"Journalists are scum"

http://www.flaregun.org/?p=77

I hate to say it... but the guy raises some pretty good points!

Pulp Magazine Front Cover

I am currently working on getting the pdf of the first issue of Pulp Magazine uploaded on to here. For now though all I can get up is the Front cover... just wish I knew why the blue has turned orange! More info to follow.

Students working during Christmas Holidays

http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2007/story/0,,2225208,00.html

Story by Joanne Christie for the Guardian.

Now I hated the fact I was unable to go home for Christmas as I haven't seen my Family since early September. However I have now quit my job as I cannot keep it up alongside university, it was affecting my work too much. I am here to learn and grow as a journalist, not to work in retail!

I think this story is one which should be followed up once research has been conducted. It would be interesting to see how much working while being at university affects grades and such.

Brilliant story Joanne, thanks for raising awareness on it.

Are they any less the media whore than I?

Brilliant! Harlan Ellison talking about something all journalists and writers can relate to... have a listen 02:15 in onwards is my personal fave comment.



"I sell my soul at the highest rates"

The soundtrack to my life...

As seen in Pulp Magazine October 2007

Soundtrack to my life

Earliest memories
I can’t believe I am admitting this but my earliest memory is of Donny Osmond – Puppy Love! I don’t even like the song but my mum used to listen to it all the time on vinyl and she would sing along… now that’s something I will never forget.

Growing up
My mate Alana who I went to primary school with always got her dad Stuart to do the end of term school discos and we always requested Steps – 5,6,7,8 and to this day it makes me want get up and show my line dancing “moves”

High School/College Years
I remember sitting in the sports café at Peter Symonds College with my feet on the chairs, eating a cookie and searching through my purse to find change for the jukebox. I would always play The Proclaimers – 500 Miles as I absolutely love it and it always made everyone in the room smile.

Falling in Love
I think that The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter is such a sexy, chilled out tune. You can’t help but fall in love with someone playing this one.

Breaking up
Now hundreds of women will know what I mean here but this song from Pretty Woman makes me want to cry and sing along at the same time. I think Roxette – It must have been love is my way of clinging on to the fact my Richard Gere/Mr Darcy-esque man is out there… somewhere.

Going clubbing/parties
I think the music coming out of my room is better than when I get to the clubs sometimes, but Muse – Supermassive Black Hole is always guaranteed a play while I am getting ready to go out.

Growing old/funeral song
When my nanny died of ovarian cancer back in Feburary 2006 it really hit me hard and almost ended my future in journalism. Westlife’s – You raise me up was a favourite song of hers after we had bought her the album and a walkman for Christmas which she could listen to in hospital. She requested that the song be played at her funeral and over a year later I still cannot listen to it.

Pulp Magazine

I have always said that I will be a real journalist... and on 1st October 2007 I became published editor of Pulp Magazine. The magazine is free and aimed at young people aged 18-28 in the Lincoln area. It is a lifestyle magazine which has sections on culture (movies/music/gigs/books/restaurant etc reviews) features, news and a few regular feature items.

The magazine is ran by students from the University of Lincoln, but is not ran or owned by the University or Student Union. It is paid for through advertising.

I am so proud of this magazine, it has been a year in the making and a lot of sleepless nights and unneccesery stress but it is here. I decided to start the magazine after starting on another publication at the university which fell at the last hurdle. I wanted to create something young people, NOT just students... NOT just adults but young people could enjoy which didn't patronise and gave them a voice.

I think my team and I have achieved that! Once the website is up and running I will post a link on here, until then keep your eye out for one.

Alan Johnston Freed

A little later than planned, but I have been rather forgetful of my good old blog lately...

I am pleased to say the BBC reporter Alan Johnston was freed on the 4th of July 2007 after 114 days of captivity in Gaza and he was sporting a new haircut!

The new haircut was 1 of the first things Johnston did once being freed as he wanted to as he says "Get rid of the kidnapped look"

Johnston who was siezed on 12 March 07 said he had not been tortured by the Army of Islam group who kidnapped him. When he was freed Johnston was seen on TV all over the world thanking his BBC colleagues and those who supported him while he was captured.

Johnston went on to say that in the future he would try to "stay out of trouble"

The BBC reported that "Gordon Brown, in his first prime minister's questions session in the UK parliament, said: "The whole country will welcome the news that Alan Johnston, a fearless journalist whose voice was silenced for too long, is now free.""

An online petition which called for the release of Johnston was signed by over 200,000 people, which suprised Johnston as he said "that is twice the size of Wembly..."

Alan Johnston

As a fellow journalist I would like nothing more than the safe return of journalist Alan Johnston who was kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Today marks 100 days since his kidnapping and the BBC as well as journalists everywhere will be holding a vigil at 14:15 british time. Show your support by adding the button below to your blog, website... anything or by signing the online petition (link below) My thoughts are with Alan and his family at this time and I await news of his release.

Online Petition: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6518185.stm

Student depression

‘I’m depressed’ now who hasn’t said that at one point or another? When the majority of people say it they mean they are feeling down, a bit tired possibly even hung-over. But some people say it and they mean it. Covering up every inch of skin even on a hot day can be a sign of self-harm, but how do you bring up the subject with someone?

In 2002, 6.1% of all students attending universities sought counselling for symptoms of depression. Did you also know that at least 10% of those students were suicidal or had attempted to kill themselves? Now these statistics have grown since then and no longer can people treat depression and self-harm as taboo.

According to mentalhealth.org.uk 1 in 6 people will be diagnosed with depression at some point in their life. Whereas 6% of boys’ and 16% of girls aged 16-19 are thought to have some form of a mental health problem. In 2005 around 142,000 admissions to hospital were for self-harm and around 19,000 were young people. An even more worrying statistic is that out of all deaths by young people 20% died by suicide.

Now it is important to remember that not all self-harmers are looking for attention, in fact it is one of the worst things to suggest. The national Inquiry into self-harm amongst young people claims that young people self-harming is mainly done so ‘because they have no other way of coping with problems and emotional distress in their lives’ As well as that it is not a good way of dealing with the issues behind the harm and only provides temporary relief.

The best way to try and understand depression is to speak to someone who has had it. But if that person is not willing or able to speak out about their problems, we as a society have to try and break down these barriers by being aware of the signs. Signs of having depression can include: loosing self-confidence, feeling empty and useless, increased feeling of anxiety, loosing interest in hobbies and even thoughts of death and suicide. However there are other symptoms and depression can only be diagnosed fully by a doctor.

The causes of depression can be a death in the family, stress, relationship problems or past events. However there are more difficult to pinpoint problems such as a hormone imbalance and changes in the brain’s chemistry. In most cases a doctor will be able to diagnose and treat the depression using medication such as prozac along with a therapy such as counselling.

According to the student website thesite.org it is important to remember that depression is in most cases a treatable condition and often goes away on it’s own without treatment. However if you or you know someone who is suffering from the above symptoms and ‘do not feel yourself’ lately then you should seek medical advice. Also if we know someone who has had depression in some form, we would expect to be treated in the same way they did. But everyone’s type of depression is different and treatment is tailored to the person’s individual needs.

As is mentioned above counselling is an often successful form of treatment and at the University of Lincoln we are lucky enough to have this service available to us free of charge. However a lot of other universities do not offer free counselling and some even refuse to see students who have gained the strength to admit to self-harming. The university councillors also have a wide range of people outside of the university that they can contact on your behalf if you feel you need more help. Everything is confidential and the counsellors are down to earth and friendly.

The downside to the service in Lincoln though reflects badly on those who fund the service. There is a waiting list in order to get on to the service for long term counselling appointments, which a lot of students seem to need. There are not enough councillors to see students in the time which in some cases may be essential; until this issue is addressed the service will struggle to cope with the ever increasing number of students seeking help.

Barbara Kamal, Senior student counsellor at the University says ‘About 30% of students who come for counselling will say that they are depressed but I would say that there are elements of depressive thinking in about 50% of all the students that we see.’ She also was quick to add that only a GP can fully diagnose depression and councillors are not doctors.

On the subject of self-harming she says ‘as a rough estimate I would say that between 10-15% of students presenting for counselling will disclose self harming. Some occasionally self harm, others are driven to it almost daily whatever the frequency it is always alarming and distressing.’

The reasons for a student self-harming are often hiding more complex problems in their lives, these could include feeling the need to control something physical due to a lack of emotional control on a situation. With regards to the frequency and reasons behind self-harm Barbara says ‘In my experience it is the accumulation of overwhelming feelings-from many sources- that produce the drive to self harm. Strong components for this drive will come from feelings of despair, impotency, stress and anxiety, depression and the belief that the individual can only find relief and comfort from the dreadful feelings by self harming.’

Self harm is a complex issue and it would be wrong to conclude that this is the same for everyone who resorts to this coping mechanism. “Truth Hurts” the inquiry into self-harm in young people by the mental health foundation found that ‘many described how self-harm gets out all the hurt, anger and pain but that relief is so short lived they feel the need to do it more often’ As well as raising the point in which a lot of young people claimed to self-harm because they saw no other alternative.

This shows how a lot of young people need help and support from those around them, not to be judged as if there is “something wrong” with them and not to be told “snap out of it” A comment featured in the inquiry summary I feel sums up the persons feelings behind self-harm is ‘I have found the decision to stop harming myself infinitely more difficult than the decision to start’

The survey also uncovered the stigma surrounding self-harm in that a young person was ‘gossiped about’ by teachers and the head teacher even asked her to leave the school, following her showing immense bravery by admitting the problem to a member of staff. It tries to convey the importance of support to the young person when they disclose their self-harm, as the hardest part of giving up is admitting it to others. “Truth Hurts” says ‘The reaction a young person receives when they disclose their self-harm can have a critical influence on whether they go on to access supportive services’

They also said it is important to remember that you can approach the person you suspect to be self-harming and reach out to them, instead of expecting them to come to you. Being supportive and non-judgmental is also important, as well as remembering what the person tells you is confidential and to not discuss it with others if you are asked not to.

One of the main fears in young people about disclosing their self-harm is that the situation will be taken out of their hands. If a student starts self-harming because they feel no control on their life and hurting themselves is the only thing they can have total control over, then the last thing they need is to have a lack of control over who is told and that ‘their previously secretive behaviour becomes common knowledge’

The University counselling service says on the subject of self-harm ‘the counselling service takes self harm very seriously and as counsellors we do our very best to help students overcome the difficult emotions that provoke this unhappy response.’ So there is support out there for anyone who is hurting themselves.

If you are feeling down then there are many ways you can try and tackle the problem before it turns into depression. These include taking up some form of exercise as this can help increase the production of “happy hormones” Trying to reduce intake of alcohol can also have a positive effect on your life by discouraging the need to use it as a “prop” in life.

Now it is important to note that depression is a form of mental illness and the stigma surrounding a mental illness needs to be stopped. One in four people will be affected by a mental illness at some point in their lives. Anorexia, bulimia, obsessions and some phobias are all forms of a mental illness, so why is it more socially accepted to have a strong fear of something than it is to be depressed?

Remember there is help out there for those who need it, we just all have to realise it is a problem, it is happening and we all must tackle it together.

© Emma-Jane Williams

Money doesn't grow on trees

In risk of sounding like your mother, it’s time to talk money. Money does not grow on trees and everything your parents said about “keeping an eye on your money” was all unfortunately true. Budgeting is something let’s face it; none of us want to do. It is not fun but it is essential for you to leave university with minimum debt.

According to a report from Natwest Bank (www.natwest.co.uk), the average student will spend £33,512 completing a 3 year degree course. Last year this amount was £28,600 so a steady increase is happening. By taking into account any money students receive from parents, student finance (maintenance grants etc) and any income from part-time work you can expect to graduate with an average of £14,779 debt.

The National Union of Students (NUS) estimated that the average student last year would have spent £1777 on course related costs such as fees and materials. As well as another £7033 on living expenses including rent and those oh so essential nights out! This makes a total of £8810 which has to come from somewhere and I am sure you have noticed that your student loan isn’t quite this amount!

Barclays Bank (www.barclays.co.uk) offers a free online budgeting calculator to anyone who wants to make use of it. This useful tool allows students to enter their estimated expenditure/income, then goes on to show them the shortfall. It is free, so use it!

One of the best ways to budget is to look at what money has to go out, this includes rent, bills, tuition fees and food (the essentials!). Then look at what is left; now I warn you this is not a pretty sight. Divide the amount you have remaining after essentials have been taken out by the weeks left in your semester e.g. £200 left over divided between the 15 weeks in first semester – 200 divided by 15 = £13.33 (or until your next portion of your loan comes through) and that is what you have to spend per week.

Now remember if your weekly allowance is something like £10, you are not expected to socialise and buy books on this budget. This is where those overdrafts that our banks so willingly gave us come in to play.

Overdrafts

Barclays offer up to a £1000 interest free overdraft for students in their first year. Natwest offer their customers a £1250 interest free overdraft also in the first year. Both of these banks increase the allowed overdraft depending on the year in study and at the customers’ request. HSBC offer an interest free overdraft of up to £1000 in the first year, as does Lloyds TSB.

Another important thing to remember while spending your overdraft is that although your bank isn’t charging you any interest for the time being, when you finish your course they will! So before joining a student account and being whisked away by those “amazing” freebie deals they are offering you, make sure you check what the overdraft rate will be once your course finishes.

Also it is wise to remember that if you wish to increase your overdraft limit, you should increase it with your bank officially, by going in to your local branch. If you just carry on spending you can be hit with penalty fees plus interest on the unauthorised overdraft amount.

Real Experience

Jennifer Usher a 2nd year student at the University of Lincoln was unaware how much she was actually spending a week. Having sat down and worked out what her expenditure on an average week was she has decided to make some changes. Her average weekly budget was £65 a week including her rent.

Jenn however was paying (per week) £57 on rent, £30 on food, £40 on nights out and socialising, £10 on her mobile phone and around £15 on luxuries such as new clothing, DVDs and music. This expenditure totalled £2280 a semester (based on a 15 week semester) Leaving her with a shortfall of £1305 per semester and a grand loss of £2610 per year of study. This amount does not include any course related expenditure such as printing or tuition fees.

New Student’s Fears

The Natwest survey also found that 71% of students surveyed who were going in to university for their first year were concerned about whether they could afford it. This is shocking when compared to the fact that only 60% were worried about failing essential exams.

The survey also found that 87% of 1st year students intended on looking and getting a part-time job to help subsidise their lifestyle. Just to even up the score, the survey also found that over half of current (2nd/3rd year) students had considered dropping out of university and seeking full time work to pay of debt they had already totalled.

One student who was struggling to pay his way through university was Simon Dance, a 3rd year from Northumbria University. In order to help his financial situation and reduce the amount of students who found themselves in his position, he launched the website www.clearstudentdebt.co.uk the site offers features on eating on a budget, overdraft facts as well as ideas on how to budget successfully.

He took the time to investigate and gather information from a variety of banks, building societies and student finance companies. Then Simon went about putting the information in a user friendly way on his website for other students to use.

Part-Time Work

A report published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the National Union of Students (NUS) in early September has found some shocking statistics regarding students and part-time work. It found that in the past 10 years the amount of full-time degree level students working in a part-time job have risen by 54% It was an estimated 406,880 in 1996 and now the number is at 630,718.

The average student was found to be working on average 14 hours a week, but the report also found that 40% of working students felt their jobs affected the course. Problems included not having enough spare time outside of work and seminars/lectures to research and read up for essays and exams.

The report called All Work and Low Pay found that 40% of students found work in retail and 21% found it in bars and clubs.

However the good news to new students is that a similar survey from the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) has found current students are spending 15% less on alcohol and entertainment than they were 6 years ago.

Freebies and Essentials

Make sure you go along to the fresher fair, it is there for you! Local business will offer your free things and entry in to prize draws as well as money off coupons as an incentive for you to come to their store or bar/club. Just be wary of signing up for anything you aren’t really interested in or don’t know what your signing up for.

Also one last piece of advice, if you have a TV in your bedroom make sure you get a license. If you pay quarterly you are able to claim a refund back for the summer holidays if you are not using it. However there must be a full 3 months still valid on your license in order to do this.

But most important of all… have fun and enjoy yourselves. Yes there will be some tough times, but take if from someone who knows your about to have the time of your life. Good luck!

© Emma-Jane Williams

Women blamed for rape in shock survey

Every Christmas there are women going into their local bars, having a few drinks with friends and being raped. A shock survey conducted by amnesty international has found that “Women are still being held to blame for rape”

The report found that while women are gaining equal rights in work and pay, they are still being treated unfairly when it comes to sexual behaviour. It found that 30% of people surveyed believe that being drunk is an invitation to sexual predators leaving the woman partially or totally responsible for being raped.

Now is a woman responsible for being raped if she is wearing sexy clothing? Apparently 26% of people surveyed believe so.

Suzy, now aged 19 was 18 when she was raped walking home after a night out. She had been out at her local nightclub, drank quite a lot and had been dancing with a guy she had met. Suzy was wearing a halter neck top, skirt and boots. She had drunk around 6 bottles of alcohol. Around 1:30am Suzy decided she was tired and wanted to walk home, a walk she had done many times after a night out so she felt safe dong it alone. She said goodbye to her friends and left the nightclub.

Suzy was less than 5 minutes away from home when a man came up behind her, dragged her into a side street and raped her. The ordeal lasted for around 15 minutes, when he had finished the man turned to Suzy laughed and ran off. As Suzy realised what had happened to her, she dawned on the horrifying fact she had known her attacker, she had been dancing with him less than half an hour ago.

Women’s rights groups remark that Suzy is one of the estimated 80% of women who know their attackers, battling the myth that most attacks are by strangers.

Suzy did not report the attack to the police she says, “I felt as if I had been through enough, I told no-one. The last thing I needed was to be dragged through painful court proceedings. I still wake up in a cold sweat; afraid he will come back and do it again. I see him around in town sometimes, he just smiles and walks off, and when I see him with another girl I’m afraid for her”

Experts claim only an estimated 20% of all rapes actually go reported and the actual number of women raped each year is over 50,000. When this is compared to the fact that just over 5% of reported rapes end in a conviction, is it really surprising that women aren’t coming forward and reporting what is happening to them?

MP Vera Baird, the driving force behind the recent Sexual Offences Act has said that a man will no longer be able to use “I thought she had consented” as an excuse anymore. She believes that jurors will also need to be educated about today’s society and that just because a woman is drunk or in revealing clothing does not give a man permission to rape her.
Home Office figures say that between March 2004 and March 2005 over 60,000 rapes were reported. This is a 17.5% increase from the following year. Now is it that rape is being less of a taboo subject and women feel able to come forward about it, or is it just happening more?

Since the Sexual offences act reform in 2004, the word “consent” has been redefined to make it clearer and now include penetration of the mouth as a form of rape. However a spokesperson from Amnesty International in Lincoln says, “The number of women raped every year in this country will not reduce until we change these attitudes we have”

Paula Tribe from Women’s Aid agrees. She says, “Eve was blamed for Adam not being able to help himself, since the beginning of time women have been used as an excuse for some men to do as they want and get away with it. She went on to say how she sees women who are raped and stresses that a lot of women know their attackers. It can be their husbands, their boyfriends thinking they are allowed to have sex when they want it. A woman in a relationship should be allowed to say “no” just as a single woman should also.

The Home Office say there are a variety of ways a woman can report the crime if she wants to such as directly to the police. However if she does not feel able to do so she can contact Victim Support on 0845 30 30 900 and get the support needed.

So the message this Christmas is to be safe and let someone know where you are. Tori Ashman from Women’s Aid says, “Women should be able to wear and do what they want without living in fear, but unfortunately we are living in a time where we cannot. By all means have fun, but try to stay safe and remember you have a responsibility to look after yourself”

© Emma-Jane Williams

Love your breasts!

Women need to show their breasts more TLC was the result of a survey conducted by charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, to see how breast aware we are as a nation.

Nearly 41,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year, 47% of women are unaware how to check their breasts for the early warning signs. 93% are aware lumps are a warning sign, but remain unaware of other symptoms such as pain unrelated to periods.

Dr Rawlings of Breakthrough Breast Cancer recommends women follow the “Touch, Look, Check” message. “We want to dispel the myth that being breast aware means needing to follow a complicated routine, it doesn’t. It simply means getting to know your breasts by touching, looking and checking them often” by being aware of the usual shape and texture of their breasts women can, “Look for changes and if found check with their doctor. Remember that 9 out of 10 lumps are not cancerous”

The survey gave good news to women living in East Anglia, where 46% of women are a D-cup or more. Women in the South-East were the smallest with only 30% being D-cup or more. It showed women in the South-East are the least happy with their breasts showing size does matter to some, Scottish women are the happiest with theirs.

Eileen Bellamy (41) was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2004. After discovering a lump on her breast she sought help from her GP and went into hospital for testing. Following an ultrasound and biopsy, Eileen was told, she had cancer.

After a mastectomy and breast reconstruction in June, Eileen had intense chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She says “I probably annoyed the doctors by asking so many questions, I wanted to know everything good or bad. My cancer turned out to be grade 3 which meant it was aggressive and grew fast, if I’d known this at the time I may not have had the reconstruction so early”

In June Eileen was told the cancer had spread. She received help outside the clinic from Breast care nurses who put her in touch with women with similar problems, “It was good to speak to someone in a similar situation, who was still alive”

Eileen remembers in the short term she found it almost impossible to plan what she was going to do, in fear of the cancer killing her. She became resentful of those she considered to be “not very nice” “I don’t smoke, drink, do drugs or slap my kids about - why me?”

Almost two years on Eileen is trying to get her life back into order. She has check ups and takes medication, but is more positive about the future. “Life for months revolved around cancer, treatments and hospitals, it felt scary not having constant access to doctors anymore”

With the excellent work being carried out by Cancer researchers, a cure for breast cancer can hopefully be found. But until then the message is for women to “Touch, Look and Check”.

© Emma-Jane Williams