Issue 676 27 11 2017

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ISSUE 676 27 NOV 2017 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

Following last summer’s £150,000 budget shortfall, Exeposé asks:

Is our Guild underfunded?

Freedom of Information request reveals disparity between Exeter and Cornwall funding LSE Students’ Union received almost £150 more per student in 2015-16 than Exeter’s Guild

Owain Evans Editor

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HE Students’ Guild receives less University funding than many of its Russell Group counterparts, according to a series of Freedom of Information requests submitted by Exeposé.

The information also unveiled that the Guild is funded less per head than

SCIENCE

Research reveals that sheep can recognise individual faces PAGe 34

its Cornwall based counterpart, FXU. According to University figures, the University will put in around £1.6 million into the Students’ Guild this year.

This works out at £65.70 per member, whilst the money given by the University to FXU works out at just over £81 per member. Even taking into consideration Athletic Union funding, £4 less per head was put towards Exeter...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

LIFESTYLE Battle of the Winter

Beverages PAGe 17

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: Leah Crabtree & 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, Eloise Hardy and Hannah Kitt Proofers

Maddy Parker, Eloise Hardy, Johnny Chern, Isabel Taylor, Fenton Christmas, Mubanga Mweemba, Emily Garbutt, Julia Naud, Alex Wingrave, Olivia Powell, Ollie Lund, Harry Bunting, Nicky Avasthi, Lauren Geall, Natalie Keffler, Megan Davies, George Pope, Jaysim Hanspal, and Graham Moore.

@ 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 ‘Tis the season to pull all-nighters, and scrape together the last of this term’s maintenance loan to pay for winter ball tickets and Christmas dinners. As the pile of fallen leaves underfoot and the heap of essays hanging overhead grow, so does everyone’s excitement for the upcoming respite of the holidays. The seasonal boom of footfall on campus means that we’re all packed into study spaces like sardines – well, if sardines lacked sleep and drank too much coffee. We have all empathised with Comment’s Confessions of a Campus Camper on page 7 at some point during our degrees. If you feel really strongly about study space, maybe you could even submit a Student Idea asking the Guild to invest some of their 15k budget for their Gold Ideas project in improving our options – see page 4 for more details.

For those in need of a boost, turn over to Lifestyle – with The Battle of the Beverages on page 17 and their tips for shaking off seasonal slumps on page 18, they’re sure to deliver you a pick-me-up. If you’re a step further down the line and you’re fighting off the flu, then take a look at Science’s discussion of how fruitful taking vitamin supplements can actually be (page 33) and their exploration of antibiotic resistance (page 35).

In light of the anniversary of Roald Dahl’s death, Arts + Lit have put together a fabulous selection of writing on children’s literature; on page 20, their writers discuss the work of the man himself and then on pages 21 and 22, they’re looking at the broader canon of children’s literature. This nostalgic trip down memory lane is exactly what we need mid-deadlines – a reminder of simpler times, when you stayed up til 10pm to read The Hobbit under the covers rather

than staying up til 4am to try and read the entirety of The Odyssey in one sitting. If films were always more your thing, then Screen have dug in to the nitty-gritty of both Pixar (page 28) and Disney (page 30).

Alongside our more light-hearted content, this issue contains some more sombre elements, posing some incredibly important questions and responding with some equally pertinent answers. To complement their usual array of match reports, Sport are looking at how wellbeing support feeds in to the work of the Athletic Union at Exeter on page 37; News have a report on the University’s participation in a TEF pilot scheme to allocate teaching quality awards at a subject level (page 5); and Features have an account of the current situation in Iran for those of dual nationality on page 10.

And, of course, our front page story investigates the nature of the block grant given by the University of Exeter to the Students’ Guild, comparing the proportions of this expenditure to other universities and the financial support offered to FXU, our campus in Cornwall. The statistics divulged within this report are certainly worth a look – after all, student experience would definitely not be the same without the work of the Guild. Societies, events and social spaces within the university often rely on the Guild’s support – both fiscally and pastorally – and they provide some absolutely essential ground level help for students who are struggling for whatever reason, such as the services provided by the Advice Unit.

From all the Exeposé team, good luck with your assignments and last few weeks of lectures; we’ll be back on campus in a fortnight for our Christmas issue!

Exeter students prepare for Christmas Carolling PAGE 4 Image: Wikimedia Commons

COMMENT Are we ready for real life?

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Image: Pexels

FEATURES Interview with Niall Stannage PAGE 11

SCIENCE Perks of being a daydreamer PAGE 33 Image: Max Pixel

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There are even more great articl es on the Exeposé website.

From news stories about public nud ity to discussions about the politics of the pill, you can find it all at www.exepose.com

Worldwide university news Calls for hazing deterrents after deaths

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.S. colleges have been forced to reexamine fraternity life after four pledges have died this year. In the past fortnight alone four universities have suspended all fraternity activities on their campuses in an attempt to combat the rising numbers of hazing-related deaths. The US has seen at least one hazing death every year since 1961 but increasing awareness of the dangers of hazing mean such events have now become major headlines.

The high-profile death of 19-year old Tim Piazza at Penn State university led to 26 students being charged for his manslaughter. Camera footage showed Piazza being given 18 drinks within 82 minutes. Anti-hazing laws have been implemented in some states, but many are calling for harsher deterrents as deaths continue.

Images: Max Pixel (left), Wikimedia Commons (right)

Zimbabwe University reopens

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HE Zimbabwe military have called on students to end their protest action against the University of Zimbabwe and continue with their examinations and normality, following Robert Mugabe's resignation as president. The students had previously been protesting against sitting their end of year exams until Mugabe had resigned. There were also demands for the University’s vice-chancellor to step down from his role, after awarding Mugabe’s wife a doctoral degree, despite her only being a student for three months at the University. The students had been tired of corruption at the University for many years, and also blamed the vice-chancellor for their poor performance in international rankings. Zimbabwe has been a country on the edge after the army placed Mugabe under house arrest last week, until he recently resigned.

Oxford University sued over 'poor teaching'

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ECENT Modern History graduate Faiz Sidiqqui is suing Oxford University for £1 million in damages to his career. He claims that it was the “inadequate” teaching on a module at Brasenose College that prevented him from getting a good enough overall grade to become employed as a successful corporate lawyer. The main issues he cited for his failure to achieve a first-class degree upon his graduation in 2000 were lecturers being absent on sabbatical leave and his personal tutor failing to submit his medical information for mitigation.

Roger Mallalieu, his lawyer, claimed that Mr Siddiqui has been “badly let down” by the institution and blames it for his current unemployed state. Oxford University, however, has denied any such negligence and claims that Mr Siddiqui has left the case too late to investigate.

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Protests after student's suicide

ROTESTS have erupted at Sathyabama University, in Tamil Nadu, India, after a student reportedly committed suicide. The 18-year-old computer science student is reported by the Times of India as having hanged herself after having been caught cheating in an exam. The news sparked protests, which included students setting furniture on fire. Cheating on an exam would provoke consequences including her exclusion from the exam and her family being intimated. BBC News reports the protests to have started on Wednesday night and went on until early Thursday morning.

Stories by Natalie Keffler and Megan Davies, News Editors, Leah Crabtree, Science Editor, and Maddy Parker, Music Editor

News

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NEWS EDITORS: Natalie Keffler Megan Davies

University funding of students’ unions under question

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

...campuses – a sum that represents almost £80,000 of potential funding.

Figures from 2015-16 show the Guild to be receiving less as a part of their block grant, an annual payment from the University, than students’ unions at several other Russell Group universities. Seven universities have confirmed to have given a higher block grant per student to their SUs, including Cardiff, Imperial and Queen Mary.

Among the most notable were Warwick, who gave their SU £20.30 more per head, Sheffield with £40.46 more, and King’s

College who gave their union £50.07 more per student. The highest block grant, however, came from the London School of Economics, who gave LSESU £148.89 more per student than is spent in Exeter.

However, Exeter did far better than universities such as Bristol, Nottingham, and York.

This comes after the Guild had to undergo a restructure over the summer, due to it facing a £150,000 gap in funding for the 2017-18 academic year. The gap was the result of a combination of decline in revenue, ambitious budgeting and addi-

>>Exeposé learnt of the £150,000 shortfall last year thanks to an all-staff email

Stamping returns to the Lemmy Ollie Lund Online Editor

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OLLOWING huge demand and requests from the student body, Lemmy Stamps have been brought back. A Student Idea to bring back re-entry stamps at the Lemon Grove was intially rejected by the Guild, despite it passing first class with 177 votes.

It was revealed last week at Shadow Council that the idea had been dismissed on “commercial grounds”, being deemed that the idea would cross the £1,000 spending limit on Student Ideas. However, it is likely that the decision made to re-introduce stamps is in the context of historically low attendance at the Lemon Grove, and therefore will no doubt encourage many of the students who voted to bring back stamps that allow re-entry to the nightclub. This is among others in light of one student comment-

ing “I’ve been attending the Lemon Grove since my first day in this university. Now in my final year, I have never seen it so quiet.

“The only factor I can attribute to this is the removal of the stamp system. A real shame.”

Other feedback has also been acted upon, with Shades revealing at Shadow Council that the Saturday Lemmy will return to its old DJs, in response to concerns raised about changes to the style of music played.

The Students’ Guild has commented that “We are pleased to announce that due to the overwhelming demand expressed by the student body in recent weeks, the Saturday Lemmy Stamp-outs will be available once again! We have listened to the student voice and understand that it is a big appeal for the Lemmy nights. Thank you everyone who has taken part in our recent survey and engaged with Student Ideas in order to make such changes possible.”

tional liability on a previous staff pension scheme. The restructure saw a series of cost-cutting exercises take place, including the merging of roles, several redundancies and cuts to budgets across the board.

A spokesman for the Students’ Guild told Exeposé: “We welcome enquiries into the funding models of student unions, and specifically the Students’ Guild. Financial transparency in matters pertaining to the student experience is indeed one of our 17/18 Sabbatical team priorities.

“With specific regard to Block Grant comparisons, this is an inherently complicated exercise as no two students’ unions are the same. Many have very different organisational set ups and therefore have very different cost bases and income streams. In an environment where Higher Education is volatile and uncertain the Guild does consider financial sustainability to be of paramount importance, and we endeavour to diversify our income as much as possible to deliver the best combination of support and opportunities for our membership.”

A University of Exeter spokesperson said: “It is misleading and inaccurate to simply compare the funding given to the Students’ Guild by the University of Exeter to the funding given to a small number of other student unions in this way. Each student union will run different activities and not all generate their own income. At the University of Exeter the Athletics Union is funded separately.* “Using figures for the block grant does not take into account significant separate payments made to the Students’ Guild and FXU by the University of Exeter. This academic year, for instance, this includes a music grant for the Students’ Guild, as well as additional funding for the Students’ Guild and FXU for student services.”

The Students’ Guild is responsible for providing representation for students, maintaining student societies, and also providing welfare support via the Advice Unit.

The block grant provides a significant part of the Guild’s roughly £6 million income.

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Students’ Union Rich List: King’s College London Students’ Union £3.9 million Sheffield Students’ Union £3.5 million Edinburgh University Students’ Association £2.8 million Cardiff University Students’ Union £2.7 million Block grants based upon 2015-16 statistics provided by FOI requests

*Editor’s Note: All Exeposé sums have included AU funding

Student launches ‘Not Just Hollywood’ campaign Graham Moore Deputy Editor

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N Exeter student has begun an initiative, ‘Not Just Hollywood’, to combat sexual harassment and assault. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of these issues in the community, ranging from cat-calling and inappropriate comments to criminal incidents; it will also provide a space in which people can discuss their experiences. Not Just Hollywood’s professed mission statement is “to raise awareness of pervasive misogyny, and remove the stigma around discussing sexual assault and harassment”; the project seeks in the long term to effect a positive change in the way members of the community find it acceptable to treat others.

The campaign is being run by Georgia Smith, a third-year Classics and Philosophy student. Speaking to Exeposé, Smith said she felt the need to start Not Just Hollywood “because I’ve always found it incredible how much stuff women still have to put up with on a daily basis, such as catcalling and inappropriate comments to name a couple. I’ve thought for a long time that the fact that our society lets these things go unnoticed and even finds them funny is what leads to issues like sexual harassment, assault and

rape being so widespread and often so trivialised or disbelieved; it’s normalised and seen as unimportant.”

The campaign’s title resonates clearly with the recent allegations against Hollywood personalities, and to Smith the heightened discussion around issues of sexual misconduct resulting from these news stories was a major factor in propagating the creation of Not Just Hollywood. The experiences shared thus far on Not Just Hollywood’s Facebook page, where submitted stories are posted, indicate how such actions are entrenched in not just the lives of high profile individuals but of ordinary people too.

Not Just Hollywood is accessible via Facebook (facebook.com/notjusthollywood) and Twitter (@notjustholly), and is also contactable by email (notjusthollywood@outlook.com).

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Students’ Guild Advice Unit: 01392 723520 advice@exeterguild.com Wellbeing Services: 01392 724381

wellbeing@exeter.ac.uk

Fees Debate Natalie Keffler News Editor

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INCE it was announced that University tuition fees were increasing from £9,000 to £9,250 a year, there have been questions from students as to where this extra £250 a year per student is going.

Therefore, it appears only fitting that on 4 December, the Students Guild have invited Sir Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor of University of Exeter, to debate with Amatey Doku, Vice-President Higher Education for NUS, about the Teaching Excellence Framework, and the future of tuition in Exeter.

This is a particularly contentious debate since it was revealed that Sir Steve receives an annual salary of £372,000 - one of the highest salaries for a vice-chancellor.

Whether you’re an undergraduate, postgraduate; studying on Streathem or St Luke’s, everyone is welcome to attend this event, hosted in The Forum Alumni Auditorium from 7pm, to hear what they have to say.

For people unable to attend the talk, it will be live-streamed from the event on Facebook.

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27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS

Oh, yes it is (the Northcott’s first panto in eight years)

Uni increases its research funding

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HERE has been a large increase in research funding in Exeter, with income the University has received from Research Councils UK growing from £12 million two years ago to £33 million in 2016/17. The Times Higher Education journal now assesses Exeter’s funding application success rate as 30 per cent, greater than institutions such as UCL and the University of Oxford.

63 research funding awards in total were granted, such as the £3.2 million project ‘VSIMULATORS: Human factors simulation facility for motion and serviceability in the built environment’, secured for the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

Other key projects funded include the South West Partnership for Environmental & Economic Prosperity, and a banana conservation effort entitled Securing the future of the UK’s favourite fruit.

Drs Astrid Wissenburg, Director of Research, said that “these latest figures reflect and recognise the breadth of expertise at Exeter”, adding that they were “a tribute to the world-leading standard of research being conducted at the University.”

The university’s future research will also be reinforced by the recent registration of the Exeter Clinical Trials Unit.

Alex Wingrave, News Team

Reclaim the Night returns to Exeter

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ECLAIM the Night Exeter are organizing a public awareness gathering against sexual violence, which is set to take place on 30 November starting at 4pm in front of St Sidwell’s Community Center.

It is the largest assembly on this issue in Exeter. According to the organizers, the yearly event “is about raising public awareness to end violence and sexual harassment against women and girls on the streets and in any public place”.

A placard-making activity is scheduled to set things off, followed by a peaceful march starting at 6:30pm, heading towards Bedford Square.

The date of the event is symbolically set between UN International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, and Human Rights Day, drawing attention to the universal right of all people to live safely within their community.

The event is open to all and authorities will help ensure the safety of everyone who attends.

Alexandra Luca, News Team

Phoebe Davis Online Editor

New Gold Ideas face scrutiny Megan Davies News Editor

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OLD Ideas, the Students’ Guild new programme which promotes ideas “which relate directly to improving the final year experience”, according to the Guild website, has faced some questions, as Shadow Council was told on Wednesday that the wording found in its branding was wrong and Gold Ideas were, in fact, aimed at improving the student experience across all years of study.

Responding to accusations that Gold Ideas were rushed, VP Activities Becca Hanley also said that she had not been informed of the programme more than a week before the launch.

This special edition of Student Ideas is funded by £15,000 given to the Guild by the University, to be spent on the three most popular ideas submitted in a dedicated section on the Student Ideas page. Each of the three winning ideas, which will be decided based on which ones obtained the highest score, will be allocated £5000 of funding.

Sabbatical officers have said that the funding came from “TEF

money”, which Exeposé is taking to mean the fee increase from £9,000 to £9,250 for this academic year, given that TEF does not in fact come with any money attached.

Gold Ideas must be submitted before 1 December, and will be available to vote on until 15 December. Ideas that do not win will still go ahead, so long as they would not incur a cost of over £500.

A spokesperson for the Guild told Exeposé: “The Students’ Guild has secured £15,000 to be spent across three Student Ideas Projects which are aimed at improving the Exeter Experience for Final-Year Students.

We are incredibly proud to have this opportunity to help promote this sector leading, democratic platform and strongly encourage all students to engage with such a positive project.”

A University of Exeter spokesman said: “Gold Ideas is a student-led project which the University is happy to offer funding to support. It is part of a larger programme of new and ongoing University investment in student services agreed last year which also includes support for employability initiatives, mental health and wellbeing services and enhancements to Welcome Week.”.

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OR the first time since 2009, a pantomime will be coming to the Northcott Theatre. The production of Dick Whittington is set to open next month.

The show will follow Dick as he leaves his Exeter home for the bright lights of London in search of fame and fortune, his faithful Puss by his side. Steve Bennett will return as a Dame, a role he has previously performed. Bennett stated “I’ve done panto elsewhere but nothing compares to the Northcott. I really feel like I’m coming home.”

The show was co-written with Tony Lidlington, who stated: “I have

been creating and producing pantomimes that combine traditional history and conventions with rollicking family entertainment for over 30 years,” he added “Having created unique, box office-breaking pantomimes for the last six years at Richmond’s Georgian Theatre Royal, it is fantastic to be working close to my home in Dawlish.”

The production also sees Gordon Cooper take on the role of Captain Darling, Jeremy Harmer playing the evil King Rat and Martin Reeve appearing as Alderman Fitzwarren.

Tickets range from £11 to £26, with discounted tickets for family groups starting at £8 each, and can be bought online or by calling the Exeter Northcott Box Office on 01392 726363.

Football Varsity: what happened?

Isabel Taylor Features Editor

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HE absence of Football Varsity this year, an event usually held in October, is the result of a joint decision by Exeter University Association Football Club (EUAFC), the Athletic Union and Exeter City Football Club to postpone until next year. This comes following complaints of poor behaviour from EUAFC and spectators at last year’s Varsity.

Noise disruption and littering were amongst the complaints received. The proximity of the pitch

to residential areas and the traditionally celebratory manner of the match has led to some friction between students and local residents.

This is not the first time the match has been cancelled. Back in 2014 the event was called off due to to similar complaints about students.

In a meeting of Shadow Council on 22 November, AU President Jim Balshaw explained that the AU are looking at ways to minimise possibly disruptive behaviour and revealed that talks have been ongoing with Exeter City to hold Varsity this coming March instead.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (carols)

Gwyn Wright News Team

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HE Exeter University Evangelical Christian Union (ECU) are set to host the annual Exeter carol service in St James’ Park on Tuesday 5 December from 7pm until 9pm. The event, now in its sixteenth year, is one of the biggest carol services outside of London.

Entry is free and attendees will be given a free mince pie on arrival.

The event seeks to unite students and local residents, and has been well attended by both groups inthe past.

The service will feature representatives of both the student body and the wider community.

Semi-Toned and Sweet Nothings will return to give musical performances, while Exeter University Singers will perform at the service for the first time. A debut performance will

be given by Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education, while Newton Primary School will be giving a special performance. The city’s Salvation Army band will return to lead the congregation in carol singing.

A Christmas message will be delivered by pastor and former BBC presenter Adrian Holloway, while senior figures from the university and the wider community will give readings.

The ECU say they have sought to ensure that there will be sufficient disability bays and have hired two British sign language interpreters who will be interpreting the entire service.

Xin Yan Huang, vice-president of the ECU, said; ‘We’d love for you to join us this year at the Exeter carol service! Each year we seek to create an event that brings together students and residents of Exeter to celebrate the good news of Christmas.’’

Image: ECU

NEWS

Uni part of new TEF pilot scheme Orlagh Fallon News Team

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HE University of Exeter is participating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) subject level pilot scheme, it has been announced.

By taking part in this pilot we are able to continue to improve the quality of teaching and education Tim Quine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education)

The TEF looks to assess teaching at an individual subject level and give students clear, understandable information about where the most excellent teaching and student outcomes can be found.

The Department of Education commissioned the new assessment system in July 2017 and encouraged a wide range of higher education providers to take part in the pilots. It will run from Autumn 2017 to Spring 2018.

The University is among 50 education providers taking part in the pilot and Professor Tim Quine, Deputy ViceChancellor (Education)

of the University of Exeter said: “The University is delighted to have been chosen to participate in the pilot of Subject-Level TEF [...] By taking part in this pilot we are able to continue to improve the quality of teaching and education within the University and to recognise and reward our already excellent teaching.”

The UK has a world-class higher education sector, with rigorous systems in place to ensure high quality teaching. The TEF is a new scheme for recognising excellence, it provides information to help prospective students choose where to study.

The subject-level pilots will inform the further development of the TEF by testing how ratings could be assigned at subject as well as institutional level.

This is the second part of the

Teaching Excellence Framework, in the first national assessment. The University of Exeter’s was among the 43 High Education Institutions to be awarded a ‘Gold’ rating, recognising its commitment to providing world-class teaching. The first TEF results, published in June this year, assessed teaching excellence at the level of the overall university or college, rather than specific subjects.

I am yet to meet a vicechancellor who is unaware of significant variations in quality between subjects Jo Johnson, Universities minister

“I am yet to meet a Vice-Chancellor who is unaware of significant variations in quality between subjects

and disciplines in his or her own institution,” said Jo Johnson, the Universities Minister, as he explained the concept behind the TEF to university leaders in July. It has fallen under some criticism by higher educational staff nationwide as they have argued that it has just encouraged the level of bureaucracy in the education field.

However, the aim of the Teaching Excellence Framework is to ensure that excellent teaching quality, learning environments and student employability outcomes are at the heart of the UK higher education system. The framework will put clear information into the hands of students, so they know where there is high quality teaching and what benefits they can expect to gain from their courses.

Guild Education Survey open

Graham Moore Deputy Editor

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ELEASED on Monday 13 November, the Guild Education Survey - which professes to “put the student voice in the centre of the conversation” - is the latest way for students to give feedback directly to the Guild and impact future decisions and initiatives.

The Survey takes approximately three minutes to complete, and each student who completes the form is guaranteed a reward voucher from the likes of Hubbox, On the Waterfront, and Subway, as well as being entered into a prize draw featuring Amazon vouchers, stash hoodies, and meals from Guild outlets.

Such a highly publicised and promoted survey should provide an excellent wealth of feedback for the Guild to work with. However, a quick look at the Survey’s terms and conditions – which are not linked via the Survey itself, instead requir-

ing a specific search for the Survey’s information page on the Guild website – raises a few questions. Item seven states that “By completing the survey entrants agree that the Students’ Guild may publish their photo, name and course/previous course details on our website and social media channels”, which may come as a surprise given that participating in the Survey only requires one to enter a student ID number.

Whilst it is necessary to identify each

unique survey participant, in the name of producing accurate and applicable data, entrants – who are not immediately made aware of these terms and conditions, and have to go considerably out of their way to find them – may not have expected the act of completing the Survey to enable the Guild to publicise their participation.

The Guild Education Survey is accessible via guildeducationsurvey.com, and closes on Monday 3 December.

Image: Pexels

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Mo-Sista event postponed Natalie Keffler News Editor

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OLLOWING the week-long promotion of ‘This Girl Can’, there was due to be a Mo-sista sporting event on Sunday 20 November. This event has however been postponed until 3 December.

This was due to there not being enough teams recruited beforehand, partially due to the AU President Jim Balshaw being absent on holiday and therefore failing to plan it in time.

However, this new date allows time for more AU clubs and societies to get involved, with further publicity about the event likely to circulate around. Consequently, there is now an aim to get 10-12 teams involved.

The idea of Mo-sista originated from women also wanting to be able to help fundraise money during ‘Movember’. In Exeter’s case, the project is holding a varsity where teams can compete in a competitive yet friendly atmosphere.

The event is taking place from 9-4pm at the Sports Park, with freebies and prizes to be won all day. All proceeds will go towards Movember, with the suggested donation being £5 per person.

Silly Student Ideas Megan Davies News Editor

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THIRD of Student Ideas live during the week of 20 November appear to have been submitted in a joking manner, Exeposé has found. This means ten ideas out of 30.

Some examples include “Take motion to NUS National Conference to rename the National Union of Students to the Almost National Union of Students”, which closes at midnight on 29 November. This has currently not had enough voters, but of those students who did vote 76 per cent voted “Strongly Agree”. Meanwhile, “Make the Sabbs wear uniforms so we can easily recognise them”, which asks for “uniforms based on police or medical professionals would be good” has also not reached quoracy.

The Idea “Rename the position of Guild Chair to ‘Imperial Cake Defender’”, which closes on 28 November, would, at time of writing, pass.

There has recently been a Student Idea asking whether the Students’

Guild should leave the National Union of Students (NUS), which was closed after the proposer failed to come forward after having been asked to lead a campaign, which would have been required for the Idea to go live.

The last NUS referendum was held in May 2016 and was branded a “toxic campaign”, with confusion around campaign rules and tension between the campaigns.

Becca Hanley, VP Activities and potential VP Fun, told Exeposé: “We’re so proud to have a sector leading democratic platform that lets any students submit an idea to improve their experience on campus. Sometimes the ‘silly’ ideas are the ones which get people talking about the platform, and thereby help to raise awareness, so students know they can drive change on campus. Whether it’s opening the aquarium on campus, putting a slide on Forum Hill, or a ski-lift up Cardiac Hill – all are welcome to get involved.

The Gold Ideas campaign has secured £15,000 to go towards big ideas that will improve the final year experience, no matter how silly they may be.”

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

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Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Alicia Rees Malcolm Wong

Are we ready for real life?

Lauren Geall Lifestyle Editor

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S an English student with six contact hours a week, managing a full-time job after university seems like a pretty intimidating concept. Envied by my friends for my five-day weekend (that’s right, my only contact hours are on Thursday and Friday), there is so much room for procrastination that it can often be hard to structure my time in any sort of fashion. Being in my third year, I often spend my time wondering how on earth I’ll cope when “real life” hits me square in the face this summer.

The problem is, university simply doesn’t prepare us for the world of work. While it can be great to learn all about the representation of science in eighteenth-century philosophical literature, it’s not exactly relevant when you’re trying to fill in

a job application. Yes, uni may introduce you to cooking, cleaning and general ‘adulting’ but studying for a degree is wildly different to any realworld job.

Whilst some students may be prepared by a vocational degree, or want to work in academia, for the majority of us, our degree will have relatively little direct application to our future careers.

Don’t get me wrong, I would recommend the university experience to anyone. University is not only a great place to mature and get to know yourself away from home, but it also offers the chance to make valuable friends and potential contacts for our entry into the real world; it just doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly be prepared for full-time employment as soon as you graduate.

However, not everything is doom and gloom (I say hopefully). Over the summer, as I began a four week

long internship with a daily commute of an hour and a half each way, I feared that my feeble excuse for a daily routine (to get up before midday and have a shower) would leave

Picture: Pexels

me unable to cope with a 7am-8pm day. But, to my pleasant surprise, adapting was a lot easier than previ-

ously imagined. Yes, I may have been completely shattered, with my reliance on coffee flying sky high, but by the end of the first week my body had adapted to this new schedule. It may not be easy to get used to, but it’s definitely possible if we set our minds to it.

Inevitably, a post-grad degree can seem like an attractive option. Vocational courses, such as qualifications in journalism or publishing, can give you a gentler introduction to the world of work, whilst also providing a structure more like that of a working day.

Some masters even include the option of an integrated work placement, providing you with enough experience to make an informed decision about what you want to do in the future. Whilst post-graduate study is obviously expensive, it can be an important investment if you’d like to become

better familiarised with a particular industry.

University simply doesn’t prepare us for the world of work Despite our complaints of “I haven’t slept in a week”, “I HAVE SO MUCH WORK!!!!!” and “literally gonna spend 72 hours in the library lol xoxo”, we’re not oblivious to the realities of the real world. Who wouldn’t take the chance to binge Netflix instead of doing extra reading if they had the chance? Student life may be lacking in structure, but it is generally a time of overwhelming stress and pressure, and I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit. We may sleep in until midday now, but when the responsibilities hit, I’m sure we’ll find a way… fingers crossed.

Remembering war Ben Faulkner Screen Editor

I

T has been 99 years since the First World War came to an end, and the tragedies are still as hard to swallow. Still, remembering it is an integral part of our society, particularly around this time of year.

Deriving from the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, the white poppy has become a beloved symbol of remembrance for those who fought and contributed in a war that had no pragmatic, logical basis. Remembrance, however, is both a frustratingly complex and deeply personal issue, and how we handle it has serious implications for the world we inhabit today.

An alternative symbol of remembrance – that has arguably garnered more controversy and criticism than popularity – is the white poppy. Introduced by Britain’s Cooperative Women’s Guild in 1933, the white

poppy stresses remembrance of all casualties – including civilians and non-British deaths – and aims to combat glorification of war by accentuating the importance of peace.

It is a symbol that I value as very important to our society, and almost a wake-up call. As a concept, war – mass and indiscriminate murder of strangers for reasons they are almost never personally at fault for – is absurd, and only seems less-so because it’s been so normalised in society.

We have come a long way since 1918 I don’t take excessive issue with the Royal British Legion, and their remembrance efforts are certainly well intended. Yet, on a subconscious level, stressing service to “our country” – and sentiments of the

same ilk – perpetuate isolationist, nationalist attitudes that I think can become very unhelpful.

The white poppy comes under heavier condemnation the more it gathers popularity in the modern age, and I feel many of these criticisms are confused at the core purpose of the poppy. It does not in any way disrespect or neglect the memory of the soldiers, it just frames the matter differently. I want to ask why they had to die. This only highlights the tragedy even more, because there was just no good reason for the loss of these innocent lives.

Many also complain that people choose to make a statement of peace at this specific time of year that is dominated by remembrance – to me this is baffling. The anniversary of Armistice Day is the perfect time to remind the world that this cannot happen again; this was even the original sentiment of the Red Poppy in the years immediately

following the First World War, yet seems to have been lost in the following century. Again, I don’t believe in telling people how to commemorate the casualties of war, but I think people must really consider the implications of how we remember the war itself.

It is a symbol that I value as very important to our society As a generation that hasn’t been directly touched by war, I think us students in particular have a special opportunity to detract ourselves from ideas of patriotism and heroism surrounding war. Patriotism is a complex notion that I don’t think is dangerous in every situation, but when talking about and commemorating war it can be a serious issue.

How us students commemorate war on campuses across the country has

serious a serious effect on its symbolism for this country in years to come.

We have come a long way since 1918, and I think there are healthier ways of remembering the war. Undeniably a tragedy, and one that many will feel personally attached to due to their own family histories, it is by no means my suggestion that we should stop remembering the bravery of those who had any involvement. Yet, I think it’s our responsibility to in no way glorify the war, or the very concept of war – war is a toxic, illogical notion that leaves the innocent paying the price for the arrogance and carelessness of the world elite.

As students I think we can take this responsibility under our wing and assure that future remembrance of wars is driven by respect and compassion for all those that lost their lives (beyond our own borders), and with no misconceived nationalist sentiment.

COMMENT

7

Confessions of a campus camper Jennifer Doggett Contributor

U

NLIKE the stereotypical, Humanities third-year bundled up at home, surrounded by tea and much-loved books, this year I instead found myself venturing forth into the cold, November air to face the day’s work, on campus.

In the past I would be inclined towards the library; why not immerse yourself in an atmosphere of learning, amongst thousands of pages brimming with knowledge? Maybe breathing in the musty air of some of the most seminal works of the present and past will rub off on you and inspire new routes through your dissertation. You can practically feel the muses whispering in your ears. Of course, you’ve got to take the good with the bad - this being the inability to get a seat if you’ve arrived any later than 8:30. Then, even if you manage to win yourself a coveted seat at the

table, is it just me or does anyone else find the oppressive silence of study spaces such as those in the Library and the Loft hugely restrictive on their focus? For me, there’s just something a little uncomfortable about working somewhere where it’s meant to be quiet. Silence whilst working in, say, a coffee shop is fine, because I know that I won’t necessarily be interrupting someone else’s focus should I cough too loudly or laugh at an amus-

The importance of study spaces can never be over-stated ing Snapchat story.

Therefore, I much prefer to study in social spaces. Costa, Pret, DH1; anywhere that I can find a caffeinated beverage and a gentle hubbub of voices to distract me from the everpresent, final-year stress. It’s far more comfortable, and I’m not just talking about the cozy DH1 sofas that are

summoning me right now as I write this whilst sitting on the least comfy desk chair in the world. There’s something soothing in hearing the brief whispers of a roomful of people’s exchanges: you’re not the only one struggling to meet that deadline; who can’t wait for Christmas; who needs another coffee before even considering starting this week’s horrendous core reading. In addition, I don’t think I’ve ever studied in any of these public spaces without running into at least three people I know.

Sometimes this can break your concentration, but sometimes, it’s just what you need. Aren’t these interruptions exactly why we come to university, rather than taking on private studies? Whenever I get stuck with a submission, I find there’s no better way to reinvigorate my studies than to explain my topic to a friend. This is especially valuable if that friend is on a different course to you - they won’t approach the problem from the same perspective, and they might just

provide you with a new way of looking at things. This is why public study spaces are so important; they provide the platform for moments of symbiotic learning that might not occur otherwise.

These may just be the ramblings of an over-caffeinated, over-tired final year student (who entirely advocates for on-campus nap-pods), but the importance of public study spaces can never be overstated. Lately, fate and poor essay-topic judgment has led me to reading some of Habermas’ works.

He stressed the importance of the coffee houses of the past in forming the engaged, intellectual sphere, where ideas can be discussed and the world can be changed. Therefore, I stand by the value

Roses for Rosies Beth Lindsay Contributor

A

NYONE who has headed to Fever this year will no doubt have walked past the empty husk that was once the destination for many of us every Monday and Thursday. Staff from Rosies’ lurch out of the darkness, blocking your pathway and try to lure you inside with promises of free drinks, no queue, even the chance to win a TV But we look past them to the queues of students headed into Fever and know deep in our hearts that no amount of free drinks will make us accept their offer, and so we brush them aside and walk right past. In my opinion, the best thing about Rosies’ was that it was right next to the kebab shop, and thanks to the position of Fever, I don’t feel like I have been robbed of much.

With a dancefloor roughly the size of my first-year bedroom, Ros-

ies’ quickly became established as a club for socialising, with the smoking area constantly full of people having a catch up. Of course, bumping into people you knew was most of the fun of Rosies’, and this did mean that your night was only really

Picture: Pexels

fun if you knew lots of people who were there. If you knew lots of the

people there on a certain night out, you went there with the intention of socialising and maybe meeting some new people, but you ended up getting spangled and making a fool of yourself in front of half the people you know. But Fever is basically one big dancefloor – you go there to have a good time. It’s big, colourful and fun. True, if you lose your friend at Fever the lack of signal and layout of the club means you probably have to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not going to see them until tomorrow. Even though Fever is not a club you go to for socialising, the smoking area is at least twice the size of that of Rosies’, so if you wanted to you can still get away from the loud music for a while.

And then there was the queueing – first to get into the club and then to get upstairs. You had to get there at an obscene time to make sure you skipped the queue, which

of public study spaces; much as they occasionally may simply encourage social distractions, sometimes these distractions can lead to inspiration, with maybe just a hint of revolution.

Perhaps I go too far - but even then, sometimes it’s just satisfying to go and sit in Pret, where for a short while whilst you’re studying, you’re actually being the most productive person in the room for once!

Picture: University of Exeter

Tell me your secrets, ask me your questions usually ended up being an out of control scrum where everyone pushed as hard as they could against an increasingly angry bouncer who pushed you through the gap one by one.

We have singlehandedly killed Rosies, and I am not sorry In all honesty, I know some people who lived for Rosies’ and others who would never get dragged there in a million years. I personally remember being genuinely surprised if I woke up after a good night at Rosies’, whereas this year I really look forward to a night out at Fever.

Will Fever ever replace Timepiece in my heart? Probably not, but I know that I am far more likely to head out on a Thursday night this year. I heard that a friend of a friend once saw the owner of Rosies’ crying into his hands as he sat on the empty front steps; true or not, it’s an excellent representation of what we have done – we have singlehandedly killed Rosies’. And I am not sorry.

Agony McAuntface Resident Agony Aunt I really fancy my housemate, will it make things awkward?

Babe, don’t do it.

I’m really unsure if I’m doign the right course but don’t want to drop out, what can I do?

Having doubts about your uni decision happens to absolutely everyone at one point or another. The best thing to do is to speak to your personal tutor and, if you do change your course, reach out to the department and suss out exactly what support they have to offer.

A close friend of mine has feelings for me, but I don’t want to hurt him by rejecting him. What do I do?

A tale as old as time, sadly. Communication here is key. Make sure he is definitely on the same page as you and there is no question of any flirting, especially on your part. Eventually it’ll blow over and you will be back to normal. Or it won’t and your friendship will be ruined. C’est la vie.

8

COMMENT

Meal deal mayhem

Harry Bunting Online Comment Editor

O

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

NCE every month or so, numerous articles will slither around the internet telling millennials to stop doing something: stop ruining diamonds, stop ruining brunch, stop sacrificing your mental and emotional wellbeing in order to reach standards of social involvement that you’ve set yourself, stop ruining jeans. All that stuff us millennials love doing. Recently, the target has been housing. That’s what we’re ruining this time. Because of all the meal deals we buy. The culture of millennial-blaming is so incredibly normal, isn’t it? It would seem, due to our crippling addiction to very average sandwiches, we aren’t accumulating sufficient savings to get onto the property ladder.

If you ask me, the gap of logic

they’ve cleared in forming that hot take is astronomical, but let’s bring in a bit of research for back-up. In five seconds of googling, I have discovered that the average UK house price in June 2017 was £223,257. Divided by £3 (the only correct price for a meal deal, none of this £3.49 Tory nonsense) we get 74,419 meal deals.

One British house for nearly 80,000 meal deals. I’m no mathematician but there is a fair numerical discrepancy there. Maybe we could get Banksy to fill a family home with Tesco’s falafel and houmous wraps as some sort of social statement.

The idea that somehow indulgence in lunch is the reason young people struggle to crack the housing market, and not the dire eco-

nomic conditions, is a ridiculous view to take. Those of an older generation were brought up in a different time, a time when you could stroll into an estate agents, hand over a tuppence and a goose, and walk away

with a semi-detached four-bedroom property in a quiet area. Now a millennial would be lucky if a goose as much as spat on their studio apartment. Being a homeowner is just an abstract concept to dream about over our postsandwich packet of crisps. Something as unreachable as making a professional phone call without psyching yourself up for three hours beforehand, or reaching 40 without the earth suffering total ecological collapse.

But let’s address the wider theory here: the idea that we should be sacrificing small personal luxuries (for example, food) in order to save for the future. It sounds hellish.

I shouldn’t have to suffer the metallic tang of ownbrand tomato soup for every meal because I’ve got electricity bills to pay in 20 years. The thought

of living in pure minimalist misery so that I’ll have enough money set aside to pay for the house (that I’ll maybe die in) is not the wild university experience I dreamed of. Not to mention there is quite literally a housing crisis. Shall we go around telling Exeter’s homeless to stop buying meal deals? That’ll sort them right out. Cut back on the chicken sandwiches, mate, and 23 Penny Road is yours.

I shouldn’t have to suffer the metallic tang of tomato soup Using millennials as the scapegoat for this nightmarish capitalist reality we inhabit is a cheap move, and I think it’s about time the ruling class was overthrown. The revolution starts Wednesday, we’ll all meet in the town centre, bring your own meal deals.

VEGETABLE CORNER SPINACH

TOMATO

CUCUMBER

Diddy Cooper & Melina Thompson Contributors

Alex Wingrave Contributor

Yasmin Ahmed Contributor

T

P lads, listen up! Do you want to deck your love rival? Do you want bulging muscles? Then take a leaf out of Popeye’s book! Following Popeye’s demise – spinach has risen through the ranks to the supreme title of SUPERFOOD! From its Persian roots, spinach has managed to stay on top of the health craze leader board, fighting off competition from its inferior rivals. The array of benefits on offer will have you primed for any outing come rain or shine. Forget splashing the cash on Lush face masks and get yourself down to Tesco for a bag of spinach, which will leave you with a supple, radiant complexion, attracting suitors from a mile off.

With the ability to increase the efficiency of the mitochondria, the much beloved powerhouse of the cell, spinach will have you racing up Forum Hill, taking down your opponents on the sports field and busting some killer moves on the dance floor. Imagine you’ve embarked on a dreaded ‘library sesh’ (all about the sesh), when suddenly hunger strikes. Fear not, head down to Pret for your spinach based sandwich, or take a sip of your refreshing spinach smoothie and all of those hunger pains and cravings will subside; giving you that all important, extra face time with your library crush/soulmate. So, the next time you’re sporting your active wear and need a quick boost, put down the kale and pick up the mighty spinach.

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A

H, tomatoes. Already I can hear the Veggie Corner diehards hissing in disgust that something which is technically a fruit has made it to their beloved column. So controversial is the tomato that in 1887, the Supreme Court in the US had to rule on how to legally classify it, for tax reasons.

They pronounced it a vegetable, and as a big fan of these ruby red orbs, who am I to argue?

I’m the kind of freak who eats big tomatoes whole like apples, such is my love for them, but for those who aren’t a bit mad, the tomato is the ultimate team player of the culinary world. In pasta sauce, on pizza, in a curry, a salad, a fajita; it never hogs the spotlight like the frankly overrated avocado or whatever type of kale is trendiest at the moment. Sweet, juicy and savoury all in one, there aren’t many dishes that a humble tomato can’t make more vibrant and tasty. And of course, what would we all do without ketchup, the quintessential dipping sauce? There are over 7500 varieties, coming in every colour from purple to yellow to green.

They’re also full of lycopene and vitamins A, C, and K, which can help your immune system, heart, skin and bones – basically, a handful of cherry toms and you’ll never have freshers’ flu again. Delicious and nutritious, I think tomatoes have a well-earned honorary place among the halls of vegetable fame.

Picture: Pexels

C

OMEDIAN Mitch Hedberg once said, “I think pickles are cucumbers that sold out”. I second that opinion.

Too often is the predecessor to this fermented monstrosity ignored and underappreciated. Well, nobody put cucumbers in a corner. I’m here to prove to you why cucumbers deserve to be a part of the upper echelon of veggie society.

Are you tired of drinking endless Monster drinks to get you through an all-nighter for your seminar tomorrow? Well, cucumbers are a good source of vitamins and carbohydrates, giving you that necessary energy-boost.

Do you want to avoid a horrid hangover following a busy night-out? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed, ready to seize the day. Are you making meticulous study notes and (darn it) you’ve made a fatal mistake? Cucumbers can work as a magic rubber, just rub the edge of a cucumber onto your notes until you get your desired outcome. In terms of health, cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day. One cucumber contains: Vitamin C, Vitamins B1-6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

Putting aside my little infomercial, I would just like to reiterate one undeniable truth - cucumber is the real MVP.

Picture: Pexels

YOUR

CHANGE SUBMIT YOUR IDEA BEFORE 01 DEC.

IMPROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE ON CAMPUS.

3 MOST POPULAR IDEAS WILL GO AHEAD.

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27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

10

Features

FEATURES EDITORS: James Angove Isabel Taylor

Dual or no dual

Jack Watts looks at why Iran is arresting dual-nationals and the fate of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Image: Ninara

T

HE purpose of a Foreign Secretary is to facilitate and develop Britain’s relationships with countries abroad. Boris Johnson’s appointment to this role in July 2016 was immediately questioned by many, due to his numerous embarrassing faux pas.

An arguably more serious and damning mistake of the Foreign Secretary’s has been his recent comments regarding British national, Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe. Iranian officials cited Johnson’s comments to a parliamentary inquiry regarding Zaghari-Ratcliffe as evidence to justify extending her sentence from five years to ten. The charity worker was arrested in April 2016 on suspicion of spying and training journalists; she has since been charged with spreading propaganda against Iran, a charge that Iranian officials have supported with what they see as Johnson’s ‘confession’.

Training journalists is not a charge you would see make it to court in Britain, so it is incredible to think that there are still governments in the world that see this as a crime. Regardless of the fact that this was not the nature of ZaghariRatcliffe’s business (she was taking her daughter to meet her grandparents), if she had been training journalists, how many governments would get away with arresting her for it?

The 1985 Press Law in Iran prohibits “discourse harmful to the principles of Islam” and “public interest”. The law gives the Iranian government a broad enough mandate to control and censor all information within the country - they can simply cite anything they find displeasing to be harmful to the public interest. Human Rights Watch has lodged concern with

this law, citing a similar worry that the law can be enforced too broadly and at the discretion of those in government.

Freedom of expression and of the press is a right that those who have can easily take for granted. Many claim that freedom of speech in Iran has improved in recent years, most notably from 2013 when Hassan Rouhani, who presented himself as a moderate, was elected President. However, the Press Law continues to be actively enforced in an effort to achieve a consensus of opinion amongst both publications and, consequently, the public. A key example of this abuse of power was how the government controlled information about Iran’s nuclear deal with the United States of America in 2015.

Freedom of the press is a right many take for granted

Despite framing themselves as moderate, the Rouhani administration, announced that they had removed 130 Facebook pages and detained 30 individuals due to activity on their Facebook accounts in relation to the nuclear deal. The Supreme National Security Council also issued “guidelines” to newspapers forbidding them from publishing criticism of the deal. The suppression and censorship of individual opinion and press was frequent and farreaching, as the Rouhani administration attempted to control what information regarding the nuclear deal was available to the people, and what opinions they could freely express.

The flexibility of the Press Law, and

the minimal resistance with which any attempt at censorship is met with has led to an environment in which those who are perfectly innocent, such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, can be arrested with limited to no evidence. Despite arguably receiving the most media coverage, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is certainly not the only dual-national to be detained by the Iranian government. Until 2015, most years saw single digits of dual-nationals arrested in Iran, but the past two years have seen 30 arrests, more and more of these being European-Iranians as opposed to American-Iranians. This increase in arrests occurred following the signing of the nuclear deal, which itself resulted in the release of five U.S. citizens.

Iran is gathering human bargaining chips by arresting dual-nationals for spying and trading them back to their nations in exchange for favourable deals. The five U.S. citizens are the most notable example of this, but the United Kingdom has recently agreed to pay a decades-old debt of £400 million to Iran and, despite both parties claiming that this payment has nothing to do with Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment, the timing is unlikely to be a coincidence.

The United Kingdom, officially, does not pay ransom money for its citizens, but to call this payment of a debt anything but a ransom payment would be difficult.

Iran abuses its totalitarian justice system in order to take numerous hostages, which foreign nations have no option but to free by any means necessary, often involving an exchange of money or signing of otherwise unlikely agreements. The nuclear deal,

although somewhat blocking Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons, lifted most of the sanctions that had been placed on Iran by both the USA and the UN over the past four decades.

This is significant as the sanctions that were in place had crippled Iran’s economy, severely limiting their exports and their oil industry. The removal of these sanctions has already begun to reinvigorate Iran’s economy: their oil exports have doubled, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has measured a growth of between 4 and 5.5 per cent, up significantly from 1.3 per cent the year before the deal was signed.

Dual-nationals find themselves as bargaining chips

Iran’s largest security force, the Revolutionary Guards corps, has grown from a small, regional military organisation to a sprawling business network worth in excess of $100 billion.

The Revolutionary Guards have such economic and military influence that many see them as being above the government, free to do as they please.

This economic behemoth is the same military organisation responsible for the massive increase in arrests of dual-nationals, including ZaghariRatcliffe. Prior to the Nuclear Deal, the Revolutionary Guards had little to no competition for government contracts, due to the sanctions the rest of the world had placed on the country.

No foreign business would dare to get involved in business in Iran, but this attitude changed upon the lifting of

these sanctions. An entirely new market was opened up to the world, and as the Middle East’s second largest economy, the market was rather attractive.

The Revolutionary Guard almost immediately began arresting dual citizens, people whom they technically had the right to imprison, due to their Iranian citizenship, but who also represented foreign countries. This was an effort to scare off foreign business.

Whilst the Iranian government craves foreign investment and business opportunities now available to them, the Revolutionary Guard fears this competition and is using these arrests to scare away foreign business from sending employees to the country, fearing that they face a similar fate to Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

These dual-nationals find themselves as bargaining chips in a game between three powers: the Iranian government, the Revolutionary Guard, and their home countries. The Iranian government seeks to use these people to generate more profitable agreements whilst the Revolutionary Guard arrests them as a deterrent to international businesses. The conflicting ambitions of these powers means it is likely we will see a conflict between them in the coming years, of which the outcome is almost unpredictable as the Guard have as much economic and political influence as the government itself, if not more.

But for now, the dual-nationals, ZaghariRatcliffe and other unsuspecting innocents, remain in the middle of two of the most ruthless forces in the world, and their future remains completely uncertain.

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES

What's that coming over The Hill?

11

Matthew Phillips, Online Features Editor, interviews Niall Stanage, White House journalist and editor of The Hill

N

IALL Stanage, born in 1974 in Belfast, is the Associate Editor of the Washingtonbased American political newspaper The Hill. Ever the journalist, his favourite work of fiction is Hemingway’s short novel, The Old Man and the Sea, for its “ability to make simple language work overtime”. Author of Redemption Song, one of the first books covering the entirety of Obama’s 2008 campaign, and a frequent denizen of the White House’s press briefing room – the notorious zone of the Trump administration’s most extraordinary goofs – Stanage has a deep experience of what it’s like to be at the frontline of American political journalism. Alongside his editorial duties, he writes a political column called The Memo.

I interviewed Stanage on November 8th, the day of his talk that same evening in the Forum's Alumni Auditorium: 'A Year of Trump: What happened – and what’s next?'. I wanted first to explore his challenges as a Washington journalist in today’s tumultuous political climate.

“Trump, it seems to me, whether conscious or otherwise, employs a strategy of media-bombardment,” I begin, “… on a day when he’s made a controversial claim about a mass shooting, passed a bill and had another revelation in the Russia scandal, how do you decide what the ‘real’ story is?”. Political journalists in the Trump era, Stanage surmises, must be prescient about the stories “that may be longer-term and not be distracted by the controversy of the day.” He adds: “I myself think that, at least some of the time, it is a conscious strategy – to distract or drive media coverage. Whatever you think about Donald Trump’s politics or personality, he’s really very skilled at media manipulation.”

I ask Niall whether he thinks that the

Image: Mark Skrobola

sheer amount of coverage acts to the administration’s advantage by inflating the value of Trump-coverage-currency to the diminishment of public interest.

“I think you’re right that there’s a sort of scandal-fatigue or controversy-fatigue,” he replies, “and I’m not sure there’s a lot that journalists can do to completely transcend that – when he tweets certain things, for example, you can’t say it’s not news; I think it’s appropriate for the media to remain in an adversarial role, but without becoming the ‘enemy’ of Trump, as that would be quite damaging [to media integrity].”

There's a sort of scandal-fatigue or controversy-fatigue Much has been made of reporting on Trump’s character, on, for example, his habits in the White House; on how he neglects his reading, munches KFC bargain buckets in front of Fox News and is very difficult to persuade to eat his vegetables, on how he drenches his steak with ketchup, and tweets sunk in daily sofa-side furies. Left-wing reporting on Trump, especially, is often refracted through a desire to affirm notions of him as an outrageous and outraged figure.

Considering how closely Stanage has engaged with Trump’s administration and the sources inside it, I ask: “Is there a difference between the POTUS’ private and public personas? Is the Trump we see on Twitter the man’s authentic self?”

“I don’t think the Trump we see on Twitter is consciously confecting that role,” Stanage postulates, “I think he genuinely gets very irritated when he’s criticised.” He hesitates, “one of the oddities about Trump is that in person – by almost everyone’s accounts – he doesn’t actually like conflict. While his appetite for personal conflict sounds its expression on social media and in public speeches, he is a more solicitous person than he appears to be publicly. Now, he might want someone to fire

you afterwards, but that’s the paradox of Trump the man. His public persona seems to savour conflict, but he’s greatly averse to it if you’re in a room with him.”

It goes without saying that to whatever degree Trump’s personas are conscious or not, what he did worked: he got elected. It feels worth enquiring, then, whether Stanage felt that behind Trump’s ostensible bluster there might be an ideologue, a calculating Machiavel; or whether he was, more simply, a political opportunist. “I think that people, particularly in England and Britain, tend to see Trump as more ideological than he is.” He continues, “my own thesis is that Donald Trump is by nature a populist, which may sound an odd thing to say about a billionaire who lived in a gold tower.” How could Trump, über-rich Manhattan property developer of the golden tower, become a populist? Stanage explains: “Trump’s father was a wealthy developer, but operated in the outer boroughs of New York City, particularly Queens. Even though he was rich and successful, the father was looked down upon by the Manhattan elites. Trump has always had a chip on his shoulder about the way that that class looked down on him, his family and their tastes that the establishment considers vulgar and gaudy.”

I note that while Trump may not have a developed political ideology, he nevertheless enjoys massive support from ideologically charged far-right commentators and supporters of the self-styled Alt-Right. “The people on the Alt-Right do have a pretty developed ideology,” Stanage says, “and it’s one that I both personally dislike and one that’s quite dangerous but it is an identifiable ideology. But I don’t think [their political champion], Donald Trump, really has one,” he concludes.

In Trump, then, we find a new breed of politician.

A ‘businessperson’: one who exploits gaps in the political

‘market’ rather than promote themselves according to a coherent belief system.

A populist: a self-styled demagogue who promises to obliterate a rusted political establishment, draining of it of its corroding influences. The question is whether this is a sustainable new brand of politician or whether it will implode?

“That’s a great question,” says Stanage, and he thinks that a lot of what makes this brand of politician possible in the first instance is indeed widespread dissatisfaction with the political establishment: “Hillary Clinton has been identified with that establishment and it was greatly to her detriment.” He continues, “those in the rust-belt states have a legitimate gripe about the fact that the political establishment has been largely deaf and blind to their situation while those states de-industrialised. Now if Trump lets them down – which I think is completely plausible – you could have a very tense situation in the US. If the social fibre continues to fray, that may potentially open the way up for a similarly cult-of-personality type of politician. And not necessarily from the Republicans, they could equally be a liberal demagogue.”

While Trump may not have a developed political ideology, he nevertheless enjoys massive support Considering Trump’s ability to deliver to his key voters, it’s worth observing that despite a Republican majority in the House and the Senate his administration has so far failed to pass any landmark legislation. If this trend continues, what might his re-election prospects look like?

“I think it is, right now, unlikely but not impossible that he will get re-elected,” Stanage posits, pointing out that we must remember how “on the basis of simple maths, the needle Trump threaded was kind of extraordinary; very small margins in those rust belt states put him over the line.” Who in

the Democrats might stump the Trump?

I ask. “So…” he ponders, “the democrats are in a somewhat similar though not totally analogous situation to the British Labour party in that a lot of the energy is on the left side of the party. Many people think that Sanders will run again and he is really popular with the Democratic base. If he doesn’t, then an obvious standard bearer is Elizabeth Warren.

One person worth keeping an eye on is Kamala Harris.” Harris is a senator from California who some believe has better potential to unite those on the left of the Democratic party with its centrists.

I finish on one final, important question: “whatever happens, is the genie out of the bottle, will US politics never be the same?” Stanage glances skyward and nods. “This, I think, is a huge question for many people who both participate in politics and cover politics. Whether the norms that Trump has transgressed have been destroyed or whether they will snap back, be that in three or seven years' time.

I don’t think we fully know the answer to that question as it’s hard to determine whether somebody else could get away with saying the things Trump says or whether it’s just a kind of magic only he has.”

Indeed, it remains to be seen whether Trump’s style proves to be a temporary aberration in the history of US politics or facilitates the birth of a new, more turbulent politician of the 21st century.

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FEATURES

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Saud i-robot

Neha Shaji examines the implications of robots being given citizenship and nationality

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ECENTLY Saudi Arabia granted citizenship to Sophia, a fair-skinned woman with her head split open, revealing cogs and wires beneath. Sophia, a robot developed to look like Audrey Hepburn, is empathetic and engages in casual banter, making fun of Elon Musk and laughing at business CEOs at the events she attends. Sophia has already made quite a stir in media circles, with tech geeks marvelling at the progress AI has made in the last few years, social justice sites wryly pointing out how Sophia has more rights than Saudi women, and less reliable satire sites going on about how Sophia has already been beheaded by the government. Sophia opens up a new branch of possibilities with the advent of artificially intelligent machines who are seemingly able to feel and empathise with people – but how human is a robot such as Sophia, and how much of this humanity can be manufactured?

Sophia is not the only advancement into artificial intelligence in the past decade. Bina48, another lifelike creation, had been endowed with the personality of a real Bina who spent many hours with robot Bina, having “conversations” and uploading her memories and personality to the robot head in a project designed to extend the finality of death and make it easier on loved ones. South Korean students are learning English from robots in a heavily understaffed industry, where egg shaped bots control the learning plans of primary school children. Most interestingly, in 2015, a robot passed a famous self-awareness test that was said to separate machinery

from humans, both understanding the complicated rules of the test and recognizing itself as a ‘self ’ distinct from the other robots taking the test. Despite all this, sentience is not yet predicted in the near future, and several scholars have noted Sophia’s speech patterns and quick, witty quips are almost certainly programmed rather than her jokes being of her own volition.

However, the existence of almostautonomous robots who are starting to creep out of the uncanny valley lead to more possibilities than the Elon Muskesque ‘what if they all kill us?’ Sophia being given actual citizenship and the same rights as a human being leads to the uncomfortable question being asked

by AI researcher Joanna Bryson – “How does it affect people if they think you can have a citizen that you can buy?”

Robots are, in our current world, a commodity with a price tag and an offswitch. If robots are closer to achieving self-awareness, how ethical would it truly be to buy and sell them like property whilst marketing them as human? The question of nationality comes into focus as well – Sophia (and her English accent) was created by an Englishman working for a Hong Kong based company and given citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Whilst still currently a smooth transition with a singular robot, mass production would inevitably lead to squabbles over which country gets to ‘keep’ the creations, not to mention with possible self-awareness comes the possibility of national identity. Would a more advanced model of Sophia identify as English, from Hong Kong, or Saudi?

Of course, in the current stage of artificial intelligence, it is easier to programme a nationality into a robot.

Yet this creates an extremely slippery slope with AI that are programmed to both ‘think’ things and be aware enough to relate actions to programmed thought and carry them out. It may not currently be a danger with every advancement of robotics being seen as a novelty, but our society is only a few strides away from the possibility of robots being programmed to be actively racist, sexist, or homophobic. Even if manufacturing is highly regulated, companies and government often act in self-interest – a robot created in Saudi Arabia is certain to have vastly different “opinions” from one created in Canada. What this would mean for any upcoming war is disastrous: aside from any apocalyptic war machine scenarios, robots can be used as agents of propaganda, their possible wide availability used to spread nationalistic (or anti-national) messages under the guise of human opinion.

Programming a soul into anything is exceedingly dangerous, especially when the public can be made to believe it has not been programmed at all.

Robots are a commodity with a price tag and an off-switch When it comes to robots with opposing national identities, Sophia comes to mind again – as a nonpracticing Muslim, she technically isn’t actually even eligible for Saudi citizenship. The question of whether artificial intelligence can adopt faith is an intriguing one, for religious thinkers are primarily passionate and with proof coming secondary. The possibility of artificial intelligence being self-aware is already a novelty, the probability of passion being quite far away and to be

Image: ITU/R. Farrell

Image: ITU/R. Farrell passionate about God of all things even further away. However, even if a state of passionate religious fervour is reached with Jewish scholars believing law based religions might ‘appeal’ to robots, it would still be uncertain how much of it is faith and how much is perfunctory action. Would a robot that dutifully said his prayers, gave money to the poor, and could recite the Holy Books in ten minutes be considered more religious than a person who didn’t do any of that but believed in their God? Similar to religion, the question of race comes into it too – robots are primarily created to depict Caucasian traits and accents (if the AI is not particularly intended for language learning/translation). However, artificial intelligence in general is not given any racial identification at all other than our own implicit understanding that the machine was modelled on a Caucasian person. Yet the majority of artificial intelligence are not humanoids like Sophia and Bina48, and are often either purely software without a container or the most efficient container for the job the robot is supposed to handle. Thus, with the complete absence of racial traits – it is possible robots could be a step deeper into a society without an emphasis on race, yet it is also entirely possible we imprint our own standard of beauty onto artificial intelligence.

This is perhaps why most of the humanoid robots are slim Caucasian women with computerized American or British accents.

However even if robots were

without a predetermined race, it also means that discrimination is difficult, a factor that seems unfair when we consider the millions of real people who are actively being discriminated against today. Even as Sophia enjoys the benefits of Saudi citizenships, she continues to hold more rights than the average Saudi woman today, and far more rights than migrant workers from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who have been working in the country for decades with no promise of citizenship.

Is it fair then, in our world so negatively focused on immigration, to give a robot a ‘free ride’ into citizenship whilst real people suffer for it?

Most humanoid robots are slim Caucasian women

In a society where the greatest fears relating to artificial intelligence have to do with supercomputers controlling the world and Terminator-like robots committing genocide, it is easy to forget the greatest predators are still the creators of AI rather than the machines themselves. The biggest issues surrounding the advent of a self-aware robot being able to gain citizenship still revolve around government bureaucracy and the very human tendency to be discriminatory and teach others to be the same. As for genocides perpetrated by dead eyed robots, haven’t we had enough of them within the last couple of centuries?

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES

13

A dangerous legacy

Following the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, William Harrop analyses its impact on the Middle East

Image: Yeowatzup

O

NE hundred years ago, a single document of 67 words caused seismic shifts in the Middle East, the reverberations of which are still felt to this day. The Balfour Declaration, penned by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour on 2 November 1917, announced British support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine for the minority Jewish population. It was the first in an onslaught of stepping stones towards the synthesis of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. It marked one of the many violent and disruptive legacies left by the West in the Middle East. But just what exactly did the Balfour Declaration entail, and how is it relevant to the politics of the Middle East today?

1917 was a year which bristled with historical significance in the Middle East. After the reignition of offensives in Mesopotamia by the Indian Expeditionary Force, and the sweeping advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force across the Levant, the Ottoman Empire had been in a headlong retreat.

The Empire’s control of the Middle East, following the redirection of forces from Gallipoli in 1916, and the victory over the British during the siege of Kut, had shown signs of promise, but had finally been reduced to a frail grasp by 1917.

Dubbed ‘The Sick Man of Europe’ since the mid-19th century, talk of dividing the Ottoman Empire was no novel concept. Russian designs on the Bosporus and Constantinople stretched back to the 18th century with Catherine the Great’s ‘Eastern Question’. Already by 1915, like ravenous vultures, the Great Entente Powers of Britain, France and Russia circled the carcass of the Ottoman Empire, looking hungrily to ideas of carving it up like a joint of meat. These ideas became finalised in the 1916 Skyes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France, in which the

neat geometric division of the Middle East based on the territorial lust of both powers was propositioned. Britain would have the territory now controlled

by Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait. France would endow itself with Syria and Lebanon.

The Great Entente Powers circled the carcass of the Ottoman Empire This, however, was not the first shady-back alley deal Britain had sullied itself with during the Great War. In 1916, a string of correspondences between the Sharif of Mecca and Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner to Egypt were written. In them, McMahon gave his support for Arab independence after the war on Britain’s behalf, in exchange for a popular Arab revolt against the Ottomans. Struck with a zeal for independence, Arab armies revolted against their Ottoman overlords, raiding their supply lines and assisting the British in their advance across the Levant. Their sacrifice, unfortunately, would not be rewarded.

When these agreements were concluded, the Ottomans remained the dominant power in Arabia but 1917 was to be the year that signalled the end of four centuries of Ottoman sovereignty over the Middle East.

The British Empire had been mounting several campaigns in the Sinai and Palestine since 1915 after a German-led Ottoman force invaded a part of the then British protectorate of Egypt. These had resulted in a mixture of defeats and victories but late 1917 was to be the turning point for British interests in the region. By November 1917, the Third Battle of Gaza had come to a bloody conclusion, and the fragmented armies of the Ottoman

Empire had embarked on a retreat into Syria. As the first columns of British troops entered a battle-scarred Gaza, a letter from British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour to the prominent Zionist, Lord Rothschild, was published in November 1917 in The Jewish Chronicle. Though a small paragraph, its significance could not be overstated.

In it, Balfour pledged British support for the establishment of a home for the Jewish minority in Palestine (a territory not yet under British control, as the holy city of Jerusalem would not fall until December). This was the culmination of a policy of Zionism pushed by British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George since December 1916. The intention of this policy, however, was not altruism for the Jewish cause - far from it. Lloyd George viewed Palestine as a vital landbridge between British Egypt and India, and as such, a Zionist state under British protection suited Britain very well.

The Balfour Declaration infamously would join the ranks of agreements like Sykes-Picot which double-crossed the Arabs, dangling the carrot of Arab independence whilst sharpening the knives of imperialism behind their backs.

15 months following the Ottoman surrender in 1918, its division was finalised under the Treaty of Sevres on August 20th 1920. Ironically, after over 100 years and countless wars attempting to bring about Ottoman partition, Russia was too riddled with civil war to benefit or participate. This saw Britain and France redraw the map of the Middle East according to the straight, pencil drawn lines of Sykes-Picot, ceding Palestine to Britain. Almost before the ink had dried on the treaty, Jewish immigrants flocked to Palestine, causing dramatic increases in the size of the Jewish population. Despite the Balfour Declaration specifically insisting on due respect being paid to the Palestinian

people, this did not prevent JewishArabic tensions from boiling over. As the Jewish population in Palestine rose, so too did instability and violence, with Zionists believing Palestine to be their rightful homeland, and the Palestinian Arabs being filled with anger at the hollow promises of independence and Jewish encroachment on what they believed to be their land.

The Balfour Declaration still rings in the ears of the Middle East This Western support, initiated

by Britain, for a Zionist state in Palestine would later snowball into the proclamation of the independent state of Israel in 1948, to the further dismay of the native Arab population, mapping out decades of unresolvable

conflict, from the Arab-Israeli wars to the skirmishes we see today.

The Balfour Declaration still rings in the ears of the Middle East. Besides the obvious implication of Arab-Israeli tensions and Zionism in the Near East, the declaration was symbolic of the many backroom plots the West concocted for their own exploitative gain. The ramificationsstifling of Arab nationalism, elevation of tensions and cultivating an underlying hatred of the West, set the scene for the 100 years of history that followed in its wake. The words of Peter O'Toole, playing the desert-traversing diplomat Lawrence of Arabia in the film of the same name, prove particularly poignant: "Nothing is written." As much as the Middle East has been artificially sculpted by words and treaties, these will not stop it from forging its own destiny, as civil wars, factional conflicts and rampant Kurdish nationalism today attest to.

The Balfour Declaration in full — contained within the original letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild

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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

STUDY BREAK Puzzles by Alfred and Tash 27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

lifestyle

A Caribbean Christmas I

Barbara Vanotti reviews Turtle Bay's Christmas menu

solution for the coldness of winter is derstand the combination of festiv- whilst waiting for our starters - the T'S almost December, and Exeter its use of a variety of spices. These ity and exoticism. The colourful roasted chickpeas were a particuseems to scream “Christmas!” intense flavours were everyisland bar in the middle of the larly memorable dish, a sure fafrom ever corner of the where, even in the pineapple room seems to bring eve- vourite from the entire meal. city. The checklist of Christthat accompanied my pork The same positive reacryone back to their days at massy elements is already chop! the beach, encouraging all tion was given to the startcompleted: the lights are This could, of course, be of us to let go of the well- ers, which I consider the on, the Christmas market a disadvantage to the more known stresses and pres- highlight of the menu. I don’t open and almost everyone korma types amongst us, sures of this period and en- even know how to begin dehas replaced their beloved who may think that the spices scribing the duck rolls, as they joy a meal without worry. sandals and shorts for warm drown out core flavours. Yet I However, this unity is ul- were so unimaginably delicious I coats and hats. Personally, I found the combination of cinnacould probably eat them every day timately glorifi ed by the choice am a real fan of the countdown Turtle Bay Turtle Bay mon allspice and thyme absolutely deof food, which is unconventional for for a whole year. The sweetcorn fritters, to Christmas, the whole atmosphere another starter option, were equally as licious. The Caribbean adventure, however, was makes me incredibly happy. But what I love the Christmas period. Four carefully perfect (and spicy). Vegetables and concluded with a touch of Britishness, which the most in this period is the Christmas Menus: thought out courses, transport the I are not exactly best friends, restored the more traditional festivity - a course those four course meals full of delicacies put a diner on a journey of flavour for but I think this dish may have of brownies and cheesecake to welcome us only £24. Whilst using the real sparkle in my December lifestyle. changed our relationship back home. My whole experience at Turtle Bay This is why I was extremely excited to re- typical ingredients of a traforever. And if you are a can be described as a wonderful adventure ceive the opportunity to try the Christmas ditional festive meal, evefan of spice like myself, just of flavours and ingredients. If you are looking Menu at Turtle Bay restaurant in the Guildhall rything has been spiced wait for the main course: it for a way to escape the traditional Christmas Shopping Centre, and it did not disappoint. up to increase the variwill make your taste buds fare, but you still want to feel somewhat fesTurtle Bay is able to unite fairy lights and fes- ety of taste, recreating the go crazy. Everything in tive, Turtle Bay is screaming out your name. Be tive atmosphere with the classic elements of tropical heats which inspire the dish is designed to add prepared to leave the old traditions for a while the Caribbean culture, giving its customers a the menu. warmth to your day. Instead of and be amazed by a different cultural take on The nibbles given to us on arChristmas like never before. A single glance at Turtle Bay a hot cup of tea, the restaurant’s Christmas. the interior of the restaurant is enough to un- rival were great for snacking on

If you like Piña Colada...

plusbeds.com

Barbara Balogun, Lifestyle Editor, gives you the perfect recipe for your Piña Colada The classic Piña Colada is perhaps my very favourite of all the exotic drinks. Creamy and tropical flavours don’t come much better than this! And plus, it works for all seasons. It reminds me of summer when I’m crying icy tears in winter, and is sweet enough to brighten my summer nights.

For this reason (and also because I wanted to make this whole page Caribbean themed), I have decided to share my perfect recipe for a transportive Piña Colada.

INGREDIENTS • 6-7 chunks of pineapple • 1 teaspoon sugar (You can use sugar alternatives) • 1 tablespoon coconut cream • 50ml white rum • 50ml fresh pineapple juice • Ice • Garnish with a pineapple triangle SERVES TWO DRINKS STEP BY STEP WITH BARBARA 1.Place all your ingredients into the blender 2.Pour 3.Add the Garnish 4.See it off!

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BARBARA'S TOP TIPS • Choose a good rum, not your Sainsbury’s basic please.

• Just like your rum, choose a good pineapple juice. Obviously, it will always taste better with fresh juice but a good Innocent will seal the deal.

ur oy yo u enj e send o y ope leas We h olada! P s on our C re Pina our pictu m! y gra us Insta

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epo @ex

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DON'T FORGET • There is coconut milk, coconut cream and cream of coconut. Whilst coconut milk is an alternative to dairy milk, it is too runny for the cocktail.

• Coconut cream has less water in it than coconut milk and would be okay to use in this Piña Colada recipe.

• However, cream of coconut is the best option for the Piña Colada!

• Shake It Like You Mean It!

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EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

27 NOV 2017 |

17

Battle of the Beverages Exeposé Lifestyle writers defend their winter warmer of choice

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HEN it comes to the best hot drink around, I think it’s difficult to look further than English breakfast tea. It may not have the as 'Exetah' vibes of a chai latte, or be en vogue like Costa’s new Black Forest Hot Chocolate, but there are a multitude of reasons that tea has been an enduring passion of mine and the British people.

First off, tea is practical. To make a cup of tea all you need is a kettle, a mug, a tea bag, and (ideally) some milk. This means you can enjoy tea made to your personal satisfaction almost anywhere – at home, on campus, even at friends houses.

This places tea in staggering contrast to many more niche hot drinks that can only be enjoyed at coffee shops.

It’s also a versatile drink.

It wakes you up with breakfast, warms you up in your inevitably

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freezing student house, and cheers you up if you’re feeling low. I’d venture that there is almost no situation that wouldn’t be improved by a cup of builders' tea.

Tea’s versatility extends to its very make up - you can drastically alter it by adjusting how much sugar and milk you put in, meaning that there is a variation and style for everyone, making it a truly popular choice.

- Ollie Lund, Online Editor

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ICTURE the scene, if you will.

It’s been a long day. You’ve been busy pitching your Bitcoin company to friends at the coffee shop. There you sit, legs ensconced within the harems you wear ironically.

Tonight, you’re going to treat yourself; just sushi, yoga and Louis Theroux on Netflix. Yet this scene of serenity is incomplete. Over to the kettle you pad.

Green tea. Green tea is required here.

The following morning you arise, meditate, and head downstairs.

There’s no food in the house. Still, no matter. Green tea. Green tea will suffice here. After the first sip, it is no longer tea, but a placid lagoon of purity. The days anxieties (are burst Air Max bubbles menda b l e ? ) evaporate.

It’s safe, and life’s tribulations can’t reach you in this haven.

But life is not like that, and with a giddy thump you return to the real world. There’s only one thing to do; make more tea. Chase that high.

Here’s Hunter S. Thompson describing the cure for the postbrew malaise: “the possibility of mental collapse is now very real. No sympathy for the Devil. Buy the ticket, take the ride”. I know. That’s about a drug breakdown, but the rule applies.

Is this an effort to validate my crippling addiction to green tea?

Undoubtedly. I used to be ashamed.

I would hide it beneath bags of English breakfast tea (about as English in origin as the contents of the ‘British’ Museum). I don’t want help, I just want more! Green tea drinkers of the world, unite and takeover.

- Adam Robertson Charlton

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HY does a hot chocolate from Costa cost the exact same amount as a bus ticket to Honiton? Why does a rapidly churned together mixture of chocolate, milk, and enough sugar to send one into an instant diabetic coma become suddenly irresistible once it’s sweater weather? Perhaps this is why learned chocolate aficionados such as myself refer to hot chocolate as the demon drink.

Sure, it costs an arm, a leg, and half a head, but I would gladly sell my soul and a portion of my first-born for hot chocolate.

Nothing screams 'winter aesthetic' more than an oversized Hogwarts jumper and a cup of hot chocolate nestled photogenically next to an artsy book by a Russian philosopher you’ve never read. It’s a sign of maturity – you’ve left Halloween truly behind, and costume parties are now for Year 11 babies at this stage of the icy English weather. Yet it’s also a coy nod to the childhood you’ve been dragged kicking and screaming from – coffee is for bleary eyed adults in a workplace grind, but hot chocolate is for the young, hip, and incredibly excited to be diabetic in the near future.

The Glorious Art House café, especially, make an excellent cup of hot chocolate – that is, if you can find it under the veritable mountain of cream slathered lovingly on it like a mother slathers baby powder on an infant’s bum. And if one doesn’t want to fork out revolting amounts to high street retailers, why not make a cup yourself? Unlike the precision required in handling most other wintertime drinks (do you really want too much syrup in your latte?), even a three-yearold can dump a packet of Cadbury’s into a mug of steaming milk and call it a masterpiece. Which, frankly, it is.

- Neha Shaji

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T this time of year, demand for warm, comforting, delicious drinks increases as a result of colder temperatures and the new special edition Christmas flavours available in all good coffee shops. Yet with so many choices on offer, how is a student to choose?

Well, in my humble opinion, the chai latte is the only drink one needs right now. After all, it’s basically Christmas in a cup! The chai spice mix contains all those familiar spices that you often find at Christmas, including cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

Just one whiff of that spicy goodness and you’ll forget all your woes, as you feel your senses singing and your entire self being enveloped in a sense of festive excitement and cheer. The steamed milk that accompanies the spice also gives the drink a thick, smooth, yet frothy feel that a simple hot chocolate lacks.

THE SPICES IN THE CHAI LATTE...SCREAM CHRISTMAS AT YOU I cannot count the number of times I have been underwhelmed by the consistency of a hot chocolate, always expecting it to be thicker and richer than it always is, and inevitably being disappointed every single time. And whilst a cup of tea can also be very pleasant, as a staple of British culture it lacks any festive, or even wintery, feel, which the chai latte possesses in spades, with the simple cup of tea having become very much an everyday kind of drink. And yes, some could argue that the chai latte is available all year like the humble tea. But what those critics fail to realise is that the spices in the chai latte practically scream Christmas at you, transporting you back to that wonderful holiday even in the height of summer. It is for this reason that the mighty chai latte should undoubtedly be your drink of choice for this time of year.

- Fiona Edwards

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EA is the lifeblood of the British nation. Who were we before tea? Without tea, what would we begrudgingly offer to house guests? With what cargo would angry Bostonians flavour their harbours to spite us? What - I ask you, what – when we were a far more reserved nation, yet to appropriate the resources of the rest of the world and unapologetically claim them as our own, did we dunk our digestive biscuits in?

That being said, there’s something a little mundane about your standard ‘English breakfast’ type of tea. It has charm, certainly – it’s not boring, as such - but only that sort of wholesome, dependable, Colin Firthesque species of charm. It lacks verve.

It lacks vigour, it lacks energy – it lacks, if I dare say, just a hint of citrus.

Ladies, gentlemen, assorted beverage-drinkers. Allow me therefore to present the Hugh Grant of teas, the zanier, wilder, slightly roguish counterpart to your reliable breakfast tea; I refer, of course, to the soul-quenching delight that is Earl Grey. Retaining that wholesome, warming sensation we love and expect from our tea, Earl Grey takes it one step further, spicing things up with that all-important hint of bergamot for a breathier, more vibrant drinking experience. Brainchild of one Earl Charles Grey (whose term as Prime Minister saw, amongst other events, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833), Earl Grey tea is the definitive hot beverage. It couples the warm, reassuring embrace provided by a good cup of tea with the subtle, citrusy suggestion that other flavours are indeed out there. It has flavour, it has character, but quietly so. It treads the fine line between flavour and simplicity, ease and versatility. With milk or without milk, at breakfast or at 4am, alone or with friends, Earl Grey is always the right choice. It is, in fact, the quintessential tea – nay, the quintessential hot drink.

- Graham Moore, Deputy Editor

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EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

LIFESTYLE

27 NOV 2017 |

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Blowing away the cobwebs T

Rhiannon Moore provides you with the perfect way to stay healthy, whatever the weather

HE blankets are no longer just for decoration, the heating is on (for those of us who can afford it), and the Christmas market is open. This can all mean only one thing – the crispness of autumn is coming to an end, and the chill of winter is well and truly among us. Every store you enter is swamped in fresh holly sprigs and glistening lights, bringing a funny feeling into people’s hearts which can only be described as 'Christmas spirit'. However, whilst there is a Pexels subtle happiness that is unlike that of any other time of the year, there is also a distinct lack of motivation for day to day tasks

and a dramatic increase in the amount of times you press ‘snooze’ on your alarm each morning.

The earlier sunsets and colder air can lead to the likes of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D, a type of depression that correlates to the changing seasons), which the NHS estimates affects around 1 in 15 people every year. Perhaps you don’t suffer with S.A.D, but getting out of your duvet is just something you’d definitely prefer to avoid. Either way, it’s still important to look after yourself during these equally cosy yet harsh winter months, both mentally and physically. Thankfully, there are some easy ways

to keep your body healthy, all whilst staying in bed. Three words – yoga in bed.

WE JUST CAN'T QUITE TAKE PART IN A 2 MILE RUN AT A HORRIFYING 3°C Whilst it may give many of us the wrong idea, yoga is truly an excellent way to keep you flexible and maintain your strength as best you can, and if you can’t quite make it up Forum Hill to the gym, your bed is equally as suitable.

Just a quick YouTube search can bring up plenty of easy routines you can follow – my personal favourite channel is ‘Yoga with Adrienne’, but there are so many to choose from that cater for all abilities. You can often find whole workout

routines planned for you to follow, all without spending a penny.

Allowing yourself the time to take care of your body is so important, but we must accept that sometimes we just can’t quite take part in a two mile run at a horrifying 3°C. It’s not always easy, and that’s okay, but adapting is possible.

Just make sure to buy all the scarves and thick, cosy socks to keep warm.

If yoga isn’t quite your cup of tea, then grab a friend! Having someone else to trudge up to the gym with is much better than going alone, and might just help you to actually go. It can also keep you motivated throughout the session and, with any luck, they may have thought to bring an extra jumper or a flask of hot chocolate; just in case you need a recharge half way through.

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Orlagh Fallon

LL those that have taken a wander down Fore Street are aware that it holds a greater similarity to a Moroccan bazaar than a British high street. A stomping ground for the more ‘eccentric shopper’, if you walk down far enough you will find The Flat, a ‘planet-friendly’ pizza and pasta place that is usually steamed up at the windows from the bustle and warmth inside.

With only a few tables it quickly gets busy: reservation is definitely recommended. The décor embraces its core values, as earthy colours and leafy plants hail to its vegetarian roots, exposed wood and tomato tins pay homage to its Italian owner, but the vibe remains minimalistic, just like the menu. With a simple selection of inviting options, they ensure you are not overwhelmed by choice, and quite simply let the quality of the food do the rest.

It is all organic, made from scratch and ethically sourced. We did not think that a menu so modest would have had us debating our choices for so long. The prices are not overwhelming, reasonably priced for an independent with such great quality, and you’ll find an Aperol Spritz for £4.50: do you need any more convincing? And whilst you sip on your Italian aperitif, with the smells of fresh pasta circulating, you can either daydream of warmer days on the Amalfi Coast or get lost in the performance of pizza making displayed in the open kitchen.

A true independent restaurant owned and run by a dedicated couple, the name originates from their home which is conveniently located above the restaurant. The Flat embraces its Italian heritage with tasty food and quality wine, but feels right at home in Exeter with its uncontrived, quirky ambiance. A brilliant option to the chain restaurant alternatives and with the ability to take away, you may never have a Domino's again!

- Orlagh Fallon

ESTLED amongst the shops of Fore Street, No Guts No Glory is a little haven for everything artsy and independent. From the moment you cross the threshold, the treasure trove of plants invites you towards the back room, where you can find an array of unique pottery and independent magazines.

My friends have described No Guts No Glory as a shop version of me, and I couldn't agree more.

Based on an ethos of sustainable living and general wellbeing, the shop sells designs from a range of different illustrators, boasting art prints to cover your whole room. Alongside this they also sell a range of cards including designs by Rifle Paper Co. (basically my favourite designer ever), so you can present a card which is both aesthetically pleasing and meaningful.

Most importantly, the shop also boasts its own speciality coffee bar, with a range of teas and handmade drinks available, made with dairy-free milk. It provides the perfect excuse to grab a hot drink and take a wander around the store. They also offer a fully bespoke framing service, if you're interested.

Finally, they offer a range of workshops delivered by different artists from around the area. Last week I attended a 'modern botanicals' workshop hosted by De Winton Paper Co., and spent my evening watercolour painting surrounded by plants and calming music (aka heaven). I would highly recommed looking into a workshop as a way to de-stress: who doesn't want to spend two hours surrounded by aesthetic perfection with snacks provided?

If you're looking for a place to escape from the craziness of deadline season, this is your place. Look at some plants, flick through a magazine and enjoy a handmade coffee. It's the perfect place to treat yo' self.

- Lauren Geall, Lifestyle Editor Lauren Geall

NO GUTS NO GLORY

Charley Cross

MARCH COFFEE

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UCKED away on South Street is the tiny café of March Coffee. It’s an Instagram dream of industrial charm, complete with potted plants on the tables. The cosy atmosphere coupled with abundant plug sockets and WiFi (just ask for the password) makes March an ideal study spot for those mindnumbing edits of essays we all know too well.

In terms of coffee, March sources their beans from Crankhouse Coffee and offers one roast a day. If you’re looking to get savvier with your caffeinated lingo, all the information about it is displayed behind the counter. At £2.70 for a flat white, the prices are comparable to most high street chains, but it’s the food offerings that should sway you from retreating back to Costa.

March’s counter is lined with homemade baked goods, from fresh sourdough loaves to sweet treats that you won’t find anywhere else in Exeter. There are some staples, but most change daily – there’s always something new to try! On my last visit, they had chocolate beetroot cake alongside their usual banana and caramel loaf, and one customer arrived out of breath having come across town hoping they had a salted caramel brownie left (a happy ending: they did). Brunch is also available until 2:30pm if you’re looking for something more substantial.

If you want a true March speciality, you have to try their doughnuts. Soft, pillowy dough covered in sugar, with plenty of silky filling inside. The flavours change regularly: I’ve seen mojito, chocolate and rosemary to name a few. They’re hard to resist when I saw white chocolate and matcha, a fair bit of time was spent getting sugar out from between my laptop keys!

So if Exeter’s best doughnuts and coffee sounds good to you, find this gem of a coffee shop at 87 South Street and enjoy.

- Charley Cross

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arts + lit

In memory of Roald Dahl

Devon Mugrave-Johnson discusses the success of Dahl’s work on the anniversary of his death

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IDS across the globe grow up dreaming of Willy Wonka’s factory and Matilda’s magic powers. They look under their beds for witches and hope that when a giant visits they will be big and friendly.

27 years after his death, Roald Dahl’s name remains a household one. Each new generation finds the magic in his work and seeks to breath new life into it. Matilda is currently running in the West End and his works have been adapted by the likes of Wes Anderson and Tim Burton.

DAHL REFUSED TO TALK DOWN TO HIS READERS Everyone seems to love and wish to honour his writing. He was given the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, voted 16th in The Times ‘50 Greatest British writers since 1945,’ and awarded The British Book Awards Children’s Author of the Year in 1990.

But why has his work stuck with us so long after his passing? What makes his books such classics? To Quentin Blake – an illustrator best known for his work on Dahl’s books – the answer is quite obvious.

“He was mischievous.

A grown-up being mischievous.

He addresses you, a child, as somebody who knows about the world. He was a grown-up – and he was bigger than most – who is on your side. That must have something to do with it,” Blake said in an interview with The Independent.

Dahl shared a connection with his readers, bringing in an authorial voice that spoke to his audience. However, Dahl refused to talk down

to his readers, even in his children’s books, with his work often being described as “macabre.”

In fact, his first piece of writing was about his real-life experience crash-landing his biplane in the Libyan desert during WWII. This darkness did not dissuade his readers. He found the balance between horror and whimsy.

Even when critics found this darkness problematic, Dahl and his fans did not seem detered. “I never get any protests from children. All you get are giggles of mirth and squirms of delight. I know what children like,” Dahl once said when asked about negative critiques of his work.

What makes Dahl especially remarkable is not

just the fact that children are delighted by his work, but the fact that his stories stayed with those children in the form of nostalgia as they grew to adults. Dahl’s work always has a sweetness running through it, and while the toilet humour and scary villains may make the work immediately memorable, it’s the heart of each story that lasts through the ages

PERHAPS THE WHIMSY AND MAGIC IS THE SECRET OF DAHL’S STORIES Dahl’s last, posthumously published work, The Minpins, ends with the line: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

Perhaps the whimsy and magic is the secret of Dahl’s stories that keeps them alive through generations and makes them so iconic.

The darkness in Dahl Olivia Powell gives her opinion on the feminist issues in The Witches

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Whilst it is not just in The Witches that we see evil, ugly women who hate children (this trope can be found in almost every book Dahl wrote), evilness and ugliness are not traits that only women have in Dahl’s books – the men he writes about can be awful too. In practically every Roald Dahl book there is an evil male counterpart to the female one, who is just as rotten as she is. They all have things in common, too – they hate children, and are generally greedy, nasty and unpleasant people.

It is these traits that make them evil, no matter their gender.

The iconic book The Twits explains why evil people are ugly: “If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And

when that person has ugly thoughts every day […] get uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at [them]. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly […] if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

The message is clear – be a good person, and people will know you are good, no matter who you are.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, I think it is only fair to look at the other female characters within The Witches before we call it sexist. For example, the grandmother is a retired witch hunter who looks after the narrator, and teaches him about witches. In addition to this, she overcomes her fear of witches in order to

save the children of England, before making a plan to get rid of all the witches in the world.

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S someone who loved Roald Dahl’s books as a child, it was jolting to think that the man who created some of my childhood heroes might be sexist. The book that caused the most controversy is The Witches. It is banned in numerous libraries because people believe it will teach children to be misogynistic; the book says that “A witch is always a woman…there are no male witches”. The problem with this is that witches are incredibly evil and unpleasant creatures that want to kill all children – not the best message to be spreading about women to young, impressionable children.

EVILNESS AND UGLINESS ARE NOT TRAITS EXCLUSIVE TO WOMEN However, The Witches is not the only Dahl book wherein one gender is particularly dangerous to children – in The BFG, the giants are all men, and they kill and eat children every night.

FOR EVERY MEAN AND HORRIBLE WOMAN THERE IS A DETERMINED ONE So, whilst the witches may be portrayed in a terrible light, the grandmother is shown to be a strong and wonderful character. This is true for all Roald Dahl novels – for every mean and horrible woman, there is a determined and independent one ready to protect others.

Through the depicition of such characters, there is proof that Dahl’s women can be equally as strong, and since they are ‘good’ characters this encourages children to want to emulate them. I can speak for myself when I say that this works, for example I desperately wanted to be like Matilda when I was a child. It is always important to remember his good characters. In my humble opinion, to say Roald Dahl is sexist is to ignore some of his greatest characters.

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27 NOV 2017 |

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A blast from the past

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Exeposé Arts+Lit writers discuss their favourite pieces of children’s literature

IX Dinner Sid by Inga More must be one of the greatest classic childrens’ books from my childhood. The story focuses around a devious cat named Sid who cons six unwitting inhabitants of Aristotle Street into giving him six dinners every night of the week. Because no one in the street talks to their neighbours, Sid is treated to a veritable feast every night until he gains a cough and has to be taken to the vet… by all six of his owners. Sid is rumbled and migrates to Pythagoras Street in disgrace where he is again treated to six gourmet dinners a night. I love that he was treated like a local celebrity!

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There is something hilarious and almost admirable in Sid’s Machiavellian scheming, an attitude which is instantly recognisable in those of many a student coming back from reading week.

Though as well as teaching children about the importance of community and lying, More’s beautifully illustrated book is simply extremely enjoyable at any age.

Lauren Newman

N return from my first year of university, my family were excited to discover the highs and lows of BA English at Exeter, what I have learned about, and if Matilda was still my favourite book. I think they were hoping that I was going to say something pretentious that they have never heard of, but no.

Dahl’s Matilda was the first book that I read all on my own at the grand ol’ age of five, when I realised I had the full potential to be the character that I was reading about. Although, I thankfully did not have to suffer the intolerable parents, and I was sadly deprived of her magical powers. However, I was the child who always wanted more outside of my tiny village in South Wales, and I found fulfilment in Dahl’s heroine who achieved just that. I quite literally embodied the quote “all the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen”.

For me, Dahl’s protagonist was everything I wanted to be: she was intelligent, curious and sassy. So, at the very impressionable age of five I found comfort in Matilda, I was reassured that falling in love with a book was the perfect way to fulfil my desire of wanting more. She was everything I wanted to be and a part of her character is what I continue to carry with me today. Essentially, I have a lot to thank Dahl for.

Maddie Davies, Arts and Lit Editor

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I LOVE THAT HE WAS TREATED LIKE A LOCAL CELEBRITY

HO would have thought that JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit would leave such a profound and influential legacy, with a hit trilogy of films made of its follow-up the Lord of the Rings and a less well received trilogy based on The Hobbit itself.

Why I love The Hobbit so much is the universe it created. It is one of the richest fantasy universes of all time with an array of interesting characters and is distinctly British in feel. This is especially evident with the portions set in the shire and spent discussing the habits of hobbits.

I PREFER IT IN MANY WAYS TO THE LORD OF THE RINGS The book is constantly busy with lots of adventures for protagonist Bilbo and his dwarf friends to get into from spiders to goblins, down caves and up mountains. Particularly thrilling to this day are Bilbo’s interactions with Gollum and the game of riddles that ensues, which for me was one of the highlights of all six Peter Jackson films. The interactions with Smaug the dragon are also fantastic, and I appreciate the lighter tone in this book than that which pervaded the later Tolkien works. I feel it is one of the great pieces of literature for younger readers, and I would say I prefer it in many ways to the Lord of the Rings.

Chris Connor

HE Swish of the Curtain, by Pamela Brown when she was only 14, tells the story of seven children. The Halford, Darwin, and Fayne families band together to form a theatre company, the Blue Doors, in an abandoned church. As the book progresses through the years, each child discovers their unique talents; Sandra is a natural costume designer, and Jeremy a composer, for example.

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY HEART-WARMING STORY Originally published in 1941, this is an incredibly heartwarming and old-fashioned story in the vein of Enid Blyton, without the shilling’s worth of out-dated racism to go with it.

A book written by a child knows exactly how to appeal to children, and each of the seven main characters have their own sympathetic personalities and goals. Their hard work and enthusiasm to achieve their dreams inspired me from a young age to pursue acting, and did the same for generations of actors, including Dame Eileen Atkins and Dame Maggie Smith.

Considering all the stress that university brings, I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever loved performing, or to anyone who just wants to escape into a world of simplicity and optimism where childhood dreams are possible with a little help from your friends.

Alex Wingrave

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Y childhood was a Disney focused one, but Peter Pan was never my favourite. When I was a little bit older I saw the live action version - you know, the Universal one that they play on ITV2 every time they need to fill a weekend slot? And, well... I fell totally in love, mostly with the boy playing Peter Pan, my first major crush. Even then, it was not until years later that I discovered the book and the whole world of Neverland opened up to me.

I LOVED THE CONSTANTLY UNEXPECTED DARKNESS It is not only my favourite children’s book but my favourite book full stop. I loved that it did not talk down to children. I loved that it was weird mix of a third person narrator removed from the story yet somehow able to completely control what is happening.

I loved the constantly unexpected darkness so close to the surface, like Peter Pan killing the Lost Boys when they got too big. Not to mention the magic that runs through it. With the state of the world right now, I think we would all take a bit of a Neverland trip sometime soon.

Katie Baker

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Y favourite children’s book is (drumroll please) Harry Potter! Predictable, I know, but someone had to say it – Queen JK is one of Exeter’s most esteemed alumni after all. Harry Potter has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and even though the final book was published ten years ago (ten years!), it still plays a huge role in my life after all this time (always). Besides the fact that it has been a huge cultural phenomenon, with a spinoff series in the shape of Fantastic Beasts, as well as a play (we don’t talk about that one), the core of the series remains the original seven books.

I’M STILL RELUCTANT TO SAY THE KILLING CURSE OUT LOUD IN CASE IT ACTUALLY WORKS For me, what I remember most is the characters – everyone had their favourite, mine being possibly the strongest female character in a generation, Hermione Granger. JK Rowling brought the magical world and its inhabitants alive for millions upon millions of readers (to this day I’m still reluctant to say the Killing Curse out loud just in case it actually works), and their love of the series spawned a huge community of Potterheads across the globe, sparking friendships with people you may otherwise have never even crossed paths with. That, I think, is the true legacy of Harry Potter.

Sophie Norton

EXHIBIT

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27 NOV 2017 |

EDITORS: Mubanga Mweemba and Maddie Davies

22

Once upon a time...

George Pope, Copy Editor, takes us through the evolution of children’s literature

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STILL consider the books that I read as a child and a young adult to be the cornerstone of my love for literature today. There is a reason why what we read as children stays with us throughout our lives; it has as much to do with the way that our brains are wired to absorb knowledge like sponges at that age as the fact that we are spoiled by the sheer amount of choice there is between such high quality works. I hope you will forgive me for writing this piece from an incredibly limited Eurocentric (and at most times, Anglo-centric) perspective, but these are the texts that have marked me and the ones that I feel confident enough to trace through recent literary history While the roots of modern children’s literature go as far back as 400 BCE, I feel that the best starting point is what we have come to describe as the ‘Golden Age’ of children’s literature, that is to say the mid to late nineteenth century. This was brought about by a change in approach when it came to writing for children.

While many early texts were didactic in style, being either moralistic fables or published by the Church, this new age introduced more texts that catered to the imagination of young readers.

THERE IS A REASON WHY WHAT WE READ AS CHILDREN STAYS WITH US THROUGH OUR ENTIRE LIVES Often marked as something of a turning point is Lewis Carroll’s seminal Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865. A precursor of many works to come, it set the standard in terms of fantasy and nonsense fiction for years after its publication. Its influence is still felt today, whether it be in music, TV, or film; the latest blockbuster based on the book came out last year. One of my favourite novels from this period is Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, published in 1877.

The beautiful yet often heart-wrenching story plots the life of the eponymous horse through his experiences with humans, which vary from intense cruelty to loving care, showing how multifaceted human nature can be.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 adventure novel Treasure Island also has a lasting influence on the genre of children’s literature and our perceptions of pirates. His depiction of pirates largely redefined the figure in the public imagination; the image of a peg-legged, Westcountry-accented, parrot-bearing buccaneer did not exist in this form before the novel was published. Similarly across the Atlantic, the adventure novel genre was also prevalent and gaining traction: Mark Twain published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876, and followed it with the publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. Then in 1900 The

Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum appeared casting a profound impression on American culture, with a Hollywood movie and a Broadway musical based on this classic story.

All theses stories continue to resonate with readers young and old to this day.

The early twentieth century saw no

THE ROOTS OF MODERN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE GO AS FAR BACK AS 400BCE slowing down of publications of high-quality literature for children. Kenneth Grahame’s tale of anthropomorphised river-dwelling critters The Wind in the Willows (1908) continued a trend started in the Victorian era of endowing animals with a human level of sentience, which persisted throughout the twentieth century, epitomised by the incomparable Beatrix Potter, whose tales are still regarded as hallmarks of children’s literature.

The popularity of the genre in this period often meant that writers who endeavoured to maintain what they saw as a ‘serious’ writing career struggled to break free from what they saw as the inferior status of ‘children’s author.’ This was the case for the creator of Peter Pan,, J.M. Barrie and A.A. Milne, both of whom were respected playwrights before the advent of their juvenile fame.

The huge popularity of the Winnie the Pooh series of poetry books and short stories is hard to measure, tragically due in part to the bastardisation of the series by the Walt Disney Company. Luckily we are still able to access the wonderfully witty source material that continues to enchant and delight readers of all ages.

The 1930s are often characterised by a slowdown in the publication of children’s fiction, although Enid Blyton started publishing her children’s works and remained prolific throughout the twentieth century. However successful she may have been (and continues to be), the sexism and racism that pervades her work places her as a writer who, in my opinion, should be confined to history and not celebrated as she is today.

British-Australian writer P.L. Travers also wrote the first of her Mary Poppins books in 1934, the beginning of an eight book series, with the last instalment published in 1988.

Highly praised by both Travers and many other writers was the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 novella Le Petit Prince.

One of the best-selling children’s books ever published, the tale of loneliness and isolation told through the figure of the eponymous little prince visiting earth muses on human nature.

The more philosophical themes that emerged out of Saint-Exupéry’s work foreshadow the emergence of writers such as Philip Pullman, whose literature, while primarily written for children, is layered and complex enough to stand up to many works aimed at adult readers.

It would be unwise to write an article on children’s literature and not mention C.S. Lewis and his Chronicles of Narnia. Although he is an author associated with this genre, he is a prolific writer in others such as literary criticism, science-fiction and theology, the latter of which permeates the world of Narnia in various ways. Appearing between 1950 and 1956, this series combines traditional fairy tales and folklore with modernity to create a world that has influenced following generations of children’s writers.

I could go on forever and in much more detail about many of the stories mentioned above and those that have been sadly left out, but I must turn now to the man of the moment, whose work you can read about in this issue, Roald Dahl. An intriguing character whose relationship with children has often been fraught, he was first a fighter pilot and then turned to writing, and later still to children’s literature.

His imagination for storytelling is rarely

rivalled, and his long working relationship with illustrator Quentin Blake have made for some of the most visually striking and humorous books ever written.

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE WARMS THE HEART BUT CAN CRUSH UNDERFOOT This is sadly where I must stop drawing up this cultural history of children’s literature, without having had time to deal with the cultural behemoth that is Harry Potter and the creation of the wizarding world, only a passing mention of Philip Pullman - truly a travesty - and alas no Frances Hodgson Burnett, no Dr Seuss and no J.R.R Tolkien. The list can go on and on. What I will say about children’s literature is that there is no other genre like it; it shapes young minds and boggles old ones, it warms the heart but can crush it underfoot, and most importantly, it stays with us long after childhood has faded into memory.

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I know I got a bad reputation N

Exeposé Music writers give their take on Taylor Swift's new album

EVER has my reputation been worse for being a Taylor Swift fan than in the last few months. I have been repeatedly interrogated about the media feuds, and questioned over her ‘audacity’ to release an album critiquing her ‘haters’. I think this hounding by my own peers says a lot about an increasing obsession with an album’s production and with applying outside knowledge to its reception, disregarding its actual sound in favour of the ‘drama’. It is, in fact, this constructed reputation that Swift’s sharp lyrics attack, offering her last words on the media debate. Reputation is an inevitable progression from 1989’s synth-pop cohesiveness, seeing her sound evolve into new explosive dimensions in harmony with Swift’s intelligent, brutally honest, and undeniably cutting lyrics.

The album feels divided into two halves: the first half, continuing until track six (‘Look What you Made Me Do’), responds directly to the media’s construction of her identity. This is reminiscent of 1989, and the iconic singles ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Shake It Off’. The second half becomes a more personal account of her romance, in which Taylor deconstructs her own personal flaws. The first half of the album blurs the new urban-pop sound and with more sedate synth-pop, particularly on the track fittingly titled ‘Delicate’. The second track, ‘End Game’, sees the artist cut her last ties with her country roots, opting for a more R&B sound which truly defines this first half of the album.

Here Taylor collaborates with Future and Ed Sheeran (a far cry from her previous RED collaboration with Sheeran), with the haunting lyric "my reputation precedes me" setting up the key concept of an album which both reproduces this reputation and dismantles it. ‘I Did Something Bad' is a personal favourite of mine, a highly single-worthy track and spiritual successor to ‘Blank Space’. Swift is in continual dialogue with her own back-catalogue – meanwhile, lyrics like “I can feel the flames on my skin” brim with depth. The track, produced with Max Martin and Jack Antonoff, has true melodic potency, a lilting bridge and a prominent chorus drop. The following track, ‘Don’t Blame Me’, shows off Taylor’s wide vocal powers – here she takes on a soulful tone, lending itself to another stand out melodic track. ‘Don’t Blame Me’ is filled with Taylor’s iconic chiasmic lyrics, a residue from her country background: "I once was poison ivy, now I’m your daisy".

The cacophony of sounds on the album is highly evocative as the listener is thrown from ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ to ‘Gorgeous’, an 80s-inspired bubbly track of pure romantic infatuation. We depart from the intense ‘reputation’ dialogue to more familiar Swift ground, a shift which brings some more personal favourites in ‘Getaway Car’, ‘Dancing with Our Hands Tied’, and ‘New Years Day’. This later part of the album allows Swift to create a unique and sharp space to explore the anxieties of love - she must "love in secret" when the "world was trying to divide us". These variations in tone and content highlight her craftsmanship as a lyricist, creating both the poetic ‘shade’ of the first half and using the second to encapsulate notions of tentative, youthful romance.

As a result, Reputation enables Swift to rebuild a level of assertiveness, of self-control. The album ends on of a note of catharsis with ‘Call it What You Want’, an indictment of the most beautifully soft way to call out any disputes, encouraging us to build our own narratives of our lives. "Doing better than I ever was", Swift defines her reputation on her own terms: no longer "dead", but vividly glistening.

Molly Gilroy, Online Screen Editor

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OU can tell when Future is embarrassed to be on a song – it’s when he turns up his usual autotune to near incomprehensible levels. He appears on 'End Game', along with a rapping Ed Sheeran, and in the midst of his generic, phoned-in verse he drops the line “I got a bad boy persona, that’s what they like”. I reckon that’s pretty true – persona seems to matter so much to this record. Definitely more so than music.

So much of this album seems to be concerned with reigniting old drama to create new headlines. Where Kanye West – sorry to bring him up, but it’s difficult to talk about Reputation without mentioning him at some point – used his references to Taylor Swift for a broader artistic point, albeit a misguided one, Taylor Swift doesn’t artistically engage with the headlines about her in any meaningful way. Instead, she tries to use it to construct a new, 'savage' persona which absolutely doesn’t mesh with her public image, her previous music, or her talent.

Someone needs to let her know it’s okay to just make good pop music – you don’t have to branch out into half-rapping over lazy, badly mixed trap instrumentals to be taken seriously as a musician.

This album is an embarrassment to Taylor Swift’s otherwise strong career. Moreover, it’s a ludicrous appropriation of a sound and

an aesthetic that she has no place working with. It’s okay to feature rappers, but smearing hip hop sounds and production styles all over the album just because it’s popular at the moment rather than to actually do something artistically fulfilling smacks of falsehood. Reputation might be an attempt on Swift’s part to reclaim control over her persona, but you have to wonder if flipping a brief controversy about being a ‘snake’ or whatever from several months ago into a career change this drastic and this ridiculous is worthwhile. 'Gorgeous' is good, though.

Alex Brammer, Music Editor

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ECOGNISABLE by her poetic lyrics and signature voice, Reputation sits nicely within Taylor’s self-defined musical journey. Outlined by an evaluation of her presence in mainstream media, Reputation claims the last word in an ongoing critical debate. And that’s the thing about Taylor Swift whether you love her or hate her, you have to confess that this engagement with her critics leads to an album which is clever, witty, and downright honest.

Turning further towards the pop-like nature of 1989, Reputation is a library of sounds. Ranging from the soft, electronic sound of ‘Delicate’ to the harsh drops of ‘I Did Something Bad’, Taylor experiments in an album which simultaneously reinvents and consolidates her musical ‘reputation’. As someone who has followed Taylor Swift for a number of years throughout her country to pop transition, I have often felt distanced from her during her extended absence. In fact, I’d hardly listened to Taylor for a year when I first heard Reputation, and was slightly worried about the limited lyrical variety of ‘Gorgeous’.

But there is something comforting about Taylor Swift which brings me back again and again. I love Reputation not because it’s anything new or experimental, but because it sounds so familiar and 'Taylor'. My particular favourites, ‘Getaway Car’ and ‘New Year’s Day’, are defined by her combination of catchy beats and expressive lyrics, ensuring that her songs honour the narrative tradition of the country genre she emerged from.

Reputation isn’t an album of anger or heartbreak, but one in which Taylor acknowledges and disregards the public persona which has been created for her. With a sprinkle of shade in songs like ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’, Reputation gives Taylor the final word in the battle to define her character. It is the message of ‘Call It What You Want’ which expresses the outgoing message of the album, the definitive statement “he really knows me, which is more than they can say” reflecting the over-arching feeling. If 1989 was an album of reinvention, Reputation is an album of acceptance. As a successful young woman with millions of fans, Taylor doesn’t need to listen to the hounding criticism of the media; she claims the right to define her own reputation.

Lauren Geall, Lifestyle Editor

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EDITORS: Alex Brammer and Maddy Parker

music

27 NOV 2017

Fresh produce

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James Angove, Features Editor, picks his top producers

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AX Martin. You might not have heard the name, but you most certainly know his production credits.

From Britney Spears’ ‘…Baby One More Time’ through to Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’, Martin has dominated mainstream popular music since the end of the last millennium, and alongside his frequent collaborator Karl Johan Schuster (aka Shellback), has almost come to define modern pop. In other genres certain producers can be equally as significant, forcing their way into the public eye (or ear).

Metro Boomin is one such figure, and has even worked the line "If Young Metro don't trust you I'm gon' shoot you," into songs by Future, Drake and Kanye West. The 24-year-old Atlantan native is as close to fame as producers get without being on the mic themselves, and his style has pushed several rappers into stardom.

Most notably, Metro worked on Migos’ smash hit ‘Bad and Boujee’, culminating in weeks at number one and a shoutout from Donald Glover. Not too bad for someone yet to have their 25th birthday.

But it’s not just these figures that stand out. No one could have missed the phenomenon that is Kendrick Lamar, and commentators frequently exalt the roles of collaborators like Kamasi Washington and Thundercat on

Lamar’s albums. But rarely do they give credit to Sounwave, whose production runs through all four of Kendrick’s diverse studio records.

Producing key tracks on such varied and challenging albums should be enough to earn Sounwave praise, yet the man doesn’t even possess a Wikipedia page!

A listen to ‘King Kunta’, one of the most popular songs on To Pimp a Butterfly, will reveal why this is a travesty. The drum kit fades in, and within seconds you are thrown into a vicious track that addresses the state of rap music, fame and the plight of black people in America. Lamar’s delivery and content is at its most boisterous here, but the cut is one that has instant appeal and never feels too heavy.

It is testament to the production that this song manages to remain both eminently danceable (if that’s not a word it should be), and keep the listener slightly on edge. Combining a groove that could have been plucked straight out of any Funkadelic track with some ethereal synths and a haunting guitar lick, Sounwave makes a track perfect for Lamar’s meditations.

The increasing complexity of subject matter mirrors the music as further elements are added, concluding in an almost overwhelming final 30 seconds.

Another producer known for construc-

tion of densely layered songs is Jack Antonoff, who some might know better from his roles in both Bleachers and fun. After being thrust into the limelight by producing the wildly popular and divisive Taylor Swift single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’, Antonoff’s work deserves some appraisal (and indeed praise). Perhaps the trademarks of his work are the driving, glistening and slightly nostalgic synths that propel tracks forward; which can be heard in his recent collaborations with Lorde, Taylor Swift, and St Vincent. Working with these artists, Antonoff creates complex soundscapes, often packed with surprising elements, but does so in a way that is suitable for mainstream pop.

These songs, like ‘New York’ and

‘The Louvre’, reward close and multiple listenings to deconstruct and discover the layers he and the artists build on a track.

Arguably the work that demonstrates the producer’s aforementioned talents most acutely is Melodrama, the long-awaited sophomore record from Lorde, released this year to widespread critical acclaim. In the podcast Song Exploder (go check it out, it’s great), Lorde describes how naturally and quickly Antonoff was able to interpret her ideas, whilst also leaving his distinctive and indelible marks on the album by including extra details. In the lively and frenetic ‘Sober’, this unique touch takes the form of feedback that provides a backdrop to stimulate rising tension in the pre-chorus.

Similarly, St Vincent explains how Antonoff kept adding layers to the ballad ‘New York’ until it formed a coherent, yet complex whole.

The diversity of these tracks also goes to show that Antonoff is capable of crafting interesting music whatever the tone of the piece.

As for the surprises I mentioned earlier, here’s a little game. Put some headphones on, have a listen to Lorde’s ‘Sober’, and see whether you can spot the tiger’s roar. Good luck.

Far from feeling blue

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Ben Faulkner, Screen Editor, promotes the often undervalued blues genre

LOVED my months away from uni’s conveyor belt of stress over summer, as it gave me time to drag myself away from the books and to finally spend some time with my loved ones: my mum, my dog, and Spotify. My summers are often characterised by the music I was obsessed with at that time, and one of the main things I’ll take away from this summer is my newfound love for blues.

Originating from African American culture in the deep south of the US, blues was initially raw

and acoustic, relying mostly on vocals. There’s fair reason for this: it is acknowledged to have stemmed from slave call-and-response chants, meaning that lots of early blues songs were centred on the harsh realities of African American lives. Blues has certainly come a long way since then, transitioning into electric blues in the 1950s, and seeping into jazz and rock along the way. It’s certainly blossomed, but many of its original petals remain in the identical notes, chord progressions, and emotions that it manages to convey.

I enjoy a wide variety of blues, but my sudden affinity to the genre is down to one very talented band and one very special album: So Long Forever, by Palace. I was always aware of Palace, but my interest in them spiked after seeing them perform at Truck Festival

this summer, where my heart was stolen. Leo Wyndham’s deep vocals brush against their consistently atmospheric, soothing instrumentals seamlessly – it’s a sound of pure tranquillity. Their style is a revelation; gentle indierock infused with heavily-blues influenced riffs and solos. On ‘Veins’, a non-album track, and ‘Blackheath’ in particular (although singling songs out makes me feel like a parent picking a favourite child) the guitar is what stays with you; Leo’s soulful vocals are remarkable, but the guitar is entrancing. Somehow both enchanting and haunting, the guitar manages to convey more emotion than the already heartfelt, often personal lyrics.

Although I strongly believe that Palace stand entirely on their own in the modern blues-rock scene, they were a portal for me into the wide gallery of blues-inspired artists still active in the industry. Another very important artist for me is Beck, whose albums Sea Change and Guero are both superb examples of how blues patterns and tropes can inspire a unique alt-rock sound. The former is packed with softer, moving numbers like ‘The Golden Age’ and ‘Guess I’m Doing Fine’, while the latter gives us an upbeat, irresistibly bouncy style with ‘Go It Alone’ and ‘Que Ondo Guero’. Coming in 2002 and 2005 respectively, it’s compelling to see how blues has evolved and manifested itself in modern rock. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium and Willie J

Healey’s 2017 release People and Their Dogs are also prime examples of great alternative albums heavily influenced by blues.

Of course, we cannot neglect the equally brilliant albums from earlier blues artists, without which the previously mentioned albums would never have existed. B.B. King’s 1967 release Blues is King is a painful record, and his entire portfolio has had a profound impact on music since. Peter Green’s In the Skies is more upbeat, but still displays the remarkable emotional range of the guitar, with typically fluid riffs. Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Snowy White are just three amidst a long list of others that cannot be ignored but I just don’t have the time to talk about. They’re all extremely talented musicians, and – much like most of the artists I’ve mentioned – have a remarkable ability to let the guitar do all the talking (Snowy White’s ‘Midnight Blues’ is a perfect example).

From its origins to its actual musical tones, the blues genre is and always has been a very intimate genre. The distinctive twangy guitar rarely takes a backseat for the vocals; in my favourite blues albums, it takes a life of its own, and manages to convey emotion unlike any other instrument in any other genre. It’s almost as if the suffering and sorrow of African Americans – from which the genre was conceived – has resonated throughout the evolution of blues, and still echoes in the albums that we hear today.

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MUSIC

EDITORS: Alex Brammer and Maddy Parker

Paranoid fan-droid

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Alex Rowntree discusses the best band in the world

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ADIOHEAD, Radiohead, Radiohead.

Where to begin? Formed in 1985 in Oxfordshire, the band have been a cultural mainstay since their 1992 grunge anthem ‘Creep’. With a career spanning nine Grammy-winning albums, three headlining Glastonbury performances, and no less than six ground-breaking commercial, cinematic and technological innovations in the music industry, they’re easily one of the most notorious acts of the last two decades.

It is the seemingly boundless evolution of their musical aesthetic, however, which is why I love them so much. From blitzkrieg style alt-rock to tetchy electronica, diaphanous jazz, folk and grandiose orchestral pieces, their style has influenced everyone from Beyoncé, the xx, and Frank Ocean, to Muse, Coldplay,

and Everything Everything, easily making them the most transcendent band of a generation through sheer diversity alone.

Consider, for example, their bruising sophomore album The Bends (1995). The krautrockinspired album is packed with both fist-pumping rock anthems like ‘Just’ and the titular ‘The Bends’, as well as some of their more meditative, lullaby-style ballads. Anyone who’s seen Clueless, for example, can probably testify that Yorke’s infamous Elton John-inspired ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ lyrics, with their lethargic references to "cracked polystyrene men" and his lost love forcing him to "float through the ceiling", still strike a powerful note.

Meanwhile, the album’s closer, the arpeggiated ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’, remains one of the most haunting and desperately sad songs of a generation, encapsulating a theme of perpetual nightmare and sorrow which has permeated their work since.

The band’s third album, OK Computer, fully cemented their reputation as one of the alltime greats. Tackling themes like alienation, consumerism and paranoia, OK Computer’s gleefully Kafkaesque and distinctly avantgarde feel helped distinguish it from the Britpop spirit of the day; with tracks like ‘Paranoid Android’, ‘Karma Police’ and ‘No Surprises’ overflowing with dense, beautiful instrumentation and an unnerving prescience towards some of the more isolating pressures of post-millennial life.

If OK Computer represented a peak in the alt-rock genre, the band’s formative 2000 album Kid A (as well as its sister album Amnesiac) did not seek to build upon these foundations.

Rather, the record strips back, disassembles and resurrects them entirely in a fusion of Ondes Martenot, rollicking electronica and grandiose brass and string sections. Influenced heavily by the Warp artists Yorke was listening to whilst studying at the University of Exeter (oi oi), this sound would later come to be a recurring mainstay in the band’s discography.

The untrammelled frenzy of ‘Idioteque’, for instance, can be seen in Hail to the Thief’s carnivalesque ‘A Wolf at the Door’ and In Rainbow’s ‘Bodysnatchers’, whilst the Disney-inspired

For your ears only

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27 NOV 2017

Alice Bungard breaks down the Reputation secret sessions in detail

T all started in 2015, with Taylor Swift’s last album, 1989, when she ran a series of exclusive events called the ‘Secret Sessions’.

Fans were invited to her various houses (both in London and several US cities) to listen to the album before it came out, as well as meet her. Throughout September, people had been doing live streams on Instagram and Taylor had been popping up and commenting. On Thursday the 12 October, my best friend Leonie (who I met through being a fan of Taylor), hosted a livestream in which she talked about me - and Taylor started watching. Later that same evening, I got a phone call from New York. I showed my friend Katy and her immediate reaction was “nah mate you’re kidding”, but she saw the name on my phone for herself: Taylor Nation (Taylor’s management team). In this phone call I was invited to a top secret event in London that Friday evening.

It was only at this point that I realised Taylor was bringing back the Secret Sessions. Katy told me that she had been invited too, and we had barely finished processing it (in our cases there was a lot of crying and screaming) when the time finally came for us to head to London.

On Friday morning, we met with Leonie (who had caught a train all the way from Germany) and went to the hotel which was the meeting point. We entered a conference room where we had to sign a legally binding confidentiality

agreement, and give them emergency contact details. At this point, they gave us wristbands that said ‘United Kingdom (in the Reputation font); there were people from thirteen countries in total who had been invited to the session. Almost serendipitously, Taylor’s favourite number is 13, and this event was happening on 13 October. This may seem like a small detail, but it only served to make the whole experience more magical and surreal.

SHE DIVULGED HER INSPIRATIONS AND STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS We then got a bus which took us to a top secret location. Having arrived at a house that can only be described as massive, we were taken inside for a security and confidentiality briefing. I will never forget being led into the most beautiful kitchen where there was every snack you can imagine laid out for us (cookies and M&Ms with ‘REP’ on them, cheese boards, sandwiches, fried chicken, fruit and veggies and various drinks). There were about 100 of us there and Taylor’s parents walked in and embraced all of us individually, really making an effort to talk and interact with everyone. Af-

ter about an hour and a half of mingling with everyone, we were taken into a large homely living room, with cushions and blankets on the floor. After being seated, there was a huge amount of chatter around the room. There was an armchair at the front of the room for Taylor herself, and a few minutes later, she walked in.

Her smile was radiant and her first words to us were “Hey guys, I’m Taylor”. The entire room exploded with excitement as she walked in.

She looked at each of us, greeting those she passed close to and plugged her phone into the speakers.

Taylor then proceeded to play us the entire album, one whole month before its release.

She divulged her inspirations and the stories behind each and every song, chatting and joking with us in between. Reputation is incredibly emotionally complex, lyrically stunning and so different from her previous albums, yet it portrays - in a way that we have never seen before - that Taylor is truly content. This lasted two hours, until finally Taylor went in to the next room. Over the next hour and a half, we were called up in our pairs to meet Taylor.

Walking into the room to meet her was, in a word, surreal. She ran over to Leonie and I and hugged us warmly, which was really special. We got to say to her everything we’d ever wanted to and it was a moment in my life that I will never forget.

malaise of ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ most recently made a stylistic return in the band’s 2016 record A Moon Shaped Pool with tracks like ‘Daydreaming’, ‘The Numbers’ and ‘Glass Eyes’. Even so, the alluring syncrisis of ‘Pyramid Song’, a single from Amnesiac that touches upon themes of cyclical time and resurrection to an intoxicating, waltzy 7/8 beat, remains, in my opinion, their best work.

Radiohead’s knack for juggling both esoteric, intimate melodies with antisocial and anti-establishment anthems is, therefore, exactly what makes their discography so great. When Thom Yorke first embarked upon the project in the 1990s, envisaging a future dominated by technology and total societal alienation, he could never have predicted that Radiohead would be recording songs about the catharsis of an omnibenevolent, comforting force (‘Reckoner’) or falling in love with an intimate friend (‘House of Cards’). And yet, despite such radical shifts in tone and composition, the crux of the band remains unchanged. A consistent and temperamental drive to innovate, emulate and meditate on contemporary society has been a mainstay throughout. We can only hope that, in the age of Brexit and Trump, they can still keep it all going.

REMEMBER THIS? AKIKO YANO Tadaima 1981 I never hear anybody talking about Japanese pop and jazz singer Akiko Yano. I guess it makes sense; she’s fairly popular in Japan but I would be very surprised if we started hearing her on English radio any time soon. And this is something which is undeniably a shame.

Her voice is more adorable and child-like than Kate Bush (or Björk, even), and she has a general musical style that I would have to place somewhere in between Deerhoof, old-school smoky jazz, and the pop tunes found under the recently popular PC Music label. All these elements combined mean that it’s very hard not to be charmed while listening to her. Tadaima (a word that translated means ‘I’m home’ in English) is her fifth album, released in 1981, and it manages to encapsulate all of this in a shortbut-sweet eight tracks. Stand-outs include the title track 'Tadaima' (sweet, phone-dial sampling bop), ‘I Sing’ (which is maybe the most contemporary 80s sounding song on the album), and a piano-based jazz track that clocks in at just under ten minutes. That track is one of the highlights of the album, called ‘Sun’s Fart’. Isn’t that cute?

Ryan Allen

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screen

Injustice league

Graham Moore, Deputy Editor, reviews the latest DC effort JUSTICE LEAGUE Director: Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller 2017, 120 minutes.

THRE ARSAb

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USTICE League is not, strictly speaking, a bad film. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly good either. With the lowest-grossing opening weekend of any DC Extended Universe film, it seems that not only is Justice League simply a mediocre piece of film-making, but also one that failed to generate any real excitement. So, what went wrong?

After Wonder Woman, you would have been excused for thinking that the DCEU had turned a corner. After several films that were at best divisive, we were presented with something that was genuinely good. It had its flaws, but also charm. It broke box office records, received positive feedback from both audience and critics, and – as a first for the DCEU – it caused people to actually give a shit about the characters. The future was bright.

Enter Justice League, the film which should have been met with excitement. There should have been speculation, there should have been hype – there should have been at least a level of pleasant interest. Instead, pre-release

responses ranged from polite disinterest to an uneasy apprehension, with Ben Affleck reconsidering his role as the DCEU’s Batman and director Zack Snyder (understandably) stepping down as director late into Justice League’s production due to bereavement. Directing then fell to Joss Whedon, a move which may been heartening to those who enjoyed 2012’s Avengers Assemble, but less so to those who recalled 2015’s uninspiring Age of Ultron, or Whedon’s questionable Wonder Woman script pitch. The trailers were flashy but lacked substance, and come opening night the film ultimately failed to have gained sufficient traction.

All of this would have been redeemable, of course, had Justice League actually been good. In some ways, it had a tough job to do – several of the characters (Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Ray Fisher’s Cyborg, Ezra Miller’s Flash) required fresh introduction, the eventual ‘Big Bad’ Darkseid needed further development, and Superman needed to be reintegrated. On top of that, the team needed to be justifiably brought together, going from a bunch of largely unknown lon-

ers to a comfortable unit in just two hours of screen time.

The dialogue in general is hit and miss – the light quips from Miller and Momoa jar awkwardly with the bluntly-written grumblings from Cavill and Fisher, whilst Affleck languishes nervously, a Batman stuck in characterisation limbo. Gadot’s Diana Prince, meanwhile, is considerably diminished compared to her solo outing, taking a back seat as the film struggles to establish its fresher faces.

Plot takes a back seat to prioritise excessive CGI. The toning down of Snyderesque slow motion and gloom, whilst an understandable move given responses to Man of Steel and BvS, has resulted in a film that is neither here nor there. A moody atmosphere develops in the first act (set to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’) raises hopes - perhaps, thinks the audience, this film will see Snyder return to his 2009 Watchmen heights. Alas, not.

Justice League’s style is neither here nor there.

All we are left with is excessive (and surprisingly unimpressive) special effects, brief dialogue, and repeated failures to establish any moments which would endear characters to the audi-

ence. Jokes fall flat, plot is lacklustre, and the screen is so damn busy that the viewer’s brain just sort of switches off.

PLOT TAKES A BACK SEAT TO PRIORITISE EXCESSIVE CGI By the film’s climax, the screen is flooded by swarms of gimmicky-looking Parademons whilst an orgy of brightly coloured tendrils sprout from every possible angle; the credits reliably inform you that Ciarán Hinds is somewhere to be seen, but he’s shrouded so completely in effects that he may as well not have been cast at all. Any angry, one-dimensional, overly tall villain will do in the DCEU it seems..

Justice League struggles to quantify not only the power of its villains but also of its heroes – Superman is particularly overpowered, at one point holding out against the entire rest of the League (sorry, the “team”). In fact, as soon as Superman shows up, the final act is pretty much over – there is no tension, no intensity. The film doesn’t so much end as fizzle out.

Yet it is really difficult, as one walks out of the theatre, to actually care. Justice League doesn’t detract from the DCEU – it certainly doesn’t predict doom for the franchise – but it ultimately fails to add anything interesting.

To infinity and beyond Jaimie Hampton explores why people still love Pixar

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HERE is no doubt that Pixar has transformed the animation industry. That opening sequence of the lamp bouncing on a rubber ball until it deflates remains a symbol of my childhood. With its most recent feature film, Coco, breaking box office records in Mexico, Pixar remains to be an institution that continues to change the way we look at animated films. The foundation of Pixar’s award-winning formula are stories that appeal to a core truth about human life. Although seen through the eyes of machines, old toys and rats, the stories resonate with people of all ages.

THEY TACKLE BIG SUBJECTS BUT PRESENT THEM WITH COMPASSION Pixar stories make us care. They tackle big subjects but present them with compassion

and eloquence and are renowned for their underlying messages. Toy Story teaches its audience the importance of cooperation over pride.

Finding Nemo informs us that a good parent can be resrticted by fear and over-control.

Ratatouille reminds us that unlikely dreams can be achieved as “a great artist can come from anywhere.”

This focus on complex characters solving real problems allows for Pixar films to elicit a very strong emotive response.

Every project involves extensive research. If they’re going to tell a story from an unusual perspective, they ensure that the characters they create are scientifically accurate. For Finding Nemo, Professor Adam Summers from the University of California Irvine Ecology and Evolution

taught a graduate-level ichthyology course to the Pixar staff, so that they could incorporate fish muscle movements into the characters to make them more realistic.

Pixar cast those who are most suited to the role, not just those who improve their ratings at the box office.

Although they have used A-list celebrities, such as Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres, they have also used the scratch performances recorded

by Pixar animators, with Andrew Stanton recording the dialogue for ‘Crush’ in Finding Nemo.

Pixar has transformed the way we think about animated children’s films. When asked to be the voice of ‘Woody’, Tom Hanks famously said, “you don’t want me to sing, do you?” Pixar does not rush

from musical number to musical number. They present slower narratives with a wealth of detail that demand repeated viewing. They don’t need songs, or happy villages, or love stories to make their films successful. For instance, WALLE features a metal box as its hero, and a steering wheel as its villain – yet it successfully exhibits a narrative that encourages us to make the world a better place.

Coco, which centres on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, is the first of Pixar’s feature films to celebrate a minority culture. Audiences should feel confident that the story they tell will be handled with care and consideration.

Key creator Andrew Stanton says that “we all want affirmations that our life has meaning and nothing has a greater affirmation than when we connect with stories.”

With the release of Coco in the UK set for January, and the The Incredibles 2 teaser trailer recently hitting the internet, Pixar will continue to reign as the leading animation studio.

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27 NOV 2017

EDITORS: Fenton Christmas and Ben Faulkner

SCREEN

The disaster masters I

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Phoebe Davis, Online Editor, takes the disaster film genre to task

N the summer of 2004, I made my first venture into the world of disaster films with The Day After Tomorrow. From that moment on my world was changed, and not for the better.

The main perpetrator of these crimes against cinema is Roland Emmerich, director of The Day after Tomorrow, Independence Day, Independence Day: Resurgence and 2012. They are all incredibly similar - they have the same plot and same characters – and yet they are all marketed as “full of action” and “exciting” because of the world is ending. Despite the fact these films are vapid and empty, they continue to bring ridiculously high box office figures. For example, Roland Emmerich is the 20th highest grossing director of all time. That means he is above M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Scorsese and even Avengers director Joss Whedon.

THE MAIN PERPETRATOR OF THESE CRIMES AGAINST CINEMA IS ROLAND EMMERICH I am tempted to quit my English degree and write disaster films for the money and, in

all honesty, it seems very easy. Start with an average middle-aged Hollywood actor (probably Nicholas Cage), give him some kids to have father issues with, BUT WAIT THERE: IS A HUGE DISASTER THAT WE ALL SAW COMING - New York gets destroyed, main disaster is happening faster than expected, insert some panicked meetings in rooms with lots of computers, a few stereotypical scientists in lab coats, some awfully written romantic dialogue with the incredibly hot (and always perfectly made-up female), OH WAIT ITS HAPPENING EVEN FASTER THAN EXPECTED (despite previously happening faster than expected, so why are we surprised) - insert Michael Bay explosions, mildly racist cuts to generic shots of generic people in Europe, Asia, and Africa

looking scared, MORE EXPLOSIONS, someone sacrifices themselves for the ‘greater good’, more badly written romantic dialogue, bad dad becomes a good dad, and yay! everything is fine in the world now, and will be until Roland Emmerich wants another Ferrari.

Essentially, the issue is that directors rely on an asteroid, volcano, or flood to be the main point of interest and spectacle in the film, and somehow this gives the film a free pass to produce trashy writing. This has led to some considerable lapses in continuity and on-screen logic. Recent additions to the ‘worst offenders’ roster include Armageddon, in which nobody considers that it might just be far easier to teach astronauts how to drill than teach drillers to be astronauts. In 2012, they justify the events

based on an internet meme about the end of the Mayan calendar.

I AM TEMPTED TO QUIT MY ENGLISH DEGREE AND WRITE DISASTER FILMS FOR THE MONEY As much as I can rant about the lack of plot, character development, or even any semblance of intelligent writing, I know someone will argue that I shouldn’t be taking these films so seriously. Why do I care so much if people spend money to watch an awful film? Because natural disasters actually occur. People are actually affected by climate change, and these people aren’t average Americans - they are primarily people in less economically developed countries. The billions of dollars put into production, or equally the billions of dollars made in their release - Independence Day made $817.4 million worldwide - could be used in disaster aid. So here’s an idea for you, Roland Emmerich: instead of making Independence Day 3, put that money into campaigning for America to decrease their carbon emissions.

Assemble the stars

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Daphne Bugler, Online Features Editor takes a look at the role of the ensemble cast

N a world increasingly dominated by celebrity obsession and culture, star studded films featuring famous and incredibly talented cast members in the masses would be expected to be some of the most successful blockbuster films hitting our screens. As a massive Agatha Christie fan, I was definitely excited by the incredible list of actors in the new adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express - yet despite the extraordinary resumé of cast members it definitely disappointed.

WHAT IS IT THAT DRAWS VIEWERS TO, OR AWAY FROM, A FILM? The acting was impressive, as one would expect from the likes of Johnny Depp and Judi Dench, but the film nowhere near captured the intricacies of the story as the previous adaptations have done. Director Kenneth Branagh poorly constructs the film’s chronology, with clues being found randomly and with such haste that the audience has no time to contemplate the mystery and construct any theories of their own, probably the most enjoyable part of any murder mystery film. Too much time is spent on the opening sequence introducing the mysterious and world renowned detective Hercule Poirot, Branagh’s own character, mean-

ing there is not nearly enough time to develop the back stories of other characters. My own personal disappointment seems to have been shared amongst audiences globally, and the film’s poor reviews led to a minimal box office taking of only $28 million on opening weekend. Clearly a cast of top-billed actors was not enough to carry this film to success.

The poor performance of Murder on the Orient Express, in spite of its extraordinar y casting, leads to the question of what it is that draws viewers to (or away from) a film, if not the actors and celebrities it features. One possibility is the hesitance of viewers to attend a ‘remake’ of a classic and well-loved film. The first cinematic Murder on the Orient Express was released in 1974, with a similarly stellar cast featuring Sean Connery, Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Vanessa Redgrave. It’s success, however, can be attributed to the exceptional

directing of the film, capturing the period and setting of the story perfectly and leading the audience to fully immerse themselves in the mystery. The challenge for the director when remaking a film is not to lose the elements that fans treasure, and to overcome the audience’s fear that the new film will ‘ruin’ the story they regard so highly.

The star-studded casting in the new film may have been an attempt to bring fans in despite these hesitancies, but clearly it was not enough.

Perhaps an unknown cast would have been more successful in this case, intriguing fans as to what these new stars have to offer to the already beloved characters. Using well-known actors allows an audience to evaluate a film before even viewing it, as previous conceptions they may have of the actor could lead them to doubt their ability to play a character.

I WAS DEFINITELY EXCITED BY THE INCREBILE ACTORS IN THE NEW MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS The failure of ensemble casts is something we have witnessed before, most recently with the adaptation of Cloud Atlas in 2012. Featuring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, and Hugh Grant, this film saw major excitement prior to release, but only made a disappointing $9 million on its opening weekend. It would seem that, despite what studios may think, fans are generally not as interested in the actors involved as opposed to the quality of the filmmaking itself. 2015’s Into the Woods starred James Corden, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt, and saw a much more positive reception than most ensemble cast movies. This example was brilliantly filmed and directed in addition to having an exceptional cast, further highlighting that a film needs more than just a few famous names to succeed. Of course the casting is important, but a successful cast is not always one which features the most wellknown stars, and well known actors are no guarantee of success. Individual performances may be excellent, but if poorly put together the casts’ fame cannot save the day.

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EDITORS: Fenton Christmas and Ben Faulkner

The beast behind the beauty

27 NOV 2017

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Fenton’s film of the week

Leo Thorncroft explores the dark side to Disney

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ased and inaccurate” articles. Such articles took a look at Disney’s relationship with the city of Anaheim, the location of Disneyland, where the company employs 23,000 people.

Although the articles were frank about Disney’s tactics to achieve favourable incentives and protections from further taxes, it is worth noting that they did also address the benefits that Disney had brought.

Despite this, however, the LA Times still found themselves banned from the films.

As a result, other publications declared their intention to boycott future films, including writers from the New York Times and The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Society of Film Critics (among others) even announced that they would disqualify any Disney films from award consideration.

The same day, Disney caved and restored the LA Times’ access to screenings.

Despite this happy ending, it is far too easy to call this a win for journalism. Many may forget that Disney owns Marvel and Star Wars, and thus is responsible for three of the biggest film franchises ever. In the wake of so many billions of dollars, it feels as if journalists are holding fewer and fewer of the cards, while Disney has the whole deck. The truth is that these franchises will always make money, regardless of what journalists say or do. Despite these scandals, it is laughable

to think that The Last Jedi may suffer in any way. Fans across the world are clamouring to know what happens to Luke Skywalker or Iron Man, and Disney does not need journalists for that. Instead, it can hold this culture hostage in return for good publicity.

What is particularly terrifying is not only the ban, but the way they were banned from films, a completely different entity to Disneyland. It is not just if you criticise films, but also if you criticise anything.

The LA Times article was getting too close to uncovering an ugly truth about Disney.

Now such a huge employer, Disney is capable of manipulating an entire town. What would happen if Disney threatened to move Disneyland? The political leverage they possess should scare us all. Particularly in an age where, for example, Fox wants to buy the 61 per cent of Sky it doesn’t own. Massive corporations are slowly coming together in huge monolithic blocks, dominating entire cultures. Only the government is standing in the way of this deal, and, as a result, Sky is threatening to close Sky News.

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

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LOVING VINCENT

THE DEATH OF STALIN

MARSHALL

T can be hard growing up. Sometimes it involves finding out that Santa isn’t real, or there’s no stork that delivers babies, or that The Little Mermaid was made by a soulless corporation that cares about profit alone and has designs on world domination.

If you’re a Marvel fan, you might have missed that last bit. Instead, you could have been grinning with excitement when it came out that Disney (who own Marvel Studios) were looking to potentially buy film and TV assets from 20th Century Fox. Currently, many of Marvel’s comic book characters (in particular, The Fantastic Four and the X-Men) have their film rights owned by Fox, and cannot be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Had the deal gone through, new possibilities could have seen these characters interact. Childhood dreams could come true!

Perhaps, though, it is time to remember that Disney makes these films for profit. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, certain cinemas may not screen the next Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, due to Disney’s demand of 65 per cent of the revenue of ticket sales. This is far above the usual 40 per cent for movies that play overseas, according to Slash Film.

Furthermore, Disney recently came under fire for banning the Los Angeles Times from attending film screenings, citing “bi-

DATE - 28/11 DATE - 17-10

TIME - 6:30 & TIME - 6:30 & 9PM

DATE DATE03/12 - 17-10

TIME - 6:30 & TIME - 6:30 & 9PM

CULTURE MUST NEVER BECOME HOMOGENOUS

No Country for Old Men (2007) Ben’s film of the week

Raising Arizona (1987) Foreign film of the week

Culture must never become homogenous, owned by one dominant corporation, with one particular ideology. Simply because it is bought as a result of the ‘free market’ does not mean it is any less authoritarian.

So, yes, it would be great to see Wolverine and Spiderman quip back and forth with Captain America or Iron Man. But if we allow this to happen, we are one step closer to losing all the variation and diversity that makes culture interesting.

DATE- 05/12 - 17-10 DATE

TIME - 6:30 &

TIME - 6:30 & 9PM

Drunken Master (1978) Director of the week

Asif Kapadia

30

study break

| 27 NOV 2017

exhibit

|

31

STUDY BREAK CROSSWORD # 105

SUDOKU # 43

Across

Down

1 / 23 Game involving 11ing for 18 across 24s,

6

er

2

Diet (7)

maybe in 19s and with 21s (8,4)

3

Poisonous (British) snake (4)

Position ( X often 10s it on a 1 map) (4)

4

Above (4)

8

Elderly (4)

5

Ley levee (anagram) - height of

9

Work done beyond regular hours (8)

10 Indicate - regard (4)

6

Ironic - I scar it (anagram) (7)

11 Chase - shadow (6)

7

Force (informal) (5)

13 Doorhandle (4)

12

Christ the ___ Rio de Janeiro

15 River of Devon (you are near it!) (3)

16 Applaud (4)

14 (Sleeping) Chamber (7)

18 Concealed (6)

17 Pungent gas (7)

19 Group (4)

18 Addiction (5)

22 Strange (8)

20 (Old) anaesthetic (5)

23 See 1.

21 Hint (4)

24 Object (4)

25

A dry beer (anagram) - sort of loaf? (3.5)

riddle me this

your viewers? (3.5)

statue (8)

1. WHAT IS BLACK WHEN YOU BUY IT, RED WHEN YOU USE IT, AND GREY WHEN YOU THROW IT AWAY? 2. what is it that when you take away the whole, you still have some left over?

ANSWERS

3. This is as light as a feather, yet nobody can hold it for long.

4. what has a heart but no other organs?

5. i pass before the sun yet make no shadow what am i?

cards, 5. The wind , 6. Or. Riddle Me This: 1. Charcoal 2. Wholesome, 3. Breath, 4. A deck of

6. Which word does not belong in the following list: Stop cop mop chop prop shop or crop?

Clue.

12 Redeemer, 14 Bedroom, 17 Ammonia, 18 Habit, 20 Ether, 21 Down: 2 Regimen, 3 Adder, 4 Upon, 5 Eye level, 6 Satiric, 7 Oomph, Abnormal, 24 Item, 25 Rye bread.

11 Search, 13 Knob, 15 Exe, 16 Clap, 18 Hidden, 19 Team, 22 Across: 1/23 Treasure hunt, 6 Spot, 8 Aged, 9 Overtime, 10 Mark,

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THE LEMON GROVE

33

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS: Luke Smith Leah Crabtree

Vitamin supplements debunked Matt Romang explores the science behind taking vitamins

I

T has long been known that vitamins are good for you; vitamin C cures scurvy, vitamin A and betacarotene (as found in carrots) are famously good for your eyesight, vitamin D absorbs calcium and promotes bone growth and so on.

University students do not often have perfectly balanced diets It is commonly assumed that university students do not often have perfectly balanced diets and that every other student meal is pasta, therefore it makes sense that as students we’d supplement our diets with the vitamins we’re missing from not consuming our 5 a day. With winter coming and vitamins being touted as the cure for everything, many of us will be taking vitamin supplements without fully knowing what impact they may be having on our bodies.

Unfortunately, vitamin supple-

ments may not be all they have been advertised to be with studies finding some pretty alarming side effects of regular taking of vitamin supplements.

Vitamin A, C, and E have all been promoted for their anti-cancer properties as they are anti-oxidants, molecules which counteract the free-radicals in our cells, a major cause of many cancers. However, a study by the US National Cancer Institute in 1994 found that, in a trial of 29,113 smokers, those who were given beta-carotene supplements had an increase in incidence of lung cancer by 16 per cent. A further study in 1996 with heavy smokers found that those who took regular beta-carotene and vitamin A supplements had a 28 per cent increase in lung cancer rates.

Vitamin supplements don’t only have negative effects on smokers, in 2011, a study of 35,533 healthy men who took vitamin E and selenium supplements found their chances of getting prostate cancer increased by 17 per cent.

Similarly, a 2005 review of studies re-

garding vitamin C supplementation over 50 years found that vitamin C has no proven anti-cancer properties, doesn’t cure colds and in high doses increases the risk of kidney stones.

These negative effects are due to vitamin supplements providing your body with the vitamins in excess as on top of a normal diet they are not required and can cause more harm than good. It is far better to get your daily intake of vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables as their anti-oxidative properties are in balance through a combination of vitamins, minerals and other molecules which balance each other out to provide the benefits.

Taking extra vitamins will have a negative impact upon our health The NHS suggests always consulting a nutritionist before taking vitamin supplements to see if they would be beneficial.

They have also listed examples particularly

relevant to a classic university lifestyle. of salt per tablet and are essentially a douThe first is that ‘everyone over the age ble punch to your liver after a heavy night of five should consider taking a daily vita- of drinking, especially if you have been min D supplement, particularly beadvised to watch your salt intake. tween October and March’.

Based on the evidence, This is due to there bevitamin supplements ing less sunlight and don’t deserve their therefore weaker reputation as a UV rays so cure-all for our skin may unbalanced not produce diets in a healthy countries amount of where malvitamin D. nourishThis ment is not is especially a common true for peoissue. Often, ple who do not we consume get outside much, enough vitamins such as those who to avoid developing a may be studying into the deficiency without even rePixabay early hours of the morning.

Photo: Pixabay alising it and taking extra vitamins will The second regards effervescent have a negative impact upon our health. As (fizzy) vitamin supplements or painkillers with everything we consume it is important such as those found in many ‘hangover to strike a healthy balance and vitamin supcuring’ drinks. These contain up to a gram plements simply don’t achieve this.

Any (day)dream will do

W

Ramanujen Nathan explains the benefits of our wandering minds

E all know someone who about fidgeting. simply cannot stop shakStudies done at the University of ing their legs in a lecture or Waterloo showed strong ties between twisting a pen in between their fingers. the behaviour of the mind and the Well, I am that someone, and I am de- body. Mind-wandering has two forms: scribed as a ‘fidgeter’: but I am not the ‘deliberate body movements’ and ‘spononly one. taneous movement behaviour’.

The wandering of the Mind-wandering can mind is inextricably either be a decision linked to the moveto purposefully ment of the direct our conbody. Over the scious train of years this has thought away been interfrom a task preted in the at hand (parcontext of atticularly if it tention lapses is not suffiand mindciently stimuwandering. lating); or, it If you were can be a spontaconcentrating to neous capture of prevent mind-wanattention to a train of dering then the movethought completely unrePixabay ment of your body would be lated to our present experience. similarly concentrated. In contrast, if It was discussed that deliberate you were to let your mind wander, your mind-wandering is analogous to daybody would likely be spontaneous and dreaming and is therefore more like less controlled. So, when we talk about paying attention than we might typically mind-wandering, we are also talking think as it represents an intentional shift

of a thought we might have to another, unrelated thought.

‘Deliberate body movements’ are actions undertaken to get specific tasks done, such as hand movements necessary for writing. It was first suggested that fidgeting behaviour increases only when one experi––ences greater unintentional mind-wandering. However, fidgeting has recently been placed in the category of ‘deliberate body movements’, suggesting its link with attention is due to the inability of physical discomfort to enter our consciousness when attention is focused on other concerns. Fidgeting reflects a release from the constraint of apperception previously imposed by attention, and fidgeting movements are directed toward alleviating discomfort such as boredom.

The poet Joseph Brodsky described mind-wandering as a “psychological Sahara that starts in your bedroom and spurns the horizon”: everything around you comes to a halt and your stream of consciousness slows to a drip. Furthermore, it can be an essential tool of creativity. “Boredom is your window.

Once it’s opened don’t try to shut it; on

the contrary, throw it wide open,” he declared. And he was right. The secret does not lie in boredom, rather how boredom invokes thought, bringing us back to the idea of deliberate thinking.

When we are fully immersed in the monotony of our everyday lives, we engage in the sacred art of mind-wandering. In this day and age of efficiency, mind-wandering has been ridiculed as a lazy habit, a sign of procrastination and not that of productivity. I am sure you have been told many times by your parents and teachers to “stop daydreaming and do your homework”.

Mind-wandering has been ridiculed as a lazy habit In recent years, Havard psychologists did a study and found that people engaged in mind-wandering 46.9 per cent of the time. The only activity they were focused on, when their minds were not wandering, was love making. They were able to focus for that. Freud ascribed to the meaning of fidgeting to be related to sexual problems. But even he

went on to say that not everything was about sex and once commented that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” (he was a frequent cigar smoker). So, if you start fidgeting, you might just be thinking about sex, or not.

The point is that it is not enough to simply just daydream. It is easy for our minds to wander but we have to maintain a semblance of meta-awareness.

This means ‘thinking about thinking’.

So, if you are in the shower or on the train and happen to have a ‘eureka!’ moment, you are able to make note of it so your breakthrough is not wasted. It is a talent we need to develop. Therefore, less completely zoning out and more self-awareness means you would be able to better focus on the task at hand.

In conclusion, a wandering mind could be an invaluable weapon in your cognitive arsenal. So, if anyone tells you to stop building sandcastles in the air… *insert long pause for dramatic effect* ... let those creative juices flow and tap your feet away. A word of caution though: you are only in charge if you take charge of your thoughts. And yes, I was daydreaming the whole time.

34

SCIENCE

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Baa-rilliant facial recognition

A

CCORDING to new research from scientists at the University of Cambridge, sheep can be trained to recognise human faces from photographs.

Eight female Welsh Mountain sheep aged seven to eight years were trained on mugshots of Emma Watson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Barack Obama, and Fiona Bruce.

During training, each animal was shown two faces, one of which was a picture of the target celebrity, and the other one either remained blank, displayed an object, or showed a face of an unfamiliar person.

If the sheep approached the correct image, it was rewarded with food. If it chose the wrong photograph, a buzzer would sound, and the animal would remain unrewarded.

Sheep correctly chose the learned celebrity face eight times out of ten Over time, sheep learnt to associate food rewards with target images. After training, in the real study the sheep were shown two images: the celebrity’s face and an unfamiliar face. In this test, sheep

Anastasiia Kovalenko reveals the science behind a sheepish look

correctly chose the learned celebrity face eight times out of ten.

Then, to test how well sheep recognised the faces, the researchers showed them the same celebrities from different angles. During this task, the sheep’s performance dropped, but only by about 15 per cent which is still comparable to that seen when humans perform the task.

Professor Jenny Morton, the lead scientist in the study, said it showed that sheep have “advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and monkeys”.

In the animal world, the ability to recognize same-species faces has been shown in many animals, such as dogs, monkeys, goats, pigeons, bees and horses. Horses, dogs and sheep can also distinguish faces of individuals from other species.

In the current study, researchers also looked at whether sheep were able to recognise a handler from a photograph without pre-training. “Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that

they are intelligent, individual animals who are able to recognise their handlers,” says Professor Jenny Morton. The handlers typically spent ten hours a week with the sheep. The study revealed that the animals chose the handler’s photograph

over the unfamiliar face seven out of ten times. What's interesting about this part of the study is that the sheep demonstrated unusual behaviour: they checked first the unfamiliar face, then the handler’s

image, and then the unfamiliar face again before making a decision to choose the handler's photograph. Professor Morton interprets the sheep's decisions as "I don’t recognize this photograph, therefore the other one will be familiar". And when the alternative image also turns out to be novel, the sheep checks the unfamiliar face again, compares it to the novel image of the familiar person, and then makes her decision to choose the familiar person (i.e. the handler's photograph).

But why would they study sheep? Facial recognition involves several parts of the brain, and sheep with their large brains and long lives are a good model for studying such human brain problems as Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, as well as psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. The ability to recognise faces is one of the most important human social skills. We can easily identify familiar and unfamiliar faces from repeatedly presented pictures. However, some

of the above-mentioned diseases limit the ability to recognise an unfamiliar face, even after it has been presented several times. Huntington’s Disease (HD) affects nearly seven thousand people in Britain.

Some of the earliest symptoms are mood and personality changes, but over time, memory, movement, mental health and speech are affected. There is no known cure for the disease. To shed more light on this topic, the team has now begun studying sheep genetically modified to carry the mutation that causes Huntington’s disease.

Sheep with their large brains make a good model for studying human brain problems “We can give the sheep new treatments and use our tasks to measure how well they perform over time. We can see how quickly they learn and what they learn,” says Professor Morton. “If a treatment works you would expect to see no difference between a normal sheep and a Huntington’s sheep having the treatment.”

Bewildering Bitcoin?

I

MAGINE for a second, a world where you never hear the metal ding of a dropped coin, never need to pull out your wallet for cash, or in fact ever see a bank again on the high street.

What if I told you that your student loan could come from simply running a program on your computer? No, it doesn’t sound too good to be true, it’s simply the silent ‘ka-ching’ of the bitcoin network that is taking over the world’s financial market.

Bitcoin storage is decentralised - stored all over the world in different people's computers Fanciful ideas aside, what actually is bitcoin? Well it is a financial system, a type of cryptocurrency, that is governed entirely by everyone involved in it at the same time. There is central governing body, and in a way it’s very similar to the way collegiate universities work, where there is no single main campus such as the Forum in Exeter, but rather it’s made

Gabriel Yeap muses on the place of Bitcoin in the modern world up of random individuals that are involved in the network. The money itself is locked behind an encryption code very similar to the way WhatsApp encrypts your inappropriate texts to your best friend. When Bitcoin was created, the software running it caps the maximum number of bitcoins that will ever exist at 21 million. To unlock the cash, you need vast amounts of computing power in your garage. Every ten minutes, the fastest computer within the network to solve the encryption gains a secret digital key which you can use to prove that a certain amount of cash is yours, giving you access to the cash. This process is called mining. However, only 21 million bitcoins can be mined in its entirety. That’s the short version of how bitcoin works in a binary nutshell.

There are a couple of advantages and disadvantages to the way it works. Firstly, because the number of bitcoins is capped

at 21 million, the inflation of bitcoin itself is capped. What’s also cool about it is that you

can pay with bitcoin. The way this works is by telling the network that ownership has been

transferred, using the same digital key to prove your identity, but there is a catch.

You know how you sign up on those beauty or gaming websites, never to use them again until ten years later, after puberty ended, and you’re trying to remember the silly password you made up as a joke back then? Well you can’t in the case of bitcoin.

The digital key cannot be reset if it’s lost, but anyone who discovers the key will gain total control over that sum of cash.

This means that there is lasting record of bitcoin ownership as it transfers from one person to the next after it is mined, and this is called the ‘block chain’.

Remember also that bitcoin storage is decentralised stored all over the world in different people’s computers. This means that it is very resistant to censorship, making it a haven for cybercrime and drug trading, enabling international payments to off-

grid accounts. In a conventional bank, the bank can intervene at any time to freeze assets as it deems necessary, which is not possible in Bitcoin.

Not all of this flows smoothly though. Bitcoin has many disadvantages, its main one being that transactions can take anywhere from ten minutes to days for it to occur, meaning you could buy Macy-Ds, and then spend the exact same bitcoin on KFC, having only one transaction go through at the end of the day.

This is why Bitcoin isn’t viable for companies in the current market. Bitcoin also wastes an incredible amount of energy.

When mining, only one computer gets the bitcoin every ten minutes, and all the other computers have to start all over again. It is estimated that mining consumes as much electricity as Japan itself each day.

There is a lot more to the bitcoin story that meets the eye, some speculate that it’s just a financial bubble that will come crashing down soon enough, and others believe it to be the currency of the future.

Maybe we won’t know for sure, but if we wait for just a ‘bit’ longer, our computers could become tools of a worldwide bank someday.

SCIENCE

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Something more than skin deep

35

Jack Warren looks at how genetically modified skin could change lives

S

KIN as delicate as a butterfly’s wing - this is how patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) are often described. The condition causes skin to blister and tear painfully in response to the lightest touch - even the touch of light clothing can be enough.

EB is a genetic condition that occurs due to an absence of a protein that holds the different layers of the skin together. It can be a life-limiting disease, with over 40 per cent of patients not surviving to their teen years. This can be due to infection, as the body is covered in open wounds, or the increased risk of skin cancers.

But an incredible case from Germany is providing hope to the estimated 500,000 sufferers of the disease across the world.

Even the touch of light clothing can give EB sufferes blisters A 7 year-old boy has just received the world’s first genetically modified skin graft to treat his condition.

Hassan has particularly severe form of EB, and many treatments have been

tried, and unfortunately been unsuccessful, over the years. These included getting a skin graft from his father - which his immune system rejected - as well as constant maintenance with burns dressings, antibiotics and ointments.

In 2015, when the treatment took place, over 60 per cent of his body was covered in open wounds.

When researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia were given permission from his parents to perform the experimental treatment, they gave Hassan a 50 per cent chance of success.

As EB is caused by a fault in a gene called LAMB3, they had to introduce a working copy of the gene into Hassan’s skin cells. This was done by adding the working LAMB3 gene into a modified virus (so that it wouldn’t cause any disease itself).

Viruses are incredible at passing into cells and delivering their genes to tar-

get cells, so using them in gene therapy allows us to harness this

abili t y, which has evolved over millions of years.

Somewhat conveniently, there are viruses capable of infecting all known species of

life, giving us a tool already designed to alter specific traits.

In recent years, we have developed effective ways of editing viruses to add in genes that we want to use, and remove some of their genes which are known to cause disease.

There are other forms of gene therapy, such as CRISPR, which are all exciting potential treatments for a whole range of diseases, including HIV and cancers.

The specific technique used to treat Hassan’s EB could be life-changing for many people, such as those with severe burn wounds or victims of acid attacks. At the moment, they have similar risks as patients with EB - especially the high risk of infection, pain and disfigurement.

But by grafting large amounts of their own skin back onto their bodies, these symptoms could be alleviated.

Not only does this vastly improve

their quality (and potentially length) of life, but it could also reduce the long term costs of treating them in the current way, as antibiotics and specialist dressings are not cheap.

The virus altered skin could even help people with severe burn wounds and victims of acid attacks Two years on from Hassan’s three operations, he has been given a new lease of life. The new skin, which covers 80 per cent of his body, shows no signs of blistering, so much so that he is now able to play football with his friends for the first time. This is just the first case of such a treatment, so now clinical trials are beginning to see how it work with other forms of EB. Although it isn’t a currently available therapy, it shows a huge advance in the technologies and research behind gene therapy, and provides hope for many patients who may benefit from it in the future.

Vive la résistance

A

Sophie Carr answers your questions about antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria

NTIBIOTICS are drugs used to treat infections, and work by killing bacteria. GPs reportedly prescribe about 90 per cent of all antibiotics used in the UK. A recent study has shown that 76 per cent of GPs prescribe antibiotics without being completely sure if a patient needs them, and 44 per cent of GPs admitted to prescribing antibiotics to patients despite knowing that the drug would have no effect.

Antibiotic resistance can threaten all of the procedures that scientists have worked so hard to Why would a GP prescribe antibiotics if a patient doesn’t need them?

It may sound mad that a doctor would knowingly give a patient treatment that won’t benefit them. If a doctor was unsure as to whether antibiotic treatment is appropriate, tests should be performed.

However, it’s often common that a GP will prescribe antibiotics just-in-case an infection is bacterial, as test results take

time to come back. To patients with clear viral infections like the flu, a doctor will ideally explain why antibiotics aren’t necessary in their case, and the patient will accept this information and move on.

Unfortunately, some patients will argue with their doctor until they get antibiotics. In fact, 55 per cent of 1000 GPs asked claimed they have felt pressurised by patients to prescribe antibiotics. Some patients feel like their appointment was a waste of time if they leave without treatment, leading them to put pressure on their doctor to give them a prescription.

Others have different beliefs about what’s causing their symptoms or just can’t comprehend that antibiotics won’t make them feel better.

What can a GP do if a patient pressures them to prescribe antibiotics?

They can outright refuse to prescribe them, but this will no doubt anger patients who are forwhatever-reason desperate for antibiotics, possibly putting them off visiting the doctor in the future. They can

try and educate the patient further on why they don’t need antibiotics, but with ten minutes scheduled per consultation there is only so much explaining that can be done. So occasionally GPs will give in and prescribe antibiotics despite knowing they won’t work.

So how does this lead to resistance?

Every time you give someone antibiotics you are giving bacteria in their body a chance to work out how the drug works.

Overprescribing antibiotics (to

people who don’t need it or who could get better without them) increases this risk. Like humans, bacteria have different genetic mutations to each other and some bacteria have genes that allow them to survive when facing certain antibiotics. When exposed to the antibiotic, the bacteria will

survive, reproduce and pass on their survival or ‘resistant’ gene to other bacteria.

Soon enough you’ll have a huge population of bacteria that aren’t affected by the antibiotic that was once commonly prescribed to destroy it and make a patient better.

What does resistance mean for society?

Antibiotic resistance is really scary.

Think about how far medicine has come in the past hundreds of years – we can now perform organ transplants, joint replacements and cure some people of cancer. Antibiotic resistance can threaten all of the wonderful, life-improving procedures that scientists worked so hard to develop. Is there any point in giving someone a heart transplant if they’re probably going to die from an infection whilst recovering? People are and will continue to die unnecessarily from infections that were once easily curable.

We have a finite number of antibiotics around that we can use, and as resistance grows we are running out treatment options. If you’re unlucky enough to be infected with MRSA, there’s currently only one antibiotic that could treat

you, and there are already reporting’s that some bacteria are developing resistance to that.

Unnecessary prescptions give bacteria another chance to figure out how they work What can we do to prevent antibiotic resistance?

We need to stop over prescribing antibiotics to patients who don’t need them.

Perhaps some of our GPs need to be a bit tougher with antibiotic demanding patients. Developing new antibiotics would also help as having new drugs that bacteria aren’t resistant to would save lives whilst scientists could think of a longerterm solution to resistance.

What can YOU do?

Trust your GP! Don’t pressure them into giving you antibiotics, they’d suggest them if they thought they were needed.

If you do require antibiotics follow your prescription carefully – take the right dose for as long as you are meant to.

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38

SPORT

Kor blimey...

INTRAMURAL George Pitchford Intramural Sport Columnist

S

IX weeks in, and the intramural season now turns towards its Term 1 conclusion. Promotion spots are hotly contested whilst some teams may need a great escape to avoid the label of "the team that got relegated".

Only six games remain for Friday teams in the fight for the hypothetical silverware.

After a brilliant start, Goalois Theory have gone slightly stale and currently occupy 4th place in a League 2, which has no less than six teams still within a reasonable shot of promotion.

I had hoped to forget about the last couple of weeks of football, but thanks to this column -- and an annoyingly helpful "Recent Form" tab on the league site -- I am in a great position to report our recent collapse in the league.

November has seen our results go colder than the bottom floor of my student house, going six games without a win.

A goalless draw against bottom of the table Bayern Mewsnich set the ball rolling, and the blame for this one has to be attributed to two players who had begun their Friday night out before even arriving to football that evening.

The disappointment was cemented by a further two consecutive draws, both of which can be summed up by an onlooker’s remark "they can’t even finish their dinner’".

He won’t appreciate the mention, but Captain Owen is building a reputation for being clean through on goal only to sky the ball over the back fence.

Only six games remain for Friday teams It is mostly good fortune that has been behind our goals recently, and this was the case with Phil’s equaliser against league leaders Bannnar-Traer FC. With our team throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition, amidst a flurry of chances came the worst goal I’ve seen on a football pitch. With every member of the opposition tightly marked, the goalkeeper opted for the "hit and hope" mechanism. Phil, merely marking the open space outside the box, had no idea what was going on as the ball wildly rebounded off his heel into the back of the net - a slice of fortune that we desperately needed.

Lady Luck was again at our disposal last Friday. After being forced to draft in some extra players, we were heading towards another 0-0 stalemate. Just as our last attack was beginning to look dangerous, players on the side screamed "FULL TIME!". Frustrated, I lashed the ball forwards with little intent - but it rocketed into the top right corner, marking arguably my best ever contribution on a football pitch.

It was deemed so good it was allowed to stand – kudos to the other team who probably deserved the 0-0 draw. With games against the strongest and weakest sides left in the league, the scrappy Friday evening games look set to carry their greatest weight so far.

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Dorothea Christmann, Sport Editor, talks to Korfball captain Joanne Davies

ORFBALL is one of the most popular new sports taking the UK by storm; an exciting mix of netball, basketball and handball,.

I sat down with EUKC team captain Joanne Davies to find out more.

Having only heard of korfball because some friends of mine attended a taster session in Freshers' Week, my first question was a given – what actually is korfball?

“Each team is made up of four male and four female players who compete to get the ball into a goal, or 'korf'”. The korf looks exactly like a netball net except it isn’t at the back of the court, so you can score from both in front and behind the net."

Each team has four female and four male players Mixed teams are something Davies embraces. “It is very equal – boys and girls have the same opportunity to shoot, score, assist. This is because there is one defending half and one

attacking half, and every two goals you switch, so each player gets to play every position."

Davies wasn't a total stranger to Korfball when she arrived at Exeter.

Having attended her first training session aged 16 along with her sister, who already played the sport, by the time Davies came to university she fully embraced it. “The club seemed like a really chilled place to play sport and try something new.”

Over the years Davies has also been involved in many other sports such as rowing, kayaking, hockey and ballet. She was also netball captain at school for 5 years – a clear sign that sporting ability is in her blood. Whilst she did join Ultimate Frisbee at university this year too, “korfball captaincy takes a lot of time”.

Holding the role of club captain as a second year is quite unusual, however Davies received the role partly because no-one else appeared confident enough to take it on. Now captain, Davies wants to “expand the club, having more people stay on and also decrease the prices of transport”, with

the latter already achieved by finding more drivers.

Davies is keenly anticipating the end of season dinner, where, as club captain, she gets to give out awards.

This means a lot to her because she “has the opportunity to look back on the past season and reflect on what everyone has achieved, including those who perhaps have never played korfball before”.

The club is a chilled place to hang out

JOANNE DAVIES, CAPTAIN

Whilst September sign-ups didn’t vastly increase the club's membership, the number of people who have stuck with and carried on playing for EUKC has increased enormously, and Joanne remarks that she is “very pleased about that - I’ve even had to add extra sessions”.

The club has two teams entered into BUCS this year, and Davies is hoping they will match the success of

recent years, where the second team have finished 2nd in the National Plate competition for the last 3 years.

With her sister currently playing for the Wales national squad, Davies hopes to continue playing after graduating, and potentionally following the familial path to play professionally, too.

Before then, there's the matter of completing a degree whilst completing all the responsibilities involved with being club captain. Davies thinks that achieving a good balance is manageable, but this term has been "manic" for her with of all the chaos at the beginning of the year with sign-ups and administering new members.

However, she reiterates that playing Korfball has been such an amazing stress relief for her because “it makes you concentrate on things that aren’t coursework or upcoming exams and you get to hang out with your friends”.

It's a fast-paced game that isn't your typical team sport, as well as accessible for all - beginner or athlete, male or female. If you're still looking for something to join, get involved!

2s through to quarters Men’s Football Exeter 2s....................................1 Bournemouth 3s........................0 Josh Brown Sport Team

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HE Exeter men's football 2s side overcame difficult conditions at Duckes Meadow on Wednesday 24 November to beat Bournemouth 3s 1-0 in the Western Conference Cup. The wind, rain, and mud all combined to aid Bournemouth - whose 3s play in the same league as the Exeter 4s - producing an encounter in which the visitors were able to prevent Exeter’s superiority translating into goals. In the end, only a fine goal from Ryan Eardley separated the two sides.

Wind, rain, and mud combined to aid Bournemouth Exeter started the game brightly, with Eardley proving especially dangerous in the opening minutes of the game, flashing a cross across the face of goal after just three minutes, but nobody in green was there to take

advantage. Eardley was then on hand again a minute later, with his physicality proving too much for the visitors’ left-back, and his subsequent cross fell kindly at the feet of Fabian Schweinzer, who was disappointed not to trouble the goalkeeper with his shot from close range.

The 2s were not to be denied, however, and this time Eardley did it all himself – taking a ball down, beating his man and smashing home with a fantastic finish low to the Bournemouth keeper’s right. Exeter goalkeeper Chris Koscien was then called into action for the first time on 13 minutes, but made a comfortable save from a long-range free-kick.

Exeter were presented with a trio of chances before half-time, first as the Bournemouth defence opened up for Schweinzer - with the Austrian only able to hit the post - before a dangerous free-kick from Exeter rebounded inside the Bournemouth penalty area, only to fall at the feet of Chris Kuba, whose instinctive effort from close range was blasted high and wide. A fluid passing move involving Morgan Vallejo and Schweinzer culminated in a chance for Ryan Sherreard, but the striker’s effort was wayward. On the brink of halftime, the referee waved away claims for

what looked like a stonewall penalty for the 2s after an incident inside the box that prevented a goalscoring opportunity.

Exeter were comfortable winners The second half was a case of Exeter failing to convert good offensive opportunities into clear-cut chances, with the difficult conditions certainly contributing to the home side's struggles. The 2s were dominant in the midfield, and space opened up down both flanks, but a combination of poor decision-making and good defending from Bournemouth ultimately meant the men in green couldn’t add to their tally.

It wasn’t for want of trying, though – substitute Bradley Silva hit the post while Joe Hooten saw his shot saved by the busy Bournemouth goalkeeper.

Even after one of the visitors’ centrebacks was shown a second yellow card for a deliberate handball, Bournemouth remained resilient despite offering little going forward. Ultimately, their lack of attacking threat meant Exeter were more comfortable winners than the scoreline might suggest. The victory sees the 2s face Southampton Solent 1s in the quarter-finals in February 2018.

BUCS Roundup:

Women's Table Tennis 1s......4 Bournemouth 1s....................1 Men's Hockey 1s....................5 Reading 1s.............................0 Women's Football 1s..............8 Sussex 1s...............................0 Men's Football 1s...................5 Reading 1s.............................0 Women's Hockey 1s...............4 Cambridge 1s.........................0 Men's Tennis 2s......................7 Bath 3s...................................6 Women's Tennis 1s................8 Stirling 1s...............................4 Men's Squash 1s ...................5 Bournemouth 2s....................0 Women's Rugby 2s...............62 Winchester 1s.......................15 Men's Volleyball 2s.................3 Winchester 1s.........................0

Varsity proves a knockout

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Billy Chivers reports on all the action from the ringside Omar Ismail v C. Callanan

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HE first fight of the night had the crowd buzzing with excitement, and hoping for a positive result for EUBC boxer Ismail.

Much to their delight, Ismail delivered a fine display of agile boxing. The first round began with Callanan flying at the Ismail, forcing him back against the ropes. Callanan produced a solid string of body shots and jabs without causing any real damage, and Ismail's

Qais Al-Alem vs L. Whelan

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N the next fight there was something of a change from the first bout. From the opening round, Al-Alem was clearly in a close match-up with his opponent.

Both fighters managed to land a few clean punches, but most of the early stages saw each boxer standing off the other, wary of committing an offensive move and getting caught.

When they did come together, it was a cagey affair, often ending in the clinch. Al-

Alem found himself up against the ropes on a couple of occasions, blocking well and staving off the attack with his own counter-punching.

Al-Alem found himself against the ropes on a couple of occasions The second round continued in a similar fashion, but Whelan managed to land a heavy punch with Al-Alem once again pinned against

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HE third fight of the evening began tensely as both boxers sized each other up whilst refusing to commit to an attack. Aktar landed the only notable blow in the first round, gaining confidence towards the bell.

The second round opened with a combo from Aktar, with both fighters beginning to engage a bit more. However,

F

OLLOWING the intemission, LeeTassell began EUBC's fourth fight of the Varsity with a good body shot, before following this up with quick feet to avoid his powerful opponent.

Cooper managed to dominate on the attack. Although Lee-Tassell avoided most of the damage his oppoenet threw his way - particularly on the ropes, where his blocking and dodging was impressive - Cooper's left-hand

jab put the Exeter man on the defensive, forcing him to fight on the back foot.

Although Cooper found it difficult to land clean punches, his aggressive persistence paid off Although Cooper found it difficult to land clean and score points, his aggressive

By the the third round, with both fighters exchanging blows, Omar’s fitness gave him the edge in attack. Ending the fight with an aggressive flurry, Ismail got EUBC off to the perfect start as he took the fight on a unanimous points decision.

Aktar’s edge in fitness showed, displaying much more movement than Moore as he energetically ducked and circled his opponent.

Controlling the ring from a low guard position, Aktar landed a good counter-punch as the round drew to a close.

The final round saw a step up in intensity, with Moore coming out firing. Clearly aware he hadn't done enough to take the fight on points, Moore looked to blast Aktar with a series of powerful combinations, but the Exeter

man managed to avoid any serious damage.

Following Moore's aggressive start, Aktar continued to dictate the pace and rhythm in the final round. With both corners shouting their men on, Aktar went toe-to-toe with Moore as both boxers looked to unload a knockout blow.

This slugfest continued into the last 10 seconds, where the bell sounded and a unanimous points decision went Aktar's way to give EUBC their second win on the night.

persistence paid off, as he landed a good backhand at the end of the second-round.

In the final round, Shaun struggled to land as many clean punches as his opponent, getting caught on the counter early on.

Despite this, he was never really rocked

by Cooper, and managed to put together a few combinations of his own. The rest of the third continued much as before, with Shaun’s evasive work top-notch, but Cooper’s continued striking meaning he won the fight.

Zain Ul-abiddin v T. Rogers

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Ismail delivered a fantastic display of agile boxing

the ropes, doing enough to take the round.

In the third Whelan gained confidence, landing some good shots as he grew into the fight, drawing blood from the EUBC man.

Al-Alem was still well in the fight, however, landing an impressive combination to get the crowd roaring behind him, and it appeared in the balance as the bout drew to a close.

Despite some smart work on the counter, Al-Alem didn't do quite enough to convince the judges, with Whelan victorious in an evenly matched fight.

Ibi Aktar v P. Moore

Shaun Lee-Tassell v D. Cooper

footwork saw him come back strongly, throwing a number of jabs to halt his opponent's early momentum.

Where the first had been an evenly matched affair, the second round marked a shift in the fight. Following a powerful straight fight early on, Ismail gained confidence to follow up with some more attempted combinations.

Whilst Ismail struggled to find his range to deliver a decisive, clean blow, he was the fitter of the two fighters, dancing around the ring and managing to continue his attack.

HE final fight of the evening was the keenly anticipated clash of the super-heavyweights, and the main event of the evening.

With Ul-abiddin left waiting in the ring

by Rogers for several minuutes, the tension among the crowd grew. When Rogers finally appeared, he was clearly well up for the fight, but the delay may have contributed to what followed.

It started with both fighters throwing powerful blows at eacch other in the close quarters.

With Rogers drivng Ul-abiddin into the corner, the visiting man unloaded a vicious flurry, catching the Exeter fighter cleanly.

After the referee broke the clinch, Rogers was immediately back on the offensive, delivering a devastating body blow in the opposite corner of the ring to put Ul-abiddin on the canvas.

Clearly rocked but able to continue, Ulabiddin answered the calls of the crowd to bat-

tle on, and he looked to last the round.

With the round drawing to a close, Rogers sensed the advantage and once again looked to his overhand-right to break through Ulabiddin's defence. Despite this, the Exeter man landed a few counter blows, but under enormous pressure from the hard-hitting Rogers the referee triggered a standing eight count.

The referee waved the fight early for a TKO in favour of Rogers, to the clear disappointment of Ul-abiddin, the early punch ultimately proving decisive in the fight.

Sport

27 NOV 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

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SPORT EDITORS:

Dorothea Christmann Wil Jones Photo: Wil Jones

Up for the Cup Women’s Netball Exeter 1s....................................53 Brighton 1s................................38 Wil Jones Sport Editor

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XETER women’s netball 1s triumphed over a determined Brighton 1s in the first round of the BUCS Netball Trophy on Wednesday 22 November, securing their passage to the next round with an impressive display Exeter, currently unbeaten at the top of the Western 1A league, carried their league form into the knockout competition. A quick start by the 1s saw Hannah Blackman net

twice to get the 1s off the mark.

Brighton responded, and - in what would become a familiar play - looked to find their goal shooter at every opportunity. It proved an effective strategy, with the visitors landing points from a range of difficult angles.

Despite this, Exeter kept their noses in front during a frenetic opening quarter, with Mia Broomhall, Kat Arthur, and Maddie Keywood coming to the fore. Their interplay when in possession led to a host of chances which Blackman converted, and with the Exeter defence forcing the visitors to look for long, hopeful passes up the court, the 1s ended the first quarter lead-

ing 16-8.

The second quarter began in similarly relentless fashion, and the hosts’ fitness started to prove the difference between the two sides.

One particularly flowing move that began with Izzy Stibbs saw the ball moved swiftly and accurately through the hands before Arthur netted, and with Brighton beginning to tire, Exeter’s dominance on the ball increased, giving them a 32-14 lead by the second quarter.

Evidently sensing the game was getting away from them, Brighton put up more of a fight in the third.

Betsy Creak replaced Blackman for Exeter and, despite the visitors still proving clinical when presented

with shooting opportunities, the 1s maintained their proficiency at the net to maintain a comfortable margin. In what was the most equal period of the game, Brighton pulled themselves back to into contention for the final, with the score 41-27.

We’re looking forward to the next round

CHRISTINA SHAW, CAPTAIN

Once again, however, Exeter’s greater composure on the ball proved the difference in attack, and their defensive discipline cut out Brighton’s long passes forward.

Two big interceptions drew thuderous cheers from the sidelines the first by replacement Alice Evans, the second by centre Keywood, who covered the whole court admirably even as the game drew to a close and Brighton failed to exert enough momentum to salvage an improbable recovery. Exeter passed the 50 point margin, and that cemented the victory and the 1s’ passage to the next round away to Chichester 1s in February 2018.

Captain Christina Shaw was happy with the “really promisng” win. “[I’m] glad we were able to get all of the squad on court, [and we’re] looking forward to the next round against Chichester 1s!”

For live scores and in-depth reports, follow us on Twitter @exeposesport CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

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SCIENCE

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15 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

From heatwaves to hurricanes Ayesha Tandon, Online Science Editor, goes through the evidence for climate change

HAT is ‘climate change’?

Fact or fiction? Emergency or exaggeration? And can it really be responsible for the weird weather that we’ve seen over the past year?

Climate change is a large-scale, longterm shift in the planet's weather patterns, including rainfall, sea level, and average temperature. In scientific circles, the fact that human activity is affecting the climate is undisputed; 97 per cent of scientists who have published papers on climate change believe not only that the planet is heating up, but that this warming is most likely due to human activity. Sadly though, there are those who disagree… cue Donald Trump (well, I had to mention him at some point!). Any of Trump’s tweets about climate change would do well to prove my point here, but for now let’s just look at his most recent one…

"In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year's Eve on record. Perhaps

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MUST have been around the tender age of four or five years old when I first visited the Natural History Museum and came face to face with the terrifying beast that is the T. Rex, towering above me at four metres high. One might think a child that young would have started crying, or perhaps start running away from it as fast as they could, but I was quite different. Apparently, I stood staring at it for over an hour, totally captivated by the awesomeness that such an animal had once existed and had roamed the furthest corners of our beloved planet earth.

This is exactly what natural history museums set out to do: they attempt to inspire us with awe and wonder at the beauty and raw wild spirit that the natural world represents. Their museum collections and specimens are increasingly involved with world-changing science, as they begin to yield their age-old secrets about origins and behaviours that were once impossible to decipher, but are now possible with the rise of modern technology.

Yet museums are places created by people, for people. This leaves the natural world open to the invasion of human ideas, traits, and behaviours more than the preservation of nature itself. Questions about what looks beautiful to the

we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay trillions of dollars to protect against. Bundle up!"

As beautifully demonstrated by the so-called leader of the free world, a big point of confusion (or ignorance), amongst climate change deniers lies in the difference between ‘climate’ and ‘weather’.

Whilst weather concerns day-to-day fluctuations in temperature, rainfall etc, climate refers to a long-term trend over years, or even decades. A huge problem in getting across the message of climate change is that it isn’t a sudden process, and so there are no immediate consequences to your actions.

This makes it all too easy to pretend

that nothing is happening. What we really need to make people sit up and take notice are extreme weather events - occasions in which the weather behaves statistically differently from the average weather in that location. And we are getting just that. 2017 has seen tornadoes, heat waves, flooding and droughts from America to Australia! Here are just a few examples…

Severe drought across Somalia have brought with them the risk of famine, to the extent that the World Health Organisation have released an official health warning There have been six major hurricanes this year – most notably Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas in August and caused an enormous 1.2m of rainfall!

More bad news for America, as wildfires decimated over 245,000 acres of land in California in October This year has been the third hottest year since records began. In fact, if

you discount the ‘El Nino’ years, during which the planet naturally heats up, 2017 has been the hottest year yet!

Climate change isn't a sudden process, making it all too easy to pretend that nothing is happening at all So were they caused by climate change? If you were to show a climate scientist a photograph of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey and ask "Did climate change definitely cause this?", they would have to answer "No".

There is no way of pointing at a specific weather event and saying "THIS event was due to climate change", because every weather event is the culmination of hundreds of different factors. Whilst some scientists use Hurricane Harvey as conclusive proof of climate change affecting our weather, others say that the effect of global warming on this event was minimal, and were furious that the media reporting on Harvey so quickly jumped

Unnatural history?

on climate change bandwagon.

All extreme weather events will have lots of contributing factors, which may or may not include climate change. Extreme event attribution basically tells us how much of an impact climate change had on the event – i.e. increasing the probability of the event happening, or worsening its effects. For example, we can say that the increase in droughts this year is much more likely to be caused by climate change than the increase in tornadoes. Carbon Brief ’s study suggests that 63 per cent of all extreme weather events so far were made worse by climate change. Heatwaves account for 46 per cent of these events, droughts for 21 per cent, and heavy rainfall/flooding for 14 per cent.

If there is anything to be gained from these catastrophic events, it’s the shock factor that may finally have finally broken through to some of the climate change sceptics. Whilst it is easy to ignore a scientist with a chart, it is a lot harder to explain away a hurricane sweeping past your front door!

Gabriel Yeap considers the illusions presented in natural history museums human eye versus what is an amazing creation of nature (or God, depending on your beliefs) often directs what goes on display, and what gets left in the storeroom.

Museums are created by people, for people, and this leads to an invasion of human ideas within exhibits Can museums really represent the absolute reality of these species? Well, there are strong reasons to suggest that there is a bias in the story of natural history told by our museums. Firstly, museums are a lot more likely to exhibit larger species rather than smaller ones. Imagine the big blue whale or the enormous fossil of ‘Dippy’ being replaced by a butterfly, or a Labrador duck (that is as good a name as you’ll get for a species of duck that went extinct around 1870). You immediately lose the sense of wonder that museums set out to inspire in the general public, but there is a fine line between inspiration and education. Just because a specimen oozes presence doesn’t mean it’s packed full of useful and interesting facts that you would not have already known.

In fact, large species represent a minute

portion of global diversity. For example, invertebrate species - animals without a backbone - are often smaller (and squishier) than verterbrates, yet outnumber them by more than 20 to one. However less than 10 percent of exhibits actually focus on them.

This New Year, the theme of the fireworks in London was about celebrating gender equality, but does this now have to apply to the inanimate animals on display? Well, the fact is that male specimens are thoroughly over-represented. There are good reasons for this, as investigated by Rebecca Machin - curator of Natural Science at the Leeds Museum Discovery Centre - in her case study of natural history galleries.

This is partly due

to hunters and collectors in eras gone by being more inclined to acquire animals with big horns, antlers, tusks or showy plumage. It was seen as a bigger achievement when one overcame and preserved larger and more impressive beasts, and these tended to be males.

Lastly, museums tend to err towards modesty, and what is acceptable with their specimens. This is why they shy away from exhibits such as creepycrawlies or mammals in jars, preserved in fluid rather than the methods used in taxidermy. After all, they do have good reasons to do so, as visitors find these more disturb-

ing and cruel, which defeats the point that museums are trying to achieve. For example, there is a cat preserved in a tank full of liquid displayed in the Grant Museum of Zoology in UCL, which (unsuprisingly) receives considerable criticism. Furthermore, most mammal species actually have a bone in their penis. Despite this, it is very rare to see an exhibit specimen that accurately displays this, perhaps due to the presumed prudishness of curators (given the fact that children of very young age visit!).

Ultimately, museums are not only a product of their own history, but are also a product of the societies they are built in. This could be a good thing, for the next young boy or girl that visits our exhibits may be the one that saves our coral reefs, our rainforests, or ensures that cats stay out of jars and forever in our hearts. However, our perspective of natural history has to change if we are to truly understand the heart of nature itself.

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15 JAN 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

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The science of luck

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Luke Smith, Science Editor, reveals how to turn the odds in your favour this year

OOD or bad, luck is part of everyday life. Whether it’s the exam question that focused on the one little thing you didn’t revise, that serendipitous encounter where you bumped into an old friend, or the traffic lights turning green just as you approach, most things that happen to us are down to chance. But if you, like me, want a little bit more control over what happens to you on a day to day basis, science has a lot to say. Of course, nothing here will stop a flying space rock wiping us out at any moment, but there are many situations where a change in attitude can turn the odds in your favour.

The first thing to understand is that our brains have evolved to apply regular patterns to an otherwise uncertain world.

These simplifications help us navigate through some of the more common problems we face, but aren’t ideal when dealing with probability. Take a game of coin toss as an example, the chance of each outcome, heads or tails, is 50 percent; yet, if you got five heads in a row you would likely have a biased feeling towards tails being the next outcome. Six heads in a row would surely have less than a 1.6 per cent chance of happening, right?

Well, yes, if you set out with that goal, but otherwise the odds are reset to 50 per cent with each coin toss and you’re guilty of falling prey to the Gambler’s fallacy – the mindset that previous independent events can influence later, unrelated ones

– and scientists have found evidence that our brains may be predisposed towards this sort of thinking. A recent paper from PNAS has shown that neurons pay particular attention to these 50/50 outcomes, preferring ones that alternate. The authors suggest that this is the brains way of creating order from events that seem incredibly improbable; a biological means of predicting that things should surely return to normal.

Luck only exists in the mind, but that doesn't mean we can't use it to our advantage But who cares? After all, most of us don’t live life on a coin toss, yet this biological flaw has larger ramifications on your luck, particularly if you’re winning or losing. A study from two years ago displayed that people who’ve experienced two subsequent losses at the betting table have a 40 per cent chance of winning the next, whilst the probability goes up to 57 per cent when someone has instead won two bets in a row. The behavior of the participants tended to be the deciding factor, with people on a losing streak generally taking higher risk bets under the assumption that their luck will surely turn; whilst someone who was winning made safer bets under the assumption that their chances will surely regress to the mean.

What should be clear is that neither group is ‘luckier’ at any particular time, it’s simply the placement of their bets, moulded by their interpretation of past events, that affects the outcome.

So my advice to you is to be rational in this respect.

Think about your actual chances of winning, and remember that the universe owes you nothing…

Be that as it may, I think we’re all looking for something more solid when it comes to luck. This dates far back into human history, with the notorious lucky charm that is the rabbit’s foot coming from the ancient belief that their previous ‘owners’ (aka rabbits) were imbued with good fortune from living underground with the Celtic gods. We laugh at lucky charms, whether they be four leaf clovers or horseshoes, but a study from 2010 shows that we should be less skeptical. Comparing the ability of volunteers at anagram tests, the researchers found that participants who were allowed to keep hold of a lucky charm from home outperformed individuals who had them taken away.

They specifically observed that the luckycharm-holding-subjects appeared more confident in their abilities, and thereby

spent a longer amount of time with the problems. The channeling of ‘lucky energy’ seen here is the same logic used when people wear lucky pants. And no, I didn’t make this up, with a survey carried out

by Wink slots showing that over 400 of their customers make use of ‘magic’ pants. But is this an odd idea? I think we all hold opinions on how clothes affect the way we work. Some may feel more capable of finishing an essay when wrapped up in their dressing gown, whilst others would state that they have to be ‘dressed up’ in order to get anything done at all. I’m of the latter group, but I haven’t looked for any sort of study to back up this point of view, and I don’t intend to either. What’s important is that I believe it. Basically, when it comes to your own superstitions, you have to work it, make it, own it.

So the picture you should be getting at this point is that luck isn’t a ‘thing’.

It doesn’t exist in any tangible or solid way - we simply think it into existence.

A study carried out by Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire attempted to find out how our attitude towards luck affects

our lives. Participants were told to count the number of pictures on a newspaper given to them. However, little did they know that there were two advantageous announcements buried within, the first of which stating “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper” and the second, more exciting direction “Tell the experimenter that you've seen this and win £150”. It was found that a higher number of people who identified as ‘lucky’ spotted the two messages, and Wiseman has suggested that this comes from their more relaxed attitude, allowing them to have a wider perspective on the task at hand and making them more likely to spot these prospects. Conversely, those who identified as 'unlucky' appeared less at ease when carrying out the task, focusing on small details, and thereby missing the messages altogether. Harking back to the classic exam advice given to us time and time again, the message here is to stay calm and read the paper properly.

Like everything I’ve discussed so far, this is a simple message. Yet the reason why these common words of advice have followed us throughout our lives is that they have been shown to work. It’s just a simple matter of probability: a confident, relaxed and open mind is far more likely to bump into new opportunities. To know which of these to take, all we need is a healthy bit of scepticism for both rational and superstitious ideas, and we're sure to have a lucky year.

The dark side of artificial light

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N 1994 there was an earthquake that led to a power outage in Los Angeles. A lot of anxious residents called local emergency services to report seeing a strange ‘giant, silvery cloud’ in the dark sky. Little did they realise it was in fact the Milky Way, which they weren't usually able to see due to the cloud of excessive artificial light above them.

Light polution can increase your chances of developing cancer and having a heart attack According to a study in 2016, 80% of the world's population live under an artificially illuminated sky, with this figure rising to 99% for those of us in the US and Europe. Artificial lights have allowed us to blur nature's idea of night and day, offering us more time to work and take part in recreational activities - yet

Penny Dinh warns us of the dangers of light pollution

our excessive use of artificial light is now recognised as a source of pollution. As illustrated, light pollution significantly affects humans’ experience of night time, interfering with how we view and ponder the night sky.

However, the aesthetic cost to our lives is by far the least negative aspect of light pollution on the world, with the visual loss of celestial bodies in the sky having a very serious effect on animals who rely on them for navigation. If you have seen Planet Earth II, you might remember the scene where baby sea turtles were meant to follow the moon to the sea, but instead ended up going in the wrong direction due to nearby light pollution.

Celestial bodies also act as visual cues for migratory animals, especially birds, with unnecessary light causing some of them to fly towards the wrong direction and potentially collide into dangerous objects.

In addition to this, day and night length is used by a lot of bird species to estimate

the time of year, and confusion caused by artificial light can lead them to miss their ideal mating season.

Light pollution directly affects human health as well. This is mediated by several light-dependent endocrine and neurobiological mechanisms controlling physiological and behavioural processes. For example, the secretion of melatonin, a hormone naturally released by the pineal gland in the dark, is reduced by excessive exposure to light in the late hours of the day. This can cause sleep disorders, impacting our daytime performance and alertness. Melatonin also regulates the body’s level of oestrogen and growth hormones, with interference of these molecules by artificial light being linked to some types of cancer. An additional function of

melatonin is reducing activity of the sympathetic

nervous system, which reduces norepinephrine turnover in the heart and LDL cholesterol uptake, and thereby minimises the risk of heart diseases. So on top of potentially giving you a death sized

tumour, light pollution can also increase your chances of having a heart attack.

Given the serious impact of light pollution on both human and animal life, it is high time we did something about this issue. And believe it or not, you can help too! The most obvious solution would be to start turning unnecessary lights off, especially outdoor lighting - if you have your outdoor light on for a sense of security, that’s most likely unnecessary, for there is very little evidence for lights actually reducing crime rates. If you happen to be a little forgetful, motion sensing lights could be a great option for reducing your photon footprint (trust me, it will catch on...).

You can also help by sharing what you know with your friends and family, who are most likely not even aware of this problem. Basically, our lives can be so easily improved by shedding some light on the matter at hand, so why not do it?