Issue 744 - 22 March 2023

exeposé

not

against us”: Shell Out campaign continues

Charlie Gershinson and Oliver Lamb News Editor and Deputy Editor

SHELL Out protested on Thursday the 9th March as their campaign against the University of Exeter’s partnership with Shell continues.

The campaign group’s ‘banner drop’ took place outside the Forum as a small group of protesters played drums and held placards. Two activists read out the group’s open letter to the University and declared that “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.” The group then marched to the Northcott House car park and read out the letter again.

In November, it was announced that the University had signed a fiveyear contract with Shell on a carbon sequestration project as part of the push for net zero. Shell Out’s open letter, presented in February, argues that such technologies are “unproven” and that they are intended to allow Shell to continue using fossil fuels.

The letter demands that the University ends its partnership with Shell, es-

chews similar partnerships in future, and redesigns its decision-making process regarding partnerships. At the 9th March protest, the group claimed their letter had received over 300 signatures. The open letter included signatures from several societites including the Feminist Society, Be the Change, and Socialist Students.

One student told Exeposé that “the University should consult students before taking decisions like this”. Another described the University’s partnership with Shell as “hypocritical” and its policies on the environment as mostly “performative”. Some students believed there was a discrepancy between the University’s image and pledges on the environment and its actions. However, one student said that “Shell have been better than most at financing green projects” and had no opposition to the partnership.

There have been concerns over possible censorship by the University over the Shell Out protests. A member of Shell Out, whose name and phone number were added to the risk assessment for the event, has found that their details have been passed onto the police by the University. Exeter Students’ Guild told

Exeposé that this was the standard process for protests. Shell Out continued their campaign on Thursday the 16th March with an Instagram Live event with Alhassan Muhammad Othman, journalist and founder of Fridays for Future Sudan.

When asked about the protest by Exeposé , a spokesperson from the Shell Out campaign said: “Our protest was organised to draw attention to the Shell partnership and make it clear to university management that we won’t back down however much they try to censor us. We enjoyed entertaining students at lunchtime with our joyful drumming, reading our demands, before heading to Northcott House, where the management offices are.”

Shell Out go on to address the censorship they have faced throughout their campaign and in this protest, saying: “We are extremely concerned about the intensity of policing of our protest, and the fact one of our members’ mobile number was passed to the police from the risk assessment we had to complete.”

When Exeposé asked for comment from societies who signed Shell Out’s open letter, a spokesperson from the

Feminist Society said: “As a society, we recognise the significant link between the climate emergency and the rights of women and other marginalised groups.”

The Feminist Society went onto urge “the University of Exeter to listen to the significant concerns of the student body and stop their unethical partnership with Shell in the interest of those most affected by the climate crisis. ‘Oil money is dirty money’.”

A spokesperson from the University said: “The University respects and supports each student’s right to protest, provided they do so in a safe, legal and considerate manner.

The University of Exeter works with a wide range of governments, businesses and organisations to achieve our strategic objectives on the environment and climate, health and wellbeing and social justice. Agreeing research partnerships does not equate to us supporting every aspect of a partner’s activities or policies either now or in the past, but we do aim to influence the future.”

Images (top to bottom): Livvy Mason-Myhill, Eva Blue Flickr, Jake Avery

Editors

Print: Megan Ballantyne & Joshua Hughes

Online: Ana Anajuba & Clemence Smith

Print Deputies: Oliver Lamb, Livvy Mason-Myhill, Pollyanna Roberts

Online Deputies: Isabella Ankerson, Daisy Scott editors@exepose.com

Executives

Events: Georgia Balmer

Admin: Lauren Walsh

Chief Photographers Rachel Cunningham Kieran Moore

News Editors Print: Charlie Gershinson & Amy Rushton

Online: Megan Haynes & Amelie Thompson news@exepose.com

Features Editors

Print: Austin Taylor & Benedict Thompson

Online: Catherine Stone & Maggie John features@exepose.com

International Editors

Print: Agata Koralewska

Online: Maeve Fitzpatrick & Ryan Gerrett

Comment Editors

Print: Anabel Costa-Ferreira & Connor Goddard

Online: Jamie Speka & Kristen Taylor comment@exepose.com

Satire Editor

Print: Cleo Gravett

Online: Archie Lockyer & Joseph Vinton

Lifestyle Editors

Print: Gracie Moore

Online: Ruth Hetherington & Charlie Nadin lifestyle@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors

Print: Ella Minty & Joshua Smith

Online: Manon Martini & Gwenllian Page-Gibby artsandlit@exepose.com

Music Editors

Print: Harry Craig & Jake Avery

Online: Mahnoor Imam & Lauren Jones music@exepose.com

Screen Editors

Print: Anabelle Law & Madison Sohngen

Online Matthew Bowden & Harvey Isitt screen@exepose.com

Tech Editor

Print: Ewan Edwards

Online: Charlie Oldroyd

Science Editors

Print: Daniel Pain & Hayley Power

Online: Esther Humphries & Imogen Poyntz-Wright sciandtech@exepose.com

Sport Editors

Print: Toby Brisley & Rob Worthington

Online: Oliver Rickwood & Archie Rucker sport@exepose.com

@exepose

@exepose

HI everyone! We’re extremely sorry to announce that we are on our final issue of Exeposé this term (cue tears). It’s been such an amazing term and as we reflect back on the year as a whole, we want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed, edited, engaged or even just picked up a copy. We can also announce that we’ve been shortlisted for ten national Student Publication Awards (we’ll let you know how we get on), so we would like to offer all of our writers and editors a huge congratulations for their excellent work this year.

In News this edition, we look at the recent Shell Out protests and the continuing campaign to cut the University’s ties with Shell (pages 1 and 4). We also continue our coverage of the UCU strikes (page 3) and talk to NUS delegates about their experiences at the recent NUS conference.

In Features , we sit down with the founder of Tom’s Trunks, Tom Holmes, to talk about how the company started, the company’s mission and young entrepreneurship (page 9). In International , we cover International Women’s Day and also the recent Exevision Song Contest (page 10). Elsewhere, in Comment , writers debate the benefits and disadvantages of the US and UK degree systems

(page 13) and discuss students’ struggle to balance the books (page 12) while Satire pokes fun at the Ram's rolling Six Nations coverage ( page 14).

In Lifestyle we discuss revenge porn and its effects on victims (page 16) and also discuss the best way to celebrate Mother’s Day this year (page 17). In Arts + Lit , writers discuss their favourite comfort reads (page 18) and also review Roxane Gay’s recent talk at the University ( page 19). In Music , we feature a live review of A VOID at Cavern (page 21). Screen writers look at stop-motion moguls (page 22) and discuss the Marxist implication of films about bugs. In Tech , we look at the potential end of TikTok in the wake of the recent government bans ( page 24). In Science , we look at the observation of cosmic shock waves connecting our universe’s galaxies (page 28). Finally, in Sport we look at Arsenal’s title run (page 30), reflect on the Snowboarding World Championship ( page 31) and cover the recent Exeter darts ( page 32).

We hope you enjoy reading this edition and as always from everyone at Exeposé , have a great few weeks!

Josh and Megan

LIFESTYLE

Revenge porn and its dangers

PAGE 19

Live review: A VOID

PAGE 21

SCIENCE

PAGE 28

Proofers: Livvy Mason-Myhill, Oliver Lamb, Pollyanna Roberts, Lauren Walsh, Elizabeth Barber, Ewan Edwards, Charlie Gershinson, Gracie Moore, Anabel Costa-Ferreira, Joshua Hughes and Megan Ballantyne

University news home and abroad

in Afghanistan

THIS month men in Afghanistan are returning to university to commence the academic year, but the suspension of laws allowing women to attend higher education leaves a noticeable gap on campuses. Initial rumours that the ban would be lifted on the 23rd March have not been backed by officials, prompting uncertainty for women's prospects under the Taliban.

Child rights activist Professor Manizha Ramizy said she has received many distressed messages from students, stating “They are scared and terrified, looking at a hopeless future.” Other female Afghan students have reported their diplomas being withheld, so they don't have proof of their further education acheivements. An estimated 90,000 women have been affected by the higher education ban according to UNESCO.

Photographs have emerged on social media of women reading books while sitting outside Kabul University in one of many protests against the suppression of women's education. Bans were allegedly put in place due to dress code violations and funding issues; however senior Taliban leaders are strongly opposed to women in education and work.

Image, Leandro

Neumann Ciuffo, Flickr

Australian universities found to outsource their courses

AN investigation by The Guardian has found that numerous online courses offered by prestigious Australian universities outsource their teaching to private companies, without informing their students. Despite their marketing implying that the courses are taught by the universities themselves, many are run completely by third parties. These courses have little to no student engagement or academic discussion, and according to one student, “what is provided is basically a reading list.”

A lot of the teaching is out of date, as the for-prof it education companies lower costs by reusing old lecture recordings.

The universities keep the practice of outsourcing very quiet, and in responses to student queries reportedly frequently skirt the topic. As more of these stories come to light, the more anger grows among students who are paying thousands of dollars for online courses, and not getting what they signed up for.

Irish university presidents to be majority women

WHEN Professor Orla

OIA reveal challenges in cases of academic misconduct

The OIA reveals that while they see many good processes used by higher education providers to investigate alleged academic misconduct, they have seen processes that have not resulted in a fair outcome.

While the complaints body didn't report a significant increase in complaints surrounding alleged academic misconduct, they described new challenges for cases of alleged misconduct surrounding online learning since the pandemic. They describe problems with students not knowing what is and what isn't permitted. They also report that many students who have sent complaints admitting to academic misconduct explain that their personal circumstance and mental health were contributing to their poor decision-making.

They urge higher education providers to keep students informed on what support and options they have when they are unable to complete assignments, to support students during investigations into misconduct, and use proportional and consistent penalties.

Universities

reopen but women still barred by the Taliban

T

Students share experiences of navigating dietary requirements on campus

Livvy Mason-Myhill and Amy Rushton

Deputy Editor and News Editor

THE University of Exeter has faced criticism from students regarding the variety of food catering to dietary requirements on campus. Some students raised concerns particularly surrounding the levels of precautions taken by food outlets over allergens. Of the eight food outlets Exeposé visited on the 16th March, only The Ram specifically mentioned allergens, stating on their menu: “we handle all allergens in our kitchen and cannot guarantee our dishes are allergy free”. One student with a nut allergy commented on their recent experience at The Ram in which their cheesy chips had been

garnished with crushed pistachios. They stated that they were “definitely disappointed that this was not listed as an allergen or at least added to a menu”. They emphasised the importance of having allergen-safe foods on campus, stating that “those who also have a serious allergy will understand this especially, but having certain foods you know and trust is incredibly important — but it is also important to stay alert”. They added that when they reported the issue to a staff member, he appeared shocked and replaced them immediately. They stressed that “while the experience hasn’t put me off having food at The Ram entirely, it’s definitely made me more cautious ordering there”.

Another student spoke of an experience of an allergic reaction to dairy products after eating a meal that was marketed as vegan at Forum Kitchen, meaning crosscontamination with non-vegan food from Forum Kitchen had occurred.

However, when Exeposé asked students about what they thought of the variety of food options on campus, the responses were mostly positive. The £2 meals on campus were particularly praised for having

“a good variety”. Yet, some students expressed their disappointment that the range of food available at campus outlets was variable and subject to change depending on the days of the week. One student commented that they had “been on campus before when, despite multiple outlets being open, none stocked vegetarian options, leaving me without the option to buy lunch on campus”. When Exeposé visited the different food outlets on campus on the 16th March, we found that the availability of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options varied depending on the food outlet. On The Ram’s menu it seems to provide a wider range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options with 22 vegetarian, 22 vegan and 13 gluten free options. Despite this, many of these options include sauces and sides which in reality don't make a substantial meal. So, without sauces, sides and toppers, there were 12 vegan options available at The Ram. Additionally, Isca Eats had 13 vegetarian and 12 vegan options available but only two gluten-free options, both of which were only sides. Comida did not specify whether

any of their food options were glutenfree; however, they did indicate that they had three vegetarian and vegan options available. Starbucks showed some variety of vegetarian and vegan options but their selection of food products changes daily. The same goes for Pret, with them having two vegetarian and three vegan sandwich options on the day in question, yet did not offer any gluten-free options.

Forum Kitchen varies depending on its changing food providers; however, when Exeposé visited, a range of options were on offer, including vegan hot dogs and vegan and vegetarian options from Red Panda, a guest caterer.

Some students expressed disappointment at the range offered by the Marketplace. The upstairs Marketplace only offered one vegan and three vegetarian sandwich options as well as not offering any gluten-free sandwich options. The downstairs Marketplace offered five vegan sandwich and wrap options alongside four hot food options, and five vegetarian sandwiches and wraps with one hot food option. However, there was only one gluten-free sandwich available.

UCU strikes continue despite breakthroughs in negotiations

AFTER a two-week pause for negotiations, UCU strikes recommenced from the 15th to 17th March, and continued on Monday 20th March through to Wednesday 22nd March. This is despite reported breakthroughs made in negotiations with employers, with university employers agreeing to put forward a set of proposals on pay, working conditions and pensions on 15th March.

After finishing negotiations with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UCU opted against putting out the proposals negotiated with these bodies for UCU members to vote on, and to continue with scheduled strike action.

University staff at the University of Exeter alongside their colleagues across the country have continued to strike after this pause in action. Exeposé spoke to strikers at the picket line on Wednesday March 15th about why they are continuing to strike.

Alex Pritchard, the President of the Exeter UCU, emphasised that the problem in his eyes lay with university employers, “who couldn’t get their act together quick enough.” Pritchard recommended that students who are missing contact hours due to

Roxane Gay visits Exeter during first UK tour

Charlotte Zeyssolff

ON Tuesday 14th March, the Forum Alumni Auditorium was overflowing with students and avid feminists, eager to see the celebrated Roxane Gay as she stopped off in Exeter as part of her first UK tour, ‘Roxane Gay: With One ‘N’’. Co-hosted by Exeter City of Literature and the University of Exeter, the event promised to deliver a “reflective, no-holds-barred exploration of feminism and social criticism”. Best-selling author of Bad Feminist and Hunger , Gay is one of the leading feminists of our time, bringing forth her ideas of gender equality and criticising trans-exclusionary radical feminism with humour and refreshing candour. Brought up in Omaha, Nebraska, her frequent visits to her family in Haiti and the sexual assault she faced as a child were a source of inspiration for her writing.

the strikes “talk to each other”, and highlighted that he did not believe it was useful to contact the ViceChancellor anymore about this issue, following comments previously made by Exeter UCU committee about their "dissappointment" in the Vice Chancellor for not meeting with strikers or declaring a public position on the strikes.

Pritchard suggested that students should “contact their lecturers and also talk about why the strikes are on at all”.

Pritchard did, however, state that he was hopeful that the strikes will be over soon. Pritchard suggested that he thinks that the University are “not doing very much at the moment” pointing out that the process of striking has been exasperating, but that he understands the University has over 140 institutions to negotiate with and that necessitates a lengthy negotiations process. He also stated that staff members are nearing the end of the strike period and negotiations, “so hopefully this will all be over soon.”

When talking to lecturers at the picket lines, many staff members

agreed that they “really would have liked to have seen an agreement by now” and were hopeful this would come soon. They emphasised that they would prefer not to be on strike, and instead be able to continue doing research and teaching at the university. They encouraged students to find out more information regarding the reasons why their lecturers are striking, as “it helps people to understand what is going on and why that teaching is unfortunately being paused”. Additionally, strikers recommended that students talk to their education teams and their department hubs if they had any questions surrounding their missed learning during the strikes and also check their emails for the information on the outcome of strike action. A lecturer indicated that for students, the strikes should not be “a moment when education is stopped, it is more a moment when learning is disrupted”. Use that time to educate yourselves on why staff are striking but also try to carry on learning”. Staff members stressed that there was a need for more dialogue between the union and the University, taking the issues of the strikes more seriously and there was a need to “apply more pressure to resolve the dispute”.

One lecturer suggested that students should write to the Vice Chancellor about the strikes and “why she is not pressuring her

employment union to make the very sensible and modest steps that could quickly resolve this dispute”. They also commented that “the University should understand that this is a collected enterprise and that we are all in this together. The University needs to understand that we do have a general grievance and they need to summon a bit of courage and speak out and support the cause.”

Another staff member highlighted that they “personally think the decision to pause the strikes was not a good decision. It makes mobilising now difficult but it’s still important that we are here”.

A spokesperson for the University of Exeter said:

“Following constructive meetings between the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and the Joint HE Trade Unions, talks have now concluded on the terms of reference for pay spine, workload, contract types and pay gaps negotiations. Universities UK (UUK), on behalf of USS employers, and the University and College Union (UCU) have issued a joint statement outlining how both parties are working together on the future of USS pension scheme benefits. The union's Higher Education Committee met on Friday to decide on their next steps. We are hopeful that these positive developments may lead to a resolution to both disputes being reached.”

Needless to say, her appearance in Exeter was highly anticipated. The event, styled as a conversation with Exeter alumna Sharifa Milford-Al Hashemy, set off to an unconventional start, broaching the topics of Naked Attraction and Scrabble Championships. Following this prolonged exchange came the highlight of the evening. Astutely responding to questions from members of the audience, who were clearly more interested in Gay’s egalitarian convictions than her perceptions of British pop culture, Roxane satisfied the intellectual inquisitiveness of students like myself. Offering advice for reacting to ingrained misogyny and decrying the lack of medical information about the menopause, the event was a reminder of Gay’s witty directness that shines through her writing.

Livvy Mason-Myhill Deputy Editor

Image: Megan Ballantyne

Image: Eva Blue, Flickr

Pritchard emphasised that the problem lies with their employers, “who couldn’t get their act together quick enough”

Image: Livvy Mason-Myhill

UoE: “The science behind net zero is clear”

“The University recently signed a contract to work with Shell on a nature-based solutions project for carbon sequestration in Brazil, which will contribute to the global race to net zero. The Carbon Storage in Pasture through Ecological Restoration (CASPER) programme focuses on soil carbon storage and is aimed at substantially advancing understanding of how both plant-microbe soil interactions and agricultural management practices impact the potential for carbon sequestration. The programme will involve significant lab-based and fieldwork experimentation in Brazil working with local partners, communities and land managers in the region.

The University has worked

with Shell for over 15 years in collaborative research projects on advancing biofuels and renewable chemicals and our partnership was formalised under a Framework Agreement in 2017. The science behind net zero is clear about the need to accelerate the phasing out of fossil fuel supply and demand, transition to renewable energy at scale, and invest in carbon dioxide removal, and this work is at the heart of the University of Exeter’s Strategy 2030.”

A spokesperson for the Students' Guild told Exeposé : “The Guild is here to help facilitate student-led campaigns and support students enacting the change they want to see on campus and within our community. We have been supporting students with

this particular campaign to protest in a safe way on campus and resources to do so. The Guild do not have an official stance on the Shell partnership.

The Guild do not have an official stance on the Shell partnership Guild spokesperson

The Guild held a Climate Action Day in December, which included student led talks, a film screening and workshops focused on student climate action. We are also collaborating on Go Green Week with the University to celebrate and encourage sustainable initiatives. As an organisation we are again undertaking the NUS Green Impact Award which recognises environmentally and socially sustainable practice.”

Students’ Guild trials new society appointments process

Megan Ballantyne Editor

THE Students’ Guild are trialling a new election system in which the only roles which must be elected are President and Treasurer roles, in a move which the Guild told Exeposé was “designed for societies who may find elections are a barrier to finding students to run their committee.” This comes as societies wishing to run March elections have been advised to run these themselves rather than through a centralised Guild system, which is not yet available for societies to use.

One anonymous Guild society

president speaking to Exeposé expressed concerns regarding the democratic integrity of this new appointments system. The student told Exeposé that they thought, “the introduction of this new appointments system runs the risk of making societies' elections processes undemocratic and unfair.”

The move comes a year after Exeposé reported on criticism from the student body regarding the removal

Exeter’s £16

Gracie Moore Lifestyle Editor

TWO years after construction began on a brand new £16m railway station in Marsh Barton, the project is finally reaching completion. It is now being described as “substantially complete” and Devon County Council have said that trains will be running by the spring. As of recently, pictures have surfaced showing that work still needs doing on the vehicle bridge but most of the metal barriers shielding the

of manifestos from Students’ Guild officer elections process, with many branding the move “undemocratic,” and expressing concerns about the relaxing of democratic processes within the Students’ Guild. Another society leader commented on the need for societies at the moment to manage and run their own elections, in the absence of a functioning Guild elections system. They suggested that this “potentially opens up a society and its leaders to a lot of stress and backlash. If elections do not go as expected, a lot of criticism and blame can fall on the senior committee.” The society leader also argued that “the Guild knew its elections process was not working effectively in June, so clearly hasn’t

made this a priority.” If societies wish to run their elections this term, they must run nominations and voting via Microsoft Forms rather than through a centralised Guild system as used in previous years.

A spokesperson for the Students’ Guild told Exeposé: “This year we are trialling a new approach, where the only roles required to be elected are the President and Treasurer roles. All other positions on the committee can still be elected using the same process or appointed. This change is to remove barriers and bureaucracy, taking on feedback from society members and committees about our processes.

This process is designed for societies who may find elections

are a barrier to finding students to run their committee. Being able to appoint makes some smaller societies more accessible, where elections can be a barrier, leading to a society becoming dormant when they fail to find people who want to run in an election, but may still want to be on committee. Societies must be able to justify and evidence their decision and process to their members if they have decided to appoint in this way. It is designed for positions where certain knowledge or expertise are required (e.g. a coach, or musical accompanist). If members feel that this is creating unfair processes, they are very welcome to speak to Activities staff and they can look into this.”

million Marsh Barton railway nears completion

construction work from the public have now been removed.

The reasons for the delay have been labelled by Devon County Council as due to “challenges faced with building material supplies and sub-zero temperatures in December.”

They also stated that over the coming weeks, they will be taking the opportunity to carry out additional improvements at Salmonpool Bridge and Clapperbrook Lane with the introduction of bus stops on Grace Road.

Devon’s cabinet member for transport, Councillor Andrea Davis has previously said that

this new train station in Marsh Barton is very important infrastructure that supports their Devon Metro ambitions. She also claims that this investment will bolster Devon’s economy as well as assist with carbon reduction targets.

Marsh Barton station was meant to be up and running in December 2016 but the spiralling costs and lengthy discussions with the railway industry has caused severe delays.

Once open, the station will be served hourly by Great Western Railway services between Paington and Exmouth with additional trains at peak times.

Image: Shell Out

This new appointments system runs the risk of making societies’ elections processes undemocratic and unfair Anonymous Guild society president

NUS Delegates report antisemitic leaflets distributed outside conference

Megan Ballantyne Editor

EXETER NUS delegates have expressed concerns regarding the distribution of an allegedly antisemitic leaflet by a third party in front of the recent NUS national conference. Exeter NUS delegates Edward Barradell and Alex Stanley, incoming Students’ Guild Education Officer, also spoke to Exeposé about their broader concerns with the recent NUS national conference which took place between 15th and 16th March.

The delegates stated that they were greeted on the first day of the conference by people who they believed to be a third party and not directly affiliated with the NUS, handing out leaflets that “appeared to be antisemitic” featuring a Star of David on a burning background. The pair recounted that despite reporting this incident, the NUS and security at the conference “felt they could not do anything.”

This comes following former NUS President Shaima Dallali being suspended from her role in August as a result of allegations of antisemitism. Dallali is now suing the NUS over this suspension. In response, an

apology for anti-semitism within the NUS was made at the recent national conference, and the organisation has stated that the recommendations from the independent review into antisemitism are being implemented. Barradell and Stanley, however, also suggested that “a no-nonsense approach is needed on issues such as antisemitic literature being handed out.”

The pair also expressed concerns around NUS accountability. They told Exeposé how, following “next to no opportunity to hold the NUS to account” at last year’s conference, the Democratic Procedures Committee introduced some accountability sessions into the 2023 conference. They recounted that the first of these, however, was cancelled last minute, with the remaining one-hour session consisting of pre-submitted questions and finishing early. Barradell and Stanley told Exeposé how this led to “uproar in the room,” with questions from the floor ignored. After further pushback, the NUS did, however, hold a further session on accountability where questions were taken from delegates on the floor.

The delegates also described a “general sense, by us, that attendees were looked down on,” by the management of the conference, citing incidents such

as a delegate being told to “grow up” by a frustrated NUS officer in front of the conference. Another Exeter NUS delegate, Guild President Lily Margaroli, also stated via her Twitter that “people made mistakes and got heated,” at the conference, but also described how “people also put their hands up and apologised” for these incidents.

Barradell and Stanley did, however, also note that they believed some positive progress had been made from the 2022 conference. They found that there were more opportunities for debates and discussions to take place, stating that they “had the opportunity to shape policy” and could submit amendments on NUS reform. They also “were given the chance to speak in front of delegates.” Margaroli also noted positive changes from the 2022 national conference, stating that “it was a marked improvement on last year — more focused areas of discussions (submitted by delegates), better policy debates, better approaches to issues arising at the conference itself, and more opportunities to hear from officers”

Margaroli went on to state: “The NUS dealing with a lot of internal conflict from members massively reduces the ability to make progress on national issues.” She also suggested that the

public should “have patience with NUS and try and support our union rather than tearing it down. Clearly, a lot of people’s takes need to be listened to, and there are a lot of questions and concerns that need to be responded to, but these things can’t happen overnight.”

Stanley agreed with Margaroli’s continued support for the NUS, suggesting that “there are still concerning underlying issues within the NUS,” but that “I remain optimistic that as

a member of the NUS we can be a part of the change that the union needs, providing realistic solutions to the real problems students are facing.” Barradell, however, argued that the NUS “is still overshadowed by issues surrounding antisemitism” and that “for a body that costs our Guild around £30,000 a year, more than our full time officers are paid, it is time to ask if we should remain part of this expensive and archaic institution.”

Image: Joshua Hughes

LIFESTYLE ARTS + LIT

TECH

MUSIC STUDY BREAK SCREEN

Features

The rise of revenge porn

FEATURES EDITORS:

Benedict Thompson and Austin Taylor

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor, examines the rising phenomenon of revenge porn in recent years

WITH the rise in use of social media, as well as the Covid pandemic weakening our physical ties to loved ones, ‘sexting’ and the general sending of explicit imaging has filled the gaps in the love lives of many. However, the sending of these images or videos requires trust and assurance that the recipient will not send them on to anyone else or post them to sites such as OnlyFans. This scenario has been dubbed ‘revenge porn’ as it is commonly committed after a break-up or as blackmail.

Recently, Stephen Bear, famous for his appearances on the shows Shipwrecked and Ex on the Beach, has made the headlines with his own version of revenge porn against his ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison: Bear filmed her in the act of

intercourse and uploaded it to OnlyFans. His trial occurred recently where he was sentence to 21 months in prison.

However, this sentencing is only a recent development as before March 2021, there was little in the way of support for victims of revenge porn. Now perpetrators can face up to two years in prison for even the threat of sending or uploading someone else’s explicit images without their permission.

In November 2022, when the law was officially passed through, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said that “we need to do more to protect women and girls, from people who take or manipulate intimate photos in order to hound or manipulate them.” With trends such as ‘upskirting’ and ‘downblousing’ still being

prominent issues for women, many say that the law has come at the right time.

However, revenge porn and similar offences are still on the rise. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an increase of 40 per cent in the number of calls placed to the revenge porn helpline, with roughly 4,500 cases reported. Even today, 75 per cent of these placed calls are by women but men can also be victims of such crimes. The changing law may be good news for previous victims but many claim that it may be too late and that these laws should

have been in place for longer. For example, the threat to share explicit images or videos is now enough to be criminalised, but this only came into force in June 2021. Prior to this, victims were told that their images couldn’t be forcibly removed from the offender’s phone as they didn’t have the power. They were also told to directly contact the websites in possession of the images in order to have them erased.

It is important to note that the majority of revenge porn cases often come with other allegations and subsequent charges. For example, nowadays, a fifth of all cases also see the defendant charged with stalking and a fifth include charges of harassment.

During Covid, many of us were separated from our partners during lockdown or the periods of strict Government rules.

Student finance overhaul

For this reason, many people turned to virtual sex to remain intimate with their significant others. For example, one in four teens were recipients of a sexual photo or video during the peak of the pandemic. This number also continues to rise, despite the easing of the lockdown restrictions, therefore making situations like revenge porn more common. A couple of years ago, The Independent published an article giving their advice on how to avoid the effects of revenge porn. This extended to making sure your face isn’t in the photo as well as asking yourself if you fully trust the recipient. The new law is predicted to bring new hope to victims of revenge porn, allowing them to seek proper justice without having to jump through the same hoops to get there.

Ellie Whitcombe assesses new plans to overhaul student finance in England

ANEW, more flexible student loan system described as a “gamechanger” is on its way to turn the way we view higher education on its head. On the 7th March, the Department for Education published plans for a new policy called the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE), which will remove restrictions on funding for study at an equivalent or lower level than already held and will offer greater financial assistance and flexibility to access higher education.

Students aged 18-60 will be able to access a loan worth four years of post18 education (£37,000 in current tuition fees) as well as a maintenance loan for in-person courses. Resultantly, university funding will remain largely unchanged, but a major change is the ability to study individual modules at your own pace and put them together over time to culminate in a full qualification. The government has likened the scheme to a “flexi-travel card”, able to jump on and off learning instead of

having “a ticket with a single destination”.

Learners will be able to keep track of their loan in a system comparable to online banking, where they can see remaining funds and information about which courses and modules they are able to study. This will allow students to have greater control of how they use their loan and open up more choices.

The “radical” new plans demonstrate the government’s commitment to offering the UK’s workforce the opportunity to retrain and plug skills gaps, providing a necessary boost to the UK economy and preparing for a new era of technological advancement in industry. Particular emphasis is placed on Level 4 and 5 Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) that provide short courses to train workers in skills necessary for careers like software engineers, data analysts and nurses without having to pursue a three- or four-year degree at university.

For the first time, technical study will be put on par with academic routes. This comes

as employers are increasingly expressing a preference for work experience and questioning the adequacy of the preparation a university degree offers for the workplace. HTQs are also an effective choice for experienced workers who need to quickly adapt and train in a new skill. The LLE will make this a finan cially viable option throughout an entire career.

Maintenance loans will, for the first time, be available for individual course modules, as well as an increased number of technical and part-time courses. However, a notable oversight is the continued absence of a maintenance loan for those studying at the Open University. Professor Tim Blackman, ViceChancellor, deems the exclusivity of financial support “a major inequity”, with many having to leave courses to “prioritise work-

ing more hours”, directly contradicting the goals of the new policy to broaden access to higher education. The Lifelong Loan Entitlement is designed to empower those unlikely to consider higher education due to financial or childcare commitments, but this oversight has the potential to exclude those who stand to benefit the most. Whilst many experienced the drawbacks of online university during the coronavirus lockdowns, the adoption of remote working offered more autonomy for those with disabilities and childcare commitments and has since been incorporated into many workplaces. There will also need to be a significant cultural shift in the perception of what a

quality education looks like for the new policy to be successful. Chief Executive of Association of Colleges David Hughes notes that the LLE alone “will not be sufficient to change the behaviours and priorities of the vast majority of people who believe that achieving a Bachelor’s degree is the gold standard”. Such a change will force people to reconsider whether a traditional university education is necessary for all roles, and indeed what it means to be ‘educated’. Legislation for the policy is currently going through parliament and is expected to be implemented in time for the 2025/26 academic year amid wide welcome from the academic community. The first major change to funding for education since the introduction of tuition fees and student finance in 1998, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement could facilitate a huge shift in what it means to be ‘educated’, be a driving force in improving social mobility, and put the UK back on the map as a centre of science, innovation and technology.

What Sturgeon’s resignation means for Scotland

Harry Craig, Music Editor, looks at Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and the effects it could have

IT was the announcement that no one anticipated. On the 15th February, Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon announced her shock resignation after eight years in the job, and seven years as First Minister. She has been an institution in the corridors of Holyrood for the best part of two decades.

With Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister now leaving her role, the discussion begins about her legacy. Sturgeon’s main political goal, around which her entire career has been built, is independence. She came to power following the 2014 independence referendum, with the issue of Scottish independence seemingly settled for a generation. The following year, the United Kingdom voted unexpectedly to leave the European Un-

ion — but Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain. Suddenly, the debate over Scottish independence was reignited.

independence — has not been attained.

Sturgeon’s record of electoral success would be enviable for any politician.

In three Westminster elections, she led the SNP to an overall majority of Scottish seats in all of them, including nearcomplete landslides in 2015 and 2019. In the two Scottish parliamentary elections held during her time in office, Sturgeon won both with nearly 50 per cent of the seats. In spite of this, her main aim —

It was always clear that a new independence referendum would be a longterm battle. Sturgeon’s hopes of holding one this year were dashed last November when the Supreme Court ruled that she could not unilaterally call a referendum, and her resignation may also end plans for the next general election to be regarded as a ‘de facto referendum’. Many believe that Sturgeon’s resignation marks the death knell for the independence movement, and part of a wider pattern of SNP decline. Some in Keir Starmer’s team are cautiously optimistic that Sturgeon’s resignation may pave the way for a Labour revival in Scotland, one of its former heartlands until it was almost completely wiped out in 2015. Although Sturgeon has reiterated

that her resignation was not the result of “short-term pressures”, there is no doubt that recent controversies contributed to her decision. Chief among these has been political wrangling over the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, in which the Scottish government pledged to make it easier to legally change gender. Despite being passed by a cross-party majority of Scottish MSPs, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used the previously unused Section 35 to block the bill. This has consequently dominated British politics in recent months, and will have certainly taken a toll on Sturgeon.

It has also played a major role in debate over Sturgeon’s successor. Expected frontrunner Kate Forbes said on the 20th February that she did not support the bill, and then doubled down and endorsed a

series of increasingly socially conservative positions, including opposing same-sex marriage. This appears to have fatally damaged her leadership ambitions, with Health Secretary Humza Yousaf now seen as the frontrunner. Either way, the SNP’s internal squabbles following Sturgeon’s resignation has not helped its already damaged image. With Sturgeon leaving office, none of the major party leaders from the 2019 election remain in office. The nature of British politics has fundamentally changed, and the decision of the SNP membership this month could play a crucial role in determining this country’s future — who ends up in Number 10 next year, or indeed whether Scotland remains part of the UK altogether.

Image: No. 10 Downing, Wikimedia Commons

Many say that the law has come at the right time

She came to power... with the issue of Scottish independence seemingly settled

In conversation with Tom Holmes, founder of Tom’s Trunks

Benedict Thompson, Features Editor, talks to Tom Holmes, the founder of Tom’s Trunks, about how the company started, the company’s mission and young entrepreneurship

is sustainable and eco-friendly?

TH: It starts with production. We only use suppliers that are aligned with our ethos and are situated in a close proximity to the cotton growers; we will then spin and dye the yarn using azo-free dyes and, where possible, aim to use renewable energy to power the machines. In the manufacturing process we strive to re-use every offcut, aiming for zero waste. Following production we source the most carbon-friendly freight option. We also make sure that as a company ourselves we do not use any plastic and in 2023 we will be carbon neutral.

É: How important is independence for you and do you feel this allows the company to design the loungewear more freely?

TH: We love doing things differently. Being small enables us to be incredibly agile and stay true to our values, enabling us to be honest and have a personality. If we believe in something, we will do it.

ing from the downs, but if I had to mention one it would be when I was driving to work one morning, super tired and just felt like I had no control of my life. Everything just seemed to be going wrong; deliveries were late, mistakes I had made were costing the business money and I was not being a nice bloke. I really hate not keeping to my word and on this occasion, that just happened one too many times.

get to know the place I call home.

É: The company has a few notable charity connections. Can you tell us about these charities?

TOM HOLMES is the founder of Tom’s Trunks, a clothing brand producing comfy loungewear, inspired by great quality products from natural materials. Tom has taken his passion and expertise in clothing and environmental sustainability and has done what most young people would only dream about doing.

Benedict Thompson, Features Editor, talks to Tom Holmes about how Tom’s Trunks started, what it stands for as well as young entrepreneurship.

É: Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

TH: I am a 22-year-old aspiring entrepreneur. I love travelling and exploring our natural world. I left school aged 18 to pursue a degree apprenticeship with Morrisons, where I ended up in a factory assembling bouquets of flowers. This was something I never thought I would be interested in but ended up loving. Whilst working for Morrisons I ran Tom’s Trunks as a side hustle but I decided to go full time at the start of 2023.

É: At what moment did you think you could actually make something of this and decide to start Tom’s Trunks?

TH: I started Tom’s Trunks in 2014 after a fantastic trip to Kenya. I was inspired by the beautiful colours and the fantastic attitude of the people I met who were making the clothing. Initially, I never really had any ambition to make it a business, I just loved the product and enjoyed selling it, however it kept on becoming more fun and we started selling more, and in 2017 I decided to

really start up-scaling the business.

É: How has your business degree and degree apprenticeship background contributed to the designing of the loungewear?

TH: With regards to the degree, I would say that I learned much more in the hands-on element of the apprenticeship and it has forced me to become much more organised. I am really lucky to work with great people and am always very happy to sit through a tutorial. I personally feel I have learnt the most from googling and being inquisitive.

É: The company seems to be at the forefront of sustainability and empowering young people and has carved spaces out to represent a generation which maybe did not feel spoken to before through fashion. How important is this for Tom’s Trunks?

TH: Sustainability is a vital value of the company. I believe if you are not sustainable, you should not be in business today. We are not there yet; however, every day we strive to reduce our impact on the environment. I am so excited by what our generation has to offer in combating the climate crisis. I hope the company can encourage people to consider their impact on the environment.

É: How important is Kenyan culture in the designing of the loungewear?

TH: Kenyan culture is at the core of the brand but as we grow, we are now looking to source other materials and fabrics, keeping their environmental impact at the forefront of our mission. Kenyan culture is at the root of the brand and will remain close to my heart.

É: Can you pinpoint high and low points throughout the company’s journey?

É: Through the low points, what kept you going?

TH: I love the outdoors, and through the low points a run or a swim has got me through, but I also feel a great privilege to run Tom’s Trunks and know that if I work hard and grow the brand we are able to give more to charity and have a positive impact on the planet. I think the majority of it comes down to discipline and being incredibly passionate about what we do.

É: What is the most interesting experience you have had since starting Tom’s Trunks?

TH: In 2017 we got taken to court by Tommy Hilfiger for a trademark infringement — this was pretty interesting.

É: Do you travel a lot for work? And what are some of the favourite destinations you have travelled to?

TH: When I started the brand I had an ambition to give 10 per cent of our profits to Tom’s Trust, a charity set up after my friend tragically died of a brain tumour aged nine. The charity does an amazing job providing clinical psychology for the patients and the families affected by this illness. Today we remain set on the same mission and continue to give 10 per cent of our profits to People & the Planet. Our core charity still remains Tom’s Trust, but we will also strive to do what we can for other great causes. Giving back is incredibly important to us and it helps us stay focused on the mission of creating the most comfortable beach and bed wear.

É: What is next for Tom’s Trunks?

TH: My mission is to create the world’s most comfortable loungewear. We have got a selection of new products coming out which is incredibly exciting and are planning to launch in Australia and the US by the end of this year. We are also working towards net-zero by the end of this year.

My mission is to create the world’s most comfortable loungewear

É: What do you have to consider to ensure the loungewear

TH: Truthfully, it is a surreal journey. I get to work with the most amazing people doing something I am incredibly passionate about. If I had to pinpoint a couple of the best bits so far, one would be the first time we took our converted horse trailer on tour (and it not breaking down). This was a pivotal point in the brand as it enabled us to reach a much larger audience helping the business grow. The second would be having Will’s cheese on toast with the team during the 2022 pop-up season. It really made me realise, firstly, how much I love cheese on toast but more importantly how many incredibly talented and kind-hearted people there are in the world. I would be wrong only to mention the good bits. Yes there have been a couple of tough days and life is all about enjoying the ups and learn-

TH: We only do a little overseas travel. WhatsApp and FaceTime are just as good. We will, however, aim to do an in-person visit to at least one of our suppliers each year, and this has enabled me to travel to Kenya, India and Portugal. I do get to travel loads around the UK which is so much fun, and I have been able to discover some gems and

É: What advice can you give to someone who wants to start their own business and make an impact?

TH: I am still learning every day and I see naivety as my best friend. My advice would be to make the most of the resources around you and make sure that the business you go into is something you love because it will have to dominate your life!

I believe if you are not sustainable, you should not be in business today

Being independent enables us to be honest and have a personality

Image: Tom’s Trunks”

Image: Tom’s Trunks”

I had no control of my life. Everything just seemed to be going wrong

International

International politics differences

Harry Craig, Music Editor, examines the political differences in France and the UK

FRANCE and the UK may only be separated by 32 kilometres across the English Channel, but the gulf between the two countries in their politics could not be more different. The revolutionary spirit of 1789 embodies the French political system, from the village mairies to the office of the Élysée Palace.

These revolutionary principles are perhaps epitomised best in a quintessentially French tradition: striking. Britain may have been paralysed by a series of strikes in recent months, but the French know how to strike properly. The entire country ground to a halt earlier this month when millions descended onto the streets to protest government proposals to raise the pension age from 62 to 64. Whilst here in Britain our generation will face retirement in our late 70s (if we’re lucky), the French are still fighting to retire at 62.

Another French political tradition is the tendency to dislike every single politician and indeed the entire political establishment. Current President Macron’s approval rating has hovered around 34 per cent in recent months, which is low compared to, for example, the US, where Trump’s approval rating average of 41 per cent was a record low. However, by French standards Macron’s popularity is relatively high — former Presidents Hollande, Mitterrand and Chirac left office with approval ratings below 30 per cent.

make every politician unpopular. In a poll at the end of February, just 14 per cent of respondents said they supported Macron — but this still ranked him highest of all the major party leaders.

Nonetheless, there was a marked similarity with the UK and other western democracies until recently, before the 2017 election completely upended the French parliamentary democratic system. For the previous 60 years of the Fifth Republic two big-tent parties, the Republicans on the right and the Socialists on the left, had dominated French politics. However, neither party made the runoff in the 2017 presidential election, which was contested between centrist newcomer Macron, and Marine Le Pen of the far-right Front National.

The two main parties have never recovered, and France’s National Assembly is now dominated by Macron’s ‘Renaissance’ in government and Le Pen’s rebranded ‘Rassemblement National’ in opposition. This marks a major difference to the UK, where the hegemony of the Conservatives and Labour is almost completely unchallengeable due to the First-Past-The-Post system.

The British political and media establishment continue to misunderstand how different the French political system is to their own, at their peril. If Britain wants a close post-Brexit relationship with its nearest neighbour, perhaps it needs to understand a bit more about la vie française.

International Women’s Day

Anabel Costa-Ferreira, Comment Editor, writes about the importance of the celebration of Women’s Day

CELEBRATED globally on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day (IWD) focuses primarily on both supporting women’s rights and working against discrimination, whilst also looking to celebrate the achievements of women in all areas of life and acknowledging the milestones that empowered female rights.

Therefore, it isn’t that Macron is uniquely unpopular in France, merely that French political culture tends to

Looking briefly at the history of this day, it has been recognised as early as 1911, when in Copenhagen (Denmark) it was agreed to honour IWD, and several rallies were held fighting for the rights to be allowed to work and vote. The day was marked on the 19th March by Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Shortly after in 1913, Russia celebrated their first day and from further discussion, the 8th March was set as the annual date for IWD. It was later, in 1975, observed by the United Nations and by 1996 themes were introduced for each year — with one of this year’s themes being ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’. Drawing attention to barriers and discrimination in STEM areas, statistics from the UN showed that shockingly women only make up 22 per cent of the AI (artificial intelligence) global work force and that 73 per cent of female journalists have been subject to online violence at work. On the IWD website, the global theme of #EmbraceEquity details how it “aims to encourage important conversations on why equal opportunities aren’t enough and why equal isn’t always fair” importantly acknowledging that “people start from different places.” While discussions are critical, IWD is ultimately a day of activism,

therefore I will now explore the many ways this day was marked both this year and historically. Turning first to the UK, this year Downing Street led a showcase within which they recognised the “best female-led small businesses” as well as presenting ‘Point of Light’ awards for those who have made significant contributions through volunteer work. At London’s Southbank Centre, a three-day event Women of the World (WOW) took place between the 10th-12th March, and according to their website opened a much-needed “space for discussions ranging from sex to politics, grandmotherdom to divorce, childlessness to career changes.”

International Women’s Day is ultimately a day of activism

Looking at other parts of the world, the United States give a presi-

dential ‘statement of recognition,’ and the month is dedicated to celebrating women’s history. While in China several companies offer half-days to their female employees, and men typically give gifts like on Valentine’s Day. Similarly, in Russia, they give mimosa blossoms (bright yellow flowers), as well as gifts such as cards and chocolates: “flower sales double during the three or four days.” Likewise in Italy, mimosa blossoms are gifted as they are typically in season this time of year. Though celebrations globally may differ, IWD is marked always by the colours purple (for dignity), green (for hope) and white (for purity). This choice is said to originate from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) back in 1908, notably used for the Suffragette movement.

So, whether you wore the colours, attended an event, or simply read this article — make sure to educate yourself on the ongoing importance of IWD regardless of the date.

Exevision Song Contest

Agata Koralewska, International Editor, reviews Exeter’s own Eurovision

AS the official Eurovision Song Contest is approaching, starting at the beginning of May, our university had a similar event happen on the 11th March. Exevision gave students the opportunity to represent their country through singing. 12 nations performed, choosing recognisable and catchy songs that best represented their identity. Poland, Italy, Canada, Ukraine, Spain, Turkey, Malaysia, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Greece and Kazakhstan were those who competed for the golden trophy that evening. The contest was transmitted live on You-

Tube with the help of XpressionFM.

Exevision gave students the opportunity to represent their country through singing

More than a hundred people joined the audience, cheering and clapping. What was interesting about the event was that the voting system that determined who wins the contest was similar to that of the actual Eurovision — both the ones who came to see the show and the jury had a chance to vote for their favour-

ite performance. After the votes got counted by the presenter, it was announced that Greece who sang ‘Fragkosyriani’ by Markus Vamvakaris won. Both performing and seeing the event were remarkable experiences. The way the event was structured, so that it was so similar to the actual Eurovision, made it feel like the original contest. Additionally, the presenting style was engaging and the curiosities about each country before the peformances encouraged the audience to learn about how diverse and important is the international community at our university.

Another French political tradition is the tendency to dislike every single politician

Image: Exevision Song Contest official photo

Image: Shanon Mollerus, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Lbeaumont, Wikimedia Commons

Comment

Guild elections — Student engagement in politics

Lisette Reed discusses turnout in the recent Guild elections, and student engagement in politics more generally

WITH the recent conclusion of the Student Guild elections, there has also been a concerning statistic unveiled, stating that the student participation in the voting of the elections dropped from 15 per cent of the previous year to 12 per cent. On top of this, the recent UCU strikes and its response from students has also made the debate on student participation worse, as a range of students didn’t support the strikes, due to the disruption to their learning.

Both of these factors have led to an abundance of assumptions about the students of Exeter and whether they are concerned with the politics of the Guild, and also politics generally. But is this a fair assumption to possess? There are many presumptions that the students of Exeter have little to no care in the politics surrounding them and the society they live in. With most of these accusations stemming from outdated stereotypes of the ‘lazy student’, it’s clear why so many people assume that students disregard

their surroundings. Furthermore, being a Russell Group university, with most students coming from the middle class, and higher income families, Exeter Uni’s reputation for its lack of student participation in politics also originates from the societal and economic ignorance of some of its attendees. Though some students may fit into this bracket of a lack of awareness of class divides and privilege, the vast majority do participate in politics, in and out of the university grounds.

From the abundance of political societies including the Feminist Society, the Labour and Conservative Societies and the Debating Society, it is clear that the students of Exeter University are participants in politics. With these societies, and others, hosting a range of events including discussions around societal issues, as well as more fun and interactive activities, this belief around students being uninvolved in politics is a false accusation. Despite there being a lack of interest in the Guild’s elections, there is still a strong interest and engagement in politics throughout the University. However, the question of student engagement in Guild elections is subject to the Guild itself and many of the societies it has allowed to represent the University of Exeter — from the Students for Life society to Freedom Society, the latter of which aims to promote the use of discriminatory and offensive language in the guise of free speech. The Guild has made a range of questionable choices in its approval of societies;

Destined for the overdraft?

with many previous officers returning this year, it holds the question of do we want anything to do with those who allowed for these disgraceful societies? It hasn’t been disclosed who allowed for these societies, and others, to be approved but until there is new leadership in the Guild, clearly stating that they will disaffiliate the creation of offensive societies, why should students be concerned with the politics of the Guild, when the Guild doesn’t rigorously assess their own decisions?

The Guild has made a range of questionable choices in its approval of societies

At the University of Exeter, there is a strong pursuit of politics from students of all ends of the political agenda and though there was a drop in students voting in the Guild elections, that doesn’t mean that the students have a complete lack of care for politics.

Anabel Costa-Ferreira, Comment Editor, discusses students’ struggle to balance the books

AS we head into the middle of term two, that final student loan payment seems an age away from reaching our accounts. Perhaps, the increasing end-of-term workload is reducing your spending, but if anything, a respite from work is often needed at these times more than most.

I find both managing and discussing finances is often such a taboo subject with our generation. While understandably individuals are private with their finances, at university, renting and paying bills in a group requires some form of discussion or agreement.

As we take on adult responsibilities, these situations are not helped by the current education system. There remains a critical lack of education surrounding anything financial, from understanding taxes and national insurance to simply knowing how to budget. It begs the question, does this fundamental lack of knowledge predetermine our ability to manage our finances when left to our own devices?

Most often, a student’s knowledge in this area originates from their household and their upbringing,

meaning there are discrepancies between what students know before starting university. While according to the House of Commons Library online, ‘statutory financial education’ was introduced back in 2014, their report found it was “patchy, inconsistent and varying in effectiveness”. Similarly, the Financial Times recently noted that while the requirement was introduced almost a decade ago, a shocking “two-fifths of teachers do not know financial education is a legal curriculum requirement.” With Sunak’s recent plea to make Maths and English compulsory until 18, we are left to question why such a crucial subject appears so easily forgotten.

lessons were incredibly brief and did not have the capacity to teach us everything we needed in a single 30-minute tutortime. I distinctly remember, in the final months of Year 13, we were sent a link to a Martin Lewis video which ‘decoded’ student loans — yet this was for us to watch outside of school hours.

In this cost-of-living crisis, many of us face difficulty balancing the range of living costs, and sometimes going into the overdraft happens before we can stop it. As someone who felt anxious at the thought of even nearing the overdraft, I have learnt that while I would not encourage going near the zero-mark balance, it is (in most cases) interest free, and you are most certainly not isolated in that position.

week, planning a rough amount can really help. For those of you who also work alongside your studies, I find it helps measuring costs in relation to my hourly rate. Though it may seem strange at first, it is a fantastic way to avoid unnecessary purchases as it calls you to question whether something is worth

that many hours of your time at work. As student finance applications begin to open, remember that above all, what’s important is managing your finances in a way that allows you to avoid additional stress and enjoy the academic year. While an overdraft is temporary, memories at university are priceless.

In terms of feeling prepared around finances when arriving at university, I was fortunate to have had some financial education at sixth form. Though looking back these short

To share some financial advice that has stuck with me over the years, I would state above all, the importance of physically writing out a budget. Whether this is on a weekly or monthly basis, keeping track of income vs. spending allows you to roughly calculate weekly costs and designate amounts to different expenditures. Though amounts may fluctuate each

A student’s knowledge in this area originates from their household and their upbringing

It’s clear why so many people assume that students disregard

Image: Matt Dinnery, Flickr

Image: Exeter City Council

Educational fate in the hands of our teenage self?

More freedom to choose — is the US style degree the answer?

Ben Alderson discusses the benefits of the US system and the potential issues that arise from specialising too soon

IT’S that time of year again — deadlines are nearing, burnout is approaching, and most importantly: module selection is here. It usually prompts a lot of cliché existential questions: What am I doing with my life? What will I do when I graduate? Why did I pick this degree? Should I pick a business module next year because it’s an easy first? Most of these dilemmas are our own fault, but isn’t it so much easier to blame someone else? Yes, it is. And I’ve found who to blame: the English degree system.

Most of these dilemmas are our own fault, but isn’t it so much easier to blame someone else?

Truth be told I don’t mind the system, but I think there is room for improvement. Aside from the obvious issues i.e the extortionate £9250 per annum price tag, the overarching problem here is flexibility. Generally speaking,

we pick our degrees aged 17-18 and stick with it for three years, with subsequent years shaped by a choice we made when we were even more naïve than we are today. University is a fairly transformative place; is it not reasonable that our life choices also change, and our degree system account for this?

The American university system is designed around this notion. Even though the quality of a typical US high school education is questionable, its flexibility is undeniable. US students can enrol in multiple modules in their senior year of high school while earning university credits. Once they arrive at university, US students can select a wide array of classes until deciding on a final major in their junior year/third year. This system accounts for the fact that university years are formative. In fact, one in three US students transfer to an entirely different university throughout their studies. There are some downsides: the courses are four years rather than three;

Does specialising earlier

you are required to take certain classes such as English, history and mathematics; and it could be argued your depth of knowledge is traded off for breadth. In any case, surely more choice in the English system cannot do much harm. Scotland’s degree system follows a similar suit to the United States. Initial sub-honour years provide the freedom to study a wider range of subjects — albeit with tighter stringency on courses such as medicine, while honour years finalise a commitment to a single subject.

One in three U.S students transfer to an entirely different university throughout their studies

England’s is the most rigid of the three. Here in Exeter, I am offered one module per year outside of my subject, with no real prospects to change my overall subject if I wanted to. I feel there is probably too little

allow

you

done to inform our 17-year-old selves about university decisions and too much rigidity thereafter. It comes as no surprise; universities are more focused on admissions and money rather than adequately informing applicants. Given how little we are told before coming to university, and how much we change, we could instead learn

to plan

from the Americans and Scottish. It may be a wasted opportunity, but the grass is always greener.

The most rigid of the three...with no real prospects to change my overall subject if I wanted to

your future more easily?

Connor Goddard, Comment Editor, gives his take on the advantages of the current UK degree format

WITH module choices right around the corner, there will be many students looking at the list of choices thinking: ‘why have I bothered to choose my degree!’ Although this time can make you question your choices, and maybe become envious of Americans who get to decide on their major much later on, I still think there’s an advantage to the UK system of having your major decided from the start.

I still think there’s an advantage to the UK system of having your major decided from the start

Firstly, modularity is still an option! Most students can take up to 30 credits a year in modules that are outside of their principal subject, this way you can engage with any other passions you have without having to commit to them full-time. Personally, I have a lot of quite random subject interests, so I know that if I was

an American my list of university modules would probably be a complete mess! So, I’m glad, in a way, that the British system has reined me in. I think that deciding what you want your degree to be early on can give you a better sense of what you want to do in the future. Depending on what course you’re enrolled on you regularly receive emails about internships, jobs, projects, and other things to do with your subject area. What would happen to

this if you didn’t have a major? The volume of emails about potential opportunities you would get would probably quadruple, and then you would just ignore them all.

I’m a joint-honours student, French & Politics, so I haven’t necessarily committed to one subject. I get to learn about a broad range of different topics, but all throughout my degree I have known that I’ll end up with a degree in French & Politics. I’m a bit of a control freak, so I like to try and plan a lot, and I think it would really freak me out not knowing what the end title of my degree would be and since I don’t have a definite career in mind, it can be reassuring to know that

there are a lot of resources out there in terms of careers tailored to my degree. I can see why some people would feel more comfortable with a US-style degree that gives you more freedom but I, personally, prefer to know what the end result will be early on. Another difference is the way British and American students get their university acceptances, although A-Level results day can be extremely nerve-wracking, there is something exciting about it (that is, if everything goes to plan!).

I can see why some people would feel more comfortable with a US-style degree

Even though we’re all a bit resentful of essays and exams when we have to do them, they do give us a deeper insight into a subject than most American degrees, and we are constantly surrounded by experts of that subject who have dedicated their whole careers to the field.

Image: Tom Page, Wikimedia Commons

Image:, Flickr

Satire

Cornish pesties

PASTIES containing squirrel meat are to go on sale at the Forum Marketplace as the University of Exeter enthusiastically embraces an effort to cull the grey squirrel population.

According to the Exmoor Squirrel Project, grey squirrels are laying waste to woodland by stripping trees for food. The project has called on landowners to set squirrel traps, and on restaurants to put squirrel on their menus.

“As soon as I heard about the squirrel-killing initiative I knew it would align perfectly with our values,” said a senior University source. “Everybody is going nuts for it. It allows us to kill two birds with one stone — or break two stones by killing one squirrel, or something. Our campus is famous for its trees and we need to protect them, because they’re one of the only things that gives us a veneer of caring about the environment. We also, I suppose, need to do something about this cost-of-living crisis malarkey, and squirrels will provide plenty of cheap food. We’re proud to be leading the way on this important issue.”

Some students have expressed concern about the Marketplace’s plan to sell squirrel meat. However, a Marketplace insider is confident that “nobody will notice the difference. If anything, it’ll be an improvement on the stuff we currently put in our products.”

The Marketplace’s pioneering venture has set tails wagging and whiskers twitching among other food outlets on campus. The £2 meal campaign will incorporate squirrel into its menu — the twist being that students will be paid £2 to eat it — and the Ram reportedly hopes to set itself apart from the crowd of city pubs by turning squirrel tails into ‘furry fries’.

Oliver Lamb, Deputy Editor

Winter continues amid Met Office difficulties

THE Met Office has sadly announced that the annual memo declaring the changing of the seasons has been lost in the post after the latest round of postal worker strikes, leading to an indefinite delay to the start of the Spring season. Little known to most outside of the meteorological sphere, the myth believed by the Ancient Greeks that the Gods controlled the transition between seasons isn’t actually too far from the truth. However, rather than the goddess Demeter, the responsibility of changing the seasons has since been outsourced to a series of overworked bureaucrats following the founding of Royal Mail, whose work has been affected by the industrial action.

With the latest series of postal worker strikes over the winter, Sonny Springfield, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said: “We sincerely apologise for the temporary lack of service from the Sun. It is our hope that the customary memorandum changing the seasons will be discovered as soon as the postal service has restarted.”

When asked about rumours that the Met Office will be forced to fly celebrity groundhog Punxsutawney Phil over from the United States at an exorbitant cost to resolve the issue, Springfield stated: “We are evaluating our options. As we fear the reading of chicken entrails [a cheaper forecasting solution] may be protested by animal rights activists, we are investigating the possibility of using Phil’s services to end the long winter season.”

Charlie Gershinson, News Editor

Bin-ksy: Wheelie bin antics part of artwork for City of Culture bid

EXETER City Council has announced that the impressive wheelie bin constructions that have appeared outside of student properties throughout the city will be installed as permanent fixtures as part of a bid for UK City of Culture 2029. After a failed joint bid with Torbay to hold the City of Culture title for 2025, Exeter has decided to split from its local twin, declaring an ‘Exe-it’ in order to launch a bid on its own. The council has spent the

first quarter of this year overrun with complaints relating to wheelie bin truancy, with reports of these vestibules being upturned, stolen, stacked, de-wheeled, and even repainted (in order to cause maximum chaos on bin day).

angry residents who have been targeted by the refuse receptacle rascal, whom the local media have dubbed ‘Binksy’. “We know that many residents view these antics as deeply irritating” Storey said.

Where you see rats attracted to said rubbish, instead see an edgy artistic metropolis that appeals to all creatures great and small.”

Faiqa Storey, spokeswoman for the bid, held a press conference to address the outcry from

“We see you and we hear you. But we’d also like to suggest adopting a positive mindset and reframing what you may see as ‘nuisance’ as ‘artistically disruptive’. Without this ‘artistic disruption’, this country would not have seen some of its prime artistic forces — Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and of course, Banksy. Where you see rubbish tipped out on the pavement, instead see an urban mosaic.

The council initially collaborated with Devon and Cornwall Police in order to identify and arrest the suspect, but after discovering the prankster responsible to be son of notorious hedge fund manager Nick Pound, the case was dropped, and photo evidence documenting the antics, now rebranded as an ‘exhi-bintion’ has instead been uploaded onto an online gallery on the official bid website, ahead of the permanent installation works.

The Ram ceases Six Nations coverage due to drunk students copying the rugby

AN inflatable archway and two students have been injured in a recent altercation in the Ram Bar. This is the fourth in a wave of alcoholinduced injuries seen in the venue since the beginning of the Six Nations tournament in February, but the most severe of all the incidents thus far. In response to the incident a University spokesperson told the students involved to “grow up” and “please stop trying to form scrums in the middle of the Ram.”

This incident took place fol -

lowing the England vs France game on Saturday the 11th March. Following England’s crushing loss, the mood in the Ram was distraught. In an effort to cheer themselves up, however, avid England supporters suggested that they could reenact the game themselves and ‘manifest’ a different result through the power of teamwork. Having gathered the ‘players’ together for the game, the group chose the narrow entryway of the Ram to engage in this symbolic ritual. The first scrum of the match, however, spelled danger for the players, with the team making the poor decision of enacting the scrum directly underneath the in -

flatable archway put up to mark the tournament. In an incident which some spectators have called “symbolic,” and others “bloody hilarious” the archway burst under the pressure of the 30 angry students, and any players on the edge of the scrum were projected at speed into the wooden panelling behind them.

ambulance services for the players’ broken bones and egos.

The England fans had to accept defeat once more, and in total 23 calls were made to the

A University spokesperson has suggested that English fans could deal with the pain of the 53-11 defeat to France in healthier ways, including through self-guided meditations and walking with llamas. Vice-Chancellor Lisa Roberts was seen near the time of the incident shaking her head and muttering “I don’t get paid enough to deal with this crap,” before someone informed her that this was not, in fact, true. She released a statement the following day saying “I wish all those involved in the incident a speedy recovery.”

Megan Ballantyne Editor

In an incident which some spectators called “symbolic”, and others “bloody hilarious”

The impressive wheelie bin constructions... will be installed as permanent fixtures

Cleo Gravett Satire Editor

lifestyle

Revenge porn and its dangers

Josie Sharp discusses Stephen Bear's recent trial as well as how the law is changing

TV personality Stephen Bear has recently been sentenced to 21 months in prison for sharing explicit sexual content of his ex-girlfriend and Love Island contestant, Georgia Harrison. Bear filmed Harrison engaging in intercourse without her permission, then he uploaded it to subscription-based website OnlyFans, where he uploads other sexual content. The TV star had already made a monetary profit from this video when Georgia saw the video and reported it. He has since been found guilty of voyeurism and sharing private sexual videos without consent after a week-long trial.

only a month later. Bear uploaded the video at the end of 2020 and last week was found guilty of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and one count of voyeurism.

Georgia Harrison is a 22-year-old influencer who was a contestant on the third season of Love Island in 2017. Since then, she has been on many reality TV programmes such as The Only Way is Essex and met Stephen Bear whilst filming two seasons of The Challenge . The couple started dating in November 2018 but split

Revenge porn become a criminal offence in 2015, also being described as non-consensual pornography and image-based sexual abuse. It remains a dif ficult crime to prosecute because the police and lawyers have to prove that the person intended to cause distress by sending or publishing them. Due to the taboo nature of this crime, which often includes slut-sham ing the victim, only one fifth of people who have broken revenge porn laws go to jail for their crimes.

Georgia gave her opinion on the Online Safety Bill to press after the trial, claiming that it needed to be amended due to the rising fig-

Endometriosis awareness

THOUGH the condition affects one in ten menstruating people, endometriosis remains difficult to diagnose and treat. According to the NHS, endometriosis is where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in places such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This can lead to debilitating pelvic pain during your period, heavy or irregular bleeding, pain with bowel and bladder function, painful sex and fatigue. It takes eight years on average to diagnose due to how the symptoms vary from person to person, as well as misinformation and limited research.

The first indication that I may have endometriosis was pain that worsened over time, occurred at different times of my cycle such as during ovulation, and that did not respond to over-the-counter painkillers. However, other women in my family had experienced similar symptoms so I assumed that this pain was normal and that the condition was rare.

When I first went to the GP at 15, my abdominal pain was dismissed as “probably IBS” which I put down to exam stress. When the pain didn't improve, I began to track my symptoms: I noticed a pattern when my pain would flare up each month which helped me explain to doctors why it was likely something else.

The first time I told a doctor that I was concerned about endometriosis, I was given an ul-

trasound and quickly assured that endometriosis was unlikely. I was told that some women just had painful periods and that going on the pill may help. It wasn’t until I did my own research that I found out it is common for endometriosis not to show up and, in many cases, the only definitive way to diagnose it is through a laparoscopy. Finally in 2022, after years of inconclusive appointments, I was referred to a pelvic pain specialist who mentioned endometriosis as a potential explanation and referred me for testing. Though hormonal contraception isn’t a cure, I eventually found a treatment that made my symptoms more manageable.

Dealing with chronic pain is difficult and exhausting, especially when you feel you aren’t validated by medical professionals. Endometriosis symptoms can take a toll on your mental health, but there is support available from organisations like Endometriosis UK. Talking to friends and family is important as it can help them to understand how the symptoms affect you. I am hopeful that increased awareness about the condition can make diagnosis and treatment more accessible.

ures of similar crimes. This change would also fight against the crime of manipulating sexual images which is becoming a more popular occurrence. One of these amendments would state that lawyers would no longer need to prove the intent of distress. Without this, online sex crimes will become much easier to convict and the criminals are more likely to serve jail time, rather than community service and a fine. The maximum sentence for revenge porn incidents is now up to two years imprisonment. The charity Women’s Aid, which aims to end violence against women and children, has been following the case, hoping that the result of prison time will serve as a deterrent to those men who do not think about the consequences of committing such a crime. They

also commended Georgia for how open and public she has been about her negative experience, who used her voice as a public figure to demand change to the Online Safety Bill to increase the likelihood of a criminal conviction. She was praised and described as an inspiration to women and young girls, who will hopefully now have the courage to report their partners if they release sexual content of them without their permission in any context.

SHE WAS PRAISED AND DESCRIBED AS AN INSPIRATION TO WOMEN AND YOUNG GIRLS

Bear is now in jail and seems to only show remorse after receiving his sentence and is said to have been "crying for days", when previously he had rented a Rolls Royce to show up to court every day of his trial. He is described as being shocked to receive a prison sentence even if he had been found guilty but is now facing the consequences of his actions as the Court use him to set a new precedent against crimes of this nature.

Night out safety

Georgia Balmer, Events Executive, gives her advice on getting home safely after a night out

FROM sworn-by hangover cures to the perfect pres playlist, we all have our night out rituals. However, the less enjoyable conversation of "how are you getting home?” is one of the most important and often anxietyinducing elements of a night out. With the Sidwell Street dwellers causing anyone a justifiable amount of concern on the journey home, making sure everyone makes it back with relative ease is of top priority, even above EGs.

In an ideal world, going out with your house should guarantee somebody to walk home with and be the safest option. However, we have all been in the dreaded situation where the age old rule, ‘arrive together, leave together’, isn’t followed to a T. From one of you enjoying yourselves a little too much and leaving early to perhaps finding an alternative ‘venue’ to go home to, relying on having somebody to walk home with isn’t always foolproof.

worst case scenario where you’re stranded with no money to get home, the University Student Safety Scheme in partnership with Apple Taxi even allows you to be taken straight to campus security and pay your fare at a later date.

As for walking home alone? If you do decide to stumble through Exeter solo, always let a friend know when you’ve made it back safely and take the main routes. If said friends are probably fast asleep, Exeter Nightline is a great alternative to call if you’re feeling worried on the slug back home.

Getting home safely shouldn’t be the concern it is on a night out, and feeling anxious about the journey back shouldn’t be a taboo topic for anybody, regardless of gender. Having a plan of action in place and knowing the services available around town is just a small way of making sure we all get home with ease.

Image: iMorpheus, Flickr

Image: formulatehealth, Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately, St Stephen’s Church on the high street, the one just opposite Urban Outfitters, now houses a Safe Space on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. From phone charges, changes of clothes and paramedics, the Safe Space offers a haven for anybody waiting for transport home or who just needs some help in figuring out the safest next option.

Splitting a taxi is often the safest bet and is annoyingly worth the small fortune. In a true

Lucy Facer shares her own experience with the condition and how to spot the signs

Hangover aftercare

Milly Earnshaw-White tells us the eateries in Exeter that are perfect for the spring time

WITH spring well on its way, and summer not far off, it’s the perfect time to leave hibernation and enjoy some delicious food and drink. Hopefully Exeter provides blue skies and sunny days this spring, but even for those rainy ones, there are some great spots to enjoy whatever the weather. I will be sharing five great places to enjoy some fabulous food and drinks this season.

Flamenca

If you’re craving a European summer, or just fancy some insane patatas bravas, Flamenca brings the best of Spanish tapas to Exeter. It’s a sun trap, tucked away in Princesshay, providing a great view of the cathedral. They have a lunchtime offer Monday-Thursday for £15, any three tapas dishes and an alcoholic/soft drink, which is well worth a visit for. I can confirm that their sangria is incredible and would be perfect paired with a salsa

at TP Tuesday. Flamenca would be great for a special occasion, or a cheeky mid-week treat.

Grow Coffee House

Not far from Exeter Cathedral is Grow Coffee House, providing a fabulous range of drinks, cakes and snacks. I am a particular fan of their smoothies, especially their aloe vera one, which is so refreshing and feels revitalising (or I’d like to think so). Rumour has it, their chocolate banana bread is amazing so I will be trying that upon my next visit. It is a great place to sit and do work, especially with exam season approaching, and they also have a large outdoor terrace for a spot of fresh air (and hopefully sun). The staff here are always super friendly, and they do a student discount and loyalty cards which is worth knowing.

Topsham Brewery

Located by the Quay, Topsham Brewery

is a personal favourite all year round, but comes to life as warmer days approach. As well as funky décor inside the warehouse taproom, there is a beer garden which is perfect for enjoying a pint in the sun. If you’re feeling hungry (which you may be after a drink or two) their on-site pizza truck does the yummiest stonebaked pizzas. Special mention goes to the cheesy garlic bread (mouthwatering). There is a bustling atmosphere with regular open mic sessions which are so fun to watch. This gem is worth the walk to the Quay, and, as the name suggests, they brew a selection of their own beers.

Chandos Deli

A recent discovery of mine is Chandos Deli, hidden at the back of Princesshay. They have a range of freshly made sandwiches and cakes every day, with a variety of vegan and vegetarian options also. I personally tried

Mother's Day cheer

the brie and mushroom sourdough toastie which has to be one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. There’s a super chilled vibe, with a range of people doing work or meeting up with friends. On sunny days they have nice outdoor seating which provides a sanctuary away from the chaos of Exeter’s high street.

Big Bakes Bakery

For those of you with a sweet tooth, Big Bakes Bakery is the one for you. Their range of cookies, brownies and cupcakes is simply irresistible, just take one look at their Instagram and you will be drooling. Ready to grab and go they are perfect enjoyed on the Cathedral Green with friends. Whilst their selection varies seasonally, their cookie dough brownies are always a hit. I’d recommend bringing a friend or two so you can get a few different delectable flavours to try, although I can’t guarantee you won’t be fighting over them.

Lifestyle writers give their top tips on the best way to celebrate our mums this week

THIS Sunday is Mothers’ Day, and, coming just after International Women’s Day, it is time to show some love to the maternal figure in your life. Whilst people may have stressful relationships with their mothers during their teenage years, I think the distance that university brings can often make it easier to see the good in those relationships. Either way, if you want to show your mum some love and gratitude, now is the time to do it.

There are, of course, many ways to do this and perhaps the most obvious one is gift giving. At surface level with chocolates and cards, this is always pretty easy — I find that shops like Tesco or M&S offer good gifts and flower selections around Mother’s Day. The St Thomas M&S is particularly good and, being a little more out of the way, might be better for last-minute buys. They also have good cards if you opt to buy them, but making your own card with pictures and such could be more enjoyable, and better received. DIY gifts like this are certainly very good if you are sticking to a

budget — and any skills you might have, like knitting, painting, sewing, or even writing, may come in handy. It might even be nice (and cost effective) to cook a meal for her.

You don’t necessarily have to go with a gift though. For instance, my mum is big into her films and so I’ll probably go to the cinema with her.

Equally, Mothers’ Day activities could include going for a meal at her favourite restaurant, going for a family walk, or even doing something inventive like a pottery class.

Of course, the main point is that you do something personal for your mum. It doesn’t matter too much whether it is expensive or not.

Overall, I think Mothers’ Day is enjoyed best as a day to remind yourself that, if you have a mum who loves you and brought you up at least reasonably well, then you are a very lucky person. The best way to celebrate it is to let your mum know that you appreciate that.

Austin Taylor, Features Editor

WITH Mother’s Day fast approaching, it gives us the perfect opportunity to celebrate mothers or motherly figures in our lives. It is so important to value the impact they have on us and to show them how much we appreciate them. Many university students, like myself, don’t have the opportunity to go home just for Mothering Sunday, with deadlines piling up and travel becoming more expensive. Yet, there are many different ways we can show our mothers some love.

Of course, a simple way to show appreciation is to tell her how much you care about her. Letting her know how much you appreciate her must be a rewarding feeling and making sure you find time to give your mum a call on Mother’s Day is a kind gesture itself. If you are lucky enough to be able to go home for Mother’s Day or see her in person, try and spend some quality time with your mum. Maybe incorporate some fun activities in your day. This could include baking something, watching a film together or even just having a chat with her. Mother’s Day can also give you the chance to get to know your mum even more. Talk to her about her past,

reminisce on old memories together and try to gain an even stronger relationship with her.

A classic gift for Mother’s Day would have to be a card and a bouquet of her favourite flowers. Although it is simple, it’s the sort of gift that is always valued. Not being home means that many students will most likely send cards and gifts from Moonpig. Websites like this are perfect for budget friendly gifts that can be delivered to your mum in time for Mother’s Day. Alternatively, if you wanted something more personal, you could get her something you know she will enjoy, for example, pampering gifts or her favourite chocolates. If you wanted to spend a bit more money, you could get her new jewellery, such as a gemstone jewellery to match her zodiac sign, or even a jewellery box to store her tangled jewellery!

No matter how much money you spend on your mother or motherly figure this Mother's Day, I'm confident it will make their day special as long as you let them know how much you value and love them.

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor

Image: Elias Rovielo, Flickrs

Image: rawpixel.comr

Image: rawpixel.comr

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Image: Marco Bernardini, Flickr

Image: Olia Danilevich, Pexels

arts + lit

Comfort reads

Arts and Lit writers discuss their favourite books that get them through deadline season

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

EVERY bookworm knows the dilemma of having to choose a favourite book. It’s simply impossible. And the same can be said for comfort books. However, if there is one comfort book I always drift back to, it’s Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. The basic premise of the story is an enemy-to-friends-to-lovers relationship between the first son of the US and the Prince of England, but it also deals with other issues, such as politics, queer history and family problems, making it a well-rounded book. With the world being as bleak and dark as it is at the moment, leaving this reality and entering an alternate universe with a competent female president of the US, fun and diverse characters, and a healthy and amazing queer relationship is exactly what you need. There are some more serious parts, but the book is filled with funny lines and scenes, wholesome and authentic siblings, friendships and relationships and a ton of queer joy. I have read the book several times by now and sometimes I don’t even read the entire story, just some specific ones which I know will cheer me up, and make me feel better and comfortable. If you need a hug in form of a book, go read this book!

Carden Cappi

KAZUO Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun is, for me, sunshine in a novel. Whilst this book holds the insightful and thoughtprovoking prose Ishiguro is known for, Klara and the Sun possesses a special loveliness which makes for the ultimate comfort read. It follows the life of ‘artificial friend’ Klara, who gets chosen to be the companion of an unwell child, Josie.

The writing in this novel is equal parts beautiful and accessible. Around assessment periods, I gravitate towards books which don’t demand a great deal of my brainpower, and Ishiguro manages to balance important and thoughtprovoking ideas with clear, readable prose. True to the title, Ishiguro immerses the reader in a plethora of gorgeous sunshine imagery which, without fail, will create a new appreciation for the sun by the final page.

If loveable characters are a necessity on your comfort read checklist, Klara is the perfect protagonist. Flipping the traditionally destructive qualities associated with artificial intelligence in literature, the narration of Klara and the Sun comes with a totally unique perspective, creating a world viewed from Klara’s excitably optimistic point of view.

With its moving plot, beautiful and readable prose, and wonderful characters, Klara and the Sun makes for an absolutely heartwarming read.

Amber Platel

Under the Whipsering Door

AWHIMSICAL, heart-warming fantasy novel that is enjoyable for all ages, Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune is not only a comfort read of mine, but also one of my favourite books, full stop. It’s about Wallace Price, a cutthroat lawyer who dedicates his life to his work, that is, until he dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Wallace is then taken as a ghost to Charon’s Crossing, a magical teashop where he can stay until he is ready to cross over (through a whispering door). There he meets a wonderful array of funny characters that you are guaranteed to fall in love with, such as Hugo, the charming ‘ferryman’ who runs the shop, Mei, the rebellious reaper, other ghosts who have their own after-life troubles, and normal townsfolk, some of whom are coming to terms with their own grief, and some of whom are delightfully weird, like a fake medium and a health inspector. On the face of it, the concept may sound quite morbid, but it really isn’t, it’s such a sweet and endearing book that deals with darker themes like death, grief and suicide in a way that is realistic yet hopeful. Klune’s writing is beautiful and the banter between characters is (pun-intended) to die for. The cottage-core and found family tropes solidify this book for me as the ultimate comfort read.

Lauren Walsh, Admin Executive

We get the memoirs we deserve

Oliver Lamb, Deputy Editor, discusses the political memoir: a hot topic in current news headlines

IS Matt Hancock on a one-man mission to end political memoir as a genre? First there was his appearance on last year’s edition of I’m a Celebrity, an apparent attempt by the former Health Secretary to humanise himself, as well as a chance to defend his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic. If his stint on primetime TV was no more successful in these respects than his sort-of-memoir Pandemic Diaries, at least it reached more people.

Now the Telegraph’s so-called ‘Lockdown Files’, based on 100,000 WhatsApp messages from Hancock’s phone, are providing a startling glimpse behind the scenes of the pandemic. Hancock never meant them to be published (he’d handed them to his co-writer for Pandemic Diaries, the journalist Isabel Oakeshott) and he doesn’t come out well. He worries about his public image, decides against testing everybody entering care homes, and rejects advice to cut the isolation period because doing so would imply the government had been wrong. Political memoirs notoriously

tend to be sanitised, self-justificatory accounts. How can they compete with such direct insight into the workings of government?

The answer is that they don’t have to compete. Political memoirs are never going to tell the whole story, or an unbiased story. But nor will any other account, no matter how unfiltered and immediate. How many of the 100,000 Hancock messages will become the subject of a Telegraph bombshell? And how will they choose which ones to highlight? You can bet they won’t show ministers, civil servants and advisers working tirelessly, unpicking the evidence and agonising over impossible moral choices. The Telegraph wants headlines and it wants to spin an anti-lockdown yarn.

This is not to denigrate the importance of what the Telegraph is revealing, or to take sides in the lockdown debate. My point is that everybody has an agenda and everybody is justifying something. Political memoirs might not make great literature, but the perspective of those in power remains a valuable, irreplaceable

addition to the collage of political history.

POLITICAL MEMOIRS ARE NEVER GOING TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY

Of course we might like politicians to be more self-critical. But don’t we criticise them enough already? They inhabit one of the most disliked professions in the UK. We see them as bungling, dishonest, narcissistic, in it for themselves. After years, maybe decades, of having the thickness of their skin tested to the limit, the post-career memoir represents their only chance to set out, without immediate interruption and contestation, their side of the story. Can we blame them for taking it?

We should, of course, hold politicians to the highest standards, but the fact remains that politics is hard and its practitioners are human. Most of them, most of the time, do their best.

If we want greater candour from our politicians, perhaps the onus is on us to cut them some slack. The flattering self-portraits contained in political memoirs are no more imagined than the self-absorbed, ruthless, positively malign creatures that we perceive politicians to be. Perhaps the true value of the political memoir is as a mirror held up to our political culture. We get the memoirs we deserve.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

by T.J. Klune

Image: Wiki Commons

Image: Macmillan

Image: Wikipedia Commons

The frank feminism of Roxane Gay

Jamie Speka, Online Comment Editor, reviews the recent talk by Roxane Gay

SAY it’s complicated, not encompassing of all, outdated, or contradictory — Roxane Gay agrees; feminism is all of that. The University of Exeter welcomed the American novelist and essayist known for her profound works on gender, identity, feminism, and cultural critiques.

On the 14th March, the Forum Alumni Auditorium swarmed with fans from across Devon who had come to listen to the meanderings of Gay, who chose Exeter to finish her tour of England.

Nine years have passed since Gay’s publication of Bad Feminist, a series of essays documenting the many mistakes, wins, and discomforts that she has felt as a feminist. She writes in the final essay of her book, “I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying — trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”

That candour she scribed before becoming widely regarded as a leading voice in modernday feminism, is the candour she brings to Forum Alumni. To which she says that misleading accusations of feminism’s intentions have thoroughly detached people from it, creating a landscape of contemporary ambivalence towards the concept. Notably, our own marginalisations stop us from determining our own privilege. In denial of this, feminism falters. Gay comments

that “at least in the developed world, everyone has some kind of privilege. We just do. It’s important to identify it while also identifying the ways in which we’re marginalised. People are incredibly reluctant to acknowledge the ways that they might be privileged because they are so focused on the ways that they might be marginalised,” she says. “A lot of the time people just want things to be easy: black or white, male or female, straight or gay. They don’t want any complications and I get that — life is pretty complicated so let’s not muddy those waters.

But, I think it’s important to force ourselves and others to do so because it then acknowledges the breadth of human existence.”

The gender-critical movement in particular is a large cyclone in curtailing feminism. Gay thinks of the parallel in legislating, judging, and dissecting women’s bodies both historically and contemporarily that is now becoming

popularised to impound upon other gender minorities under the guise of ‘feminism’.

“A lot of the time what people are really worried about is erasure,” Gay describes. “No one is going to be erased. It’s not a statistical possibility. It always makes me wonder how fragile certain identities are that they feel like they might be erased because of someone else’s gender identity or sexuality. I always knew that people would struggle to understand gender beyond a binary, but I never thought that struggle would come from within feminism.”

Yet, here we are. Especially notable in the States and the UK, gender-critical movements are in denial of human multiplicities. In conversation on the political sceneries in both countries, Gay looks up to the UK as “a little more manageable.”

“The endpoint in the US seems more dire; however, I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case when you see a lot of those same

Heavenly Filing

OKAY, so input this,” Michael gestured to the daunting tower of possible candidates, “into this.” This time gesturing to an ancient piece of technology humans called a ‘computer’. It was as wide as it was deep and looked heavier than me. I loved it.

“Yes, Michael. We’ve been over this a few hundred times already.”

Michael, who was my superior, nodded eagerly. “Fantastic! It seems like you’ve really got everything down — like usual!” He jostled my elbow and I smiled, wanly.

“Any problems and you promise to call me down, alright?”

I nodded briefly, opening my mouth to speak. But he disappeared into a shower of ridiculously fine glitter before I could get a syllable out.

Attempting to inhale less glitter than last time, I wafted a hand in front of my face and glanced around. There was nothing. White space as far as the eye can see — just how I like my workspace. This time my smile was genuine.

I observed my desk; a battered old wooden affair with a few drawers and basic stationery on top. My chair was leather, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ style — sturdy and familiar. I sunk into it and rapped on the wood of the desk once, happily.

Then, I turned to face my task. Filing.

Page after page, the hours droned on. And with only a threesugar coffee to keep me alert, the names soon began to blur together.

“Mallory Fitzgerald, 96.”

I flicked over her details; parents, place of birth, best deeds, worst deeds, ya-da ya-da. A hundred things I’d seen before.

I scanned the pictures in dozily, making sure not to scan any twice or catch my face in the image. It was a mistake I’d made before and had resulted in a rather confused and disappointed phone call from an Interviewer, who had believed the deceased would arrive with two heads.

After all her details were typed into the ancient machine, I clicked ‘Submit’, and the form emptied again. From beside me, Mallory’s paper file disappeared with a satisfying ‘pop’ and I read the name of the file below — Reginald Walker, 74.

Taking another sip of my dark beverage, I began typing out the first few letters, sounding them out as I went. It helped to pass the time. “R-E-G...”

As I read aloud, I began to wonder for the first time what happened to the souls after they were filed. Did they get jobs like me? Did they live out their eternity in their respective heavens? Who knew!? Not me, of course, I didn’t rank high enough to learn the answer. But perhaps one day — if it’s possible for souls to get promoted.

I’d submitted maybe three more files when a sudden and rather jarring alarm caught my attention. The clock only appeared on my desk as the sound began and it was quite unpleasant. Soon enough though, Michael had reappeared beside me. His heavily gelled hair still stalwart as ever.

“Hello, Gordon! How’d we do today!?” His enthusiasm probably

ideas moving through Parliament here.”

Resistance to progress is what Gay believes both countries fall victim to. “It’s always frustrating to see. It’s natural, it’s cyclical, it happens, time after time, but you always hope that there’s a point where we can assume that certain rights are inalienable.”

Gay pulls from recent news on Gary Lineker’s tweets as an example of resistance to progress by the BBC. She also explains how anger through these cultural modes is an effective tool in prompting difficult conversations.

“I find that when you see truly everyone in the world loves a piece of popular culture, it’s incredible. You start to think: maybe we could use this as an entry point into difficult conversations? You never would expect that cultural things like these could be the doorway into certain conversations, but I find that we have to go through whatever doors are available to us. If it requires us going through the door of sports, then so be it.”

Of course, Gay must be frank in discussing feminism. Of course, she must acknowledge that she is trying to understand something that is messy. Her unflinching acceptance of this is exactly what puts her words into the limelight of modern-day feminism.

“In truth, feminism is a movement powered by people and people are inherently flawed,” Gay writes in Bad Feminist. Let us remember Gay and be just as frank with all peoplepowered movements as we go onwards.

would have been infectious had I been alive, or even a few centuries younger.

“Quite well thank you, though I would have liked another coffee or two.” I stood from my chair, stretching my back as I did.

“Ha! What a joker! Of course we’ll get you a coffee machine right away!” And with a snap of his fingers, one did appear on a small table beside the desk in a explosive cloud of glitter. I tried not to wince at the thought of drinking gritty, sparkly coffee.

Michael giggled and exclaimed, “How exciting!” before turning back to me.

I mumbled a brief thanks, at which Michael beamed, “Of course! You know we do get along rather splendidly, don’t we?”

“Yes. I suppose we get along alright.” I concurred. Truthfully though, I probably would have preferred almost any other angel.

“Oh, Gordon, you flatterer!” I smiled grimly as Michael patted my shoulder. He locked my gaze with his own, slightly ethereal one. We stood like that in heavy silence before Michael spoke again.

“Well, that’s your shift over! Same time next week?”

“Sure.”

Michael’s eyes closed so tightly as he grinned that they almost vanished. It can’t have been comfortable. “Fantastic news. Bye then!”

Rachel Bulman writes a short prose piece on an ordinary hard-working angel

Image: Pycril

Image: Eva Blue, Flickr

MUSIC

Let the music play on

Three years after the first Covid lockdown, Emily Sara Rizzo discusses how this reminded us of the joy of live music

IN 2021, UK Music published their survey revealing music’s vital role in downplaying the lockdown blues; 59 per cent of people said music aided their health and wellbeing, while 74 per cent of people said music is important to their quality of life. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see the music industry flourishing after the lifting of Covid regulations, but has the crisis that it underwent changed its outlook forever?

From live-streaming to socially distanced concerts, artists and music producers came up with innovative ways of bringing people together for live music whilst abiding by the rigid rules. As an avid concert-goer who was coming into her own money for the first time, the initial lack of alternatives to in-person gigs was a massive disappointment at the time, barely compensated by the introduction of livestream concerts. MIKA’s I Love Beirut livestream concert introduced me to the concept and was a welcome chance to get what felt like a privileged viewing of a charity gig, raising funds for aid and support following the 2020 Beirut explosion.

The following two online gigs I saw, by Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, held much the same attraction, although they were conceived as replacements for postponed or cancelled world tours. This somewhat abstracted experience may have temporarily filled the void left by the lack of live music, but could never equal the immense joy of screaming songs at the top of your lungs in a sea of like-minded music fans. When I was finally released from the constraints of virtual gigs, the reality of concerts hit: the endless queuing in direct sunlight and the body-to-body sprawl fighting for a front row view almost broke the charm, but the pure exhilaration it left me with was worth the wait.

THE IMMENSE JOY OF SCREAMING SONGS AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS

Unfortunately, that particular concert also left me with something a little worse: Covid. So, while it was a welcome return to normality, it also proved

Douze points

Harry Craig, Music Editor, prepares for Eurovision with a playlist of the song contest's biggest hits

BRITAIN is beginning to catch Eurovision fever, with just 52 days until the world's biggest song contest comes to the UK for the first time in 25 years. To get into the Eurovision spirit, I have curated a playlist of some of my favourite songs in the contest's history!

‘Waterloo’ — ABBA (Sweden, 1974)

One of the most iconic songs from one of the most famous bands, not just in Eurovision history, but in music history.

‘Dancing Lasha Tumbai’ — Verka Serduchka (Ukraine, 2007)

One of those quintessential guilty pleasure Eurovision songs that you shouldn’t like, but you can’t stop listening to.

‘Fairytale’ — Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009)

Hands-down my favourite Eurovision song of all time. The violin is absolutely perfect.

‘Euphoria’ — Loreen (Sweden, 2012) Sweden always delivers absolute bangers. Loreen will also be returning to represent Sweden this year!

‘Heroes’ — Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden, 2015)

A third, but deserving, entry from Sweden on this playlist, who are favourites to win this year’s contest for a record-equalling seventh time.

‘Arcade’ — Duncan Laurence (Netherlands, 2019)

A great voice, a beautiful ballad and a piano.

What more could you ask for?

‘Think About Things’ — Daði Freyr (Iceland, 2020)

Sadly we lost the 2020 contest to Covid, but I think we can agree if it had taken place, this would have won easily.

‘Voilà’ — Barbara Pravi (France, 2021) Although my French citizenship may make me biased, I still maintain this was robbed of the trophy in 2021.

‘Stefania’ — Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine, 2022) Although last year’s winners were not able to take the contest home, this song has become an anthem of Ukrainian resistance in the war.

‘Space Man’ — Sam Ryder (United Kingdom, 2022)

We have to pay tribute to the man who nearly took the UK to Eurovision glory and ended our cycle of 'nul points'!

'Who The Hell Is Edgar?' — Teya and Selena (Austria, 2023)

An early shoutout to a song that promises to be one of this year's highlights, having already gone viral on TikTok!

that the regulations were there for a reason. But, as I’m sure other fans would agree, nothing can keep me away from the buzz that going to concerts creates, and my diary is peppered with upcoming dates for concerts and festivals. From local gigs to international tours, the transition out of lockdown is smoothly seeing artists more confidently announcing live performances, received with just as much enthusiasm by fans worldwide.

Live-stream gigs seem to have disappeared from our radar, unable to compete with in-person events, but maybe the future will see a hybrid viewing experience, creating more chances for a wider public, and making easy money for the people in charge. In any case, whether you’re

planning a trip to the Great Hall or Cavern to support local bands, or an all-out experience at the O2, the music industry has emerged from Covid revitalised and keen to bring joy back to everyone’s lives, and the public seems just as raring to respond. So get yourself out there and let the live music scene welcome you back with open arms.

Artist spotlight: Lana Del Rey

Pollyanna Roberts, Deputy Editor, previews the star's upcoming album and looks back on her career

IN anticipation of Lana Del Rey’s new album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (to be released on the 24th March), I wanted to discuss Lana’s history as an artist and her recent success. I have loved Lana for a shockingly long time, walking to school with a dramatic step to her original hits ‘Born to Die’ and ‘Ride’.

Lana Del Rey’s talent is revolutionary, and she single-handedly altered the music industry with her 2012 release of ‘Video Games’. Although not her first song by any means, ‘Video Games’ was one of her first songs released under her stage name Lana Del Rey, rather than Lizzy Grant. ‘Video Games’ shot Lana into the ears of millions of people, and into their hearts. From then on, her music, like her fan base, grew rapidly.

Although impossible to pick a favourite, Lana’s Ultraviolence era was impeccable. I listen to ‘Brooklyn Baby’at least once a day and it's always my go to Lana initiation song. Its guitar riff is the crème-dela-crème; completely spine tingling. The change in the chorus as the song develops is unmatched and the bridge is perfect. Every. Single. Time.

If you want another Lana recommendation that has a powerful instrumental section, listen to ‘Venice B****’, which literally transports you into another world. Or, for a glimpse of Lana’s vocal talent, listen to ‘Dealer’. But, a personal recommendation, would be ‘White Dress.’ It is somewhat experimental, compared to the rest of Lana’s discography, but her voice is so raw and emotional.

One of the things that sets Lana apart from every other music artist is the sheer beauty of her lyrics and the accompanying instrumental. Her voice is timeless; its transportive nature places its listeners in an Old Classic Hollywood fever dream. Its deep and powerful intonation uncovers feelings previously undiscovered. She is an ethereal goddess that offers a beacon of hope in our current, monotonous, pop-centric music culture.

Although snubbed for the 2022 Grammys

Song and Album of the Year, Lana recently won the Billboard Women in Music Visionary Award. This is incredibly poetic because Lana Del Rey empowers women all over the globe, and her sharp feminist tongue can be found within the beauty of the music that accompanies her lyrics. She celebrates sexuality and sexual freedom, breaking the stigma of desire and power. Her recent single ‘A&W’ embodies how sexualised she is; she is aware of what people say about her and her appearance and even touches upon subjects such as sexual assault, stating “look at my hair, look at the length of it and the shape of my body… do you really think that anybody would think I didn't ask for it? I didn't ask for it. I won't testify, I already f***ed up my story.”

Lana depicts the tragic and repeated occurrence that takes place every time a woman goes through a sexual assault. They are blamed for what they are wearing, where they are going and what they are doing. Girls are trained to never go out at night and to carry keys in between their fingers. Yet, when are people going to teach boys to respect girls? Women are not the problem. This is just one of the many reasons why Lana deserved the Visionary Award, for she tackles problems women face all the time, and for me, she is a figure of empowerment and beauty. She makes me feel sexy and powerful — these two emotions are not mutually exclusive.

Image: Rachel Kiki @rachelkeeks

Image: Harry Craig

Image:Aavindraa, Wikimedia Commons

Image Michael Doherty, Wikimedia Commons

EDITORS: Harry Craig and Jake Avery

Live review: A VOID at Cavern

Jake Avery, Music Editor, reviews their incendiary Exeter set

was as chaotic as it was infectious, winding between smooth and calm vocal deliveries to roaring screeches. Every word flowed in an incredibly delicate manner, possessing a lustrous quality whilst still being thorny underneath. Nothing captured the versatility of Alexander’s vocals more than her ability to scream in such a caustic and untamable series of bursts.

ly character who twirled zany basslines that consistently compounded the brisk momentum of each song. In the same vein as Alexander’s wild and expressive stage antics, every note played coursed through Hartmann’s body; both made excellent use of the space for a rapturous and pure rock ‘n’ roll strut.

namic range, one that brought the set to its peak with its tumultuous charge.

UNLEASHED upon the Cavern crowd, A VOID brought an ecstatic punch to their Exeter performance. It would be absurd to overlook the fact that the Parisian-London band are a trio; not only did their set fill the Cavern stage with a bombastic explosion of sound, but the balance of all components was clear, with no elements overriding or getting pulled under the riptide of their sonic assault.

The band’s thrill ing alternative waves crashed through Cavern in a boisterous eruption. One of the most captivating traits of the set was how rapidly the trio switched gears between calm, clear toned chords and vocals, and a vi cious cocktail of fuzz, screams and dissonance.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Camille Alexander filled the space with her spellbinding stage persona, whipping her hair back and grooving to the uncoiling melodies. She possessed the stage with a charisma that

Alexander’s arpeggiated guitar chords made for an excellent backing to her glossy vocal leads, and were measured effectively against the hectic distortion overdrives that featured throughout a variety of the choruses alongside her signature screeches.

Bouncing around on stage like a gymnast was bassist Aaron Hartmann, a spright-

Drummer Marie Niemiec matched the pair’s boundless energy with a keen display of tempo management and pugnacious thrash. The disillusioned and regretful ideas that reside within of A VOID’s lyrics were enhanced massively by the combination of their enthralling stage presence and judicious melding of genres such as shoegaze, grunge and alternative rock. Tracks such as ‘Sick As a Dog’ brought the quiet verse, loud chorus structure made popular throughout the grunge movement and brought it to full fruition, the title being howled by Alexander throughout each chorus in gripping ruptures of anguish.

Portraying the band’s dynamic thrust most excellently was penultimate track ‘Stepping on Snails’, a song that serves as a perfect example of the band’s dy-

Festival season rundown

Scarlett Cracknell peeks ahead to the summer festival blowout

AS summer fast approaches, festival season is only around the corner and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is excited. As someone who has attended and worked festivals, I would like to (very vainly) think myself a connoisseur in this area. I am, however, painfully aware that this thought is not entirely true. In spite of this, I’m going to go through some of the festivals I'm looking forward to being at or hearing about from friends in the hopes of wishing exam season away. When speaking about festivals, it is impossible to ignore Glastonbury. Unfortunately, I don't have a coveted ticket this year, but I will be looking forward to watching live from the BBC.

A VOID’s brilliant manipulation of aggressive tones and sweet melodies made for an incredibly compelling listen. What really elevated their sound was the fact that the band let the music well and truly flow through them — their charisma was unparalleled in comparison to many other alternative rock acts.

Before we get onto the lineup, I will have to add that I am hugely biased towards last year’s lineup — Paul McCartney, Wolf Alice, Diana Ross, Robert Plant and others made it an incredible year. Having said this, this year's lineup, for me, has been made by the fact that Blondie will be playing. The sadness I felt when seeing them on the lineup and not having a ticket couldn't be measured. Other acts like Elton John, Loyle Carner, Arctic Monkeys, Fatboy Slim and Raye mean that I will be sat at home very jealous of anyone who was able to secure a ticket, I'm sure I won't be the only one.

The next biggest festival to discuss has to be Reading&Leeds — the first festival I ever went to. As many people have commented, Reading&Leeds has turned from its indie/ rock roots to more popular sounds, but this is now to be expected. The breadth of artists and genres that it covers, from Loyle Carner to Wet Leg to Central Cee to Inhaler means that it truly will be the messiest, most chaos-filled weekend for those in attendance. Again, I don't have a ticket for Reading but am hoping to secure volunteering or paid work there all in the hopes of seeing Steve Lacy. The fact that he is attending this festival is, I'm sure, the sole reason many people are going — and he's not even headlining! As a uni student, securing work at festivals rather than paying for your ticket is such a good way to go for less.

Last year, I was lucky enough to vol-

unteer at All Points East and was able to watch Gorillaz and Tame Impala’s first performance of their track ‘New Gold’ whilst being paid for it! To anyone looking to earn money in the London area during summer, I would highly recommend All Points East. It's a non-camping festival at Victoria Park, and the lineup is always so diverse (one day I was watching The Chemical Brothers, the next I was seeing Montell Fish). A less diverse and more genre-specific festival I'm looking forward to is another I'm working at which is Truck in Oxfordshire. The lineup includes The Wombats, who I saw last year and were brilliant, Beabadoobee, the act I'm most looking forward to, and Two Door Cinema Club! This is a more indie festival for anyone who enjoys that vibe, and I think the lineup this year is pretty impressive. The last festival I want to include in my roundup is Boardmasters, purely because I went last year

The crowd were riveted by the pandemonium unfolding; it was impossible not to get be hooked by their angsty, distortion-driven blitz.

and because it's closest to those who live in Devon and study here. When going, many a friend liked to poke fun that I would be amongst 16-year-olds, but really this festival has it all — the beach, music, surfing — you can't ask for much more. The headliners being Liam Gallagher, who I saw live in 2021 and is truly worth the hype, Florence and the Machine and Lorde, this festival again has something for everyone. Another one that I think as an older person would be so nice to work at rather than pay full ticket price.

There are so many more festivals that I could have discussed, and would be open to discuss if anyone gave me an ear, but there's only so much room on the page. To anyone going to the festivals I have mentioned, I hope this has built the excitement and hype.

Images: Jake Avery

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE GLASTONBURY

A BOMBASTIC EXPLOSION OF SOUND

THE BAND LET THE MUSIC WELL AND TRULY FLOW THROUGH THEM

BOARDMASTERS... HAS IT ALL — THE BEACH, MUSIC, SURFING

Images: Raph_PH, Flickr, Hold-The-Line99, Wikimedia Commons

screen

Stop-motion moguls

Annabelle Law, Screen Editor, evaluates the impact of stop-motion

STOP-MOTION film, with its time-consuming and tedious animation style, is something that only graces our screens a couple times every few years. The genre can range from the childish and playful, to something thought-provoking and existential. Not only does its style stand out from the crowd of Pixar and Disney, but stop-motion offers something simply nostalgic, yet enormously refreshing with each new addition.

When you think stop-motion, you may think of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox , a personal all-time favourite of mine that still holds up to this day. The quirky, frantic stop-motion animations fit Anderson’s offbeat style, as well as the main character Mr. Fox, who is always quickly overcoming near-death situations with a charming flair and poise. The style offers something both visually appealing as well as harmonious, matching the characters’ personalities. Beyond this however, I feel as though 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox was a film that, for a lot of us, embedded the look of stopmotion in the childhood psyche, establishing that nostalgic feeling when we watch stop-motion films today. A key scene from Fantastic Mr. Fox that seems to interrupt the quick pace of the stop-motion is when Mr. Fox sees the wolf. The wolf is a figure of the wild, of the freedom that Mr. Fox, because of his own morals and ideals of being the

‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, fails to have; the film quickly moves on from this scene back to its fast pace typical of its animation, nevertheless, it has a lasting impact on the viewer. The final scene of the film takes places when Mr. Fox and his family discover a supermarket, for me, this presents how miniature the family is in comparison to the vast supermarket, perhaps maybe insignificant to the human eye, although, after watching the whole film, we know this is not the case.

Another stop-motion film I had the pleasure of viewing recently is Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa , released in 2015. Kaufman, writer of Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind , takes the perceived childlike nature of the stop-motion form, and gives us something satisfyingly existential. Anomalisa follows the life of Michael, a man so miserable and depressed with his life that everyone sounds exactly the same; his wife, even his child, all have the same droning voice of an adult man. This symbolises the dullness Michael feels, which continues until he hears a different voice, the voice of a woman, Lisa. Michael immediately is infatuated by Lisa, and cannot figure out why she has broken through his isolation, and desperately, he attempts to establish a relationship with her. The stop-motion style is key here, as unlike Fantastic Mr. Fox , the humans in this aesthetic give an uncanny valley feeling to

the viewer, making them feel unnerved and uncomfortable throughout the film, and physically isolating Michael from the audience further, mirroring his lonely state of existence. Although the stop-motion can feel unnerving, it is organic in the sense that it immerses you in the realism of the world; the animation even goes as far as including a sex scene, something I have never seen done in stop-motion before.

KAUFMAN... GIVES US SOMETHING SATISFYINGLY EXISTENTIAL

Overall, the attraction to stop-motion pictures seems to be the never-ending possibilities it can create, and the variety of genres it can extend into. Although these films were released in the previous decade, stopmotion clearly seems to offer audiences something continually unique and charming, with each picture using this style, but each one working with different aesthetics. Today, stop-motion with its tedious production process continues to produce quality pictures, as seen recently with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio garnering critical acclaim, audience attention and multiple awards. Perhaps it is the laboriousness of stop-motion that makes these films so enjoyable and worthwhile, with ensured quality that

Mother knows best

can create deeply moving films, or approach more playful elements, there is no theme or genre stop-motion is scared to tackle.

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor, discusses motherhood in TV and film

WITH Mother’s Day upon us, there comes the perfect opportunity to watch some films or TV shows that centre around themes of motherhood. For me, Mother’s Day is particularly important as I am extremely close with my mother who raised me on her own. A cult classic film that depicts motherdaughter relationships and is one of my personal favourites has to be Mamma Mia!. With an array of musical numbers from ABBA, the film is set on a Greek island, and the story revolves around Sophie, who is getting married and calls three men, one of whom might be her father. Whilst it seems that Sophie’s main aim in the film is to discover who her true father is, we also see her strong connection to her mother, Donna, shine through. One scene that shows their motherdaughter dynamic is during Sophie’s hen party, where Donna does a special performance of ‘Super Trouper’ for Sophie, reuniting with her two best friends to perform as Donna and the Dynamos “for one night and one night only”.

Of course, the most adorable and tearjerking moment of the film is when Sophie and Donna sing ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ together whilst Sophie is getting ready for her wedding. The song presents a mother’s awareness to the fact that her daughter is growing up and that she hasn’t been able to spend as much time with her as she had hoped. It perfectly depicts the realities of how bittersweet it is to get older, and that

you slowly start to rely less on your mother as you get older, yet you will always need a mother’s love. Although Sophie is determined to have her father give her away at her wedding, she lat-

er realises that her love for her mother triumphs over everything and that it should be her mother who gives her away. After all, her mother has been the one who has helped her so much in life.

I cannot mention motherhood in film and TV without obviously mentioning Gilmore Girls The TV show follows mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, who are at the heart of the Gilmore Girls universe. Due to their affinity, Rory and Lorelai are frequently idealised as always gravitating towards one another. Lorelai supports Rory as she navigates her adolescence (and beyond). Lorelai was always there through all the breakups, school turmoil, and friendships. Rory was Lorelai’s pillar of support, giving her mother solace whenever she needed it.

The fact that these two characters were able to remain so close throughout the rebellious teenage years is touching, but the relationship has its ups and downs. Lorelai is never certain whether she should act as Rory’s best friend or whether to act more as a grownup. She allows Rory’s life to have such an impact on her that she becomes irrationally agitated. Rory gradually starts to feel responsible for her mother’s thoughts and deeds, which is a difficult weight to bear. These two women are so tightly bound to one another that it is challenging for them to open up to new people.

Gilmore Girls also presents other motherdaughter relationships other than just Rory and

Lorelai. Since Lorelai was a teenager, she and her mother, Emily, have had disagreements. Both women initially find it difficult to set their pride aside and intentionally cause harm to one another. It’s difficult for Lorelai to believe that her mother is the source of her obstinacy. The tension between Lorelai and Emily is more obvious than it is between Lorelai and Rory. The conflict between Lorelai and Emily is a prime illustration of a controlling mother and a free-spirited daughter.

It’s also intriguing to see how Lane Kim, Rory’s closest friend, and her strict mother interact. Lane enjoys rock music but must keep it a secret from Mrs. Kim. The dynamics between Lane and Mrs. Kim evolve over time, much like the ones between Emily and Lorelai and Lorelai and Rory. Lane discovers later that she is not the only member of the family who harbours secrets; Mrs. Kim concealed her faith from her mother. Mothers therefore have a huge impact on their daughters’ lives as presented on the big screen. So, this Mother’s Day, take care of yourself whether you are close to your mother (or mother figure), distant from her, or somewhere in between.

Image: MEDIODESCOCIDO, Flickr

A PRIME ILLUSTRATION OF A CONTROLLING MOTHER AND A FREE-SPIRITED DAUGHTER

Image: Nick Grabowski, Flickr

EDITORS:

Annabelle Law and Madison Sohngen

“It’s a bug eat bug world out there”

WHAT would you do if you woke up as a bug? The not-so-ageold question Franz Kafka asked. It appears that the late 90s and the 00s were keen to provide an answer. Insect films, focused on ants, make the perfect analogies for modern society with colonies being efficient and highly structured social systems where individuals have specific roles. In 1998, Disney released A Bug’s Life and Dreamworks released Antz , exploring individualism and conformity in a regimented society.

A Bug’s Life is an agricultural, preindustrial colonial society. The colonialist grasshoppers exploit ant labour to extract natural resources. In return, the grasshoppers protect the ants from other bugs — “it’s a bug-eat-bug world out there!” This sounds all too similar to colonialism. For example, England colonised offering to ‘civilise’ natives whilst oppressing them. A Bug’s Life society is traditional and doesn’t want change. Therefore, individualism is discouraged. Flik’s inventiveness is frowned upon by ruling nobility, who want him to conform, contributing in the traditional way to society.

Antz features industrial society. Workers are constantly digging tunnels to meet quotas. Military ants have a higher social status than workers, an unfair structure, as these roles are assigned at birth. This industrialist society is similar to how countries organised themselves after World War One. Therefore, nationalism exists in this society, which discourages individualism. The protagonist, Z, feels and is told by his therapist that he is insignificant in the colony. He feels oppressed as he wants to be his own insect. Karl Marx might say he is alienated from his work as industrial work alienates workers from their human, or ant, agency. In both films, everything is ordered and timed precisely, like a cog in a machine. Antz, however, has explicit political themes.

Our protagonists set out on heroic quests, misleading and losing the trust of the colony. They’re humiliated but take on their oppressors — Hopper and Gen -

eral Mandible — inspiring their colony to rise in a revolutionary act against oppressors. But the endings of the films are what interests me. In A Bug’s Life , the ants overthrow the colonialist grasshoppers and support Flik’s agricultural technology. But the social structure remains when Princess Atta receives the Queen’s crown. After all, it was outsiders causing oppression, their system isn’t the issue. But Antz implies the system is fundamentally broken as the structure causes oppression. General Mandible wants to start a colony without the workers who made the colony possible in the first place. The colony’s progress threatens the workers’ lives. This is a Marxist critique of endless economic advancement at the expense of workers who enable progress. As the system is good in A Bug’s Life , the system where Princess Atta’s life is more valuable than their own isn’t questioned. Comparatively, in Antz , Z demands respect from Princess Bala, prioritising ant equality through equal contribution to the colony aka Marxism. But no solution is offered to fix the system, only a comical narration from Z. As Marxist cultural theorist and critic, Frederic Jameson, says, “it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Antz follows the Kafkaesque style. Kafkaesque refers to the bureaucratic nature of capitalistic judiciary and government systems. Also, to how an individual reacts when subject -

ed to the system. In The Metamorphosis , Gregor Samsa stays a bug, there is no logical solution to his absurd problem. Just like there isn’t at the end of Antz. Antz can be watched again as an adult with satirical humour and in some ways, I find it a better watch now I’m older — seeing a decapitated ant head still talking is going to somewhat traumatise you as a kid (from experience). But the Marxist themes and erotic innuendos that went over my head as a child, made me laugh when I re-watched it. A Bug’s Life is the most remembered of the two. It has better animation with less uncanny valley unlike in Antz where Z resembles Cillian Murphy. However, A Bug’s Life was clouded by nostalgia and more PG so it wasn’t as enjoyable. But bloopers should be brought back at the end of animated films. They don’t make them like they used to (ANTi-capitalist, pardon the pun).

TikTok: a consumerist hellscape?

the film industry

TIKTOK. The app everyone and their Mum is on, and its influence can’t be denied. I’m not sure if even the ‘morally superior’ who don’t have it can deny the capacity of the form to alter our perceptions and approaches to things, and film can’t be excluded from this. Where we used to pick up a book, we then turned to putting on a film or series and are now in the age that turns to TikTok to satiate our appetite for ‘entertainment’.

The majority of discourse surrounding the app is associated with this concept of replacement and the concern at our decaying attention spans in this turn towards quick, short entertainment. Whilst this interests me, the concept of these media forms working in tandem is also of interest. The commodification of media is most accessible through this lens; TikTok not only replaces film, TV, and books, but also works to advertise these other forms, and thus shapes the way that we view them. TikTok’s breadth as an app means that it groups film and TV with its other forms of advertising and entertainment like beauty products, fashion pieces, gaming and other things.

This arguably flattens the film and commodifies leisure in this way. Blaming the entirety of the commodification of film on an app like TikTok is drastic, dramatic, and some

would argue entirely wrong. Fan edits and videos could be seen in a pure, unsuspicious way; there is a show of admiration and appreciation in using different sounds, creating compilations or even in some cases reenactments of scenes. The space that TikTok provides in this sense could be compared to fan magazines by older generations. However, there is a stark difference in the app’s function to the magazine; the sheer ability for anyone from anywhere to post, and the density of opinion that this causes. The negative results of TikTok are consequential to the consumerist age that we live in. The app is an example of an overproduction and overconsumption of content, and how this works in tandem to advertise and commodify the film.

In making these claims, I am not ignoring the positive impacts of the form to influence and recommend, I myself am partial to finding new content on and through this app. What I am arguing is that whether positive or negative influence, the power that the app has over my view of film reflects consumerist culture and the density of opinion circulation. Whilst it is interesting to consider where TikTok has placed films in the slightly pretentious Marxist terms laid out, I think it’s also important to consider the affective results of the app.

Where once I could watch a film, enjoy it and think on it, I now am left with and overwhelmed by the opinions of so many others that my memory of the film is tainted. Aftersun (2022) is a key example of an emotionally engaging film that is overwhelming itself in lack of chronology and its cinematic brilliance. However, when thinking of the film I am now reminded of the intense reactions of millions that I saw on my for-you-page, overwhelming my own recollection and interpretation of it. Despite the app being the means that the film was initially promoted to me, it also brought with it this army of opinion and criticism that I would have preferred to have not seen. This, in a sense, only pronounces how these forms work in collaboration with consumerist culture, and proves the unproductive nature of the app.

THIS, IN A SENSE, ONLY PRONOUNCES HOW THESE FORMS WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH

Without trying to sound like your technophobe granny, TikTok seems to be promoting and enriching the film industry,

but with the seeds of its own destruction. The concept of anyone being able to access and give their thoughts should be one that is embraced, but when it is on such a mass scale, it seems to only work disadvantageously when considering the oversaturation of content that can warp and distort rather than support and encourage.

Scarlett Cracknell investigates TikTok’s influence on

Freya Barlow analyses the Marxist implications of bug films

Image: Wikimedia Commons

FLIK’S INVENTIVENESS IS FROWNED UPON BY RULING NOBILITY, WHO WANT HIM TO CONFORM

Image: Flickr

Image: Norm Lanier, Flickr

WITH 110 million users in the US and more than one billion worldwide according to analytics firm data.ai, the Chinese-owned app TikTok experienced the most downloads globally in 2022 — a testament to its ever-increasing popularity and influence. However, growing secu rity and surveillance concerns ap pear to be threatening to bring the app to a grinding halt.

Ever since Donald Trump announced in 2020 that he was considering banning TikTok, the US has repeatedly voiced its apprehensions vis-àvis the security threats posed by the app; most recently, Republican committee chair, Michael McCaul, referred to TikTok as a “spy balloon in your phone.” Security concerns revolve around the Chinese government being able to access user data or manipulate public opinion through the app, accusations that TikTok actively denies. This comes

TECH

The end of TikTok?

Charlotte Randall reviews government steps to ban TikTok

despite knowledge that Chinese intelligence legislation requires companies such as Bytedance, TikTok’s owner, to assist the Communist Party and its intelligence services upon request. This had largely remained all talk and no action until December 2022 when the US implemented a ban on downloading the app on all government-issued mobile devices. This was emulated on the 1st March when a measure to grant the Biden administration powers to ban foreign technologies that could pose security threats, a category within which TikTok falls, was voted in by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. The measure was pushed through 24 to 16 by Republican lawmakers of the Committee in the same week that Canada followed the US’s ban concerning the use of the app on governmental apparatuses. The European Commission has also introduced bans on TikTok; it

emailed its employees in late February of this year instructing them to ensure the app has been removed from all work-related devices by the 15th March. However, the US Committee vote is by no means final; the Bill still needs to be voted on by the full House and the US Senate before it can become law. Democrats, who opposed the measure on the basis that it was rushed, are hopeful that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will conduct a security review of the app before any further action takes place.

ON TIKTOK

Considering its continuing denial of allegations, it comes as no surprise that TikTok has voiced its “disappointment” regarding the US démarches. A TikTok spokesperson commented on the widespread negative effect of banning the app stating that doing so goes against US core values as well

Digital ID cards

as the benefits provided for US users. It remains unclear exactly how Byte-dance will react if the legislation is successfully enacted but it is widely anticipated that this will not be well-received. Amid the global pressure of following suit in introducing restrictions, the UK and its devolved legislatures have refrained from banning use of the app. The UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Michelle Donelan, recently stated that there appeared to be a lack of substantial evidence to warrant implementing such a ban. By failing to adopt the same position as Washington and Brussels, the UK is facing criticism; MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that the UK is at “risk of being marooned as a tech security laggard among free and open nations”. Kearns’ concerns are shared by other UK officials but Number 10 appears to be endeavouring to uphold its inaction. Currently, the administration’s position regarding the use of social media is that “it’s for individual departments and ministers to choose which social media platforms they want to use.”

Ewan Edwards, Tech Editor, looks at Tony Blair’s proposals to digitize life in the UK

IN a last-ditch attempt, Tony Blair is back in the spotlight riding the ID card bandwagon, this time with his former political foe William Hague. This time, however, the proposals are for digital ID cards. Their proposals can be found in a paper published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change called ‘A New National Purpose: Innovation Can Power the Future of Britain.’ The basic argument put forward by the former politicians is that whilst so much of life is now in the digital age (banking, communication etc.) government still lags behind much like it did during the Industrial Revolution; legislation relevant to industry such as worker protections came decades after the Industrial Revolution began. If we are now in the thralls of a period of rapid human innovation, a ‘technological revolution’ if you will, then it is illogical that we do not have a system of online identity verification.

Some have expressed deeply sceptical views on the proposals, and are concerned by the idea that digital ID cards could help government be more proactive by helping individuals’ problems before they are even voiced. George Orwell once again seems to have predicted the future. The idea that the state should be the answer to all issues

and that it can essentially decides what you need from it before you can reject or request help is both authoritarian and spooky in equal measure. It is easy to imagine how this information could be used for harm or to further the already high levels of government surveillance we experience daily. In this ‘technological revolution’ warfare and crime will also become increasingly cyber focused. It may be scary to imagine what your own government may do with a store of information about its citizens, and the powers this level of information collecting could give future governments.

Where these proposals ought to be commended is in their suggestions around synchronising aspects of life that would make people's day to day lives easier. A bank of educational qualifications, passports, driving licenses, right to work documents and medical records could make applying for a job a far easier process. Take going to the hospital — currently it is a disjointed process where there is a high likelihood that a patient’s previous medical conditions may be unknown from one hospital to another. This makes no sense especially when considering the UK has a universal National Health Service which the majority of people use.

You would naturally expect documents to be digitally recorded and easily accessible between GPs and hospitals, but this is not the case. Blair, on the Radio 4 Today Programme, underlined this point specifying how it would modernise the NHS and ease some of its current staffing and financial burden.

There is some irony in the proposals by Blair; it was his government of 2002 that launched a programme to digitalise all NHS patient records then spent £10 billion on the plans which made little progress. Perhaps the proposals are not as simple as Sir Tony Blair makes out.

Estonia is cited as an example of a country which has engaged in similar levels of data sharing in the report — they have a government data exchange system which allows citizens to grant public services access to their com piled data. This makes government entities that run healthcare or tax more straightforward, and it is protected by an opt-in system. This means other government departments that a citizen has not granted access to their information cannot even ask the citizen for it if they are aware it’s held by another entity. This would, perhaps, be more palatable to those who are sceptical about what governments might do if they

had direct access to this store of information.

Another area where digital identification could be a clear success is in age verification. Online age verification legislation has been dropped and repeatedly delayed by the UK government: the government abandoned the proposals altogether in October 2019 although they have more recently been a part of the Online Safety Bill. It is not ridiculous to believe you should have to verify your age to access certain websites online. No one believes that you should sell whiskey to a child, nor should you let them buy a pack of Marlboro: why then allow children the possibility of accessing harmful content online?

Government must seriously consider proposals such as these — it must look at legislation that has longevity and can better society in the midst of this looming ‘technology revolution’. Careful precaution must, however, be taken if these proposals for digital ID are to be picked up. The government would need to clearly state the scope of any digital identification program regarding what is recorded about members of society and who has access to that information. I do not fancy living in a world where Rishi Sunak knows what I had for breakfast, nor what time I stumbled in from Timepiece.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HAS ALSO INTRODUCED BANS

Image: Ivan Radic, Flickr

Image: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Flickr

Image: Doodlebug, Wikimedia Commons

Government announces new Science and Technology Framework

Megan Ballantyne, Editor, reviews the government's new project

PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan have recently announced a landmark new Science and Technology Framework in the first major announcement from the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The project, according to the government’s website, “will challenge every part of government to better put the UK at the forefront of global science and technology this decade” by “creating a coordinated crossgovernment approach.” The project aims to boost the sector and encourage wider economic growth by staying on the cutting edge of innovation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said of the project, “The more we innovate, the more we can grow our economy, create the high paid jobs of the future, protect our security and improve lives across the country.”

The framework outlines ten points which the investment and attention will centre on, including boosting private and public investment in research and development, financing innovative science and technology start-ups and companies, and shaping the global science and tech landscape through strategic international engagement, diplomacy and partnerships.

With the announcement of the framework also comes £370 million new funding for science and technology initiatives, bringing the total government funding pledged to £500 million. A key target for this funding will be an investment of £250 million in AI, quantum technologies and engineering biology, highlighting the commitment of the government to some of the most cutting edge areas in the tech landscape, and sectors which seem set to grow and expand rapidly over

the next couple of years with Grand View Research predicting that the global artificial intelligence market size will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 37.3 per cent from 2023 to 2030. In keeping with the project’s stated aim of taking a cross-government approach to expanding technology and innovation, the project outline the hope that it can use these three technologies to aid in key areas of focus for development, such as the fight against climate change and in improving health care provision. The package of funding will also include using £117 million of existing funding to create hundreds of new PhDs for AI researchers. The government website states that the framework has been designed in consultation with industry experts and academics, but elsewhere leading figures in the science and technology sector continue to express concerns that the UK is still not part of the EU’s €100 billion Horizon Europe programme. The government did recently announce an extension to the Horizon Europe guarantee, but has not secured full membership of the program yet and researchers have received little funding from the EU programme over the last few years due to ongoing Brexit negotiations.

supporting technological innovation

Following the recent establishment of the Windsor Framework, a major breakthrough in

Brexit negotiations, there is hope that the UK could still reconnect with Horizon Europe, which would mean the UK technology and science sector would benefit from Europe-wide collaborative initiatives alongside this investment initiative from the UK government. Despite expressing support for the government’s ambition within its new Science and Technology framework and funding announcement, senior figures in the science and technology sector have highlighted that joining Horizon Europe, now that the Windsor Framework sets a precedent for the UK to be able to do so, offers one of the best ways to ensure consistent, long term investment and innovation in science.

Speaking to the Science Media Centre, Tom Grinyer, Chief Executive of the Institute of Phys-

ics, said: “Top of the Prime Minister’s list should be association to Horizon Europe and, with it, access to thriving international partnerships and stability that new technologies depend upon. The new plan is a step in the right direction, but the government’s continued hesitation on Horizon puts the government’s tech ambitions — and the UK’s future as a science superpower — at risk.” Ultimately, the new Science and Technology Framework is an exciting step forward for the UK sector, but the UK also needs to ensure stability for the sector and establish a culture of international collaboration and learning — otherwise the UK government's plans for growth could still fall behind the growth of other countries who enjoy this stable and collaborative approach.

LEADING FIGURES IN THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SECTOR HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS THAT THE UK IS STILL NOT PART OF THE EU'S HORIZON EUROPE PROGRAMME

Image: Pixabay

LIFESTYLE ARTS + LIT

TECH

MUSIC STUDY BREAK SCREEN

STUDY BREAK

CROSSWORD

Across

1 Elegance and beauty of movement (5)

4 Oar (6)

7 Applaud (4)

8 Musical composition form - yard shop (anagram) (8)

9 Clear (8)

11 Mythical man-eating monster (4)

13 Criticise (3,2)

15 Engage in conflict (5)

16 Venomous (Egyptian) snakes (4)

17 Esterase (anagram) — mosaic tiles (8)

19 Atmosphere (in a bar, say) (8)

21 Think over (4)

22 Bold — daring — courageous (6)

1 Pacific Ocean island group (9)

2 Sound-enhancing device (3)

3 Weird (5)

4 Unattractively artificial (7)

5 Put out of joint (9)

6 Went first (3)

10 Solti aims (anagram) - very high (music) (9)

12 (Play) practice (9)

14 Colossal (7)

18 Type of wheat - slept (anagram) (5)

20 Malaysian noodle dish (3)

21 Between (3)

SUDOKU

Muse,

Across:: 1 Grace, 4 Paddle, 7 Clap, 8 Rhapsody, 9 Apparent, 11 Ogre, 13 Get at, 15 Clash, 16 Asps, 17 Tesserae, 19 Ambience, 21

Trivia: 1. Hong Kong 2. Scurvy 3. Walt Disney 4. Finland 5. Charlie Chaplin 6. Three

1. What country has the highest life expectancy?

2. What disease is commonly spread on pirate ships?

3. Who has won the most total Academy Awards?

4. What country drinks the most coffee per capita?

5. Which famous actor participated in a competition to find his own look-alike and only got the 3rd prize?

6. how many hearts does an octopus have?

Down

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS: Daniel Pain and Hayley Power

Shock waves rippling through the cosmic web spotted for first time

Almudena Visser Velez explains the incredible observation of cosmic shock waves connecting our universe's galaxies

ON a large scale, the universe is made up of galaxies (groups of thousands to billions of stars) spread thinly over huge distances, with the intermediate space filled by elusive dark matter and dilute gas. Galaxies form in clusters of varying sizes and densities, making bright clumps connected by thin strands which form the cosmic web. Through combining thousands of radio telescope images, astronomers have spotted a faint glow thought to be caused by charged particles zooming along the magnetic fields in the cosmic web due to shock waves, something previously predicted in computational simulations but not observed until now.

Galaxy clusters are big and bright, making them much easier to spot than the less luminous filaments that connect them, which have been the main source of interest to astronomers recently. Individual galaxies and indeed clusters regularly interact with each other. Often, gravitational attraction causes them to smash into one an-

other. These dramatic collisions between clusters cause shock waves to travel along the cosmic web strands. This is analogous to a massive spider web, where a disturbance on one side of the web, such as a fly landing on it, quickly travels along the thin strands to other parts of the web, allowing the spider to pick up the signal.

its low energy means it has wavelengths far longer than the visible eye can see, so it is detected by radio telescopes. Individual shock waves are not discernible from signal noise, so telescopic images of several hundred thousand galaxy clusters have to be combined and stacked on top of each other in order to amplify the faint glow between the web strands.

The light detected is unusual as it is highly polarised, meaning the light waves are uniformly aligned to travel in the same direction rather than spreading out naturally over all directions. This uniformity is to be expected due to the shape of the magnetic fields along which the radiation emitting particles travel. The direct observation of shock waves for the first time

offers astronomers a glimpse into the structure of large–scale magnetic fields and may help answer questions about their effects, and how they came to be there in the first place.

The light detected is unusual as it is highly polarised

THE likelihood of another influenza epidemic affecting humanity is a sobering reality. Nobody knows if it will be related to the deadly avian flu strain that is presently decimating bird communities all over the world.

Because the virus, called H5N1, can be deadly to birds, mammals and people, researchers carefully watch reports of new cases. A new H5N1 variant that appeared in 2020 has alarmingly expanded into other animals in addition to spreading farther than ever among birds, increasing the possibility of an outbreak in humans.

Last summer, a seal die–off in Maine in the US was connected to the variation. In January's issue of Eurosurveillance, researchers noted an H5N1 epidemic in October 2022 at a Spanish mink farm. Although it is unknown how the mink became exposed, they were given by–products of poultry. The virus has also been found in wild bears, foxes, and skunks that hunt or scavenge birds in North America and Europe, as well as sea lions off the shore of Peru.

Globally, the new variant has resulted in the culling or death of hundreds of millions of domestic chickens. Although few government agencies are keeping track, Michelle Wille, an avian influ-

one another

Gravitational attraction causes [galaxies] to smash into

The cosmic shock waves from the collisions accelerate the charged particles through the magnetic fields, whose formation mechanism is still unknown, which run along the web strands. This acceleration causes the particles to emit a small amount of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation (more commonly known as light) in a process called synchrotron emission. This light is quite weak, and

Bird flu, the next Covid?

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor, looks ahead to the next threatening viral infection on scientists' radars

enza viral ecologist at the University of Sydney, estimates that millions of wild birds have perished. The impact of this virus on bird numbers is catastrophic.

The new variant [...] has resulted in the death of hundreds of millions of domestic chickens

There have also been a few reports of human instances, but there is no proof that the virus is moving from one person to another. Six of the seven instances resulted in recovery, yet one person from China died. Chinese health officials revealed an eighth case in February involving a woman whose present health status is unknown.

Four of the reported human cases, including a Colorado case from the United States and two employees connected to the Spanish mink farm, were in individuals who had no respiratory symptoms. It's still possible that those individuals weren't actually infected as a result. Instead, studies may have discovered viral contamination that the individuals breathed in while handling sick birds, such as in the nose.

Due to knowledge gaps, it is im-

possible to forecast which avian influenza viruses will infect humans and cause an outbreak. These bird pathogens rarely spread or readily infect mammals, including people. Additionally, scientists are still unsure of how these viruses might need to alter in order for human transfer to take place. The good news is that there are already antiviral flu medications and immunisations, according to Wille. "We are already ahead of the game" in comparison to where the world was

when the coronavirus that caused the COVID–19 outbreak first appeared.

Avian pathogens can cause serious illness or even death in humans.

873 human cases of H5N1 infections have been submitted to the World Health Organization since 2003.

Avian pathogens can cause serious illness or even death in humans

Known as a highly pathogenic avian

influenza, this new strain of bird flu is especially deadly to both domestic and wild birds. Natural carriers of the avian flu include ducks, which exhibit only very slight symptoms of illness. However, influenza viruses can alter as they circulate between waterfowl and poultry, allowing for the emergence and spread of variants that are deadly to birds.

For the time being, experts are monitoring infected animals to sound the alert before the H5N1 virus spreads to mammals.

Image: Pixabay, Geralt

Image: Pixabay, Danganhfoto

The first look at the genetics of Chernobyl’s dogs

Harry Craig, Music Editor, discusses

ARECENTLY published study by researchers from the University of South Carolina has revealed that the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 has changed the DNA of dogs living in the surrounding area. Feral dogs and their descendants living in the site’s exclusion zone have been found to be genetically different from other dogs living further away.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 has changed the DNA of dogs

Scientists collected samples from hundreds of canines found roaming in the

2,600 sq km Exclusion Zone around the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, in modern-day northern Ukraine. Access to this zone is highly restricted, as radioactive contamination from the 1986 explosion renders the area hazardous to life.

Immediately after the nuclear disaster, local wildlife was devastated, but it soon sprung back to life. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is now one of the most biodiverse locations in Europe, becoming a haven for lynx, bison, deer and many other animals roaming in its thick forests and benefitting from the dearth of human activity despite the presence of the radioactive contamination.

Consequently, the results of this latest study are highly revealing. When researchers began the ‘Dogs of Chernobyl Research Initiative’ in 2017,

they found that feral dog populations surged in summer before falling drastically during Ukraine’s harsh winters. They took blood samples from the animals to analyse their DNA, and compare it to dogs in the rest of the world.

Feral dog populations surged in summer before falling drastically during Ukraine’s harsh winters

When the results of these samples were analysed, there were clear differences in the genetic composition of Chernobyl’s dogs compared to those from outside the Exclusion Zone. These differences have been passed down the

generations, with descendants of animals who had been living in the area in 1986 also bearing the genetic differences.

Dogs are one of the most prevalent animals roaming in Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, as many pets were left behind during the evacuation of Pripyat in the aftermath of the disaster. However, this is the first research into the genetics of Chernobyl’s wildlife that includes larger non-human mammals like dogs. The next stage of the study will look in more depth at exactly how Chernobyl’s radiation has changed these dogs physically.

Researchers leading the study emphasise its pertinence for future nuclear disasters, with lead author Gabriella Spatola stating that the study “will provide key insight into how we can be better prepared in the future.”

The role of Vitamin D in the fight against dementia

Daisy Scott, Online Deputy Editor, outlines the research being carried out here at Exeter to aid in dementia prevention

IT has long been known that vitamin D has many health benefits including reducing inflammation, however a new, large-scale study suggests that taking the vitamin supplement could help to ward off dementia.

Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute in Canada and the University of Exeter have conducted a study to explore the relationship between taking vitamin D supplements and dementia. The study involved more than 12,388 participants.

The findings of the study, published in ‘Alzheimer’s & Dementia:

Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease’, were that taking Vitamin D was associated with living dementia-free for longer and also found that there were 40 per cent fewer dementia diagnoses in the group who took supplements than those who did not.

There were 40 per cent fewer dementia diagnoses in the group who took supplements

Professor Zahinoor Ismail, who

led the research in this study said “We know that vitamin D has some effects in the brain that could have implications for reducing dementia, but the results so far have conflicting results. Overall, we found evidence to suggest that earlier supplementation might be particularly beneficial, before the onset of cognitive decline.” The effects of vitamin D were significantly greater in people who did not carry the APOEe4 gene, which is known to present a higher risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Vitamin D is involved in the clearance of amyloid in the brain, accumula-

Do mosquitoes choose who to bite?

tion of which is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have also found that Vitamin D may protect the brain from the build-up of tau which is a key protein involved in the development of dementia.

Research paper co-author Dr Byron Creese, at the University of Exeter has said “Preventing dementia or even delaying its onset is vitally important given the number of people affected. The link with Vitamin D in this study… needs clinical trials to confirm whether this is really the case.” This has provided many people with hope for the future.

Daisy Scott, Online Deputy Editor, aims to answer this very question by explaining the science behind the pests

SOME of you will know the feeling more than others. Waking up on holiday to find yourself covered in itchy red mosquito bites on every inch of your skin. It seems that some people get bitten all the time and then some people go their whole lives without receiving a single one!

who may be an attractive source of a blood meal. Mosquitoes use multiple senses to find their next host.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Centre are trying to work out why mosquitos may be more attracted to some humans more than others. They are mapping specialised receptors on the insect’s nerve cells that can finetune their ability to detect particularly “welcoming” odours in human skin.

These receptors on mosquito neurons have an important role in the insects’ ability to identify people

Christopher Potter, Ph.D, Associate professor of neuroscience says that although odorant receptors are the most well studied by scientists, Ionotropic receptors are thought to make people more attractive to mosquitoes. Odorant receptors are thought to help the mosquitos to distinguish between animals and humans whilst Ionotropic receptors respond to acids and amines (both compounds found on human skin) which are found in different levels on the human skin.

in situ hybridization which bind to RNA. Finding RNA linked to these receptors would mean that neurons are highly likely to produce these receptors.

Future studies will be needed to focus on identifying the specific ionotropic receptors that cause mosquitoes to be attracted to human

odours. This may be a step towards finally knowing exactly why some people seem to be much more appealing to mosquito bites than others!

The aim of the study was to find neurons’ expressive ionotropic receptors in antenna linked to fluorescence

what the first look at the genetics of the dogs around the remains of the nuclear power plant has revealed

It seems that some people get bitten all the time

Mosquitoes use multiple senses to find their next host

Image: Jennifer Boyer, Wikimedia Commons

Image: James Gathany, Wikimedia Commons

Can Arsenal really do it?

Fergus Sowrey assesses Arsenal's chances of pipping Manchester City to the Premier League title

AS the home straight of the Premier League season approaches, Arsenal are looking to rock the current Premier League establishment and lift their first league title since the Invincibles of 2004. Coming into this season, most Arsenal fans would have been satisfied with ending their 6 year wait to once again qualify for the Champions League. However, Mikel Arteta’s side are instead proving to be refreshing title contenders, playing exciting and expansive football similar to that which we have seen from Manchester City in their recent years of domestic dominance under Pep Guardiola, who may be more focused on securing City a longawaited first European Cup this season.

With 11 league games left to play and a five point cuishon separating the North London side at the top of the table to City in second, many Arsenal fans are daring to dream that their side really can lift the Premier League trophy come May. Whilst this will undoubtedly be no easy task, questions have been raised as to whether Manchester City have the same guile and panache which has seen them win four Premier League titles in the last five seasons. The main argument for this case surrounds their summer acquisition of Erling Haaland who, despite scoring 28 league goals already this season, has been pinpointed as a potential reason for Guardiola’s side not currently occupying that top spot with City seemingly having to change their style of play in order to tailor to the Norwegian Striker’s strengths.

As well as this, sales of key players, such as João Cancelo in January and Raheem Sterling to Chelsea last summer, may be proving to be bad business for the Cityzens. Selling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal can also be critiqued in hindsight as their new rivals have been given the tools to challenge at the top end of the table. The sale of the Portuguese interna-

New Season, Same Mercedes Misery

tional Cancelo, however, has especially seemed to disgruntle fans, with his replacements coming in the form of academy product Rico Lewis and unnatural fullback Nathan Ake. Whilst both competent players, they are not close to the levels of Cancelo’s calibre.

The difference between the quality of these fullbacks may prove pivotal in Guardiola’s quest for a fifth League title in England, due to the importance of the position in a Pep system in terms of breaking teams down. This was showcased in their narrow victory away at Crystal Palace, which only came courtesy of a penalty from Erling Haaland. In the Saturday evening encounter at Selhurst Park, City lacked the cutting edge which saw them steamroll these sorts of mid-table sides in previous seasons. With Ake starting at left back and John Stones at right back, many pundits suggested they were the cause for City’s creative troubles, particularly due to the pair’s lack of attacking dynamism when compared to that of the previous ever-present partnership of João Cancelo and Kyle Walker.

Despite being only five points adrift of where they sat at this stage last season, Manchester City look to be the more inconsistent team compared

to Arsenal at the moment. Results such as the 1-1 draw away at Nottingham Forest are not usually expected of this City side. Whilst dropping points has been few and far between for Guardiola’s team, they certainly look the more beatable of the top two. This is no criticism of Manchester City. Arsenal have simply been a near unstoppable force in the League this season. This can be highlighted when noting they have obtained the same number of points as Manchester City had at this stage, 27 games in, last season. Whilst Arsenal have had to dig deep in recent weeks, with late winners coming away at Aston Villa and at home to Bournemouth, their 3-0 drumming of European hopefuls Fulham at Craven Cottage seemed to suggest that it was back to business for Mikel Arteta’s side. This result was a statement of intent as Fulham had only lost once at home since the return of the Premier League following the World Cup break, and they were made to look average. Not only do this team know how to completely dismantle a side, but they have also discovered the ability to grind out results when not playing at their best. Their wins against Aston Villa and Bournemouth are prime ex-

amples of that, and this is something Arsenal have been lacking in recent years when trying to push back into that top four. Results like this boost the confidence of the squad and help to instil the winning mentality Arteta helped to create as Pep’s assistant at Man City. The acquisitions of Zinchenko and Jesus from their rivals in second have helped to build this, as they have raised the standards set by Arsenal teams in recent years.

Whilst both new signings, more pressingly with Gabriel Jesus, have suffered periods on the sidelines due to injury, their influence will have been massive in helping Arsenal to get back to where they belong at the top. The injuries these new key players have suffered can again be used to cement Arsenal’s title credentials, Mikel Arteta’s ability to deal with them without negatively affecting their results has been second to none.

Young English striker Eddie Nketiah has filled in for the most part of Jesus’s absence and has put in a very respectable effort during this time, netting four Premier League goals, but contributing to the team in many positive ways despite faltering in the weeks coming up Arsenal’s 4-0 over Everton where he picked up an ankle injury.

Arsenal have been a real juggernaut this season and the return of Gabriel Jesus should only propel them further forward in their mission to win their first League Title in 19 years. Whilst there will be disappointment if they do not lift the trophy this season, this campaign can surely be labelled as a success and another huge step in the right direction under Mikel Arteta. Their resurgence following a disappointing end to last season, which saw them narrowly miss out on Champions League football to bitter rivals Tottenham, has been commendable. So, can Arsenal do it? Yes, they certainly can and, if not this season, you would not bet against them in years to come.

ONE of the worst days in racing”. This is how Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described his feelings after the team’s uninspiring performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished P5 and P7 respectively. For Mercedes, the result is less of an issue than the huge pace gap between them and the frontrunners. The team has, arguably, the fourth fastest car on the grid this year — a bitter pill to swallow considering the domination they have enjoyed throughout the turbo-hybrid era.

The Brackley-based team has looked unstoppable for much of the last decade, winning every Driver’s and Constructor’s Championship between 2014 and 2020 — nothing lasts forever. Though, cracks began to show in 2021, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Driver’s Championship, albeit in controversial circumstances. The situation worsened considerably in 2022, after Mercedes’ failure to adapt to a regulation overhaul meant a year plagued by technical problems, problems that clearly haven’t been fully resolved over the winter break.

Throughout his post-race interviews in Bahrain, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was more positive than his boss but admitted that "the car is just not there at the moment", pointing specifically to a lack of downforce. His concerns were mirrored by teammate George Russell, who said that the team needed to "go back to the drawing board". The car will receive an upgrade package at Imola, but that’s still over two months away, and radical change is needed now to have any hopes of a Championship battle.

The Silver Arrows have certainly had darker days than the opening race of the 2023 season (Spain 2016 and Monaco 2021 to name a few), but the post-race rhetoric of both Wolff and his drivers reflects the frustration of a team staring down the barrel of another disappointing season.

Martin

Callum

Image: Alex Prins

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Assessing the FIS Ski and Snowboarding World Championship

Anabel Costa-Ferreira, Comment Editor, reflects on the the snowsports competition taking place in Georgia

BETWEEN 19th February and 4th March, the biannual FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championship event took place in Bakuriani, Georgia. Initially requested all the way back in 2017, after a long wait to qualify races and delays due to the pandemic, this event historically marked the first time a World Snowsports event took place in Georgia. The championship this year was sponsored by Silknet (a subsidiary of Silk Road Group). This private investment group was established in Georgia "in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union." The company has also "been a sponsor of the Georgian Ski Federation for more than 20 years."

Events took place across two different venues: Bakuriani-Didveli (half-pipe, ski, and snowboard cross etc.) and Kokhta-Mitarbi (used primarily to host Mogul and Aerial events). However, these were located within a short 15-minute distance of each other. Unlike in the previous championship, which was impacted by Covid-19, events run across a variety of European locations from Russia to Switzerland and Italy.

The competition consisted of ap-

proximately 700 athletes from over 40 nations, with an eye out for several Winter Olympic successes such as Anna Gasser and Walter Wallberg who took home gold medals for freestyle skiing in the 2022 Beijing games, for Austria and Sweden respectively. As usual, approximately thirty different events were competed in, ranging from ski-cross to slopestyle and half-pipe. Among these thirty events, 14 took place in the snowboarding category and 16 in the freestyle and freeski (type of alpine skiing involving tricks). In this vast competitive range, individual records to national achievements occurred often.

Turning to the UK’s memorable moments we cannot help but draw attention to the incredible history made by Mia Brookes. At the staggeringly young age of sixteen, Mia has achieved the status of ‘youngest Snowboarding World Champion.’ Her event, Slopestyle, consisted of two runs, within which she scored 86.41 and 91.38. Brookes’ bold risk and excel in a CAB 1440 double grab drove her to gold. Brookes is now recognised as the first to attempt this move in an official competition (which consists of four full rotations in the air).

Unable to compete in the Olympics last year due to her age, her snowboarding future looks bright and more achievements such as this are only a matter of time away. British snowboarder, Charlotte Bankes unfortunately was unsuccessful in retaining her title as World Snowboard Cross Champion from the previous FIS event in 2021. However, she made history this year alongside Huw Nightingale when the pair won Gold in the mixed team Snowboard Cross, an impressive feat after placing 6th in the event at Beijing last year.

Taking an overall look at the medals table, Austria placed first with a total of 13 medals, followed closely by Canada and the United States (both achieving 9 medals). As Mikheil Giorgadze (Georgian Minister of Culture and Sports) noted this was a "great opportunity for Georgia to further develop winter sports that seem natural for a country whose territory is comprised of 70 per cent mountains." Due to its success in showcasing talent alongside the brilliant Georgian slopes, perhaps it’s en route to becoming more of a tourist attraction.

Girls granted equal access to school sport

THE Lionesses’ glorifying triumph in the 2022 European Championships was a pivotal moment in not only amplifying the need to appreciate talent in women’s football, but in also motioning a drive to improve equality in sport.

Announced on this year’s International Women’s Day, the Government has agreed to grant funding to ensure that schools in England will provide a minimum of two hours a week of PE lessons to students, which will enable both boys and girls to play the same sports during lesson time and in extracurricular clubs. This scheme comes after the England Lionesses Football Club sent an open letter to the Government after their success to inspire the opportunity for girls to access and safely participate in football, and forms a wider campaign to wipe out gender limitations among a wide range of PE activities.

What next for Exeter Chiefs?

THE Exeter Chiefs team that won the double in 2020 is slowly disintegrating element by element. Key figures within that team will leave Sandy Park this year — Luke Cowan Dickie and Sam Simmonds to Montpellier, Dave Ewers to Ulster, Jannes Kirsten to Pretoria Bulls. Reports of Jack Nowell being spoken about by Top14 clubs for a move across the English channel, and the risk of Stuart Hogg leaving when he is out of contract unless he accepts a pay cut compound the trouble the Chiefs could face at the start of next season.

The Chiefs project, led and developed by Rob Baxter will need to evolve and make new. However, despite anxieties of the fanbase, myself included, there is an argument that this process has already begun.

Young talent has been excelling — a Premiership Cup final against London Irish proves that. And young players have been proving they deserve the caps in the Premiership. Josh Hodge is a prime example of the second wave of the Baxter project: Deputising for Stuart Hogg on international duty and starting over Hogg — deservedly so. A stalwart of the England U18s and apprentice player under Eddie Jones’ tenure as England Head Coach for the

national team — his recent performances have presented extraordinary energy and a clinical edge above his years. Slotting him into the 15 position held by Hogg would be a quick and as much of a like-for-like swap possible.

EURFC and Chiefs paying dividends for both the Mens and Womens teams, something that must be noted, as such a close relationship is mirrored by no other Premiership team with local universities. Movements such as Bath

remains in the balance with no time to look past this season. A scrappy victory against Newcastle Falcons which they secured in the second half after a lacklustre first half presented how important it is for Chiefs to get a win whichever way they have to for any chance of a Premiership semi-final. A difficult run in faces the Chiefs — an away derby day against Bath, and two away trips to Leicester Tigers and London Irish punctuated by a home fixture against a recently buoyant Bristol Bears. 10 pointers against playoff rivals run down the season. Furthermore, Chiefs' next fixture welcomes Montpellier for a Champions Cup round of 16 match — Montpellier a dangerous team in the Champions Cup. If they get past that hurdle, a tie against mid-table rivals Harlequins or second in the URC Cape Town Stormers — the risk of an away tie for the Chiefs in South Africa should they get to that point another obstacle.

The Government has responded by promising £600 million of funding to go towards their campaign, and Rishi Sunak praised the Lionesses’ dedication to diversifying sport, stating “we want schools to build on this legacy and give every girl the opportunity to do the same sport as boys”, which is a key step forward in making all sports accessible from a young age.

Lioness captain, Leah Williamson, expressed how “the success of summer has inspired so many young girls to pursue their passion for football. We see it as our responsibility to open the doors for them to do so and this announcement makes it possible”. Schools across England have been hugely supportive of this scheme, as this crucial funding delivers equal opportunities in sport so girls can understand early on that they too can dream of becoming footballers, rugby players, and break the stigma around male-focused sports. Equally, this also enables boys to participate in what have originally been girl-assigned sports, such as netball, which highlights the importance of establishing new opportunities for all students. Ultimately, this funded campaign diversifies sport from a young age, supports equal access and helps children develop positive future engagement with PE sessions.

Players like Exeter University students

Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins already slot straight into the team as starters, more starts for Dan John presenting the partnership between

working closer to their local university imply that this approach is respected. This year, the last hurrah for many players in the dominant double winning team in the Chiefs shirt however

A tricky end to the season and a difficult transition into the pre-season is ahead of the two-time Premiership champions. However, the vision behind the Chiefs project remains as energetic as it has been for the last decade. Ahead of a summer of transition, there's still reason to be excited for Chiefs fans.

As a female football fan who has faced chauvinisms around enjoying this sport, I find it hugely empowering to see these key steps being taken in deconstructing the way sport is accessed, which allows the younger generations to experience universality around choosing a PE activity that is right for them, and not what is assigned to their gender.

Lucy Rawlings

Joseph Terry discusses the challenges Rob Baxter faces ahead of a Summer of change

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Sport

SPORT EDITORS: Rob Worthington Toby Brisley

‘Mighty Mike’ takes Exeter by storm

EXETER’S Westpoint Arena

was transformed into the ‘Ally Pally’ earlier this month, welcoming the very best darts players in the world and thousands of fans from across the South of England.

This night promised to be one of pure excitement and entertainment, sensed amongst the waves of fans flocking across the Devon fields to reach the Arena, many of whom had braved the cold in fancy dress. In the arena chants of “Stand up if you love the darts” could already be heard. Many had arrived early as the opening match was not to be missed.

Two of the heavyweights of World Darts would battle it out in the first quarter-final of the night, a repeat of the previous week’s final in Dublin in which ‘Mighty’ Michael Van Gerwen had come out on top, beating the ‘Iceman’ Gerwyn Price 6-5 in a closely fought contest. This was Van

Gerwen’s first night win of the season, gaining five points on the board as well as a healthy £10,000 bonus.

There are 16 weeks in total, 16 UK cities to visit, and each night is its own mini tournament in which five points are awarded for the winner, three for the runner up and two for each semi-finalist. The final league table determines who qualifies for the playoffs, deciding the ultimate winner of the competition and the £275,000 prize pot.

Van Gerwen was looking to make it back-to-back night wins here in Exeter, and the crowd were firmly on his side, jeering his opponent as he entered the stage. The story of the opening legs was careless finishing, but a Bull finish for Van Gerwen to pull 5-3 ahead seemed to decide the game. He finished only one of his opening 16 doubles, then hit 5/5 including a lethal D15 to secure the win, a stat that perfectly summarises his muchimproved second-half of the match.

Next up was reigning World Champion and World Number One

Michael Smith, up against 2021 Premier League runner-up Nathan Aspinall, whose walkout to ‘Mr Brightside’ proved hugely popular amongst the Exeter fans. He broke Smith’s throw first in the seventh leg, taking out 116, and going on to break again in the final leg to win 6-3.

Chris Dobey was disappointed to crash out in the third quarter final of the night, admitting that Belgium’s Dimitri Van den Bergh ‘punished’ his missed doubles. “You can’t afford to miss shots like that,” he said, when I asked him about his early D12 miss, a moment in which the game seemed to start to get away from him. Peter Wright also crashed out, missing a dart for the match, and making it his fifth consecutive week without a win, as Johnny Clayton progressed to the semi-finals. The Devon cold seemed to be getting to the players on stage as many were visibly rubbing together and blowing into their hands to keep them warm. The cold, however, was not impacting the crowd’s enthusi-

asm as the semi-finals approached. As the drinks continued to flow for many, the rows of tables immediately before the stage were as animated as ever. Enter once again, ‘Mighty Mike’.

In a match where seven of the ten legs were won against the throw, Van Gerwen had to ensure his top finishing was restored at crucial moments in this tie against Aspinall. Aspinall took an early 3-1 lead, but was left rueing three darts at 65 to go 4-1 up in the fifth leg as Van Gerwen fought back, averaging just over 100 to secure the win. The other semi-final saw Jonny Clayton, ‘The Ferret’, see off Van den Bergh in a fairly comfortable 6-2 win.

This competition really epitomises the sharp increase in the popularity of the sport, selling out arenas across the UK and maintaining a steady viewership live on TV every single week. The 2022 World Championship Final was watched by just under 1.5 million people in the UK, and the big characters of the darts world, including many young and upcoming talents, are ensuring

this popularity will certainly increase.

In the Exeter final, Michael Van Gerwen finally hit his peak form, taking an early 3-0 lead thanks to his superior scoring. Despite some big finishes by Clayton attempting to close the gap, Van Gerwen pulled away taking out a 106 finish on his way to winning the match 6-3.

Van Gerwen had said before tonight that he was quite a way off his A game, and after the match I asked him if the win here in Exeter felt like a step in the right direction. “That’s how lucky they are!” he joked, referring to the fact there is a still a lot more to come from him in the remainder of the tournament.

“When you win, of course it is always nice but, when you are not playing your A game it really is fantastic!”

Van Gerwen will look to extend his lead at the top of the table in the remainder of March, as the Premier League travels to Liverpool, Nottingham, and Newcastle, before a trip across Europe to play in Berlin on the 30th.

Oliver Rickwood Online Sport Editor

Image: Simon O’Connor/PDC