The Boundary Commission for England have set a pro posal to change the bound aries for the constituency of Kingston and Surbiton.
The proposed changes mean that some constituencies such as Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey’s Kingston & Surb iton seat may no longer exist.
Following a recently re vised proposal, Kingston town centre is set to be ab sorbed into the Richmond Park constituency, currently held by Davey’s fellow Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney and would be renamed Richmond Park and Kingston Central.
A month-long public con sultation is now open asking people to send in their views by December 5 when the pro posal will then be revised for a third and final time.
The Commission has al
ready considered over 45,000 comments from feedback to this point.
The Secretary to the Bound ary Commission for England, Tim Bowden said: “We are
delighted with the huge num ber of comments from mem bers of the public on our in
itial proposals, many which included valuable evidence about local communities.”
“We now believe we are close to the best map of constituen cies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.”
Electoral boundaries, which divide parliamentary constitu encies, are reviewed every fve years and are revised to keep up with any population chang es, which allows MPs to repre sent the same number of voters.
After this fnal consultation has closed on December 5, the commission will analyse the re sponses and make its fnal rec ommendations to be submitted to Parliament by July 1 2023.
Sir Ed Davey has said he would contest the newly created Surbiton & the Maldens seat.
Not all MPs are set for a change. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will see his Holborn & St Pancras seat remain largely unchanged.
The University and College Union has announced the dates for their industrial action with strikes set on November 24, 25 and 30. There will also be a rally in central London on Wednesday November 30.
The latest strikes come after UCU members overwhelm ingly voted ‘yes’ to industrial action last month in two his toric national ballots over pay and working conditions.
Kingston University UCU branch secretary, Nick Free stone said: “For me what is diferent is that this time it is a national aggregated strike so that all university UCU branch es are striking simultaneous ly, compared to previously when only a proportion of the branches nationally were able to take strike action.”
Ballots that took place in 2021 were locally disaggregat ed. Freestone said: “Although we were one of the branches able to undertake strike action, having the full membership with us this time is a much bet ter position to be in.”
The demonstration on No vember 30 will convene at 1pm
at Kings Cross. Freestone said: “As for the 30th it is certainly our intention to join the nation al rally in central London in some capacity or other.”
Some students are unsure whether their classes will be af fected by the strikes and which lecturers are taking part.
Anna McKee, a master’s stu dent at Kingston said: “During my previous undergrad, back in Northern Ireland, we had lots of strikes, and while I un derstand that it is important, the strikes did severely interfere with our learning and studying within the university.”
Although sympathetic to the causes, students fear disruption to their learning.
McKee said: “I do under stand the reason behind the strikes and their purpose, but I do think that if they go on for months and months that it can be very unfair on the students.”
This round of union strikes includes the full member ship of 70,000 staf members around the country all of whom are urged to take part.
In the pay and working con ditions dispute, the union’s demands include a meaningful
pay rise to deal with the costof-living crisis and action to end the use of insecure con tracts. It is estimated a third of academic staf are on some form of temporary contract.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “This is not a dis pute about afordability - it is about choices. Vice-chancel lors are choosing to pay them selves hundreds of thousands of pounds whilst forcing our
members onto low paid and in secure contracts.
“UCU members do not want to strike but are doing so to save the sector and win dignity at work.”
The Universities and Col leges Employers Association says it has brought forward the 2023-24 pay negotiations in response to concerns about the cost-of-living.
Its chief executive Raj Jeth wa said: “Any threats of in
dustrial action will do nothing to support students, staf or the many higher education institu tions working hard to avoid re dundancies or maintain staf ing levels, having delivered the August pay uplift.
“UCU needs to provide its members with a realistic and fair assessment of what is achievable before encourag ing strike action directed at students once again.”
ond-hand clothing.
“Each piece is completely unique, which is what brought me to liking vintage in the frst place.
Each item has a bit of a his tory, it’s been worn by other people and it’s one of one.”
He wants to believe that people are more conscious of where they are buying their clothes and the problems with fast fashion. He said: “I am pretty biased, but I know the amount of stuf that just gets chucked away. I’ve seen it frst-hand and it is disgraceful.
“Despite my hopes, I think it is quite a divided debate.”
Gilbert also recognises the lack of disposable income that leads students to buying from unsustainable brands and retailers.
bins are in the pipeline for those scouting for offers. Gilbert said: “Black Friday is a bit contradictory for us. We are trying to promote sustainable buying and obvi ously Black Friday is pretty much about buying anything that is cheap.”
Their patchwork jackets are perhaps the most sus tainable and creative use of second-hand clothes, which is a great way to repurpose material in bad yet salvage able conditions.
As sported by Gilbert, patch work jackets made of work wear trousers are a unique fnd, with the goal to have plenty more by Christmas and to expand into reworked ac cessories, starting with a Car hartt denim tote bag.
By Georgia McJannett-SmithVintage clothing store, Pure Vintage, opened its doors in Kingston last week, slowing down the pace of fashion within the Bentall Centre.
Pre-owned garments adorn the clothing rails and walls of
Kingston resident Alex Gil bert’s frst physical store, af ter using circular fashion plat form Depop to resell clothes since he was 16-years-old.
The pandemic forced him to take his reselling hobby to the next level.
“I lost my place in fying school, I was meant to be a pi
lot, but then I realised that all my stuf on Depop had sold.
So I worked in a warehouse for the frst lockdown, saved up a bit of money, bought some more clothes then it has just snowballed since then.”
Talking about his new store, Gilbert said: “We exclusively sell either reworked or sec
He said: “If you are on a budget it is not as acces sible to buy stuff that is not fast fashion, mass pro duced and possibly using illicit techniques.”
Black Friday sales are not on the cards today given the ethical stance of the trade, but student discounts, 10% off everything and bargain
The inspiration came from the abundance of undam aged material left despite the bottoms being frayed and the knees worn out.
Head over to Wood Street or visit https://pure vintage-clothing.com to check out the inventory and consequently save the environment.
The European Poetry Festi val, organised by Kingston University’s literary cultur al institute, Writers’ King ston, provided a showcase for young poets’ work at Not My Beautiful House on Tuesday.
The festival is the big gest consistent celebration of European poets to take place in the UK and this year is back in Kingston.
Not My Beautiful House was filled with students ready to present their work and plenty of people in the audience ready to witness it.
Stanimir Dimitrov, King ston University student who was performing at the event, said: “It’s the first time I’ve done and per formed something like it. I just love these events… because you get to see the works of so many fellow writers and poets and form
new friendships.”
The festival was curat ed by Stephen Fowler, a creative writing lecturer at Kingston University.
Apart from organising the poetry events Fowler helps out his students by publish ing their work every aca demic year.
In collaboration with Sampson Low they pub lish small chapbooks, each around 10-15 pages and give their students a head start to showcase their creativity.
Dimitrov is also one of the students that got to publish his first pamphlet of poetry called Man/ia in March 2022.
He described Fowler as incredible in his teaching and at making sure his stu dents understand and im plement it in their experi mental homework.
Dimitrov said: “During the corona pandemic, I had a lot of emotions pulling
up that isolation would not allow me to share with an yone, so I started writing poetry as a way of therapy.
“Steven believed in my work and professionalism and despite publishing stu dents in their third year, went ahead to publish my chapbook whilst I was in my second year.
“Man/ia was inspired by my new life, an ex ploration of chances, life, friendships and partner ships, sexuality, angst… and the list goes on.”
Writers’ Kingston con tinues to organise many events dedicated to poetry.
On December 6, they plan a celebration the work of Stephen Watts and Samp son Low Publishing at the Town House.
You can visit their website www.writerskingston.com to see their future events or go to their YouTube chan nel where they post the po etry performances.
person, but I am a Christian so I found it a bit ofensive as this is something I’ve never heard before,” she said.
The recruiters then asked if Ngalula wanted to attend a Bible study session which she declined.
WMSCOG started in South Korea in 1964 and has since amassed a worldwide follow ing of over 3 million people.
The Church believes in what they call the Mother God, a female equal but sep arate entity to God unsup ported by Biblical scripture.
They further believe that this Mother God is an actual elderly woman living in South Korea, who was married to one of the Church’s founders.
people” and that we should be clear in calling their or ganisation a cult.
The recruiters primarily speak to young women and have been targeting the uni versity for years.
Abena Boakye, a fourth year pharmacy student, said she spoke to the recruiters in her frst year of university.
“A girl approached me as I was leaving uni and asked if I knew about God the Mother.
“I said no but she continued and invited me to a Bible study which supposedly was held, which I declined because the situation seemed of.”
She seemed uncomforta ble which made me uncom fortable as well,” she said.
By Hermione Marszalek
Kingston students have reported being stopped by ‘recruiters’ for an organi sation described as a cult out side Penrhyn Road campus and in Kingston town centre.
The World Mission Soci
ety Church+ of God (WM SCOG) has been labelled a cult by mainstream Chris tians due to what they say are its controlling practices and problematic beliefs.
Third year dance student, Prisca Ntumba Ngalula, was stopped outside the Townhouse
by two recruiters in October.
“They spoke to us about god the mother and they spoke about how there’s a female God alongside God.
They showed me and my friends scriptures which insin uated that there are two entities.
I’m quite an open-minded
According to students who have been approached, the recruiters have a prepared pitch, a Bible with highlight ed passages and a Power Point on their phones which explain their beliefs.
Rory Kinniard, a leader at Cornerstone Church in Kingston, said that WM SCOG is “trying to deceive
Students were left feeling disgusted after fnding the Knights Park toilets in a state of disrepair.
Reports of dirty foors, bad odours and used sani tary products left on the foor have plagued the facilities at Knights Park.
Concerned student, Kara Symes said: “The stench of faecal matter sometimes drifts out of the women’s toi lets into the library.”
Symes has visited repeatedly to see if any improvements had been made but was left “disap pointed” and said she was sad to see the condition of the fa cilities which she described as not having been maintained to an “acceptable standard”.
“The smell when you walk in hits you and the ventilation is very poor making the room feel like a s***ty sauna,” she said.
The men’s toilets in the are said to be in a cleaner state, but are still below par.
Knights Park is not alone regarding maintenance issues.
An alternative lift was made available but was “poorly signposted” with dis abled staf and students not being able to attend certain lectures if they could not fnd the alternative lift.
Student, Adam Richards
who has mobility issues said:“The lifts could have been fxed far sooner.”
He added: “The blame of who is responsible for the lifts was passed around by the university and insurance company for weeks.”
The same building has also had issues with leaking ceil
ings not being fxed for weeks creating both structual issues and slip hazards.
A Kingston University spokesperson said: “The toilets at Knights Park are checked and cleaned on a regular ba sis, along with facilities on all campuses, to ensure hygiene standards are met.
A Kingston University spokesperson said: “The University has had no re ports of any members of the World Mission Society Church of God being on any of its campuses.
If students have any con cerns about behaviour they should report this to security in the frst instance.”
Kingston University lec turer Jan Goodey, 57, will appear in court for sen tencing on November 29.
Goodey, from Bright on was arrested at junc tion 16 on the M25 on November 7 during pro tests by Just Stop Oil.
He pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 8 and was remanded in custody.
The Just Stop Oil pro tests caused blockages to the M25 in Essex, Hert fordshire, Kent and Surrey.
Police forces from the four locations along with the Metropolitan Police have since charged 22 peo ple including Roger Hal lam, co-founder of Extinc tion Rebellion, who was charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
World Mission Society Church of God. Credit: World Mission Society Church of GodThe former head of Fine Art from 1987 to 2006 at Kingston University has passed away aged 76. He both founded and became director of the Stanley Picker Gallery. Art was his pas sion and he was painting and exhibiting right up until his death. Russell’s work has been displayed by The Arts Council, British Council, Contemporary Art Society, and European Par liament amongst other highly regarded art galleries around Europe. In his retirement he was a visiting lecturer at Cam bridge School of Art.
By Lara Hassan
A year on from the death of KU student Ali Abucar Ali, his legacy remains strong at bas ketball club Chiswick Gators.
The team motto is to “Be more Ali”, inspiring the play ers to emulate the kindness and pride for the club Ali held. Michael Kwentoh, the head of Chiswick Gators bas ketball club said: “The legacy Ali has left behind is one of being kind to others, being dedicated and resilient.”
time he was someone who I could rely on. He was always there organising himself and his teammates.”
The club recently established the Coach Ali foundation, which is a registered charity that produces opportunities for the players to develop into coaching pathways just as Ali did. The aim of the charity is to provide fnancial assistance to wards coaching and ofciating courses for the players pursu ing basketball as a career path.
Ali gives us a reason to play, it motivates us to give our all on court.”
Kwentoh said he intro duced the shout as a way to keep Ali’s name alive and to take his name with them in every game they play.
During basketball camps held at the club an Ali Award is given to players who show particular determination.
From the Ali Award, to the
establishment of the Coach Ali Foundation, it is undenia ble that Ali has left an indeli ble mark on the club.
The u16 national basket ball team has gone unbeaten so far this season with five wins under their belts.
They are hoping to do coach Ali proud and continue to dominate whenever they play, carrying his legacy with them on and off the court.
Former Kingston University lecturer Dr Hiroko Onishi died on October 14. Since her death, tributes have been fooding in from former students. Dr Oni shi was a senior lecturer in law at Kingston University for 11 years. She left Kingston and joined the University of Roe hampton last year. Beatrice Mancone, international law stu dent said: “She was one of the best teachers I ever had. Always smiling and so passionate about her job, making classes really interesting and enjoyable for everyone.” Her funeral was held at St Mark’s Church in Surbiton on Friday November 11.
Ali died in November 2021 after being stabbed whilst saving an elderly lady who was being attacked. The na ture of his death is a constant reminder of his kind and be nevolent manner.
Ali started coaching at Chiswick Gators basketball club at the age of 15 and played a key part in build ing the club up when it first started. He was part of the group of boys that persuad ed Kwentoh to create a bas ketball team for them as they wanted to play compet itively. Kwentoh described Ali as a pioneer for the club, he said: “Ali was always on
The club also has a vari ety of kit and t-shirts with pictures of Ali’s face on it, and if close attention is paid you can notice the number 51 scribbled onto the shoes of many players. Number 51 is the kit number Ali played in before he died.
Daniel Ladj, a player at the club said: “I put the number 51 on my shoes to remind me of everything he stood for, to be calm and have in tegrity the court.”
The club also includes the name Ali in their team shout as a way to pay trib ute before games.
Ladj said: “Shouting for
Jeremy Hunt’s budget promised U-turns on spending cuts and support. Once again university students have been left by the wayside and “totally ignored”.
By
The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, released his autumn budget last week announcing tax hikes, public spending cuts and in creases to energy bills. Many experts warn it will only wors en the damage caused by Liz Truss’s pitiful economic pol icy, especially for those with already low incomes.
The only protections ofered to university education were that no cuts to the scientifc re search and development budg ets were made, which are cur rently protected.
The Chancellor said it would
be a “profound mistake” to stop investing in the area.
A promise of increased funding of £20bn for 2024 was also made.There were no plans to increase student loans in line with infation and no plans to increase the threshold for loan repayments, some thing that has been a concern for many graduates.
Students able to hold down a full or part time job alongside their studies may see rises in pay, but only if they work for a living wage employer as the national living wage increased by 9.7% to £10.42 per hour.
The impact of so much debt
and no support feels isolating. With salaries not rising and no promise of changes to grad uate support, it feels like the Chancellor has forgotten uni versity students exist.
The new cost of living pay ments are only available for those on means tested benefts or disa bility beneft, both of which are unavailable for many students.
With the large increase in liv ing costs and bills, many students who were already struggling have been left to rely on universities.
Several universities have in troduced one of cost of living payments for all students. The University of Manchester an
nounced last week that it will be giving all full-time students a one-of payment of £170 be fore the Christmas break.
In a statement, the Nation al Union of Students said that the budget “totally ignored” students and the government is “making a political choice about who to support and who to leave behind, choosing to neglect an entire generation of children and young people.”
This came after the NUS had encouraged thousands of students to write to their MPs following a survey fnding that nearly half of all students are living on £100 or less a month.
A spokesperson from the Na tional Union of Students said that while the budget claims to prioritise education it has com pletely ignored universities.
“It’s an outrage that we see such willful ignorance in the face of such a huge student poverty crisis. The government must act now to protect students.”
The NUS says that its cam paign will continue until better support and funding is availa ble to make student life much more accessible.
You can fnd out more about the various campaigns of the National Union of Students on their ofcial website.
With the UK annual infation rate rising to 11.1% in October, students are in for challenging times especially with Christ mas approaching.
Rents are rising, food prices increasing and then there are presents to buy and celebra tions to be had.
Final year biomedical science student, Josah Nash, said: “With the substantial economy changes
in London now, I’m honestly not feeling the Christmas spirit.
“As an international student having to buy gifts and pay the cost of sending them home, be cause I still have assignments to complete over the holiday, this will probably be a very depress ing Christmas break.”
So how can you do Christmas on a budget?
Manage gift-giving: An easy option is Secret Santa. It is a fun way to manage the number of people that you are buying a present for.
Food shop: Splitting the cost between family and friends who will share Christmas dinner and checking how much each person
is willing to spend, will help to minimise what your spending.
Decorations: They are key to fostering holiday cheer. Head to the budget store and see what you can fnd - tinsel, paper, card and glitter to get crafty and make your own decorations.
Travel: Like many students planning to travel home for Christmas within the UK, you will most likely be using the train. Train companies tend to release their tickets about 12 weeks in advance. The earlier you book, the cheaper the tick ets will be.
Tharuna Manjala, studying for her masters degree, said: “Having to pay for fights and
transport to the airport is just a diferent level of expense compared to going to universi ty close to home. I wish I had thought about hacks that would have made the holidays easier.”
Budgeting hacks:
1
. Sell old university textbooks that you no longer use for a bit of extra cash.
2. Saving a small amount of money every week will help create a fund to dip in to when Christmas comes around.
3. Cancelling or pausing your monthly subscriptions that you do not use often will help you save extra money.
By following these tips you are sure to save a ton of cash.
By Leah Kellman
Britain’s leading equality watchdog recently released guidance that schools should not penalise students for wearing natural afro hair styles, includ ing braids, cornrows and plaits.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that uniform policies ban ning certain hairstyles are like ly to be unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act. They said: “A person must not be discrim inated against because of their hair or hairstyle if it is associat ed with their race or ethnicity.”
Ruby Williams, 20, a natu ral hair discrimination activ ist & makeup artist said she was called a stroppy teenager for calling out discriminatory uniform policy after repeat edly being sent home from school aged 14 and told her natural afro was “too big.”
Hair discrimination in schools can have long term efects on black children as they get older.
Research commissioned
by Dove found that almost half of black and mixed-race women have experienced hair discrimination at school.
They also found that one in four black adults have faced disciplinary action or been sent home for their natural hair.
Student, Johami Mbombo Mutuale, said that when she was growing up: “White 2c or 3c hair was seen as the norm and any hate or comments towards your [black girls’] hair was disregarded therefore making me envious of white girls’ hair.
“I know that schools are in clusive now but things like going to parties I feel more comfortable in a wig sad ly because having my hair out made me insecure.”
Mutuale added: “If school incorporated mixed varie ty and not just skin colour, but hair textures, weights and heights, we would’ve learned to love our hair from the start.”
Jackie Killeen, Director of Compliance for the EHRC told the Guardian: “Every child de
serves to be celebrated for who they are and to thrive in school without having to worry about changing their appearance to
suit a potentially discriminatory policy. The Equality Adviso ry and Support Service assists individuals on issues relating
to equality and human rights. If you require their services, they can be contacted on 0808 800 0082.
Launched in September 2021 by award-winning design journalist Barbara Chandler, Green Grads’ mission is to help graduates with ideas for healing the planet.
Green Grads was developed to promote and enable a new generation of UK graduates to engage with eco-issues, such as sustainability, climate change, waste, pollution, di minishing resources, biodiver sity, and much more.
Founder Barbara Chandler said: “We support new gradu ates and the environment at one and the same time, an inargua ble double whammy.”
Some of the Green Grads include Kingston Universi ty’s Ameera Azami, Callum Wardle, Emma Appleton, Ellie Perry, and Jacob Marks. They have showcased their work through Green Grads, with
some winning awards. Gree Grad alumni Harry Peck said: “I’m showing my work all over the place, got an award for sustainability innovation, and am selling in a London
store – thank you, GREEN GRADS!”
Graduates have merged art and eco-issues to try to create solutions for healing the planet through sustaina
bility and more environmen tally friendly products.
Product & Furniture Design student Jacob Marks has used the traditional craft of ex tracting resin from pine, fr,
and cedar trees to create what he believes could be an ideal material in an oil-free future.
Green Grads support their graduates by often attending degree shows and visiting their universities.
They also provide gradu ates with bursaries, advice, industry contacts, media coverage and host infor mal salons and networking events.
According to the Sustaina bility Skills Survey 2021-22, 88% of students say they agree that their place of study should actively incorporate and promote sustainable development and 66% said sustainable development is something they would like to learn about more.
Organisations such as Green Grads and others ena ble students to continue to explore ways and methods to help the planet and promote sustainability.
December is approaching and many of us have be gun doing our annual Christ mas shopping.
Christmas songs are blasting in the shops and the streets are lit up by trails of fairy lights. For a lot of Brits, Christmas is the most important holiday of all. It’s a season to celebrate with friends and family, with various traditions such as gift giving, huge Christmas feasts, Christmas decorations, winter activities and more.
While the atmosphere dur ing this time of year is joyous and cheerful, let us not forget the harmful efects it has on the environment. According to Packaging Online UK, the UK produces over 688,000 tonnes of waste at Christ mas every year, making it the most wasteful national cel
ebration followed by Moth er’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Over-consumption and mind less shopping is causing mass pollution and increases our environmental footprint. So is there a way for us to keep the holiday spirit up without destroying our planet?
gifts. Rather than buying copi ous amounts of wrapping pa per each year and throwing it away after Boxing Day, save it and reuse it next year or even replace it with newspaper or magazine pages.
Excess food waste is another huge problem to tackle. Many
The answer is yes. Fortu nately, a lot of this holiday waste can be easily prevented. To begin, we should focus on sustainable materials. When shopping for gifts, look for items with less packaging ma terial or paper packaging only, and don’t buy unnecessary
people feel obligated to have a big traditional feast on Christ mas day, but that adds to the 270,000 tonnes of food wast ed in the country per year. Re search by the charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) shows that 48% of households are throwing away
the same amount or more food than they did last year. This ex cess scrap food could contribute to more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
There are ways to reduce food waste by planning meals careful ly and cooking smaller portions.
If you do have leftovers, consid er freezing them for future meals or donate them to food banks.
Be mindful of your envi ronmental footprint and spend your Christmas this year with your loved ones in a green and sustainable way.
around to make sure the whole surface inside is covered. Emp ty out any excess soap into a bowl to reuse for the next bau ble. Next, using a funnel, pour some glitter into the ornaments and swirl around again to make sure every inch is coated, and empty out any excess. Leave your ornaments to dry over night with the cap of. Once it’s completely dry, pop the caps back on and they are ready to hang on your Christmas tree.
By Alhia Yousof
Christmas is almost upon us and it’s time to decorate our homes to really get us in the festive mood. If you are look ing to save money but still have fun, why not try these D.I.Y Christmas decorations.
Add some glitz to your Christmas tree with these sparkly baubles. For this you will need liquid soap, glitter, and clear baubles. The frst step is to pour the liquid soap into your baubles and swirl it
This idea will have your home looking like a winter wonderland. For this, you will need several sheets of white paper cut into equal squares. Fold the squared pa per into a triangle, then fold in half to make a smaller
triangle. Fold in half for the final time and cut the end of the triangle that’s opposite the pointy end. Cut differ ent shapes along the edges of your triangle, unfold your paper and you have yourself a snowflake. Roll out a clear piece of thread that will go from one side of the room to the other, depending on where you want your snow fakes. Attach another piece of string to the gar land and each snow fake so that they are hanging. Continue to do this until you’ve made enough to deco rate your home.
If you have plain lights ly ing around, you can easily make them perfect to decorate your Christmas tree with. All you will need is red and green paint. Paint the lights in a pat tern, starting with red paint, green paint and leave the third one plain. Continue this pattern until it’s all painted. Decorate your Christmas tree with the lights for a perfect fn
It’s so nice to decorate your home with your loved ones, espe cially when you’ve made all the deco rations yourself, so get cosy with your friends and family and give these a try.
mental health is reducing, conversations around the topic for men are not as widely ac cepted as they are for young people and women. In a soci ety where men’s mental health is stigmatised, it is time for us to allow space for men to talk about their mental health.
But why is it so stigmatised? Many people still believe in outdated ideas of masculinity. Men are seen as strong, resil ient and unemotional provid ers. These ideas are passed down through generations ce menting inaccurate and harm ful stereotypes.
less likely to reach out for help. It is our duty to create a space for men to feel comfort able speaking about their men tal health and their emotions which starts a conversation and allows men to normalise checking in on each other.
also things that can help.
Credit: Siviwe Kapteyn/Unsplash By Casey HardingWhat is being done to help men’s mental health? Why is suicide still one of the top 10 killers of men? These are the sorts of questions we should be asking all the time, but es pecially during Men’s Mental Health Month.
The month sees mental health charities raising awareness of
the struggles men can face and prioritises the conversation around men’s wellbeing. Ac cording to the charity Movem ber, an average of one man per minute dies by suicide. Even though women are more likely to be diagnosed with depres sion, men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women in the UK.
While the stigma around
The media is a catalyst for this today. Many flms and series maintain the notion that ‘men should be men’, portraying them as tough, masculine and strong. Phrases such as “stop crying like a girl” are frequent ly thrown around and although they can seem harmless, these words can have an unimagina ble efect on someone’s life.
Research suggests that men who do not speak openly about their emotions are less able to recognise symptoms of mental health problems, making them
The Mental Health Founda tion has tips on how men can improve their mental health during difcult times. They suggest reaching out and speaking to someone who will just listen, speaking to peo ple you trust, such as family members, friends or calling a helpline. Keeping up a routine, integrating exercise, a motiva tional playlist, volunteering, a new hobby, or mindfulness are
So why is it that when we look up ‘men’s mental health month’ there are very few articles and not one from a well-known mainstream news organisation? It seems that there is still more work to do surrounding the mental health and wellbeing of men.
While the process may be slow, it is a process worth fghting for, so that the men in our lives can get the help they need and so that we can live in a world where everyone views the tears of men as a sign of the strength they have.
If you need someone to talk to, the Samaritans helpline on 116 123 is always available.
By Nancy Lama
Your favourite brands are making a comeback with super sales for Black Friday. While Black Friday is only meant to last one day UNi DAYS BIG Black Friday sale lasts from November 25 until Sunday 27.
Being a student gives you the advantage of getting the extra ofers from the already discounted items.
Some of the companies ofering students that extra discount to help save mon
ey include Nike, with 25% of full prices items (on the Nike app only), Hollister with 30% of for members plus an extra 10% student discount, Fresh cosmetics with 30% of and PrettyLittleThing with a whopping 80% plus an extra 10% of.
All these ofers can be found on UNiDAYS or Student Beans, which are free to sign up to for full-time university students and where you can fnd more discounts.
If you miss the bargains don’t worry as Cyber Mon
day follows straight after on November 28. Cyber Monday is exclusively online whereas Black Friday is both online and in-store.
To catch the best deals sign up for email notifcations from brands websites, as on the day more codes are likely to be re leased. Alternatively you can download the brands app as sometimes there are exclusive in-app ofers. Don’t miss out on these hot ofers this year and let’s fnd the best deals this Black Friday so we save while we spend.
FCCC) and was designed to agree action on climate goals. So what did it achieve?
Since the Paris summit in 2015 the target has been to limit global temperature rise to 2% and to aim for 1.5%.
In Glasgow last year coun tries agreed to focus their ef forts on 1.5% as the 2% target has been shown not to be good enough to avoid catastrophe.
This year some countries tried to back out of that agree ment and a commitment to making sure emissions peak by 2025 was taken out. So, no progress there then.
Led by India, attempts were made to extend the commit ment made at COP26 to phase down the use of some fossil fuels to include all fossil fuels.
The resolution failed and the Glasgow commitment stands.
The fnal text of the confer ence contained a provision to boost the use of “low emis sions energy.”
coal, but is still nonetheless a fossil fuel.
The headline commitment from COP27 was to agree to set up a fund for loss and dam age for developing countries to help rescue and rebuild in frastructure damaged by ex treme weather events caused by climate change.
This is something developing countries have been arguing for decades and EU president Ur sula von der Leyen, described it as “a small step towards cli mate justice,” but there was no agreement on where the money would come from.
By Sherif MustafaIt sounds good but the wording is vague as gas is a lower emission fuel than, say,
When the conference opened the UN Secretary General Antó nio Guterres warned that the world was on the “highway to hell” and gave countries a stark choice: “We can sign a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact.” So which did we get? Arguably COP27 was not as efective as COP26, but every meeting counts until the problem is fully solved and only time will tell if the com mitments made are efective. But how much time do we have?
Sustainability is heavily pro moted across Kingston Uni versity and the university’s sustainability plan incorpo rates a holistic approach that includes teaching, research and operations.
Some of the more obvious measures are practices such as encouraging reusable cofee cups and using separate bins for recycling but much more can still be done to promote the sustainability.
One of the main obstacles to creating a greener uni versity until now has been a lack of information or un derstanding about what is al ready being done.
Lecturer in sustainability, Tavri Purva, said: “Despite sev eral positive initiatives, there is a lack of awareness and knowl edge. This is not only limited to the students but is also among the staf.”
Kingston University recently appointed Tania Dias Almeida Fonseca as the Strategic Aca demic Lead for Sustainability. Her priority is to look at where sustainability fts into all aca demic disciplines and how to
support students and staf to act as change agents.
She plans to hold events and activities across campus de signed to build confdence and support staf and students to get involved and make a diference.
Purva said: “Both Univer sity-wide and School-wide, there are discussions around how this can be embedded within the day-to-day life style so that in the long run it becomes second nature for both staf and students to think about the environment.”
When focusing on environ mental causes, we may look at large issues such as mass ocean pollution and deforest ation, but we often overlook what we can do locally, which is often where we can make the biggest diference.
Senior Lecturer in geograph ical information and science at Kingston University, David Kidd, said: “At a local level (sustainability) is much more efcient but then I think it’s easy to act on a local level when you are into environmentalism, individuals have more control and can do more to help.”
Any long-term changes to the University to make it more
sustainable must come from within. It is therefore impor tant to help spread knowledge on sustainability outside of the environmental science and sus tainable design courses.
One suggestion of a way to spread knowledge on envi ronmentalism in the universi ty is through artwork. When students are reminded of the
environment by simply look ing around the university, it increases the chance of them doing something to help.
With a sustainability team and entire courses dedicated to sus tainability and the environment, Kingston University is in a great place to increase its sustainabil ity and become an example for other universities to follow.
As Muna Ali and Yasmin Noor, Sabbatical Ofcers for the Union of Kingston Students said in Kingston University’s sustain ability plan: “It is the next gen eration of Kingston graduates who will be most signifcantly impacted by the consequences of climate change; we owe it to them to do all we can to contrib ute to this important agenda.”
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an ongoing crisis that impacts over 200 million women today. FGM is the practise of partially or fully removing the external gen italia of a woman. It has no health benefts and causes a lasting impact on the women it afects. This impact is not just physical. A study done in 2018 showed a third of victims experienced depres sion and a ffth sufered with PTSD. According to the UN, 70m women are still at risk of FGM globally – the fgure rose by two million during the pandemic. FGM is often justifed under the guise of traditional practise, but there is nothing traditional about mutilating children as young as 14. Women living in Africa and the Middle East are the most affected by this issue. However, it is the duty of all woman and men to express their opposition to this harmful practice, a practise which distorts a young girl’s perception of her own reproductive or gans, her perception of sex and her perception of her place in the world.
By Leah Kellman
I t is that time again when even non-footy fans be come obsessed for one month rooting for their na tion to win the cup that says that their country is the best. It’s also a time to spend time with family and friends and just simply enjoy the won derful world of football.
But unfortunately, that joy can be taken away when you browse through your feed and see hateful and racist posts targeted at black players.
It has been over a year since England’s young black players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho suffered horrific ra cial abuse online after they missed penalties at the Eu ros last year.
The FA were quick to re
Carl Recine/AP/Shutterstockspond at the time and posted a statement on their offi cial website stating they “strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and are appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.”
To prevent this from hap pening they followed up by saying that they will “sup port the players afected while urging the toughest punishments possible for an yone responsible.”
So what has happened? The FA noted in February that the government will strengthen their Online Safety Bill to pro tect users on social media sites from anonymous trolls.
Long in the making, the bill has been delayed but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says that online safety laws will be
in place before next spring. However there are fears the bill will run out of time or could be scrapped altogether.
So far, FIFA has launched a social media protection service that aims to protect the well-being of players as well as tackle discrimination ahead of the World Cup. According to their website their service is “designed to minimise visibility of hate speech aimed at them on social me dia” and protect fans from seeing it as well.
Former Brazil ian forward Wil lian is supporting the launch of the scheme after he became a victim of on line abuse when playing for Corinthians last year. The abuse got so bad that trolls
targeted his family, forcing his return to England where he is currently playing for Fulham FC.
He said: “[They were] attacking my family, my daughters, and that’s why I’m standing now with FIFA to see if you can stop these kinds of things.”
Even though FIFA is step ping up and taking charge of the situation, big social media com panies such as Twitter and Ins tagram also have a responsibility to prevent these harmful messag es from being post ed on their sites and to make sure trolls are per manently banned. The extent to which that is happening is debateable.
The River is written, edited and produced by journalism students at Kingston Univer sity. The River aims to serve the University and the local area. Our mission state ment commits us to raising and addressing the issues relevant to students and local people, as well as to entertain and inform them. It is our aim to celebrate the achievements of students and local people alike.
If you have information or a story which would interest our readers, please contact us. We aim to conform to the standard codes of conduct for the profession of journalism. It is The River’s policy to print timely corrections and clarifcations when we have something wrong. If you feel we have misrepresented or that we have made a mistake, please get in touch with us:
Winter Wonderland this year for the frst time post-Covid, said: “I think now Winter Wonderland is overpriced and does take advan tage of the tourists a tiny bit.”
Angie Williams, who has worked at Winter Wonderland for the last ten years, expressed her concerns about the new ticket policy: “This year Winter Wonderland is not as busy as it should be. I think it is down to the cost-of-living crisis and the introduction of entry fee. People can’t aford to come out as much as they used to. I also think it is due to the inconvenience of buy ing a ticket and queuing up. It was better when people could choose to come and go when they like.”
known as a place to get lucky and win prizes. From big fufy toys to iPhones, there is something for everyone.
Fabian Lombers, who works at Winter Wonderland’s Over The Ice Cube game booth said: “Last night we had about 100 winners. Today we had 33 winners. You just throw the rings and they might or might not go on. It is really down to luck. The biggest wins were an iPhone and AirPods so far.”
There is no doubt that vis iting Winter Wonderland has become a beloved tradi tion for many in London and the UK. Every year around 2.5m people attend the event.
It’s that time of year... Winter Wonderland is back in Hyde Park. The annual Christmas event in the heart of Lon don now in its 15th year. Younger people may not be aware that Winter Wonderland started of as a small open-air
Christmas market in Hyde Park.
Over the last 15 years, it has ex panded into a grandiose Christ mas fair with ice skating, shows, roller coasters, street food stands, festive bars and live music.
Due to Coronavirus epe demic, the event was cancelled in 2020 and caused a social media storm on its return last
year. Regular visitors to the attraction were outraged by the new prices. Before coro navirus, the venue was free to enter however it looks like this will never be the case again. This year, just like last year, it costs £5 to enter at of-peak times and £7.50 during peak times. Holly Scott, who came to
New, bigger and better rides and attractions were introduced this year to celebrate Winter Wonderland’s 15th anniversary. “The new rides have been real ly good and defnitely worth the money. I would recommend that everyone gives it a goP” said Charlotte Owenwho at tended Winter Wonderland this year with her friends.
Winter Wonderland is
There is no better place in the UK to immerse you in the magical and festive atmos phere of a Christmas fairytale.
It also ofers a great parttime job opportunity for stu dents that you can sign up for on their website. Winter Won derland will be open for six weeks until Monday January 2. Although the prices have in creased, it is still worth visiting.
The Christmas break is the time for reunions with family and friends. But if the hustle and bustle of London gets too much, a day out can ofer a welcome break. There are some great loca tions just a short ride away. We round up the best destinations for an unforgettable day trip.
Windsor and Eton
Windsor is a historic spot as sociated with British monarchy and almost takes you back in time with its traditional English style. If you want to experience a traditional English Christmas, Windsor is the right place to visit.
Travel time: 1 hour by train
Things to enjoy:
• A tour of Windsor Castle
• Festive Christmas market
• Windsor Royal Station shopping arcade
• Wonderful restaurants
• Cosy pubs
• Afternoon tea
• Christmas horse carriage ride
• Illuminated Windsor Great Park Windsor racecourse
Although Brighton is gen erally thought of as a summer destination, it is just as good during the winter. If you fancy a day in the UK’s most fun sea side town, Brighton will make you smile with its festive spir it and the most delicious fresh baked doughnuts all year round.
Travel time: 1 hour by train
Things to enjoy:
• Royal Pavilion Ice Rink
• Brighton Christmas festival
• The Lanes
• Brighton pier
• Fresh doughnuts
• Fish and chips
• Picturesque sea views
Cambridge
Cambridge is a wonderful place of new and old. While the
city is flled with young faces and new ideas, its university and architecture date back to the 13th century. If you want to enjoy a wide variety of activities and a warm festive feeling, a day out in Cambridge is perfect for this.
Travel time: 50 minutes by train
Things to enjoy:
• Cambridge Christmas Fair
• Polar Museum
• Punting tour under warm blankets
• Harry Potter gift shop
• Wildlife at Wandlebury Country Park
• Cambridge University Botanic Garden
• Beautiful churches Bath
Bath is famous for the only natural thermal hot springs in Britain you can bathe in and has been a wellbeing destination since Roman times. If you want to warm up in a thermal spa dur
ing a chilly December day, this elegant city is the one to go to.
Travel time: 1 hour 20 min utes by train
Things to enjoy:
• Magical light trail
• Winter Wonderland
• Thermal spa
• Climb the Bath Abbey Tower
• Royal Crescent
• Roman Baths
• Giant Christmas tree
• Après ski bar
• Ice Rink in Victoria park
• Bath city boat tour
Brighton Christmas Festival. Credit: Wincent HeinITV has announced its new streaming service ITVX which will launch on December 8, one month after it was initially planned to be released.
It will replace its current plat form ITV Hub and signals a sig nifcant shift away from tradition al forms of broadcasting.
ITV’s Chief Executive Caro lyn McCall said: “We’re really excited to launch ITVX, with more content available than ever before, and a whole range of ex clusive commissions.”
A range of new programmes will be shown exclusively on ITVX six to nine months before being broadcast on the television channels and viewers will be able to binge watch them.
Viewers will have over 10,000 hours of content on launch day and new shows will be available to watch from that date.
The shows include A Spy Among Friends, a cold war drama starring Damian Lewis, and the fnal epi sode of ITV2 comedy Plebs
ITVX will ofer a lot more than its predecessor with over 250 fea
ture flms available, an archive of ITV favourites - including every episode of Love Island - and a special news section.
“Viewers can expect to see a dedicated rail featuring the most
signifcant and interesting stories that are updated throughout the day,” said McCall.
Reports will be in collaboration with ITV’s bulletins and their fagship breakfast show, Good
Content will be free for every one but a subscription of £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year will give ad-free episodes and access to UK streaming service BritBox.
ITV’s move to focus more on streaming represents a wider trend with young people watch ing traditional broadcasters less.
According to Ofcom, 90% of 18-24 year-olds choose to watch streaming services over tradition al television channels.
16-24 year-olds spend just 53 minutes a day watching broadcast television compared to around six hours for those aged over 65.
More than 16 million house holds in the UK have at least one subscription service but that has decreased by nearly one million due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Netfix has introduced adver tising and tiered subscriptions in an attempt to increase growth and stop the decline.
The At Home exhibition run ning at the Stanley Picker Gal lery in Knights Park features four short, complex flms, all of which explore an aspect of domestic life and its value.
The exhibition is curated by three members of Kingston University’s Modern Interiors and Research Centre team, Penny Sparke, Cat Rossi and Jana Scholze and forms part of their ongoing research into the world of domesticity.
Sparke said the main goal of the exhibition is to have visi tors “think about the meaning of ‘home’, present and future, and how home intersects with our individual and collective identities.” Furthermore, this exhibition aims to look at the relationships and tensions be tween public and private life.
Visitors to the exhibition are met with a space that has been designed to imitate the
calm ambiance and comfort of a home. Here, viewers can watch the four flms which cover themes of housing, identity, wellbeing and con nectivity. The flms were cre ated by Martha Rosler, Noam Toran, Superfux and Simone Niquille between 1989 - 2021 and explores current issues such as climate change and human rights.
The values presented can be used to “explore and learn to understand priorities in pol itics, culture, economy, rela tionships between humans, non-humans and to the planet and even imitate dreams and desires,” said Scholze.
The exhibition is open to all and Scholze added: “We also hope that a lot of students will see the exhibition and fnd in spirations for their creative and theoretical work for or about domestic spaces.”
The exhibition is free to en ter and runs until February 25.
pliments the dish with goat’s cheese, sliced cucumber and ol ives drizzled with olive oil and herbs.
Another speciality that I higly recommend is the Don Pedro which is a uniquely blended al choholic milkshake with a shot of a South African creamy li queur, Amarula.
It does not stop there. The des serts are an absolute must when visiting. The rich Belgian ha zelnut chocolate lava cake was
topped with vanilla ice cream and dusted with chocolate.
The prices are student friend ly and a must for friendly catch ups and dinners.
The South African restau rant is located behind Kingston College at 52A High Street and is only a 10-minute walk from Penrhyn Road campus. They are also available to order on Just Eat and Deliveroo.
There are currently two branches, the other is in Bromley.
By Leah KellmanAfter months of anticipation for locals, Ocean Basket has fnally arrived on Kingston High Street. Wonderful smells and friend ly staf greet you as you walk in and the cosy setting makes you feel right at home with its fresh
modern style. Customers can also relax and enjoy a river view as the back of the restaurant opens onto the riverside.
As the name would suggest, the menu ofers fsh and seafood including prawns, oysters, ca lamari and salmon.
Every customer is given com
plimentary bread with butter and a meze dip with garlic, cole slaw and pepper sauce.
One of their bestsellers is the famous fsh and chips. The golden-brown chips are nice and crispy, and the beautifully battered fsh just melts in your mouth. A tasty side salad com
AMC’s The Walking Dead end ed its 12-year run with a heart breaking fnale last Sunday leaving fans who have grown up with the show bereft.
The zombie apocalypse series based on a group of survivors started back in 2010, airing over 11 seasons.
The last episode before the f nale ended on a clifhanger with main antagonist Pamela Mil ton shooting a child - that child being the fan favourite Judith Grimes.
Governor Milton unleashed a heard of walkers on her Com monwealth and locked herself in a gated residence essentially leaving everyone to die.
The show opened with an emotional Daryl running around trying to get Judith to the hos pital surrounded by walkers all over the Commonwealth.
When they fnally manged to make it to the hospital, Dar yl was knocked out by one of Pamela’s soldiers leaving the wounded Judith, who was in a dazed state, to close all the hos pital doors in a nail biting scene.
With couple Jules and Luke both getting caught by the hoard, Jules was quickly eaten in a very sad death and Luke was bitten on the leg.
When the rest of the group f
nally got to the hospital Luke’s leg was cut of to prevent infec tion and he was surrounded by the characters he debuted with - Yumiko, Magna, Connie, and Kelly - as he bled out on the foor his friends cried by his side in a heart-crumbling scene.
At this point, Rosita and Ga briel, accompanied by Eugene went in search of their baby girl and in doing so, found her but were surrounded by the hoard, with Rosita falling into a bunch of walkers.
Baby in hand, Rosita’s moth erly instinct kicked in as she fought her way out and escaped.
Later, in the episode Rosita revealed to Eugene in a teary scene that she got bitten dur ing the fall, leaving Eugene and fans heartbroken.
The remaining survivors all stormed Pamela’s residence to save the rest of the locked-out Commonwealth, where Pame la’s army couldn’t stand by her actions and in turn joined forces with the survivors after Daryl’s brilliant line: “We got one ene my we hate, the walking dead.”
The Commonwealth, lead by Daryl, arrested Pamela then locked the hoard in the resi dence and blew up the whole place in an epic scene with bril liant visual efects, burning the walkers alive.
The fnal 25 minutes of the
episode was all goodbyes, hugs and tears as Rosita’s death ap proached, with one fan saying on Twitter: “One thing that broke my heart about Rosita, is that even though she knew she was dying, she still kept a smile on her face.”
Rosita’s death scene had her laying on a bed next to her daughter in her fnal minutes in one of the saddest scenes of all time, leaving fans heartbroken as she is one of the originals.
A one year later jump scene showed that Ezekiel had become leader of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth look ing like it fnally became the place its supposed to be.
Daryl also said goodbye to Judith, leaving the Common wealth on his motorbike in what looks like the set up for a new spin of titled Daryl Dixon.
The fnale contains some bril liant acting which really en hanced the whole experience.
As soon as the show fnished, The Walking Dead’s ofcial twitter account posted a picture of the fnale clapper board with the caption: “12 years. 11 sea sons. 177 episodes. It’s been an honor. TWD family forever.”
However, TWD fans will be happy to know several spin-ofs have been announced, with Rick Grimes and Michonne returning in a teaser ending the episode.
Only a 10 minute walk from Penrhyn Road campus. Credit: Leah Kellman The bestselling fsh and chips. Credit: Leah Kellman
By Sami Betache
England kicked of their 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup campaign on Monday with a 6-2 thrashing of Iran at the Khalifa International Stadi um begging the question: can they go all the way?
KU men’s football team captain Dolapo Ige said: “England’s performance was very good, and I think they moved the ball well and cre ated chances.”
Bukayo Saka continued his table topping form from Arse nal with a brilliant brace and an overall great performance, looking like the reincarnation of the great Arjen Robben.
Ige said: “Saka’s perfor mance was good because he showed what the modern-day winger should be like as he was quite direct.
“I think if he continues playing with such confdence, he’s going to do great things for England.”
When it came to attacking, England were very danger ous with Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham joining the attack and getting into the box. With the pace of Ra
the country and faced almost 30 years of exclusion.
The country was reinstated in 1963 but was expelled again af ter trying to qualify two segregat ed teams, an all-white national team and a black national team for two diferent World Cups.
They returned in 1992 when South Africa began the of cial process of ending apart heid and went on to host the 2010 World Cup.
By Gabrielle Risasi
FIFA banned Russia from playing in Qatar following the invasion of Ukraine. Russia is not the frst country to be banned from the World Cup, though being banned for politi cal reasons is relatively rare.
Russia has been globally condemned since the invasion and was kicked of during the play-ofs before playing Po land earlier in the year.
South Africa was also banned from the World Cup in 1961 dur ing apartheid when mixed race sports teams were not allowed in
Germany and Japan were both absent from the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the frst to be played after WW2 which saw the 1942 and 1946 World Cups cancelled. Germany was still occupied and Japan, which had been kicked out of FIFA in 1945 for non-pay ment of dues, was also still occu pied. The pair were also banned
FIFA banned Yugoslavia in 1992 and 1996 because of UN sanctions during the Balkan wars. Other countries have faced temporary bans for everything
dropping and being the glue between the two attacking midfelders and the wingers.
Defensively, England looked very solid despite conceding two with Harry Maguire and John Stones at the back, with Declan Rice just tidying up in front of the two.
The Three Lions will have a slight concern with Maguire who was forced of with what looked like a concussion.
However, England manager Gareth Southgate said Magu ire felt ill just before the frst Iran goal.
With such a dominating win, the 1966 World Cup champions set their sites on the USA who they will face this Friday night.
The USA drew 1-1 with Wales in their opening game.
Ige said: “England should do well against USA simply be cause they’re a better team who play better football.”
Overall, his prediction is that ultimately England will not win the World Cup, but they will go far in the tournament if they can keep form throughout the competition.
from fan
(Myanmar) to issues
national federations. Kenya and Zimbabwe were both temporarily banned ear lier this year when their gov ernments suspended their football associations.
FIFA reportedly threatened national team captains that they would be penalised if they wore the OneLove arm bands in support of the LG BTQ+ community on the pitch at the World Cup.
England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland released a joint statement say ing they were willing to pay fnes if necessary, however they won’t risk their players getting booked.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is controversial for many reasons, one of them being the illegality of any thing LGBTQ+ related in the country.
KU women’s captain Ab igail Woolvin said: “I feel quite disappointed in FIFA to say the captains can’t wear it. I feel it shows that the players really care.
“It’s so important to recog nise the problems in football and for everyone to stand strong together by it and en
courage the change that needs to happen to stop these prob lems occurring.”
However, England did push a political message through with all their players taking the knee before kick-of in support of Black Lives Matter.
KU men’s captain Dolapo Ige said: “I’m a strong believ er in England’s campaign for inclusivity and eradicating discrimination.
“I’m proud that England were able to fnd another way to send a message without breaking the rules.”
FIFA, before the tourna ment began, pleaded with the involved nations asking them to focus on football and to leave politics aside.
Ige said: “I think mix ing politics with football is more of a catchphrase used to avoid overarching issues and it should continue until there’s change.”
Woolvin said: “Football is football at the end of the day, and I feel with politics in terfering sometimes it takes away the fun.
“No player or team should be spoken about negatively in regard to their stance on the matter.”
Qatar World Cup chief Nasser Al Khater told Sky Sports: “All we ask is for people to be respectful of the culture [in Qatar].”
He added: “Everybody is
welcome here and everyone will feel safe when they come to Qatar.”
Woolvin said: “It’s so impor tant that we respect their cul ture as it is their home, I just hope in the future World Cups, FIFA should look after the sit uation better.”
Al Khater also felt Qatar
Where we watch the World Cup is such an important part of the competitions experience, with the tournament taking place in the winter months, it’s an even bigger point of emphasis.
International football tourna ments are always a cause for cel ebration and a time to bring to gether a nation.
In England, like many other countries, it is a unique opportuni ty for fans of rival football clubs to celebrate success together.
It is very rare to see an Arse nal fan celebrating a Tottenham player scoring, but when England plays that is exactly what happens when captain Harry Kane gets on the score sheet.
Where and who you choose to watch the competition with is a make or break for your experience.
Things are slightly diferent with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar being scheduled for No vember and December this year.
Rather than people watching it on rooftops, parks, and in gardens in the heat, we can expect every one to be watching indoors at work, school, university, or even
on the train home.
Wahib Saiid, a student at King ston University, said: “The vibes might not be completely the same because it’s basically winter now.
“But I’m going to try and watch it with my friends at uni, maybe in a lecture hall or an empty room.”
Another student, Givency Mil liano had a more traditional ap proach to how he plans to watch this tournament.
“I still plan to go to bars and big watch-alongs, I know the weather may not be the best, or what we
is being unfairly scrutinised, being the frst Middle East ern country to host the World Cup and said it’s possibly re lated to racism.
Ige said: “I don’t think we can really argue with their rules to be honest, so the best we can do is show support in the ways we’re allowed to.”
are used to, but I’m not going to let that ruin the fun.”
So where should you watch the World Cup?
Watching at University is a great option for students. Lec ture halls and classrooms can be booked via the Kingston University app and the King ston Islamic Society is hosting watch-alongs in the Clattern Lecture Theatre at the Pen rhyn Road campus.
There are also a large number of bars and community spaces that will be hosting the games
like O’Neill’s and The Mill in Kingston or Pop Brixton further afield and all provide seating and various food and drink options.
BOXPARK, with venues in Shoreditch, Croydon and Wembley, has proven to be a hotspot for international football viewing dating back to the 2018 World Cup.
The venues are always en ergetic with a stadium-like atmosphere and are definite ly the closest thing to watch ing the games in person.