Issue 705/ 11 November 2019

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ISSUE 705 11 NOV 2019 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987 Image: Exeposé

Guild Officers respond to ExeHonestly closure: “The seriousness of racist and hateful actions has been ignored” • The first Guild Officers’ statement on 7 Nov expressed “concern” for the ExeHonestly administrators • Guild Officers now say ExeHonestly was “fundamentally dangerous” as a mental health advice page • University claim ExeHonestly & Exefess have “missed the salient point”; problem isn’t anonymity, it’s racism News Team

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HE Guild Sabbatical Officers have criticised the student body’s response to the closure of ExeHonestly, which they say ignores the “seriousness of racist and hateful actions.”

The Guild Officers said “the seriousness of racist and hateful actions has been ignored and we feel this needs to be at the centre of all discussions.” ​“We also believe that the response has also been misdirected; it has been Image: David Holt, Flickr

to mourn the loss of memes, criticise the University for reporting hate speech, and to target individual students who first called out the hate speech, instead of facing the reality that we have hateful ideology on campus.”

The Guild Officers also addressed the launch of Exefess, a new anonymous confessions page.

“Whilst we are trying to tackle the issue of bigotry and fascism on campus, the creation of any new anonymous pages piggybacking on the events of this week before we have confronted and

fully understood these issues is irresponsible and will jeopardise our efforts.

“We urge as many individuals and groups to work with us to tackle this issue and understand how we can better support anyone who has been affected and to stamp out fascism on campus.​ “The reality for many demographics, and students known to us over this term, is that the platform has directly resulted in feelings of distress and vulnerability.”

The Guild Officers went on to reject claims that the anonymous ExeHonestly platform provided a good mental health

FEATURES

A enquiry into Britain’s brutal treatment of the Chagos Islands PAGe 14

Image: Atlantic

advice service.

The Guild Officers elaborated:​ “The idea that a platform which allowed fascist opinions to be posted can claim to be an important service for all students’ mental health is problematic.

“It is also fundamentally dangerous for some vulnerable students to be using anonymous platforms to seek mental health advice when the administrators are not currently trained to deal with these serious problems.”

“We feel students in crisis should be accessing the professional and con-

fidential services already available to them through the University, Students’ Guild and established community health services rather than an anonymous platform.”

However, the Guild Officer’s new stance partially contradicts a statement that was published on the VP Welfare & Diversity’s Twitter account on 7 November. The post, which was published on behalf of the Guild Officer team, suggested the page’s “perhaps life-saving qualities cannot be downplayed.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

MUSIC

We celebrate the finest albums of 2019 page 24

News Editors Print: Louis Donohoe & Henry Jones Online: Emma Hussain & Pete Syme news@exepose.com

Features Editors Print: Jaysim Hanspal & William Harrop Online: Bryan Knight & Kate Norman Foreign Correspondents Co-ordinator: Maddie Baker features@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors Print: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu & Zach Mayford Online: Ariane Joudrey & Greta Sanna artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Richard Ainslie & Bryony Gooch Online: Megan Frost & Stephen Ong music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Jonathan Chern & Samuel Thomson Online: Jacob Heayes & Abi Taphouse screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Elinor Jones & Scarlett Parr Reid Online: Sira Charbel & Tom Dormer sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Josh Brown & Nick Powell Online: Ben Bampton sport@exepose.com Chief Photographer Rory Selvey photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Charlotte Forrester & Catherine Lloyd Proofers Owain, Will, Kamila, Pete, Jess, Hakruthi, Garth, Catherz, Zach, Sam the man, George, Sumiah, Bryony, Johnny is King

@ 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.

Exeposé sit down with Sarah Campbell, Associate Director of Arts and Culture

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COMMENT

The importance of protest and demanding change PAGE 9

FEATURES A first hand account from an Extinction Rebellion protest PAGE 14 Image: W. R. McManus

Lifestyle Editors Print: Izzy Cole & Anna Romanovska Online: Amy Butterworth & Emily Pirie lifestyle@exepose.com

University and College Union have announced eight days of industrial action from 25 November to 4 December.

Regardless of your personal stance and political prejudices, we would encourage you to consider the position of the UCU members.

Think about it like this: The UCU say 58 per cent of the University’s workforce are employed under casual contracts; The University maintains the figure is 4.5 per cent. Nevertheless, you do not need to be an expert on Academia Twitter to know that many Postgraduate Research students and lecturers are struggling to cover basic living costs.

The decision to strike is never taken lightly. It means lost wages. It means having to rely on friends for financial support. It means not really knowing how you will pay your lighting bill. Many UCU members can barely afford to strike.

When your lecture or seminar is cancelled without notice, remember the cost of industrial action. Moreover, remember that these strikes aren’t about you.

At Exeposé, our view is that a short term disruption to learning will secure a long term improvement in the working conditions of our lecturers, library and maintenance staff. As our VP Postgraduate said, staff working conditions are our learning conditions, and are worth fighting for. We will be providing coverage online and in print throughout the period- keep an eye for it.

Image: Prosthetic Head

Comment Editors Print: Kamila Bell & George Clark Online: Olly Haynes & Gaia Newman comment@exepose.com

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N our penultimate issue of the year, we at Exeposé can't help but get nostalgic.

As we crawl towards Christmas, there’s no better time to reflect on the events and cultural moments that defined 2019. Skip to pg. 24 for Music’s spectacular countdown of the year’s most compelling and weird albums.

Still, it’s sometimes useful to get out of the campus bubble and take a moment to see the city. Lifestyle takes a stroll down Fore Street and mooches around Exeter’s quirkiest independent shops (pg.

16), while Music reviews the local charity gig OxJam (pg. 26).

However, if you are hungry for a broader, more international perspective, then Features has you covered. Head to pg.13 recount the year’s most remarkable political events, from Greta Thunberg’s speech at the UN and Instagram banning diet product ads and plastic surgery filters.

Meanwhile, Beyond Exeter examines translation as an act of resistance (pg. 10).

Comment reflects the impending doom feeling of being a final year student, and the realisation that deadline season has very much arrived,(pg. 7).

Over in Screen, the 2019 Music Video of the Year is claimed, and we won't spoil it, but we are certainly not mad at its result, to find out, head to pg. 29.

The contenders of the best of 2019 don't stop there, with Arts+Lit examining this years highlights in the art world (pg.

21).

Whilst I love keeping my mind living in the past, unfortunately in an environment as ever-changing as a University culture, a lot is going on, right now, right here.

As most of you will know, the

INTERVIEW

Image: r4vi, flickr

Editors Print: Isabelle Gray & Aaron Loose Online: Harry Caton & Ellie Cook Deputy: Anne Chafer & Neha Shaji editors@exepose.com

Editorial

Image: Steve Haywood

EXEPOSÉ

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

SCIENCE The latest advancements in HIV/AIDS treatment PAGE 34

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE!

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

From the latest university news to current affairs, music and theatr e reviews and more, visit us at www.exepose.com

That's all from us for now. Take care, and 'til next time, Iszy and Aaron

Worldwide university news US University research funding in decline

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REPORT from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) revealed that despite the United States world-leading research, that the US had declined to 28 place out of 39 nations in Government university funding as a share of GDP, which is currently at 0.2 per cent. The UK is marginally ahead at 0.24 per cent, whereas Sweden invests almost four times the more than the US at 0.76 per cent. The report recommends that the Government provides greater incentives for businesses to invest.

ITIF President Rob Atkinson stated that "Research drives innovation, and innovation drives long-run economic growth, whilst creating jobs and improving living standards".

Students with unconditional offers more likely to drop out

UK Universities criticised for outsourcing low paid jobs

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TUDENTS being given unconditional places for undergraduate degrees are more likely to drop out in their first year at university, the Office for Students has found. The universities regulator’s analysis shows that the rate of students dropping out after receiving an unconditional offer is higher than their counterparts whose offers were dependent on A level results. In recent years there has been a surge in unconditional offers, offer rising to one in three by 2018 compared to 2012, where unconditional offers made up only one percent of offers. With the trend identified, it is predicted that over 200 students, otherwise expected to continue, will not continue their studies beyond year one.

NIVERSITIES in the United Kingdom have come under attack for “tearing away” wages, pensions and rights from low-paid staff amid a sharp rise in the number of outsourced cleaning, security and maintenance staff working on campuses, as The Guardian has reported. Data released by 42 universities in England, Scotland and Wales to The Guardian under freedom of information laws revealed that spending on outsourced workers increased by almost 70 pecent between 2010 and 2017. In general, outsourced worker’s pension schemes, as well as hourly, sick, maternity and holiday pay are hugely inferior because workers are not entitled to the same rights as University employees.“The growth of outsourcing is of huge concern,” said Ruth Levin, Unison National Education Officer. “While some universities are under great financial pressures, tearing away the pay, pensions and conditions for thousands of often low-paid staff isn’t the way to solve these problems.”

Fraternity in Texas shut down after hazing

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RATERNITY chapter Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Texas was disbanded at the end of October 2019 following a series of investigations into hazing activity – the third set of investigations over the past eight years.

Time Magazine reported on how, within the 2018-2019 year, new Pi Kappa Phi members were forced to consume a soup made from cat food and ghost peppers. Many were additionally picked up from various locations, black bags placed over their heads and forced to listen to “disturbing music” whilst driven around for up to two hours as part of their initiation, according to the Tribune News Service.

The fraternity now faces a four-yearlong ban from Greek-life.

Images: Herney, Pixabay Stories by Georgia Shepherd, Elinor Jones, Evie Vouillemin and Emily Taylor

News

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NEWS EDITORS: Louis Donohoe Henry Jones

Exeter UCU striking from 25 November to 4 December

Emma Hussain Online News Editor

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EMBERS of the University and College Union (UCU) have backed strike action in ballots on pensions and pay and working conditions. The UCU has confirmed that 60 universities across the UK will see eight days of industrial action between 25 November and 4 December.

Nationally, 79 per cent of UCU members supported strike action on changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, and 74 per cent backed strikes in the ballot on pay, casualisation and equality.

The announcement follows a 14-day strike on USS changes in February and March 2018, the longest strike in UK higher education history.

UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said: “It is incredibly frustrating that we had to ballot members again, but universities only have themselves to blame after failing to address falling real-terms pay and for refusing to deal with casualisation, workloads and the rising cost of USS pensions.”

A University of Exeter spokesperson stressed the impact on students: “We realise that strike action may be unsettling for many of our students, and we remain hopeful that the dispute can be resolved without industrial action.

“Since the ballots were announced in June we’ve been regularly meeting with colleagues across the University, as well as the Students’ Guild and Students’ Union, to carefully manage the potential impact any planned industrial action may have on our University community, and to ensure

any measures we put in place are the right ones for students and staff.”

Students’ Guild has announced plans to consult student opinion to inform their response to the strikes. A form has opened on the guild websiteAn official poll to inform action will open from Monday 11 to 20 November.

A Guild spokesperson said: “We are seeking the feedback of as many students as possible on all issues involved in the strike so that we are given a clear mandate of how best to support our student body, so it is critical that as many students participate in the poll as possible.”

In 2018, a referendum led to Guild support for the strike. In September, Sunday Blake, VP Postgraduate alleged that any strike action this academic year was likely to have sabbatical office support.

Image: Owain Evans

“The administrators just need to follow their own guidelines to avoid investigation” CONTINUED FROM FRONT In a previous statement issued on 7 November, the Guild Officers said “We are saddened by the events which have caused ExeHonestly to close. We appreciate students wanting a community platform and would’ve liked to aid this by offering support and training to ensure the platform was safe and inclusive.

“Since the weekend, when hateful messages were not spotted and let through by administrators, we have been in communication with the admins offering them support and opportunities to be trained in how to identify coded discriminatory language.

“As many students appeared in favour of keeping the platform open, we felt it was best to offer support, training and guidance instead of aiming for the closure of the confessions page. However, we respect their decision to prioritise their mental health at this time. “​Whilst the page has been removed, we have ongoing concerns that the attitudes held by those posting hateful and discriminatory messages still reside in our student body.

“We would like to address the need for students to have an open and frank discussion on racism and other issues, cited in an open letter to the university on change.org, by providing a facilitated time and space for them to do this. “​Guild staff have thorough Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training. However, it is clear in the current climate, all members of the university community need to

be empowered and vigilant in being able to call out signs of bigotry and fascism.

Therefore, we will be exploring further, more comprehensive training. We will also be reaching out to the University’s Provost Commission to support the need for campus-wide cognizance on these issues”.

Less than 24 hours after ExeHonestly closed, another similar confessions page, named Exefess, started to post anonymous submissions.

Opening and operating an anonymous Facebook page is not the problem

University of Exeter Spokesperson

There is currently no indication that Exefess have spoken to the Students’ Guild about receiving training to identify subtle Nazi codes and catchphrasr.

A University of Exeter spokesperson said: “The administrators of ExeHonestly and Exefess seem to have missed the salient point. Opening and operating an anonymous Facebook page is not the problem. Posting racist and hateful content is the problem – and in the most recent incident a police matter. ​ “Their own guidelines state: ‘Anonymity is not a pass for hate speech, harassment or any other violations of the Facebook Community Standards. Those confessions will not be let through’ The administrators just need to follow their own guidelines to avoid investigation.​ “Racism cannot be tolerated in any form in our community and if we obtain specific information about any of our stu-

dents posting abusive or offensive content we will take immediate and appropriate action to ensure individuals are held accountable, including referrals to the police when required.” ​ In a lengthy statement published on 6 November, the ExeHonestly administrators announced their plans to delete the page, citing their poor mental health and an overwhelming workload as reasons. ​ “The University’s latest response has distressed us greatly and is another example of how out of touch they are with the student body.​ They also noted how their struggle to moderate the page had already been noticed, with extended waits for approval and some posts being approved at 3am.

The statement continued: “For the University this is an issue of public relations, for us, it is an issue of our future livelihoods. Our team is terrified that our lives will be ruined if the university becomes aware of who we are.​ On 3 November, ExeHonestly’s anonymous administrators approved several posts containing Nazi codes and catchphrases. At the time, the page was followed by more than 13,000 users.​ ExeHonestly’s initial response, which was published on 5 November, claimed the administrators did not know about the number’s true meaning. They said “we deeply regret that they cleared our attempts at scrutiny and have made people feel unsafe.”​ At the time of writing, Exefess has just over 2,800 likes.

Plans for new University building move forward Louis Donohoe News Editor

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HE new North Park building will be built on car park D, next to the Amory building, host the research of “some of the biggest challenges facing society today and in to the future”. If approval is granted by Exeter City Council, the University expects to start construction December 2020.

According to Mike Shore-Nye, Registrar at the University of Exeter, the building will be used in research of “global solutions to the impacts of climate change and improving the resilience of our water and waste systems here in the South West and beyond.” As well as enabling “the University to deliver a vision of future learning at Exeter, improving the student experience and putting Exeter at the forefront of modern, digitally enhanced learning.”

The Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) is one of the research projects that will be in the new building. This joint venture with South West Water (SWW) gained £10m in funding from Research earlier this year as well as a £21m investment from SWW. The University has emphasised their focus on sustainability in the building pledging to achieve carbon neutrality in terms of regulated emissions from the building, as well as optimising layout to ensure high thermal efficiency and reduce energy loss.

The University has invited the local community to visit on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 November to offer their thoughts and views in helping to develop it. The comments will be reviewed and included in the University’s planning application to Exeter City Council in February.

Image: University of Exeter

INTERVIEW

EXEPOSÉ | 11 NOV 2019

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"Bringing research and the arts together" Exeposé speaks to Sarah Campbell, Associate Director for Arts and Culture, about current project and diversity in the arts.

Emma Hussain & Isabelle Gray Online News Editor & Editor

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ITH a 16 year background in museum and gallery learning, Campbell took up office as the University’s first ever Associate Director for Arts and Culture in January 2019 following the launch of a new Arts and Culture strategy in October 2018. “The lovely thing about coming into something new is that it’s all for the making. But to pick stuff up when it’s new...it’s a mixed blessing: on the one hand, it’s exciting because there’s all these new opportunities that come up and these new connections to make. On the other hand, you could do anything.

Which is, as anybody here will tell you, my inclination! So, prioritising is a key thing.”

We asked Campbell about her goals for the new Arts strategy. The department are working on bringing to the surface all the cultural work that’s already being done in the University community. “There’s an enormous amount of activity that happens across the university and no one person holds it. So, how can we bring more of this amazing work to the surface? How can we network it, join it up? And then, off the back of that, how can we create new opportunities for folk to get involved?

We’re thinking about the relationship with the city here in Exeter, but also across the South West.”

Campbell drew attention to a display currently in the window of the Maketank performance incubator on Exeter High Street, showcasing a printmaking and photography series that the team commissioned last year. “As we’re maturing with the programme, we’re moving into a space where we have content that we can share.”

The relationship with creative part-

ners across the region is something Campbell and her team have been closely working on. She stressed the importance of elevating existing programmes that are doing good things for local art and integrating the university into the wider art community. “There are a number of networks - for example, Visual Arts South West, which is a network that is run by the Arts Council. I like being a part of a community. Programming is always the most labour-intensive, and the answer to every network we go to isn’t to set up a programme around them, because that just wouldn’t be sustainable.” Instead, Campbell’s team want to “[understand] what people's interests are, what people's needs are, what people’s priorities are. It's important to be sensitive to what it is to be a representative from the University when you’re working across the community. It's important not to make assumptions.”

It's important not to make assumptions Sarah Campbell, Associate Director for Arts and Culture

On the topic of forging connections, Campbell talked to us about how she wants to see the new strategy encourage the arts and sciences to come together in new ways. The Arts team’s projects have included collaboration with colleagues across the more scientific of the University’s colleges. “The important thing about creativity is that you’re creative in the business school, and in engineering, and in chemistry and physics.”

A good example of this work with the sciences has been the team’s Arts Commision programme. This year, poet Fiona Benson, who is local to the South

West, will be working with entomologists at the University on the urgency of insects’ short lives. “You know, if you only live for a day, what do you do with it? Last year round, [Benson] studied cicadas in the Smoky Mountains. They come up once every 17 years, so [the entomology team] were able to go out there and capture field recordings of these cicadas during their one week of life.” Benson will be developing workshops and an audio pamphlet of poems inspired by insects, and is keen to bring in staff, students, school groups and the general public to work collaboratively on the project. Campbell described the project as “a way of demonstrating what we really stand for and believe in: bringing research and the arts together.”

The topic of widening the conception of art to encourage participation from colleagues and students with a science background is echoed in Campbell’s passion for equal access in the arts.

She notes a prevailing theme that “people don’t come to museums because, you know, ‘that’s not for me’, or ‘I don’t know how I can engage with them’, or ‘contemporary art can be a bit intimidating’. And I refuse to believe any of that, you know. If anyone’s curious then I want to bring them in.”

Are the Arts team working to promote diversity in the arts? “Yes, is the short answer. Yes, in every way we can.”

Campbell is a part of the network to decolonise the curriculum, and the Arts team supported Black History Month in October. She noted the importance of being attentive to diversity in Exeter specifically: “There is a very focused effort and very careful listening that has to be done. It's clear there is a much more mono-cultural, white culture in this neck of the woods. I'm not here to build temples for old white men. The arts are a really rich place to explore diversity and culture, or, you know, cultures. It's an ongoing concern. It does need to be really, actively worked on.”

Minhas interview filmmaker Sathnam Sangher, who has just made a doc for Channel 4 about the little-discussed Amritsar massacre of 1919.

While acknowledging the essential steps to be taken in Exeter to create a more diverse and welcoming community, Campbell also sees the city and university as sites of real potential for the arts. “I like the culture of Exeter a lot - the strong connection to the environment. [That] research is all hugely exciting for arts and culture. In the art world, those are key recurring concerns, so it’s a gift when those things come together.

The working culture here is fantastic - a lot of people are very keen to do things and to say yes. We've been really lucky.

The city is really having a moment. The city has just been awarded the city of literature by UNESCO, which is huge.

There is a real buzz across the city, so for someone who just rocked up in January, it was really exciting to come into something that's got this real momentum. Huge efforts are being made for the Uni to be a good neighbour, and be a part of its place, and engage.”

Campbell and her team are looking ahead to another busy year of projects.

This year’s Creative Fellows have just been appointed, and will work with a ‘host’ from a particular discipline in the university over a period of four months to create an art project based on cutting-

edge research. This year’s projects will include choreographer Lea Anderson working with the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, visual artist Alex Julyan following Penryn campus ‘My Blue Health’ research into the relationship between water and human health, and a VSimulators project in which composer Domenico Vicinanza will build on his previous work in converting data into sound which can then be played as music.

Asked what motivates her to keep working in the Arts, Campbell reflected on her own relationship with art and her desire to share it with people who might initially think it’s not for them. “I love it when someone’s not sure, but then something connects, and they realise maybe that it is for them after all. I love playing any little part in that process because it gives me such a thrill.”

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I'm not here to build temples for old white men Sarah Campbell, Associate Director for Arts and Culture

Image: Jim Wileman

The team’s Creative Dialogues programme is a key example of their efforts to raise up voices we don’t always hear from in the creative industries.

This term’s event, to be held on 25 November, will see TV producer Narinder

Image: Arts and Culture Department

INTERVIEW

EXEPOSÉ | 14 OCT 2019

£60K spent on Enlitened so far

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Exeposé speaks to Ian Blenkharn, Director of Student Experience, about Enlitened and the future of Digital Check-In Neha Shaji & Aaron Loose Deputy Editor & Editor

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HE University has paid £60,000 for the annual Enlitened app licensing fee, which will be followed by £70,000 annually for the next two years if the University continue the three-year partnership deal. In an interview with Exeposé, Ian Blenkharn, Director of Education and Student Experience, said the fee was “effectively sorted as spending towards Widening Participation students.”

The University, which conducted a small pilot in two cohorts last February, also have employed Student Ambassadors to promote the app, who have thus far been paid a total of £564.48. Exeposé pressed on the licensing deal and the costs, with Blenkharn saying that he “understands that it is a lot of money. £60,000 we spent on this is £60,000 we can’t spend on something else.” He referred to the initial year as a pilot, later clarifying it as an “extended pilot” with a break clause. The Enlitened website refers to the app being “rolled out at scale” in all three institutions it partnered with (Exeter, University of East Anglia, and Sussex University), referring to the earlier period as a pilot.

Blenkharn clarified further about the extended pilot, stating that the University "have decided that our extended pilot for this year will focus mainly on first year undergraduate students. I think it’s either UEA or Sussex who have gone out to the whole undergraduate body"..

He justified the benefits of a multiyear deal “we get a significant discount compared to what would be offered to other institutions and make sure we have

Image: Edd Church

a direct voice into how the app develops, which we think is going to be very valuable.” If the University decide to continue with Enlitened, the licensing fee would be £70,000 for each of the next two years.

The University’s Widening Participation five-year Access and Participation Plan includes narrowing the BAME attainment gap, disabled students’ attainment gap and increasing the percentage of state school entrants.

Digital Check-In is pre-empting where we think the legislation is going to go

Ian Blenkharn, Director of Student Experience

Blenkharn said the Office for Students (OfS) would “accept that it was a valid spend in support of Widening Participation. It’s not new money, it’s money we can say is part of our commitment in supporting Widening Participation students, but it needs to prove it can do that”. He continued that OfS were keen that universities have a better understanding of the experiences of Widening Participation students, and that students in the access to participation unit have let the University know they “welcome the development of this app and we can account for the spend against our access to participation financial commitments.”.

He further justified the app being able to assist minority students, stating how the University was “keen to ensure that no good ideas that relate to minority groups, whether that relates to a small discipline or an idea that relates to mature students. is forgotten.”. He explained that

it would mean that Ideas weren’t drowned out due to a lack of votes. He stated that he “hopes (the ideas) become topics of conversation for SSLCs, through the academic representation scheme, there might be something for our professional services team to consider, and we’ll see how it goes, and we really want to iterate how the app works, particularly from that ideas perspective.” It is unclear as to whether Academic Representatives have been informed of this possible integration on a campus wide level at all; Enlitened was not mentioned during Academic Representative training at the beginning of the academic year.

He told us that there hasn’t been much consultation beyond the February pilot, but stressed that “there was absolutely no compulsion for students to do it,'' citing student engagement and demographic engagement with the app as one of the success measures the University will look at by the end of the year. Blenkharn referred to drawing up a board to look at the end of the year, of what success for Enlitened may look like. Staff consultation was primarily held with executive bodies such as the Director of Education Forum and Educational Strategy groups.

When asked whether more consultation should have been done before spending £60,000 on the license, he expressed “we have a responsibility to try new things as an institution,'' continuing that the University does not take the expenditure lightly and if the University decides to honor the full contract and potentially beyond, there will be a value analysis. Blenkharn suggested that the small scale pilot followed by an extended service was the appropriate way to manage it. Exeposé has previously reported on issues during the February pilot, including Enlitened representatives using lecture time to advertise the app without prior permission, and promotional material not explicitly stating the third-party nature of the venture.

Another technological rollout that created a controversy last year was the integration of Digital Check-In. We asked Blenkharn about developments regarding Digital Check-in, inquiring whether international students have received updates on this, with emphasis that lecture attendance would be monitored even in subjects where lecture attendance was not traditionally recorded.

Blenkharn claims that the University is “pre-empting where we think the legislation and statutory regulations are going to go”, predicting that the Home Office may replace the current ten consecutive attendance point system to a new mode of attendance capturing. The Home Of-

Image: Aaron Loose

fice presently requires Tier 4 Sponsor institutions to “monitor attendance effectively” but does not specify the manner in which this attendance is monitored. Exeposé followed up with an inquiry into the total cost of Digital Check-In, and were told the University has spent £130,000 on the integration of this system. This however, is said by the University to be outweighed by the benefit of removing “manual transcription from paper registers and the improved efficiency of legally required visa checks.”

What we aim to understand is where things are falling down, so we can make them better

Ian Blenkharn, Director of Student Experience

Exeposé asked about the differences in consequences for International and Home Students. International Students, in the case of non-attendance, will receive a standardised email from the ‘Immigration Compliance Unit’ stating “if you fail to (maintain regular attendance), the University is required to withdraw Tier 4 sponsorship. This will lead to the cancellation of your visa.”

Exeposé expressed concern about the impact these may have on mental health in cases where the Check-In system malfunctioned. Blenkharn replied that there’s

always “been differences in the impact of attendance (for Home and International students)… It’s the impact of attendance, not the system that measures it.”

On mental health, Blenkharn encouraged International students to talk to the university about their experience, and that if the system is creating anxiety, “we need to correct that, and fast.” He continued that there had been significant gains this year with a majority of students checking in, and that the University were looking at running focus groups with international students.

When Exeposé raised whether it was fair for the University to say International students should reach out rather than preemptive engagement, Blenkharn clarified “I didn’t mean we weren’t doing that – what we mean is that with functional issues… students are encouraged to go to the Info Point and log into the session.”

He suggested the feedback will come through SSLCs and focus groups.

The focal points of this interview were the two recent technological rollouts that Exeposé had previously covered. Exeposé aimed to receive an insight into the University’s motivation for these systems, the costs and any future actions regarding students’ experience. Blenkharn concluded by saying his team “care deeply about students, and want to positively support their experiences… What we aim to understand is where things are falling down, so we can make them better.”

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11 NOV 2019| EXEPOSÉ

7

Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Kamila Bell George Clark

Ready for life on the outside?

Elinor Jones Science Editor

T

HE infuriating days of Circuit Laundry, silverfish infestations and deadlines that didn’t count, what do all of these have in common?

They are but a distant memory, fading into the depths of the past like memories of learning to ride a bike or my first day of school. With first year halls and second-year step-up seeming so long ago, my attention has been forced to turn not only to the impending doom of my dissertation but my future, something I have been putting off for many years.

Since leaving Sixth Form I’ve had the inevitable questions at family parties, at

Image: Alpha Stock Images

my summer job and at every meeting with my academic tutor: “what does life after uni hold?”, “where do you see yourself in five years?” and the more cutting “do you have any idea what you are doing with your life?”. Whilst I, like many of my peers, have a quick answer ready so swiftly move the conversation on, deep in my brain (after three years of Medical Sciences I should know which part but hey ho) I have this niggling feeling: Will what I say be good enough? Is this really what I want to settle for in life, after all this hard work? Why don’t I seem sure on a particular career path for myself?

For me this final thought is one I find particularly striking, and one that has made me restless at night and distracted me during long library sessions.

Since the age of sixteen I have been carefully planning my career. Attending every career fair, reading every prospectus, specifically tailoring my choices to give me the best possible start. Whether this was choosing my A-levels or deciding what universities I wanted to apply to, I spent days and days pouring over

details in the hope that I’d reach my desired destination, a doctor. When I’d learnt I’d had no offers for my preferred undergraduate course I was devastated, feeling my whole career had collapsed, that nothing I could ever do would be as worthwhile or challenging. However, without this apparent failure I would probably not be at Exeter studying a course that has turned my life around.

We are constantly bombarded with the ideal that we are in a career for life Since my first year here I’ve had many thoughts about where this degree would take me: physiotherapist, doctor (in the faint hope this dream was still alive), teacher, journalist, vet psychologist.

Whilst this may have infuriated my parents, it has been an enlightening experience to work out what I actually want to do in life, and that not knowing is absolutely okay too.

We are constantly bombarded with the ideal that we are in a career for life, that once we leave university with a particular job that is who we will be, our mark on this earth. This is a concept I’ve

struggled and still struggle with; that at the ripe old age of twenty-one I’ll be defining what I do for the rest of my working life.

With this in mind, over the last few months I’ve been fostering the mindset that I need to work out what I enjoy.

Once I work this out, then I can be happy in whatever ‘job’ I have, so long as what I enjoy aligns with the requirements of the job. Once I stopped thinking about what an ‘acceptable’ career path was (although there is no such thing), searching for future options seemed less daunting; I could feel excited about the present and future, rather than ignoring one or the other to my detriment.

Such a lightbulb moment came during supposedly standard, tick-box academic tutor meeting, at a point in second year where my brain was in overdrive with deadlines, extracurricular activities and exhaustion. Having seen me in seminars, read my CV and known me for a while, the simple voicing of her opinion “I think you’d be highly suited to academia”, planted a seed for me to work out what I enjoy doing. And it turns out I love being

i

n

Image: Alpha Stock Images

academia, I love learning, and I love the continual ambition to get better and better at something. Having always wanted to help people as my main drive in life, I realised I could do this in so many roles, whether it was directly through the health research I want to perform, through potential teaching and supervisory roles in the future, or just potential policy I could affect.

Whilst not everyone will want a career in research (if you enjoy money it’s not for you), whether you’re a stressed third year frantically applying for jobs or worried you’ll have to move back home or you’ve just started uni and this feels a world away, if you spend any time on career development, use it to find what makes you, you.

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The deadline conundrum

Sumiah Elbortoukaly Contributor

S

O here we are in November and suddenly all those deadlines you wrote down in your planner are looming. Everyone is panicking and suffering trying to get through them... but what is the best way to do it?

Panic and caffeine carrying you through to a last minute submission

The classic debate: have an indepth, completely foolproof plan to get it done early in the library and submitting well in advance, or letting adrenaline, panic and caffeine carry you through to a last minute submission which, if you’re lucky, will fall within the two hour recommended

window but might also fall within a two minute not-so-recommended window.

There is a clear divide between these two options but I put it to you, dear readers, that there is not really much of a debate: most people would agree that the first way is probably better while the latter is what you actually end up doing.

There are clear and obvious reasons why being organised and having essays done early is beneficial.

If you have more time to work on it, you can find more resources than whatever articles are on the first page of JSTOR and the few books from the library where your question is right in the title. Once it’s finished, you could actually proofread and have other people

do the same. Finally, it’s much nicer to actually be relaxed and calm knowing it’s done. It’s worth noting here that I did not do one essay last year earlier than the day it was due so this is all theoretical.

These reasons are pretty obvious but, for me, tend to be the main things I’m thinking about when I’m crying in the library during a last minute essay writing session.

However, what may not be going through your head when you’re mad at

yourself for leaving things till the last minute again is that there can be some benefits to this.

Firstly, we have the argument that since you have to do it quickly it is actually more effectively using your time. Why spend weeks working on it when one panic filled 12 hour period accomplishes the same thing? This benefit never works out for me since I definitely spend more hours sitting on my laptop procrastinating my essay then I would have spent writing it.

This is part of my final phase in my three phases of procrastinating. This phase is where I do not do my essay but somehow I do not do anything else either, it is a time filled with regret. However, my first phase of procrastinating is characterised by productivity in every aspect of my life except Image: pixabay my essay. My emails are replied

to, my room is tidy, my flatmates feast on baked goods. If I actually did my essays early I might not have this predeadline productivity where I pretend to get my life together.

Suddenly all those deadlines you wrote down are looming Finally, it’s important to remember that a key part of academic writing is being very specific and focusing on the question. One way to do this is finishing early enough that you can cut out anything irrelevant but another way is to do it so quickly you literally have no time to include anything irrelevant.

However you choose to write them, stay strong while you do!

8

11 NOV 2019| EXEPOSÉ

COMMENT

The red-light district, in focus Aliyah Ismail Contributor

W

HEN in Amsterdam, one cannot help but stop and stare at the beauty of the canals, the symmetry of the tall, tilted houses leaning onto each other for support, all encased in a hot pot which is rich in the aroma of culture. There are museums steeped in history, galleries hosted in squares that contain the glorious works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh, cobbled city streets smokey with the scent of stroopwafel; Amsterdam has something for everyone. Yet, it is not known for this in particular.

Women are surely allowed to do as they please with their own bodies

Amsterdam, famous for its notorious exploits in the world of drugs and sex, ensures that a trip to this region of the Netherlands is not only distinct and interesting but has the unique effect of pushing one’s definition of feminism and morality to its ethical extremes.

Telling friends that you are off on

a trip to Amsterdam often involves a smile and a wink as one wishes you an enjoyable trip down to the land of the coffee shops. If, like me, the term is new to you, this is not a coffee shop in the general sense. Rather, Amsterdam’s coffee shops include menus with long lists of various cannabis-inspired items. In several different styles and scents, one is guaranteed a wide selection of choice.

As weed culture is a very familiar topic to students in general, we need not concern ourselves with the moral implications of engaging in such an activity. This is primarily because engagement in such an activity seems to be individual in a way that other activities are not, say prostitution for example.

The red-light district hosts a daily spectacle that spills over into the night. It is a show so inclusive that it is free and open to any and all observers, a region with a personality so carnal and primal it makes one wonder at the reality that confronts their wide-eyed self. Staring into the window displays of naked mannequins, alive with flirty promiscuous movements paired with the ogling eyes of the desperate, middle-aged men, induces a deep sense of discomfort characterised by the uprise of internal conflict.

This involved the acknowledgement that this was a licensed, state-controlled sector of the city’s cultural, social and economic climate. So what was it that was making me feel so uncomfortable in this environment?

My morally righteous attitude at the thought of paying for a service being delivered by women who seemed to be consenting and were happy to engage customers? My indignation at the thought of the atmosphere of sleaze that would soon be invading the bodies of any of the women on display? Was I right to be having such a strong obstinate reaction to this atmosphere? Women are surely allowed to do as they please with their own bodies. Or is this true?

Should the state police us in some fashion when it comes to attaching monetary value to the performance of the human body in a sexual context?

Of course, we sell ourselves daily in labour and are paid, in some cases, very well for such deeds. But should there be some actions that money should not be able to purchase?

Should there be certain services that are unattainable?

As controlled as this environment is, as safe as it seeks to be and as powerfully liberating as it can be to a

Image: Garry Knight (Flickr)

host of women, the abandonment of this blatant moral discomfort seems impossible. Legalising prostitution in 2000, Amsterdam desired to hand over greater autonomy to sex workers over their profession, reduce criminal activity and improve labour conditions. But has it achieved this goal?

The red-light district hosts a daily spectacle that spills over into the night

There still exists a group of sex workers who remain unregistered for fear of the social implications.

Further to this, though the legalisation allows for greater regulation on the safety of the sex workers, it does not account for the fact that there still exists a culture of ‘pimping’, so, it does not eradicate an entire sector of underground work that still continues and has wide ranging implications on the women it involves. Beyond this, one needs to seriously confront this notion of consent.

Agony Aunt

Q

DEAR AGONY AUNT,

I think I might be addicted to puffer jackets. It started off as a semi-ironic thing but now I can’t seem to stop... I’ve gone from having none to three just in the last month. Please help me overcome this serious addiction!

Yours in distress, Puffer Jacket King x

A

DEAR PUFFER JACKET KING, Exeter Uni is famous for its puffer-aesthetic, so my advice to you would be to just embrace it; there’s no better way to blend in on campus than rockin’ a fabric 8-pack up forum hill! But keep it to a maximum of five: past that I’d recommend referring yourself to the Wellbeing services…

Much love, Agony Aunt

Q

DEAR AGONY AUNT,

I’m a first year and I have my first sum-

mative assessment due. I don’t feel ready for it at all, do you have any advice?

Yours, Frightened First Year

Q

DEAR AGONY AUNT,

My housemates aren’t exactly keen to

start paying heating bills but I think if I spend many more nights in my room without the radiator on my organs will freeze. What do you suggest I do?

A

DEAR FRIGHTENED FIRST YEAR,

First of all, feeling that kind of panic is totally natural, we’ve all been through it! The most important thing to remember is that, as many times as people will tell you this, first year doesn’t count towards your final mark.

It’s an opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them in preparation for next year, so do the reading, don’t leave it to the last minute and check out our stress-busting tips in this edition; I’m sure you’ll do a fab job on it! And hey, even if you don’t, see it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Much love, Agony Aunt

A

Yours, Succumbing to Frostbite

DEAR SUCCUMBING

TO FROSTBITE,

While I’m totally with you on this one, I also get that no one likes paying heating bills. If you’ve been sticking a jumper on and adding an extra blanket for especially cold nights and it still isn’t enough, have a word with your house-peeps. Even just blasting the house for an hour will have a big effect on the temperature and won’t cost too much, just keep an eye on how long it’s on for!

Much love, Agony Aunt

EXEPOSÉ | 11 NOV 2019

COMMENT

The proof is in the protest Cassie Grace Contributor

T

HIS term the University has played host to a number of student protests surrounding the ongoing conflicts in Hong Kong and Lebanon, the former of which resulted in counter demonstrations by our Chinese students. Of course, you may not in fact have noticed these protests at all, as to their credit the organisers successfully managed the protest with minimal disruption for other students. But is it not rather concerning that such politically charged and topical protests were not more high profile?

Does this not say something about the fruitless tree that is protesting in any University Eden, where academia not politics is the priority?

Indeed, given the increasing demand for universities to be safe spaces, do such contentious protests not present the possibility of offending those holding opposing views, as was evident in the University of York’s disbanding of similar protests? Surely then there is no point to university protests?

are now the grown-ups. When we leave here, we will be expected to fill those awkward silences not just with half-hearted comments about the weather but also with informed political opinions, opinions that hopefully then transform into informed votes.

Engaging with protests on campus can be a valuable experience Not only that, but political activism serves a greater purpose; as we emerge from university the sparkling diamonds that Exeter promises to somehow polish us in to, many of us will find

about and fight for the state of the world you will face when you leave.

Moreover, the premise that student protests will have no real impact is blatantly short sighted.

In fact, the speaker may as well be wearing a blindfold. Yes, Exeter University may itself only be small and alone the voices of the protest may not be heard, but it is only one small cog in the protests going on all over the world. Small scale protests when combined with the similar, and often more controversial ones taking place nationally in universities, make the news headlines on a

University protests scream that we are a diverse group of students To that I raise the proverbial middle finger. University protests should continue, not just because of the admirable causes they stand for but also because of what they say about the character of our university. They scream that we are a diverse group of students, aware of issues outside of our campus bubbles and personal lives, that we care about making change and improving the lives of complete strangers on the other side of the world. Many would accuse our generation of a shocking lack of political engagement, and indeed there is some truth to that claim.

A very concerning 2015 BBC poll revealed that 42.4 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds had zero interest in politics and I myself can’t count how many times I have attempted to engage peers in discussions about current affairs only to be met with ignorant silence. We think that being informed on the goings on in the world is a grown-ups game. The problem being… we

ourselves essentially in positions of responsibility where we can make a real difference, or else we may find ourselves at the opposite end of the scale as the ones who need help. Fighting to enact change in the world is something you are never too young to start learning because after all, ultimately, you’re the one who will have to live in it.

Foreign students can remain connected to their own countries Where better to start your political education than at university itself ? From this perspective, engaging with protests on campus can be seen as a valuable part of the university experience; sure, learn maths and history, but also learn

Image: Wikimedia, KeithTyler

daily b a s i s , with the Telegraph boldly stating, ‘Our disgraceful universities would rather appease communist China than defend free speech.’

This undoubtedly adds to the international pressure on Beijing and the Lebanon government.

Protests also allow foreign students, often minorities, to remain connected with their own countries and let those actively fighting for change in Hong Kong and Lebanon know that they have support and are not marching alone, something that is especially important during times of such instability. A member of the protests commented on their personal significance: ‘I protest because I don’t think it’s right to stand by and watch

9

The SabbS Speak Up

what’s happening in Hong Kong.

It’s the city I was born and raised in, and there’s nothing I want to do more than fight for it, no matter the dangers.”

Freedom of speech is an integral right in our universities But quite aside from the importance of student support for such protests, it is difficult to overstate the necessity for the university itself to encourage them. Anyone who in a moment of boredom decides to peruse the university’s website and stumbles across their freedom of speech policy, a challenge in itself as it’s surprisingly difficult to locate, will find it to be impressively liberal.

Exeter seeks to ‘‘… encourage a culture of vigorous and fearless discussion within the law that ensures critical thinking and which challenges violent extremist and illegal narratives and those who seek to promote them.” ... A commendable mission statement and one that certainly in my eyes, includes protests. In fact, most UK universities possess very similar policies, perhaps explaining the confusion over why the Hong Kong protests were shut down across multiple campuses.

Maybe it is the level of controversy surrounding these particular protests, maybe there is an element of racism involved, but either way these limitations on the choice of students to protest seem in direct conflict to the self-declared ethos of such institutions. Freedom of speech is an integral right not just in this country, but also in our universities. Without it we will never be exposed to alternate viewpoints and will be destined to fulfil the hated title of the ‘snowflake generation’ that many of us have fought hard to combat. So, yes student protests may only be small, but sometimes small things have the most value. Abolish them at your peril.

Image: Students Guild

Liv Harvey VP Activities

W

ITHIN my role, I help facilitate and encourage student involvement in the democracy and governance of the Guild. I also support students in getting involved with societies, fundraising, volunteering and employability opportunities.

With nearly 300 societies to get involved with, there are so many opportunities for students to become active members of the student community and beyond (and plenty to keep me busy!). As a committee member last year, one of the reasons I ran for this role was to try and make running societies easier and more rewarding. We have some incredible Student Leaders within the Students’ Guild who play such a big part in enhancing the student experience, so it is important that they are recognised and supported.

We hosted the Big Society Hello in October which was a lovely occasion for committee members to meet both staff and elected officers who can support them throughout the year. As well as this, this September we launched the Volunteer Logging System which allows student leaders to log the hours they volunteer. I’m working on raising funds for the Guild Hardship Fund being part of societies was a highlight of my time at university, so I want to work towards ensuring that there are no financial barriers to joining societies.

One of my favourite parts of this role is how unpredictable it can be; I never know what’s going to pop into my inbox (my favourite email being a request for Paul Chuckle to DJ at the Lemon Grove) and I get to meet such variation of people – I feel very lucky to be working alongside some incredible staff and students and I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.

EXEPOSÉ | 11 NOV 2019

Beyond Exeter Welcome! This new section aims to broaden the scope of our content and provide a space for international students to voice their opinions on topics that matter to them.

We are looking for students from other countries, living and/or studying here for the duration of their degree to write about issues that affect them.

If you want to contribute, please get in touch by emailing editors@exepose. com or messaging our Facebook page.

Tamara “Babush” Balabekova Contributor

L

ET’S talk about something wholesome – food nostalgia.

There are so many ways one can experience nostalgia, and in my humble opinion nothing does it nearly as good as food. Food evokes memories in the most vivid way possible, bringing you back to very special moments like friend and family gatherings. This power of food can be very useful for the homesick international students that not only aren’t used to the salt and vinegar crisps, craving specific flavours, but are also missing their homeland –

Getting back in touch with your roots

and whose Skype calls with parents just don’t cut it anymore.

When you move countries, the move marks a new person When you move countries, you almost feel that the move marks a new person and you have two lives – one back in your homeland and another in the new country. Bringing those two aspects together is very important to make you feel whole and content. In the end, you are still the same person, just with a baggage of new experiences and added knowledge.

I encourage you to try organising a themed dinner party with your close friends – a lovely break from the monotony of having pre-drinks and going to Cheesies. My friends and I had a few “Slavic Sunday” dinners, which were probably the most wholesome

bonding experiences I have had at university: I got to share a piece of my childhood with friends I made in Exeter. In my attempt to encourage you to cook national meals and to celebrate cultural holidays, many of you may be put off by the logistics of cooking a complex meal. And I hear you – it can be super intimidating.

Food evokes memories in the most vivid way possible But hear me out: the craziest thing about food nostalgia is that the food doesn’t even have to be good to make you remember where you come from.

I distinctly remember the taste of the awfully dry chocolate chip cookies that I shared with my aunt over a cup of tea, after a horrid argument we had when I was an edgy 13-year-old. I promise to you, those cookies were absolute

trash: I’m pretty sure they were mass produced since before the creation of the USSR. But I digress. Despite the awful taste of those cookies, I experience the warmest feelings every time I try them, even though it’s been eight years.

For those of us that are not blessed with any cooking talents this can be quite reassuring, because let’s be real here - it won’t be as good as your grandma makes it. Despite this, I would still encourage you to get in touch with parents for some hidden gem family recipes you may have, and get brave in the kitchen. Even if it doesn’t work out, the whole process can be quite entertaining and fruitful in reminding you of your roots and sharing your culture with people you meet here.

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Translation as an act of resistance

Fatima Zehra Contributor

W

ITHIN literature, ideas of resisting the status quo are not as new-fangled as the syllabi of universities in the Western world would have us believe: from decolonisation to diversification, the assumption unfortunately remains that such initiatives are merely trends,

serving as modern-day opioids for the masses of hyper-woke and diverse student bodies. However, in the context of the world we live in today, where discrimination ranges from classroom micro-aggressions to the gender-pay gap, understanding and appreciating the role of art and literature is key when it comes to resisting injustices.

In translation, there is a subversion of power dynamics In fact, to classify translation as an act of resistance is, in a way, the first step towards understanding the true meaning of what a decolonised curriculum is in those very Western universities that strive towards it. In the act of translation, a subversion of power dynamics takes place that allows those often at the bottom of the figurative food chain to, for once, dominate the narrative. Indigenous

literatures are not an anomaly, and translation serves as a way to engage with the literature of languages, cultures and time periods that those in the Western world would not ordinarily be exposed to.

The distinction, of course, is that translation must be done with this idea of exposure in mind, rather than as an anthropological journey reminiscent of the critique Edward Said levied against Western writers, artists and selfproclaimed explorers in Orientalism.

Setting translations in context is also key, since the act of translation cannot be reduced to the act of re-creating a text in another language. Rather, translation must be seen as a form of activism where a rejection of the dominant narrative of Eurocentrism can be seen, with translators actively recreating narratives within their cultures to serve a greater ideological purpose.

This purpose is often a rejection of the aforementioned Eurocentric ideals, which ties in to ideas of resistance and

rebellion, particularly in a postcolonial context.

It is not enough to merely have knowledge of the two languages Therefore, it is obvious that it is not enough to merely have knowledge of the two languages being dealt with whilst translating – a deeper understanding of culture, social norms and history is necessary as well, and unless all these ideals go hand in hand the work produced will not be an active and rebellious piece of art, but rather a passive piece of prose that harkens back to a time (and lack of understanding) that Said was trying to bring us away from.

Resistance, however, cannot be confined to merely translation. As Salman Rushdie’s essay points out, the existence of postcolonial literatures in English serves as a way of taking

BEYOND EXETER 10

EDITOR

Anne Chafer

ON PROTEST FROM AFAR A poem Anna Romanovska Lifestyle Editor As I stand In this sea of people I feel nothing but disconnect I am embedded amongst them One of their own Yet I cannot help but feel Like an imposter A stranger, looking in On her country’s tragedies Criticising with no action Shouting with no demands What is solidarity Without presence?

Without assembly?

Without a language barrier?

Is it my accent?

That disconnects me From my peers?

I am seen as an anomaly A freak I don’t live here anymore My lease on activism is up Ended with no warning I continue to be a squatter in a movement That is no longer my own Protesting from afar?

It’s near impossible.

up space within literary spheres once dominated by colonising forces and languages; meaning that postcolonial literature in English is a literal enactment of ‘the empire strikes back, with a vengeance’.

Postcolonial writers, therefore, choosing to write in English and coopting the language of the coloniser to tell their own stories, rather than allow stories to be told of them, is yet another form of resistance. This too, however, stems from translation and the act of not only taking indigenous stories and retelling them on our own terms, but rewriting the colonisers’ words in one’s own language as well.

Images L-R: European Space Agency and Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons

Powering Experiences

Now you can get ChargedUp on campus!

Ever been out with friends and realize your phone battery is about to die? Now we have ChargedUp stations across campus, where you can rent a portable battery (with all cables included) and easily charge on the go.

Download the ChargedUp app to get started!

12

Features

11 NOV 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES EDITORS: Jaysim Hanspal William Harrop

Climate Watch: Extinction Rebellion Gaia Neiman, Online Comment Editor, recalls her experience with Extinction Rebellion in London

G

REY and white heads crowded the streets of London at the Extinction Rebellion.

Every time I looked on as a policeman escorted another person to the nearby station amidst an applause of solidarity, the arrestee would almost always be proudly displaying tufts of white hair.

While Extinction Rebellion has developed a reputation as being an organisation driven by the youth, the contributions of the elderly are something that has received little recognition.

While these scenes of the old acting for the futures of the young largely encapsulated my experience of the Extinction Rebellion protests that erupted across London over this past month, to many others protesting alongside me, the two week long blockade based around Parliament was more like a music festival. Trafalgar Square, quickly became established as the main hub for the entire duration of the exhaustive rebellion, booming nostalgic protester anthems like ‘Across the Universe’ in tents all around the piazza.

This protest is all about mutual respect for each other Elsewhere, a sea of tents was temporarily erected along St. James’ Park and on the main iconic bridges representing a range of different groups and protesters. This emblematic stand remained at Trafalgar Square, unmoving, as a symbol that scientific conquests

are concrete; the anchors to save this damaged world. There were also food tents pitched everywhere, ubiquitous as were the Hare Krishna food trolleys, all in free aid of the protesters that gifted their time, and often, their crystal clean records. So, in such a harmonious ensemble, standing or sitting in each other’s arms in the rain, singing together with strangers of the same face-paint, drenched and at peace – how could the arrest count be over 1,000? This was a question on the minds of many at my section of the protest. At the moment the answer is unsolved and sits in court.

This is the story of illegal action on behalf of London’s government and the police to abort the freedom of expression and protest.

After the protests had ended, the meetings with other Extinction Rebellion activists take a meditative form under the watchful eye of any religious roof that Exeter may have vacant that day. The post-blockade debrief was supposed to cover the positives more than the negatives of the protest and the XR Rebellion, to better appreciate the collective effort. What resulted was a grieving pool of stories aimed at the serious losses we took during the fast-moving two weeks on the London streets.

The abuses of power we witnessed by the city’s police occurred almost immediately, and after the first day of protest – close to a month ago now – an order was issued under Section 14 of the Public Order Act.

Effectively Section 14 is a ban on protests all throughout London bearing an XR insignia, and an impetuous infraction on our human right to protest (Human Rights Act 1999, Article 11, Freedom of assembly and association).

Although the high court thereafter has held that Section 14 should only be applied to a single continuing assembly, which did not apply to the number of assemblies of XR’s uprising, the forces’ contemporary response incurred brutal arrest counts and disrespect.

The abuses of power by the police occurred almost immediately People were being picked off the ground and dragged to the stations like animals. Witnesses shared stories about a man’s disabilities being used against him in the struggle which had the chilling feel of a civil war, as his wheelchair was removed together with those of other disabled people, to prevent him from marching with us. Yet the stampede continued, less populated, less momentous by the day, but still determined and stubborn as hell. Nonviolence is what brought on the biggest victories in modern-day street protests.

It is in this spirit that the followers of Greta Thunberg regarded any and all police London: “we’re doing this for your children”. This protest is all about mutual respect for each other and humanity.

About Extinction Rebellion by William Harrop, Features Editor

A

YEAR has now passed since the first major action

by Extinction Rebellion in November 2018, where five bridges across the Thames were blocked.

Since then, Extinction Rebellion has received widespread endorsement and support from celebrities, ranging from Emma Thompson to British Paralympian James Brown. During October of 2019, XR began a campaign of disruption across the country, with a focus on London.

These protests have been closely watched by the police. Last month, The Guardian reported that XR protests have cost the Metropolitan police an estimated £37 million. It is encouraging, therefore, that the Dame Cressida Dick, Britain’s most senior police officer has voiced her opposition to placing a ban on the XR’s campaign of disruption, which has been unpopular among many Londoners.

XR have also received intense criticism for the disruption they caused to the London Underground, particularly at Canning Town. The organisation has since admitted the tube protest

was a mistake. Certainly, many of the arrests conducted by the police have been legitimate. The fact remains that over around 1,768 people have been arrested injust a fortnight of protests is alarming to say the least.

Much of the criticism of XR is also down to a lack of understanding of the movement’s aims. Protesters believe that large scale disruption is one of the only ways to apply pressure on the government to bring about much needed meaningful action on climate change.

Sarah Lunnon, a member of the XR’s internal political circle told The Guardian in October 2019: “There is a really fine line for XR and it is something we are having to learn. Nobody has launched a peaceful rebellion against a government before in this country. But we do have to consider how the rebellion is going to move forward.”

Image: Julia Hawkins

Image: Alexander Savin

EXEPOSÉ | 11 NOV 2019

FEATURES

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2019 in Review

Exeposé Features Writers discuss what they feel have been the most significant moments of 2019 Child Abuse in the Anglican Church, by Richard Ainslie

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HAT do you remember happening back in May? There was bad news, like the Alabama abortion laws and the Russian Aeroflot plane crash, and there was the good news: the UK went without coal power for a week, and The Big Bang Theory aired its last ever episode. But rather unnoticed on 9 May, a fierce blow hit the Christian community in England: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA) released a steely report into child abuse in the Anglican Church.

The inquiry was investigating the Diocese of Chichester and specifically Peter Ball, a bishop who was allowed to carry on practising as a priest for years after a police caution for sexual abuse. The courts later found Ball guilty of abusing 18 young men and jailed him.

No disciplinary action against even known abusers After so many failings on the part of the Church, the IICSA took the task of investigating how they had handled allegations. On the 9 May, they released the findings into Ball and the Diocese of Chichester and found that the Diocese dismissed allegations and refused to believe victims, acted out of loyalty towards clergy instead of proper safeguarding, retained information from the police, and implemented no disciplinary action against even known abusers. The report leaves absolutely no doubt about the seriousness of the failings and leaves the Anglican Church nowhere to hide. On the same day, Pope Francis announced a new edict demanding Catholic

Images (left to right) : Lorie Shaull, Ander Hellberg

clergy to report all cases of abuse. 9 May stands out in the calendar as the day that the Christian church had to stop asking asking for forgiveness and start taking action.

Women in power, by Mhairi MacKenzie

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HE US consistently breaks records for women. Just over a century after the first woman was sworn into Congress, in January 127 women took their place in the 116th Congress of the United States. These women made up almost a quarter of the members of both Houses, the highest percentage of women to ever take seats in the US government.

But it was not just the recordbreaking number of women that made this year’s result so memorable; this year’s Congress contained the most diverse array of Congresswomen in US history.

Since the first women of colour was elected to Congress in 1968, seventy four women of colour have served in the US Congress; this year, forty-seven of these women were sworn into the new government. This year also saw the election of the first indigenous woman, the first Muslim woman and the first openly bisexual woman into Congress.

Instagram Bans Diet Product Ads and Plastic Surgery Filters, by Emily Imistired

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O and behold, Instagram have finally banned adverts promoting weight loss products and scrapped plastic surgery filters. According to their new guidelines, posts which make ‘a miraculous claim’ about diet products and are linked to ‘a commercial offer such as a discount code’ are prohibited, and users under eighteen can no longer view posts relating to dieting and plastic surgery. Instagram now also allow users to report posts which violate these rules.

A month after the regulations were introduced, Spark AR, the creators of Augmented Reality (AR) filters, announced via Facebook that filters which enabled users to look like they had undergone cosmetic surgery would be disappearing from Instagram.

Instagram was rated worst for users’ mental health These actions show that the social media platform is, at last, listening to activists and healthcare professionals, such as NHS England medical director Stephen Powis. For years they have been demanding an end to celebrity-endorsed diet ads because of growing concerns that they have a negative impact on young individuals and in particular, those with eating disorders and body image issues.

In 2017, a UK snapshot survey revealed that Instagram was rated the worst for user’s mental health while in 2018, a study by JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery found that there was a new phenomenon called

“Snapchat dysmorphia”, as more and more patients seeking surgery were keen to match their filtered appearances.

Jameela Jamil, The Good Place actress and I Weigh founder, who has been a vocal critic of celebrities and reality TV stars for promoting detox teas and supplements without explaining the potential harm and side effects, welcomed Instagram’s new policy, saying it was “an extraordinary win that is going to make a big difference”. But only time will tell how well Instagram’s policy is enforced and whether it will have the desired effect.

Greta Thunberg’s speech at the UN, by Joe Newell

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N the 23 September, Greta Thunberg expressed the anger, despair and disappointment of a generation. The UN address was delivered with Thunberg’s uncompromising bluntness as she blamed the lacklustre climate commitments of world leaders on a preoccupation with “fairy tales of eternal economic growth”.

Imbued with visible emotion, this speech was especially powerful, reaching a worldwide audience in thirty different languages.While Thunberg’s activism has been a recurrent feature in world news, her UN speech deserves special recognition as “the best of 2019”. In her first viral speech at the December 2018 Climate Summit, she called on the delegation to recognise the relative magnitude of the crisis and do whatever possible to limit carbon emissions.

Following months of strikes in the name of her #FridaysforFuture movement, the eve of the next UN summit

was marked by Thunberg’s two-week journey to New York in a solar-powered yacht; controversial, but undoubtedly effective, this press stunt further galvanised the world’s youth. The global climate protest days later attracted three times the participants of its predecessor in March. Around six million people rallied in the streets.

Many fairy tales of eternal economic growth This press stunt further galvanised the world’s youth. The global climate protest days later attracted three times the participants of its predecessor in March.

The UN speech therefore represents a culmination of her activism over the course of the year. After nine months of intensive world coverage, spearheading a swath of non-violent protest, the 23 September summit was Thunberg checking-in on the progress. Sufficed to say, she didn’t like what she saw. Despite widespread recognition of the crisis, her demands of the previous year were met by inertia from world leaders. Distraught and disillusioned, Greta captured the indignance of climate activists in the most succinct and emotive slogan of her speech: “how dare you?”. Critics say her message is too bleak, but the last thing the world needs, despite the achievements of 2019, is the complacence of selfcongratulation.

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"I have nowhere to go" I

William Harrop, Features Editor, examines Britain's treatment of the Chagos Islanders

N May of this year, Britain suffered a crushing defeat in the United Nations after it was outvoted 116-6 in the General Assembly. The vote supported a motion for Britain to withdraw from the Chagos Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean over 6,000km away from Britain, to allow their re-unification with Mauritius.

While this news story graced some headlines in Britain, coverage was all too brief, and the story passed without generating any discussion about Britain’s history with the islands.

At the centre of this story is a tale of state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the British government under 50 years ago, which has been obscured from public view by the familiar sense of apathy much of Britain maintains over its colonial past.

Between 1968 and 1973, the Britain evicted the entire population of the Chagos Islands, uprooting them from their homes in order to build a US military base on the main island of Diego Garcia. Putting British interests over those seen as ‘expendable’, be they native peoples or racial minorities, has always been a staple of the imperial mindset. The fact that the British government not only refuses to discuss the injustice inflicted on Chagossian people, but also perpetuates their exile status by continuing to block their return home serves as a chilling reminder of the institutionalisation of empire in Britain.

At the centre of this story is a tale of state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing In 1968, Mauritius, which also included the Chagos Islands, cast off British rule in a referendum and became independent. By this point in British decolonisation, Britain had ‘lost’ all of its empire beyond a small collection of small islands, most of which they still rule today. As the Chagossian people looked hopefully to their postindependence prospects, what they did not know was that their future already had been decided for them. In 1966, the British Foreign Office had entered into a secret agreement with the US State Department, where they promised to provide them with an unpopulated island for a US military base. The island they chose was Diego Garcia, in the Chagos archipelago. After Mauritius achieved independence, Britain purchased the Chagos Islands Image: Chatham House

for £4 million, and administered it as a new colony, the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In a memorandum to the British delegation at the UN, Denis Greenhill, the head of the Colonial Office, callously summarised Britain’s policy in Chagos as ensuring that “there will be no indigenous population except seagulls…”. The government started its work expelling the Chagos Islanders by denying that they ever belonged to the islands in the first place.

British officials began by fabricating information about the Chagossians, describing them as a “floating population” of migrant workers from Mauritius as well as surrounding islands. This coldly calculated act stripped the Chagossians of their rights and allowed Britain to evict them from their homes. The contempt British officials held for the Chagossian people was thinly veiled, with Baron Greenville of Harrow (the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office) describing them as “Tarzans”. The callousness of the operation reflected this contempt.

...there will be no indigenous population except seagulls...

Denis Greenhill, Head of the Colonial Office, 1966.

By March 1969, Chagossians visiting family in Mauritius were prevented from returning to Diego Garcia by the British authoritites.

In 1971 this evolved into a policy of forced expulsion, which saw the operation take on a much more overtly horrific form. During the operation, Sir Bruce Greatbatch, for example, ordered that all the dogs on Diego Garcia be killed, resulting in over 1,000 pets being torn from their owners and gassed inside of furnaces. This was interpreted by the Chagossians as a terrifying warning. Between 1968 and 1973, the government of Mauritius estimates 2,323 people were forced to leave. Many were sent over 2,000km away from home to Mauritius and the Seychelles, where they were left homeless and jobless. Suicides among the exiles were all too common, many of whom reported being treated as second class citizens on Mauritius.

Moreover, the compensation Britain set aside for the exiled families took over a decade to be distributed, and when it was it amounted to under £3,000 each – a paltry sum for a people who had been robbed of their homeland.

Image: NASA

According to the International Criminal Court, established in 2002, Britain’s forced depopulation of Chagos is classified as a crime against humanity, however, the Court does not rule on cases from before 2002. The Chagossian people have not taken this injustice sitting down. Groups like the Chagos Refugee Group led by Louis Olivier Bancoult have protested for the British government to allow them to return ever since their expulsion.

Unfortunately, Britain continues to support a policy of blocking their

return. In 2003, the government overturned a decision that labelled their expulsion illegal and banned Chagossians from returning to the islands. In 2009, documents from Wikileaks also revealed that Britain attempted to turn the Chagos Islands into a Marine Park to legally prevent Chagossians from returning once and for all.

The most striking act of injustice, however, also occurred this year. In July it was reported by The Guardian that the 3,000 Chagossians living in the UK, had been repeatedly targeted and harassed by their local councils, namely West Sussex and Crawley Borough.

Many were denied housing assistance and told to return to Mauritius and the Seychelles, with Crawley Borough council even offering to pay for flights. Some were told they were not really British citizens but were instead merely passport holders, referring to how Chagossian exiles were given British passports in 2002.

Some of those affected were even old enough to remember their eviction from their homes in Chagos.

Britain continues to support a policy of preventing them from returning home In an interview with The Guardian, a 40-year-old British-Chagossian said of her experience: “When [the housing officer] spoke to me he was angry. He

said he didn’t like the Chagossians coming to the UK and asking for houses. He asked me why I came. I was asked if I wanted a plane ticket to go back. I said no, I have nowhere to go.” Another Chagossian also reported that the council couldn’t understand why they couldn’t return to their own country, telling them they had made themselves “intentionally homeless”.

Moreover, this only marks the most recent scandal involving Britain’s treatment of Chagossians, taking place under both Home Secretaries Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid. The parallels between this and the Windrush scandal just last year hardly need highlighting, and hint at a continuity of thought between the government of today, and the government of 50 years ago. Where the rights and wellbeing of people of colour are always expendable, and all too easily dissolved.

Empire was much more than the physical symbols of imperial rule Above all else, what the experience of Chagossian people has shown is that very little has changed in the way the British government prioritises those it considers ‘expendable’ since the days of empire. In fact, our popular conception of the British Empire is deeply flawed.

It obscures the fact that empire was always far more than the physical symbols of imperial rule. It was a world system structured around a certain way of thinking. It was institutionalised.

The British government today may no longer have a Colonial Office or an India Office, but this shouldn’t suggest for a moment that things have radically changed.

Image: David Holt, Flickr

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sex ed: has it failed us?

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LIFESTYLE EDITORS Izzy Cole Anna Romanovska

ARTS + LIT EDITORS Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu Zach Mayford

MUSIC EDITORS Richard Ainslie Bryony Gooch

SCREEN EDITORS Jonathan Chern Samuel Thomson

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lifestyle

The growth of a community

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Anne Chafer, Deputy Editor, explores the evolution of independent business in Exeter

ORE Street was the place that started the independent store scene in Exeter. Independent shops have proliferated in the last couple of years, spreading through the town like wildfire. From street food, brunch and burgers, to hairdressers and zero-waste stores, there’s something for everybody: supporting your local shops has never been so easy.

FORE STREET IS THE HOME OF MOST INDEPENDENT STORES This phenomenon does connect to the decline of the UK high street. Consumer culture seems to have always been focused around a high street where you can do all of your shopping. You drive to a supermarket outside of town for your groceries, then get everything else from the high street.

Boots is a good example: instead of going to different pharmacies and cosmetic shops, you have a pharmacy/beauty or food hybrid where you can find (nearly) everything you need.

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In Exeter, Fore Street has always been the area that one could associate the most with the independent store. A self-defined “indie street”, the shop owners in Fore Street have been organising events collectively, holding the semi-regular Flea Market, and generally collaborating with each other for a long while. Other independent store streets that deserve a mention are Gandy Street and Sidwell Street. The latter is often dismissed (after all, it’s packed with fast food outlets), but is slowly transforming.

But it’s not surprising that Fore Street is where most independent shops find their home. The quirky, downhill narrow street is full of cafés, clothing and homeware shops,

each with their own twist on what they offer; far from feeling like the competitive environment of the high street, only a few minutes away, there is a real sense of community amongst them.

The dynamics and the values in these stores are certainly different from the typical competition between big high street retailers for their customers’ money.

An emphasis is put on the relationships amongst those who keep the business afloat – both the customers and the owners in equal measure. Loyalty to a brand is not a thing amongst young customers, or at least not as much as it used to be, but this changes when we are talking about a small shop that needs its customers

in order to thrive. Supporting those small business owners around us feels good, not just because their ideas might be more innovative than those of a long-established brand but also because they could be our friends and family. Often they can even become our friends. In a small city like Exeter, it is likely that you will bump into people you know every once in a while, and I have often ended up having a long chat with a barista in one of these independent cafés, discovering we have many more things in common than we initially thought – not just our love for chocolate-banana-hazelnut cakes.

Everybody knows each other, and if rivalries appear, they are quickly mediated by the same shop owners. They publicise each other’s events, they collaborate to bring their different skills into projects, and they help each other’s shops thrive in general.

The sense of community these shops are bringing to the town centre is something that’s helping to redefine the relationship we have with consumerism. It encourages slower, more careful, more conscious, more social shopping. And we are here for it.

Prioritising myself

Amy Butterworth, Online Lifestyle Editor, reflects on her wellbeing growth this past year

S we say an apprehensive “hello” to winter, beckoning the start of a new decade, this provides an opportunity for everyone to reflect on their wellbeing over the past year, decade, millennia, etcetera. And understandably so – when external elements like politics and the climate crisis seem like such troubled waters, mindfulness

and introspection become the much safer and less anxiety-inducing plat-du-jour.

Stress is part-and-parcel of university life; they go together like Pret 99p filter coffee (50p with your own keep cup) and deadline season. However, work stress isn’t something I needed to conquer; exams and coursework are second nature to me after being pushed along the conveyor belt of secondary school. Rather, my wellbeing growth over the past year has been all about listening to my needs, wants and boundaries, and doing so to the same degree that I value the needs/wants/boundaries of those around me. I grew up believing in the narrative that, to be liked, I had to act according to what would most benefit the other person.

I have just finished my (free) course of counselling - the University Wellbeing Services offer six free sessions a year - and as I’m trying to squeeze every last drop from my degree here, it only made sense to give it a try. What I didn’t expect was not only to uncover one of my most pertinent deeprooted (human and understandable) flaws, but also to recognise the tools to overcome it.

I didn’t realise the extent I wasn’t putting myself first until, funnily enough, I started putting myself first. Therapy helped me to listen to that feeling we all get – that visceral, bodily aversion when you want to say no – and actually doing something about it.

For me, it’s quite like flicking a switch in my head to be able to say no, and each time I have has felt like my own mini triumph.

Jacqui Marson, author of The Curse of Lovely, states the importance of the seemingly paradoxical “positive no": people confuse saying "no" with negativity. Know the power of the positive no. You’re declaring, "This is who I am," you’re being true to yourself. If we can’t say "no" then our "yes" has no meaning. If you say yes to everything, people will begin to wonder, "Who is this person?"

Being able to vocalise my boundaries has not only improved my personal wellbeing but also my relationships with those around me – those who care about me want me to be my most unapologetic self, boundaries and all. I was doing a disservice not only to myself but to them!

Frankly, I don’t feel the need to re-evaluate the decade passed, I personally don’t

see the worth in Freudian psychoanalysing my childhood to understand why I am/was the way that I am/was. Rather, this wellbeing year has been about figuring out how to better myself for the future, and for the relationships with those around me. But in the same vein, I don’t want to ignore my former self, and certainly not resent her - the girl (me) who didn’t have the vocabulary to assert her boundaries, she deserves compassion and care, without pity or resentment.

I DO NOT FEEL THE NEED TO RE-EVALUATE THE DECADE PASSED I’m finding it easier to see myself as an assertive person, which for a decade seemed like an absolute unattainability for “someone like me”. I’ve realised that being a nice person and putting myself first aren’t mutually exclusive variables.

But most importantly, I’ve finally learned to value myself; no longer are my needs and boundaries reduced to an afterthought, they are the main show.

Images L to R: creativegangsters (unsplash), Anne Chafer

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When is it too early to celebrate Christmas?

Two Lifestyle Writers battle it out on when they think Christmas should start

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HEN the clock strikes midnight lights, spill your hot cocoa on the wires, on 31 October, and as Mariah electrocute yourself, all while forgetting Carey’s 'All I Want For Christmas to go to the Bath Christmas market. What Is You' starts playing in the distance, we a shame. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not know that it is time. Christmas time. Yes, saying that you should put up your tree Halloween has barely finished and yes the on 1 November, especially if you’re cutbeginning of those chocolate advent calting down your own. It’ll be dead before endars is still a far off dream, BUT, it is still the 25th if you do! Or maybe just getting time for Christmas. suspiciously close to Logically speaking, being a fire hazard. with all the ChristEither way, there are mas music to listen other ways to start to, markets to go getting in the spirit. shopping at, movJust start switching ies to cry to, stockon your Christmas ings to knit, trees to Spotify playlist, decorate, and preand maybe pull out sents to wrap, startyour penguin fuzzy ing any later than 1 socks. Don’t worry, November is simply no one needs to Image: Jennifer Pallian (Unsplash) out of the question. know. Even in terms There’s just not of presents, do you enough time! Say, really want to be the Image: Jennifer Pallian (Unsplash) you’re someone family member who who prefers to start on 1 December. Inwaited till the last minute to buy gifts, stead of relaxing while listening to Michael and wasn’t able to get that cosy sweater Bublé’s Christmas album and drinking hot your sister wanted because it went out of cocoa, you’ll be frantically attempting to stock? Didn’t think so.

Bryn Seltzer listen while also decorating your tree with

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N my eyes it’s a crime to celebrate watch Love Actually on repeat. Trust me, Christmas before 1 December, until I have done it. If you are lucky enough you’ve opened your advent calendar to be able to afford a real Christmas tree you can’t start the festivities. it will look rather flakey by the time the These are my reasons why it’s simply big day comes round and could potensocial suicide to get into the Christmas tially ruin those cute Insta pics. Keeping spirit before the start of December. Firstyour Christmas lights blaring for two ly, you are almost 100 per cent likely to months solid is quite frankly bad for the lose the Christmas environment, it’s spirit. No one can just unnecessary. be that happy for Christmas is a truly that long. You can special time of year no longer classify which deserves to your weight gain be cherished. If you as those ‘Christmas start celebrating pounds’ but rather on 1 November it an autumnal accuwill lose its novmulation. It’s an inelty value. Don’t fall credibly expensive into the commerseason, all those cial trap and forget Costa Christmas about autumn. Auhot chocolates and tumn is a wondercheeky Morrison's ful time of year, full Image: Jennifer Pallian (Unsplash) mince pies take of long family walks their toll on a student budget. It’s better and hot chocolate. So don’t miss out by to save the cash for December and really falling into the high street trap, all they splash out on those fancy Christmas dinwant is for you to be in the Christmas ners. You’ll run out of Christmas movies to spirit on 1 November and spend non stop Georgia Shepherd watch: there’s only so many times you can until January.

Has sex education failed you?

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Yudy Wu tells us whether she thinks she's had a sufficient sex education

EX education, the only class during my secondary school life that I didn’t doodle in my notebook. However, as I put all my attention into the class, I can’t help but feel like something is missing after it – so how do people have sex, exactly? Do LGBTQ+ people have sex differently? Does touching my clitoris equal to masturbation?

And when do I know that it’s time to have sex? To be fair, I wasn’t completely clueless about all of these as I had come across a lot of erotica, or even porn, when I’m browsing the internet; but I’ve also read a lot of posts online about how those are not like sex in real life at all. I wanted answers – from an authority figure like my teacher, instead of online forums, but I was too shy to ask.

I'VE NEVER RECEIVED "THE TALK" I still remember when I received my first and only sex-ed class, back when I was in secondary school. At the beginning of the course, the teacher told us not to jeer or laugh during this class, as this was “no laugh-

ing matter.” We started from female and male genitals, to periods, to preventing pregnancy and STDs. Most of my classmates seemed to be a bit nervous about this, while there were a few angsty boys who pretended to know everything and act like they did not care – but either way, the classroom was really quiet; everyone was curious while taking this seriously.

And I’ve never received “the talk.” Before my parents could even give me one, my intense curiosity helped me, and I managed to find a lot of sex education resources online – they’ve kind of figured out that I know everything already. But my parents would talk about sex with me openly.

Thanks to those resources online and my relatively openminded parImage: Ian Dooley (Unsplash) ents, I truly re-

alised how important sex education is and became enthusiastic in it.

I’m lucky enough that I found out about sex education resources online. However, I know full well that not everyone is like me. A lot of people’s parents are ashamed of talking about sex, and some people might have never received sex education in school.

Also I have to mention that, even if you are lucky enough to have sex education in your school, there’s a chance that you received a bad one where they didn’t tell you things that will happen in real life, such as consent, kinks, all the dilemmas and “deviance” about sex. If you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, sex education in many countries has probably failed you with their heteronormative context or not even recognising the

ways in which sex education differs for you.

We, in our generation, are in a better situation than our parents as sex education is now taught in most schools. However, people who are teaching us about sex don’t seem to be up to date with the cultural changes around sex. We need more than what our parents were told, we need more than just putting a condom on a banana.

TEACHERS OF SEX ED DON'T SEEM TO BE UP TO DATE Sex education fails to realise what we need, what comes with the internet and the type of world that we are being exposed to. Those that should teach us surely know what is out there, but they might assume that we won’t come across it. But in real life there are so many situations that we don’t know how to deal with. You clearly remember seeing certain things in porn, but why has no one told us about it, and why does it not work in real life?

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The cosmetic craze Becky Claxton discusses the controversy surrounding cosmetic surgery

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OME of the first lessons we are taught in life is to not judge a book by its cover. However, when the person who has written the narrative dislikes the cover, surely they should be allowed to change it? The crux of the matter is that we all have the right to present our bodies in any shape or form. Our appearance is an expression of who we are. If we choose to hide behind cosmetic surgery, we are choosing to externally and superficially fix our insecurities and this is not wrong, it is a choice. Every human being has the right to free choice. Condoning or condemning cosmetic surgery depends on your individual standpoint. What is much more disturbing is the lack of ability to understand the deeper problems that are causing body discontentment. Is this not what we should be addressing, rather than whether or not paying half of your yearly income to get a nose like Meghan Markle’s is a criminal offence?

Cosmetic surgery is the process by which the body is altered to enhance the appearance of the individual. This process is one which is scrutinised with the assumption that cosmetic surgery accompanies

the vain and egotistical individual. However, one who requires a surgical procedure in order to feel content in their own body, as a bottom line, is displaying a feeling of dissatisfaction and inadequacy. Perhaps it is the rise of the airbrushed Instagram influencer who boosts their self-confidence by posting photoshopped pictures of his or her largely unachievable facial features that are catalysing this low self-esteem or maybe it’s not. There are no right or wrong reasons to get cosmetic surgery, it’s a personal process based on a freedom of expression and yet it remains a largely frowned upon procedure.

THERE'S NO RIGHT OR WRONG REASON TO GET COSMETIC SURGERY Perhaps it is not the procedure itself that we should be focussing on, but rather using this as a signpost for a heap of emotions that are being temporarily subdued by a cosmetic procedure. Cosmetic surgery is a sign of feeling uncomfortable in your

Celebs behaving badly Bryony Gooch, Music Editor explores the issue of celebrity obedience and whether this hinders their status as role models

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NE of the standout pop culture moments in my childhood was in 2007 when Britney Spears shaved her head. It was one of those phenomena that never quite leave you, the sight of this iconic popstar, famed for her blonde hair, shaving it all off. I remember going to primary school the same day the news broke and sharing it with the rest of the class, naturally in the most sensitive terms an eight-year-old can understand: “Britney Spears has gone BONKERS”, I said with a wry smile. The way I told my class about Britney Spears’s mental breakdown was, if anything, no more nuanced than how news outlets and paparazzi were portraying her at the time.

It was only recently that I saw an interview with Spears where she spoke out

about the events of 2007: “people shave their heads all the time”. She described it as a form of rebellion against personal issues and when the interviewer asked why she didn’t tell anyone at the time, she succinctly replied: “I didn’t think it was anyone’s business.”

CELEBS HAVE CHOSEN TO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN THE PUBLIC EYE And I think we can all agree that, if Britney Spears had not been one of the world’s most famous popstars at the time, but instead a regular woman going about her day-to-day life, it would have been nobody’s business. It goes without saying that in our lifetimes it is

body. Cosmetic surgery can change one’s appearance but it can not permanently alter a mental state nor find the internal voice that says you aren’t good enough just as yourself.

Therefore cosmetic surgery can be seen as a physical representation of the unfortunate truth that we are a society attempting to live up to unreal ideals. Celebrities, who have the money to splash the cash on lip fillers and face lifts make the younger demographic strive for these unn a t u r a l ideals. It is understandable and yet it’s a shame that so many people feel inadequate to such an extent that they want to ameliorate their physical appearance rather than address the heart of these self-destruc-

unlikely any of us will ever have a mental breakdown as widely publicised and stigmatised as Britney Spears.

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tive emotions. The cosmetic industry today is suggesting that as these procedures are becoming quicker and cheaper, they are more accessible and therefore more acceptable. People dye their hair, diet to change their body shape and transform their faces with makeup, what’s the difference with changing your appearance with surgery?

This argument certainly holds truth.

There’s no denying that there’s an ever-increasing need within our society to conceal our imperfections.

The question arises then as to whether there is a difference between concealing your imperfecImage: Septian Simon (Unsplash) tions permanently through cosmetic surgery or temporarily by wearing make up. Let’s start looking deeper than what’s on the surface.

wealth. They are naturally surrounded by teams of people – legal and PR – to protect them from public scrutiny. Remember that Felicity Huffman and many other celebrities managed to bribe proctors into fixing their children’s SAT papers. Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and oneyear supervised release for her part But often enough celebriin the scandal. Meanwhile, ties, held to a higher caliTanya McDowell, a homebre of morality than us less African American mere mortals, face a woman enrolled her higher level of scruson into a better tiny than is perpublic-school haps justifiable. district and After all, we when she was think to ourcaught, she was selves as we sentenced to scroll through 12 years impristheir public onment. It is in Instagram acthese moments counts, ‘they where celebrihave chosen ties use their privito live their lives lege to evade sothis publicly’. They cietal justice that the choose to grace our higher level of scrutiny is screens every day, get paid absolutely justified, perhaps beImage: Ethan Haddox (Unsplash) more than us, and therefore, we feel cause it is more indicative of how wealth owed a part of their life. ‘They are our role gaps impede justice from taking place. models’, we think. We don’t question their It is easy for us to look at celebrities, sincerity. It’s almost as if, through idoliswho have their personalities served to us on ing these figures, we forget that part of a plate and assume that we have the right the celebrity job is trying to be liked. That to feel close to them. That we are owed is how they sell their products, after all. every detail of their personal life. But they Celebrities hold an undeniable amount are not our best friends and we shouldn’t of privilege, especially in regards to their treat them with the same idolisation.

WE FORGET THAT PART OF THE CELEBRITY JOB IS TO BE LIKED

arts + lit

Relax, re-read, book-cycle Need cheap reads or a quiet chill? Bryony Gooch, Music Editor, knows a place

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F you were to walk down Fore Street, past the minimalist zero waste shops and the slightly sketchy military shops, and took a left onto West Street, you’ll find towards the end of the street a rickety-looking Tudor building with quirky green letters on the outside reading, Book-Cycle. When I first moved to Exeter last year, we drove past and it caught my eye: densely I thought it was one of those niche places where they put together two ideas (in this case, books and bicycles), and voilá you had another bookshop. In my hometown there is a shop dedicated to books and hats, so you’ll have to excuse my clunky thought process. But Exeter’s Book-Cycle is so much more than a niche bookshop.

MY FRIENDS HAVE STARTED NARRATING MY BEHAVIOUR IN BOOKSHOPS Book-Cycle is a primarily UK-based charity with two important initiatives: providing books and educational resources to schools worldwide and helping reforest England by planting trees and providing information on

sustainability. The branch in Exeter is one of six pressure to pay a certain amount. Certainly, in a major bookshops (interestingly, there is even a country where nine million adults are functionbranch in Rome). In the likes of Boston Tea ally illiterate, there is something essential Party and the Glorious Art House about a bookshop where there on Fore Street, there are is no pressure to pay for mini shelves dedicated more than you can afto the charity. ford, and earnestly But perhaps allows literature what makes to feel accesthe charity sible. bookshop so Certaininteresting ly, this kind is its acattitude cessibility. towards Instead of reading charging lends itself the classic to the at£8.99 for mosphere. a book, or When you even setting walk into the prices at all, historic buildBook-Cycle allows ing, naturally you you to pay what you are greeted by the deem fit for the maxiwelcoming, mildewed mum three books you pick Image: Bryony Gooch scent of crisp, yellowed up. That means that no matter books. It is an instantly comforthow much money you have on you in that ing environment for anyone, with a more moment, whether that is 50p or £5, there is no communal atmosphere as you walk out into its

courtyard, or upstairs past its seed bank (where you can take seeds home to plant in your garden) into its second shop space.

AT BOOK-CYCLE, YOU CAN PAY WHAT YOU DEEM FIT You see, usually when I visit a bookshop I am energised. A parody of an English student, nothing gets me talking double-speed about the state of the western canon like a classics section in a bookshop. It has reached a point where my best friends have taken to narrating my behaviour in bookshops (flashback to last summer, a trip to an independent bookshop in Bath: “will Bryony pick up the Rushdie? Or will she do what she always does and put it back on the shelf, grumbling about how expensive books are?”). Yet I sat in the upstairs on the musty terracotta sofa and felt instantly at peace.

Book-Cycle is a hidden secret in the city.

While the volunteer noted that they receive about 80 donated books a day, they only sell about 20 of those books on the same day. Fancying a good read? Book-Cycle it is!

All Hallows’ inventions

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Abbie Walker unearths the spooky season’s creative potential

ALLOWEEN annually inspires a wealth of creativity from a variety of artistic forums. The traditions of disguise in the form of fancy dress, sculptural artistry on the faces of luminous pumpkins and of course the prospect of All Hallows’ Eve generates a wealth of literary productivity. Literature and film allow us to provoke our fascination with fear, and leave a haunting energy reeling in our minds.

This time of year distills this morbid curiosity into a celebration of all things sinister.

Our most feared literary and film characters not only come to life but also become part of us as we attempt to take on their form. The nightmares from our books and films walk the streets, some in miniature passing from door to door, whilst others compete with friends for the title of most creative, even with somewhat little effort. Often the creativity that comes from little or no expenditure causes the biggest sensation in these costume competitions.

THE NIGHTMARES FROM OUR BOOKS AND FILMS WALK THE STREETS WITH LITTLE EFFORT

Take my own Halloween celebrations for instance, where I saw a Maleficent costume that breathed detail. Its gold trim wound itself around the black velvet horns, twisting up easily half a foot above the wearer’s head. A highcollared cloak brushed her ears in sharp, jagged edges, tied around the neck before sweeping towards her ankles. The soft material shimmered in the light and complimented the glittering above her eyes and across her cheeks, which defined her face sharply. The gown underneath the cloak was lined with large plastic jewels, across the lattice of the bodice of the dress, along the neckline and down towards the end of the overhanging sleeves, obscuring the wearer’s fingertips. Combined with high, lacy boots and piercing green contact

lenses, this costume spoke for the hours of effort put into it.

Across the room however sat another Maleficent. This Maleficent was less clearly identifiable wearing only a simple black dress and a black plastic pipe wrapped around the w e a r e r ’s head and tied with elastic bands in an overlapping c r o s s at the front.

The pipe twisted upwards to imitate the curling of Maleficent’s horns, however inImage: Crissa stead of thin-

ning towards the ends, it merely finished in a rough diagonal line from where it had been cut.

LITERATURE AND FILM PROVOKES OUR FASCINATION, CREATIVITY AND FEAR Despite the evident differences between these two costumes, both received hugely positive reactions as they were regarded for their different creativities. Halloween displays these creativities perfectly. Not only the elaboration, the hours of planning, purchasing and designing in order to imitate your chosen character, but also the simple.

Finding the creative in the simple, fundamental representations of character; in a simple piece of recycled pipe to create a persona for the celebration of what is essentially a night of creativity is entirely fascinating.

We recognise our beloved characters like Maleficent. Through these bare essentials and find hilarity in the attempts of those who imitate them in such inornate ways, just as we admire the ways in which Halloween fuels this creative thinking.

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EDITORS: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu and Zach Mayford

11 NOV 2019 |

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Wish E.U. were here

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Emma Hussain, Online Editor, explores J.K. Rowling’s part in the latest E.U.logy

HREE years and counting into the Brexit dilemma, and culture is rife with reactions to the 2016 referendum.

Ali Smith is three volumes into her seasonal quartet of ‘post-Brexit’ novels, Stormzy’s anti-Boris Johnson Glastonbury set hit the headlines in June, and, most recently, The Guardian has published reflections from ten public figures – including Exeter alumna J.K. Rowling – on their relationships with Europe.

The contemplations are framed as letters – some to Europe, some to the people or places within it which have meant something to the senders. The letters evoke various anecdotes and tones, but their common thread is the sentiment that in severing ties with the European Union, we’re losing something dear.

THE CONTEMPLATIONS ARE FRAMED AS LETTERS TO MEANINGFUL PLACES Children’s writer and proud Scouser Frank Cottrell Boyce writes about how travelling abroad for football matches took young Mer-

seyside men, perhaps unlikely continental travellers, into European cities: “Liverpool often felt disconnected from the rest of England, but football connected us to Europe like a perfectly weighted pass.” Dutchborn author Michel Faber expresses the bitter unfairness of having to apply to stay in the country he’s called home for over 25 years: “Brexit reclassifies me an illegal alien, officially “Unsettled”, unless I apply to Britain’s xenophobic government for permission to stay.”

Exeter’s own J.K. Rowling writes the longest letter of the bunch, explaining how Europe has been a source of fascination to her ever since she was assigned a German pen-pal at age 13. Her relationship

with Europe – and more specifically, the free movement that those of us privileged enough to be European citizens have been allowed – has been a constant in her life, from escapist backpacking through Austria as a teenager to running away to Portugal to process her grief after her mother’s death.

For Rowling, travelling in Europe was the perfect haven for the “misfits and runaways” with whom she felt an affinity.

JKR identifies Europe as her homeland – whether she’s advocating for a post-state, beyond-borders world order (admittedly unlikely), or simply expressing an abstract sentimentality, her letter articu-

lates the sense of loss that Brexit has created within many of us. Her words convey the experience of witnessing what seems so much like a win for the wrong ideologies and a rejection of something positive and shared.

HER LETTER ARTICULATES THE SENSE OF LOSS THAT BREXIT BRINGS TO MANY Rowling’s prolific vociferousness on political issues in the past several years has been at times tiring – or worse, offensive – for fans who just wanted to read lukewarm Harry Potter character takes and go. Her world-round renown brings her clout and criticism unrivalled by any other Exeter alum, except perhaps Sajid Javid.

However, we can hope that such a world-famous writer’s involvement in the project might draw focus to these clever, witty, and sometimes poignant letters to Europe, shedding a more personal light on the Brexit conversation, and pleading for a solution to the interminable Brexit turmoil.

Best of 2019: Jenny Holzer Anne Chafer, Deputy Editor, highlights her 2019 top art pick

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HE first time I cried watching an artist’s work was when I went to a Florence + The Machine concert at 16. The most recent time this has happened was when I saw Jenny Holzer’s art in the Tate Modern, and this seems to me a perfect reason to consider it the best exhibition I have seen this year.

Jenny Holzer’s work combines LED lighting and big impactful slogans that range from the philosophical to violent news headlines. The Tate Modern describes her work as one that “asks us to consider the words and messages that surround us”.

The public dimension of her art is what gives it meaning – she often exhibits sentences, words or statistics by putting them up on billboards or projecting them on buildings. Taking the written words out of context gives them a different quality and power.

In one of her latest projects, It Is Guns, Holzer put words such as “there’s another shooting”, “the president backs away” or

“paralyzed” on lit-up screens on the sides of vans, which then drove all across New York and other North American cities in the aftermath of the Parkland school shootings. The mediums she works with are very diverse, and the words she uses are often borrowed from poems, but they all involve multimedia art and mixed media in some way or another.

THE SMALL PLAQUES SEEMED SO PERMANENT TO ME When I saw she was exhibiting some of her work at the Tate Modern in London, I paid her room a visit as soon as I could. And it did not disappoint.

The first room was one of the iterations of her long-term project Truisms, and it consisted of white walls covered in black sentences, ex-

pressing various points of view. The sentences included“sex differences are here to stay”,“raise boys and girls the same way”, “sometimes science advances faster than it should” and “sin is a means of social control” amongst others, and they neither represented the artist’s point of view nor were cohesive with one another.

Two other installations caught my attention: the first one was the minimal Survival, where Holzer had cast parts of poems by Polish author Anna Świrszczyńska into aluminium plaques. In these poems, Świrszczyńska recounts her experiences as a nurse during the Second World War. The most famous excerpt is the phrase “protect me from what I want”: the small black and gold plates seemed so permanent to me, and the words on them only made them emotionally heavier.

Finally, there was another small room annexed to the main one. It dealt more specifically with the pain of war. Hanging from the wall, an electronic LED light panel showed accounts

by Syrian refugees, and on the opposite wall, there was a reproduction of a US government document related to the invasion of Iraq, its name “Alternative Interrogation Techniques.”

And in the corner, an abandoned sleeping bag, embroidered with a first-person testimony of a British military veteran: “There was a soldier who had been severely injured, and I had to sit with him and watch him die because there was nothing I could do to help him.”

Jenny Holzer’s room in the Tate Modern was the highlight of my year in art, and made me rethink the way I see my surroundings– the news I read, the messages we circulate amongst each other. Her art was relevant and poetic but also ruthless and piercing, all those LED lights and flashing messages.

She didn’t feel the need to make anything pretty, and the stripped-back messages were powerful because of that exact reason. Holzer’s art was and is contemporary reality, one that’s painful yet beautiful.

Images L to R: Campus France, Karen Arnold, AlLes,StockSnap

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EDITORS: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu and Zach Mayford

11 NOV 2019 |

Writers’ Corner

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Neha Shaji, Deputy Editor, resurrects Arts + Lit’s creative section

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Image: Unknown Lens

Butcher My Name

HEORETICALLY, he knows what exile is. He knows the shame and loss of it.

He thinks of it like breaking an oath.

Stirrings of half-hearted nationalism and songs of glory and freedom fighters freedom fighting for freedom, fighting. He wishes his eyes were blue, so it would be easier to slink into self-exile. That he didn’t look so painfully from-there, so he could fit into a simple from-here. But here he was, solidly and obviously from not-here, tucked into a painfully warm flat in the crotch of a global current outward, outward, outward.

Neither-here-nor-there. A narrow, grey existence in the in-between areas, neither rosy diaspora or established minority. Someone called people like him cockroaches. But then – they did back home as well. There is exile. But there is love at the end of it. There must be.

They had warned him not to bite the hand that fed him. They’d never told him to not fall in love with it. He knows that Jeremy (so American! Maybe he was Jerry as a child!) must have forgotten his brief stint of volun-

tourism, the stink and sickness of it, the dark eyes of the children reaching out for food.

The lack of light in the brightest day, poverty porn except it was a million lives and the stink too visceral. He wonders if Jeremy had seen him (a volunteer, just the same, but from-there) as just another child, groping for a can of SPAM when in reality he was reaching out to feel rushing veins and beating heart and perhaps love.

At home, there were fields of grass taller than he was. Here, there were buildings grazing the corners of the sky. He feels lost in both places. Men look at him the same here, with disgust, but differently from before because it was a different disgust with a different cause. It is almost the same as before. How he had thought it would all run into love, that he would feel closer to his construction of Jeremy somehow. That he would be allowed to call him Jerry. How heavy he assumed love would feel in his chest but – theoretically, he was prepared. He looks in the mirror and feels, suddenly, like he had not gone anywhere at all. It is not migration,

but the weariness that comes after. It was the weight of in-between existence. He realises then that Jeremy had never mattered, at least not as much as he thought it did. Jeremy, who seemed to warm his heart those days crammed into trucks and planes and car-boots. Who butchered his name once with glistening teeth and then never again.

Theoretically, he knows what belonging is.

Realistically, he knows it will never come.

UNESCO celebrates Exeter

Image: Creative C0

Zach Mayford, Arts + Lit Editor, praises the city’s literature win

WHAT EXACTLY IS A UNESCO CITY AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR EXETER? And I’m not the only person to notice: this month, Exeter became a UNESCO City of Literature. We joined the ranks of 39 Cities of Literature, spread over six continents. This celebrated Exeter’s history of publishing, poetry and general pen-game. We’ve all spent time with our heads tilted at that angular metal sculpture in the town centre, trying to de-cypher the riddles, then googling them on our phones.

The literary history is some of the oldest in the country, and the Exeter Book is one of only four surviving medieval texts in England. When we

think about it, the city’s love affair with language is ancient and ornate.

But what exactly is a UNESCO city of literature, and what does it mean for the city?

UNESCO, a branch of the UN, is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, whose aim is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. They require criteria for a place like Exeter to become a ‘City of Something’, and the focus remains on quality and diversity of culture, in this case print culture. This move recognises Exeter’s rich history, and there are many literary pilgrimage hotspots Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s birthplace Ottery St Mary is nearby, as is Ted Hughes’ secret funeral monument on Exmoor (keep it on the down-low). The UNESCO award recognises the present proliferation of publishers, creativity and literary love.

The council coverage of this news also recognised the University’s contribution to the cultural influence of Devon’s country town, including the extensive collections of literary archives, such as Daphne Du Maurier and Agatha Christie. The special archives live up to their name, and there are some phenomenal artifacts freely available from the depths of its

troves. Last year I got the chance to see a Victorian illustrated ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ that was the size of a small door. Surely Exeter Uni’s arts departments must also take some credit for the sustained flourishing of our literary culture, as well as its local publications, journals and media outlets.

THE EXCITING THING ABOUT THIS DECISION IS WHAT IS TO COME The exciting thing about this decision isn’t just the past, or even the present: it’s what is to come. UNESCO recognition will hopefully unlock arts funding, investment and international recognition. I’ve seen videos of Exeter councillors reacting to the news and they seem chuffed at the hypothetical financing of that strangled institution, British arts. For Exeter, the future is lit.

Image: Madden

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HAVE always been amused by the literary shout-outs that Exeter and Devon seem to accrue. Cavalier poet Robert Herrick called Devon “the drooping west’” and Keats reeled off the county’s deficiencies: we’re apparently a splashy, rainy, misty, snowy, foggy, haily, floody, muddy, slipshod county. As the moment, this last comment seems apter than ever. In fact, the city in particular has a deep and textured literary history of creation, as well as harsh artsy burns.

Image: Derek Harper

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Images (clockwise from top left): A boy is a gun and Columbia, Method Records, Neighbourhood, Nice Life/Atlantic, Ghosteen Ltd, Darkroom/Interscope, Age 101, Spring Snow/Columbia, Polydor Records, AMF/Virgin EMI Bottom: Pixabay

10 NOT WAVING, BUT DROWNING

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LOYLE CARNER

OT Waving, But Drowning is a candid snapshot of mixed melancholy and warmth, this project conveys truths for Carner with an authenticity rarely found. Carner wears his heart on his sleeve with a fullness of soul and variability of themes that allows for slow, syrupy and sombre-spirited songs such as ‘Desoleil’ featuring Sampha’s emotive lines, contrasted with groovy and energised flowing tracks like ‘Ice Water’ and ‘Ottolenghi’.

‘Angel’, featuring long-time collaborator and friend Tom Misch provides a dulcet toned guitar and smooth vocal accompaniment for a clear album favourite. Tight production carries throughout the album with a versatile manipulation of piano timbre. Such versatility can forge grittiness on tracks like ‘Carluccio’, as well as melt through dreamy songs of sentimentality such as ‘Still’ and ‘Loose Ends’ which is paired with Jorja Smith’s celestial voice. Carner secures himself amongst the best of British hip-hop with nonchalant honesty around friends and family. The ultimate heart-string strummer and closing track ‘Dear Ben’ is a poem written and performed by Loyle’s mother Jean about their relationship. Not Waving, But Drowning is as wholesome as wholesome can be.

Tom Bosher

9 NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL

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LANA DEL REY

ANA Del Rey's languid, erotic Norman Fucking Rockwell was released after teasing singles over a year. It is an album of almosts; Lana is almost-political, she is almost self-aware, the album is almost-pop and almost-romantic.

Yet the vague, unplaceable music creates a smooth discord between this and her last release, Ultraviolence which was iconic yet recognisably Lana. The discordance is what centres Lana in these songs: the part she plays as a rich girl turned mobster wife is more clearly defined, in lines like “god-damn, man child”, yet also blurs the lines between person and persona with tracks such as 'Love song'.

Musically, 'Venice Bitch' stands out - a longer piece full of synth and constant strings, Lana's whispers carry the background, not vice versa.

Her final track, 'Hope is a Dangerous Thing For a Woman Like Me to Have' as well as 'The Greatest' are possibly the most political Lana has gotten, and her foggy lyrics make it intensely relatable - alienation amidst culture, and ending on despondency. In Norman Fucking Rockwell, Lana does not purely coast on the back of politics yearning for a pop-art historical existence, but rather lives within and is affected by it.

Neha Shaji, Deputy Editor

8 FATHER OF THE BRIDE

7 GREY AREA

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

LITTLE SIMZ

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AMPIRE Weekend’s fourth studio album is playful, bold, and ambient. It’s a popup book full of small ideas, projected by collaborations and harmonies that was wellworth the six-year wait. The latter indeed, is within the defining single ‘Harmony Hall’ - one with backing-vocals that “harmonise till they can’t hear anything”. This is a stance that follows the rest - vocals so rich that they almost consume the album, and need little assistance, just simple instrumentation. The album tethers Danielle Haim’s complimentary vocals to Koenig’s, alongside Steve Lacey’s riffs.

‘We Belong Together’ is all about pairings - “pots and pans, surf and sand, bottles and cans” - there’s a scrapping together of items from different landscapes. The rest of the album follows this vein; all about juxtapositions, ‘2021’ pairs two numbers while ‘Spring Snow’ pairs two seasons with galloping percussion like clashing metals. The album is full of familiar indie-pop mixed with funky experimentation.

Father of the Bride’s motif of rebirth and spring also has its own pairing: haunting climate change concerns, making the album particularly relevant to its time.

Megan Frost, Online Music Editor

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N the first song of GREY Area, Little Simz crows that she’s “JAY-Z on a bad day, Shakespeare on my worst days”; needless to say the rest of the album does a fine job of supporting this statement. Like the clearing of fog, there is a sense of conviction in her storytelling prowess; GREY Area charts personal development through the highs and lows of the Islington rapper’s twenties.

‘Venom’ is haunted with screaming, trembling violins as she wrestles with her inner demons, while ‘101FM’, magnetically looping an eastasian instrumental, is a nostalgic ode to London’s pirate radio stations.

Simz is gloriously self-assured in her talents – she's “a boss in a f*cking dress”, make no mistake. In the soulful ‘Selfish’, featured artist Cleo Sol purrs the hook, discussing just about how selfish she is. Sol dares you to question her self-love. It is the exact attitude women are rarely encouraged to have. We are taught to shrink ourselves; meanwhile Simz subversively describes the “very big ego embedded in me”. She’s a charismatic storyteller with enviable self-confidence, and there is no grey area in my conviction that GREY Area is one of the best albums to come out this year.

Bryony Gooch, Music Editor

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6 WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

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BILLIE EILISH

HE debut album of Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, has projected the 17-year-old into mainstream fame with her funky synth beats, idiosyncratic voice distortions and a quirky sense of wit that shines throughout.

The album mixes genres while bouncing between emotions and maintaining seamless transitions through the songs. Eilish goes from smirking about being the ‘bad guy’ to a mournful melody about underage drug use she’s witnessed in ‘xanny’. Her sorrowful voice is also strikingly demonstrated in ‘when the party’s over’ which provides her adoring fans with a sensitive expression of her emotions that is a delight to listen to.

Eilish refuses to allow her fans to put her on a pedestal, instead offering them reas-

5 GHOSTEEN

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NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

ICK Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Ghosteen is the ultimate answer to Skeleton Tree.

Whereas Skeleton Tree was only a partial answer to his son’s untimely death, Ghosteen allowed Nick Cave to face his grief full on. He is finally able to retrace his lost voice back to his roots with a new, atmospheric sound. It is accompanied by synthesisers and a minimalist approach as the background to Cave’s harrowing monologues.

‘Hollywood’ is the perfect epilogue to an album dedicated to finding oneself within grief.

Though the previous songs still dealt with the overall theme of grief, ‘Hollywood’ provides the most attention to Cave’s loss of his son. It is a chaotic, almost angry divergence from the contemplative nature of the rest of the album.

I listened to the entire album on my flight back to the UK after a wholesome week of visiting family at home. I was brought back to loved ones lost, yet, somehow, I wasn’t forced to spiral back into the overpowering feeling of grief.

Ghosteen is a must for those who wish for a spiritual reunion with their loved ones.

Anna Romanovska, Lifestyle Editor

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YLER, the Creator’s IGOR marks a further step away from the incendiary and provocative lyrics of Goblin which first brought the rapper/producer into the limelight. Whilst his previous project Flower Boy hinted towards Tyler’s bisexuality, IGOR is a full exploration of queer identity.

The record follows the story of a love triangle, as Tyler’s male love interest is still seeing his ex-girlfriend. The title itself bears metaphorical meaning, as it references a Gothic Hollywood trope (that of the warped

EDITORS: Richard Ainslie and Bryony Gooch

11 NOV 2019

4 CUZ I LOVE YOU

3 PSYCHODRAMA

LIZZO

DAVE

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Ollie Leader de Saxe

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Images (left to right): Nicolas Volcker Wikimedia Commons, Justin Higuchi Flickr, Incase Flickr, Alterna2 Flickr

surance by openly talking about her insecurities, such as in ‘wish you were gay’.

Eilish's unpredictable album has the ability to comfort and empower her fans whilst showcasing her phenomenal writing, producing and recording capabilities that have enabled her to go from performing 500 capacity shows to selling out four days at the O2 Wembley Arena.

Maddy McManus

MIDST the political turmoil and impending climate catastrophe, 2019 has been a chaotic year. Anything that could go wrong has. But if there’s been one beacon shining through all this darkness, it’s Lizzo and her incredible third album. ‘Cuz I Love You is breath-taking, a record that has cemented Lizzo as a true-blooded bona fide superstar. Her message of self-love is so confident and assured, you’d have to be crazy not to have a smile on your face when listening to it. Over a breathless 33 minutes, Lizzo paints a sonic collage of hip-hop, R&B, soul and pop so infectiously feel-good that even quarantine wouldn’t stop these vibes from getting out. It is pop perfection, from the explosive ballad of the title track to the sensuous guitar lines of ‘Lingerie’, by way of bass-heavy banger ‘Tempo’. The production is bombastic and layered, the choruses pop like soda. Lizzo hasn’t just made one of this year’s best pop records, but a modern pop classic.

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OW does an artist with a name as simple as Dave produce an album as grand as Psychodrama? If ever there were a year when British hip-hop earned its seat at the table, it was 2019, and Psychodrama leads the charge. In one sweeping piece of work Dave wrestles with his depression, lays out what it means for him to be black, and tells stories on a level no other rapper has achieved. And won the Mercury Prize. The album plays out like a piece of theatre, with complex characters acting out their problems over brooding piano and big echoes. He understands how strings, a little piano melody and a lot of empty space can sculpt a dark, melancholy record. He raps like he's teasing you. At 11 minutes long, 'Leslie' stands out on the album as if it were a lost Pink Floyd track. To write such an intimate tragedy about a woman whose husband abuses her, in perfect rhyme, losing not a single syllable or an ounce of emotion, takes talent.

Psychodrama is an orchestral opus, more than deserving of its place in 2019’s trophy cabinet.

Richard Ainslie, Music Editor

2 NOTHING GREAT ABOUT BRITAIN

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SLOWTHAI

VEN now, I remember when I first listened to Nothing Great About Britain. I just got on the bus after work, clicked on it as the name of the album amused me - and then I was shocked by the intense energy given by this album and Slowthai himself. All the songs are quite aggressive. Frankly, I don't think anyone could shout about their childhood as boldly as he did.

The curation of the album was also fascinating; the album's narrative sounded complete - as though you, the listener, were in conversation with Slowthai, but rendered speechless by his argument. His beats are grungy, with a taste of, alternative rock band. To combine them, he created a world that makes you dance and stress at the same time.

Until today, I still find it difficult to believe that Slowthai is British - because it's a fact that for a very long time, there was indeed nothing great about Britain in hip-hop. It's interesting to see what he managed to achieve in such an environment, and expectations are high.

Yudy Wu

1 IGOR TYLER, THE CREATOR hunchback servant from endless Frankenstein movies) to represent a darker side of Tyler that arises from his love interest’s inability to commit to him.

Part of what makes it such an extraordinary album is the unity of the piece; this is one which works best when listened to all the way through as it allows you to wholly grasp the emotional turmoil and conflict.

The album is notably less rap-heavy; the slightly off-kilter, falsetto singing in tracks like ‘EARFQUAKE’ work to highlight the raw

vulnerability that the Oakland rapper presents in IGOR. Meanwhile, ‘GONE, GONE/ THANK YOU’ provides some beautifully poetic lines which surmise the pain Tyler experiences from being played with. The lyrics “You started building a bridge and turned it into a fence / Then my building got tore down all because of your new tenant” provide a moving image of the love triangle, which also goes to show the artist’s progression from his old style of music. Perhaps the most poignant track, though, is the finale ‘ARE WE STILL

FRIENDS?’. It provides a cinematic catharsis to the record, and you can almost imagine the credits rolling as the rapper tries to come to terms with the breakup. In all, this is one of the best albums of the year because it works so fluently in portraying a magnitude of differing emotions that arise from such a tentative breakup, and the struggle to process them; going so far as to affect his own sense of identity.

Pete Syme, Online News Editor

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EDITORS: Richard Ainslie and Bryony Gooch

music

11 NOV 2019

Silence of the jams O

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26

Adam Goldsmith reviews local charity festival OxJam, showcasing the best of Exeter

XJAM, a series of local music festivals run by volunteers all over the country, made its way to Exeter on Saturday 26 October. This year’s organiser Becky Grinham, a well-known member of Exeter’s musical scene, set on Exeter Phoenix as the perfect venue for the event (with the addition of a choir showcase in the nearby St David’s Church). So I trekked to the venue through the miserable weather, hoping to be cheered up by some decent music from some new acts. I wasn’t disappointed.

Cold Lips played early in the day, and despite the band’s relative youth (they can’t even have been old enough to buy a lottery ticket) the sound that eventually erupted from the four-piece after a delayed sound-check was tight and thoroughly enjoyable. Situated in Studio 1 of the Phoenix upstairs, it felt like watching a band trying some new stuff in their parent’s garage, and that’s not intended as an insult.

Next up were Seneca. This band is loud.

Very loud. It is angsty rock: they describe themselves as Download Festival kids and that’s where they truly belong, encouraging a load of mud-covered fans to thrash about to the lead vocalist’s angry remonstrations. Perhaps the most notable element of their performance

was the singer’s intense stare; I swear he didn’t blink for the duration of an entire song.

On a totally different note came Jake Loosemore, a singer/songwriter not out of place in the workshop’s pub-like setting downstairs. Finishing on a “depressing” version of Oasis’s ‘Wonderwall’, Loosemore could easily draw comparisons with John Mayer; he played two of Mayer’s songs and central to his set is his string-plucking ability on the guitar.

Next up were Charlstonray, producing tunes which wouldn’t be out of place in one of those cool house parties everyone secretly hopes to host. Their sound was muscular, consisting of everything from steel drum synths to a live saxophone, accompanied by the vocalist’s Loyle Carner-esque tones, drifting over the melody and creating a vibe that begs you to buy a beer and have a dance.

Next up, after a considerable delay in setting up his equipment, Lonely Eddie took to the stage. It’s enthralling to watch as he multitasks his way through playing keyboard, drums and singing; observing his performance, it’s easy to understand why he is often referred to as Exeter’s answer to Jack Garratt.

Then came Drake's Island, whose popularity is perhaps best described by the fact I was forced to watch their moody set through a

doorway. This is unsurprising given that they consist of various stalwarts of the South-West music scene, including Jamie Yost and Matthew Gordon Price, both successful artists in their own right. To be fair, their music isn’t bad either. They draw frequent comparisons to Ben Howard, which admittedly simplifies them, but does capture the essence of a Drake Island performance, characterised by drifting guitars and moody vocals.

Fusea were the day’s penultimate act. This is a band consisting of two thirds of Exeter favourites Pattern Pusher, and the lead singer, whose downbeat vocals, contrasted a vibrant, guitar-driven beat. Think Joy Division, except with that hint of Pattern Pusher that simply insists on a dance.

an indication that you must. You’ll never know what you’ll find, and trust me, it’ll even be worth braving the inevitably dreadful winter weather.

LONELY EDDIE IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS EXETER'S ANSWER TO JACK GARRATT This was a fantastic event, showcasing a wide variety of music acts to cater for every taste, and the acts I spoke to were delighted with the strong turnout. If you haven’t been out and supported Exeter’s local artists, this is

Image: Leo Webb

Bringing it Bach to basics Exeposé Music Writers recall their favourite classical pieces

ON THE NATURE OF DAYLIGHT

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AX Richter’s ‘On the nature of Daylight’ is a devastatingly beautiful homage to human suffering. Written in protest of the Iraq War, Richter examines the fragility of the human condition through melody. The weeping of violins that swell to a heartbreaking crescendo, as if a seeping wound, leave you cold. The high solo violin is so raw and visceral, it transports you back to inescapable tragedies that we all experience, to the inevitability of human loss, to the news you don’t want to face, to the trauma you don’t want to revisit. His work is guttural. Its slow build-up - a dull ache roused in me a grief, for loved ones that I’ve lost and moments i can’t relive. You feel freed by it, a catharsis for a grief that is indescribable. Richter crafts such an impassioned portrayal of how agonising life can be that you are rendered motionless.

Catherine Lloyd, Copy Editor

ANDANTE, Concerto 21

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HEN I think of beautiful music, I think of Mozart. And out of all 626 recorded Mozart compositions, no piece comes to my mind as being more exquisite than the ‘Andante’ of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 in C Major, K.467. The second I hear the opening of this composition, the muted strings and the dreamy melody, all worries and pains leave me, and it seems that nothing else matters in the world; the solo piano of the piece’s second section is graceful and delicate, and, for lack of better words, absolutely gorgeous.

The K.467 ‘Andante’ is without a doubt the most beautiful and sublime piece of classical music I have ever heard, and, alongside the rest of his simply astounding oeuvre, cements Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the greatest classical composer, if not the greatest musical artist, of all time.

William Thornton

SYMPHONY NO. 5

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WILL always cherish Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 5 in C Minor’. I was first introduced to it via Disney’s Fantasia 2000 and the animation of sublime volcanic eruptions and beams of light, paired with intricate string phrases that are echoed across the orchestra in absolute cohesion, drew me in. Thus, when I became a violinist and was able to play the piece as part of a large orchestra, that initial excitement I felt as a child returned and was heightened. Beethoven, through just four notes, engages an entire orchestra. It is the most unified I have ever felt whilst performing and the feeling it created is hard to describe. There is no room for error or distraction as the iconic opening is dependent on bows moving at precisely the same time with uniform direction and feeling. It is a symphony that is inherently mesmerising and engaging.

Agnes Chapman-Wills

SWAN LAKE

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CHAIKOVSKY'S ‘Swan Lake’ ballet is an integral part of my childhood, of asking my mum how long I would have to wait to get pointe shoes and watching VHS tapes of the Bolshoi. The best example of the grandiose energy this work exudes is probably the finale, whose leitmotif will be familiar, but throughout the ballet there are so many special moments, from spellbinding flourishes in pas de deux that conjure ethereal ballerinas to epic ensemble sequences. And what, retrospectively, I am most grateful to Tchaikovsky for, is for showing little me through music that one can be a ballet dancer and still be powerful, strong, legendary.

Tchaikovsky’s white swan princess is never bland, never a fixed thing, always volatile in the best way. She’s femininity and aggressiveness and magic all in one.

Anne Chafer, Deputy Editor

Images (L to R): Henry W Laurisch; Barbara Krafft (1764-1825)

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screen

2019

Navigating The Lighthouse F

Jacob Bradshaw enjoys the solitude of Robert Eggers’ maritime drama

OR me, 2019 has been a year of highs and lows when it comes to mainstream film. On one hand, many of the massive widely anticipated blockbusters like Joker and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood blew me away and received the praise they duly deserved.

On the other, we had films like It: Chapter Two, which not only made a mockery of one of Stephen Kings’ better surreal thrillers, but was the only film I’ve ever actually walked out on.

With this turbulent love affair with film in 2019, I almost completely overlooked one film, one that I believe stands alone as the most unique and maddeningly brilliant piece of cinema of the year.

A SPECTACLE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD SEE WHEN IT HITS THE UK IN EARLY JANUARY 2020 Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse is a psychological horror thriller that has film enthusiasts everywhere losing their minds, in more ways than one. It is the kind of film

that requires multiple viewings, every time feeling something new, seeing a new way to approach the surrealness and above all provoking profound anthropological debate.

This film is a spectacle that everyone should see when it hits the UK in early January 2020.

Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival last, this brooding exploration of a slow descent into madness showcases the magnificent and versatile capabilities of both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, two lighthouse keepers trapped together on a small rock in the ocean with nothing to do but chip away at one another’s sanity. An unhinged atmosphere is created through the use of nightmarish visions, refreshingly strange cinematography, and two unforgettable performances.

Dafoe brings one of the best portrayals of insanity and bipolarity that you can imagine; dancing and manically singing one moment, then cursing, smashing bottles and bellowing the next. He threw himself into this role, even staying in an isolated little cottage on the island when the crew went to stay in hotels during filming.

Pattinson, the closest thing the audience

Image: A24

has to a protagonist, gives what has been referred to by many as “the performance of his career”, playing a quiet new recruit with an unresolved past and pent up anger. At first he believes that he is the observer of Dafoe’s distempered madness, never realising that he too is slowly drowning. To add to this we are treated to Mark Korvern’s score that toys with the mood using dramatic bursts of sound that come from nowhere followed by eerie unquietness that kills the light and will have viewers on the edge of their seats without them even realising. The film plays with us,

immersing us in a depraved dissection of the human condition that is not afraid to shock and scare us when it sees fit.

The relentless tide of ‘breath-taking’ CGI, 30 million-pound wardrobes and world-ending stakes (I’m looking at you Marvel), I feel, has numbed the consumer to how thrilling and thoughtful cinema can be. Watching a film like this just makes you realise that there is a whole world of perspective altering, even worldchanging cinema out there and it is up to us to seek it out. The resident sleeper is awake, and it hit like a crashing wave.

Is Marvel cinema?

Ben Faulkner showcases some of the hottest takes from critically acclaimed directors and awards committees

B

ATTEN down the hatches, because we are talking about film opinions that you’re meant to care about. With our ever interconnected modern world, we can enjoy the pleasure of getting riled up in ‘discourse’ after ‘discourse’ as we vehemently scroll through Twitter’s intoxicating abyss. But for every halfbaked twitter take we can comfortably dismiss, there’s a piping hot barrel of controversy that we can’t help but stick our noses into.

I’m not sure it was clear to anyone just how earth-shattering it would be to ask Martin Scorsese what he thinks of Marvel films. Scorsese remarked that Marvel films are “not cinema’,” and more closely resemble “theme parks” than the pure attempt to “convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being”. And – under what I can only assume was some sort of mass hypnosis by Kevin Feige – an endless stream of fans came to the defence of Marvel’s, like, four different film formulae.

So yeah, evidently I think there’s some decent basis to Scorsese’s claim. If the nine upcoming films and eight announced television series are absolutely anything to go by, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a horrifyingly relentless franchise that runs defiantly on its own ridiculous profitability. On one end, these films are the embodiment of commercial, capitalist

filmmaking: every strain of their filmmaking restructured and restrung to align to its purely financial model.

Yet, at the same time, I was really excited for Infinity War. Like, really excited. I went into the cinema with the utmost preparedness to hurl a child down to Row Nothing if they so much as uttered a breath of excitement. I wanted to enjoy it in pure silence. Is Scorsese just an old dog refusing to let the industry move on? (No.) But, is there at least some ounce of ‘cinema’ in these films, if they can create a cinema experience that is clearly so immersive for so many.

And, it begs the question, if Marvel isn’t ‘cinema’, then what is?

Is it T o d d Phillips’ noisy, divisive, how-onear th-have we-not-stoppedtalking-about-it menace of a film, Joker?

The hype was there as

soon as we saw pictures of Joaquin Phoenix waltzing around on set – the hope was that he’d be building on Ledger’s fine work, not taking dishevelled leaves out of Jared Leto’s strange book. But the first real hot take came from the Venice Film Festival, who shocked the industry by awarding it the Golden Lion back in September. Since then, every man and his dog (read: every man and his other white, male friend), have declared it a ‘masterpiece’ and one of the finest works they’ve ever seen. But that wasn’t the biggest hot take thrown down by an award ceremony. Remember – and I’m really sorry for making you – back in February when the Academy declared Green Book the ‘Best Picture’ of the previous year.

Ah, Green Book, what on earth were you? As

Images: AnnaPurna, FareFilm

we watched what felt like literally one hundred old, white males go up to receive the highest acclaim for a film that attempted to explain 1960s race relations, it was clear the Academy had out-Academied themselves.

SUCH A STATEMENT BEGS THE QUESTION, IF MARVEL ISN’T ‘CINEMA’, THEN WHAT IS? The decision to vouch for this commentary on racism in a year where BlackKklansman and Sorry to Bother You came out was a scalding hot take for all of the wrong reasons.

But, I guess we could ask – why on earth do we care? By the year, fewer and fewer people treat the Academy as a voice of authority (for clearly good reason). Scorsese might be right, but many people will never think he is, and Marvel will keep gladly receiving the cheques for my monthly purchase of to-scale Infinity Gauntlets.

Ultimately, the problem isn’t in the take, nor how hot it is – the problem is the painstaking temptation we all have to get involved. Agree with the hot takes or not, in the end, they burn us all.

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EDITORS: Jonathan Chern and Samuel Thomson

screen

Audio-visual

2019

Pete Syme, Online News Editor, gives his take on his favourite music video of the year

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AILED by The Needle Drop as “easily one of the best breakup albums of the decade”, Tyler, the Creator’s IGOR has an aesthetic encapsulated most evidently in the music video for ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’. It follows the album’s overruling story of a love triangle, with the rapper/producer/ director pining after a guy who’s still seeing his ex-girlfriend.

The title itself flips the gender of the idiom “a girl is a gun” which warns of the potential danger that comes with relationships. This is one of the most unapologetically queer songs on the record, with lines like “this parka is Comme, you’re my favourite garçon.” The Igor alter ego certainly strays away from traditional ideas of masculinity, with a peroxide bowl cut and a penchant for pastel-coloured suits with no shirt.

The lavish setting of a decadent villa with extensive gardens evokes connotations of affluence, likely inspired by Lake Como, where Tyler recorded part of the album at the €1,965-a-night Villa Batell. This Mediterranean scenery has drawn comparisons to 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, set “somewhere in northern Italy”, which is incidentally listed as the rapper’s location on Twitter. The similarities between the two are further enhanced by the fact that the video was shot on film, whilst one scene features the protagonists in a vintage car similar to those seen in the movie. He also makes reference to the landmark romance film on ‘I THINK’, which makes it hard to ignore the intent behind these decisions.

The cinematic characteristics of the music video are also highlighted by some brilliant

Camilla blackett

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long one-takes which pull the viewer closer to the action. You almost feel the perspective of a witness as the camera follows Tyler’s love interest walking with packed suitcases down a grand staircase, before panning to the rapper on the balcony reacting furiously. More artistic elements are also used to illustrate the protagonist’s sense of tension and perplexity within the relationship.

One of the first shots is of Igor sprinting across the manicured lawn before falling over, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for his feelings towards the man. Furthermore, we see three clones of Tyler walking through a labyrinthine part of the garden; portraying ideas of conflicting opinions and a struggle to navigate the relationship.

The most poignant shot, however, is the final one. Another one-take, it begins with Tyler in the centre of an open and opulent room with a large sound system in the middle, before he chases after his love interest who leaves in a waiting car, and is then overwhelmed with emotion as the camera finishes looking out over the sea. This visual most succinctly epitomises the hardships of the love triangle as Tyler fights mixed feelings of love and hate towards the man, with lyrics like “how come you’re the best to me? I know you’re the worst for me” surmising this dichotomy. In all, the ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’ music video can be lauded as an excellent film which superbly conveys the testing situation of conflicting emotions at the centre of IGOR.

Image: Dopehood

Image: Girlhood

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11 NOV 2019

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What the Warriors wore

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Max Ingleby looks back at the ingenious costume design of 1979’s The Warriors

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friend recommended The Warriors to me a couple of years ago, selling it as a late-70s gem that I was bound to love.

I had only heard of it as a passing reference in a Wu Tang song, but to my imminent delight the film proved to be an instant favourite - a low-budget romp through the gritty streets and subway stations of 1970s New York City, crammed with endless running scenes that even Tom Cruise would struggle to keep up with, and cheerfully formulaic fights with some fancy slo-mo chucked in for good measure. The costumes, however, were the unexpected icing on the cake.

A brief synopsis - the Warriors are a Coney Island street gang who send nine delegates to a peace-making summit all the way over in the Bronx, organised by Cyrus, the messiahlike leader of the biggest gang in town.

When Cyrus is gunned down mid-speech, the Warriors are framed for his death and have to flee across NYC back to Coney, dispatching each gang that confronts them on the way.

EVERY GANG HAS THEIR OWN DISTINCT LOOK, THEIR OWN UNIFORM Every gang has their own distinct look, their own uniform, and they are truly a sight to behold. The ‘Hi-Hats’, for instance, wear black top hats with striped red shirts and faces painted white like sad, lost mimes.

The (insensitively portrayed) ‘Savage Huns’ from Chinatown, who dress in stereotypical paramilitary-style Chinese clothing as they mooch about waiting for the next subway train. The titular Warriors opt for a more low key get-up. Their only uniform being what can only be described as a leather waistcoat with a bitchin’ patch on the back, usually worn over a hairy bare chest.

The ‘Baseball Furies’ are another highlight, donning a full Yankees kit and wielding baseball bats. Their brightly painted faces make them impossible to take seriously, but they look fantastic as they sinisterly stare down the noble Warriors whilst swinging their bats in unison. To tell the truth, realism was thrown out of the window during the opening credits, but as an anthropological case-study of late-70s fashion, or just pure escapism, it’s hard to beat.

REALISM WAS THROWN OUT OF THE WINDOW DURING THE OPENING CREDITS Although the dialogue is often laughably clumsy and the acting consistently wooden, the film had a real impact on audiences for its artistic honesty. The Bronx at the time was famously burning, with President Ronald Reagan commenting in 1980 that it resembled “London after the Blitz”. The film and its iconic costumes are a love letter to a city in the grip of severe urban decay, and the real danger and extreme poverty its people suffered through in the 1970s.

Clothes and costumes are integral not just to the visual appeal of the movie, but to the plot too. The Warriors are told by a rival gang that they can only pass through a neighbourhood if they take off their jackets, or their “colours”. They respond by throwing a molotov cocktail at a nearby car. For them their colours are a part of them, it’s “who we are”. They are willing to die for their gang, and many do during the film. There were hundreds of gang killings in the 70s in New York, and for many watching in cinemas, The Warriors, with all its ridiculous costumes, captured the reality of that tumultuous era like no other film.

career in writing isn’t easy– it can take a painful pattern of failed efforts and disinterested production companies before you find a breakthrough. Or, you’re Camilla Blackett, and you find yourself writing for Skins during your A-Levels. It makes sense that a show determined to present an unfiltered version of teenage life employed someone of that cohort, and it was a job that helped mould a unique talent. Proud of her lack of formal University training, Blackett is a writer who thrives on her ‘just do it’ mantra. This took her to LA, where she landed a writing role on Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. From there, she put her talents to working with Elizabeth Meriwether on New Girl, helping elevate its sparkly, happy-go-lucky spirit with the lessons in authenticity she learnt from Skins. And while Skins was remarkable in portraying British teenage years in all their real, messy cladding, her more recent work on Fresh Off the Boat was innovative in featuring an Asian family as the protagonists of a network TV sitcom. Her work has pushed boundaries on either side of the Atlantic.

But, equally, Blackett knows what she’s working against. In interviews she’s remarked about the “aggressive world” of Hollywood – and Britain is not much better when you are a woman of colour. In fact, she moved to LA to try and escape this systemic sexism and racism. Camilla Blackett is a shining example of why to write in spite of the struggle: she carved out spaces for herself, and has left some great work in her path.

Ben Faulkner

Image: Paramount

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EDITORS: Jonathan Chern and Samuel Thomson

11 NOV 2019

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30

Equal casting in the next decade Neha Shaji, Deputy Editor, discusses the ways in which race and double standards affect casting

H

ALLE Bailey being cast for Disney’s The Little Mermaid live action remake rose predictably to headlines this year, almost immediately after the decision was announced. Conveniently ignoring Bailey’s elfin features which almost map onto the cartoon mermaid’s; a moment of pity for the poor animators who will have to spend hours on the most stereotypical Jamaican CGI lobster in existence; or even the question of why Disney was producing multiple live action films with the intensity of a nymphomaniac rabbit – fans focused on the fact that Bailey was Black.

The same stir occurred when it was suggested that the new 007 might be Black, or a woman (or god forbid – a Black woman) after Daniel Craig expressed his exhaustion with the role. It brings to mind a discussion that remains a constant every time an actor of

Images (L to R): Kevin Master, Disney, Warner Bros Pictures

colour is cast in a role either previously played by (or drawn as) a white person; the question of historical accuracy and believability. This of course, brings the placating suggestion that perhaps more politically focused films should be made, where actors of colour are seen to belong.

This line of discourse is prevalent amongst sci-fi, for instance Star Wars where fans had issues with Boyega’s casting and romantic plotlines, or graphic-novel films, where the standalone Black superhero is conveniently detached from the Western hemisphere.

Essentially, the request is to delegate diversity to If Beale Street Could Talk, Sorry to Bother You, and BlacKkKlansman – and leave Downton Abbey and Captain America as incongruously white as dental insurance can get you. Certainly, political and historical films focused primarily on Black or Asian struggles are a realm explored not quite thoroughly. However, expanding into these avenues should not come at the expense of diverse casting in either mainstream or arthouse films.

This is not to defend tokenistic casting: the sole character of colour hovering dimly in the corner of films isn’t really there because of commitment to diversity but rather a perfunctory addition to what must have seemed a perfect film in the directorial eye. Yet this binary between diverse casting and politicised periods tend to relegate films like the aforementioned If Beale Street Could Talk or The Last Black Man in San Francisco as the ‘race’ films for the year,

filling up the race quota so other films can focus on plotlines.

DESPITE ALL OTHER TALKING POINTS, FANS FOCUSED ON BAILEY BEING BLACK The refusal to agree that actors of colour are bankable in non-specific roles (and they are, see: Crazy Rich Asians, or Fast Color for somewhat recent examples) creates a distinction between political film, and what has for so long been seen as normative. With this refusal to diversify without a set-in-stone reason as to why a character should not be white, films fail to innovate and experiment – two motives which the majority of directors would never admit to failing at. This does not apply to only high budget films, or Marvel productions: more so-called intellectual fare tends to slip through the cracks here. If an arthouse film is not specifically about race it will probably star a tired Mads Mikkelsen or Willem Dafoe-esque countenance looking just incongruous enough, but not too much.

DIRECTORS AND VIEWERS CHERRY PICK WHAT HISTORICAL ACCURACY LOOKS LIKE The question of ‘accuracy’ or staying true to a childhood portrayal is, of course, almost undebatable in its cherry picking of what accuracy viewers or casting directors look for. The dazzling landscapes in the Downton Abbey film don’t call to mind dreary England, whilst the cornucopia of Caucasian characters does not do justice to the myriad of people of colour present in these situations, and not just as a fleeting glimpse of a kitchen maid. The issue of destroying childhood stereotypes with diverse casting refuses to acknowledge not just the lack of diversity in these revered childhood films, but also the almost unbelievable problematic aspects several of them hold (see: Songs of the South,

2019 CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

The farewell

Ready or not

DATE - Sun 17 Nov

DATE - Tues 12 Nov TIME - 18:30 & 21:00

TIME - 18:30 & 21:00

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

Joker

The last tree DATE - Tues 19 Nov TIME - 18:30 & 21:00

if you want to ruin your conception of Disney as the slightly overbearing yet caring uncle).

And finally, after tracing laboriously around all these conceptions of accuracy, innovation, and tokenism for the unbiased perspective I am certainly providing here, the question is why not? Instead of asking why The Little Mermaid had to be Black, the more academically invigorating question to ask would be say, why couldn’t Cinderella be Indian? She has overbearing relatives, is given a nickname based on a household appliance, and had a strict curfew. Diverse casting should not be a debate at all for the majority of roles, nobody is trying to cast Michael B Jordan as Erwin Rommel, and those taking issue do not realize the necessity to surge forward socially as well as cinematically. And it certainly should not be pitted against politicised or historical films focusing specifically on characters of colour – normalisation should go hand in hand with acknowledging and mending both cinema and history’s violent relationship with actors of colour.

Image (clockwise): Fox Searchlight Pictures, A24, Warner Bros Pictures, BFI

DATE - Sun 24 Nov

TIME - 18:30 & 21:00

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32

study break

| 11 NOV 2019

STUDY BREAK CROSSWORD

Across

8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 20 22 23

SUDOKU

Down

1 Ova - spurs (on) (4) Broad (statement, say) (7)

2 Metallic element - many on it (anagram) Small coloured dot (computing) (5) (8) Wave back and forth (5)

3 Boast - crow (4) Sound of knocking (3-1-3)

4 Red wine (6) Make an objection to (7)

5 Tempuras (anagram) - against a current Like (5) (8) Poem (5)

6 Go - depart (4) Candidate (7) 7 Punctured wheel (4,4) Fashionable person - tips her (anagram) (7)

12 Buy (8) Angry (5)

13 Vote (8) Sudden round of applause (5)

15 Flag-waving - mini jogs (anagram) (8) Loss of memory (7)

17 Standard (6)

19 Cut (hair) - parrot (4)

20 American coin (4)

21 Chair (4)

Trivia corner 1. What year was the very first model of the iPhone released?

2. What is meteorology the study of?

3. How many times does the heart beat per day?

4. How many Grammys does John Legend have?

ANSWERS

5. Which mammal has no vocal cords?

6. Hawaiii

6. whAt’s the only u.s. state whose name ends with three consecutive vowels

1. 2007 2. The weather 3. 100,000 4. 10 5. Giraffee 20 Cent, 21 Seat.

Flat tyre, 12 Purchase, 13 Election, 15 Jingoism, 17 Normal, 19 Poll, Down: 1 Eggs, 2 Antimony, 3 Brag, 4 Claret, 5 Upstream, 6 Exit, 7 Amnesia.

Enjoy, 16 Rhyme, 17 Nominee, 18 Hipster, 20 Cross, 22 Salvo, 23 Across: 8 General, 9 Pixel, 10 Swing, 11 Rat-a-tat, 12 Protest, 14

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Science

34

11 NOV 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

SCIENCE EDITORS: Scarlett Parr-Reid Elinor Jones

A land before 2019

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Neha Shaji, Deputy Editor, delves deep into the days of the dinosaurs

HE day the dinosaurs died has generally been shrouded in scientific obscurity; however scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory used an extremely powerful computer known as the Q-machine, to model the effects of the impact of the asteroid event that led to dinosaurs going extinct. The asteroid, which was headed directly for Earth at about 45 thousand miles per hour for 60 hours, blasted a hole through the atmosphere and generated a supersonic shock wave.

With the Q-machine, scientists made a slowed down video of the event, depicting the 18 mile deep crater which shot millions of tons of debris into the surrounding areas. Scientists estimated that when the asteroid hit, peaks were made in the Earth’s crust higher than Mt. Everest, and compared the resulting energy wave as more than a billion Hiroshima bombs. Debris included molten glass, called tektites, which shot up from the crash site and enveloped the Western Hemisphere.

With the model, it is possible that the debris ejected from the blast had even found their way into space - strewn alongst Mars and it is probable these are on other planets as well.

The model suggests that the airborne debris converged at points throughout the globe, including setting fire to the Indian subcontinent - on the other side of the world. Indeed, fires had consumed the majority of the plan-

et. This traumatic impact is when the food chains collapsed, and three quarters of all species on the planet went extinct.

This is not an astounding discovery in and of itself. We were, of course, aware that dinosaurs had gone extinct and the layman is aware of the asteroid that had, essentially - done the deed. The momentous event was preserved in the sedimentary layer of the Earth itself - a darkened stripe around the crust known as the KT boundary. However, there was a three metre gap below the KT layer, which proponents have argued evidenced that mass extinction was already in motion by the time the asteroid hit.

The work on the KT layer is existential in a sense Culminating in 2019, Dr Robert DePalma, a paleontologist, located an area

called Hell Creek in the vast landscape of the American West. His site, after an initial excavation, was the size of two soccer fields. The first fossil he removed was a five foot long paddlefish, and the second a mosasaur, a carnivorous marine reptile. He kept discovering detached body parts of marine and freshwater creatures. He theorised, after noting a small disturbance - a small crater formed by an object falling from the sky, a tektite - that this was not near the KT boundary but was indeed the boundary itself. He realized that the entire series of events was preserved in the three or four foot deep excavation site in the States, and that extinction did indeed begin before the asteroid, although it is not clear as to when.

This recreation of the day the dinosaurs died was made possible by not only technological advancements but also the persistence of scientists like DePalma, who continue to work at the earth to undiscover these reminders of destruction.

Indeed, the work on the KT layer itself is existential in a sense - a literal burnt-black reminder of planetal wrath. With the recent discoveries mapping out the events of the day the dinosaurs died, the reasons as to why, and the places it had most affected, scientists could connect the extinction event to the adaptation of mammals to the climate, due to the precise geological transcript of one of the most scientifically and environmentally impactful events in the history of the planet.

OK, computers are changing W

Images: Pixabay

Tom Dormer, Online Science Editor, on a quantum step in computing

HILE much media attention was given (quite rightly) to the first image of a black hole last April, an arguably more important project has made significant steps this year. This project has the potential to change the world of computing and technology as we know it: the development of quantum computers.

Last month, Google announced that it had successfully achieved ‘quantum supremacy’ with its “Sycamore” quantum processor, surpassing the performance of conventional computers for the first time. The implications of this are massive.

Image: Steve Jurvetson

While the development of computing over the last 70 years have all relied on the same principles of “bits” (with values 1 or 0), quantum computing works from the ground up, using “quantum bits” (or qubits) which instead describes the probability of the values having 1 or 0.

Google had successfully achieved ‘quantum supremacy’ This means that a quantum computer can perform many calculations simultaneously, whereas a classical com-

puter would have to perform them individually. Google’s Sycamore processor with 52 qubits, can therefore perform a task in 200s which would take the world’s best supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.

This has been no easy task. As early as the 1980s, the likes of Richard Feynman had proposed the creation of a quantum computer to solve large problems in physics and chemistry. Since then, an increase in interest and funding has meant that some of the largest tech firms are racing to create the world’s first commercial quantum computer. This includes IBM, Microsoft, D-Wave and of course Google.

With more recent breakthroughs, like the one from Google’s “Sycamore”, the scientific community are preparing to solve some of the hardest scientific issues by using quantum computing. With further development, the potential processing power of these machines become unimaginable. At 300 qubits, for example, it is possible to encode more information than all the atoms in the universe. By using quantum computing, it may be possible to create more efficient solar panels, find sophisticated models of financial

markets or calculate the side effects of new medicines.

All issues which currently taking years of work in the laboratory could be solved by the press of a button. It may sound the stuff of science fiction, but with developments like these, it looks ever increasingly a reality.

rent fastest super-computer, decrypting a 256-bit AES key (the standard online key encryption), would take millions of years.

The largest firms are racing to create quantum computers

However, if a quantum computer was used, the huge amount of processing power required is not an issue, meaning your data could be hacked in a number of hours instead. With this power, no online data would be private. The solution to this may come from quantum computers themselves. At the University of Science and Technology in China, scientists have developed the first secure quantum communications network, a system they hope cannot be broken at all.

Although these dangers are future potential threats, it is easy to forget the many more benefits and solutions that the development in quantum computing will bring. Google’s Sycamore is a large step in the direction for quantum computing, which when completed, will be an even larger step for humanity.

However, as with all new technologies, there lies a potential danger if quantum computers are placed into the wrong hands. The current encryption method used to protect your data online is key encryption which send information only the designated target can access with their ‘key’. This works by the ‘key’ having the only solution to decrypt the information (for example, the multiples of a number, which is two prime numbers multiplied together).

The only other method to decrypt your data is by using a brute force method (in essence guessing all the prime number solutions using trial and error). For a cur-

It may sound like fiction but it looks like a reality

SCIENCE

EXEPOSÉ | 11 NOV 2019

One giant leap for womankind

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Scarlett Parr-Reid, Science Editor, celebrates the first all female space walk

SKING me for my favourite science story of 2019 is like asking me for my favourite song. Chances are, I’ll tell you at least 10 songs and proceed to verbalise an essay analysis of every single one.

Whilst scientific discoveries and inventions are incredible, it’s what goes on behind the scenes to make those things happen that I am in awe of. It’s the relentless determination, the striving for improvement and above all it’s the sense of unity as science brings us all together. When you can relate to a story because it’s about the essence of being human, then that’s profound.

This year’s Exeter Westpoint charity fireworks commemorated man’s landing on the moon 50 years ago.

Gazing at the moonlit sky, animated by vibrant reds and greens dancing and sparkling in front of me, I was over-

whelmed with adoration. and a deep space travel hadn’t always been for love for the capability of humans. men and women. On 18 October this As each firework launched in time year, an historic journey took place: to Bowie’s Starman, I thought about the first ever all female spacehow much progress we’ve made in space travel and how it’s finally become a level playing field, where both m e n a n d women can visit space. I had wondered, when I turned and saw so Images: Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Pixabay and NASA Johnson, Flickr many of men and w o m e n sharing the joy of a fireworks display walk. Christina Koch and Jessica Meir in memory of the moon landing, why exited the International Space Station’s

(ISS) Quest Airlock spacecraft into the abyss of space on a mission to replace a broken power control unit.

The ISS originally possessed only one medium-sized spacesuit and two were needed for the journey to go ahead. So, the venture was delayed for seven months. This shouldn’t have happened and NASA were criticised for lacking the second medium-sized spacesuit. Eventually, the pair left at 7.50am and successfully replaced the power control unit, even having time to carry out extra checks to the space station.

Koch, aware of the fact that

“women haven’t always been at the table” praised that nowadays “all contributions are being accepted”. She believes that giving everyone a chance, men and women, can actually heighten chances of success.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson, who has undertaken three spacewalks with NASA as part of the ISS Expedition 24 group in 2010, looks forward to the normalisation of equality of space travel.

Nowadays, all contributions are being accepted What was once one small step for man has now become a giant leap for humankind.

Battling Ebola

Curious for the "incurable"

Rebekah White presents a new solution to Ebola epidemics

Kamila Bell, Comment Editor, explores the latest advancements in HIV/AIDS treatment

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BOLA is no longer incurable.

This year, scientists have developed special molecules called ‘antibodies’ into treatments for all five known Ebola viruses. The infamous Ebola haemorrhagic fever has been spreading absolute chaos across areas of the world for many years now.

The unprecedented 2013-2016 West Africa outbreak led to 28,600 reported cases and more than 11,300 deaths.

Part of the reason as to why Ebola has been such an extensive problem is that it is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread from vertebrate animals to humans. It is therefore very challenging to mitigate. Specifically, Ebola can emerge as a result of transmission from fruit bats, Eidolon helvum. Our current understanding is that these bats are natural reservoirs, meaning they can host the virus for a long time and spread it to many people. It can also be spread from person to person through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with contaminated surfaces and materials. A single infection can spread like wildfire, leading to an epidemic.

Back in 2017, a group from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York reported that their monoclonal antibody drug had a positive response in non-human primates, and showed promise for use as a human medicine. Drugs like this have been utilised before, such as for Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancer treatments. Can it be used in

the fight against Ebola?

It is looking very likely. This year, for the first time, the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Congo led successful clinical trials using antibody drugs. In fact, because two of the four drugs being tested gave such encouraging results, the trials for the other two were stopped early. Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the director of the institute, told the press: “These advances will help save thousands of lives.”

Outbreaks in places like Democratic Republic of Congo have been ongoing partly due to the reluctance of local people to seek healthcare.

This is hardly surprising – even healthy people could visit the treatment centres and become infected, or even end up dead. As the initially infected people remained home, they ended up spreading the disease to their family members and others, allowing the virus to spread even more aggressively.

These new findings could help restore public trust in these centres, and offer a huge incentive for people to visit when falling ill.

Outbreaks with a long duration like this have a lasting toll on the communities affected.

Ebola has proven extremely difficult to control, and although we are unlikely to ever fully eradicate it, these new findings give a new hope for preventing and treating this devastating virus.

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URING March this year doctors appeared to have successfully helped a patient into remission from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Their research, published in Nature, highlighted that this ground-breaking work led to the patient being only the second person on record to have successfully been cured of HIV.

Over 40 million are affected

by HIV/AIDS The patient, who is not named in the paper, received a stem cell transplant in London and as such has been recorded to have not taken antiretroviral drugs s i n c e September 2017.

Image: BruceBlaus, Wikimedia Commons

Specialists however have warned that this news should be understood to not mean that a cure has been found for everyone who carries the HIV virus.

Nonetheless, the study that was published earlier this year suggests that there is a feasible route into the future that can be taken to achieve a cure for everyone.

The expansive use of antiretroviral therapy has helped save millions of lives by preventing the HIV virus from developing and replicating which in turn prevents further damage to the body. But this antiretroviral therapy cannot eradicate the HIV virus from the body. This is because when the virus enters a host cell, it integrates its DNA into that of the cell. With this process it becomes latent within the body but still has the possibility of rebounding into a full-blown infection.

The method taken by the doctors of this research published in March 2019, utilised a receptor called CCR5. This receptor is one of a few that the virus uses to get into specific cells that are vital to the person’s immune system. Although, in some cases people have a mutation in the genes that encode the CCR5 that stops the HIV virus from getting into specific cells. As such, no entry of the virus means that there can be no infection.

While not all strands of the HIV virus use CCR5 receptors to get into cells, this pioneering next step in find-

ing a cure for HIV has highlighted a reduction in the stigma towards those individuals carrying the virus. This stigma primarily arose from the virus largely affecting minority groups of drug users, African Americans as well as gay and bisexual men.

This virus is truly global in its impacts Treatment in the form of providing antiretroviral therapy or expanding the availability of PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), a daily pill that effectively stops the acquiring of HIV, can be expensive and does not necessarily help to solve the worldwide pandemic that HIV stills presents.

This step has highlighted a reduction in HIV stigma HIV/AIDS affects 37.9 million people as of 2018 according to ‘HIV. gov’, highlighting that finding a cure still remains an incredibly important issue to the healthcare sphere today.

The achievement made by scientists earlier this year in curing the second person of HIV highlighted positive and effective steps are being taken to find a cure for this virus that is truly global in its impacts.

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38

11 NOV 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT

Match of the year: England vs New Zealand James Bagby's top three: 1. England vs New Zealand - Cricket World Cup Final, 2. Ajax vs Tottenham, Champions League Semi-Final 3. Men's Singles Final - Wimbledon

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HIS year has blessed us with some truly magnificent sporting events; two World Cups (one better for England than the other), a classic Wimbledon final, the tightly contested Ashes, a nailbiting Premier League and a Champions League that featured some of the greatest ever comebacks.

When looking at the greatest games of the year, it is hard to pick out a winner. However, there was one event that changed British perception of the sport, overcame the weight of history and produced a truly unbelievable final; the Cricket World Cup. England and Wales hosted the tournament for the first time in 20 years, bringing with it the pressure of a host nation to succeed. England were favourites for the tournament but they had never won the tournament before. This pressure had always caused England to buckle and only four years earlier they went crashing out in the group stage. This embarrassment led to a white ball revolution, ripping up the blueprint of One Day InternationalCricket setting out on a four-year journey to win the next World Cup. Fast forward to July 2019 and England are batting with the World Cup

within their reach but the pressure and the weight of history is eating away at them. England lost wickets cheaply and when captain Eoin Morgan departed, leaving the score at 86-4 with only half the innings left, it was beginning to look like a situation that we knew all too well.

Stokes looked visibly exhausted and England looked finished When all looked lost, Ben Stokes pulled England back from the dead.

After a 100-run partnership with Jos Buttler, Stokes single-handedly dragged the team to the last over, requiring fifteen runs.

The first two balls went for nothing and, with Stokes looking visibly exhausted, the game and England looked finished. Stokes dug deep and dispatched the next ball for six. What happened next was unimaginable.

Stokes pushed the ball away on the leg side and dived into his crease for a second run when the ball, thrown in from the boundary, hit his bat and was deflected away to the boundary.

6 runs to England. As Lords erupted, Stokes pulled himself onto his knees and raised his hands above his head to apologise to the visibly stunned New Zealand team.

Despite this incredible stroke of luck, the last two balls only went for two runs and the World Cup Final went to a super over. The ridiculousness of this fact cannot be understated. Never before had a one-day international been decided by a super over, let alone the final of the most prestigious tournament.

The chances that both sides would still be tied after fifty overs seemed impossible. It came down to this; one over each to score as many runs and the highest total wins.

England batted first with Buttler and Stokes (who by this point, looked out on his feet). Between them they score 15 runs, leaving New Zealand with 16 runs to be World Champions.

Who would be brave enough to bowl this over for England? Step forward Jofra Archer, the 24 year old pace bowler who only made his debut three months before the final.

After a wide in the first ball of the over, it looked like he was struggling to cope with the weight of expectation and only two balls later he watched as

the ball was smashed in to the crowd for 6. New Zealand only needed seven from four. Archer redeemed his composure and went for four from his next two balls leaving New Zealand with just two to win from the last ball.

One would not be enough as the tiebreaker was boundaries, which England were ahead on. The ball was clipped out to the boundary and fielded cleanly. The throw comes back in to Buttler, who fielded the ball cleanly and threw his hand towards the stumps before the second run was completed.

England are World Champions.

Cricket fans around the country rejoiced at the result of the most dramatic final ever. The celebrator scenes in

Trafalgar Square were ones of sheer delight. Available on terrestrial television, the audience reached was greater than anything before, allowing people who had previously viewed cricket as boring to be converted into fans.

At a time where England is so divided, these moments of unity must be treasured. A moment that was delivered by the 11 men whose roots stretch so much further than England. Jason Roy was born in South Africa, Eoin Morgan from Ireland, and the two match winners Ben Stokes (New Zealand) and Jofra Archer (Barbados) all pulled together to achieve something truly amazing and, in the process, defined what it means to be “English”.

Image: Andrew1829

Team of the year, US Women's Football

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Josh Hull's top three: 1. The US Women's National Football Team, 2. South Africa Men's Rugby Team, 3. Liverpool FC

HE world of sport is a cutthroat and relentless environment. In every triumph, every moment of success, the focus is constantly shifting towards the next game, the next season, the newest challenge.

‘Which player will we sign in the summer?’, ‘Who will win next year’s title?’, these questions fuel our obsession with the games we love – but they are not the root cause. Sport’s true power, of course, lies in its ability to create specific, jaw-dropping, and delicate moments. As 2019 draws to a close and we prepare to enter a new decade, it is only right that we

Image: Jamie Smed

take some time to reflect and herald the teams who have surprised, excited, and entertained us throughout this calendar year. Though, naturally, the battle for the top spot in this debate is not straightforward.

Liverpool lifted the Champions League for a sixth time in history when they beat Spurs Liverpool FC’s Champions League conquerors are a worthy inclusion at third in our list. The Merseyside club lifted the competition for a sixth time in their history when they beat Tottenham 2-0 in June, yet it was the miraculous semi-final victory over Barcelona which truly established them into football folklore.

Trailing 3-0 from the first leg – and without the key influences of Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino – Jurgen

Klopp’s side looked destined for European elimination. The beauty about this team, however, is that it epitomises the values of hard work and team spirit. Not to mention, contains undoubted worldclass quality and a maverick corner taker in Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Reds went on to win a magnificent tie 4-3 – and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ahead of them in our ranking, and relevant to recent weeks where the Rugby World Cup has dominated the sporting discussion, are the eventual competition champions, South Africa.

The Springboks achieved their third World Cup Success in some style The Springboks achieved their record-tying third World Cup success in some style, comfortably beating England 32-12 in the final, despite being considered the underdogs.

Remarkably, they also become the only side to lose a game in the group stage and rebound to win the tournament. Inspired by flanker Siya Kolisi,

South Africa’s first-ever black captain, this truly was a landmark moment for a country still trying to heal the division and unrest caused by the dark days of the apartheid.

But, above everyone else, one team in particular, has swept its way into the world’s consciousness, both for their supreme achievements on the pitch and the trail-blazing actions away from it.

This is, of course, the World Cupwinning United States women’s football team. With their combative style of play, excellent tactical organisation, and abundance of attacking flair, the US are synonymous with being the dominant force in the women’s game.

This summer was no different; top scorers with 25 goals, the second leanest defence with just three conceded, the US took apart those that dare challenge them with enviable ease. Four years on from success in Canada, they were once again crowned as the best in the world, under the steady stewardship of Head Coach Jill Ellis.

The strength of this group of players extends far beyond just football, of course. Spearheaded by the outspoken figure of Megan Rapinoe, this remark-

able team has converged its way into the mainstream political sphere, tackling prominent issues such as fair pay for women, LGBTQ+ rights, and leadership within the White House. Sport has always been a powerful tool for change but, in these times more than ever, we have desperately needed someone with a voice to use it for good. "I feel like this team is in the midst of changing the world around us as we live, and it's just an incredible feeling," Rapinoe said after the Cup final.

The US team's performance boosted the Women's game There is no better way to encapsulate why they have been the best, and by inspiring future generations of women, why they will continue to leave their mark.

The team’s magnificent performance which showed their quality and boosted the Women’s game, and their confident messaging, perhaps best served by snubbing the US President, trumps (if you’ll pardon the pun) the two other sensational teams on this list.

SPORT

11 NOV 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

Moment of the year, Tottenham stun Ajax

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The top three of Nick Powell, Sport Editor: 1. Lucas Moura scores to win CL Semi-final for Tottenham, 2. Jos Buttler takes off the bails to win the Cricket World Cup, 3. Tiger Woods holes the winning put to clinch the Masters

S an Arsenal fan, it is hard to believe that I am ranking the greatest moment (arguably) in their biggest rivals’ history as number one, but there can be few disputes about the incredible nature of Spurs’ comeback at Ajax, and the jaw dropping reactions it provoked across the footballing World.

2-0 on the night, 3-0 down on aggregate, Spurs had been utterly lifeless going forward as they headed into the last quarter of their two match tie with Ajax for a place in the Final of the Champions League, but Lucas Moura bagged two goals in five minutes to leave them one strike away from the final with half an hour to go.

A left foot shot just inside the penalty area would likely have been the last act of the game had it gone wide, but it found the net to spark scenes of jubilation for visiting Spurs fans, and completely silence the home crowd.

By full-time, many Ajax fans were applauding their opponents, such was the incredible nature of Spurs’ come-

back. How it surpassed Liverpool’s own three goal turnaround the night before was testament to how stunning and utterly dramatic the game had been.

Image:

Bluejam

head-to-head matches with Inter, one of the very few times this has separated two teams gunning for qualification, and they qualified with the lowest total to reach the knockouts in three seasons.

In those knockout stages, they thought they’d been beaten by City, only for the Manchester club’s goal to be ruled out

by VAR. It was the way that this extraordinary run had another moment of electrifying drama that meant there simply couldn’t be another winner.

Jos Buttler taking the bails off to seal England’s World Cup win after a

dramatic super over was quite remarkable at the time, and unleashed a feeling of unbelievable elation. Similar to that, the relief and ecstasy Woods felt when he ended his 11-year wait for a major was superb viewing. But neither came close to have the number and regularity of twists and turns in a run like that of Spurs’, with Moura’s moment a culmination of such an emotional season.

Though Spurs fans will have been disappointed by just how poor their team was in the eventual final, they are not likely to forget this epic run any time soon.

Athlete of the year: Ben Stokes

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Top three for Nick Powell, Sports Editor: 1. Ben Stokes, 2. Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, 3. Megan Rapinoe

HE greatest sportspeople are able to produce their greatest form at their team, or their own, most highly pressurised hour. To do it once a major sporting event is remarkable, to do it twice automatically elevates you forward to legendary status.

England’s hopes were all-but dashed at 86-4. New Zealand had fielded sharply and bowled beautifully before the partnership of Stokes and Jos Buttler salvaged the hosts’ chances.

Losing Buttler looked to be England’s hopes gone, but Stokes kept England in it by the skin off their teeth as he tried to break down the ever more imposing target.

With 15 needed off four balls, that looked to be it for his side, but a six, followed by another, achieved after the ball deflected of his bat and unintentionally rolled to the boundary, were enough to force a first ever World Cup Final Super Over.

England once again scored 15 in that Super Over, with more sensational batting from the now-shattered Stokes, and won the game on boundaries scored in the match after New Zealand could only draw level in that Super Over, with Buttler sealing the victory by taking the bails off to run out Martin Guptill as he

dived in for what would’ve been a match winning two.

Fast forward a month and a half, and needing 73 runs with just one wicket left, Stokes would need to produce one of the greatest test innings of all time if England were to have any hope of staying in the Ashes.

Stokes needed to produce one of the greatest ever innings 1-0 down in the series heading into match three, having previously scored just 60 in the first innings (with Stokes contributing only eight of those), England were on the brink as Stuart Broad headed back to the pavilion with their target of 359 still required nothing short of a mountain of runs to claim victory.

Image:

Ben Sutherland

2019 at the University Josh Brown Sport Editor

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XETER asserted its title as the best sporting university in the South West with an array of successful sides in 2019. Women's Rugby's victory at Twickenham might steal the plaudits, but there were strong league performances across rugby sides, while our footballers secured their place in the BUCS Southern Premier League through the play-offs.

Spurs' run was one of the great sporting rollercoasters Unfortunately for Spurs they would lose to Liverpool in the final, and have since struggled for form in European and Domestic competition, but they will always have that incredible campaign to look back on.

Spurs’ run was one of the great sporting rollercoasters, with the Moura moment proving the final drop. Their campaign started with just one point out of a possible nine, before an epic late comeback against Ajax’s fellow Dutch League team PSV, a late winner against Inter and more Moura magic in the form of a late equaliser at Barcelona, allowed Spurs to qualify.

They qualified on away goals in

39

But Stokes accelerated, smashing several balls to the boundary as the target went down, 70, 50, 20, and eventually into single figures.

Jack Leach almost ran himself out in what would have been a heart-breaking finish, but Nathan Lyon dropped the ball, when trying to whip the bails off as the Somerset player dived back into his crease and Australia missed out.

Stokes cashed in, beautifully cutting the ball to the boundary to seal the win. It capped an incredible day and life changing summer for Stokes. Something quite extraordinary would have to happen for him not to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year, indeed few in the World have come close to his achievements.

One that has come close is Megan Rapinoe, who contributed heavily to the

US World Cup win with six goals and three assists, as well as raising important political issues and becoming a brilliant ambassador for the women’s game off the field.

Beyond the extraordinarily strong first teams, 25 sides won leagues Netball secured promotion to the Premier South, Men's Cricket won promotion to the National Premier League, while the women were unlucky to fall to another semi-final defeat to Durham, while Men's Hockey had perhaps the most dramatic BUCS run of the year on their way to BUCS Gold last year.

In terms of varsities, Men's Rugby were unfortunate to fall to defeat at Sandy Park, though Women's Rugby romped to a huge victory, as did Men's Cricket in their summer fixture. Sports scholar Dan Budden secured a podium finish at the Junior World Championships in sailing, while Libby Seed of the Riding Club was selected for Team GB’s Student Riders squad. Beyond the extraordinary strong first teams, there were 25 sides that won leagues. The institution finished fifth out of the 160 institutions that compete in BUCS across the country.

Fraser Pryce missed much of the last three seasons caring for her newborn Rapinoe caused controversy at times for what some felt was diva-like behaviour, but more admired her incredible achievements, and the way she had helped to grow the women's game off the field Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce too, who stormed to 100 metre gold at the Athletics World Championships in Doha.

Her fourth 100m gold, combined with a relay gold, took her tally of medals in Olympics and World Championships to 17 with 11 golds. That’s in spite of missing much of the last three seasons giving birth to, and caring for, her new-born child. Such was the magnitude of Stokes achievement though, and the individual contribution with so much at stake, that there can be no doubt that he is the outstanding athlete in an extraordinary year in the World of Sport.

Image: Gary Brown

Further afield, alumnus Sam Skinner continued his rich vein of form for Exeter Chiefs and the Scottish national side, Tom Abell continued his captaincy of Somerset CCC to a degree of domestic success as they finished second to Essex on the last day of the season, there was Welsh representation from Netball’s Christina Shaw and Clare Jones in the Netball European Championships, while Western Storm – with whom Women's Cricket have close ties – won a second Super League title.

The High Performance Programme is often key to success in Exeter’s more highprofile sports, but raising achievement across the board is the true indicator of Exeter’s sporting prowess.

Sport

11 NOV 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

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SPORT EDITORS: Josh Brown Nick Powell

A League of their own EURL stun high-flying rivals to stay in touch

Image: Rory Selvey

Rugby League Exeter 1s.....................................38 Loughborough 1s........................26 Nick Powell Sport Editor

E

XETER University’s Rugby League first team claimed their finest win of the season so far as they battled past in-form Loughborough to close the gap on their rivals.

Heading into the game Exeter sat second bottom, while Loughborough were second from top. From early on it was clear the visitors weren’t going to have it all their own way, as the hosts took control early on with a disciplined start, dominating play in their opponents half.

As Loughborough were pushed fur-

ther and further back, quick hands outside and a powerful finish from Joe Gill was just reward for an excellent start.

Exeter soon doubled their lead, a break up the left followed by a fine offload from Alex Waring who fed Sam Spridell for a try, with the scorer slotting the conversion.

Straight from the restart though, a knock-on handed possession back to Loughborough, who took full advantage to score in the corner to narrow the gap.

The ten point lead was soon restored, a contest for a beautifully weighted kick from Spridell resulting in the ball landing in the grateful arms of Waring who made no mistake from close range.

Alas, as so often has been the case this season, Exeter couldn’t maintain

their level into the second quarter as mistakes crept in.

When the visitors scored in the corner minutes before the end of the first half, their second try in a matter of minutes to draw level at 14-14 at the break.

It was a frustrating way to end the half, but like their victory against Bath a fortnight ago, Exeter knew they were wearing the opposition down and holes would begin to appear in attack.

Indeed a gaping hole allowed Ben Moore (pictured) to snipe his side back into the lead from close range. He had tried unsuccessfully in the first half, but managed to bury his way over this time.

Billy Franklin and Tom Braund’s relentless carrying, before superb distribution from Spridell and Finbar O’Reagan

allowed Exeter to go up the gears and they looked to be heading for victory when Waring bursted over once again.

Exeter seemed to be taking their foot off the gas every time they began to pull away though and Joe Gill’s wondefully controlled breakaway try should’ve been enough, were it not sandwiched inbetween two well taken Loughborough scores, leaving the score at 28-26.

Exeter move within one win of Loughborough with a game in hand By now, there were tired bodies on both sides, but Exeter’s interchanges, led

by the powerful Winston Murin, were able to inject some life back into proceedings.

Though Spridell missed a kickable two pointer, from the resulting drop out, Exeter were back on the front foot and were soon deep in opposition territory.

Another quick snipe saw Ben Moore go in for his second, and now Loughborough needed a converted scored for the draw.

It was Exeter who got that score, Coughlin finishing brilliantly to give Exeter their biggest lead in the match.

And Spridell’s tough, but successful, conversion would be the final act of a thrilling game as Exeter moved within one win of Loughborough, with a game in hand over their rivals.

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