We hope you’ll get into the college spirit over the next few weeks, because colleges and their bars are what makes Lancaster University one of the best in the country.

We hope you’ve settled in well over the last few days and cleared your room of boxes, bags and pictures of your pets to put them all in their rightful places, and that the floor is at least 50% visible, because once you’re unpacked the room really feels your own, and it is usually much easier to chill out in there when you need to.

Make sure you pay attention to what you’re being told this week, some parts of it are more important than others but there’s a lot going on and keeping up to date can really help.
All there is left for me to say is have a great time. Freshers’ Week is already going brilliantly, and with much more to come over the next few days hopefully you’ll find at least one thing you like!

If you turn over you’ll find a Freshers’ Week survival guide with tips that come from experience. They will hopefully really help you to enjoy the week. We also have an awesome interview with Michael Payne, the President of the Students’ Union and a former Cartmelian.

There are also some photos on the page opposite this one, showing what sort of thing you should expect from the next week, the next term and the next year. We have also looked at eight of the most popular bars in town and hopefully you will find something to your taste. The puzzles are back as always, a slightly more condensed section of Robbie’s reviews is in there, as well as this term’s social calendar on an ‘easy to rip out and stick to your pinboard in your kitchen, not steal it into your room so people complain to us that they haven’t had a magazine in their flat’ format.

It’s our most packed issue yet, and we really hope you enjoy it. See you around!

Stephen and Rachael xxx

We are Will and Jo, your Education and Welfare officers; in other words we are here, famously, to give out free CONDOMS!! This isn’t our only role however, we are here to listen to any problems that you may have, whether it is related to lectures, flat mates, health issues etc and we are here to provide you with a support system for your time at university.

During Freshers Week we will have an office hour everyday 12-1pm in the JCR where we are here to answer any questions you may have about anything! After Freshers week we both have an hour every week where you can come and talk to us about anything. We are also both contactable by email at any time or via the internal phone during these office hours.

Internal 92308
will@cartmelcollege.co.uk
joey@cartmelcollege.co.uk
edandwelfare@cartmelcollege.co.uk

2) Go to Cartmel Socials
Besides meeting your flat, the next best way to meet people in the same situation as you is at any Cartmel social. Luckily we’ve usually got quite a few things going on and have some exciting plans for the next term so it’s definitely worth coming along and joining in the fun.

3) Facebook!
I know it’s a terrible distraction when you’re trying to complete that essay that’s been dragging on and that the never ending emails informing you when someone has written on your wall (or scribbled on yer plank for those of you who’ve discovered the pirate settings) but Facebook is actually a pretty useful way of keeping in touch with the many people you’ll be meeting… not to mention, a fantastic source for some of the embarrassing photos which we use in the magazine!

4) Freshers’ Fair
This is where you can sign up for any societies at the university but beware! It may be tempting to put your name down for every club and society going, but be realistic too and consider how likely it is that you’ll attend.

5) Know Your Limits
It may sound boring but it’s true that whether you drink or not, everyone wants to be able to remember Freshers’ Week without cringing. It’s not advisable to end up paralytic when making first impressions!

6) Budget yourself!
Although you may think that you’ve just got your student loan and can go out and treat yourself to a widescreen TV, you may be thinking it wasn’t a good idea come week 7 when all you have in your cupboards is half a tin of beans and a jar of pickled onions your mum bought you at the start of the year. Budget! Keep some money for later, and most importantly do not spend all your money in Freshers’ week!

How has being in Cartmel affected your University experience?

The colleges are at the heart of Lancaster university, and there’s a real feeling of community in all of them. While I was here for three years, the JCR Executive who run the social and student experience sides of things in colleges did an excellent job of hosting various events with support from the Student’s Union. Being in a college that was a little quieter than some of the other colleges, being on the outside of campus, was quite nice because you’re away from the central buzz of campus, but when social activities are taking place you can easily go and get involved and feel the atmosphere.

Why did you choose to run for LUSU president?

I’m sure this will sound clichéd but I really did want to make a difference, and most of all I wanted to change the Union to make it more relevant to it’s members. LUSU shouldn’t just be seen as a place to get a Purple Card – it’s much more than that and can provide a whole new experience for students.

How do you feel about the success of Friday Fury last year, and do you think you’ll continue with the same idea, or a different social this year?

The success of Friday Fury was absolutely phenomenal, and there are various different arguments about the economic success for the bars but certainly from the student’s Union’s perspective and the college’s perspective, the inclusion of eight of the college bars across campus, the buzz on a Friday night (which historically has always been college night) was fantastic. Sadly, however, a decision that was made over the summer about the bars has put a stop on the temporarily. It’s a shame that sometimes politics can stop events from happening, and it’s very frustrating. What we’re planning to do is speak to the colleges, and if the colleges want us to support that event and run it again, then we might do a revival at the end of this term, and really make it big and successful. Watch this space!

Cartmel bar is one of the bars that have recently been taken over by the university to a massive outcry from the student body. What is your opinion and what are you doing to fight for the students?

It’s very difficult because the decision was made over summer when the students weren’t here and what I’m very conscious is as the prime representative of the student body, I didn’t want to make a decision that wasn’t in line with what the colleges wanted. It’s your social facility, it’s your bar and it should be your decision. Now the students are back I want to discuss with them where they want to go with this as I think it’s a real opportunity for them to gear and guide what happens in the college bars. The university is aware that 12,000 students are their customers on this campus and if you don’t cater for those students you will rapidly find that you don’t have a customer base. So in order for the bars to be economically viable, they have to meet students’ needs.

What do you want to achieve as LUSU president?

There are various things I set out in my manifesto and one of them was improving officer communication across campus and we’ve implemented a great deal of online technology.
Secondly, I said I’d like to introduce a sabbatical ‘Question Time’ and hopefully this will be starting later this term or next, and I’d quite like to get L.U.T.V involved to perhaps film it and put it online. This would be an opportunity for any member of the students’ union to come along and question to sabbatical team on whatever they like, and realise that we’re not six full-time officers who sit in the building and don’t get out there and speak to the members.

How do you feel about the University’s affiliation with BAE systems, a weapons development company that sponsor a course at the management school?

Well this question is always going to be a controversial one! My job is to ensure that we have that open debate in the relevant committees. I think you have to deal with issues like this case by case- if Union Council decided that we’re firmly against this and disagrees with the university having this course at Lancaster University then I am more than willing to go to the university and relate that and vice versa if they are in support of it. I’m there to be mandated by the membership. There are various student officers who have taken this issue up and I have said to them that the proper thing to do is sit down and write a motion which I’ll support them on, we’ll have that discussion in union council, we’ll have a democratic vote and we’ll see what the outcome is.

Emma “Little-Emma” Hawkes is our Vice-President, and was responsible for the whole of Freshers Week! So you have to thank for what we hope will be one of the best weeks of your Uni life, if not your real life.

Kat “K-dawg” Goulding is the Chair of the JCR, and it is her (hellish) task to try and control the rest of the group in Sunday meetings. She is also in charge of the elections that will take place every now and again. Kat enjoys wearing hats at funky angles.

Robbie “Pickles” Pickles is the Treasure and he’s the man in charge of looking after the JCR’s finances. He enjoys spending time with the LUSU assistant accountant Rusty discussing figures, and features regularly in the magazine as he is the Robbie from Robbie’s reviews!

Will Parkinson and Jo Green are our Education and Welfare Officers and one of their main responsibilities is to hold an office hour each so that you guys have someone to chat to whenever you have a problem. They also attend meetings about the Ed and Welfare campaigns that happen across campus regularly, and you can read a little more about them on page 3 (Note: They won’t be naked).

Helen Thompson and Matt Bruce are the Equal Opportunities Officers for Cartmel, and it’s their job to not only have an office hour each week but also to attend meetings relating to green issues, LGBT, disabilities and mature/international students. They can often be seen relaxing in the comfy chairs in the JCR.

What can we say – this is us! We write the weekly email that you hopefully will receive every week, as well as the twice termly magazine, one of which you’re reading at this very second. You can read a little more about us in the intro, and we hope you’re enjoying this so far – we certainly are.

Beth Evans and Michael Phelan are our Social Secretaries who are in charge of organising the whole social calendar for each term. They are the ones in charge of all the nights out you’ll have over the term (apart from freshers week, obviously) and are supposed to stay on sober duty on scheduled socials – unlucky them!

Erin Mitchell and James “Pasty” Cornish are our sports reps, and are in charge of getting together teams for the Carter Shield, as well as organising other sports socials such as rounders tournaments that hopefully you wonderful people will be taking part in.

Sian Brigham and Hannah Place are the publicity officers who are responsible for publicising things, shockingly. They design the brilliant posters that will be dotted around Cartmel days, if not weeks, before a social.

Michael Benson is our Webmaster, and if you have seen the website you will have seen just how hard he works! He has transformed our site into something really professional looking. Check it out at www.cartmelcollege.co.uk and join in the funsies.

Jonny Casey is our A/V technichian and not only DJ’s on all of our bar based socials but also takes charge of lighting and generally looking cool. He’ll be the one stuck in the bar on Friday Fury nights, which shows how dedicated he is.

Carter Shield
The Carter Shield is an opportunity to take part in some truly wacky sports. For virtually everyone who plays it’s their first time and it is very inclusive. The competition is structured with several taster sessions so you can have a go before all the colleges compete on the competitions days. All the finals are held on one day. This term we have some exciting sports coming up:

Taster Sessions – Sunday 19th October & Sunday 26th October
This is where you get to practise the different sports each term. It’s a really great laugh and important so we can destroy the other colleges when it comes to the competition. Keep your eyes peeled for extra Cartmel only taster sessions.

Dodge ball - Sunday 9th November
Like the film! This is an awesome game and is very fun to play. Teams of six players try to throw balls and hit the opposite teams player on a pitch smaller than a tennis court. All you have to remember is the five D’s of dodge ball; Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, Dodge!

Women’s Indoor Football - Sunday 16th November
Sorry guys but this one is just for the ladies! Teams consist of six players, with rules the same as five aside. If you’ve got any footballing experience please come down and play for us! We’ve got some serious football talent in Cartmel so let’s put it to good use! For you guys Basketball next term will be men only.

Korfball - Sunday 23rd November
From the Netherlands, Korfball is a cross between Basketball and Netball except instead of the hoops they actually use baskets! Last year we came second in this event so this year the only way is up! We’re expecting first place so get practising!

Volleyball - Sunday 30th November
An Olympic event this year, Volleyball is a great sport. This is probably the most technical sport of the term, but don’t fear! The university Volleyball squad will be coming down to couch us.

Inter-College Leagues
A big part of sport at Lancaster is the inter-college leagues. There are five different sports played in the leagues: Football, Netball, Pool, Darts and Dominoes. These teams have practices and matches each week and are a great part of Cartmel College. The captains will be stretching their vocal cords at karaoke night on Friday of Fresher’s Week to give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Check out the sport’s calendar to see where and when their matches are taking place. Come down and support!

Contact
If you have any queries don’t hesitate to get in-touch with Pasty or Erin at:
Pasty: pasty@cartmelcollege.co.uk Erin: erin@cartmelcollege.co.uk
Check out the info on the Cartmel website and for the latest news and updates join our Cartmel Sports Facebook Group:
www.cartmelcollege.co.uk/sports
Or search “Cartmel College Sports” on Facebook

Part of student life is doing something on the cheap, and never more so than with food. The eateries on campus are all very well, but what if you want to impress that special person with something a little more salubrious than Pizzetta? Robbie Pickles explains why he thinks you couldn’t do much better than heading towards a bar…

When it comes to eating on the ultra-cheap, Wetherspoons is a good option for smart and well presented food. With famously low prices, you can take advantages such as beer and a burger for under five pounds. The food is of surprisingly good quality for the price, and the drinks are fairly inexpensive too. However, as a known brand which operates almost everywhere in the country, it lacks the feeling of something special and it is essentially JUST a pub, and the phrase “a steamy first date at Wetherspoons” is not one you are likely to hear.

Revs, on the other hand, is a little more expensive, but in my opinion is worth the extra cost. The food is of a fairly similar to Wetherspoons, but with a few house specials to spice up the menu. The advantage to Revs is that, being a club as well, after your meal you can head upstairs and show off your moves on the dance floor (or, if you are like me, shuffle around embarrassed for a while and drink too much to cover your shame) and burn off the calories in the process!

So if you fancy some fine dining and your overdraft is off the scale, get yourself into town and eat to your heart’s content, happy that your wallet won’t feel the difference.

Mint vs. Lounge

Lancaster has a wide range of bars and clubs, with something to suit every taste. We sent Rachael Pratt to two of the city’s favourite cocktail bars to see which one she liked best…

Whether you want a girly night out or just a classy start to your evening (before everything gets messy!) then Lounge and Mint are the ideal bars to head to. They have modern décor, up to date music, and endless lists of cocktails ranging from the cheaper, student-friendly deals on favourites such as ‘Oral Sex on the Beach’, to the old classics… Cosmopolitan anyone?!

Of course, the popularity of both is also their downfall as on busy nights there can be a long queue to the bar, particularly in Mint which is already a fairly small space and can feel very overcrowded at peak times, even with its outside terrace and you may have to put up with standing if you’re not lucky enough to nab a chair in time! The plus side of this however, is that on busy nights there is always a buzzing atmosphere and it’s a key spot to run into people you know.

If drinking cocktails in trendy surroundings is your bag then either Mint or Lounge are the bars for you and I wouldn’t say either was better than the other although my personal favourite is Mint as by being more intimate, it seems a lot more lively. But don’t just rely on my opinion – try them both out and make your mind up for yourself!

Walkabout vs. Varsity

Are you into sports? Well thankfully your needs are fully catered for here in Lancaster, with both Walkabout and Varsity showing sports, serving drinks, and sometimes even playing some music! But which one is better? Stephen Ashby visits them both and sees what each has to offer.

The first comparison I can make is the quality of the places themselves when comparing the two bars. Walkabout has one huge area near the back (or front, depending on which entrance you use) of the bar, with seats and plenty of standing area, as well as several more plasma TVs along the bar itself. Varsity also has a large screen, but it is viewable from practically the whole bar. It really depends on your preference of what size screen you like.

Other than that both bars offer averagely priced drinks, as you would expect from such large bar chains. There are always plenty of deals on both drinks and food, but if I’m honest Walkabout is the more popular of the two because of the wide range of music it plays over the week. It’s especially popular on Wednesdays before the Carleton. The deals you can get with a Varsity card however really make it a popular place to just go for a drink before heading elsewhere in Lancaster to have a bit of a rave.

I advise you check them both out and make up your own mind, because this sort of thing really depends on your own tastes.

Sugarhouse vs. Toast

For dancing fun there are really two places in town that boast the best selection of music, the best dance floors, and the best atmospheres. Rachael also headed down to compare the two and boogie the night away…

For dancing and drinking until the early hours of the morning head to Toast and the university’s own town based nightclub, The Sugarhouse. Both offer various types of music depending on what night you go – if you’re looking for rock and old school heavy metal then Toast’s alternative ’lost’ night on Monday is the one for you, or alternatively go there on a Friday for a night of Indie. No club in Lancaster can beat Toast for its decadence (think leather seats, chandeliers and Audrey Hepburn artwork), and with good deals on drinks (on Thursdays girls pay £5 and drink all night, for guys drinks are all £1.10), it’s definitely one to check out.

Mad nights out in Lancaster usually occur in The Sugarhouse and with it’s massive dance floor, poles and staging, it’s easy to imagine why. Based in 2 separate rooms it has lower prices than most clubs in town as it’s owned by the students’ union and has hosted big acts such as Pendulum… not forgetting the free bus home, all making the Sugarhouse one of the most popular spots for students in Lancaster.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder may well have been one of the most hyped films of the summer, with a massive barrage of publicity and an all-star cast. Unfortunately, for me, it fell down on it’s expectations.
For a start, it is a film about film making. I personally hate films in which the actors are playing actors. It’s just lazy writing – everyone can make jokes about their own job. Why do actors think we care so much about what actors do? My verdict: we don’t. Although I’m sure they have a lot of fun making these films, they then full short of laughs as in-jokes dominate the script.

Next up was the loss, in the first ten minutes, of one of the best actors in the film. Without giving too much away, you won’t be seeing much of Steve Coogan after the first reel, so if you went along expecting some British comedy magic from this legend among actors, you may be disappointed by what is essentially a cameo.

I have to say though, to those who felt the film may have been a little racist, I did not really see any obvious offence, although I might take issue with the treatment of mental disabilities, which at times crosses the line.

To its credit though, the film’s original plot and strong performances do lead to a rather entertaining hour and half which, although a little dry on jokes, is amusing enough and features a hilarious cameo from Tom Cruise (in a heavy disguise).

Anyway, if you do go along to see this film, expect a few genuinely funny moments, but on the whole I would give it a miss. Save your precious pounds for Quantum of Solace which will of course be awesome!

What is important is that, unless you’re hardcore, you don’t spend too much money! Experts agree that for real life usage, going above 5 megapixels isn’t worth the cost, and going beyond 8 megapixels can mean that pictures look worse when compressed (i.e. on facebook).

I would personally recommend the Sony Cybershot range, specifically those in the DSC range, which are generally quite cheap. In this range there is also a series of slim cameras, useful for slipping out your pocket whilst clubbing.

The Fujifilm FinePix has also come to my attention, as its price on Amazon.co.uk has come down considerably. Worth a look methinks, especially whilst the price stays low.

Robbie’s Reviews will be back next time in its usual double page format so expect more from me then!