Issue 166

3 U N I V E R S I T Y

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E S S E X

S T U D E N T

N E W S PA P E R

NEWS

COMMENT MUSIC FILM TV BOOKS NEWS NEWS

ARTS SCIENCE

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Think! Seminar on Animal Rights

LIFESTYLE SPORTS WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

THERABBITNEWSPAPER.COM

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COMMENT

Sex as a Commodity

MUSIC

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Music on Campus

SPORTS SPORTS

Derby Day positives

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Derby Day Judge Choices Full Story on Called to Question Page 3

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News Editorial When I was 7 years old I thought it would be a great idea to abolish money. It seemed unfair that some people had so much more than others, not because they worked harder, but because they just did. So my suggestion was let’s just get rid of money. In response my father’s friend chuckled and told him he was raising his daughter to be a communist.

At the time I had no clue what being a communist meant, assumed it was an insult, and was silently offended for the rest of the evening.

15 years later, by chance or by fate, I study politics, read Marx and have more of an understanding of what communism is. I would no longer be too offended to be called a communist, even if my views are not quite as left wing anymore. When I chose Essex as a university I had no knowledge of its red past. I simply needed a 5th University on my UCAS application and Essex ranked well for politics. Even when I got the offer I had no intention of coming to Essex, I had my mind set on a university in the US. However as time grew nearer and financial assistance offers grew scarcer it seemed like the US was too far out of reach. So I half-blindly accepted the offer from Essex without any knowledge of where exactly the University was located or what it looked like.

I arrived on campus by myself with a single suitcase. My room looked bare for the first year as my bookshelf was occupied by less then 5 books and coca-cola glass. Little did I know that Essex as a University would suit me so well. When I compare the experience I have had with university to those of my friends it seems I had an easier time finding my place. I got lucky and everything in my life somehow slotted into place like a puzzle I had been trying to put together but had not managed before. Of course there are issues with various things that we sturggle to reconcile at thus university. My observations of inequality, and disappointed in it, have not disappeared. But I am still happy that I ended up here.

Your Editor, Saga Eriksson

Ed Gove, Content Deputy Editor Emily Townsend, Online Deputy Editor Andrew Smith, Design Deputy Editor

Jake Stones, News Editor Fiolla Korenica, News Deputy Editor Shaun Quilter, News Deputy Editor

STUDENT

Vice-Chancellors’ Salaries Still Contentious According to a new salary survey by the UCU lecturers’ union, the average Vice-Chancellor salary received in the year 2013-2014 was £260,000. University of Essex Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster earned £267,500 in the same year.

This is an increase from the previous year, when the Vice-Chancellor earned £263,320. His salary is 6.3 times higher than the average staff salary at Essex. Former Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan earned £212,000 in his last year at the University.

As well as the salaries, Vice-Chancellors also claim expenses. In the year 2013-14, Forster claimed £9389.02 in air fares, although none were first-class tickets. £2212.09 was spent on hotel accommodation, and £170.66 were classed as ‘personal expenses’.

The University could not provide minutes from the remuneration committees, which are responsible for the setting of Vice-Chancellor and principal salaries. The University responded under the Freedom of Information Act: “This information bears directly on our ability to compete for and retain high quality staff in a competitive market… it is important that the Committee be able to have free and frank discussion about these important issues and that such discussion may well be inhibited were minutes to be made publicly available as a matter of course.”

It has since been revealed that the university’s Remuneration Committee will be considering a paper on pay later in the month, in which the issue of transparency will be addressed.

Forster’s salary paled in comparison to the highest Vice-Chancellor salary in UK universities - the Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University earned £623,000. UCU leader Sally Hunt stated that the lack of “accountability surrounding senior pay and perks is a national scandal”.

Business Secretary Vince Cable warned that universities should “think twice” about large pay rises for staff: “at a time when most university staff are seeing modest wage increases, if any at all, news of these large pay rises for university bosses will be hard to swallow.”

On the other hand, Chief Executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, argues that foreign competition has an impact. According to Dandridge, salaries need to be set at a certain standard in order to compete with other countries, and “senior management needs to reflect what it takes to attract and retain the very best leaders to UK universities”.

It was also mentioned in the survey that 24 employees at Essex earned in excess of £100,000, and up to £399,999. The identities of the employees cannot be revealed.

Fiolla Korenica

WEDNESDAY 18th MARCH | ISSUE 166

NEWS

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QAA review highlights Essex’s focus on student learning The University of Essex has been acclaimed for focusing on student learning experience by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

The QAA’s Higher Education Review of the University, which was published on the 27th of February confirms that the University met all expectations of the provisions that were investigated. Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education, Professor Aletta Norval said: “This report reconfirms our commitment to excellence in providing our students with highquality learning, supported by strong extracurricular opportunities. Our focus has been to place students at the heart of everything we do, and it is really pleasing that students have highlighted their close collaborative relationship with us.”

The QAA review focused praise on the University’s systems of peer mentoring, the personal tutor

system and the development of study skills, as well as the academic staff development programme.

and the opportunity of paid internships has grown to 250 per year.

These are seen as model examples of the University’s concerted effort to improving students’ learning opportunities.

The research opportunities at the University were also highlighting - opportunities for postgraduate research students such as the Proficio professional development scheme which gives opportunities to present research papers at seminars and conferences.

Furthermore, the University was praised for its representation of students on committees and the training of course representatives.

President of the Students’ Union, Chantel Le Carpentier said: “This is a fantastic result and proves that Essex does listen to students. The Students’ Union has been working closely with the University to strengthen opportunities and meet student needs, and the SU itself is committed to being the most student-centred organisation.”

The University’s commitment to employment was also identified as positive. The Frontrunners scheme employs 300 students at the University,

This means that Essex can now display the QAA quality mark to prospective students, as it shows that the University meets national requirements for standard and quality.

This can now be presented alongside the University’s other achievements: in 2014, students voted Essex sixth best in the UK for student satisfaction, and Essex was ranked in the top 20 in the UK for research excellence.

Fiolla Korenica

Essex Suffers Defeat at Away Derby Day This years Derby Day took place on Saturday the 14th of March at UEA. Essex suffered a defeat, with the refereeing and judging of some events sparking debate.

The annual sporting event Derby Day took place away from home this year with the Essex Blades sports teams travelling to Norwich to compete against the University of East Anglia.

This was the 15th year in which Derby Day has been held and with a narrow defeat at home last year Essex had a lot to prove. Last year the Essex Students’ Union put time and effort into finding impartial referees and thus trying to make competition as fair as possible. Consequently the same was expected of UEA this year.

However even before travelling up on the day several sports were still missing referees such as women’s lacrosse, football and futsal. Whilst for some sports refereeing was arranged before the game, for women’s lacrosse and squash the referees ended up being players from the UEA teams.

Another controversial case of judging was dance.

Essex Dance brought 7 squads to compete in Latin

and Ballroom, Street, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Commercial. The final score was 3-1 for UEA, however an official complaint was lodged by Essex as it turned out the judges for dance included a person who was competing for UEA in cheerleading and someone who taught the Latin and Ballroom squad for UEA. In trampolining Essex suffered a narrow 0.7 point defeat, which was called into question by the fact that the UEA competitor fell down early on in their routine yet was allowed to continue, although this is not normally the procedure in such cases.

Before the start of the day Essex was already one point down with a loss in the Korfball match played in advance on Thursday. Throughout the day Essex fell further behind in the overall score even though men’s lacrosse, rounders, volleyball, the men’s 2nd football team, the women’s futsal team, and both handball teams, among others came out victorious.

Overall however there were many who were pleased with the atmosphere and enjoyed the day despite setbacks. The Rabbit spoke to Essex Flames cheerleaders who wanted to thank the UEA Angels “for being brilliant hosts and supporters”. A spectator and American Football player also spoke to The Rabbit saying: “Kudos to UEA. They’ve been good hosts and great competitors. Bring on next year.”

With this being a third consecutive loss for Essex, they certainly have a lot to prove next year.

Many Essex competitors and students were disappointed this year that boxing and pole fitness were not given the chance to compete as UEA teams pulled out. However the Essex pole dancing team still performed.

From the Rabbit we would like to say once again well done to all the Blades teams and competitors, we are proud of you all.

Saga Eriksson

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Think! Seminar on Animal Rights On Wednesday 11 March, the penultimate Think! seminar was held. This seminar was held on the question of whether or not animal experimentation should be banned.

The seminar began with a twenty minute speech from each special guest: Tom Holder, founder of company ‘Speaking of Research’ and Dr. Julia Baines, the Science Adviser to PETA UK. Holder also works for ‘Understanding Animal Research”, a company funded by British research institutions. The company focuses on openness as “there is an information gap between the British public and the research community”. His speech spoke for the benefits of animal testing: it is “scientifically and morally important”.

Holder focused on a quote from PETA, which stated that even if a cure for AIDs was found, they would be against it. Holder believed this is “ideologically wrong”.

Nearly every Nobel Prize winner working in the area of medicine has needed to progress their research through experimentation on animals.

Animal testing is regulated by the British government, but he believes that animal testing should only be used as a last resort. Conditions always aimed to be improved.

Holder believes that it is “morally necessary” and that “we have a duty to do this research” in order to prevent diseases. In his presentation, Holder displayed an extensive list of medicines and

scientific advancements that have been helped through the testing of animals.

Dr. Julia Baines stems from an animal rights standpoint. She believes that “animals suffer because of their environment”. The conditions are “sterile” and “barren”, and that their evolutionary behaviour is affected because of the stark environment.

She argues against Holder’s point that animal testing is regulated, as 91% of research across Europe is “curiosity-driven”, therefore remains unregulated.

She also argues that animals have not consented to be tested upon: “they’re not queuing up the door and signing up for it” as they cannot communicate to humans.

She also questions whether animal testing is even effective as the effect of drugs on animals does not translate directly to the effect on humans.

She argues for more money to be invested into the development of alternative research methods. UK biosciences only dedicates 1% of its budget towards the development of replacement methods.

This is at odds with public opinion - 79% of the British public want more research dedicated to the development of research methods (IPSOS-MORI).

Once the speeches had ended, and questions from the audience could be asked, the guests got more

and more irate with one another’s arguments.

At one point, while Baines was arguing that animal testing had not produced the results that had been promised, Holder interrupted with the listing of medical breakthroughs: “penicillin, cancer…”.

At another point, Baines asked if Holder could stop interrupting and let her finish her point. The topic was controversial to many, as the room was evenly divided between whether or not animals should be tested upon.

At the end of the discussion, moderation of the discussion Dr. Jeff Howard asks each guest to summarise their argument in thirty seconds. Dr. Julia Baines states: “Just think of the moral value of animals. Think of them as sentient, thinking, feeling animals that have the capacity to suffer. And as people who do wield the power, we therefore have the duty, the moral duty, the ethical duty, to protect them from [testing].”

Tom Holder summarised: “Animal research is one of many methods, we use all of them. We can only use animals where there is no alternative method. And, for that reason, I think it’s a risk taking one important method in the steps of science… however we still need to do all we can to improve conditions in labs, to find replacements where possible, as is legally mandated”.

Fiolla Korenica

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

NEWS

Fundraising for Barnado’s - Join in and change lives As one of the UK’s leading children’s charities, Barnado’s works directly with over 200,000 children, young people and their families every year.

It was not enough to cook the food and sell them.

We also had to prepare the budget, to advertise the event through flyers and social media, and to get a food certificate.

They run over 900 essential services across the UK, such as counselling for children who have been abused, fostering, adoption services, vocational training and disability inclusion groups.

Our event took place on the 10th of February 2015 on Square 3 from 12pm to 2pm. We were very happy to be here and volunteer to this cause. We sold practically all the sushi and muffins that we had prepared. It was a great success.

I decided to raise money to contribute to Barnado’s work and make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children, young people and their families across the UK. With my teammates, I feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to raise money for Barnado’s as a manager of our team, called the “Future” team.

Raising money was not as easy as I thought it would be. To be successful, I had to plan an attractive event. We decided to sell food, more specifically sushi and muffins.

We managed to raise £60 profit to donate to Barnado’s. I have cherished the whole process as I feel strongly about sharing, and I had always wanted to do some volunteering.

Children are the future, just like our team’s name.

The future deserves that we work together to make the world a little better.

After the event, I was asked “Why did you do the event?” and “What is the biggest accomplishment that you get from the event?” I find it difficult to

express with words. I wanted to do something meaningful. We all need each other’s help. This is why I feel I should help others as much as I can.

I have learned a lot from the process. I have met altruistic people, and have enjoyed working as a group in developing and organizing the project.

When we faced some difficulties, we did not give up, we worked out a solution together. We learned that working as a group. Working in coordination, organising and planning our work are what made this event a success.

I would like to thank everyone who helped us raise the money and Barnado’s for caring for the children. I encourage you all to get involved; a little help can go a long way!

Yuanjun Tian

Essex stands up for tax justice According to Christian Aid, every year tax dodging and evasion costs developing countries a staggering $160 billion (£102 billion). That is money that these countries could invest in sanitation, hospitals and education.

Democrats, Labour, Adventist, JAF, Awakening), as well as SU election coalitions (Essex Action Coalition, Essex Radical Platform), and members of the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Centre.

It may seem like an insignificant policy change, but Essex is the very first University to actually succeed in this campaign in the UK.

This is why Christian Aid launched a campaign across the UK for universities to change their buying policies to the ones the government already uses.

Essex has once more proved to be ahead of times by making the right and historical decision of not standing by whilst the companies they work with play a pivotal role in denying basic human rights to citizens of developing countries across the world.

As of Monday 2 March 2015, I am even more proud to be an Essex student, and I am grateful I could be part of this historical moment.

One should check if a company has been found guilty of tax offences or had their tax returns challenged before doing business with them.

The Progressive Christians (SCM) society started collecting signatures last November to pressure the University into changing their policies, and was soon joined by other societies (Liberal

incorporating the questions […] into pre-qualification documentation, as from Monday 2 March 2015”.

Simone Ramacci Sourced Campaign Organiser (Progressive Christians) The signatures were sent on February 9th, and a response was received on the 27th of November stating that “[The Procurement Office] will be

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Holi Festival A collaboration between the Students’ Union and Asian Society saw hundreds of students celebrate Holi on March 7th.

The spring festival has its origins in Hindu tradition but has become popular with a wide range of cultures, with participants celebrating the end of winter, forgiveness and love.

The location was kept secret until the night before, when students were invited to meet between the lakes on campus.

Those who arrived were swept away in a carnival of colours, throwing the traditional coloured powder and water over each other, whilst also enjoying food, drink, and music.

The event was free to attend and hugely successful. Whilst over 500 students registered their interest on a Facebook event, word spread on the day and the actual attendance was more than 750.

Comparing this to last year, when 30-40 students joined the celebration, this Holi can be seen as a great triumph for its organisers.

A few students complained that the event had to finish early, due to the paint supplies running out, suggesting that the SU should have bought more in anticipation of the demand.

However, it was explained that the massive increase in attendance had been impossible to predict, and that the organisers had done the best that they could given the circumstances.

Hristina Kamburova, the VP International, said: “we are so happy that many people joined us but based on last year numbers we did not expect 750 people. We had paint for everyone that came on time.”

Nevertheless, she told me that the SU “has taken all comments on board” and is looking to create an even better Holi experience for next year.

As the paint was given out for free, and there was plenty for those who arrived in time, the vast majority of students had a great experience and the celebration can only be regarded as a success.

Andrew Smith

WEDNESDAY 18th FEBRuary | ISSUE 166

NEWS

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Comment

Philippa Dobson, Comment Editor

Note from the Editor International Women’s Day brought a surge of wonderful messages over social media platforms about the power and strength of women.

However, I was left feeling saddened at the issues that face women internationally, rather than feeling celebratory. As I sat scrolling through Twitter, horrendously hungover, I took time to think about the events that had occurred in Sub Zero the night before.

I had been dancing with a female friend having a great time when a guy decided to lift my skirt around my waist and grope me. I had not been

paying any attention to this man and was very shocked by his actions (regardless this would have been unacceptable even if I had have been giving him my attention).

I often wonder if some men feel like they can treat women as if they are not human, or “like a piece of meat”, because of the international commodification of sex and women’s bodies.

I proceeded to push him off and briskly walk to the other side of the dancefloor. My whole body felt violated, and in retrospect I am annoyed that I did not look at him and report him to security.

Through biological human urges we are attracted to sex, which is why it is a successful marketing strategy, but as a society have we really taken time to consider the negative effects it has on gender equality?

However, if I had reported him he would simply be kicked out of the club by bouncers because this assault would have been counted as “bad drunken behaviour” and not sexual assault.

(The views represented in this section are from those of the individuals and do not represent the editorial views as a whole.)

Philippa Dobson

Prostitution, Legislation, Extortion It’s understood that even today we live in a predominantly patriarchal society. The problem of prostitution, and the gravity of the situation, became established through shocking statistics which emphasise the scale of the industry.

In Birmingham alone 14 thousand men each week buy a prostitute’s services, and in the USA the total number of customers each week has been conservatively estimated at 1.5 million.

The prevailing thought is that prostitution is predominantly a female trade within the patriarchal society we live in today.

Some feminists, such as Carole Pateman, don’t worry about this, as prostitution is considered by some as an extension of a female’s autonomy.

Pateman doesn’t see prostitution as a far-cry from everyday labour exchange, introducing the term ‘contractarian’. Pateman suggests that the exchange of bodily services ought not to be condemned but protected by contracts, even suggesting that prostitutes are somewhat similar to entrepreneurs.

Pateman and other feminists who share her views draw comparisons between prostitution and other tertiary sector businesses, which to me seems rather outlandish because no other service puts women in such an intimate and vulnerable position, no other service puts women in such danger and no other service subjects a woman to such extortion.

Considering policy, the argument is somewhat similar to the ‘should we legalise drugs?’ debate.

To me it seems that no matter how legal and perfected the prostitution industry becomes, there will still be exploitation and dangers- these are inherent to the nature of the trade.

I feel that it’s our government’s duty to protect its citizens, therefore to endorse, encourage or legalise prostitution seems a step in the wrong direction.

In the UK the sale of sexual experiences is legal, however the institutions aiding the selling of prostitutes are illegal (such as brothels or the way in which pimps operate). The fact that prostitution is legal may suggest to some that it’s a feasible career choice, which it really ought not to be.

Another consideration is that prostitution is not a mutual exchange of satisfaction or advantage.

Prostitution is a “unilateral use of a women’s body by a man in exchange for money”, it’s the sale of a person’s body for a period of time, in which the customer is satisfied however he or she pleases.

The problem of prostitution has been pinned on both men and women by different people at different times; however the problem doesn’t lie solely with men or women, but with society, too.

Today prostitution has become prevalent in a society dominated by bureaucracy in which qualifications secure financial comfort. The prostitution industry offers women a last bastion of hope in regards to monetary gain, no qualifications are needed.

Of course not all prostitutes commit to the trade out of desperation, but it’s the desperate that ought to be protected by law. Therefore this discussion changes from ‘should prostitution be illegal?’ to ‘how can we prevent situations where prostitution becomes a financial option?’

Matt Bryan

Wednesday 18th MARCH | Issue 166

COMMENT

The damage done. Objectively.

When conjuring up the image of sex, arguably some may affiliate it with something that is perverse, while on the other hand some may view it as sacred.

The commodification of sex is widespread. We have pornography, escorting, and the sex trade to name a few. Now to each his own, but I know where I stand.

Whether the attention is warranted or unwarranted, it was done with a purpose in mind. I see it as insecurity being laced with fear, but that is just my perspective.

yourself and to have this inner confidence, you need bigger breasts, you need a bigger butt, while at the same time maintaining a hourglass figure. It’s just ridiculous.

To say that one is not affected by the barrage of advertisements focusing on a woman’s anatomy, whether it be her face or hips, breasts or buttocks would be a lie. I’m sure that we, as women, want to be taken more seriously and have the outside world undress our minds not our bodies, so we can reveal the beauty and vigour that is within it.

Unfortunately the thing which captures most of attention is sex, and to be honest I’m not even sure why. Interestingly enough, some may view the glamorisation of Victoria’s Secret models that strut the runway, as being the epitome of the sexual objectification of women; but in a funny way I think some women wish they were in their position.

Now somewhere along those lines, the blatant marketing of sex that has been captured in certain parts of the world has transcended into fuelling the repressive minds of others. Women that are in societies that are already intolerant, repressive, and adhere to a clear cut image of how women should be, face a graver danger because this problem is at their doorstep.

Now arguably their body is the engine of their income, so they are obligated to look and stay a certain way, but a lot of people don’t recognise this. And due our ignorance, Victoria Secret executives use this to their advantage, to help persuade us to buy products we don’t need, just to increase their profit margins.

The funny thing is that we know all of this, but still, we remain passive. Maybe because we feel the argument has seen many days and is practically worn out, or simply because we don’t care enough to take a stance against it. If we leave this issue to take care of itself, one day we will have to take a step back and look behind ourselves to see the damage this has done to all of us, not just women.

However, this argument doesn’t always suffice, as we can be walking contradictions. Social media has opened up the platform for people to express themselves in any way they can and is perceived as an effective vehicle if used with the right intentions.

Nevertheless, we are all privy to knowing that one person who likes to take suggestive, provocative photos just with the intention of attracting attention.

This does not create or facilitate a healthy, secure mindset for anyone, let alone women. They feed this notion to us that in order to feel better about

Leticia Osei

Negative advertising In the Western world, we see the things in demand as something that is presented as desirable, probably something that is mass produced, and almost certainly something that is purchasable as a commodity.

That definition does not immediately scream “ethical issue!”, however when one realizes that the human body very easily fits within that domain, due to the very easy access to pornography (and Kim Kardashian’s behind everywhere you glance), I reckon it’s about time we had a look at the role this commodification of the body plays in reinforcing stereotypes about gender, and promoting gender inequality.

A ‘commodity sign’ designates the joining together of a named material entity as an indicator, together with a meaningful image indicated. The sole reason behind creating these associations between indicator and indicated is to sell commodities.

Therefore, when scantily-clad women are being forced into our retinas to sell perfume, or rather unbelievably, into the strategy app for the iPhone in which one builds castles, it’s quite easy for anyone to develop misinterpretations of what is meant.

always been presented as beauty, not brains; emotional, not intellectual, and relationship oriented- instead of being independent or free.

Women are presented as contextual, spokes of the wheel of popular narrative, never the protagonist.

Studies have shown that should a female appear in an advert alone, the stereotype of the female as a domestic provider who does not make significant decisions and is solely reliant on the whims of men, essentially making them a sex object, is exemplified.

The danger with this attitude to women (and men, but come on lads, women have it way worse) is multi-fold. Self-image is shattered, the self-esteem of sinks as they reach an age where they become conscious of men’s thoughts of them: women are forever reminded by Nivea and Maybeline that their bodies are for dolling up, and their bodies are imperfect, too.

Think about it; Kate Upton, a rather voluptuous model appearing as a damsel in distress, calling for “boys” to download an app in which you build castles and fight off little soldiers (and more advertising), is pretty obviously a ‘sex sells’ approach.

Furthermore, representations of women being forced to beg men to download apps, have almost

The end result of these facts, means that the effect of advertising degrades women to nothing more than sexual objects, that whilst is surely not the intent of advertisers, is a hugely irritating and in need of eradicating.

Luke Smith

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From Elvis to Nicki The media has always been criticised for its evergrowing objectification of bodies, particularly those of women.

Ever since Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips during the 1950s in the United States, there has been debate over what can and cannot be shown on television. Most 1950s American television stations, being particularly prudish, banned footage of Elvis below the waist from being broadcasted to the nation as they feared it would influence the population to copy his actions, something unimaginable in such a religious country.

As more and more people began to succumb to Elvis’ hips, and other musicians began to materialise, more sexual than ever (though still nothing by today’s standards), the general trend of sexuality increased.

As the decades went by musicians and those appearing in music videos began wearing less and less, and this evolution was endorsed by television channels that began to broadcast increasingly sexually overt performances and music videos. Essentially, the media were commodifying people’s bodies, but there was still a level of resistance.

English band Duran Duran were forced to edit their 1981 music video ‘Girls On Film’ by MTV as it showed topless girls wrestling in mud. Madonna also had a number of her music videos banned by MTV where even as late as 1990, ‘Justify My Love’ was banned.

Music videos have only become more shocking since then too. Nicki Minaj’s music video for ‘Anaconda’ exemplifies the overt sexualisation that has become all too common in music videos in recent years.

There are debates regarding ‘Anaconda’ as well as much of Beyoncé’s most recent album,

suggesting that they empower women and therefore advocate feminism, fighting against patriarchal society. It’s difficult however to shake off the thought that companies involved in the production of these videos are developing them in the hope that the shock factor will act as endorsement, elevating its popularity.

One question I pose, is when and where will the limit be? It seems that there is some opposition to the growing frequency of sexualisation seen in music videos, with a recent study showing around 70% of teenagers and young adults felt there were too many sexual references in rap music videos.

One last example I’ll use is Skepta’s fundamentally pornographic music video for ‘All Over The House’, which was subsequently banned from sites such as YouTube however this was only due to its unparalleled extremity.

The issue is that despite people not necessarily completely agreeing with the ever increasing erotic nature of music videos, there is a lack of active resistance, and as a result the industry appears to be supported, due to the controversy they cause, and the curiosity they create.

William Chamberlain

Commodification of women Treating women like commodities is a medieval reality in what seems like a modern world. In India the cruel treatment women have to face on a daily basis frequently make headlines in Western newspapers.

But even though the stories of gruesome treatment towards women are public and cause outrage, the deep lack of respect for women in India illustrates a much bigger problem: women are not seen as human beings, worthy of the same respect as men.

Some people will remember the horrible gang rape of a woman in 2012, who died of her injuries and for which the perpetrators were sentenced to death. And perhaps more shocking than her attack and her extensive injuries are the comments recently made by one of the perpetrators.

He showed no signs of remorse for his actions, and went even further to claim that women should accept rape. What’s even more preposterous is his argument that the victim in his case deserved to be violated in such a brutal manner because of the fact that she fought back-if she hadn’t, they would have just raped her and let her go, but she deserved a harsher treatment for opposing them.

There are countless more cases such as this, each more shocking than the next. Also in 2012, a large group of men, at least 18, attacked a young female student as she was leaving a bar, and humiliated her by undressing her and filming it.

They were laughing and smiling for the cameras, as countless people and cars passed by with no one offering any help or calling the police.

They claimed she deserved it, because a young, respectable girl has no place in bars.

The sad realities of everyday life in India for women begins even before they are born, since a very high number of female foetuses are aborted.

If access to abortion is not provided, baby girls are killed by their parents after birth.

This has led to an incredibly skewed sex ratio and cases of human trafficking. There are not enough wives for men in India, which causes poor families to sell their daughters as slave brides to men who can’t find wives. Women and girls are also sold into forced domestic labour, as slaves. Human trafficking closely resembles a business in India, as there are agencies and traffickers who deal with these transactions. All because women are considered useless and have been unwanted and unloved in India for decades.

But perhaps what is more shocking than the number of rapes and abuse suffered by women is that so many men have stood by as their mothers, sisters and daughters have suffered.

Andreea Ghita

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

COMMENT

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Arts

Jess Rich, Arts Editor

Streaming: Review Thursday 5th March, Lakeside Theatre On Thursday 5th March, the Lakeside Theatre hosted Pipeline Theatre’s brand new production, Streaming.

The company’s latest play tells the story of Rosa, a 15 year old girl “made in Chelsea” whose life is swept away after her mother’s death.

Her father loses their home and they have to move into a cheap flat in the outskirts of the city, causing everything she had – nannies, cleaners, money, friends - to dissolve under the pressure of her family’s new status.

Rosa is quickly left to deal with an alcoholic father, incapable of handling the dramatic situation, her gloomy music and her hamster.

However, Rosa’s eccentric neighbour, Candy, offers a new turning point to the situation: she introduces her to the world of webcams and adult websites, opening up a whole new scenario in front of what seemed to be for her the end of the games.

Rosa moves into Candy’s flat after her father throws her hamster against the wall in a burst of alcoholic rage, and opens her own adult website, where she pretends to be Dorothy from The Wizards of Oz to please men on the other side of the webcam.

Things get worse when Rosa, to pay for rent and bills, decides to star in a porn movie.

The play ends with a 19 year old Rosa, now an escort, dancing in front of the audience, a cigarette and a Bacardi in her hands, wrapping up her own story.

This complicated plot is accompanied by a very elaborated set. The audience’s attention is grabbed from he start by a set of three large see-through boxes, ready and lit on stage, each one of them containing a woman dancing; the same boxes are used throughout the play as the main set, together with an armchair, a small bedside table, and a few boxes containing props.

However, the clever set design is not well used: the scene transitions are really obvious and eventually distract the audience from the complex plot, causing it to lose pace.

Although the idea is brilliantly polemical and the story is a sad reflection of many realities some people have to face daily, the entire production turned out to be way too “stuffed” and therefore the flow of events appeared to suffer.

The intriguing story line is overloaded with information and events. There are way too many set changes and there is some good (although unnecessary) puppetry from time to time.

It was a really interesting production to watch, but it could have definitely benefitted from occasional cuts and revisions. Sometimes, less is more.

Fabiana Sforza

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

ART

Oh! What a Lovely War: Review When it comes to putting on ambitious projects, Oh! What a Lovely War is certainly one of them.

Joan Littlewoods’s satirical musical of World War One is a play which operates on two levels of difficulty: one being the technical challenge of the songs and structure of the play, and the other being its very real and human subject matter, which still resonates very firmly within modern culture.

The decision to let students embark in the performing of this show is a risk, so how is the Theatre Art’s Society annual Spring-term project faring this year?

Before I even walked into the theatre, I was aware that this show had had a very fraught production period. Eight cast members had dropped out and some of the songs had turned out to be a cappella (apart from some percussion). It was an indicator that the show was in a place where it could go either way.

As I sat in my seat on the closing night, I was greeted by a charming pre-show which immediately set a nice tone to the opening of the play. However, the rest of the night was not in this vein.

The first act was almost too much to handle as a spectator. The quality of the piece fluctuated between extremely bad and very good within seconds in parts. I felt utterly polarised internally at what was going on.

I also found myself at many points in the play using unconscious hand gestures such as covering what I was seeing, attempting to bury my head in my drink and staring at the ceiling.

The second act was pretty much lost on me completely as I began to enjoy the act of just letting my mind wander and pretending I wasn’t there. I think we can agree that this was not my favourite show that I’ve ever seen in the Lakeside.

But that is not to say that this show is a complete write off. No. There were very, very nice bits.

Firstly, the commitment of the cast was just lovely. They brought an energy to the play which was very necessary in bringing out a degree of quality to the performance. As for the singing and the a cappella musical, it was a credit that the show had a cast that could actually sing.

Of course, music would have been a pleasant addition. The fact that this show was advertised as a ‘musical’ and had the grand musical total of one drummer is certainly something that needs to be rectified for future projects. But, even without the music, the singing was actually pleasant, and was of a standard which meant it worked well enough on the night.

The major problem with this production is that it felt too much like performance art. Some of the direction and choices turned this play into a strange mixture of scenes that were stupidly surreal and bizarre to watch.

At times, it became the example of ‘the bad night at the theatre’ joke which constantly pervades TV sitcoms. I also wonder whether any of the play’s context was known by the cast and crew.

This musical depends on the context of the play being understood and communicated to the audience in order for its emotional relevance to work. I had no idea what was going on at some points.

Maybe it was because I stopped paying attention, but if you lose the attention of an audience member in a show, it’s a sign that what you have done hasn’t worked.

This show didn’t work nearly as well as it could have done. It wasn’t an utter failure, but it was nowhere near a success either.

But ultimately, making theatre is a very, very, very difficult endeavour. For the cast and crew in this show, it should be noted that the lack of success in this show is just a case of ambitions not being met. I have no doubt that the people involved in this show will go on to do shows which will be much more successful than this.

Good theatre depends on the experience of bad theatre to examine and demonstrate where problems exist, and to give inspiration on how to fix them. No matter the failure or disheartening of an unsuccessful show, the experience will always be one that leads to the enrichment of one’s own knowledge of their craft.

Scott Osbon

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WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

Essex to Edinburgh A group of Essex students are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this August.

The theatre company, Essex to Edinburgh was founded by Essex student Jessica Rich and will be producing two separate shows in conjunction with TAS and the Lakeside Theatre.

Abi Bing will be producing a piece of puppetry, while Richard Hornsby will be directing a production called My Name is Rachel Corrie.

Visit the Facebook page for Essex to Edinburgh as well as The Rabbit online for more information and news relating to the project!

Ed Gove

ART

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16

Music

Alex Driscoll, Music Editor

The wonderful state of music on campus In the entire academic year of 2013/2014, the Music Society managed a pitiful eight paid members.

Catfish and the Bottlemen, now a UK top 10 band and festival staple, were booked to play on campus, but were awarded little promotion and thus, too little interest caused the show’s cancellation.

Neither is it the case that Colchester town attracts big-name bands on tour circuits, and so our best bet for live music has been travelling to London or Norwich; both impractical nights, for many reasons.

Looking further back, we’ve had some of the all-time greats regularly performing at the university: some of the big names include AC/ DC, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, Blur, Radiohead, The Smiths… the list goes on, and the names mentioned above have an estimated collective album sales figure of half a billion.

Compare this to Beyonce’s estimates d 35 million, and also to the biggest artist to visit Essex this year, Wretch 32, and his predicted 100,000. Certainly an impressive feat, but here’s the thing: it’s not artists of Beyonce’s heights we’re after.

This article is an appreciation post. In the current academic year, students have collectively turned the tables, and now live music has a wealthy presence on campus.

None of the bands mentioned earlier spent their commercial peak playing in Sub Zero.

But the student-lead live music scene that has been born this year could be a reckoning force, if nurtured correctly.

The rise seems to stem from a far greater student interest in music societies; along with our new Punk and Indie/Rock societies, we had the existing Music (for musicians), Live Music, Metal and Choir societies. Membership for these is far higher than last year, and they collectively have hundreds of members.

Music Society alone has one hundred, and has begun organising well-received two-hour live music slots during the Thursday campus market, with a range of genres played solely by our own students.

Beyond this, we have Coffee House Sessions in a brand new time slot, Wednesday 1pm in the SU Bar, with an incredible range of established and new talent finally picking up the audience it deserves.

So that’s two weekly live music events well worth attending, but a third is picking up steam; live music in the SU Bar has quickly reestablished Friday as a night worth going out on.

Finally, we have a pre-drinks event worth hitting before we head on our routine entry to Bounce. The student-led bands of Friday 6th March proved very successful, and we hope that Absent Kid and headliners The Victories don’t become strangers to the event.

Beyond live music, regular Metal Meltdowns and free-entry Indie vs. Rock nights have shown high turnouts, and a refusal to capitalise on such events would be not only a major financial mistake, but a shame too. They are welcome variation to Sub Zero’s repetitive schedule, and not a bad word has been heard from attendees.

So here’s to a constant evolution of the nights out at University of Essex. Watching it grow throughout my attendance has been, and will continue to be, a huge pleasure.

Alex Driscoll

Wednesday 18th MARCH | Issue 166

MUSIC

17

Interview

Lonely the Brave Talking to Ross Smithwick and Mark Trotter, the two guitarists of Lonely The Brave, Toni Laporta finds out about who’s on their radio, album number two, and reflects on their huge successes.

The Rabbit: Icebreaker: If you could choose a character from Friends to represent you, who would you pick?

Ross Smithwick: Probably Ross, not just because we share the same name. He’s exactly like my brother.

RS: Yeah! But we just focus on the positive ones.

There’s been so many good reviews, which has been amazing. No point listening to the negative ones. All you can do is change their mind.

MT: Or punch them.

TR: Both equally effective.

Mark Trotter: I would probably be Rachel. No idea why.

TR: Who are you currently listening to?

RS: The War On Drugs. Their new album is absolutely amazing. Angel Ohlsen too.

TR: Kerrang magazine gave your album, “The Day’s War” a 5-star review last August. What effect would you say this has had on the band?

MT: A huge one! The record means a lot to us.

The fact that they like it is a special thing. It’s about a time and place in our lives, as a band, and where we were at that point.

Things were very different then. It’s kinda cool that they’re into it, and their support of us is great.

TR: Have there been any other comments made by the press that you have felt strongly about, whether positive or negative?

MT: I think ignoring them means less lawsuits!

TR: The album cover is beautifully artistic. How much input did you have in its creation and choices? Who decided against a band shot?

MT: It was done by an artist called Alex Woodhead. We’d seen his work before, and we really liked his stuff. He listened to the record, and we told him to do whatever he wanted. He’s actually a tattoo artist now.

MT: Everything that happens is a high. In the last two years, we’ve done things we never thought possible. We opened for Bruce Springsteen, played with Neil Young and Deftones. It’s been bonkers! It doesn’t get much bigger than The Boss, does it?

TR: Album 2 is probably a long way away yet, and you won’t want to reveal too much – but how far into the process are you?

RS: We’re doing alright. Got a lot of ideas, a few fully written tracks. Probably play one tonight perhaps. After this tour we’ll spend a long time getting it perfected.

TR: On campus we have multiple large music societies. What advice do you have for any student bands hoping to make a career from their music?

TR: At Reading/Leeds Festival 2014, you played the NME Tent, to a packed out audience, which is certainly a commercial career highlight. But what are the smaller milestones that you appreciate?

MT: Such a cliché… I know exactly what Ross is thinking…

RS: The goal for all of us is too keep doing it, getting music out there and growing as a band.

We’re doing the Reading Main Stage this year so that’ll be another huge high.

MT: Just don’t give up! You always go through phases of “oh sod it…” But if you’re passionate about it, other people will be too.

RS: *sings Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel 1986 hit* Don’t Give Up!

RS: Passion and commitment goes a long way!

Toni Laporta

D’Angelo Live review After a 14-year hiatus since the release of his sophomore album “Voodoo”, D’Angelo is back with “Black Messiah”, and his last performance at London’s Hammersmith Apollo made it clear why he has been greatly missed.

This time, his story is one of soulful redemption in which all sinners can be saved by preaching love.

However, he is no longer praying by himself; he stands alongside his band ‘The Vanguard’, including British bass maestro Pino Palladino and The Time’s guitarist Jesse Johnson.

With them, he appears comfortable and embracing of his sex-symbol status. Having previously claimed he felt objectified after the release of his music video for “Untitled (How does

it feel)”, it is refreshing to see him confidently claim the stage his own with lustful screams and soft intimate whispers.

Critics have compared him to Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye, whilst others saw in his latest performances some flashes of the Sly Stone Family and Al Green. In this occasion it was Barry White’s show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1975 with the Love Unlimited Orchestra that I saw in D’Angelo’s performance.

Back then, soon after White appeared on stage, he made sure he did not stay there long. He walked downstairs through his seated audience. Women and men would approach the bass-baritone singer asking for a kiss or a handshake.

In middle of the song “One Mo’gin”, D’Angelo steps down from the stage and walks through his audience, this time no one remained seated, everyone wanting to be as close to him as possible.

The longing to connect with the audience, the humble conviction that there upstage is lonely and soul music was meant to connect each other; we greatly miss this in music performances.

No one has been as good as making the audience part of the show as D’Angelo since Barry White. It is good to know that he is back.

Gisselle Giron

18

Film

Edward Lincoln, Film Editor

Focus God, Will Smith is cool. In his most recent film he plays Nicky Sturgeon, a more serious and rounded role than we’re used to seeing him in, but he acts so effortlessly and brilliantly he immediately draws you into the story.

Smith and Robbie’s sexual chemistry on screen has raised eyebrows but their compatibility only makes the story so much more intense, really heightening the experience of love and loss.

Margot Robbie is cast as Jess Barrett, Sturgeon’s sidekick/ love interest in the film, and is also fantastic. Her chic glamour helps to make her performance truly stunning. In fact, the picture is one of all things beautiful, from the actors, to the props, to the scenery of the settings.

The black comedy of Focus is a work of genius from writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and punctuates the otherwise quite forceful nature of the story. Comedy is something we’re used to seeing from Will Smith, whose delivery is perfect, but Margot Robbie, too, engages with it expertly, always keeping her male counterparts in check.

It’s a wonder that with all the gorgeous sights on screen that the story line can hold your attention, and indeed a less interesting one might not, but the plot of ‘Focus’ is studded with so many twists and turns you don’t have time to get comfortable before it’s all up in the air again.

It is no surprise that this film has been a popular choice at the cinema, grossing $3 million in its first weekend at the box office. The concessions employee in the cinema I went to also couldn’t recommend it highly enough, and said that he hadn’t heard a single person say a bad thing about it.

To give you a feel of what this film is like, think James Bond meets Hustle in a Dodge Challenger.

The film is split over location, starting off in New Orleans and then moving to Buenos Aires, both providing a real sense of the separate countries.

The film is captivating, and Smith’s and Robbie’s performances are excellent, but it’s never going to be an Oscar-winner. If you want a deep critical analysis of the state of the world and the future of mankind, then I’d save your money. However, if you want a film with action, romance and comedy, then this movie is for you.

Smith’s character is the leader of a small-time grifter gang whose main income is from selling the items they’ve lifted from people. He meets Jess (Robbie) when she tries to con him, after which he takes her under his wing to teach her the tricks of the trade.

Sophie McBean

★★★★★

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH| ISSUE 166

FILM

You can win free tickets to see a film at ODEON Colchester by writing an article for the Rabbit! More details at therabbitnewspaper.com

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Unfortunately no amount of acting talent can hide the fact that the film’s script is a let down. Almost all of the characters are experiencing the same problems and conflicts of the first film, which is odd considering that the first instalment supposedly resolved all these issues.

Returning to our screens with another exotic instalment, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel reunites one unbelievable cast for another feelgood Indian story.

The film revisits the slightly less dilapidated but equally charming hotel in Jaipur and shares more stories about growing old, retiring ungracefully, and having uproariously good fun no matter what age you are.

The result is a film that never really breaks new ground, and just meanders from one character to the next as their problems continue. Relief can be found in two new additions to the cast, as the hotel plays host to two undercover inspectors, played

by Tamsin Greig and Richard Gere. These two characters allow the film to explore the supporting characters to a greater extent.

With a spectacular cast of the best of British acting: Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Celia Imrie to name a few, many had high expectations for this sequel, and to a certain extent it succeeded.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is definitely not a bad film, but it has some clear flaws.

As a light-hearted comedy it succeeds, but its new cast and revised plot aren’t enough to refresh the idea for a second attempt. For the same amount of comedy, but with added drama and seriously moving stories, I would recommend the first film instead.

The acting skill was expectedly fantastic, and particular credit must be given to Dame Maggie Smith, who as Mrs Donnelly brings most of the laughs when moaning about her cup of tea and other British clichés. Dev Patel also does a great job as hotel owner Sonny, although after seeing both of the films the character becomes a little irritating as he constantly stumbles around making more trouble for himself.

Edward Lincoln

★★★★★

Frozen is conjuring up a new storm For the first time in what seemed like forever, Disney released a sensational new film that turned into its most successful feature of all-time. Following a recent record of moderately successful films, no one could have predicted the storm Frozen would unleash when it hit UK cinemas in December 2013.

With many considering it Disney’s finest achievement since 1994’s phenomenally popular The Lion King, the legacy of Frozen seems to be going on and on. I can still hardly walk down the high street without passing numerous items of Frozen merchandise in shop windows.

Meanwhile, Disney World parks across the globe have been performing live shows based on the film to packed audiences of excited children and their families, and many cinemas have been screening special sing-a-long versions. Even Essex’s own Sub Zero hosted a Frozen themed event one night last term.

So what is it about this film that has sparked so much enthusiasm? Many love how the film is one of the few in cinema to centre its action on two female leads, whilst the film’s refreshingly original twist on the classic Disney princess formula is wonderful.

Alas, it seemed we had seen all we would of Frozen’s beloved characters until Disney revealed it would be producing a short sequel, featuring the original cast, and including a new track from Robert Lopez and Kristen-Andersen Lopez, that will be played at cinema screenings of Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella scheduled for release on March 13th Sidelining Anna’s (Kristen Bell) romance with Hans 2015.

(Santino Fontana) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and focusing on the relationship between the estranged sisters also worked well. The ‘true love’ needed to cure Anna’s frozen heart comes not from Kristoff but from her love for her sister displayed in the film’s most moving sequence where Anna throws herself in front of a sword to save Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel).

Not to mention the film comes with a killer soundtrack including the Oscar-winning track Let it Go that persuaded the writers to change Elsa from a villain, as in Hans Christen Andersen’s The Snow Queen that inspired the film, into a misunderstood heroine.

The seven-minute film centres on Anna’s birthday and everyone is determined to make it special. But there’s a catch - Elsa has a cold, which is sure to conflict with her icy powers.

Amy Horsfield

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20

TV

Nisa Khan, TV Editor Amy Bater, TV Editor

Happy 40th Birthday Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live (more widely known as SNL) is the US’s most significant comedy sketch show that is produced and aired in front of a live audience. Each show is hosted by a celebrity guest who usually performs a number of skits during the live show, as well as a musical guest.

It has amassed the likes of Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon, to name a few. These comics have gone on to become international household names and they mostly owe their successes to SNL. This year the show celebrated its 40th year on air and was a star-studded red carpet event complete with a full celebrity audience.

Returning cast members and memorable hosts returned to perform their well known skits and bits alongside the current cast with a few more surprise guests making an appearance during the night.

SNL is as iconic as its comics and continues to push the barriers by skits and sketches based on current/political events with a new generation of comics every year or so.

Throughout four decades on air, SNL has received a number of prestigious awards, including thirty-six Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Writers Guild of America Awards.

In the year 2000, SNL was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame as well as being ranked tenth in TV Guide ‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” list, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME”.

As of 2012, it has received 156 Emmy nominations, the most received by any TV show. American comedy isn’t really known for pushing the boundaries of television, but SNL can manage gasps of surprise in between the audience’s hysterical laughter. It’s pure genius, here’s to 40 more years.

Nisa Khan

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

The Five Timers Club Saturday Night Live is majorly known for its celebrity guests, as there is a featured celebrity in each show.

Throughout the years there have been numerous guests to take on the hosting role from Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Danny DeVito, Justin Timberlake, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase; all of whom are part of the ‘Five-Timers Club.’

TV

Spotlights Bill Hader The genius comedian Bill Hader is one of the best to have ever graced SNL. Anyone who watches the show will name Stefon as one of the most memorable characters and Hader slipped into his character with ease and brilliance.

As Stefon flirted with Weekend Update host Seth Meyers, who now presents The Late Show, Hader could hardly keep a straight face, which only made the audience laugh more.

Bill has since left the show but his clips are available on Youtube and are definitely worth a watch.

Kristen Wiig Now well known for her role in Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig came to fame on Saturday Night Live in 2005. One of her most memorable sketches, and a personal favourite, is Gilly the mischievous and unbearably annoying school girl who looks like Annie but spends her time tormenting her classmates.

The sketch even has its own annoyingly catchy theme song which when stuck in your head will never leave. Kristen Wiig, alongside many of the other brilliant women who star in SNL, is hilarious and her sketches were some of my favourite the show has ever produced.

The Five Timers Club was created for those guests that have managed to host the show at least five times during their careers. Along with the status of being a member of the Five Timers Club, there is a sketch that follows during the show, often featuring a number of the members.

This novelty has become a huge part of the show’s history as well as for the viewers as it exposes a rare glimpse of these highly ranked stars together as they share this accolade.

Kate McKinnon Kate Mckinnon may be new to the SNL cast but she has made her mark. Kate is an especially talented celebrity impressionist, with one of her best impressions being Ellen Degeneres.

She has perfected her mannerisms to mirror well-known actors and musicians (including Justin Bieber’s Calvin Klein ad which is just incredible). Kate was born to be on Saturday Night Live and she is going to have a long career ahead of her.

Jay Pharoah Jay Pharoah’s impression of Kanye West is brilliant, especially if you’re not adverse to laughing at “Kimye”. Pharoah joined the SNL cast in 2010 and has starred in many of the show’s successful sketches since his arrival.

Other characters Pharoah has undertaken are Obama, Denzel Washington and Lil Wayne.

Pharoah has also appeared in films such as Ride Along and is a rapper and stand-up comedian alongside his work on SNL.

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22

Books

Georgina Dedman, Books Editor

INTERVIEW

An Interview with Wendy Constance Wendy Constance is the winner of the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2013 with her book Brave.

What inspired you to write Brave?

How long did it take for you to write Brave?

It started when a friend told me about the Clovis hunter gatherers who lived in North America 13,000 years ago, just before megamammals became extinct. I was intrigued and eager to learn more about these Stone Age Paleo Indians who hunted woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed cats armed with their distinctive fluted spear points. They needed someone to tell their story.

From the first inkling of a storyline to completion of the first draft probably took a year, but I did several rewrites during the next six months before I started sending it to agents and publishers.

I continued to make revisions between submissions, so by the time I entered it in The Times/ Chicken House Competition it had received further editing.

Who is your favourite character and why?

It’s difficult to choose a favourite between Wild Horse and Blue Bird, the two lead characters. Wild Horse came to me first and I knew he had something to prove because his father didn’t think he measured up to his dead brother.

I was working and I moved from Yorkshire to Essex during the process. After winning the competition the editing continued for another six months before Brave was published.

But I’ve also got a soft spot for Tall Tree, whose bravery confirms his belief in Wild Horse. And I particularly enjoyed writing Blue Bird’s scenes where she shows Wild Horse she is a good a hunter too. Maybe I’ll choose Storm the sabre-toothed cub as my favourite, because she starts life so helpless and becomes fearless.

What research was required for the book?

What writing tips would you give for others who wish to begin a writing career?

The challenge of researching ancient history is that there isn’t the plethora of information that exists for, say the Romans 2000 years ago. The advantage is that it leaves more scope for using your imagination.

Start by writing for pleasure, not for profit. Very few writers earn enough to make a career out of writing – most of us have a full or part-time job to supplement our earnings (I work on campus as a Notetaker).

The Internet was good for basic information about the stone tools and the megamammals. I bought two excellent textbooks, which provided far more detail than I needed for the story, but useful background facts to have.

If you enjoy writing - write, write and rewrite - to hone your skills. You might try PQR:

A visit to the Natural History Museum proved invaluable for showing the scale of the wildlife with its full-size models and skeletons of mastodons, mammoths and the giant sloth.

P = Persevere – don’t give up Q = Questions for your characters, plot and setting R = Rewrite, Revise, and very important Read. The more broadly you read, the better your own writing.

Good luck.

Gina Dedman

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

BOOKS

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Happy Birthday Jack Kerouac Born: 12th March 1922 ‘The Beat Generation’ is an old term, but you’ll recognise its core values: a rejection of the conventions of society and a discouragement of capitalism. It was the parent of the hippie movement, and Jack Kerouac was one of the founders, emerging on the wave of sudden infamy.

Born on March 12th, 1922 in Massachusetts, Kerouac had a tough upbringing. He was a sombre child, after his older brother died at the age of 9, which led to his father excessively drinking and gambling. His brother’s death affected Kerouac deeply, with him revisiting the memory in his novel ‘Visions of Gerard’.

He then moved to New York City’s Upper West Side after university, where he met close friends and the subsequent subjects of his novels, such as Neal Cassady, and William S. Burroughs.

Kerouac’s first books did not take well. However, one day Kerouac suddenly fell into a flow of writing, and finished the final draft of ‘On the Road’ in 20 days. Kerouac’s writing flow was powerful enough that he did not use normal type-writing paper; instead, he taped together reams of tracing paper into a 37m long roll that allowed him to type continuously.

However, the book initially received rejections from publishers and editors, mostly due to its experimental writing and graphic descriptions of drug use, and was only published much later, with heavy revisions.

However, the novel soon thrust him into the limelight, with a review in The New York Times hailing him as a major American writer. Kerouac’s fame was wild, with him no longer feeling safe outdoors after nine months.

Kerouac’s career then took a roller-coaster path of demoralisation and adulation, constantly battling against efforts to recycle his raw work into cleaner, censored versions.

Unfortunately, at the age of 47, Kerouac suffered huge amounts of internal bleeding as a result of a lifetime of heavy drinking, and died in hospital, leaving his family to fight over the will. However, his influence still spread far, sparking a massive movement that cultured a strong sense of youth empowerment.

Lydia Pauly

Peter Pan Neverland Peter Pan is J. M. Barrie’s most famous work, in the form of a 1904 play (also known as The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up) and a 1911 novel (also known as Peter and Wendy).

Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate, Captain Hook.

The play and novel were inspired by Barrie’s friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Barrie continued to revise the play for years after its debut; the novel reflects one version of the story.

1. Originally, Peter and the Lost Boys could fly unaided, but after several reports of children injuring themselves attempting to fly from their bed, JM Barrie added Fairy Dust later for health and safety reasons.

2. Unlike the Disney film, Peter Pan didn’t wear all green. In the original stage productions he was said to wear auburns, tans, browns and cobwebs.

3. In the original play, Hook’s last words are “Floreat Etona” which translates as Let Eton flourish. In a lecture about the character, JM Barrie confirmed that Captain Hook in fact attended Eton College.

4.

When you grow up with the “overly-nice” 1953 Disney version of the story, picking up this book for the first time can be quite a shock.

Here are some interesting facts you probably didn’t know about Peter Pan:

JM Barrie gave all rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital. The hospital has received royalties every time a production of the play is put on. Barrie requested that the amount raised from Peter Pan should never be revealed, and the hospital has always honoured his wishes.

Ben Gregson

24

Science

Starlight and Sweetness Dreams. A phenomena that all of us experience at least to 4 to 6 times per night. Sometimes, we are able to remember them when we wake up, sometimes dreams are gone in the morning and we get the feeling that we do not actually dream at all.

Throughout human history, people have assigned various meanings to dreams. The Greeks believed that dreams gave us prophetic powers, psychologists in the 19th century believed that dreams express our unresolved and repressed wishes. These days scientists believe that dreams are simply electrical brain impulses and do not have deep meaning.

The activity of our brain is very different when we sleep compared to when we are awake. The two parts which are especially active while dreaming are the limbic system, which is the primary control centre for emotions and the secondary visual cortex, which gives sense to the images the rest of the brain creates.

That is why our dreams are full of various emotions. And because the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain controlling logic, is dormant, we can dream of swimming in a bowl of soup with a group of velociraptors.

A few recent studies have concluded that even though dreams cannot cause pain by themselves, the pain from the ordinary world can be incorpo-

Alice Vardy, Science Editor

Sleep Facts

rated into them. This means that people who were massively injured or suffer from depression can experience a higher number of nightmares where they are trying to escape this pain.

1. Other than that we get tired, scientists have no idea why it is that we have to sleep.

But that is not all. Dreams can also affect our mood. The tone of the dreams we have during the night can set the tone to the following morning.

Some dreams can even affect our whole day and also social interactions have been found to tightly correlate with dreams.

3.

Therefore it can be concluded that dreams have a huge impact on us, during sleep and also during the following day. So dream on!

2.

In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.

Humans naturally feel extremely tired at two points in the day, 2am and 2pm, and science can not explain why.

4. Scientists do not know if animals enter REM sleep (have dreams).

5.

Humans are the only species that will avoid sleeping willingly.

6. Snails can sleep for up to three years.

7. We usually sleep for 3-5 minutes less

a night

when it is a full moon.

Barbora Eliet Hrรกdeckรก

8.

Blind people often have a difficult time sleeping because they can not tell day from night.

9.

People who sleep for 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night tend to live the longest.

10. The record for the longest time spent asleep is 11 days.

11. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleepdeprivation played a role.

Alice Vardy

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

SCIENCE SCIENCE

25

Sleep is for the Weak As much as students have a tendency to socialise ‘til the wee hours, and occasionally feel the need to pull an all-nighter to get an assignment handed in on time, the fact is that humans need sleep.

Without it, in much the same way as going without food or water, we will die. The world record for staying awake was set by Randy Gardener in 1964, but after 11 days and 24 minutes awake he couldn’t perform simple sums, because he kept forgetting what he was doing.

Margaret Thatcher famously ran the country on four hours sleep a night, and look how that panned out...

But how much sleep do we actually need? And when is the best time to sleep? The Sleep Foundation recommends that for an adult between the ages of 18-25, 8-9 hours of sleep a night is optimal.

They also suggest that the routine should be kept up even at weekends, so say goodbye to the Friday night frivolity and Sunday morning coma.

Perhaps more key than the length of your snooze however, is the quality of the zzz’s you get. Ac-

cording to the Sleep Foundation, things to avoid are caffeine or alcohol to excess.

Now I’ve always thought ‘excess’ was very much open to interpretation, and I’m also slightly concerned that by this reckoning, very few students sleep properly.

Another intriguing Sleep Foundation recommendation is to switch of all electronics before you sleep.

I tried this the other night. I slept until 12.30PM because my alarm was switched off, and then found all of my frozen food was leaking onto the kitchen floor.

Stupid Sleep Foundation.

Elijah Bell

Science Update: Roboworm For years the thought of an organism that was a melding of flesh and robotics, has terrified us. But thanks to a group called OpenWorm, the central nervous system of a worm called caenorhabditis elegans has been transplanted into a Lego mindstorms EV3 robot. This was done as a step on the journey we are undertaking to understand our own brains, and how they work.

“My God Jim! That’s not three pounds of gum...IT’S A BRAIN!!!”

After having the oldest skull ever found in Britain in their possession for over five years, the University of York has discovered that the “spongy yellow material inside the skull, which was found in some mud, is a brain”.

Based upon the size and shape of the skull and the teeth, it is believed that the person it belonged to was between 26 and 45 years of age, and lived around 300 BCE.

They’re going to need to reschedule their appointments The oldest human fossil was found in Ethiopia, and possibly could push back the origin of the Homo genus by half of a million years.

Research of the jawbone is expected to shed some light on the mysterious backstory of our human family in Eastern Africa. The next oldest fossil found has been dubbed “Lucy”, and she is 200,000 years younger.

More monkeys we’ve never seen before!

Despite the fact we have been basically everywhere on the face of the Earth, we keep discovering new and exciting species, such as Callicebus miltoni. Callicebus miltoni has a bright orange-colored tail and sideburns and grey stripes on its little monkey forehead.

This just goes to show how wonderfully diverse our planet is, and how much more we still have to discover about it.

Alice Vardy

26

Lifestyle

Luiza Sandru, Lifestyle Editor

Bring Floral Back Floral dresses may have been temporarily left behind in the years of 2011 and 2012 but this year they are bringing themselves back, bigger than ever.

We have already seen this in London Fashion Week 2015, which displayed the upcoming trends for this year with floral coming out on top. Floral patterns were seen being modelled by fashion labels such as Mother Of Pearl, Antonio Beradi, along with many other big fashion labels known all around the world.

Sure, we can go all out with the floral like all these big fashion labels are backing, but not all of us are that daring.

So, where does that leave the less brave us? Do we leave the floral fashion trend behind? Do we say suck it to society and brace it in full swing? Or do we try and find the middle ground with the classic subtle look?

There are two ways to work the trend without going too overboard and looking like we are verging on a 2007 Britney Spears.

One way we can do this is to dress in block colour but accessorise with floral patterns and floral jewellery.

Throw that floral purse together with that black vest top and orange pencil skirt and you are away.

However, floral dresses are the simplest way to capture the floral trend without taking too big of a risk.

Team your floral dress with minimalist jewellery and sandals and you are already set for spring.

After spending the last of our change on the safety bus home after an intense night out in sub zero, not many of us students can contemplate splashing out on a brand new outfit just to keep up with the ever changing fashion industry which will inevitably have moved on by 2017.

So, to buy your dress even on the tightest of budgets, cut down on the alcohol and take a trip to Primark (or “Primarni”, depending on your level of sophistication). Dresses can be found from £8 up to £25; variety enough to fit any budget.

Lexi Chappell

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

LIFESTYLE

27

Natural hair care moisturiser.

A lot of people think that taking proper care of your natural afro hair is a lot of work and too expensive.

With daily use of the oils after showering, as well as weekly use on hair, they’ve lasted me almost 3 months. It is this regime that has allowed my hair to grow from a TWA (Teeny-Weeny-Afro) when I cut it in June to shoulder length 9 months later. It truly works, and my skin is baby soft too as an added bonus.

As a student, whose main achievements at University have been wasting money on food and procrastinating on coursework, I’m living proof that caring for afro hair can be fun, easy enough for anyone to achieve, and inexpensive too - much less than your next weave or braids.

If you need any styling or moisturising advice, feel free to drop me an email (ioajay@essex.ac.uk) or ask on the UoENaturalistas Facebook page and I will be happy to help.

A good starting point is knowing what does and doesn’t work for your type of hair. As the proud owner of tightly coiled locks, this piece will be talking mainly about this kind of hair, however those of you fortunate/unfortunate enough to have looser coils, you can still follow this guide, but keep in mind you that will not need to use as much product as I advise.

One thing I have learnt is not to follow the typing rule so strictly when caring for my hair. This was a major source of pain when I first started, I would spend hours reading up on all the techniques that followed the ‘grade of my hair’ (Hair type is classified or graded with lettering and numbering according to its texture and thickness).

However, these grade systems are not as useful as they sound - nothing is ever this clear-cut, and hair typing is not as important as knowing what works for your hair; whether it be expensive shea moisture products, or simple olive oil. What does not work as a moisturiser or styling product, however, is Pink Oil, you’ll probably get better moisturising by rinsing your hair in crude oil (which it is refined from).

Don’t fall into the trap of becoming a product junkie.

I speak from experience, I have a cupboard full of half used and unused products at great expense to my student loan. This was as a result of watching YouTube videos and believing that, to get the same re-

sults, I’d have to splurge on the expensive products the blogger’s used.

My haircare regime is pleasantly simple, it has to be for someone a lazy as me:

Seriously, don’t fall into that trap, these people are paid to promote these products to you. Find what works best for you.

Sunday: Co-wash, twist out/braid out

For me, it’s as simple as whipped shea butter as styling cream for my twist outs or braids. I also use a homemade mixture of water, almond oil, avocado oil, grape seed oil and lavender oil (my four miracle oils) as a daily moisturising spray.

Tuesday: Spritz with water and oil - Enjoy twist/braid out

And lastly, a large toothed comb for everyday duties and a rat tail comb for styling. I limit combing to once or twice a week. In order to avoid breakages and split ends, dampen the hair first, comb in little sections and comb from the bottom gently.

Washing the hair is a ‘once every three week’ occurrence in winter, however, I co-wash (conditioner only) it with a mixture of a conditioner (shea moisture coconut and hibiscus conditioner) and the four oils I mentioned once or twice a week.

This last point is very important, it took me almost a decade to realise the reason I looked like an extra on ‘Roots’ was because I washed it daily. It was so dry and brittle, it never progressed past a dusty looking twa with sharp edges.

The twists/braids take about an hour to do( or five if I’m watching TV!). I don’t have special days where I do a deep protein conditioning, banana and egg wash etc., I don’t need them personally but if your hair is in need of a little bit more TLC then there is space to schedule that into the regime above. In total my oils and conditioner cost me £25 on Amazon and the oils mixed together are also an effective after-shower

Monday: Enjoy twist/braid out

Wednesday: Enjoy twist/braid out.

Thursday: Enjoy twist/braid out. Re-twist/ re-braid at night (especially if going out on Friday!)

Friday: Enjoy twist/braid out Saturday: Spritz with water and oil - Enjoy twist/braid out Ireoluwa Ajayi

28

Stay Positive while crossing Spring term’s finish line!

With the end of term quickly approaching, it can become easy to fall behind in taking care of what’s number one, you!

Morale can start to run low around this time of year, but I find if you look good, you feel good and vice versa. So by making a combination of these five slight changes to your daily life, you can not only improve your health, but also your attitude and approach to your university studies as the spring term draws to an end.

1. Getting enough sleep!

Now I know it’s easier said than done, with socials, special occasions and unexpected existential crisis chats at three in the morning, but going to bed at a reasonable time will leave you feeling refreshed ready to make a productive start to your day.

2. Makeup!

As a firm believer in “looking good equals feeling good” by having the extra time in the mornings from your newly readjusted sleeping pattern, adding a little mascara, tinted moisturiser and lip balm can transform you from looking like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders to a revitalised freshened face, that’s not time consuming.

Even making painting your nails a regular habit can be uplifting. I recommend the makeup brand MUA sold in Superdrug stores, they are the MAC of the drugstore beauty products. Primers, mascaras, nail polishes and lipsticks (including matte) range between £1 - £3. Ladies on a budget, go pamper yourselves!

4. Apparel!

I am guilty of this myself, rushing out of the house having thrown on the dullest outfit possible can also take its toll on your mood.

Looking like you’re ready to hit London fashion week isn’t obtainable day to day, by simply adding a splash of colour into your outfit can make all the difference. I suggest brightening up your look with a vibrant jacket or patterned scarf to stand out to give you a rise in confidence.

A healthy amount of sleep at the right time will not only improve your memory, alertness and judgement but increase your mood as well. Just aim to do this a couple nights a week or make it a Sunday night rule to set the tone for the week ahead.

For those of you that find it hard to sleep try playing some sleep relaxation music in the background from YouTube to help you drift off.

5. “You are what you eat!”

The typical student life is fast paced and so the time to create healthy meals may not always be an option and grabbing lunch on the go is often what we resort to.

3. Stay hydrated!

We’ve all been told the importance of drinking water throughout the day and staying hydrated, but let’s face it, just drinking water can become monotonous!

To switch it up a little try adding sliced lemon into your water bottle.

This will not only add flavour, but contains numerous health benefits too, which will give you the boost needed to cross this term’s finish line. The extra dose of Vitamin C will keep your stress levels from plummeting and your skin blemish-free!

However making better decisions about what we eat can contribute to our mindset. Substituting our cravings for low-calorie alternatives will stop you from feeling sluggish and give you more energy to remain focused.

So there you have it! Just a few basic ways into giving your mind and body the TLC it needs to get you over this penultimate hurdle before exam period and keep your spirits high as we reach the final weeks of spring term.

T’Lise Gibbs-Ward

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

LIFESTYLE

Extreme Dieting Dieting, there is always a new craze out there in the headlines or a fitness DVD from the latest celebrity to “shed” the stones in a matter of months or even weeks.

The constant hub around different diets is of course this is going to make anyone feel the need to diet. To see all of these fad diets hitting the headlines, all these celebs getting “skinny”, sometimes it is bound to make you feel inadequate and it is going to make you want to embark upon extreme dieting yourself.

I’ve been there myself, I’ve tried to go on a crash diet or thought about these “skinny pills”, but it honestly is not the way forward.

I know that you may think that it is because it’s all our generation tends to see. Signs of extreme dieting is everywhere. From celeb gossip magazines, to TV adverts, even on Facebook.

These extreme diets consisting of procedures such as: skinny tea, tea detox, skinny pills, which I may add are all too available on our local high-street shelves such as Holland and Barrett, Boots and even big chain supermarkets.

You can even buy them underage and illegally on the internet, because let’s face it, there are hardly any “safety rules or regulations” to stop you from buying them.

There was a time when I hardly ate any carbs, and I was extremely cautious about what I ate and when I ate it, limiting myself to a set amount of calories every day.

I was also having ridiculous rules and rituals like only eating chocolate on a Wednesday and only having a big meal if I was going to work that night, so that I knew I would burn it off.

self and what I eat. And if I want to eat chocolate all day I will do it knowing that I can go to the gym and burn it off!

Don’t embark upon extreme dieting. Be yourself, embrace yourself and learn to love yourself. These diets may work in the short run, but odds are you will end up back where you started in a few months or years.

Extreme dieting will leave you feeling tired, grumpy and will more than likely stop your social life, as you will be too busy counting the calories of the double vodka and coke at the pub with your friends.

If you want to lose weight and go on a diet, firstly assess yourself, do you really need to lose weight or just tone a bit? Or are you admiring the figures of people who you will never be?

Did I lose weight? Yes, I did. And yes, it made me feel good about myself on the short term, but the people who loved me could see that this dieting was not the way forward and that I was becoming too skinny and too obsessed with the number on the scale.

If you decide that you indeed want to lose weight, then take it slow. Remember the old favourite saying that your parents would tell you as a kid: slow and steady wins the race.

So in the end I embarked upon a healthier lifestyle, I’ve joined the gym and I am more lenient with my-

Emma Louise Allwood

29

30

Sports

Tom Phillips, Sports Editor

Derby Day Highlights

Essex Rounders UEMRC

@EssexRounders The rabbit Newspaper

@TheRabbit2015

UEA win #DerbyDay15, but #EssexBlades came back FIGHTING #RedAndBlackArmy #Proud #WellDoneBlades

serendipity.

@May_ThisBe

@TheRabbit2015 #proudtobeablade #weplayfair #derbyday2015

Prof Anthony Forster

@Forster_Anthony

Well done to @EssexBladesSU - a tough #derbyday15 away fixture, but you did @Uni_of_Essex proud. Well done #GoEssexBlades

WE BEAT UEA 16-2.5 Essex Rounders first ever DERBY DAY and we smashed it!! #thenewbladesarehere #whatteam #DerbyDay2015 #essex

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH | ISSUE 166

World Sport Football - Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to talk to media until the end of the season after Real Madrid’s loss to Schalke 04 4-3 at the Bernabeu. They won the tie 5-4 on aggregate.

Zlatan - Everyone’s marmite footballer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has described Chelsea as behaving like babies in the lead to his dismissal in the Champions League for PSG. Boxing - The first psychological blows have been made by Floyd Mayweather in the build up to his bout with Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd. Mayweather says that when you lose “it’s in your mind” - a reference to Pacquiao’s two professional defeats.

Formula One -

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg say they expect another tense and difficult battle for the Formula One Championship this season in the lead up to the Australian GP.

West Ham United - Enner Valencia missed the Arsenal game due to a deep cut on his toe, after stepping on a broken cup.

Snooker - No-show Ali Carter is demanding £2,000 prize money from the Indian Open because he was given incorrect information regarding visas from World Snooker.

Man City - Argentine defender Martin Demichelis has signed a one-year contract extension. The 34-yearold has made 30 appearances for the Citizens.

Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka batsman, Kumar Sangakkara will not reconsider retirement from ODI cricket despite hitting a record fourth consecutive ODI hundred in Sri Lanka’s win against Scotland last Wednesday.

England - Losing to Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup “would be horrendous” according to assistant coach, Paul Farbrace. England were eliminated last Monday after losing to Bangladesh by 15 runs.

Ami Lake

SPORTS

31

32

Results from the week Badminton Mens: Essex 2nd 2-6 King’s College London 3rd

Golf: City London A-W Essex 2nd

Volleyball Mens: Essex 1st 3-0 Kent 1st

Badminton Womens: Essex 2nd 8-0 London South Bank 1st

Hockey Mens: Essex 1st 6-0 Arts London 1st

Volleyball Womens: Essex 1st 3-0 Kingston 1st

Basketball Mens: Medway 1st 58-47 Essex 2nd

Hockey Womens: Essex 1st 3-1 Imperial College 1st

Cricket Mens: Essex 1st 102-112 Middlesex Essex 1st 93-109 Kent 1st

Basketball Womens: Essex 1st 94-37 Middlesex 1st

Lacrosse Mens: Chichester 1st 2-9 Essex 1st

Fencing Womens: Essex 1st 115-123 Imperial College 2nd

Netball Womens: Essex 2nd 22-12 King’s College London 4th

Football Mens: Essex 3rd 2-0 Middlesex 1st Essex 4th 2-0 Middlesex 3rd Essex 6th 7-3 Arts London 1st

Table Tennis Mens: Essex 2nd 16-1 Kent 1st

Football Womens: Middlesex 1st 1-0 Essex 1st

Tennis Womens: Hertfordshire 1st 12-0 Womens 1st Rugby Union Mens: Essex 2nd 22-10 Kent 3rd

Lacrosse Mens: Brighton 1st 13-1 Essex