Introduction
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?"[i] This is the question put to all the suspected communists that were called in front of the House on Un-American Activities Committee. The question may seem to have a simple yes or no answer but the implications could have meant prison. However, which answer gave the better future? Yes? Or was it no? Which would save the accused career? Which would send them to jail and on to an ever growing blacklist?
The House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was led by J. Parnell Thomas and was set up to prove two things. Firstly, it wanted to show that the Screen Writer’s Guild had Communist members. And secondly, it wanted to show that these writers had the ability to “insert subversive propaganda into Hollywood films”[ii].
So who were the “Hollywood Ten”? By name they were Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edmund Dmytryk, Ring Larder Jr, John Howard Larson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scot and Dalton Trumbo. All of these men were accused by the HUAC of being communist sympathizers and were sent to jail for a year for contempt of court as J. Parnell Thomas felt they did not answer the questions asked in a proper manner.[iii]
In this essay I will look at why the “Hollywood Ten” did not answer the questions in a simple yes/no manner and why the HUAC was asking the questions. Was it an attempt to clam down on communism in Hollywood films or was there a deeper intention.
“Answer Yes or No”
“Answer yes or no” was the demand from the bench of the HUAC when the accused fought against the questions put to them. However, which answer is the lesser of two evils? As shown in “The Hollywood Ten” [iv] neither answer was better than the other. If you answered “yes” then you would lose your job and face a jail sentence, along with demands to name others who were at the meetings. Answer “no”, and you were accused of perjury and threatened with professional witnesses who would testify against you, such as Whittaker Chambers. This was referred to by John Howard Lawson as “Government by Stoolpigeon”[v]. So through either answer, prison was your final destination. This was well summed up by Lester Cole when he said, “You’re dammed if you do, you’re dammed if you don’t”.[vi]
There is, however, another reply to the HUAC’s questions. This defense was given by the America Constitution and was the option used by each of the “Hollywood Ten”. This answer was to plead the first and fifth amendment of the American Constitution. The First Amendment gave all American citizens the right to freedom of speech and assembly whilst the Fifth Amendment allows the American Citizens the right to a secret ballot. This means an American court is unable to ask someone about their political leanings or personal beliefs. Both of these amendments are infringed by the HUAC questions and therefore do not have to be answered.
However, the third option also failed in keeping the defendants out of jail as they were arrested under J. Parnell Thomas’ command for contempt of court and sentenced to a year in jail. This was the actual charge which sent the ten to jail. Therefore, the HUAC was ignoring the rights given to the American people by the American Constitution.
As I have explained all three possible answers result in jail, so which answer was best? Which one helped you avoid jail? The answer would appear neither. To admit the charges would result in a loss of employment and a jail sentence, to deny the charges would result in a charge of perjury and to challenge the right to ask the questions led to a charge of contempt of court.
How, then, could you avoid jail? There was one way to avoid jail and the blacklist of the 1950’s. This was, as John Howard Lawson put it, “to become a government stoolpigeon”. This was to become a professional witness for the state, testifying against other people accused of being communist sympathizers. This was the option chosen by some of the people subpoenaed by the HUAC, for example Whittaker Chambers and Lloyd Bridges. However, this option still had an impact on the career of those who chose this path. By confessing against others to save their own backs “stoolpigeons” were extradited by the film community. This can be seen in the career of Lloyd Bridges who chose to become an FBI informant. Before his hearing in front of the HUAC Lloyd Bridges he was an actor with Columbia pictures. An illustration of his success would be the making of 30 films in which he stared between 1941 and 1942.[vii] However, after helping the FBI with their enquiries into various other Hollywood personnel Bridges was caused to star in various low-budget movies such as “The Limping Man" (1953), whereas had Bridges not helped the FBI it is fair to assume that he would have been blacklisted like the “Hollywood Ten” but after the fall of McCarthy it is likely he would have starred in higher quality movies.. This fall from grace for Bridges can be summed up in his appearance as the Deputy in “High Noon”[viii]. In this film the deputy worked as a spy, so to speak, for the sheriff. Is this a representation of how Bridges was viewed by Hollywood? A spy for the authorities? By cooperating with the FBI Bridges managed to avoid jail. However, this had a negative impact on his career. Lloyd Bridges is an example of how taking the option to clear your name may still damage your career because you may become resented by your peers, limiting the employment opportunities handed to you.. For this reason I would go as far to say that there was no answer that could be given to the HUAC which did not have negative effects.
Does this make the trials a farce?
What Was the Purpose of the HUAC Hearings?
Before we decide whether or not the HUAC hearings were a farce it is important for us first to decide what the purposes of the hearings were. Were they intended on finding communists inside the American film industry? Or were the hearings a means to entertain the media and about presenting an image of the American government?
It is possible that the purpose of the hearings is a straight forward as it appears. To hunt out communist sympathizers and that the hearings were only brought against those with which there was enough evidence to convict them. That would explain why neither a yes or no answer avoided a jail sentence.
However, the problem with this argument is the afore mentioned third answer to the HUAC’s questions. The American Constitution should have guaranteed all of the defendants their freedom under the First Amendment[ix]. However, this defense also ended in a jail sentence because the committee had you sent to jail for contempt of court.. Therefore I believe that there was more to the hearings then would seem at a first glance and I believe this is to do with the large amount of media attention. We can see from the original footage of the HUAC hearings that there was a large amount of media attention.[x] I think this is due to what was happening at the time of the hearings because at the beginning of the 1950’s America had just entered into the cold war against the Soviet Union. It is possible, as Paul J. Achter suggests[xi], that through the use of the media McCarthy was controlling the public’s impressions of the threat of communism. Through the use of the media McCarthy was able to show that communism was already in America and that it was a threat to the country. By doing this McCarthy was doing one of two things. One, he was causing the public to dislike communism and support the effort against its spread around the world. Also, he showed that the government as doing something to combat communism in America, gaining support for the administration.
This argument would then suggest that the hearings held by the HUAC were a media show rather than fair trials. If this is so the hearings can be seen as a farce because the hearings were not about who was or was not a communist. They were about illustrating that communism does exist. McCarthy was, to put it another way, causing the public to believe in the devil by showing that the devil exists. This would mean that the “Hollywood Ten” were the casualties of a media show which would cause them to lose their jobs and spend a year in jail[xii].
The final reason for the large media coverage of the HUAC hearings, one which is far more beneficial to Senator McCarthy. Through the wide coverage of the trials McCarthy was able to install fear into the American public. This fear is created by the illustration of communism on American soil. The fear is vital to the McCarthyism movement. Through this fear those who did not agree with the movement were too scared to openly oppose it. As everyone was too scared to oppose the movement Senator McCarthy and the HUAC hearings were able to dispense ‘justice’ on who ever they saw fit. This was commented on by Edward R. Murrow when he said that Senator McCarthy believes that “Anyone who criticizes or opposes Senator’s McCarthy’s methods must be a communist”[xiii]. This blanket policy used by McCarthy installed fear into the American public because everyone wanted to avoid the wrath of the HUAC hearings. The media coverage of the hearings helped install this fear due to the nationwide broadcasts. This gave McCarthy the ability to ‘name and shame’ people he believed to be communists to the entire country; this gave the accused no hiding place from the fallout caused from such an accusation[xiv].
Conclusion
Regardless of the answer given to the HUAC’s leading question all those who appeared at the hearings damaged their career. Be it through prison sentence or through the loss of respect from their peers. However, does this make the hearings a farce?
On the face of it the hearings do appear a farce. If the accused followed the instructions given by the chair of the committee, J. Parnell Thomas,[xv] and answer the questions in a “yes” or “no” style prison was always going to be their final destination. If they answered “yes”, they were admitting to being a communist and were, in accordance to Senator McCarthy’s claims, a security risk. They were put in prison as a matter of national safety. If they were to answer “no” to the questions, then they were sent to jail for perjury. If they, like the “Hollywood Ten” answered by referring to the American Constitution they were sent to jail for contempt of court. This makes the hearings a farce because no ‘justice’ was delivered.
However, this depends on what you see as the purpose of the HUAC hearings. If you see them as a trail meant to dispense ‘justice’ then the hearing was indeed a farce as the judge had passed sentence long before the court had convened. However, if you see them as a tool to gaining information about who may be involved in communist activities then the hearings may not be seen as a farce. If the hearings set out to gain insider information then they did succeed as people such as Whittaker Chambers and Lloyd Bridges gave in to the pressure heaped on them by the HUAC and became FBI informants.
The hearings may also not be seen as a farce if they were purely a media show to control the public’s view of communism and to portray it in such a way it is seen as the enemy of the state or to simply scare the public into submission. This does not make the hearings a farce because the hearings did spread fear throughout the American nation. Edward R. Murrow once said, in reference to the American people, “We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason.”[xvi] It is possible, and in my opinion probably, that the hearings were carried out as a mechanism, through the use of the media, to scare the American public to the extent of which they no longer questioned the decisions made by the board and Senator Joseph R McCarthy.
Therefore, for the reasons listed above, I do not believe that the trials of the “Hollywood Ten” because the hearings were not trials. They were a media show put on to influence public opinion of communism.
[i] Ronald Bergan The Guardian Saturday November 4, 2000 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4086011,00.html
[ii] http://www.moderntimes.com/palace/huac.htm
[iii] The Hollywood Ten The Film Division of the Southern California Chapter, National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions 1950
[iv] See Above
[v] See Above
[vi] See Above
[vii] http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/199321
[viii] Fred Zinnemman High Noon 1952
[ix] http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
[x] The Hollywood Ten The Film Division of the Southern California Chapter, National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions 1950
[xi] Paul J. Achter TV, technology, and McCarthyism: crafting the democratic renaissance in an age of fear Routledge 2004
[xii] See Above
[xiii] Edward R Murrow George Clooney Good Night, and Good Luck 2005
[xiv] Paul J. Achter TV, technology, and McCarthyism: crafting the democratic renaissance in an age of fear Routledge 2004
[xv] The Hollywood Ten The Film Division of the Southern California Chapter, National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions 1950
[xvi] Edward R Murrow http://quotations.home.worldnet.att.net/edwardrmurrow.html
Bibliography
Ronald Bergan ‘Ring Lardner Jr’ The Guardian Saturday November 4th 2000
www.moderntimes.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4086011,00.html
The Hollywood Ten The Film Division of the Southern California Chapter, National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions 1950
www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/199321
Paul J. Achter TV, technology, and McCarthyism: crafting the democratic renaissance in an age of fear Routledge 2004
George Clooney Good Night, and Good Luck 2005
http://quotations.home.worldnet.att.net/edwardrmurrow.html
Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner ‘Radical Hollywood’ The New Press New York 2002
www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Options, Options, Options
The new academic year has started a bang with Intro week bringing the end of the summer holidays and the start of the academic year together in one big party. However, among the late nights and drunken parties many new Lancaster first year students can be forgiven for forgetting that they do have a decision to make. What to take as that elusive third option?
As returning students will know during the first year students usually take up and extra module alongside those of their major subject, giving them both a major and a minor. The idea of this set up is to give students the opportunity to study something else that they are interested in but do not want to take as a full degree. Although some departments dislike this set up preferring their students to focus on their major and seeing a minor subject as nothing more than a distraction wasting time that, in their view, could be better spent on the ‘more important’ coursework assignments or revising for those end of year exams that seem to be ever looming, it has to be said that the minor subject does serve a purpose. As I said before it offers students a chance to study another area of interest other than that of their major. However, this has a greater effect than it is often given credit for as the minor can offer a ‘Get Out of Jail’ free card should results not go the way you had planned. To pass your first year you usually must attain 45% in all major modules and 40 in all minor modules. (The lower pass mark can make it seem less important, but you do still need to pass). However, should things go wrong for whatever reason and your marks for your major fall the wrong side of that magical pass mark it is possible to swap majors so you would take up your minor subject (assuming you passed that) as your major for years two and three.
The minor, however, can have more of a purpose than helping you out of a tight spot. If the right option is chosen it could help improve your major subjects mark. This could be done in two ways. Firstly, you could choose subjects that are similar and may at time overlap with your major so that you attain a wider and more in depth knowledge of the broader topic. This may enable you to add extra depth to your coursework essays enabling you to get over that 45% mark and on to the promised land of Part II. Secondly, you could choose subjects like Independent Studies or Creative Writing that enable you to look at whichever area you want while help you improve your essay writing skills and throw the use of alternative formats (presentations, filming etc) give you the skills to score high marks all over the board when it comes to your major.
Time commitment is another big factor when choosing your minor. Although you may be entering first year, and everyone tells you ‘First year doesn’t matter’ you will still have work to do and exams to revise for. You have to be careful not to overload your week with so much work that you miss out on the all important social side of student life. Look at the way your major is assessed and try and use your minor to fill in the gaps. So if your major is all assessed by end of year exams it may be a good idea to choose a minor which is more coursework based, this would lower your workload when exam time comes around enabling you to focus more time on passing your major exams.
There is no right or wrong subject to choose as a minor, but playing to your strengths is usually the best way to go. Look at how your timetable is set out and see what routes are open to you. But be careful not to find that you have bitten off more than you can chew.
As returning students will know during the first year students usually take up and extra module alongside those of their major subject, giving them both a major and a minor. The idea of this set up is to give students the opportunity to study something else that they are interested in but do not want to take as a full degree. Although some departments dislike this set up preferring their students to focus on their major and seeing a minor subject as nothing more than a distraction wasting time that, in their view, could be better spent on the ‘more important’ coursework assignments or revising for those end of year exams that seem to be ever looming, it has to be said that the minor subject does serve a purpose. As I said before it offers students a chance to study another area of interest other than that of their major. However, this has a greater effect than it is often given credit for as the minor can offer a ‘Get Out of Jail’ free card should results not go the way you had planned. To pass your first year you usually must attain 45% in all major modules and 40 in all minor modules. (The lower pass mark can make it seem less important, but you do still need to pass). However, should things go wrong for whatever reason and your marks for your major fall the wrong side of that magical pass mark it is possible to swap majors so you would take up your minor subject (assuming you passed that) as your major for years two and three.
The minor, however, can have more of a purpose than helping you out of a tight spot. If the right option is chosen it could help improve your major subjects mark. This could be done in two ways. Firstly, you could choose subjects that are similar and may at time overlap with your major so that you attain a wider and more in depth knowledge of the broader topic. This may enable you to add extra depth to your coursework essays enabling you to get over that 45% mark and on to the promised land of Part II. Secondly, you could choose subjects like Independent Studies or Creative Writing that enable you to look at whichever area you want while help you improve your essay writing skills and throw the use of alternative formats (presentations, filming etc) give you the skills to score high marks all over the board when it comes to your major.
Time commitment is another big factor when choosing your minor. Although you may be entering first year, and everyone tells you ‘First year doesn’t matter’ you will still have work to do and exams to revise for. You have to be careful not to overload your week with so much work that you miss out on the all important social side of student life. Look at the way your major is assessed and try and use your minor to fill in the gaps. So if your major is all assessed by end of year exams it may be a good idea to choose a minor which is more coursework based, this would lower your workload when exam time comes around enabling you to focus more time on passing your major exams.
There is no right or wrong subject to choose as a minor, but playing to your strengths is usually the best way to go. Look at how your timetable is set out and see what routes are open to you. But be careful not to find that you have bitten off more than you can chew.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Prices Peek-ed
The college bars have been a hot conversation topic lately due to the increase in prices of beers and rumours over their future existence. We have 9 bars, and until relatively recently they were the hive activity with prices cheaper or at least competitive with town. However over the last few years this seems to have greatly changed, with some of the bars becoming almost empty and students taking their custom into the city centre where it is cheaper to have a night out (bus fair included). Lancaster University is part of the NUSSL deal (as is many other universities) which, by its own admission, ‘Create, develop and sustain competitive advantages for member Students’ Unions – reducing costs and maximising commercial revenues’. At present the NUSSL deal is made with Scottish and Newcastle who have taken over from Coors this Easter gone. Naturally bars have to make a profit, and the average (which includes normal high street pubs, clubs and university bars) is between 40 and 60 percent. However (another word) unlike other bars it seems that here we have broken the national norm unless you are a London nightclub such as ‘String fellows’, having a 65% profit margin, though David Peaks who is Commercial Director for Conferences and Catering and his colleague in crime Ted Gaskill who is ‘adviser’ to bars looking for a 70 percent profit, i.e. normal pint of beer might cost you an eventual £2.70. To quote someone who works behind one of the college bars:
‘The bars are set up to fail’…‘the 65% desired gross profit is an unachievable amount ‘.
Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed that David Peaks, who had set the 65% target, wanted the bars to fail, so they could take them over on the pretence that they would do a better job than the current licensees. (He has made this clear to others on numerous occasions) ‘The Bars make money, Catering don’t. They have lost the Fresher’s Ball and Graduation Ball; they need the bars to break even’. We are in no position to say whether this is indeed the case but by looking at Mr Peaks own figures this could be a logical deduction. Mr Peaks new target for bar sales is a 70% gross profit margin on drink sales and 23% on food sales to fit in with his ‘industry standard’. However, I would question his reasoning behind the industry standard of only 23% profit on food. From my experience I would suggest that pubs put a higher mark-up on food than they do on drinks. Could it be that the target for his department is so low in an attempt to make his department look successful and the bars failing?
Our sources went on to say that had Mr Peaks done his research he would have realised that his target is unreasonable taken the products they were trying to sell and the industry standard in this area. ‘Real Ale is a high waste product. Although profit can be made, 65% profit is unachievable. No pub in the town centre achieves this amount of profit, why should we?’ Having gone around the local pubs in town taking a broad cross section we found that none reached a 65%, with more often than not achieving no more than 55%.
With the recent decision to cancel the a long established university event: the Grad Bar Beer Festival, due to the inability to reach the target set, what can we see in the future from the on-campus bars? With the priority being lots of money over lots of sales it would seem logical that it is all downhill from here. One would assume that Furness Beer Festival will follow Graduate out of the door leaving Campus with no Real Ale events at all. Are we to see Catering succeed in their quest to take control of the bars and run them in the same style as their other establishments – i.e. at a loss. With a member of the Catering staff already the license holder for Lonsdale and Pendle bars, is this a matter of two down seven to go? Will Mr Peaks achieve his goal of closing six of the on campus bars? The college bars are key to life at Lancaster University; they are the social centres that make the collegiate system add something special to the Lancaster experience. I am sure we all remember the uproar that was caused when Pendle Bar, ‘the flagship of failing bars’ was put under threat; it now appears that this was merely the tip of the iceberg. We must also ask the question of what kind of bars would Mr Peak run? We only have to look at the catering establishment to get a rough idea, i.e., lack of possible quality and good service. Talking to one former Venue employee, they stated that the establishment had always asked for decent coffee and other beverage supplies but got it seemed the most basic and cheapest, though with the price you would never have believed so. Similarly as we have seen with the bars, Mr Peaks is not known for his communication and accountability skills or his grass-roots knowledge of the industry as this particular sources describes: “I recall when the manager was away on holiday, and Peaks just came down and totally altered the layout behind the bar, with the large soup bowl moved to right next the counter, making it a public health hazard. Apart from totally not consulting the boss, my estimation of his catering knowledge, was like putting a chimpanzee in charge of number 9 bus, i.e. its going to bloody well crash!!’
Which such management tom-foolery, misinformation and secret agendas, then it is surprising that Mr Peaks has lasted nearly 8 or 9 years, and no one has exposed these antics properly before. What is more worrying is that a man earning £60,000 a year is not just taking the university down the swany and possibly lining his own pocket on the bonuses he makes, but that he has seem to have sweat talked the Vice Chancellor into accepting his advice.
To put some meat on this story, then we decided to investigate a little more. Mr Peaks talks a lot about the ‘industry standard’ when he is talking about how much to charge in the bars so we carried out some research into other Universities which are part of the NUSSL deal and the price and profit margins for bars in Lancaster. St Martins College in Lancaster sells a pint of Tetley’s at £1.60 as opposed to our £1.90, a mark up of only 61.8%. Taken into account the average cost of a pint of ale in a normal town pub in this area is £2.30, St Martins seem to be benefiting from the NUSSL deal as there drinks are cheaper on campus. We also looked at the price of Tetley’s at Durham University, which also has a collegiate set up so is a fair comparison for our University. To our amazement, the charge for a pint of Tetley’s was a mere £1.45. A mark up of only 57.9% and a full one pound cheaper than the drinks in the city centre. Both these Universities are benefiting from the NUSSL deal as they are able to compete with the bars in their respective town centres. Why is it that we are expected to pay more than the students of these Universities for the same product? And why is it that someone with Mr Peaks business background can not see that such a high mark up is defeating the point of the NUSSL deal?
To sum up, someone (i.e. this University) is being taken for a fool, the staff see it, the students see it, the principles are aware of it, it seems that those who employ Mr Peaks and are maintaining the 65% are still blind to it. As one student commented ‘I would not trust Peaks or that other one who does university hostilities (hospitality) with him [Ted Gaskil] to run a bath/raffle (other simple task requiring low levels of judgement).’ It would seem an undesirable future, yet one we are moving towards with great speed.
I would like to point out that Mr Peaks was contacted on a number of occasions on this issue to ask his opinion on the bars situation and he felt that, and I quote, ‘it is inappropriate for me to comment’. May his silence on the issue say more than words could ever do.
‘The bars are set up to fail’…‘the 65% desired gross profit is an unachievable amount ‘.
Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed that David Peaks, who had set the 65% target, wanted the bars to fail, so they could take them over on the pretence that they would do a better job than the current licensees. (He has made this clear to others on numerous occasions) ‘The Bars make money, Catering don’t. They have lost the Fresher’s Ball and Graduation Ball; they need the bars to break even’. We are in no position to say whether this is indeed the case but by looking at Mr Peaks own figures this could be a logical deduction. Mr Peaks new target for bar sales is a 70% gross profit margin on drink sales and 23% on food sales to fit in with his ‘industry standard’. However, I would question his reasoning behind the industry standard of only 23% profit on food. From my experience I would suggest that pubs put a higher mark-up on food than they do on drinks. Could it be that the target for his department is so low in an attempt to make his department look successful and the bars failing?
Our sources went on to say that had Mr Peaks done his research he would have realised that his target is unreasonable taken the products they were trying to sell and the industry standard in this area. ‘Real Ale is a high waste product. Although profit can be made, 65% profit is unachievable. No pub in the town centre achieves this amount of profit, why should we?’ Having gone around the local pubs in town taking a broad cross section we found that none reached a 65%, with more often than not achieving no more than 55%.
With the recent decision to cancel the a long established university event: the Grad Bar Beer Festival, due to the inability to reach the target set, what can we see in the future from the on-campus bars? With the priority being lots of money over lots of sales it would seem logical that it is all downhill from here. One would assume that Furness Beer Festival will follow Graduate out of the door leaving Campus with no Real Ale events at all. Are we to see Catering succeed in their quest to take control of the bars and run them in the same style as their other establishments – i.e. at a loss. With a member of the Catering staff already the license holder for Lonsdale and Pendle bars, is this a matter of two down seven to go? Will Mr Peaks achieve his goal of closing six of the on campus bars? The college bars are key to life at Lancaster University; they are the social centres that make the collegiate system add something special to the Lancaster experience. I am sure we all remember the uproar that was caused when Pendle Bar, ‘the flagship of failing bars’ was put under threat; it now appears that this was merely the tip of the iceberg. We must also ask the question of what kind of bars would Mr Peak run? We only have to look at the catering establishment to get a rough idea, i.e., lack of possible quality and good service. Talking to one former Venue employee, they stated that the establishment had always asked for decent coffee and other beverage supplies but got it seemed the most basic and cheapest, though with the price you would never have believed so. Similarly as we have seen with the bars, Mr Peaks is not known for his communication and accountability skills or his grass-roots knowledge of the industry as this particular sources describes: “I recall when the manager was away on holiday, and Peaks just came down and totally altered the layout behind the bar, with the large soup bowl moved to right next the counter, making it a public health hazard. Apart from totally not consulting the boss, my estimation of his catering knowledge, was like putting a chimpanzee in charge of number 9 bus, i.e. its going to bloody well crash!!’
Which such management tom-foolery, misinformation and secret agendas, then it is surprising that Mr Peaks has lasted nearly 8 or 9 years, and no one has exposed these antics properly before. What is more worrying is that a man earning £60,000 a year is not just taking the university down the swany and possibly lining his own pocket on the bonuses he makes, but that he has seem to have sweat talked the Vice Chancellor into accepting his advice.
To put some meat on this story, then we decided to investigate a little more. Mr Peaks talks a lot about the ‘industry standard’ when he is talking about how much to charge in the bars so we carried out some research into other Universities which are part of the NUSSL deal and the price and profit margins for bars in Lancaster. St Martins College in Lancaster sells a pint of Tetley’s at £1.60 as opposed to our £1.90, a mark up of only 61.8%. Taken into account the average cost of a pint of ale in a normal town pub in this area is £2.30, St Martins seem to be benefiting from the NUSSL deal as there drinks are cheaper on campus. We also looked at the price of Tetley’s at Durham University, which also has a collegiate set up so is a fair comparison for our University. To our amazement, the charge for a pint of Tetley’s was a mere £1.45. A mark up of only 57.9% and a full one pound cheaper than the drinks in the city centre. Both these Universities are benefiting from the NUSSL deal as they are able to compete with the bars in their respective town centres. Why is it that we are expected to pay more than the students of these Universities for the same product? And why is it that someone with Mr Peaks business background can not see that such a high mark up is defeating the point of the NUSSL deal?
To sum up, someone (i.e. this University) is being taken for a fool, the staff see it, the students see it, the principles are aware of it, it seems that those who employ Mr Peaks and are maintaining the 65% are still blind to it. As one student commented ‘I would not trust Peaks or that other one who does university hostilities (hospitality) with him [Ted Gaskil] to run a bath/raffle (other simple task requiring low levels of judgement).’ It would seem an undesirable future, yet one we are moving towards with great speed.
I would like to point out that Mr Peaks was contacted on a number of occasions on this issue to ask his opinion on the bars situation and he felt that, and I quote, ‘it is inappropriate for me to comment’. May his silence on the issue say more than words could ever do.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Disaster in Denmark
Going abroad alone is a daunting task for any student wanting to go out and see the world for themselves, be in for a weekend in Paris or for a week in New York. Now imagine you were fortunate enough to go as part of your degree on the ERASMUS scheme. For a 3 month period students on various courses are given the chance to go around the world, partly to study, but partly to experience a different culture without the tourist rose-tinted glasses. For those more adventurous of you this might sound like a chance in a lifetime, one to be grabbed and like that first pint after the day from hell.
However, imagine if you went abroad and found that grant you were promised never arrived? As appealing now? Our sources in Denmark tell us that the grant that was supposed to help students fund themselves in an alien country has yet to arrive despite the students being out there for over a month.
The students were supposed to be receiving a grant of £878 to help cover flights and living costs. However, this grant is nowhere to be seen. The stranded students were promised the money would be in their accounts at the latest by 7th May despite originally being told that they would receive the money before they left the country. The money is likely to be delayed even longer because the 7th May is in fact a bank holiday so no money shall be transferred, thus prolonging the students’ strife.
“It’s ridiculous to the point of offensive,” one student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us. “Covering costs is hard enough sometimes at home with a student loan and overdraft. When you’re trying to that going at home, and in an expensive foreign country know that there’s money you were promised SOMEWHERE, possibly gathering interest in the university’s account, it just makes you angry.”
The student told us that it was ‘ridiculous financial mismanagement’ whilst continuously cursing those delaying the transfer of the money. Denmark’s economy means wages are higher than in England and thus prices can be standardised to that, meaning higher prices for simple commodities. This makes the money students are owed even more essential.
“It would have been better if they were straight with us from the start, saying the money could be up to a month late,” our anonymous student told us, “then we could have made financial arrangements at home. These are impossible to do here as banks like NatWest and HSBC have no partner banks in Denmark.”
Concerns may arise for future groups of students heading abroad. With tuition fees rising, it is possible that such money would become more necessary than ever to those students wishing to spend a summer in Denmark, or even a year in partner universities in North America or Australasia. With the increasing dependence on student loans and the like one must look at the students’ welfare if this financial support fails to materialise. In attempts to save money it is logical to think that corners will be cut, and unless the issue is solved soon a meal that would have been a square, may become a perfect circle.
“It’s just not good enough. It’s not like I want the money for beer, I need it for food and rent too,” our exasperated student concluded.
However, imagine if you went abroad and found that grant you were promised never arrived? As appealing now? Our sources in Denmark tell us that the grant that was supposed to help students fund themselves in an alien country has yet to arrive despite the students being out there for over a month.
The students were supposed to be receiving a grant of £878 to help cover flights and living costs. However, this grant is nowhere to be seen. The stranded students were promised the money would be in their accounts at the latest by 7th May despite originally being told that they would receive the money before they left the country. The money is likely to be delayed even longer because the 7th May is in fact a bank holiday so no money shall be transferred, thus prolonging the students’ strife.
“It’s ridiculous to the point of offensive,” one student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us. “Covering costs is hard enough sometimes at home with a student loan and overdraft. When you’re trying to that going at home, and in an expensive foreign country know that there’s money you were promised SOMEWHERE, possibly gathering interest in the university’s account, it just makes you angry.”
The student told us that it was ‘ridiculous financial mismanagement’ whilst continuously cursing those delaying the transfer of the money. Denmark’s economy means wages are higher than in England and thus prices can be standardised to that, meaning higher prices for simple commodities. This makes the money students are owed even more essential.
“It would have been better if they were straight with us from the start, saying the money could be up to a month late,” our anonymous student told us, “then we could have made financial arrangements at home. These are impossible to do here as banks like NatWest and HSBC have no partner banks in Denmark.”
Concerns may arise for future groups of students heading abroad. With tuition fees rising, it is possible that such money would become more necessary than ever to those students wishing to spend a summer in Denmark, or even a year in partner universities in North America or Australasia. With the increasing dependence on student loans and the like one must look at the students’ welfare if this financial support fails to materialise. In attempts to save money it is logical to think that corners will be cut, and unless the issue is solved soon a meal that would have been a square, may become a perfect circle.
“It’s just not good enough. It’s not like I want the money for beer, I need it for food and rent too,” our exasperated student concluded.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Procrastination for the nation: The Tardis of the Mind and thinking out of the bubble
Imagine yourself lying flat on your back on your bed, staring from the ceiling to the cascade of paper covering your floor, wondering what to do with your life and feeling lost. As you sit thinking about the looming examination season, you try to get that echo of your parents’ voices and the student version of ‘I will survive’ to exit your skull and stop jiggling around in there messing the other stuff up. But what then? What do you do? Procrastination for the nation? After all, its exam season.
Flick back to reality. That fifty-something on the radio is whining about lazy students and their general uselessness to society. What a way to make you feel better about yourself. Back in your dream world, you wonder whether this time wasting, sun worshipping, roof-sitting, fantasy-barbecue strain of the study avoidance plague is an age old problem or a deepening national crisis.
So, now you have a very clear picture firmly fixed in your head of all the things you could or should be doing about now, or worse, should have done last week. The chances are you’re starting to feel the panic rising inside you. So take a minute or so to lengthen this dream. You’ve wasted enough time, what difference will a few moments more make? Take a little trip Dr Who style (if he can do it so can you) back in time, 30 years or so. Picture your flat mate, an eighteen year old James May, pondering his future, dreaming of the Lotus Espirit he saw at the ‘flicks’, and KITT from Night Rider, while elaborately etching his name into the walls of room 97 of the then Pendle College. The little bubble world of campus is a different place. Bucks Fizz are playing on the radio and are still cool. (The Camera Never Lies don’t you know?) Bowland and Lonsdale are like peas in a pod, you can wave or otherwise make rude gestures from one window to another. Cartmel’s now seasoned freshers are plotting new acts of sabotage for County’s tree. Alexandra Park and the advent of the En-suite bedroom are but elements in a far-fetched and distant dream.
If, like James, you had your dream job for which you get to drive, race and generally smash up the best cars of the moment, while meeting all kinds of celebrities and encouraging them to do the same, I’d guess you’d be pretty happy with the career side of your life. But, the stories James tells at dinner parties do not only involve Ellen McArthur and Chris Evans and their adventures on the race-track. Oh no, they stem from the best days of his life in good old Lancaster. In passing, he recalls his time here as a right good laugh, ‘If nothing else, it made for a good pool and darts tournament.’ But who wouldn’t want to hear about his Christmas tree-stealing antics, how he first set his kitchen on fire (and how every other kitchen in the block managed to copy the stunt before the end of the year) or how he walked the length of campus on the roof of the spine without touching the floor?
Put yourself in his shoes, in his house. After several glasses of wine, and usually by the time you reach dessert, you relish being able to listen to your guests ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ with respect as you detail how you jumped the gap between the roof and the shelters in the square. Oh how they wish that they too had experienced the fun and frolics of Lancaster. That’s just the guests who studied elsewhere, more impressed and envious are those who didn’t go to university and missed out on the crazy days of ‘study.’
James is a self-confessed under-achiever, but one day he sat at his desk answering his emails and one stood out. It was an email from a current student at Lancaster, who has aspirations of becoming a journalist. He learns that although his own college has long been flattened, moved and replaced, that this young student is currently camped out in new ‘Cartmel’ because this year it is the turn of Grizedale College (his former rival) to be homeless. For posterity’s sake, he took his own little trip down memory lane, and dutifully regurgitated his tales of colleges, cars, Christmas trees, kitchens, thefts, nights out, and artistic etchings. But there was one other thing he couldn’t resist sharing in that beautifully individual way of his; his advice to anyone wanting to be a journalist: ‘Only do it if you can’t get a proper job!’
With, as he says, Lancaster looking more and more like a ‘landed space station,’ (with which the only fault he can remember is its peculiar smell of brick dust) cut away from the outside world it is very easy to loose sight of where you hope you are going in life. As you while away the hours avoiding study, no-one will notice you in your Tardis of a mind, exploring the lives of the rich and famous that walked where you walked, and wondered as you wondered. Comfort yourself that all is not lost, and that the sun will rise another day as your life emerges, the product of a bit of work and a lot of play. Think of those who lay on that bed before you looking at the ceiling and their mass of paper, and see what they have become. Take a lesson from the students of old, who we are told were ‘simple and unsophisticated’, and forget about the future for a minute or two. Look at what is in front of you, and embrace it with open arms.
Jonathan Starr and Katherine Gledhill
Flick back to reality. That fifty-something on the radio is whining about lazy students and their general uselessness to society. What a way to make you feel better about yourself. Back in your dream world, you wonder whether this time wasting, sun worshipping, roof-sitting, fantasy-barbecue strain of the study avoidance plague is an age old problem or a deepening national crisis.
So, now you have a very clear picture firmly fixed in your head of all the things you could or should be doing about now, or worse, should have done last week. The chances are you’re starting to feel the panic rising inside you. So take a minute or so to lengthen this dream. You’ve wasted enough time, what difference will a few moments more make? Take a little trip Dr Who style (if he can do it so can you) back in time, 30 years or so. Picture your flat mate, an eighteen year old James May, pondering his future, dreaming of the Lotus Espirit he saw at the ‘flicks’, and KITT from Night Rider, while elaborately etching his name into the walls of room 97 of the then Pendle College. The little bubble world of campus is a different place. Bucks Fizz are playing on the radio and are still cool. (The Camera Never Lies don’t you know?) Bowland and Lonsdale are like peas in a pod, you can wave or otherwise make rude gestures from one window to another. Cartmel’s now seasoned freshers are plotting new acts of sabotage for County’s tree. Alexandra Park and the advent of the En-suite bedroom are but elements in a far-fetched and distant dream.
If, like James, you had your dream job for which you get to drive, race and generally smash up the best cars of the moment, while meeting all kinds of celebrities and encouraging them to do the same, I’d guess you’d be pretty happy with the career side of your life. But, the stories James tells at dinner parties do not only involve Ellen McArthur and Chris Evans and their adventures on the race-track. Oh no, they stem from the best days of his life in good old Lancaster. In passing, he recalls his time here as a right good laugh, ‘If nothing else, it made for a good pool and darts tournament.’ But who wouldn’t want to hear about his Christmas tree-stealing antics, how he first set his kitchen on fire (and how every other kitchen in the block managed to copy the stunt before the end of the year) or how he walked the length of campus on the roof of the spine without touching the floor?
Put yourself in his shoes, in his house. After several glasses of wine, and usually by the time you reach dessert, you relish being able to listen to your guests ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ with respect as you detail how you jumped the gap between the roof and the shelters in the square. Oh how they wish that they too had experienced the fun and frolics of Lancaster. That’s just the guests who studied elsewhere, more impressed and envious are those who didn’t go to university and missed out on the crazy days of ‘study.’
James is a self-confessed under-achiever, but one day he sat at his desk answering his emails and one stood out. It was an email from a current student at Lancaster, who has aspirations of becoming a journalist. He learns that although his own college has long been flattened, moved and replaced, that this young student is currently camped out in new ‘Cartmel’ because this year it is the turn of Grizedale College (his former rival) to be homeless. For posterity’s sake, he took his own little trip down memory lane, and dutifully regurgitated his tales of colleges, cars, Christmas trees, kitchens, thefts, nights out, and artistic etchings. But there was one other thing he couldn’t resist sharing in that beautifully individual way of his; his advice to anyone wanting to be a journalist: ‘Only do it if you can’t get a proper job!’
With, as he says, Lancaster looking more and more like a ‘landed space station,’ (with which the only fault he can remember is its peculiar smell of brick dust) cut away from the outside world it is very easy to loose sight of where you hope you are going in life. As you while away the hours avoiding study, no-one will notice you in your Tardis of a mind, exploring the lives of the rich and famous that walked where you walked, and wondered as you wondered. Comfort yourself that all is not lost, and that the sun will rise another day as your life emerges, the product of a bit of work and a lot of play. Think of those who lay on that bed before you looking at the ceiling and their mass of paper, and see what they have become. Take a lesson from the students of old, who we are told were ‘simple and unsophisticated’, and forget about the future for a minute or two. Look at what is in front of you, and embrace it with open arms.
Jonathan Starr and Katherine Gledhill
Friday, May 04, 2007
Universities Gone Mad!
Exams are a stressful feature of every student’s life. Going over notes, mind maps and frantically reading through textbooks making sure you are as prepared as you can be for the challenge that lies ahead.
However, it is all very good you being prepared for your exams, but what if the University are not?
Work is just about to start on the new Grizedale accommodation at Lancaster University. Although it is good to see that work is beginning on the pile of rubble that has sat in wait since the beginning to the academic year it has come to many people’s attention that it seems illogical to start this major building work right as a ‘Quiet Period’ has been put into force around the campus. Why are diggers allowed to make excessive noise, and yet students get told off by the porters for having a small game of football?
It would appear that this university has not thought about its students and the effect such a noise disruption will have on their revision and ultimately their final grades. One postgraduate student commented; “When will the University start to think of its students, its customers? I mean undergraduates go home in June, we have to suffer this right through the summer, and previous experience shows that even though we pay huge amounts of money for MA’s, our dissertation writing time is destroyed through excessive building noise or just plain bloody inconsideration”.
However, it is not our own University which seems to have lost all sight of their students. It was announced recently that the students of Manchester Metropolitan Business School. Are to sit their exams, that had been scheduled to take place in a conference room in the City of Manchester Stadium, will in fact be situated in a large marquee in a car park next to one of Manchester’s busiest roads. A student of the business school told me that he was ‘Outraged at the situation’ and that the idea of taking exams in a tent was ‘a joke’. The clear message from the students was that no one was laughing.
Just imagine it. All the hours spent in lectures, all the time spent reading through textbooks and the abundant note taking all building up to those end of year exams only for a lorry to roar its engine and you’ve lost your train of thought mid-sentence. One can not specifically say the effect that such a disruption will have on any student but it is clear that such an interruption will only have a negative effect on the final result.
The purpose of Universities is to create an atmosphere where students can excel in their chosen area of study and further their academic career. This taken into mind, why does it appear that some universities are not seeking to create this much sought after ambience? It is also noted that neither University had planned for the disruptions to occur. Grizedale College had been planned to be well under way by now and Manchester Met.have fallen on the bad side of a double booking. But even with this taken into account, neither University can seriously expect their students to perform to their full potential under such circumstances. Both Universities have issued their apologies for the disruptions caused to the students during the stressful period, but last time I checked apologies did not help you pass an exam.
Jonathan Starr
However, it is all very good you being prepared for your exams, but what if the University are not?
Work is just about to start on the new Grizedale accommodation at Lancaster University. Although it is good to see that work is beginning on the pile of rubble that has sat in wait since the beginning to the academic year it has come to many people’s attention that it seems illogical to start this major building work right as a ‘Quiet Period’ has been put into force around the campus. Why are diggers allowed to make excessive noise, and yet students get told off by the porters for having a small game of football?
It would appear that this university has not thought about its students and the effect such a noise disruption will have on their revision and ultimately their final grades. One postgraduate student commented; “When will the University start to think of its students, its customers? I mean undergraduates go home in June, we have to suffer this right through the summer, and previous experience shows that even though we pay huge amounts of money for MA’s, our dissertation writing time is destroyed through excessive building noise or just plain bloody inconsideration”.
However, it is not our own University which seems to have lost all sight of their students. It was announced recently that the students of Manchester Metropolitan Business School. Are to sit their exams, that had been scheduled to take place in a conference room in the City of Manchester Stadium, will in fact be situated in a large marquee in a car park next to one of Manchester’s busiest roads. A student of the business school told me that he was ‘Outraged at the situation’ and that the idea of taking exams in a tent was ‘a joke’. The clear message from the students was that no one was laughing.
Just imagine it. All the hours spent in lectures, all the time spent reading through textbooks and the abundant note taking all building up to those end of year exams only for a lorry to roar its engine and you’ve lost your train of thought mid-sentence. One can not specifically say the effect that such a disruption will have on any student but it is clear that such an interruption will only have a negative effect on the final result.
The purpose of Universities is to create an atmosphere where students can excel in their chosen area of study and further their academic career. This taken into mind, why does it appear that some universities are not seeking to create this much sought after ambience? It is also noted that neither University had planned for the disruptions to occur. Grizedale College had been planned to be well under way by now and Manchester Met.have fallen on the bad side of a double booking. But even with this taken into account, neither University can seriously expect their students to perform to their full potential under such circumstances. Both Universities have issued their apologies for the disruptions caused to the students during the stressful period, but last time I checked apologies did not help you pass an exam.
Jonathan Starr
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Wicked by Name, Wicked by Nature
"It was one of those sort of random events that completely change your life," said composer Stephen Schwartz when he was asked about his newest musical ‘Wicked’ which has had a big impact on theatre goers both in the US and in the UK.
‘Wicked’ is a musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell and Pippin) and directed by Joe Mantello. Set in the days prior to Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, Wicked explores the idea that the infamous antagonist we call the Wicked Witch of the West was a misconstrued, victimized person. Her alleged wickedness was merely retaliation against a charlatan wizard's corrupt government.
The play is set at Shiz University, the intelligent green-skinned teenager, Elphaba Thropp (the wicked witch of the west in the original ‘Wizard of Oz’), meets beautiful and ambitious Galinda Upland (who changes her name to Glinda during the course of the play and later becomes Glinda the Good) when the two become roommates. Their lives intertwine, and throughout the show their friendship struggles to endure extreme personality differences, opposing viewpoints, rivalry over the same love interest, and of course Elphaba's eventual tragic fall from grace.
‘Wicked’ was opened on Broadway at the George Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003 and is loosely based on the best selling novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire. The musical became so popular that the producers were able to open additional ‘Wicked’ productions in Chicago and a touring company before crossing the Atlantic and opening at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on 27th September 2006. It opens in Los Angeles February 21st this year. There are also plans for the show to open in Japan and Germany before the end of the year and further plans for it to reach the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. Since its opening ‘Wicked’ on the West End in September last year the weekly box office gross for the London production is believed to be higher than any other show in West End history.
The development of ‘Wicked’ started around a decade a go when Stephen Schwartz was alerted to the book by a friend whilst on holiday to Hawaii. "It was one of those sort of random events that completely change your life," Schwartz told reporters. The book, he continues "is an incredibly brilliant flash of inspiration - to take the iconic and quintessential villain of American pop culture and decide to look at the story we all know from her point of view." Stephen Schwartz also said what surprises him most about his career so far is "to have been part of two shows that become phenomena - the first show I did, Godspell, and the last show I did, Wicked.”
What’s up next for Schwartz? His new opera ‘Séance on a Wet Afternoon’ is due to open in October of 2009 in Santa Barbara, California.
For more information on the show ‘Wicked’ and how to get tickets go to www.wickedthemusical.co.uk.
‘Wicked’ is a musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell and Pippin) and directed by Joe Mantello. Set in the days prior to Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, Wicked explores the idea that the infamous antagonist we call the Wicked Witch of the West was a misconstrued, victimized person. Her alleged wickedness was merely retaliation against a charlatan wizard's corrupt government.
The play is set at Shiz University, the intelligent green-skinned teenager, Elphaba Thropp (the wicked witch of the west in the original ‘Wizard of Oz’), meets beautiful and ambitious Galinda Upland (who changes her name to Glinda during the course of the play and later becomes Glinda the Good) when the two become roommates. Their lives intertwine, and throughout the show their friendship struggles to endure extreme personality differences, opposing viewpoints, rivalry over the same love interest, and of course Elphaba's eventual tragic fall from grace.
‘Wicked’ was opened on Broadway at the George Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003 and is loosely based on the best selling novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire. The musical became so popular that the producers were able to open additional ‘Wicked’ productions in Chicago and a touring company before crossing the Atlantic and opening at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on 27th September 2006. It opens in Los Angeles February 21st this year. There are also plans for the show to open in Japan and Germany before the end of the year and further plans for it to reach the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. Since its opening ‘Wicked’ on the West End in September last year the weekly box office gross for the London production is believed to be higher than any other show in West End history.
The development of ‘Wicked’ started around a decade a go when Stephen Schwartz was alerted to the book by a friend whilst on holiday to Hawaii. "It was one of those sort of random events that completely change your life," Schwartz told reporters. The book, he continues "is an incredibly brilliant flash of inspiration - to take the iconic and quintessential villain of American pop culture and decide to look at the story we all know from her point of view." Stephen Schwartz also said what surprises him most about his career so far is "to have been part of two shows that become phenomena - the first show I did, Godspell, and the last show I did, Wicked.”
What’s up next for Schwartz? His new opera ‘Séance on a Wet Afternoon’ is due to open in October of 2009 in Santa Barbara, California.
For more information on the show ‘Wicked’ and how to get tickets go to www.wickedthemusical.co.uk.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Rise of the Machines
If you were walking round Lancaster what do you think would happen?
Little children running around screaming? A business man in a rush as he barges past you? This is what I would expect. I’m sure you can understand my surprise when an elderly man started to talk to me. Shocked by this interesting development in my day I stood and listened to what he had to say. He began to tell me how a friend of his had died from eating too much chocolate. This revelation took me by surprise and I started to envisage some kind off chocolate assassin going round poisoning chocolate bars when no one else was looking. However, as the conversation progressed it became clear that his friend had been a diabetic and had ignored his doctor’s advice of doing things in moderation.
The conversation moved quickly from chocolate related deaths to how the man I was talking to had worked in paper mills and how it had all changed. He told me about how he followed his father into the business and had worked in mills all around the country ranging from Scotland to Wales. The conversation came to an end with him cursing how the rise of technology had changed the world. Admittedly I had thought at this stage that I was stuck in the middle of a revamp of Monty Python’s ‘Four Yorkshire Men Sketch’ and half expected someone to come up behind me and say ‘You thought you had it bad! Back in my day . . . ’
As we parted something the old man had said struck me. Are we really that dependant on technology? I look around my room and I can see many electronic items. My computer, lava lamp, games console, television, desk light, alarm clock, mobile phone and my radio. Eight things in one room. As I think about what the old man said to me I find myself wondering could I go a week, or even a day, without the technology that surrounds me? I would like to say yes, I must be able to and I would guess that the majority of you reading this article would say the same. However, when push comes to shove could we really do it?
Take a minute to consider your answer. No television. No fancy games console or music system. No mobile phones. Do you still think you can do it? Me neither. This poses another question. Are we slaves to technology? Has society changed so much that the power that man has developed over years now depends on whether or not the computer will do what we want it to?
I am not saying that technology, on the whole, is a bad thing. Thanks to technology lives have improved greatly. But where do we draw the line? Where does technology stop being a help and start being a hindrance?
If there is one thing I have learnt about technology over the years is that it inevitably fails. What then? Does the world stop until we are all back online surfing the web or until all our mobiles are charged up? I sit here thinking is the old man right? Are we now so dependant on technology that we are losing the skills our ancestors spent years perfecting?
As I switch off my lava lamp I start to think about the impact technology has had on our society. Technology is everywhere, from the cars we drive to how we communicate. The rise of technology has lead to text messages, instant messaging and face book. Of course all of these can have positive affects on our lives as they shorten distances between one person and another but what about the other side of the coin? The dark side of instant communication? How has technology affected our ability to interact on a face to face basis with fellow human beings? I look at my flat, seeing all the closed doors hiding people away, and yet I can talk to them online. I do not mean to say that when we go out to the bar, for example, we do not sit by ourselves, but next time you are in a social area take a closer look and you can see the separations from one group to the other like the networks on face book or the groups on MSN Messenger.
I will go as far to say that I am the worst culprit for this. This brings me back to the old man from the beginning of my article. We were talking for about fifteen minutes and I don’t know his name, and yet when I look at MSN Messenger I know exactly who ‘A being in search of meaning’ is. As I walked away, checking my mobile for any messages, I couldn’t help but wonder, is this what our society has become.
Jonathan Starr
Little children running around screaming? A business man in a rush as he barges past you? This is what I would expect. I’m sure you can understand my surprise when an elderly man started to talk to me. Shocked by this interesting development in my day I stood and listened to what he had to say. He began to tell me how a friend of his had died from eating too much chocolate. This revelation took me by surprise and I started to envisage some kind off chocolate assassin going round poisoning chocolate bars when no one else was looking. However, as the conversation progressed it became clear that his friend had been a diabetic and had ignored his doctor’s advice of doing things in moderation.
The conversation moved quickly from chocolate related deaths to how the man I was talking to had worked in paper mills and how it had all changed. He told me about how he followed his father into the business and had worked in mills all around the country ranging from Scotland to Wales. The conversation came to an end with him cursing how the rise of technology had changed the world. Admittedly I had thought at this stage that I was stuck in the middle of a revamp of Monty Python’s ‘Four Yorkshire Men Sketch’ and half expected someone to come up behind me and say ‘You thought you had it bad! Back in my day . . . ’
As we parted something the old man had said struck me. Are we really that dependant on technology? I look around my room and I can see many electronic items. My computer, lava lamp, games console, television, desk light, alarm clock, mobile phone and my radio. Eight things in one room. As I think about what the old man said to me I find myself wondering could I go a week, or even a day, without the technology that surrounds me? I would like to say yes, I must be able to and I would guess that the majority of you reading this article would say the same. However, when push comes to shove could we really do it?
Take a minute to consider your answer. No television. No fancy games console or music system. No mobile phones. Do you still think you can do it? Me neither. This poses another question. Are we slaves to technology? Has society changed so much that the power that man has developed over years now depends on whether or not the computer will do what we want it to?
I am not saying that technology, on the whole, is a bad thing. Thanks to technology lives have improved greatly. But where do we draw the line? Where does technology stop being a help and start being a hindrance?
If there is one thing I have learnt about technology over the years is that it inevitably fails. What then? Does the world stop until we are all back online surfing the web or until all our mobiles are charged up? I sit here thinking is the old man right? Are we now so dependant on technology that we are losing the skills our ancestors spent years perfecting?
As I switch off my lava lamp I start to think about the impact technology has had on our society. Technology is everywhere, from the cars we drive to how we communicate. The rise of technology has lead to text messages, instant messaging and face book. Of course all of these can have positive affects on our lives as they shorten distances between one person and another but what about the other side of the coin? The dark side of instant communication? How has technology affected our ability to interact on a face to face basis with fellow human beings? I look at my flat, seeing all the closed doors hiding people away, and yet I can talk to them online. I do not mean to say that when we go out to the bar, for example, we do not sit by ourselves, but next time you are in a social area take a closer look and you can see the separations from one group to the other like the networks on face book or the groups on MSN Messenger.
I will go as far to say that I am the worst culprit for this. This brings me back to the old man from the beginning of my article. We were talking for about fifteen minutes and I don’t know his name, and yet when I look at MSN Messenger I know exactly who ‘A being in search of meaning’ is. As I walked away, checking my mobile for any messages, I couldn’t help but wonder, is this what our society has become.
Jonathan Starr
Thursday, April 26, 2007
We’re all Going on a Term-Time Holiday
On Tuesday 16th January a large number of staff and students from our university found themselves getting free holidays to various places in Europe. Why? Not a charity giveaway but through a rogue email containing a link into the inner workings of the Ryan Air booking system.
The email found its way to a graduate student in Grizedale College. Not long afterward he was seen running down knocking on all the doors of his corridor shouting and subsequent flats yelling ‘Lets screw the bastards!’ It was not long until the majority of the occupants had booked themselves weekends away to Ireland, France and Spain with the only expense being the time spent deciding where to go. However, Ryan Air’s troubles did not end there as it was not long until the email was passed on to the next flat. And soon, through the power of the Internet a large majority of block 43 were browsing the Ryan Air website deciding where they wanted to go.
However, after deciding that it was cruel not to share this new found opportunity, the message was passed on to the college porters with instructions to pass the information on to security. Whilst this was happening, word was spreading about Ryan Airs problem as the email was being sent to various places around the country one going to Manchester and another getting as far south as Sussex, and to the east at Newcastle. The message was clear – pass it on. It was not long until word was leaving the world of universities as the email was soon sent out to parents who were then instructed to pass the email on to work colleagues. Soon employees of the NHS were asking for holiday leave so they could jet off round Europe for the weekend. This is not to say that the email stayed in this country. A few hours after the email had originally been received it was discovered that it had reached as far as Denmark, where university here invited there friends there to come and visit on the expense of Ryan air. It is unknown how far the email has reached (at the time of writing, 4 hours has expired from initially receiving email) and how many people find themselves on the receiving end of a free holiday.
A simple email has, at time of writing has so far been sent to around a one hundred people with the amount increasing quickly as the word spreads across the university and then all over the country. Between now and the beginning of February Ryan Air will be seeing a lot of students with some connection to Lancaster. (a lot)A day of great joy for members of our university, a day of great misfortune for Ryan Air, and particularly for one for one graduate student who is rubbing his hands with glee at having succeeded in spreading the word so widely.
Jonathan Starr
The email found its way to a graduate student in Grizedale College. Not long afterward he was seen running down knocking on all the doors of his corridor shouting and subsequent flats yelling ‘Lets screw the bastards!’ It was not long until the majority of the occupants had booked themselves weekends away to Ireland, France and Spain with the only expense being the time spent deciding where to go. However, Ryan Air’s troubles did not end there as it was not long until the email was passed on to the next flat. And soon, through the power of the Internet a large majority of block 43 were browsing the Ryan Air website deciding where they wanted to go.
However, after deciding that it was cruel not to share this new found opportunity, the message was passed on to the college porters with instructions to pass the information on to security. Whilst this was happening, word was spreading about Ryan Airs problem as the email was being sent to various places around the country one going to Manchester and another getting as far south as Sussex, and to the east at Newcastle. The message was clear – pass it on. It was not long until word was leaving the world of universities as the email was soon sent out to parents who were then instructed to pass the email on to work colleagues. Soon employees of the NHS were asking for holiday leave so they could jet off round Europe for the weekend. This is not to say that the email stayed in this country. A few hours after the email had originally been received it was discovered that it had reached as far as Denmark, where university here invited there friends there to come and visit on the expense of Ryan air. It is unknown how far the email has reached (at the time of writing, 4 hours has expired from initially receiving email) and how many people find themselves on the receiving end of a free holiday.
A simple email has, at time of writing has so far been sent to around a one hundred people with the amount increasing quickly as the word spreads across the university and then all over the country. Between now and the beginning of February Ryan Air will be seeing a lot of students with some connection to Lancaster. (a lot)A day of great joy for members of our university, a day of great misfortune for Ryan Air, and particularly for one for one graduate student who is rubbing his hands with glee at having succeeded in spreading the word so widely.
Jonathan Starr
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