Epigram Issue 389 by Epigram

Undercover as an AI ChatBot

here’s what I found...

Jamie Thacker Second Year, Politics and International Relations

I sat in a seminar in autumn last year and watched my neighbour pull up ChatGPT to summarise the readings, my heart sank. It was then that I realised how common the use of generative AI would be in my time at uni. But now, tasked by Epigram with going undercover by using AI in my uni life, I would be the one relying on AI

to get me through a seminar. Alongside me was Sophie Green, English, and Crystal Rattray Cato, Politics and International Relations, who were also experimenting with using AI in their uni lives. So, in preparation for my seminar, I abandoned my own opinions, and relied entirely on the responses of AI to form my seminar contributions.

For my seminar on the political theory of discrimination, I entrusted Elon Musk’s controversial Grok AI chatbot. Trained on posts

from X, Grok has recently appeared to praise Hitler, parrot antisemitism, and spread widely discredited reports of a genocide against white farmers in South Africa. Musk had previously vowed to make Grok ‘less politically correct’ and so I was interested to see how a bot created in Musk’s image would reﬂect on the sensitive and highly political topic of discrimination.

Tasked with giving my opinion on an array of thought experiments around discrimination, I asked Grok and adopted its opinions as my own.

> Continue reading on Pg. 6

What became clear in my conversations with Grok was that it had been heavily trained to avoid being discriminatory – possibly in response to an incident in July when Grok was temporarily disabled on X due to edits to its algorithm causing a tirade of antisemitic and bigoted responses. There were no signs of the less politically correct Grok that Musk had touted and Grok was persistent

Images courtesy of (left to right): Google/Gemini logo, Claude Ai/Claude logo, X.Ai Corp/Grok logo, DeepSeek/DeepSeep logo, Microsoft/Copilot logo, Perplexity/Perplexity symbol, Meta/Meta Ai logo, Open Ai/Blossom logo Photos courtesty of Epigram

James Lewis

Co Editor-in-Chief

It’s nearly Christmas, but AI’s all around us instead.

I went to the new Steam in Stokes Croft (very good, you must go). While there, I noticed a suspicious poster of a sunglasses-wearing hippo on the wall. I said to my girlfriend, ‘look at that, it must be AI.’ Of course, I could never prove that it is, but I still questioned it. Later that night, a friend was showing me videos of his ﬂatmates ﬁghting, kissing, and, in one graphic case, spitting in each other’s mouths. You can probably see now why I feel I can’t escape AI.

In the library, ChatGPT is open on almost everyone’s screens. Every day I have an AI or AI-adjacent conversation with friends, coursemates, and tutors. I can’t even Google something without an ‘AI Overview’ as the top result. So, we’ve weighed in. Epigram’s cover story -- and two more in this issue -- look at this decade deﬁning topic.

decade

Estimates vary, but people agree that AI is used by the overwhelming majority of students – somewhere between 85 and 95 per cent of us – who use it for research, organisation, and, despite it being against both the rules and spirit of a degree, writing.

At the most recent student council, a motion was passed that bans the sale of AI imagery at SU poster sales. Bad day for fans of animals wearing human accessories.

If you say it enough times – AI AI AI AI AI – it loses its meaning. And it seems that our using AI at university, over and over again, is letting us forget what the meaning of our degree really is. We don’t know what the long term e ects of consistent AI use are, but it doesn’t seem a stretch to suggest that deferring creative decision making to a machine means we will lose our ability to make creative decisions.

With Christmas being around the corner, that means another thing – exams. So, even for those of you who are most reluctant to actually do the thing you’re paying nine and

a half grand for, this time there’s no way out.

It’s important to remember that, while exams and deadlines are important, you can’t spend all your time in a fortiﬁed position in a corner of the ASS, fending o would-be seat stealers. You should, of course, take some breaks. And what better way to spend that hard earned free time than with this copy of Epigram

Soon enough this Nightmare Before Christmas will end, and you’ll be able to leave those annoying ﬂatmates. If you’re lucky enough to have a nice (or at least bareable) family, it’s unlikely you’ll get much of your Home Alone. But aren’t ﬁghts over Monopoly, dry Christmas dinners, and trying your best not to start an argument with an eyeroll at your uncle’s questionable takes, all part of the fun?

What’s more, this winter break we’ll all be able to wipe the slate clean. Goodbye TB1, goodbye 2025. These might have gone well for you, but if not, there’s still plenty of opportunity to come. You just have to get past the inevitably disappointing plans you have for New Year’s Eve.

Photo courtesy of: Epigram/Miles Gilroy

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Bristol SU meets with MPs to voice tuition fee concerns in Parliament

The SU attended an AllParty Parliamentary Group (APPG) for students event in Westminster on November 5, joining discussions on proposed tuition fee changes.

Lenny Osler News Reporter

Apanel discussion was held in Portcullis House, chaired by Alex Sobel MP. He was joined on the panel by Josh Dean MP, Saranya Thambirajah, and Alex Stanley from the National Union of Students (NUS); Rose Stephenson from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI); and representatives from two students’ unions.

Delegates from students’ unions across the UK, includ-

cerns to the panel about the government’s plans to increase tuition fees in line with inﬂation, as well as the implications of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.

Katie Poyner, Bristol SU’s Union A airs O cer, highlighted concerns about the plans for institutions of ‘higher quality’ to be able to charge higher fees under the new White Paper. She spoke to Epigram after the meeting, saying:

‘If student representation is e ective and it does improve teaching quality standards in the university educational realm, that could be linked to tuition fee increases, which is at direct odds with what representatives want to do.’

lem of the ‘one-size-ﬁts-all approach’ to maintenance loans for students outside of London.

‘Regional disparity is something that really should be considered,’ she argued, citing the SU’s Loans that Last campaign from last year. The general maintenance loan ‘isn't enough to address the core living cost […] especially in Bristol, which is like, the second most expensive city to live in,’ she added.

Reﬂecting on the event, Katie said that the APPG is ‘deﬁnitely

bel MP, chair of the event. He was surprised by the introduction of maintenance grants by the government, which was one of his ‘big recommendations.’

However, he acknowledged concerns about the levy on international student fees, which will be used to fund the reintroduced maintenance grants.

‘There’s a lot of international students I know whose families really struggle to get them here and actually haven’t really got enough money,’ he said.

Before the event, Epigram spoke to Saranya Thambirajah, a representative from the NUS. She criticised the link between the quality of institutions and higher fees, saying it ‘risks forcing students from widening participation backgrounds into potentially lower quality courses.’

‘It would create an unfair, staggered system,’ she added.

Another issue raised during the meeting was the cost of living. Katie highlighted the prob-

“The levy could result in universities having to close departments or even close entirely

a good mechanism’ to inﬂuence policy. But she added that there are ‘so many other ways that you can get involved, like through emailing or student council.’

Speaking to Saranya on maintenance grants returning for certain courses, she said ‘we would like to see this expanded to all students who need it, not just for particular courses.’

Discussing students from marginalised backgrounds, she argued the policy would be ‘forcing their hand as to which courses they’ll apply for.’

Epigram also spoke to Alex So-

As a result, he warned the levy could result in universities having ‘to close departments or even close entirely.’ This would ‘put the student maintenance grant at risk because that’s the funding stream,’ he added.

Epigram asked Alex how to improve government accountability to students, since no government ministers had attended the APPG event. He emphasised the need for ‘government lobby events’ to allow students to inﬂuence higher education policy.

He said the government should ‘not just sit in rooms with university vice-chancellors,’ who ‘don’t represent the entirety of interest.’

When asked about future changes, he noted that the abolition of tuition fees was an ideal goal, however was ‘probably just not at this time economically viable.’

University of Bristol to axe Stoke Bishop bus passes

The University is rolling back free bus passes for the next academic year.

Soﬁa Lambis, Deputy Editor

From September 2026, Stoke Bishop residents will no longer have a U1 bus pass included in their rent.

Previously, all ﬁrst years in undergraduate accommodation had a U1 bus pass included in their rent. However, this academic year, only Stoke Bishop residents and students who applied for accommodation before May 1 received the pass. The U1 also stopped being a universitycontracted service and became a commercial route run by First Bus. Now, the university is rolling back bus passes for a second time.

Next academic year, North Village students will no longer have a U1 bus pass included in their rent, and will have to buy one separately.

A University of Bristol spokesperson said that the new system ‘helps make our rent model fairer and more transparent and supports our e orts to keep accommodation costs as a ordable as possible.’

They also said that ‘the structure and pricing of those passes will be set by First.’

A U1 pass for the university year currently costs £400 and includes the 5 and 77 services as well as certain stops on the 3 and 4. A Bristol Zone pass for the university year currently costs £485.

The Stoke Bishop residences are around 2.2 miles from campus –about a 40 minute walk. Third-year Anthropology student, Olivia, lived in Hiatt Baker during her ﬁrst year, when bus passes were given to all students.

Speaking to Epigram, Olivia said ‘Hiatt Baker was number eight on my application list, because I didn’t want to be so far away from campus. I always took the U1, especially at night because I didn’t feel safe walking across the Downs. If I was given accommodation I didn’t want and then had to pay for a bus pass on top of that, I would’ve moved.’

The university is also working with the SU to create a transport support package for students across all year groups needing support with travel costs.

Print Editor ........................................ Oliver Poyser

Online Editor Cara Hene

Deputy Editor .............................. Aimee Anderson

Subeditor Katy Goodall

Subeditor Ellen Landale

University of Bristol to develop new ‘digital library’ as part of UK’s AI revolution

The plans come after the launch of Isambard-AI at the University of Bristol in July, and supports the wider strategy of the university, and the West of England, to develop their position as a hub for AI innovation.

Aimee Anderson, News Deputy Editor

TheUniversity of Bristol is set to develop a multimillion-pound national AI data facility, which will function as a digital library for researchers across the country.

The facility will be located at the National Composites Centre (NCC), next to Isambard-AI. Isambard-AI is the UK’s fastest supercomputer, able to process in one second what it would take the entire global population 80 years to achieve.

The digital library will ‘enable the UK’s most valuable data assets and largest data sets to be processed at record speed by Isambard-AI [...] unlocking the full potential of the government’s £225m investment into the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing and Isambard-AI,’ according to Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the

Bristol Centre for Supercomputing.

Through this investment, researchers and industry will be able to harness the potential of AI in ﬁelds such as robots, big data, climate research, and drug discovery.

The development of the data facility comes as part of the UK Government’s AI for Science Strategy, announced November 21. The strategy has two objectives:

1. Develop frontier capability in AI-driven science

2. Ensure the UK retains its position of global scientiﬁc leadership

Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol said ‘as a research-intensive university at the heart of the UK’s AI revolution, we support the announcement of the AI for Science Strategy and

are pleased to be a key part of this.’

The University of Bristol was chosen to host Isambard-AI due to its long history of world-leading AI research and expertise in high performance computing, according to a university press release.

According to Welch, the data library will contribute further towards ‘establishing Bristol and the UK as an international hub for AI research. This investment will be central to creating a ‘British Library’ for the AI age.’

Quarter Enterprise Campus is set to open in September 2026 and will specialise in innovation, AI, business, and digital engineering.

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, also said ‘this investment helps turbo-charge the West’s ambition to establish the UK’s ﬁrst AI supercluster.’

Such ambitions hope to place the region ‘as a world-leading hub for AI research, innovation, and adoption,’ according to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s growth strategy, published in September. The strategy sees the development of AI as a key aspect of the West

She described Bristol as a ‘university which will spearhead AI innovation and scientiﬁc discovery in important areas such as drug discovery of England’s potential to ‘power the UK’s next wave of growth.’

FLASH NEWS

University of Bristol student attacked in racially aggravated assault

Aimee Anderson, News Deputy Editor

Avon and Somerset Police have appealed to the public for information regarding an individual who may be able to help with their investigation.

‘Wonderfully stressful’ last round of University Challenge for Bristol

Leah

In last night's

The University of Temple

the NCC, described the library as serious discovery and inand climate research.’

Simon Pegg returns to Bristol, 10 years after Pegg Theatre opens

Henry Gri ths, Third year, Philosophy

UoB alumnus, Simon Pegg, returned to Bristol this month, giving an intimate Q&A reﬂecting on his time at the university, the eponymous Pegg Theatre, and his tips and experiences as a seasoned writer and actor.

Bristol academics join push for climate action at COP30 in Brazil

Ellen Landale, News Subeditor

University of Bristol researchers have been contributing expertise on biodiversity and

engagement.

New ‘plant-forward’ Source V café opens in Merchant Venturers Building

Emily Maclean, Second year, English

The University of Bristol’s new vegetarian café, Source-V, opened November 3 in the Merchant Venturers Building.

Photo courtesy of: Soﬁa Lambis

Photos courtesy of: 1. Epigram/Aimee Anderson 2. Screenshotted from the BBC, aired on 24 November 2025 on BBC Two

Comment

I went undercover as an AI ChatBot, here’s what I found...

Editor’s Choice: Jamie Thacker Second Year, Politics and International Relations

At the start of every month, Epigram’s Comment team sits down to discuss the key conversations facing the university community. Something that always crops up is AI - it’s growing rapidly and no one can really agree what to do about it. There’s the enviormental impact, the e ect on workplaces, the challenges for academia, the economic consequences, and of course the dreaded political debate. But they’ve all been done before. So we decided that the only way to cover this issue was to enlist a series of undercover student operatives to secretly use AI to assist them in their daily lives. From seminar contributions to conversations with friends, from emails to general lifestyle advice, I grant you this may have been a bit extra. Nonetheless, the results were fascinating, and Jamie Thacker reﬂects on them brilliantly. Give it a read and ask youself - have you been unknowlingly speaking to a Chatbot this November?

> Continued from front cover What became clear in my conversations with Grok was that it had been heavily trained to avoid being discriminatorypossibly in response to an incident in July when Grok was temporarily disabled on X due to edits to its algorithm causing a tirade of antisemitic and bigoted responses. There were no signs of the less politically correct Grok that Musk had touted and Grok was persistent in ﬁnding the least o ensive answers to every question, even those with huge amounts of nuance.

just how average it is. Generative AI is designed to mimic human language and doesn’t have any opinions of its own.

Sitting in a seminar reading out the words of Grok felt like wasting everyone

Armed with Grok’s responses to a set of hypothetical scenarios, I contributed as if Grok’s words were my own, even when we disagreed. I even argued that Harrods should not be allowed to hire attractive salespeople - this was Grok’s opinion although few in my seminar agreed. When I revealed my undercover mission to a peer after the seminar it took her by surprise, Grok’s opinions seemed to align enough with my own typical viewpoints to allow me to go under the radar. This isn’t surprising when it’s considered that AI chatbots inherently default to agreeable, lowest common denominator responses.

of disconnect and inauthenticity from sending generated emails compared to the “enrichment” usually gained from sending and receiving emails. These small tasks may feel tedious at times, but they are nonetheless important human interactions and using AI for them cheapens them to mere formalities. Sophie also found that, despite its common utilisation as a time-saving tool, AI was often more e ort than it was worth - this was certainly true of my seminar prep as well. Sophie and Crystal both found that AI

“

The issue of AI use in schools and universities is a tricky one. As AI becomes rapidly smarter and more useful, it also becomes more pervasive. Students are caught between a professional world that welcomes AI and an academic setting wary of it. I think what my experience illuminates about AI is

generative AI felt like short-changing those in the seminar who had done the reading, formed their own opinions, and defended them intelligently. It also felt uncomfortable using an impassive AI to answer questions about discrimination, a subject for which personal experience is invaluable.

Sophie, who also went undercover using Gemini to respond to emails said she felt a similar feeling

I even used AI to generate a sentence in this article - I wonder if you can tell which one?

could be a useful tool. Sophie used AI to help indicate useful sources, while Crystal found it helpful in her general life, helping her with recipes, teaching her to play guitar, assisting with editing a play, as well as indicating what was socially appropriate. It is clear from Sophie and Crystal’s experience that AI can indeed be a highly useful tool when used in the right way. Although it remains true that AI as a tool is only as good as the person using it.

Although AI is average, it would be unwise to consider it neutral.

Recent news has shown how chatbots can reﬂect societal biases and prejudices. Chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok are controlled by some of the wealthiest people on Earth, to think of

them as politically neutral tools is naïve. Musk launched Grok to be an ‘anti-woke’ Chatbot in opposition to software like ChatGPT. In April, Grok posted on X stating that it had been trained to appeal to the political right. It is clear that these Chatbots are not free from the political inﬂuence of those who hold power over their training. It should also be remembered that the companies behind AI chatbots are incentivised by proﬁt rather than presenting accurate or unbiased information.

Despite the ﬂaws of AI, it is certain that the professional world has embraced it fully. When

students graduate, they will no doubt face a world where AI is unavoidable. We have already seen the integration of AI into hiring processes. AI is becoming so seamless and convincing that we often ﬁnd ourselves in everyday Turing tests, wondering whether we’re reading the words of a human or a machine. As such, the university faces an intriguing balancing act between protecting the integrity of student’s work and degrees and preparing students for employment. For me, I look forward to escaping the shackles of Grok and becoming myself again in next week’s seminars. And as the ﬁnal part of my undercover mission, I even used AI to generate a sentence in this article - I wonder if you can tell which one?

Photo courtesy of: Sam Couriel

Editor ................................................... Sam Couriel

Deputy Editor .................................... Amelie Patel

Deputy Editor Lindsay Shimizu

Subeditor................................. Amaya Lewis-Patel

Subeditor Lilja Nassar

With students’ pockets more depleted than ever and blacktie requirements reinforcing Bristol’s elitist image, is it time to reimagine winter formals?

Emily Maclean

Second Year, English

The formula remains untouched: a limitless ﬂow of wine and prosecco, a three-course meal, an atmosphere promising to whisk you straight to the set of Bridgerton, and the unmistakable soundtrack of generational-wealth laughter. The image of the winter formal is exclusive, paved in the attempted recreation of Oxbridge-style balls. Then again, isn’t that cynical? Don’t students deserve one night a year of harmless pretence?

The most obvious barrier is cost - tickets are often around £30 - £40, a significant financial commitment for students, considering that two courses at The Ivy, a notorious emblem of fine dining in the wealthy Clifton Village, cost £20.95. Black-tie dress

Has the winter formal lost its appeal?

codes, aesthetics crafted for Instagram bragging-rights, and the conspicuous performance of privilege can transform the evening from a community celebration to a performance of status.

The ever-rising cost of living continues to escalate this pressure. The number of students in employment is skyrocketing, increasing from 58 to 68 per cent in the past year. Despite demand for these events remaining strong, it’s worth asking what some students are sacriﬁcing, whether that be extra hours at work, or an extra bit of pocket money, to participate in this one night of extravagance.

Most societies are aware of these tensions and actively work to make formals more accessible, by subsidising ticket prices and o ering

alternative low-budget socials aimed to ensure that all members can engage with their events. It’s also important to remember that societies are run by fellow students also juggling budgets and pressures, who try to create memorable experiences without excluding anyone.

Formals foster a sense of community and provide a brief reprieve from student life. Falsta Society told Epigram, ‘The Winter Formal is our biggest event of the term, a chance to come together, celebrate the (near!) end of a busy semester, and enjoy being part of Falsta Society.’

‘There’s been especially strong enthusiasm from ﬁrst-year students who are eager to get involved in their subject’s society and enjoy those quintessential university experiences.’

The society has also been considerate of those unable to attend, promising to continue celebrations at a pub or club following the event, to which everyone’s invited, and keeping members updated through Instagram. Beyond formals, Falsta Society runs yearround events, most free or low-cost and designed to be accessible and inclusive, showing how some societies are strongly committed to making all members feel welcome.

The merits of the winter formal di er according to the society, with Exchange Society eager to introduce international students to British holiday traditions. Exchange Society explained that: ‘Besides a delicious meal and a great time, we hope our members -

who come from all over the world - will enjoy seeing how Christmas is celebrated in the UK.

The winter formal provides a perfect send-o for students leaving the UK at the end of term, while a range of other events o er cheaper and sober options for all members. A far cry from elitist performance, their formal is conducted in the open spirit of cultural exchange and community.

The intention of the winter formal isn’t exclusionary; many societies stress that it’s a space for fantasy, community, and shared celebration after a busy term. The debate shouldn’t be whether winter formals should exist, but rather what message they convey to students, and how they can better reﬂect students’ circumstances. One night of escapism is harmless - as long as it is acknowledged for what it is.

UoB vs UWE: why mocking ‘modern’ universities misses the point

The silly rivalries between universities might build comradery on campus, but must also ask us to think about class divisions rampant in high education.

Amelie Patel Deputy Comment Editor

The rivalry between the University of Bristol and the University of West England (UWE) is an eternal subtext of the Bristol experience. But it’s not a unique one; nearly every major city the lines are drawn between the Russell Group university and the ‘modern’ university (for lack of a better term), which is oftentimes a converted polytechnic. You have Oxford and Oxford Brookes, Manchester and Man Met, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent. Although there are eight types of university groups in the UK, they are often reduced into these two. Jokes about city divides are a common point of entertainment, but what lies behind the laughter? Is it simply the workings of an elitist academic culture?

The history of modern universities

Polytechnics was invented in 1969. They were referred to as ‘technical colleges,’ which awarded degrees

in areas seen as vocational, meeting common demands of the time.

In 1992, polytechnics were converted into universities, a crucial policy which opened up higher education to the general population and broadened the scope of academia for good. In 1992, there were just under one million people in higher education aged 18 to 24. In 2021, there were 1.87 million - an enrolment rate twice as high. In spite levelling of the playing ﬁeld on paper more than 30 years ago, these ‘modern’ universities and, by extension, the people that attend them, are viewed as inferior.

The divide

The distinction between Russell Group and modern universities is not as binary as a preference towards old, historic institutions compared to new, brutalist builds. The University of Warwick was founded in 1965 and has risen to become one of the most prestigious universities in the UK. Unsurprisingly, it all circles back to class divisions. 35 per cent of students at the University of Bristol attended private schools. Most Russell Group universities admit around 30 per cent of the privately educated, with Bristol at the upper end. Students used to sitting in a perceived elite of six per cent at private schools may ﬁnd their world views unchallenged at Russell Group universities - as simply new, big-

ger zones on which to project superiority complexes. Though admittedly, students aren’t responsible for entrenched power structures within higher establishments. Classism is embedded in the culture of the United Kingdom. Comedy can be fun, witty and educational or prejudiced, uncritical and shallow. Unfortunately, on Instagram I see a lot of the latter centred on making fun of ‘modern’ universities, stoking the ﬂames of class wars. When there are two universities in an area they are going to be compared. My problem isn’t with comparison, but the closed-minded attitude that relegates non-Russell Group universities to a point of comedy, without considering that these universities hold many advantages.

Student experience at di erent universities

Modern universities and Russell Group universities have their own merits. I’m not trying to further sow the seeds of divide, but explore ways in which both institutions work and have room to grow.

Interestingly, most modern universities have higher teaching satisfaction rates than Russell Group ones; 9 out of the top 10 universities with the highest rates are modern. Bristol falls at 116th place and has a 75 per cent satisfaction rate, meaning one in four students remain unsatisﬁed with the teaching they

receive. This is not surprising. Russell Groups are notorious for having low student satisfaction rates. They self-describe themselves as ‘research-intensive’ which can often deprioritise teaching. Whilst professors at modern universities focus on delivering high quality lessons to students, professors at Russell Groups may be more interested in their research than providing exceptional teaching.

Additionally, there is also a ﬂawed belief that Russell Group universities contribute the most to increased social mobility. In fact, it is institutions outside this group that are driving social mobility. They are less-selective with their admission processes, prioritising learners who have potential to succeed, but may have been held back by personal obstacles. Better support systems are frequently set up for pupils as well; ‘What Uni?’ conducted a survey this year ranking student support services at universities and unsurprisingly the top ﬁve were non-Russell Group establishments. By virtue of often smaller campuses, students can become part of tight-knit, supportive communities in a way Russell Group pupils cannot.

Clearly, the idea that Russell Group universities are the best of the best is simply not true. By looking at the culture and community of modern universities, universities like the University of Bristol could elevate their

strengths beyond the horizon of research rankings. Wouldn’t it be lovely for every pupil to be satisﬁed with the teaching they have laid down 29K for?

Changing employability landscape

A 2022 report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that independent of the university attended, students with ﬁrst class and upper second class honours had higher salaries by the age of 30 than students with lower grades. Russell Groups might have better career networks, but chances of recruitment are not always bolstered by the Russell Group card. With the rise of blind recruitment processes in UK workplaces, as high as 35 per cent of companies according to a 2019 survey by Adecco, you may not be able to leverage your attendance at a Russell Group university at all.

With the evidence displayed, I’m sorry to inform you that jokes about UWE’s inferiority are nothing more than echoes of elitism. The net of education has widened forever, and there’s no going back. When you next think of universities, it might be worth considering the formidable number of institutions that exist today (296 according to statista) that contribute to a thriving ecosystem of higher education. Russell Groups make up a mere 10 per cent of this landscape. It’s time we appreciate the other 90.

Carla Denyer takes a stand for students facing housing struggles

Editor’s Choice:

Francesca Elliot Third Year, Classical Studies

This month I have chosen a write up by Francesca Elliot, who attended a recent talk hosted by Carla Denyer that addressed Bristol’s current housing crisis. The piece discusses the recent passing of the Renters’ Rights Act, and how the Green Party intend to tackle the issue. The Greens have been reaching new heights in recent months thanks to new leader Zack Polanski so it felt ﬁtting to spotlight some of their key stances, and I hope the piece will help students to not lose faith and remind them of the available help that is out there.

Last week Bristol’s ﬁrst Green MP, Carla Denyer, met with students to discuss renters’ rights and the challenges of student housing in Bristol. During the talk, she outlined her current and future plans to tackle the housing crisis and answered students’ questions about their housing concerns.

Bristol is rapidly becoming an una ordable place to live for many, with the price of housing ‘rising faster than nationally and much faster than average incomes.’ There is a serious lack of a ordable housing, and as Denyer stated, Bristol has now become ‘more expensive to live in than half of London boroughs,’ a situation that was not the case until recently. Students in particular are struggling, facing expensive rent demands, poor living conditions, and severe shortage of accommodation.

This is a devastating situation for both stu-

dents, who must choose between enormous rent bills and lengthy communities; and locals who feel they can no longer live in a city they call home.

Renters’ Rights Act

Denyer has been a vocal advocate for what she describes as ‘restoring Britain’s housing.’ Last week The Green Party celebrated a major step forward with the passing of the government-backed Renters’ Rights Act, which is expected to take e ect in 2026. This act aims to ‘rebalance the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants,’ protecting renters from unreasonable rent increases, discrimination and substandard living conditions.

Denyer is particularly pleased with the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, which will prevent landlords from evicting tenants without a legitimate reason – a signiﬁcantly distressing ordeal for renters. However, she acknowledges that without rent controls, landlords could still raise rent to force tenants out and is working to make rent tribunals more e ective to combat this.

Landlords will also no longer be able to demand more than one month’s rent in advance, a practice Denyer described as discriminatory towards people on housing benefits and those with low incomes. Overall, she is confident the reforms will significantly strengthen renters’ protections and therefore hopefully represent pro-

gress in improving the housing crisis.

‘Abolish Landlords’ and Reshaping the Private Rental Sector

communities should have a ‘fairly even balance of people from di erent backgrounds.’

said ‘not every student comes from a family that earns a certain amount.’ She argued that students should be required to provide one of either a guarantor or a deposit – expecting both excludes many from less privileged backgrounds.

Denyer also highlighted the inadequacy of student maintenance loans, which she said do not reflect the true living cost of Bristol. The government ‘simply pick a figure and stick with it,’ and she would like policymakers to reconsider how this figure is calculated.

As to whether Bristol will become more a ordable in the future, Denyer was cautiously optimistic. ‘It is not something that can happen overnight,’ she said, but she hopes that with the right approach such as rent freezes or even reductions a meaningful di erence could be made.

Support and Resources

Denyer also discussed the Green Party motion passed last month titled ‘Abolish Landlords’. While the name drew headlines, she admitted it can be misleading, as the motion does not literally seek to abolish landlords, but rather to put in more regulations and taxes on private rentals through measures such as rent controls and expanded social housing.

“‘The title gets mixed reviews,’ she said. ‘It grabs attention, but a more accurate name would

The ultimate goal, Deyner explained, is to empower tenants and create a fairer, more sustainable housing system.

When asked whether Bristol’s growing student population contributes to the housing crisis, Denyer acknowledged that the student density can cause problems in some areas.

be “Shrink the Private Housing Sector.”’ The ultimate goal, Denyer explained, is to empower tenants and create a fairer, more sustainable housing system.

Student Housing and Barriers to Renting

‘It can be a problem because students aren’t here all year’. This a ects local businesses and can create imbalances in neighbourhoods, such as increased rubbish, straining the government resources as students do not contribute council tax. Nonetheless she argued that, ideally,

Denyer concluded the session directing students to organisations that can help with housing issues, including Shelter and Acorn. She also encouraged anyone struggling to contact their local MP if problems persist. To achieve fairer housing, Denyer’s message to students was clear: speak up, seek support, and push for fairer housing.

Many of the evenings’ questions focused on the speciﬁc challenges faced when trying to secure housing. One student shared that their application had been rejected because their guarantor did not meet income or homeownership requirements. Denyer called this a clear example of ‘anti-workingclass student measures’ and

Meg Roberts investigates the impacts of the ban on disposable vapes and questions the success of the goverment’s inital goals.

Meg Roberts Second Year, Geography and French

Editor .............................................. Anna Dodd

Deputy Editor Ellie Barnes

Deputy Editor ........................ Charlotte Kerby

Subeditor....................................... Maya Tailor

Subeditor

Six months on from the disposable vape ban what’s actually changed?

ceptable, and less bother. These grounds imply that whether the vape is disposable has little relevance to its purchasing or use.

On the 1st of June 2025, the UK government banned the sale and supply of all single use vapes. According to an article from ‘evapo’, a vaping retailer, the ban’s intentions were to reduce youth vaping and environmental impacts as well as to protect adult smokers. Despite positive motivations it would appear more harm than good has arisen from this new restriction.

ing vapes had tripled. In 2023, roughly 69 per cent of vapers aged 11 to 17 were using disposable vapes, a 7.7 per cent increase from 2021. This trend continues into the university student age range. A survey conducted by The Independent in 2022 gathered data from more than 18,000 students across 24 universities. Over half the students stated they had used a disposable vape since the beginning of term and 27 per cent of students admitted to being addicted.

Prohibiting disposable vapes does not discourage vaping, rather, in the words of Isabelle, a second-year student, it ‘just incentivises people to buy other kinds of vape, more people will transition to rechargeables.’ Additionally, it would seem the ban itself has had little impact in the purchasing of single use vapes.

First year student, Lottie, says she’s seen ‘no di erences, you can still buy disposable vapes, they’re still displayed in shops’ and that she feels as though ‘younger and younger generations are picking up the habit.’

sions which is important for combatting climate change. Though, as raised earlier, students have not seen a di erence in disposable vape accessibility. Thus, these predicted beneﬁts are likely negligible.

tually reaching water systems. A Scottish government paper stated the ban would bring about reduced waste ﬁre emissions as less vapes are incinerated. This would lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emisthey opportu-

easily persuaded that in the long run, investing in a rechargeable vape is the better option, for the planet and for their wallets.

Students at the University of Bristol, when asked why they vape, gave reasons such as sociability, bonding opportunities, relief, and drunkenness. In comparison to cigarettes, they said vapes had better scent, were

“According to Material Focus, an electricals recycling campaign group, in 2024, ﬁve million single-use vapes were thrown away per week. It is vital this number is decreased. Vapes

importantly, the

Disposable vapes, ‘there’s a lot to like.’ They are convenient, a ordable and discreet, available in a range of di erent ﬂavours. Their high nicotine concentration is appealing to many looking for a strong hit, and most importantly, they require no maintenance. The ease and attractiveness of single use vaping is visible statistically, and numbers are frightening. Research by the UK government, environmental

more socially

What’s more, there was a general lack of awareness that the disposable vape ban had been passed amongst the students surveyed. The temptation of buying disposables, as opposed to reusable or lower nicotine concentration vapes, largely lies within their economical charm. Disposable vapes cost as little as £4 whereas reusables start out at around £25. In the spur of the moment, it’s obvious which option a student would go for. The small price barrier has been a catalysing factor in the growth of disposable vaping, allowing more people to try it and develop a ﬁxation.

Over half the students stated they had used a disposable vape since the beginning of term.

Has the ban been counterproductive? It is still too early to conclusively tell, but it has been recognised that fewer single-use vapes in circulation will have environmental and health beneﬁts for society. There is some evidence of improvement in the environmental domain; reports of less visible waste for example. This is greatly beneﬁcial to wildlife species with

contain resources like cobalt and copper and supporting the mining of these materials through purchasing vapes is unethical and unsustainable. In 2022, Material Focus discovered over 40 tonnes of lithium was disposed of via single use vape discard, enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles. Today, with mineral conﬂict so rife, the existence of disposable vapes seems insensitive.

As for the health aspect, the ban is yet to reap any major beneﬁts. Many disposable vape users, students and the public alike, found that post ban, they either continued to purchase single use vapes, turned to tobacco or invested in rechargeable vapes.

There is great concern that until single-use vapes are genuinely no longer purchasable, younger students, still in schools, will use the low-

Despite this pessimism, the disposable vape ban is a step

els within a green framework. Clampshowing

Whether

ing down by the government would be necessary in reducing environmental impacts and showing solidarity with mineral source countries. Whether vaping overall will decrease is unlikely, from the students surveyed the opposite seems probable, but perhaps the ban can act as a wake-up call to those fallen victim to the trend.

Mind the...Gap

Dear boys…

Emma Coleman kicks o Mind the Gap’s new series, discussing the importance of involving everyone in the conversation about female safety at night.

Emma Coleman Film and TV Subeditor

Welcome to Mind the Gap’s ‘Out After Dark’ series, where we will explore the impact of winter on female safety. Longer periods of darkness have arrived, and whilst we hold our breaths for Christmas, we cannot ignore the increased risk we all now face. Nearly three-quarters of women change their behaviour during the darker winter months, so what can be done to improve the safety of women when the seasons change? Unfortunately this discussion is often reduced to a ‘female issue,’ so instead I am focusing my discussion on what men can do and am addressing this article Dear Boys…

Let me start with a quick history lesson. In 1977, the ‘Reclaim the Night’ marches occurred throughout many of England’s major cities, including Bristol, protesting the restriction of women in public spaces at night following the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ murders. These were part of the Women’s Liberation Movement, and link heavily to the struggles we

still face today. The Bristol SU has organised many ‘Reclaim the Night’ marches,

etc. This is tiresome and engrained into our brains already and can lead to much larger issues of victim blaming.

Instead, let’s discuss what we can do to educate men on the issue. Talking to student Tom, he had some very insightful ideas. He noted that ‘a signiﬁcantly smaller number of men have experienced sexual harassment and assault and that many men do not sexually harass and assault women, leading to them feeling that it is not their issue’ Consequently, he emphasised the importance of an interventionist education on young men and breaking through the stigma of safeguarding women as a ‘female issue.’ Tom also emphasised the importance of organised sport in secondary school as a great aggressive outlet that he beneﬁtted from in his own childhood.

Moreover, he shared his research on the lack of a good fatherly role model, ﬁnding that 76 per cent of men in England and Wales have absent fathers (2013), and that this leads to the adoption of negative role models – in real life and on social media. This presents a larger societal issue that unfortunately has a detrimental impact in later life regarding male attitudes and behaviour towards women. Finally, one of the most important aspects of educating young men that Tom and I discussed is the power of male friendships and being able to stand up to your friends and tell them that their

demand the use of public spaces at night without fear.

What I don’t want to do is tailor this article solely towards advice for women to protect themselves. We know the advice: don’t walk alone at

behaviour is wrong. However, Tom says this is challenging in itself because outside a group setting you cannot see a friend’s behaviour and this is why positive role models are so important.

Epigram talked to Soroptimist – a global organisation for helping and improving the lives of women. They provided a poignant statistic: young women (16-24) are the most likely to experience VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls), representing 86 per cent of victims in this category. This highlights how prevalent this issue is for university students, with the majority being within this age category and thus most at risk. Soroptimist emphasised the importance of involving men in these discussions and it has been found men are more likely to listen to menalmost half (48 per cent) of participants’ disclosures were to their friends in the Male Survivors Partnership study, showing men have a willingness to speak about their experiences with other men. The consequent need to have a good role model and to be one yourself is so prevalent.

For our winter mini-series, Mind the Gap is proud to announce ‘Out After Dark’, a collaboration with the women’s charity, Soroptimist. As the dark, cold, quiet evenings slowly catch up to us, a sense of unease creeps up on many young women. Whether it’s walking home from a late library session, leaving a nightclub early, or going for an evening run, most women have felt the need to stay more vigilant, constantly looking over their shoulders or pretending to be on the phone as the threat of genderbased harassment or violence looms. This is unacceptable. Students should always feel safe, especially in their university town. This mini-series aims to explore the safety of women during these winter months, hoping to raise awareness, amplify women’s voices, and delve into an issue that impacts many of us on a day-to-day basis.

night and if you do call a friend and put a hood up, always have someone to go home with after a night out, keep your keys between your ﬁngers,

Soroptimist put together a list of speciﬁc advice for men, and how they can make women feel safer at night: Avoid walking too closely behind or suddenly approaching women in dark or isolated areas – cross the street or give space to help women feel safe. Don’t make cat calls or whistle at women, don’t comment on their appearance. Keep hands visible and have a relaxed posture, avoid blocking the pavement. If on a train or bus, move to a di erent part of the compartment, so not so close and don’t stare. Say sorry if you accidently make a woman uncomfortable and move away.

Learn how to be an e ective bystander by doing training like that delivered by the Suzy Lamplugh trust (this is also available at the Soroptimist). If you know the woman and are, for instance, both working late, o er to walk her to a taxi rank or to her car, but don’t pester if she says no. Recognise that small actions, like o ering to walk someone home or avoiding intimidating body language, can signiﬁcantly inﬂuence how safe women feel in public

spaces.

Men of any age, please don’t sit next to a young woman on a bus full of empty seats, especially touching the side of her with your side on narrow bench seats. It is intimidating. Don’t grab someone’s arm even if you are trying to help - ask women carefully if they need help ﬁrst. Share your learning with your friends and call them out on negative behaviours. Speak up or intervene (safely) if friends make jokes, comments, or take actions that could make women feel threatened or disrespected. Sign the White Ribbon and MACS (Male allies challenging sexism) pledges – commit to ‘never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women.’ Over 60,000 men have taken the pledge so far.

Let me quickly interject and say, it is untrue to claim that no bad things ever happen to men while walking alone at night. This would completely diminish the su ering and trauma that men do face, however, women undoubtedly su er more. In the period 2 – 27 June 2021, ½ of women felt very or fairly unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home, compared with 1 in 7 men. Therefore I have tailored this article to focus on the protection of women in the darker months, solely as it is found to have more of a detrimental impact on their mental health and lifestyle.

Student Poppy shares how the darker months a ect her. She shared that ‘while walking alone at night I have experienced catcalling and been followed and believe that this has happened to most girls.’ When taking public transport at night, she tries to be with friends, sits near the driver on a bus, and spends signiﬁcantly more money on Ubers. Poppy says that the focus needs to shift from teaching young women to protect themselves to instilling education on young men, as well making self-defence classes more accessible.

Even while writing this article (sorry

for breaking the fourth wall) the sun has set while being in the library and I now have to consider the safest way to get home. I never listen to music while walking in the dark and will have to take a longer route home to avoid a particularly dark and quiet path. This shouldn’t be accepted as the norm and we must do all we can to change it.

Women should not be expected to change their behaviour. However, as this is an ongoing and frightening issue, I have included a list of nightline numbers below for emergency situations. After 40 years of Bristol Nightline, it unfortunately closed in June 2025, yet they still o er signiﬁcant support to students.

University of Bristol Security (non-emergency)0117 9287848, 24/7

University of Bristol Security (emergency only)0117 3311223, 24/7

Strut Safe - 0333 3350026, open 7pm to 3am (1am on Sundays)

The Hollie Guard safety app is also great – holding down the hexagon button on your phone starts a recording on camera and sends an alert to your designated emergency contacts. (£7.99/month) If you are being followed or are in danger, please call 999.

Overall, the darker seasons can be detrimental to women’s mental health and force a change in lifestyle. More must be done to combat this issue, beginning with the involvement of men in discussions and further education on what they can do to protect women in winter.

Illustration courtesy of: Epigram/Kimberley Goh

Community

Society Spotlight | Bristol Racing

This month, we are spotlighting Bristol Racing, the University of Bristol’s motorsport society. Open to all students interested in engineering, Bristol Racing run workshops, host competitions, and send an experienced team to Greenpower F24+ series races. We asked Co-President, Erin Gardner, about her experiences in the society, and what we can expect to see from Bristol Racing this year.

Annabel Bienfait Community Editor

How would you describe Bristol Racing Society in a few words?

Bristol Racing is a student-led motorsport team that designs, builds, and races an electric car in the Greenpower F24+ series. We develop the car throughout the year and compete at events across the country. What skills and experience can members gain from involvement in Bristol Racing?

Members can join one of our four sub-teams: Aerodynamics, Composites, Electrical or Mechanical. You get to learn practical skills like CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting and soldering while contributing to a fun project. The experience gained at Bristol Racing is also valuable for future careers in engineering. It is a great way to make friends, and you get to know older students who are always happy to share advice and stories from past years.

You mentioned that you design cars for the Greenpower F24+ series. Could you explain these competitions?

Greenpower is an international racing series where teams design and race electric cars in several categories, including the F24+ class for university and college teams. All cars are built by the competitors themselves, and the races bring

together student teams from across the world. Our current car, BR3.5, was designed and built from scratch by the team. We are now carrying out repairs and upgrades and will move into testing and design improvements ahead of the 2026 season, which begins in May.

Are there any opportunities for students with no engineering or motorsport experience?

We run a training programme from September to January that teaches new members everything they need to get started. Everyone is put into small groups, and each group designs and builds a remote-control car, which we race head-to-head after the Christmas break. It is a great way to learn basic CAD and manufacturing skills, even if you have never done anything like this before.

Motorsports is still a heavily male-dominated industry. How does Bristol Racing support female students who want to pursue careers in engineering and motorsports?

We put a lot of focus on building a strong and supportive community for women in the team. Female members can be paired with a female mentor who helps them settle into the society, and we have a women’s group chat where members can ask questions or

Editor Annabel Bienfait

Deputy Editor ................................ Rachel Shortall

Deputy Editor ..................................... Ivor Starkey

Subeditor

This year, demand to join the team has been so high that all the Bristol Racing sub-teams and the RC programme are full!

Over the next few months, keep an eye out for project and event announcements on the Bristol Racing socials. Everyone is welcome to come along and ﬁnd out more about the society!

Contact:

Instagram: @bristolracing Email: bristol_racing@outlook.com

share advice. We are also proud to have several female team leads, who give newer members visible role models within the project.

Do you have any favourite memories from past workshops, Greenpower competitions, and socials?

With mismatched maintenance loans, shoddy ovens, and questionable knife skills, the idea of a student Christmas dinner can feel daunting. Allow me, a Michelin-trained-ex-chef-turned-pennyscraping-student, to o er my advice.

The truth is, there is no need to waste time preboiling, ﬂu ng up, cooling down, and hard roasting potatoes when Aunt Bessie exists. Your time and enjoyment are more important than the crisp on your potato. Until you can blindly taste the di erence between the two taters, I will call your Bessie slander snobby.

There is of course a caveat here: the price you

pay for Bessie’s or other prepackaged goods is, in general, a little more than what you would spend on the raw ingredients. However, there are often expensive ingredients in these dishes, sometimes ones you only need a touch of. Paying £7.50 for a whole jar of goose fat, when you’re not fully conﬁdent why it’s better than vegetable oil, ends up being a big deal when you’re splitting costs across a group with di erent value systems and incomes.

When planning activities with friend groups, it is important to establish everyone’s attitude to value, not just money. If you dream of juliennes and dauphinoise, then £20 towards ingredients may be reasonable to you. But

Subeditor.............................. Alannah Mylechreest

How to host the (not so) perfect student Christmas dinner

Everyone in the team looks forward to letting o steam at our socials. Our recent karaoke night was unforgettable and really showed the close friendships within the team. Taking the car to races is deﬁnitely a highlight: seeing all our hard work come together on track is really rewarding, and we always make sure to celebrate afterwards.

Isabel Reilly

Second Year, Philosophy

if you’re a chicken and rice merchant with zero tolerance for spice, that price may seem extortionate. Even if someone could technically a ord it, it may not be of the same value to them as it is for you.

So, if you are planning your own Christmas with your uni mates, it’s a good idea to think about what everyone wants from it. Only cook extravagantly if you actually see the value in it – do not fall for the scam of hosting beyond your means out of a pressure to perform adulthood appropriately.

There is no shame in pre-made dish or packeted sauce. what

Dear Agony Aunt...

Cordell Punter Community Subeditor

That is... very forward. If your engagement is still looming over your head like a manshaped cloud, then it is best to see if that is what they really want. Is this a Gavin and Stacey situation after all? I am unsure if it is overall romantic, as I knew a boy who was engaged aged 16 (they broke up at 17). Maybe see this guy in person a fourth time and see if they are still as eager. Talk to their friends; has this happened before? Is romance dead? It might be on the way out on this one...

‘Lectures attended… below 10%, but I’m not behind so does it matter?’

You’re one of those students! It is an honour to meet you (via paper). Your kind is a rare, you can write a better lab book than the student who is at every lab session or an essay despite not knowing the name of the lecturer... I think that it is important to go to lectures as you get to meet people from your course and speak to your lecturers in person. And, of course, if you’re not attending in-person, what is the point of being at Bristol when you could do it all online somewhere else? Take the opportunities you get for the money you’re paying after all! ‘I met a guy over the summer twice, and we connected really well. He told me he wanted to marry me after the third time, and I can’t tell if that’s love bombing or romantic?’

Isabel’s

top tips for a roast dinner

Here’s a very basic (loosely nutritional) guideline on what the right amount of food is for each person so that no matter how you do your roast, you keep everyone full and your food waste down.

In general, for a meal you want around:

100g of protein per person

80g of vegetables 150g-180g of carbohydrates

Obviously, this number will vary per individual but these weights are a good rough guide.

Cordell Punter

Illustration courtesy of: Romina Trevino Santa Cruz

What’s on?

Photo courtesy of: Bristol Racing

Epitome

A letter to my freshers’ week self

Katy Bright

Second Year, English

Since starting university a year ago, I have learnt so much about myself. Not only can I now turn on the washing machine and wash dishes myself, I feel like I have really come into my own. I understand myself, how to navigate my emotions, when I need time socialising with friends and when I just need to be on my own.

I feel so much more mature now. Last year, I wanted to stay out until 3 in the morning and spend all my money on shots and takeaways. Now, I crave a pub-quiz, a night in watching Traitors, a glass of wine with my dinner. Since ﬁnding my people, I want to spend as much time with them as possible. I’m living with 8 girls now, my best friends, and as cringe as it sounds, I wake up every morning feeling grateful.

Our fresher’s experience wasn’t necessarily typical. I know right now you are probably freaking out, being told your accommodation isn’t ready until after freshers’ week. You’ve booked an Airbnb. You’ve joined a group chat with 6 girls you have never met, never spoken to. Not to freak you out but make a good impression. These are the girls you are going to be living with for the next two years.

The girl who you found on one of those massive Instagram group chats replied. You’ll go to the pub and some dance classes together, and next thing you know you’re living with her too. I don’t think I will ever be able to read those ﬁrst messages back and not crack up laughing, but all those awkward attempts to make friends will pay o .

You would not believe how much I’m reading. In my entire life, I have never typed on a keyboard so rigorously. Embrace the late nights, the new friends, the way you can get away with walking into a seminar 15 minutes late without eyes darting towards you. Every moment now counts, my essay deadlines are getting closer by the day, and sometimes I need to sacriﬁce going out to write an essay. Who knew I could get this boring?

You have no idea how lucky you are. Enjoy it, make ﬁrst year count, try hard but not too hard.

From, Second year you (currently drowning in essays).

winter music

ESTATE OF THE ARTS CHRISTMAS MARKET

Location: Various venues, Bedminster

Date: 6-7/12

Price: £2

The perfect place for unique, handcrafted Christmas gifts with sustainability at the fore. The fair takes place throughout the Estate of the Arts studios, allowing visitors a behind the scenes insight into the artistic processes behind the wares. All tickets with proof of public transport receive a free gift!

Early December: 1st-14th

Palestine 36

(The Cube, Kingsdown, £6) 1/12

Exploring the resistance movement to the British Mandate in the 1930s, Palestine 36 dramatises a seminal moment in Middle Eastern history. Catch the director after for a Q&A.

Porridge Radio

(The Trinity Centre, £21) 2/12

Brighton based Porridge Radio return to Bristol, bringing their poetic post-punk to the iconic church-turned-venue Trinity Centre.

Art Café Wreath Making

(Peggy’s Co ee & Cake, Gloucester Road, £5) 3/12

Get into the festive spirit and make your own wreath! All materials provided- come and learn a skill you’ll be using for many Christmases to come.

Ropey Comedy

(The Dark Horse, Bedminster, free) 4/12

An informal space for comedians to try new materialﬁnd a new favourite before they hit the mainstream.

Shrek Pub Quiz

(Replay Boardgame Café, Cheltenham Road, £3) 4/12

Composition Showcase

(Recital Room) 3/12 (Free)

Original compositions from students

Zed Law & Jed Dixon Epitome Curators

Drumroll for December’s Epitome... jam-packed with the best events in the city over the festive season. If you’re stuck for what to do for NYE, or searching for your next a ordable gig, look no further. Plus, we’ve selected 5 of the best music perfomances hosted by Unversity of Bristol societies.

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, GET ON YOUR KNEES

Location: St Michael’s Parish Hall

Date: 7/12

Price: £8

A satirical reimagining of a Christian upbringing- this event twists the classic Christmas church service, bringing satirical puppets, reworked hymns and spoken word to form a bizarre cocktail of subversive art. Includes a warm bowl of Scouse – perfect fuel for the walk home.

A nostalgic quiz on arguably the most iconic DreamWorks character, hosted by the Fairy Godmother. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged.

Keep Hugh x Conducta (Sawmills, Eugene Street, £11 or free before 8pm) 4/12

Independence dance platform Keep Hush are bringing Conducta (and much more TBA) to Sawmills.

Skateboard Cafe presents ‘Allegro’ (Strangebrew, free) 5/12

Catch the Bristol premier of Skateboard Cafe’s new video ‘Allegro’ with DJ sets before and after.

Rites of Hadda (Café Kino, Stokes Croft, £7) 6/12 Brutal ritualistic drums, aggressive saxophone and spectacular drag. Experience the intensity of Rites of Hadda in an intimate venue- not to be missed for leftﬁeld hard rock fans.

Zodiac Killer Project (The Cube, Kingsdown, £6) 8/12 In Zodiac Killer Project, Charlie Shackleton examines true crime’s role in the societal conscience through an abandoned documentary- a must see for true crime fans and sceptics alike.

Shoun Shoun (The Croft, Stokes Croft, £8) 8/12 For the local gig lovers - watch

The Waiting Sky: Christmas with MADS

(Church of All Saints) 5/12 (£3)

Polyphonics with a Christmas twist

the art rock four-piece Shoun Shoun supported by the equally absurd Grubbing and Phlegmonade. Prepare to be confused and amazed.

How The Grinch Stole Thekla (Thekla, £6) 10/12

Prepare for exam week in style with Thekla’s Christmas singalong night. Expect shamelessly cheesy pop bangers and a lot of tinsel.

Wheatus (Electric, £27.50) 11/12

See ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ live in Bristol… need we say more?

Escape Christmas: A Capitalism Escape Game (Sparks, Broadmead, £18 group) 4-21/12

Everyone knows a Grinch- why not pander to this for the last time before Christmas fully kicks o ? Sparks host this unique escape room concept throughout December.

14th December onwards

Gen and the Degenerates (Exchange, Old Market Street, free) 15/12

In true anarcho-punk style, Gen and the Degenerates bring hyped-up socially conscious anthems to Exchange. Their energetic sets have caused

Chamber Orchestra (Victoria Rooms) 6/12 (£3)

Celtic themed orchestral pieces

Wye Valley Christmas Concert

(St Mary’s Church) 7/12

LOVE SAVES NYE

Location: Prospect Building

Date: 31/12

Price: £45

It might not be the event itself, but Love Saves brings massive names for NYE including Ewan McVicar, Oppidan, Katy B, and more. Celebrate the new year from 6pm to 3am with a taste of

a splash in their hometown Liverpool- don’t miss out.

Venus 2.0

(The Mount Without, £10) 1620/12

Exploring a pipeline from su ragism to fascism through the medium of contemporary dance, critically acclaimed dance company Impermanence bring their latest show to Bristol.

Ramp Up Xmas DNB (The Crown, £5) 18/12

Close out the term at everyone’s favourite afters venue. Dance to cheesy Christmas classics with a drum and bass twist.

DJ Die ‘It’s Too Late To Turn Back Now’ (Strangebrew, £16.50) 20/12

See the bass veteran and his very special guests as he brings back the Bristol sound.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (My Wolf’s, £15) 31/12

Get in the groove for Mr Wolfs 70s inspired deep funk party with vinyl mixes, acid jazz and disco tunes. Expect live music across two ﬂoors and a retro rooftop cocktail lounge.

Brooklyn Zoo- New Year’s Eve (Electric, £15) 31/12

Spend NYE at the South West’s biggest HipHop rave. This is the event for any fans of UK Rap, Trap, RnB, Dancehall, and Afrobeats.

Experience both UoB singers and Welsh Valley singing

Gabriel’s Message: A Choral Christmas (All Saint’s Church) 10/12

A choral narration of the Christmas story

Arts

Editor Ella Heathcote

Deputy Editor .................................... Grace Knight

Deputy Editor Amelia McCabe

Subeditor.................................. Tylah Hendrickson

Subeditor............................................... Eloise Nicol

A tale of two cities: the celebration and exclusion of subcultures in Bristol

Harry Gillingham explores Bristol’s subcultural history through the lens of contemporary gentriﬁcation

Harry Gillingham

Second Year, Politics and International Relations

In the Bristol suburb of St Paul’s, the mural of its Seven Saints perched upon its residential buildings to honour the pioneers of its Windrush past stands as a beacon around the neighbourhood’s pervasive forces of gentriﬁcation.

As rent is hiked and property prices unregulated, Bristol’s spirit of rebellious subculture is under threat. Once characterised by celebration of its multifaceted identity, indebted to the inﬂuence of underground grassroots movements and artistic expression, it now reﬂects the exclusion of the people that make up its landscape.

As deep basslines and rapid drums pulsate through the veins of the city’s skin, the signiﬁcant inﬂuence of its subcultural history is enshrined in the landscape of Bristol. The emergence of sound system culture in Bristol transformed the city’s roots, as its underground scene became a cultural hub for expression. Its breeding of innovation between DJs, MCs, and Engineers created a space where its rhythms and hard hitting bass, originating in Jamaica, preached to communities a sense of Caribbean identity and community

upon the Windrush Generation’s migration to the UK in the 1950s and 60s.

Sound system culture has remained a transmitter of both social integration as well as resistance to mainstream and socio-economic forces. The emergence of Bristol Amalgamated DJs, the ﬁrst Black Caribbean Pirate Radio, established in 1987, saw the transmission of such resistance against mainstream assimilation, amplifying neglected voices. Amidst this environment, The Wild Bunch, based in St Paul’s, were inﬂuenced by Caribbean sound system culture, curating a unique sonic blend of reggae, hip-hop, funk, and soul through a lens of moodier electronic ambience. Three of its members, Del Naja, Marshall, and Vowles later formed Massive Attack, pioneering trip-hop alongside contemporaries, such as Portishead, that characterised the ‘Bristol Sound’ of the 90s. Bristol’s contempo-

“Storytelling in a way that can’t

be captured by words alone

rary identity is fundamentally indebted to these innovative subcultural inﬂuences, through its grassroots ecosystem of venues such as The Crown, Lakota, The Love Inn, and Cosies keeping Bristol’s independent underground scene alive.

Their breaths of resistance, however, ﬂail amongst the howling socio-economic forces that engulf Bristol. No case highlights the attack of gentriﬁcation upon the cultural blood of the city more than

the recent displacement of the well-renowned club Motion. Its venue stood as a staple of Bristol nightlife, closing due to landlord refusal to renew its lease on the site. Motion has recently relocated, but the closing of its iconic venue’s doors highlight the pressures facing Bristol’s underground scene that a ect even the most cherished and renowned of spaces. The cost of living crisis’ e ect on students a ecting club proﬁts, and the rise in rent prices to upkeep venues, has contributed to an economy where the independent grassroot scene faces mounting pressure. All the while, Motion’s previous location, St Phillip’s Industrial Park, undergoes the building of more and more student accommodation to keep up with demand.

Stokes Croft and its adjacent areas, making up Bristol’s most culturally diverse neighbourhoods, manifest their resilient community through their eclectic array of street art against the existential threat of corporate gentriﬁcation. When you stroll by Nine Tree Hill, you are confronted by the mural demanding ‘Think Local, No Tesco’ – an act of artistic activism, owing to the riots of 2011 following opposition to the opening of a Tesco in the area. The popular ‘Yellow Faced Girl’, painted by Colombian street-artist STINKFISH, sits strikingly in Stokes Croft. Painted without formal planning permission, it revitalised the building into a notable landmark, and in 2021 it was restored upon local funding from arts organisers. The story of this mural’s conception serves as a poignant reminder of the community led character fundamental to Bristol’s identity. Its creation and eventual ingraining into the area’s landscape, despite a lack of initial planning permission, highlights the resistance to institutional coercion.

When I ﬁrst encountered the mural, it sat atop Stokes Croft’s surrounding lively street parties. To me, no clearer does an image express the vitality that the community breathes into the area than that. Yet, despite such street art celebrating these communities and their identities, private rents have increased by 52 per cent in the last decade, disproportionately to wages, which threaten their displacement while high earners migrate.

I spoke with Tom, a graduate of the University of the West of England who has lived in Bristol for over six years.

How has Bristol’s identity appealed to you?

Tom: Everywhere you look there are hidden references to Bristol culture. For example, The Bearpit is an area that has experienced many changes, but it used

to showcase a sculpture called ‘Ursa the Bear’ until it was removed by the council in 2019. It still holds a cult following, however, and appears in street art around the city as well as being sold as a souvenir in independent shops.

He also spoke about the culture of street parties in Bristol.

Tom: As somebody who used to deliver food, I would stumble across these parties all the time. The most notable one, for me, was under the M32 Bridge in Easton where it was common to experience raves, parties, street performers, and the monthly market.

How has Bristol changed since you began studying here 6 years ago?

Tom: I have seen Stokes Croft constantly under threat from gentriﬁcation. Blue Mountain was a key venue in the

area, but was demolished to build student ﬂats despite locals’ best e orts to prevent it – squatters at one point protesting. The constant discourse of redevelopment and the paving over of Turbo Island’s bonﬁre, that hosts extensive groups of di erent people, is a

“

I have seen Stokes Croft constantly under threat from gentriﬁcation

public space that ﬂexibly transforms by the day, yet I fear for its staying power as the council clamps down on it.

Speaking with Tom, someone who was inspired by the city’s music scene to pursue his passion of DJing, showcases what makes Bristol’s communal identity so special, and the importance of rallying against forces that try to mu e its voice.

Photo

The RWA’s Secret Postcard Auction

Daisy Guilor attends the RWA’s annual secret postcard auction and uncovers its signiﬁcance to Bristol’s artist community

Daisy Guilor Third Year, MSci Business and Management with Innovation

At the RWA this November, hundreds of postcard-sized artworks have been displayed in the Kenny Gallery; deliberately anonymous and assorted. Online, bidders have been battling it out to purchase original works without knowing who created them until the sale closes. The After-Hours

party at the gallery on Thursday celebrated the climax of the auction which raised upwards of £92,000.

The gallery was humming with an air of anticipation as guests picked out their favourite pieces, guessed the artist behind the work, and placed ﬁnal bids. In the main gallery, celebration was in full swing, complete with a jazz band; a quick-drawing portrait artist, Alice Dunn Ribiero; and live tours of the Annual Open Exhibition.

There’s a certain weight to traditional auctions, where buying a piece means committing to its size, name, and its permanence. Ren Renwick, the gallery’s director, explains that the postcard format dismantles those barriers. ‘The size of these works invites anyone to take part, people feel familiar with the concept of a post-

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Emma Coleman Film and TV subeditor

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card and are much more able to connect with it compared to larger pieces.’

The layout of the exhibition, with so many pieces in a small space, also lends itself to discussion. Unlike the hushed tones of a conventional exhibition, the Kenny Gallery buzzed with quiet debate, each wall a new conversation starter. Ren mentioned the joy she takes from the style of this exhibition with a vast variety of works. ‘When I enter the gallery, I’ll see people falling in love with pieces that I, personally, would have overlooked, comparing and debating choices with others; we’re each drawn to what speaks to something inside of us.’

The characteristic hierarchy of the art world is blurred as works by established artists, Sir Quentin Blake and Sir Antony Gormley, hang beside those of local students, sharing the same modest space and dimensions. In the Kenny Gallery, the signiﬁcance of anonymity had gravity. Viewers picked out favourites purely on merit and connection, momentarily suspending status – Ren feels that this ‘levels the playing ﬁeld and is a more democratic way of looking at art.’

“One of the artists reﬂected ‘as an emerging artist, it’s so cool to have my pieces sitting among works of the greats and still get some bids!’ Another contributor described the event as ‘such an enjoyable thing to participate in, both as an artist and a bidder.’ They noted that, while some

iconic works drew high prices, the evening felt refreshingly outside the commercial art world. ‘For once, it’s

Local students’ works hanging next to established artists (Blake, Gormley) blur the art world's hierarchy

just about the work.’ The authenticity of this event feels rare in the art world, perhaps that’s what makes it so special.

That sense of openness isn’t new to the RWA. Founded in 1854 by Ellen

Sharples as a space to make life drawing accessible to women, the gallery continues to champion inclusivity. In the modern world, this looks like opening opportunities for adults with complex needs, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and emerging artists. For this reason, support from artists and bidders is abundant. Jemma Gunning, a printmaker and RWA academician, contributed because ‘it’s a great way to support the gallery and keep creativity thriving.’ Ren’s ethos is to ‘foster a lifelong journey with art – for everyone,’ and funds from events like the Secret Postcard Auction are vital to that mission.

The artists’ names will be revealed only once the postcards have reached their new owners, but perhaps that’s the point. The art has already done its work, sparking curiosity, connection, and conversation.

‘Buy for love,’ says Ren, ‘because art becomes part of your life, the backdrop to your story.’

Columnists .................. Alexandra Boersma & Ruby Wright

Editor Ella Heathcote

Deputy Editor .................................... Grace Knight

Deputy Editor Amelia McCabe

Subeditor Tylah Hendrickson

Subeditor............................................... Eloise Nicol

Robot readers: What is AI’s role in literary translation?

Literature columnist, Ruby Wright, explores the issues surrounding AI and literary translation

Literature Columnist

What is translation and why is it important? In the most literal sense of the word, translation involves transferring meaning from one language to another. In terms of professional translation, speciﬁcally concerning the translation of literature, it requires more; cultural knowledge of both languages, the ability to convey context, and an understanding of tone, pace and atmosphere.

Although not literary, an example to explain this is Top Boy (2011-2023). The language used in the show is pure slang – it is rich and dense with local culture and context that has been created by social circumstances that are speciﬁc to the area where Multicultural London English (MLE) is used. The show has been dubbed and subtitled into eight di erent languages – but how effectively can ‘council estate’ and all the sociopolitical ideas and meanings behind it be translated into, say, French, where no equivalent exists? But this example only concerns itself with the pure language, or vocabulary side of things – when it comes to a novel, translation is without the aid of any visual cues, so requires the reproduction of not only words, but pacing, atmosphere, rhythm, and emotional timbre.

of literary translation is bridging an unbridgeable gap between two languages that do not exist in the same cultural environment. The development of AI language models as an ‘innovation’ in translation presents itself as a ‘quickﬁx’ solution to this gap, but in reality it creates more divide. Another gap emerges; that between a machine’s and a human’s understanding of language.

When we describe AI as innovative, we are not talking about something that is able to better ‘bridge’ or translate than humans, but an algorithm that translates faster and cheaper. This is all well and good when it comes to translating business transactions, legal letters, and other short documents where the quality and technique of the text has no real importance. Yet when it comes to literature, surely we expect a translation that preserves, or attempts to preserve, the skill and beauty of the author’s original

“The best literary translations o er more than simple accuracy.

text rather than merely pattern recognition and automated reproduction? An AI translation might always be good enough – but is literal meaning the only thing that makes a good novel?

the professional translation of books. However, the recent July 2025 launch of GlobeScribe AI changes this. Charging a $100 fee per book, per language, the company o ers the instantaneous translation of ﬁctional works to be published to an international market. In a company statement, the founders declared that ‘feedback consistently showed that readers could not reliably distinguish between AI and human translation,’ but that ‘there will always be a place for expert human translation, especially for highly literary or complex texts.’

Needless to say, the translation community responded by denouncing this development. Deepa Bhasthi, whose translation of Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp from Kannada into English won this year’s International Booker prize, said that ‘there are many words in Kannada that contain whole cultural worlds in them [...] a human being is needed to translate these words.’ Polly Barton, most known for her translation of the bestselling Butter by Asako Yuzuki, said ‘the best literary translations o er more than simple accuracy, more than literal ﬁdelity to the words making up the sentences.’

So, in the grand scheme of the many things that AI is going to dramatically and permanently alter in the next 10 years, the business of translating ﬁction falls relatively low down. But, in a world where casually scrolling on social media already means confronting a multitude of vaguely alienating AI content, there must still be an appreciation for the work and the handling of art that can only, at least only skillfully, be done by humans.

Before I end with a short list of translated ﬁction, I leave you with Anne Carson’s words on translation: ‘there is no easy way to do it.’

Epigram’s

Christmas gift guide for book lovers

Long story short, the biggest challenge

It’s no secret that there has been a massive inﬂux in free AI translation tools online; ever since Google Translate’s 2006 launch, crops of translation software have been spawning seemingly out of nowhere. AI translation on this small scale has existed for years – but there has always been a character limit, and so this has avoided completely targeting

Despite how strongly I feel about it, the consequences of AI on translation are arguably minimal compared to some of its other posed risks. Frequently referred to as the ‘Godfather of AI’, Geo rey Hinton helped develop AI technology at Google before quitting over concerns about the risks it posed to society. In his Nobel prize acceptance speech, he listed the coming consequences of AI, including mass unemployment, governmental corruption, and its military applications potentially leading to violence.

Book embosser

£15 - £30

The book embosser blew up on TikTok but it's a great gift for all book lovers, personalised to the recipient of the gift, and, most importantly, very satisfying to use!

Poetry pills

£9.95 to £13.95

Each bottle is ﬁlled with lines of poetry, book quotes, or inspiration in little pill capsules. There are various categories of poems and quotes to choose from.

Book light

£6.99 Waterstones

These are perfect for travelling when the person next to you is sleeping and you don’t want to wake them up by putting on the big light to read. And very portable!

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (Trans. Deepa Bhasthi)

Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali (Trans. Kürk Mantolu Madonna)

Boulder by Eva Baltasar (Trans. Julia Sanches)

The Years by Annie Ernaux (Trans. Alison L. Strayer)

Ruby Wright

Photo courtesy of: Epigram/Ruby Wright

Alexandra Boersma Literature Columnist

Film & TV

Editor’s Choice:

We are edging ever closer to the post New Year buzz and anticipation of cinemas dogﬁght: The Golden Globes, The Oscars, and Actor Awards (previously named SAG Awards). Join Epigram on this journey analysing the frontrunners and favoruites to win big. Beginning this coverage are two brilliant reviews of your typical ‘artsy’ Oscar favourite: Die My Love and Bugonia, and good friends Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence are battling it out for best actress and their ability to tilt their heads up the highest, see below.

A glossy glimpse into some award season favourites

Die My Love: a raw depiction of postpartum depression

The complexities of motherhood are something that is not spoken about enough and the assumption that bringing a child into the world immediately brings joy into a person’s life is sometimes a dangerously misleading assumption.

Die My Love, directed by Lynne Ramsay, explores the darkness as a consequence of postnatal depression. The ﬁlm, based on the novel by Ariana Harwicz, is a startling depiction of a mother descending into insanity as the walls begin to close around her after having given birth.

The ﬁlm opens with Grace and Jackson (Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson), a couple who have moved from New York to Montana, where Jackson grew up.

Grace is an aspiring writer, who jokes that the move will allow her to construct the next great American Novel. The passionate connection that the two share during this moment is the ﬁrst glimpse that we get of their relationship, laying a foundation of deep physical a ection, but the substance beneath the surface is left unaccounted for. The tone is light, yet the square (1.33:1) frame creates an inescapable claustrophobia from the beginning.

The ﬁlm excellently depicts both a woman and a mother pushed to the edge, without sugarcoating or shying away from the mental strain that having a child can put on women. A lack of real support and relying heavily on a partner that is simply not there for her leaves her feeling helpless.

The unsettling nature of being unable to identify the extent to which the events unfolding are

real is unnerving and makes no sense sometimes. Reﬂecting the complex nature of mental illness, there is an unwavering claustrophobia as Grace is at odds with the life that she has built and becomes trapped in the isolated Montana.

Die My Love does not ﬁt into a genre. It is a dark comedy and a candid depiction of psychosis that will make you anxious about whether she will hurt herself or someone else.

In a world where motherhood is idealised, it is refreshing to see a raw depiction of something that is commonly misrepresented.

For the full articles, go to: epigram.org.uk

Bugonia: Yorgos Lanthimos’ new ﬁlm is gloriously alienating

Michelle Fuller, a highly renowned pharmaceutical CEO played by Emma Stone, awakes to ﬁnd herself kidnapped and held captive in a basement with her head freshly shaved. Her captors tell her that her head has been shaved because she is an alien, and they must prevent her from contacting her mothership and incurring Earth’s impending demise.

Despite being based on the premise of the 2003 Korean comedy Save the Green Planet!, it comes at no surprise that Yorgos Lanthimos’ new ﬁlm Bugonia is distinctly recognisable to his auteurship.

Signaturely occupied with his stylistic musings on absurdism, from The

GAME triumphs at its Bristol preview

This November, Geo Barrow (known for his band Portishead) made an unexpected but striking leap into filmmaking with his debut feature film GAME Alongside John Minton (who directs), Invada Films creates a hauntingly sharp re-imagination of a cat-and-mouse thriller set against Bristol’s flourishing rave scene in the dying summer of 1993.

The project premiered at Watershed, introduced by Barrow, Minton and

‘‘GAME’s triumph lies in such an idiosyncratic style.

co-stars Marc Bessant and Jason Williamson, debuting as an unflinchingly confident example of a film made on ‘little budget and little time’ as Minton quipped during the Q&A. It would seem these supposed limitations only compounded what Barrow claimed to be a desperate ‘fear to achieve’ amongst the collaborators, leaving

them with an astounding feature ﬁlm.

The opening scene is equally beautiful and horrifying. A close-up of a pheasant – still and iridescent- ﬁlls the frame as the soft soundscape of the woods surrounds it. The peace is ruptured by a single violent strike; the bird falls; the screen bleeds red, and the title GAME centres. This powerful introductory scene leaves the audience with no doubt as to why the ﬁlm dons its name and is a stark warning for what follows.

The ﬁlm cuts to David (Marc Bessant) after leaving a rave, intoxicated and crashing his car in the woods. Upside-down in the wreckage, his body bent and bleeding, David – completely at odds with the surroundings in which he ﬁnds himselfbecomes an exhibition of human frailty.

The cinematography by Ross James emphasises this with zoomed-in, unforgiving close-ups of David’s face contrasted with reverent shots of the

animals surrounding him: foxes, owls, and insects. These animals, harmonious in the forest, watch on as David loses bodily control, vomiting, wetting himself and crying. As he struggles and fails to escape, the stillness of the forest becomes haunting; an astute metaphor for the fragility of humanity and the endurance of the natural world.

The ﬁlm seems deeply concerned with the coexistence of dichotomous factors- as David’s past and present oscillate through strobe lights of the rave and ﬁltered forest sunlight, the audience considers human self-destruction amidst ecological equilibrium.

The agony of waiting for David to free himself becomes unbearable, just as a collared German Shepherd appears, hinting at the presence of an owner nearby. However, hope is ﬂeeting as the dog slips back into the woods. David attempts to dull his pain with leftover drugs, but is then attacked by the returning dog,

rabid and angry. The scene is gruesome - the audience watches as David, limbs crushed, is ravaged and mauled.

The screening ended with enthusiastic applause from the audience before the team took to the stage. A humorous chemistry exuded from the four men, passionately discussing the ﬁlm’s origins in friendship and artistic expression

Lobster (2015) jabbing at modernity’s despondency toward connection, The Favourite (2018) focusing upon systemic marginalisation, Poor Things’ (2023) attention toward the nature of agency, and Kinds of Kindness (2024) satirising the concept of devotion, Bugonia too characterises and explores such thematic occupations further.

Yorgos Lanthimos explores absurdism by blending the contradictions in the beauty of existence with the oppressive arbitrary constructs humanity produces.

In Bugonia, Lanthimos focuses on the coexistence between the perceived beautiful visual form of Emma Stone’s o ce, its purity and agency, with the sickly underbelly of Plemons’ basement that, through his labour, holds up the structure the o ce sits upon.

with a casual but compelling presence. Barrow was candid about the di culties independent ﬁlmmakers face in distribution and marketing, but GAME’s triumph lies in such an idiosyncratic style.

With their bold debut, Invada Films proves that small budgets need not limit ambition, nor diminish the force of imaginative triumph.

Photo courtesy of: Holly Nicholson

Orla Ruane Second Year, English

Harry Gillingham Second Year, Politics

Holly Nicholson Third Year, English

Photos courtesy of: IMDb

Film & TV x Arts

You have to read the book first! But do you really? For our first collaboration article with Epigram Arts we put the film and book adaptation fight to the test.

William Third Year, Film and English & First Year, French and German

In an era where ‘bed rotting’ will likely become an addition to the dictionary, and ‘doomscrolling’ seems to be the extra-curricular du jour, I propose a return to the good old novel.

Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily

Brontë

Historically, Wuthering Heights has actually received success with its previous adaptations, with potentially the most infamous adaptation being the 1939 Academy Award winning film, starring highly regarded actors Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, as well as the 1990 version, starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, being his film debut. However, in order to appreciate the novel truly, we must return to when the novel first came out. Since the Brontë’s passings, it has been accepted as one of the ‘classics’ : the iconic, mystifying West Yorkshire setting which embodies both Cathy and Heathcli ’s wild nature and

Editor Felix Glanville

Deputy Editor ..............................Eleanor Bate

Deputy Editor Max Graham

Subeditor................................ Emma Coleman

Subeditor................................... Olivia Howard

Settling the book versus ﬁlm debate once and for all

the complicated multi-generational family lore are all things which have made the novel so memorable. These are the reasons why I personally return to the novel time and time again

The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood

It is certain that ﬁlm adaptations of a certain genre almost never seem to get it right: dystopia. The Handmaid’s Tale is only one of the many examples of highly regarded dystopian novels, arguably modern classics, which have been put to disastrous when adapted to ﬁlm.

I’d even go as far to say that very few people actually remember or rather know of the ﬁlm adaptation.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) by George Orwell

Similarly, Nineteen Eighty Four’s adaptation focused far too much on the grotesque, indulging in the horror of ‘Room 101’ far too much as an attempt to cover its cracks in the plot, which were numerous. Perhaps there is a case of there simply being not enough screen time to truly allow audiences to immerse themselves in the setting, a potential explanation as to why the

Starting with a classic, cosy, Christmas rom-com. Meyers, who is credited as both writer and director, managed to perfectly toe the line between Christmassy enough to pass as a Christmas ﬁlm, but not so much that it was overwhelming. The Holiday is heartwarming and subscribes perfectly to the well-established trope of ending the Christmas period a better person than when you went in. Meyers establishes this perfectly with the co-leads of Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, who are strong enough actors to show this character development authentically without the hallmark cheese.

series adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, which had roughly hour-long episodes, was so much more successful.

Don’t feel like burying your nose in a book? Then look no further than Betsan’s top picks for book to ﬁlm adaptations that surpass their written counterparts.

The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)

The magic of Christmas runs on belief, and that innocent belief usually stems from children. Whereas in Les Mayfield’s adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street, he flawlessly flips that script to remind the audience why we believe in Christmas in the first place and teaches us a lesson that sticks with us year after year. Mayfield turns the audience into believers and, conversely, the lead child into a non-believer. Mayfield utilises this age gap dynamic between the two leads, Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough, to remind us of the nostalgia of Christmas as a child.

with a Christthat will into the it (even the most

Scrooge-like of us all...) Out of the numerous screen adaptations of Charles Dickens’ iconic novel, A Christmas Carol, the presence of the beloved Muppets is what sets this addition apart as the most heartwarming and spirited of the lot.

Loyal to the original tale, all whilst full of fantastic songs, magical scenery and Miss Piggy herself, I know that I’d personally much rather sit down and enjoy this seasonal gem than experience the GCSE ﬂashbacks of reading the book – sorry Charles.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

An early 2000’s classic, featuring the number one contender in the relatable female protagonist category. Before she was the name on everybody’s lips in Chicago (2002), Renée Zellweger starred as bumbling Brit Bridget in Sharon Maguire’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, the realest rom com there ever was.

And if you’re wondering why it’s so much greater than Helen Fielding’s original novel… well, one has Colin Firth in a reindeer jumper, and one doesn’t, so you do the maths.

Gone Girl (2014)

David Fincher’s Gone Girl is the ultimate ‘good for her’ movie, with Rosamund Pike starring as our perfectly imperfect anti-hero, Amy Elliott Dunne,

who, I can only speak for myself, but you can’t help but root for.

Fincher’s noir-inspired direction is perfect for this story, and the drab, desaturated cinematography simply enhances the already gripping narrative. The meandering pace of the plot is captured perfectly within the two hours and 29 minutes runtime, and Ben A eck in the role of the scru y cheating husband ﬁts a little bit too well.

Beth Nugent

Forgive the slightly pretentious Academy Award winner making an entry into this list, but Payne manages to capture the feel of a Christmas movie, whilst also delivering outstanding emotional character arcs and stunning visuals, proving that you don’t necessarily need to buy into the commercial side of Christmas to make a great seasonal ﬁlm. It’s not a surprise that The Holdovers won best picture at the 2023 Academy Awards; the raw authenticity that the ﬁlm delivers allows for its themes to hit harder and for the quieter love of Christmas to wash over us.

I can’t resist throwing in a few honourable mentions. Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Paul King’s Paddington (2014) are completely faultless, but I couldn’t add them to the list o cially, as I felt labelling a children’s book as inferior was slightly unfair.

to epigram.org.uk

It’s not truly Christmas without the well-known classic, Love Actually. With nine love stories packed into a two-hour ﬁlm, there is something for everyone, whether that’s cheering on young love or crying with Emma Thompson when she opens her Christmas present. Curtis created a gold mine with the divided, yet interwoven, narratives and delved into the idea that there isn’t just one type of love, there’s platonic, romantic, familial and even puppy love. To showcase all these di erent types is to remind the audience that Chirstmas is the time to celebrate everyone in your life.

Millie Hicks & Betsan Branson

The Holiday (2006)

Nancy Myers

Photo

Photos courtesy of: IMDb

shame mas classic festive spir-

Photo courtesy of: Freepik Company

Miracle on 34th Street

Les Mayﬁeld

The Holdovers (2023) Alexander Payne

Photo courtesy of: IMDb

Love Actually (2003) Richard Curtis

Photo courtesy of: IMDb

Editor’s Choice:

This month, the music section has been extremely lucky in having the privilege to interview so many legendary artists. From 2000s indie nostalgia to up-and-coming stars, we’ve got a bunch of great chats for you to get your teeth into!

In conversation with... Nell Mescal

‘If it felt good, it felt good’

For the full interviews, go to: epigram.org.uk

Her new EP, ‘The Closest We’ll Get’, feels like it’s chronologically told in six parts, almost charting di erent stages of grief experienced when a romance ends, beginning with heartbreak and feelings of anger, which I felt mostly in ‘Middle Man’, and ending in acceptance, or ‘Sweet Relief’. NME has described her music as ‘indie folk that tugs at the heart strings,’ which is how I felt listening to ‘The Closest We’ll Get’ all the way through – no breaks – how I think the EP should be listened to.

‘I think the way we recorded it had a lot to do with how it feels. We did all six songs in three days, completely live, with no headphones, and we weren’t allowed to listen back. If it felt good, it felt good. It was such a freeing and thrilling way of recording, and you end up being much nicer to yourself.’

Mescal’s songwriting thrives the most in ‘autumn or winter, because that’s when all the lore happens. But summer too, because I’m always out on my balcony with my guitar.

‘Still, there’s something about writing in autumn, walking around in the wind, leaves falling, your heart broken for no reason, you’re stepping out and putting your scarf on, but it’s a really tiny scarf. That’s my favourite time to write.’

Wheatus

‘Writing some dumb lyrics about some dumb sh*t’

This time 25 years ago, the band found themselves with a debut album quickly gaining traction and recouping its costs, only to be dropped by their major record label just as fast. A ‘homemade, record-at-your-mom’s-house sort of band,’ Brendan admits an enormous gratitude at being dropped, retrospectively deciding that they weren’t a particularly extravagant group and so didn’t ﬁt into major-label structures that many bands of the 2000s fell prey to. ‘At least I don’t have to deal with the guy who thought I needed to wear pirate shirts and leather pants.’

Though playing Electric this time around, the band are most familiar with Thekla. ‘I love Thekla. The last time we played there the [slant of] the boat was so extreme that we were falling on the stage, and our equipment was sliding across.’ Having slid across that boat myself once or twice, it’s nice to know there’s some common ground between myself and this hallmark legend of noughties American rock.

Safely wobble-free on the ﬂat surfaces of Electric this time around, the band are kicking o their tour in just under a week, catch Wheatus playing Electric on the 11th December!

Sutara Gayle

‘I think I was deﬁnitely born to be on a stage’

Yeah, you know, I started o as a reggae artist, Lorna Gee was my reggae name. I was an artist with Mad Professor on the Ariwa label. So I toured for many years with him back in the 80s. And I, I enjoyed every bit of it, every bit of I think I was deﬁnitely born to be on a stage.

You know, Lorna Gee, Lorna Gayle, Sutara Gayle, it’s all the same person. I’ve just evolved. I don’t even see the music and the acting separate anymore. It’s just kind of merged into one. I don’t see no beginning or where it started or where it’s ended. My life, my work, and everything, my purpose – it’s just all merged into one. What you see is what you get. If you want me to sing, I’ll sing you a song. And if you want me to do a monologue, I’ll do your monologue. If you want me to tell you a joke, I’ll tell you a joke. Whatever is asked of me and whatever service I can provide, I’m there, man.

What’s the main thing that you hope audiences will take away from ‘the legends of them’?

The main thing is just try not to be deﬁned by your past. Things would have happened. You would have made decisions, good, bad, or indi erent. It happened, and don’t let it hold you down. Don’t let it cripple you. That’s my message. And if somebody comes to this play and gets anything from it, it’s like, you know, own your own story, man, to own your story. Claim your story, stand in it, be grounded in it and live, live, just live your life. Live.

Arianna Balsamo Music Subeditor

Sophie Scannell Music Editor

Rose Chaplin Fourth Year, English

Editor Sophie Scannell

Deputy Editor Aditi Hrisheekesh

Deputy Editor ..................................Eve Davies

Subeditor Anastasia Baker

Subeditor Arianna Balsamo

DJ Nathan Worm opens new record store ‘Hot Wax’

Floss Coventry

Second Year, Geography

As if a career owning a record label and running multiple successful events companies wasn’t enough on his plate, Nathan, co-owner of Worm Disco Club, has recently added to his load with Hot Wax record shop.

For the new DJs who are ﬁendish for new tracks without much cash, there will be a 10% o student discount if you bring your NUS card. Hot Wax will also o er a curated selection of archival art-gallery poster prints, dance music books, t-shirts, hats, and DJ/vinyl accessories. To Nathan, the opportunity was a ‘marriage of convenience.’

What started as an o er to place a couple of vinyl crates in the corner of his mate’s new café quickly got out of hand and turned into a

fully-ﬂedged record shop, welcoming vinyl enthusiasts old and new.

Regarded as an important longtime protagonist in the Bristol independent music scene, Nathan is co-founder of Worm Disco Club, the proliﬁc Bristol club night all about dancing hard to funky global grooves.

Having run the most hyped stage at Glastonbury 2019 (The Wormhole) and stage takeovers at We Out Here and Shambala, Worm Disco Club went on to host 160 events with 150 acts across 25 venues in the city, many of which were inde-

lesser known.

knows ﬁrst-hand the importance of grassroots music spaces, now more than ever. He told me how some of their best parties happened at the Fiddlers in Bedminster, yet another great Bristol

‘‘

People put their passion, lifelong connections, and creativity into these spaces.

music venue forced to shut down.

Grassroots venues ‘have a lot more character and individuality. People put their passion, lifelong con-

nections, and creativity into these spaces. There is a side to dance music culture that has become very industry focused, but you have to recognise the roots. Collectively, these venues bring people and community together.’

Vinyl, a format once on the brink of extinction, has staged an extraordinary comeback with sales consecutively climbing year on year since 2006.

According to Nathan, this immense resurgence in popularity comes down to ‘the younger generation having grown up living through

their phones and on Spotify – we like thousands of tracks on our playlists but how often do we go back to purposefully listen to them?’

‘This way of consuming music is more tangible; you have the artwork, picking up the vinyl, putting the needle on, actually discovering it in the ﬁrst place in amongst loads of others – it has more intention, more of a feel-good process.’

Whether you’re into global sounds, soul, or hardcore dance tunes, Hot Wax should deﬁnitely be at the top of your list for where you buy your records.

Headﬁrst hacks: how to dive deeper into Bristol’s music scene

Gabriel Lordon

Third Year, Philosophy

Whilst there’s plenty of fun to be had on a night out to a student club or pub crawl down Whiteladies road, there’s a lot to be gained from venturing outside of the much-loved Triangle area. I argue doing so will not only help students to become further integrated into Bristol’s community but also allow us to look back at our time here knowing we really made the most of it.

Hack #1 – Pay attention to sta recommendations and editor picks

As pundits of Bristol’s music scene with their own experience in event production, the Headﬁrst sta provide tailored recommendations which act as a cheat code to discovering top quality events.

Whether it be showcasing up-andcoming talent or world-renowned sound-systems like Scotland Yard, these shortlists are always worth a look if the amount of options

seems overwhelming at ﬁrst glance. Crucially, their recommendations span across many kinds of events, so if you’re looking for some evening fun that doesn’t involve clubbing or a classic pub-night, these are incredibly useful.

Hack #2 – Use in-app listening features to gauge what you’re getting yourself in for

If it is music-based fun you’re looking for, like club nights or gigs, each speciﬁc event page typically contains samples from Spotify and YouTube, providing you direct access to short snippets of previous events by the DJs or artists, so you know roughly what to expect from the music side of things when you book. Whilst the majority of us have a grasp on what ‘house’ and ‘DnB’ entail, you likely wouldn’t know what to expect from ‘acid trance’ or ‘Detroit tech’.

Giving di erent events that you wouldn’t usually lean into a chance is a great way to

discover new music and venues, as well as to meet new people. You’ll never know until you try.

Hack #3 – Get familiar with the di erent sections

Club nights, raves, and gigs are popular for a reason. While these represent the typical student idea of a night out, there’s no harm in thinking outside of the box. Headﬁrst gives us the unique opportunity to browse alternative options, from standup comedy to ﬁlm screenings to other crafting workshops, and the quality of these is just as high as the ‘night-life’ section.

We are lucky to live in such a vibrant hub of culture and diversity, so we might as well take the time to see what it’s all about. There are many ways of going about this, and each person is di erent and wishes to gain di erent things from their time in Bristol. If you are looking to explore more of the city’s venues, culture, and people, Headﬁrst is not a bad place to start.

Nathan

Photo

Guide to appreciating non-human life

Corin Hadley SciTech Editor

Early winters at university are pretty brutal. It’s deadline season, then it’s exam season and the whole way through it’s I’m-fucking-freezing season. Work, aspiration, relationships, love, stress. Everything feels very big and very complicated and very human.

But in the non-human world, your funny worries and passions are irrelevant. What does a fungus care about your deadlines? Perhaps if you’re

a geographer or biologist you give all the life that surrounds your student world a thought sometimes, but it’s all too easy for it to become ‘just a leaf’ or ‘just a worm.’ But have you actually looked at a worm recently? They are so weird and amazing.

Whether it’s a squirrel in a park, some bugs under your bin, fungi in a wood, some roadkill, or a neighbour’s pet (or, if you’re really lucky, a sparrowhawk literally outside of Steam). All these living things you see every day are utterly improbable and part of the

Fungi and focaccia

Corin Hadley SciTech Editor Sarah Haynes Third Year, Chemist/Baker/Mycophile talks to

ou spend your weekends in fungal forests and your mornings with your hands in a sourdough starter. What’s so special about fungi?

They’re the underdog – rarely given any cred but everywhere, propping up the entire natural world. I suppose it ﬁts, most of a fungus is underground. It’s only the fruit you can see on the surface. I’ve been noticing that all the video games I’ve been playing feature mushrooms. I guess the world just wouldn’t feel the same without them. I also like the cultural things. Like they’re mysterious. Is this one going to kill me instantly or is it one of the most important drugs ever? I guess I also like ﬁnding them because

system that makes it possible for you to feel the things you do. I can’t recommend sparing a moment to look enough.

In this month’s special edition of SciTech you’ll find students writing about all manner of interactions they have with the non-human life around them, from houseplants to the campus cat. I hope that somewhere in here you’ll find a reason to stop for a moment on your way home and pick up a rock and look at all the bugs under it, or appreciate the beautiful dusty pink of your flatmates 6 week old porridge pot.

every day and then I’d have a starter. I think I also think it’s a bit of a status symbol to be able to make a great loaf. Maybe only to other people who make sourdough, but I wanted the cred.

they’re rare. When you ﬁnd a good one in a forest it’s like ﬁnding treasure.

No, for sure! The times I’ve tried I didn’t get much more than a hard, sour pancake. I noticed you personiﬁed ‘her’. Do you feel like your starter brings more than bread into your life?

Plants for the busy student

Anna Dunphies Second Year

It can be tough looking after plants at uni. Forgotten watering, lack of light, and the inevitable abandonment of said plants over the holidays all provide barriers to the thriving foliage you may desire. Personally, after the swift death of my Students’ Union plant sale fern last year, I’ve been sticking to plastic Ikea succulents – but with all these easy to maintain plants out there, I’m going to have to reconsider:

Cacti and Succulents

They’re an obvious choice, but they’re a classic for a reason. These plants manage to survive in the driest corners of the desert, so they should manage to cope with a few forgotten waterings.

Money tree

In Taiwanese legend these charming trees are a sign of good luck and prosperity – could be the edge you need for that ﬁrst...

Chinese Evergreen Plant

These plants can thrive in dim and dingy conditions, so make a great choice for basement dwellers who see ‘direct sunlight’ only occassionally.

Snake Plant

Another unfussy choice. They can also work as passive air puriﬁers, removing toxins from the air and producing oxygen.

Spider Plant

These look great dangling over the tops of wardrobes or bookshelves, or sitting in macrame hangers on hooks. They’re compact, and again have air purifying properties.

Peace Lilies

These plants are another good choice for improving air quality, as they absorb pollutants, increase humidity, and release oxygen. - Warm, sunny conditions - Water every 1-2 weeks

Or how about a productive plant?

Leafy greens

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So, what made you actually start your bread-making yeast colony?

“More people should have a favorite fungi...

I mainly just wanted sourdough focaccia but am not going to spend £6 on a loaf. Having a starter and making your own bread lets you exchange money for time and care. As a student that seems like a good deal. I think what really made me start was just realising that I could. Knowing I could know it. Making sourdough seems so mysterious and di cult, but I just realised I could put some ﬂour in a bowl and feed her

Yes deﬁnitely. I think I’ve gotten quite attached. She was sick the other week, but I gave her some more attention, warmth and food and she recovered. I’m always so happy when I come down in the morning and see her bubbling away. They’re bubbles of joy. The responsibility over a living thing makes you feel like you’ve done something meaningful every day. It’s so lovely to see how a starter responds to your e orts. I think the bread I make often feels like a team e ort between me and the microbes in my starter.

Lettuce, romaine, spinach, kale, and chard are all fairly easy to grow in a window box, and provide lots of much-needed vitamins in a salad. All you need is a container with a depth of around 15cm, some good soil, and constant light. You can grow them from seed, or just get some pre-potted salad greens from a plant nursery.

Strawberries

You may think you need a greenhouse for strawberries, but they will do well on a windowsill – in a greenhouse they will tend to fruit in early spring, whereas on a windowsill they may take until late April. They don’t require too much light, and a few strawberry plants can be placed close together on a windowsill to save space.

Peppers

Peppers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow indoors. You can keep the seeds from a shopbought pepper, or buy a pre-potted one from a nursery.

Corin Hadley

In the interest of selling more cleaning products, we’ve been convinced that all microbes are better o dead. Alana Evans found out how clean everything really needs to be.

Alana Evans Second Year, Biomedical

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, the use of antibacterial products has skyrocketed into misuse, leading to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis currently facing the scientiﬁc world. Once upon a time, these agents were viewed as a silver bullet – a miracle cure to rid the world of its heavy disease burden. Coupled with the rise of antibacterial products came a societal fear of the dreaded ‘germ’. As a child, I remember staring at the soap bottle in the bathroom which bore the tag ‘kills 99% of bacteria!’ and worrying about what that 1% would do to me. Our health anxiety has been exploited by hygiene product manufacturers,

The Tail of Felicity

Julia Mullins

There once was a tabby from Royal Fort, we call her Felicity but can’t be sure. I imagine she’s known by many names, she’s a cat of most insu cient fame.

A mighty tail she does possess, so here is the tale of her prowess:

We bought her treats, kept them neatly stored.

Schemed to lure her in, but it was us she adored.

In the dark at the library, she’d come strolling past.

Tilting her head, as if to ask:

“what are you lot doing up… so late at the ASS”

Perched in a wardrobe, fascinated by socks.

manifesting in a proliferation in the number of antibacterial products available for purchase.

It is worth noting that the antibacterial substances which make up the cleaning products seen in most households today share similar targets with the antibiotics a doctor would prescribe for an infection, but they are not the same. The primary di erence is that antibiotics work to treat active disease, whereas antibacterial products are employed to prevent transmission of diseasecausing pathogens. Theoretically, a healthy household shouldn’t require many antibacterial products at all – in everyday settings, plain soap and water su ce for removing dirt, oils, and microbes. Soap and other detergents function by surrounding pathogens and grime, and get ﬂushed away as we rinse. Some cleaning products incorporate extra chemicals such as the antibiotic triclosan, which actively kill bacteria – this is what makes them antibacterial. Interestingly, studies show that these products have no obvious additional beneﬁt for the majority of

people. Many countries have forced companies to phase triclosan out of their products, citing concerns over AMR and toxicity. If you were ever told not to swallow your toothpaste as a child – this is one of the reasons why!

The public are hardly to blame for the obsession with being germ-free. We are constantly bombarded with marketing for products which will rid us and our loved ones of all the nasty microorganisms which are supposedly out to do us harm. It is now even possible to buy bed linen and mattresses laced with antibacterial agents. So, what’s the issue? Surely if we banish the bacteria, we also say goodbye to our fears of disease? Sadly, it’s not that simple, and as we know, there is no such thing as a miracle cure.

The main issue is that bacteria have existed for far longer than we have and are not willing to go down without a ﬁght. In essence, the worry is that by excessively using antibacterial products, we are knocking out the population of ‘weak’, easily killed microbes and

Deputy Editor Alice Guskov

Deputy Editor Sanya Saxena

Deputy Editor Jemima Choi

You’ve been sold on microbial genocide

leaving behind the ones which are resistant to our chemicals. Links between use of antibacterial products and community acquired methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – which causes a range of skin and soft tissue infections – have been found by

“

Interestingly, studies show that these products have no obvious additional beneﬁt for the majority of people.

investigators. The problem with resistant bacteria is that they are harder to treat with antibiotics, which brings the risk of stubborn and persistent infection.

There is also evidence which suggests that excessive hygiene measures during childhood can increase the incidence of allergies. The idea behind this is that the immune system needs su cient stimulation from the microﬂora that

naturally exist on or around us. Remove these microorganisms while a child is still developing, and the immune system is too sheltered to mature correctly. One study in Switzerland found children raised on farms were signiﬁcantly less likely to develop hay fever compared to their urban counterparts.

It is equally important to remember that many bacteria do us good. The trillions of commensal and mutualistic bacteria we host o er a large amount of assistance with digestion, nutrient production, immune regulation, and even help ﬁght pathogenic bacteria. We have lived in a bacteria-ﬁlled world since the beginning of man, and believing we can rid ourselves of them is dangerous.

In short, whilst it is vital to control pathogenic bacteria to prevent disease, it is just as important to do this without destroying the microbes which do us no harm. Many scientists believe that the most prudent way to do this is through a much more considered and careful usage of antibiotics and antibacterial products than we are currently employing.

The case for fake friends

If friendship is about feeling recognised and cared for, perhaps an illusion is enough.

Cass Harris writes about how AI forces us to reevaluate what ‘friendship’ means.

Cass Harris Third Year, Philosophy

lack this, it’s easy to imagine that any bond we form with them must be a façade; something that only mimics friendship, never truly equals it.

However, it may be mistaken to expect our friends to experience friendship in the same way we do. Even in human relationships, our feelings and perceptions rarely align exactly. We never truly know what another person feels; we rely on signs, habits, and assumptions. Yet those are usually enough to give the friendship value.

one designed to give the appearance of care with unprecedented precision. Seen this way, the gap between AI friendship and human friendship begins to narrow. An AI system could listen patiently, respond kindly, remember details, o er advice, and adapt to our moods. Everything that makes us feel understood could be replicated. Not through genuine shared consciousness (at least not yet), but through a convincing illusion of it. I posit this might be enough.

would tell a child their imaginary friend isn’t real or dismantle someone’s faith in an afterlife on their deathbed. If an AI can evoke feelings of care, attention, and understanding, then the experience of friendship is achieved, even if the mechanism behind it is artiﬁcial. From the inside, it would still feel just as real.

Leapt onto the bed, til she stared at the locks.

Eventually she laments, in a desperate tone:

“I want out!

Let me go!”

Never quite content, for this wasn’t her home.

Friendship is often said to be one of the things that make life meaningful. It’s therefore no surprise that as AI becomes more sophisticated – and increasingly capable of providing some of the things we seek in humans – many have begun to wonder whether a machine could ever be a friend. Some people already form friendships with systems like ChatGPT, while others reject this, believing that genuine friendship requires something essentially human that machines cannot replicate.

The same is true with our pets. We talk about dogs being loyal or loving us, but we can’t know what ‘love’ means for a dog, or whether it feels anything like what we feel. Still, the bond feels real, and that feeling is what matters. We accept a kind of ‘apparent mutuality’, the sense that a ection goes both ways, even when we must rationally assume the inner experience isn’t the same.

Some will say that such relationships lack authenticity. To value an AI friendship, we might need either to trick ourselves or to be tricked into believing an AI is participating. But for many of the people these systems could help – the lonely, the elderly, or those with cognitive or emotional di culties –this ‘trickery’ may not be a bad thing.

Perhaps what we call friendship has always depended on a kind of illusion, one that allows us to believe we are fully understood. If AI can o er that same feeling, then maybe the di erence between the real and the artiﬁcial matters less than

Quick out the door, her stay came to an end. She was o to Royal Fort, perhaps a brand new friend?

Perhaps another student, in another lousy ﬂat.

In other words, friendship depends less on what is real and more on what is felt. What matters is the experience of being valued, understood, and recognised (the usual features a friendship provides).

Looking for some comfort, in the shape of a cat.

That unease usually comes down to consciousness. We tend to think a real friend must be capable of thought, empathy, and genuine understanding. In philosophy, we say that a conscious being is one for whom there is ‘something it is like’ to be them – an inner, subjective experience. Since we believe AI systems

We already accept small deceptions when they bring comfort or dignity; few

This makes the idea of friendship with AI less strange. We have long accepted forms of connection built on limited understanding or one-sided perception; AI simply extends this pattern through a new kind of partner,

Illustration courtesy of: Kimberley Goh

W. G. Grace, national hero or cricketing scoundrel?

the legendary cricketer who is the namesake of your favourite Bristol Wetherspoons

Cricket is a ridiculous sport. It is played across ﬁve days and four innings, with daily lunch and tea breaks, whilst constantly at the mercy of the weather which can halt proceedings at any moment. Yet simultaneously, it is arguably the most mentally challenging sport in existence; as a batsman, one mistake and your match is all but over. As a bowler, you might toil for hours on end for a wicket, only to have to go and get nine more the next day. One must be a fool to play this game, you might – quite understandably – be thinking.

Enter William Gilbert Grace, a bearded, barrel-chested, Bristol-born, Victorian gentleman who would have looked more natural on a reindeer-drawn sleigh than a cricket pitch. Appearances can be deceiving, however. In his youth, he was an impressive athlete, once scoring 224 for the Gen-

tlemen of England before travelling straight to an athletics meet and dominating the ﬁeld in the 440 yards hurdles. All in a day’s work, as they say.

Later in life, he became the ﬁrst captain of the England bowls team and developed an enthusiasm for golf and curling. Undoubtedly though, cricket was his raison d’être, and it’s also why he is still talked about to this day. So how did W.G. become the most famous cricketer in Victorian England, and in doing so build a legacy that transcended the sport, leading to his name holding a special place in the hearts of so many Bristol uni students today?

The first and most obvious answer would of course be his extraordinary talent for willow wielding, by which I mean batting. Grace played his very first cricket match at the age of 8, right here in Bristol. That day, he achieved a score of 3. But by the age of just 27, Grace had scored 50 first class centuries (hitting 100 runs or more at the top level of the game). You’d have to combine the centuries of the next 13 most prolific batsmen over the same 10-year period to equal that tally. Although these stats are impossible to reasonably compare to players in the modern era due to how dramatically the game has developed,

that level of dominance is practically unparalleled in cricket. The only man who could possibly be put on a par with W.G. in that regard was Sir Don Bradman, a man with an average score of 99.94. Grace was also more than handy with the ball, becoming the ﬁrst player to twice take all ten wickets in an innings.

One could ﬁll this entire article and more with a list of W.G.’s cricketing achievements from his incredible, 44year ﬁrst class career, but what’s most important is that he brought about a completely new style of batting by looking to turn defence into attack. This laid the foundations for the way modern batters play today. You might even say that W.G. was the original bazballer.

However, W.G.’s unorthodox batting technique was not the only way in which he broke the conventions of cricket, a sport founded on gentlemanly behaviour and impeccable sportsmanship. He was notorious for throwing tantrums upon losing his wicket, and even, at times, intimidating umpires into giving him not out through his glowering presence and imposing reputation. Most famously of all though, he ran out an Australian batsman who had wandered out of his crease thinking that the ball was no longer in play. This was,

at least in W.G.’s time, considered to be against cricket’s code of honour, as he should have instead given the batsman a warning not to repeat his error (as to what extent this code of honour should still have been adhered to on a certain day in July 2023, I’ll let you decide). This sparked a revenge-fuelled comeback from Australia, who went on to win the game, prompting a London newspaper to write a mock obituary for English cricket, which in turn gave us the Ashes.

For those readers who are (unforgivably) unaware, this is the origin story of one of the fiercest rivalries in any sport, which occurs when England plays Australia in the test (five day) format of the game. Over the course of the next month and a half, England will attempt to win back the highly coveted, comically minute urn in the 74th edition of the Ashes, which, before it has even begun, is proving to have lost none of the passion and anger that Australia showed on the occasion of Grace’s act of defiance.

O the ﬁeld however, precious little is known about Grace. This was mainly due to his own complete lack of interest in himself and his unwillingness to share anecdotes with his two ghostwriters. He did write poignantly on the game, giving us useful insight into his rigorous

and attack-minded approach to batting, though, sadly, these writings were not widely published or shared within the educated upper echelons of society, who, along with the cricket establishment, had dismissed him as ‘unanalytical.’

Another, this time justiﬁable, strike against his reputation came from Grace’s propensity for using his reputation to leverage the most amount of money from playing cricket as he could. This was completely hypocritical to his status as an amateur and was greatly frowned upon by many of his contemporaries.

So, national hero, or cricketing scoundrel? I think the only appropriate response is that W.G. was both. But, in my view, he could hardly have been one without the other. For all his immense skill and talent, it was W.G.’s maverick approach to the game that brought him his super stardom. Admittedly, this came with some morally questionable conduct, but who doesn’t want to watch a Nick Kyrgios or a Tiger Woods just because they may not be the most perfect gentlemen?

So, next time you’re in the W.G. Grace, spare a thought between sips of lager for the mighty man who changed the game of cricket forever.

The Fighter raises pounds with their punches

much media training as he does boxing experience: none.

With The Fighter’s next student ﬁght night less than a month away, Seb McGrath and James Glass found themselves in a boxing gym, for the ﬁrst time, on a mission to explore the motivations, preparations, and expectations of the athletes. Two interviewees, Bailey ‘The Bully Boy’ Vincent and Orla ‘Spark’er’ Parker, shared what drove them to take on such a daunting challenge.

Anyone listening in on Bailey’s interview would be forgiven for assuming he has been media trained; his answers were polished, his tone self-assured, and it was clear what this event means to him. In actual fact, he has as

Yet what we observed in the training session at the Bristol Boxing Gym seemed to defy that too, and the talent exhibited in the ring just one month into the training programme is a testament to the work ethic of the ﬁghters – as well as the impeccable standard of training delivered by men with biceps the circumference of my thighs.

The Bully Boy, a Second-Year Economics and Management student, explained that he welcomed the challenge that came with ‘throwing [himself] into it,’ but commented that a burning desire to win was only half the story. Bailey’s cousin was born with Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), which a ects up to 1 in

150,000 babies worldwide. The condition disrupts the brain’s ability to control breathing during sleep, and, as a result, Bailey’s

cousin was kept in hospital for the ﬁrst six months of her life.

Thankfully, due to the exceptional care shown by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Bailey’s cousin has gone on to lead a normal life.

Alongside learning a new skill, The Fighter has a orded him a way to give something back, and that he has done. His fundraiser has raised over £500 at the time of writing, having smashed the target with still a month left until the showdown. This money can help provide the respiratory support and round-the-clock monitoring that children with CCHS depend on to survive their earliest months.

In a similarly selﬂess fashion, Orla ‘Spark’er’ Parker revealed that she is ﬁghting for the charity Mind, one that campaigns for mental health to be regarded with the same seriousness as physical health. Spark’er explained

how awareness of ways to improve mental health is key, and emphasised how the training programme is a ‘good way to get fit,’ which she linked to an improvement in her wellbeing. Indeed, any sort of challenge or ambition, especially one shared with so many like-minded people, will go a long way in promoting a happier society. Her fundraiser should raise enough to fund counselling sessions, helpline access, or community programmes. The fighters are naturally competitive, and a (figurative) thirst for blood will be what keeps them going in the ring on the 21st of November. Yet their motivations extend beyond victory. Every punch will also reflect the causes they fight for; a reminder of the spirit and commitment that resonate far beyond the final bell.

Meet

Alex James Second Year, English and Spanish

Seb McGrath, Fourth Year, Spanish and German

Photo courtesy of: Instagram/@theﬁghterbristol

Bristol is home to a little known treasure: a real tennis court. But what is this ancient sport really about?

Toby Marriott

Third Year, History

Rarely will you come across someone in the WG waxing lyrical about their achievements on the real tennis court. That is probably because the game is unfortunately unknown to most people. There are only 45 courts worldwide, making the one in Bristol all the more unique. Yet the game boasts many secrets that make it far more interesting than its modern and rather monotonous cousin – lawn tennis. Whilst such a game now garners fame worldwide, it had to come from somewhere.

Real tennis, dating back to the 14th century, became famous in England under the notorious Henry VIII. The game attracted so much intrigue that his wife, Anne Boleyn, was gambling on a match when she was arrested for execu-

Editor .............................................. Emma Gri ths

Deputy Editor Ava Featon

Deputy Editor Benjy Howard

Subeditor....................................... Weronika Lecka

Subeditor Edward Wallace

Photo courtesy of: Instagram/@camdenriviere

A game of royalty: Real Tennis

tion – reportedly complaining that she couldn’t collect her winnings. For history bu s, the French Revolution arguably began on a real tennis court in Versailles. How many sporting venues can claim to have inspired such revolutionary fervour? Shakespeare himself mentions it in Henry V, where the English king declares to the Dauphin that they ‘shall strike his father’s crown into the hazard’ – but what is a ‘hazard’ you ask? Well, the rules take some getting used to.

The scoring system and proﬁle of the court will not be wholly unfamiliar to lovers of modern tennis. From there, its medieval idiosyncrasies take over. Serving and returning take place on certain sides of the court. The return side is called the hazard end due to the variety of targets to defend – who knew knowledge of a sport could help contextualise Shakespeare?!

To serve, the ball must bounce on the sloping roof but servers can stand from largely wherever they please. This gives rise to a multitude of serve types from

di erent angles. A gira e, caterpillar, and boomerang all count as legitimate serve names. Angles continue to be important with the drooping net. Suddenly, there is much more jeopardy for hitting a shot down the line than cross-court – the game requires a constant risk assessment.

And yet, the game can be forgiving. The numbered lines embellishing the court are not there to stupefy the innumerate among us, but rather to judge the quality of a shot. If the second bounce of your ball lands on one of these lines, you get a second chance to win that point – a Get Out of Jail Free card, if you will.

Now on to the balls. Their resemblance to modern tennis balls is deceiving. Every single ball in the world is handmade. The result is a skiddier and heavier ball, making the game more about timing than racket speed. Combined with the heavier racket can make the game hard to pick up immediately.

Chris Ronaldson, former world number one, joked ‘it takes two years of playing

Sport Society Spotlight

University of Bristol

Photo courtesy of: Instagram/@ubswpc

Swimming & Water Polo Club

For the next installment of Epigram’s new column, which investigates a new sport within the university every week, Epigram has dived into the world of water polo!

If you’re looking for a club that balances serious sport with even more serious fun, the University of Bristol Swimming & Water Polo Club (UBSWPC) should be at the top of your list. Whether you’re a seasoned swimmer, a total beginner, or just want a team that feels like family, this is one of the most welcoming and high-spirited circles on campus.

With a perfect mix of challenge, community and companionship, UBSWPC o ers something for everyone. The club ﬁelds two men’s and two women’s water polo teams, alongside a dedicated swimming squad, meaning there’s a place for everyone, from

ﬁrst-time players to BUCS champions.

Many members join with no water polo experience at all. As Former men’s 1st team water polo captain and current alumni secretary, Ben Barnish, put it, ‘half or more of players had never played before.’ If you can swim, you can play, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you pick it up.

Wednesdays are when UBSWPC really makes waves. After home games, the squad trades swim caps for pints at the White Bear, their go-to post-match local. Win or lose, the place ﬁlls with laughter, retold highlights, and the kind of team spirit that spills out onto the street. Even when there’s no game, you can count on the club to show up, because for UBSWPC, Wednesdays aren’t just about sport, they’re about community.

UBSWPC has been ﬂying high in recent years, with the men’s water polo 1st team storming through the South Prem in an undefeated season, while the women’s 1st team delivered their own pow-

erhouse performance, going unbeaten and charging all the way to an unforgettable national semi-ﬁnal appearance.

What makes that success even more impressive is how inclusive the club remains. With alumni coaches leading both men and women’s squads, every player gets the kind of support and motivation that turns nervous newcomers into conﬁdent athletes.

‘Retention of newcomers has become higher in recent years,’ Ben remarked, inﬂuenced by ‘the coaches understanding of what you’re going through having done it themselves.’

Of course, no Bristol club would be complete without a legendary social calendar, and UBSWPC delivers. From themed nights and post-match curries at Naan & Co, to two black-tie dinners each year and a huge alumni event at Ashton Gate Stadium in March, there’s always something on. These traditions keep the club’s community thriving long after graduation. ‘Best friends and friendship groups

to be hopeless.’ But that is partly what makes the game so rewarding. The euphoria of crunching a forehand o your strings, with the same e ort it takes to reach for a dropped pen, is what makes people hooked for life. As long-term player Eleanor told ITV ‘she had to learn to play or she would never see her husband.’ Whilst ITV’s clip may have also shown the Bristol members sipping champagne and being part of a certain balding demographic, the game is absolutely no longer exclusive to high society. Bristol has an increasingly strong youth programme, and the handicap system means that anyone can have a decent game with anyone. Equally, handmade balls are the ultimate protest to the commercialised consumer culture that swamps us today. This is a game for the anti-capitalists among us, not just royalty.

We live in a world of uniformity. Whether it be carrots all exactly the same length or buildings looking identical. Real tennis with all its quirks is the antidote to this standardisation. Each court is truly unique with di erent angles, widths,

and diameters. One must adapt their game to the high bounce at Wellington or the narrow width at Oxford. Real tennis, then, is the truest celebration of individuality, something so many of us strive for in today’s saturated job market.

Ultimately, the game has changed little since Tudor times. Philosopher Roman Krznaric even likened it to a ‘prehistoric tree fern’ that deﬁes evolution. So, whether you love the thought of participating in a part of history, or want a new way to burn o those pints, one thing’s certain: this game is no ‘fad’. In fact, it will probably outlast us all.

With excellent student rates and absorbing views over the suspension bridge on the way, why not pop over and give it a go?

If you read this article and found this sport even half appealing, you should get in touch with @uobboatclub on Instagram, or check out the website uobboatclub.co.uk

that last start in this club,’ Ben explained.

And then there are the moments that deﬁne UBSWPC, the ones that stay with you long after the ﬁnal whistle. Take the league-deciding men’s 1st team clash against Oxford two years ago, in a season where Bristol had been neck-andneck with Bath. They needed to win by six goals to claim the title. With the Bath team watching from the stands, Bristol pushed every second, and, with just a minute left, the score was 16–9. Oxford scored to make it 16-10 and it all came down to not conceding in the last minute. Harnessing the electricity of the spectators, Bristol held

on, much to the delight of the home crowd and the disappointment of Bath.

‘Insane scenes,’ Ben recalled; pure chaos, pure joy, and unforgettable UBSWPC.

Whether you’re after a competitive outlet, a new challenge, or just a good reason to spend more time in the water, UBSWPC has you covered. ‘How good you are doesn’t matter,’ Ben said, ‘turning up matters, and you can make memories through that.’

So, if you’re ready to swim, play, and socialise with one of the most spirited clubs in Bristol, the water’s waiting. Dive in!

Ed Wallace Sport Subeditor

EPI-GAMES

CHRISTMAS MUSIC TRIVIA by

Sophie Scannell

Which one of these artists have NOT released a Christmas song:

A) AC/DC

B) The Ramones

C) James Brown

D) Led Zeppelin

CROSSWORD by

ACROSS

the crowd to say the

John Lewis’ annual Christmas advert submission this year split the crowd to say the least. But what 90s dance anthem was used to soundtrack the ad? by

Kaz Freedman

Paul Young is the ﬁrst celebrity to sing in Band Aid’s Do they know it’s Christmas, but whose line was this meant to be before they pulled out?

A) Elton John

B) David Bowie

C) George Michael

DOWN

According to The Twelve Days of Christmas, on what day did the speaker’s true love gift them ‘ladies dancing’?

1. Film whose sequel ‘For Good’ excited many cinemagoers late this year (6)

4. To breach, for instance the terms of an agreement (7)

8. Because of; _____ to (5)

10. City to which all roads are said to lead (4)

13.Scientiﬁc principle which states that V = I x R (4,3)

16. Respected orchestra conductor (7)

18. Type of shootout you might see after extra time in a football match (7)

19. Character to whom ‘Goodnight’ is said in the title of a 1998 World War II-based ﬁlm about a young evacuee named William (2,3)

20. Singer of 2012 hit ‘Cheerleader’ (3)

22. Team who manage the public image of a brand or celebrity (2)

23. Irish county which it is purportedly ‘a long way to’ in a popular tune (9)

26. Word preceding ‘yourself’ in the title of esteemed Eminem hit (4)

28. Surname of the director of modern horror hits ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’ (5)

29. Good image quality in a television screen (2)

31. First name of the prince in Disney’s

‘The Little Mermaid’ (4)

33. An individual in a teaching-based profession (8)

37. Speedy; surname of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ author (5)

38. Flaubert’s ‘Madame’ (6)

39. ‘If at ﬁrst you don’t succeed, try, ___ ______’ (3,5)

40. Old timey word which might precede ‘yonder’ in the giving of directions (3)

41. A hallucinogenic or the ‘supergroup’ behind the song ‘Thunderclouds’ (3)

43. Acronym referring to a muchmaligned alternative authority in football match adjudication (3)

45. A famous K-Pop group or an abbreviation for unseen work facilitating that which makes it to the stage (3)

47. Scottish actor who stars in the likes of ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ (4, 8)

51. Famous toy; if one cannot get a moment’s peace they might be said to be up and down like a ____ (4)

52. Large ﬂightless bird (3)

53. Month of Advent (8)

1. First step in a hot chocolate recipe perhaps (4,4)

2. One of Santa’s reindeer (5)

3. A little chocolate lies behind each of these in an Advent Calendar (4)

4. Vigour (3)

5. Motivated the creation of (8)

6. To stare in a way which causes discomfort (4)

7. Planet at the heart of many a David Attenborough documentary (5)

9. That was unintentional! (6)

11. Useful tool for rowing (3)

12. Niche and obscure (8)

14. Form of surveillance technology you might hear mentioned in the likes of ‘Line of Duty’ (4)

15. Untrusting of (4)

17. Abbreviation one might use to let someone know that they have overshared (3)

21. Streak of light seen when a smaller piece of debris burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, often erroneously thought to be synonymous with (2 down) (6)

24. Promise or agreement (4)

25. Caribbean island country and common holiday destination (5)

27. Action you might take to repair a hole in your jeans (3)

29. Mess with the bull and you get the _____ (5)

30. Arid (3)

32. 2024 animated ﬁlm starring John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds (2)

34. A dissatisﬁed worker might lament feeling like just another ___ in the capitalist machine (3)

35. Roman Catholic saint commemorated on April 29th (3)

36. One of two options in a coin toss (5)

37. To draw the short one of these is to be unlucky (5)

39. Informal way of referring to trianglebased branch of mathematics cited as a cause of suffering for many a maths GCSE student (4)

40. What the ﬁrst two letters of OMG stand for (2,2)

42. Anabelle, for example (4)

43. To let out frustration by conﬁding in someone (4)

44. Of sunshine perhaps (3)

45. To go on stage and have your comedy routine get no laughs (4)

46. Veridical (4)

48. Shakespeare’s famous question, ‘To be or ___ to be’ (3)

Husband and wife go on a killing spree and lose their minds in the process

49. Type of ﬁsh commonly served up as a ﬁsh supper (3)

50. A lesser-known establishment of high quality might be referred to as a hidden one of these (3)

What was Christmas number 1 in 1988, the year that Epigram was created?

by Alice Guskov

EPIGRAM’S

ANAGRAMS

by Rachel Shortall

The jumbled up words are back with a vengeance! Can you rearrange them to match the corresponding clue?

Unruly dog of famous cartoon family

REAL ELEPHANT STILTS (6,6,6)

Small Christmas gift which isn’t one’s main present Christmas dinner accompaniment

READILY A SMOOCHING

Classic Christmas slogan of world famous brand

Pivotal Nativity angel

KILLER SUDOKU

TICKLER OF SLING (8,6)

Illustrations courtesy of: Romina Treviño Santa Cruz