Have Your Say with our Blogs and letters from St Albans Review

I’ve just turned 21 this month (February 2009) and I’m currently studying Philosophy with Journalism at the University of Hertfordshire. That said I’m not originally from the local area, in fact I come from Lancashire (and I’ve been told by friends I’m a Lancashire lass through and through) so I’ve travelled a bit to be here.
I love the humanitarian aspects of politics and world affairs and often cannot help ranting about my views on injustice to those who will listen (and those who won’t!). I’m also a huge film lover, I’ll watch anything once and I have a wide range of favourite films, from Fred Astaire films, to Blood Diamond, to anything Disney. Apart from that I love to read, go to the theatre (Theatre was my first real career goal and passion, but that all changed a couple of years ago) visit art galleries, travel and just in general act like the manic I am!

The Government: Fighting Terrorism or Breeding Extremism?

The word terrorist in our society carries with it a number of connotations. In the UK today it seems to stir up images of young extremist Muslim men who hate the English. Men who are nothing but cold, brutal people who do not care about the lives they destroy. In other words they are stone cold, heartless killers. And it’s not always Muslims people picture when they think terrorist, it seems we have a tendency to jump right in and imagine any poor person of ethnic origin who may or may not be wearing a turban. But is this general stereotype going to help us really win the ‘War On Terror’ (I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact you can fight a war using the exact tool you’re suppose to be fighting against – terror!). If the image of some poor A Level chemistry student whose name just happens to be Ali is going to fill the public with terror every time we see them than how are we ever going to stop small minorities feeling as though they are persecuted against - something which is surely more likely to push them towards extreme measures than a simple family trip to see their relatives abroad?

What A Difference A University Year Makes

When I first started this piece it was the day after I sat my Political Philosophy exam, it was my last exam of the year and the last piece of work I’ll ever do as a second year. But once I’d got over the horrible after feeling that exams leave you with, I was left with another slightly depressing but yet wholly liberating feeling about how amazing this year has been.

Dance Of The Future

On Wednesday 29th of April I had the pleasure of watching the world premiere of ‘Rain Parade’, the latest work from the dance company Lost Dog, which also supported by a commission form DanceDigital. The premiere was held at the Weston Auditorium at the University of Hertfordshire and lasted approximately 45 minutes. The story behind the dance focuses on two people, a man and a woman, locked together in a room in what the audience is left to assume is a post apocalyptic world. Within this room there are television screens which reveal eyes watching the two protagonists, as well as a chair specifically designed to remove both of their memories if they desire. As a result it first appears that neither man nor woman remember anything of the outside world, in fact they cannot even remember their own names.

University Just A Foot In The Door Or Fundamental Life Training?

I don’t know about what everyone else thinks, but it seems to me university today is being seen as less of a life lesson and instead more as a means to an end to get a high paying career.

'The Begining Of a Beautiful Friendship...'

What to expect from The University Of Hertfordshire's very own budding ethical journalist Elizabeth Norman....