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FEBRUARY 10 003

INSIDE ISSUE #174 Update Singing Santas, Condoms, Bomb Threats and more. Find out what’s been going on at the Union this month...

6 Elections Get all the important details about the 2010 student elections. Why don’t you run for a post?

8 Competition! Win a load of lovely gear from Regal Clothing Co in this month’s competition

12 Movies Our brand new regular movies section, reviewing Avatar, Up In The Air and A Prophet

14 Don’t Get Caught Out Nobodywantsagreenwilly,findouthowtoavoidit...

16 Sport A look ahead at this year’s Aberdeen Universities Boat Race. Can we make win it for the second year in a row?

18 Tell The University What You Want! This is your chance! Take advantage of the National Student Survey

4

PHOTOSOF THE MONTH

Bobby The Boar joins Ross Murchison (Student President)andCatherineHilton(HealthOfficer)as

they give blood at RGU: SPORT. He even tries to get in on the act himself!

Send your photos to reform@rguunion.co.uk to get featured next month!

10

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004 REFORM MAGAZINE

First there was baldness, followed by semi nudity, and then there were blue bodies...what next? Why Santa hats and fetching purple hoodies of course!

RGU:RAG were out in force once again just before the Christmas break in the Bon Accord Marks and Spencer, packing bags and lashing out Christmas car-ols at the door. Around 20 of our volunteers showed up at the start of December to help raise money for Cyrenian’s, a homeless charity located here in Aber-deen. After three hours of packing bags of food that student’s can only dream they could afford, and reach-ing music notes only the seagulls outside could com-municate with, a tally of over £700 was reached, a

fantastic amount for such a short space of time. When this was added to the totals from other events held in the past semester, a grand total of £4,264.26 (yes, I included the 26p!) has been collected for numerous charities around Aberdeen!

RGU:RAG would like to thank all of its volunteers for all the hours they have put in so far, all the chari-ties, all the companies who have sponsored us, and of course anyone who donated, we know it’s hard in these penny-pinching times but thank you!!

There was no RAG activity during January due to ex-ams and placements (boo, hiss, boooo etc) but we will be back out collecting in February, with our sight on raising over £10,000 for the student year well within sight!

Joe Folan

SANTA HATS,PURPLE HOODIES ANDMARKS & SPENCER!

UNION JOINS UP WITH CLARK BUILDING

Not content with the £250,000 summer refurbishment, we’re doing more work to your Union throughout January & Febru-ary!

Thebackareaof thegroundfloor (nextto the smoking area) has been blocked off since early January in order to connect the Union building with the Clark build-ing next door. “Having the wall knocked through between the Union and the University is a fantastic improvement for students at Schoohill.” said Ross Mur-chison, Student President, “Not only does it give students a nearby place to socialise during their free time, it also raises the profile of the Union its self.” Work is scheduled to take six weeks, but keen an eye on the Union website for updates.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2010

Tickets for this year’s Student Achieve-ment Awards are available to buy now! Priced at £26.50, the ticket includes a 3 course meal & drinks, ceilidh, complimentary arrival drink, transport to and from the event, plus the award ceremony its self.

Tickets can be purchased from the Union Shop on Schoolhill. For more details contact union@rguunion.co.uk

FREE CONDOMS FOR ALL RGU STUDENTS!

Don’t forget that you can get free condoms from the lovely people at the Union! Simply send the Condom Fairy an e-mail with your name and address and she’llgetsomesentstraighttoyourflat.

E-mail condomfairy@rguunion.co.uk for more details

///////////////////////////////FEBRUARY 10 005

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RGU SINGERS LOOKING FOR NEWMEMBERS

RGU SINGERS are looking for new re-cruits! We’re a fun group of both staff and students who sing basically any kind of music and are always open to new sugges-tions. We sing on Monday nights at Garth-dee at 7pm and we’re about to start re-hearsing new music for this semester, so would love some new members as we’re hoping to do a few performances this year. For more info email us at singers@rguunion.co.ukorfindusonfacebook.

THINK ABOUT CO POISONING

Cases of CO poisoning are greater amongst certain groups of the population, and one of these is students living in private rented accommodation.

As such, Scotland Gas Networks (SGN) recently invited Robert Gordon Univer-sity to take part in an awareness project which pointed out the dangers of CO poisoning. 50 free CO detectors were provided for students who were willing to filloutaquickquestionnaire.Therewasahuge student response to this e-mail, and thefirst50replieswithintwohoursallthedetectors had been handed out!

All students should take a look at www.scotiagasnetworks.co.uk, where there is a significant amount of advice,making sure you are living safely. If you do want to purchase one of the detectors they cost £19.99, including postage from the same website.

Take a look at the website and you might be shocked about some of the small changes that could save a life!

SQUARE 13 CHANGE OF SERVICE

Square 13, NHS Grampian’s centre forsexual and reproductive health have changedtheir drop-in times/criteria. They are now: Thursday (4:30pm-7pm, under 20yr olds), Saturday (10am-1pm, under 25yr olds) and Monday, Wednesday & Fri-day (9am-11am, all ages). Emergency con-traception is available to all ages during opening hours.

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SMALLNEWSBITS & BOBSFROM AROUND THECITY

We always try to catch people’s attention, but never in a million years did we think that we would attract this kind! That’s right folks, our first ever bomb-threat! Some thoughtful young chap sent the plan of a crudely drawn and poorly designed bomb all the way from Bristol, addressed to none other than the President of the Union. No expense was spared as it arrived in a window envelope with a FIRST CLASS STAMP – there must have been some sort of rush. Ross Murchison, President, commented “this was def-initely more exciting than the usual letters I get sent. Whoever it was, kindly left their name on the paper, but unfortunately forget to enclose a return address. Wecouldn’tevenfindthemonfacebook!Butifyourout there Derek Irvine, thanks for the sketch.”

Of course, we got the experts at the engineering department to take a look at it, to which the reply was ‘juvenile’. Couldn’t agree more, but at least we will have something to fall back on if we run out of fireworks this November. Keep your letters com-ing in though - although we do prefer constructive criticism rather than destructive criticism…BOOM BOOM!

MOST MENTALLY DISTURBED LETTER OF THE MONTH

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006 REFORM MAGAZINE

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ELECTIONS 10 <<

FEBRUARY 10 007

24th FEBRUARYNOMINATIONS OPEN

10th MARCHNOMINATIONS CLOSE

10th MARCH CAMPAIGNING BEGINS

24th MARCHVOTING BEGINS

31st MARCHVOTING ENDS

31st MARCHWINNERSANNOUNCED

PRESIDENT

Sports ClubsSocieties Officers

SportsCommittee

Union & SocietiesCommittee

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Vice President (Union & Societies)

Vice President (Sport)

Student AffairsCommittee

008 REFORM MAGAZINE

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STYLEYOU’VEGOTTHE!

Don’t Stop Believin’ £17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

Ice Cream Love Injection £17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

I’m In The House £17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

FEBRUARY 10 009

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Je Suis Un Funky Homme£17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

99 Problems £17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

I Like Cakes£17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

Very Nice Moustache£17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

Riverside!£17.50, RegalClothing.co.uk

WIN!We’ve managed to get our hands on a mountain-sized pile of funky tees from The Regal Clothing Co. To be in with a chance of winning one, simply answer the following question:

This cast of which TV show recently stormed into the charts with their version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”?a) GLEE b) EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND c) 24If you think you know the answer, simply e-mail your name, answer, address & t-shirt size (remember to include if you want a ladies fit) to win@rguunion.co.uk with REGAL COMPETITION as the subject. The closing date for entries is Friday 26th February. Good luck!

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MUSIC <<

010 REFORM MAGAZINE

GET LISTEDE-Mail reform@rguunion.co.uk for more details.

1st - MUSIC SHED SEVEN Music Hall, Union Street. £16.501st - MUSIC FRIGHTENED RABBIT Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £122nd - MUSIC FOY VANCE Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £64th - MUSIC THE BLOCKHEADS Lemon Tree, W/North St. £15.505th - MUSIC RUNRIG Music Hall, Union Street. £23.505th - MUSIC MR SCRUFF Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £12.5012th - MUSIC GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £1015th - MUSIC STATUS QUO AECC, Bridge Of Don. £31.5018th - COMEDY RUSSELL HOWARD AECC, Bridge Of Don. £2029th - MUSIC BAD MANNERS Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £1530th - MUSIC COMPLETE STONE ROSES Warehouse, Windmill Brae. £15

WHAT’SONWHEREIN DECEMBER

Between Saturday 28th November and Sunday 3rd January His Majesty’s Theatre saw Elaine C Smith star in the pantomime Cinderella. The Glaswegian star worked the crowd with some satirical referenc-es to areas of Aberdeen and speaking the local lingo.

The pantomime stuck to the traditional Cinderella story with some modern additions. The introduction of 3D scenes had the audience screaming in delight as they dodged away from the special effects. There wasone3Dsceneineachpart,atonepointaquillflewouttowardtheaudienceandatanotherabombexploded causing the audience to jump. The effects were impressive in creating Cinderella’s pumpkin coach which she uses to go to the ball. Other mod-ern additions included an X Factor competition, mid-show, which provided some amusing parodies of AmyWinehouse,SusanBoyleandKatiePrice.

Elaine C Smith starred as the Fairy Godmother, rid-inginonamoonandsportingsomesparklingoutfits.The ugly step – sisters, played by Alan McHugh and Jordan Young, were extremely funny with light innu-endos and hilarious costumes. While the Fairy God-mother and the Ugly Step Sisters were the modern hilarious side to the show, Cinderella and the Ugly Step Mother kept the traditional values along with the traditionally painted backdrops.

The Step Sisters are not the hateable characters that are traditional to Cinderella. They are idiots who have been forced into doing bad things because of their evil mother. Because they were likable idi-ots, there was no overuse of “boos” or “oh she he didn’t” which made it less of a cliché.

CINDERELLA:THE PANTOMIMEStarring: Elaine C Smith, Alan McHugh28th Nov - 3rd JanuaryHis Majesty’s Theature

Kirsty Gladstone

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FEBRUARY 10 011

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Even the snowy weather, icy roads and bitter winds couldn’t dampen the excitement of the crowd queued up outside the Aberdeen Exhibition andConference Centre on Friday the 18th of December. The crowds were there to watch Russell Howard, the popular young comedian from BBC’s ‘Mock the Week’, in action.

The doors opened at 6.30pm, followed by a 30 minute wait until Howard’s support act, up and com-ing comedian Steve Hall, took to the stage. His co-medic style showed similarities to Howard himself. Hall entertained us with anecdotes of his family and friends and certainly gained the appreciation of the audience at the AECC. Steve Hall has been Russell’s supportactforallthreeofhisofficialtours;hewasthe finalist of the 2002 DailyTelegraph open micawards and a runner up in the 2003 New Comedy awards.

Therewasafurtherwaitandanticipationfilledtheroom as Russell Howard strolled on stage and at-temptedtobeginhisgigamidfloodsofapplause.Hisnew material, although similar in style did not falter once and his engagement with the audience was sur-real. The enthusiasm displayed was infectious.There is something about Howard’s almost childlike excitement and enjoyment of his job that captivates the crowd in a way that many comedians would pray for.

As a tradition of sorts, Russell picked out a member of the audience by seat number to join him on stage for a one on one chat.

The gig ended all too soon after many ‘belly laughs’ and Howard thanked the crowd and strolled off stage. Returning almost straight away for his encore andafleetofquestionsfromveryexcitedfans.Allofwhich he answered to the best of his abilities.

True to form, he did not leave his audience unsatis-fied.Asthecrowdfiledoutofthearenatherewasexcited chatter and laughter, proving the ‘Big Rooms and Belly Laughs’ was one of Russell’s most suc-cessful tours to date. Here’s hoping there’s more to come from him in the future.

RUSSELL HOWARD18th December 2009 AECCJennifer Macleod

STARRING: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver DIRECTOR: James Cameron RELEASED: Out Now

I was kind of dreading the hype.

I feared itwasgoingtobe likethatfirstChristmas that you realise you’ve grown up.

It wasn’t.

Sure, the story was pretty predictable but sitting there in my snazzy 3D glasses, I couldn’t have cared less. Visually it was a feast.

James Cameron’s world immerses you in its beauty and you get lost in the intend-ed message - humans are scum. We are ruining our world. Our use of the military forfinancialgainiswrong.

These themes have all been discussed until I‘m bored of hearing them.

What I had yet to appreciate is the cult followingthatthefilmanditsidealshavedevelopedsoquicklyovertheinternet.

I stumbled upon www.avatar-forums.com whilst paroosing the internet one day. Not only does this mean I don’t have to re-peat the now hackneyed things you have probablyalreadyheardaboutthefilm, itmeans my writing time has been halved.

One post caught my attention above the others. Posted by ‘AvatarPhan#1’, it

shows how I felt when I left the cinema better than anything I could ever say.

“Little did I know it would change my life forever. I sat in the theatre after it was over just stunned, and then I began to cry. I was ripped apart with feelings I had nev-er had before, hate for myself and my spe-cies, hate for my capitalistic and worthless society, and a feeling of such despair that I would never be able to know the Na’vi or their superior culture and way of life. I was there just thinking and crying for about 15 minutes before an usher asked me to leave. I told him I never wanted to leave and he was confused for a second. It got a bit heated at that point and we ended up in a shoving match. The police officerwhotookmeoutoftheredidn’tseem to care either. When I told him he was a tool of an oppressive society that is destroying the world he laughed at me. Now I’ve got a charge against me for pub-lic disturbance but I don’t care.

IjustwishIcouldstopthinkingaboutthis;it’s more than a movie.”

All I can hope is that Phan#1’s tale is somewhat true. Though I’m not sure I’d really mind if it isn’t.

All that’s left to say is go see thefilm!

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012 REFORM MAGAZINE

For the best selection visit Cineworld.com Queens Links & Union Square, AberdeenHeadlines / Avatar sweeps at Golden globes / Tim Burton offered Sleeping Beauty to remake

AVATARIreallydidn’tthinkiwouldlikethisfilm.

Everything about it had already been explained in detail to me by friends that had seen it, and a three hour onslaught of “you destroyed the planet” propaganda wasreallyquiteunappealing.

Iwalkedoutofthefilmwithnodoubtinmy mind. Three hours of aliens, soldiers, bright lights and the general confusion of 3D cinema had, well, convinced me it was good. Very good.

I wanted to write a review that was differ-ent from everything that I have previously read. I couldn’t, it wasn’t possible.

Regardless of whether you’re an action film fan ,a sci-fi fan, or really just don’tfancy it, believe me when it comes to Avatar, leave your preconceptions at the door. As clichéd as it sounds don’t think, just watch.

James Cameron’s long awaited epic “mas-terpiece” is as much a feast for the senses asagoodfilm;withanamazinguseofcol-our within the movie to leave every scene as much of an artwork as the last.

This will not be easy to explain.

The film tells the story of a woundedsolider, who has traveled to a distant plan-et in order to join a war to “convince” the

Na’vi (big blue locals) to move from their sacred home. Unfortunately this home is miraculously situated on top of mineral deposit of the aptly named “unobtainium” and the people of earth want it.

In order to gain their trust he is given the use of an avatar, which is his mind, in the body of a Na’vi (a big blue version of him-self).Yetquicklyalovestoryandachangeof heart melt the soldiers tough exterior, he changes his mind, making for a happy ending in my summarised Avatar story.

An apt description would be that it’s the kind of movie that tuns hours into min-utes and causes minutes to lose all mean-ing.

The mild confusion you feel after that sentence is merely a snippet of how you will feel once you’re out of Avatar. Totally lost, with an inevitable hint of self loathing, and a feeling that you probably missed a lot of the story.

Throughout the film the fact we aredestroying the earth is never far from the agenda. It may not be the newest of themesbutwhendisplayedwithflashingimages and aliens, people tend to pay con-siderably more attention than they did to Al Gore’s version.

Although this thoroughly depressing topic is evident throughout the entirety of the film,therearestillplentyofbrightplants,explosions, interesting plot twists ...really everything you could want in a movie.

I’mjustnotquitesureI’mhappywiththe human race at the moment.

ONE MOVIE,TWO POINTS OF VIEW

DOUBLETAKE

JULES ALASTAIR1 2

VERDICT:THUMBS UP

Not content with including just one review of the biggest realease of the year so far, we sent two of our keen film buffs to check out Avatar, and give you their thoughts...

A remorseful thought meanders through my mind, “two and a half hours of subtitles - this is going to be a drag.”I haven’teverdone thewhole‘foreignfilm thing’before.It has always seemed the sort of thing for the intellect or for someone who wants to appear to be in touch with the ‘independentfilmcommunity‘.

However, with A Prophet, I found myself becoming so en-grossed in the plot, I forgot I was reading the (sometimes dodgy) subtitles.

Thefilmstartsastypicallyasmostprisonfilmsdo.Thefilmfollows Matik El Djebena who enters the established order of the prison right at the bottom as a niave young man, just old enough to be in an adult prison. The prison is run by theCorsicanMafiaandtheylookdownuponMatikduetohisArabicbackground.Matikfindshimselfbeingforcedbythis mob to kill another inmate.

After a successful kill, he slowly works his way up the Cor-sican set-up, all the while building a network of his own both within and out of the prison. This network sees to parole days being used for more illicit dealings, from drug-running to hostage takings. As he progresses through the filmanduptheladderoftheCorsicanMafia,Matikgrowsinconfidenceandshowsanintelligenceabsentatthebe-ginning from a boy who was illiterate.

Theendofthefilmbecomesalittlepredictable,andseemsto drag a little. It was at this point that I became aware of the subtitles again - perhaps for the last ten minutes. It may be a personal barrier for me, but after around two and a halfhoursofthefilmitseemedalittletoomuch;youknewwhat was going to happen in the end but there was still an-other peak to reach - like walking up a hill, only to discover there’s another hill at what you thought was the top.

Overallthough,thefilmwasengrossing,Ithinktheforeignlanguage added to the story-telling, there could be no shuf-flingtohaveasneakypeekatthemobile inthedreadedfear of missing anything.

Director JacquesAudiardclaimshewants tousefilmtocreate icons for those you don’t have icons - the Arab races in France. With the clever story line surrounding Matik El Djebena it looks as though the Arabs may have found one.

Air travel really isn’t what it used to be. Blonde barbies stroll up and down the tiny cabin selling us reheated food that regardless of the labels, all tastes the same. Lines at checkout snake out taking up the whole air-port, and even once you’ve reached your destination, its time to return. This, my friends, is modern air travel.

Yet in Jason Reitman’s (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) filmUpintheAirwearepresentedwithaviewofairtravel froma frequentflier... and tobehonest, itsanappealing prospect. George Clooney (lets face it he’s been in everything) plays Ryan a “career transition” counsellor,whoeffectivelyhasthejoboffiringpeoplewhen their boss “lacks the balls” (his phrase, not mine) to do so.

This life leads him to travel mainland America with unseenease,skippingqueuesatcheckoutandbuildingupfrequentfliermiles.Paidforexpensesandbusinesslounges are all part of the job, and the advantage of never seeing his family all seems to perfectly suit the traveling bachelor.

A chance meeting in an airport bar leads Ryan to fel-lowjetsetterAlexGoran(VeraFarmiga).Thisquicklydevelops into the type of one night stand typical of the beginning of rom-coms. Fun, flirty, but inevitablybecomes serious.

UpintheAirdoesn’tdisappoint.Theyquicklydiscoverthat they are “two people who get turned on by elite status” after a display of their various club-cards and milagebonuses,whichisinitsownwayquiteperverse.

The romance aspect of this rom-com is really what makes it watchable for the entire audience. Ryan and Alex agree to meet only when their schedules allow them to be in the same city. No feelings exchanged, no fuss, easy.Yet the moment the traveling life is taken away from him by a new piece of technology leaving Clooney’s wayof lifeobsolete.Hequickly realises hewants tocontinue what he had and sets out on the road with newarrivalathiscompanyNatalieKeener(playedbyAnnaKendrick),who’snowcallingtheshotsaftercom-ing up with the idea thats ruining Ryan’s life.

ThecharmofUpintheAirisitsquirkiness.Therom-com market is littered with films that are identical,and this is something new. The running one liners and cameos from numerous famous actors (John Malcovich andAshtonKutcher to name a few)make itwatch-able for everyone. Whilst the twists from the standard rom-com make for a surprisingly good movie, it is fully deserving of the nominations it will no doubt receive.

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>> MOVIES

FEBRUARY 10 013

For the best selection visit Cineworld.com Queens Links & Union Square, AberdeenGet more of everything you love about cinema with Cineworld in Aberdeen

UP IN THE AIRSTARRING: George Clooney, Vera FarmigaDIRECTOR: Jason ReitmanRELEASED: Out Now

Jules Johnston

A PROPHETSTARRING: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel BencherifDIRECTOR: Jacques AudiardRELEASED: Out Now

Alastair Gossip

New Releases This Month... 5th FEB-The Princess & The Frog- Astro Boy- Invictus- Ninja Assassin

12th FEB- The Wolfman- Valentines Day,- Percy Jackson & The Lightning Theif-MyNameIsKhan

19th FEB- The Lovely Bones- Crazy Hearts-SolomanKane

26th FEB- From Paris With Love- Everybody’s Fine- Extraordinary Measures- The Crazies- MicMacs

014 REFORM MAGAZINE

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DON,T GET

CAUGHTOUT

Sexually Transmitted Diseases are some of the mostdifficultdiseasesintheworldtocatch.Youhave to be up close and personal to spread them. Why, then, are STDs so common? Because people don’t know how to treat, prevent, and avoid them.

Here are some common STDs that should be on your radar screen.

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ChlamYDiaChlamydia is the most common curable STD, with millions infected each year. It infects the urethra, rectum and eyes in both sexes and the cervix in women. If left untreated, long-term infection can lead to fertility problems and even arthritis! Painful urination, itching genitals and white/green discharge are common symptoms but Chlamydia can go unnoticed for years. If you want to get tested, free ‘self-testing’ kits are available from condomfairy@rguunion.co.uk.

GonoRrheaGonorrhea is another common curable STD, otherwise known as ‘the clap’. This infection affects the same organs as Chlamydia and similar long-term effects. Symptoms are very similar to those of Chlamydia also. If you are one of those that thinks oral sex is safe, beware... Gonor-rhea can also infect the throat!

SYphilIsSyphilis has a notorious history and can lead to serious complications if left untreated. It is transmitted by direct contact with syphilis sores, which appear on external genital areas, rectum and the mouth. Sores can appear in areas unable to be covered by a condom, so do not elimi-nate transmission! Just when we thought we were safe! The painless sores may heal in the early stages but it doesn’t mean the disease is gone;ithasjustbecomemoredifficulttotreatanddetect.Leftuntreat-ed it will remain in your body and can erupt years later, even worse! Syphilis is very similar in symptoms to Herpes, any indication of sores in private areas – consult medical expert immediately!

TrichomOnIaSis Trichomoniasis is the most common STD in sexually active young women, it is commonly mistaken for a yeast infection of bacterial vagi-nosis due to the similar symptoms: change in discharge, strong odour and irritation and itching. Men are not safe from this but luckily don’t have the symptoms! Women who are or have been affected MUST en-sure their partner gets treated. ‘Trich’ may not be affecting him much but girls you don’t want him giving it back to you!

CRaBs/or PubIC Lice‘Crabs’ are a lice which live on your pubic hair and occasionally other course haired areas of the body such as armpits. ‘Crabs’ are most commonly spread through sexual contact but can also spread through infested linens (bedding, towels) and clothing! So if you are itching ‘down there’ check for visible lice and eggs and get to the doctors im-mediately! The rumour that all pubic hair has to be shaved off, is exactly that... A rumour!

Human PapiLlomA VirusHPV is the most common of all STD with a study showing that three quartersof thesexuallyactivepopulationhavingHPVatsomepointduring their lives. HPV is known as the ‘cervical cancer virus’ but only a few strains of HPV are linked to cancer. Others cause genital warts and some can cause no symptoms at all. HPV is considered incurable although the symptoms can be treated and infections can be resolved, there is still no ‘cure’ for the disease. Wear a Condom!!

REMemBER!Condoms will never go out of fashion...STD’s always kill the passion! (we cranked it up to ‘Cheese Factor 10’ to come up with that one!)

FReE CoNDOMS?Don’t forget that you can get free condoms from the lovely people at the Union! Simply send the Condom Fairy an e-mail with your name and address andshe’llgetsomesentstraighttoyourflat.

E-mail condomfairy@rguunion.co.uk for more details

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NORTHSEA

RIVER DON

RIVER DEE

KI N

G S

TR

EE

T

MA

RKET S TREET

U N I O N S T R E E T

10:45Hillhead Turning Circle

11:00Aberdeen Sports Village

11:15 Tilted Wig

ABERDEEN BOAT CLUB

L I N K S F I E L D R O A DFREE BUS + DRINKS VOUCHER

FREE BUSES from Hillhead, Kings Campus and town and

FREE DRINKS VOUCHERS for spectators available.

PROGRAMME

10:45 Spectator Bus Leaves from Hillhead Turning Circle

11:00 Spectator Bus Leaves from Aberdeen Sports Village

11:15 Spectator Bus Leaves from the Tilted Wig, Union Street

11.55 Universities Second Crews Race

12:15 The Alumni Boat Race

13:00 Media Challenge Race

13:20 ABERDEEN UNIVERSITIES’ BOAT RACE 2010

13:50 Presentation of Trophies

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LET’S MAKE IT TWO IN A ROWRGU will look to retain the title of rowing champions this month as, once again, we bat-tle Aberdeen University in the annual Aber-deen Universities Boat Race.

A new team of eight will attempt to pick up where Judith Herbert’s team left of last year, and win the race for only the third time in the history of the competition. A phenominal victory in the 2009 event saw the RGU team come within just 1.5 seconds of smashing the course record, which no doubt would have

made the victory over bitter rivals Aberdeen all the more sweet.

David Hegarty, Vice President (Sport), feels that a victory in this year’s race is extremely important;“Everybody knows about the ri-valry between the two Universities in the city, and winning the boat race last year re-ally lifted the spirits of each and every one of our teams, not just the rowers. To come out victoriousagainthisyearwouldreallyfireawarning shot to Aberdeen Uni, and let them know that we mean business! That’s especial-ly important when you think that the Granite City Challenge is only weeks away, and we’re going out there to win”.

Buses will be provided to the event (see de-tails on the opposite page), so make sure that you get down to the waterside and cheer on RGU to another boat race victory!

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITIES’BOAT RACE 2010RGU v ABERDEEN28th FEBRUARY

The 8th of February 2010 sees the launch of the National Student Survey (NSS) 2009 at Robert Gordon University. Thesurvey isaimedatallfinalyearstudentsandisyourchance to have your say about the student learning experi-ence during your time at RGU.

So what is the NSS?NSSisanannualsurveyoffinalyearundergraduatesintheUK.Theaimistoproviderobustdataonthelearningex-perience for prospective students, and for RGU and the Students’ Association to identify areas for improvement and to highlight areas of best practice. The information for RGU also allows us to not only compare the results to other Higher Education Institutions nationally but can also give information about the student learning experiences at the different Schools of RGU.

The information is geared toward providing a better Stu-dent Learning Experience for all students, and Robert Gor-don University is part of this for the second year in a row! This means that we now have comparative results [from last year] so we can determine the areas in which we’ve improved purely as a result of the feedback that last year’s exiting students gave us.

With NSS Data, prospective students will be able to make more informed decisions on where they choose to study anditalsogivesfinalyearstudentsthechancetoletRGUknow what they loved and what needs to be improved! Why should you be interested? The results don’t just disappear into a black hole! Future students can use the results as well as The University and the Union to effect changeandbringaboutqualityenhancededucationprovi-sion.

Thequestionsallowyoutogivefeedbackon,amongotheritems, what you thought about the Academic Support you received during your studies and how you felt about the Organisation and Management of your course. There’s also space at the end for any positive or negative comments that you had about your whole experience. Were you satis-fiedwiththewaycancelledlectureswerehandled?Didyoufeel that the library had enough copies of that elusive key text? Write it down and let your University know!

Involvement from The National Union of Students fully supports the NSS and sees it as an opportunity for stu-

dents to shape the future of higher education. Aaron Por-ter,VicePresidentforHigherEducationforNUSUK2008-2010said,“The NationalStudentSurveygivesfinalyearstudentsauniqueopportunitytoinformfuturestudentsaboutthequalityoftheirstudentexperience.Prospectivestudents will be able to compare standards in a number of institutions giving them valuable information, which can help in making choices about their Higher Education. It also provides students’ unions and institutions with the kind of feedback they need to affect changes and improvement to thestudentexperience.Ihopethatfinalistswilltakeafewminutes to share their experience with the next genera-tion of students.”

How can I get in on the action?Eligible students will be sent an invitation email by Ipsos MORI (an independent research agency that administers the survey) and later, non-respondents will be contacted by post or ultimately by telephone. Alternatively, visit www.thestudentsurvey.com to complete the survey online. You may also opt out at any point that Ipsos MORI contacts you about the survey.

The success of the NSS depends on your feedback, so pleasesetasideafewminutestoparticipate.ItisdefinitelyworthyourwhileasRGUhaskindlydonatedfifteen£25amazon.co.uk vouchers as prizes for the prize draw of re-spondents. So, why not give yourself the chance to save a few pounds and get involved! Your response is anonymous soyouranswerscanreflectyourgenuineperceptionsofyour experience. Plus there’s no need to worry about your contact details being passed on because they will only be used for the purposes of the NSS and are destroyed short-ly after. Want to know more? Visit www.thestudentsurvey.com or contact the National Student Survey team at Ipsos MORI at thestudentsurvey@ ipsos.com.

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EDITORIAL

EditorGregor Mailer

Contributors

Jennifer Cadiz Joe Folan

KirstyGladstone Alastair Gossip

Catherine Hilton Jules Johnston

Jennifer Macleod Darren Millar

Ross Murchison Rachel Watson

CONTACT US

Reform MagazineRGU:Union60 SchoolhillAberdeenAB10 1JQ

tel: 01224 262 263fax: 01224 262 268

reform@rguunion.co.uk

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Gregor Mailerext.mailer@rgu.ac.uk

01224 262 263

THE SMALL PRINT

This magazine may contain personal views which are not the views or opinions of The Robert Gordon University or The Robert Gordon University Student Association.

We’re always looking for new writers and photographers. Whether you fancy doing gig reviews, news articles,

one-off features or covering RGU sports matches get in touch!

RGU Student Association - Registered Scottish Charity No: SC0 16639

018 REFORM MAGAZINE

Ross Murchison / Jennifer Cadiz

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