The bus tour will last for around an hour and a guide will talk though the progress that’s been made, point out the buildings and points of interest. The College will pay for train tickets into London and the winners need to meet at the tour accreditation centre at Pudding Mill Lane at 9:30am. You will need to bring photographic ID which will be checked by security on arrival. The name on the ID must be identical to the name provided in advance.

To be in with a chance of winning please email intranet@rhul.ac.uk with a line explaining why you are looking forward to the 2012 Games. Emails must be received no later than 5pm on Tuesday 17^th January. Please include a contact number so details can be finalised and so relevant information can be passed on to the London Olympic 2012 Organising Committee.

The 16th July 2011 brought RHUL Gospel Choir incredible success being crowned the first ever University Gospel Choir of the Year. And what better ending to the year could the choir have asked for than national recognition and a glistening trophy?

Competition was tough with 8 choirs singing head to head for the title in this year’s final. Dressed uniformly in black and yellow with eyes aglow, smiles on and moves at the ready, the choir wowed the crowd with traditional ‘I Shall Wear a Crown’ and a more upbeat mash up of ‘I Believe in God’ and Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’ in their 8 minute performance.

Impressed by the choir’s presentation, choreography, technique and emotion the judges scored RHUL Gospel Choir most highly.

R&B singer and songwriter, Rachel Kerr, hosted the evening and opened the show with a fantastic performance of single ‘Walk with Me’. The superbly talented finalists featured Canterbury Christ Church University Choir, FDV Hertfordshire Choir, Imperial College Gospel Choir, KCL GMS Choir, The Jesus Alive Fellowship Choir, Revival Gospel Choir and UWE Gospel Choir as well as our RHUL Gospel Choir.

UWE and KCL were deservedly awarded 2nd and 3rd places. The night was a resounding success raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Huge congratulations to all the finalists for a wonderful start to what, I’m sure, will become an exciting annual event.

Nicole Zoylinos

We, climbers of the Mountaineering and Climbing Society of Royal Holloway University (MACS), awoke in the early morning, packed our gear, and set off on our upward hike to the cliff faces. The crags run along the outline of the river, though sometimes staying at a distance higher up so as to expose the full splendour of the French countryside. Within the crevice of the rock faces, the Ardéche River glistened beneath us, a mere thread of it seen from this height.

For a while the crag is protected from the sun which, in the midst of the June heat, can be quite an unmerciful ally. Proceeding further across the crags, we chased the fleeting shade in hopes of a few more hours of climbing sheltered from the heat. But one cannot outrun the sun, and a couple of hours after midday, the time came to retreat back down to the river, which lay waiting with the promise of a cool release.

How does one describe the feeling of floating in the arms of a gentle tide and looking around to discover that every scene, every feature, every sight is one of more beauty and natural grace than could ever be imagined? There are no words to describe such a feeling, but that is what it was like as we gave ourselves into the hands of the river. The sun became a friend to gaze upon while in the comfort of the lapses of cool water. Nearby cliff faces stand overhanging the deep end of the river—the perfect perches from which to jump and have that moment of the thrill of a prolonged fall salvaged by the waiting water below.

As the sun begins to falter and the heat lessens, we set off on expeditions to discover the nearby town. Along the roads we walk past vineyards and small country homes, the sort of which we have previously only experienced through cinema and imagination. The people of the area were friendlier and more obliging than could have been hoped for, and even for those of us who have, shall we say, a language barrier, their help and hospitality knew no bounds.
The sun disappears in a soft hue of colour and iridescence, hiding the distant countryside from view.

Back to the river, we retreat to light a modest fire and share the company of friends as the moon and stars light up the sky and cast a silver glow amongst the ripples and their nearby beaches. There we remain into all hours of the night until sleep overpowers us and we withdraw to the comfort of our mobile homes. Thus ends a day in the quiet countryside of France’s Ardéche, to be followed by many more days of basking in its splendor.

Cara Tyndall

The Choir attracted crowds of enthusiastic Italians and tourists wherever they went with their amazing soloists, musicians and big smiles. Unsurprisingly, the Choir couldn’t keep quiet for long and were constantly singing and playing. A fantastic time was had by all with beautiful sunny weather in an absolutely gorgeous setting.

Outside rehearsals and performances the Choir hit the beach, the shops, the museums and the palaces and experienced Venetian culture as much as possible. It’s safe to say the bench mark for the future has been set high. More sun, sea, sand and singing next year? Well if you’ve got soul, go gospel.

Nicole Zoylinos

June

Royal Holloway and the BUFVC create search engine for access to over 13 million film, television and radio archives from 1896-present.

Royal Holloway, along with the British Universities Film and Video Council, has recently helped to develop a series of nine, easy-to-use data bases, which will allow users access to over 13 million film, TV and radio records. Previously, one had to know exactly where to look in order to access desired material, but the new search engine will allow people to browse or to quickly pinpoint and find exactly what they are looking for. The search engine is to be released this summer. Principal Investigator and Professor of Media Arts, John Ellis, said, ‘Moving image and sound are an underused resource in teaching and research. Educators are keen to use them, but experience many problems in locating useful resources. This unified search of all BUFVC’s existing databases solves this by providing a thoroughly tested user friendly interface with many novel features.’ These features include detailed user history, and ‘related results’ suggestions, to make it even easier for users to find and access what they are looking for. To try it out, just go to: http://beta.bufvc.ac.uk/

June signing sees the beginning of the second phase of Italian Academies project

On June 25^th, a £780,000 research project on Italian Academies from 1525-1700 was launched by Royal Holloway University Renaissance specialists, in collaboration with Reading University and the British Library. This marks the second phase of the research project. The first phase of the four-year project, entitled ‘The Italian Academies: 1525-1700: The First Intellectual Networks of Early Modern Europe’ saw the creation of a large catalogue database, holding records of works from 500 different academies across Italy. Early modern Italian academies helped to create discussion in Europe and elsewhere on everything from literature and performing arts to science and technology to religion, medicine and astronomy. They were alternatives to universities and produced many great intellectuals, both male and female, rich and poor. Modern Languages and European Studies Lecturer at Reading, Lisa Sampson, said, ‘This is a very exciting project which is producing some very interesting research and dissemination activities, as well as offering a series of studies and workshops to international audiences as well as school groups. We are making the world of the Italian academies known.”

The Mystery of the Banda Arc a Mystery No More

The Banda Arc is a 180-degree curve stretching 1,000-kms in eastern Indonesia, and has had geologists stumped as to how it was formed for many years now. Finally, a solution has been presented by research scientists at both Royal Holloway and Utrecht University. ‘Situated at the centre of three converging and colliding major tectonic plates –India-Australia, Eurasia, Pacific- the Banda arc comprises young oceanic crust enclosed by a volcanic inner arc, outer arc islands and a trough parallel to the Australian continental margin. It is a complex subduction setting, where one plate has moved under another, with possibly the largest fold on Earth, extending to a depth of about 650 km.’, according to the RHUL research website. There are many reasons that the Banda arc mystery had never been solved until now. Many scientists could not agree on whether subduction was still occurring, due to many earthquakes and active volcanoes in the region, or even the number of slabs being subducted. However, Professor Robert Hall from Royal Holloway and Wim Spakman, from the University of Utercht, believe they have found the answer to the mystery, using reconstructions of the region and ‘analysis of tectonic evolution of seismic tomography.’ Their solution involves the rolling back of just one oceanic slab.

Plate movement and convergence is very rapid and common in Indonesia. The 2004 tsunami there, for example, was caused by the northward movement of the India-Australia plate, which showed researchers that such rapid rollbacks are possible even today, and also explains why the Banda region is evolving the way it currently is. They also discovered that there was more subducted plate underground than previously thought or predicted, including a piece of the Australian plate which has partly separated from the crust surrounding the Banda arc.

Since the Banda arc is undergoing deformation, islands surrounding it, such as Seram and Timor, have been rapidly elevated. In the past couple of million years, both have moved from their positions several kilometres below sea level to 3 kilometres above sea level today.

Professor Hall from Royal Holloway said, ‘These are remarkable vertical movements on geological time scales. …We are seeing a mountain belt forming before our eyes. Some of the features we observe there will help us to understand older mountain belts.’

The new solution will provide a ‘new basis for understanding the past and present geology and geophysics of the region.’ Now that scientists know that the Banda arc subduction was not the result of a random tectonic setting, they can see it has many similarities with other such areas around the world, particularly in the Alpine-Mediterranean region and Central America.

This year, main stage names included Jamiroquai, Portishead and Arcade Fire; with highlights including Pulp’s set-closer ‘Common People’ (yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jarvis has still got it!), and a mass stage invasion to Mercury award-nominee, M.I.A.  Over in the (overwhelmingly impressive) dance arena, deadmau5 played a barnstorming sunrise set to ten thousand party animals clad in mouse masks, while Steve Aoki crowd surfed (or sailed!) in a rubber dinghy before ingratiating himself with the locals by waving an oversized Serbia flag and spraying four bottles of Dom Pérignon over the first 20 rows.

Perhaps the one downside to camping at EXIT is waking up at 8am after a little less than two hours sleep, still drunk, sweating and gasping for air in the suffocating and inescapable Balkan sunshine – no wonder then that the majority of those travelling to EXIT are prudent enough to book into a hostel!  However this early morning misery is quickly offset by a trip to Novi Sad beach on the banks of the Danube, and the fact that beer is often cheaper than bottled water!

Provided you can face the blistering heat and slow pace of the Eastern bloc trains which will take you to Novi Sad from Belgrade, EXIT is a perfect alternative to the UK festival scene.  If you book your transport early enough you could even find that the whole trip will cost you less than a ticket to Reading, Leeds or Glasto!

It’s that time of year. Students pack up a scruffy old bag, full of the cleanest of the unclean clothes, and head to some of the highlighted festivals and beach resorts of England and the wider world.

Summer Break is a student-based festival that proclaims to bring together “96 hour party people”. The festival is held in the south coast’s answer to Ibiza, Newquay. A Sin City of indulgence featuring cheap drinks, plenty of talent and of course, not forgetting a good old Cornish pasty.

Students can choose between standard festival camping but are also offered the luxary of caravans for up to eight people. With noise, nakedness and plenty of empty beer cans, the student village can be found just outside of Newquay town. Fistral Beach becomes home to the students during the day with Summer Break providing plenty of entertainment to keep people in the party atmosphere for as long as they can manage.

Newquay is renowned for its lively strip of nightclubs, the host for hen and stag dos, as well as the unfortunate and tragic deaths of two teenagers in 2009. It is since then that Police have cracked down on the post-GCSE underage binges. Perhaps something you participated in a good few years ago.

Despite the sweet-sixteen reputation, through an unrelenting and irritatingly convincing marketing campaign, Summer Break managed to lure a reported 6000 students to the south coast for two separate four day stints.

This year saw some big names headlining the stages, including Annie Mac, Chase ‘n’ Status and Royal Holloway’s very own Example, who was at the time in the number one chart spot.

A handful of Royal Holloway students’ headed along to take on the 96 hour party challenge. After all, isn’t this the kind of event Egham prepares you for? But for a few of the Holloway lads, despite some good nights out, Summer Break wasn’t quite what they had expected.

Geology student, Adam Hoad came back after the first night of partying and headed straight to bed. However when he woke up, it wasn’t only his memory that was missing.

“We decided to leave the caravan door unlocked for the one remaining person that was still out. Turns out he never came back and we were burgled while we were all sleeping in our rooms.”

Unfortunately for Adam, they took his iPhone 4, the TV, iPod speakers, laptop cables, the fire extinguisher, the toaster, a kettle, two bottles of vodka and whilst they were at it, two cans of coke for the road.  A pretty hefty load for what seems to be a cheeky thief.

After speaking to the Summer Break team, Adam and his fellow campers managed to get the fire extinguisher replaced but nearly a month on, have not heard about their deposit. They could be left £100 out of pocket.

Despite his losses, Adam would not let the break in piss on his party. “The rest of the week was fun and once I had sorted out my phone out I was more at ease.” But as Adam concluded, there is a moral to this story. “Even though you are in an environment surrounded by students nobody can be trusted.”

The SU

The show was overseen by the Student Union democracy officer: Dedar Mahal who assisted the presenters by asking questions from the Student Union as well as making sure the conduct of the show was appropriate in line with the SU constitution.

Questions centred on manifestos, previous problems with the role and campaigning promises as well as more personality related questions.

To hear the podcast visit the Insanity website.

Alternatively, you can attend candidate question time live at the Student Union tomorrow night ( Thursday the 3rd) at 7.30pm to hear the candidates debate certain issues directly as they fight it out for your vote.

Rosalind Plowright O.B.E.

This month Rosalind Plowright O.B.E., a world famous opera singer, gave master-class to the cast of Opera Holloway’s The Marriage of Figaro. What she expected to be a dire day of singing proved to be one of discovery and excitement.

Plowright, one of the art forms grand dames, has toured extensively and sung with every big name in the last forty years. She was a favourite leading lady with each of the Three Tenors and has been critically acclaimed on stage and on record.

The master-class, which was held in the Windsor building, was organised by Opera Holloway’s co-founders Lewis Gaston and Christopher Moon-Little. This summer they are mounting RHUL’s first ever full scale opera The Marriage of Figaro. Their aim is to get students interested in opera by staging contemporary interpretations of operas in modern day English; Figaro has been specially translated by the show’s director Christopher Moon-Little. They also want to give students at RHUL their first experience of performing opera as demanding music drama but in an environment that will look after young singers.

The master-class focused on the songs or ‘arias’ that characters in the opera have. Plowright proved to be a multi-resourced teacher giving every singer different things to think about. There were lessons in: incorporating blocking and technique into one’s acting, developed technical breathing, Italian pronunciation and body language.

Every singer got half an hour with the Diva and there was not one voice she was not sincerely complementary too. Her enthusiasm for some of the OH talent was tremendous, especially Maria Listra, who plays one of the soprano leads, and this publication’s editor Anoosheh Dastbaz.

The day ended with a group workshop on some breathing exercises aimed at taking stress away from the voice and increasing the focus of the voice (the core of the sound). Everyone joined in on these dynamic exercises which can be emailed to any one request from Lewis Gaston.

The RHUL singers completely wowed Plowright. By the end of the day not only was she begging for tickets to the show but also said ‘the standard of singing today has been equal if not higher than most master-classes I give to post-grads at music college and much more enjoyable.’ The day was a complete coup for RHUL as well as Opera Holloway who eagerly look forward to welcoming back Plowright in June at the performance.

Election Campaigners

The elections did not reach quota, which the SURHUL Constitution states as ‘10% of the full membership of the Students’ Union for any cross-campus election’. Furthermore it states that if this quota is not reached then ‘a quorate General Meeting (GM) shall confirm the validity of the election.’

At the subsequent GM the ratification of the elections became a starred item but was ‘unstarred’ and discussed by those present. As such, it went to a vote for the 40-odd people who were present at the GM with 22 votes overturning the 700 students who voted for their respective candidates. This meant that the elections had not been ratified and that the positions would be re-elected alongside the currently unfulfilled positions in the June by-elections.

This led to an ‘uproar’ amongst the now de-ratified election winners and an unquantifiable amount of the student population on Facebook. A formal written request with 61 signatures led to an Emergency General Meeting on the last day of term. The GM vote was overturned and the elections were ratified preventing the need for a post-exam election re-run.

Hurray, you might be thinking – democracy wins again! That was essentially my overwhelming sentiment until I considered the fact that under 10% of the student population decided to vote in these elections. It could be because students didn’t know about the elections or perhaps they felt that none of the candidates were the right choice for them.

We could take the ‘easy route’ which so many students take and blame the failings of the current Students’ Union to attract voters – but I personally don’t think that’s the problem. Maybe the trouble isn’t with a disinterested student population – maybe it’s the voting system that the Students’ Union have inherited.

Let’s look at some of the problems within the current system.

Over one week students were able to vote for their candidate of choice, and the vast majority were made aware of the candidates by the campaigners. There really were plenty of campaigners, hassling students around the Store on Campus, Windsor Building and Bedford Library.

Whether you were on your way to work in the library, wanting to buy some lunch, or just trying to get to a lecture, they were there! You probably tried to avoid these areas – I know I’ve pretended to receive enthralling text messages on my phone just to avoid talking to the campaigners. Many students don’t want campaigners treating them like children; being pressured to vote straight away at the nearest ballot boxes. Informed decisions take a while to produce. Few people are going to talk to a campaigner for 30 seconds and immediately decide to cast their vote!

An alternative to talking to campaigners is by looking at manifestos. These were hard to find – the only copies that I could find were at the voting stations and on the various Facebook groups that appeared. If the two student publications were allowed to print information about the candidates and their aims, this could increase awareness of the elections and subsequently increase voter numbers.

I’ve been on the other side of the fence if you like – this year I was involved in two election campaigns and campaigned outside both the Windsor Building and Bedford Library (sorry!). However many students simply ignore you and walk on by. I don’t blame them – if I were in their shoes I wouldn’t want to talk to a campaigner whilst on my way to a lecture or to meet friends. A lot of the students I did talk to didn’t know that elections were under way, let alone the names of the candidates or the positions they stood for.

The current system, whereby a candidate can select up to 10 campaign team members, could be reconsidered. Instead of having students harassed and put off by loud campaigners during one intense week, maybe we could extend the voting period, but get rid of the campaigners. A bold idea? Maybe not get rid of all campaigners, but limit it to three per candidates and stop the campaigners from clogging up our walkways with large banners and small pieces of paper highlighting the positives of their candidates.

How would students know who to vote for? Well The Orbital and Insanity Radio publicised the Sabbatical elections to great effect, so what if The Orbital and Insanity were given more information about each candidate, in equal measure?

Insanity Radio did run a candidate session for these elections but this needs to be treated with the same importance as Candidates’ Question Time in the Students’ Union Building Main Hall. It would mean that voters would be able to assess their candidates and see what they would do for them and for the Students’ Union. The reform of our elections is already under way with proposals to include internet voting next year as done in other universities across the country.

There could be a deadline for candidates to announce their intention to stand, then a week for their manifestos and other information to be publicised, and then a two week period of voting. Some potential hurdles would be that the Students’ Union would have to monitor the candidates for a week longer in order to make sure that no rules were broken in canvassing, and there would be a need for more ballot box volunteers.

With increased coverage from the various student media outlets, as well as an increased voting period with fewer campaigners there is the potential for increased student awareness of the elections, increased voter turnout (to avoid being unable to reach quota again) and fewer campaigners infuriating us as we try to go about our student lives. Just some food for thought…