The Skinny Student Guide 2022

Dundee — Edinburgh — Glasgow

STUDENT GUIDE

FREE • 2022

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Smells Like Community Spirit Student Guide

You’re probably new in town, so we take a look at some of our favourite DIY and grassroots promoters putting on gigs across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee Interview: Tallah Brash

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hile your favourite band will probably pass through your city promoting their latest album, the heart of a city’s community lies at a grassroots level. Luckily for you, Scotland has some of the finest DIY and grassroots gig promoters around, passionate to the core to bring you local talent and lesser known touring bands in abundance, while building a safe, inclusive environment to forge friendships in.

Photo: Neelam Khan Vela

taking place across the city, their inaugural festival is happening from 13-16 October. They tell us: “Attending a Pop Mutations gig provides a direct line into Glasgow’s wealth of underground talent and a showcase of the city’s DIY spirit.”

In Edinburgh, from 30 September queer party throwers 249 will call arts venue Summerhall home as they settle in for a new monthly residency in the city’s southside. Combining live bands, DJs, cabaret, drag and more, when we ask how 249 came about, co-organiser Patrick Harris tells us: “We wanted to put on the kind of party we wish existed when we were taking our first cautious steps into the LGBTQ+ scene.” Harris continues: “[We offer] an inclusive and super-friendly atmosphere for everyone, where fun is essential and wildness and hedonism are encouraged... We want people to feel free, liberated and leave the party smiling.”

Photo: Simon Kirby

Glasgow’s Freakender have been doing so since 2016 and their 2022 all-day festival is just around the corner. “We aim for inclusivity,” cofounder and organiser Ross Keppie says, “and I guess the lineups – especially the festival – are as diverse as they can be for garage, psych, postpunk, predominantly guitar acts, but we have always aimed for a 50/50 gender split.” Keppie continues: “We want to bring together people who share our love of these acts from underground to international and give people the opportunity to discover their new favourites.”

Also in Glasgow you’ll find Pop Mutations.

Born during the pandemic, they brought communities together online while they couldn’t be together IRL. Run by various bookers from venues you’ll come to love, if you don’t already (Stereo, The Old Hairdressers, The Glad Cafe, Mono and The Flying Duck), Pop Mutations are very much a live entity now. With a regular run of genre-diverse gigs Photo: Darwon Rashid Hiba performing at 249

Wavetable

At the more electronic and experimental end of the scale, Edinburgh’s monthly Wavetable shows were also born out of the want for a night that organisers Andrew Ostler and Simon Kirby wished already existed. Live visuals also play a big part, and unlike other DIY nights, Wavetable operates in a space not usually used for live music, with a BYOB policy adding to its appeal, alongside the inclusive and open nature of the nights themselves. “We try to curate so each night is a good mix,” Ostler says, “and we try to keep the amount of actual music under control so there’s plenty of time for chat. The community aspect was also something we had in mind at the start.”

In Dundee, punk label Make-That-A-Take Records have been putting on gigs and bringing together the local community through music since 2006. The label run all of their gigs in Conroy’s Basement, housed in the downstairs of vegan restaurant Rad Apples, a queer-positive, Good Night Out campaign-accredited venue. Label boss Derrick Johnston enthusiastically describes the ethos of MTAT as destroying the patriarchy, being radical and spreading joy, going on to tell us that “bands have been formed, marriage stories started, — 2 —

Photo: Adam Knight

September 2022 – Feature

Freakender

babies nearly born, friendships forged and thousands of connections made at MTAT shows over the years. That’s a very beautiful thing indeed.”

In 2018, Sami Omar launched online music platform Up2Stndrd in order to “highlight and bring exposure to hip-hop artists in Scotland.”

Recently they’ve started programming live events under the banner Up2live, such is their commitment “to bring these acts to the stage and help connect them to a wider audience.” They’ve so far programmed events at Glasgow’s iconic King Tut’s and have an event coming up on 25 September in conjunction with Scotland on Tour, BEMIS and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with more planned throughout the year.

It’s also important to highlight the work of We Are Here Scotland in bringing young Black and people of colour together through the universal connection of music. WAHS have just launched INCUBATA, with events to follow later in the year, alongside the return of their glorious gig series AMPLIFI, set to return this winter/spring 2022/23 to The Queen’s Hall.

Community can also be found via local indie labels like OK Pal Records, Lost Map Records, Olive Grove Records and Night School Records, record shops like Monorail, Assai, Le Freak Records and Thorne Records, or via communityrun radio stations – EHFM, Clyde Built Radio and Radio Buena Vida – while other organisations and promoters worth seeking out include Intercultural Youth Scotland, Other Other Music and Redolent’s we should catch up if ur around, with dates in the diary at The Biscuit Factory until the end of the year.

In the words of Nirvana, ‘Load up on gigs / Bring your friends’. Sure, Kurt Cobain may not have said ‘gigs’ in the original lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit, but please allow us some artistic license, and please load up on gigs.

AMUNDA at AMPLIFI

Follow your new favourite grassroots promoters on Instagram @freakenderglasgow @popmutations @twofournine.nights @wavetable_ed @makethatatake @up2stndrd @weareherescot

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The Student Heads Up

Our run-down of the best things for students to eat, drink, and do in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee Compiled by Eilidh Akilade Photo: Cameron Brisbane

Glasgow Bonjour

The Doghouse

Grunge meets garish in this Clerk Street bar which, fittingly, welcomes plenty of dogs. Student discounts on drinks – £3.70 for a single is not too shabby, at all. @thedoghouseedinburgh 18-24 Clerk St

Miss World The all-woman DJ collective have a monthly residency at Sneaky Pete’s (2 September, this time around) and it’s not to be missed. Techno, pop, and a little disco – their nights are inclusive in all the best ways. @missworldedinburgh

Berkeley Suite The basement club has a slightly pretentious feel but its techno and very chill smoking area are a joy. @the_berkeley_suite 237 North Street

Chips

Student Guide

Tucked away on Saltmarket, Bonjour is just about the loveliest and coolest queer bar, currently home to our faves Mojxmma and Glasgow’s much-loved goth/disco/Italo/postpunk club Danse Macabre.

Worth a mention that it’s profit-sharing and a workers’ co-op – dreamy. @bonjourglasgow 37-45 Saltmarket

Edinburgh

Blunt Knife Co

It’s a post night-out must. 727 on Great Western Road for chunky ones, if that’s your kind of thing.

Alternatively, Kaspian on Sauchiehall Street do the best chips and cheese – melts just right.

The Craft Pottery

Ninth Wave live at The Berkeley Suite, Glasgow Photo: Chris Scott

For a student-friendly activity that doesn’t have to involve getting pissed (although it is BYOB), painting pottery is up there with the best of them.

Perhaps the cutest date location, also. @thecraftpottery Axiom Building, 48-54 Washington St

Tchai Ovna House of Tea

This shop and event space supports creative people of marginalised genders and is truly a community hub, especially for students. With a monthly bookclub (1 September this month, if you manage to catch it) and regularly programmed events, Blunt Knife Co is ideal to connect with people both within and outwith the uni bubble. @bluntknifeco 41 Thistle St

Filmhouse Specifically: each Tuesday, Student & Young Person Members get £2 tickets for Filmhouse’s evening screening. Enough said. 88 Lothian Rd

Snax Cafe

Again, on the non-drinking front, Tchai Ovna is open late and is suitably cool yet cosy. @tchaiovna 42 Otago Lane

The ideal cafe for students – not too spenny, big breakfasts, and the best paninis. 118 Buccleuch St

Vintage and charity shops

FolkIt @ ilium

For vintage shopping, Great Western Road has plenty – The Glasgow Vintage Co, West Vintage, DUDS, and, just off on Otago Street, Retro. But, if you’re looking for the best charity shops, Dumbarton Road is where it’s at, offering a great range of clothes and the most gorgeous trinkets.

Over on Marchmont Crescent, ilium brings coffee, clothes, and records together in this very cool hybrid space. Ever Saturday at 3pm and every Monday at 8pm, ilium hosts FolkIt, an open mic and jam session. With people usually sat around a guitar in some kind of muddled circle, it has none of the usual open mic intimidation. @ilium_shop 100 Marchmont Cres Edinburgh Filmhouse, Prince Achmed with live music from SINK

Art Bar

Blend Coffee Lounge

Avertical World Climbing

Perhaps it’s ideal simply because it sounds cool to say you’re going to Art Bar? It’s also very chilled and laid-back and regularly has DJs. 140 Perth Road

This lot are just about the sweetest bunch around.

Good coffee and very welcoming. Their Thursday study nights are ideal for students – unlimited coffee for £4. @blend_dundee 63 Reform St

We don’t make the rules: climbing is hot now.

Student access for one month is £60 so very worth it while it’s still edgy. @averticalworld 7-11 Blinshall St

Dundee Unversity Students Association

Ninewells Community Garden

Wooosh Gallery

Look, it’s a pretty small city: Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) is where it’s at student clubbing wise. 2022 Freshers Week highlights include a UV Foam Party (a too-oftenforgotten-classic) and Cascada (of ‘Evacuate the Dancefloor’ fame). We’re feeling very nostalgic and very jealous. @dusatheunion Airlie Place

Green space can be few and far between in whatever four-storey, 70s-built student accommodation you find yourself in. To volunteer or simply enjoy nature, this community garden is a great way to get a little peace of mind. ninewellsgarden.org.uk

Based in the Miller’s Wynd Carpark, Wooosh Gallery is one of those spaces that’s really very cool to know. Their temporary installations speak to the limited opportunities for new artists and graduates in Dundee. With a tight knit community behind it, it’s also a great way to meet some lovely arty folk. @woooshgallery

Student Guide Credits

Commissioning editor: Eilidh Akilade, Designer: Phoebe Willison, Production Manager: Dalila D'Amico, Cover illustration: Jonny Mowat — 3 —

September 2022 – Feature

Dundee

September 2022 – Feature

Student Guide

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Saving the World The climate crisis is scary enough. The intimidating first steps of getting involved in climate activism as a student can feel similarly scary – but they don’t need to be Words: Hannah George Illustration: Phoebe Willison

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“As a student, these emotions can be tricky to grapple with: as you study for a degree when the world is burning, you might question what kind of future you are striving for”

studies. The Yikes Podcast (@theyikespodcast) is also a great resource if you want to learn more about climate justice.

Find your niche Again, there isn’t one way to be an activist; it’s about finding what feels meaningful to you. You don’t have to campaign for every issue to be considered a climate activist. Follow your interests and this will lead you to the most fulfilling work. For instance, if you are interested in food, join a local food-cooperative or community garden. Research existing campaign groups at university or in your community to find what you are passionate about: from arms divestment to reducing fast fashion to refugee rights, many issues intersect with the climate crisis.

Follow Intersectional Environmentalist (@intersectionalenvironmentalist) for more information about how these issues overlap.

Join a group or action Joining a climate group or signing up to an action is a great way to get stuck into climate activism.

Collaborative and collective action is required to make change, not to mention that finding likeminded people can make activism much more enjoyable. Find a group at your university or college and if there isn’t one, set one up.

If you’re unsure where to start, join Young Friends of the Earth Scotland (@yfoes), a youth-led climate group through which you can attend local actions and join online working groups on issues such as access and inclusion and the cost-of-living crisis. Multiple climate groups are currently — 5 —

campaigning to stop the Jackdaw gas field from going ahead. You can follow @stopcambo for more information on how to join the campaign. If you are attending a protest, make sure that you know your rights. SCALP, the Scottish Community & Activist Legal Project (@activists_legal), publishes loads of useful information about staying safe at protests.

Last but not least, join a union! Whether that is your student union or a trade union at your workplace, joining a union can help you to amplify the issues you care about and make change.

Look after yourself Engaging with the climate emergency can be tough, especially when it feels like progress is slow. It is essential to look after your mental health by taking time out and doing things that you enjoy. Organising in a way that feels right for you, finding your community, and enjoying the work that you do will make activism sustainable and long-term. Try to avoid reading too much negative climate news – this is the quickest way to burn out and lose motivation.

The Resilience Project (@theclimateresilience) has great resources and workshops on how to navigate eco-anxiety and build resilience in the face of the climate emergency. As a student, these emotions can be tricky to grapple with: as you study for a degree when the world is burning, you might question what kind of future you are striving for.

Getting involved with climate activism and working towards change can alleviate eco-anxiety and feelings of climate doom and allow you to meet new people and gain skills along the way. What’s not to love?

September 2022 – Feature

Learn about climate justice Equipping yourself with knowledge of the root causes of the climate crisis can be an empowering tool to support climate activism and help educate those around you. Climate justice addresses the historical exclusion of marginalised groups from the climate movement and recognises the interlinked oppressive systems of capitalism and colonialism that have caused the climate emergency. The effects of the climate crisis and the responsibility for its causes are not evenly distributed and learning about these concepts can allow you to be critical of climate change ‘solutions’ which often distract from the actions of polluting governments and fossil fuel companies.

As a student, take advantage of the resources and learning opportunities available to learn about climate justice and incorporate it into your

Student Guide

limate activism is for everyone First things first, if you want to get involved with climate activism, then you can and you should. The climate justice movement must include everyone to make lasting change and be successful. The more voices that are included, the better the solutions will be. You don’t need to be an expert; you can learn as you go. You don’t need to have lots of time; you can give as many minutes, hours, or days to activism as feels right for you.

Dismantle any preconceived ideas of what activism should look like: protests and direct actions are not the only form of climate activism.

The work that goes on behind the scenes to create a successful campaign and build a movement is vitally important to these more public forms of protest. Everyone has a skill that is necessary to the climate movement, whether that’s designing posters for a march, running communications for an action, or lobbying your local MP. Most climate groups hold meetings online, meaning you can get involved wherever you live. Follow The Bad Activist Collective (@badactivistcollective) for more tips on how to let go of perfectionism and get started with activism.

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A Meal Shared University can be lonely – but food can bring us together. One writer reflects on the power of communal cooking

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he first few weeks of the semester were bleak. I had imagined myself making new friends each meal time in my hall’s cafeteria; not nibbling on a cereal bar, alone in my room. I couldn’t find any place where I felt comfortable.

Every conversation felt forced. Every dull overpriced coffee with a stranger left me aching for familiarity and intimacy. I was desperate to forge a connection with anyone that I met. To make matters worse, my halls of residence were catered and each day, hundreds of students would file into the dining hall for breakfast and dinner. The act of eating had never been such an event. Stumbling into the canteen for breakfast in the morning, bleary eyed with crusty mascara streaked down my face, I would be confronted with crowds of perfectly put together people, who all just seemed to adore each other already. And then there was the food. Dry, stringy, wet, clumpy and congealed. Day after day, an assortment of unappealing textures and bland flavours were lumped onto our plates. It didn’t take me long to associate the miserable food with my loneliness. Despite eating in a packed room each day, I had never felt more isolated.

In the middle of term, I met a Pakistani postgraduate student. She was warm and generous, immediately inviting me to an all-Pakistani dinner she was hosting that night. I went with some caution; my halls were populated by posh white English students from the home counties and I wanted to fit in with them. Although curry is a national favourite, all too often Brown people are mocked for smelling of the food that they cook at home. The heady mix of fried chilli, garlic and ginger can settle into your hair, skin and clothes for hours. Back home, amongst a diverse community of friends, the smell of South Asian food did not distinguish me as anything other than myself.

Here, I didn’t want to bring that tell-tale aroma back to my halls, to reinforce my difference. But I was hungry, and so I went along.

There were about twenty of us and we decided to make chicken biryani. We started peeling and chopping onions, garlic and washing rice. We discovered we didn’t have all the spices we needed, so a small group went to a local South Asian grocery store. I had seen this store on campus, but the shame of popping in for a quick samosa versus ducking into Sainsbury’s for a bland meal deal like everyone else was overwhelming. When I walked in, it felt like coming home. Rows upon rows of spices, dried herbs and pickles – all the ingredients I understood.

Later, conversation flowed easy as we prepared the meal. The act of cooking together dissipated all unfamiliarity. We bickered over which spices should be thrown in, debated how

often the rice should be stirred and giggled together as our eyes streamed from chopping mountains of onions. When the biryani was cooked, we truly ate together, murmuring softly in appreciation. Finishing our plates, we talked over what had worked and what could have been done better. I felt full. As I left, I felt a sense of emotional nourishment too. I had unwittingly stumbled upon one of the most enduring and profound truths: that food is our ultimate source of connection. In the past, I had understood food as a means of basic survival and organising a social calendar: hangover breakfasts, family lunches, potluck dinners. But the act of actually both cooking and eating with people had been lost on me. Shared meals cooked together could become memories, the foundation for my friendships.

Three years along, and I moved into a flat with three strangers in a student co-operative. My flat has a long-established communal cooking culture, and so I slotted into that arrangement with ease.

Each time it was my turn to decide what to cook, I brought parts of culture, community and upbringing to the table: potato and chickpea curry, daal, pistachio and saffron tart and masala roast potatoes. Equally, I understood aspects of my flatmates through rolling out their sheets of pasta dough or stewing their foraged fruit. The insider-outsider, foreigner-native paradigms became broken.

“I had unwittingly stumbled upon one of the most enduring and profound truths: that food is our ultimate source of connection” Last week, my flatmate Clara was visiting her grandma in Germany; she sent me a picture of the tomato, coconut and tamarind curry that she had cooked after learning it from me. I like to think that after tasting the curry, her family know a little bit about me, and that when I visit her family home in a few months, we will now have things (or foods) to talk about.

Nobody is a stranger for long when they are covered in flour or speckled in tomato sauce. It has become a way to invite other people to actively participate in my culture with me, and for me to participate in theirs. Food – and university – is a lot less lonely now. We all just want a good meal.

Photo: Farsai Chaikulngamdee1

September 2022 – Feature

Student Guide

Words: Laila Ghaffar

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September 2022

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How to Party Ahead of their upcoming End of Summer Party, we talk to Mojxmma about changing the Scottish clubbing scene and creating your own space Interview: Eilidh Akilade

eventbrite.co.uk

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Catch Mojxmma’s End of Summer Party on 10 Sep @ Bonjour.

Student Guide

Jam, one half of Mojxmma

Follow @mojxmma to keep up to date with upcoming parties.

image: courtesy of Bonjour

“If you don’t have the space, you can make it yourself”

that – or the time to do that.” That’s why Mojxmma’s themed parties are so important: they’ve had the environmental-inspired ‘Muva Earth Party’; there was the ever gorgeous ‘Pink Barbie Party’; and, more recently, their ‘High School Party’ revelled in a Dream-Matte-Mousseand-2010s-emo-side-fringe glory.

Their upcoming ‘End of Summer’ party celebrates the last days of the season, welcoming the return to academia and nine-to-fives. For QTIPoC, such a time is often daunting: after months of sun-bleached freedom, it marks an approaching re-adjustment to predominantly white institutions and all that comes with them. To take joy in this feels somewhat radical, claiming the academic year back for ourselves. Friends since school themselves, there’s something particularly sweet about the duo hosting this celebration. They spent a fair share of their adolescence partying together, and so, it’s special to continue that tradition.

As expert party-goers, we ought to take their notes. “Stay hydrated. Always drink water in between drinks,” says Mahasin. Practical yet ever pressing.

“It’s always great to come with people. But you don’t have to come with someone; you can come alone,” says Jam. “Don’t be too scared to – there’s lots of lovely people there.” With Mojxmma, it’s not creepy or weird to go clubbing alone because – in reality – you’re not really alone: upon arrival, one joins a whole community of people that are part of something truly great. image: courtesy of Bonjour

image: courtesy of Bonjour

“I

think ‘party’ just feels a bit more freeing than a club night. With a club night, I guess there’s an expectation. With a party, you can just be who you want and be more free with it,” says Jam, one half of QTIPoC party, Mojxmma. Always a little crowded, one shuffles into the space, the journey to the dance floor punctuated by embraces from friends old and new.

The music flows from state to state: techno and hip-hop and something transcendent sounding.

These nights, primarily held in Glasgow’s Bonjour, are truly precious.

Led by Jam and Mahasin, Mojxmma approaches nights out a little differently – fun yet radical, safe yet daring. The nights shirk the rigidity of traditional clubbing, instead opting for something a little looser and simply nicer. With tiered ticketing based on intersecting identities, from production to party, Mojxmma is by and for QTIPoC. Returning from a trip to Berlin, Mahasin noticed the monolithic nature of clubbing in Scotland, and the tangential lack of QTIPoC spaces here. “I came back and went on a few

nights out, and I was just like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I want a space that actually feels safe and is curated for a specific community.” There is very little joy in witnessing whiteness dominate a dancefloor along to an Afrobeats rhythm, and it happens far too often. So, in speaking to their community, a specific community, Mojxmma ensure their parties are actually, genuinely, for QTIPoC folk – not just white people with a thing for ethnic minorities.

“If you don’t have the space, you can make it yourself,” says Jam. “It’s not just us that’s creating it as well – along the way, people are engaging in it and they’re helping us create a night.” A party takes more than one party-goer. Mojxmma is truly a collective experience. Bonjour, specifically, have been ardent supporters: the duo attribute much of their success to the queer bar’s faith in them and care for them.

They’ve done their looking – scrolling Instagram, searching Facebook comments – and they’re pretty sure: “I think,” says Mahasin, cautiously, “we are the only queer PoC party club in the whole of Scotland.” Mojxmma don’t want to claim the title without being certain – but it does seems that (currently, at least) they are the only one. With each of their parties welcoming more and more people, the hope is that the Scottish clubbing scene won’t stay like this for long.

Given this sense of community, they’re keen to welcome as many QTIPoC DJs, musicians, and drag performers as possible. “We just want to make sure that we’re sharing the space,” Mahasin continues. Afterall, there’s so few spaces like it.

It’s partly why Mahasin says, with warranted urgency, “We need to bring up fashion.” It’s key to the Mojxmma experience: “Definitely make sure that you just wear what you want. And just go for it. Feel hot, feel comfortable, be yourself.” It’s what spaces like this are made for: neon fishnets and vintage tulle and PVC knee high boots. There are queer spaces where such attire would be looked down upon – too much or too little – but, with Mojxmma, there’s a real sense of coming not only as you are but as you want to be. It makes for a truly special night.

“I think people want to dress up all the time,” adds Jam. “And they don’t necessarily have the place to do

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Student Guide

Renting Right A step by step guide on how not to get screwed over by your landlord while renting as a student – you’re gonna need it Words: Aditi Jehangir

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icture a Scottish student flat – single glazed windows, mouldy bathrooms and mismatched carpets in every room, right?

Moving into rented accommodation as a student can be daunting. However, you can make it easier.

Awareness of your rights and options is a must.

When I first moved to Edinburgh as a student, I learned some of these rights the hard way (read: routinely exploited as a tenant). Following graduation and a particularly testing deposit withdrawal, I joined Living Rent, Scotland’s national tenant’s union, and have now found the power of collective solidarity as well as knowing my rights.

September 2022 – Feature

Looking for a property This can be a difficult task when first starting out. In Scotland a new form of tenancy was introduced in 2017, won by private tenants campaigning for greater security, which provides tenants with more flexible leases and other protections. If you want to live with two or more people you are not related to or in a relationship with, you will need to find a property with a ‘houses in multiple occupation’ (HMO) license.

Viewings All landlords in Scotland must be registered – you can (and should) look them up on the Landlord Register. Unfortunately, plenty will exploit the rush for housing and advertise fake opportunities. As such, never hand over money without you or someone you trust viewing a

“Joining a tenant’s union is also a great way to meet your community, particularly if you’re a student feeling disconnected from your local area”

property. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Some letting agents might try to charge you extra fees for references or a holding deposit. In Scotland, extra fees are all illegal; letting agents can only charge you for a deposit. If you have already paid these fees, you can reclaim them via a tribunal for up to 5 years after moving out. Your landlord should put your deposit into a protected deposit scheme – if they fail to do so, you will be entitled to compensation.

Inventory When you move in, make sure to document the condition by taking photos and noting any repairs needed. Check this against the written inventory from your letting agent and notify them of any discrepancies. You can use the photos and documentation when you move out to dispute any claims they’ve made on your deposit to give yourself the best chance of getting the full amount returned to you.

“If something looks too good to be true, it probably is” timeframe you may be due compensation – especially for heating or water issues. Recently, a member of Living Rent won almost £4,000 in compensation after having no heating and hot water for a year.

Housing co-ops As an alternative to private rentals, housing co-operatives offer a different model. They’re run by members and offer more affordable rent and, in all honesty, are pretty cool. There are several across Scotland, with the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op as the UK’s largest student housing cooperative and one on its way in Glasgow.

Deposits Let’s say the family of mice or the omnipresent damp get too much – you’re moving out. Clean the property thoroughly (some letting agencies recommend using a professional cleaning service, but it’s up to you and your scrubbing skills). Before leaving, be sure to report any repairs so they can be fixed now, meaning you don’t have to shoulder the cost. Your landlord will release your deposit through the deposit scheme and let you know if they want to keep any of the deposit for damage.

You can dispute these through the deposit scheme or with the landlord directly. If you are having real difficulties with this, Living Rent is a good place to turn for help.

Tenant’s unions It’s not all bleak (I swear): the rental system in Scotland isn’t perfect but there’s still hope to be had and battles to be won. It can sometimes feel like landlords have all the power and tenants are at their whims – however tenants unions offer us an alternative. Living Rent fights for a fairer, safer and more affordable system for everyone. We organise on a neighbourhood level with branches across Scotland campaigning around local and national issues. We operate similarly to a trade union made up of dues-paying members. Joining a tenant’s union is also a great way to meet your community, particularly if you’re a student feeling disconnected from your local area. When our members have an issue, we work together to fight for better treatment. There is power in a union and together we can achieve so much.

Repairs When you move in, your landlord should provide you with an emergency number to ring for repairs – keep this safe for any emergencies. Your landlord is obligated to ensure your home is of a suitable standard; if they do not see to repairs within a certain

Renting while at university (or, simply renting in general) has a bad reputation. Often, it’s deserved.

Landlords can take advantage of the naivety of those new to renting but equipped with the facts, a little rage, and plenty of confidence, you can take on the housing market and work with others to redress the power imbalance.

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Women’s Safety in Edinburgh We’re working with Edinburgh's Women’s Safety in Public Places Community Improvement Partnership to raise awareness of their consultation on women's safety in public places. They’re asking you to fill in an online survey to answer the question: what makes you feel safe or unsafe when out and about?

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ll around the world, there’s an urgent need to have conversations about women’s safety in public – and to act. While challenging and changing how some people behave is needed, part of the answer lies also in the design of our streets, the places we go and how our city develops.

Following on from the many and recent high-profile cases of violence against women, Edinburgh’s Women’s Safety in Public Places Community Improvement Partnership wants everyone’s views on what makes you feel safe or unsafe when out and about in public spaces.

The partnership includes the City of Edinburgh Council, Police Scotland and other organisations that can influence how our city is developed and how we can make it safer for everyone.

As the residents of our city well into the future, we really want to hear from younger people and students – where do you feel safe or unsafe, and why? What do you think makes some areas and places feel safe or unsafe? What do you do to help make you feel safer?

While we’re focusing mainly on the safety of women and girls, we want to hear from anyone who lives in or visits the Edinburgh area. We

recognise that making spaces safer for women, makes them safer for everyone.

Your responses will help us to develop and improve public spaces in future, across the whole of the Edinburgh area. This includes how streets

and pathways are designed as well as the layout of parks and shopping areas and much more.

Give us your views online by 20 September.

Head to edinburgh.gov.uk/safety to have your voice heard.

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/safety

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Student Theatre Getting involved in student theatre can be the first step to a career in performing arts. We meet Strange Town Theatre’s James Beagon to find out how participation influenced his trajectory

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ith September comes the start of the academic year as new and returning students flock to university looking for a fresh start or new experiences. Whether that’s joining a sports team, an interest group, or a student theatre company, these opportunities allow many to try something different and discover a whole new passion. In the case of student theatre, this can also be the first step in pursuing a career in professional theatre.

That was the case for James Beagon, an Edinburgh-based director and award-winning playwright, who works as the youth theatre manager for Strange Town Theatre. He first arrived in the city to study ancient and medieval history in 2010. He admits that he initially had little interest in the performing arts, explaining that, growing up in Stockport, “I didn’t really have the opportunity to do it at all so I didn’t really know what I was missing out on.”

However, that changed when he saw an advert for Bedlam Theatre and Edinburgh University Theatre Company.

Like many, Beagon saw his time at university as an opportunity to reinvent himself and try something new – with that in mind he signed up. The result? “A 12-year career in theatre that would not have happened had I not tried student theatre in my first week on a whim.”

While many pursue student theatre as a hobby outside of their studies, there are many who, like Beagon, come to the realisation during their time taking part that they want to make theatre professionally. For Beagon, that moment occurred towards the end of his third year upon realising that there would

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September 2022 – Feature

Photo: Amy McMonagle

be a brief gap where “I wasn’t rehearsing something, I wasn’t writing something, I wasn’t directing something. And I felt: ‘Oh, God, that’s awful. I want to do more of this.’” Despite this feeling, he adds: “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I sat down and said, ‘I am going to be a professional, whatever, in theatre.’ It just became natural.”

As for the experience of being involved in student theatre, Beagon found the community to be a welcoming and accessible one. However he acknowledges that “if you came to it at the wrong time, you had to be patient, you had to work your way out unless you were an actor, and you’re incredibly talented.” It’s a comparison that he draws to professional theatre “in that people are more willing to take a risk on you if they know who you are.”

This isn’t the only similarity between student and professional theatre that Beagon has found during his career. While student theatre, amateur dramatics, or even youth theatre, are often looked down upon in comparison to professional theatre, he doesn’t feel that there should be that much of a distinction.

In his view, “it’s all actually just theatre, right? People want to give it different labels, but actually, it’s exactly the same stuff.

You just pay more or less for your ticket to see their show when they have more or less of a budget. And the actors have had more or less training.”

It’s an admirable sentiment and one that is certainly not without merit, especially being as we are, just out of the Edinburgh Fringe. There are numerous opportunities for students to try theatre while at university, especially in Edinburgh, be they through student theatre groups – like Bedlam, Edinburgh University Footlights, Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) and Theatre Paradok – or even off the beaten path. It was through his involvement in student theatre that Beagon was first able to take part in Fringe shows, an opportunity many who try student theatre have a similar experience of doing.

This in turn led to many more opportunities, as well as gaining a wealth of experience applicable elsewhere.

To that end, Beagon encourages anyone interested in student theatre to simply give it a go. “Why not?

Because you’re 18 to 22, or maybe you’re a postgrad. But what have you got to lose? If there’s any part of you that thinks, ‘I don’t know if I’m really a theatre person,’ you are a theatre person. There’s no such thing as a theatre person. I really encourage anyone who doesn’t consider themselves one to do theatre, because you’ll make theatre better just by being involved.”

James Beagon

Student Guide

Interview: Nico Marrone

THE SKINNY

Creative Clout It’s a tale as old as time: spoken word poetry is hot and everyone’s in a band. Creativity in university can seem synonymous with popularity – but it’s not always all it’s made out to be

September 2022 – Feature

Student Guide

Words: Graham Peacock Illustration: Jack Murphy

I

feel relieved to be out of university. I say it all the time. I said it at graduation. I say it at my new job. I say it to my family, to my boyfriend who’s still studying, to my friends who graduated before me. It’s always something along the lines of how great a time I had, but how glad I am to have left, moved on, started something else. Each time I say it, I worry people think I’m lying. I shouldn’t be as glad as I am. I did well at university, and no one is supposed to feel that great post-graduation.

This should be my time for a personality crisis – impulsive hair-bleaching and self-destructive decision-making – not passing comments of relief.

I’m not lying, though – about the great time or the relief. My life began at university, or restarted at least. I turned eighteen at a Love Island Freshers party, and over the next four years formed almost all of the relationships I now cherish most. It was at university that I formed the precarious beginnings of my career as well – getting involved in student media alongside my English Literature degree and finding a kind of niche in writing and fashion. Starting university was my first exposure to hustle culture – where one creative project was fine, but three was better.

I carried out my studies and retail work on autopilot, prioritising unpaid creative projects and portfolio building. I skipped lectures for photoshoot projects and read more article submissions for my student magazine than assigned seminar essays. It’s a way of life in certain academic spaces (mainly the arts ones, the elitist ones) that I adapted to well.

I thrived on the stress. I had a genuine love for what I was doing, but in these institutions, this hyperactivity is not only accepted – it’s idolised. In university, creativity holds social capital. In my first year I made almost no new friends. The amount of relationships I made, attention I got, and fulfilment I felt at university, rose directly in relation to the creative success I accumulated over the next three years. Not that these relationships were based entirely on creative social capital – it was a natural byproduct of interacting with more people. But it did serve to reinforce the idea that

“Starting university was my first exposure to hustle culture - where one creative project was fine, but three was better”

creative success made me more worthy of party invites, and that a decreased output risked social decline. The kind of creative work I made became not entirely centred around what I was most interested in, but on work I knew my peers would respond to, liking and re-sharing on Instagram. I traded generic newspaper-style writing with more attention-seeking, taboo-pushing work. Less film reviews, more Pay Pig comment pieces and algorithm-friendly photoshoots. And it paid off. The work I made got more attention, which led to more opportunities and more friendships. But in these spaces, it’s hard to tell where creative evolution ends and catering to mass appeal begins. There’s a self-corrosiveness to it. I loved it, until I hated it.

The rise of this way of thinking has arisen in tandem with the age of Person As Product. We are obsessed with curating our brand image. Creative work shared by our peers dominates social media feeds, blurring the line between self-promotion and bragging. Creative social capital is not entirely about good art, or unique work, though – you have to be marketable in your own right, too. The feelings of comparison are infectious, making creatively-uninclined people feel the need to imitate this inauthenticity to fit in – adopting a homogenous dress-sense, political stance and ‘edgy’ creative style. Think artsy photo dumps — 14 —

between grid-friendly poems; charity-shop Dickies; zine obsessions. In these white-dominated institutions filled with closeted middle-class twenty-somethings, liberal attitudes and aesthetics are a brand essential – but it’s a simple fact that the more money you have, the more resources you can access, the better your education background, the easier you’ll accrue social influence and creative success.

I’m not telling you to disengage from it, though. Telling a student interested in a career in creative industries to avoid portfolio building at university is, honestly, horrific advice. It’s some of the most open-ended creative freedom you’re ever going to get. These spaces have so much genuine creativity, passion, and opportunity to embrace.

It’s not something to fear or pass up. But in my short time spent in the real world since leaving university, shutting yourself off to a lot of the noise is necessary for your own wellbeing, and a lesson you’re better learning sooner, rather than later. A while from now, that internship you’re going to apply for won’t care about your creative Instagram, but, in fairness, they will care about the practical work you did alongside your degree.

Create the kind of work you want to make, share it as much or as little as you care to, but check in to make sure who you’re doing it for.

THE SKINNY

Student Guide

September 2022 – Feature

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