlaxons­and­Hot­Chip­to­top­this.­­

Perhaps­most­bizarre­of­all­is­the­nominations­for­the­bestBritish­album­of­the­last­­­­­30­years­–­comprising­only­three­al-bums­from­the­80s,­which­all­came­out­in­1984-5,­containinga­Phil­Collins­album,­and­containing­nothing­veering­evenslightly­from­the­narrowest­rock/pop­axis.­

At­least­as­vacuous,­corporate­and­meaningless­as­The­XFactor­has­ever­been,­the­Brit­Awards­would­be­harder­to­as-sault­than­Simon­Cowell's­former­grip­on­the­singles­charts.

It­ would­ take­ more­ than­ Zack­ de­ laRocha­ and­ co­ to­ dismantle­ the­ BritAwards'­pale­imitation­of­British­music,I­ fear.­ The­ only­ thing­ I­ can­ seechanging­ the­ situation­ is­ is­ theviewing,­ and­ thus­ advertisingrevene­figures,­collapse.­A­slowdecline­would­only­result­ in­ in-creasingly­ poor­ shows,­ if­ that'spossible­–­only­a­collapse­wouldpull­the­money­plug­hard­enough­toget­ this­ yoke­ off­ our­ necks.­ Be-

cause,­as­we­all­know,­money­–­not­music­–­is­whatthis­ is­all­about.­What­else­explains­pictures­ofDappy­obscured­by­the­text­“Brit­Awards­WithMastercard”? 13

Poet Laureate

Carol Ann

Duffy

Reading in the:

Westminster Theatre

Chancellor’s Building

Keele Univeristy

6.30pm Tuesday 16th March 2010

Tickets £10

Students £5

Tickets available from

Chancellor’s Building

Reception

Enquiries: 01782 734169

whatson@keele.ac.uk

One Hundred & Eighty! Andrew Nicholson

On Saturday 21st November, the national student darts cham-pionships took place in Liverpool. Keele were represented atthe event by Darts Club President Stephen Johns and Darts ClubCaptain Andrew Nicholson.

Stephen was drawn to play in Group 20 and struggled againstmore experienced players, yet was unlucky not to get a coupleof results, with missed doubles costing him dear. HoweverStephen did manage a 2-0 victory in his last game but this un-fortunately was not enough for him to progress to the knockoutstages.

Andrew was drawn to play in group 1 and following victoriesover players from York, Nottingham and Swansea. In the last 64Andrew came up against Matthew McKeown, a member of theLancaster University championship winning side last year. How-ever 3 140's and a 19 dart leg helped Andrew to a 3-1 victory. Inthe last 32 Andrew was up against Danny Diamond from YorkUniversity. A tense affair with the York player backed by somevery vocal support from his teammates went into a deciding leg,although Andrew did miss 2 darts at double top for a 3-1 victory.However in the final leg it was Andrew who kept his nerve nail-ing double 10 to go through the the last 16. Here unfortunatelythe wheels came off and Andrew was eliminated 4-1 by AlexMarsden avenging his York teammates defeat in the previousround.

This was the first time the event has taken place, but the per-formances of Andrew and Steve on the day have ensured thatKeele darts is now on the map, with established university dartsteams taking notice.

Anyone who wishes to join us, we throw from 7:30 onTuesday evenings in Sams Bar.

SocietiesCONCOURSE

Best Dressed MaleBest Dressed Female

Future Leader of the Free WorldFuture Supervillian

Future WAGBiggest Party Animal

Most Facebook ObsessedGreatest GeekCutest Couple

Future Reality TV StarMale Sporting Superstar

Female Sporting SuperstarDancefloor Legend

Most Manly ManMost Girly Girl

Best AccentBiggest Heart

Best Hair (Male)Best Hair (Female)

Love MachineBest Lookalike

PoshestHottest Male

Hottest FemaleKaraoke Legend Best Facial Hair

Biggest LightweightFancy Dress SuperstarMost Metrosexual Male

Fresher With The Most ImpactExchange With The Most Impact

Ultimate All-Round Ms KeeleUltimate All-Round Mr Keele

14 Vote online @ www.theyearbookpeople.com/keele

Vote online @ www.theyearbookpeople.com/keele

The vote to find just who are the stu-dent cherries on the Keele cake hasbegun! Who is the biggest party animal?Who are the cutest couple? Who is thedancefloor legend? Who has the besthair? And most importantly of all, whoare the all round Mr and Ms Keele?

These and many more categories fea-ture in the vote the Yearbook are havingfor their feature article 'Legends ofKeele'! This special section of the bookhas photos of the top 3 in each category,so get voting for the people you thinkshould win now!  

The full list of categories is to the right.

INTERVIEWLast year, KUBE presenter Vinesh caught up with

rapper Example. Since emerging on the musicscene in 2004, his fame and popularity has con-tinued to rapidly increase. The 27 year old Londonborn talent has now worked with the likes ofCalvin Harris, Chase & Status and The Streets andwith exposure on national radio.

Vinesh: Your first album, “What We Made” is

quality and it is really humorous as well. The

newer material seems to have evolved into some-

thing different. Have you stopped writing music

that has the intention of making people laugh?

Example: I think people might get this perceptionfrom hearing some of the new stuff, I like to think “GirlCan’t Dance” made a few people laugh – it made my mumlaugh anyway but there’s certainly die hard fans who worrythat the new music is getting a bit too electro and as yousaid serious but when they hear the new album, I can guar-antee at least half of it is funny. I won’t be selling awayfrom the humour at all. There’s some lyrics in there like“Elliot from Hammersmith, mother said I had a gift, gettingwhat I wanted, some would call it chattin’ sh*t, verbal di-arrhoea, I dunno why I’m here, singing on the record chat-tin’ rubbish down your ear. My boss didn’t give a toss,colder than frostbite – giving me evils or was he just cross-eyed? I wasn’t havin’ it, grew like Popeye, kept comin’ backman, Jonathan Ross vibes” – you know what I mean sothere’s fun stuff, cheeky one liners and some more seriousstuff too

V: In terms of how you write and what you write about,who would you compare yourself to?

E: Well I’m a huge fan of Eminem but I wouldn’t evenbegin to compare myself to him, he’s one of the top

K U B E R a d i o B a c k o n A i r

25th January 2010

15

and now for something completely ...

Paul Mitchell: Head of News (KUBE)

The New Retro Show, ended with a bang in2009 with KUBE’s 1st On-Air Engagement.The happy couple from my home town ofBirmingham came up to visit, with RobinWoodward ready with a very special questionto ask his girlfriend Kristy Macdonald live inthe studio. Decorated with fairy lights, can-dles, with a bottle of champagne hiddenunder the desk; Robin got down on one kneeto propose ‘happy ever after’ to Kristy. WithKUBE’s very own Vinesh Patel to serenade thecouple live in the studio, the end of 2009 will never be forgotten.

KUBE Contacts

Controller- amanda.kearney@kuberadio.comSec/Treasurer- tk@kuberadio.com

Production- sam.jones@kuberadio.comMarketing- katie.richardson@kuberadio.com

Music- adrian.daniels@kuberadio.comEvents- vinesh.patel@kuberadio.comNews- paul.mitchell@kuberadio.com

Press- holly.bw@kuberadio.comTech- paul.rose@kuberadio.com

3 poets of all time. My first album was allstory-telling based and I’d love to place my-self with people like Kanye West and Jay-Zbut that’s never gonna happen...

V: Aside from the music – you’ve done a bit ofstand up too. Do you prefer doing the rappingor comedy?

E: I must be honest, I’ve performed stand upto 20,000 people before but I think when Isupported Harry Hill to 500 people at the LyricHammersmith – it was probably the biggestbuzz I ever had but I had to rehearse for twoweeks just for that 12 minute set but I don’treally have to rehearse that much for musicgigs.

V: So any more plans to get back on to thecomedy scene?

E: Well I was offered a load of gigs but it wasa year ago since this happened and I haven’treally thought about it since. If I wanted todo just 10 stand up shows, I’d need six monthsoff to write and prepare so it’s just not at thetop of my list of things to do right now.

V: So I know you’re a huge Fulham fan...would you hypothetically give up supportingFulham if it meant you could have a numberone album?

E: I’m gonna get a number one album bein’ aFulham fan!

V: Thanks for talking to us ... good luck sup-porting Fulham for the rest of the season – youmight need it and in all seriousness good luckwith the new album.

E: Nah we’re taking over. Cheers fella

Vote online @ www.theyearbookpeople.com/keele

thirty seConD intervieWConCourse AsKeD: WhAt else WoulD you liKe to see on Keele CAmpus?

A Subway....as in thesandwhich shop...not

the train network.

A swimming pool. I loveswimming, put am toolazy to catch the bus to

Newcastle.

A swimming pool. Thatwould certainly appeal tomore people for exercise.

Police points/buttons to 24hour security to walk homealone. Press a button for ex-ample at the library, 24 hoursecurity pick up, tell themwhere you are going, what

route etc.

Hall of Fame

Keele University SpotsExtreme Sports in Keele? Would say ‘Donot try at Home’.. but we are at Uni...sogo crazy!

The LandlordWill Ferrell and a Drunk Baby... whatmore do you want??

Ukulele BoyAn alternative take on Jason Mraz’s ‘I’mYours’....driven on by some of the cutestif not strangest facial expressions

Don’t­Vote­-­The­Sequel­-­­ With­the­KUSU elections­coming

up­this­March,­this­YouTube­sensenation­pushes­the­message­of­how­im-portant­it­is­to­vote­in­a­democratic­society,­and­with­quotes­like,­‘there­aremore­Baldwin­brothers­than­that’­you­can’t­afford­to­miss­it.

Hand picked gems from the best procrastination site on the planet

Best of the Rest

16

AndrewThompson Brendan

Nicholls

TheoIzzard

SophieKelland

Trish Hunt

AdrianRushton

Something to do!Cinema, Bowling, Ice

Rink, Bingo... Anything!

Me!

a m a z i n g s u p e r p o w e r s . c o m

GAmes &

puzzles

7 9 8 3

9 1 6

8 4 2 6 7 9

9 3

5 7

9 7

3 8 2 4 5 6

7 5 8

5 6 4 8

Kusu suDoKu

The Globsl Seed Vault is an underground vault 120 meters underground in Norway that canstore 4.5 million samples of different seeds inthe dry temperature of -18°C . This storageprocess can protect the seeds for the thousandsof years.

People that are allergic to cats will be ableto pet them without sneezing and scratching.Genetically engineered cats will be produced tohelp people with allergies enjoy their sneeze-free kitties Allerca, Inc., a biotechnology firmin San Diego, California, says it has bred Hy-

N I K I P E D I A You’re­source­of­random­knowledge

at­Keele­University­

poallergenic Cats and is now taking orders from customers in the UnitedStates.

The East Japan Railway Company (JR-East), as part of research aimed atdeveloping more environmentally friendly train stations, is testing an ex-perimental system that produces electricity as people pass through ticketgates.

17

Kusu CrossWorD

Across

5.­Country­(5)

6.­Fly­(6)

7.­Planet­(6)

9.­Evil­spy­as­(Anag.)­(9)

11.­Hairstyle­(4)

12.­Fruit­(5)

14.­volcano­(4)

15.­Torment­(3)

16.­Unit­of­intensity­of­sound­(3)

17.­Cheese­(4)

19.­Prosperous­residential­area­(5)

21.­Flout­(4)

23.­Noble­dear­(Anag.)­(9)

26.­Reference­mark­(6)

27.­Vertices­(6)

28.­Spy­(5)

Down

1.­Dog­(7)

2.­English­town­(5)

3.­Musical­composition­(5)

4.­Whisky­(7)

8.­Thread­(4)

9.­Maxim­(7)

10.­Generator­(7)

12.­Fire­(3)

13.­Wane­(3)

18.­Arch­(7)

20.­Thereafter­(4)

22.­Sacrifice­(7)

24.­Of­the­nose­(5)

25.­Muse­(5)

1 2 3 4

5

6 7

8

9 10

11 12 13 14

15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25

26 27

28

Found something on Facebook andwant to share it with the rest of the KeeleBubble? Just Email the photo tovp.comms@kusu.keele.ac.uk or upload

it to the Concourse Facebook group; if cho-sen, you could WIN free entry For you and amate on a night of your choice!18

FOUND ON

Snow Edition

WINNINGPHOTO

Andrew Thompson

Kate Hill

Kendal Allen

Nikki Cooper

Nikki Cooper

Phil Olsen

Phil Olsen

Sarah Graham

Sarah Graham

Vincent Moomin

Shona Hutton

Simon Mung

TEAM : KEELE

19

Tough Guy 2010Jon McCormack - Sports Editor

Every year in January, thousands of usually sane men andwomen gather together to put themselves through the singlehardest assault course in the world. Run in January, the com-petitors are at risk from cuts, burns, broken bones, hypother-mia, dehydration, electric shocks and claustrophobia.

We at Concourse Sport frown upon exercise of any kind, andfor this reason we will be covering the event and interviewingthose foolish enough to start the race and those lucky enoughto survive.

Look out for Facebook groups with people asking for spon-sorship, its well worth a few of your ££’s!

Check it out at www.toughguy.com

ZOOOOOM!Christina Samy - Motorsport President 

As 2009 drew to a close, the first round of KMC series got

under way. Racing through the double doors, the petrol headsentered the circuit and into the practice session, an opportu-nity for most to exploit spinning out, testing the rigidity of thebarriers and making light contact without many consequencestaken!

Sixteen heats later and themoment all soon had awaitedhad arrived – the final! 

The following drivers qual-ified for the finals: Mike Fry-att, Christina Samy,Archie  Davies, Ilker Ercen,Karl Van Cooten and Tom Manford. A quick start from Fryattquickly put him into second before contact from behinddropped him down to fifth. Just missing out in 4th place wasChristina Samy , with Podium places and trophies on the nightawarded to Ilker Ercen in third place, Archie Davies in secondplace and Tom Manford first.

The Keele Motorsport Challenge (Main Series) is run on a se-ries of both indoor and outdoor events over the year, experi-ence and venue penalties taken into account to presenteveryone with as equal opportunity as possible to be in thechance to win the title!

The next event of this series will comprise of an ‘Enduro30’of which is an endurance race at Midlands Karting situated inLichfield in the last week of January. 

Keele University Motorsport Society also prizes itself in serv-ing the interests of those who crave a little more speed by giv-ing you, the students an opportunity to participate in anexciting range of other series such as Formula Silverstone andRally driving both of which require a full UK driving licensewhich has to be held for a minimum of one year.

In May, the society wil l host its awards dinner at Buffet Islandafter watching the Turkish Grand Prix in which trophies will begiven to the best of our petrol heads (According to the lead-ership tables). We anticipate a pleasant evening whereby‘some’ will fuel up their egos but many are guaranteed to fuelup their stomachs!

Blazing Saddles Fiona Blaxland - Trophy Team Captain

In our league this year is Bangor, Chester, Liverpool andKeele. Our first competition was at Chester last Wednesday.After training and preparing really hard we came out on topafter the dressage. With two scores on zero and one on one!This meant that we had the advantage going in to the showjumping. Unfortunately we had some faults between us andtherefore ended up with the final result of team 2nd!

Individually Fiona Blaxland was 3rd and Pip Lawton was 4th!This was a brilliant start and we are very excited about the fu-ture competitions as we are sure that we are going to do wellin the league. Everyone rode amazingly and I was very proud

of our team spirit.I personally wantto thank Lucy, ourclub captain, andJuana our teamcaptain for takingthe time out tocome and supportus! Bring on thehome competitionnext year! 

Pancake Day!

For all your Shrove Tuesday needs, the Equestrian Societywill be running a pancake stall to raise funds for the club.Races, flipping, and eating competitions will be administeredby girls in jodhpurs, so get down!

Thanks go to all those who came and supported the charityquiz last semester along with the Children in Need cake bake.£100 was raised for Pudsey and friends, while £127 went toDisabled Riders fund and Children In Need.

Want to get your sports team in the next issue ofConcourse? Just send an email to Nick Heathvp.comms@kusu.keele.ac.uk or Join the AthleticUnion Concourse Group on Facebook

TEAM KEELE Est.1949

­­VARS ITY ­‘ 10 ­­­KEELE­ STAFFS

BATTLE­COMMENCES 10/03/2010

V­

Tall Girls Love BIG Balls!Amy Meadows

Keele Women’s BasketballKeele vs Chester 72 - 33

Keele woman’s basketball was excited to at lasthave their first game of the season. Both old andnew players have trained hard in the few weeks to build up a strong team bond.

The match started well with Keele winning the tipand immediately securing 4 points in the firstminute. Great team work ensured there were plentyof defensive rebounds and fast breaks in the firsthalf of the game giving Keele a 30 - 11 lead. FresherVicky Tsang, only recently recovered from injury,controlled the pace of play well and picking up extrapoints easily with free throw shots off the foul line.

The point differ-ence only continuedto increase in thethird quarter, despitesome questionable callsfrom the refs and the morepoints Keele put on thescore board, the rougherChester’s game got, result-ing in injury to more thanone player. However, Keele’sgame did not falter and a target of 70 points by theend of the match was set, which was broken by alast minute basket from Kate O’Sullivan. Top scorerwas AJ Klein, a new member to the club all the wayfrom California!

The girls are now looking forward to the next homematch against Chester on the 3rd of March, wherewe will hopefully build on our lead at the top of thetable...