Issue 679 29 01 18

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ISSUE 679 29 JAN 2018 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

#NeverOK posters vandalised

ExeFest scrapped after £15k loss

Edd Church News Team

EXCLUSIVE

C Guild accused of attempting to cover up damage to the posters Sources reveal that posters were defaced with Islamophobic, racist and sexist abuse

EXCLUSIVE

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HE Students’ Guild has been accused of attempting to cover up the circumstances surrounding the mysterious disappearance of this year’s #NeverOK pledge posters.

Sources have revealed to Exeposé that racist and Islamophobic messages were written on this year’s posters, despite Shades, the Guild President, insisting that

they were instead “torn”. Reportedly, they also contained messages relating to Mens’ Rights Activism.

In the process of moving they got a bit damaged

Shades, Guild President

The posters, which also formed part of last year’s campaign, were signed by students who sign up to the #NeverOK pledge, which includes agreeing to take action to prevent sexual harassment, not tol-

FEATURES

Office for Students’ Chief Executive in the hot seat PAGes 12

erating jokes about sexual harassment and educating themselves and others about consent. One of last year’s pledge posters remains on display in Devonshire House.

Despite the pledge posters being brought out at the #NeverOK launch event on 1 November, they have since disappeared. When questioned at Shadow Council at the end of Term 1, Shades told Councillors that “in the process of moving they got a bit damaged to be honest, and we’re trying to trying to make sure that the presentation is impeccable, and once we have that in place, we can put them

It will be term three ...the celebrations will be after exams.

Becca Hanley (on Xpression FM)

Spokesperson later admits that they were ‘vandalised’, contradicting earlier claims from the Guild and Shades Owain Evans Editor

AMPUS music festival ExeFest is not returning for a second year, despite VP Activities Becca Hanley previously saying it would be ready for term three.

The University of Exeter Students’ Guild have reported a £15,000 loss from last year’s event which, they believe, means that attempting it again would be “diverting this money away from vital core services”.

However, in an interview with Xpression FM on Monday 22 January...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

up.” When pushed further over how they were damaged, Shades said that she had “no clue”.

However, when the issue was raised again at a later Shadow Council, she instead claimed that they had been “physically torn” and that she had discovered them after she “came in on a weekend.”

In contrast to the claims made by Shades, sources have told Exeposé that the posters were removed by a member of the Sabbatical team...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Shades’ response: There are a couple of things brought up by Exeposé in this article seemingly only for the purpose of sensationalising this issue. I stand by the claims about the posters being damaged, they were vandalised which if you look up in a dictionary means deliberately damaged; I wouldn’t want to mention the issues like Islamophobia/ Male-activist views on a public forum like Shadow Council to prevent any triggers/concerns amongst students who might feel vulnerable in this respect. At the time of the vandalism we considered if we could pursue the offenders further and we could not due to a lack of evidence. We seek to promote an inclusive community at Exeter and such sensationalisation only hinders the productivity of our campaigns. It is a shame that the witness did not come forward at the time where we could have taken action. It is important to acknowledge that the Guild never denied to comment at any point, if details were unknown, however, this was made clear.

SCREEN

Exeposé Screen Awards: the alternative Oscars PAGes 28-29

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EXEPOSÉ

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

Editors Print: Owain Evans & Emma Bessent Deputy: Tash Ebbutt & Graham Moore Online: Phoebe Davis & Ollie Lund editors@exepose.com News Editors Print: Megan Davies & Natalie Keffler Online: Nicky Avasthi & Ruby Bosanquet news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: Alicia Rees & Malcolm Wong Online: Harry Bunting & Hannah Weiss comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: James Angove & Isabel Taylor Online: Matthew Phillips & Daphne Bugler features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Print: Lauren Geall & Barbara Balogun Online: Bethan Gilson & Melissa Barker lifestyle@exepose.com Arts + Lit Editors Print: Mubanga Mweemba & Maddie Davies Online: Ellie Cook & Emily Garbutt artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Alex Brammer & Maddy Parker Online: Chloë Edwards & George Stamp music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Ben Faulkner & Fenton Christmas Online: Johnny Chern & Molly Gilroy screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Gabriel Yeap & Luke Smith Online: Ayesha Tandon & Rhys Davies sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Dorothea Christmann & Wil Jones Online: Michael Jones & Kieran Jackson sport@exepose.com Photographers Christy Chin & Léa Esteban photography@exepose.com Copy Editors George Pope, Jaysim Hanspal and Eloise Hardy Proofers

Aaron Loose, Harry Caton, Evanna Kappos, Chris Connor, Penny Dinh, Emily Pirie, Maddie Baker, Rhiannon Moore, Lucy Wilson, Amber Ash, Alicia Rees, Luke Smith, Fenton Christmas, Graham Moore, Harry Bunting, Alex Brammer, Nicky Avasthi, Johnny 'the Human' Chern, Ben Faulkner and George Pope.

@ exepose facebook.com/exepose issuu.com/exepose Advertising Kate Watkins kate.watkins@exeterguild.com (01392) 722607 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild.

While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed.

The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

NEWS

Editorial The University of Exeter’s reputation for race relations has been the source of a considerable amount of negative media attention over the past years; last February, “Rights for Whites” and swastika signs were discovered within university halls of residence, and in September 2016, antiSemitic and racist slogans were discovered at an AU club white t-shirt social. Both of these stories were reported on by Exeposé before being picked up on by national papers, including The Guardian, The Sun and The Independent. The Students’ Guild and the University have made concerted efforts to tackle any kind of culture which elicits or encourages these sorts of action across campus and the city’s student community with campaigns such as #WeAreAllExeter.

However, our front page story this issue uncovers the defacing of #NeverOK posters with slogans which condone white supremacism, Islamophobia and Mens’ Rights Activism, an act which shows an equal lack of regard for racial or gender equality, as well as the Guild’s efforts to counter sexual harassment and assault.

This investigation demonstrates that the troubling disrespect of minority and oppressed groups is still alive and well on campus, and the efforts of permanent staff and elected officers within the Guild to obstruct attempts at investigation are another cause for concern. When dealing with issues of prejudice, an atmosphere of transparency is essential to resolving problems at their roots, and we very much hope that this attitude becomes more commonplace in the wake of this story.

Also on the front page, we’re sad to report that ExeFest, the Guild’s on-campus

music festival, has been scrapped for 2018 after making a £15,000 loss in its inaugural year. Along with the closure of the Bike Shed (discussed on News page 3), Exeter seems to be faltering in its cultural development, and we can only hope that the warmer months sees our local theatre and music scenes flourish. In the meantime, Exeposé Music are continuing their Showcase series to provide an authentic taste of the local sound scene - catch them at Cavern on 10th February!

We have another exclusive in the form of our interview with Nicola Dandridge in Features (page 12); the Chief Executive of the newly-created Office for Students, who visited Exeter last week, and spoke to us about universal issues with employability and progression across higher education as well as the immediate and future impact of the Teaching Excellent Framework.

Comment and Features are both exploring the economic impact of higher education on the individual; Features are looking at how the experience of working class students at university varies with the standard representation of student living, and on page 11, Comment are taking a more satirical interest in how it feels to be young, dumb and broke.

In the wake of the recently announced Oscar nominations, Screen have put together a feature detailing which of the silver screen’s most recent offerings they would most like to see recognised for their cinematic excellence (pages 28-29). They’re also debating the relevance of awards ceremonies in the age of streaming on page 26.

Science have a vested interested in technological developments too; on page

Intervention Initiative launched

by Exeter lecturer PAGE 4

COMMENT Holocaust survivor Henri Obstfeld visits Exeter PAGE 10

FEATURES Facebook: friendly facts or fake news?

PAGE 13

SCIENCE Fast food and your immune system: the greasy truth PAGE 33 34, they’re looking at the rise of quantum computing and scientists’ use of home gaming to develop and prove new theories.

Music are similarly interested in the way their creative industry of choice is developing in terms of digital platforms; on page 26, their new Future of Music series is examining the impact of Spotify on production and consumption.

In Arts + Lit, we have a special feature on Irish literature in celebration of James Joyce’s birthday, followed up by the lowdown on the must-reads of 2018 on page 22.

Lifestyle are keeping it local as they list the

activities and experiences of Exeter which ought to be pre-requisites for receiving your degree certificate (page 16) and the best ways to keep fit in the city, besides combatting constant hill sweat on your climb to campus (page 18). Further, Exeter’s arguably peak attraction is under fire (‘scuse the pun) as Comment discuss the outrageous Twitter storm which revealed that J K Rowling has never even stepped foot inside the Old Firehouse (page 8).

All in all, this issue is jam-packed with exciting content, and as ever, we’re excited to share it with you.

Worldwide university news Halls development Over 17,000 students More firsts than 2:2s labeled "almost brutal" for the first time face debt arrears

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TUDENT debt arrears from rent have increased 16% in the past year and huge increases in evictions. New statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that students facing rental arrears in university accommodation has increased significantly and more than 17,000 students fell behind their rent payments in the last year. A smaller but increasing number of students are also being evicted from halls or having their tenancies cancelled after falling behind with their payments. The data was uncovered by the Liberal Democrats that found that 97 students were evicted from their halls in 2017, this is more than double the 40 from the previous year. The data was collected from 90 universities in the UK, 21 showed that they had evicted a student or cancelled their contract due to failure to pay rent on time in the past five years.

Images: Phil Champion/Geograph (left), Thomas Wolf (right)

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CCORDING to official data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, more than 100,000 students graduated with top honours from British universities last summer, 26% of the total number of graduations. This number has been increasing: in 2012-13 only 18% of undergraduates received firsts (70,000 in total). In summer 2017, for the first time, more students graduated with firsts than with lower second-class degrees (2:2s) or below.

Nearly half received upper seconds (2:1s), a proportion that has remained similar for several years. More than 14,000 more women than men received firsts and only 4% of women graduating last year were awarded third-class degrees, compared with 6% of men. The number of students in higher education, including the 2016-17 intake, rose by 2%. There was particularly strong growth in the numbers taking higher degrees.

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ESISTANCE to plans for a redevelopment of St. Patrick’s Halls at the University of Reading has been growing, with the proposed redesign being labelled "almost brutal" by Reading Civic Society. The proposal would increase the halls by around 64 per cent, to 1,807 bedrooms.

Reading East MP Matt Rodda has written to the council to oppose the redevelopment, which was initially put forward in 2015 before being changed. A spokesperson for the University of Reading said: "We have liaised extensively with the Northcourt Avenue Residents’ Association (NARA) over the last two years and have substantially changed building designs and site plans to reflect local concerns and comments. We believe our proposals are in keeping with our commitment to the local area while seeking to create much needed extra accommodation for students."

The plans are scheduled to be viewed by the council on 7 February.

"Objectifying" poem mural to be replaced

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LICE Salomon University in Berlin elected to paint over a university wall which displays the verse of poet Eugen Gomringer, winner of the Alice Salomon Poetic Prize in 2011, in favour of a new prizewinner’s work every five years. The poem, which features the line ‘avenues and flowers and women and an admirer’, was accused of objectifying women, and a majority of students voted to remove it in an online poll in 2017. Gomringer criticized the university’s decision, labelling it "an encroachment on the freedom of art and poetry."

Olaf Zimmerman, managing director for the German Cultural Council, stated he "would never have thought it possible for a university that is itself a beneficiary of freedom of art and science to trample on this right in such a way." University rector Uwe Bettig defended the decision as "a clear commitment to art".

Stories by Orlagh Fallon and Alex Wingrave, Senior Reporters

News

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NEWS EDITORS:

Natalie Keffler Megan Davies

Bike Shed Theatre takes its final bow

Graham Moore Deputy Editor

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N 31 March, Exeter’s awardwinning Bike Shed Theatre is set to close. The nationallyrecognised Fore Street venue’s closure, announced on 23 January, is due to insufficient funds being available for the theatre to continue running.

On 31 March, the curtain will fall for a final time Bike Shed Theatre

The Bike Shed Theatre is a charitable organisation, supported in part

by Arts Council England and Exeter City Council; however, a considerable amount of the venue’s funding came from the attached bar. Recently the bar has found itself making insufficient profit to keep the theatre running, an occurrence which it has attributed in part to “the fantastic range of drinking establishments in the city”, and thus the Bike Shed has found itself unable to make ends meet.

In a statement, co-founder David Lockwood said: “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve and we continue to believe in a quality of experience. We don’t want to lessen our offer or sell out to a national chain. And so, with a very heavy heart and after a lot of attempts to find a way to keep on going, we’ve decided to close up. However, theatre by its very nature is ephemeral and sometimes there’s a need for things to fall for other to grow. There’s every chance that our exit leaves the scene free for others to create their own things, better things, wonderful things.”

A release on the venue’s official website continues, “We don’t want to go backwards. […] On 31 March, the curtain will fall for a final time, the last orders bell will fall silent, and we’ll be left with memories.” When approached by a group of University of Exeter students, who raised the prospect of a fundraising scheme, the venue reportedly confirmed once more that its closure is a final decision.

Since its opening on 8 February 2010, the Bike Shed Theatre has been host not only to an innovative and ex-

citing theatrical programme, but also to slam poetry competitions, live music, and comedy acts, many of which have achieved national recognition.

It was named ‘Britain’s Most Welcoming Theatre’ in 2013, and won ‘Best Arts Venue’ and ‘Best Watering Hole’ in the 2016 Exeter Living Awards. The loss of such a unique and vibrant location in Devon’s arts scene – credited by the Guardian as “keeping theatre alive in

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HE results for the annual VP Education Survey have been released, highlighting important data from the student body about their experiences whilst studying courses at Exeter. Particularly interesting points to the survey are that, for Q8, a huge majority of students voted that assessment deadlines are too close together, and consequently module conveyers should communicate further to ensure they don’t place their deadlines at the same time.

Q15a shows that students feel better prepared for their careers as a result of studying their course, which is arguably crucial for enabling students to feel con-

fident about their choice to do a degree rather than going straight into a career, due to the debt they are then faced with upon graduating. However, despite feeling more confident about their degree, over half of students felt that the careers fairs held by the University weren’t relevant enough to them.

There was also some concern raised over limited module choices, with some students wanting further diversity. Meanwhile, 64 per cent of students would prefer to stick to one week of January exams, rather than the two-week option offered by the Survey.

In conclusion, the top two changes voted for by students were revisions of the assessment and feedback methods currently used, and alterations to contact hours and timetabling structures.

As for what the future holds, plans are still going ahead for the Boat Shed project, a development of several derelict warehouses at Exeter’s Quay into a re-purposed performance and creativity space. The Boat Shed aims to house a bar, café, and indoor market, alongside a 250-seat theatre venue and smaller performance spaces for live music and comedy. It opened as a pop-up in May 2017, when it hosted over 100 live performances. Work on the Boat Shed project is ongoing, as is funding.

“For now,” says Lockwood, “perhaps we could all sing the Bike Shed out. We’ve a glorious programme until the end of March, the fantastic Powderkeg are putting some lines in for beer on tap as you read this and we’re serving pizzas from The Flat all evening. So come on down for one last time (or a few last times). […] Thanks so much for making the Bike Shed. Until next we meet.”

The Bike Shed Theatre and Bar is located at 162/3 Fore Street, EX4 3AT. A full programme of the venue’s events is available at www.bikeshedtheatre. co.uk.

Image: Bike Shed Theatre

Academics set to strike

The results are in Natalie Keffler News Editor

Exeter” - has been met with dismay by many. Eleanor Webster, a second-year Drama student at the University, said: “The Bike Shed Theatre was a staple of the Exeter Theatre scene. It was a space for students, lecturers, artists and members of the community to meet and watch great theatre. Most of all, it was a playground for emerging artists to try new ideas in a safe space. It will be sorely missed.”

Harriet Roberts News Team

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HE University of Exeter will be among 61 universities which will be affected by a wave of strikes totalling 14 days, if a dispute over academics’ pensions is not resolved.

This prospect became much more likely after talks over the future of the Universities Superannuation Scheme ended without an agreement on Tuesday 23 January. Academic staff are dissatisfied about changes to the University Superannuation Scheme imposed by Universities UK. The scheme will be changed from a definite benefit scheme, ensuring that University staff would have a secure income in retirement, to a defined contribution scheme where their pensions would be controlled by the changes to the stock market. This would put the security of academic retirement in jeopardy. Since the cuts to benefits from 2011, USS members have been left with pensions worth less than those of school teachers. Of the 58% of UCU members who voted, 88% are in favour of strikes. 92.6 per cent of Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) members at Exeter voted in favour of action.

The UCU have said that the strike would start with a two-day walkout on 22 and 23 February. This would be further escalated to three, four and then five-day walk-outs, causing further disruption to students.

At certain universities such as Edinburgh, which have a reading week during the proposed strike, the industrial action will be moved to cause maximum effect.

Furthermore, union members would be able to refuse to reschedule classes missed by strike action and cover any classes. Given the importance of second term, this dispute puts massive pressure on the academic achievements of many students. Not only will those at the end of their degrees be affected but those who have many contact hours a week will struggle to make up the time lost.

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick, criticised Universities UK for not securing stable pensions for UCU members.

A University of Exeter spokesman said: “We remain committed to supporting a scheme that is sustainable for both the University and our employees. We believe this is the best outcome that can be achieved, avoiding increases in cost for staff and the University, while con-

tinuing to offer attractive, well-funded future pension benefits. We hope that ongoing discussions between UUK, UCU and USS will lead to industrial action being avoided. We are assessing the impact of any possible industrial action, and our main priority will be to minimise any impact this may have on our students. We will keep students informed about developments as the discussions progress.”

In a press release on 23 January, UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: “Staff will feel utterly betrayed by their leaders. We are disappointed at how talks ended today, particularly after UUK suggested yesterday that it wanted more talks to avoid strikes. Universities must be on notice that unless there are dramatic changes in their negotiators’ position then strike action will be arriving on campus next month.”

The union have said that they hope that more vice-chancellors will be mobilised by potential strike action to publically put pressure on UUK and therefore limit disruption to the students who pay £9,250 a year. This dispute comes after a long line of debate surrounding how universities handle their money, in particular the salaries of Vice-Chancellors.

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29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS

Bystander initiative against sexual harassment

Uni debuts free climate change courses

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REE climate change courses have started at the University of Exeter.

Hosted by a team of academics led

by Professor Tim Lenton, Dr Damien Mansell, and alumnus Liam Taylor, the courses commenced with ‘Climate Change: The Science’ on Monday 22 January.

It will explore the scientific facts of the Earth’s history up to the present day — showing people the difference between ‘natural’ changes, and what has been a result of human activity.

Coming up on 19 of February is ‘Climate Change: Solutions’, followed by ‘Valuing Nature: Should We Put a Price on Ecosystems?’ on 19 March, and finally the two-week long course entitled, ‘Tipping Points: Climate Change and Society’.

Dr. Mansell said of the project: “joining us on the course is not just a great opportunity for learners to develop their understanding of climate change, but to connect with learners from around the world.”

Edd Church, News Team

Megan Davies & Isabel Taylor News Editor & Features Editor

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HE Intervention Initiative, a project developed by Dr Rachel Fenton, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter’s Law School, was launched on Wednesday. It is the UK’s first evidence-based bystander programme.

It is designed to help bystander intervention, helping to prevent sexual harassment and assault.

The programme is designed to be delivered in eight facilitated sessions, and the toolkit is available for free on the School of Social Sciences’ website.

It is designed to take people through a psychological process that will help them to spot warning signs that might indicate abuse and teach people attitudes to challenge these behaviours.

Dr Fenton explained that if these problematic behaviours are left unchallenged, this reinforces attitudes and contexts that normalise sexual harassment. Interventions can

be very small, such as body language or distracting the perpetrator, and that they are used to challenged “low-level sexual harassment and sexism.”

Dr Fenton also explained that the programme has the advantage of engaging men instead of framing them as perpetrators, which is often difficult - but men’s voices are often important to other men.

Fee Scott, CEO of Devon Rape Crisis, spoke at the event, saying that she had

Image: Cal Injury Lawyer

Lawyers share their path to law thanks to lecturer

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R Matthew Channon, a Law lecturer at the University of Exeter, recently established a platform where people shared their path to success in law with the hashtag #mypathtolaw on Twitter.

The hashtag was started for Dr Channon recognised the exaggerated belief that a successful career in Law was almost unachievable, especially to those not from a privileged background.

The hashtag received nearly 2,000 tweets, and was trending at times.

Each of the success stories shared was unique. Some people had to overcome poverty; some was undermined by their school teachers. Others grieved the death of their parents or loved ones while persevering with their education.

Dr Channon hoped that these success stories being shared would inspire not only aspiring lawyers but also “all who have a dream.”

Penny Dinh, News Team

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CROWDFUNDING page was set up last week in order to raise money to purchase Katie Hopkins’ St. Leonards mansion, in an attempt which aims to use the property to house refugees or asylum seekers.

After losing an expensive libel case involving journalist and activist Jack Monroe, Hopkins has been forced to put her Exeter home on the market.

We’ll be helping the people Hopkins so clearly despises Scott Walker

Describing the possible purchase as “a great victory for the people of the UK”, the GoFundMe page aims to combat what it calls “Hopkins’s disgusting views on immigrants and refugees”.

Hopkins has made her views on the topic clear in the past, as she compared migrants to “cockroaches” and “feral humans” in a Sun column she

mediatisation of sexual harassment and assault.

Dr Fenton recently started working at Exeter, after having started to develop the programme at the University of the West of England, in Bristol.

Francis Porter, a UWE student who went through the training programme at UWE, where it was piloted said he preferred “a couple of seconds of embarrassment than the guilt of not having done anything.”

The programme is already compulsory at UWE’s law school, where it is required to pass it in order to progress into second year.

É If you or a friend need support. you can contact: University Wellbeing 01392 724381 www.exeter.ac.uk/wellbeing Devon Rape Crisis 01392 204174 www.devonrapecrisis.org.uk NHS - The Oak Centre 01392 436967 www.theoakcentresarc.org.uk Image: Sage Ross/Wikimedia Commons

Katie Hopkins’ house sale provokes refugee crowdfunder Lauren Geall Lifestyle Editor

worked in partnership with the university for several years, delivering training for university and Guild staff. She pointed out a recent rise in reports of secual assault and harassment, particularly strong in the under-25 age group.

Professor Kevin Elliston, Public Health Consultant in Health Improvement at Public Health England, called the programme “a Zeitgeist resource”, citing the recent #MeToo campaign and wide

wrote at the time.

Scott Walker, who set up the campaign, described the response to the page as “really positive.

“I’ve been genuinely overwhelmed.

This has been a great experience overall and will hopefully counter some of the negative things Hopkins has said over the years.”

However, a recent update to the page has listed the property as sold, concluding the campaign to purchase the property. Instead, the money raised will now be donated to a charitable cause which supports migrants/refugees in Katie Hopkins’ name. Alongside this update, Walker added a final message of thanks to “everyone who’s helped with the campaign in any way.”

“Although we may not have achieved what we originally set out to do, we’ll definitely be helping the people who Hopkins so clearly despises, and who deserve far far better than some of the evil things she’s said about them in the past.”

The page, which has raised £8,677 at the time of writing, will remain open for a few more days to allow for any last-minute donations.

Ex-fest(ival)

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

...Hanley stated that the Guild Comms team will be doing announcements ‘soon’, and said that ExeFest 2018 would be in term three.

During the interview, Hanley was asked what was happening with ExeFest this year, to which she replied: “There will be announcements about ExeFest soon from our Comms team, but I can’t say any more at this moment I’m really sorry.” When pressed further, she revealed that “It will be term three, so like, the celebrations will be after exams.”

Since Monday, Hanley released the following statement: “Following a series of discussions relating to affordability, the Students’ Guild has made the decision not to hold an event of the scale of last year’s Exefest – our campus music festival, this summer. Care was taken to consider the benefit of the event for the student experience versus the £15,000 financial loss that the event encountered. On balance, the Guild believed that diverting this money away from vital core services to fund a loss making event was not in the best interests of its student members. Instead, effort is going into a Summer, post- exam party, held in the Ram. “I would like to clarify my former

statement in which I declared that ExeFest would be taking place this summer. This is not the case, however, we are looking forward to continuing with our plans for an alternative summer party in the Ram.” However, at the time of going to print, the progress updates on Hanley’s ‘They Represent You’ page on the Guild website show that her ‘Continue ExeFest’ manifesto promise is mostly complete. The most recent update, from August 2017, claims that “ExeFest will return. Becca will be on the working group to ensure that the festival will be a success with student involvement.”

ExeFest was the main manifesto point of last year’s VP Activities, Tristan Gatward. Last year, the festival hosted acts as large as The Hoosiers, Cascada, Example, and Wheatus.

NEWS

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Is Brexit impacting graduate recruitment?

Jaimie Hampton Senior Reporter

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RECENT study on the UK’s leading graduate recruiters suggests that uncertainty over Brexit has caused the number of new graduate jobs to decrease in 2017.

However, the figures produced by the study also indicate that Exeter students should look optimistically towards the year ahead as the number of graduate positions is set to increase.

A study conducted by High Fliers Research found that the top 100 graduate employers downgraded their hiring plans after the EU referendum.

This resulted in a 4.9 per cent decrease at the end of 2017 for the the number of graduates recruited by private sector organisations.

The study reports that before the Brexit referendum vote, the top 100 graduate employers – including Unilever and Goldman Sachs – aimed to hire 22,000 graduates in the UK. However, the uncertainty caused by Brexit meant that only 19,133 graduate students were recruited.

These figures, which caught the

attention of the British media, do not accurately represent the entire graduate labour market as the study also suggests that graduate recruitment is expected to recover by 3.6 per cent in 2018.

Therefore, despite a small decrease in graduate recruitment in 2017, the top 100 graduate recruiters are optimistic about the year ahead.

There is more positive news than negative behind the Guardian headline

Paul Blackmore, Head of Student Employability and Academic Success

“Whilst the concerns of several city firms regarding Brexit have been well documented since the EU referendum, any significant impact on the overall graduate labour market, good or bad, still remain to be seen,” said Paul Blackmore, Head of Student Employability and Academic Success at the University of Exeter. “More positive news for Exeter students is that the same report highlights Exeter’s continuous climb in the rankings as a targeted university by the top 100 recruiters, rising to

12th from 15th in the previous year.”

Headlines, such as in The Guardian and The Times, stating that there are “fewer graduate jobs amid Brexit fears” can add to the concerns of students.

A claim by The Times that “recent estimates suggest that three quarters of graduates will not repay them [student loans] in full,” can add to students’ concerns about the tuition fees system and the costs of an undergraduate degree.

However, Paul Blackmore argues that “there is more positive news than negative behind the Guardian headline which I think is important for students to be aware of.” The statistics produced by the study only represent the recruitment patterns from the top 100 employers, therefore they only account for 22,000 jobs within the British graduate labour market. In 2017, the public sector, including the NHS and the Civil Service, continued to hire in substantially increased numbers. Furthermore, the engineering sector showed a small rise in graduate positions.

“The remaining 5 million businesses account for the 100,000s of graduate jobs available each year. It is also worth noting that the Annual Survey (2017)

#NeverOK vandalism admitted by Guild

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

... not because they had been torn, but because offensive messages were written on them. One eyewitness told Exeposé: “I walked in and there was this dude kneeling down next to the #NeverOK posters at the bottom of the stairs where they put the Christmas tree. He was writing about Men’s Rights Activism and that people can’t be censored, and implying that the #NeverOK thing was in some way sexist against men.” Another pointed out that there was a “white power slogan”, and words about “women being oppressed

by Islam.”

This comes after numerous incidents last year, in which “the Holocaust was a good time” and “don’t talk to me if you’re not white” were written on attendees at a white t-shirt social, a swastika was carved into a door at Birks Grange Village, and a ‘Rights for Whites’ sticker was found in Llewellyn Mews.

When Exeposé followed up the claims with the Students’ Guild, we were told that “Shades is correct” despite further queries being raised about the inconsistencies between her accounts of the damage, and that “the #NeverOK posters were damaged last term.” When pushed further on the exact damage that had occurred, the

Guild declined to comment.

At Shadow Council on Tuesday 23 January, Shades claimed that “they’re [the posters] literally with Comms because they’re torn”. Later that day, Exeposé made a request to the Guild’s Communications Department to see the posters, and were denied. A second request on Thursday 25 January was turned down on the basis that “they have since been disposed of due to this damage and therefore cannot be seen”.

When Exeposé asked when the posters had been disposed of, the Guild declined to comment.

Unfortunately, this year’s boards were vandalised and damaged Students’ Guild Spokesperson

Emma Wallace and Tabitha-Levis Jarsdel, co-Presidents of Exeter Feminist Society, told Exeposé: “If it’s true that the #NeverOK posters were vandalised with misogynistic, as well as Islamophobic and white supremacist, language, then that’s disgusting. Not only does this undermine the original campaign to stop sexual assault on campus and the surrounding area, but a potential cover up by the Guild questions their original commitment to #NeverOK.

“The Guild needs to be more accountable and not privilege their own reputation in concealing and failing to acknowledge Exeter’s problems. You cannot protect Muslim, Jewish, BME or non-male students from this type of prejudice by lying about it. The Guild needs to be more transparent and forthcoming if instances like this happen in future.”

On the day that this issue of Exeposé was set to go to print, a spokesperson for the Students’ Guild admitted that vandalism had occurred, in contrast to what was said by Shades and previous claims from the Guild. The statement read: “For the past two years we have asked Exeter students to pledge to the ideals of the #NeverOK campaign both online and on pledge boards.

Unfortunately this year’s boards were vandalised and damaged during this process which resulted in them being removed. Months later, when Exeposé asked to view them we were unable to produce them because they were disposed of as we were unable to use them for display.

“It is unfortunate that this damage and coverage of it will detract from an important campaign that highlighted for two years many of the issues that we are now seeing at the forefront of public consciousness.”

of the Institute of Student Employers reported an overall 1% rise in graduate vacancies across its more representative membership,” says Blackmore. “However, this more positive news shouldn’t be mistaken for a signal that students can expect to walk into a job. Employers will leave vacancies unfilled if applicants don’t meet their robust selection processes.”

Although the findings of this study were published amid debate on the value of a university degree, it remains to be seen that Brexit will have a significant impact on graduate opportunities for Exeter students. Students will continue to have access to thousands of vacancies on offer from a diverse range of employers from sectors relevant to all disciplines.

Image: Dave Kellam/Wikimedia Commons

Holocaust Memorial Day event moves students Isabel Taylor Features Editor

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S part of an event held to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on 17 January, the University welcomed Henri Obstfeld, a survivor of the Holocaust, to recount his experiences.

Organised by Barnabas Balint, a history student, the event was attended by University of Exeter students, pupils from four local schools and members of the local branch of the Historical Association.

There were tears

Tony Reese, Jewish Chaplain The event also featured seminars were run by University of Exeter academics Dr David Tollerton and Dr Ana Antic on related issues and a talk from Rosemary Schonfeld on her parents’ experience of living through the Holocaust.

Karen Pollock MBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, explained that there was no better way to educate young people about the Holocaust than with firsthand accounts from survivors.

Henri, who was born in Amsterdam in 1940, recounted how he was

separated from his parents at the age of two, and was placed with a nonJewish family who pretended that he was their orphaned nephew. In May 1940 German troops had occupied Holland, and by 1942 Jews in Amsterdam were being rounded up and sent to work camps.

“I was meant to be their nephew who had lost his parents during the bombardment of Rotterdam. And in Holland everyone knew about it of course… so it was a good excuse.

“Did everyone buy the excuse?

No, there were a few people who had reservations but I didn’t know about that until after the war.”

Henri was eventually reunited with his parents at the end of the war and the couple who saved his life, Jakob and Hendrika Klerk, who were honoured for their bravery.

Tony Reese, who is the Jewish Chaplain at the university said: “Students and school pupils who heard this testimony were visibly moved.

There were tears.”

In addition to this event, some students are also taking part in the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s ‘Postcard project’. They have created an exhibition about the life of Renie Inow, a Holocaust survivor and plan to send him a postcard.

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29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

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Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Alicia Rees Malcolm Wong

Liar, liar, house on fire

Olivia Denton Contributor

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SIMPLE sentence with a crushing sentiment: “I’ve never been to this pub in my life”. When JK Rowling tweeted last week “if you want real fantasy go to an estate agent” in response to the legendary Firehouse being snapped up for £3-4 million by PLC, the legend of Rowling taking inspiration for the Leaky Cauldron from the Harry Potter franchise took its last sip of the emerald potion Horcrux (for nonfluent speakers, that means it was brutally crushed).

I’ve never been to this pub in my life JK Rowling Twitter user @danielRD_15 voiced the nation’s sorrow, reacting with a crying face emoji accompanied with the phrase we were all thinking:

it’s “all a lie”. Already dangerously close to never receiving our letter to Hogwarts, this story shatters our last illusion about university. Along with the fact we thought we would be organised, find the love of our lives and get value for £9,250, we now have to add this to our list.

What many people forget about Exeter University is that JK Rowling didn’t enjoy her time here. So immediately, the urban legends that Exeter city inspired elements of Harry Pottery are weakened. Maybe it isn’t inspired by Exeter but it surely has to be partly inspired by England, its quaint fantasy and stereotyping of an English boarding school-system is irresistible even to the most pessimistic of us.

The only strong cases for JK taking major inspiration is in the mention of Devon’s geography: the

drama of Dartmoor, the uniquely named villages like “Budleigh Babbington” (supposedly named after

Picture: Daniel Ogren

Budleigh Salterton), and Ottery St Catchpole (perhaps taken from Ottery St Mary). The idea that Gandy Street is the inspiration for Diagon Alley is, frankly, laughable. Gandy Street holds the magic of Sunday mornings and Devon holidays with its quirky selection of chocolates and jewellers, but the most supernatural thing there is the astronomical prices of the products.

Essentially, Gandy Street is just a narrow street, isn’t it?

I once visited the Washington Singer building purely hoping to bump into Moaning Myrtle, and was disappointed in what was essentially a pair of slightly old taps. Though I did spend an embarrassing amount of time searching for Slytherin iconography.

Personally, I always knew JK wasn’t taking inspiration from the at-

mospheric gathering house, because there is no mention of any Leaky Cauldron pizzas. My first Firehouse bite was the closest I’ve had to experiencing the magical and supernatural, and that is too prominent a fact to edge around in this debate.

Essentially, Gandy Street is just a narrow street, isn’t it?

What I think is quite magical about this story is that it’s got traction. We wanted to believe, with all our hearts, that someone as prolific as Rowling would honour and love the places dear to our hearts and immortalise them in writing. We believed that JK was inspired by these locations because these places mean so much to us.

Just like Harry at Hogwarts and Rowling herself at Exeter, we are coming of age in these Leaky Cauldrons of life, and we want these places that mean so much to us to mean so much to the Wizarding world too.

Refrained from Refreshers’ George Pitchford Contributor

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EFRESHERS’ has become the latest casualty in the line of events that have been axed from the Guild calendar.

This decision is a disconcerting one for those of us heavily involved in committees, and the everyday society member will consider themselves a little let down.

The benefits of Refreshers’ is twofold. Of course, it’s brilliant for societies in need of a boost to secure solid turnout and event quality in Term Two. Conceptually, it’s great for students wanting to dive into a new societies, making the most of their £9k by soaking up all the extracurricular available. This also opens up the possibility of flexibility in memberships, something exemplified by BodySoc’s option for a half price membership for Terms Two

and Three. But this hasn’t been so easy elsewhere, and thousands of students would benefit from being able to test the waters of numerous organisations.

The cancellation of Refreshers is painful The most clear-cut example of this is international students, or those who have semesters abroad.

It’s nonsense for temporary students or undergraduates returning for Term 2 to have to pay full price for the more expensive societies, and a designated Refreshers’ Week means these students are still able to access the thrill of joining a niche organisation in the hope of discovering an underground drinking society.

With this in mind, the notion of a Refreshers’ Fair surfaces on societies’ minds each year. Inviting so-

cieties back to the Great Hall for a sequel to Freshers’ Week is an idea floated by Sabb candidates each year.

Being in a position of responsibility for a society, it is my opinion that the benefits of a second fair would far outweigh the costs. However, unless societies pull resources together to convincingly pitch this to those in power, we’ll be spinning our wheels for the foreseeable future.

One reason for the absence of Refreshers’ this year is merely the scheduling of it. Exeter’s term starts early in comparison to most universities, but there’s still very little leeway in terms of spare time. The first week of the second term is characterised by exams, and there’s no pit stop as you’re slammed straight into lectures the following week. It’s because of this that Refreshers’ has never received the same coverage as its Term 1 counterpart. It’s hard to achieve such a feat without the time

and the finances to throw at it.

In conjunction with Mental Health Month, a wide variety of AU clubs have made free taster sessions available to all students. One could’ve tried anything from Pilates with the Boat Club to picking up your first frisbee with the guys from Ultimate. This has a quasi-Refreshers’ feel to it, and thanks to on-campus marketing this “Give it a Go” scheme has taken off.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the data to prove the influence of Refreshers’.

But what I can do is a quick Google search on Refreshers’ at other universities to see how we

compare. Southampton’s SU makes a strong effort, collaborating with its local clubs to bring Refreshers’ themed nights to the city, all the while selling wristbands through the union website. A quick browse through Birmingham’s Guild presents a similar situation in 2016, which their Guild clumsily named ‘Refreshers’ Fest’.

Ultimately, the cancellation of Refreshers is a painful one. It’s luckily not a disaster for most societies, rather more of a disappointment to societies who’d reap the rewards of being able to showcase their work for a second time.

COMMENT

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Put your mind to it Lauren Geall Lifestyle Editor

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FTER making its debut on Netflix earlier this month, the Channel 4 show The End of the F***ing World has stirred up a lot of interest for it’s dark but often humorous exploration of the lives of its two teenage protagonists, Alyssa and James. Motivated

by Alyssa’s desire to escape her unstable and abusive family life and James’ decision to kill her (he thinks he’s a psychopath), the two embark on a road trip which leads them into trouble they couldn’t have imagined.

They navigate the confusing world of teenage relationships in extraordinary circumstances.

Most noticeable about this series is its exploration of teenage mental health issues, as both James and Alyssa end up dealing with problems from their past as they become closer. Indeed, what is so central to

this show is its portrayal of an untraditional relationship shaped and often dictated by trauma from the past. This raises questions about the show’s influence on its teenage audience; to what extent can James and Alyssa’s relationship provide any real teachings for its young audience?

Particularly central to this theme is the show’s exploration of sexuality and consent, with Alyssa’s feigned sexual confidence matched by James’ lack thereof. After breaking into a luxurious house, the teens are shown drinking heavily before Alyssa tries to engage James in sexual activities.

Using internal dialogue as well as speech to show us what the characters are really thinking, the scene provides a refreshing representation of teenage sex, which is messy, confusing and generally awkward. This

is the representation that teenagers need on screen; The End of the F**cking World trades Hollywood perfection for stark reality, giving its young audience an authentic representa-

Picture: Netflix

tion of sex. However, as James tells Alyssa to stop and she walks away in anger, we begin to wonder what kind of message this show might be giving. In this moment, Alyssa’s frustration seems to suggest that once you’ve indicated interest in someone, you’re in the wrong if you don’t want to follow that through - a message which is definitively damaging.

But the show counteracts this by positioning James and Alyssa’s relationship within its extraordinary context. When it comes to Alyssa, this scene exposes her desire to be wanted and loved as a result of her parental abandonment. The show cleverly uses her troublesome, fiery personality, which may be disliked at

first, to represent the teenager who acts up in a desperate plea for attention. Alyssa is not as confident as she might like to present herself; the internal wish “I hope I’m good at this” exposing her weaker, more vulnerable side.

The show avoids this by positioning their relationship within its extraordinary context Whereas the show’s representation of this dysfunctional relationship may be potentially problematic, The End of the F**cking World avoids this by presenting the protagonist’s actions as an extension of their past trauma. By giving the viewer an insight into the characters back stories, we are able to understand how this messed up relationship functions for Alyssa and James, without excusing this behaviour on a bigger scale.

Never forgotten Barnabas Balint Contributor

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O mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2018, I welcomed Holocaust survivor Henri Obstfeld to the University of Exeter, where we hosted our annual Holocaust Academic Conference. At the end of the day, Henri turned to me and said: “I wish I had not had to come here”. While at first this was not exactly what I was expecting to hear from him, he did make us think beyond the obvious. Indeed, his words captured something that, I think, a lot of people feel when they commemorate the Holocaust.

We must carry with us the lessons from the past The truth of what happened in the Holocaust is abhorrent. We all wish that humanity was not capable of such terror; that the events of the late 1930s and 40s had not happened; that, after swearing “Never again” at the end of the Second World War, the world would be free from genocide.

But that’s not the case. Since the Second World War, international courts have made indictments for genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Commemorating the Holocaust is not something we do because we want to. It is something that we do because we must. It is our duty. Our duty to those who died, to those who survived, and to those whose lives were torn up and destroyed in the name of an ideology of hatred.

Anyone who has heard from a Holocaust survivor knows where ideologies of hatred lead. Having attended similar events before, I myself will never forget the story of Hannah Lewis, as she recounted to me the last time she saw her mother. Of how she, a small girl hiding in a barn, got one final hug before her mother joined the town’s Jews lined up against a wall. I remember how she sat there telling her story over 70 years later, tears coming to her eyes as she spoke those words: “I saw her fall”. Nothing is more powerful than hearing

those words. Nothing epitomizes our duty to Hannah, to her mother and to all those who suffered in the horrors of the Holocaust, like the words of a Holocaust survivor. Because words have an underestimated power.

When we think of the Holocaust,

we think of violence: of the beatings, shootings, and gassings. But the Holocaust didn’t start with the gas chambers. It started with words. It started with the words of classification: the creation of a difference be-

tween ‘them’ and ‘us’. It started with the words of symbolization: of ‘Jew’ painted on shop windows. It started with the words of dehumanization: of Jews being called ‘vermin’. These words laid the foundations for mass murder. It is words like these that we

complacency. There is no place for this hatred in our society, and it is our duty to ensure that it stays that way.

When we commemorate the Holocaust, everything we do and everything we stand for is not just about the past. It is about what is happening today and how we can work to make the world a better place.

But remembrance of the Holocaust doesn’t begin and end on Holocaust Memorial Day. We must carry with us the lessons from the past wherever we go and live those lessons in our lives. It remains forever our duty to challenge words of hatred whenever and wherever we see them, and to use the power of our own words to share Picture: Barnabas Balint with others the truth about the Holocaust, so can and must challenge when we see that we may all learn lessons from the them around us today. We must not past. Because words truly are powerbelieve for a second that we in this ful. They can either lead to horrors country are immune from acts of ha- or, as with Henri, make you see things tred. We may not be facing the threat in a different light and spur you on to of genocide, but that does not excuse better things. It is up to you.

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29 JAN 2018| EXEPOSÉ

COMMENT

Accommodating your needs Megan Davies News Editor

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MONTH into my first year at University, I overheard a girl behind me in the queue talking about going to her third house viewing, and I thought she was crazy.

Now, a year later, I’m also that girl who got her house sorted early in first term.

I spent all of term two last academic year, and a good part of term three, looking for a house that would take me on. And I got lucky: my housemates, whom I barely knew before June, are some of the loveliest people I know; the heating is functional; the walk not too long. Still, this experience meant that I was keen to arrange a house quickly for my third year: this does, however, mean that I am part of the problem. Freshers every year get overtaken by keen second years, and either start looking late in the game, or make a rash decision to move in with people they’ve known for a month.

Still, I find looking for housing terrifying (nearly as scary as dentists and ineffective anaesthetics). And I’m relatively sure that I’m not the only one

for whom finding housing for second and third year has been an unnecessary stress.

I’d like to be able to find a house in February or March This is where the University and Guild could come in to help students.

Be it an effort to make off-campus housing less expensive, promoting those companies that price their accommodation at reasonable levels, or encouraging estate agents to release their housing lists later in the academic year.

Earlier this year, the Guild advertised private halls as costing “from only £185 per week”. This decision, in my view, is symptomatic of the lack of support around the housing search.

The most visible part of the Guild’s housing strategy, the housing fairs were held weeks after I had signed for my house next year, and featured quite a few empty tables. The most visible stalls were, yet again, those from private halls providers. This is great if you’re looking for free muffins, but not so great if you need to find, you know, a place to live.

Kat Karamani, VP Welfare & Di-

versity, said recently that she had improved the “private landlords to estate agents” (to a 50/50 split) at the January mini housing fair. This is an improvement - however, it is only the beginning of the solution to a much larger problem.

Ideally, I would like to be able to find a house in February or March, when I know more people, when I know what I want, how I work, where I want to live, and crucially, what I can af-

ford. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this might happen soon, at least not in Exeter.

The housing situation is complicated enough as a “normal” undergraduate. I cannot begin to imagine the pressure on postgraduate students to find somewhere to live outside of the length of a normal 1 September - 31 July contract.

And what about students on a year abroad? Should a year abroad constrain

you to private halls, unless a friend happens to be on a four-year course?

In short, some support for the housing search is available - from housing fairs, the Guild Advice Unit, who will check your contracts, the University acting as a guarantor, to Wellbeing services for the stress it causes (I’m not joking). But so, so much more could be done.

Problems on patrol Neha Shaji Contributor

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AST month, the adopted parents of Exeter students, the campus Estate Patrol had decided they wouldn’t be taking drunken students home from clubs or other accommodation. This has understandably come as quite a shock to several students, especially first years, who have the patrol’s number saved on their phone under emergency contacts.

Indeed, Estate Patrol has had to put up with varying levels of debauchery and student antics for years.

A VICE piece recently interviewed some employees of the university’s Estate Patrol, who state how students can be patronising, and often flippant about drug use. Students tend to boast about how they get taken home in paralytic states and the things they’d said to campus security whilst in that state, unknowing or uncaring about how it may affect both the staff and the university’s reputation.

As university drinking culture in general gets worse throughout the UK,

the behaviour campus security have to deal with also deteriorates, not to mention calls from angry locals about property destruction and stolen road signs.

There should not be a blanket cease on nighttime support However, students are often thankful about the safety net Estate Patrol provides them, especially in alcohol fuelled states of panic where they haven’t got cash or comm o n sense about them.

An anony m o u s second year declares she owes her life to the security service, recounting how in her first year, a stranger had seen her collapsed down the road from a club and

called Estate Patrol for her, who then took her back and even tucked her safely into bed. Estate Patrol’s relative availability is practically a godsend for first years who find it hard to navigate the town, especially during the first few weeks after Fresher’s when students are still

beneficial to the university’s reputation, as Estate Patrol have the opportunity to question students about their drug use during the night and if proven, report them to university authorities and ensure they’re in a safe state. With Estate Patrol recalling their take-home services, there is a chance that students who have been using drugs to extreme extents would remain undiscovered, and perhaps end up harming t h e m selves or others. n It’s not o ards R ich m as if Exeter raha re: G u t c is the only Pi university with a heavy drinking culture and campus security, after all. trying to get used The University of Southampton ofto getting round the fer a late bus service, as do several town sober, let alone drunk. other universities, shipping students Their patrol of drug use is also from clubs to home for a small fee. If

Estate Patrol is concerned about the environmental and monetary impact of a ‘free taxi service’, invoices towards students’ accounts (which can be seen from their ID/room number) could be made out to charge them for any costs they may have unwittingly incurred. The Estate Patrol can easily move from a “free” service to an invoiced one, whilst retaining the instant availability for students who do not have cash on hand.

Students are often thankful about the safety net they provide A statement from a student surprised by the sudden change in rules could be used to sum up the situation: “It’s a safety net which has been pulled out from beneath students whose welfare is now at risk. Should estate patrol staff put up with classist or patronising statements? Of course not. Students who do abuse estate patrol should face disciplinary consequences. But this should not mean that there should be a blanket cease on nighttime support.”

COMMENT

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Young, dumb and broke Alex Wingrave Contributor

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T’S a given that almost every student, even at the privileged Surrey-away-from-Surrey known as the University of Exeter, will go through some money troubles during their time in higher education. We’ve all been there – the grayscale misery of eating instant noodles for dinner all week, scrounging a pint off your mate who’s just been paid, attempting to convince yourself that you’re really enjoying the limp sandwich you prepared last night and aren’t craving a Pret.

The New Year is an especially trying time – Christmas presents and celebrations have cleaned you out, bills

are looming and your bank balance looks like a temperature reading in the Antarctic.

Ironically, the best way to make yourself feel better about being broke is spending even more money.

Nothing is more comforting than saying ‘treat yourself ’ and ordering a Dominos, going on a shopping spree, or buying a round of jagerbombs and pretending they’re for your friends, not just you. Obviously this only makes your situation worse, especially when one simple act of giving into temptation turns into five days in a row of Deliveroo and guilt.

As sad as it is, it’s important to try and keep yourself in check. Rewarding yourself with a messy night out or a takeaway at the end of the week is important, as life’s too short to be

miserable, but cutting back on the organic houmous or the large macchiatos can make a big difference overall, and help you enjoy letting loose even more.

Of course life as a young adult, especially in an expensive city like Exeter, is never easy. Very few of us have had to be financially responsible before, and even putting aside the whole crippling debt issue, it’s hard to suddenly balance all the little things that add up. Individually, food, nights out, laundry, bills, books and everything else you might need don’t seem like much, and it’s inevitable that we all

make mistakes and overspend a bit.

Maintenance loans coming in is both a blessing and a curse – suddenly you’ve got all this money to spend, but in reality it needs to somehow last you for months, and there’s no easy answer on how to manage that properly.

On top of all this, there’s always that one infuriating person in your circle who moans the loudest about having no money, but is miraculously affording a new outfit for every visit to Timepiece and cooking themselves restaurantquality meals. How dare they appropriate our indescribable poverty Picture: Mike Iamele for their own,

we all scream internally, before realising that we’re at Exeter, so we’re probably all managing fine, in the end. Being ‘broke’ is a pretty relative concept – it’s obviously difficult to go without things we might take for granted, but ultimately everyone finds ways to survive.

It’s not new or ground-breaking for me to say that students have no money, because duh. And yes, we do cause a lot of itself ourselves - we drink far too much and we indulge ourselves way too often. But we’re saddled with thousands of pounds of debt to pay back either way, so I say, who cares? In an economy where we might only have a few years of our lives to really go wild, we may as well eat, drink and be merry to our heart’s content.

VEGETABLE CORNER Pumpkin

Mushroom

Cherry Tomato

Maddy Parker Music Editor

Nicky Avasthi Online News Editor

Megan Davies News Editor

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AST your mind back to October: leaves falling from the trees, air becoming crisper by the minute, people pulling woolly jumpers and hats out of their wardrobes… All these things combined already add up to the best month of the year, and yet above all this, the main draw is that October is the month when pumpkins are allowed to reach their full potential. What with Jack-O-Lanterns and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, this king of squashes becomes an emblem of all things Autumn. Pumpkins fill up your Instagram feed, whether it’s through pictures of their carved, smiling faces, or even just people clasping Starbucks coffee cups, their orange hue complementing that flawless Autumn aesthetic.

And yet, if all the word “pumpkin” brings to mind is Pumpkin Spice Lattes then you are sorely missing out. Pumpkins, in my opinion, are wasted on lanterns and coffee. This sweet and sumptuous vegetable is not only extremely delicious but extremely versatile - similar to its humble cousin the butternut squash, it is a fantastic addition to all sorts of dishes. There’s a pumpkin option for every course of a meal, so whether you go for pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto (my personal favourite), or pumpkin pie, the opportunities are endless. It’s time to bring pumpkins into everyday use, rather than cruelly confining them to one specific month, and when we do, people will finally accept that pumpkins are for life, not just for Autumn.

Picture: Pexels

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USHROOMS. They shouldn’t even be allowed in the sanctity of Veggie Corner, what with being a filthy fungus and all. I’ll never be able to understand how people can bring themselves to consume such a wretched excuse for something edible.

They’re so rubbery and gross. When you chew them they squeak against your teeth. Why would anyone in their right mind want to eat squeaky food? Mushrooms are like the pineapple-onpizza of all foods – only the weirdos enjoy them, in our heart of hearts we all know that. “A mushroom, or toadstool, is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus”. That’s what comes up when you google ‘mushrooms’. Fleshy! What vegetarian could eat mushrooms with a clear conscience, knowing that they are so “fleshy”? Blegh.

Even having to spend five minutes thinking about the despicable things in order to write this article is making me feel sick.

Mushrooms are like the hangover of foods: when you’re cooking them, you’re having a great time, feeling so proud of yourself for expanding the horizons of your menial student diet and exploring a food other than pasta. But then, when you actually get around to eating them, you regret every decision you ever made and swear to never try to be creative with your cooking again. In conclusion, mushrooms are gross, the people who eat them are sub-human, and I hope they go extinct (the mushrooms, that is, not the people - there’s still hope for them).

Picture: Pixabay

W

HAT food is a good snack, sweet, fun, and still healthy?

There is only one answer: the baby tomato. Sweeter than a regular tomato, but still as nice in a salad; satisfyingly crunchy, does it have any downsides? More expensive, maybe. And who hasn’t had the mortifying experience of biting into it and squirting its juices everywhere? Still, the baby tomato goes well on a platter with crisps, in a bowl in front of the TV (when the crisps have run out, admittedly)...

I never put these small wonders into my stir-frys. Why waste them on other vegetables, when they are clearly so superior? I’m not normally one to encourage segregation, but keeping baby tomatoes apart from other vegetables I can get on board with.

While travelling, I had a terrible experience: a strange man in a youth hostel accosted me and criticised my meal of pasta with baby tomatoes on the side. Here is a message for all men: shitting on baby tomatoes won’t get you anywhere.

If anything, it just confirms in my mind that you don’t know how to live. Okay, so they’re more expensive. The high price is justified: at least, this way, you feel compelled to eat them, and get more out of the baby tomatoes, than you would out of any regular salad tomatoes or crisps or chocolate. This logic also applies to cheese. There, I said it: baby tomatoes are on the same level as cheese.

Picture: Pluma

29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

12

Features

FEATURES EDITORS: James Angove Isabel Taylor

“Not the start we would have wanted” Owain Evans, Editor, chats no-platforming, TEF and Toby Young with Office for Students’ Chief Executive, Nicola Dandridge

I

T’S a cold, grey, January morning in Devonshire House. With exams just over, campus is quiet. The few students who are around don’t pay much notice to the staff running around looking slightly more formally dressed than usual, nor to their special guest. Perhaps they should, though, because she’s somebody who could have a big impact on Higher Education over the next few years - she is Nicola Dandridge, the Office for Students’ Chief Executive.

The Office for Students (OfS) was created in 2017 by the Higher Education & Research Act. In April of this year, it will assume regulatory powers over Further and Higher Education. As the new policemen on the block, they’ll be tasked with facing up to some of the biggest issues in the sector.

So what are the main problems at the moment in Higher Education?

“One is getting a job, and graduate employment is a real priority,” Dandridge begins. “The other is the quality of the academic experience, and teaching and learning and all that sits around that. So those two are perhaps the real priorities for us.”

We haven’t formulated a policy on free speech and no-platforming These concerns have come out of a lengthy consultation process, with Dandridge travelling to visit students around the country. The consultation is still underway, but she’s happy with what she’s seen so far. “There’s been a lot of engagement, a lot of responses,” she says. “We’ve had good attendance in the meetings we’ve had to talk about the regulatory framework and there’s some emerging themes coming out of those sort of discussions.”

Consultation can only go so far

though, and the OfS has been criticised for not including representation from the NUS. Dandridge is quick to point out that the decision was “absolutely nothing to do with me at all”. “Ultimately,” she adds, “it was a departmental process, and the appointments were made by the Secretary of State.”

What she does want to do, however, is “make sure that student perspectives are embedded in the way that the Office for Students operates, which is why we’ve set up the student panel.” Comprised of key figures such as Shakira Martin, NUS President, and even our own Guild President Shades, Dandridge believes that “it’s a really powerful panel. The panel will not let us get away with making sure that student perspectives are not factored in to what the OfS does.”

“Anyway,” she’s keen to add, “we’re committed to it, and I’m making it a priority to go out and talk to students.

Whatever the composition of the board, we’re going to make sure that the student views and student perspectives are taken into account.”

Over the Christmas break, OfS found itself in the headlines frequently.

Jo Johnson, the thenUniversities Minister, gave a speech in which he railed against the perceived problem of ‘no-platforming’ at universities. Despite this, there isn’t yet an OfS policy on the matter: “we haven’t had our first meeting, yet, as a board. We haven’t formulated a policy

on free speech and no-platforming, so I genuinely don’t know what our position is going to be on this.” Despite this, Dandridge anticipates that “this is going to be an issue that we’re going to have to work our way through, hopefully with the support of the panel, and we’ll end up in a sensible place.”

I’m making it a priority to go out and talk to students The bigger controversy came after Toby Young was appointed to the OfS board. This decision was slammed across the media, by opposition politicians and by the academics union UCU. Much of the criticism surrounded a flurry of tweets, later deleted, that Michael Barber, the OfS’s Chair, described as “not in line with the values of the Office for Students.”

An early hit to the credibility of the regulatory power, Dandridge admitted that “it wasn’t the start for OfS we

would have wanted, but I think we’re moving on from that pretty quickly, and he’s resigned, and it’s past history and on we go.” She is insistent in her attitude that “there’s so much that we’ve got to do that we can’t let those sort of issues distract us.”

Moving on, one of the plans for the Office for Students is to encourage competition in Higher Education. Yet, this comes with numerous downsides, not least the focus on student experience over teaching in a lot of university marketing. “I think there is an issue,” Dandridge accepts. “The registration conditions that are proposed in the regulatory framework include quality of teaching, and whether or not what is offered is actually what ends up being delivered.”

“It’s an example of exactly why the Office for Students has been set up. This is not something the previous Funding Council could do – they didn’t have the powers to do this and take these sort of things into account. We can, and we will.”

Something else that the OfS will be working with is the muchmaligned Teaching Excellence Framework, more commonly know as the TEF. A rejig will see it include student outcomes, and Dandridge is a fan of the controversial metric: “I think it is a good mechanism.

I think it’s focussing institutional attention on students and teaching in a way that wasn’t the case to the same extent b e f o r e ,

and I think we’re seeing that impact working its way through.” She views it as necessary because “you can’t just operate by a subjective assessment that this institution is good and that one is bad. You’ve got to have something that underpins it. And these are important metrics. I mean, how can the National Student Survey not be an important metric of what students are thinking?”

[Toby Young’s] resigned, and it’s past history and on we go Finally, we touch upon her past.

Until taking the role at OfS, Dandridge served as Chief Executive of UniversitiesUK (UUK), representing the interests of Higher Education providers. Several people have since spoken about the difficulties of transition from being what is effectively a spokesperson for Vice-Chancellors to their regulator, but Dandrige doesn’t see an issue. “Personally, I have absolutely no problem with that at all,” she says.

“What I say when people throw that one at me is ‘judge me on my record, just see what we do.’

“When I was at UUK, I always saw myself as a fairly sort of independent mind, so even then I wasn’t necessarily answerable to what Vice-Chancellors said. I think people who are concerned about that will just have to hang on until we’ve actually got going, because I’m pretty clear about what the Office for Students is all about, and it’s utterly different to what UUK was about.”

After a rocky start for the OfS, it’s certain that its critics will be quick to pounce on each and every mistake.

However, with some months to go before they take control and with consultation still ongoing, we’ll just have to wait and see what kind of a regulatory approach we can expect.

OFFICE FOR STUDENTS TIMELINE 27 APRIL 2017

The Office for Students is created by the Higher Education & Research Act.

5 july 2017

Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of UniversitiesUK, is chosen to lead OfS

1 jANUARY 2018

Toby Young is appointed to the OfS board amidst controversy

9 jANUARY 2018

Young resigns after becoming a “distraction” from the “vital work” of OfS

1 APRIL 2018

OfS takes over regulatory powers from HEFCE and the Office for Fair Access

13

FEATURES

29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Is Facebook your friend?

Sakshi Raizada examines the changing relationship between social media sites and news outlets

Image: pestoverde

I

T’S 2018, it’s been almost 12 years since its launch, so let’s review - what’s new with the Facebook newsfeed? Hint: it’s looking a lot more like a feed without the ‘news’ part, and a lot of media outlets aren’t too happy.

Like every social media platform competing for online users through continual revamps and renovations, the Facebook newsfeed has had its fair share of updates since its launch. Those of us who first logged into the world of social media in the late-noughties, have grown especially used to the appearance of multiple new facets appearing onto our newsfeed. Gone are the days when it was all about uploading an album of highly pixelated webcam selfies with your friends, or engaging in riveting conversations about the upcoming school disco, and here we are now with branded content and articles that seem suspiciously relevant to our recent Google searches or even what we were thinking while brushing our teeth.

Whilst we all unknowingly tumbled headfirst into the ‘digital age’, news industries were quick to realise the importance of diving in alongside us, their consumers. So although many third parties comfortably relied upon the Facebook newsfeed to drive their traffic, the new year brought in a new concept. Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to “fix Facebook” this year seemingly involves taking the ‘news’ out of the Facebook newsfeed.

He announced the social media platform’s algorithm would be altered to display more posts from friends and family on users’ newsfeed, thus leading to a decrease in posts by brands and publishers – an idea not wholly new from updates in 2015 and 2016, but more strongly implemented this time around. Designed supposedly to return to the ‘social’ part of social media and encourage more meaningful interactions on the site, it has been predicted to show a positive development in the long-term for general user satisfaction. Despite the global uproar surrounding ‘fake news’, evidently the disturbance to media outlets will clearly cause short-term turmoil. Less social media space, fewer

opportunities for marketing, inevitably less money – you can see the downwards spiral from a mile off. Regardless, the most important question here is: should we be trying this hard to separate the news from social media?

Although more of a forceful effort this time, it's not the first time Zuckerberg has announced Facebook’s shift towards prioritising its users over non-paying businesses and brands.

Updates to the newsfeed algorithm in previous years have included deprioritising ‘clickbait’ headlines, boosting timely or currently trending posts to the top of the feed, lowering the reach of posts deemed overly promotional, and more. Moreover, the goal to reduce hoaxes and propaganda spreading virally across the social media platform has come after a year of critics’ warnings of Facebook's negative impact upon society, with company executives hoping some changes will improve mental health and well-being.

Gone are the days when it was all about uploading highly pixelated webcam selfies

Furthermore, taking this step could be regarded as a highly influential move, considering Facebook’s increasingly significant role in distributing online news. A study in 2016 from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism stated that 44 per cent of people used it as their source of news in 2016, followed by 19 per cent using YouTube and 10 per cent Twitter, for the same purposes. As of August 2017, a survey showed that 67 per cent of Americans reported receiving at least some of their news from social media, with 20 per cent doing so on a regular basis.

Although statistics mostly tend to focus on American populations, per se, there is still supporting evidence for this issue being a globally increasing trend: the highest levels of respondents claiming to access news from social media were observed from Sweden (69 per cent),

Korea (66 per cent), and Switzerland (61 per cent).

Interestingly, surveys, including one from the Pew Research Centre, have also suggested that use of social media for news has increased among older, nonwhite, and less-educated Americans. In regions with limited access to reliable and independent news channels, it has been observed that people are forced to rely on social media for news: for instance, populations in developing countries in Asia and Africa are commonly reported as using social media on their mobile phones as their main source of news.

Although these statistics may not offer the most well-rounded view, there is certainly a distinct increase in news distribution from the more reliable TV channels and journalism towards more easily accessible, yet likely unreliable, platforms. In this respect, it might be a positive step to monitor the news floating around social media sites.

Nevertheless, despite the imminent wedge due to be driven between Facebook newsfeeds and third-party media outlets, there are certainly some positive aspects to the use of news on today’s social media platforms. For one, the spread of news across a wider circle than your own community of family and friends often leads to greater overall circulation of ideas, some of which you may never be exposed to if you kept within your personalised Zuckerberg ‘bubble’. Ever heard of the bittersweet phrase, ‘everyone seems to become a politician on Facebook’ towards election time? Yes, this targets the majority of people who voice any opinion whatsoever on the current political climate. However, it’s also apparent that those people within our social media bubbles will most often place themselves near us on the political spectrum – anyone who’s had experience of observing a very opinionated Tory supporter arguing with a gaggle of lefties on a Guardian piece will understand witnessing someone outside the ‘bubble’ trying to break in and burst it. Therefore, the use of news media circulating across our feeds in an impersonal manner would more likely spark intelligent

debates that wouldn’t be observed among people holding similar beliefs – obviously, many of these may just be the likes of people in the comments section of the Daily Mail articles, in which case the argument may simply linger on ‘let’s agree to disagree.’

Moreover, the positives of news media being disseminated into more personal social media spaces can lead to an increase in political awareness, especially amongst younger generations.

In turn, a greater independence of thought influenced by social media could mean a greater urge to stand up for one’s beliefs – through campaigning, petitioning, and educating. In an example of a best case scenarios, this could lead to more young people voting – an issue prevalent in the UK since voting turnouts have failed to level up to the 77.7 percent it reached in 1992.

Although quite optimistic, it could be that the use of news media proved to be beneficial in informing the masses: through productive means, encouraging greater societal participation, and therefore even creating a better sense of belonging. After all, what more could you want from us millennial snowflakes uniting and contributing to society for the greater good?

A deeper solution is needed to prevent people seeing fake news in the first place

Sadly, in the digital-savvy generations of the 21st century, it would be pretty naïve to assume that the Internet is a nice place where we can expect to find only objective and insightful information. It only takes a flashback to the 2016 presidential election campaign in the United States to depict just how powerful the impact of mishandled and corrupt news can be in significant, history-changing events. Why so many people fell for fake news revolving around the tarnishing of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s characters is still a nagging question faced by many

social scientists since the presidential race, and one that should wave red flags straight in our face about the dangerous power of circulating news where it can be misinterpreted. Unsurprisingly, psychologists, including Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth College, have revealed that through repetition people will more likely believe a fake news article than if it were completely unfamiliar yet true.

Therefore, the same article popping up on your newsfeed will be bound to have more of an effect on our brains than anything you’ve quickly skimmed past on BBC News’ homepage, no matter how much you’d like to convince yourself it wouldn’t. Even if we don’t agree, the subconscious drilling is still evident – and that’s what the dangers of fake news encompasses. Then there’s always the issue of people using any article of news they come across on their Twitter to support already-ingrained bigoted and potentially harmful views. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that with the widespread circulation of certain types of news media, there must be some degree of education and responsibility to accompany it.

Overall, although more steps should be taken towards targeting and educating audiences to discount fake news articles with shady agendas, a deeper solution is needed to prevent people seeing this fake news in the first place, which is potentially where Zuckerberg may be on track towards, even if at a (literal) cost.

Whilst closing ourselves in a bubble could be beneficial for establishing closer connections and improving our well-being, should we really ignore the debacles taking place around us? Sure politics shouldn’t come into everything, but surely pushing our way out of the bubble with an open-minded mindset and a pinch of scepticism is more needed. To be exposed to the darker side of news media on your social media might be scary, but to challenge it and work to create better accessibility and encouragement towards more reliable news mediums should be the next step towards finding a solution.

FEATURES

14

Top of the class

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OCIAL mobility is a bigger problem in the UK than in any other developed country, according to a 2010 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report. Those educated at private schools dominate many of the top professions, and for someone from a working class background, it can seem impossible to find a way in.

The odds are stacked against working class students from the moment we are born: at every step of our education we face barriers and are disadvantaged in our path to university. Once we’re here, we know we’ve left the majority of our fellow working class peers behind – we are already a minority in an environment dominated by middle-class students, some of whom have been privately educated whilst others, although stateeducated, went to schools in affluent areas with high attainment and universityprogression rates.

The odds are stacked against workingclass students from the moment we are born

There is also a somewhat subtle disadvantage for working class students when applying for university: we are often asked for the same entry grades as everyone else, despite the fact that research has shown it is far harder and rarer for us to achieve these grades than our privately-educated counterparts, or those living in more affluent areas of the country. It’s no wonder that universities are dominated by more affluent and better-educated students – the system inherently works against the working class.

Part of the reason I am at university now is because, despite being working class, I grew up in a reasonably affluent

Image: Nationswell.com

Becca McAuley shares her experiences as a working class student at university area with good schools which set me on the path to university. Had I grown up in an area where few students progressed to university at all, I would have had a far harder fight to get here. I know I was privileged to grow up in the area I did, and it also meant that coming to university wasn’t as much of a shock as it might have been for people who had grown up surrounded by a majority of working class people. My whole life I have been surrounded by people financially better-off than me.

A study last year found that the proportion of students from disadvantaged areas dropping out of higher education in England is at its highest level in five years – and it’s no surprise this coincides with the tuition fee increases. The government’s decision in 2016 to get rid of maintenance grants served to twist the knife for students already worrying about the financial implications of a university education.

Although this translated into an increased maintenance loan for students who would have received the grant, it fails to truly grasp the financial stress working class students are under at university It can feel isolating and intimidating being surrounded by students who don’t have to worry about money, or who aren’t phased by life after graduation.

It’s very easy for those who won’t leave university with the mountain of debt that I will to say that it doesn’t matter because we will never pay it all off anyway – for me, knowing that the debt hanging over my head stems from the fact I am working class is far more meaningful than the sum of the money itself. Feeling as though I somehow owe something – aside from just the money – to the government for covering the cost of my university education does more damage to my self-esteem than I would like to admit.

The bursary I receive from the

university which is means-tested on my parent’s income is also vital – without this I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent.

I also have a part-time job to support myself and often have to use the money I earn from this to tide me over at the end of the month. This isn’t because I’m being extravagant, or treating myself, or spending money on things unnecessarily – I’m simply getting by.

Many workingclass students have a completely different university experience

Exeter is an extremely expensive place to live as far as university cities go, and without the bursary and income from my job I would feel as though I am missing out on things my friends are able to enjoy. For working class students, this is a reality they face. Whilst I am lucky enough to have friends who understand my financial situation and don’t engage in regular extravagances, the same cannot be said of all. The reality is that many working class students have a completely different university experience to the ones their friends enjoy.

I can’t spontaneously book holidays with my friends, or even buy a new outfit for a friend’s 21st. I keep track of my money obsessively, because I know if it runs out, there is no back up. I spend my university holidays back at the part-time job I had before university, or staying in Exeter to work more hours at my current job. This isn’t something I resent, and I know I am learning incredibly valuable new skills with these jobs. Although working is a necessity, it is also something I am lucky enough to enjoy doing.

However, it does impact on my social life occasionally, and this is something a number of other working class students experience. We work not just because

we would like some extra money, but because we often depend on that income to keep our heads above water financially.

Looking for a graduate job is accompanied by a sense of dread at the prospect of not finding one. For students from more advantaged backgrounds, they can move back home after graduation, without a job lined up, and spend a few months or even longer doing work experience and internships with family members and friends. For some of us, this simply isn’t an option. Moving back home will mean having to get a job to support ourselves, because our parents can’t afford to pay our keep. This means we’re more disadvantaged when it comes to applying for jobs, because we don’t have the free time to travel around the country getting experience.

‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is a phrase working class students at universities dread. We’ve made it this far, so why are there still barriers at every stage of our journey through higher education and into the world of work? Being intelligent enough to earn a place at university should be enough to put you in a strong position to make a competitive application to sectors such as finance, law, politics and media, but the reality is, it isn’t.

It's not what you know, it's who you know Some might assume that university is a route to social mobility, and for some students from less-advantaged backgrounds it is, but this certainly isn’t the norm. Whilst growing numbers of working class students are getting a place at university, this isn’t translating into an increased number successfully securing roles on competitive graduate programmes at leading firms.

If you’re in a position to ask a family member or family friend if they can get

you some work experience at their place of work, or help you with an application for a top graduate job in a sector they know well, you’re already strides ahead of working class students who simply don’t have these connections. We have to fight every step of the way to stay in the process – we rely on university services to help us with our CVs and applications (which are brilliant, but not quite the same as getting advice from someone you know who actually works at the company you’re applying for), and we can’t arrange work experience unless we go through a formal process with the employer.

Many employers who offer competitive graduate programmes also offer internship programmes. However, these are usually based in London, and for working class students who don’t live in or near London, they are not financially viable, even if their application were successful. This places them at an even bigger disadvantage when it comes to applying to graduate programmes, and this too is marred by the prospect of having to move away from home.

Without savings or financial support from family to do this, it is no wonder so few working class students manage to secure these roles – they simply aren’t in a position to apply for them in the first place.

Being working class at university isn’t the tragedy this article may have made it out to be. Most of the time, I don’t consciously realise the impact my background has on my time here. I have really enjoyed university, and it’s given me some incredible opportunities. However, as I am in my final year and the prospect of life after university looms ever-larger, I am starting to realise that it would be really useful to have someone who can offer me some advice on the industry I want to go into, or get me work experience at the firm I’d love to work at.

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ARTS + LIT

E X H I B IT MUSIC

STUDY BREAK

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FUTURE OF MUSIC: SPOTIFY

irish special

26 alternative oscar winners

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LIFESTYLE EDITORS Barbara Balogun Lauren Geall

ARTS + LIT EDITORS Mubanga Mweemba Maddie Davies

MUSIC EDITORS Alex Brammer Maddy Parker

SCREEN EDITORS Ben Faulkner Fenton Christmas

lifestyle

The unofficial Exe-it list

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Megan Groves suggests eight things to do in Exeter before you graduate

AVING just completed my first term, Get sweaty, get swifty it’s already scarily clear what it entails It’s essential to arrive on campus drowning to be an Exeter student. It seems that in waves of sweat. This arrival is normally folthe lifestyle adopted in the first few weeks lowed by utter heartbreak upon reaching the actually remains until the day of graduation. library, and finding that there are no seats. As From the (not so) fresh faced freshers to the per. Punching oneself for thinking that such breaking down third years, the Exa wonderful occurrence could happen, is also eter experience can only truly a valuable part of the university life. be understood by those Moan about the hills… again who have lived on these Hills, and moaning about them, mountainous hills. are entirely crucial to the ExArgue about the hills eter understanding. These The inevitable arguheated discussions often ments over the varesult in a battle during riety of hills tackled which students fight over to reach the uniwhich accommodation or versity appear to be area to live in is the worst extremely prevalent, (we all know it’s Moberly, and absolutely vital to no need for arguments rebeing an Exeter student. ally). Although it’s apparent Apparently climbing “Carthat the students that started on Daily Meal diac Hill” really does equate campus, and generally the majority, to the hike up Mount Everest, while believe life outside of campus does not exthose living on campus or in the area beyond ist (or does it?). Important, necessary attitude are under no circumstances allowed the right to posses. “Point Exe? I’m sorry, where?” is my to complain about Forum Hill. The gradients favourite reply to receive. are just incomparable. However, these stu- Get those curly fries dents still insist on making Forum hill the The Ram and its food are essential to student most moaned about (minuscule) mountain. life. Curly fries are undoubtedly the pinna-

cle of student eating, and the key to a good with some garlic and mayo chips at the burger and healthy Exeter diet. Every other sentence van or Sidwell's fish and chip shop is essential. about food will inevitably include the beauty Top-Top of “curly fries”. On average, these discussions Most importantly, nothing defines the Exeter will be followed by the indulgence of such life like Timepiece’s iconic Wednesday nights. cherished food. Chicken wings, £3.99 buckets, Crucial to university experience, sporty stuburgers, all count as student participation. dents dress in humiliating costumes, and However, the judgement is real get incredibly drunk in order to upon selecting normal chips. forget the fact everyone looks This is a choice that it is absolutely ludicrous. The essential to frown upon. downing of countless VKs Complain about the and the falling down the nightlife stairs in Timepiece are alThe nightlife in Exeter most as vital as the dress isn’t renowned for its code. An Exeter student brilliant variation in is not an Exeter student choices, and it’s comwithout a VK, Timepiece, pletely expected of and bruises on their you to moan about that. knees. These are imperaIt is a very natural urge. tive to a Wednesday.

Start grating and cheese NEVER wear purple South Devon UTC up your life Ever. That’s a rule.

Attendance at Cheesy Tuesdays is a The essential Exeter University expemust. The pure cringe of the playlist is literal rience can be defined by so much: the commarmite, and thus some feel the need to be plaints, the moaning, the landscapes and the rewarded for attending. It is fundamental to idolised places are all so fundamental to the go in order to avoid the shocking gasp of the Exeter university lifestyle. The bucket list of Exeter student body when revealing you’ve Exeter university life is endless, but these neyet to attend. Finishing that night in Unit 1 cessities are a good place to start.

Shout out to my Exe

T

Rowan Keith sings the praises of (probably) the best university in the world

HE University of Exeter: probably the best university campus in the world. Well, probably not, but it’s still pretty good.

Studying abroad, especially where the ground is covered in snow eight months of the year, has made me appreciate Exeter’s very green campus. We all know about our outstanding tree to student ratio, see our groundskeepers keeping the blades of grass on the side of Queen’s Drive to within an eighth of an inch of each other and appreciate the aesthetic that Pret, Costa and Comida provide us with, but many spots go unappreciated. I’m here to draw attention to these as living proof that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

If you're one who proudly lives the 'do it for the Gram' aesthetic, then you will love the potentially most obvious spot on my list: Reed Pond. What true Exeter student doesn’t have a procrastination snap of Reed Pond on their Instagram? It’s pretty much a requirement for a degree at this point. Instagram aside, Reed Pond also provides a quiet space for a study break,

reading or phoning a friend to procrastinate. It gives off fort vibes, it’s accessible from the FoAlthough at first I assumed this would be a spot rum without braving the elements and it’s got a that featured in the prospectus and at no lovely view. The only thing to bear other point in my degree, Reed in mind with this is that the Pond has in fact provided stairwell acts, quite literme with a solid few inally, as an echo chamstas, a good study spot ber, and anyone at and a place to hide any place in the from the reality of stairwell can hear my degree. everything you Next, if you are saying, but want a spot to other than that hide in then the it is the perfect next one is for hideaway. you: the bottom Fancy a wanof the library stairs. der? The InternaIt is a bit of an odd tional Garden is his one, but bear with me. is something I stumAlthough at first this was bled across purely by somewhere I only visited accident, I think because I because literally every other was probably trying to act like Photo: James Angove space in the library was occupied, it I knew what I was doing when givhas actually proven to be a place of sanctuary. ing my parents a campus tour. Hidden behind

Mardon, this little garden boasts plants from all the continents and is normally pretty deserted.

Although it’s not exactly big enough to provide a walk in and of itself, the walk from almost all the academic buildings provides enough time to stretch your legs, and the garden itself provides a peaceful recess from studying.

If you need to study but also picnic, then St Luke's Courtyard is brilliant. As an English student, my only cause to ever visit St Luke’s was during my brief foray into participating in an AU society (it didn’t last long, I assure you). The best thing to come out of that extremely out of character period of my life was my discovery of St Luke’s. To any medical field related students this probably sounds extremely ignorant and basic, but the courtyard of St Luke’s is beautiful, next to a top notch cafe and a relatively empty library. The benches provide a perfect spot for both studying and picnicking on a nice day, or just a nice place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air the other 350 days of the year.

exhibit

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EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

lifestyle

Ode to the houseplant

29 JAN 2018 | 17

Exeposé Lifestyle writers profess their love for our leafy friends

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HAVE quite a few houseplants under my care, from robust cacti to a particularly resilient succulent that’s been my faithful desk companion since my first year of university. My favourite, however, is my newest addition, bought quite impulsively as I was so taken by it on sight. It’s a silver pothos, also known as Devil’s Ivy, and I’m absolutely smitten.

I was looking for a trailing plant for my bookshelf, preferably something that could survive being in the shade, and the shop owner (one of the lovely people from No Guts, No Glory on Fore Street, aka houseplant heaven) pointed out a couple but nothing particularly swayed me. Then he showed me this little guy and I immediately knew I had to have it. As the name suggests these plants have the most gorgeous silver markings, which subtly shimmer on their large, almost heart-shaped leaves. It’s definitely more striking than your regular ivy, or most other houseplants for that matter!

Mine already has a promising branch that looks like it might trail from my shelf, but equally I’d love to set it on my desk so the sunlight can glint off the leaves. If you’re looking for a new houseplant, I can highly recommend a silver pothos. It’s not too dependent on sunlight and holds water quite well, only really needing attention once a week or so. Being as pretty as it is, it could make a perfect gift for any plant-loving friends you might have (or for yourself!).

Charley Cross

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HEN it comes to the humble houseplant, there is nothing humble about the Bonsai tree. With its miniature trunk and plentiful leaves, the Bonsai may just be the king of the houseplants in my opinion. Part of a Japanese artistic tradition, the Bonsai is the perfect houseplant for those who want something long-term. And that’s the cool thing about Bonsai trees – if you take care of them, they’ll probably be with you your whole life.

The Bonsai is more than a houseplant, it’s a cute little friend.

Indeed, having a Bonsai tree is the perfect substitute for not being able to have a pet at uni; it may not provide the interaction that a traditional pet can give, but Bonsais need care and attention in order to thrive. It’s basically a leafy puppy.

In all seriousness, having a Bonsai tree is a lovely hobby to distract yourself from the stress of uni life. Taking the time to water and check your Bonsai tree every day is actually a perfect way to distract yourself from anything that is on your mind, and having a green friend to keep you company during late night study sessions is an added bonus.

Although some people may laugh at the idea of having a houseplant as company, I wouldn’t knock it until you try it. You’ll find yourself naming your little tree in no time, I promise.

Lauren Geall, Lifestyle Editor

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OMETIMES we have those moments where things just don’t go right. I remember one of those moments so clearly, the pride I felt at having my first houseplant (a tiny little succulent, the cutest darn thing you ever did see.) I was crushed when I realised I had been an absentee, neglectful parent, and my poor little plant had died. But I learned from my mistakes and I decided to try again. They’re cute, they basically look after themselves and in a pinch they make a good defensive weapon.

I fondly named my cactus Richard, Dick for short, and he’s really grown into that name. Having Richard around my first year room really made the place feel like home, which is especially important in your first year. I remember when my corridor mate Hugo really underestimated Richard and decided to pick him up with bare hands. As it would turn out, holding a cactus kind of hurts, much to Hugo’s surprise with 20 or so spikes in his hand. Like I said, it makes a handy weapon.There is something to be said about the benefits of a houseplant, like a less expensive pet. Although I wasn’t green fingered enough to make the commitment to anything fancier, I felt really proud when it grew and actually kept growing, and has certainly helped me with my endurance and perseverance (heads up corporate head-hunters). At the end of the day I love my simple little cactus, and Richard really helped me through a difficult time.

I’m finally ready to take on something more complex….like maybe a bigger cactus?

Heledd Gwyn Wilshaw

Time to speak up?

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Phoebe Davis, Online Editor, advocates speaking to someone if you're struggling

REACHING the subject of mental health, especially with those closest to you, can be difficult. But, it can make such a difference when you finally have that conversation.

For me, that conversation happened a month ago. I mentioned to a close friend that I was worried about my mum as she has been dealing with some health problems. After further chats, it turned out that her own mum had

the same illness. After a lot of hugging (and a few tears) we realised that we weren’t alone in our fears and worries. Now, I know I can message her whenever I am stressed. I know she understands, will listen and reassure me. Equally, I can do the same for her. All it took was a conversation, admitting that I was worried and now we can be there for each other. The issues are still there and can still affect my life at University, but

I know that I am not alone.

University is amazing, but can also be overwhelming. It is so important to talk to those around you, your housemates, your family or if you are really struggling, the Wellbeing Centre.

It is important to keep an awareness of those around you and their mental health. Noticing if someone is not eating properly, sleeping poorly or drinking more alcohol than usual are just

some of the things that could show that they have something going on under the surface that they should talk about. All it takes is an “are you okay?”. They might not talk to you initially, but it lets them know that you are there when they need that conversation. I know from experience that simple things like, “if you want to go for coffee and talk about it let me know” can make such a difference.

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EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

lifestyle

29 JAN 2018 |

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Shaping up N

Bea Fones helps us to stick to those January fitness regimes

EW Year, New Us? Maybe. As usual, it seems like “getting fit” is once again on everyone’s list of New Year’s Resolutions. It might last a few days, a few weeks or miraculously the whole year and beyond.

Whilst we should bear in mind that these resolutions aren’t the be all and end all marker of having a successful year, there’s a lot to be said for sticking to the goals you’ve set for yourself. And we’re lucky enough to attend university somewhere scenic enough that running doesn’t have to be a total chore.

British weather notwithstanding.

RUNNING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A TOTAL CHORE It often seems like everyone in Exeter is one step from being a professional athlete, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that, from the amount of stash being worn around campus, none of us have anything better to be doing than heading out for a quick jog between lectures.

Whether you’re a committed runner, or a sporadic one, or like me, signed up for the next Great West Run on a whim whilst bored in a lecture, apparently having taken leave of my common sense, there’s endless possibilities in and around Exeter for anyone who’s taking on the challenge of becoming a regular runner.

Famed, and often cursed, for being so unavoidably hilly, studying in Exeter often makes you feel like you’ve gotten your daily workout in b e fore you’ve even made it through the door of your morning seminar. But if you’re a fan of great views and running in nature, it’s worth taking on the hills! The footpaths in the

woods of Duryard Valley Park, which can be accessed by following Pennsylvania Road up past the university or starting your run behind Duryard or Birks Grange accommodation blocks, offers amazing views over the valley – a hidden gem which not enough of us explore during our time in Exeter. Bonus points for doing this run around sunset – you’ll want to take a moment out of your run to appreciate the glow at the top of the hills!

If you’re looking for a less taxing, but still scenic route to run, I’d recommend heading down to the River Exe – perhaps start behind St. David’s station and follow the riverside path along to the Quay or even further. It’s a simple, flat route with the option of running on grass flats rather

than pavement for most of the way, if you want to save your shins!

If the weather is dire, as we all know it’s prone to be in Exeter, you could always head to the gym and put in the miles on a treadmill, but where’s the fun in that? You’ll most likely thank yourself for braving the rain eventually, even if it seems a bit miserable to start with!

YOU DON'T NEED TO BE THE FASTEST, OR THE FITTEST In the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re already a regular runner or a complete newbie – running should be something which you do because you enjoy it, not because you feel like you need to!

You don’t need to be the fastest, or the fittest or even be aiming for any particular goal. Put your running shoes on, get outside and be proud of yourself for even making the first step!

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Barbara Balogun, Lifestyle Editor, shares her Soap & Glory wishlist

HIS time, we decided to have a little throwback article because we thought it'd be fun to talk about recent events on campus. Many of you have probably attended the event, and if not, you know what’s next for you to do: check the posts on Facebook!

We all have that one friend who is always obsessed with freebies, make up, goodies and more. Well, for those who know me, I am that one friend.

(You’ll also be able to see me on the Guild 'Thank You' campaign video and the website; yeah, I’m just THAT girl.)

Hence, like every year, I attended the Soap & Glory events on campus.

Last year, we had the Soap & Glory Bus Tour in which you could get Freebies, Dance Classes, Airbrush Tattoos and even a little upstairs location in the bus where the Braid Bar did your hair and your makeover, and

gave you boxes of products for free. I was obviously there and I absolutely loved it. I think it’s great that the University lets brands like this come to campus, not only as it promotes them but also as it's great way to get a little break during my long day on campus.

That same year, for Easter, the brand came again for the 'Where the puck is he?' hunt in which you could win products as well as a year worth of supplies if you could find the goldbooty puck. Safe to say I was really sad that I couldn’t attend.

On Thursday 14 December, Soap & Glory came to campus again for a “GLAMtidings”. I had the chance to meet the two lovely Glambassadors before-hand and, unsurprisingly, we quickly bonded over our love of bath and make-up products, but also - and most importantly - our love of Soap & Glory.

The event was smaller than the previous ones but was similarly as good. Portia and Selina, the two Glambassadors, occupied a little table in the forum and gave away bags with hand cream, soap and food. In two hours, they had already given away everything.

In light of this event, I've decided to give you my run down of my top five favorite products of the collection that are certainly on my wish-list, as I wait patiently for the next sales.

The number one has to be the Breakfast Scrub, mainly for the smell, which is very similar to Maple Syrup but also because it’s amazing and leaves your skin soft for the rest of the day.

In second position, the face and soap clarity vitamin C wash. It’s gentle and leaves your face clean and soft without any imper-

fection: my new go-to product in the shower.

Three, the Thick and Fast Mascara. As it says in the name, it’s fast application and gives you really nice lashes.

Four, the Spectaculous Galatic Glaze Lip Gloss. There's not much to say except that’s it’s a nice lip colour - and also, it’s holographic!

Five: the Natural Palette. I just love it, as it’s a five-in-one. The packaging is beaut, and that's always a plus.

The palette includes a blusher, bronzer, cream highlighter, and three absolutely gorgeous eyeshadow shades.

Remember, if you’re interested in this role, every year Soap & Glory looks for new ambassadors to help them on campus: one for the face-to-face presence, and another for the digital side of things. Not to mention, you get products for free!

THE THE BIG BIG NIGHT IN NIGHT IN DEAL DEAL 2 X MEDIUM PIZZAS,

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UPGRADE TO LARGE GRADE FOR TO LARGE AN EXTRAFOR £4 AN EXTRA £4 *Upgrade to 2 large pizzas for an additional £4.00. Create your own is available up to a maximum of 4 toppings. Premium crusts, bases and additional toppings may be charged as extra. Collection or delivery, but delivery areas and minimum delivery spends may apply; please ask in store for details. Participating stores only. Ends 1st January 2018. For full T&C’s see Competitions and Offers at Boring Legal Stuff at dominos.co.uk

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The legacy of James Joyce T

Elliot Burr explores the literary life of the Irish writer as a celebration of his birthday

HROUGHOUT history, on the rarest occasion, an artist emerges whose work is so adventurous, so accomplished, so new that their very medium is changed irrevocably. There is no better example from the 20th century than James Joyce. His work represents, for many, the peak of achievement in Western prose. It has been immeasurably influential; without it, the literary world today would be unrecognisable. In the words of Anne Enright, “Joyce made everything possible”.

HIS APPROACH WAS ARROGANT, BUT ENTIRELY JUSTIFIED Born in 1882 to a Dublin family, Joyce’s life was rarely easy. As a child, his family was not poverty-stricken, but their social and financial position was in decline. During his adult life, he often found himself in conflict – with the Catholicism into which he was born, with the Irish nation he left as a young man, with governments who found his work obscene, with readers who found it obscure. Joyce seemed, however, to feed on these conflicts, pouring them into his fiction and letting them drive him. He was always certain of his greatness – even when he disregarded a prior work (“I may have oversystematised Ulysses”, he once claimed), it was always with the caveat that the next would outshine it.

His approach was an arrogant one, but one justified entirely by the brilliance of its products.

The central Joycean bibliography – the four works of prose fiction published in his lifetime – tells a story of expansion, moving not so much forward as outward. Always the text takes Dublin for its central setting; still it is intensely concerned with politics, religion,

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sex, philosophy, art; always it is populated by deeply complex, verisimilar characters; always it pushes the limits of language to tell its story. But always also are these themes performed in newer, more audacious ways.

Each text seems an elaboration upon its predecessor, where we find not a new writer but a new approach: similar interests, but a more daring commitment to presenting them as completely as possible.

Dubliners portrays the paralysis of the Irish people in stories using modernist techniques of epiphany, symbolism and changing perspective. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells (something like) Joyce’s history, keeping the concerns of the prior fiction while also dealing more directly with philosophical questions on the nature of art and experimenting with free indirect style to explore its protagonist’s internal universe.

Ulysses goes on to use a revolutionary streamof-consciousness prose style to immerse itself further in internal universes, creating multiple beautiful, beleaguered protagonists, all of them viewed with humour, empathy and honesty. Simultaneously the text cycles through references to and parodies of the prose styles of numerous writers who precede it in the literary tradition. Finnegans Wake then dismantles this tradition entirely, “put[ting] the language to sleep”, breaking it apart, and building from the fragments an everchanging p o l y g l o t idioglossia stuffed with allusion.

It ventures out of the internal universe of the day and into that of the ineffable night – dreams, Joyce’s final frontier.

Because Joyce’s bibliography gets more experimental and encyclopaedic as it goes along, it also seems to get much stranger. It is often said that one should read Joyce chronologically, follow him linearly down his linguistic rabbit hole. There is a delight in watching his writing grow, and one

who has experienced the never-ending beauty of Ulysses may find themselves more willing to trust that Finnegans Wake, a text which begins midsentence and has on its first page a made-up 100-letter word complete with exclamation mark, will illuminate something yet more aweinspiring. But not everyone.

In Joyce’s lifetime, his writing faced much adversity.

His honest presentation of the private parts of life – particularly masturbation – saw Ulysses banned for eleven years in the United States, until a landmark judicial decision in 1933 allowed its distribution on the grounds of great artistic achievement and lack of pornographic intent. The decision had a huge influence both domestically, changing how censorship laws would be applied in future cases, and abroad, leading other countries to lift their bans on the book. It was not only governments Joyce came into conflict with, though. Just as cabals of modernist artists celebrated his genius, others found him self-indulgent. The insistence on obscurity seemed a waste of obvious talent.

LA art exhibition to feature the art of ‘selfies’ as a portrait

Banksy painting saved from derelict container in Dungeness

HIS BOOKS ARE GREAT LAKES IN WHICH TO LOUNGE Across the seventeen years, Joyce spent scribbling down Finnegans Wake he was constantly countering criticism. Even Ezra Pound, until then an enthusiastic proponent of Joyce, stated that “[N]othing short of divine vision or a new cure for the clap can be worth all the circumambient peripherization.” Divine vision? Perhaps not quite, and to this day the Finnegans Wake can often go unjustly unread, haunting the dreams of scholars and completionist Joyceans. But to open its cover is to access what seems like a whole universe in a

few hundred pages. It seems impossibly ahead of its time, in complexity beyond anything written before or since, called by Billy Mills “the book the web was invented for”. It is the ultimate expression of a lifetime’s dedication to authenticity: Joyce knew what he had to say was important, and he refused to compromise on how it was said.

There is a tendency to talk about Joyce as if he were a rival. The reader imagines they must plod through his works, diligently struggling to understand every word, every reference, every pun. The writer imagines they must somehow live up to or out-do him. This is not what great art should inspire. Joyce did not create the be-all and endall of literature. His books are not mountains to conquer; they are great lakes in which to lounge, their beds piled with treasures.

As readers, we can swim about in them, see what they reveal to us and what we can dig up.

As writers, we can marvel at these treasures, and use the lucky fact of their existence as inspiration to craft new ones.

Joyce passed in 1941, not two years after Finnegans Wake’s publication. He did not live to see how influential his bibliography would become. Without it, we would not have countless great works by writers such as Samuel Beckett, Anthony Burgess, Thomas Pynchon, Hélène Cixous, Salman Rushdie, Eimar McBride and Joseph McElroy. Bloomsday would not be celebrated worldwide every 16 June. The quark would not be so named.

Joyce permeates our world like no writer since Shakespeare; his daring experimentation in pursuit of literary truth and against convention and condemnation encouraged writers to find new ways to allow their spirits to “express [themselves] in unfettered freedom”. We owe him much.

Norman Rockwell painting sold at auction for a record of £28m

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arts + lit

EDITORS: Mubanga Mweemba and Maddie Davies

29 JAN 2018 |

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Is romantic Ireland dead and gone?

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Lucy Deering discusses Irish Literature over the last two hundred years

RELAND is a country that has suffered the extremes of widespread poverty and internal religious conflict, and struggled for centuries over the question of its own independence – a debate that still rages today. This context of conflict that is tied so closely to problems of national and individual identity has produced some of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, and continues to inspire critically acclaimed authors today.

HE UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF AN IRISHMAN WINNING W. B Yeats’ early work focused on Gaelic myth; however, much of his later poetry is more realistic and often more political. Yeats met Lady Gregory in 1896, and it was her who encouraged his engagement with both Irish nationalism and drama.

Together they set up the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1904, aiming to give ascendency to Irish playwrights – Yeats’ play Cathleen ni Houlihan was performed on the opening night. It was Yeats’ continuous work with the theatre, and particularly his political poetry of the 20th century that ensures

he is championed as one of the pioneers of the Irish Literary Revival, a period of Irish Literary brilliance at the turn of the century that is often associated with a growing nationalistic sentiment.

When Yeats was granted the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, he understood the importance of an Irishman winning the award; his speech addressed the problem of the English presence in Irish theatres that he had attempted to combat. George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney have all been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature respectively in 1925, 1969 and 1995. They remain some of the most famous names in literary history: many call Beckett the last modernist, and others claiming that Shaw comes second only to Shakespeare in his skill as a playwright.

Joyce and the home

Evanna Kappos explores the concept of ‘home’ in The Reluctant Fundamentalist

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Photo: Helen Maybanks AMES Joyce’s exploration of one place, in which we can encapsulate all other places, was powerfully executed through Stephanie Streets’ stage adaptation of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Performed by National Youth Theatre, this piece explored how a single place compares to the wider world; in context, how Lahore can be entirely different yet also entirely similar to the West. It focuses more delicately on the idea that your identity can be your home.

Stephanie Street leads Changez on the journey also seen in the Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel and blockbuster film. He attempts to make a new home in the West, travelling from Lahore and to find work and himself in an entirely different place. He struggles with the transition, rebuked by those around him. By the end of the play, not only does Changez accept home as a part of himself, but the audience is asked to reassess their prejudiced perceptions about people as a whole. We watch as Changez is searched

In the 21st century, Irish novelists continue to win literary awards, and their work is read widely across the globe.

Journalist, literary critic and author Colm Tóibín won the Costa Book Award of 2009 with his historical novel Brooklyn dealing with the problems of immigration and identity set in the post-war era. Moreover, novelist Anna Enright won the Man Booker Prize in 2007 for The Gathering. Like Tóibín, Enright confronts the creation of the individual’s sense of ‘self’ and identity as the narrator searches through the past for the cause of her brother’s suicide.

Indeed, contemporary Irish authors show no sign of falling short of the impressive legacy left to them by 20th century writers. Most recent-

in an airport, without dignity or humanity, and peers become detached in their judgement.

The setting of post 9/11 New York deals with a topic with which we are all familiar - but perhaps, the play says, not familiar enough. We are madeto feel uncomfortable and saddened; and this feeling is heightened by choice in select scenes to transform the tiny space in Finborough theatre, in which we are level with the stage, into Lahore itself. Changez’s brother, Hafez, offers food to the audience which encourages us to experience the kindness and openness of such a simple gesture.

Throughout all of our theatre experience, the audience is forced to consider whether they may have judged not just Changez, but people in their everyday lives without truly understanding their home. Perhaps we are even asked to question whether we can ever understand anything without genuinely understanding ourselves.

ly, critics were impressed with Sally Rooney’s debut novel Conversations with Friends, and she was named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 2017. This novel tackles creativity, inter-generational friendship and the problem of forbidden love.

BOTH THE PROBLEMS AND THE BRILLIANCE OF IRELAND ARE EXPLORED BY ITS WRITERS W.B. Yeats’ mournful refrain “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, / It’s with O’Leary in the grave.” from September 1913 implies that the idyllic strength, courage and beauty Ireland died with the initial champions of Irish nationalism.

On the contrary, both the problems and the brilliance of the spirit of Ireland and what it means to be Irish are addressed and explored by Irish writers to this very day. These writers are tasked with navigating the Irish identity in new light and what will become of us under the pressures and pleasures of modern life.

Sophie Eady explores the concept of ‘home’ in A Doll’s House

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Photo: Tristram Kenton ESPITE being written in Danish, a legacy of Norway’s union with that country ending only in the 19th century, A Doll’s House was written by perhaps the most famous of Norwegian dramatists, Henrik Ibsen. Although he was born in Norway, and passed away there as well, most of his life was spent abroad. Ibsen compared working in theatre to having daily abortions and was never affiliated permanently with a theatre after he left Norway in 1864, frustrated by the lack of recognition, to live in Italy and Germany.

A Doll’s House premiered in Copenhagen in 1879, and while extraordinarily controversial for the time (some theatres only allowed the production to run with an alternate ending), every ticket of the original run sold out.

Despite the fact that so much of his work was written abroad, almost all of Ibsen’s plays are set in Norway, and it was to Oslo that he returned after almost 30 years of self-imposed

exile to a lavish apartment. Ibsen had a hot tap for his bathtub before the King of Norway, whose palace, incidentally, can be seen from the sitting-room window. From the same window Ibsen would daily wave to adoring Norwegian fans, so long separated from the national icon, who had collected below hoping to catch a glimpse of him. In later life, Ibsen wrote to a friend “he who wishes to understand me, must know Norway.”

He was known by his many fans as “the father of realism,”and ironically known for introducing Modernism to the realms of theatre.

He is also the most frequently performed playwright in the world, after William Shakespeare and widely regarded as the most influential, and most profound, dramatist after the Bard himself. Many of his plays continue to influence modern theatre, films, music and literature. But the work that people continue to love is all centralised around him and his home.

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arts + lit

EDITORS: Mubanga Mweemba and Maddie Davies

29 JAN 2018 |

The must-read books of 2018...

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Exeposé Arts + Lit writers takes us through the most anticipated book releases of this year

ADIE Smith’s upcoming book of essays, Feel Free, is scheduled for release in February. Split into five sections – ‘In the World’, ‘In the Audience’, ‘In the Gallery’, ‘On the Bookshelf’, and ‘Feel Free’ – it covers a range of topics such as the way we use social media, the increasingly endangered public library, and apathy towards global warming. According to its publishers, Penguin Random House, the book “offers a survey of important recent events in culture and politics, as well as Smith’s own life.” Although best known for her fiction, including White Teeth, On Beauty, and NW, Smith is also a prolific essayist, contributing to publications like the New Yorker as well as in her own works, such as 2009’s Changing My Mind. Smith’s work never shies away from being political, or from scrutinising complex issues like race, gender, and class. The characters in her fiction are interesting, flawed, and human, and their stories always seem to remain timely despite the turbulence of current events. Her nonfiction work is no different.

Intercutting political commentary with pop culture references, she advocates for art and literature’s power to free the mind. And here at Arts + Lit, we approve this message.

Emily Garbutt, Online Arts+Lit Editor

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IGERIAN American writer Tomi Adeyemi is only twenty-four years old but has already managed to land a sevenfigure book deal for her new fantasy trilogy, alongside a movie deal with Fox 2000. The first book (and her debut novel), entitled Children of Blood and Bone, is set be released on 6 March.

There is astounding hype surrounding the first book in Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orïsha Trilogy, which is prophesised to spark a cultural revolution in young adult literature to rival the likes of the Harry Potter series. The confidence that both the film production company and the publishing house have in this story attests to the quality of Adeyemi’s craft.

The story, inspired by West African mythology and tradition, is also a response to the current political climate. Her fantasy narrative is still deeply realistic; the world of Orïsha includes protagonist Zélie Adebola fighting oppressive power structures that resulted in the genocide of the maji and the disappearance of magic, familiar in our recent history. This unapologetically black debut novel is set to make waves in popular culture this upcoming year.

Mubanga Mweemba, Arts+Lit Editor

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N the wake of the viral sensation of his poem OCD, the huge success of his first book Our Numbered Days, and his sell-out tours across the UK, America, and Australia, Neil Hilborn is releasing his second collection of poetry, The Future. This collection, written primarily on the road, promises to be as emotionally hardhitting and resonant as all his previous work.

Whilst Hilborn - a College National Poetry Slam champion - is known for being a performance poet, his written page poems are equally impressive and the emotional experience is just as successfully conveyed. Hilborn manages to balance humour with uncompromisingly direct descriptions of mental health and relationships in a blend that makes you laugh and cry within the same poem.

With mental health problems at an all-time high in the current state of our society, Hilborn’s poems are as important as ever, described as “fireworks for the numb”. Hilborn has a talent for depicting modern life and its ensuing issues exactly as they are, but in such a way that it is not despairing. There is an undertone of hope to all his poems, and indeed the title poem of this collection perfectly summarises this: “The Future is a blue sky and a full tank of gas, and in it, we are alive.”

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N author’s second publication is never easy, but when your debut novel wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, that challenge becomes immense.

Nguyen, however, does not seem to feel the pressure. His latest work, The Refugees – a collection of short stories – looks set to build on the vibrant literary tapestry that so far constitutes his corpus.

Himself a Vietnamese migrant to America, his creation honours its title and dedication; ‘For all refugees, everywhere’. These are tales of the lonely, contrasted, occasionally chameleonic lives of those who have had to leave their homelands. The collection rises and sets with two tales of the sibling experience; those united in separation, and those riven by it. Every character is wreathed in the newness of a new land, but the struggle is not just to assimilate, it is to discover how one can nourish their past, without it consuming their present. Nguyen’s first novel The Sympathiser begins: “I am a spy, a spook, a sleeper, a man of two faces”. The Refugees interprets this, delivering us a spy thriller. This is an author who specialises in the duality of lives. The life of any immigrant pertains some form of cognitive dissonance, and this is a writer who excels in its articulation.

Adam Robertson Charlton

Emma Fear

Review: Romantics Anonymous Sophie Norton reviews the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s musical production

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MMA Rice’s tenure as artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe comes to a close with her swan song, Romantics Anonymous. This original musical, based on the French film Les Émotifs Anonymes, is as bittersweet as the chocolate around which much of the play revolves. It tells the story of chocolate-maker Angélique and chocolate factory owner Jean-René, whose paths cross when Angélique comes to work for him.

IT IS AT ONCE ENDEARING, HILARIOUS AND TRAGIC But it’s far from your typical boy-meets-girl scenario. Both of these characters have severe social anxiety, which puts quite a few hurdles in the way of their quest to save the factory and admit their feelings for one another. The effect is at once endearing, hilarious and tragic: the first time the pair have sex, Angélique starts dreaming out loud about their future children, and Jean-René runs for the hills. But, with some rather firm pushing from their colleagues and friends,

the two embark on a journey of self-discovery paired as the central duo, and are supported that ends, finally, in each other’s arms. excellently by the rest of the ensemble. HighThe play has a touch of magic running lights include Jean-René’s Australian self-help through it, starting from the very moment you tape that eventually becomes sentient and beenter the theatre. French-speaking chocolatrates him for his dithering, and the support iers offer round enchanted chocogroup, Les Émotifs Anonymes, which lates to each audience member, helps Angélique confront her who, as the play begins, are fears. The group is filled with invited to eat them, at similarly awkward charwhich point the dialogue acters, including a man magically switches into who feels invisible (unEnglish. The Sam Waderstandably given that namaker Playhouse is the rest of the group the perfect setting for turn away to look into such a play, with its cothe distance whenever siness and candlelit intihe speaks), and another macy, and the production who elicits raucous laughmakes brilliant use of the ter from the audience with Photo: Steve Tanner space, with neon signs dinging just a few incomprehensible alight as the action moves to a new place. For the finale, Angélique and JeanRené use the bungee ropes that had been dangling above the stage throughout to celebrate their well-deserved success in business and love.

Carly Bawden and Dominic Marsh are perfectly

mumbles through his jacket collar.

The entire cast is in equal parts hilarious and charming: there’s really no character to dislike, and, refreshingly, the only conflict comes from inside themselves.

If there was anything bad about this produc-

tion, it would be the fact that they aren’t selling the soundtrack in the Globe giftshop. Each of Christopher Dimond’s original songs perfectly fits the tone of the moment, as if it could be something heard whilst walking the streets of Paris on a summer evening. A particularly memorable sequence occurs when Angélique and Jean-René are desperately trying to stall going back to their shared hotel room, much to the annoyance of the waiters in the restaurant they are in, who are clearing away the table and chairs from beneath them in an attempt to get them to leave. With a mixture of touching and comedic songs, the soundtrack really does enrich the play, and at the end I left the theatre humming along.

THE ENTIRE CAST IS IN EQUAL PARTS HILARIOUS AND CHARMING If this were your typical romance story, it might feel sickeningly sweet, but the originality of the production and the characters gives it a charm that surely won’t fail to melt your heart.

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music

Difference lasts

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Aaron Loose explains why Pulp's discography is so juicy

S ‘That’s What I Call 90s’ comps have it, Pulp were the kinky third party during the ugly Britpop Wars, the sophisticated Sheffield synth-pop humourists who survived the Thatcherite 80s before slinking into Camden Town in polyester suits, rapier-sharp tongues fixed in powdered cheeks.

It’s neat enough for Wikipedia. But it’s not the band that I came to love, in that nauseating way that only arrogant sixteen year-olds can. I found them on the kitchen shelf, wedged between Dire Straits and Sting. I don’t think the record had ever been played more than once.

Now, I knew Different Class was an 'important' album. It won the 1995 Mercury Prize, and Jarvis Cocker was cultural oxygen - even if you thought he looked like a perverted librarian with stringy hair, you knew he was important for something.

Anyway, I was interested, so I popped the disc into my CD player and spent the following 52 minutes feeling dazed, elated, and ever so slightly unwashed. I’d never heard a din like it. Yes, the opening declaration of class war in ‘Mis-Shapes’ is naïve, but Jarvis meant every single word. He promised you a revolution

and spat out the particulars with a venomous rage that would make Johnny Rotten wince. It was almost too much.

T h e n there was all the rutting, so central to every good Pulp song. Jarvis’s queasy yelps invited me to enter an adult world of eiderdown fumbles and unmade beds, and I didn’t quite know how to RSVP. Sex wasn’t wrapped up in sequined cocktail dresses. It was lethal.

Just listen to ‘Underwear’, where Jarvis croons over Candida Doyle’s analogue synthesisers - ‘He's standing far too near/ And how the hell did you get in here/ Semi-naked in somebody else's room’. Eek. Bedroom floors were political minefields, it seems. One stumble and you were a goner. And yet, the melody was so euphoric, like chart pop with the messy bits left in. I couldn't

get enough.

Eventually, Jarvis’s t-shirt-ready lyricism overshadowed the other members, and shamefully so. Candida overcame juvenlie arthritis to provide spine-tingling keyboards on ballad ‘Dishes’. Then there’s Steve Mackey’s throbbing bassline on 1993's ‘Sheffield: Sex City’, a 10 minute electro landscape painting where the protagonist copulates with a crack in the pavement and high-rises are flattened by the bomb-burst force of a collective orgasm. I hate rock critic clichés - you know the sort, guff about music being timeless or whatever - but I can confidently say no other group has ever put out a song quite like it.

Another thing. While Oasis strip-mined John Lennon's songbook, Pulp were cutting diamonds like ‘Party Hard’, a disco stomper that

spliced the twilit electronica of Scott Walker’s Nite Flights with the vinegary-sharp wit of Madonna. Their influences spanned borders and set an example. In Pulp-land, you could know all the mumbles on Hex Enduction Hour, adore the mellow "oppahs" on 'Super Trouper', and still have someplace to call home. Music was music wherever it came from. If the lyrics of ‘Common People’ exposed the futility of class thinking, then its intercontinental krautdisco beat made Britpop’s nationalist rock look as outdated as a Pretty Green parka.

So how do I end? Look at Jarvis. At 6'2", he was nobody's vision of a star. I was an anxious child when I first heard his unlikely pop group. Back then, I hated my stutter and felt embarrassed by my bony chest. Watching YouTube clips of Jarvis's gawky staccato dancing showed me that the limits of my body weren't static, but negotiable. My imperfections could be amplified into something unique. They were my style. So what if you stood out? To be different was to be righteous. That may be an oversimplification, but it got me through.

Great pop can aspire to no less.

EXEPOSÉ MUSIC PRESENTS: INDIE CLUB SHOWCASES New year, new concert series! Exeposé now has a monthly club night at Exeter Cavern featuring the best of local talent.

Our inaugaral showcase was on 13 January, featuring talented local singer-songwriter Robert Garbett alongside Firehouse stalwarts Annie & Alex, Allergens frontman Oliver Rose performing under his side project Eustace Walks, and then DJs playing indie until the early hours.

TO CATCH THE NEXT SHOWCASE, COME DOWN TO THE CAVERN ON 10 FEBRUARY - FREE ENTRY BEFORE 9PM, CHEAP DRINKS, AND TICKETS FOR JUST £5!

EUSTACE WALKS

ANNIE & ALEX

ROBERT GARBETT Pictures: Liz Greenberg

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Merch too much

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James Wijesinghe gives an insight into the world of music merchandise

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HEN I was 16, my boss asked me “Do you like Run DMC or are you just wearing the t-shirt?” Conscious that I only knew a maximum of four songs, I laughed and replied, “Pfft of course, I hate it when people fake fandom with fashion.” For the rest of that shift I melted in the heat of hypocrisy. What was originally exclusive tour merchandise is now a mass-produced mess of marketing.

TOUR MERCH NO LONGER PROVES THAT YOU WENT TO A SHOW Nowadays you can’t walk through Topshop without seeing a bejewelled Rolling Stones tongue. I have a challenge for you - it should be pretty easy. Step one: hit up your local high street. Step two: tally up the Ramones, AC/DC and Nirvana garments worn by people who think The Black Eyed Peas are a proper band. Step 3: weep.

Band tees and punk patches once allowed fans to wear their participation in a

subculture – their heart was on their sleeve you could say. Even iconic artists like Elvis had t-shirts to sell. Yet it wasn’t until the 1970s where band tees were first essential for artist revenue. With CD sales being as dry as H&M’s creative panel, selling merch is even more important today. But bands are now at the mercy of bootlegging, ludicrous licencing agreements and Topshop’s lingering nostalgia.

Merch was exclusively tailored to each tour. Dedicated fans would catch T-shirts in the crowd or buy them from the stand outside the venue.

Why then can you buy the ‘staff’ tee from Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour in Urban Outfitters?

Tour merch no longer proves that you went to a show. It now proves that you went to a shop. Beyoncé sells her Ivy Park activewear in JD Sports, Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma has made creepers cool

again, Pharrell owns Billionaire Boys Club along with G-Star Raw, and Tyler, The Creator’s second GOLF le FLEUR collaboration with Converse just dropped. I could go on. Although these clothing ventures keep the artists relevant and contribute to increased music sales, can they still count as merchandise?

Music merch has gone from grungy tees to designer lingerie.

However, designer apparel can still pass as merchandise. Kanye West debuted his album The Life Of Pablo and the Yeezy Season 3 collection both at the same event. You can decide which was more important, the rags or the raps? Along with the Yeezy gear was the Saint Pablo merch which actually included references to his lyrics. Fans queued for days outside glorified popup shops to purchase those threads. Despite being more

An introduction to afrobeats Charlie Morgan brings us a rundown of one of his favourite genres

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EMEMBER Drake’s 'One Dance'? The island vibes that he propagated in our minds has now been adopted across swathes of pop music over the last few years.

The source of these off-beat drum stylings, semi auto-tuned vocals and breezy synths can be traced back to afrobeats, the subject of our Genre Intro this week.

Afrobeats’ origins are in Ghana and Nigeria and, while it has taken influence from a variety of other genres, the drum rhythms that distinctly resemble traditional African percussion is the hallmark of the genre. Alongside this, afrobeats draws from soul, R&B, hip-hop and others to create a distinctive, and entirely authentic sound. It has spread globally over the last five to ten years, not least due to the large numbers of new afrobeats producers and artists born in London of African descent. This is where the hotbed of the genre now lies; emerging from behind grime, and the dancehall and reggae sounds before it, afrobeats now has its own cult following.

Thus, to solely focus on Drake’s afrobeats-inspired works from recent years (as good as they are) would be to ignore some of the true pioneers of the genre. The artists that have enjoyed the greatest success are at their peak now, which is what makes the genre so exciting

to follow. While Wizkid and Fuse ODG, among others, have enjoyed the greatest UK chart success, listening to Mr Eazi’s Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos mixtape is as good a place as any to start. Encompassing stylistic notes from Ghana and Nigeria, due to family origins in both, Mr Eazi’s laidback vocals float over infectious dance beats that are begging to be played loud in the sunshine. 'In the Morning' and '2 People' are highlights, but this mixtape encompasses such a range of African influences that there’s something for everyone.

A similarly varied sound can be found on Leap of Faith, an EP by Ghanaian producer Juls, and is another crucial listen. The nine-song mixtape wafts and floats with delicacy and soul - never has listening to a body of music proved so easy.

From personal experience, searching out other afrobeats artists to enjoy is much easier if you take note of who is collaborating on tracks with one another.

The huge recent reaffirming of London as one of the world’s music hotbeds can be seen through the range of afrobeats art-

ists putting their spin on the genre. Not3s, a BBC Sound of 2018 and MOBO nominee, merges these African swinging beats with auto-tuned rap and catchy hooks. Addison Lee, a cult smash of 2017 with perhaps the funniest chorus of last year, is a must-listen.

Fellow Londoner Maleek Berry, with his recent release First Daze of Winter following a stellar back-catalogue, takes a more reserved approach. As a producer and songwriter of some of the most prominent hits in the afrobeats genre, the Nigerian’s melodic tones and understated production stylings embody where the genre has come from, and where it is going.

There is clear reasoning behind afrobeats’ rapid ascension over the last few years: breezy, laidback beats fused with melodic, catchy vocals make them an ideal alternative to the no holds barred approach of other prominent UK genres like grime and house.

Searching among the stars from Nigeria and Ghana, as well as the Brits expanding the sound, showcases a variety and individuality among the artists and producers that few genres can match. And if all else fails, it’s a tune that gurantees to get people dancing on their feet!

What does it sound like? – catchy, infectious African dance music with a range of vocal styles layered over the top that ensure it sounds suitably worldly.

Artists to check out – Mr Eazi, Maleek Berry, Juls, Kojo Funds, Not3s, Stonebwoy.

affordable than Yeezy stash, the white T-shirts retailed at £40 and resold for double that. So, we have to admit that exclusivity and dedication are still attached to music merch. But it no longer signifies “I moshed my face off”, more “I queued in the cold”.

We now live in a society where going to a gig now involves live streaming it on Facebook whilst wearing a £900 hoodie. Merchandise has reached designer status. What’s most interesting is that the gothic graphic styles of original band tees are being replicated by musicians today. Mark Wilkinson was responsible for illustrating various iconic album covers and tees for Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

More recently, he was hired by Zayn Malik to design a t-shirt released with his debut album. That trend can be seen all over the pop world. It has murdered vintage music merchandise. In fact, in response to Kendall Jenner wearing a Slayer T-shirt, their guitarist Gary Holt donned a tee stating “Kill the Kardashians”. If you haven’t seen that meme, look it up.

So, some advice: support up-and-coming bands by buying their stuff, because Spotify streams don’t make stacks. Oh, and go to shows not shops.

REMEMBER THIS? JOHN LEE HOOKER The Healer September 1989 John Lee Hooker is without a doubt one of the most important artists of the 20th century.

Along with the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and BB King, Hooker shaped much of the sound of latter day blues artists from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Van Morrison to name but a few. His songs ‘Boom Boom’ and ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer’ absolutely stand the test of time.

One of my favourite of Hooker’s records is 1989’s The Healer, which is a collaborative effort with many of that era’s great rock and blues artists, such as Carlos Santana and George Thorogood. The title track is a blistering ride, with Hookers gruff vocals matching Santana’s lightning fast riff. ‘I’m In The Mood’ is a brilliant duet with blues songstress Bonnie Raitt, their combined vocals and guitarwork pairing wonderfully. ‘Baby Lee’ with Robert Cray is one of my favourite tracks on the record and is a strong showcase for Hooker’s vocals.

I think this album should prove a fine starting point for those wanting to immerse themselves in Hooker’s work, and it allows some of the collaborators to stake claims for their own work, whilst not taking away from Hooker’s legacy.

Chris Connor

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Future of Music: BROCKHAMPTON Tom Murphy examines the innovative internet hip-hop collective

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HE boys from BROCKHAMPTON burst onto the scene in 2017, redefining the archetypes surrounding ‘boy bands’ and cementing their position as the most exciting pop-rap act in recent years. Relatively unknown this time last year BROCKHAMPTON’s commitment to their Saturation project saw the group release three full-length studio albums over the course of the year, demanding the attention of the hip-hop scene by flooding the market with sickly sweet hooks, incisive bars and diverse, banging beats.

REDEFINING THE ARCHETYPES SURROUNDING 'BOY BANDS' Antithetical to commercially focused identikit boy band culture of the early 2000s, BROCKHAMPTON take their cues from collaborative projects like Odd Future, the collective that launched the careers of Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean. BROCKHAMPTON ditch coordinated outfits for orange prison jumpsuits and trade in sleek choreographed dance routines for sharp social commentary and raucous, frenetic live performances, distancing themselves from vapid boy-bands

that dominated the early noughties.

Each of BROCKHAMPTON’s fourteen members bring something unique to the group, ranging from rappers and singers to an art director and photographer. BROCKHAMPON’s vocalists rarely fail to deliver refreshingly raw vocal performances. On 'JUNKY' de-facto bandleader Kevin Abstract responds to criticism of his choice to explicitly detail his sexuality throughout the Saturation project, drawing attention to hip-hop’s continued inability to adequately represent LGBT voices. Hip-hop heavyweight Offset, one third of the massive Migos, recent lyric detailing that he “cannot vibe with queers” is illustrative of rap’s continued mistreatment of the LGBT community. Abstract’s frank, honest lyrics redefine the conversations surrounding rap and sexuality, as he tackles the systematic homophobia of his Texas upbringing and contemporary rap’s problem with him “always rapping about being gay”.

The group remain unafraid

to challenge hip-hops entrenched tropes of hyper masculinity, exploitation and flippant materialism. 'JUNKY' provides Matt Champion with the space to carve out a challenge to passive responses to rape culture, deconstructing the damaging depiction of women as sex objects that permeates throughout mainstream hip-hop, while on 'QUEER' Merlyn Wood has no time for Dolce & Gabanna’s cultural appropriation and insensitivity.

BROCKHAMPTON’s tight, thought-provoking lyrics provide the perfect anti-

dote to the vacuous standards of modern mainstream hip-hop that allow Lil Pump to earn a living soullessly barking the words "Gucci Gang".

BROCKHAMPTON possess the unique ability to flit from thought provoking socially conscious tracks like 'JUNKY' to pacey, rambunctious club rap bangers like the infectious 'SWEET' throughout the course of a single album. Somehow BROCKHAMPTON manage to twin sounds that should be utterly incongruous, crafting an alternative-trap classic on 'BUMP' by blending savage snares and heavy kick drums with a melancholic pitched up hook. The diversity of the group’s sound keep three projects from the last year remaining fresh and cohesive, with the group’s idiosyncratic style facilitating seamless navigation between genres as diverse as pop, trap, and R&B. Sonically diverse and lyrically stimulating, the refreshing rise of BROCKHAMPTON provides a direct challenge to the fabricated, heavily plotted identities articulated by modern pop stars. No contemporary group possesses BROCKHAMPTON’s unique ability to cultivate such a diverse body of work in such a small period, transgressing genre and challenging the parameters of modern contemporary music.

Future of Music: Spotify

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Maddy Parker, Music Editor, looks at Spotify's future viability in the music industry

POTIFY has hit the news recently because of a $1.6 billion lawsuit filed by the California-based publishing company Wixen Music, on account of allegedly using thousands of songs without a license or compensation. Spotify has undergone several lawsuits over the years, with seemingly little progress made, and yet it still continues to be an incredibly popular music streaming platform. In fact, this October Spotify will turn ten years old, and its success seems to be building and building without sign of stopping.

In general, Spotify has been criticised for the way in which its royalties system works, as many believe that it is not fair to its artists. Various high-profile musicians have denounced Spotify and refused to put their music on the service. In 2014, Taylor Swift commented, “I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music.” Four years later, I think it’s safe to say that the experiment has paid off, considering that Spotify now has over 70 million paying subscribers, a landslide compared to the 10 million it had at the beginning of 2014.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé also avoid posting their music on Spotify, favouring instead their own streaming service, TIDAL. While it is exciting to see an artist-owned streaming service, it doesn’t remotely contain the breadth of material that Spotify has. Unfortunately, one could say that it hasn’t received the tidal wave of support that they might have expected, with their highest recorded count for paying listeners being just over three million. This is still an achievement, but tiny in comparison to Spotify’s overwhelming statistics.

There are many reasons behind Spotify’s success, but one convincing reason is that alongside the efficiency of ‘freemium’ model (free music with adverts, meaning that it is accessible to all, or a paid

Premium subscription that involves the removal of ads and the addition of perks) Spotify continues to grow and change and add new features. Various improvements to the service over the years seem to be actively changing the way in which we listen to and discover music.

First of all, there is the fact that, as with many programs, you can link it up with Facebook. This means that you can not only follow your friends’ playlists but actually see what your friends are listening to in real time. This makes listening to music an intrinsically social activity, creating a community within which you can discuss and compare music – even though it may seem a bit creepy to tell someone that you’ve been watching what they’re listening to. If you’re too shy to

broach that conversation, at the very least it’s interesting to see who has similar music taste to you, and from there find recommendations for new music.

One of my personal favourite features that has recently been added is ‘Album Radio’ - a Premium feature where at the end of albums a playlist begins with songs by a varied range of artists which are similar to the vibe of the album you were just listening to. This offers a useful and, most importantly, completely effortless way to discover new music. It’s already a fairly accurate service but it also offers the opportunity to ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ songs as to whether they are compatible with the album, so that it is becoming more and more precise by the day.

With a catalogue so broad and such a wide appeal it’s unsurprising that Spotify has grown as much as it already has, but due to the way in which it interacts with and listens to its subscribers, I can only see it becoming more and more of a commercial power. I have no doubt that in another ten years, the way we listen to music will be dramatically different – and Spotify will be behind it.

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EXEPOSÉ MUSIC PRESENTS INDIE CLUB SHOWCASE FEATURING:

BUGEYE LONDON DISCO PUNKS WITH A TWIST

THE ECHO HOTEL STUDENT INDIE ROCKERS

NOISE COMPLEX EXETER-BASED FIVE PIECE BAND PLAYING INDIE TUNES

+ INDIE CLUB DJs PLAYING THE BEST IN INDIE SOUNDS

SATURDAY 10TH FEBRUARY @ EXETER CAVERN

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Exeposé Screen Editors give their alternative Oscar w JOHNNY’S WINNERS

BEN’S WINNERS GOOD TIME

MOTHER!

Man, I hate this game. The difficulty of this choice is only testament to how strong the past year was. But none of them were Good Time. The little A24 film that caught me off guard with its outstanding performances, entrancing score, and relentless tension. Every second was compelling, whether it was exhilarating, horrifying, or heartbreaking - a magnificent film.

Described as “the most WTF film of the year”, mother! announces itself with an exclamation mark. It lets you know from the start that it will end with a bang, but as it whimpers along we’re not given much clue to its direction. Heavy in symbolism, it’s a film you have to work out for yourself, and that’s why this is top choice for me. If it’s worth anything, I interpreted it as a feminist retelling of The Bible.

BEST PICTURE

SEAN BAKER - THE FLORIDA PROJECT I was saddened to see that Sean Baker didn’t take one of the Academy’s 5 picks for this category. Baker knew exactly what his film was, and did exactly what he had to (no more, no less) for it to succeed. He made sure the camera stayed passive: we observed real lives, we noticed small moments. A showcase of deliberate, and masterful subtlety in direction.

BEST DIRECTOR

BARRY KEOGHAN - THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER A slightly surrealist choice, but no less deserved. Barry Keoghan is stunning; acting with an air of innocence and fragility that stains every minute of screen-time he has, even when the character becomes increasingly creepy. Despite the deliberately deadpan dialogue, Keoghan immerses us with a character that still manages to enthrall.

ADAM SANDLER - THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES

BEST ACTOR

SAORISE RONAN - LADY BIRD Although I wanted the film itself to do more for me, Saoirse Ronan’s assured, spirited performance is one the highlights of the past year. I can’t remember a performance that so delicately captures the itching adolescent yearning for some utopian independence; I know that sounded like a wordy-pile of nothingness, but trust it. The poignance in Ronan’s performance sneaks up on you.

BENNY SAFDIE - GOOD TIME

KATHRYN BIGELOW - DETROIT Bigelow’s recent films have had more of a documentary feel.

In Detroit, she brings a specific case of racism in 1967 America to embody the wider social and politcal struggles of today.

Bigelow’s direction is immersive and powerful. Detroit is harrowing and enraging, but what makes it all the more biting is that we know that this sort of racial violence is still alive.

As Noah Baumbach’s family study opens up with a close-up on Adam Sandler, one might be forgiven for a quick sigh. Known for his poorly-judged flatulent comedy, Sandler doesn’t only justify his profession as an actor, but exceeds what most actors can do. Here, Sandler is at his most raw and his performance feels uncannily real.

EILI HARBOE - THELMA

BEST ACTRESS

The titular performance in the coming-of-age neo-horror, Harboe’s performance brings the film together. Despite having the privilege of acting the script’s well-realised character, Harboe makes Thelma her own by rigging her performance with a quiet intensity.

SAM ROCKWELL - THREE BILLBOARDS...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Rockwell begins by playing a cliché: a slow-to-wit and quickto-violence racist American cop. Much has been debated as to whether his arc qualifies as redemption, but this misses the point of the film. Rockwell’s performance does seem to encapture the whole film - his character captures the nuances of the nature of anger and revenge that the film comments on.

LAURIE METCALF - LADY BIRD

KIM MIN-HEE - THE HANDMAIDEN

Laurie Metcalf is magnificent as a woman emotionally battered by the turbulent relationship she shares with her daughter. It was a performance that crept up on me - much like Saoirse Ronan’s - it’s one of those that only really hits me when I remind myself that I’m watching an actor, not a real mother.

Every laugh, scolding, and tear felt genuine - she anchored the pathos of the film.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Similar to Rockwell, Kim Min-Hee’s performance is one which goes further as the film progresses. Playing multiple accounts of the same person, Kim demonstrates superb versatility in the space of 144 minutes. Surrounded by a spotless cast, Kim still has the most to do with her character.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

JORDAN PEELE GET OUT

Benny Safdie quietly commands two wonderful scenes that bookend the film, and poignantly contrast the erratic, tense crime thriller that sits in between them. It was Benny Safdie who directed this shockingly underrated flick with his brother and this nomination acts as a homage to this fine film that sadly flew entirely under the radar.

MARTIN MCDONAGH THREE BILLBOARDS...

SCOTT FRANK, JAMES MANGOLD LOGAN YORGOS MAVROPSARIDIS THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA DUNKIRK

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

PARK CHAN-WOOK, CHUNG SEO-KYUNG THE HANDMAIDEN

BEST EDITING

JON HARRIS T2: TRAINSPOTTING

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA DUNKIRK

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winners in the inaugural Exeposé Screen Awards MOLLY’S WINNERS

FENTON’S WINNERS

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI This film well and truly stole my heart. Three Billboards looks at grief and anger in a completely new way. Buoyed by some exceptional performances, a darkly fantastic screenplay and masterful direction, the heart and emotion it carries wins it my nod for best film this year. Sorry Blade Runner: 2049.

BEST PICTURE

JORDAN PEELE - GET OUT Everything in Get Out has its place, everything is relevant, every tiny aspect within the frame feeds into the narrative.

I’ve watched this film over and over again and everytime I find something different in the direction. It may be his first film, but Peele is certainly no novice when it comes to filmmaking.

BEST DIRECTOR

TIMOTHEÉ CHALAMET- CALL ME BY YOUR NAME He may only be twenty-two years old, but Timotheé Chalamet has turned out a number of top-class performances this year,.

The main focal point for the emotional payoff from this film comes from Chalamet’s fragility and uninhabited rawness makes his performance the best I’ve seen this year.

WILLEM DAFOE - THE FLORIDA PROJECT Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project is majestic in a underhand way. Dafoe’s character breathes realism, the kind of external father figure that I’m sure that many can relate to having. It would be easy in a film dominated by child actors to steal their limelight when in shot yourself, but Dafoe doesn’t. Heartwarming and captivating all at once.

MARY J. BLIGE - MUDBOUND I really like Mudbound and all the acting it is superb, but Mary J. Blige is truly magnificent. I have never seen her act before, but she blew me away. In a role than could have a faded into the background in less capable hands, she holds her character up. She embodies so much of what the film explores and the true tribulations of trying to keep a family together in a world of racism, danger and emotional instability.

MARTIN MCDONAGH THREE BILLBOARDS...

YORGOS LANTHIMOS - THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Everything is thought out, in an unnervingly precise manner.

The pacing is both frustrating and cathartic. It is a perfect continuation from The Lobster, as Lanthimos’s continues to surreally shock and enthawl us in human manipulation, violence and pleasure.

BARRY KEOGHAN - THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

BEST ACTOR

I don’t think I have ever been so physically affected by an actor’s performance - but I was literally shaking at repulsion of Keoghan’s character. His performance wasn’t limited by the mechanical dialogue, but instead used it to create a convincingly vulnerable, creepy villain.

BROOKLYN PRINCE - THE FLORIDA PROJECT

FRANCES MCDORMAND - THREE BILLBOARDS...

No contest here for me. Three Billboards is simply not the same film without her presence. She owns every scene with a real sense of dominance but also of a woman that is full of grief and failed by her community. McDormand brings a sense of grandeur and gravitas that only very few actors could ever manage and does so without demanding acknowledgement of her art.

Following The Lobster was a tough call. Yet, Yorgos Lanthimos’s psychological thriller harnesses darker tones and relishes in a surreal exploration of power, bodily fragility and dismemberment. Laced with absurd humour, nuanced surrealist imagery, an unnerving score and with outstanding performances from Kidman and Farrel, it is truly a work of Andre Breton’s ‘Convulsive Beauty’.

BEST ACTRESS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Seven-year-old Brooklyn Prince performs with an air of infectious, energetic childhood naivety. Every moment feels entirely real. Whether it’s playing with her friends or acting as a passenger in scenes where her mother dominates with her unrestrained temper. Prince goes beyond the stereotype of young child actors just playing themselves - her performance is indeed very natural, but she shows such range that her talent deserves recognition.

MICHAEL STUHLBARG - CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Stuhlbarg oozes charisma as Timothee Chalamet’s caring, affectionate father. It was that memorable final scene with his son, where Stuhlbarg delivers words of remarkable profundity without an ounce of melodrama that won me over. He creates one of the most believable and likeable characters of the last year - and it’s time this fine actor got some serious recognition.

TALIAH LENNICE WEBSTER - GOOD TIME

A very small role in terms of screen-time, but one that needed a confidently nuanced performance given the character’s significance to the middle of the plot. Webster balances self-assurance and vulnerability delicately as she portrays a 16-year-old yearning to appear beyond her years. Her subtle performance is integral to the understanding of Pattinson’s character, and in turn our appreciation of the whole film.

YORGOS MAVROPSARIDIS THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

JAMES IVORY CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

JAMES IVORY CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

JONATHAN AMOS, PAUL MACHLISS BABY DRIVER

BEST EDITING

LEE SMITH DUNKIRK

ROGER DEAKINS BLADE RUNNER: 2049

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA DUNKIRK

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EDITORS: Fenton Christmas and Ben Faulkner

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Awards! What are they good for?

David Conway questions the tradition of an annual awards season

A

S awards season approaches, so does the raging conflict that has plagued me for years: whether I should care.

On the one hand, it’s Hollywood at its most excessive and navel-gazing: a stream of selfcongratulatory speeches and exercises in self-importance. On the other, there is the undeniable fact that great films, television programmes and performers are celebrated, and brought to prominence by being awarded.

And so, like clockwork, I am left stuck in the middle.

HOLLYWOOD IS CONCERNED WITH NOSTALIGA AND LEGACY OVER PROGRESSION The strange thing about awards is that by their very nature, they are often out of touch with the public, yet of unending interest to us. The term ‘Oscar-bait’, referring to films specifically designed to win awards, has become something of a cliché. But when looking at contemporary Oscar winners like The King’s Speech (2010), The Artist (2011), Argo (2012) or Birdman (2014), it’s hard not to disagree with it. All of these films are very well made pieces of cinema, but there is certainly a pattern in their nominations – three of them are detailed

period pieces, and three of them all dealing, in some form or another, with the film industry itself. It’s this kind of self-reflection that gives the term its merit, and supports the idea of Hollywood as an inward looking place, more concerned with nostalgia and legacy than with progression.

The Academy’s voting system is also complicated: a select committee of professionals and nominees vote in their specialist areas, and then vote altogether for the ‘Best Picture’ nomination.

Whilst at the outset this seems a sound system, one has to wonder how many of the nominations come from the fact that most voters have had their lives shaped by that very industry, rather than a more diverse range of backgrounds. This distance from the reality of public life was commented on in 2016 with the #oscarssowhite controversy, which pointed out that as far

back as 2014, only two per cent of members of the Academy were black. To the Academy’s credit, there have been recent efforts to rectify this shocking, unjustifiable ratio. The fact that the far more grounded and allblack Moonlight (2016) beat La La Land’s (2016) fun, but ultimately more traditional Hollywood nostalgia trip is a hugely positive sign. It’s possible that this introspection and lack of perspective is becoming less prominent as more diversity is added to membership, though admittedly at a slow pace.

Despite these misgivings, what usually halts me from a completely cynical outlook on the season is the amount of opportunities it has given talented nominees and winners. Part of me doubts whether a studio would have ever placed as much trust in someone like Paul Thomas Anderson to make a project as

Still friends?

strange and unconventional as The Master (2012), filmed entirely in 65mm, if There Will Be Blood (2007) had not been so widely nominated across the board. Similarly, incredible acting pedigree has been brought to attention for the same reasons; in 2009 the joys of a performance from Christoph Waltz were suddenly recognised by Hollywood as something to strive towards, and soon enough he was being cast in roles as diverse as a Bond villain to a Tim Burton antagonist.

WE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THEY ARE SUPERFICIAL AND SELF-IMPORTANT So ultimately, whilst I find the concept of awards rather arbitrary, I don’t think it’s fair to say they should be completely ignored. More that a degree of self-awareness should be attached to them; we should be aware that they are a little superficial and self-important, a little pompous and inward-looking. Because occasionally, out of that mass of celebrity ego stroking, comes the unearthing of a true gem that really is worth the struggle to dig out.

And secretly, I’ll be seething if Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017) doesn’t sweep the season. Cynicism be damned.

Harry Bunting, Online Comment Editor, reassesses Friends after its Netflix release

T

HE cult giant Friends is surely one of the most revered sitcoms of all time. And how could it not be? The central premise – a group of white people who are mates – is one that’s never been done before or since, and the show won a place in the hearts of the public that endures to this day. Recently, Netflix acquired all 10 seasons of Friends, making it available to stream 24/7, which is a refreshing change to it being on Comedy Central 24/7.

However, with a new generation of people discovering it, or perhaps after those who have seen it before were reacquainted, there has emerged some criticism.

OTHER CULT SITCOMS ALSO HAVE ASPECTS THAT HAVEN’T AGED WELL

In the last few weeks Friends has been accused of being homophobic, transphobic, and sexist, but are these criticisms fair? Well, yes.

Carol being a lesbian is repeatedly the butt of jokes, there are numerous derogatory comments about Chandler’s transgender father, and Joey’s whole character is basically just a sexist creep if you look into it with any depth. But dare I say it’s not entirely surprising that a show made in the 90s embodies the views of the 90s. Friends began almost 25 years ago, so we can’t expect it to express the same progressive views we hold in 2018; just in the same way that other giants of the sitcom genre have aspects that haven’t aged well. For example, much of Fawlty Towers is just a white man physically and verbally abusing an immigrant. This kind of thing is unlikely to be seen in a modern pro-

gramme (unless it’s a cop show), but we don’t consider Fawlty Towers an abhorrent creation.

We can acknowledge the problematic elements of something while still enjoying it.

This is why people responding to the outcry against Friends with melodrama - including claims that comedy is dying - are missing the point. Realising that Friends might be a bit out of date doesn’t herald the death of comedy, it just means that tastes are changing, which they have done for all of recorded history.

Jokes that were acceptable 20 years ago aren’t acceptable now, and jokes that are acceptable now won’t be acceptable in 20 years.

So it’s very unfortunate that your uncle Mick

can’t make jokes about “the gays” down the pub anymore, but that’s just the way it goes.

WE CAN’T CHANGE THAT FRIENDS IS A PRODUCT OF ITS TIME

We don’t need to do anything to Friends.

It would be pointless. We don’t need to retroactively give Gunther the catchphrase “#ImpeachTrump”, or make Matthew Perry dub in some lines for Chandler like “could I be any more woke?”, or say that actually Rachel was vegan the whole time. All we need to do is recognise that some jokes in the show are unacceptable now, and learn from that. It’s much more productive to look at what’s being made in the present day and hold those things up to better standards. We can’t change the fact that Friends is a product of its time, but we can make the products of our time inclusive and respectful.

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29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS:

Luke Smith Gabriel Yeap

Fast food gets an immune response

W

Ruth Braham delves into how our immune system reacts to fast food

E’RE all partial to a little fast food now and then, I know I am, but do we really think about the effects it has on our bodies? Results from a new study from the University of Bonn has certainly been ‘food for thought’ (pun intended).

Researchers fed mice with a “Western diet” - one high in fat, salt and sugar; but low in fibre - and examined the effect this had on the mice’s immune systems. After a month, the mice were shown to have high levels of immune cells in their bloodstreams, a similar increase to what one would expect to see in the aftermath of a bacterial infection.

“The unhealthy diet led to an unexpected increase in the number of certain immune cells in the blood of the mice, especially granulocytes and monocytes,” says Anette Christ, one of the researchers involved in the study.

These granulocyte and monocytes are

O

immune cells that are particularly involved in the nonspecific inflammatory response that occurs in the first few days after an infection, before a response specific to the infection can be mounted.

Worryingly, these inflammatory responses can lead to the development of vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, or trigger the build-up of plaque in the arteries (called atherosclerosis) which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

These inflammatory changes clearly have a marked impact, and further genomic studies showed activation of certain genes in immune progenitor cells occurred as a result of the changing diet. Furthermore, after the mice subjects were moved off the Western diet the

immune response decreased but the genetic reprogramming remained, meaning that inflammation and all the problems associated with it, could be triggered more easily in the future.

“It has only recently been discovered that the innate immune system has a form of memory,” explains Prof. Eicke Latz, “After an infection, the body’s defences remain in a kind of alarm state, so that they can respond more quickly to a new attack.” In the mice this reaction was not triggered by an infection, but by the unhealthy diet they were subjected to.

Upon investigation, the researchers were able to identify this fast food sensor in the immune cells. They examined blood samples from 120 subjects.

In those subjects which displayed a

strong memory effect, they were able says Latz. “The immune system conto show the involvement of “inflam- sequently reacts even to small stimuli masomes” - intracellular signalling with stronger inflammatory responscomplexes that detect harmful agents es.” and release messengers that trigger the Bad diet choices can have a signifiinflammatory immune response. Ex- cant impact on overall health. A 2005 actly how the inflammasome detects study, considering life expectancy in and responds to the western diet is still the US, indicated that individuals born being investigated. today will be the first generation in reThe addition of the Western diet cent centuries to have a shorter average also changes the way that genetic infor- lifespan than their parents; this is due mation is packaged. in large part to the effect of unhealthy DNA is usually stored wrapped diets and lack of exercise. “These findtightly around proteins called histones, ings therefore have important socimeaning that many tightly bound areas etal relevance,” Latz commented “the of DNA are simply unreadable. Un- foundations of a healthy diet need to healthy eating causes changes in his- become a much more prominent part tone binding, causing some normally of education than they are at present.” hidden areas of DNA to be revealed, So maybe think about what your like a loop of string being pulledPhoto: out Pixabay immune system will do to your body of a tightly knotted ball. Scientists call next time you head to McDonald’s or these changes, which affect genetic ac- order Domino’s. Just remember that, tivity without altering the DNA code while complete abstinence may not be epigenetic changes. “The inflammas- necessary, you can certainly have “too ome triggers such epigenetic changes,” much of a good thing”.

Poachers on the run

Laura Butula investigates the forensics behind catching rhino killers

VER the past decade, the number of hornless rhinoceros carcasses has increased by a disturbing 9,000 per cent in South Africa alone, making poaching the leading threat facing wild rhinos. With the percentage of white and black rhino populations in the country down to approximately 93 and 40 per cent respectively, the goal of protecting the two species has become more of an explicit and undisputed dogma. Nonetheless, inhumane actions are still exacted upon rhinos, classifying the two species as corespondingly threatened and endangered.

Targeted for their valuable horns, rhinos have long been the innocent victims of poaching. Traditional beliefs suggest that horns contain unique medicinal properties that are rumoured to cure high fevers, hallucinations, and in extreme cases, even cancer. The acceptance of this philosophy has recently augmented in Asia, making Vietnam the tyrant of illegal horn marketing. Due to their unbelievably

high trading value of £23,000 per kilo, horns are predominantly considered an artefact of wealth and power, which has undoubtedly encouraged the illegal business.

A rhino DNA library is being used to convict poachers Fortunately, recent scientific developments have proven thus far to help alleviate the unpromising situation African rhinos are experiencing. Back in 2010, researchers from the University of Pretoria in South Africa had collected DNA samples from 3,085 white rhinos and 883 black rhinos to create a system which would help resolve rhino-related criminal investigations by matching unique genomic patterns to rhino carcasses. This clever set up, termed the Rhinoceros DNA index system (RhODIS), has accumulated over 20,000 rhino DNA samples since its launch and has been used in over

5,800 cases, repeatedly exposing the culprits of rhino killings..

It uses a panel of 23 distinctive genetic markers to calculate the probability of a match between rhino DNA in the RhODIS record and a crime scene sample. According to Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004, these samples must be obtained from the carcass, horn or blood of a dead or immobilised rhino so that they can be added to the database.

In this sense, acquiring unique DNA profiles is comparable to the procedures and forensics of human related crimes, where an individual can be held accountable for an offense based on a single piece of genetic evidence.

Since its creation, RhODIS has imprisoned nine individuals who have in some way contributed to poaching; thus, whether they have personally killed the animals or purchased the horns of slaughtered rhinos is irrelevant, as any association of the individual with a dead rhino based on the evidence of a genetic match results in prosecution and a plausible prison

sentence, in which the maximum verdict up to date has been 29 years.

RhODIS was successful in imprisoning a Vietnamese citizen back in 2010, when several African rhino horns were discovered in the individual’s baggage at the national airport. Another wellknown case is that of a Kenyan man, who was found guilty of murder after RhODIS matched a blood sample found on a carpet to that of a black rhino horn. On both occasions, the lawbreakers were sent to prison for 10 years, demonstrating how the operational reliance on the RhODIS system can bring justice to sadistic animal rights viola- tions.

What’s more, t h e World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have contributed donations to develop the RhODIS system even further, and accordingly to support the African rhinos. Although the existing success

of RhODIS is evident, it is still critical not only for the scientific community, but for broader audiences to truly acknowledge the value of this practical advancement. The ingenious system will certainly continue solving criminal investigations, but as the expert in illegal wildlife trade Dr Tanya Watts states, “We really still need to make a lot of effort in protecting the rhinoceros from being poached in the first place.”

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SCIENCE

Going quantum Gabriel Yeap, Science Editor, reveals why quantum computers are a big deal

N the 1990 documentary Memory and Imagination, Steve Jobs said “What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” I feel that this vividly reflects the advancement of technology at the time. It was progressing, but at a slow pace. Today, our society as a whole has produced generations of young and old minds that together have accumulated over 4.4 billion web pages, which is equivalent to around 1 million exabytes, which is a billion billion bytes worth of information! It would certainly take a lot more than a computer with the speed of light to cycle through all of that to store all of our minds in digital code.

Scientists predict that at the current rate of information production, there would not be enough power for all the computers needed by 2040. This is why the race to make computers more energy efficient is on. Classical computers today are limited by the minimum amount of

energy required to perform one operation. The formula used to calculate this energy is named after IMB researcher Rold Landauer, and it calculates the lowest limit of energy needed for a single computer operation. Theoretically, it is possible to make a chip with the lowest energy, and if manufactured, would cut computer energy by a factor of one million. However, this is still speculation, and has not been achieved yet.

Our current computers will be unable to meet our datahungry needs by 2040.

Enter quantum computing. The word 'quantum' may sound terrifying, but it actually hails from the Latin word quantus, meaning “how great”. Put simply, it is defined as a discrete amount of any physical quantity or energy. It is yet to be realised how great it really is. You see, quantum

computing takes advantage of the strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at any time, and be in two places at once, something we would all aspire to achieve on a Monday morning 8:30 lecture. Essentially, in classical computing, the bit, which is a single package of information can either be a 1 or a 0 (think The MKatrix). Quantum ‘qubits’ are the same thing, but instead of only being able to exist as either 1, it could be both at the same time. In fact, qubits can exist as any superposition of these values.

With their multiple state capability that seemingly defies logic, just 300 qubits could simultaneously encode more numbers than there are atoms in the observable universe, and that is a hell of a lot of numbers. To put that into perspective, 300 qubits can encode 10^82 - I’ll leave that to your imagination.

What’s even more amazing is that these qubits can actually undergo quantum entanglement, which is a phenomenon where changing the state of one

qubit-say making it a 1-will automatically change its paired qubit no matter how far away it is to a 0. Einstein was in such disbelief of this phenomena that he called this spooky action at a distance. This weird property of qubits mean that we can do a lot more operations using less energy with computers that make use of them. This allows us to solve hard problems by first encoding them, resulting in solutions corresponding to different quantum waves. Just imagine these waves crashing over the problem, with the wrong answers cancelling each other out, while the right solution pops out, which if applied could factor large numbers, and even be able to crack internet encryption protocols.

So why isn’t Apple incorporating this in the next ten Macs and iPhones that it will probably launch this year? Well, firstly, this is not a technology that would improve your average consumer laptop at all. Rather, this is more important in cloud storage for large industrial compa-

nies such as Google. Secondly, producing quantum computers are very difficult on an industrial scale, since a quantum computer involves a myriad of sensitive and complicated super-cooled components that take up almost the size of a small room.

Just 300 qubits could encode more numbers than atoms in the observable universe, Just shy of 30 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, changing the internet and even much of our culture and societies. I believe that the future will bring even more mindboggling advancements, and quantum computing will certainly be right at the top of that list. For now however, let’s just be content that quantum computing is both a possibility and an impossibility at the same time.

From the lounge to the lab

V

IDEOGAMES have, since their introduction, always been very popular and the industry is always expanding – whether it’s the latest smartphone app, a console that can both be plugged into the TV or played on the go, or the adoption of next level 4K graphics. Videogames also have an influence on a very different world: science. Companies and researchers alike are using videogames and the technology behind them to create new tools for research, training, or therapy.

This revolution isn’t unprecedented, however. The popularity of the Nintendo Wii saw a shift in both the gaming industry and the world of research. This newfound focus on motion controls could lead to new methods of precisely tracking movement, aiding research into robotics, such as the creation of new robotic vision systems, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.

Christopher O'Rouke shows us where science and gaming meet

of this kind of research would be using a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system. This has proven to be effective, and was specifically designed for this task, rather than as an accessory for the Xbox One. In fact, it is only in recent times that companies such as Microsoft and Sony actually welcomed the use of their technology in research, given the alterations required to use the systems effectively. So why the shift in research? The simplest answer is

£100.

Yet, ironically, despite all the additional uses researchers have found for these video game peripherals, their original purpose seems to have diminished. At the end of last year, Microsoft confirmed they were no longer producing the Kinect and the amount of games that actually used the device were decreasing year-on-year be-

opment since 1994, it was only since 2016 that this technology has been widely used in the gaming industry. The ability to use VR for fully immersive experiences now allows for the creation of realistic simulators – a tool used in training, such as learning to fly planes or refining surgery skills, and therapy: VR exposure therapy is emerging as a more popular method of combatting phobias.

The immersion of virtual reality allows for considerably more

fore that. The device that was advertised to revolutionise gaming now primarily serves as a tool for research - at least before the world of research also replaces it in favour of newer technology.

One such new technology is virtual reality (VR). While VR has been in devel-

realistic and more effective experiences. VR is not a cheap tool: 'highend' VR headsets cost around £350 per

The device that was advertised to revolutionise gaming now primarily serves as a tool for research.

Palaeontology is another field that has benefited from the use of motion sensing. The Microsoft Kinect has been used, most famously by Ken Mankoff, to model glacier beds and the meltwater channels underneath them. The standard method

money: LiDAR systems can cost upwards of £7000 while the Microsoft Kinect, on the other hand, costs around

headset, but for a developer’s kit, to allow for the creation of more specialised programs, this can cost as much as £3500. Yet, its effectiveness is second only to putting them in the situation they are simulating, which comes with a range of drawbacks, not least of all the safety of those involved.

The adoption of new technologies primarily designed to be used in gaming for research may seem to be a weird decision, and not one without downsides: while the hardware may be easily adaptable, software usually needs to be created from scratch.

To create an accurate and realistic surgery simulator, you wouldn’t be able to rely on mainstream video games which would undoubtedly take liberties to maximise the player’s enjoyment.

However, the multipurpose use for the technology makes it a worthwhile investment, and it is often cheaper than specialist equipment. As the technology is easy to access, it also becomes much easier to share data, and so encourages collaboration. Even more surprisingly, there are many instances, such as with virtual reality, where the new pieces of hardware are actually more effective than anything previously used in research or training. While there is no danger of innovations in gaming taking over conventional research, the two worlds work together in strange and unique ways that no developer could ever have imagined.

SCIENCE

Breaking bad habits W

ITH the increasing prevalence of alcoholism, smoking and obesity-related diseases across the globe, the need for effective treatment programmes has greatly increased. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), heart disease, strokes and Diabetes Mellitus were among the top ten causes of death worldwide in 2015. So it's no surprise that neurological methods for disease prevention and treatment are rapidly advancing.

The brain is the body’s most complex organ. It is responsible for our every thought, feeling, memory, action and experience. This indispensable bundle of beautifully intertwined neurons and synapses can sometimes - like any masterful machine - go awry.

Picture a dog receiving a delectable treat; its eyes light up, its tail wags and all this excitability is reciprocated in the brain as a neurochemical called doapmine is released. This is the distinct motivation and reward chemical that the brain follows each time we anticipate pleasurable activities such as eating, drinking and sexual intercourse. However, these pathways can become hyper-sensitised; that is overstimulated, underlying serious conditions such as a binge-eating disorder, al-

35

Scarlett Parr Reid delves into a shocking treatment for unhealthy addictions coholism, drug abuse and other impulsive disorders. At this point, moderate and healthy habits are actually hindered by brain activity because the brain's reward pathway is on overdrive. Hence, the individual may repeatedly carry out addictive (and often destructive behaviours) to the detriment of their health.

It is now possible to place electrodes into a patients's scalp for ongoing treatments Recent research and experiments carried out on binge-eating mice by neuroscientists at Stanford University, saw that the neurological activity involved in their anticipation of special highfat food pellets - given to them for just one hour per day over a period of ten days - yielded evidence that a specific pattern of brain activity occurs seconds prior to their stuffing themselves. This shows that dopamine is released predictably and repeatedly, inducing immense pleasure in a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. It’s this signature excitability that represents a ‘real- time biomarker’ for impulsive behaviours says Dennis

Turner, professor of neurosurgery at Duke University.

Behind these findings is a practise known as Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS). Under the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it has been proven possible to implant tiny electrodes into a patient’s scalp for ongoing treatments for 'hard to treat' Epilepsy, which monitors brain activity and stimulates the nucleus accumbens with electrical impulses only when the telltale spike in activity occurs.

This mode of treatment is more effective than its counterpart Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), says Casey Halpern of Stanford University. This is because it is noncontinuous, reducing side effects and optimising its function by only firing then necessary. Moreover, the study was extended to a willing human volunteer that was previously resistant to all other treatments for OCD. Whilst fitted with a surgically implanted DBS device, her anticipation of generous cash rewards on completion

of assigned task mimicked the neurological effects seen in the binge- eating mice.

This marked similarity sheds light on the potential to treat a whole host of other impulsive and life-threatening disorders, such as eating disorders and suicide attempts.

All this sounds too good to be true,

right? Well, a solution to the malfunction in an evolutionary survival instinct is to play the brain at its own game. Is it realistic to say that we might be able to intervene with the brain’s hard-wired mechanisms without impinging on other body systems? Well, yes and no. Significantly, research published in the proceedings of the National Academies of Science in 2017 states that the reversible procedure had no effect on the mice’s social lives, physical behaviour and consumption of normal food. Granted, the research is still in its infancy and the device comes with a whooping great price tag of $40,000, but you can’t put a price on global health. You can, however, recognise this valuable opportunity to effect change in healthcare worldwide if the lack of new addiction treatments and increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases over recent decades is anything to go by. It’s not as trivial as simply zapping those urges to reach for the biscuit tin or crack out another bottle of bubbly; it’s the potential to treat disorders which have thus far been rendered resistant to treatment, whilst improving the quality of life of those suffering from serious addictions.

No backup plan-et

Naomi Faulkner discusses how we can personally make a green difference

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T'S difficult to comprehend the scale of the effect that we’re having on the Earth – there are so many statistics and contributing issues that make climate change really hard to process.

The butterfly effect exists in the past and present: meaning our small actions can really affect climate change Something that struck a chord with me (as a mathematician), was the BBC documentary Climate Change by Numbers that addressed this never-ending sea of figures by simplifying climate change down to just three very important numbers: 1) 0.85 degrees Celsius is the average amount the planet has warmed so far. 2) 95 per cent is the degree of certainty scientists have that more than half the recent warming is human-inflicted, and 3) we can burn only 1 trillion tonnes of gas from now, to stay below dangerous levels of global warming. To put this

in context, the show estimated we would reach this figure in just 30 years if we continue at our current rate. These three numbers were all I needed to know to realise that it's essential we change our behaviours to stop climate change.

It might surprise you to know that global warming is affecting our oceans a lot quicker than other environments on Earth. Netflix’s documentary Chasing Coral (although incredibly depressing) brilliantly explained how 93 per cent of the heat trapped by increasing carbon emissions is absorbed by the ocean, double of what was absorbed in 1997.

So without the seas, the average surface temperature would have reached 50 degrees by now. Obviously, absorbing so much heat has a huge impact – if carbon emissions continue to increase at the rate they are now, it is likely we will see the collapse of the coral reef ecosystem in our lifetime. I find this tragic, as not only are they gorgeous, but coral reefs support over a quarter of marine life as well as millions of people around the world that rely on them as a source of both food and income.

Climate change has become a massive topic in both science and politics, yet there’s still a popular opinion that it’s being dealt with so we, as individuals, don’t need to worry about it. Documentaries such as Blue Planet 2 strive to counteract this and explain the effect that each of us can, and do, have on our planet.

At the end of the last episode, one of the researchers said: “It comes down to us each taking responsibility for the personal choices in our everyday life.”

This emphasises how every choice we make really does add up, and making the smallest of changes to our lifestyle actually makes a difference (think of the film Sliding Doors).

There’s a meme (sorry, this is a millennial thing) that is really relevant: everyone thinks that when it comes to time travel, if you go back in time and change the smallest thing, it has the potential to trigger the butterfly effect and hence can change the course of history (pretty much the synopsis of 'Back to the Future'). However, everyone thinks that making one little change

won’t make any difference in the grand scheme of things. I really believe that we all can each make changes in our lives to be more eco-friendly, as this all really does add up and will change the future of our planet. So for me, cycling to uni, switching off that light and having the odd vegetarian meal seemed like an easy decision to make.

It’s not all doom and gloom however – these sorts of individual actions are already having a significant impact. The Daily Mirror reported that demand for meat-free products grew by 98.7 per cent in 2017, and the company Just Eat predicts that

veganism will become "a top consumer trend" in 2018. Since the 5p charge on plastic bags was imposed, it is estimated that the seven main food retailers in the UK together issued 83 per cent fewer plastic bags than in 2014. And at the end of 2017, the BBC reported the year as the "greenest year for electricity ever" for the UK. So, it is easy to see how little changes - like using your own reusable bags or eating a little less meat are things that everyone can do in their day-to-day life that evidently contribute to the battle against climate change.

Exeter Student Volunteering Include it in your Exeter Award You can count your volunteer time with ESV towards the 35 hours needed for the Exeter Award, the University’s employability skills programme for undergraduate and masters students. The Exeter Award is free, flexible, and you will: • Learn how to sell yourself to employers • Enhance your CV Students who complete the Exeter Award are more likely to get a graduate level job within six months of graduating.

www.exeter.ac.uk/exeteraward

2017ESE030

The Exeter Award is sponsored by

A3 poster.indd 1

03/05/2017 14:56

SPORT

World Cup 2018

37

Finlay Simmonds and George Pitchford cast an eye over the tournament in Russia this summer Group A

Group B

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay

Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran

Deemed statistically to be the weakest of all the groups, Uruguay are expected to dominate proceedings. Boasting a formidable attack including the likes of Cavani and Suarez and under the leadership of veteran manager Tabarez, any other result would be considered a failure. Contrastingly, neither Russia and Saudi Arabia are ranked in the top sixty international teams and Egypt are yet to record a World Cup victory. But the Russians could utilise their home advantage to muster a serious challenge, only once has the host nation failed to reach the knockout stages. Similarly, Mo Salah’s scintillating club form could help Egypt to build on performances which saw them reach the 2017 AFCON Final.

With all four teams winning their qualifying groups, this will be a hotly contested affair. Its opening fixture sees the 2010 World Cup winners, Spain, face European Championships holders, Portugal, and in a match which will likely decide who finishes top. Portugal will hope their talisman CR7 can reproduce the performances responsible for inspiring success last year whilst Spain will turn to the fresher faces of Asensio and Morata to revitalise their experienced, but ultimately aging, core players. Morocco and Iran, despite convincing performances in qualifying, are unlikely to challenge two of Europe’s strongest nations.

Predicted winners: URUGUAY

Predicted winners: spain

Group c

Group D

France, Australia, Peru, Denmark

Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria

A golden generation of French footballers will have to shoulder the expectations of delivering an exciting brand of football on the world’s biggest stage.

Pogba, Griezmann and Mbappe will be looking to forget their Euro 2016 heart-break after facing defeat in the final, and teams like Australia should provide little resistance. Yet Peru and Denmark cannot be underestimated; Peru recently claimed the scalps of Brazil and Uruguay and will be looking to make amends for their thirty-six year absence from the tournament. Denmark’s hopes of progression lie with Christian Eriksen and his ability to emulate his Premier League form.

Argentina scraped through qualification, but any relief will be accompanied by a frustration at failing to win a major tournament since 1993. Their over-dependence on Lionel Messi is baffling, considering the pedigree of players like Higuaín and Dybala, and could turn out to prove costly. Iceland, who topped their qualification group which also contained Croatia, will be confident on embarking upon another giant-killing run, like at Euro 2016. Contrastingly, Croatia’s inconsistency will likely derail any hopes of their progression. Neutrals will hope for a repeat of Nigeria and Argentina’s 2014 encounter, ending 3-2, but this group is more likely to a tight affair, characterised by low scoring draws.

Predicted winners: denmark

Predicted winners: argentina

Group e

Group f

Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia

Germany, Mexico, Sweden, Korea Republic

Tite’s Brazil will be the strong favourites in a group that otherwise offers little in terms of international heaveyweights. Switzerland qualify off the back of a very successful qualifying campaign, whilst Costa Rica have proved their ability to cause upsets at Brazil 2014. Serbia are a side with a plethora of experience at the World Cup, but none of these three teams will be likely to trouble a Brazil side packed with flair and footballing genius.

Current holders Germany go into this World Cup with an equally powerful side that brought them glory four years ago. Sweden will represent a big test though, full of optimism after knocking out Italy in the playoffs. Mexico and Korea Republic represent sides capable of competing with the best of teams, meaning this group is certainly one to watch.

Predicted winners: brazil

Predicted winners: germany

Group G

Group H

Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England

Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan

Should be a two horse race for the top of this group, but England fans will know that expectations are rarely met on the international stage. Tunisia and Panama both did exceptionally well to qualify for the tournament, with the latter making their first ever appearance at the World Cup. Belgium’s starting XI will be a terrifying sight for any opposition, and I think they’ll have just enough to break down England.

Poland are one of many European teams designed to be sturdy in defence and win games by a narrow margin, but this will come under considerable scrutiny against Colombia. James Rodriguez is likely to shine again for the South American outfit, but he will have to be at his best in order to defeat a Japan side who’ve made it to every one of the last six World Cups. Despite only making their second appearance at a World Cup, have the highest FIFA ranking in Africa, meaning this group is far from a formality.

Predicted winners: Belgium

Predicted winners: ColOmbia

38

SPORT

Top five in 2017

INTRAMURAL George Pitchford Intramural Sport Columnist

I

T'S a new year and a new league for Goalois Theory after last season ended with a fairytale promotion. Halfexpecting a BUCS call-up after our brilliant first season, we were raring to take on the giants of Friday football.

Unfortunately our excitement at being amongst intramural’s elite was swept away by a tsunami of precise attacking football, courtesy of Flanter FC. Wanting to be the hero, I had volunteered to take the first shift in goal. I made a strong start, producing a a string of point black saves - which, to be honest, I knew nothing about - but, just as my confidence was beginning to burgeon, we were 1-0 own.

After needlessly giving the ball away in the centre of the park, a clever pass from one of our adversaries reached their forward, who quickly converted the first of what would become several goals.

Like Barcelona v Stoke on a warm Saturday in summer

Michael Jones, Online Sport Editor, looks back at last year's key moments in women's sport Eniola Aluko

England Cricket

E

NIOLA Aluko’s admirable bravery in the face of an intimidating jury of Football Association personnel should be regarded as one of the most significant acts of last year.

Refusing to be silenced, the ex-England international’s perseverance in revealing the racism she and fellow players were subjected to whilst representing the Lionesses has exposed the disdainful nature of England’s football body, and should inspire all those associated with the women’s game.

Hannah Cockroft

Bianca Walkden

T

A

N enthralling World Cup triumph on home soil provided the England cricket team with an unprecedented level of exposure.

After dismantling India's middle-order to claim an improbable victory by a mere nine runs, the side were named BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year.

It is now up to the authorities to exploit the enthusiasm that rippled through the country and translate it into tangible uptake.

HREE golds and two world records: wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft enjoyed astounding success in the 2017 Para-athletics Championships.

Cockroft was electric in front of an ecstatic crowd in London, her performances stimulating a current of excitement across the U.K. The 25-year-old began by claiming the T34 100m in a world record time of 17.18 seconds, before following it up with victory in the 400m and 800m to add to her five Paralympic gold medals.

Serena Williams

I B

IANCA Walkden become the first British Taekwondo fighter to win back-to-back gold medals in the European Championships, and has not lost a bout since earning bronze in the 2016 Olympics.

The 26-year-old from Liverpool won all four Grand Prix events, the first time the feat has been achieved in the sport’s history. A determined, industrious and indomitable fighter, Walkden should be held up as a role model for youngsters.

Holding court

F ever there was an athlete to project control it is Serena Williams.

A decorated and unrivalled history - with 39 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles - is evidence of the American’s strength on court.

So when it was revealed Williams had won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, such a remarkable story was really no surprise. Still, it sought to vanquish the anachronistic myth of a weak, frail female body – if Williams’ exploits were already not enough.

'S IN A ER PT N A R C O C

The floodgates then opened and the game became utterly one-sided. On several occasions the opposition played pinball around our box, mocking our inability to get a foot in and enjoying more possession than a Barcelona side against Stoke on a warm Saturday in summer.

Flanter were simply too hot to handle, scoring three in quick succession to put the game to bed after a mere eight minutes. I felt like I’d won the lottery when the half-time whistle went and my time in goal was up.

Giving the gloves to the equally noble Captain Owen for the second-half, I slotted into my more natural centre-defensive position: unfortunately, my effect was negligible. The opposing wingers continuously came close to breaking my ankles with their agility, and Owen didn’t have any more luck than me. We found ourselves 7-0 down and facing the worst defeat in our three-year history.

Then came a moment of magic.

Matt, the magician of our team, suddenly found himself on the edge of the box with two defenders and a goalkeeper between him and the posts. Unfazed, he faked a shot with his right foot, rolled the ball onto his left in a turn reminiscent of Hal Robson-Kanu at Euro 2016, and calmly slotted the ball beyond reach of the keeper. Just a consolation, but one good enough to spark hysterics amongst the Theory fanbase.

There’s a lot of work to be done if we have any hope of keeping our heads above water in the top league. ‘Park the bus’ may soon become the new team mantra if we're to avoid conceding a cricket score every week.

29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Dorothea Christmann, Sport Editor, chats to EUNC's India Crawley and Christina Shaw

A

HEAD of the netball Varsity I sat down with club captain India Crawley and 1s team captain Christina Shaw to talk about trials, injuries, and mental health.

Both Crawley - a goal attack/wing attack and in her third year of university - and Shaw - a second year who plays goalkeeper/goal defence - started playing netball at school before joining a club.

When asked if there was a big difference between school and university level netball, India noted that, although the enjoyment hasn't changed, the level of competition is a step up. Rivalry within the club for positions is intense.

Despite this, both managed to play BUCS as freshers, with Crawley starting in the 2s before progressing to the 1s towards the end of her first year. Impressively, Shaw made the 1s sidestraightaway via trials.

Unfortunately, Crawley suffered an injury last year that has hampered her playing chances, only proving fit enough to return to action a fortnight ago.

Having been side-lined for so long, I was interested to find out how her injury affected her involvement to EUNC and her approach to the sport.

Crawley had initially feared the injury would make her lose the love of netball but she tried to stay as involved as pos-

sible. She was coaching and umpiring all of last term and remained on committee when she wasn’t playing. The club captain asserted that there are plenty of ways to get involved with the sport even if you’re not actively participating in the training, which helps to get through the injury.

Balancing committee responsibilities with a degree can be challenging, yet Crawley stated that she generally manages to find a good balance because the netball club has a committee of 16, enabling her to delegate a lot of tasks to various committee members - particularly the vice club captain.

As Shaw plays netball for Wales, she found that balancing her work with playing netball did become quite difficult when she started this academic year.

Fortunately, with the high-performance programme, she was able to get

help from the university including receiving mentoring and getting deferrals for exams, and has now decided to go part-time, because she reached a point where the stress of balancing travel, work and netball got too much.

With January being Mental Health Awareness Month, AU President Jim Balshaw has launched a high-profile #SportSomethingSaySomething campaign, which has included videos posted on Facebook with club captains and members of AU clubs talking about their difficulties with mental health.

Crawley was positive about the campaign, saying that she had never in her time here at university seen a campaign with so much backing to it. She reiterated that the campaign had encouraged the netball club to introduce a new committee member role – welfare officer, one the club has never had before.

Because the club is so large, Crawley thought it would be a good idea to have a designated person within the club to whom members can go to and discuss work management, including the stress they feel comes through playing sport.

She also believes that

“it’s encouraged a lot of AU clubs to interact with each other. For example, the football club has introduced open sessions where members of other AU clubs can come and play football with them”. In a nutshell, it’s engaging the AU clubs in a bigger conversation with each other.

Being involved with sport can improve your mood

CHRISTINA SHAW, 1s CAPTAIN

I thought it would be important to ask whether they thought that sport is a good way of combatting mental health issues, as over 120 taster sessions have been offered by the university this January in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month. Crawley argues that it’s a great way to distance yourself from your desk and the stress that comes through being a student.

“The feeling of being active and participating in a social sport can definitely improve your mood”. Shaw adds that ,especially in netball, the social aspect is really significant as you make a lot of friends through playing in the club. In terms of injured players, sports clubs do a lot to still include you in the club.

SPORT

39

NETBALL VARSITY PREVIEW

O

N Wednesday, 7 February, Ex-

India Crawley, netball club captain,

BUCS Western 1A

as [Exeter] Chiefs tickets and a Timepiece

eter women’s netball first team

echoed those sentiments in conversation

POS

TEAM

take on Gloucestershire 1s in

with Exeposé: “This is a massive match for

As well as leading their league, Exeter

1

Exeter 1s

7 233 19

a top-of-the-table clash for their varsity

the 1s [and the varsity] is not an event to be

1s are in the last 16 of the BUCS Netball

fixture.

missed!”

2017-18 Trophy, and have every reason to

2

Gloucestershire 1s

6 90 13

3 4

Bath 2s Bristol 1s

6 116 12 6 -28 9

5 6

Bristol 2s Southampton 1s

5 -146 0 6 -265 0

This is set to be a momentous clash for

gold card,” explains Crawley.

Before the mouth-watering clash

be confident going into varsity– particu-

an Exeter side that sits top of the Western

against Gloucestershire at 5pm, EUNC

larly with the raucous support of Exeter’s

1A league. Having narrowly lost to the

2s will be taking on UWE 2s in another

Green Army cheering the girls on.

same opponents last year, the 1s are keen

battle of the South West. Alongside the

to make amends and continue this season’s

sporting showpiece, the varsity will feature

Bristol this Wednesday, 31 January, for a

winning ways – a varsity victory would put

a number of off-court offerings, including

final dress rehearsal for the big fixture.

Exeter in prime position for promotion to

a range of refreshments, a glitter station,

Tickets for the netball varsity are on sale

the Premier League.

pic ‘n’ mix, and a raffle “with such prizes

now.

Next up for the 1s is an away trip to

PLD

GD

PTS

*Table correct as of 29/1/18

Tickets for the Varsity fixture go on sale in the Forum from next week, or you can buy on the door on 7 February from 4:15pm.

Meet the team...

GK/GD (C)

“Netball varsity this year is looking to be the biggest one yet. Not only is it a top of the table clash but both teams are fighting for promotion so there is everything to play for. All of our preparations are leading to this match so we are hoping to get the win!”

CHRISTINA SHAW Biological Sciences

MIA BROOMHALL English

IZZY STIBBS Geography

7 feb

HANNAH BLACKMAN Criminology

17:00

GK/GD

GK/GD

AMY OMAKOBIA Medical Sciences

MAISIE SHARP Modern Languages

GS/GK

GS

ALICE EVANS Civil Engineering

GD/WD

EMILY PORTER Sport Science

WD

MADDIE HEYWOOD Medical Sciences

wA

KAT ARTHUR Art History & Visual Culture

GD

GA (vC)

centre

CHRISTINA SHAW, 1s CAPTAIN

BETSY CREAK PGCE Biology

sports park

Sport

29 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

40

SPORT EDITORS:

Dorothea Christmann Wil Jones

Centre of attention Netball Varsity preview inside

Mental Health Awareness Month Club

Session

Date

Time

Location

Women’s Football Russell Seal Fitness Centre Healthy Halls Russell Seal Fitness Centre Student Minds Healthy Halls Russell Seal Fitness Centre Mind Your Head Russell Seal Fitness Centre Healthy Halls Healthy Halls Women’s Football Healthy Halls Athletics Uni Boob

Club Fitness & Wellbeing Blitz Yoga Body Balance Eating Difficulties Support Total Body Conditioning Legs, Bums & Tums Board Games & Snacks Blitz Yoga Total Body Conditioning Pitch Up & Play Yoga AU Olympics Boob Ball Tournament

29/1/18 29/1/18 29/1/18 29/1/18 29/1/18 30/1/18 30/1/18 31/1/18 31/1/18 1/2/18 1/2/18 1/2/18 2/2/18 9/2/18 16/2/18

7:30-8:30 12:30-13:30 12:30-13:30 16:00-17:00 19:00 12:30-13:30 16:00-17:00 19:00-21:00 20:00-21:00 17:00-18:00 17:00-18:00 17:00-19:00 12:30-13:30 19:30-21:30 14:00-16:00

St. Luke’s Sports Hall Sports Park Birks Grange Sports Park A&V Conference Room Birks Grange Sports Park Crosskeys, St. Luke’s Sports Park Northfield House Trust House Sand Astro Birks Grange Sports Hall Sports Hall

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