The storyline is an effortless mix of epic Shakespearian love triangles, estranged families and premature death, combined with Thatcherite class conflict and a big dollop of overly-dramatic musical flamboyance.

In principle, Blood Brothers easily verges on the kitsch and predictable. But in performance, it is nothing short of wonderful.

Willy Russell’s beloved musical tells the tale of Liverpudlian Mrs Johnstone, financially crippled when her husband walks out on her, leaving seven children behind with twins on the way. When she discovers that her middle-class employer, Mrs Lyons, has been desperate to have a child for years with no success, a plan is reluctantly conceived – Mrs Lyons will pretend to be pregnant whilst her husband is away, and Mrs Johnstone will give one of her babies to Mrs Lyons, to be raised as her own.

As the twin boys grow older in separate households, the age-old nature over nurture principle becomes palpable. Mickey Johnstone is a loveable yet almost illiterate young boy who likes to play with toy guns with his reckless, bullying older brother, Sam. Edward Lyons is an immaculately dressed, perfectly spoken public-school boy who likes to read the dictionary. When their paths meet again, the result is a bout of happiness and friendship followed by fate-ridden tragedy.

Whilst such stereotypical class differences can seem contrived and somewhat vulgar to the audience, any traces of insincere moral themes are washed away by the consistently pitch-perfect musical score. The acclaimed Marilyn Monroe and Tell Me It’s Not True have a bittersweet Moulin Rouge-style, tragicomedy air to them, taking the audience from highs of euphoric frivolity to devastating reality within an instant.

But the outstanding scenes are the ones in which adult actors banter and bustle around the stage as five-year-old irreverent children, completely believable as young and reckless youths.

Sheffield Lyceum is staging a leg of the musical’s six month tour, complete with an obligatory C-list name. This time it’s X Factor’s Niki Evans – following in the footsteps of all four of the Nolan sisters – who shapes a memorable and emotional performance as Mrs Johnstone.

Russell’s seeming timeless story has retained a relevance and power since its 1988 debut, showcased flawlessly in the Lyceum’s beautiful main house. But it’s questionable whether the shock and pathos of the plot will stay as fierce in the audience’s mind as our social and political climate continues to change, similar to Shelagh Delaney’s superb yet finite A Taste of Honey. Let us hope so.

How do you create a fresh King Lear? Not only is Shakespeare’s epic tragedy one of the most frequently staged of the bard’s plays; it is perhaps the most harrowing, the most searching, the most exhausting to watch.

I was unusually quite pleased at being a relative Lear novice when watching National Theatre Live’s broadcast of Michael Grandage’s production in Leeds, on a terribly tempestuous Thursday night. I would not realise the irony of such a tempest until the production was dramatically cut at the crux of the scene in which Gloucester’s eyes are gauged out. But my lack of knowledge about the play allowed for a truly bracing experience, as I sat unaware of what to expect from a Lear performance. I was not disappointed. I am pretty confident that my first experience of Lear will remain the best I ever see.

The austerity of Christopher Oram’s stage design constructs an immediately desolate and cold backdrop, and lets Shakespeare’s words resound more powerfully from the stage. The musical score and strategic lighting seared from the screen and created an almost cinematic sheen to the performance. Whilst sitting through the first half in Vue’s over-crowded, slightly cramped screen, I was totally engulfed in the production, almost forgetting I was sat in a cinema and not in Donmar Warehouse itself. For theatre and cinema-goers alike, the experience is a must; never before has the performance of Shakespeare from stage to screen seemed more ambiguous, which only worked to emphasise the drama and the despair of the text.

Derek Jacobi’s Lear starts as a predictably patriarchal, robust and uncompromising character, before descending into an unmatchable sea of madness. The intensity of Jacobi’s performance, where Lear’s physical deterioration is clear in not only his dress and physique, but his sunken eyes and voice, is difficult to forget. Watching Jacobi’s high-pitched, extreme scream as he tumbles on his knees onto the white-washed wooden planks of the stage tells the story of a timeless and – if possible – more intricate Lear.

The technical hitch, which saw hundreds of cinema audiences across the country braced for the climax of the play, certainly set the show back as the actors were bustled backstage and re-emerged to repeat the truncated scene with some repetition and noticeably stilted lines. It was a serious shame after the beauty and consistency of the prior scenes, but not a death sentence.

National Theatre Live is a truly exciting venture: it is able to fuse the creative gap between theatre and cinema, creating a remarkably innovative new artistic medium. Thursday night’s performance proved this to outstanding effect; despite the tempest.

But I know few people who manage to achieve a teacher-like relationship with their supervisors, where a student feels comfortable enough to tell them that, no, they haven’t done enough work because they have been sat in a student newspaper office or rehearsing in Central Hall for most of term. Or have been spending time at home because they don’t get along with their housemates and feel isolated. But honesty with a supervisor should be crucial.

This realisation only dawns when you reach the academic abyss of third-year, when you begin to recognise that those extra-important extra-curricular activities are actually probably not going to get you a job or a degree.

But the role that your supervisor plays and their opinion of you as an individual becomes an imperative part of the application rigmarole. And somehow the news that academic departments are doing little to help ease the stress and unnecessary bureaucracy of graduate job and Masters applications is unsurprising. The disregard academic departments have for providing transcripts is not only impeding a student population facing limited employment prospects in the current economic climate, but shows an ignorance and apathy for the care and attention students expect from their department.

A third-year friend of mine recently became upset because throughout his time here his supervisor has never once asked what he does in his free time or what he wants to do as a career. Wanting to be a journalist, he went to his supervisor armed with a portfolio and CV, only to find that as soon as a ‘Journalism Masters’ was mentioned, the supervisor became disinterested and told him to write it all down on a ‘personal development’ form to be handed in at the departmental office. Surely the entire purpose of a supervisor is the personal one-to-one interaction and correspondence, the knowledge that in the emotional whirl-wind of University life there is someone there who you can talk to – who maybe doesn’t understand, but is there regardless?

You would presume that supervisors strive to ensure that their students become the best that they can be. Student happiness and success is surely the truest reflection of their role as an academic member of the department? Assistance in the final stages of our time here, when providing something as important as an academic transcript, should be expected and standardised parts of academic supervisor practice.

For humanities students, the measly four hours of contact time we are blessed with a week shows no correspondence with the fees we pay, so the least we can ask for is organised and marginally passionate supervision.

The situation is even worse for Joint Honours students – the burden of contacting both supervisors is stressful and time-consuming. Students need assurance at a time of mounting pressure, which will help the departments in achieving academically flourishing individuals, rather than bitter and frustrated supervisees.

Andrea Dworkin once profoundly said that pornography is “emblematic of all male sexuality”. With the modern-day ubiquity of female sex shops such as Ann Summers, and the social acceptance of third-wave feminist ‘Sex and the City’-esque notions that “women enjoy sex too”, surely Dworkin’s radical stance has become outdated?

According to today’s sex film industry, apparently not. Anna Arrowsmith, aka Anna Span (her porn director name), is known as the first female porn director for women.

She left university 12 years ago, after writing a dissertation on what fundamental changes would need to be made to mainstream pornography in order for it to be enjoyed by women. Adverts for performers to appear in her graduation film were defaced and torn down by members of staff and her final film was refused a public airing – despite the sex in the film being simulated.

The 38-year-old ran in the general election earlier this year as a Liberal Democrat candidate, defending women’s rights and arguing that women definitely need the niche for female porn that has been carved in the market.

Whilst masturbation and watching pornography may have become social norms, perhaps even social necessities, for teenage boys and young men, there still seems to be a taboo surrounding the idea of female masturbation and the production of pornography specifically focused on what a woman would find sexy.

As Holly Combe, a feminist blogger for The F-Word website and member of Feminists Against Censorship, argues, “it’s obvious that most mainstream and easily obtained porn is aimed at a heterosexual male audience and the preferences popular culture expects those men to have.”

But is this necessarily a problem; surely women can enjoy sexual scenes that are orchestrated to arouse men too? “I do find this alienating,” Combe admits. “As a woman, I can make do with these representations but I find it boring when ‘lesbian’ activity seems to be constantly being framed for a stereotypical male viewer, while scenes involving women and men focus constantly on the women’s bodies, while the men remain anonymous.”

Could it be that the alienating nature of porn is heightening the sense of taboo for women to watch and enjoy it?

Combe sees that “a lot of women are hesitant about seeking out porn due to … genuine alienation resulting from a porn culture that is largely talking about us and not to us.”

But if women were to make it clear that there is a market for female porn, wouldn’t the problem be solved? It seems to have become a Catch-22 situation: women don’t discuss their sexuality so overtly because of the taboo, so no market is recognised, which means that women become more insular about their sexuality. Combe argues that there is “pressure from a variety of sources to be against porn or feel alienated by it. These factors work together to make a lot of women ambivalent about porn and make it seem as if the market just isn’t there.”

It is questionable whether a wider market for female porn is desired by heterosexual and homosexual women. Are women of today happy to admit that they watch porn for arousal purposes?

“Overall, I would say horny people often make do with what is to hand,” says Combe, “just the same as a lot of women (including myself ) sometimes end up using material that we think could be improved on.”

Josie*, a 21-year-old student at the University of York, says that she doesn’t regularly watch porn but that she “definitely would if there was something out there which I think I could enjoy with a partner”.

So what would she use that’s not widely available which would be sexy for her and a partner? “[For women] I think it’s about the fantasy and the expectation. Porn gives boys the completely wrong idea about sex, there is no story … it is literally just in and out of holes, which makes it hard to see what women actually want. Porn designed for men is more animalistic.”

And how does she feel about embracing the idea of masturbation and discussing it with her friends? Does she see it as more of a taboo amongst women? “Definitely,” she asserts. “Girls very rarely talk about it, which is a shame as it is one of the best ways for a woman to get to know her body, with no risk involved. Masturbation for women is viewed as something as a bit slutty and something a nice girl doesn’t do. Ann Summers doesn’t help this image.”

But surely for a young woman like Josie, who is happy to be more open about her sexuality if it were considered more acceptable, mainstream female sex shops such as Ann Summers are considered empowering?

“It’s distorted, bizarre and aggressive … it’s for men,” she claims. “The way Ann Summers portrays sex toys and sex costumes is intimidating and quite seedy. I think there is a market for a wider accessibility to female erotica.”

As Anna Arrowsmith has in some way shown, these views from the average young woman have been accepted and taken into account in some areas of society. Rose Crompton is the Editor of the online magazine, Harlot, previously the printed Scarlet magazine, for women. She argues that “the porn industry – particularly adult film – is no longer a male only zone by any stretch of the erotic imagination. It’s been understood for a long time that watching porn films is more of a turn on for blokes, whereas reading erotica is geared much more towards us ladies, which is why the Cliterature section in Scarlet was always the most popular with readers.” Rose agrees with Josie in that “for women it has a lot to do with building up the anticipation, the fantasy and learning of the relationship between the characters before they have sex to make it more believable and emotionally involved.

“As porn films have traditionally been aimed at a male audience, they’ve not needed to include those aspects, but now, finally, adult production companies are realising how to take the fantasy off the page and put it into film. And God, it’s good!”

Rose describes Harlot magazine as upholding the “belief that women should have the confidence to explore their sexuality and intimate preferences and should do whatever makes them feel good about themselves.” However, she doesn’t necessarily see the objectification of women in traditional porn seen as a bad thing; women can “enjoy what they do and feel empowered by it”. How can this be considered “wrong, weak or demoralising?” she asks.

Holly doesn’t see this objectification as such an empowering factor: “I suspect a number of the makers of mainstream sexist pornography enjoy perpetuating this idea [of objectification] and, thus, alienating women so that we reject pornography and continue not to explore its possibilities.”

And how far does what men see in porn and the expectations that are created as a result affect relationships? Josie sees that there can be “a lot of pressure from guys” to do things that they have seen in porn that a woman wouldn’t necessarily do, “and this can become quite damaging”.

She continues: “The problem with porn is that it is so detached from reality … and often the female orgasm isn’t even depicted in mainstream porn.”

But how exactly can women break this market and make female-friendly porn more mainstream? Holly argues that we “shouldn’t be fooled into playing the roles they want us to but, equally, I think it’s hard for progressive porn to react against this and challenge it, as the sexist culture is the one that’s dominant, and patriarchy will work very hard to make sure it stays that way, while claiming ‘that’s what sells’. It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy.”

As Josie sees it, “you’re not going to change the market for male porn, but I think that there is a market for more female porn,” which can improve masturbation and sexual intercourse for women.

Of course, the expectation created by porn can be just as damaging for men as it is for women.

Feminist-socialist academic Lynne Segal has done extensive social studies on male sexual experience, finding that internal and external meanings are not always identical, where our “experiences do not simply mirror social meanings, though they are inevitably filtered through them”.

Segal argues that the reality of male sexual experience rarely involves a male-dominant fantasy, and porn for men as an example of “men in their most solitary relationship with themselves”, making male fantasy a purely narcissistic act of self-confirmation.

Segal’s views seem to echo the reality of sex for most people in the postmodernist age. As Josie declares: “There is an overabundance of images but no-one knows what the hell is going on.”

For more information please visit:
Feminists Against Censorship – http://www.fiawol.demon.co.uk/FAC/
Harlot Magazine: http://www.harlotmagazine.co.uk/

Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities by Lynne Segal

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

Sexist jokes can be funny, used in the right place, at the right time – with irony. But the decision of Langwith’s JCRC to make an insensitive ‘joke’ about the Newcastle policeman who raped women he met on duty – including vulnerable women, such as heroin addicts – goes beyond political incorrectness. Such comments break boundaries between controversial comedy and the tolerance of violent crime against women.

the rape joke is cosmopolitan misogny

In some situations, the fact that it was intended as simple ‘controversial comedy’ is perhaps acceptable. If you are amongst friends having a laugh, then fair enough (if that’s what you find funny) – just don’t let everybody know. By repositioning jokes best kept in private to the public sphere, especially by using them in a bar quiz for freshers, the Langwith JCRC has not only shown a lack of respect for their students, but have also made them complicit in the ‘joke’ by including it in a quiz that they were competing in. The Langwith JCRC had no idea whether contestants had experienced sexual assault before, or if they had been affected by people close to them who have been abused.

The rape joke is undoubtedly on the rise. American standup Scott Capurro says that “talk about raping women [is] like the new black on the comedy circuit”.

The rise of the rape joke is cosmopolitan misogyny that has replaced the old ubiquity of anti-women gags with what Jo Brand sees as a desire to make comedy even more “unpalatable than it was before”. The presence of such an attitude at the University of York demonstrates our certain need for a Women’s Committee which can ensure that women’s equality and sexism on campus is not a passive force, but something that needs to be proactively dealt with on an everyday basis.

What a waste for Langwith, implanting this impression of their freshers. The ‘joke’ wasn’t even funny.

York City Council have since declared that pronounced concentrations of students may impact on local neighbourhoods, have devised an internal ‘map’ detailing exactly where students live, and are now exploring the possibility of using an Article 4 Direction in response to government policy. This would mean that any Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) with more than three people in them – soon to be six, according to new coalition Government plans – in specifically student-centric areas near the University, as identified by the council, must receive planning permission.

Nouse has since learnt that the council can use their map to investigate the state of student houses on a road-by-road basis, looking for evidence to back up their support for the Article 4 Direction. This is despite not finding the evidence to support their plans through a survey conducted by officers looking to find indications of problems such as “anti-social behaviour”, “increased levels of crime” and “lack of community integration”. This was conducted in wards identified as having the highest proportion of students: Fishergate, Heslington and Hull Road.

When asking residents in Heslington whether they felt there was a lack of respect and consideration between people in the local area, the council found that 0 per cent of people felt that this was the case. 100 per cent of the residents living in privately owned or rented properties in Heslington said that they are satisfied with their local area, and 94 per cent in Fishergate agreed. Only 5 per cent of residents in Fishergate think that there is a problem with anti-social behaviour in the local area.

In a report made to the council last month, the former National Chair of Liberal Youth and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate at the last General Election, Alan Belmore, argued that in areas with high student populations, “in all the criteria laid down in the officers’ report, it is either has a better or no effect if you are living in an area with a high student concentration”. He added that “further investigation will involve significant workload on behalf of the council staff in order to appease a prejudiced few”.

The Article 4 Direction does not just perpetuate a stigma and prejudice against students that the council have found to be not necessarily true. Belmore has also pointed to how the Article 4 Direction can be used to block the construction of HMOs near the University and effectively limit student housing in the area. This could push students away from the University and cost the average student £100 a term in travel fees. According to Belmore, “for a student living on a yearly budget of £500-700, which is not uncommon, it would be huge and only push them further towards commercial lenders.”
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“There’s an agreement among all parties, including ourselves, that there is an issue regarding students in the community.”
Councillor Ian Gillies, Conservative Group Leader

Local student residents have been experiencing such prejudice first hand. A third-year English student living in the Heslington ward told Nouse last week that a letter which was sent to the Union and the University earlier this year, labelling student residents as “inconsiderate individuals” who act “irresponsibly” and leave their houses in an “absolutely disgraceful state!”, has been consistently left under her car windscreen, despite living in what she calls a “sleepy student house”.

One of her neighbours recently came to her house to discuss the amount of cars that had been coming and going from the house over the weekend, and clearly pointed out all the student houses on the street and the amount of cars each house owned. She said that she felt “freaked out” that the neighbour would put “so much time and effort into identifying student houses on the street and approaching student residents, when we are always respectful and polite”.

A problem that has been identified is that very few councillors, if any, are willing to stand up for the student cause, making a limitation on student housing a tangible possibility.

Steve Galloway, Chair of the Local Development Framework Working Group and a Liberal Democrat councillor, told Nouse that “personally I think that there is a case for having a ceiling on the number of short-term let properties permitted in a street”.

The Conservative Group Leader, Councillor Ian Gillies, confirmed that “there’s an agreement among all parties, including ourselves, that there is an issue regarding students in the community”. He said that a “large influx of students into an area has a tendency to overwhelm that street or neighbourhood, creating a mono-culture in which they feel uncomfortable”, despite 95 per cent of people in the Heslington ward feeling that it is a place where people of different backgrounds get on well together, according to the council’s survey.

James Alexander, leader of the Labour Group, has emphasised that Labour’s policy is about the “condition of student properties, not students themselves” and that their main concern is that “student houses are not maintained”. Alexander proposes a licensing scheme where student landlords could be fined £20,000 if they convert a HMO without a license, and up to £5,000 if they don’t meet council guidelines and proposals. But Galloway has argued that a licensing regime “could only be introduced if it could be demonstrated that there are above average levels of anti-social behaviour in an area and (perversely) that there is low demand for housing (which clearly isn’t the case in any part of York)”.

Galloway added: “Merely making such a proposition has the effect of stigmatising communities – whether they have a large number of students or not.”

What remains to be seen is how far the council will take their “proposed further work”, which includes identifying more “localised concentrations of student housing” and creating “place-specific thresholds” of student houses, and also how far YUSU can go in showcasing the student cause.

Tim Ngwena, YUSU President, has said that “over the past few months YUSU has been working with the relevant York council departments to better understand the issues that are facing students in the community. It’s apparent that there is mounting interest into housing policy regarding student lettings… it concerns me that none of the policies put forward by the parties has involved Student Union or University consultation.”

The Labour Party

James Alexander – Leader of the Labour Group

Alexander proposes a licensing scheme where student landlords could be fined £20,000 if they convert a HMO without a license, and up to £5,000 if they don’t meet council guidelines and proposals.

The Lib Dems

Steve Galloway – Liberal Democrat Councillor

“Personally I think that there is a case for having a ceiling on the number of short-term let properties permitted in a street… Residents talked of concerns about the appearance of homes, car parking and noise.”

The Conservatives

Ian Gillies – Leader of the Conservative Group

“We’re all finding that student housing is one of the main concerns of people in the area… a large influx of students into an area has a tendency to overwhelm that street or neighbourhood.”

Professor Mark Hallett, Head of the Department of History of Art, said: “This is an ambitious and innovative venture that will bring leading academics and curators together to address important art-historical issues.” ­­

The CII will be used to help scientists develop drugs and vaccines for diseases including diabetes and HIV. The CII includes a suite for students to help with their studies, in addition to three floors of laboratories.

Brian Cantor, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “York is already in the vanguard of research into immunology and infectious diseases and these new facilities will further enhance our world-class research in this area.”

Principal contractor GB Building Solutions started work on the building in July 2009. It was officially opened by Dr Robert Ridley, director of the World Health Organisation’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. The money was raised with a £1 million donation by The Wolfson Foundation, £3 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and a further £1 million from The Holbeck Charitable Trust. This is in addition to funds from the University of York and the Hull York Medical School (HYMS), who have joined the University in combined ownership of the building.

One second-year HYMS student told Nouse that he hopes students will “get full access to the facilities” and that it will be of more student use than the recently opened Berrick Saul Building, near Vanbrugh College.

Professor Paul Kaye, the centre’s director, continued: “This new building will help to take our work to a new level. The CII represents what can be achieved by a seamless link between between biology and medicine, something rarely seen in long-established medical schools.”

Sally Hunt, of the University and College Union, commented: “Lord Browne needs a reality check before he delivers his funding review if a fee hike is on the cards. He needs to look again at the idea of taxing big business for the substantial benefit it gains from a plentiful supply of graduates, rather than merely looking to penalise students further.”

The survey comes after it was reported that the forthcoming Browne Review of student finance is set to recommend raising fees to £7,000, and that the review team is not convinced by the proposed graduate tax system.

Hunt continued: “Increasing fees or other financial barriers to higher education is not the way to deliver a world-class university system. The uncomfortable truth is that for the vast majority of people in this country higher fees would be a disaster.”

The survey echoes a report made by the Sutton Trust earlier this year suggesting that most students would be put off studying at university if fees were to rise to £7,000. The survey revealed that 60 per cent of students believed that they should not have to pay fees and that they could not have afforded university without support from family and friends.

YUSU President, Tim Ngwena, told Nouse that the report released by the NUS “provides statistical proof of the fears that students have voiced in York and across the country, on high fees as a large, added barrier to entry. It’s important that that students get behind the upcoming national demonstration in London. YUSU will release information on its participation in the demo and how you can get involved at the start of term.”

He added that YUSU will be “waiting to see the full details of the Browne Review this October, which is unfortunately expected to recommend higher fees. Closer to home, we will be pushing for the University to come of the fence on the issue, and lay down its plans on fees for the future, now that that proposals are starting to take shape.”

NUS president, Aaron Porter, further added that the survey is “clear evidence of the need to do away with the damaging and unpopular fees system, if we are not to shut out many thousands of young people from going to university, particularly those from poorer backgrounds. The financial pressure on young people is mounting, and an increase in fees to £7,000 would, according to universities’ own figures, consign a generation to unsustainable mortgage-style debts in excess of £32.”

The Browne Review is due for release in October.

For more information on the national demonstration supported by YUSU, visit http://www.demo2010.org.

The meeting is apparently in reaction to complaints made by local residents who say having more students living nearby leads to rising noise, crime, litter and parking problems.

A letter has been circulating the Badger Hill estate again recently, which protests that York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the University have received an “ever increasing number of complaints from residents regarding serious anti-social behaviour and noise generated by some of the local student population.” The letter adds: “Sadly, Badger Hill is developing a very negative reputation due to all this unnecessary trouble!”

The letter continues: “The time has come for owners, landlords and letting agents to take more responsibility for the actions of these inconsiderate individuals and to rectify the condition of some of the student houses and gardens, many of which are in an absolutely disgraceful state!”

When the letter was first distributed, YUSU likened it to “organised discrimination”.

One third-year Badger Hill resident recently found the letter under her car’s wind-screen wipers one evening, although the car was parked on the student house’s drive. The same student in question also complained of local residents taking out the bin from her drive, even when people were living in the house.

This follows a series of reports made by Nouse regarding student alienation in the city. Last month it was reported that York Councillor, Roger Pierce, was calling for plans to restrict students from living in residential areas surrounding the University.

According to the last set of figures produced by the council’s local development framework working group, which meets next week, based on the number of households exempt from paying council tax, the three York council wards with the most student housing are Heslington, which has a 27.77 per cent population, Hull Road (14.82 per cent) and Fishergate (10.53 per cent).

Frances Sadler, of the council’s city development team, said that “more pronounced concentrations of student housing, which may be impacting on neighbourhoods” may be hidden by the current information used by the group.

She added that “further work is needed to identify more localised concentrations of student housing”.

The specific problem the working group has identified is that landlords can currently create houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). This can be prevented through a law known as an Article 4 Direction. This comes after new legislation passed in April of this year which redefined student houses as a new Use Class, ‘C4 Houses in Multiple Occupation’, whereas they were previously classed under the generic Use Class, ‘C3 Dwellinghouses’, which is what family houses are classed under.

It’s not necessarily a bad idea. A bit of revamping is perhaps exactly what York’s cumbersome, repetitive nightlife needs. Walker has stated in his blog that the official clubs “represent what should be the best quality and value for money in York” and that the “line-up intends to provide a range of venues and music which York has, in the past, lacked”. He displays the sort of optimistic, progressive attitude that goes some way to acknowledging problems with student satisfaction, and recognises student demand for value for money in York. However, by labelling the changes a ‘timetable’, and disregarding a very prominent element of the average student’s social life by not even mentioning The Gallery’s existence, Walker has in one swift step allowed the complete ‘landscape’, as he sees it, of York’s nightlife to alter.

YUSU is supposed to be representative of the majority of students at the University, but since when did they conduct a survey to see how many students frequent Gallery on a Thursday (alas, according to the timetable, not even a Sunday) night? Since when did YUSU actually research where York students go out at night and which venues they want their Union to promote?

“But we don’t always listen to YUSU, we have our own minds!” I will undoubtedly hear you say. Which, for many of us who have been at the University for a year or two now, may well be true. But what exactly was it that we replied upon as freshers? How was our freshers’ week organised? As I remember it, it was almost unwaveringly around YUSU recommendations and advice: around the identical, mass-produced information that YUSU provided, as no other organisation on campus has the same comprehensive access to students. And the routine barely changes. You know the old cliché about the first person you meet at uni becoming one of your best friends? Well, there’s actually a whole lotta truth in it.

This isn’t about lamenting the loss of Gallery – although I think there is room for a bit of that here. I can appreciate that York’s already uninspiring nightlife may need a bit of sexing-up. But this is about the freedom for freshers to choose, and for current students to have the ability to communicate their opinion. Some people see Gallery as a pretty sub-standard night out, especially in comparison to YUSU’s successful affiliation with Salvation. But where’s The Willow in YUSU’s timetable? The last time I checked, it is the only veritable York ‘institution’ out of the handful of venues we have at the moment, and the mismatch he mentions in his blog.

Of course it is standard procedure for student unions to sponsor and recommend student nights – it is more financially and socially advantageous for us. It is not necessarily beneficial for freshers, however, to be told a select amount of information about what to do in their new city, especially when automatic trust is placed in the seeming altruism of our student union. We’re lucky: York has a student media that can ensure that freshers have access to a variety of information and can make our student union accountable. Not all students in the country have the same luxury.

I just hope that Toyko is one dramatically great night out now, and we wont be in need of Gallery lamentation… not that the freshers will ever know…

A National Student Survey report has shown that universities have failed to improve student satisfaction levels since tuition fees almost trebled in 2006.

The report, which examines satisfaction in areas such as academic support and assessment and feedback, found that fewer students were satisfied with their experience than before the 2006 fee increase.

Aaron Porter, NUS President, commented: “They [universities] must buck up their ideas and do far more to improve the experience they offer students. Currently, 33 per cent of students are not satisfied with the assessment and feedback service provided by their university.”

Despite lower levels of contentment, an average student’s ‘debt per year’ has increased by 71 per cent. In 2006, an average University of York student could expect to be in £1,985 of debt per year, whilst a current York student will be in around £3,395 debt per year of study.

Satisfaction levels on ‘assessment and feedback’ stand at just 67 per cent, ‘organisation and management’ at 73 per cent and academic support at 75 per cent.

87 per cent of registered University of York students answered ‘definitely’ or ‘maybe’ to: ‘Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my course.’ 86 per cent of taught students answered positively to the statement. This is a decrease of 1 per cent from last year’s results.

In response to the statistics, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, Professor Trevor Sheldon, said: “The NSS delivers invaluable first-hand information from students about their learning experience at York and it informs our continuous efforts to improve it. Our results show a pleasing upward trend with significant improvements in a number of areas, and reflect well on the skill and dedication of our staff.”

Porter continued: “This year’s National Student Survey is a wake up call to University vice-chancellors. They must buck up their ideas and do far more to improve the experience they offer students.‪

“Whilst it is pleasing to see that most students remain satisfied overall with their university experience, a significant proportion of students indicated that they were not satisfied with assessment and feedback, organisation and management or the academic support they received. It is clear that there is much room for improvement.”

It was also revealed as part of the survey that thousands of university students still find their lecturers too remote. The figures that show how 82 per cent are satisfied with their course also show that the figure dips to 67 per cent when it comes to assessment of work and the feedback from lecturers.

David Willetts, Universities secretary, added that the survey “reflects real and persistent concerns over the feedback given on students’ work and I hope the sector will address that”.

The privately-run University of Buckingham tops the table with a 95 per cent rating. York came 43rd in the table.

Theatres

There are two main theatres in York, both situated in town. The first is York Theatre Royal, which sits past the high street near the Minster on Saint Leonard’s Place. Theatre buffs will be chuffed to know that it has a Victorian proscenium arch, creating an authentic, beautiful main house atmosphere than enlivens even the most lacklustre of productions. This is accompanied by a very modern, expansive bar area and café and The Studio, which is situated slightly underground and is the characteristically claustrophobic site of often moodier, more intimate productions. York Theatre Royal offers a rich programme of innovative, in-house creations, challenging new drama, rising amateur theatre and a classic, absurdly popular pantomime. In-house theatre companies include the edgy Pilot theatre and our very own, University of York grown Belt-Up, who are currently wowing audiences up in Edinburgh.

The Grand Opera House lies in an equally fantastic spot by the river, just as you enter town. Next to Gallery Nightclub, and just past the Castle, it’s hard to miss the deceptively shabby exterior. Housing touring crowd-pleasers, the Opera House will offer a somewhat different experience than the Theatre Royal, but is a safer bet entertainment-wise. The main house is spacey and contains a versatile stage, but can often feel slightly empty and engulfing. Recent popular touring productions have included Billy Eliot, Dad’s Army and When Harry Met Sally – each time never short of a C-list celeb to bolster crowd numbers.

There is also the Joseph Rowntree Theatre on Haxby Road (a good bus ride or cycle away – check travel details carefully), a quaint inter-war building which is worth a visit just for the history and the ethos – it was built as a recreational hub for the workers of the factory and aims to provide an affordable facility for York residents. It is the place for musicals, amateur productions and egalitarian ideas – but some gems lie in its programming, including last year’s The History Boys. Keep an eye out.

Not to forget the Upstage Centre Youth Theatre on Monkgate, an obscurer find that requires more of an open mind. It is charity run entirely by volunteers, that boasts some fantastic young performers and Dame Judi Dench as its President.

If that’s not enough… branching further afield won’t be a disappointment – Leeds’ West Yorkshire Playhouse is a magnificent venue which produces consistently high quality programmes, whilst Sheffield’s extremely versatile theatres – all situated within the same, newly renovated plaza by Sheffield Hallam University – house stimulating productions and envious auditoriums (Sheffield Theatres: Crucible, Lyceum, Studio).

Art Galleries

The main art gallery is the York Art Gallery. You may bemoan having to travel all the way into town to see your supervisor/tutor once in a while at King’s Manor, but the surrounding proximity is the site of some of York’s cultural highlights. In fact, make a day of it. After seeing said supervisor/tutor, hop up the strictly Oxfordian steps of the manor to the tea shop. Selling campus refreshments, complete with the same packaging and everything, you will feel like you are back in Vanbrugh, without having to smell the lake or be hassled by anyone wanting you to come to their charity auction at Vanbrugh Stalls. Then head over to York Art Gallery, right next door, to see their current special exhibition and The South Gallery, housing the Sacrifice and Courage displays of early religious paintings and 17th century Dutch works. The Burton Gallery on the first floor is closed until January, which is very sad as this is the usual route of celebrated English professor Jonathan Brockbank and his eccentric English tours. Any literary types will love his accessible take on York Art Gallery’s Modernist works as part of the Approaches to Literature module.

One surprisingly popular place is The Cat Gallery which sells a variety of quality cat collectables, if that’s what you’re into. Otherwise, take a chance with The ArtSpace, just opposite Clifford’s Tower, which changes its exhibitions at least every six weeks and is partnered with a number of acclaimed local artists.

Failing that, try further afield once again, and head to Leeds Art Gallery, which is well worth the journey. Larger and more comprehensive than York’s main gallery, Leeds Art Gallery has a fantastic collection of 20th century works and displays some remarkable exhibitions. If you really want to go crazy for an artistic fix, then head to Manchester Art Gallery for the afternoon. The building is beautiful, is never too busy, and has some wonderful Pre-Raphaelite paintings and 20th century European classics. There is also, inevitably, an affectionate permanent L.S. Lowry exhibition – a must for any fans.

Museums

Now, you will quickly learn once settled in historical York that, well, there’s lots of history. Too much, one may say. So I’ll try and keep this brief if I can. Most of the history is centred around, of course, the Vikings! Take a trip to the Jorvick Viking Centre (although, I would advise to go during the sleepier weeks of term time, as it gets ridiculously over-filled with tourists in the holidays) to stand on the site of the remarkable archaeology discovery, the Viking-age city of Jorvick. From my experience, any history you can learn from this place is vital when entering local pubs filled with staunchly Yorkshire-proud local people. They expect you to know all about the history of York if you expect to live here.

Other musts are the Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum. If you’re northern you will probably recognise these places after trips with the parents when younger. The Yorkshire Museum is what you would typically call ‘family-friendly’ and displays an eclectic collection of archaeology, in addition to biological specimens and geological items. (Perhaps the best bit is the picnic-perfect garden on a sunny day – you’ll probably have had enough culture by this point won’t you?) If you’re a social history kinda person then the Castle Museum will be more your cup of tea. The Victorian Street is unforgettable and is complete with new areas including a Victorian school room. Bring out your inner child with the Victorian street shop and bank in the authentic York street of Kirkgate.

If this isn’t enough, then I will give my personal favourite a mention: the rather more eccentric Richard III museum. If you fancy learning a bit more about the War of the Roses (and more Yorkist history – what joy!) then, warning, don’t go here. If, on the other hand, you are indoctrinated by Shakespeare’s naughty Tudor propaganda about Richard as a tyrant verging on deformed beast then you may want to take a trip here for the starkly opposite view (Richard was a Yorkist hero). It’s sneakily located at Monk Bar, so is easy to miss. But it’s only a short walk away from campus, so is definitely worth a visit.

There are a lot more museums in York, so a quick Google search will surely display something a bit different and more to your liking. But, thankfully, this time you won’t have to go further afield for more of a culture shot.

Howard Brenton’s exhilarant Anne Boleyn provides a refreshing addition to The Globe’s potentially dry summer season, Kings & Rogues.

England’s most controversial queen consort is given a revisionist platform as a sexy and sincere religious reformer, whose love for Henry VIII is as strong as her desire to free England from the Catholic shackles of Rome.

The play opens with the ghost of Anne and her characteristic soliloquy of indifference and quirkiness. She may have died for her beliefs, it seems, but she did not die in vain. Miranda Raison, of Spooks fame, is perfectly playful and suggestive when teasing the audience with her bag containing the item which she is most famed for. Instead of immediately displaying her kitsch severed head, however, she begins with the New Testament. The opening religious reference cements the plot that follows both England’s political transformation as it breaks with Rome, and the characters’ own somewhat contradictory, confused attitudes towards religion, and its all-important relationship with the King.

The sharp sexual innuendos that season the historical narrative are very much welcome, and help to balance Shakespearian language attempts by Brenton with a more modern twist – including characters cursing and openly attacking the stereotypes of their age. The unmatchable highlight of the show is James Garnon’s Tourette’s-esque take on King James I, complete with a terrifically executed homosexual tryst and a superbly comic Scottish accent.

The acting more than compensates for the austerity of the set design, as always with The Globe. The court-come-forest model is pleasantly simple and functional and reveals a play that relies on nothing but good humour from the audience and actors alike.

Whilst attempting to navigate the audience through different historical periods and injecting a strong dose of Blackadder-style modernity and irony, Anne Boleyn sometimes loses its thread and begins to sag at the edges of the storyline.

But the zest of the performances and the style of Brenton’s writing makes the show fluffy and fun, whilst maintaining a historical pertinence.

North Yorkshire Police, who are investigating the disappearance of the University of York chef, said a man arrested on suspicion of a burglary in the city had been spoken to about the case.

North Yorkshire Police said the man was only “one of many people spoken to during the course of the investigation” and he was not identified as a formal suspect by the inquiry team.

They continued: “Due to the location and circumstances of the burglary, police officers investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence spoke to him in connection with the investigation. He was not a formal suspect, but was spoken to in a voluntary capacity, one of many people spoken to during the course of the investigation.”

No formal suspects have yet been identified as part of the inquiry, and no-one had been arrested or interviewed under caution in connection with Ms Lawrence’s disappearance and suspected murder. A source at North Yorkshire Police said: “To date, the search has not resulted in any significant development in relation to Claudia’s disappearance or suspected murder.”

The news follows the search of a property in the North Yorkshire village of Thornton-le-Dale on July 28, where large number of police were spotted “spiking” ground in the garden of a property.

The police source said that the search was a response to a line of inquiry which had been developed during police investigations.

A documentary about the search for Claudia will be shown on Channel 4 on Friday evening.

The University of York University Challenge team have gone through to the second round of the popular university game show.

The York team beat the Royal College of Music by 140 points, with a total of 245 points.

YUSU President, Tim Ngwena, said that he is “thrilled they made the next round” and that he will “look forward to the upcoming rounds”.

He said that he has “high hopes for the team of four and one reserve who came top out of a field of 276 undergraduate and postgraduate students. I’m hoping the team I picked get to the final 16 or even better 8 in the first semi final but that’s a long way away, fingers crossed”.

The test for the team comprised of two stages combining different subjects and questions, with the second stage being much harder. The final team and their specialist subjects were: Andrew Clemo (History); Simon Donnelly (Maths and Classical Music); Ben Keane (Biology and Science); and Chris Caudwell (all-round knowledge).

Last year, the York team didn’t get past the first round of the challenge. Last year’s team captain was Laura Horton, the youngest ever captain of a University Challenge team. There are no girls on this year’s team.

Ngwena told Nouse: “Of the 276 who applied just over 35 per cent were female (99). As a raw figure that’s more female contestants involved in the selection than in last year’s entire selection process if you also include male students and the current team members and one reserve were chosen entirely on performance in the two stages of selection.”

He added: “With a college version of the competition and the idea of a Roses match being discussed, and a match against University staff also looking up, no doubt the profile of the competition will increase.”

Team Captain, Andrew Clemo, told Nouse that the team “are very happy with the result, the team worked really well together. We’re taking each round as it comes, but I think our performance has given us some extra confidence going into the next match.”

Discussing the team’s success in the rest of the competition, Clemo continued: “The second round is the real crunch as it’s a straight knock-out, so fingers-crossed we can give a similar performance next time.”

A World Observed is the first major retrospective of London-based photographer Dorothy Bohm, now widely recognised as one of the doyennes of British photography. Spanning six decades and several continents, the exhibition is both comprehensive and somewhat over-whelming, requiring a full afternoon’s attention for the vast array of photographs on display to be properly appreciated.

The exhibition starts with Bohm’s earliest work which, when viewed with the colour photographs from her later career, have a forgettable quality and lack a thorough grasp of manipulated lighting. The human figure in its natural setting is often cited as the primary focus of her earlier work, whilst her more recent photographs have become more painterly and abstract. But the purer, unmanipulated images don’t seem to speak of any truth or honesty. Bohm describes how she used lighting in order to bring out the sitter’s best features, resulting in clinical, highly glossy depictions of beautiful people, who seemingly don’t have a story.

Once one reaches the end of Bohm’s photos from Studio Alexander, however, it is obvious that the figures’ poses aren’t wholly contrived, and that the nurses and mothers who adorn her later images could easily tell an authentic and interesting tale. Her shots of brides in their wedding gowns are beautiful yet melancholic, pre-cursing the stunning snapshot ‘42nd Street, New York City’. The picture shows a young woman staring up into the empty eyes of a mannequin bride. The effect is wistful, eerie and disconcerting, displaying longing, unfulfilled expectation and an illusion of normality inherent in everyday society.

But Bohm is not just concerned with westernised institutions and traditions. Her photos of places display a more exploratory concern, chronicling decades of national images from across the world and demonstrating a fading beauty that Bohm herself admits to wanting to capture. Etched across the wall above the photographs of places is a Bohm philosophy, suggesting that her work aspires to bring forth a shared fundamentality found in all humans and places: “People everywhere live with the same joys, the same loves, terror, tragedies.” Bohm’s musings don’t always ring true, and sometimes the viewer begs to be left alone to view the work; but her insights provide a certain aesthetic appeal to the otherwise sparse and rather cold interior of the exhibition.

That is, until you step into her world of colour photographs. The definite highlight of the exhibition is the eclectic collection of polaroids which have to be more closely scrutinised in order to be fully enjoyed. With another adage plastered across the wall, “I like a sense of mystery in my photographs. Sometimes I want a picture to ask why and not be too easily deciphered and decoded, because our lives are often like that,” you finally sense with her later images that Bohm has achieved an ability to illustrate aspects of our everyday lives that we never knew we had missed.

Shocking is a completely inadequate word to use when describing Polly Stenham’s two-act ‘tragi-comedy’.

That Face takes every possible upper-middle class neuroses and amplifies each and every one, by a thousand plus one. The play reaches the point where tragedy and comedy also seem like barely adequate genres to suggest. A better definition would be an encapsulation of ‘deranged modernity’ – but that’s less Oxford-English.

Alcoholism, bullying, sexual perversity, Oedipal desire, a lack of love, a lack of dignity, and eventually a loss of face. All are chronicled with startling brutality and relentless repugnance. I was tempted to use the word ‘honesty’ for one moment – but is this really an honest play?

Stenham said that the main purpose of That Face was to “write about a class of people I hadn’t often seen represented in the theatre,” as if the alienated, tortured middle-class has historically been a literary anomaly.

That’s not to say that the play doesn’t fulfil a very basic function of stirring and startling and emotionally excavating the audience. That Face felt like the biggest possible slap in the face.

The play follows mother Martha (Frances Barber), who likes to drink, a lot, and boarding school drop-out son Henry (James Norton), who has become her full-time carer and almost-lover. Henry’s sister Mia (Leila Mimmack) isn’t loved by mummy, and has been forgotten by rich daddy, which incites her (or so we are meant to infer) to engage in a terrible initiation prank on a younger girl, which leads to hospitalisation and looks dangerously like torture.

Director Richard Wilson of unforgettable One Foot in The Grave fame must get a mention for his commendable ability to temper Stenham’s youthful extremism with well-paced execution – and a very useful revolving stage.

The play’s climax becomes a horrific hotchpotch of incest, addiction and desperation. The most staggering part is undoubtedly the final scene, where we see James Norton portray a deeply moving emotional disintegration, climaxing in the image of him stood like a baby in his mother’s night clothes and jewels, wetting himself in front of his devastated sister, delirious mother, and flabbergasted father.

Watch if you dare.

94 spaces will be created, and will provide space for students and staff using the Hub building, signaling the first prominent part of the proposed work planned for Heslington East.

The proposals include a 220-seat lecture theatre, a communal meeting area and a café.

This plan follows the news that 27 bikes have been stolen on campus in the last year, compared to 13 during the same period in 2009.

The local Safer Neighbourhood Team have made the issue one of their key priorities, which was followed by a three-day University crime awareness drive last term. The scheme involved more than 100 students being given road safety advice. Officers also checked the registration plates of thousands of cars in the Heslington and University area, which led to 12 people being issued summons for driving without insurance or a tax disc.

Sergeant Andy Haigh said: “While crime is low at the University, cycle crime is a problem and one which is at the top of the list of policing priorities for the teams covering the area.”

The Heslington East expansion, the site of the new cycle stops and Goodricke College, is set to double the size of the University and will cost £500 million once completed.

This follow last week’s news that Vince Cable, the coalition’s Business Secretary and a Liberal Democrat, announced the new proposal to scrap tuition fees, and instead make students pay a tax when they graduate according to how much they earn.

This would mean, for example, that a low-paid teaching assistant or social worker would pay much less than a City banker for their degrees.

A key part of the Liberal Democrat manifesto was the abolition of fees.

The source has said that the proposal would break the link between students and universities and that the government would not accept it.

The Conservative source said: “It is important that the money goes to the institutions. They have to have an incentive for student recruitment or a penalty if the numbers are falling.”

The source continued by saying that the graduate tax was an “unlikely” option.

The former chief executive of BP, Lord Browne, will lead an independent review looking into whether tuition fees should be raised or replaced. It is due in October.