The Leopard (Summer 2011)

CONTENTS:

NEW CROSS LIBRARY.DESIGN SHOW

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE.COMMENTS.

LEOPARD’S EYE.REVIEWS.COLUMNS.

LISTINGSEVENTSPAGE 11

SPORTS CRICKET SEASON REPORT

GUEST COMICACTVITIESCROSSWORD

us that they needn’t be worried and

raises questions about the operating

of the shop (See comment section).

Local businesses have complained

about the threat that the new

Sainsbury’s will pose to their custom.

The plot is situated in a long line of

cafes opposite the library which

James Howell,Sub Editor

Lewisham council has voted this

month to give Sainsbury’s super-

market planning permission to open

at 33-35 Lewisham Way, opposite

supermarket has been met with

protests from the Student Union

and local green councillor Darren

Johnson who argue that it will kill

described the move as ‘just greedy’

and are worried that not only local

business will be affected but also

the Student Union shop. However a

look at the SU shop accounts shows

Sainsbury’s To Open New Metro Store In New Cross

Cafe providing a top-notch Full

English to hungover Sandwichers

on a Thursday morning or the

an ideal place to meet for lunch and

enjoy a bargain-priced pint and

sizable portions.

Continues on Page 5

June/Summer 2011Issue 005Free

Web:www.theleopard.co.ccE-mail: [email protected]: @leopardnews

Following the Browne review in January, Goldsmiths college has decided to up its fees to £9,000 a year for its Home, UG and PGCE students.

To begin with, the raising of the fee cap did not necessarily mean universities would be charging top dollar. However, once the ball started to roll beyond

Oxbridge and Imperial, it seems that any university that wants to hold onto a good reputation needs to follow. Like the current fees, courses that cost less suggest inadequacy. As a consumer society we have been fed the myth of cost equalling quality for our whole lives. A lower rate would lead to suspicion and the potential for

Goldsmiths to lose good students to other universities.So that‘s their argument, but what about Goldsmiths college being different? ‘Radical’ and ‘Creative’ are the cringey buzzwords slapped onto posters, t-shirts and badges and any other available surface at every college open day.

Goldsmiths announce £9,000 fees for 2012/13By Jessica Blake

New Cross: Try something new today? Comment Page 5

SUMMER EDITION - A Paper for you to enjoy until the Autumn!NEWS

OPINION

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

LISTINGS

SPORT

ACTIVITIES

It would be easy for Goldsmiths to keep its fees low and still attract good students by staging it as another rebellion. Failure to be lured by the increasing privatisation of education would grant the institution a great deal of respect and attract those lefty student activists that make the college so notorious.

Continues on Page 7

? ?? ?

2 THE LEOPARD JUNE-SUMMER 2011

Welcome to the last Leopard of term!

It’s been quite a year - for us and for

all of you. For The Leopard, this

marks the end of a very successful

this, you will either be moving up

essays and exams as a student at

Usually Johnny and I - co-editors of

this paper - would write an Editor’s

Letter together but I have taken it

over for this last issue as it is my last

as Editor and the last words I will

probably ever type as a student at

this university.

has been a challenge but the standard

of the content we have received and

published this year, I believe, we

students have a huge diversity of

opinions and viewpoints and The

Leopard gives you somewhere to

articulate these.

In this issue we have our usual

round-up of news, our freshers

The Leopard

Editors-In-Chief:Johnny BlondeHannah Wright

Layout:Pug Rock Design

Leopard Logo:Emily Harthern

Executive Editor:James Haywood

Interested in becoming a contributor in any area of The Leopard?E-mail: [email protected]

Sub Editor:James Howell

Sports Desk:Steve Howe

Illustration Desk:Abbie Cohen

Contributors:

Nindya AtmodipoeroSimon BettsJessica Blake

Proof readers:Hayley ChandlerEmily Harthern

it please pass it on so others can read it or take care to recycle or re-use it. Save those trees, reduce those rubbish dumps and be kinder to the environment!

WELCOME

News in BriefStories for the breakfast table.

Front cover photo: mathiasd

The shutters

outside the New Cross Library after it closed recently. To inform the public, a small piece of A4 paper proclaimed that the vital resource for the area was

else to get your knowledge.This comes after a lengthy battle with Lewisham council over attempts to save it.Over the past few months we have seen protests, petitions and even national

New Cross Library closes Changes to Student

Assembly

coverage after a sit-in took place. But it was all to no avail sadly.The library shutting is one of the more visual signs of governemt cuts as funding for services like this disappear for the greater good.The only problem being is that if and when times change and the funding can return, the building would have long been sold and the space forever unavailable for library purposes again.

Since Easter there has been talk from the Students’ Union over policy which will enable students to propose and vote directly on motions raised at the monthly Students Assembly meetings.For years the democratically elected Students Assembly has been the sole body able to vote at meetings, which determine the direction on the Unions policies on issues like allowing the Army on campus, guiding campaigns on discrimination and banning the sale of controversial goods in the SU shop.Proposed by outgoing President Bindz Patel and Assembly member Matt West, in a massive shift of legislation, requiring changes to the by-laws of the

the Trustee board the change looks to go ahead for next year. After having at least one open meeting on the subject, where several gaps in the idea were raised, discussed, but not resolved, a motion on the direct partici-pation passed in the Students Assembly in May.The change means that any student or assembly member can put forward a motion to the Students Assembly, just like the current system but under the new system after a discussion any student present can then vote on it and pass it to become policy in the Students Union. It is not clear at going to press how powerful and regulated this vote is. It could allow a situation where a small group or even one person can hold all the power in voting in legislation.While a large change, its progress has largely been undocumented and publi-cised by the Students Union and time will tell if this decision is the right one.

More on this to come in September as the story develops over the summer.

Also check the students’ union website for announcements http://www.gold-smithssu.org

Below: Finally closedPhoto: James Holland

Students Head To The Fringe

looks set to be repre-sented at the Edinburgh Fringe Fes-tival by more performance groups than ever at the annual arts event in August. Charissa Shearer has adapted Great Expectations for the stage for a pro-duction that is being directed by Al-iya Gulamani. Starring in Great Ex-pectations but also performing his own one-man-show is Gareth Ellis. His blend of stand-up comedy and bizarre characters is focused around the people you are likely to meet on the underground. You Filthy Animal- their company name, not an insult- are also taking a darkly comic murder mystery to the festival entitled ‘A Monochrome Murder’. All shows mentioned are being produced within the Free Fringe initiative- making venues free for performers to use and then in turn making the shows free for audiences.

A musical instrument, which led to the development of synthesiz-ers that gave The Beatles and Pink Floyd their distinctive sound, has been rescued with the help of Dr Mick Grierson, from Goldsmiths.Goldsmiths has teamed up with the Science Museum to rescue this one-of-a-kind historic musical artefact named The Oramics Machine.The Oramics Machine, designed and built by Daphne Oram in the 1950s and 60s, will go on display at the museum this summer.

-sizer of its time and without it many of today’s electronic music pioneers would not exist.Dr Grierson commented that, “Daphne Oram was a woman pio-neer in an area which at the time didn’t have much status. She was forgotten about and so was the ma-chine.”

Goldsmiths Helps Save Historical Musical Instrument

diarist - who is now bidding farewell

to life as a fresher- and a special look

at the mental health of students at

this stressful time in university life.

With elements of our design being

constantly tweaked, we hope you will

agree that this is our best-looking

issue yet. Without Johnny, this paper

wouldn’t look as good as it does now

and probably would never ever have

made it to the printers on time, so

it is in good hands next year when

Johnny - joined by James Howell -

continues on as Editor.

I wish them the best of luck and hope

that The Leopard continues to go

from strength to strength. I also hope

that everyone reading has a great

summer and - without sounding

cheesy or insincere - very happy and

successful futures.

All the best,

Hannah Wright, now former editor

Letter From The Editors

A Student Assembly meeting in session.

Photo: Matt3w

JUNE-SUMMER 2011 THE LEOPARD 3

NEWS

Onwards to next year, The Leopard plans ahead.By F.X. Leach Media commentator

This copy of The Leopard that you’re holding is the last issue for the academic year 2010/11 which ends the

Last June, the idea for the paper hadn’t taken form, the only other paper this college has ever had was ‘The Free Press’ released twice during that year. Indeed it wasn’t until September 2010 that the paper as we know it today started to take shape, which seeing

edition was on the 26th of that month it happened quickly. A mad rush by the new Editors-in-Chief, Hannah Wright and Johnny Blonde fresh from a year’s work at SMITHS were tasked with getting

everyone at Goldsmiths.It is with this in mind then, that The Leopard moves forward into its prepa-rations for next year. The summer it once didn’t have presents some exciting opportunities; Looking for dedicated and enthusiastic section editors, a ‘well good’ website and getting a headquar-ters on campus to name but a few. Under the editorship of the newly-elected duo of Johnny Blonde and James Howell, the paper intends to continue to broaden its horizons and become a vital part of the Goldsmiths media.

want, in any way you want, then you’ll make it more successful and a better paper during the year ahead.

If you’re still holding this in your hands, then think about what you could do for it next year if you’re still going to be here. With you telling the paper what you

submissions, making it faster and less taxing to submit and work with the leopard, allowing people to contribute what they can when they can all year round.

Creating a monthly newspaper is no easy task, but with a good team of editors, journalists, photographers and illustrator/designers it doesn’t have to be a overly hard task either, instead an enjoyable one. For The Leopard to really become established within the college it has to become established in the student body and the students’ hearts. The paper has received positive comments from readers throughout the year, and it urges these responses to be more frequent and more vocal next year. It will have a headquarters as mentioned above and readers and potential contributors will be able to pop in and say ‘hello’.It is over the summer that the ground-work will be laid, with a strengthened Leopard welcoming everyone back during Fresher’s week and tempting them to get involved. Last Fresher’s week, the paper had a meeting to which 80 people attended and signed up to get involved over the year, which was an overwhelming response for something which hadn’t even started yet. But this was also before everyone knew their course demands, so the editors are aware for next year that they will have to tackle the problem of course commitments affecting the number of

Image: Leopardmedia


UNION NEWS - ELECTION RESULTS

Media + Part time positionsThe round-up of the elections that missed out in March.

Art Departmental Rep:

Shabana ZAMAN - Elected

Computing Departmental Rep

Richard Ethan JEAN-MARIE - Elected

Design Departmental Rep

Shumaiya KHAN - Re-elected

Drama Departmental Rep

Chloe WADE - Elected

English and Comparitive Literature

Departmental Rep

Charlotte BROOMFIELD & Simon SCHEERS - Elected

On the week beginning the 23rd May, the UK Mental Health Awareness week took place. The aim of the week was to raise awareness of mental health issues in the UK. According to the NUS, on average, one in four of us will experi-ence a mental health problem within the course of a year (that’s 25 per cent of all students). There still exists a huge stigma surrounding mental health issues but

long hours in the library and a change in sleeping patterns The focus of this year-long Mental Health Awareness campaign was ‘sleep’, an important part of every individuals physical and mental well-being. Lack of sleep can make people physically unwell, stressed or anxious and scientists also believe that it can contribute to heart disease and premature aging. For most students, the prospect of all-nighters (whether through study or just

mental health a topic of discussion in university life.The term ‘mental health’ encom-passes a great deal of issues which include depression, stress, anxiety, eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, self-harm, sleep-disorders and addictions.For students at university, this can be a particularly stressful time of year with

Media & Communications Rep

Bishara ABDI & Hideko ONO - Elected

Politics Departmental Rep

Harry HUGHES & Evgenia SAMANTSOVA - Elected

Psychology Departmental Rep

Ben TAYLOR - Elected

Eric VINCENT - Elected

Howard LITTLER - Elected

CONTRIBUTORS

[email protected]

WANT MORE?

through play) combined with increased stress is extremely likely and the mental health of the student population can often be forgotten about.University is a time in which most students go through extreme changes- moving away from home, making new groups of friends and adjusting to a new routine of late-night drinking and early-morning lectures. Because of all these changes, it makes for an even scarier time if you feel that there may be something not-quite-right. Opening up to new friends about what could potentially be very heavy topics of conversation can be a daunting feeling but one which can be rewarding in the end.

have gone through similar issues and shared experiences will help you to know that you are not alone.If speaking to friends seems like it would be too close to home then Goldsmiths has a dedicated Student Support service that you can approach for help, guidance or counselling sessions. As well as these services, the Student

workshops that have been aimed towards self-esteem, stress and anxiety and teach students ways to challenge negative thoughts and develop coping mechanisms. The Students’ Union also has an open door policy and encourages students to approach them with any problems that they wish to discuss.The above advice is assuming that those with any mental health problems would recognise them themselves and be actively willing to want to receive help for them. Unfortunately, however, it is common that those suffering from certain illnesses will either not believe their problem to be serious enough to warrant help or do not see at all that they have a problem. In these cases it is often friends and family who begin to notice changes in the individual and it can be daunting to approach them with concerns. A prevalent mental health problem which can come to light in this way are eating disorders. Eating disorders, although stereotypically linked to vanity and looks, is more often thought of as a control method. It provides the individual with something to control

exactly in their lives, whether this is how many calories their consume, how often they make themselves sick or how often they exercise. Most sufferers of eating disorders will not recognise that there is anything wrong and more often than not, when they do, will be unwilling to give up this sense of control over their lives. This is just one example of a mental health issue that could affect the people around you but if you suspect that they have an eating disorder or any other

you should speak to is that person. If you feel you want advice on how to go about doing this, speak to the Student

approaching the subject.

person you speak to is that they have to be the one to want to get help. You can’t force help on to someone, no matter how much you would like to. You also have to try and understand their problem as much as you can - there is no point in telling someone who feels depressed to ‘snap out of it’- it isn’t that simple. They may also try and tell you that it isn’t that bad and that other people suffer from conditions much worse than them. In these cases, you should still urge them to speak to someone, if only to put their mind at ease that they are experi-encing something that many others do.Because the term ‘mental health’ is so encompassing of every condition or ailment that the mental capacities of individuals can suffer from, it is an extremely broad topic to discuss.

From this short article, it is hoped that a greater dialogue on mental health issues can begin to be developed in university life and the stigma surrounding mental illness can begin to be challenged. Feeling depressed or anxious is a lot

explaining that you have a pain in your arm but in this modern age the two should both be able to be approached without fear of laughter or belittling.

Goldsmiths Counselling’s Email:[email protected]

Mental Health Foundation Website:www.mentalhealth.co.uk

Students’ mental healthBy Hannah Wright

Leopard Editor

Johnny BLONDE & James HOWELL - Elected

Leipa KURAITE - Elected

Smiths Editor

Carolyn HANSEN & Louisa O’BRIEN - Elected

Wired Station Manager

Eleanor REES

NUS Delegate

Matt WEST - Re-elected

That’s the results, the turnout was way below that of the main elections a few weeks prior. The by-elections remain the weaker round of voting.

Fitting into the environment? The eco-friendly Sainsburys store down the road in Greenwich.


LOCAL NEWS

Continued from Front Page

However the threat posed by a conven-ient and closer chain supermarket like Sainsbury’s is worrying many of these businesses.It should be noted that New Cross is not new territory for J Sainsbury, for a number of years one of their super-stores has been residing next to New Cross Gate station. It does not look like it will be going anywhere soon as it is the most local supermarket to the town and nearby Deptford.But in this post recession climate it is businesses like Sainsburys that are looking to capitalise on other busi-nesses selling up or disappearing and

-lenging Tesco and Asda, it wants to accquire new sites wherever it can and the site opposite Goldsmiths happens to be one of many.Cambridge News has reported recently that a similar proposed store there has rasied plenty of opposition. You get challenges on big supermarkets like this all the time and then someone comes along and says “I wasn’t keen on Tesco. They are swallowing up the world – but I like Sainsbury’s.” It

visiting the shop I noticed that a Mars Bar was an overpriced 75p and a bottle of Coca-Cola was £1.10, while Cafe Natura had the audacity to try and charge £3.40 for a sandwich!!! The extremely large prices can be put down to the extreme restrictions placed on what the shop can stock such as nothing from the baby-murdering Swiss company Nestle or anything made in the barbarous state of Israel. The argument which appar-

subsidise the Student Union Bar which recorded massive losses including a

The Student Union shop is also reported to be feeling threatened, but should it be?Having gained access to the accounts for the year 2009-2010, it can be seen that the SU shop’s turnover was just short of £400,000 for the 2010, with cost of sales for that year totalling only £263,415, which after operation expenses left the Student Union Shop making over £22,400. This may seem

making over £20,000 a year however all you need to do is go into the shop and you will understand why. After

is things like this that emphasise the changes every town centre or high street is facing.New Cross is not out of the cookie cutter mould however unlike many of its surrounding counterparts, a large independent culture exists and has resisted actions like this for a long time.Part of it lies on the fact that there is a large student population in the area and

cheap and cheerful stores can thrive.The impact of a new Sainsburys on this area will be hard to measure if it ever gets through planning stages. It is safe to say that it wouldn’t shut down due to lack of business, but it brings into question who would it harm most?The worst off would probably be Iceland, another supermarket located a few mintutes walk away, opposite Deptford Town Hall. No-one has been seen to have protested it’s existence in New Cross for the last 3 or 4 years, but would people moan if it had to shut down?We will be assuming here at The Leopard

Additional reporting by Johnny Blonde.

New supermarket proposedSainburys set to force debate in the area over the plans

the Union Bar come from failures such as last years Summer Ball, which many have argued was down to the value for money with what was on offer. James Haywood said, in an interview with East London Lines ‘the Students’

back into the services and campaigning we do.’ However despite the losses the Union funds closed at £205,225 in 2009.The issue arises on whether the Student

believes itself to be a competitive force in Lewisham Way’s market. If indeed

to pay lower prices over the road at the evil, New Cross destroying Sainsbury’s

mismanagement or Haywood’s crusades against the world. The issue of a Sainsbury’s built on Lewisham Way would be detrimental to local businesses, but as far as Goldsmiths’ Student Union is concerned it needs to look at its own business, before wading in to the local’s.

fund the Student Union’s campaigns, which I have previously argued are contradictory to the Universities virtue of diversity. A further point should be noted that if it is putting its funds back into the Union, and particularly The

be paid to cover mismanagement of events there? While on the other hand, if it does believe it has a place in customer choice on Lewisham Way then it should charge more competi-tive prices for stock. When lunch time arrives students will be far more likely

Fitting into the environment? The eco-friendly Sainsburys store down the road in Greenwich.

Comment:What does having a supermarket open next door mean for our Union shop?


NEWS

Design degree show opens in ShoreditchJohnny Blonde covers the private view evening of the ‘Future Folk’ show by BA Design third years

In Shoreditch every year, just as Easter has well and truly died down the degree shows roll into town. Goldsmiths is just

amongst its equals when the industry comes along to view it.The industry can expect to take notice of the Goldsmiths degree show this year as it has occupied prime shopfront location on Shoreditch High Street with tons of Design projects lining the windows tempting you all along the front of the Nicholls and Clarke building.Monday night was the opening night, a private view for family and friends

plenty of eager viewers feasting on what seems like the Tate Modern with a tardis.Each year the degree show operates under a theme and has a manifesto behind it, this year the theme is ‘Future Folk’;“We can ask ourselves lots of questions about what this years graduating students have decided to call their show. Two mismatching words: Future Folk.”Essentially shouting out a belief that the future is for the people you can also see this in lots of the work produced in the show. Notable objects include Anisha Chandarana’s knitted nose warmer and bald patch coverer, Martin Turner’s make yourself an athlete contraptions and Bella Simpson’s project to cure the Eastern perception that the number 4 isn’t as unlucky as they might think.

It could be the perfect response as a group of designers to the situation of our world, where a lot of people are being blamed for what has happened recently by others and no one holding their hands up and taking the blame themselves.

but the only one being held outside Goldsmiths. However next year the funding from the college has been cut so it may have to recede from Shoreditch and the centre of design in London and the UK to the less centric New Cross area. Would this be a good thing? It leads to a mounting challenge for next year’s graduating students to raise more money by other means, like the annual Christmas Ball.The next big degree show coming up is the Art degree show on the 23rd June. Held in the Ben Pimlott Building (The squiggle one) it looks to be a highlight on the calendar. We’re known for producing the Young British Artists in the 90’s and it’s your chance to go and see what the current crop are doing. It’s the perfect end to the year and to the start of the summer.

All the upcoming degree shows are in the listings section on page 11.

Quote of the show “I’d quite happily punch someone in the face” Henry

been stealing bits of his design project.

Reclaiming Culture: A display inside the Design degree show. Photo: Leopardmedia


COMMENT & OPINION

A third-class degree in being Green? Bravo Goldsmiths.

who do not believe either the current methods of combating climate change will work or counts themselves climate skeptics is in someway deranged. Haywood further admitted the union had not received a ‘passionate’ response to the initiatives yet, but expects more attractive ideas next year to bring in the crowd of Eco-warriors. The consensus amongst students, especially in halls, that recycling is a necessity made even worse by no one acting on it. This mindless conformity shows a curious separation between the lecture hall and the daily lazy life of students. I’ve used this example before, me rinsing out my Marmalade pot out and recycling the jar is not going to change much. However, if we look over history and can see that, as an example Brendan O’Neill once gave at the Royal College of Art, coal was once used as jewellery and then went onto power the Industrial Revolution. The misanthropic and malthusian greens may damn you to Hades or perhaps brand you for thinking there are alternatives and the ingenuity of humans can progress past potential changing climate. The belligerence they press their claim is a shame because after all, when else is it going to be acceptable to spend half your time wallowing in tea, booze and lie ins and half your time challenging and intellectually growing? The greens on campus are like Big Mother, telling you how to live, to sort your rubbish out and switch off the lights and they know best - unlike a mum they presume you want to do it and nobody argues back.

Devil’s Advocate will return next year....with vengeance.

per institution, Goldsmiths included.

as Go Greener: Transition Universities. This campaign ‘drives the UK’s higher education sector to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2020 by transforming behaviour policies and practices’ with Transition Universities which are low carbon, low energy and community-led.After speaking with Hayley Chandler, James Haywood and Manoj Kerai at the Student Union I was told that the Union did a range of initiatives which have been rewarded by receiving a Gold Sound Environmental Impact award. Other changes include selling pans left in halls to new students, switching lights off around college, changing from soft to hard plastic cups and even water free urinals. Other events include encouraging students to get involved with bee-keeping and gardening on

11am-4pm, after claims that if bees die out the end is nigh.However, the fear-mongering greens predict the end of the world, in much a Harold Camping manner (only for some reason taken quite seriously,) seem to be accepted and entirely contra-dictory to what it should mean to study and what we are taught at university. At university we are taught to think independently, aim for the sky and challenge ideas and orthodoxies however the cemented idea that the world is going to end and its our fault if nothing happens is ludicrous. Our incoming president, James Haywood, went so far to say ‘there is a consensus amongst normal people that something needs to be done.’ The idea that people

DEVIL’S ADVOCATEBy James Howell

Dear Reader,This is the last Devil’s Advocate column of the year, which I’m sure you’re saddened to hear.

Its been a good year for The Leopard, going from strength to strength and I’d like to thank Hannah Wright and Johnny Blonde for allowing me this space to rant and rave at the weird and wonderful world that is Goldsmiths University. I have covered topics on Union policy from the English Defence League to Palestine and shall continue to do so next year. On the 7th June the Guardian is going to publish the new 2011 Green League, so in this month’s issue of The Leopard I am going to applaud them on last year being awarded a third class degree for Environment and Ethical

this year.Now this might seem sarcastic and satirical of Goldsmiths’ efforts, however I promise you it is not. The league is run by Ethical and Environmental pressure group People and Planet. They describe themselves as ‘the largest student network in Britain campaigning for human rights, end world poverty and protect the environment.’ The group claims to have 1,500 active members spread across 79 schools and 71 univer-sities, equating to 10 active members

Going green. Illustration: leopardmedia

Continued from Front Page

In press releases, Goldsmiths has tried to maintain its lefty reputation by bigging up the ‘raft’ of bursaries that will be made available. The raft is a very nice metaphor - well done to the creative writing department - but the content fails to impress. Their support tries to reach out to those who tick all the wrong boxes on the equal opportunities forms. If you’re disabled, in care, without traditional grades or live nearby, you might be one of the

lucky 29 who are selected for a waiver of some sort. If you’re just poor (which, let’s face it, is the main problem with an increase in fees) then you may qualify for £500 - roughly a month‘s rent. Not meaning to be ungrateful here, but that’s hardly going to make much of an impact. Strangely, this newly proposed ‘raft’ of help has halved the previous annual bursary of £1,000 awarded to low-income students. As a college that already struggles with its student diversity, I think we can look forward to more of the same faces in

Where Will That 9k Go?Jessica Blake takes a look at what Goldsmiths plan to do with the £9,000 a year fees.

the next few years.

students enrolling in 2012 be getting that I haven’t? Stephen Victor Patrick ‘please, call me Pat’ Loughrey, the Goldsmiths warden, claims that ‘we will spend 30% of the fee income from all fees above £6,000 on additional measures to improve the student expe-rience and encourage wider access’. If we’re to break that terribly convo-luted sentence down, he’s basically saying that an extra £2,700 of the £6k

tuition fee increase will be spent on improving the ‘student experience‘ and ‘wider access‘. That just leaves the other £3000, which is apparently to be spent on things other than the ‘student experience’. Biscuits to fuel tedious paperwork sessions shouldn’t cost that much. I am perplexed as to why

fee should be covering anything other than our tuition. Come 2012, I suggest that new students take advantage of as many complimentary biscuits as possible to get their £3,000 worth.

“least”

CONTRIBUTORS

[email protected]

WANT MORE?

?

Image: sistahswholovegod


LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

Wow, holy guacamole! Zut alors! I can’t believe I’m halfway (okay, third-way is actually more precise) to getting my bachelor’s degree. One academic year has passed,

of course, many lessons learned.

called ‘university’. I used to disapprove of the term; I thought it’s an overstatement. Why don’t people just call it ‘premier school’ or, if the term isn’t fancy enough, ‘akroscholeio’? After all, it’s an education institution, like high school –with more books to read and independent researches (come to think of it, we can actually replace the term ‘university’ with ‘plus-plus library’. Hahaha). However, now I realized that that university is indeed, a universe. It is a sphere inhabited by every kind of people: from the brightest to the less intelligent, the typical Tom, Dick and Harry, the eccentric personas, oldsters, youngsters, the apathetic slackers, the political activists, the hedonists, the puritans, you name it! It’s a world with its own politics and drama. It’s a universe, the school of life.

Now, regarding the educational purpose of university, I am still having some confusion about it. As I mentioned earlier, it’s an education institution so ideally it is a place of advanced learning and intellectual progression. Yet, in reality I feel like I’m not learning that much. In fact, I learned more

throughout the semester and I know a lot of my fellow freshmen did share this experience. Then it appears to me that the purpose of university would be the ultimate mastery of cramming the most amount of knowledge in the shortest time possible: the art of

procrastination. I pay tuition fees for receiving a sheet of diploma

procrastinator. That, or I’m simply a bad student who’s still lucky enough to get away with my habit.

I like learning, but from my experience, after most exams everything I studied for it has been dumped in the “no longer needed” section of my brain and forgotten. Moreover, I don’t think my future boss and me would engage in a discussion about Foucault and Gramsci. Let alone discussing, let’s just hope that s/he would not mistake Foucault for automobiles and Gramsci for a standard of measurement. So, why am I here again?

Maybe I get this all-wrong. And as strange as it sounds, I hope I am wrong. I hope I’ll graduate from here with an actual academic provision and not just lifetime friendships and memories of my younger years (although they’re equally important).

But anyway, for now let me indulge in this phantasmagoria of freedom and carelessness. To live in this moment where I can stay awake at 4am on weekdays for no reason (1am is the new 9pm), to not worry so much about being broke because I can still turn to my parents, to just avoid the real –and so they say, cruel– world with its duties and responsibilities.

Well, in that case, maybe I should really go to grad school and take my master’s degree right after I graduate, just so that I can postpone ‘the real life’ a year longer. Oh dear, I am a genuine procrastinator!

Anyway, it has been one pleasant year of being a Londoner, making new friendships and learning new things. And the journey goes on…I’m looking forward to seeing what the future brings.

Have yourself a joyful summertime, when life is easy!

Nindy is a soon-to-be second year Media and Communications student, currently the High Priestess of Procrastination, part time scribbler, full time life enthusiast.

Column:Fresher’s DiaryAnd The Journey Goes On...By Nindya Atmodipoero

Yeah yeah, quite often love gives us nausea. For that sickness, quickly rush out to The Leopard’s own love doctor who can cure your emergency and hopefully ease the misery.

Problem 1:

Hey Dr. Romansick,

My boyfriend is graduating this year and continuing his studies in the US afterwards. I totally support his decision, but the thing is I’m not really sure about being in a long-distance relationship. He really wants us to give it a try and so do I, it’s just…I’m not as optimistic as he is with this. What should I do?*Oh and please, no technology-makes-it-easy- cliché.

* Hopeless Pessimist

Dr. Romansick recommends…

A slowly-but-surely move will You’ll never know until you’ve tried so just give it a go! Try it for

then…just keep doing it so long you both happy and can keep up with it. As for the communication part, be creative. Why not going

old school and sending written love letters once in a while? Or perhaps, instead of emails and Skype, you can communicate through vlogs. Youtube this: vlogbrothers, and you’ll see what I mean. Good luck.

Problem 2:

Dear Doctor,

A few months back, I set up a friend with another friend. Everything goes well. That is, until I realized that I have a feeling for this friend. I want to ‘steal’ him, but I don’t want to be the bad guy. Please advice!

* Failed Matchmaker

Dr. Romansick says,

Oh dear, you’ll never know what you’ve got till it’s gone, eh? Well, since you’re friends with both of them, I think you’re most likely to be the bad guy IF you do try to ‘ruin’ the relationship. Moreover, even if you’re being honest and confess your feelings for your friend, there is a slim chance that he will turn to you too, you know, for friendships’ sake. Sorry, I’m just being realistic here. So, I suggest, if you really want to give it a try with your friend, then

just be patient and wait for them to break up? Although, it would be much simpler if you start to look for someone new.

Problem 3:

Dr. Romansick,

I’ve met this girl at Sandwich once and somehow we exchanged numbers. Since then, we’ve been texting each other quite often. But lately, she keeps sending me texts and I’m pretty sure she has a crush on me. I might have given her a wrong signal a while back. What to do now?

* I’m just not that into her

Dr. Romansick suggests…

It’s always better to be honest, just say that you’re not looking for a relationship right now. Do it gently

with all the attention that she’s been giving, etc.) and I think it would be a good idea to apologize for sending her the wrong signal. DO NOT, once again, DO NOT embarrass her by telling all your friends about this whole crush-texting thing. Gossip travels and you don’t want to be an a-hole for spreading it.

Romansick

Fashion Dilemma: Can We Be Style Individuals On Graduation Day?By Hannah Wright

It seems as though the question, “What should I wear to my gradu-ation?”, would have an obvious answer with the long black gown and stylish mortar board as the main focus of any replies.But what should you wear under your gown? It seems like a silly question but is one that will keep some of us awake at night, whether silly or not.

After many dreamy/terrifying con-versations with friends on topics such as how-did-it-all-go-so-fast and what-are-we-going-do-now, the prospect of the graduation ceremony has more than once surfaced. One friend is adamant that she would like to wear a gold dress to the event (GOLDsmiths, of course, and also because she believes it adds a bit of fun and glamour beneath the long black) and I am torn between a tra-ditional image of myself in a chic black dress and something more ad-venturous.

Having scoured google for advice, it seems that answers are not very mixed. Many message boards come up with anxious graduand’s won-dering what is acceptable to wear and what kind of heels are more

likely to avoid any embarrassing trips. Most of these message boards come to the conclusion that smart and sensible is the order of the day- white shirts, black skirts, sensible heels and smart suits for the men. So this is beginning to sound as though it may be a uniform; smart and sen-sible attire for your presentation as a mature and educated young person.

Except that there really isn’t any ‘uniform’. On further investigation, it does seem as though some uni-versities enforce some guidelines as to what their students can and can’t wear. The University of Leices-ter recommends sober colours and Lancaster University explains that women should wear hats (by this we are assuming mortar boards) throughout the ceremony but that men should only wear them to proc-ess in and out of the ceremony. It would all be a bit confusing on the day- struggling to remember to stand up when your name is called and not trip or do anything embar-rassing but also trying to remember where your hat should be at differ-ent moments. It all seems very tradi-tional, but is Goldsmiths in keeping with this kind of tradition?

After seeing the graduation guides for these other universities, I tried looking for one that set out Gold-smiths approach to the presentation ceremony and it seems as though there isn’t one. In our presentation ceremony letter, there is also no mention of a dress code.

So what can this tell us about the ‘uniform’ we should be adopting for under our graduation gowns on presentation day? And how much room is there for individuality? I think it should be a matter of taste and personal choice. With no regu-lations in place, we are free to wear whatever we like (I’m sure to a cer-tain extent at least) whether that be a smart shift dress or a glittering ball gown. Goldsmiths is anything but traditional and welcomes the crea-tivity of its students and so this may be our last chance to express our-selves style-wise at university. Even if it will be hidden beneath the black gown, at least you’ll know that you chose your own style for your grad-uation...And you can always choose some bling accessories to go with that gold dress.Good luck to everyone graduating this September!

Photo: Kyle Murray


LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

The Leopard’s Eye on London WIMBLEDONBy Abbie Cohen

As exams

end for some, or the strain of revi-sions is still taking its toll on the rest of us, there is no better time in the year than this very instant to indulge in a refreshing day-long escapade. In search of a quiet yet attractive destination, I strayed from the heart of London and found myself in the amazing and colourful suburb of Wimbledon.

Located in the borough of Merton, Wimbledon is just tube stops away from the usual city noise and com-motion, and is ideal for a morning or an entire day of mind-liberating strolling. Although it may seem too expensive and faraway a place to visit, it really is worth checking out on a sunny day; the penniless stu-

money to enjoy its beauty.

The wide number of shops, and the decent and fairly multicultural array of cafés and restaurants to choose from are not Wimbledon’s only features: tennis junkies can take a tour of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum for less than twenty

pounds, whilst horse lovers can splurge for a trot through the town or Richmond Park with one of the village’s Stables. The option I went for, however, was free and appeared to be the most relaxing of all: hike

Buddhapadipa Temple, London’s

A place of this kind is better than just any park: taking a walk through its pleasantly quiet grounds not only allows the stressed fellow to cool his or her nerves, but also incites

meditate whilst surrounded with unique vegetation. As a generally restless student, I had my mind off work in moments and was able to recharge my batteries for my exams. The temple itself is a lovely sight, especially for all those interested in South East Asian culture and, more precisely, Thai architecture. Setting foot into the temple’s grounds is almost like stepping into a whole different country for a little while, and is most certainly a mind-opener.

I fell in love with Wimbledon and

drooled over its rich scenery, as any photography enthusiast would. For

-nitely recommend Thai Tho, a Thai restaurant offering a deliciously satiating 10-pound lunch menu (mind the spice!), or the Butcher & Grill and its awfully tempting pies and 10-pound burgers. My tip to you: savour the nearing end of the university year, and just relax!

How do you get there?

The tube is the speediest and most hassle-free option: take the Jubilee line at Canada Water, and change to the District line at Westminster.

What’s the budget?

The bare minimum spent would be on transport fares; additionally, the average price for an individual snack or lunch is approximately £10

For further information, visit http://www.wimbledon-village.com/

The New Cross House, in the site that temporarily housed Meateasy and that was the Goldsmiths Tavern prior to this, opened its doors for business last month. With the prospect of 50% off the food bill if you booked a table for 4 people in the opening week, it was an offer that myself and three friends could not pass up.

Arriving at the newly decorated and shiny bar at the time we had booked, it took a further ten minutes for the bar staff and serving staff to collaborate

off to. Because the place was heaving,

and it was their opening week, it was understandable that there may be some teething problems. When we were shown to our table, it was on the smaller side and we immediately wondered

feast we were hoping to order. With that small worry pushed aside, we looked over the menu and drooled over the possibilities.

Being a very indecisive group of

choices and in this time we had already been asked by a server if we were ready - we had told her no and asked if she

The New Cross House The New Bar Experiencing Teething-Problems

By Hannah Wright

could come back. This turned out to be an error, as because the place was so busy, it took another ten minutes before she could return. This, I must add, was at no fault of the waitress who was extremely helpful and friendly all night. Rather, it is a managerial failing as they need to either employ more serving staff or let you order for yourself at the bar - something which at present is not possible, causing for much confusion when you just want to order everything when you buy your drink and are told you have to do it in two stages.

Anyway, back to the food. Our worry over our small table was solved when another group left one of the booths and we immediately pounced on to it

very, very hungry, we were pleased when our starters came from the kitchen very quickly...followed by our mains. Looking perplexedly at the mass of food in front of us, we debated on what to do - either keep it all and move swiftly from starters to main and hope that they stayed hot, or politely ask if they could keep our mains warm in the oven. We sheepishly went with the second option, for some reason accepting the responsibility for this mistake on ourselves. The waitress, polite as ever, apologised and removed our plates.

For our starters, my friend and I shared

dip and the lentil daal. Both were well sized starters and the haloumi in particular was delicious with the

the starters it would have been nice to have a small break before the main courses but because they were already sitting waiting for us, they came

immediately.

I had chosen the hot dog that came with

but that’s kind of what you expect from a hot dog. My friend chose the mac and cheese and hasn’t stopped raving about it since and so if I go back, it will have to be for that.

The question of if I go back is really dependent on whether or not the bar sorts out their teething problems. When faced with the wrong bill, and letting the manager know about this, he came back with the correct bill and stroppily tossed it on our table. Although the night had been busy

isn’t really an excuse for bad service, especially from the managerial staff. The overall experience of The New Cross House was mixed but largely positive - once they sort out the opening week hitches, they will have a bar that will undoubtedly attract the student population with their outdoor ‘tree-house’ seating and ping-pong tables.

The New Cross House, 316 New Cross Road, SE14 6AF

Tel: 02086918875

Hampstead Heath SwimmingBy Hannah Wright

If you are staying around London for the summer and fancy a dip on a hot day, look no further than Hamp-stead Heath for a variety of swim-ming options. With the East Lon-don line now up and running, it is possible to take it all the way to the Hampstead Heath overground stop. Hampstead Heath has natural swim-ming ponds- both male only, female only and mixed- and also a lido. The

-ly if you idiotically don’t take one of the helpful maps- but are worth it

The City of London website updates information on water temperatures in all of the ponds regularly but you can also check them on the boards next to the ponds when you go there. The water is fairly brisk but on a hot day there is nothing better. Also, don’t let the word ‘pond’ fool you- although they are natural swimming areas, they aren’t covered in algae

swim in- you may just be joined by a few ducks.For those who are timid swimmers, they are all life-guarded and have life rafts that can be clung on to when you’re just feeling tired!

Location: Somewhere in Hamp-stead Heath- pick up one of their helpful maps or print one off before.Cost: £2.

Photo: New Cross House


COMICS & ACTIVITIES

1 2 Across:1 Dead Kennedys frontman (5,6)6 Drug family (12)11 Hey ...! TV Show (6)12 Well known (6)14 Refreshing liquid (7,5)16 Political Drama (3,4,4)

Down:2 Pachyderm (8)3 Fruit (8)4 Reign (4)5 Mozzarella, Ferrari (8)7 Bacteria (1,4)8 Returned to former condition (8)9 US legal Drama (2,3)10 A series of symbols in music (8)13 Album songs (6)15 Unit of measurement (4)

answers in next issue of the leopard.

NewCross-word no.003Conscise crossword for a quick break

Guest webcomic: Flexible Heads- A WEBCOMIC ABOUT HEADS WITH ARMS AND LEGS -

Read the rest of this comic and future episodes at;

(c)2010-2011 Simon Betts

CONTRIBUTORS

[email protected]

SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT?

Last issues answers:Across: 1.absolutely 8.ingot 9.brand 10.gash 13.ann 14.run 18.code 20.congo 21.urged 22.bread crust Down: 2.beginning

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Scribble space:


SPORT

Men’s BUCS SE 3B P W L PTS

1 Middlesex University 1st 5 4 1 12

2 Kingston University 1st 4 3 1 12

3 London Metropolitan Uni 1st 5 3 2 9

4 City University 1st 5 2 3 6

5 University of Greenwich 1st 4 2 2 3

6 Goldsmiths 1st 5 0 5 0

League Tables: Cricket

are from http://www.bucs.org.uk/ using all information avaiable, some teams/leagues information may not have been present at time of publication.

Degree Shows & Events (free!)

7 June

PGCE Secondary Art & Design5pm 288 New Cross Road

23 - 27 June

Art Undergraduate Degree ShowBen Pimlott Building, Goldsmiths - Our Pick - See This

24 - 27 June

Media & Communications Under-graduate ExhibitionConcourse, New Academic Build-ing, Goldsmiths

29 June - 2 July

MA in Performance MakingGeorge Wood Theatre, Goldsmiths

4 - 5 July

MMus Classical Degree RecitalsDeptford Town Hall, New Cross - Our Pick - See This

9 - 10 July

MA Interactive Media ExpoLaurie Grove Baths, Laurie Grove

14 - 18 July

Art Postgraduate ExhibitionBen Pimlott Building, Goldsmiths/Laurie Grove Baths, Laurie Grove

15 - 18 July

Media & Communications MA Ex-hibitionsConcourse, New Academic Build-ing, Goldsmiths

5 - 14 September

MA Artist Teacher3rd Floor, Ben Pimlott Building, Goldsmiths

‘Whose University?’

a two-day conference co-hosted by Birkbeck, GLITS and InC.

9 June

ResistanceFree 09:30-18:00

Room 309, Richard Hoggart Building (RHB)

10 June

IDEA OF THE UNIVERSITYFree 09:30-20:00

Rooms 306&309 RHB

14 June

CAST WorkshopFree 15:00-17:00

Room 314, New Academic Building, Goldsmiths

23-26 June

NULL/VOID presents:DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE!Free 11:00-23:00

New Gallery London, 92 Peckha Road, Camberwell, SE15 5PY

24-25 June

6th International Conference of Caribbean Women’s Writing£35-70 08:15-18:00

Room 314, New Academic Building, Goldsmithsgold.ac.uk/caribbean/comparativecriticalconversations/

24-27 June

Different Ways of Seeing ExhibitionFree 10:00-18:00

Richard Hoggart Building

30 June

Negotiating Gender Identity and Incorporation in the Brazilian DiasporaFree 18:00-19:00

Royal Holloway College, Montague House, Montague Place, 11 Bedford Square, WC1E 6DPemail: [email protected] for tickets

11-23 July

Urban Photography Summer SchoolVariable costs 09:00 onwards

LG01, New Academic Building, Goldsmithsgold.ac.uk/cucr/summer school/

9 June

Laura Marks -Thinking like a carpetFree 17:00-19:00

Cinema, RHB

9 June

Emerging Publics: A Geo-Critical ForumFree 10:00-18:30

Lecture Theatre, New Academic Buildinge-mail: [email protected] for tickets

Film Screening

10 June

24 City (2008) by Jia ZhangkeFree 17:00-20:00

Small Hall, RHB

Welcome to June and Summer’s listings. The end of term is approaching so quickly and we’ll all soon be off to all corners of the earth (and South East London) so we’ve listed what there’s left to do here and other things.To get yours in here, email:[email protected]

LISTINGS: JUNE - SUMMER

Continued from Back Page

Fewer players in the batting order, however, soon meant that Goldsmiths were bowled out for just 70 runs- a total our opponents London Metropolitan reached with relative ease.“There are some very good cricketers at Goldsmiths,” Matt West told me after-wards. “I feel sorry for them that we cannot as a team give them a platform on which to perform.” This year, as a result of the lack of player availability, the team were forced to forfeit their last two games, meaning automatic defeats to add to three other losses and an overall winless season. “I am disappointed,” Matt admitted. “I don’t mind losing when we go out and represent ourselves to the best of our ability, but at no point were we able to do this.”A spectator of the team in action could be under no illusions that it contains real talent. Last year, Goldsmiths came second in the league after securing promotion the year before, winning every game under different circumstances and the captaincy of Ben Gautrey. This year, individuals shone in a team marred by absences, an example of which Matt West picked out as Ben Salisbury, who scored a cracking 46 on the way to what could have been victory against Greenwich.Plans for next year include attempting

Bumblebees’ under the leadership of Jamie Stinson and Phil Perry. Phil told me: “We need to make sure there are more than 11 players on the list before the game. But that also depends on the amount of people who want to play cricket, it’s more of a case of getting people aware of the team - the picking of the squad comes secondary to that.” Phil agreed that Easter came at a

essay deadline. Awareness of the team around the college is key for Phil, who would like to see more students getting involved in the sport: “It is a very insular world. It seems a bit of shame because everyone who plays is a good lad; it’s a really good environment. It’s a shame more people aren’t aware of it.”I could not help thinking along similar lines as I buttered bread ready for the lunch break in the game against London Metropolitan. The jovial pavilion atmosphere and sharing of food felt uniquely different from other sports I had participated in.

As the mud, ache and sweat of Goldsmiths’ winter sporting battles fade, it is good to know that there is a team in white warming up to represent the university into the summer months. “I sincerely hope we can carry on playing at a competitive level,” Matt told me. “There’s no doubt it will still survive because it’s a fantastic sport to play and great fun.”While I am inclined to agree, I may not

bat again anytime soon.

By Steve Howe - Sports Editor and the

Easter and wedding hinder teamLate easter break forces exams too much into cricket season

Below: Captain Matt Westphotos: Zakir Rostami (back) and leopardmedia (below)

04/05/11

Kingston University 1st Vs Goldsmiths 1stAWAY

Goldsmiths lost by 8 wickets

Goldsmiths innings:66 all out (Rostami 27)Kingston innings:67-2

18/05/11

Vs Goldsmiths 1stAWAY

Goldsmiths lost by walkover

11/05/11

Goldsmiths 1stVs London Metropolitan University 1stHOME

Goldsmiths lost by 8 wickets

Goldsmiths innings:70 all out (Salsbury 15, Denesh 4-23)Metropolitan innings:71-2 (Imran 23, Stinson 1-11)

19/05/11

Goldsmiths 1stVs City University 1st HOME

Goldsmiths lost by walkover

15/05/11

Goldsmiths 1stVs University of Greenwich 1stHOME

Goldsmiths lost by 66 runs

Greenwich innings:285 all out (Slater 91, Atkins 4-52)Goldsmiths innings:219 all out (Arabi 58 Salsbury 46, Slater 4-43)

PureGold 2011

A celebration of the music created and performed at

Goldsmiths

Until end of June

gold.ac.uk/puregold

Sport

Worn-out Back Field takes an Easter breakSteve Howe Sports Editor

The Men’s Basketball team may have had something to cheer about during varsity and England may have won the Ashes in Australia over the Winter but during the Summer our cricket team has had no such luck.

The Varsity Cup, which was so prominently featured on our back page last issue has gone missing

it, or any arts students looking suspicious then get in touch.


This is the last Leopard for the year. We’ll be back in September!

Cricket: A Few Short of An XI?

June and Summer listings and more sport inside - Page 11

Sports were banned from the College

of May due to overuse. Students keen to enjoy the warm weather were shocked in the last week of the Spring term to

GROUNDS’ signs patrolling the perimeter of the popular enclave.

many, took excess wear throughout the months of February and March- damage that has been attributed partly to the Freshers’ Fayre’s marquee, according to the Head Groundsperson Tony Cambridge.

break coming up.” When queried on the confusing lack of information on the signs, Mr.Jones admitted: “The info should have gone out on the GC webmail.”After thirty years in the job as ground-sperson, Mr. Cambridge says he values

student life. “It’s such a great space, especially in New Cross, most people don’t realise it’s here until they see it,” he said. “I used to have my school sports day here, so it’s funny how things come full circle.”The green’s appearance is in the best interests of the University as a whole, he added:

badly on us.” He quelled fears over a permanent sports ban- the decree was “just to give it a bit of a rest.”

the Refreshers’ Fayre marquee. Manoj Kerai, Activities and Services

however continued to do so.”Mr Kerai understood student disap-pointment in not being able to play on

competitive players alike. He conceded that the decision was sudden, and further confused by the uninformative nature of the signs: “I think it would have been better off sign posted to say ‘No Sports Until Further Notice’, rather than just a ultimatum-ish sign.”Nick Jones, of the Estates Department

but stressed that the ban on sports was not permanent. “The grass has been damaged and needs reseeding,” he said. “It can only be done twice a year, and we thought let’s get it done now with the Easter

“They didn’t tell us beforehand about the Freshers’ Fayre, so they put the marquee in the same spot as last time,” he said. “It should have been switched to next to the hedgerow to give the grass a chance to grow”. In January the Students’ Union held an annual ‘Freshers’ Fayre’ on the green to allow societies the opportunity to further advertise their activities.However, Mr. Cambridge also conceded that there were a number of other contributing factors that lead to the decision. The football goals often remained positioned in the same spots, leaving no opportunity for grass to recover. The New Academic Building also came under scrutiny. Motioning to the imposing structure, he said: “even this blocks the sun and wind. Everything factors into it.”The Student Union denied that the damage caused was solely the fault of

As I jumped into a white minivan destined for Loring Hall Sports Ground, I was greeted by Goldsmiths’ cricket team - a friendly variety of lads, united by their love of the gentlemanly game.I held the belief that I would be reporting on the day’s action whilst lying back in the freshly mown turf, sipping orange juice and politely clapping a few well-placed shots. That belief was shattered as soon as the sliding door of the minivan was slammed shut and I was told -“you’re playing”.The necessity of recruiting to the team such a miserable cricket virgin, such as I, was the result of a lack of available players this year. In fact, the team did not play a single game this season with the required 11 players. “One of the real problems this year was the royal wedding and the fall of Easter,” Matt West, this year’s captain,

previous years, which are normally just before the Easter period, they fell right in the middle of it [...] it was even more

lives.”I was soon to experience the differ-ence that lower player numbers made. Looking as makeshift as I felt, wearing an assortment of borrowed pads, gloves, shoes and cup, I strolled uncomfortably over to the wicket- the fat gloves hiding my trembling hands. After positioning myself nervously, I looked up to face the bowler running towards me and quickly picking up speed. He released the ball with an unfamiliar velocity and I swiped, barely managing to connect wood with the red blur in front of me. I had defended

bowl in cricket. Continued on Page 11

Goldsmiths Cricket stumped by unusual schedulingA report-turned-feature...

Documents

The Leopard (Summer 2011)