Term 1, Issue 6

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BIG DEBATE

A student recalls her travels in India

Should the Union support minimum alcohol unit pricing?

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3 NOVEMBER 2014, WEEK 6

NEWS SCIENCE

TECH

Arts

The eternal debate on SICK! Festival review life after death

Harsher sentences for online harassment

The Badger reviews The Sussex Photo Biennial (two page special) Pages 14-15

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University breaks timetable policy Page X

University of Sussex goes against own policy by scheduling classes after 1pm on Wednesday

Schools will be e-mailed to rearrange seminars and lectures by Pro-vice chancellor Clare Mackie

Student told to change module after he confronted his school about the issue Jessica Pitocchi Students at the University of Sussex have academic teaching scheduled on Wednesday afternoons, despite the University’s own policy against this.

Education officer Bethan Hunt described the issue as “hypocritical” and said: “I think it is unacceptable that students are being placed in a position of having to choose to play sport, partake in societies, volunteer or attend classes.”

On the University website, it states that the University “can make some firm commitments” to avoiding teaching on Wednesdays in order to allow members of sports teams to be able to train and travel to fixtures.

It states: “Teaching for all undergraduate students will not be scheduled after 1pm on Wednesday with the following exceptions (Films - an alternative evening showing will be available.)”

But students from a range of degree of subjects including Physics, Computer Science and Maths have come forward complaining they have lessons scheduled on this day.

Fourth-year Physics student Christopher Barber said: “We have a lecture and workshop starting at 1pm and finishing at 4pm. There are a few of us who need to take this module for our final year project and we play sport to team level. When the school was confronted with this issue we were just told to change module.

“Inevitably we are either going to have to miss an entire weeks worth of lectures for that module or let our teams down.”

Hunt said this response is unacceptable and that: “Students should not have to select modules based on timetabling availability.”

Sophie Jones Third-year Maths student Hayley Wragg said: “Last year I had a Wednesday afternoon lecture that was worth 10 per cent. I am on a sports team which meant I had to miss the lectures and complete the work without the information given in them.

“When I contacted the department office, they just said I’d have to use the online resources but this only included a few notes to a few of the

lectures.”

Hayley was also advised to attend an alternative lecture, also scheduled on a Wednesday afternoon. She recalled that when she mentioned to her academic supervisor: ‘I thought the University wasn’t allowed Wednesday afternoon lectures’, the response she received from him was: ‘Well, there is one.’

Sofia Fernandez, a third year English Literature student, said: “My

seminar tutor rearranged by seminar time from Monday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon.

“It was just a one-off, but it meant that I would have back to back two hour seminars, and four hours of teaching in a row is a bit too much to take on board.

“On this occasion, it didn’t affect me greatly, but I really don’t think tutors should be able to schedule seminars when they are really not

supposed to”.

A University of Sussex spokesperson insisted that they take timetabling issues “very seriously”, stating that: “In a very small number of cases, there simply isn’t a time in the core week where courses can be placed to enable all students to attend.

“Sometimes, there is unfortunately no other place within the timetable that a particular course would fit.

“We take these timetabling issues very seriously and this term there have been ongoing discussions about a very small number of courses between the relevant school, the central timetabling team, the academic office and the pro-vice chancellor of teaching and learning.”

In addition, Clare Mackie, Pro-vice chancellor of teaching and learning stated: ““English and SLLC are voluntary classes and extracurricular offering which does not clash with Wednesday pm. Social Work have advised that all of their students need to be available Wednesday afternoon for professional practice placements, although I note a few classes scheduled for Wednesday pm that have external contributors. Final year chemistry students have voluntary access to the labs but are not required to attend.”

Hunt, who is driving the initiative with support from communications officer Michael Segalov, met with Professor Mackie on Friday 24 October.

Hunt said: “[Mackie] wants academic registrar Sharon Jones to print off a list of all undergraduate classes which are scheduled after 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon.”

Hunt also said that Mackie will be emailing all the schools who have ignored the policy asking them to rearrange these classes.

the badger

3 NOVEMBER 2014

IN PICTURES Your pictures of Brighton beach:

in pictures • 2

Editor-in-Chief Deborah Batchelor badger@sussexstudent.com News Editor Jack Williams Tech/Science/Features Editor Jordan Ellis Comment Editor Victoria Farley Arts Editor Tom Powell Head of Publicity Lili Pammer-Zagroczky News Sub Editors Daniel Green, Zoe Halse, Alex Ferguson, Rosie Dodds badger-news@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Amber Roberts Cosmo Sanderson

Tech Sub Editor Connor Cochrane badger-tech@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Features Sub Editor Ryan Bourne badger-features@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Science Sub Editor Cosmo Sanderson Jade Groves badger-science@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Comment Sub Editors Miriam Steiner, Alice Nettleship badger-opinion@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Cosmo Sanderson

Cosmo Sanderson

Letters Sub Editor Louis Patel badger-letters@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Arts Sub Editors Victoria O’Donnell, Ioana Matei, Raymond Jennings, Lily Cooper, Jessica-Lily Harvey-Cox badger-arts@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Sports Sub Editor Vladislav Hristov Grozev badger-sports@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Photo Editors Aditi Sreevathsa, Sophie Jones thebadgerphotography@gmail.com

Cosmo Sanderson

Bonnie Kwok

Publicity Coordinator Lenart Celar badger-publicity@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Online Editors Steve Barker, Pete Humphreys badger-online@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Media Development Officer Paul Millar mediadevelopment@sussexstudent. com Communications Officer Michael Segalov

Bonnie Kwok

Amber Roberts

communications@sussexstudent.

Sophie Jones

the badger

3 NOVEMBER 2014

NEWS • 3

Union Co-op payslips suggested to be unlawful Jack Williams News Editor A reputable law advisory firm has declared that the Students’ Union’s practise of rolling-up holiday pay on its Coop employees’ pay-slips is “unlawful”.

Following a request by this newspaper, a specialist employment practitioner from Employment Law Advocates, analysed a pay-slip provided to The Badger by the student worker at the Co-op.

Commenting on the pay-slip, James Medhurst, a senior advocate at the organisation, said: “Employers should pay holiday pay to their employees

when they take their holidays. The practice of “rolling up” holiday pay, where holiday pay is added to the normal hourly wage, is unlawful.

“One reason for this is that it might be tempting for an employee to work extra hours and earn more money, rather than taking a holiday, which defeats the purpose of having holiday pay in the first place.

“Even if holiday pay is “rolled up”, this should be made clear on the payslip. The payslip should specify how much of the hourly rate is basic pay and how much is holiday pay.

“If this is not done, then the hourly rate will be treated as being basic pay

only and the employee will be entitled to receive holiday pay on top.”

The Employment Law Advocates website also states: “An employer cannot “roll up” holiday pay, that is, say that the pay they are paying their worker includes holiday – unless they meet with certain strict “guidelines”: (1) it is clearly set out in the contract that holiday pay is being rolled up and what percentage represents holiday pay, (2) the payslips clearly show how much pay is for holiday pay, and (3) the employer does all that is practicable to ensure the worker takes that time off.

Last week, The Badger reported that a student working in the Co-operative

was petitioning the Students’ Union to pay its staff the national living wage a received suggestions from another Coop employee that the practise of rolling up pay was against employment law.

Michael Segalov, Communications Officer, said: “The Students’ Union is currently investigating the situation and will respond to staff as soon as possible. We pride ourselves on being an ethical employer and are currently reviewing the mechanism through which staff are paid. I am proud to be part of a team who are passionate about introducing the living wage to all staff and this is part of the review.”

Update on the new Union building Dan Greenberg Operations Officer Last year students voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Students’ Union lobbying the University for a new building with enhanced facilities, to replace Falmer House. Whilst many may be disappointed to hear that our Union is now planning on being relocated to new premises in a few years time, for the majority there is an audible sigh of relief.

Falmer House is the centrepiece for Basil Spence’s campus – a grade I listed building acting as a brave welcome to any and all visitors to Sussex. But whilst it may look the part from the outside, inside tells a different story.

The Students’ Union has for years struggled with the inaccessibility, inflexibility, and lack of space which the building provides, as have our student groups, clubs and societies. It’s listed status makes doing anything more difficult than getting on the first 25 you see on Lewes Road at 8am (AMIRITE?).

We’ve put and up and knocked down more temporary walls than Kirsty Allsop, and crammed staff in to smaller and smaller office spaces (both with and without natural light). We even have to turn away societies wanting to book rooms as we simply don’t have any left - who knew 5 meeting rooms for over 150 societies wasn’t enough?

As the University has outgrown its buildings, we have outgrown ours.

And we need a new one.

After the referendum results revealed 75% of students were in fa-

up the conversation with University management about incorporating a new Union building in to their masterplan for campus. Bizarrely, they agreed, and so started the process of putting together the spec for our new home.

Many months down the line and we’ve got a brief that’s now been sent out to 3 architects, which includes loads of feedback from students and staff.

Feedback we got back from students ranged wildly. Great ideas like a roof garden, allotments, and open plan study/social spaces all made their way in to the brief in some form.

Others did not. A Ministry of Magic-

esque indoor water fountain, a 12ft gold statue of Richard Mashiter, and the entire building to be modelled on the Kremlin were my personal favourite ideas which didn’t make the cut.

On a more serious note, however, the new building raises some interesting questions about our commercial outlets. With the demolition of East Slope well and truly cemented in to the redevelopment schedule (pardon the pun), we have confirmed with the university that the new building will contain a bar space the size of East Slope Bar and Falmer Bar combined, with a cheeky extra 10% capacity on top.

We also have some guaranteed retail space for both a shop and Sussex Stu-

dent Lettings. Our commercial outlets are super important in order to give students value for money on campus, spaces they can feel safe and comfortable in, and gives all students the opportunity to shape the bars/shops they visit.

On top of this, we employ around 200 students in flexible jobs that fit around their academic timetable.

So, next time you buy a £2 pint at SKINT or get a burger and chips for under a fiver, remember that your money goes towards paying student wages, as well as supporting the Students’ Union.

And yes, we will be holding a ‘goodbye East Slope’ party before it gets knocked down. #EastSlope4eva

NEWS IN BRIEF The University of Sussex will make a return on screen on University Challenge this week.

Four Sussex students will be attempting to reach the second round of the show after scoring the highest number of points for the university since 2003 The programme will be broadcast at 8pm on the 3rd of November.

The University has been nominated for the ‘Healthiest Workplace’ award at the 2014 Sussex Business Awards, for its campus sport service Sussexsport.

Sussex last won the award in 2008.

The accolade will be awarded on the 10th of December.

Residents of on-campus accomodation have been advise to “take extra Sophie care” as the fire brigade enterJones a 96 hour strike.

The nationwide strike, which began on the 31st of October, is the longest consecutive period of industrial action in an ongoing dispute over changes to workers’ pensions.

The names of the head-hunting firms that the University of Sussex has used to recruit its top managers has been released to The Badger.

In a Freedom of Information request, the University admitted that it had used executive search firms four times this year alone, hiring the firms Perrett Laver and Minerva on two occassions respectively.

Earlier this year, The Badger revealed that the University has used executive search firms 22 times over the last ten years.

Facebook: EastSlopeBarMemories

Another 43 gender neutral toilets have been instated across campus, with plans to bring in an extra 51 now in progress.

Rianna Garguilo, Welfare Officer, said: “I am happy with the progress that has been made on the instalment of these gender-neutral signs.”

EMM triggered after concerns over SWP Rosie Dodds News Sub-Editor An Extraordinary Members Meeting about the position of the Socialist wokers Student Society within the Students’ Union was triggered after student petition reached 150 signitures.

The event was held on Friday 31 October and students attended the meeting to discuss the removal of the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) and Socialist Workers’ Student Society

(SWSS) from the Students’ Union, following an accusation that the SWP have mishandled allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.

The motion as submitted states: “The Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) have had numerous allegations raised that they have a systematic problem of rape, rape cover-up, and rape apologism in their party.”

“The Students’ Union resolves not to support the SWP or any affiliated organisations and to strongly discourage them from holding events on

campus at Sussex.”

The Socialist Worker Student Society have responded by saying: “We would like to state categorically that there has not been any cover up of rape or abuse in our organisation. In fact we joined SWSS in part because it campaigns against women’s oppression.

“The committee of SWSS at Sussex are all women students. We would not be part of any organisation that made us feel unsafe and we do not understand why our presence on cam-

pus is being deemed unacceptable.

“We support the Student Union Zero Tolerance policy that is referenced in the motion and cannot see how our SWSS group and activities have breached this.”

Prior to the Extraordinary Members Meeting, it was reported that members of the SWSS group have been facing “bullying and harassment” from “students and tutors” on the University Sussex’s campus.

The society have claimed that they have received verbal abuse, have

had their meetings disrupted, and have had water poured over their stall.

The SWSS has said: “We do not believe this behaviour has any place on campus or in student politics.

Of course, students may have differing political views but surely student societies should be allowed to operate on campus without fear of verbal or physical abuse?”

Note: This edition of The Badger went to print on 30/10/2014

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the badger

3 November 2014

NEWS • 4

Student tells of housing hell Union ditches extra Jack Williams News Editor

A second year student has told The Badger that she has to endure repeated intrusions in her flat by sub-contractor teams acting on the orders of her letting agency, without issuing any prior warning.

Since moving into her current flat in Brighton in September 2013 as part of a long term tenancy agreement, Samantha Nicholls, a BSc Medical Neuroscience student, explained that her letting agency has hired workers to carry out maintenance work on the flat without sending her a warning in advance.

Ms. Nicholls told the newspaper that she has witnessed sub-contractors enter her flat, with the permission of her letting agency, on no less than five occasions in the past 13 months.

She did however state that she cannot be sure that these intrusions haven’t happened more times when she or her partner haven’t been at home.

After consulting with friends in the police force and in the legal profession, she discovered that what the letting agency was doing was “very illegal”, violating “Landlord and Tenant Law” and amounting ‘civil trespass’.

Advice is being sought by Ms. Nicholls from the University of Sussex housing of-

fice and the police.

Explaining her ordeal to The Badger, Samantha said that when the first such incident happened a month into her tenancy, her first instinct was to think she was being burgled.

She said: “My first reaction is to always think that I’m being burgled. It’s terrifying and to be at home and someone opens your door with a key that they have been given, I cannot explain just how terrifying that is.”

“It can happen at any time within the letting agency’s office hours and I can’t say for sure that they haven’t done this more times when I haven’t been there.

The thought of it makes me feel sick.”

Samantha confided to The Badger that she suffers from a severe form of Posttraumatic-stress-disorder, which she claims partially stems from a break-in related incident earlier in her life.

She added: “I have spoken to my psychiatric nurse about this experience and my whole mental health team is aware of my living situation, and I probably need to alert them that it’s happening again because it’s not doing me much good.”

“I’ve literally just come in to do this interview and I’m going to go home again and pray that no-one else comes in. That’s what I am reduced to”.

Samantha also explained that she believed that the regular occurrences of

these intrusions have negatively affected her concentration on academic work.

“I missed many of my lectures last year between September and December because I was already not at my strongest in the whole upheaval of moving to Brighton and starting University itself, and when you have such a nasty anxiety disorder everything becomes incredibly difficult; to have some-one just come into your house and trigger your symptoms to such a degree. It takes a lot for me to travel into campus now because I literally cannot stop thinking about whether someone is in my house”.

“I don’t know whether it was a direct result, but I did fail my entire end of year exams and had to resist them over the summer. I think missing so much lecture time and not being able to fully concentrate because of the stress definitely made things a lot worse”.

She also made The Badger aware that when she moved in, the flat looked different to how it appeared in the viewing, with the washing machine being replaced by a much older model, the sink, oven and bathroom not being cleaned, and the fridge infested with maggots and rotten food. These original appliances were removed by the outgoing tenant and replaced with these items. The letting agent had carried out an inventory the morning of the contract signing.

cost of halal meat Daniel Green News Sub-Editor

Halal options at both Falmer Bar and East Slope Bar are now available to students at no extra cost, the Students’ Union has revealed.

Dan Greenberg, Operations Officer, explained: “Halal meat is ordinarily more expensive than non-halal for a variety of reasons to do with how it is produced.

“We used to pass this cost on to students, but following our decision to not charge extra for soy milk in our hot drinks last year, we felt it was unfair to penalise students financially for their dietary requirements.”

The decision by the Students’ Union has been met with approval and support amongst Muslim students.

One second year Law student welcomed the move, saying: “This is a brilliant move by the Union and great news for the Muslim community at Sussex, who should not have to pay more for halal options.

“I hope that the Union will now look into making all other food providers on campus halal, such as in Eat Central, as there is not enough choice.”

A Genetic manipulation and molecular cell biology Masters student echoed this view, adding: “I do respect East Slope and Falmer Bars for dropping the additional charge.

It might encourage other businesses to adopt this method of slaughter, which is less cruel to animals.”

The news follows the revelation that Eat Central in Bramber House now no longer serve Halal chicken which came despite claims by the University of Sussex that the outsourcing of catering responsibilities would benefit “those with particular dietary needs.”

The Student Union shop, Falmer Bar, and East Slope Bar are now the only suppliers of Halal meat.

Halal meat adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. The Halal form of slaughtering involves killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe.

Animals must be healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood is drained from the carcass. A dedication known as ‘tasmiya’ or ‘shahada’ is recited during the process.

Adherence to halal principles is monitored by a non-profit organisation, known as the Halal Food Authority (HFA).

27% of students made 68% of students face housing deposit “powerless” by landlords deductions “without explanation” Matthew Fallon

Dissatisfaction with student accommodation and service providers hits 74%.

A new study released this week has unearthed that 1.7 million students have encountered problems with either their accommodation itself or their utility supplier. With most students entering the housing market for the first time, up to 27% admitted to feeling powerless against their landlords and most admitted not knowing where to turn for help should they get find themselves in a dispute.

The survey, conducted by YouthSight on behalf of not-for-profit organisation, Ombudsman services, discovered that housing complaints were by far the most prevalent. It showed that up to 60% of students were experiencing issues.

Some of the most common problems involved damp, leakages, broken boilers and vermin. Half of said students were forced to complain multiple times to their landlord before their issues were resolved and 5% stated that their landlord had been threatening or abusive in response to complaints.

In reference to utilities, approximately a third of students have experienced problems with their telecoms supplier.

Half of these stated that the main issue was poor coverage, while another 26% were suffering slow broadband speeds.

Even basics such as heating and hot water appear to be fraught with difficulties, with a quarter of students reporting issues with their energy supplier. Billing

disagreements are the most common issue, with for example 8% of students explaining instances where they have had to pay a bill owed by a previous tenant The report also details some exceptional cases where students have lost, or have been close to losing significant amounts of money due to the unscrupulous business practices of certain letting agents and utilities companies. One group of students almost lost a three thousand pound deposit after signing a tenancy agreement yet forgetting to provide references. This issue was only brought up with the students a couple of days later when the letting agent rang to tell them that their tenancy would be withdrawn and their deposit retained unless they provided references within the next hour.

Another example detailed by Ombudsman Services, describes how a student incurred an expensive contract termination fee from her broadband provider.

Although the internet had been advertised as high-speed, they and their house mates found it slow and it would often disconnect when they all tried to use it.

The fixes that their provider suggested proved to be unhelpful and the house decided to terminate the contract. However the original student was still charged a hefty payment as a result, leaving her without money for the rest of term.

This study’s release has coincided with the Sussex ‘Rate Your Landlord’ report, which also details significant numbers of students unhappy with their accommodation and treatment by landlords.

Daniel Green News Sub-Editor Over a third of students experienced pressure from their letting agent or landlord in order to secure accommodation, according to the 2014 instalment of the Rate Your Landlord Report. Pressure was most evident amongst undergraduates, younger students and women.

The Rate Your Landlord Survey, first launched in 2009 in partnership with Brighton University’s Students’ Union (BUSU), is held annually and examines the experiences of students in private housing, identifying good practice and problems in the sector.

The report also revealed that 68% of students who faced deductions of their deposit received no explanation as to why, and 40% stated property that their property was not in a suitable condition.

In addition, the survey made three recommendations to help students living in the private rented sector; improve the information and advice available to students, lobby to reduce the financial burden on students, and work to improve the overall treatment of students living in the private sector, with a focus on property conditions, customer service and community relations.

In a statement, Abraham Baldry, President of the Students’ Union, said: “Finding good quality, affordable housing is a real problem for students living in Brighton. Too often, letting agents and landlords fall well short of what is acceptable. Now is the time for better regulation.”

Sussex Students’ Union Rianna Gargiulo, Welfare Officer, said: “The report exhibits findings which are somewhat unsurprising, considering the extent to which poor quality housing, communication and customer service has become commonplace for student tenants.

“Students are subjected to sub-stand-

ard housing conditions under the pretext that they are students and have therefore come to expect lower quality services.”

She added: “I am committed to lobbying for the recommendations agreed in this report and to ensuring that standards of living for our student population continues to make progress.”

the badger

3 November 2014

NEWS • 5

Caroline Lucas speaks out about Recall Bill Alexander Ferguson News Sub-Editor

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, has been leading the campaign in favour of giving voters the power to sack their MPs. The government’s Recall Bill, endorsed by Nick Clegg, would allow the possibility for an MP to be recalled if one of two conditions are met.

If an MP is either convicted of an offence and gets a sentence of 12 months or less or if the House of Commons suspends them for at least 21 sitting days then a by-election can take place if 10 percent of the MP’s constituency voters sign a recall petition.

However, Caroline Lucas believes that the Bill does not go far enough and has instead voiced her support for a rival plan that was introduced in Parliament by the Conservative backbencher Zac Goldsmith. Under this private member’s bill, power to recall MPs would be fully placed in the hands of the voters with a by-election being instigated if 5% of voters in a constituency sign a “notice of intent to recall” followed by 20% of voters then signing a “recall petition”.

This amendment to the Recall Bill was voted upon in the Commons on Monday 27 October and was defeated.

When raising concerns over the fact that the current Recall Bill does not go far enough, Caroline Lucas said: “Ultimately voter driven recall will only improve democracy. Anything else runs the terrible risk of causing more cynicism, disillusionment and disengagement in our democracy, not less.

When the next scandal happens, and voters realise that they don’t have the power to recall their MP, things will only get worse.”

She later added: “If we as MPs want

BBC News voters to trust us, we have to trust them to make sensible decisions.”

Analysis Caroline Lucas, being far enough away from the power games of the political elite, has the luxury of being able to base her political and Parliamentary actions on moral principles. Her support here for a stronger Recall Bill is a clear example of this.

The power of recall, if it’s to be effective, should be fully in the hands of the people. In the current system the voters will only be allowed to instigate a recall petition based upon two criteria, both of which are extremely rare and one of which is decided within the House of Commons itself.

MPs are currently trying to reap the benefits of increased accountability without actually implementing and deserving it. Not only will this not work but it will also no doubt fuel the frustration of an electorate who have less and less trust in and respect for the people that represent them in Parliament.

Sussex celebrates Diwali Jagrati Agarwal

Maintaining the ‘culturally diverse’ repute of the University of Sussex, the South Asian Students’ Society (SASS) housed a spectacular show, celebrating the Indian festival of lights - Diwali. The festival celebrates victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

Garbed in traditional attire, students took to the stage to perform a wide array of classical and contemporary dance acts and musical sagas. Performances varying from Indian classical dances, contemporary Bollywood moves and Hindustani music were savoured by all. The eagerly awaited show was attended by over 350 people, including students, alumni, staff and local members of the Indian community.

Attending the festival celebration for the first time, Pro- Vice Chancellor of Sussex, Professor Michel Davies said that it was an honour for him to be a part of the ceremony. “I thoroughly enjoyed the variation of classical and contemporary performances during the show. The programme was culturally rich and charmingly displayed,” said Davies.

For attendees, the event was all about an experience to the vibrant culture, helping them to gain knowledge and familiarity. The President of SASS, Props Mehra, aimed for similar results through the show. “The success of the event is derived from the fact that we are able to spread happiness and joy among other ethnicities and cultures.”

Speaking about the growth of the event through the years, she said, “The support provided by the Student’s Union has been tremendous. The budget for cultural event increases each year which in-turn drives us to perform better.” Mehra took over SASS, previously known as the Indian society, in 2011, and has been a crucial part of or-

ganizing the renowned Diwali festival at Sussex.

Interestingly, some international students asserted that Diwali at Sussex brought back memories of the way Indian diaspora celebrated the same in their respective countries.

A student from Trinidad and Tobago, Nadja Nabbie, said that the Diwali celebrations hosted by SASS was truly a special treat. “The feeling of familiarity it brought back was not only comforting but was quite heart-warming as it reminded me of the many fond memories I have had on this auspicious day in my home, Trinidad, where the festival is equally cherished,” said Nabbie.

Meanwhile, international students showed keen enthusiasm to participate in the show as well. A group dance performed by Chinese students on Bol-

Jagrati Agarwal lywood songs was applauded by all. Another student of British origin, Nathanael Young, said that being involved with SASS and the Diwali celebrations was a great experience. “I already had a keen interest in all things Indian and participating in the show had been an opportunity to learn more as well as getting to know many great and interesting people”, he said.

Traditionally marked as a time for families to come together, Prateek Sureka, an alumni of Sussex, feels that coming back to Sussex to celebrate Diwali is almost like coming home. “Year after year, it has become bigger and better. The joy I receive coming back cannot be put in few words. It can only be felt,” restated Sureka.

The name of the festival comes from the Sanskrit word, Deepawali, which means row of lights.

‘Kiss-in’ hits London Niall Harman

Why e-submissions are important at Sussex It’s January 2014 and I have about 16 hours to go until I have 8,000 words due. I’ve been staying at my family home in Manchester over the Christmas break. The entirety of the New Year period has consisted of 12 hour days staring at my laptop screen desperately trying to pull together two essays. The last two days before the deadline have been a disaster, a mental block and stress levels have resulted in one essay looking more like a long list of notes that are illegible.

To make matters worse I now have to travel 5 hours back to campus just to hand in my essays, this exacerbated my anxiety and felt completely futile. As such, I spent the train journey back to campus sobbing in stress.

I made the deadline and once the dust had settled I really reflected on

how the whole experience had made me feel. I thought I was a student at a modern, international and environmentally conscious university- but this experience had completely contradicted all of these factors. When I made the decision to run for the position of Education Officer I knew I had to include e-submissions in my manifesto, travelling from Manchester had caused me such stress and I knew I couldn’t be the only one, for international students this problem must be much worse. This experience is one of the main reasons I’m so keen to see e-submissions currently being rolled out. I fully appreciate that e-submissions is currently only an option for first years submitting essay based assessments which can seem frustratingly, slow especially as the majority of other universities have had this option for numerous years. However, it is crucial

to get this process right and we often critcise the university for failing to consult students on major changes.

Staging out e-submissions allows for consultation with both students and academic staff.

There seems to be some concern that this system will be used to heavily monitor word counts in a big brother style format, 2 words over and you will receive zero. This is not true. The e-submissions system does not allow tutors to see an exact word count figure. It is not like using Microsoft Word where you can highlight the text for an exact number. Academics are still required to use their judgement as they did with paper submissions. I’ve heard other students who are worried that e-submissions have been introduced to al-

Bethan Hunt Education Officer

low the University to be harsher on plagiarism as all assessments must now be processed through the Turnitin programme. Turnitin is not a plagiarism detector, it flags any unoriginal text- even when in quotation marks or a commonly used phrase.

For this reason tutors have been trained to properly interpret the score that Turnitin produces, a high score does not mean a plagiarised piece of work and tutors are trained to deal with this.

There are always likely to be concerns when a new system is introduced but I’m happy that even if a little slowly the university is responding to what students want. If you have any queries or comments about the esubmission process then please email me at education@sussexstudent.com.

A ‘kiss-in’, styled on the similar Brighton event that took place earlier this month, was held in London in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, to protest against the treatment of a samesex couple on a London bus.

Earlier in October, Jack James and his partner, who were kissing on the bus, were reportedly told by the driver: ““Oi, you two, don’t do that on my f**king bus or you can get off, I don’t want to watch that”, before going on to say that it was within his rights to remove them for their “disgusting behaviour” .

Transport for London have launched an investigation in response.

Inspired by the success of the Brighton event, Vicki Baars, Fran Cowling, and Michael Segalov, Sussex Students’ Union Communications Officer, organised what was branded ‘The BIGGER Consensual Kiss In’.

The event was held on 28 October in Trafalgar Square.

the badger

3 November 2014

FEATURE • 8

FEATURE

Florella Scozzafava - Children going to school in Old Delhi

Florella Scozzafava - Lotus Temple

What I didn’t expect India to show me Beyond the spices, saris and sunshine: Florella Scozzafava writes about the reality of life in India compared with her earlier preconceptions.

Florella Scozzafava On 15th August, I arrived at Heathrow’s Terminal Three and, after almost accosting a group of boy scouts, correctly identified my UKIERI Study India Programme companions and began the most hectic and fascinating three weeks of my life to date.

My enthusiasm for the programme was born from curiosity to learn more about non-western culture.

India captured my interest because of its links and chequered past with the UK, the huge potential of its population of 1.25 billion and the intense vibrancy of the culture. I arrived open-minded and keen to discover.

During our two weeks in Delhi and one in Mumbai, we visited heritage sites, engaged in debates of India’s most topical issues, participated at Delhi University, spent a week in work experience placements, saw urban and rural life and learnt about the music, dance, religion, business and history of India.

Whilst lots of the trip lived up to the magical (if clichéd) images of a colourful, animated and friendly country, there were times where my preconceptions were not in line with reality.

The openness and hospitality of students and staff at Sri Venkateswara College (a member college of Delhi University) gave me a unique insight into what it means to be an undergraduate in India but it was not what I had expected.

I had a fantastic time with the students but was shocked to find that so many female students are frequent

victims of eve-teasing, an Indian euphemism for public sexual harassment.

The situation in Delhi for women is dire. The horrific case of a 23 year old student who died from injuries sustained in a gang rape in central Delhi in 2012 raised the profile of the issue, but it persists unchecked.

Almost all of the female students I got to know had night time curfews, some as early as 8pm, and the college’s halls (all single sex) have a strict 9pm curfew.

I was shocked to hear that the 2012 gang rape happened at a shopping mall where students from Sri Venkateswara College frequently go.

Hearing the quotidian manner in which they spoke about the daily struggles of avoiding unwanted attention prompted me to think seriously about how societies come to accept abuses of human rights as the norm.

Delhi is a huge city of over 17 million people and violence towards strangers is naturally more frequent in such densely populated areas, regardless of nationality.

But, to me, the apathy of witnesses is what makes the problems of Delhi different. Time and time again I heard stories of girls’ harassment on busy public transport going unreported.

The everyday, laissez faire attitude that seemed so pervasive was exemplified by the experience of one of the students I met.

Stopped at a red light in an autorickshaw (small motorbikes encased with roof and a bench behind the driver for passengers), men were

leering at her from a parallel vehicle.

Her auto-rickshaw driver did nothing until they arrived at her destination when he told her she should have hit her harasser! Although she described it, in a slightly exasperated tone, as ‘the funniest part’ of the whole thing, to me it seems the most disturbing.

Although some women are gaining the courage to challenge this behaviour, they are in a worrying minority.

A pervading acceptance of the risk to the safety of women was also evident in my experiences at Pathways World International School.

The school buses stop right outside almost every child’s house and, as well as the driver, there is always at least one female attendant in addition to the male conductor to ensure that abuse is prevented. The school has to provide an adult of both sexes on the coach at all times to prevent the opportunity for sexual attacks.

On arrival to the school, G4S security guards can be seen on each and every external door and children are not allowed off-site.

Shalini Sharma, the senior school counsellor, explained to me that because the children come from such rich families they can become targets, which is why the security is so high. She seemed to be implying that hostage situations have occurred, but didn’t elaborate.

Shalini also emphasised the attempts by HR to recruit as many female support and security staff as possible to try and counter balance the issue of male-dominated work places.

As I knew from what I had read in

preparation for the visit, poverty in India is rife and the two extremes live side by side.

On the one hand you’ve got children attending Pathways whose parents drop them at the bus stop in sports cars, each member of the family has an iPad and regularly holiday in Europe and America.

On the other, you have homeless families who have set up shelter only 50 metres from the very same bus stop.

Crucially, though, because the bus stop is on a road corner, the displaced families quickly become out of sight and I fear that for many this also means out of mind.

The cliché of this divide, is, however, turned on its head by what’s happened in Dharavi, a Mumbai slum where over 1 million people live in an area half the size of New York’s Central Park (1.75km).

Its appearance in Slumdog Millionaire only increased the stereotypes but the reality was explained by my tour guide (a 21 year old slum dweller and a university undergraduate); ‘you are not poor if you live here’.

The slum has a thriving business sector which produces, at some estimates, £350 million a year. To live, property must be rented or bought for considerable amounts of money, up to £35,000.

These figures are often contested, but to a certain extent wealth is literally visible too. On walking around the residential area we saw BMWs and SUV’s parked outside dwellings.

Our guide explained that many people work as businessmen and

doctors but choose to remain living in Dharavi. They may have the money to move away, but are reluctant to give up the sense of community unique to this slum.

Two UKEIRI Study India participants had brought cricket bats and face-paints to entertain the children, but felt sheepish and embarrassed when we saw that although none are rich in western terms, they already have what they need. They chose to retain the gifts to give to children of the rural village families who we visited later in the week.

The community spirit is undeniably strong. I was surprised to learn that many inhabitants would rather stay in Dharavi, and benefit from the happiness and security they find there, than be rehoused into sanitary high rise tower blocks and lose it.

This is not a slum as I had understood the term and it made me seriously question my previously held views about this aspect of Indian life.

I feel honoured to have had an ‘insider view’ of India and I am glad that I have been challenged in my preconceptions.

I have come back to England with a kaleidoscopic sense of the country.

Although the current government is working hard to improve safety for vulnerable groups, to reduce poverty and roll out education for all, India continues to be a dangerous place for women.

Despite this, the incredible enthusiasm and humbling kindness of everyone I met has made me keen to go back and see what else this beautifully complex country has to offer.

Your Students’ Union pub in the centre of Brighton

on What’s

Autumn Term

STUDENT PRICES ALL THE TIME: £3.20 Strongbow/ Fosters / Snakebite £2.50 rum/vodka mixer 3 for 2 jager, sambuca, tuaca Pre-drink Hour: 8pm-11pm (Skint prices)

FOOD

Mondays from 5pm 2 for 1 burgers Wednesdays all day burger+pint £5 Thursdays £10 steak + 3 sides FRY...days fish&chips/halloumi&chips 2 for £10

Mondays (monthly)

Drawing Circus

7.30-10pm. Circus themed life drawing £5 students, £6 nonstudents.

Wednesdays

Skint

Strongbow, Fosters & Snakebite £2 Rum/vodka + mixer £2.50 Shots of tequila/ sambuca £1.85 3 for 2 Jagermeister

Thursdays (Monthly nights)

Fem Rock

Thurs 30th Oct, Thurs 27th Nov: Monthly FemRock Night: Renowned amongst Brightonians for showcasing the best local female-fronted performers, FemRock is an inclusive event for people of all genders. FemRock nights are about celebrating women in music, raising money for charity and promoting local artists!

Hollow Earth

Thurs 23rd Oct, Thurs 20th Nov: Monthly Hollow Earth Nights - Expect kaleidoscopic visuals, psychedelic performances and the full-range of drinks deals! The new monthly experiment at The Globe, Middle Street.

Featuring UK debuts from Brooklyn psych-rock band Woodsman, plus label-mates Ancient Ocean - followed up with classic Brightonian hip-hop ‘till 2am. The event is broadcast by event sponsors Resonance 104.4fm, URF and Mixcloud and is brought to you via your Students’ Union. Free entry for students with a valid student card - no need to book a ticket in advance, just turn up and show your student card. Tickets for non-students are £4

the badger

3 November 2014

Comment • 10

COMMENT Why does everyone care about Renee Zellweger?

Lucy Gray Renee Zellweger’s apparent facial transformation has taken the global media by storm, with images of her ‘old’ face being paraded next to her ‘new’ one.

Seeing these striking images immediately conjures questions: has she had plastic surgery? What happened to Bridget?

But, I feel most importantly, why does everyone care?

Since the initial red carpet photos hit the internet, makeup-less shots of 45 year old Zellweger have appeared.

Various ‘expert’ doctors have claimed that she has undergone a blepharoplasty…whatever that is.

Whether or not this is true is a topic of much speculation, with the Chicago star denying having had any plastic surgery.

Her alleged response to the photographers of these most recent photos was, “Can you excuse me please? I have better things to do and I'm sure you do too.” Apparently we don’t, Renee.

Yes, Zellweger looks almost unrecognisable and it is shocking to see a familiar face transform before your eyes – think of the more extreme case of Michael Jackson – but the instant

viral reaction to this Hollywood star has highlighted something even more alarming than the actress’ new brow line.

If a woman in the entertainment industry over the age of 40, or even sometimes 30, leaves her body to age naturally or, as the global media would say ‘let herself go’, she will often be ridiculed.

If she dares to acquire wrinkles, not be a size 10 or get grey hair, she won’t get work.

However the men can age gracefully, acquire stubble, probably even do the best work of their career and be highly respected.

If on the other hand a woman gets ‘work done’, what happens? Yet again

mamamia.com.au

she is ridiculed.

Plastic, fake, a sell-out. All of these words have surrounded award winning actress Renee Zellweger; a woman who has had her body deeply scrutinised over the past 20 years.

She was too fat in Bridget Jones and too skinny in Chicago. Stunning in Miss Potter, but too much of a tomboy in Cold Mountain.

What on earth do the media and, let’s face it, us, want from her?

Let’s look at another example. Take dance expert Arlene Phillips who was booted off of Strictly Come Dancing for being too old.

I’m not being controversial or exaggerating, that is what happened. Who replaced her?

Wide-eyed tight-skinned Alesha Dixon. This phenomena of replacing older women with a younger star is nothing new; this happens from the breakfast news to Hollywood films.

What is most striking about the Arlene Phillips example is the age of her fellow judge, Len Goodman.

He is 70 years old. Only one year younger than Arlene and, let’s face it, he looks far older yet he continues to judge on this primetime show.

There is a slight caveat to this rule that allows a few older stars to stick around.

If you manage to get through the menopause and are still ridiculously good looking, you’re allowed to continue being a success.

Judi Dench and Meryl Streep spring to mind as actresses who have been considered to have ‘aged gracefully’ and are respected for their acting ability, not merely their appearance.

Yes it is possible to think of more examples, perhaps Emma Thompson or Immelda Staunton, but even these phenomenal actors are now often relegated to the ‘character’ character, the ‘mumsie’ type or even the withered old lady.

For every one of these women, there are 10 men who are their age and are still seen as sexy and talented. George Clooney and Emma Thompson only have two years between them. Alan Rickman is 10 years older than Imelda Staunton.

So what do we expect Renee Zellweger to do? If we the public try and turn these talented women into mannequins then that is what they will become.

Let us not gawp at cheap shots in Heat and gasp at outrageous comments in the Daily Mail, but instead consider people for their talent and actions, not how well they scrub up for a photo.

Are our spending habits dictating the films we see?

Hannah Lee Tsz Ying

From Harry Potter and Narnia to Marvel’s Avengers Assemble nowadays, the endless reincarnation of film remaking and sequels may make you frustrated.

It seems that film industry is spending much time on remaking or reproducing films which we have already been familiar with, instead of making a new storyline for film production.

Yet, we can think about the reason why would such products keep appearing in the movie market: Is it the result of the marketing strategy which is shaped by consumers?

We cannot deny that cultural industry is a part of the market. It is a simple answer from the ‘demand and supply’ theory: while consumers go into the cinema and enjoy these kinds of remaking films and sequels, the film manufacturers are receiving the profits from the films- a bigger audience means more profits.

Due to the demand of needing such films in the market, it is the pleasure for filmmakers and production companies to expand the storyline by making more sequels or even remake the film, in order to please the audience and of course, making their money.

Although the profits gained from remade films and sequels cannot be guaranteed, the box office record told us that the possibility of gaining profits

is worth for film industry to try.

Take the Spiderman series directed by Sam Raimi.

Spiderman earned $39.4million in its opening day in the United States in 2002.

After that, the box office record that about $40.4million was earned in the sequel Spiderman 2 in its opening day.

The Spiderman series have not ended until now as Spiderman 3 was on screen in 2007, including the The Amazing Spiderman series directed by Marc Webb.

The case proves that there is potential for film companies to earn profits by remaking films and keep making sequels. Therefore, it is worthy for the production company to spend time and capital into it.

Of course, we all agree that the content is the most important factor for audience to decide which film they would like to enjoy.

In order not to bore the audience, filmmakers are trying to put new wine into old bottle.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005 are an obvious example.

Both of them featured the famous children fantasy novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and take the main story plot of the novel.

Yet, the main difference between two versions of the film is the visual effects and the frame of story.

For the 2005 version, CGI is widely

used to make the entire image in the film become realistic while the CGI skills have not been developed well in 1971 version.

Moreover, the frame of 2005 version focused more in the relationship between the main character and their family through slightly changes of the storyline while the 1971 version fol-

lowed to the original storyline in the novel.

The audience can enjoy a similar story but different interpretation towards the film.

No matter how the film industry keeps making the sequel or remaking films, audience have their own concerns towards the film choosing.

The question of whether it is worthy for film industry to remake films depends on the reviews from audience and the box office performance.

Yet, a good remake is no doubt a surprising piece for audience to have a brand new interpretation on the similar or continued story.

Kevin Jaako (via Creative Commons)

the badger

3 NOVEMBER 2014 THE BIG DEBATE • 11

THE BIG DEBATE

Should the Union support minimum alcohol unit pricing?

This week The Badger asks should the Union support a minimum pricing for alcohol?

Yes Leanna Khrisoki

Whether we want to face it or not, the amount of alcohol consumed on this campus is frankly scary – chances are some of us will be going to early graves. Yet somehow this is overridden by the strong campus culture of ‘everyone does it’.

Why shouldn’t the Students’ Union pass a vote to protect the campus population through making dangerous quantities of alcohol less appealing?

Obviously nothing would be approved to make alcohol unaffordable, but even a small but publicised increase could increase the on-campus awareness of what we’re really pouring into our bodies.

While it wouldn’t be right to make alcohol expensive, especially in a student community, the fact that you can buy enough alcohol on campus to get to dangerous levels of intoxication (i.e. plastered) for cheaper than you can get dinner is at best uncomfortable.

That small difference in price could even be donated to charities fighting alcoholism and disease to make the situation an all-round win.

Alcohol has a disquieting place in our culture, all you need to do is scroll down the UK music chart for several songs explicitly about alcohol and most of the rest promoting the lifestyle.

Do you really like me better when I’m ‘wasted’, Tiësto? Is vomiting attractive to you somehow? What about jaundice?

It’s gotten to the point where in the general public’s eye, ‘student’ has somehow become synonymous with ‘alcoholic’, and that’s not how I want myself or my University to be represented.

This idea would be a worthwhile but uphill battle considering how deeply ingrained student drinking culture is, but even to hold a vote on the matter at all could be a step in the right direction, publicising the issue in a way that could really hold the student body’s attention.

A new way to send the message that binge drinking is unhealthy is needed, as we are the generation who have grown up in a society that has barraged us with public health warnings and tragedy on 24 hour news channels to the extent that we have become immune to having any emotional response.

When was the last time you even noticed the

Drink Aware message crow-barred in to an advert glamorising over consumption?

We have a detachment from the very real dangers of drinking – aside from the possibility of losing your friends, dignity and shirt (not necessarily in that order), if you look up the symptoms of liver disease prepare to be horrified.

As with any illness that takes time to manifest, we don’t assume responsibility for our future selves, yet no one ever expects it to be them. But hey, #YOLO! The Guardian recently published a report by Sheffield University which claimed minimum alcohol pricing could save 860 lives a year, and would affect the ‘harmful drinkers’ and not penalise the ‘responsible’, even lessen hospital admissions caused by heavy drinking by tens of thousands.

While it’s always complicated to think of lives as statistics, if this could translate to saving just one life at our own university, who wouldn’t donate just pence to the cause?

Sussex University is usually a front runner in all things welfare, and this is an opportunity that shouldn’t just be dismissed. No-one can really predict for sure what benefits might come of trialing campaigns such as this, but the real harm comes from never trying.

THE UNION SAYS

“In our Union-run bars we want students to get good value for money, but also believe responsible drinking habits should be encouraged. I don’t think setting a minimum price per unit is the way to achieve this, and feel it is far more preferable to promote a good relationship to alcohol in other ways.

For example, in our campus bars a pint of soft drink will always be cheaper than a pint of beer/cider. We also never serve more than a double measure in the same glass, and our student staff know not to serve anyone who is visibly too drunk, part of our licensing agreement.”

-Dan Greenberg, Operations Officer

No

Edwin Land via Creative Commons

Fraser Coppin

It is true that Britain has a drinking problem.

Our anti-social behaviour and binge drinking rates are among the highest in the EU, and naturally as a result these are important issues for many students all over the country.

However introducing a minimum price alcohol for is completely the wrong way to go about solving them, and the Union should not be supporting it.

Firstly, this policy would have a huge negative effect on the poorest people in society.

Minimum alcohol pricing is regressive, meaning that it would disproportionately affect people on low incomes.

“As prohibition in 1920’s America taught us, where there is a demand there will always be a supply, regardless of the law. ” This is because poorer people spend a greater proportion of their income on everyday living costs, including food, transport and yes, even drinking.

Meanwhile those at the top are hardly affected at all.

Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that those earning below £10,000 a year spend on average 39p per unit, while those earning over £70,000 spend 45p.

As a result the proposed minimum price of around 45-50p will significantly impact poorer households more than the rich.

This may sound like small change to some, but to those struggling to make ends meet in an economy where wages are declining in real terms every year, every penny counts.

Meanwhile, mega-corporations like Tesco and Asda are likely to make a killing in increased profits as prices go up, all at your expense.

In addition, alcohol is already taxed extensively in the UK despite the problems it can cause. A single pint of beer from East Slope can set you back up to 43p in alcohol duty alone,

and that’s not even including VAT. Students, in particular those from low income backgrounds, have already been hit hard lately.

Under this government we have seen the tripling of tuition fees, abolition of EMA and other austerity measures.

As the NUS is supposed to be an organization concerned with the welfare of students and promoting equal opportunity in education, is it completely wrong that they should support a policy that would hurt so many of the people that they claim to represent.

Thirdly, there is little evidence to suggest that it would work anyway.

If people want to drink they will drink, regardless of the impact on their health. Increasing the price of alcohol could lead to more consumption of potentially dangerous “home brews”, and maybe even the development of an extensive black market in alcohol.

As prohibition in 1920’s America taught us, where there is a demand there will always be a supply, regardless of the law.

Supermarket lager is admittedly not very good for you, but the alternatives are potentially even worse.

Minimum alcohol pricing is sold as a measure to reduce alcohol related crime and help combat alcohol addiction, but is actually very unlikely to help solve either of these problems.

A far better way to clamp down on anti-social behaviour is effective policing, raising the price of drinks will mostly hurt law abiding citizens which is completely unfair.

As for addiction, the best way to deal with it is to create an open dialogue, and ensure that those affected and their families have access to the help and support they need.

So overall, while we can’t be certain that this measure will improve health, we can be certain that a huge number of ordinary people will be out of pocket.

When enjoyed responsibly, drinking is a fun leisure activity, not a crime.

We as university students are old enough to make our own decisions regarding alcohol consumption, and decide for ourselves how much we drink.

If we indeed want people to act like responsible adults when it comes to alcohol, then they should be treated as such.

the badger

3 november 2014

SCIENCE • 12

SCIENCE The eternal debate on life after death YES

NO

Chloe Kazatzis

Varun Manoj

For sceptics, there will never be enough reliable data, replicated studies, or a representative sample large enough to convince people that life-after-death exists. Neurophysiologist Dr Peter Fenwick states himself there is “limited research into the mental state of the dying”.

Bearing this in mind, it is always going to be a task to convince people that, yes, out of body experiences are valid scientific phenomena.

I’d like to point out that I’m not here to convince you that these people are experiencing mind-blowing psychedelic hallucinations.

Nor do I think you need to be particularly religious or spiritual to agree with the subject matter of these studies.

Put simply, let’s consider the possibility that there might be something beyond this existence, that can potentially one day be explained by scientific reason.

The problem we face right now is that our biological and physical methods have not caught up with these philosophical ideas. How can we naturalise these mental states, the personal expe-

Death, I admit is a scary concept.

Most of us can’t even imagine what the moment of dying would feel like.

However, years of movie clichés and inaccurate anecdotes have twisted our perception of this moment to give the impression that something supernatural or spiritual is occurring.

In actual fact, many of the sensations described can be explained through natural processes that occur in our body. For example a bright light at the end of the tunnel with a feeling of warmth and inner peace emanating from the light is one of the most famous portrayals of an out of body experience. Researchers have found that these images and feelings could be the working of our brain to make sense of the process of death.

The bright light that is often seen by people-is probably produced by the death of the cells we use to process the light picked up by our eyes and turn it into pictures. The feelings of safety and warmth can also be described by the physiological process of the brain releasing the hormone noradrenaline.

Noradrenaline is released by the brain during times of high stress, such as a

Science factoid of the week

Victor Chang Institute This past week, scientists in Australia have successfully completed the first ever heart transplant using a “dead heart’.

Traditionally, a heart transplant is carried out using a heart from a patient that is confirmed “brain dead” but their heart is still beating.

This breakthrough marks the first ever transplant where the heart had stopped beating for a whole 20 minutes.

The patient who received this heart, said that they felt like a “different person”.

This new transplant technique involves reviving the heart with a machine called “heart-in-a-box”.

What this machine does is keep the heart warm, restore the heartbeat and then pump a nourishing liquid through the heart to prevent any damage to the muscle.

The implications of this have been welcomed by the medical community and opens the doors for many future patients who are in desperate need of a transplant.

Amber Roberts riences that people consciously experience while they were “clinically dead”?

How can we prove that the study’s participants were not influenced by researchers, or making the whole thing up? Deceitfulness is something that no brain scan can prove.

These questions are things that our current methods technologies cannot account for. While nothing here on the subject is concrete, I believe this

research gives us hope; that we have more than just a brief existence in the physical world, that we can still have experiences when our human bodies ultimately fail.

For now, we just have accept the fact we cannot systematically prove life after death, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with feeling little bit of optimism, to believe that there’s more to life than the world we live in now.

near death experience.

I am not contesting the fact that these people had these sensations, but that they are not proof for the existence of souls in the afterlife. The fanciful experiences that you often read of people floating above their body and witnessing themselves from a fly on the wall perspective may be exaggerated or it could be a symptom of an oxygen deprived brain hallucinating.

Near death experiences are definitely an extremely interesting topic for debate. They are the closest description we have of what the moment of death feels like but to take them as proof for a supernatural power at work or a soul leaving a body just has no scientific basis.

Have something related to Science you want to write about?

Email: badger-science@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

THE

BADGER

Studies show animal populations deteriorating Jemada Cicely When the majority of people hear the words ‘animal extinction’, some obvious animal species come to mind; the tyrannosaurus rex, the saber-toothed tiger, the mammoth or even the dodo.

But how about animals such as the golden toad, China’s bajin dolphin, the spix’s macaw, the Mexican grizzly bear, the West African black rhino or even “Lonesome George”, the last of the pinta island tortoises that passed away in 2012? No, I doubt these animals rarely come to mind at all.

In the last few weeks news, outlets have released reports from major international wildlife organisations and charities such as the WWF (The World Wide Fund of Nature) and the ZSL (The London Zoological Society) affirming that the animal population has deteriorated remarkably in the last forty years.

The loss is assumed to be worse than ever imagined. Birds, mammals, amphibians, fish and reptiles have plummeted by approximately 52% according to the report by ZSL. The report also stated that the largest decrease of animal population have been freshwater species who have declined by an overwhelming 76%.

According to the study finalized by the WWF, over 3,000 species’ population worldwide have been affected, the most recent cases however, having been found in the tropical areas of Latin America.

Now, it is common knowledge that

animal extinction is a natural process of evolution, the world changes and thus everything in it changes. Despite this fact, it cannot be dismissed that the in the last few hundred years the staggering percentage of animal extinction has been anything, but natural.

According to these recent reports, and to pure common sense, human activity is to blame. In the past, the commencement of European colonialism was responsible for initiating habitat loss, a major cause in affecting animal population.

Following through to the present day, the overpopulation of people and careless human greed appear to be indisputable factors at fault. Even the most evident causes responsible for damaging the wildlife and their habitat can be traced back to humans; deforestation, poaching and climate change.

Evidence predicts that 21% of Southeast Asian forests will have disappeared by 2100. Researchers have also announced that since 2010 almost 35,000 elephants have been murdered each year in Africa.

In more recent news, the NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) have spotted tens of thousands walruses seeking refuge on Alaskan shores due to rapid melting ice rooted by global warming.

Of course we can neither forgive or forget the obsessive and selfish mentality we possess towards animals. In this day and age, where one wants everything and can achieve just about anything, wild animals are no exception.

Oly Darke The incredibly insightful 2010 documentary The Elephant in the Living Room distributed by National Geographic, explores the infamous multi-billion exotic pet industry that exists in America.

The documentary informs that in The United States there are more exotic animals that live as house hold pets and as zoo property than in the actual wild. To add, there are seven states in the US that do not even require licenses or permits to

own such wild and supposedly free animals.

In this expanding desensitised world, it comes as no surprise that the wild life population is in grave danger. Regardless it is equally clear that we humans and more specifically the dominant powers making such regretful and detrimental decision musts begin to make a change.

We must begin to choose correctly, we must begin to choose life- every life.

the badger

3 NOVEMber 2014 ARTS • 14

ARTS

Brighton Photo Biennial: A Retrospective Badger Arts collaborates with students from the schools of Media and Art History to chart the successes of last month’s citywide Brighton Photo Biennial

ART

A Return To Elsewhere Circus Street Market George Leith Brighton’s 6th Photo Biennial, Europe’s largest photography exhibition, has been taking place in a number of eclectic venues across the city for the past three weeks.

The ramshackle Circus Street Market, the site of a recent urban redevelopment scheme to utilise the space for arts and culture, has played host to a variety of the biennial’s international photography exhibits this year.

Kalpesh Lathigra (UK) and Thabiso Sekgala (South Africa) have worked together in their exhibit ‘A Return to Elsewhere’ to showcase a collection of photographs taken in their home countries of South Africa and England, with both photographers capturing moments in Indian communities in Brighton and Laudium, a township on the outskirts of Pretoria.

The co-operation of both photographers in capturing a sense of place while also drawing associations be-

Andrei Lionachescu

tween Brighton and Laudium is fantastic.

Despite being two locations of entirely different history and economic landscape, both photographers succeed in encapsulating a sense of family and community, recording images of cross-generational families gathered at their home or place of family business.

From a shop in Portslade to a religious relic craft workshop in Laudium, both photographers capture very similar feelings of family history and belonging.

For Sepkala’s images this holds particular significance in relation to apartheid and its shadow in South Africa.

Most poignant for those of us living in Brighton, Lathigra chose to

ART

Real Britain 1974: Co-Optic and Documentary Photography Group Dorset Place Gallery Marie Hawkins Real Britain 1974 uncovers a lost episode in the development of British social documentary photography at a time of social change, heightened political awareness, economic uncertainty and neverto-be-resurfaced fashion trends.

During this decade populist documentary realism had a special prominence in English television, film and photography and the CoOptic group was at the centre of it all.

Nigel Green

take photos of the Brighton Pavilion for his half of the exhibit, addressing the importance the Pavilion had in acting as a hospital for Indian soldiers during World War One. This choice of subject serves to remind visitors of the exhibition of the hundred year old connection Brighton has with Indian communities.

A sense of story is the ultimate This exhibition explores how the group attempted to establish an authentic representation of contemporary life in 1970s Britain, laying claim to combining the new ‘independent photography’ inspired by US examples, with the style and forms of 60’s photo-journalism.

The London based collective was comprised of a range of emerging practitioners including Martin Parr, Paul Hill, Daniel Meadows and Ron McCormick to name a few.

The exhibition features original prints donated by the photographers, as well as posters, newsletters and ephemera related to seminars, exhibitions and events organised by the group.

Alongside this is the Real Britain project: a two-part edition of twenty-five photographic postcards based on these prints.

The 40th anniversary of Co-Optic’s postcard project is celebrated in this first public showing of material from the archive.

It proved to be very successful

success of both ‘A Return to Elsewhere’ and the work of the photography collectives. Despite being snapshots of distant and often unfamiliar settings, all the photographers succeed in evoking an overwhelming sense of story, visually revealing important stories of life and hardship across the globe.

Tragically, Sekgala passed away in October of suspected suicide.

when it was originally published and resonated particularly with the emergence of ‘reality TV’ at the time.

The group used the postcard as a platform for creative expression and accessibility.

Now in the context of the 21st century, these photographs play with our notions of sentiment, nostalgia and memory, especially for those who grew up around this decade. The gallery is small, consisting of one room, yet the selective content is enough to encapsulate what Co-Optic aimed to portray; moments captured as a commentary of reality, thus stressing the importance of media as an effective power.

There are elements of fun among the serious, as demonstrated by Sirkka Liisa Konttinen’s Girl on a Spacehopper, 1971, something that even we, the generation born in the 90s can relate to and that is why this exhibition works so well.

the badger

3 November 2014 ARTS • 15

Reviews Art

Film

The Amazing Analogue: How We Play Photography

The Imitation Game In cinemas Nov 15th Ioana Matei

Hove Museum & Art Gallery Amber Roberts

Clearly, Jan von Holleben is a talented photographer who takes a different approach to Photography— here using children as his main focal point.

While some of you many have heard that you should “never use children or animals in your work” von Holleben ignores such advise and elects to get children involved in his work as well as walking around his exhibition.

Here, play, games and exploration have been used to great advantage.

Walking into the exhibition there is an overwhelming sense of space and reality with how varied the exhibition is going to be.

I was really stumped walking around, trying to understand what the exhibition was about.

You can see a lot of carefully spent time and precise thought has gone into this exhibition; but that an artist can use their own unique style while steering around the trap of undermining the younger viewers.

It’s also great to see a photographer get back to their roots and use film rather than digital thus causing a lot of admirers of the work some confusion as to how he and the children curated the images.

Jan Von Holleben The Amazing Analogue: How We Play Photography was inspired by some negatives which were donated to Hove Museum a few years back, which hadn’t been given a second thought since.

Demonstrating to local children the process and science behind photography as was: darkrooms, processing and film, is central to the exhibition, education and enlightenment sitting behind many of the pictures.

A display of the first few film cameras by the window made me squeal a little; I am a big film fanatic and seeing these cameras in real life made me ecstatic.

Jan uses this to show children how photographs were captured and obtained before digital imagery became common.

Walking around many viewers have been left stumped by film camera practise as many objects in the process and making of the images are bigger than the children and aren’t ‘life-like’.

Being a fellow dark room photographer I could easily spot the techniques that Jan has used to ma-

nipulate the children and the ‘giant’ machines in the images.

But I wont spoil it all for you! (But I will tell you that it involves some clever games with perspective.)

It was incredibly refreshing to see Cat a new take on curated photography.

Many of the images are curious and enticing and often get you thinking about what the whole object looks like.

The use of colours, shapes and textures creates a vivid sense of reality; with a beautiful layer over the top in some instances the pictures were hypnotic and made you double take, thinking that surely these pieces couldn’t be the works of children?

This only adds to the innocence yet dominant stance the images portray to the viewer.

I often felt like I was looking through an enlarged microscope as the use of detail really made the images stand out.

You have to remind yourself that all of the images in the exhibition have been curated by school children, not by adults, and that these seemingly giant machines are mere manipulations.

This year's BFI London Film Festival had the honour of opening its diverse array of film screenings and events with the European premiere of Morten Tyldum's highly anticipated biopic The Imitation Game.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician Alan Turing, the film is Norwegian director Morten Tyldum's English-language debut after establishing quite the reputation in his homeland with critically acclaimed films such as Buddy (2003) and Headhunters (Hodejegerne) in 2011 which became the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all time.

Tyldum's historical drama is an adaptation of Andrew Hodges' biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, therefore the main narrative focus is on the time Turing spent working for Britain's codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park during World War II. However, the audience is invited to peer into Turing's personal life through plenty of flashbacks and flash-forward sequences weaved around his pivotal role in helping the Allies crack intercepted messages from the Nazi camp.

This technique helped explore the main character's multidimensionality and aimed to highlight Turing's homosexuality, for which he was prosecuted and forced to accept chemical castration as an alternative to prison.

Benedict Cumberbatch brings forth

ART

Amore E Piombo: Photography of extremes in 1970s Italy Brighton Museum Sabrina Villani Going up the stairs just off the main gallery of Brighton museum and walking through the café, one arrives in what was the former reference library, that now hosts the exhibition Amore e Piombo: the photography of extremes in 1970s Italy.

Entering the exhibition we are ‘welcomed’ by the reverberating sound of a clip from Fellini’s Roma, that summarises the traumatic experience of entering the Capital from the chaotic motorway.

The concept behind the exhibition is that of juxtaposing images of the economic ‘miracle’ and paparazzi photographs of celebrities with the dramatic images of political unrest, protests and terrorist attacks that occurred in this troubled decade.

Andrei Lionachescu

After the war Italy evolved from a rural country into an international economic power through big companies such as Olivetti and Fiat. With the economic boom the film industry Cinecittà in Rome saw its peak of glory, and international celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Liza Minelli and Roman Polanski came to Italy where they were captured in thesnaps of the paparazzi.

Nevertheless, in these years Italy

was the theatre of many political murders and terrorist attacks, that often had the purpose of stabilising or destabilising the government and/or a specific political party.

These images were selected from the Roman archive of the collective Team Editorial, active both in photo reportage and paparazzi photography.

On the right wall the photographs are set into the former library’s

book cases, that being grade II listed could not be removed, constituting a challenge for the curators.

However, the display turns out to be actually quite fitting and pleasing.

From paparazzi photography we rapidly enter the political realm, through pictures of protests and politicians of the time.

The photos of politicians almost seek to summarise in images the

perhaps one of his best performances yet, perfectly capturing Turing's sensitive brilliance and intricate intellect.

The supporting cast is equally fitted, most notably with Matthew Goode enacting British chess champion Hugh Alexander as the charming rivalturned-friend type as well as Mark Strong as Major General Steward Menzies, who, despite not receiving a considerable amount of screen time, steals the show whenever he makes an appearance with his dry humour and on point delivery of lines.

In terms of storytelling, Tyldum skilfully extracts the narrative substance of the events and delivers an exciting account as the viewers find themselves hooked on the premise and rooting for Turing's success.

Unfortunately, the epic crescendo leading up to the cracking of the code flails towards its completion and somehow feels as if you're watching the end of another film altogether.

Although the first three quarters settle comfortably into the conventions of a historical thriller, once the narrative tension is resolved, the concluding sequence seems overlyconcerned with making a point and delivering the diversity message loud and clear via a dramatic montage epilogue, rather than opting for subtlety and relying on the viewers' inferring capacity.

All in all, after seeing the film, I can now definitely understand the buzz around it.

Boasting a strong lead performance, a plot with a historical significance and a clear cause connected to it, The Imitation Game is clearly one of the main contenders come awards season and is bound to gather quite a few nominations to say the least.

events of those years, especially the story of the prime minister Aldo Moro.

In 1978 Moro was kidnapped and murdered by the so called ‘Red brigades’, even though it is highly suspected that international secret services were behind this atrocious execution.

The tragic images of bombings and terrorists attacks are placed on low plinths, as the curator Roger Hargreaves explained, these plinths are like tomb stones in a graveyard that culminate with a wall that homages the memory of Moro with photos of his funeral.

At the back of the hall footage of the time, literature on the topic and an Olivetti typewriter help the visitor get a better idea of this era.

The exhibition offers a glimpse of this decade of extremes in Italy and an insight in a largely unknown period of history for the British.

Unlike the IRA bombings that occurred at the same time in the U.K. those truly responsible for the terrorist attacks in Italy were never fully identified.

The exhibition features photographs that portray a bipolar nation, torn between glamour and death.

the badger

3 november 2014 ARTS • 16

LIFESTYLE

Why do left-wing students eat animal products?

Charlotte Ayres Most of my friends at Sussex are politically conscious and progressive Green Party voters, mostly, who care about the environment, reducing inequality and eliminating suffering.

It came as a surprise to me then, that almost all of them eat meat.

I was a vegetarian for six years and became vegan a year ago. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and living in Brighton, it has not been difficult.

It is a sad and painful thought for me to picture animals dying needlessly after having known little more than a dirty, crowded industrial prison.

There is little natural about the way in which developed countries now consume animals, and our conception of how animal products are produced has no basis in reality.

It is naïve to assume animals live primarily on grass-fed farms in the same way it is naïve to think it is still evolutionary beneficial for developed countries to consume animal products in the way they do.

It isn’t–even the UN is urging people to consume less animal products, but many are still suspicious of veganism.

Globally, the meat and dairy industry contributes more to climate change than the whole of the transport system combined.

Climate change is directly affecting poor and vulnerable nations the most, resulting in less food, increased conflict and damaged homes and infrastructure.

The meat and dairy industry also consumes 70% of the planet’s freshwater, and uses over 30% of the earth’s land.

PETA If we used this land to grow crops to feed people directly, then twice as many people would manage to eat.

The Western meat and dairy industry is a very graphic and powerful representation of neo-liberal exploitation.

The left are loud in their opposition to the West oppressing developing nations–by consuming fewer animal products, those on the left could make a tangible difference to this end.

In terms of health, there is much scientific and anecdotal evidence in support of a vegan diet—meat and dairy consumption has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

We are the only mammal on the

planet to drink the milk of another animal, so it is no wonder that 75% of the planet is lactose intolerant.

The 1992 food pyramid we are taught has been severely criticised, especially as members of the meat and dairy industry helped to construct it in order to naturalise their products.

It is a myth that milk is healthy; the milk most people of the UK drink is pasteurised, which means this is a processed food.

As a student and First Generation Scholar – with my loan barely covering my rent – I am grateful for my diet for saving me a lot of money.

Not living at home has meant I can cook whatever I like, and I eat more variety of food than ever before.

Good, vegan food is so delicious!

I have also lost weight and my skin is clearer.

I have more energy now, which is great, as I live on top of a hill, and I no longer hit snooze instead of going to my 9ams.

Being vegan is easy because there are vegan versions of pretty much everything – ice cream made from coconut milk just tastes like ice cream made from cow’s milk, cakes without eggs just tastes like cake with eggs (it is the sugar and flavourings that makes them tasty).

People are often surprised to hear that lots of snacks are vegan: Oreos, Bourbons, custard and jam donuts, Jammie Dodgers, Party Rings, most Walkers crisps...!

The misconceptions surrounding vegan food are clear when seeing the reaction to “vegan biscuits” rather than “Oreos”.

Most modern, left wing people I know form their views around their egalitarian principles.

Whilst I am not suggesting animals should get the vote, I do think allowing them to live freely, painlessly and non-commodified should be considered their fundamental right.

It helps reduce the giant Western carbon footprint which is stamping on the quality of life of developing nations, and if everyone went vegan then great progress would be made towards reducing world hunger, social vulnerability and climate change.

Consuming animal products is not passive, but a loud and active choice, and it is time for developed countries to choose a plant-based diet.

Takeaway review: Shahi Tandoori Eleanor Walsh

After having sat at my desk for hours on end writing a presentation on E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India which I still hadn’t finished, I was delighted by how promptly my package of Indian arrived from Shahi Tandoori on Beaconsfield Road.

The food was hot and steamy and the delivery guy didn’t make me feel awkward for not giving him a tip.

As I unravelled my solitary feast it became apparent that everything had arrived as expected: a Chana Paneer (£3.25), a Stuffed Paratha (£2.05), a Vegetable Pathia curry with Pilau (£6.65) and two complimentary popadoms.

The Pathia was described as ‘prepared with red chilli, onions, green

peppers, lemon juice and some medium spices then decorated with fresh cucumber and served with pilau rice’.

The vegetables were in abundance and retained a slight crunch which I enjoyed by comparison to the collapsing and unidentifiable components of many vegetable curries.

The pilau was fragrant and the popadoms were crispy and fresh.

The stuffed paratha could have done with more stuffing but had a

pleasing golden brown colour.

Last and by all means least, the Chana Paneer.

I am a big fan of Paneer, it is a very simple Indian cheese that can be made at home using only milk and lemon juice.

For the aspiring vegetarian, it is the Indian equivalent of tofu and can accompany a variety of curries and flavours.

Unfortunately it was not an option I could choose when ordering a main curry, so I decided to get my fix

“Shahi Tandoori is one of the best value Indian takeaways in Brighton.”

by ordering it as a side.

I was expecting fresh cubes of mild cheese in a sauce of spicy, whole chickpeas.

Instead of this I received a tasteless, pale orange custard containing no identifiable pieces of cheese and barely any vegetables.

The hungriest of my housemates, also a part time scavenger, refused to eat more than a teaspoon of it, and it went into the bin untouched.

In spite of this, Shahi Tandoori is one of the best value Indian takeaways available in Brighton.

With a minimum order of £8 and free delivery on orders over £10, I would order them from them again - although perhaps as a vegan next time.

Pub of the week The Seven Stars

Sophie Jones

Ralph Palmer Tucked away in the lanes of Brighton, sits the charming and recently refurbished pub, the Seven Stars. Despite it being a Young’s pub If your idea of a good pub is enjoying a cheap pint watching football somewhere with a threadbare floral carpet and a lingering smell of old ale, you may be disappointed.

The smell and décor in the Seven Stars is more upmarket bar than good boozer, although I loved the classy aura of the place, and would recommend it.

Price: ££££ With the more sophisticated atmosphere reigning in the pub, comes a more sophisticated price.

I was slightly shocked when I was charged £4.60 for a pint of London Pale Ale, which, in reality, shouldn’t cost more than £3.50, and the gin and tonics come in at £4.80, expensive by all means.

As a Young’s pub, I was hoping there would be their own brewed beers available, but due to a recent beer festival their stocks had been completely wiped out, leaving me bitterly disappointed.

Atmosphere: *** Being a Tuesday night in this rather stylish drinkery, the atmosphere was as quiet as I would have expected it to be.

As proven by the half a dozen couples seated inside, the Seven Stars is a good place to go for a low-key midweek drink where you can actually here yourself talk, unlike in many other pubs in Brighton that always insist on whacking up loud hip-hop and drowning out any conversation.

And on a weekend evening, it always looks bustling with people so you can imagine it becoming far livelier. As someone who does prefer the social side of going for a drink, this was a very good place to come, but it was maybe almost a bit too quiet to warrant a better score.

the badger

3 November 2014 ARTS • 17

Showcase: Sussex Centre for the Visual Broomberg and Chanarin — The Archaeologists Behind the Montage

International Centre of Photography

Clara Ollier The inaugural Sussex Centre for the Visual annual lecture that took place at the University of Sussex was launched with the unique presence of two of the UK’s leading artists: Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin.

Never having heard of this duo but intrigued by the promising appeal of free art, off I went.

Batman and Robin, Bonnie and Clyde, Broomberg and Chanarin.

For some innate reason we love pairing things up.

Although not aiming to rid the world of evil, or to rob a bank, these London-based South African artists have their own personal struggle: the exploration of the politics of photo-documentation.

Having showcased their work in major public and private collections ranging from the Tate Modern to The Museum of Modern Art, in 2013 they were awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for War Primer 2, and most recently they were awarded the ICP Infinity Award 2014 for their publication, Holy Bible.

However, artists though they undoubtedly are, their career involves much labour which is in the realms of historical study and archaeological exploration.

Numerous projects of theirs are not the result of so-called artistic inspiration, but are closer to the profound exploration and understanding of history, the recovery of evidence and even physical groundwork.

Broomberg and Chanarin scout

the depths of the Internet, burrow into photo archives and are even ready to grab a shovel in order to recover testimonies and document history.

Dodo is proof of this exhumating process.

This feat drove both artists to Mexico with the juvenile expectation of unearthing the professed ‘Mexican plane’ used to film the Hollywood version of Catch 22 in 1968.

On recalling this ordeal, both artists refer to their ingenuity in expecting to find the plane as a whole, simply buried under the ground.

As was to be expected, they had to carry out a proper archaeological exploration in order to assemble random bits and bobs and scraps of metal (possibly) belonging to the artefact.

These fragments were then exhibited alongside a video projection of unseen offcuts from the film which were edited and collaged to give birth to a silent documentary on the pristine, natural landscape which Joseph Heller found when he first set foot on those distant Mexican lands nearly 50 years ago.

Indeed, Adam and Oliver appear to be quite keen on amassing retrieved material and giving it a new scope through montage.

People in Trouble seems a mournful reflection on the troubles in Northern Ireland. The display consists of black-and-white photographs retrieved in the Belfast Exposed Archives, a platform created during the troubles in order to collect evidence of what was truly happening and

which was purposely rejected by the media.

The selection of photographs included in the project is not arbitrary.

Many photographs which had been used by journalists or which had been approved of or censured during the troubles had been marked with round stickers.

Broomberg and Chanarin’s collection thus reveals the fragments of image that were hidden under these dots.

Intertwining photographs taken by professional journalists with those taken by ordinary citizens, a report on daily life is conceived.

Unremarkably familiar shots of the everyday are suddenly interrupted by images of street violence.

Broomberg’s soothing voice describing the images spurred a calm, meditative state, creating what almost seemed like a melody of pathos.

Moving on with their work, inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s Kriegsfibel, War Primer 2.0 pays homage to and reinvents its successor by blending modern conflict photos into Brecht’s original composition.

Brecht’s piece laid out contemporary war pictures taken from the mass media and gave them a twist by coupling them with short four-line poems.

The latter have been preserved untouched in this updated version of the book; only the images of conflict have become adjusted to our modern world.

Whilst Brecht focused on images from World War II, Broomberg and

Chanarin’s War Primer 2.0 turns its attention to media coverage on the War on Terror.

These photo-epigrams comment on society throughout history by establishing war analogies.

Physically produced by pasting printed images on copies of the initial War Primer, each copy is an encapsulation of the wretched nature of human existence, which has always been inseparable from strife.

A reflection on humanity as incapable of escaping the sombre shadow of the past, which is never past, but eternally present.

Also mentioned was their project Holy Bible, a work that poses deep questions about the commodification of conflict images and about authorship.

Once again inspired by Brecht’s misuse of a Bible as a scrap book in which he annotated and collected images, the artists reconsider the power structures of language and how they are parallel to the power structures present in the contemporary world.

The existing elements in the King James’ Bible establish a specific reading of the images on its pages and question their content.

Depleted of their religious meaning, the words inside the book serve as commentators on current affairs, suggesting that history is a recurrent, inescapable force created by men to talk about future men.

They put this religious text at their service, as a support for images found on the web in order to document and inquire about the new

Two Images from People in Trouble., Goodman Gallery

ways of portraying conflict through photography.

It is clear that the artists’ passion for photography goes beyond aesthetic purposes.

This medium is the means whereby they look further into human nature and history and put it under close scrutiny.

These works of art should not only be regarded as such, for behind the finished piece lies an enduring process of historical research and hands-on documentation and retrieval of evidence.

The work that takes place behind the scenes is fascinating and passionate and key to understanding the full purpose of the art projects and their resonance.

The ones mentioned are only a few of many, and hopefully, many more to come, each posing new difficulties concerning the photographic image and the role of the photographic artist.

We hope Clara’s piece has not only elucidated some of Broomberg & Chanarin’s work, but the idea behind the Sussex Centre for the Visual.

The Centre, co-directed by Dr. Ben Burbridge & Profs. David Mellor & Linsday Smith in Art History and English, aims to promote the interdisciplinary study of the visual, bringing together a critical mass of scholars, artists and institutions within and far beyond the Sussex campus.

For more information and artist talks like this, visit: www.sussex.ac.uk/scv/index

the badger

3 November 2014 Arts •18

Arts

Editor’s Picks

Arts Editor Victoria Rodrigues O’Donnell shares her tips on the week ahead in culture ART

Wild Things No Walls Gallery 7th-23rd November FREE

Fuck Buttons

Patrick O’Brien Smith

GIGS Shabbazz Palaces The Haunt Monday 3rd October, 7pm £10

For those more accustomed to Seattlebased music being grunge, you’re in for a shock as Shabazz Palaces bring their delightfully experimental hip hop to The Haunt. For those who are worried about the future of rap, seeing this duo will restore your faith in its trippy possibilities.

Lynnie Zulu’s solo show will be taking a look into the mysteries of the female identity – in all its many shapes and forms. Expect lots Mutation X - Williamworks Latham of vibrant and eye-catching which aim to get across the bright personalities of each featured character. Following on from the highly successful felt corner shop exhibit, you won’t want to miss this promising new show.

Art Zine Club #2 The Hope Thursday 6th November, 8.30pm Free

Brighton Digital Festival

Society Event Lewes Bonfire Night Walk Library Square Wednesday 5th November, 4.30pm

Following the success of their debut event, the Zine Club return to The Hope with more cutting and pasting in order to make a collaborative zine by then end. The theme this time is SPACE, so pop along and have a drink while you unleash your creativity on all things galactic and other-worldly!

The Walking Society will be hosting their annual walk to Lewes for its world famous Bonfire Night celebrations. Once you get over the initial premise (yes, people will throw firecrackers at your feet and you will find yourself eating an overpriced burger), remember to wrap up warm, bring your camera (a torch is also recommended) and wear suitable shoes for this 200-year-old festivity.

Film David Bowie is...

Dukes at Komedia Thursday 6th November, 10pm £10.90

If you missed the critically acclaimed retrospective on David Bowie from a couple of years ago, then take this opportunity to truly appreciate how fantastic the exhibition really was. This documentary film takes the audience through the displays whilst weaving in interviews with contributors and the curators themselves. Viewing for Bowie fans and the curious alike

FILM Mr. Turner Duke of York’s Picturehouse Monday 3rd November, £5.50 5:15pm

Börkur Sigthorsson

Gigs Ben Frost The Haunt Monday 10th November, 8pm £15 Warning: Ben Frost is not for the faint of heart. He is not a man known for pulling his punches, and that applies to both his studio output and his live shows. Frost creates soundscapes that sit somewhere between industrial techno and sheer noise and can somehow be much more brutal than either.

Forgoing the aid of his usual two drummer live set-up, the shows on his current tour consist of Frost alone manipulating, mangling, and forcing noises into very loud, very

strange, and oddly blissful sounds.

His recent album, A U R O R A from earlier this year, is perhaps his most accessible work to date; the punishing noise is blended deftly with beautiful, simple melodies to create a listening experience both terrifying and elating. Live, however, I expect we’ll all be treated to a reverse of dynamics. Frost will test his audience with a vicious pummelling of noise, beats that resemble more the process of dismantling a shed with a sledgehammer than actual drums, and synth sounds so overwhelmingly larger than life that they both affirm it and cause it crisis. Those who can make it through his set will be rewarded, and those who can’t will at least be proud to have tried.

Raymond Jennings

Warner Brothers

Film Buddy Scheme Halloween Horror Film Night: The Shining The Globe Monday 3rd Noveber, 6pm FREE

Chosen by Buddy Scheme volunteers, The Globe will be hosting a Halloween film night complete with free entry and popcorn. Kubrick’s cult classic The Shining will be warmly welcomed by many, but if you haven’t seen it, why not take a stroll (or a bus) down to the pub and enjoy this notoriously chilling movie as well as make a few new friends.

Having already received rave reviews for his performance, Timothy Spall plays the eponymous Mr Turner during the later years of his career.

Travel with Art Soc members and Art History enthusiasts to the Duke of York’s to catch a discounted screening of the film, followed by a discussion of the film in a nearby pub.

V&A

watch, write, review Get involved in the Arts team by joining us at our writers meetings or searching on Facebook for

Badger Writers

THE Sony Pictures Classics

BADGER

the badger

3 November 2014

SOCIETIES SPOTLIGHT ADVERTISE YOUR SOCIETY

hack it, come along to watch and cheer on your mates! Tickets are on sale on our website NOW for On this page you can find just £3! out about what our societies jave been up to and what their plans are for the coming weeks! You can view and join all of our 150 + societies online at www. Between the 10th - 15th sussexstudent.com/socie- November Sussex Friends ties. If you’d like to adver- of Palestine will be holding tise your society on this Palestine Awareness Week, page, send your articles to an annual week of talks, societies@sussexstudent. film-screenings and culturcom by 12pm on Wednes- al events to raise awareness about Israel’s occupation days. of Palestine and the racist regime it imposes there.

After the Israeli miliHere’s what RAG are up to tary conducted a masthis week! Challenge, chalsacre in Gaza which left lenge, challenge - it’s defiover 2,000 Palestinians nitely the word of the week dead, now is an especially here at RAG! Following a important time to spread hugely successful Universiinformation and educaty Challenge last Wednestion about the injustices day, this weekend will see the Palestinians face and our LOST participants try to discuss what we can do and find their way back to to help through boycotts, campus in aid of East Afdivestment and sanctions. rican Playgrounds - good To find out details about luck to you all! the week’s events as they If LOST isn’t the chalare released join the ‘Suslenge for you, there are sex Friends of Palestine’ still places available for the Facebook group and like once in a lifetime opporthe page with the same tunity to trek Mount Kiliname. manjaro next year, and you can check out http://www. chooseachallenge.com/ trek-kilimanjaro/ for more Hey Badger readers from information about that.

RAG will be presenting a your Sussex GeogSoc! We wanted to let evetotally different challenge next week, however, with ryone know what we’ve our very first Man V Food been up to since Freshers competition on the hori- week as we’ve been trying zon, where you can com- to put our society in the pete in some of the tough- spotlight, so here goes!

We have held two very est eating challenges to see who is the Eating Champi- successful socials so far, a t-shirt social where on of Sussex Uni! dominated CoaliSign up for teams of five we people is now open, and if tion in our green tops as you don’t think you could well as a ‘Make Love not

FRIENDS OF PALESTINE

RAG

GEOGRAPHY

War’ fancy dress social.

We’re now planning a crazy golf social thanks to a new committee member as well as a walk in the Downs with some of our lecturers.

On 27th October, we held a cake sale where we made nearly £100 for our upcoming trip to Berlin that has been organised solely by the GeogSoc committee and is taking place in February 2015. It’s open to all students and we promise that it will be an amazing trip so don’t miss out! (It’s very well priced too!).

Coming up is our GeogSoc Christmas meal that is primarily open to geography students but will be opened up to all students.

It’s on the 3rd December at Rev’s where our social secretaries have secured a gourmet menu and drinks deals so it’s set to be an awesome night! Grab your ticket from the Global Resource Centre for £23.95.

Much more has been going on behind the scenes that will pan out in more exciting socials, where we hope to see you!

Lots of love, Sussex GeogSoc.

ENACTUS Enactus is an international non-profit organization that works for the benefit of the community.

It brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better and more sustainable world.

Here at Enactus Sussex we have both social and commercial projects for students to get involved in, as

well as marketing, finance and fundraising teams.

We have many opportunities for enthusiastic students who want to make a difference to people’s lives, such as homeless people in Brighton, whilst also gaining experience and business training in many different areas.

To get involved and find out what Enactus can do for you contact recruitment@enactussussex. org or like our Facebook page for updates and meeting times!

MUSICAL THEATRE (SMuTS) This November the Musical Theatre Society (SMuTS) are holding an inter- society quiz this November 11th at the IDS bar!

They are looking for societies to put forward a team of about 4-5 people to declare which society has the most trivially talented members, who has the quintessential quiz masters and who will reign high on an iron throne of largely pointless knowledge.

The rounds will be varied so as to not give any specific societies an edge, so expect a large, stimulating set of questions for everyone! This is open to everyone, no matter how big or small your society is, so get in touch! If your society is interested, email Jake Gale at jg325@ sussex.ac.uk with a team!

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you require further information.

Societies - 21

THE WEEK AHEAD Monday 3rd November Christian Union: 7-8.30pm @Meeting House.

Tuesday 4th November Skint: East Slope 8pm onwards.

Wednesday 5th Novemeber: Politics Wednesdays political discussion: Freeman Centre (usually room G22), 4pm.

Sussex LGBTQ coffee afternoon: the LGBTQ room, 2:30-4pm Thursday 6th November Polymath Society discussion and debate: Falmer House, meeting room 3, 6pm

WHY JOIN A SOCIETY? Joining a society is a real must for all students.Because of the wide variety of societies Sussex has to offer, there is something for everyone. Most of the socities don’t mind if you just turn up occasionally, so there’s really no harm in giving them a go! Furthermore, they look incredible on your CV!

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3 November 2014

Careers and Employability• 23

CAREERS & EMPLOYABILITY CENTRE

Are you interested in a career in the Civil Service?

Beatriz Lacerda Ratton Student Writer and first year undergraduate Civil Service – All you need to know Working for the Civil Service is a very popular career option for Sussex students. To meet this demand, the Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) organised a ‘Civil Service Fast Stream Roadshow’ on Tuesday 28 October, where speaker Hussain Al-Hussaini, a Sussex Alumnus, who joined HM Revenue & Customs via the Civil Service Fast Stream, introduced students to the many opportunities within this sector.

Hussain began the event by asking students their main queries about Civil Service careers, explaining the way in which the Civil Service works.

He highlighted the key values in the field as ‘Setting direction, engaging people and delivering results’, and went on to break the misconception that only a certain type of person can succeed in the Civil Service.

As a mature student himself, he illuminated that you are not discriminated by factors such as gender or age stating that ‘it’s the brains to do the job that matter. If you’re good enough, you’ll be hired.’ Academically, all you need is a second-class degree in any subject to apply for most Fast Stream schemes.

When asked what advice he’d give to prospective ‘Fast Stream’ applicants, Hussain remarked “take one stage at a time. It is a long process, so you should take a step at its own merit, and take each step as seriously as the next.”

In more general terms, he mentioned that qualities often looked for in Civil Service are ‘can-do types’ – people who can come up with solutions to problems –no matter how complicated they are. He also talked of the importance of ‘big thinkers’, who are innovative as well as practical.

Ellie Tweedley, 3rd Year Politics student, said she believed a career in the Civil Service was a ‘good route to follow’, and relevant to her degree.

Being interested in the fast stream process, she believed the event

would help her clear any queries she might have.

There are a range of Fast Stream schemes, including Generalist, Analytical, HR, Commercial & Finance; European; and Communications.

In addition, undergraduates from diverse backgrounds can apply for the Diversity Internship programmes .

The HM Revenue & Customs will be attending Careers Fair on Wednesday (5th November). If you’re interested in Europe, then the EU Staffing Unit will also there. Full details at www.sussex.ac.uk/careersfair For more information about careers in the Civil Service, please visit www. gov.uk/faststream or contact the Careers and Employability Centre.

If you’re more interested in working for Local Government, then come along to our event on Tuesday 11 November at 11 am, when you can hear about the NGDP – National Graduate Development Programme.

Details and sign up at www.sussex. ac.uk/careers/events

Learning to Lead : Getting Valuable Experience to make your CV shine!

Employers love applicants with demonstrable leadership skills! The Careers and Employability Centre have an exciting opportunity for all undergraduate and masters students who wish to develop their leadership skills, in connection with the international leadership and management consultancy, Clemorton.

Learning to Lead aims to help participants develop their current leadership skills through a series of workshops and challenges. You will learn how to present yourself to employers participating in a variety of exercises designed to improve your ability to work in a team, negotiate with others and much more .If you have ever wanted to learn the logistics of leadership or how to pitch an idea with flair then Learning to Lead is for you!

The programme is divided into 4 stages designed to equip each participate with the tools to present themselves with impact to potential employers. There is also the chance

to compete for a 1-to-1 coaching session with the Director of Clemorton Consultancy in order to gain a year’s affiliate membership to the Institute of Leadership and Management.

A previous first year Business and Management Studies student said: “Being part of a unique programme has given me invaluable experience for the development of my leadership skills. It would also undoubtedly enhance my long-term career prospects.”

So if you want to learn how to shine out against the competition then this fully-funded leadership development programme, Learning to Lead, is for you!.

For more information, please visit www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/gettingexperience/learningtolead. Applications are now open and the deadline is Sunday 9 November 2014.

the badger

3 November 2014 Arts •24

LISTINGS Monday 3rd Scumbag College 11am-12pm

Hosted by Lottie Brazier

An Afternoon with Charles and James - 12-1pm Hosted by Charlie Wall

UniTV and URF

Tuesday 4th The Burrito Show 11am-12pm

Wednesday 5th Afternoon Alternative 12-1pm

Hosted by Nick Stewart

Hosted by Francesca Powell

SUDS Soapbox

The Paddy Hour

12-2pm

Hosted by Holly Hagan-Walker

1-2pm

Hosted by Paddy Osmond

Friday 7th

Thursday 6th

Earlier With Ellie Holland

The URF Review Show

1-2pm

11am-1pm

Hosted by John McKenna-Hughes

Magazine & Wine Party

Jeremiah’s Urban Central

2-3pm

1-2pm

Hosted by Em Chittock

Little Al’s Big Show

Hosted by Akintunde Akinsowon

Hosted by Alice Finney

60 Minutes of Mangan

2-3pm

Paige with Guests 1-2pm

Hosted by Paige Smith

Live it live with Jonny Meah 2-3pm

Hosted by Jonny Meah

5-6pm

Hosted by Ollie Heathcock

6-7pm

Hosted by Nick Werren

Hosted by Alex Mason

The World Show

Sam and Harry’s Existential Crisis - 4-5pm

The Magical Music Tour

Hosted by Callum Sellins

Everyday Desert Island Discs 3-4pm

4-5pm

2-4pm

Hosted by Gareth Mangan

Hosted by Sian Williams

Holly CA-60 Show 4-5pm Hosted by Holly Cassidy

Broken Old 45’s 5-6pm

Hosted by Jack Jewes

6-7pm

7-8pm

Hosted by Benji Kusi

Going Nowhere Slow 8-9pm

Hosted by Julian Paszkiewicz

The Everything Hour 7-8pm

Hosted by Lewis Cockle

Cult of the Black Pudding 8-9pm

Hosted by Beau O’Shea

9-10pm

Hosted by Sam Hislop

Californication 9-10pm

Hosted by Priyanka Vigneswaran

Discocks

6-7pm

Mole

Hosted by Sebastian Tiley

Hosted byHarry Reddick

5-6pm

6-7pm

Retrofit 7-8pm

Stone’s Throw

Hosted by Adam Whitmore

7-8pm

Hosted by Sam Siva

The Mo-mentous Show

Tangled Roots

The Politics Show

8-9pm

8-9pm

Tropical Hot Dog Night

Hosted by Paul Millar

Hosted by Elana Crowley

Hosted by Thomas Powell and Raymond Jennings

The Sports Show

The Rory Hughes Show

7-8pm

9-10pm

9-10pm

Hosted by Rory Hughes

Hosted by Morrow and Jackson

Alphabet Soup 8-9pm

Hosted by Thomas Houlton

Gardeners’ Hour

Hosted by Sam Berkay

6-7pm

Anorak Ashtray Hosted by Joseph Oliver

5-6pm

The Green Frog Show

Hosted by Chloe Mo

The B/C Sandwich

3-4pm

Hosted by Em Chittock

Hosted by Matthew Locke-Cooper

The Nick Werren Show

The Tom Jenkinson Show

2-3pm

Hosted by James Blay

The Electric Hour

Sian’s Pic N Mix

Hosted by Ellie Holland

Night Falls 9-10pm

Make sure you listen and get involved at: www.urfonline.com

Hosted by Tiago Franco

Read, Write and Get Involved: Make sure you have a look at our website at www.unitvlive.com (or search for us on Facebook!) for more details about how to meet, watch, write, pitch, produce, film, act and get involved with all things UniTV!

www.badgeronline.com @thebadgernews facebook.com/thebadger.ussu

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