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Fresher’s Edition - September 2017

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Theresa May Caught Exaggerating Statistics About International Students Staying Illegally

By Titi Farukuoye News Editor

A

new study has releveled discrepancies between government claims and actual statistics concerning international students overstaying their visas.

The report by the Office for National Statistics revealed that only about 4,600 international students overstayed their visas in 2016, not returning home after their visa expired.

The study also found that ‘there is no evidence of a major issue of non-EU students overstaying their entitlement to stay’ and adds that the complexity of people’s lives should be considered as, ‘some people arrive on a work visa and legitimately change to a study visa and vice versa.’

In contrast, the UK government’s estimates had been close to 100,000 students remaining in the UK illegally each year.

As Home Secretary, Prime Minster

Theresa May had been particularly fond of using the rhetoric. ‘The fact is, too many of them (international students) are not returning home as soon as their visa runs out,’ May stated in 2015.

‘If they have a graduate job, that is fine. If not, they must return home.

So, I don’t care what the university lobbyists say, the rules must be enforced.’

Limiting immigration was a central aim in the Conservative manifesto and of the 2010-2015 coalition government. Today the Conservative Party is accused of blowing up the issue. Vince Cable, now the Liberal Democrat leader, who sat in cabinet alongside May, told the BBC that May was ‘obsessed’ with the topic.

National Union of Students’ (NUS) International Students’ Officer Yinbo Yu condemned the political climate of scapegoating international students.

‘The past few years have seen dozens of inflammatory stories and outright miscalculations suggesting that thousands of migrants were remaining in the country ‘illegally’ and exploiting the system,’ said Yu. ‘International students are not trying to exploit the immigration system, nor are they a drain on the UK, in fact the opposite is the case.

Rhetoric about the UK being flooded with students who are intending to overstay their visas are simply unfounded.’

The benefits of international students in the UK are widely acknowledged. As Bob Neill, the former Conservative minister, told The Guardian: ‘There is a recognition that post-Brexit our education sector, our higher education sector, is a big selling point.’

‘We actually ought to be attracting talent. A lot of these people will go back but have connections with the

UK and that works in our country’s interest in terms of trade. It is classic soft power.’

NUS International Students’ Officer Yu welcomed the new findings and called for international students to be taken off immigration statistics.

‘Low number of student over-stayers and the role international students play in economic growth suggest no reason to continue with this restrictive regime that puts international students off from studying here.’

‘International students need to feel welcome in our institutions now and post-Brexit. This must start with government policy – removing them from net migration figures is imperative.’

‘The government and policy makers must understand the true value of international students, and we hope that this investigation is the first step to doing so,’ the NUS ac-

2

Editorial

Editorial News The Strathclytde Telegraph www.strathclydetelegraph.com

Editor-in-Chief Alisa Wylie Sub Editors Louise Ramsay David Flanigan Calum Henderson News Editor Titi Farukuoye Features Editor Tommaso Giacomini Arts Editor John-Anthony Disotto Music Editor Georgia Curran Lifestyle Editor Suvi Loponen Web Editor Iqra Farooq

H

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Edited by Titi Farukuoye www.strathclydetelegraph.com news@strathclydetelegraph.wordpress.com

Fresher’s Editorial

ello! If you’re reading this, it’s too late. You’re a student reading this (probably), about to be sucked into another new year of academia. Welcome! Strap yourself in and get comfortable because I’m sure this year will be everything you need it to be and more. In this issue, we aim to introduce you to our excellent team of writers, in which we cover topics both big and small, local and international -- all from the viewpoint of us humble Strathclyde students.

I, personally, have wrote about the saviour that is the student counselling and support system and how it has helped me throughout a particularly tough time through my third year of study. This is just one article alongside many, including the return of the great Louise Ramsay’s column As I Was Saying in our Features section, various pieces that explores many gen-

res in Music, on the button News stories, lots of independent coverage of the Edinburgh Film Festival in Arts and a fascinating introduction to our new Lifestyle section, which has absorbed the previous Health and Wellbeing and Sports sections.

We are always looking for more scoops, insights, viewpoints, stories and voices. If you’d like to get involved, we have a contributor page on Facebook -- just search Strathclyde Telegraph Contributors 2017/2018, click join and answer the relevant questions to ensure that we can verify you and add you in.

We also have a brand spanking new website at strathclydetelegraph.com and a beautiful new logo that’s been designed by us by our pals at the Strathclyde Union. You can also find us on Facebook under Strathclyde Telegraph, on Twitter at @StrathTelegraph, and Instagram as @strathclydetelegraph.

By Jade Esson Photography

If you follow us on our socials, thank you! It means a lot, but if you’re reading this, another special thanks for picking up a copy and in turn, supporting print media. We hope you are enthused about our publication as we are.

Editor-In-Chief Alisa Wylie

Layout Editor Tariq Mir

Who are we? Get involved!

Contact Us

Strathclyde Telegraph USSA, 90 John Street Glasgow, G1 1JH 0141 567 5054 If you have a complaint against the Strathclyde Telegraph, please contact the Editor. If you feel you have failed to receive a satisfactory response, you can take the matter up with the VP Volunteering and Development: vpvd.ussa@strath.ac.uk All photographs are used with the owner’s consent, or are used courtesy of Wikipedia’s fair use policy.

Follow us on Twitter: @StrathTelegraph Find us on Facebook: Strathclyde Telegraph Produced by: www.quotemeprint.com 0845 1300 667

The Strathclyde Telegraph is the University of Strathclyde’s only student newspaper. The whole paper is produced on campus by Strathclyde students from start to finish – and is now in its 57th year. We have won the Best Student Newspaper in 2011 at the Herald Student Press Awards, and more recently we were commended as Student Publication of the Year in 2017 by the Scottish Student Journalism Awards.

Our paper is produced on a monthly basis during the academic year, and we also aim to upload online content as often as possible.

Follow us in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date on our social events and pitches!

News 3

Freshers Edition- September 2017

News

Edited by Titi Farukuoye www-strathclydetelegraph.com

McDonald’s Staff Strike Over Pay Concerns

M

By Calum Henderson

cDonald’s faced its first strike in several decades after staff protested over pay a few weeks ago.

Over forty employees walked out of two restaurants in Cambridge and South London on Monday, 4 September to voice their concerns about the company’s use of zero-hour contracts.

Early-morning picket lines were mounted outside the stores before employees and allies, many of them students, attended a rally in Westminster later in the afternoon.

McDonald’s began op-

erating in the UK in 1974, but does not allow its employees to join a union.

However, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), one of Britain's oldest, said staff were demanding a wage of at least £10 an hour, more secure working conditions and union recognition.

The strike was supported

by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said in a statement that: 'Our party offers support and solidarity to the brave McDonald’s workers, who are making history today. They are standing up for workers’ rights by leading the first ever strike at

McDonald’s in the UK.' 'Their demands – an end to zero-hours contracts by the end of the year, union recognition and a £10 per hour minimum wage – are just, and should be met.'

McDonald’s dismissed the cause behind the strike, saying the dispute was 'solely related to our internal grievance procedures and not concerning pay or contracts.'

In a statement, the fastfood chain added that 'a small number of people representing less than 0.01% of our workforce took strike action in two of our 1,270 UK restaurants.'

But Ian Hodson, president of the BFAWU, told the media that: 'McDonald’s has had countless opportunities to resolve grievances

by offering workers a fair wage and acceptable working conditions. This is a call for change.'

'For far too long, workers in fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s have had to deal with poor working conditions, drastic cuts to employee hours, and even bullying in the workplace – viewed by many as a punishment for joining a union.'

Steve Day, a 25-year-old McDonald's worker from Cambridge, said encouraging his colleagues to join the BFAWU and go on strike had been very difficult and 10 staff out of about 90 had travelled to the protest in London.

Day added that it was not only pay and contracts that were the problem. ‘We are

Strathclyde Graduate Awarded With Prince Ashraf Salama, Head Philip Prize

P

By Alisa Wylie

roduct Design Engineering graduate, Merlin Kafka, was awarded with the Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow’s Prince Philip Prize.

Kafka, presented with the prize by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, had been judged to be Glasgow’s best university engineering student in 2017.

The Prince Philip Prize, is a prestigious award presented annually by the Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow to one university student and one college student studying in the west of Scotland.

The Strathclyde graduate won particular praise for his final year project in which he designed a refillable shampoo bottle that could be topped up with liquid contained within foodgrade water-soluble packag-

ing. The bottle can be kept indefinitely, leading to zero waste.

Kafka said: “Receiving the Prince Philip prize for my Bachelor’s project and my ambitions in sustainable design engineering is an accolade that I without a doubt will be looking back on for many years to come.”

“During the prize ceremony, I also had the chance to briefly share my idea with His Royal Highness himself, a remarkable opportunity that I would not have foreseen when I began working on the project in August last year.

Kafka also extended his gratitude to the Incorporation of Hammermen as well as Strathclyde’s Department of Design, Manufacturing & Engineering Management, without whom his triumph would have been impossible.

also striking because of the bullying and harassment that goes on. There has been some truly appalling behaviour.’

McDonald’s, which employs around 85,000 people in the UK, announced in April that workers would be offered a choice of flexible or fixed contracts. It also pointed to a series of pay-rises as evidence that it treated staff well.

The McDonald’s chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, last year took home a total pay package of $15.35m (£11.8m).

A spokesman added: ‘We are proud of our people at McDonald’s. They are at the heart of all we do and we work hard to ensure that our teams are treated fairly.

Our internal processes un-

Of Architecture Wins International Award

By Calum Henderson Sub-Editor

The head of Strathclyde University's Department of Architecture has won an international award for his teaching.

Professor Ashraf Salama has received the 2017 International Union of Architects' (UIA) Jean Tschumi Prize for Excellence in Architectural Education and Criticism.

The prize is one of several given regularly by the UIA, an international non-governmental organisation which represents more than a million architects in 124 countries.

Professor Salama has been head of Strathclyde's department since 2014 and is globally recognised as he is

also establishing and overseeing other architecture departments in different continents.

Upon receiving the award, Professor Salama said: 'I am delighted to be receiving this prize and am especially pleased to have been able to develop and promote architectural discourse, unique to the profession and its education, which is people centred and is now globally recognised.'

‘For Strathclyde’s Department of Architecture,’ he continued, ‘it’s very important that our research is well recognised by professional organisations. It’s a highly-regarded department worldwide – I was aware

of its work when I was an undergraduate student in Cairo – and being at a research-based, international university like Strathclyde in a cosmopolitan city like Glasgow is extremely valuable.’

Salama was nominated for the award by the Society of Egyptian Architects, who said that his work 'had influenced generations of architects worldwide.'

Strathclyde's Department of Architecture has been ranked in the top 10 of UK Complete University Guide for three consecutive years.

In a personal capacity Salami has also worked prolifically, publishing nine books during his career.

4 News

Freshers Edition- September 2017

News UK Under Fire Over Inadequate Progress

Edited by Titi Farukuoye

www.strathclydetelegraph.com

On Environmental Protection

A

By Alexander Muir

2017 report by the United Nations has condemned the UK’s record on access to justice in environmental matters, citing their concern that the government have “moved [the UK] further away” from meeting their obligations under the Convention.

The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee highlighted that while Scotland has not yet fulfilled their obligations under the Convention, recent reforms “are welcome” in this area. Common complaints refer to the unreasonable cost of projects serving the environment, and with the cost falling to the aggrieved citizens who raise the action, many are deterred from standing up for environmental causes.

Following a complaint by the non-profit environmental law firm ClientEarth and the Marine Conservation Society in 2014, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee found that the UK was failing to ensure the affordability of environmental claims and again in July 2017, ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth took the UK government to court over reforms that allow the legal costs of the case to change at any time throughout proceedings. These reforms are likely to further discourage those who want to challenge the government.

While organisations continue to fight back against such reforms, Brexit threatens to derail the UK’s progress on environmental initiatives. Theresa May has refused to

guarantee the execution of legal commitments to the environment in Brexit negotiations, with both Conservatives and Labour largely overlooking the environment in their most recent manifestos.

Scotland is setting an agenda to help achieve their environmental targets, with the Scottish Parliament proposing the creation of an environmental court. Renowned judge Frank Mulholand publicly supported the proposal.

The court would be armed with criminal jurisdiction that would allow for prosecutions of environmental crimes. Furthermore, the Scottish courts have shown a similar willingness to prosecute environmental crimes; in 2012, Cambuslang-based recycling plant Doonin Plant Ltd was con-

victed of keeping hundreds of tonnes of waste in a manner likely to cause pollution and fined a record £200,000.

As Leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas has stipulated, “without a prosperous and thriving environment, there cannot be a prosperous and thriving economy.”

In 2016, the UK had its hottest year on record. Brexit will leave a gaping hole in the enforcement of environmental law in the UK, while 75% of young voters, 18-25-year-olds, have voted to remain in the European Union and thereby showed support of the EU’s environmental policies.

Student Poverty At Nearly 50 Percent

By David Hendry

N

early half of Britain’s students struggle with their basic household needs, reveals a study by the National Union of Students (NUS).

The NUS Student Poverty Commission discovered that students have an average of £24.32 per week for food and £17.35 weekly for travel, leaving many students worried or unable to meet their financial commitments.

NUS President Shakira Martin states that student poverty is in a “desperate situation”. Martin, who created the Student Poverty Commission in August of this year, explained that it is the Commission’s role to examine and reveal the hardship students face.

While many students struggle with student debt, Martin explains

that the increase on student rent is “forcing those at university to take out bigger loans”, thereby increasing student poverty.

“Save the Student” examined the effects poverty has on students.

According to the organisation, 50 percent suffer from mental health issues and 34% see their grades affected.

67 % of students find other means of receiving income such as part time jobs, 71% seek parental support when they are facing financial crisis but some use gambling or sex work to cover costs. While 26% of students have no savings.

A survey by Save the Student’s survey revealed that an overwhelming number of students spent most of their money on rent rather than on food. This also im-

pacts students’ diet as some have gone days without food to cover rising rent costs.

Glasgow, has been ranked the UK’s most expensive city for university students by the Royal Bank of Scotland Student Living Index, that looked at living costs and spending habits across Britain. Glasgow is ranked 35th and thereby last of all cities looked at in the UK, followed by London and St. Andrews which are 34th and 33rd on the list.

Features

Features

Freshers Edition- September 2017

5

Edited by Tommaso Giacomini www.strathclydetelegraph.com

A Selection of Poetry from the Live Poets Society

L

ive Poets Society is a collective created for those with an avid interest in poetry and spoken word in all forms. It is run

by Jade Mitchell, Rachel Cairns and Rebecca Gallagher.

POETRY AS CATHARSIS Poetry as weakness, poetry as defeat.

Poetry as the mornings spent tangled up in sheets, eyes wishing they had never opened themselves up to this world. Poetry as flight response.

Learning to take yourself out of the driver’s seat, to let go of the wheel.

Poetry as release. Poetry as free-fall, the unknowing of where you are falling, but you just are. Poetry as line of defence. The first line of armour to be greeted with their surrender. The first drop of blood to exit the wound.

Poetry as healing. The first-aid kit.

The stitching. The bandages.

Learning to put yourself back together again. You must always begin with your hands. Poetry as process. Turn your action to metaphor.

The longest roads you have travelled down will always take you further than you were supposed to go. Poetry as progress. To look back at it all.

The way the light breaks the body of the darkness. It is not reckless. It is not ashamed. Look at how it all takes shape: on our bodies, in your hands, in your eyes. Poetry as catharsis.

It will always begin, with your hands.

SURVIVAL STORY

LAVENDER BABY

In this light, I was holding on to the salt, the way a knife stays loyal to the wound.

I know, this is no way to live.

To open exit wounds closed long ago.

To love in sacrifice, to hold back this blood before I make a burial mound of this house.

You say you don’t know how I have survived.

To have fought against their tides.

To never let it swallow me whole.

To name me an act of survival when I choose to stay alive.

Believe me: I have run out of reasons to wake up in the aftermath of war.

I did not choose a battlefield for a body.

I did not choose to be surrendered upon.

I did not choose this way of living as a ghost, instead of a girl.

I was a lavender baby.

She would put lavender on my pillowcase to turn my thoughts into honey And help me drift into dream.

But then I saw the sun rise from my bedroom window, Saw it bend into view from below the horizon Like a miracle.

Like I’d held my hands to the sky And healed it.

And it became an addiction.

So I’d fight the calm of the purple Crave the black of coffee on my tongue Turn honey into boiled sweets and ice.

And it’d be worth it When the sky turned My bedroom And body black and blue.

But one girl can’t heal the whole sky.

These arms are not strong enough To make the sun rise.

So I let sleep take me under his wing, let the pillow turn me soft again.

I adorn myself with lavender and honey, Sink into the silken embrace of dream.

The day still rises without me and sleep whispers in my ear: “Girl, you can’t heal the sky.

That’s something she has to do alone.”

Jade Mitchell

Jade Mitchell is a poet and student at the University of Strathclyde. She is founder and president of Live Poets Society, and poetry reader for Up The Staircase Quarterly. Her work has been featured in Words Dance Publishing, Persephone’s Daughters, L’Éphémère Review, and many others. Her work can be found on her blog: vagabondly.tumblr.com.

GLASGOW AND JAZZ MUSIC AT NIGHT

Brass brings the city to life at night.

She’s old and dark And made from everything but stars but The drip of honey From trumpets Turns her molten.

I step half beats through the city at night And the buildings are the ones dancing.

Rachel Cairns

Rachel Cairns is a poet and student at the University of Strathclyde studying English, Creative Writing and Journalism. She is Vice President of Live Poets Society and actively participates in performance poetry in the Glasgow Spoken Word scene.

She also really loves her cat

6 Features

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Features

Freshers Edition

Edited by Tommaso Giacomini

www.strathclydetelegraph.com

On The Relevance Of Honorary Degrees

By Tommaso Giacomini Features Editor

I

t is common, with exceptions of the MIT, Stanford, and Cornell, for prominent universities to grant honourary degrees to people earned them through years of study, but are deemed worthy of them for by some particular merit by way of fame and fortune. It is considered a tribute of esteem and respect to an individual’s achievement and career, as in Billy Connolly’s honoris causa doctorate given to him by our university in June for being an ambassador of the city of Glasgow and an inspiration through his successful comedic career.

Now that another academic year is about to start, it’s time to reflect on the real value of university education and degrees, and whether it is still appropriate to award honourary degrees to people who haven’t had to pour their blood, sweat, and (literal) tears into them.

In my opinion, they are the legacy of a past time, in which having a

university degree wasn’t considered as just a mean to increase your career perspective and improve your overall education, but rather an end point which gave people some sort of “cultural power” over the uneducated masses. It was a way to convey privilege within a ruling class, as universities, religious and political leaders were all interconnected.

It is unclear why this tradition has continued until now, and finding a straightforward reason is neither easy nor useful. They take meaning away from the so-called “earned” degrees, juxtaposed to their being “unearned”, undervaluing the commitment and hard work of millions of students worldwide. Moreover, the selection process for the recipients of honourary degrees are seldom clear-cut, as it normally happens in a confidential committee of the governing body. Even though some universities involve a wider pool of academic staff in the process,

students’ opinions are never taken into consideration. As much understandable this could be, since students could be swayed to nominate someone the university would never contemplate, it adds to the offence of bestowing the same honour as them upon someone they might not know or recognise as deserving.

It must be said that universities are extremely careful when choosing who to honour every year. In fact, they are aware that the operation is a mutual exchange of respect with the receiver, a sort of pact in which they promise to be a positive ambassador for the university’s name. Moreover, those who are granted an honourary degree have usually greatly contributed to the cause for which they are honoured. However, they are used to thank a generous donor or to attract attention on the university by awarding them to a celebrity.

The baseline is that an honourary degree is nothing more than a sym-

bolic, meaningless piece of paper, sometimes awarded in a superficial manner for PR reasons of the university. In the latest years, it can be noticed that has almost become fashionable, some sort of a must-have, for people outside of the academic world to receive one. But what’s the point anyway? I find all this search of an empty honour representative of a society in which appearance is more important than substance, where it does not matter whether you actually know something or are someone, but only that you are able to prove it.

To conclude, I fear that honourary degrees are here to stay, as they are too embedded within our culture to eliminate them. However, for those of us who see them as shallow ways of promoting a university’s and individual’s image, there is the possibility to make our voices heard, maybe simply not speaking about them.

n

i

m

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Features

Features 7 Edited by Tommaso Giacomini www.strathclydetelegraph.com

Column: As I Was Saying On New Starts and Old Habits

By Lou Ramsay Sub Editor

Y

ou’re reading this and maybe you’ve started university for the first time. Maybe it’s your second. Or fourth. You might be resitting a year and dreading it, or sitting your final year and panicking about The End. Well I’m here to tell you – even if you think you know what’s going to happen, you don’t. Not even a smidgen. And that is going to be the best part of your year.

Welcome to the column that

doesn’t really know shame, because it’s the place we discuss everything.

This little corner of Strath Telegraph, is going to be your Sunday pep talk and your Monday motivation. The place for the gritty, messy, totally unbelievably human moments that are broken down Roland Barthes style.

Don’t know him? He’s a French philosopher and also the best. Get on it.

The stuff we don’t really talk about, because we don’t think other people will quite get it. You know what I’m

talking about; the panic, the stress, the love life, the ‘attempting to be Adult’ and the cooking failures.

As well as the body image and the mental health and the ability to be confident and courageous, but still accept the scared moments and the boss moments.

I’m going to talk you up to feel like a proper boss, because #GIRLBOSS might be a dying term but it doesn’t need to be a dying mentality. So sit down, grab a cuppa.

Get ready to get ~deep~ because, well. You’re at university now. All you should do now is think – think everything through and dismantle things you thought you knew, because we’re going to be talking about all manners of things. If you think you know, you don’t.

Sure you might have a mountain of deadlines this semester, but you’re also going to have drinks with friends. New friends, old friends, people-on-your-courseyou-finally-got-the-courage-tospeak-to friends. No? Just me? (hint: speak to anyone and everyone. Don’t get shy. Friends can be found in the most unconventional places). No matter what year we’re in, you’re going to find out about how high the library fines are (hint: really fucking high). And how we might attempt not be a stereotypical white girl, but everyone gets Starbucks in the library during deadline/exam season. Your best find?

How almost all of the buildings on campus are connected, so some exploring means the in-between-lecture times shorten. Because really, does anyone like being out of breath and sweating the first five minutes of class?

Here’s a few things you’re going to do this year, regardless of what year you’re in; you’re going to gain a ridiculous caffeine tolerance, find a drink that works for you more than a vodka coke because that gets boring, buy too many things with the first loan payment (I want to say you don’t need those jeans, but if your butt looks great then buy those jeans girls and guys), watch a lot of Netflix and possibly do one of two things; become a bit Instagram obsessed with multiple uncandid candids or completely fall of the social media stratosphere. There is no middle ground, unless you count Facebook Messenger. You may slag off avocado on toast, unless you’re already eating it, in which case well done.

You might pick up a sport, because we all get restless sometimes and honestly, we all feel better after we sweat out some stuff. My pick? Running, outdoors and in the evenings.

There’s something about running that focuses my mind.

But most of all, this year in front of you will both be long and short, completely mind-blowing and utterly challenging. Charming but also rude. Glasgow as your playground offers up a whole manner of things.

Surprising, invigorating, terrifying and sometimes, you’ll feel like some weeks take the world apart and then stitch them back together again.

Good thing you found this column then, right?

I write exclusively to pull the world back together, and untangle the bits I don’t think we get. Welcome To Strathclyde Telegraph, I’m Lou. I hope you have a good time and as one of my friends would say: Enjoy the ride.

8 Features

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Features Take This Column Away From Me

Edited by Tommaso Giacomini www.strathclydetelegraph.com

By Tommaso Giacomini

N

ow that university is about to start, is time for that summer’s-over bittersweet feeling to give way to excitement.

Excitement?! For uni?! YES! If you are about to begin your first year, you are going to embark on an adventurous journey, during which you will meet friends for life (well, hopefully), maybe your wife – at least this is what I heard on my induction day. Fake, get on Tinder – and certainly several challenges and fantastic moments that will make you grow up to become a different person than the one you are now.

If you moved to Glasgow without knowing anyone, this is your chance to reinvent yourself and break out of your comfort zone trying things you would have never dreamed of before.

If you are staying at Strathclyde for just one year, or as little as an Exchange/Erasmus semester, well then, you’re in the best position of us all!

The university is going to lull and spoil you to maintain a good relationship with your home institution, students are going to be extremely interested in everything you have to say about where you come from and how your life is so different from ours, and you’ll be represented by one of the best uni newspapers in Scotland!

If you are coming back for anything that is not your first year, you already know the drill and are looking forward to discovering new things in Glasgow and beyond. Still, there’s lots you can do to keep evolving, like start to read the Telegraph.

Or why not, write for us! (Check out our contributor page on Facebook and click that join button!)

In fact, this space won’t be mine all year long. Actually, it’s not mine even now – this column is yours! I’m

just borrowing it for this first edition, but applications to be our second columnist are open. Now! Here, you’ll be able to talk about whatever you want, with some limits of course, but you will have the chance to hold a fixed column on your university’s newspaper. Besides having to write a column for every print edition you’ll also be able to write for the online version as often as you want – do it for the likes, you know.

Of course, this is something that you can put in your CV, but if you are the kind of person who only does things to enrich their CV then you should find other priorities. However, if you are keen to make your voice heard, are enthusiastic about commenting all that weird stuff that goes on in the world and want to see

your name in print, then send me a sample of your writing by the 24th of September. Please include also an outline of how you would like to shape your column and ideas of what you want to discuss throughout the year. You can contact me on Facebook or send me an email, which you can find on our website and Facebook page as well. Then, I’ll get in touch with all of you and finally decide on one person who will be the columnist for the entire year.

There’s much to be excited about for this academic year. It might be the last academic year that UK universities are in the EU, and who wasn’t looking forward to that? Also, it will be the first one entirely under a Trump’s presidency, and might even see a nuclear war exploding one day or the other. That’s all exciting stuff to

write about, if you like. More importantly, we will see Taylor Swift and the Arctic Monkeys releasing new albums, and that will give us some relief from the woes of our times. We might even get a new Prime Minister in the UK, who knows.

As you can see, I am winging this whole column thing pretty badly, so please do me a favour and tell me to go away. Come forward with your own ideas for a column, and next month there will be your name here.

Just a last remark, be kind to the people around you. What you’ll get from Strathclyde depends on what you put into it, so don’t waste your money on Nourish meals but invest them into pints with strangers, and smiles to friends.

If you’re interested in having your own column in our features section, please pitch your column idea, a little bit about yourself, and any previous writing examples you have to Tommaso at features@strathclydetelegraph.com

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Features Have You Got Dating Fatigue?

Features 9 Edited by Tommaso Giacomini www.strathclydetelegraph.com

By Louise Ramsay

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hen the scrolling won’t cut it It’s no wonder there’s such a popuand the apps have only giv- larity on dating apps, they use barely en a headache, Lou Ramsay investi- any effort. You can swipe in McDongates dating fatigue 101. alds! In clubs! On the loo! We are so busy and in demand of our lives, creDating fatigue is the newest name ating the foundations of our futures for dating boredom; users of dating as we progress through uni, that addapps like Tinder or Grindr have re- ing another person to your life feels ported feeling lacklustre in their dat- a lot like...well... far too much effort. ing efforts, reported in The Atlantic. Almost like a binding contract. Like So what’s happening on our side of we can’t see a get-out-of-jail-free the pond, at our university? card.

Dating fatigue theory, by my understanding of it, is how many young people come to uni but already feel burnt out by dating. They did the exams in school, made the big choice for the next four years of their lives, and they’re done now. University is the sudden ‘drop’ moment: attempting to correlate the new freedoms of your life with the ever present obligations of further education. Being anactual-grown-adult. Then we decide to stick dating on top of that.

But here’s the thing: this dating fatigue I’m talking about, it centres primarily around dating-apps. As The Atlantic reported, “When the apps were new, people were excited, and actively using them... Each person felt like a real possibility, rather than what happens when you date somean abstraction.” one you really, properly fancy.

We could come to the conclusion But before we even think of dating that our body and mind are both I want you to answer me something chucking the toy out of the pram. It’s - why do you want to date? Do you tired. Dating is boring. Our brains feel at pressure? From your friends, need stimulated. And that’s actually or family? Does ‘finding the one’ feel

sorta like a big box you just gotta tick off? Maybe it’s the same as getting a job or a house. Have you been made to believe your life is better when you’re a ‘we’? Because if you’re feeling like it’s something you need, then you really don’t need it.

Adjusting To Glasgow From Abroad

By Tommaso Giacomini

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hen I first arrived in Glasgow two years ago, there was only one thing I knew for sure – I wanted to avoid Italians. Coming from Italy myself, I wanted to mix up with local to get more into the Scottish culture. Now, my two flatmates are Italian, and so are the other four people in our group of closest friends. And I love that, and them. However, if you’ve just arrived in Glasgow and seem to only meet people from your own country, don’t despair. First, because you’ll learn English anyway even if you hung out with them all the time, you have to go to class after all, right? Secondly, because it’s easier to start going out with people who are culturally more like you, and going out will help you get loose (you’ll be able to see what I did here in a couple of weeks) and meet someone from somewhere else.

Even though you’ll have heard this a million times already, get involved! Nobody knows you, so you don’t have to be the person you have been so far if you don’t want to. You can change, completely, and become someone else. To get the most out of your time here, whether you’ll stay for a semester or for a seven-yearslong architecture degree (God save you), experience things you’ve always wanted to try but never dared to!

You are already out of your comfort zone, so don’t stop going further. Try something completely new, there are plenty of options within and without the university environment. Join the Telegraph, for instance. There are many other societies on campus, and besides the International Society, which is entirely focused on you, they are all glad to take foreign students on board and involve them in

their activities!

Also, there are lots of things to do and places see if you want to explore the city and Scotland. Take advantage of September, when the weather isn’t too Scottish yet, and get on that early morning bus to the Highlands.

In Glasgow take a tour of all the stunning street art the city has to offer, starting from the university campus of course. Then, eat haggis (it’s much better than it sounds), drink Tennent’s and never show your support for either the Celtics nor the Rangers in public. Seriously, don’t.

If you aren’t that confident about your English, don’t worry, it’s not you, is them. But once you’ll get used to the Glaswegian accent, you’ll understand how sexy it is and you’ll start dropping “wee” and “right mate” in every sentence. However, if you still are having some problems

communicating, the university offers courses to bring up your level and set you ready for success in the academic year!

Don’t worry anyway, as you’ll begin to feel at home in about two months if you let Glasgow into your heart, and that won’t be too hard. The people will help as well, it’s not just a myth that the Scottish are welcoming and outgoing, must be they make up for the lack of solar heat with human warmth.

Overall, adjusting to living in Glasgow will be much easier than you expect, but you must be open and willing to accept that not everything will be perfect from the start. You’ll hate the weather for at least all the time you spend here, but you’ll also fall in love with the sunsets from the Necropolis, and on the Clyde, and pretty much everywhere.

10 arts

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Arts Theatre Review: Adam

Edited by John-Anthony Disotto www.strathclydetelegraph.com

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By Andrew Walker dam Kashmiry, 19, sits alone jection and in fear of further reperin his bedsit, opens his cussions caused by an early sexual browser and asks the question encounter within his employment at “can the soul of a man be trapped an Alexandrian clothes store. Adam in a woman?” … it’s a question both is played on-stage by both Kashmiry Adam, and the audience, already and Nesha Caplan, deliberately know the answer to for this scene female cast here, with their peris towards the end of Cora Bissett’s formances perfectly mirroring the latest play, for the National Theatre of impulses within his body throughScotland; Its transgender hero is trac- out girlhood. Identically dressed, reing his intimate and traumatic jour- splendent in black, they bicker and ney from societal and family aliena- flatter across stage and borders only tion in Egypt to rebirth in Glasgow. parting once he is hospitalised, in Here is a story of transformation, not Glasgow, thanks to forced starvation just in Adam himself, but from the and the unhygienic and darkweb short monologue first aired as part sourced do-it-yourself testosterone of the Citizens Theatre and Scottish boosters. thanks to the testosterone induced and amplified here through the Adam Refugee Council’s production Here Here we slam straight into poliemergency room visit, a letter arrives.

World Choir: a global digital commuWe Stay to a dual-lead Edinburgh tics and during some of the darkest nity of transgender and non-binary Fringe debut in the Traverse festival moments of Adam’s story, watching a He is granted asylum, as Adam, in real life.

Adam notes that “in Arabic, people. He is also telling their story programme. It is absorbing viewing, refugee navigate several rounds of reand they, in the choir, were filmed watching Adam, with his ability to jections from the British asylum sys- our words are either masculine or separately before integrated on-screen connect assisted by Francis Poet’s tem with the concurrent commentary feminine. It’s a language that likes things to be one way or another, but thanks to some very impressive clever script for which the hero noted, of the, short-lived, euphoria from the multimedia projections, sound design in early script development, “some- Arab Spring live-streamed to his lap- there’s a word you have in English meaning the same word can have two and accompanying music by Jocelyn thing like that actually happened to top. It is here, however, that the script me”, and it is understandable why it begins to flatten with Poet seemingly opposite meanings”. Its a contranym, Pook of Brick Lane notoriety. did. A couple of years in the making, opting for clichéd symbolism of the Adam discovers, on meeting an ad- Adam is a very clever, powerful and the trust between writer, director and big-bad British state; the judge has a mirer at the aftershow of the original ambitious piece of theatre, the Traverse is only a 250 capacity, but it feels Kashmiry are what makes his story so plummy southern accent and without Citizens Theatre monologue. She’s now his wife, it’s an extraordinary huge inside today. Over the past sensitive and genuine as he was not a shred of humility in its positioning weeks, since this performance, there originally cast to star in the play, this towards Adam. It reminds me of the story. came later, and why would he... he is worst parts of I, Daniel Blake where It is online also, specifically the online has been several national broadcastnot an actor.

Loach believes that all working-class trans community, where Adam first ers profile the play and it would be Adam leaves Egypt for Britain follow- people are warm and charitable and met a diversity of experiences which most surprising, and disappointing, ing a brutal and graphic ‘corrective’ civil servants are robotic pen-pushers. helped him on his journey and their should this story not receive wider 120 voices and faces are displayed exposure than it already has. molestation, homelessness, family re- Eighteen months of isolation later,

An Introduction to Steven’s Universe

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By David Hendry

or the students who worry about how people perceive them, whether you rely on your brainy skills or your upbeat attitude, or the ones who trust their own validation, or the ones who are in-between, this show is for you.

There have been cartoons out there that are bizarre on the outside but deep down have many surprises that aren’t noticeable at first glance; shows like Gravity Falls, Adventure Time or Avatar the Last Airbender. Steven’s Universe created by Rebecca Sugar, a story of a naïve, happy-go-lucky half human-half alien boy and his experiences with three alien women living on Earth, is one of these unique

shows.

As the reincarnation of Rose Quartz, his mother and former leader of the Crystal Gems, a rebellious group who protects Earth, starts to learn of his new role to help his friends and the Earth. What I have enjoyed in the show is it first started off as a comedy with Steven helping the Gems understand the Earth and him learning of his abilities. However, we find out more info of a long ago intergalactic war, shattering how he sees the world, which many students would be shocked about compared to Steven's early childish antics.

There have been great themes the show has covered from science fic-

tion, adventure, coming of age and even LGBT themes with same sex relationships, showing kids sexuality and gender identity is diverse. One theme in the show that helped its fans and myself is something that the show would help students think about, identity.

The show asks questions such as

how we define ourselves, how our relationships with our friends and family impact our identities, our anxieties and how our past shouldn't define us.

Steven's Universe helps show us that the only people that can define us is ourselves.

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Arts 11

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Arts Edinburgh Film Festival Special

Edited by John-Anthony Disotto www.strathclydetelegraph.com

In June 2017, Edinburgh hosted the 71st annual Edinburgh International Film Festival, playing host to a wide variety of incredible films from world cinema. Strathclyde Telegraph’s Arts Editor, John-Anthony Disotto and writer Blair MacBride attended the festival and have curated a selection of reviews to keep you up to date with some great cinematic gems that are being showcased in Glasgow over the course of September.

Best of the Fest: The Last Word

By Blair MacBride

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s comedy-drama motion pictures go, the majority normally feel forced in both their comedic and dramatic aspects, rendering them nearly unbearable. ‘The Last Word’ is an excellent refreshing contradiction to this common notion.

Directed by Mark Pellington, this film stars Shirley Maclaine who plays Harriet Lauler. The character is a retired business-women who is an obsessive control freak. Harriet decides to take matters into her own hands when she’s reminded of her own mortality, and seeks to have her obituary written for her before she checks out from life. Harriet enlists a young journalist, Anne (Amanda Seyfried), to carry out the task in question. This act sparks a life changing friendship, not just for Harriet, but for Anne too.

At the beginning of this movie, the characters of Harriet and Anne de-

spise each other. Their personalities are completely different and Anne is reluctant to even entertain the idea Harriet has insinuated. The journey that both characters take, though, is championed and perfected by the actors that play them. Shirley Maclaine and Amanda Seyfried are wonderful in this motion picture. The chemistry they have with each other, and with the rest of the cast, enables them to feed off the others convincing performances. Whilst Maclaine undoubtedly takes centre stage as this movie’s lead role, Seyfried’s ‘Anne’ is perhaps the best thing about ‘The Last Word’.

The arc her character takes in transforming from a shy, self-doubtful writer into a new found happy and confident person is brilliant.

Initially, the plot of ‘The Last Word’ was one I was sceptical of. That being said, the way the script panned out proved me utterly wrong. Written by first timer Stuart Ross Fink, this mo-

tion picture’s story worked very well.

Fink cleverly gives a nod to multiple real life issues which are completely relatable to viewers. It was also great to watch a natural flow of both comedy and drama intertwining and complementing each other. For any script, this shows how well it was written and performed.

Not only was the writing a success in this motion picture, but so too was the direction offered by Mark Pellington. In some places during the movie, the pacing felt slightly slow and uneven. Nevertheless, the way in which the majority of the scenes were directed enables this film to be genuinely humorous, but at the same time, dramatic and sincere when it needs to be. It meant that this motion picture didn’t fall flat like a lot of other films in this genre.

The appealing score of Nathan Matthew David adds greater depth to every scene as well. He puts togeth-

pact of war on ordinary lives.

In This Corner of the World is a moving and tender film that creates a real sense of normality in rural Japan before the war takes place. The first half of the film builds through the childhood of Suzu and her family as she becomes a woman, living the life of a stay at home wife. It is the sheer time and effort put into the growth of Suzu as a character that creates the depth that allows this film to tackle such dark times with a real sense of hope. Suzu is a vastly developed and human character that allows for the film to move slowly but surely towards a slow burn climax that shows the sheer raw destruction of war.

Every frame is beautifully crafted and whilst the animation isn’t as elaborate as other recent anime, the natural colours and simplicity make for a pleasurable and meaningful experience. The soundtrack is fitting and creates a rural feel that makes for a con-

nection between the viewer and the tale that unfolds. Katabuchi has managed to bring rural 1940’s war-ridden Japan to the western world, it brings a fresh and altruistic view to the war that we seldom see.

It comes as no surprise that Katabuchi has worked on Studio Ghibli classics such as Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Whilst the style of animation here isn’t quite to the standards of Studio Ghibli, the use of watercolour and a more artistic approach is refreshingly beautiful and clean. He pastel colours used throughout to depict the sky, sea and clouds create a softness that makes the film’s subject matter more accessible and less mentally draining. The white flashes of the nuclear bomb and the confusion between the civilians as the terror unfolds goes far beyond the artistic approach of the director.

In This Corner of the World is slow and uneventful, this builds to the terrifying and real historical events that

er a nice blend of inter-generational songs and a few of his own composed works. His efforts emphasise the change in moods and atmosphere between scenes. Compared with other scores, it does its job well. The score complements the script with an enjoyable amount of glee or suspense in each song, and evokes the emotions that the characters are feeling in the audience too.

‘The Last Word’ is a delightful motion picture. Through the wonder of film, this movie offers lessons in life in the least cringey and most relatable way possible. It incites sentiments to be confident, take risks, and how we are the ones with the power to shape our lives the way we want them to be. As Maclaine’s character says, ‘You don’t make mistakes, mistakes make you.’ This therapeutic, eye-opening reminder about life is a film everyone should go and see.

Best of the Fest: In This Corner of the World

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By John-Anthony Disotto

unao Katabuchi’s In This Corner of the World is one of the biggest Japanese films of the year and the recent winner of the Japanese Academy Award for Animation of the Year. The crowd-funded story of a young woman named Suzu living between Hiroshima and Kure, Japan in the 1930s and ’40s is a heart-warming and unusually raw and honest tale of World War 2. It is fresh to see such a beautiful depiction of the daily struggles of normal people living throughout the war, oblivious to the real implications of what is going on in the world around them.

The story of Suzu, a young girl who finds herself in an arranged marriage to a young man sent to the navy is a raw and eye-opening delight that shows a different side to war-time drama. The story evolves through the years as the Pacific war grows closer as she deals with rationing, bombings and the im-

impact Suzu’s life. As the film draws to a close and the 129 minutes of beautiful animation turns to black there is a real sense of accomplishment that makes this film a great addition to the war genre.

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Arts

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Arts

Edited by John-Anthony Disotto www.strathclydetelegraph.com

Film review: Just Charlie

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By David Hendry

ebekah Fortune’s first feature film, ‘Just Charlie’, is a fantastically thought-provoking drama. It portrays the story of a British family that learns its youngest member, football prodigy Charlie, is transgender. Throughout the difficult period in her life, the single biggest thing Charlie desires is for her family and friends to love her for who she is; not who they want her to be. Yet Charlie soon finds out that some of the people closest to her are the ones most likely to hurt her, with some taking longer to accept her than others.

The start of the film sees Charlie, played by Harry Gilby, being offered a potential youth deal by a top football club. She struggles to deal with the pressure from her football-crazy Father (Scot Williams) who wants her to take the opportunities he was never offered. He tells Charlie to ‘man up’ and get on with it. As the film progresses, Charlie comes out to her parents and sister as Trans. The family becomes divided, with Charlie’s mother (Patricia Potter) and sister (Elinor Machen-Fortune) supporting her decision, but her father takes the news

with sheer hostility. For a long period, Charlie has to deal with abuse as relationships begin crumbling around her. This comes full circle as the story leads to her family & friends fully supporting her in her decision to be ‘Just Charlie’.

Written by Peter Machen, this motion picture is a deeply significant film.

It is story telling at its finest: the script is very believable and realistic as it highlights relevant issues in today’s society.

It addresses key misconceptions about the LGBTQ+ community and creates a sense of enlightenment through the raw story telling of Machen. This is amplified by the wonderful direction of Rebekah Fortune. She encapsulates the utter self loathing Charlie has for herself and how she feels trapped in a body that isn’t a true representation

of how she feels. For viewers that have no knowledge about what its like to come out as trans, the team of Fortune and Machen do incredibly well. They engage the emotions of the audience to the point where the viewer wishes they could reach through the screen and support ‘Charlie’ themselves. The film does take a sudden dubious direction just before its close and suffers from a somewhat random disingenuous ending, but these do not deter from the good writing and directing.

The film is filled with stellar performances. In his debut film, Harry Gilby is extremely convincing for a young actor with very little experience. Gilby conveys the rollercoaster of emotions that his character ‘Charlie’ experiences throughout the film. The rest of Gilby’s on-screen family are a mixed bag. Patricia Potter and Elinor Machen-Fortune give very sincere performances, but Scot Williams is slightly lacklustre and cringe-worthy for the majority of the film. That said, although he takes his time to make an impact, Williams does improve as this picture progresses as the unaccepting dad turned supportive father.

‘Just Charlie’ is a film that has fur-

ther impact due to its splendid cinematography and soundtrack. Karl Clarke captures intriguing shots and delivers in visually conveying the emotions & development of characters throughout the film. When Charlie feels confined in her body, shots are up close & slightly duller. In contrast, when she escapes and puts on her preferred women’s clothing, shots are wider and have a warmer feel. The film also benefits massively from a strong soundtrack that is used to portray the more sombre and happier moments throughout.

Fortune’s ‘Just Charlie’ is wonderful, informative and delivers a genuinely poignant human interest story. It promotes key issues that need to be tackled in film today, in order to enlighten the not so enlightened. This film is a real gem that delivers on its message of acceptance and being true to yourself.

Just Charlie’ won the Audience Award at the 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival and will open the 2017 Glasgow Youth Film Festival on 22nd of September 2017.

Film Review: God’s Own Country

By John-Anthony Disotto od's Own Country is te directorial debut of Yorkshire born actor Francis Lee where Johnny (Josh O'Connor) working on his family's farm turns to binge-drinking and casual sex as a form of escapism. Things are turned on its head when Georghe (Alec Secareanu), a Romanian migrant arrives to help out on the farm and take stress away from Johnny's ill father. Johnny quickly becomes involved in a lustful sexual relationship that turns his life and his farm around.

Set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, God's Own Country is a cinematic masterpiece with beautiful cinematography and a real raw and gritty atmospheric tone created through long and drawn-out scenes. The lack of dialogue throughout creates a sense of monotony that emphasises the simple yet bleak life Johnny finds himself living. Seeing old, school friends

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in the local pub, now studying in the big city shows Johnny's solitude and sense of despair with the repetitive life he has fallen into on the farm. The vicious cycle that Johnny finds himself in with nightly alcohol-induced vomiting and loveless physical contact in pub toilets pushes across the sense of despair in Johnny's life.

When Georghe arrives on the farm, the two spend nights repairing a dry stone wall in the gorgeous backdrop of the Pennines. The cold nights bring the two young men together as they share what felt to me as lust-filled sex.

This is where the film seems to fall flat, beyond the beautiful cinematography of the north-east of England and strong acting performances from the leads lies a film based on a relationship that lacks depth and a true sense of realism. God's Own Country feels like it falls into a stereotypical view of a gay relationship, purely basing itself on the sexual frustrations of the two

protagonists. The character development felt incredibly flat, Georghe is a Romanian migrant but that’s about it, there isn't really any depth to the character and because of that their relationship feels cinematic. Johnny's character goes from point A to Point A, never really evolving even if the director's aim is for him to do so. As the film draws to a close the initial interest created from the opening 20 minutes is long gone and a sense of bitter disappointment from the nothingness of the purely lustful relationship that the audience is supposed to feel attached to lingers. The character development or otherwise lack of means that this attempt at a realistic character study feels more like a self-indulgent homage to the director's homeland.

Francis Lee has potential as a director, God's Own Country is a beautifully shot piece of cinema that captures the beauty of Yorkshire. That being said, the relationship at the forefront feels

like an after thought. Lee attempts to create a raw and emotional portrayal of a gay relationship in a secluded part of the country that instead feels like a stereotypical and presumptuous portrayal of homosexuality. God's Own Country is worth seeing for its incredible setting but that isn't enough to cover the cracks of a very fragile and shallow love story.

God’s Own Country is at the GFT from 08/09/2017

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Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music Interview: Lost in Stereo

By Alisa Wylie Editor-in-Chief

worry about the genre of our songs ue to support The View as we’re writing them, as long the finat this year’s freshers, we ished product sounds good to us.

How did you get to work with Stef sit down with Glaswegian from the Midnight Beast? That's pop-punk band Lost In Stereo, and talk about what pop punk means to pretty cool, btw.

Sort of a long story but essentially them, their already impressive colhe was a friend of a friend. We startlaborations and what else we should expect from the young, up-and- ed working with someone in the music industry who knew Stef and coming foursome.

First off, how are you connected, introduced us to him knowing that if at any way, with Strathclyde Uni- he was a great songwriter. We've had a few writing sessions and hang out versity? (#awks if not.)

Three out of four of us went to “ Buzzing! It’ll be a great Strathy. Andrew finished his Phys- night, especially being the ics degree last year, Jon did an MSc final Saturday of Freshers. A within NAOME this year as well as few of us know all too well his undergrad in DMEM, and Ellis is currently in 4th year doing Mechan- how crazy the last night of ical Engineering. We’ve attended Strathy Freshers can be.. many Strathy freshers celebrations ” over the years so we can’t wait to have sometimes when we're in the same one last go at it! #webleedmaroon You've been labelled as a pop cities and he's definitely become a punk band. What does that term friend of the band rather than just someone to write with. mean to you?

How are you feeling about playWe think it’s awesome! Heaps of ing Strathy Freshers and playing our favourite bands fall under the same umbrella so it’s cool with us. the same bill as The View?

Buzzing! It'll be a great night, esWe try and write pop-punk and rock songs, but the different influences we pecially being the final Saturday all have individually end up shaping of Freshers. A few of us know all the songs into a sound that we think too well how crazy the last night of makes us unique. We don’t really Strathy Freshers can be and to have a

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Music

13

Edited by Georgia Curran www.strathclydetelegraph.com

band like The View, a classic Scottish indie-rock band with a setlist full of sing alongs, playing after us is sure to have everyone excited - including ourselves. We've seen them at gigs and festivals before, even bumped into them in our local pub given that they're only from up the road.

What other Scottish artists do you take inspiration from, if any?

The majority of the inspiration we have in terms of songwriting comes from American pop punk, as that's just the way this genre has always been. Over the last few years, bands like Neck Deep and As It Is, from Wales and England, have burst onto the scene and are definitely influencing us more and more. We love hearing local Scottish bands too and have absolutely heard ideas we would like to and have maybe tried to recreate for ourselves. Starting out as a Glasgow pop punk band we've gotten to know bands like Don't Look Down, Northern Nightlights and Finding Argyle pretty well and that's just to name a few.

What can we expect from your debut E.P., 'Famous First Words,' released on the 29th of September?

Big riffs and catchy choruses! We like to think that these songs are the best we’ve written so far, and can’t

wait for people to hear them. We’ve got four big songs, two of which we wrote with Stef, and an acoustic track, and it’ll be the first acoustic we’ve released. We’re really happy with how they’ve turned out so at this point we’re just buzzing to get them out there.

What have you got planned for the rest of the year and for 2018?

What should we expect?

We have some really exciting gigs coming up, including our own headline show for our EP release at Nice n Sleazy on the 27th Sept. We will also be playing our first ever gig outside of Glasgow and then possibly the biggest gig we have ever played all in the next couple months, we can’t wait to play them (but shhhhh we haven’t announced them yet). Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted!

You can find Lost in Stereo them on Facebook as Lost In Stereo, Instagram as @lostinstereouk and Twitter as @lostinstereo_uk. Find everything else you need to know on their website at www.lostinstereouk.com

14 Music

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music Column: Sounds of the World

Edited by Georgia Curran www.strathclydetelegraph.com

AURORA (Norway)

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By Erran Kerrigan

fter I decided my column would be a taste of different musicians and bands around the world, I had the dilemma of choosing who first to write about.

I wanted something different, rather than the “popular” music we see on the television; something I had a personal connection with and something I’d love to showcase to new listeners. So, upon scrolling through the music collection on my phone, I immediately stopped when I came upon AURORA. The album cover for All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend drew me in. After all, who doesn’t love the fusion of a humanoid-moth?

For those of you who haven’t heard of AURORA, here are a few quick facts about her: her full name is Aurora Aksnes, she hails from the beautiful land of Norway, and her debut album came out when she was only nineteen. I know, right, makes me wonder what I’ve been doing all

“The song bursts with energy and positivity and I could already imagine myself jamming out to it on the airplane. But it wasn’t until I bought the album that I realised how complex and deep the music was.”

these years.

In an interview with bsidestv Aurora said: “All children are kind of weird and different and we try to fit into a box which I think is really sad.”.

This here is probably the best way to describe AURORA’s musical aesthetic. It’s a journey through life. A weird, raw and sometimes emotional journey which she captures through her layered yet delicate electro-pop.

I came upon the album when I was creating a playlist for my trip to Canada. The first track I clicked on was “Conqueror”. The song bursts with energy and positivity and I could already imagine myself jamming out to it on the airplane. But it wasn’t un-

til I bought the album that I realised how complex and deep the music was.

The 12-track album begins with “Runaway”, which sets the tone of the record and draws the listener in.

The song has a simple beat and gentle humming, which leads into solid and echoing vocals about a girl begging to get back to the place where she belongs – home. It is a simple first track yet it captures the essence of the album; haunting yet inspiring.

Many of her songs shadow the same gentle synth-pop vibe as the track “Winter Bird” follows up with the same evocative experience.

When I was listening to this song I

felt like I was being hypnotised with its auto-tuned layers and repetitive lonely phrase “All I need is to remember how it was to feel alive.”. It’s as if AURORA combined Imogen Heap’s electro pop beat with, another Norwegian singer, Susanne Sundfør’s echoing vocals to create something new and evocative but mandatory.

Another personal favourite of mine is the track “I Went Too Far” which hides a Nordic folk song inside itself. The music video for the track is beautiful and symbolic; exhibiting the pleading nature we have for affection and gratification in society. It’s curious how the song has such an upbeat chorus that makes you want to close your eyes and dance around in your room, yet it holds a serious and melancholy undertone ending with “I had to walk away.” But trust me, after listening to the song all you’ll want to do is dive deeper into the imagination and music of AURORA. Aurora looks like a delicate wallflower yet she holds and incredible imagination of talking trees and the wind in the form of a mystic lady.

All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend is a rollercoaster ride of authenticity and vulnerability with intelligent and meaningful lyrics. Her music moves and shifts from broody, deep reflection and then suddenly erupts into a bright bounce of electric energy. The music might not always follow a happy narrative but it is always powerful.

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music The New Sprawl of Post-Punk

Music 15 Edited by Georgia Curran www.strathclydetelegraph.com

By Georgia Curran

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ost-punk was a firmly British institution in the genre’s early glory days. Consider Joy Division, formulating a sound that could only have emerged from the minds of young punk fans dissatisfied with the industrial gloom and economic depression of Greater Manchester – mechanical, clean, precise instrumentation and abstract lyrics with intense emotional undercurrents. Who else could feel chills the first time they heard the line ‘I’ve been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand’? What served to heighten their acclaim was vocalist Ian Curtis’s live performance, his sporadic dance moves that emulated his epilepsy and the iconic Vox Phantom guitar he would later don. The 1980 suicide of Curtis in his Macclesfield kitchen may have ended Joy Division’s reign as kings of post-punk, but they were cemented in history as amongst the undoubted pioneers.

Let us not forget their equally prominent peers. Siouxsie and the Banshees, fronted by an assertive, red-lipped siren, had all the deadpan cockney charm, mad eyeliner and black leather to pave the aesthetic path to gothic rock. The Cure are thirteen exquisite studio albums deep as of 2017, audial magic conjured by the band’s one constant, that creative powerhouse Robert Smith.

“ The flamboyant solo project of Andrew Clinco of Los Angeles, California, has snapped up the attentions of scenes across the globe, with a fanbase as broad as those faithful to underground black metal or grime” Some forty years after the inception of these bands, of course, their relevance is now a matter of opinion.

Yet, especially with the turn of the century, America has taken the genre right out of British hands and shaped it into something of their own, something modern, driven, intriguing. Sure, we can pin this on British influences, as they drew from the well provided by New Order (Joy Division sans Curtis) and their experimentation with dance beats. The current post-punk scene has flourished with the utilization of electronic influences. More and more bands, musicians and projects are taking bits and pieces from synthpop and electronica, further blurring the lines between distinctions of genre. At this rate, what even is postpunk but a vague umbrella term for a sprawling genre?

Drab Majesty has given post-punk not only a breath of fresh air but a dash of colour too. The flamboyant solo project of Andrew Clinco of Los Angeles, California has snapped up the attentions of scenes from across

the globe, with a fanbase as broad as those faithful to underground black metal or grime. This year alone has seen an extensive European tour spanning the course of three months as well as dates across America.

Their reputation proceeded them on the continent, through bizarre lo-fi music videos based on avant-garde conceptual art – only for all expectations to be trumped by the intensity of their live performances. Let’s start with their stage get-up: metallic white face paint and powder blue wigs, black space goggles, kaftans adding to the illusion of androgyny – ready for the future, even if their audience aren’t. Cue choke-miming before blowing the socks off everyone present, astonished faces lit up by rose-hued stage lights. The music is a fusion of Depeche Mode and early Killing Joke, synth-heavy and distorted, dashed with innovative imagery and crisp production.

Further to the east, in Detroit, dwell Ritual Howls. The trio consider themselves ‘industrial rock/cinematic deathrock’. The term ‘death

jangle’ has also been thrown around in interviews and press releases.

However, their roots are very firmly in post-punk, more in the monochrome vein of Bauhaus. The past three years have been prolific for the band, with two studio albums ‘Into the Water’ and ‘Turkish Leather’ to great acclaim, continuing so with the release of their 2017 single ‘Blood Red Moon’. Artistic statements in the stark simplicity of their album covers, concentrating on metallic elements, liquid gold robes or rich bronze waves, demonstrates their flair for the dramatic, as much as each wry lyric or dull thudding beat.

Wes Eisold has darted between Los Angeles and New York for his solo project Cold Cave since 2007. What comes to mind infinitely is how his vocals contain the ghostly echo of the omnipresent Ian Curtis. Cold Cave are amongst the most notorious of recent underground post-punk acts to emerge in the past decade. However, music is only one facet of Cold Cave. With the contribution of a variety of artists, filmmakers and photographers (Art Boonparn and Caralee McElroy to name a few), there has emerged a very distinct orientation around blends of experimentation and cinematography within Cold Cave.

This evolution, or ‘the new sprawl’ of post-punk is down to the consistent rejuvenation of the genre with the injection of varied influences, the adherence to a musical modernity of sorts. Britain is where postpunk originated, but while the genre has somewhat stagnated here, for sure, America is where it continues to flourish, in those self-deprecating leaps and bounds.

16 Music

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music Snakey Swift’s Exploitation Rages On I

Edited by Georgia Curran www.strathclydetelegraph.com

S

By Alisa Wylie

n the ever-changing climate of the music industry, where it is increasingly hard to make any profit from album sales, musicians need to try something new in order to make money back. This may come in the form of exclusive release bundles, surprise album drops where fans have to scramble to catch up, extremely expensive VIP meet and greet packages, the list goes on. What seems to be new, and has come to light with the release of Taylor Swift’s 6th album Reputation, is a legitimising "fan experience" where you have the opportunity to buy tickets for her live shows, dependent on how you interact and use yourself as a promotional vessel for the release of the new album. For your hard work and shape shifting efforts -- you are not rewarded with the advantage of getting tickets earlier, or access to a better spot than those who have not

promoted the album. No. You get to be considered.

You could rant about how, of course, this isn't fair. Especially to her legions of young fans that probably do not have their own means of income to support and partake in this experience. There could be the argument that her fans would be going about promoting the album on their own social media channels as they would be doing anyway, so why should they not be (somewhat) compensated (by way of ‘boosts’ per payment of merchandise/share, etc.) for it?

While Consequence of Sound did a good job of covering this - as they described - “troubling” behaviour, what stings the most from a young music fan’s perspective is the hierarchical system that very successful artists are putting in place to almost police how dedicated fans must be.

To boil it down, it comes down to whether you have money or not.

Your wealth should not be a factor in determining how you experience and interact with music.

Bear with me here.

Yes, I know tickets for concerts cost money so that might undercut my point -- but imagine you are a student, who has to save and scrimp for tickets to see an artist you like in a live setting. You should not also be afforded the burden of shelling out MORE cash to maybe, possibly, get a ticket for said show. This, by principle, is exclusionary and alienates vulnerable young people cannot afford to buy the album 13 times to aid their progress. This is not done to legitimize who is a “real” fan or not, or “eliminate the bots,” it is done to make as much money as humanly possible from people who are passionate about music that could po-

life-after-Klaxons from the band.

Whilst Shock Machine maintains decade on from their the Klaxons’ colour, it lacks their meteoric rise, Klaxons’ boundless energy. The album’s most legacy stands almost as a Klaxons-esque cuts ‘Unlimited Love’ mere cautionary tale of a band who could only have masqueraded as a peaked too early. With their MerMyths cut, were it played in doucury Prize-winning debut Myths of the Near Future, a record brimming ble-time, and although ‘Fire Up My Heart’ has vigour as the album’s most with as many superb earworm modanceable track by a distance, it’s ments as it was off-kilter eccentricmore distantly reminiscent of clasities, Klaxons brought the concept sic disco than any of the band’s more of New Rave - Indie Rock touched Rave-centric sounds. up with synth sounds and neon The opener ‘Open Up The Sky’ is a textures - as close as it ever came to useful microcosm of the album as a any serious fruition. Their latter two whole, an ethereal audio dreamscape records, Surfing the Void and Love Frequency were two vastly different rudely awoken by forced pop sensibilities. Barring the aforementioned records to Myths, and each other, tracks in the vein of Righton’s former that garnered a similar critical amwork, only ‘Strange Waves’ strikes bivalence (Klaxons were never crita natural balance between gauzy ical darlings to anyone besides the sounds and traditional pop founutterly doting NME) but a comparatively meagre commercial response dations, and swathes of the album’s composition feel needlessly shoeconsidering Myths’ wild success. horned towards the latter.

With this, and the then-imminent It is evident that Shock Machine’s birth of keyboardist Righton’s first forte is creating atmosphere, and his child as Mr Keira Knightley, Klaxinstrumentals are firmly the album’s ons disbanded in December 2014. central focus. Although delivered in Shock Machine’s eponymous debut is Righton’s first full-length solo pro- increments, Righton flexes his production muscle, demonstrating an ject and the first audio offering of a

ability to successfully craft oneiric, progressive tracks, if not the consistency to deliver them for an entire album of material. The record starts well, the four cuts teased before release are placed appropriately but Shock Machine unravels badly towards its end, with the listless closing tracks ‘Get You’ and ‘Something More’ standing as two of Righton’s weakest.

The album is also an often-lonely affair, one that would undoubtedly benefit from guest features, especially for vocals. Righton's voice is a little too frail for him to pass convincingly as a frontman, he misses his former bandmate Jamie Reynolds probably more than he realises. Although this disparity between vocals and instrumentals aids Shock Machine’s consistently dreamy aesthetic, it ultimately leads to distraction when his

tentially get themselves in financial trouble in order to TRY to get tickets. Your ability to love and connect to music should not be dependent on your income. Yes, the music industry needs money to run. Yes, fans will want to support the artists they love. But at this rate, with the system in place by Taylor and Ticketmaster -- it cannot help but feel extremely, extremely exploitative.

Album Review: S/T - Shock Machine

A

By David Flanigan

voice occasionally disappears into the haze of sounds he creates - ‘Lost in the Mystery’ and ‘Get You’ being the album’s worst offenders.

Shock Machine is an unbalanced, front-loaded project that despite being a markedly different Klaxons offshoot, falls somewhere between the band’s middling latter releases rather than anywhere close to their superb debut. Righton can evidently create appealing sounds, but what is here is a little too undercooked, and thus his debut solo effort stands as a potentially promising proof of concept, if little else.

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music

17

Music Single review: Oak Wood/Egress - Drab Majesty Edited by Georgia Curran

www.strathclydetelegraph.com

D

By Georgia Curran

rab Majesty’s latest release is an ode to a tragedy barely covered by the press outside of the States. On the night of December 2, 2016, a fire tore apart the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, California, during a concert.

The warehouse served jointly as a music venue and accommodation for an artist collective, despite the permit not allowing either. The fire is the deadliest in the history of Oakland, claiming 36 lives, of the fifty people present. One victim was twenty-two-year-old Cash Askew, a fellow artist with Drab Majesty on label DAIS Records.

This new single, consisting of two songs, serves as a very public protest of outrage at the senseless deaths of thirty-six people, the majority of whom were in their twenties and thirties, but the youngest of which was only 17; the oldest 61.

An explanation of the lyrics to first song ‘Oak Wood’ (4:53) has been dutifully provided by Drab Majesty, as describing the “grapple with the existence of a god in a time of such utter sadness, hopelessness,

and confusion.” The song is a departure from this year’s universally acclaimed album The Demonstration, rather a throwback to earlier material and those sad synth vibes.

The repetition of the chorus begin-

“Oak Wood is the first part of a true piece of art, a form of expression with intellect and emotion behind it” ning with the indignant line “Why in the world would a god take someone as young as a child?” strikes not just a poignant note nor matters of existential crises, but an increasingly common sentiment today.

‘Oak Wood’ is the first part of a true piece of art, a form of expression with intellect and emotion behind it. It is a fitting tribute to Cash Askew and the other victims of the 2016 Oakland Warehouse Fire.

Song picks of the month

For the second and final part, we have some cathartic respite in ‘Egress’ (2:55), as explained by Clinco, “I hope if only for a brief moment, the listener can wander and lose themselves within the sonic imagery offered in this piece.” It is a perfect example of a synth soundscape, complete with guitar pedals and distortion, a soundtrack of contemplation to the restless mind.

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You As chosen by Georgia Curran

Kaleo – Way Down We Go As chosen by Erran Kerrigan

TR/ST - Bicep As chosen by Georgia Curran

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Rings of Saturn As chosen by Emily Black

Tom Petty – Wildflowers As chosen by Innes MacKintosh Hozier – Someone New As chosen by Innes MacKintosh Kevin Devine – Me and My Friends As chosen by Alisa Wylie Sorority Noise – No Halo As chosen by Alisa Wylie Future Islands – North Star As chosen by Erran Kerrigan

Bon Iver – Heavenly Father As chosen by Emily Black

The Horrors – Something to Remember Me By As chosen by David Flanigan

Injury Reserve – North Pole As chosen by David Flanigan

Milk Teeth – Fight Skirt As chosen by Fraser Bryce

As a stand-alone single, the impact of Oak Wood is paramount. However, it has to be first understood in the sense of its origins. It is not light-hearted or even easy listening, but so startlingly profound for a project known for its eccentricities and questionable sense of humour. Ultimately, beyond anything, Oak Wood is a statement.

18 Music

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Music Live Review: American Football

Edited by Georgia Curran American Football, above all else, make music for themselves. So long www.strathclydetelegraph.com as that joy continues, we can be hope-

Summerhall, Edinburgh Sept 3, 2017

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By Kristin Hay

here do you put a band who, after fourteen years of radio silence, return in 2014 and, after all that time, decide to set off on the road on a four-date tour across the U.K.? Answer: the Summerhall in Edinburgh - host to emo-rock quartet American Football, playing in celebration of their second album in two decades, American Football.

When we think about emo music, the Illinois band is not the first that springs to mind for our generation of My Chem fans and From First To Last enthusiasts. However, that is exactly the word to use – reaffirmed by lead singer, Mike Kinsella’s, choice of clothing: a purple t-shirt with ‘SAD SONGS’ emblazoned across the front.

Their mix of compressed, clean toned guitars with a variety of percussion – and, of course, the trumpets – simultaneously contrast and complement lyrics about heartbreak, longing and small towns. It’s pretty much as emo as you can get.

Summerhall was decorated with

sunset lighting, a haze of fuchsia and tangerine which set the atmosphere beautifully. Support was provided by Kinsella's side project, Owen. Blending singing, spoken word and a cleantoned guitar, Kinsella warmed up the crowd with a pin-drop performance armed only with his Fender and his pedal. The soothing ambience was somewhat disrupted however by the sound of hand dryers which drilled across the hall periodically, and his work, whilst beautiful, admittedly felt a bit like American Football B-sides.

Nevertheless, by 9:15pm, the audience's lips were wet with anticipation for the main event.

There were two types of fans in the crowd: fans who had been around in the late nineties for American Football's debut, and fans who had got into them during their very, very, very extended hiatus, a testament to the band's cross-generational impact. In an era of ‘dropping’ albums out the blue and instant downloading, American Football are a rare example of a

band who, despite remaining largely on the fringe of the music industry, continue to enchant audiences of all ages. Opening with cult favourite 'Where Are We Now?', Kinsella and co calmly and effortlessly work through their set, pausing only briefly to ask the crowd "is there anything you wanted to talk about?". It is undeniable that the band love what they do, shown by the goofy smiles across their faces when they perform. Uncaring of if they look cool, uncaring if they sound good – a truly raw, unrehearsed

performance.

Kinsella's charm on stage encapsulated the essence of American Football: this band speaks to the underdogs and the outcasts, the uncool kids with long hair and ill-fitting Nirvana hand-me-down t-shirts. Ending vibrantly with the classic ‘Never Meant’, the audience was left with a bittersweet feeling in their mouth – is this just a fleeting romance, or is this the beginning of a career that should already be celebrating twenty years of success?

Live Review: Bands of Skulls

The Bungalow August 28,2017 this

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By Fraser Bryce

od bless independent venues.

In a world where the music industry becomes more about business than artistic expression – looking at you, Taylor Swift – it’s good to know that independent venues will forever remain a safe haven for the underground, the undiscovered and bars that don’t require taking out a mortgage to get half cut.

In celebration of these venues, the organisers of Independent Venue Week and purveyors of disgusting hangovers Jägermeister have teamed up to bring Southampton blues-rockers Band of Skulls into some of the tiniest rooms imaginable. That’ll be a quiet night at the library then.

Apart from a headlining slot at last year’s Stag and Dagger festival, touring for Band of Skull’s latest album ‘By Default’, never reached Scotland. So,

frankly miniscule show not only represents an outpouring of support for local venues, but also Band of Skull’s first Scottish headline show in nearly 18 months.

Furthermore, the fact that Band of Skulls are in that weird limbo period between albums means that the band are left to do what they do best: crank out some absolute jams.

And crank out the jams they do. Opening with the slow burning ‘Sweet Sour’ and the Zeppelin emulating groove of ‘Black Magic’, Band of Skulls proceed to churn out nineteen grade A monsters over the course of the next ninety minutes. Early appearances from ‘Patterns’ and the disco influenced ‘So Good’ showcase the vocal talents of bassist Emma Richardson, while more upbeat moments like ‘You Ain’t Pretty But You Got It Going On’ perfectly compliment vocalist Russel Marsden’s

incendiary guitar playing.

While Marsden’s promise of no slow songs doesn’t exactly ring true, this is hardly a bad thing. In fact, it’s the more mellow moments where Band of Skulls really shine, with ‘Nightmares’ and ‘Bruises’ being obvious highlights of the set. Saying that, I’m a sucker for a riff, and Band of Skulls deliver them in spades. The spaghetti Western influences on ‘I Feel Like Ten Men, Nine Dead and One Dying’ give way to a chorus so sludgy I felt genuinely dirty after hearing it, and the chorus of ‘Asleep At The Wheel’ comes roaring out of the venue’s tiny PA system at ear mangling volume.

Since an encore in a venue this small would be futile, the band continue playing right up until curfew. Ending with a slew of songs from their debut album, which showcases the more blues-influenced end of the band’s

sound, no era of Band of Skulls’ career is left untouched.

All in all, my first experience of Independent Venue Week was pretty decent. Seeing such a truly brilliant band in such cozy confines serves as an important reminder that, if we don’t support places like the Bungalow, young bands cannot establish themselves.

This would result in the music industry becoming even more stagnant and stale than it already is, and we don’t want that, do we? Thought not.

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Edited by Suvi Loponen www.strathclydetelegraph.com

Lifestyle

19

Lifestyle

Go green, live clean: even YOU can make a difference

By Katie McEvinney

W

elcome, or welcome back, to Strathclyde! Life may seem fantastic as the new semester commences, but over here in this corner, everything isn’t so rosy – it’s depressing and we are talking green.

Did you know the ocean is 26% more acidic than before the Industrial Revolution? In fact, according to National Geographic, there is an entire continent made from rubbish - plastic waste, floating in the Pacific Ocean - or as they refer to it “a soupy collection of marine debris,” allegedly consisting of Nike trainers, hockey gear and rubber ducks. Yikes.

The truth is, our planet is in a terrible state, and although this bleak fact can be entirely overwhelming, don’t let it get you down.

Each person can make a difference, especially at university, where chances are you are forming habits that will last a lifetime, until you cease to exist, or the Earth does, whatever comes first. So, start as you mean to go on…

You probably drink water, or coffee, or both. Don’t be the fool who brings a new Costa cup or Strathmore plastic bottle into lec-

tures every day. Think of the waste, you monster. Over six million trees are chopped annually so you can have your Pumpkin Latte each morning in a nice takeaway cup. That’s enough to power 54,000 homes a year. One Green Planet, an environmental agency, reported that a beautiful little albatross found dead on a Hawaiian beach had “a stomach full of 119 plastic bottle caps.”

That is on you. Buy a flask or proper water bottle. Just not the Love Island ones, please.

Stop being lazy. If you live relatively close to campus, take public transport if you can, or even better,

walk or cycle. All these little things add up and make a difference in the long run.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, another organisation looking to get things greener, revealed that Hope Street is the most polluted in Scotland. That is five minutes away from our campus. If you can help by not adding to the congestion, then do it. That includes a growing trend amongst students: getting supermarket shopping delivered to campus in massive Tesco vans. Walk and do it yourself - with your own canvas bags!

University can be stressful and

reducing your carbon footprint in itself isn’t enough to convince you to join the bandwagon, consider this: You could sleep longer in the morning if you had a bike. I’m one of those East End students who choose to prioritise dirt cheap rent over proximity to campus, so on foot, my morning commute would take me

half an hour. On bike, it takes me ten minutes. Think about all that potential sleep going to waste. All those alarms you could snooze. All those episodes of Rick & Morty you could squeeze in before facing another day in the Glaswegian rain. The possibilities are endless.

Biking in the city is far from riskless, but when I first started, I was surprised by how considerate drivers are here. I have been in an accident, but that was a collision with a pedestrian, so if you must be apprehensive, be apprehensive because pedestrians are unpredictable, not because there are cars on the road.

Also, buy a helmet. Nobody looks good in a helmet, but I can guarantee it’s a better look than your brains splattered across Cathedral Street.

Another concern a lot of people have is the relatively hilly landscape

On Yer Bike, Pal

By Catrine Bollerslev

I

’m at that age where acquaintances from secondary school are tying the knot left, right, and centre, and all I’m committed to is getting eight hours of sleep every night and convincing everyone I meet to invest in a bike. You, dear reader, are my most recent target. If the idea of

hard and horrible, especially if you need to work too, but taking the time for a walk is always relaxing, and can help you reset yourself, and it means cutting down on pollution on a day to day basis. Oh and on nights out. Don’t be the guy that throws their kebab onto Sauchiehall Street. Littering is never cool, even if you’re drunk.

Finally, get involved. Fortunately, Strathclyde has loads of things going on if you want to rid your conscience further. Join The Green Team – a great way of volunteering and helping to make a difference. They organise campaigns and events, and are currently working on a range of projects at Strathclyde. The Student Switch Off is an energy-saving competition organised by the National Union of Students. Basically, various university accommodation throughout the UK turn off their lights and electrical plugs and the halls that save the most energy, win. We are also a Fairtrade Campus, and run ‘Student Eats’, a project aiming to help students cultivate their own organic fruit and veg, as well as ‘Uni-Cycle’, a scheme encouraging students to cycle around Glasgow.

There’s plenty more on offer.

Glasgow has to offer. I spend most of my days at the library, which means I have to fight my way up John Knox Street on a daily basis. I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s fun, because it is honestly miserable, but going home is amazing because I can coast almost the entire way. The hills are a struggle, but you adapt faster than you would think – and one thing’s for sure: they wake you up.

I have a thousand different pitches and it’s a struggle to pick the most convincing ones, but if the ideas of helping the environment, saving money, sleeping more, and getting in shape don’t appeal to you, there’s only so much I can do with my subpar saleswoman skills. It’s all up to you.

It’s easier to dodge your ex on two wheels, though.

20 Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Freshers Edition- September 2017

Edited by Suvi Loponen www.strathclydetelegraph.com

Student living — decorating the room

By Sara Paciaroni

F

or many of us starting university means moving out for the first time. Whether you are staying in halls or renting out a room in a shared flat, you have the chance to decorate your own space.

You will probably have to move around flats during your time at uni, it is not a good idea to spend too much on furniture and knickknacks, for a big deal of things get lost or broken or you will be forced to sell some items to the new occupiers. Making your room homy and cosy doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Here are some places where you can find affordable essentials for your new home.

IKEA is only a bus ride away: catch 77 from the Buchanan Bus Station. The Swedish furniture giant is ideal for small furniture like shelves, storage options, coffee tables, or a small desk that you can easily carry home. You can always team up with your flatmates and split the delivery costs, but who wouldn’t like a trip to Ikea to get your fill of cacti and candles and Swedish meatballs?

POUNDLAND on Argyle Street has everything from electronics to dinnerware – all for £1. It’s the perfect place for lightbulbs and for a

until 5pm. A trip to the Barras is always worthwhile; one can find pretty much anything from antiques and collectables to second-hand bikes and fresh fruit and veg, and maybe whilst roaming through the stalls with a bag of chips you might find the perfect deal for your room!

CHARITY SHOPS are also a good option if you are looking for cheap second-hand furniture. Some charities also offer home-delivery at a convenient price for bigger items like beds, couches and tables. Many are located in the city centre and the West End, on Great Western Road and even more on Dumbarton road. small clothes rack for your radiator candles and diffusers.

Lastly, you can have a look (a lifesaver for tiny spaces) but also TIGER in Buchanan Galleries online: Facebook now has a marfor cheap and cheerful plates and and Sauchiehall Street is a decoraketplace and Gumtree is particularly cutlery. tion heaven. You can find frames useful as many people post ads for PRIMARK offers a large selection with affordable prices (surprisingly items in good conditions for very of bedding items: fitted sheets, quilt difficult), rugs, vases, candleholders, good prices that many students covers, throws and even duvets and and even kitchenware and bathroom could not afford otherwise. Remempillows - everything you need to essentials with quirky twists. ber though; never pay for anything make your bed comfortable with a For something second-hand, Glasbefore seeing the item. small budget. Primarks can be found gow hosts periodicals vintage and on Argyle Street and Sauchiehall flea markets at the Barras, a street Enjoy your shopping!

Street. A must-have is the pop up and indoor market in the East End. laundry bin for only £4, and you The famous market is open every cannot miss their wide selection of Saturday and Sunday from 10am

Best Places For Coffee Almost On Campus

By Suvi Loponen Lifestyle Editor

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1.Tinderbox tarting off in a new city can feel This very vpopular hangout spot daunting - even though we do is just a block away from most have Google Maps now to help Strathclyde buildings. Offering a navigate through the narrow streets vast variety of coffees, cakes, but also of Glasgow. One will quickly learn it caters for those looking for a quick is filled with lanes connecting streets, bite, such as a sandwich or some and no matter how long you spend sushi. Best of all, it’s open till 10pm. here - there will always be a street somewhere in the city you’ve never been to before.

So, here is some time saving recommendations on the three best quick coffee fixes - all easily found just down from campus on Ingram Street!

2. Picnic Cafe

2. Picnic Cafe A newcomer to the campus area, Picnic Cafe is the first fully vegan cafe in the Merchant City, with a focus on fresh, organic food and cruelty free ingredients. They also only use biodegradable cups so you can grab a cappuccino both wallet and ecofriendly. And as the cherry on top - they welcome dogs too!

3. Spitfire Espresso Nested very close to Tinderbox, Spitfire is now open also till late and serves coffee with sweet and savoury treats for those who are looking for something more independent. With only one branch in the city, Spitfire is one of a kind and keeps it simple: good quality coffee served by smiley staff.

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