February Issue of The Glasgow Guardian (2020-21)

FINDING SELF ACCEPTANCE

ALEXANDER DISCUSSES BEING BOTH BLACK AND GAY - PAGE 6 24 February 2021

IF YOU WATCH ONE FILM THIS MONTH...

GU NETBALL IS A BEACON OF HOPE

OUR MONTHLY CULTURE TIPS REVAMPED FOR LOCKDOWN - PAGE 18

HOW ONE SOCIETY SURVIVED (AND THRIVED) IN LOCKDOWN - PAGE 29

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW, INDEPENDENTLY INFORMING SINCE 1932

Issue 6 | Free

University continues making a profit despite pandemic The news of the University’s financial success comes at a time when tensions across the UK are continuing to rise between university institutions and students Jordan Hunter and Holly Jennings EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Photography and Illustrations Manager

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

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Dentistry students required to repeat Glasgow West End has an academic year had the most lockdown Students will be subsidised with a bursary of up to £6,750 parties in Scotland to cover the costs of this decision Ross McCool REPORTER

All Scottish dental students will be forced to repeat a year of their studies because of the interruption of practical teaching due to Covid-19. This affects all dental students at the universities of Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen.

The final year graduation is to be deferred to the summer of 2022 in both Glasgow and Dundee, with Aberdeen students hoping to graduate this Christmas.

All other students must resit the 2020/21 academic year. The Scottish government has announced a bursary of £6,750 per student to cover the cost of this decision.

This change follows students practice of aerosol-generating procedures, initially due to the increased risk of Covid-19 transmission through aerosol particles. Although the dental school students for FFP3 masks, which

are designed to protect against aerosol transmission of the virus, cant time in clinical placement.

Industry insiders have welcomed this funding from the Scottish government to curb dental student debt that would be increased due to their extended training.

One fourth year dental student commented: “Obviously it’s

Luke Chafer

side of things is a concern for all of us, however, I do think that it’s the right decision, practically speaking. With an extra year to make up for our lost clinical ex-

Data released by Police Scotland reveals that the West End has had the most police callouts and penalties for house parties in Scotland. Between 28 August 2020,

“‘With an extra year to make up for our lost clinical experience,

level of experience on graduating.”

Scottish dental students can expect to pay £34,000 for their degree, with the cost of resitting upping it to more than £40,000.

The British Dental Association (BDA) called on the government earlier this month to step-in and assist students, stating that additional costs at no fault of students would be grossly unacceptable.

Jeane Freeman, the Scottish government’s health secretary, commented upon the announcement: “Today’s decision is a tough one, there’s no denying that, but it’s about giving dental students the experience that’s been denied to them this year because of the pandemic.”

feel more my training and level of experience on graduating...’”

INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR

the power to break up parties, and 8 January 2021, 633 penalties had been issued and there were 223 callouts concerning house parties.

Across Scotland, there have been over 7,000 callouts, 3,647

a University spokesperson has stated: “The safety of our students, colleagues and local communities is paramount and throughout the pandemic, we have worked within the government health and safety regulations to deliver a positive student experience for all.”

Internal documentation from Operation Talla (the name for Police Scotland’s Covid-19 response) obtained by the BBC suggests that the task force believes students

made, as of 8 January.

The weekend of 19 and 20 September was highlighted by Police Scotland as having one the highest number of callouts, with over 550 recorded. It was in this period, 17 to 22 September, that The Glasgow Guardian has learnt that 200 written warnings were issued to students staying in university-provided accommodation for breaches of Covid-19 restrictions.

document states: “Students are still gathering unlawfully and are more likely to do so in larger numbers than the general population.”

The University spokesperson went on to say: “We are clear that we expect everyone to follow these rules, both in private and university residences and we can use disciplinary measures when necessary.

“We are aware that the vast majority of our student community is respecting the guidance

and the potential impact of Uni-

keep our communities safe, and

‘Back Off Scotland’ to campaign for better protection around abortion clinics The student-ran campaign group aims to ensure protest-free zones outside abortion clinics and hospitals will become a legal requirement Lucy Dunn and Ella Mayne DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR AND MULTIMEDIA TEAM MEMBER

University of Glasgow students are setting up a Glasgow branch of group that aims to put pressure on the Scottish government to ensure that 150-metre protest-free zones will become mandatory outside clinics that provide abortions. campaign group founded in October 2020 by University of Edinburgh students. It believes that anti-choice activity should not threaten “the right to privacy, and the right to access legal, essential medical services” and that “everyone deserves access to sexual and reproductive healthcare free from judgment, fear, shame, and coercion”. legislation that would lead to the This would provide a clear entrance and exit for those seeking abortion services and leave them free from intimidation and protest where ited. fully introduced and enforced in British Columbia and Ontario in

Canada. They protect healthcare workers who are harassed for providing services. Vitally, they protect people seeking an abortion, a highly considered and stigmatised decision, and provide anonymity and safe spaces free from harassment.

Co-founder Lucy Grieve commented: “Whilst our end goal is zones around clinics and hospitals that provide abortion services in Scotland, it is important to stress that the campaign doesn’t look to de-platform any organisation. We believe in freedom of speech and freedom to protest but not in a context that creates barriers in accessing healthcare.”

University of Glasgow student Lily Roberts described her own runin with pro-life protestors: “Having experienced protestors personally at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital when seeking an abortion ality of the dire state of protections currently in place against this form of harassment became startlingly thing in the morning and was faced with a group of protestors holding up placards. They remained there seven hours later when I left the clinic. My privacy and safety felt

threatened. These protests create the illusion that accessing abortion services is a controversial topic - I can’t stress enough that these protests are a misleading minority.

In reality, the discourse around campaign is a vital part of the supportive community who want to help prevent intimidation and harassment faced by people accessing who work in targeted clinics. By signing the petition and showing your support you will be ensuring that people feel safe.”

Lily, alongside Georgia Harding, a fellow University of Glasgow student, is launching the Glasgow branch of the national campaign, around abortion services. It is essential to note that the campaign does not contest the right to protest, however, it addresses the forum in which these protests are created.

Protests have been recorded to the UK within the last two years, with pro-life campaigners reporting at patients as they enter medical facilities. The Chalmers Centre in Edinburgh has described the groups’ presence outside their facil-

ities: “They were chanting, praying loudly, showing photos of foetuses, women and couples entering the clinic.”

A religious link exists with a number of pro-life groups, for example, “40 Days of Life”, an anti-choice group that originated in Texas also has had a small presence in Scotland since 2014. They organise two 40-day periods of protest, other later in the year. These events

constitute standing outside clinics such as Chalmers in Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow, with with a continued presence from 7am-7pm over the full 40 days. The QEUH had the largest anti-choice protest in UK history in autumn 2018 with 200 people holding a vigil surrounding the entrance.

A link to the online petition can Facebook page.

24 February 2021

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News

Training introduced in UofG Medical SAAS repayment threshold to increase School to tackle discrimination The Active Bystander Training is a new part of the in April curriculum developed by staff with student input Silas Pease DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

The Scottish government is set to increase the earnings threshold for people paying back their student loans this year. Introduced as part of a new repayment plan for people in Scotland who have taken out student loans known as “Plan 4”, this change will be implemented on 6 April 2021.

The approximate monthly salary threshold has been increased from around £1,615 to £2,083 before taxes, with the same deduction rate of around 9%. This their student debt would need to be earning an annual salary of at least £25,000, as opposed to the current threshold of around £19,390. As a result of this change, people whose income falls under

this new threshold can potentially retain up to £42 more of their salary per month.

This news comes after the Scottish government ran an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) which determined last month that increasing the threshold to this level would have a positive impact

paying back their student loans.

Though this change was initially announced back in June 2018, it was not set to be implemented until this year.

This change will also apply to both students who have not loans as well as those who are currently paying their own debts ing their debts who is earning less than £25,000, this deduction will cease until their salary matches this new threshold.

International students in Scotland report positive experience despite Covid-19

Credit: Unsplash Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

A Scotland.org survey found that, in general, students studying abroad in Scotland during Covid-19 have found it to be a positive international students from over 150 countries come to Scotland annually, and whilst it has historically been a popular place to study, there were concerns that Covid-19 this.

viewed in detail was a Canadian who is currently studying at the University of Glasgow. She told Scotland.org that she has enjoyed the friendliness of Scottish people during her time here and that the University has been “impressive” in its communication to students

during the pandemic: “The sense of community I’ve found with my neighbours lately has also been really lovely. I also think the University has done a really good job staying connected and present.”

Mentioning free online and social events, as well as drop-in support sessions, she didn’t feel isolated and commented: “I am very happy to be living here.”

A selection of other students studying at universities including Dundee, St Andrews, Abertay and Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh were also interviewed.

They agreed that university communication had been extremely of the most unsettling times of the past year. Alongside the culture, food and people, Scotland’s scenery was also cited as being an attractive factor, especially given the increasing travel restrictions.

Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Medical students are to receive practical Active Bystander Training in March as a new part of their curriculum focuses on tackling racism and discrimination.

University of Glasgow medical students have had compulsory Active Bystander Training added to their curriculum as of this groups will undertake a self-directed module, with fourth-year students in hospital placement also completing a practical component. Dr Elaine Taylor and Professor Lindsey Pope are responsible for the running of the programme at Glasgow.

The self-directed module, designed by experts at the University of Coventry with shared access by all higher education students in the UK, aims to educate students on when and how to intervene when unacceptable behaviour occurs. The related University of Glasgow document also states that the module will help students to “consider why some people do not intervene”, as well as “discussing the limitations of bystanders”, and referring students to the Universiicy.

The practical session is aimed at fourth-year students, with the recognition that “hate incidents and harassment” occur in “a variety of clinical and campus contexts”: it is at this stage that students spend the majority of their time in hospital placement, and so may experience additional issues when encountering patients from the community.

The Active Bystander Training was created by the medical school in conjunction with feedback from students that had commenced a year ago, following the introduction of the British Medical AssoCredit: iStock

ter.

The Glasgow Guardian spoke to Lewis O’Connor, currently studying a Life Sciences intercalated degree, who stated that when students had initially gone to discuss the introduction of some kind of bystander training with the Medical School, they were informed that this training that Professor Pope was especially receptive to discussing changes to the Vocational Studies and Communication Skills sections of the curriculum and that the aim was pects that students would likely later come across in clinical practice.

“The medical school has set a precedent for the rest of the University...”

Lewis described how they were keen to “normalise non-stereotypes” by focusing on cultural aspects, and in doing so, “draw attention to unconscious biasseveral other medical students, was in conversation with Dr Taylor and Professor Pope about the interweaving of a “multifaceted approach” to the current medical school curriculum. Dr Taylor has been instrumental in the organisation of the practical Active Bystander Training component for senior students due to take place in early March. Professor Pope has been commended about her enthusiasm at increasing the diversity content of Vocational Studies sessions, which are typically three hours long and aim to cover

pects of medicine, including ethical dilemmas and legal concepts.

Moving forward, there is hope that these sessions will better cover the vast array of nuances that are bound to appear in clinical practice, including both “language and cultural barriers”.

Speaking about the prevalence of racial incidents that happen both on campus and in hospital placements, Lewis emphasised the importance of helping people cance of these events. Outlining how to go about reporting these incidences will ensure that when students do experience discrimination, their White colleagues will be better placed to help support them, instead of ignoring an issue that they themselves do not fully understand. ed last year, has been involved in feeding back and providing direction for the medical school’s curriculum changes.

Letters composed over the latter part of 2020 by a large working group, constituting healthcare students from medical, dental and nursing backgrounds, were sent to the respective University schools, drawing attention to the various ways in which discrimination had been the medical faculty.

The medical school has set a precedent for the rest of the University, and the students interviewed by The Glasgow Guardian agreed that to see other colleges following suit would be another positive step towards progress. work done by segments of the student body to tackle discrimina-

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

News

University strikes deal ‘Glasgow Goes Dating’ match-makes with US pharma company dates and donors in support of for drug research Anthony Nolan Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

The University of Glasgow has struck a new four-year research deal with US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. The deal is worth £4.6m and will involve collaboration in researching the new generation of drug targets for immunological diseases.

The research will be led by the University’s Institute of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation who will prioritise four diseases for this research: psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibrosis, and vasculitis. The deal will allow scientists to drive forward research and create new treatments for these diseases.

In a press release, the University stated that one of the diseases being researched, rheumatoid arthritis, affects up to 1% of the

world’s population. Diagnosis within 10 years will force those affected out of work, with massive ramifications on the economy and the NHS, at £8bn and £700m a year respectively.

Principal Anton Muscatelli is positive about the new deal stating: “The Glasgow-Lilly collaboration is well-positioned to be an inspiring example of this vision and of the exciting possibilities of industry and academia working together. I look forward to seeing this important partnership progress, advancing the next generation of ‘first-in-class’ therapeutic agents and their alignment with precision medicine approaches.”

The Glasgow based team will be led by Professor Carl Goodyear and includes Professor Stefan Siebert, Dr Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska, Dr Neal Millar, Dr Neil Basu and Dr Thomas Otto.

Alcohol sales in Britain fell during the initial lockdown period, Glasgow study finds

Glasgow Marrow’s speed-dating event moving online has not made it any less successful fective.”

Glasgow Marrow, recent winners of the “Register Champion of the Year Award” at the Anthony Nolan Supporters Awards, are the student-ran branch of the Anthony Nolan charity, which recruits donors onto the stem cell register to ing with cancer.

Speaking about the success of the event was Callum Johnston, Marrow’s Fundraising Coordinator: “The event has raised close to £200 which is amazing due to the current circumstances not allowing us to fundraise as we have in the past. All this money will go

Credit: Glasgow Marrow Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Glasgow Marrow’s “Glasgow Goes Dating” event launched as a virtual two-part special. Sunday 14 February saw a speed-dating event like never before, with students spending approximately two hours on Zoom, jumping between breakout rooms and meeting new faces for days later, a “professional matchmaking service” set up couples on a virtual date, with less time constraints and the ability to talk for as long as you wanted, whether that be 10 minutes or an hour.

The Glasgow Guardian conducted a survey collecting event feedback following “Glasgow Goes Dating”. Just under two-thirds of participants were extremely

Credit: Travel Insider Magazine Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

A joint study by the University of Glasgow and Public Health Scotland found that alcohol sales of pure alcohol per adult fell by 6% during the period between mid-March and mid-July 2020.

Although there was a rise in the amount of alcohol being bought in Scotland and 29% in England, this was not enough to counteract the impact of closing bars and restaurants.

The public health minister for Scotland, Mairi Gougeon, told the Times that the report shows a

“welcome reduction” in the consumption of alcohol in Scotland, however pointed out that “lower levels of consumption overall can sometimes mask the alcohol intake of individuals”. In line with Ms Gougeon’s statement, the research did show that there was an increase of 35% in people who said they would drink on their own in Scotland.

Daniel Mackay, professor of Public Health Informatics at the University of Glasgow, said researchers had taken into account “underlying trends, seasonal patterns and factors such as household income and other drink types” when undertaking their study.

majority rating the matchmaking highly. One dater commented: “I met someone on my matched date in the same society as me, and we found that we had a lot in common, as well as having a laugh. It was amazing how well they matched us for a date.” 100% of respondents said they met someone at the event that they would be keen to see for a further date, and all participants agreed that they would be keen to take part in something like this again: “I think it was a really good idea and I’m glad Marrow put this together. I appreciate it’s tough moving things online and overall, I think it was really fun, and I’m glad I went!”

Zoom dating has been promoted reluctantly to the fore given the ongoing lockdown restrictions making meeting new people extremely

how authentic the Zoom dates felt, and were met with a range of generally positive responses, including tipsy”, “good under the circumstances, although body language was missing” and “not as awkward as I thought it would be”.

Clare, about her experience. She said that both her and a friend had signed up after hearing about it through seeing Marrow’s posters on campus. They attended both the speed-dating and the matchmaking event, the entry fee set at £3 each or £5 for both. Clare described meeting about twelve different people on the speed-dating same Zoom group meeting where we were given a short talk about up into breakout rooms, with just one other person, and the date betold that we had a minute left, and then we were moved back into the waiting room for a short time, before the next date. Afterwards, we could leave the names of people we would want to see again, and if they had left ours and consented to sharing details, we’d each be given the other’s number.”

The matchmaking event involved registration which was to contribute to your pairing with your date. Clare said that her date was interested in similar sports and so that provided good ground for which their conversation could progress. You had with the ability to leave the Zoom whenever you wanted. She felt that Zoom dating had worked well: “I felt relaxed during it. I honestly think it -

matches for those in need of lifesaving stem cell transplants. So not mantic matches but also potential lifesaving matches! I would also encourage everybody, who hasn’t already, to consider signing up to the stem cell register. ning this event and it was in the GUU Debates Chamber with a bar and live band, so this year’s event with everyone sitting in their bedrooms on Zoom.

“100% of respondents said they met someone at the event that they would be keen to see for a further date...” the atmosphere with everyone being in breakout rooms with their date, we have had some really positive feedback from people who enjoyed themselves. Also, the average date time this year was much longer than last so we must have improved on our matchmaking skills!

“Like all University charities we have had to adapt our fundraising tough; we have previously relied on events like “Glasgow Goes Dating” and our sports teams’ naked calendar for the bulk of our fundraising.

However, this new format of “Glasgow Goes Dating” and the student cookbook that we compiled with ties last semester have both proved to be very successful in terms of fundraising.

“Hopefully we will be able to fundraise again on campus soon and we can’t wait to see everyone again!”

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UofG students publish the UK’s first student interdisciplinary journal Contributors come from Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, and Glasgow The editors also note that students are being encouraged to specialise too early in their academic careers and the new generation of academics are left without the necessary skills to “tackle many of the most prominent problems” ranging from “global warming, political unrest and the health crisis”. They ask: “How can we truly understand the world we live in without grappling with our own cognitive biases?”

“Interdisciplinary thinking will allow students to ‘connect the dots between different problems and great ideas’...”

Credit: The 1451 Review Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

A student-led team at the University of Glasgow has published the UK’s first student interdisciplinary journal, titled The 1451 Review.

The first volume of the review contains contributors from the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science,

and Glasgow with subjects ranging from life science, computer science, social science, psychology, engineering, economics, and law.

Editors Cameron Bell and Alejandro Serrano Saunders state that interdisciplinary thinking will allow students to “connect the dots between different fields, important problems and great ideas” and believe it is important for world-changing ideas to develop.

In addition to this, they feel that interdisciplinary thinking is needed to “uncover solutions” to these problems and all articles in the journal, from scientific hypothesis testing to data-driven prediction making, are “all unified in their approach” to use insights from other academic fields “which provide opportunity to innovate and do things better.”

The first issue is now available online.

UofG study reveals belief in conspiracy theories could peak at age 14 This study has shed new light on the belief in conspiracies in young persons for the first time Jasmine Urquhart INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR

New research involving the University of Glasgow has found that adolescent belief in conspiracy theories is heightened at the age of 14. The study, which involved UofG’s Dr Yvonne Skipper, was published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology on 8 February.

The researchers developed a questionnaire that asked participants to respond to statements such as “some political groups have secret plans which are not good for society” and “secret societies control politicians and other leaders”.

Dr Daniel Jolley of Northumbria University was the head of the project. He said: “Our project has put the spotlight on young people’s conspiracy beliefs for the

“The study suggested possible reasons for increased belief in conspiracy theories amongst adolescents could include social media use and psychological stressors...”

“We uncovered initial evidence that paranoia and mistrust are associated with conspiracy beliefs in young populations. We also found that, by the age of 14, conspiracy beliefs appeared to re-

main constant.”

According to YouGov research in 2019, around 60% of British adults believe in at least one conspiracy theory; however, there has been limited research into adolescent belief in conspiracy theories until now.

The study suggested possible reasons for increased belief in conspiracy theories amongst adolescents could include social media use and psychological stressors.

On this, Jolley stated: “Exploring the psychological antecedents and consequences of conspiracy thinking in younger populations is important and timely.”

Vanessa Cuthill, director of research at the British Academy, said: “High-quality, independent research in the humanities and social sciences points us towards new ways to think about our most pressing concerns”.

UofG leads new developments into quantum holography Silas Pease DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

A team of UofG physicists have become the first in their field to discover a new means of quantum holography. In a paper released earlier this month, the team outlined this new method, arguing it removes the limitations faced by more classical methods of holography.

According to the team, classical holography faces several limitations in that it has the potential to be disrupted by a host of external sources, including interfering sources of light. This new method would remove this interference and offer greater resolution of images through the use of entangled photons.

The impact of this new method of quantum holography can potentially have far-reaching effects in a variety of scientific fields. Holography already plays an invaluable role in areas like optical security, data storage, and medical imagery, and this new development could help refine the definition of images, which will be vital in order to

keep up with new technological advancements in these fields.

Stating in a University press release earlier this month, the team leader and co-author of the paper Professor Daniele Faccio discussed the importance of this recent breakthrough, stating: “The CCD sensors that we’re using give us an unprecedented amount of resolution to play with - up to 10,000 pixels per image of each entangled photon. That means we can measure the quality of their entanglement and the quantity of the photons in the beams with remarkable accuracy.

“The quantum computers and quantum communications networks of the future will require at least that level of detail about the entangled particles they will use. It puts us one step closer to enabling real step-change in those fast-developing fields. It’s a really exciting breakthrough and we’re keen to build on this success with further refinements.”

The team’s paper, titled “Polarization entanglement-enabled quantum holography” was published in Nature Physics on 4 February 2021.

University announces oncology collaboration with Congenica Zuzanna Filipiuk FEATURES COLUMNIST

Gabriel, a spin-out company of the University of Glasgow, has announced an oncology collaboration with Congenica, a leading expert in the rapid analysis and interpretation of genomic data.

Congenica and Gabriel will work together to create a highly automated software platform for the clinical interpretation of somatic cancer.

It will support the use of multiple genomic tests in routine clinical practice to enable cancer molecular diagnostics based on NGS, a DNA sequencing technology that is capable of processing multiple DNA sequences in parallel.

Gabriel, short for Gabriel Precision Oncology Limited, is a spin-out company from the University of Glasgow. It was founded in 2020 by Professor Andrew Biankin, Dr Susanna Cooke, and Dr Phillip Beer. Its mission is to make precision oncology accessible for all cancer patients. It means that cancer patients will be able to uncancer therapies that are tailored Congenica is a digital health company that specialises in the software. Over the years, it has revolutionised the way diseases are characterised and analysed. It

enabled the analysis and interpretation of genomic data 20 times faster than the industry average, while at the same time providing 30% higher analytical yield and reducing the costs of genomic interpretation by up to 95%.

Congenica and Gabriel aim to create a single platform to analyse ent country gene panels. The two companies hope that by incorporating the platform into clinical testing, NGS will be more widely integrated into routine molecular pathology testing, therefore innostic process.

Professor Andrew Biankin, the Regius Chair of Surgery at the University of Glasgow and the co-founder of Gabriel, stated: “Still too few people have access to advanced molecular cancer diagnostics and as a consequence miss out on potential treatments and clinical trials. A distributed model where laboratories and health systems around the world can do their own tests for their own patients using a standardised and comparable analytical platform will enable more patients to access precision medicine. Congenica’s technology is market-leading in terms of the rapid interpretation of genomic data and working together we believe that our platform will enable many more cancer patients to access new treatments.”

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Finding self-acceptance as a double minority For LGBTQ+ history month, Alexander Benjamin discusses the particular prejudices he has experienced as a Black man in the gay community I’m well-endowed, my favourtions you’d expect to be reserved for a pornstar casting. I came around to realise that they are fact-checking to see if I match up with the huge, muscled, well-endowed, hyper-masculine giant they’ve been led to believe all Black men to be as a result of stereotypes fed from society, be they from porn, television, or general media. Upon realising that I don’t match up to the stereotypes that they’ve created in their heads, the interrogation and replies end. For some time, I had ingrained these heightened, unrealistic expectations in my mind. Never being the hyper-masculine guy that is so craved for in the gay community, I felt inadequate. However, as I’ve met more and more people in the community, I’m aware that not everyone has such expectations and I’ve become more comfortable with who I am and what I’ve got!

Alexander Benjamin WRITER

While I’m now an out and proud member of the LBGTQ+ community, this hasn’t always been the case. Torn apart by my family’s expectations regarding sexuality, masculinity, and religion on one side, and on the other constantly battling negative, hurtful, and harmful stereotypes and comments jetted out by my own community has made it an even slower process. Being a double minority, rejected from both sides, has forced me to question my personal identity - a confusing and destabilising experience for a young person to go through.

Going to sixth form and then later university has allowed me to meet new people from incredibly dimindsets and opinions who made me feel comfortable in my own skin. Despite this, negative attitudes, perceptions and outright hostile behaviour such as racism, fetishisation and stereotyping persist, particularly within the gay community.

“Never being the hypermasculine guy that is so craved for in the gay community, I felt inadequate...”

“I now steer clear from people who describe me using words such as ‘chocolate’ or ‘delicious’...”

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator First entering the gay scene, I decided to take the brave plunge into the world of Grindr. For those of you who are unfamiliar a gay dating app usually targeted at those looking for hookups.

Displaying a picture on your main completely anonymous. As a result, this has the unintended consequence of giving some people too much power to show their true heart and voice their honest opinions, which are unfortunately often racist. Some people blatantly display these views in their bios, stating “no Blacks or Asians” and even having the cheek to add “just a preference sorry x”. Warding an entire racial group away from you is not a preference. Preferences in their own right are not the problem, almost

everyone has a type, but that doesn’t mean you can exclude an entire race. In doing so you’re essentially saying that there is no way you could ever be attracted to [insert ethnic minority here] people solely because of the colour of their skin. Even more worryingly, it took the death of George Floyd and a whole social movement for they had on the app. Although I’m and consider the racist bios as red

“Being a double minority, rejected from both sides, has forced me to question my personal identity...”

it’s hard to forget the insecurities app. I can’t believe I used to preface a lot of my conversations by asking people whether they were into Black guys or not! I no longer seek the approval of others to feel validated, I’m Black and beautiful and no one can tell me otherwise.

people who are the polar opposite, they crave Black men as if we were a rare species. Some will talk about their fantasies to “try some Black chocolate”. Some may see nothing wrong with this, which is exactly the problem. Imagine if

someone only liked you because you have blonde hair or because you have green eyes and for those me, but now I can’t think of anme as if I were some sort of new toy they get to experiment with. I now steer clear from people who describe me using words such as “chocolate” or “delicious”, or who instantly and only compliment me on my skin colour.

Over time I plucked up enough courage to add a picture to my profile. Pleasantly surprised by the seemingly complimentary messages I received, I found myself becoming too attached to the opinions of others, an unhealthy and dangerous rope to walk. These messages were very often followed up with asking if

I’m aware that such negative attitudes persist for other ethnic minorities with similar negative impacts on their mental health.

With age, I’ve become wiser, and I don’t let such views and opinions shake me the way they used to. There are others, like myself, who may be struggling to find their way in a community which already struggles with mental health problems, and has higher suicide rates than the general population. There’s still plenty of work to be done within the gay community in order to make it a more inclusive environment. Yet, while being a double minority hasn’t always been easy, minds are changing. I also know I’m on others can find their way to that path too. Hearing the experiences of other Black gay men has given me the strength and wisdom to reach where I am now, I hope sharing mine will be able to help others.

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WRITER

Like many others I’m currently studying at home, missing my adultness of it all seems like a diswhat the reading room looks like, and I can’t fully remember how mean sharing a house with four Other than the occasional faulty by my brother’s Xbox, the house’s

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would be a nuisance when stream-

“The resources I was promised on my open day are now out of reach, yet I’m still paying the same amount...”

is dramatically hindering your rassed when it comes to talking seminar contribution marks loom-

Many students this semester are working from home after being discouraged from returning are left without the resources and

Literature student, the resources

enough to worry about, access to

tunity for tutors to judge students’ abilities essentially on the quality many students being scolded for tutor threatening their seminar contribution grade if they couldn’t

“One facet of deprivation many are facing during Covid-19 is digital exclusion...”

It’s been debated for many years whether or not access to the interswiftly changed from a luxury to

rington,

unfortunately,

doesn’t

WiFi isn’t strong enough for us to access our online education, then grand a year for the luxury of sit-

normal online degree, I strongly

sions is something that should something that is only just beginning to be “talked” about a year

Steamy, sinful or stereotyping?

Gay sex deserves to be treated as frankly as straight in modern media steamy oral sex to Versailles’ endIt’s A Sin, which follows the life of gay men

Etumu Schoster WRITER

taking us on socially distanced When casual dating is limited to a socially-distanced walk in Kelshows like Bridgerton can act as

often described as “hot” and

“More often than not, gay sex is only shown in indie

sented us with more queer characters and storylines in recent years,

Blue is the Warmest Colour is based, famously said that “as a lesbian there was something missing from the set:

dent, I’m often told that the charac-

in shows like Sex and the City and Girls one-dimensional character, whose sassy sense of fashion allows him marily follows his straight, female

about “what stories we tell”, but also “how we’re telling them” and “if we’re telling them, why we’re

sexuality at Birmingham City UniIt’s a Sin congay sexuality is dirty, threatening More often than not, gay sex is

in mainstream media...”

share is one of the ways in which

The Sun Bridgerton’s

Lesbian sex scenes, on the other hand, often cater towards the male -

edit and censor the romantic and Instead, queer stories need to be doesn’t shy away in fear of alienatCredit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager

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Unlearning... ‘I’m not like other girls’ In the first in our new series, Rachel Campbell explores the idea that young girls have to choose between smart and pretty when cultivating an identity for themselves an appearance which I thought looked nice (no matter how questionable the purple lipstick and eyeliner was when looking back now). But similarly, I also did care about recognising my own academic achievements and adding to interesting conversation. I was at war with myself, wanting to feel good about more than just how I did on a test, whilst also feeling that being pretty was out of my reach, and not something I should aim for anyway.

Rachel Campbell VIEWS COLUMNIST

I have, for as long as I can remember, felt that my intelligence defined me. In primary school, when we all had to write a positive trait about our classmates and place them in their named envelopes, mine almost exclusively said “smart” or “intelligent”. I was proud. I wasn’t the pretty one or the funny one. I didn’t need to be. I never missed a word on a spelling test, full marks in maths, and my school reports declared: “a pleasure to teach”. When I recently met up with a friend who had a similar experience as a child, we got to talking about how as women, we have often felt corralled into these boxes of “The Smart One,” “The Pretty One,” and so on, as if these traits are mutually exclusive. With the media perpetuating these tropes, girls are often brought up to think they must diminish their intelligence to be seen as attractive, or not care about their appearance in order to be taken seriously. As we spoke more about our shared experience, I realised how much I’d unwittingly played into this harmful attitude towards women, and that I had to actively unlearn the idea that as women we can only be one thing.

“If we bring girls up to think they’re one attribute, the pressure to do that one thing perfectly becomes debilitating...”

“The ‘not like other girls’ chestnut only pits young women against each other...”

Putting girls into these categories can be harmful in more ways than one. For anyone, tying your self-worth to any one trait is certain to lead to distress. When “The Smart Girl” gets an answer wrong, she’ll see only that one deviation from academic perfection, the B in a sea of As is all she’ll focus on. If we bring girls up to think they’re defined by one attribute, the pressure to do that one thing perfectly becomes debilitating. Suddenly you’re in your first year of university, leaving a history seminar crying because you’ve gone from being “The Smart One” to wondering how everyone in your class seems to know everything that has ever happened while you’re still struggling to find your way around campus. This isn’t to say that no men have felt the pressure of being a childhood overachiever, but I do think there’s

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Photography and Illustrations Manager more of a tendency to put women in boxes and expect them to stay there.

Everyone battles with who they are in high school, and I didn’t like that I was becoming more concerned with how I looked. After all, I wasn’t like other girls. I cared about what I was going to achieve, not about getting my nails done. I was a Velma, not a Daphne. This internalised misogyny was pervasive. After all, we’ve all seen the “taking off her glasses and revealing she was beautiful all along” trope, particularly in films aimed at young women, like The Princess Diaries. This

trope isn’t about the glasses, but about what the glasses represent: making a woman look less intellectual will automatically make her look more attractive, and clearly that’s not the kind of idea we should be feeding young women’s subconscious minds.

You’d hope that we’d be beyond this kind of thinking by now, but I’m not sure it’s been completely wiped out of the media yet; the residual damage that these kinds of tropes do to how women view themselves is long-lasting, hence the need to unlearn.

The reverse is equally harmful. Making girls believe they can either be smart or pretty, but

not both, leads to a lot of young women silencing their ideas and downplaying their abilities for fear of not being seen as attractive. Unaware of the societal pressure which had led me to subconsciously believe these traits couldn’t coexist, I found myself swinging between making no effort with my appearance so as to not let it define me, and downplaying my smarts in what could only be likened to a Mean Girls Cady and Aaron Samuels debacle in my Physics class.

The difficulty was, I did care about how I looked. As we all do, I felt more confident about myself when I was cultivating

A vicious cycle is born as girls believe they must differentiate themselves from “The Pretty Ones” in order to be taken seriously, or vice versa, and so perpetuate the system of misogyny which confines them. The “not like other girls” chestnut only pits young women against each other, creating jealousy and stricter lines. I didn’t dislike the girls I saw as pretty, but I didn’t feel as though we could ever have much in common. In a world where we have constant subliminal messaging saying we are either the head cheerleader or a bookish outsider, assumptions are inevitably made about the other side, which only deepens the damaging idea that there’s no room for duality here.

Addressing the fact that we’ve grown up with influences which encourage us to think in this way will help us to combat it. Ripping off this monster’s mask allows us to realise we can be both Velma and Daphne. We must recognise all of our strengths rather than hiding some away to fit in a certain box. We cannot allow another generation of girls to believe they have to conform to a certain stereotype or to feel limited in their goals due to this. It starts with us recognising that we are multifaceted and can take time to look and therefore feel good, without compromising any of our other skills and qualities. We must force the world to expect women who are strong, beautiful, intelligent and funny, rather than letting the world tell us which one single thing we can be.

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Is there power in Tales from Zoomiversity arm-chair activism?

Reilly Dufresne WRITER

I rather like university classes ontionately termed. Sure, these new learning methods have come with an overwhelming sense of isolation, frustration, and a crushing sense of hopelessness, I’ll admit that much.

For example, in one of my classes, no one turns their camera on. Not one person. I have no idea what my classmates look like. I’m not quite sure what they sound like either, as no one seems interested in speaking. So, after a semester of staring at a computer screen full of silent, rectangular boxes, I grew accustomed to the feeling of anonymity that seemed symptomatic of online learning. In fact, I suspect it was this very feeling that was the cause of my trouble last Wednesday.

“There have been ups and downs, and on more than one occasion the ride has been out of service – bad Wi-Fi or a low computer battery is a real pain...”

On the day in question, I logged into Zoom at exactly 12 o’clock. I checked my rectangular grid of classmates, whoever they were, and waited. I waited seven long and silent minutes. Nothing. Not a peep from the teacher either. At 12 minutes past noon, I began to suspect that perhaps something was wrong. Until then, I’d assumed that our teacher had gotten fed up with his class of anonymous Zoom attendees. I was utterly convinced that I was in the midst of a heated silence contest. Who would break As it turns out, I’d left my computer on mute. It was as simple as that.

When I realised this, my sense of isolation quickly turned into feelings of frustration and hopelessness. Frustration: how could I have forgotten to turn the volume about the Spanish housing market crisis is not something you want to miss.

Nevertheless, despite the triwith online learning, the virtual academic world can be fun! After all, Zoomiversity is renowned world-wide for facilitating a countless number of awkwardly entertaining situations. Well aware of

this fact, I started my virtual academic year determined not to add to these cringeworthy, memorable moments. I decided that on top of everything I needed to know for English Literature and Spanish

Is it fair to suggest that all online activism is performative?

Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

economic markets in Spain, the foreign tourist industry, and the impact of telenovelas), I was going to learn how to use this new online platform properly. I was then going to be the most proactive student in class. After that, I planned to secure a high-paying job as a journalist and retire by the age of 30.

Alas, there were a couple of hiccups along the way.

Firstly, I never got the hang of Zoom shortcut keys. If the teacher said “put a thumbs up for whoever’s done the reading,” I would swiftly type ALT+Y into my computer. “It appears we have a question,” the teacher would then comment, noticing that I had raised my virtual when it comes to opinions regardtourist economy. Nevertheless, as my thumbs up would have indicated, I had done the week’s reading. There was plenty I could say. I nodded at the teacher (in this class, we kept our cameras on). Then, as I often do when I’m speaking a foreign language, I raised my eyes to the ceiling to ask for celestial mercy. Please, could I divine some jaw-dropping commentary. Alas, the comment was likely more true than interesting. “I think a lot of people like to travel,” I proclaimed. turned my eyes to the laptop in front of me. On the screen where my teacher should have been, was an empty chair. Sixteen of my classmates, all on mute, silently burst out laughing. Apparently, the postman had come to the door and the teacher hadn’t heard a thing I said. I was glad.

“In one of my classes, no one turns their camera on. Not one person.

I have no idea what my classmates look like...”

Overall, Zoomiversity has been a rollercoaster ride. There have been ups and downs, and on more than one occasion the ride has been out of service – bad Wi-Fi or a low computer battery is a real pain. Nevertheless, love it or loathe it, I’m glad of the experiences it’s brought.

as “the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions characterised as involvment” with “the main purpose of boosting the egos of participants in the movement”. Wikipedia details that the actions involved to make the person doing it feel ed”, however, goes on to say that the assumptions that underlie the term have been found by “empirical investigation” to be untrue.

So, what is it: does online activism simply function as a cheap box-ticking exercise that falsely exaggerates a person’s commitment to a cause, or is there value in this new as “arm-chair activism”, does the lack of personal risk involved in online campaigning devalue its effrom retweeting, Instagram story sharing or petition signing, or is tivism is undeniably less radical than in-person protesting, howevbe overlooked just because of their subtlety.

It’s true that slacktivism is far more performative that other onthe-ground types of campaigning, for the very reason that almost everything we do on social media is performative. The purpose of

cluded, started posting everything we saw about racial inequality, without, on the whole, doing the research necessary to fully understand the essence of the ongoing injustice. Is this necessarily a bad

“Black squares and infographic posts won’t change the world at a national policy level, but perhaps the normal people at ground level isn’t necessarily invalid...”

I think that social media at that more people shared things to their stories, more people spoke out, and I saw people posting whose Instagram accounts I had assumed were long dead, and conversations were being had within friend circles I had never considered would dedicate hours to serious discussion. Was a ably; social media likely led a lot of us to convince ourselves that we were more educated on the subject -

many people that hastily shared infographics to then return to whatever they were doing half an hour before, with any remnant of social justice fermenting within them, one or two more people would be educated further. Black squares and infographic posts won’t change the world at a national policy level, but people at ground level isn’t necessarchange individual attitudes, but education might. Both are needed, obviously, but perhaps we shouldn’t discount online culture quite so readily.

Is there any coincidence that the most “woke” generation yet is also much as it can be hard to distinguish between a true activist and a “slacktivist”, the subtly changing attitudes in younger generations, with school students being increasingly more clued up on social justice issues, are evidence to the fact that slacktivism does work - however slowly. It doesn’t create the mass change that frontline activism does, but maybe seeing our close friends sharing links to petitions and campaign pages is more resonant than “Slacktivism” shouldn’t be where our work ends, but its qualities of being both easily accessible by many, as well as incredibly far-reaching, shouldn’t be undermined. Social media has the potential to become a more useful tool than we realise.

is to curate and market a version of yourself to all your followers or friends, to share selected parts of your life with them virtually when you can’t in person. The control we have over what parts of ourselves are visible or kept hidden means that everything we do choose to show has a certain level of thought behind it. There is an awareness that some, if not all, of your followers will see what you promote on your social media and make a judgement on that, however small.

So, when we choose to retweet, or share things to our stories, or make posts on Instagram, we do this with the realisation that an audience is present, perpetually spectating.

It follows that, with an ever-present congregation, there is a certain level of peer pressure that permeates into our online mindset and share or post about. This was seen with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd, in Summer 2020: everyone, myself in-

Credit: Hailie Pentleton - Views Editor

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Couples that lockdown together, stay together Is locking down whilst you’re all loved-up everything it’s cracked up to be?

Emily Hay VIEWS EDITOR

With I, like many other students, spent the first lockdown last March back at my parents’ house. Ironically, during that time I lived closer to my longterm boyfriend than I had in the four years I’d been at UofG, but there was one small caveat: I wasn’t allowed to see him for more than a two-metre-distanced stroll in the park. We’d talked about moving in together before the pandemic, but the immediate pain of being so close but not legally able to even hold hands, let alone hug, kiss or do anything else (wink wink), only enforced how necessary it felt for us. Having now spent one lockdown apart, and another a little too together, I know that we made the right choice, but it definitely isn’t as rosy as I thought it would be when I was having existential crises and crying at Bridget Jones on loop in my childhood bedroom back in April.

It’s no secret that on and off lockdowns have been hard on couples who live together. Apparently, one law firm logged a 122% increase in divorce enquiries between July and October last year compared with the same period in 2019. Honestly, I can see why. In the grand scheme of things, I do love my boyfriend a lot, and living with him hasn’t changed that. But it’s a well-known fact that moving in together for the first time is hard enough as it is, and when you add to that a legal order to stay inside together at all times and mix with no one else ever, things are bound to get a little fraught.

“In the grand scheme of things, I do love my boyfriend a lot, and living with him hasn’t changed that...”

When we were f lat-hunting in August it felt really important to be somewhere in the West End so that I could be close to campus (that aged like milk in the tropics, didn’t it?). Of course, West End prices don’t come cheap, and since this was my first “adult” home with my partner I really wanted it to be slightly less scummy and questionably decorated than my student f lats had been. Luckily, when you’re a couple living to-

gether you can get a one-bed f lat and split the cost, so you can afford places that are a little nicer.

“The day I realised that I would never in my life get a full bed to myself ever again I actually, ironically, had to go and have a lie down to recover from the shock...”

I mean, you hardly need an extra room when no one can stay over, right? Wrong. When one of you is a research student who physically can’t get up in time to secure a library seat with a plug socket, and the other has a legitimate full-time job but is stuck working from home because of Miss Rona, a spare bedroom starts to look really enticing.

Just get a bigger dining table we can both work from, we said. We don’t want desks cluttering up the limited free space we have, we said. Now I’m two months into a wait for a folding table to please God, please arrive before I need to do yet another Zoom meeting sprawled on the bed with my Dumbo and Stitch cuddly toys in full view of my supervisor, all because my partner has a work call at exactly the same time I have a uni one. And because he’s the “adult” with a salary-paying job and a proper desktop monitor, I’m the one who gets shunned to the bedroom. The joke’s on him though, because the bedroom gets way better sunlight and the bed is at least comfier than our dining chairs. Hah. On a similar note, why for the love of all that is holy can our internet connection not deal with us both being on video calls at the same time? It is the year of our Lord 2021, nearly a year since Covid moved everything online, and I’m still sat there buffering because my partner has decided to jump on a last-minute call in the middle of my twice-a-month contact hour with my supervisor. Notice how he never has to deal with his connection dropping out, it’s only ever mine. Now, I’m not saying that he’s somehow privately sleeping with someone from Now Broadband to steal all of the connection we pay for, but I’m also not not saying it…

And I can hear you all shout-

ing “but living with your partner is great because you constantly have someone to cuddle in bed!” – in a word, no. The day I realised that I would never in my life get a full bed to myself ever again I actually, ironically, had to go and have a lie down to recover from the shock. Never again do I get to spread myself edge-to-edge, or roll around to my heart’s content every night.

I believe I’ll be with my partner for the rest of my life, and I don’t foresee any obvious circumstances when we won’t be living together now that we’ve taken the first plunge, so my days of sleeping around (the bed) are behind me. Maybe I’ll catch a f leeting nap with my one true love every now and then, maybe a languorous long-weekend if my partner goes away with his friends whenever travel is allowed, but never again will I have the thrill of endless days

of unrestrained duvet dalliances ahead of me. I would pay good money for one dirty night alone in a hotel with another bed, one that’s all mine, but my partner wouldn’t take it well, and lockdown forbids it anyway. Alas my love, one day I’ll get you to myself again. One day.

“I think we’ve had enough “quality time” to last us the next 10 years postCovid...”

I love my partner, I wouldn’t still be with him if I didn’t, but there’s only so much you can do stuck inside with one other person, and I think we’ve had

Credit: Emma Garcia Melchor - Illustrator

enough “quality time” to last us the next 10 years post-Covid.

He’s funny, we get on, we like the same things yadayadayada. But there is nothing to talk about anymore. Everything either of us has experienced for months, the other has also experienced.

Plus, the disagreements over what to watch on Netf lix are getting real tense in month two of full lockdown, seeing no one else bar the postman. Actually, we’ve both found ourselves having increasingly long conversations when the postman chaps the door. How’s it going today Andy? Nippy outside is it? How are the kids?

To all the couples who are upset they don’t live together during these lockdown times: I feel for you, I really do, but you might have dodged a bullet. For the love of God, enjoy having that bed to yourself before it’s too late.

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Now That’s What I Call An Existential Crisis donned with ribbons, ran past me, excitedly chattering. Her mother chased after the blur of hyperactivity, shouting helplessly for the child’s attention. My jaw dropped. The mother was a classmate of mine from high school; I used to curiously stare at her growing baby bump in Business.

Back then, she was on her way to motherhood – conveniently slotting her labour between Higher exams. And here she was! That little bump from Business was a walking, talking child. I felt like I was in a Twilight Zone episode ... was she the rapidly ageing CGI child from Twilight? Or had it actually been that long?

From Facebook engagements and pregnancy announcements to friends with impressive plans of mortgages and houses – I couldn’t help but feel somewhat left behind. I was a student living at home, with no experience mates (that I wasn’t blood-bound to). I skipped breakfast (more often than I woke up in time for food to count as breakfast), I played The Sims, I loathed phoning the doctor, I dyed my hair whenever I felt gloomy, and I couldn’t handle alcohol – maintaining notorious lightweight status. Did I miss the memo on growing up? Childhood was short-lived. Teenage-hood was over before I knew it. And now, I feared, young adulthood

Jodie Leith MUSIC EDITOR

Opening Twitter and being confronted by the onslaught of chaotic discourse surrounding MGMT’s Kids’ addition to a “dad rock” compilation album was, to put it lightly, food for an existential crisis. The infectious yet pessimistic kaleidoscope-pop track which soundtracked the late 2000s for many indie fans - and FIFA players - had been deemed as a classic for dads. Dads? I was immediately transported back, á la food critic in Ratatouille style, to a time when I was a die-hard MGMT fan.

Beneath the dazzling light of Europe’s largest disco-ball (a fact I liked to point out every time I was in the O2 ABC – may she rest in peace), I stood; a bracdently shoulder-to-shoulder with promising young artists – all tripping on acid or some form of trendy hallucinogen. It was a collection of gurning jaws, dilated pupils and slurred chatter. In fact, the crowd, a swirling sea of loud late 00s hippies and hipsters were so drugged up and pretentious, my chaperoning dad – a former punk band member and The Clash gig-goer, who had lived to tell impressive tales of arrests, riots, and wild gigs – bailed and took to the bar for a pint, with a defeated sneer at the onslaught of West End Woodstock wannabes, and some mumbling of meeting I was entranced, and the gig was the world of indie music. Kids,

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator featured on the bands 2007 debut Oracular Spectacular, was 14 years old. Which wasn’t that long ago, right? Now That’s What I Call Dad Rock clearly didn’t agree.

It was then that I realised I was being confronted with more and more of these little revelations.

Stacking shelves in my parttime supermarket stint, I watched as a little girl, coated in pink and

Ironically, Kids, the track which spurred this crisis, elicits feelings of nostalgia itself, detailing the end of innocence and entering the cynicism of adulthood. Songwriter Andrew VanWyngarden told Time Out the song was conceived as the band “were just happy-go-lucky,

going crazy on campus. But at the same time, [they] were nostalgic for childhood and there was the threat of post-college life coming.”

That was just it. MGMT shared my post-college life fear. I had no clue what I wanted to be, only brief, etch-a-sketch ideas I would later dismiss – at this point I’d had more career notions than Barbie.

On top of that, I’d already “wasted” my third year of university in my bedroom, meekly attempting Zoom friendships. I badly wanted to prolong a (normal) university experience.

However, I wasn’t alone. It seems like everyone missed the comfortable days of childhood.

And, for us 20-year-olds, that means the 2000s. With the 00s aesthetic re-emergence in pop culture and the revival of “y2k” fashion, it feels like nostalgia for a simpler, pre-Covid life is everywhere.

Perhaps it’s time to embrace this next stage of life, with the knowledge that not everyone’s path to adulthood is synchronised. Sure, I’m not a child anymore - if anything, I’m closer to the parenthood stage. But I’m not exactly afraid of becoming the person who plays Lady Gaga in the car with their children, making comments like “No, you don’t understand - I loved her when I was your age! She was really popular!” while they roll their eyes.

I’ve somewhat learned to embrace the dad-hood status imposed by the Now’s That’s What I Call... franchise. I’m leaping into the next stage with the ignorant faith that it will all come together.

Right?

Just don’t expect me to handle such grace.

Educating without shaming Rachel Campbell VIEWS COLUMNIST

It’s easy to get caught up in the bubble of your university friends, most of whom will have similar political and social views to yourself. With all the tote bags and Chilly’s bottles, it would be hard to believe anyone in your close circle on campus would be a climate crisis denier. Debates about politics tend to include the underlying assumption that you’re all on the same side. When your Twitter and Instagram feeds are carefully cultivated to include people whose views align with yours, it’s easy to forget that not everyone is quite as “woke”. What happens when you do run into people who don’t agree with the views that you’ve come to see as indisputable?

Back when we could all still see each other in person, my friends and I were leaving an English Literature lecture on gender discourse, when a cisgender male member of our group said: “But does misogyny still really exist though? I feel like

we’re past it now, I never see people being misogynistic anymore.”

It was a questionable statement to make in any setting, but particularly amongst a group of young women who were studying gender in history and literature. We were all confused why he thought it was his place to determine whether women still face sexism or not, and I could feel that the confusion was soon to turn to anger. We’re all socially, culturally, politically aware students, so how could he say such a thing?

Whilst I still don’t think he should have posed the question that way or made such a bold statement without the evidence - or the lived experience - to back it up, I do think that shaming him for not seeing it from our perspective wouldn’t help anyone. By explaining that not every instance of misogyny will be picked up on by those who are not on the receiving end of it, and highlighting instances of sexism that he would not usually notice, he realised he had spoken out of ignorance and, from that point on, he became more aware of the everyday instances of

oppression that women face. In this case, he wasn’t purposely trying to say something to rile us up or cause us harm; he was genuinely not as clued up as we might have expected him to be and was willing to learn and acknowledge his ignorance. If we had shut him down by assuming he was trying to wind us up, we would have prevented changes we all want to see.

“We have to allow everyone the chance to learn and grow when we can see they are willing...”

Of course, it shouldn’t always be the responsibility of marginalised groups to educate everyone on their struggle, but when you do feel able to explain to someone

who is genuinely unaware of what you go through, this can only help.

After all, we’re all learning. I can’t say I’ve never spoken out of turn; I don’t think anyone can. We have to allow everyone the chance to learn and grow when we can see they are willing.

In contrast, I have also been in situations where prolonging a conversation with someone who is ignorant about social and political issues will only cause me distress.

Have you ever been at a family party where a relative, who tends to assume age equates to intelligence, says something along the lines of: “Trump did great things for America, though” or “masks are just another way of the government trying to control us”? Sometimes genuine voicing of concerns about the climate crisis is reduced to “Glasgow Uni bullshit” by someone who hasn’t listened to a word I’ve said. What’s more, often when these people say something purposely antagonising, such as, “at least Katie Hopkins says it how it is”, they follow it up with, “now’s not the time to get into poli-

tics”, leaving you no room for rebuttal. I’m happy to encourage political conversation when I believe the other side is willing to hear me, but when they’ve made their assumptions on me before I say a word, and only produce brash statements like, “Leftists are ruining the country”, I also have to know when to save my breath.

I think we should all be willing and able to challenge those with opposing views and to educate those who are clearly speaking out of ignorance, rather than shaming them for saying something controversial. However, we should only do so when we feel they are willing to hear from us with an open mind, rather than with assumptions about us personally. I might be a young woman whose friends are left-wing students too, but that does not mean you know every argument I will make, or that my point of view is less valid. We should try our best to encourage political conversation where possible, but we shouldn’t feel forced to engage with the in-person equivalent of Twitter trolls.

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You are not too good for politics Editor-in-Chief Holly Jennings is here to tell you that “not wanting to get involved with politics” is a political choice Holly Jennings EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Coco Pops is racist, muesli is the pinnacle of Corbynism, and if you prefer “nanny’s homemade marmalade on toast”, you’re a raging Tory.

“At the end of the day, I don’t know how to tell you that you should care about other people...”

You can’t eat breakfast without engaging with an ideology, but you have the audacity to tell me that you aren’t political?

I’m not endorsing a conspiracy about Tony the Tiger actually being a Nazi, or suggesting that having scrambled eggs makes you the next Genghis Khan, but it’s undeniable that on every level, even what you have for breakfast, life is political. Crunchy Nut fan? You’re supporting liberals: Kellogg’s ceased advertising with right-wing news platform aligned with the values of the cereal brand. Eggs and bacon more your taste? On one hand, you’re

supporting the agricultural industry, but on the other, you’re advancing the climate crisis.

More of a homemade pancakeswith-everything kind of person?

That means you live in circumstances with the tools, including electricity, to make them, using commodities many people take for granted.

I’ll spare you the The Devil Wears Prada you-think-bluehas-nothing-to-do-with-you-esque monologue about each and every breakfast item. The cereal aisle doesn’t need to be the new House of Commons - I certainly don’t want to navigate getting around Jacob Rees-Mogg’s horizontal approach to politics whilst trying to reach for my Bran Flakes. But this toxic wave of political apathy choking the voices out of young people needs to be halted.

If three elves on a cardboard box are political, you cannot sit back and act like your life is in some kind of ethereal realm unpact your life: you just don’t care I’m betting a thousand times over that the reason you don’t care is

tions, you’ve won the privilege lottery (brownie points if you’re a man, too). However, this doesn’t

arably getting involved. By removing yourself from a dialogue of politics, you’re just choosing an unlisted option. Neutrality isn’t disengaging from either side: you’re allowing the more dominant or popular stance a win over the other. If you knew a murder was going to happen and did nothing about it you’ve still committed a crime: it’s called being an accessory.

Politics is far too frequently seen as the intelligence Olympics. I don’t want to have to cite 16 sources to tell you why I think the tampon tax should be abolished and neither do most people. Being well informed about the subject doesn’t mean you should have to go to the public courthouse of Twitter armed with URLs from

you’d slowly be able to realise you

I don’t know how to tell you that you should care about other people.

to prove your point to an army of strangers. You also don’t have to

stance is just as politically motivated as

and if most choices in our lives are embedded with politics, how are we supposed to authentical-

over party politics put the Gemma Collins V Tiffany Pollard

society has, for generations, acted with you, and for a lot of that time, only you, in mind. Too often, a common claim of the not-into-politics band is “it’s not I don’t have kids, doesn’t mean I’m happy to let them starve; just because I’m not an ethnic minority, doesn’t mean I’m happy to let them be victims of systemic oppression. You do not need to empathise to want to help others. doing so well, vote for a better life for yourself. If you are doing quite nicely, vote for a better life

Choosing not to be political is wrapped in privilege: more than can’t help what set of circumstances we’re born into, and if erosexual, cisgender, middle or upper-class person, congratula-

Beyond privilege, not engaging with politics doesn’t negate its not, politics continue to happen, so not getting involved is insep-

expressing a political opinion or -

ideals? Political coherency is difof the arguments we see stem from them look like more of a Big Brother episode than a bill passing in the House of Commons.

It doesn’t help when most of the parties are so divided that their shoegate to shame. Ride-or-die approaches to politics are rare: it’s not how most of us live our lives. But just because you don’t wholly agree with one party, doesn’t mean you need to withdraw from politics altogether. It’s as part of a wider community, with the capacity for change.

“Ride-or-die approaches to politics are rare: it’s not how most of us live our lives...”

But I don’t care because my voice won’t be listened to?

Credit: Joy Dakers - Photographer

students at one of the most prestigious higher-education institutions in the UK, I’m sure that we’d all hope to earn a tax-paying amount one day. Paying tax makes you one of the employers of the government. If your boss stopped paying attention to you,

Treating yourself to an extra 15 minutes of break, sitting on your phone in the stockroom? The government will only do the same if we don’t hold them accountable.

By voting and contacting your MP or representatives, you’re letting them know you’re watching.

Your voice might not be “the one vote that swings it”, but it is valuable.

“It doesn’t help when most of the parties are so divided that

shame...”

Beyond this, we are incredibly fortunate to live in a country that values freedom of expression: in Iran, you can receive 74 lashes; in Thailand, 15 years in prison; in Cameroon, up to $42,260 in of state. That’s not to say the UK is the pinnacle for democratic expression. In the UK, there are attempts to “suppress voter fraud” which as a result, suppresses voters: it just so happens that the voters it suppresses are the ones who risk voting against the ones to vote is a gift; student elections, ster, IndyRef, voting to get your favourite sauce back on the McDonald’s menu. Your ability to vote may not be permanent, so use it for as long as you can.

If you see New Zealand’s photos of concerts, clubs, and parties and get frustrated, that’s political. If you’re ever felt you’re paying too much for university, that’s political. If you think is overworked and underpaid, that’s political. In 2021, there’s never been more time to get your voice heard: we are in the middle ic, health, political, you name it.

Demand change from those in positions of power; demand it of your course reps, student representatives, and union presidents.

Most of all, demand it of yourself.

Not taking a stance is just as politically motivated as taking one.

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

13

Views

Vent to views: advice from our editors This month, Emily and Hailie discuss potential LDRs and nightmare flatmates Emily Hay and Hailie Pentleton VIEWS EDITORS

I recently met a boy through Hinge, and I get on with him so much. We have been on three dates, and I feel smitten, he’s perfect. But due to Corona, I moved out of my f lat in January. Now I don’t know if I’ll see him again because we’ll be on different sides of the country.

I never planned to have a long-distance relationship, but it looks like I have to as I can’t imagine not being together. What are your tips for a long-distance relationship, is it possible to make it work? I miss him so much even when we are apart for a day, so I don’t know how I will manage this one…

Emily: I’m not going to lie to you, this is tough. Relationships with any distance between them can be really emotionally draining to deal with, and that’s only exacerbated during a pandemic when options to meet up are limited by more than just distance.

I really feel for you when you say you just don’t know if you can handle the time and space apart.

The thing is though, there’s a difference between not wanting to be in a long-distance relationship as an abstract concept, and falling for someone first and then circumstances forcing you to go long-distance. When it’s the former, you don’t ever give anyone from further afield a chance as you’re anticipating the emotional weight it’ll place

you under; whereas in cases of the latter, although it’s a horrible necessity, its nowhere near as horrible as the alternative, which is breaking things off just when they were starting to get good. And the simple fact is that right now, a lot of couples are finding themselves in the same position of not seeing each other, even if there isn’t that much physical distance separating them.

It is definitely possible to make a long-distance relationship work. First of all, you should remember that if you manage to make it through this rough patch the relationship isn’t going to be long-distance forever. The beauty of long-term relationships is that if it works out, you are most likely going to move in together at some point in the future – and then you might find yourselves wishing for a little more space between you. You may not feel like it now, but there will be an end in sight.

As for how to deal with things in the meantime, you both have to make sure you’re making time for each other equally. Schedule in a specific time of the day or every few days to have a dedicated video call to catch up with each other. Every week or two you can also turn one of those calls into more of a date: watch a film together, or dress up and have a fake romantic restaurant meal together, anything you can do to make it all feel a little less monotonous. When restrictions start to lift, take equal turns visiting each other, and make sure that you do so when you both have dedicated time to

spend together – it’s no use being in the same room but mentally miles apart because you’re both working your way through reading and deadlines. It’s also important to remember that although communication is key in all relationships, its absolutely vital to long-distance ones. You need to be telling each other whenever you’re struggling with the distance or with something the other has said or done – you can’t take queues from body language when you’re miles apart, and texts don’t exactly convey nuance well. Check in with each other regularly, and the minute you feel as if you alone are putting in all the effort, tell them.

If they don’t then change things pronto then I’m not sorry to tell you that it’s time to end things.

If someone can’t make time for you when you’re apart, it doesn’t bode well for when you’re physically back together, and if they can’t make time for you virtually, there is no way you should be wasting time waiting to see them physically.

My f latmates are an absolute nightmare (they leave me dishes, steal my food, and never socialise with me). I don’t want to start a fight by “telling them off” but it’s getting beyond it.

I can’t move out, because I can’t afford to live alone, but I’m just not enjoying living here.

Hailie: Let me begin by saying that I feel you on this. The third time I found chicken stuffed down the plughole was the day

I decided I would never live with f latmates again. There’s only so many times you can sift through crusty dishes to find the scrubbing brush before you resort to washing your breakfast bowl in the bathroom and swear off f latmates for life. Frustratingly, living alone isn’t really an option for most students, which often means you’re going to spend a lot of time having to compromise.

Compromising doesn’t mean becoming the f lat doormat, of course. It can be hard, but you have to set some boundaries.

I’ve been guilty of pinching a little bit of milk for my coffee when I’ve not had the chance to nip out to the shop, but if your food keeps going missing you’re entitled to say something (and really you should). At the end of the day, it’s your food. Inevitably someone will end up doing the dishes more or prefer laundry day over taking the bins out, but it’s important to have a proper conversation about splitting the workload (if you haven’t already). It can be a hard conversation to start, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make the living situation better for everyone. The last thing you want is to grow resentful of the people you’ll likely be living with for the next few months (or longer), and honest communication is usually a good way to avoid this.

Being stuck inside with people can be tiresome at the best of times, but right now it can feel like the worst thing in the world.

Tensions are high, patience is low, and the days feel never-end-

ing. It doesn’t make it any easier when those people aren’t being considerate of your boundaries.

Don’t feel bad about being annoyed at them, or for needing to let them know how you feel.

It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but you’ll likely feel a bit better once things are out in the open. And don’t be afraid to raise how you’re feeling more than once.

Your f latmates don’t have to be your best friends, but it kinda helps if you get along with each other. Maybe suggest something like having a cup of tea and a chat, or having dinner together, once a week, as a way of touching base with each other. We’re all going through a hard time right now, and it helps to keep the people we live with in-theloop.

Have a question you’d like Emily and Hailie to answer? Click here to make an anonymous submission for our next issue.

Contributors Editors Holly Jennings & Jordan Hunter Deputy Editors Rebecca Scott & Chloe Waterhouse Production Tara Gandhi & Rebecca Scott News Ollie Rudden, Matilda Handley, Silas Pease, Lucy Dunn, Holly Jennings, Jordan Hunter, Ross McCool, Luke Chafer, Ella Mayne, Zuzanna Filipiuk, Jasmine Urquhart

Views Emily Hay, Hailie Pentleton, Hannah Patterson, Alexander Benjamin, Etumu Schoster, Sophia Smith, Rachell Campbell, Lucy Dunn, Reilly Dufresne, Jodie Leith, Holly Jennings Features Jamie Salem Dalgety, Nairne Clarke Hopkinson, Ananya Venkatesan, Chloe Waterhouse, Rothery Sullivan, Joe Evans Culture Rosie Shackles, Genevieve Brown, Katrina Williams, Heather McSwan, Jodie Leith, Kelly, Ananya Venkatesan, Alex Enaholo, Anastija Svarevska, Archie Gibbs, Katherine Prentice, Chloe Coldwell, Flora Ritchie, Jasmine Urquhart, Jamie Byrne, Sophie Kernachan, Tenzin Murry, Megan McManus, Amy Pope, Rebecca Scott Science & Tech

Sport Craig Smith, Jamie Byrne, Thomson, Thomas Harris

Claire

Photography & Illustrations Allison Campbell, Emma Garcia Melchor, Ciara McAlinden. Dorota Dziki, Nairne Clark Hopkinson, AJ Duncan, Rosie Wilson, Joy Dakers, Hailie Pentleton, Ioanna Chrysanthakopoulou Online & Social Media Becca Luke, Rianna George, Tara Gandhi Holly Jennings, Jordan Hunter, Rebecca Scott, Chloe Waterhouse, Ollie Rudden, Matilda Handley, Silas Pease, Lucy Dunn.

Hailie Pentleton, Emily Hay, Nairne Clark Hopkinson, Jamie Salem Dalgety, Rosie Shackles, Genevieve Brown, Katrina Williams, Heather McSwan, Jodie Leith, Max Kelly, Ananya Venkatesan, Michelle Osborne, Jamie Byrne, Craig Smith

Got thoughts?

If you would like to provide an anonymous contact the editors via email. If you wish to take out an advertisement with The Glasgow Guardian, email the editors or the advertising manager.

Contact editors@glasgowguardian.co.uk deputy@glasgowguardian.co.uk news@glasgowguardian.co.uk advertising@glasgowguardian.co.uk Get involved If you would like to get involved with this award-winning publication, come along links on our Facebook page). If you can’t make it to the meetings, you can still get involved by joining our contributor group on Facebook.

14

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Features Clothing my conundrum of conscience Theatre Editor Ananya Vankatesan looks at the troubles surrounding ethical fashion Ananya Venkatesan

er than they would have originally been, and they’re not even vintage!

The people who weren’t being paid still aren’t, the environment is still harmed, and you’ve lost a whole -

THEATRE EDITOR

I don’t know about you, but I love dressing up. I love looking at the telling myself that I look dropdead gorgeous. In order for me to do that, I need to buy dresses that I

the same problem people thought it was solving.

while making sure my limited bank

“As long as we all put in an effort to make the right choice, we all do our part to be ethical...”

that one stunning sequin suit. So I turn to Shein or H&M, or the

wait! Oh no! Turns out these are

saying that’s it, the world is as is the modus operandi of the about it and we are all going to die.”

I wouldn’t drop down that nihil-

“With more and more people becoming conscious of their consumption practices, thrifting has become an extremely popular practice...”

problem we thought. There are 50 shades of grey in between, probmean it’s an impossible problem Credit: Nairne Clark Hopkinson - Features Editor So, what this looks like is the two being translated into almost 50 to 60 seasons in fast fashion enterprises. The only way to sustain this ing less than minimum wages to -

and not giving two shits about the environment. With more and more

-

vious reasons to thrift are smoke-

manity?

We all know why fast fashion is bad. And if you don’t, here’s

-

ple aren’t getting paid!” moment. Thrifting, while in the ing, and given that the supply of

ket might have been sustainable, is

-

as shopping at high street stores.

-

it seems to be the solution to keepditionally, thrifting also seems to be a marginally more sustainable

quent. Find out who is bad, who is -

-

whom thrifting had been the only

disarray, do the morally right thing -

the likes of Primark.

“Well, that may be all good and

market as thrifting, people have on a throne with your nose turned

that meant you didn’t have that -

Little Thing and Zara, and selling tage”. So, not only are you buying

-

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

15

Features

Flat Nightmares: There’s a rat in the flat! son and then leave your property to look for water; they will prob-

Chloe Waterhouse DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

or walls. If your rodent problem is caused by disrepair, your land-

Before my second year at uni, I had only encountered one rat in my life. Its bug-eyes peered out behind a takeaway joint during my interrailing trip in Berlin, burrowing into a sea of soiled styrofoam cones and curried bratwurst, before scuttling down by the Alexanderplatz underpass. Momentary revulsion washed over me, replaced almost immediately by a swig of Berliner Pilsner as it faded into a dormant afterthought.

A few months later a similar pair of bug eyes peered out behind a sea of Tennent’s cans in the living feathering the walls as it exited into the kitchen and I barricaded my room amidst shrieks of terror and confusion. ed on Woodlands Drive in a crumbling tenement building, and I had only lived in the property for a month before my rodent problem started. Naively, the only qualms

late-night break-ins, not the other unwelcome guests taking residence in my walls and kitchen

Credit: Nairne Clark Hopkinson - Features Editor new heights when we were awoken

letting agency for advice, they agreed to call a plumber round to check for holes around the property’s interior, but he took a few days to arrive and by that point, I was a hysterical mess.

My surfaces were littered with rat droppings and I could hear the rodents crashing around my kitchen all night, then waking up to pots and pans knocked onto said plumber arrived he peeled the poorly installed panels on my kitchen cupboards back to reveal a tunnel the size of my head, which funnelled round to a hole in the back garden directly behind my

rat poison, then agreed to return with thicker panels to install in my cupboards. A few days passed and there were no rats in sight.

But gradually I started to notice a strange stench, like a decrepit corpse mixed with a neglected laundry basket. No amount of cotton fresh Febreze could remove the putrid scent keeping me up at night. When my Mam came to

heads. My letting agent said there was no need for them to intervene any further as the issue had been addressed, so I rang the environmental health sector of the Glasgow city council, where my caller recommended I leave the dead rodents to decompose and let the smell pass. After demanding that my letting agency send out help, the dead rodents were found in the my sink. The smell never went away and I gave my 28 days notice to leave the property.

My personal experience is quite an extreme circumstance but rodent problems are commonplace for people living in Glasgow, especially in areas near the waterfront.

In November last year, the Glasgow Times reported that the city has the fourth highest population of rats in the UK after “breeding like crazy” during lockdown. Overpopulation is also an issue due to the constant overdevelopment of the waterfront, driving rodents from derelict industrial buildings into more densely populated areas. The Partick branch of Scotland’s Tenants Union

Living Rent who explained: “Demolition across Glasgow, but particularly in areas where this is concentrated such as Partick, has resulted in a displacement of local rat populations”, these health hazards being further exacerbated by “the suspension of food waste collection and other services as a result of the pandemic”. Students who experience these issues are inordinately with renting and vulnerability to exploitation and negligence by opportunistic landlords.

“My surfaces were littered with rat droppings and I could hear the rodents crashing around my kitchen all night, then waking up to pots and pans knocked onto morning...”

But how can students deal with these pests? And to what extent is it the landlord’s responsibility?

Before taking any precautionary measures, it’s important to know how to spot mouse drophave rodents in your space. Mouse droppings resemble dark grains of rice, about a quarter-inch long.

Rat droppings tend to be wider, longer and about half an inch in length. Contact your landlord or letting agent to report your problem and get an inspector to identify the cause and entering point of these rodents.

In the meantime, traps are the dents; snap traps are the most commonly used and feature a quick trigger system, and live catch traps catch but don’t kill the with trigger activated door that won’t reopen until you release the captured rodent (peanut butter acts as perfect bait). Using traps gives you the advantage of knowing where the rodent is located for swift removal. Avoid poison at all costs, as contrary to popular belief, rodents don’t ingest poi-

immediately. Steel wool, caulking and concrete should normally be used to plug up any holes and entrances. According to Shelter Scotland, if your landlord refuses to take action, you can contact the Glasgow city council’s environmental health department, who can carry out an inspection of your home and give your landlord an abatement notice, forcing them to deal with the problem.

Living Rent shared that their most common complaint from tenants is “complacency from or outright refusal of landlords or housing associations to accept responsibility for controlling rodent populations and improving living conditions for their tenants”.

For Glasgow University students, Living Rent recommends joining a tenants union, as use of direct action allows for collective mobilisation around issues such as these, whilst amplifying the voice of tenants being exploited by avoidant landlords. This type of support is crucial for students experiencing any sort of problem experienced throughout their tenancy, rodent problem or not. Additionally, although the Glasgow city council are currently unable to attend to any issues with mice due to the pandemic, if your landlord is refusing or taking a while to help if you have a rat problem, you can report the problem using the council’s online form. The council sues with rats at domestic property either indoors or outdoors” and “liaise with property managers to resolve issues that cause the rodent infestation”.

If your rodent problems intensify to a point where you require emergency accommodation, contact the University’s accommodation team who will attempt to help you. If you are unable to cover further accommodation costs due to this issue, the University offer a hardship fund for students experiencing unforeseen short term financial difficulty.

To join Living Rent, visit www. livingrent.org/join, where suggested membership donations start from five pounds a month.

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Features

The foundations of foundation

Does the makeup industry just conceal a darker agenda?

Furthermore, makeup is harmful as it often-times causes women to feel dependent on it. They may makeup, and ugly without it, leading to lower self-esteem as many promotions of makeup indicate that features such as acne, thin eyestructures are characteristics that should be hidden, characteristics to be ashamed of. In a study conducted by the University of New Hampshire regarding the impact of wearing makeup, the results showed that women not only found makeup

Credit: Nairne Clark Hopkinson - Features Editor Rothery Sullivan CULTURE COLUMNIST

Throughout history, women have faced colossal societal pressures in regards to beauty standards; their bodies, hair, size, and face have been critiqued again and again, with society continually changing its idea of what true beauty looks like. In doing so, women are faced with endless amounts of pressure to mask and erase their “imperfections”, causing them to spend billions of pounds each year on prodothers. While the diet industry is also a huge contributor to the ideology that women need to change their appearance to be beautiful, it is the cosmetics industry, which can hide behind a veneer of empowerment and normalcy to push itself as a necessity onto the consumers.

Wearing makeup can be harmful for a multitude of reasons, such as the possible repercussions for our skin. While some high-end products promise a blemish-free experiproducts, such as foundation, concealer, bronzer, highlighter, blush, etc. can block pores, lead to premature ageing or cause dry or oily skin as found in a study from Revere Health. In fact, many other cosmetic skincare companies create, promote and sell products to then these skin issues at a high price; most good-quality skincare products are expensive. The supply and demand business model of makeup

literally relies on us buying their products caused. In 2019, the UK cosmetic industry was worth approximately £9.3bn, which proves the amount of money people are willing to spend to have a “perfect” face, whether it be through wearing makeup or purchasing skincare products. Moreover, a worrying statistic from Glamour tells us that the average woman in the UK owns £113.77 worth of makeup and facial cosmetic products at any one time, and spends on average £482 a year.

With the combination of makeup and skincare pressures, women are drawn into a vicious cycle of spending money and time on skin-damaging makeup, only to spend even more money and time on products

and comfortability in social situations but that it was important in professional situations as well.

This reliance on makeup indicates an unhealthy relationship wherein women feel they must, or should, wear makeup in social and professional situations. I think that this reliance is unhealthy, and although in the slightest, they still face the repercussions of this unhealthy relationship.

“Society has put enough pressure on makeup wearers to use their products, and we do not need any further pressure from those against makeup...” brief study of my own amongst uni

stems from many advertisements that promote blemish-free skin as “healthy”, which therefore insinuates that any skin that is not smooth, bright and clear is “unhealthy”. In a world where societal norms pressure us to appear healthy (indicated through the pressures to be thin long nails, etc.), the thought of having “unhealthy” skin seems embarrassing and is a thing to be feared by most young adults. Cosmetics promote the ideology that uneven or dull skin is always correlated with poor health, which leads to a further correlation that our worth is reliant on our health; this concept is ableist and entirely untrue.

this survey was conducted for anecdotal purposes, and with a small sample size of only eight people. unanimous across the group: everyone had felt pressure at some point to wear makeup (especially to social gatherings), everyone liked wearing makeup when going to public events where there would be a lot of people, and everyone wore makeup because they felt it improved the way they look. One user also noted that they feel less pressure to wear makeup since quarantine started, which shows the amount of pressure the public places on wearing makeup.

People also seemed to wear

the morning. some preferred to wear makeup to accentuate certain features, others wore it to cover blemishes or other parts of their face they didn’t want to show. In all circumstances, though, people used makeup to change their face to meet their own standard of “ideal beauty”. While I think most of the responders seem to have a pretty healthy relationship with makeup, they all indicated a motivation to wear makeup to improve the way they look when going out in public; when asked when they wore makeup, no one answered that they wear it when alone by themselves (although I’m sure some do just for makeup is used to “improve” a person’s outer appearance.

Most responders noted that they liked the feeling of not wearing makeup, describing it as feeling “clean” and “good for my skin”.

These comments point to an unhealthy relationship in the sense that many feel cleaner and happier without makeup, yet choose to wear it anyway, often due to outside pressures. However, these comments could also indicate that a healthy relationship with makeup as they are able to feel comfortable without wearing it; they are not dependent on makeup. Personally, my behaviour mimics the trends of this survey, as I am a lot more likely to wear makeup when I will see others as opposed to when I am alone or with close friends, and that I enjoy days where I am makeup-free. Overall, though, I think that our relationship with makeup can often be unby the previously-mentioned ideology that people should wear makeup to improve their appearance and appear more professional.

However, some responders also noted the importance that makeup has in portraying how they feel internally that day, whether it be a a more masculine/feminine look through accentuated features; they view makeup as an art form, a form of expression. In this sense, I think that makeup can be utilised in a healthy way as it gives makeup wearers the control to express themselves to the world. Using makeup as an art form is highly which is an especially great way to start the day if makeup is applied in

“The supply and demand business model of makeup literally relies on us buying their what problems their products caused...”

A survey responder summarised the overall consensus perfectly; “I think I look prettier with makeup. I feel better about myself when I wear makeup. When I wear makeup, I am doing it for me, but the reason I feel better about myself is sourced most people have a decently healthy relationship with makeup, but I the unhealthy pressures of societal norms. Whether you have a healthy relationship with makeup or not is decide for yourself.

The most important thing that I want to note here is that wearing makeup is your choice, no matter your reasons for wearing it. There is no shame in wearing makeup for yourself, for others, or because you feel pressure to wear it. If you have an “unhealthy” relationship with makeup, this is not something to be embarrassed by in any way; “health” has nothing to do with worth. We all should have the right to alter our appearance in whatever way we want to without the judgement of others, whether that be with no makeup, some makeup, or a full face of makeup. Society has put enough pressure on makeup wearers to use their products, and we do not need any further pressure from those against makeup to be “makeup-free”.

So, my fellow makeup-users, I tion: why do you wear makeup?

I hope that your choice to wear makeup is because you want to and no matter what your answer is, remember that you have the freedom to wear whatever you choose, and you don’t ever deserve to face backlash due to whether you do or don’t wear makeup.

24 February 2021

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Features

The decline of Arts degrees Practicality at the cost of culture?

clearly doesn’t work. Judging the arts and humanities by using STEM as a desirable “normal”, pitching them as educational “others” or quaint diversions that

Joe Evans WRITER

“Will you be able to get a job with that degree?” “Does that even count as a real subject?” “Oh, so you’ll probably go into teaching then?”

Hands up, College of Arts students, anyone who hasn’t had a friend or family member ask at least one of these questions in response gree program. Nobody? Thought so.

other courses just begs the question; why would anyone bother when you can just do maths and get the full package? It also ignores the shared history of educational development between the arts and STEM, all emerging from combinations of the original medieval university disciplines of Theology, Medicine and Philosophy. Appropriate or not for the modern age, (and there are millions of think-pieces pushing

good career, and make your degree incentive for students to stay away from degrees that are not immediately relevant to the current job market. The Times, in cooperation with UCAS, has recently published an article analysing the decline in numbers of applicants to Arts programs over the last 20 years, with quotes from leading historians lamenting the decline of their discipline, and calls for caution, lest we end up with an imbalance of skills and knowledge.

“Higher education has become a transaction between the student and the institution where it used to be a choice to pursue learning...”

The Times nomic reasoning as one of the main drivers behind the increasing popularity of STEM and Medicine degrees, as the growth in funding for these subjects guarantees better quality education with greater access to industry connections and experience programs. As our generation is the

to own our own home, is it surprising that students are trying to maximise their chances of a secure career with good pay? Student debt is the highest it has ever been, wages in most industries have been stagnant for so long have actually decreased over the last 10 years, and the only growing

Credit: Rosie Wilson - Illustrator sectors of the economy are techsector has been cut to the bone, so why would anyone rationally decide to put themselves through the degree for anything other than the most guaranteed of roles?

One of the obvious logical explanations for why students are increasingly seeing their degree as an investment in their future – and consequently gravitating to subjects that look like the surest bet for providing a successful and stable career – is that higher education has been increasingly comto university, tuition was paid by the state, and maintenance money came in the form of grants rather than a loan. The change has not been quite as dramatic in Scotland as in England, but a degree is still thought of more as a commodity with utility within the job market than an achievement in itself. “My degree will enable me to…”, etc. This is because all UK universities exist within the same national ecosystem, and when the climate shifts in a majority of the are felt by all. In short, higher education has become a transaction between the student and the institution where it used to be a choice to pursue learning (an economy ravaged by vulture-capitalism and so distorted that you need a good degree to work even the most basic of admin jobs certainly doesn’t

help). This forces all but the most well-funded of universities to prioritise outcomes and marketability over research and the funding of “pure academia”. In a job market where STEM is in high demand that means the arts are expendable.

It’s not just accidental that the arts are also less appealing to students themselves. Since 2010, the Conservative party particularly has been pushing STEM education as more desirable, axing school budgets for drama, art, and literature programs while publicly slamming the mythical “Mickey Mouse” degrees (frequently a stand-in for Gender studies and other areas of study that emphasise marginalised voices and alternative perspectives of society).

One could speculate that this is because STEM is easier to reconcile with their neo-liberal ideology and sounds better to their voting base of boomers and non-university educated people than the “Mickey Mouse degrees” the rest of us do. Maybe it could be that right wing ideologies do not mix well with a thriving and diverse culture of thought, that would give a voice to those they want to sihypocrisy of most of their stated beliefs? One might indeed say so, I could not possibly comment.

From a purely utilitarian point of view, there is absolutely no question that a trained doctor is of more immediate use to socie-

ty than a well-read history grad.

I could explain to you the origins of the procedure a patient may need to undergo, or give an assessment of how the social and cultural standing of the medical profession has changed over the centuries, but even if I’m told what to do step by step, there’s no way I’m going to be able to give competent treatment. Doctors, along with researchers, coders and scientists provide immediate utility by physically helping patients, developing products and services, and by making discoveries about the world and universe around us.

“Since 2010, the Conservative party particularly has been pushing STEM education as more desirable...”

Arts faculties tend to big up the secondary utility provided by the skills learned over the course of their degree programs as a means of countering this, assuring prospective applicants that literature or history programs develop analysis and information handling

or expression in their students, which can be applied to research, As a marketing strategy, this

most of the early discoveries and breakthroughs in thought that made our world possible were made by people who would probably have simply called themselves “men of letters”, whose interests we would call cross-disciplinary.

STEM itself is a product of the enlightenment – before which experimentation was considered only as a means of demonstrating established knowledge, and the primary method of learning was by drawing on books and accounts of the experiences of past thinkers. Maybe the study of the arts would be more popular if it could be sold as a legitimate pathway for life post-graduation?

That, or we completely overhaul our civilisation to break out of the stupid obsession with individualwhat incomplete and uneven beninstead choose to embrace the love of learning and pursuit of happiness as ends in themselves. While humans organise how we live around capital and the transfer of wealth, we will always have to consider the economic outcomes of our choices, and in these calculations the quickest and most guaranteed route to our desired end is more likely to prevail. Universal Basic Income, the dismantling of class mentality, and a full equal redistribution of land and wealth would make it possible to move beyond the current system, and can you guess what the people who came up with those ideas studied?

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

If you watch one film this month…

Madeline Pritchard

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FILM AND TV EDITOR

Music: Inside Llewyn Davis (BFI Player)

Crash

Theatre: All That Jazz ble to rent)

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Videodrome eXistenZ -

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Food and drink: Big Night eXistenZ -

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Inception -

here - eXistenZ All That Jazz -

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Travel: Da 5 Bloods The best of the Coens’ unparalInside Llewyn Davis of The Mayor of MacDougal Street,

Art: Maudie Big Night

la zuppa, i primi, i secondi, i dolci, e così via -

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timpano Books: Paterson (Mubi)

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Inside Llewyn Davis -

Film: The Watermelon Woman

Blowin’ in the Wind and end at Video games: eXistenZ able to rent)

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Paterson Maudie

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The Watermelon Woman

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Credit l-r: StudioCanal, Dimension Films, Netflix, 20th Centuary Fox, Amazon Studios, Samuel Goldwyn, First Run Features, Mongrel Media

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

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Culture

I’m with the (school) band Ethically naked Rebecca Scott

Emma Chan

DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

WRITER

The school bell rings on a grey Wednesday afternoon, a shrill pierce that marks the end of another day as teachers and students alike rise to leave the concrete monolith that calls itself St. Columba’s High.

Hundreds of bodies move through the car park towards the buses, but not you – you’re en route to the highlight of the week’s social calendar. The place where anybody who is anybody knows to go. The giddy feeling of exclusivity that lies just beyond those veneered hardwood doors is mesmerising, and as you pass through the linoleum hallways towards it, a feeling of belonging washes over you. You push the doors open. You’re here.

You’re in high school band. pet aged 10, I’ve been a brass girl through and through, jumping around the family’s instruments

Sex sells. But is that reason enough to ask an actor to perform nude on stage?

Nudity is a powerful tool in art, but how does one ask, and give, informed consent? In this age of digital media all forms of art are more accessible; whether that be clips on YouTube, prints on Instagram, or just plain piracy. “Art is for Everyone” has good intentions, but if you are required to physically bare all to the world, perhaps exclusion is necessary to clarify the blurred lines of what is acceptable and not.

This is particularly relevant in theatre. While explicit content in

grandiose gold of the tuba in second year. There’s something about trying to navigate the delicacies and identity crises inherent within existence as a teenage girl while also blasting away on a hunk of metal that weighs more than you that really humbles someone.

Throughout my time in late primary and high school, I could almost always be found with a padded instrument case in hand, constantly clattering it against some unsus-

much more intimidating for both the actor and audience. Afterall, the appeal of theatre, concerts, and live shows, compared to a recording, is that feeling of intimacy.

them a mouthpiece-shaped bruise to reckon with. As a shy teenager

lugging what was essentially a body bag around the school’s hallways was, in hindsight, perhaps not my best life decision.

But despite the apparent social suicide that stemmed from playing what must be the most violently uncool instrument in all of the band room (why couldn’t I have just picked up a sax instead?), there was a sense of camaraderie that blossomed within the school music community. It didn’t matter that you didn’t have anyone to sit next to on the school bus – no, as soon as you stepped foot in the music department, you were surrounded by the most chill group of folk who were just as passionate about music as you. The social hierarchy which shapes almost every aspect of high school life evaporated as you passed

distributed, the actual performance is in front of a professional crew.

Screens add a degree of separation, a physical fourth wall, making it potentially simpler for the all involved to distance themselves from

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager through those doors; sure, the sixth years tended to keep to themselves, but there were no aggressive exclusionist tendencies. We were in high school band for crying out loud – we There were so many memories formed in the cramped mezzanine of that room which opened its doors to us every Wednesday afternoon: time trials of who could assemble the rickety metal music stands the fastest, trading mouthpieces and seeing how long it would take our conductor to notice why the trombone was sounding even more horrendous than normal (a venture which would certainly these present unprecedented times of ours), and the feeling of genuine semi-quavers which had been giving you so much grief that month.

They always say extracurriculars are important, but the amount of purpose and friendship I derived from playing in band is something I’m only able to really appreciate now that I’m older.

Another wonderful aspect of being involved in this music community was that of the national competitions we’d be entered into.

Coach journeys across the central belt to perform in Edinburgh and

to Macklemore songs (oh, to live in 2016 again) and many, many hours of somehow playing Scabby Queen across the back row of the bus. Of those excursions, it’s not the performances that I remember – every terrible rendition of the Chicago score on some sweltering stage in Fife has thankfully been repressed by my teenaged brain – but the people. That sense of belonging and genuine friendship with my fellow brass players is something I’ve yet to come across again; after all, you might join band to get involved in the school’s music scene, but that’s not why you stay.

It’s been a long time since I played my last note on the tuba; I retired the instrument the instant that sixth year ended. Yet, I think the character development I went through in those four walls of the band room had far more of an impact on who I am today than I might’ve realised at the time. I think, more than anything, the experience of those eight years playing in band were more about the community than the music. High school is hard – I’m sure anyone home in playing the god damn Jurassic Park theme with my friends has added a fond golden tinge to those years.

“One may consent to perform nude to a mature, art appreciative audience; but there is no guarantee that will be the case...”

Does this imply if nudity enhances the closeness of the overall experiIt can be argued that if the subject is sexually explicit, then yes, full frontal nudity has an undoubtable impact that no abstract movement or implicit suggestion could reach. But nudity is not only used to translate erotic themes. Seeing someone undressed can be funny – embarrassing the audience often elicits laughter – or conversely, portray someone at their most vulnerable by quite literally removing all the layers concealing tween nakedness being a potential artistic instrument and it being crucial to the show. Overuse of anything diminishes its impact, but more importantly the performer must be comfortable with it.

Rufus Jones commented on his

naked performance in Dead Funny in 2017 that he found the experience “powerful”. However we must conpersonal, but secondly, likely to vary between genders. Women are still most blatant in the performing arts, obsessed with visual aesthetic, and exacerbated further by nude scenes, whatever the nature. Critiques have historically hyper-focused on women’s naked performances relative to their male counterparts. Yes sex sells, but often you only need one sex, to sell.

A further problem posed by live crowds is knowing who is there.

It’s conceivable one may consent to perform nude to a mature, art appreciative audience; but there is no guarantee that will be the case. While of course it’s impossible to check a member of the crowds intentions’, could the theatre vet the audience beforehand? Just as psychologists can refuse to see people they personally know in a professional setting, would it be reasonable for actors to ban, for example, an abusive ex, or an overly-obsessed fan, from a theatre viewing? This could be one way to ensure a safer, more comfortable environment.

Pragmatics aside, requiring “scenes of an explicit nature” are, of course, advertised on the callouts but it feels unfair that actors may lose out on roles because they feel uneasy with the conditions. Regrettably this will be the case in some situations but meaningfully adds to the themes and context of the show. Emily Berringdrama school involved stripping, said she asks herself: “How does [nudity] serve the story?” In other circumstances where nudity can be replaced or scaled back it’s harsh to penalise artists for not consenting to explicit ly to increase sales or just for the sake of nudity – requirement is wrong. does artistic creativity become gratuitous? Hopefully with the Feminist and MeToo movement highlighting the importance of consent, writers, directors, and producers will become more acutely aware of what is appropriate to ask from actors and the provisions they can put in place to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

Nude performance is a compelling symbol – but there must be a discourse and thorough consideration about when, and how, to use it.

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Bringing Bach back: the Bridgerton effect Megan McManus WRITER

Shonda Rhimes’ latest regency romance series Bridgerton has certainly made waves in recent weeks.

With its historicised Gossip Girl context, eye-catching costumes and raunchy sex scenes – the series has captured the attention of a nation very much in need of a heavy dose of escapism. Another surprisingly has been the soundtrack. Whilst we can all agree that most period drareasonably decent accompanying

music (need anyone be reminded of the 2007 Pride & Prejudice soundtrack? Or that of Downton Abbey?). Bridgerton’s musical production team really have pushed the boat out.

Whilst the classical string quartets so indicative of the period drama remain present, the Bridgerton soundtrack takes a refreshingly avant-garde approach. Instead of treading the well-worn path of using period music for a period production, the Bridgerton music team decided to infuse the soundtrack with recognisable present-day songs.

The soundtrack comprises sever-

Credit: Ioanna Chrysanthakopoulou - GG Illustrator

al modern classics, such as Ariana Grande’s thank u next, Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams and Maroon 5’s Girls Like You. These familiar and well-beloved 21st-century tunes are given a 19th-century twist throughout, and judging by public response, this style of music is something we would like to see more of.

When Bridgerton leased at Christmas, my Instagram with appreciation for the Duke, as well as the romance between him and Daphne. More surprisingly, I noticed that appreciation of the soundtrack was almost as present as the love for the characters and story itself. Several of my friends posted the classic screenshot of the Spotify app with a song proudly showcased, but, instead of their usual musical choices, it was the Bridgerton soundtrack they chose to plaster across their social media story updates. Whilst I haven’t gone quite this far (yet), I must admit that I have given all of the songs a listen through at least a couple of times now, and this is a bandwagon that Although classical music might typically be associated with the older generations and Spotify’s

seemingly never-ending selection of “study music” playlists, it looks like the classical music revival is really heating up thanks to the release of Bridgerton and its popular reception. And this is a revival in which it seems that the youth of today will be very much involved. Indeed, one when typing in “modern songs” is “modern songs turned into classical music”. A simple search for this yields hundreds of results, with playlists like “Orchestral Covers – Pop Songs” abounding. These works are not merely the limited domain of a few enthusiasts, however. A video titled “Black Eyed Peas – My Humps (feat. Mozart)” currently has over viewing statistics by anyone’s standards. I am also happy to report that WAP Cardi B/Mozart Remix – the modern listener is truly spoilt for choice.

Many of the modern classical artists becoming so popular at the minute are young people in their 20s and 30s. It seems that, by and large, the classical genre is opening itself to a wider audience, with many new listeners coming from more youthful age groups. And why shouldn’t this be the case? Whilst the mixing

of musical genres is nothing new, throughout history, it has yielded frankly brilliant results. Whether we’re listening to indie rock, country blues, or reggaeton, it is clearly evident that people of all ages love mixed-genre music.

Modern-classical music bridges not only genre but arguably centuries. Periods of history are fused together masterfully within the genre.

The blending of a 200-year-old tune with a two-year-old one, creating something interesting and enjoyable to listen to, most certainly constitutes a form of artistry. Increasingly, and quite rightly, classical music is being appreciated in and of itself within a modern context, by modern ema, perhaps more familiar to our parents and grandparents than to us, such music is now arguably breakbeing appreciated in its own right.

Listened to, not only within the context of a series or studying, but as a standalone, enjoyable activity. In a climate of Covid-19, anxiety and stress, the increase in production and enjoyment of an enriching, upnitely something to be celebrated.

Confessions of a first-time gamer Why is the gaming world so inaccessible?

Amy Pope WRITER

Probably my earliest memory of video games is from when I was about six, curled up on the couch next to my dad, struggling to keep my eyes open so I could keep them peeled for any Pikmin being left behind (or eaten). My dad still has a physical, paper photograph of me during some holiday with a paper headband around my head and a paper leaf stapled to it, from back when I liked to pretend I was a Pikmin. Some of my fondest memories of my brother are of me attempting to play him at Super Smash Bros., way back in the Melee years. Sometimes, when he felt like being nice, I’d even win! He went on to play competitively for a while, so I’ll take the 5% victory rate as a bragging right. My mum used to sit in the dark and play the Alien video

game when she was pregnant, before I could even form memories.

The point is, I’ve been surrounded by video games, by video gamers, by video gaming my whole life. I’ve dipped in and out of playing games a few times, but I’ve never really been a gamer. I can be a slave to capitalism in Animal Crossing the arena in Smash, breed some semi-decent variants in Viva Piñata, and roll the dice in Mario Party with the best of them, but until very recently, I’d never completed a video game. I’d never really felt compelled to or had the attention span or the patience.

Then came Halloween 2020.

With none of my regular obsessive plans for my favourite holiday, my ror movie marathon spanning the entirety of the month. Then he suggested we try playing Until Dawn,

a horror video game.

It was amazing.

“I’d have no desire to get into gaming because I didn’t understand anything anyone was saying once I started...”

All the characters lived, I managed to predict two major plot points due to some truly fantastic writing and context clues, plus a little bit of exasperating English Literature student sorcery, accord-

ured, well, that’s basically an interactive horror movie, what’s not to love? and returned to my previous non-gaming ways. playing in the living room and I couldn’t stop looking at it. Awful mid-2000s graphics aside, the story, the characters, the dialogue. I wanted to play, I was so excited to! So I did.

And I was awful. Truly, hysterically bad.

Now. Here’s the real crux of this piece, my opinion on the accessibility of gaming for a non-gamer.

I’m going to be honest: there are dealing with? I absolutely do not have the manual dexterity to use time, or really even separately.

friends who were invested in my virtual redemption.

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tried his best, giving helpful instructions. The second problem? I

don’t know the names or positions of any of the buttons. This communication issue is something I have honestly long considered one of the biggest barriers to the gaming world. So many acronyms. It got to the point where I wouldn’t even ask anymore because the answer was always obvious in hindsight. But then I’d have no desire to get into gaming because I didn’t understand anything anyone was saying once I started – cue frustration and rage-quitting. Even for this article, I’m sure some people will still need a glossary.

Long and short of my advice?

Work out what interests you about any “casual” games you play, and play games with that. I love story-telling, and I love puzzles. Figure out what you want from your experience.

Oh, and invest in a patient, knowledgeable friend.

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

21

Culture

Can too much choice be a bad thing?

After Disney’s announcement of its extensive slate of upcoming projects, Tenzin Murry explores this explosion of entertainment Tenzin Murry WRITER

overall

Game of Thrones

“With more content being added to an ever-growing back-catalogue, more choice typically demands more effort on the viewer’s part...”

Credit: Unsplash Star Wars

She-Hulk are

right thing

“The age of streaming hasn’t democratised content, it has dictated it. We are told what to watch by the very people who create the content...”

Armor Wars

The Crown The Mandalorian

sense

Game of Thrones Breaking Bad or Stranger Things

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Cail Bruich brings first Michelin star in 18 years to Glasgow Jamie Byrne SPORTS EDITOR

In the heart of the West End, where Great Western Road meets Byers Road, lies the quaint Cail Bruich. It celebrates the historic achievement Star that Glasgow has seen for 18 years. Cail Bruich - which can be translated to “to eat well” in Gaelic - has certainly lived up to its name after being the only Scottish entry Great Britain and Ireland Guide.

This recent success has brought

In what can only be described as has brought a fresh perspective to

being driven by “passion and precision” with a “focus on just a few ingredients combined in perfect harmony”. The restaurant’s specialities include crab and scallop with caviar. The second speciality on the list is the roe deer, beetroot, hen of

heater honey and yoghurt sorbet is wine list, which is curated by Chris

country.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s lis, which used to be found just along the road from Cail Bruich, earned ended up being the last star awarded in the city for nearly two decades.

Unfortunately, Ramsay’s restaurant closed a year later after the tragic passing of head chef David Dempsey. taurant One Devonshire Gardens received the accolade in 1996. He later

is also highly commendable, with evolving in order to best compliment the seasonality and provenance of our menu”.

and the rest of the Cail Bruich team have presented a beacon of hope for

all long for the days of being in a vibrant and happy restaurant, this good times will eventually return

Gleneagles, where he collected a furhappened to train a young sous chef go on to be the head chef of Cail Bruich and bring the long sought-afCredit: Cail Bruich

Should we love to hate bad novels?

Sophie argues in favour of the popularisation of literature Sophie Kernachan

There’s a certain prevailing stereotype surrounding the content of modern English Literature courses, and to be fair, it’s not without thrilling school curriculums of Macbeth, The Outsiders, and Animal Farm, maybe Breakfast at or Mrs Midas if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s an expectation that university-level nately, the days of dusty tomes and narrow curriculums of the classics seem to be long behind us, and, from personal experience anyway, seem to be replaced with a balance between classic authors such as Joyce, and less traditionally studand Katherine Dunn. It’s refreshing to see the academic curriculum grow more diverse, and why shouldn’t it?

people to publish their passion nobody...”

rest of the Cail Bruich team for this prestigious award, and I’m sure so many of us here in the city cannot wait to dine at this wonderful restaurant.

which set a record

MUSIC COLUMNIST

With self-publishing becoming ever-more popular, a fresh wave of diverse viewpoints has entered the literary scene, a scene which may very well have been complete-

is undoubtedly hilarious in all its not exactly pushing the boundaries of high art. The questionable depictions of sex and the presence of the whiny bastardised Byronic for an enjoyable light-hearted read but it’s no Crime and Punishment. It’s everybody’s go-to when it paid tribute to, Twilight. With lar, and not entirely for ironic reaagainst the popularisation of literature, and the ability for anybody to create it?

Well, it depends. ied in English Literature courses (much to my everlasting despair), and while the academic curriculum is diversifying to include more women, POC, and LGBTQ+ authors in the mix, traditional publishers and a theoretical slant prime for analysing in the context of literary concepts are always favoured. In an academic context, meant to be studied with a critical eye, and while Barthes and third-year existence, they are nec-

only that, putting a novel idea to paper has never been easier than it is now. Creative writing masterclasses are widely available on the with people eager to proofread for you, and there are more avenues to publication outside of Wattpad and But where the sheer quantity of texts out there has soared, it can certainly be argued that the overa notable dip. There’s the truly Kissing The Coronavirus man Boutin’s infamously bizarre Empress Theresa, but there’s also the novels of this calibre that were

an academic and contextual sense.

While it’s very satisfying to see the same dull handful of authors from reading lists of old, the very nature of themes and contextualisation being prioritised has led to academia staying largely immune to literature’s popularisation. But when these sorts of texts aren’t soon, does the question still apply to the broad scope of reading for enjoyment? Well, while it’s easy to roll your eyes at poorly written recall that reading, in and of itself, isn’t a particularly highbrow activ-

sons, to unwind, to analyse, to get emotional, to laugh at. Reading for pleasure is far more common than reading for analysis, otherwise, we would all be English students. The philosophy of so-bad-it’s-good has why not literature as well?

“The philosophy of so-bad-it’sgood has been for years; so why not literature as well?...”

That’s not to mention the subjectivity of literature. While bad tion, has become far more notable to the public eye in recent years, that could just be down to the aforementioned Empress Theresa, an otherwise dull, cliched story propelled into viral infamy by the author’s erratic behaviour, including insulting and arguing with sites. Bad literature has existed for as long as literature itself, and classic literature is no exception to this, across past and present crinow consider to be classic, such as Lord of the Flies, for example, were poorly received upon release.

Other classic novels have had new discourse surrounding them in recent years, such as challenging To Kill A Mockingbird and its notions of a white saviour complex, or challenging Atlas Shrugged and the cultural amnesia that has

people to publish their passion projects harms nobody. In fact, it might just broaden the horizons of what literature is capable of. With the Internet allowing avenues into literature for people who might have been shut out from it previously, allowing for a more diverse range of viewpoints into the fold, a handful of bad best-sellers aren’t the end of the world.

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

23

Culture

Is piracy ever justified?

Jasmine Urquhart INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR

Think back to the time when you Pa-

parazzi Shut Up and Drive -

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From commerce to curriculums: Robert Burns in global culture Tam o’ Shanter Thriller Syne

Auld Lang -

between Happy Birthday For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow in the top

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Flora Ritchie

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Of Mice and Men for a’ That -

To a Mouse Catcher in the Rye

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A Man’s a Man The Tree of Liberty, -

It’s a Wonderful Life, Sex and the City, Elf When Harry Met Sally -

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Hidden Scottish music gems The Glasgow Guardian shines a light on our favourite, often (sadly) forgotten Scottish musical talents Chloe Coldwell REPORTER

Scotland has produced some of the biggest names in the music industry both in Britain and on the global stage. Taking a look back over the music scene in Glasgow and beyond over the last thirty years, there are plenty of hidden gems, from a variety of genres, who were either under-appreciated at the time of their career or faded in fame in recent years.

On top of this, there are numerous current artists who have not yet gained the recognition they deserve. We’ve selected our top thirteen Scottish artists as a recommendation for those looking to delve deeper into Scotland’s underrated talents – old and new.

Admiral Fallow Admiral Fallow formed in 2007 in Glasgow and have since released three albums, with the most recent being Tiny Rewards, released in 2015. Their sound would be best described as a mix between indie, folk, and pop with a blend of male and female vocals and added woodwind throughout most of their songs. Similar bands include Frightened Rabbit (who they have collaborated with in the past), The Twilight Sad, and Lau. The band will also be playing at this year’s online Celtic Connections festival for keen listeners.

Song recommendation: Squealing Pigs, Boots Met My Face (2015)

Honeyblood Formerly a duo, Honeyblood is now a solo project by Stina Tweeddale from Edinburgh and combines authentic Scottish charm with clear American inscribed as a mix between Joan Jett and the Foo Fighters with the most recent album, In Plain Sight, heralding a heavier grunge style. Honeyblood’s latest album made it onto the longlist for the 2020 SAY Awards, proving Honeyblood to be a hit.

Song recommendation: Sea Hearts, Babes Never Die (2016)

music scene for over a decade now combining rock guitar

Flood of Red Previously active members of the Glasgow music scene, Flood of Red have been quiet in recent days. However, in 2019, they embarked on a UK tour to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their Leaving Everything Behind. Flood of Red were most active during the success of a wave of British alternative rock bands and have a similar sound to some big names from the scene, like We Are The Ocean, yet their distinct Scottish accent and atmospheric melancholy set them apart from the crowd.

Song recommendation: Harmony, Leaving Everything Behind (2010)

Young Fathers 2014 Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers are a pop trio based in Edinburgh. Their sound

Panic! at the Disco. They have a loyal fanbase, having sold out the Barrowland Ballroom in 2018, and have released three fulllength albums since they formed around 2010. Best for fans of City

The XCERTS The XCERTS formed in 2001 in Aberdeen, have released four albums and played festivals up and down the country. Their most recent album (apart from their covers EP, including a cover of Avril Lavigne’s Complicated) In The Cold Wind We Smile is their most accomplished work to date – combining massive pop choruses, catchy vocals and even a saxophone at times. The XCERTS is one to listen to for fans of Twin Atlantic and Feeder.

Song recommendation: Feels Like Falling in Love, Hold on to Your Heart (2018)

recent albums – Fatherson are one to watch.

Song recommendation: Always, Open Book (2016)

The LaFontaines Motherwell-founded, rock and hip-hop trio The LaFontaines have been part of the Glasgow

Fatherson Hailing from Kilmarnock, Fatherson are a three-piece indie band who have toured with all sorts of big names in the music in-

strong Glaswegian rapping and anthemic choruses. Although it’s exact sound, as it fuses multiple genres, The LaFontaines are best explained as the love-child of a Scottish Beastie Boys cover band and Franz Ferdinand. This band sive live, so keep an eye out when gigs start up again!

Song recommendation: Release the Hounds, Common Problem (2017)

musical styles such as hip-hop, soul, Afropop and gospel. This grounds, as their members have Nigerian, Liberian and Scottish roots. Their music is for fans of Everything Everything and Jai

comparisons – so check them out to get a better idea of their unique style.

Song recommendation: In My View, Cocoa Sugar (2018)

Phoebe Bridgers, Prides, and Bon Iver, Randle’s earlier singles were mainly stripped back and acoustic-based, but her most recent tronic music. Randle experiments best with this style in her 2020 single Lately, our recommendaSong recommendation: Lately (2020) The Pastels 80s indie-pop group The Pasvana’s Kurt Cobain during the height of their success in the Glasgow music scene. Often described as “cult heroes” and “virtually unknown outside of the scene”, The Pastels are known for jangly guitar sounds, trippy style and long pauses between albums and tours. Today, fans of Dean Blunt might recognise The Pastels’ 1993 track Over My Shoulder as the backbone/sample in his 2014 hit 100. The Pastels are for fans of experimental soft rock and are similar to The Vaselines, BMX Bandits, and The Field Mice.

Song recommendation: Comin’ Through, Truckload of Trouble (1993)

Song recommendation: La Di Da, VUKOVI (2017)

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions formed while attending the University of Glasgow and were only active between 1984-1989.

Despite their short career together, they achieved success in the UK charts multiple times, were played on Radio One and performed on Top of the Pops. They have an unmistakable 80s sound similar to The Waterboys, The Go-Betweens and The Cure. Two years ago, Lloyd Cole brought out a solo album Guesswork, much to the delight of fans of the Commotions.

Song recommendation: Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken, Rattlesnakes (1984)

Scarlett Randle The most chilled entry on this list is up-and-coming Aberdonian singer-songwriter Scarlett Randle. Similar in sound to

Altered Images Another member of the 80s Scottish music scene, Altered Images were a new wave, pop band most active 1981-1983. Although

VUKOVI VUKOVI are a rock duo from Kilwinning in North Ayrshire who have released two full-length albums, including their self-titled debut album, which earned them a place on the SAY Awards longlist in 2017. They have a high-energy pop-punk sound similar to that of Marmozets and Deaf Havana. Their latest album Fall Better addresses their lead vocalist, Janine’s struggles with mental health and its sound is somehow even more energetic

considered underrated both at the time and after their break-up, the band achieved moderate success particularly with their last album Bite, having had multiple UK top 40 singles and appearing on Top of the Pops multiple times.

Their sound is a mix of post-punk and new wave, as they combine pop melodies with slightly sadder lyrics, producing a style similar to Blondie, Bow Wow Wow, and fellow Scots, Orange Juice.

Song recommendation: Don’t Talk to Me About Love, Bite (1983) The Delgados The Delgados were a 90s indie rock band hailing from Motherwell who were together for 10 bums, as well as a 29-track album, containing recordings from sessions with Radio One DJ John Peel. Despite frequent tours and eventually split due to underwhelming commercial success.

Their sound mixes clear grunge lock’s clean, soft vocals. The Delgados are for fans of Pavement and Nirvana.

Song recommendation: All You Need Is Hate, Hate (2002) Strawberry Switchblade Key players in the Scottish New Wave scene, Glasgow duo Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson founded the experimental, poppy Strawberry Switchblade in 1981. Styling large bows (before Jojo made it cool), heavy eyeliner, and donning a plethora of polka-dots – the band quickly cally in Japan, partially due to their Boy George-meets-Harajuku-style er to home. Yet, underneath their bubblegum-pop image and sound, lurked darker themes of agoraphobia and fears of nuclear war. Before disbanding in 1986, the duo’s unique spin on classics like Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning and Dolly Parton’s Jolene established them as a Scots duo to be reckoned with.

Song recommendation: Go Away, Strawberry Switchblade (1985)

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

25

Culture

Psycho killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?

Katherine Prentice WRITER

The psychopath has been an archetypal character since cinema began and seems to only get more popular as time goes on. We have all grown used to these characters and the

noid schizophrenia and was abused minating in his vile actions. Most schizophrenics don’t harm others

mentioned were labelled psychopathic and copied Gein’s crimes to

the proliferation of true crime. But chopaths” are inaccurate and even

healthy relationship with his mother. The Gein house has been recre-

the stigmatisation of mental illness.

House of 1000 Corpses to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -

exhibit characteristics of other men-

rectly attempting to tell Ed Gein’s story. There is one problem here Ed Gein wasn’t a psychopath. He did cause he was a psychopath. The real Ed Gein was diagnosed with para-

when faced with death or murder.

-

crimes than criminals themselves.

increasingly familiar with the real

create negative stereotypes of people with these very real struggles. chopaths are inspired by Ed Gein:

has no issue using people to bene-

try has latched onto this case more -

a harmful narrative around psy-

even being sold as psychopaths are -

The Wolf of Wall Street Goodfellas Trainspotting. These characters use others for their own enjoyment or

ters in Skyfall and No Country for Old Men A Clockwork Orange Joker’s idea of a psychopath by a long shot.

illnesses are not in any way more

-

fascinating. Our morbid curiosity

actually are for the entertainment of

to hate are a match made in Hollywood heaven. But not all psycho-

also crucial to note that few of these -

psychopaths with no mention of mental illness.

schizophrenia or other heavily stig-

mothers and cold-hearted villains - although this brings up a whole manipulative femme fatale archetype could conjure up a variety of

female psychopath is much more sex-crazed and attractive than their male counterparts. Lisa in Girl, Interrupted Basic Instinct although these are written more accurately than most of the male char-

Psycho

Credit: Channel Four Films

The age of the online viewing room line can come across as limp and dis-

Archie Gibbs

-

ART COLUMNIST

ing the in-person exhibition which is

their leading allure - the in-person exhibition - being unavailable. The

utive method stretching beyond the

but it begs the question of how art

accessible mode of viewing sounds ideal for many. You can never be

sibility concerns. This argument for

norms and practices completely alters when in private. The assumed the right way in a high-end gallery or museum has little or no signifon a website. While the ostensible equality of the online platform sug-

“The crux of so many works are their existence within, and relationship to, a given space...”

ing more than ever since the pan-

this clearer to the naive among us who still hold out for some paradoxical anti-capitalist rhetoric in a commercial gallery.

“The equality of the online platform suggests progress, cracks are evident...”

Despite the socio-political op-

installations or even soft sculpture is sumption of a curated exhibition on-

enough to dampen the appeal of an afternoon gallery visit for many. We must wait to see the future of commercial art consumption and the

compromised. The crux of so many

-

digital serves some artists considerably more than others. While

-

joy. Yet many others simply show a high-resolution photograph of an exhibition and a few nice fading riencing a show online rather than the envisioned in-person format.

While exhibitions managed to briefly open up again in the summer and

must be stated that the phenomedemand personal data before entering an online viewing room which may prove troubling for some.

The height of commercialism in

hope and solace often vacant from

virtual auctions foreshadowed this tual switch to art digestion solely through a screen was a step many saw as inconceivable outside the most mitigating circumstances.

and while they certainly satisfy mo-

partment store aesthetic in their

solutions to a global divide and uneven distribution of power in the art

its recent Black Joy art industry is overtness of recent developments

exhibition eloquently highlights a

the experience of a top drawer exhibition in person.

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Translating artworks into the language of gastronomy -

Anastasija Svarevska WRITER

-

-

-

-

-

Venus -

Three Graces

-

like it or not, are living at the mo-

-

-

Mu-

“The project invites famous Florentine chefs to reimagine a certain artwork, from the celebrated collection, as a meal...”

seums at Home The Fabric of Protest pro-

-

-

The Boy with a Basket of literally refuting the claim: you can

Fish -

tion, have no choice but to be cre-

Credit: Emma Garcia Melchor

An album that sountracks my life: If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle and Sebastian album If You’re Feeling Sinister there are no skips The Fox In The Snow. Main character energy -

Credit: Jeepster Records Alex Enaholo WRITER

If You’re Feeling

Sinister

Walking along Cecil Street, at about 10 in the evening, in the

truly at home in one of the

,

The Boy Done Wrong Again, -

“Stuart Murdoch’s enigmatic lyrics spin romantic stories of tenement windows and Glasgow Uni students...”

-

-

-

Like Dylan In The Movies -

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

27

Science & Tech

We need to stop the climate crisis

making the switch easier than ever.

There was even less certainty from other leaders in attendance at the summit, with Modi of India vowing to “exceed expectations”, but not setting out how he would do

Sofia Della Sala SCIENCE AND TECH COLUMNIST

I am sure we have all been enjoying the latest snowfall: sledging in Kelvingrove, building igloos in your back garden, or being able to wear the salopettes you were wanting to whip out on the cancelled ski trip.

But as we continue to see global temperatures rise, snow days could become a thing of the past.

inadequate plans, with Brazil still undergoing mass deforestation

“How can we ever hope to put

The average Briton spends the equivalent of four and a half months of their life discussing the weather, but we seem to be all talk and no action since we are still hurtling towards what scientists call the “point of no return” with regards to the climate emergency. You might think that it isn’t a big issue necessarily: hotter weather equals more barbecues and beach trips! Though before you reach for your skewers and bottle of suncream, be warned that climate change is just that - change. cantly colder.

The UK is warmed by the North Atlantic Current, which moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico towards Europe, and there are some theories that if too many of the glaciers in Greenland melt, the newly introduced freshwater could disrupt the ocean current. This would cause the current to slow or even reverse, therefore blocking heat arriving in Europe. Before you start envisioning scenes from The Day after Tomorrow know that there can be some hope, but only if governments start tackling the crisis for what it is: not a small crack in the pavement, but a widening abyss that will soon swallow us whole.

There are many similar, and often interchanged, terms when it comes to talking about climate targets and government action, for example, carbon-neutral, zero-carbon and net-zero. Carbon neutral is more

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Photography and Illustrations Manager or less what it sounds like, making sure there is no change to the atmosany emissions through carbon-absorbing projects. Net-zero is sometimes used interchangeably with carbon-neutral, even though there ro includes all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide. Zero-carbon is maybe the holy grail when it comes to climate strategy because it involves preventing carbon from 2019, the UK government signed into law a target of hitting net-zero by 2050. Whilst this seemed like a positive step, it is far away from the immediate action required. Having targets so far in the future not only removes the urgency of the crisis but also removes responsibility: no one can predict how future governments are going to act.

The truth of the matter is that the UK are just not doing enough when it comes to climate action.

For a government that is now notorious for its U-turns, it also 12 December at the Climate Action Summit, Boris Johnson stated that we need to protect the planet against “a challenge far worse, far more destructive even than coro-

navirus” and “the disaster of global warming”. He proposed that “we can radically cut our dependence on fossil fuels”, and, in an authentically British analogy, stated: “We can reverse the process by which for centuries, humanity has been quilting our planet in a toxic tea-cosy of greenhouse gases”. Doesn’t this sound all sunshine and roses? Yet the Bank of England bought the debt from oil companies as part of its coronavirus stimulus package. Looks like some of those roses have thorns.

that the UK are

Bailing out some of history’s biggest polluters such as BP, Shell and Total doesn’t sound like Johnson thinks that tea-cosy is all that toxic after all. Additionally, according to a report from 2019, the UK gives more subsidies to fossil fuels than any EU country. How can we ever hope to put out the

the most frustrating aspect of all is Alok Sharma, the president shows that he has generally voted against measures to prevent clito lead a conference about the climate measures we need to take but someone who voted against them?

Someone who, at the Climate Action Summit, heroically stated: vival of our fragile planet.”

However, at the end of the day, tackling the climate crisis needs the world is far from meeting the targets laid out by the Paris Agreeeconomies have set similar longterm goals to reach net-zero by the mid-century, although only a few have detailed plans on how to get there. At the Climate Action Summit in December, world leaders were meant to come forward with strengthened plans to cut emissions by 2030, and whilst some did, the summit lacked ambition.

The UK pledged to decrease emisas radical as it may seem considering the costs of reducing emissions have plummeted in recent years,

There is perhaps a beacon of hope, with the Scandinavians - as ever - coming out on top. Sweden Performance Index (CCPI) with Denmark, Norway and Finland following shortly after. However, it is important to note that Sweden is labelled number four on the list, liberately blank since no country performs well enough in all the index categories to be awarded a high rating. This is crucial because it demonstrates that, even if all countries implemented Sweden’s strategy, it would still not be enough.

Every country needs to have climate policy at the top of the agenda.

It isn’t impossible. We have managed to produce a vaccine against Covid-19 in nine months and began distributing it in 10, making sure that everyone who wants a vaccine gets one, no matter the cost. I am not saying the journey has been perfect, but it is a massive leap from the position of the world in March 2020.

This mindset needs to be applied to the climate crisis because, like the coronavirus, it is a crisis that is

can actually prevent the worst of the damages if we learn from our mistakes, truly leave politics at the door, and focus on a worldwide effort. The climate can’t be stopped by shutting borders.

28

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Science & Tech

Who wants to be the next Zuckerberg?

Michelle Osborne SCIENCE AND TECH EDITOR

Since Mark Zuckerburg launched Facebook from his college dorm room all those years ago, social media has become a key part of our dia have spawned since, including Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok. As social media becomes a more lucrative business, I wonder how difmedia platform.

A quick Google search shows plenty of tips for starting your own social media platform. These websites explain several methods to create your own social media website, making it look easy… which is unlikely.

The top tips for making a social

media website are similar to that of a new business. You must know your target audience, grow your website based on that audience, and promote your social network fail to mention the unique selling point (USP). The USP is vital to entice people to a new network. From my perspective, all major social networks have a unique aspect to them… apart from TikTok maybe, from Vine. These websites seem to suggest that you can make it big by be worth the try!).

If you are a Computer Science student, you are one step ahead of us all, since you may have already guessed, a key requirement for

making a new social network is having programming skills. Programming is necessary to create the fun, new aspects you are putting into the platform. It’s also required to make it aesthetically pleasing. Social networks are known for their simplistic but recognisable interfaces. The top tips all suggest that there is a recognisable, but simplistic logo alongside a modest but customisable interface. These components would create a social media site which is accessible for most people.

Advertising is the next step for developing a user base. By this stage, you should have already pinpointed your target audience, but you will need to engage people further. A lot of this form of advertising is done on other apps. If you have ever down-

loaded a free game on your phone, you will be aware of those annoying onds. Advertisements on phones are the best way to do this, as it is targeting people who have the means to create accounts online. It is also extremely easy to trick the user into pressing the link to the app. It may these advertisements are key to developing awareness.

Awareness can also grow Again, I would not say that this is the purest way to gain attention, but they do have far-reaching circles and can develop a lot of attention.

TikTok gained a lot of its attention following on it and through celeb-

rities joining the app. It can cost a something, so it would be better for if you have a spare £20,000 or you are a three-times removed cousin from Addison Rae’s best pal, then you may have a shot.

A lot of the big apps that we can think of were not created to be the next big thing. Often, they are simply an odd project by somebody with alternative motives. Trying too hard to be on-trend is often the downfall of big projects, so if you are wanting to create a social media site, you may just want to target it to your friends… it can always expand from there.

It is worth trying to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, but it’s certainly not an easy task.

The ethical decisions behind Covid-19 Sofia Della Sala considers the ethics of who should be treated first with the Covid-19 vaccine one. This time Dave would have to

Sofia Della Sala SCIENCE AND TECH COLUMNIST

Lucy. This seems a lot more extreme and personal even though the outcome is the same: Lucy gets the ventilator and Bert doesn’t.

According to David Magnus, the director of the Stanford Centre for Biomedical Ethics, three ideologies underpin healthcare ethics: egalitarianism, utilitarianism and prioritarianism. Egalitarianism strives to treat patients equally, in every sense of the word. This could involve a lottery system for treatments for example. Utilitarianism involves cision. Normally, this is conceptualised as remaining life years, hence Lucy got the ventilator instead of Bert. Prioritarianism works on priority, treating the sickest people

We are living not only in a climate crisis, a health crisis, and an economic crisis: we also have the less mainstream ethical crisis to contend with of choosing who and what gets treated during this pandemic.

The ethics of healthcare is a topic I was nervous about entering into.

There is no right answer - that is the am I, a healthy university student, to outline who we treat? To illustrate the complexity of ethical problems, I will outline a classic one - the trolley

the current ethical crisis we face. The problem follows as such: There is a runaway trolley barrelling down railway tracks. Further ple unable to move and the trolley is headed straight for them. There is another track with only one person on it and you have the power to pull the lever to diverge the trolley onto the side-track to only kill one person. Do you pull it?

Most likely you would. It makes sense; when faced with the possi-

scenario such that instead of pulling a lever, you had to push one person in front of the trolley to stop it from

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager tracks? This time, people are much one person, even though the outcome is the same. These thought experiments are interesting and have been used for decades, although have also received some criticism due to the fact the situation is so unrealistic. Yet when constructing this ethical dilemma in the 70s, the philosophers and scientists were unaware of an impending virus that would cause medical professionals to have to

make choices that become strikingly similar to the trolley problem.

Let’s take an example: Dave is a doctor and two patients are needing a ventilator, 20-year-old Lucy and 80-year-old Bert, but there is Lucy since her chances of survival are a lot higher. It is horrible and unthinkable, but most would agree it was the right call. In the second scenario, Bert is already on the ventilator and Lucy comes in requiring

course, pros and cons to each of these approaches. Egalitarianism is quite hard to put into practice and is usually not advised since most people can agree that treating someone for back pain over someone who has been shot doesn’t make much sense.

The other theories pose an important question: what makes one life worth saving over another? In the UK, we have a system called quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) scores which are critical in health care decision making. They consist of a number that represents the years of life multiplied by the quality of life

e.g. if following medical treatment a patient would get a year with “full” quality life, that patient would get a score of 1. This is along the lines of a utilitarian approach, but we also have some prioritarianism during the pandemic, since we are making sure the sickest patients are getting treatment, with most elective surgeries suspended. At the end of the day, the health systems try to balance four criteria: treating people equally, favouring the worstpromoting and rewarding social usefulness as outlined in a paper by Ezekiel Emanuel.

I don’t know the answer, but we have surpassed 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, and so it is evident that our current allocation system isn’t working well. I do know that the most ethical approach to a problem such as the pandemic would have been not to have to choose which ideology to follow, or whether to give the ventilator to Lucy over Bert, or having to decide between treathip replacements. The most ethical decision is always prevention, locking down early, tracing cases countries such as New Zealand and Australia. That way both Lucy and health care they needed, and the ethical dilemma is reduced to practical solutions.

24 February 2021

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29

Sport Glasgow University Netball Club is a beacon of hope for university sport Sports Reporter Claire Thomson interviews netball club captain Alix Galbraith about how she and the netball club have coped during these dark times for university sport Claire Thomson

to hold a taster session for all the

SPORTS REPORTER

what turned out to be only, indoor

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, when university sports clubs

-

this year, which the committee had most importantly, have fun. Batstrictions, limited equipment, and even the harsh Scottish weather, power to ensure that their members feel welcome, up-to-date, and mester two. This is a continuation and successes, which this year resulted in a massive increase in membership compared to previous Alix Galbraith, the club captain, and her incredible committee’s dedication and enthusiasm are rebest that it can be.

captain, but it’s been a really inter-

“The secret to the success of the club this year is maintaining involvement throughout the lockdowns...”

er in the history of netball at Glas-

phased the executive committee of Alix, Lauren Reid, and Rachael

really lovely to see. At the Freshers’ outside. and chatted to them about the club.

the positives in the situation, Galmade the announcement that modwhich consisted of a maximum of 30 people on court, but they were to be in two 15 person bubbles.

Balls were not really allowed to be shared and had to be sanitised

Credit: Alix Galbraith

them out and for them to actually have their own space to train for two hours, they really appreciated

was actually so nice, that the recs

Credit: Alix Galbraith sport across the country was sus-

involved in these rec sessions, resultbers to-date.

“Alix Galbraith, the club captain, and her incredible committee’s dedication and enthusiasm are responsible for making this year the best that it can be...” there as the club adapted their normal taster session to encompass a

Galbraith and her team were faced involved as much as possible and

members could meet the commit-

“We weren’t allowed to train in-

a bit stressful because we were

sity is normally about so they don’t become isolated in student halls. had already received many mesvolved, which Galbraith said was

is evident that the priority was to create a community in the club The secret to the success of the -

30

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Sport volvement throughout the lockthe netball club did a fundraiser for Glasgow Women’s Aid. With the knowledge that domestic abuse is going to rise with everyone being stuck at home, it was the ideal opportunity for them to pull together as a team and raise money for charity, whilst being active and exercising. Around 70 girls took part in the fundraiser, raising a total of £4,158 and travelling almost 5,000km.

“Netball’s main goal, just like any other club, was to get freshers involved as much as possible...”

The success, motivation and happiness gained from the May fundraiser, GUNC teamed up with Strathclyde University Netball Club throughout the month of November to raise funds for Scottish Women’s Aid to help support them

in the vital work they do aiding domestic violence victims across the country, as well as money for their respective netball clubs. Galbraith commented that: “We got loads of freshers involved with that as well.

It was just trying to get them as involved as possible, so they’re not just sitting in their halls.” An incredible 11,372 km were travelled with £1,377.50 raised for Scottish Women’s Aid. Long term, Galbraith’s goals for the club that she will pass down to next year’s captain are much more ambitious but with this year’s success, well attainable: “Netball Scotland has put out an initiative of nets go outside, so netball being outside will not be a short-term thing, that will be a long-term thing. So, what we’re really pushing for is to get an outdoor court made at Garscube…because the court can be used by us all year round. It can be used by local clubs, primary and secondary schools that can pay to use the court. So, that can bring money into GUSA, into Garscube, as well as having it there for us. It can be used for summer leagues, which obviously wouldn’t have ever been

a thing, but now because of Covid, it’s made everyone realise that netball can go outside. So why not use those nice summer terms and summer days? And when it’s warm outside, let’s play outside.”

After the increase in membership on top of the already four competition teams is something Galbraith would love to see and will be at the forefront of discussion for the following years’ captains.

With more challenges to overcome than ever before, Galbraith could not be more thankful for her committee and team. She appreciates everyone: from a handful of girls sitting minibus tests and organising shuttle buses to and from Garscube and the University to the welfare convenor, Kirsty Barnett, sharing posts on Instagram and Facebook about body positivity, which were picked up

by Sport Scotland and Netball Scotland, as well as being shared across GUSA Sports and leading to her being nominated for Volunteer of the Year. In addition, the recreational convenor, Katie Fairburn, has encouraged, motivated and inspired over 100 rec

girls, leading sessions for them, outside, often in the rain and wind, every week. The committee has watched the club grow from around 140 members last year to around 170 this year, with all of them getting involved with the organisation and running of the club in every aspect. Galbraith ally loved going to every rec session this year and getting to know all the girls and things like that. push captains to do next year, the

year after etc. It’s just good being a face in the club and people seeing you rather than just maybe seeing your name on a screen every time you post something.”

2020-21 has truly been an amazing year for Glasgow University Netball Club, with the hard work, commitment and dedication of club captain, Alix Galbraith and her outstanding committee are an inspiration to all.

On behalf of The Glasgow Guardian, we wish the club all the best for the future!

Credit: Alix Galbraith

Ex-Glasgow Warriors second row turned professional heavyweight boxer Nick Campbell joins a select few professional athletes to risk it all in attempting to be a success at the elite level of another sport Thomas Harris WRITER

In the past, fans have occasionally witnessed the greats of different sports turn their attention to a different activity within the sporting world. We have seen the likes of basketball legend Michael Jordan move over to baseball, former Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram switch his focus to cricket, and Andriy Shevchenko, former Chelsea and Milan striker, trying his hand at golf.

Varying degrees of success have been found by those opting to shift their sporting attention, but following in their footsteps currently, is former Glasgow Warriors second row, Nick Campbell.

At the age of just 28, Campbell made the decision to embark upon a new goal in the form of boxing. Campbell has already begun to make his mark

on the boxing world, progressing through novice, intermediate and elite levels and training alongside a host of top boxers including the GB Olympic team, European cruiserweight champion Tommy McCarthy and British lightweight champion James Tennyson. Measuring 2.02m and 120kg, he is certainly showing signs of promise, boasting a very respectable record of 11 wins out of 15 amateur fights, winning the Scottish super-heavyweight title in the process.

“His history in rugby will likely leave him well-equipped in delving into a professional boxing career...”

Campbell is pursuing his boxing career with a wealth of rugby success backing him, highlighted by his Player of the Month award in September 2011 and his crucial try in the 2011/12 PRO12 win over European champions Leinster. Campbell will surely be looking to replicate and even go beyond his rugby successes in boxing, stating: “I don’t think there’s ever been a Scottish British or Commonwealth heavyweight champion at professional level so that would be something to aim for.” His history in rugby will likely leave him well-equipped in delving into a professional boxing career. The former Glasgow Warriors player will no doubt be used to holding his own in the most physical sports and will be no stranger to following rigorous training regimes, crucial to any future success he may enjoy.

“Campbell has already begun to make his mark on the boxing world, progressing through novice, intermediate and elite levels” In addition to replicating some of the sporting greats such as Jordan and Shevchenko, Campbell will also be following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who had their own boxing careers respectively, recalling his grandfather as the inspiration for his decision to pursue this new challenge: “I’m sure he’d be proud of me, and probably telling me everything I’m doing wrong!”

Campbell himself, however, is no stranger to stepping into the ring. Before embarking on his boxing career, at just the age of nine, Campbell participated in a number of amateur boxing clubs before his rugby career started to truly show promise. He has also recalled attending Hampden Park at the age of 10 to bear witness to Tyson defeating Lou Savarese as being another inspiration for his lifelong interest in the sport: “It was just amazing to be there, to experience that atmosphere and the hype around a fight like that. It was unbelievable.” Campbell will be looking to make his mark on the boxing world and based on his previous sporting exploits and ambition to make his father and grandfather proud, the former Glasgow Warriors player certainly seems to have the tools required to enjoy a successful and exciting career.

24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

31

Sport

Olympic athletes caught in vaccination debate Claire Thomson gives her take on Olympic athletes skipping to the front of the queue for vaccinations Claire Thomson SPORTS REPORTER

In March last year, the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the agreement that a second delay was out of the question and either the games go ahead this summer or are cancelled altogether. Now, less than six months away from the beginning of the XXXII Olympiad, the pandemic is still very much present across the globe, with deaths and cases rapidly increasing daily. Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the IOC, announced that he would still go ahead with global participation as planned if athletes are vaccinated beforehand.

He has since openly argued that he believes that athletes should be given priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine, however, these comments have proven to be very controversial amongst athletes as

well as the general public.

Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, stated during his visit to Tokyo in November 2020 that athletes would be strongly encouraged to get the vaccine, but it is not a requirement to participate in the Olympic Games this summer. So, with the vaccine rollout well underway in many countries around the world, the question of whether athletes should be prioritised is at the forefront of many sporting debates.

“The expense of complete cancellation would prove detrimental, as it would cost Japan an estimated US$41.5bn...”

The vaccination of athletes prior to the Tokyo Olympics, presuming they do go ahead as planned,

is absolutely crucial. The IOC has estimated that around 11,000

travelled and competed without having the vaccine.

cine must be distributed to the most vulnerable of the population

coaches, from 206 nations will be travelling to the host city this summer with the intention of competing in the Games. With travel restrictions now in place within countries, in an attempt to reduce the rate of transmission of the virus, there are very few ways to make the Olympic Games safe and accessible for all involved.

The Olympics play a massive role in the economy and the economic expense of complete cancellation would prove detrimental, as it would cost Japan an estimated $41.5bn (US) based on operating expenses and loss of tourism and hospitality. As a result of the pandemic, the world

“I believe that from the Olympics everyone

The fact that the Olympics only occur every four years is also a major factor when deciding athlete vaccinations. Speaking to Sky News, Dick Pound said: “In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 hundred athletes - to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level - I don’t think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that.”

He has a very valid point as international representation in sport is a big achievement.

without taking into account this pacts on not only Tokyo and Japan, but the rest of the world, as athletes return home from Tokyo, and sporting community could be massive if the Olympic Games were to be cancelled or if athletes

some more than others...”

For many professional athletes, the Olympics is a one-ina-lifetime opportunity to represent their country, their sport, and prove to themselves that all their hard work, determination, athletes have already made the decision to still travel to Tokyo and are willing to take the risk to represent their country in an Olympic Games. Steve Solomon, a 400-metre sprinter and co-captain of the Australian athletics team, has admitted that he would prefer to be vaccinated before travelling, however like many others is of the belief that the vac-

“The vaccination of athletes prior to the Tokyo Olympics, presuming they do go ahead as planned, is absolutely crucial...”

I believe that from the Olympics

Credit: Unsplash

more than others. The Olympic Games provide entertainment, boosts the economy, and status of the country, and inspires the younger generations to be active, lead a healthy lifestyle, and most importantly teaches them that anything is possible with self-belief and hard work. When looking at the bigger picture, the number of athletes competing at the Olympic Games is only a fraction of the population and prioritising them behind all the categories mentioned above would hardly cause a dent in the rollout of the vaccination, especially in the UK. So, with the Olympics a mere six months away, I hope that all the athletes involved have the chance to compete in a safe environment and show the world what they are made of.

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24 February 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Sport

Electric energy at UGRacing Senior members of the UGRacing team spoke to The GG about the team’s exciting plans for the future Craig Smith

the business cost of the process as well so that is exciting.” Given the breadth of the challenge the team have to tackle in normal years, never mind when they are coming up with an entirely new electric car concept, then there is little doubt that UGRacing is an exciting and fun way for the University’s engineering students to prepare themselves for the world of work.

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So much seems to have stalled over this past year: wedding dates have been postponed, travel plans have been delayed, but UGRacing has been making exciting progress. The University of Glasgow team which competes in Formula Student (a prominent UK student engineering competition that involves producing a small-style formula-style racing car) has come to the end of creating combustion engine cars. Come the 2022 Formula Student UK Competition, the showpiece event of any year for the UGRacing team, the team will be discarding the combustion engine for an electric car.

Callum Wilson, who is a thirdyear studying Aerospace Systems, leads the engineering department and told The Glasgow Guardian:

and a fully electric powertrain.

It’s the future of motorsport really but it also the focus of the team and that’s the thing we wanted to continue developing this year.” Whilst Wilson was willing to acknowledge, as many would suspect, that a lot of motorsport diehards were not particularly drawn to electric cars, with their inferior noise and unsatisfying smell, the engineers of UGRacing have thrust themselves into this new and challenging task with unbridled enthusiasm.

Team principal Fraser Cowie, the fourth-year Aeroneutical Engineering student who heads up the entire team, revealed: “The exciting thing this year is the team came back together in August time and had a completely blank page to design this new electric vehicle which had never been done in the history of the team before...it’s been great to see the engineers rise to that challenge and get excited by it.”

Part of the team’s energy for this challenge has come from learning about new areas, which aren’t always covered in University teaching. Wilson said: “We also found when starting to develop the cars there is a lot of

Credit: UGRacing holes in the way the University [of Glasgow], and a lot of universities, teach high voltage: a lot of because it’s safer but for Formula Student, you are working with quite high voltage battery packs and electric motors and this is something which is not taught a lot in the University and we think the way everything [the automotive industry] is going it is better to bring that knowledge on.” Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the team are so excited about moving to electric considering the man heading up the electric Mechanical Design Engineer student Finlay MacNeill, did his concept car which the team intend to make.

“UGRacing comes together, in much the same way which their cars come together, to be so much more than the sum of all its parts...”

This is not the end of the excitement for the team as they also plan to use the 2022 electric car for entry in the driverless catego-

should occur year on year as the future plan is for the driverless entry to be the previous year’s electric vehicle entry. This is yet another attempt by UGRacing to align the team’s ambitions with the future of the automotive industry.

The 2021 Formula Student competition will see the team present their ideas for their electric car, something they have spent the year designing on computer-aided design (CAD) software, with MacNeill revealing than welcome: “We are basically going to be taking our virtual CAD concept electric car and hopefully getting it ripped to work out where it is going to go wrong and places we can improve in. We’ll have a bit of an intense design session after the competition and start manufacturing that electric car afterwards.”

Whilst the most exciting developments are on the electric car front, UGRacing is also planning engine car at the 2021 competition. It is no surprise to discover that the pandemic has caused huge problems with creating the car, as ordinarily, the team would have over 100 people in the garage creating but this year only Wilson has been permitted in the garage. In spite of all this, the team

have ambitions for what they can achieve in the on-track events at this year’s event. The 2019 competition, the last in-person edition of Formula Student UK, saw in the endurance category, where teams are expected to push their engineering abilities to the absolute limit. Wilson told me: “You design your character to go 22 and a half laps of a one km track so out of 80 odd teams entered at Silverstone then only something durance race. We were so unlucky in 2019 as we hit a cone and it triggered something to fail in the car in the last lap when we should

overall and 8th in the UK but the plan is to improve on that again The challenges of the Formula Student competition go beyond computer designs and racing cars on the track. In an attempt to prepare the students for their future career, they are also expected to cisions in the static events which take place. Cowie said: “In the static events there is a business plan section so they have to preses and cost events as well where competition, it’s a very complete process which is kind of expected of engineers in the real world,

“The engineers of UGRacing have thrust themselves into this new and challenging task with unbridled enthusiasm...”

Given the technological progress that the team are making, one might mistake UGRacing as being a club reserved for car then they would be very much mistaken. With an operations side to their team, there is a place for everyone at UGRacing. This is a team made up of brilliant engineering minds (alumni of the team have gone on to work in Formula One at teams such as Mercedes, Williams, and Ferrari), but it’s so much more than that, it to be precise. The team has many component parts, such as those tasked with securing sponsorship or organising the social side of things. UGRacing comes together, in much the same way which their cars come together, to be so much more than the sum of all its parts.

There have been many challenges over the past year, ranging from funding struggles to being unable to discuss design plans in their usual HQ of the James Watt South Building, but, given the team’s ambitious plans, the excitement around the team seems greater than ever. website and on Facebook.