Issuu

exep sé

ISSUE 689 29 OCT 2018 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

Baby, it’s cold inside

Uni concerned about detained researcher Hattie Roberts News Team

HE University of Exeter and Durham University have released a joint statement over their concerns of the welfare of Matthew Hedges. Matthew Hedges, who studied Middle Eastern studies at Exeter and then went on to study a PhD at Durham, flew to the UAE on a research trip. On his departure, he was held at Dubai Airport after interviewing sources about the country’s foreign policy and security strategy for his research on the impact of the Arab Spring. Hedges travelled to the UAE for his doctoral thesis, however, he has been detained on charges of “spying for and on behalf of a foreign state.” His wife, Daniela Tejada, who lives in Exeter with her husband has said that her husband visited the UAE “exclusively for academic research purposes”. According to Hedges’ family, the academic has been held in solitary confinement for almost six months. They have raised concerns that he will not have a fair trial as he has limited access to his lawyer. The academic’s wife has raised concerns over his wellbeing, as she claims he was denied a shower for a month and forced to sleep on the floor for the first three months of his detainment. However, the UAE government have said in a recent statement that Mr Hedges has been provided with “constant medical attention and psychological care.” They also stressed the fact that he has been able to contact family and legal staff.

• Guild staff working in “substandard conditions” • Office refurb will give space to Humanities

Megan Davies Editor

TUDENTS’ Guild staff have had to work in “substandard conditions” according to senior staff. Temperatures last winter got so cold that the Guild would have had to send staff home had temperatures dropped any lower. The Devonshire House offic-

The Guild is excited to be able to [...] invest in an improved workspace

Students’ Guild Spokesperson

Image: Graham Moore

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Image: Rwendland

Image: Petr Kratochvil

COMMENT

es, which house the majority of the Guild’s permanent staff, are the last part of Guild facilities to not have had a comprehensive refurbishment, and has gone the longest in the same state, Exeposé was told. The Guild has received £270k of funding from the University this year to refurbish their offices, Exeposé has found.

This isn’t the first time that the University has contributed to Guild refurbishment projects, although in the past both institutions have supported in priority spaces open to students such as DH1. This funding was only available to be used to improve staff spaces. The University’s original assessment was that the work would cost an estimated £200,000, according to the Guild, but this figure was increased to £270,000 due to both structural elements and a shortage of builders. The Guild will also be giving up some space to the Humanities department, creating space for postgraduate students’ offices in Queen’s Building. Tracy Costello, Chief Executive of the Guild, told Exeposé in conversation that she was “delighted” to be able to reward Guild staff ’s patience without guilt, i.e. without taking money away from services aimed at its student membership. The same documents revealed that the Lemon Grove incurred... a £100,000 shortfall in the past

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

FEATURES

Debating the student Halloween experience

Building a better Britain: an interview with Owen Jones

page 7

page 11

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

News Editors Print: Jaimie Hampton & Gwyn Wright Online: Edd Church & Hannah Stevenson news@exepose.com

Features Editors Print: Niamh Elstone & Neha Shaji Online: Chloë Edwards & Bryan Knight Foreign Correspondents Co-ordinator: Ellie Cook features@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors Print: Lauren Newman & Tabi Scott Online: Emily Pirie & Kristina Werner artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Aaron Loose & Alex Wingrave Online: Jaysim Hanspal music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Ben Faulkner & Chloe Kennedy Online: Harry Caton & David Conway screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Scarlett Parr-Reid & Gabriel Yeap Online: Lara Andreski & Finn Candy sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: René Bahar & Josh Brown Online: Luke Clarkson & Ben Hart sport@exepose.com Chief Photographer Chelsea Lee photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Peter Firth, Charlotte Forrester & William Harrop Proofers Harry Bunting, Ben Faulkner, Gwyn Wright, Harry Caton, Chloe Kennedy, Tabi Scott, Penny Dinh, Hugo 'from Surrey' de Wynton, Isha Gurung, Bryony Gooch, Haroon Khan, Richard Ainslie, René Bahar, Alyx Wyngraeve, David Conway, Alia Manshi, Sarosha Byrne, Josh Brown, Aaron Loose.

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

Proposals for new UCU strike don't reach threshold PAGE 4

COMMENT

The Brexit generation: in defence of the People's Vote PAGE 8

FEATURES Imperialism and academia: an interview with Dr Gajendra Singh PAGE 13 Image: Conserve Energy Futurei

Lifestyle Editors Print: Bethan Gilson & Rhiannon Moore Online: Katie Baker & Rowan Keith lifestyle@exepose.com

fashion choices with serious connotations, then we're also discussing whether the ongoing head-shaving trend has its roots in internalised misogyny (page 18). How's that for a scary story. Speaking of scary stories, Arts + Lit have a spooktacular edition for you this fornight, packed full of all things Gothic and artistically chilling (page 22). But sometimes, the appreciators are scarier than the art itself. Are fandoms and 'stans' a positive aspect of the music community, or an unpleasant and unwelcoming force? Music takes up the debate on page 24. Screen are leaving behind the cinematic world of horror this issue, and taking an incisive look into those real-world problems plaguing the film industry. We're asking the big questions: why has there been no major change for women in Hollywood (page 28)? Why does visual media continue to perpetuate ideas of toxic masculinity (page 30)? How can the industry improve its representation of the LGBTQ+ community (ibid.)? Whilst we're dealing with all those issues, we're also slowly but inevitably dooming ourselves to extinction via climate change. (Sorry - it seemed like you were having too much of a good day. Somebody had to throw an ozone layer of a dampening blanket over it.) Science has got all the details, over on pages 34 to 36 - but don't worry, it's not too late! Particularly with the talent on show in the STEM community, as we take a look at the underappreciated women of science (page 34). Speaking of powerful women, this issue Sport are covering all things women's rugby varsity (pages 39 and 40). It's set to be a good one! Megan and Graham

Image: University College Dublin

Comment Editors Print: Isabelle Gray & Deepa Lalwani Online: Bea Fones & Josh Gammage comment@exepose.com

T'S close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark... that's right, it's the mounting pressure of those quintessential first-term overcommitments, and the creeping onset of mid-term deadlines. Yay. At least, those are the spooky scary skeletons in our closet this fornight. Truth be told, many of us here at Exeposé are just feeling ready for 'Opportunities' Week - those of us that have actually get one, that is (sorry STEM students - if it's any consolation, your departments do get all the funding). If you're having Reading Week woes yourself, then Comment are here to provide some sympathy (page 8) - not to mention a comprehensive guide to every Exeter student's true autumnal tradition, Ottery St Mary's Tar Barrels (page 6). (Apparently they are "lit", or so we are reliably informed that the kids say these days). Features have gone all in with the interviews this issue; not only did we speak to journalist and political activist Owen Jones (page 11), but we also spoke to Exeter's very own Dr Gajendra Singh about empire, colonialism, and its continuing ramifications within academia (page 13) - a must read. We're also giving you an intensive look into both the lasting effects of the Kavanaugh hearing and the Romanian marriage referendum (pages 10 and 14 respectively) never say we don't spoil you. Are you planning on dressing up this Halloween? Maybe you're going to go for the scary vibe, or maybe you were planning something a little more risqué; if you're looking to be the sexy spectre haunting Europe this year, then Lifestyle are here to thoroughly defend your right to do so (page 17). If you're more interested in

NEWS

Image: David Holt

Editors Print: Megan Davies & Graham Moore Deputy: Fenton Christmas & Katie Jenkins Online: Harry Bunting & Natalie Keffler editors@exepose.com

Editorial

t gtth

Image: Owain Evans

EXEPOSÉ

SCIENCE Our own worst enemies? Humanity's impact on nature PAGE 35

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE! There are even more great articl es on the Exeposé website. From the latest university news to current affairs, music and theatr e reviews and more, visit us at www.exepose.com

Worldwide university news China opens first privately funded uni

EMANDS from those wishing to modify China’s education system are finally being met, following the opening of the country’s first privately owned University in Zhejiang province earlier this week. Calls for state owned universities to become self-governed have come from the country’s leading academics who claim that securing institutional autonomy is an important step towards improving research and teaching quality. The birth of Westlake University is set to achieve just that, with President Shi Yigong promising advanced research in a number of scientific and technological fields. Thomas Estermann, a key director of the European University Association, claimed that academic freedom is one of the ‘essential pillars of the future sustainability of our institutions’ and ‘key to securing the right research conditions that lead to scientific progress, benefiting society at large’.

Ramsay Centre degree causes controversy

TAFF at the University of Sydney have been campaigning against the proposed introduction of a western civilisation degree. The university is considering entering an agreement with the controversial Ramsay Centre of Western Civilisation that has offered to fund the degrees in several other Australian universities, but has so far been rejected by all. There are concerns the programme would promote western civilisation rather than merely educate students about it. The media and communications department at the University of Sydney has said that it “strongly opposes” the degree as it does not promote “diversity and inclusiveness.” The Ramsay Centre, which has two former presidents of Australia on its board, proposed last week to rename the degree ‘western tradition’ in an attempt to win over opposing staff members at the university.

Student's terrorism charges dropped

ERRORISM charges against PhD student Mohamed Nizamdeen have been dropped following his arrest on 31 August. NSW Police arrested Nizamdeen after finding a notebook in the University of New South Wales, where the Sri Lankan student worked. The notebook allegedly detailed an Islamic State-inspired plot against Sydney Opera House, the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, former Deputy Leader Julie Bishop and former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop.Handwriting experts did not match the notebook to Nizamdeen. No extremist content was found on the student’s computer or mobile phone and Nizamdeen had no criminal history. Prosecutors have withdrawn the case. The Australian Federal Police stated they “acted in good faith”.

Academic wins age discrimination lawsuit

D.C. Superior Court has granted Professor Loubna Skalli Hanna $1.3 million in compensatory and emotional damages, after being denied tenure, due to systemic age bias. Hanna was duly recommended for tenure however, Provost Scott Bass denied her promotion, reasoning that her scholarship “did not merit it”. Hanna appealed the decision on the basis that it was “disturbing that the denial of tenure was not preceded by any warning signals” along the intensive process. According to a 2015 research there has been a statistically significant trend of age discrimination at American University tools for a safer working environment were to be established on campus universities. Image: NCinDCr Stories by Abigail Spink, Ella Shadwell, Natalie Tongue, Catherine Lloyd (News Team)

News

NEWS EDITORS: Jaimie Hampton Gwyn Wright

Concerns raised over detained academic

CONTINUED FROM FRONT The director of the Foreign Nationals Affairs Department, Mohammed Obaid Al Zaabi, said in accordance with UAE laws and regulations Mr Hedges’ family and embassy staff were given access to him several times.

Matt is suffering from significant health issues after more than five months in detention

Durham and Exeter Universities

In the joint statement issued by Durham and Exeter Universities, they expressed that they were “deeply concerned” about Matthew Hedges’ welfare. They stated that “Matt is suffering from significant health issues after more than five months in detention.” Durham University have put a temporary ban on

student trips for non-UAE students visiting the UAE until more details of Matthew Hedges’ detainment come to light. Academics from British, American and Spanish universities have signed a letter demanding Mr Hedges’ immediate release. Hedges appeared on court on Wednesday 23 October, his lawyer pleaded his innocence and asked the judge to reconsider the evidence. The judge has agreed to re-examine the evidence and another hearing will be heard on 21 November. Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt has responded by raising a “number of concerns” to his counterpart in the UAE. However, questions are being raised that the British Government are not doing enough. It is argued that simply “raising concerns” is not enough action to support a man whose life hangs in the balance.

White poppies sale on campus sparks debate Edd Church Online News Editor

HE University of Exeter Quaker Society (Qsoc) has been selling white poppies in Devonshire House this week, to raise money and awareness for the British ‘secular pacifist organisation’ Peace Pledge Union. The poppies represent an option to people who feel that the more widely-recognised red poppy does not fully represent pacifism. Qsoc President and third-year History PhD candidate Ghee Bowman told Exeposé more about the white poppy and why the society has opted to sell it to Exeter students. “It stands for peace. That, for me, is the key thing. I’m a pacifist myself, a lot of Quakers are”, Bowman said. “You don’t have to be a Christian to be a Quaker. I am not a Christian.” Bowman continued to say that the white poppy has been a symbol for pacifists and conscientious objectors since 1933, twelve years after the red poppy symbol came about. “The original move behind the poppies in was this idea of ‘never again’. Men came back from WWI and saw the scale of the slaughter on the Western Front and elsewhere and said we don’t want to do that again.” Third year student Jack Morewood

Image: Daniela Tejada

“I don’t mind what poppies people criticised Qsoc’s white poppy sale for supposedly diverting funds away from wear, or if they want to wear no poppies. That’s up to them for heaven’s sake. veterans and for disrespecting veterans: […] For me both poppies stand “War is not perfect, but Rememfor remembrance. The difbrance Day is for reflection on ference I think is what sacrifices, not pacifist, poyou say after that. It’s litical causes. The same remembrance— Peace Pledge Union and then what? that called for negotiIf you’re going to ations with Nazi Gerremember people many in the 1940s as who died in WWI genocide took place and WWII, you’re now sells white popgoing to want to stop pies to promote paciit happening again.” fism and fund its anti-war Image: Nankai “Some people have campaigns. Would I support tweeted at me saying that Peace this glorified lobbying body, or the Royal British Legion, an organisation Pledge Union is taking money away from the British Legion. That’s nonthat supports our military community?’’ I’d remind our white poppy selling sense. The kind of people who are buyfriends that the freedom they enjoy to ing white poppies are the kind of people organise and campaign would not exist who won’t be buying red poppies, or will without the sacrifices of men and wom- be buying both. I know many people who buy both.” en in war.” Exeter’s Quaker community placed “Criticism is fine. This is a university”, Bowman said, responding to criti- a wreath of white poppies on the Excisms on campus and online that the eter War Memorial at a Remembrance white poppy is disrespectful. “I love Sunday service last year, which Bowman learning, and teaching, and discussing, highlighted as a first for the city. He endand dialogue, and respectful conversa- ed his remarks by saying that he hopes tion.” He said that he would “very much “this shows some people have moved like to have a conversation with some- past the idea that there are two poppies in competition with each other.” body about why it is disrespectful’’.

Exeter students march for People’s Vote Gwyn Wright News Editor

HE largest number of Exeter students so far took part in the People’s Vote march on 20 October of this year. They joined an estimated half a million people at the march, which represented was the largest protest of its kind since the anti-Iraq War protests of 2003. Exeposé understands that 54 students signed up to take the coaches from Exeter to London that were organised by Exeter Students for Europe, and that almost 50 of these students turned up on the day. This reperesents the largest number of Exeter students who have attended a People’s Vote march so far. An unspecified total number of Exeter students attended the march. The coach trips were funded by Peoples Vote Ltd. who work through the National Union of Students (NUS). The NUS had obtained a grant of £20,000

from donations which enabled them to fund the coach trips. Exeter Students for Europe told Exeposé: ‘‘On Saturday we took a coach of Exete students to the People’s Vote People from many different political parties and backgrounds joined together to support a common cause; the People’s Vote.’’

Many students were unable to vote in the election [...] because of this, students led the protest Exeter Students for Europe

They continued that many students felt underrepresented in the referendum, and that “our generation has been ignored. Because of this, students led the protest. We marched at the front, alongside students who had travelled from all areas of the country to have their voices heard, and demand that they be listened to.’’

Image: Ilovetheeu

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS

Further strike action fails to reach required threshold Megan Davies Editor

VEN though academics voted in favour of industrial action in the UCU’s HE pay and equality ballot, they will not be going on strike as they did not reach the required turnout. The ballot aimed to “reduce casualisation”, “end the gender pay gap”, “restore work-life balance”, and “increase salaries to catch up against inflation”. In an October campaign message, the UCU said that 71,705 university staff members were on “atypical”, highly precarious academic contracts. 45.2% of members voted, where a turnout of 50% was needed for the union to be legally allowed to take action.

Rhian Keyse, Exeter UCU Acting Branch President, said: “The result of the pay ballot both locally and nationally showed clear frustrations amongst union members around their pay and working conditions. Whilst we were disappointed not to reach the 50% turnout required to take industrial action, the results in fact reflect the best turnout the union has ever seen nationally for a ballot over pay. 69.5% of those who voted, did so in favour of strike action. 76.8% voted in favour of action short of strike action, “up to and including marking and assessment boycott.” on a national level, very only seven institutions reaching the 50% turnout needed. Christ Havergal, Times Higher Education’s News Editor, pointed out on Twitter that another three institutions in Northern

Ireland, where the turnout threshold is not in place, voted in favour of industrial action. The issue first came up in May, when the Universities and Colleges’ Employers Association (UCEA), which offered a 2% increase - the UCU contrasted this to the 21% decline in real terms of higher education pay since 2009. Keyse added that “pernicious trade union laws have frustrated the will of our members, however we look forward to important local campaign work around conditions including workload and casualisation, and we will be talking to our membership in the coming days and weeks to agree on next steps in improving working conditions for staff and, consequently, learning conditions for students.”

Image: Owain Evans

ADHD guidance issued The studies varied in quality, which limits the extent to which the team could be confident about their results. EW research has been said They found that the studies tend to be to give teachers the ‘‘clearest more successful when they are focused guidance yet’’ on how best to on boosting self-regulation and are delivered on a one to one basis. support pupils with ADHD. The team found that a daily report Around five per cent of children are card system yielded some prombelieved to suffer from ADHD, ising results. Under this which means that most Image: Adityamanutd system, children are classes contain at given a card that least one child the child carwith the condiries home and tion. Sufferschool and ers can find between lesfocusing, sons. Resitting still wards were and controlgiven for ling impulses meeting the more difficult targets. Althan other chilthough the finddren of the same ings did not always age. agree, Tamsin Ford, The study, which Professor of Psychiatry at the was led by the University of Exeter in collaboration with University University of Exeter Medical School College London, analysed all existing said: “It’s a complex issue and there is no research into non-medical support for one size fits all approach. However, our children with the condition. Previous research gives the strongest evidence research had also suggested that medica- to date that non-drug interventions in tion does not work for some children, school can support children to meet poand is not always the preferred option tential in terms of academics and their outcomes.” for families.

Gwyn Wright News Editor

Postgrad receives WWF award Rhiannon Moore Lifestyle Editor

BIOLOGICAL Sciences postgraduate from the University of Exeter carrying out research in Peru has received the WWF 2018 Russell E. Train Fellowship. The award provides postgraduate Elizabeth Campbell almost $27,000 a year for three years to further her crucial research into threats faced by river dolphins in the Peruvian Amazon. Campbell applied for the fellowship after getting an idea to “create baseline information for Peru’s biodiversity”. The fellowship will provide her with the opportunity to explore the threats on river dolphins caused by infrastructure and fisheries, which are steadily rising. The WWF Russell E. Train Fellowship was created in tribute to the late Russell E. Train, the founder, president and chairman of WWF-US. He believed that ownership of natural resources should be placed into local hands. The program works with postgraduates in conservation-related fields internationally to improve knowledge and understanding of con-

servation. Elizabeth was one of ten postgraduates from countries including the US, Gabon, Costa Rica, Portugal, New Zealand and the Netherlands, with a variety of research topics from preservation of African manatees and park ranger working conditions in the Galapagos. Candidates were chosen for their innovation, commitment to conservation and merit-based history. She will be working alongside Pro Delphinus, a non-profit group founded in 1995 committed to the conservation of endangered and threatened marine life, and the University of Exeter’s Professor Brendan Godley, a conservation scientist who has worked with the university since 2003. It is hoped that with the research, conservation measures can be identified and implemented to help river dolphins in the Peruvian Amazon. Additionally, she will look into fishing of aquatic mammals, which are protected under Peruvian law. She will be using various techniques such as Passive Acoustic Monitoring and molecular techniques, as well as traditional distance sampling methods to produce this information.

Uni funding Guild refurb CONTINUED FROM FRONT

... a £100,000 shortfall in the past year, and that. the Guild’s restructure resulted in the redundancy of a total of 13 staff members - 11 in the summer of 2017, and two more the summer of 2018. Up until last year, Guild staff members said, the Guild was receiving an increasing grant from the University, but its funding has stagnated recently. The Lemon Grove’s budget shortfall was only one of a group of factors contributing to the need for a restructure, along with the broader Students’

Image: Graham Moore

Unions sector suffering from a slowing down of income from universities. When asking about funding a Lemon Grove refurbishment, Exeposé were told that the Guild could only invest in commercial outlets, such as if they expect the facility will give a commercial return. A Guild Spokesperson commented: “The Students’ Guild is excited to be able to have secured this funding that allows it to invest in an improved workspace for its staff whilst still being able to investing the maximum amount of money into our student voice, activities and advice services.”

The funding came from the University’s Capital Investment Group, and is part of a pilot project targeting the transformation of working environments for employees, and improving their wellbeing, collaboration and internal communications. This came from the defunct Higher Education Funding Council for England or HEFCE (which has now been replaced by the Office for Students). Exeposé got in touch with the University, who didn’t wish to add any comment.

POSTGRADUATE OPEN DAYS  STREATHAM CAMPUS: Wednesday 14 November 2018  PENRYN CAMPUS: Monday 19 November 2018 n Speak to staff about Masters and PhD study n Hear from current students about postgraduate study n Find out more about loans, funding and scholarships

www.exeter.ac.uk/ postgraduate/opendays

exeteruni uniofexeter uniofexeter

Book your place today at

www.exeter.ac.uk/ postgraduate/opendays

2018CAMS201

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Deepa Lalwani Isabelle Gray

Tar be or not tar be

OGS hate it, pyromaniacs love it: it’s bonfire night, baby. If you’ve been around Exeter during the season of the bonfire, you’ll know that the time has come again to choose which group of people you want to travel to Ottery St. Mary with and then immediately lose. That’s right, it’s Tar Barrel O’ Clock. For those who aren’t in the loop, Tar Barrels is an annual event held outside of Exeter, where residents of Ottery St. Mary carry literal barrels of flaming tar through the streets. You may assume that these barrel-carriers have to wear top-of-the range fireproof clothing, but you’d be wrong: they just chuck on a big hoodie. People come from far and wide (the general Devon area) to witness this spectacle, and, much like Formula One, many people watching are secretly hoping that someone explodes. But is it worth going to the Tar Bar-

rels? Should you make the pilgrimage to see this cross between Spanish bullrunning and The Wicker Man? Or is it better to stay at home and experience the event via Instagram stories? Let’s run through the whats, wheres, and whys of this historic tradition.

Many people watching are secretly hoping someone explodes What is going on? A good question, both generally and with regards to the Tar Barrels, but I can only give you an answer to the latter. The Tar Barrels offers not only barrels of tar, but booze, food, and portable loos. And, once you go beyond the tar barrel route, there’s a grassy clearing with a host of fairground activities, from hook-a-ducks to actual proper rides. And, to round off the list of attractions, there’s a big bonfire in a field, flanked by a holy congregation of chip vans. The bonfire is cordoned off so you can’t get very close

Falling for autumn Rowan Keith Online Lifestyle Editor

UTUMN has been my favourite season ever since I can remember. Having spent my year abroad in Montana, where autumn lasts for two weeks, I had forgotten quite how much I loved it - but this September when the first leaf fell my love was fully rekindled. Here are all the reasons why autumn deserves to be named the best time of the year. Firstly, the actual season. Autumn is without a doubt the most aesthetically pleasing season. The colours are incredible, the leaves are both pretty and entertaining, and the weather is warm enough for lovely, scenic walks but cold enough to make spending the day in bed cosy rather than a bit sad. The weather leads to another great part of autumn: the fashion. Finally, after months of waiting, it is cold enough to wear interesting outfits again. Layering becomes a thing again. There’s knitwear, there’s boots, there’s woolly tights. There is no reason not to be one hundred per cent comfortable one hundred per cent of the time. Also, it’s the

Image: HeungSoon

Harry Bunting Online Editor

season when wearing a dressing-gown and thousands of fluffy blankets are actually considered an aesthetic - what more do you want? Autumn also brings the return of proper comfort food after a long summer of salads and sorbets. Once more you can have Sunday roast and apple crumble on a weekly basis and it is deemed a necessity, rather than an extravagance. Also, the pumpkin spice latte has paved the way for multitudes of autumn-themed drinks, and who doesn’t want to swap out their soul-destroying black filter coffee for a toasted marshmallow flavoured cup full of joy? Of course, autumn would not be the same without the most British of celebrations, Bonfire Night, the only night of the year when throwing stuff on a fire and drinking too much mulled wine is not only socially acceptable, it’s encouraged. Children are given little balls of fire on a stick, also known as sparklers, and because they’re pretty no one worries about it. With all this to love, who could possibly prefer any other season? Put on your jumpers and boots and go get that autumn appreciation Instagram photo.

to it, which is an interesting health and attempt to follow the general swell of safety precaution considering you could people. If you don’t get your timings walk 30 seconds down the road and get and placements right, you’ll spend the whole evening staring at the other half your jaw broken by a blazing barrel. of a crowd, which Where is this hapis a cold and lonely pening? In Ottery undertaking. Trust St. Mary, a village me, I did it in which is disapfirst year. pointingly not Why is popu lated this hapby otters. pening? But as to It’s an where old tradia n d tion datwhen the ing back barrelhundreds running of years, occurs, but I have you’ll either no idea how need to go they keep getting with someone insurance for it. The who knows their Image: Lewis Clarke runners just wear way around, decipher hoodies! There are the map you can buy on the night (which is a difficult task no barriers for people to stay behind! as it looks like it’s from the back of In 2009 someone threw an aerosol into the TGI Fridays children’s menu), or a barrel and it exploded! It’s a risk as-

Dear Flat G-rinch, I’m sorry to break this to you, but in my professional opinion, you need to move out immediately. There’s no fixing these housemates - it’s not even November yet! Much love, Agony Aunt

Images: kristen17, Benjamint444, Nicubunu

I have no idea how they keep getting insurance for it Overall, the Tar Barrels are definitely worth a visit. But probably just the one. Once you’ve seen one enormous oven-mitted man hoist a barrel of tar over his head and crash through a crowd, you’ve seen every enormous oven-mitted man hoist a barrel of tar over his head and crash through a crowd. But if you do go, make sure you know where to be, otherwise you’ll be stood around aimlessly in a country village, and if someone explodes you won’t even be there to see it.

Agony Aunt

Dear Agony Aunt, I live with housemates who have already started decorating the house for Christmas, and they’re playing carols. Halloween hasn’t even had its moment yet! How do I fix them? Yours, Flat G-rinch

sessor’s worst nightmare. According to my research, no one has ever died at the Tar Barrels - but whilst it might not be as dangerous as we’d like to think, it certainly maintains the illusion. Riveting stuff. The event is also a conservation exercise to control the village’s rampant barrel population.

Dear Agony Aunt, This Halloween I’m planning to lose my virginity. I matched with the most glorious girl on Tinder and we’ve been hanging out for the best two months of my life; we even went to Chessington World of Adventures together. She is unaware of my vestal status and I’m not sure I should tell her before popping the pumpkin. How do I make the most of this potentially sticky situation? Love, Pumpkin Popper

Dear Pumpkin Popper, If this girl is truly as glorious as you’ve professed, she won’t mind that you’re a virgin! In fact, her knowing this information might aid the situation and make it go more...uh... smoothly. Good luck! Much love, Agony Aunt P.S. Always use protection xo

Dear Agony Aunt, Am I too old to go trick-ortreating? I know age is but a number and all that, but I’m worried mine might be too high for this particular activity? From, Trick or Too Old

Dear Trick or Too Old, I’d like to take this opportunity to point out you haven’t actually told us how old you are, so it’s difficult to determine how far from the ‘regular’ trick or treating age you are. However, that being said, you can never be too old for trick-or-treating! So go forth, spread your wings like a beautiful Halloween butterfly and fly! Much love, Agony Aunt

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

Student Halloween: hit or miss?

THE SABB

Image: Petr Kratochvil

AGAINST

FOR make-up has probably melted down our faces. But god, it is so worth it for the fake candids we can plaster our Instagram feed with for the next week.

Rhiannon Moore Lifestyle Editor

T’S that time of year again: the wind has picked up, leaves are drying and falling, and the pop-up Halloween shop in the high street has opened its doors once again. Halloween is something which some people tend to believe should just be celebrated by children and just involves dressing up, going trick-or-treating, then heading home again with a bag full of sweets. But at university, Halloween is so much more than that.

Halloween is by far one of the best nights out as a student

Image: Petr Kratochvil

If you’re anything like me and love an absolutely awful night out at Unit 1 or Timepiece, then Halloween is by far one of the best nights out as a student. Everyone is dressed up in a wide array of outfits (let’s ignore the racist ones for the purpose of this argument), we all turn up with thoroughly planned spooky makeup (our best look yet) and by the end of the night, these very costumes are likely ripped and falling off and the

Once you’re at uni, you don’t have to ration your sweets From 1 October until Halloween, it’s scary film time, whether that’s lighthearted-scary with Hocus Pocus or hidingbehind-the-sofa scary with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Either way, cuddling up on the sofa with your housemates, plenty of blankets and all the sweet treats on offer at Tesco is one of the best ways to spend the spookiest month of the year. There is so much to do around Halloween at university (and beyond - if you think I’ll stop celebrating it once I become a fully-fledged adult and not just an adult-in-training, then you are so, so wrong). It’s not just about trickor-treating and besides, once you’re at university, you don’t have to ration your sweets and make them last for weeks afterwards, you can eat them all in one go if you want, and your parents aren’t here to stop you. Yes, as students we can’t go knocking on people’s doors and asking for sweets (or at least, we can’t go with dignity), but there is so much more that we can do that the kiddos can’t, so I’d say Halloween is far more appropriate for us students and we should celebrate it with all the energy we have. Besides, Halloween is the perfect way to get you in a Christmassy mood by kickstarting the festive season. If we didn’t have Halloween then what else do we have? Just Christmas? That’s just not enough holiday for me, frankly.

Harry Caton Online Screen Editor

HERE’S a crassness to the Halloweens of today. The last forty years, even; in the wake of consumer upsurges around the globe that fester in every single gosh-darned holiday season, we’ve grown enamoured to that perplexing cycle of the spend. You know the one. Kitting themselves out with the petty accoutrements of seasonality, the UK’s student populace has come to equate Halloween with only a different dress code, ambient orange lighting, and spooky-scary skeletons. It’s all money to the big supermarket chains that so eagerly push reams of holiday detritus, hawking sweets, pumpkin beer, and crummy costumes all up and down the street. The affair has something of a Christmas bloat, on a more minor scale. Along the lines of that ever-sinking ship, the season practically amounts to a stop-gap on the balance calendar of Consumer Celebration™. Preparation begins in at least late-September, framing a nice little hopand-skip before the showstopper-jump of Christmas. By buying into this loose stringing together of event after event, we’re only further ground down by that great machine in which plastic tackiness becomes the only reasonable expression of holiday spirit. Likewise, the proceedings themselves have grown a bizarre, ostentatious nature. Any individuality to the event is smoothed over by a parade of costumes, booze, and vague spookiness. Where’s the autumnal spirit? When hip young things come into it, booze flows, costumes get functional, and pumpkins become a facet, not a centrepiece. Rest

assured, electric, plastic versions can be bought down at Tesco, for those so inclined. Perhaps it’s pretty in the moment, but there’s a genuine lack of authenticity in, for example, light-up skeletons separable only from equally-gaudy Christmas reindeer by colour palette and a few layers of gristle. You’ve got to feel for the spiders, too; hard-work webs are quickly replaced with glue-on cotton wool thread.

The affair has something of a Christmas bloat Yes, as the average student grows closer to only the habits and affectations of spookiness, we wind up subsuming any fun of the holiday into a malaise of consumerism and booze. From here, we need something of a fresh start. A breakaway, at least. Let’s do more with the holiday itself; get back to carving countless pumpkins into gnarled expressions, ritually dunking each other into apple pools, and chants at midnight. If it’s called Halloween, we should at least remember what that means. This is a holiday of the dead, of spirits and ghouls and ghosts - spooky things, pranks, movies, scary costumes. Let’s bring back the earnestness of the holiday - not just a themed, drunken dressup, but the genuine excitement of that scared fun. While we’re at it, we could go one step further. That’s right - full-on paganism. I’m talking satanic circles, bonfires in anonymous fields, and the blood of copious willing sacrificial chickens. Where’s the social capital to be gained when you’re dancing naked through irregular frames of wood and flame? I’d like to see that become trendy.

Celebrating Diwali Jasmin Priya Contributor

HE evidence of how Hinduism influences my life is as faint as the scars in my earlobes, from the Karnavedha ear piercing ceremony that I underwent at six months old. However, I make a consistent effort to celebrate Diwali every year, no matter where I am. Diwali, or Deepavali in Sanskrit, is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains all over the world. We also call it the Festival of Lights, but you could say it’s the Indian New Year’s Eve. Simply, it honours the goddess Lakshmi, inviting her to bestow wealth and prosperity on our houses and lives. It also marks the

day which Rama, prince of Ayodhya, defeated the demon king Ravana after 14 years in exile, as told in the ancient epic Ramayana. Thus, it is considered as a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance. His victorious return to Ayodhya saw the streets lined with rows (“avali”) of oil lamps (each called a “deepa”), which traditionally form a part of the Deepavali festival.

A celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness Growing up, Diwali was a sacred day to be spent with loved ones. If it fell

during half term or on the weekend, we’d activities, food, dance performances and go visit my grandmother in London (the fireworks. There are rituals to be exact date varies every year; this carried out at home. I clean year it falls on Wednesday 7 the house, light candles November). We’d go to and leave them in the temple or mandir, the windowsills. I with hundreds of do this to welcome other devotees, and Lakshmi, the watch the fireworks goddess of wealth display, then collect and happiness, the a box of prasad lights being a symbol food that is made as of purity and good an offering to a god, luck. So, if you are like which is then later shared Image: Richa Yadav myself, broke and desperate out amongst the congregation. for that 2:1, maybe this Hindu Unfortunately, there is no Hindu temple in Exeter, but there is a big annual Diwali tradition can help! ! Saal Mubarak! celebration on campus run by Exeter’s Asian and Hindu Societies, with cultural Happy New Year!

Rose Ahier VP Welfare & Diversity

NIVERSITIES across the Higher Education sector have seen an upward increase in students declaring disabilities over the past ten years, and many of students at the University of Exeter live with dissbilities. Disabilities can be visible and invisible, and your label does not define your ability or value. It’s important to understand the support available through both the Guild and the University that will help you get the most out of your time as a student. On Wednesday 14 November the Guild, in partnership with Accessibility, FXU, and the Careers Zone, is hosting ‘Student Life and Beyond: Studying with Disabilities’. This event will raise awareness of a range disabilities; mental and physical health difficulties, longterm health conditions, autistic spectrum conditions and specific learning difficulties. You will be able to hear the experiences of students, recent graduates and alumni with disabilities, and their experiences both at university and in the work place. It is important that you feel supported both through your time in Exeter, and after University as you transition into the workplace. This event will provide the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about support and adjustments in the working world. It will be taking place from 14:00-16:30 in Streatham Court D, and will be followed by drinks and information stands. There is a variety of support availability to students through the Wellbeing Services and Accessibility team. The advisors can help you to access the Disabled Students Allowance or an Individual Learning Plan, and offer support and adjustments to reduce the impact your disability may have on your studies. Accessibility run social groups for students who experience fatigue, and a group for students who identify with autism spectrum conditions. The Guild is establishing a social group for students with diabetes – if this is something you could like to get involved with, please email rose.ahier@ exeterguild.com. For more information, please see http://www.exeter.ac.uk/ wellbeing/.

COMMENT

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Never gonna give EU up Hannah Stevenson Online News Editor

VERY time that I think I’m over Brexit, I realise that I’m really, *really* not. It’s been over two years: I’m still deeply angry. I’m angry that politicians sold false promises for their own political gain (and that the British people fell for them), I’m angry that Brexit deal negotiations have devolved into utter shambles. But more than anything, I’m angry at how bloody unfair Brexit will be for our generation, especially when so few of us voted for it in the first place. It leaves a taste in my mouth so bitter that all the “adequate food” in the world couldn’t get rid of it.

I’m angry at how unfair Brexit will be for our generation

But I know it’s not just me. Other people are angry too. 700,000 angry people in fact felt strongly enough to take to the streets last Saturday in the

People’s Vote march, and fight for a second referendum (never mind the 48% that never wanted to leave in the first place). The march was part of the wider People’s Vote movement, which has particularly sought to mobilise the support of students and young voters in recent months. But is this movement useful? Or is it just remoaners at their bitter worst? The selection of this demographic to spearhead the campaign should come as no surprise. Of the voters that went to the ballot box in 2016, 73% of under 24-year-olds and 85% of students voted to remain in the EU. And this excludes anyone currently under the age of 20, who didn’t get a say at all in the matter. The cruel irony, as Chuka Ummuna explained during the Students for A People’s Vote Roadshow here at the University of Exeter earlier this month, is that Brexit will “impact on you more than any other group”. Speaking of the movement, he appealed to his audience that “if we can’t get you involved in this campaign, we may as well

pack up and go home”. This does raise an important point- ultimately if our generation doesn’t fight for a People’s Vote, then who will? So perhaps it’s understandable that young people are

Image: maxpixel

angry. Even so, is the People’s Vote movement justified in its demands? In my opinion, yes, it is. What needs to be understood is that a people’s vote is not a second EU

referendum. The crux of the question we’re facing has changed immeasurably over the past two years. We are no longer asking ‘shall we exit the EU’, but rather ‘how shall we manage leaving the EU’. Another referendum would not be a gratuitous exercise for remainers, but a necessary act of democracy to reach a consensus pertaining to a different question. And secondly, we cannot overlook the gravity of the matter. Britain is divided on quite a few subjects at the moment, but I think there are two things that have become unanimously clear over the last two years: 1) The Great British Bake Off is just not as good now that it’s on Channel 4, and 2) Brexit will affect every area of politics, and every aspect of our lives. It is the biggest issue to affect this country since the Second World War (Brexit that is, not Great British Bake Off ). This is an exceptional matter. And unlike a general election, the end product will be entirely irreversible. Any Brexit strategy therefore demands a clear and strong mandate. This is what protesters are taking to the streets for- to get their voices heard.

Furthermore, the People’s Vote campaign is serving a broader purpose amongst our generation, beyond its mission, and regardless of whether it ultimately achieves its demands. Many young people are angry. It is easy for anger to turn to political disillusion and apathy. And yet the movement is rechannelling that energy into productive political engagement, and right now, I think that is incredibly important.

It is easy for anger to turn to political disillusion and apathy

So perhaps that’s something: a scrap of hope that can be salvaged from what otherwise seems a bleak political landscape to many. Who can say if the movement will be successful in initiating a vote on the final terms of Brexit? After all, the British government hardly has a strong track-record for being swayed by mass protest, or for listening to the voices of younger generations in this country. But the only certainty in British politics since the referendum has been its unpredictability.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Seize the opportunity

T’S that time of the year again. You find yourself at the halfway mark of the first term, cowering from the looming deadlines. Next thing you know, Week 6 arrives at your doorstep. Perhaps you’re a rosy-cheeked fresher, still brimming with excitement at being an ‘adult.’ Perhaps you’re a run-down second year who thought joining all the societies you missed out on in your first year was a sane idea. Or, perhaps you’re just a burnt-out final year zombie desperate for a five-minute break from drowning in work (and your sorrows). Of course, there is a chance that your college simply hates you, and the concept of reading week is a mere myth often heard during a mystical exchange of ghost stories around a campfire. I’ll be honest, the university desperately needs to work on supplying college-wide reading weeks within both terms. Consistent, non-stop work only leads to burnt out shadows wandering around campus by Week 10. I can almost guarantee that placing reading weeks smack in the middle of Terms 1

and 2 will cause a surge in motivation to work and will drastically reduce the quantity of stress-related breakdowns often observed in the library by Week 9. What used to be perceived as holiday time during school is now a sacred artefact that is often merely dreamt of. None of us are robots. None of us have the capability to keep going without cracking. We are Generation Z, made up of the frightened individuals who shake with fear at the uncertainty of what lies beyond the University bubble. All I think the university needs to consider is the provision of flexibility for us, so that we can reach our maximum potential and flourish to become the successful personalities we all have the capability of being.

Finding the time to breathe seems near impossible Besides, as a History and Philosophy student, I find that a reading week is an absolute blessing sent from the heavens. Finally, here comes my break from whizzing through a 60-page chapter whilst sat on the floor, mere min-

utes standing between me and my night out. Maybe this week will allow me to explore more suitable locations for lastminute reading binges?

The university needs to work on supplying college-wide reading weeks However you choose to spend your week, make sure to take some time off to focus on yourself. It is rather easy to let yourself get sucked into the madness that university life can often bring. The endless excitement can sometimes throw you into a bit of a frenzy, where finding the time to breathe, especially by yourself, seems near impossible. Maybe you’re the type of person who only needs that one five-minute break to regain their energy, but if you feel like a couple of days of self-care are much anticipated, then take them. Read that book that has been idly sitting on your shelf since you moved into your halls. Gather your housemates and go on a day-long adventure to Exmouth, weather permitting. Hell, if you’re feeling that extra surge of ambition, binge watch the whole of Blue Planet in one go.

Personally, I’m using my Week 6 as an opportunity to catch up on the things that I have neglected during regular term time. I’m flying back home to spend time with my family and can’t wait to be reunited with the true love of my life: Czech tank beer. Hopefully, if I’m feeling bold, I’ll finally crack open that Philosophy of Mind textbook that I’ve tactically hidden under the coffee table in our living room. Just keep in mind that whatever you decide to do, no matter how much unirelated work it entails, y o u are

the only person in charge of how you utilize your time. I wish you all the best with your upcoming Week 6 endeavours, and a special good luck to those with ongoing contact hours. No matter what you think, I’m sure you’ll pull through just fine.

Image: free-photos on Pixabay

Anna Romanovska Contributor

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Features

FEATURES EDITORS: Niamh Elstone Neha Shaji

A shadow over the court

Harry McIlvar gives us the rundown of Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing, and its implications for the Supreme Court

ICTURE the scene; a single woman stands in front of an allmale committee of senators to speak out about her allegations of sexual assault against a nominee to the Supreme Court. She is mocked and belittled by many of the senators - accused of fabricating evidence and of seeking attention. Her claims are ignored, and the nominee becomes a Supreme Court justice. This happened in 1991, when George HW Bush appointed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Viewers watching Dr Christine Blasey Ford accuse Brett Kavanaugh of assault in 2018 might be forgiven for some déjà vu.

Dr Ford’s testimony received considerable praise for her courage The highly divisive and controversial nomination was finally completed on Saturday 6 October, with the nominee being confirmed by a 48-50 vote in the United States Senate. Kavanaugh, often described as the most unpopular nominee in living memory, had been accused of sexual assault by Dr Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick, who alleged that the assaults had occurred at college. Dr Ford’s testimony, made in front of a predominantly male panel of senators, received considerable praise for her courage and composure, particularly from the #MeToo movement. The research psychologist alleged that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, had locked her in a room during a house party and attempted to remove her clothing. Ford told the panel that when she tried to scream, Kavanaugh held his hand over her mouth. Ford stated that her most prominent memory of the incident was “the laughter, the laugh - the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense.” Kavanaugh denies all allegations. Background investigation into the Kavanaugh’s conduct at the time certainly does not paint him in a flattering light. In his college yearbook, he boasted about the “100 Kegs or Bust” challenge, which Mark Judge characterised as an attempt between him, Kavanaugh and their friends to drink that much

beer over the course of the year. He claimed that boasts in his yearbook relating to having a “Devil’s Triangle” referred to a drinking game and “Renate Alumnius” were described by classmates as a boast about sex with a classmate. Contemporaries such as James Roche, Kavanaugh’s roommate, portrayed him as a heavy drinker. All of this appears to undermine Kavanaugh’s own claims that he could not possibly have committed the crimes of which he is accused, as he never drank to such excess. Ford’s calm and collected demeanour was in stark contrast to the highly emotional testimony made by the accused judge, who often shouted and at times wept openly. Notably, Kavanaugh a n g r i l y lambasted Democrats on the panel for attempting to derail his nomination; he claimed that the process was a “circus” which had “replaced advise and consent with search and destroy.” The testimony was heavily criticised by many in the legal community, with over 2,400 legal professors signing a letter to the Senate that, even without the allegations of assault, questioned Kavanaugh’s temperament. The US Circuit of Appeals Court has received dozens of misconduct complaints relating to his testimony.

The Supreme Court, for several years, has been finely balanced The tense and emotional scenes at the confirmation hearing sparked intense responses from the wider community, with many coming to protest either in favour or in protest against Kavanaugh’s nomination. One sexual assault survivor confronted key senator Jeff Flake in an elevator and accused him of failing to respect the victims of assault. Later,

Flake demanded that, in return for his vote to allow Kavanaugh’s nomination to progress to the wider Senate, an FBI investigation be opened into Ford’s allegations. However, this investigation was heavily criticised by senators, such as Dianne Feinstein, for being rushed and limited in scope. The investigation involved interviews with nine people,

particularly Mark Judge, who claimed no memory of the incident. Neither Ford nor Kavanaugh were contacted, nor were a list of 20 people that Ramirez’s lawyers claimed would provide corroborating evidence. Reportedly, the White House placed strict controls on the investigation. However, key wavering senators Joe Manchin, Jeff Flake and Susan Collins believed, despite finding Ford’s testimony credible, it provided sufficient evidence to confirm Kavanaugh. It is perhaps noteworthy that Jeff Flake and Susan Collins were the only Republican senators who even waited for the investigation before declaring their intention to support Kavanaugh. Senator Feinstein, who was first elected in the same year as Justice Clarence Thomas was voted onto the

Supreme Court in the face of similar allegations, tweeted that Kavanaugh’s confirmation, in the face of “credible allegations of sexual assault” and a “belligerent, partisan performance” served only to “undermine the legitimacy of the Supreme Court”. Indeed, the voting in the Senate (50-48) was almost entirely down party lines, with just one Democrat and one Republican voting against their party. To put this into context, this is the most partisan vote in modern history; Ruth Bader Ginsburg was voted in 1993 with a 96-3 majority. This should be of the utmost concern to the American system. The Supreme Court has been, for several years, finely balanced b e t we e n conser vative and liberal justices, with A n t h o n y Kennedy acting as a “swing vote”. With Kavanaugh now replacing Kennedy, the Court now has a firm conservative majority. Indeed, its newest justice was a former Staff Secretary for George W Bush, making Kavanaugh’s impartiality seem highly questionable. It seems reasonable to assume that his voting position will be highly close to the Republican administration that he and his fellow justices are supposed to keep in check. It remains to be seen exactly what effect the new conservative majority will have on the Supreme Court, particularly with regards to its rulings on issues such as reproductive rights, gerrymandering or campaign finance restrictions. Given its power to essentially interpret the Constitution, it is entirely possible that the Court will now begin to make constitutional rulings that undermine the more liberal tone of the Court under Obama. Chief Justice John Roberts now occupies the ideological centre of the court, making him the crucial swing vote in the case of a 5-4 ruling; despite

being personally conservative, Roberts is keen to avoid the politicisation of the Court and was the key vote that upheld Obamacare in 2012. He may act to prevent the Court from becoming too activist in key political issues.

Kavanaugh’s testimony was heavily criticised by many in the legal community

However, the outrage provoked by Kavanaugh’s confirmation is undeniable, particularly from many victims and survivors of sexual assault, many of whom rallied outside the Senate in protest as the organisation approved Kavanaugh’s nomination. Some of those voting to confirm Kavanaugh did little to allay the fears of those who felt that sexual assault was a crime that too often went unpunished. Senator Orrin Hatch told a group of female protesters to “grow up” when they attempted to challenge him on his vote for Kavanaugh. Hatch has a history of being sceptical of sexual assault allegations; when Clarence Thomas was accused of assault by Anita Hill, Hatch claimed that some of her story had been inspired by The Exorcist. Similarly, President Trump has been dismissive of the protests against Kavanaugh, claiming that the judge had been smeared by a “campaign of lies” and had been proved “completely innocent”, going so far as to mock Dr Ford at a rally and to later claim that the protests against the judge had been coordinated by Democrat donor George Soros. The President put forward no evidence to back his claim. Whilst it is far too early to predict the effect that Kavanaugh will have as a member of the most powerful court in the United States, his confirmation will certainly damage public respect in the Supreme Court. Furthermore, ignoring Dr Ford’s allegations will send a dark message to victims of assault that their claims have, once again, been disbelieved. Whilst the leader of the free world dismisses women like Dr Ford, victims could be forgiven for believing that despite the supposed power of movements like #MeToo, little tangible has changed. Image: Noclip (Wikimedia); Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan

FEATURES

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

How to build a better Britain Chloë Edwards, Online Features Editor, discusses the country's future with Owen Jones

OU could say that Owen Jones has a knack for spotting trouble – the socio-political kind, at least. As a journalist and columnist for The Guardian, a political commentator, and activist, Jones has made a career talking about the issues which affect Britain today. This autumn, he will be in Exeter to deliver a talk on how together, we can go about building a new and improved Britain. The roots of Jones’ work stem from a common introspective viewpoint. “I see myself primarily as somebody who tries to involve people in politics, so writing is part of that. I try and use [my work] as a means to try and get people involved with politics, and to get people who are angry about things to not just yell at the television. It’s perfectly understandable, but how do you get them to take that anger and productively combine it with hope to transform the world, or to change the society we live in?”

If you don't know how many hours you're going to be working next week, you're not free For some, ‘Building a New Britain’ could be a lofty ambition of a title for a public talk. It needs to be understood in the context of its origins, as Jones explains. “About a generation ago, there was the birth of a new social order, which arguably, put profit before people’s needs and aspirations. We saw everything from the disappearance of jobs to the decimation of decent, affordable housing for huge numbers of people, and the rolling back of collective power that working people had. “The promise of that new social order […] was personal freedom, that it would make people freer. But that freedom wasn’t personal freedom at all, it was insecurity. Insecurity traps people. It makes them less free. If you don’t know how many hours you’re going to be working next week, then you’re not free. If you don’t have a secure, affordable house, then you’re not free. If you’re staring at the ceiling worrying about your next gas bill, you’re not free, or if you’re saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of debt because you dared to dream of a university education from which you’ll benefit from, you’re not free.” So how would Jones define a ‘new Britain’? “For me, the type of Britain that we need to build is obviously one that is equal and just, but also one where

people are free. Younger people now are going to have a worse lot in life than their parents; they’ve been particularly decimated by the cuts. In terms of building a new Britain, the way I frame it is as taking back control, but also the the idea that I’m interested in is how you democratise the economy, so that people in their workplaces have control over their work […] In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes thought by now, we’d be working a fourteen-hour week, which hasn’t happened!” “For me one of the biggest focuses is giving young people their autonomy back, and giving them their personal freedom. Younger people are at the absolute forefront with many of the struggles against the social order, be it with minimum wage or paid holiday leave, so we’ve seen lots of younger people increasingly involved with the Labour movement that many saw as being dominated by members of a generation who are out of touch with the current struggles." These thoughts would certainly resonate with a lot of young people and their collective worries and problems – but the solution, it would seem, lay in turning that stress into a unified catalyst for change. “Young people broke the spell when that government came to power. There’s an idea that British people don’t fight back, that we’re viewed as having a stiff upper lip – that was detonated by young people. Trade unions said that drove them into action, but young people are at the forefront in things like UK Uncut, or the climate change movement, and the same with the anti-war movement when thousands of students and sixthformers walked out of school in protest against the Iraq War. Young people have consequently dragged people into political action, and without them and the struggles they’ve been involved with, the massive shift with Labour support wouldn’t have happened. […] I think Britain will look back at the movements that young people were involved in as absolutely critical to what I believe is the dramatic political change that is about to happen in this country.” Against the backdrop of a new Conservative government, Jones’ book enabled him to accumulate what he was thinking at the time and unintentionally put his ideas and beliefs into the spotlight. “I put together this proposal for a book on class, called Chavs, and I wrote that book on the basis that whilst I could have called it Class in Britain, there’s no shortage of dour left-wing academic takes on social class, and I wanted to

write something that was more accessible – particularly for young people. It then got rejected by lots and lots of publishers, and then a small, radical publishing company called Verso took it on. I didn’t expect it to have anywhere near the impact that it did, but the reason it made such an impact was because of the political context; the Tories had just come to power, the economic crash had affected living conditions and so people were ready to talk about class again in a way that people wouldn’t hear them and think ‘oh, go back to the 1960s, you communist dinosaur!’, and then people were ready to get a discussion going.”

Younger people are at the absolute forefront “But off the back of that, what happened was – again, I didn’t want to be a columnist – newspapers got in touch and asked if I would be interested in writing about my book for The Independent or The Guardian or different television and radio stations, and if I would be happy to talk about other things, to which I said yes, and then eventually The Independent offered me a contract. So, it wasn’t a burning ambition, but I had these ideas that I passionately believed in and wanted to make accessible and so it just evolved in that direction. It was less about ‘I want to be a writer’ and more that ‘I want to make these ideas accessible’ in the limited way an individual can”. This leads us to working in the too often privileged environment of national British media. How prominent is the issue of class in the face of the British media? “Certain beneficiaries of privilege in the media don’t like it being talked about and go berserk when I talk about it, but people are often like that. The sense that if you scrutinise privilege, then it’s seen as a political affront. Objectively, the media is one of the most socially exclusive professions in the country. “Unpaid internships are filled by the friends and relatives of people working in the media, so the issue of who you know is another problem in the media. But another one is expensive postgraduate qualifications – often

spending thousands of pounds on a Masters degree, plus living costs, is just not something people can afford.” “The media discriminates all too often on your parental wealth, rather than your potential. That has an impact on our democracy – if you have a media that is dominated by similar backgrounds, it impacts the stories and issues which are talked about and the angles taken on them. You get people from privileged backgrounds who do excellent work on some of these issues, but it’s the same the higher up in journalism you go – there are fewer women, which of course impacts the coverage of issues which affect women.” “It’s the same with race – there are very few prominent Muslim writers at a time when Islamophobia is so rampant, so I think it distorts coverage to a degree, as well as being fundamentally unjust. Issues like the housing crisis would be far more discussed if the people who grew up affected by them were writing, so for me we need a dramatic change in access. That will mean upsetting the existing beneficiaries at the top of the system.” So, does Jones think the face of British media is likely to evolve over the coming years? “I think it will take an upheaval, but I’m confident that it will happen. […] I think it will change, because at the moment there is so much disillusionment with the status quo and the social order and national institutions in this country.” “Over the last decade, financial crisis

onwards, we’ve seen crises involving these institutions, such as the phonehacking scandal. For millions of people, their lives got more difficult, their wages fell or stagnated, public services have been affected, so there is a general sense of injustice. There’s the issue as well that if you criticise the media, that makes you like Donald Trump, which is such a logical fallacy.”

The media discriminates all too often on your parental wealth, rather than your potential “The media’s faults aren’t just in its make-up, it’s that it often directs anger at those without a voice, such as refugees, migrants, Muslims, trans people, and that constant relentless attitude, from some of the most powerful institutions in the country, determines a higher national political debate and determines the priorities. But the consequences are that there are often lies about the minorities, who are in a difficult position in defending themselves, which legitimises bigotry and hatred with often real-life consequences.” “When the media respond to any criticism as though they’re the victims, as they pile on criticism to minority groups who don’t have a significant British voice, I find it absolutely galling and. I think things have to change. People are so fed-up and sick of the way every part of all the leading British institutions are run and that this country will go through a peaceful and democratic revolution in the coming years which will sweep away the old order and leave something new in its place.” Listening to Jones’ thoughts on the state of the nation and the wider world, you can’t help but feel somewhat inspired and hopeful about what’s to come in the future. If young people have been the catalyst for change since the turn of the millennium, it almost makes you believe that the future is in safe hands. This interview has been edited for fluency and length. An extended version is available online, at www.exepose. com.

Image: Policy Exchange

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES

The Khashoggi killing Alex Wood talks about the mysterious nature of the murder of Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian journalist

HE confirmed death of Saudi dissident and American citizen, Jamal Khashoggi has attracted global attention and dispute. Whilst the facts of the case remain unclear, the biased relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has caused concern that justice may not be won for the journalist. As a former Saudi government advisor, Khashoggi began to criticise the new administration under Mohammed bin Salman. After expressing Saudi’s apprehension towards Trump’s presidency, he was asked to stop writing and since left the country, acquiring American citizenship. Whilst living in America, he contributed to The Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, continuing to express a growing concern towards affairs in Saudi Arabia. On the second of October he travelled to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in order to attain the documents necessary for him to marry his Turkish fiancée. Khashoggi has not been seen since. Until recently, there has been a distinct lack of official consensus as

allegations were simultaneously made by the investigation and denied by Saudi Arabia. However, on Friday, Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi had not left the consulate as previously claimed but was killed in a fist fight. This account is not consistent with evidence so far found throughout the investigation, leading to demands by the international community for further explanation of events. The political allegiances between the United States and accused Saudi Arabia complicate the situation further. The two countries have shared a close relationship since investments in the Saudi oil industry begun in 1933. The dynamic has developed as a result of mutual advantage. America was able to rely on support during conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, whilst Saudi oil consumption was secured through the protection of producers as central to US foreign policy. The result is the enduring relationship which raises questions as to how the two countries will proceed.

The international community has responded with suggestions of

Image: Kurious

economic sanctions for Saudi Arabia, yet so far this seems unlikely. Despite

independent corporations in America withdrawing from an upcoming investment conference in Riyadh, the US administration is reluctant to impose financial penalties. On Trump’s first visit to Saudi Arabia, a $110 billion (USD) arms deal was brokered, meaning that economic sanctions would admittedly impede the US more than Saudi. An alternative to state sanctions is the option of individual sanctions as made possible through the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The act originated as a response to the human rights violations against a Russian accountant in 2009. So far it has been signed by 22 US senators obliging Trump to determine whether a violation occurred and to respond accordingly. Nonetheless, Trump’s response or use of this act is not compulsory, and will likely not be undertaken with genuine intent or at all due to strict loyalties towards Saudi Arabia. The absence of action by America

also reflects increased dependency on Saudi oil industries; as upcoming sanctions on Iran are due to begin in early November. This means that the United States is heavily dependent on Riyadh as its primary source of oil in the Middle East. Consequently, close economic ties and dependencies between the two counties undermine any chance of objective action by the United States. It seems likely that the brutal killing of Khashoggi will have no significant impact on US-Saudi relations. On one hand, there is a perfect opportunity for America to demonstrate a genuine commitment to human rights as iterated in its liberal foreign policy. This would also provide the Trump administration with some much needed credibility; however, such actions would likely undermine the present relationship with Saudi Arabia. Therefore it seems far more likely that the US will blatantly ignore the human rights violations in favour of economic prosperity and the preservation of the beneficial, if questionable, relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Body World horror: fact or fiction? A

Amelia Chisholm discusses the infamous exhibition’s possibly immoral sources

T the beginning of October this year, the infamous ‘Body World’ exhibition, having toured globally, found a home at Piccadilly Circus in London. But it is worth wondering exactly how permanent this home will be. The exhibition displays posed and partially stripped cadavers, marketed to tourists as a way of “discovering the beauty beneath your skin”, and “a fun, child friendly way of health-education.” Strikingly positive words for what is essentially a museum of curiosity cadavers, revealing various layers of muscle and sinew. One specimen is pregnant, the skin from her stomach and uterus area removed so the eight-month-old foetus is visible.

There is a debate to be had a b o u t whether such images should be considered child-friendly, or whether it is respectful to pose them in some of the frankly comical positions.

That being said, this exhibit has come under fire for much more sinister reasons. Ethan Gutmann - investigative writer and self-described human rights defender - believes the bodies to belong to Chinese political prisoners - not only is this illegal, but they may have died under morally questionable circumstances. He brought this to the attention of the public via the blog

endtransplantabuse.org, noting “short legs” of the cadavers.

the

They may have died under morally questionable circumstances At first, the claim that all bodies in this exhibition are of the same racial descent appears to be a little odd, but no great cause for concern. That is, until the origins of Gunther von Hagens’ operation are considered. Von Hagens set up Body Business in Dailan, China in August 1999, and had publicly claimed that it was due to the cheap manual labour he could obtain. Coincidentally, in July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party started a ‘cleanse’/ Image: Paul Stevenson systematic murder of

the Falun Gong (a spiritual organisation) of Dailan. Then in 2013, four months following the publication of Gutmann’s accusatory article, Von Hagens’ main supporter during his time in Dailan, Bo Xilali, was jailed. His imprisonment was linked to active involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong. Von Hagens being so close with the man who aided in orchestrating so much death, and returning with a lot of bodies for the exhibition certainly raised some questions in the public eye. Von Hagens, however, claims that these bodies were attained fully legally, yet research from news organisations such as NPR has yet to uncover any form of paper trail.

Two corpses...at his centre in China had bullet holes in their skulls When the exhibition was stationed in Tampa, Florida, von Hagens was asked for proof that the bodies had been legally obtained. Rather than any documents from individuals bequeathing their shell to Body Worlds,

they merely received a letter from the preserver, assuring the exhibition venue that the bodies were obtained legally. A Guardian report revealed that at least two corpses out of some 647 stored by the anatomist at his centre in China had bullet holes in their skulls. Whilst von Hagens claims that he does not know whether or not these bodies were executed, he confirms that some were given to him by Chinese authorities. Given the circumstances, it is understandable that some would assume criminal activity had taken place. The argument about whether these cadavers should be displayed in the context of scaring children, or a general disrespect for human dignity, is secondary if it does turn out that they are stolen and may be victims of political murder. These may be people who have been murdered by their government and are being provided with even less respect in death then they had in life. An investigation, rather than the practice of not questioning the origin of the bodies, needs to take place – and if found that they were obtained through illegal or nefarious practices, they should not be displayed as such and instead returned to their home.

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

FEATURES

‘To whom do they apologise?’ Neha Shaji, Features Editor, talks to Dr Gajendra Singh about the Empire’s impact on academia

How can you ensure that reparations get to those who need it rather than elite scholars? It is important to note that the concept of UK universities possessing money from the slave trade, and to a larger extent, imperialism in general – is not a recently discovered idea. Dr. Singh points out that “recently discovered is an interesting word. Recently confessed and recently talked about.” He speculates that it would “not be surprising at all” if it were discovered that other universities had a similarly tainted financial past. Oxford, Cambridge, and several elite

institutions were attended in the past of children of wealthy plantation owners, most of whom must have not only been involved in the slave trade but would have owned slaves themselves.

The apology is not about anyone who is black, but for liberal Britain to feel better

We’re not that separate from this in the South-West. Far from being the whitest part of the nation, Devon and Somerset used to be diverse when the word held frightening connotations of the human trade. Bristol was a primary slave port, and the first English slaving expedition left from Plymouth – the former city has several landmarks such as Wills Memorial Building or Bathurst Basin named after notable slave owners. Even Exeter has commemorations to be squirmed at, with Blackboy Road raising eyebrows, as well as a prominent and beloved statue of Redvers Buller, famed in fighting imperialist wars in Africa such as the Ashanti conflict – which was fought on rumours that the natives “conducted human sacrifices.” Dr. Singh asks three questions about Glasgow’s apology. “What does it mean to confess, recognise, and apologise? What is the purpose of that? To whom should this apology be made to?” He emphasizes that the whom question is especially important and points out that Glasgow apologizing is not about “anyone who is Black, but about liberal Britain wanting to feel better about itself.” I ask further about the liberal apology, and he continues that “[in the case of slavery and imperialism] there isn’t a direct situation with a victim and an oppressor - the oppressors are no longer alive today and the victims have not merely died, they were erased, effaced from history. There is a myopic view of what was happening - it was different from Britain, it was always over there,

even when these people turned up in the metropolitan. This apology is more about contemporary Britain contemporary white, liberal Britain.” This myopic view of Britain seems to be incredibly pervasive across the secondary education system in the country. The GCSE and A-Level History curriculum across boards delves into atrocities committed by other countries, where Nazi Germany and the USSR are heavily covered and analysed. Yet Britain’s own role in colonialism is brushed over in the syllabus, with more references to railroads and trains built by the British rather than the genocide of populations the Empire contributed to or the concentration camps in the Boer War, and more focus on Britain abolishing slavery than her own major part in it. Dr. Singh agrees that “it demands that (A-level and GCSE level syllabuses) should begin to talk about historiography (the teaching of how history itself is written).” However, he says that this may not be possible in today’s British school system bent under austerity, noting that “there is then huge pressures on schools - often people who do not have History degrees are called upon to teach history, due to underfunding and austerity. This is why I loathe to say that this is how things should be done.” Glasgow had, as part of their ‘reparations’ in the report the university put out, said they would be establishing a study for the centre of

slavery, and would be liaising with the University of West Indies. Since Dr. Singh had already gone into the possible motivations of such an apology, I asked him about reparations in general and the nature of them. Several scholars from ex-Commonwealth nations (notably, Shashi Tharoor, in an Oxford Union debate) had called for Britain to provide monetary reparations to said countries. Dr. Singh, however, asks us to consider that reparations would not trickle down to the most oppressed. “The interesting thing about reparations,” he notes, “is that colonialism is a much more complex hierarchy of power than just a simple perpetrator and victim relation. How do you ensure reparation gets to those who need it (rather than elite scholars)?” Symbolic reparations have also been considered – a notable call for it would be the return of the Kohinoor diamond, taken from Prince Duleep Singh and placed on the British Crown. India has asked for the return of the diamond multiple times, with the question never even being considered by the British elite. Dr. Singh states that “the symbolic thing [is worth] more than the actual thing.” He gives the example of the Canadian model of parliamentary apology, which meant that First Nations groups in Canada could claim the right to commemorate the act themselves by accessing state funds. “Take the genocide in Kenya - rather than Britain wondering how this should be commemorated, it should be made so that Kenyan people have access to funds so that they can commemorate it as they wish to.” The thread of independence is strong in several postcolonial authors’ and historians’ writings on British imperialism – the postcolonial nations should have the agency to

Image: University of Exeter

HE University of Glasgow has recently announced a period of reparative justice, involving a tribute, or memorial, to the enslaved as well as a centre for the studies of slavery. After a year long study led to the institution admitting that it had benefited from tens of millions of pounds from slave owners and those involved in the slave trade. The shockhorror media coverage around this ties in with the United Kingdom’s general gentle surprise at ever being associated with the slave trade or the Empire in general. Yet, it also leads one to question other institutions of learning in the country and the funds they may possess from such sources. I sat down with Dr. Gajendra Singh, a South Asian modern historian from the University of Exeter who specialises in late colonial SouthAsian history, in order to pick his brains about decolonisation, institutions and their relationship with the slave trade, as well as younger children learning about the history of history itself.

Dr. Gajendra Singh South Asian historian at the University of Exeter

commemorate and emphasise as they wish, rather than Britain putting on a show.

My point is - not much has changed. Education isn’t the only thing, actually Returning to Glasgow, I asked Dr Singh whether research money should be invested in searching a university’s own past to understand whether they had partaken of funds from the slave trade. He states that yes, it needed to be investigated in “a rigorous way not just about the transatlantic slave trade, but about the wider problem of donors and where the money comes from.” He continues to explain that Glasgow’s decision would not affect any substantive change in and of itself, expanding on how substantive change should not merely happen in academic settings but also the wider society universities are a reflection of. “My point is,” he concludes, “not much has changed. Education’s not the only thing, actually - many people don’t pay attention in class. People gain a sense of history by the spaces, statues, and wider public understanding around them, or by street names. That stuff matters - and I think, far more.”

Image: Wikimedia, Dilliff

Image: Wikimedia, DILIFF

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES

Reviewing the Romanian referendum Alexandra Luca discusses Romania's recent referendum and whether it's a victory for LGBTQ+ rights

AST week the results came in for a referendum held on 6 and 7 October in Romania; the question posed was whether the language present in the Constitution regarding marriage should be changed from 'spouses' to 'husband and wife'. Whilst most of the media, especially foreign press, is portraying this as a gay rights issue, the truth is far from this. The referendum failed to meet the 30% voter turnout required to validate it, although this should not be seen as a victory for gay rights because over 90% of those who cast ballots voted YES, and the country remains inhospitable to LGBTQ+ people. The reality is that an already persecuted minority is being used as a scapegoat for a corrupt political class seeking to distract from their nefarious activities.

Many people view homosexuality as against God or nature. As an eastern European country with older, rural and religious communities, and individuals who have lived through communism, Romania hasn't progressed socially as much as could be hoped so it is easy to stoke hatred against LGBTQ+ individuals. The referendum was pushed by Coalition for the Family (CpF), an association promoting traditional family values by defining marriage and family as starting with a heterosexual couple. They are also involved in the antiabortion debate. In 2016, this coalition, with the backing of the Orthodox Christian Church, gathered three million signatures for a petition to amend the constitution and, although LGBTQ+ rights groups got over 1000 public figures to sign a petition opposing it, the civil society in defense of LGBTQ+ rights is simply not strong enough in the country. There is legitimate concern that the campaign run ahead of the referendum stirs up hatred and promotes discrimination and those opposing it called for people to boycott the referendum. Indeed, the YES campaign was chock full of propaganda such as Mihai Făgădaru, member of CpF, claiming children will be taken and given to homosexual

couples; he even went as far as saying on a televised debate that this already occurs in England. There have been the usual comparisons of homosexuality to bestiality, videos made asking people on the street what they would say to a child if they saw two men holding hands in public, fear-mongering about children being converted to homosexuality (as if it’s a religion) through ‘gay propaganda’. Many people are misinformed and view homosexuality as strange and against God or nature. The head of the Romanian Intelligence Services himself said he doesn’t want to be confused whether he is the small in-law or big in-law at his child’s wedding which is in itself a statement confusing sexual orientation with gender since big/small in-law in Romania is based on whether you are the parent of the man or woman. Such ignorance stems from lack of exposure, something every country has had to deal with on their way to civil rights victories. Romania is one of only six states within the EU to ban gay marriage/civil partnerships. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) has rated Romania at 20% on a scale measuring the equality of rights between majority and minority sexuality in Europe. For comparison, countries like Belgium and Norway scored close to 80%, whilst Russia and Turkey scored around 10%. A recent case sparked controversy in Romania where a Romanian man named Adrian Coman who married Clai Hamilton, an American, in Belgium sought to settle with him in Romania but his husband was denied residency because gay marriage is illegal. EU judges in Brussels said this violated freedom of movement and that a gay marriage performed in a member state should be recognised in all states, even those in which it is illeg al,

and spouses should be granted residency rights. Following such pressure, the Romanian Supreme Court had to cave.

Gay marriage and polygamy are already illegal as per Romanian law Unfortunately, referendum voters were even misled with regards to the basic principles of what they were voting for. Amending the constitution to say 'husband and wife' instead of 'spouses' would not lead to any policy or legal change because in Romanian civil law it already says marriage is between a 'man and a woman' - gay marriage, as well as polygamy, etc. are already illegal. It would not stop gay couples from adopting since they already can’t because only married couples can adopt. The only possible consequence could be that when gay rights are pushed for in the future, an amended Constitution would make this more difficult, but only marginally. This is taking attention and money (the referendum cost more than € 35 million) away from issues that matter in Romania such as its failing public health, roads, and education, and giving it to a referendum which wouldn’t have any real consequences. It is therefore natural to ask ‘why?’ What does this distraction achieve? Although Romania is meant to be a secular state, the CpF, Orthodox Church, and the leading Social Democratic party (PSD) forming a majority government all collaborated to mobilise the YES campaign. There is evidence that many of the ads, meetings, and other

campaign contributions were state funded. PSD-backed TV channels promoted the topic. In many places, priests from the Church were used to campaign for votes. In county Olt, priests were even seen gathering and marching on the street in support of the YES campaign, spreading more misinformation. Curiously enough, video evidence of the march shows the lack of conviction even in the ranks of faith leaders since many priests were caught on tape gossiping, chatting about business or how to scam a car registration. One priest said, “vote whatever, just turn up”, as if unconvinced by the ideology he is supposedly marching for. The Coalition for the Family (CpF) themselves have abused their power in undemocratic ways. They are shown on video kicking journalists out of a public conference held at a public venue in Buzau, thus violating the freedoms of expression and information in the Constitution they claim to follow. They are seen inciting the crowd to harass the press, asking for the journalists’ names and addresses so they can sue them, trying to look through their bags and grab their phones away. The guard at the venue refused to remove the journalists from the premises but the police were later called to throw them out, bringing to mind issues of corruption even in the law enforcement sector. On TV, members of the CpF said they were 'taking names' of those speaking ill of their coalition, a threat that has a familiar authoritarian ring of figures like Erdogan, Trump’s administration, and past communist players. The state altered the system in to help achieve their ends. They lowered the usual required 50% voter turnout to 30% and inflated turnout since, in some

IMAGE: Wikimedia European Peoples Party

counties, the voter turnout was recorded as exceeding 100% (or even 200%), which is physically impossible. Proposed bills that would decriminalise abuse of office if the sum of money is below € 200,000 would allow taking bribes on another’s behalf and would restrict prosecutors’ use of wiretaps, CCTV footage and other digital evidence. All of these changes could cripple corruption investigations. Additional laws have eroded the independence of the judiciary system, dissolving the crucial barrier between judiciary and executive systems of government. This comes after anticorruption investigations, between 2006 and 2017, led to the indictment of 20 ministers, 53 deputies and 19 senators, as well as former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. The current administration wishes to ensure their fate is not the same.

In some cases, voter turnout was recorded as exceeding 100% or even 200% Very few figures remain in the government that oppose these moves. One is President Klaus Iohannis, from opposition party PNL but his powers are limited and being stripped further. He has spoken out against the government and tried to stall their moves but is often forced to comply like when he was ordered by the Supreme Court to fire Chief AntiCorruption prosecutor Laura Kovesi following a possibly doctored report against her. Despite several street protests throughout the years, many ending in violence perpetrated by the authorities against peaceful protesters, the current wave of corruption doesn’t seem to stop. Romania has garnered negative attention from the European Parliament and GRECO. Although it is the fastest growing EU economy, most of its citizens are extremely poor. The government and Church are wasting everyone’s time stoking hatred of minority groups. It is difficult to find a silver lining and the tensions between the public and politicians are reaching a breaking point.

Images: Jordan Stimpson; Publicc Domain Pictures

lifestyle

ARTS + LIT

E X H I B IT screen

STUDY BREAK Image:495756, Teatro Persinsala Image: Pixabay

Image: Kiefer Wolfowitz

MUSIC

terror on the stage proud to be paternal

16 Image: Time’s Up Group, LLC

Image: Jim Ellis

what has time’s up changed?

EXEPOSé Interviews Estrons

28 study break

Image: Focus Me

16 -18

20 - 22

24 - 27

28 - 30

LIFESTYLE EDITORS Rhiannon Moore Bethan Gilson

ARTS + LIT EDITORS Lauren Newman Tabi Scott

MUSIC EDITORS Alex Wingrave Aaron Loose

SCREEN EDITORS Chloe Kennedy Ben Faulkner

STUDY BREAK Puzzles by Alfred and Katie 29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

lifestyle #emasculatedbond

Alex Wingrave, Music Editor, explores the societal prejudices concerning men in a nuturing role

IERS Morgan, the nation's most controversial breakfast show host, has made more standout and arguably ignorant comments. This time, he's attacking critically-acclaimed James Bond actor Daniel Craig for carrying his baby daughter in a papoose, using the bizarre hashtag "#emasculatedbond". Beyond the fact that James Bond is a misogynistic alcoholic who shouldn't be used as a role model, and that C r a i g is not a problematic super-spy in reality, Morgan's statement makes no sense. But Image: @FerencHorvath the im-

plication that a papoose somehow robs someone of masculinity speaks to the larger societal problems revolving around men and care-giving. Men aren't discouraged from having children by any means, but even in 2018 there's still a prevailing feeling that once the child is born, responsibility divides: the stiff-upper-lipped husband goes out and earns money, while the nurturing, gentle wife takes time off to fully assume the maternal role. Though the number of stay-athome mums is at an all-time-low, (only 9% of mothers according to an ONS survey), women are largely still expected to work part time, whilst men are full-time breadwinners. The 2018 Modern Families Index, put together by charity Working Families, revealed that 90% of fathers surveyed worked full-time, compared to a mere 51% of mothers. In addition, men are only guaranteed a maximum of two weeks paternity leave, whilst women can be granted six weeks with 90% pay, and up to a full year with 'decent pay'. With no financial safety net and societal pressure to provide for their children, young men are being actively discouraged from looking after them full-time.

It's not just economics that cause issues, however; advertising and the media continually perpetuate ideas of fathers as well-meaning but generally incompetent and oblivious. The TV dad, from The Simpsons to Outnumbered, tends to be a useless bungler who can't change a nappy to save his life - their only possible areas of competency will be in the workplace. Nearly every formula milk or baby powder advert features a smiling caring mother, with daddy nowhere to be seen. These stereotypes might be setting up a vicious cycle - if men don't see responsible father figures in the media they consume, will they take that lack of involvement into their future families? And where do these representations leave same-sex couples? Are two mothers impossibly nurturing power parents, and two fathers a hotbed of blunders and poor choices? Of course not - but there's undeniably a societal sentiment that men are the inferior parent, not expected to know anything about raising a child. Even beyond parenthood, men are a rarity in any profession involving young children. The Victoria Derbyshire Programme discovered that a mere 2% of 400,000 early

years practitioners were male - nurseries and playgroups remain very much the purview of women. Teacher Jamel Campbell stressed the importance of male role models who "can be silly...can give you a hug if you've fallen down", but stated that men are actively discouraged from professions with young children, as they are seen as not nurturing, or as a potential danger.

MEN WHO ARE PROUD TO CARE ARE THE FUTURE As someone who wants to work with young people and be a father one day, it's saddening to read countless testimonials of men who have been met with confusion and criticism if they step into a more active caring role. The replies to Piers Morgan's ludicrous tweet are filled with men happily carrying their children in papooses. To change the dialogue around masculinity and care-giving, we absolutely need a societal change in attitude, yes: but we also need more guys like that. Men who are proud to care, proud to get involved, and proud to be active fathers are the future.

The costume debate

Lifestyle writers give their opinions on cute and scary Halloween costumes

For spooky evolution of Halloween has perhaps missed RESSING up is one of my favourite the mark in terms of the spiritual, becoming things – give me a costume party, more about sweets and parties than souls, and I will happily go all out, spendthe sentiment remains. So why break ing both time and money to find the the spell? Halloween has and perfect outfit. But I do think always will be associated it’s important to stick to with the dark, dead and the theme! Halloween mysterious and the only comes around costumes should once a year: why not match. make the most of From witches it? There's no fun to skeletons to in being the only pumpkins… Hell, one in jeans while even just zombify the rest of the city a costume you allooks like a lowready have just as budget Harry Potlong as it’s at least ter film set. mildly scary – the The ritual of HalImage:@brucemars possibilities are endless, loween has pagan roots, and you can even look hot remembering the dead Image: @rawpixel doing it. So, do us all a favour, and warding off evil spirits. The and save your Disney princess dress for customs we recognise as party games, like apple bobbing and pumpkin carving all another time. hark back to medieval traditions. While the Rosie Shepard

For cute Now, don’t misunderstand me here. A N 4 October, the film director Edgar healthy lashing of fake blood is a tasteful adWright tweeted "Unpopular but dition to any outfit. But I don’t love Halloween firmly held Halloween opinion: All because I can shout "boo" at strangers costumes should be horror themed". It and receive Starbursts in return. was a seminal moment. The FilmI love it because, for one Bro community finally had autumn evening, I can its very own Joan Rivers, slip into something its local fashion police, for no better reason primed to snipe any other than it makes offender strutting me feel cute. into the party We might alter dressed in their our faces with homemade Sailor make up or cover Moon costume. No ourselves in latex. punch for those We can play with lawbreakers. our identities. Or Tell me, Edgar; we could wear a cute why can’t we wear outfit for the thrill of it. whatever we want? It’s There are no dress codes a brutal thing to limit your Image: @BekirDonmez on 31 October, and as national Halloween wardrobe to sloppy holidays go, it doesn’t get more liberatpaper maché recreations of Michael Myer’s waxy white mask. Anyone with a pot of ing than that. glue can slap that together. Aaron Loose, Music Editor

exhibit

lifestyle

EDITORS: Bethan Gilson and Rhiannon Moore

'I'm a mouse, duh?'

29 OCT 2018 |

Amelia Chisholm defends the 'slutty' Halloween costume

ALLOWEEN. A time of ghosts, ghouls, and that most terrifying of spooks, the raging racism and misogyny that pervades Halloween costumes. As a caucasian woman, I am infinitely more qualified to talk about the latter. The ‘sexy’ costumes that pop up around this time of year have become so ridiculous, that they’ve been embedded into every aspect of pop culture. There’s the infamous line in Mean Girls: “Halloween. The one time of year a girl can dress up like a slut and none of the other girls can say anything about it.”

or of child characters, are made to be more revealing? Also a disgusting problem. But there’s a difference between companies limiting the options of women, and

HERE'S A SECRET: THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A 'SLUT' Now that’s an incredibly loaded statement to throw at the film’s preteen audience. Because I’m about to let you all in on a secret. There’s no such thing as a ‘slut’. It’s a gendered, fictional concept, created to shame women into monogamy and 'wife material'. So why is there so much vitriol for women who choose to dress in more revealing ways? These criticisms do grow from valid roots. When the overwhelming majority of costumes that are available for women are revealing? That’s a problem. When costumes for children,

an individual woman dressing how she likes. I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many varied, intelligent, and kind young women.

Image: Darcy Delia

Some of them prefer their Halloween costumes scary. Some, like myself, purchased last year's costume from Ann Summers. Some just want their outfit to make some obscure reference. And all of that is completely fine. Personally, I enjoy the mobility more revealing costumes give me. And, as someone who is learning to love her body, this helps me take steps in doing exactly that. It’s almost as if every woman is an individual with different preferences for her self presentation, rather than us all being a conglomerate hive mind. I hate this. I hate that this is a

Petrifying podcasts

Olivia Powell discusses her favourite spooky podcasts

S someone who’s always been into thrillers, At least two of the podcasts I listen to are sponmysteries and true crime, but isn’t super sored by mental health services. They are wholly hot on gore and horror, finding media that respectful of the victims in their stories, and aren’t discusses these things without being too graphic afraid to point out that often society has a hand in is a bit of a conundrum. Sure, there are the many victims going unnoticed or even vilified for being killed. Wine And Crime (a podcast were three friends documentaries on Netflix, but what if I want to lischug wine, chat true crime and unleash ten to a group of girls get drunk and their worst Minnesotan accents) talk about murder, 'Drunk Hishave merchandise with "f***ing tory' style? Enter the world patriarchy" on it after it beof podcasts. I’ve been came an all-too-often used listening to true crime phrase on the show. Also, in podcasts for around some weird way, listening three years now, and to podcasts about all the I honestly can’t get terrible things that could enough. Being able happen to me actually in to listen to people some way makes me feel take some of the scarisafer. Sure, it’s probably a est and saddest things bad idea to walk home in on earth and make them the dark listening to all the awsomething I actively enjoy ful things that any stranger could listening to is no mean feat, Image: neONBRAND enact upon me, but the friendly, familand the lovely ladies and noniar voices of all the hosts genuinely do make binary people who host the podcasts I listen to do it incredibly well. Of course, the pod- me feel better. If you fancy delving into the world casts I listen to all have murder in common, but of spooky podcasts, I recommend checking out they also have something else in common too – the following: Wine And Crime, My Favourite Murthey are strongly feminist, victim-focused and offer der, And That’s Why We Drink, Talk Spooky To Me, frank discussions about their own mental health. S’laughter, 36 Times and The Cryptid Keeper. Enjoy!

discussion that’s still happening. I hate that if I leave the house in something a little tighter, or shorter, I’m worried that I’m more likely to get cat-called, or get insulted. I hate that women’s decisions on something as trivial as clothing is still something that we have to talk about every Halloween. Disapproving of ‘slutty’ costumes, or taking them as a signal for attention hinges on rape culture. It hinges on misogyny. And I’m sick of it. We are not products for consumption.

DISAPPROVING OF 'SLUTTY' COSTUMES IS MISOGYNISTIC We live in an era where women and men alike are making strides to challenge misogyny, in turn challenging our deeply embedded rape culture. The #MeToo movement has forced us to re-evaluate our ideas of female sexuality and move away from questions like "what was she wearing?" and victim-blaming. So, making judements of women based on how 'slutty' they've decided to dress seems completely out of place. Man, woman, or non-binary: dress however you want this Halloween. I already know it’ll be fantastic. Independence looks gorgeous on you.

Natalie Tongue's squash and bean stew INGREDIENTS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 sweet potato ¼ butternut squash ½ courgette 1 clove of garlic Handful of baby potatoes ½ cup lentils ½ tin chickpeas Cumin seeds Dried basil Salt and pepper Passata Vegetable stock cube Spinach Olive oil

METHOD: 1.

5. Images: Petr Kratochvil, Ronmar Lacamiento

Chop up the sweet potato and butternut squash into chunks and place into a pan of boiling water along with the lentils. Boil for about 10 minutes and add in the chickpeas. Boil for a further 10 minutes or until Image: Becca McHaffie the squash and potato is soft. In a baking dish, pierce the baby potatoes with a knife (so they do not explode when cooking), and drizzle over some oil, cumin seeds and dried basil. Mix together and roast in the oven at 200°c. Meanwhile, dice the courgette into small chunks. In a frying pan, add a little oil, crushed garlic and the courgette and fry for a few minutes until the garlic goes golden (but not brown). Then, add the squash, sweet potato and chickpeas. Stir in about half a packet of passata and one vegetable stock cube. Mix until the cube dissolves. Add in some basil (dried or fresh), salt and pepper. When the potatoes are cooked, serve the stew over the potatoes with a side of spinach.

exhibit

lifestyle

29 OCT 2018 |

A close shave with misogyny

Rowan Keith, Online Lifestyle Editor, discusses the shaved head trend and its implications

ECENTLY, Millie Bobby Brown has stated that she wants to shave her head again. This is reflective of a growing trend amongst girls and women in the limelight, from Anne Hathaway to Rose McGowan, forgoing wrestling with long locks and mane-like extensions to give it all up and chop it all off. Worryingly, as with almost every aspect of the media’s treatment of women, this cannot be simple. A hairdo cannot just be a hairdo and women doing anything that pushes the boundaries of classical standards of beauty has to warrant social media outcry and countless news articles.

double standards between the reporting of men and women and stating that she wanted to "encourage women to do what men do without being teased for it". And yet, even in their article praising Lively’s

IN ORDER TO BE POWERFUL, WE NEED TO LOOK AND ACT LIKE MEN The media’s treatment of women with short hair is extremely similar to that of women wearing suits. Blake Lively has recently been pretty much living in suits, and who can blame her? They’re practical, they look put together and she looks damn good. This sparked much comment in the media, including ‘An Investigation’ from Glamour magazine. Lively responded to this on Twitter, shrewdly pointing out the

Costume conundrum

Rhiannon Moore, Lifestyle Editor, shares her thrifty Halloween tips

EDITORS: Bethan Gilson and Rhiannon Moore

BLAKE LIVELY'S SUIT DOES NOT EMPOWER ME, HER CHARITY WORK DOES Of course, fashion can be an incredibly powerful tool for social activism and I am not looking to deny what any individual woman does or does not find empowering. So often on red carpets celebrities make choices with their outfits or their styling to make impactful statements on a number of issues ranging from feminism to the environment to current Image: @KimCarpenter affairs, and

Spooky destinations

Ellie Collett gives us the lowdown on scary travel destinations

UTUMN. Filled with golden leaves, crisp mornings, and pumpkin-spice lattes, the season brings with it the glorious holiday of Halloween. To celebrate our favourite spooky event, we’ve sought out the top three global destinations for a haunting Halloween. Mexico Dating back to an ancient Aztec festival, Día de Muertos is a Mexican festival for honouring the deceased. Expect vigils, parties and parades, celebrated with friends and family. Worldwide, it has become synonymous with explosions of colour, amazing fancy dress and the famous sugar skulls. The southern region is the best place for the public celebrations, such as Aguascalientes where the Festival of Skulls is celebrated annually. USA Tacky, extravagant and over-commercialised, Halloween is many American’s favourite

Image: @MartenBjork

ALLOWEEN has rolled around once 2. Makeup One thing that is amazing about Hallowagain, so we’re all on the hunt for our costumes for the countless halloween een recently is the emphasis on the makeup parties and nights out at Unit 1. For the thrifty art people create - it's a super quick way to student like myself, this holiday is a major stress make your Halloween look go from zero to ten in about 15 minutes. Check out - it seems silly to spend £20 or more on Primark for some cheap and draa costume I’ll wear once because, matic makeup palettes or use despite the holiday being assowhat you already have. If you ciated with all things spooky, have a cool eyeshadow palI can’t fathom the horror of ette then remember that it wearing the same costume doesn’t just have to be used two years in a row. After a for eyeshadow - use it on few years of money stress, your lips, your cheeks, your I’ve figured out a couple eyebrows. For Halloween, of tips and tricks for saving anything goes. big bucks when Halloween 3. Outfit swap arrives. Image: Valeria Boltneva Do your friends have outfits 1. Charity Shops they’ve worn in previous years that you This one is so clear - charity shops are a haven for finding full-blown outfits under a could trade for yours? You can always alter fiver and at Halloween, it’s even better. There them slightly so no one notices (no one will anare so many cheap clothes, wigs, weird un- yway, in all honesty). You don’t have to be the named items that can be chucked together to same size for this - you can rip things up, wear make a costume. Look out for all the black or them differently, or add lace or ribbon bought red oversized dresses and you’ll have an outfit from Poundland. Have a happy (and very thrifty) Halloween! in no time.

this is incredibly valuable. Just last week, Lady Gaga spoke about how she chose to wear an oversized suit in order to "take the power back" as part of an incredibly powerful speech addressing sexual assault. Equally, Millie Bobby Brown tweeted that for her shaving her head was "the most empowering moment of [her] whole life". The important thing to remember is that in both these instances, it is the individual who set the terms of what their fashion choice meant to them, and whether there is a political message behind it or whether they simply prefer it their choices are equally valid. Personally, I’m just tired of it. I’m tired of the predominant image of ‘empowered women’ in the media being a classically beautiful woman with short hair, or a statuesque, slender woman in a skintight and often revealing suit. Blake Lively’s suit does not empower me, her incredible charity work saving children from sexual abuse does. Millie Bobby Brown’s shaved head does not empower me, her way of handling the media as a young woman in a famously misogynistic industry does. The attribution of empowerment to hairstyles or clothing is just another way of reducing a woman’s meaning to her appearance, and we are all so much more than that. Also, trousers are comfortable and short hair is easy, so let us rock them in peace.

response, the Metro referred to her favoured garments as ‘power suits’, an extremely gendered and sexist term in and of itself. This all boils down to a simple truth of how our society views women: in order to be powerful, we need to look and act like men. We all too frequently see this trope play out on screen, and normally on red carpets as well. Too often is this attributed to a political statement rather than simply a women’s personal preference. In imposing a feminist statement onto a woman’s style choice, you actually take their voice away from them. Not very feminist.

holiday. Expect trick-or-treating, horror films, pumpkin carving and family celebrations. In the ‘Witch City’ of Salem, Massachusetts, the Salem Haunted Happenings Festival has evolved into a month-long spooky spectacular for all the family. In New Orleans, widely considered America’s most haunted city, you can visit the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum and then party at the annual Voodoo Music + Arts Experience Festival. Transylvania, Romania This historical region, located in central Romania, is renowned worldwide as the birthplace of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel. You can visit “Dracula’s Castle” itself, formally known as Bran Castle. Beyond the myths and superstitions, Transylvania is described as "the last truly medieval landscape in Europe", with untouched forests and villages frozen in time. Just take care in big cities; there is a large risk of petty theft and organised attacks in Romania.

arts + lit

The Frankenstein factor

Molly Cleary explores how Mary Shelley’s timeless novel lives on in a twenty-first century context

HEN Mary Shelley’s crazed creature disappeared into the bleak abyss of the Arctic at the end of Frankenstein, his fate unknown, it can be imagined he stepped into a new world as the figurehead of the cultural phenomenon of the “monster”. Yet, 201 years and countless adaptations later, the debate on his monster status and the implications of Frankenstein’s creation is more poignant than it has ever been. As we hurtle ever faster toward the inescapable clutches of climate change, is there any greater sign that humanity has been an equally defunct father of its creations as Victor Frankenstein was?

THESE ADVANCES ARE SPAWNED WITH PURE INTENTIONS Though the work of science has excelled far beyond Shelley’s contemporary Luigi Galvani and his attempts at re-animation through electric shocks, there are plenty of eerie echoes of the attempt to meddle with the essence of life itself today in mainstream society. Recent headlines, worthy of being

not only present in the furore surrounding ripped from the pages of any science modern science. fiction novel, include the first full Just last year students face transplant successfully and staff at Exeter’s carried out in 2017 and English department the growing army of ignited a fierce AI robots capable of debate on the distinctly human human rights behaviours. status of the These monster. In advances, like the course of the brightthis students eyed monster were dubbed himself, are “s n ow f l a k e s” spawned with by The Sun for pure intentions their vehement - to prolong or support of the to improve monster. In a world lives. where vegetarianism Yet the dizzying and and veganism have more often deadly consequences Image: Richard Rothwell social power than ever, the of such genius, like the deaths monster’s tragic life exemplifies the logic already caused in the wake of self-driven patterns behind the fierce protection of all cars or the tearing apart of families in the creatures; Shelley’s message of compassion battles raged over cryptogenic freezing, prescribed in the face of perceived monstrosity show that the moral dispute between nature is timeless. This enduring legacy of Shelley, and scientific innovation is far from buried. a 17-year-old woman at the helm of the Frankenstein’s power in opening up debate is

inception of science fiction itself is a force that cannot be ignored in the current climate of feminism either. The long overdue casting of Jodie Whittaker as the thirteenth Doctor or the success of the adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale is the reclamation of female science fiction that Shelley is, arguably, the grandmother of.

THE MORAL DISPUTE BETWEEN NATURE AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION IS FAR FROM BURIED The question then, of the relevance of Shelley’s cautionary tale is undoubted. The world which we inhabit, swallowed whole by the hubris of science and proliferated by Frankenstein-esque characters is so enveloped by modern invention that we struggle to see countless monsters taking their first baby steps. This cautionary element of Shelley’s tale in the fate of the future of our tumultuous planet is surely the scariest Halloween spook of this year; though it seems that no one will take heed of the monster in the room.

Performing the paranormal Will Evans discusses horror in live theatre productions

HINK of some of the most powerful images in theatrical history; many would conjure up ghastly visions of the three witches in Macbeth, or the ghost of the old king in Hamlet. These supernatural characters continue to haunt audiences around the world, from professional theatres in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, to church hall stages. Even before Shakespeare’s employment of horrific elements of murder, witchcraft and haunting, horror has been a ghostly presence in theatre. Since the experience of horror for enjoyment developed in theatre, we might expect to see more horror productions, yet they seem largely missing among contemporary productions, pushed aside by the booming horror film industry.

HORROR IN THE THEATRE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND EVEN SURPASS FILM If done well, horror in the theatre can be successful and even surpass film in fostering

unease, tension and outright fear in an audience. Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 stage thriller Gas Light tells the story of a woman, manipulated by her husband who assures her that she is imagining the dimming of their gas lights each night. The play does not rely on complicated effects; the dimming of the lights is hauntingly eerie, and the audience is forced to join protagonist Bella in questioning the truth of it all. The 1987 horror The Woman in Black relies more on the supernatural than Gas Light, as the character of Arthur Kipps investigates an old client’s house after seeing a strange woman in the town that

he is visiting. Like Gas Light, The Woman in Black doesn’t rely on complicated stagecraft with the climax of the horror amounting to no more than the sudden slamming of a door on the only lit part of the stage. Compared to the 2012 film adaptation where Kipps is sent reeling away from a window by the sudden appearance of a screaming ghostly face, the horror effects employed in the play seem stark, yet no less effective. From the start of the play, every cut to black and flicker chills the audience and prepares them to be terrified Image: RSC, IMDB when the

play wants them to be. Above all, the scariest element of The Woman in Black is The Woman herself. She appears only for brief moments at a time, often masked by darkness or gauze screens but her appearance is genuinely terrifying. She enters down the aisle of the theatre and melts into the shadows amongst the audience. It becomes harder to believe that she is just an actress in costume as she eerily paces from the back of the theatre to the stage, gliding through the aisles.

IT BECOMES HARDER TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS JUST AN ACTRESS My memories of these experiences demonstrate how a night of horror at the theatre can stimulate fear in an audience in a far more effective way than cinema. These theatrical ghosts couldn’t be rationalised as pixels; they were very real, and they were right in front of you.

exhibit

arts + lit

EDITORS: Lauren Newman and Tabi Scott

World of witch hunts

Peter Syme muses on Arthur Miller’s work in relation to politics today

UMOURS of Russian involvement in the 2016 United States presidential election have long circulated, and a major breakthrough for investigators came this summer. Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight counts of fraud, some of which related to payments from the Ukrainian government and money laundering. A few days later, the President accuses Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel Investigation of falsely conspiring against him. “NO COLLUSION — RIGGED WITCH HUNT” he tweeted; the 1am timestamp and all-caps far from relieving the concerns of paranoia, narcissism, and clinical sociopathy.

FALLING VICTIM TO THE PITCHFORKS OF FOURTH-WAVE FEMINISTS

Image: U.S. State Department

With a grand total of 124 tweets referring to a “witch hunt” since entering the office, the phrase has replaced “Crooked Hillary” as the zenith of Trump’s lexicon of buzzwords. These events run parallel to the recent rise in the number of productions of Arthur Miller plays, with the Old Vic Theatre announcing a double bill of ‘All My Sons’ and ‘The American Clock’. Both pieces are largely critical of capitalism, as the former criticizes the American Dream, and the latter is based during The Great Depression. It was as a result of his plays that Miller was brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which primarily investigated people

suspected of having Communist sympathies. Miller’s 1953 play ‘The Crucible’ is one of his most famous, and stands as an allegory for the Red Scare. Set during the Salem witch trials, a notorious case of mass hysteria, Miller used it to draw comparisons with the contemporary United States. As politician Joseph McCarthy alleged that Soviet spies had infiltrated the government and universities of the United States, people were encouraged to inform on neighbours and friends suspected to hold any anti-capitalist or anti-American sentiments. Notably, one of Trump’s ‘witch hunt’ tweets also refers to McCarthyism as he claimed that the Russia investigation is merely a ruse to indict him. Although the fact that Mueller has secured guilty pleas from members of his campaign instead shows the validity of the inquiry. ‘The Crucible’ becomes increasingly relevant as the terms of Miller’s era return to the forefront of political discussion, with internet vigilantism and accusations of treachery seemingly inescapable.

#METOO HAS BEEN COMPARED TO A WITCH HUNT Social media presents the biggest difference between today’s society and that of ‘The Crucible’, opening people up to the accusations of not just the local village people, but millions of wannabe vigilantes on such platforms as Twitter and Reddit. The rise of the #MeToo movement has been compared to a witch hunt, with culprits and accusers falling victim to the pitchforks of fourth-wave feminists and self-entitled meninists respectively. The recent hearing of Brett Kavanaugh is a striking example of this, as his supporters painted him as a victim of false accusations, and defamed Christine Blasey Ford as a fame-seeking liar; seeking to present a categorically unambiguous explanation. One of the most harmful examples of this comes from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, when communities were opened on Reddit to try and identify the

culprits from available security footage. Sunil Tripathi was a student who had been missing for a month before he was wrongly alleged to be a terrorist based on minimal information, only for his body to be found in the Seekonk River a week later.

PEOPLE WERE ENCOURAGED TO INFORM ON NEIGHBOURS In Act Two of ‘The Crucible’ there is a key scene where the protagonist John Proctor, accused of Satanism, is challenged to recite the Ten Commandments to prove his commitment to Christianity. His apprehension exposes the inadequacy of his faith, as he forgets “thou shalt not commit adultery.” Miller’s inspiration behind this scene is likely referencing the intense patriotism of the United States, as represented in the Pledge of Allegiance which is regularly recited in American public schools. It was just a year after the play’s release that the phrase “under God” was added. Parallels are also evident in today’s society, as singing the national anthem is often viewed as an indicator of morality. The outrage when Jeremy Corbyn stood silent when ‘God Save the Queen’ played at a war memorial alleged him to be a traitor. Similarly, the NFL protest during the U.S. national anthem as started by Colin Kaepernick led to comparable accusations. The league then approved a policy requiring all players to stand for the national anthem, or stay in the locker room, effectively silencing their protest.

WANNABE VIGILANTES ON PLATFORMS SUCH AS TWITTER OR REDDIT For Corbyn, it is his support for the abolition of the monarchy which motivated his silence. For Kaepernick and other athletes, it is the systemic marginalization and mistreatment of black people by authority figures. Many have argued that exercising one’s democratic right to peacefully protest the sentiments of nationalism in the face of perceived injustice should not be equated with treason, but for others the issue is seen as black and white – you’re either a patriot or a traitor. Since his protest, Kaepernick’s contract was not renewed and he has remained a free agent – his political ideas overshadowing his prowess. Corbyn’s silence is just one of many stories used to deem him unfit to be Prime Minister; alleged not to have the country’s best interests at heart. Regardless of your political leanings, the similarities to Proctor are evident. Not willing to devote yourself to a cause against your beliefs? Expect to be the subject of a witch hunt.

29 OCT 2018 |

WRITERS’ CORNER Images: Unsplash, Openclipart, Edisona

TRICK OR TWEET Anne

@contributor_111

Following

@ExeposeArts The girl pushes with her mind, strain in her wand. Bird eyes, waiting to be shaped A sudden flash, panic. The witch is the feather and she is trapped trapped trapped. 18:53 PM - 15 Oct 2018

Emma

@contributor_222

Following

@ExeposeArts She wore death delicately. ‘Trick or Treat,’ she trembled, entering his house. Not everyone was playing dress up tonight 9:45 AM - 16 Oct 2018

Hugo

@contributor_333

Following

@ExeposeArts A door creaks open as she looks down the corridor. Empty. I shield my eyes, waiting for it to get her Unable to save her She screams, I scream Credits roll. 11:27 AM - 11 Oct 2018

Megan

@editorzzz_666

Following

@ExeposeArts The laughing pumpkin king Small girl’s pointy hat Too big, too heavy. Immobilised under its weight She realises It is actually A Christmas tree. 10:36 AM - 14 Oct 2018

Follow Exeposé Arts + Lit on: Twitter: @ExeposeArts Instagram: @exepose_arts_lit And join our writers’ page on Facebook to get involved: Search ‘Exeposé Arts + Lit Writers’

exhibit

arts + lit

EDITORS: Lauren Newman and Tabi Scott

29 OCT 2018 |

Goth-olution Top image: PXhere

Ally Morley dissects the evolving nature of the Gothic novel

HEN walking into a bookshop, you are presented with the ‘New’ and ‘Bestselling’ novels. Peering into this section, there is an alarmingly large amount of crime and detective novels. Does this indicate a change in what shocks and intrigues society? Once, it was the Gothic: the supernatural, the perversion of religion, technological advances, and sexual openness; now, it is the murderous psychopath who lives next door or the revenge-seeking wife.

THERE IS AN ALARMINGLY LARGE AMOUNT OF CRIME AND DETECTIVE NOVELS However, that isn’t to say that the Gothic is completely absent. Say the word “Twilight” or the name Stephenie Meyers and most people will groan or roll their eyes. The books and films were immensely popular but garnered a reputation of subpar writing, irritating charac-

ters, and overdramatic filming. Despite mass criticism, it is interesting to note certain aspects of the novel. The novel’s genre is a mix of the Gothic and romance- the protagonist’s lover is a vampire. It contains Gothic tropes: the supernatural, sexual transgression, and death. But it is not terror and horror that delights readers, it’s the romance. As much as it pains me to admit it, Twilight harks back to Emily Brontë’s classic Wuthering Heights, as the female protagonists fall in love with a male ‘other’. So, has the Gothic really changed? The Woman in Black, written by Susan Hill in 1983, suggests it hasn’t. The novel has been adapted into a hugely successful play and profitable films. As a Gothic horror, the story provides its readers and audiences with traditional horror features. Translated into a film, it left many a modern-day viewer disappointed: there was no commonplace CGI monster, but the good ole’ jump-scare and creepy nursery rhyme. It is a horrific story of motherhood and grief. The female has always been important in

Gothic literature; there are the tropes (the innocent woman contrasted by the fallen woman), the themes (perversion of motherhood), and female Gothic authors and female readers.

SALES OF GOTHIC LITERATURE HAVE FALLEN BEHIND CRIME NOVELS The Gothic genre, as a subsection of horror, was born through the Victorian obsession with death; a twisted fascination still prevalent in and out of the Gothic. Though sales of Gothic literature have fallen behind crime novels, its key concerns are expressed in different ways throughout modern literature and its influences continue: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was the birth of the science fiction genre. And as technology evolves now faster than ever, Shelley’s warning is now more relevant than ever, and Gothic proves to be undead.

Fright at the museum T

OUISE Bourgeois’ mammoth, nine-foot HE diabolical. The debauched. The dissculpture of a spider entitled ‘Maman’ is turbed. These are key element observed perhaps the most terrifying piece of art I’ve had in Johnathan Payne’s exhibition The Fleshlettes. the perverse pleasure of seeing. Installed at the It is not for the faint-hearted-observe if you Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, ‘Maman’ tow- dare. Growths, moles and distorted hybrids of ers above ground level, instils fear and inspires unsightly body parts. An overgrown toenail wonder in the hundreds of thousands of tour- here. A tumour there. Placed in an atmosphere ists that come to visit Bourgeois’ of unease, we sense impending damnation for masterpiece every year. By looking upon these depraved disfar the artist’s most ambitortions. Payne furthers the tious work, ‘Maman’ is grotesque nature of his dedicated to Bourcreation by grantgeois’ own mother ing these masses whose role as a of deformed weaver inspired flesh with, of the artist to creall things, a huate the bronze and man disposition. marble sculpture. Meet Toni: the wartAlthough many ridden mound of flesh Image: Doalex, Wikipedia would consider this tribsprouting fingers, a social ute as incredibly insensitive recluse. Meet Tonya: the matriarch and sinister in its supposed repof the family, a gnarled tongue animated. resentation of motherhood, Bourgeois herself FThe comedic portrayal relieves us – partially considered the choice as inherently complimen- - from the repulsive immoral creations set betary due to the ‘friendly’, ‘helpful’ and ‘protective’ fore us; truly an insight into Payne’s warped nature of arachnids. However, if you ask the av- psyche. As if playing god, he merges and erage viewer of Bourgeois’ 1999 piece what their fuses muscles and limbs, in an abhorrent but general impressions were, the majority would exhilarating exploration of human anatomy. conclude its overall effect is rather terrifying. Lauren Newman, Arts + Lit Editor Catherine Lloyd

N the Gothic genre, more often than not readers can easily identify characters defined by strict attitudes to characterisation via patriarchal typology. Gothic literature more often than not portrays men as monsters, part of a predatory patriarchy of power and authority, who prey on vulnerable women by using violence and manipulation in order to satisfy their deepest and darkest desires. Similarly, there are several stock female characters which are used, abused, objectified and sometimes even valued by male characters within Gothic texts which contribute to the unsettling and spooky feeling we get from reading them. Feminist writer Angela Carter’s collection of short Gothic fairy tales, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, exhibit a variety of examples of stock female Gothic characters.

Image: Samuel Goldwyn Productions

Arts + Lit writers describe their spooky artistic experiences

Scream Queens

T was mid-June and a sweltering day. I had contemplated the nature of God in the Museo de Bellas Artes and was now heading towards the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain. The setting: a former monastery. The main attraction: the works of Jan Fabre, a Belgian man inspired by stigmata, flagellation and entomology. Blood and bugs. Speaking of, found within the sacred building, paintings in the artist’s own blood. Videos of his performance pieces: sandpapering the skin off his own legs, body wrapped in duct tape and Image: Jasmin Priya worm-crossing his way over the distance of Piazza della Signoria in Florence, pelting dismembered pig limbs into crowds, dancing around in bug suits. The religiosity of the building, the absurdity of the exhibition: the combination was completely surreal. An insight into the mind of a man covered in scars, self-inflicted wounds gained in the pursuit of his own sanity. Jasmin Priya

In the title story, The Bloody Chamber, the young girl is presented as naive and vulnerable, providing easy prey for the monstrous Marquis, who lured her into marriage and his life by his wealth and status. This is a clear example of the classic victimised female character in Gothic literature.But why is it that the males are never the vulnerable victim? From the beginnings of Gothic literature in 1764 with Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, the societies in which the texts have been constructed have been strongly patriarchal. As such, the writers, whether male or female, are compelled to portray the male as a strong and powerful character reflecting their social contexts. However, there are some texts within the Gothic genre in which female characters defy this stereotype. In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, for example, Catherine - although frequently objectified by the majority of males who surround her - is a highly spirited character in an age where this was actively discouraged, with an emphasised awareness of her own personal influence. Heathcliff also defies the role of Gothic protagonist, as he values Catherine and loves her despite the dramatic emotional stress their relationship is defined by. Wuthering Heights goes to show that not all men within Gothic literature are neglectful of human emotions or are total savage beasts. Yet, the female, no matter how the male treats her, the character is usually written by the author as vulnerable and in need of male interaction in order to be significant. Ariane Joudrey

music

Costume party

Image: pexels

Maddy McKenna explains why pop stars and dressing up go hand in hand Image: byronmuse

artists’ physicality acting as their unique selling point. For some artists, like the 1970s rock band Kiss, it was cosmetic face paint that made their music and album covers so recognisable.

COSTUMES CREATE LONG CAREERS AND MEMORABLE MUSIC

RESSING up, especially for Halloween, is a clearly passion for both kids and adults alike. But as much as it is loved in real life, donning costumes is also crucial in the music industry when creating long-lasting careers, and often enhances the memorability of the music. Perhaps one of the more obvious examples is Michael Jackson’s infamous

costume for the 1982 ‘Thriller’ music video. The red and black jacket immediately pops to mind, and as a result this music video has become permanently ingrained in popular Halloween music culture. But why are costumes important? Appearance has always been a crucial element in the entertainment industry, with many

Since the commercialisation of music videos, beginning in the 1970s and becoming mainstream with the launch of US video channel MTV in 1981, there has been a transition from a sole focus on the music itself to the performance of the song. This saw a rise in the need for costuming; to create an everlasting image of the artist associated to the song. The importance placed on the music video suddenly provided the industry with a different standard of entertainment. Musicians now had a creative license to create artful and memorable visuals as a way to capture the audience’s attention. For some, this meant an incorporation of acting into their work. Although David Bowie launched his career in 1962, his emergence as Ziggy Stardust in early 1972 will be

Follow the leader

remembered as his most famous alter ego. Recognisable by the copper red hair and bright metallic costumes, Bowie portrayed a fictional, androgynous, extra-terrestrial rock star whose life with his band was showcased through the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Ziggy played through the tour until his ‘death’ on stage in 1973, giving way to Aladdin Sane, the fallen star recognised by the bright two-tone lightning bolt painted on his pale face. It is this poignancy of character that made Bowie so successful and sparked a focus on costuming as a way to gain popularity. As the 21st century began, pop star fashion became a key part of our culture. Britney Spears’ ‘...Baby One More Time’ schoolgirl uniform and the nurse from blink-182's Enema of the State have both become go-to Halloween outfits. Massive streaming websites like YouTube have put music videos at the fingertips of millions. As a result, costumes play a different role, to make music more memorable in a competitive industry. However, this is no longer constrained to music videos - Lady Gaga’s meat dress at the 2010 VMAs put all eyes on her. Outfits like these show that costumes are crucial to a musician's success, and that the persona projected to the public is becoming ever the more important.

Music writers debate: are fandoms welcoming communities or dangerously obsessed?

IN DEFENcE

EING in a fandom is often viewed negatively, but there are actually a lot of benefits. Personally, the greatest thing is the community. A fandom has the potential to connect people from all over the world, creating special bonds between them. I remember before going to university, none of my friends loved twenty one pilots and the Holy Emo Trinity (My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At the Disco) as much as I do. At the time, one of my favourite activities after school was going on tumblr and discussing twenty one pilots music with my online friends. These crucial sessions were essential to helping me survive A-levels. Being engaged in a fandom could also be a good way to improve your creative skills, be it writing fan fiction or posting drawings on DeviantArt. Social media platforms such as tumblr makes it super easy for you to share your creative works to fellow fans in the community, who will engage and support you. For example, twenty one pilots is a band who promote artworks created by their fan base and share them on their dedicated Instagram

@clique_art, a safe space for sharing work without harassment. Fandom communities can also do amazing things. I have seen so many fundraising campaigns organised by fandoms for meaningful causes that were inspired by their shared favourite artist. Earlier this year, fans of Panic! At the Disco raised $2,372.96 for Human Rights Campaign Foundation to celebrate frontman Brendon Urie's 31st birthday, inspired by Brendon's advocacy for human rights. Another example are the members of Fall Out Boy, who have been very vocal about mental health. They inspired a group of fans to set up #maniacharity, a campaign that raised $2,300 for the non-profit Mental Health America organisation.

Penny Dinh Images: Gio Vanni, Christopher Macsurak

HE impact of large, dedicated fandoms has become clearer than ever. Rather than just being a group of people who bond over their love of a common artist, fandoms often feel called to defend their idols, and the effects can be disastrous. This pack mentality is dangerous for the emergence of other artists, increasing the lack of diversity in the industry. When Cardi B’s ‘Bodak Yellow’ was set to top the Billboard 100 , the Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj fandoms teamed up to stream ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ to keep Swift’s at number one and defend Minaj’s reputation as the number one female rapper. It's this kind of behaviour that keeps the music industry exclusive and limits the amount of music available to listeners. The dangers of fandoms are not just

AGAINST limited to the music industry. Pressuring celebrities to take a political stance gives too much opportunity for stars to shape policy making. When a former TV star is the President of the United States and Kim Kardashian is invited to the White House to discuss prison reform before any experts, this normalisation has never been more concerning. I believe celebrities should be politically active and use their power for good, as Taylor Swift has recently done. However, there is a massive problem when thousands of people wait for the go ahead from their favourite singer to register to vote. Not only does this highlight the huge flaws in political awareness and education, it also puts far too much strain on celebrities' mental health. Knowing that one thing you say, or one thing you post on Instagram, could quite literally change the course of American politics is more than any one person should have to deal with. Celebrities are just as entitled to freedom of speech as everyone else. The weight of responsibility for their fandoms inhibits them. Rowan Keith, Online Lifestyle Editor

exhibit

music

EDITORS: Aaron Loose and Alex Wingrave

All sugar, no substance Yudy Wu reviews a lukewarm performance from rising star Jorja Smith cramped by the perfunctory, uninspired setting — the only thing that changed on the stage was the colour of lighting. Smith stood at the same spot without even moving for a whole hour and barely interacted with the audience. Her performance was professional, and that's basically it - no big ideas were raised in the concert, and the songs turned into meaningless glitz. The venue was crowded enough to leave no doubt that O2 sold more tickets than their capacity. I didn't get to move around and dance — or even have room to breathe and enjoy the music.

SMITH SENDS POWERFUL FEELINGS WITH HER FLAWLESS VOICE Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that, since Smith did a perfect job as a singer and most of her fans were pleased. However, in that case, what’s the difference between a concert and an average pub gig? Why don't

Image: thecomeupshow

EARING a short orange robe, warmly illuminated by Hollywood backstage styled lamps, Jorja Smith is like the sweet, dreamy 80s nostalgia you've always wanted. When her record-perfect voice hits the first note of 'Lost & Found', the venue becomes her pajama party — laidback and chill, yet everybody's excited; as for herself, she's your best friend and older sister, her gentle voice comforting you all the way. Bristol certainly loves her. You can hear that from the people who constantly throw shade at the opening singer, "When will this warmup girl finish?" Throughout her sold-out concert, the audience sang along, and there was thunderous applause after every single performance. Smith surprised the audience with the rapped freestyle 'Lifeboats,' showing her abilities go beyond singing. She put the audience in the scene, sending powerful feelings with her flawless voice. The night finished with 'Carry Me Home', a lovely ending that soothed the crowd's reluctance to leave. However, Smith’s beautiful voice was

you just play the vinyl in your bedroom? This concert didn't give the audience any better understanding of the music; it felt incomplete. Neither her talent as an artist nor her great album deserved to be limited in by this clingy venue and the boring stage setting. Where were all those deeper aspects of 'Lost & Found' - the social consciousness, an understanding

The Instrumentals Emma Hussain sings the joys of playing the piano

LAYING piano has been one of the biggest constants of my life. It’s my oldest hobby, beginning 14 years ago at primary school. The morning after my first lesson, I begged my mum to let me eat my cereal next to the piano before school, just so I could look at it. Sitting down to play old, familiar pieces still feels incredibly calming. Truthfully, I probably started piano because my parents wanted me to fulfil my middle class extra-curricular destiny, especially when sports were a clear non-starter. But I kept going because of the satisfaction of hearing a collection of notes played right, after tens and maybe hundreds of times of playing them wrong; because of the joy of playing a piece over and over again until it’s etched into the muscle memory of your hands. The piece I still remember best is unfortunately not an intricately beautiful Schubert Impromptu, but a straightforward rendition of Green Day’s ‘Holiday’. I’ve never become remarkably good at piano, always playing more for the enjoyment than for the pursuit of any Lang Lang-esque prodigal dream, but the love has always been there; from writing five note songs about fish (and tearing up the Year 2 concert with them circa 2005), to carefully learning the piano riff from ‘All Night’ by Big Boi. I used to love opening the lid of our second-hand upright piano and seeing the careful construction of strings and hammers. Every instrument is beautiful, but the piano has a certain completeness that makes it my

favourite. It needs no accompaniment; it can produce a complete piece, layered with harmonies and intricacies, all on its own, in a way no other instrument quite can, though I'm sure guitarists will fight me on this. You only have to listen to Rick Wakeman’s reimaginings of well-known songs as piano solos to hear how magically simple it can be. Additionally, playing an instrument gives you a direct line to a few handy party tricks. Get a few years of practice under your belt, and you can wow less musical friends by adding basic harmonies in thirds over the tunes of ABBA songs. Bash out the chords to 'Let It Be' and everyone’s impressed.

I BEGGED MY MUM TO LET ME EAT MY CEREAL NEXT TO THE PIANO As much as it’s nice to aim for classical concerts and Grade 8 certificates being a musician is really just about enjoying yourself. You should never feel like it’s too late to start playing. If you fancy it, walk into Cornwall House right now and tap out the notes of whatever sheet music has been left behind in there. Play a nursery rhyme on a street piano. Apply for ExTunes funding and learn with a teacher. Find joy in every wrong note, and

of love, the confusion and frustration of life? This concert brought me unexpected disappointment. Smith might still be at the start of her career, but she is more than capable of presenting herself in a better way. Smith's performance was undercooked, sugary and dull. Disappointingly, I barely felt anything.

Remember This? KT TUNSTALL Image: Shehriar Hussain

29 OCT 2018 | 25

eventually, in every right note. As cheesy as it sounds, that joy is what playing an instrument is really about.

PIANO CLASSICS TO GET YOU STARTED Jarvis Cocker & Chilly Gonzales Room 29 (2017) Phillip Glass - Glassworks (1982) Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (1965) Charles Dutoit and Martha Argerich Chopin: Pianos Concertos No. 1 and 2 (1999)

EYE TO THE TELESCOPE December 2004

HE year is 2004. 'Suddenly I See' dominates the radio: a beguiling ode to Patti Smith and female empowerment, although its appearance in The Devil Wears Prada might make you think otherwise. Though it has since faded from view, KT Tunstall’s debut album Eye to the Telescope was a commercial and critical success, selling four million albums worldwide, with a nomination for the Mercury Prize. Whilst singles like 'Black Horse and a Cherry Tree' and 'Suddenly I See' were fantastically catchy, the album’s true power rested in its distinctly personal narration of an emotional journey. Tunstall took us past her icy exterior and inside her head. We experienced her dilemmas of choosing your head's advice over your heart, we overcame heartbreak, and finally, made our way ‘through the dark’, and accepted that it is okay to feel vulnerable. Indeed, the mental scenarios detailed in Eye to the Telescope are universal, yet the markedly feminine narrative puts it in league with Fiona Apple’s Tidal and even Taylor Swift’s 1989. Bryony Gooch

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

exhibit

music

EDITORS: Aaron Loose and Alex Wingrave

Meet Estrons

29 OCT 2018

| 26

Aaron Loose, Music Editor, chats to Welsh band Estrons about their debut album, creativity, and life on the road

HETHER performing at SxSW or dropping slyly observational singles on Bandcamp, Estrons stand out. Formed in 2013 by singer Tali Källström and guitarist Rhodri Daniel, the Cardiff rockers have developed a reputation for updating hackneyed alt-rock tropes into needling songs that turn sedate February club nights into rafter-shaking riots. Their new single, ‘Lilac’, is a great summary of their strengths; a finely written story about a horrible Friday night told via a bitingly funny lead vocal over squalling post-punk guitars. From September, the group will touring the country’s motorways to support their upcoming studio debut, You Say I’m Too Much, I Say I’m Not Enough. Exeposé caught up with Tali to discuss their future plans for chart domination.

WE FELT QUITE ALIENATED FROM THE WELSH LANGUAGE SCENE What inspired you to form Estrons? We felt quite alienated from the Welsh language scene in a sense. We had some Welsh songs but as I don’t necessarily think or feel in Welsh, I just stopped caring and wrote in English. “Estrons” is actually a bit of a cross of an English and Welsh word meaning “misfits” or “strangers” so the irony is in the name. How important was it to spend time finding your sound and gathering the right people so the group could be successful? The line-up changed for lots of different reasons: personal reasons, creative reasons, real life needing to get a stable job reasons. We were lucky when our last bassist left that our producer, who helped us get our sound, agreed to join us, but it wasn’t a premeditated act. However, everything is a matter of cause and effect that manifests itself in the end. We’re very happy now. How challenging is it to support yourself playing music in 2018, especially as a young alternative group? There is a lot of support for musicians through organisations such as PRSF (The Performing Rights Foundation, a charity that has invested over £29 million into new musical projects since 2000). I don’t know what you could change. It’s become very easy for anyone to take up an instrument and form a band so the industry has become quite saturated and it seems like the media is obsessed with the word “new”. There are political

Image: Jim Ellis

Congratulations on finishing your new album! Could you tell us a little about what fans and newcomers should expect? It’s a collective of songs we’ve written over the past few years. Some very new, some very old. It’s a snapshot in time for us and reflects the musical evolution we went through up until now in some sense. So expect a journey.

reasons for that. However, I think if something is good enough, you would hope that it will shine through and stand the test of time. How would you describe your creative process as a group? Is the starting point a lyric, a riff, or a general feeling? Usually a riff. I have books and receipts and sometimes limbs and walls covered in lyrics and usually it’ll be whatever the feel of the music presents the melody is then birthed. Then, once you’ve had a listen to it, you name the sounds with your lyrics and what it is that you feel about it. Sort of like naming a newborn baby. I’d love to talk to you about ‘Cameras’. What was the thinking behind this change of pace? It’s a love song for my son, but it still keeps on the theme of maddening. It’s a song about people trying to break me down and break my relationship with my son, and it’s a type of defiance of that. So it’s still pretty angry. We have the ability to create all sorts of feelings and moods as humans, and as musicians we like to reflect that in the songs. Your music videos always have a unique aesthetic. How involved are you in creating your visuals? Both ideas for those videos came from us, and we always like to keep a very strong sense of creative control. We don’t want to be represented in any other way than who we are and if we find the video misrepresents or doesn’t drive the music in the right way then it doesn’t go out until it’s ready. A lot of your lyrics, especially in ‘Glasgow Kisses,’ tell stories about impulsive feelings from a female point of view. To what extent

do you think the female perspective on adolescence is overlooked by alternative music? Actually, ‘Glasgow Kisses’ is written from both the male and female perspectives, a different one in each verse. I think everything is about equality and inclusion. Of course, we all have different experiences about what gender we identify as, but I try and remove stigma and allow us to move forward and show that we are in fact, all as powerful or as powerless as each other. Sometimes I have felt like the “male” in a situation and that’s been stigmatised. Sometimes a man has felt like the “female”. But that’s what happens when we remove the prejudices of gender and allow people just to be, no matter how they identify. We are all different in different situations and that is completely natural.

WE ALWAYS LIKE TO KEEP A VERY STRONG SENSE OF CREATIVE CONTROL How important do you think it is for pop bands to incorporate attitudes and sounds from different genres into their work? I don’t think it’s important at all. I think as long as you are remaining true to yourself, never trying to be anything you are not. If you want to start a Coldplay cover band because you just really love Coldplay, go for it. There’s no rules in art as long as you aren’t trying to please anyone for the sake of it.

What has been the most memorable experience of the current tour so far? Spending time with the members of Pussy Riot was very, very insightful. What does an Estrons rider look like, and what are your tips for surviving while on the road? We aren’t quite on 25 white roses and a vintage Evian water showers yet, but things I always bring are turmeric, slippery elm and propolis. I’ll barely bring any clothes, because we never have time to change. Rhodri always bring nail clippers and nail varnish, not to dress up, but just to keep his grip tight for playing. Hot tip. Who have you been listening to for inspiration between shows? Les Butcherettes, Kendrick Lamar, Future of the Left. Sometimes I’ll put headphones in and listen to Verdi’s 'La Traviata' or someone like Chavela Vargas just to really get those emotions flowing. Or I’ll just get a text from someone I can’t stand and argue with them for a bit to get me riled up for a show - that’s always a good one. Are there any new artists that you think Estrons fans should be checking out? Idles, Honeyblood, Our Girl, Boy Azooga, Amazing Snakeheads. Lots of good stuff there.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You Say I'm Too Much, I Say I'm Not Enough was released on 5 October. Estrons will play a headlining show at The Cavern Club on 14 November.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

exhibit

EDITORS: Aaron Loose and Alex Wingrave

music

29 OCT 2018

Celebrating the miseducation

| 27

Isabelle Gray, Comment Editor, looks back on a groundbreaking neo-soul classic

antics at gigs, the only thing that should be important is this iconic piece of art, which has now sold over 19 million copies worldwide. After proving her rapping, singing and OF songwriting abilities with LAURYN HILL'S her previous musical entourage The Fugees, SEMINAL most known for the sophomore album The ALBUM Score, with songs like 'Killing Me Softly', Miseducation is still miles ahead of this solid album. It is FTER The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill so much more than most albums we have went eight times platinum in the US, it period. It is a gorgeous blend of genres, from became a classic to many, and Lauryn hip-hop to soul to R'n'B to reggae. There are Hill is a household name in the hip-hop a multitude of guest musicians with beautiful community. Outside of this circle, she may arrangements on the harp or saxophone, (somewhat depressingly) be known as 'that all contributing to this dynamic, organic singer' on Drake's song 'Nice for What', or for and freeing feeling of an album. Above all, always being late to performances. Despite it is powerful, with her incredible flows, the all this, the rumours circulating around why truly authentic soulful tinge of her voice. Miseducation is her solitary album and her

Image: Columbia Records

20 YEARS

A different beat

Olivia Bignold-Jordan introduces Exeter's bassiest society

O you find yourself frequenting the same three venues, week after week, for the same lacklustre nights, gyrating limply to the same uninspiring chart hits until the 2am close feels more like a coup de grâce than a premature end-stop to your fun? Let’s be honest: no one chooses Exeter University for its banging nightlife. Fortunately, Beats & Bass is here for you. Whether you’re a DJ, a die-hard raver, a selfidentifying 'edgy' individual or just sick of dismal groundhogesque nights out, there’s a place for you in Exeter’s principal dance music society. Join us for regular socials timed to coincide with the very best nights at the golden triangle of alternative clubs (Phoenix, Move and Cavern). Diversity is the name of the game: we aim to cover bass, techno, garage, hip-hop, DnB,

disco, house, and all genres in between. Everyone is welcome. We offer an inclusive space for like-minded lovers of dance music. We also host our own events, which showcase the talent of society DJs alongside upcoming artists from further afield; for example, last year we welcomed former Phonox resident HAAi to Cavern for a spectacularly eccentric set. If you’re interested in trying your hand at the ones and twos, we run fortnightly mixing workshops on Wednesdays, with one-toone tutoring available, and an open decks room for more experienced DJs. We also run a student radio show, providing the airwaves with a weekly dose of electronic music on Monday evenings. Find out more on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beatsandbass

It's no wonder the album had ten Grammy nominations, a record-breaking statistic at the time for female artists.

THE ALBUM STILL DESERVES ENDLESS PRAISE Despite the album coming out 20 years ago, the year I was born, it still deserves endless praise, analysis and listens. Lauryn Hill reminds me of Frank Ocean: both artists you can feel powerfully through their music. Also, both appear to have no desire to put themselves under the pressures of fame, and keep a low profile when and where possible. Perhaps this attempt to live authentically is the reason Lauryn Hill was so successful in creating such music, and particularly lyrics that were relatable and meaningful to all listeners. 'Lost Ones', a powerful opener, shows off her strong presence and spits some real truth,

with the line 'gain the whole world for the price of your soul'. 'Ex-Factor', a heartbreaking track, laments, "I keep letting you back in / How can I explain myself? / As painful as this thing has been / I just can't be with no one else. / See I know what we've got to do. / You let go, and I'll let go too. / Cause no one's hurt me more than you. / And no one ever will." The titular track, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' also stuns - "And deep in my heart / the answer it was in me / and I made up my mind to define my own destiny". The song that sticks with me the most is 'Superstar', nearly halfway through the track list. She says "c'mon baby light my fire / Everything you drop is so tired / Music is supposed to inspire / How come we ain't gettin' no higher?". It's like she predicted how formulaic and money-motivated music would become, as well as the leading influence she still has on music today. Moreover, Lauryn Hill and her music remind us of the feelings that proper music is meant to give us. That gut feeling. That drive. That fire.

Live Review: CAMPUS BANDS Take FIREHOUSE

RADITIONALLY, Sunday evenings are for settling down on the sofa and binging some peak television. Campus Bands have other ideas. Tonight, Sunday 14 October, is their inaugural event in a series of live showcases. It's a great line-up, an exciting mix of hungry newcomers and third year veterans. First up is Louis Clark. His newly formed trio doesn’t have a name yet, and you hope they stumble across an identity soon. Clark’s guitar playing is sinewy, but the shuttling drums and cellos sound tasteful rather than inspired, refined rather than resonant. Later, somebody informed me the set contained two originals and a suite of Ben Howard covers. I couldn’t hear the difference. Clark would do well to learn from i say flower’s example. Tonight is their first gig as a band, and there are few wobbles between songs as frontman Alex Rose dashes across the stage to retune his guitarist’s instrument. Fair enough. But the songs are extraordinary, fragmented tunes that loop from ambient folk to pounding piano rock opera interludes. ‘Heaven’ drapes Rose’s swooning tenor over bleeping keyboards and lilting, featherweight flutes. Half Captain Beefheart

bootleg, mostly Discover Weekly playlist, it’s the night’s most thrilling performance. Pedrick are Brothers in Arms in more ways than one. Think of them as corny rabblerousers, popular voices who appeal to a broad base despite their gifts for resentment. Yes, the ballads connect: 'Waterfall' is gorgeous, balancing Theo Pedrick’s crooning vocals over a gentle piano arrangement. But the crunchy ‘Liar’ settles all doubt; entitled bitterness fits them like a Saville Row suit. Closing the set are Annie & Alex. Anastasia has a novelist’s eye for detail, and her nimble voice is a nice complement to Alex’s bouncing basslines. ‘Listen Up’ has a yodelled chorus pinched directly from 'The Headmaster’s Ritual,' and the touchstones are always audible; shades of Joni Mitchell and Robert Smith. These influences sometimes cohere into a great song, as in ‘Forgetting’, a minimalist ballad that could fit snugly on the soundtrack for a next big-screen YA adaptation. ‘The Young’, on the other hand, is marred by corny couplets. Nevertheless, it’s a thoughtful performance, and certainly worth your time. Aaron Loose, Music Editor

Editors' Picks

Image: Bunhead, Virgin Records, Equal Vision Records, Cal Quinn

Turn Off the Light, Vol.1 (2018) by Kim Petras

Broken Politics (2018) by Neneh Cherry

New Levels New Devils (2018) by Polyphia

Best in Show: Leon Bridges, O2 Academy Bristol, 5th December

screen

Hollywood: why no change? Louiza Catsiapis asks why little has changed for women in Hollywood

N 15 October 2017 at 13:21, Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” This could have been a feather left to drop, slowly leading its way to the ground, serene and unnoticed. Instead, this feather happened to touch upon a real need, the reverberations of which are being felt a year on. The #MeToo movement gained its centre-stage because it began in Hollywood. The glamorous, shiny world was marred by a monstrous, unjust figure. The scandal was dramatic, and wide in its scope, and the wave began. A year later, it seems almost inconceivable that women’s rights were not a recurring backdrop in the conversation of current social conditions. This being said, let’s take a look at where the film industry is at the moment. Despite the ongoing theme of sexual harassment as a concern, not that much has changed in the films we see. The film industry is notoriously male-dominated, and this begins from the stories the films tell. You might be familiar with the Bechdel test: a film should have two female characters talking to each other about something other than a man. In 2017 The Black List published a study looking at all their scripts on their database. Only 29% qualified. How realistically well-formed and holistic can a female character be, if she cannot speak to another female about a non-male related subject? What about the inclusion-rider clause? A simple way to make films more representative of the real-life population they mirror, if it successfully ends up planted in a contract. Popularised by Frances McDormand in her Oscar acceptance speech last year, it received positive feedback from other actresses on social media. However, it depends a lot on the power of the people involved in making such demands before they embark on a project. So far, according to research published in July by USC Annenberg, the last ten years have not seen significant increase in the rep-

resentation of women and minorities in the highest-grossing films. Another pessimistic report comes from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film in San Diego State University. Last year only 24% of leads in those highestgrossing films were women. They also found that male-directed features were chosen three times as often as female-directed ones, in twenty-three festivals held in the United States since last June. Cannes is a notable example of a traditional male-dominated scene, with only one female director in the 2017 line-up, and three women filling the same in 2018. However, this not directly attributable to the decision-making of the organisers, as France has concluded fewer films are produced by women. In France, only 23% of directors are female, and not all of them submit their films to festivals. Artistic director Alberto Barbera boldly said that he would prefer changing his job if it meant that from now and on he would have to support femalemade films irrespective of quality. “Change must come earlier in the film-making process, it’s not up to us to change the situation.”

NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THE FILMS WE SEE Many women who are out there, actively trying to get their films financed, produced, and circulated, find it hypocritical to be satisfied with all the attention the #MeToo movement is receiving, when the numbers are more discouraging than not. Yes, it is great that sexual harassment has become a point of reference in every conversation, but how are creators supposed to cope with the current male-dominated environment? It is difficult to be patient with change, especially when large numbers of people around the world are under the impression that all that is required to topple the statusquo is the popularity of a hashtag. I would

nevertheless like to contend that keeping the conversation active is the determining factor of effecting change. The basic principle here is that such widereaching movements aiming to correct very large-scale inequalities, require applications of solutions from large segments of the global population. This is what different initiatives aim to achieve. Time’s Up is one of the most widely-known, an organisation aiming to end sexual abuse in the industry but also change the narrative by using female voices at the core of journalism in the entertainment industry. The Times Up Legal Fund has received millions in donations to support women who are sexually abused but unable to make their case due to lack of available means. The fund and organisation have been supported by famous Hollywood actresses, all co-signatories of its pledge. The success of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund however, won’t lie on the number of cases it will be able to finance and support, but on the amount of attention the topic will receive and the amount of people it will manage to connect to the right resources. Although some critics might say that this supposed interest in the topic is only superficial, or that men are only interested out of constant fear for being reprimanded and blamed, the reality is that the conversation is still on. Of course, it is imperative for various initiatives, especially within the industry, to continue taking place. The ‘Made in NY’ Women’s Film, TV, and Theatre Fund which for the first time will be providing grants for film, television, and other digital projects. The Cannes Film Festival has signed a Programming Pledge for Parity and Inclusion in Cinema Festivals. Unions are beginning to issue policies to protect women from sexual harassment. Equal pay is obviously the next objective, and the fact that women like Emma Stone and Michelle Williams are at the forefront of such discussions brings hope. But in the end the most important achievement of the #MeToo movement, which also stands as proof of its necessity, is its resilience.

Ima

ge:

Tim

e’s U

Ima

ge:

Love & Mercy (2014)

Listen Up Philip (2014)

rou p

fash

ceo : for

ge Ima

ge:

Ima

Editors’ Picks Images: FrancoisDuhamel/image.net; Tribeca Film; Netlix

por

tRe

epe Car

Big Mouth (2017-)

kot

, LL C

o20

exhibit

screen

EDITORS: Ben Faulkner and Chloe Kennedy

That’s so not fetch!

29 OCT 2018

George Clark examines body image in the film industry

ITH more people in the UK now subscribed to Netflix than paying for TV providers, there can be no doubt that there is a huge audience of viewers consuming new content every day on the platform. Following the renewal of the controversial Insatiable for a second series, the question remains: does the film and TV industry still perpetuate negative ideas about body image? Unfortunately, I would have to argue that for the most part it does.

THE DIALOGUE AROUND BODY IMAGE IS OPENING UP We’ve all seen the comedy trope of the fat dude who likes a girl that’s supposed to be out of his league. In these cases, there often seems to be a kind of commodification of body image: where the trade-off for being fatter than the rest of the cast is enhanced intelligence, additional capacity for comic re-

lief, or an inner beauty that most other characters are unable to see. Hollywood tropes relating to weight and general body image seem to remain mostly unchanged. But some meaningful discussions of body and our perceptions of beauty have managed to slip through the rafters. For example, To the Bone - starring Lily Collins - is a Netflix film about a woman with anorexia, a rare occurrence in mainstream content. So too does E4’s My Mad Fat Diary deal with body issues, centring on a teenage girl recovering from

bulimia, while Ugly Betty tackles ideas surrounding ‘traditional’ beauty. On the flipside, To the Bone received very mixed reviews from critics, and instances of films directly addressing the subject of eating disorders or other issues seem to be few and far between. The dialogue around body image is beginning to open up, but I would argue that to create meaningful change there needs to be more of this dialogue present in blockbuster db : Im films. Unfortunately, e ag Im Hollywood producers know what makes a quick (and huge) buck, which means that old stereotypes are slow to evolve. Liam Neeson could go on for years saving skinny, attractive women!

At this stage, discussion of body image on film is for the most part either reliant on heavy satire or bracingly serious discussion. But there is a third option: quietly addressing the subject. By “quietly” addressing I am referring to what is done with characters like Taystee or Cindy from Orange is the New Black, who are part of the wider cast but not the only instruments or victims of satire. The size of their bodies are not explicit parts defining their personality. I think that the way to appeal to the widest audience possible is to have these discussions about body in mainstream films and shows that don’t directly address body image as their primary premise. While the world of film is slowly evolving towards more representative depictions of race, class and gender, the dissipation of toxic, body-based typecasts appears to be lagging behind. Until films like Sierra Burgess Is a Loser fade away from mass consumption, there are still going to be plenty of outdated ideas about body image dominating the screen.

Skate Kitchen: get on board Chloe Kennedy, Screen Editor, reviews Crystal Moselle’s debut feature

SKATE KITCHEN Director: CRYSTAL MOSELLE 2018, 100 minutes

ASED on the real skate group in New York (you can even follow them @theskatekitchen), Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen follows Long Islander Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) as she discovers the freedom of an all-female kick-ass skate group. In fact the cast and crew both come from this real-life group, which was created after Moselle’s short That One Day, grounding the

Image: The Years of Living Dangerously

film in a relatable female coming-of-age story which, in its essence, is pertinently feminist. From its very title - based on the common saying ‘women belong in the kitchen’ - it defies usual ‘feminine’ roles. It is exactly this where the film’s strengths lie - unfortunately, the narrative of the film sometimes slips into cliché. It is Skate Kitchen’s smooth ability to present the girlhood that is often missing in mainstream cinema that is so refreshing. Easily, Moselle’s naturalistic quality to the film lends to frankness around periods, sex, and sexual orientation. The film has ‘youthfulness’ at its heart, with skating being an act of rebellion; or even better as one of the stars, Nina Moran (Kurt), states in a Ted Teen Talk (titled “Girls belong in the (skate) kitchen”): “we [female skaters] felt we were a school of fishes swimming through the ocean of the patriarchy”. This image is something Moselle beautifully presents through winding P.O.V shots and handheld camera movements. This rebellion is at the heart of skating, coming out of the 1950s in California, where surfers took to the streets in the off-season, taking over public spaces like empty swimming pools (which is where the landscape of the skate park originates from). In Skate Kitchen, however, there is a different obstacle: the girls in the film are faced with a male-dominated space (the skate park), and literally have to weave between them as they prevent them from pulling off “valid” tricks. As a collective, the girls find confidence and strength over the dominance of boys. Skate Kitch-

en questions the expectations of what it means to be a girl in a patriarchal world. Now, perhaps you have never heard of this film, or if you have, you know of it because Jaden Smith plays a minor role. For me, this is the film’s slight fault. Yes, he is oh so very handsome, but it causes the film to slip into the cliché of ‘boy causes conflict amongst girls,’ which is not what this film should be about. Of course, exploring sexuality in the film is interesting, but it seems to come out of a lack of a story. What it should be about is the dynamics of the girl group: rebellion, youthfulness, and what it feels like to grow up as a girl; what restraints are caused by the expec-

sandra oh

tation to be feminine in a male dominated space. All of which is achieved, had the film been trimmed in the middle by 15 minutes. Skate Kitchen’s charm, then, comes from its strength in portraying girls as determined and rebellious; showcasing girls’ ability to bloom in the male dominated sphere of action sports (Nina Moran: ”when [you have a group of girls] it eliminates intimidation”). For the girls, as Nina Moran puts it, “the skateboard is like their flying broom [...] you literally feel like you can fly and go wherever you want”. Thanks to Exeter Phoenix for providing this screening.

////////////////////////// Image: lukeford.net

HE hit BBC America thriller Killing Eve finally premiered in the UK last month, starring Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri. Oh plays a bored MI5 operative who quickly becomes caught in an obsessive chase with a psychotic assassin named Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer. The writer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, simultaneously tackles typical queerbaiting issues and provides a genuine representation for LGBTQ+ viewers, while also offering a comical psychological espionage piece between two women about the female psyche. In addition to the excellent writing, Sandra Oh excels at bringing the eponymous character Eve to life. Oh is a five-time Emmy nominee already (with five supporting nods from her role in Grey’s Anatomy), however this year she has made history as the first Asian woman nominated for ‘Lead Actress in Drama’ for her role in Killing Eve. The Korean-Canadian actress has made waves with her incredible use of characterization and breaks the barrier of leading roles solely being reserved for white performers; shining the light on the immense calibre of ability that is so often overlooked. Lorna Hemingway

exhibit

EDITORS: Ben Faulkner and Chloe Kennedy

screen

29 OCT 2018

The miseducation of the masses

Ellie Foulds looks at the imbalance of representation in mainstream LGBTQ+ cinema

Image: IMDb

ITH the recent release of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, mainstream LGBTQ+ cinema releases are finally breaking away, at least a little, from focusing on gay men. While it is important for coming of age stories about young gay men such as Love, Simon to be seen by a main-

stream audience, it is just as important that LGBTQ+ women to see themselves represented on the big screen. Female same-sex attraction is often fetishised more than male same-sex attraction, and is therefore seen as harder to portray as ‘acceptable’ for a mainstream audience. Lesbian films such as Blue is the Warmest Colour are often characterised by explicit sex scenes, and it seems that the male dominated world of directors and writers are still unable to break away from this fetishisation of female sexuality. Historically, female sexuality has been pushed to one side, with men being portrayed as the sexual beings. Until recently, there were even inequalities in laws regulating sex between two men and two women. Male and female same-sex attraction have been viewed differently by the law, and therefore also by society. This acceptance of men as sexual beings has perhaps led to a greater acceptance of gay men by society, whereas women are still taught to hide their sexual desires, making any desire seen as outside the norm. For ex-

ample, same-sex attraction seems even more taboo to women themselves. In films such as Carol, lesbian women are forced to hide their attraction to one another out of fear of societal repercussions, and this theme even continues in The Miseducation of Cameron Post, despite being set 40 years after Carol. There seems to not only be a lack of LGBTQ+ women in cinema, but a lack of LGBTQ+ women being accepted in cinema - whereas films such as Love, Simon show gay men being accepted by society.

HISTORICALLY, FEMALE SEXUALITY HAS BEEN PUSHED TO ONE SIDE The avoidance of female-driven LGBTQ+ stories is not nearly as prevalent in books, especially in the Young Adult genre. Nina LaCour and Sara Farizan are well known for writing books about LGBTQ+ women, and Hank Green’s recent release, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, features a bisexual female

protagonist. Looking at a shelf in a bookstore, it seems as though there is a fairly equal ratio of books about LGBTQ+ men and women, but this clearly does not translate to the big screen. People often fear telling stories about characters that are not themselves, and with the screenwriting and directing worlds being dominated by heterosexual men, the chances of getting a story of a young, LGBTQ+ woman on screen are much slimmer. Notably, The Miseducation of Cameron Post was directed and written by two women, Desiree Akhavan and Cecilia Frugiuele; while Carol was directed by Todd Haynes, who is openly gay, and written by Phyllis Nagy. The trend in female-led LGBTQ+ films being written and directed by women (or LGBTQ+ people) suggests that a greater diversity of screenwriters and directors will lead to greater diversity on the big screen. There is a slow trend towards more women and LGBTQ+ people entering the industry, but there’s still a long way to go before we start seeing Hollywood churning out films that are as diverse as the populations they seek to entertain.

Don’t you know that you’re toxic? T

HE casting couch. We’ve all heard the stories confessing the dark truths of Hollywood’s underbelly. From Marilyn Monroe to the child star, Shirley Temple, Hollywood has a long, ugly history with sexual harassment, stemming from an endemic lust for power by those placed in positions of authority. A throwback to the ‘golden-era’ of old Hollywood, when we were oblivious to the deep-rooted issues which plagued it. From time immemorial this has been part of a women’s world, why would we think the modern-era is any different? Take Harvey Weinstein’s alleged crimes against women, an apparent open secret within the industry that went unquestioned. But, more insidious than that is the systemic toxic masculinity that Hollywood perpetuates, on-screen in character development and offscreen in the production room. Is there a liberal hypocrisy? We forgive artists for their artistic brilliance and excuse their predatory behaviour. Roman Polanski, upheld as a beacon of creative genius, yet only condemned once the crystal clean image of ‘Hollywood’ had been compromised.

Deep inside the ivory towers of ‘Hollywood’ is a gender dysfunction; one awash with hypermasculinity. Don’t be fooled, strides have been made but was Weinstein truly a watershed for a seismic shift in the power structures of Hollywood? Hollywood is still marred by an outdated model of hegemonic masculinity. Men have a prescribed role that they are expected to embody – a man of unyielding strength who is only immobilised by any expressed vulnerability. Identity hinges on their ability to sexually conquer and exert dominance. With the masculine ideal as heteronormative, Marvel – a beloved institution - reaffirms this existing stereotype. The Marvel universe is decidedly more sexually diverse in its original print than it is in Marvel’s film canon. This reflects Hollywood’s desire to preserve this heteronormative culture, one now seen as a product of a by-gone era and not representative of our population. A fear permeates Marvel – a fear that men will tune out seeing a female-led film – that has manifested itself in the reality of Black Widow being deprived of her own film.

Male mental struggles, that for years have been mocked and belittled, have finally – upon the wave of social reckoning – been acknowledged. Whilst slow, a catalyst has been set ablaze in the wake of Barry Jenkin’s ground-breaking Moonlight. Hollywood had suppressed the concept of masculinity into a solitary, pigeon-holed identity, when in actuality masculinity is a concept that is laced with complexities. Moonlight deconstructs masculine tropes, exposing the flaws of culture’s construction of manhood. . By watching the male crisis of Chiron, who functions behind the masquerade of a hyper-masculine male, we acknowledge a cathartic truth: his suppression of sexuality is a pathological response to trauma and of culture’s homophobia. Is Hollywood’s moral sanctity retrievable when they protect known sexual predators, sustain a culture of male toxicity, and homophobia? Ultimately, yes it is. With unflinching stories such as Chiron’s being backed by the executives, we have hope for masculinity. Hollywood has so far failed humanity, but change is on the horizon.

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS

crazy rich asians

american animals

Rocky horror DATE - 30/10 DATE - 17-10

TIMETIME - 6:30 & - 6 & 9PM

DATE DATE- 4/11 - 17-10

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

DATE- 6/11 - 17-10 DATE

TIME - 6:30 &

TIME - 6:30 & 9PM

Image: Photowant

Catherine Lloyd unpacks Hollywood’s historic issue with toxic masculinity

CAMPUS CINEMA PRESENTS In

mised. of cameron post TIME - 6:30 &

DATE DATE- 11/11 - 17-10

TIME - 6:30 & 9PM

We are YOUR independent student media! EXEPOSÉ Exeposéééééééééé ééééééééééééééééééé éééééééééééééééééééééé éééééééééééééééééééé éééééééééééééééééé ééééééééééééééééééééé ééééééééééééééééééééééé ééééé ééé éé ééé ééé ééééééééé é ééé éé éé Géé ééé qééé ééé? Dééé éé éé éééé éé ééééééé@éxééééééééé

87.7FM

Xpression FM

ééééé éé jééé éééé ééé é éé éééééé éééé éé ééé é ééé ééé éééé Yéé ééé ééééé éé éé é é éé 87é7éé ééé xééééééééééé

XTV éé éééé ééééééé Té é ééééé ééé ééé éééééééé éééé ééééééé ééé ééé éé ééé é étfééé; éééé ééééé ﬁ éé éé éé é ééé éééééééééééééé XTV éééé éé é ! é ééé’éé éééééééééé éé ééé é é éé ééééé é é ééé é é éé é é éééééé é é éé éééééééé é ﬁéé éé éé ééé Géé é Wéééééé éé jééé ééé!

exhibit

study break

| 29 OCT 2018

STUDY BREAK CROSSWORD

1 3 5 9 10 11 12 14 16 19 21 24 25 26 27 28

Across

SUDOKU

Trendy (3) Support (4) Climb awkwardly - a 23 (4) Premature (5) Task (7) Accept (a duty) (8) Front of a hoof (3) Cause of fury - regard (anagram) (3,3) As grit (anagram) - free (6) Weapon (3) Internal structure; comprised of 23 (8) Rowing event (7) Game (with a full house?) (5) Kiss (slang) (4) School principal (4) Devon river (you might be on it now!) (3)

1 2 3 4 6 7 8 13 15 17 18 20 22 23

Down

Achilles’ ___(4) Very dry (7) Marshy part of a US lake - a buoy (anagram) (5) Humorous drama (6) (19ed) robbery - theft (5) Rubbish! (8) Loan-shark - ‘r u sure?’ (anagram) (6) Rehearsal (5,3) Property (6) Defeat soundly (7) Caution (6) Sorcery (5) Fix - implant - insert (5) Part of the 21 (or a dog’s dinner?) (4)

triviA CORNER 1. WHERE IS THE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL CELEBRATED? 2. In which year was the original ‘halloween’ film released? 3. halloween originated from which celtic festival? 4. which root vegetable was traditionally used as a jack o lantern?

ANSWERS

5. what do black and orange symbolise in association with halloween? 6. On which date is el dia de los muertos celebrated in mexico?

autumn harvest; 6. 2 November symbolises the ‘death’ of summer, and orange the ‘birth’ of the Trivia: 1. Hong Kong, 2. 1978, 3. Samhain 4. Turnip; 5. Black 22 Embed, 23 Bone. 8 Usurer, 13 Trial run, 15 Assets, 17 Trounce, 18 Beware, 20 Magic, Down: 1 Heel, 2 Parched, 3 Bayou, 4 Comedy, 6 Heist, 7 Nonsense, Bingo, 26 Neck, 27 Head, 28 Exe. Toe, 14 Red rag, 16 Gratis, 19 Arm, 21 Skeleton, 24 Regatta, 25

Image: Public Domain Pictures

Across: 1 Hip, 3 Back, 5 Shin, 9 Early, 10 Mission, 11 Shoulder, 12

Tuesday 6 November 11:30 - 15:00 The Forum Street, Streatham Campus, Exeter Donâ€™t miss the opportunity to meet the top universities in the UK and be in with a chance to win a life-changing ÂŁ10k scholarship just by registering for and attending an event!

2018CAMS192

Book your free place at: postgraduateroadshow.com

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS:

Scarlett Parr-Reid Gabriel Yeap

The fission mission

Ludovico Vermier looks at how nuclear power can remedy climate change

HIS article does not intened to delve deep into the details of how the unsettling news that climate change is real and that our fragile planet is fairly doomed. Instead, this article is about the power of nuclear energy and how in a world full of political turmoil in the face of climate change, with all options seemingly out the window, technology offers a ray of hope in our struggle to answer climate change’s most pressing questions.

Once running, this single power station will provide 8% of the UK’s electricity On a cold October night, eight Greenpeace activists huddled in the back of a van outside EDF’s Cattenom nuclear power plant in North East France. Within an hour they had breached two security barriers and proceeded to launch

several rounds of fireworks inside the plant grounds. Their aim was simple: to highlight the vulnerability of the plant to an attack and display Greenpeace’s opposition to nuclear power. The very same year in the United Kingdom, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) granted consent to open the largest construction site in Europe to build a nuclear power station called Hinkley Point C, only a two-hour drive from our university campus. Once up and running, this single power station will provide eight percent of the UK’s electricity. A new environmental era is upon us, one that is inimical for the Greenpeace warriors that storm power stations. It is named environmental modernism, which to many may seem an oxymoron, but is picking up converts quickly. The preachers of environmental modernism firmly believe that technology is the solution and not the problem. For them, harnessing the clean electricity of a nuclear power station can save the planet

and if Greenpeace environmentalists can’t buy into that fact, then their deluded sentiments are the problem.

Environmental modernists believe that technology is the solution Let’s be clear. The use of nuclear energy does not have an amazing historical track record, but from a technological standpoint it is one of mankind’s most crucial discoveries. With a climate situation that requires an immediate shift to low carbon electricity, nuclear power seems like our only option. As the International Atomic Agency’s Director General, Yukiya Amano noted recently, “Nuclear power can help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.” He continued by saying, “It will be difficult for the world to meet the challenges of securing sufficient energy, and to achieve the Paris goal of limiting the

average global temperature increase to two degrees centigrade without making more use of nuclear power.” Albert Einstein once said “Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water”, it’s also one hell of a lot cleaner than coal. It seems like nuclear energy, once a ridiculed imposter, has slowly made its way back into the limelight

and we must learn the wisdom of compromise.

Image: pxhere

Women in STEM

OMEN’S achievements in science and technology are often overlooked. Earlier this month, Professor Donna Strickland became a Nobel Laureate – the third female recipient of the physics prize in its 118-year history, and the first female recipient since 1963! Women’s achievements are also overlooked by the general public: a 2014 survey found that only 47% of 3,000 participants could name a famous woman scientist. In a lot of countries including the UK, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) is dominated by male researchers - but women are no longer the minority in a lot of STEM

Penny Dinh reflects on our perception of female scientists Pop culture also plays a role in exaggerating the stereotype that STEM is a boy club: lots of TV series and films cast male actors for scientist characters, most of whom display strong male stereotypically masculine characteristics. The Big Bang Theory, Star Trek, Bill Nye the Science Guy, just to name a few. From a young age, children, exposed to these films and series, are familiarised with the image of scientists being male and only male, leading to girls showing less preference for Science subjects at school compared to boys. There are lots of things society and organisations can do to improve women’s participation in STEM: affirmative

action (including quotas), addressing managerial biases, and changing the structural barriers that prevent women from rising to the top in Science.

Stereotyping is undoubtedly a culprit in this phenomenon. According to the

Implicit Association Test website, 70% of 628,295 participants between 2003 and 2015 showed automatic association of males with Science. Indeed, women are stereotypically viewed as less competent in science than men. A study in 2012 showed participants identical applications, but half displayed a male name and half displayed a female name; the shocking result was that the male applicant received a significantly higher rating in terms of competency – even though the two applications were identical. This implies that women in science are overlooked for jobs and promotions and their works, well deserving of recognition, are oftened over-scrutinised.

Sophie Germain (1776-1831): Mathematician and physicist

Ada Lovelace (1815 - 1852): Computer scientist

Chien-shiung Wu (1912 - 1997): Nuclear physicist

Gertrude Elion (1918 - 1999): Biochemist and pharmacologist

fields. According to National Science Foundation (USA), over half of US undergraduate degrees in biology, and nearly half in chemistry and mathematics are awarded to women; 37% of undergraduate degrees across all STEM fields are awarded to women. So, why is it that women’s achievements in STEM are so overlooked?

Women’s achievements are also overlooked by the public

Women are stereotypically viewed as less competent But recognising women’s successes in science, and promoting these in pop culture would be a very good start. By doing so, women are given positive role models in this field and this increases women’s feeling of belongingness in science.

Do you know these STEM pioneers? Image:s (from left): anonymous; Alfred Edward Chalon; Smithsonian Institution; anonymous

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

The eye of the storm

SCIENCE

Graham Moore, Editor, asks what the Hurricane Michael disaster means for our future

"1.5°C gives young people and the next generation a fighting chance" Prof. Johan Rockström

1°C

3°C

The world is already 1°C warmer than pre-industrial levels

At current rates, the world is set to hit 3°C warming by 2100

Whilst the intensification of Hurricane Michael suggests that climate change is already having a dramatic impact on weather events – and indeed resulting in loss of human lives – the IPCC report shows that there is still time for us to ensure that these risks do not increase further. We are capable of minimising further damage to our environment, to our infrastructure, and to people’s lives – but we have to act now.

45%

2050

AA NO

Part of what made the damage caused by Hurricane Michael so shocking was the storm’s rapid intensification. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Centre (NHC) defines “rapid intensification” as when a storm’s maximum sustained winds increase by at least 56 kilometres per hour in 24 hours or less. Although being initially designated a Category 2 storm, during

There are many factors which can alter a hurricane’s intensity, although the three most significant and commonly measured variables are ocean temperature, moistness of air, and consistent atmospheric wind speed. During Hurricane Michael’s development the Gulf waters were one to two degrees Celsius warmer than usual for this time of year, and the air over the eastern US contained proportionately abundant levels of moisture – both of which have been marked as contributing to Michael’s surprising intensification process. Hurricanes nearing the Florida panhandle – the state’s northwestern region – tend

The storm's consistent strengthening 'defied traditional logic'

(IPCC), announcing that only 12 years remain for global warming to be kept to a manageable maximum of 1.5 degrees. The IPCC concluded that climate change of even half a degree further would carry significantly increased risk of extreme weather. Dr Debra Roberts, co-chair of the IPCC working group, described the finding as a “line in the sand […] What it says to our species is that this is the moment and we must act now.”

searches atmospheric sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discussed the impact greenhouse gas emissions could have on storm events. “If you put more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and warm the climate, the maximum speed limit for hurricanes goes up. The rate at which hurricanes can intensify also i n c r e a s e s, meaning you could have storms intensify much faster than Michael.” The incredibly visible effects of Hurricane Michael provide a strikingly portentous insight into the future of extreme weather events. Notably, the hurricane coincided with the recent report released by UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change e: ag Im

What made the damage so shocking was the storm’s rapid intensification

to weaken considerably as they meet the drier air overland. However, the NHC have said that the storm’s consistent strengthening “defie[d] traditional logic”, with the storm’s power being so sustained that it only reduced to Category 3 before reaching the state of Georgia. Research has sug gested that there may be more sinister forces at work behind Michael’s destructive power – forces which, going forward, may result in such damaging weather events occurring more and more frequently. The culprit? Climate change. Warmer Gulf waters, for example, can be attributed to human-driven climatic alterations. Professor Kerry Emmanuel, who re-

Michael’s five-day passage across the Gulf of Mexico towards the US coast it underwent at least three intensification periods; upon reaching Florida it was just below Category 5.

To limit by 1.5°C, CO2 pollution needs to be cut by 45% by 2030

This is the moment, and we must act now

Dr Debra Roberts, IPCC

To prevent further increase, CO2 pollution must be at 0% by 2050

Even evolution can’t keep up

Facts from the IPCC report 2018.

ITH a death toll of 36 across four states, Hurricane Michael wrought a tragic path across the US’s eastern seaboard earlier this month, marking its place in history as the strongest storm (in terms of wind speed) ever to hit the coast of Florida and the third most powerful storm ever to make landfall in the continental USA.

Laura Butula assesses the damage humanity has inflicted on the natural world

HE Asian Elephant has less than a 33% chance of surviving to the end of the 21st century. If this statistic doesn’t shock you enough, here’s something even more distressing: the planet is on a clear path towards encountering a sixth mass extinction, and we have mostly ourselves to blame. Once again, humans have truly pushed nature’s boundaries.

Only an estimated 7% of the Great Barrier Reef remains completely unaffected Developments in technology and industry, along with a growing population and overexploitation of resources are only some of the general problems we have inflicted upon global biodiversity over the past few decades. Rising carbon emissions have grossly impacted worldwide ecosystems, including coral

Not only are marine species threatreefs in which only an estimated 7% of the Great Barrier Reef remains com- ened at present, but so are 13% of bird pletely unaffected by coral bleaching. species and a quarter of all mammal species due to pollution, poachThis devastating phenomeing, loss of habitat and non leads to a rejection other anthropogenof stunning colour ic reasons. The combinations as level of threat the interaction to these varibetween the ous classes corals and is nighttheir symmarish, biotic partexceedners, the ing levels zooxanobser ved thellae, terin the fosminates. As sil record! It’s corals become bad enough that increasingly afscientists have sugfected by this disgested a biodiversity resolution, thousands of Image: Toby Hanson covery period of three to five species are in peril. Furthermore, millions of people depend on million years, but to think that human reefs for diverse food sources and even influence can roughly equate to the past for occupational purposes, including impacts of cataclysmic forces such as gigantic volcanic eruptions is eccentric tourism.

- is it reasonable to start comparing our energy use with the consequences of an unavoidable asteroid? A naive answer to this question might be: evolution is not keeping up with the costs either way.

Scientists have suggested a biodiversity recovery period of three to five million years Essentially, as humans continue splurging on selfish provisions, we jeopardise the existence of both rarer species and ourselves. Destroying biodiversity is a direct and ongoing threat. The sabretoothed tiger, for example, went extinct because there were only four distinct fauna species within its environment; in comparison, palaeontologist Matt Davis says that “there are hundreds of species of shrew, so they can weather a few extinctions.” Undeniably, some genera are more

vulnerable to disappearance due to genetic diversity and evolutionary lineages, but this doesn’t mean their survival is of a lesser significance. Experts are now pressing governments and organisations to strengthen objectives for protecting global biodiversity levels. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Patron of Nature, Richard Leakey, states that focusing on conservation of national parks, forests and protected areas is also essential.

Conservation of national parks, forests and protected areas is also essential On this topic, I will finish as seriously as I began in reminding you that we must work together to combat the aftermath of the consumer lifestyle by prioritising conservation efforts. But what is the current priority?

SCIENCE

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Big trouble brewing Hannah Stevenson, Online News Editor, discusses global warming’s impact on beer drinkers

EER: is there more iconic an alcohlic drink? Who doesn’t associate the smell of sticky lager with cosy nights in at the pub, or glorious June evenings with the immensely satisfying pull-tab fizz of ‘cracking open a cold one?’ With variations from across both Europe and the world, beer remains one of the oldest and most versatile drinks in history. It is statistically the world’s favourite alcoholic drink, with upwards of 185 billion litres consumed every year across the globe. But a study published on the 15 October in the journal Nature Plants revealed that climate change is set to cause “substantial” decreases in barley production, which could see the price of a pint down your local spike dramatically. The Nature Plants study investigated the impact of rising global temperatures on cultivation of barley - the key ingredient in many beers. It measures an increased likelihood of “extreme” weather events such as

droughts and heatwaves during barley-growing season as global warming continues, significantly stunting production on a global scale. An average temperature increase of between four or five degrees centigrade would lead to a 17-18% probability of extreme weather, with this rising to up to 31% if temperatures were to spike beyond five degrees.

Upwards of 185 billion litres consumed every year across the globe Most of the world’s barley supply is not actually used to make beer, but is in fact fed to livestock. When faced with crop shortages, the study suggested that livestock farming will be “prioritized over luxuries such as beer”. The result would be a dramatic worldwide decrease in the amount of barley being used to produce our much loved alcoholic beverages.

As a result, researchers forecast that beer consumption could plummet globally by 16%. In Belgium, the Czech Republic and Ireland, it would decrease by around a third, whilst in the UK a quarter less beer would be drunk.

Beer consumption could plummet globally by 16% And it would be bad news for our pockets too. The study found that “the largest price increases are concentrated in […] historically beer-loving countries”. This is because rising prices not only relate to the restricted capacity of a country to import or produce beer, but also to the willingness of the consumer to pay that bit extra for their favourite ale or lager. Researchers cite Ireland as a key example in this aspect – a country in which beer prices could rise by up to 193%.

The study however found that not all countries would be equally affected by this particular aspect of climate change. Beer-lovers down under could breathe a sigh of relief, as the study suggested that temperature increases may actually make it easier to cultivate barley in some regions of Australia. Bad news perhaps if you’re not big on your Fosters.

Most of the world’s barley supply is not actually used to make beer Of course, in the grand scheme of the problems associated with climate change that we are all up against, the price of a pint down the local isn’t such a big deal. If anything, the health impacts might (I whisper) even be good for us. But as the researchers conclude, these findings are likely to “add insult to injury” for “millions of people around the world”.

Image: U3144362/Wikimedia Commons

If sponges could talk...

Fenton Christmas, Deputy Editor, analyses sponges’ use as evolutional markers Image: Taokinesis

ALAEONTOLOGY, as Ross from Friends will attest, has consistently utilised fossils as base markers for the study evolutionary progression. The majority of contemporary understandings of our natural history centres from fossils produced during the event known as the Cambrian explosion – an immense variation of life that occurred around 541 million years ago. Most of the major animal groups appear following this event. And now, with the applications of new techniques, scientists have discovered the earliest known animal in geochronological studies – through a study of biological sponges.

Dickinsonia had been considered a palaeontological enigma Researchers have found specimens of this 558-million-year-old creature through the use of biomarkers – preserved molecular signs of animal life. Rather than find what many would consider a ‘traditional fossil’ of preserved remains of an organism, scientists

found traces of steroid compounds only produced by sponges in ancient rock formations in various locations across the globe. These types of sponges, known as demosponges, synthesise a specific chemical compound known as 26-methylstigmastane that is not found in traditional fossil types. This helped to identify the creature, known as Dickinsonia, as part of the first group of complex multi-cellular organisms to develop. Until now, Dickinsonia had previously been considered a palaeontological enigma and were placed within a variety of different classifications. But with these new techniques, the animal kingdom now has its oldest member to date. The study, led by researchers at the University of California, allows sponges to be viewed as important palaeontological specimens and further humanity’s understanding of evolution. Many outside of the scientific world perhaps overlook sponges as a form of life. One of the key reasons for this has been researchers’ inability to clearly find a moment in time from which they originate. This new research sees sponges develop as a lifeform around 120 million years earlier than previously thought.

The outcome of all this only further highlights the ever-changing database of knowledge we have on our own evolution. With sponges emerging a new facet for consistent palaeontological focus, more examples of preserved, ancient life will undoubtedly materialise.

Many outside of the scientific world perhaps overlook sponges The question then becomes how these discoveries affect our knowledge of our own evolution. There now stands an extended period of time (around 120 million years) in which evolution is unaccounted for. The development of ancient evolution allows for a clearer grasp of how life continues to survive in the face of ever-changing surroundings and conditions. Through the study of one of life’s most seemingly basic examples of existence, researchers can help understand the biological transformations of some of the natural world’s most complex organisms.

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

SPORT

Sport: the missing piece of the puzzle?

A Sport writer discusses the relationship between mental health and sport

'M not the first – and I certainly won’t be the last – student to struggle with mental health in my first year of university. It was a tumultuous few months – moving a long way from home, being forced into an environment where I knew absolutely nobody, and having to become selfsufficient are ‘cliché’ fresher problems, and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into by accepting my offer – but university hit me like a brick wall. It strained my relationship, frayed ties with my friends, and distanced myself from family – and I’d taken the triumvirate for granted in my previous life. It soon became apparent to me that a continuation of the mental state I was in during my first year wasn’t just unhealthy, but unsustainable. Brought about by a mix of the aforementioned anxieties and doing literally nothing with my time soon decimated confidence in myself socially, academically, and mentally, and I regret not seeking professional help.

A simplistic world where nothing matters but the swing of a foot

ably followed by screaming something colourful in frustration – are fantastic things to be worried about. It’s a beautiful state for the only thing in the world to matter is that you’ve just dropped a ball. Obviously, it can go the other way. One error inflicts self-doubt, two errors can destroy a vulnerable mindstate. When we, as players, don’t allow ourselves to fail, we create an atmosphere that’s not conducive to learning. It’s negative – you’re scared to try something innovative, to beat your marker or make a run, and all of a sudden you’re just watching the game you’ve adored up to now bypass you, as if you’re a spectator on the sidelines. This is, to me, what the top-class coaches mean when they talk of bravery in sport – if things aren’t going your way, do you respond by reclining deep into your shell? Or do you shrug off the doubts and continue to play as naturally as you can? The latter is surprisingly difficult, the former surprisingly easy. Playing in a negative mental state means multiple errors lead exponentially to more of their own kind. One leads to two, two leads to four – and all of a sudden, the perceived “way out” of a fragile headspace has only compounded the misery. Even at professional level, footballer Michael Carrick has spoken of the mental ills he suffered after an error he made on the biggest stage in European football – the Champions League final – back in 2009. In his autobiography, Between the Lines, Carrick states “it might sound like a crazy exaggeration comparing football to a death, but after Rome I felt like I was grieving” – just because of a poorly-executed header.

In the same book, Carrick goes on to say that he feels the stigma surrounding mental illness has dissipated in sporting spheres. Whilst we may never know the truth of the statement – professional sportspeople tend to have closely-guarded personal lives anyway, and throw mental struggles (which people generally struggle to talk about anyway) on top, and it’s no surprise we don’t hear much about the tough times behind the success stories – it is at least a promising sign.

After Rome I felt like I was grieving MICHAEL CARRICK

Charities like Mind support the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation, for example, which aims to make sport accessible to people with mental health problems. In part, Mind aims to start positive conversations about mental health from elite sport all the way through to grassroots participation, and have assisted clubs, governing bodies and player associations to recognise the importance of mental health – and advocate the establishment of a mental health network to share existing and emerging good practice within elite sport. Because each individual has different needs, it makes the jobs of welfare officers at clubs easier if there is a general guideline to follow with these matters – as there would be with physical injuries. Formal partnerships with governing bodies such as Sport England have led to heavy investments in national and local projects that Sport England claim are changing lives through improving mental health. It’s not exactly a secret that sport and physical activity

It was sorely needed – if you feel yourself heading the same way at any point in your university career, I’d urge you to seek help as soon as you feel able. These things don’t go away by themselves, and my ongoing battle with mental health is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to come to terms with, let alone deal with. In order to combat this, I threw myself into sport. Reading, playing, writing – a simplistic world where nothing mattered but the movement of a ball, the swing of a foot, or the time it took one person Image: unnydae (Wikipedia) to run from one point to another, was a world I transcended into. I took great solace in those moments where the only thing that mattered was making a pass or hitting a ball, and continue to do so. It’s a time where worldly concerns fade blissfully into the background, very much still present, but no longer at the forefront of my mind. Sport is an escape, even when things don’t go your way. A misplaced pass, Carrick, pictured here in the 2009 Champion's League Final against Barcelona, in the game a dropped ball, a bad that the midfielder says caused the onset of his mental struggle. touch – all invari-

more generally have powerful impacts on mental states, and these kinds of projects will hopefully have immensely positive outcomes. If nothing else, the power of sport to bring people together, to unify a group of people that might have absolutely nothing else in common, is borderline magical. In an increasingly divided age, sport acts as a unifier for those like me who have retreated so deeply, and those lucky others who have flourished so beautifully in a new environment. It might be ‘just’ a starting point for some, whether the football was the reason behind your first-year flat’s first trip to the Ram or whether intramural was the first time you got to know people on your course properly, but for others it’s a lifeblood; a vital essence we withdraw from to use as a reason to get up in the morning – all of a sudden, we might as well go to that 8:30 because we need to be on campus for the hockey at lunchtime, or a trip to the Chiefs at the weekend is the only thing getting us through an otherwise dreary and monotonous week.

All of a sudden, we might as well go to that 8:30 But above all, the towering highs and heart-breaking lows of sport seem to take place in a totally different world to normal events. It’s ultimately this escape from regularity that the true value of sport is found – those who take no interest in sport will never encounter it, but those who have experienced it will never forget it. Perhaps it’s this other-worldliness that makes sport such a natural counter to mental struggles. Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone, but a regular escape into the sporting domain provides an often much-needed break from reality.

If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, the following resources are available: Reed Mews Wellbeing Centre, Streatham Drive Exeter, EX4 4QP wellbeing@exeter.ac.uk Mind 020 8519 2122 supporterrelations@mind.org.uk

Image: pxhere

mental health in numbers: FIGURES FROM MIND

1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year

1 in 5 people suffering from mental illness have reported suicidal thoughts, according to a mental health study in 2016

1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem in any given week

1 in 7 people have suffered from a mix of anxiety and depression

1 in 8 adults with a mental health problem are receiving treatment

SPORT

Court Order

Di-varsity

Josh Brown Sport Editor

HERE'S no denying that the recent rugby varsity - as featured on our back-page - was a huge success for EURFC both on and off the field. In many senses, it serves as a great example of the potential these varsity fixtures have in terms of publicity, turnout, and fundraising opportunities. But with this in mind, it is somewhat disappointing that other sports aren't able to capitalise on this clear appetite for big sporting fixtures at the university. With the football club currently unable to hold varsity fixtures in Exeter, the second-highest attended varsity event last year would have been the cricket match, which was attended by over 2,000 spectators - a superb turnout. But EUCC are very much the exception to the general rule that sports that aren't football and rugby struggle to attract spectators. It would be a pretty safe bet, for example, that EURFC's 1s get bigger crowds for their normal games than smaller sports could hope to get for their varsity fixtures. This might be because the other clubs are inherently smaller, but it's a real shame anyway. The athletes at the smaller clubs are certainly no less talented, and no less deserving, of the stellar support provided on these occasions by students.

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

Jonathan Kemp reports on a nail-biting defeat on the volleyball court for Exeter's 2s

HE match began with an energetic Exeter huddle. This set a great tone for the game which was followed up by some convincing but at times unsuccessful play. The first set flip-flopped between the two sides with both going on good scoring runs throughout.

A highlight was the flashes of talent from Lagache The rallies remained short but at 11-10, Plymouth won the longest thus far and the momentum decidedly parked itself in their corner. At 14-11 down the greens won a long and desperate point to ensure the set stayed open, in no small part due to the strong recovery work of number 10, Lawrie. Despite some further excellent recovery work by Exeter to come back from 22-14 down, there was an air of inevitability to the first set. Plymouth eventually closed it out 25-20. Plymouth, recently relegated from the flight above, began to show their superior class early in the second, starting with an unanswered seven points. They raced ahead to 11-2 with

only two unforced errors giving the home side points. The visitors continued this dominance with some strong serving and spiking, with their number 11 particularly playing strongly - her spike at 17-7 one of the highlights of this strong passage. While it would have been difficult not to, the girls in green did grow back into the set but Plymouth still took it easily, finishing 25-13. An encouraging sign was the occasional flashes of talent from Exeter's number 14, Sofia Lagache; her strongest moment being a gorgeous mid-court dropshot that caught three Plymouth players completely off guard. Her development will be crucial to the rest of the season for this team. Misplaced serves were a running theme of the whole match, with Exeter particularly repeatedly being robbed of momentum by these misses. Early in the third this was a theme once more, with some excellent play by the home team being undone by a lack of concentration from the back of the court. The third set became easily the most entertaining though, with both teams stringing together good passag-

es of play. The serve actually became a big weapon for Exeter towards the end of the third and they went into a late timeout 20-17. Exeter's number 16 Baillozian made an excellent save to keep the home side in it shortly afterward to take the set to a nailbiting finale. Unfortunately, Plymouth eventually triumphed 28-26.

THE RULES • • •

• • •

Image: krjogja.com

In a match against clearly very competent opposition, the 2s performed admirably and will take several positives forward to the rest of the season.

•

• •

6 players on a team, 3 on the front row and 3 on the back row Maximum of three hits per side Players may not hit the ball twice in succession (a block is not considered a hit) The ball may be played off the net during a volley and on a serve A ball hitting a boundary line is in A ball is out if it hits an antennae, the floor completely outside the court, any of the net or cables outside the antennae, the referee stand or pole, or the ceiling above a nonplayable area It is legal to contact the ball with any part of a player's body It is il egal to catch, hold, or throw the ball If two or more players contact the ball at the same time, it is considered one play and either player involved may make the next contact A player can not block or attack a serve from on or inside the 10 foot line After the serve, front line players may switch positions at the net At higher competition, the officiating crew may be made up of two refs, line judges, scorer, and an assistant scorer

Clubs, sticks, and everything in between

Exeposé Sport talks to the EUHC club captains about the hockey club, their roles and the current season

XEPOSÉ caught up with Ed Denton and Lottie Robinson of Exeter University Hockey Club to discuss the club, the season ahead and what their role entails. The ladies' and men’s clubs have merged, when did this happen and what does that mean for the club? • (Ed Denton, ED) The clubs have had a partial merger, we still operate as separate clubs with separate committees but under the same name. The merger has resulted in the clubs sharing some social media accounts as well as the ladies changing their playing kit to green to be the same colour as the men’s. There is currently more communication between the men’s and the ladies than ever before.

There's no better way to spend the day then playing • (Lottie Robinson, LR) Our day to day running of the clubs is pretty exclusive but what the merger does mean for us as a club is essentially that we have a greater support network between the men’s and ladies’ sides.

What is your favourite memory and proudest moment in the club? • (ED) Our club day, watching the men’s and ladies 2s both winning BUCS gold during my first year. We took a bus of supporters up to Bath and learnt the EUHC hymn book on the way up and belted out our chants to get both teams over the line. • (LR) Winning the league last year with the 3s who are probably the best group of girls I have ever had the pleasure of playing hockey with. It’s hard to pick a favourite memory but I have to say every single Wednesday – there is no better way to spend the day than playing/supporting and then all coming together in the evening to celebrate or commiserate together.

What do you want to see the club achieve this year? • (ED) A cracking atmosphere and a club that every member loves being part of. Also, it would be great for our 1st XI to stay in the national premier league, and have at least one team in a BUCS final.

The atmosphere of the club is what makes it so special • (LR) To be the most successful on the pitch and the most inclusive off it. On the pitch, I believe we could be BUCS league winners across numerous teams. Off the pitch our Image: Megan Davies

aim is to run socials which cater for all, especially as we have the most social members the club has ever had. Why did you want to be club captain and what is your role on committee? • (ED) The hockey club has made my uni experience and I wanted to give something back to the club because of this. My role is to oversee the club throughout the year, I spend a lot of time with the rest of committee checking that they are happy in their roles. • (LR) The job involves admin, and a lot of it! Mainly organising club events and working closely with each different area of committee to ensure the club runs in the most efficient and effective way. Why is hockey at Exeter so popular, in your opinion? • (ED) Simple, on the pitch we can offer the opportunity to play in the National Premier League. Also, we consistently have had the most sought-after social calendar year after year. We are notorious for organising mixed socials with women’s hockey, EUHC also brags an assortment of all-day events. With the summer leavers boat party, the nationally re-

nowned ‘Edinburgh Fives’ and an infamous End of Season Dinner. • (LR) The atmosphere of the club is what makes it so special and the fact that all teams support each other across the board. The club plays at such a high standard for each team (for instance our 3s are in a higher league then Bath 2s!) and our success on the pitch is matched by our offfield fun – there truly is a strong balance of work hard, play hard.

The hockey club has absolutely made my uni experience With hockey serving as one of Exeter's nine focus sports, it's perhaps no surprise to see the squads competing at such a high level. - the 1s are the only university side that play in the top league of English hockey, and drew away to last season's champions Surbiton a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, it's encouraging to see the club consistenly moving in the right direction across a number of key areas - not just on the pitch, but off it too.

EXEPOSÉ | 29 OCT 2018

CONTINUED FROM BACK with a commanding lead. After the break, Bristol seemingly picked up from where they left off. However they lost the ball to an interception and Exeter quickly found Emily Jeffries, who ran in to take Exeter beyond 40 points. It was a try that killed off the game; mentally, Bristol never recovered. The counter-attacking game that Exeter played proved destructive, as the visitors fell straight into the traps that EUWRFC had set – and a positive period either side of half-time had somehow caused the away side to fall yet further behind.

The women in green were running rings around their opponents

McNaney made up for a couple of missed conversions by crossing herself for the seventh try, as the tired Bristol

SPORT

EUWRFC 85-10 Bristol 1s legs began to show and managing the game became easier for Exeter. Their intent to move the ball quickly was pivotal; with less than half an hour left the women in green were running rings around their opponents.

It wasn’t long before Exeter’s score was into the 80s

It was incredibly basic, route-one type play from Exeter at times; from the three restarts after McNaney’s try Exeter cruised to yet more tries – unselfish and highly possessive play led to three very similar scores, the pick of which was scored by outside centre Healy, and Exeter led 68-5 after the hour mark. A very strong, and arguably expected, position for the defending national champions. The game then entered a lull as Bristol focused on damage limitation mode, allowing Exeter to gain ground

up to their 22m drop-out line. While the spectators were made to wait for the next try, it was well worth it. Healy rounded off a superb move from midfield that took Exeter beyond the 70 point mark with less than ten minutes to go. It wasn’t long before Exeter’s score was into the 80s, as Holly Cunningham ran over from close-range, before the home side’s last try was scored by Clara Newton, in a move that owed no small part to superb interchanges amongst the forwards. Bristol were able to get to double figures, concluding the scoring in the game, but there was no doubt that this had been Exeter’s day. It may well be early in the season, but dominant performances see Exeter already top of the BUCS table, with a staggering points difference of +133 after just three games having beaten Cardiff Met last week. The unbeaten women in green face Hartpury Uni 1s at Topsham next Wednesday.

BUCS Women's Rugby Union 2018-2019 Premier South P

Pts

Exeter 1s

Hartpury 1s

Cardiff Met 1s

Swansea 1s

Bristol 1s

Oxford 1s

Images: Megan Davies and Rory Selvey

EURFC 45-24 Northumbria 1s

Nick Powell and Harry Scott-Munro report on EURFC's thrilling win at Sandy Park BUCS Rugby Union 2018-2019 BUCS Super Rugby P

Pts

Hartpury 1s

Bath 1s

Exeter 1s

Durham 1s

Loughboro' 1s

NTU 1s

Leeds Beckett 1s

Cardiff Met 1s

Northumbria 1s

Cardiff 1s

All images: Rory Selvey

From a clearance, a slow, broken kick chase allowed Hydleman to get up to speed, and then fed it to Thompson for his second try of the night.

Northumbria’s rock solid defensive structure was loosening somewhat, Exeter were getting quicker on the ball and a moment of class from Sam Morley saw him dart through the oppositions line before sending Pierre Thompson under the sticks for the first try. Northumbria initially continued to allow Exeter to retain possession, but when they did finally get some ball to play with, they began to put the pressure on. Thompson did well to deal with a dangerous grubber kick, but eventually they got on the board through a penalty in front of the sticks. It would not be long before Exeter doubled their tally.

Exeter were beginning to hit their straps, and Northumbria were enjoying attacking possession, despite this, Exeter were managing to create chances of their own through turnovers. However, Northumbria had settled and were growing into the game. Exeter’s discipline had dropped and a five minute attacking set, just a few metres out, would ultimately result in Northumbria’s first try. Despite a noisy crowd, the conversion was slotted for a four point game. The half ended 1410, despite some late Exeter pressure. People were still filtering back into their seats when Exeter scored their third try after just 33 seconds of the second half. After stealing the ball from the restart, Hydleman dashed up the touchline before offloading inside just a few metres out. It initially seemed to have handed Northumbria possession back, but Charlie Davies snaffled the bobbling

N their third visit to Sandy Park in 2018, Exeter produced a superb performance as they scored seven tries in an exciting battle in their BUCS Super Rugby campaign. As kick off approached, nearly all of the 4,000 fans had taken their seats and the atmosphere was electric. Chants rang round the stadium as the green and white chose to retain possession inside their own half in bruising opening exchanges. The first ten minutes remained scoreless as Exeter enjoyed complete dominance in possession, but as the clock ticked on the pressure began to tell.

Exeter scored their third try after just 33 seconds of the second half

ball and gave Exeter breathing space once again. Northumbria had seemingly strolled out half asleep. Tighthead prop Salkeld showed a terrific turn of pace to pin them back in their 22 and give Exeter the chance for the bonus point. They hung around there for a while, but had this extra point wrapped up with half an hour still remaining as Josh Pieterse profited from an efficient maul to give Exeter their biggest lead in the match so far. However, it was short lived. Northumbria showed once again that they were a force to be reckoned with ball in hand. Whilst Exeter were solid in defence, Northumbria were playing some incisive, clinical rugby with quick and sharp handling. They subsequently scored the try of the match to get the gap back down to two points as Northumbria’s scrum half rounded off a fantastic move up the touchline.

Northumbria had seemingly strolled out half asleep By now the game had opened up, the tense exchanges of the first half had been replaced by free-scoring rugby that resembled the 15 try thriller these two played out last season. Whilst Pieterse’s second score was via simple pick-andgo rugby, the intent to attack from both teams was clear. Super sub Sal M’boge’s 50 metre

dart from his own 22 was symptomatic of this, and as the clock went into the final 15 minutes, Exeter looked to have won the struggle as he put his name on the scoresheet - following some terrific offloading up the right wing. Exeter had hit 40 but Northumbria had not given up. It was quick handling on the flank that once again delivered them a score, and whilst Exeter’s advantage was seemingly insurmountable as the game eeked into the final ten minutes, the Northern side had both a losing and four try bonus point to play for. But hopes of getting anything out the game were eradicated as quickly as they had appeared. Another attack up the wing was snuffed out, and a series of dominant scrums on Northumrbia’s 22 showed their control over the game. When they eventually sent the ball wide, Exeter scored their seventh of the night, M’Boge delivered a powerful finish from 20 yards out. That would be the final score, and whilst the drama didn’t quite match the mayhem of last year’s fixture, both sides showed tremendous quality.

Sport

29 OCT 2018 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT EDITORS: René Bahar Josh Brown

Lucky Thirteen

A Sandy Park debut to remember as EUWRFC hammer Bristol 85-10

Image: Rory Selvey

Women’s Rugby Union Exeter 1s..................................85 Bristol 1s..................................10 Nick Powell & Harry Scott-Munro Sport Team

XETER University Women’s Rugby Club marked their debut at Sandy Park with a crushing thirteen try rout of Bristol’s 1s. There have been calls for Exeter’s women to have equal opportunity as the mens’ side in terms of a fixture at Sandy Park, with their male counterparts playing at the home of Exeter Chiefs yearly since it opened back in 2006. A sparkling

performance made the occasion one to remember; a terrific show of running rugby that humbled the Bristol side as the women in green ran riot to win 8510. A great win made the match a memorable occasion for women’s rugby and women’s sport at the university, with an estimated attendance of over 2,500. An excited and vocal crowd watched the maiden game of women’s BUCS rugby union at Sandy Park. Exeter, the national champions after victory at Twickenham last year, scored within two minutes of kick-off, with a powerful move cutting Bristol apart in

the midfield. Cat McNaney added the arrears, in the first of many successful conversions on the night. It wasn’t long before Exeter scored again, with Emily Jeffries carrying the ball powerfully down the left-hand side. Both wingers were on the scoresheet with less than ten minutes on the clock.

There was no doubt that this had been Exeter’s day

A destructive 12-minute period then took the game essentially out of Bristol’s

sight. A valiant defence was undone, out-manoeuvred and out-classed by a vastly superior Exeter team; Jeffries ran under the post before her sister Sian went over as well – in the blink of an eye, Exeter led 33-0. It was clinical rugby, and as the opening nerves quickly settled, so too did the game into a rhythm that Exeter dominated. Handling errors, overplaying and a sense of hesitation dissipated, and as Exeter secured their bonus point, the floodgates threatened to open, even though Bristol hadn’t done much wrong. The women in green displayed a rapid speed of movement – both players and

the ball – as well as sublime handling and a clinical efficiency in attack.

The game settled into a rhythm that Exeter dominated

Bristol sent a reminder that they were still in the game as half-time approached and were able to score a try of their own after some incisive build-up play. They threatened again, right on the stroke of half-time, but Exeter held firm in the few defensive actions they were forced to take, and went into half-time

CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

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