Issue 702 / 30 September 2019 by Exeposé

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ISSUE 702 30 SEPT 2019 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

Exeter ranks as the fourth least inclusive university in the UK

Image: Rory Selvey

Isabelle Gray Editor

N 20 September The Times and Sunday Times released their Good University Guide (STGUG) for 2020. The guide details an overall ranking, amongst other statistics, such as social inclusion. Exeter ranked highly overall, achieving the 12th ranking. Exeter also was identified as 2nd in the South West. Despite these notable successes, when it came to social inclusion rankings, Exeter were placed at 111th for so-

cial inclusion out of a total of 115. Social inclusion is rated under percentiles of the following components: state schools (non-grammar), ‘all ethnic’, black attainment gap, deprived areas, deprived areas dropout gap, first generation students, mature students and disabled students. In terms of Exeter’s specific downfalls within social inclusion, it was found that the University’s black attainment gap was at -19.7 per cent, compared to -3 per cent at the University of Bradford, which ranked third overall in the STGUG social inclusion ranking.

The percentage of state school students at Exeter, not including grammar schools, was only at 51.6 per cent. Furthermore, the guide shows that 15.5 per cent of students are working class. Gaia Neiman, Working Class Rep for Feminist Society, said “In a place like Exeter, being working class is not the norm, and thus it doesn’t surprise me that as a university we sit so low in these social inclusion rankings.’’ ‘‘This is clear in the fact that roles like mine need to exist in the first place, to help working class people like me feel

included, where the overwhelming archetype of the Exeter student is that of a wealthy student”. Since the Bracton Law Society Whatsapp scandal, issues of diversity have been much discussed at the University. In March 2018, screenshots were revealed of a group chat with homophobic, racist and sexist language. Students were consequently suspended and the society was later disbanded. Upon the STGUG’s release, the University tweeted the....

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Guild admits to £283k of unpaid taxes Henry Jones News Editor

EXCLUSIVE

HE Students’ Guild has confirmed to Exeposé that it owes £269,000 of unpaid taxes to the Government, in addition to £14,000 interest on unpaid VAT (Value Added Tax). HM Revenue and Customs recently conducted a review which concluded that students should have been charged VAT on food at the Ram. The Guild have not yet paid this debt, saying they “are challenging the assessment”. They’ve made a hardship request to the Government, arguing that having to pay the debt will be problematic. A Guild spokesperson said: “The Students’ Guild does have sufficient cash in reserve to pay the debt however this will seriously erode our reserves.” The Guild’s yearly sales fell by over 10 per cent last year to just over £2.5 million. In their annual report, the Guild spokesperson had said that “trading has been particularly challenging,” with “significantly reduced numbers of attendees” at both the Ram and the Lemon Grove. They said they “expect to see an improvement in attentence” in the future. The news comes after a restructuring process at the Guild, with Devon Live reporting in July that some staff may be made redundant. In a statement provided at the time, the Guild confirmed that it was consulting its staff “about partially restructuring the organisation”, citing “financial challenges.”

INTERVIEW LIFESTYLE The humans of Exeter

Exeposé speaks to the Guild President on Ram Refurb PAGE 5 Image: Isabelle Gray

tell their stories PAGE 16 Images: Anna Romanovska

Editors Print: Isabelle Gray & Aaron Loose Online: Harry Caton & Ellie Cook editors@exepose.com

Comment Editors Print: Isabelle Gray comment@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors Print: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu & Zach Mayford Online: Ariane Joudrey & Greta Sanna artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Richard Ainslie & Bryony Gooch Online: Megan Frost & Stephen Ong music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Jonathan Chern & Samuel Thomson Online: Jacob Heayes & Abi Taphouse screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Elinor Jones & Scarlett Parr Reid Online: Sira Charbel sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Josh Brown Online: Ben Bampton & Nick Powell sport@exepose.com Chief Photographer Rory Selvey photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Kamila Bell, Charlotte Forrester & Catherine Lloyd Proofers Jaysim Hanspal, Jonathan Chern, Henry Jones, Fozz, Owain, Anna Romanovska, Lucy Ayimes, Zach Mayford, Scarlett Parr-Reid, Nick Powell, Catherz, Emily Mason, Emma Hussain, Harry Caton, Emma Vernon, Emily Jumner, Kamila Bell, Peter Symes, Sam Thomson, Ruben Moss, Ella Lee, Jordan Andrews, Cassie Arace, Tim Slip

@ exepose facebook.com/exepose issuu.com/exepose Advertising Kate Watkins kate.watkins@exeterguild.com (01392) 722607 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

Climate change march hits the Exeter streets PAGE 3

COMMENT Are young people purposely discouraged from voting? PAGE 8

FEATURES America's hyprocritcal new vaping restrictions PAGE 12 Image: DefimZay

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

which a worst case scenario will radically change the landscape of scientific funding and research in this country (pg 35). Thankfully, this edition isn’t just full of doomy complaints about inept Prime Ministers. Our intrepid Lifestyle team hit the Forum last week to collect some interviews from our vibrant student body. Think Humans of New York (pg 16-17), except almost everyone is from Surrey. You will love it. Jokes about Exeter’s almost monocultural demographic are part of the everyday conversation around here. But while the campus’s inclusion struggles are well reported in the The Times Sunday Times Good University Guide, these problems don’t extend to the city. Flip to pg 24 for Music’s wide ranging coverage on the city’s rapidly developing Music scene. Meanwhile, Arts + Lit essays an unexpected encounter with the Devon Artist’s Network Open Studio, where artists from across the county gather to exhibit their work (pg 22). Screen tours the cinematic history of the local pub, which we are assured by our editors is a rich enquiry in contemporary film studies, and not an excuse to print a picture of our favourite post-Press day pint (pg 28). Openess is integral to an effective union. But those rules also apply to student newspapers. It does not matter whether you are discovering Exepose for the first time or a regular reader. If we trip up, tell us, because this is a student paper. It’s made by students, for students, and always will be.

Image: haiberliu, pixabay

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

F there’s been a single clear theme that links all of new Sabbatical representatives together, it is openness. Openess about their roles in improving student experience, transparency , and, in our Guild President’s case, openess about their favourite contemporary chart hits. I’ve never felt more solidarity with an elected official then when Patrick Hoyle. Guild President. popped BROCKHAMPTON’s acoustic ballad 'NO HALO' on his Instagram story. Of course, it is essential that a free press scrutinises a representative’s activities. Our interview with Patrick, his very first for a student press outlet since his successful election in March. The conversation covered exclusive insights into the Ram’s shining refurb and the Guild’s decision to add VAT to their meal baskets. Why have they done this, you ask? You will have to read the piece, I guess. Speaking of chatting to elected representatives, flip over for Sport's compelling profile of Cameron Taylor, AU President, on his plans to make sport at Exeter a welcoming and accessible place for all (pg 40). If you are a first year, you have probably already heard about Enlitened. The app, where users can earn rewards by anonymously submitting information on their wellbeing, was piloted at Exeter last February. Its introduction was controversial back then. It remains controversial now. Comment (pg 7) has the details. Features looks into the implications a No-Deal Brexit will have on you (pg 14), while Science examines the ways in

NEWS

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

Editorial

Image: Benjamin Evans

EXEPOSÉ

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

SCIENCE The regulations of synthethic meat production PAGE 34

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Godspeed, Aaron and Iszy

Worldwide university news Racism incident at Ottowa University

black student and Community Advisor at the University of Ottawa was unable to enter his residence last week after a security guard demanded to see his ID. Wiliston Mason, 22, explained his photo displayed on the wall alongside his colleagues proved his right to enter the building. The guard, who was also black, insisted on seeing ID and physically blocked him from proceeding until the University’s protection services arrived. A white student who entered before Mason was not carded. "He was harassing me… That is not something that should happen to any student on campus, no matter the colour of their skin," Mason said. This incident contradicts the University’s new policy that “identification must never be requested randomly and arbitrarily,” implemented after another black student was carded and handcuffed for two hours in June. Mason has filed a police report and the guard has been banned from campus.

Swiss uni clamps down on fake degrees

N 19 September Harald Rotter, CIO of the University of St. Gallen, revealed plans for reducing fraudulent diplomas circulating in Switzerland. The initiative will see the University use blockchain technology to produce 200 certificates for students graduating this academic year. Issued as a PDF, digital security measures mean these diplomas should be impossible to alter. This announcement is one of several attempts to tackle this growing global issue, with institutions from the University of Cape Town to the MIT having launched similar trials in recent years. With more sophisticated technology and highly competitive job markets, editing degree certificates has become easier and more tempting. Even so, efforts to guarantee the authenticity of degrees remain limited. Though UCL became the UK’s first university to trial blockchain fraud prevention in 2016, it remains to be seen whether such schemes can provide an effective solution to this worldwide problem.

New investment for Exeter Science Park

HE Exeter Science Park, partially funded by the University of Exeter in 2015, was intended to bring the innovative ideas of students to life and has since gone from strength to strength in its research. However, it has also had an incredible impact on our community, offering investments for start-ups, as well as 3000 jobs for local entrepreneurs. It has now been announced that the park will be developing a new University of Exeter Enterprise Zone (UEEZ), which will provide local businesses with fantastic links to London, another 200 job opportunities and the unique chance to have their ideas recognised and built on. The project, which will be funded by Research England, will cost £800,000 and is one of 20 UEZs being developed at select UK universities, an initiative that will overall cost £20 million.

Uni of Canterbury student found dead

student has been found dead at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, two months after he passed away. The University said it was "devastated" by the man, who was in his first year. Fellow students noticed an unusual smell and alerted police, according to local media reports. He has not been named. Professor Cheryl de la Rey, ViceChancellor at the university, said “comprehensive pastoral care programmes” were in place at the Sonoda campus and that it would arrange an independent investigation to identify how the situation occurred and would offer counselling services to all students. She added "The University of Canterbury is doing everything it can to support the police investigation into the tragic death." Image: Picography (Pixarbay) Stories by Charlotte Brown, Afiqah Abdul Hamid, Abigail Stevenson and Henry Jones

News

NEWS EDITORS: Henry Jones Louis Donohoe

“No Time to Waste”: People unite across Exeter for the Global Climate Strike

Isabella Nova Contributor

N Friday 20 September, 3,400 people came together in Exeter City Centre for the Global Climate Strike in which over 150 countries took part in. Both children and adults of all ages gathered in Bedford Square at 11am to protest for an act of emergency for the climate crisis and demand for climate justice. After a collection of speeches, the Strike commenced just after 12pm. The thousands of strikers took to the High Street of the Exeter City Centre walking all the way down onto South Street, past the Exeter Quay and onto Topsham Road. The strikers collected with powerful and artistic banners and posters with phrases such as “Don’t Be A Fossil Fool” and “No Time to Waste”. There were many displays of artwork including a giant model of the

earth in a wheelbarrow and a tribe of people dressed entirely in green. There were protesters with posters with the words “Skolstrejk för Klimatet” which is translated from Swedish to “School Strike for Climate” and are the famous words of Greta Thurnburg, the young activist who started the Fridays for Future Youth Climate Strikes and began the Global Climate Strikes, like this one in Exeter. The strike ended at Devon County Hall where there was another set of speeches and chants. A representative spoke on behalf of the organization ‘Stop Ecocide’ that focuses on changing the law and believes that the ecocide of our climate should be recognized as a crime. The representative said “It’s about the unifying principal because we live on one earth”. She also discussed an attempt to introduce international law against ecocide. This has been led by Polly Higgins, who

founded the non-profit team. “It has to be a global alliance and it has to be made into a criminal law because once things become criminal that’s when consciousness shifts. “This is a law for the people, for the earth, for all beings of earth, to make the shift so that we’re not egocentric human beings we are ECO centric human beings”. A representative, named Rasheesh, spoke about “acting in solidarity with oppressed communities in the Global South and Indigenous North”. He acted on behalf collective named Wretched of the Earth. Rasheesh talked about the integrated racism within the climate crisis and called attention to the history of empire. He further added “This movement will become so much more powerful once it becomes a truly multicultural movement.”

Exeter Labour Students back closure of Labour student wing

Henry Jones News Editor

HE Labour Party has approved a move to get rid of the party’s student organisation and replace it with a new one. The National Executive Committee (NEC) supported a motion which calls for Labour Students to be effectively abolished. There were allegations that the group has not been paying membership fees on time. In a statement before the vote, the group labelled such claims “false Image: Rwendland

and inaccurate.This motion is being brought forward as we approach a general election, with no alternative proposals for how the Labour Party organises and engages with students.”

Labour students was criticised for being undemocratic and unrepresentative

Exeter Labour Students Spokesperson

Exeter Labour Students, the Students’ Guild affiliated society for Labour supporters, backed the move,

saying: “This is not an internal party conflict as some may seek to frame it. NOLS (National Organisation of Labour Students) was criticised by dozens of labour clubs for being undemocratic and unrepresentative of the wider student labour body, that rarely engaged with clubs at a university level.” As a result of this, Exeter Labour Society chose to disaffiliate from NOLS in March 2019. They added that their decision “does not effect our running of the society in any meaningful way, and we urge students to join us in the coming year to help transform our unequal society.’’ The move to close Labour Students was led by Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum, a left-wing activist group Wes Streeting, a Labour MP and former president of the National Union of Students as a Labour Students candidate, told The Guardian: “The Labour party should be focusing all its energies on winning the next general election, not Jon Lansman’s factional vendettas against Labour Students. It is literally student politicking, when we’re in the fight our lives for the future of the country.”

Image: Emma Hussain

VP Education responds to Exeter’s 111th ranking on inclusiveness CONTINUED FROM FRONT ...academic ranking, but did not publicly address this rather alarming placement for social inclusion. When asked to comment on whether they acknowledge the importance of this ranking and if they have an agenda to improve their ranking, a university spokesperson responded: “The University of Exeter is committed to the principle that everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education should have equal opportunity to do so. The Times low social inclusion ranking is not where we want to be. “While we have seen sustained improvements in the diversity of our student body, and high rates of retention, attainment and progression, we know there is much more to do. This work is at the core of our recent five year Access and Participation Plan available on our website”. The University also offered some of their own statistics, showing that the number of BAME students has increased from 7.2 per cent in 2013/14 to over 10 per cent of all UK students. Our progress on other social inclusion measures is most noticeable in the South West where the latest verified

figures show 88.9 per cent students came from state schools compared to 63.6 per cent for the rest of the UK. 35.5 per cent were from low participation areas compared to 12.6 per cent for entrants from the rest of the UK; and 16 per cent were mature, compared to 3.4 per cent for the rest of the UK. VP Education Penny Dinh said “I am personally really disappointed Exeter has received this ranking, however we are really supportive of the steps the University are taking to address these issues through a New Access and Participation Plan submitted to OFS which clearly identifies targets for raising access to the University, and the Development of the new EDI strategy. “We are proud to have played our part in the planning of these and are looking forward to supporting their implementation. These are just two things within a wider range of work which needs focusing on. We look forward to further engaging with the University and improving the experience of minority students at Exeter, and hope this disappointing ranking serves as motivation to achieve this.”

30 SEP 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS

Societies pleased with successful Freshers’ Fair Louis Donohoe News Editor

RESHERS’ week was rounded off with the usual Saturday Freshers’ Fair this year. Students gathered to sign up for societies and AU sport clubs, or alternatively to promote them at their stalls. The fair took place in the Forum, Guild area and Sports Hall, along with a variety of advertising stands handing out free goods outside including a McFlurry van and a Domino’s tent. The inside areas were noticeably crowded with one fresher showing their appreciation for the atmosphere but stating that “it is very busy and very warm.” Another fresher gave their opinion on the crowds saying “it’s a lot but it’s really interesting [and] there’s a lot of

free stuff ”. The large crowds led to a lot of signups according to many of the committees. The rugby vice-captain described how “they had signed up more than they expected” by that point. Big Band, Hockey, Boxing, OTC and Fencing were all pleased with their signups. With the fencing men’s captain stating that “we’ve had more signups this year than we had this time last year.” The Choral Society were pleased with their turnout stating that they had “been very busy, had quite a few members joining and so exciting to have some new freshers coming to join our club.” The societies used a variety of ways to try and entice students to signup ranging from a boxing machine to a large boat setup in the sports hall. According to the Vice-Captain of Boxing, their machine had been “attracting a lot of

Image: Rory Selvey

people and basically doing [their] work for [them].” As we entered the sports hall a cheerleading demonstration was in progress and the Fencing Captain described their demonstrations throughout the day.

It is very busy, and very warm

First year student

More traditional methods of promotion such as standing on the hill and talking to people were employed by the Rugby team. Big Band described the cohesion between music societies describing how they send people to talk “we like to plug other music societies and send them to each other, like concert band will send them to us and we’ll send people to them.”

Uni & Guild clash over New Exeter student accommodation build recycles over 90 per cent of waste Enlitened Emma Hussain Online News Editor

The VP Postgraduate and the VP Education said “Our interaction with the Assistant Director of Communications TWITTER confrontation on is something we would like to move on 21 September between Student from. We look forward to working posiGuild representatives and an tively with them in the future so we can employee of the University Press Office continue having a positive impact on the have led to questions over whether the student experience”. Guild and the University are in dispute A Students’ Guild spokesperson : over the Enlitened app. “As a Guild, we believe that we should all The Assistant Director for Commu- aim to work positively in an environment nications responded to tweets sent by the of trust and respect, but also understand Guild President’s personal accountImage: that Twitter that emotions and passions can run high criticised the app. at times around important issues”. The Guild President expressed conSabbatical officers have expressed cern over the app’s feedback sections concern about Enlitened via Twitter, but that seemed similar to the existing struc- the Students’ Guild has yet to publish an tures of SSLC feedback and Guild Ideas. official stance. The Assistant Director asked the A Students’ Guild spokesperson said Guild President and a concerned student “The University has decided to roll out whether the two were suggesting that another trial of Enlitened. We will be students should not comment on issues closely monitoring the success of the in a public forum. scheme and how it benefits, or does not Sunday Blake, VP Postgraduate, and benefit, students. We will be representing Penny Dinh, VP Education sent tweets views on either side of the discussion as in support of the Guild President. we become aware of them. The interaction has led to concern A University spokesperson said “We over University staff ’s conduct when in- are committed to delivering education teracting with union representatives. and student experience of the highest A University spokesperson said. “We international quality We are piloting the want to build strong and responsive part- Enlitened App as one more way to listen nerships with both our students’ unions to student views and improve student and with our students. It is common for experience. It is not about performance university staff to engage on social media management. in a personal and professional capacity. “The vast majority of feedback “In some cases the University com- about Enlitened has been positive but munications team will respond to infor- we know that not everyone supports the mation online 24 hours a day, seven days approach and we are taking into consida week and we expect all engagement to eration any concerns as we develop the be in line with our values.” service.”

Aaron Loose News Editor

VER 90 per cent of the waste produced by the new accomodation blocks at the East Park is recycled, according to the Senior Site Manager. The East Park Site has been planned for development by the University since the early 1970s. However, it wasn’t until July 2017 when the Exeter City Council approved ambitious plans to build over eleven blocks The development is just a short walk away from Lafrowda. The plan is to deliver 1,882 new bedspaces by September 2021. The development is divided into two phases. Phase 1 will be completed in time for the September 2020 intake and will include 604 bed spaces, while Phase 2 will conclude in September 2021. Vinci Construction UK is contracted to finish the development, which is valued at £91m. Sustainability is a key concern of both the University and the developers throughout the construction process. Meadows will flow up to the building facades to form a network of recreation spaces around the site, while over 400 trees will be planted. James Andrews, Senior Project Manager and an Exeter graduate, said:“ot’s about the selection of material, choosing certified managed sources and reducing waste. All the waste you see is segregated from the main construction site, and we are recycling over 93 per cent of it at the moment.”

Andrews added “The University always emphasised inclusiveness, particularly that residents with accessibility requirements should be integrated throughout the development and not simply concentrated in less restricted areas.” UPP, who will manage the development, said: “through the design, construction and operation of student residences at the University, UPP is fully committed to supporting individuals who, due to disability, a long-term medical condition or sensory or physical impairment, require adapted accommodation or a particular location to help them participate enjoy a fulfilling university experience in line with the Equality Act 2010. 24 standard wheelchair accessible rooms and ten enhanced accessible rooms are located across the site. The site’s steep 35m sloping gradient and an underground water main made it impossible to flatten the entire site. Andrews explained that Vinci plan to install a lift at the centre of the site that will allow wheelchair users to travel from the site’s upper levels, where the gradient is steepest, Image: Vinci

to the more even lower levels. The East Park Site has received a mixed reception from local residents. Over 16 objections are recorded on the Exeter City Council Website. One letter complained “there will be a great deal of noise generated by machinery on the site and by traffic to and from the site. The University confirmed that Lafrowda blocks in close proximity to the development of the new student residences will not will be eligible for a rent reduction. The site will likely continue to cause controversy in the local community. On 3 September, a block of flats planned for St David’s Hill were refused by councillors on 3 September, halting a scheme worth over £17m. Jasmine Barton, Communications Assistant, said “East Park is being developed on university land to reduce the pressure on the city”. “With any complaint the university has received, it has been taken seriously. The university is keen to work with them”.

INTERVIEW

EXEPOSÉ | 30 SEPT 2019

Patrick Hoyle, Guild President, on the Ram Refurb Louis Donohoe & Isabelle Gray News Editor & Editor

E were welcomed into the Ram this week to speak with Patrick Hoyle, Guild President, Nicola Carter, Director of Commercial Services at the Guild Nicola Carter and Mike Gibson, Licensed Trade Manager about the changes made in the recent refurbishment. The refurbishment took place over the summer and cost £20,000 with a variety of improvements being made including improving lighting, upholstery and repainting. Mike spoke on the reasons behind the refurbishment saying, "For the past three to four years I’ve worked here the ram just never really had a makeover. It just kind of didn’t suit the market that we were leading into. Everywhere you go in town now the atmosphere makes the experience. I suppose over the years we’ve had comments from our membership that we love the beer and the food, but it’s just too dark in here. Over the years we’ve kept hearing the same things over and over we’ve kept hearing the same things over and over just decided to [make some changes.]" Image: Isabelle Gray

Patrick, who admitted to having the same complaints that Mike mentioned, spoke on the changes visible around the room pointing out the newly visible chandeliers in the style of antlers and the slats above the bar that were repainted from black to blue to brighten up the room. Mike spoke about updating the furniture telling us: "Lots of our furniture would break but then we didn’t have enough funds to replace it. So we’ve kind of gone through and made it suit where it is. "That seating area in the back corner was normally full of little stools and we had a lot of complaints that people didn’t want to sit down on little stools while you're eating your food." Nicky told us about the aim that they had in mind when making these changes "So purely by lifting the colouring and refreshing the furniture, refreshing the carpets it utterly changed the atmosphere in here. It made it more open, it's made more inviting. That was really where we were heading just to try and engage people with the space." Nicky told us about the menu change which was largely driven by the addition of VAT to the Ram's food in April.

She explained "Students are [usually] exempt from VAT for food and necessities. However, they don’t consider food that is served in a pub or bar to be exempt. That immediately increased our prices by 20% so Mike and his team worked really hard over the summer to bring in lots of suppliers to work on the menu, to test lots of different products. So that we can still deliver a reasonable price and a quality product. It was really important to us that we maintained the price points to the students."

....It's really important that we're now working with more local providers and suppliers

Patrick Hoyle, Students' Guild President

Nicky was aware of student favourites telling us how "the one thing we knew we couldn’t get rid of was the basket meals" to which Patrick and Iszy showed their approval with an affirming "Iconic". Patrick described the importance of quality stating "we accept that we’ve raised our prices and you're a bit [upset] but if we can provide you a meal that is worth that price, and the students see that it’s something we’re trying to focus on."

They also spoke about new menu offerings such as the addition of pizzas and chicken meals such as Katsu Curry. Patrick described how the latter had sold out when he had visited. He was happy to see this "because people are enjoying the new menu, which is nice." When asked on whether they consulted students in the process Nicky had this to say, "When we were setting that we were working with the [last years] sabbatical officers. But they had a lot of input into the direction of the menu and the styles of food and what we were looking for. Then we would pick up with the few students over the summer. "Summer is the time when we do a lot of development and it is difficult to get a large amount of students. But graduation week was quite useful. I appreciate that they are students that are leaving but many of them have quite strong opinions about The Ram". Patrick and Mike described their decision to pull out of the trading consortium group NUSSL, which is a branch of the NUS. Mike told us, "Our hands were tied with the NUS as we had to bid for things. So for example if we wanted Captain Morgan to come to The Ram we’d have to bid before the other universities. We found

out that the northern universities got priority over the southern areas. That frustrated us and Plymouth". Patrick also highlighted how sustainability was considered in the refurbishment and in choosing their new suppliers, "UNITE Students did a survey with a couple thousand students and by far the biggest political cause was climate and the environment. Sustainability wise we’re doing a lot more vegetarian vegan stuff." "It's really important that we’re now working with more local providers and suppliers because the closer you are to the source of the supplier the less miles you are travelling, the less carbon you are emitting, all that kind of stuff. That's an undervalued and often forgotten part that is actually really important." Mike also explained the new loyalty cards "we worked a deal with St Austell’s so if you buy nine ales St Austell will front up the tenth ale free, I think where we were with the Guild points we didn’t feel the members were benefiting enough from the points system." They also described their plans for Halloween and Christmas with a variety of events and the return of a Christmas take on the Ram menu.

30 SEPT 2019| EXEPOSÉ

Comment Neha Shaji Contributor

Isabelle Gray

Does Enlitened need enlightening?

HE wellbeing of those in academia is a topic that deservedly has a high priority in institutional discourse. Several universities, student’s unions and sabbatical and athletic officers across the country have pledged support to improving and expanding upon student wellbeing services. However, wellbeing is something that has to be dealt with by professionals, hence why institutions spend hundreds of thousands of pounds hiring wellbeing officers who have trained for years to provide the academic and mental health support people in universities need. Anyway, the University of Exeter have invested in an app produced by the StudentRoom, called Enlitened. The structure of the app is thus: you answer questions like “I am welladjusted financially” and “I have many things in common with the people around me”. You answer by sliding a blue cartoon owl, called Hercule, on an Agree-Disagree scale. Every question answered results in the owl literally turning into a sprinkle of coins. You can then turn these oddly generated metaphorical coins into literal coins and spend them on vouchers. This app apparently greatly assists the mental health crisis as moderators from the site can see your answers and collate them to a narrow degree, by demographic data, module or course.

COMMENT EDITOR:

This app, of course, apparently greatly assists the mental health crisis

The Student Room staff member “ChrisN” posted on the Exeter forum of the site that the collated student data would be “put together with student record data, so we can flag to the uni which segments of the student population have issues that need addressing, and how the students think those problems can be addressed”. How the students think these problems can be addressed is via an “Ideas” system also integrated into the app, where students suggest ways their university experience can be improved. If you think you’ve heard this spiel before, that’s because you have – the Enlitened ‘Ideas’ system is essentially an anonymised version of the Students’

Guild Ideas, except moderated by The Student Room instead of Guild Officers. Exeter already has one established online platform for student ideas, the aforementioned Guild Ideas, unofficial public anonymous platforms like Exehonestly or Exeter meme pages on Facebook and of course, the academic representation structure. It just seems like an exhaustingly opaque platform, with no reassurance other than the company’s assertion that this is all for the greater good.

It seems like an exhaustingly opaque extraneous platform When you log onto this app, it requires you to check a box stating that you “consent to the University providing information to TSR, including my contact, education, accommodation, and demographic data”, and to “consent to the University providing special categories of data to TSR including my ethnicity, disability, and health data”. Perhaps on an unrelated note, The Student Room also has a separate page on their main website, “ P r e s s Inquiries”, where they offer journalists “reliable and trustworthy data to support your media interests.” This app is voluntary – however, the ethics of partnering with a company that will do the work of collating your data is up in the air.. There are a few ‘Ideas’ posted (I hope they’ve claimed their free water from the coins generated), on academics, including a sug gestion for a “rate your lecturer” system, asking for course changes, and “no Image: Aaron Loose exams”.

Honestly, these are all unlikely to be considered in reality regardless of being posted on Enlitened, but there just isn’t enough transparency in who moderates these or what representational structures will discuss these.

At best, it seems like an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy

At best, it seems like an extraneous layer of bureaucracy before these ideas are passed onto the relevant representative bodies; at worst, it looks like a public idea gathering platform that can focus on individual lectures, without any promise of progress. Students operate upon an assumption that their voice matters. Then is it not better to discuss these ideas, several which may affect academics, with those elected or appointed in representational roles and know

that targeting individual lecturers is not something academic ethos stands for? It is important to say here that academics are people; and this kind of public feedback alluding to the lecturers of Module A or Module B can cause mental health issues there rather than resolve them here. And of course, the almost cartoonish capitalist elephant in the room, the ethics of monetizing mental health. If one is to receive almost literal coins for providing personal details about themselves and their wellbeing to an external company, it steps away from incentivizing and on towards capitalizing on issues that ought to be delicately handled.

We need wellbeing staff specialising in BAME issues

Regardless of your views on monetizing deeply personal aspects of yourself and your wellbeing, the onus of this should be on you rather than a company in partnership with your university doing it for you. Also, considering that several students are out and about claiming free drinks from the Market Place for telling Enlitened they feel

unwell, it just brings to mind how much of this money could be spent on improving existing wellbeing services. Speaking of which, the most recent three Ideas on the Enlitened system were about improving signposting to wellbeing services, how difficult it is to make wellbeing appointments and more information of well-being. This seems to suggest that even in its’ earliest days, the app relates what students have been requesting across the years; to invest in professional wellbeing services. There is so much more to mental health than letting the developers of an app know that Module A made you sad, and students already have outlets to express their issues in a way that do not affect employed members of academic staff. We need wellbeing staff specializing in BAME issues, or more signposting for international students to break the stigma of seeking mental health support. These kinds of corporate partnerships, if needed, should be done after existing issues have been addressed. Perhaps this piece made you want to sign up, and honestly, if that is the case – do go and slide the owl around, because it looks like it will take a landslide of owls before academia around the nation will improve its mental health situation.

É If these issues affect you, you can get in touch with: Student Minds support group: exeter@studentminds.org.uk Wellbeing Services: exeter.ac.uk/wellbeing Samaritians: www.samaritans.org/ 116 123 Exeter Nightline 01392724000

COMMENT

30 SEPT 2019| EXEPOSÉ

It’s getting hot in here Kamila Bell Copy Editor

CLIMATE crisis is certainly at the forefront of our minds now more than ever, it is no longer just demonstrators on the ground demanding constitutional transformation but worldwide international bodies such as the United Nations have begun the cry for change. With the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stating in 2018 we have just 12 years to limit the damage climate change is causing, an apathetic approach at any level feels like a choice to be ignorant. Ask someone to reduce their meat consumption as an easy individual way to cut their carbon footprint and they’ll act as though there is nothing else in the world they can regularly eat. However, the food industry – more specifically the meat and dairy sectors – come second only to fossil fuels as one of the largest contributors to climate change. Taking the simple step to eat half the amount of animal produce you would usually consume within the week can reduce your individual carbon footprint by more than 40% according to the World Resources Institute. You

may find yourself asking “What’s the point?” as you eat your quinoa and avocado salad across from your housemate who is devouring their third meatbased meal of the day. However, something is always better than nothing, a few people taking individual steps in this way adds up to working as a cohesive unit for positive climate action. Even with this in mind social scientists have found in a variety of studies that when one person makes a sustainable decision, other people around them are more likely to do the same. Herd mentality can play a key part in evolving people’s beliefs and actions, so while you may feel that your effort to be more sustainable is falling short, it may be having a wider impact than you think.

am hoping you will join me in breaking. The increasing demand for low cost clothing has created the chaotic pace of fast fashion, from international transport and the use of energy needed to produce the highly sort after attire for that season. Reusing and re-fashioning various items from your wardrobe to create a new look or heading to the scattering of charity shops throughout Exeter in search of a vintage bargain are simple ways we should be heading this year to tackle the ever-growing levels of consumption humankind is demanding. Astatement from Greta Thunberg feels like a suitable way to sum up what we should be doing to combat climate change, quite probably the leading face of demanding climate action today, was projected onto the side of the United Nations highlighting the vital needed for multiple levels of change; “We need a system of

The SabbS Speak Up

change, rather than individual change. But you cannot have one without the other.” So, whilst you adopt your new ‘flexitarian’ diet at uni and increase the amount of second-hand clothes you buy, do not stop here with a limited mindset that you’re doing your bit. We must continue to partake in joint demonstrations demanding that the powerful economic and political interests at play are dramatically transformed to act justly in the name of the climate emergency existing before us.

Image: Students Guild

Image: UENP, flickr

Patrick Hoyle Guild President

The label ‘union’ conjures up images of solidarity

Hi, I’m Patrick, your new Student’s Guild President – welcome Herd mentality can to the Students’ Guild! play a key part in evolving I’d like to give you a little insight people’s beliefs into what the Guild will do for you over the course of the year – not As a student, the maintenance loan just for Freshers’ Week! Besides dropping into my account can send me societies, which I’m sure you’ll all towards a spending spree, resulting in be well acquainted with by the end me becoming a leading perpetrator of of Freshers’, the Guild works hard fast fashion. But, as the BBC report, to provide academic representation with the clothing sector estimated to to give you the best academic represent 3 per cent of the global proexperience possible. duction of CO2 emissions, it is a habit I I was an academic representative throughout my degree, and loved //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// every moment! It’s super easy to get involved with on our website so I’d absolutely recommend it. Another important part of the Guild is its Advice Unit. Being a student for the first time can be shown to be more left-leaning. The about voting. After Boris Johnson fully dismiss a whole demographic, very daunting, so we’ve got a team Anne Chafer New European says that younger votpresented his idea for a general elecaccusing them of not being active dedicated to giving you support on Contributor ers prevented the Conservative party tion on 3 September, the number of enough, because that might make all the firsts that starting university from having a clear majority in the applications to register to vote was them less likely to even register next brings with it. Housing; money; your N 3 September, Boris John2017 general elections; such data higher than 100,000, compared to time. It is very advantageous for a pocourse; welfare – they’ve got it all! son’s plans to hold a genmakes it clear why Johnson wouldn’t the average of 27,000 for the previous litical party to achieve apathy across You should definitely make sure eral election on 15 October want students to vote. month. 58 percent of those who apthe collective that could threaten you check out our spaces to get food were announced. The motion was not plied on the first two days of the week their majority, if you know what I’m and drink – it’s so important you supported by enough MPs ( Johnson were under 35s, and the Guardian stattrying to say. enjoy the social side of university! Younger would have needed at least two-thirds ed that most of them were understood Finally, when I was a student demographics shown to of Parliament to vote in favour) and to be students registering from their ambassador, one thing I would Many factors be more left-leaning new addresses. it was not carried forward. Neverthealways mention was how democratic discourage the most the Guild is here – and that hasn’t less, the suggestion sparked anger for There is a connection to be made excited of young activists changed! a reason; Johnson’s assistants conYoung people have historically between the perceived political apafirmed to The Times that the chosen been seen as an apathetic group when thy that is associated with young votThere’ll be plenty of date for the election was strategically it comes to voting and being politicalers and the disenchantment of the And yet, although we could spend opportunities for students to get decided to “restrict student vote”. ly active, but this has been changing younger generations. We are growing more time discussing this duality of involved and make their voices Holding an election right at the in the past few years, and the whole up in a world that presents the best we young voters, it is not as useful as enheard. Head to the Voice section start of the university term means idea could be challenged. Activism, could have wished for had we lived a couraging those that have not regisof our website to check out how that many potential young voters especially young activism, is on the century or two earlier, yet we see socitered to vote to do so, for instance. you can get involved – and you won’t have a permanent term-time rise, and while the young right wing etal changes that sometimes seem to Whatever party you end up voting never know, you might find yourself address yet, making it unlikely that often makes noise online, making be the worst we have had in a good for, know that you have a voice and sitting at a desk writing this column they would return home to vote from this demographic look more involved while. Amazonian jungles burning; you can make yourself be heard. in a few years’ time… there; or if they do, they might not than left wing voters, usually it is the LGBT+ concentration camps; police Know that your vote matters, and rehave time to register at their new same few people on Twitter every violence; there are many factors that search your options in order to use it address before an election deadline. time. Regardless of political aligncan discourage the most excited of wisely. At this point, it does not matThis would eliminate many votes ment or past history, though, what is young activists. But something imter if the youth have been politically which could count against Johnson, clear is that nowadays, young people portant to remember as well is that active up until now. What matters is as younger demographics have been do care about politics, and we do care extremes create audience. It is easy to that we are from now on.

Let me vote, Boris

EXEPOSÉ | 30 SEPT 2019

COMMENT

How to survive a seminar Elinor Jones Science Editor

I. I’m Elinor. I’m… Picture the scene: you are sat around a boardroom-style table, with a nervouslooking professor and a bunch of total strangers. Just as you think the seminar lead is about to start asking you about the reading you haven’t done, he utters the dreaded words, “Tell me something interesting about yourself ”. Whilst your mind darts back and forth trying to work out if you have anything funny or worthwhile to say that will in any way make your grades better, you are simultaneously scanning the room to see the unlucky individual who has to speak up first. And nobody wants to be that guy, do they?

Queue feelings of dread, regret that past you wasn’t more organised

Dear Agony Aunt,

I’m coming to the end of my tether with my long distance relationship. We’ve been together for a long time, and when we see eachother its great, but when we don’t, I find it pretty exhausting to be honest. Being at uni all day the last thing I want to do is come home and be on Facetime all night! There’s only a year left at uni so I feel like I should just wait it out, but I’m just not sure my heart is in it anymore. Yours, tired-in-love

Dear tired-in-love,

Ah yes, the classic right person, wrong time. I think if it gets to a point where you actively avoid or dread talking to your other half, there’s a cause for concern there. Give it a couple more weeks, and maybe have a chat with them about how you’re feeling. Ultimately, life is too short to be in something that doesn’t fulfill you. Especially in your last year at uni, make the most of your time! Much love, Agony Aunt

Obviously, because you turned up hungover and late, you grabbed the only seat left, next to the guy running the session. Queue feelings of dread, regret that past you wasn’t more organised, and intense doubt as to how you got into university if you can’t say your name and where you are from. The lecturer turns to you, indicating it’s your turn. Here goes... Aside from saying majorly random things about yourself, like whether you starred on You’ve Been Framed as a kid or that you love cheese, this small, albeit inevitable, part of university life is important, as much as we all hate it. Whilst it importantly allows us to get to know our coursemates better, form a rapport with the people marking your work and gives

Image: University of Saskatchewan, flickr

Agony Aunt Dear Agony Aunt,

After very little interaction with my new housemates, whilst in the shower one of them walked in on me, and saw it all. It was incredibly awkward and we haven’t talked since. I don’t want to live here the rest of the year in this uncomfortable tension! Help!

Dear Agony Aunt,

I’ve recently come to the realisation that I’ve become infatuated with older women. Women my own age are too immature and don’t have the life experience that I so depesperately crave. It’s getting to the point where I verge on asking my friends single mothers out for a drink. How do I stop?

Yours, caught in the act

us more confidence to contribute, is unfortunately a fact of life; it’s something we will have to do at many stages of our careers, from making tea during an internship to directing board meetings. Let’s be honest as well, there will always be one person in the seminar group that is trying to show off. They’ll either try and impress by making it obvious that they’ve been on a gap year, or they will swat over the lecturer, gushing about reading his autobiography, claiming it helped them to find themselves. Just try and remember that you’re all here for the same reason, studying the same course, at the same university. Whilst it may seem daunting, everyone in that room

Yours, a desperate soul Dear caught in the act,

The first thing here is not to panic. Everybody showers! And most people naked! This will blow over. It might be an idea to invest in a lock, or discover the prexisting one and well, get using it! If anything, you can use this as an opportunity to ease off any nerves that were there previously, as you’ve very quickly gotten to know each other now! Try and make a joke of it if you can. You never know, you could be reminisicing about how this made you the best of friends in a years time. Much love, Agony Aunt

Dear Agony Aunt,

I’m going on my first date in years soon, and I’m really nervous. We’ve only met briefly once before and I’m worried it will be really awkward. I’m very into them and I don’t want to mess it up! Yours, a born again date virgin

Dear a born again date virgin,

is probably thinking the same thing as you, even if they’re a BNOC (Big Name On Campus). So just pick something and run with it. What is the worst that could happen?

There’s always one person in the seminar that’s trying to show off

Whatever year you are in, make your presence known by saying something about yourself. It doesn’t matter whether it is funny, stupid, random or boring, own it and live it, because all you can do is be you. Realistically, the majority of the room will forget what you said instantly and those that do remember might become firm friends or help you out on a bit of coursework. Be the best version of you and say whatever you want, for your introduction is only the start. What you say next is much more important.

Dear Agony Aunt,

This is hard to admit, but I’m having trouble with my vanity. I literally can’t stop looking at myself in the mirror or on my phone. It’s getting to the point where I’m completely distracted doing work or havign conversations. I’m either waiting to admire myself or for someone to bring up just how unbelievably beautiful I am. Yours, beauty-is-my-reflection Dear beauty-is-my-reflection

Firstly, there’s nothing wrong with having a type. But, let’s be careful with fetisihing these women as a result of possible unresolved issues? There are plenty of young women who are mature enough, so I don’t think thats the problem here. Definitely stay away from your friends mums, and use the age range on dating apps to your advantage! Or, just wait it out and I’m sure you will find someone who ticks all your boxes, in a healthy way!

As cliché as it sounds, the best thing to do is just be yourself. Ask questions and give eye contact, you want them to know that even though you’re nervous, you’re happy to be on this date with them! Sometimes its good on a first date for it to be activity based, or at least something like drinks or dinner so you have a prop to fiddle with if there’s an little silence here and there. If it doesn’t go how you expected, at least you tried. Things should happen naturally, and chemistry sadly cannot be forced. You may both fancy each other but doesn’t mean its meant to be! Go in with an open mind and try to enjoy it, regardless of the outcome. Good luck!

Much love, Agony Aunt

Dear a desperate soul,

Well, there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of your apperance, if anything its an important thing to believe. However, it sounds like you need to chill out a bit. If you truly believe in your beauty, having other people reaffirm this shouldn’t matter to you. There’s also no need to have a look at your appearance that often, I doubt much will have changed in a day. Perhaps accquiring a new hobby might be a shout, my love?

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30 SEPT 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

Features

FEATURES EDITORS: Jaysim Hanspal William Harrop

A matter of vape and death

William Harrop, Features Editor, discusses the hypocrisy of America’s new vaping restrictions

OLLOWING a string of tragic deaths, President Donald Trump has moved swiftly to propose meaningful legislation to regulate what he sees to be the greatest threat facing America’s youth: vaping.

There are over 450 reported cases of lung illness from vaping The long-term side effects of vapes and e-cigarettes has always been cloaked in uncertainty, and now , as the BBC report, with over 450 cases of lung illness tied to vaping in the US this year, people seem to have good reason to worry. However, spectators within the US and around the world have been quick to point out the glaring hypocrisy of the manner in which the US government has tackled this issue compared with its lacklustre response to mass shootings. This was demonstrated perhaps most famously by Democratic Senator and 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders, who quipped “Now do AR15s” on Twitter in response to news of Trump’s proposed ban of flavoured e-cigarettes. It is Trump’s a p p a r e n t concern for the wellbeing of US teens that has struck many as being the most flagrant part of this hypocrisy.

Image: Vaping360

Last year, following the tragic Parkland school shooting during which 17 were killed and a further 17 injured, the ‘March For Our Lives’ movement was formed, spearheaded by survivors of the shooting. What followed was a mass movement of 1.2 million young Americans who marched, protested and campaigned for meaningful gun legislation, unfortunately to no avail. Gun control joins climate change in being one of the issues young people in America feel most strongly about, as well as being among the issues the US government does the least to address. Trump’s proposed ban of all flavoured vapes, intended to discourage children from vaping, demonstrates how detached the US government’s understanding of what is best for its youth truly is.

More have died in ICE custody than have as a result of vaping illnesses

The explanation for this seemingly disproportionate response to an issue dwarfed by gun-related problems is a well-known one, but it bears repeating. As with many problems in the US, this hypocrisy can be boiled down to political self-interest, money and race, all of which point to some worrying conclusions about how America prioritises its citizens.

Regardless of how many more are killed by guns, vaping is easier to address Let’s start with the self-interest and the money side of things, fittingly embodied by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Interestingly enough, gun lobby groups like the NRA don’t owe their influence to lobbying, with the organisation only spending a paltry $4.1 million on lobbying in 2017 (compared with the $32.2 million spent by the National Association of Realtors). Instead, the NRA builds its influence on the back of financing elected officials, (helping 44 get elected in 2016) and through the weight carried by its membership of five million politically engaged potential voters. The matter is made all the more difficult by the widespread support for enshrining the Second Amendment in the US, especially in the Republican Party. Therefore, when the electorate of US Senators and Congressmen relies on NRA funding or pro-gun voters, it would become an act of political suicide to support legislation calling for tighter gun restrictions. The e-cigarette and vaping industry doesn’t even possess a small fraction of this financial and political muscle, and consequently the task of regulating it after it has been proven

to be harmful to US citizens is a relatively easy one. Regardless of how many more people are killed by assault rifles than a vape pen, the state of US politics make it far easier to deal with the latter. To politicians, therefore, the value of American lives depends almost entirely on this game of winning over the electorate, placating interest groups and lining pockets. The fact that Trump, a man whose election was aided significantly by the NRA, claims his proposed ban of flavoured vapes is in the interest of America’s youth simply reinforces a long-standing trend of selective, politically motivated faux compassion.

Vape restrictions show how the US government has its priorities out of order Race is a further issue which extends to both the gun debate and the US government’s move towards restricting vapes. The fact that the vape issue is one with the potential to affect all children, not solely people of colour in deprived areas or those detained at the Mexican border, goes some way in explaining the rapidity of the government’s response. In fact, Donald Trump even cited Melania Trump’s concern for their 13-yearold son, Barron, as a motivation for banning flavoured vapes, indicating that vaping illness is a threat to everyone, including the country’s most privileged. Meanwhile, at the Mexican border, it has already been pointed out that more children have died under the custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) than as a result of vaping. The deaths of Hispanic people, it would seem, carry less weight to the US Government. This follows a trend in the US, whereby issues affecting minorities have been proven to not receive the same treatment as those affecting white Americans. The Government response to the deadliest shooting of the year so far, at El Paso for example,

perpetrated by a white nationalist with an anti-immigrant manifesto, failed to recognise or adequately address the Hispanophobia that fuelled this terrorist attack. What’s more, less still was done to recognise the role of Trump’s demonisation of Hispanic people in inspiring the shooting, branding them ‘invaders’ and ‘illegal aliens’. Commenting on Twitter, Trump even proposed marrying gun control legislation with immigration reform, a white supremacist tactic with a long history in US politics that favours making it harder for minorities to purchase weapons, whilst still protecting the rights of white Americans to bear arms. This isn’t to suggest that Trump’s move to restrict harmful e-cigarettes is necessarily wrong. What this recent discussion over the disparity between US gun laws and vape restriction announces to the world, however, is that the priorities of the US government (and not just the Trump administration) are out of order.

Race is an issue that bleeds into both the vaping and gun debate In the US gun control debate, there is a phrase that is often repeated: that if America didn’t pass meaningful gun control after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, in which 20 children between the ages of six and seven years old were killed, it never would. But this doesn’t mean the debate is over. Moments of discussion like Trump’s vape control legislation remind us of that fact. There still remains promise for the next generation, as campaigns like ‘March For Our Lives’ have shown. Recent surveys of 18-29-yearolds show young people are less likely to own guns than in previous generations, and 2020 candidates like Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders all give cause for hope. It may take some time, but we shouldn’t rule out the possibility for change.

EXEPOSÉ | 30 SEPT 2019

FEATURES

Til debt do us part

Peter Syme breaks down the rising threat of high tuition fees and its impact on our livelihoods

EBT is becoming more ubiquitous; gone are the days when you could buy a house and raise a family off a minimum wage salary, and degrees are becoming more necessary for a stable future, with tuition fees in the UK now more than nine times more expensive than when they were first introduced in 1998. Comedian and host of ‘Patriot Act’ Hasan Minhaj testified in front of the US Congress earlier this month on the topic, affirming that whilst “people aren’t making more money, college is objectively way more expensive.” The recent college admissions scandal was also raised, owing to its exemplification of the privilege that comes with wealth.

“People aren’t making more money because college is more expensive” Most notably was actress Lori Loughlin, who the FBI accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get her daughter into University of Southern Calfornia. Whilst many have to struggle through poverty and take on vast loans, others can buy their way in regardless of merit. The issue isn’t confined to one side of the Atlantic, either. The Independent reported that English students now pay the most in the world, with the average annual cost in the USA being £7,518, and just £346 in France. With the Liberal Democrats breaking their pledge to vote against a rise in tuition fees, the

Image: Free Cooper Union

coalition government almost tripled them to £9,000 a year. Though with their surge in popularity given their strong anti-Brexit stance, it can be concluded that these fees have become the accepted norm, with the 2010 protests essentially in vain. In summary, whilst degrees are becoming less of a guarantee of employment, they are becoming more expensive and thus student debt is rife amongst our generation.

Bernie Sanders has pledged to eradicate $1.6 trillion of student debt At this point in time, debt is a burden that many are willing to take on in pursuit of improved employment prospects. However, this is not necessarily the case, as research from The Sutton Trust suggests that apprentices actually earn more than graduates from non-elite universities over the course of their career, although students from Russell Group Universities earn the most. With this discrepancy, the cost of a degree should be considered in further detail; is it right that students at former polytechnics pay the same amount as graduates from Oxbridge? The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that while Psychology graduates’ median salary five years after university is

Image: LSE Library

less than £25,000, those who study Dentistry and Medicine can expect more than £45,000. Whilst you do not start repaying the loan until you make £25,725, this still means that many graduates will be encumbered by the weight of their debt for much longer than their peers. Nonetheless, the essential question is: should people have a right to tuition-free higher education? Whilst apprenticeships are becoming more popular, it is unsurprising that this has coincided with the rise in tuition fees — debt is not an option for everybody. Education has been recognised as a human right since the first European Convention on the topic in 1952.

The concept of free higher education is sometimes dismissed as unrealistic, but when considering what we are charged in comparison to other countries, it could at least be made cheaper. In fact, much of the current system is reliant on changes brought about in the last thirty years, with the Student Loans Company being founded under Thatcher’s government in 1989, and tuition fees only first introduced across the UK by New Labour in 1998. Initially, students were only required to pay up to £1,000 a year, which accounting for inflation would still be below £2,000 today. Furthermore, maintenance grants were replaced by loans the following year, further adding to the debt one is likely to have to take on to get a degree. You only need to look beyond Hadrian’s Wall to see a country where education is predominantly free. In Scotland, those who are under 25 and without children or a partner have their tuition paid for by the government, whilst those outside this definition still only pay up to £1,800.

The feasibility of eradicating student loans, or even writing off all the debt, may be more tenable than it appears at first glance. Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has not fully committed to the latter, despite claims from some MPs and right-wing blog Guido Fawkes that they have made a U-turn on this position. It is an important caveat that this was only ever suggested by Shadow Ministers. Corbyn’s policy, as first announced in the 2015 leadership contest, is to scrap tuition fees in favour of maintenance grants, which could be paid for with a seven per cent rise in National Insurance for those earning more than £50,000 a year, and a 2.5 per cent rise in corporation tax.

Tuition fees in the UK now more than nine times more expensive since 1998 Meanwhile, the man considered by many to be Corbyn’s parallel in the US, Bernie Sanders, has pledged to eradicate student debt from public universities altogether – a total of $1.6 trillion, which accounts for 7.5 per cent of the country’s GDP. His payment plan is different, as it would primarily be paid for by bankers, with a 0.5 per cent fee on all stock trades being the highest tax. It is expected to raise two trillion dollars in ten years. When looking at the life-changing outcome, just a minute sacrifice for some of the most privileged and wealthy in society, free higher education suddenly seems a real possibility in the near future.

FEATURES

30 SEPT 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

Yellowhammer explained

Anne Chafer breaks down the government's no-deal worst case scenario and what it might mean for students

ELLOWHAMMER, Kingfisher, Black Swan – they are not names of dystopian corporations, although they sound like they could be. They are clandestine operations being devised by the government of the United Kingdom in case a no-deal Brexit takes place. And one wonders, how accurate are these? What is the future for both UK and EU citizens if the country manages to exit the European Union without a deal? And why should we, the student community, be worried? The Institute for Government defines Operation Yellowhammer as the “government’s contingency planning for its response to the most severe anticipated short-term disruption under a no-deal Brexit – known as its ‘reasonable worst case’ scenario. It covers 12 key areas of risk, including food and water supplies, healthcare services, trade in goods and transport systems”. A full breakdown of the plan can be found on their website, but some of the government’s predictions include shortage of medicines and warehouse space for food – hence the Huffington Post stating that we might have to eat Christmas food in November – as well as increased immigration checks, delays in many an aspect and “gaps in healthcare cover”.

Some of the government's predictions include food and medicine shortages Changes in aviation agreements and airspace are not mentioned in the Yellowhammer report. A law was passed which ruled out the possibility of leaving without a deal, but after MPs voted for the government to release the Yellowhammer documents on 9 September and with Parliament having been

Image: Chatham House

suspended, the situation is as unclear as ever. While there is a plethora of information about Yellowhammer, nothing has been published or said about the other two scenarios; Kingfisher and Black Swan. We only know of them because of The Sunday Times, which stated this on 11 September 2019. Reportedly, Kingfisher involves support for struggling British businesses, and Black Swan is said to be a “disaster scenario”. But nothing else has been made public about it.

The government has spent over £4 billion in preparing for no deal What would make Black Swan different from Yellowhammer, if the latter is meant to be a “reasonable worst case” scenario? Well, Black Swan could potentially be a more accurate report.

Yellowhammer could be described as idealistic to say the least, given that the government does not provide enough information about its plans to mitigate certain factors considered in the scenario, such as protests or disruption in traffic and fuel supplies. Increases in the price of gas and energy, medicines, and other products that are primarily outsourced are contemplated as a possibility, but no clear solution has been detailed. The phrase “no overall shortage of food but a reduction in availability” seems like a stretch, and stating that the government is “concerned about panic buying” is a severe understatement,

given previous occasions when this happened – the snowstorms of early 2018 come to mind, for instance – Black Swan might be a more cynical yet realistic document, which does not seem to be getting much attention, and for a reason.

Health centres may become nearly impossible for people to access These documents and reports have been dismissed by Conservative voters as being fear-mongering. Yet they represent very real possibilities that would impact not just specific groups - such as international citizens living in the UK, people who are already struggling financially, those who heavily rely on services like the NHS and even us as students - but pretty much everybody in the United Kingdom as well as British expats. But what does it mean, specifically, to us as students? Well, for one, your typical health centres, which already have long waiting lists for anything that can’t be solved with a quick visit to your GP, might become nearly impossible to access. Medicines might be in short supply, so some treatments might become too expensive to be offered through public healthcare. Those with low incomes might find it prohibitively expensive to afford basic products such as food and fuel, as well as over-the-counter medicines. There is no mention in the Yellowhammer reports of education-related changes, which is already telling, but the financial struggles that it implies might impact on academic funding. Maintenance loans for UK nationals might become a thing of the past, and higher education might either

reduce in quality (with less research being undertaken, for instance) or it might become too expensive to be as accessible as it is at the moment. Whether it is accessible enough right now, that’s a whole different discussion. But what we can easily predict is that some international academics might have to leave; some of us might have to go back to our homes and suspend our courses if life in the UK becomes too expensive; the Erasmus scheme might cease to exist. The government has spent over £4 billion in planning for the possibility of no deal –buying planes and ships, paying groups of people to plan for these situations– and it is only ironic that this money will be going into the planning of potential scarcity, financially and otherwise. A final vote on Brexit could be expensive, but depending on the outcome it might put a stop to the expenditure of monetary and human resources, and the scenario that Yellowhammer poses.

Black Swan is said to be a disaster scenario but little else about it has been made public Maybe we should trust the imaginary Black Swan in our heads a little bit more. Prepare for the worst; that’s what every EU student probably has in their plans. And yet, there might be more thought behind the “leaking” of the plans than we think. Wired published an article on 8 September analysing Boris Johnson’s moves using game theory , an economic discipline that has been prominently used to study nuclear conflicts between the US and the USSR. This, in short, is used in the article to explain how an attitude of volatility and irrational decision-making might coerce one’s opponent into making concessions. Johnson fits the profile – and Yellowhammer might be just another step of the plan to disrupt the British government as an institution to the point where it becomes an issue for the European Union. Only time will tell whether the Yellowhammer, a European bird, is a good guide, or whether we will have a Black Swan perching on the other side of Halloween.

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STUDY BREAK

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Image: Xuan Che

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Humans of exeter

Sleepy Moggy: the art of lying down

Brit humor: Blackadder and beyond

straight fire AT firehouse

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LIFESTYLE EDITORS Izzy Cole Anna Romanovska

ARTS + LIT EDITORS Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu Zach Mayford

MUSIC EDITORS Richard Ainslie Bryony Gooch

SCREEN EDITORS Jonathan Chern Sam Thomson

STUDY BREAK Puzzles by Matthew & Neha 30 SEP 2019 | EXEPOSÃ‰

lifestyle

HUMANS OF LIZA

Image credits: Photographs: Anna Romanovska Left to Right: OpenClipart-Vectors (pixabay) mohammed hassan (pixabay)

People of Exeter provide an insight on their day-to-da

HIS issue is a celebration of Exeter's humans. We were inspired by the 'Humans of New York' project. Campaigns such as this allow us to meet people unlike ourselves and appreciate their unique personalities. It was difficult and exhausting, showing us how much energy Brandon Slanton and others who run similar accounts need to put into the process. All interviews were primarily conducted by Amy with Anna trying to approach people and take their pictures during one afternoon. Special thanks to the following humans who made this happen: Aaron Loose, Isabelle Gray, Harry Caton, Ellie Cook, Emily Pirie, Izzy Cole, Anna Romanovska and Amy Butterworth

Year and Degree: 3rd Year Art History and Visual Culture What’s your personal style? I think it started developing a couple of years ago. First of all I got interested in 60s fashion so because I’m slim and tall it kind of went well with my figure, you know A line dresses, tweedy kind of stuff. So I started collecting actual vintage pieces. Then I realised I wanted to limit my wardrobe to just a few colours like red and yellow, so most of my clothes match up. And I just grew a collection of red and yellow clothes! Now I just mix and match and even with just a few items I can create a very interesting look. Who are your biggest style inspirations? It’s hard to say just like that. Definitely Mary Quant, Noel Fielding, David Bowie of course; I think those are the main ones. Also I have quite a few indirections in style. One is 60s, kind of minimalist. I also kind of like cowboy and ranch wear. So I really like cowboy shorts, boots and I think it kind of links with my love for rock and metal; somehow it looks very cool and what a rock and metal person should look like. I’m not sure if this makes any sense.

MIRANDA Year and Degree: 1st Year Geography and Sustainability Cool, tell us about your personal style? My personal style is pretty much throw on whatever’s there even if it looks stupid. Okay, and what kind of music are you into? Pretty much everything, I do like jazz.

FRASER Year and Degree: 2nd Year Sport and Exercise Science What’s your favourite meme? Don’t put me on the spot like that! I’ve got to say I’m a fan of the spiderman meme. You know the one from the old Sam Raimi ones you know the one of Oswald saying you know I’m kind of a scientist myself. Yeah I mean a bit of everything. Are you a bit of a scientist yourself? I am a bit of a scientist myself, yes!

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EDITORS: Izzy Cole and Anna Romanovska

EXETER

ay lives, inspirations and favourite memes

NATHAN Year and Degree: 3rd Year Business and Management. What’s the best thing to happen to you this year? The best thing to happen to me this year is that I finally got into Exeter! What’syour favourite film? Favourite film? Definitely Iron Man 1 2 and 3, all day! And why is that? Basically, if Iron Man is some sort of superhero, he totally depends on his friends instead of, instead of getting some sort of illusion and injury.

MICHAEL Year and Degree: 3rd Year History Is there a quote or mantra that you live by? It doesn’t matter what actually happens, the quality of the anecdote matters more. Has that ever been put into practice? Yes, too many times. Do you want to elaborate? I was asked for a threesome at Vaults by the bartender.

ABBY Degree: PGCert in low intensity psychological interventions Can you talk to me a bit about that? It’s half with the uni and half with the NHS and it's learning about different ways to help people with mild to moderate mental health problems like depression and anxiety. What’s your personal style? I like bright and cute things at the moment with lots of pink and lilac and baby blue. And what are your inspirations for your style? I was living in Taiwan so 'Kawaii' stuff.

HANIFE Year and Degree: 2nd Year History. What mantra or quote do you live by? Everything happens for a reason. What’s your favourite film? Probably the Harry Potter series. What have you enjoyed about Fresher's so far? You know being on a committee and promoting, you know, getting people to join a society, promoting for the committee and having fun.

30 SEPT 2019 |

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lifestyle

EDITORS: Izzy Cole and Anna Romanovska

Say no to online abuse

30 SEP 2019 |

Neha Shaji explores the dangers and impacts of online harassment CONTENT WARNING: Online harrassment

AM going to start out by saying that I don’t think the onus is on victims of online harassment to hold the weight of protecting themselves. Online harassment is, in my own opinion, no less than getting harassed on the street, or in any physical setting. However, the blatantly obvious difference here is that an online presence offers, for some, an often opaque veneer of anonymity. This of course, leads to people saying things they - as several phrase it - normally would never say. Jesy Nelson is the latest of several high profile figures who have spoken out against online abuse, having been referred to as ‘ugly’ compared to her bandmates, and other viciously targeted personal comments. Other celebrities or political figures choose not to speak out; and instead hide or delete their online presence in the hopes of avoiding such comments. It is often the case that these targeted figures tend to be women; either outspoken women, or women who do not fit society’s rigidly impenetrable criteria of beauty daring to exist in a toxic fashion and beauty industry. For an instance of the for-

É If these issues affect you, you can get in touch with: Reed Mews Student Health Centre: 01392 676606 Exeter Nightline: 01392 724000 Samaritans UK: 116 123 The Mix: 0808 808 4994 YoungMinds Crisis Messenger: text YM to 85258

mer, I’ll lead you to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the American congresswoman. Regardless of any opinion of her politics, the majority of the comments on her Twitter are not political, instead exaggerating her physical features, demeaning her, slut-shaming her and commenting on the clothes she wore when she was in college. This treatment is not confined to any country or gender; men (often queer men) are subjected to homophobic insults, in India, female politicians across the left-right divide are handed out similar treatment.

ONLINE PRESENCE OFFERS FOR SOME AN OPAQUE VENEER OF ANONYMITY

Yes, women are often told that to escape online harassment, they shouldn’t post photos of themselves, they shouldn’t share their personal details, they should filter messages that they receive, they should let everyone know if they have a significant other to avoid unwanted attention. They should also not post photos where they’re wearing skirts above the knee, to avoid slut-shaming, or skirts below the knee, to avoid being called 'religiously oppressed'. They shouldn’t be too unattractive, people don’t like that, nor be too attractive, people dislike that as well. But if someone tells you not to wear a short skirt to avoid harassment in real

The usual discourse surrounding online harassment holds it up as somehow different from verbal harassment in person. Yet it is inevitable in our society run on online platforms and technology that the internet is but an extension of the physical world - as evidenced by the countless figures who distance themselves from public life, or engage in self-harm due to this treatment. The backbone of this argument remains that people would not be saying this in ‘real life’. But online life is real life, and whatever aggressive criminal persona you put on online, it is still you putting on said persona.

Image: Pixabay

The coffee conundrum

life, is that not victim blaming? This is why I think that the discourse around online viciousness should center around preventing the harassment, with punitive measures from both online platforms and institutions to which these characters belong.

THE INTERNET IS BUT AN EXTENSION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD This would be more productive than telling people not to take up a public platform, or the other ‘protective’ measures I listed above. You may notice I haven’t referred to this phenomenon as ‘trolling’ - calling it that lightens the impact, holds it as sepa-

rate from the sexualised harassment it often is. The first step isn't to tell people to stay safe, it's to tell people that this behaviour is exactly the same as doing it in person and should be condemend.

Image: Pixabay

Two Lifestyle Writers battle it out over which coffee provider they believe is the best on campus

COSTA

N order to compare cafes, price and quality are the two most essential factors to take into account. The cheapest coffee at Costa is £2.40, which is more expensive than Pret, where it is 99p to get a filter coffee. The Market Place has a similar price. Even though Costa is the more expensive cafe, there is a possibility to vary the cup size. Meaning that one could get any size of coffee from extra small to large.

THE DECORATIVE CUPS ARE THE CHERRY ON TOP Costa has an advantage for those who are not coffee addicts: this lies in the fact that the caffeine in their drinks is not as strong as that in Pret. Thus, it has less side effects and could be healthier. It could also mean that the quality of sleep could be better after having a coffee from Costa. In the summer, Costa has many iced coffees and peach ice tea. The ice tea is considered to be a unique factor. When compared to Lipton it can be viewed as a healthier

option. Due to a tea bag, peach juice and ice cubes being used, it reduces the preservatives. To a certain extent, the sugar is reduced. It also has many themed drinks for each season, much like Pret. For the autumn, it is bonfire-themed, and for the winter, it is winter-themed. The extra shot that one could get, gives an extra kick one needs in such a drab and depressing time of the year. But, the winter proves to be particularly advantageous for Costa. If anyone is wondering why, the answer lies in the themed cups which Pret doesn’t have. In my opinion, the decorative cups are the ‘cherry on the top’. Unlike Pret, Market Place or Comida, Costa also has a special seating area and is an actual cafe, where one could meet friends during coffee breaks. Although Pret has a couple of tables, in my opinion it is simply not enough. Aakz Karri

COMIDA

HEN it comes to getting my regular fix of caffeine, I don't like to mess around. I like my coffee how I like my thrills: cheap, strong and doesn't leave a bad taste in the back of my mouth. No longer do I faff around with such concepts of whipped cream, sugar or (dare I say it) milk. But in spite of my seemingly no-nonsense approach to coffee, I am exceptionally fussy on where I get it from. While the 99p filter from Pret sounds like a good idea, the actual beverage is extremely bitter. About as bitter as Pret must be at the idea of selling an inexpensive drink. Costa Coffee is not only expensive, but also the very brew itself tastes like dishwater. No thanks. When I go for coffee on campus, there is but one outlet that captures the perfect balance of my coffee dreams. The coffee is inexpensive, yet it doesn’t taste so. While Comida is typically known for its

Images: Emma Smith (Unsplash)

wraps, trust me when I say that their £1 filter coffee is the best coffee you will get on campus. No longer will your eyes stream as you sip the bitterness of Pret's filter coffee, knowing this coffee was not made with love.

WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING MY FIX OF CAFFEINE, I DON'T LIKE TO MESS ABOUT Indeed, you might actually be able to afford a decent cup of coffee as, for a mere 1p extra, you can actually enjoy your Cup o' Joe. Once you get past the awkward shuffle, trying to work out whether you have to join the never-ending queue for wrap-eaters or just standing to the left, you will quickly be provided with any coffee of your choosing, with the freedom to walk away knowing that the campus is your oyster. That is, until you inevitably realise you have nowhere to sit on campus and end up spending ten minutes to find a seat. Bryony Gooch, Music Editor

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Testament testimony

Will Evans expresses his thoughts on the long awaited sequel MARGARET ATWOOD THE TESTAMENTS 10 SEPTEMBER 2019

ARGRET Atwood’s newest novel (and highly anticipated sequel to her 1984 release The Handmaid’s Tale) The Testaments, was released earlier this season to much celebration and acclaim. The regime of Gilead has been enjoying renewed attention as a set text for A-Level students, an ongoing television series and the analogy used by many contemporary feminists for the problems that women are still facing today. Atwood could not have picked a better time to revisit her unique vision of dystopia with three new narratives and a broader insight into the world that she has created, but does her feminism hold up?

TESTAMENTS EXPLORES THREE NEW NARRATIVES AFTER OFFRED’S The novel is providing the insights of women who have grown up inside Gilead and know nothing else. Agnes is the adopted daughter of a high-ranking commander; Daisy

is the daughter of two members of the resistance against Gilead Image: Cherry Anastasia in Canada. Punctuating these two primary stories is the testament of the iconic Aunt Lydia who played a core role throughout the first novel as a powerful and looming authority of the new regime. Of the three narratives, Aunt Lydia’s stands out. The character is complex and serves as a vehicle to illustrate the ways that paranoia and indoctrination operate, even at the highest levels of the dictatorship. Agnes’ narrative is the most faithful to the style of the first novel, exploring the mundane normalities of life in Gilead which is all underlined by the fear that is instilled in subjects of the state. The story outside of Gilead - about the resistance in Canada - is the weakest, feeling at points as though it is dramatic and thrilling for the sake of it, without truly contributing to Atwood’s vision of dystopia. Offred’s story was passive and limited while the combined narratives of these three new characters intertwine to elucidate Gilead as a fully functioning, multifaceted country. Atwood’s attempts at Gilead is no longer a hypothetical “What if?” bringing Gilead into the real but exists in a complete world, in our world. world make the novel feel strikingly relevant

considering the use of iconic imagery from the series being used in feminist protests and the Pro-Choice movement. Marchers wearing the red cloaks and white hoods of the Handmaids protested the Alabama Abortion Bill in America earlier this year. However, the claiming of The Handmaids Tale for Western feminism is perhaps short sighted and overlooks what Atwood’s feminism does truly foreground. Of course, parallels can be drawn between the extreme reaction against abortion in Trump’s US and the laws of Gilead but a much more unsettling comparison can be made between the novels and women who do not exist in the Western World. It was only in 2018 that the first driving licenses were issued to women in Saudi Arabia; laws still exist throughout the world to prohibit women from leaving their home without their husbands permission. An estimated 3 million girls are at risk of facing female genital mutilation yearly in countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The questions to be asked are not then whether Atwood’s feminism is something we want to claim but whether we, as feminists in the Western world, were right to claim it in the first place.

Words of Wisdom

Richard Ainslie, Music Editor, shares the quote of the fortnight

HO was Hunter S. Thompson? He took all the drugs, right? Well, yes, but you might say of Hunter S. Thompson that above all he lived aggressively. He lived in the manner of motorcycle gangs, speed freaks and acid heads, a thousand miles an hour on the edge of sense and sanity. His philosophy had a V8 engine and a whiff of petrol, which he lays out in this quote: ‘Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!’. And pretty and wellpreserved he wasn’t. He ended his life after years of heavy drug use and even heavier writing, having always lived with his feet hanging

off the edge, staring down. As Term One rumbles on like a great green juggernaut, and we all nurse our hangovers with a fistful of flyers and a cup of red bull, I remember the man’s warning, not to hold back, not to give in, and that it’s time for TP Wednesday. Grab Term One by the shoulders and embrace the fear and loathing. And remember, the only people who know where the edge is are the ones who have gone over it.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and wellpreserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘‘Wow! What a ride!’’

Image: TravisAir Force

Image: BamPop

Hunter S. Thompson

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arts + lit

EDITORS: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu and Zach Mayford

30 SEPT 2019 |

The art of lying down

In the wake of Rees-Mogg’s parliamentary snooze, Erica Barnes catalogues sleep-scapes

REXIT is everywhere, like an ugly case of chickenpox. If it were a virus then Jacob Rees-Mogg is the anti-vax mother. Searching for relief is perfectly human – and comedy is perhaps the most human form. The current flavour of laughs is memes. Writing about memes is inherently uncool. However, the recent mockery of Jacob Rees-Mogg reclining in Parliament is as politically relevant as any Guardian cartoon. In the words of sculptor Anish Kapoor, “artists are part of the story of a response”. Memes are a refusal to take chauvinistic politics seriously — a laugh in its face.

Ancient Greek art marks the emergence of a foppish death fit for the rise of Western theatre. The Dying Gaul is a Roman remake of a Greek bronze sculpture. It is the figure of a gladiator, slumped over himself, legs sprawled. On his right flank is a gash — presumably mortal. It is naïve to read Rees-Mogg’s slouch

Take a walk round any stuffy stately home and gawp up at the oil portraits. Sir Peter Lely’s grandiose painting of Sir Christopher Wren is a staged pat on the back from one rich white guy to another. Wren reclines inside a golden frame over Industrial London. He points a colonialist finger at a globe; this is how Jacob Rees-

LOOK TO ANISH KAPOOR; ART IS RESISTANCE

IN EARLY ART, LYING DOWN COMMONLY DENOTES DEATH Art does not need recognition from high society. Yet, what better tool to show how degrading his pose was than his own Etonian culture? Lying down is an agelong artistic motif. We lie down when we’re tired, relaxed, or trying to emotionally process that Boris Johnson is our Prime Minister. Most prominently in early art, lying down has portrayed death. Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian art emphasised upright bodies; in times of deprived medical care, vitality was valued.

Look back to Anish Kapoor; art is resistance. Lely’s century also saw the rise of “peasant” realism. Artists like Van Gogh and Gustave Coubert (see ‘The Stone Breakers’) depicted rigid worker bodies. In a period of rapid Industrialisation, they painted ragged farmers, knotted hands, and bagged eyes.

Image: Jacob George and Liz West

as defeat, not smugness. What else is expected from the ghost of a Victorian Poor House owner? The Dying Gaul’s wound is beautiful; it’s neat and it’s hidden. It says nothing of the slavery of gladiators beyond the rope at his throat. This is what lying down has come to symbolise in art —the freedom to not work or suffer.

Mogg sees himself in the mirror. It’s aggravating. We’re staring down the barrel of food and medication shortages, with our European neighbours left high and dry and refugees left wet and drowning. All whilst one of the perpetrators of it all slouched back on the fine pine benches of Parlia- ment like a well-fed cat.

We live in a reactive age of satire and irony. For example, “Leeks-Mogg” is an innocent, delightfully crafted copy of ReesMogg’s slouch made of leeks, which came second in a Gloucestershire vegetable show. It’s so British it will make your eyes water. Rees-Mogg may have replied to it on Twitter in glee — memes can be reductive, making jokes until we forget something’s severity. Yet it is somehow, and perhaps not deliberately, a perfect protest. Its sculptor held a country fair in middle England, the most ReesMogg-ian of events, hostage in her mockery. This is a satirical attack, pulling Rees-Mogg from the comfort of a commons bench into the spiky, raw world of vegetable-based sculpture.

Digital Dalis and pixel Picassos Olivia Gomez explores the blockbusting world of VFX artistry

OUTUBE is the land of accidental discoveries. It is full of hidden gems that provide endless entertainment and amazing quality content. One of those hidden gems is Corridor Digital, a channel that specializes in making sketches with insane VFX art. Corridor Digital went viral in 2012 with a video called ‘The Glitch’ in which popular videogame characters, such as Mario and Link, try to (unsuccessfully) escape a glitch that is messing with their reality. With ideas like these, springing from random experiences and inside jokes, the crew manages to make incredibly creative videos full of action and comedy. Some of their most popular videos include ‘The World’s Longest Lightsabre’ (2018), ‘Tiny Guns’ (2017), ‘Portal Trick Shots’ (2014) and more. In order to make these videos, the crew has to tap into a lot of technical and scientific knowledge. Providing a realistic illusion often means being aware of the laws of physics and paying all the possible attention to detail. On their second channel, Corridor Crew,

the filmmakers explain the process behind creating their sketches, consequently bringing to light the amount of thinking they have to do in order to pull off their ideas.

VFX ARTISTS HAVE TO INFUSE PHYSICS TO BRING ART TO LIFE One example is a video titled ‘VFX Breakdown: Portal Trick Shots’ which explains the mathematical procedure they went through in order to end up with a scientifically realistic product. This also means that they have to use a lot of equipment to be able to get the right shots. A significant part of their equipment collection is made by the crew themselves, showcasing a whole other set of skills that these artists possess and use in order to make high quality content. Of course, not all of their work is animated. Corridor Crew members often talk about the importance of using a mix of practical and

digital effects in order to achieve the most realistic result. This level of detail-orientation is what makes them so good at what they do. Not only are they great filmmakers, they are also uncontroversial, a quality that is sometimes difficult to find in today’s world. Unlike other types of art, the main goal of VFX isn’t to provide the consumer with a social critique. Instead, it is rather more interested in creating out-of-this-world illusions that look extremely realistic yet absolutely unbelievable. A reliance on the technical side of VFX art and a focus on delivering entertaining content has probably helped Corridor stay out of trouble.

focuses on VFX short films whilst the other channels cover topics such as BTS of their main channel videos, podcasts and gaming. The crew often collaborates with big brands such as Microsoft, Warner Bros. Games and Disney to create amazing VFX art in films and video games. Corridor Digital’s work uncovered a whole new filmmaking demand and they have thoroughly succeeded at supplying it.

THEY CREATE REALISTIC YET UNBELIEVABLE ILLUSIONS All their hard work has certainly paid off. Ever since going viral in 2012, they’ve been growing exponentially and now have four different channels with a combined subscriber count of 12.53 million. The main channel

Image: Sharon McCutcheon and SVG

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EDITORS: Cherry-Anastasia Boroceanu and Zach Mayford

30 SEPT 2019 |

Sentences in Prison

Elinor Jones, Science Editor, risks it all by shining a light on writers behind bars

OURNALISTS for centuries have faced challenges across the world, facing threats and accusations of illegality every day. Whether they seek to expose the truth or express an opinion on world events, journalists continually walk the line between free speech and incarceration, with more than 250 behind bars in 2018 according to CNBC. High-profile cases, such as Edward Snowden, have caused controversy in the past.

THE BAILLEE-GIFFORD PRIZE NOMINATED THE PRISON MEMOIR With China, Turkey and Egypt making up more than half of all imprisonments, many of these facing anti-state charges accused of being

part of or aiding terrorist organisations and fake news allegations. Three years ago, Ahmet Altan was first jailed following Turkey’s failed coup. In 2018, he released a prison memoir. and was jailed again The Baillee-Gifford prize, worth £50,000 to the winner, long-listed the book this September. The memoir covers Altan’s time behind bars, and according to the Turkish government, foments further revolutionary sentiment. For some, it is therefore criminal. Altan described the pain of never seeing his family again,and other authors and journalists have spoken up in support, saying that he has been denied of freedom to speak out. In China, 47 journalists were put in jail, with just under a fifth being detained without charge, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), linked to persecution of ethnic

minorities in the country. 25 reporters were put behind bars in Egypt, after mass trials were performed on journalists, a large proportion held under false news allegations. The continuous discussion around the topic is essential, and maintaining a dialogue between the public and journalists is crucial to ensuring transparency in an otherwise murky area. This discussion is being kept alive by fellow members of the journalism community, who are campaigning for the injustice of fellow journalists’ imprisonment, being activists to overturn oppression of freedom of speech. Solidarity has been building with groups such as Free Turkey Media, set up by organisations campaigning for freedom of expression. Similar initiatives have aided the freedom of three Al Jazeera staff from prisons in Egypt, with those incarcerated saying the thought of

those fighting for justice helped them through the lowest points of their time behind bars, highlighting the core belief that media freedom is a collective effort between all nations, with understanding generated by open communication and support. World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May, is a community effort to remember that journalists face challenges of harassment and intimidation throughout their career. Workers in the media come together to acknowledge and praise those who risk their lives and their freedom in order to bring people the greatest level of evidence and truth. As young journalists, we stand together with our colleagues, and will fight together against the injustices they may face in their line of work.

Our lord, the art in Devon Zach Mayford, Arts + Lit Editor, accidentally finds a local artists’ studio

HEN I walked past the house I had to double-take. The normal house on its normal street was covered with gaudy signs and arrows, arranged like bunting in the front drive. In black and yellow, they read: DEVON ARTISTS NETWORK OPEN STUDIOS. But surely there couldn’t be an art gallery inside a semi-detached house I walked past on my way to university? I had to look inside and see for myself.

I edged past a family car and up the drive to the front door, and pressed the bell - except it didn’t budge. I pulled at it and it shifted, drawing a string on a pulley system around the doorframe and setting off a distant chime. A woman who would introduce herself as local artist Susie Bower came to the door with a smile and welcomed me to her open house studio.

THE NETWORK INCLUDES OVER 130 ARTISTS AROUND DEVON As it turns out, the project was part of the Devon Artists Network’s Open Studios event from the 7 to 22 September, as the signs suggested. They created open house viewings in over 130 locations around Devon, including 16 right here in Exeter. From stained glass to sculptures to collage and painting, their aim was to showcase local talent for free, raising awareness of the amazing creative potential around us, that we might walk past every day and never see. Image: Zach Mayford

Comic Production Society Panel, by Barnaby Duffy: “If Shakespeare worked like Disney”

Susie Bower displayed walls full of coastal paintings, depicting local shores with a wistful vividity. She uses a variety of media to add texture and dimensions to her pieces, from ripped cardboard cliffs to painted moss hillocks. The blend of material allowed the curious eye to analyse component parts, offering a detour into the abstract from paintings that captured shore-scapes with photographic likeness. Some of the material was collected from the scenes they depict, and by this means Bowers combines the image and the essence of the places where sea meets sand for all to see. One representation of the cliffs at Budleigh Salterton brought my trip there rushing back, showing the power of art to process and condense experiences and transport them from eye to canvas and back again. When I asked Bower about her experiences with the Devon Artists Network Open Studios Project she called it “a good opportunity for artists to show and display their work,sometimes taking the first step, like me” On an artistic and personal level, Bower was

“encouraged by the response” and has “enjoyed some interesting conversations.” The project was startlingly local, and a refreshing way to experience art without having to hike to the Tate. Your favourite new artist may be on the next road over, and without projects like open studios, you would never know it.

Image: Zach Mayford

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Watch this space

Exeposé Music Writers tell us which artists are going to be the next big thing

AMMY Rae is the best thing to come out of my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. The New York-based singer-songwriter and band leader sounds like nothing I’ve listened to before, combining a wide orchestration of instruments with jazzy rhythms and a soulful voice that won her a residency at the Cotton Club jazz lounge in Harlem aged just 19. Sammy plays shows with a group of musicians known as ‘the Friends’ – this community is at the centre of their musical process. Off the back of several self-releases, 2018 saw the release of EP The Good Life, which is 20 minutes of pure joy. This EP’s success has ushered in a new era for the band, who lined up their first East Coast tour and released three more singles, all of which look to the experience of coming-of-age in the modern world. I’m keenly awaiting the day their upward trajectory will bring them this side of the Atlantic. Emma Hussain, Online News Editor

KNOW I should be talking about music – but can we just all appreciate the fact that Greentea Peng is actually peng? Her lips and those luring eyes, everything’s so on point, as if they were saying: “I’m definitely too much for your average Reading Festival.” You could think “looking edgy” is not important all you want but, we all know how Billie Eilish made it. Her music, on the other hand, is surprisingly not as wild as her. Instead, it’s some soft stuff that you would expect from “lofi hippop beats to relax/study to”- not saying that she’s cheesy, if you dig deeper into her video and lyrics, she will come off to you as a poet who goes to Nepal every year and had way too many abusive relationships. It’s also nothing heavy, and nothing too experimental, you could listen to them all day when you’re staying in. She could be a hit, just based off how sad our generation is. Yudy Wu

OOK, you'll probably hate them. I don't mean to gatekeep, but too many have loudly rejected them within the first seconds of screeching brilliance for me to hold much hope. See, it's that rancid Marmite quality that makes 100 Gecs - and their first LP, 1000 Gecs - so uncannily appealing. From the over-application of chipmunking to adrenaline-shot revivals of BroStep to unabashed ska (in this day and age!) - the intent is to overindulge. It's a sugar-rush of influences. Drawing from PC Music, SOPHIE and the decayed wub-wubs of Skrillex, their retinue expounds and expands on whatever catch producers Laura Les and Dylan Brady's fancy. There's an underlying joy, a kid-in-a-candy-shop giddiness. The gloriously overwrought 100Gecs are an anthem to our particularly post-internet cultural melee. Give them a shot. Your friends might hate it; your parents definitely will. You don't have to. Harry Caton, Online Editor

Image: Sammy Rae Music, Dog Show

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When life gives you Lemmys

Ollie Leader De Saxe reviews the resurgent indie night at the Lemon Grove

HE Lemon Grove has undergone one of the most miraculous resurrections since Jesus Christ. A few years ago, it was barely able to justify opening; however, a sudden resurgence has helped reaffirm the Lemmy as an important pillar of Exeter’s student nightlife. Yet up until now it has mainly catered to the most standardised kind of clubbing, the kind that boils down to a glorified Spotify playlist of remixed radio hits. Enter the newly formed Indie Music Society to put that to right. Alternative nights are a rarity in Exeter, so when I heard that they were hosting one at the Lemmy on 19 September, I jumped at the chance to fill the existential and literal headache that is Freshers' Week, and even more so when I found out that there were discounts of three Jagerbombs for a fiver.

ALTERNATIVE NIGHTS ARE A RARITY IN EXETER

funerals. Loud music and over-crowded spaces aren’t exactly conducive to conversation. However, that night it was the polar opposite. Maybe it was because the alternative scene is a little bit friendlier. Or maybe it was just the copious amounts of alcohol and beer pong that made everyone a little bit more talkative. Either way, it worked. I saw chain-smoking second years,

whose encyclopaedic knowledge of The Cure only matched their ignorance of dancing, mingling with hard-edged metal-heads, who themselves were headbanging with rowdy Freshers whose damaged livers didn’t stop them from moshing every other song. There is something beautiful about a bunch of strangers packing out a barely promoted event for the love of music. Stumbling out at the end of the night filled with memories, I felt I was part of something. And to be honest, there is no greater praise I can give.

CLUBBING IS NORMALLY THE MOST ANTI-SOCIAL SOCIAL EVENT YOU CAN GO TO OUTSIDE OF FUNERALS Like any debut night, there were a few blips, like the DJ putting on generic dance tracks halfway through the night, which went down as well as a Tory at a foodbank, or there were a few songs which wouldn’t have been out of place on a cheese board. Yet the thing I want to highlight the most, was the sense of community in the club. Clubbing is normally the most antisocial social event you can go to outside of

Image:Wikimedia Commons

I arrived just after it opened, half-expecting, half-hoping that the club was going to be empty so I would be allowed the rare pleasure of an early night. Those dreams were quickly put to bed. Despite only one third of the Lemon Grove being open for the night, the room was half-full already, buzzing with like-minded people dancing to their favourite anthems. I was even more

impressed that the drinks discounts weren’t conjured from some Freudian subconscious desperation for alcohol, but I think that says more about me than the club night. The first thing you notice (after the Red Bull buzz) is how damn good the tunes are. The issue with Indie music is that it’s a broad church, meaning it can be anything to anyone. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to not find something to like here; from the problematic crooning of Morrissey, to the peppy pop of The Wombats, to quite literally dancing to Joy Division.

Image:s left to right: Lwood Photographe, Eddy Berthier, Brad Elterman

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EDITORS: Richard Ainslie and Bryony Gooch

music

Mad About Bars

30 SEPT 2019 | 25

Bryony Gooch, Music Editor, looks into Exeter's new student-run club night, Mad About Bars

Image: ClickedbyBradders.com

few weeks into term, once you get into the rhythm of Exeter’s nightlife, you will come to find that the student nights take a repetitive turn. After all, Monday has always been Fever; Wednesday is Timepiece, and Thursday is, of course, Quid’s In at Unit 1. Perhaps on a Tuesday you might alternate between TP’s Salsa and Unit 1’s Cheesies’ to keep things interesting. But you will come to find that, like clockwork, Fatman Scoop’s ‘Be Faithful’ will play around one o clock during Quid’s In, usually in transition from some rocky jungle beat. The point is, a lot of Exeter’s most popular club nights make their success off predictability. Well, that and cheap drinks of course. We know the club circuit as well as we know our own timetables, and we probably know the club playlists just as well.

The transitions were smooth, although a couple of people I knew complained that they didn’t get to hear enough of the songs when they played. What was especially unusual was to see some people using Shazam on the dancefloor to work out what song was playing, an uncommon sight for Unit 1, where I have always assumed there was an unspoken rule that if you were drunk enough the music didn’t really matter.

IT WAS UNUSUAL TO SEE PEOPLE USING SHAZAM ON THE DANCEFLOOR So what is next for Mad About Bars? On 7 October, they will present Lewisham Drill Rapper DigDat to Unit 1, although there was talk from Lewis and Yung Manto of more appearances from big UK artists and some coy comments regarding some secretive plans over the summer. If you are tired of Exeter’s predictable nightlife, then Mad About Bars on Mondays at Unit 1 might renew your hope.

WE KNOW THE CLUB CIRCUIT AS WELL AS WE KNOW OUR TIMETABLES But with the introduction of Mad About Bars taking Unit 1’s Monday night slot, it seems that there are people fighting the staleness. On 16 September, I went to their launch night to see whether this might take the crown from the undeserving Fever as Monday’s new favourite student night. If you were a student last year, you might remember seeing events advertised by Mad About Bars all over Facebook. Indeed, for something that seems so young, Mad About Bars already has five resident DJs, as I was told by co-founders Conrad Lewis and Ollie Mantovani (resident DJ Yung Manto). Yet with its loyal following, they have managed to gain enough recognition to take a regular student night. “Mad About Bars sparked the change in Exeter,” they announced. And there might be some credibility to this claim. After all, their launch night sold out of tickets and had queues round the block during the evening. But perhaps what is most interesting about the student run Mad About Bars is that they have clearly spotted a gap in Exeter’s nightlife. “I’d been to another hip-hop event a cou-

ple of times before and every time I went, the music was just poor to be honest and it just wasn’t what students wanted to hear,” Yung Manto recounted.

MAD ABOUT BARS SPARKED THE CHANGE IN EXETER'S NIGHTLIFE And that was how Mad About Bars started. The idea of a night dedicated purely to hiphop, something that has become the mainstream genre of our decade, is arguably ingenious, and other clubs in the area have tried to capitalise on this; some have dedicated floors to hip-hop, while other clubs like Move have made more of an effort with nights dedicated to certain artists like Childish Gambino. But the event would have to differentiate itself as something other than that already provided by Move, or “that guy who always plays ‘Sicko Mode’ at pre’s who had enough money to book out Unit 1”. Yung Manto noted the difficulty in running

a successful hip-hop night: “…it changes so quickly. And I just feel like the other events in Exeter weren’t on top of it. They were playing a lot of songs that were big a couple of years ago.” Yung Manto clearly took pride in the fact that “the music is different every week”, and Conrad noted that “that’s the case with all our DJs”. Arguably this would be where Mad About Bars differentiates itself from most other nights at Unit 1 – a club that has meticulously stuck to its playlists unless playing a themed night. With the promise of an evening that would showcase both US mainstream hip-hop, UK grime, and drill, anticipation was high. It went without saying that the event lived up to expectations. The DJs managed to capture a decent balance between sub-genres within hip-hop, as well as showcasing a welljudged mix of new music, current favourites, and the odd old classic. They played everything from the likes of Blueface and NSG to crowd-pleasing Drake bangers and Stormzy. At one point, when ‘ZEZE Beat’ by Kodak Black came on, you could hear a roar of approval.

Images(L(LtotoR): R):EQT, A Boy is a Gun, Columbia; Image Smithsonian Folk- 300; covermesongsDJBooth ways,

Editors' Picks All My Heroes Are Cornballs (2019) by JPEGMAFIA

Trouble in Mind (2000) by Big Bill Broonzy

Best in Show: Earthgang, 2 October @ Thekla, Bristol

REMEMBER THIS? GENESIS The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway November 1974

glittering piano builds up the title track. The drums come in, the harmonies lay the Image: Charisma ground, and we are introduced to Genesis' best work. This layered concept album is difficult to fully understand even after all these years, but easy to get into – accessible without losing the complexity of progressive rock. Leitmotifs, eclectic arrangements and mythical references combine with cryptic but suggestive lyrics, and walk us through the story of Rael and his self-discovery. From the reassuring mantra “you’ve got to get in to get out” in “Carpet Crawlers”, to the climax of the last few tracks, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is an album that stands the test of time. At the end, when we hear the track The Light Dies Down on Broadway”, we are taken back to the melodies of the beginning, yet we, like the main character and the song itself, are changed in some mysterious way. Anne Chafer

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EDITORS: Richard Ainslie and Bryony Gooch

music

30 SEPT 2019 |

Fire! Burnin' down the house

Yudy Wu hits the Old Firehouse for pints, pizza and local tunes

EW term, new faces, Old Firehouse. Despite the fact that ExTunes no longer exists, all the relevant information about ExTunes is removed from the Guild website, the Sunday nights of the Old Firehouse is still called “ExTunes live”, perhaps out of nostalgia. But there was a sense of sadness that night; more people queued up for Domino’s than they did for the showcase. None of the music impressed or surprised me. That wasn’t to say anyone made any mistakes – the whole thing was smooth, but the genres of that night were too similar, making the whole thing boring, and the crowd was dead. Aayushi was the first performer that night. With a quirky, soulful voice, I found it quite healing. She and her partner mainly covered songs from various genres, making them into chill country music with an R&B twist. She sometimes struggled on the high notes, but her partner seemed to fill these blank spaces, making the songs more

powerful – a match made in heaven. They ended their set with the cover of ‘Born to Die’, and that was the last time in the whole night that I saw the crowd actually paying attention. Phil George was definitely the most underrated artist of the entire night. His voice was smokey and unique – but he seemed to be a little bit too quiet. He came up to the stage, silently, then started to play his guitar; without trying

Image: Yudy Wu

to gather people’s attention, then began to sing quietly. By the final song, he tried to make up for it; he was fullon and wild, gathering some attention – but it was too late. Wasted Light had the best set of the whole night – I didn’t expect much from them since they were doing an acoustic set, Image: Yudy Wu different to their usual, heavy buzzing guitars. But with just two of them, guitar and bass, they managed to deliver strong songs as always, without losing their style. The vocals weren't perfect, and it showed without the support of the whole band. Overall, I did enjoy; it was, somehow, both fierce and gentle, and you could even say that the weakness of the vocals was just their interpretation of the songs.

THE MUSIC DID NOT IMPRESS OR SURPRISE ME While the artists were great, the set-up of the event was unfortunate. I genuinely hope that ExTunes Live would make its comeback and thrive in the absence of ExTunes the student group.

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Spinnin' Around

Elinor Jones, Science Editor, drops the needle on the vinyl revival

VER since I could remember, my Dad has reminisced about the 1980s; the glorious days of his youth spent working as a DJ, when my Mum would act as his assistant and take over when he needed a break. Our garage has always been filled with boxes and boxes of vinyls from Led Zeppelin to ABBA, and for years they remained underappreciated. That was until the last ten years, during which a so-called “vinyl revival” has taken place. Indeed, vinyl has now come so far into the mainstream that it is predicted to outsell CDs for the first time since 1986.

VINYL WILL OUTSELL CDS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1986 Before this revolution, the majority of listeners accessed music through CDs or downloading music, although this has similarly been replaced by streaming services. Vinyl began on its comeback in the mid-2000s, making small waves on the music-sale scene. From 2010, these waves got bigger, with a rapid increase in vinyl sales through the last decade, helped in part by initiatives like BBC Radio 6 Music’s Vinyl Revival, and Record Store Day. The latter of which aims to celebrate the culture of independent shops with artists releasing exclusive vinyl for the day during a wealth of events across the globe. By celebrating all things vinyl, these events bring together communities of people who may otherwise be listening to their record collection at home. It gives music fans the opportunity to share experiences, new music, old favourites and enjoy listening to the pure sound of a record spinning round and round. Whilst it is debatable that vinyl’s revival is just another trend, like wearing shell-suits, big hair, spandex or mullets (which are apparently back in fashion), or something adopted by so-called hipsters, along the lines of jam jar cocktails and beards, I believe it is something to be celebrated in all

its glory. Whilst I am a user of music-streaming services, whenever I go home, it fills me with pure joy to put on a record and listen to the whole album, from start to finish, something that rarely happens in a world of suggested playlists and daily mixes. There is an element of ritualistic nostalgia in vinyl; these delicate pieces of PVC hidden in sheaths of paper contain all your favourite songs. You slide the record out of its case, careful not to scratch the shellac surface, place it delicately into the player, and gingerly drop the needle. Out pours the sometimes crackly, always satisfying narrative of an entire album. In a world where people primarily listen to playlists, opting to listen to their favourite songs in their own order, the very process of vinyl forces you to witness an album in its full glory. Vinyl has created a space for people to talk critically about actually listening to music, something I feel has been lost in the online age. For me, vinyl brings a conversation, an intrigue, especially when going into a record store with plenty of spare time and a coffee. The sound is just as good, if not more authentic, than streamed music, and the thrill of the needle hitting the record gets me every time. Whilst a survey conducted by The Music Industry Blog

VINYL HAS CREATED A SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO TALK CRITICALLY ABOUT LISTENING TO MUSIC showed over half of consumers stream music with services such as Spotify, and less than ten percent accessed their tunes through either online or in-store purchases of CDs and vinyl, records have made a fabulous come back, and I’m glad. Mainly because listening to them makes me feel cool. Image: BRRT from Pixibay

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A Cinema Crawl P D

Exeposé Screen Writers discuss their favourite on-screen drinking holes

UBS! An inarguable staple of British culture has always been the good old-fashioned local pub. As such, it is inevitable that at least some drinking holes would turn up in the UK’s best films and television! Whether it’s the sight of bar brawls, drinking songs, or suspiciously quiet locals, the pub often acts as a smaller microcosm of the Albion in some media, and just a place for characters to get drunk and spill dangerous revelations elsewhere. So it is high time us at Exeposé take you on a pub crawl of our best pint (or non-alcoholic lager) spots on screen! Cheers!

ID you know that dogs can’t look up? Trust me, Big Al says so. If you still don’t shaun of the dead believe me, you’ll have to ask him yourself, and you’ll find him in the Winchester. As fictional boozers go, I challenge you to find me one that’s more iconic. Edgar Wright constructed a pub that flirts with every stereotype there is, and still reminds you of your local Spoons. First, let’s talk décor. There’s the jukebox that can’t be turned off, ready to play Queen in a crisis. The shotgun above the bar that definitely works, and then you’ve got your peanuts, your twiglets and even your hog lumps. Then there’s the patrons. You wouldn’t find a weirder bunch in a schizophrenic’s scrapbook. John the barman (he was in the mafia, you know), Snakehips the bigamist, and of course Cockacidal Maniac, whose exploits I won’t detail because they are far too filthy. But the Winchester isn’t just a place for a pint and a good time, it doubles as a fortress. When the zombies are scratching at the door, where better to hole up, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over? In a world of bar fights, broken glass and sleazy landlords, the Winchester stands on its own four walls – a pub you can trust, a pub for all seasons, a real pub’s pub. So, what’s the plan then? Richard Ainslie, Music Editor

the winchester

Image: United International

HEN considering the legacy of the traditional British pub, it would be a misstep to skip the wicker maN past a true cornerstone of British film culture and perhaps the greatest British horror film ever made. I am speaking of course about the 1973 original The Wicker Man. In a film characterised by its themes of ‘difference’, Sergeant Howie’s trip to the Green Man Inn acts as a focus point for the contrast between Howie’s staunch Christian beliefs and the paganistic religion that occupies Summerisle. The bawdy rendition of ‘The Landlord’s Daughter’ sung by the locals is seamless, as if it were rehearsed for Howie’s entrance and to upset his conservative sensibilities; the same qualities that make him the perfect subject both for the islander’s trickery and for the religious subtexts of the film. In this instance, the generic idea of the village pub is used as a vehicle for the disruption of the audience’s sense of rhythm and flow of a story. Such a familiar setting brings with it a set of expectations from a viewer, and the seemingly random cracks that begin to appear: a missing picture frame, a lack of apples for dessert, letting the fog creep in over the picturesque island of Summerisle. Nicknamed “the Citizen Kane of horror movies”, scenes like the one in the Green Man Inn have spawned dozens of homages and callbacks; think of The Hills Have Eyes, the Swan in Hot Fuzz (bonus points for a cameo in the film from Edward Woodward himself ) and very recently, Pet Image: British Lion Sematary. Samuel Thomson, Screen Editor

green man inn

CROSS the show’s five series, the Garrison has remained a revered headquarters for the excessive drinking Peaky Blinders and sheltered business operations of the Peaky PPARENTLY it’s Blinders. From Polly Gray’s sagacious command not actually to Arthur Shelby’s reckless abandon, it slowly grew into a surprising home for the show’s most based on the harry potter sustained characters and the dynamics they bring. Creator Steven Knight was that effective Old Firehouse, but in crafting the Garrison as a location of delicate duality: at one moment a spotlight the Leaky Cauldron still has a place in my heart. Harry Potter is world-renowned for showcasing for the raucous celebration of Small Heath’s roughest citizens, but then suddenly polite British culture with a magical twist, and JK Rowling’s fictional pub is absolutely part a home for the show’s intimate shadows. In one of the show’s most heartof this. Harry’s first entrance to Diagon Alley - his first appearance in the non-muggle breaking scenes, a cautious Grace warns Tommy that her singing may break world - comes through the unassuming brick wall behind the building. In this ultimate his heart. ‘Already broken’, Tommy concedes with numbed resignation, rite-of-passage, as an under-age boy finds a new world at the back-end of a pub, Harry gripping his neat whiskey. It’s a pub that calls back to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s realises the complete English experience. More than this fantastically poetic function, observation: “I like large parties. They’re so intimate.” A watering hole of the Cauldron serves to bounce off and benefit the film series. It is as quirky as the series comfort and camaraderie, the Garrison’s centrality to much of the show’s plot itself, dark and dusty and cladded in centuries-old wood. The interior seems to change is a fitting homage to a bygone image of the pub as an anchor of a community. in each film appearance, but I suppose that’s just magic? The Leaky Cauldron is not the Sparkling bars of the high street caused a shift in what the pub means to groups only pub in the Potter movie series; you may remember the Three Broomsticks, but this Image: Pixabay Gellinger and livelihoods – but, if anything more than a dramatic centre point, the Garrison is pub’s patrons were primarily secondary school children, so probably have to rule that out of the Jonathan Chern, Screen Editor a reminder of what we’ve lost. Ben Faulkner magical world’s prize drinking establishment.

Images: Eagle-Lion Films

JOHNNY

The Garrison

The Leaky Cauldron

EDITORS’ PICKs

OWELL and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death sometimes fails to stand out amongst The Archers’ filmography. The 1946 film was commissioned to improve Anglo-American relations post-WW2. Its prologue sees a British RAF pilot conversing with an American radio operator as his plane gets shot down. As he awaits death, he falls in love. Kim Hunter and David Niven play the transAtlantic lovers and the sweetness captured in their performances will motivate anyone (with a heart) to love the film. I love A Matter of Life and Death not for the love story, but for how the film plays with the subject of life and death.

ELEASED quietly in April of this year, Wild Rose achieved acclaim from critics and audiences alike, praised for its heart-warming story and stellar (almost) debut from Jessie Buckley. Wild Rose breaks away from a lot of the pessimism found in British films, opting instead for a pleasant hopefulness in its tone. Just as Rose-Lynn (Buckley) dreams to break away from the music of her home country and become a country music star, Wild Rose separates itself from the bleak image presented of Glasgow in modern cinema. I would highly recommend Wild Rose for a rainy night, maybe one where you are feeling particularly lost in the world.

Images: Entertainment One Images: Focus World

SAM

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EDITORS: Jonathan Chern and Samuel Thomson

30 SEPT 2019

Banter, biccies and Blackadder

Will Lamb looks at decades of on-screen British humour

UCH blood has been spilt over the knotty issue which I’m sure the reader is mouthing preemptively: “Which The Office is better?”. Well, if we are even going to assume that it’s a fair fight and does not go straight to the original British version, then the real question is “Which version of The Office is better, the one that makes you happy and warm inside, or the British version?”. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais’ 2001 breakout smash was a slow-burn of social anxiety hell, and the humour had the acridness of drinking a glass of full concentrate orange juice straight after brushing your teeth. When asked about the topic of British versus American comedy, Stephen Fry answered that in the iconic ‘guitar smashing’ scene in 1978’s Animal House, the American c o m i c w o u l d desire t o

Image: Universal

play the smasher, the Briton would want to play the minor role of devastated songster.

AMERICAN AND BRITISH HUMOUR DIFFER IN THE TOPIC OF PROGRESSION The paradigm of this point is comedy’s antihero Edmund Blackadder. In-between Series One and Two of the period-jumping farce, the character went through a crucial change. In its original series Blackadder was a conniving, imperilled, and dim-witted weasel of a lowerroyal, whereas in season two he was suddenly a conniving, imperilled-but-smart weasel of the Elizabethan court. Despite the slight change, it fundamentally altered (for the better) the dynamic of the show. What remains consistent for all four seasons of the show is the idea of a myth of social progression. Blackadder may come out on top due to his own cunning, however it is typical for a show to end on his fortunes being stricken a w a y and like Image: BBC

British Emmy-pire Jonathan Chern, Screen Editor, reports on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s awards success

AST week in Hollywood (as all relevant stories begin) it was Phoebe WallerBridge who won big as both Fleabag and Killing Eve received Emmys. Waller-Bridge won awards for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and Writing in a Comedy Series, both for Fleabag, which went on to win Outstanding Comedy Series. Meanwhile, at 26, Jodie Comer became the youngest woman to win Lead Actress, for her role as Villainelle in Killing Eve. It was Game of Thrones that won Outstanding

Drama Series. Despite a poorly received final season, the show was undoubtedly going to win in its final farewell to awards ceremonies. Peter Dinklage also won for his charasmatic portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in the show. The memeable moment of the night came courtesy of Jason Bateman, who had a muted response when his name was announced for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series.

Image: Robyn Beck;

Sisyphus he ends exactly where he started. In Series Two there is the constant promise of marriage to Queen Elizabeth I, and yet through no fault of his own, any romance manages to dissipate from the monarch’s mind. Likewise, in Blackadder Goes Forth, set in the trenches of the First World War, Captain Blackadder is of a high rank but firmly middleclass (the horror!) compared to the hapless dunce of Private George, who accelerates in the high-command’s esteem simply due to upperclass heritage and the microcosmic trappings of the public school system. This would seem to be the clincher in the difference between British and American humour. There is a preoccupation, from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, on the topic of progression. For Chaplin, it was the topic of a rigged system in which the myth of a meritocracy thinly veils the truth of class structure, and for WallerBridge, it is of mental health and emotional maturity. This terrifying absurdism plays into the horrific aspects of British humour. One of my first exposures to the works of Monty Python was their 1983 film Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life. It is a series of vignettes focused on key aspects of life and death, but with

disturbing sequences such as Mr Creosote, a wealthy and gluttonous man who eats so much his stomach explodes the joke seems to be on the audience.

Awards were also dished out for Chernobyl, Saturday Night Live, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Ozark and RuPaul’s Drag Race. English-man-abroad John Oliver won for his talk show whilst Charlie Brooker picked up his award for Black Mirror feature Bandersnatch. 21-year-old Jharrel Jerome won for his performance as Korey Wise in Netflix’s When They See Us. The Ava DuVernay-directed mini-

series is based around the true story of five black teenagers who were falsely accused of sexual assult in New York’s Central Park, and suffered at the hand of a racist judicial system. Jerome became the first Afro-Latino to win an Emmy for acting, saying “It’s an honour. It’s a blessing, and I hope this is a step forward for Dominicans, for Latinos, for Afro-Latinos. It’s about time we are here”.

EMMA THOMPSON

Georges Biard

CONSTRUCTED BY A SOCIETY WITHIN THE RUINS OF NATIONALIST PROPAGANDA The film was hilarious, erotic, curious, questioning and gruesome. It was maligned upon its release and now, appropriately, is having a resurgence, and it should be seen by anyone who can get their hands on it. Perhaps only if you’ve ever been curious to what a panic attack feels like. It also could only have been constructed by a society which lived within the ruins of nationalist propaganda and the strictures of class. One has to relish the horror.

Image: Universal

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UR stern Nanny, kooky divination professor or starring in our mum’s favourite period drama, Emma Thompson was a constant force in many of our childhoods. Her long and varied career has earned her three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes and two Academy Awards, not to mention a damehood. Thompson is also an award-winning writer, outspoken activist and witty comedian. Speaking in April atop Extinction Rebellion’s pink boat, she saluted the actions of young people drawing more attention to the climate crisis. She recently graced our television screens as the Trumpian Prime Minister Vivienne Rook in Years and Years, and appears in this Winter’s upcoming picture featuring the music of George Michael and aptly titled Last Christmas - surely soon to become a family favourite. Thompson is no stranger to the Christmas classic. For me, it isn’t Christmas until I’ve cried watching her open a Joni Mitchell CD in Love Actually. Cementing her status as a national treasure is her natural British charm in interviews. Unreserved, sometimes eccentric and not afraid to play the fool, Emma Thompson is truly a class act. Katie Jones

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EDITORS: Jonathan Chern and Samuel Thomson

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Back in blocks

30 SEP 2019

Zach Mayford, Arts and Lit Editor, explores Minecraft’s 2019 comeback

HE first rule of Minecraft is to never adventure. Mojang, Minecraft’s developers, dig straight up or straight down, but risk alienating fans if they fiddle too much with Mojang’s philosophy is even simpler: such a core mechanic- the rarity and necessity never look back. Anybody who has ever of the game’s minerals is as key to its DNA as punched a tree or glanced at an fending off monsters from inside a enderman knows the boundless joy dirt shack. For several years, of watching an untouched players and developers alike were valley render in, full only of stuck in this creative cul-deblocky wildlife and building sac, parodied by its peerless opportunities, in which a player modding scene. can actualise with the cubes of Minecraft modders their choosing. The game has adapt the game’s code, a hardcore fanbase, from splicing and enhancing prodigious kids in creeper new elements into the tees to neckbearded gameplay, from magical content creators raking in big spells to nuclear reactors. Yet bucks on Twitch and YouTube. somehow, the simpler ‘vanilla’ But why did it fall out of the Minecraft came back to the Image: Caveman limelight, and why in 2019, a decade scene in a major way. Why after its release, has it bounced back to soaring is it such a creeper? Well, after stagnating heights that scrape the skybox? Well for and adding laughably pointless features like some, the ‘gaming loop’ of mining resources ‘The Pretty Scary Update’ in 2012 with the and building a base got stale. Inevitably, completely fruitless Wither Boss, and ‘The the turquoise twinkle of a fresh diamond Horse Update’ in 2013, the game boasted two seam zaps the heart less and less with every brilliant, boundary-pushing, game-changing

updates in the last two years: ‘The Life Aquatic Update’ and the ‘Pillage the Village Update’. ‘Life Aquatic’ added a bounty of vibrant sealife, including dolphins that dart around sunken shipwrecks, and adorably derpy turtles. ‘Pillage’ finally unblocked the game’s creative flow, adding intricate new structures and complex villager trading.

SOMEHOW, ‘VANILLA’ MINECRAFT CAME BACK IN A MAJOR WAY Ultimately, all of this detail is pretty irrelevant. Minecraft is back because Pewdiepie started playing it again. Pewdiepie, AKA Felix Kjellberg, AKA the uncancellable, undisputed King of YouTube, started streaming and playing Minecraft this year, in the most iconic Swedish media comeback since ABBA. In 2019, Minecraft is once more the most searched game on YouTube, Fortnite is missing/presumed dead, and the blocks are back, baby.

Review: Top Boy Series 3

Image: Blitz Animation

Isabelle Gray, Editor, praises the gritty honesty of the Netflix revival

TOP BOY SERIES 3 Showrunner: Ronan Bennett Ashley Walters, Kane Robinson 2019, 10 episodes

T’S back! Top Boy, that is, resurrected by rapper Drake, a big fan of the original Channel 4 series from 2011. We’re met with a bigger and more impressive cast, including the likes of UK rappers Dave and Little Simz, both recent nominees of the Mercury Prize. A much stronger focus on the visuals is seen, beautifully showing just how harsh life can be. Despite the obviously increased production value in general, the show has kept in line with what it does best - detailed, real characters with real stories. The show, in its essence, is a story of survival. Although on the surface it appears to deal with gang culture,and violence at its core, it is able to cover so much more than that. Especially issues that many people under institutions of oppression currently face; austerity, immigration and police corruption.. What’s clear in this exploration of these topics is that the cast have an awareness and understanding of worlds like the one in Top Boy. Their performances do feel Image: Channel 4

very much in touch with the issues covered, creating an important sense of authenticity. In a documentary about the making of the show, Ashley Walters, who plays the protagonist Dushane, (Top Boy himself ), has discussed how he grew up in Peckham and was witness to the dangers of territory beef and the hardship of growing up in a working class area. Though he goes on to explain that despite the troubles the area had, what was undeniable was an incredible sense of community.

person who does bad things. Whilst being a ruthless gangster, all he wants is to do right by his parents and care for his family. Kano, who plays Sully, Dushane’s partner in crime, is by far the stand out performance of the series. His execution in portraying PTSD is truly moving, and with his eyes alone evokes a sense of pain you can feel will never quite leave him. In the show’s end, he says ‘Just because we didn’t lose, doesn’t mean we won’. Words that truly helps us understand the lives

THE SHOW, IN ITS ESSENCE, IS A STORY OF SURVIVAL

This spirit also feels prominent in the show where, although the level of violence and shocking moments that occur are almost relentless, underneath are people just wanting to live to the next day, who have dreams of being able to comfortably provide for their family; a simple desire that feels so huge to those made to suffer by the unequal and exploitative structures they live amongst. Jamie, the new competition on the block, played by Michael Ward, is a clear example of this. Having lost both his parents at eighteen, he is left to fend for both his younger brothers. His character is a true testament of a good

of these people. Whilst you could argue the narrative feels repetitive and similar to the original series, I think this cyclical nature is completely intentional. It is kill or be killed. You win a battle and wait for the next one. Top Boy is a show of survival, but it is certainly not a show of people truly living. Top Boy doesn’t hold back. It is clear and direct work that this is not completely make believe, and is so much more than a TV show because of it.

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1 1 Commemoration - memory - recollection 2 (11) 3 8 Small Mediterranean fish (7) 4 9 Quoted - mentioned (5) 10 Cornfield plant worn in 1 Across (on 12), 23 5 (5) 6 11 Lured - led on (7) 7 12 Part of the week when 1 Across is observed 13 every year in the UK, 23 (6) 14 15 Happy to have (4,2) 16 18 General - common (7) 17 19 Piece of metal struck to recognise bravery 18 etc. (5) 19 21 Riled (anagram) - layabout (5) 20 22 Faze - rattle - unsettle (7)

Summary - review (5) Temperamental (5) Chaos - disorder (6) Public music performance - article (anagram) (7) Observed - seen (7) Finished - concluded (5) University grounds (6) Confuse - puzzle (7) Pilots - aviators (7) Killed - murdered - died (6) Nape of the neck (6) Interrogate aggressively (5) Lesser - young person (5) Funeral song - ridge (anagram) (5)

Home and away what do you know about the UK and beyond? 1. what was the first number one hit that the Spice girls put out? 2. Which sea does the river thames flow into? 3. What character did hugh laurie play in the sitcom â€œblackadder goes forthâ€??

23 Phrase in the poem Recessional adopted for 1 Across - few letters go (anagram) (4,2,6)

4. What year did Charlie Chaplin act in his first feature film?

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5. how many times Longer than the thames is the river nile? 6. What year was the commonwealth formed?

Saint Barleigh 4.1915 ; 5. approx 19 6. 11 Dec 1931 Trivia: 1. Wannabe, 2. North Sea 3.Honourable George Colhurst Minor, 20 Dirge. 7 Campus, 13 Nonplus, 14 Aircrew, 16 Fallen, 17 Scruff, 18 Grill, 19 Down: 1 Recap, 2 Moody, 3 Mayhem, 4 Recital, 5 Noticed, 6 Ended, 23 Lest We Forget. 12 Sunday, 15 Glad of, 18 Generic, 19 Medal, 21 Idler, 22 Unnerve, Across: 1 Remembrance, 8 Anchovy, 9 Cited, 10 Poppy, 11 Enticed,

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Science

30 SEPT 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

SCIENCE EDITORS: Scarlett Parr-Reid Elinor Jones

Your dinner’s cooking in the lab

Lauren Haughey considers the regulations and implications of synthetic meat production

OR a quick stop before Exeter’s Friday TP, you pop into Burger King to chomp through some food before the night kicks off. As the employee finally hands over the goods, your mouth is watering, ready to give it a taste. But hold up - this isn’t just any old burger, this is an Impossible Whopper, lab-manufactured to create an unimaginable meaty flavour through the power of plants. This is possible thanks to Impossible Foods’ technology (as ironic as that may sound).

Beyond Meat emit 90 per cent fewer greenhouse gases While the Impossible Whopper is not yet a reality here in the U.K, other synthetic meat producers such as Beyond Meat have taken the nation (and the world) by storm, changing the game in terms of how consumers perceive meat. Not only does Beyond Meat prevent the slaughter of animals to achieve taste, but they also boast that their products use 99 per cent less water, 93 per cent less land, and emit 90 per centfewer greenhouse gas emissions than your average burger. At this point you’re probably think-

ing... that sounds great, but what’s the catch? Naturally, creeping scepticism questions whether this frankenfood is too good to be true. Looking around, it’s clear that real meat is still eaten by the mass-majority, so what’s preventing a bigger leap towards a

Synthetic meat may be categorised as a food additive meat-free future? Well, for starters, what actually is meat? While the answer probably seems startlingly obvious, the definition of the word is gradually evolving, causing controversy among governments and other stakeholders. Katie Merten-Lentz, a leading practitioner in food and agricultural law, identified that the status of synthetic meat in the U.S was difficult to confirm over the last few years. This consequently raised the issue of whether regulatory laws and safety assessments already conducted through the Federal Meat Inspection Act for carcass meat should also be applied to what’s grown in labs. Most think not. In response, the Food and Drug Law Institute considered that synthetic meat may be categorised as a food

additive, but the reality of this currently seems unclear even though the Department of Agriculture finally came to a regulatory agreement in 2018. On the other hand, Labbiotech explained that Europe has nailed down cultured meat as a ‘novel’ food, simply meaning that it wasn’t consumed before May 1997 and is therefore considered as new. However, even though these test-tube creations have settled status within the EU, products still need to be safety-checked over a period of 18 months, suggesting that drastic meat-industry change won’t happen overnight. And of course, who’s to say U.K

addition to this, PETA reveals the heme in this leghaemoglobin contains a lot of iron, which has the potential to create a greater risk of cancer. It’s therefore fair to say that the Impossible Burger has received some pretty bad publicity,

Leghaemoglobin contains a lot of iron, which has the potential to increase cancer risk laws won’t change after Brexit? In spite of this, there are still big controversies surrounding some of the synthetic meat producers. Even though the Impossible Foods burger was made from plant goodness, PETA explains that one of its key ingredients, soy leghaemoglobin, was tested on 188 rats, ultimately leading to their deaths, which was arguably unnecessary. In

Image: OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay , UnboxScience, Pixabay

but should we let this ruin the reputation of cultured meat in general? Perhaps the thought of your food frying up in a lab is a bit freaky, but author Paul Shapiro argues that current mainstream methods of meat production are also a bit freaky - that animals are often pumped with drugs and live surrounded by faeces when farmed. Whether synthetic meat is freaky or not, one producer - Beyond Meat boldly state that if the average American replaced one of their three weekly burgers with a Beyond Burger, over the course of a year it would be like taking 12 million cars off the road, and would save enough energy to power 2.3 million homes. With phenomenal promises like that, we are reminded of the extraordinary environmental ethos and standards held by a lot of these synthetic meat companies. This perhaps highlights that we should give frankenfoods a chance for the greater good that they could have.

“The youth of today...”

Ludovico Vermier argues the case for multi-generational engagement in climate change

OME generations think that society’s youth are unmotivated, with the potential to plunge the world towards a fate worse than death. Even Socrates stated that the ancient Greek youth loved luxury and had “terrible contempt for authority”. In the ‘20s parents feared that their children would become immodest and risky partygoers. Forty years later the youth of the ‘60s, the young people who campaigned for rights and peace, were deemed to have “gone wild”. It was inevitable, then, that we would receive the same treatment and therefore no surprise that in 2013 the cover of Time magazine bore the words, “Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents”. The article took a large dig

at the youth stating that we were “raised on a diet of constant praise and affirmation” and lived dopamine fuelled lifestyles of screen obsession. Furthermore, we supposedly “don’t respect authority” and are too lazy to even rebel. The epitome of this disconnect can be seen in the management of climate change. An older generation has produced and failed to manage a crisis that won’t even affect most of its members. For many young people it is not our bruised egos that come as a disappointment; it’s the fact that the last lot

failed to clean up after themselves and the planet’s conking out. Misunderstandings between older and younger generations were seen as recently as last year at the senate hearing of Mark Zuckerberg. Some of America’s elite political class (which tended to be older people) managed to ask questions such as, “If I’m emailing within WhatsApp…does that inform your advertisers?”, or better still, “Is Twitter the same as what you do?”. These situations show that relevancy is critical. The senators were not able to productively question Mr Zuckerberg because they had virtually no clue what they were questioning him about. In a similar manner, the management of climate change is far more relevant for the youth than for the elderly. After all it is the younger members of the population

who will feel the brunt of the decisions made today Yes, we live at home but think about buying a house in a such a competitive market when you’ve only managed to pay off your academic debt. Yes, we check our phones in class, but imagine having that technology your whole life and having to sit through algebra. One only has to look at the Greta Thunbergs and Malala Yousafzais for examples of where youth and passion can outweigh age and experience. It is important that organizations and people see what the youth has to offer. After all it will be the minds of today that will solve these challenges of old, with climate change being one of the greatest problems to ever face the human race.

EXEPOSÉ | 30 SEPT 2019

SCIENCE

Parks and Re-evaluation

Scarlett Parr Reid, Science Editor, explores national parks in a time of climate change

ITH recent news of climate change and global warming’s disturbing progression – particularly over the past five years - the thought might arise of what this means for the environment. What does it mean for our local environment – Exmoor, Dartmoor, Dorset and beyond? According to GOV.uk, 66 per cent of us live under 30 minutes away from a national park. In the 70 years that they’ve existed in Britain, two key questions have been at the heart of DEFRA, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ work. # Firstly, how do we engage public interest in the environment? According to The Guardian , 99 per cent of Britain’s national park board members are white,

meaning encouragement of black and ethnic minority (BAME) groups to protect and work for national parks needs to be enacted.

66 per cent of us live 30 minutes away from a national park Secondly, how do national parks ensure that they’re looking after the environment as best as possible? An independent review by former Environment Secretary Michael Gove, crediting 44 key landscapes, focuses on a 25-year mission for the nation to help fight global warming through preservation of national parks. Examples set out by the govern-

ment include the following: helping schoolchildren to access national parks at least once to learn about the environment and appreciate its value, an increase in the amount of woodland so trees can be planted for carbon capture and increasing open access rights for the public to visit national parks. Biodiversity loss, climate change and evolving urban societies are all real threats to the environment, including that of national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs). Julian Glover, journalist and former Government Aide, emphasises that national parks are not to blame for the environmental crisis, but ought to be given more resources with which to help prevent the crisis from worsening.

Ebola strikes back

The disease in nature and diagnosis is becoming more complex due to virus mutations allowing enhanced viral entry into cells. With insufficient funds from supporting governments, charities, organizations, donors and the general public, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current 2019 DRC Ebola outbreak as a "global health emergency of international concern." EVD is more infectious than contagious, spreading from wild animal to human and then human to human, through contaminated bodily fluids. Outbreak control predominantly surrounds infection prevention and disease case management. The disease has symptoms analogous to malaria and meningitis; including fever, fatigue and pain with later more gastrointestinal symptoms, rashes and bleeding (both external and internal). According to The Lancet, 50% of patients ultimately end up dying from dehydration and/or organ failure.

Suspicion has led to disruptions to treatment adrenal glands are affected the most. Treatment is becoming more successful and accessible. The drugs REGN-EB3 and mAb114 cultured from infected patients and mice respectively use antibodies to neutralise the virus’ effect on host cells. Development of this drug for vaccinations is only one hurdle of many to come to eradicate this disease. Mistrust in medical professionals and humanitarian aid workers has arisen from misinformation and fear, leading to a third of Ebola deaths occurring in local communities versus treatment centers, as the World Health Organisation reports (therefore showing people are not

seeking treatment). Death in the community also increases the risk of disease transmission. Suspicion has led to violence against healthcare assistance increasing disruptions to treatment being delivered. Image: Chris55, Wikimedia Commons

The disease is getting more complex due to mutations

The present Ebola virus belongs to the Zaire subspecies and once infected, a cell has a huge deregulatory effect on innate and adaptive immune cells. This is shown by low white blood cell (WBC) and platelet count plus elevated liver enzymes. Monocytes and macrophages are attacked, and WBCs are stimulated to produce large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines activating the coagulation cascade alongside reducing interferon production. This has an overall hemorrhaging and inflammatory effect leading to blood clots, reducing blood flow to organs and tissue damage with the body attacking itself. The liver and

DEFRA pledges £50 million to invest in planting new woodlands

This will need to be a part of a financial model that is sustainable for the future. Glover proposes that “we can make our country healthier, happier, greener and more beautiful”; in doing so, it ought to be part of everyone’s lives".

Image: Nickyhardinguk, Pixabay

Image: NaomiBooth, Pixabay

STEM in a Brexit Britain

Ollie Elliot investigates the return of this deadly disease

OLLOWING the first Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in 1976, there have been annual EVD epidemics breaking predominantly throughout Africa. Due to the annual recurrence of the disease and its current eruption in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the importance for control and management of its spread is integral to reduce the ramified effects of the disease.

Britain’s national parks contribute over £20 billion, GOV.uk reports, to the rural economy. Despite previous budgeting difficulties, DEFRA pledges £50 million to invest in planting new woodlands through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee.

Hopefully with the continued use of treatments and continued increasing survival and recovery rate, the vaccine benefits will speak for themselves. Education, active community engagement and communication from supporting aid relief is key for this to occur. Communication also aids in disease mapping for surveillance and contact tracing. Procedures, developed by WHO and affected countries, based on past epidemics, have enabled systems to be put in place to identify outbreaks quicker and will be used and updated for future outbreaks. Resources and responses have specifically been directed towards improving healthcare (supportive care of cosymptoms and rehydration techniques), burial procedures, availability of fresh water and hygiene and sexual transmission education. As individuals we can be informed, as well as contribute to medical studies to continually improve the diagnosis of this disease.

Elinor Jones, Science Editor, on post-Brexit research

ORDS cannot even begin to describe the tumultuous state Britain is currently in, with it hard to keep up-to-date with the ever-changing political landscape as we head towards the 31 October. The Royal Society have declared that leaving the EU without a deal will have drastic negative effects for research in STEM, taking years to recover. For scientists from Britain and EU countries the next few months will be a difficult time, full of uncertainty, potential loss of jobs and greater issues securing crucial funding.

Britain will slip down the standings In June, Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist who opened the Living Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, declared that British science would be at a major disadvantage upon leaving the EU, since a significant amount of funding relies upon networks formed with the other member countries. Horizon Europe, a €100billion funding pot, is only available in the event of a deal. It is predicted that Britain, which is currently well-established in the top tier of scientific research, will slip down in the international research excellence standings, which in turn may reduce the appeal for international experts from collaborating or working with British

scientists. As an alternative to the Horizon Europe funding, the government has commissioned a review of other funding options and ways of developing international partnerships to remain at the same level of innovation. For those entering careers in STEM, funding opportunities are going to remain uncertain, meaning placement years, PhDs and early career researchers will be tentative in their applications for grants. Whilst this is not just an issue of funding, leaving without a deal will reduce freedom to investigate new avenues, especially in under-researched areas, such as rare genetic conditions or psychiatric conditions.

Leaving without a deal reduces freedom to investigate new avenues Whatever happens in the next few months, it is likely the landscape of research will change. Those working hard to improve STEM knowledge and innovation, I’m sure, will continue to strive for the highest standards.

Image: Clatham House, Flickr

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30 SEP 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT

Hardly made in Chelsea

James Bagby follows the footsteps of Ethan Ampadu's loan away from the capital

VER three years have passed since Ethan Ampadu became the youngest player to play for Exeter City, and now he finds himself with RB Leipzig in Germany. It would be surprising if the then 15year-old Ampadu could have predicted the path he would take after making his debut in 2016, and his development has been a case of national intrigue. His move to Chelsea, followed by his loan to the Bundesliga, is symptomatic of the trends developing in youth development in England. Ampadu was propelled into the limelight in August 2016 when he played 120 minutes of an EFL (English Football League) Cup match against Brentford at the age of 15. He picked up the Man of the Match award and quickly won the hearts of many Grecian fans. His impact at such a young age harks back to an older generation of football, one of youth prospects bursting onto the scene as relatively unknown players.

Moving to Germany's Bundesliga will become popular for English talent The likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Ryan Giggs all came

as revelations and it seemed that those days were gone. In the age of technology, it is rare for talented young footballers to fly under the radar, with most being well-established in the public eye before they turn 20. The difference with Ampadu was that he wasn’t breaking into a Premier League team, under a more intense spotlight, allowing his development to go relatively unnoticed. Ampadu’s path, like Kylian Mbappé’s, has been choreographed – his father, Kwame Ampadu, was also a professional footballer and now assistant coach at Monaco, and played a vital role in keeping Ethan at Exeter to stay with the academy until Chelsea c a m e calling. Most Grecians supporters were aware

of the talent that Exeter had on their hands and believed it was only a matter of time before he was playing on the national stage. It came as no surprise when Chelsea approached Ampadu and brought him to the capital. With the transfer market becoming more lucrative every year, the bigger teams are finding more value in development of youth products, whether that comes from their own academy or stepping on other clubs’ turf. The rise in

Premier League clubs reaching down the football league to ‘cherry-pick’ prized talent has led to more disagreements between the buying and selling clubs. In this case, Exeter and Chelsea were unable to agree on a fee for the player and the case went to a tribunal. A long and drawn-out case led to Exeter being awarded £2.5m along with 20 per cent of any future transfer fees, a result described as “disappointing for football” by Exeter chairman Julian Tagg. He argued that the ruling “sends the wrong message” to clubs producing home-grown players and it’s hard to disagree with him. The £2.5m fee is significantly below the average fee paid by the traditional top six of the Premier League for teenagers, which sits at over £11m for the past five years. For Exeter, it could turn out to be their record sale, dependent on clauses around appearances, but the feeling of being cheated by a much larger club is justified, especially considering the financial circumImages L-R: Amir Hosseini, RonnyK stances clubs in the EFL have

found themselves in. Starting the 2019/20 season with only 10 minutes of playing time in the Premier League, Ampadu pushed for a loan move in order to further his development. Despite receiving offers to stay in England, he moved to RB Leipzig in eastern Germany. Perhaps the decision to move abroad would have once been described as bizarre but will soon become the norm of youth development.

The fee Exeter were awarded for Ampadu was borderline disgraceful The decision would have, almost undoubtedly, been impacted by the recent successes of Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson in the Bundesliga, with Nelson even managed by Ampadu’s new coach Julian Nagelsmann. The opportunity to play weekly in a competitive league under the tutelage of a progressive manager is quickly becoming a no-brainer to promising English talent. Ampadu will hope to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned trailblazers to reach the potential that the Exeter City faithful saw in the 15-yearold boy, three years ago.

Rapinoe is eccentric, arrogant and a star

Football fans should love her, as they do others of her ilk, Max Shepherd argues

HE history of men’s football is littered with iconic players who have solidified their place in our collective memories with exuberant celebrations and off-field antics, alongside their brilliance on the pitch. Eric Cantona, Diego Maradona, George Best and more recently Zlatan Ibrahimovic are all perfect examples of big names with big egos. Ibrahimovic is particularly vociferous in his self-promotion - often doing so in the third person - claiming not only to have left Paris Saint-Germain F.C. as a “legend”, but also to actually be “God” himself when interviewed before a vital World Cup

at best, puzzling. At worst it is an indicator of just how far football, and indeed society, is from successfully tackling the misogyny that is still deeply rooted within it. The fact that simply spreading her arms and puffing out her chest towards the crowd lead to Rapinoe being labelled an “arrogant piece of work” by the infallibly humble and respectful Piers Morgan on Twitter, whilst male players can perform choreographed dance routines

qualifier against Portugal in 2014. So, given that Ibrahimovic is widely agreed to be a great player, and his bravado to be a vital aspect of his game; the irate response to Megan Rapinoe’s celebrations and interviews during the latest Women’s World Cup are, Image: Jamie Sned

or shush opposition fans with little to no comment from the media, displays a blatant double standard in people’s expectations of how female athletes should act. Early in the competition, the entire USA team drew criticism for celebrating each of the 13 goals they put past Thailand. This criticism could at

least be put forward under the guise of a desire for sportsmanship on the international stage. Yet, the Rapinoe celebration that drew the bulk of criticism came in a World Cup quarter final game against France, arguably America’s main rival for the trophy, and therefore an undeniably important game, begging the question of why Rapinoe in particular has caught so much flak? Her actions off the field are a major cause of the criticism she receives. For example, she is a leading figure in a gender discrimination lawsuit being filed against the US Soccer Federation on the basis that the men’s team currently receive higher salaries and investment despite achieving nothing close to the four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals of their female counterparts.

Rapinoe's public visibility has made her a target for some conservative critics The answer becomes even clearer when the spotlight is turned to her critics: Donald Trump, Piers Morgan, Ben

Shapiro and Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz to name a few. The more observant readers may have noticed that all of these people have a few things in common; they are male, politically rightwing, socially conservative and all in positions of power due, in no small part, to a patriarchal society skewed in their favour.

She is using her platform to do much more than simply selfaggrandise, like others It is therefore unsurprising that these individuals and their followers, who if you look at replies to their tweets are overwhelmingly male have taken something of a dislike to an outspoken, publically lesbian, purple-haired female international sporting star who refuses to accept not only trips to the White House, but also the gender pay gap between the USWNT (US Womens National Team) and the USMNT (US Men's National Team). She is using her platform to do more than simply self-aggrandise like the Ibra-

himovic’s of the world, she is using it to challenge societal norms that encourage women to be seen not heard, modImage: Meghdad Madadi est instead of proud. As a result, she is a lightning rod for right-wing social media critics and trolls because she represents the societal change that they so clearly are fearful of. Football federations around the world are doing more to promote the women’s game, as better advertising and giveaways haved resulted in some of the biggest turnouts in Football Association Woman Super League history on the opening day of the current season. These are unquestionably positive steps towards dealing with the gender inequality still present in football. However, it is individuals like Megan Rapinoe who will live long in the memory and hopefully pave the way for the next generation of female players and the wider acceptance of women’s sport in general.

SPORT

30 SEP 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

Audience with the AU Pres

CONTINUED FROM BACK ...development, also expressed his wish to continue with participatory programmes around This Girl Can, citing examples like Basics to Barbells, or Fight Like an Exeter Girl. These focused on getting women into sport and fitness who may have previously felt intimidated or simply had not much experience. He also talked about training women to run the sessions, as it would provide an air of relatability, and breaking down barriers. One of Cam’s most interesting and foundational ideas was involving the AU in the creation of a fund for lower income students. He mentioned the obstacles the AU would face regarding this, specifically around the issue of allocation; as AU staff or elected officers would not necessarily have the qualification to allocate the fund on a needsbased level. He expressed interest in working with the University in this regard and mentioned conversations he’d had with Widening Participation. These were around allocating according to students who are recipients of other bursaries or funds, but would benefit from a

sports hardship fund as well. He mentioned the importance of ensuring “sustainability – how we grow the initiative, and how we make it last for next year, and the years beyond”. We were interested in Cam’s idea of emphasizing the skills students get through leading in and playing sport, apart from the immediate benefits of playing and keeping active. He let us know there were a few things to consider here, “one is obviously the participation in sport clubs, be it coaching or volunteering – but also committee members such as treasurer, or captains, the skills and development you get from that lead to a load of transferable skills you can apply to a working career. "Then there’s also engaging with our alumni, some of whom are working in careers in sport, to come down and do some speeches and workshops and such”. He emphasized that it wasn’t just about coaching, and expanded on the multitude of roles in the sports industry that students may not necessarily be aware of. In the AU President debates, Cam had initially outlined his ideas around inclusion in sport, and on fostering good

behaviour whether it was within socials or outside them. Discouraging antisocial behaviour, both towards the local community as well as members of the clubs themselves, has been a running issue in Athletic Unions across the country. He admitted that the challenge here was certainly to ensure a balance between the camaraderie and social aspect of sport alongside developing good conduct and a safe environment for students. He said that the job wasn’t for the AU to “come down and stop people having fun – instead, to do so responsibly, and ensure that your environment is inclusive”. . He explained to us his approach towards the AU Committee training days, where he encouraged creative and innovative ways for committees to think about aspects of their clubs, including socials and codes of conduct that they expect from their members. He acknowledged that for some students, there’s a “pressure to try and conform to a sports environment and behave in accordance to this social group – so we held some breakout sessions for social secretaries and also integrated it with the main presentation, and I hope that made people start thinking slightly differently!”

Cam reiterated the importance of initiatives like the Good Lad programme, and expressed that for the first time “we are trying to get an idea of what our student sport community looks like on a demographic level, so: sexual characteristics, belief, gender, race, and so on. And this will at least give us a benchmark to say – this is where we can improve, why are we under-represented in this area or that area. That’s when we can begin to make the impact”. Cam’s focus seems primarily foundational, where he’s essentially laying the groundwork for a lot of progressive development in student sport. He suggests that he would consider it a success if a large number of AU clubs took it upon themselves to integrate a club constitution autonomously, thus accounting for themselves, and the code of conduct they expect from their members, as well as visible changes to committee trainings and council. As Cam finished, he stated how “a year is a short time – the changes that I have made, they could most probably be visible in a couple of years. That’s the thing about cultural change, it takes a bit of time to see what we’ve done".

In pursuit of BUCS gold

Elinor Jones, Science Editor, discusses the AU's care of student athletes

N recent years Exeter has gained a remarkable reputation for excellence in sport, given its location and age as a university, going from strength to strength in both BUCS and recreational sport. Whether one wants to play competitively, or just to keep fit alongside studies, sport is a significant part of university life – and the majority of the student body will understand the phrase "Bleed Green". For those at the top of their game, the University’s Athletics Union (AU) runs a High Performance Programme (HPP), subsidising facilities and coaching for nine sports, including rugby, hockey and netball. Exeter’s HPP has an outstanding status for encouraging the growth and development of athletes at the highest level, some of whom go on to compete internationally. With state-of-the-art facilities and access to a wide range of support such as psychology, physiotherapy and performance analysis, a small proportion of the sports played at Exeter are subImage: Ben Bleythn sidised to be

able to attend these sessions, although many more sports have access to these athlete development services but for a greater cost. The coaching offered for performance athletes has been considered some of the best in the world, with many national and international level staff who can offer specialist feedback for teams and individuals, linking with sport governing bodies. Strength and conditioning sessions are tailored to team needs, during the season and pre-season, up to four times a week, with access to the Athlete Development Centre at the Sports Park to train as a squad and bring teams closer together.

The coaching offered to athletes is considered some of the best in the world Free physiotherapy sessions and reduced cost appointments at the in-house physio are also offered and support for academic flexibility is available where sports demand great training commitments that inhibit an individual’s ability to attend all of their scheduled academic

requirements. For the sports who get their access to HPP subsidised, teams have performed at the highest level, with both the Men’s and Women’s Rugby Clubs consistently at the top of the BUCS rankings – last season, the mens’ side were knocked out at the semi-final stage, while EUWRFC claimed BUCS Gold at Twickenham. Athletes from Lacrosse and Sailing have been part of national teams, competing at the highest level, with the latter winning multiple BUCS medals over the last few years. Having access to high quality coaching, facilities and support networks is essential for competing at the elite level; whether HPP helps student athletes to get the right rehabilitation after a niggling injury or to assist through academic deadlines, subsidising the cost also helps these nine AU clubs to have greater affluence and pump more money into the club, thus increasing the likeliness of repeating their success year after year. The Rugby Union Men’s Captain, George Strainge, said that the HPP programme was a “great tool for athletes to receive sport-specific strength and conditioning coaching enabling individuals and squads to push to that next level”, adding that the friendly atmosphere helps

players to improve each season. However, for the clubs without access to this monetary scholarship whilst they can access some of the benefits of the HPP - athletes may be put at a slight disadvantage. With 50 sports clubs run by the AU, only nine are subsidised, and I believe funding should be distributed more on an athlete-by-athlete basis. Rather than selecting sports to be given this funding, more competitive students - who otherwise may not have a sports scholarship - should be able to access these discounts, particularly in less popular sports with a lower profile.

The programme is a great tool for athletes to receive elite coaching

GEORGE STRAINGE, EURFC CAPTAIN

There is no doubt that the HPP facilities funded by the university play a part in the success of sport at Exeter in the last five years with clubs having access to them benefiting from the expert knowledge and training they offer. However, it would be nice to increase access to professional-level facilities to boost the performance of more clubs across the board.

AU clubs in focus: EUSRC

HE Exeter University Squash and Racketball Club provides a friendly atmosphere for social squash, as well as top-level training and match play for competitive squash players. We are one of the most successful sports clubs at Exeter and one of the largest university squash clubs in the country. In total we have four men’s and two women’s teams playing competitive squash, in both BUCS and local league fixtures. We also have an incredibly large cohort of beginners and intermediates who can attend the three training sessions put on every single week. Our team players are coached by PSA professional tour player, Mike Harris, who has a current world ranking of 266. Other club members receive coaching from local coaches and top team players. Widely regarded as one of the healthiest sports; squash is guaranteed to improve your fitness in a fun and competitive way. Regular tournaments and monthly box leagues contribute to the hugely popular weekly themed socials that make us such a close club. If you have any questions find us on Facebook or email squash.captain@exeter.ac.uk.

Spotlight on EUAFC

UAFC (Exeter University Atheltics and Football Club) boasts one of the most impressive records of any sports club at the University of Exeter. Comprised of eleven competitive teams, six of which play BUCS football, there truly is something for all. Playing competitive games twice weekly, on Saturdays locally in the Devon and Exeter Football league also on Wednesdays in BUCS. EUAFC offers a unique experience to play a high standard of football and to explore Devon playing the beautiful game. Club captains for the 2019/20 season Joe Henley and Ben Hart are optimistic EUAFC can replicate the success of previous seasons in BUCS and the Devon Football League. This comes after securing additional funding from the football association to cement EUAFC's footballing pedigree. The club's 1st XI, led by William Davis and George O'Neill, retained their status at the highest level of University football, competing in the BUCS Premier League for the 2019/20 season. EUAFC has something for everyone, for those looking at serious involvement as well as the more casual footballer. We welcome anyone looking to experience a thriving University sports club environment. Everyone in our club is important to us and we aim to offer each member the experience they’re looking for. So whatever level you have played at before, we have something for you at EUAFC!

Sport

30 SEP 2019 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT EDITOR: Josh Brown

This Uni Cam! Exeposé Sport sits down with Cameron Taylor, AU President

Image: Neha Shaji

Neha Shaji Contributor

S a candidate in the 2019/2020 sabbatical elections, Cameron Taylor, the current Athletics Union President, had a well-received manifesto detailing his plans around sport at the University. Exeposé sat down with Cam after the bustle of Freshers’ Week, in order to gauge more about the role of the AU President, and the viable changes he could make during his year of office. Cam tells us in a set of ice breaker questions that if he wasn’t a rugby player, he would probably try out something like basketball or lacrosse.

When asked about a television game show he’d best prefer to be on, he chose Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, citing being quizzed by Jeremy Clarkson as presumably an exciting experience. Getting into business with the role description, he explained the position of the AU President “in a nutshell, the role is to represent students regarding all things sport and physical activity”. He went on to expand on the definition of representation, stating that “a major part of the role was to support student leaders in sports clubs, say, club captains, presidents – and also making sure student voice is heard in sport across the

University, as well as to collaborate with the Guild on some projects as well”. Cam chairs the AU Executive, which is a body of students elected by committees in an AGM held earlier in the year. He describes the composition of the executive, and goes on to define them as “essentially, there to hold me to account and scrutinize me, but also to ensure that student voice is heard within the AU, and to support me (as AU President), and my manifesto”. Some of the positions in the AU Executive Cam mentions are the Welfare, Media, and Alumni officer roles. The AU Executive runs more like a committee with a scrutiny aspect, with

each officer holding their own specialist role in the representational structure. He spoke about his plans for sport focused initiatives, such as the Good Lad initiative and This Girl Can. He described the former as a set of workshops run by an organization, which hopes to “promote positive masculinity, and to destigmatize gendered and sexual expectations around what time means to be a man”. The issues these workshops cover include sexual consent, relationships, bystander intervention, as well as mental health and speaking out. Cam mentioned that “some of these workshops were trialled back in February, with very

good feedback, to the extent that two clubs, Hockey and Lacrosse, had gone to Good Lad in September to participate in more workshops. He indicated interest in running the Good Lad Initiative around the Movember Challenge, which has a heavy club uptake and already focuses around men’s mental health and suicide prevention. He mentioned obstacles around training people to lead the workshops, considering that students would graduate and training may be short term. Cam, who’s always had an active role in Women’s Rugby regarding coaching and...

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