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Welcome to the second edition of The Fusioneer! This month is an election special and you will find not only views from two first time voters – Laura and Sam, but also news from the Youth Parliament and our own Matthew Percy who has been successfully elected as a Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) for Suffolk.

Climbing on the bandwagon, we have our own polls, and we hear from young people aged ten to eighteen on what they would like to see the next government do for young people.

Returning columnists Kristian and Alex provide us with a slice of life and new writer Charlotte shares with us a bit of wisdom on how we go about speaking about our faith to our friends.

We have the first of our regular feature "thoughts in season" and finally, as with the last issue, if you would like to contribute or you have some news/events/information you would like us to add, please do get in touch!

Every blessing as you read

KT

The Frugal Student

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Ever since I was a kid I have had a habit of saving money. Sometimes I would be saving up for something specific that I wanted to buy and sometimes I’d just save money for when I wanted to get something special. My first ‘big’ purchase was probably my Gameboy colour when I was about 10. It probably only cost about £40 at the time, and I got the Tetris game to go with it; I remember taking it to school and connecting up with my friend’s Gameboy using the infrared panel so that we could have a contest against each other... ah, those were the days!

Anyway, whilst I still have my Gameboy colour in a drawer somewhere, I have also bought many things during my lifetime which I used once and then never touched again – I’m talking about clothes, games, DVDs and other random stuff, things which I didn’t really want or need but bought anyway because... well, just because! I must have liked them at the time, and especially after I had saved some money from working at Sainsbury’s I suppose I didn’t really think very much about the cost.

But (and this is a big but), having started university last year, I have had to make some huge changes to the way in which I spend my money. All of a sudden I am in control of my own budget – I’m not just talking about a weekly allowance but all the money I need to live on. You get to uni and suddenly realise all the little things that you have to think about in life – not only accommodation and tuition fees but money for the washing machine, for all the food and drink that you eat, for clothes, for electricity, for books... even for paper to go in the printer! It’s a big responsibility, but it’s something that everyone has to learn at some point, and you definitely learn quickly when you’re in control of your money.

So, what is my point? My point is that learning to live frugally is a really fantastic thing to do and will be an incredibly useful skill for the future, especially if you are thinking about going to uni at some point in the future. A lot of people think that being frugal is the same as being tight and not buying anything new. However, Wikipedia defines frugality as the practice of “acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner” and “resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services.” So, whilst it is good to watch what you spend, being frugal is also about using what you already have. To me, it isn’t about missing out on things or punishing yourself with a strict no-spend policy. I think it’s more about spending the money that you have wisely, so that you can get the most out of it. This might mean deciding not to buy some things, or it might mean searching around to find vouchers or a better deal. If I see something that I like whilst I’m shopping, I rarely buy it straight away – instead, I think about it for a day or two and if I’m sure that I still want and need it, I’ll buy it then.

Of course, if you don’t have a lot of money, frugal living means that you will be able to get the most out of what you do have. But I think it’s still worthwhile even if you have more money than you know what to do with. In the Bible we are told that God gives us all things, and this includes our money – so it’s not really our money, it’s God’s – and he wants us to use it wisely. I once heard somebody say that we shouldn’t think about how much of our money we can afford to give back to God, but we should think about how much of God’s money we can afford to spend on ourselves. That doesn’t mean that we can’t spend anything ourselves, but it means that we should think carefully about how we spend what God has given us.

Why not see how much money you can save this month by living frugally, and donate whatever you save to a good cause? By watching what we spend, we can buy the things that we need and leave out the things that we don’t – this means that we will have more money left over to spend on other people, on enjoying life and ultimately, to give back to God.

You can read more of The Frugal Student on her blog

Kristian Reports

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In the first week of my Easter holiday I went to my church to help at my churches holiday club. The holiday club is for primary school children in KS1 and KS2.

This was a really good experience because I got to have fun, help the children with crafts and games and teach them about God.

The holiday club was called “seaside rock” and we taught the children about Peter and how God called him “the Rock”. In the holiday club we had teams: my team was called the eels. Other groups had names like shrimp, lobster, mussels and other.

I really enjoyed the club and it was great fun and very educational for the children. I am hoping to be able to help out next year, as i know it will be great fun.

Being Christian

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Hi I’m Charlotte and when my friend Kristian and my Christian union leader (Karen Turnbull) suggested that I should write an article for this magazine I thought it was a really good idea. The only problem was that I didn't have a clue what to write about.

Then as you do I had one of those random chats with someone which at the time you don’t think twice about but has a massive effect on something/someone in the future.
The conversation was about how you can say your a Christian, you've devoted your life to God etc. but then turn round and be really hypocritical. Because when you hear someone saying things like Christians are crazy, you cant live your life to the full if your a Christian etc. and you think well if I don’t agree but they will think I’m weird and laugh at me; and nobody really wants to be in that situation.

I've been in this situation many times and I’m sure you probably have been in it as well, I have dealt with it in many different ways and as my relationship with God was still developing I would listen to the person talking and half agree. Then I started to not want to listen and I just walked away.

Now I correct people mostly using the statement well who created the world? The most common answer is the big bang theory with the two particles but who put the two particles there? I suppose that if I were completely honest we will never find out till our dying day but the change that I spoke about earlier about how i react differently to people’s actions is enough prove that my beliefs are true and that God is in all of our lives if we just except and believe he's there.
That conversation had an effect on me because now I don't just start spouting off about how I’m a good Christian and how I’m a believer but stop and think about how I could really influence the person I’m speaking too.

To end this article I would like to say that just purely talking is a very powerful weapon that can be used for good or for evil.

Thoughts in Season

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Galatians 5:1
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery”

Pentecost, Whitsun, the birthday of the church – it is the season in which we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. He is God ever close, and with his help and love we are changed to be more like Jesus. We have the opportunity to grab hold of the freedom which has been bought for us by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

But to see that freedom at work in our lives we need to stand firm.

The Christian life is a journey, one which we start when we commit our lives to Jesus and finishes when he takes us home to heaven. As they say, there are no perfect Christians, only practicing ones.

It means we need to make time for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives through prayer, reading Gods word and worship. And though the everyday challenges we meet. Charlotte’s article is a good example of this.

So this Holy-Spirit season, how will you find more time to pray? Where could you meet with other Christians to read the Bible? And who is Jesus asking you to show special care for in spite of how you may feel about them?

Lets stand firm together in love, prayer and service to Jesus

First time voter at the elections

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Although I voted in the local elections last year, this will be my first time voting in the general elections. This small article will be about my opinions on the general election as a first time voter.

Currently, I am swaying between parties to vote for and different people keep trying to influence me. I have friends who are encouraging me to vote Tory or more liberal individuals suggesting I vote green. I have politicians and the media telling me that there is no point voting for anyone but Labour or Conservative because the other parties will never make it into power. Then there are sceptical middle-aged individuals who have seen enough of the political system to believe that whatever party they vote for, they are bound to mess it up anyway. This can make it very difficult to choose a party, despite investigating each party’s policy, I never fully agree with one party. Regardless, people keep telling me that parties are all the same and you can’t trust any of them. Nevertheless, they are the only government we have so we are going to have to trust them.

I have noticed that people complain about our political system, how unreliable politicians are and the way our country is run but they never do anything about it. I would not expect them to start protesting outside parliament or start up petitions, the easiest thing an individual can do is vote and make a difference.

Some people argue that there is no point because apparently the Conservatives are going to win but if everyone thought like that then they will. If everyone voted then I am sure the outcome would not be as set as many people believe it is. A big proportion of our country seem to have a negative attitude towards voting, consequently people do not bother to vote at all. This could be because they are not interested, do not trust politicians or simply cannot be bothered. However I do sense that many more people my age are more interested in our political system, which I think is fantastic.

Many politicians seem to target our age group because we are ‘the future of this country’ but I would like to think we are the present too. The liberal democrats in particular seem to appeal to many people my age because of their free higher education policy. However, I believe it is important to look past that policy designed to draw in the first time voters and make sure that we agree with the other policies too.

As a first time voter I want to ensure I am aware of all parties’ policies before I cast my vote. Many other voters I have spoken to who are not first time voters comment how enthusiastic and trusting I am in the political system and when I am older I will learn that political parties cannot be trusted. Perhaps this is true, but this is not going to stop me voting and the lack of trust in the political system should not stop others either. For we have a democracy and a chance to choose who and how we want our country run, so why do more people not use it? There are countries that lack freedom of speech and a democracy, so I believe people should start appreciate how lucky we are in our political system and vote.

My General Election Thoughts

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Okay, general election time, and it’s a toughie. I’ve got a couple of thoughts, and feelings and uncertainties. The first which I guess you may be thinking is well is he going to vote? Well the answer to this is YES. A couple of reasons for this, firstly as an 18 year old, it is important to exercise my new rights. Secondly, I don’t think I would cope well if a party I wasn’t particularly keen on (I shall reveal this later) got into power. Thirdly, I want to show that not all young people, are hoodie wearing, knife wielding thugs.

Now I am going to try to cover two constituencies, of which the main people who read this are likely to be situated. I shall start with my own constituency, this being Suffolk Coastal, this covers Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Wooodbridge and goes all the way to the coast (hence the name.) The current MP is a bloke called John Gummer (the name will be familiar by the end of this) and in the true tradition of Suffolk where things never change, John Gummer has been the MP since the birth of the constituency in 1983. John Gummer is a conservative, which brings me to my first major party. Now at this point I would very much like to slag off the conservatives, (especially John Gummer) but I said to myself I would try to keep my opinions and facts separate.

For you of those who don’t know traditionally the conservative party or the Tories as they are sometimes know, used to be very much into low taxes, and as little a welfare state as possible. This is great for the majority of us, middle class folks, who are part of families, and would benefit from lower taxes. As I go to a public school, I get asked the question “so why aren’t you going to vote conservative?” To which I reply “because I have a conscience” now this would be true until you introduce the curveball that David Cameron throws.

David Cameron seems to be an alright bloke, he seems to believe in some values, relating to the well being of people, in my opinion one of the reasons he is so popular. I get the impression his main aim is to “Cut the deficit” which from what I understand is a posh word for spending to much money. Now this is a recurring theme in most of the parties, but in my humble opinion when they answer “How?” whatever the party 99% of it is likely to be complete rubbish., because the simple matter of the truth is it just isn’t possible to reduce spending that much, yes to a degree it possible to cut some of this deficit but nowhere the amounts the parties are talking about. The ideal solution is to generate more money from taxing investment banks primarily, cutting the trident nuclear programme by a third like the USA and Russia, and very debatably leaving the EU which is costing us a lot for in my opinion now significant advantage.

Another of the Major parties is the Liberal Democrats. Now I can’t really give a history lesson in the liberal democrats because well all I know is that they want the voting system to use a system called proportional representation rather than first past the post. This basically means that instead of constituencies you vote for who you think will do the best job, and then the number of seats in the house of commons the party gets is based on the proportion of votes it gets.

The leader of the lib dems is Nick Clegg. Recently I have found him to be the most convincing and sincere leader. For those of you who watched the TV election debate both Gordon Brown and David Cameron where quoted to have said “I agree with Nick” now this to me is a sign of how good he might be or the other two parties are fishing for votes in the case of a hung parliament. To me Nick Clegg has the most to offer, one of the main things that attracts me to him is that he wants to cut all university tuition fees. Of course my point earlier means that this so expensive that it is never going to happen, even though it probably is the right thing to do. Of course the most off putting thing about Nick Clegg is the fact the first thing he did when he became leader of the party, he stated that he had slept with over 30 women, now to be that means he is a pretty shallow guy, and desperate for some attention, which he got mainly in the form of abuse.

The Final Major party is Labour. Labour traditionally was the exact opposite of the conservatives, and has views in line with a semi-socialist nature. Gordon Brown is the current leader of the Labour party. Now there are a couple of major issues to address over what Gordon Brown has had to deal with in the last couple of years. Firstly the recession. I really do believe that the recession is not Browns fault. It was the banks, insurance companies and people like Bernie Madoff. Now this isn’t to say that Brown handled the recession well, he was late to react, and when he did, he didn’t really do anything that special, but it was not the labour governments fault.

The next big one is the whole expenses scandal. Now a lot of labour MPs have been accused of over claiming for lots of things, but actually the conservative party where actually marginally worse. The lib dems wasn’t too bad but still not great, and in fact today, I read an article of Nick Clegg trying to account for his rather large expenses claims.

Another problem of the Labour party, is corruption. Most notably that of Geoff Hoon (and some other peeps I can’t remember their names, cause I am trying to save the space for physics, biology and chemistry stuff) who was alleged to have been charging businesses over £3000 a day to try and push for changes in the law that would benefit the company. So yeah that is a pretty epic fail on Gordon Brown’s side.

Now as I have been on my wanderings, I have seen literally masses of Ben Gummer (that name again) signs about town. He is the conservative candidate for the Ipswich area, which is basically Kesgrave, Rushmere and Ipswich. Now I decided to do a little bit of research on Gummer Junior. To my surprise I discovered that his main aim is to prevent Ipswich Hospital from receiving a funding cut, which to me is a good bit of news. I also happen to know that Ben Gummer sends, in an attempt to get younger voters, birthday cards to people on there 18ths.

Anyway what am I doing? Well. Two days ago I received a letter from a Mr A. Leeder (no word of a lie his name is Adam Leeder), the labour candidate. He stated that 5 years ago he voted for the first time and that he wanted young people to have a chance to say as much as they want, when they want, about whatever the want. So at the moment I am very much leaning towards labour, because it is nice to have a politician who understands young people and is willing to listen.

So my top tips of the election are:

Do what you think is right. Vote or don’t vote, its your choice, but bear in mind if you are a first time voter, think about the messages you are sending out.

Keep your mind open. I haven’t fully shut off the idea of voting for a different party (even the Tories)

Do your research, if you have the time. Learning about the candidates from different sources, can be very beneficial.

Don’t feel you have a vote according to what others think, make up your own minds.

Don’t waste your vote. Currently the situation of a hung parliament is highly likely. If you are planning to vote for a party such as the green party, or UKIP, bear in mind if your vote is going to make the slightest bit of difference and if it would be better to vote for one of the larger parties.