Freshers Edition Special 2016

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Freshers Edition Special In our freshers week special edition, discover the complete Badger guide to life in Brighton by Sussex students for Sussex students. Updates on the most important campus news, the best music and culture spots in the city, a discussion of the value of student politics, and much more - we’ve collected the full range of Sussex outlooks.

the

Badger

The Official Weekly Term-time Newspaper of Sussex’s Student Union Supported by the Sussex Fund • Freshers Week Edition • 10th September 2016 • thebadgeronline.com • Twitter: @TheBadgerNews • Facebook: /thebadgersussex • Printed on recycled paper

Welcome to Sussex!

All photos: Daniel Green

Meet Sussex’s New Vice-Chancellor

INTERVIEW

Freya Marshall Payne Editor-in-Chief By the time you are holding this newspaper, Professor Tickell will have begun work as our new ViceChancellor.

Sitting down for interview in late August, however, he was fresh back from holiday and visibly excited about the prospect of getting started in post.

Mild-mannered and quiet, he came across as thoughtful when we spoke about Sussex specifically as well as universities in general.

He reiterated his desire to get to know Sussex before imposing changes, and to ‘listen’ to students and staff.

One change he is considering introducing from amongst a raft of possibilities is an Equality and Diversity Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor,

whose remit it would be to ensure that Sussex tackle a range of issues affecting its community, from accessibility through staff equality to the issue of sexual assault and violence.

Another interesting change would be Professor Tickell’s wish to make himself available to members of the

university through drop-in meetings.

It seems clear that our new ViceChancellor is adopting a much closer approach to students and staff than the typical one suggested by the role of university top bosses.

In his interview, you can listen to him in his own words. >3

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The Badger 10.09.2016

Welcome from The Badger the

Meet the team

BADGER

Supported by the Sussex Fund, thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends of the University

Editor-in-Chief Freya Marshall Payne

badger@sussexstudent.com

Deputy Editor Glenn Houlihan Online Editor Remel Logan Crichlow badger@sussexstudent.com

The News Team Daniel Green Luke Richards Tom Richardson

badger-news@sussexstudent.com

The Arts Team Bianca Serafini

Freya Marshall Payne: Overworked Editor-in-Chief supremely concerned with ensuring The Badger not only goes to print but also has fantastic content year-around.

She oversees all things Badger and her obsession spans all sections, from News to Sports. When not in the office she can be found either at a protest or with Misha, her dog; occasionally also at local poetry readings.

Glenn Houlihan: Unfazeable Deputy Editor, second in command to the Editor-in-Chief, helps with a plethora of issues: sending the paper off on time, legal qualms, formatting, fact-checking and everything in between.

Even if you don’t have a topic you want to pitch, drop by the office and talk to him about sports: he enjoys intense

Remel Logan Crichlow: the Online Editor who has created our wonderful new website, he’s in charge of all things digital at The Badger. Interested in class divides and inequality, with passions ranging from politics to Pryzm.

He brings an element of the I.T. Crowd to The Badger’s offices, having worked in the IT department of a theme park in the past.

Daniel Green: Veteran News Editor, a true relic of The Badger serving his fourth year on the team. Interested in any kind of news, on campus and off, at any time of day. He owns every gadget of modern technology, from an Ipad to a Google watch, so he’s sure to reply to you at the speed of a nanosecond.

Bianca Serafini: Resident American Arts Editor, overseas the Arts section with meticulous efficiency. Pitch her anything, big or small, as she’s usually locked up in the Badger office drinking coffee, and occasionally absconds in search of a cheeseburger. Fun warning: don’t bring up Trump.

William Singh: Dedicated Comment Editor, focused on working towards creating a more respectful political dialogue and celebrating the values shared by many. As a studious PPE second year, he’s your man if you want to talk (or debate) about politics, although this cultured guy is also partial to Manchester United and F Scott Fitzgerald.

Fraser Coppin: Somerset-based, freedom loving lad who oversees the Letters section. He ensures that all your thoughts, opinions and complaints about the long queues at The Co-op make it into The Badger. In his spare time he enjoys criticising government intrusion into our private lives, consuming cider and perfecting his fantasy football team

Charlotte Tuxworth-Holden: Back from a year abroad in sunny California, our Features Editor aims to bring even more variety to the section. When not hunting for the latest gems to write about, she can be found listening to podcasts, visiting Brighton beach, or bringing down the patriarchy.

Duncan Michie: Curious Science Editor, determined to compel even the most artistic of folk to become passionate about all things scientific. Fans of haikus, politics, or haikus about politics should find the time to have a chat with Duncan over a pint.

Sophie Clark: When our Events and Publicity Coordinator isn’t busy organising Badger socials and promoting the paper, you’ll find her enjoying the delights of Falmer Bar’s cocktail evenings, or hitting up a gig in town.

badger-arts@sussexstudent.com

Miles Fagge badger-theatre@sussexstudent.com

Lucie Andrau badger-photography@sussexstudent. com

Monica Cherrie

conversations about football, and bad jokes.

badger-film@sussexstudent.com

Lauren Wade badger-music@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

The Comment Team William Singh Devan Thomas

badger-opinion@sussexstudent.com

Aaron Stephen: our Sports Editor is a keen follower of the NFl and boxing, so expect coverage of both to flourish under his watchful eye. A Man United supporter, he predicted the appointment of Mourinho months before the nationals on these very pages and now seems set for a season of success, both in the Premier League and with The Badger.

Letters Editor Fraser Coppin

badger-letters@sussexstudent.com

Features Editors Charlotte Tuxworth-Holden badger-features@sussexstudent.com

Science Editors Duncan Michie Kate Dearling badger-science@sussexstudent.com

Sports Editor Aaron Stephen badger-sport@sussexstudent.com

Events and Publicity Coordinator Sophie Clark

badger-publicity@sussexstudent.com

Hannah Rose Shaw

Come and meet the team in person! We hold weekly meetings every Friday at 11am in Falmer House’s Common Room.

Come and talk about how you can get involved. You can also join our ‘Badger Writers’ group on facebook. Email badger@ sussexstudent.com to be added to our mailing list or to pitch a story.

Editorial: A New Start Freya Marshall Payne I’m happy and excited to wish a warm welcome to all our readers, both new and returning - and hopefully many new writers.

My greatest hope as the new Editor of your weekly student newspaper is that you see The Badger as a platform which anyone and everyone can use to get the most out of their time here at Sussex. I see my own role and that of the team as facilitating dialogue between the people within our university community. We’re not here to tell you what to think or what it’s like being a student today - we’re here to interact with you and, together, build a paper

which reflects your interests and those of the people around you. After all, this is your paper. I want every Badger reader to feel that it belongs to them: we may be the official Student’s Union Newspaper and funded by the Students’ Union but our duty is to you, students and readers, and making sure you both enjoy and profit from our content is our number one priority.

This year’s Freshers Edition Special is designed to introduce you to the university in all its complexity - we have a brilliant feature updating you on the most important News stories we broke last year and how they have developed over the summer, an essay

in Features on the radical history of the university and an interesting Science feature explaining some of the research Sussex students are doing. I also had the pleasure of interviewing our new Vice-Chancellor.

This special edition is also about introducing you to the beautiful city of Brighton, and in Arts you will find out just how vibrant is the culture around us.

I’m aware that not everyone coming to Sussex this year may be equally excited to be here - numbers of Clearing students have gone up - but I hope that this edition helps everyone get to grips with our university and our city, and fall just a little in love with it.

Badger fact:

The earliest recorded use of the noun “badger” was in 1523.

Before that, it was called a “brock” or “bauson”.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the wonderful team who have worked from near and afar to produce this edition. It hasn’t always been easy, and it was sometimes even exhausting (I spent 13-hour days in the office!) so I hope our readers will graciously forgive any typos... I’m very proud of this edition: I hope that you will enjoy it and feel inspired to get involved and join in with producing this paper

The Badger 10.09.16

NEWS

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New VC Tickell speaks to The Badger In an exclusive interview, Editor of The Badger Freya Marshall Payne spoke to Sussex’s new Vice Chancellor, Adam Tickell.

Professor Tickell is Sussex’s eighth VC in its 55-year history and is a well-known economic geographer. Prior to his new role, he was a Vice-Principal at Royal Holloway and most recently Vice-Principal at the University of Birmingham.

Question: You are arriving at Sussex at the same time as a new intake of students so you’re basically getting used to Sussex in parallel - both fitting into your new environment. What have you found striking about Sussex so far? First impressions?

Answer: That’s a huge question.

Where to start? I’m hugely excited.

You’re right, I don’t know a huge amount, so for the first term or so I’m going to be adjusting as much as [new students] and I’m going to be listening a much as anything, that’s the plan. I think Sussex is an amazingly exciting place. It has - I should stop saying it and say we - we have a very distinct heritage as an institution. There is a very particular sense of what a university ought to be and I think that for various reasons, in the 1980s, Sussex began to lose a certain sense of what that could be and in particular Margaret thatcher, the Prime Minister, she wasn’t particularly keen on the kind of institution that Sussex was. There was no sort of vendetta against Sussex but that kind of institution. And for me, the rediscovery of some of what Sussex is about is something which is early exciting to me and I think should be exciting to the university too.

Q:You have a background studying neoliberalism and I was wondering how that influenced your view of the role of the university or the role of Vice-Chancellors?

A: (...) For most of my lifetime, certainly my work life,we’ve been going through this moment where the common sense, if you like, has been one where market rules are the primary defining feature and that manifests in a whole series of different research projects... In a sense, these are the rules of the game. The university in neoliberal times: we are not independent actors, and so we can’t turn round and say we can pretend we exist in some sort of different state. So what does the university need to do? Certainly it needs to survive, and it needs to thrive. Some of the ways you can do that have to be within the narrative... But I’m a very values-driven person and there are a lot of things which you can do. I’m trying not to use political words, I don’t think that a vice chancellor should be political - but you can do things which make a really substantial and positive difference about the world even if the overall rules of the game are quite difficult. As recently as five years ago, most of the money that universities earned was predictable; it is all now competitive... Three or four years ago, universities were told a number of students they could recruit - now

we’re not, now you they have to be 30% can just take as or 40% more effecmany as you like. tive than if you are The system in the doing it internally. So I UK is still settling want to be convinced down, but if you that that we’re not don’t recruit those seeing a reduction in students, then people’s pay or the you can’t maintain quality of service as a the infrastructure result of the need to of the institution. make that margin. So So for me the key I don’t have a strong thing to do is to ideological view make sure we can about it, but I do think recruit students, that if you look very recruit staff. That’s hard at the contracts very easy to say, you’re not just thinkbut if we want ing that somebody to do that, we else is that much have to make the better than you are. At environment of Birmingham we did the university one pretty pretty much that’s conducive everything in-house to them wantand we did it effecing to come. tively and efficiently Some things are because we had really happening that good managers who are great - for ran the services. So instance, Sussex we’ll have to see. Most Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Tickell. Photos: Toby Whelan. has got the 7th best graduof the contracts are new, so the big challenge is that the next ate employability in the I suspect that they’ll run to term. I 10 years are going to be unspeakUK: that’s outstanding.National can’t imagine making the changes ably hard. We’ve had a golden age Student Satisfaction Survey is also quickly. for 20 or 25 years, so almost all very good. There’s quite a lot to my career things have got better work on underneath that, but it is Q:So would you consider carryand better. More money, more much, much better [than before]. ing out a review of how the conresearch money, a huge number Those measures are already tracts are implemented and then of international students who’re part of it:. I think people need to deciding whether you wanted to very committed, good support. believe in the university they go bring things back in-house?

But now for a variety of reasons to, whether staff or students. For things are [changing].

Brexit is gome, it’s a much bigger, existential The nature of contracts with third ing to be very hard for the British thing: what is Sussex for? What parties is that you have to review economy.

So now we can work I will do in the first three or four them constantly and make sure together... months especially is to start a conyou’re getting what you ought to. versation with the entire university And if you’re not getting it, then you Q: One of the central issues at community - staff and students have to make sure you do.

Sussex over the last few years and alumni - to try to rediscover has been the privatization of what Sussex should be for for Q: Sussex has a history of university services. I have a 2025, rather than 1963 radicalism, protest and indeed faculty source who believes occupation. Do you think the you might want to change the Q; I’ve heard that you are going university took the right aptone and consider bringing the to be akin a distinction from proach in the past, and how does services back under university the Farthing era. Are you planit compare to strategies you’ve control.

Would you like to comning on shaking things up? Any seen at previous posts? ment on this? specific changes?

A; It’s really very early to talk A: I really don’t want to comment A: I don’t want to comment on about specifics. I’m a very differabout what was done in the past how things have been done [in ent person from Michael - tembecause I think it’s unseemly. the past] because I think it would peramentally, I mean. We’ve been be wrong to do so.

I genuinely discussing regular open office Q: Perhaps to rephrase that, haven’t seen any of the contracts hours specially for students where then, how would you consider that we have with the third party they can just turn up and talk approaching the situation if companies.

I would say that what about whatever they want to talk students occupied a building I really wouldn’t want to see is the about. And I also want to do sometomorrow? externalization of services meanthing similar for the academic ing that people were working in and non-academic staff - things A:I don’t want to be evasive, but less than decent pay conditions. like spending the night with the the answer is: it depends. I want to That’s not something I’m sympasecurity team. So there are all sorts make myself local, and if students thetic with and from a pragmatic of things I want to do because perhave a gripe (it is the nature of point of view, if you have third sonally I think the role of a leader being a student, and perhaps parties running your services you is to lead but also to be followed... especially a student at Sussex that have to pay 20% VAT and allow for The idea that the heroic leader you will, that you will have disagreethe fact that private companies does everything: for me, that idea ments)... I’d far prefer people come don’t do it because they are altrudoesn’t work. You have to have and talk rather than shout. I think ists, so they have to make a profit. people come with you and you occupations are often just a way of If you add those together, then need to persuade people. For me, shouting. We had occupations at

Birmingham with demands which I am sure you can find online, but as I remember they were along the lines of pretty much ‘the Vice-Chancellor’s salary has to be cut be 80% he has to be dragged naked through Chancellor’s Court (I’m exaggerating for the sake of it!)’ But essentially they were transitional demands which you can’t meet but which make people feel good about it. If you’ve got an occupation about that type of thing, you have to talk with people but you can’t really engage in a serious dialogue with people who are asking you to do things which aren’t within your power to do. Another example of that would in fact be defying the Home Office [a demand of the Don’t Deport Luqman occupiers at Sussex last year] - we’d lose the right to give visas to any student. That said, when more than a small number of students occupy it can often be about frustration with a general [issue] so dialogue is important. I’m not of the school that thinks it’s appropriate to expel students for the fact of an occupation. I think we do have to be mindful of the fact occupation can often be disruptive to staff and particularly other students...

It’s a difficult balance. I think dialogue is the most effective way of changing things, because things will need to change.

Q:Another major issue at Sussex which students care about is that of sexual assaults and sexual violence. Most recently, the case of the tutor who assaulted his [at the time] student girlfriend.You’ve said you will carry out a review of the way this was handled. What else do you think would be good to handle the wider issue?

A: I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the Salter case, but I will say that on the first time I start - so in the past by the time this goes to press - I will announce an independent review of this, external to the university. I’m also going to write to Alison [the woman who Lee Salter assaulted]. We need to understand what if anything went wrong, and from where I’m sitting it looks like things went wrong... This is a very different case to issues around consent because they were having a relationship. Now, I’m not sure student-tutor relationships are appropriate and that’s something I think we need to look at: for me, there are embedded relationships of power...

Issues around consent tend to be with students, and its a major problem in universities around the world. Our team has being doing things with the Student Union - it looks great. I’m not going to do this straight away, but I think we need mandatory consent training as part of the students’ induction. We are going to have an Equalities Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor - in Birmingham we had one, and they did mandatory online consent courses. I’d like to start there, but then move on and get serious work done on it.

Continued on p23

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The Badger 10.09.2016

NEWS

The Badger’s year in review: 2016

The Badger was proud to break some important stories over the last academic year. In some cases - such as our exclusive investigation into the University’s misuse of disabled parking spaces - we saw how instrumental our reporting had been in holding authority accountable and bringing about change, with good news to share with our new readers. In others - such as the #Don’tDeportLuqman student campaign aiming to keep a recent Sussex student with Hepatitis B in Britain which we followed closely last year - we found that the story is still ongoing, so we are offering you the latest. The News team takes a look back at some of the biggest stories and how they’ve developed since.

Campaign to save Sussex student from deportation

February 2016 Recent Sussex MA student Luqman Onikosi is fighting the Home Office’s decision to deport him to Nigeria following their rejection of his leave to remain application, which was made on human rights grounds.

Luqman, who studied both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Sussex, has a chronic liver condition brought on by Hepatitis B. Luqman claims that effective treatment is not available in Nigeria.

He has already lost two brothers, both living in Nigeria, to the same disease. Unless the Home Office reverses its decision and allows him to remain in the UK, Luqman believes the same fate will await him.

Last year, while in the final stages of his Masters degree, Luqman’s right to study was withdrawn by Sussex at the demand of the Home Office. His application to remain in Britain had been rejected by that point, but he says that the Home Office did not notify him. He claims that he is now at risk of detention and deportation at any time.

Callum Cant, organiser of the #DontDeportLuqman fundraising campaign, said: ‘The Home Office has passed a death sentence against this young man. We now call on them to reverse their decision and immediately grant Luqman leave to remain in the UK’.

Speaking to The Badger, a Home Office spokesperson said: ‘All cases are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules. Human rights claims on medical grounds are always considered in line with Article 3 of the ECHR.

Student wins underpass buskers’ ‘impossible’ anthem contest April 2016

A Sussex medical student has been awarded £300 worth of free keyboard lessons, after he won a national anthem guessing contest hosted by a busker who plays regularly in the underpass which connects the campus to Falmer Station.

Passers-by are invited by Alan, the 68 year old busker and professional organ player, to identify five national anthems from excerpts he plays.

Three months after we broke this news, it was revealed that the University of Sussex repeatedly attempted to evict the popular busker.

In an interview for The Argus, Alan claimed that he was told by the University that they had bought land on which he was playing, with Sussex threatening to call the police if he did not leave.

He attempted to evade Uni-

He has the repertoire of 66 national anthems, meaning the probability of randomly guessing all five is less than one in one billion.

Alan told The Badger that, of the hundred or so Sussex students who have taken his challenge since he started playing the underpass in October 2015, only one has triumphed.

The bat-eared victor, a medical student named Harry, won the contest and will receive a spare keyboard on loan so he can prac-

tice at home.

Alan claims he has been stolen from and subjected to profanities in other busking locations; allegedly a child pelted his head with a rock at one Brighton-busking haunt and in Lewes, he was mugged by a heroin addict.

However, he says he has ‘not had one single negative comment’ since setting up in the underpass and playing for students.

He says: ‘I like being in here, because I am totally protected from all that nastiness outside.

versity security by changing his schedule, coming later in the evening and braving cold winter nights to keep ‘a low profile’.

The Argus also claimed that a lecturer gave Alan advice on how to keep his fingers from numbing - however, the technique did not work.

Despite this, he still was moved on by security.

However, following a Freedom of Information request by a stu-

dent journalist, it was exposed that, contrary to the University’s claims, the underpass remained the property of the British Transport Police and not the University.

A university spokesperson at the time described the incident as ‘an unfortunate misunderstanding’, adding that they were ‘sorry for any upset caused to the individual involved’.

All images from old Badger edi-

Roughly a month after we first covered this story, The Badger liveblogged a protest that attracted hundreds of students and an occupation by protesters in support of Luqman, objecting to the University’s lack of support for him. #DontDeportLuqman protesters occupied the conference centre at Bramber House for 52 hours, demanding that the University ‘award Luqman his MA, publicly state their opposition to his deportation and end collaboration with the Home Office, including legally and politically challenging Prevent’.

After the University sought and won a court order for the protesters’ eviction, the occupiers left peacefully after a demonstration that lasted more than two days.

A University spokesperson said:

“We are, and always have been, very sorry to know of Mr Onikosi’s illness. It’s clear that staff and students across the University care passionately about his plight and we sympathise with his situation.

“Although we fully appreciate there are many people who support Mr Onikosi, his visa status has been determined by the Home Office.”

Regarding March’s occupation, they added: “The University has an obligation to keep all students on campus safe, including those who were based in our conference room.

Although we had a court order to return the building to its normal use, we are pleased the students chose to leave the building of their own accord”.

We respect the right for everyone inur community to express their views peacefully and throughout this period we have continued to listen to the views of our students.”

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The Badger 10.09.2016

NEWS

NUS President elected amid ‘anti-semitism’ row April 2016 Malia Bouattia has been elected as the new President of the National Union of Students during the National Conference in Brighton.

Ms Bouattia, who will be the first black Muslim woman President, is a controversial choice, winning the elecFive months since Ms Bouattia’s election, NUS disaffiliation campaigns sparked referenda at 16 universities across the country, including York, Durham, Lincoln, Oxford and Cambridge.

In May, four universities - Lincoln, Newcastle, Hull and Loughborough, became the first to disaffiliate from the organisation in almost a decade,

tion despite an open letter signed by over 57 heads of Jewish societies from across the United Kingdom, asking her to explain her ‘extremely concerning rhetoric’.

Signatories asked why she referred to the University of Birmingham as ‘something of a Zionist outpost’ in a 2011 article, and is alleged to have

claimed in a meeting hosted by SOAS that the controversial government anti-extremism policy Prevent was created by ‘all manner of Zionist and neo-con lobbies’.

In the wave of this controversy, campaigns have started at several universities to disaffiliate from the NUS.

leading to suggestions that campaigns at Oxford and Cambridge could also be successful, which would result in a huge loss of funding for the NUS. However, no other university has voted to break away since, with the disaffiliation campaigns losing momentum after students in Exeter, Warwick and Cambridge and Oxford

voted in favour of remaining members of the union.

In the most recent referendum in June, Nottingham students voted to remain affiliated, with just over 60% choosing to stay members A petition at Sussex University calling for a referendum on NUS disaffiliation failed to reach the required 150 signatures needed to trigger a vote

the spaces is necessary to accommodate the six-week repair of the Swanborough residences, despite the fact that the East Slope car park is just metres away.

Commenting in the latest revelations about disabled parking, Miriam Steiner, founder of the Access Sussex campaign, said: “Access Sussex have told the University on numerous occasions that there aren’t enough parking spots for visitors, staff and students with disabilities.

“The fact that this is going on is further evidence that we need, at the minimum, an Equality and Diversity Director for the University to prevent further mistreatment of people with disabilities”.

After our initial report, the University published a bulletin to underline the importance of the ‘alarming issue’, with Transport Manager Chris Wadey stating: ‘We are a large and busy campus, which means it’s sometimes hard to enforce all vehicles, so I would put out a plea to all staff and students to respect our parking policies and support everyone in our community’.

Whilst the University says it is ‘committed to ensuring all staff and students are able to access all locations on campus’, a University spokesman said that ‘on occasions, this may be the only level area that is suitable’.

However, the new Vice-Chancellor Adam Tickell has agreed to one of the demands made by the Access Sussex

University blocks disabled parking spaces April 2016 Students with disabilities have been dismayed to find that the University of Sussex has permitted builders to occupy disabled parking spaces with a portacabin, skip and vans, meaning that the spaces at the Swanborough car park have been unavailable to the students, staff and visitors who need them.

University figures reveal that 79 vehicles have been issued with tickets over the last six months for wrongly parking in disabled spaces. However, an investigation by The Badger discovered 22 cars parked incorrectly in just one day.

The University claim that occupying

campaign, with the creation of a new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Equalities a major priority.

Disabled students at Sussex face a plethora of issues. The Access Sussex campaign was started in 2014 to highlight the difficulties faced by disabled students on campus and to pressure the University into making it more accessible.

While the University has released some funding to address these problems, it would seem as if there are still barriers to accessibility across campus. Given the continued issues disabled students face on campus, it’s no wonder some disabled students were outraged at the University’s decision.

Fi Halfacre, the Students with Disabilities Officer for the Students’ Union, told The Badger that, despite some moves by the University to improve accessibility on campus, it hasn’t come quickly enough.

“There is still a huge issue with the disabled parking spaces on campus.

There aren’t enough and those that are in theory designated for disabled students are regularly used by able drivers or blocked by vans or construction.

“While the University has promised that more spaces will be available with the construction of further car parks, this will not come soon enough for disabled students currently at the University”.

S**T FRESHERS SAY

Krista Osbourne

18, Guernsey History and Philosophy Why did you choose to study at Sussex?

“I chose Sussex because the university has such a good reputation and the area is amazing! I love Brighton so much!”

What are you most looking forward to about university?

“I am most looking forward to having greater independence and experiencing life in the UK. As I am from a small island, it will be a big change for me.”

What Freshers’ events are you planning on going to?

“The Pier Party sounds amazing! I’m just looking forward to getting down there and making friends and deciding together where we should go. It’s going to be so much fun!”

Jack Upton

18, Greenlithe, Kent American Studies Why did you choose to study at Sussex?

“I was impressed by the quality of the teaching and resources available for my course, and Sussex is rated second for my course. The location is also a big plus!”

What are you most looking forward to about university?

“Furthering my education in a course I love, meeting new people and trying new things.”

What Freshers’ events are you planning on going to?

“The Freshers’ Fair to have a look at potential societies and clubs, and I’ll head out for a few drinks as well!”

Ike Olorunnisomo Croydon Psychology

Why did you choose to study at Sussex?

“I chose Sussex because the students looked happy, the lecturers were as enthusiastic as I am about my course and the standard of teaching is great. It also looks like student life and student care is good too.”

What are you most looking forward to about university?

“Getting involved in different societies, meeting new people and being in an institution that equally cares about the student as they do of their grades.”

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COMMENT

The Badger 12.09.2016

The Big Debate: Student Politics Are Frivolous

The Big Debate is a regular Badger feature which brings the spirit of competitive debating to the printed page.

Two writers tackle a contentious topic, representing polarised views. They might not agree with what they write on this page, they represent a viewpoint, not an individual. This week, they face off about student politics.

Daniel Terrence Yes: Sussex University is a hub of activism and protest. What draws many potential students to our University is the allure of the political activist’s lifestyle: having the ability to come to a place where you believe your voice can be heard and you can really make a difference inspires in many thoughts of revolutionary political action.

However, this romanticised idea of enacting change against an oppressive greater force seems to carry more weight in most students’ minds than it does in real life.

The staff and administrative higher-ups of Sussex University are not monsters who deport students to their death out of spite, as some students would have you believe.

They are also not sexists out to defend rapists to spite victims.

They are not racists, or classists, but people doing a job and trying to make University as accessible and welcoming as it can be- something most students refuse to acknowledge. Students currently engaged in politics, at least at our University, are very eager to latch on to any minor injustice and blow it out of proportion to give them something to “fight back” against and fuel their smug, Guardian-reading first-world victim complex. If students read up on the issues they were so outraged on most of the time instead of immediately discussing them with a half-formed notion of the facts in an outraged fashion with friends, usually drunk, high and probably while eating hummus, they would see that most of the issues really don’t exist in any meaningful formand if they did, their petty “activism” would still not change anything.

The fact is that students involved in political protest have lost any reputable status that former, more justified movements might have allowed them. We all remember that students were the ones who changed the world in ‘60s and ‘70s America, in Apartheid South Africa and so on. However, the would-be “revolutionary action” of today boils down mostly to students complaining that things aren’t exactly as they want them to be. Students are an entitled lot, and they complain largely when it suits them to do so- many Sussex students, I’m sure, decide to go to a political demonstration of a day mostly because they don’t feel like waking up early for their 9am and that they want to upload a protest selfie to Instagram

later.

What this leads to is worthy causes, like the campaigns against tuition fees that have been so popular lately, losing their value completely. The London protests of 2010 were marred by the bandwagon-jumping action of lots of young people who were enticed by the opportunity to smash some buildings up and maybe see themselves on BBC news. How can the world take student protest seriously when it is so self-important? The idea of the revolutionary student changing the world while everyone cheers them on no longer exists outside of the minds of sheltered middle-class students. Student politics is in a state of hopelessness at this point, with any and all dissenting voices immediately silenced by the left-wing who cannot handle hearing any opinion other than their own.

What we get in student politics today is an echo-box of masturbatory, self-congratulating, politically correct statements made at nobody in particular and then immediately forgotten, with nothing changed and nothing challenged. Bothering to engage in student politics in 2016 is like the opinion of the trendily-dressed hipster reading the Manifesto on their iPad in the library while drinking a £3.30 latté- unwanted, hypocritical and completely frivolous.

Some political and cause-based societies you could join at Sussex: • Anarchist society • Conservative Society • EU Society • Feminist Society • Free Education Campaign • Fossil Free Sussex • Green Society • Labour Society •Marxist Society •Politics Society • Socialist Worker Society • Student Action for Refugees •Sussex

Lawyers

Without

Boders

Look out for all these and more at freshers fair

Will Singh Comment Editor No: It’s easy to mock student politics. The image of a group of young people arguing the minutiae of grand political ideology over several pints in a dimly lit pub, or the sorry sight of too-few people drudging through a lifeless protest in the rain, are frequent observations, viewed by many as weird, pathetic or just oddly unsettling.

But politics, at any level, isn’t glamorous. It’s too slow-moving, it’s infuriating, frustrating, it’s pushing leaflets through doors on a beautiful day when you should be doing something much more fulfilling with your life. But in the end, change happens, attitudes shift, politics works.

And that’s just as true of student politics as any other.

It acts as a vital point of entry for young people into political organisation, showing them the impact they can make even in the face of societal derision. It teaches the skills of organising, debate, compromise and decision-making necessary for the next generation of leaders. After All images by Badger photographers last year. Clockwise from left: Peter Hitchens on campus to debate cannabis; the Don’t Deport Luqman occupation in March; and a Fossil Free demonstration.

all, if we’re going to criticise our current leaders for being mediocre carbon copies of each other, we may as well invest some respect in youth politics in the hope that the next generation can produce more capable leaders than the current.

In any case, what is the alternative - that young people shouldn’t get involved in politics? That only compounds the existing problem.

We can’t berate young people for not voting, then disparage the views of those who do get involved as illegitimate. Discouraging political engagement of any form in the climate of chronically low voter turnout among young people is bizarrely counterproductive. If we want a vibrant, healthy democracy we should be praising engagement in politics, not dismissing it.

The description of student politics as frivolous also requires a narrow characterisation of the political views of young people in a way that is simplistic and self-serving. It flatly isn’t true that all of us are ideological lefties with naive and ignorant worldviews. Many are progressive, many conservative; many idealistic or ideological, many just care about one cause or issue. Student politics is real politics, with all the diversity that entails - putting all student politics into a box labelled “frivolous” is both unhelpful and based on false preconceptions.

Students can be idealistic, yes, inclined to believe they can change the world. It may be true that they’re wrong and doomed to fail.

But it is certainly true that that energy, that passion for change is a vital ingredient for our democracy.

It infuses our politics with the hope to combat cynicism, the new ideas to replace outdated ideologies, the vehement disagreement and diversity to provoke proper debate at a time when, let’s face it, our national politics could use some of that.

Most important of all, we need to counter this narrative that there must be an irreparable difference between idealism and ‘real’, ‘pragmatic’ politics. These are distinctions that too often mean little more than learning to accept things as they are, that ‘adult politics’ is just about meagre improvements in line with the status quo. Idealism is no bad thing, and it’s certainly not incompatible with compromise and real change. Students should believe the world can change and that they can change it - because it can and they can. To reproachfully suggest otherwise is a disservice to them, and to us all.

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The Badger 10.09.2016

COMMENT

Labour leadership choice has no easy answer - but plenty of wrong ones William Singh Comment Editor

Jeremy Corbyn: the only politician who understands, or an unelectable cult of personality.

Owen Smith: pragmatic unifier to some; Ed Miliband mark two with a corporate background and a Welsh accent to others. ‘Who?’ to most.

Speaking as something of an outsider to the contest, my only reaction to watching the head-tohead debates between the two was: “if there was a general election tomorrow, Labour would be annihilated”.

“This is the existential problem of a party so divided between membership base and parliamentary party: both are so focused on winning back the support of the other (or more accurately beating them into submission) that they forget to say anything to the wider electorate.”

It’s not that either are inherently dislikeable - though to many, one or the other (or both) no doubt is.

It’s more the total failure on both men’s part to answer some fairly basic questions.

When asked who each of their leadership role models were, Smith scored an easy layup by praising the approach of Welsh labour icon Nye Bevan, while Corbyn responded with a predict-

able round of ammunition for his opponents - “I don’t have one”. It shows, Jeremy.

And when asked how to win back Conservative voters, Corbyn responded with a rambling answer that included campaigning on poverty and inequality, references to “people being tempted to vote Tory”, and attacks on the right wing press. I’m not so sure that constitutes a strategy.

Not to let slip his own opportunity to self-destruct, Smith refuses to stop repeating the claim that he is capable of uniting the party, despite being loathed by at least half the membership and having been part of the wave of resignations from the shadow cabinet that crippled the opposition at a time of national crisis.

These are relatively minor missteps in the lifetime of a potential opposition - but they’re indicative of the existential problem of a party so divided between membership base and parliamentary party: both are so focused on winning back the support of the other (or more accurately beating them into submission) that they forget to say anything to the wider electorate. Smith talks about the need to speak to everyone’s concerns and win voters of all parties, but his recent statements that government should be borrowing more to invest, build HS3 not just HS2, and negotiate with ISIS, would have been torn to shreds in the tabloids and conservative press if they’d been uttered close to a general election.

And most importantly of all, virtually nowhere in any of these debates or campaigns has ‘prosperity’ come into it. There’s nothing

on helping people with ambitions beyond their situation get on and improve in life. There’s very little coherent policy for economic development in terms people can understand in the context of their own lives beyond being ‘antiausterity’, and one suspects the public at large find little in either candidate to dispel the idea that

“The left should be capable of reclaiming the narrative on individual prosperity, not just talking down to people on low incomes.People have aspirations, and yes, possibly selfishness too.

Labour needs to relearn this, and find a way to combine it with a narrative of closing the gap in inequality and improving social conditions for all.” labour are tax- and spend-heavy and can’t be trusted with the economy.

These are all often-heard, oftenrepeated talking points from the right wing. But they need not be.

There’s nothing right-wing or ‘Red Tory’ about understanding that even people in poverty want more from their lives than simply ‘not being in poverty’. The left should be capable of reclaiming the narrative on individual prosperity, not just talking down to people on low incomes.People have aspirations, and yes, possibly selfishness too. Labour needs

to relearn this, and find a way to combine it with a narrative of closing the gap in inequality and improving social conditions for all if it is to find a strategy that even comes close to winning the number of seats required to form a government, and give the membership something to believe in at the same time. The leadership would need a clear media strategy, too, something sorely lacking at present - the discipline to stay onmessage and ceaselessly hold the government to account.

That leader might well be Jeremy Corbyn, given time - although one year into a four-and-a-half year project the polls look fairly disastrous, with little sign of improvement. His is a high-risk, potentially high-reward strategy - and while a mass-membership ‘social movement’ sweeping to power the most un-politician of Prime Ministers would no doubt be an historic achievement, it’s looking pretty unlikely so long as that movement seems to be built around no single key issue that can unite people of all political views.

It might well be Owen Smith, although if by some miracle he became leader it would be hard to recover from the obvious hatred and resentment felt by much of the membership towards him; and he seems just another in the long line of standard politicians trying to tow the line between Blair and Corbyn. As Nye Bevan said (and Ed Miliband discovered) “we know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.”

As things stand though, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that if a snap general election were called this year, the Labour Party would be flirting with catastrophe either way.

Both photos: Wikipedia

Student mental health crisis: there’s help out there, and things can change Sophie Clark Events and Publicity Coordinator University is one of the most stressful times of our lives. According to The Guardian, when surveyed 8 out of 10 students said they had experienced mental health issues in the last year. Worse still, more than half of those respondents (54%) said they didn’t seek help. Last year, I sought help, and the change it made for me was immeasurable.

Just under a year ago, I was itching to start university.

I became so irritating, my own parents later admitted that they weren’t actually too sad to see me go.

The whole prospect of university was exciting to me: I’m an outgoing person, who has always loved making friends and trying new things, and I was moving to one of my favourite places in the world to study a course I cared about deeply.

My biggest worries were giving myself food poisoning, liver failure, or a brutal combination of the two mental health didn’t even cross my mind.

So why was it that, halfway through first term, I found myself spending the majority of my spare time locked in my room, crying?

Why had I stopped eating? Why had horrible habits started creeping into my daily life?

I’m not saying I constantly felt awful - that was part of the problem: I could have an amazing time with my new friends, or a brilliant night out, or enjoy a lecture, and so I convinced myself that nothing was actually wrong. The other, more concerning issue that was stopping me from getting help was the fact that this new, warped version of ‘myself’ that had come out of the woodwork refused to allow me to get help and, crucially, didn’t even think I deserved it.

In my first meeting with my academic advisor, he drilled into my group that the place to go if we needed help was the Student Life Centre. So, one day at 2AM, in one of the rare moments where the rational and healthy side of me prevailed, I booked an appointment with an advisor at the Centre, and got myself down to Bramber House the next day. I saw a wonderful guy who I would love to thank, who simultaneously helped me realise that things in my life really weren’t OK and I shouldn’t be feeling like this, but also, remarkably, didn’t make me feel panicked about my situation. He even called the doctors for me, and helped me make an appointment. Long story short: his work was exactly the intervention I needed.

Soon after my session, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and bulimia, and shortly after I was put on medication. I’m not going

to lie and pretend that everything was suddenly better - anyone who has been put on anti-depressants knows that they can seriously affect you, mentally and physically.

Especially if you ignore the warning about drinking alcohol on them blacking out in Oceana Watford was a low point.

But, about 8 months later, things are definitely on the right track. Like anyone else, I have good days and bad days, but the biggest difference now is that I’m able to deal with the bad days and enjoy the good ones.

I ended up with grades I’m proud of and I’m now eagerly counting down the days until I move back to university for my second year, which I have to admit, I never thought would be the case.

If there’s one positive I can take from this experience it is that I’ve realised fully how wonderful the people in my life are - from big, overwhelmingly selfless acts of

kindness to just small everyday things, it has all made my recovery so much easier.

The past year has also shown me the brilliance of the staff at the Student Life Centre.

My experience means that my biggest piece of advice to all incoming students - and indeed, to every single student currently at Sussex - is that if you’re finding things are difficult, make use of the support facilities available, as hard as it may be to motivate yourself to do so. No problem is too small for them, but the difference they make to your life could be huge.

Useful contacts: your academic advisor and the Student Life Centre.

Student Life Centre: book an appointment online or via phone. http://www.sussex.ac.uk/studentlifecentre/

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The Badger 10.09.2016

ARTS

The Best of Brighton

Our Culture Editor, Rosie Seed, with help from Deputy Editor, Glenn Houlihan, put together a list of the eats and nights out to have in Btown during and after Freshers!

The Office

Foodilic

With over 40 different gins, The Office is an obvious favourite of the numerous bars nestled in Brighton’s North Laines. The bar also serves authentic Thai food by nearby restaurant Krua Anne. If you fancy developing a slightly more expensive habit, try the Monkey 47.

When walking up North Street, don’t be tempted by the all-youcan-eat restaurants such as Casa Della Pizza and Bon Appetit.

Instead, hold off until you reach Foodilic at the top and indulge in a healthy yet delicious £6.95 buffet complete with butternut squash salads, hearty stews, and spicy green beans.

Shuffle

theoffice The Lion and Lobster Harbouring three bars, two gardens, and a restaurant, the sheer size and eccentricity of the Lion and Lobster is a reason alone to visit. Come midweek and experience as fine a dining experience as a student can hope for for little more than £10 a head, or if you’re lucky enough to get a table on a Sunday, try the roast that has been nominated as one of Brighton’s best.

Si Signore Out of all the BYOB restaurants in Brighton, Si Signore is easily the most charming, and more importantly, the best for what you pay for.

On week days there is a lunch special priced at £4.95, and their evening menu provides a whole host of pizzas, pastas, and risottos for under £10. Stop off at Aldi beforehand for a cheap date night.

Patterns Having cemented its reputation as the go-to place for massive gigs, Patterns also boasts an incredible late night programme; Horse Meat Disco continue their 2016 residency, whilst Thursday’s Midnight Funk Association is fast becoming the choice night out for Brighton’s music conscious denizens.

Making London Road slightly less depressing since 2014 is Shuffle, a cocktail bar with over 100 recipes that even allows you to choose your own soundtrack via a smartphone jukebox. However, the best thing about Shuffle is that MondayWednesday, selected cocktails are 2-4-1 all evening. Don’t indulge the night before a 9am seminar.

The Haunt

THE ICONS Pryzm Perhaps you have a Pryzm in a dingy suburb of your hometown.

Perhaps more likely, is the fact that you’ve sworn you’ll never step foot in one. However, one Wednesday, you and your flatmates will consume enough alcohol to go

thehaunt Dead Wax Social Host of The Music Glue House (journalist jargon for chill out spot) at this year’s Great Escape, Dead Wax Social’s blend of delicious pizza – made in front of your eager eyes – and excellent liquor ensured the festival’s PR were suitably sedated..

No CDs, no Spotify streams: just vinyl and great conversation.

Green Door Store Home of Brighton’s hottest (in every sense) clubbing night, Donuts. Green Door Store also hosts an exceptional variety of gigs; swing by on Sunday night for (free!) blues, or check out their listings and catch that big band just before they break.

The Hope and Ruin patterns

flickr: Rob Ochard

Casablanca’s Travel back to the easyspeak era with Casa’s luscious live jazz, complimented by its notably affordable drinks cabinet. Thursday’s Casa Jams have become a thing of urban legend, so meet at The Globe and amble over around midnight for a hedonistic night to remember.

“as a joke”, and everyone will find out about your secret Taylor Swift obsession in the cheese room.

Somewhere around your 2nd night into freshers, it’s very likely that Fat Poppadaddys promoters will come knocking at your door. Famous for having almost every genre of music crammed onto the flyer, and a “5 (Jäger)Bombs for £5” deal that will potentially burn away a layer of your stomach lining, the resident Monday night at the Haunt always manages to have a queue down the street by 11pm.

With its location a mere minutes’ walk from the train station, The Hope and Ruin’s neon lights often attract inquisitive passing trade; and once they’re ensnared the convivial atmosphere can often mean that “one drink” runs into three or four.

Gigs upstairs, food downstairs: it’s a match made in musical heaven.

greendoorsstore Sticky Mike’s Discuss Brighton with a friend and Sticky Mike’s will enviably surface; after all, it’s a fitting microcosm of the city. The more punk orientated will appreciate their fine selection of gigs, whilst quizzes and DJ nights are the norm.

Concorde 2

TheHopeandRuin

Nestled on the beachfront – bring a jumper if you’re visiting in winter – Concorde 2 is a beacon of elation for those akin to indie-rock and electronica. Gigs before 11, big name DJs after; they make it look so easy.

TOP EVENT PICKS FOR AN AMAZING FRESHERS’ WEEK September 10-15th

September 11th

September 13th

September 14th

September 15th

Students Unio Ticket Sale

Welcome Party: Welcome to the Jumgle

Brightonian Nights

Pryzm: Beach Night

Geek Night

Sussex Uni’s traditional Bar Crawl night through the coolest pubs in town and–– dare we say it–– in England as a whole.

From 7:30 bus leaving from Falmer

The weekly night our sports team get geared up in... fancy dress! Head down to popular Pryzm this Wednesday and don’t forget your bathing suit.

After five days of going out, withtwo more to go ––don’t forget the fireworks on Friday–– spend your evening in Room 76 with a great selection of board games, delicious Horsham Coffee, and a plate of our infamous nachos. It’ll make your mum happy.

From 7pm @Room 76

Get your tickets for all the Official Fresher Events you want to attend here!

From 10am @ Falmer House Alternate DJ night Head on over to our notorious Easy Slope Bar for a popping Indie-Night hosted by one of very own DJ’s.

From 8pm @ East Slope

Official Freshers Welcome Party, where all the magic begins in the Big Tent on campus.

Big Narstie and Mistjam will be amongst the performers.

Worried about missing SKINT for Brightonian Nights? No problem!

SKINT goes on every Tuesday!

SKINT Launch Party East Slope Bar’s famous cheap pub night with great R&B, another Fresher classic.

Inaugural Fireworks on Friday, here on campus! For an emotional start to Uni.

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The Badger 10.09.16

ARTS

Theatre Brighton is one of the most culturally exciting cities there is, and the theatre on offer here plays a big part in that. We put together a list of our favourite theatres to check-out and societies to join during your Freshers!

The Theatre Royal is perhaps the most famous venue the city has to offer: a grade II listed building situated in the heart of town that opened in 1807, and since then has seen its stage graced by some of the best actors the country has produced – this summer a production of Pinter’s No Man’s Land featured living legends Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart –. The next few months will see productions of classic works of literature like A Room with a View and A Tale of Two Cities adapted for the stage, ideal for any book lovers out there.

Those into opera will not be left short either with performances of two of Verdi’s finest works, Nabucco and Aida. Nor is there a shortage of musicals on offer, with West End hits Blood Brothers and Sunny Afternoon, the story of The Kinks, stopping off at Brighton as they tour the country.

If the Great British Summertime manages to actually give us a few days of sunshine then there is no better place to head to than the Brighton Open Air Theatre.

Situated in Hove, you can enjoy plays in this beautiful outdoor theatre, and this September offers Treasure Island and Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy amongst others.

Big Band

Show Choir

Folk Music

Auditions are held at the start of every year for Jazz Singers, Saxophones, Trumpets, Trombones and Rhythm!

The University of Sussex Show Choir is a society giving students the opportunity to rehearse and perform a huge range of songs, from jazz to modern pop to old classics, showtunes and lots more!

Come along every Friday from 6-8pm to meeting room 2 in Falmer house! We celebrate, listen to and play folk music at our weekly meetings and at shows around campus, and we organise trips to see folk gigs and music around Brighton.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest and perhaps most famous arts festivals in the world. Taking over the beautiful Scottish capital every August it showcases some of the finest artistic minds across a huge range of disciplines, including theatre, comedy and dance. This year the festival boasts a performance from our very own Sussex University Drama Society (SUDs), and I was lucky enough to talk to writer and director Lucy Grey, soon to complete her Masters in Journalism here at Sussex, ahead of the show.

The Squire Sisters, set in 1949 in Pickford, is a romantic period coming of age drama with a feminist them running throughout. Lucy tells me ‘the play follows the lives of three sisters who are bored of their postwar experience in Pickford and want to start living. Through singing,

Kate Tempest, poet, playwright, author, musician and all-round genius will also be heading down south on December 9th for a gig at All Saints Church, an evening not to be missed.

Lastly, if you’re hoping to be on the stage rather than in the audience then get involved with Sussex University Drama Society (SUDs)

Sudskers (SUDs Oscars) 2016

flickr

Society Spotlight: Interested in Music performance?

Miles Fagge Theatre Editor

Make sure you keep an eye out for shows at Brighton Little Theatre, a not-for-profit that puts on plays year round. 88 London Road is also a leading venue that has an exciting line up in the coming months, including Sweeney Todd, Wait until Dark and Beauty and the Beast.

brightonlittletheatre If Spoken Word and Performance Poetry are your area of interest then make sure you join the Wordsmiths Society here at Sussex, and head down to Hammer and Tongue at Komedia on the first Thursday of each month for some Poetry Slam action.

SUDS SUDS or Sussex Musical Theatre Society (SMuTs) and become part of productions here at Sussex!

SMuTs, Sweeny Todd 2015

wordsmiths

SMUTS

SUSSEX STUDENTS SET FOR THE FRINGE laughter and romance the three sisters begin to forge their way into the turn of the decade. The play focuses on the blurring between the roles of a sister and a mother and of the coming of age of women in different scenarios.’

Lucy is no stranger to The Fringe; last year she co-directed SUDs production Toys at the festival with writer Jack Kelly, and all the actors from that show are also returning in The Squire Sisters. She has also attended many times as a journalist for The British Comedy Guide, and her passion for the festival is clear.

Lucy tells me ‘I adore Edinburgh and working on a piece to go up their just adds to the excitement of a show. It gives you an added pressure to make the performance as good as you can.

I also feel it heightens the stakes for the actors.’ This added pressure stems from the significance of the

festival – the actors ‘know press and industry people could easily walk through the door, so that makes them bring their A game every night.’ The atmosphere can be reassuring as well as pressured though, and Lucy says ‘it’s also great to be a part of the arts community up there.

There is a real sense of camaraderie among the performers at the festival and the chance to see other work is fantastic’.

Rehearsals for the play started in May, but due to other commitments there hasn’t been much time, so intense coffee-fuelled sessions have been required. The show going up there is an abridged one due the constraints of the festival, and Lucy tells me this was an extremely difficult but interesting process that has resulted in a very different version of the play. She is very happy with the result though; confident that this version lives up to the original and believes it has forced her to ‘find detail in more subtle ways’. She is gives credit to her ‘fantastic’ cast– George Pundek, Andrew Crouch, Dodie Finemore, Lizzie Parkinson, Anna Mould, David Amey and James Briefel– for making the process so successful. along with producer William Walker.

Unfortunately Lucy herself can’t attend to the festival due to com-

mitments with the National Youth Theatre, but she has done her bit and has every confidence in the cast and crew. She tells me she will miss not being there and is unequivocal about the ‘huge’ opportunity the festival offers – ‘the chance to be seen by press and industry professionals is what normally springs to mind, but I feel it’s more important that other theatre makers come see you.

The chance for other small theatre companies to see us and us see them is something quite unique to fringe festivals and can help create great connections.’

The Squire Sisters runs from August 22nd to 27th at venue ‘theSpace on the Mile’, and we at The Badger wish the cast and crew the best of luck with the show, we’re sure they will take the festival by storm!

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The Badger 10.09.2016

ARTS

Summer Reviews Harry Potter and The Cursed Child:The Stigma of Slytherin Book Review

Bianca Serafini, Arts Editor July 31st is a very well known date both amongst wizards and muggles, as it is Harry Potter’s birthday (and of his author J.K Rowling) and this year, by no coincidence, the eighth Potter installment was released on that very same day. Much like in the past people of all ages cued up patiently at bookstores, many even for the midnight release, and began reading the book cross-legged on the sidewalk. When I went to get my own copy, memories of past Harry Potter anticipation flared up: I remembered as I once sat on the hard floor taking in every word, burning with curiosity and excitement. The world went mad for Harry once again, this time filling us with nostalgia and sentimentality as we reminisce on all the adventures we shared with the unbeatable trio, the joy, the sadness and the magic.

Harry was a part of so many lives, and continues to do so for future generations, that the series has become a classic, a rite of passage, a tradition almost.

“Scorpius, an abundantly kind and loving person, who melts your heart at every line” So I went on to read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child in six straight hours, I even forgot to eat (or rather didn’t feel the need) and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. The two-part play scripted by Jack Thorne and thought up by J.K Rowling and John Tiffany is hard to explain, besides the fact that it reads different than any other Harry Potter book. I enjoyed the story, but I don’t know if I loved

Bloosoms: Summer’s Best Band Music Review

Lauren Wade, Music Editor Stockport five-piece, Blossoms are possibly the UK’s most exciting new act and they’ve released a bloomin’ good stomper of a debut album.

Their eponymous first release has dominated and completely claimed the album charts since its release and sees the band holding their own entirely.

“Blossoms have made a masterpiece of a first album that will prove to be difficult to follow up”

sic 1984 film a year ago, sparked a huge debate on social media fuelled by internet trolls. This was actually quite cleverly referenced in the film with the line “you’re not meant to listen to what crazy people write in the middle of the night online”.

argument that the film would sully the memory of the original franchise is flawed. It is an entirely new work which, apart from a few nods and in jokes to the past movies, does its own thing.

it because of my deep fondness of Harry Potter or because it was a good story and a large part of me thinks the former. Don’t get me wrong, the adventures of Scorpius Malfoy (Draco’s son) and Albus Potter (Harry’s son) are fantastic, so enticing that I wish the original trio had less to do with it. I’ve always had reservations on J.K. Rowling’s public opinions on Draco, she’s openly stated that — although in the end he didn’t have it in him to kill Dumbledore — he wasn’t hiding a “heart of gold” from us. I agree with that, he doesn’t have a “heart of gold,” but quite frankly neither do a lot of archetypically good characters the author draws up. Rowling has been so wonderful at giving all her wizards very human qualities, faults and imperfections.

Not to mention Draco and Lucius are different people, clearly shown in the way Scorpius was raised (in comparison to Draco), after all do any of you know what it’s like living with a Death Eater? We all know what life was like in the cupboard under the stairs, as Harry faced child abuse from his aunt, uncle and cousin, but don’t think that Draco’s life was flowers and peaches in Malfoy Manner. Which goes to show it doesn’t matter how much you own, or how much you earn, if you live an uncompassionate and cruel life you’ll be an unhappy and isolated person thus Draco must have been very lonely. Comparing him to Harry is unfair, children react to child abuse (in real life) in different ways and they should be equally helped, rich or poor, Harry just seemed to have found the right people at the right time, while Draco was left with Death Eater cronies. I may sound like Slytherin’s defense attorney — I’m a Hufflepuff according to Pottermore after all — but I’m glad the eighth installment unstigmatized the house which was tainted by the likes of Salazar Slytherin and, of course, Lord Voldermort, with characters such as Albus and most of all, Scorpius, an abundantly kind and

loving person, who melts your heart at every line. I mean, c’mon, he’s unrequitedly infatuated with Rose Weasley! How can you not love him?

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child shows a side of Slytherin House that otherwise only the most avid readers would be aware of.

Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters did exactly what it set out to do: entertain.

Since the film’s release at the beginning of summer, it has received a lot of negative criticism. I believe this is because everyone wanted the film to be unrealistically better than it ever could have been. Sony’s announcement that they were doing an all-female-lead reboot of the clas-

Except there was no reason to get their Y fronts in a twist as this film is not a sequel; its a reboot. So the

However, judging by the amount of tweens at the cinema when I went to see it, the film was just not meant for me. It was clearly made for a younger audience and with its fart jokes, good role models and the underlying theme of female empowerment, Ghostbusters is perfect for that audience. I also enjoyed Liam Hemsworth’s role as the dumb blonde secretary. It was a pleasant subversion of the usual trope, which is funny.

In short, this was an entertaining film, but nothing more. So don’t come into the cinema with amazingly high expectations, if you’re looking for a transcendental spiritual experience, this is not going to do it.

Opening on the iconic, riff-heavy masterpiece that is ‘Charlemagne’, the band consisting of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan and Myles Kellock appear to have left the aforementioned track that broke them alone and sometimes it’s better that way. There was never any need to vamp the tune up, yet it’s one that fans will happily listen to.

New material such as the effortlessly catchy ‘Texia’ and the 80s indebted ‘Honey Sweet’ are potential chart-toppers. Blossoms hit soaring heights on these tracks as they feature looped and layered guitar hooks that reel in listeners and will have them hitting repeat in seconds.

Old fan favourite ‘Blown Rose’ is a highlight of previous EPs and stands tall amongst the many songs on the album that deal with the ever so reliable topic of love.

Blossoms pay homage to the 1980s and electro pop on previous single ‘Getaway’ but it’s difficult to place them firmly in one category.

‘Smashed Pianos’ sees the Stockport outfit rack up a number of similarities to Britpop legends Suede and it’s easy, inoffensive listening that will quickly convert you into a fan if you’re not already.

Right from the opening strums of live favourite ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’ you can tell it’s going to be a feel-good track and the band deliver with an infectious sub-four minute number and exuberant, gleeful chorus. The album closes on ‘Deep Grass’ which delves into and treats listeners to a slice of full on psychoelectronic rock at its finest.

Blossoms have made a masterpiece of a first album that will prove to be difficult to follow up. ‘Blossoms’ consists of radio-friendly hits with electrifying synths and the kind of guitar hooks that grab hold and won’t let go in a hurry. Blossoms are a band who are very easy to fall in love with and we suggest you do these boys are going places.

littlebrown and company If you’re a Potterhead, I highly recommend you read this play; if at times it’s written a bit like fanfiction, the story is also gripping, exciting, apprehensive, and heartwarming just like any of the other Harry Potter books, plus it’ll put you in a good mood for days. As for the future of the franchise, I hope we hear more about Albus and Scorpio’s adventures, our new unlikely heroes.

Ghostbusters :Who you gonna call?

Film Review

“I enjoyed Liam Hemsworth’s role as the dumb blonde secretary. It was a pleasant subversion of the usual trope, which is funny” The film tells the story of four women who team up and use their knowledge of science and the paranormal to bust some ghosts, after an antisocial hotel janitor seeks to cleanse humanity by inundating New York city in an apocalyptic hell, through the use of supernatural forces.

I think because there was so much backlash before the film had even been released this dichotomy was born - if the film turned out to be bad then the reddit trolls would win and if it was good, feminism would be victorious. This may be a little hyperbolic, but you get the general gist. Understandably, many people wanted the film to “win” in this infantile argument started by whiny misogynists claiming to be fans of the original franchise.

Monica Cherrie, Film Editor

twitter:ghostbusters

“this was an entertaining film, but nothing more” I will start my criticism by saying that for once I would like to see a blockbuster movie with a black female lead that transcends the sassy black friend stereotype. Sadly, this is not that movie. I was also not a huge fan of the fact that Leslie Jones’ character was the only main character that wasn’t a scientist.

Hollywood, I am waiting. The jokes were hit and miss, the made up scientific jargon didn’t quite capture my imagination and I found it quite structurally flawed.

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NME

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The Badger 12.09.2016

ARTS

Film Monica Cherrie, Film Editor Welcome to the film section of The Badger! For those of you who consider yourselves to be cinephiles, I would like to give you the 411 on how to get your cinema fix now that you’ve moved into Brighton. There is so much for you to get from living in Brighton and attending Sussex.

If you don’t do Film Studies but still have an avid interest in film that you would like to pursue, I highly recommend attending some first year film lectures. You can find out when the times for those lectures are by posting on the Sussex Freshers page.

Hey, did I just come up with a great way for you to meet new friends?

You’re welcome.

If you don’t really care about the theory behind film then Brighton still has a lot to offer. As an example, the cinema is an awkward first date staple – sometimes you really do need that hour and a half of silence to break the ice. In recent years, cinema going has been in decline, because why pay when you can just stay in and stream on your laptop?

Or if you really don’t care, ignore the contemporary art of your time entirely by shunning new releases all together and binge watch all four seasons of Arrested Development on Netflix for the seventh time. But face it, when you do eventually go to the cinema, you are left feeling wowed.

So why not make an effort to go more often?

Brighton has four official cinemas, though I’ll talk a bit about screenings in other venues and other film related events a little later on. So here are our MVPs in order of my least favourite to most:

The main disadvantage Cineworld has is that it’s in The Marina, which is an eerie shopping centre with that soulless late capitalist air about it. If you dig that vibe by all means go, but it is also the furthest cinema from campus so I really just don’t think it’s worth the effort.

4. Cineworld

It is a wonderfully quirky cinema in Brighton’s North Laines. The décor is exactly what you would expect from this trendy part of Brighton, with red and white striped cancan legs, which can be seen on the building's roof. This cinema serves alcohol, so there’s no need to sneak in your own. Duke’s @ Komedia has two screens and shows a wide range of films and although it’s a little more expensive at £9.50 for a student ticket, those of you who will inevitably fall in love with the Duke of York franchise and get yourself a membership, tickets will only cost you £7.50.

So just because this is my least favourite doesn’t mean it has no value.

Cineworld does have its pros. Mainly, that it gets all the major blockbuster releases. It has eight screens so if for some reason you have an aching desire to see the Angry Birds movie and the other cinemas in town are wasting their screen space on something far less deserving, Cineworld has your back. It’s your reliable grimy cinema and with student tickets at £7.70 for 2D films and £9.30 for 3D films (excluding 3D glasses, which are £1), I guess it isn’t totally unreasonable. If you really want to scrimp that good old government money, go before 5pm to save £1 any day of the week.

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to it, and just like it’s little sister, it too sells booze making it the perfect location to hang with friends.

Featuring some of the best documentaries ever made, with a discussion afterwards. You can find these free regular documentary film screenings somewhere in the Fulton building on the University of Sussex campus

3. Odeon Much like Cineworld this lovably tacky cinema shows all the major box office hits. It’s your run-of-themill overpriced popcorn and questionable hot dog staple and it’s bang on the seafront but much closer to the centre of town. Student tickets are £6.25 off peak and £7.25 peak.

And f you also love cheesy clubs, Brighton’s biggest, most beautifully tragic club is part of the same building. So if you want an extra special evening, visit this cinema before having your quintessential freshers night out in Pryzm.

Cinecity the 14th Brighton Film Festival 2016, 11 - 27 November dukeofyork What to look out for The Ocean World Film Festival: This is coming to Brighton this September and seems like a fine way to celebrate living by nature’s most fascinating habitats. “Brought to you by the producers of the Banff Film Festival UK Tour, this year’s programme is filled with incredible cinematography, touching interviews and insightful narrations that will captivate and mesmerise audiences.”

The Brighton Film Party Society

odeaon

The University of Sussex Documentary Film Society

This collective puts on outrageous fancy dress parties themed around your favourite movies. This makes for a fun and aesthetically pleasing night out, for those who love going to the extremes when getting into costume.

After 14 very successful years, Brighton’s very own film festival kicks off just as you begin to settle in. If you’re want a little culture after all the intensity of Fresher’s week and as you begin to finally nestle into Sussex, this is for you!

WHAT’S NEXT? Our film page is a very exciting page, like the rest of Arts. Weekly we hope for submissions for film reviews, whether you loved it or couldn’t stannd it, fell asleep or in love, we await your opinion!

Email Monica at badger-film@ussu.sussex. ac.uk for informtion, ideas and submissions.

cinecity Brighton’s Big Screen Every summer, a screen gets put up on the beach and the good people of Brighton gather together to watch classics, cult films and popular modern films. You will not want to miss this!

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Don’t forget to vote on The Badger website for our Sussex Sour Apples poll.

Sweet to Sour!

2. The Duke’s @ Komedia

1. Duke of York Situated in the quieter London Road area we have the Duke of York. Dating back to 1910, this is the oldest cinema in Britain and that alone is reason to visit. The Duke of York is the Duke @ Komedia’s older sister.

The ticket pricing is the same and it even has the iconic can-can legs hanging off the roof. Aside from being a historical landmark, The Duke of York shows more obscure films alongside some of the big releases.

The entire place has a very warm feel

Fresher Film Playlist

The Arts Team Puts Togeather Fresher Movie Favourites To Jump-Start Your Uni Experience brightonfilmpartysoc

universal pictures

Animal House The notorious 1978 film, directed by John Landis, is about two first year students, Larry (Tom Hulce) and Kent (Stephen Furst) trying to fit in at Uni. After joining an infamously wild fraternity, the two get into all sorts of mischief. Although their adventures may seem a bit over-thetop, there is definitely some truth in the mishaps that can happen during first year.

columbia Pictures

The Social Network Directed by David Fincher, this 2010 feature follows Harvard undergrad genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) through his journey towards creating the web empire known by all as Facebook.

Zuckerberg himself has expressed his dissatisfaction with this film, saying it’s inaccurate and made for entertainment purposes only, rather than a factual documentation of the creation of Facebook. A must se.

disney

Monsters University Whatever degree you have decided to pursue, it’s not as cool as studying to become a Scarer. This 2013 Pixar animated film directed by Dan Scanlon follows our dear old friends Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) through their first year at Monsters University — way before they start working at Monsters Inc. and meet the human child, Boo. After all aren’t all Freshers some kind of monsters?

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The Badger 10.09.2016

ARTS

Music

Socities Spotlight: Music at Sussex Gigs this week: Whether you’re new to the University or a returning student there’s never been a better time to join a society than the start of a new year. Students at Sussex are fortunate enough to have many, varied societies in an easily accessible and welcoming environment. So if you’re looking to bond with like-minded people and expand your friendships out of your friends in halls, now is the perfect time to enhance your university experience.

Sussex students have always been known for being a creative bunch and there’s a whole host of music-related societies on offer for you to join at this year’s Freshers’ Fair. Check out a few of our favourites to get you started.

If you can play an instrument and you’re keen to join a group of musicians, Big Band is the society for you. The events band are comprised of musicians from both Brighton and Sussex universities and they play a number of events throughout the year, from balls to weddings and even private parties, the society have it covered.

Auditions are held at the start of each year for passionate jazz singers and students who can play the saxophone, trumpet,trombone and rhythm section. If this sounds like something you would be interested in pursuing further you can find Big Band online at www.facebook.com/ sussexunibigband.

If you’re a more laidback music fan and prefer listening instead of playing it, why not become a member of Classic Album Sundays? The society aims to help people ‘connect over something more powerful and greater than human existence itself’.

You’d be wrong in thinking this is just a music appreciation society though The committee hold regular listening parties on campus and in Brighton.,

Lauren Wade Music Editor The early bird gets the worm; and that’s the case when looking at the events on offer in Brighton and Hove this September. The city is known for its thriving live music scene and there’s a gig in one of Brighton’s manypopular (and often intimate) venues almost every night, if that’s your thing. If you’re new to the city and don’t know where to start, then we’re on hand to guide you towards the gigs that you should definitely be going to over the coming month.

Boundary Brighton Festival hits Stanmer Park, just a few short metres away from campus, as part of this year’s Freshers’ week celebrations. Top artists including

which are not genre-specific, including listening to old and new releases and welcoming recommendations from members. Classic Album Sundays believe in connecting people who are passionate about music whilst enabling them to discover good music, new album releases, gigs and events, happening in and around Brighton. Visit them online at www.

Facebook.com/sussexclassicalbumsundays.

“Classic Album Sundays believe in connecting people who are passionate about music” Folk Music Soc are another society you should check out. The group is for those who enjoy folk music, including musicians to listen and engage in the particular genre. With regular weekly meetings to celebrate, listen to and play folk music on campus, the society is ideal for students who want to socialise and find friends with similar interests. They also organise trips to see folk gigs and related music in the city centre. For more information, go to www.Facebook.com/sussexfolkmusicsociety.

Looking for a society with a bit of energy and excitement? Look no further than Sussex’s award-winning Show Choir. The society gives students the opportunity to rehearse and perform a huge range of songs, from jazz to modern pop to old classics, show tunes and so much more.

This one is aimed at people who love to sing and perform, like the hit American TV show Glee but twice as good.

If you’ve ever seen the Show Choir perform live before you’ll understand how magical and moving their presence and collective vocal abilities are.

Now in their seventh year as a society, they have performed at shows on campus including their highly successful end of year talent show, the annual Student Awards and ACAS Culturefest.

Over the past few years, the society has come on leaps and bounds and success has reached them in good measure. 2014 saw them win first place at the National Master’s of Show Choir competition and they won the Most Improved Society award at USSU’s Student Awards of the same year. Head to www. facebook.com/ussushowchoir for more information.

The final society w’ere shining the spotlight on is Sussex’s very own Experimental Music Soc. The society brings together music fans and musicians from all genres, especially those that are not covered by other societies and they have set out to increase appreciation of music. Regular meetups and discussions of the latest music releases and older tunes are just a few of the activities on offer at this society.

“The society brings together music fans and musicians from all genres” They also provide opportunities to form bands and projects with compatiable musicians and students alike and if you’re looking for a friend to attend a gig with, they’ve got that covered too. Look out for free workshops that the society create to develop skills in specific genres with the assistance of electronic music production. Check them out online at www.facebook.com/SuExpMusSoc.

Classicalbumsoc

Gigs this week Sep 14 Sunflower Bean The Haunt £11.00 Sep 15 Pinegrove The Green Door Store £8.25 Sep 16 Dizzee Rascal Hastings Pier £35.00 Sep 17 Boundary Brighton Stanmer Park £48.15 Sep 17 INHEAVEN Patterns £7.00

BigBandsoc

September Event Guide international DJs and live acts will descend upon the country park on Saturday 17th September. Expect an array of house, dub, techno, drum and bass, breaks, electronica and even a touch of jazz showcased across multiple stages.

Craig David’s TS5 will headline the festival, with other performances coming from Groove Armada, Seth Troxler, Wilkinson, Jackmaster and Jungle to name a few.

Not a fan of house music or drum and bass? LA rock and roll duo, Deap Vally will headline Concorde 2 on 21st September in support of their new album ‘Femejism’. It’s been a while since the group have played on this side of the Atlantic and we can’t

wait to hear them peform new material live.

Alternatively, head to The Green Door Store, situated under Brighton train station’s arches, for a free show featuring local lads Habitats and Lion

The Green Door Store

Bark on 27th September. They’re the kind of band that thrive in small, dark venues and if you’re looking to save money then this free entry gig is the one for you.

Reading four-piece, Sundara Karma are on a serious rise at the moment and they’ve also got a headline performance booked in at Brighton’s iconic venue, The Haunt. Why not treat yourself and head down to their show after a hard day of lectures and seminars?

As you can see, there’s plenty of live music events happening in and around Brighton and Hove over the coming month. The city has the benefit of a large number of music venues, all of which regularly put on

shows from some of the UK’s most promising new artists and bands.

So if you’re on the lookout for your new favourite band, Brighton has the venue you’ll find them in.

Get Involved Want to review a gig or album for us?

Send an email to: badger-music@ussu. sussex.ac.uk

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LIFESTYLE The Big Badger Bucket List

The Badger 10.09.16

Call us biased, but Brighton is one of the best towns in the country, if not the world – music, food, fashion, theatre, nightlife, there’s nothing at which our beloved town doesn’t excel! No matter how long your degree is, your time as a student in Brighton will fly by, so we’ve comprised a ‘bucket list’ of activities to help you make the most of it.

Sophie Clark Publicity and Events Coordinator Visit the Pavilion Of course, you’ve seen it many times: whether it’s on the Brighton snapchat filter, on the council logo on the side of a wheelie bin, or while waiting for the N25 to take you back to campus after a heavy Pryzm sesh.

The glorious building is even more spectacular on the inside, making it an impressive attraction to see with visiting friends or family.

Tackle the Arts A stairs You may look at this suggestion and think, “I passed my A-levels with flying colours! I’m at university now! I’m doing a degree, for heaven’s sake! Of course I can tackle a flight of measly stairs!” However, such hubris has got the better of many a Sussex fresher, who have found themselves struggling to ascend the famed steps in anything resembling a proficient manner. An A* in Politics means nothing to these devious steps.

Watch the sunrise on Brighton beach I sat with one of my best friends on the beach and watched the sunrise at around 4 in the morning of my last day of my first year. Aside from being a great Instagram post, it was a lovely thing to do, especially as a way to round of the year. This is perhaps one to save for the warmer months though, because even in June, I found myself frozen to the bone (or maybe be more prepared than me and at least wear a jacket…)

Get a meal at Buddies at a ridiculous hour Where else can you have a pizza, ribs, fries and onion rings AND table service AND nice cutlery at 3AM?! Decent seafront nosh by day, Michelin-worthy cuisine at night.

Post-club snacking has never been so classy.

Become more politically engaged Sussex is known for being a hub of political activity, so make the most of it! Whether it’s joining a political society, campaigning for an issue you feel strongly about, or even just debating political issues with your mates over a pint, there’s always something you can do to be more politically active while you’re here.

Culinary delights As well as music, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to food in Brighton. Whether you want unlimited pizza and pasta for under a tenner at Casa de la Pizza, or you want to splash out on sophisticated vegetarian food at Food for Friends, there’s always something available in town to tickle your taste buds. You can even find good nosh without venturing off campus treat yourself to one of the delicious cakes at Room 76, or have a bite of Mexico from the burrito van near Bramber House.

Have a homely meal The perfect cure for homesickness is cooking a meal: whether it’s your family’s favourite dish or a roast dinner, some good food is

bound to cheer you up. Even better, get together with your flatmates or new friends and cook something together. And if you want the comfort food without the effort, head down to East Slope for a reasonably priced Sunday roast.

Try something new It’s a pretty cliché suggestion, but there is no better time to try your hand at something different, and Sussex is a brilliant place to do it.

With access to such a wide variety of things to do in Brighton, you’ll be spoilt for choice. On top of that, Sussex has a range of clubs and societies - from stand-up comedy to ultimate frisbee, your only problem will be finding the time to try it all.

Go to a screening at East Slope Bar Our beloved campus bar shows screenings of various things, ranging from football to the Great British Bake Off final. Get down there early

to nab a seat, then enjoy the show with some food, some drinks, and some mates.

Explore the campus From the South Downs behind Northfield to the forest behind East Slope, there’s plenty to see around the Sussex campus. If you’ve got a bit of spare time on a nice day, have a wander and see what you discover about the campus…

Gigs Brighton has a plethora of musical activity, from indie and jazz, to classical and metal - whatever your taste, there will be a gig in town for you. Tickets are often very reasonably priced, so why not take a gamble on a new band, and try something different. The Haunt, The Hope and Ruin, and Concorde 2 are good places to see if there’s anything that takes your fancy.

Cheer on the local team

Going to a Brighton and Hove Albion game will no doubt be the only time at Sussex that you’ll find yourself on the side of seagulls…

Students can get their hands on tickets for as little as £12, up to four times during the season, so make the most of the brilliant offer and see the Seagulls in action. Even if you’re not at the game, you’ll certainly be able to hear the crowd from campus, with the noise even reaching as far as Northfield!

Stroll around Stanmer Park Situated just outside of the campus, Stanmer Park is a beautiful area of countryside and woodland, and is the perfect location for a wander, a picnic, or a tranquil escape. The scenery is especially charming in the Autumn, with golden leaves galore. Hunt down the large oak tree with ropes swings, as it’s perfect for feigning childhood again when the pressures of university are weighing on your shoulders.

The South Downs. This image and seagull image via Wikipedia

Pressure, first impressions and self-consciousness: it’s OK to give binge drinking a miss Holly June I’m tired of that age-old stereotype of students: the worst cooks in the world, constantly in debt… and drunkenly sloshing cheap-as-chips vodka all over the rented kitchen floor when we’re supposed to be chilling with our new university bestie, the 1600-page textbook which costs the same as the average second-hand car.

I must confess that I did have my first alcoholic drink in Falmer Bar during my own freshers week, two years ago now. And to be honest, since then I’ve been back for more, although during more recent trips I have in fact spent time wondering why I can’t just get a soft drink instead. It would, therefore, be somewhat hypocritical of me to encourage you to pour every drop of your house’s supply of beer and whatnot down the sink!

The truth is there’s much more to university than studying, exams and getting worried about losing your voice during your seminars (or is that just me?). As much as I am honoured to be learning things which might one day help transform the world, we all need to look up from that 1600-page textbook from time to time and let our hair down. This is especially true during first year.

The expectation that we must take all the endurance drinking games in our stride and keep it going ‘til we throw up and forget our own names kinda bugs me. It often feels like we must have a decidedly reasonable, concrete, immediately obvious excuse not to participate lest we be perceived as the serious, sensible type who wishes to hold on tightly to their dignity and doesn’t know how to have fun, bless their sober little heart.

Peer pressure may sound more

like a high school issue – after all, most of us are paying rent and buying our own groceries, so surely now we are able to make up our own minds! It is almost definitely less straight-forward than at high school, but at university we also care about first impressions, are in this environment a lot of first encounters with flatmates will be over drinks. People will decide what they think of you based on a meeting where you are offered your new housemate’s special concoction of tequila mixed with cider, at a 1:1 ratio – and whether or not you accept.

For me, the worst factor in this strange type of peer pressure was actually internal: it came from my attempts at mind reading. Before uni, my social life was practically non-existent so buying my first ‘proper’ drink seemed all kinds of exciting – but then it began to feel like wherever I went, I had to keep

drinking alcohol for fear of being labelled ‘boring’ if I did not. No-one explicitly told me I would be boring if I didn’t drink, but the idea was clear to me.

I found myself trying to invent excuses not to drink, wishing I felt capable to saying that I’m not a massive fan of the flavour of almost all alcohol. Why couldn’t I be honest? I wished I felt capable of saying that I’ve seen what alcohol can do, and that besides, tonight I wanted to actually remember what happened.

They say that lemonade won’t give you the excuse to spin around in the kitchen singing songs that you haven’t heard in at least six years - but I hope that one day it becomes accepted that the event itself should be the reason to have fun and be silly, instead of your choice of drink.

If you’re arriving at uni with all

intentions of partying every night, go ahead, no-one’s going to stop you (except maybe your tutor and the people on the floor below). But to those of you who have attempted to count the units in a round of centurion and are a bit freaked out by the thought of playing it… if getting legless just isn’t your idea of fun, please, please don’t drink to get drunk just because you feel like you’ll be judged if not. Find the environment and the company in which you can either drink or not, having fun either way, but not feel pressured into playing the part of someone you aren’t.

After two years at uni, nearly all the best memories I’ve had so far were when there wasn’t any alcohol around.

I don’t mind having a little drink every once in a while, as long as I like the taste, don’t have an empty stomach and know that I haven’t got a 9am lecture the next day. But for now, make mine a soda and blackcurrant.

LETTERS

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The Badger 10.09.16

Letters from graduates

Looking after yourself at uni Emma Clarke However much you prepare and plan for university, something will inevitably fall through the cracks.

One thing you should never sacrifice is looking after yourself, and there are some simple steps you can take to make sure you’re in the best shape for an extraordinary freshers.

1. Food Food is great, and subsequently looking in your kitchen cupboard and only finding an empty packet of 15p Aldi noodles is not.

Make sure that your cupboard and fridge is never so empty you have to pinch some pasta from your flatmates 3kg bag of penne from Asda.

Be the person people ask to “borrow” food from, because you won’t get through much of university unless you learn to eat enough for you to get through.

2. Register at the doctors As a fresher, you will very soon become familiar with East Slope Bar. Opposite East Slope is a doctor’s surgery. To see a doctor, you need to be registered. You are going to inevitably get ill from freshers flu/ an STD / twisting your ankle coming out a kebab shop at 6am.

Fill in your details whilst you aren’t lying in bed with a hangover that you believe may kill you, so when the aforementioned occurs you can roll straight up to one of the daily drop ins without the stress of having to wait another 24 hours to see a doctor because you forgot to register.

3. Sex You may very well want to have sex at some point. It’s fine if you do, and it’s fine if you don’t. But if you do pull an attractive stranger at Coalition, you should have some form of STD protection handy. And this goes for people of all gender identities: you’re all equally responsible. Condoms and dental dams are available for free all across campus. Do your genitals a favour and protect them.

If you forget protection, the pharmacy does free anonymous morning after pills and the doctors has two friendly looking buckets of chlamydia self-testing kits at the entrance.

4. Mental health We all have a physical health and we all have a mental health. Both need to be looked after, and sometimes you will get ill with one or both regardless of how well you look after yourself.

There’s a free counselling service on campus and the doctors are notoriously good at helping people get

the help they need. So if something doesn’t seem right for you, there’s loads of people on campus who can help out without judgement.

5. Exercise Make a friend who lives at the top of Brighthelm. You can use their washing machine for free, and their hill as a gym.

If that fails, walk around the hills behind Northfield, join the two campus gyms, go swimming at Prince George pool for £1 with activeUS, or in the sea for free, or join a sports society. Just keep moving now Stamner Court seems like a long walk, or the fresher fifteen weight gain may just become your reality.

Letters is the place for any and all quick musings, ideas and comments.

React to a Badger article you feel strongly about by sending us a letter. Tell us when we get it just right, when you don’t really like something or when you simply have an idea to add!

Fresher survival tips from graduates Compiled by Fraser Coppin, Letters Editor 15p Asda noodles are your best friend Buy a huge bag of pasta for about £4, this should last you for a whole term Subsequently eat this out of the saucepan so you don’t have to wash up a bowl A “stir-fry” made by chucking everything left in the fridge into a frying pan is also a solid meal option Try to get to know a few people on the same course as you so you can work together on tricky assignments Get a bank account with an overdraft 100% go the fresher’s fair and sign up for anything that interests you Get involved with lots of things early on if you can, it’s a great way to make new friends Try something new. Ever fancied playing American Football? Well we have a society for that!

Don’t be afraid to get political if that’s your thing, we’re all very aware here at Sussex! Every political party (well the important ones) have a society + there are many other activist groups and campaigns to get involved with If the standard pub crawl social doesn’t interest you, that’s absolutely fine. There are plenty of societies at Sussex that don’t do that, find one that’s right for you 1st year doesn’t count, so now is the best to time try new things, make mistakes and have fun while you can!

Consider writing for The Badger about your experiences, especially if a career in journalism is something that interests you

Get an NUS Extra card for 10% off at the co-op plus so many other offers.

In first year this should more than pay for itself if you shop there often If you’re having sex remember: CONSENT CONSENT CONSENT Back up your files in case you have a laptop malfunction Make notes in every lecture and seminar so that the information is stored in your brain, just saving the PowerPoint slides off study direct is not enough But that said 1st year doesn’t count, so don’t stress yourself out over work too much. Save that for the 3rd year…

Make use of office hours. Chatting to lecturers gives you a better idea of what they expect if you’re stuck, plus they get lonely in there all day Leave your door open in the first week, makes it easier to meet everyone in your hall Try to resist the temptation to go home for the first few weeks, it’ll make it easier to adapt in the long run Go to the poster sale when it’s on Don’t spend your entire loan in the first week. Seriously.

Ask for help if you need it, I really should have done this more!

Get your shopping delivered from Asda or Sainsburys, only use the coop for small bits and bobs otherwise it gets really expensive Try new activities and make lots of friends early on Most of all: just enjoy your 1st year!

Send Letters Editor Fraser an email at

badger-letters@ sussexstudent.com All photos of Sussex’s beautiful campus: Dan Green

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The Badger 10.09.2016

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SCIENCE

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The Badger 10.09.16

Medicine in the US, TB and epigenetics: research going on at the university

We hear a lot about Sussex faculty research in the news - over the summer the story broke that Sussex scientists had developed a protein which gives new hope for understanding Alzheimer’s - but what research are MA and PhD students working on? Science and Technology Editors Duncan Michie and Kate Dearling find out...

NASA technology to improve treatment of TB Daire Cantillon is developing an in vitro model of TB biofilms - by adapting NASA technology. Literally using rocket science to treat infectious diseases: now that’s thinking outside the box!

His research aims to find new ways of treating TB which would be more effective than the current method, which relies on long antibiotic courses lasting up to 6 months. Such long courses can have negative effects on the patient, both physically and emotionally.

Daire also says his model can be used by other scientists to further their own research on TB. In fact,

Daire Cantillon

in November he will be using his technology to do some collaborative work at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil. The hope is that the team will be able to screen new antibiotics extracted from tropical plants in Brazil to treat TB. Daire is in the third year of his PhD at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Before that, he was at UCC in Ireland and the University of Surrey, and then spent four years in industry researching fermentations for the production of ethanol for a renewable energy company.

This is perhaps the most sociallyconscious and Sussex-y way possible to study pharmaceuticals: Christopher Long’s PhD researches how the US government incentivises private companies to create medicines which do not already have a market incentive.

Christopher explains that medicines which already exist but which don’t have this market incentive include antibiotics, medicines to counteract bio-terrorism chemicals,

sometime lead to incorrect brain function.

However, the more common impact of AMPA receipt mutations, known as polymorphisms, is unknown.

Maya’s findings will contribute to a library of findings in the AMPA receptor.

Maya’s aim for this research is to better understand the impact of mutations and polymorphisms in AMPA receptors, which could lead to massive breakthroughs in terms of treating and possibly curing brain diseases, including schizophrenia.

and cures for diseases which affect great numbers of people but don’t attract enough money, such as TB. He hopes that governments will be able to use his research to learn how best to incentivise these types of medicine in the future.

Currently, this is how the US attempts to incentives these sorts of medicine: the government offers a contract for which two or three companies then compete, providing a proposal of how they would carry

out the contract. The winner receives help from the state, whether that be technological or financial or both.

According to Christopher, the current problem is simple: big pharmaceutical companies aren’t interested in these particular contracts because the amount of money they stand to make is rather low compared to other medicines.

Christopher’s research is being funded by the European Research Council.

Neuroscience and epigenetics Gabriela Chavez is a Neuroscience MA sudent interested primarily in epigenetics, the idea that genes aren’t fixed and different factors change their levels of expression.

Gabriela is currently monitoring levels of nitric oxide synthase (an enzyme that forms nitric oxide) and nos3as (an unusual RNA which doesn’t code for a protein) in the brains of mice throughout their embryonic development.

She is undertaking this project together with Dr. Sergi Kornkeev and they have come across some

interesting findings. They discovered that levels of mos3as (which regulates levels of nitric acid) remain low in the mouse brain for the first 15 and a half days of development but then increase dramatically after birth.

Gabriela explains that this suggests an event may be occurring in neurodevelopment at that exact point in embryonic development which requires nitric oxide to be regulated carefully.

She and Sergi propose the development of neural tissue or synapses.

Why is this important? Well, nitric acid in the brain can be toxic and there

are a number of disorders where abnormal regulation of nitric oxide causes symptoms. In future, these disorders could be treated by ‘hijacking’ the body’s natural method of regulating nitric oxide.

Additionally, nitric oxide levels behaving abnormally during neural development may be the underlying cause of disorders such as autism and schizophrenia so this research could provide future insight into how those disorders occur.

How the deaf community in Brighton and Hove interacts with the city, and how policy should change

Christopher Long

Understanding brain diseases Maya Bajracharya is investigating random point mutations on the AMPA receptor (which allows signals to be relayed between nerve cells in the brain) and their effect on the ion transfer.

Maya is doing this as a third year Biology undergraduate thanks to the Sussex Undergraduate Research Associate scheme which aims to encourage first generation scholars to have a taste of what postgraduate research careers are like, paving the way for our next generation of scientists.

Since AMPA receptors facilitate the transmission of signals between nerve cells in the brain, mutations in these receptors can

How the US incentivises medicine

Maya Bajracharya

Gabriella Chavez

John Walker

John Walker is researching how the deaf community - to which he belongs - exists within a city.

Although he is a PhD student within the Geography department, he is also working as a Teaching Fellow at the Sussex Centre for Language Studies and is the convener of an elective course in British Sign Language and Deaf Culture.

John is working with members of the deaf community in Brighton and Hove to gather data on ‘places, routes, interactions, sites of myth, attractions/repulsions, zones of economic status and locations of social and cultural capitals.’

He will then use this data to produce soft-GIS maps (maps which combine ‘soft’ subjective data with ‘hard’ geographic data). These will show ways in

which this minority community identifies with the city and how it harbours its social and cultural assets.

John explains that the deaf community’s language, spaces and habits are continually under threat from institutions, educational practices and the wider community. For example, most public services are mainstreamed so they require deaf people to use interpreters to access them, whilst ignoring the assets of the deaf community and other minority communities.

John hopes that his research could be applied to public sector policy so that public services engage with the deaf community more effectively and enhance the provisions in place for people with hearing impairments.

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