Just how safe are Sunderland students?

Another university assignment that you may be interested in :)

Abi xx

Each year thousands of naïve freshers make the move to university in the North East, trailing along copious amounts of newly found freedom and responsibility, but just how safe is Sunderland for students?

Student accommodation is certainly more secure than it used to be with halls of residence such as Sunderland’s Panns Bank boasting self-locking doors to each flat, large security gates and 24hr CCTV coverage. In August, only two minor acts of crime were committed around the Panns Bank area possibly due to numerous police initiatives that have been put into practice in recent years to reduce crime.

Moving to a new city can always be a daunting prospect for anybody but for a student as young as eighteen facing independence for the first time there’s always going to be times when personal safety seems like a major issue. Although statistics show around one-third of students become a victim of crime during their time at university, it’s reassuring to know that crime rates in Sunderland are rapidly falling, having dropped from 11,569 in the financial year of 2008/09 to 9,864 in 2010/11.

University of Sunderland campus police officer, PC Shane Jenness, states: “You’re not going to stop crime, it’s all about teaching students to be responsible and prevent it to a certain degree.” To do this, Northumbria Police organised various talks at the University of Sunderland during freshers week advising students on how to stay safe and offering free property marking.

Dominic Rogers, a first year student at the university, said: “The on-campus police are good facility to have as they’re completely confidential and can help out with any safety and property issues you may face during your time at university.”

Crime rates in Sunderland were 20% lower than those in Newcastle last year and the university/police liaison hope to reduce this rate even further by providing advice and support to students along with trying to eliminate the “it won’t happen to me” attitude the majority of students have towards crime.

PC Jenness can be contacted on (0191) 515 3999 to report an incident or make enquiries. The campus police are located in Unit 4, Technology Park, City Campus.

 

Review of Numbers For Street Names EP by City Reign

Cr

Welcome to the wonderful world of City Reign where four ordinary Mancunians have gigged themselves to extremeties, received praise from Radio 1's very own Steve Lamaqc and even found the time to set up their own record label. After all that hard work you'd think they'd have packed their bags and gone their seperate ways but no, City Reign are still going strong with EP Numbers For Street Names set for release on November 21st.

Opening track Making Plans oozes slight Placebo-esque qualities with the addition of more upbeat rhythms making it much more easy-listening. Sleep Easy continues the EP with somewhat lethargic guitars providing a woozy feel.

Being the strongest track on the EP, The Line breaks the mould with its steady instrumentals and powerful instrumentals sure to get you tapping along. This song clearly shows the reason City Reign have been gigging to extensively as it is the perfect song to be played live.

Lead singer, Chris Bull, puts on a real performance during Out in the Cold boasting compelling vocal work backed up by unyielding instrumental work as can be expected from the four-piece.

Anywhere, Anyway concludes the EP taking a different approach replacing their energetic, indie-rock sound with a newly found softness in their music mainly due to the inclusion of an acoustic guitar.

Although nostalgic of the likes of The Joy Formidable and Oasis, City Reign add a modern touch and bring something relatively new to the table which is definitely worth a listen.

****

Summer Holidays

Another little assignment I had to do for uni on my summer holidays...enjoy!

Abi xx

When you hear the term “summer holidays” you think of bustling music festivals, smoky British barbecues and travelling to some exotic far-away island. So upon asking me what I did this summer my usual reply would be: “Oh, I just sat chilling on some beach with golden sands and beautiful 40˚c sun” but in actual fact it’s more along the lines of “I worked in Specsavers.” Not quite so thrilling as you can probably tell.

Working on a nine till five, Sunday to Thursday shift wasn’t exactly the original picture I had in my head for the ideal summer and was in fact rather tiresome. The constant texts I received saying: “U comin out? xx” and “Party tonight at mine, be there! xx” were often ignored as I reluctantly shuffled back to work after my short but sweet lunch break. 

However monotonous it can be repeatedly adjusting patients’ glasses until they’re finally satisfied can be, surprisingly the job did have it’s rare yet substantial upsides. Obviously having £800 enter your bank account each month for you to spend freely was one of the major advantages but that didn’t really raise the enjoyment factor of the job.

When you’re spending your entire summer working in retail you’re bound to come across the odd person you can have a good old chat with including previous teachers, fellow students and even your own grandmother. I’m no comedian but I remember striking up a conversation with this lovely elderly lady that resulted in her laughing so hard she fell off her chair. Luckily she was free from harm, as I prefer not to be named the cause of an OAP’s injuries, yet I’ll always mark that as one of the highlights of my time at Specsavers.

I also recall the time I received an offer of a free trip to Las Vegas with a drunken 61 year old that I immediately turned down without a second thought due to the fact that the kind fellow seemed to be rather “interested” in me and obviously well out of my preferred age range. Although a little on the creepy side, my colleagues held it as a joke against me for the remaining two months that I was working there which I found somewhat hilarious.

Although the job had more downs than ups, it adequately filled the time of my summer holidays and meant that there were no days spent in my bedroom staring blankly and aimlessly at the Facebook home page like all the other kids in Rotherham.

Review of The Wombats at O2 Academy Newcastle on 06/10/11

The_wombats

Liverpudlian indie-rock trio, The Wombats have rapidly returned embarking on yet another UK tour after just six months since their last. Murph, Dan and Tord's followers have changed somewhat since the release of their debut album, 'A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation'. Back then in 2007, the fans mainly consisted of like-minded people in their late teens but the fans have slowly morphed into a bunch of fourteen-year-old screaming girls who seem to have taken to The Wombats' synth obsession and edgy pop anthems. That aside, the lads still know how to put on a show.

Norweigen six-piece, Team Me, warmed the crowd up with their lighthearted power-pop sounds sure to put a smile on anyones face. These were followed by Essex band, Morning Parade who aren't exactly newcomers to the music scene after touring with The Wombats previously and also having a headline show of their own scheduled for next month at the very same venue. Morning Parade put 110% effort into their set and produced a dynamic performance giving The Wombats a hell of a lot to live up to.

The three scousers finally entered stage to an enthusiastic roar from almost 2000 fans in the sold-out venue kicking things off with 'Our Perfect Disease', the opener to their 2011 album, 'This Modern Glitch'. The gig continued with tracks boasting The Wombats' signature upbeat, happy heartbreak themes.

Eccentric frontman, Matthew Murphy, whizzed across stage briskly changing between guitar and keyboard between songs occasionally throwing in the odd banter including discussion on their injuries undertaken after their paintball match with support act, Morning Parade. Mid-set, they slowed things down slightly to include '1996' providing a more serious side to things with lyrics such as "I had no cares in the 1990's, I knew of no downfalls. Was was breaking out all around me, my concerns were with prank calls". Yet still the fourteen-year-old audience seemed to be unaware of the more dramatic themes in this track as it was well past their generation.

The trio exited stage after 'My First Wedding' only to re-enter after much demand from the fans to play 'Anti-D' then speed things up again with one of their more reknown tracks 'Let's Dance to Joy Division' which prompted a flurry of bouncing amongst the crowd and a rather epic sounding repetition of "We're so happy!" which said it all really.

The conclusion? Even though The Wombats might not have the most fashionable crowd of followers anymore they still have the same ability to produce amazing music and put on an outstanding live show unlike most bands around today.

*****


 

It's official...Steve Jobs has passed away.

After a long battle with severe pancreatic cancer the CEO of Apple has passed away.

Steve-jobs
Steve Jobs co-founded the first successful line of personal computer's in the 1970's under the name of the Apple II series. This later became Macintosh in the 80's before he temporarily resigned only to return to the business as CEO in 1997.

Since then Apple have gone on to create iPods, iPads, iMacs and all the other gadgets under the Apple brand that we know and love today. 

Apple released a statement in memory of their former-CEO stating: "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

http://www.apple.com/

Festivals

I had to write a 300 word piece for uni on something I enjoy and here's what I came up with...

‘Rain, booze and mud’ might be a slight variation on the usual ‘sun, sea and sand’ cliché but to be honest it sounds like a much more appealing concept to me. Throw in a bunch of above-average bands and I’d gladly choose the result over some trip to an exotic island in the middle of nowhere. You can’t beat a good old British music festival!

I am well aware that spending several days surrounded by sweaty campers might not to be everyone’s taste and that a large majority of people may not be brave enough to face the portaloos, or even worse, the long-drops. Nonetheless, 75,000 spectators faced the ankle-deep slosh of Leeds Festival 2011 (me included) so there has to be some attraction to the dire conditions of Bramham Park.

I stumbled across an article a couple of years ago summarising the festival experience as “ending up stuck behind a crowd of 30,000 people unable to see or hear a note”.  Seriously? Those sound systems are pretty big and if you’re that bothered you stand nearer to the front. It’s called atmosphere and any hardcore music fan will know that’s what gigs are all about.

Other than the attraction of heavily softened security measures to illegal activity, festival-goers can enjoy sipping a beer to the sound of some great music with a group of like-minded people intent on having a good time. This has to be one of the better and more liberating experiences of being a human.

You may wake up to find a tent pitched practically centimetres away from your nose, you may end up with a bin bag full of mud-stained clothes and you may be mildly malnourished after living off fast-food for a weekend. In spite of all that, it is highly likely that if you’re a music fan and can take the party lifestyle, you will return happy as larry and insistent on the belief it was the best weekend of your life.

 

Hello university!

As promised here are all my results :D

  • A2

Media: A

English Language: B

General Studies: C

Applied IT: D

  • AS

Psychology: D

  • Level 3

Key Skills Application of Number: Pass

So in total I got 410 UCAS points when I only needed 240 and therefore I'm off to study Magazine Journalism at Sunderland in September :D

Well done to everyone who got into uni and don't worry if you didn't, there are always other options! Good luck in the future everyone!

Abi xx