March Issue of The Glasgow Guardian (2020-21)

LEAST RACIST IS STILL RACIST TARA GANDHI ON MEGHAN AND RACISM IN BRITAIN - PAGE 8 25 March 2021

LOVE, LATTES, AND LIES

JADE’S BAD DATE CONTINUES OUR LOVE LIFE SERIES - PAGE 15

I DO IT FOR THE GIRLS AND THE GAYS DECONSTRUCTING THE STRAIGHT GAZE IN MEDIA - PAGE 21

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

Issue 6 | Free

Glasgow University is failing sexual assault survivors Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Content Warning: Sexual assault A number of sexual assaults have taken place on Glasgow University campus over the last few years, and a Glasgow Guardian investigation has found the survivors feel there has been a complete lack of support on the part of the University. The Glasgow Guardian has spoken to a number of women who feel that they have ended up worse off after coming forward about their sexual assault on campus, with students being forced to resit academic years and staff members threatened with dismissal.

We spoke to one student, Charlotte*, who was assaulted on campus, at the heart of the University, in her first year of study. She described how she had initially been apprehensive talking to anyone about it, but realised she had to after her resulting fear about being on campus caused her attendance to suffer: “I just couldn’t be on campus anymore, especially when it was getting so much darker. My boyfriend had to pick me up after classes when I was in, even though I only live 10 minutes away.”

Going first to her advisor of studies, Charlotte was told that she would need to make a good cause claim in each of her three subjects.

After sending off the claims, she received approval from two of her classes, but not her third, which required “further evidence” if she was to have her claim approved. “The incident happened a few months before, and I hadn’t gone to the police at the time because I just didn’t want to talk about it - so I didn’t have any evidence.” The department wasn’t satisfied with Charlotte’s account of events and told her that to move forward without facing consequences for her poor attendance, she would have to go to “University support sessions, as a form of evidence”, where her attending of these would make up for her missed academic classes. She said that she had already spoken to a profession-

al that she knew personally, however she felt uneasy discussing her experience with University staff: “I didn’t feel comfortable going to someone that I don’t know to talk about something that I didn’t want to talk about.” After sending a letter to her subject lead in the particular class that had not accepted her good cause claim, further detailing her situation, Charlotte said that whilst her advisor of studies was sympathetic, the head of her department was “abrupt”, telling her that she had “provided more details than I would care for”.

As a result, and despite passing all of her first year classes, “getting 80%, 90%”, Charlotte was told that as she did not have “formal written evidence”, her good cause would not be accepted, “and so they failed me for that year”. She had to contact SAAS, forfeiting the fifth year of funding available for Scottish students: “I had wanted to do a postgraduate course, but now I’m not able to as that money is being used for this repeat year. I’m now out of pocket after not having done anything wrong.”

The Glasgow Guardian asked her whether, at any point, she had been offered support for the traumatic experience she had suffered during her interactions with the University. She responded: “No, not all.” She said that they hadn’t even attempted to look further into the details of her case: “They didn’t ask for the time or the place. Honestly, I feel like their attitude was “right, that’s another one”; like I was just another tally.” She felt as though the University were more concerned with the issue of her attendance than the case of yet another sexual assault occurring on campus.

Charlotte’s is just one of a number of similar interactions that The Glasgow Guardian has been informed of. One such report includes a postgraduate student who had been sexually assaulted on campus a few years prior. She told us that

when she had gone to the University to report the incident, she was told “not to play the mental health card”, a line previously iterated to another student, as detailed in our Murano 12 article, and told us that the University threatened to remove her from her degree programme if she took her story “to the press”.

This issue appears to have been an ongoing issue as previous year’s Editor-in-Chief of The Glasgow Guardian, Bethany Woodhead, wrote in a Glasgow Guardian editorial republished in The Sunday Times last summer: “I have the power of words behind me and the ability to get a message out to thousands at the click of a button. Yet I have spent months going around and around in circles, exasperated and drained because we legally cannot publish knowledge we have on certain individuals at the University because of the bureaucratic mess that encumbers vital information and stories to be shared.

“I have had to watch the fear on the faces of many survivors who are forced to confront their abusers every day. Why is it that hundreds of students on campus were aware of who to stay away from, yet the university has been completely silent?”

The reporting of sexual assaults at the University has been described by students and staff as being “unreliable” and “inconsistent”. Charlotte herself had been reluctant to make a formal complaint: “I hadn’t particularly wanted to go to the University and tell them what had happened purely because I’d heard from other people that it hadn’t been handled well.”

Despite the University senate discussing the issue of gender-based violence on campus during a number of meetings, most of those reached out to by The Glasgow Guardian have been of the resounding opinion that the University “doesn’t care”. On speaking to Aamer Anwar, previous Rector, he emphasised: “There is institutionalised misogyny and sexism within the University. I’ve spoken to

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager students and I’ve spoken to staff over the years: it’s not good enough, we’re not moving at a fast enough pace.”

Following the recent tragic disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard, and the recent petition to improve lighting on Kelvin Way, Anwar commented: “We’re still in the same position about lighting on Kelvin Way: I brought up that issue about a year and a half ago.

“What has happened in all that time? Do we need to have a murder; do we need to have another rape?

Do we need to have more sexual assaults before somebody will actually listen? #MeToo started a number

of years ago… How many wake up calls does this university need?”

If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned, helplines are available at The Survivors Trust, Women’s Aid, or the Rape Crisis national freephone helpline on 0808 802 9999.

If you would like to contact The Glasgow Guardian about your own experience relating to issues raised in this article, please email Lucy Dunn at news@glasgowguardian.co.uk. All information is entirely confidential unless otherwise specified. *Name has been changed to protect anonymity.

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

News

Meteorite recovered by team including two UofG scientists Sophie Call WRITER

Researchers at the University of Glasgow have taken part in recovering the first meteorite on UK soil in over 30 years.

After a fireball lit up the sky on the night of 28 February, researchers were able to pinpoint the small village of Winchcombe as the landing location of the first meteorite material retrieved from UK soil in over 30 years. Once the possible landing zone was identified, on the morning of 4 March, 15 researchers from across the UK arrived in Gloucestershire to look for fragments of the meteorite in 16 square km of farmland.

Among the scientists given permission to travel to the search were PhD student Áine O’Brien and research associate Dr Annemarie Pickersgill, both of the University of Glasgow’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, who wrote about their historic experience for The Conservation.

While hundreds of meteorites hit the earth yearly, the large majority burn up during their journey through the atmosphere. Many of those that do survive are only recoverable in tiny amounts, even further complicating this month’s search was the fact that, as O’Brien and Pickergill wrote: “There are many shiny black things left behind by the neighbourhood sheep. This abundance of black

shiny things did make finding the correct shiny black things really hard.”

Fanning out over the farmland, researchers not only had to ensure every square inch of the fields were searched. But that they maintained the required 2m social distancing. A heavy rainfall was forecast within the week. This gave the scientists a short window of time before the fragments would be washed away, and the opportunity to retrieve much of the meteorite would be lost forever.

Over the multi-day meteorite search, small piles of dust had been found by researchers and local residents on pavements and in gardens. But it wasn’t until 6 March that a large, intact piece was recovered. Weighing over 100 grams and found by Mira Ihasz, who had accompanied O’Brien and Pickersgill on the search that morning, this was the biggest fragment anyone found.

The recovery of what would ultimately be over 500g of meteorite materials is not only a historic event but a scientifically significant one as well. The Winchcombe meteorite is of a rare meteorite class, called a carbonaceous chondrite, and it contains ancient organic materials, such as amino acids, that can help shed light on the development of life on Earth.

Regarding the meteorite hunters, O’Brien and Pickersgill write: “We’re all pretty certain this moment will be the highlight of our careers.”

UofG offering 20% discount to all alumni for postgraduate degrees Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

The University of Glasgow is now offering a 20% discount to alumni for all postgraduate taught and research degrees for the upcoming academic year.

Previously proposing a 10% cut in fees, the University doubled the discount to 20% due to the “current unprecedented economic climate” facing students. The concession can be used alongside other University scholarships offered to applicants.

All alumni at the University will be eligible for this discount, including Study Abroad and Erasmus+ students who have studied at Glasgow for these

respective programmes. The deduction can be applied to fulltime, part-time and online-only courses.

However, conditions include the availability of the discount only being for those applying for Postgraduate Research courses, Postgraduate Taught Masters or PhD programmes on a full-time or part-time basis. Professional development programmes such as CPD, PGDE, PGD, PGC, and Diploma in Legal Practice will not be eligible.

The discount will be applied at registration, but can only be assessed until January of that academic year, with this upcoming academic year deadline on 31 January 2022.

For more information, check the University’s website.

Behind the report: racism at UofG The GG talks to ex-rector Aamer Anwar and students who have experienced racism at UofG Credit: UofG Living

Luke Chafer INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR

Content Warning: racial harassment The recently published report Understanding Racism, Transforming University Cultures made for uncomfortable reading. Its findings were unequivocal, racial harassment at the University of Glasgow is pervasive.

The most damning findings in the report were that 50% of ethnic minority students experienced racial harassment between two and five times since starting their studies, with 5% reporting 20 separate instances. Staff reported primarily coded forms of racism, as well as a disparity in forms of employment with no representation in senior management and being three times more likely to be on fixed-term contracts. The report concluded that: “experiences of racial harassment combined with distinctive forms of structural disadvantage … undermines the University”.

The “‘catalyst for the programme of work” was the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report on racism at universities across Britain, which was published in October 2019. Yet the epidemic of racial harassment on campus was formally raised 35 months before the internal report was published, by rector Aamer Anwar in April 2018. On Twitter, he described the University’s approach to racism while he was rector as “being in denial or tokenistic”.

When asked why there was a delay between the issue being formally raised and action being taken, a spokesperson asserted that: “action was taken following dis-

cussions at Court in 2018… [we] created an online student reporting and support tool, which allows students to report issues either in name or anonymously”. A reporting tool that according to the subsequent report “only a handful [reported]… raising questions about its efficacy”. The spokesperson went on to reiterate what Principal Sir Anton Muscatelli said in his official statement: “Our University senior team felt challenged by the EHRC report”. This raises the question of why they didn’t feel challenged by the concerns raised

by Aamer Anwar.

“Multiple respondents also noted the course group chats as a platform for racial harassment...”

The EHRC report, which was the point of comparison, found that 24% of ethnic minorities experience racial harassment whilst at university across Britain, whereas the internal report carried out by the University of Glasgow found that 50% of BAME students experience such incidents. The Glasgow Guardian asked the University why there is such a stark difference, and the spokesperson believed it to be methodological differences and sample size.

Another central finding of the internal report was a degree-awarding gap with BAME students less likely to receive a good honours grade: in 2018/19 BAME students were 10.7% less

likely to receive good honours compared with their White peers.

When The Glasgow Guardian posed the question as to why the University believes this to be the case the spokesperson stated: “We do not know the root cause of this”. Whilst they also reiterated that as part of the action plan this would undergo further investigation using a new tool of analysis, it is only being launched next month suggesting that this academic year will again see a degree-awarding gap favouring White students.

In an attempt to understand the incidents wrapped up in statistics within the University report, The Glasgow Guardian circulated a survey to capture student experience. What became apparent was the casual and normalised nature of incidents experienced. A recurring theme in the responses was a feeling of otherness: continually made to feel an outsider. As one respondent noted: “constantly being asked where I am from...not taking the UK as an answer”. Another respondent said they were being “asked for sex for the South Asian experience”.

Students’ achievements were also belittled: ”I was told that the only reason I had an unconditional offer was because I was a person of colour and a woman”. Multiple respondents also noted the course group chats as a platform for racial harassment. As well as being harassed by students, respondents also noted microaggressions, “inappropriate comments”, and being placed in ethnically segregated groups by staff members. When asked “Did the University act appropriately in dealing with your incident?” the feeling of despondence was encapsulated by one answer which simply said: “no...just the usual ‘sorry’ emails”.

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Petition calling for more street lighting on Kelvin Way is endorsed by unions Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

The student bodies of the University of Glasgow have endorsed a petition that calls for more street lighting on Kelvin Way, a popular route home for students and women that still “lacks adequate lighting” following a number of sexual crimes in 2019.

Following the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard last week, there have been calls for change to be made in Glasgow to help women feel safer when walking alone at night. Kelvin Way has come under scrutiny for its

poor lighting, and a campaign has been set up on Change.org that demands increased street lighting along the pedestrianised route.

This petition has been endorsed by numerous societies at the University.

The petition is targeted towards Glasgow City Council, and states that Kelvin Way is not sufficiently lit and therefore an unsafe walking route for women and students: “Kelvingrove Park and Kelvin Way are routes home for many people, including young students, yet these spaces still lack adequate street lighting. The park and surrounding area has unfortunately been linked to a number of sexual

crimes, with the most recent occurring in 2019.

The GUU announced their support for the petition on their Facebook page, believing more street lighting would be beneficial for the safety of its members leaving its building late at night and have urged students to sign the petition.

Other student bodies have given their support for the petition, including the QMU, with president Ruaraidh Campbell telling The Glasgow Guardian: “Everyone in the West End knows the fear of Kelvingrove Park at night.

It’s a beautiful space and one of our city’s gems but it isn’t a safe

SRC president-elect Ella McCabe makes statement about work to tackle genderbased violence Lucy Dunn DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

On 14 March, alongside Successful Woman at Glasgow (SWAG), the SRC jointly invited people to come along to the open vigil site situated at the University flagpole, to remember Sarah Everard and to pay tribute to all the victims of gender-based violence.

On Twitter, SRC President-elect, Ella McCabe, commented on behalf of the SRC: “We hope this to be a safe, reflective space for you to stand in solidarity with those who have been impacted by Gender-Based Violence. My thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the news this week, and I will work to ensure the SRC continues to play a role in making Glasgow Uni a dear safe place for all.”

The south flagpole was covered

in messages, flowers, candles and signs, emphasising the number of students affected by the events of the previous week. The gated entrances to Kelvingrove Park were covered with ribbons, flowers tied to railings, and testimonies from survivors and messages wishing love, hope and peace to both Sarah and all affected.

“The south flagpole was covered in messages, flowers, candles and signs...”

Ella McCabe also made mention to the Safe Zone app, availa-

ble to download from MyGlasgow for all students, which links up to University Security: “If you feel unsafe while navigating the campus, please remember that you can press the red button on the app and ask a member of security to escort you home.”

The University describes the app as a “must-have for every member of staff and student at the UofG”. It is monitored throughout day and night by Glasgow’s Security team.

The app functions by use of buttons: blue for general enquiries or help in a non-emergency situation, and red for emergencies. Upon pressing the red button, your location is immediately shared with the Security staff, and the option to call 999 will also appear.

To download the Safe Zone app, go to https://www.safezoneapp. com/

Rector elections to require candidates to be re-nominated Ollie Rudden

last year.

NEWS EDITOR

Last year’s candidates for Rector must refile nomination work if they still wish to run for the position, The Glasgow Guardian can confirm.

Elections were originally meant to be held in 2020 but were postponed due to Covid-19.

But despite this, the University will be reopening nominations, which means last year’s candidates will have to be renominated and submit their paperwork by 12pm on Wednesday 31 March 2021. Manifesto and bibliographies for the candidates can also be updated or kept the same as

“Elections were originally meant to be held in 2020 but were postponed due to Covid-19...”

Additionally, The Glasgow Guardian can confirm due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions the University is accepting electronic signatures, an email from candidates’ personal email accounts or a student proposer’s

email account to confirm they are willing to undertake the role and confirm they have read the information pack and the website. The nomination pack has also been amended to remove the requirement to sign the nomination form allowing email confirmation from the nominee themselves instead.

The University Rector is elected every three years. The role involves attending meetings of the University Court - the University’s governing body, where the holder of the role is entitled to chair meetings.

For more information on the Rector elections, check out https://w w w.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/students/uofgrector/.

place at night.

“This is a simple fix that could dramatically improve the safety and lives of our students and others in our local community. I have seen it work before in my local park back home and think it’s long overdue for Kelvingrove. QMU is proud to endorse this petition as part of our broader commitment of fighting sexual violence and harassment.”

GUSA president Shereif Kholeif has also endorsed the petition, telling The Glasgow Guardian: I am definitely in support of the petition, I have always thought Kelvin walkway needed more adequate street lighting. Although

this has improved over my time living in Glasgow, more could definitely be done.

“I do not think that people should be encouraged to go through the park as a route home in the late hours of the night and believe the gates should be locked.

However, in the winter months, I appreciate that dark is as early as 4pm so the park could do with better lighting, especially as there are school children who finish around that time.”

Currently, the petition has over 9,400 signatures, and numbers are rising fast.

To sign the petition, go to https://bit.ly/3lA9AsI

QMU launch new service ‘QMUnity’

Credit: QMU Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

The Queen Margaret Union (QMU) has launched a new student charitable service called “QMUnity”. Described as a “socialisation” service, it will be run by students, for students. There will be a number of volunteers led by the charity and campaigns convenor, Rebecca Friels, and the service aims to widen the social networks of students and give “much needed” social interaction to students, “providing socialising, friendship and wellbeing opportunities” as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

The service will come in two parts: the first of these is an instant messaging service which will operate from Monday to Friday and operate from 1pm to 3pm. Students looking for someone to talk to can simply message the page and a volunteer will be online to chat during those hours.

The second part of the service will be a service offering “Covid-safe walks”. These walks will take place every Friday and be one-to-one with a student and

volunteer. The walks will be 30 minutes and will see the wearing of face masks and social distancing. Slots will be posted every Friday on the QMUnity page. Students will be able to message the page and arrange all the details of the walks privately with students.

On their website, the QMU states: “While an end to Covid restrictions seems to be on the horizon, we know that students have been, and are still, struggling as a result of the pandemic and the increased restrictions on socialising. We at the QMU want to do more to help our student body through these difficult times, and as such are introducing a new service: QMUnity!

“We hope that QMUnity will be able to support students as much as possible in these difficult times and provide at least a small amount of needed social interaction!”

To access the QMUnity Facebook page, click here.

QMU stress that this is a volunteer service, and that if you are in need of professional help or counselling then visit their Elephant in the Room resources here.

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News

New report details Glasgow students’ financial issues during pandemic Silas Pease DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

According to the findings of a new online survey, 88% of Glasgow students feel the pandemic has impacted their ability to work alongside their studies, while only 19% have received financial support through the government’s furlough scheme.

These are both significantly different compared to the national averages shown in the survey which stand at 76% and 30% respectively.

These findings were released by property and letting company OpenRent, who examined the financial impact of the pandemic for students in issues such as rent, employment, and financial support. The survey, which was con-

ducted over a week in mid-February of this year, compiled the responses of 704 students from across the UK and was released as a report earlier this month.

The pandemic has also had an impact on students searching for jobs, according to this report, with 70% of Glasgow students surveyed believing it has impacted their ability to find work. In terms of rent, 38% of Glasgow students surveyed currently owe at least one month’s rent if not more, which is slightly above the national average.

The report also found that, across the UK, 14% of students either dropped out or deferred their placement since the start of the pandemic, and 87% have felt that the support they received from the government has been unsatisfactory.

Shop workers experienced increased abuse from customers during Covid-19 pandemic Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

Shop workers, a part-time job held by many students to support their studies, have experienced increased abuse on the job during the Covid-19 pandemic according to figures from trade union USDAW (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers).

“79% of retail workers say abuse they suffered under Covid-19 was worse than the year before...”

USDAW are calling for customers to show respect for shop workers following their data collected from 2020 which shows that 79% of retail workers say abuse they suffered under Covid-19 was worse than the year before. Additionally, the report finds that 88% of staff experience verbal abuse from customers, 60% were threatened by a customer and 9% were assaulted by a customer.

Shop workers from Glasgow commented to USDAW for their survey, giving examples of abuse they suffered: “Customer swore at me and hit with sandwich”, “Varies from comments such as stupid bitch, jobsworth, being told to fuck off, or shut up”, “Finger pointing in face and being poked with finger”, and “Customer trying to punch me on the body.”

Paddy Lillis, USDAW general secretary, said: “It is heart-breaking to hear these testimonies from Scottish shop workers who deserve

far more respect than they receive.

Our latest survey results clearly show the scale of the appalling violence, threats, and abuse faced by shop workers. It has been a terrible year for our members, with almost 90% of shop workers suffering abuse, two-thirds threatened and one in 10 assaulted.

“We are saying loud and clear that enough is enough, abuse should never be part of the job.

At a time when we should all be working together to get through this crisis, it is a disgrace that staff working to keep food on the shelves and the shop safe for customers are being abused.

So we very much welcomed the ground-breaking legislation to protect shop workers from violence, threats and abuse, passed by the Scottish Parliament in January. USDAW has campaigned for many years to secure these legal protections.”

Glasgow students who work in shops similarly reported abuse.

One noted: “(going to inert a quote from a student shop worker).”

Another noted specific dangers brought on by the pandemic: “In my job the aisles are so narrow that people seem to disregard distancing rules completely, especially when I’m stocking shelves or collecting orders. I am not a human ornament but a human being.” There have also been hostile attitudes towards shop rule enforcement, with one shop worker stating: “Frequently, we’re told by management to enforce the rules the company has outlined, but so often, if we ask customers to follow them, we either get ignored or told we’re being ridiculous. One customer called me ‘a brainless sheep’ because I told them we weren’t taking cash at the minute.”

Free bus travel extended to under 22s Ollie Rudden NEWS EDITOR

Free bus travel will be extended to all residents aged 21 and under in Scotland as a result of the budget passed in March.

The policy came after negotiations between the current Scottish government, a minority SNP administration, and the Scottish Greens, which saw the scheme included to ensure the passage of the budget.

The introduction of free bus travel for under 21s will mean students will no longer have to pay money for tickets or passes for using private bus services across Glasgow. Students will save hun-

dreds of pounds a year, as currently, annual student bus passes cost between £400 and £500 under First Bus services in the Greater Glasgow area. The move will likely come as a welcome development for home students who require public transport to travel to campus.

John Finnie MSP, the transport spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, stated: “Free bus travel will help to open up Scotland for young people, as well as tackling poverty, saving money for stretched household budgets, building a culture of public transport, and helping to reduce climate emissions from transport.

“This is a massive step to the fairer and greener Scotland that we both want to see. It means that stu-

dents will save hundreds of pounds in travelling to their campuses, it means families living in poverty can plan a day trip, and it means a whole generation can grow up seeing public transport as the best option.”

Kate Forbes MSP, cabinet secretary for finance, commented: “As we rebuild from Covid, we will support our young people by extending our original commitment to concessionary travel for all under 19s to include everyone up to age 22, giving all 18-21-year-olds free bus travel.”

Free bus travel is already available in Scotland for residents over 60, those with disabilities, and, as of last year, residents aged 19 and under.

GU Labour Club call for Hollie Cameron to be reinstated as Scottish Labour candidate for Glasgow Kelvin Kimberley Mannion

Credit: Cameron for Glasgow Kelvin

WRITER

Glasgow University Labour Club have called for the reinstatement of Hollie Cameron as Scottish Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Kelvin after being removed as the candidate following a statement on a second Scottish independence referendum.

Glasgow University Labour Club released a joint statement with Strathclyde University Labour Club which backed the reinstatement of Hollie Cameron as the candidate for the constituency of many of their students’ members, saying she was an “excellent candidate” selected “unanimously” by the local constituency party and is a “socialist” who matches Labour values, stating: “Hollie Cameron is an excellent candidate who was selected unanimously by her CLP - her views were well known before she was selected.

Hollie is a socialist whose values are Labour values, and to remove her because of her views on the constitution is outrageous and undemocratic; it is an example of party HQ overreach. GULC and SULC believe that Hollie Cameron is the best candidate to represent Labour in our universities’ constituencies and that the party must reverse this overreach before it’s too late.”

An open letter has also been signed by several hundred Labour members, officials, and activists to reinstate Hollie Cameron as Scottish Labour candidate for the Glasgow Kelvin constituency.

Cameron, 29, was removed from her position as candidate for May’s Scottish parliamentary elections after she made comments in an interview which contradicted Scottish Labour’s position on a second independence referendum.

The former candidate was interviewed twice by a Labour Scottish Executive Committee (SEC) panel, but failed to assure them that she

would follow the party line were she to become an MSP. Speaking to the Sunday National, Cameron stated that Labour “respected the right” of Scotland to hold a second independence referendum and that the “only quibble” within the party was over its timing.

This goes against the position of new leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, in opposing such a vote. Sarwar said of his former candidate’s comments: “We do not have the luxury of our party pulling apart at this time, when we actually need a unified Labour Party serious about rebuilding our country.”

Interviewed on BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show, however, Sarwar claimed over the decision to remove Cameron as candidate that “it was a Scottish executive committee that made a decision about a candidate which is not related to her position on the constitution.”

Hollie Cameron responded to the comments with a letter to the leader on Twitter, in which she asks: “If my removal was not re-

lated to the constitution, precisely what party policy is the SEC panel concerned I would not honour under the whipping system should I be elected?”

She also added: “I feel the comment made by Anas yesterday is so unclear that it allows for questions to be raised over my personal character and suitability to be a public servant which is unfair and unacceptable to me.”

The open letter in support of Cameron, from Glasgow Kelvin constituency party, calls on the SEC to overturn the decision. It has been signed by prominent figures on the left of Labour, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

The letter states: “During Hollie’s campaign for selection for the Glasgow Regional List and for Glasgow Kelvin constituency, her position as a 2014 Yes voter and her current views on the constitutional question were made clear. However, the focus of Hollie’s campaign was to be on a socialist coronavirus and climate recovery for Scotland.”

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News

Glasgow contestant wins RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Silas Pease DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Glasgow-based drag queen Lawrence Chaney has been crowned the winner of the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Chaney was awarded the title of the UK’s Next Drag Superstar in the show’s finale, beating out fellow contestants Bimini Bon Boulash and Tayce in a final lip-sync for the crown.

Chaney, 24, is the first queen from Glasgow to be cast on the show and is currently one of only two contestants from Scotland to appear on a Drag Race UK season. The other contestant, Dundee queen Ellie Diamond, ranked fourth, having also survived to the finale. Readers may also recognise Chaney from their appearance in the SPT’s “My Glasgow, My Subway” campaign from a few years ago.

With three main challenge wins from the season, Chaney was consistently given praise throughout

for their charisma, humour, and hard-working attitude. During the final deliberation, judge Graham Norton discussed their performance in the competition, stating: “As an audience member what Lawrence Chaney has is a fully formed character. It is performance, but it comes from somewhere. It is really who that person is. A bit of pain, a bit of grit, doesn’t take herself that seriously and yet takes this seriously.”

“Readers may also recognise Chaney from their appearance in the SPT’s ‘My Glasgow, My Subway’ campaign...”

A prominent fixture of the Glas-

gow drag scene, Chaney has been vocal about the importance of representing the Scottish drag scene and of fairer pay for local performers, as seen in a recent interview with PinkNews.

When asked why they thought they should win during the finale, Chaney stated: “I started drag in Scotland and I was never the best dancer or the best lip-syncer but what I started with was making connections, making people laugh and being that escapism for people. I want to offer my drag as escapism to all those people. I want to show that no matter how bullied you are, and how weird you look, you can do anything. I want to show the UK and the world everything I have to offer because I really think I can make a difference.”

The finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season two aired on Thursday 18 March at 7pm on BBC Three and was produced by World of Wonder. Both seasons of the show are currently available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.

New national confessions page Unifessions UK launches Silas Pease DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

A new university online confessions page catered to students across the UK was launched in early March. The page, called Unifessions UK, invites students nationwide to share their uni-related confessions to a wider audience.

Among over 20 UK university confession pages that helped to set up this new national effort is the University of Glasgow’s own GlasKnow 2.0. In a recent post on their Facebook page, the GlasKnow team wrote: “We are very happy to support the launch of Unifessions UK, a new initiative put together by

SPORTS EDITOR

The Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) celebrated its 17th annual event, after its introduction in 2005.

Audiences from all across the United Kingdom tuned in online to the 17th edition of the nationally loved festival, proudly featuring 10 world premieres, three European premieres, and 49 UK premieres, which were screened across 12 days. With a whopping 37,773 viewers, it was a Glasgow

Sophie Call WRITER

Beginning on 1 July 2021, international students will be eligible to apply for the new Graduate Route visa, which will allow international graduates to remain in the UK for two years and doctoral graduates to remain in for three years.

To be eligible, international students must have completed a selected course at a higher education institution, “with a track record of compliance with the government’s immigration requirements”. Successful international students will then have the right to stay in the UK to work or find work.

Unlike the current Skilled Worker visa, which was previously the primary route available for international students looking to remain in the UK, the new Graduate Route visa does not require sponsorship or have minimum salary requirements.

Whilst this visa scheme was first announced in September of 2019, Kevin Foster, the minister for future

REPORTER

Credit: Unifessions UK a group of confession page admins across 21 universities in the UK!” The first confession was posted on Thursday 18 March, confessing: “Nobody actually wants this page”, followed by usual GlasKnow style confessions and memes,

with a couple of memes and confessions taking aim at Oxbridge students.

Unifessions UK officially launched on 18 March this year and has currently over 5,000 likes on Facebook.

Film Festival like no other, in a year like no other.

The Audience prize, a much sought-after award chosen by the audience themselves, and the only one presented during the festival, was bestowed to the Sweetheart, directed by Marley Morrison.

Described as a “sharply observed coming-of-age story”, Sweetheart follows the relationship of two young women who meet on a caravan park in Dorset. Overwhelmed with elation when she accepted the award, Morrison commented: “I’m hugely grateful to get this

recognition from such an amazing festival.”

In a year where cinema has suffered to such a great extent, the festival’s success was a glowing reminder that good times are undoubtedly nearing. CEO of Glasgow Film and co- director of the Glasgow Film Festival, Allison Gardner, emphasised her delight at the success of the online screening of the festival: “Our team have pulled together a programme of quality cinema, reflected by the brilliant attendance and engagement of our audiences.”

borders and immigration, more recently emphasised its impact in rebuilding the economy in a post-pandemic world, stating: “As we rebuild from the global pandemic, we want the world’s brightest talents, who aspire to a career at the highest levels of business, science, the arts, and technology, to see our United Kingdom as the natural place to fulfil their aspirations.”

The introduction of the visa scheme also falls in line with the government’s goal of increasing the number of international students in UK universities to 600,000 by 2030.

With many immigration routes now closed to European international students following Brexit, there is hope that this scheme will appeal to students who are hoping to not only to study, but to stay and work within the UK post-graduation.

For University of Glasgow students interested in taking advantage of the Graduate Route visa, more information can be found on the UKCISA website, as well as on the International Student Support section of the University of Glasgow website.

UofG Careers Service says there’s still opportunities for students and graduates Chloe Coldwell

GFF drew more than 37,000 views for 2021 virtual programme Jamie Byrne

New immigration routes available for international grads from July

Glasgow University’s Career Service has launched a new campaign to reassure students who are set to graduate into a job market that has been turbulent since the beginning of the pandemic.

“One tip they suggest is to look out for expanding sectors, such as e-commerce, finance, and AI...”

With the furlough scheme being repeatedly extended and many still working from home, students are currently facing high levels of uncertainty surrounding the labour market they will graduate into. The Careers Service seeks to dispel these fears in their recently released video published across their social media: “The Real Truth of Jobs for Grads”.

In the video, careers manager Ann Duff shares some of the data gathered about the current graduate job market. She states that, although recent overall unemployment rates for ages 16-24 are concerningly around 14%, the figure for graduates is “likely to be much

lower” due to their valuable skills, qualifications and experience.

One tip they suggest is to look out for expanding sectors, such as e-commerce, finance, and AI, and for students to “think about pivoting their job intentions to these areas”. Duff also advises to take advantage of the current flexible working situation and look for jobs slightly further away as these roles may offer the opportunity to work from home.

Positively, the video features two stories from current students who have had success in finding internship opportunities during the pandemic. The Careers Service itself has a database of job opportunities and their own data suggests the number of roles for graduates is steadily increasing.

The careers adviser ends the video by providing resources for students to use in their job search and inviting them to engage with the university’s team of advisers who offer appointments via Zoom as well as frequent events and masterclasses to help students and graduates plan their next steps.

Duff closes by acknowledging the difficulties of the current job market but advises students to persevere, be flexible, and recognise the transferable skills they have gained throughout their time at university.

The video can be viewed across their social media accounts and on their YouTube channel.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Views

Unlearning… dream jobs and “success” In the latest instalment of our series, Views Editor Emily explores how she figured out what her career goals really were.

real difference in the world. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting these things for yourself if you genuinely want them, but there is something wrong with being told that you can’t be successful in any other ways.

Emily Hay VIEWS EDITOR

Go to school, get good grades to get into university, then work hard and do well there to nab a good job. That’s how they tell us to do life when we’re teenagers. When we get to university, things change a little: suddenly, the emphasis is on getting work experience and extracurriculars to boost your CV alongside maintaining those academic grades.

The end goal is always the same though: you want to leave university and walk straight into a stable graduate role in a field you want to make a long-term career for yourself in.

“I was always taught to base my worth on my career path and goals, but I’m a whole person outside of them too...”

“You’re allowed to want to work to live, rather than live to work...”

Once you’re in that stable job, with a flashy title and great progression prospects, congratulations – you’ve made it! So what if you’re working 80-hour weeks?

You want to get ahead in the industry, don’t you? So what if you find the whole atmosphere soul-crushingly mundane, or exploitative, or anxiety-inducing?

You want to be on the housing ladder by 30, don’t you? You want to make your parents proud, don’t you? You want to be successful, don’t you?

This was my internal monologue all the way through my third and fourth years as an undergrad. As someone who’s always been considered “smart,” “gifted,” “talented” – whatever adjective you want to use – I was always told that I was destined for great things. The problem is, those “great things” are pretty much always career-based. They make you base your entire identity around your future career when you’re young, particularly when you’re at university. So, when you’re not sure what you want to do, or you begin to question the career path you’ve already started wandering down, it becomes not only a career crisis but an identity one.

When I was at school, English was my thing. I loved reading, and although I tended to do well in most of my classes, it was the subject I did best in and the one

Credit: Canva/Tara Gandhi - Production and Social Media Manager in which I was most confident in my abilities. All of this meant that I knew I wanted to do a literature degree at uni, but beyond that, I didn’t have a clue. After a dalliance with wanting to be an author, which lasted far too long for the (lack of) work ethic and imagination I showed the process of creative writing, I found myself nearing the end of my second year and already beginning to panic about my career prospects and lack of experience in anything that wasn’t customer service – the one thing that I knew I wanted out of at the first opportunity. So, I decided to give some non-fiction writing a chance and dove head-first into student journalism. I not only made loads of new friends but I worked really hard to get as much legit experience as I could in the “real” media world, including some paid freelance work which really helped boost my ego as well as my CV. Yet, when it came to my final year and staring at a barren jobs market (partially thanks to a general lack of arts journalism jobs in Scotland, and partially thanks

to 2020 and Covid) I couldn’t imagine any of it being a dream, rest-of-my-life job.

“‘Success’ isn’t a tangible thing – it isn’t quantifiable, it’s relative to you...”

Don’t get me wrong - I enjoyed what I did enough to do it for free sometimes, and certainly felt good getting paid for it. If I got a full-time job in the industry which slotted perfectly around the other aspects of my life I’d gladly take it in a heartbeat. But this is a cutthroat industry; the amount of graduates outnumbers the number of available jobs what feels like tenfold, and you have to really, desperately want it – and be willing to go wherever the jobs are rather than where you nec-

essarily want to be – to cash in.

The realisation I slowly came to throughout my final year – but it’s taken me into a passion-project Masters to properly accept and articulate – is that I don’t think I want to live for a career. I can’t think of any I want badly enough to sacrifice my home, my happiness or my mental wellbeing to claw my way to the top. I was always taught to base my worth on my career path and goals, but I’m a whole person outside of them too, and I don’t want to lose any of that just to earn the looks-goodon-a-CV type of success that I don’t want that badly.

It feels taboo to say it, but you’re allowed to want to work to live, rather than live to work.

Your career doesn’t have to define who you are for the rest of your life – in fact, it’s actually pretty messed up that that’s the norm.

High-achieving school and university environments have led us to believe that the only way of being a successful member of society is to have a career that takes over your life and either earns you loads of money or makes a

I get that we want to encourage kids to be as much as they can be, and in the late-capitalist hellscape we live in “as much as you can be” is inherently tied to “as much as you earn” or “as much as you invent” or “as much as you influence others” etcetera, etcetera. But the fact that success is never defined in non-career terms is so damaging – maybe not to the young people who are encouraged to shoot for the stars, but definitely for the adults who land abruptly amongst the rubble, and who decide that maybe they don’t want to build a rocket at great personal cost to themselves, when they’re happy enough looking up at the sky with their feet firmly on the ground.

If you want a job that earns you enough to live off of and not much more because it affords you the spare time to spend on hobbies, with friends or with family, then no one should be able to tell you that you aren’t going to be “successful” in life.

“Success” isn’t a tangible thing – it isn’t quantifiable, it’s relative to you, and the only person that can measure your personal level of success is you. And if success for you is being happy and generally living for the life you lead outside your working hours, then that’s okay. Obviously, it would be preferable to not hate the job that you do to pay the bills, but it isn’t necessary for it to be your life either.

Not everyone can be a world changer, but not everyone wants to be. You’re not less successful than anyone else for thinking that way, but you just might find yourself a damn sight happier in the long run.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

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Views

House every weekend?

Has the past year pushed you to re-evaluate the clubbing experience?

Rachel Campbell VIEWS COLUMNIST

As the vaccines roll out and we edge nearer life after lockdown, the conversation in my student circle inevitably comes back to how much we can’t wait to be back clubbing again, be it June 21 or otherwise.

Whether my friends are loyal to Firewater, The Garage, or Paisley’s own Fantoosh, the dance floor seems to be calling my friends in a way I can’t relate to. I wasn’t really an avid club-goer pre-Covid, but the pandemic has really made it seem less and less appealing.

“The dance floor seems to be calling my friends in a way I can’t relate to...”

For starters, as the pandemic has made us all more aware of our hygiene habits, and the idea of cramming back into a packed club with its questionably sticky floors does gross me out a bit more than before. Having worked in hospitality, I’m sure there’s only so clean those plastic cups can get. Not to mention, having spent so long

without coming within two metres of anyone outside my household, the idea of pushing my way to the front of the bar, or piling into the crowded toilets sounds like a recipe for a panic attack.

This isn’t to say I’ve never enjoyed clubbing - I definitely have.

But maybe because I’m no longer single, I don’t get the same excitement about a night in Bamboo as I once did. Whether or not you care to admit it, part of the appeal of clubbing is the uncertainty, which is often tied to who you may or may not get with. Of course, my partner and I have had good nights in a club before, but with all my friends in pursuit of a disco winch, and having to keep explaining, “My boyfriend’s just at the bar,” it does seem like a single person’s game. The pandemic has been make-or-break for many couples, and has led my boyfriend and I to move in together. Whilst this has been great, it has made me feel even further from my single days of kissing someone to S Club 7’s Reach, not catching their last name before my friend says it’s time to get our coats. Besides, even if I was single, I’m not sure my winching sweaty strangers would be the first thing on my bucket list post-pandemic. In hindsight, the thought of freshers’ flu feels much more sinister now.

When my friends all say they can’t wait to get back in the queue for Shimmy, I always say I’d rath-

er have a night in the pub. I much prefer a seat and a chat with friends you haven’t seen in a while, which will be everyone when restrictions are first eased. You can get a drink much more easily, and usually with less of a dent in your bank account, not to mention a bouncer won’t turn you away for being in too big a group. I love bumping into old school friends, my workmates and uni pals all on the same night, and I think after being away from each other for so long, everyone will be glad to be introduced to new friends and to catch up with old ones.

I’ve had many more exciting nights at flat-warmings and new year’s house parties than in Hive or Buff Club. I love having a few wines and becoming “best friends” with someone for the rest of the night, only to like each other’s Instagrams for eternity and never speak again. I can’t wait to play Ring of Fire and Picolo again, or to make my friends play the ultimate hype song, Picture to Burn

by Taylor Swift. Yes, there’s the potential for wine stains, broken glasses and a clean-up mission after a house party, but I’d rather that than waiting in the cold to get into a packed club where you end up getting three overpriced vodka lemonades and losing your ticket for the cloakroom.

Having said all of this, if you see me in Kokomo when the clubs do open back up... no you didn’t.

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager

Who’s the real threat to freedom of speech on campus?

John Harris WRITER

Last month, the UK government embarked on their latest crusade as the white knights of academic freedom. To address what is being described as a “crisis of free speech” on university campuses, education secretary Gavin Williamson announced he will be appointing a “Free Speech and Academic Freedom Champion” to the Office for Students. The champion will be tasked with ensuring universities follow government regulations on free speech and will have the power to fine the non-compliant. This is in addition to extending the duties of protecting free speech directly to student unions, and allowing individuals to seek compensation in court if a university fails to uphold their right to free speech. Bold moves in support of academic freedom from a department who, less than six months ago, were pushing for a ban on anti-capitalist reading materials in English schools.

While these new regulations are only applicable south of the border, they bring a longstanding debate over university free speech

back to the surface, with implications for institutions across the UK. For more than a decade, the media has been reporting apparent infringements on free speech on campuses, safe spaces gone wild and the apparently overwhelming spectre of “cancel culture”. These range from academics having their talks pulled, such as the recent postponement of University of California professor Gregory Clark’s For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls seminar here at Glasgow last month, to books being removed from libraries, and students coming forward with claims that they fear revealing their views on issues such as Brexit due to the hostile response.

In the government proposal, Williamson himself decried “the rise of intolerance and cancel culture” within the university system.

So academic freedom is being brought to its knees by “woke” students and politically correct university staff? In the immortal words of Public Enemy, don’t believe the hype.

While cases like Gregory Clark’s have managed to make their way into national newspapers, they hardly reflect a widespread crisis. A 2018 par-

liamentary report from the Joint Committee of Human Rights stated it “did not find the wholesale censorship of debate which media coverage has suggested,” which points to the cancelling of speakers by universities being linked to occasional individual cases rather than a coherent attack on free speech. Focussing on the Clark incident, his seminar was postponed rather than cancelled to allow the talk to be accommodated within a workshop with opportunity for more debate. I’d say allowing his academic (and I use that term loosely) theory that IQ is linked to genetics and, in turn, socio-economic outcomes essentially eugenics light - to be debated at a later date is a very balanced response. Rather than stifle free speech, this decision allows a response to views which, in the words of the 110 academics who signed a letter denouncing Clark, “have been overwhelmingly discredited by reputable and rigorous research.” In my view, the University should have been able to refuse the lecture on the grounds of it being so heavily discredited with little grounding.

Surely universities should be promoting rigorous research and the

use of credible sources?

“Really what the champions of university free speech want is a place to air their views free from criticism...”

This hasn’t stopped the rallying calls of his supporters citing a threat to academic freedom. In their eyes, Clark is another victim of “cancel culture” and censorship from universities which are trying to block students from hearing alternative points of view - which is why I was surprised to find his books still fully accessible at the library. Either the University really dropped the ball keeping his views from being accessed by students or, in a wild twist, it could be possible he wasn’t being censored at all.

If the University of Glasgow was subject to the Department for Education’s policy, they could have been liable to pay damages

in court for a failure to uphold freedom of speech or face other disciplinary action. That is a lot of protection being given to shakey academic work that seems to do nothing but shield it from criticism and, ultimately, debate. If something as simple as postponing a talk can be grounds for accusations of censorship, it raises questions over how the government could apply these new rules.

Could a government who demanded the removal of materials from schools based on their anti-capitalist views really be trusted to enforce these rules universally? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Demanding the removal of one side of the argument while promoting the inclusion of the other demonstrates a clear agenda. The balanced upholding of the rules by a “Free Speech Champion” who owes their job to that same government seems unlikely. Really what the champions of university free speech want is a place to air their views free from criticism.

They have yet to grasp that sometimes criticism loses you your platform, that’s just consequence culture not “cancel culture,” and it’s a vital part of free speech.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Views

British people of colour shouldn’t have to keep calm and carry on In response to Meghan Markle’s recent Oprah interview, Tara Gandhi discusses why telling people of colour to be happy with a “less racist” Britain isn’t good enough racist”. There is no “acceptable” level of racism. And there is no acceptable level of racist abuse that Meghan, or any other POC in the UK, should have to face.

Tara Gandhi SOCIAL MEDIA AND PRODUCTION MANAGER

I remember their wedding day. I didn’t watch it, because that was the day I was moving out of Queen Margaret Residences and I was distracted trying to clear the suspicious gunk out of the freezer and persuade my parents that I didn’t have too many blankets. But I remember it, and I remember the public feeling, and I remember the hope. What a hopeful day that was for women of colour. I knew that being a princess is not the goal we should be striving for, and I knew that the institution of the royal family was deeply and ultimately flawed. But… we had a brown princess. A woman of colour in the royal family! It felt hopeful and exciting and like a Good Thing. And then time passed and it got harder to ignore the vitriol that surrounded her. But at least she’s happy, I thought. At least she’s being protected and looked after and loved. And now we come to the miserable end of that hopeful image; she wasn’t protected, loved only by her husband, and far from happy.

These past few weeks it’s been (even more than usual) depressing to be a woman of colour in Britain. To see what the establishment, what the leaders of the country, the media, and much of the public think of us when the chips are down.

“They said she wasn’t Black enough to experience racism, and then they thought Archie would be too brown to be a Prince...”

“Mixed people are never enough of one thing to make people happy...”

The fact is, there is no version of us that is allowed. The most beautiful, well-spoken, well-meaning and classy version of us is unacceptable. Mixed race women are revered because we’re palatable, just the right about of brown or Black to be interesting, exotic and tan, but we still are passable as White or Mediterranean, and there doesn’t need to be any concern about our behaviour because at least one of our parents will have raised us the British way. But when it comes down to it at the end of the day, we are still not White. And that is not good enough.

Before the interview, they said she wasn’t Black enough to experience racism, and then they thought Archie would be too brown to be a Prince, or to even be protected. Such is the contradiction of being mixed race. You

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator are a “coconut”: too whitewashed to fit in with one culture, and not White enough for the other. And I know being mixed comes with its privileges. We are afforded luxuries and benefit of the doubt that our non-mixed person of colour (POC) friends are not. When it comes to issues of colourism, we benefit the most. But we also exist in a limbo, overexerting our identities to fit into either of our heritages. I can’t be English because neither of my parents are, but I can’t be Indian because I was born in England and don’t speak Hindi. I’m not Northern Irish because I look Indian and have an English accent. It’s exhausting.

Mixed people are never enough of one thing to make people happy.

“We also exist in a limbo, overexerting our identities to fit into either of our heritages...”

Then, after the interview, we had to watch people try to excuse racism, with Jane Moore on Loose Women saying that it was probably just “casual racism” and so shouldn’t be criticised. We have seen pundits and journalists and TV personalities more outraged that Meghan would dare to point

out racism than that she has had to face it. This is a perfect example of the specific, subtle, British form of racism that British POC have been talking about for so long.

Because Black boys aren’t being gunned down in the street, we should be happy. We should let the royal family be a little racist because they are old and special. The British media can’t be racist because there were a handful of positive front pages following Harry and Meghan’s engagement. Things aren’t as bad as they are in America, aren’t as bad as they used to be, so we just grow thick skin and handle what we get, because we’re lucky to live in this country, in this time. But in the words of the great Dave, “the least racist is still

Incidents like this hurt, as a POC, as a British Asian, as a mixed person. Harry himself has spoken about not realising the unconscious bias that he carried until he met Meghan, and whenever these national conversations about race happen, it is just a reminder that my White friends, as well-meaning and anti-racist as they are, simply don’t have to factor in the daily microaggressions we face that beat us down. They have the luxury of never having to think about race. Meanwhile, in four years, I’ve only ever had one seminar with another South Asian in it. I take politics, and every time the Middle East, racism, islamophobia, terrorism or migration is brought up, people look at me. I’m a Hindu. Yet for four years, I have been the racial ambassador in my classes, grinning and bearing the microaggressions and ignorance I face every time. And the class I did share with another South Asian?

She was a hijabi, and entirely unprompted, the lecturer asked her to translate an ancient version of the Qur’an in front of the entire group. It is exhausting, living every day and having to think about your race.

I’m sick of having to act as a racial ambassador, I’m sick of having to mould my mixed heritage to fit whatever box makes it easier for people to understand me. I’m sick of being told to be happy with a society that is “less racist”, that is an expert at hiding its racism in microaggressions and subtleties. I’m not surprised Meghan left. And I’m not surprised that Charles, or Camilla, or whoever it was, was worried Archie would be too dark.

This is the country we have all been living in, just some people get to not notice. British people of colour are told to grin and bear it, and we have been - but now everyone else has noticed, it feels like a good time to spark some change.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

9

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It only took a pandemic to feel like me Haneul Lee VIEWS COLUMNIST

As a student who has had multiple permanent disabilities all my life, and one who is attending one of the oldest universities in Scotland, you can imagine there’d be quite a few limits when it comes to accessibility. However, this past year has been fascinating, because I have seen the potential that the world has for accessibility and how it can improve in the future. And although it’s already mid-March, it’s never too late to look back at the past year and reflect on change and growth, which is how this article came to be.

The truth is, I have only really gotten this far thanks to the people I surround myself with and the compassionate strangers I’ve met along the way. Up until recently, this was a fact that burdened me: how can I create an identity of my own when I can’t even dream of doing things other people can? It is a cold, hard fact - I cannot travel the world with just a backpack slung on my shoulder. I cannot walk out the door with just my phone in my hand and wallet tucked into my jean pocket.

Everything requires immense planning, assistance, and comes with a million obstacles. My definition of “independent” has and always will be different from others.

During the pandemic, everything

Credit: Unsplash changed. Some people have gone through the worst days of their lives: losing their jobs, their homes, or their loved ones. Mental health stability has gone down, domestic abuse rates have gone up. Governments have been saying something one day, backtracking the next. Many are in limbo and people are, perhaps, more divided than ever.

It feels very insensitive to say that I’ve been feeling the most “me” I’ve ever felt during all this.

Accessibility has improved significantly during the pandemic – something I know many other people agree with, disabled or otherwise (though this is, of course, a vast generalisation). During a meeting with my seminar students as a class representative, my able-bod-

ied fellows have reported that they have never been happier with the accessible options the university has provided them. All the readings and books are available when we need them. Classes are accessible anywhere and at any time. No more navigating dodgy lifts and narrow, under-construction pavements.

This increased support should certainly have come sooner. It should not have taken a pandemic for these changes to be enacted; it should not have taken the needs of able-bodied people for society to become more accessible. (Hailie Pentleton’s article is excellent if you would like to read more on this topic). But it was still a change that came at a time when I very much needed it. My mental health and

attitude to life, in general, had been very low, especially as a disabled first year who had been told “it gets better” during high school and had started university with a hopeful mindset. But Freshers’ Week was very inaccessible for me, and my flatmates were the complete opposite of who I was, which was no one’s fault but an awkward situation to be in. The university had adapted the flat to accommodate my disability, so I didn’t dare to ask for a transfer. I felt very isolated even during a pre-pandemic society, and it was during this period that I asked myself: “Does it get better?”

It’s somewhat ironic that it did get better… during a pandemic.

As everything is online, all the resources are uploaded and within reach. No more awkward interactions with strangers asking them to reach for the shelves in the library (shoutout to social anxiety). It almost seems like an out-of-body experience how much I’ve changed during seminars and lectures. I can sit a little straighter, speak a little louder all because I don’t feel self-conscious about my physical state.

Thus, I feel a slight dread when I think about returning back to on-campus university. Perhaps it’s impostor syndrome: I worry that this self-assured, autonomous version of me will crack when I return back to my wheelchair to zoom around with on-campus. Online,

people only see half of you (both figuratively and literally) and while I’m all for body confidence, clearly, I still have a long way to go before I learn to love my own disabled body.

“I worry that this self-assured, autonomous version of me will crack when I return back to my wheelchair oncampus...”

But when I see the little Zoom version of me on the screen while I speak, I feel a weird sense of pride at how far I’ve come over the past year.

I’ve applied and been accepted to do a virtual internship that would’ve been in-person and inaccessible otherwise, I’ve volunteered to take part in many extracurriculars and society roles (like being a columnist at The Glasgow Guardian, for example, something I would never have even dared to apply for before).

Yes, I’ve seen the potential of an accessible world over the past year, but I’ve also seen potential in myself. In a time where the world has supposedly stopped, I would like to tell the Haneul of the past: life goes on.

‘We’re in a global pandemic!’ - but students still have deadlines Rebecca Richard WRITER

Anyone with access to social media in the last year will be well aware of both extremes of the pandemic productivity narrative. At the beginning of the outbreak, toxic productivity was all the rage in our attempts to cope, encouraging us to use this free time to pick up new hobbies, get fit, or study hard.

As the days got darker and the pandemic showed no signs of letting up, there was a complete switch towards the self-care narrative reminding us all that it’s okay if we aren’t achieving anything, that just surviving this year is an achievement after everything we’ve been through, and that we should just focus on ourselves. I love this idea, as I don’t think we should feel pressured to be our best selves right now given the abnormal circumstances that have plagued us for these past twelve months.

Yet for those of us who have commitments that have continued throughout the lockdown period, unfortunately this message is a bit redundant. Students and those who’ve had to work throughout the furlough period, whether that be at home or as essential workers, have

had no choice but to keep going.

Most of the time they don’t have the luxury of taking a self-care day.

“We can’t control our home environments, which means we can’t control our concentration levels right now...”

As an honours student whose performance this year will be reflected in my final degree outcome, when I’m feeling burned out, missing my family, friends and general life, I and every other student in my position can’t just take a day off. I can’t miss classes or skip some readings because there’s a quiz on this content which makes up 20% of my grade. I can’t just take time off because there are four other people’s grades in my group project relying on my input being completed. Extensions can sometimes be applied, but the struggles we’re all facing right now won’t be solved in

a matter of weeks; what if we need extensions on commitments for longer than the week or two that the university can offer? I do commend the School of Social Sciences for their five working day blanket extension which requires no formal requests - this option does ease the pressure a little, and I appreciate their recognition of these difficult circumstances. However, extensions can only do so much in this seemingly endless lockdown.

Home learning conditions are less than adequate, especially at this pivotal time in our degrees.

My flatmate has no desk to work at, there’s building work outside our flat every other day since it would seem everyone has decided to spice up their houses since being home all the time. We don’t have the peace to do well, and I’m sure everyone is experiencing this level of disruption in one way or another.

I also appreciate the library being open just now, particularly for students with no technology access.

But with a more transmissible variant circulating, the library doesn’t always feel comfortable, especially not for high-risk individuals, and it’s also completely irrelevant for students not currently in Glasgow.

Not to mention the endless queue just to get in which has become a

daily occurrence.

I’m happy influencers and other social media users can afford to have self-care days, and I will always advocate taking care of yourself first and foremost, in more ways than just putting on a face mask. But that isn’t always realistic alongside multiple deadlines, employment, personal issues - the list goes on. I think institutions and employers placing expectations on us at the moment need to do more to support their staff and students, whether this be through more accessible help or general flexibility.

“Extensions can only do so much in this seemingly endless lockdown...”

I do want to highlight that many courses and staff members really are trying. Several of my classes have offered regular drop-in sessions for assignment support, as well as the previously mentioned blanket extension for social science students. Yet, for example, timed quizzes just now are not ideal. Not

everyone has the home environment to thrive academically when others are in the building; telling the neighbours to halt their abrasive conservatory extension while I complete my quiz is unrealistic.

We can’t control our home environments, which means we can’t control our concentration levels right now.

Group projects also aren’t great when everyone has their own struggles to contend with whilst also trying to collaborate over technology. Having one grade for a whole group right now isn’t particularly fair; personal circumstances may prevent people from performing to their best ability, which means the group as a whole will struggle.

The bottom line is, absolutely be kind to yourself - I don’t think that narrative should ever be discouraged. But universities and employers’ expectations mean we often sacrifice our self-care to perform well, and that just isn’t feasible as we hit the first anniversary of the beginning of lockdown. Financial worries, health stress, and disruptive working environments are the reality for most of us and an extension alone, which is currently the only option which seems consistently available, isn’t going to fix that.

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25 March 2021

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Hot girl summer or fat girl summer: why not both?

Do we really need to lose the “lockdown weight” before summer comes around? Elena Adams doesn’t think so.

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator Elena Adams WRITER

After being in and out of lockdown for almost a year, it’s no wonder that people can’t wait until summer, that light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully) without the restrictions we’ve all become accustomed to. I’m sure that many, like myself, can’t wait to be able to spend time with our friends and family during the warmer months. But, I’m also sure that many, like myself, are feeling immense pressure to look their best. Who wouldn’t? We all want to project the best versions of ourselves onto the world, especially when it hasn’t seen much of us recently.

“I very much doubt that anyone will care if you gained a bit of ‘lockdown weight’ or not...”

Since suggestions that we could have a lockdown-free summer started circulating, there’s been a wave of discussion both on and off social media to “lose that lockdown weight” to have a “hot girl summer”; a “glow up”,

if you will. All you have to do is open Instagram or TikTok and you’ll be bombarded with quick weight loss tips and tricks, tips that often don’t work or leave you with an upset stomach. But what do these posts really communicate to the people reading them?

The narrative that a thin body equals a beautiful body is dangerous and needs to change. We shouldn’t be teaching people that they need to starve themselves or go on a juice cleanse just to lose weight and fit into the societal idea of hotness.

Since last March there has been pressure on us all to use our time wisely; to “get your life together”, “get healthy”, and “lose weight”. I remember looking through my Twitter feed and seeing loads of before and after photos of people’s lockdown “glow-ups”. While it’s great that they felt more confident in their bodies, this idea that a glow-up is synonymous with losing weight is problematic. It’s not losing weight that gives you a “glowup”, it’s the amount of confidence you have in yourself. So, if losing weight made you gain more confidence in yourself, great!

But your body didn’t “glow up”, it lost weight, and there’s a key difference. I’m not arguing that you shouldn’t be healthy or lose weight if you want to, but that the narrative that looking beautiful means losing weight is harmful and needs to be challenged.

We’ve all been under a lot of pressure to use our time in lockdown productively, but

lockdowns don’t magically give us more free time - not to mention the fact that we’re still living through a pandemic. At this point, not everyone has the motivation to push themselves to get out of bed every day, and that’s OK. On top of an already stressful situation, the last thing we need is anxiety about our weight and appearance. Even in our current situation, where things look like they could be getting better, the last thing that anyone needs to be worrying about is how they should be working out to prepare for a “hot girl summer”.

Now, with the possibility of lockdown restrictions easing in time for summer, it’s natural to have anxiety over socialising.

We haven’t been able to properly socialise with our family and friends for over a year. So, when the time comes that we finally can, I very much doubt that anyone will care if you gained a bit of “lockdown weight” or not. I know that all I care about is being able to actually give my friends and family a hug and making better memories than the slightly lagged zoom ones I’ve had for the last year. Most people just can’t wait to have a normal summer and will be way too consumed in their own world to have an opinion on yours. And, if anyone does care, then they aren’t worth your time. Your body is your business and nobody else’s and if you think you’re hot then nobody can tell you otherwise.

“It’s not losing weight that gives you a “glow-up”, it’s the amount of confidence you have in yourself...”

However, this is easier said than done. Whilst it’s likely that your loved ones won’t think twice about your appearance, you might. We live in a world where the normative beauty standard is petite and thin - but this doesn’t mean that your body defines your worth. The next time you think you need to lose weight before June 21, remember that your body carried you through this pandemic and continues to allow you to do all the things you love.

When you can finally hug your loved ones again, they’re going to be thankful that you’re okay, regardless of how much you weigh.

Is the student experience accessible?

Our Views Editor Hailie is up to her usual tricks with another article about inaccessibility and university Hailie Pentleton VIEWS EDITOR

I am just as grateful as the next person that student election season is over. I don’t want to see a personalised Facebook frame for at least another six months, and I’d rather eat my hand than beg my friends to endorse my candidacy again.

Campaigning is a tricky business, made even more difficult when the only option available to candidates is to throw some infographics into the ring and hope they meet your target audience before they’re drowned out by the algorithm.

The question is, who is the target audience of election paraphernalia? More often than not, it’s the 18-year-old, middle class, non-disabled, neurotypical student from the front of the brochure.

“Think about how much easier life would be if we chose to embed inclusive practices wherever possible...”

Words like “accessibility” and “inclusivity” are thrown around like Canva flyers, but what does it actually mean to cultivate an accessible and inclusive environment. When candidates for next term’s VP of Student Activities were asked how they would make the social side of the university experience more accessible to non-traditional students - for example, disabled students, parents, carers, mature students - the conversation focused primarily on the physical accessibility of the rooms available to clubs and societies. This isn’t a criticism of the individual candidates, who each offered their own spin on the role, but it is symptomatic of a culture that treats accessibility and wheelchair access as synonymous.

When it comes to accessibility, there’s so much more to it.

I signed up to at least 10 mailing lists during Freshers’ Week, and I attended a big fat zero of the society events I was interested in.

Making friends when you’re neurodivergent is hard enough. The thought of a sub-crawl makes my skin crawl; the idea of having to talk to anyone is enough to keep me in the house on the least-demanding of days, without throwing strangers, and shots, and social anxiety into the mix. I’d wanted to get involved with The

Glasgow Guardian since my first day of first year. It took me until halfway through second year before I showed up to a meeting, and I had a panic attack outside the building beforehand. What if I walked into the wrong room?

Where would I sit? What if I had to introduce myself to people, I don’t want to say my name out loud?

“Although it shouldn’t, it feels wrong to expect people to make adjustments for your needs...”

For the longest time, I believed that it was solely on me to include myself in things. Although it shouldn’t, it feels wrong to expect people to make adjustments for your needs. I feel guilty enough accepting extra time on my exams, never mind asking for someone to give me an itinerary before a half-hour long meeting. Frustratingly, it isn’t always possible to be entirely independent of help from other people. No amount of manifesting will meet your access needs - sometimes you’ve got to ask for help. But, a lot of the time, you shouldn’t have to.

If you’ve never had to think about your own access needs, it can be hard to know where to begin when looking to make an event accessible. Of course, and I cannot stress this enough, it is impossible to make anything 100% accessible. But there are things that can make it a bit easier on everyone.

Adding subtitles to your videos, writing up short image descriptions, and providing a plaintext for those colourful infographics we’re all bombarded with makes all the difference. Hosting events in-person and online, at different times, and offering sober alternatives to drink-centred events allows all kinds of new and interesting people the opportunity to make the most of their student experience.

Simply listing details around the physical access of a venue on your event page might be the difference between someone attending. Not only are these things beneficial from a practical standpoint, they reassure potential attendees or members that they’re entering an inclusive and welcoming space.

Sure, it’s reassuring to know that there’s the option to “contact us if you have any access requirements,” but just think about how much easier life would be if we chose to embed inclusive practices wherever possible. The future is accessible, but let’s start now.

25 March 2021

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Money or morality?

Basilia Weir WRITER

“Never mind Brexit, who won Legsit?” is just one of the many ridiculous Daily Mail headlines from the last decade that is seared into my brain. Thing is, I am on my third attempt at writing this article. It keeps coming out too cynical and, perhaps, a bit pretentious. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, the wee voice in my head that’s worried about being permanently unemployed says.

And then I remember that headline, and all the other sickening stuff that’s been printed in the Mail, and the cynicism comes flooding back.

See, I was 14 when I decided on a career in journalism. I liked politics, I liked writing. What better way to fund my retirement? I was 16 when I made the mistake of researching the education history of every major journalist in the UK. I truly had no idea just how many obscure Oxbridge colleges exist.

It’s hard not to feel disillusioned; like the deck is stacked against you.

So, when an internship comes up at a newspaper you’ve berated for most of your life, it’s easy to throw your morals right out the window of your ex-council house. I was 19 when I lost all passion for writing.

As it turns out, getting rejected by a publication you’ve previously said you wouldn’t use as toilet paper hits pretty hard. Of course, you’re reading this now, which means I’ve started writing again. Whilst my career aspirations are less set in stone than before, that ethical dilemma

still bothers me: is it okay to write for publications like the Daily Mail?

Journalism is a tough industry to get into, and an even tougher one to sustain yourself off of. So, you can’t always afford to be picky about where you get your bylines from, especially if you come from a working-class background. But headlines like the one I mentioned above sicken me. It’s for-profit sexism. Then there’s the treatment of people like Meghan Markle. The idea of contributing to this sort of toxicity makes me uneasy. It is monetised virulence. When I mention this unease to my family and friends, though, they always shrug me off: “You’ve got to start somewhere, hen.” When I told my Dad I was writing this article, his exact words were: “Is there anyone you do want to work for?”

As a matter of fact, yes. Novara Media, if you are in need of some off-kilter political punditry that skews left, hit me up. Anyway - I see where my Dad is coming from. I’ve watched him work 60 hours a week to provide for us since I was six. I’m not looking to glorify the starving artist thing. However, if I wanted to flush my morals down the toilet, I’d at least like a decent salary in exchange – not the £15,000 that, according to Prospects UK, is the starting salary for a journalist. The starting salary for consultants, by the way, is £30,000. The way I see it, I’d rather be skint because I’m helping make the world a better place, rather than helping line the pockets of Rupert Murdoch, cough cough The Tab, or Lord Some-

thing-or-Other XII. I am not sure that weaponising misinformation and helping move the Overton window of every political system in the Global North to the alt-right is worth any amount of money.

I understand how idealistic this is - and how off putting it could potentially be to future employers.

However, I think there’s a considerable difference between cooperating with people who have different views in order to make progress, and being part of a system that disseminates harmful misinformation and hate speech. The small-town, “as long as it puts food on the table” part of me doesn’t blame anyone who grew up in similar circumstances for wanting the payslip that accompanies the byline, though.

In writing this, I’ve come to the conclusion that we should be less critical of aspiring journalists who just want to make ends meet and instead be critical of how the media industry is set up.

There’s the issue of reporting driven by ads and clicks. It incentivises misleading, inflammatory, and virulent headlines. Then there’s the whole elitist, inaccessible, part. Perhaps if we find a way of making journalism more accessible to kids from working-class backgrounds who don’t have media connections, then they’ll feel less pressure to sacrifice their morals to write for papers like the Daily Mail. I’m not the only one who’s been told they “have to start somewhere”. Blacklisting people for writing for rags seems to me like a great way to further disenfranchise those from low-income households from

Credit: Hepzi Rattray becoming writers and reporters.

This all underscores the importance of a few things. First, do not click on that Daily Mail article, no matter how juicy the headline is.

You are feeding the beast. Secondly, we need to support good journalism, that way smaller newspapers can have the ability to uplift low-income voices. Thirdly, we need to

recognise the importance of student publications like The Glasgow Guardian. They allow students like myself to gain writing experience without having to sacrifice 20 hours of unpaid labour a week along with our morals.

Apologies Dad – I know you were really looking forward to my byline in The Sun in a few years.

It takes two to Duolingo Can you actually learn a language from the mean green owl machine?

Credit: Jenny Dimitriadi - Illustrator Holly Jennings EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Just like Gatsby, I am haunted by the green glow; hopes, dreams, a future. Except the green glow is more defined to me - characterised by a sharp beak, luminescent feathers, and an aggressive desire to get me to learn German. My green light is Duo from Duolingo.

I’ve been learning German for more of my life than not, roughly 11 years. I’ve studied it every year at school for seven years and in my first year at University. Despite this, I still can’t speak German fluently. On the new-year-new-me buzz this year, I finally decided to get my arse in gear and become fluent. Here’s how it went.

Week one: In a single day, I racked up 1,700+ XP on Duolingo. That week, I would dedicate almost 30 minutes a day to my German learning. I was the leader of the Bronze League and my XP total made up most of the fools lingering behind me’s scores combined. I was unstoppable.

By day four, I was getting sick of my lives running out - the crux of my inability to become fluent in German

is understanding the grammar, so a lot of mistakes were made trying to say something like ‘my dog and cat eat’, and actually saying something more along the lines of ‘my dog eats my cat’. So I did what any reasonable person would and spent an embarrassingly large portion of their SAAS on buying the year-long subscription which gave me unlimited lives.

I worked so hard that I managed to accumulate enough gems to buy an exclusive module: flirting. I can now tell someone that they look like my next boyfriend (although I’m not sure how many men I know that would react well to that sort of factor 50 approach to flirting, but when in Germany...).

Week three: Sadly as other pieces of coursework flew in and the sun returned, my dedication to German dropped. Despite my intensive training programme, which truthfully rivalled the intensity of the SAS, I had completely forgotten how to tell someone that their eyes are like the stars: I am furious to have spent my hard-earned gems so naively. Yes, Duolingo was fun, but if I couldn’t remember what I was learning what was the point? Losing faith and getting busy, I lost my streak and Ger-

man was put on the back burner.

Week six: In a whimsical decision spurred on by my overwhelming fear of the post-graduation job market, I considered moving to Berlin next year. This reignited my German fire.

I’ve learned that with Duolingo, it’s a great system - I’m slowly learning vocabulary through repetition, but honestly, a lot of the time it’s too easy.

When the answers are there for you, only rearranged slightly, it works my problem-solving skills harder than my German.

So the game then became guessing what the sentences mean or guessing how to say the sentences without relying on the word cards Duolingo offers - aka blocking out half the screen till I had formulated my own attempt.

If you can get past the vaguely threatening owl, Duolingo is great for beginning to learn a language and acting as a refresh for what you might already know. It might not make you fluent but very little can without spending time in the country. I am climbing the leagues, my Duo wears a Champagne Tracksuit (finally, some gems well spent), and Duolingo is actually kind of working. After all, I can now confidently say, Deine Augen sind wie Sterne.

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NUS, is it a yes…? Probably not

Why, despite recent student election candidates lobbying for membership, UofG is not likely to join the NUS (and probably shouldn’t) Jordan Hunter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Over the last election cycle, the idea of Glasgow joining the National Union of Students (NUS) cropped up once again, accompanied by a discussion about costs, collective bargaining, and it’s connection to Covid-19. Many of these conversations were confusing, often missing the main causes for concern, so I decided to sit down and go through the archives and see what I could find about Glasgow’s reluctance to join the NUS. In the end, I discovered an absolute dumpster fire of self-aggrandising and posturing, threatening the very soul of Glasgow.

The NUS is first and foremost a political union focused on lobbying on students behalf for things such as cuts to tuition fees, travel discounts, and to voice the political concerns of students. The problem with this is that the NUS only affects change in the UK parliament, which has no competency over Scottish universities. There has been little effort for the NUS UK to lobby for certain policies in Scotland.

Of course, there is an NUS Scotland - however, their impact on the way that block grants are split, and the allocation of funding, is debatable. Whilst some candidates claimed that NUS Scotland is responsible for

increasing the block grant, and the institution of hardship funds over the last year, there’s little evidence to support that. Additionally, even if they could do such things, Glasgow still benefits from these without paying NUS membership fees, as those policies were implemented for all Scottish universities.

Being part of the NUS has political connotations and drawbacks.

Top leaders are often elected as part of political factions, which can limit the NUS’ ability to negotiate on behalf of students without presenting as a student extension of certain political parties. They are notoriously slow for dealing with issues and often reject direct action, even if it aligns with the causes they stand for, such as the push against austerity and student fees. Glasgow’s students have for years fought to decolonise education, especially during the last rector election, but this notion only became an NUS Scotland objective this year despite lobbying from students.

What does it cost? The NUS usually require member unions to pay a certain percentage of the member union’s block grant from the University for association, typically 2.5%.

This might not sound like a lot, but this year would have cost the SRC between £30-40k, and that’s with a 30% budget cut. Certain candidates claimed that, thanks to the NUS, the

increased block grant meant union’s somehow had more in the coffers, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. These block grant’s go towards all kinds of things such as staff, upkeep, publications like ours (in-non pandemic years), training workshops like “Mind Your Mate” and, in the case of GUU and QMU, subsidising the copious amount of pints of fun you’ve shamefully bought over the years. NUS membership would likely mean cutting certain services and/or staff as the budget would be slashed. Additionally, NUS tries to sell that the benefits of affiliation matriculate down in the form of their membership card which is good for discounts on travel and more. This, however, still comes with a membership card fee of £15. Not to mention, many of the discounts will take your student card alternatively, which is free, but also the NUS membership card doesn’t even require you to be a student at a member institution, so you could still get all those perks without forcing the SRC to join.

On the local level, there are also larger problems with the University of Glasgow in particular. We don’t just have one student union, we have four. The current lobbying power for University-specific issues comes from our four union approach. In the past, one of the largest problems in negotiating with the NUS is the

fact that Glasgow has multiple unions providing different functions.

The NUS has seen this as a problem, as it undermines their ability to bargain at the campus level, and they will attempt to cut these unions out as much as they can or try to limit their ability to function as student bodies. Whilst some of the NUS supporters on campus say that the four union system promotes “tribalism”, nothing could be further from the truth. Every union understands their role on campus and actively tries to support one another on behalf of students. Even GUU and QMU work together in the interest of students as they both represent different aspects of student life; the competition of old can be chalked up to chants during Freshers’ Week and weird union traditions (if you’ve seen the Smoker, you’ll know what I mean). Further competition for block grant money would likely

lead to the closure of one or both of these unions. Student unions are already struggling to bounce back from the pandemic, meaning more student jobs would be unavailable as they would be unable to continue to employ students to work in their bars and hospitality services.

Even at the individual level, student grievances will take longer to be addressed, as the SRC and NUS would have separate complaint systems and would constantly be having to reconcile the differences in order to lobby the University. Not to mention at the national level the SRC has been effective in campaigning and pressuring the University to support students and their causes. Direct communication with the University has been instrumental in getting things like no detriment, compensation to students living in halls this year, and training and support for students.

The NUS provides no additional benefit to students that they already don’t receive, and could cost us not only tens of thousands of pounds but also the very soul of our current system. In all likelihood, if the SRC had their budget cut, we would see students losing their jobs, services being cut, and the loss of what makes Glasgow student life so unique; all in the name of more collective bargaining that, in all honesty, doesn’t even exist nor provide additional benefits.

places we can visit around Glasgow and Scotland once restrictions start to ease. Some of the places I hope to visit are PollokPollok Country Park and The Meadows in

Edinburgh, where the flowers will be blooming and I can sit under the cherry blossoms reading one of my books with a cold brew or iced tea.

Brighter, better days are ahead.

“There has been little effort for the NUS UK to lobby for certain policies in Scotland...”

Spring has sprung Zein Al-Maha Oweis WRITER

The days are getting longer and the sunlight is beginning to shine bright on Glasgow again, so it looks like we’re entering one of my favourite seasons of the year - spring.

As we wait for lockdown restrictions to ease, there are many things we can be thankful for during this beautiful and flowery season. I’ve always personally loved the spring as it’s the season I was born in!

However, there are many things we can all find small joys in during these turbulent times.

Sounds of spring One of my favourite things about the spring is the enchanting sounds it brings with it. Here in Glasgow, I’ve grown accustomed to the sounds of squirrels scattering about the grounds of the Botanical Gardens and the chirping of birds at Kelvingrove Park near our beautiful University campus. While I sit and people watch, I close my eyes and enjoy the sounds around me.

The softness of the wind wrapping herself around the branches of the trees, the laughter of children running around, and the swaying of daffodils and tulips greeting one another in the wind. These sounds bring with them positive and opti-

mistic vibes. All you have to do is sit there, listen and smile.

Look - blossoms There’s nothing like walking through a park filled with cherry blossoms and sneezing profusely to get you in the mood for spring.

I still remember the warm, breezy weekends when I would walk through the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C. and it would be filled with gorgeous light pink cherry blossoms. I’m looking forward to seeing the Botanical Gardens and Kelvingrove Park decked in cherry blossoms. What a sight it would be to walk my usual route to campus!

Just like in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy walks on the yellow brick road, but in this instance, it would be me walking under an archway made of cherry blossoms - what a picturesque moment.

Colourful flowers Scotland is home to beautiful flowers that bloom mostly during the spring and summer. From snowdrops to Scottish bluebells, to tulips, to even heather and the national flower, the thistle. The beautiful colours bring joy and happiness around us during the spring days. There are many other flowers to look forward to when walking around Glasgow as well: Kelvingrove and the Botanics are home to a vast array of plants, trees and flowers. Something to look

forward to once the days get brighter and lockdown restrictions begin to ease again.

A bench and a book The best thing about the spring is the better weather and brighter days - which means that it’s the time of year where you can grab a book from the to-be-read pile next to your bed and find a cosy, secluded bench to settle down on and read.

It’s a great way to enjoy the beautiful breezy spring weather and beautiful scenery, and it’s one of my favourite activities to do during the spring and summer. So, if you fancy a lovely outing then come and join me with a cup of coffee, tea, or beverage of your choice for a day outdoors engrossed in a book. I always enjoy making new friends as well as discussing plot twists of enticing novels from different genres. If you see me holding a book with a cup of coffee beside me then you know that spring has truly sprung.

New beginnings I’ve always felt like the spring time brings new beginnings to the year with brighter days and warmer weather. While the past year has been tough for all of us, this year brings new beginnings with the easing of the lockdown restrictions around Scotland and the vaccination programme. This means that there will be a plethora of beautiful

Credit: Emma Garcia Melchor - Illustrator

25 March 2021

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Editorial: The sexual harassment epidemic

Stop comparing life-taking events to the Holocaust Rothery Sullivan CULTURE COLUMNIST

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager Holly Jennings EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Content Warning: rape, sexual harassment, gender-based violence.

We’ve got the vote, we aren’t limited to child-rearing and sandwich-making, we get an education, we’re allowed to wear trousers, the pay gap is closing, and we have Legally Blonde, WAP, and Malala. But if we’re going to be raped, sexually assaulted, and harassed on university campuses, then not listened to and have our motives questioned when we do speak about it, suddenly all that progress shatters.

For the academic year 19/20, 59% of students at the University of Glasgow identified as female.

That same year, we had the Kelvingrove sexual assaults. In their important security message, the University stated: “Incidents like this are rare and student and staff safety is of the utmost importance to the University.” If 97% of young women have been sexually harassed, and if, as this month’s front page suggests, that the University’s reporting system continues to fail, how can it be true that these incidents are rare or important to them? Whilst we can get an education here, it doesn’t feel safe for us to do.

But the language surrounding gender inequality ceases to be on how the University can do more, how men can do more, how we can all do more. It remains a list of checkboxes women must perform to stay alive. The secret is though, that there is no amount of key clenching, hair tying or University walking groups that is going to stop the University being a home to rapists, sexual harassers, or those implicit in the process. As we have seen recently with Sarah Everard, there is no more that we as women can do. I don’t want to be raped, but I’ve learned that no hoping or wishing can prevent that.

Writing this feels like beating a dead horse: countless opinion, news, and features pieces have shown that the procedures currently in place are not doing enough. But let me make this crystal clear what can, should, and

needs to be put in place: better prevention, awareness, and reporting.

I am hoping this week you have learned that you don’t need to have sexually assaulted someone to be complicit in a system that allows it to happen. You just have to talk over women in seminars, to laugh at women being afraid to go through Kelvingrove at night, to think women owe you something after you buy them a pint of fun, to be part of the problem. And you can’t be blamed for adopting a mentality that has been plastered on you for years - but you have to choose to unlearn it, and the University can play an important role in helping you to. By introducing mandatory gender-sensitivity programmes, for all genders, including those who identify as non-binary or trans, we can create opportunities for people to learn how to unlearn. But if you haven’t learned, you haven’t felt guilty, you’ve felt this is an overreaction, you “don’t understand how social media can make a difference”, you feel indifferent about this... then you are a part of the problem. And that problem creates that 97%.

So when that 97% happens, regardless of your own implication, there needs to be better support for those who have to deal with the actions of others. Whilst the University’s complaints procedure has come leaps and bounds over the last few years, particularly in adopting the “Report and Support” tool, we all know many of the union policies are like buckets with holes in them. The University needs to either put pressure on unions to reform their policies or make blanket policy university-wide. Policy introduction not only allows survivors the choice to pursue action against their assault but also shows a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment of any kind. It shouldn’t be that you can’t get away with groping on the main quads but are safe in a union to do so.

I don’t think it’s radical to ask for safety for everyone on our campuses. Toilet door posters urging people to call out harassment or Happy International Women’s Day posts on University social media won’t cut it anymore. It’s time to treat the sexual harassment epidemic.

Antisemitism occurs in subtle ways. One of the most common examples? Comparing everything to the Holocaust.

Over the past year, I have seen many posts on social media about humanitarian crises such as the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and natural disasters such as the Australian bushfires and the hurricanes in Central America. All of these issues are extremely important and deserve as much attention as we can give them. However, one thing needs to be said: stop comparing life-taking events to the Holocaust.

“Comparing a virus to genocide is beyond inappropriate as it diminishes the hatred behind the deaths of those in the Holocaust...”

The Holocaust is often used as a metaphor for a tragic event or used in place of the word “genocide”, which is inappropriate as the Holocaust was a specific, actual genocide and shouldn’t be used as a mere label. Comparisons to the Holocaust may be okay when discussing it as a preventative measure for current or future genocides (i.e with reference to the Xinjiang internment camps, an issue that has many parallels to the Holocaust), but many other comparisons are highly offensive; comparison often infers that one situation is worse than the other, and genocides should not be compared to each other as doing so minimises the deaths of those involved.

The Holocaust was a genocide that occurred only 80 years ago and targeted the Jewish religion and ethnicity (along with those who were queer or disabled). It took the lives of over 6 million people - the exact number is uncertain, as records were not precisely kept, which is an indication of how little people cared about the lives that were taken. The Holocaust had litte awareness drawn to it when it was happening, and even today people deny its occurrence. Antisemitism is one of the largest causes of religious hate crime in the world, proving that the effects of the Holocaust are still affecting Jews today.

So, comparing humanitarian issues to the Holocaust is damaging and offensive, regardless of what the issue is. In issues of

natural disasters, this comparison reflects ignorance on what the Holocaust actually was and minimises the hateful genocide that caused the murder of millions of Jews. A natural disaster does not discriminate by religion or ethnicity, doesn’t stem from hate, doesn’t willingly torture its victims because it doesn’t believe they deserve to live, and has never come close to killing even one million people, let alone six million. The bushfires, hurricanes, and earthquakes that occurred over the last year were horrendous tragedies; however, the deaths of these people were caused by issues relating to the climate crisis, which is why they should be talked about in their own right instead of in comparison to the Holocaust. By comparing natural events to genocide, you are refusing to acknowledge the actual causes of both.

As for comparing the coronavirus to the Holocaust, my previous points hold true; the deaths from the virus are not directly caused by discrimination and hate, as the virus does not choose those it affects. While the death toll of Covid-19 has reached over 2 million, the deaths are not mainly from one race, religion, or ethnicity, proving that the coronavirus is not a genocide. Moreover, the tragedy of the coronavirus is something that is being acknowledged and worked on at a global level, whereas the Holocaust persisted for four years without global acknowledgement. Comparing a virus to genocide is beyond inappropriate as it diminishes the hatred behind the deaths of those in the Holocaust, as well as ignoring the oppression and hate that descendants of the victims still face today. I do not believe that hate crimes will be committed against descendants of Covid-19 sufferers 80 years from now, which is the case for most Jews.

The BLM movement might seem more applicable to the Holocaust as it is a human rights issue that stems from systematic and institutional racism; however, it still shouldn’t be compared to the Holocaust in terms of severity.

Many Black people have died at the hands of racism, often from police brutality, hate crimes, and the prison system (to mention a few). This issue has persisted for centuries and has only been addressed recently at a global level.

Many argue that racism towards Black people is a genocide due to the number of deaths that have occurred due to the history of America. However, I still think that this issue is one that should not be compared to the Holocaust.

Firstly, this is an issue of racism, whereas the Holocaust targetting religious and ethnic identities; the discrimination in both scenarios is different. Secondly, the genocide against Black people in

the US is an institutional issue that has been ongoing for centuries; racism is rooted in American history, making it a different form of oppression than the kind that blossomed during the Holocaust. The effects of antisemitism and racism affect Jews and people of colour differently as Jews today do not face the same kind of discrimination that Black people face. Both issues are valid and important, and both situations have taken the lives of millions; however, they should not be compared to each other since saying that one genocide is worse than the other reduces the severity and tragedy of the “lesser” one. Both should be talked about in their own light.

The genocide currently happening in the Xinjiang interment camps is an example of something that could be talked about with reference to the Holocaust as many of the tortuing and murdering methods used are ones that are being repeated from the Holocaust. When studying the Holocaust in school, many people would say “I can’t imagine being alive during the Holocaust. I don’t know how people just sat around and did nothing while millions died”; discussing the parallels between the Holocaust and the Xinjiang camps allows for people to realise that another genocide is currently happening. However, when making these comparisons, it is important to discuss the Xinjiang genocide as its own tragedy and avoid comparing the severity of the two (e.g. “this is worse than…” or “this is almost as bad as…”) as these statements are unnecessary and diminishing.

“A natural disaster does not discriminate by religion or ethnicity, nor does it stem from hate...”

The Holocaust is often used lightly in conversation as an event by which other life-taking events can be compared to, and it needs to stop. Jews face enough antisemitism as it is, and hearing about how a natural disaster is “almost as bad as the Holocaust” is hurtful and diminishing. The comparisons become so frequent that the events of the Holocaust seem unimportant; the Holocaust is talked about so much without people doing research to understand what actually happened during it. So please stop using the Holocaust as a mere label to put things into perspective, and take the time to research and fully understand the severity of the current events around us.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Views

Vent to views: advice from our editors

This month, Emily and Hailie discuss icks and how to let your parents down gently Emily Hay and Hailie Pentleton VIEWS EDITORS

I’m seeing someone at the moment and I really enjoy 99% of our time together.

But here and there, they keep making little comments and digs which give me the unsolicited ICK. Should I be listening to my inner ick-radar or should I just get over it?

Emily: Ahh the ick, a feeling I’m sure most of us know all too well. I actually have two answers to this question, which one you choose to take depends on why you think they’re giving you the ick in the first place.

I’ve experienced the ick at a certain stage in a relationship before, that completely wasn’t the other person’s fault. It was the kind of ick-feeling that you can’t put your finger on. The kind where for some reason no matter how good things seemed before, little things they’ve always done start grating on you and turning you off them. In my experience, it was when we hit a make or break point where I felt like they were a lot more into me than I was them. Even though I’d been really into it before, it felt like they were a bit clingy and I wasn’t - so I con-

templated breaking it off. Then one day I miraculously got over it. I think we had a really good date or something and all those niggly feelings melted away and it became as good as it had been at the start, if not better. If this is your situation, and the icky feelings came out of nowhere and you don’t feel they’re entirely their fault, then I’d advise waiting a bit longer to see if they go away. If they don’t after more time together then it’s probably a sign that they never will. On the f lip side, if they melt away completely and you can laugh about it later down the line, it’s probably a sign that those icky feelings themselves meant nothing.

But - and it’s a big but - if you can pinpoint where those feelings are coming from, and it’s from things this person is actively doing or saying to you, I think that’s a bit of a red f lag.

If this person is making digs at you, speaking to you (or others) in a way you don’t like, or are spouting views you fundamentally disagree with, and that’s what’s giving you the ick, it might be a sign that the relationship just won’t work for you in the long run. I think the best thing to do in this situation is to tell them when something they do or say makes you feel a certain way. Maybe they didn’t

mean it like that, and maybe you can have an adult conversation and realise that you just weren’t on the same wavelength and everything will be fine. However, if they get defensive, or make out that its a you problem rather than a them problem, or you just generally don’t like their reaction to you challenging their behaviour or views, that probably tells you everything you need to know about the future of the relationship. In short, if they do or say anything that is making you feel bad about yourself or generally uncomfortable then you should listen to the inner ick-radar my friend. Dump them and run as far away as you can - like Australia or New Zealand far.

My mum keeps trying to convince me to come home after graduation, but that’s the last thing I want. I’ve not got a substantial reason to not go home after I graduate, as let’s be real, I probably won’t be getting a job anytime soon. How do I speak to my mum about this without hurting her feelings?

Hailie: Not wanting to go home seems like a substantial reason.

Moving away from home is a rite of passage, and more often than not, once you’ve had that

first taste of freedom, it’s hard to imagine things going back to how they were before. You’re (presumably) in your twenties, about to start the next, and perhaps the most exciting, chapter of your life - if you don’t want to kick start your future in your childhood bedroom, I’m sure that she’ll understand.

Growing up, our parents tend to want what’s best for us.

Sometimes that means that they forget we’re capable of working things out for ourselves.

Moving home likely means a bit more financial security, less practical things to worry about while you’re job searching, and a (perhaps much-needed) shoulder-to-cry-on available 24/7. I imagine you’ve thought about it, and if that’s not enough to make you want to drag your suitcase back home, then no amount of convincing from your well-intentioned mum is going to change how you feel. Living on your own means living the way you want to, and no amount of home-cooked meals can ever make up for the ability to come in at three in the morning and watch New Girl without being told off for waking up your parents.

If I were you, I’d rip the bandaid off. You know how she feels, and no amount of testing the waters is going to make the con-

versation any easier. Pick your moment, maybe arrange a nice walk with her if that’s an option, or at the very least make sure she’s got a bit of spare time before you call so that it doesn’t feel like a rushed conversation.

You don’t have to be harsh, but you do have to be assertive. It might upset her a wee bit, but it’s better that you make it clear that you’ve made your mind up right from the start, to avoid the pointless going back-and-forth.

It’ll work itself out, and the likelihood is that you’re making yourself more anxious about things by putting the conversation off.

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Contributors Editors Holly Jennings & Jordan Hunter Deputy Editors Rebecca Scott & Chloe Waterhouse Production Tara Gandhi News Ollie Rudden, Matilda Handley, Lucy Dunn, Silas Pease, Luke Chafer, Kimberley Mannion, Sophie Call, Chloe Coldwell, Jamie Byrne Views Emily Hay, Hailie Pentleton, Rachel Campbell, John Harris, Tara Gandhi, Hanuel Lee, Rebecca Richard, Elena Adams, Basilia Weir, Holly Jennings, Jordan Hunter, Zein Al-Maha Oweis, Rothery Sullivan

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

15

Features My Love Life: Just another day his boxers are just too much to take.

He tells me about his heart attack, which he had at 22 due to eating too much steak – I’ll be damned if I know the logistics of that, by the way - and he says that he wants to get back to “looking juicy”, “obviously for you, Jade”. He clearly does not respect my fake boyfriend.

Jade Aimers WRITER

My love life could be described in one word: chaotic. Anecdotes from my love life have led time and time again to my friends, co-workers, and family exclaiming: “This could only happen to you.” Whilst I am, of course, the main character of the entire universe, I do not believe that it is God or the producers of my TV sitcom life that force these funny interactions into my day. The culprit is much closer to home: it’s me.

“I nodded for a minute wondering how the hell you’re supposed to respond to poetry in a language you can’t understand spoken by a guy shorter than you wearing a bandana...”

I worked as a barista on Byres Road during summer where I met the boy I shall affectionately refer to as Latte Boy. He was chatty, and would come in daily, but he was not my type. I thought we were friends... until he asked for my number. “Ah,” I thought. “Oops.” Filled with a builtin patriarchal pressure to not upset this man and wound his feelings, I gave him it, regardless of how uncomfortable I felt. As a barista, and in fact, in any job I’ve held, the line between providing good customer service and tolerating uncomfortable situations often blurs.

Over the next week, a red flag appeared when Latte Boy asked me about my background. He asked if I had family in Glasgow, because his dad thought I was the double of a woman he used to know. Puzzled by this, the thought only dawned on me later: how the hell did his dad know what I look like? I had never met him or seen him at work. I presume Latte Boy had taken photos from my Instagram.

“Filled with a built-in patriarchal pressure to not upset this man and wound his feelings, I gave him my number...”

Credit: Nairne Clark Hopkinson - Features Editor Latte Boy also remembered feeshop. It would be dead awkward everything I said. He would come in if I got him barred.

I walked to Celino’s and found and say: “I was thinking last night about how right you are Jade, what Latte Boy chatting loudly to a guy in you said last week was bang on.” This the queue. He introduces me to Joe, concerned me, as I can barely re- and when I think we’re all about to member what I eat for breakfast most take a seat, he says “can I get your dedays, but good listeners do exist, even tails so we can go for a gym sesh bro?” if I’m not one of them. His impeccable Joe, the stranger, then leaves. “He memory, however, became an issue was big,” Latte Boy later explained, “I want to work out with him.” when he asked me for a date.

The inevitable text came (this is verbatim): “I’ll meet you tomorrow “There are worse at Celino’s, 3pm! For a coffee, walk, things to be in bantz, and good vibes.” life than a bitch.

I was ready with my rebuttal: Enabling men, “Hey, I’d like to, but I just want to make sure it’s on a friendly basis! for one...”

I’m seeing someone at the minute and would find it inappropriate othWe sit down and after some generwise.”

I thought I had him, until I didn’t. eral chit chat, he hits me with it.

He told me he was seeing someone While I’m looking for a picture of too, so of course, it was friendly. my sister he says: “Is the guy you’re This annoyed me, as I wasn’t seeing seeing from Edinburgh then?” I was someone, and now, with his impec- ready. “No, Glasgow.”

I decided to use a good friend of cable memory and intelligent quesmine as the mould for my man. I told tion asking, I was in a pickle.

“Jade,” you cry, “why not just say Latte Boy the details - I met him in no? He was strange. Why not just second year, he was my neighbour, avoid him?” Well, enraptured au- and we were friends until things dedience, I thought to myself: worst veloped. We’re taking things slowly to case, it’s a funny story. Best case, see how it goes. Latte Boy, in a huge I add him on LinkedIn and when plot twist, admits that the girl he was he’s a rich doctor I can get back in seeing ended things a few days before touch. I wasn’t concerned about my our coffee. How convenient! We start safety with him because who would speaking about our exes, and I find hurt the barista at his favourite cof- myself describing how happy I am

being independent, before I scramble and realise I’m deeply in love with my old neighbour. There was some awkward backtracking. I know I’ve fumbled because after that, he completely discards the sanctity of my made-up relationship. It’s sad that instead of feeling comfortable enough to reject him, I turned to a convoluted story.

I thought he might respect my fake boyfriend more than he would respect me.

When I tell him I’m taking “Old Icelandic Language”, he calls me beautiful in Icelandic. He then recites to me, in Italian, a passage by Dante. I nodded for a minute wondering how the hell you’re supposed to respond to poetry in a language you can’t understand spoken by a guy shorter than you wearing a bandana. The passage was about a man ripping his heart out for a woman.

We start talking about the gym, because, you know, he works out, and I talk about my ankle mobility.

He looks me dead in the eye after a pause and says: “Well, I’m a qualified massage therapist. I could give you a leg massage, or anywhere you want.

Strictly professional.” Please believe me when I tell you he repeated that offer another three times on the date.

He shows me his workout page.

He scrolls through Instagram, loading videos of himself flexing to music and eating raw eggs. I stop myself from cringing, because the videos in

We stand, and he tells me that he’s going to pay, so we get into the queue. While waiting, he drops his backpack to the floor, says “I’m going to the toilet,” and walks away. Confused, but intellectually deadened by the whole experience, I pay for us both, because I don’t intend to owe him anything. When he comes back, he feigns anger, and then says “I’ll get the next time then” with a wink.

I’ve been played.

We leave and my fears are confirmed: he lives in the same direction as me. I pretend I needed some stuff from Tesco to get away, and I watch him doddle off in the direction of my flat. I go home and immediately start telling my friends. Most laugh, because I’m a brilliant storyteller, but some are seriously concerned about the stupid situations I end up in.

In retrospect, I wish I’d just said no. I’ve spoken to boys who’ve left dates after 20 minutes because they don’t fancy the girl. I would never have the confidence to do that. The narrative in my head - you want to be nice, you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings - is not a narrative I want anymore. It doesn’t serve me. It may keep me safe, but it doesn’t keep me comfortable. I’m going to work on saying no. There are worse things to be in life than a bitch. Enabling men, for one.

In the end, I was fired from the cafe (on an unrelated issue).

I blocked Latte Boy’s number.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Features

Hating on the Hate Crime Bill - Does it go far enough?

Being a bigot in your own home is still being a bigot duced the Hate Crime and Public Order bill which expands the scope of prosecution based for aggravated offences that are based on prejudice in regards to race, religion, disability, age, transgender identity or variation in sex characteristics. It also edicts that blasphemy was no longer an offence, and that stirring up hatred was one (this having been applied only to race in the past version). This was a massive change from its initial conception, where valid criticisms of the low threshold of prosecution were raised.

Credit: Nairne Clark Hopkinson - Features Editor and family do? Do they carefulAnanya Venkatsen ly weigh out the pros and cons?

THEATRE EDITOR Or do they just blindly pick one Belief - a simple word, just like from a bowl of chits?

For belief is powerful; the any other.

At first glance, it would seem world is governed by the actions to be merely a combination of of people; actions are influenced letters that is harmless and inno- by thought; and thought, by becent; but when given meaning, it lief. Thus, what the world is tosuddenly transforms into a pos- day is a result of billions of minds session, something that is fierce- believing in various things. Each individual’s belief is like a thread ly protected by its owner. and together, we weave a beautiful and diverse tapestry that is the world.

So, it would seem that belief is something beautiful, something to be protected and cherished.

But sometimes beliefs are based on misinformation, prejudice, and intolerance. So those beliefs cannot be protected, they must be changed. For not only are they incorrect in the world view they perpetuate, but also in the very The nature of human belief non-abstract, real world impacts and its significance has often that bigotry has on individual had me staring at walls, lost in people, especially those from mideep thought, thinking of the nority communities.

This is what the new hate various possible answers to my never ending pit of questions. I crime bill passed by the Scottish have always been intrigued by parliament aims to do: prevent the reasons behind why people harmful actions based on beliefs believe what they do. Is it be- founded in prejudice and hatred.

On advice from Lord Bracause of the nature of their belief? Or is it because their friends cadale, the government intro-

“No one but the individual facing the brunt of hate can fully decide what is reasonable and what is not...”

“Advocacy against discrimination shouldn’t be a partisan issue...”

But then, from the more conservative sections, arose a new “concern” claiming that the bill imposed on freedom of speech and expression. “I am free to believe what I want to believe, and express those beliefs. The government can’t throw me into jail for that”. So, the government ensured that you could think and say whatever you wanted in the privacy of your own home. But that wasn’t all. Another problem was raised. The bill had a strong focus on intent and likelihood of causing harm. But that was too vague. Who determined what the actual intent was? Who decides what the likelihood of horrendous actions was? So again, the government changed the remit of the bill, the likelihood test now a judgement of is a “reasonable person” would think about the intent and effects.

Now, as a queer woman of colour, I have several problems with this. While I appreciate the importance of negotiations and compromise in the legislative processes, it is ridiculous for the government to back down to the people with the very beliefs that the bill aims to change. Advocacy

against discrimination shouldn’t be a partisan issue, yet it is, and the perpetuators of discrimination have been given a voice, and consideration. The bill is no longer a strong piece of legislation, protecting the people that it aims to protect, but has become an arbitrary value judgement that benefits to some degree the White, Christian, heterosexual, cis-gendered males in society.

Being bigoted within the confines of your own home doesn’t mean it is no longer a bigoted belief. Being a vocal homophobe at the dinner table, with your daughter who might identify as queer but is in the closet in fear of retribution, is still a hate crime. But even if your daughter isn’t queer, you’re influencing her to be a homophobe, discriminate, and actively hate. You create a cycle of viciousness that doesn’t just exist within the bubble that is your house, but very horrifically impacts very real people outside of it. If you can’t express your transphobia in the confines of your own home, guess what... I don’t care. It is wrong to be a transphobic, it is wrong to be a bigot, just as it is wrong to commit assault. Now that you can express whatever you want to believe within your home, who protects the minority groups within that household?

Who ensures that the constant exposure to hate speech does not impact their mental health and well-being? Who makes sure that even non-minority groups within the household learn, grow, and change to be tolerant and accepting and good?

But the problems don’t stop there. Who decides who a “reasonable person” is? Reasonable to the perpetrator of hate? To the already privileged, who are causing harm to others for no reason?

And more importantly what has reason got to do with anything?

Hate crime isn’t accidentally saying something insensitive. No one is going to file a police report if you accidentally misgender someone, or unintentionally say something insensitive. They will correct you, ask you to not do

that again, you apologise, learn your lesson, listen, and move on. That is reasonable. That is acceptable. But a hate crime is based on a belief that is irrational. It does not stand to reason to address someone using a racial slur. It does not stand to reason to bully someone simply because they have a disability. Yet, the victim - who is absolutely correct in calling out such hatred and protecting themselves, protecting others within their community - is held to a higher standard. That isn’t fair. That isn’t justice. No one but the individual facing the brunt of hate can fully decide what is reasonable and what is not. It seems unreasonable for a third party who can’t truly understand these shared experiences to be so integrally involved. And even if they have to be for the sake of the law, such a diluted term such as a “reasonable person” leaves far too much room for interpretation.

“The bill is no longer a strong piece of legislation, protecting the people that it aims to protect, but has become an arbitrary value judgement...”

I appreciate the effort; I commend your initiative. But I implore you to not give in to the very beliefs you are trying to fight.

I beg you to protect the people you claim to. This bill, to me, is the equivalent of a nice thought.

Sending someone flowers when they are sick in the hospital.

But it takes doctors, nurses, and medicines to actually solve the problem. Instead of disinfecting the wound like you intended, you have just put a plaster on the issue, and as we all know, plasters peel off easily.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

17

Culture The value of upcycling Rejuvenating and repurposing items for your living space quickly as they can emerge and it’s impossible to keep up. But the beauty of clothes is they can be remodelled with just a few stitches, cuts or dye. Of course, upcycling is not just limited to clothes. Furniture or other miscellaneous objects can also be repurposed. The countless mason jars I bought for my smoothie phase bring more joy with fairy lights in them than they did gathering dust in the cupboard.

If jars of fairy lights are a little too cringeworthy for you, mason jars also make for rustic plant pots. The key idea of upcycling is turning waste into a resource.

Something lovely about upcycling is how personal it is. You can have something that nobody else has because it is a product of your used pieces, your own creative flair is poured into it which bulk-produced factory items can never recreate.

Rebecca Richard WRITER

When the first lockdown was announced last March, I, like so many others, panicked at the thought of having so much free time and impulsively bought 150 embroidery threads spanning the entire colour spectrum. Upcycling is the conversion of old belongings into something new and repurposing them to be of greater value. I thought that embroidering some forgotten items might encourage me to use more and buy less. I’d never embroidered in my life, I had no real plan, but it seemed like a good way to use up some time. I’m a bit of a hoarder, and it dawned on me that I could spice up so many of my old things while feeling like I’d got something new.

“You do not need to be a seamstress or DIY expert to make upcycling work for you...”

My first target was a powder blue Primark blanket that was years old, thrown over the end of my bed and never looked at. With a trusty Pinterest board by my side, I spent hours binging Netflix while stitching the edges with little bees, flowers, leaves and ladybirds - the whole crafty cliche.

This was by no means an artistic breakthrough, but the poor abandoned blanket soon became a feature of my bed, as I wanted to show off my handiwork. An old childhood tote bag from the Sea Life Centre was next in line for a makeover. I stitched some raindrops across the handles and called it a day, but the bag looks far more aesthetically pleasing for its weekly outing to the supermarket than it did before.

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager The point is, upcycling doesn’t have to be sewing an entire outfit from an old shirt, although if you have the craftsmanship to pull that off I salute you. It is the sprucing up of everyday things that I think brings the most satisfaction, as well as easing boredom and giving you something to show for it afterwards - ideal for this lockdown period.

Aside from the satisfaction of creating something new from old things, it is environmentally friendly. According to National Geographic, the fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world, with the manufacturing of a single pair of jeans requiring around 7,500 litres of water. The fashion industry currently emits more greenhouse gases than the international marine and aviation services together at a total of 1.2bn tonnes

per year. Aside from shopping at ethical clothing producers or thrifting, the most sustainable thing you can wear are the clothes already in your wardrobe.

“The fashion industry currently emits more greenhouse gases than the international marine and aviation services together...”

With the vast increase in influencers’ platforms on social media, it seems trends disappear as

“Upcycling doesn’t have to be sewing an entire outfit from an old shirt, although if you have the craftsmanship to pull that off I salute you...”

It is also great for stimulating creativity, and producing something “new” is a good break from looking at screens all day.

I found embroidering to be the most manageable method of upcycling, with little preparation and clean up needed, and it also produced the most satisfying results. There are a plethora of ways to get crafty with your belongings whether it be painting an old dresser, switching out drawer handles or sewing different buttons onto a cardigan.

“You can have something that nobody else has because it is a product of your used pieces...”

Upcycling can seem a little daunting, especially if you haven’t explored your creative side before, and it can be hard to know where to start. There are countless tutorials online about switching-up tired pieces on YouTube, Pinterest, or even TikTok: online platforms provide a wide scope of possibilities for your upcycling needs. The simplest creations are usually any kind of bottle - I’m sure many student f lats have the odd gin bottle kicking about. Paint and fill these with lights and you can’t go wrong. Tin cans can also be a rustic storage addition, covered with buttons, wrapped with rope or painted, with holes punched into them for tealight holders - they are a versatile piece of junk.

Essentially, you do not need to be a seamstress or DIY expert to make upcycling work for you.

I find when I’m inundated with deadlines, stress, and general life responsibilities, messing around with my old things is a light-hearted hobby without the pressure of high expectations.

You can relax and paint some clouds onto a tin simply because you can. If it’s a bit shit, it doesn’t matter. Enjoy the process of doing something a little different from the monotonous routines I’m sure many of us have found ourselves in lately, and take pride in whatever creation you produce. Whether it’s an artistic masterpiece or not quite what you’d envisioned, whatever you create will be entirely yours. I think that’s pretty special.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

A Beginner’s Guide to Poetry

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator Jackson Harvey WRITER

Poetry 101 or, lol, Poetry.

Or raise your hands up in the air for poetry. Or a wee character, lost at sea, drowning in poetry. The latter is what I felt like when I turned up for

my first undergrad lecture and realised it was on the subject of the big, bad, bewildering P. I left, looking at my return ticket home to Cardonald, wondering which rocket ship I had jumped on to take me there in the first place. Half a decade later and this is what I’ve got to offer:

A Beginner’s Guide to Poetry: • If you think it sounds phallic, it probably is.

• And a rose is a rose is a rose isn’t.

Now that’s out of the way; is this really what it’s all about? No. Yes. Maybe.

The thing is, that it doesn’t really matter. Despite what the literati might think, poetry is not exclusive. It is not an in-joke for the cultural elite. And the fun is in what it is not. It isn’t the words on the page. It doesn’t mean what the poet meant it to mean. And it certainly isn’t what the critic tells you it is. It is vital to remember that your opinion isn’t wrong.

Despite this, all of us at one point or another have looked at a bit of poetry and thought, “that’s gone over my head” and tossed it aside. T.S Eliot wrote his poems for his friends who had experience in Latin and shared an interest in classical allusions. For those of us with a dissimilar collective experience, here are a few ways in that will make you never want to come back out.

Poetry is shared experience; “…Like a death at a birthday party You ruin all the fun Like a sucked and spat our smartie

You’re no use to anyone…”

- John Cooper Clarke If you don’t know them = you are them. I think that’s an old proverb.

Also, I’m not sure I can publish the name of this Clarke poem here but feel free to refer to The Beginner’s Guide again for clues.

Poetry is self-preservation; It is a means of describing how strongly you feel about something without having to deal with the repercussions of airing your dirty laundry. This is the sole difference between our relatives on Facebook and Walt Whitman’s “O’ Me! O Life!”.

Poetry is meditation; “toilet graffiti is the purest form of art” - Glasgow University Library, Level 3 (author unknown) It is about being present and allowing yourself to find beauty in the mundane.

Poetry is brave.

“I try to write the most embarrassing thing I can think of” - John Weiners

In a recent reading by Maggie O’Sullivan, the poet recited their work down the phone and over Zoom. The pace was relentless, images abounded.

Every time I tried to unpick a thread of words, to hold to the light, the poet continued on unravelling the spool.

I hastily transcribed “this life, where is it? Let it be a leaf losing into the sea”. Unbeknownst to me, I was writing myself into a joke that’s taken me until now to laugh at. There I was, flailing around, desperately trying to find meaning.

My little life, and my concern with searching for answers like a leaf losing (the plot) in a whole ocean of lives. Of course, my reading is tragically self-reflexive, but in the words of Gertrude Stein: “the difference is spreading”. A poem is born again with each new reading and means precisely what you, or the next person, thinks it does. I suppose that makes poets of us all.

Anyway, who knows where this life, or its meaning, is? And does it even matter when you have the privilege of jumping on a lilo and going with the flow. Now That’s What I Call Poetry. lol.

Are we losing the artistic significance of photography?

Exploring photography from its inception to the present day Megan McManus WRITER

Throughout history, people have used and distributed artistic images of themselves in order to control how others viewed them. From the first Roman Emperors, who had their faces hammered onto coins to the portrait painting of royalty and nobility at the Tudor court, images of individuals have always been powerful tools. Historically, photography has slotted into this narrative easily. From its conception in the 1830s and 40s, the photographic image has been frequently utilised by the great and the powerful to promote their public image. Queen Victoria, a famously popular monarch and celebrity of her time, employed photography as much as her ancestors made use of the master portrait painters of yore. The photographs taken of her in full mourning, late in life, have become some of the most iconic in British history. The artistic significance of a photographic portrait was certainly not lost on the subjects in such instances, as the poses of the

sitters in many earlier photographs clearly emulate traditional portrait paintings.

For a long time, photography remained the preserve of the very wealthy and the upper classes.

Throughout the 20th century, however, it became accessible to pretty much all members of western society. As cameras became more widely available and affordable to purchase, increasing numbers of ordinary people were able to take their own photographs, inevitably in more relaxed and arguably less “artistically conscious” settings. This being said, the photography of this era also gave birth to many of our most iconic pieces of art: Warhol’s polaroids alone attest to this. This trend of accessibility continued throughout the 20th century, with disposable and then digital cameras becoming common household items, packed for holidays and documenting nights out. With the introduction of camera phones in the 00s, taking photographs every day became normal and accepted behaviour, as no longer something exclusively for special occasions.

“Now a more diverse range of people are able to explore and create within the context of the photograph...”

Beyond this, photography has also continued a tradition of aiding social commerce. Today, as in many other times of national crisis over the past 100 or so years, photographs are working to connect those that feel isolated and lonely during this time. In the first and second World Wars, sweethearts would send their photographs to comfort each other; in 2020 photographs of friends and family members no doubt bolstered the spirits of those isolating and working on the frontline during the pandemic. The sharing of photos on social media and over messaging services helps people to connect in a shared sociability. This is something

that has become undoubtedly necessary and helpful during the pandemic we currently find ourselves in, but does this detract from the artistic significance of photography? I would argue no - if the true purpose of art is to make people feel, then surely this breed of photography must be one of the most artistic.

People are now taking more photographs than ever before as photography has steadily become more popular, available, and consumable. The equipment of the digital era allows people to photograph and video whatever content they want, whenever they want. Most people have thousands of photographs and video recordings on their phones, often capturing new material every day. Some would argue that this too has “cheapened” photography and that the artistic significance of the photographic process and its results have been lost. Whilst this is a valid point, doesn’t the very accessibility of modern photography also encourage a boom in artists using this form? Whilst 100 years ago the study of photography as

an art form remained almost exclusively the vestige of upper-class White men, now a more diverse range of people are able to explore and create within the context of the photograph. Arguably, an increase in accessibility has in fact had the opposite effect of cheapening photography; instead of a decrease in artistic output, a vast increase has been the inevitable result.

The harvest of photographic art is currently richer than ever before, as work from people of all cultural and social, ethnic and economic backgrounds has become increasingly prolific, facilitating the consumption and enjoyment of this art form to a wider and more inclusive audience. Photography - and the art created through it - shedding its exclusivity to the rich and powerful can only be heralded as a good thing. As photography distances itself from its elitist roots its artistic significance grows, nurtured by increasing inclusivity across all facets of society. This is most definitely something to be valued, especially in the world of art.

25 March 2021

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Culture

Our post-lockdown Glasgow gig guide Whether you’re new to the city, or just looking for something to shake up your gig-going pattern, we have the perfect mix of artists that you just can’t miss next time they play Glasgow James Darley WRITER

My heart goes out to fellow students who may have moved to Glasgow for the first time last autumn. This city can be pretty unforgiving from October through March – the days are short, the winter is long, and the weather is bleak, and all the while we haven’t been able to take refuge in the sanctuary of music venues. Some of you reading this may have never experienced a night out in Glasgow before, and for those who have, it might all seem like a distant dream at this point.

The packed-out basements of Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, the Hug and Pint, or the Priory on punk nights, when the walls are wet with sweat. The way the floorboards creak precariously in the Barrowland Ballroom, as 2,000 Glaswegians bounce together in harmony. Intimate folk nights at the Glad Café or McNeill’s in the Southside, or late-night jazz at the Blue Arrow. The endless warehouse raves at the Glue Factory in Port Dundas or G.A.S. in Laurieston, and the soundsystem parties at Civic House or the African Arts Centre.

Getting some records and banging vegan food at Mono in Merchant City before seeing bands. Even the Hydro, with its seven quid pints, shite hot dogs, and sterile atmosphere…

Anything!

Freedom is on the way though, folks. Virtual festivals are slowly beginning to fizzle out, tours are beginning to reappear on calendars for the end of this year, and 21 June is tentatively circled in everyone’s diaries (especially Mike Skinner’s). We can almost taste it now. So, here are my shouts for some of the artists you have to see when live music is finally unleashed upon Glasgow.

Nekkuro Hána Nekkuro Hána, a five-piece all studying at the University of Glasgow, create music that is a mad and virtuosic blend of psychedelia, jazz, RnB and Afrobeat. Now that may sound like a pretty incongruous mix, but incongruity is Nekkuro Hána’s mission. When tunes like Lizardman are played live they are bizarre 10-minute odysseys with fantastically disjointed sections.

The band keep you on your toes

throughout the set - any time you get your dance moves locked in with a certain rhythm, the band suddenly take a sharp turn down a rabbit hole and you’re left gently swaying in the middle of the dancefloor as blaring horns cut across a raucous samba beat. It’s beautiful chaos. This band radiates joy and I defy anyone to watch them live without a huge daft grin on their face. Quite simply – the best live band in Glasgow.

Listen to: Lizardman For fans of: Sonny Rollins, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Frank Zappa, D’Angelo, and The Mighty Boosh.

Free Love Imagine if the cast of The Wicker Man or Midsommar got their hands on some analogue synths, drum machines, and a bag of speed: that’s Free Love. I saw Free Love headline the Glue Factory at the Great Western Festival in 2019 and it was one of the wildest gigs I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending. Producer Lewis Cook, clad in a beret and roll neck, took to the stage alone and started off a moody kick drum and synth loop. Meanwhile, singer Suzanne Rodden, led a group of five flag-bearing dancers (all dressed in cultish white robes and masks) from the back of the venue, through the crowd and onto the stage. Rodden was an intoxicating cult leader that night, transfixing every audience member with her furious dancing, crowd-surfing and distorted screams. Incense was burning, flowers were flying, the Red Stripe was flowing – they were unstoppable.

Not to be missed when the post-Covid summer of love kicks into gear.

Listen to: Pushing Too Hard For fans of: Crystal Castles, Chvrches, hippie communes, and LSD. Supercloud Supercloud are another band of students, all studying at Glasgow uni. I first heard them after listening to band members Lloyd and Loup’s great solo records, and when joined by drummer Ollie, they make a high energy, art-rock band with great melodies, vocal harmonies and Velvet Underground-esque rhythms.

Expect to catch them partying down the Hug and Pint on Great Western Road, where they strung together

a load of gigs before culture was so unceremoniously derailed last year.

One for all you indie fans out there.

Listen to: (she lives in a) high rise For fans of: The Velvet Underground, Ultimate Painting, and The Lemon Twigs.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds I won’t lie, it hit me hard when Ticketmaster refunded my Nick Cave tickets after his show at the Hydro was eventually cancelled after being rescheduled a number of times last year. For those who know Nick’s music and the godlike silhouette he cuts onstage, a Bad Seeds show is the closest an atheist can get to a religious experience. Seamlessly moving from crooning piano ballads like Into My Arms to twisted murderous rampages like Stagger Lee – Cave can make a grown man cry and headbang with furious, wailing abandon all in the blink of an eye.

With an ability to make an arena show feel like an intimate club gig, Cave’s command of live music is unparalleled, and his newest material is begging for its live debut. Don’t miss out when he next comes to town.

Listen to: Jubilee Street For fans of: Leonard Cohen, The Fall, Johnny Cash, God, love, death etc.

Sacred Paws Sacred Paws! It’s literally impossible to resist dancing when this Glasgow-based duo are in full swing.

Their music is a gleeful mix of indie, post-punk, and afrobeat; a formula which earned their 2017 debut Strike a Match the Scottish Album of the Year accolade. Guitarist and singer Rachel Aggs is a force of nature on stage, bouncing around with uncontainable joy whilst Eilidh Rodgers’ lightning-quick four-to-the-floor drumming sets heads bobbing throughout the venue. A band with a mission to get Glasgow dancing.

Listen to: Almost It For fans of: Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, The Cast of Cheers, Fela Kuti, and cutting mental shapes in the club.

Avocet Avocet take their name from Scottish folk hero Bert Jansch’s 1979 album and their music takes inspiration from the rich history of Celtic folk music which Jansch was steeped in. I first saw Avocet play in the bar of

the Burbank Bowling Club on Woodlands Road in 2019 – a venue definitely not equipped to hold the many dozens of people it did that day. The difficulty of soundchecking a harp in a fully functional music venue must be a hard task at the best of times, let alone in the cramped front room of an old sports clubhouse, and so the soundcheck ended up lasting a strong 40 minutes. The trio navigated the awkward situation with great patter, before eventually treating the Guinness-nursing audience to a set of shimmering folk balladry complete with masterful and understated playing. Arrestingly beautiful music for you moody, broody folk fans.

Listen to: Causeway For fans of: Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Nick Drake, and Fairport Convention.

Arab Strap “I don’t give a fuck about the past / All our glory days gone by” Aidan Moffat sings on the opening line of the Arab Strap’s first album in 16 years, but it’s important to remember the momentousness of this recent reunion; this is the second coming of one of Glasgow’s most important bands of all time. Moffat, Middleton and co. have been chronicling life in Glasgow for over two decades, with cult anthems like The First Big Weekend and The Shy Retirer telling the stories of wild, intoxicated nights in town with sincerity and bombast in equal measure. New album As Days Get Dark sees a matured but angrier Strap, and you won’t want to miss them debuting it when they reunite at the Barras in September.

Listen to: The First Big Weekend For fans of: Red House Painters, Belle & Sebastian, Sleaford Mods, and poetry.

Mogwai From one Glasgow giant to another. Mogwai are back and are riding high after topping the UK album charts with As The Love Continues, a collection of soaring post-rock soundscapes. Mogwai have always made music cinematic, and they’re on sparkling form here with tracks like Ritchie Sacramento and Dry Fantasy, songs that serve up opulence at an eardrum-bursting volume. To paraphrase music journalist

John Doran – this is music so loud you’ll shite your kecks. Catch Mogwai blowing the roof off the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall this November.

Listen to: Mogwai Fear Satan For fans of: Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and long winter walks.

The Bleeders Demented local duo The Bleeders are well known about town for their outlandish live shows which combine their uniquely silly and sardonic sense of humour with pummelling hard rock “bangrangerdangers”, as they would put it. The online launch party for their most recent single COOL! was a treat for fans, featuring bizarre guest appearances from Paul Chuckle and one of the Oompa Loompas from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film. If there’s one thing to take from their absurdist launch party, it’s that The Bleeders are quite clearly a band that needs to play live, and a band that must be seen live. With guitarist Jackson once running off stage during a Paisley gig last year to use the toilet (and continuing to play live guitar while doing so) – make sure you’re queueing up to see them don their vampiric makeup for the first time post-lockdown.

Listen to: COOL! For fans of: Queens of the Stone Age, FIDLAR, Limmy, and questioning reality.

Underworld Right, listen up. All bets are off.

On Friday 30 July, you’re going to see Underworld headline Playground Festival at Rouken Glen Park. Do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200 – you’re going. Underworld, godfathers of British techno and IDM, might well be the best live group this planet has ever produced. I once bumped into singer Karl Hyde in a London pub whilst off my face and told him he danced like a snake being charmed, and I am fully prepared to make a tit of myself again whilst basking in the decadent glory of Underworld this summer. If dance music’s your thing, then – sincerely – there is no better way to spend your time.

Listen to: Rez For fans of: Aphex Twin, Goldie, Orbital, rave culture, festivals.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

The literary cures to your lockdown blues

The difficult problem of the difficulty problem Bruno Citoni WRITER

I’m getting so old that I remember sneaking out of some family friends’ house to go to the smallest of seaside arcades. I’d spend all the coins I was able to scramble from my parents just to repeatedly die before the first boss of Metal Gear Slug III. Coin after coin, I’d acquire just enough new information to make it a few steps further next time.

This trial-and-error gameplay was perfect for arcades, especially compounded by the lack of clear-cut game guidance in the pre-YouTube wasteland that was the early-noughties internet. In short, those cabinets were designed to suck money out of gullible six year old me - not unlike the discount codes from Uber Eats that are sucking money away from gullible 27 year old me.

Credit: Emma Garcia Melchor - Illustrator

Chloe-Ann Hooper WRITER

Suffering from the lockdown blues?

Well, you’ve come to the right place! With the road out of lockdown still so uncertain, many of us are feeling a little tense these days.

Sometimes you just want to escape the real world, go to a place where the sun shines a little bit brighter, and where shaking hands feels a little bit cleaner. The following books are perfect for what we’re all going through right now, and will encourage deep breaths and an optimistic outlook.

If poetry sounds right up your alley, then William Sieghart’s The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-andtrue Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind, and Soul, might be exactly what you’re looking for. The good thing about this poetry collection is that each poem comes labelled with its own prescription. Suffering from anxiety? Sieghart has a poem for that! Lethargy, fear of the unknown, news overload; Sieghart has poems for those too! As pretty as a hardcover can be, this would be a good book to keep downloaded onto your mobile device (if you happen to have the Kindle app), so you can whip out your poetry book on the go whenever you need a moment to yourself, or to get out of your own head.

In The Unwinding and other

Dreaming’s by Jackie Morris, the author blends her poetic skills with her talent for watercolour painting to create a beautiful collection of illustrated stories. Published by Unbound - the world’s first crowdfunding publishers - this book is not made to be read cover-to-cover, and is instead a flexible reading journey to dip in and out. Readers can pick up the book and return to its fantastical world at any point, without losing any semblance of the charm that most books develop slowly through a cover-to-cover reading. With deadlines and exams slowly approaching, this book is perfect for those that don’t have an abundance of spare time to dedicate to reading.

However, reading poetry might not be for you. If you feel like kicking back with something less serious, I give you Stephen Collins’ The Gigantic Beard that was Evil. With simple, yet elegant artwork, in this graphic novel Collins’ protagonist Dave learns that having a little bit of unwelcomed chaos find its way into your life can sometimes turn out to be beneficial. Just like for Dave, things don’t always go the way we imagined; though we don’t have evil facial hair. But maybe I’m just speaking for myself, and you can relate to this book on a very literal, weird level.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Ben-

jamin Alire Saenz is a warm-hearted, feel good story about love, family, and friendship, for those with an appetite for contemporary young adult novels. After bonding over the uniqueness of their names, Aristotle and Dante begin forging a friendship perhaps deeper than most of us may have the luck to experience. While Dante and Aristotle come face to face with violence, loss, and transphobia, the love both protagonists’ find in each other and in their families is what allows both to overcome their struggles. A great book to remind us of the value of friendship, which we so often forget in isolating times like these.

Should you choose to dive into Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High, you may find yourself springing up from your reading nook and right into the kitchen. About to graduate from high school, main character Emoni wants to become a chef more than anything, but has a two-year-old daughter to take care of. Throughout this book, Emoni learns to balance her familial responsibilities with self-care, and making time for her own passions; a lesson all of us should bring into practice. Providing us with a sprinkle of delicious recipes along the journey, this book may inspire you to incorporate a little experimentation into your own lockdown culinary career.

“Despite an ever-increasing audience, no single game can possibly be made to please everybody...”

With the progressive shift to home consoles people began discovering that - while they were happy to spend £1 every day to infinitely replay the first twenty minutes of a game - they were really not cool with spending £50 to buy a game that they could not finish. The “arcade fallacy”, if you will.

To cater to the expanding, less-experienced audience, developers began introducing what we know as a game’s difficulty level. These range in style from the political skin colour slide of South Park: The Fractured but Whole to the easy-mode mockery of the Wolfestein’s series “Can I play Daddy?”, but they all present some way for the player to tailor the experience to their skill level.

What you see most often referred to as artificial, or fake, difficulty, is the concept of simply increasing some numbers, such as enemy stats, without changing the core gameplay. This is the case for RPGs series like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, where higher difficulty translates to less damage dealt and more damage received.

This is not in itself a bad thing. If done cleverly this will drive players to develop more efficient strategies.

Rely on it too heavily though and you get something like The Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion, a game that, on the highest difficulty, can only be played in a very specific way. When raising a game’s difficulty renders some of that game content obsolete, I’d call it a design failure.

Trial-and-error gameplay is not inherently bad, either. I personally love the trial-and-error of Soulsborne games where you are expected to learn enemy placement, movesets and abilities. But once again, rely on it too heavily and even Call of Duty turns into a game of Simon.

What is hailed online as fair difficulty, which makes for “Easy to learn, hard to master” games is what is referred to as dynamic difficulty.

By dynamically altering the rules of the game itself according to the player’s performance this method tries to keep players in the “flow”. This is defined as the ideal state of maximum enjoyment achieved where a game is neither too easy and boring, nor too challenging and frustrating.

Despite gaining some traction lately, this is far from a recent idea.

Already, in the late ‘90s, Crash Bandicoot games used to subtly slow obstacles down or give extra hit points if the player was repeatedly dying in the same level.

But alas, this is not a perfect system either, as you may have shamefully already discovered if you forced that one Tinder date to race you at Mario Kart. “Rubber Banding” is a classic example of dynamic difficulty adjusting, and it involves, especially in racing games, helping those who are behind by giving them a much higher chance to obtain better items to catch up, supposedly to create exciting underdogs scenarios. The extent to which this is to be considered fair is, personally, uncertain.

And what about massively multiplayer games, in which endgame content is meant to entertain a multitude of different players over an indefinite amount of time?

The difficulty problem is indeed a difficult problem, and it’s one that I have only just scratched the surface of here. But for me, the bottom line is, despite an ever-increasing audience, no single game can possibly be made to please everybody. I love the idea behind Football Manager, but every time I tried making AS Roma win the league, I felt like a toddler sitting through a math exam, and not a particularly bright toddler either.

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Culture

Escaping the straight gaze All too often, queer cinema seems to be for straight women instead of for queer people themselves in the narrative. The audience can say, “look, that’s me! I can be an ally and I can shag Timothee Chalamet!” It is also worth noting that the scene of straight sex is the only one in the movie where the act of intercourse is depicted. All the scenes between Elio and Oliver pan away during the foreplay. This is significant because the movie is thematically obsessed with the aesthetics of sex and duality. The moment where two bodies join is climactic to this exploration as the visual manifestation of the title. In love, and especially the act of love, the two main characters become part of one another; even their names may as well be each other’s. So, to deny the film of this is to deny the validity of this theme, and, by extension deny the love between Oliver and Elio.

Alex Enaholo WRITER

“I do it for the girls and the gays, that’s it” is the number one phrase I am sick of hearing right now.

You’ve probably seen it on Tiktok or Twitter or in an Instagram caption at some point recently. It’s literally everywhere. Aside from being played out, it’s always being used way out of context. The line is a lyric from Ayesha Erotica’s song Yummy.

“Audiences need to recognise that a film is not a queer film simply because it has a queer character...”

Ayesha Erotica is a trans woman (she is also wildly problematic, but that is a conversation for another day) and the line is a reference to this — Ayesha does it for the trans girls and the gay boys and that’s it.

Her music is for transgender women, gay men, and the LGBTQ+ community, not for straight women.

This isn’t to say that straight women can’t enjoy her music, it just means that it isn’t for straight women. The idea got me thinking; so much of queer media, especially movies, aren’t for the LGBTQ+ community at all, rather they are designed to appeal to straight women. This straight gaze allows media, from indie cinema to family films to be filled with depictions of non-threatening gay men, and very little other LGBTQ+ representation. It pays lip service to queerness while catering to a straight market. So why are so many “gay” works really made for straight people?

In order to answer this question, we need to look back to when gay characters first started appearing in mainstream media. Early gay characters in popular culture tended to fit the gay best friend (GBF) trope. The GBF serves as an accessory to compliment the outfits of and provide sassy comic relief for the female protagonist, usually in teen movies and romcoms. These characters frequently have no story arcs of their own and are devoid of personality beyond gay stereotypes.

“While these films do fetishize queer men, queer women are fetishized to a greater and more flagrant extent...”

Credit: Ciara McAlinden - Culture Columnist Despite the entirety of the character being rooted in their sexuality, they tend to be divorced from it; being decidedly unsexy and never actually getting involved with other men. Think Damien in 2004’s Mean Girls, a character who is supposedly “too gay to function”, and yet never even utters a word about a guy for the entire film. 1994’s Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder, has Sammy — a celibate and closeted gay man.

Sammy gets the fewest lines of any of the principal characters, and his coming out is used by Winona Ryder’s character for a scene in her documentary. The moment, which is surely monumental for Sammy, is seen through the eyes of his straight friend as something which makes her more interesting and is useful to her. Additionally, the movie is about sexual liberation, yet the only character who is not straight is the only character not having sex.

The film is clearly aimed at young women who view themselves as progressive; none of the characters are homophobic and all want to shed the gender and sexual norms of their parents. Yet the film hesitates to portray the gay character

as anything other than an object to enhance the other characters, or someone to be pitied.

“When we discuss queer cinema, there is a disconnect between what LGBTQ+ people want to see, and what is given onscreen...”

This view of gay male characters as essentially props for straight female characters is at the cultural root of the straight gaze. As gay characters have moved out of the wings and into the spotlight, they have remained the subject of this straight gaze. Most media centred around gay characters exists to make straight people feel better about themselves. Perhaps the “queer” film celebrated most widely in recent years is 2017’s Call Me By Your Name. For a romance celebrating the love between two men,

it is remarkably deficient. Firstly, both lead characters are played by straight men. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but in terms of marketing, it reminds straight women that they have a theoretical chance with both of the main actors. This becomes problematic in this context because it begins to show that the film is essentially smut for straight women. This is reinforced in the narrative when Oliver goes back to America to marry a woman. Oliver could be bisexual, and this is of course fine, the bisexuality of the character is not an issue. What is an issue is the suggestion that the romance between the two men was just a phase, at least for Oliver. This narrative beat appeals to a young liberal female audience because it makes Oliver appear more emotional, less threatening, and by extension more sexually desirable.

Likewise, Elio spends the first third of the film chasing after a girl and is left single by the end. The girl he likes is supportive of him and continues to be his friend after he falls for Oliver. The character serves as an entry-point for the intended audience and allows them to place

Finally, it is important to note that the only explicitly gay characters in the film – an older couple — are caricatures and the subject of ridicule from Elio and Oliver. Overall, it is clear that while queer characters do populate the film, they are portrayed in a way that alienates many queer people. It is also worth noting that the film is set in 1980s Italy, which was incredibly unwelcoming to gay people, and also at the height of the AIDS epidemic, yet the film fails to touch on these themes.

Call Me By Your Name is aesthetically stunning, full of rich characterisation and an atmosphere of beautiful, tragic passion. However, what it is not is a genuine queer story. And, to be fair to Call Me By Your Name, there is a strong argument that it never intended to be that at all. Call Me By Your Name is a mainstream romance film designed to be commercially and critically popular. It was intended to win Oscars, not to be subversive. So, do indie films do any better?

Continued on Page 23

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

“Gay male characters are essentially props for Celebrating Pokémon’s straight female characters...”

25th anniversary

Credit: Ciara McAlinden - Culture Columnist One film lauded for its total rejection of the male gaze and conventional romance narratives is Eliza Hittman’s 2017 feature Beach Rats. The film focuses on the life of a closeted teen from Staten Island as he engages in hook-ups with older men while dating a girl and going out with his friends. The cinematography is striking; utilising lingering pans and close-ups usually designed to show women as the objects of male desire, the camera is unapologetically voyeuristic, filming lengthy, nearly clinical sex scenes devoid of affection but full of animalistic lust. Thematically, the film meditates on ideas of male vulnerability and toxic masculinity. The film accomplishes all the things it sets out to do with style and success, so what is the issue?

In order to make a movie that objectifies men and exposes their vulnerabilities; the central character had to be gay. This demonstrates a view of gay men as less masculine than straight men, and highlights an unwillingness to estrange a straight audience from the film.

Straight men — while likely uncomfortable with the subject matter of Beach Rats — would be able to watch with a degree of removal, despite the fact that the themes are a reaction to lad culture and the unwillingness of society to accept that masculine men can be vulnerable. Likewise, the movie appeals to straight women because it portrays a sympathetic and non-threatening male central character — to the extent that he is emotionally tormented and

treats his girlfriend well — in spite of the way he treats his male hookups.

This is comparable to the way in which the other male characters mistreat women, yet he is forgiven – both narratively and by the audience — due to his inner turmoil, in a way that Eliza Hittman would not forgive a straight man. The film alienates gay viewers by presenting gay sex as purely carnal and violent, which is especially problematic because it is one of few films to devote so much of its runtime to gay sex scenes. Fundamentally, the film is an exploration of a queer narrative from a straight perspective: it is uninterested in exploring queerness beyond surface-level angst, and the sex scenes objectify gay men, rather than men as a whole. The movie offers gorgeous visuals and an intensive dissection of toxic masculinity among working class youth, the issue is that

“The GBF serves as an accessory to compliment the outfits of and provide sassy comic relief for the female protagonist...” it utilises queerness to do this.

The most telling thing about Beach Rats, Call Me By Your Name, Reality Bites, and Mean Girls is that the queer characters are cis White gay men. There are notably fewer films about queer women or gender

non-binary people. This reflects a lack of intersectionality in filmmaking as a whole and furthers a narrative of division within the LGBTQ+ community – pitting cis gay men against the community as a whole. It is also worth noting that while these films do fetishize queer men, queer women are fetishized to a greater and more flagrant extent: think of the gratuitous lesbian scenes which populate the work of most male auteur filmmakers who then win Oscars and the Palme D’or (David Lynch, I’m looking at you). In fact, much of the discourse surrounding the queer gaze is rooted in misogyny, and it is important to draw a distinction between cogent criticism of the film industry and attacks on female filmmakers and audiences simply because you disagree with their views. For example, denouncing Hittman’s entire filmography as homophobic because you didn’t like Beach Rats? This is misogynistic. Asking questions about whether it should be viewed as a queer story in context? Valid criticism. Overall, it is clear that when we discuss queer cinema, there is a disconnect between what LGBTQ+ people want to see, and what is given on-screen.

So, what is there to be done about this issue? I think the solution is threefold: firstly, queer filmmakers must be given the trust and creative freedom to tell authentic stories, as they are the people best placed to create art that does not fall foul of the straight gaze. Secondly, queer characters shouldn’t be shoehorned into films where they aren’t given agency or dimension — instead, producers should focus on quality rather than sheer quantity of representation. Vito Russo’s criteria for queer representation should be taken into account: he argues that queer characters must be identifiably queer (as opposed to queer coded); not solely defined by their sexuality; and that they should be tied to the plot to the extent that their removal would have a significant effect. Finally, audiences need to recognise that a film is not a queer film simply because it has a queer character or even multiple queer characters. We need to recognise the straight gaze in cinema and evaluate films according to their intentions. Only by accepting that many “queer” films tell stories for straight people can we demand authentic LGBTQ+ cinema.

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator Matt Scott WRITER

I was struck recently by the harrowing realisation that, should I audition for next year’s X-Factor, I would be classified not as one of the Boys, but as a ghastly, washed-up Over-25.

My early twenties have been spent half-heartedly resisting adulthood, reluctant to accept that the rest of my life will be spent writing cover letters and responding to emails. Come pandemic, and the monotony of a locked-down afternoon inspired me to fire up my old Nintendo DS, which was preloaded with the cartridge of Pokémon Pearl Version. The instant I was serenaded by the tinny blare of the title screen fanfare, I was 10 again.

This year, the Pokémon franchise has itself become an Over-25, but it has somehow managed to stay hip and down with the kids.

The intense nostalgia I experienced may literally be the Pokémon Company’s most valuable commodity; not only do legitimate copies of barely 10-year old games sell online for hundreds, but faithful remakes of previous releases are produced quite frequently. In fact, should I wish to re-experience one of the more comfortable journeys of my early adolescence, I can buy a copy of Pokémon Shining Pearl later this year.

Since the original 1996 games, Pokémon Red & Blue, were enhanced and remastered in 2004 as FireRed & LeafGreen, remakes have become eagerly anticipated additions to the series for nostalgia junkies like myself. The comforting familiarity of the traditional Pokémon experience is enough to keep many coming back, with a little tolerance afforded for minor gameplay innovations. The core series games may be completely formulaic as a consequence, but the franchise still knows how to capture an imagination.

The allure for younger genera-

tions, who have no longing for the good ol’ days, is still obvious. Very few children will turn their nose up at a game in which you discover all sorts of creatures, raise your personal favourites, trade with your friends, and, should it please you, blow up others with a “Fire Blast” or “Thunderbolt”. Exploring, collecting, and battling are the perfect foundations upon which all Pokémon games are built.

From this juvenile premise an extremely nuanced online competitive scene has developed. Obscure knowledge and absurd levels of dedication are required in order to make your assembled team strong enough to challenge others in a game that evokes the spirit of chess. A near-infinite combination of moves and strategies are available to you, as you try to anticipate what your opponent might do with their turn. It’s easy to see the attraction for all ages.

“For some, it’s just a way to cling pathetically to your childhood for a few more hours...”

We’re now into the eighth “generation” of Pokémon, with the original cast of 151 monsters being joined over the last 25 years by 742 others, each someone’s favourite. The main series of games have spun-off an animated TV series enduring almost the entire length of the franchise, several movies (including a live-action blockbuster), a hugely popular trading card game, and an app that convinced everyone to go outside for a few weeks. Billions will have encountered Pokémon in some capacity, and every person will have a different experience to associate with the franchise.

For some, it’s an excuse to hang out with friends or a welcome distraction at the end of a long day.

For some, it’s just a way to cling pathetically to your childhood for a few more hours in the face of other responsibilities. Others genuinely want to be the very best, like no-one ever was. The Pokémon franchise is rare in that it can truly be said to have something for everyone, and I’m sure it’ll be with us for another 25 years.

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

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Culture

Food stereotypes: Italian edition Sofia Della Sala debunks the myths of one ‘Italian’ cuisine Sofia Della Sala SCIENCE & TECH COLUMNIST

Italians: they are always late, they are loud, and they move their hands incessantly. My parents are Italian, so growing up with this culture, I can confirm that there is some truth to these stereotypes (they do all stem from somewhere after all!). But there is one stereotype that I think doesn’t do Italians justice: and that is food.

Italy’s food is world-renowned, the upholder of nonna’s traditional recipes, so much so that it was voted the most popular cuisine in the world in a YouGov survey. Everyone can name items on an Italian menu off the top of their head: pizza, pasta, lasagne, risotto…the list goes on. This is what people understandably think of when they imagine “Italian food”.

However, I would argue that “Italian food” as many know it doesn’t exist. Italy is a relatively new country - a combination of regions, once completely autonomous. Whilst the people came together (more or less), the food did not. Every region has its own “Italian” menu, all you have to do is hop on a train from Milan to Rome to experience a whole different culinary experience.

Of course, I would be lying if I said that you couldn’t find pizza all over the country. But the type of pizza you find is different. Rome serves a thin, sometimes crispy-based pizza with somewhat experimental toppings and usually served by the slice – big rectangular slices of heaven. In

Credit: Unsplash

Naples, a mere two and a half hours away, and we are in the birthplace of pizza and it becomes a whole other story. The pizza becomes round, fluffier, probably what you would imagine a pizza to be. Though the pizzas may differ, Italians are united on one thing: pineapples are fruit, not a pizza topping.

“Though the pizzas may differ, Italians are united on one thing: pineapples are fruit, not a pizza topping...”

Every region in Italy is known for something. On my year abroad in Bologna, one of my friends often made pesto pasta when she couldn’t be bothered to cook. The middle-aged Italian woman she lived with kept teasing her to visit Genova because it’s famous for its pesto.

Trofie al pesto is a staple in every trattoria across Liguria (of which Genova is the capital) but it slowly dwindles as we travel away from the Italian Riviera. Comparably but also peculiarly, items of food that are similar – let’s take fried dough for example – not only vary in composition from region to region, but their name changes too, sometimes as soon as you leave a city. You have

crescentine in Bologna but 40 minutes away in Ferrara, the name of these airy puffs of deliciousness becomes pinzini. They are called sgabei in Lunigiana, frittelle in Puglia and cozzule in Sicily. Regardless of similarities between these bits of fried dough, locals will still debate whether crescentine are better than pinzini, with everyone fiercely defending their view.

Italians are obsessed with food.

Food to Italians is what weather is to the Brits – it consumes conversations and warrants unnecessarily detailed descriptions. Though, this can actually be a good thing when it comes to food, as it means the vast majority of people truly appreciate it. They have sophisticated palates and understand nuanced flavours.

Everyone is brought up eating home-cooked meals prepared from scratch and usually with only a few ingredients. Few but good, usually fresh, somewhat local produce. Italian cuisine is only as good as its ingredients because every dish really lets them shine. Italians are proud of their food and they want you to love it too, which I think is arguably one of the best things about Italians’ relationship with food. You enjoy eating because they enjoy making it for you. They want you to tell them that yes, that melanzane alla parmigiana was fantastic: What did I love about it? The sugo. Oh, the sugo, that is my speciality! The tomatoes are grown in my cousin’s brotherin-law’s garden, they are the best.

Wow, well tell him his tomatoes are divine. Thank you, I shall! You must try the pasta alla norma next time.

OK! You MUST! (laughs nervously). I will. (Smiles, knowingly). It is passion and admiration, sprinkled with a bit of smugness and showand-tell. People have their local vendors, and restaurants will have their local suppliers, and everyone thinks their products are the best. Food is an event: there is no scoffing a sandwich at your computer in your office cubicle. Lunch breaks are ritual and most have a semblance to a proper sit-down meal. Every day our lab group in Bologna would take a generous hour, go to the canteen and have a two, sometimes three, course meal together. People would purposely not start a task so they could join for lunch, or they would interrupt whatever they were doing to make it along. Food trumped all.

Taking your time with food and its preparation is paramount - something that in the productivity age in the UK we forget sometimes. Italians will even factor in a light stroll after dinner, to help “digest”. In fact, Italy is the founder of the so-called “slow food” revolution, which began in 1986 after demonstrations in Rome against the opening of a McDonald’s. The movement strives to defend local recipes and a tranquil pace of life.

A stereotype that Italian food abroad doesn’t carry as much as it should is purity. Italians are purists when it comes to food. Everything

has its rules and mio dio (my god) if you dare break them. Cheese doesn’t go on seafood linguine, cappuccinos are not drunk after 11am and cream does not go in a carbonara – at all. It can so far as to become a matter of pride. One chef, at a restaurant my family and I were eating at, unceremoniously sent away two Swedish ladies for asking for some lemon to put over their fritti misto - how dare they cover up the delicate taste of his fried seafood with lemon? Now, I’ll admit it, I quite like some lemon on my fritto misto and a dash of cream when I make carbonara – sue me.

As great as it is that traditional recipes are upheld with such rigor and that everyone thinks their nonna makes the best tiramisù, there can be a rigidness that can sometimes be exhausting, but Italians just can’t help themselves. Only last week my dad told the poor girl working at Eusebi Deli that serving an arancino cold was, and I quote, “a cardinal sin” (and whilst I do agree, there is such a thing as reading the room…).

Stereotypes will always be just that: a stereotype. A somewhat exaggerated, over-simplified version of the truth. As much as they are fun and sometimes useful, they can mask the complexity and intricacies of the matter at hand. “Italian food” is a simplification, it doesn’t really exist. In Italy food is different, it is joy, it is life – she says in a non-exaggerated, not over-simplified way, with a loud voice and arms waving incessantly.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Ballet and body image Neo-obsession: imagining the future

Credit: Dorota Dziki - Deputy Illustrations Manager Lauren Lilley WRITER

Content Warning: racial stereotypes, eating disorders.

I spent many hours of my childhood in a leotard, in ballet, jazz, tap, modern and hip-hop classes. I now also fit into the 70% of former female ballerinas who statistically have or have had an eating disorder.

I remember being stood in that mirrored room at age 12, just starting puberty, and my ballet teacher saying to me “Lauren, your ribs should always stick out more than your boobs”. I remember her telling us regularly that she could “see our lunches” and that “big bums don’t work with tutus”. My most impressionable years were filled by the woman I looked up to, telling me I wasn’t good enough. Telling me to take up less space.

All dancing requires a great deal of perfectionism in form, but body image in ballet is by far the worst, as it has the strictest image of what a dancer should look like. They should be tall, but not too tall; slim but with muscles; not too muscular because that would be masculine; you can’t have noticeable boobs, because bras and leotards don’t work; and don’t even think about having a big bum.

You must have perfectly silky hair that stays in a bun with no flyaway

hairs; a long and slender neck; and very defined cheekbones. If you are too heavy, your pointe shoes will make too much noise and you’ll ruin the illusion of grace.

Everything about ballet and its costume is designed for people to be able to scrutinise you, and this is ingrained in the minds of people who dance from a young age. I did a jazz routine aged five in a bikini because it is so normalised to have a view of every part of a dancer’s body.

“There are currently only two Black dancers at the English National Ballet...”

However, as a white girl, I didn’t even have it at its worst. I remember my teachers demanding that girls with natural hair had it relaxed from the age of eight if they wanted to be in dance performances. She warned them not to get too hopeful of a career in dance because Black girls were predisposed to be “heavier-set” and have more “chunky” features that weren’t becoming of ballerinas.

Instead, they were encouraged to pursue hip-hop where “men like bigger women”. I grew up in the Middle East and there were a lot of South

Asian girls in my dance classes. I remember them being told to wax their moustaches, legs and arms from the age of around 10. All the non-white girls were being forced to try and conform to western beauty standards that were designed to make them feel ugly. It’s little wonder that most of them stopped dancing.

It would be wrong not to mention boys who dance in this article but I would argue that they aren’t subjected to anywhere near the amount of scrutiny as girls are, especially if we are looking at recreational dance classes. They are encouraged to be masculine, just to find a graceful way of doing this: they are the ones who need to be strong enough to lift the women and so muscles are encouraged. This in turn can cause serious body image issues, I don’t dispute that. However, with the amount of work most ballerinas have to put in, the idealised male ballet-body naturally comes with it, which is likely why they are much less susceptible to the severe eating disorders that female ballerinas are.

The saddest thing about this article is there is no redemption arc.

Unlike the modelling industry, ballet has made shockingly few efforts to tackle these issues. They haven’t even bothered with performative moves, they have just stuck to their elitist roots and refused to acknowledge criticism. It’s even sadder that they get away with it as the majority of people who consume professional dance performances are the middle and upper classes who don’t care. It wasn’t until 1990 that there was the first non-White principal ballerina at a major dance company when Lauren Anderson was made prima.

There are currently only two Black dancers at the English National Ballet and, both of them are male, and not one dancer of colour in the Bolshoi Ballet.

While writing this, I put something on my Instagram about it and asked if people could share any experiences they had with dancing and body image. I had so many people message me with similar horrific stories like mine, from such a young age, and not a single person said dancing made them feel better about the way they looked. For something that the majority of young girls engage in, it’s truly appalling that we’ve normalised, and allowed, these narratives.

For such a beautiful sport that should be so joyful, it has a horrific underbelly and we must do more to tackle it.

Dylan Brewerton-Harper WRITER

The year is 2015. Flying cars dart like shooting stars across motorways in the clouds. Nike trainers have replaced normal laces with electronic “power laces”. Jackets automatically adjust to the measurements of their wearer.

The criminal justice system can sentence people within a matter of hours, owing to the abolition of lawyers. Jaws 19 is in cinemas. And of course, your average “sk8ter boi” or “sk8ter gal” can bin the wheels, and glide through town on the latest hoverboard.

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”.

Of course, if my memory serves me right, in reality the real 2015 was far duller. The 2015 envisioned

by Bob Gale in his 1989 sci-fi romp Back to the Future II was positively futuristic, owing to the utopian optimism of the computer age. Indeed, you can go as far back as you like into our history and you will find that collective imaginings of the future, or futures, have always permeated our cultures and societies.

“One thing is for sure - the future sells...”

From the sci-fi novels of Wells, Orwell, Huxley, and Yevgeny Zamyatin to the Afrofuturism of Sun Ra and Black Panther; from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ex Machina, and Interstellar to hyperpop artists such as Charli XCX and Dorian Electra; from the pioneering Futurist artists Boccioni and Malevich to Jacques Derrida and his theory of hauntology.

Looking to the future and imagining its possibilities or its horrors are cornerstones of modern culture. The advent of the industrial revolution - its technological advancements and its grand, domineering machines – made us dream of a world without work and made us fear it. We still live in that world, uncertain about what technology holds in store for us. Are

we the masters? Or one day, will sci-fi become our lived reality – as slaves to our AI overlords?

The ability to travel through time – to see and experience the past and future – has always been the superpower of choice for me.

Childhood years watching and re-watching Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant as the swashbuckling Doctor Who may have helped me arrive at that decision.

Or is it an intrinsic or innate facet of our human nature? We are constantly on a quest for knowledge, a desire to know. Surely knowing what the future holds for us all is the ultimate knowledge? Unattainable, yet the one true desire of the human race. And so, we imagine.

One thing is for sure - the future sells; 15 of the top 25 highest-grossing films of all time are sci-fi films, imagining futures of technological mastery, with heroes and villains to match. Similarly, many of the most successful and influential tv shows, musicians, and artists embrace an imagined future and embody them in their work. Nina Simone once said of David Bowie that “David ain’t from here”, owing to his out-of-this-world Ziggy Stardust persona that transfixed our screens from the early 1970s onwards. He was “man who fell to earth”, on-screen and off, inspiring future generations to embrace the future and all it holds.

Our obsession with the future can be defined by those anticipating dystopian, anarchical or apocalyptic visions, giving them comfort in the present or even a desire to return to a real or imagined past – a longing for yesterday. Others imagine a future of abundance, advancement and progress to escape the dreariness and melancholy of modern life – the hope for a better tomorrow.

Something within tells me that when the day of flying cars, Jaws 19, and real hoverboards (not the lame ones from the actual 2015) finally comes, those yearning for both yesterday and tomorrow will continue to imagine the pasts and futures of their dreams, waiting for the day that may never come.

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THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

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Culture

Deconstructing the music biopic Taking a look at our obsession with seeing the on-screen backstory of our favourite stars Sophie Kernachan MUSIC COLUMNIST

Films about musicians have been around for almost as long as films with sound have existed. Granted many of the earlier contenders like Dreams of Love and Casta Diva in 1935 were largely historical dramas centred around operas and composers like Franz Liszt and Vincenzo Bellini, but they still go to show the public’s interest in musical figures.

Since that point, music biopics have been a notable presence in popular film for a long time, with several big-name biopics being released every year to varying success. The likes of The Doors and What’s Love Got To Do With It have maintained decent cultural reputations since their releases 30-odd years ago, and you’d think the trend of putting out a handful of decent, semi-notable music biopics a decade would continue on, but surprisingly not.

The 2000s through to the 2020s have seen a significant surge in the sheer quantity of music biopics, from the ultra-successful, like Bohemian Rhapsody, to the unconventional, but multi-faceted, such as I’m Not There¸ to the “who was really asking for this?’” of Lords of Chaos. Even after the mediocre reception of 2020’s Stardust, music biopics just keep on coming, with Creation Stories and Respect coming to the screen in 2021, alongside a number of other as-of-yet unnamed projects, focusing on the likes of the Bee Gees, Madonna, and Heart. Biopics like these have had a good run, in terms of commercial success, with Walk The Line (2007) and Rocketman (2019) grossing around $200m each, and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) grossing $905.2m. But with Stardust, despite following the same formulaic approach as Bohemian Rhapsody as it follows a camp rockstar with all the rough edges artificially sanded away, a swarm of lukewarm reviews and pitiful performance in the box office begs the question – is the public growing sick of biopics, despite media corporations pumping them out every year?

Looking at the sheer numbers, it’s easy to deduce that Bohemian Rhapsody was the big blowout film for the biopic genre, with no biopic since then having been so successful. But not all biopics are the same, and with

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator so many coming out over the years, it would be unfair to base their value on profit alone. With a fresh slew of biopics set to come out over the next five or so years, what keeps people coming back to stories about the music they know and love?

Well, to begin with, it’s probably that they’re great character stories.

A shared formula of most popular music biopics is that they tend to focus on one person. Films recounting the lives of solo artists continue to make up the majority of biopics, with the likes of Johnny Cash, Elton John, and David Bowie being some notable names. Sure, some of them are about bands generally, Bohe-

mian Rhapsody about Queen, The Doors about, well, The Doors, but the overwhelming focus is placed on their frontmen. And in such cases, it makes sense. Many of these characters fall into the stereotype of the mentally ill creative: balancing incredible talent with self-destructive behaviours and personalities that rub the stuck-up snobs around them the wrong way. Some biopics work with this idea brilliantly, such as Love & Mercy (2014), focusing on the life of Brian Wilson and his notable struggles with seasonal affective disorder and bipolar disorder.

Others, like I’m Not There (2007), take a more unconventional ap-

proach, pairing Bob Dylan’s music with six different characters representing facets of Dylan’s public persona, leading to a film that is both a poignant tribute and a strangely psychological deep-dive into Dylan (who is also due for an upcoming Chalamet-portrayed biopic).

However, this approach can prove problematic to the more shameless nostalgia-fest style of biopic. Take the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt (2019), which, claiming that the film was an unfiltered depiction of the band in the early 80s, warts and all, instead offered a “mistakes aside: it was worth it in the end”-styled plot that ignores and sometimes justifies

the rampant drug abuse, misogyny, domestic violence, and legal troubles that plagued the band. There’s nothing wrong with shameless nostalgia, films like Bohemian Rhapsody thrive on it, but the reluctance to admit that these people had real, tangible flaws and struggles spoils these film’s potentials. Even the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody are guilty of it to a certain extent, with a lot of the rougher elements of Freddie Mercury’s hard-partying lifestyle softened up, with a wholesome, family-friendly climax.

Stardust suffers from this issue in droves, taking Bowie, a fascinating man with unbridled creativity and all the drugs you would expect, and turning him into an awkward, whiney blank slate of a character.

But when films don’t dive deep into the psyche of these public figures and provide fascinating characters for us to get invested in, what keeps audiences intrigued? Most likely the music; and this is where the likes of Stardust, featuring none of the artist’s songs, fall flat. Biopics like these often feel hollow without the music, not just because the music is familiar to the audience, but also because, due to their occupations, music would undoubtedly be a huge part of these people’s lives. Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody revelled in their jukebox musical-y glory, whereas the likes of Walk The Line and Love & Mercy utilise the music as both a comforting backdrop to and a vehicle of the plot.

Until the inevitable day where we have AI-produced hit songs, music is considered an emotional creation.

In popular music, lyrics tend to have meaning, and songs carry emotional undertones. The natural curiosity about the events that influenced and inspired that music makes for great stories, and in turn, great biopics.

Music biopics are not likely to go away anytime soon. And why should they, when each artist has a different story behind them and a possible new way to tell it? With the likes of Creation Stories, focusing on Glaswegian industry executive Alan McGee, being released soon, it will be refreshing to see a backdrop to music biopics outside of the 70s and 80s and Hollywood. We can just hope that biopics will step over the flop of Stardust and reinterpret the tales of the artists and music we’ve come to culturally treasure.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Culture

Free Britney Our toxic music industry continues to fail vulnerable artists

Credit: AJ Duncan - Illustrator Rachel Campbell VIEWS COLUMNIST

“Getting burnt by a fire she lit herself, it’s so easy in her business”, says Diane Sawyer of Britney Spears. When the interview aired in 2003, nobody would bat an eyelid at such a statement. But, in light of the Framing Britney Spears documentary, a discussion surrounding how we treat vulnerable people in the music industry in general has resurfaced. Sawyer’s remark hits home on the real issue here; the general public agreed that any ill fate popstars faced was ultimately their own fault. We have to accept our complicity in the bombardment of media which leads, particularly young women in music, to suffer serious effects on their mental health. It’s easy to look back fondly now at the likes of Britney and Amy Winehouse, but we should also accept that the general public played a role in the feeding frenzies which in Britney’s case led to her being trapped in a conservatorship by her father, and in Amy’s case sadly led to her death. What can we do to stop this happening to more women in music?

Before, we were complicit by buying magazines like Heat and Now, participating in the culture of mocking the latest fallen pop princess whilst prepping the next for the same fate; perusing the pages and pages of blatant body shaming.

Now, though, social media has made it even easier to be just as harmful

without having to out yourself. You can be maliciously jealous and cruel, picking faults in those who seem to have it all. You can watch every step as they fall apart, knowing you’ve played a part in ruining someone’s life without even showing your real name or photo. What’s more, media is even more pervasive, meaning outlets will make a story out of anything and do whatever they can to get people to click. This only worsens the trash stories written about vulnerable musicians, mocking them even at their lowest. Those of us who would never leave trolling comments still scroll past them unphased or remain unaware of the darker depths of the artists’ DMs. We like to think we’ve changed the environment since the days of Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse, but have we just mutated? Have we just become as desensitised to this new trolling as we were to interviews like Sawyer’s, and the likes of these abhorrent magazines?

We have to accept that being complicit in this kind of treatment by the media or by trolls is encouraging this behaviour. The tabloids will follow public opinion. If they see their consumers sympathising with the same stars they once endlessly criticised they will suddenly print stories of admiration, doing whatever it takes to bring in the cash. When Britney was going through the worst times, brought on by the barrage of negative media in the first place, stories continued: “Why Britney Snapped! The New

Illness She’s Hiding!”, “Shear Madness: Bald Britney A Buzzkill”, and “Britney Hits Rock Bottom” which followed with a bullet point list of drugs they claimed she was using.

Amy Winehouse also saw headlines like “Amy on Crack: Nosedive to Oblivion” and even after breaking the news of her tragic death they proclaimed, “They tried to make her go to rehab she said No No No”. As we see an influx of support for Britney in those same papers following the release of her documentary, and tabloid tributes to Amy on the anniversary of her death labelling it “heart-breaking”, I have to ask how long it will be before this toxic cycle comes back around.

It’s easy to look back at the treatment of the likes of Britney and Amy, who were clearly struggling with their mental health and addiction problems, and condemn the treatment of the press then, thinking this could never happen in the world we live in now. But who is protecting the likes of Demi Lovato and Jesy Nelson who are going through very similar struggles while being ripped apart by the press? When shocking interview clips of Whitney Houston or Lindsay Lohan being mocked and ridiculed resurface on your Twitter feed, years later, you are shocked that this was allowed to happen. But it is still happening. In her documentary, Odd One Out, Jesy Nelson opened up about how she developed an eating disorder and considered suicide after the barrage of negative press she received from the likes of Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins. Demi Lovato is set to release her own documentary about her struggles with addiction, in which she discusses how the pressure of the spotlight led to an overdose which left her with brain damage. At the time of her overdose in 2018, she tweeted about how the tabloids were still inaccurately commenting on her sobriety, acknowledging she needed time away from the “prying” press. Even now, we’re still seeing these vulnerable people in music being attacked and hounded at their lowest points, for the sake of the story.

It’s time to acknowledge we’ve not moved on as much as we think we have, and we need to try and end the vicious circle of berating vulnerable artists and commending them years later when they finally get to tell their side of things.

Edgy reboots: right or ridiculous?

Credit: Dorota Dziki Eleanor Harper WRITER

Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia.

As a result, in recent years we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of early-00s childhood-show reboots. For example, Fate: The Winx Saga is one such reboot which reimagines the much-loved early-00s animated series Winx Club in live-action. The original Winx Club cartoon was known and loved for its bright colours, fun characters, and light-hearted comedic storylines. However, Netflix’s live-action Winx reboot offers a far darker plot and miseen-scene with its themes presenting far more eerie and complex connotations than could have ever been comprehended in the original series.

“The depressing themes being adopted within most modern reboots is leading to the loss of a vital component of media: escapism...”

Winx Club is not the only childhood favourite to fall victim to a sinister reboot in the last few years - many early 00s children’s entertainment has recently been recreated in a darker light. The creepy live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated both spring to mind. Additionally, this trend has spread to social media with the rise of “creepypastas” – dark, often gruesome artistic interpre-

tations of childhood characters which are shared online and marvelled at by vast numbers. Clearly, the media appears obsessed with transforming light-hearted millennial childhood favourites into edgy multi-faceted thrillers and crime dramas.

Objectively, the reasoning behind the widespread darkness and gloom which shrouds modern reboots appears clear, if not almost logical. Millennials are getting older and beginning their journey into true adulthood with all of the closed doors, financial struggles, heartbreak, tragedy, and blatant unfairness the big bad world has to offer. Those who once sat carefree on their parent’s sofa, eating cheerios and watching Winx Club are now finding themselves faced with worries surrounding the housing market, grad jobs, and social injustice. That’s not to mention the pressures and socio-economic repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis and current global pandemic.

Undoubtedly for many, life is not as simple, nor is it as sweet, as it was in the days when they first fell in love with their favourite childhood characters. Therefore, it seems rational for entertainment producers to create shows and characters which reflect the vast changes and often-darker reality growing older inevitably brings.

However, although the sinister approach to childhood reboots is understandable (and perhaps desirable in small doses), the depressing themes being adopted within most modern reboots is leading to the loss of a vital component of media: escapism. Of course it’s great to see some TV shows and characters grow up with us, mirroring the realities and ever-complex struggles adult life brings. However, in times when adulthood feels overwhelming and melancholy there is nothing more therapeutic and wonderful than getting lost in a tv show bursting with happiness, nostalgia, and lighthearted joy. Such entertainment has the amazing ability to swiftly transport us to a simpler time, simultaneously reminding us that things won’t always feel quite so dark. Until then, allow us to be eight years old again, eating cheerios and watching our favourite characters take over the world.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

27

Culture

Thank you, random brand The hypocrisy of multinational corporations and their political statements Fred Bruce MUSIC COLUMNIST

In case it somehow flew under your radar, on 6 January supporters of the then President of the United States Donald Trump attempted a coup at the Capitol Building to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Four years of Trumpian outrage and counter-outrage culminated in a wave of thousands crashing against Washington DC.

“The right has (purposely or otherwise) eroded the meaning of virtue signalling into at best a platitudinal slogan, and at worst a bigoted dog-whistle...”

It was an event that became something of a social media Rorschach Test: those on the left saw a rapid insurrection while those on the right called peaceful protest or false flag. For individuals, minds were made up immediately and declarations of condemnation or commendation quickly followed.

Social media became as much of a battleground as the capital itself, with both sides making their beliefs firmly known.

Of course, the same could not be said for everyone. It was only once the dust had settled and the mob had shuffled home that the Brands™ threw their amorphous hats into the ring. One by one, corporations ranging from Axe body spray to multinational oil barons Chevron, came out to decry the failed insurrection as unconstitutional, undemocratic, and “not what it means to be American”.

At the forefront of this delayed reaction was Coca-Cola, who condemned the coup as “an offense to the ideals of American democracy”. Unsurprisingly, this sparked controversy. On the right, the conservative commentariat called for a boycott of the ubiquitous drink.

Cries of “virtue signalling” and the ever-present (and ever nonsensical)

Credit: Unsplash “cultural Marxism” flooded the collective Twitter consciousness like coke in our arteries.

Despite how quickly the boycott fizzled out, credit has to be given that the right did raise some valid concerns on Coca-Cola’s “virtue signalling”. While much of the credit should go to the infinite monkey theorem, it is worth exploring the point further. No matter how easy it is to lump “virtue signalling” in with the right’s usual arsenal of meaningless neologisms (see also: “woke”, “political correctness” and “cancel culture”) in the case of Coca-Cola it’s difficult to call it anything else.

“The Coca-Cola Company openly denounces anything as ‘unlawful and violent’ from atop their throne of dead unionists...”

To “virtue signal” is ostensibly to express an opinion publicly for the

sake of garnering societal approval, often with a hint or two of hypocrisy.

With Coke, “a hint” does not quite do the immense hypocrisy justice.

In 2003, the drink was faced with another boycott, this time spearheaded by global trade unions. This followed credible allegations of the company’s usage of paramilitary squads to threaten, kidnap, and kill union members in their Columbian factories. At the time, Adolfo Munera was the latest of nine individuals to have been assassinated in conjunction with Coca-Cola’s outsourced Latin American bottlers Panamerican Beverages. Munera’s death came after the high court ordered Coca-Cola to hire him back after false criminal charges against him had been dropped. It should be noted that Columbia is statistically the most dangerous country in the world for trade union membership – 2002 figures showed 184 of the 213 global confirmed killings occurred in their borders. This countrywide anti-unionism meant national media made little to no mention of the severe allegations, even while they were making minor waves in foreign news. The unions went to court in the States, but the case was dismissed due to the kill-

ings occurring outside of American jurisdiction.

In 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Committee decreed that Columbia had violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by refusing to investigate the political motivations behind Adolfo Munera’s death. Despite his murderer being sentenced to 17 years in prison, no state inquiry into the reasons for this assassination was ever carried out.

The same story can be seen repeatedly in a brutal history that spans decades. In 1996, for example, two members of Munera’s union (Sinaltrainal) were killed by a paramilitary gunman at the same plant he worked. Or, there was the eerily similar murder of two of the union’s leaders in 1994. While smallfry politicians and local Columbian authorities have been sentenced in relation to these crimes, Coca-Cola has faced no repercussions, legal or otherwise.

Of course, this abuse of capital power is not limited to drink manufacturers. Coca-Cola joins such esteemed company as banana-barons Chiquita and famed oil-spillers BP as corporations sued for their funding and hiring of paramili-

tary squads. Killings aside, you can even look at Nike’s lobbying to reduce sanctions on Chinese slave labour products as evidence of the omnipresence of businesses’ disdain for human rights. However, Coca-Cola’s involvement in these grotesque violations and the subsequent rehabilitation of their public image is especially endemic of our society’s loyalty to the almighty Brand. When The Coca-Cola Company openly denounces anything as “unlawful and violent” from atop their throne of dead unionists, it’s difficult to be anything less than appalled. The ubiquity of unpunished corporate criminality behind the mask of aesthetic messaging is arguably the primary take away from January’s attack. The deliberate choice to wait until the coast had cleared before issuing uniform statements of condemnation further underlines the inherently unfeeling nature of the Brand. Pride Month stands as another victim of the multinational co-opting of progress. When companies can paint rainbows with one hand and impoverish workers with the other, the concept is on the verge of losing its meaning.

“Coca-Cola joins esteemed company like famed oilspillers BP as corporations sued for their funding and hiring of paramilitary squads...”

By crying wolf so often, the right has (purposely or otherwise) eroded the meaning of virtue signalling into at best a platitudinal slogan, and at worst a bigoted dog-whistle. However, the law of probability states that eventually, the phrase has to be directed at something for which it actually applies. When the sprawling committee of lawyers, managers, marketers, and investors that form the Coca-Cola hydra issue their collective statement, “virtue signalling” is the kindest description.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Science & Tech

How to retain heat in the coldest of weather With climate change taking over, we explain the best ways to deal with extreme weather treated as quickly as it came. The bad news is that extreme weather phenomena are here to stay and may even become more frequent.

Luisa Barclay REPORTER

My boiler broke down last month.

The first thing I did was cry.

Then I laughed, because of course my boiler would break during the last cold snap of the year when the temperatures fell so low that they broke almost all previous records.

“Moving around at least once every hour, even just to stretch your legs, will boost your circulation and leave you feeling much warmer for longer...”

“It may be tempting to add a splash of something alcoholic to a hot drink, but doing this will only leave you feeling colder in the long run, as this lowers the body’s core temperature...”

Credit: Ioanna Chrysanthakopoulou - Illustrator This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with this kind of situation. Glaswegian tenements are notoriously bad at retaining heat. I’m no stranger to the cold - I would even go as far as to say that I enjoy the cold! There’s a nostalgic novelty that comes with snowy winter mornings: I love the crunch of new snow underfoot; I love the camaraderie of digging your neighbour’s car out of a snowdrift; I love nothing more than skipping class to fling myself down a snowy hill in Kelvingrove Park on a soggy piece of cardboard. To me, winter represents a sense of childish wonder and joy.

I may be used to cold, but many Texans have never seen snow in their life. The state was utterly unprepared when a sudden cold snap, brought on by a polar vortex, hit the US in mid-February.

This is a phenomenon in which

cold arctic air, normally contained by the jet stream, is blown further south. This phenomenon itself is not uncommon. However, an extreme polar vortex that brings winter storms so far south is particularly unusual. The novelty of the situation quickly faded after the power grid failed, leaving around four million Texans quite literally out in the cold. My boiler was fixed within 24 hours - many Texans were left stranded without power, running water, or heating for more than three days. It is tempting to make a mockery of this situation. This is Texas: it prides itself on its sense of independence, and that very independence was its downfall.

Texas was the only state in the southern US to lose power for as long as it did. While many Texan Republicans have pushed the narrative that the power outages were caused by an over-reliance

on renewable energy sources, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas found that the state’s intentionally isolated electric grid was unable to import emergency power from neighbouring states.

“Texas is just the latest victim in a long line of extreme weather events...”

Their investigation found that the power grid was just “seconds or minutes” away from a “catastrophic failure” that could have lasted months. It’s estimated that at least 16 people died due to the power outage, with the youngest victim being an 11-year-old boy.

The good news is that the Texan power grid did not fail for months on end, and the snow re-

Texas is just the latest victim in a long line of extreme weather events. The 2020 hurricane season produced 13 hurricanes, the second-highest number on record. The mayor of Paris was forced to declare a public emergency in June 2019, when temperatures in the city rose above 40C for the first time in decades.

The Australian bushfire season of 2019-2020 burned more than 46m acres of land. As cold temperatures broke records across most of the Scottish mainland in February 2021, the Western Isles burned due to wildfires. The impacts of the west’s over-reliance on fossil fuels are finally starting to hit home.

Most Texans do not associate winter with whimsy and wonder.

They don’t know the usual tips and tricks that I used during my own 48 hours without heat. Layers are key. Multiple thin layers are often much more effective than just one, thick layer. There is no shame in wearing gloves, a hat and a scarf while at home if your heating isn’t working, or even if you happen to live in a cold, poorly insulated building.

Speaking of insulation, retaining heat is key during cold weather.

Curtains, or even blankets if your landlord is especially cheap, over

windows will help to retain heat.

If you are lucky enough (or unlucky enough in this situation) to have a decorative fireplace, then it may be worth finding an insulator to block incoming draughts.

The tenants’ voice website recommends investing in a chimney balloon, which can be purchased for around £20. The balloon is placed inside the chimney to trap warm air in your flat and stop the colder air from drifting in. It may be tempting to add a splash of something alcoholic to a hot drink, but doing this will only leave you feeling colder in the long run, as this lowers the body’s core temperature. It may be tempting to curl up in bed all day with a hot water bottle and a mountain of blankets, but staying active may actually be more effective. Moving around at least once every hour, even just to stretch your legs, will boost your circulation and leave you feeling much warmer for longer.

“Extreme weather phenomena are here to stay and may even become more frequent...”

These tips and tricks may be useful in the short term, but at the end of the day, they are no replacement for a functioning boiler. As extreme weather conditions become more commonplace, it is essential to know exactly what your rights around heating in the event of another cold snap. Your landlord has a legal responsibility to maintain heating and hot water for all tenants under the 1985 Tenancy Act. It is also your landlord’s responsibility to keep you informed on how long it will take to repair or replace any broken facilities.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

29

Science & Tech

The story behind the first ‘energy island’

Wildlife is silenced by humanity

Claire Thomson

As cities fall silent during the pandemic, many have been experiencing nature become louder, with the experience of birdsong sounding somehow more sonorous. This is no illusion – research now reveals the adversity anthropogenic noises create for the survival of a panoply of species, and with them, their sounds. Put simply, the louder humans are, the quieter nature becomes. In our culture’s conversations on the havoc the Anthropocene wreaks upon wildlife, noise pollution is all too frequently absent. Yet drilling, revving, and sawing – the tripartite of sounds that best signify human consumption, production, and destruction – are not just consequential in their linkage to habitat loss or polluting emissions. Their immediate by-product of noise is a unique challenge to the animal kingdom as well.

Credit: Hepzi Rattray

SPORTS REPORTER

Renewable energy sources are always at the forefront of government discussion as new methods are constantly being discovered to curve the effects of climate change and reduce CO2 emissions. To combat this, a Danish initiative to build the world’s first “energy island” in the North Sea has been given the go-ahead by Denmark’s politicians and government. The artificial island, which is to be built approximately 50 miles to the west of the Jutland peninsula, will have an original area of 120,000 square metres – the equivalent of 18 football pitches – to triple its size in the future if the plan is successful and effective. The island will be protected from storms by a high seawall of three sides, with the fourth side becoming a dock to accommodate ships connecting with the mainland. It is hoped to produce and store enough energy to meet the electricity requirements for three million households across Europe, as well as providing renewable, clean power for industrial use in shipping, aviation, manufacturing, and heavy transport. Costing an estimated £25bn, the island, which will serve as a centre for around 200 giant offshore wind turbines, will be the biggest construction project in Danish history. The government will have a 51% ownership of the island, with the remainder of the stake being held by the private sector.

The concept of a green energy island originated after Denmark committed to reducing its carbon and greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030 in comparison to the levels of emission in 1990, and to becoming carbon dioxide neutral by 2050. Construction is predicted to commence in 2026, with the next five years being dedicated to negotiating private sector partners, carrying out environmental impact assessments on the seabed, and signing deals to connect the island to other countries. The goal for full operation is 2033, which would help the nation to achieve these ambitious targets.

Denmark’s transition towards more renewable sources of energy under the countries Climate Act will be accompanied by the ceasing of all oil and gas exploitation by Denmark in the North Sea. Whilst this project will massively

help to reduce the effects of climate change, it is important to consider at what cost. With proper planning and mitigation measures, it is possible to construct offshore wind farms without significantly damaging the environment. However, the risks and negative impacts are somewhat inevitable; the construction of offshore wind farms produces a high magnitude of noise that poses a possible threat to fish and marine mammals, affecting their behaviour, orientation, and communication. The impacts from this noise pollution on these aquatic creatures can include forced movement out of foraging or reproductive areas, temporary hearing loss for marine mammals and fish, as well as tissue damage and often even death for fish.

“With proper planning it is possible to construct offshore wind farms without significantly damaging the environment....”

However, following the construction of wind farms, there is the potential for each wind turbine to support up to four metric tons of shellfish, which consequently attracts other marine wildlife to the area, similarly acting as an artificial reef. A study on offshore wind farms in the Netherlands depicted an increase in the discovery of dolphins within the area of the wind farm in comparison to outside sampling sites. The same study also highlights an increase in seals in the area following the com-

pletion of construction, as a result of the newly available food source. The higher abundance of smaller organisms at the bottom of the food chain is expected to attract larger predatory organisms to the wind farm and create a thriving marine ecosystem that may not have been as abundant or dynamic, before or during construction.

The environmental impacts are not the only controversial discussion points surrounding the construction of offshore wind farms and turbines.

Moving forward from the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy is already suffering without the green light being given on these enormous projects.

On one hand, it cannot be denied that this development will have a plethora of long-term advantages across Europe; however, would it be more beneficial to use the money to support the people in Denmark who have been made redundant, dropped below the poverty line or are genuinely struggling as a result of the pandemic? The industrialisation of coastal shores has caused further debates as the visibility of the wind turbines causes visual pollution, which many residents and tourists will criticise.

From the outside, this concept of an energy island is incredibly advantageous and will play a large and important role in slashing CO2 emissions across Europe. Nevertheless, the efficiency and impacts of this project will not be fully realised until the offshore wind farm is complete and running at full capacity. This is a gamble for the Danish government, and it will be a matter of time before we see whether the risk has paid off and the energy island is a solution to minimise the use of non-renewable energy sources and carbon dioxide emissions.

Eve Kershman WRITER

“If we want to retune our place within the animal orchestra, we must first heal the divide between human and nonhuman....”

Birds are one of the better understood and observed barometers of noise pollution’s impact on fauna owing to their sensitivity to sound and reliance upon acoustic signalling for communication. A recent Pacific University study found that zebra finches’ problem-solving abilities were impaired by exposure to traffic.

Given tasks, which included pulling strings and flipping lids on their cage’s floor to retrieve food, the researchers found that in comparison to controlled conditions the exposed birds were almost twice as likely to fail. Christopher Templeton, who led the study, broadens the research findings’ implication in stating: “If we assume that similar processes are going on in other cognitive animals, then it is reasonable to assume that a large number of animals and animal species are being affected by noise pollution.”

Lockdown has functioned as a case study on the effect of anthropogenic noise. The sudden emptying

of our streets and consequent noise reduction has opened a vacuum in acoustic space, which we are now finding songbirds and other species fill. Contrary to the widespread view that birdsong is louder during lockdown, the Lombard effect tells us that the quieter our environment is, the quieter all animals become. A 2020 study by Derryberry, et al. compared the soundscape of San Francisco’s Bay area before and during the first series of local restrictions when noise pollution was the lowest it had been since the 1950s, and observed several interesting behaviours in songbird populations. As anticipated, the researchers found that birdsong was softer (sung at much lower amplitudes), but at a reduction unexplained by the Lombard effect.

So why was the loudness of birdsong so highly reported? Despite the quieter singing, the birds’ communication distance had doubled, meaning they could expand their pool of potential mates, with the added effect that human ears received birdsong from twice as far, effectively perceived as there are four times as many birds. Birds also developed a better, more “sultry” vocal performance in a quieter environment, finding it easier to attract mates.

Played out in real-time was the complex butterfly effect noise has on animal life, and as Templeton reflects, “may well include our own species”.

So, if silence is this important to our planet’s survival, what can we do to reduce the seemingly inescapable noisiness of modern living? Soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause provides a forthright answer: we need to learn to “shut the hell up”. If we want to retune our place within the animal orchestra, we must first heal the divide between human and non-human. Interacting with nature needs to be less self-centred, with phones put away, chit-chat turned down and the presence of sounds around us embraced. In a country where so-called beauty spots have become tourist destinations, learning to connect with nature without damaging it is of utmost importance. Such action will not save ecosystems, but it is by learning to care deeply and authentically about nature and seeing ourselves not as opposed but as part of it, that we can begin taking important practical steps, like adopting silent electric cars, toward adapting our urban landscapes with their non-human inhabitants in mind.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Sport Longing for sport’s return With so much of sport halted for so long, there are few more exciting prospects than thinking of what we will be able to do once normality returns Claire Thomson SPORTS REPORTER

The coronavirus pandemic has hit sport hard. I have to admit that throughout my life, like many others, I have always taken sport for granted. People say you don’t miss something until it’s gone, and in this case, for me, that couldn’t be more accurate. I hadn’t realised how big a role sport played in my life and I think it’s more than fair to say that a return to normality is more than needed after a long year of uncertainty and restrictions.

“Swimming for the University has given me that team that I had longed for when I was younger...”

With the vaccine rollout progressing at speed, the question of “what are you looking forward to most once life resumes?” is one of the first to be brought up in conversation. As both a sports participant and sports fan, my list of experiences that I’m looking forward to in the near future happens to be extensive and on many scales. From being able to swim in a pool full of chlorine again to travelling abroad to watch major sporting events, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel that we can all count the days down until.

Since I was seven years old, I have swum competitively in a swimming club, training for over 12 hours in the pool every week and racing in competitions most weekends. Whilst my journey through swimming has certainly not been easy, I have always had access to a swimming pool and the opportunity to chase my

dreams and challenge my potential. However, with lockdown resulting in the closure of all leisure facilities, this was taken away from me for the first time ever in my swimming career and having dedicated my childhood to the sport, I had no backup. I hate not being able to dive in the pool and feel free, and this is definitely the thing I am longing for the most.

Not only did swimming provide me with a chance to prove myself and stay fit, but it was also an escape from the pressures of exams, school, university. Something I never had growing up in small, local swimming clubs was a team. I spent many weekends away at competitions with only my mum and I was forced to make friends and interact with people from other clubs.

However, swimming for the University has given me that team that I had longed for when I was younger, as well as some amazing friends and even flatmates. I am really looking forward to when we can all train together again, have our post-training sauna chats, compete in league matches and BUCS and team travel across the country. Sport, through its ups and downs, successes and failures, has brought us all together and formed an unbreakable bond, and I can’t wait to have more fun and make more memories both in the pool and out.

Looking beyond my own participation in sport, I am excited for others to have the opportunity to live their sporting dreams and create their own stories, as I take on a different angle and outlook. My younger brother is also massively into sports. As he is under 18, he was lucky enough to be able to still train and play in matches as a junior ice hockey player, however, like with every other sport, these were behind closed doors. For several years now, I have loved watching him play as well as the fast pace of the

Credit: Creative Commons action-packed sport in general. I am looking forward to being able to sit in the freezing cold ice rink and cheer from the stands to support him in his sport, just like he has for me.

“I am excited for others to have the opportunity to live their sporting dreams and create their own stories...”

Furthermore, my love for sport doesn’t stop there and has taken my family and I across the globe.

In 2019, we travelled to Brussels to watch the Grand Départ of Le Tour de France. I had such a good week amongst the crowds during the celebrations, team presentations and stages themselves.

It had always been a dream of ours as a family to see a stage in the tour as we have watched

it every year for as long as I can remember. It has almost become unthinkable to imagine what it would be like to be in a crowd of that magnitude again and whilst the thought is daunting and scares me slightly, I can’t wait for the feeling of being there and part of something big to be normal again. The year before travelling to Belgium, we had gone to Toronto on holiday for a week and were lucky enough to get tickets to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play at home. This was one of the best experiences of my life so far and definitely a bucket list moment to see a live National Hockey League match. There was such a buzz as we were used to just watching our local team in Kirkcaldy play in the Elite Ice Hockey League. I am looking forward to being able to travel, in general, but more specifically these unforgettable moments where sport is the focus above everything else and people are there from all over the world because they want to celebrate and are interested in

that sport.

“It has almost become unthinkable to imagine what it would be like to be in a crowd of that magnitude again...”

Yes, you can watch sport on the television and probably see more than you can by being there, but it is the atmosphere that makes it an experience like no other. With a return to sport on the horizon, it is only a matter of time before I get the opportunity to revel in my love for all things sport again. I hope that one day soon, I have the chance to watch, train and compete in sport again for the first time in a long time but for now, all we can do is wait for this much-needed revival of the sporting world.

25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

31

Sport

Celtic on the hunt for new manager Thomas Harris takes a look at the potential candidates for the Celtic managerial position after a disastrous season Thomas Harris WRITER

On 24 February, Neil Lennon announced that his two-year spell as the manager of Celtic would be coming to an end. Lennon has been a familiar face around Parkhead for a long time now, making his first player appearance for the club in 2000. In his managerial career, Lennon has generally enjoyed the traditional success Celtic supporters have become accustomed to, including five league titles. However, following an uncharacteristically poor run for the club’s lofty standards this season, Lennon has, for the second time in the club’s history, stepped down as manager. With Rangers currently celebrating ending Celtic’s nine straight league victories, Celtic will be looking for a new manager in an effort to close that gap and return to normality in Glasgow.

One possible candidate for the job is the ex-Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. Despite coming off the back of relegation from the Premier League last term, Howe

Credit: Creative Commons

has still proven himself to be a competent manager with a lot of potential. Howe enjoyed a degree of success with Bournemouth, leading them to promotion from the Championship and some respectable premier league finishes thereafter, highlighted by their ninth place finish in the 2016-17 season. In the Premier League, Bournemouth never boasted one of the stronger squads but under the guidance of Howe, were able to get valuable wins against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United with players like Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser able to show their talents and really establish themselves as Premier League quality players. Still young for a manager, Howe has shown a lot of potential and could be a good fit to develop further at Parkhead.

An alternative to Howe and an option closer to home is current Scotland manager: Steve Clark.

In recent times Scotland’s national team have underwhelmed, failing to qualify for most major competitions. Under Clark however, things are improving as evi-

denced by Scotland’s qualification for the 2020 Euros, scheduled for this Summer. Under Clark, Scotland was able to qualify in dramatic fashion with a penalty win over Serbia, a side boasting some top-quality midfield talent.

“With Rangers currently celebrating ending Celtic’s nine straight league victories, Celtic will be looking for a new manager in an effort to close that gap and return to normality in Glasgow...”

Clark has shown he can take an underwhelming side and improve their fortunes. So perhaps, he could do a similar job

with Celtic in getting them back on the track to domestic success.

While there are a number of other potential names being suggested, one final surprise option is the current head of the Man City Academy group Enzo Maresca. With rumours f lying around the east end of Glasgow, that Fergal Harkin, current Manchester City football partnership and pathways manager, is nearing a move for a lucrative director of football position, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to imagine highly regarded Italian coach Maresca to join Harkin up the road. Former assistant manager of Sevilla and key ex-background staff of West Ham, football genius Pep Guardiola is known to be a big fan of the Italian, poaching him from West Ham. With no experience in the managerial hot seat in senior football, is it too soon for the young Italian coach, or could this be exactly the fresh start Celtic need?

With a fairly extensive list of potential candidates, appoint-

ing the right individual will be a difficult task for the club’s hierarchy. A number of managers boasting experience and past success are available for selection but establishing who is truly the best fit for this squad will take time and planning from the backroom staff.

“Under Clark, Scotland was able to qualify in dramatic fashion with a penalty win over Serbia...”

Next season is a long way away though and the side’s performances under Kennedy will be pivotal in determining who will be Celtic’s manager next season and what players will be remaining, in what is expected to be the biggest rebuild the club has witnessed in its modern and extremely successful history.

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25 March 2021

THE GLASGOW GUARDIAN

Sport

Scrap it or keep it? How VAR has changed football forever Virtual assistance is ruining the modern game. Do we need to scrap it?

Gabriel Wheway WRITER

I believe there is a consensus that football has lost something; that football itself might be lost.

Every weekend, there are Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) led decisions that twist people up, arguments about consistency, flow and, most importantly, an essential forensic charmlessness that has come into the game. Last summer saw Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder as one of the first to express his sheer bemusement with the ordeal, stating that he didn’t know “whether to laugh or cry” over the unconventional quirks of VAR. By autumn of 2020, it had become clear which way most Premier League managers were leaning on the matter. A few managers made their feelings quite clear: Crystal Palace’s Roy Hodgson claimed that “VAR is a nonsense ruining the game”, whereas Fulham’s Scott Parker simply stated the decisions are “criminal…a mess”. Yes, there are always going to be calls going the way of “LiVARpool” and Manchester United, who have a tendency to receive constant penalties, yet VAR is so much more than a satirical farce. The inconsistent decisions week in and week out can, and will, have severely damaging effects on teams down the lower end of the table. Inconsistency and incompetency on behalf of this system, which is supposed to better the game, will eventually define a team’s survival hopes or see a club miss out on an invaluable European spot.

It’s concerning to think that football’s decision to embrace VAR is, to put it simply, the worst thing to happen to the game in its recent history. It’s difficult to think of an alternative answer going back decades, which says so much about the way football has subtly evolved its laws to remain the world’s most popular sport. Obviously, there are a variety of serious off-field problems with the sport: corruption, racial

discrimination, and violence to name a few. More or less any glaring aspect of society is in some part reflected in football. Yet when examining the sport itself – 90 mins of football, 22 players battling on a pitch, it’s quite difficult to identify a comparable misstep.

It should be noted that the percentage of correct decisions have actually risen, but this was never the issue. Does this justify the chaos and disruption to the sport that relies so greatly on rhythm and flow? Surely this question can be met with a resounding no.

“Inconsistency and incompetency on behalf of this system, which is supposed to better the game, will eventually define a team’s survival hopes...”

The most controversial aspects of the video assistance concern offside decisions, which simply encapsulates how disastrous VAR has proven to be. This should be an element of the game where decisions are binary. Given assistant

Credit: Creative Commons

referees are tasked with looking in two places at once for offside then surely this should be the area in which VAR is invaluable? Instead, it’s become a laughable and major sticking point. To look at the technicalities is a borefest, but most can agree that it’s impossible that VAR is getting marginal offside decisions correct every time. In essence, it’s a “best guess”. Of course, there is a completely reasonable argument that it’s worthwhile using technology to provide the best evidence it can but when combined with the minute nature of some decisions, this becomes severely problematic. The process remains heavily dependent on human input: the video assistant, a supposedly qualified referee, chooses relevant points for offside lines and the technology sorts out the angles and lines.

As most know, the incessant process on television is simply a derisory experience that could be pulled from a satirical comedy. It’s dreadful to watch on television and even more daunting when watching on the grounds.

Amongst this mockery, a surprising aspect is how many goals have been completely ruled offside, when no human eye would have even remotely suspected it being offside. Minimal margins

in the build-up play to goals are watched with ridiculous intimacy and has defined the most bizarre refereeing decisions as of late. There will always be very fine margins however you may calculate an offside; regardless of any change, VAR will continually be adjudicating by a matter of millimetres. All this seems to completely defeat the purpose of using technology when it’s an incompetent referee making the final decisions. Away from elongated breaks in play, handball controversies and offside inaccuracies, the greatest drawback is the increasingly subdued goal celebrations. Players almost feel reluctant to embrace the goal and celebrate due to the desperate hope that their goal would not be ruled out by VAR. This is the first time the game has been completely muted, before VAR everyone would glance over to the linesman to quickly check for offside, but these days by the time VAR are done scrutinising and faffing around you can easily have made a cup of tea. It’s difficult to ignore the feeling that top-level English football, once the hallmark of the sport, has lost something major - its special edge. No other sport sees goals or points celebrated so ardently as in football, simply due

to goals being so rare and thus so valuable. The sheer jubilation of witnessing a live goal is a truly magnificent thing.

“Away from elongated breaks in play, handball controversies and offside inaccuracies, the greatest drawback is the increasingly subdued goal celebrations...”

Going to football matches you expect to watch immense technical quality, physical endurance and embrace the mesmerising atmosphere, yet there still remains the intense ecstasy of wildly celebrating in a crowd of fans tumbling and laughing all over the place; more commonly known as “limbs AOTS” (all over the shop). With all the modern-day restrictions and inconveniences of Premier League football now fans are unable to celebrate goals properly and many are seen to only celebrate when the goal is confirmed.

It really is a pathetic anti-climax.

By the time we are back in the terraces, let’s hope the emotion that football generates and the elation of a win or scrap for an important point is far too commanding for a tedious delay to make a serious dent in the day’s proceedings. Amongst this vacillation and wavering decision making, when the time comes there is little doubt in my mind that the millions of fans will continue to line the streets, queue at turnstiles and bellow tunes at the top of their voices. Yet through gritted teeth and behind constant tuts, the great game will be watched. VAR should be kept but rules need to be enforced correctly and consistently. Whether this means a reconsideration of officials or even a revision of the rules something needs to change. The end to a tumultuous Premier League season is near, yet we will continue to watch on with a sour taste in our mouth.