#272

ear Readers,

Thanks for picking up a copy of Impact!

For this edition, a lot of our articles focus on ‘home’. Starting higher education is the first time many of us have moved away, and splitting our time between two places evolves and changes our concept of home.

University can become a second home for many. Anna Boyne’s article focuses on finding your ‘home away from home’ in sport mate solidarity. Our story on ‘Movember’ highlights the strength in the student community.

But sometimes finding a ‘home’ at university can be tricky. Amy Evans’ feature brings attention to how living in halls can be tough.

Finding the right housing at university can also pose a challenge – our ‘house share from hell’ article spotlights some of the struggles that come with living with housemates that I am sure some of you know about!

And our Investigations Team interviewed UoN students to find out their experiences with landlords and letting agencies.

As always, thank you to the whole Impact team for all their work on this edition, and to our former Music Editor, Gemma Cockrell, for resuming Impact duties to bring us some brilliant page designs.

A special thank you to Cora-Laine Moynihan, our previous Print Editor, for all her work. We wish her all the best on her future ventures.

See you around campus, Lucinda Dodd, Editor-in-Chief

Illustration & Page Design by Zainab Shakeel

MINI NEWS STORIES

Students Gather on Portland Steps for Transgender Day of Remembrance

Students Back Lecturer Strikes

81% of UoN student voters are in favour of UoNSU supporting lecturer strikes. UoNSU hosted a referendum asking students to vote on whether they want the Union to support the University and Colleges Union (UCU) current industrial action.

1,100 students voted, with a majority of 891 electing to support the strikes. 151 students voted against, 49 abstained, and 9 spoiled their ballots.

UCU members have been striking with regularity over the past few years - last academic year, there were 20 days of teaching lost to strike action.

At the end of November, 70,000 staff members across 150 universities took part in strike action over pay, working conditions and pension disputes.

The referendum was initiated by the fulltime UoNSU officers. Explaining why the referendum was initiated, Union Development Officer Sultan Chaudhury stated: “I said I would advocate for clearer opportunities for input on the things that affect us as students. This year I have called for a Referendum to allow students to give their voice to what position we as a Union should take on the action in its entirety.”

By Gareth Holmes

Over 100 Nottingham students have turned out to honour the memory of transgender people. The group met on Sunday 20th November at Portland steps for Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). Candles illuminated the sky, calling for global acknowledgement of transphobia.

At the vigil, which was organised by students, speakers from Nottingham Trans Collective delivered poems of personal victimisation and honoured the deceased. The organisation provides support to members of the LGBTQ+ community. Following the speeches, the names of those whose lives have been lost were shared, followed by a two-minute silence in remembrance.

The annual Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honour the memory of Rita Hester - a transgender woman killed in 1998. Since then, vigils are continued to be lit across the country to commemorate all the transgender people lost to violence.

According to data from Stop Hate UK, 2,630 Hate Crimes against transgender people were recorded by the UK Police in 2020/21, an increase of 16% from the previous year (Home Office, 2021). Worldwide, 327 murders of trans and gender-diverse people were reported between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022 (Trans Respect, 2022).

Following the vigil, Nottingham Trans Collective offered a community event with music, food, and games to support and show kindness to the community. TDOR focuses on the resilience of the community and highlights the work that it believes needs to be done.

By Lucy Popham

Activist Group Protest UoN Careers Fair

Student activist group ‘Demilitarise UoN’ disrupted a University of Nottingham (UoN) engineering careers fair over the University’s alleged ties with 18 companies involved in the arms trade.

The group staged a ‘die-in’, where they laid in the middle of the fair in lab coats and clothing covered in fake blood. They held up a large banner that said: “UoN has blood on their hands.”

Protesters spoke into a megaphone, saying of those 18 companies: “They approach us during our degrees with offers that look immediately rewarding, while they downplay their role in creating and sustaining globally destructive conflicts. That is an underhanded and deeply unethical method of recruitment, and the University of Nottingham knows this.”

In response to the protest, UoN commented: “The University does not invest in the arms trade or conduct research into weapons.”

“We were content to facilitate peaceful protest which minimised disruption for the many students who were attending the careers fair to consider their future careers with a wide range of national and global employers.”

“The University does not invest in the arms trade or conduct research into weapons. We have partnerships with global engineering companies that bring major benefits to students’ studies, research, and employment prospects. However, these are limited to specific projects such as sustainable propulsion systems and energy storage.”

In a statement on their Instagram, Demilitarise UoN protesters said: “We want ethical, green, sustainable careers that Nottingham could be leading the higher education landscape in, instead we are pushing students into jobs that harm others.”

By Poppy Read-Pitt

Worried Students Quiz Politicians About Cost Rises

Nottingham students have quizzed university officials on the cost of living crisis at a UoN Cost-of-Living talk. Many issues were raised, including concerns about the unequal effect that the cost of living crisis is having on international students, due to language barriers and many other factors. The event took the form of a ‘Question-and-Answer’ session with two panels.

The student audience were given an opportunity to address key challenges caused by the cost of living, which were outlined by the SU Community Officer, Daisy Forster. Concerns surrounding maintenance loans and increased reliance on parental funding were discussed throughout.

The first panel - consisting of Lilian Greenwood MP, Alex Norris MP, and Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis. It was chaired by the Students’ Union’s (SU) current Union Development Officer, Sultan Chaudhury. The panel was asked about problems affecting students such as exploitation by landlords, affordable housing for students, racial biases in housing accessibility, and the unfairness of the triple-lock for young people.

The second panel - with Mark Bradley (the current University Associate “Pro-Vice Chancellor’’), Janette Alvarado-Cruz, (Associate Director of EDI initiative), Robert Peck (Senior Manager for Funding and Financial Support), and Sultan Chaudhury - focused more closely on the steps that the University is taking to increase support to students. NSTV’s Creative Director, Olivia Conroy, hosted the panel.

By Hannah Walton-Hughes

Lecturers and Staff at UoN Join the UCU Strikes

Lecturers and staff from the University of Nottingham (UoN) partook in three days of strikes at the end of November, following the 20 days of strike action last academic year.

As many students grow increasingly anxious about lost teaching time, the union urged students to support their decision to strike on the 24th, 25th, and 30th of November, stating that: “Staff working conditions are student learning conditions,” and their success will lead to “good learning conditions for students in future”. Those striking say they see little option due to the state of current staff working conditions and the refusal of the university management to negotiate, which they view as a “heavy-handed attack on our profession”.

Last academic year, many students were left frustrated and worried about looming exams and assessments due to strikes that took place across five weeks of the 2021/22. With the return of strikes, there were mixed opinions amongst students about whether to show support. While some students boycotted the Trent building in solidarity of staff members, others expressed impatience with the loss of learning. One student said, “I sympathise but it’s frustrating that the strikes have such an impact on my education.” Other students stated that the effects of the strikes have left them feeling “unmotivated”, making their assessments much more “challenging”.

The possibility of further strike action has left many feeling increasingly anxious as the Autumn exam season approaches. The University of Nottingham University Colleges Union (UCU) branch insisted that while they “fully understand the frustration about the repeated cancellations of classes, [the

university’s management] leaves us with no alternative but to escalate our actions.”

The continued industrial action challenges issues of staff working conditions and involves more than 70,000 staff across the UK. One of which is the dramatic decline in staff pay by 25.5% since 2009, a trend that looks set to continue despite the rising workload. Staff pensions have also been threatened by suggested cuts of up to 35%. An increasing casualisation of staff threatens lecturers, with only a third now on fixed-term contracts. Some staff also face large pay gaps: women observe a pay gap of 20.3%, 11.7% for BAME staff, and 9% for disabled staff nationally.

When asked for comment, a UoN spokesperson said: “Although this is a national industrial dispute, the University of Nottingham is already acting locally to address many of the issues - much of which has been agreed with our UCU Branch.”

They detailed additional pay given to staff dependent on their levels, made possible by the University making “local payments of 3% on top of the nationally negotiated award of 3%.” They further added that “the pension scheme will undergo its next valuation in 2023 and, subject to consultation, [UoN] has committed to supporting the improvement of staff benefits or the reduction of contribution levels to the scheme.”

Support is available to students who face disruptions in the form of online resources and extended assessment deadlines.

By Esme Mckenzie

M O v e m b e r

UoN Students Unite to Support Men’s Health Charity M O v e m b e r

Students at the University of Nottingham (UoN) raised over £65,000 for the global charity Movember as a collective effort to raise awareness of men’s mental, physical, and sexual health. Throughout November, the students engaged in fundraising activities either individually or as part of one of the Students’ Union’s sports clubs or societies.

The donations raised by the students will contribute to more than 1,250 men’s health projects worldwide funded by Movember. Each project aims to improve research about; challenge the stigma about; or provide medical and clinical support for the following areas:

- Prostate Cancer

- Men’s Health

- Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

- Testicular Cancer.

As part of the awareness campaign, male students shaved their facial hair and grew a moustache - encouraging supporters to donate to the specific challenge page on the Movember website for UoN students. Students unable to grow moustaches - as well as those wanting to contribute more - completed alternative activ-

ities and challenges. These activities included sports matches between the UoN sport clubs and other universities’ clubs; walking or running 60 km across the month; and nights out.

Across the 30 days, students tracked their fundraising via a leaderboard, where they could compare their results with other societies or individuals at the university.

One of the biggest individual fundraisers, Joe Gomersall - a member of the Brazilian Ju Jitzu Society - shared with Impact that he chose to support Movember after tragically losing a friend to suicide earlier this year. “He was such a caring, funny and loud character and this moment really woke me up to how significant the men’s mental health crisis is.”

Gomersall praised Men’s Health Active and Movember for their campaigns to increase conversations about men’s health, stating: “It helps struggling men realise that there is no strength in silence and opening up is completely fine. Helping to promote this message is so crucial to prevent this happening to the people we all love around us.”

By Cora-Laine Moynihan

MOVEMBER

The leading charity dedicated to changing the face of Men’s Health

One in Ten men around the world are living with an anxiety disorder

Photography by Thomas Acratopulo, Christy Clark and Lottie Murray

Impact Investigates - Letting You Down: Student Renting Horror Stories

Straight from halls or their parents’ homes, students often head into their privately-rented accommodation wideeyed, expecting a problem-free year of living. However, a very different reality sometimes awaits. In collaboration with Nottingham Student Television (NSTV) and University Radio Nottingham (URN), Impact interviewed University of Nottingham students to see whether they found their landlords and letting agencies to be offering a fair and reasonable service.

The team spoke to Marcus Blowers, now a Masters student, about his experience of renting in his second year.

came after they moved out and were told to pay £600 for a professional clean, despite previously being informed this wasn’t necessary. After they queried this, further charges were demanded for issues including a broken TV - “which it wasn’t”, he claims - and pest control services. The landlords continued to pressure the students, and told them if they backed down, and paid for the services, they wouldn’t be charged any extra fees: “They threatened us”.

Blowers and his housemates contacted an Advisor at the University of Nottingham Students’ Union’s Accommodation Services and disputed the charges formally through the Deposit Protection Service (DPS). This resulted in the extra charges being dropped.

“The main thing we had a problem with while we were there was a rat that kept coming in,” he said.

“At one point, it chewed through a wire which ended up electrocuting one of our housemates.”

Blowers then stated that more problems

A third-year History student, Will, had similar successes with the DPS. A month before he was due to leave the property, Will said that he and his housemates came home to find the landlord and a contractor cutting through their broadband cable. When Will confronted them, they immediately denied it.

“there was a rat that kept coming in”

“I was like, ‘We just saw you!’” Will laughed. The issues forced them to leave the property early, after which Will and his housemates were also charged for a professional clean.

This led to further friction: “I asked for an invoice from the cleaning company, and they sent me a fake invoice. The numbers were different…and the company didn’t exist, the address was just a random residential property.”

Matthew Kempton currently rents his eight-bedroom flat through a local letting service. Upon finalising the contract last academic year, Matthew and his housemates were excited to move into their new property. However, by September, it was clear that the letting agency was not able to provide the service promised.

Kempton and his flatmates told Impact that they experienced many issues including a broken boiler and full-to-the-brim bins that they claimed had not been emptied since 2019.

The students alleged that they also realised that the inventory they had received contained photos from the house next door, which the landlord also owned. Once the students threatened to take it to a tribunal, via the DPS, the letting agency backed down and they received their full deposit.

The tenants were told to report any issues they had through an online form. However, feeling they were waiting an unreasonable amount of time for resolutions, the tenants felt they could no longer rely on the form system. When new problems appeared, Kempton decided to visit the offices of the letting agency.

reason

all this was because we were students,” Will insisted.

When the lock on their front door had broken, the tenants were unable to access their property from the outside. They had to depend on someone letting them in from the inside. They told Impact that it took them three days to get in contact with the landlord about this issue. After that, the students say the landlord contacted a locksmith, but no one ever came to fix the door. The tenants had to resolve the matter themselves using WD40 so that they could access the property.

‘Once the students threatened to take it to a tribunal, via the DPS, the letting agency backed down and they received their full deposit’

“the only reason they tried all this was because we were students”

“The only

they tried

By this time (two months into a twelvemonth contract), the group felt that the agency was providing an unacceptable service. Therefore, when a rat was found in the flat, the students resorted to calling pest control instead of contacting the letting agency. They suspected that the agency would not sort the issue out in the timeframe needed.

Another student who expressed dissatisfaction with their letting agent was Anna Boyne. Boyne also lives in a house of eight people but signed her contract with a different letting agency. During her interview with Impact, Boyne stated many issues with the letting agency and the long period of time she and her housemates would have to wait for a desired resolution.

Issues such as a broken microwave, a fridge without a door, and a broken washing machine saw the group wait up to two weeks for the items to be fixed, despite the group constantly trying to get in contact with the agency. Like Kempton, Boyne and her housemates gave up on reporting issues to their letting agency, choosing to fix the problems themselves.

It is clear that change is needed to make landlords and letting agents more accountable.

-

Impact contacted the agencies and individuals named in the interviews, however, none responded. All names and identifiable data have been redacted as a result.

Impact’s Advice:

- Carefully research letting agencies and landlords before you sign.

- Talk to students in older years to find out their experiences with certain letting agencies.

- If you have any problems with your accommodation, talk to the Students’ Union’s Accommodation Services

- Read up on your rights as a tenant

By Investigations Team: Gareth Holmes, Arabella Mitchell, Kit Sinclair, Cora-Laine Moynihan, Ben Mellor and Olivia Conroy

Illustration & Page Design by Zainab Shakeel

Comment - Homelessness in Nottingham: Why Is The Situation So Bad?

Homelessness in Nottingham is growing and there are fears the problem could get worse. Government officials have revealed that more than 1,200 people are described as homeless in the city. Lottie Murray investigates the root causes of the problem, and highlights some positive initiatives being taken to help the homeless.

Nottingham City Council says that their responsibility is to offer ‘help and support to everybody who is sleeping rough in Nottingham.’ It is important that this commitment, made by the council, includes addressing all circumstances contributing to homelessness.

However, Nottingham City Council claims that it’s difficult to provide support to every single person sleeping on the streets because “not everyone accepts the offered support, for complex reasons that may include drug and alcohol addiction or mental health issues.”

The stigma surrounding homelessness seriously damages the likelihood of victims of substance abuse reaching out for help. Critics of the homeless are known to say ‘they don’t deserve help because they got themselves into this mess.’ This damaging outlook can discourage homeless people from seeking support.

Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East,

maintains that people often become homeless due to being evicted from privately rented homes. “We have to shift the balance of power in the private rented sector away from landlords towards protecting tenants, through rent controls and stronger tenants’ rights.”

Whittome believes that to help remedy the issue: “We must urgently build more council housing, which has been sold off and not replaced for decades. Plentiful council housing could provide people with long-term, secure homes at rents that are genuinely affordable.”

As the UK plunges deeper into a cost of living crisis, more people facing homelessness is inevitable.

So, what support is there currently for those sleeping rough in our city, and how can students get involved?

The University of Nottingham has announced that they are once again partnering with Emmanuel House to reopen their winter shelters to the wider community.

The partnership means that 27 people are offered shortterm emergency accommodation a night

“As the UK plunges deeper into a cost of living crisis, more people facing homelessness is inevitable”

To find out more about volunteering with Souprunners, check out their Instagram: @nottinghamsouprunners

To volunteer with Emmanuel House, check out their website: https://www.emmanuelhouse.org.uk /volunteering/

through the coldest months. Last year’s Winter Shelter provided 2,067 nights of protection for 72 people.

Although the shelters are a temporary solution to a longterm issue, it’s reassuring to learn that the outcome for 37 of the residents at the shelter last year was that they were supported into longer-term secure accommodation.

The University is encouraging students to get involved with volunteering at the shelters on University Park Campus,

and there are also different ways that students can have a positive impact on individuals who are homeless all year round.

Nottingham Souprunners are a UoN student-led volunteering service who carry out food distributions in the city centre. Volunteers for this charity go out and have conversations on a weekly basis with people who are sleeping rough in the city. One soup runner told Impact that the group visits the city

centre and “helps to feed around 20 unhoused people.”

Whilst it is good to see that there are some support systems in place for those facing homelessness in Nottingham, it’s evident that there’s a long way to go.

By Lottie Murray

Photography courtesy of Gemma Cockrell Page Design by Gemma Cockrell

45 Years On: Nottingham’s Annual Reclaim The Night March

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ (RTN) march returned to Nottingham on Saturday 22nd October 2022 after halting throughout the pandemic. An annual event for the past 45 years, the rally originates from Peter Sutcliffe’s (The Yorkshire Ripper) murders during the 1970s. To which a part of the police’s response to the constant threat of Sutcliffe was to advise women to avoid public spaces after dark. In retaliation to this ridiculous advice, women staged a protest where they sought to ‘reclaim the night’, and, ever since, this protest has become a tradition.

Although not always held annually, RTN protests have happened across the vast majority of major cities in the UK and abroad. The overarching theme of all of these marches -as was the theme of the march held in Nottingham - is ending violence against women.

RTN Nottingham started at Sneinton market and proceeded to march through the city

centre, chanting things like: “women united will never be divided” and “whatever we wear wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no”. Armed with drums and megaphones, it felt like the march could be heard all across the city. Even if the noise of the march couldn’t be heard across the city, the message of it could certainly be felt. Misogynistic violence is an issue that seems as prevalent now as it did 45 years ago when these marches first began.

Naturally, there has been some progress, but it’s still generally understood that every woman or femme presenting person has had some act of violence carried out against them because of their sex or gender presentation. Whether that’s emotional violence (someone acting irrationally or angrily after being romantically or sexually rejected, for example), physical violence or sexual violence; all of them are vastly commonplace and deeply rooted in a disregard for our gender and sex.

Obviously, it’s a different -

arguably more free - experience being a woman now than it was in the 1970s, but the frameworks of power that plagued women then are still in place now. The ignorant and misogynistic policing) that inspired RTN 45 years ago is still an issue. You only need to look at the advice police gave women if they were worried about the actions of an officer after the murder of Sarah Everard (call 999, flag down a bus or challenge their legitimacy) to see that their general attitude hasn’t really changed. They’re still putting the onus of safety and responsibility onto women and still denying the structural issues at play.

At the rally which followed the march, Nadia Whittome highlighted the issues that trans women, migrant women and sex workers face. Rose Khoshirat, the founder of Freedom for Iran, spoke about the humanitarian crisis in Iran.The march and rally was a great show of solidarity, and it was lovely to see women come together to support one another about issues at home and abroad.

By Poppy Read-Pitt

Design Page and Illustration by Catrin Dimond

Illustration by Catrin Dimond

HOUSE SHARE FROM HELL

We’ve all had that one housemate that seemed to have a few screws loose or who just seemed to live life a bit differently from the rest of us. Love ‘em. Hate ‘em. It’s entirely up to you. But sometimes, housemates can really take the cake. Impact asked our readers for their worst housemate stories and rounded up the worst of the worst. Here are the stories that turn a house share into hell.

“They never dry their clothes. Just shoves them in a bag for life and leaves them. Whenever they want new clothes, they just grab some out of the bag, still wet, and put them on. We had to buy a new chair

“I used to live with a guy who only ever drank or did drugs. Never ate. Living life like Bon Jovi - sleeping around. Every morning I’d wake up to find his evening fling and have to break the news that he wouldn’t call her again because he would just ghost them.”

to get away from them and the smell”

“Was seeing a guy from NTU while trying to get along with his ex who was my housemate”

“My housemate – whose bedroom was directly above mine – used to bounce a ball whilst he studied.”

“They just play James Blunt songs all the time when we’re trying to study”

“We only recently discovered that he has been lying about going to UoN and the year he was in - he goes to Trent”

“It really felt like a war”: Professor Van-Tam Shares His Pandemic Experience

Lucinda Dodd met with Britain’s famous one-time Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, in his University of Nottingham (UoN) office to discuss his experience of working through a pandemic which, he fears, may not be the last of our lifetimes.

When I visited Jonathan Van-Tam in his university office I was immediately struck by three intriguing items on his table. There was a mug featuring his photo-shopped face, a model of an old-fashioned ambulance and a reptile object I can’t quite identify. When asked about the reptile, he revealed:

“That’s a leaving gift from another wing of the government,” before explaining that it’s a pangolin. He further expanded that the reptile was “implicated potentially in the movement of the SARS-CoV-2 virus - from bats, to pangolins, to humans - and so they decided to gift me with a plastic pangolin.”

Addressing the other two items on his desk, he shared that four medical regiments gave him the model of a Land Rover ambulance once deployed by the British Army after he presented a lecture for them. Rotating the mug to show more of his face, he declared “This is a Lincoln City mug. The boys and girls in the Department of Social Care have carefully emblazoned me on, knowing full well that if Boston United - that’s my team - have any kind of arch rivals, it’s Lincoln!”

Professor Van-Tam became an overnight household name during the pandemic. Regarding this sudden fame, he shared that prior to assuming his government advisory role, he received training to prepare him for potential media exposure. However, he insists: “Nothing prepares you for the amount of publicity that I got during the Covid pandemic. Nothing made us able to predict the daily press conferences.”

Despite the stresses of existing in the public eye to address such a serious issue, he asserted that there were lighter moments: “You know, the kind of public accolade, and the T-shirts, and the mugs and all those kind of daft bits, which as a scientist, you don’t go looking for.”

Without apparently seeking it, Professor Van-Tam developed a devoted fan base during the first lockdown. His idolisation by some resulted in the creation of very interesting merchandise. A Van-Tam prayer candleselling on Amazon for £18 at one stage - qualified as “the craziest and the most amusing thing!”

He also mentioned a Facebook page established in his honour, jovially adding: “I’m surprised you’re not a member of the the JVT Facebook Appreciation Society!” The group has thousands of members, however, the professor conceded, “but I don’t go on that.”

I asked Professor Van-Tam about his routine before his high-profile press conferences. He revealed that ahead of Downing Street appearances he would be fueled by “a good cup of tea…It’s served in lovely fine bone china”. I point to the floral teacup on his table and ask if that’s the type. He nods: “It’s in the kind of genre of the Downing Street cup and saucer I liked to drink from.”

The other part of his routine was to find Larry The Cat: “I like cats, and a little bit of fur therapy before you do something stressful is quite calming.”

I inquired what Larry - perhaps currently the most permanent member of the British political scene - is like, and he revealed that Larry has two distinct sides: “He’s generally friendly but, because of the large number of visitors, he is self-willed, and does what he wants.”

We moved onto his life behind-the-scenes during the peaks of the pandemic, and the professor talked of the routine 16-hour working days: “They were typically a little bit lighter at the weekends, about 12 hours.” These days, which included meetings with officials and scientists, sometimes began with a 5:30 am phone call to Downing Street.

I was curious as to whether there was any relaxation time, he told me that - when possible - he’d go on a run: “You

Asked to identify his favourite song to run to, he says it depended on his mood. “So if I’m in a running-fast mood”- he laughs, admitting ‘fast’ is a relative term for him - “I like a bit of Flo Rida ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’whatever it’s called. That one gets your energy levels going. But I’ve very eclectic musical tastes - anything from 60s, through the 70s and into the current day. I’m mainly a 70s child”.

I asked him whether he has a stand-out Covid day: “Yes, I do. It was sometime in late November [2020] when I was working on the Vaccine Taskforce.”

On this day, they heard the news that the vaccine worked well to prevent infection and death. “At that point,” he admits, “I got very tearful - actually, in the privacy of my own home. I realised we were going to be able to bring this pandemic to a quicker close than we would’ve been able to without them.”

The professor revealed how once vaccines were created, the government was still only halfway there. Deciding how to dispense the vaccine was as much of a challenge: “Just getting the vaccines, so they were available, and then getting them delivered felt like a mission.”

Since Covid, there has been talk as to the likelihood and severity of future pandemics, so I wanted to get JVT’s scientific perspective. Alas this was rather bleak: “I can pretty much assure your readers,” he said, “that there’ll be at least one more pandemic in the 21st century. But probably more than that.”

He warned that there’s a link between pandemics and how humans currently treat the natural world: “The more humans encroach on the animal kingdom and on natural habitats, the more likely it is that we will come into contact with funny new infections, which have been there all along in animals - but not harming humans.”

“I’m not a climate change expert, but as humans encroach on animal habitats, there’s no question that we’re going to get exposed to more stuff.”

So what’s Sir Professor Van-Tam’s future now?

Stepping out of the limelight as UoN’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Medicine and Health Sciences, he identified the challenge to produce health care workers for the next generation: “If we stop producing healthcare workers who are really good,” he declares, “then we’ve failed in our social mission.”

By Lucinda Dodd

“They were typically a little bit lighter at the weekends, about 12 hours.”

get some music on, and get into your own zone.”

“It really felt like a war,” he declared, “every second counted, and every single jab mattered.”

Living In Halls Wasn’t For Me - And That’s Okay

Amy Evans delves into her time living in Cavendish Hall: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Good thing she learnt a thing or two and can offer advice to freshers who may be struggling now.

Communal living can be hard when it doesn’t live up to your expectations of making lifelong friendships and experiencing the ‘best years of your life’. Amy Evans reflects on her experience in Cavendish Hall, dispelling some of these popular misconceptions and offering advice to those who might struggle to settle in.

‘I had such high expectations that, when Cavendish fell short of these, I found it began to overshadow other aspects of university life’

Contrary to what’s advertised on the posters around campus, Cavendish never became my ‘home away from home’ as promised. I struggled to acclimatise and felt isolated. I was never told how difficult it can be to make friends, or how daunting it is to venture to dinner alone. It definitely wasn’t the glamorous start to university that I had envisioned. I think that is part of the problem. I had such high expectations that, when Cavendish fell short of these, it began to overshadow other aspects of university life. But I eventually realised that living in halls wasn’t for me…and that’s okay. While I was uncomfortable in my general environment, I didn’t let this discomfort extend to my room. Decorate, and allow yourself to settle in. Bring home comforts with you or utilise the shops in the city centre. I never owned a plant before moving to Nottingham. Now, I have five!

Sometimes it is the little things that help to pick you up when you’re not feeling yourself. Like keeping milk in your fridge for a cup of tea or, if you are struggling to adapt to communal living, having some ‘just add hot water’ meals on hand. Although I won’t look back on my time in Cavendish fondly, I did love room 130.

‘I would cry at the thought of finding somewhere to sit or having to eat in front of others, so often it seemed easier to avoid it all together’

On that note, meal times were incredibly anxiety-inducing for me. Going down for dinner can be intimidating if you are struggling to make friends. Sometimes, I’d just avoid the dining room all together. I cried at the thought of finding somewhere to sit or having to eat in front of others. It was often easier to avoid it all together. It is isolating to feel like this, especially if you are struggling with your mental wellbeing. But, that’s okay and there are ways to mitigate this.

Residential Assistants are on hand in your Halls between 6pm and 10pm each night and would happily accompany you into dinner if you asked. I know this because I am one! Are there other students eating alone? Try to join them. I met one of my closest friends in a similar way. However, if you are struggling and do not see any improvement, do not suffer alone. Reach out to the ResX Team either by telephone or email. They can offer you support or signpost you to relevant services. I have used the University of Nottingham Counselling Service and know that getting the right help can make a difference.

There is so much more to university than your halls. Engage with others on your course, join societies, explore the city centre, and be open-minded. You can still have that wonderful university experience you envisioned – I know I have!

By Amy Evans

Illustration & Page Design by Zainab Shakeel

To no University of Nottingham student’s surprise, our campuses have received consecutive Green Flag Awards for their vastly green and sustainable natural spaces. But not much is blatantly known about how this award continues to be accredited to the university. Nor about what more the university is planning to do to improve their sustainability status. Impact’s Science Editor, Daniel Conmey shares his insight.

All three of Nottingham’s campuses champion biodiversity, providing numerous diverse habitats for wildlife to inhabit. Regarded as one of the largest campuses in the UK, University Park boasts 300 acres of land that is inundated with water features, wildflower meadows, rolling grassland and long grass areas. All of which have supported the growth of different international plant species.

The main campus has also obtained the title of a Hedgehog Friendly Campus. Since the 1950s, the number of hedgehogs has fallen in the UK by 97% - from 30 million to an estimated 1 million as of 2020. Their populations have plummeted by 50% in rural areas and 30% in urban gardens. Consequently, hedgehogs are moving out of their natural habitats and into more dangerous places where they face obstacles such as road traffic, poisoning and reduced access to edible commodities. To tackle this, the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme was established in 2019 to raise awareness of the troubles of hedgehogs while also taking action to improve the hedgehogs’ quagmire.

Over on Jubilee campus, numerous species of waterfowl, including herons, inhabit the three lakes surrounding the campus buildings.The lakes and drainage system on campus support biodiversity and are high in ecological value. Moreover, the campus contains a reedbed habitat – one of the UK’s most threatened habitats.

Then, hidden away in Nottingham’s countryside, there is Sutton Bonington campus - home to the

How eco-frienly are we really?

school of Biosciences, and Veterinary Medicine and Science. The campus boasts a collection of native and exotic woodlands, which accommodate exotic trees such as the Field Maple, the Giant Fir and the Alpine Snow Gum. Yew trees of a potentially old age are also in Sutton Bonington.

On top of all of these green spaces, all three campuses recycle garden waste, aim to reduce the use of pesticides, avoid using peat, and use tree surgery for animals like wood-boring birds. However, are all these measures and natural areas enough to call our campus eco-friendly? How much do the consecutive Green Flag awards matter in the grander scheme of sustainability?

Arguably, the award is insignificant, as it solely makes a statement about our green space. The university has succeeded in maintaining large, open spaces across all campuses to support biodiversity. However, if the university wants to meet Nottingham’s target of being ‘carbon zero’ by 2028, then it needs to focus on more than just green space.

According to the Students’ Union (SU) Community Officer, Daisy Forster, “at this rate, we’re not going to be carbon zero by 2028”. Despite the university’s carbon emissions falling, it is not falling at a rate which is sufficient given the city’s target. Jubilee campus does have 5,250 square metres of green roofs that reduce rainfall run-off by absorbing 30 to 50% of rainwater and improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and emitting oxygen. However, this cannot be the only measure the university relies on to reduce carbon emissions.

While the green spaces, hedgehog friendly campuses, and green roofs are all great eco-friendly initiatives, there are a plethora of insufficiently acknowledged factors which need to be considered more carefully if the university wants to still be seen as environmentally friendly in a few years’ time.

While the green spaces, hedgehog friendly campuses, and green roofs are all great eco-friendly initiatives, there are a plethora of insufficiently acknowledged factors which need to be considered more carefully if the university wants to still be seen as environmentally friendly in a few years’ time.

The university was ranked 53rd in regards to sustainability by PeopleandPlanet - the largest student network in the UK campaigning for social and environmental justice. According to the network, sustainability, staff education, and energy sources are strengths when it comes to our sustainability efforts - with scores of 75, 97 and 80% awarded in each area. However, there are holes in the university’s strategies which are in dire need of attention.

The university was awarded less than 50% for water reduction; carbon reduction; waste & recycling; sustainable food; workers’ rights; carbon management; and environmental policy - with environmental policy achieving 0%.

Further to the university’s poor scores from PeopleandPlanet, Forster shared her dismay about the university’s response to sustainability on campus. “Through COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, the [SU]’s number one priority has been looking after the students, and so sustainability has been put on the backburner. Sustainability is something that we need to look into improving, but it’s difficult when there are such big priorities and little resources provided.”

“Sustainability is on the university’s strategic plan. But the only thing that they’re doing is recording how much carbon they’re emitting and hoping that the numbers will go down.”

Despite the university’s substantial green space, there is plenty of work to be done if the university wants to be seen as genuinely sustainable. In the meantime though, we can enjoy our status as hedgehog friendly! When Impact contacted the University of Nottingham for comment, Andy Nolan, Director of Development and Sustainability at the University of Nottingham responded:

“Sustainability informs every aspect of life and work on our campuses. The university has set ambitious, science-based carbon reduction targets: by 2030 to reduce our emissions by 63%, with an aspiration of net zero by 2040 and absolute zero by 2050.”

Nolan then stated that numerous solutions are in development to reduce the institution’s demand for energy and plans to generate more of their own power - these plans include “focusing on our supply chains for food, paper, travel, construction materials, IT and lab equipment which together account for around 50% of our total annual scope 3 carbon emissions.”

He further shared objectives to change travel policies, and to reduce food and water waste on campus. These objectives hope to reduce the carbon footprint of the University and implement meaningful changes in staff and students’ day-today activities.

Nolan concluded that: “The greatest challenge of our time remains simply enormous; however, we are determined to make our contribution and to work with our partners to meet this challenge head-on.”

By Daniel Conmey

How students can support sustainability on campus

Sign up to Green Rewards and earn prizes for activities that lower your carbon footprint. Over 10,000 people have already saved almost a million kg of CO2 to date.

Use the 53 water refill points across our campuses to reduce the need for bottled water. This summer, two water fountains at David Ross Sports Village saved the equivalent of 26,000 bottles.

Take part in the annual energy saving competition for halls of residence - Go! Switch Off Halls Competition - where the hall that saves the most energy each term will win a prize.

Travel sustainably with a refurbished bike from as little as £80 and keep it maintained for free with Dr Bike.

Illustrations by Cora-Laine Moynihan

Design by Morgan Nandra

One sunny, autumnal day on campus, I was walking home and realised something extremely urgent. Alarm bells were sounding off in my head as I found myself drawing ever closer to a particular shop…The University Boulevard Co-Op.

You see, I’d realised something was missing, something I couldn’t quite live without doing. I needed to bake! As I picked up some Kinder chocolate (enough for the Co-Op staff to question in their minds why on earth I needed 6 big Kinder bars for one person) and made my way back to my house, I began reminiscing on my first real memories of food.

Most children’s safe haven is their bedrooms - they play with their toys, have sleepovers with their friends, are immune to being told off by their parents because it’s where they can truly be free - and whilst I did all of those things too, my special place was my grandma’s kitchen.Her kitchen was where I first learned about how to bake. She’d take a chair from her dining room, position it next to the kitchen counter and show me the ways of a baker. From cakes to cupcakes, biscuits to scones, there was always some sort of magical concoction made of butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.

HOME IS WHERE THE STOMACH IS

By Holly Philpott

Over time, I grew taller, no longer needing a chair to reach the counter - but I never outgrew baking. Baking and creating food felt like a special science - after all, I haven’t studied science for over five years! But there’s something so relaxing and comforting about weighing out ingredients, folding flour into a cake mixture and sprinkling icing sugar over a Victoria sponge that I can’t seem to stop.

The Great British Bake Off tapped into my love for baking too, inspiring me to continue my journey to discover more. I delved into chocolate chip cookies - the thick kind which are slightly crunchy, but oh-so-gooey and ooze chocolate in the middle. And like a cookie spreading in an oven, I expanded into the realm of brownies and traybakes too, infusing chocolatey goodness with orange and mint extracts (not at the same time though, that would be quite difficult to eat). Although my mum wasn’t too impressed at the sheer amount of space my ingredients took up in our kitchen cupboards, she definitely enjoyed the outcome! Take for example Bakewell Blondies - a ‘blonde’ form of a brownie with white chocolate, swirled with raspberry jam and topped with almond flakes.

Even though I’ve been at university for two years now, and most of the time is spent reading history articles, I always have time for baking in my life. Every single thing I bake in my uni kitchen - including those Kinder Bueno cookies on that autumn day - reminds me of not only home, but where I came from and who I am now. What a lovely trip down memory lane… now, are there any leftover cookies to eat?

Design by Holly Philpott

MAKING YOUR UNI HOUSE FEEL LIKE ‘HOME’

Student houses and halls are usually very bland and unhomely when you first move in. Therefore, making them feel cosier and snug is an absolute must to really help you settle in. Adding some home comforts can even provide support if you’re feeling homesick or overwhelmed. A bedroom that reflects your personal style can make a world of difference.

Fairy lights are always a cheap and simple way to make your room feel cosy. There’s nothing nicer than wrapping up in bed with a hot drink while watching a movie. Fairy lights provide the perfect mellow ambience, even if they are a bit of a décor cliché. They can brighten up a room which doesn’t have much natural light. Certainly much more preferable to the usual harsh main bedroom light. <

You can also buy these lights in lots of different styles. Single string lights are sold in most homeware shops and supermarkets. Waterfall lights can look dazzling against a high flat wall behind your bed. Alternatively, LED lights are accessible and can make your room stand out with a pop of colour.

Decorating your uni house to fit your personality can also help to make it feel more like a home. During Welcome Week and throughout the year, the university often hosts poster sales. These are great to put up on the walls in communal spaces like living rooms or kitchens. Perhaps a poster of an artist you and your housemates all like, or a cocktail themed print would spice up pres. Posters are also readily available from a host of online sites, such as Desenio or Junique. However, they can get a bit pricey so keep an eye out for any deals. Another alternative is ordering pictures from Free Prints which you can stick on your bedroom walls to make the walls pop. You could create a pinboard of pictures from Pinterest that fit your aesthetic and see if the collection will look good together before purchasing.

Upcycling items you already have is a great alternative to buying new products. For example, if you have an empty wine bottle and a spare candlestick, light the top and allow the wax to flow onto the wine bottle. Not only does it look aesthetically pleasing, but it’s also making use of items you may have otherwise thrown away.

Plants can make your room feel homely. While a fake plant doesn’t require constant watering and attention, caring for a real plant can be a rewarding hobby. Placing them in colourful pots can give your room that extra bit of colour. Maybe even take a trip to Pot N Kettle in Beeston and paint your own plant pot.

An empty house can seem cold and intimidating when you first move in, yet a few subtle additions can transform it into a home. As the saying goes, ‘home is where the heart is’- as well as some fairy lights, posters and plants…

By Evie Seal

Illustration by Catrin Dimond

Making the most of my year abroad

The year is 2020, the world is at a standstill. People are locked inside for their own safety, planes grounded, borders closed, and to top it all off, Brexit is closing in. I’ll be honest; it wasn’t the best start to a year abroad.

I was studying a four year degree with my 3rd year abroad. My plan was to spend five months working in Spain, five months working in France, and then finish it off with two months volunteering in South America. I could not have been more excited!

So you can imagine the chaos that ensued when we went into lockdown.

All my carefully laid plans for “the best year of my life” were thrown into uncertainty. Not only was I basically banned from travelling, if I even managed to get on a plane, I faced the very real possibility of being turned away at the border because I held a British passport.

Really, I should have given up, unpacked my suitcase, and resigned myself to remaining stuck in the cold, grey and rainy UK. When I found myself saying farewell to my family at East Midlands Airport - boarding pass in hand, destination Valencia - I was so overwhelmed by everything I’d overcome and in complete disbelief that my year abroad was actually happening, that I had a minor breakdown. Actually, I was a mess. A snotty, sobbing mess.

All that fuss just to get out of the UK, but how was the year abroad itself? Where did I go? What did I do? How did I adjust?

I was always n certain that I wanted to live with native speakers, and that I did not want to study. I was also determined to find an internship so I could gain some work experience. One bonus of working was that it would provide me more opportunities to speak Spanish and French.

In Spain, I shared a flat in Valencia with two Spanish girls called Maria and Lilian, who I’m still in regular contact with today. I also secured a job for six months as a junior technical translator at AIMPLAS: Plastics Technology Centre. In France

I was hired as a Sales and Tourism Assistant at Domaine Gayda, which is a winery in Brugairolles, a small rural village in Southern France. I lived in the shared house they provided for their interns, who were all French! Two completely different environments, yet each with equally enriching opportunities.

At AIMPLAS, I was responsible for translating Spanish blog posts and articles into English and proofreading pre-translated documents. My days were mostly full of mundane desk work, but it gave me structure and I spoke Spanish the entire time. Whilst I was up before dawn to catch the 40 minute bus out of the city centre to the industrial

estate, I was always home by 3pm. I spent my afternoons visiting museums and art galleries, sipping cortados en terraza, or sunbathing on the beach.

I interned at AIMPLAS in-person for four months but had to complete the final two months online from the UK. I’d come home for Christmas the day Europe closed the borders to the UK because of COVID concerns. I remember calling my dad in a panic because I didn’t know if I could get home. Turns out, returning to the UK wasn’t the problem! But getting back into Spain was. Even with evidence of employment, sufficient funds, and accommodation - because I didn’t have exactly the right kind of document - I could not return to Spain. Thank you, Brexit!

And if cutting my time in Spain short wasn’t enough, getting into France became incredibly difficult. Brexit meant very strict visa requirements. I remember travelling to the French Visa Office in Manchester twice because they got my biometrics wrong. Then COVID sent France into lockdown, pushing my arrival back by a month and introducing new health measures, including a mandatory 7 days isolation for anyone travelling from…you guessed it, the UK!

Not ideal, but once again I’d made it against all odds.

At Domaine Gayda it fell to me to organise and run their wine tours and tastings! I was hired primarily to speak with English clients, but I got to help French and Spanish customers too. I learnt how to identify the tasting notes of each wine, how long they were aged, their different vinification processes, and the best meal pairings - it was an amazing experience!

However for some reason I found it harder to adjust to life there than in Spain. In Valencia, with public transport so readily available, I’d had the freedom to do whatever I wanted, whenever, and wherever. Adjusting to life out there was so much easier because I was able to keep myself busy, and therefore distracted from any potential negative thoughts.

Brugairolles had none of this. The independence I’d found in Spain vanished. If I wanted to travel anywhere, or even just go to a cafe, I had to ask for a lift. It felt wrong, like I was asking for permission to live my life, and I could feel my anxiety worsening. Eventually I withdrew from all social activity, spending my time alone in my room. I got so depressed that I almost went home. What kept me going was remembering how much adversity I had already overcome to make that year happen. It took a month, but I pulled myself from the fog, asked my friend Julia to drop me

LIFESTYLE

off at the train station, and took a weekend trip to Narbonne. It changed everything. I ended up travelling somewhere new almost every weekend after that!

Looking back on my year abroad now, I laugh at the chaos. While many of these experiences made me want to tear my hair out at the time, if things hadn’t happened the way they did, I wouldn’t have met all the incredible people I know now. I wouldn’t have these amazing stories to share. And I certainly wouldn’t be the confident, determined, and resilient person I am today.

By Harriet Rothwell-Inch

The Science Behind Homesickness

The ever-reliable WebMD defines homesickness as the emotional distress one feels in an unfamiliar environment away from home. Research has shown that over half of university students experience homesickness in their first few weeks away from home. But, luckily, there are numerous ways to fight this feeling.

“Culture shock” is one of the most notable symptoms of, or reactions to, homesickness, and surprisingly is not merely brought about through defamiliarisation, but also in the idealisation of home. This is amplified by the stress of university, with deadlines left, right and centre, and the excessive independence aggravated by a distinct lack of parents to brush away your problems. However, one is never truly alone when there are countless other students and dedicated wellbeing staff around. The worst thing to do in such a scenario is isolate yourself in your room for the foreseeable future.

Feelings of isolation partially attribute to homesickness, with one in four students feeling lonely the majority of the time according to a study by the Higher Education Policy Institute. Homesickness may have even “evolved to discourage people from leaving supportive groups”, or so Elizabeth Van Brocklin says in the Duke Magazine.

Considering the density of our campus communities, it’s unsurprising that homesickness is felt by university students. It’s easy to see yourself as a lost, little needle in a haystack. However, all you need is a tiny bit of courage. The Students’ Union provides clubs and societies that exist for almost every imaginable hobby; from travel to Taylor Swift, and sports too. Within these groups, you can find like-minded people for life.

Interestingly, brain imaging studies about homesickness have discovered evolutionary traces of pressure in the brain likenable to physical pain. Not only does this exhibit that this feeling is more than just some millennial melodrama, it suggests that in the past, it was potentially a Darwinistic survival mechanism. Made worse at university via getting thrown in the deep end with an overwhelming sense of cluelessness and imposter syndrome.

Yet, there are ways to cope with these feelings, as I, myself, felt impossibly underqualified to do a Physics degree. However, after contacting Tutors and heads of departments, I managed to switch to English and German after a month. If you know you are on the right path but still feel swamped with the workload and the faster, sleep-deprived lifestyle of university, it’s still a great idea to let your personal tutor know or even mentors and friends. They can all share their experiences about coping with stress, prioritising academic elements, and juggling work with your studies.

Homesickness can affect you in other ways too, but opening up to people, whomever it may be, can resolve the majority of them. Universities all over the country offer expert advice to deal with such emotions, but just know it can take time to realise that home is never merely a physical place. It’s the people, and there will always be some waiting for you around the corner.

By Jacob Edwards

Page Design by Emma Travers Illustration by Catrin Dimond

Illustration & Page Design by Zainab Shakeel

Celebrating Queerness, Live Music, and Living in LA: An Interview with Pale Waves’ Heather Baron-Gracie

With the success of their third studio album ‘Unwanted’, Pale Waves’ frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie shares her experience of Manchester’s music scene, life at university, and postpandemic touring with Impact’s Matthew Fogarty.

When asked to summarise the sound of Pale Waves to a new listener, lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie opted for the word “alternative” but, chuckling to herself, made sure to preface that she says this “because I think that sounds the coolest.” With their latest LP, ‘Unwanted’, Pale Waves delivers a sound unlike any they have produced before. “We’ve kind of gone through lots of phases, we’ve gone through an 80s phase, a 2000s throwback stage, and now we are kind of in our alternative, modern sounding phase,” she explained

The band’s new album has seen great success on the UK album charts, peaking at number four. Discussing this success, Baron-Gracie noted that “for me, that’s really cool because when I was a kid I always would look and imagine getting into the charts.”

This is Pale Waves’ second consecutive album to chart in the top five, and they’re showing no signs of their success stopping anytime soon. When asked about the significance of using real life events to create their authentic sound, BaronGracie, who co-writes all the songs on the album, stated that “I feel like you always get the best kind of outcome when you take something so personal to you and kind of channel it into art.” It’s not just the lyrics that are impacted by this kind of writing, she continued that “I feel like overall you get the best sound and sonically the most genuine piece of art that you can create.

The four piece are getting back into touring and gigs after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however Baron-Gracie was grateful for the pause. “Before the pandemic I was really in need of a break.”

Three and a half years of constant touring had found the band worn down, but with the pandemic forcing many to re-evaluate their priorities, Heather revealed how the band “definitely have a new appreciation for it, that’s just all we want to do right now. We just want to get back on the road and just play more shows.

As we spoke, Pale Waves were getting ready to tour Japan. I asked if there was any country that they enjoyed the most when touring, and Baron-Gracie couldn’t help but laugh when she replied: “I think Japan, not just because we’re going there on Saturday, but it’s just crazy to me that we could go so far from home and people would still turn up.”

Speaking of travelling, I was curious as to how Pale Waves is received by American audiences, as much of the recent album was recorded in Los Angeles, she offered an insight: “The Americans, yeah, I think they liked it. I think they could tell that I was singing in a British accent.” They worked closely with American, Grammy-nominated record producer Zakk Cervini, whose previous collaborations with Bring Me the Horizon and Blink-182 show influence in their latest music.

Baron-Gracie explained that drummer Ciara Doran “spends

a lot of time in America, in LA in particular. You feel almost more accepted there.” Both Baron-Gracie and Doran are members of the LGBTQ+ community and find Los Angeles “quite progressive” compared to their experiences in the UK, where BaronGracie feels “we have come a long way, but there’s definitely more of a journey to go.”

Pale Waves’ latest album contains far more references to queer culture and experiences than their previous music. “I kind of found it a bit intimidating because I wanted to do it justice, I didn’t want to just do a Katy Perry ‘I Kissed a Girl’ song, even though, you know, it’s a bit of a tune,” a laugh ensued.

Celebrating LGBT experiences is not just a personal mission for the band, Baron-Gracie explained the impact their music has had on fans. “It’s just so nice to create that kind of safe space for queer people to come to our shows and feel comfortable,” but the thing that still amazes the band is when “someone tells you that you’ve saved their life.”

The importance of these messages is not lost on Baron-Gracie and Doran, who both bonded over music that spoke to them when they met at university in Manchester. “To be honest, the only good thing that university did for us was that it allowed us to meet each other.” She was not shy to critique her experiences at BIMM [British and Irish Modern Music Institute]

Manchester saying, “I got kicked out at one point and

then they let me back in.”

Despite any challenges experienced, she clearly spoke with a fondness when recounting the band’s early days. “Having that independence and meeting new people for the first time and living by myself was just a really eye opening learning experience.”

Having both grown up and studied in Manchester, the band acknowledges the city’s many successful musicians, adding: “it gives you almost like a legacy to compare yourself to and live up to.” Baron-Gracie names artists including Joy Division and The Smiths as examples of Manchester’s musical prestige.

As my time wrapped up with the Pale Waves frontwoman, I wondered if she had any insight for our readers who might want to follow in her footsteps. She had only one thing to say, a piece of advice she believes her band has always understood: “expect to work your asses off.”

By Matthew Fogarty

Photography by Ami Ford

Page design by Gemma Cockrell

Creatives of Beeston

Student life in Nottingham typically revolves around the university’s campuses, the city centre, and the biggest student accommodation hub in the city, Lenton. Yet, Nottingham is formed of many other neighbourhoods and towns that hold numerous attractions. Beeston, directly next to University Park Campus, is full of art and creativity. Amelia Brookes provides insight into the best spots to quench your artistic side and highlights the creatives living in the town.

Beeston is an area of Nottingham where many students live in their second and third years. Not only is it an area of plentiful student housing, but it is also an area of community, artistic talent and many different stories just waiting to be handed to the next person wanting to listen.

Yesterday, I went to the People of Beeston Art Exhibition, created by artist Matthew Lyons, displaying the likenesses and different lives of the residents of Beeston. I found this exhibit both poignant and engaging. You can see many avant-garde features of art in places like the Tate Modern and Nottingham Contemporary - but how often do we find art that celebrates people for people, showcased by smaller artists?

It was a cloudy autumnal day, steeped in leaves. When I arrived to look at the exhibition only fifteen minutes before closing time. The atmosphere was peaceful and calm. Locals of Beeston were there, marvelling at the paintings and whispering between themselves “I know her.” Followed by a chuckle. “Isn’t it funny seeing people that we know?”

The subjects of these paintings were depicted at their workplaces or homes, posing for the artist who embodied each of his subject’s distinct personalities in his work. Often, in art, people lose sight of the person they are portraying in favour of their artistic vision, looking for a muse instead of a complete person.

However, in this collection, information about the individuals depicted stood at the side of the pictures, with their names, occupation and personal history. There were also some artist’s notes about the process of painting them, how the faces were formed on the canvas and the subjects’ views about their depictions.

To me, this was almost a surprise, but I adored this personal addition. It further cemented what I saw as I walked through Beeston: that this was a place built equally on community spirit and individual contributions. I could see Beeston’s passion for art through its shop Artworks and the sheer amount of paint, pastels and other art supplies they had in stock - there was enough to supply a city, let alone a small town. I also noticed art workshops advertised in the windows and even sustainable products sold by local and national businesses!

There’s often a problem in bigger towns that students and locals don’t necessarily get along or that they are displaced from each other and cannot see eye-to-eye. Yet the cheerful and welcoming atmosphere around the town gives me no doubts that locals are not the only people enjoying the creativity in Beeston. In fact, Beeston is a very student-friendly town as demonstrated by the inclusion of students in the local art scene and discounts at creative shops for them. In particular, Artworks and Pot n Kettle (a creative space that many students already know about) offer student discounts.

When I left that church hall on Monday, I was stunned by not only the exhibition’s beauty but also how many people had turned up to show support for the painter. There’s plenty for an aspiring artist in Beeston. Whether it be drawing in Cartwheel Coffee or painting at a local art class, I wait patiently for more from the creatives of Beeston.

By Amelia Brookes

Pot n Kettle

This is a pottery shop and painting parlour where you can choose a ceramic piece to paint any design you wish! Even though walk-ins are available, there are bookings for groups (see on their website). The opening hours are 11am - 3pm Monday to Sunday (there’s a 10% student discount on a Sunday) and 11am - 4pm on Saturdays. Overall, this place is great for group socials and any non-drinking social for any members of societies who enjoy art. Bring your friends!

Artworks

This is an art shop that provides nearly everything that a student artist would need, including high-quality supplies from brands like Faber Castell. They also sell sustainable cleaning products, sweet treats and soap. There is a 10% student discount along with opportunities for local art classes and workshops on the wall outside of the shop. The opening hours are 9.30am - 5pm most days, 9.30am - 4.30pm Fridays and Saturdays, and the shop is closed on Sundays. Art supplies are also sold around WHSmith and Ryman stationery if you want to stay on the main street of Beeston - but if you don’t mind being a bit further out of the way, this shop will be perfect for you.

If you are a student looking for ways to be creative in the local community, have no fear! There are plenty of activities to do in Beeston and the surrounding areas, including visiting these shops:

Photography by Amelia Brookes

THE ETHICS OF TRUE CRIME

Whether it is after a long day at work, a day full of lectures or even when you have a free minute to spare, we often want to indulge in the world of entertainment to distract and entertain us from our stressful lives. However, when we choose to watch a TV series or film that is based on a real story/crime, are we being distracted from our realities and watching criminals be brought to justice? Or are we being entertained by the glorification of criminals who have taken away several lives and caused endless suffering for the victim’s families?

With true crime currently at an all-time high, the genre is dominating major streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu and has many of us hooked on the edge of our seats quite literally. While most podcasts, books and TV series focusing and reporting on infamous or serious cases garner a large following, more often than not, the most popular ones involve murderers or serial killers.

But why is this? Why is this dark and disturbing genre so popular and able to keep us entertained?

Although, I cannot speak on behalf of everyone, I believe that true crime programmes not only have problem-solving elements to many of its cases - allowing us as viewers to get involved and ‘unlock our natural desire to solve puzzles and mysteries’ as Jennifer Schmidt-Petersen, Programme and Student Lead for Policing Programmes at the University of Law, suggested - but it also educates and gives us insight into the world of crime. Ultimately, they inform us and create intrigue while also allowing us to speculate about the reasoning behind such evil crimes.

Even though true crime content attracts viewers because of the informal and educational benefits it offers, it is difficult to dismiss concerns and arguments that the genre glorifies criminals. As we know true crime cases are stories that are

Illustration by Kritika Routh

based on real life events that have happened to real people. Some critics argue that ‘it’s unethical to use true accounts of crime for entertainment. Mainly because it can exploit victims and families while creators make money from violent stories.’ Furthermore, these films, series and dramatisations give attention and, sometimes, a platform to these serial killers and murderers that they do not deserve.

The film True Story, featuring Jonah Hill and James Franco, is based on the real-life memoir of Michael Finkel, a New York Times journalist whose identity was stolen by a man who killed his entire family. Finkel shared in an interview with Vulture that James Franco would not meet the killer he was portraying in the film on the basis of him being “despicable” and that the killer did not need any more publicity. Yet, Franco seemed perfectly happy to star as one of two A-lister celebrities in an award-nominated production about the despicable case; to which his star-status would attract even more attention to the murderer.

More recently, Netflix has received backlash for their new series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Following its release, viewers have criticised the programme for “humanising” the serial killer and being “insensitive” to the victims and their families. Eric Perry, the cousin of 19-year-old victim Errol Lindsey, argued on Twitter that not only was it “re-traumatising” their family but that they were ‘not “notified” [about the show’s creation] by the creative teams behind True-Crime recreations.’

Moreover, some viewers have called out fans for romanticising the lead actor Evan Peters (playing Dahmer) after finding his portrayal of the infamous serial killer attractive. This response in itself poses a serious issue regarding the separation of the character from the actor. Not only does it glamorise and romanticise a psychopath, it is also very distasteful to the victims.

However, this is not the first time that the romanticisation of a serial killer has happened. Zac Efron’s portrayal of Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was also heavily romanticised by

viewers.. Within these instances, it leads us to question the ethics of such popular streaming services; and whether some of these programmes have been produced for monetary purposes - under the guise of it being authentic, truth-telling ‘true crime’ - or whether it is to depict the mind of a monster.

However, true crime programmes can enlighten and inform us.

They allow us to be informed about the cruel people on earth and give us insight into their wicked minds.

They have also brought justice to countless victims and families. John Walsh’s son was murdered by a serial killer in 1981 and as a result of this, he launched and hosted the show America’s Most Wanted, where he dedicated his life to seeking justice for his son and other victims. During its run, Walsh and his team assisted law enforcement by apprehending over 1200 fugitives; thus highlighting how true crime programmes can be impactful.

These shows keep us engaged until we decide to stop watching (especially if it’s overly violent, gruesome or disturbing). They can also create a barrier that protects us as viewers. The University of Law highlighted that ‘these programmes allow us to examine the darker sides of humanity from a safe distance, and they bring in another crucial element – our natural desire for justice.’

The topic of whether true crime glorifies criminals is rather subjective, however, I think I can say that overall, as viewers, we become emotionally invested hoping that there will be a resolution or some form of justice for these victims who have sadly been silenced against their will. By having these films and programmes, it can allow for victims’ stories to be heard and bring justice to not only themselves but also to their families.

By Izzy Rodney

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

House of the Dragon, the first prequel released after the immen Game of Thrones, is a spectacular adaptation of George RR Martin’s book, Fire and Blood. Whilst Game of Thrones flitted between multiple locations and storylines, House of the Dragon focuses on the internal figh throne amongst family members and childhood best friends.

Throughout the 10 episodes, multiple actors are swapped in and show the ageing of the characters, most notably that of the fem Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen. It was undeniably difficult to let go of my obsession with Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra, her relationship with her uncle-turned-lover Daemon, and her beautiful friendship with Em Alicent. Thus, it was sometimes difficult to truly appreciate the tragedies and grief that older Rhaenyra is forced to endure, due to the conne with her younger incarnation.

At times, the pacing of the show felt rushed, with numerous imp cut that would have helped to further develop characters and th ships. For example, a scene where Daemon comforts his daughter fiery death of their mother is deleted. Appearing as some sort of agenda by the writers to paint him as a more villainous character, despite his evident love for his family, including his brother and niece/wife, put on display.

That being said, the show excels in making political strife and uinely interesting. With the added help of gorgeous dragons and written familial relations like that of King Viserys and Daemon, it’s difficult not to feel incredibly invested. Although there is a normalising of incest, which is incredibly easy to look past, the romance between family member bly delicate in this show.

Rhaenyra and Daemon’s relationship is one that was initially filled with mutual trust and lust. But, once the power of the throne looms over them after the death of King Viserys, it’s clear that major conflicts are incoming that will potentially harm their relationship in a dangerous way.

The show remains equally as brutal as Game of Thrones in a thoroughly enjoyable way! But, would I watch this series with my parents? The multiple graphic brothel scenes coupled with the lovely incestuous sex scenes would scar my mum, therefore definitely not!

Santhana Kanapathippillai

Illustration by Zainab Shakeel

NOMADLAND

“Home. Is it just a word, or is it something you can carry within you?”

This is the central question posed by Nomadland and it examines this in a truly masterful way. This film is meticulously crafted, believable and genuinely moving. Frances McDormand rightly deserves praise for her wonderfully subtle performance. However, the supporting cast are worthy of equal admiration too. This is a film that explores grief and belonging in a way that few others have. Its superb pacing, sweeping cinematography and sensitive score are just as important to the experience as its excellent performances. The concept of home is not one that is easily definable. Is it a place or people? Is it a feeling of comfort or even the absence of discomfort? The truly immersive journey that Nomadland takes you on poses all these questions and more, while acknowledging that sometimes there simply isn’t an answer.

GILMORE GIRLS SCHITT’S CREEK

The fast-paced nature of university life is best escaped by curling up in bed and switching on your favourite comfort show. Nothing fits this bill better than Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Gilmore Girls, which for me, serves as a reminder of what’s most important: from a cup of coffee to the first fall of snow, it’s the little things in life. Set in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, the show’s seven seasons follow the lives of the much loved mother-daughter duo Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), and their explorations in love, friendship and the eccentricities of small-town life. The plot demands little attention from its viewers, making it the perfect antidote to help you unwind from a hard day of studying. But count yourself warned - its charming, homely feel is quick to become addictive, wrapping you up like a blanket that’s pretty hard to get out of.

Eva Hughes-Sutton

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

The Royal Tenenbaums may only be Wes Anderson’s third film, but by god it is impressive how quickly he found his style. The film follows a dysfunctional family who return home following the news that the family’s patriarch: Royal Tenenbaum, has stomach cancer. A lie from Royal to try and manipulate his family. What follows is an insanely tight comedy drama. While most comedies deliver jokes, Anderson instead has his jokes fall out the back pocket of the script, seemingly accidentally. Anderson’s use of the widescreen anamorphic format helps to capture the fantastic ensemble while simultaneously creating a closed frame to allow everyone to stay together. While the film has broad themes such as love and family, each is kept tightly together and flows easily into the next. Maybe home isn’t where the heart is, maybe it’s just a building we grew up in.

William Stead

Daniel Evans

When watching a nine-time Emmys award-winning sitcom, anticipations can easily skyrocket, but thankfully Schitt’s Creek manages to live up to the expectations.

After losing all their assets and home, a wealthy family are forcefully relocated to a small town they once bought as a joke due to its ridiculous name. The show’s greatest strength is its characters. Each of them are unique and amusing in a charming way. Introduced as walking stereotypes at the start, their complexity shines through quickly as their journey of self-discovery and search for belonging progresses. With them ultimately developing meaningful friendships and connecting to their new surroundings.

This story of a family being brought together and finally connecting, turning two cheap motel rooms into a more loving home than their previous estate, might sound a little cheesy, but watching the story unfold was genuinely heart-warming.

Ana Balanici

Illustrations by Vicki Mileson & Jocey Nel

Top 5 Board Games for a Night In

The Castles of Mad King Ludwig

Have you ever whiled away an afternoon building the biggest, craziest mansion in The Sims? The Castles of Mad King Ludwig is the boardgame equivalent. Insanely competitive (and I’m not just saying that because I always win), this game will see you pricing or scrambling to buy room tiles - featuring a ‘throne room’, a ‘bowling alley’ and some ‘stables’ to name just a few - which you need to combine together to make the highest scoring castle in service of the titular mad king. But, more importantly, that you need to achieve the secret scoring objectives you got at the start of the game. My tip? Always buy the activity rooms!

The Captain Is Dead

If you want to build up your house’s team spirit (in the hope that someone will finally clean the kitchen), there’s nothing better than a collaborative game. My pick is The Captain Is Dead. Every member of the team has unique skills and tools that are easy to learn. Taking inspiration from Star Trek, the aim of the game is to work together using these skills to repair the Jump Core and escape the hostile aliens before time runs outjust like taking out the rubbish and unblocking the sink before bin day!

Codenames

If you and your friends are so in sync you always finish each other ’s... sandwiches, then Codenames is the game for you. Very quick and easy to set up and explain, Codenames is a great party game. You play as a secret service handler, trying to get your agents back in from the field, the only problem is you need to remember their codenames. Your teammate knows the code names and can give you a category as a clue. But remember - enemy agents are out there too! You wouldn’t want to accidentally send your top-secret signal straight to them…

One-page tabletop RPG

Dungeons and Dragons has a steep learning curve and needs several dedicated players. If you want something similar with less commitment, try a one-page tabletop RPG. These games are so simple all the rules are on ‘one-page’ and you can often find new ones online. The only equipment you need is pen, paper, and diceor a friendly STEM student to code you a random number generator. You can find them on nearly any theme, from an homage to Jane Austen to working in a fast-food restaurant.

Taskmaster: The Board Game

If you love the TV show Taskmaster then try Taskmaster: The Board Game, which replicates the show’s vibe surprisingly well. This one requires the most props, but if you let necessity (or alcohol) be the mother of invention, it should provide hours of chaotic fun. Take turns being as cruel as you like as the Taskmaster, judging your friends’ abilities to complete your surreal and ludicrous commands from tasks like “perform the best dance to a mobile ring tone” to “do something surprising with a handful of soil”.

By Sarina Rivlin-Sanders

Illustration and Page Design

by Vivika Sahajpal

Illustration & Page Design by Zainab Shakeel

IMPACT ATTEMPTS: NaUsEOus NetBalL

Many of us sports fans came to university with lofty ambitions of representing the Green and Gold in our chosen sport. Such is the fierce competition for places, though, we don’t always manage to make our vision a reality. It turns out that failing to make the team is not actually the worst thing that can happen to you at university trials, as Jessia Callard recounts.

The most common advice I heard before coming to university was to join a sports team - something the University of Nottingham (UoN) has plenty of. Just visiting the Freshers Fair will show endless rows of possibilities from football to Quidditch, bowling to baseball. Each provides chances to make friends, have fun, and play competitively or socially. Plus, of course, you’ll have the chance to hit Crisis every Wednesday, repping your sports society in whatever bizarre costume (think big babies and bananas) you are assigned. It sounded like the university dream to me and I didn’t want to miss out.

Come Freshers Week, I made sure to walk down every aisle of the fair with my free slice of Domino’s in hand. Strolling passed signs for Platform 9 3⁄4, I somehow resisted the Quidditch stall and eventually signed up for netball trials. Regardless of the fact that my netball career had started and ended in my secondary school team (my centre court glory days), and regardless of that I hadn’t played for two years, I considered myself first team material and scanned the QR code with my head held high. The trials were on the Saturday after a jam-

packed freshers week which entailed all the usual, silly freshers things. When my alarm woke me up at 8am that morning, a pounding headache accompanied the remains of last night’s makeup still smeared across my face. To my shame, the taste of one too many orange and passionfruit VKs was still fresh and Ocean’s infamous musical medleys rang in my ears. I couldn’t be more ready for a BUCS netball trial if I tried.

If you’ve attended a BUCS trial for a sport like netball, you will know it’s more like Hunger Games than a wholesome chest pass and an attempt at neat footwork. In a sports hall of over a hundred girls, my netball expertise stuck out like a sore thumb.

I was by far the worst one there and that grew more evident by the minute. To make it worse, this was just during the passing warm up.

I blame the throbbing headache which only made me want to lie down in a dark room for 24 hours. Instead, I remained blinded by the bright lights of the David Ross sports hall, which only further exposed my lack of sleep and clumps of mascara on my eyelashes.

In reality, this wasn’t a real excuse.

“it’s more like Hunger Games than a wholesome chest pass and an attempt at neat footwork”

There was some truly amazing talent there. Meanwhile, my ability to throw and catch a ball while keeping one foot firm on the ground, and also pivoting and attempting a tactical pass was lacking. Already, my peaky university room was calling my name and we hadn’t even started game play yet.

My vision of playing a university sport became an increasingly far-fetched fantasy that was so obviously out of my reach. I wasn’t sure if I could last the whole three hours and I started to regret my choice of netball rather than Harry Potter’s favourite sport. Eventually, after what felt like the longest 15 minute warm up of my life, match play started. As you can probably imagine, the girls on the team I was assigned to weren’t exactly ecstatic when I came stumbling over to them as their ‘Centre’ player. I don’t blame them to be honest, since my incompetence was already so visible. If you’re one of those people who can try any sport and be naturally good at it, I’m sure you can tell by now I’m not that type of girl. I was the player on the team that you avoided passing to. I was the weakest link, the one that always said ‘sorry’ after every pass. And, unfortunately for my teammates, their centre player was redundant before the game had even begun. I ran around that court with speed and not so much elegance. I wondered why the only time I had held the ball was when I took the first centre pass. This was already turning out to be a disaster, but the worst was yet to come.

As you have probably inferred, my decline in health was the remnants of a fatal plague one is most likely to become a victim of: the infamous freshers flu, mixed in with a hangover. Not some unfortunate sickness. Rather, it was a purely self-inflicted sentence to weeks of coughing fits and permanent exhaustion.

Three minutes into the game, a sudden wave of nausea hit me. I knew this really was the end of my netball career. Right there and then, on that court, I knew I was going to be sick. With a hand over my mouth, I gagged my way to the nearest toilet. The worst had happened. I was not only the most dreadful netball player the University of Nottingham has ever witnessed, but I was the one that ran out of the sports hall with an unrighteous splodge of sick stained on a borrowed white sports top.

Many ungracious eyes watched me as I performed my unruly episode and I didn’t dare walk back into that sports hall. Rather, I made a swift right to the nearest exit. I slowly plodded back to my accommodation feeling extremely humbled. The rain poured down onto me - a moment of true pathetic fallacy. It was one of those embarrassing memories that you cringe at just as you’re about to fall asleep.

I went and confessed to my friend that I was sick in my trials - I needed to tell somebody before the humiliation of what just happened had truly sunk in. To my surprise, he put up a triumphant fist bump to my shameful experience, paired with a proud smile across his face. After a moment of confusion I spudded him right back because I really was ‘sick’ at netball.

By Jessica Callard

“I started to regret my choice of netball rather than Harry Potter’s favourite sport”

“Right there and then, on that court, I knew I was going to be sick”

“I slowly plodded back to my accommodation feeling extremely humbled”

Tribute to Honor Edwards

When I first wrote this article, I spoke about my experience being on an incredibly successful team and the support network University of Nottingham (UoN) Ladies Lacrosse club has given me. However, the recent passing of one of our members and friends Honor Edwards has changed slightly what I want to say.

As soon as you pick up a lacrosse stick, you are taught that teamwork will always champion over individuality. That working together will create better opportunities and goals. I attribute much of our successes to our depth of talent and our ability to trust each other. We play as a unit and it is this that makes us a winning team.

Naturally, this translates off of the field too. Our club is more than just six teams playing every Wednesday and celebrating afterwards in Crisis. It’s friendly faces to see and chat to around campus and older girls looking out for the freshers. It’s always been a support network - a home away from home. But recently that has become more important than ever.

Honor was our Charity Secretary, which embodies everything she stood for. She was a caring, generous, and funny person with a strong set of morals. She stood up for what she believed was right. Honor was an advocate for mental health awareness and open about her own struggles.

In October, Honor and one of the other girls from the club ran a marathon. They raised well over their target of £4000 and £500 in gift aid for Mind in memory of Honor’s late friend, Olly Chessher.

The tragic news of Honor’s passing shook our club. It proved what I already knew about this home away from home. We came together and supported each other in our collective grief. Whether it was girls who had known her for a matter of months, for just over a year, or longer, it’s clear just how much of an impact Honor has had on all of us.

Support for each other extended beyond the current club members too. Alumni reached out upon hearing the news and the men’s club, who we’ve built a great bond with, were equally supportive. The same goes with friends from other university and club teams.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a ‘home away from

home’ as ‘a place where you feel as comfortable as you do in your own home’. But I would go further than that. UoN Ladies Lacrosse has given us more than comfort. It’s been a consistent support network, with teams celebrating successes throughout the entirety of the club and teammates backing each other on and off the pitch.

It was a true privilege knowing Honor and being able to call her a friend. I’m sure I speak on behalf of the whole club when I say how much I’ll truly miss Honor.

By Anna Boyne

Staying Fit At UNI On a Budget

Keeping fit is a popular issue for many students, but leaving the familiarity of your hometown for university can disrupt your routine and have you looking for new options. Unfortunately, a lot of the solutions are expensive. If you’re looking for some more budget-friendly alternatives, Jamey Waterhouse has the answers.

The NHS recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week, which is about 21.5 minutes a day. However, a lot of us university students don’t have the time or budget to pay for sports clubs and gym memberships. So how can we get genuinely effective exercise whilst on a budget?

Get On Your Feet

Ditch the bus or tram and save money by walking. It’s a great way to get your steps in and stops you spending your loan on public transport. There’s plenty of scenic areas in and around campus where you can enjoy a nice walk, like the lake in University Park, Wollaton Park, or the David Attenborough nature reserve if you fancy a hike.

You could even sacrifice that extra ten minutes of sleep to walk to campus if you’re a part of the off-campus crowd. Unfortunately, the walk from Cripps Hall to your lectures isn’t quite enough to get you fit. Put on your favourite tunes or bring a friend and get moving.

Jog On

If you’re after a more intense workout than a peaceful walk, jogging is free, and quicker. Just a 30 minute jog each weekday gets you up to those 150 minutes of the week, and then you have all weekend to veg out. Jogging is also preferable in the winter as it gets colder - a walk just doesn’t warm you up enough sometimes, so get your sweat on.

Bike, And I Don’t Mean Motor

Cycling is another great way to get some exercise for cheap (if you already own a bike). Just like running and walking, you get to see some lovely views whilst getting fit and feeling the wind in your hair. Although you should probably wear a helmet. For those who don’t have a bike handy, perhaps borrow a friend’s or take one of those rental bikes out for a spin.

The Great Outdoors

We’ve all seen the outdoor gym equipment in parks, and even on campus, but have you ever really used it? For those not afraid of an audience and who would enjoy a gym environment but want to keep the cash, the outdoor gym equipment is perfect, and free!

Youtube

Youtube is the Holy Grail when it comes to athome workout videos. Whether you’re looking for yoga or cardio, Youtube has it all. There are also videos made especially for people who live in apartments - or in our case, student houses. You can find workouts that aren’t too loud on your downstairs neighbours, so your housemates will be eternally grateful.

Clubs And Societies

Whilst the official sports clubs at university are more expensive to join, sports societies like ice skating, pole dance, and yoga are much less costly. All are cheaper than the gym and are all fun ways to get a bit of exercise and make new friends.

So, there are plenty of good options, and now you know that you don’t need to break the bank to get fit at university.

By Jamey Waterhouse

THE VALUE OF HOME ADVANTAGE

From Nottingham Forest to Nadal, home advantage in sports has played a crucial role in helping teams and individuals for decades. An undeniable factor in almost every sporting event, whether amateur or professional, the home support can contribute hugely to the outcome of a fixture. Vinay Patel guides us through an array of notable home advantages.

It is virtually impossible to argue that fans do not influence the world of sport. Yet, how much of their support, or lack thereof, can actually affect how the match is played out?

The ‘home advantage’, in which the home team’s chosen venue is situated locally and ensures the majority of fans present are the home team’s, is crucial to this.

Crowd support can encourage athletes to be at their best and thrive off of the energy of the fans. It can also intimidate opposing athletes, reducing their per-

sonal confidence and that of their team. The familiarity factor ensures that home athletes are well-practised in their surroundings, whereas it often proves to be a foreign environment (in both senses of the word) for visiting competitors.

We need to look no further than our city to find out what a home advantage means to local sports teams. Many will remember Nottingham Forest’s enthralling FA Cup run last season which saw them reach the Quarter Finals for the first time in 26 years!

All four of their FA Cup ties were played at the City Ground, beginning their journey with a brilliant 1-0 victory over record winners Arsenal. Forest went one step further and thrashed Leicester 4-1 in the following round, to the delight of the home support. When they found themselves trailing to Huddersfield in the Fifth Round, the Reds’ support was unwavering, and Forest overcame their struggles to secure victory. While

Forest ultimately fell victim to eventual winners Liverpool, the visitors will attest to the incredible atmosphere created to boost Forest’s side and make Liverpool’s victory a hard-fought one. The magic of the FA Cup was portrayed by Forest’s unbelievable run, with the fans in the City Ground justifying their ‘twelfth man’ status.

Even closer to home, UoN’s sports teams regularly enjoy the support of a home crowd. Though technically acting as a neutral venue with both a Trent and UoN stand, the David Ross support was especially crucial in last year’s Men’s Varsity Futsal game, where UoN came from behind to win on penalties. John Nash Knight, UoN Futsal baller, was in the crowd, and told Impact that “the importance of home advantage cannot be understated - with the support we provided from the stands we were able to make a miracle happen”.

Jozef Kuczynski, who was on the court, said that “the home atmosphere gave the team the belief that we could come back”.

While the pandemic turned the world of spectator sports upside down, it provided an insight into matches played in the absence of fans. One of English football’s most iconic stadiums, Anfield, boasted an unbeaten league run just shy of four years, often feeding off of a passionate atmosphere. This was until Liverpool were beaten by Burnley in January 2021. To rub salt in the wound, the Reds proceeded to go on a six-game losing streak at Anfield in the Premier League for the first time in their history. Granted, an injury crisis played a factor in their losing streak, but it is implausible that the lack of a ‘home advantage’ did not play a major part.

It is a rare occurrence in football that a stadium actually grants the home team a physical advantage, as it is usually the players’ psyche that is affected. However, the Estadio Hernando Siles, home to the Bolivian national football team is proving to be just that. The stadium is placed at an astounding altitude of 3,637 metres above sea level. Playing at a higher altitude results in a lower atmospheric pressure, causing the human body to experience a higher heart rate and other symp-

toms of lethargy.

Athletes playing in such conditions would subsequently require a week or two for their body to acclimatise. Visiting teams argued that that altitude gave Bolivian footballers an unfair playing advantage. In May 2007, FIFA declared that no World Cup Qualifying matches could be played in stadiums above 2500m altitude.

This led to fierce campaigns from the likes of Bolivian president Evo Morales and the late footballing great Diego Maradona, to which FIFA swiftly responded by raising the altitude limit to 3000m and announcing a special exemption to Estadio Hernando Siles. Despite FIFA’s claims that playing in the stadium is safe, Lionel Messi vomited on the pitch during Argentina’s qualifier in 2013, while members of the Brazil squad were pictured using oxygen tanks before their game in 2017.

Shifting the spotlight to an individual sport, our attention turns to one of the greatest to ever play tennis, Rafael Nadal. Of his record 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, 14 of those were won on the clay courts of Roland Garros. You may question how a Spaniard playing in the French Open has a ‘home advantage’ over his opponents. A young Nadal lived in Manacor, Mallorca, and grew up playing on clay courts that were popular in

Spain, granting him a sizable ‘home’ advantage that is transferable to Roland Garros. There, he has won 112 out of 115 games, and not dropped a set in four of his triumphs.

The home advantage in cricket often lies in the pitch and its surrounding outfield, meaning cricketers can play to its strengths. For example, Australia is well known for its hard pitches, resulting in a lot of bounce, which benefits their fast bowlers such as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Elsewhere, England’s grassy pitches make it difficult to bat on at the start of the season. Swing plays a large factor, helping Jimmy Anderson obliterate the opposition year after year. In Asia, Indian pitches are dry starting out, but the heat causes it to break up and soon becomes a native spinner’s playground.

Home advantage comes in a variety of forms. From perhaps the most recognisable fan examples, such as the City Ground roar, to the effect of different pitches, home advantage is a crucial factor in many sports. To discover this for yourself, why not support a Green and Gold team in a near home fixture?

By Vinay Patel

MEET THE TEAM

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