Issue 739 - 7 Dec 2022

OVER the last two weeks, mem bers of the University and College Union went on strike over pay, working conditions and pen sion cuts. The strikes led to university staff and students protesting — hol ding picket lines on campus and around the city. The effects of the strikes led to some disruption for students, with aca demic staff not being required to notify students of their absence when striking.

Exeposé were able to speak to some of the academics striking on Wednesday 30th November. Many of the strikers hig hlighted pension slashing as a driving force behind them going on strike — with one going as far to declare the move “crimi nal”. Another member of academic staff at the strike stated that “even the idea of having a pension” was becoming “illuso ry” due to the relentless cutting each year.

Other academics cited staff exhaus tion and workload as additional factors which led them to strike. One striker stated that “everyone is really overworked” and,

as a result, “colleagues are out on sick leave because of mental health.” Those who Exe posé spoke to made it evident that, while they were sympathetic to students, they believed they had to cause this disruption to make change. A fellow striker said that “students don’t get the best of us [lecturers/seminar leaders]”, as they are “completely exhaus ted when they turn up to the classroom.”

Another academic staff member high lighted that the aim of the strike was to “build up attention and interest to get employers to recognise some of the concerns we have.”

One academic stated that the “you [the students] have a really powerful voice” with others suggesting that students should email the Vice Chancellor and tell her that “you have the right to get the best of us.” Another striker highlighted that “eve ryone here [at the strike] cares so deeply about how students learn, how students feel and student mental health”, and went on to state that “the conditions we work in become student learning conditions.”

Speaking on the strike, the Treasu rer of the Socialist Society, stated “don’t blame your lecturers, blame the univer sity.” He continued: “It’s the fault of the university” as their pay cuts “de crease the quality of the education.”

While there was a large turnout at the picket lines, some academic staff striking believed that a three-day strike was simply not enough to enact change. One striker said that “it’s hard to see how it can make that much of a dent in three days.” Another academic stated that “what management seems to take a lot of notice of here, is when students complain, and they raise issues.”

Speaking on the strikes, the majority of students who spoke to Exeposé voiced their support towards academic staff. One student stated that they support the strikes “because tired, under-paid and overworked lecturers impacts the education that we are receiving.” Another encouraged students to “have a look at the sobering facts and figu res” and highlighted that “uni staff do in credibly valuable work, and deserve better conditions.” Students also called the natio nal situation to attention, stating that there has been “a decline in working conditions and living standards … across society, not just for academia.” Another student un derlined the “increased cost of living” and stated “it is no wonder our lecturers are as king for their livelihoods to be protected.”

One student suggested that “professors are showing complete transparency and honesty about their working conditions.”

The strikes also led to disruption for some, due to academic staff not being requi red to notify students of their absence du ring the strikes. One student suggested the strikes should not “negatively disrupt stu dents” with another stating that “the strikes only affect us [students] and no one else”.

One student expressed their frus tration with the communication from the University surrounding the strikes. They stated that they were “not told whether seminar leaders would be atten ding or not, leading me to turn up and have no class.” Another stated that the “lack of information about which spe cific lecturers were striking was poor.”

One student suggested that the “Guild should do more to com municate the reasons for striking.”

Speaking on the strike, a spokesper son for the Guild said “We stand in soli darity with UCU and staff striking (inclu ding postgraduate students who teach), however we also recognise that the strike action impacts a considerable number of Exeter students. We have been fully committed to representing students con cerns and complaints to the University.

Joshua Hughes and Pollyanna Roberts Editor and Deputy Editor

Image: Kieran Moore

Interview with Emma De Saram, VP Liberation & Equality

Editors

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

Print: Megan Ballantyne & Joshua Hughes

Online: Ana Anajuba & Clemence Smith

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

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

Executives

Social Media: Nancy Stitt Events: Georgia Balmer Admin: Lauren Walsh

Chief Photographers

Rachel Cunningham Kieran Moore

News Editors

Print: Charlie Gershinson & Amy Rushton Online: Megan Haynes & Amelie Thompson news@exepose.com

Features Editors

Print: Austin Taylor & Benedict Thompson

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

International Editors

Print: Agata Koralewska

Online: Maeve Fitzpatrick & Ryan Gerrett

Comment Editors

Print: Anabel Costa-Ferreira & Connor Goddard Online: Jamie Speka & Kristen Taylor comment@exepose.com

Satire Editor

Print Cleo Gravett Online: Archie Lockyer & Joseph Vinton

Lifestyle Editors

Print: Pippa Bourne & Gracie Moore Online: Ruth Hetherington & Charlie Nadin lifestyle@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors

Print: Ella Minty & Joshua Smith

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

Music Editors

Print: Harry Craig & Jake Avery Online: Mahnoor Imam & Lauren Jones music@exepose.com

Screen Editors

Print: Anabelle Law & Madison Sohngen Online: Matthew Bowden & Harvey Isitt screen@exepose.com

Tech Editor

Print: Ewan Edwards Online: Charlie Oldroyd

Science Editors

Print: Daniel Pain & Hayley Power Online: Esther Humphries & Imogen Poyntz-Wright sciandtech@exepose.com

Sport Editors

Print: Toby Brisley & Rob Worthington

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

ITS CHRISTMAS!!! Well, not yet, but happy December everyone.

December has come around so quickly, and with the end of term fast approaching it means that this will be the last issue of Exeposé this term (cue the tears and sad music). That being said, it’s been a fantastic term for Exeposé We started the term off with our freshers’ edition and are ending it on a high, with a new host of editors joining our editorial team, so we hope you have enjoyed reading our pages as much as we’ve enjoyed putting them together.

This week in News , we cover a wide range of different issues. We cover the UCU strike over pay, pensions and working conditions which took place at the end of November. We also focus on the ‘Reclaim the Night’ march (page 3) and the expansion of the £2 meal campaign (page 4). We were also able to sit down with VP Liberation & Equality, Emma De Saram earlier in the week to discuss everything from her work with the £2 meal campaign, to the Universities Climate Conference (page 6).

Elsewhere in this edition, Features looks at Jeremy Hunt and his recent Autumn Statement (page 8) while our brand new print International section discusses living in a foreign community (page 10). Comment looks at the actions of comedian Joe Lycett in the run up to the Qatar World Cup (page 12).

Lifestyle writers give tributes to the men in their lives to mark the end of Movember (page 16) and Arts + Lit give a range of good Christmas reads (page 18). Music feature a live review of Blossoms' show at the Great Hall and also give some suggestions for alternative Christmas songs (page 20). Screen features a battle of the Bonds (page 23) and looks at the success of sequels (page 23).

Tech looks at the issues surrounding the ownership of Twitter (page 24) while also pondering the viability of retro tech in the modern day (page 25).

Science looks at the relationship between bacteria and tumours (page 28) and also discusses the issue of reforesting (page 28).

Sport features an interview from England Rugby and Exeter Chiefs player, Sam Simmonds (page 30) and also looks at the culture within the Exeter University Netball Club (page 32).

The end of term is always a difficult period — deadlines creep up, the days get shorter, and it gets colder. Hopefully this issue will provide a chance for some to take a break and do a crossword or catch up on the happenings at the University. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and wish you all the best for the end of term. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Josh and Megan

University news home and abroad

Berlin Technical University lecture theatre occupied

Bid

CLOSE to three months since the death of Mahsa Amini, wide spread protests are still in place across Iran. With many of the country’s protestors being university students, authorities have cracked down on them in a desperate bid to end the protests.

Students from at least 50 Iranian universities have protested by stag ing sit-ins and boycotting classes amid intense efforts at repression from the government, including academic suspen sions, deployment of security forces in campus, mass arrests and abductions.

One of the measures being en forced by the authorities is barring student protestors from re-entering university premises or student dor mitories, in a move that been con demned and described as unlawful by student unions, fueling more protests.

STIRLING University’s Stu dents’ Union has become en tirely plant-based following a suc cessful student vote for the union to only serve plant-based food by 2025.

The university is the first in the UK to take the plunge in ban ning meat and dairy prod ucts from its campus outlets. The PlantBased-Universities Campaign (PBU) supports the uni versity as setting a gold standard in environmen tal policy which can be used to in spire other universities.

THE Group EndFossil: Occupy!, which until recently occupied a lecture hall in Exeter’s Falmouth campus, have occupied a lecture Hall at Berlin’s Technical University. The Occu pation lasted from the 17th of November until the evening of the 25th. The group voluntarily ended the occupation due to suc cess in negotiations with the University but threatened to resume action if the agreements made are not met.

THE English Test, also known as IELTS, is a test to show that an individual from a non-Eng lish speaking country, has proficiency in English for a place at an Englishspeaking university. However, within the last year, speculation over Nigeri ans taking the IELTS has been marked by the #ReformIELTS campaign.

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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.

Since all positions of power within universities are held by individuals loyal to the regime, this has led to a polarised situation. With some professors openly opposing the protests while others con tinue to remain silent, it is clear that the road ahead for students is not an easy one.

Whilst 100 students voted for the policy, there are a total of 17,000 that attend the univer sity, meaning less than 0.01% of stu dents voted on the change. Whether students had a real choice in the imple mentation of this policy has been de bated as it has been brought out. Some see this as the start of a new movement for all student unions to be plant-based.

During the nine-day occupation, the group organized a range of events includ ing a concert by the rapper Sechser, lectures and panel discus sions revolving around the climate cri sis and green development and political workshops. The international coalition of activists is, at the time of writing, occupy ing 14 schools and Universities around Europe, with the overarching goal of end ing the fossil economy, but with varying demands depending on the local contexts.

Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi, a Nigerian postdoctoral research fellow in Canada, has argued the test is discriminatory., stating that "the official language in Nigeria is English, which automatically translates to the fact that all academic programmes from elementary to ter tiary education are taught in English." Therefore, if the IELTS test is designed to enhance proficiency and communica tion skills, as stated in their advertising, it suggests that many institutions believe that Nigerian candidates aren’t profi cient or communicative enough to get a place, even though their entire education system is built on the English language.

Consequently, 14 countries have removed the IELTS barrier for Nigeri ans, with calls for more to do the same.

By

Jessica Harcup, Caitlin Nagle, Jakob Habsburg and Shagnick Bhattacharya.

Student protestors barred from campuses in Iran Stirling University Students’ Union to go 100% vegan

to end discriminatory English test for Nigerian students

Deputy Editor and News Editor

RECLAIM the Night demonstrations went ahead in Exeter on 1st December as part of the 16 Days of Action against Gender Based Violence. The demonstrations were intended to raise awareness of the extent of sexual violence and harassment that women and girls experience on the streets. In order to build upon last year’s comparable marches in support of women’s safety, Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services, local feminist organisations, and students organised the march.

Mandy Barnes, Chair of the Planning Group, told Devon Live that the protests were happening during this global 16 Days of Action campaign, reminding people that “it is a human right for us to be able to feel safe out on the streets where we live.”

Prior to the march, protesters gathered at neighbourhood community centres and had the opportunity to participate in workshops, where they learned how to make placards and banners. The protests started at 6pm at the St Sidwell Community Centre. The march then began at 6:30pm from the Community Centre and ended around 7:15pm in Bedford Square.

The beginning speech of the march was read out by local volunteers, many of whom were a part of Devon Rape Crisis. The speech stated that “no one should experience violence and abuse ever. Tonight, we are highlighting the high levels of sexual harassment,

violence and abuse women and girls are facing on a daily basis on our streets. A recent UN study found that 86 per cent of the young women that they surveyed said that they had experienced sexual harassment and sexual violence in public spaces, and this is not ok.” The speech went on to comment that “we are here to remind everybody that there is never an excuse for sexual harassment, violence and abuse and that women and girls have the right to be safe in public spaces, in all spaces. Sexual harassment is not a compliment.”

Many University of Exeter students and society representatives attended the march alongside members of the local community. Members of Feminist Society explained that the reasons for their attendance included the fact that almost every woman had experienced some form of sexual harassment and catcalling, and that sexual harassment happens more often that most would assume.

They further elaborated that “if we do nothing, nothing will change, so it’s important something is done.”

They highlighted how “it is the bare minimum to feel safe walking home, even if it is just between campus or a night out, you have every right to feel safe going home and we are just here to fight for that.” They also told Exeposé that the University could do more in regards to ensuring women’s safety at night. They explained that “People need to be more educated on these kinds of matters. There’s definitely a lot more for them to do.”

Other students present at the march supported these criticisms of the University, stating that “[Exeter] is a student city, we go out a lot and we want to feel safe when we’re walking home, we

Exeter

have every right to do that.” They said the University should address these issues more, stating that actions such as the consent modules on ELE do not go far enough.

The march saw high levels of attendance, following on from the 500 strong crowd at last year's protest. Students from Urban Angels, an online Facebook group which supports women and nonbinary people in Exeter, told Exeposé “It’s so important the march is happening again this year. New students have come in who may have had bad experiences with clubs opening again, so it’s nice to see this community of people come together.” They added, “its so amazing to see men here as well, because it’s a problem for everyone and women can’t change this on their own.”

The Students' Guild VP Liberation and Equality, Emma de Saram, was present at the march. She stated “It’s important we’re all showing up for this, it’s a really great opportunity for everyone to get together and show some solidarity with people who have faced sexual harassment on the streets.”

Caroline Voaden, the Chief Executive of Devon Rape Crisis, commented that “It’s really important we keep reminding people women don’t feel safe in the streets after dark, that we have the same right as men to feel safe at night and that violence against women and girls is still happening in 21st Century Britain.” She explained the march was a way for women to raise their voices and be visible.

Voaden added that “its great to see so many students here. These issues can be particularly difficult for students who have just arrived at university. We’re here to offer advice and support and students can use our services”. She added that the night-time economy was not always safe for women, highlighting the need for increased training and awareness for nightclub staff.

A member of the Exeter Labour Women’s branch and one of the City Councillors for Exeter told Exeposé: “I’m here because this cause means a lot to me. I think a lot of men don’t realise the effects they can have on women, especially with the darker evenings. It’s getting darker earlier in the day so women can feel vulnerable even going about their daily business. It’s important to raise the profile of this issue and it’s not just a women’s issue. We need everyone to feel safe.”

Some locals to Exeter who were present at the march commented that they were “here for all the women that have ever walked home and felt

unsafe and for all the women who tried to walk home, but never got home. Violence against women and girls on our streets is still a really complicated issue”. They further explained that, “I do want to go out in the evening without having to think twice about where I’m going, how I’m going to get home and if I feel safe, not worrying whether I should be accompanied. You constantly have to prepare yourself for something bad to happen.”

The march finished with speeches in Bedford Square from various volunteers and organisations, including Devon Rape Crisis. The opening speech stated, “Every three days in this country a woman dies at the hands of a man. This has got to stop and the only way we are going to stop this violence against women is if we all start calling it out. Every little microaggression that you see, we have to call it out.” It closed with a call for more people to get involved in activism against gender based violence, declaring “volunteer your time, get on social media, talk to friends and colleagues about why this matters and lobby people who are in power.”

A Guild spokesperson stated “The Students’ Guild (in partnership with Societies, the University, and external services) have been running events/actions for the international campaign, 16 Days of Action, which aims to raise awareness and call for changes at local, national, and international levels to end violence against all women and girls. The Reclaim the Night Walk is to raise awareness, demand change and remind us all that violence and harassment is still an ongoing concern for women in Devon as well as across the globe, and that it is a human right for us to be able to feel safe

out on the streets where we live.” A spokesperson for the University of Exeter said: “University of Exeter staff took part in the Reclaim the Night March and we are proud to support this important event. We work closely with other organisations in the community to ensure Exeter remains a safe city. The University is a key partner in the Community Safety Partnership in Exeter which has secured funding for training for local businesses on women’s safety. The city’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP) has recently been awarded £680,250 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund to help enhance night-time safety measures across the city centre and new CCTV cameras and lighting will be installed in locations where women have reported feeling unsafe. The Exeter Safe Space, in St Stephens Church opposite Urban Outfitters on the main High Street, launched in November. Facilities include mobile phone charging, refreshments, support to call a taxi, space to wait for a night bus, the opportunity to discuss concerns and get information on finding support and reporting incidents to the police. It is open from 11pm to 3:30am Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening.

Recent University of Exeter work includes subsidising a night bus to support students getting home safely, providing free anti drink spiking items at 13 different locations across campus and signing up to the Best Bar None and Exeter Safety charters. On campus we have fitted additional lighting between main campus and Reed Hall following student feedback. The University of Exeter has agreed to fund a counsellor employed by Devon Rape Crisis to offer trauma informed support to students.”

“We have the same right as men to feel safe”: Reclaim the Night march takes place in

Livvy Mason-Myhill and Amy Rushton

Image: Livvy Mason-Myhill

Image: Livvy Mason-Myhill

“We remain committed to being a great employer”

Throughout the Industrial Action, we have polled students to understand their views on the situation. The Students’ Guild and the Full Time Officers hosted drop-in sessions for any students with questions or concerns. We also worked with UCU to provide a Student Forum where students had the chance to speak to the Officers and members of UCU.

We are committed to working

towards mitigating the implications and effects on students’ education, access and welfare in this time.”

Commenting on the strike, a spokesperson for the University of Exeter said: “Providing our students with an excellent educational experience is our highest priority and, since the ballots were announced in August, we’ve been working closely with the Students’ Guild and Students’ Union to carefully manage any potential impact the strike action may

have on our University community and to ensure any measures we put in place to protect our students’ experience and academic outcomes are the right ones for our students and their course. As a University, we remain committed to being a great employer and to providing everyone who works here with an affordable and sustainable pension scheme, as well as fair pay and working conditions, as demonstrated by the recent decision to make positive

changes to the pay scales of colleagues on grades B-F across the University. We developed a Frequently Asked Questions to answer any queries our students have, which is updated throughout this period. We would also like to highlight the resources that are available to support our students, if needed. This includes our self-help tool, SilverCloud and our Wellbeing Services at both the Exeter and Cornwall campuses.”

Two-Pound Meal campaign expands to other UK universities

Charlie Gershinson News Editor

ON 2 November, the University started serving two-pound hot meals on the second floor of Devonshire House after a successful campaign.

Not wanting to rest on their laurels, the two-pound meal deal campaign group is now working on the next stage of their project: outreach to the wider community and other universities around the country where students are similarly feeling the pinch from the cost-of-living crisis.

In an Instagram post on 21 November, the campaign group announced that, after taking some time to ‘reflect’ on their success, they would now set up four subgroups to take their project further.

The creation of ‘press & media’, ‘actions & art’, ‘local outreach’ and ‘national outreach’ organisations within the group has set the stage for the campaign to make waves in Exeter and the country.

Outreach is a particular focus of the campaign group with hopes that two-pound hot meals can

be replicated in universities and higher education facilities around the country. This will be fulfilled by the national outreach sub-group which aims to ‘work with other universities and societies on a national level and the National Union of Students to help other students start their two-pound campaign’.

When asked for comment, the campaign group said that while they are still in the early stages of their next project, their main aims were to “maintain what we’ve got so far, expand cost of living support” and “grow the campaign to other unis nationally”.

of Exeter’s two-pound hot meal campaign, Muhammad Ibrahim — the President of the Labour Society at the London School of Economics (LSE) — is wishing to replicate the same campaign. Speaking to Exeposé, Ibrahim has said “we welcome the advances made by this campaign in Exeter, and would like to see similar measures implemented across the country, especially in London where the effects of the cost-of-living crisis are particularly challenging given how high cost-of-living already was.”

Livvy Mason-Myhill Deputy Editor

THE Christmas festivities have already begun in Exeter, with the Christmas market having made its return for this year. Exeter’s Winter Wonderland also opened on 17th November in the Northernhay Gardens, the same day as the Exeter Christmas lights were switched on in the city centre courtesy of InExeter — Exeter’s Business Improvement District (BID) — and the city’s shops and businesses.

The wildly popular Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market opened on 18th November and continues until 18th December on the Cathedral Green. It features a

As well as supporting the campaign for two-pound meals in Exeter and nationally, the group is also “working on studentstaff through the [UCU] strike, because [our] movement is also a general critique of the system”.

After learning about the success

Similar campaigns have grown across the country. University College London (UCL) Students’ Union has launched a similar scheme to help students combat the costof-living crisis. Recognising that “things are very tight financially for many [students] right now”, UCL are now offering breakfast options from less than £2 and lunch options from £2.50. The change came after a Student’s Union poll saw 95 per cent of UCL students worrying about their finances this year and 85 per cent saying their mental health had been affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

A spokesperson from the

Student’s Guild said “we are very pleased that following campaigning from Exeter student activists, and Emma de Saram (VP Liberation and Equality), with further support from your Students’ Guild Officer team, the University have worked to implement the £2 meal deal which is available at the Super Savour Kitchen in DH2. Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s great to know that other Universities/Students’ Unions are also implementing similar campaigns to help their students during the cost of living crisis.”

A spokesperson from the University of Exeter said “We understand that the cost-of-living crisis is a significant concern for everyone. The reopening and subsidizing of a central location on the Streatham Campus to provide the nutritious, sustainable meal for £2 is just one initiative the University has introduced across our campuses. We have also implemented a large number of promotional low-cost products, and affordable hot and cold food items, in our outlets in order to support students at this time.”

Exeter’s Christmas market opens

large number of cabins tucked away, decorated with fairy lights, and laced with holiday sights and scents.

On 26th November, Exeter Carnival made its long-awaited comeback with a colourful and enchanted procession through the city's streets from 6 to 8 p.m. The city centre and Magdalen Road member businesses of InExeter were responsible for making this event possible.

Additionally, in partnership with Margoux and the Exeter City Football Club, Princesshay unveiled The Hub on 17th November in Princesshay Square. There will be live football coverage, Christmas workshops, family activities, and music up until the first of the year. A charity Christmas Tree Festival and Santa's Lodge will also be present.

Carnival returns to Exeter after 24 years

Oliver Lamb Deputy Editor

EXETER Carnival returned this year, taking place for the first time since 1998.

On 26 November, undeterred by the cold weather, onlookers lined the streets to see a procession of performers and floats make its way along. Having started at the bottom of South Street at 6pm, the drummers leading the parade reached the Odeon roundabout at 6:45, whereupon they looped back on themselves as far as the High Street/Paris Street junction. In addition, local businesses ran family-friendly craft and games activities throughout the day.

The carnival raised over £1,170 for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer. Businesses benefitted from a 27 per cent rise in footfall compared to the same day last year. Funding shortages amid rising costs led to the cancellation of the carnival after 1998. It was revived by InExeter through Exeter’s Business Improvement District.

Organiser Marina O’Shea said in August that the carnival aimed to “promote the rich cultural history of the city.” Following the event, BID manager Ann Hunter said: “We were overwhelmed by the reaction of Exeter to the return of the Carnival.” She thanked “the carnival community, local organisations and volunteer marshals”.

InExeter previously organised Five Nights of Lights for Christmas 2019, and a street party for the 2018 Christmas lights turn-on in which over 27,000 people took part.

[Our aim is] to grow the campaign to other unis nationally £2 meal campaign group

Image: Alison Day, Flickr

Exeter Café closes permanently due to cost of living crisis

of relaxed and comfortable setting you most often see in Europe"

EXETER'S café Ebdons

Refreshments has closed after four years, due the cost-of-living crisis and rising prices. The Café's owners, Nigel Watts and Poppy Harrison, opened the cafe in 2018. The café served local food and drinks with regular entertainment such as local comedy.

The cafe resembled the original Ebdons Refreshments owned by Poppy's ancestors over a century ago. In 2018 their website stated: "Our aim is to combine the supply of the best informal food we can find with great drinks in the kind

A sign in the café's window said: "With tremendous sadness, we are sorry to say that Ebdons is now permanently closed. Thank you to all our wonderful customers and the Sidwell Street community for welcoming and supporting us

over the past four years. Please continue to support independent businesses — they need your help more now than ever."

A message sent to subscribers to the Ebdons website said: "... the last four years have been a rollercoaster — some amazing highs and some terrifying lows

(aka COVID) but the energy crisis and associated rising prices, coupled with everyone being strapped now, have meant that we just could not keep going."

"We are so grateful to have had the most supportive, loyal and brilliant customers, staff and friends (with so much overlap of these categories) and have been warmed by the very kind messages we've received as people have been finding out about the closure. Please continue to support independent businesses and organisations with values”.

The café is one of many local businesses in Exeter to be affected by the cost of living crisis.

Exeter celebrates Disability History Month

Pollyanna Roberts Deputy Editor

EVERY year Disability History Month, a nationally recognised event, runs from the 16th of November to 16th of December. The month offers people the opportunity to both recognise and celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities and to raise awareness of the contributions of disabled people to society.

Exeter Students' Guild, alongside the Neurodivergent

and Disabled Students Society, are running lots of events to celebrate this month. Activities include a Community Café on 12th December where people can come together and get to know each other over drinks and snacks. They are also running a screening of the film ‘Crip Camp’ on 9th December, where disabled students and allies can socialise. These are among other events, including workshops and a talk by Mx Alex Haagaard.

A spokesperson for the Guild said: “Disability History Month celebrates the historic civil rights

journey of disabled people. We’re proud to celebrating our Disabled Students’ community through a month-long programme of events and activities open to all, in collaboration with Neurodivergent and Disabled Students Society.

We have also been highlighting the support services available to students within this community, as well as providing additional resources that are available for students to learn more.

More information can be found on our website — www.exeterguild.com/dhm”

Exeter named as UK’s greenest city centre

ASTUDY released last month by the University of Sheffield has rated Exeter as the UK’s greenest city. Published in the scientific journal PLOS One, the analysis — taking tree cover, vegetation, parks and sports fields as its criteria — ranked 68 city centres with populations of more than 100,000. The southwest in general is verdant: Bristol and Bournemouth came third and fourth. Islington came second, Cambridge fifth and Glasgow last.

Amal Ghusain, Exeter’s Lead Councillor for City Management and Environmental Services, said the council has worked to protect the city’s green spaces. She added: “Our parks help break up the urban nature of the city, and we are conscious of their importance for mental health, wellbeing and to help us with our carbon neutral agenda.”

The study echoed these sentiments, noting an inverse correlation between greenness and deprivation, which includes measures of health. Forecasting that 70 per cent of the global population will live in urban areas by 2050, the authors called upon authorities to “re-imagine and redevelop our urban city centers”.

also highlighted the north-south divide within the UK. Senior author Dr Paul Brindley said that “action [must be] taken by local authorities to close the gap.”

They

Image: Tom Jolliffe, Wikimedia Commons

The study echoed these sentiments, noting an inverse correlation between greenness and deprivation

Elen Johnston

Oliver Lamb Deputy Editor

Image: Exeter Guild

Image: Lewis Clarke, Wikimedia Commons

In Conversation:

Emma de Saram, Guild VP Liberation and Equality

Joshua Hughes Editor

RECENTLY Exeposé sat down with Guild VP Liberation and Equality, Emma de Saram. We spoke about the term so far, her transition from grassroots activism and her work on securing the two pound meal deal.

É: How’s the term been going so far?

Emma de Saram: It’s good, I think. But definitely the transition from student to VP Guild trustee is a very big step and I don’t think anything can really prepare you for it. I mean I spoke to a lot of sabs obviously last year in the build up to the election and everything, so I knew what I was getting myself in for. But yeah, it has been a really, really fun role. It’s very de manding but very fun!

É: And what’s been your highlight?

EDS: Probably the £2 meal campaign. I’ve said it quite a lot but that has been really good, and it’s given me a lot of optimism about the following months — about what we really can achieve when we just put our minds to it. We’ve got around 40 people involved in that campaign at the moment. The fact we were able to win that and now be at a stage where we’re saying: “OK, what do we do next?” and the fact that we’re planning for our next steps, I think yeah, that’s really incredible.

É: Speaking of the two pound meal deal — how’s it going?

EDS: It’s good there’s a bit of delay in open ing up at St Luke’s at the moment. I have con firmation that the two pound meal deal will be staying for next term, so that’s really good. But we’re just pushing on very minor tweaks at the moment to make sure what we’ve got is what students want, especially portion sizes. They say they’re going to increase them, so that’s good. It is a really amazing group of students who have managed to pull it off and it does give me a lot of like faith in what we can do.

É: Do you think it could possibly be tak en to universities outside of Exeter?

EDS: I think there is definitely potential for that. We are wary of different universities having different amounts of money. But we are defi nitely having that conversation with some stu dents at UCL and at Bristol Uni at the moment, about how they can basically do what we did and maybe even better at their unions.

É: You’re very vocal on climate justice. How did you find the universities climate conference?

EDS: Yeah I thought it was great! I didn’t have much time to explore but Austria and Inns bruck were amazing. Innsbruck was very much a university city and I guess Exeter is kind of like that but they were on a different level — they have different spaces around the city, which are all designed to help people keep cool or relax and socialise. It is very much a city made for people.

And then the conference itself was really, really good. There were people from 14 differ

ent universities there. I had a lot of those ‘wow’ moments where I thought, ‘why aren’t we doing that?’ So for example, at the University of Ghent in Belgium, students doing dissertations can ap ply to work with policymakers. Even undergrad uates at the end of their dissertations can apply to take that research and work with policymakers on different ways to implement that research, es pecially around climate and sustainability things — it was really amazing. I’m still writing a blog with a summary of what I did. It was really great and I hopefully will have the opportunity to do similar things maybe next year.

É: What are your thoughts on the out come of COP 27?

EDS: I followed what was happening on the news and I thought there were some really posi tive things, like the Loss and Damage Fund to help poorer nations that have been affected by climate related disasters and everything. So that was really good, although that won’t be imple mented until COP 28. But it is a good step for climate justice.

There were also quite a few little stories which didn’t like reach the headlines. For in stance Lula (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), the Brazilian President, set up an indigenous minis try for indigenous people. So he wants to do a COP 30 where indigenous people’s demands on the climate emergency will be at the forefront. Also shark fin trading has been stopped so that’s good, and that was a result of COP 27.

But at the same time, we do need to be do ing more. When I was at COP 26 last year, one of the main things that we protested on within COP, which is technically illegal, was about keep ing fossil fuels in one of the demands. So we wanted them to say, ‘we’re phasing out fossil fu els.’ But again, the same thing happened. So in the final agreement it just says that ‘we’re phas ing down coal’ and not the other fossil fuels, so that was a really big failure, because it’s basically saying you don’t have to phase them out. It was mixed, but obviously as activists, we’re always going to say it’s not enough, because its not.

É: Do you think the University takes cli mate change seriously?

EDS: Short answer, no. With the Univer sity and its marketing, it’s a very useful thing for them to be able to say they’re doing stuff in terms of their marketing and PR strategy. The Strategy 2030 is a lot about climate action and environmental social justice. But it is a market ing strategy a lot of the time and it doesn’t really speak to students. It doesn’t speak to the ordi nary student and what they’re actually doing.

They’re doing the very high level stuff. But on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs they’re doing all the top things like fancy internships, making jobs, making strategies and branding. But they’re not doing the basics, such as reliable, efficient public transport to and from campus and decent affordable food, although we’re making moves on that obviously. And then educating people about the climate — that stuff is kind of hap pening, but that should be at the top of the list

and all the branding and all that stuff should come last. I think like the Guild is doing a lot more than the uni at the moment to be honest. Because the things the uni do don’t speak to stu dents outside of those studying the climate crisis essentially.

É: What’s the transition been like from a grassroots activist to a Guild officer?

EDS: I like this question. I’m not going to lie and say, ‘oh it’s exactly the same.’ Because you’re going into an official role where your face is everywhere and you’re accountable to like 30,000 students — or the students who elected me. There are a diverse range of interests there and I do have to represent everyone most of the time. It is a weird transition and quite sudden going from: ‘I care about this and I’m going to campaign on this’ to: ‘I’ve got a load of students behind me and relying on me to do stuff that benefits everyone,’ so it is just about tailoring what I’m really passionate about and ensuring that anything that I’m doing is benefiting eve ryone.

I am inspired by a lot of politicians, for ex ample Zarah Sultana and Nadia (Whittome), who still show up at protests and still get involved with activists. Last year when I was doing Green New Deal Rising and I went to this summer school thing with Zarah Sultana, she was just like like a normal ordinary human who got involved with activists. So I’ve been very inspired by peo ple like her who were able to do the professional role and speak up in the Houses of Parliament, but still come back to the grassroots where she came from. So I’m trying to achieve that balance.

I am inspired by a lot of politicians, for example Zarah Sultana and Nadia (Whittome)

But you have to wear a lot of hats in this role, so you’re a trustee, so you have to care about the whole reputation of the whole Guild. You’re an activist in terms of getting stuff done like the two pound meals, and then you’re also speaking up in University meetings every day and trying to get your point across in a way which speaks their language. So yeah, it’s a weird one, but I hope that I am still doing everyone justice.

The things the uni do don’t speak to students outside of those studying the climate crisis essentially.

Image: Students Guild

É: Why do you think the Guild has en gaged with campaigning more this year and how can it continue to do so?

EDS: I think its important to take more risks and know that actually we don’t always have to do things the same way. I think obviously the reason that campaign [£2 meal campaign] was successful is because of the system of having elected officers who have ideas and have con nections to students. So I think that essentially, it does show the benefits of student democracy, of electing people to represent you, that they’re able to do campaigns like that. So I definitely think that the officer system has worked.

But aside from that, I personally think we have significantly increased campaign funding this year for students to use and achieve what they want to achieve. It all comes down to the visibility thing, of people knowing what the Guild can do, and hopefully we’ll see the reper cussions of people saying “oh, the Guild sup ported that campaign, that’s quite cool” and that helps its reputation. Because obviously the Guild is meant to be radically inclusive, and we are radically inclusive, but that has had its side effects in the past, where it’s meant that views, which a lot of people don’t agree with have to be included, and that has had negative effects. But yeah, I think the positive news stories and this momentum from the £2 meal campaign could hopefully shift that. But yeah, I think more risk taking would be great.

É: Last year you were very vocally op posed to Dan Peña speaking at the Public Speaking Society event. And specifically, the Guild Speaker Policy. Are there any changes that you would like to see to the Guild Speak er Policy implemented this year?

EDS: Yeah, I mean as a result of that Dan Peña case they set up a new freedom of speech committee to talk about this issue specifically. So when I’m in meetings now, people still like to bring it up as a key example of why we need to change the policy, especially around the inter action the University and Guild have with each other about external speakers.

Obviously it’s not an isolated thing, it’s part of a national culture war, or strategy, to invoke a culture war about what is freedom of speech, what is hate speech? I mean, we’re seeing at the moment with Twitter and everything going on there that it’s not an isolated incident, but at the same time, as a student union, it is really all about the line between freedom of speech and hate speech and defining where that line is.

So I think there can definitely be more work done prior to these incidents, before it gets to the situation of having harmful views platformed. You know we can rearrange something, so it in stead is held as a debate instead of just a talk, so that we’re challenging the view. But especially in a post-truth world, where things aren’t necessar ily validated because of fact, but because of how you say it, it’s not always what you say. It’s all about how you say it and how well it’s marketed.

There is definitely room for student unions to be a bit more vocal and to actually challenge student societies on what is acceptable and what we want to be promoting for our channels. But we are in a financially risky situation now when we don’t platform all speakers that students want because of the government’s new policy, and we could get sued if we don’t do that.

I think it’s important to recognise the behav iour of someone who is explicitly discriminatory, racist, misogynistic, and see that they’ve already said stuff which is harmful, and you know, even

been threatening to students. We shouldn’t be then inviting them to a University. I think we do need to be harder on that.

Sorry, that was a lot! I could talk about Dan Peña all day — I still get emails and tweets from him!

É: So obviously there’s a big difference between policy and a freedom of speech committee — do you think there should be some fundamental change implemented. And do you think, considering how vocal you were on it last year, would you see a lack of fundamental change as somewhat of a failure?

EDS: I mean, it’s not something I cam paigned on, right? Yeah, I think. I’ve got the rest of this year and then academic year. If I don’t see that change, long term. I would see that as something I could have done, but obvi ously I don’t see it as like an individual respon sibility as much. Because now I also have been involved more with like finding out about how the policies and everything work. I don’t want to say it’s really, really, complex, because it’s not, but at the same time its about getting it through to the University. And then in some cases it’s not just about the University, it’s about the govern ment. By sitting in these high level meetings with the University, you know, has made it clear to me that they’re also accountable to education acts and everything. But come New Year, there is more to do for sure.

Are there any general areas that you think the Guild can significantly improve in?

EDS: I’d love to see the Guild try to get some of its commercial side back, because I think that obviously that is a really big thing that students like the look and feel of what you can buy on campus.

É: Anything specific? Because obviously there’s the RAM, the Lemmy, the shop etc.

EDS: It would be great if we can support students to open their own student led outlet, or kitchen or something on campus which is af fordable.

I think the Guild could definitely be strong er on wanting some of that commercial viability back because at the moment we’re not allowed to really do anything which involves selling food and drink and stuff to students. I definitely think there is room for a student run an outlet or something.

É: What would you say is your role as VP Liberation and Equality? Because it seems like quite a vague title.

EDS: Yeah, they are considering splitting my role and making what it is more concrete. At the moment sometimes I do feel like I am brought into loads of different conversations. It is difficult, obviously, because sometimes people see me as a good person to go to for any and everything, but then on the other hand I don’t mind that at all. That’s why I’m doing the £2 meal campaign. Because it benefits everyone. Just doing something which benefits everyone, that’s what I find really liberating, so I guess that fulfils my role.

É: Do you find this confusion around your role frustrating?

EDS: I would say you need to be quite tacti cal in what you choose to do. I mean I’m a history

student, and the failure of a lot of social justice efforts in the 1960s was due to fragmentation. Just trying to bring everyone together behind a thing as simple as good food, I think is really effective. That’s where I think that I can really make change. Rather than trying to do a load of different campaigns about different issues.

É: So the £2 meal deal has been your ‘thing’ this term. Next term, what’s it going to be?

EDS: So at the moment I’m working quite a lot with Be the Change and the 93% Club. And obviously, since the UCU strikes a lot more stu dents have been aware of issues on campus. So we’re talking now about trying to pass a Green New Deal.

This is an exclusive actually! A Green New Deal would encompass a lot of student and staff demands. This wouldn’t be a greenwashing thing for the University to say, “we’ve listened to stu dents and we’ve passed a Green New Deal,” but for them to really reach out to all students and ask what they want and for us to try and hold them accountable. Because in 2019 they passed a climate emergency paper. But a lot of that stuff they haven’t acted on. And so that’s like one pro ject, but at the same time I’m also just focussing on ensuring students are getting what universi ties should deliver, which is education.

next term, what are your general thoughts on the UCU strikes and how could the Univer sity be doing better?

EDS: Yeah, I think for anyone who’s kind of like, not sure about why the strikes are going on. I’d say talk to lecturers and talk to the people teaching you, because most of them are ridicu lously overworked.

My mom’s a teacher as well, and it’s not the exact same. But people are on the edge of burn out. She’s been a teacher for 20 years and she’s never seen it as bad as it is right now. There’s a huge workload and they’re always having to meet these targets and number crunching and everything. It’s getting to a tipping point where people, staff, and lecturers cannot do their teach ing and they cannot give students the education they deserve because they are so burnt out and just there’s so much going on and they are so understaffed. When I was on the picket lines last week, I was just speaking to some staff about their departments and people from all different departments. Just saying, you know, they can’t really afford their rent. And it is just getting to this point of, we are striking and we don’t want to have to do this, we don’t want to affect our students education. But in the longer term, they won’t have a good education because they won’t have teachers.

I think, on the pyramid of what students care about, it’s education and social life which come out on top. Whereas on the University’s hierarchy, education seems to be just disregarded and all they care about is TEF and all of that. I think it’s important to try to communicate that to the people in charge at the moment, to say “I know you care about long term strategies and your brand. But most students are only here for three years, and at the moment, mental health and the cost of living are impacting people’s lives most significantly — so what can we do in the short term to improve this?” So next term I’ll be working on the Green New Deal, and making sure students are educated and looked after.

É: You’ve spoken about supporting stu dents in their education and you’ve also been quite involved with the recent UCU strikes. With further strikes likley to be happening

We’ve got ambulance workers going on strike at the moment. We’ve got nurses going on strike for the first time in a very long time. And it’s people who don’t want to have to be doing that. But when they’re so underresourced and so undervalued they have no choice. Yes, so I 100 per cent support all the lecturers taking that ac tion, and I think it is incredibly brave to do that and to potentially risk docking of pay, which is happening at Queen Mary University and some other universities. But hopefully universities will listen, because it’s a broken education system and it has been broken for a very long time and it seriously needs sorting out.

É: Thank you so much for talking to us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

EDS: Oh, you’re not gonna ask whether I’m running again?

É: So are you running again?

EDS: Yeah, probably I just don’t know what role. Yeah, it’s either this role or

É: Pres?

EDS: Potentially. Yeah, potentially. I just think this role is so short term which makes it difficult to have sustainable long term change.

Image: VP Liberation & Equality Instagram

A Green New Deal would encompass a lot of student and staff demands

I could talk about Dan Peña all day I still get emails and tweets from him, you know?

EDITORS:

Jeremy Hunt’s autumn blues

Charlie

Gershinson, News Editor, assesses

THE autumn statement pre sented an economic story of two halves. One side, where the worst fears of massive spend ing cuts went unrealised along with some glimmers of hope as ‘Trus sonomics’ is swiftly swept under the rug. The second — bleaker — story sees the UK’s tax burden in crease to its highest level in decades. The tax increases announced in the statement mainly affected the middle and upper classes. The threshold for the 45p rate of tax has been lowered from £150,000 to £125,140, for exam ple. This pushes 250,000 more taxpay ers into the higher tax band with each taxpayer in that band paying an extra £1,243 per year. The tax burden is not only falling on the wealthy, however, as the personal allowance thresholds will continue to be frozen until 2028. This will lead to the process which economists refer to as ‘fiscal drag’, forcing many low-income house holds into the basic tax rate over time.

The increases in taxes did not just affect individuals. Energy com panies will now face a 45 per cent levy in a ‘windfall’ tax which will raise £14 billion. Small business owners will also face dividend cuts, limiting how much own ers can pay themselves.

Away from tax in creases, Hunt strived to move on from Trus sonomics and his pre decessor’s disastrous ‘mini budget’. Want ing to showcase sta bility and continu ity, the Chancellor recommitted to ex isting plans to help the public with costof-living with the energy price guaran tee being kept in place for another 12 months at an average of £3,000, up from £2,500. Hunt also announced a large increase in the “national living wage” from £9.50 to £10.42, an increase of 9.7 per cent billed as the “largest ever”.

However, with the UK’s national inflation rate at 10.1 per cent, this

Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement and its potential impacts

will still represent a slight pay cut in real terms. Usdaw, the retail trade union, called

on the mini mum wage to be lifted to “at least £12” while

its general secretary Paddy Lillis said it had previously “called for a meaningful package of support for working people” which he believed the budget did not live up to. The government has com mitted to retaining the tri ple lock for pensions, meaning that pension ers will see their in come increase by the same as inflation, 10.1 per cent. This will see those on the new pension get an increase from £185.15 per week to £203.85, an increase of £972 per year. A feared return to post-2008 auster ity did not arise. Many had theorised that to fill the black hole of £50 billion in the government budget, immediate and drastic spending cuts would be necessary to make ends meet. Expected spending cuts for all public services, potentially including the NHS, were not men tioned, however. Instead, Hunt com

The state of student mental health

Elen Johnston explores student mental health following the pandemic and

NIGHTLINE is charity run by anonymous student volunteers providing sup port for students struggling with their mental health. The charity was estab lished 50 years ago and has warned about the toll of the pandemic on UK university students’ mental health.

Nightline reported a 51.4 per cent increase in calls between 2020 and 2021, a suggested further increase of 30 per cent from 2021 to 2022 and even further 235 per cent increase since the start of the academic year.

According to the mental health charity, Mind, one in five students have a diagnosed mental health problem.

An NHS Digital report recently re ported that one in four 17 to 19-yearolds have probable mental health dis orders, an increase from one in six in 2021. This, alongside Nightline’s re cent reporting, indicates that students in higher education are experiencing increasing mental health difficulties.

Jennifer Smith, the charity Stu

dent Mind’s Policy Manager told the Guardian “the vast majority” of stu dents experienced “significant dis ruption in their lives” that has left them feeling “grief, loss, uncertainty and a lack of confidence”. The pan demic has been a period of isolation and constant change for students.

Matt Jones, a PhD student at Loughborough University and head of his university’s Nightline service told the Guardian, “There’s this feeling of ‘We’re fed up of living through his tory.’ We’re fed up of living through big events, whether it’s Covid or the January insurrection or the war in Ukraine. If you talk to students, more than anything else, it’s ‘Can we have a year where nothing happens? Can we have a year of sanity and calmness?’”.

Students now face the cost-ofliving crisis. Food prices are rising at the highest rate in 42 years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that half of students in England are facing financial difficul ties. The ONS survey was the first of its kind based on the views of 4,000 students. The survey found that 91 per cent of students found their cost-of-living had increased from last year, 29 per cent are skipping nonmandatory lectures or tutorials to save money, and one in five students have considered moving back to their family home and commuting to uni versity to cut costs. Financial difficul ties put further pressure on students. Exeter Nightline is a confidential listening and information service avail able from 8pm to 8am every night dur ing term time at www.exeter.nightline. ac.uk, email: listening@exeter.night line.ac.uk, or can be called at the num ber on the back of your student card.

mitted to maintaining growth in real terms in public spending for the next five years but at a slower rate. There was an additional announcement of an increase in the schools’ budget, with an extra £2.3 billion added. Overall, the autumn statement met the bleak expectations of economists, particularly in the increase of taxa tion to fill the government’s budget.

For university students, the budg et provided little to no direct aid for the cost-of-living crisis. On the offi cial Department for Education blog, the only details given on aid for stu dents include “increased maintenance loans every year, meaning disadvan taged students now have access to the highest ever amounts in cash terms” and £261 million in boosted hard ship funds from the Office of Stu dents. Both policies are separate and unrelated to the autumn statement.

crisis

amidst a cost-of-living

There’s this feeling of ‘We’re fed up of living through history’

Benedict Thompson and Austin Taylor

The tax increases... mainly affected the mid dle and upper classes

The autumn state ment met the bleak expectations of economists

Image: Ted Eytan, Wikimedia Commons

Image: mattbuck, Wikimedia Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

TWITTER users have voted to reinstate the 45th Presi dent of the United States to the platform — along with all the scandal that it will undoubtedly bring.

Donald Trump, while having only served one tenure as President as of 2022, has made an astounding impact on the political world and on direct engagement with voters. Despite this, Trump’s interactions on Twitter and, most significantly, his suspension from the platform in 2021 following the 6th January raid on the US Capitol in Washington D.C., make his reinsta tion a shocking and interesting devel opment. As an extremely controversial figure, it is perhaps unsurprising that the poll on his return was won only by a very slim margin (the poll finished with 51.8 per cent in favour of Trump being welcomed back to the platform).

New owner Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter involves ideas of greater free speech and reduced censorship. As such, opening a poll up on whether to reinstate Trump to the platform is aligned with the vision, but does bear a variety of complications. A major complication is that Trump was origi nally suspended due to “incitement of violence” which could establish a precedent that if an individual is popular enough, dangerous speech can be acceptable and tolerated.

If an individual is popular enough, [is] hate speech... accept able and tolerated[?]

Twitter’s role in the riots is often overlooked, with mismanagement of rioters being blamed for the deaths of four civilians and a police of ficer. However, had Trump not used Twitter to push the false notion that the 2020 election had been fraudu lent, and to air his personal griev ances with Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence, it is probable that the riot would never have happened at all.

Intriguingly, Trump’s official perspective is that he does not want

to return to Twitter. He has previ ously been quoted as saying that he doesn’t “see any reason” to go back to the platform, which will come as a shock to some given that he has confirmed he will make a bid for a second presidential term in 2024. Trump’s relationship with Twitter and the success of his political career are arguably intrinsically interlinked and his brash, unapologetic, and often in sensitive use of the platform marked him as an unusual — perhaps unique — politician, and one that many of his supporters could identify with.

Those more engaged with Trump’s personal business dealings are likely unsurprised that he has not returned to Twitter, given the es tablishment of Trump’s own social media platform, Truth Social. The platform makes it easier for Trump to monetise his own brand, advance the platform to a level where its fi nancial success depends less on him, and avoid the risk of Musk’s argu ably unstable management of Twitter damaging his presidential campaign.

Despite this, time will tell whether Trump is truly able to wean himself off his old favourite platform, or whether he once again finds himself embroiled within the political Twitter sphere in a bid to gain more atten tion prior to the presidential election.

While Elon Musk believes that “The people have spoken” regard ing Trump’s restoration to Twitter, the 2024 presidential campaign will be the true indication of how much value America assigns to Trump and his political views. However, as far as Elon Musk is concerned, it does not matter if Donald comes up trumps: his success lies in the reality that once again people are engaged and interested in Twitter — even if it is due to controversy.

If

Chinese students chafe against lockdown

EVER since the pandemic began, Chinese authorities have adopted a strict zerotolerance policy towards stopping the spread of COVID-19. This involves a systematic and frequent implementa tion of targeted lockdowns, mass test ing and quarantines which can range from a building to an entire province in terms of area. This includes univer sity campuses as well, where students have been more or less living under a state of lockdown for the last three years. To take an example, and to un derstand the strictness of the system, we can look at the recent shutdown of the entirety of Peking University in Beijing over just one COVID case.

ders, or simply a strange new hobby.

Chinese students... [are] crawling in groups... and making pets out of cardboard

Given this situation, Chinese stu dents of late seem to have acquired certain “odd” hobbies — like crawl ing in groups on open grounds and making pets out of cardboard — that have immensely perplexed govern ment officials who aren’t able to as certain if this new phenomenon is a protest against lockdowns, a mani festation of psychological disor

Video clips from the Communica tion University of China in Beijing, uploaded to social media sites in re cent days, showed a group of young people crawling around after each oth er in a circle on a college sports field, which was followed by video clips of similar activities going on at other universities as well, prompting differ ent reactions from different viewers. Some saw it as a game for everyone, or a kind of performance emerging out of the students’ boredom and disconnection from the outer world, while one social media user saw it as a behaviour aimed at “attracting public attention, and a call for society to take heed of the mental state of college students.” And yet, on the opposing end of the spectrum, it is being seen by some as a “group psychological dis order”, as something which shouldn’t be banned, but not tolerated either.

Meanwhile, students have been carving pets out of discarded card board boxes and taking care of them,

tying up their “carton dogs” outside their dorms, often even going out on a walk with them as if it were actually a dog. Again, while some perceive this as arising out of the students’ feelings of loneliness from living under very strict lockdown conditions, believing this to be a serious indicator of the fall ing mental state of college students, others believe it to be a subtle and passive act of protest against the op pressive regime and its COVID policy.

However, as of the time of writing this article, the news from the last few hours depicts the situation as chang ing already. Chinese universities now are said to be sending students home as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the ongoing widespread pro tests against the regime and its zeroCOVID policy, in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. Students will be tested, and then be sent home, from where they will attend classes and take exams online. With COVID cases hav ing recently spiked across the country, it is reportedly believed that this meas ure will help reduce further infections. Needless to mention, dispersing pro testing students to far-flung home towns does also reduce the likelihood of more activism and any form of organised dissent against the regime.

Helena Hughes looks at the implications of Donald Trump’s reinstatement to Twitter

Will Donald come up Trump(s)?

Shagnick Bhattacharya ponders the meaning of some odd hobbies gaining traction on Chinese campuses

you can’t run, crawl:

Frequent implementa tion of targeted lockdowns

Trump... does not want to return to Twitter

Image: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons

COVID-19 cases rising in China

NEARLY three years on from the pandemic, two very different ways of dealing with the virus are emerg ing. Many Western countries have decided to try and live with the vi rus to an extent. On the other hand, China is pursuing a strict zero-COVID policy with profound consequences. This week, China has recorded a record number of COVID cases, with over 40,000 being recorded on the 28th No vember. Despite this being low consid ering the size of China’s population, compared to other countries, China has responded severely. It is no longer enforcing a national lockdown, but ex pects local authorities to enforce strict lockdowns, with businesses, schools and most shops being closed. Those who test positive isolate at home or are quarantined in a government facility.

largest iPhone factory, after there was an outbreak there. Footage shows hun dreds of workers marching, with some saying that they had been beaten by po lice. There have even been protestors calling for Xi Jinping to resign. These cases suggest that the zero-COVID strategy is testing social cohesion.

There are also economic conse quences. Lockdowns have led to fac tories and ports being shut and have affected joint ventures with foreign companies. This has played a large role in China’s economy growing by only 3.9 per cent, instead of its target of 5.5 per cent. It is also having an im pact on the global economy, causing

supply chain issues in a world that is reliant on Chinese output. For exam ple, the lockdown at the iPhone fac tory has led to fears of a global short age and there are also worries of a toy shortage just in time for Christmas. This points to a negative impact on the Chinese and global economies. With the Chinese government set on this policy, it is difficult to know how this situation will be resolved. There are even questions about how efficient Chinese vaccines are at containing the virus. However, there is no doubt that the decisions the Chinese govern ment are making have profound im plications both at home and abroad.

Living in a foreign community

Anna Jones tells the story of her Scandinavian adventure

IN August, I packed up my life into two suitcases, one of which in cluded a vacuum-packed duvet, and checked into my one-way flight to Co penhagen’s rival and the second largest city in Denmark — Aarhus. The only expectations I had of Denmark were that it would have weather worse than the UK and that every girl was impec cably dressed (according to TikTok). So far this has proven to be correct, especially in the past month, where the only exception for the Baltic wind and torrential rain has been a snow day.

Living in a flat with 13 Danes quickly opened my eyes to the cul tural differences between the UK and Scandinavia. For lunch they eat smør rebrød, a hearty open sandwich made with rye bread. I was quickly informed by a flatmate that they would never eat anything hot in the middle of the day.

The social consequences of this are becoming increasingly clear. In a country where freedom of expres sion is curtailed, protests are very rare. Yet there have recently been pro tests in several cities. Tensions have boiled over in Urumqi where locals said COVID regulations prevented residents from leaving an apartment building that was on fire. This led to protestors chanting and arguing with officials. There have also been protests in Zhengzhou, home to the world’s

I also quickly found out that Danes are amazing planners -— my flat sched uled our Christmas dinner in Septem ber. Every party organised is planned on Facebook (very boomer but they love it) and you are expected to RSVP.

bike, and you truly would be lost without one. In fact, it is not un common to cycle to the club. One thing that I am grateful for and that has opened my eyes to my privilege as a native English speaker is how widely spoken English is. Of course, I feel guilty knowing next to no Danish, but they are so ready to switch languages for you and even have menus in English sometimes. However, I have nailed the ‘no thank you’ (‘nej tak’) when they ask me what I am assuming is, ‘would you like a receipt’.

Of course, they drive on the oppo site side of the road, and I had to quickly learn the traffic rules when I bought my bike. Ah yes, the bikes. Every Dane has a

All in all, despite making my bank account cry as it is the eighth most ex pensive country in the world, I can see why Denmark is one of the happiest nations; their work-life balance is im maculate. As I write this, I am sitting in a library where there are massage chairs, ping pong tables and table foot ball for when you need to take a break from work. How Scandinavian is that!

The Squadron 307 Project — for your freedom and ours

Agata Koralewska, International Editor, reviews an international event in Exeter

ON the 15th October every year in the Exeter Guildhall, there is a special celebration connected to the 307 Squadron Pro ject — a British-Polish charity that remembers the role of the Polish 307 Squadron in defending Exeter during the Second World War. The pilots were part of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and were called the “Lwow Eagle Owls”, as it was a night squadron. That has inspired its logo which consists of an owl, plane and a crescent-shaped moon. The event was meant to com memorate the commitment of the Pol ish pilots to stopping the Exeter Blitz.

This year it was the 80th anniversary of the handing of the Polish flag to the city of Exeter in 1942 as a symbol of teamwork and brotherhood. The cel ebration started in the morning with a ceremony of raising the Polish flag above the Guildhall building, followed by the singing of the Polish national anthem and speeches by the organis ers of the event and the Lord Mayor of Exeter. There was also a military parade marching on the High Street, attracting the people who passed by. Shortly after, the exhibition officially started and was open for the public. The showcase was varied and filled

with stories about each pilot. Walking around, you could meet the descend ants of the fighters who were willing to tell you stories about their ances tors and show you some memorabilia left of them. There were old uni forms, journals, maps and much more to discover and learn history from. The exhibition was divided into pan els that explained the general history of the Squadron from the beginning of the war, and separate stands that were dedicated either to individual pi lots or the planes they were flying in.

“For Your Freedom and Ours” is the slogan of the event and it does a

great job in bringing people together to remember the heroic acts of brave, young men. The exhibition is successful in both capturing their determination and skill in flying and their more casual side. The numerous anecdotes included amongst the historical facts are a great demonstration of that, for example, their encounters with women or pranks pulled on them by their British friends. Some of the heroes who died whilst fighting were buried in the Higher Cemetery in Heavitree. It is possible to visit their graves if you want to further explore the rich history of war-ridden Exeter.

Eleanor Burkey examines how the zero-Covid policy affects the country socially and economically

Danes are amazing planners my flat scheduled our Christ mas dinner in September

China has recorded a record number of cases

Image: Super Wang, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Lars Larsen, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Agata Koralewska

CONNOR GODDARD & ANABEL COSTA-FERREIRA

Joe Lycett shreds 10k — or does he?

Harry Craig, Music Editor, discusses the comedian’s recent publicity stunt that took aim at David Beckham

IN defence of taking £150m from the Qatari authorities for acting as an ambassador for the Men’s Football World Cup, David Beckham said that the tournament was “a platform for progress”. Words that to me, and so many people around the world, seem completely empty, in light of Qatar’s abysmal human rights record, criminalisation of homosexuality, and medieval treatment of migrant workers.

On the 13th November, comedian Joe Lycett took these concerns into his own hands, issuing an ultimatum to Beckham: end your relationship with Qatar, or he will shred £10,000. As expected, Beckham did not respond, and on the 20th November Lycett posted a video of him shredding the money, although it later emerged that the money was not real, and it was a stunt to get people talking about the issue.

Lycett appears to have been incredibly successful in this aim — he captured the attention of the national media, even making the BBC and ITV headlines, and dominated social media trends in the UK in the run-up to the Qatar World Cup. Indeed, the stunt was far more successful than any standard advertising campaign worth £10,000.

The criticism levelled at Beckham seems justified, especially in light of

Qatar’s treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. Beckham claimed in 2002 that he was “honoured” to be regarded as a gay icon after appearing on the cover of Attitude magazine, yet his deal with the Qataris shows that icon status has been shredded, much like Lycett’s fake money.

Qatar is ranked 190th in the world for LGBTQ+ rights, with same-sex sexual activity punishable by seven years in prison. A gay Qatari man was even sentenced to two and a half months in solitary confinement for the ‘crime’ of wearing makeup. All of this is being indirectly endorsed by Beckham and others who have taken money to promote the Qatari state, including Gary Neville, Robbie Williams, and The Black Eyed Peas.

Even by the second day of this World Cup, it was already clear that Beckham’s pledge that hosting the event would lead to change in Qatar is false. At Wales’ match against the USA on the 21st November, numerous fans were denied entry to the stadium for wearing clothes displaying the rainbow colours, and earlier that day, seven European football associations

Do they

WITH Christmas around the corner, many people are getting ready to begin the Christmas festivities. We’ve had a rough time; with COVID dominating our lives for the past two years, it’s not surprising that people want to start celebrating Christmas early. Yet some may question whether it is still too early to be getting into the festive spirit.

Many shops started their Christmas advertisements in midNovember. Asda’s Christmas advert, ‘Have your Elf a Merry Christmas’ for example, featuring the famous Buddy the Elf played by Will Ferrell, was released in November to boost Christmas purchases before December had even gotten here.

Similarly, the highly anticipated John Lewis advert, this year titled ‘The Beginning’, was released on the 10th November with an adorable story of a man learning how to skateboard to have something in common with the little girl he was fostering.

Yet, with these early Christmas adverts in mind, some may argue that Christmas is starting to become

far more commercialised than in previous years. Christmas markets all across the UK have opened up where many people get to enjoy hot chocolate and handmade Christmas trinkets. The Christmas market in Exeter every time that I have been has been crowded with people, from families with young children to university students, all of whom get to look around the market, in awe of the Christmas lights, food stalls

it’s Christmas time?

and gift sheds. Arguably some of these stalls sell slightly overpriced things, including hot chocolates for £5. Yet, since it’s Christmas, no one cares about the prices, and they end up buying these things to help make them feel more Christmassy.

I know that I sound like a Scrooge, complaining about Christmas adverts and the prices of Christmas necessities. But I myself, like many others, am extremely

excited for Christmas this year. I tend to find that the build-up to Christmas is usually a lot more fun and exciting than Christmas day itself. My housemates and I have already started getting into the festive mood. We’ve started putting up some Christmas decorations. These decorations mainly include some of my old decorations from home, some more strange than others — including a creepy Santa

backpedalled on a pledge to wear OneLove armbands after FIFA said they would be sanctioned for doing so.

The likes of Beckham are entitled to promote any cause they wish, but as public figures they cannot be exempt from criticism for endorsing authoritarian, human rights-abusing states, particularly when that clashes with the values they have expressed for decades. This hypocrisy is what Lycett and others have been calling out — how can Beckham expect respect from the LGBTQ+ community that he has benefitted from, whilst also gaining financially from a regime that strips that community of their rights?

The football will play on in Qatar’s stadiums for the next fortnight, but David Beckham has scored an own goal with the community that saw him for so long as a “gay icon”, all for a £150m cheque from the Qatari regime.

on a swing. With the cost-of-living crisis also playing into the expenses of Christmas, as a house we have been crafting our own Christmas decorations. We’ve made our own pom poms to decorate the tree and have been making Christmasthemed paper chains to spruce up the house with Christmas magic.

Overall, I don’t think it’s too early to be celebrating Christmas. With it getting colder and people’s lives finally getting back to some form of normality, it’s completely understandable that everyone has become extra Christmassy this year. I think whenever you want to start being festive is your decision and I personally don’t judge those who wanted to start celebrating early. It’s time to defrost Mariah Carey for the year and for everyone to start singing away to Christmas tunes.

know

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor, gives her take on Christmas preparation in November and early celebrations

Numerous fans were denied entry to the stadium for wearing clothes displaying rainbow colours

Image: Choo Yut Shing, Flickr

As a house we have been crafting our own Christmas decorations

Image: Bernard Spragg, Flickr

Image: Raph_PH, Flickr

Lecturers strike — a time for student support?

Comment writers discuss conflicting reactions to the recent UCU strikes

WITHOUT a doubt, the rea sons for which lecturers are striking are respect able; they are demanding a fairer wage and better working environments: both of which, as students, we fully understand the complexity of. The strikes are in place to make a bold statement against these injustices, catching the attention of the higher powers who can do something to make a positive change for our lecturers. However, amongst this power ful stand against these problems, we have to address the elephant in the room: our studies. Approaching the end of the first term, students are at their most fragile, both men tally and academically. The mounting pressure put on us to submit assign ments as well as continue studying is enough to make even the most or ganised students stressed. Even with full tutor support with open office hours, seminar time and the oppor tunities for one-on-one discussions with our tutors, it can feel impossi ble to achieve a high quality of work when there is simply so much to do.

Students are at their most fragile, both mentally and academically

Of course, the strikes only work well when students are inconven ienced. If they warn us in advance as to whether they are striking, it defeats the purpose of the strike. Turning up to an 8:30 with no tutor is frustrat ing and makes us want to complain directly to the University. With hun dreds of complaints, they take notice and begin to want to fix the issue. Instructing us to not come to cam pus on a specific day is more like a planned day off and isn’t as impactful. However, we are left to wonder whether this inconvenience could have come at a less demanding time. It seems unfair on the student body, who have worked tirelessly for 12 weeks to suddenly have their studies ground to a halt while the tutors strike. The Uni versity has had their fair share of con troversy surrounding them recently,

regarding the mental health of stu dents for which adequate support was not provided. For this reason, you would think that our £9,250 extended to high-quality teach ing at all times, where we’re given support when we need it. Academic and mental support are all encom passed in the tuition fees we pay, so we can expect it when we need it.

This inconvenience could have come at less demanding time. It seems unfair

With the attention focused firm ly on the fairer working conditions for our tutors, we have to wonder where our own justice is. During the COVID pandemic when the govern ment flicked away our concerns on sky-high tuition fees for little to zero in-person teaching, how can it be fair that we were expected to suffer in silence with no compensation but tutors can make such noise about it?

There is no denying that our tu tors need to be treated more fairly; they, like us, work hard everyday within their roles and that should be fully appreciated. However, our frustration stems from the disparity between the treatment of tutors and students. All of us deserve better sup port within the education system and it would make more of a stand for us all to be demanding these changes.

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor

NIVERSITY lecturers have experienced a 25 per cent pay cut since 2009 whilst uni versity bosses pocket up to £500,000.

Lecturers were told by the University of Exeter’s 2030 Purpose and Vision that the University’s vision is to “lead the process towards creating a fair, socially just and inclusive society”.

They were told that they would be part of creating “a sustainable, healthy and socially just future”.

But I am afraid this is a lie.

The University has threatened to treat action short of strike (ASOS) as “a breach of contract” and a “partial per formance”. With this statement, the University’s values have dwindled further. It seems to me that as the university sector has ex panded, the working con ditions of those employed within it have worsened.

In addition to pay cuts, lecturers’ pensions have been cut by 35 per cent despite the University’s Superannuation Scheme now being in surplus.

University chancellors should do better to reflect on the direction in which their universities are going.

The University’s values have dwindled further

Huge sums have been invested in upgrading facilities, as well as on marketing, whilst the interests of lecturers have been forgotten.

The University of Exeter’s cost of £180,000 on a rather boring and ugly rebrand, for example, a fig ure which was only released after an investigation by Exeposé , not through the University official ly. The non-transparent machi nations of universities only increase a sense that they have a distant interest in lecturers.

The University and Col lege Union have stated, “The combination of pay erosion, unmanageable workloads, and the widespread use of insecure

contracts has undermined profes sionalism and made the working en vironment more stressful for staff”. This is undoubtedly true. Last year, a report found that half of UK univer sity staff showed signs of depression. In this sense, whether they realise or not, university chancellors are really damaging their own reputa tions, for one simple reason: if a university does not address the de teriorating conditions of lectur ers, those that keep it running, then any viable future for sustain able education becomes impossible.

Half of UK university staff showed signs of depression

The fact that lecturers’ conditions are inseparable from students’ quality of education, morale on campus and all the rest has been repeatedly forgotten. And one huge tension sits at the heart of this debate: the fact that the University of Exeter has ef fectively shifted every grade of its pay down by one since 2008. Meanwhile, the UCU says the UK university sector generated re cord income of £41.1 billion last year, with vice chancellors collec tively earning £45 million. Back, then, to the University of Exeter, where Steve Smith, then the Uni versity of Exeter’s Vice Chancel lor, received the sector’s largest ever pay package with £830,000 in 2020.

What do vice chancel lors and chancellors actually do? What makes them so impor tant that Steve Smith was once being paid more than Don ald Trump’s presidential salary? I can say with confidence that I speak on behalf of most students across the country when I say that we don’t know them, and the sooner they start to pay our lecturers more, the better it is for staff and students.

Benedict Thompson, Features Editor

Is striking the answer to these ongoing issues?

Why we must stand in solidarity with the union and the need for change

Satire

SATIRE EDITOR: Cleo Gravett

Exeter Christmas market expected to single-handedly save the UK economy

Annabelle Law Screen Editor

WITH the reputation of the University’s large pri vately educated popula tion ringing true, it seems Daddy and Mummy’s money is being put to good use, with students flock ing to the Exeter Christmas market.

Sheer numbers of overpriced jew ellery, alcohol and other knickknacks have become Exeter’s fixation, pumping money back into the economy, and surely saving us from the cost-of-living crisis.

Witnesses confirm that there is a wave of panic-buying of useless items that will be shoved to the back of a cup board for a later date, never to see the light of day again, namely the wooden carvings. You’ve all seen them, some of them are quite cute (namely the duck bottle holder I’ve got my eye on), others not so much, but the question remains:

does anyone really need a five foot wooden eagle that costs about a grand?

Turning towards the hot topic of

food, it must be said that the offerings from the stands are delicious this year, from loaded mac and cheese, masala

chips, to the most amazing crêpes and brownies; there is so much choice. Baileys hot chocolates are there warm ing punters up while simultaneously

sedating them in a sleepy alcoholic blur, acting as the perfect solution to stave off the cold and avoid putting on that dastardly heating. However, one food stand seems to have trig gered something within Exeter, with those who are willing to stand in a huge queue almost covering the width of Devon for… Chubby Churros.

The desperation and utter wait time both families and students en dure in order to get their mittens on roughly four churros is absurd (to the point where many have won dered if the sugar-coated topping is more than just sugar…), consider ing the short walk they could take to Tortilla to get the exact same thing.

The churros craze and its long line blocks any easy passage through the market, stopping the groups of “Rah” students from getting their small business y2k lush fairy-core jewellery. Perhaps our economic future is not in such safe hands as once thought.

Wake me up when Movember ends: Donated ‘taches to insulate homes

Madi Wharmby

KIND-HEARTED university students have donated their carefully groomed moustach es to local families in desperate need of fuel for their fireplaces this Christmas.

The generous students not only gave up their razors to raise tens of thousands of pounds, they are now giving up their newfound pride and joy to poverty-ridden house holds. The wispiest hairs have been

found to be particularly flamma ble by many delighted recipients.

liant idea of donating after realis ing what a heart-breaking waste it would be for their beautiful mous tache to ‘just go down the drain.’

Hundreds of men gathered in the Students’ Guild on the 30th November and merrily shaved their moustaches in a heart-warming community effort.

The genius scheme was invented by a savvy student who had the bril

With inflation at 11 per cent and still rising, people are struggling with costs more than ever before and are having to think up more creative so lutions to heat their homes. A local resident commented that the mous tache was helping them to power their oven to ‘start cooking Christ mas dinner in preparation for the 25th. The moustache is helping me

to cook hundreds of pigs in blan kets — they’re the best part, after all!’

Handy ‘drop boxes’ have been placed in the Forum for conven iency. Please consider giving a help ing hand this Christmas. All col ours, shapes and sizes are welcome.

Exeter named greenest city in Britain... But why?

SCIENTISTS from the Uni versity of Sheffield recently concluded that Exeter was the “greenest” city in Britain. While many Exeter residents are flattered by this accolade, many remain sceptical, and many more are confused as to the in tention of the description “green”.

As centuries of scientific research have determined that Dartmoor is not a city, and therefore does not qualify for the study, Exeposé initially conduct ed a poll to investigate what students at the University of Exeter believed

Exeter might be most “green” in. The results returned answers ranging from the richest, to the most stoned, to the most inexperienced city in Britain.

Further investigation into the study revealed to Exeposé ’s dis may that the “greenest” thing about Exeter was determined to be the city centre. Fantastic.

Anyway, their study concludes that Sheffield itself is the greenest city “overall” stating that they have “more trees per person than any city in Europe”. Firstly, what kind of narcis

sistic behaviour is that? And secondly, forget the environment — do they not realise that us Exeter students actually “bleed green”? I think we should all harvest our blood and show them just how “green” we are! I wish Exeter had more trees per person than any city in Europe — maybe the grass really is al ways greener on the other side. Hmph.

An Exeter-based mum tweeted a glowing statement of gratitude to

Shagnick Bhattacharya & Cleo Gravett, Satire Editor

.All colours, shapes and sizes are wel come

Image: Alison Day, Flickr

The wispiest hairs have been found to be particularly flam mable

Image: Leo Reynolds, Flickr

Image: Derek Harper, Wikimedia Commons

lifestyle

Housing mania: Making the right choices

Niall O'Mara reveals his tips to make the house hunting process run smoothly

AQUESTION many of us would’ve heard in the last few weeks and possibly dreaded hearing: "You sorted hous ing yet?". Housing. Students’ biggest stress at this time of year. As a first-year student, this is my first time tackling this minefield and for many of us, the first time moving into rented accommodation off campus. De spite it being a very daunting time, I am of fered hope. The place I have chosen to live next year means my toxic relationship with Cardiac Hill can end. Fortunately, I am in the closing stages of the process. There have been tears, tantrums and my flatmate and I considering the idea of sleeping in the Fo rum next year. After all, it’s open 24 hours…

DESPITE IT BEING A VERY DAUNTING TIME, I AM OFFERED HOPE

Let’s talk about how we manage to tackle the H-word. This is stressful and some have an easier time with this pro cess than others. It will work out. You will find somewhere to live. Give yourself time. Firstly, you need to find a group of peo

ple you think you would like to live with. The conversations can be scary as people start looking for houses early on but remember everyone is in the same boat. You want to find a group of people you get along with and can see yourself feeling comfortable with. However, do not fear if you can’t find these people straight away. There are always people looking for others to move in with. The ‘Overheard at Uni of Exeter’ Facebook page is where you will generally find these people. The housing fair in the Forum is also available to help you get started, whether that’s in finding people or when starting the process of looking for a house. Once you have found these people the next step is to com municate! What to discuss: budgets (this is very important as it needs to be affordable for all people you are living with!), the com mute to campus and the facilities that would be desirable in the house; for example, mul tiple bathrooms, storage spaces or parking.

There are many other important features to consider. Pricing: most houses will give you the details of how much they cost per week. If bills aren’t included, do not fear as you can

control how much gas and electricity you use. Living in a cost-of-living crisis, I advise discussing with the landlord what their cur rent tenants are paying for bills to give you an idea. The commute: some houses can be a lengthy walk to campus. Do the walk or get the bus when you go to a viewing: this will give a rough idea of the journey. Facilities: some houses offer parking, some don’t. Some houses will have multiple bathrooms or ensuites, gardens, a living room area etc. Again, discuss with your housemates the essentials. Also, at viewings make sure to ask questions! After all, you are the one who will be living there. Energy ratings, contract lengths, how to acquire parking permits are some examples.

IF BILLS AREN'T INCLUDED, DO NOT FEAR AS YOU CAN CONTROL HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU USE

It would be a good time to say what web sites are good to use when searching: Student Cribs, Rightmove, Studentpad, Exeter AFS and Cardens, to name just a few. There are lots of

websites and enquiring is straightforward.

For more advice, ask other students. Eve ryone will share a different story and will be able to offer a different perspective on the process. Second and third years are often helpful to talk to as they have done this before.

This is not a rule book to stick by. Every one sorts housing differently and at differ ent speeds, and there are plenty of options for living next year. My key piece of advice would be to look after yourself. During this time, it’s easy to make comparisons to oth ers. If this is becoming overwhelming, talk to someone, whether that’s contacting Night line, the Residence Life team, friends, family or whoever you feel most comfortable with. Take your time, know your require ments and before you know it, you’ll be right at home in your new house!

Ending Movember

Lifestyle writers give tributes to men in their lives to show their gratitude

AS we approach the end of Movember, it is impor tant to spend some time celebrating the special men in our lives. For me, that would be my dad.

Every day for the last two decades, I have watched as he has left for work at six in the morning, rain or shine. I have watched him go to every football match my brother has played (de spite his hatred for the sport). I’ve watched him leave elaborate meals outside my bedroom door when I was too stressed about my A-Levels to remember to eat. Even now, hundreds of miles away, I watch as he sends me videos of the cat he's severely allergic to, just so I know he’s being taken care of. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, there was never a moment in which he did not put his family first. Happy Movember, dad!

MEN should be celebrated every day but Movember is es pecially important in showing our support and admira tion for the male-identifying members of our society.

Recently, the gratitude I have owed has been to my per sonal tutor, Peter Riley, who helped me mid-mental crisis when I felt like the whole world was falling apart. He showed me academic and emotional support when I needed it the most and also offered a laugh, even through my welling tears.

It is important to note that it isn't purely the female teach ing staff members who can be nurturing and calming. Peter had a way of rationalising my problem that made the solu tion seem logical and coherent. Peter, thank you. The clouds have parted and there is a skip in my step again, thanks to you.

ILOVE my brother. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told it’s not normal for me to have such a great relationship with my brother and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. Whether we are chatting about our shared love of rugby, quoting The Dark Knight Rises or just having a major rant about something insig nificant, having him is just the best thing in the world. I think the main reason we get on so well is because we ultimately wanted to work out a way we could manipulate our parents into doing what we wanted, so it’s been a really enjoyable partnership. The things we’ve gotten away with while appearing innocent are genuinely so much fun and something we’re always able to laugh about. While I understand that not everyone gets on with their siblings, when I meet someone that shares a strong bond with their brother or sister, it's always something nice to talk about, knowing that they too have someone that they can always rely on.

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor

Freda Worrell

Joshua Hughes, Editor

Image: Rawpixel

Image: Alex Green

Image: Victoria Borodinova

THERE ARE LOADS OF WEBSITES AND ENQUIRING IS STRAIGHT FORWARD

Warmth vs. looks

Maggie

John, Online

DESPITE the colder and wetter days, I love winter. It is cosy, festive and fun and after sweltering all summer, it is finally time to dig out our winter clothes again. As Europe was taken over by a heat wave this summer, I longed for the colder months. However, now the chillier months have arrived, part of me is longing for some sun, although I’m certainly willing to enjoy winter for a while longer and the opportu nity to wrap up warm has only just begun.

Features

Editor,

offers her advice on the magic trick of layering clothes this winter

thinner layers, for example a thin longsleeved t-shirt with a thin jumper, and then a big coat on top. If you feel the cold as much as I do, a scarf and gloves will ul timately become your best friends. You also can’t go wrong with some thick socks and boots, which keep your toes toasty.

Although both summer and winter clothes have their own quirks, in general I am more drawn to winter clothes and in par ticular, clothes which you can layer. A shortsleeved top over a long -leeved top? Yes! A rollneck and a V-neck jumper? Absolutely! And don’t get me started on scarves… Even though it’s much easier and faster to leave the house in the summer, with out having to think about when it will rain or how cold it will be when you’re walk ing home, there is something very nice about wrapping up and the novelty of getting my beloved jumpers and coats out of the wardrobe hasn’t worn out yet. Generally, my go-to tip would be

That being said, I often fail to take my own advice, because I have an addiction to woolly jumpers, and I simply cannot get enough. I’m embarrassed to admit how many I own and chunky, woolly jumpers aren’t necessarily the thinnest garments to layer up. If you’re worried about being too warm, you could wear a short-sleeved t-shirt with a thicker jumper, for example.

But also, that’s the beauty of layer ing. If you get too hot, which is always a possibility when you are running late on Forum Hill, you can take a layer off and equally, if you’re standing out in the cold for a while, you could always put an ex tra layer on: there’s endless possibility.

So, here’s my parting piece of advice and while it can be applied to layering, it can also be applied to everything — always wear what you want and what you feel comfortable in.

Life as a pending gym lad

WITH the new year fast approaching, many of us are thinking about start ing at the gym but worry about the local lads and Gymshark girlies who seem to effortlessly lift double their body weight. We know that it can be an intimidating place at first and the newbie nerves can be rattling, so here are some tips and tricks for starting the gym to help you look like a seasoned professional.

gym looking for something to do, so make sure you go with a plan. There are many free workout plans on Instagram and YouTube so look for an influenc er who you like and follow their workouts. Here are some Instagrams to look at for inspiration: Madfit, Meggan Grubb, Chris Bumstead or Alex Eubank.

Set yourself goals:

are pushing yourself and testing your own limits, you don’t need to think about what other people are doing. Work out at your own pace and your progress will follow with time.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to in

crease your confidence in the gym and even venture into the unknown lands of the free weights section. Just remember not to compare yourself to anyone else in the gym. Your progress will be personal to you.

Learn the basics:

Remember to start with the basics and know the etiquette of the gym. Many gyms offer induc tion tours: they will show you around the gym and go through the basic machines and gym rules. These will help you understand the machines and the layout of the gym. In terms of etiquette, remember to give others personal space, clean up after yourself and be friendly with other gym users.

Walk in with a plan: No one wants to be wandering around the

Whether you want to be a cardio bunny,or a powerlifting pro, setting yourself a goal to work towards is essential for making progress. Be fore you make your workout plan, think about what you want to achieve. Do you want to run a 10K or learn to lift weights? But remember bal ance is key. And I don’t mean standing on one foot. Try incorporating various types of exercise to support your goals and help you stay healthy.

Be confident in yourself:

Most of the time no one is looking at you, so don’t worry if you are using the light est dumbbell or running at a slow pace. If you

Isobel Vautier talks you through being a newbie at the gym and how to avoid the nerves

Image:

A SCARF AND GLOVES WILL ULTIMATELY BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND

Marco Verch Professional, Flickr

SETTING YOURSELF A GOAL TO WORK TOWARDS IS ESSENTIAL

Joe Zimny Photos, Flickr

WE KNOW THAT IT CAN BE INTIMIDATING AT FIRST AND THE NEWBIE NERVES CAN BE RATTLING

IT'S FINALLY TIME TO DIG OUT OUR WINTER CLOTHES AGAIN

arts + lit

Christmas reads

Arts and Lit writers discuss their favourite books to get you into the Christmas spirit

‘A Christmas Carol’ Christina Rossetti

WITH the heavy commercialisation of Christmas as well as the focus centred on exuberant gifts, it can be easy for the true meaning of Christmas to be lost. Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘A Christmas Carol’ invites us to recollect our primary school nativity days with mentions of “a mangerful of hay” and “cherubim and seraphim”. It explores Rossetti’s reverence for God as well as the joy that Jesus’ birth brought the world. She sets the scene in the height of winter and the juxtaposition between this and the warm, cosy atmosphere of the stable reflects the feelings we all have at Christmas: having fun with family who you may not have seen for a while, sharing stories and jokes and eating good food. The poem ties in the Christian significance of Christmas while also remaining a favourite even in an increasingly secular society. It feels friendly and relatable, especially during the tough times we are currently facing.

Starling Kristen Cram

STARLING is set in a small town on the west coast of Canada and follows the lives of two school children, Alice and Remy. The book captures the warmth and vibrancy of childhood friendship as they escape the harsh world of neglect and abuse around them through storytelling and adventure. Starling combines the wide-eyed wonder of Katherine with the organically dark tone

Where the Crawdads Sing to create a perfectly balanced story of nature, love and friendship. The novel’s oscillation between adult toxicity and youthful solace distills blurred, childlike understanding of abuse. The characters don’t quite know why the world around them is so explosive, but they are painfully aware that it is. Its earthy, nostalgic tone flawlessly captures the essence of a snowed-in winter’s day and makes for the perfect Christmas read.

Manon Martini, Online Arts and Lit Editor

A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens

EVEN though I studied it for GCSE, which means random quotes pop into my head from time to time, A Christmas Carol by Dickens remains one of my festive favourites. I remember watching it on stage in primary school, enchanted by its message: be charitable at Christmas time, as not everyone is fortunate enough to have an extravagant Christmas. The tale, as I’m sure you know, features Scrooge, who is grumpy and uncharitable, so he gets visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future and (spoiler!) goes through a transformation in which he learns to appreciate Christmas and support the poor. Even though the content of the novella is quite serious, Dickens employs humour to portray his message; the use of comedy perfectly sets up the reader for the moral of the novella, which is that, given the chance, anybody can learn to be generous and lead a merrier life. This didactic tale, written in 1843, comments on a time of great change in Victorian Britain as the Industrial Revolution meant many people moved to the cities, worked in factories and lived in poverty whilst the money from industry made the wealthy richer. As well as having an important message, Dickens’ novella is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Ella Minty, Arts and Lit Editor

A literary palette

Arts and Lit writers talk about an unusual but important part of literature — food!

THE best food writing has a capability to capture the imagination in a way non-fiction doesn’t always manage. Cooking and eating is a sensual and emotional experience as well as a practicality, and so food writing must enable the reader to experience those sensations too. It doesn’t have to be pretentious, or solely for people with endless time and money to make extravagant recipes — at its core it’s for people who simply love eating. Food writers like Rachel Roddy and Nigel Slater don’t simply lay out a recipe but see food as an emotional experience. Roddy’s ‘Kitchen in Rome’ column takes the reader on a journey through sunny rural Italy and quaint Italian cafés — even when you can’t reconstruct the experiences she describes, it’s a joy to read nonetheless. It’s this literary element which makes food writing so important: it takes something that’s universal and essential to everyday life and makes it magical. However, food can’t solely be looked at in these romantic terms without contextualising it within the history, geography and local communities it comes from. Recent food writing has attempted to rescue the art from being solely the domain of white middle- and upper-class writers. My personal favourite food writer, Ruby Tandoh, does just this, writing about food as a communal as well as individual experience. Her book Eat Up is less a cookbook and more a celebration, not just of food, but of the people who eat it. She discusses poverty, fatphobia, mental and physical illnesses, and racism, factoring all of this into the way she writes about cooking and eating. She celebrates not just extravagant recipes, but the pleasure of chocolate bars, frozen peas and tins of baked beans. Food writing therefore doesn’t have to ignore the very real struggles people have with food in order to write about it in a creative and evocative way — it’s an art form which has the power to change people’s relationship with food altogether.

Amy Rushton, News Editor

FOOD is a marker of time, necessity, scarcity, and culture. Novelists use it to illustrate a myriad of things in their work, from relationships between characters to the most intimate details of life. For Philip Roth, food features as much as sex, and in as much detail, in the novella Goodbye, Columbus . The protagonist opens the door of an old-fashioned refrigerator and discovers that it is overfilled with dripping, fresh, expensive fruit: “Shelves swelled with it, every color, every texture, and hidden within, every kind of pit. There were greengage plums, black plums, red plums, apricots, nectarines, peaches, long horns of grapes, black, yellow, red, and cherries, cherries flowing out of boxes and staining everything scarlet… I grabbed a handful of cherries and then a nectarine, and I bit right down to its pit.” Such a detailed description suggests food is exploitable as a metaphor for human life in all its splendour.

It’s been many a year since I read À la recherche du temps perdu and my idea of the madeleine dipped in a cup of herbal tea has never been the same. It has become symbolic, pristine: intrinsically linked to the passing of time and a longing for a certain je ne sais quoi . Just listen to the music: “An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory…” I read this and I love to think that maybe all of life’s pleasures can be found in a cup of swirling herbal tea. Maybe I can embody my inner privileged fin-de-siècle French child and be reminded of a moment when nothing seemed to matter, childhood.

Writing about food is an emotional affair: it captures a moment in time, and makes every morsel immortal, fresh, and keeps the reader hanging on an everlasting present.

Joshua Smith, Arts and Lit Editor

Livvy

Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor, writes

a story about time and nature Natural Resting Place

their excreted chemicals into the atmosphere.

Ivy walked along this pavement, her legs naturally knowing where to walk. In the distance she saw a red sign in the middle of the pavement. As she got closer to it, she sighed in annoyance at what it said: ‘FOOTPATH CLOSED’ .

AFTER another mundane repetitive day at her office job, that she only took on as she needed the money and experience, Ivy was following her same route home that she always walked. Her route involved her following a pavement that was adjacent to a busy road. The road would usually be filled with hundreds of cars that would fly past her, going over the speed limit, which resulted in the hidden speed camera snapping them. Other times the road was filled with cars that were stuck in traffic for hours, releasing

She looked around for another way around the sign, she didn’t like going anywhere unfamiliar to her. A dirt path wasn’t far from where the sign was, which was encompassed by bracken, bushes, and beech trees. She decided to walk down the path, knowing she had no other option. Stepping over fallen leaves and ducking around twigs and branches she saw an opening at the end of the narrow muddy path. She was becoming angered and impatient by this hidden footpath and she thought that this opening was the way out.

The opening turned out to be an old graveyard that nature had claimed for itself. Unkempt and overgrown, the graveyard

held several headstones, many dating back hundreds of years. Ivy couldn’t help but gasp at the unusual beauty of the graveyard. It looked as though the graveyard was being nurtured by nature, hidden away from the concrete jungles and revving engines. Snowdrops were in full bloom on the ground. Ivy studied the meanings of flowers when she was younger; snowdrops symbolised new beginnings and rebirth. It’s rather ironic then, she thought, that these flowers were able to thrive in a place where the dead came to rest. The trees above her held out their branches, covering the sky above Ivy, entrapping her in the graveyard. She didn’t feel trapped or scared. Graveyards usually have a haunting effect, but Ivy just wanted to appreciate its intimate beauty. She floated towards one of the headstones. The writing on it was covered in moss so it was illegible. All that was visible was the Latin inscription at the top of the

gravestone: “Memoria de valens vivat tamque vestri”. Ivy translated this on her phone which told her that in English it said: “Your memory lives on”. It was upsetting to think that these people were probably forgotten about. The natural world was keeping them company. It was odd that so much natural life was thriving there. Snowdrops normally bloom in spring. Hedgehogs should be hibernating. The leaves usually would be burnt orange and fallen to the ground. It was winter and the graveyard had defied the seasons. There was so much life there. Ivy would have thought to tweet this or post a picture of it on her social medias. A natural phenomenon was occurring. Yet she just passed through the graveyard after what felt like hours of her being looked after by the environment surrounding her. She knew then that she wanted to be buried there when she died. To be with nature for all eternity.

The graphic novel and its success

Maddie Conlan explores the world of the graphic novel

GRAPHIC novels, and their counterpart comic books, have always been seen as a form of literature that appeals to children. After the recent success of Heartstopper, adapted from the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, and The Sandman, adapted from a graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman, the genre has exploded back into popularity. If for some reason you haven’t seen or read the emotional masterpiece that is Heartstopper, I highly recommend it. The quintessential British school setting will make you vaguely miss being in sixth form and it tackles the age-old existential question of ‘who am I?’ with a tenderness and reliability that is rarely seen in teen television. But what made Heartstopper such a success? Graphic novels and comic book adaptations have been a prominent part of media for longer

than I can remember. Recently The Walking Dead, based on a series of comics written by Robert Kirkman, has just finished its 11th season and the MCU, currently one of the biggest franchises in the world, is likewise based on comic books. Graphic novels have always made for good, and profitable, onscreen adaptations.

A novel, in comparison, sometimes feels too long to fit everything a reader wants into a TV show. Due to the nature of graphic novels, made up of shorter issues being published in larger volumes,

they have less plot to cover. This means there’s more room for exciting creative liberties that expand the plot while also keeping the integrity of the source material. Unique aspects of the art style, like the iconic leaves from Heartstopper, can be integrated into the adaptation to make the original fans happy.

There are two very different, but both incredible, graphic novels that I have read recently that might be worth adding to your Goodreads goal; the first is a once popular graphic novel series called Saga by Brian. K.

Leaving our Marx

Vaughan which has fallen under the radar in recent recommendations. Saga is a science fiction series that focuses on the journey of one young family trying to survive on a planet at war. It has got sex, violence, satire, and more importantly a bizarre but beautiful art style that will keep you captivated. While the shining star of Vaughan’s work is his comedy the plot of Saga is gripping and will keep you hooked through all ten currently released volumes. If intense science fiction isn’t your thing and you’re still in withdrawal from the warmth Heartstopper gave you, I would recommend The Girl from The Sea by Molly Ostertag. Though it reads on the younger side of YA, this sapphic coming-ofage story explores themes of family and first love, and what it means to balance friendship with the highs of a new relationship.

Emily Sara Rizzo writes about the politics of nature in philosophy and its implications

NATURE has always been our constant companion; a maternal force or looming threat that has been around for as long as we have. From the first moment we started looking at the world around us and questioning it, nature has weaved its way into our thoughts and activities, whether it be in the form of philosophy, literature, or even simply scientific research. Many early thinkers saw nature as a state of constant change, an everlasting cycle of birth and death, in which everything exists harmoniously in a universal process of beginnings and endings. On the one hand, this view gives our chaotic existence the semblance of order and balance, which has comforted many a philosopher in explaining our messy reality — Heraclitus formulated

the concept of ‘Panta Rhei’ (“everything flows”) and Nietzsche produced the theory of ‘Eternal Return’. On the other hand, a theory of cyclical continuity can easily be manipulated to rather more distressing ends, including the justification of tragedies such as genocide or mass warfare. Hegel’s philosophy does just this, imagining the world as a place where one thing generates its opposite, and this concept in turn produces its own opposite, in an infinite fluctuation between two extremes. In applying this theory to political history, the philosopher notices that the rise of left-wing control in a country will always be succeeded by right-wing rule, which in time will again give way to leftwing authority. In a rather more dangerous interpretation, he takes this concept so far

as to suggest that wars and great atrocities are necessary (and thus possibly justified) steps on the journey towards peace and prosperity. This mentality of using the end to justify the means has clearly been adopted in so many political regimes to excuse endless cruelties, but is this really the way we want to interpret nature’s teachings?

Ever since the Industrial Revolution writers have justified the exploitation of nature as a necessary sacrifice on the road to magnificent revolution and human progress, but it seems that we may now be living through a time in which we could justify the environment’s brutal battering of the human race as the necessary means to regaining some sort of natural equilibrium. Luckily, in modern climate

politics, environmental activism is gaining an ever-stronger voice, slowly drowning out those few voices of denial which are still desperately clinging onto the comfort of ignorance. While those deniers who completely reject the idea of climate change may not have any credibility to back them up, there is one breed of sceptic that can be more politically dangerous: in following Hegel’s theory, some can justify a “sit back and let it happen” attitude, by saying that this environmental turmoil will somehow sort itself out without human intervention.

We can only hope that the school of thought supporting climate activism prevails on that of the deniers, because, in this instance, political complacency might just be a fatal crime to commit.

Image credit: Flickr

MUSIC

Live review: Blossoms

Freya Lyndon and Maggie John, Online Features Editor, discuss their

experience of watching Blossoms

Tom Ogden’s “motivation to get into songwriting”.

THE ROOM CAME TOGETHER IN UNITY, PHONE LIGHTS IN HAND

Nothing beats seeing one of your favourite songs live: “Oh my god! I love this song!” I squealed at my friend as the familiar beat of ‘Oh no (I think I’m in Love)’ took over the Great Hall, the crowd illuminated by purple light. It is definitely a mo ment I won’t be in a hurry to forget anytime soon.

As the last note was played, and the band waved goodbye, everyone was brought back to reality.

Despite it all, I would say the crowd was lack ing a bit of energy, particularly at the beginning, and although those who were standing got going, many of those who were seated, remained seated throughout. However, 'Charlemagne' did encour age a few more people out of their seats; the catchy tune really has the power to get anyone dancing.

That said, is it too soon to see them again?

THERE are few things in life which have the power to spark the same joy as live music and that is exactly what Blossoms did on Friday evening. As the queue wrapped around the car park and up Forum Hill, anticipation built for what was set to be an entertaining evening, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. After all the stress and restrictions brought in by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last couple of years, it was clear to see everyone’s appreciation for the joy that live music can evoke. For a night Blossoms had the power to do just that, to bring a room of people togeth er for an unforgettable night of entertainment.

The supporting act, TikTok sensation Seb Lowe, and his talented band, warmed up the crowd with his politically-charged lyrics. My personal favour ite was ‘iPhone’. I’ve been listening to him on Spo tify all afternoon and he will definitely be some one to watch out for in the future. Throughout his set it was clear that excitement was building around the room, in anticipation for the next act.

I can’t remember the last time I had as much fun as I did dancing with my friend on Friday night.

From their first song, we were on our feet and didn’t sit down again. All I could talk about on the way home was how much I loved it, and surely that’s a sign of a good concert. I’d seen Blossoms once before, at Reading, but Friday night was an entirely different and far more intimate experience, and there’s always something very special about a small venue, in comparison to a concert on a larger scale.

In amongst their more recognised hits in cluding ‘Your Girlfriend’ and ‘The Keeper’, came a couple of songs from their newest album ‘Rib bon Around the Bomb’ released in April of this year. Songs such as ‘Ode to NYC’, ‘The Sulking Poet’ and ‘Cinerama Holy Days’ were lesser known to the crowd but still received a wild reception.

Blossoms songs typically have an upbeat for mat so their performance of ‘My Favourite Room’, a more acoustic slow tempoed song gave quite a dramatic effect. The room came together in unity, phone lights in hand. It provided a quiet, emotional moment amongst the fun of the evening. The song was cleverly mixed with a rendition of Oasis’hit song ‘Half the World Away’, a nod to Blossoms frontman

Finally, the time came for the ever-antic ipated encore, which was sure to contain a last couple of greatest hits to round up the evening. A roar from the crowd demanded the band back on stage, which was replaced by cheers as they played the familiar open ing chords to 'There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)'. Everywhere you looked, people were singing along to the familiar tune.

The next thing I knew, shouts emanated from the crowd calling for possibly Blossom’s greatest hit, 'Charlemagne', an upbeat dance song sure to light up the room. As predicted, Blossoms did more than deliver on lead singer Tom Ogden’s promise to “have a good night, Exeter!” I had missed the thrill of live music and Blossoms' live rendition of 'Charle magne' most definitely had me craving my next fix.

THE Beths are an indie rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. They covered the Christmas classic ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, originally written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine and performed by Judy Garland in her 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis . Their version of the song combines a beautiful string arrangement with an epic gui tar solo that transforms this festive classic into an indie rock track and the perfect alternative Christmas song. Its vocals are calm and melan cholic, while the guitar solo stops you in your tracks to pause for a moment and contemplate

what your memories of Christmas mean for you.

Its music video follows a little puppet dog experiencing Christmas alone and find ing comfort in music listened to while spent with friends. The dog goes on a mission to bring his friends home for Christmas and gets his home ready for the festive season. The music video is endearing and uplifting, but for me it echoes a more mellow experience of the festive season — the moments of sea sonal blues and momentary grumpiness that break the festive spirit, even at the sight of a Christmas tree sparkling with tinsel and fairy

lights. The shorter, rainy days accompanied by spiced cider and orange candies. Coping with the deadline season with cosy café trips and festive drinks. It reminds me of the deliri ous tiredness at the end of a long day and of counting down the days left till Christmas Eve.

The Beths' cover of this Christmas clas sic casts aside my sadness and uncertainty over the festive season and how to celebrate it, and takes me back to childhood Christ mas movies, exchanging Secret Santa pre sents with friends, and walking through the Cardiff arcades lit up with fairy lights.

Images: Laurie Harbord Image:

Images: Laurie Harbord

Images: Laurie Harbord

"Another year over, a new one just begun"

Harry Craig, Music Editor,

AS I sit down to write this, I am impa tiently awaiting my Spotify Wrapped to show off what I believe to be my superior music taste to the world. This has giv en me a chance to reflect on the music 2022 has given us, and what may await in 2023.

The final few months of 2021 laid down the gauntlet to 2022, with artists from Adele to Ed Sheeran, Coldplay to ABBA, releasing new albums as the COVID pan demic retreated. There were thus high ex pectations for this year — artists had had two years without touring obligations to work on new music, and many delivered.

Within the first week of 2022, we were already treated to The Weeknd’s new album Dawn FM , with its flawless production and 80s-inspired synth-pop. Two of my favourite artists, Florence and the Machine and George Ezra, also began teasing new albums in the first few months of the year. The former’s critically acclaimed Dance Fever, inspired by Florence’s love of dancing, was released in May, followed

reviews 2022 in music and previews what 2023 could

in June by Ezra’s Gold Rush Kid , with the in fectious single 'Green Green Grass' joining OneRepublic’s Top Gun soundtrack 'I Ain’t Wor ried' in soundtracking the summer heatwave.

On social media, most notably TikTok, there were two huge albums making waves in 2022: Harry Styles’ Harry’s House in May, with lead sin gle 'As It Was' being the year’s longest-running UK number one, and Taylor Swift’s concept album Midnights in October, which achieved the most Spotify streams of any album in a single day in history. Styles and Swift provid ed the two standout pop releases of the year.

October was a good time for Swifties, but perhaps even better for fans of British pop rock bands. The 1975’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language and the Arctic Monkeys’ The Car were well-received by fans and critics alike, and (perhaps controversially) I thought The 1975 delivered the best album of the month!

Despite this raft of major releases, the big gest story in the music world this year has been the long-awaited return of live music after two

years of lockdown restrictions. Almost every major artist seemed to hit the road on global tours — Coldplay, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Lorde and many more could finally show off albums released during or even before the pandemic to live audiences. The communal experience of live music is something we are happy to have back, and will not be taking for granted.

Meanwhile, the world’s biggest live mu sic contest returned in May, with Eurovi sion staged in Turin. As war raged at home, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won with ‘Stefania’, which has become a wartime song of defiance for Ukrainians. Most significantly for the UK, we finally took Eurovision seriously as Sam Ryder finished second with ‘Space Man’. With Ukraine unable to host next year, this means the contest will be coming to Liverpool in 2023! Consequently, Eurovision will likely dom inate music discourse in Britain in early 2023, and former Eurovision winners Måneskin will kickstart a series of highly anticipated 2023 re leases in January with their new album Rush !. Indeed, the early months of next year will see a raft of new albums from the likes of Ellie Goulding, Paramore, Sam Smith and more. 2023 will also see more existential de bates continue about how we consume music. The death of the album has been predicted for decades, but most music con tinues to be distributed in this way, even as streaming dominates our listening habits. The hegemony of platforms like Spotify over music distribution have been challenged by a revival in physical music, especially vinyl, amid questions over the ethics of stream ing services that don’t give artists a fair cut.

In years to come, 2022 will perhaps be seen as the year the music industry sprung back to life after two years of pandemic-induced dor mancy. Major questions remain about stream ing and music distribution, but for now we’re just happy to have live music back and so many big releases to look forward to in the new year!

I(UNSURPRISINGLY) was rather hungover when I woke up on New Year’s Day. In an at tempt to kickstart my year after a rather dif ficult 2021, I decided to give myself a rather in dulgent New Year’s resolution: to attend more live music. For someone who loves music as much as I do, my attendance at gigs has been rather minimal. A quick glance at my student bank account gave me the main reason why. As we emerge into a post-pandemic world, seeing music live tends to be the main source of income for artists. This is why your favour ite artists endure months on the road, as it's their livelihoods at stake. That being said, the cost-of-living crisis means people are a bit more cash-strapped, and luxuries, such as gigs, are often first to be foregone. My fa vourite artist of all time announced their first gig for over a decade, and I still did not get tickets, citing the extortionate ticket price. But I do believe the appetite is still there. Most of the gigs I have attended have been sell

outs; if not, there are rarely any tickets avail able on the actual day. Getting a golden ticket to see Phoebe Bridgers or Wet Leg was a rath er difficult mission. Maybe this suggests that, despite economic woes, people are willing to shell out for their favourite artists. Of course there is a big difference between £20 for Wet Leg and the extortionate prices, running into the thousands of dollars, fans are paying to see Taylor Swift. I think the predatory system that Ticketmaster employs is somewhat ridiculous. That being said, no matter what you paid, there are few better experiences in the world than seeing live music. Getting up close and personal (really personal, in the case of The 1975’s Matty Healy) and sing ing along to your favourite songs is a sight to behold. In-person concerts are an essential experience for any music fan. Looking back at the gigs I have attended this year, I do not regret going to a single one. Queuing five hours in the rain for Fontaines

D.C and in the heat for Phoebe Bridgers was completely worth it. I have just returned from Fontaines D.C, where my entire lower body was crushed against a barrier for 90 minutes by the mosh pit. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Seeing my favourite band at the peak of their powers is somewhat life affirming. Often it is the case that musicians sound a lot better live. Guitar riffs are more powerful, bass lines even catchier, drums even louder and the singer even more passionate. Listening to Fontaines D.C on Spotify on the way back was somewhat deflating, having heard Grian Chatten belt out his poetic lyrics at the top of his lungs. As is the case with most things, the best things in life aren’t free. The prospect of full-time employment does somewhat scare me, but the (only?) upside is that I will have more money to spend on doing what I love. I'm rather glad I woke up hun gover on New Year’s Day and decided to treat myself to a more indulgent resolution.

George Ezra Gold Rush Kid

THE week from the 14th-19th Novem ber marks Trans Awareness Week this year and just in time for that, British musician Yungblud released a short film ti tled MARS . It’s based on his song of the same name from the 2020 album weird! and cen tres around the story of a young trans girl. Actress Yasmin Finney plays the main character, Charlie Acaster, a teenager who is trying to find her group of people and look ing for a place to fit in. Her mother makes her attend a support group for young trans peo ple, which Charlie does not like to attend. She turns down their invitations to hang out after sessions and hides her attendance from her best friend Maisie (Leah Choudhry). However, after a powerful and inspiring talk with the group’s facilitator Pete (Pete MacHale) and a fun night with Maisie, Char lie decides to tell her about the group and accepts the invitation of the group to join them for an after-session fish and chips din ner. The film ends with Charlie, Maisie and the group celebrating at the dinner together and enjoying their time together as friends.

The film left goosebumps on my skin, especially the scenes where the trans teens talked about their struggles and the final scene where they all celebrate together, embodying so much queer joy. As a trans person myself, I finally saw trans people who were happy and weren’t involved in unnec

screen

MARS review

Carden Cappi reviews musician Yungblud’s short film MARS

essary or unrealistic drama. The discussions around their issues felt so real and made me feel seen and understood, like people relating their struggles accessing appropri ate healthcare and dealing with oftentimes transphobic regulations in school. One com ment that especially stuck with me was a member of the group mentioning how their parents tried to adjust, but it still made them feel strange and the fact that the parents had to try in the first place was wrong. All of it was so deeply relatable in one way or another and although the topics were a lit tle dark, it made me so happy to know I am not alone, and other people feel the same.

LGBTQ+ crew added that, contrary to soci etal shaming, the community deserves to be celebrated, loved, and seen, which this mov ie also achieves in its 20-minute runtime. Overall, I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see authentic queer representation, queer and trans joy, and learn something about the daily lives of transgen der people. To reiterate what was said during the panel, there has been too little positive representation of LGBTQ+ people so far, even though representation can have a massive impact on a young person’s life. And even for non-LGBTQ+ people, it can help them to understand experiences and learn how to be a better ally, especially in the current climate with transphobia and hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people on the rise in the UK.

In the panel following the virtual pre miere, Yungblud mentioned that the story of a young girl he met in Maryland inspired him to write the song in the first place. He explained how the song, and, by extension, the movie are supposed to be about life, about struggles, and change: it was time to include queer young people in representa tion and give them a spot to shine and share their stories, which definitely came through in the film. The highly diverse and mostly

This movie is the perfect start to change the lack of good representation and I am looking forward to more positive LGBTQ+ stories, told by the LGBTQ+ community. According to its website, the film will be released sometime in the spring of 2023.

I’m a celebrity: Get this show out of here

Ewan Edwards, Tech Editor, debates the moral integrity of the contestants on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here

THIS season of I’m a Celebrity... Get me Out of Here has proven that the once-loved TV show is, in effect, just a school playground popularity contest with a larger audience. I am not a regular watcher of I’m a Celebrity by any means but have tuned in this year to witness the former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, be put through his paces on his path to public re demption. But instead of watching a light co medic TV show for an hour each evening, I have been subjected to watching a competition for the moral high ground with each contestant clambering to paint themselves as a saint in the shadow of Hancock. It is a tragedy of society that people cannot take each other at face value. There is no general description of the type of celebrities that are on the show each year: athletes, actors, comedians, and politicians are all lumped together. I have been left wonder ing why, then, so many of the contestants are at each others’ throats: they are not competi tors nor are they direct adversaries. The psycho drama of Boy George and his loathing of Han cock is entertaining for an episode, even funny for a few episodes, but pathetic for three. These celebrities have not just broken the rule of not hanging your dirty laundry in public, they have blown it out of the water as they air their dislike of one another to an audience of millions. It is so obvious to me that these celebrities are just

overgrown babies seeking more and more atten tion. We as the British public feed that attention.

to the tops of their fields would have the moral fibre to be head on with their issues with one another and not tiptoe around like some child stealing a chocolate from the Christmas tree.

I guess I have fallen victim to their search for attention as I write this article and feed the flame of celebrity hysteria further.

Gross hypocrisy is a phrase that aptly en capsulates this year’s jungle. Boy George, less of a boy, more of a man who was sentenced to 15 months in jail for assault and false imprison ment. I find it hard, then, to listen to his berating of Matt Hancock, who has obviously fallen short in public life but is in no way less moral than Boy George. Many people, rightly so, have very strong feelings about Hancock and have every right to question him and express their own re sentment, but it is wrong to do that from a place of moral superiority, especially when you have the criminal record of Boy George. I believe this does create real world harm beyond the Austral ian outback; these celebrities who society puts on a pedestal are making it acceptable to feed hatred of one another and do this all behind their backs. Surely these people who have risen

I am baffled how reality shows like I’m a Celebrity continuously get renewed for further seasons. Obviously they gain the biggest audi ences and generate the biggest ad revenue for TV companies, but time and time again these shows have caused real world harm. It is scream ingly obvious that profits drive these shows rather than quality or empathy. Three Love Island celebrities have taken their own life after intense media scrutiny in the spotlight, yet little has changed the way these shows operate. Inher ently they succeed off a contestant’s downfall — it is far easier for the public to hate a contest ant than love them. No TV company has taken the initiative to cancel these degrading shows.

the royals whose misdemeanours and scan dals covered paper front pages and gave the public a thrill. Now it is reality TV, where not only can the public watch the scandal unfold, they can actively engage with it on social me dia, which feeds the intense media scrutiny that causes harm to celebrities on this show.

There are obvious contestants who are not out for the kill on I’m a Celebrity this year (Mike Tindall, Jill Scott and Seann Walsh have proven to be less snide than others), so it is unfair to tar all with the same brush. Yet it is an inescapable truth that the few who have done themselves a disservice this year, have completely dominated headlines and the talk surrounding the show.

But the show will not be cancelled. The public, especially the British public, has always been obsessed with celebrity; once it was

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FILM TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SEE AUTHENTIC QUEER REPRESENTATION

IT IS SO OBVIOUS TO ME THAT THESE CELEBRITIES ARE JUST OVERGROWN BABIES SEEKING MORE AND MORE ATTENTION

THE FILM LEFT GOOSEBUMPS ON MY SKIN

IT IS SCREAMINGLY OBVIOUS THAT PROFITS DRIVE THESE SHOWS RATHER THAN QUALITY OR EMPATHY

Image: Stefan Brending, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Richard Townshend, Wikimedia Commons

EDITORS: Annabelle Law and Madison Sohngen

The not-so-secret rule to sequels

Lucy Pughe-Morgan analyses the success of

THERE is a lingering assumption that any movie with a “2” in the title is automati cally put in second place. Can a sequel ever really live up to its original narrative? Feature films such as Titanic, Dirty Dancing, and Jaws are all household classics, reaching new heights of cinematic entertainment only to have a less accomplished younger sibling trailing behind them, begging to share in the financial rewards and critical accolades. They typically disappoint by recycling popu lar formulas, and miscasting famous roles, confirming the status of a one-hit wonder, leaving a bad taste in audience’s mouths that can’t be blamed on stale popcorn.

CAN A SEQUEL EVER REALLY LIVE UP TO ITS ORIGINAL NARRATIVE?

Jaws 2 is a prime example of a cash-grab sequel that failed to replicate the first, directed by the king of blockbusters, Spielberg. Does anyone honestly need to see another giant mechanical shark eating another town full of drunk teens? Beach holidays were ruined the first time around. The result was an underde veloped and predictable narrative that passed as a lukewarm B-movie with no critical ac claim to its name — not quite so chilling. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights is another disaster produced by a greedy group of investors at tempting to follow a loved classic. It is one of

the worst sequels, which doesn’t even hide the fact it isn’t a sequel, to ever exist. They should have just kept Baby in the corner on this one.

When trying to replicate a classic, films usually fall short on the basis that the original was so successful that no amount of finan cially fuelled mise-en-scène or star-studded cast can ever live up to expectations. No film about a ship has ever come close to attain ing what Leo and Kate created on that fate fully romantic journey, soundtracked by Celine Dion, let alone a sequel. The love did not go on. The special effects that made the first film so visually gripping, pulling audiences into the narrative that made you feel every creak of the ship, were painfully tragic in the sequel. Despite the cast being critically acclaimed, the result was a bizarre mix of disaster film clichés, not deliberate enough to be comical, swiftly plummeting the film to its watery doom.

Miscasting a famous role can also cause havoc on Rotten Tomatoes, plummeting their score purely based on the fact that John Tra volta was no longer sporting the T-Birds jacket in Grease 2. The replacement Danny donned the leather and greased hair like a champ and Michelle Pfeiffer bravely took the place of internationally loved Olivia Newton-John. However, no matter the cast, it’s clear no one can replace the hopelessly devoted chemistry the original two had together, and that’s just a cinematic fact. The attempt created a messy teenage film, sprinkled with a clearly middleaged cast you’d rather switch off. Similarly, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again’s lack of Meryl and the tacky inclusion of Cher (controversial,

sequels

I know, but she butchered ‘Fernando’) left a fragmented narrative that most people only went to see for the Young Bill boat scenes. Home Alone was entertaining until they threw a curve ball after number two and replaced the best part about the franchise — Macaulay Culkin. What was left for the next four films was an audience purely questioning how many times a child can be forgotten before it becomes concerning rather than entertaining.

After ripping sequels to shreds, I think I must acknowledge the rare masterpieces that have graced our screens as the so-called dreaded sequels. Godfather Part II. Need I say more? Godfather Part III, however, reveals it self more as the chocolate left in the Qual ity Street tin that no one wants but hangs around anyway because it completes the pack.

Franchises such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Fast and Furious just kept on spit ting out more and more content that never failed to hit the spot. Nine full-length films released in succession about men racing in cars must be a new cinematic record. They prove that sequels don’t always have to be branded as tainting the beloved original, as long as they are consistent and aware that they have to come to an end. Movie mara thons thus become a staple with franchises such as these, as one thing required for a mara thon is content and preferably good content.

Comedy sequels have the difficult task of recreating but not repeating themselves. 22 Jump Street — bring on 23, 24, 25. I want to see them in culinary school. The jokes are fresh, the narrative plays with the first while giving a new

Battle of the Bonds

Screen writers discuss their favourite Bond

WITH the ending of Daniel Craig’s era as James Bond, we have to praise him for his perfor mances over the last 20 years or so. While we may revere the quintessential Roger Moore or Sean Connery for setting the precedent for Bond’s suave persona, Daniel Craig was thrown into the mix at the best time. Contextually, we cringe the least when watching Craig’s films; there is less of the outdated misogyny with pure predatory scenes and more of the acceptable “I actually respect women as more than just objects.”

ing makes him almost likeable as a character. The largely emotionally cold performances of Connery, Moore, Dalton and Brosnan be fore him could simply never live up to this.

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor

Of course, this is largely down to the writ ing of the franchise, but Craig’s clever ability to remain politically correct as well as keep the core of Bond is remarkable. It’s quietly brilliant and has become more watchable and exciting, with Craig adding emotional depth into Bond’s character. Under Craig, Bond feels like a real person to which we, as mere mor tals, can easily relate to. Mourning the death of his parents and his emotional connection to Madeleine’s child from the very first meet

angle and Jonah Hill finally gets the ‘popular kid’ status he deserves. Schmidt’s slam poem became iconic, creating an equal, if not better film, than 21. The secret here must be that the characters and plot were just too good not to write another hilariously entertaining story with, and the film’s success confirmed this.

The reality is that too often sequels are never as brilliant as the originals simply be cause we have high expectations for them. The one-liners, the character arcs and the iconic musical numbers all accumulate to make a top-quality film that usually can not be replicated without being predict able. Lindsay Lohan’s fall from mean-girl popularity is the kind of thing we only need to see once. Mean Girls 2? So not fetch. They don’t even wear pink on Wednesdays.

Roger Moore

AFTER watching all the Bond films during the Easter holidays this year, a period when I was trying to avoid stressing about exams as much as possi ble, my favourite actor who played James Bond would definitely be Roger Moore.

Moore brings a more fun-loving and charismatic element to Bond’s character that we previously hadn’t really seen with Sean Connery and George Lazenby. His quick and witty jokes throughout his films play ing Bond makes it understandable that he is a fan favourite. My personal favourite of Moore’s Bond films, and my favourite Bond film in general, would have to be the 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me. It features one of my favourite Bond songs sung by Carly Simon, ‘Nobody Does It Better’, and has an amazing plot with action, suspense and romance. The plotline of the film was also fitting for Moore’s take on Bond, with his playful jokes and flir tations towards his Russian spy love inter est Anya Amasova, played by Barbara Bach.

Moore’s dry tone and stereotypical “Eng lishness” later made him the target of jokes, but it was part of his appeal. For me, more sig nificantly, it was what gave Bond his strength. The suspense and excitement of a Moore Bond film outweigh everything made before or since. The most famous stunts are per formed in the Roger Moore movies, whether it’s jumping off a damaged bridge with a corkscrew flourish or stepping on the backs

Daniel Craig

of crocodiles to avoid death. I’ll always think of Roger Moore when I think of James Bond.

Livvy Mason-Myhill, Deputy Editor

Bernard Dupont, Flickr

Image: Georges Biard, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Dunk, Flickr

DANIEL CRAIG WAS THROWN INTO THE MIX AT THE BEST TIME

TECH

Twitter: Is the end nigh?

Carden Cappi looks over Elon Musk’s tumultuous time as Twitter chief

TWITTER… Where to start? Twitter has been making headlines recently with the billionaire Elon Musk taking over the social media platform after a long willhe-won’t-he drama that ended up with him paying $44 billion to take over the platform.

Most people are probably already aware of the drama around buying the blue tick, which has produced some quite funny, but also some quite concerning content. For ex ample, it led the US insulin producer Eli Lilly to lose a large amount of money after their stock crashed due to someone impersonating

them on Twitter, claiming insulin was free now.

The last week has not seen any let-up in the chaos that has ensued since Musk’s takeover. After he initially let go over half of the Twitter staff, he gave those remaining the option to either leave or work “long hours at high intensity.” Some employ ees chose to leave. This then led to employees be ing kicked out of their offices, as they were being closed for several days, which caused many users to worry the platform would collapse for good.

The platform did not collapse; in fact, Twitter managed to keep in the headlines instead with the reinstatement of Donald Trump’s account

on the platform after Musk conducted a poll among Twitter users. The former president was banned after the the 6th January 2021 march on the Capitol, with Twitter believing there was a risk of him causing further violence and harm. Despite Trump claiming he wants to stay on his own platform, Truth Social, and has no intention of returning to Twitter, his account is back. As of the writing of this article, he has not tweeted anything and seems to be sticking to his word. However, that does not mean anything, espe cially if one considers the upcoming start of the election campaign for the next presidential election in the US, in which Trump is running.

TWITTER MANAGED TO KEEP IN THE HEADLINES INSTEAD WITH THE REINSTATEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP’S ACCOUNT

Other notable figures that have returned to Twitter in Musk’s crusade for free speech include right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis, such as Richard Spencer, and members of the conspiracy QAnon, who are now also verified due to the new blue tick system. Most notable beside Trump is An drew Tate, who has been banned from Twitter for five years and was banned from most other notable

social media platforms earlier this year due to his misogynistic and extremist views, among others. His account is not verified yet, but he has taken up tweeting again. And after another poll on the 24th November, Musk is offering a general amnesty to most people who have been banned from Twitter for misconduct, allowing hate speech and other problematic issues to return to the platform. The only people excluded from this are legal offenders. After only one month of Musk’s reign over the platform, there have been intense changes, with a lot of people leaving the platform in search of alternatives like Mastodon or leaving their Twit ter era behind completely. Does that mean it’s the end of Twitter? Opinions are divided on this topic. Some claim that Elon Musk has damaged the plat form irreversibly and, in the long run, will not be able to keep it running, especially considering the exodus of staff and users. Other voices claim that there is no real alternative to Twitter that is easily accessible and used by a lot of people, which is why Twitter will ultimately remain in business. At the end of the day, only time will tell what happens to the platform. And with things changing so rap idly, no one knows what Musk will bring next week. Maybe he’ll see reason and present a plan to save the platform. But considering he retweets memes about Twitter’s downfall, I am not too confident.

The world’s first digital nation

TUVALU, a small nation sitting in the South Pacific, has announced its inten tion to replicate itself digitally to pre serve its history and culture. This declaration was made at November’s COP27 Climate Summit, citing rising sea levels as a threat that likely will wipe out the islands of Tuva lu. At COP26, the Foreign Minis ter of Tuvalu, Simon Kofe, gave his ad dress whilst standing knee-deep in water, poignantly reminding everyone of the growing climate crisis. While it is irrefuta bly a great tragedy that Tuvalu is having to digitise its existence and history to preserve it in the face of disaster and eradication, the means of how it will go about doing this are interesting. This announcement coincides with Meta’s

(formerly Facebook) latest endeavour — the Metaverse. Meta’s ‘Supreme Overlord’ Mark Zuckerberg has spoken of his dream for a dig ital world where people can spend their lives collaborating on work projects, socialising and building digital communities. While this sounds fine in theory, Zuckerberg’s plans have not yet ma terialised in a cohe sive form and the Metaverse is very much still waiting for its ‘Big Bang’ to really kick it into action. The technology itself appears to be significantly behind where Zuckerberg needs it to be. In the demonstrative videos of the Metaverse that have been shared with the public, Zuckerberg’s avatar (his digital form, as if he could appear any

further disconnected from humanity) does not look quite refined enough yet for poten tial believers to fully commit to his cause, instead looking like a warped version of Postman Pat. Furthermore, the form and the appearance of this Metaverse is also unclear. How people will individually navigate this digital plane, let alone go about establish ing a nation on it, has not yet been revealed.

Many have branded Zuckerberg’s Metaverse pointless and scary. While Tuvalu is seeking to immortalise its heritage in a digital medium, is the Metaverse the place for that? Although it is not uncommon for people to throw around the words “Orwellian” and “dys topian” at any actions taken by government or business, Zuckerberg’s influence over this project is unsettling. Given Meta’s less than perfect record with handling data and per sonal privacy, evidenced with the Cambridge Analytica Scandal in the 2010s which saw mil lions of Facebook users’ data being sold to a British consulting firm, it is hard to place a great deal of trust in Meta and Zuckerberg.

While it is expected that laws will be intro duced to keep these big social media compa nies under close surveillance, the question of what authority and jurisdiction governments can have over an intangible plane of existence that cannot be governed on grounds of geog raphy or politics, appears a glaring one. Given

the increase in data protection laws and poli cies being adopted by governments and lead ing tech giants alike, Meta has already lost billions in ad revenue and their share price has plummeted by 67 per cent over the last year. If the Metaverse is going to succeed, it presumably needs to generate revenue, and for Tuvalu’s digital nation to thrive it needs a platform that allows for stability and security.

Tuvalu is now faced with the difficult task of ensuring the establishment of their nation on a digital platform, a first for hu manity. Despite our evident regression in terms of the conditions of our climate, fu ture technologies appear closer than ex pected; the future is apparently here and everyone’s favourite lizard, Mark Zuckerberg, might be at the head of it. How the nation of Tuvalu will navigate this unprecedented challenge is uncertain. Watch this space.

Mark Waddington delves into Tuvalu’s move into the Metaverse

TUVALU IS SEEKING TO IMMORTALISE THEIR HERITAGE IN A DIGITAL MEDIUM, BUT IS THE METAVERSE THE PLACE FOR THAT?

Image:

Retro tech: Cool or clunky?

IN a world immersed in digital technolo gies, we can almost end up living in the virtual world instead of the real world. Why go out in the harsh wintry season to have a catch up with your friends when you can do it over Snapchat or Instagram? The changes in the way we live are causing some people to begin reclaiming the past, a life before new technologies were being constantly rolled out. From when the first smartphone went on sale in 1994, the smartphone has experienced rapid advancements and developments.

phones benefit us too? With most young people spending at least an hour on Tik Tok every day, these addictions to social me dia surely aren’t helped by just how easy it is to do this on the developed smart phones we have today. With longer bat tery life on modern phones, our own lives seem to be being lost to that of our mobiles.

People are seeking nostalgia through hold ing onto not just smartphones, but video play ers, VHS tapes, fax machines, typewriters and games consoles. Playing old games consoles such as the Nintendo Wii brings nostalgia for people to relive their youth. I can still remember the fun of bowling on the Wii and Mario Kart.

go out and have fun, without having your work or university emails pop up on your phone. Or, even without constantly feeling pings on your Apple Watch, forcing you to deal with whatever it is, in that very moment.

In a busy and chaotic world, all of this can feel overwhelming. This ability to do anything on our smartphones is also detri mental to our attention span, proven to be decreasing because of the distractions that phones offer whilst working or studying, for

instance. Perhaps, old technology can return us to reality, and allow us to breathe. A lady from Colchester has gone back in time, own ing eight typewriters. She finds typing on a typewriter meditative. What this says about our world today is that we must be con stantly typing and working in a hurry. Even when you are typing rapidly in a seminar.

It is no surprise that people are recognising the greater benefits of older technology and choosing to retreat to those simpler, older times.

Smartphones come in and out of fash ion. The ‘new’ phone look can disappear just to make a return once again. Tired of this smartphone technological craze, some people choose to hold onto one phone, steering clear of today’s popular Apple iP hone. One lady, unable to part from her out of fashion phone, is called the “Blackberry Queen!” by her friends. Holding onto old phones is seen as something miraculous and spectacular, like the “Blackberry Queen” is seen as by her friends. Its age is clear; you can’t even get Snapchat on a Blackberry. But could going back to these older

Although Nintendo brings out newer con soles such as the Switch, many people still opt for the classic Wii. The retro games console has certainly not been forgotten by Gen Z and some millennials. The retro aesthetic is loved by many. There is clearly a desire to go back to when things were simple and easy when you were a child, and you didn’t have four sum mative assignments coming up all at once.

With the ability to do anything and eve rything on the modern devices we have to day, it is not surprising that people want to reclaim older gadgets they had when life was simpler. People didn’t have the pres sure to look good every day for Instagram or Snapchat back when phones didn’t have cameras. There was a time where you could

Employees or robots?

Edwards, Tech Editor, looks at

WE are regularly told that robots will take our jobs in the race for supreme productivity and efficiency; we were not told we would have to become robots to keep hold of our jobs, until now. On the 15th November, Brian Palmer, Amazon’s Policy Chief, let slip that Amazon actively monitor work ers' productivity in their warehouses during a hearing with the Business Select Commit tee in Parliament. He stated monitoring was okay because it is not the “primary focus” of monitoring systems. I find it deeply disturb ing that people are becoming solely assessed on their packaging prowess and not any hu man characteristics that can be brought to a job. Obviously, in a warehouse, productiv ity is important and I am not attempting to say that someone who only packages two parcels an hour should keep their job just be cause they are a human. However, I believe it is a sad reality when employees’ job security is threatened by their ability to meet productiv ity targets and that this could be reasonable grounds for terminating their employment.

Amanda Gearing, GMB union senior or ganiser, said the company treated workers like "robots" during Black Friday protests over pay disputes. Amazon have already faced many calls for unionisation of their workers in the wake of reports of an unpleasant and stress ful working environment. The Guardian re ported that the average Amazon warehouse worker lasts a dismal eight months in their jobs. Surely a company figureheaded by one

the use of technology to monitor workers

of the richest men in the world has the ability to invest in employee conditions and improve job satisfaction? But no. Jeff Bezos is more in terested in his Blue Origin space company or

even works of philanthropy. Perhaps he should direct some of that philanthropic work at his own employees. The key issue is, at the current moment in time, there is not a proper system

of unions or protections for Amazon employ ees which has left them to be exploited by Amazon. This is an evolving situation with the proper establishment of the Amazon Labour Union (ALU) in the United States and Amazon workers in the UK forging greater links with the GMB who helped stage protests outside a ‘fulfilment centre’ in Coventry on Black Friday. The ALU are standing on the establishment of “our right to negotiate for a better, safer, and more equitable workplace” which they can only hope will get the attention of Amazon bosses.

All this will matter little; the general pub lic do not really care about employee condi tions unless it is someone they know: people will still want their toaster delivered the next day. The wheel will keep on turning until the market no longer requires Amazon’s services.

The most important question from this revelation of direct productivity monitoring in warehouses, is where else monitoring will become common place in our lives. Will essays start assessing on words typed per minute or will our eyes even be tracked for reading speed? Who knows? Increasingly menial jobs in society will be replaced by robots and the only way hu mans can keep these jobs is by proving their efficiency, but as soon as it becomes cheaper to buy a robot that can work uninterrupted than pay a worker’s salary there will be no place for human workers. The technological revolution on the horizon will lead to greater moral ques tions of human monitoring in the workplace.

Caitlin Nagle assesses whether or not retro tech is the way to go

Ewan

THE CHANGES IN THE WAY WE LIVE ARE CAUSING SOME PEOPLE TO BEGIN RECLAIMING THE PAST

Image: Paweł Zdziarski, Wikimedia Commons

Image: Pxhere

TECH

LIFESTYLE ARTS + LIT

MUSIC STUDY BREAK SCREEN

SCIENCE EDITORS: Daniel Pain and Hayley Power

Bacteria and tumours: The unexpected relationship

Rahul Anand explains the association between tumours and the bacteria they may harbour

WITH the extensive re search done in studying the human microbiome and its effects on health, you may be surprised to hear that, until re cently, very little research had been published studying microbiomes of tumours. Although we have known that bacteria have been detected in tumours for 100 years now, it is only in 2020 that the tumour microbiome was characterised. The immunosup pressive nature of a tumour micro environment creates a niche that bacteria can exploit and colonise. Due to more research being done into tumour microbiomes, we now know that most bacteria within that microbiome are intracellular and tu mour microbiomes are specific to a single type of tumour. Recent studies have also shown evidence of how bac teria can aid tumour cells in resisting anti–cancer therapies. It was found in

2017 that certain bacteria can metabo lise an anti–cancer drug called gemcit abine, and when these bacteria were introduced to tumours in mice the tumours became resistant to the drug. However, groundbreaking evi dence was found in 2022 (that forms the basis of this article) suggesting that bacteria in the tumour microbi ome can lead to worse outcomes for cancer patients. By using single–cell sequencing, this paper discovered that bacteria prefer to infect cancer cells than non–cancer cells. Moreover, the two bacterial species that are domi nant in the tumour microenvironment (Fusobacterium and Treponema) seem to actually promote cancer growth

and suppress the immune system. Another fascinating discovery this paper made is that cancer cells infected with bacteria tend to invade their sur rounding environment. This suggests that bacteria can have a role in the me tastasis of cancer in patients. Bacteria have not only been shown to modulate the behaviour of cancer cells but also to modulate immune cells as well. The bacteria have been shown to recruit myeloid cells to the site of the tu mour, which induces an inflammatory response. This inflammatory response promotes T cell exclusion, meaning T cells cannot go to the tumour and kill it, resulting in tumour growth.

The two bacterial species... actually promote cancer growth and suppress the immune system

The finding of this recent paper is extraordinary as it provides evi dence that bacteria have an essential role in tumour growth and metastasis

of cancer. Further studies, which look at how to modulate bacteria in the tu mour microbiome, could be the key in finding new novel cancer therapeutics.

Reforesting the world isn't as simple as planting trees

Josie Sharp plants ideas as to how best to save our planet

FOR many years, planting trees has been thought to be one of the key solutions to the climate change crisis. How ever, current research and develop ments indicate otherwise, proving that the solution is not so simple.

Since the United Nations commit ted to the Decade of Ecosystem Res toration in 2021, $16 billion has been pledged to promote reforestation, presuming that trees, being carbon stores, will aid significantly against our climate crisis. However, many of these reforesting missions are less beneficial for biodiversity due to a single spe cies being planted, focusing on the number of trees planted and not how they survive and benefit these dam aged areas. Due to the limited amount of research on soil differentiation and environmental conditions in these projects, only 44 per cent of the trees planted survive more than five years.

Ecological Restoration in Tropical and Sub–Tropical Asian Forests' (Novem ber 2022) researched the mortality rates of trees planted to combat the large amount of logging and agricul tural expansion. The theoretical trifold of this study was to reduce biodiversi ty losses, support sustainable develop ment and contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. The results of this research indicated that the outcomes of trees planted were highly variable and not a depend able nor a long–term solution, with just under half of all nursery-grown saplings planted dying within the first ten years. The highest mor tality rates were consistently seen in open degraded sites which highlights the neces sity of protecting fully remain ing forests while finding better ‘nature–based solutions’ (NbS) to fight this climate crisis.

A study called 'The Road to Re covery: A synthesis of Outcomes from

The need for diversity in the species being plant ed is not the only issue when it comes to re foresting projects: the way that they are planted needs reas sessing. The method of applied nucleation —

planting bunches of seedlings in ‘is lands’ — causes forests to grow them selves, yet this method is not being used widely enough nor correctly. The majority of these projects also seem to lack consideration for how they af fect the locals, which potentially ruins social dynamics and their livelihood.

Professor in Tropical Plant Diver sity at the University of Exeter, Toby Pennington, has been working on providing “technical tools (books and more recently smartphone apps) to help local people find and use native species plants in the context of local vegetation that contains thousands of species.” These are the pro jects that the UN needs to invest in to recognise that the sim ple planting of trees will not save us from this climate cri sis. Pennington also described that he had seen successful projects where the “tree–based systems can of fer small scale farmers improved food secu rity and incomes.”

Once again showing consideration for local communi ties is a crucial factor in refor

estation projects.

When asked what a better solution to combat the climate crisis would be, Pennington said that “better solutions are those that consider ecosystems be yond forests.” The erasure of endan gered ecosystems besides forests in the media has led the world to forget the fact that the majority of our earth is not covered in forests, and other ecosystems are in crisis as well. The Cerrado savannah in Brazil has lost 50 per cent of its plant species since the 1970s, decimating the production of soy in the area, which is exported to Europe. “Against that backdrop, why do we only hear discussion at COP meetings and elsewhere about the Amazon, which is in fact still 80 per cent intact?” Pennington says. With forests making up a mere 31 per cent of the Earth's surface, the UN’s pledge to fight against the climate crisis is in sufficient in both its outcomes and its objectives, with its disregard to other ecosystems on the brink of collapse.

Bacteria can aid tumour cells in resisting anti-cancer therapies

Image: Unsplashed, National Cancer Institute

The simple plantation of trees will not save us from the climate crisis

However, many of these reforesting missions are less beneficial for biodiversity

NASA produces protostar images

Hayley Power, Science Editor, explores NASA’s recent breakthrough

PROTOSTARS are stars co cooned in a dark molecular cloud of dust and gas, which is drawn into the centre towards the star. This creates a dense disk of material called an accretion disk, the dark band observed in front of the bright centre, which feeds more material into the star.

According to NASA, a recent im age taken by the James Web Space Tel escope’s near-infrared camera has given astronomers a better look at the spherical protostar L1527. This has allowed them to visualise previously unseen features.

ability to generate its own energy via nu clear fusion, making it highly unstable.

The camera has revealed the col our of the surrounding clouds to be blue and orange, and astronomers state that the blue areas show where the sur rounding dust is thinnest, while the orange parts are where it is thickest as blue light is not able to shine through.

The new images have also outlined the cavities and filaments of molecular hy drogen formed when material shoots away from the star and collides with the matter surrounding it. This process

is said to create turbulence that inhib its the formation of new stars as there is not enough material to go around. Essentially, L1527 is a bit greedy!

As the protostar ages and continues to consume the surrounding mass, its core will compress, and its temperature will rise to about 100 million degrees Kelvin. This will inch it closer to hav

and the discoveries it allows

ing the ability to create stable nuclear fusion, which will allow it to reach the next stage in a star’s life cycle. These new findings have al lowed astronomers to predict what our sun (and our solar system) may have looked like in its earliest days — almost five billion years ago.

Located within the Taurus-forming region of the galaxy, just 430 light years away from Earth, the dark cloud is only visible in infrared light. Therefore, pre vious telescopes were not able to pro cess any images of it. At 100,000 years old, surprisingly young as far as stars go, it is considered to be in the earliest stage of star formation, making it a class 0 protostar. It does not yet possess the

The end of relapse?

Harris Vernon El-Halawani, Amplify Curator,

AT the Royal Mars den NHS Foundation Trust, a trial is underway which has the potential to detect relapses in breast cancer, months, or possibly years, before they happen.

Approximately 75 per cent of all breast cancers are oestrogen receptor (ER) positive, allowing them to use oestrogen to grow. The TRAKER trial is mobilising more than 1000 ER positive breast cancer patients to launch a circulating tu mour DNA (ctDNA) surveillance programme aimed at decreasing the risk of their cancer returning.

nostic scans are able to.

While tumours grow, some cells die and are replaced by new ones. The cells which die are degraded and release their contents, includ ing ctDNA, into the bloodstream. Participants in the trial will receive a blood test every three months for up to three years, which will de tect and monitor trace amounts of circulating tumour DNA in their blood samples. This will al low the research team to gauge if a patient’s cancer is coming back.

The sensitivity of the ctDNA as say allows clinicians to detect signs of cancer at the earliest stages of development. Prior studies have shown how such tests can detect relapses months and even years before standard diag

Nicholas Turner, Professor of Molecular Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, Head of the Ralph Lauren Centre for

Breast Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the trial’s principal investigator, said: “The risk of relapse for ER posi tive breast cancer patients is spread out over many years after initial treatment, which is one of the reasons why scans are not ef fective in trying to pick it up.”

In the event ctDNA is detected in a patient’s bloodstream, but no ir regularities are found following a

scan, they will be randomly as signed to one of two treatment op tions. Some patients will receive both palbociclib (IbranceTM) and ful vestrant (FalsodexTM) anti-cancer therapies, while others can choose to alter or continue the stand ard hormone treatment they are presently taking. This will allow researchers to determine if there is a significant difference between dual dosage of palbociclib and fulvestrant and standard hormone ther apies in the treatment of breast cancer.

Professor Turner believes that these blood tests “could become the standard way of following up with this group of patients, and if the trial produces encouraging results, this could revolutionise how we treat ER positive breast can cer patients in the future and hopefully save more lives.”

The trials are taking place at the Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Can cer Research at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and are the result of funding by Pfizer, Invitae, and Le Cure.

Omar

explains how a new blood test may prevent breast cancer recurrence

“We could revolutionise how we treat ER positive breast cancer

This has allowed them to visualise previously unseen features

This will inch it closer to...the next stage in a star’s life cycle

Essentially, L1527 is a bit greedy!

The TRAK-ER trial [is] ... aimed at decreasing the risk of their cancer returning

Image: Wikimedia Commons, NASA

Image: Wikimedia Commons, Chris Gunn

The sensitivity... allows clinicians to detect signs of cancer at the earliest stages

RECENTLY I was able to sit down with Exeter Chiefs and England star, Sam Simmonds. We spoke about facing the All Blacks, the crazy final ten minutes and his over all experience inside the England camp.

É: So Sam, it was your first time playing against the All Blacks, what was it like facing the haka?

SS: Yeah, it was cool. You know growing up, I loved watching the All Blacks, I used to go to my dad's house early in the morning to watch. I can't remember what tests they were, but they would always be Saturday morn ing tests and watching haka grow ing up was amazing. To be able to face it, I never thought I'd get that opportunity to stand in front of it.

So, on that level it was amazing. But it kind of passes you by a little bit, because you’re focused on your job. I mean when you're watching it and you have no attachment to the game, it's amazing. But then, once you're facing it, it's just another thing that happens in the lead up to the game.

É: What was your perspective of what happened in the last 10 minutes?

SS: Yeah, I was off the field at that point, but I felt like once we scored that first try — I think it was Will Stewart's first try — I looked at some of the boys and I was like it could be on here — what a comeback it was.

That doesn't take away from the fact that we were disappointed with how we performed for the majority of the first half and some of the second half as well. But the character and the belief and the confidence to perform that way when you’ve pretty much got nine or ten minutes to go against the All Blacks, you're three scores down. I don't think many people in Twick enham believed that we would have drawn the game. But once we scored that first try, you know I was genuinely thinking that we could be on there. So yeah — what a way to finish the game!

É: And how was the post match debrief? What ar eas need most attention?

SS: Yeah, we were disappointed in in how we went about the game. It's not how we prepared. We prepared very well last week, warmed up well. I think our mindset was right, but I feel like we were just off in some areas. We gave them set piece start points, we gave them ins through ill-discipline and penalties early in the game. That just allowed them to come at us and put their game on to us rather than the other way round. We spoke about the forward pack — the scrum and maul weren’t great and coming up against South Africa this weekend, it's going to have to be a lot better than what it was

Interview: Sam Simmonds

on the weekend. Because obviously the New Zealand scrum is very good, their maul attack is very good, but you come up against something different against South Africa. So, it's going to have to be a lot better. We've talked about that; we've had honest conversations about what errors we need to work on and how we can attack the South Africans.

É: How do you feel facing up against the back row made-up of Kolisi, Mostert and Evan Roos?

SS: I've come up against Kolisi before and played against Mostert. I haven't played against Roos before, but I know obviously he's a big ball carrier and he's very quick for a big man. Com ing up against any South African pack, they're very confrontational and they're very physical. They want to bully you and they want to get an up obviously in the scrum and the maul because those are the areas that they're renowned for being very good at. So for us it’s about having a plan to be physical in those areas — we want to combat those ar eas and be a lot better than we were last week and take away their strengths and try and turn them into weaknesses.

Coming up against South Africa you know that when they kick penalties out, they're going to maul it. We don't want to give them these start points. There are going to be times that they do get them, but we want to limit them as much

as we can and that will be done through keeping the ball on the pitch when we kick, and through discipline as well — not giving them penalties to kick out.

É: You normally start at eight for Chiefs. Do you think it makes a big dif ference playing out of position at six?

SS: I don't think it makes any dif ference at all. You know, I feel like your back row play as a team anyway — as a three. Your open side in the past has been more of a fetcher and more of a first phase clear out. But I feel like when we set up and we attack there's always different roles for different players and you're never going to be in that exact po sition just because you're playing at six or just because you’re playing at eight.

I enjoyed the balance. I enjoyed playing with Cuzza (Tom Curry) and Billy (Billy Vunipola) on the weekend. Obviously it cuts out a line out op tion, with me and Billy being less of jumpers — Curry’s not short but he's not the tallest so you have to work around that. I don't think it's a prob lem — people might see it as a prob lem. But you know when you've got Maro (Maro Itoje) and Johnny Hill last weekend, they're unbelievable ball win ners. It's just about being smart in that area when we do play with a back row that’s not got the best jumping options.

É: How do you reflect on the Au tumn Nations Series campaign so far?

SS: I think the Argentina game was a bit of a low for us, but I feel like we re acted, and we got better after that week. We know that's not England’s standard and that's not where we want to be. But we're building towards some big per formances, I felt like in patches against New Zealand it was the best we've played for a while. But also in patches it was probably the worst we've played for a while. The Japan game was a mas sive improvement. I felt like in the 15 and the 23, the direction we headed in that game was very good. I felt like our attack functioned very well and I felt like in defence that we were very domi nant and that's where we want to be.

And you know, like I said, win or lose against South Africa, I feel like we've taken a step forward from the Six Nations last year. I know we had a good campaign in Australia and took a step forward then and I feel like we’re getting better as a group and becoming stronger. We've spent some good time with this core group now and that's go ing to stand us in good stead for when we do come towards the World Cup and the Six Nations as well. You spend a lot of time together and you want to build these relationships together and that's going to help you on the pitch. So yeah, obviously we're looking to win on Satur day, that's the main thing — we want to finish this campaign off with a win and I

think we will be disappointed if we don't.

É: What’s the best night out in Exeter?

SS: So Timepiece is the one that we would probably go out to the most. They've been great to us over the last few years, you know they love having us in there. I think we're pretty limited on the size of Exeter, it's not a huge city is it? Although I do think it is a good night out scene, the uni students make it a good night and we do have some fun on those nights. But yeah, Timepiece is our go to.

É: Who's the worst to share a room with in camp?

SS: The worst for me is anyone that snores for horrendously. Tom Curry — I've shared with him, and he snored really badly so that would be the worst. But I've heard Will Stewart is awful. I've not shared with him be cause I complained to our team man ager and said I can't sleep with anyone that snores because I'll have a horren dous night as soon as I know someone snores. I won't be able to sleep. But yeah, for me, Tom is a bad snorer. In general, he’s a good roommate. But as soon as someone snores its hell.

I've been rooming with Hugh Tiz ard this this campaign. Good roomy, quite quiet, I think he's a little bit nerv ous. I've had some bad ones. Nick Dolly snored so bad when I shared with him. Anyone that snores for me is not good.

Joshua Hughes, Editor, sits down with Exeter Chiefs and England star, Sam Simmonds

Image: RFU Collection / Getty Images

England: Is Southgate still the one?

Toby Brisley, Sport Editor, analyses England's performance at the FIFA World Cup thus far

ENGLAND'S manager Gareth Southgate has not had the easiest time in 2022. He’s faced calls to be sacked from a large swathe of fans, as well as from pundits and journalists. Yet, despite this criticism, at the time of writ ing, he has led England to the top of their group, albeit with a hitch or two along the way. So whilst he has his critics, the ques tion remains. Is Southgate still the one?

Looking back at when we first met Gareth Southgate in 2016, England had been rocked by a scandal that they couldn’t escape and they couldn’t forget. Southgate had an impressive start after being ap pointed as a caretaker manager, with him eventually being rewarded for his efforts, with his position being made permanent.

Southgate has since been fairly suc cessful during his time so far as manager, with his two main achievements being England getting to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and being runners up in the Euro 2020 tournament. These impres sive results led to Southgate having his con tract extended until the summer of 2024.

However, despite his past successes in the role, 2022 hasn’t exactly been plain sailing for Southgate. This is mostly thanks to a dismal set of results in the Nations League over the summer, with England

suffering three defeats and three losses, whilst failing to register a single vic tory on the board. Southgate faced harsh criticism for his negative style of foot ball, his lack of creativity and perhaps most importantly, his poor selection of squad players, with him picking the likes of Harry Maguire and Eric Dier, despite them having been poor when playing club level football during the previous season.

Despite calls for him to go, the Eng land FA have put their continued faith in him to bring it home this winter and stick to playing football his own way. Southgate has seemed to ignore the criticism that some have given him for his past squad se lection, with him putting continued faith in Maguire, who had only made four appear ances in the current Premier League season before coming to Qatar. He has also faced criticism for not choosing in-form players, who aren't in top Premier League teams, such as Ivan Toney or Fikayo Tomori.

However, Southgate has been resolute on the matter so far at the tournament, prefer ring to stick to the players he knows, rather than trying to change it to something new.

England’s first game at the tournament was an impressive 6-2 winning display against Iran, a result that came close to their best ever result in a World Cup match (a re

cord only set during Southgate’s previous World Cup back in 2018). Southgate won praise for his free-flowing style of football during that game, with players such as Bu kayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford all finding the back of the net. However, despite the elation follow ing the victory against Iran, England were brought right back down to earth with a turgid display against the USA in the sec ond game of the tournament, after many had predicted that it would be an easy vic tory. A lack of ambition and an unwilling ness to make changes when things weren’t going well resulted in not only a 0-0 stale mate, but more criticism for Southgate himself and more pressure for England to win their final group game against Wales than they would have wanted. After their lacklustre display against the USA in the previous game, England looked back to their best when playing their neighbours in the final group stage game. Despite Southgate choosing to rest players such as Saka, Sterling and Trippier, they still dominated in the game, with Mar cus Rashford scoring a brace and playing like a man in the form of his life. Eng land were fired to the top of their group and with that have progressed through to the knockout stages of the tournament.

England, at least at the time of writ ing, have been playing well and have made it over the first hurdle at the tournament. However, the broader question remains of what happens to Southgate after the tournament is over. The players are clearly happy with him in charge and he has devel oped a good relationship with all of them. However, some feel that despite this, it's time for him to go regardless. Some are saying that if he wins the tournament, he should retire on his own terms and leave in the best possible way; others say that if England fail to win, England should call time on Southgate, cut our losses and

move onto someone new as manager. It’s clear that Southgate is very happy in his current role and with another year and a half left on his contract, it at least looks like he has no plans to leave Eng land. This will obviously please some fans, who feel like Southgate has turned Eng land into a top side once again that is now competitive at major tournaments. How ever, it will anger some, who feel like his negative football has been holding Eng land back for too long and that a change in leadership is the only way that England will go one step further at the tournament.

Student sport: Mikhail's EUAFC experience

EXETER, sport, trials, teams, BUCS, social and recreational sport — the key words that many of us rushed to insert into the search en gine shortly after receiving a confirmation of acceptance to the University at the be ginning of the academic year. For hundreds and even thousands of students, finding the right sports club during freshers' week appeared to be a priority and often came before the completion of an academic induction and exploring the complicated ELE website. With British and interna tional students from all over the world looking to reveal their talents and striving to consolidate a place in a BUCS team, ul timately receiving a place appeared to be a challenge for everyone and many were keen on settling with regular social sport.

As for myself, while participating in competitive swimming for the majority of my secondary and high school journey and eventually losing the everlasting battle with sinusitis and 6:30 alarm clocks, the decision to play football at the Univer sity ultimately came as a weighted option. Once being allocated into the 9s (formerly the greens) I was striving to progress up the ranks in the “fluid” system of EUAFC while starting the season on the IM level in the newly founded nine-a-side IM league. The experience in EUAFC was a

positive one. While feeling welcomed and included throughout all training sessions, games and socials in spite of being an international student, I have enjoyed the experience in term one. Furthermore, the additionally organised events such as the EUAFC world cup or a highly suc cessful spotlight event on the Buckland Athletic Football Ground in Newton Abbot back in October, vividly showed that the club is moving in the right direc tion and allowed players (including my self) across the club to get to know each other better. On that note, however, the positives come to an end, at least for me.

The intramural nine-a-side league can be described in no other way than as an absolute disaster. The terrible organisa tion of the league has led to immense discontent among many social footballers. The restructuring of the 11-a-side into a newly founded nine-a-side league (covered by Exeposé earlier this term), impacted by facility constraints, ultimately failed. As expected, with more social teams cre ated to fill up three unranked divisions, each separate side failed to consistently supply a squad for a league game, lead ing to more than half of the games be ing forfeited. The EUAFC 9s, 10s and 11s were impacted even more. Having to train twice a week in between lectures

and coursework, each player (including myself) often ended up wasting a Sunday morning with a 30-minute walk down to Duckes Meadow, only to witness another fixture getting cancelled. The games that somehow managed to commence weren’t brilliant either. With the tiny nine-a-side pitches, strikers were able to receive the ball from their own keeper and head straight for the goal which obviously pro vided a very different experience to the one in an 11-a-side match: frankly quite a negative one. Nevertheless, students were still expected to purchase the membership to play in what was practically a non-ex istent league and while the social £80 fee was somewhat understandable, the £250 certainly wasn’t. The neverending mem bership debate was enhanced once more.

It should be stated that although my burst of criticism of EUAFC’s organisa tion of the nine-a-side intramural league comes as a result of disappointment with a lack of games played this term, I feel that an insight from several other clubs at the University would be necessary. During extended discussions with members from several other sport clubs at the University, the overall positives and negatives were depicted and highlighted. The unending discussions of memberships continued. Most members across different societies, including powerlifting, lacrosse, cricket and tennis, described the memberships as “slightly overpriced”. An opinion was also given that students selected to repre sent the University should not pay at all.

On the contrary, most members of sports

teams felt more than happy with facilities and overall enjoyed the experience. At the end of the day you wouldn’t feel too bad paying to play a sport you love, would you? To conclude, I would like to say that despite the disappointment with the game time this term, I feel like the member ship fee is still reasonable to pay. The regular training sessions within all clubs allow everyone to improve, while the stash included in the membership can be proudly worn around campus. Your chances to get into a competitive team directly correlate with your skills, work ethic and desire to improve. Exeter Uni versity is an excellent sporting univer sity and everyone has a chance to move up to competitive teams and stay there. I guess all I can say is — best of luck!

Image: Rob Worthinngton

Photo: Кирилл Венедиктов

Mikhail Shklover assesses his experience with Exeter University's football club

Sport

EDITORS: Toby Brisley

Rob Worthington

EUNC: A club in need of reform?

and training for hours and hours a day.

WITHOUT a doubt, one of the best parts of Univer sity is taking part in soci eties and clubs, the most exciting of which being sports clubs. It allows you to meet like-minded individuals, make friends and best of all, keep fit. The bonus of this at Exeter is that within sports clubs, there are varying levels of ability which makes them more ac cessible, whether you choose to play for BUCS (against other universities) or you simply want to play intramural on a Sunday evening (playing the sport while representing another society.)

One of the most popular sports clubs at Exeter is undoubtedly the netball club. EUNC has over 400 members across the University with girls playing in different leagues, with different levels of competitiveness. I play within Unileague One which is one step down from BUCS level and it feels perfect as I enjoy playing competitive matches while also not being under the restraints of travel ling to different parts of the country

The standard of netball is high in Unileague One; Exeter boasts its fair share of girls who have clearly played netball at club level and higher which lets me slot in nicely. Generally, there is a friendly atmosphere within Unile ague One but unfortunately, this is true only of the actual sport and doesn’t ex tend to the socials or events outside of the sport itself. Firstly, some girls say that sometimes the socials are intense, invasive and downright weird. If you’re not in the position to spill your wildest secrets, drink out of a shoe or bellow elaborate chants, the socials are not the place to be. In addition to this, over Mo vember, where social tickets cost mon ey to raise funds for charity, we were consistently told that if we purchased a ticket and didn’t usually go to socials weekly, we would potentially have our tickets refunded and given to someone else. Of course, it is fair that girls who are more dedicated to the socials are allowed a fair chance at purchasing tickets but why must we be so invested in the social side of it if we have the desire to simply enjoy the sport itself?

The memberships for Unileague

One cost £125 for the year. This fee is supposed to stretch to the court space, the cost of coaching and um pires. It’s important to note that with approximately three hundred people paying this fee, EUNC makes around £40,000 per year solely from their memberships as the fee does not in clude stash. It makes you wonder whether the money is worth it as the training we receive doesn’t come from an actual coach. We have to be grateful for the girls that run training sessions because it couldn’t be done without them; they give up their time on Sun day and Monday mornings to provide us with a bit of exercise and fun, but sometimes you are left wondering what the netball experience would be like with a more structured schedule.

The events run by EUNC are ex citing and varied if you can get your hands on a ticket or have enough friends to go with (the phrase “safety in numbers” has never rung more true) and there is no denying that play ing netball at Exeter enters you into a culture like no other. If you make friends within the club, you are fine. However, as someone who made my

closest friends from my course, there often seems no point in going to these events. This was highlighted to me at the End of Season Dinner in March last year where I simply felt uncom fortable when I looked around the room at the various social circles and recognised that there was no way I was going to enjoy anything except the food. I was back home in bed by 10pm that night! Netball girls have the tight est bonds and it is nearly impossible to penetrate these bonds to make new friends. However, I am lucky that you can’t escape the inevitable ‘gelling’ with your team and I am grateful for the girls within my team who make match es, training and fitness more enjoyable.

Many girls join EUNC for the so cial side rather than the sport and this is evident in matches. A friend of mine has said recently that many members of her team do not attend matches, fitness or training but can almost always be seen downing pints in Castle Street on a Wednesday evening. For the girls like me who consistently show up to play, it can be disappointing when matches need to be forfeited due to a lack of players. Also, with so many injuries

and illnesses prevalent in the league at the moment, these cancellations are becoming more common and disrupt ing the usual running of the games. Memberships sold out within six min utes on the day of release in October, proving that there is high demand with many girls missing out despite being desperate to play. It feels like an in justice to have dedicated girls waiting patiently for memberships to become available when there are some already in the league who never show up.

It’s difficult as someone who ab solutely loves netball to enjoy the sport at University while trying to avoid being forced into a culture to which I simply cannot relate. For the most part, I thoroughly enjoy being part of EUNC. The facilities provid ed are impeccable and the standard keeps me on my toes, generally chal lenging me. Despite this, I can’t look past the faults within the league that are frustratingly blatant and as some one who has adored netball for ten years, I find myself seriously consid ering whether a membership will be worth it in my final year after my ex perience in my first and second year.

Gracie Moore Lifestyle Editor

Image: Fiona Winning