Fortnightly 27th February 2017 Issue 311
University of Bristol’s Award Winning Independent Student Newspaper
www.epigram.org.uk
Is this equal opportunity?
Uni’s widening participation scheme sees a third of contextual offers go to private schools Full story page 3
Inside:
Exclusive interviews with John McDonnell and Nicky Morgan pages 6-7 Special investigation into Bristol’s BME problem page 4-5
Features Is there a racism problem against Asian students? - page 8
Facebook.com/EpigramPaper
Ellie Donnell has a flipping great pancake recipe - page 22
Food @EpigramPaper
Travel Anna Lezard writes a love letter to Rynair - page 27 Highly Commended for Best Publication and Best Use of Digital Media 2016
Style Alex Boulton asks if feminism and fashion can go together - page 46
Epigram | 27.02.2017
Editorial Inside Epigram
Letters Confessions of a fresher - page 16 Wellbeing Three students raise £1,500 for Mind- page 21 Lots more puzzles on page 45!
Deputies: Caitlin Butler; Stefan Rollnick
Online Deputies: Sophie Hunter; Phoebe Jordan
A note from the editor...
everyone is unhappy and are accusing us of bias against them, then we’re doing our job. I guess this is my message to anyone who has complained to me about bias since September: we’re not here to make you happy (one complaint I got amounted to ‘we’re unhappy about this story’), nor are we here to promote any particular editorial line – not the SU’s, not the University’s and certainly not my own personal views (no one wants to hear them, honestly). We’re here to (hopefully) be read by the odd student who picks up a copy from that ‘pile of paper at the side of the ASS café’, and we’re here to keep students informed and in doing so hold people to account. So, to prove how impartiality and balance streams from the pores of this paper, we have lined up not one, but two big political interviews for our readers this week (page 6-7). We have former Conservative Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, and to balance that we also stopped Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell in the street for a chat. Finally, just a further point to anyone who felt the need to complain about last week’s front page as being bias: as well as a BBC journalist (who are known for their impartiality unless you’re some nutcase who thinks the BBC are a right/left wing propoganda machine controlled by commie/Blairite overlords) liking it on Twitter, Private Eye also told me it was a ‘great story’ and Ian Hislop - who edits it - is my idol so I literally couldn’t care less what anyone else says ever.
Ben Parr, Editor in Chief
Write for Epigram: join our writers Facebook groups or email editor@epigram.org.uk
News in numbers
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10 - the number of points Warwick
4
beat Bristol by in Uni Challenge
5 6 7
8 9
Bristol got knocked out of University Challenge after narrowly losing to Warwick 120-110
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To enquire about advertising, please contact James O’Hara at jo14310@my.bristol.ac.uk
Webmaster Josh Jones Chief Proofreader Lowri Daniels Sub-editors Zuzanna Needham, Jess Cselko, Sarah Roller, Elly Brett, Samuel Wong, Daisy Dowding, Megan Frost Managing Director James O’Hara Director of Communications Issy Bull Head of Finance Alfie Smith Business Team Calli Keane Amelia McWhirter Ellie Elstub Aravin Skantha Lucy Ellis-Keeler Megan Aldridge Helen Salter Joe Jones Lucy Roe
‘A first year Bristol student, suspended from Eton last year, has described his decision to sell photos of Prince William’s room as “the worst mistake of my life”’, Epigram’s front page read in December of 1999. The story centred on events that had actually happened back in the student’s Eton days prior to him joining the University of Bristol. The student had made a deal with The Mirror newspaper that he would sell photos of Prince William’s room to them for £100,000 as well as any future information about William’s love life. ‘I’m doing this to make a stash of money. I’m still in touch with William. I could call him now and speak to him if I wanted to. I could give you stuff on him for years to come. I could tell you what he wants to do with his life, which university he wants to go to, who his first pull was, who his current girlfriend is’, the student told The Mirror reporters in a meeting. The morning after the student signed the contract with the newspaper, The Mirror splashed the student’s face along with the headline ‘SNEAK’ across their front page. The whole thing had been a set up. ‘We expose ex-Eton boy trying to sell pictures of Prince William’s bedroom’, The Mirror’s front page read. After arriving at Bristol the student told Epigram how he had continued to be hounded by tabloid journalists and that he had suffered the shame of humiliated parents. He also told of how when he arrived in Bristol to study at the University a student started a fight with him in the nightclub Steam Rock. The student told of how a man said to him ‘you’re the faggot in The Mirror’ and grabbed him around the throat. The student told Epigram that ‘this made me fear for my own safety’. The student reportedly hit back at The Mirror saying that their
Epigram/ Ben Parr
ACROSS 1. Riches (6) 5. Water resistant material For the latest news, features and reviews (8) facebook.com/epigrampaper 7. Long period of time (3) 8. Read between the lines (5) twitter.com/epigrampaper 9. Drink slowly (3) 13. Clothes maker (6) 14. Dutch shoe (4) issuu.com/epigrampaper DOWN 1. Dawdle (6) instagram/epigrampaper_ 2. Scents (6) epigramfood 3. Root vegetable (6) 4. Smell (5) epigram_travel 6. Nosy (6) epigramstyle 10. Isolated land mass (4) epigram_music 11. Cooking pot (3) 12. Part of a circle (3)
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Epigram has per issue than Warwick’s student newspaper, The Boar
First year Bristol student beaten up by enraged monarchist after attempting to sell photos of Prince William’s room at Eton
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Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. The views expressed in this publication are not those of the University or the Students’ Union. The design, text and photographs are copyright of Epigram and its individual contributors and may not be reproduced without permission.
12 - how many more quality pages
From the archives... ‘EXPOSED’
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Printed by: CN Newsprint Cumbrian Newsprint, Newspaper House, Dalston Road, Carlisle CA2 5UA
Quick Crossword
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Editor: Ben Parr: editor@epigram.org.uk Online Editor: Hannah Price: hannah.price@epigram.org.uk
As editor of Epigram I often receive complaints. (No, it’s not always ‘what the hell is the Epigram?’, although I do get that depressingly often. More depressing is how someone will try and explain to the poor ignorant soul that it is ‘that pile of papers at the side of the ASS café’). The type of complaint I’m referring to is complaints about balance. More often than not this is just a case of a news article being inconvenient for the said complainant and so they resort to saying that our story is bias or out of context. No newspaper is ever going to be 100 per cent impartial. Everything you do will contain elements of bias. The choice of the story you put on the front page, the headline you write for it, even the order of the facts in which you present it. Unconsciously or not, you are putting an angle into the story. That said, whenever I do get an accusation of bias I do take it incredibly seriously. If there is an obvious bias then I haven’t achieved my aim of keeping the newspaper editorially independent and I’ll do what I can to rectify it. However, so far this year I am confident that the newspaper itself, although occasionally dramatizing a front page with a graphic or full page image, has never strayed into overtly bias territory. We always represent both sides of an argument, we always offer a right to reply to those mentioned in our articles and, in general, when I’ve received complaints, I’ve received them from both sides of an argument rather than just one. Essentially, if
Comment Bristol has a diversity problem, not a racism one - page 13
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story ‘was a sanctimonious effort to lure me into their public eye… the money was never really an issue. I would have given half away to charity’. Although Epigram did not name the student in the original story, a quick search of newspaper archives revealed that he was eventually named as Robert Hoyles-Cook. Since The Mirror ran their story Hoyles-Cook reportedly fled to Singapore where his father works as a businessman. The latest information suggests that Hoyles-Cook is still living in Singapore working in the ‘party’ industry. Original story first published in Epigram on 10 December 1999
Epigram 27.02.2017
News
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@EpigramNews
News Editor: Emily Faint news@epigram.org.uk Online News Editor: Malik Ouiza newsonline@epigram.org.uk Deputy News Editors: Mairead Finlay; Noa Leach; Ellen Jones; Amy Finch
Social mobility scheme offers third of places to private school students The new Bristol Scholars scheme has been praised as an innovative step to increase social mobility in the city by making lowered offers to students judged to have ‘high potential’ by their schools. However, information obtained by Epigram has revealed that half of the schools partaking are private schools, with 33 per cent of the adjusted offers made to their students. Launched in December of last year, the ‘pioneering’ scheme which aims to ‘ensure local student have an equal opportunity’ is open to five students from every school in the local region, with head-teachers making the choices based on ‘potential and progress’ rather than solely on exam results. Priority is given to students who meet a range of widening participation criteria such as being the first in their family to attend university, being part of the Free School Meals cohort, living in care or being a young carer. However, at the time of the launch, much of the praise surrounded opportunities for state school students, with Elisabeth Gilpin, head teacher of St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School,
praising the University for nurturing ‘highly intelligent students in state schools who are achieving excellent results’. Professor Hugh Brady, ViceChancellor and President of the University of Bristol, said: ‘We want to recruit the most able students, regardless of their background’. Lucy Collins, UoB Head of UK Student Recruitment told Epigram ‘Two thirds of the offers are going to students in the state sector so independent school students have not been disproportionately represented in the offers.’ Nationally, 14 per cent of sixth formers attend private schools meaning that they are over-represented in the new scheme’s offers. One in four Bristol children live in poverty, and there are several schools failing by the governments standards. The University’s state school society, The 93% Club, told Epigram that ‘although it is not in contravention of the University’s Widening Participation Strategy, we lament the inclusion of independent schools on this scheme’. ‘Students from State funded schools will by and large not have the same opportunities that those from
Flickr/ Robert Cutts
Amy Finch Deputy News Editor
The £13,000 per year Queen Elizabeth Hospital school (pictured on front and above) is partaking in the University of Bristol’s scheme
independent schools enjoy. It would therefore not make sense include those who already having had the privilege of a private education, at the expense of state school students who would better benefit from the opportunity.’ The average yearly fee at an independent school is £12,500 - £600 less than the annual earnings of one person on minimum wage. In comparison, the investment per Bristol state school students was £4,717.30. Three of the independent schools which have had tailor-made offers to their students exceed the average private school fee. One, Badminton School has annual fees of almost £18,000, and achieves some of the best results in the region. This translates to a significant gap between the likelihood of private and state school students progressing
to ‘the most selective institutions’, including the University of Bristol. 64 per cent of private school pupils progressed to such universities in 2014, compared with 23 per cent of those from state schools, and has widened since the introduction of £9000 fees. All-girls Badminton School saw 12 per cent of their Upper Sixth students recently achieve offers of a place at either Oxford or Cambridge University to study courses in Medicine, Law, Natural Sciences, Fine Art and Architecture. ‘I am comfortable that the students that need to be reached have been’, said Lucy Collins, UoB Head of UK Student Recruitment. ‘All students selected from the independent sector had to fulfil one or more WP criteria. We are working closely with all schools and colleges in
the state sector (including the feeder pre 16 schools) to increase the number of applications next year.’ Several state schools are participant, including the maximum five students from Merchants’ Academy, which is situated in the electoral ward with the third lowest rate to higher education in the country. As the University with the third highest proportion of privatelyeducated students – a full 40 per cent - UoB has been under considerable pressure to offer more opportunities for state-school applicants. Alongside other Russell Group institutions, Bristol has spent £18 million on recruiting and supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the last 10 years. However, despite this, the proportion of state-school students has stagnated, remaining roughly the same as in 2003. 42 students have taken part in the outreach program and been made tailor offers, with an aim to expand to 100 students by 2018. The scheme was launched alongside a national initiative where students from the lowest performing 40 per cent of schools would be made offers two grades lower than the standard.
Meet the medics stripping off for charity Emily Faint News Editor
Epigram/Emily Faint
CLIC team huddle before rehearsals kick off one month ahead of the big night
performing in before the Christmas break, and rehearsals commence immediately once term resumes in the New Year. The dances are choreographed by student medics too. Hattie Lockyear, one of the fifth year choreographers, said, ‘You just apply to be a choreographer and submit an idea. I choreographed the last three shows, and was in it two years before that. ‘Sometimes the performers are people who’ve never danced before. Most girls have done a bit of dance before, but plenty haven’t. ‘This is the best bit. Obviously the night is amazing, but I just love the rehearsals and hanging out with people like this. I’m really sad it’s my last year.’ Medics rehearse every weekend for over three months to put the CLIC show together. On the increasing reputation of the show for displaying impressive physiques, Anderson said: ‘Over the years people have wanted to look good and take the prep quite seriously. Guys go to the gym so that, when they take their shirts off, they look good. But there’s absolutely no requirement for anyone to do that. ‘Once you’ve done the show once you realise what a fantastic event it is and that you’re raising all this money for charity. Also, it’s a great excuse to socialise and get to know other medics.’ Jack Thompson, a fifth year medic and CLIC dancer, told Epigram how he fits in the demands of the show around his university life. ‘We finished finals before Christmas, so we’re all about to check out on elective, which is where you go abroad and help out in a third world hospital. But at the moment we’re just doing
Rehearsals are physically intense
Epigram/Emily Faint Twitter
11 young people are diagnosed with cancer each day in the UK, a devastating experience that the organisation works to support those suffering through it. The transformation from a dance show towards a strip show has ‘progressed over the years’, according to Anderson. ‘I think people slowly, slowly worked out that more people would come if they took their clothes off.’ Despite the public nature of the dance/strip show, auditions are not short on applicants. ‘This year we had over 300 people audition for 150 positions,’ he told Epigram. ‘It’s always been really popular with the girls, but we’ve [previously] struggled a little more with the boys. Boys aren’t usually known for their dancing, but this year we’ve had loads of boys.’ Those who auditioned successfully are told which dances they will be
Epigram/ Sorcha Bradley
Approximately 150 Bristol medics are gathering every weekend in University gyms and halls to prepare a huge ‘dance/strip show’, known as CLIC, to raise money for young people with cancer. Luke Anderson, one of the CLIC Managing Directors, told Epigram: ‘CLIC is short for Clicendales. It’s a charity show which has been set up by medics, and we’ve been running for over ten years now. ‘It’s all to raise money for CLIC Sargent, a cancer charity for children and young people.’ ‘The fiction-themed ‘Once Upon a Time’ show this year is on 11th March, and everyone should go because it’s always a fantastic night.’ The Facebook event states: ‘Think FICTION! Books, comics, stories of new
and old! Myths and legends, Superman, Harry Potter and your Disney favourites will collaborate for the first time!’ There are approximately 12 different dances in the show and, once it concludes, the O2 arena venue transforms into a club night with a capacity of over 1500 people. ‘It’s pretty nerve-wracking for the medics to go out there in front of 1500 people!’ he said. ‘All the money from the tickets goes to the charity, and last year we managed to sell out the entire show. We raised £22,000 which is a huge amount for charity. This year we’re looking to beat that and get more than £22,000.’ ‘The money from CLIC Sargent goes to fund cancer nurses for children, and also helps the families of children with cancer.’ CLIC Sargent provides specialist support tailored to each young cancer patient and their families. Around
paperwork. It’s so boring! So this is the perfect thing to do on the side - it’s great fun!’ he explained. The CLIC show represents one of the biggest single fundraising endeavours in the University calendar. With parents of children with cancer estimated to spend an extra £600 a month on additional care-associated expenses, the £22,000 raised by CLIC 2016 could fund over three years of additional support to a family affected. Students can purchase tickets online for £12 for the six-hour event. All proceeds will go to fund the work of CLIC Sargent.
Epigram 27.02.2017
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Black applicants half as likely to accept Bristol offer as white counterparts... Malik Ouzia Online News Editor
The data also revealed that only half of black students applying to Bristol as 18 year olds (i.e. directly from school) received offers, compared with 72 per cent of white students. Vincent Onuegbu, a third year French and Portuguese student told Epigram that he felt a lack of diversity at leading schools has a knock on effect on diversity at the university. ‘The obvious thing, regarding offers, is the minority of black pupils that I can envisage at the places from which Bristol take most of their students. At my school, I was one of five black people in my sixth form and I think that I may be the only one who applied to UoB. ‘I can’t blame UoB for this trend in the demographic, but a way to encourage young black pupils could be to highlight the current or former black alumni in some way. Maybe then younger ethnic pupils will be more incentivised to pursue studies at UoB.’ However,another third year student challenged students at the university to tackle the issue from within. ‘More white students at Bristol need to start engaging with this issue and challenging the university to do something about it,’ she said. ‘Support the ‘Why is my curriculum white?’ campaign, look at the environment you live in critically and talk to your friends about diversity. ‘One of the most effective ways to spread awareness is just starting a conversation with someone.’ There were some positives from
Just 6.9 per cent of black applicants go on to receive, accept and meet the terms of a Bristol offer, according to new UCAS statistics. The data, which is based on main scheme applications in the complete 2015-16 application cycle, has the acceptance rate for white students at 14.3 per cent, more than twice as high. UCAS defines an acceptance as an applicant who receives an offer from an institution, accepts that offer, and then goes on to meet its terms, usually in the form of a-level grades. Consequently, acceptance rate may be affected by the number of offers given out, applicants choice of whether or not to accept the offer and the applicants’ academic performance. Bristol’s acceptance rate of 6.9 per cent is the fifth lowest of any Russel Group university, higher only than the universities of Glasgow, Leeds and Southampton, as well as King’s College London, which has the lowest rate at 6.4 per cent. Of Bristol’s 43930 UCAS applicants, 1165 were black and 80 went on to accept offers. UCAS round these figures to the nearest 5 to protect applicant identity. The University of Cambridge had the highest acceptance rate for black students at 12.5 per cent, followed by the University of Warwick (12.2) and the University of Nottingham (11.4).
RUSSELL GROUP UNIVERSITY BLACK ACCEPTANCE RATE Institution
Black acceptance rate
1st
University of Cambridge
12.5%
2nd
University of Warwick
12.2%
3rd
University of Nottingham
11.4%
20th
University of Bristol
6.9%
=21st
University of Glasgow
6.8%
=21st
University of Leeds
6.8%
23rd
University of Southampton
6.6%
24th
King’s College London
6.4%
Percentage 12.5 10.4 8.80 8.10 7.10
AVG: 8.74
6.40
University of Manchester 7.6%
University of Oxford 9.2%
What is acceptance rate? According to UCAS an ‘acceptance’ is defined as an applicant who receives an offer from an institution, accepts it, and then meets the terms of the offer.
the report, with the 6.9 per cent acceptance rate representing a 1.6 per cent increase on the previous year and a raise of 3.1 per cent since 2010. This year is also the first time that Bristol has received over 1000 black applications through UCAS since 2009. However, since 2010/11 there has been no significant chance in the proportion of the university population that are black, compared with a 1.5 per cent increase in the white population. Hannah Dualeh,Equality Liberation and Access Officer at Bristol SU told Epigram ‘we are concerned to see that a disproportionate number of black students are not taking up offers
when they apply to Bristol compared to their white counterparts; and then are receiving the highest grades with lower frequency.’ ‘These findings show that, from the point of application to the point of graduation, black students are feeling underrepresented and undervalued at the University of Bristol.’ Dualeh continued. ‘There have been recent incidents of overt racism at University of Bristol; but this data points to a wider issue at the University. Whether it manifests through insults, or a lower uptake of black students’ UCAS applications, racism at Bristol University is an institutional problem’.
Students win £800 from Digs Bristol out of Uni Challenge Six students have won £800 in a court battle with the lettings agents, Digs. The students accused Digs of making unreasonable deductions from their deposits after they were charged total of £756 for cleaning, repainting, rubbish and mattress covers. ‘One of us was still in the flat when the cleaners arrived, so we didn’t get given a chance to do a final clean. This was a breach of contract’, one of the students told The Tab Bristol.
University of Bristol 6.9%
So the acceptance rate is the proportion of applicants who fulfil the above criteria.
Infogram / Malik Ouzia
Rank
Black student acceptance rate
The court rules that the rubbish cost was a breach of contract as they aggregated the charge across 732 students, which broke their tenancy agreement. Digs did not send a representative to the court hearing and reportedly claimed that they would be appealing the decision on the basis that they ‘forgot’ to turn up. Digs subsequently paid the students £865.
The University of Bristol’s team were knocked out of University Challenge after narrowly losing to Warwick University 120-110. The Bristol team of four had made it to the semi-final of the BBC quiz show after beating University of Sheffield and crushing Oriel College, Oxford defeat of to reach the final eight. Ahead of their final show, team captain Alice Clarke said: ‘While there were some daunting moments,
appearing on University Challenge was overall great fun. We met some wonderful people in the competition, as well as getting to know each other and other University staff along the way. ‘I’ll never forget the excitement of entering the set and taking our seats; some of us have watched the program since we were in junior school and it was a brilliant and strange moment to realise we were really on it’.
LONDON University College London 10.3%
Imperial College London 9.2%
News in numbers:
4 - the number of times
the ‘mystery envelope’ th SU’s pub quiz...
2 - the number of ‘dud’
used train ticket and mon
Epigram | 27.02.2017
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...and half as likely to get a first class degree if they do FOR EVERY 2 BLACK STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH A FIRST IN 2015/16, THERE WERE 293 WHITE STUDENTS...
Durham University 9.3%
University of Leeds 6.8%
University of Cambridge 12.5%
Infogram / Malik Ouzia
University of Exeter 7.8%
Bristol SU pub quiz
money has been won in hird place prize in Bristol
prizes won, including a nopoly money...
A Freedom of Information request to the University has revealed to Epigram the attainment gap between black and white students at Bristol University. Throughout the period 2010- 2016 black students have consistently graduated with lower degree classifications than their white peers across all undergraduate degrees (excluding clinical degrees). Out of those graduating from Bristol University in 2016 only six black students obtained a firstclass degree. This equates to just 15.8 per cent of black students in comparison to the 30.3 per cent of white students. Even when accounting for the fact only 1.5 per cent of Bristol’s student population are black (during the 201516 academic year), proportionally, black students are half as likely to bag a first than white students. For every two black students graduating with a first in 2015/16
6 black students
there were 293 white students. The ethnicity attainment gap continues into the 2:1 classification where statistics suggest black students are 20 per cent less likely to secure that all important grade needed for many graduate careers and post-graduate qualifications. Throughout the 2010-2016 period an average of 37 per cent of black Bristol gradates failed to secure that crucial 2:1 compared to 11 per cent of white graduates. The 2014/15 academic year showed signs that the attainment gap may be narrowing at Bristol, with 79 per cent of black students achieving firsts or 2:1s. However this figure fell again the following year. Furthermore, these findings must be considered within the context of the limited black student population at Bristol University. Over the past 5 years the university’s white undergraduate population has increased by almost 1.5 per cent while the black student intake has seen no such rise. The issue, however, goes beyond Bristol with the ethnicity attainment
gap being considered a national issue in Higher Education. Correspondingly, Bristol University have been working with Bristol SU in an attempt to better understand and
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS GRADUATING WITH 2:1 OR HIGHER
.
White students
.
Black students
Infogram / Malik Ouzia
King’s College London 6.4%
Infogram / Malik Ouzia
LSE 8.6%
Sophie Hunter Deputy Online Editor
Infogram / Malik Ouzia
880 white students
reduce the ethnicity attainment gap. It is anticipated that the outcomes of their study will be produced in June 2017. The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Chair of the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group told Epigram that the university are ‘committed to ensuring that our student experience and curricula provides an opportunity for all to engage and succeed.’ He continued ‘We monitor the BME (Black and Ethnic Minority) attainment gap on an annual basis to ensure we make progress regarding the continuation rates of BME students, we also work closely with the Students’ Union, in particular the Equality, Liberation and Access (ELA) Officer, to better understand and reduce the gap’. Hannah Dualeh, ELA Officer at Bristol SU told Epigram we are pleased that the University is setting up a task force to tackle racism and we believe this data will be vital to understanding this wider context.’ ‘It will also contribute to the research we are undertaking into the sector-wide BME attainment gap, an issue the university, funded by and run in co-operation with the University.’ ‘Beyond these two projects, the University must continue to be accountable and proactive in its efforts to dismantle structural racism, and must involve black students in every step it takes.’
Matt Lucas receives degree
Surgery prize for UoB student
Comedian and actor Matt Lucas has received an honourary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Bristol. Lucas studied Drama at the University of Bristol in 1993. However, he dropped out after his second year of study. At the graduation ceremony in which he was awarded his honourary title he high fived the Chancellor Sir Paul Nurse before talking about how
29-year-old Bristolian and University of Bristol student Christopher Barr has won a competition run by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The competition is now in its third year and involved Barr completing a number of gruelling tests designed to push the finalist’s skills to the maximum. Barr said: ‘It is really fantastic and quite unexpected for me to have won the UK-wide Surgical Skills
he hated studying at the University and they made a mistake and should have been awarding it to David Walliams. ‘I stand here before you in receipt of this great tribute. You fools’, Lucas said. ‘I was just generally useless at university life. I had few friends and rarely left my room, unless it was to go and cook something in the kitchen’. Lucas is often known for his work with David Walliams on Little Britain.
Competition! I have always been set on a career in surgery, so taking part in this competition was something I thought would be good to have on my CV to demonstrate my commitment to a surgical career.’ He will have the opportunity to visit the ORSI Academy to observe live robotic surgery and practice on robotic simulators. The competition consisted of 19 regional rounds across the UK.
Epigram 27.02.2017
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Epigram interviews political heavyweight
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John McDonnell: ‘this generation that’s coming up now is extremely radical’ Ben Parr Editor in Chief It’s not been the best month for the Labour party. Two upcoming by-elections, another disastrous poll rating putting Corbyn’s popularity at its worst since July, and yet more speculation over possible contenders for the Labour leadership. Perhaps, then, it shouldn’t be surprising that ‘it’ll turn’ felt like it was becoming John McDonnell’s catchphrase when the Shadow Chancellor spoke to Epigram during his visit to Bristol. Despite Labour’s troubles, Jeremy Corbyn’s right-hand man was out showing a positive front to help campaign for Lesley Mansell, Labour’s Metro Mayor candidate for the West of England. Outside in the street, surrounded by a small huddle of Labour members, McDonnell stopped to chat to Epigram. ‘It’s interesting. This generation that’s coming up now is extremely radical on a whole range of fronts and you can see it on every issue. Young people are now leading at the front of the campaigns’, McDonnell commented. The divide between young and old was highlighted during the EU referendum, where younger voters were overwhelmingly Remain supporters, yet it was the older generations that swung the result with their Euroscepticism. ‘Alright, we lost the vote on the referendum, we lost the vote on that, but this is when the real work starts because what will happen is Theresa May will go off, she’ll try and negotiate a deal, that deal will not work on every element of it and then every aspect of [it will have] young people campaigning to overturn the crass deal’, McDonnell argued. For McDonnell most issues seemed to come back to government cuts and a lack of funding, so when asked about mental health provisions at university it was unsurprising that he returned to this familiar line. ‘What’s happening is very straight forward, there have been savage cuts. It’s a combination
of savage cuts to mental health services. Talking therapies, which have been supposedly funded by the government, are on a minimal scale, or not on any scale. At the same time as you’ve got the cuts in the services people need you’ve got increased pressure on people.
‘We’ve had 18 months, nine months of that 18 months have been leadership elections’
‘So I go back to tuition fees… when I came off the shop floor I did a sandwich course, I got a government grant, and that government grant meant I needed to work during the summer but not during the term time. A lot of the students I meet now, most of them are working in the term time, the pressure comes on as a result… they’re doing the hours of work as well as studying and the pressure comes on for exam grades, and I’ve been meeting lots of young people and tutors and others as well who are saying actually this is beginning to impact upon exam grades and also impact upon people’s wellbeing because of the pressure that they’re under, it’s financial pressures.’ Asked whether this is a problem for the government to address, or whether universities should be dealing with it too, McDonnell argued that both have a part to play. ‘I think two things need happening. One is more funding from the government. We’re seeing mental health cuts right the way across the country. Extraordinarily, this week I’ve met my local trust and mental health provider, they’ve introduced talking therapies on quite a significant scale, but that’s as a pilot, we’re not even sure how long that money will last now. That’s the first thing. ‘The second, when it comes to universities themselves, I understand the financial pressures around there, but increasingly now good
Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan poses with a copy of Epigram reporting on Bristol beating her alma matt
universities are recognising the pressures their students are under and they’re trying to put some services in place. ‘It does come back to why are people worried? They’re worried they haven’t got a decent roof over their heads, they’re worried if they’re under pressure financially and they’re worried if they’re underachieving, and they’re underachieving because a lot of the financial pressures pushing them into almost full time work whilst they’re studying. ‘This period in people’s lives should be one in which they really enjoy themselves. You have a period of time in which you study and you can
Epigram/ Ben Parr
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell visiting a plaque outside the house of a former Labour MP in Bristol. He even asked if he could keep his copy of Epigram
have a quality of life that enables you to enjoy that studying experience. That isn’t happening at the moment, you know’. When asked what he thought of the current Higher Education reforms, such as the Teaching Excellence Framework, McDonnell instantly responded saying ‘nightmare, nightmare’. The problem as he sees it comes back to the ‘privatisation of Higher Education’. ‘There are two pieces of legislation going through about Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) as well, and if you look at FE the emphasis there is on financial solvency of colleges themselves, now that becomes a criteria. ‘It’s all about profiteering at the moment. This introduction of other providers in HE I think is extremely worrying because what will happen is May will try and do a deal with Trump and Trump will be about the nature of trade that will open up our Higher Education system to American companies to exploit it. Heard about this before? Of course we have, so we campaign against it’. Unfortunately for McDonnell he couldn’t blame cuts or privatisation for Labour’s disastrous poll ratings and his response that they will ‘turn it around’ came across as blind optimism at best. When pressed on what Labour was doing about it he spoke in vague terms about campaigning techniques. ‘I think it’s a whole range. We’re learning a lot at the moment. Some of the traditional methods are to get out on the street. That works to a certain extent. Mobilising around trade unions works as well, so there’s traditional methods which are important. The use of social media is much more effective now. 40 per cent of the people now get their news from social media so we’ve got to be much acuter and much more effective on that. Jeremy has campaigned there to a certain extent, all that Facebook, I think all of that is quite important… It’ll turn. We’ve had 18 months, nine months of that 18 months have been leadership elections. People won’t vote for a divided party’. At this point McDonnell’s aid tapped him on the shoulder to remind him the BBC were waiting to interview him next. As the interview ended, McDonnell agreed to hold a copy of Epigram for a photo. Possibly out of politeness, as he left, he even asked whether he could keep it.
Epigram 27.02.2017
ts Nicky Morgan and John McDonnell
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Nicky Morgan - Age 44. - Conservative Member of Parliament for Loughborough, 2010 - present. - Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities 2014 - 2016. - Read Law at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford. - Outspoken Remain supporter and has been critical of Theresa May’s premiership. - Was replaced on Have I Got News For You? with a handbag after questioning how Theresa May could justify £1,000 leather trousers.
John McDonnell - Age 65. - Labour Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington, 1997 - present. Epigram/ Harry Plowden
- Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer 2015 - present. - Read Government and Politics at Brunel University. - Attempted to run for leadership of the Labour Party in both 2007 and 2010. - Described his vision of the economy as ‘socialism with an iPad’.
ter in an employment league table. She was in Bristol for a Bristol University Conservative Association event
Nicky Morgan: ‘Students must push back on post-Brexit hate crimes’ Johnny Thalassites Living Editor With Labour’s self-immolation under Jeremy Corbyn continuing apace, you might expect a Conservative former-Education Secretary to be cock-a-hoop about the way things are going in Britain. Speaking last week to the Bristol University Conservative Association about ‘politics in 2017’, however, Nicky Morgan MP was in reflective mood, expressing concerns about the lack of credible opposition to Tory rule in parliament, discrimination on campuses and Brexit. Defining herself early on as a ‘one-nation Conservative’, the former Cameron ally confessed that Conservative backbenchers would ‘rather anybody else’ to be Labour Party leader than Jeremy Corbyn. ‘It is vital that there is a viable opposition to the Conservative Government’, Morgan explained. A contemporary at Oxford University of luminaries such as Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Damian Hinds MP and ex-parliamentarian, Louise Mensch, the member for Loughborough values having considered voices on both sides of the aisle in the House of Commons. ‘It’s nice to have some really old friends out there’, Morgan recalled, also speaking enthusiastically about the campaigning work of Labour moderates, such as Jo Cox MP, killed last year, and Rachel Reeves, the Leeds West MP. It is clear that Morgan is enjoying life on the backbenches, with the freedoms that grants her to speak more candidly about the issues of the day than she might have when in the Cabinet. Harriet Harman reopened the debate on sexism at university recently, alleging that she had been offered top grades by a lecturer in return for sexual favours – and Morgan opened up to Epigram about her experiences of discrimination on campuses. ‘There is a sort of slightly casual misogyny and sexism [at university]’, Morgan claimed. Although the former Women and Equalities
Minister admitted that she ‘honestly can’t think of anything at university that happened’ to her, with regards to sexism, she does consider it a live issue at British universities. Speaking more generally about sexism in Britain, Morgan opined: ‘occasionally people will say things and you’ll think ‘hang on a second, would you say that to a man? Probably not’. Though sexism remains problematic across British campuses, instances of racism have been in the spotlight at Bristol over the last few months. In January, two students were accused of ‘blacking-up’ at a Redland house party. Meanwhile, black Bristol students brought national attention to racial discrimination at the University last month, revealing their own experiences of abuse at Bristol.
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‘Students must declare that hate crime is completely unacceptable and is not what modern Britain is about’ Morgan is reluctant to ‘tar everybody who wanted to leave the EU with one particular brush’, but is concerned by rising levels of hate crime at universities and in Britain, especially post-Brexit. ‘Over the last few years, when I first became an MP in 2010, people used to say to me that they wanted to make a point about immigration – they’d say “I’m not a racist, but…” ‘Most of their points were not racist; they wanted to express a concern about communities around them that were changing and about language’. What concerns Morgan, however, is that ‘people don’t feel the need to say that anymore, they just come out with things; they’ll say “there’s too many of X here” or “there’s too many of Y here”’. A Remain-supporting moderate, Nicky believes it is ‘incumbent on politicians’ and students to ‘push back on those sorts of attitudes’. ‘We’ve had incidents in Loughborough too’,
the constituency MP laments. But Morgan is certain that students must push back on these attitudes: ‘This sort of behaviour, hate crime, discrimination, is completely unacceptable and is not what modern Britain is about’. ‘We must not give succour to this’, Morgan tells students. Rocking back in her chair in the Physics Building’s Frank Lecture Theatre, the one-time Stronger In campaigner is more sanguine about Brexit than her public persona might suggest. Initially caricatured in the autumn as a renta-critic of the May government, Morgan stops short in 2017 of criticising the government for its approach to leaving the European Union. Indeed, Morgan was at pains to remind students that although ‘we are leaving the EU; we’re not leaving Europe’. In fleshing out what she sees her role in the Brexit process over the course of the parliament, Morgan articulated the need to safeguard ‘things like the Erasmus scheme and Horizon 2020’ and also research projects that are ‘reliant on EU funding’. ‘Looking for more certainty around that’ will be one of the principal goals of this ex-Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Recalling her Treasury days, Morgan notes that Brexit must not ‘fatally undermine our economy… because without the jobs and the taxes that people pay, we can’t afford to pay for essential public services’. For these reasons, and because ‘we rely heavily on the EU for our economy’, Morgan feels that ‘it’s really important that we do have a deal’ – rather than falling back on World Trade Organisation trading tariffs. There’s nothing quite like the zeal of a convert, though, and the Loughborough MP, who voted to trigger Article 50 at every reading, seemed enthused by the restoration of full parliamentary sovereignty. ‘People who wanted to leave talk about “Taking Back Control”. Well, that control has to come back to parliament - and I’m very much in favour of
parliament being heavily involved in supporting Government negotiations’, the former Minister beamed. Morgan was further encouraged by the fact that since Brexit ‘our economy has remained very strong, which gives confidence to those who wanted to leave’. ‘I very much hope that for Bristol students and those who are about to graduate and graduate in the next couple of years the economy remains strong and there are jobs’. Morgan warned that if certain voters felt ‘emboldened to say things that they would not otherwise say’ by the Brexit vote, then students must more boldly still ‘welcome people from overseas to come and study and to work and to live here’. ‘Likewise, students from Bristol and elsewhere, should go and spend time overseas and work overseas and live there and contribute, as well’. Morgan comes back, time and again, to this theme of outward-looking ‘internationalism’, and is frustrated by the lack of assurances given to international students at Bristol thus far. Disappointed by this ‘uncertainty’, Morgan admitted that she had ‘hoped that Britain might give a sort of unilateral commitment [to EU students]’. However, Morgan does temper her disappointment, suggesting that ‘the PM has been really clear that she absolutely wants to get an early deal on EU nationals remaining here’. ‘The Home Secretary has given reassurances to MPs this week, and I and other MPs will continue to make the point repeatedly’, Morgan vowed. Asked if she might directly appeal to international students at Bristol, the Tory MP spoke with passion. ‘Please, don’t panic; don’t make any hasty decisions; don’t plan to think “I’m not welcome here anymore, I’m going to go home or go somewhere different”’. ‘Give it a bit of time’, Morgan continued, reiterating that ‘the PM has said this is an early thing that she wants to get sorted in negotiations’ and that ‘we’ve got to trust her on that’.
Epigram
27.02.2017
Features
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Are Asian student communities also victims of UoB racism?
Ruby Cardona looks into whether there’s a divide between UK and Asian students Ruby Cardona Features Writer
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Chinese students he knows have been treated ‘impatiently or carelessly in restaurants or stores’ in Bristol
better universities. This negative perception is not unlike the notion that immigrants to the UK reduce job prospects for British workers. But with the majority of the student population being ‘home students’ from the UK, perhaps many do not appreciate how challenging it must be to move here with no friends or family; for most internationals this is their first time away from home. Alexander Pang, head of the Chinese Society at the university, spoke to Epigram about adjusting to life in Bristol. Alexander said that ‘culture shock is inevitable but [international students] want to see the diversity of the world and begin to understand new ideas and values’. He says education here is very different from in China, but any student deciding to study abroad they will have undergone ‘preparation to meet the new challenges’ and can ‘acclimatise themselves to their new local surroundings’. But unfortunately there seem to be a number of negative stereotypes that surround Chinese internationals
UoB Chinese Lion Dance Troupe
In light of recent instances of racism toward black students at the university, Epigram spoke to Chinese and other Asian communities at Bristol – and found that discrimination is also part of their every day university experience. The University prides itself on a large international population – over 15 per cent of its student body. The total number of non-EU is at over 4,000 and the single largest ethnic group is Chinese students, the second being Malaysian and the third Singaporean. In 2015, UK universities saw a record of international students, high in Chinese, enrolling – attracted by the prestige of British higher education and better job prospects. One Chinese student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Epigram that ‘most Chinese students’ have experienced racism of some kind, in or around Bristol University. ‘At night in Year one, I was walking back to my accommodation Woodland Court and a couple of other students shouted at me “Japanese is the best not Chinese”’. He says that other Chinese students he knows have been treated ‘impatiently or carelessly in restaurants or stores’ in Bristol. On another occasion, ‘some students used [a] water gun to shoot [at me] from a car and shouted “Asians steal our chance to go to university”’. He believes that this could be because some British students feel that the high numbers of Asian students attending British universities pushes up competition and reduces the chances of British pupils attending The UoB Chinese Lion Dance Troupe’s Chinese New Year celebration at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, 2016
in particular. One anonymous student told Epigram: ‘I wouldn’t want to generalise, but it seems that the majority of Chinese student populations are isolated from other students. I don’t know if this is our fault or it’s self-imposed – maybe it’s the language barrier or the cultural differences’. Another student – now in their second year – said they found it a challenge to get along with the two Chinese students in first-year halls. ‘It’s not that they were unfriendly, but we all found them hard to talk to – they never wanted to come out with us or anything’. Another student commented ‘I think it’s just as hard for us to enter their social circle as it is for them to enter ours’.
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It’s only been recently that [the Malaysian/Singaporean society] have been put in contact with a non-Asian society.
Other Asian minorities do not seem to share the same negative experience. Kalil Gibran, a second–year Law student and head of the Malaysian Society, says that he has been ‘really lucky’ with his
university experience: ‘we have a strong Singaporean/Malaysian community [the yearly renewed Facebook group has 400 members]. This helped because we managed to form ties from the start and the committee issued guides on accommodation and various other tips like where the best food is.’ ‘Throughout the year there’s also a host of activities. We tie up frequently with other international societies’. However, he admits it’s only been recently that they have been put in contact with a non-Asian society: ‘recently, the Canadian society finally got their act together and invited us to their bar crawl!’ This is in response to a university scheme for ‘strength in diversity’ which involves supporting and promoting inclusion at Bristol. Previously, the university had only facilitated joint socials between the Asian societies with Thai, Malaysian and Chinese as the biggest. Kalil noted that first-year accommodation can be incredibly social and conducive to making friends: ‘The JCR planned events and it was generally a very lively atmosphere. I can’t imagine living in other university accommodations where it’s corridors upon corridors of people … I’m happy to have a balanced group of friends – both international and local – but I do have to acknowledge though that not every international student has been as blessed as I am in terms of
opportunities to mingle and settle in.’ But for those who might not be so successful and confident socially, university might become an isolated and lonely place. And for those facing discrimination as well, it has the potential to be a wholly unpleasant experience.
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There have been several instances where Thai students have been greeted by locals with ‘ni hao’
One student explained to Epigram that ‘I don’t think that we, as “white students” are hostile – personally I think that the problem is with our perception of these students – that maybe they are more reserved and don’t want to engage with us’. This seems to be a common sentiment among home students, but not necessarily a reality. It is not surprising that these students find comfort socialising with other people from their home country and engaging with the native culture – most of us would do the same if we were placed in a foreign country and an unfamiliar academic institution. Alexander says he was pleased to
discover the Chinese Society in his second year at Bristol: ‘I was attracted to the Chinese Society – they are the biggest Chinese Society in Bristol, even in South West England.’ The society has branched out to form sub-groups such as the Lion dance troupe (a traditional Chinese form of dance), Mahjong group (a Chinese board game), and a table tennis group. Perhaps some other students at Bristol do not see this thriving social life because it exists separately to their own. Guy Intararoong, head of the Thai Society at Bristol, said ‘the students here are friendly… I personally have never experienced any prejudice in Bristol’. However, he notes that there have been several instances where Thai students have been greeted by locals with ‘ni hao’ (the Chinese term for hello) which they find ‘very disappointing’ and offensive. Assuming that all Asians are Chinese is problematic – but comes from a place of ignorance – white students need to be more sensitive to the fact that Asian students are not just from China. There is evidently a disparity between experiences of different Asian minority groups. Although the university works hard to accommodate such cultural diversity, there is still a lot of work to do amongst the student body ensuring that negative perceptions or stereotypes do not affect the way we engage with our fellow students.
Epigram
27.02.2017
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‘Politics matters and nothing matters more than politics’ Epigram speaks Dr Jonathan Floyd about why politics degrees are worth doing
Adele Momoko Fraser Online Features Editor
“ I didn’t know as a school student that you could study politics as a subject
But, I didn’t know as a school student that you could study politics as a subject. My knowledge of academic subjects at university was limited to most people ideas of what could be a career. I didn’t realise that there are these tens of thousands of careers right, like a brand consultant or what have you. So I thought ‘what can I do at university?’ The first time I applied to university I had an unconditional offer to do computer science and I was going to be a web designer. But then I realised that I don’t really want to be a web designer after all. So I dropped out of my A-levels actually before they were done, and had to retake them. So I didn’t know what I wanted to do, that was part of the story. I then went to university later to be was a music producer, but quickly realised that it was quite boring and unedifying and
Last year, Dr. Jonathan Floyd won the most votes out of nine nominees in the ‘Best of Bristol’ lecture competition
rather intellectually unchallenging… And not necessarily lucrative either! No, and there are so many industries and I thought ‘There’s no money in music anymore!’ You could last make money in music in 1996 and I went to university in 1998 so… I definitely thought ‘don’t pick music.’ I then wanted to change subject at university and a friend of mine suggested politics to me. At the time I’d been reading philosophy. I’d read a lot of history, so I started reading philosophy for myself and I thought about psychology as well. I realised that I was interested in human nature and human behaviour and understanding it. I suppose ultimately I leant towards wanting to prescribe for it, which is where politics and political theory comes in. So I switched to politics and it turned out to be my vocation. I just loved it. After a while I realised that I was more interested in how politics should work, rather than how it works. Political science is about how the world works, how it has worked and why it has worked the way it has. Political philosophy or theory is about how it should work. Of course it matters how things do work, you don’t want to be utopian, but it’s also about the future and that is what interested me. It was also clear to me that being in politics would not satisfy my interest in politics, and political theory. I am too philosophically curious about why certain policies and principles are right. It’s not enough to just shout my values at the world; I want to know why they are the right values. Are there any highlights from your teaching career so far? Ultimately it’s about student relationships. It’s nice getting to know students and seeing them develop and
that’s the core of it. Things that I’m proud of, both in Bristol and where I used to be in Oxford, is simply really boosting the number of people who are doing political theory. That’s one of the happiest indications for me that no longer 24 people want to study the history of western political thought, 60 or 70 do. Because I think the subject matters, I think the world is a better place when people are able to think in more sophisticated ways about political ideas, about specifically ideas about how the political world should be organised. So I’m proud about that, I’m proud about uptake. It’s the same where I used to work; more people were taking political theory units in second and third year.
sort of degree which makes you think about politics in a more sophisticated way, it benefits society. You don’t want a world where politicians throw around terms like freedom, democracy, justice, legitimacy, nation and culture and nobody has had the chance to think sustained, critical and reflective thoughts about that. When they have, then they are less the prey of demagoguery. When they have, they are better able to come up with new ideas. When they have, they are better able to have meaningful exchanges, rather than just shouting matches. There are a lot of worries about polarisation in politics and high emotion, I’m not sure teaching political theory or politics generally gets rid of that, but I think it helps. It encourages more reasoned argument and we talked about my teaching style, what I like is a reasoned but adversarial exchange.
degree is worth doing? Well, ultimately nothing affects your life more than politics. Nothing makes more of a difference to your life than the kind of political state and policies you live under. It’s the difference between civil war and peace, it’s the difference between prosperity and suffering, it’s the difference between oppression and liberation. So politics matters, nothing matters more than politics. In the long run, you could argue nothing matters more than ideas. In the short term, power matters, personality matters, money matters, but in the long run ideas including ideas for how politics
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What got you into politics and political theory? As far back as I can remember I have been interested in politics. My family were very political and there were a lot of political discussions as I grew up. My family leant one way politically speaking, where I tended to lean the other way. I remember that when I was younger, it was much more standard for people to put posts with political campaign slogans in their front garden. You don’t’ really get that anymore, but in the same way an estate agent would put up for sale signs, everyone would have a post and it would say ‘Labour’ or ‘Tory’. Our house had a post with a sign on it that you didn’t see normally around there. And that meant talking a lot of politics with friends who leant another way. So that was my initial interest in politics.
Flickr/Mike Fleming Youtube / BoB Lectures
This is the first instalment in a series exploring the benefits of studying arts, social sciences and humanities subjects. In this interview, we spoke to SPAIS lecturer in political theory, Dr. Jonathan Floyd. He teaches three units, ‘Political Concepts,’ ‘The History of Western Political Thought’ and ‘How to win a political argument’. Prior to coming to Bristol, he was a fellow at the University of Oxford, and has won numerous prizes and fellowships for his work. Last year, Dr. Floyd won the most votes out of nine nominees in the ‘Best of Bristol’ lecture competition and gave a fascinating lecture entitled ‘Who gets all the pies? (And jobs, houses etc.)’ His research focuses mainly on the nature of political theory and other ideas including the relationship between facts and principles. Jonathan Floyd has also written passionate articles concerning the importance of integrating his subject into the national curriculum, to ensure the development of a healthy political society.
A more literate society produces a better politics, a more educated society produces a better politics
Well your third year unit was the most over subscribed on the course… [Laughs] Yes, it’s quite full isn’t it… it’s lovely to hear.
How is the subject of politics important for wider society? Well, a lot of people in the 19th Century thought that democracy in an uneducated society would lead to the tyranny of the majority. A lot of people who were wary of democracy were wary of ignorance, selfishness, short termism. I think a more literate society produces a better politics, a more educated society produces a better politics. For me, I think if even a small section of society can take the
It’s a good way to mediate between differing views in society as well… Yes, and I come back to the issue of neutrality. If people feel there’s a strong left wing bias in the room, then they simply will not speak up about the other side of the case, and then it will become a kind of chorus. You want people to feel comfortable but to be polite and think more sophisticated thoughts, having read books, having read articles, having listened to each other in the first year and the second year, and third year. I think generally people should come out of a politics degree and series of courses on political theory, thinking that their thoughts are better. That they are somehow wiser, that they have more insight into politics and how politics ought to be organised. On a final note for our student readers, why do you think a politics
Nothing makes more of a difference to your life than the kind of political state and policies you live under
should be organised, matter. They make a difference. So why would you not want to care about the thing that matters most, for the thing that makes the most difference in your life? That’s where political philosophy and the academic study of politics come in. When you study it, you also learn how easy it is for individuals to make a difference. Like what we do in my third year course, you can write manifestos, you can come up with posters, you can start parties, you can launch campaigns, engineer petitions and if you get good at that kind of thing, you might become an MP, or you might be a journalist that actually changes the political landscape. It’s easier than people think to make a difference and there’s nothing more important to make a difference to than politics.
Epigram
27.02.2017
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Sexual Assault Awareness Week: ‘Look I said NO!’
Hannah Worthington speaks to a student for whom this week is every week Hannah Worthington Features Writer ‘Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week’: a statement so easily overlooked in the twenty-first century. Yet it simply shouldn’t be this way. Avon and Somerset Police’s crime statistics published in the latter of 2016 shows a 40 per cent increase in crime instances, and 37 per cent of these include offences of rape and sexual violence. Most distinctly, a rise was noted in Bristol and our own student population. The Awareness Week is largely organised by specialist administrations; Rape Crisis England & Wales, The Survivors Trust, and the NSPCC to name a few. Yet often the meanings of these names or these organisations can drift by unnoticed unless one has actually had to formally address or contact them through personal experience of sexual assault. In the light of The Awareness Week, a student at Bristol University bravely told me their story, and their voice is one we should all hear and reflect upon.
Owing privacy to this individual, this article will not expose any details about the offence or the victim’s identity, but shall relay the individual’s views sharing their own personal reflection of the importance of The Awareness Week, and what we don’t get told enough. ‘Though we have Awareness Week, “awareness” is just a mere definition; it’s a fact. Whereas for me, this has become a comprehension, something I have had to emotionally and physically endure. Too many facts and statistics are blurted out to us, we almost forget or become immune to the real feelings and emotional anguish involved in such an ordeal’, the student said. ‘Rape’, the student told me, ‘is increasingly exhaustive…I was emotionally overloaded into derision, and there needs to be more knowledge about these effects’. The student noted that in the moment, they didn’t necessarily think about consent, but more the quickest way to get the rape offender away, and the latter is something rarely illuminated. Victims may not have the opportunity to refuse, and are more concentrated on removing themselves from the situation as fast as possible. As a student body, a nation, and globally, it seems apparent that humans find comfort in creating scenarios they deem most likely to provoke these acts. The typical dark alleyway and the corners of clubs, but actually, according to my speaker, these do not communicate the most powerful, and the most prevalent of experiences. ‘We focus too much
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The good thing about Awareness Week is the ability it gives myself and others to talk about ‘it’, finding open spaces.
more personal issue as opposed to continual paranoia’. ‘The good thing about Awareness Week is the ability it gives myself and others to talk about “it”, finding open spaces. I am still gradually revealing information to my counsellor that I have only just come to terms with. It’s only when I explain and picture these images I realise how bad this really was’. Particular to this student, the support charity ‘The Bridge’ has been a beneficial service to help with recovery. This organisation provides free, confidential advice 365 days a year: 24/7. Importantly this charity offers a page exclusively directed at friends and family, and methods they can adopt to help those dealing with rape and sexual assault traumas. Epigram spoke with the individual about the other main misconception surrounding sexual violence; that women are the most common victims of sexual assault. Organisations such as Survivors UK specifically target male rape and sexual abuse to men who have experienced this at any time in their lives. Wrongly, we can often fail to picture the male sex
Epigram/Hannah Worthington
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Often, abuse of trust is the prevailing issue, and we hype certain images that we hear or see on social media that we think are fitting to what rape is.
on drinking abuse and lad culture, almost as an excuse for these offences. Often, abuse of trust is the prevailing issue, and we hype certain images that we hear or see on social media that we think are fitting to what rape is. Equally, people suggest that if you’re a guy who is sexually assaulted by a girl you’re pathetic, if you’re a girl you must have had your cleavage out - or been wearing a short skirt - it simply isn’t always like that.’ According to Rape Crisis, ‘strangers’ commit only 10 per cent of rapes reported, with 90 per cent thus being committed by known friends or acquaintances. Epigram inquired why the student thought Bristol may have such a rising crime rate for sexual abuse and violence, and this was largely associated to the drug culture: ‘Perhaps this is due to drugs. I have heard of several instances where hallucinating on drugs are a supposed excuse for rape, and it’s simply not. Drugs are not seen or accepted as an excuse in the legal system, and thus they shouldn’t be to the boy or girl who thinks it’s acceptable to abuse them to a point where their morals dissolve.’ They continued: ‘Going out in Bristol hasn’t affected me in the ways people might originally presume however. I’m not scared or nervous about clubbing, and I’m not suffering from a lack of confidence. My main worry is if the offender were to be in the club or social space. The offender coming into my public or private sphere again is what constantly preoccupies my thoughts and terrorizes me, hopefully proving to people that sometimes it’s a much There are approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men raped every year, which is a horryfing 11 rapes an hour as a victim. My speaker agreed: ‘Last week I was sat in my counselling meeting with a middle aged, Asian man sitting in the chair opposite, in the same scenario as me: a rape victim. I never thought about a tough, older man being the victim of such an emotional and physical crime. We always think about young girls, and not enough about boys or men.’ The University have been incredibly supportive in this student’s case: ‘University were the one’s trying to slow me down, they wanted me to get better.’ From changing deadlines for essays, altering unit options or providing additional support from personal tutors – all have been available and dealt with appropriately by the individual faculty. As with the suicides that occurred in the latter half of 2016, the University were seen to promote the Big White
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The hardest institution to talk to was the police. ‘It was the right thing to do, but the saddest and most stressful part of the whole process
Wall as an open space for support on our MyBristol homepage, as well as the Vulnerable Students’ Support Service. In a vast city based
University as opposed to a campus, it is seemingly easier to feel lost and feel unsupported and isolated. However, the University cannot suppose that awful incidences of sexual assault or abuse are happening, which is why if you’re a friend, family member, or an individual suffering independently, it is crucial to find or go to the support offered. Talking to people can be the hardest thing and my speaker noted that the hardest institution to talk to was the police. ‘It was the right thing to do, but the saddest and most stressful part of the whole process, I risked putting myself into isolation and losing friends.’ They continued: ‘You equally hear about unsuccessful cases. Rape victims taking their case to the police and it being dropped or not getting through Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stage. So as a result there is a constant fear of waiting for years and years and still obtaining no verdict, while your offender is able to walk freely. One third of crime reports surrounding sexual abuse and assault will not get past the CPS stage, another emotionally exhaustive factor.’ Of the approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men that are raped each year, alongside the terrifying knowledge that this equates to roughly 11 rapes every hour, each case will differ hugely. Hearing or reading about individual cases without a
doubt provides much more powerful insight into the shocking daily reality that rape victims deal with. Thus, it is imperative to hear from individuals like the student in this article, and I hope that anyone else dealing with this same suffering - that your voice can be heard too.
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Epigram 27.02.2017
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Bristol lacks social diversity
The Weekly Angry Takedown
This week an anonymous writer argues that Bristol students face a bigger problem than racism - page 13
John McDonnell’s revolutionary reads Is the university censoring too much? Page 12
The Trump protest was based on confusion - Page 12 Free print credits are a positive sign for the future - Page 13
What the #editors are saying... When I start going to grad job interviews can I answer every question with “fake news,” and still get the most powerful job out there? @hanhanprice Pretty sure that if the NSS were a person you could get them done for harassment @sophiejhunter Unsalted butter is the work of Satan @caitlin_butt Love it when UoB students shout ‘Your Dad works for my Dad’ at UWE students as if they’re not going to end up working for Daddy as well @StefanRollnick
Not all DJs are bad people. Probably. However, one fateful night I learnt just how vindictive and evil they can be. It was Lounge at midnight. I gave my usual request of ‘anything by Taylor Swift other than Shake It Off’. The DJ nodded and promised that he would play one later on. The night wore on and by 3am I still hadn’t heard my request. ‘The DJ might have forgotten’ I thought, giving him the benefit of the doubt. I pushed through the crowd in order to remind him. ‘Taylor Swi…’ I was cut off by the DJ shaking his head. I looked quizzically at him- surely he didn’t mean what I thought he did? He had made a promise to me to play a Taylor Swift song and surely that’s not a promise he would have made lightly? Then he confirmed my greatest fears. ‘No more requests’ he shouted through the window at me. And with that I realised, DJs are liars and are mean.
*John McDonnell may or may not actually want to start a revolution.
OVERHEARD ON THE 16 BUS “Do you reckon Reebok Classics or Stan Smiths are more Lakota?” “I only came to Uni for the threesomes.” “I think it’s really pretentious when people say they don’t eat quinoa. It’s not cool, it’s just embarrassing.”
Epigram
27.02.2017
12
The red light versus the plight for tolerance Jessica Cripps discusses whether promoting a safe university environment constitutes censorship Jessica Cripps Comment writer Censorship has been a hot topic on the university scene now for a number of years, and is fast becoming a taboo-topic that everyone has an opinion on, but no one really seems to understand. Spiked recently published the 2017 Free Speech University Rankings, in which 115 UK universities were given a ‘red’, ‘amber’, or ‘green’ ranking depending on how tight free speech regulations were in the SU and University. Red restrictions included actively banning and censoring ‘ideas’ on campus; Amber demonstrated an intervention policy, while Green showed no restrictions.
Bristol University was one of 73 institutions to be given a red overall ranking: the SU was flagged as red, while the university administration were given amber. And why are we branded scarlet? Because how dare we have a safe space policy, provide consent classes to first years, challenge rape culture, or ban a chav-themed social that caused student outrage. Censorship – or the suppression of obscene,
Just as a white person dressing up as a black person will (rightly) cause offence, it is reasonable to accept that a bunch of middle class, privileged, private school-educated students parading around in ‘chav’ clothing will offend those from working class backgrounds. It ignores the complex social issues around the stereotype. It is demeaning. And frankly, as a leading university, we are capable of more imaginative and exciting society social themes. Has anyone had a condiment social yet? Didn’t think so. But is it a bit far to call educating students on sexual consent a censorship issue? This isn’t an issue of telling people they cannot talk about rape, but of educating them on what constitutes rape. This is an action taken to help protect both male and female
students against sexual assault. In a society that has invented date rape nail varnish and lockable underwear as ‘preventatives’ of sexual assault, isn’t it time that we celebrated the fact that we are taking actions to teach that it is not okay to rape, rather than just ‘don’t get raped’? The censorship debate is not over. In all likelihood, this article will probably be ripped to shreds by censorship tyrants who believe there is no justification for preventing free speech. And they’d be right – there isn’t. But does taking actions to promote a safe, protective environment for students constitute censorship? If it does, then perhaps we should be taking our ‘red’ censorship rating as a big thumbs up that we are doing everything right.
Spiked Online
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How dare we have a safe space policy, provide consent classes, challenge rape culture...
politically unacceptable, or threatening ideology - is not okay, it is true. As a country that enshrines free speech, we must accept that that includes allowing the expression of ideas that we might find offensive – even if that is just to open up debate about why they are offensive. Bristol does do some direct censoring: songs that have lyrics which promote rape culture are not allowed to be played in the SU, unless parodied or instrumental. We also have the ability to No-Platform speakers, and the selling of the controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was banned. Perhaps these measures do deserve to be flagged up under a red light rating. However, the problem with not censoring arises when the free expression of ideas is publically isolating or demonising to an individual for a plethora of reasons, such as belief, disability, sexual orientation or gender, for example. The University of Bristol has a duty of care to all students,and that includes providing an environment where students do not feel harassed, targeted or ostracised. If views are being expressed that have the potential to offend, the university, arguably, has a duty to prevent that from happening. This does not mean preventing ideas from being expressed. It simply means encouraging an environment where practices of kindness and tolerance are commonplace. In these circumstances, what we might consider as ‘censorship’ often rejects an expression of an unethical or downright disrespectful point of view.
This is justification for the University of Bristol’s ‘Red alert’, according to Spked Online...
Students should get the facts before protesting
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Ed Southgate questions whether the Bristol anti-Trump protest was based on misunderstanding Ed Southgate Comment writer I observed Bristol protesting President Trump’s temporary travel-ban, attended by many students like Anna Hart (see issue 310). Unlike Anna, however, I was not awed by any ‘hope’ generated, but baffled by its meaninglessness. To clarify, Trump’s admittedly-controversial policy was not a ‘Muslim ban’, as Anna and many others suggest. Let’s look at the facts; Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt (who were not included in the ban) have a Muslim population of 209 million, 176m, 167m, 134m, 77m, and 76m respectively, whereas Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Lybia (who were included) have respective Muslim populations of 74m, 34m, 31.7m, 24m, 20.4m, 9.3m and 6.4m. So, it was not a ‘Muslim-ban’, but a travel ban. By protesting a ‘Muslim ban’, therefore, College Green protested on a false premise, meaning the essence of the protest itself became blurred. Admittedly these countries are Muslimdominated, but excessively focusing on the area’s religion detracts focus from the areas themselves.
All seven of these countries are either on the designated list of ‘state sponsors of terrorism’ (Syria, Iran, Sudan) or identified as “countries of concern” (Syria, Iraq, Lybia, Somalia and Yemen) – six of which were identified as such by Democrat administrations. This is not to say Trump should not be questioned on his choice of countries, but
The protest itself did more to propagate the West’s hostility
Furthermore, I worry that some unfortunate individuals got lost and attended the wrong protest by accident? Anti-austerity and antiBrexit signs appeared at both protests, (one man had ‘Brexshit’ painted on his back in EU colours), and the NUT marched with a sign campaigning for free education. Call me naïve but I thought the official title, ‘Bristol protest: no to the #muslimban, no to Trump’s visit’, indicated a protest against Trump’s policy, not British affairs. Additionally, some placards read ‘this p*ssy fights back’ – presumably responding to Trump’s derogatory remarks made 11 years ago. This removed focus from the primary concern on Muslim rights/ religious freedom, half-heartedly echoing the women’s march. A powerful protest would focus on one issue. It also identified a double-standard. With a clear demand for women’s rights in the protests, why has Bristol’s students and residents not been outraged by Putin’s partial decriminalisation of domestic violence? A law on domestic violence is of greater severity than
an 11 year-old comment, but those claiming to support all women have turned their backs on Russian women. How can Bristol’s protestors justify choosing which women are worthy of their support based on geography, whilst holding signs to abolish borders/ geographical discrimination? I have spoken in a previous article about the Left’s love to protest; I will let you work out whether the apparent ignorance, inconsistency and double-standards in protest supports that claim. Anna’s point that ISIS could use the travel ban to propagate the West’s ‘hostility’ to Islam is extremely important. Disappointingly, however, not once did I hear this mentioned by College Green’s speakers, rather they focused on the policy being a ‘racist, discriminatory attack on Muslim’s’ which has factually been proven false. In fact, the protest itself did more to propagate the West’s hostility. Incorrectly referring to the policy, which left 87 per cent of Muslims unaffected, as a ‘Muslim ban’ could itself indoctrinate individuals vulnerable to radicalisation that the West is trying to attack all Muslims. This is factually incorrect, dangerous, and ironically perpetuated by
protestors. Anna’s anger, shared by many, towards any Trump-May relationship is particularly concerning. Britain needs a relationship with America for strength in security and the economy. This requires a relationship between the British PM and the American President, whether we like his character or not. Students were willing to accept European bureaucracy for our economic interest, voting overwhelmingly ‘Bremain’; why do they disregard our economic interest now? Finally, I must highlight the ironic claim made by many protestors that they march for ‘the values of love, acceptance and tolerance’. At the Washington women’s march Madonna said she wanted to ‘blow up the White house’, UC Berkely rioted against a pro-Trump speaker, and there were many derogatory, hateful signs directed towards Trump and his supporters at Bristol’s protests. I invite you to play a fun game called ‘spot the hypocrisy’. Protesters should find more influential ways to project their views, rid themselves of the hypocrisy of fighting ‘hatred’ with hatred, and understand the focus on their protest beforehand. Otherwise they become just another group of shouters.
Do all protestors fully understand what they are protesting for, or are they riding a tide of anger?
Facebook/ Bristol Socialist Party
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I can only assume that the majority were ignorant of or ignored the facts for protest’s sake
they clearly were not chosen purely, or even primarily, due to religion or a racist, Republican vendetta. With most of College Green referring to the policy as a ‘Muslim-ban’, I can only assume that the majority either were ignorant of or ignored these facts for protest’s sake. Of course, I support the democratic right to protest, but I wonder whether these protests were organised with sound reason, judgement and knowledge.
Epigram
27.02.2017
13
Bristol has a diversity problem, not a racism one A Comment writer argues that racism is not the biggest problem facing students at Bristol university Anonymous Comment writer
Beyond campus
On the train home a few days ago, the young man next to me struck up a conversation and soon asked me where I was from. ‘London,’ I replied, as I always do. The man chuckled. ‘Nah, I got that from the way you talk, but where are you actually from? Originally?’ ‘Well my parents are Indian.’
University of Bristol
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Aaron Pitkin rants about matters outside of Bristol...
It’s time to stop pretending that Bristol is some sort of unique hub of racial ignorance
‘And you’re not?’ he pressed, an eyebrow raised. His implication was clear. This man wasn’t a Bristol student. Also, he was black. It’s time to stop pretending that Bristol is some sort of unique hub of racial ignorance. It is both inaccurate and unfair to call out the University as racist. The age old ‘where are you from... no, ORIGINALLY,’ question is certainly tiring, annoying and slightly offensive. But to pretend that a) ‘microaggressions’ like these are a major problem or b) Bristol in particular suffers from this problem is downright silly, as this black Londoner quizzing me proves. The fact is, Bristol suffers from a pitiful lack of diversity. Yes, basically everyone is white but basically everyone is also wealthy, from a privateschool background and terribly privileged. Many are southern. Those from state schools, the 60 per cent statistic, are generally from the best state schools in the country, or selective grammar schools. It goes beyond race. The University of Bristol is truly home to the one per cent, the white elite. It is not just POC that are underrepresented, it is also working class students, state school students, LGBTQ+ students, and more to reduce the problem to one of purely race is obtuse and unfair. How many people here do you know who qualified for free school dinners? The University urgently needs to fix its general lack of diversity, and it knows this - an access scheme has recently been put into place giving contextual offers of two grades lower to successful applicants from the worst 40 per cent of schools. Similarly, ‘urban’ clothes and grime must be put in
An Epigram investigation in 2016 showed 45 per cent of students in Stoke Bishop were privately educated
their socioeconomic context. I never thought I’d say this, but Big Narstie summarises the issue nicely. Bristol students love to appropriate inner-city, ‘working class’ culture, not just black culture. I do understand, however, the sensitivity surrounding hairstyles. You cannot ignore the long and ongoing history surrounding black women’s hair. Whether a black woman chooses natural or a weave, dreads or braids, her styling choices are often criticised and discussed in ways that are simply not okay. I understand and empathise with how appropriation of braids, or people calling any curly hair an ‘afro’, can just feel like insult to injury when these styles are so heavily policed on black women, yet celebrated as edgy or cool on white women. Of course this is going to elicit anger. Anybody who does not understand this urgently needs to educate themselves. As such, I do believe that cultural appropriation is a significant problem. However, I feel it is a stretch to label the photo that has recently blown up as racist or blackface. It is just clearly not. Tricia, the character the girls are imitating from orange is the new black, is white and has braids. Their make-up does not look anything close to blackface. Get angry at Orange is The New Black for creating a white character with braids, not two students for dressing up as her. They are not dressed as Crazy Eyes, or Taystee, or Vee. They are dressed as Tricia. And I feel incredibly sorry for them, because in my opinion they have done nothing wrong, yet have become embroiled in a racism scandal that their faces are now irrevocably tied to. I was sickened to see a tweet mentioning both the tragic suicide of a final year student last week and this preposterous scandal in the same sentence, as if they were if any way related. We do
not know the reasons behind Lara taking her own life, and it is insulting to her legacy and family to use her tragic passing as fodder for a frankly unnecessary scandal. If we want people to take us seriously, we need to stop reaching, and this bitter, divisive rhetoric of women of colour versus ignorant white ‘Harriets’ must be reformed. It’s also hideously unhelpful to feminism. Of course I’ve experienced a bit of ignorance at uni. I also experienced it at school and probably will at work. The ‘where are you from’ question, for example, just refuses to die and it does annoy me. But for the multiple years I’ve been in Bristol, I have not been the victim of racism even once. Ignorance regarding race is a problem with society, not the University of Bristol. Bristol’s issue is different; it is ignorance regarding anything outside of the private school bubble. And no, I’m not trying to appease my white friends. My white friends could not give less of a shit that I’m Asian and I could not give less of a shit that they’re white. You have the power to choose whether or not you create divisions. I fail to see any productive outcome of the downright attack being levelled against white girls for eating avocado on toast. Maybe I just don’t have a chip on my shoulder - I am a fairly ‘one love’ kind of person, admittedly. But I also have a growing issue with the culture of calling out ‘microaggressions’, because it seriously detracts from the real issues facing people and women of colour. We have bigger fish to fry than being asked where we’re from. Yes, it annoys me too. I do feel like rolling my eyes when I’m asked it. But I’d rather channel my energy into educating people than creating a racially divisive atmosphere at our university.
You know what the modern day equivalent of gladitorial combat in the Colosseum is? X Factor. It seems innocent enough at first glance, to be sure, offering humble serfs such as you and I the chance to become a superstar, by three or four coked-up berks stuffed into sequin buckets of cloth sat in front of a compensatively big red button. But despite this fluffy surface, I find it hard to watch nowadays without comparing it to some weird occult propaganda centred around something more sinister, like Britain’s Got Talent. It’s a show that is made up of half part idolising the judges, half part making fun of the deluded (there’s singing at points as well I think) which is all fine and dandy, but my main gripe is that if we’re going to do this stuff anyway, why deprive ourselves of the intense drama of gladiatorial combat to the death in an arena-like setting? I swear we’re getting soft. Aaron Pitkin
It’s not all doom and gloom...
HUMS finally realise we need print credits to print
Anna Hart rejoices over saving money at the introduction of £5 print credits for Humanities students
Anna Hart Comment writer It’s just a normal Friday afternoon of writing up lecture notes, reading tutorial texts and scrolling through Twitter (which inevitably ends in several hours of watching cat videos), when a glorious email from the Deputy Head of English lights up my screen to inform me that I am in receipt of £5 free print credit on behalf of the department! Yes, you read that right – undergraduate students in the School of Humanities are the lucky beneficiaries of £5 free print credit! Pop the party poppers. Sing the hallelujahs. Get the marching band going. As we’re celebrating our mini victory in the School of Humanities (think cake and a gleeful reading of our freshly printed course outlines), students from various departments around the university are still suffering from their print-credit-less plight. Students in the School of Physics have communicated their struggle
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in heart-rending stories; third year Physics student, Amélie, said, ‘We didn’t get any print credit. And I think we should get some.’ Well put. Second year Physics student, Josh, elaborated on their perennial problem and highlighted the absurdity of being charged to print documents
Undergraduate students in the School of Humanities are the lucky beneficiaries of £5 free print credit!
required for their course: ‘I think any subject that requires you to do any printing should have print credits supplied. My least favourite thing about my first year was finishing off my lab book for a deadline and having to put my card details into the computer in order to finish my work. We’re already paying to be here; do we have to pay to get better grades?’
Maddy, an MSc Psychology of Education student, exposed the unfairness within the print credit system with her shocking tale of inequality between students (distressing content: reader discrepancy advised): ‘Some people had accidentally been given free printing at the beginning of term. One student queried it with a librarian who explained that sometimes students are mistakenly given free printing the same as lecturers are, and this student then had their status changed and started to pay for credits.’ What a reward for their honesty! She continued: ‘Other students who had also mistakenly been given this free printing status then kept their mouths shut and took advantage of their luck!’ Those cheeky so-and-sos… the masters of thriftiness. ‘One was nice and offered to print things for other students”’– ah, benevolence at its finest. ‘However, they also mentioned that they printed off everything, even things they didn’t need. It appeared that they printed to excess just because they could. I think they too lost the
free printing status by the end of the first term. It seems that maybe paying for printing may be a positive thing in the sense that it reminds people that resources have a cost, therefore reducing the amount of paper used.’ It is always important to consider and minimise the environmental implications of our actions, but we can’t escape the fact that the printing of some necessary documents simply cannot be avoided. Maddy’s anecdote highlights the inequality in the system within one subject but, as these stories of students from across the university show, the discrepancy also exists between schools and faculties. Is one student more worthy of print credits than another? That’s the message the University is currently sending out with the difference in policy between schools. So, time for a University-wide policy on print credits? Time for an allowance for each student that covers the cost of printing necessary documents? Time for justice? The School of Humanities is leading the way on this one.
Epigram
27.02.2017
Science & Tech
@EpigramSciTech Editor: Matt Davis Deputy Editor: Katie Coates Online Editor: Gina Degtyareva
mdavis@epigram.org.uk katie.coates@epigram.org.uk gina@epigram.org.uk
Not the results you wanted? The science behind revision Elmi Hassan Science Writer Learning is the acquisition of new knowledge or skills and memory is the retention of learned information. There is no single brain structure or molecular mechanism which accounts for all learning. Memory can be divided into declarative and non-declarative memory. Declarative memory has a conscious aspect, which includes recalling facts and events and thus dubbed explicit memory. Whereas the non-declarative memory, also known as implicit memory, does not have a conscious aspect but includes
memories of skills and habits. Another difference between declarative and non-declarative memory is that declarative memories are often easy to form but are easily forgotten. In contrast, forming non-declarative memory usually requires repetition and is less likely to be forgotten. Studies on humans with unusually good memories suggest that the limit of the storage of declarative information is remarkably high. For example, British artist Stephen Wiltshire draws cityscapes from memory; he drew a 10-metre drawing of Tokyo in a week after only thirty minutes helicopter ride over the city.
Flickr/TZA
Researchers believe that memories form connections throughout the brain, interacting with other neurons and neural networks. Each neuron is able to form thousands of connections, which dubbed the ‘exponential storage’ effect by Paul Reber, psychology professor at Northwestern University. Reber believes we have storage up to several petabyte. It is estimated that the human brain’s ability to store memories is equivalent to about 2.5 petabytes of binary data. For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, that would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows, this implies our brains cannot ‘get full’ within our lifetime. Professor Clea Warburton from Bristol’s School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience said: ‘Episodic memory stores an individual’s unique recollection of a specific event and is important for remembering significant events in our lives. This type of integrated memory is important in helping us to remember significant events in our lives, and works by linking different types of information.’ The team were able to specify the connection between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. By disrupting this pathway, the researchers found that episodic memory was impaired. Episodic memory impairment is a symptom of dementia, but this research might be the basis for a neuropharmacological cognitive enhancer. Cognitive
enhancers are designed to counter the symptoms of dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s. These cognitive enhancers have the potential to enhance memory in otherwise healthy people. Acetylcholine (ACh) is an important neurotransmitter in the brain, which is involved in higher cognitive functions.
“ You’ll remember information if you actively process it
Research from University of Bristol, in collaboration with the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co indicates that levels of ACh are highest when the brain is engaged in challenging tasks. This indicates there is a brain-wide signal to increase mental capacity. Teachers often urge students to make up mnemonics, while they give you a cue - if you haven’t actually learnt the information then you’re overflowing your hippocampus with another neuronal network to remember those cues. While it may seem very simple, repeated revision of a topic is an effective way to consolidate what you’ve
learnt. By repeatedly retrieving a fact, you’re strengthening the neuronal network involved in that memory. Spaced repetition is a good way to retain information for a long time. So when revising a topic – the interval between revising a certain topic should be exponentially longer each time after a few hours, then days, then weeks. This also explains the reason most students forget what they revise after exams because it is not consolidated. UCLA research seems to suggest that the brain’s activity behaves as if it’s remembering something whilst asleep. The research seems to suggest that even under anaesthesia, the neocortex (involved in higher cognitive function) is ‘speaking’ to the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (involved in memory), and these connections are involved in consolidating memory. Sleep is also involved in decluttering and deleting irrelevant information, so while it is somewhat traditional for students to do all-nighters – it seems it does more harm than good. However, revision techniques should be combined: while repetition is a good way to revise, you should actively learn too – you’ll remember information if you actively process it and comprehend it. While research is advancing exponentially in the field of Neuroscience, there is still much to learn about the brain – but every bit of research challenges the way we look at the brain. There is, unfortunately, no quick way to improve memory but looking after yourself, and getting enough sleep goes a long way.
Should single-sex schools be banned? Tom Foster Science Writer
Flickr/ Tushar Dayal
Sweden has announced a proposal to implement a nationwide ban on single-sex classrooms to tackle inequality. Should Britain do the same? When having a debate on whether single-sex taught education is better than mixed gender classrooms it often seems more ideological than scientific. A typical image of a single-sex school would be Eton or your local private/grammar school. Comprehensive schools are now standardly mixed with there being around a third fewer girls’ schools and half as many boys’ schools as there were 20 years ago. Yet should we be celebrating this move towards mixed education, or is there still value in single sex education? Emer Smyth,Research Professor and Head of the Social Research Division at the Economic and Social Research Institute, tried to delve deeper into the effects of single-sex education versus coeducation. However, it was found that the evidence that met international criteria being mostly American and little attention paid to whether benefits of single-sex education are context specific. Despite the shortcomings, the research did throw up some interesting points. Boys tend to be more disruptive in the classroom and subjects that would have traditionally been labelled ‘masculine’ such as
maths and the sciences were taken up less by girls in coeducation. Multiple studies found a positive correlation between academic achievement of girls in single-sex education compared to co-education, but not as strong correlation for boys. During research for this article, it appeared that those who supported single-sex education often spoke of the positive effect it had on girls. Academics at London’s Institute of Education, who tracked 13,000 Britons over 40 years, found women who attended all-girls schools earned up to 10 percent more than those sent to mixed schools. Furthermore, a study of 2015 results in England shows 75 per cent of pupils in all-girl secondary schools received five good GCSEs compared with 55 per cent who were in coeducation. A systemic review of the area found 23 studies indicated ‘null’ (or nonsignificant) findings, 15 indicated an advantage to single-sex education and only one study showed an advantage to coeducational schooling. However, whilst the evidence appears strong in the case of single-sex education or at least not supportive of coeducation, are we as Emer Smyth claims missing context? In the UK, singlesex education is found at grammar or private schools which naturally outperform mixed comprehensive schools due to many external factors including parental income, family connections and social standing. Helen Fraser, chief executive of
the Girls’ Day School Trust the UK’s leading network of independent girls’ schools, defends single-sex education on the grounds it helps defy binary gender norms: ‘If giving girls the opportunity to be free of gender stereotyping and associated pressure is unnatural, I for one am glad that single-sex schools are rewriting the rules’. Her point appears to be backed by the evidence finding increases of girls taking science and math based subject in single-sex compared to coeducation. Yet Younger and Warrington, in ‘Would Harry and Hermione have done better in single-sex classes?’, suggested whilst single-sex classes have the potential to raise the achievement of both boys and girls, this is only managed whilst simultaneously
challenging existing gender stereotypes. Our education system has let down many unfortunately, not most of all white working class boys who are now the worst performing ethnic group in education. Would a move to single-sex schooling provide a means for both boys and girls to excel in education whilst challenging binary gender roles? This seems doubtful if single-sex education stays within the private and independent sector. It is hard to have a debate about single-sex versus coeducation without ideological arguments creeping in. Another pitfall of single sex education is where it leaves those who don’t identify with traditional ‘male/female’ gender constraints. Increasingly, the concept of gender as a spectrum and not as a simple group
of mutually exclusively categories is backed strongly by research. Thus, it seems a move away from singlesex classrooms encourages students, irrespective of identification, to engage with learning in a comfortable, accepting environment, which by definition would not be implied by ‘single-sex’ schools. I feel that Education Minister Gustav Fridolin of Sweden said it best when discussing the ban on single-sex classrooms: ‘If you feel that having girls and boys in the same class causes problems, then the problems themselves must be addressed, not avoided by simply splitting the class up.’ After all, if school is to prepare us for life, then we must learn to work productively integrate fully as early as possible.
Epigram
27.02.2017
Science & Tech
@EpigramSciTech Editor: Matt Davis Deputy Editor: Katie Coates Online Editor: Gina Degtyareva
mdavis@epigram.org.uk katie.coates@epigram.org.uk gina@epigram.org.uk
Not the results you wanted? The science behind revision Elmi Hassan Science Writer Learning is the acquisition of new knowledge or skills and memory is the retention of learned information. There is no single brain structure or molecular mechanism which accounts for all learning. Memory can be divided into declarative and non-declarative memory. Declarative memory has a conscious aspect, which includes recalling facts and events and thus dubbed explicit memory. Whereas the non-declarative memory, also known as implicit memory, does not have a conscious aspect but includes
memories of skills and habits. Another difference between declarative and non-declarative memory is that declarative memories are often easy to form but are easily forgotten. In contrast, forming non-declarative memory usually requires repetition and is less likely to be forgotten. Studies on humans with unusually good memories suggest that the limit of the storage of declarative information is remarkably high. For example, British artist Stephen Wiltshire draws cityscapes from memory; he drew a 10-metre drawing of Tokyo in a week after only thirty minutes helicopter ride over the city.
Flickr/TZA
Researchers believe that memories form connections throughout the brain, interacting with other neurons and neural networks. Each neuron is able to form thousands of connections, which dubbed the ‘exponential storage’ effect by Paul Reber, psychology professor at Northwestern University. Reber believes we have storage up to several petabyte. It is estimated that the human brain’s ability to store memories is equivalent to about 2.5 petabytes of binary data. For comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, that would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows, this implies our brains cannot ‘get full’ within our lifetime. Professor Clea Warburton from Bristol’s School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience said: ‘Episodic memory stores an individual’s unique recollection of a specific event and is important for remembering significant events in our lives. This type of integrated memory is important in helping us to remember significant events in our lives, and works by linking different types of information.’ The team were able to specify the connection between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. By disrupting this pathway, the researchers found that episodic memory was impaired. Episodic memory impairment is a symptom of dementia, but this research might be the basis for a neuropharmacological cognitive enhancer. Cognitive
enhancers are designed to counter the symptoms of dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s. These cognitive enhancers have the potential to enhance memory in otherwise healthy people. Acetylcholine (ACh) is an important neurotransmitter in the brain, which is involved in higher cognitive functions.
“ You’ll remember information if you actively process it
Research from University of Bristol, in collaboration with the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co indicates that levels of ACh are highest when the brain is engaged in challenging tasks. This indicates there is a brain-wide signal to increase mental capacity. Teachers often urge students to make up mnemonics, while they give you a cue - if you haven’t actually learnt the information then you’re overflowing your hippocampus with another neuronal network to remember those cues. While it may seem very simple, repeated revision of a topic is an effective way to consolidate what you’ve
learnt. By repeatedly retrieving a fact, you’re strengthening the neuronal network involved in that memory. Spaced repetition is a good way to retain information for a long time. So when revising a topic – the interval between revising a certain topic should be exponentially longer each time after a few hours, then days, then weeks. This also explains the reason most students forget what they revise after exams because it is not consolidated. UCLA research seems to suggest that the brain’s activity behaves as if it’s remembering something whilst asleep. The research seems to suggest that even under anaesthesia, the neocortex (involved in higher cognitive function) is ‘speaking’ to the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (involved in memory), and these connections are involved in consolidating memory. Sleep is also involved in decluttering and deleting irrelevant information, so while it is somewhat traditional for students to do all-nighters – it seems it does more harm than good. However, revision techniques should be combined: while repetition is a good way to revise, you should actively learn too – you’ll remember information if you actively process it and comprehend it. While research is advancing exponentially in the field of Neuroscience, there is still much to learn about the brain – but every bit of research challenges the way we look at the brain. There is, unfortunately, no quick way to improve memory but looking after yourself, and getting enough sleep goes a long way.
Should single-sex schools be banned? Tom Foster Science Writer
Flickr/ Tushar Dayal
Sweden has announced a proposal to implement a nationwide ban on single-sex classrooms to tackle inequality. Should Britain do the same? When having a debate on whether single-sex taught education is better than mixed gender classrooms it often seems more ideological than scientific. A typical image of a single-sex school would be Eton or your local private/grammar school. Comprehensive schools are now standardly mixed with there being around a third fewer girls’ schools and half as many boys’ schools as there were 20 years ago. Yet should we be celebrating this move towards mixed education, or is there still value in single sex education? Emer Smyth,Research Professor and Head of the Social Research Division at the Economic and Social Research Institute, tried to delve deeper into the effects of single-sex education versus coeducation. However, it was found that the evidence that met international criteria being mostly American and little attention paid to whether benefits of single-sex education are context specific. Despite the shortcomings, the research did throw up some interesting points. Boys tend to be more disruptive in the classroom and subjects that would have traditionally been labelled ‘masculine’ such as
maths and the sciences were taken up less by girls in coeducation. Multiple studies found a positive correlation between academic achievement of girls in single-sex education compared to co-education, but not as strong correlation for boys. During research for this article, it appeared that those who supported single-sex education often spoke of the positive effect it had on girls. Academics at London’s Institute of Education, who tracked 13,000 Britons over 40 years, found women who attended all-girls schools earned up to 10 percent more than those sent to mixed schools. Furthermore, a study of 2015 results in England shows 75 per cent of pupils in all-girl secondary schools received five good GCSEs compared with 55 per cent who were in coeducation. A systemic review of the area found 23 studies indicated ‘null’ (or nonsignificant) findings, 15 indicated an advantage to single-sex education and only one study showed an advantage to coeducational schooling. However, whilst the evidence appears strong in the case of single-sex education or at least not supportive of coeducation, are we as Emer Smyth claims missing context? In the UK, singlesex education is found at grammar or private schools which naturally outperform mixed comprehensive schools due to many external factors including parental income, family connections and social standing. Helen Fraser, chief executive of
the Girls’ Day School Trust the UK’s leading network of independent girls’ schools, defends single-sex education on the grounds it helps defy binary gender norms: ‘If giving girls the opportunity to be free of gender stereotyping and associated pressure is unnatural, I for one am glad that single-sex schools are rewriting the rules’. Her point appears to be backed by the evidence finding increases of girls taking science and math based subject in single-sex compared to coeducation. Yet Younger and Warrington, in ‘Would Harry and Hermione have done better in single-sex classes?’, suggested whilst single-sex classes have the potential to raise the achievement of both boys and girls, this is only managed whilst simultaneously
challenging existing gender stereotypes. Our education system has let down many unfortunately, not most of all white working class boys who are now the worst performing ethnic group in education. Would a move to single-sex schooling provide a means for both boys and girls to excel in education whilst challenging binary gender roles? This seems doubtful if single-sex education stays within the private and independent sector. It is hard to have a debate about single-sex versus coeducation without ideological arguments creeping in. Another pitfall of single sex education is where it leaves those who don’t identify with traditional ‘male/female’ gender constraints. Increasingly, the concept of gender as a spectrum and not as a simple group
of mutually exclusively categories is backed strongly by research. Thus, it seems a move away from singlesex classrooms encourages students, irrespective of identification, to engage with learning in a comfortable, accepting environment, which by definition would not be implied by ‘single-sex’ schools. I feel that Education Minister Gustav Fridolin of Sweden said it best when discussing the ban on single-sex classrooms: ‘If you feel that having girls and boys in the same class causes problems, then the problems themselves must be addressed, not avoided by simply splitting the class up.’ After all, if school is to prepare us for life, then we must learn to work productively integrate fully as early as possible.
Epigram 27.02.2017
Letters
@EpigramLetters
Editor: Claire Hargreaves
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letters@epigram.org.uk
Confessions of a fresher: two first years reflect on uni life so far Anonymous Letters Writer For as long as I can remember I’ve dreamed of going to university. I heard countless stories from my parents, their friends and then later older friends about ‘the three best years of your life.’ By the time I was struggling through my ‘A’ Level exams, university had become the light at the end of the tunnel: three years of partying, having fun and meeting awesome people. Nothing could go wrong. I do not dislike university. I love it, I am having the time of my life. However, at times it can be the hardest, loneliest, most disheartening thing I’ve done. There have been times where the last thing I want to do is go out but I feel like I have to because I’m a fresher, and that’s what freshers do. Times where I’ve stared at a mountain of work convincing myself I’m not intelligent enough to be here and I should just quit now. Times where I’ve sat by myself in my room and never felt lonelier.
into university, still exhausted from freshers’ week and faced with another night out, burning the only pasta I had for dinner and then sitting on my bedroom floor crying. Of course there is a chance my exhaustion levels caused me to slightly overreact, but the point is, university is not perfect. And to be honest, it shouldn’t be.
Chloë Moloney Letters Writer Undoubtedly, your last night at home before fleeing the nest was a sleepless one. Your mind a ratrun of panic and your disquiet rolling to a shattering crescendo, because the proceeding few weeks of your life were to be riddled with uncertainty. The University of Bristol was uncharted territory, and you were convinced that hidden behind each and every corner was either a twinkling angel or preternatural monster – a pot luck of fate. As you stepped out into the milky air of Stoke Bishop, your eyes were like pinpricks and your mouth ran dry. Ahead of you lay an unexplored labyrinth of glimmering opportunity, doused with equal measures of discomposure.
shake and make sure they listen up. The first obstacle is the FLAT. You were busy unloading your food into the freezer when she came in: Flatmate 1. Your throat closed to a pinhole and you gingerly introduced yourself to her. Ok, that wasn’t as hard as you had anticipated, now was it? But with the fear of being ridiculed for your gaucherie, your stilted conversation reeked of apprehension. The tension hung in the air as thick as syrup, as you ungainly waded from topic to topic. However, after Flatmate 2 and 3 were added to the swelling list of your acquaintances, that rocky lump in your throat began to soften as you flitted from flatmate to flatmate, ceremoniously gassing away about this and that. Another taxing and daunting task could finally be crossed off the list.
easy to be blissfully carried along by the ritualistic endeavours of Freshers’ Week, which mainly took their form in quaffing industrial quantities of booze, it is vital that you lean back and breathe. Having recently written a letter to the introverted students among us, being plunged deep into stifling and ebullient socialising certainly left me feeling a little heady. I needed to calibrate my settings after being brackishly yanked this way and that, and allow myself to bury my feet deep into Bristolian ground.
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University is amazing but it’s also enormously difficult. Adjusting to your newly independent life while also trying to make friends and get all your work done on time can be both physically and mentally exhausting. I know myself that there have been times this year already where I’ve looked in the mirror and thought ‘what am I doing here?’ Times where I’ve forced myself to go to yet another ‘Bunker Monday’ when, to be honest, all I really want to do was curl up into bed and sleep for twelve hours. I can vividly remember two weeks
Most people, myself included, start university expecting it to be non-stop fun for three years. Unfortunately, it’s not. I was worried when I first started that I was the only one feeling completely overwhelmed with everything I had to contend with. Then I looked around and realised that everyone feels the same. Nothing in life is perfect and university is no exception. At times everyone feels overwhelmed, exhausted and miserable and that’s okay. I just wish there was a little more preparation for the realities of university. Maybe one day in twenty years when I’m slogging through a nine to five job, I’ll look back and only remember the amazing bits. And that is certainly not a bad thing. However, I do think there should be a little more preparation for those starting out at university. A heads up that you might not feel amazing all the time, and that that’s ok. Back in September, whenever I wasn’t enjoying every single moment I worried that I was doing it wrong, that there was something wrong with me. The truth is that nothing is perfect all the time. And the most important lesson I’ve learnt so far this year is that that’s ok. After all, if everything was amazing all the time then it wouldn’t be amazing, it would just be normal.
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‘All I wanted to do was curl up into bed and sleep for twelve hours’
‘If everything was amazing all the time then it wouldn’t be amazing, it would just be normal’
‘I needed to calibrate my settings after being brackishly yanked this way and that’
‘The first obstacle is the FLAT’
So, I’m back here to impart some advice, but not only to next year’s cluster of fledglings. If you can cast your mind back, fumble around and find your fresher’s self, give them a
With the FLAT conquered, it was time to swing around the bend and have a bash at MINGLING. Eager to dip your toe into unplumbed waters, Freshers’ Week was the perfect occasion to add a flurry of names to your contact list. However, while it is
‘I guarantee you that Freshers’ is not representative of university as a whole’
With FRESHERS’ WEEK heralded like a lurid and tawdry headline, and as you creep into mid-September, it is easy to feel wrought by constant social hammering. Yet rest assured in the knowledge that, although I am still relatively naïve regarding the frenetic world of higher education, I guarantee you that Freshers’ is not representative of university as a whole. And, if it turns out that Freshers’ Week is not your thing, don’t fret. It’s simply transient and ephemeral.
Facebook / University of Bristol
Is Freshers year and university as glossy and wonderful as the advertising might suggest?
Tweets of the fortnight: BBC News - Bristol University student accidentally made explosive” Just saying but the most I’ve ever accidentally made is a cheese toastie @sophieepinderx So last night I met a jobless student who has his own flat, a brand new Mercedes and is auditioning for The Only Way is Bristol tomorrow @_G_A_Why_ Fed up #StudentProblems
@AdamGilson8
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Living Well Being Travel Style Food What’s On
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Editor Johnny Thalassites
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Online Editor Lucy Thompson
Deputy Editor Saskia Hume
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27.02.2017
saskia.hume@epigram.org.uk
Epigram Living Section 2016/17
How to host a good dinner party Letter’s Editor Claire Hargreaves shares her top tips on holding the perfect evening soirée - student style Dinner parties: hardly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of student living, but with a few helpful tricks and knacks, you can host a dinner party to suit your budget without it becoming as farcical as some of the dinner parties on Come Dine With Me.
Preparation
Themes Themes work well to spice up dinner parties and to arouse your guests’ interest and imagination. However, simple is definitely best when it comes to themes, so go for a Spanish theme, with tapas and a classical guitar Spotify playlist in the background, or a colour, asking your guests to wear an aspect of that colour in their clothing and subtly dressing the table with that colour in mind. Avoid extravagantly “themey” dinner parties – nobody wants to come to a three-course meal dressed as a mermaid or a superhero.
If your table looks a bit like this you’re probably onto a winner
Epigram/Johnny Thalassites Wikiopedia/Adrian Pingstone min Perry Epigram/Jas
Flickr/Nick Epigram/Serena Sekhon
It may go without saying, but that’s only because it’s so important: preparation is key. If your schedule permits, leave the whole day of the dinner party free so as to start preparing your food, table, and entertainment. If you want to be particularly organised, make a timetable of how the day will run, giving time slots based on food preparation and cooking time, leaving the house to run errands, and, of course, getting yourself ready. An excel spreadsheet is the way to go for some; a to-do list scribbled on a notepad will do the job, though.
Entertainment
Cooking
Hosting
For me, entertainment should not get above itself for a humble dinner party; fireworks are just too much for a small group of people, all shivering in someone’s back garden, struggling to stand after their monumental three courses and wine. Again, simple is best with entertainment. Do bring in an amateur musician friend; don’t hire an extravagant baroque orchestra to perform in your small student living room. Entertainment doesn’t have to be music, though – you could go for a light-hearted quiz, cheap and cheerful “parlour games” or “interactive” food, like fondue or biscuit icing.
There is no secret formula for cooking for a dinner party. However, time, concentration, and accuracy are the most important things to bear in mind when cooking for several people. Choose your recipes in advance and practice them once or twice to perfect them. You don’t have to cook lobster or caviar to satisfy your guests – just ensure that whatever you do choose is tried and tested. BBC Good Food is a good place to start looking for recipes if you need inspiration, but try Jamie Oliver’s website, too, for plenty of hearty, contemporary food.
While some guests prefer a DIY approach to dinner parties, others enjoy being just that, a guest, with their host taking their coat upon arrival, continually refilling drinks and offering second portions. Assess the situation yourself and the atmosphere you want to create with the guests you have invited, but either way, be attentive to your guests’ needs and remember that you are hosting them for a dinner party. You may not have the finest champagne on standby, or a professional string quartet, but if you can make your guests feel welcome and relaxed, you’re on to a winner.
My top spot: Nutmeg Online Living editor, Lucy Thompson, tells us all about the Clifton-based restaurant she’s been working at this term Nutmeg is the new Indian restaurant on the scene in Clifton Vil- This is accompanied by plenty of saffron rice and naan. The menu
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You can also enjoy cocktails with a twist, such as the Saffron Gin and Tonic, and delicious Rose Champagne cocktail (a personal favourite).
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In addition, the interior of Nutmeg is sleek and sophisticated. An entire wall is painted with a mural of intertwining peacocks and lotus flowers, lit by hanging lights. You can also enjoy cocktails with a twist, such as the Saffron Gin and Tonic, and delicious Rose Champagne cocktail (a personal favourite). There is also a 2 for 1 cocktail happy hour on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, if you are a cocktail-lover but also on a budget. Nutmeg is a hidden gem and definitely a restaurant to impress your parents with on their visit to Bristol, with authentic and interesting Indian cuisine. Don’t just take my word for it - try it over the next few weeks and see for yourself!
Nutmeg posted this on social media to whet your appetite
Epigram/Nutmeg
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For those who can’t handle the spice there are plenty of mild dishes to enjoy (I love the fragrant Butter Chicken). Each meal also begins with a selection of crunchy popadoms and flavoursome chutneys ; spiced apple, onion and mango ; and mint and coriander. Couples can even indulge in the imaginative tasting menu, inspired by Kashmiri street food - with four courses for £25. This includes an appetiser of fried puri, or ‘Amuse Bouche’, and tender lamb chops and homemade paneer to start. The mains arrive as a set of different dishes to dip into; this includes the amazing lamb meatballs with red chillies and ginger, and chicken ‘Yakhni Kokar’.
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For those who can’t handle the spice there are plenty of mild dishes to enjoy (I love the fragrant Butter Chicken).
is perfect for someone wanting to sample a plethora of flavours and dishes. At Nutmeg, the quality is crucial , sourcing food from local Bristol suppliers of Ruby and White Butchers, Bristol Sweet Mart and fish from Charles Saunders. As your meal comes to a close you can enjoy the traditional Indian dessert of ‘Gulab Jamun’ , which is a syrupy , spiced donut ball or a Chai Creme brûlée.
Epigram/Nutmeg
lage, opening in October to rave reviews. Its innovative ‘Menu 29’ takes you on a culinary journey across the 29 states of India, each dish on the menu referencing a different place of origin. At Nutmeg there are no bog-standard Chicken Tikka Masalas in sight, but the popular dishes of Korma, Madras and Jalfrezi make an appearance. There are also a range of tasty seafood dishes, such as the Seabass Jal Tarang from West Bengal , a scallop starter to whet your appetite, and Sharabi Jhinga, succulent king prawns marinated in spices and fresh mango.
Another dish, straight off Nutmeg’s social media accounts
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Bristol’s alternative study spaces Epigram’s Living Team have scoured the city to find the best work spots for those more relaxing study days Boston Tea Party
The Hawthorns
Flickr/Tanya Hart
February’s a strange time in the university calendar - January exams are all but forgotten about and although there are deadlines here and there, the urgency of post-Christmas revision has been left far behind. As such, there’s not such a great need to spend every day in one of UoB’s designated study spaces; whether that be the ASS, Beacon House, Wills or otherwise. On the other hand, you know if you decide to shun working altogether and spend the day in bed you’ll only wind up feeling guilty and lazy. So, for those of you who want to strike the right balance between working and relaxing, Epigram Living’s Team has searched the city for a few more laid back places to study. So grab your laptop and books but feel free to leave your Ucard to gather dust in the top drawer of your desk.
The beautiful marble arches of Bristol Central Library
Although it’s part of the UoB campus, Hawthorns cafe definitely offers a more relaxed study area than many of the university’s other options. There’s always a lively atmosphere, with both students and staff meeting and working over coffees and food. There’s also some quieter study spaces at the back of the building if you need that extra push to concentrate on your work.
The Arts House Cafe If you fancy moving a bit further away from the bubble of Redland and Clifton, the Arts House Cafe in Stokes Croft is another great working option. Far smaller and quieter than BTP, it’s an ideal space to read a book or write an essay, and there’s something about the cosy but contemporary decor that gets your creative juices flowing. Their doors are open every day from 10am-11pm, a late closing ideal for those of you who work best once the sun goes down. Serving soups, salads, sandwiches, platters and a range of homemade cakes, there’s plenty to munch on whilst you study away.
Redland Library Flickr/Jon Mountjoy
There’s something strangely calming about a public library that greatly contrasts the stress and seriousness of the ASS. Perhaps it’s the lack of students, and the huge range of people that go in and out of the doors. Although there isn’t that much working space here, there are several tables, and it generally doesn’t get too busy. It’s also pretty easy to get to, right next Clifton Down Station on Whiteladies road. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm, and until 7pm on a Wednesday. As such, there’s no pressure to work far into the night or wake up at the crack of dawn - perfect for a laid back day of seminar work or catching up on lectures.
Although there are countless cafes in Bristol where you can study, the Boston Tea Party branches on both Whiteladies Road and Park Street are ideal work spaces due to their large size and buzzy atmosphere. There’s always people working in there, so even if you’re solo you can feel a part of a little studying community. Make sure to get there early though, as both get busy super busy around lunchtime and for brunch on the weekends. Both branches are open from 7am Monday-Saturday which if perfect if you’re an early riser who fancies working over a big brekkie.
For the best working brunch in town head to BTP
Bristol Central Library For a grander library experience, head down to College Green and the city’s main library. The historical grade I listed building provides an illustrious working environment with its huge windows, whitewashed walls and marbled staircase. There’s also a cafe offering great sandwiches if you get a bit peckish. The space is open every day except Wednesday.
Why Uber can change your life Living’s Deputy Editor Saskia Hume lays down the case for making Uber the number one app on your smartphone
Flikr/Emanuele
It’s that point in the night again. Predrinks are drawing to a close and everybody is growing agitated, ready to leave the stuffy smoke filled kitchen out into the dark enticement of the night. It’s time to order the Uber. ‘I’ll book it’, you volunteer, gloating in selflessness of your actions, ‘and you guys can all fare split with me.’ Everyone wholeheartedly agrees, opening the app in anticipation. Yet one person in the corner of the room stays silent, pretending not to have heard your announcement. ‘Oh, I don’t have Uber’ they say nonchalantly after a few moments, briefly looking up from their phone. There’s always one, isn’t there. Sometimes they’re polite enough to offer to ‘give you guys some change’, but you know this probably won’t happen. Often, once the fare’s been split to only a couple of pounds each, it’s both too complicated and too tedious for your (at the very least) tipsy brain to work out. It’s true that leaving one person out of the fare split probably adds on at the most an extra pound to everybody’s journey, but that’s not the point. It’s not really about the money, it’s more the principle. If this were a regular cab, and someone didn’t have cash on them they’d probably ask the driver to stop at a cash point, or they’d offer to transfer the money. So why is an Uber different? Why is it more acceptable for one person not to pay their way? Almost everyone has a smartphone these days, and not having one is perhaps the only excuse for not downloading Uber from the app store. When the taxi service finally arrived in Bristol in 2015 it was a joyous moment. No more would we be overcharged for a taxi that
A beacon of hope in a dark, dark night would probably arrive late and go to the wrong address. No more would you get stuck on a night out because there was no taxi rank nearby and all the companies were overbooked. In this way, Uber is not only convenient but also a safety net, meaning there is never a need to walk anywhere alone at night. Also, there’s something about getting an Uber that makes the whole process far less formal. Booking a taxi to Temple Meads station seems a luxury, but jumping in an Uber is completely acceptable. Why, then, would you choose not to have such a handy app on your phone? The sceptic in me says that these people are sneaky, choosing not to download it as a way of getting out of paying for a
taxi. Perhaps this is a bit accusatory, and perhaps some people just can’t be bothered or don’t have enough space on their phone. Even if this is the case, such people should be apologetic and ready with change in their hand, rather than (literally) taking a back seat and cashing in on their friend’s organisational skills. So, if the person I’m ranting about sounds a bit like you, maybe take the time to download Uber. Delete some old photos from your phone and clear space for something that is actually useful. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll even become noble enough to book the Uber for the whole group, and think how good you’ll feel about yourself then.
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A sermon: on hall life at Bristol Bristol BNOC, Lucky Dube, is back - and he wants to talk lifestyle. Make yourself comfortable and tuck into this corker of a piece, the second instalment of Dube’s fortnightly column.
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Winston Churchill, our university’s longest serving chancellor (1929 – 1965), famously said of the House of Commons in 1943 after it was destroyed in a raid that ‘we shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.’ The very fabric of our buildings impart upon us the values of those who shaped them, they influence how we interact with the space, they give rise to customs specific to that building. Is it not therefor to our university’s merit that we have such a diverse range of buildings, and ultimately communities, that prospective students of the university can choose from? When a student chooses, for instance, Goldney Hall, they choose a hall where, as a result of kitchens facing into the central courtyard, it becomes customary to wave to your fellow students in the kitchens adjacent and opposite. One also
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Winston Churchill famously said that ‘we shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us’.
chooses to be part of an environment in which it is part of the culture to explore, have picnics within, give tours to other students of, the hall’s award winning grounds. The less definite boundaries between corridors in Manor Hall give rise to greater mixing between corridors and, in a sense, a more socially cohesive (at the level of the entire hall) environment. It is often said by former residents of University Hall that its more self-contained flats give rise to members of those flats becoming closer than would be the case in halls in which the flats are not as self-contained.
When you choose a hall of residence, you take culture, amongst several other things (like price, for instance) into account.
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When you choose a hall of residence, you take culture, amongst several other things (like price, for instance) into account. This is, after all, only natural, as students want to get their choice right. The diverse range of halls is beholden to the diversity of students that enter our university every year. We recognise that students will require different things from their hall and it is therefore right that we should have halls that offer different things. When I have visited friends at other universities, I often think how fortunate we are to have halls that are vibrant and not just mere places of dwelling: places whose only purpose seems to be for housing students and profiting off them. The diverse range of cultures and experiences that our halls offer should be celebrated, and any move to make uniform the experience of all students in halls would be to chip away at what makes each hall special. Whether it’s the near weekly formals of Wills Hall, the amateur dramatic society at Manor Hall, or the music concerts in Clifton Hill House, the diversity of experience offered by our halls is something to be celebrated. They have over the years nourished and shaped our students and may they continue to do so.
Flickr/Robert Cutts
It is part of the culture of universities, as far as undergraduates are concerned at least, that you move away from home and you live close to the institution that has accepted you. You become, as it were, absorbed into the institution so it can better shape and change you, and you, of course, with your outlook and experiences, add richness to the culture of the university. Halls of residence, your adopted home for a year, the place where arguably the closest friendships are made, the community that you have chosen to be a part, stand as an important part of any university, not least our own. When you enter halls, there is awareness that others who have chosen that hall have a similar outlook: they wish to be a part of the hall’s history, they wish to experience its culture, they want to make the most of what makes that hall special.
Clifton Hill House, one of Bristol’s halls of residence
The ‘Dube Doctrine’ - Whether it’s the near weekly formals of Wills Hall; - The amateur drmatic society at Manor hall; - Or the music concerts in Clifton Hill House; - The diversity of experience offered by our halls is something to be celebrated.
Love is blind
This week, Epigram Living has sent singletons Owen and Jacob to a board game cafe to find love: Owen Atkinson Owen says Jacob’s best feature is - “being recently bald” - Jacob’s “short hair,” and that if his date were an animal he doesn’t know which.“I feel like this is a trick question!”
What were your first impressions? OA: Is that him peeking round the corner? When I met him; nice smile, seemed sweet. JP: He had fabulous nails!
Jacob Powell
3 things you chatted about? Jacob says Owen’s best feature is“his nails”(each is a different colOA: Lord, these board games are confusing / How and why we agreed to go on this blind date our) and that if Owen were an animal, he’d be a“Raven.” (s/o to Serena Sekhon) / And about how he was into climbing as a hobby. JP: He’s from the Isle of Man (I’ve never met someone from there) / We’d never seen so many boardgames / And about how he’s directing the Spanish Theatre production - very interesting! Were there any awkward moments? OA: Having our first few moments together punctuated with the explanations of the ardent, albeit friendly, board-games-enthusiast-come-café-owner was a little strange. Also, I think I got way too into ‘Dominion’ at one point and had to snap out of it and realise that I was a person on a date and not a medieval trader... JP: I wasn’t very good at the last board game we played, my brain is a bit slow at times! What did you like most about them? OA The fact that in all 3 board games we played he lost. JP: Easy to talk to. Would you see them again? OA: I would, and texted him a few hours before writing this, alas, no response (yet?) JP: As friends. What happened at the end of the date? OA: We swapped numbers, hugging twice. I like to think we nearly kissed, but am unsure. JP: We almost forgot to pay! Rating out of 10 OA: 8/10 JP: 7/10
Editor Tianna Graham
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Online Editor Flora Doble
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Need some help? Student counselling service: 0117 954 6655
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Mind Info-line: 0300 123 3393
Epigram Wellbeing
Over £1,500 raised for Mind by just 3 students! Bald for Britney
Be active
Isabel Kilborn (Second Year Student)
Jackie Head (Student Counselling)
The highest donators in the room were given the honour the following night.
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It’s been a bit odd so far. Definitely fresher for sure. Hair washing won’t take any longer than a few seconds for a while. Britney still hasn’t replied to my tweet; but we’ve still got donations coming in and we’re currently on £1532, which is an incredible testament to the generosity of all our family and friends and, ultimately, to a pure and simple love for Britney Spears. The Epigram Wellbeing team would like to congratulate these three brave souls on the money they raised for Mind!
We are still looking for new writers! Could you be one?
Epigram/ Alice O’Brien
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I don’t think Ben was inspired – as far as I know – by reading articles about the liberation of women; like me, he wanted an excuse. It’s such a drastic fashion choice that it tends to be either for charity or because you need to shed your image and history as an incredibly successful female pop star. This plan crystallised about two weeks ago. We spent a hilarious afternoon having a photoshoot for publicity – and vanity – purposes, and set up a Just Giving page, which we then shared extensively on Facebook. Taking advantage of the shops selling off their winter stock, we hit up Cabot and kitted ourselves out with cut-price beanies. It was some days later that I told my parents, who were not pleased. My dad warned me that Louis Armstrong shaved his head for a film role, and it never grew back, so he had to wear a toupee for the rest of his life. It wasn’t until about three days before the head shaving that we found out conclusively it was not possible for this to happen to us unless we were already losing hair follicles due to the ageing process. But despite the genetic history of male baldness in Ben Baker’s family, he’s fortunately too young for it to have kicked in yet.
Relieved and also having generated a truly amazing amount of money from friends and relatives, we washed our hair for the last time on the night of the 15th (I conditioned mine too, I don’t know why) & settled in for the shaving. The highest donators in the room were given the honour of the following night. In the kitchen of Ben’s house, while being peered at by about 30 members of Bristol Improv – who were all far too excited for my liking – we all had our heads shaved. The boys went first, looking initially like 60 year old versions of themselves and then bashfully emerging. I went last, and was given every look Flora Donald could think of – fringe, 20s bob, undercut – before finally emerging hairless. Witness testified that ‘they were annoyed none of us looked ugly,’ which we were pleased about.
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My dad warned me that Louis Armstrong shaved his head for a film role, and it never grew back, so he had to wear a toupee for the rest of his life.
Epigram/ Jack Baker
When you’re a fan of a celebrity, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do to support them. Such a thought struck Owen Atkinson some weeks ago, regarding the world’s – and his – favourite pop princess Britney Spears. As his luscious locks shone in the late January rainfall, he realised an anniversary was coming up. The anniversary of the day, 10 years ago, Britney Spears, beleaguered by constant pressure and paparazzi attention, walked into a hair salon in California and shaved her own head. So, he decided to shave his head. For Britney. But also to raise money for Mind, the leading UK mental health charity. I like Britney. She has some ‘bangers’ to be sure. Nowhere near enough to shave my head, however. I had however been tempted to do it by reading Ruby Tandoh’s article in Elle, among others, about different women’s’ experience of getting rid of their hair and the freedom it had given them.
Simply join our Facebook Writers’ Group! If it is mental health related we want it, and suggestions are always appreciated; no story will be silenced. If you wish to contact us anonymously or with a question then please email wellbeing@epigram.org.uk
As the New Year turns it is often a time for new resolutions and for many people getting fit will feature high on the list. Gym membership applications increase in January but by February willpower is diminishing and it can be hard to sustain this healthy impetus beyond the first month. There is plenty you can read about the physical benefits of getting fit; knowing this can be a good incentive but these benefits may feel rather distant. Perhaps a more immediate motivator is the way that being active can help us feel. If you have ever worked out for 30 minutes, breaking into a sweat, you will know about the endorphin rush; a very physical response that temporarily lifts your mood. Beyond that, we can feel good as we notice our capability increasing, confidently jogging for the bus or up the stairs. Our self-esteem often rises as we meet physical challenges; something really echoed by the ‘This Girl Can’ Campaign. Here in the Student Counselling Service (SCS) we are really aware of the impact of not being physically active on our whole wellbeing. Sometimes people come with high anxiety and we realize part of the issue is that they have chained themselves to their desks believing this ‘discipline’ will be helping. Just inviting them to break concentration each hour, to stand up and do a few star jumps or run on the spot, to drink a glass of water and take some deep breaths before returning to their desk, can radically increase their focus and reduce their anxiety levels. Others have stopped exercising due to injury or ill health, or perhaps because they haven’t quite found the club for them, and not realized this is part of a broader picture of their persistent low mood. For others the issue is that they exercise too much, pumping up their bodies to try to avoid their unhappiness, or as part of a pattern of disordered eating, not realizing that stillness and the acknowledgement of feeling are also part of the support we need. Step one to moving to a new healthy level of activity is to recognize the need for change. Why not go for a walk and ask yourself the following questions? Have I got the balance right on terms for physical activity in my life? What physical activity do I find the most rewarding? What is getting in the way of me engaging in the physical activity I think I need? What would it take to make the first step towards changing my habits? What will the rewards be in a year’s time if I have got the balance right? If you need something to kick start your resolve here are a few suggestions from SCS and beyond: 1. Why not sign up for the Walk and Talk group; an hour of social walking to blow away the cobwebs on a Friday morning. We take different routes each week and learn a little about the locality along the way. 2. If you are suffering from low mood or anxiety find out whether you might qualify for Healthy Minds; a three month body-mind activity scheme. 3. Take a look at the range of clubs and societies running in the SU, new members are always welcome and Spring is a good time to start something new. 4. There are a range of activities offered beyond the university such as Bristol’s Led walks to try! 5. If exercise alone doesn’t float your boat do it for a purpose using GoodGym. Most of all, adopt an attitude of engaged compassion. Set some goals and if you don’t quite make them on one day, understand what stopped you, forgive yourself and let that go and then find a psychological reason to try again. Reward yourself for small steps in the right direction and bit by bit the habit will grow.
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Editor Ellie Donnell
Deputy Editor Hugo Lebus
Online Editor Jane Cowie
edonnell@epigram.org.uk
hlebus@epigram.org.uk
jcowie@epigram.org.uk
Join us at: Epigram Food Section 2016/17
27.02.2017
Follow us at: epigram_eats_out
Flipping fabulous pancake roundup Everyone differs on their choice of pancake, and that’s before any disputes arise over the ultimate go-to topping! So, Food Editor Ellie Donnell has comprised three recipes that will suit everybody’s taste: the classic, the american style and the mighty, protein packed stack! One Mug Blueberry Pancakes Ingredients: Epigram/Hannah HannahKeel Keel Epigram/ Flickr: J. Annie. Wang
Epigram/ Hannah Keel
1 mug of self-raising flour 1 mug of milk (any type you like) 1 egg Butter for greasing the pan A handful of blueberries 2 desert spoons of Greek yogurt per serving Honey/maple syrup Method:
2. Warm up a large non-stick frying pan and wipe it with butter using a square of kitchen roll. By doing this you get a thin, even layer which is all you need if the pan is non-stick. 3. Put dollops of the mixture into the pan. It’s up to you what size you go for, I can usually fit 3-4 pancakes in the pan at a time. Stud each one with a generous amount of blueberries and leave it to cook for a few minutes until bubbles begin to rise to the surface and the top of the pancake is no longer runny. 4. Flip each one with a spatula and gently push down. You don’t want to burst the blueberries, just gently push them into the pancake. 5. Cook until they are golden on both sides and the blueberries have gone all juicy, then serve with the Greek yogurt and honey or maple syrup.
Vanilla and Cinnamon Protein Pancakes
Hanna Keel
The Classic
It’s the pancake we all grew up with - the rollable one! Ridden with nostalgia and an utterly, messy joy to consume, we couldn’t do a recipe haul without including this classic!
If you love a hearty stack of pancakes as much as I do, then you have to make these! The satisfaction of cutting into a giant mound of fluffy pancakes oozing with a plethora of drizzly toppings, is an experience that cannot be beaten. Ingredients: 40g oats 20g vanilla protein powder 2 eggs 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 5 (ish) tbsp water or milk
Flickr/ Heather
Method: 1. Blend the oats in a food processor until they resemble a fine flour. Then combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Ingredients:
4. Serve with your choice of toppings. I microwaved some frozen berries for a delicious compote, and drizzled over peanut butter! Ellie Donnell
Flickr/ Tavallai
3. Melt a little oil or butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and pour in spoonfuls of the batter to create nice, round pancakes. Flip when little bubbles appear on the surface (about 2 minutes). They will only need around 40 seconds cooking time once you’ve flipped them on the other side.
Method:
Flickr/ Kisssy
100g plain flour 2 large eggs 300ml milk Epigram/ Ellie Donnell
2. Crack in the egg and add the water or milk. Stir thoroughly to combine. I always guess the amount of liquid to add depending on the consistency of the batter, but you want it to be thick enough so that it holds its shape when you fry your pancakes in a frying pan. Adjust according to your own judgement.
1. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well (a hole) in the middle. Crack in both the eggs. 2. Beat the eggs whilst gradually incorporating the flour into the mixture. As you stir, pour in the milk little by little until all the milk has been used and you have a smooth and silky batter. 3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and brush with oil or butter. Ladle two or three tablespoons of the batter into the pan and tilt to spread evenly. Cook for 45 - 60 seconds until small bubbles appear on the surface and it is slightly brown underneath. 4. If you’re feeling brave, flip the pancake using the pan or just grab yourself a spatula and turn it over. Cook for another 30 - 45 seconds and repeat! 5. Serve with your favourite toppings. I’m a lemon and sugar fan but ice cream, jam or nutella are all excellent options.
Epigram/ Ellie Donnell
1. Measure the flour, milk and egg into a bowl and whisk it all together until it’s lump free, this should only take a few minutes. That’s your batter made!
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27.02.2017
My culinary hero: Jamie Oliver
For many of us aspiring cooks, there is often someone who sparked our intial love of food. Clemmie Bailey tells us why Jamie Oliver has been the ‘sauce’ of her culinary inspiration As famous chefs go, there are few names better known in British households than Jamie Oliver. Whether your Mum has a selection of his cookbooks on her shelves, you’ve watched his multitude of television series or you’ve visited Jamie’s Italian at the top of Park Street, it’s fairly unlikely you’ve never benefited from his brand’s prolific presence in the food industry. However, I’d like to show you why there could always be room for a little bit more of the naked chef in your life. Jamie’s rise to fame followed his appearance in the 1997 documentary, Christmas at the River Café, prompting the BBC to offer him his own show with his first series, The Naked Chef, debuting in 1999. His public career has since gone from strength to strength, starring in a plethora of his own television series and writing numerous bestselling cookbooks in the intervening years. The development of his brand has been marked by his passionate exploration of global cuisine, whilst his curiosity for the culinary traditions of other cultures lend his books and personality the endearing and immersive qualities which make them such a joy. Flickr/ Scandic Hotels
‘‘His curiosity for the culinary traditions of other cultures lend his books and personality the endearing and immersive qualities which make them such a joy’’
However, what elevates him from being a brilliant chef and businessman to an true inspiration, is the way he has used his widespread fame to campaign for improvements in the food industry and provide education and training to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. He famously started the Feed Me Better campaign, pushing for the elimination of junk food in school meals, and garnered enough support to force the government to address the issue. His commitment to helping people improve their nutritional habits is reflected by his ensuing shows, Jamie’s School Dinners,
Jamie’s Ministry of Food and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and the continued focus in his recipes on using fresh and healthy ingredients. He continues to take active involvement in campaigning and charity work. Take a look at his website and links to his various foundations where you can easily find information on the latest news in sustainability and tackling obesity. Above all, though, it is the joy and passion which goes into his food which makes him so inspirational, and also such an important chef to follow as a student. His recipes demonstrate a style rooted in the marriage of good, simple ingredients to celebrate flavour.
This results in exciting and easy-to-follow recipes which provide a great introduction to anyone who wants to expand their range of cooking and, most importantly, leave room for the development of a personal style. If there’s a dish you’ve always wanted to try, or a country whose cuisine you have a particular interest in, the chances are Jamie Oliver has written a book, recipe or blog post about it. So, if you’re not already as much of a fan as I am, next time you’re home for the holidays grab one of the inevitable classic Jamie Oliver cookbooks from your Mum’s bookshelf, and try one of his recipes out for yourself. Clemmie Bailey
The food I couldn’t live without: Pop Tarts
This week, Erin Beesley tells us about her nostalgic love for Pop Tarts, the sickly sweet yet deliciously scrummy toasted treat I was first introduced to Pop Tarts as a teenager watching Gilmore Girls. Rory and Lorelai’s eating habits are something I doubt any real human could manage: copious amounts of chocolate, inhaling takeout, and drinking coffee like it was on a drip. To eat like a Gilmore would result in blemished skin, weight gain and yellowing teeth. But there was something about the look of those Pop Tarts they ate I couldn’t resist. Popped in the toaster for two minutes and you have a crisp and warm pastry, a jammy middle, and crunchy, sweet frosting on top. In 1964 the US ran out of Pop Tarts because their first shipment was so popular. The sweet, fruity smell still emanates from the toasters of today. I guarantee they will come in a flavour you love, whether it be classic strawberry, Hot Fudge Sundae, exotic Pumpkin Pie, Watermelon and Pink Lemonade. Yes, two tarts a day make up your entire daily sugar allowances, but, hey – aren’t we all allowed
‘‘Yes, two tarts a day make up your entire daily sugar allowances, but, hey – aren’t we all allowed a treat once in a while?’’ Epigram/Jane Cowie Flickr/ theImpulsivebuy
a treat once in a while? The Pop-Tart is perfect to warm you up on a cold morning, they complement the bitterness of mid-morning coffee, are more fun than afternoon cake, and are the best food for drunken-you at 3 am. Like cheesy chips, Pop Tarts are carb-heavy, but perfect for the sweeter tooth; will be warm throughout consumption and you can enjoy them on a warm sofa rather than on the cold benches outside Donervan’s. So, I encourage you, like myself and Rory Gilmore, to grab a pop tart for breakfast. Erin Beesley
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27.02.2017
Five kitchen hacks for cooking with eggs Do you have trouble trying to achieve that perfectly runny yolk? Don’t worry, Clemmie Bailey has your back with these five nifty tricks that will transform the way you cook this staple! The perfect poached egg:
Epigram/ Hannah Keel
Adding a couple of drops of white wine vinegar to your poaching water to stop your eggs from spreading is a fairly well known trick (and if you didn’t know it before, you do now), but there are a few other things you can do to make sure you get the perfect poached egg. Firstly, make sure your water isn’t too hot. If it’s manically boiling away you’ll end up with a pan of foamy, eggy mess. Bring the water to a gentle simmer with small bubbles forming on the base of the pan, then crack the egg into a small, shallow cup. Although this adds an extra piece of washing up, it makes getting the egg into the pan without worrying about breaking the yolk that much easier. Then, use a spoon to swirl the water clockwise so that you get a gentle current going around the pan. Place the cup close to the surface of the water and gently tip the egg into the centre. The swirl of the water will bring the edges of the whites into the centre as the egg takes its shape, preventing you from getting lots of stringy, spread-out bits of white and giving you lovely, neatlyformed eggs. Finally, when it comes to removing the egg from the pan, use a slotted spoon or spatula with holes in it so that the egg has a chance to drain and doesn’t give you soggy toast.
Epigram/ Ellie Donnell
Slow and steady scrambled eggs:
Flickr: J. Annie. Wang
Scrambled eggs are great, whether they’re your favourite way to eat eggs or you just can’t be bothered with a lot of faff. However, taking an extra five minutes when you make them can make them infinitely better. Whisk up eggs with pepper and place a pan over a low heat with a little butter for cooking (use a round-based pan if you have one). When the butter has melted, season the eggs with salt and pepper and pour into the pan. It will be a while before the eggs start to cook, but be patient and use slow, figure-of-eight motions to fold the curds as they cook. When most of the raw egg has cooked add a little milk or, preferably, double cream and continue to gently stir until the eggs are soft and creamy. Always take them off the heat a little too early because they will carry on cooking in the pan!
Boiled eggs - it’s all in the timing: Boiling an egg isn’t rocket science; you stick an egg in a pan of boiling water and wait for it to cook. However, knowing the approximate cooking times depending on how soft you want the yolk is always helpful. Five minutes will give you a really soft, runny yolk, the kind you dip toast in. Six to seven minutes will give you the kind of yolk you want if you’re using an egg to top ramen. Eight or nine minutes will give you a firmly set yolk without overcooking- the kind you’d want for egg mayo or devilled eggs.
Once cooked, run under cold water for a minute, then roll the egg on a hard surface gently applying pressure until the shell has become cracked all over, and then peel.
Check before you chuck: Chances are your eggs are fine to eat, and there’s a really easy way to check. Put the egg in a bowl of cold water. If it lies flat on the bottom, it’s really fresh. If it stands upright but still stays at the bottom, it’s a little bit older but still good to eat. If it floats, chuck it away.
‘‘Boiling an egg isn’t rocket science; you stick an egg in a pan of boiling water and wait for it to cook’’
Microwave magic: If you’re in a catered hall, you’re probably thinking that this is all completely irrelevant to you until you move into your own house next year, because all your lovely hall ‘kitchen’ provides you with is a microwave and a kettle. Maybe a toaster if you’re lucky. However, you can actually make poached eggs in a microwave. Grease a small bowl with a little bit of oil and crack an egg into it. Cover with a little water, place a bit of kitchen roll over the top and stick in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Check if the whites are cooked and if not continue to microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it’s done. If you have a look in Wilko you’ll probably find a contraption claiming to be a microwave poached-egg cooker and, while that’s great, in reality you only need a bowl! Clemmie
This is because over time the porous shell of the egg allows in air, making the egg more and more buoyant as it ages. At the same time, bacteria are also entering the shell, decaying the egg and producing hydrogen sulphide. This is what makes bad eggs smell and also increases the buoyancy. So if your egg doesn’t float, don’t chuck it away!
Flickr/ Julle Magro
Flickr/ Jules
Editor Nia Price nia.price@epigram.org.uk
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@e2travel
Online Editor Deputy Editors Anna Lezard & Edie Essex Barrett Izzie Fernandes izzie.fernandes@epigram.org.uk
@epigram_travel
Epigram Travel Section 2016/17
A taste of travel writing: South America Jess Browne-Swinburne shares an extract of her journal from her time in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay wind power - meant that the main source of light came from the candles lining the streets. Not only were our pathways twinkling, but also the flawless dome of the night sky over our heads as we made our way to our hostel. The rustic back-to-basic vibe that Cabo Polonio was all about was embodied perfectly by this hostel, with its bright yellow tin roof, multi-colored windowpanes, the semi-circle of hammocks and random bits and bobs nailed to the inside and outside of the hostel.
Travel Tips from the Editors In this issue: packing •
Wear your heaviest items
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Don’t bring a whole guidebook, save space by photocopying relevant pages and chucking them once you’re finished with them
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Always travel in a hoodie - plane air can be cold and the hood is perfect for impromptu naps
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Don’t forget insect repellent!
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Roll your clothes, don’t fold them you’ll be surprised how much space it saves and it minimises creasing
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Pack some plastic bags to keep your dirty washing seprate from your clothes
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To prevent unwanted leaks, take the lid off liquid bottles and add a layer of cling-film to the neck of the container before replacing the lid. Then use clear tape to seal the gap
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Pack less, not more
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Invest in some luggage scales and make sure you weigh your bags on both legs of the journey to avoid being charged unneccessary baggage fees at the airport
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Bags can get lost, so make sure anything important/special is kept in your hand luggage
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Our morning swim with three dolphins was only a few hundred meters away from our bedroom door
The solitary TV set from the 60s, placed on the sand outside looking out onto the sea, was my favourite part; it seemed to mark the seclusion of Cabo from the rapidly changing and developing real world. Frozen in time and untouched. I woke up early the next morning to see the sea from the little rectangular window by my bunk bed. Our morning swim with three dolphins was only a few hundred meters away from our bedroom door.
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Epigram / Jess Browne-Swinburne
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sea lions ... the old and wise guardians of the national park
Having travelled off the beaten track through Uruguay for 8 days, we did not think it was possible to come across a place any more special than some of the places we had seen. Laguna Negra (Black Lake) in Punta del Diablo, for example, was lit up by the gentle golden rays of the sun during the still evenings, while the fields that stretch far around it were layered with thousands of fireflies.
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The main source of light came from the candles lining the streets. Not only were our pathways twinkling, but also the flawless dome of the night sky
” Epigram / Jess Browne-Swinburne
Nor could we imagine anywhere being as pleasing to the eye as the faded pink and white houses lining the coastline of La Pedrera, where the softest sand merges with the strong currents of the Atlantic. However, following our arrival in the National Park, Cabo Polonio - one of the country’s most rustic and wild coastal villages - our expectations were somewhat exceeded.
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The solitary TV set from the 60s, placed on the sand outside looking out onto the sea, was my favourite part
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With no roads leading to the smattering of houses nestled in the dunes of the Uruguayan coast, we had to take a large 4x4 jeep, cutting through 7km of muddy tracks and forest in order to get to the heart of Uruguay’s hidden gem. It was night time when we arrived and the limited electricity - which is mainly derived from generators, solar and
27.02.2017
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Cabo is almost like one giant adult playground
Epigram / Ben Mcneil
Epigram / Jess Browne Swinburne
This didn’t last long, however, as the stench coming from the colony of sea lions further up the coast by the lighthouse was unbearable. They lay sprawled on the flat rocks, soaking up the sun – the old and wise guardians of the national park. Following lunch in the back of an old boatyard converted into a restaurant, we browsed the many shops and stalls set up by the local hippies who profit from the ever-growing influx of summer tourists, selling their handcrafted designs. Cabo is almost like one giant adult playground, as casually placed colourful structures jut out from the flat landscape. Young Uruguayans sit around, smoking marijuana, making jewellery and singing songs. That night, as the candles were lit along the streets, we all lay in our hammocks looking up to the candles in the sky, watching the lightning crack through the dark night sky as a thunderstorm gradually made its way across the sea to the little tin roofs of Cabo.
Tag your travel photos with #epitravel to be featured on our account. Each issue we’ll print the photo with the most likes.
27.02.2017
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Explore the world with UBES! Alasdair Robertson recounts his adventures with Bristol’s own Expeditions Society
we were carrying all our clothes, food and gear on our backs
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university were forged. We got back to Marrakech dusty and dishevelled, and were glad to have a few days to chill out and explore the warren of the souks, which then led to us buying each other gifts in a ‘soukret
It was on this trip that some of my closest friendships at university were forged
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santa’ format. In 2015 Iceland got the UBES treatment. Whereas in Morocco we took a roundabout route to explore the area, here our goal was to complete a linear trek – namely the famous Laugavegur trail (plus a bit extra). We started on the South coast. After camping a stone’s throw from the 60 metre tall Skógafoss waterfall, we headed inland towards the mountains. What makes this area unique is the ridiculous variety of different environments you experience in just a few days’ walking. We passed through lava fields, wooded valleys, smoking mountains and ashy moonscape-plains. We climbed over icy passes and forded meltwater rivers. And at the journey’s end there was a hot spring to relax in. Add in sunsets, geysers, hitchhiking adventures and the Northern Lights and you have a trip that we will never forget! Last summer we headed out to Norway to walk the Lofoten Islands. It is worth googling these if you have never heard of them. They are essentially a chain of mountains rising straight out of the sea, and they are stunning. We arrived there by ferry, which allowed us the fun of watching the primeval archipelago looming out of the fog. You are
allowed to camp almost anywhere in Norway, so we were free to wander where we liked, past lakes and fjords and up to the snowy peaks. We harvested mussels from the sparklingly clear waters and we were accompanied by eagles, oystercatchers and otters along the way. Our most recent trip was in September to Slovenia, to climb the peaks of the Triglav National Park. This is nestled in the Northwest of the country up against the Italian and Austrian borders. The mountains here are characterised by stark white pinnacles towering over lush forested valleys. Most of the highest peaks are so steep that cables and pegs have been hammered into the rock to allow people to climb them. This made for an interesting experience when we were descending Mount Triglav as a storm was brewing, and we were getting small shocks from the metal cable. Despite this, it was sunny for most of the time and it lit up the beauty and wonder of this place, particularly Lake Bohinj, where we had a happy restful afternoon swimming and exploring the banks by kayak.
Epigram / Alasdair Robertson
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In the Summer of 2014, a group of 15 of us (which is a relatively large size for these trips) jetted off to Morocco. We had a day to take in the insanity of Marrakech before catching a bus into the heart of the mountains. We then spent two weeks hiking and ascending the highest summits in North Africa, some of them over 4000 metres. It got pretty challenging – we were carrying all our clothes, food and gear on our backs in sometimes fairly intense heat and at high altitudes – but it was rewarding too. The scale of the landscape was awe-inspiring. It was on this trip that some of my closest friendships at
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The Expeditions Society is one of Bristol’s biggest and most active outdoor societies. As well as getting up to all manner of shenanigans across the UK during term time, every summer we run trips overseas, seeking out beautiful parts of the world to go walking through. The great thing about UBES (rhymes with ‘tubes’, by the way) is that, since we aren’t bound by having to find ski slopes, or surf, or rivers in the right condition, we have the freedom to go almost anywhere. On our committee we have two dedicated Expeditions Officers whose job is to dream up and run a trip to anywhere they fancy. The only conditions are that it needs to be affordable and super fun! During my time in the society I have explored the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, walked one of the most beautiful trails in the world in Iceland, wild camped under the midnight sun in Arctic Norway, and climbed the beautiful Julian Alps in Slovenia.
A dramatic trail in Triglav National Park, Slovenia You can read full accounts of our trips on the UBES blog, and if this sort of thing appeals to you, we’d love for you to get involved. We will be running at least two trips this summer. In June we will be backpacking through the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, helping with the effort to establish a Transcaucasian long-distance walking trail. Then in September we will be exploring the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia.
Dear Ryanair...
Deputy Editor Anna Lezard writes to her airline love...
Epigram / Anna Lezard
We’ve had a relationship on and off for a long time now, but I’m worried you don’t care about it as much as I do. You don’t seem to put any effort into our time together - it seems like every time we see each other all you greet me with is delays and disorganisation. I’ve always put up with your lack of leg room, but there comes a time when all your little irritating procedures become too much. I roll my eyes every time you play that cheery little jingle after landing a torturous 6am flight, but you haven’t picked up on it. I feel like I put up with a lot - waking up at 3am to make a flight, being forced to stand out in the cold while everyone is asked to display their ticket on boarding the plane (even though no other airline does this). There comes a point where the relationship hang-ups must be discussed. I fell in love with you because of your low prices, but you continue to test me when the only prices you have that are low are at 6am. Last time we saw each other it was at that time, and to make sure I remained rational I bought
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Epigram / Adam Dawson
A campsite with a view, Lofoten, Norway.
we were descending Mount Triglav as a storm was brewing, and we were getting small shocks from the metal cable
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If you have an idea for a trip you’d like to do and you’d like to find people to join you, we’d love to hear about it! Email us at ubescommittee@bristol.ac.uk or come along and meet us at the Highbury Vaults on a Wednesday night. Or, if you aren’t free over summer, consider joining us on one of our upcoming weekend trips to the Yorkshire Dales, a backpacking trip to the Lake District or a climbing trip to Portland. Come and have an adventure with us!
a soothing cup of tea. You, however, put your own needs above mine and told me I couldn’t come on the plane until I’d finished my tea. I just can’t help but think you don’t care about my feelings any more. I know I haven’t been perfect; I don’t always smile as cheerily back at your staff when they greet me. Maybe I’m asking too much of you as a budget airline. But I think I already took on a lot more than I wanted out of the relationship when you forced me to share our time with Stansted airport. As much as I love you, Ryanair, I just can’t stand that I only ever see you with that awful Stansted. While I wait for our visit I’m forced to sit in a zoo of people without even finding haven in any of the crowded and pricey restaurants. I’m sorry, I hate to question you. We might not have a luxurious relationship, but we’ve always had fun. Do you remember Edinburgh, and Paris? Those only cost £20! Oh, Ryanair. I’m not angry with you at all. I know how lucky I am to even have you. There’s no one else who can whisk me across Europe for under a tenner. You might have a funny smell most of the time, and maybe we always leave 45 minutes after you said you would, but at the end of it all, we always end up where we wanted to go - and for cheaper than EasyJet.
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Editor Jessie Onion style@epigram.org.uk
Online Editor Alex Boulton alex.boulton@epigram.org.uk
@e2style
27.02.2017
Deputy Editor Mary Richardson
@epigramstyle
Can fashion ever truly be feminist? Feminism is back in fashion, but are the two truly compatible? Alex Boulton investigates There is no such thing as a normal body. Nobody should be shamed for their body, whether it is slim, curvy, black or white. I do not support critics labelling catwalk models as unhealthily skinny, or ‘pre-pubescent’ as the Daily Mail eloquently puts it, as surely this is still a form of body shaming. I don’t think a ban on ‘skinny’ models is the answer. It’s impossible to look at a woman from a picture and deem if she is unhealthy or not and to ban models of this body type simply demonizes this body type. What I do think is important, however, is that the catwalk and magazine imagery should represent all body types. Young girls should be exposed to a myriad of different bodies, which would make them more accepting of where their body falls. Beauty comes in many forms and the fashion industry should embrace this.
Christopher Karaba/EPA
Elle.com/Elle Magazine
With many designers bringing out lines with a feminist message, perhaps fashion is having a feminist moment. Chanel’s SS16 readyto-wear show was centred around the theme of feminist protest. The Fawcett Society have released T-shirts with the slogan ‘This Is What A Feminist Looks Like’, worn by a number of celebrities from Ed Miliband to Benedict Cumberbatch. Numerous copies have been produced, such as Cara Delevigne’s ‘The Future is Female’ sweatshirt and Alexa Chung’s ‘In Solidarity’ T-shirt. Brands such as Dior have followed the trend, with slogans such as ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ and ‘This p**sy grabs back’. This certainly provides the message of Benedict Cumberbatch featured in Elle’s Feminism equal rights with a new platform, a platform typically seen to be antiIssue in December 2014. feminist, so surely it has to be a positive thing? But is this moment simply a trend, one that will get replaced as soon as it has arrived as It’s clear the fashion industry still has a long way to go, per the nature of the industry? Are organizations simply jumping on the bandwagon after seeing ‘it’ girls and celebrities wearing such especially in terms of model diversity and the ethics surrounding garments, wanting to make a quick buck? Does using feminism to clothing production. It is not sufficient to solve one social problem by sacrificing another. Of course, it is possible for a sell products strip it of its political charge? woman to love fashion and be a feminist. Fashion should not be seen as a frivolous interest, and the women who work in the industry should not be seen to have betrayed their sex. Feminism should mean that women should be free to engage in whatever occupation that interests them. Ultimately, fashion and how we choose to present ourselves is a form of self-expression. We should be allowed to wear what we want, whether this is following trends and catwalks or choosing a more individual style, without fear of judgement. Instagram/@stellamccartney
Instagram/@sukiwaterhouse
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Instagram/@zendaya
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Maybe the fashion industry is starting to get away from all of this. There is a new breed of models out there, one where personality is just as important as physical appearance. There is certainly a growing demand for plus-sized models, as can be seen by Ashley Graham’s recent Vogue cover alongside other models such as Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner.
This brings us to another issue - the one of fast fashion. With brands scrambling to match catwalk and celebrity trends first so they are accessible to all, turnaround has to be increased and prices have to drop. This means the increasing attractiveness of outsourcing production overseas, with cheap prices often taking a knock on effect on wages. In fact, the Fawcett Society’s ‘This Is What A Feminist Looks Like’ t-shirts are alleged to have been made in a Mauritian factory, using a predominantly female workforce who earn less than the minimum wage and work in appalling conditions. Note the hypocrisy. Surely the message of feminism should extend to equality for women across the world, not just those in the West who can afford these t-shirts? In many clothes’ factories across the world, female workers earn less than men, experience sexual harassment from supervisors, and face discrimination such as forced pregnancy testing and deductions for menstrual leave. We need to think about gender equality in a global context. Surely fashion is not feminist if it exploits women in third world countries to provide us with clothing so we can have it cheaper?
Charlotte Tilbury
I’m a thorough believer in the idea that everyone who believes in equality should be a feminist. But is fashion compatible with the ideas of empowerment, inclusion, respecting diversity and supporting other women I see as key to feminism? It is an industry where worth is based on appearance, when women have so much more to offer. It can be argued that the industry promotes a certain standard of beauty, one that appears almost exclusively on the catwalks and on the pages of glossy magazines. The fashion industry is the epitome of exclusion, infamous for being hard to get into. Skinny is still in vogue. Many model agencies have appearance requirements, typically where models have to be taller than 5’9” and have a waist between 22”26”. Images of slim, tall, white models hardly represent the average female, while ridiculous sizing on the high street promotes an unrealistic body image for many women. Individuals such as Karl Lagerfeld calling stars such as Adele ‘a little too fat’ just reinforces these beauty and body ideals. There are numerous reports of fashion images leading to eating disorders and suicide from this normalization of a body type that is impossible for many women to achieve. Stars such as Zendaya have spoken out about magazines photoshopping their shoots. What sort of message is this level of manipulation sending out to impressionable young girls?
Fashion should not be seen as a frivolous interest, and the women who work in the industry should not be seen to have betrayed their sex.
Instagram/@alexachung
In the current volatile climate, women’s rights are high on the agenda. It is reported that 2.5 million people took to the streets globally on the 21st January 2017 to march in solidarity with those in Washington protesting President Trump’s inauguration. In this context, perhaps it is key to look at a typically gendered industry, the fashion industry, with a feminist perspective. It’s an industry that affects all of us, through the clothes on the high street to the prosperity of the industry and the jobs it provides.
Alex Boulton Online Style Editor
27.02.2017
29
Embroidery Trend edit
Marina Warr takes you through her guide to this Spring... inspired slippers for the evening… For those who prefer a more individual take, there are some fabulous vintage clutches and more on Etsy and Depop. It is a must-have staple in every student’s wardrobe this spring. Here are my top embroidered picks guaranteed to transform your look.
Marina Warr Style Writer
Reclaimed Vintage, £16
The good news is that it couldn’t be easier to incorporate embroidery into your existing wardrobe. You don’t have to go for the full boho look - just one embroidered item can transform an outfit adding a touch of effortless glamour at an affordable price. From clutches to jeans, this trend is uber-versatile and can be worn by day or by night. It can be dressed up or down, whether it be retro, embroidered jeans for a laid-back library day or ripped black jeans with a pair of embroidered boots or Topshop’s Gucci-
Asos boots, £55
IMissguided, £25
There is no way to escape the fact that embroidery is one of the hottest fashion trends this spring. What better way to counteract the current gloom than by injecting a touch of this gorgeous embellishment into your wardrobe? The inspiration for the trend has been rightly attributed to Alessandro Michele at Gucci who sent models down the catwalk in 2016 in fabulous, rose-embroidered leather jackets, slippers and retro, appliqued denim. Other designers followed suit, notably Stella McCartney with her exquisite, floral embroidered black coat, as worn by Anna Wintour.
Forever 21, £16
Zara, £25.99
Instagram/@hercampusbristol
Topshop, shoes £26
Instagram/@loulousvintagefair
A tribute to Alexa Chung
Possibly the most over-written article on the internet, and indeed not very ‘Bristol’, but I would argue that she is an inspirational icon to have. I am not normally one to become super obsessed with anyone in the limelight but something about Alexa Chung makes me want to copy everything she does. For example, I dyed my hair brown and got a fringe to be like her – unfortunately I still look nothing like the angular-faced model. I also like to think I look just as cool as she does with a cigarette in hand in the smokers at SWX when I just look drunk. One thing that is quite controversial about this icon is her tiny frame, but that is a different topic altogether. Anyway, her style is pretty classic, and thus easy to mimic, with feminine accents such as pussybow ties, ruffles, lace and floral prints galore. Both in her causal wardrobe and for events this is her go-to. However, she also manages to make masculine elements seem natural in her wardrobe. In her own book, ‘It’, she argues that a boyfriend’s navy sweater will become your favourite wardrobe staple, along with one of his white shirts. Not everyone has a boyfriend though so your dad’s will do too.
Instagram.com/alexachung
Miranda Smith tells us why Alexa Chung is her style icon She is naturally very elegant and put together; even when just running errands around London or New York, she never looks sloppy or lazy. Similarly, with her hair and makeup, although sometimes messy, it always looks intentionally so. She is one of those whom I think will continue to inspire young women for a while to come with her effortlessly cool looks. At the moment she is seen as inspirational enough that Elle UK has dedicated a style file to her and named her a ‘British style star’. Similarly, Glamour and Vogue have online archives dedicated to the icon. Give it ten years and her name will ring out as clearly as Kate Moss.
Tips: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Date a boy in a band Sleep in your eye-liner Cut yourself a fringe Take up smoking Ignore style advice from others
Miranda Smith Style Writer
Epigram 27.02.2017
31
MUSIC
Dutch Uncles
The Fleece, 09.03
Described as a ‘math pop quintet’ on their Spotify ‘About’ profile, these guys must sound intruiging to you. Known by their atypical time-signatures and androgynous vocals, they’ve been around since 2008. Hailing from the music hotbed that is Manchester, they’re a synthy and playful bunch with bass licks that make you want to boogy but explore austerity and a broken Britan with class. For fans of Vulfpeck and Wild Beasts.
Glass Animals The O2 Academy, 15.03
With their mix of synth pop, indie and hip-hop, these boys from Oxford know how to turn a stage. Their most recent record, ‘How to Be a Human Being’, is a unexpected foray into concept-album territory with their mix of boogy but also surprising moments of pathos. For fans of Unkown Mortal Orchestra and SBTRKT.
FILM
Facebook: Richard Gadd Page
Facebook: Glass Animals Page
Facebook: FUZE 2017 Event Page
Editor Anna Wyn annawyn.epigram@gmail.com
Laura Marling Colston Hall, 09.03
People’s adoration for this folk darling never seems to falter. The singer/songwriter was only 16 when she emerged onto the scene, and her recognisable husky vocals and floral lyrics have managed to garner three Mercury Music Prize nominations since 2010. Having seen her live twice and cried both times, I can’t recommend her enough. For fans of Martha Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten.
Hidden Figures + Q&A Watershed, 15.03
Award-Season darling and the all around top-watch has finally come to Watershed! The inspiring true story about the women who made the NASA space programme possible is a soon to be classic dealing with sexism, racism and segregation. This particular showing of this inspiring untold true story will be followed by a one-time only Q&A.
THEATRE
Spotlights Presents: Ifs and Butts Pegg Theatre, 16.02-18.02 FUZE 2017 Bristol Grammar School 18.03-19.03 The FUZE show has flourished into one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the university calendar. Having raised in excess of £100,000 for charity since its inception, FUZE has grown over the years and this year’s show the best yet combining dance, fashion and more!
White Rabbit Red Rabbit The Room Above, 01.0303.03
With no rehearsals, no director, a different actor each night, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on stage, this is bound to be an unmissable theatrical experience. Drawing attention to his own experience of being a censored writer, and unable to leave his home country of Iran, Nassim Soleimanpour has translated his isolation into a world-renowned play that has been performed over 1000 times by actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, John Hurt and Nathan Lane.
COMEDY Richard Gadd: Monkey See Monkey Do The Cube, 23.03
Fringe favourite Richard Gadd is performing at The Cube and this is one not to be missed. Gadd brings one of the most memorable, genre-busting performances in years with the hit show of the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Richard Gadd performs his meditation upon what it means to be a man and the constrictions of masculinty on a treadmill. After experiencing a crisis of masculinity, triggered by a sexual assault four years ago, its a bold and brave stand-up set like no other.
varsity is back! ELECTIONS
what would you do? IN PICTURES
explore '17
bristolsu.org.uk
BOYCOTT THE NSS
find out why!
Bristol students do some incredible things. Our Reps are forever amazing us with their fresh ideas and achievements, from lobbying for ethical lettings to launching their own programmes of events. Did you know, for example, that the popular Richmond Lecture series was developed by student reps? <RX FDQ DFKLHYH IDU PRUH WKDQ \RX PD\ UHDOLVH DQG ZLWK QRPLQDWLRQV FRPLQJ WR D FORVH ZH WKRXJKW ZH G UHPLQG \RX ZKDW \RX FDQ JHW GRQH LI \RX SXW \RXU PLQG WR LW
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5HSV DFW DV FKDPSLRQV RI WKHLU FRXUVHPDWHV WR FROOHFW DQG UHOD\ IHHGEDFN WR VWDII DQG DGYLVH KRZ FKDQJHV PD\ EH PDGH 7KH\ DUH D YLWDO OLQN EHWZHHQ WKH VWXGHQW ERG\ DQG WKH 6WXGHQWV 8QLRQ DQG DUH IXOO YRWLQJ PHPEHUV RI VWXGHQW FRXQFLO Find out more at: bristolsu.org.uk/elections
explore '17
Varsity is back The Varsity Series will once again see our sports teams embracing the rivalry, in a bid to protect their trophy from the grasps of UWE! The Varsity Series will see nearly 2,000 students and over 100 teams compete across dozens of sporting activities. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s line-up will see the rugby take over Ashton Gate Stadium, the South Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest and most prestigious venue, and the home of Bristol City FC and Bristol Rugby. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme will also welcome two new events, adding a martial arts themed Fight Night to the mix, as well as a Colour Run. There is so much to get involved with, and all for a brilliant cause. This year our sports teams will be raising money for Above and Beyond through the Ignit10n Varsity Launch. There are still lots of opportunities for participants! If you fancy celebrating your own competitive streak, why not join us at the launch or sign up to our 4k Colour Run? Come and show your support for #WeAreBristol and #EmbracetheRivalry!
boycott the nss $V \RX PD\ DOUHDG\ EH DZDUH WKLV \HDU Ă&#x20AC;QDO \HDU VWXGHQWV DUH ER\FRWWLQJ WKH National Student Survey (NSS), with support from Bristol SU and our lecturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union. 7KH 166 LV VHQW RXW WR DOO Ă&#x20AC;QDO \HDUV XQGHUJUDGXDWHV DQG DVNV WKHP WR UDWH WKHLU student experience. Normally, responses to the NSS would go to the University to help improve your student experience. But this year, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a catch. From this year, the University will share your NSS data with the Government in order to charge higher tuition fees. This is part of the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new plans to make some Universities more expensive than others. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be complicit in fee rises for the next generation of students, all \RX KDYH WR GR LV QRW Ă&#x20AC;OO LQ WKH 166 Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simple really, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 15 minutes you could spend: â&#x20AC;˘ Giving feedback to the University that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lead to increased fees - speak to your course rep, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been equipped with an alternative survey. You could DOVR Ă&#x20AC;OO RXW WKH 68 VXUYH\ ODWHU WKLV \HDU RU JLYH LQGLYLGXDO XQLW IHHGEDFN â&#x20AC;˘ Taking a break - uni is hard. Final year is hard. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face it, you deserve it. Give yourself 15 minutes back. 7R Ă&#x20AC;QG RXW PRUH DERXW ZK\ ZH¡UH ER\FRWWLQJ DQG WR SOHGJH WR ER\FRWW YLVLW bristolsu.org.uk/nssboycott
WHAT'S ON ivo graham Bristol SU Live is excited to announce that Ivo Graham will be performing on 5 March. Youngest winner of the prestigious “So You Think You’re Funny” award for new acts at the Edinburgh Fringe. Supported by Jenny Collier and Darren Harriott, this is a show not to be missed! Buy tickets now: bristolsu.org.uk/bristolsulive
Embattled Deserts - Sustainability Month. Wednesday 1 March, 1.30pm, Arts Complex, Lecture Room 1. Learn about how the nexus between war, dryland environments and humans poses complex challenges for building resilience in affected societies.
RBS Six Nations. 10 - 11 March, Balloon Bar, Bristol SU. Grab a drink and root for your favourite team as we continue the six weeks of fantastic rugby with: Wales v Ireland. 10 March, 8pm. Italy v France. 11 March, 1.30pm. England v Scotland. 11 March, 4pm.
Drive-by Truckers. Thursday 2 March 7.30pm, Anson Rooms, Bristol SU. Drive-By Truckers celebrate 20 years together with the release of 'American Band’, their most political statement yet, and a UK tour.
The Richmond Lectures: Lord Nicholas Phillips. Friday 3 March, Anson Rooms, Bristol SU. Hosted in collaboration with the University of Bristol Law Club. Lord Nicholas Phillips, British lawyer and former President of the Supreme Court, will share his experiences of a distinguished career.
Mauritian Culture Night. Saturday 4 March, 6pm, Cotham Parish Church. Mauritian Society presents an evening of culture. A fantastic opportunity to sample Mauritian delicacies and dance to the beats of traditional folklore dance "SEGA". An event not to be missed!
The Unfortunate Magicians: Second Coming. Saturday 4 March, 7.30pm, AR2 Bar, Bristol SU. -RLQ WKH 0DJLF 6RFLHW\ IRU WKHLU ÀIWK Anniversary show, packed with entertainment, fun, and of course magic. Tickets just £5.
Bristol RAG presents: Jailbreak 2017. Saturday 11 March. Jailbreak is a charity hitchhike event where teams of 2 or 3 Bristol students hitchhike as far away from Bristol as possible in 36 hours. Last year teams got to Sweden, Poland and Spain! Tickets available now.
For more information on all upcoming events see bristolsu.org.uk/events
Epigram
27.02.2017
Film & TV
@EpigramFilm Editor: Ella Kemp
Deputy Editor: Josh Spencer
Online Editor: Phoebe Graham
ekemp@epigram.org.uk
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@ella_kemp
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Moonlight review - cinema at its most empathetic Film & TV Writer Jacob Povey reviews the immensely moving film Moonlight, the new masterpiece of American cinema
At the beginning of the film, Chiron (Alex Hibbert) is found by Juan, a drug dealer, as he hides from bullies. Juan, played by Mahershala Ali, shows kindness to the small boy and takes him home to his girlfriend Teresa (a wonderful Janelle Monáe). They feed him and try to get him to talk. Chiron’s mother, superbly
In this issue...
Liam Holmes on Legion Page 37
Jenkins directs great contributions from his collaborators. James Laxton’s shallow focus cinematography is magnificent; the characters’ faces hover against the textures of the world. Nicholas Britell’s stunning score rolls like the waves of the sea, pierces like the heat of the sun and soothes like the breeze from the ocean. The editing and sound design cleverly imitates the hazy confusion of Chiron.
The ending and indeed many other moments of the film are unforgettable [..] I have no problem calling it a must-see masterpiece By the time the third act comes, we are so involved with the character that we are desperate for even a hint of happiness to break through from the huge sadness of the movie. Chiron is now known as Black, at this point played by Trevante Rhodes, and hides himself behind his muscular build. He visits Kevin (André Holland) where he works in a diner, and what follows is an immaculately constructed, exquisitely acted and intensely moving ending. My only slight criticism is a song choice that’s a touch on the nose, but this doesn’t detract from the impact at all. The ending and indeed many other moments of the film are unforgettable. Moonlight is a film so staggering in its depth of emotion, so startling in its intimacy of character and so stunning in its warmth of empathy that I have no problem calling it a mustsee masterpiece.
Michael Murphy on The Founder
Tom Besley on The Lego Batman Movie
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Wikimedia
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Jenkins’ [...] writing and direction are truly remarkable, and this achievement is even more extraordinary considering this is only his second feature
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Above all other art forms, movies can create profound empathy in the viewer. At their greatest, they do more than simply make us feel for another person, they can make us feel as though we are another person. This is what Moonlight achieves. It takes a very specific and unassuming story, presented with vast emotional care by director Barry Jenkins, and shows us what cinema can do at its best. The story is that of Little, a lonely young black boy growing up in Miami, Florida. It is the story of Chiron, a bullied and angry teenager. It is the story of Black, a man hiding in himself from the world that has so battered him. It is one person’s story, one person played beautifully by three actors in three acts, each going by the name that people call Chiron at the time. Chiron is gay, and the film shows his realisation, submission and survival in a cruel world that doesn’t accept him.
played by Naomie Harris, is neglectful and a crack-addict, and Juan becomes a father figure to the boy. Juan only appears in this first act, but has a huge impact on the film, and Ali’s performance is one of great humanity. A scene where he teaches Chiron to swim is executed with such grace that it was one of many moments of the film that brought me to tears. ‘At some point you gotta decide for yourself who you gonna be’, he tells Chiron as they sit on the beach. In his world, this is a brutal challenge. Jenkins wrote the screenplay based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unproduced play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. His writing and direction are truly remarkable, and this achievement is even more extraordinary considering that this is only his second feature length film. Every choice he makes seems to be driven by compassion. A moment of rough and tumble in a park, accompanied by the ‘Laudate Dominum’ from Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, is a perfect example of his talent. The scene plays out with a delicacy of storytelling reminiscent of the childhood scenes from Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. We meet Kevin, a genuine friend to Chiron. In the second act, where Ashton Sanders plays the lead, another significant scene with Kevin is also handled with great sensitivity. So many carefully chosen moments add up to show Chiron’s heartbreaking life of struggles. He prepares a bath with washing-up liquid and water heated on the cooker. He has money taken from him by his mother with which she’ll buy drugs. He endures bullying in the classroom as he just tries to keep his head down.
BFI/LFFPRESS
Jacob Povey Film & TV Writer
Epigram 27.02.2017
37 30
Epif lix and Chill: Episode 9
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Liam Holmes Film & TV Writer Legion is the newest project from Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley, as well as the first of several planned X-Men TV series to hit our screens, although it’s fair to say that it can be considered as a Noah Hawley project first, and an X-Men series second. If anyone else was unenthused by the prospect of another comic book TV series simply cashing in on current trends then rest assured; this show is actually good. Featuring a unique spin on an oversaturated genre and with the same slightly otherworldly feel that fans of Fargo have come to appreciate, the first episode of this series displays much promise. Legion stars Dan Stevens as the mutant/ schizophrenic David Haller, tormented from an early age by voices, apparitions and his own apparently unworldly abilities; when we first meet David he is incarcerated in the aptly named
Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital. The set design for Clockworks is more reminiscient of Wes Anderson’s films than of any of the X-Men instalments, and as the main location for the first half of this pilot, it sets the tone for the rest of the show. With scenes flitting between dreams, memories and a reality which David’s hallucinations often encroach upon, the opening episode has a tone entirely of its own – even at one point featuring a wonderfully strange dance sequence.
Regardless of where it goes next, from Legion’s pilot, consider me sold
Legion is framed by David being questioned by a mysterious agency over the disappearance of his fellow patient and girlfriend Syd, played by
Fargo alumni Rachel Keller. If that setup sounds suspiciously like the paranoid delusions of a schizophrenic, then that may be no coincidence,. It’s entirely possible that David is the only real character in the entire show. Fans of the comics may be aware that David is actually the son of a certain famous mutant, and one of my initial hang-ups regarding the series was how it would have to, for budgeting reasons, contrive around his father’s absence. From the opening episode it seems like the show has a lot of story to tell before it needs to address David’s parentage, but in interviews Hawley has mentioned being open to the idea of recasting this character when the time comes. While the prospect of replacing current actor(s) in the role may seem daunting, this will ultimately be the best option for the show, lest the story begin to strain too much around the crucial characters’ absence. This brings us to a natural question regarding the series, how does it tie into the existing X-Men film universe? The simple answer is unclear,
Vimeo/Eric Powell
Clearly this is not your average comic book TV series - Film & TV Writer Liam Holmes tells us whether new X-men show Legion is worth a watch.
because at this point it’s possible that we are witnessing anything from a dream/fantasy of David’s to an entirely new universe forced into being by his suppressed powers. While other mutants do exist in the show – several appear in a scene late in the first episode which is as thrilling as anything in the film series - for the most part, the show is telling a story that is focused directly on David. This is not to say that the supporting cast don’t shine; Rachel Keller is as good as her Fargo performance would lead us to expect, and Aubrey Plaza is as bizarre as ever playing David’s best friend. From this opening episode, it’s hard to say in which direction the plot of Legion will move. While exciting developments are made in the episode’s closing moments, it feels like the real story of the show lies in David’s past and the unravelling of the mystery of his powers and mental illness. Regardless of where it goes next, from Legion’s pilot, consider me sold.
The Founder review - Keaton continues resurgence as fast-food tycoon The story of so--called founder of McDonald’s Ray Kroc, Film & TV Writer Michael Murphy reviews a film full of greed that challenges the American Dream. Michael Murphy Film & TV Writer
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The Founder criticises the ineptitude and greed of a man who manages to hoodwink traditional America
This story is not a simple tale of a plucky dreamer’s journey from bank statement zero to hero. Instead, Kroc steals the business and brand of the ingenious and hardworking McDonald brothers. Their small-town values of family and country are co-opted, leading to the foundation of that notorious multinational we know and love today, earning Kroc vast amounts of wealth in the process.
AP/Daniel McFadden
The Founder opens with a striking close up of the eyes filled with dollar signs of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton). It is a brutal example of fourth wall breaking, more affably used in other entrepreneurial biopics such as The Big Short and The Wolf of Wall Street. Instead of simulating a close intimacy and confessional moment with the audience, here it displays Kroc’s mad intensity. Not able to wear a mask of sleek venality, Kroc is barely able to contain his inhuman greed. Ray Kroc is a salesman in the early 1950s earning steady income but struggling to shift his new ‘MultiMixer’ milkshake makers. But by divine, or perhaps diabolical, providence he finds one diner who has bought six of his contraptions. Kroc can’t believe it. He journeys across the continent to San Bernardino California discovering a remarkable restaurant, the first of its kind, named ‘McDonald’s’.
Keaton’s performance underpins this movie. The feverish temperament that earned him such acclaim for his role in Birdman is channelled into the relentlessly acquisitive Ray Kroc. Because of this, Kroc’s threats have real conviction. When he tells the McDonald brothers that ‘if my competitor were drowning, I would walk right over and put a hose in his mouth’, we know he means it. Keaton negates the potentially human qualities in the character. He is reminiscent of the fearsomely aggrandising monster from The Blob, but less human. When Kroc exhibits ambition and perseverance he inspires nausea rather than admiration. He is the product of a unison between a limitless corruption and a society that endorses it. If only director John Lee Hancock offered more spirited direction to match Keaton’s abilities.
Hancock is an unequivocally American director. His works are earnest appraisals of classic American personalities and values. He has a fondness for the old school principles, which shows here in his concern for their depredation in this film by the powerful business interests. However, this earnest pity for the McDonald brothers translates into a hoary depiction of hardworking Americans. Those of the middleincome may be wholesome and good, but asinine, naïve to the dangers of the world outside their smalltown lives. It creates a useful dynamic when they are pitted against Kroc, but these cheap depictions undermine any real sympathy for their fate. For this reason, Hancock struggles, especially in dialogue heavy scenes. He has the camera style of a fidgeting child who cannot sit still at dinner.
Continually cutting between close-ups, preventing an interaction between the actors and maybe compensating for the dreariness of the characters, at times we can even sympathise with Kroc’s wish to escape them. Hollywood has always challenged the myth of the American Dream. In Hancock’s attempt, The Founder criticises the ineptitude and greed of a man who manages to hoodwink traditional America to support his own self-advancement. In this way, The Founder might be the first truly Trump era film, with Hancock the ‘Crying Indian’, crying as he watches the country he loves thoughtlessly debased.
What did you think of The Founder? Get in touch @EpigramFilm
Epigram 27.02.2017
The Lego Batman Movie review - is it time to lego of the franchise?
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Following the surprise sucess of the Lego Movie, Film & TV Writer Tom Besley tells us if The Lego Batman Movie lives up to its predecessor. Liam Holmes Film & TV Writer
The opening sequence is particularly spectacular, drawing from the plane hijacking in The Dark Knight Rises to deliver a climatic team up of all Batman’s villains in a hilarious homage. Batman and Joker are soon set up as the unlikely romcom couple, as the Joker just wants Batman to say ‘I hate you.’ But Batman can’t make that kind of commitment - he’s still stinging from the loss of his parents and so shut everyone away.
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Much like in The Lego Movie, it’s the huge ensemble that really enrich and make this film so worthwhile
It’s a story that’s actually close in line with Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight, which also saw Batman make a series of bad decisions in an effort to protect those around him, and in particular tastefully sets up a grandfather/ father/son dynamic between Alfred, Batman and Robin that shouldn’t work but totally does. Ralph Fiennes’ grounded caring Alfred and Michael Cera’s wide-eyed optimistic Robin both find great spins on these iconic characters. Rosario Dawson completes the Bat Family as Barbara Gordon, a character experiencing increasing popularity in the Batscene, who here replaces her father James Gordon as commissioner. She’s a strong smart foil to Arnett’s insensitive emotional Batman. The film doesn’t attempt to do anything new with Zach Galifianakis’ Joker, but perhaps that’s a smart move considering the perpetual shadow of Heath Ledger. Much like in The Lego Movie, it’s the huge ensemble that really enriches and make this
Flickr/Brickset
It’s been over three years since the original Lego Movie hit cinemas back in 2014 and became a surprise critical success, so it’s little surprise that Warner Bros. have served up a sequel now focusing around Will Arnett’s egotistical take on Batman. It’s a tall order for Lego to deliver on a fifty-year canon of Batman films and they make the wise decision to serve up the formula from The Lego Movie rather than any kind of simpler Batman story. The premise is simple – when the Joker mounts a plot to prove he is Batman’s greatest villain, the caped crusader must learn that he can’t defeat him alone and thus open up to his new Bat family. This kind of moral message has never been as overt in the Batman universe, but it works well in this more family-friendly of Batfilms and is a welcome change from last year’s moody, miserable mess Batman vs. Superman. More importantly, the film is absolutely brimming with jokes that come thick and fast from start to finish, and while there are a few duds the majority are genuinely funny.
film so worthwhile, whether it’s the best friend co-pilots of MacGuffin Airlines, a Tom Hardy style Bane or even some great cameos from other franchises. The Lego Batman Movie doesn’t feel just like a parade of jokes because it’s all tied together by a coherent world and a strong simple plotline at its core.
It’s a rollercoaster ride of sparkly visuals and cracking jokes that has the distinction of having universal appeal
This is just like The Lego Movie. In many ways this is more of the same, and it shares nearly all of the strengths of The Lego Movie, even if this is now a Batman film as well. However, it’s slightly more familiar and doesn’t feel quite as fresh, and in the lengthy action-filled climax in
What’s On?
particular the cracks begin to show both literally and figuratively. It may be worth a comparison to last year’s Deadpool – a thoroughly enjoyable flick packed with jokes that promised a film that would be subversive and self-reflexive, yet never deviated from a familiar plot progression. The Lego Batman Movie is the same in shaking up the Batman formula but never hits a moment as special and unique as The Lego Movie had. It’s hard to imagine anyone not having a real riot with The Lego Batman Movie; it is totally worthy of time and attention but it’s not a revelation. It’s a rollercoaster ride of sparkly visuals and cracking jokes that has the distinction of really having universal appeal. But there’s no nuance here. It’s for everyone. And that’s a double-edged sword. Fortunately, it’s a ride well-worth taking. Score: About ten million dollars higher than Fifty Shades Darker.
Films to Faces
Editors’ Picks
Matt Lucas
Josh Deputy Editor
Moonlight
Don’t Take Me Home
It’s Only The End Of The World
In cinemas now
In cinemas 1st March
In cinemas now
I’ve finally seen it, and can finally confirm that yes, it is fully worth the hype. Dreamy and delicious in its passion, Moonlight is a film so beautiful it hurts. The story is one that takes a hold of you and only lets you come up for air when it’s done. It’ll wake up and gnaw at all your emotions until you’re a shell of your former self. Just me? Very well, as you were...
Before Euro 2016 last summer, Wales had only ever qualified for one football tournament. At the championships, they overcame the tragic loss of Gary Speed to reach the semi finals - the smallest country ever to do so. This isn’t just a football story but a film about a whole country coming together, and is not just for committed football fans.
The only French actors I know thrown into one film - so it must be good, or maybe I should read up on my history of French Cinema. About a playwright reuniting with his family for one of the last times, led by the likes of Marion Cotillard and Léa Seydoux, this French-Canadian picture follows Fences as a play rediscovered for screen.
Arrested Development
SS-GB
Britain’s Home Truths
On Netflix
BBC One, Sundays
On BBC Iplayer
After finishing my thorough binge watch of Peep Show, it was time to move on. I now have 68 episodes of comedic glory ahead, with a mountain of glowing reviews behind me. This witty family comedy seems to tick all the boxes to fill the Mitchell and Webb shaped hole in my heart. My soft spot for Jason Bateman is coming in handy.
This fictional reimagining of the Second World War is an exciting new BBC drama, presenting a frightening vision of what could have been had we not won the war. The concept is clever, with the action beginning in 1941 after the Germans have won the Battle of Britain and the lead, played by Sam Riley, finds himself working under the SS in occupied London.
It may sound monstrously mundane, but the housing market is also what led to the 2008 global financial crisis (want to know more? Give The Big Short a glance). See how the places in which we live shape so much more than the lives we lead. A different host presents each of the five programmes, ranging from Colin Jackon to Gloria Hunniford, all the way to Gregg Wallace.
wikimedia
Entertainment One
Flickr/Jon Candy
BFI/LFF PRESS
Ella Editor
Phoebe Online Editor 1. Gangsta Granny Although David Walliams and I aren’t currently working together, we always make sure we take the time to appreciate each other’s work. Gangsta Granny is a film for all ages, with a barrel of laughs packed in all the mischief. 2. This is England Little Britain is just This is England on acid. Don’t listen to UKIP or out-voters, these shows will really tell you what it is to be truly British. 3. Bridesmaids Not just because I’m in it, it’s also genuinely hysterical. We’ve all had embassaments, but have any of you actually had to sh** in the street? Who should we interview next for Films to Faces? Tweet us @EpigramFilm
Arts
Epigram
27.02.2017
@EpigramArts
Editor: Ed Grimble
Deputy Editor: Georgia O’Brien
Online Edtor Helena Raymond-Hayling
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deputyarts@epigram.org.uk
artsonline@epigram.org.uk
In defence of contemporary art
In the face of what can someimes seem like relentless criticism, Helena Raymond-Hayling examines society’s preconceptions of contemporary art, and the ways we can learn to love it
Flickr/ Karen Bryan
Not long ago, I found myself in a gallery with a girl who was doing some research for an art GCSE project. We got chatting and I asked her what kind of art she liked, and whether she’d been to the Tate Modern in London, recalling with fondness my trip during my time at school when I had seen Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds. The visit had moved me greatly and pushed me into challenging my own perceptions of art, and helped me decide what I was really interested in. She wrinkled her nose and said she had been and thought little of it, that the art she had seen was ‘just crap’. This conversation stuck with me for a while, and made me wonder why she was completely disinterested in the art she had seen. It took a quick internet search of ‘contemporary art rubbish’ to realise that she was not alone in her sentiments. In an online debate forum typical comments included: ‘Paintings used to have meticulous and well planned details. Modern art is merely nondescript objects’; ‘It doesn’t portray true emotion, as real art should’; ‘untalented Modern artists portray their views using political and social pressure rather than artistic skill and hard work’. I was deeply saddened, and I started to think of ways I could have responded to the girl I met at the gallery, and many other people who share her views – people who find the world of contemporary art confusing, ugly, or entirely uninteresting. To start this discussion it is important to understand where we stand in the context of art history. Until the late 19th century there was a focus on what is sometimes called ‘Academic Art’, art influenced by prestigious European academies. These institutions were the primary source of art and artists at the time and cultivated work under the Neo-classicist and later Romantic movements. Paintings at this time were still taking inspiration from the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome; awe-inspiring feats of bravery and heroism and stunning landscapes. This period yielded the beautiful works of J. M. W. Turner, Jacques-Louis David and Eugène Delacroix. Rebellion against this style began with the Impressionists (Monet, Renoir) and later the Post-Impressionists (Van Gogh, Seurat). These turn-of the century artists started to test the boundaries of art that were set by these institutions, by experimenting with conventional methods of portraying light and dark and leaving deliberately visible brush strokes. Throughout the first half of the 20th century even more bold movements appeared such as Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism which moved further towards abstraction and dream-like subject matter giving us the relentlessly unconventional but ceaselessly marvellous works of Picasso, Dalí and Kahlo. Roughly speaking that puts us at present day, where we have seemingly lesser standards
Tracey Emin, My Bed (1998). Frequently, this piece is at the epicentre of discussions over contemporary art
of artistic practice and seemingly bizarre or unsightly and cause outrage (lest we forget Tracey Emin’s My Bed). It’s also important to note that the movements that came out of rebellion against centuries of strict standards on art starting in the late 19th century are under the umbrella term ‘modern art’, whereas ‘contemporary art’ is what is meant by art produced from around the 1970s up until now. So why exactly does contemporary art upset people so much? Why such an apparent decline from the works of the renaissance painters, the old masters and the romantics? The reasons we turn our noses up at art produced in the last 50 years or so has a lot to do with what art we actually see. Firstly, as previously mentioned a lot of this artwork came out of selective and prestigious institutions that were only accessible to and run by the upper classes. This placed restrictions on the style and subject matter of the art that came out of them. Secondly, the art we see from the past has been distilled and filtered in the time since production. Galleries, critics and educational institutions around the world have selected what they perceive to be as the best art from the past, and so what we see today is a ‘best of’ selection. Art of all kinds of styles comes out from all classes, races, age groups, but what has made it into the history books has been unfortunately dictated by the palate of the white, Christian elite in Europe at the time. At the moment what we see of contemporary art is a broader spectrum, and artists no longer need the platform of a European art academy. With the rise of photography and later social media, art can travel further and be accessed by more people and its production is no longer a preserve of the ruling classes. What I’m getting at is that, pragmatically, we see more of the contemporary art that is produced and more widely varying art is produced anyway. To go down a slightly less pragmatic path, I
Flickr/ Malcolm Smith
Al Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds occupied the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall from October 2010–May 2011
would like to criticise the notion of an absolute standard of beauty, and reject the opinion that I found popular in the online debate forum that if a work looks like the creator has put little time or effort into it, to repeat what is said so frequently (almost always pertaining to Jackson Pollock, poor guy) — ‘my five year old could have done that!’—that it is not worthy of being called ‘art’. I would like to suggest that, as many others have, that there is no such thing as ‘good art’, as everyone who judges art judges it to their own standards, and any absolute standards come from external factors and are fairly arbitrary. When thinking of the widely discussed ‘high standards’ of classically beautiful renaissance or baroque art, it is useful to think of context. In years gone by, the norm was to paint with oils and depict some kind of important figure or biblical, classical or natural subject matter in a way which is accurate, visually appealing, and often dramatic. Part of the skill in painting was out of necessity, since paintings were a way of recording or depicting real people and events. Inevitably, this melted away with the advent of photography, which coincided with the overhaul in artistic practice at around the turn of the century, the shift away from absolute standards of beauty that I have mentioned. So the role of art in culture has changed. It no longer needs to be accurate or conventionally beautiful because these are no longer the only factors which make art important since around the start of modernism. So what is this new role of art? Art has always been used to tell stories, although presently this is not always done directly pictorially. Some artworks need a context, and it may not be so simple to merely take one look at a work and understand the sentiments of the artist and the story it is trying to tell. Often seemingly simplistic works have taken more work to produce than expected. Returning to my experience at the Tate Modern with Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds, it’s easy to overlook the 100 million porcelain seeds as something that is ‘only interesting because it takes up a lot of space’. This kind of criticism is common of works of this scale such as Levitated mass in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (a 340-ton boulder positioned over the heads of visitors entering the gallery) or Cy Twombly’s Bacchus paintings at the Tate Modern. However, each of Ai Weiwei’s seeds was hand painted in China, forcing us to ponder the recent ‘made in China’ phenomenon. The seeds are all unique, which embraces the notion of individuality in time of the complete loss of personal freedom under Chairman Mao. The seeds were made individually in the city of Jingdezhen, a main producer of Imperial porcelain and the mere act of walking over the seeds, which visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to do, is rather poignant given the hours of work
needed to produce them. Sunflower seeds have also a personal significance to Weiwei. In the face of propaganda images of chairman Mao depicted as the sun with the Chinese people as sunflowers turned to face him, Ai Weiwei views sunflower seeds—a common street snack shared among friends—as a symbol of friendship, unyielding human compassion, and bonding amidst austerity and repression. As a good friend of mine once put it, ‘pieces of art are like academic theses or dissertations mounted on the wall, how can you expect to take a brief look and understand all the content and complexities or the intentions of the creator?’ Art that may appear to be simple—‘could have been done by my fiveyear-old’—overly complex or even ugly, can often do with time, patience and context to understand the true beauty and sophistication. Art need not even tell a story, art is often used to make a statement, or send a message. Now that the convention for art to be ‘pleasing’ is being dismantled, artists have the freedom to make brilliant works that stand out or indeed shock. Damien Hirst’s Mother and Child Divided, can be taken to be nothing more than a cow and its calf cut in half and suspended in formaldehyde, intended for little more than the gross-factor. Although this artwork is not especially visually appealing it explores themes of birth and death and shows the psychological and physical separation between mother and child in death. It parodies natural history museums’ displays whilst referencing the contrasting religious iconography of the Virgin and Child. Offensive, ugly or shocking artwork may not make you smile, or make a good desktop background, but it may make you think, debate or question its message or purpose. To me, that’s as interesting an experience as seeing a technically excellent or aesthetically pleasing painting. A few final thoughts in defence of contemporary art. As in all things, society is resistant to change. The world of visual art has made leaps and bounds in the last century and so we are still in an artistic ‘honeymoon’, the first generation to produce and digest art of this kind. No wonder we reject it it’s an unknown quantity. The way in which art is presented and distributed has also changed. Like everything in the 21st century, art is shaped by things unique to modern life: the internet, social media, and consumerism. Art is expensive, there’s a lot of it, and is a commodity to be bought and sold. Just as with fashion, music and film, visual artists have people to please, funding to obtain and trends to follow. Art always has to be new and different to get noticed, given that nearly every piece of art ever created is always just a few taps away. Art that is ‘beautiful’ may not be popular and vice-versa. Visual art is not immune from the concept of ‘celebrity’, so yes- works with a famous artist’s name attached will fetch more attention and money and won’t necessarily represent the best of what’s out there. Just because yet another Justin Bieber song has made it to the Top 40, does not mean all current music is as abhorrent. Finally, art has the habit of seeming pretentious, and only for those who ‘get’ it. This is unfortunate, and totally false and a complete shame that it scares people away from the vibrant world of contemporary art. So next time you see an artwork you don’t understand or like, question why that is, and embrace that sensation of unrest and contention. And tell anyone who bangs on about how ‘modern art is a load of rubbish’ that a) they mean ‘contemporary art’ and ought to be familiar with correct terminology before they bash things and b) they’re missing out on a whole load of exciting, brilliant and meaningful creative innovation. Helena Raymond-Hayling
27.02.2017
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Queer art and the curriculum
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Epigram
Celebrating February as LGBT History Month, Hannah Wakefield looks at the great work of queer artists and examines their exclusion from the curriculum
The book was only published in 1971 after Forster’s death; he believed that no one would ever publish it and so never attempted to do so
It is unsurprising that Whitman remained closed-off about his sexuality
The American poet Walt Whitman, whose most famous work is perhaps the poem ‘O Captain! My Captain!’, which famously featured in the film Dead Poets Society, is another writer in the popular domain of ambiguous sexuality, which is bizarrely either swept entirely under the rug or obsessed over – there seems to be no middle ground and it is a topic of much contention. Whitman himself either did not respond to questions regarding his sexuality, or vehemently denied it claiming to have fathered six illegitimate children, which seems a little excessive to be wholly within the realm of reality. The testament of the infamous Oscar Wilde who reported having ‘the kiss of Walt Whitman still on [his] lips’ suggests that Whitman may have not been
Arts from The Past 4th March 1881
Flickr/ Scott Monty
Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective duo Sherlock Holmes and John Watson embark on their first case, ‘A Study in Scarlet’. The ‘consulting detective’ and doctor are eventually retired after four novels and 56 short stories, and have since been brought to life by some of the country’s finest actors; from Peter Cushing to Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett to Sir Ian McKellen.
Brett played Holmes for a decade in 41 episodes (1984–94)
‘I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world’—a memorial bust of the great Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
completely heterosexual. Given this response, it is not surprising that Whitman remained closed-off about his sexuality for at the time, and in fact still today, if a person in the public eye is queer in any way then their sexuality becomes their defining feature, in a way that heterosexuality is never considered.
The absence of queer artists and writers from the canon and curricula only serves to propagate a society which side-lines and pigeonholes such artists
So far I have only dealt with two white, wealthy, cis-gendered men—the kind of person that society on the whole is most accepting of, and yet still queer representations of them are missing from mainstream art and literature. Vaginal Davis, an intersex and genderqueer American artist is certainly shocking in the traditional sense, for amongst the huge and varied body of her work, ranging from writing and painting to performing, is a type of performance art known as ‘terrorist drag’. She does not fit the established look of a glamourous drag performer, not trying to alter her appearance with fake breasts and false eyelashes to look as a typical cis-gendered woman does. The breadth and quality of her work would suggest that she should be widely recognised within the public eye. From the start of her career in the band Afro Sisters, to her 2012 radical reimaging of Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the avantgarde group Xiu Xiu, she is without doubt an incredible artist yet her art is not recognised in popular culture, let alone in curricula in schools or universities.
How people respond to Davis when she tells them that her name is a homage to the Black Panther Party activist Angela Davis with a ‘well who’s that?’ is sadly the way most would to the mention of Vaginal Davis herself, once again showing just how much history and culture is missing from not just the curricula of schools but also the wider scope of popular culture and society. In short, the absence of queer artists and writers from the canon and curricula only serves to propagate a society that side-lines and pigeonholes such artists rather than simply teaching an inclusive curriculum that actually reflects the world in which we live.
Flickr/ Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Flickr/ Alice Bag
Vaginal Davis gained notoriety in the 1980s on the New York art scene
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If a person in the public eye is queer in any way then their sexuality becomes their defining feature
himself. Although the book is now permitted to be in print, it is by no means widely available. It remains a rare find on any university syllabus, and undoubtedly is not taught in school for fear of an interfering parent deeming it ‘inappropriate’. Yet surely a book that deals with a young boy questioning his sexuality starting whilst he is at school can only be a positive influence, and may even help some with their own sexuality.
Flickr/ Stanley Zimny
Queer artists of every kind have long been absent from official histories and cultures, or if present have had to consistently deny and hide their sexuality, or their gender, or any aspect of themselves that might be considered a diversion from cis-gendered heterosexuality. As a result, they are also side-lined by the curricula of schools and universities, leaving them unknown and unrecognised, or at best, pigeonholed into a sub category of ‘queer writing’ or ‘queer art’ that is made separate from the general canon. Any arts student worth their salt has surely encountered the author E. M. Forster, and the majority will have undoubtedly read, or at least claim to have read, some of his novels. The initial titles that spring to mind are Howards End, or A Room with a View, but Maurice is not one most people will have heard of. Maurice follows the titular character’s experience of homosexuality from school to university and beyond, in early twentieth century Britain.
E. M. Forster (1879–1970), circa 1947
28th February 1906
10th March 1948
Birth of infamous American mobster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. Celebrity gangster of his day, Siegel invested $6 million in the iconic Flamingo development of the Las Vegas Strip after the project ran out of cash. Although convicted of only minor crimes, evidence shows that he played a role in around a dozen killings. An assassin once tried to murder Siegel by lowering a bomb down a chimney; the injured Siegel snuck out of hospital, murdered the man, before returning to bed, alibi intact.
Author and Jazz Age icon Zelda Fitzgerald is killed in a fire at the Highland Hospital in North Carolina, where she had been admitted as a schizophrenic. Dubbed by her husband Scott as ‘the first American Flapper’, the pair’s marriage was defined by an unsustainable intensity: infidelity, wild drinking and partying, and the stresses of maintaining their extravagant lifestyle. Many of the couple’s literary characters—Dick and Nicole Diver in Scott’s Tender is the Night being the most famous—are thinly veiled self-portraits of the tumultuous couple.
Epigram
Postcolonialism in art: 70 years on
27.02.2017
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With this August making the 70th anniversary of the end of British rule in India, we take a look at some art and writing produced in response to British colonialism With its roots stretching as far back as 1497 and spanning centuries, British colonialism has been the inspiration for a wealth of postcolonial art and literature. August 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of Britain’s rule of India, known as the British Raj. Some of the world’s most highly-regarded artists have produced work in response to colonialism, from the controversial writing of Joseph Conrad to the contemporary paintings of Kehinde Wiley.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection: Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is lead forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action– Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Flickr / Garrett Ziegler
Rabindranath Tagore The era of the British Raj produced one of India’s most prolific artists and polymaths, Rabindranath Tagore. Occasionally referred to as the ‘Bard of Bengal’, his poetic songs and revolutionary techniques earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Although known mostly for his poetry, Tagore was also a noted painter, composer, educationist, spiritualist and singer. His large body of artistic work spanned his entire lifetime – some of his earliest poetry was composed when he was just eight years old. Tagore was a vocal anti-nationalist, denouncing the British Raj and supporting India’s independence from Britain. His poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ captures both the freedom of the mind that human knowledge can bring, but also the essence of true freedom against British rule:
Kehinde Wiley, A New Republic, Brooklyn Museum
Kehinde Wiley Born in 1977 and working out of New York City, Kehinde Wiley has exhibited at some of the world’s most renowned galleries; including the Brooklyn Museum and New York’s Jewish Museum, and has in the last few months held a solo show at Paris’s prestigious Petit Palais. Wiley’s artistic project strolls up to the velvet rope in front of some of the most iconic paintings in the history of western art canon, grabs them by their bejewelled lapels, and shakes hard. Very hard. Figures like Napoleon (Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps) or the Count-Duke of Olivares (Velázquez’s Equestrian Portrait of Count-Duke of Olivares) are supplanted by figures from popular culture and young black males whom Wiley encounters on the streets of New York. These paintings, in the words of Brooklyn Museum curator Eugenie Tsai, use ‘the power of images to remedy the historical invisibility of black men and women’. Stunning paintings synthesising potent politics and rich aesthetics. ‘At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if Black Lives Matter, they deserve to be in paintings’, said the artist himself.
Flickr / cea +
Rabindranath Tagore
Helena Raymond-Hayling Wole Soyinka at the Geneva Lecture Series
5th March 1953
29th February 1960
4th March 1975
Death of Joseph Stalin (b. 1878), leader of the Soviet Union. Consistent in his ways to the very end, Stalin had his doctor arrested after he suggested the aging despot take it easy for the sake of his health. At the funeral there were such huge crowds that some of the wellwishers were crushed to death. Fitting. His state-approved form of Socialist Realism dominated Russian art until well into the 1960s.
The first Playboy club, featuring the iconic and all-important bunnies, opens in Chicago. Inexplixably, the club became popular and by the end of 1961 more than 132,000 people had visited—making it the busiest nightclub in the world. Hugh Heffner actually had an IQ of 152, and it seems to have been put to good use.
Charlie Chaplin is knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, aged 85. Suspicions of Communist sympathies, coupled with the comedian’s marriages to the at-the-time sixteen and seventeen year-old Lita Grey and Mildred Harris, rendered the decision a controversial one. Certainly tricky for the British establishment to swallow…Three years later, on 10th March 1978, his body is stolen and ransomed by graverobbers in Switzerland.
Flickr/ Insomnia Cured Here
Flickr/ Penn State Zelda Fitzgerald in 1925, with one of her paintings
Joseph Conrad Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is told through the frame of the narrator, Marlow, recounting his time trading ivory and his a voyage up the Congo River. Central to Conrad’s work is the idea that there is little difference between so-called civilised people and those described as savages;
Wole Soyinka In British colonial Nigeria in the 1940s a Yoruba king has died and it is the duty of his horseman, Elesin Oba, to commit ritual suicide a month later. He is hindered both by an intervention by a colonial officer and his own trepidation regarding the grave task. Nobel laureate Soyinka’s play, Death and the King’s Horseman, is a work of tragedy and mystery that’s gaze is directed not at a ‘clash of cultures’ but at the universal tension between duty and action. It is also a deep meditation on spirituality and death, steeped in the rich poeticism of Yoruba proverbs. Soyinka has always been a vocal social activist and Death and the King’s Horseman is so powerful because it militates against oppression without centring whiteness.The plays ends on a note of hope that future generations will not suffer in the same way: ‘Now forget the dead, forget even the living. Turn your mind only to the unborn.’ Milo Keevil Giles
Flickr / United Nations Photo
Ed Grimble
Heart of Darkness raises questions about imperialism and racism, though Marlow himself is troubled by the attitudes of his peers to the native inhabitants of colonised African countries, he is not entirely sympathetic either. Before he leaves, his aunt implores him to ‘wean the ignorant millions from their horrid ways’, to which he explains that ‘the [ivory] company is for profit’. Marlow feels a sense of guilt and unease about his work in the Congo Free State - ‘as though instead of going to the centre of a continent, [he was] going to the centre of the earth’. Upon arriving, he is haunted by the scene he finds, which he calls ‘the gloomy circle of some Inferno’: the post is full of diseased Africans who worked on the railroad and now await their deaths - Marlow is ‘horror-struck’. The plot surrounds Marlow trying to track down the notorious ivory trader Kurtz, who is found to be living among the natives and is thought to have gone mad. On the way back, Kurtz’s health worsens, and he dies on board. Upon his return to Europe, Marlow is embittered and contemptuous of the “civilised” world and is left with some personal letters for Kurtz’s fiancée, who presses him to repeat Kurtz’s final words, which in fact are ‘The horror! The horror!’. Uncomfortable, Marlow lies and tells her that Kurtz’s final word was her name. Whilst many are praiseworthy of Con-rad’s novella Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe, described it as ‘an offensive and deplorable book’ that de-humanised Afri-cans and incorrectly depicted Africa as the antithesis of Europe and civilisation.
Hari Kunzru Hari Kunzru’s first novel, The Impressionist, depicts the sprawling voyage of a young AngloIndian boy, Pran Nath, starting in a tumultuous India on the eve of revolution and ending in tribal Africa, via the dreaming spires of Oxford and the drab halls of English prep school. Pran is pale faced, beautiful and chameleonic. His white skin allowing him to scam his way into Polite British society and his good looks letting him flourish, he slips Frank Abagnale Jr-like between multiple guises. Whether he’s Rukhsana, White Boy, Pretty Bobby, Jonathan Bridgeman, or Bridgeman, J.P. (Barab), he drifts as an opportunistic voyeur through nations and societies and is immersed in both colonial persecution and privilege. Epic and sweeping, Kunzru paints a sometimes scathing and always inventive portrait of colonialism, of religion and of privilege. His ability to make the deplorable characters of the time dimensional, intriguing and funny shifts any historical or social commentary closer to the realm of satire than bitterness, yet still deals a healthy dollop of delicious catharsis. Read for the antagonists and the secondary characters rather than the protagonist, as Pran’s ability to take on the identities of others leaves him somewhat…indefinable. Lara Brooks
The Little Tramp tucks into a shoe in the 1925 film The Gold Rush
Lily Hammond
Epigram
27.02.2017
Music
@epigrammusic Editor: Sam Mason-Jones
Deputy Editor: Ellen Kemp
Online Editor: Georgia Marsh
music@epigram.org.uk
ellen.kemp@epigram.org.uk
musiconline@epigram.org.uk
Drake: a modern day Ezra Pound? You may not think that one of the quintessential literary giants of the 1920s has much in common with the man who popularized ‘YOLO’, but there are some striking comparisons to be found. Asher BreuelWeil presents his observations on the strange and surprising symmetries of the two trailblazers career, he took on numerous protégés, edited their works, introduced them to similar minds and virtually guaranteed their publication. T.S. Eliot is the obvious example, Joyce and Ulysses another – the list is long and important. You almost get the feeling that Pound was the judge of what was successful or not, at least in that specific literary sphere.
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Ezra Pound clearly sought to control the ‘market’ of Modernist literature; is Drake doing the same?
This struck a chord - is Drake not famous for his protégé-taking? The Weeknd and Future, or more recently PARTYNEXTDOOR, Migos, Wizkid, Kodak Black, Roy Woods and Majid Jordan. These are important names whose careers came into being in large partly due to Drizzy’s endorsement. It feels nowadays that anything Drake touches will turn to gold (on a side note, the fact that he has become so interested in Grime, signing for BBK, performing with Skepta, featuring in young MC Dave’s track ‘Wanna Know’, is a promising sign for the future of the genre). More Life then, presumably a compilation of tracks from Drake co-signs, is the ultimate expression of this likeness. Where Pound was the editor of numerous literary journals, Drake is the ‘editor’ of this
SamMariee6 / Flickr
musical journal, both of them building the platform for their young to take off whilst enhancing their own careers at the same time. This is where the comparison gets stronger. When Ezra Pound endorsed a writer, he did not just aid in their publication. No, no, no! When Pound decided you had talent, you listened to what he had to say. There is tangible evidence, especially with Eliot’s The Waste Land, of Pound deciding how the work should be written and what should be included within it. You can see in early drafts of some of his protégé’s works how he crosses through large sections of poems, retitles things, even writes in new sections; when Pound took over, it was clearly evident.
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Late in 2016, Drake, ever the innovator, announced the release of his concept album More Life – self-dubbed ‘a collection of songs that become the soundtrack to your life.’ What exactly this means, I do not know. Whether Drake even has the ability to nearly back up so bold a claim, I am highly sceptical. Yet neither of these really matter, it is the scale of ambition that is so impressive, and so typical of the enigma that is Drake. Throughout his career he has strived for greatness; starting off as an actor on the popular Canadian teen-drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, he quickly decided he would become a rapper, self-released a mixtape, Room for Improvement (the title already indicative of his desire never to be satisfied), and two mixtapes later was involved in one of the biggest record label tug-of-wars in recent memory. He has since grown into arguably the biggest name in HipHop, continuously setting the tone of popular music. Reading about this new project, I could not help but draw a rather unexpected comparison, one that on the face of it seems completely ludicrous, but hear me out – is Drake a modernday Ezra Pound? For those unaware, Pound was an early 20th Century modernist poet, famous for being the mentor of the great T.S. Eliot, and a pioneer of the Imagist movement in poetry. An ambitious character himself, Pound is seen by many as one of the most influential poets in the modern canon, both for his own work and, more importantly for this comparison, for his promotion of other’s work. Throughout his
Might we become a race of Drake-led zombies?
Wikimedia
Much of his edits are to align the works with his Imagist philosophy, i.e. that a work should contain as much intensity as possible in the fewest amount of words – see his own In the Station of the Metro for a perfect example of this – and in this way propelled his movement to the forefront of Modernism. Drake does the same. Listening through the list of artists mentioned earlier, you frequently hear
the same airy, drifting, seductive beats behind the vocals. The catchiness of the hooks is almost ever-present, as is the auto tune underpinning the vocals. The sound is so easily recognisable. These characteristics, the core to the success of songs like ‘Hotline Bling’ and ‘One Dance’, have become a staple in chart music, and one cannot fail to note that this is due to Drake. You can see this with The Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’, a current chart-topping hit, that it bears all the hallmarks of a Drake hit and is proving so successful. To a certain extent, he does control what does and does not make the charts. Ezra Pound clearly sought to control the ‘market’ of Modernist literature; is Drake doing the same? With his growing OVO brand and radio and his big-money deal with Apple Music, is he trying to condition us to only listen to his music? To only like what he likes? It certainly matches his previous ambition and explains the desire to ‘soundtrack our life.’ Might we become a race of Drake-led zombies? Obviously, this is an exaggeration, but I think that the sentiment is an important one. With more and more music being accessible through recommendation, there is significant concern that what we listen to will be altered to the profit of all-encompassing artists like Drake. With this in mind, it becomes even more important to seek out independent music, support up-and-coming artists, and truly find music that makes you happy.
Asher Breuer-Weil
Epigram 27.03.2017
43
Northern Lights and Nordic Nights: Todd Terje Live at Motion
Terje is a part of “the Holy Trinity of Norwegian disco”
Along with his producing buddies Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas, Terje has successfully established a distinct style of house that is completely unique to the Nordic nations and has tech-heads from all over the South West of England grappling for a ticket to see it in the flesh. While his comrades tend to paint pensive and glistening soundscapes, Terje is their cheeky and clownishly lessserious brother-in-arms. Stealing the bops, bangs and boings of Chessington World of Adventures’ Beano Land, it is easy to see how some (including myself) have described his catalogue to outsiders as ‘Mario Kart music’. Although his live set contains the same whimsy that allows this statement to be partially true, it, admittedly, sounds much fuller live due to the buoyancy of the bass at it reverberates
through the venue’s sound system. Terje’s signature tracks from the idiosyncratically named debut It’s Album Time – the almost anthemic ‘Inspector Norse’ in particular – invoke football hooliganstyle chants alongside the melody: doo-doodo o-DOO-do o-do o-do o-DOO-do o-do o-do o. While some hollered ‘why do people like this music?!’, others are overly-enchanted by his dizzy beats, as the audience of mostly 30-yearold lumberjack types go wild.
“ Terje has successfully established a distinct style of house that is completely unique to the Nordic nations
The show’s conclusion comes with a completely left-field remix of, what I have always seen as, one of the greatest songs of all time. After a continuous mix of the glimmering house beats that we have heard throughout the evening the words ‘clock strikes upon the hour…’ boom across the warehouse. In a euphoric grande finale, Terje guides the crowd in a scream-a-long to Whitney
Houston’s timeless classic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. Maybe it is the Whitney superfan in me talking, but it was unquestionably the highlight of the evening, and I went just as wild as the 30-year-old lumberjacks did during ‘Inspector Norse’.
An eye-popping odyssey through Nordic dance music
But then it ends. Feeling underwhelmed not by the content of the set, which proved to be an eye-popping odyssey through Nordic dance music, but by what it lacked in length, the crowd chanted in hope of an encore that never came. We questioned if it was really over, but concluded that you could not get a finale more epic than Whitney. And so we wandered out of Motion at 11pm on a Friday night, comfortably intoxicated, wondering why Terje was not billed for a proper Motion night, and seeking our next thrill.
Georgia Marsh
Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs
Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs
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It is surprising how warm and fuzzy – almost tropical – the sounds his spellbound hands mix, considering Terje is a part of “the Holy Trinity of Norwegian disco” (yes, it is a thing, and it is something really very special). Where
one could suppose that his mixes would reflect the chilly landscapes of his homeland, his sweltering version of Scandinavian dance music parallels more closely perhaps to the likes of groove-inflected KAYTRANADA, enabling the Norwegian clubs to feel like they are a part of a Caribbean paradise instead of a blistering winter wonderland.
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“ His set was delightfully exuberant and sent the sold-out crowd into a funky fever
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It is Motion and it is Friday night, but something is indisputably peculiar. You are suitably waved and the crowd surrounding you is in an ecstasy-like state over the talents of a techno-attuned DJ, yet soon it is quarter past 11 and you find yourself filing out of the building. No, you have not had too much too soon and are being carted out of the venue by Motion security. In fact, you have spent 20 quid on a ticket to a house night that only lasted an hour and 15 minutes and concluded before the next day began. What the hell, Todd Terje? Sparsity of the set aside, the DJ in question was certainly not boring; his set was delightfully exuberant and sent the sold-out crowd into a funky fever. Emerging rather modestly (you would not have known it if not for the roar of the crowd) he dipped into his decks almost instantly, unleashing a stream of infectiously danceable grooves that interpolated bouncy nu-disco with jazzy house beats.
Sarah Koury / Entirety Labs
Like Marmite, jazz and Trump, opinion on Scandinavian house pioneer Todd Terje divides. While undeniably great fun, its unconventional, and slightly uncool, nature have put a potential powerhouse on the back burner. However, can a crowd who bought enough tickets to sell out Motion in one day be wrong? Is Terje’s music a video game soundtrack or a muscle of an emerging dance music scene? Epigram’s Online Music Editor Georgia Marsh will be the judge of that.
Epigram 27.02.2017
44
‘Unconventional audio-visual cinema raves’:
Factory Floor at Bristol Aquarium
On the 10th February, Factory Floor took to the stage at Bristol Aquarium’s IMAX cinema for a night of mind-melting audiovisuals and electronic delights. Kate Hutchinson went along to find out if the evening sank or swam. Friday’s visual-audio groove took place centred around Bristol Aquarium’s former IMAX screen; the auditorium crammed full of gig go-ers looking down upon Factory Floor’s stage set up – a curiously unorthodox setting for an electronic set. The evening began tastefully with Scottish electronic artist KonxOm-Pax. Utilising his first slot to showcase a distinctly ambient sound, Schofield’s preliminary performance was a transcendent crescendo of atmospheric power. Combining a contrast of compelling elongated synth lines – the melancholy backwater of his set – and hazy waves of faded, high-pitched melodies, Schofield created an auditory canvas for nature-inspired visuals; dust falling over light, the muted strokes of neon filling the screen. Towards the end of the set, these extended undertones were gradually surmounted by punctuation of the percussion; while the cascades of calming visuals took a darker turn into flashes and webs of rotating monochrome spheres, posing a fitting, gloomier picture in preparation Konx-Om-Pax’s successor: Not Waving.
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Not Waving executed a significantly juxtaposing performance from the subtle despondency of the earlier act, opting for an explicitly dingy, yet wholly obliging, industrial vibe. With the immediate introduction of pounding bass, Not Waving’s ominous entrance was forced almost discomfortingly upon the audience. The visuals and sound alike were creepily compelling; necessitating a mental battle between disgust and hypnotic intrigue within the viewer. Natalizia’s audio disturbance was a smothering compound of screeching feedback from panning mechanical noise and grungy, funk-induced synth which physically rumbled the floor. Bouncy electronic drum beats clamoured against intergalactic bombs of distortion and fragmented voice clips. To accompany Not Waving’s abstrusely energetic sound was incongruous, jolting videos of painful encounters: the forcible
Sonic PR
The London duo gifted the theatre with a hypnotic hour of their stiff electronic groove
piercing of restless toddlers’ earlobes, the tactile molestation of adult faces and the slowed suffocation of individuals behind plastic sheets covered in sweaty condensation. The art induced a sort of visual soreness, but there remained an enduring irresistibility to his set throughout. Gradually, the audience began to seep down toward Not Waving’s decks, joining him in his shrilled and grimy audio amalgamations. With this, the atmosphere was set for Factory Floor’s arrival. Factory Floor’s set up was simple; illuminated by a single, warm light on the edge of the decks, the pair were staged across from one another in touching distance of the energized audience members who had ventured to the front previously – an intimate feel carried throughout the set. Focusing mainly on their latest release, 25 25, both in visuals and sound, the London duo gifted the theatre with a hypnotic hour of their stiff electronic groove. Within moments of playing their signature thumping bass and clasping electronic snare, the pair generously gave in to the passions of their expectant audience,
penetrating the beat with their unique use of live drums; rapid hi-hat and infectiously rhythmic tom fills. While employing the recognizable sounds of the latest LP, including snippets of ‘Ya’ and ‘Meet Me At The End’ (mixed further with virulently groovy fragments of tunes such as ‘Here Again’), Factory Floor’s visuals upheld this complimentary familiarity, revolving the rapid dance of geometric shapes in shades of neon pink, electric violet and deep blue, around occasional interludes of pure white flashes which stung the eyes. Both elements together were wholly reminiscent of their neat, contemporary album artworks. With the intensifying vigour of the drums, the deepening bruise of the beat and exaggeration of the disco-imbued sounds, almost a third of the room were on their feet surrounding the duo, despite the narrow restriction of the cinema’s columned pathways. With this, Factory Floor’s set came to a sad yet well-received ending. Here is to many more unconventional audio-visual cinema raves.
Kate Hutchinson
‘Genuine brilliance’: Sampha’s ingenious new album The wait is over: at long last we now have the debut album from the South London singer-songwriter Sampha. Process is an enchanting collection of songs showcasing his rich, smooth vocal pallet paired with true lyrical ingenuity. Having gained notoriety lending his voice to the likes of Drake, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Beyonce, SBTKRT and Jessie Ware and releasing such singles as ‘Happens’, ‘Too Much’ and ‘Timmy’s Prayer’, the world of music has been rooted in anticipation for a Sampha LP. Its arrival proves Sampha is continuing to project his raw artistic talent into his solo work. It would have been easy for him to call upon his extensive connections and utilise collaborations for beats and verses to create a glossier album. But the 10 track record, with no featured
artists, seems more refined and packs substantial artistic integrity, making it powerfully personal. His apparent ‘slow’ work rate can always be trumped by his unquestionable ability to create genuine brilliance. The album centres around the themes of love, loss and as the title Process would suggest; discovery and development. Raw intimacy is quickly becoming Sampha’s signature. With the recent loss of his mother, it is easy to understand why so much of his work focuses on figuring out his world, the people in it and his own identity. Lyrics such as “no one knows me like the piano in my mother’s home / you would show me I have something, some people call a soul” become powerfully poignant indicators of Sampha’s journey of self-discovery. Other lyrics such as “the more your light grows on me/ the closer I think you are/ to seeing me whole” perhaps merge more positive themes such as love with his quest for understanding and fulfillment. It is on this track ‘(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano’ that you can fully appreciate the artistic prowess of Sampha. With just his voice and a piano, he is capable of making truly extraordinary music. Throughout much of the rest of the album there remains a smooth, electronic, atmospheric tone often blended with a mixture of ambient sounds. At times such as ‘Kora Sings’ and ‘Plastic 100c’ the pace undoubtedly lifts into a dance rhythm, and in ‘Blood On Me’ there is a real sense of chaos and release. Sampha will now undertake a world tour with Process, stopping at Bristol’s O2 Academy on the 27th March. Already booked in for Coachella, Parklife, and tipped for a variety of other festivals, it looks as if he will be a regular across this summer’s live music season.
Liam Curran
Epigram
Puzzles
@EpigramPuzzles
Editor: Suzie Brown
Solutions will be posted online at www.epigram.org.uk before the next issue is released.
puzzles@epigram.org.uk
Cryptic crossword ACROSS 1. Vestige of food supply service from before you were born (5,6) 8. Brave worker gets behind backleft lag (7) 9. Go in and bury, swapping ends of incense (5) 10. Second team goes after mouthy dental brand (4,1) 11. Puffed-up lows returned with short length (7) 12. Gone over the boundary (3) 13. Hears bet for meaty meal (5) 14. Crazy about mail (6) 18. Everyone goes first on backward rota, or it will eat you (9) 20. No horse sounds (3) 21. Diplotmatic base gets degree amid messy rearrangement (7) 22. Piston not working? Add energy - going off could be dangerous (5)
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25 Very good 28
5. People travelling on foot (11) 6. Dawdle (5) 7. Grassed areas (5) 12. Period (7) 13. Coffee shot (8) 18. Clutch (4) 19. Fuss (3) 20. Travel on snow (3)
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Just a phrase
Decode the clues to work out what the numbers represent. E.g. 7 D in a W = 7 days in a week.
Find the word which can come before each of the three words given, in each case giving a common two-word phrase. E.g. CAR park, CAR stereo, CAR alarm.
1. Man, Sight, Ground 2. Case, Fight, Talk 3. Side, Legs, Salt
Sudoku 7 4
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687 D in a M Y 7 W of the W 20 S in a P 154 S by W S 24 B B in a P
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DOWN 1. Large, first-rate circus venue (3,3) 2. Soothe babies without starting songs (9) 3. Annual school souvenir (8) 4. Peacekeepersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fund value before beginning of year is not reliable (13) 5. Gauge warmth about mixing up Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retro theme (11) 6. Famous restaurant is fully booked (7) 7. Fundamental to put material in a laithe initially (8) 13. Tight spot in untidy space, over to the right (6) 15. Connections for hearing shorttailed cat (5) 16. Breakfast food, for example, on great sandwich, to start (4) 17. Said to chew into eight bits (4) 19. Campaign lost by throw (3)
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Want to set a puzzle for the next issue? Get in touch via email or tweet @EpigramPuzzles
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Epigram
46
27.02.2017
The impact of Varsity in the community Nicky Withers Sports Reporter With Varsity fast approaching, now seems a good time to reflect on the successes of last year’s series and how it helped people, primarily through the charity 1625 Independent People (1625ip). In Epigram issue 309, there was an article on the money raised by Varsity; and how 1625ip used it to, among other things, enter their football team into a local league. The charity do vital work with young people who are dealing with difficult circumstances, helping them to get back on their feet with housing and education, but a key part of this confidence building is through sport.
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Everyone can participate in sport, regardless of the challenges they are facing in other aspects of life, making it an escape for many young people. This has been especially important for the 1625ip football team, who got involved with the Varsity action when they watched the football last year. This impacted their own game and since then, they have competed in a Monday night league, performing well and finishing fourth. Scott Harvey captains the team and shared his thoughts on the progress his side has made and the importance of Varsity in their journey. How has the money experience of Varsity helped?
Epigram / Nicky Withers
With the right support, sport has the power to turn people’s lives around
SH: ‘It has helped a lot as we would not be able to play on Mondays and Fridays without the funding. It has inspired people to come and play as we are now a proper team with a proper kit, so we are doing it seriously. It is not just like a kickabout with your mates.’ How do you see the initaitive moving forward from here? SH: ‘I only see it going upwards, I am currently organising a presentation for the lads to recognise their effort, and we are talking about getting trained by a coach regularly.
and What have you learned from the
partnership with Varsity and UoB? SH: ‘The partnership with the University helped us as we were able to come and watch the university futsal team, which we all learned a lot from. Watching the Varsity football helped us to pick up on styles and tactics we had not seen before, which we could use in our games and it inspired us.’ With the right support, sport has the power to turn people’s lives around. The team spirit creates a real sense of belonging, not just within your own team, but also in the wider community. Personal lives become irrelevant as soon as you step out onto that pitch,
court or pool and it is this unity which makes sport so valuable for uniting us all.’ Hugh Kirby, a Bristol student, has dedicated much of his time to volunteering at 1625ip and I asked him what impact he thought Varsity had made on the charity: ‘Varsity has massively helped this local charity to continue to help some of the most vulnerable people in the city to succeed despite the problems life has thrown at them. This has not just been as a result of the money raised, but also from the awareness and the fact that the young people at the charity feel more affiliated with
the university and have positive role models of a similar age to aspire to.’ Varsity is a brilliant series and of course we all love the rivalry, but it is important not to lose sight of the real positive impacts it can have on the wider community in Bristol. It is more than a fundraiser, it is a chance to invite all of Bristol into the world of university sport and get people involved from all walks of life. Here is to another brilliant series! If you would like to get involved with some volunteering, head over to: http://www.bristol .ac.uk /sp or t / participate/
Bristol rowing prodigy aiming for Tokyo Charlotte Greenwood Sports Writer
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Instagram / UoB Boat Club
For the high performance athletes at Bristol, gruelling training camps and early morning rises are a common occurrence. Whilst many of us potter along to our 10am lectures and are exhausted after a long hard day of procrastination, a small few are going above and beyond this ‘student life’ in favour of jetting off to the sun. No – this is not a traditional sunny getaway, but for Joseph Harper, a high performance rower for the University of Bristol Boat Club, his start of term was spent altitude training with the U23 GB rowing team in the Spanish mountains of Sierra Nevada. Having taken up rowing at the beginning of his second year and now a third year Chemistry student, Joe has experienced a remarkable rise from a novice rower to Team GB hopeful in just under 17 months. Joe was scouted by GB talent representatives at the BUCS Regatta at Nottingham in May last year and has since progressed through the stages. He recently became the third University of Bristol student to ever complete a 2000m erg test (on a rowing machine) in under six minutes with an impressive time of 5:59.30. This was the first time since Matt Steeds in 2007 that a current student had managed to
break the elusive six-minute barrier. Considering that Joe has only been rowing for little over a year and yet rowed 2000m in under six minutes, it is perhaps not surprising that his efforts were rewarded with the invitation to attend a 10-day indoor training camp in the Spanish peaks. Joe duly accepted the invitation and went along to the GB U23 camp where he trained alongside other successful athletes as well as some of the recent winners at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, including Moe Sbihi who won gold in
We are really proud to be able to support him with these high aspirations
the Men’s Four last summer. Speaking to Joe about his time spent amongst Olympians, his modesty despite his truly remarkable achievements really shines through. The gruelling training schedule with early rises, intense physical monitoring and up to four training sessions a day is quickly brushed aside with Joe saying that ‘it was such a great opportunity to train
with some of GB’s best rowers and coaches and whilst it was a very tough week, I definitely learnt a lot!’ Head coach Cameron Kennedy, who began coaching at Bristol Boat Club the same year that Joe entered the sport, commented on Joe’s rowing achievements, saying ‘this puts Joe alongside people who have been representing GB at age group level for many years already. Great British
rowing now have him on their radar as a legitimate development option for Tokyo 2020. It will be exciting to see how Joe develops with his on water performance as his strength and fitness in the gym have proven to be excellent. We are really proud to be able to support him with these high aspirations’ With the third set of trials in sight and now back on British soil, it
looks as if this is just the beginning for Joe’s rowing career with many exciting opportunities to come. With the GB training camp under his belt, the hardwork continues, as he looks forward to the tantalising prospect of representing GB at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Everyone at Epigram Sport wishes him the best of luck for the future, and we look forward to seeing him on our TV screens soon!
Epigram
27.02.2017
47
Varsity 2017: ‘Embrace the Rivalry’
BUCS Wednesday Fixtures and Results Wednesday 15th February (select results) Men’s Rugby: Bristol 1st 28-5 Hartpury College 2nd Women’s Netball:
Facebook / University of Bristol Sport
Oscar Beardmore-Gray Online Sports Editor Each year students from the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE) go head to head in a series of sporting events held across the city in the name of fun, rivalry and fundraising. This year the line-up is bigger and better than ever before and Epigram will be there to bring you coverage of all of the events. Bristol’s two universities commence battle on 16th March, starting with Ignition, Bristol’s fundraising event before the sporting action gets underway over the weekend. The first major event for your calendar is Saturday 18th March where Bristol’s oarsmen will race in the 22nd Varsity boat race in Bristol Harbour between 11am and 3pm. Six crews are due to race including the Men’s first and second eights and the women’s eight. Bristol lead the overall record for the trophy 13-8 but UWE’s men’s eight hold a 13-7 advantage over their Bristol counterparts. The following week will see a real
festival atmosphere descend on Bristol as ‘Varsity Week’ properly kicks off. The evening of Wednesday 22nd sees the Bristol Colour Run at UWE’s Frenchay Campus before the darts the following night and subsequent after-party at Walkabout in the city centre. While it might not be Michael Van Gerwen or Phil Taylor throwing the arrows, it is surely a night not to be missed – the Epigram Sport team will be there to party if that is not enough to convince you to be there. Up next will be the ‘Friday Night Lights’ at Bristol University’s fortress, Coombe Dingle. Many a name have made themselves heroes here and the American football and Lacrosse clubs will be hoping to write their names into folklore. ‘Friday Night Lights’ is followed by basketball and Varsity Fight Night on Tuesday 28th at Bristol Student’s Union’s Anson Rooms. The boxing promises to be a raucous event – expect to see some tense fights and plenty of away support from across the city. If you are susceptible to a bad hangover then get an early night after the boxing as Wednesday 29th is
‘Varsity Day’ where every sports club and every team will do battle with the old enemy. The day comprises of over 1,500 UoB students taking to their pitch, court or pool. Varsity’s flagship event, the men’s and women’s rugby, this year takes place on 30th March at Ashton Gate, which now seats 27,000. Bristol’s men should be confident – a thumping 55-7 league victory over UWE on February 1st has cemented their position at the top of Division South A with UWE languishing in 6th place. Bristol’s women have not been in the best form, recording only 3 league wins this season but will still be hopeful of beating UWE, who remain two divisions lower than them. The Varsity Rugby Match has a long history, and in the six years that the match was co-ordinated by Oxfam from 1996 until 2002, the event raised over £50,000. Once again expecting a massive crowd, this year’s change in location promises to add extra spice to proceedings. Both Bristol and UWE have produced world famous players who all once competed in this varsity fixture. UWE
can boast England man-mountain Simon Shaw and tricky Scottish fullback Hugo Southwell while 2003 World Cup Winners Josh Lewsey and Kyran Bracken both represented Bristol in the 1990s. The final event of the Varsity season this year, again held at Ashton Gate, sees Bristol’s men’s and women’s first football teams take on UWE, but only after the Easter break. Bristol’s men will feel confident going into the tie, particularly if their good form continues which has seen them climb to the top of their league this season. The match is likely to be tight with UWE, who are also in decent form, lying second in their division. Bristol’s women will face a tough task to overcome a strong UWE side. Two points separate the teams in the Western 1A division but in the league UWE got the better of Bristol, winning 3-1 when the sides met in early February. There is no doubt we are in for a sporting treat and everyone at Epigram Sport will cheering on the Mighty Maroon and hoping for yet another comprehensive UoB victory.
Get ready to rumble: Bristol Fight Night
Bristol 1st 38-34 Chichester 1st Women’s Fencing: Bristol 1st 135-62 Leicester 1st Men’s Football: Bristol 1st 3-1 Gloucestershire 1st Men’s Tennis: Bristol 1st 8-4 Cardiff 1st Men’s Table Tennis: Bristol 1st 6-4 Southampton 1st Wednesday 1st March (select fixtures) Women’s Badminton: Bristol 1st vs Birmingham 1st Men’s Basketball: Bristol 1st vs Bournemouth 2nd Women’s Rugby: Edinburgh 1st vs Bristol 1st Men’s Fencing: Cambridge 1st vs Bristol 1st Interested in writing for Epigram Sport? Head over to the Epigram Sport Writers 2016/17 group on Facebook for more information!
Fantasy Football
Hugo Lebus Deputy Food Editor
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‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’. The famous words uttered by none other than our very own University of Bristol Boxing Club Captain, Sam Barnard. Once again, the University of Bristol Fight Night is fast approaching. It promises to be a night of triumphs and losses, blood, sweat and tears and enough sporting clichés and booze to last a lifetime. The style of the fighters on the bill range from the raw power of Sam Barnard and Benjamin Dixon and the aggression of Benjamin Rose, Ardita Zeka and Harrison Ross-Skinner to the composure of Saahil Varsani and Nick Seccombe. With Tom Wallis’ accuracy, along with the combative Thomas Prais, and the unpredictability of Yasmin Robinow and Joshua Haran, all will guarantee entertainment for all the spectators. Boxing is the arena of sporting greats, such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis, where mere men were raised to the status of gods, in a way that few team sport and other individual sports could offer. Thanks in part to the 2012 Olympics, which showcased the likes of Nicola
Adams, it is also no longer solely a man’s game. Women’s boxing has become increasingly represented at all levels, including in Bristol where Ardita Zeka and Yasmin Robinow, who will both be fighting on Fight Night, are putting stereotypes as well as their opponents on the canvas. Great
Britain has a long-lasting tradition for producing top fighters and it is at the local clubs, the schools and universities where these greats throw their first punches, that this is happening. Whether you are coming out of curiosity, are a seasoned boxing fan, or simply just want to see your mate
getting punched, you will not want to miss this. This year’s Fight Night will be taking place at Broad Plain Boys’ Club in the City Centre. Be sure to grab your chance to witness the titans of the University of Bristol Club clash with the giants of Exeter, Imperial and Worcester Universities.
Epigram Sport is running its very own Barclays Fantasy Premier League. Feel free to join! Liga de Epigram Code: 808585-362510 Good Luck!
Epigram
27.02.17
Sport
@epigramsport Editor: Jonathan Harding Deputy Editor: Jack Francklin
Online Editors: Oscar Beardmore-Gray & Dan Reuben
sport@epigram.org.uk
oscar.beardmoregray@epigram.org.uk dan.reuben@epigram.org.uk
jack.francklin@epigram.org.uk
Bristol Table-tennis remain undefeated Jonathan Harding Sports Editor Welcome back to BUCS Star Team, our feature that showcases the very best performances from across Bristol’s competitive sports teams. Every fortnight, we cover the heroics of one winning side, who have all been put forward for the honour by the Sports Executive.
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This fortnight, the award goes to the Table-tennis men’s 1st team, following an impressive 14-3 victory over rivals Southampton. Their comprehensive victory is the most recent in a string of eight matches undefeated in the Western 2A division. So far this season, they have been utterly dominant. This is epitomised by their thrashing of Bath 2nds, Exeter 2nds and USW 2nds earlier in the campaign, all of whom were on the wrong end of a 17-0 thrashing at the hands of Bristol’s ping-pong prodigies. When asked for the secret to this success, 1st team captain and star player Dan Wright singled out the team’s qualities that have impressed him the most so far this season: ‘The effort and sportsmanlike conduct of the team both on and off the court has been phenomenal this year and is the main contributor to the team’s success’. It is their consistency, and professional approach that has set them apart, and which sees them
sitting three points clear at the top of the table. Their only real challenge so far has been from Gloucester, who put up a stern test in the league. Under pressure, the side managed to pull through, edging a tense affair 12-5. Soon after they were asked to repeat this feat in the cup, as Gloucester were immediately given a chance to respond. Ruthlessly professional, Bristol again dispatched them 125, laying down a real statment of intent to the teams around them. Understandly, club captain Dan Bouchard has been thrilled by what he has seen so far, and has high hopes for the future of the club as a whole: ‘The team have had a fantastic season, comfortably winning every match so far with wins coming from all members of the team. They have shown great commitment throughout the season and it is great to see after two years out of BUCS. We will move onto bigger and better things next year!’ With Bouchard, Dan Wright, Perry Tan, Roget Kou and James O’Reilly guiding them forward, the future looks bright for the club. With only Southampton Solent 1st, their nearest rivals, to play in the league, Bristol are on the cusp of an unprecedented league victory. With a league and cup double still on the cards, Bouchard’s optimism is well founded, and they will have every confidence that they will bring silverware back to Bristol, and continue to grow as a club.