Direct Democracy - A Response

Sir,

In “Could Direct Democracy be the Future?” Mr William Clarke argues that with the use of modern technologies, voters could decide their own motions. Unfortunately this system does not work. Such a current system already exists in California without the use of technology, and it is through the use of the referendum and the initiative processes. The former sends a piece of pending legislation from the legislature directly to voters. The latter process, the initiative, is even worse. With enough signatures any registered voter can place a motion on the ballot. It is not uncommon then that there are often two measures on the ballot that aim for opposite goals. It is not uncommon that they both pass, with the measure receiving the most votes becoming law. Sometimes two similar motions are available, and when they both pass, the legislature has to somehow make a compromise between both. This has caused a great headache and has made California the most dysfunctional state in the United States. For example, California’s current education budget is officially around 40% of the state’s expenses. No precise figure can be given (i.e. no one knows how much is spent on education) because too many laws have passed through direct democracy. Furthermore, measures to increase social services are constantly approved, such as for education or the mismanaged high-speed train project (with construction yet to begin), whilst taxes are historically rejected, such as the infamous Proposition 13, which limits property tax increases and even makes increasing income taxes more difficult.

Overall, direct democracy does not work and is best left in the hands of the legislators. Perhaps they are career politicians, but if we can learn anything from the Ancient Athenians, it is that people don’t really want to serve on the legislature unless paid, and that most people do not have the inclination or the time to be involved in direct democracy.

Paul Geerligs

The Classics Day Gladiator

by Michael Brandon

2:30pm. After showering like all good calm Spartans do, I don my outfit, my red velvet cape contrasting against my rolled-up black pyjama bottoms and black sandals. I am dressing up for the Classics Day Gladiator contest, a gruelling marathon of events between the society’s finest physical specimens (and me). It would be merely one part of a humongous, glorious day, but by far the most important.

I arrive at 3pm in the South Quad of Founders, a fine scene for such a display of potent athleticism, and eventually I met up with the competitors; I am grouped against four male towers of strength and physical prowess, including Solidius the Centurion (Pierce Keating) and three other powerhouses, Will Clarke, Aldo Piscina and Ian Stewart. Stiff competition indeed, but no problems for a Spartan (after crossing my fingers and praying quietly to the pantheon not to get utterly trounced.) The female group was equally a fearsome sight to behold, made up of the goddess Lois Pearse, the ginger-headed Ellie Halstead, the swift Mattie Bradbury and the hockey-playing Kunika Kakuta.

The audience gathered, we were lined up and introduced to the cheering crowds by our Master of the Amphitheatre, Alex Payne, me barely able to keep a straight face as I stood there in my pyjama bottoms. Bets were made, and then, under the grey, grim skies of England, the tournament began.

The foot-race I had banked on winning; it would be a sprint across the grassy marsh of the quad and back. A slow start put me behind despite my brilliant pace, and I slipped on my knees as I made the turn back. Catching up, I overstretched and fell flat on my CGI six-pack, getting my (sister’s) red velvet muddy and coming dead last. Mighty Solidius was in the lead with the first win.

Then came the welly toss, and looking at my gangly, skinny arms I just hoped I didn’t throw the damn thing backwards. Will and Aldo threw it as far as the path halfway across the quad, while Ian almost killed a member of the audience with his wayward throw. I took the stage. With a mighty Spartan cry I tossed the flying boot in a powerful arc, and to everyone’s surprise it beat everyone! “Are you not entertained!?!?” Payne cried to his audience. The Spartanator was up one win.

Next came the Egg and Spoon race and the Book Balance, and I was both completely crap at these; conversely, Aldo took the lead with two victories and a superb display of skill. Then came the super manly events; the Planks and the Push-ups. Despite my most courageous efforts (and winning 6 watermelons in the process), I was no match for the tower of power Ian Stewart, and he and Aldo were neck-and-neck on two wins. On the girls contest, Ellie was surprisingly running away with the wins, while Kunika suffered a crippling injury dissuading her from continuing.

Last but not least came the oration. The task: to orate Russell Crowe’s famous speech from Gladiator to the sound of epic music played by our audience (on a laptop, not by instruments). My competitors used their powerful voices to project their speeches all around the quad, reverberating their epic words off the walls of the beautiful Founders building. Then it was my go. Summoning the Spartan powers of melodrama and cheese, I blasted out my lines and fell to the floor in pure awesomeness. The voting went my way, and suddenly three of us were tied; Also, Ian and Yours Truly on two wins.

Medals were presented to the winners. Ellie won the ladies’ group by a clear margin of at least three wins, but for the men it went down to a cheering contest from the audience; whoever got the loudest cheers of approval would be the winner. Cries of joy and appreciation rang out from our audience. By a slight margin, I was declared the winner! Barely fitting the medal over my massive head, I accepted my reward with total shock and surprised confusion.

Thoroughly proud of my win, I returned home to change out of those damn painful sandals and readied myself for the last event of the day; the Classics Karaoke. Having only taken part in a small part of Classics Day, and yet becoming completely absorbed in it, I had a ton of fun and couldn’t imagine the amount of satisfaction had from those who took part in all of it, from our president Helen Rowland and the committee to Nicholas Hyder and the performers of Tales of Ovid, with Pierce, Kathleen Price and Sam Wright performing the sneak preview of our awesome show in the morning. In short, Classics Day was one our most successful days ever, rivalling even the brilliance of our charity fundraising for the Iris Project topped off with the Iris Ball in January.

Diablintes and Noviodunum

The Loire Valley is not renowned for its Roman archaeological value; more for its wines, cheeses and potent home-brewed calvados. Yet on my recent trip to this beautiful region of northern France I had the pleasure of spending a day at Jublains, (previously known as Noviodunum), a site of rare and fascinating historical interest.
The story of Noviodunum begins with the Gallic tribe of the Diablintes who inhabited the area and after whom the town was named, (a little etymological test for those of you so inclined.) The Romans moved in in the 1st century AD and transformed what was previously a small rural town into a rather noteworthy spot on the trail from the Channel down to Italy. Still standing there today is a full-sized amphitheatre, a temple to one of the local Gallic deities, a warehouse-turned-fortress, and the remains of a busy forum - under the modern church lurks a full set of baths, complete with a smooth-floored caldarium and exposed hypocaust. It is truly amazing to see how much of this town lies intact, not to mention the varied and well-preserved artefacts found on the site and housed in their museum. Statues, mosaics, coins, sarcophagi, weapons, tablets, headstones, pots, pans, jewellery, ornaments and amphorae have all been uncovered there, giving an unprecedentedly rounded view of the life that the town's inhabitants must have lived. Among the open, sunny streets there are still the most tantalising of traces of those ancient dwellers; walking up the slopes of the theatre, or peering over the walls into the inner sanctum of the temple, you almost feel as if you were walking amongst them.

Above, in order: the remaining walls of what was thought to be a storehouse for precious metals and other treasures, the amphitheatre, the covered remains of the local temple.

Fundraising!

After a fantastically successful Toga Week and Iris Ball in January, the fruits of our labours are becoming evident. Not only do we now have the amazing final total of £1538.70, but we have also been featured, in all our togarific glory, on the Iris Project Facebook page! Thank you to everyone who braved the snow, dressed up for the ball, donated, supported and generally made Toga Week the success that it was!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Iris-Project/289732900503

Valentine's Day Article from Iris Online!

http://irisonline.org.uk/index.php/features/features-archive/114-sex-games-power-and-the-birth-of-a-genre-in-rome

Toga Week is in full swing, and we hope to see a lot of our members providing support!
To those who have already donated or even stopped to cheer up our chilly fundraisers, thank you and we hope to see you at the Iris Ball to celebrate!

Gods and Monsters

Good old BBC Four has released another Classics-based program, featuring the poet Simon Armitage investigating the journey of Odysseus. Link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vtwnz/Gods_and_Monsters_Homers_Odyssey/

New Article from Iris Online

When In Rome Use The Underground