ISSUE 281

WHY I EGGED THE KING

BY LAURA ROWE AND DAN GORDON-POTTS

INFAMOUS YORK STUDENT PATRICK THELWELL gained international attention for throwing eggs at King Charles last year. This included news coverage in everything from the local press to major worldwide news outlets, from the Daily Mail to The Guardian; even bagging an interview with Piers

Morgan on TalkTV. Vision sat down with Patrick on the 27th of April.

“I was going to just take a megaphone and just shout at the guy, but on that morning my megaphone was broken, so I was like f**k it I’ll just get some eggs...

CONTINUES ON PAGE

IMAGE: BEN CARTWRIGHT

Emily Sinclair

Editor Secretary

Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb

Deputy Editor

Laura Rowe

SCENE Editor

Dan Gordon-Potts

Chief Subeditor Vacant

Subeditor Philippa Salmon

Subeditor Marti Stelling

Subeditor Robert Young

Subeditor Jack Cope

Subeditor Hamish Macmillan-Clare

Illustrator Ayesha Brown

Managing Director

Matt Davis

Deputy Managing Director

Vacant

Social Secretary

Alicia Ward

Deputy Social Secretary

Vacant

Technical Director

Marks Polakovs

Head of Multimedia Vacant

Opinions expressed in York Vision are not necessarily those of the Editors, Editorial Team, membership, or advertisers.

Open Letter On Redundancies

BY EMILY SINCLAIR (She/Her) and KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB

An open letter addressed to Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffery and the management of the University of York has been circulating in the last few weeks.

Across departments at the University of York, staff are outraged with the increase in redundancies. The main focus of the letter is on casual staff positions.

Speaking in direct conversation with the Universities’ promises the letter states “it seems their method to end casualisation is to make casual staff across the university redundant.”

The letter goes on to highlight the impact casual roles have, particularly, on younger members of staff and those trying to break into academia.

Vision spoke to a member of academic staff on their views regarding redundacies. The member of staff wished to stay anonymous.

They explained that redunacies are hitting Associate Lecturers (AL’s) the most. This is the entry-level academic role. “AL’s tend to have time-limited contracts while also tending to take the bulk of foundational year teaching and supervision roles.” When focusing on what this may mean for students, they said “teaching quality and marking feedback would be sacrificed for the Uni-

versity saving a few quid.”

The open letter states that “members of staff are not rewarded for their work or positive impact on their departments teaching culture, and are subject to the volatility and precarity of the academic job market.”

Asking about the emotional imapct of these redundancies, Vision was told that “personally, it’s degrading, frustrating, angering and disappointing. I feel the University managemnet should be ashamed for how they’ve paraded their fiscal troubles.”

The member of staff was very clear in their view that “if the University wants to rectify the situation, it has to reconfigure its outlook on its mission and goals and allocate money to the areas that matter most.”

They go on further to critique the Universities’ spending choices. “Creating new associate dean positions, whose pay likely constitutes between 2 and 4 times that of the average member of teaching and research staff, shows the priority of the University is not to teaching or the students but to their public relations.”

The open letter finishes with a call to arms. “We, the undersigned, call upon Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffery and the University faculty to end their shameful and harmful practices in concordance with the desires and stated needs of the numerous departments these decisions affect.”

EMILY SINCLAIR, Editor President (She/Her)

The letter has been signed by over 175 staff and students as of the 9th of June.

Speaking to Vision, the academic staff member urged students to “voice your disappointment. Tell them [the University faculties] what AL’s mean to you, how they’ve helped you either academically or personally, and your experiences with what you have learned from them. Tell them why we matter”.

“You’re the ones bankrolling the Univerity, after all, so you have more influence than you might realise”

The University offered a comment:

“We are aware of the letter and although we have not yet formally received it, we can say that we’re making real advances on conditions of employment, especially our commitment to enabling staff to be on the most appropriate employment contract type, using more open contracts where possible.

“Academic departments may have a small number of Associate Lecturers on contracts of varying duration, although we have reduced the period of time individuals are on fixed term contracts so that they can be moved, where possible, to open (permanent) contracts.

“We are continuing to work together with campus trade unions to make local improvements to address concerns over contracts, pay, workload and wellbeing.”

BEATTIE-ZARB Editor Secretary (She/Her)

Hello, G’day! How is everyone doing? We hope exam season went well and that you are all enjoying the lovely sunshine.

As a whole editorial team we’ve had a great time laying up this print... I’ve got to say it’s a good’en!

Our headline story is an exclusive interview with Patrick Thelwell, York’s infamous Egg-Thrower! They reveal all their feelings towards the UK government, what prompted them to throw the egg and the subsequent consequences for their actions.

As well as this, news looks at the University of York’s open letter to Charlie Jeffery and his management which is a call to action after an increase in redundancies. Hannah also looks at the ongoing impact the UCU’s marking boycott is continuing to have.

Vision gains the new Chancellor Heather

Melville’s first interview in Features; exploring who she and what she wants to do.

This issue wouldn’t be complete without an ode to our beloved (and most likely departed!) Long Boi. Ahhh anyone else miss seeing his long long neck wandering around campus? Vision spoke to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust about the benefits of including nature in your life.

In opinion, Kaitlyn considers the longterm impacts of the Queen’s death and Laura looks at crafting as an act of self-care.

Our columns this time are from your old academic officer Deb and Vision’s very own Katie Preston. She can’t escape Vision that easily! Deb gives advice on the future of student unions whilst Katie reflects on her time at York as a 3rd year graduate.

Vision had the pleasure of talking to York Marrow, the University branch of the na-

tional charity Anthony Nolan, all about stem cell donations in Science. Facinating stuff!

Over in Environment, our newly rebranded ‘Climate’, we interview an air pollution professor on the impact of air pollution inside our homes.

Last, but by no means least, sport includes a run down of Roses results, an interview with Hes East Women’s Rugby and something a bit unique, as the phenomenon of Esports are explored.

Get comfy, grab a cup of tea (or an ice cream!) and delve in.

Enjoy x

With many thanks to York Marrow, The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, The World Wildlife Fund, Craft Society, The University of York English Department, Hes East Rugby Team, The Body Shop, Grow It York.

KAITLYN

(She/Her)

IMAGE: EMILY SINCLAIR

York Pride 2023 was “Our Biggest and Best Event”

BY HANNAH WILLEY (She/Her) AND KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB (She/Her)

Thousands of people amassed on the 3rd of June to celebrate Pride in the streets of York, providing the biggest turnout for York Pride so far. For years, York has been home to the largest LGBTQ+ event in North Yorkshire during Pride weekend

This year, the parade was bigger than ever. It began at 12pm from York Minster to the Knavesmire, where the crowds enjoyed live music headlined by Beth McCarthy from The Voice.

Plenty of York organisations got involved and showed their support, including North Yorkshire’s police, fire and rescue service and ambulance service. They joined the celebrations with ambulances and fire engines decorated with Pride flags and rainbows.

Members of the York Labour Party, currently holding the most seats in York City Council, also appeared donned in rainbow colours. Other organisations showing their support included YO1 Radio, The York Press, the Sightseeing Buses and First Bus. For the main event in Knavesmire, QueerArts UK CIC offered a stage, which was enabled by

local organisations’ sponsorships, including the University of York.

The York counselling service, Serendipity, sponsored the musical performances on stage, such as community drag performers, The Family Shambles, and Colours of the Rainbow, York’s LGBTQ+ choir. “York Pride illustrates how society can be from the beautiful parade to the stall. York is a great place to be LGBTQIA+,” said York LGBT Forum trustee Jake Furby, “once again York Pride created a beautiful event.” But it seems York Pride 2023 not only lived up to its legacy, but was a particularly successful day. Event and sponsorship director Greg Stephenson said: “this was by far our biggest and best event far exceeding all our expectations”.

What’s more, York reflected on the stage, the main event of the parade, as the first of its kind in Pride celebrations. Its promotion of local LGBTQ+ singers, dancers, stand-up comedians and other acts was a refreshing new idea to make the day memorable.

Whilst visiting Pride, Vision received exclusive access to chat with the wide range of Queens gracing York with their fabulous presence.

described, with a burst of energy, “today’s been epic, everybody is in the mood for it”. Commenting on their favourite aspect of a Pride outfit. Wyatt said “fun! I’m enjoying all the sparkles, it’s got to be something fun to dance in.”

Kitty Scott Claws from Ru Paul‘s Drag Race, when asked what it means to be performing at York Pride, said “wherever I get to go and celebrate Pride I feel so honoured.

It was a proud day for York. York Pride’s growing success and popularity brings the city one step closer to making York a safe and supportive setting for the LGBTQ+ community.

University to Build new Children’s Nursery

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS (He/Him)

The University is building a new children’s nursery on Campus East opposite York Sport Village which aims to open up by September/October 2023.

This is an upgrade to the current site of the existing Campus nursery on Campus West; providing more childcare provision for up to 90 children, including five different “age-appropriate” rooms, according to York Press.

The nursery will also have its own dedicated indoor and outdoor landscaped play areas, bike and buggy stores, and drop-off parking.

Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffery told York Press, “we have had a very successful nursery on campus for a long time and are fully committed to retaining that service for our staff and students.

“Offering this facility helps us to create a learning, social and living environment that enables our staff and students to reach their potential.

ry, Chief Operating Officer at the University says “will offer the children a fantastic early years.”

The building site on Campus East is opposite York Sport Village, on Kimberlow Lane.

It is right next to Diamond Wood and surrounded by open fields, which Joss Ivo-

“It also encourages local people onto the campus strengthening our links with the community and them with us.”

The nursery will also have its own dedicated indoor and outdoor landscaped play areas, bike and buggy stores, and drop-off parking.

Kimberly Wyatt from The Pussycat Dolls

“I remember being a young queer person and living my life for Pride. That one weekend that was ‘oh my god’. This is our time to be unashamedly yourself.”

News from York and the World...

York

University of York named the top university in Yorkshire and Humber

Lib Dems announce shadow cabinet for City Council

BBC Radio York joins strike over radio cuts

Impact of Marking and Assessement Boycott

HANNAH WILLEY NEWS EDITOR

Durham University to give interim degree clasifications in marking and assessment boycott (Palatinate)

Newcastle University announces ‘no deteriment approach in marking and assessment boycott’ (The Courier)

UCU calls for UK to stop arming Ukraine (ROAR News)

UK

Boris Johnson resigns as MP admist invesitgation into Partygate

Prince Harry testifies in court case on media phone hacking

Health Alert issued for UK due to weekend heat wave

Nicola Sturgeon arrested and released in SNP financial investigation

BY HANNAH WILLEY (She/Her)

Professor Helen Smith, Head of the English and Related Literature Department, has presented an open letter to the Vice Chancellor protesting the 50% pay reductions threatened in response to the Marking and Assessment boycott.

The latest large-scale plan from the University and College Union (UCU) entails a marking and assessment boycott, which commenced on Thursday the 5th of April. The UCU hopes that this action will eventually assist the improvement of University staff’s pay, working conditions and pensions.

In response, several universities across the country, including the University of York, have proposed cutting the pay of any members of staff participating in the boycott by 50%.

On the 18th of April, Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffrey told students via an email that “a marking and assessment boycott has the potential to cause more concern, impact and disruption to students than any other form of industrial action. With this in mind, we have made the decision to withhold pay for those taking part in the boycott.”

“This situation is a matter of immense regret to me,” he adds, outlining the difficulty of the situation, but he clarifies that this decision is in defence of the student body, stating: “we are determined that it does not compromise the quality of your education, your progression through your programme, or the quality of a degree from the University of York.”

Though the Vice Chancellor points out in his email that “we haven’t been subject to a marking an assessment boycott here at York before”, Smith argues in her letter: “it is not unprecedented at York. UCU members at York participated in marking and assessment boycotts in 2006 and 2014.”

She delivered the letter to VC Charlie Jeffrey during lunchtime on Wednesday the 26th of April, by which time she had gathered 799 signatures from staff, students, alumni and examiners.

They proceeded with a meeting on the Thursday morning, and now Smith and her fellow signers anticipate his response. During this time, the signatory has expanded to 860 participants, including 16 Heads of Department.

In a statement to Vision, Smith makes it clear that the responsibility of solving this does not entirely fall on the shoulders of our University: “I really value the exceptional way in which the University of York looks after its students and staff. This is a national dispute, and the Boycott can only be ended at the national negotiating table.”

She recognises Charlie Jeffrey’s insistence that he will “not stop fighting” for a resolution, and she hopes that “all universities will follow his lead, and that we at York can find a way to steer away from disproportionate and damaging pay deductions.”

ating students in particular.

This year, graduation ceremonies are scheduled for the 18th-22nd of July, but given the marking boycotts these students might not have had all their assessments marked by that time. Hence, students may have to attend the ceremony without knowing whether they’ve actually graduated or not. Some institutions are planning to provide students with degrees based on available data, disregarding assessments that remain unmarked, but how the University of York intends to deal with this is yet to be confirmed.

The University responded to a request to comment:

“Depending on the course or department, many of our students are experiencing little or no disruption, but we recognise that students are concerned where there is action taking place.

“The University has developed a comprehensive policy for our students to ensure they can graduate or progress to the next stage of their studies, or apply for jobs.

“This includes using existing grades we already have for students and, where we don’t have enough information to make a decision, students can still progress with the caveat that their results are still pending. For finalists, we are also working closely with Careers to offer further advice and support.”

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However, it certainly puts members of staff in a precarious position, as this reduction could severely affect their livelihood. Head of the English and Related Literature Department, Professor Helen Smith, began collecting signatures and produced an open letter protesting the Universities’ “decision to slash the pay of hardworking colleagues.”

“If we go through with this policy,” she writes, “there will be members of staff who will not be able to pay their rent, household bills, mortgages, childcare or other caring costs.”

As the strikes have continued, universities are now threatening to dock 100% of their staff’s wages. This has partially backfired, as numbers of staff participating in the strike have increased in outrage.

In some ways, it has seen success: since April 2022, the average employee lost 35% from their pensions, but in late May Universities UK (UUK) and UCU issued a joint statement saying benefits would be returned to their original levels.

However, even if the strikes are enabling progress for university staff, in the meantime students are suffering for it. Despite the Vice Chancellor being “determined” not to affect students’ education, their progress has inevitably been stinted by an absence of feedback. Perhaps the worst part, though, is how it affects gradu-

“We are grateful to staff and student representatives who are working hard to update students as we put mitigations in place.”

The end doesn’t seem to be in sight, as no plans to stop the boycott and any other industrial action strike have been released. As such, both staff and students may have to continue bearing the consequences.

IMAGE: ANNA SHVETS

Why I Egged The King

Infamous egg-thrower Patrick Thelwell reveals all in an exclusive interview with Vision

BY LAURA ROWE (She/Her) AND DAN GORDON-POTTS (He/Him)

Infamous York student Patrick Thelwell (They/Them) gained international attention for throwing eggs at King Charles last year. This included news coverage in everything from the local press to major worldwide news outlets, from the Daily Mail to The Guardian; even bagging an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV. Vision sat down with Patrick on the 27th of April.

“I was going to just take a megaphone and just shout at the guy, but on that morning my megaphone was broken, so I was like f**k it I’ll just get some eggs.

Pretty much as soon as I threw the eggs, the crowd started attacking megrabbing my hair and shouting kill him, stick his head on a spike and all that. One of the police officers was trying to shut me up so he had his hand over my mouth and his thumb in my eye at the same time. They had me pinned on the floor, there was someone with his knee on the back of my neck. And then someone in the crowd asked ‘can he breathe?’ and someone else was like ‘I don’t care if he can breathe, he can rot in hell.’”

Patrick was arrested after the incident at Micklegate Bar, and was put on trial on the 14th of April 2023 at York Magistrates’ Court.

In the trial, Patrick was found guilty on one count of threatening behaviour for throwing the eggs and shouting abuse.

They were sentenced to a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and required to pay prosecution

costs of £600.

Reflecting on it all now, Patrick said “at the end of the day I see what I did as violent. My argument was it was necessary violence. It was justified violence. It was in defence of the lives of other people who are killed everyday as a consequence of the British state’s policies.”

Many people are wary of ‘white saviour’ activists who take this sort of stance.

“I know that I have got privilege: I’m white, I’m middle-class and I wanted to use that privilege to take actions that other people would have wanted to but couldn’t. You know, I was essentially let off with it by the Judge.

“After it happened I received literally thousands of messages from people all

appreciate someone taking a stand.”

Patrick is known for ruffling feathers. In 2020, they were arrested and found guilty the following year for “obstructing a highway” in environmental protests against Murdoch’s NewsCorp.

Patrick says the egging was also a protest against the government’s environmental complacency: “The government’s climate policy is killing people because they are continuing to invest in new oil and gas production which will raise temperatures and will mean more floods, more droughts, more forest fires, more famine and more death.”

Patrick says the egging was a protest against the monarchy too for their lack of climate change action.

However, some would argue the King is actually a climate change activist, speaking about it before it was on the international agenda.

“This is someone who is supposed to care so much – but what has that man sacrificed to get that message out there?”

are complicit in crimes against humanity. But don’t take my word for it, we need to investigate these and an independent jury needs to draw its own conclusions. We are going to have to create our own justice, I don’t mean mob justice, or violent justice, like going through a proper procedure.

If we suddenly had billions of pounds worth of really expensive housing, and acres and acres of forests and fields then the possibilities are essentially endless, we could actually start to meaningfully tackle climate breakdown.”

So, for Patrick, throwing the eggs was about contributing to a broader discussion. “I’m both an extreme pessimist and an extreme optimist; I don’t believe we’re going to stop climate change, it’s too late, civilisation is going to collapse. I also think perhaps because of that we are going to have a global revolution where we have a chance to essentially come up with a better system.”

“Whilst I don’t regret my actions, I don’t think that’s how change is going to happen because I’m just one person. I believe in mobilising the collective intelligence to achieve real social change”

around the world who told me that they supported my actions. I had indigenous people from Canada say what it meant to them, people in Palestine, people in Iran who are currently fighting on the streets being shot at saying that they appreciate it. People in Thailand who have a very oppressive monarchy saying that they

Patrick’s other motivation was to take a stance against the Royal Family being above the law, explaining that the Queen opted out of the equality legislation so she didn’t “have to hire black servants”.

“I think the only way to hold them accountable is to put them on trial, whether they are there or not. An independent assessment of the facts. I say that they

Since conducting this interview, Patrick has been arrested again for protesting at the coronation of King Charles III and has moved to Hull to join Cooperation Hull, an activist group organising a citizen’s assembly to place power back into the hands of the local community.

“It was necessary violence. It was justified violence. It was in defence of the lives of other people who are killed everyday as a consequence of the British state’s policies.”

IMAGE: LAURA ROWE

IMAGE: LETI KUGLER, UNSPLASH

OPINION

Grocery Shop ASMR

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS (He/Him)

Every second that I am alive on this earth, it never ceases to amaze me quite how strange humans are – particularly modern humans; with our silly little coloured tin cars that wait in traffic jams, our cute little homes with their red bricks and chimneys, and our unhealthy obsession with plastic, fossil fuels…and now grocery shopping ASMR??

You heard correctly. This is the latest craze in Auto Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos (for those of you that don’t know, it’s where people record satisfying sounds that supposedly make some lucky people feel ‘tingly’ and relaxed, and post them online for all the world to see).

Everyday with Ana, one of the latest ASMR artists to grace us with another dedicated YouTube channel, films herself picking out items off the shelf in supermarkets and putting them into her massive trolley… all for the sounds, for the tingles.

Strangely, whilst ASMR has no physical effect on me, I can understand why people find something quite comforting in watching domestic monotony being heard (and seen) on screen. It’s a nice reminder that other people’s lives are just as dull and tedious as my own, and, on the flipside, that you can make anything ‘dull’ and ‘tedious’, fun and enjoyable, just by listening to the sounds.

For instance, have you ever bothered paying attention to the sound a bag of rice makes as you take it off the supermarket shelf?

Quite different from the sound of a carton of milk, which slides neatly off the shelf beside its uniform tetra-pak counterparts. Or, take a shrink- wrapped cucumber, silent compared to a rustling pack of pasta, or bag of bread rolls. Mix this with the repetitive roll of trolley wheels, the gentle beep-beep of a supermarket cashier till, and the polite announcement “customer assistance at till number 5 please” or “this till is now closing”, and you have quite a rich, varied, and actually quite relaxing soundscape.

Grocery shop ASMR may not be so stupid after all.

Who does ‘God Save’ if not The Queen?

BY KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB (She/Her)

After seven decades, the moment much of the world expected had finally arrived. Queen Elizabeth the Second had died. King Charles the Third now sat on the British throne. Nations and citizens were unsure of how to react and the identity of much of the UK and the world seemingly sat in the balance.

Of course, many other unexpected events had led to this dramatic and uncertain 2023 moment, where a future of change lay ahead, ready for the taking.

The biggest change of leadership in modern-times was always bound to be accompanied by a wider radical change as nations comprehend the absence of a long-standing figurehead. And with changing times comes the inevitable resurfacing of alternate perspectives and new ways of doing things. Or, at least, it should.

As we walk further into 2023, it’s no secret that the United Kingdom is facing

uncertainty in the aftermath of The Queen’s passing. For many, Elizabeth was a heartwarming reminder of the old times. For others, The Queen was an outdated, immovable relic; clinging to power from a different century. And as her son takes the crown, it becomes clear that this is a nation starkly divided on whether it even needs a 21st century monarch - seated on a throne (of lies), using taxpayer money, and offering only pomp, pageantry and out-of-touch Christmas addresses in return.

But what does the rest of the world think? On a superficial level, The Queen provided a simple and identifiable identity for the UK - a kind of mascot if you will.

‘Queen’ became synonymous with Elizabeth the Second. Royalty in modern times became a fun tourist excursion in a visit to England. Raised pinkies, Buckingham Palace and a flurry of corgis became the United Kingdom’s (highly stereotyped and inaccurate) identifiers.

Now, not only does the UK need to redesign an external identity to represent it, it struggles with internal political debates branching out of Brexit, Covid and aeons of racist history and colonialism. But at least James Bond is still wholesomely English right?

celebrity world tours. Young by colonisers standards, but old in every other way, Commonwealth nations across the Caribbean, Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Americas debate who they are now that that last direct line to empire has debated.

its own kind of disillusionment, with or without a monarch. As Scotland continues debating separation, Northern Ireland reels from ongoing Brexit dramas, and all four nations struggle through the ongoing cost of living crisis: calls for a change of governmental leadership seem particularly rife. Next year’s impending election has never felt so urgent, but whether it will offer the necessary change the country yearns for remains in the hands of the politicians ‘leading’ Westminster.

Add a complex and evolving conversation about the necessity of the monarch and it’s no surprise that the nation’s future seems particularly confused at the present moment.

The UK was always bound to face

Of course, this colonialism is what necessitates a turn now to the rest of the world, where relics of the British empire restyled as ‘Commonwealth’ debate their own existence in the absence of their biggest cheerleader. In the days after The Queen’s death, one particular quote was heard echoing on news outlets across the world. “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,”; pledged by The Queen on her 21st birthday. And, it’s no stretch to say that Elizabeth was the key glue for the Commonwealth as it struggled to find a purpose for its forced union throughout the 20th century, where royal visits from The Queen became some of the first

And it’s not a particularly vague debate. Conversations regarding race, slave trade history, stolen items and complex identities have been growing for many years. Numerous nations have debated getting rid of the monarch before. Eighteen already have. Ongoing commonwealth realms such as Australia have even conducted monarchy ending referendums in the past - with narrow salvations of the royal family. It seems inherently obvious that at some point in the ongoing story of post-colonial nations that the ruling status of a British monarch oceans away will be called into question and subsequently removed. Except for one lingering question “who becomes the head of state?” It’s never an easy challenge to determine a neutral figure to represent, remain politically separate, unite and, if necessary, lead a nation. With complex histories, confused identities, engrained Westminster systems of law and politics, and necessary alliances with Britain, the decision to leave is more than just changing the face staring out of the money.

In these ways and many more, the death of a Queen and the coronation of a King ignite deeper concerns beyond the passing of a crown’s ownership. What changes with The Queen’s death is more than simply the words of a song or the figurehead of England.

Now begins the changing of identities, the salvaging or destruction of monarchical heritage, and the chance to construct a different future, for both the UK and much of the world they helped ‘build’. Whether this distinct opportunity will be seized is yet to be seen, and will rely hugely on the choices of King Charles III, the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth of nations as we march into these early years of singing “God Save the King”.

“More than just changing the face staring out of the money.”

IMAGE: MOCKUP GRAPHICS, UNSPLASH IMAGE: JON TYSON, UNSPLASH

BY LAURA ROWE (She/Her)

Not only does crochet look beautiful, but what better way to help relieve stress?

Now, I’m fairly new to the crochet scene, only really getting into it a little over a year ago. Exam stress was starting to get on top of me and I needed some way to relax that wasn’t just doom scrolling on TikTok. I’d always wanted to learn, and so I thought what better way to procrastinate my exams than by learning a new skill?

Fast-forward a year, and I can confidently say that this was the best decision I’ve ever made. If I’m feeling stressed, all I need to do is put a film on in the background and start crocheting. Of course, as any crafters will know, the stress of tangled yarn is unmatched so maybe its not the perfect solution. But either way, it’s definitely fun!

Speaking with Isobel Allen, the President of UoY Craft Society, she shares a similar opinion: “for many people, crafting is an essential part of stress relief. It is an opportunity to enter deep focus, challenge your skill set, and create something beautiful.

BY EMILY SINCLAIR (She/Her)

Ah yes, online exams… the new phenomenon that universities have resorted to since COVID-19.

As a humanities student, exams are pretty few and far between which to be honest I don’t mind. I know it’s a mixed bag of opinions but I definitely thrive under the process of creating an essay, even if by the end of it I always do need a full week to recover! My problem, therefore, comes with the fact online exams are scheduled between a certain time-frame, pretty random in duration and often overlapping into the weekend… I just don’t really understand.

A few weeks ago I had an online exam between 13:30 and 17:30. Now, in my

So much of the work we produce in university is solely intellectual - based on words, formulas or concepts. Going back to basics, making something with your hands (which only takes an hour!) is a great dopamine hit and break from school”.

With so much pressure on grades, Isobel notes that “crafting is a chance to celebrate other skills”.

Crafts like crochet are so important for us to creatively express ourselves. As Isobel says “crochet is a fantastic opportunity to make something which is both beautiful and practical: the crux of crafting. Exploring different yarns and patterns allows for self-expression and contributes to a sense of identity and style”.

As well as allowing for personal expression, crafting helps you connect with people and become a part of a community. Isobel introduced me to Kathleen’s Legacy, a volunteering group here at the Uni. Kathleen’s Legacy knits and crochets blankets for “palliative and End of Life patients across York and the UK”. They believe that “nobody should die in a blue blanket, a KL’s blanket will provide warmth and love one last time”. I found

this incredibly touching: it shows us how important hand-made things are!

Crafts Society was highly commended for the YUSU Community Award and even won the Special Interest Society award! Isobel tells me that this year Crafts Society has aimed to “incorporate as many members of the community as possible” by running accessible crafting sessions. They have collaborated with other societies like EnviroSoc where they upcycled clothing, and Mental Health Soc where they made positivity posters to hang up during exam week.

For Isobel, her favourite achievement is the collaboration with the charity Changing Lives. “Changing Lives is a homeless charity that works in drug rehabilitation and harm reduction. Every week we host sessions at their shelters to provide the residents with the chance to express themselves and develop healthy coping mechanisms. It has been lovely to create bonds between students and other residents in the community.”

“Crafting is an unintimidating way to try your best, laugh, and share an experience with the people around you. I feel that winning the Special Inter

Self-Care Crafting Online Exam Uncertainty

opinion this is just a bit of a rubbish time! I woke up, went on a walk, made some elaborate lunch, twiddled my thumbs and the exam hadn’t even started! Surely it would have made more sense for me to be able to start the exam whenever I wanted? Or at least in the morning? I understand the University not wanting to increase the chance of plagiarism, with some students being able to tell others the questions before they start, but with a humanities subject theres an argument as to how much this would actually benefit.

The other species of online exam that has become increasingly common amongst university departments is… you guessed it… the 24-hour and 48-hour ex-

ams. Quite frankly, these are disgusting! They don’t take into account the students that will work the whole time and produce top-level essays versus those that will actually follow the brief and let themselves sleep! The playing field just isn’t

est Society of the Year Award and being highly commended for the Community Award demonstrates how a hobby which is considered niche can actually be something lots of people want to engage with.”

I’m quite confidently in my granny era and like to call crochet self-care. I am, however, not alone in this. “Crafting can definitely be a form of self-care”, Isobel told Vision, “If you craft to relieve stress or to develop yourself: that’s self-care! There’s a sense of fulfilment and achievement that comes with completing a project and knowing it’s an expression of your own creativity”.

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

quite yet that online exams are the way forward. They add a whole extra layer of pressure and often just extend the pain for longer.

IMAGE: MCHE LEE, UNSPLASH

IMAGE: KAREN PENROZ, UNSPLASH

COLUMNS

Build a Students’ Union of Collectivism and Individualism

By DEBAYAN (DEB) DEY (He/Him)

Iwrite this as a person who has various aspects to my identity. I was a YUSU Sabbatical officer - the Academic Officer, one of the two international students, three BAME students and two post graduates in the Sabb team. I used to be a part-time officer with the Graduate Student Association. I’m a postgraduate student, and graduated with a Masters of Science in Cyber Security in 2023.

I am a person of colour, a proud international student (Indian) and a practising Hindu. Whenever my Mum rings, she always checks whether I have been going to temple and always rings on Holy days to confirm that I am wearing the right clothes or eating the right food.

I am a lover of music- both Bhangra or Punjabi dance - and have enjoyed listening to British music, such as learning Sweet Caroline while watching football. I am an explorer and an adventurer. A favourite adventure was seeing Ullswater in the Lake District. The lake was huge and the snow coming down around the mountains made for a beautiful view. I love cricket and enjoyed watching the Women’s Rugby World Cup and football for the first time.

All of these aspects, and many more, are important to me. They are part of my identity and who I am.

I distinctly remember first arriving at York. I was excited about the adventure I was undertaking, exploring a new country 4,000 miles from home. I was also nervous. My first night here another student approached me and sparked up a conversation with me just as I was wondering how I would make friends.

Jannat was of Pakistan origin. Back home in India there is a history of border tension between the countries but here,

in York, the geopolitics of home seemed irrelevant. We were looking for friendship and adventure as well as a little bit of home comfort. That first night Jannat cooked a biryani, beef-free but packed with interesting spices. I was so reassured by her friendship and warmth, her cooking and the fact that I wasn’t the only person who felt different. That first evening gave me the confidence that my study in York could offer me both elements of home and respect for my own individual identity, as well as a chance to discover new things and great adventures. In many ways that experience has led to many more. While I reassure my Mum that I still respect the Hindu holidays, I have also tried a Christmas turkey with Shauna and her Christian family, and made lots of international friends who are now family to me. I joined cricket teams and watched the T20 game between Pakistan and India with a room of people from many countries. I danced Bhangra just as I danced to pop in Flares!

Some of the richest learning came from exploring other cities, from trying different food - fish and chips, chicken pie with strange green leaves and no masalas! I learned from attending various new events - including Wicked, the musical. But I also needed the comfort of home, the safety of a community that looked like me, spoke my language, shared my religion and food. Many of my closest friends are Asian. During Sabbs Come Dancing I chose to perform my beloved Bhangra. My favourite food is still my mum’s incredible fish curry with spices that instantly take me home to West Bengal.

Through my time in York I learned to blend my faith, my course, my nationality, my colour with the realms of university wide differences and celebrations of diversity. In this way, the new student’s union faces a similar challenge, to create some-

thing that has the benefits of collectivism and diversity while enabling differences and individualism we all bring to York. As a postgraduate and an international student I enjoyed the benefits of both GSA and YUSU, but also felt a little confused by how to navigate it all. I am determined that students should have their own place that understands their identity as well as doors opening into interactions with others. A single union can explore differences as well as spaces to be reminded of home and feel the warmth of people with shared backgrounds.

Creating a single students’ union should be exciting. They preserve the power of collectivism - that students can feel part of something bigger, can experience both

whether you should turn to YUSU or GSA for advice. All students can pick and choose which events to attend, which societies to join, which campaigns to participate in, where to get advice, what sport they want to play depending on their own personal interest and identity or simply how they feel that day!

Some of this evolution has been happening for a while. The growth in post graduate, international and BAME students in YUSU is overdue and is important. The range of combined YUSU and GSA events and activities or campaigns is improving with joint work on accommodation and self certification campaigns, joint events like the Holi festival, or the collaboration of the Student Expert Panel and the Middle Ground projects.

If we can all build a union that takes the best of the GSA, the best of YUSU, brings them together and also creates new endeavours - such as non-alcoholic venues, an International Officer and further pushes for equality, diversity and inclusion - this will prove to be a very exciting time for the University of York and it’s students.

new things and find comfort. It should make students’ voices more powerful because of its cohesion and size and diversity. A single union should be cost effective because of its cohesive buying power, therefore savings can be passed onto students. If a single union is stronger, has more variety, and is more responsive this helps all students.

No more wondering whether a post-grad can attend a YUSU event, or whether an international undergraduate can go on a GSA trip. No more uncertainty over

I want to reassure anyone anxious that change might narrow the breadth of opportunities or create a mono-culture, that I, and you, will not allow that. Students have always worked hard to create new societies, run campaigns, showcase BAME talent, celebrate holidays, diversify menus and make the collective power and diversity of our unions.

As long as they continue bringing their passionate uniqueness and different worlds of backgrounds, the student community that makes up and votes for the elected representatives of UoY will ensure a wonderfully collective union and a secured space for diversity and individualism.

“If we can take the best of GSA and the best of YUSU...then this will be a very exciting time for UoY”

WE WANT YOUR VISION

JUST think about it for a moment. Every day there are stories being chased, features and reviews being written, millions of photos being taken, and tons of companies out there just waiting to give us exclusive opportunities.

And that’s just some of the activities at Vision.

So why do we need your vision?

Because there’s so much going on in the world, and not enough people to cover it all. So much going on in the world and not enough people willing to speak out.

But wait. You didn’t join. You missed the first meeting. You think it’s too late to get involved? If you’re thinking this... you’re wrong.

If you’re interested in writing, design, photography, cartoons, graphics, social media or anything else remotely related to our paper we still very much need you.

Vision prides itself on being a paper of the highest standard. As a close-knit team and society we aim to create a space that is collaborative, inclusive and a fun environment to be in.

Whatever you want to do we have a space for you. You can play as large-or as small- a role as you like, and you don’t have to specialise in any one area.

Needless to say, Vision provides an excellent career base, particularly for journalism, marketing, publishing and business management. We have seen

first-hand Vision journalists go on to work in provincial media.

All you need in order to get involved in Vision is interest and enthusiasm. If you have already had an insight into this world great!.. but you don’t need ANY experience.

Make sure to follow us over on our Instagram @york_vision. As well as this, be sure to let us know when you have purchased a membership through the YUSU webiste and we can get you set up on our mailing list and Slack channel.

Your current editorial team are as follows:

- Emily Sinclair. Editor President.

- Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb. Editor Secretary.

- Laura Rowe. Deputy Editor.

- Dan Gordon-Potts. SCENE Editor We’d love to hear from you. Despite going into the Summer Holidays, you can get involved as soon as possible. Why not get a head start on all those silly freshers! Vision’s success is dependent on both the quality and quantity of people involved.

If you’ve read this far it means you are interested in Vision. If you’ve read this far we need your insight. If you’ve read this far it means you have the VISION we’re looking for.

EmperorConstantine, YorkMinster.By AyeshaBrown

BLUEPRINTS FOR SURVIVAL

Two isolationist films for a post-lockdown age

BY ROSIE BAILEY & ROBERT YOUNG

The past few years have drastically altered our way of life with self-isolation and social distancing, so it’s no surprise that film has moved to reflect this change. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) and Enys Men (2022) are prime examples of this, especially in how the setting is used to convey and distort the isolated character through a post-Covid perspective.

Both include themes of vast environments, disruptions of reality and a close acquaintance with the natural world - so it’s interesting to view this ‘trend’ of film-making via two vastly individual, but often overlapping films.

Banshees and Enys Men see characters in isolated environments and communities. Against the backdrop of a boundless expanse, both films entertain a slow, surreal atmosphere, confining the viewer to a desolate climate with few escapes from daily monotony. Tension arises when the characters are finally enclosed indoors, trapped with emotions they

have previously ignored.

Quick wit in McDonagh’s screenplay provides a distraction from cutting dialogue, revealing the contained emotions of people who feel finite in an infinite land. Places of comfort merge with the abyss outside, the pub and homes of Inisherin become internal battlegrounds to grapple with the fear of being left behind by the great vista of history.

The insistence of Pádraic (Colin Farrell) on letting his donkey live inside with him consolidates his fear of being left alone. Having his best friend disconnect from him and his sister able to move on suggests his outside is gradually creeping inside. The film insists there has to be a significant risk and sacrifice to try and escape this feeling, and whether Pádraic is unable to make this decision or he is content accepting his current life, is a question left up to the viewer.

Banshees appears more ‘grounded’ in reality than Enys Men, with the titular ‘banshees’ not appearing once in the film (unless you include

Psssst - welcome to SCENE.

Screen S2-3

Editor Jed Wagman

Stage S4

Music S5

SPOTLIGHT S6-7

Art S8

Literature S9

Editor Kate Shelton

Food S10

Games S11

Subeditors for this issue: Jack Cope, Robert Young, Philippa Salmon, Marti Stelling, Hamish Macmillan-Clare.

Special Thanks_

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue. Including the Wellcome Collection, London for providing images for review on p.8, as well as York Art Collection Curator Helena Cox for generously providing our Art Explored section. Thanks also to John (p.5) who generously gave me a tour of his record shop, and thanks to Harkirit Boparai for helping set up an interview with Sarathy Korwar, and to Sarathy for giving us his time. Thanks to York Barbican for allowing us to review Ben Fogle: Wild. Shout out to Karl at City Screen for working with us on this issue...and future issues we hope! Also thanks to Jed Wagman, who has generously provided the Blurble for this issue (and probably all future issues). Play it on page 11. Final thanks to Ayesha Brown, for providing a much needed front cover and also, much-needed design input.

the mysterious and prophetic Mrs McCormick into this category…). Their story occurs against the backdrop of the very real Irish Civil War of 1923. This decision highlights the perceived ‘pointlessness’ of the realities we fight for, whether that’s war or personal disputes.

Enys Men takes a more mythological approach to its story-telling, often borrowing from the spoken tales of Cornish folk-lore. Its ghostly figures appear throughout, with little explanation or warning. However, these figures all represent something about Cornwall’s past; the trauma of a lifeboat disaster or its deeply entrenched mining history. This is because Enys Men is built around the belief that the landscape retains memories, and ghosts are reflective of those memories being played out.

Although it is unclear who these figures are in relation to the volunteer (Mary Woodvine), it is clear that the isolation of Enys Men creates the right narrative conditions for chaos. The surreal aspects of the outside are

distinctly different to the inside until the flower is given a predominant place in the home. Her reluctance to accept the struggle of being left alone, results in a complete dissolution of boundaries. Hence, she unintentionally allows the literal and figurative figures to move free of confinement and resistance. The flower is Jenkins’ donkey, an emotional red-herring for her perpetual seclusion. There’s this tension then, between the tumultuous outside reality of both films and the internal paranoia this creates. Enys Men takes this paranoia seriously and with destructive results, while Banshees plays off of it for dark, but comedic purposes. Perhaps the differences in these films are representative of how different people deal with isolation, and how this isolation has the ability to either nurture or disturb the individual.

IF THESE FILMS APPEAL TRY:

Godland (2022) Petite Maman (2021) Nomadland (2020) The Lighthouse (2019) Blade Runner, 2049 (2017)

SCENE has already begun - sorry, no warning, we’re off to a good start with this banger of a piece from Rosie and Rob, analysing two films from a post lockdown lens. Besides this, we’ve got an udderly ridiculous Screen spread - thanks to Ayesha Brown, and Luma Festival news from our resident cow, Jed. In Stage, Suzannah recounts her experience at York Barbican seeing adventurer Ben Fogle, who gives some unique insights into living differently. In Music, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting John from Pitch 22 Record shop. In SPOTLIGHT, our revived fea-

tures section, we have Claire Forster kicking off our new column ‘International Correspondent’, which gives her space to rant about her summer abroad. Also, an exclusive interview with Sarathy Korwar and a perspective from Katie.

In Art, the University Art Curator Helena Cox reveals just some of the many incredible artworks nestling across campus. In Literature, Kate interviews Writer in Residence, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, and in Food, Izzy talks ‘gleaning’? Oh...and we have a new games section! With our fresh design, sit back, relax and enjoy... D

DAN GORDON-POTTS SCENE EDITOR

Udderly Strange: The Old Man Movie

BY AYESHA BROWN

Udderly strange doesn’t seem to cover this farm-frenzied, tractor fuelled tale of good vs evil where neither prevails. There is a hint of some morale to this inappropriate fairy tale but it seems to be covered by… milk. Everywhere.

Lactopalyspe follows the journey of three ‘city brat’ children as they grow accustomed to their deranged grandfather and his shit covered farm. His only responsibility is to provide milk for the villagers, which they wait hungrily for every morning. With trained precision, Grandpa fires milk at them from the elongated udders of his miserable cow. When left untethered by the children, Cow makes her escape, sparking the race to prevent Cowmaggedon.

The antagonist of this wacky piece is the old milkman; a creepy villain who oozes milk, cream and ice cream after a cow-related incident. Though senile, he ends up with a chainsaw and is actually kind of terrifying. I had more than an intolerance to him by the end of it.

Though exceedingly strange, this film is ever surprising with its precise camera work and expressive voice acting: none of the character’s mouths ever move, seemingly the opposite to Aardman’s lovable clay models. Nevertheless, the shiny, doughy exteriors of these characters are more than enough to get you invested in the journeys of the characters. They even manage some well timed rib-ticklers which will have you grinning despite yourself.

If you’re looking for something different (and a bit playful), this Estonian farm flick is out now in cinemas.

“A Once in a Lifetime Experience!” Film Festival Returns to Campus

BY JED WAGMAN

Every year, the University of York holds its very own film festival within the walls of Campus East. The LUMA Film Festival takes place every June in the School of Arts and Creative Technologies (ACT, formerly TFTI) and is full of student film screenings, exciting panel events with industry professionals, and networking events.

This year’s LUMA is happening at the end of week 9, from June 16th18th, and is totally free to attend for all students. Whilst film submissions had to come from students within the school of ACT to be eligible for the awards , any and all students can turn up to the wonderful events happening at the festival.

This year’s LUMA has a space theme and is sure to provide some out-of-this-world content. LUMA Festival Director Max Roach told Vision “I hope LUMA 2023 brings the vibes. With guest speakers to an industry jury there’s so much to offer, but this year we’re introducing 10 new awards that will hopefully create a special type of buzz”. Roach expanded by saying “with the support from the team around LUMA, I’m sure it’ll be a

fantastic chance for the students to network and to bridge the gap between the university and industry”.

LUMA 2023 includes a feature film premiere and Q&A, networking nibbles and drinks receptions, alumni film screenings and the annual afterparty, meaning there is absolutely something for everyone. Even if you just want to see some live music, there will be bands in the ACT foyer to keep you entertained across the weekend.

Roach told us that he’s “looking forward to watching the amazing project made by students on the big screen”. It may be a little-known fact to all non-ACT students, but the school has a fantastic cinema within its walls and LUMA provides the perfect opportunity to watch some excellent student films on the big screen. “It’s not every day you get to watch your work in a cinema with an audience,” added Roach, “it’s a once in a lifetime experience and it’s one of the best feelings to watch something you created being seen by everyone”.

All screenings, workshops, events and industry talks are non-ticketed

and you can just rock up on the day. However, the LUMA Inter-GALA-ctic event, which includes a screening of the best films of the festival, as well as the awards hosted by industry professionals and returning alumni, requires booking a (free) ticket in advance as it’s expected to be the best event of the festival.

“If you even have a remote interest in film and television then LUMA is for you. It’s the best free event in York with fantastic student film screenings.” According to Roach, “there’s nowhere else to be on the 16th-18th of June!”

Follow @lumafilmfest on Instagram to book your Inter-GALA-ctic tickets, stay updated on what’s happening over the weekend, and check out the festival’s full schedule.

Be sure to head to the school of ACT on Campus East from June 1618th for the 2023 LUMA Film Festival.

JED WAGMAN SCREEN EDITOR

STAGE

REVIEW

New Yorker in Newcastle

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS

“Young people are so organised now. I had one of them ask me, a 27 year-old, ‘what retirement plan should I make?’ I replied, ‘If I had a retirement plan I wouldn’t be doing this now would I?’”

These are the words of 72 yearold American humorist, author, and ‘social observer’ Fran Lebowitz.

Walking the same boards as Oscar Wilde (and using the same dressing room) in Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Lebowitz graced us with her presence, and, more importantly, her grounding wit.

As part of her UK tour, for one night in April, she gave opinions on anything that came into her head. The first half included a rather civilised sit down interview, before the audience descended on her and confronted her with their own questions - this involved shouting chaotically into a theatre of 700 other people with no microphone.

Fran talked of her dislike of Andy Warhol, who she once worked for, as well as her dismay when he died, having just sold all of her Andy Warhol paintings. She talked about Trump and Biden (the latter she finds herself fearing for his health whenever she sees him walk or do just about anything), and speculated about the next presidential election. Even Boris

Johnson and Liz Truss (“She was the one who lasted five minutes, yes?”) were mentioned, reminding me that yes, there are some Americans who pay attention to British politics.

She mentioned her close friend “Marti” (casually just the Martin Scorsese), who directed her Netflix show Pretend it’s a City, and apparently filmed it on a budget of $30 (because he blew it all on making The Irishman). Fran gets around, she has a lot of friends.

There are few people whose very presence is enough to entertain you, and Fran is one of them. She is smart, reads books, and doesn’t care if you ignore her in the street because you’re glued to your phone. In fact, she doesn’t really know what phones are and refuses to get one. Her New York City apartment has no WiFi, and, before you ask, she doesn’t care - she has no interest in what you have to say.

Professionals come into Fran’s cluttered home to organise her books, and then get fired because nobody can possibly organise the thousands she has amassed over the years.

Fran admits that on a moral level, yes, cars are bad, but that doesn’t stop her from keeping (and occasionally driving) her ancient, gas-guzzling yellow taxi, which she stores for an

From Everest to Chernobyl: Ben Fogle Visits...York

Adventurer and risk-taker

Ben Fogle visited the Barbican and shared his rewilding journey to promote his new book Wild. The book encourages personal reflection on the benefits of incorporating more time in nature into our lives, to reduce stress and, in Fogle’s case, increase confidence. As someone who is interested in the transformative effect of travel, I found that Fogle’s attitude on life was refreshing and unique.

Throughout the talk, Fogle interspersed clips of his travels with personal anecdotes that focused on the importance of reconnecting with the Earth. Fogle’s complete immersion in the conditions and culture of a place, whether it is the towering peaks of Everest or the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, demonstrates that resilience in

the face of danger can lead to unexpected gains. One aspect I found particularly fascinating was Fogle’s visit to Chernobyl. Following the man-made nuclear disaster in 1986, 100,000 residents were relocated to far-flung corners of the former Soviet Union and many never returned. While this catastrophic event caused mass upheaval and a radioactive wasteland, Fogle, and the audience, were pleasantly surprised by the re-wilding of Chernobyl. Fogle’s main takeaway from this is that nature can regenerate despite environmental destruction; however, he made an important point about the devastation humans can cause to the land and its potential for habitation.

Later on, Fogle spent time talking about his series ‘New Lives in the Wild’, where he spends a period of

time with people who have given up the luxury of modern day life to lead a nomadic lifestyle. An aspect of this that I found particularly interesting was Fogle’s take on the role that ambition has in cementing a linear lifestyle. Ambition and success are often defined by financial and economic stability; Fogle’s experiences and philosophy challenge this narrative. For Fogle, success should be characterised by the attainment of peace and contentment. His ideal is that if you want nothing you have everything. Consequently, he explained that one of the main things he noticed when visiting nomadic and people who lead alternative lifestyles was the ease of their smiles compared to those who live a modern day, fast-paced lifestyle. Fogle visited a former Olympian who decided to be a nomad, to have

extortionate price in a garage somewhere in NYC where “you really don’t need a car to get around”.

When asked about the meaning of the word ‘woke’, she gave unfiltered opinions. Unfiltered, and yet considered. Realistically, she doesn’t care what your pronouns are, she’ll call you whatever you like. But, she also points out that we never use someone’s pronouns when we’re talking with them one on one, only when we’re talking about them, without them in the room. To this, she says, with a rather self-satisfied smile, “I think there are more important things you should care about.”

Always dressed in black, and with an unchanging mass of black hair, Fran is, to the eye, as much a style icon and caricature as she is a real person. There is something so odd about her career, which almost entirely consists of just talking. Of course, not everyone could do it, yet there she was in Newcastle, existing, revered, and still a thriving, unrelenting individual, doing just that.

BY SUZANNAH BINNS

complete freedom from society. Her lifestyle was physically intense and the clip showcased her adaptability to life on the move. An amusing part was her teaching Fogle how to wash his hair in wee. However, living a nomadic lifestyle involves sacrifices, such as not having immediate and stable access to money, healthcare or family. These were issues that many people were acutely aware of and perhaps knew that good health and age have to be on your side. Perhaps we should all take inspiration from people who decide to live an alternative lifestyle and rewild ourselves a little bit more?

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ben Fogle talk and his philosophy that connecting to nature can encourage anyone to be brave, bold and fearless.

“There are few people whose very presence is enough to entertain you, and Fran is one of them.”

MUSIC

Record Resurgence: Inside York Record Shop, Pitch 22

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS

In 2022, UK sales of vinyl went up 11% to £151 million, and an estimated 5.8 million vinyl LPs were sold. That’s a lot of vinyl. Despite living in an age where Spotify dominates the market, and most of us listen to music on our phones, the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) reported that vinyl is driving the value of the physical music business, it’s helping keep this part of the music industry alive. But why vinyl? What’s behind the growth of this vintage physical format, which year on year keeps on growing?

I went to a record shop in York to find out… and also just to look through some records.

Pitch 22 lives on Fishergate (otherwise known as that busy road by Spoons), and sells second hand vinyls, CDs, books, and art. Here I met John, the owner who has run this shop for 6 years. Before setting up in York, John lived in Stockport and originally sold books. Then he bought some vinyl titles and they started to sell well. At this point, John’s customers were mainly die-hard fans,

record-enthusiasts who had always loved buying them. Now, in York, things have changed quite a bit.

Inside the shop, it’s a remarkably tiny space, but made all the more cosy by the masses of records stacked in boxes right in front of you, and the music playing as you come in to flick through and browse. The shop has a wide range of genres, including reggae, punk, electronic, hip hop, folk, and classical.

“I get a good variety of customers”, he tells me, including a fair few young people.

Thanks to York now being one of the most visited cities outside of London, Pitch 22 welcomes people from all over the world too. He told me this is one of his favourite parts of the job – getting to talk to people from different places, discuss music tastes, bands, artists, and the love of all things vinyl. Last year, courtesy of Indie York (of which Pitch is proudly a member), John got to set up shop at the Christmas market, which did him some great business. Although, he tells me, most of the records people bought were pretty limited in variety. I spot a Fleetwood Mac album on the

1970s section of the table in front of me. That stuff all sells well at Pitch 22 – think The Smiths, The Cure, and Joy Division. I flick through and see a Bowie album, and Pink Floyd’s Animals. “Rock is always popular, and they say rock is dead!”

“But there are some other more obscure ones as well,” John says. He likes to include things that are a bit different. While John’s not a massive fan of death metal, and some obscure jazz may not be his thing, there’s no guarantee he won’t have some of it stashed away somewhere in the shop for the ultra-fans to find. “Most of those go online though,” he says.

For record shops like John’s, the great thing about selling online is that it allows ultra-obscure albums and artists to be found and matched by their ultra-obscure listeners. The internet provides access to people from all over the world so that they can buy that one last album to finish their collection.

Although Pitch 22 sells its more unusual records online, the majority of sales still happen on the shop floor, and at the record fairs John organises. A few months

back, John organised a record fair at York Racecourse, which attracted a good crowd. Shop footfall can be a bit unpredictable, John tells me; at Christmas time he was remarkably quiet, but as soon as the new year rolled around, things got really busy. During Covid, of course, things were pretty different. The government helped out a fair bit, as it did with a large number of local businesses, and John managed to get some much-needed time off. Saying that though, there were some customers who still kept coming. One guy apparently used to post requests through the shop letterbox, so John could go and deliver them through the guy’s letterbox to help him get his fix!

When I ask about the other record shops in York (the “competition”), he laughs and tells me the locations of all of them, and seems to know them quite well. I guess in second-hand record-shop circles, there’s a good deal of comradery.

The problem, John indicates, is that there are companies hijacking vinyl’s moment, by making copious amounts of brand new vinyl’s (of old greatest hits), in order

to cash in. This isn’t so great for second-hand sellers like John, who rely on the older classics to draw customers in through the door. Then again, there’s nothing like an old record – something in the mystery of it, and the experience of going to a shop like Pitch 22 to find one. The experience is the main selling point, and perhaps the reason why vinyl still sells today, and John is doing as well as he is. For the first time, John has hired an employee, another avid record collector, to help him out and get him some time off. As we finish our chat, the clock turns 12 and the shop is now open. As soon as the doors open a customer walks straight in. When I eventually leave after buying a few bits, I pass some young people by the traffic lights who soon follow suit, opening the door to Pitch 22.

Pitch 22 is open 12-6pm every day (except Sundays). Keep an eye on their Facebook page for news of record sales and more events.

Big thanks to John for accommodating me for this article… and for posing for the photo.

A remarkably tiny space, but made all the more cosy by the masses of records stacked in boxes and the music playing as you come in to browse.

INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

My Heart is a No-Man’s Land

BY OLIVIA STAPLETON

My heart is a no-man’s land of automatic responses and aches it can’t quite shake.

I always look out from my bedroom window as if to see you round the corner that you won’t walk again. Whether it’s instinctive or just despondent anticipation for a last-ditch gesture, I don’t know, but my eyes blur until they focus on a magpie that swoops solo into sight –Saluting it as it settles on the telephone pole, I am reminded that I must deter all bad luck.

BY CLAIRE FORSTER

Ifound an email in my inbox in January about schemes at partnership universities this summer – one in Singapore, one in Hong Kong, one in China, one in Denmark and one in South Korea. It sounded exciting. Five weeks of study in a completely new country, with tuition fees waived and the chance to study whatever I wanted. I applied to study at Seoul National University and was accepted. So I’ve spent the last few weeks preparing for my summer in Seoul.

To be completely honest, there has been a lot of logistical stuff to sort out. Seoul National University requires proof of a negative TB test if you want to stay in their campus accommodation, so I had to get a chest x-ray done privately (and pay for it). But that aside, and some minor paperwork and one vaccine, the process has been relatively simple. York University has provided me with pre-departure workshops that explain how their (free!) travel insurance works and (also free!) Korean lessons before I go.

The process feels very well supported and organised. I am interested to see the differences between the cultures of this country and South Korea, and also how the teaching style differs. Also, I’m studying Korean ceramics! I think this summer will be incredible and I am ultimately so glad I applied.

Now, I look to the rose that grows orange and hopeful, peeking just above the fence.

SPOTLIGHT My Journey to South Korea

PERSPECTIVE

Between Homes

BY KATIE PRESTON

Moving house is one of my least favourite things to do. I’d go as far as to say that I actively despise it. Whether it’s the hours (if not days) of packing boxes, lugging all of your belongings and heavy furniture into a new place to then have to unpack everything that you spent so long putting away, I believe that moving house is a pivotal step towards adulthood.

Recently, I moved into what, I hope, will become a permanent residence for myself and my flatmate for the next few years. After nabbing what is our dream flat, we had less than a week to accurately and efficiently plan our moving strategy. Would we ask friends from work to help? Should we

hire a moving van? Can we afford a moving van? We went through many different strategies, however what we found worked best for the two of us was a very tedious furniture move in date followed by various mini-moveins across the weeks. Whilst we got all of our furniture moved in, which thankfully for me included a bed and mattress unlike my flatmate, we still haven’t fully completed the horrific process.

I’m in an interesting position now where I have paid rent and bills in my new place for the last month, but am still the legal tenant of my old student accommodation. This was planned, however, as it means we have an entire month to clean our student flat,

and ensure we get that horrifically large deposit back once we are free from the extortionate York student prices.

All in all, moving house wasn’t the massive inconvenience that I feared it would be, and I’m very grateful to my family for helping me move. Would I do it again? Absolutely not, so I’m hoping my current flat can last me for the next few years!

IMAGE (RIGHT): Johnson Johnson, Unsplash

Utopia is a Colonial Project

Sarathy Korwar is an artist on the rise. With wide acclaim, he has won Songlines Award for best album (Asia/ Pacific) in 2023, and came second in The Guardian’s top Global Albums of 2022. Strictly speaking, his music is Jazz - drum beat instrumental that’s often improvised. Trance is another influence, “anything that takes you out of your own body and makes you think of something larger than yourself. Musically, it’s about locking into particular rhythms and letting them take over.”

“Everyone’s first experience of music is improvisation; that childlike innocence.”

It’s important to recapture that as an adult, he says, “that playful sense of risk taking, pushing out of your comfort zone.”

Sarathy is no stranger to being out of his comfort zone. Born in the US, raised in India, and now living in London, he has moved around a lot.

“Being flexible and making new friends, and being open to things changing have always been things I have had to get used to.”

Sounds difficult, but, he tells me, there were many benefits.

“You get exposed to so many different cultures. In my house, my parents were (and still are) Indian classical music junkies, and both can sing, so I grew up with a lot of that. In school, my friends and I were into 60s and 70s rock and roll - from the Doors and the Beatles, to Jimi Hendrix. Those influences led us to discovering Jazz and the Blues, and then moving to London to find this other contemporary Jazz scene and sound-system culture, Dub, Jungle, and Drum and Bass.”

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS

He sums up his music: “I am into both Jazz trios and DJs, so it’s like, how do I find a way to make those two worlds collide?”

Collision is a good word to describe Sarathy’s sound, “I try to bring in sample pads and electronic kicksthe sound is very much electro-acoustic.”

With that collision, there is a degree of tension too, of worlds colliding. Sarathy leans into this, bringing provocative ideas into his songs.

In his album, KALAK, his song Utopia is a Colonial Project is a captivating piece with unnerving undertones. The title is meant to raise alarm bells.

“I went back and read Thomas More’s Utopia, and the more you read critiques of it and the book itself, you see it’s just a blueprint for settler colonialism. At the time it was written, European conquest was at its peak - all these explorers finding the new world. But utopias themselves can be very dehumanising - you go treating the people and the land as a resource, rather than going and trying to understand the culture.”

The music video involves a man dancing by himself in the streetlights of a London neighbourhood. Sarathy tells me this was what this was about: “going into a migrant heavy neighbourhood - North African, Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean - people in Ridley Road Market, where you suddenly get massive developments, and fancy flats being built.

In a way it’s modern day settler colonialism, that’s how I see it.

“A lot of my work talks about things that make people uncomfortable.”

When he speaks about utopias, colonialism, and gentrification, he means to provoke questions and conversation.

“People aren’t stupid when they talk about connecting to their ancestors and talking to their descendents. These ideas of legacy and generational trauma have existed in a lot of cultures for a long time, just with dif-

say, when are you going to do that thing, and someone could reply “kal”. I guess what I’m trying to say is that a lot of language hints at ideas within cultures about how they view time; language is a good marker of the things people hold of value in their culture.

The inherent paradox of that word and the fact that people are ok with it…makes me think some cultures are more comfortable with ideas of paradox and with not knowing, and not having definite answers. I think we live in that age of knowing things for a fact, and being able to google everything and just knowing the answer to every particular problem. Of course, the deep irony is that none of us really know anything.”

ferent words to ones we’re familiar with.”

He talks to me about KALAK and his more recent album, KAL (Real World), which both centre on the Hindi word kal.

“The word kal means yesterday and tomorrow - it’s the same word for both days. You could

The album title of KALAK plays with this - a palindrome (reads the same, whether you read it front or back). “It breaks up that idea of linearity - that everything has to be read a certain way, and with it, the deeper meaning that time doesn’t have to function in a set linear way.”

“I think the way we have all been educated and how modern day systems of work, efficiency and capitalism works is short-termism, and linear cause-effect methodology, but if we look deeper we probably wouldn’t be in a climate crisis if we recognised that past, present and future work potentially more as a circle.

“I don’t write about relationships, love, and breakups, but I talk about them in a sense of community, or a loss of identity.”

Refreshing. It’s no surprise though - if I learned anything from chatting with Sarathy, it’s that he has no intention of treading familiar ground - just take a listen to his music and tell me otherwise.

“A lot of my work talks about things that make people uncomfortable.” SCENE chats with Jazz musician Sarathy Korwar...

“Of course, the deep irony is that none of us really know anything.”

ART EXPLORED

Campus of Sculptures

BY HELENA COX (ART CURATOR)

Did you know that the University has an Art Collection and a sculpture trail?

Until 2022 there wasn’t a curator in place but this has now changed and the collection is becoming a national sensation!

The University of York holds over 900 artworks across various media, including 15 sculptures. The campus sculpture trail is a unique resource, you wouldn’t find so many sculptures in one place anywhere else in York! Most of the sculptures are located outdoors and their connection to the campus land is a crucial part of their overall appeal. In some cases, the University worked very closely with the artists to find the perfect spot for the sculptures - like Joanna Mowbray’s piece Beyond and Within (1995) or Gordon Young’s Singing Stone (2015). Both of these sculptures are in visual conversations with their surround-

ings. Mowbray’s piece is meant to evoke a meditative state of mind, linked to the trees and greenery surrounding it. Young’s sculpture is the tallest on campus and it encourages visitors to almost dance around it like around a maypole in order to read the verses by Yates which are inscribed all over it. Not all our sculptures are so prominent in size. Thomas Taylor’s geometric abstraction Totem IV (2006) sits quietly among the trees on the banks of the lake near Derwent, while Polly Ionides’ Moondancer (1997) near the Music department is surrounded by hedges as if the dancer was performing in a natural amphitheatre.

If you’d like to find out more, follow @ArtAtYork and check out our online sculpture trail map. You can also browse our online catalogue at https://artcollection.york.ac.uk.

REVIEW

Excreamly Interesting: I Went to a ‘Milk’ Exhibition. Here’s What I learned...

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS

A massive charcoal-coloured udder, with a multitude of dark and imposing teats.

This is the installation that greets you when you walk through the doors of what I think must be the first of its kind: a free exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London entitled simply ‘Milk.’ There is no subtlety here, milk finally gets to sit front and centre stage, and strangely, by the time I left through the exit doors, I can understand why.

I had the pleasure of briefly wandering around this exhibition, just three days after it opened. Running until the 10th of September this year, ‘Milk’ is a fascinating look at the history, politics and power of the most mythologised and advertised drinks on the planet – a drink that is actually relatively modern, and was only really prevalent in Europe and North America before it was spread across the world thanks to colonialism. It gives another layer to the term ‘white colonialism’, but there is one thing to be sure: the truth really is as dark and unsettling as those charcoal teats.

I learned about just how political milk really is, for instance, at one point in the UK (around the 1970s and 80s) there was a National Milk Publicity Council – dedicated entirely to promoting milk via the state as a ‘natural’ healthy drink, particularly for children. With American-style adverts cheerily calling it ‘the backbone of young Britain’ and creating the image of aspirational white middle-class milk-drinking families, this exhibition revealed the darker side of Big Dairy, an industry with seemingly indestructible lobbying power in government, and consequently big influence and huge profits.

There was also a fascinating look at the emergence of ‘Dairy Science’, and the creation of a strong narrative about refining milk, focusing on purity, pasteurisation, and white perfection. We get to see just how dairy became inextricably linked with good health, and not for the innocent and purely objective scientific reason you might think. It rightly gives that child-

hood knowledge that ‘milk is good for your bones’ a bit of interrogation…

On top of this, racism, motherhood, and Margaret Thatcher snatching milk off school kids, are all themes cleverly incorporated in an eye-opening way.

Despite all this, I would like to have seen more of an emphasis on the romanticisation of milking, its origins in small local dairies, and how this morphed into the behemoth of the mass-industrial-milk-sucking-machine complex. That contrast would have helped make the exhibition more striking and memorable.

While the exhibition began to explore contemporary discussions about milk and reactions to Big Dairy, it would have been nice to see and learn more about the dramatic (and it seems, little examined) change in milk-drinking habits, particularly among young people within the last five years. In other words, where was the Oatly? Where was the evidence of the very real commercial and social discourse taking place right now about how we define milk?

On top of this, the environmental impact of milk drinking seemed to be something the curators tiptoed around, which instinctively felt wrong, given the mass of fairly solid scientific evidence of the environmental impacts of dairy. The future of milk was something that could have been done with greater emphasis, given how pressing the issue is. I felt that this was the sort of exhibition intended to provoke and to make people’s heads fill up with questions as they left the door, but I’m not quite sure to what extent it achieved this.

Then again, overall I think the exhibition succeeds in initiating a response, and in providing insights and answers to what initially feels like a very odd theme for an exhibition. I think that the randomness of its title in this case could very well serve to bring new audiences through the Wellcome Collection doors, and hopefully will further public discourse about our modern diets and our milk-drinking habits.

(Above) Untitled, Julia Bornefeld, 1995.

Photo by Helmut Kunde

Singing Stone, by Gordon Young (2015). York Art Collection.

The Sum of Shared Silence

Kate

Shelton interviews award-winning poet and Writer in Residence Anthony Vahni Capildeo

BY KATE SHELTON

Irecently had the pleasure of interviewing the University of York’s Writer in Residence, Anthony Vahni Capildeo. Having requested that our discussion revolved around their position within the English and Related Literature Department at York, Anthony enlightened me on what that role encompasses. From talking about their connection with students and staff, to commemorating our beloved Longboi, these five questions unlock a personal insight into the prestigious role.

What do you feel you have brought to the role of Writer in Residence?

“As Writer in Residence, I was appointed during the pandemic so a lot of what I did at first was remote. I tried to concentrate then on creating resources such as slow readings, because I am very interested in the idea of slow reading and active silence, listening for the silence between and around things, listening to resonances.

I’ve been able to commission work from writers including new work from queer and under-represented writers and also programme events which have been like dream events of putting people together who mightn’t otherwise come together.

I hope I bring a more international dimension and I want to bring interests, place, ecology, the importance of slow attention, real attentiveness, and outward turns to the other, as well as interior time for silence and a real consideration of one’s interiority. That movement between interior and outer is incredibly important to me.

What are three objectives you want to fulfil during your time as Writer in Residence?

To keep events hybrid and to offer

the opportunity of online events both because of access - which is disability access, also economic access - but also to connect people nationally and internationally.

To keep doing masterclasses and connecting with students so they can keep on transferring creative-critical knowledge in this way, and also activating it as a way of learning and knowing and doing and being. Actually making an example for students of how you can bring together the creative and the critical.

I really want to be responsive to the environment I am in, so for example working with StreetLife, with J.R. Carpenter, having a day printmaking, and being available to the public was incredibly transformative for me.

Doing more in-place work is something I’d really like to do, I’m hoping with the campus, with the trees, and with the waterside before too long.

What is your relationship like with the students at the University – do you feel you engage with them well?

I think it has been changing for the course of the pandemic and it’s also a question that immediately taps into imposter syndrome, which a lot of people have who are minorities in various ways. One of the things I’ve found is that the Department is both very welcoming and very politically aware at a personal level so my imposter syndrome has been getting better.

A lot of what I’m trying to do, really, is filling in what didn’t exist when I was at Oxford, so what I would have liked to exist - which is somebody who is a non-directive touchstone.

What has been the most rewarding part of being Writer in Residence at the University?

Undoubtedly being in the Depart-

ment, I’ve worked in a lot of places and different types of contracts, for example my full-time Cultural Fellowship at the University of Leeds, which was also wonderful in very different ways, but to be in a Department that is so full of energy and so politically aware, humane to students - I don’t feel that voices are being left out, I don’t feel that knowledge is going to waste; that sense of really being part of a collaborative environment, even if we don’t see each other in person everyday, is really the best thing about the job.

For the students reading this, which of your poems would you want them to read and why?

‘If There Is an Afterwards’ from Like A Tree, Walking

From when I was in Trinidad, I was in Trinidad for the first six months of the pandemic, there was a militarised lockdown there.

I had lots of time to reflect and I was thinking towards particular friendships and how friendships don’t necessarily need a big dramatic moment, how a friendship, or a relationship with a parent or carer is the sum of a life. Even if you don’t get to say your final goodbye, or even if your last conversation is trivial or even angry, it’s the sum of sweetness, and the sum of shared silences, the sum of unuttered thoughts and just the sum of company.

As somebody who is in middle-age really, I want younger adults to read this poem and to stop a sense of acceleration and to realise how many instances have already gone into their friendships and relationships, and to have a kind of hope about durability.

How we can look into each other’s hearts even when we’re far away?

And finally, a nod to dear Longboi:

Longboi was the sign of difference […] I think that Longboi was very much a muse.”

for wild garlic pesto...

A Taste of Nature

The forager finds beauty in the strangest of places...

BY IZZY EDWARDS

In her film The Gleaners and I, Agnès Varda talks about the practice of gleaning: salvaging things after they have been discarded or left behind, as creating a certain kind of self, a gleaner. The gleaner, the forager, finds beauty in the strangest of places.

When I forage for food in my local environment, I enter into a relationship with nature, animals, and other people ex-

isting in the same space. If you are foraging ethically, you will never take more than a third of the produce you find. You are conscious of others, human or otherwise, that may come across the same patch. Being in touch with nature ensures you are personally invested in seeing it thrive; it encourages you to be involved in climate justice and anti-consumerist practices. Perhaps more than these lofty goals there is beauty in the

simple acknowledgement that I must eat and so must we all, and this consumption is a kind of love. I fill my belly and heart as I stand in green spaces that are increasingly hard to find, and the person I feel myself becoming is one I can be proud of.

Lentil & Tomato Soup

IMAGE:IZZY

EDWARDS

Foraged Wild Garlic Pesto

BY IZZY EDWARDS

150g-ish foraged wild garlic leaves

50g parmesan

Wild Garlic Mayo

50g-ish foraged wild garlic leaves

150g mayo

Pinch salt

1 small garlic clove

Clean that wild garlic thoroughly, then bash with a pestle and mortar and mix with remaining ingredients. It will turn a delightful green. Don’t panic, instead, sit back, relax, and enjoy. It’s a delightful dip for a rosemary salted fry, but anything will do. You will love.

1 garlic clove

½ lemon (zest and juice)

50g toasted nuts (pine nuts/walnuts etc.)

150ml olive oil

(all the measures are approximate! Have fun!)

Crush garlic with a bit of salt in pestle and mortar or put the ingredients into a food processor/blender

Rinse your wild garlic thoroughly and add to your mortar (or blender), and crush/blend to your desired texture

Grind your nuts into a paste and add parmesan, emulsifying until completely incorporated.

Add oil, lemon, taste and season. Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

BY YORK SCOOP

1 large leek, chopped

Two red peppers, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

3 tsp paprika

1/2tsp chilli powder

1 vegetable stock cube in 500ml boiling water

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin green lentils (or 1 cup lentils soaked overnight in water)

Lots of black pepper

In a big pan, fry the leek and red pepper until soft.

Add your carrots, paprika, and chilli and fry for two more minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until they have all softened. If using tinned lentils, leave out and add to the pan a few minutes before the end.

Puree the soup and serve with more black pepper.

York Scoop is the sustainable zero-waste shop on campus. For more info on their opening times and society, visit their instagram @yorkscoop

GAMES

Crossword

Test your knowledge better than your degree...

Sudoku

Difficulty rating: EASY

2. Name of student newspaper with name that is difficult to pronounce

3. Sign up to this group so you can help save a life

6. Hall that is at the heart of campus...

7. The defining building material of West Campus, with a glorious appearance

8. Surname of our new Chancellor (hint: Kaitlyn interviewed them in this issue)

9. Surname of man who sneakily visited campus a few months back...also touted to be next Prime Minister (first name also the name of a leading UK construction company)

12. Your local (bank decimating) shop

14. Main characteristic of now (probably) deceased beloved quacking mascot

16. The other defining building material of West that may pose some serious health risks

18. Best student paper in all of York...and the one you want to write for

19. Name of the bus company that transports the drunk students of campus into town and back

22. Competitive activity that requires a gaming console/computational power

23. Best object to chuck at a Monarch (according to one credible source)

25. Name of representative organisation for the scholarly here at this educational institution

ACROSS

1. Name of Saint that also has his own local University

4. Name of millennial hotspot in town (made of a number of boxes lit up good, and sells nice street food with very locally grown greens)

5. In some people’s Opinion, this activity, which involves a hook, is good for one’s mental wellbeing

10. Definitely the best nightclub in all of York...if you’re over 40

11. Name of online student paper that is part of a wider organisation set up by some Cambridge grads in 2009

13. Type of chemical airborne in homes which is a source of indoor air pollution.

15. Campus at York for the wealthy only (aka the desolate silent and empty plains)

17. The street packed with tourists with a name that is rather apt

20. Recurring events which cause disruption to students’ degrees and make us question the £9250 price tag

21. Shop sells these in York...because Spotify and Apple Music can’t match them

24. First part of the name of a place where many students live (think orange fizzy drink, flavour of Doritos)

26. Name of body part that features more than once in this issue of SCENE

27. Annual University sporting event

Blurble.

Forget that other word-guessing game. This one’s better!

You have a 150 word blurb describing a Film, TV show, Theatre production, or, well, basically anything. Guess the title and fill in the blanks.

A teacher and his old student reconnect when they both discover their love for cooking. Watch the two as they struggle to find the right ingredients to cook properly and as they try to get as wide a reach as possible. Problems ensue in later seasons when the owner of a rival chicken shop tries to shut them down.

WIN FREE CINEMA TICKETS!

Watch any movie at City Screen York (Picturehouse) with TWO FREE TICKETS for you and a friend!

If you completed the Blurble, then be the first to let us know and we’ll get you tickets! Simple as that. (Just take a pic, or send the answers to scene@yorkvision.co.uk)

Difficulty rating: EASY

MEDIUM SCENE is the arts and culture section of Vision. We cover everything from upcoming films, theatre shows, music releases, art and literature, as well as food…lots of food. In Spotlight, we shine a light on what deserves centre stage. We also have the privilege of hosting the Games section, because we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Enjoy.

KATIE PRESTON (She/Her)

Do I Miss My Hometown?

Unlike most of my friends and colleagues, I am pointedly NOT going home after I finish my degree. In fact, I’ve worked ridiculously hard (40-hour work week on top of uni, anyone?) to make sure that I DON’T have to go back to my monotonous hometown. But now that I’ve finished my degree, and hopefully have settled down for the next few years in my uni town, do I miss anything about the town I grew up in?

I was born and raised in Northamptonshire, a county in the Midlands that is known for three things: shoes, Weetabix and James Acaster. Growing up, there was barely anything to do in my ex-industrial, poverty-stricken hometown. Yes, we had a theme park. Was it worth going to? No. The town I went to school in was no better. You can look it up, but Corby used to be one of the most depressed towns in the UK, with high rates of unemployment making the town a literal dead-end after leaving school.

Are there things I miss about my home county though? On reflection, I’d say yes. If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d say absolutely not, but my nostalgia for Midlands culture has hit me now that I know I won’t be going back.

There are many great things about Northamptonshire that those familiar with the county will recognise. Iconic cafe chain Jenny’s is a personal favourite of myself and fellow Northamptonian, Meg Maguire (of YSTV fame). It turns out that the coffee chain Bewitched is a Northamptonshire- only establishment. You also have the legendary

Horrifically Quick Uni Years

Everyone says that your university years are some of the best years of your life, and that they go past horrifically quickly. Now that I’ve finished my undergraduate degree, I can wholeheartedly say that this is true. I’m not the first in my family to go to university, and I distinctly remember every relative with an undergraduate degree telling me to enjoy my three years whilst they last. Starting university in 2020, during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I firmly believed that my time studying would drag horrendously, especially with the transition back into in-person, classroom learning seemingly impossible.

However, now that I am approaching the official end of my undergraduate days and have submitted my last exam, I simply can’t believe just how fast the time actually went. My first year, like many of us who attended university during the pandemic, was a very odd time. Moving away from my parents for the first time to be forced to isolate over and over with people I had just met was incredibly daunting, and I am a firm believer that those currently in third year are entitled to some sort of compensation for the amount of money we all paid to sit in Zoom break-

out rooms!

First year was full of ups and downs for me. I made some great friends, however basically everything in town being shut or having to stick to the “rule of six” whilst being a friendship group of seven was incredibly frustrating. I am glad, however, that my results during my first year didn’t count towards the rest of my degree, so at least that anxiety was taken away from me. Second year was similar in its turbulence.

I joined Vision for the first time, which I would later edit and direct, and I met my first-year goal by getting way more involved in wider societies in general. I also started my part-time bartending job, which has now become a full-time financial revenue for me, and as a result I became more financially stable than ever. I did, however, have a lot of friendship fallouts and personal issues in second year which I am still battling with and recovering from today.

Third year was definitely my best year at university, even if it was incredibly difficult and time-consuming to balance a part-time job and my dissertation! I’m incredibly proud of the work I submitted this year. However, the anxiety of the current marking boycott and whether I will graduate with

shop The Bean Hive, of which has a sister location in Falmouth, that I go to every time I trek home: you can buy fancy trinkets and a plethora of witchy supplies, of which are right up my street.

Northamptonshire also has the Royal & Derngate, a theatre where I went and watched a pantomime every Christmas. There’s also the Savoy Cinema in Corby. It used to be the best cinema to go to until the construction of Rushden Lakes, a shopping centre, and now has become the second-best option if you can’t be bothered to drive across the county. There is the aforementioned theme park Wicksteed Park, where basically everyone works at some point in their teenage years. My opinion of Wicksteed is interesting, however, as I did have a firework shot at me in 2005 (look it up), but the carousel ride was the pinnacle of my childhood.

Ultimately, would I suggest making the three-hour drive to Northamptonshire? Absolutely not, unless you have to pass through to escape the M6. But do I miss my county-based family traditions and the Midlands culture that doesn’t seem to be represented in York? I do, and I am going to miss it still.

a completed grade still plagues me. Roll on graduation, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

All in all, my university experience has been full of ups and downs, but I definitely haven’t regretted it. At the end of my three years, I’ve learnt so much about myself and my work ethic, some good and some bad, but I can say definitively that coming to York has changed me for the better. My advice for current first and second years? Enjoy it whilst you can. We’re thankfully no longer affected by lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, so go out and get a pint with friends or go for dinner somewhere - it might throw your weekly budget a bit, but trust me, it’s so much better to enjoy your financial freedom whilst you’re still exempt from council tax!

On the topic of money, I’d also recommend creating a detailed budget now if you haven’t already got one. Having just paid my first proper non-student rent payment and beginning to repay a three year long loan, it’s so much easier if you’ve got finances in place now so that post-university you aren’t freaked out. That, or get a financially-savvy flatmate like I have.

Thirdly, I advise everyone to make your

holidays from university as great as you can. With the change to semesters looming, I’m not sure how term dates will affect current students (as I know a lot of us aren’t). Having finished third year, I can wholeheartedly say that I was unable to go out as much in my final year as I was during my second year, even after submitting all my assignments. So, I’d advise making your Christmas, Easter and summer holidays matter: go to concerts, have day trips to the beach and go for brunch with friends! When you’re caught up with dissertation work, you’ll regret not doing more during your holidays, so make them count if you can.

University is a tumultuous yet brilliant time for students. It’s usually your first time as a somewhat financially independent human being, navigating the world alone for the first time, and to be in a city as beautiful as York has been incredible. But if you have people in your life telling you it will go quickly, please believe them. I wish I had!

IMAGE: LAURA ROWE

Exclusive Interview with the Chancellor

BY KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB (She/Her)

Barely a few months into her new job, the UoY Chancellor already has a Long Boi scarf, a long-standing passion for making change, and a long list of plans to ensure her Chancellor-ship is always more than just a figurehead.

Logging onto our hastily rescheduled zoom call, Dr Heather Melville’s cheery voice burst through the screen: “I am very, very, very excited. I still keep pinching myself. Is this real?”

And it only got more ‘exciting’ from there.

An equal fan of cats and dogs alike, a snacker of wine gums and hazelnut chocolate, and the proud owner of a Long Boi scarf (even if she sadly never got to meet the legend himself), UoY’s newly appointed chancellor is looking forward to stepping into the role and letting everyone know exactly who she is.

And more importantly… who the students of the University of York are, and what they can become.

Ultimately, this is Heather’s primary focus for her time as Chancellor - evoking change that will benefit the students of the present and future. Noting the powerful foundation the University exists on, and a leadership team built on the “shoulders of giants”, Heather is ready to take it to another level.

Bristling with excitement and nervousness, she is absolutely focused on “what the future could look like.”

“Because, at the end of the day, the future for me is not about the physical body of the University, and not about the leadership of the University, but about the students that make up the University. “

In fact her plan is already quite distinct:

“I want to talk about equality, ethnicity, postgraduate students. Everybody across all the spectrums of inclusion.”

“I want to mention mental health. We need to make sure that we are able to support our students who are going through really difficult times, and especially those that are away from home, a long way away from home”

“I want to connect with businesses, both local, and in London so they can see first hand the kind of talent we have.”

“I want to walk through the campus and see and feel that energy of the multicultural society that we live in, in the real world.”

“I really believe that we are ready for change.”

This change, of course, won’t happen overnight. When I pressed for further hints, Heather was particularly honest: “well I’m still in the fabulous discovery part!”

Ultimately though, the timeline is already in place. “I want to give us, you know, three to five years where I can measure it and be able to see these are the outcomes of the work. And to take people on the journey with us.”

And most interestingly, Heather doesn’t seem particularly keen on resting much throughout this 5-year plan. “When my son said to me, ‘You plan to sleep right’, my response was clear ‘I’m gonna be dead for a long time, and then I can sleep as much as I want to.’”

This enthusiasm for change has a long-standing tradition in Heather’s life. In fact it’s the whole reason she received the job offer in the first place. Discussing her journey to York, Heather described how her passion has always come from uplifting diversity, particularly for women and ethnic minorities. A leading figure in the business world and now an independent advisor to her organiszation, Heather has always said that minority groups don’t need to change themselves: “what they need is exactly the same opportunities that straight white men get and that’s what we’re fighting for.”

“I have a passion for business, and a passion for creating an inclusive society. So actually, when those two come together, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like living a dream.”

And it’s these exact values that led the University of York to offer her the job.

“Well they tricked me at first. In the nicest possible way.” Heather recounted with a laugh.

“They asked if I’d come and speak at something in York. And I was very provocative.”

“I talked about how this university needs to look and feel different, to be able to attract the talent that’s already out there. And unbeknownst to me, that was my interview.”

Of course, accepting was an easy decision for Heather.

“I think the biggest driver for me accepting this was the passion from everybody I came across from the University of Yorkwe’re all really passionate about creating an inclusive society. And they all wanted me to come and drive that.”

Describing her future partnership with Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffery: “it’s very unusual in my work, in life, that I’ve worked with somebody and felt our values are so

well connected.”

But ultimately, Heather’s core reason is simple: “You just don’t see very many people of color, or even women at those top jobs in academia.”

“And to me, it’s really humbling the amount of people who have said ‘because you’re there, we can see ourselves there.’”

After looking back at her notable journey to York, it was now time to discuss the present issues of the student population. And wow, was Heather ready to go. Discussing everything from Covid, to strikes, cost of living and the new student center, Heather has ideas and isn’t afraid to share them.

The impacts of Covid, she starts, can’t be ignored. “What it did was it created a vacuum of people that we just put into little boxes, and you had to stay in this room, and you couldn’t leave. Never in our history has this happened. It was a horrible, horrible

more attractive and sustainable. We’ll have a variety of spaces designed specifically for students, so that’s exciting.”

Coming from a working-class background herself, Heather describes relating to the wide struggles of working students in these times. “I want people to know that your Chancellor absolutely understands what it’s like to be put on the breadline because I’ve been there - 20 years ago.”

Ultimately though, Heather has found herself to be a very glass half-full kind of person. Even through hard times she finds comfort in “aspiring to have nice things” because those nice things will one day represent the “journey I’ve been on and the ability to be creative with the things you do.”

Infact, as an avid fan of op-shopping, vintage fashion remains one of Heather’s top tips for finding creativity in a budget.

Moving on to how university is never simply about academics, Heather describes the skill sets that can and will be developed through the hardships, which always “make you a stronger and more resilient adult”.

“And trust me, the generation of the last three years are going through something that’s never been experienced before. And they will be the leaders of the future. Because they’re resilient, they’re caring.”

time for students to go through.”

“And now we’re in a situation where you have to choose whether you eat or whether you can study.”

Addressing the current cost of living crisis, Heather describes seeing “these young people when they’re shopping and they’re thinking about the next 10 days, not just the next two days.”

“You have to choose to eat or heat your home - that’s the reality.”

In regards to the ongoing UCU strike action, she believes communication is the key. “What’s most interesting in the recent strike action is seeing and learning from how Charlie has been updating staff and students.”

Building off the University’s efforts to support students, she is particularly impressed by the range of options. “Fuel grants, poverty funds, emergency support funds, food vouchers, free laptops, period products. These efforts are important, right?”

And she is quite excited about the potential of the new student center being built on West Campus. “There is going to be a lot of investment to make student life much

Wrapping up our conversation with other timely messages to this impressive student population she is so looking forward to leading, Heather once more displayed the vast excitement that has fueled our conversation, and her chancellor-ship, right from the start.

“I want them to understand that they’re not on their own. The University in itself is a family. And we want to make sure we’re there to support you.”

“I want to make sure we celebrate those successes. So whilst I’m here, the graduations will be extremely special.”

“I want to keep updating students, get the message out about our work, our purpose, our values. I don’t want to be a stranger to this.”

“I want them to remember that you’ll never forget where you’ve come from and yes I want them to focus on being the best that they can be.”

As we began to log off so Heather could head off to feed her beloved, if slightly spoiled cat Jazz (named for Heather’s immense love of jazz music), her final point was absolutely crystal clear…

“It’s all about doing something that actually we can be proud of.”

“I really believe we are ready for change”

UoY’s Semesterisation

BY HANNAH WILLEY (She/Her)

Beginning next academic year (2023/2024), The University of York will change the academic year’s structure from three semesters – Autumn, Spring and Summer – to two.

The plan is for Fresher’s week to begin a little earlier than usual on the 18th September, followed by five weeks of teaching, a consolidation week, and another six weeks of teaching. The semester will therefore be twelve weeks long, so Christmas vacation now begins later on the 18th of December.

This is followed by three weeks of vacation, and a revision week in which students are not expected to be on campus, meaning the student body will return around the 15th of January. This is a reduction from last year’s Christmas vacation of 5 weeks, which was from the 2nd of December to the 9th of January.

After 3 weeks of revision and assessment, Semester One comes to an end, entering Semester Two on the 5th of February for Refresher’s week.

Students then remain until the 25th of March when their two-week Easter vaca-

tion begins, then returning for another nineweeks before term ends on the 10th of June.

In other words, terms might start to feel like a bit of a long slog. However, it’s worth noting that the designated “revision weeks” and “consolidation weeks” throughout the terms don’t have compulsory in-contact hours, and therefore do not require attendance.

The University explains and justifies this change in a number of ways: it claims the semesterisation will spread assessments throughout the year, instead of loading students and staff with all examinations at the end.

Furthermore, its objective is to grant students more opportunities. Balancing the term times means all modules will be worth the same number of credits (20), meaning students may be able to take more modules than before. The new semester dates will also align with those of professional environments, making it easier for the University to organise events with them, and allows more students to study or work abroad for part of the year. They also point out the longer sum-

mer vacation, and note that this will free students’ time for summer internships.

However, this hasn’t stopped students from feeling a little sceptical. The longer terms may present more challenges to students as there will be longer study periods and shorter holidays – or study breaks – between term times. Having a longer summer holiday comes with the caveat that Christmas and Easter will be significantly shorter.

“Going into my final year, the previous two years have been based on three terms,” one student commented, “so at the crucial part of my degree, I can’t ask anyone about how to manage my time as no one in the University has experienced it before. If final year stress wasn’t enough, I’ve now got the uncertainty about how it would work without me getting burnt out.”

The University have shared their own comments on the change:

“We believe the new changes to mod ules and timetables will have huge benefits for students and will lead to a reduction in workload, with assessments taking place af

ter each teaching period, clearly defined revision periods, and a consolidation week in the middle of the first semester.

“In addition, semesters will align our academic year with lots of other institutions, currently in place in 70% of Russell Group Universities and many other universities overseas, making it easier for students to find opportunities to study abroad, and to take up exciting placements and internships.”

“We welcome feedback and have been consulting with the student unions throughout the process - beginning in November 2021 when details around semesterisation and modularisation were first announced.”

Though fairly typical among other universities, having two semesters will mean an unfamiliar change for the students of the University of York. Students are anxious, but according

The Legacy of Long Boi

BY KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB (She/Her) AND EMILY SINCLAIR (She/Her)

As the passing of UoY mascot Long Boi offers an important moment to recognise his impact on student life, Vision spoke with experts from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the World Wildlife Fund to find the best way to interact with UoY natural spaces, even in the absence of our favourite long necked feathered-friend.

David Craven from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust noted the special environment the university has access to. “The lakes are really interesting because you get a lot of domestic birds and a lot of wild birds as well, because it’s a huge space with lots of quiet safe spaces.”

Discussing the unique presence of Long Boi, David noted his uniqueness would not have been a concern the bird. Indian Runner is a breed not a species, so he was easily accepted amongst the flock of more typical ducks. Such domesticated Indian Runners are bred to walk, rather than fly, explaining his commitment to Derwent. Another notable trait of the Longest Boi was his confidence. He was never particularly afraid of humans, which David claims comes from

the less aggressive nature of the breed and his familiarity with his fans. and their food offerings.

Despite our favourite duck’s absence, David encouraged ongoing engagement with UoY’s natural spaces. Describing research around ‘Green Social Prescribing’ David notes how there is “an absolutely 100% proven link that green spaces and interacting with nature is good for you and your mental health.”

no long moderation.”

YUSU President Pierrick Roger added, “not only is it what he would have wanted, but sounds of birdsong, flowing water and wind are known to reduce anxiety. And feeding the campus wildfowl is just an extra bit of fun.”

The World Wildlife Fund offered similar advice when approached for commnet; “nature can improve your mood, reduce stress, anxiety and fatigue, and help with feelings of loneliness”

“Get into a rhythm of seasonality and see what you can spot, on a different day in different conditions. And just embrace it.”

Warning of direct interaction with the remaining wildflock, David advises caution, “give them their own space.”

“Don’t feel that you’ve got to physically interact. And no bread - ‘bread in moderation’ when 500 students are feeding them is

A spokesperson for the fund, Mike Eames, offered condolences as the university community recovers from the loss of Long Boi; “while students are affected by the passing of Long Boi, perhaps they can take some solace by visiting wild ducks living locally and actively protecting and restoring local natural habitats.”

David concluded with a broad sense of optimism:

“The University of York has always had a history on this campus of having wildlife. Something else out there that gets

“So, make a conscious effort to go into that green space. It’s about trying to learn what else is around.”

“I don’t think that begins or ends with one duck.”

Owning Your Summer Body

BY AMBER HANDLEY (She/Her) AND MARTI STELLING (She/Her)

With the summer months approaching, we are once again greeted with that hallowed phrase, “Summer Body.” As jeans and jumpers are swapped out for skirts and strappy tops, the change in what we wear comes paired with the pressure to look ready for the coming season.

The pressure to have a bikini-ready body and be able to maintain it throughout the summer months is only heightened through the array of social media posts flaunting picture-perfect models in tiny bikinis. There is nothing like a good old social media post of Kendall Jenner in a bikini to make you feel good about yourself!

The summer season can often be a trigger for those who struggle with body image. Last minute diets, calorie counting and extreme exercise routines are often people’s last minute solutions when they deem themselves not ‘bikini ready’. The message continually spread throughout summer is that if our bodies don’t look a certain way, they aren’t good enough. It is easier to hide behind baggy clothes in the cooler months but once temperatures rise, more skin exposes insecurities.

Amber shares her experience of the pressure to maintain a “summer body” on vacation.

“Being someone who continually struggles with their own body image, I feel the pressure to look picture perfect before I even board an airplane. But it is not simply about feeling confident in what I wear. It is the fear of reversing any progress I have made once I am on holiday. Watching what I will eat and drink, and making sure I work out every day are just a few of the restrictions I am internally placing upon myself. But all these anxieties are developed over a fake body image. No matter how desperately I want to obtain that body image and no matter how hard I try to make it a reality, I am just not built that way. But that’s okay. Even though it is extremely hard, I am reminding myself that it is better to be healthy and happy in my own skin, than restricting myself out of a desire to look like someone else. But I know that I am not alone in this.”

Marti discusses the pressure she has felt to look a certain way in summer clothing and how learning to make peace with her body has been an ongoing process.

“I remember being around 13 and seeing a photo of myself in shorts and wondering why nobody had told me how completely hideous I looked. For years later, I wouldn’t

AMBER HANDLEY LIFESTYLE EDITOR

What’s new at York Body Shop?

BY LAURA ROWE (She/Her)

If you’ve walked down Coppergate recently, you might have noticed that The Body Shop is looking a bit more gleamy.

On the 20th of May, Vision attended the grand reopening of The Body Shop on Coppergate. The Body Shop prides itself on being “dedicated to being the most ethical, sustainable, inclusive and inspiring company we can be.”

Speaking with The Body Shop, Vision was told that the new shop is made from “96% recycled/recyclable materials”.

The focus of the redesign was to make the shop more sustainable. That sounds great in theory but how do you go about doing that?

Bigger Refill Station

Since 2019, The Body Shop has been offering its ‘Refill Scheme’ which claims to be a “zero waste product”.

York’s own Body Shop has made its refill section larger, even offering make-up refills. Vision did, however, note that the products which you can refill are still very limited.

Recycled Packaging

Most of the plastic packaging is made from recycled materials. This is in line with The Body Shop’s commitment to

“100% of our packaging being recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025”. And it’s not just the plastic which is recyclable. There are many products which are made from recycled metal!

Plastic tubs have been changed to glass which are made from recycled glass and other plastic packaging has been changed to metal.

According to The Body Shop “in store we have a recyling scheme so customers can bring in their old, used packaging which will be recycled and turned into things such as surfaces in our store!”

Made From Recycled Materials

How truly sustainable is it to completely refurbish a shop? I couldn’t get this question out of my mind. The Body Shop, however, reassured us that everything in the shop was made out of recycled materials. From the new sink to the stands themselves, everything is made out of recycled material.

It’s great that shops are being so conscious about how they are effecting the environment and making an effort to be more sustainable. We can’t wait to see how The Body Shop continues with its commitment to sustainability.

wear shorts in the summer, envying the girls with long slender legs that were never meant for my body. It’s taken a long time, but as I’ve entered my 20s, I’ve learned to accept my body. There are days that I love it, and other days that I find myself getting in a huff (normally while getting ready for events that should be fun) and wishing for a body that isn’t my own.

Learning what clothes suit my figure has been a large step in increasing my confidence, as well as doing my best to maintain a balanced diet and exercise. Whilst calorie counting helped me lose a small amount of weight and learn how to create meals that are sustaining and nutritious, I’ve learned that it’s very difficult to attain a body that you aren’t built to have.”

There will always be fad diets that come and go- I like to think of them like different types of jeans. One month high-waisted jeans will be in, the next low-rise, and as soon as the latest hits the magazines, the last is forgotten about. Diets are so individual, and what works for one person won’t work for the next. Some people can eat well over the daily calorie recommendation and not gain weight, whilst others gain weight for a myriad of reasons, including genetics and metabolism. Food intolerances are another thing to take into consideration. We know

that all hot girls have stomach issues, but it’s worth finding out whether bloating is a result of your body not being able to digest certain foods. At the end of the day, starving yourself into a smaller body won’t solve the way you think about yourself. Eating foods that nourish, sustain, and fuel you mean that you feel better on the inside.

So whether you’re struggling with body image during the current heatwave or making progress on your summer body self-love story, remember that your body is there to help you do the things you enjoy. You won’t remember how much you weighed this summer when you’re 80, but hopefully you will remember the fun you were able to have whilst feeling energized and healthy.

TW: BODY IMAGE AND RESTRICTIVE EATING

IMAGE: LAURA ROWE

“Save a Life”: Join York Marrow

BY EMILY SINCLAIR (She/Her)

Have you ever heard of the organisation Marrow? What about York Marrow? Well, I had the pleasure of talking to Hannah, the president of York Marrow Society the other day who told me all about the amazing work they do and most importantly how it all works.

Marrow is the “student branch of the national charity Anthony Nolan”, which recruits people to the stem cell register. That is, they get people to sign up to a list which says that, if contacted, you would be willing to discuss the idea of donating your stem cells to somebody in need. There is only a 1 in 100 chance that you’ll actually get called up.

It is important to note that if you are on the register you are not obliged to then donate, there is always the option to say no. Equally, many people sign up and never get called. As Hannah was telling me, ultimately “we need as many people as possible to sign up so there’s a greater chance that you can find a match”.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s important to establish the basic facts here… I’m not ashamed to say I had to clarify with Hannah (a Biology graduate) what a stem cell is! Stem cells are a special type of cell found within bone marrow that can turn into different types of blood cells. Specifically, these cells are called hematopoietic cells: importantly, they have the ability to turn into both white and red blood cells and platelets.

Over 2,400 people in the UK are in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year and yet only 2% of people in the UK are registered as stem cell donors.

The main reason somebody may find themselves needing a stem cell transplant is due to blood cancer. Unlike some other cancers, where treatment would consist of removing a tumour, with blood cancer the can-

cer cells are in the blood and therefore being pumped all around your body; it is almost impossible to target a certain area. Doctors for patients with blood cancer often go down the route of stem cell transplants. They would suppress the patient’s immune system to such a low level that somebody else’s stem cells can be inserted and hopefully accepted by the patient’s body. Unfortunately this process is not as simple as somebody just donating cells. Similar to organ transplants, the stem cells of the donor and those of the patient need to match. “It’s more than just a blood type, you have many factors,” Hannah told me. Often individuals all have different viruses on their cells, called CMV, and therefore everyone’s cell makeup is different. This is similar to fingerprints, no two are the same. Sometimes a patient can find a match from a family member; however, this isn’t always the case and that’s where the stem cell register comes in.

tacted? Anthony Nolan will contact you via email or phone if you are needed for a stem cell donation. The first step will be to have a series of blood tests to ensure you have a clean bill of health. This is because there can be no risk that the donor is passing on any sort of disease to the patient, especially because during the period of donation the patient’s immune system is suppressed and therefore they are even more likely to catch a virus. After this, around 4 days before the donation, a nurse will come to your house and give you some injections. These injections are to cause your body to produce lots of extra stem cells. Many donors say this is the worst part of the process as it leaves you feeling achy. After all, your body is being forced to produce loads more cells.

After this, you will get a date to go to one of the Anthony Nolan clinics. They have these all over the country and the charity funds your transport and entire visit. This includes food, travel, hotels and even any covers any time off work that you are missing. As Hannah kept telling me, “it is quite easy”.

Signing up to the register is very easy. “It’s just a cheek swab.” This swab is sent off to the Anthony Nolan labs to get an initial picture of your DNA and then that’s it! You’re on the register! Very simple really. For the charity there is a cost of £40 for every individual who signs up and this is why fundraising, through branches such as York Marrow, is so important. Anthony Nolan will only fund for people under the age of 30 to sign up but once you’ve signed up you are on the register until the age of 60. You can sign up to join the register through the Anthony Nolan and Marrow websites, where you will be sent a swab to your home address. Or, you can contact the York Marrow society and attend one of their events where someone will be able to tell you more and help you complete the swab.

So, what actually happens if you’re con-

Callum-Kennedy Mann (pictured below) is a University of York graduate in History and Politics who went through the stem cell donatation prcoess.

The actual process normally takes around 3-hours although some donors are required to come back the next day for a second round. Effectively, you are wired up and they take blood from one arm, filter out all the stem cells, and put the blood straight back into your other arm. This is a process called peripheral blood stem cell collection. 90% of the time this is how you will donate, although in rare cases they may ask if they can take some bone marrow from you. As with the entirety of the process, you will always have the option to say no. After this the process is done! In most cases there are no real side effects and you should be able to return to your normal life within a day.

For the first 2 years the patient remains anonymous. This is mostly for legal reasons. After this the patient has the choice to contact their donor if they’d like to.

The process is a lot less invasive than I thought it would be. At the moment Marrow are really trying to increase the diversity of the register.

Only 72% of patients from a white Caucasian backgrounds can find the best possible match from a stranger and this drops to 37% for patients from a minority ethnic background.

“Imagine if it was your relative”

“They get blood out of one arm, filter the stem cells out and put the blood right back in your other arm”

IMAGE: CALLUM-KENNEDY MANN

Grow It York: the Vertical Farm Under our Noses

On the 26th of May, Vision went to a vertical farm in Spark, York. Part of Fix Our Food, a project aimed at fixing issues in the UK’s food system, Grow it York has three streams: regenerative farming, sustainable and healthy food for children, and working with hybrid business models to ensure better consumption and production. This particular project is a part of the Hybrid Business stream which aims to provide sustainable business models for businesses and social enterprises.

This means that there is a lot of experimentation as to how best to do this. For example, there are experiments on usage

of different fibres as the base for the seeds to grow in, from carpet fibres to hemp and coconut fibre mats, as well as experimenting with the use of different light sources to try and achieve the best energy efficiency. The plants grow as part of an aeroponics system - similar to a hydroponics system but instead of having the plants sit in the water, water is sprayed at the roots of the plant from below. This helps reduce the amount of water that is being used as less is then lost to evaporation, and the rest can then be recycled.

The project, funded by the Strategic Priorities Fund, was allocated in 2021 and is to last 5 years. It is then hoped the project will become self-sustaining. As of right now, it is difficult to see what form that will take as

the business end is in early stages. They have only recently started charging for produce such as basil and dill that they have been giving to the pizza and bagel stores in Spark. Have you ever had a pizza from Spark? If so, you may have had basil with only a few hundred yards in food miles!

Grow it York also donates all surplus produce to a local food bank, providing fresh vegetables to ensure that families can get good quality nutritious food. This shows that contributing to the public good is a central aspect of the project.

Whilst this container was primarily being used to grow herbs and leafy greens, it could be used to grow potatoes with a deeper tray, or heads of lettuce with a higher space to

BY MATT DAVIS (He/Him)

grow. Although, those would both be less efficient in terms of the usage of space as they would not be able to have as many trays in the container.

As with everything, this vertical farm has been affected by the energy crisis, keeping electricity prices high for the short to medium term. As a result, energy currently takes up 60% of running costs for the farm.

This project, as with all science, is a work in progress, but, with any luck, what I got to see in that shipping container in the middle of York will be a little part of a more sustainable future.

Ever had a pizza from Spark? If so, you may have had basil with only a few hundred yards in food miles!

IMAGES: KASHER.STUDIO

Vision

takes a look inside the futuristic sustainable farm hiding in SPARK.

Air Pollution Inside Your Home

Vision talks to Indoor Air Pollution Professor, Nicola Carslaw

BY DAN GORDON-POTTS (He/Him)

Have you ever thought about what happens when you light a scented candle? How about when you randomly cook a bacon sandwich at an ungodly hour, and within a minute or two, you’re wading through a thick haze of smoke and trying to crank open a window so you don’t suffocate your flatmates? Think about the times you’ve suddenly had the urge to do a purge-clean and spray down every single surface in your student house because grime has accumulated over months now and is unbearable. What’s going on… chemically?

Despite spending over 90% of our time indoors in developed countries like the UK, few of us have ever given any thought to the idea of indoor air pollution, and the impact our activities inside are having on our health. Much of the focus is placed on the outside world (i.e. car exhausts, power stations, and conspiracies about aeroplane vapour trails).

“There’s far less awareness. People don’t tend to do anything about it, because they don’t know.” These are the words of Nicola (Nic) Carslaw. Nic is a professor of Indoor Air Chemistry at the University of York’s Department of Environment and Geography. With her team, she has recently received a £2.9 million research grant to study the effects of indoor air pollution.

So, what is indoor air pollution? Well, as you’ve probably guessed, it’s all the air pollution we’re generating inside our homes, offices, and other buildings. From lighting scented candles and frying food in our kitchens, to using disinfectant sprays and perfumes.

“Many of the pollutants we generate in our homes like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM) are the same pollut-

ants generated outdoors. There are similar processes going on. For instance, gas cooking involves the process of combustion, which is the same process as a car engine.”

So, frying bacon on the stove could be damaging our health as much as inhaling exhaust fumes from a car?

“It’s interesting, when you cook with gas, you are producing NO2 – that is the same pollutant that a typical car engine produces. It doesn’t matter if you’re exposed to it indoors or outdoors - a unit of concentration of NO2 will do the same damage to you whether you make it indoors or out.”

But, Nic says, it’s not that simple, as NO2 is not the only pollutant produced by cars, or cooking. “It gets more complex when looking at the PM. These are tiny particles scientists worry about because they can get right down into your lungs and into your respiratory system. We know cars generate those, and cooking generates those too. But with cooking, the composition is very different, and scientists don’t really know if diesel-generated particles are more harmful than cooking-generated ones. The research hasn’t been done.”

How about scented candles, what’s going on there?

“Scented candles, cleaning products, shower gels, perfumes, and aftershaves –these all have fragrance chemicals in them.” These include common chemicals you may have heard of such as linalool and limonene. If you haven’t heard of these, check the back of a perfume bottle or disinfectant spray and you’ll likely find them.

“They have a pleasant aroma, that’s why people buy them, they want to smell nice, they want their homes to smell nice. The thing is, those chemicals are very reactive once released into the air.”

When you light your scented candle, fra-

grance chemicals are released and can react with oxidants in the air, making particles that are bad for your health, as well as other pollutants like formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, meaning it can cause serious breathing problems and even cancer when present at high concentrations.

It’s not just frying food, or lighting candles though, Nic says indoor air pollution can also come from sources you wouldn’t expect.

“Quite often furniture is glued together, and some of the chemicals used for painting, varnishing or whatever, will off-gas.”

In other words, your brand new sofa may release chemicals into the air of your home as soon as you unwrap it, and the thing is, not enough research has been done into the short term or long term impact this could be having on your health.

So, what can we do to reduce air pollution inside?

“My buzzwords are education, moderation and ventilation. You need to know about it to do something about it.” Reading this article is a good start.

“When I talk about moderation I mean not obsessively cleaning, not having twenty scented candles in a small room. There are lots of sources of pollution, and in themselves they are probably not that bad for you, but if you use a lot of those things in a small, badly ventilated space, you could be doing yourself some harm.”

Nic recommends getting to know what sources of air pollution are inside your home, and moderating them (i.e. cutting down on scented candles, reducing the amount of food you’re frying, and using things like cream cleaners instead of disinfectant sprays).

The third thing is big: ventilation. “In the vast majority of cases, unless you

live on a busy road, just open the window. Even if you do, open the window on a different side of the house, away from the road. Just ten minutes after you cook, or for half an hour every day, and you’re probably going to let out most of the emissions you generate in your home.”

Nic also recommends switching to an electric or induction hob,, or making sure you have an extractor fan on while you’re frying. Even cooking food on the back rings of your stove with the fan on can reduce the pollutants spreading in your kitchen.

“A lot of it is about knowing – knowing it’s a thing. I teach students in Environment and Geography, and when I teach them about indoor air quality, none of them have ever heard about it before – it’s just not on the curriculum, it’s not on the radar. When they’re taught at school in Chemistry, it’s all about outdoor air quality.”

So, it turns out, indoor air pollution is a very real thing – and perhaps reading this will make you think twice about lighting your twenty scented candles or doing a deep clean of your home as if it’s a crime scene. Maybe, just, go easy, and crack open a window when you fry your bacon, or go veggie.

“It’s just not on the curriculum, it’s not on the radar.”

Ultimate Frisbee Indoor Mixed – 1-7

Volleyball Women’s 2nd – 0-2

Esports: Why Should you Care?

BY TOBY CHESHIRE (He/Him)

– Cancelled

Snowsports Racing Open Ski 1 – L College Netball College Select – 37-26

Hockey Mixed Development – 3-0

Octopush Mixed – 0-21

Football Men’s 3rd – 1-2

Cheerleading Open – L

Pool Open 2nd – L

Waterpolo Men – 11-16 College Football Men’s A: James vs Bowland – 0-2

Futsal Men’s – 7-4

Waterpolo Women – 9-7

Women’s – L

Women’s 1st – 11-2

Men’s – L Saturday 29th April

Open 2nd – 3-1

Men’s 2nd – 125-114

Women’s 2nd – 86-135

Women’s 3rd – 3-1

Mixed 1st – 12-14

3rd – 42-40

Women’s 2nd – 5-1 Climbing

Esports by definition, consists of competitive video gaming. Despite being a relatively new concept, Esports has risen to become a hugely popular phenomenon, attracting arenas full of fans cheering the names of their favourites as they contest on a stage for prizes that can be millions of dollars.

Esports carry a few advantages over traditional sports: it’s far more accessible as all you need to get involved is an internet-connected device and you can compete online from the comfort of the home. Furthermore, cheating and fouls will occur far less as player’s input is limited by the game itself, providing a far fairer landscape.

It’s easy to dismiss esports as a niche interest; the term “professional gamer” does have negative connotations to anyone not acquainted with the topic. It’s in part due to these connotations that has led esports to grow up primarily in parallel with the growth of the internet – streaming sites such as Twitch and YouTube remain the primary source of viewership for the majority. As a result, esports has never been able to break into the mainstream consciousness (particularly the older generation), despite how widespread

video games have become. You’re unlikely to find many people aged less than 25 that don’t play games, even if it’s just on mobile or things such as party games on consoles. Mario Kart never got boring, did it?

So why should you care? The answer is the same reasons we love the other sports that we do. It’s the culture, the teams, the storylines. It’s the rivalry, the arenas, the monumental moments never to be recreated again.

I attended an event in London back in 2018. Fans filled out the 10,000-capacity arena, donned in jerseys of their favourite teams. I remember the chants, the last-second miracles, and the feeling of being surrounded by people who all wanted nothing more than to watch the best people in the world play a game they’ve dedicated their lives to.

It’s moments like the grand finals of the Boston Counter-Strike:Global Offensive Major 2018. The heavy favourites, team “Faze Clan” were one point away from the trophy only for the underdog team “Cloud9” to rise from nowhere and deny them every opportunity, overcoming all odds and expectations. It’s about League of Legends player “XPeke” sneaking behind enemy lines to destroy the enemy base, dancing around shots and dodg-

ing players, to win them the game from nowhere, utterly embarrassing the enemy team. It’s moments like in fighting-game tournament Evolution Championship Series (or EVO 2004, Street Fighter player “Daigo” was down to 1 health point, one hit and he’s out the game. The enemy uses a special ability to attack continuously, multiple times a second for a few seconds, and it’s looking dire. Contrary to all expectations, “Daigo” gets millisecond perfect inputs to block every single attack – 15 in a row – to win out the game himself, and the crowd explodes into cheers.

Esports is a culture. To play games at that high a level requires a mastery only gained by tens of thousands of hours. It should be treated with such respect as anything else that requires that level of talent.

Tall Order for Tanisha

BY JACOB BASSFORD (He/Him)

We all know that adage, sport is for the fun of it, it’s the taking part that counts, not the winning. Many a time my mum said that to me when I lost a rugby game as a kid, or equally my mama (grandmother) would say something similar to my distraught younger self on the Crumbie terraces after the Leicester Tigers lost a game. Yet, we all hate hearing it, we all want to win.

Roses - one of Europe’s biggest university sporting events - matters. Invoking the famous rivalry of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster, a lot is on the line and it’s also a great chance for York’s impressive student media (shoutout to YSTV, URY and Nouse for their great coverage of Roses by the way) to flex their muscles. Few can deny that York put on a good show. It was incredibly heartwarming to see £8,000 raised for charity as part of the tournament too, but results will always be the definitive marker of success. And a first Roses home loss in 30 years is some damp

squib on outgoing Sport President Franki Riley’s legacy, leaving a lot of work for her successor, Tanisha Jain, to do.

So, what went wrong for York at the competition? Well, there were accusations circulating on social media that York had shot themselves in the foot with the scoring system by giving sports such as Ultimate Frisbee (which Lancaster did really well in) the same points-weighting as established sports like Football and Rugby Union. However, it is worth clarifying that the scoring system remains consistent year-to-year and is determined by a join committee from both unis.

At the end of the day, York only won around a quarter of all Roses fixtures, so regardless of the scoring system, Lancaster were by far the better university throughout the competition. This loss means that York’s image as being competitive in university sport has been further undermined. For a Russell Group university, our sporting profile and facilities are generally poor and this year’s Roses result does little to alleviate that.

If Tanisha is serious about establishing York

as a serious sporting force during her tenure, there’s a lot to do and it will require a massive effort and cooperation from YUSU, the Sport Union and the University to build from the ground back up. Improving access to gym facilities, and ensuring semesterisation does not hinder teams’ training programs would be a good start.

We’re not America, nor Loughborough University. University sport is not a direct pathway as a career for aspiring athletes. For many, it is only a hobby. But more effort has to be going into the preparation of Roses, to match that of the preparation of hosting and broadcasting the event. A close defeat at home is excusable, but the heavy defeat suffered by York this year is not. In my interview after her election, Tanisha set up some big goals for University sport, and Roses reveals that some of those goals are a long way off if massive change by both YSU and the uni are not implemented before we march off to Lancaster next April in hope of avenging our Battle of Wakefield-esque defeat.

IMAGE: PIXABAY

IMAGE: JOANA SIMOES Toby in his esport kit

IMAGE: YUSU

Before the start of this academic year, a group of East Campus girls got together and formed Heslington East Women’s RFC, meaning that the University has three functioning collegiate women’s rugby sides, alongside Derwent and Vanbrugh (with Alcuin unfortunately folding in the past year).

After an inaugural season of Varsity triumph, four College Sport nominations and impressive Roses representation in UYWRUFC’s clean sweep over Lancaster, Vision’s Sport Editor Jacob Bassford interviews President Funmilayo ‘Fun’ Adelaja and Captain Neave Smeaton in a reflection on their first season as a team, future plans and the general state of Women’s Rugby in general nationally.

1. How successful would you say the first year has been for Hes East women?

Fun: Honestly, amazing. We’ve managed to attract and retain a group of women who had never played rugby before university, teach them a whole new sport and finish second in the Varsity playoffs against the other colleges and to top it all off, we won our Varsity match [against Grey/Trevelyan Colleges, Durham]. Every single girl that plays for Hes East has moved up into the University’s women’s first or second rugby team and everyone played in Roses which was a fantastic achievement. I couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved in such a short space of time!

2. Has there been any support from the Hes East men’s team at all?

Fun: The men’s team has been great, we all know each other to some degree and we’ve even had a joint social to get to know each other in a fun way. They’re a lovely group of guys and hopefully the relationship between the two teams gets stronger next year.

3. How was the experience of Roses for your players?

Fun: As you might have seen, it was a whitewash in the Rugby at Roses, all three of the men’s teams and both of the women’s teams won their matches!! We had two

JACOB BASSFORD (HE/HIM) SPORTS EDITOR

Hes East Women’s Rugby: “I Couldn’t be Prouder”

BY JACOB BASSFORD (He/Him)

players (myself and Ase Anifowose) play for the first team and everyone else played for the second team. It was amazing to watch the teams support each other, it was a very emotional moment and well deserved celebration at Revs followed.

4. How was Varsity?

Fun: Varsity was so much fun, we were a bit nervous going into it because we hadn’t been playing for very long but we smashed it! At full time we were drawing 4-4 and the ref asked if we wanted to take the draw or go into extra time and though I was hesitant because I didn’t want anyone’s heads to drop, the team decided, in the spirit of varsity, to fight for it and we won by just 1 point. I couldn’t be prouder of the girls for not giving up and there was definitely a lesson in that experience for me to never underestimate myself or my team.

5. Are there any plans for Women’s college rugby to go contact in the near future?

Fun: Yes, we are currently in talks with the YUSU Rugby Development Officer, the RFU representative for the Uni. Because we’ve managed to get so many girls up to the full contact Uni team, there is a lot of interest in the college sphere mirroring that of the men’s league. It would be great but, baby steps obviously. Our current hope is that next year we would start with touch and gradually integrate contact into training sessions as the season progresses.

Neave: In the future, our club is definitely aiming towards making college rugby full contact, this is something that has been discussed as an aim by many of the women’s teams in York and in Durham.

6. Hes East Men have been controversial for their socials (like most rugby teams), how have socials been for the women this year and do you think there is too much emphasis potentially on both university and collegiate sport on social participation?

Fun: I think there’s a real misconception about the men’s rugby clubs and their socials. Granted they have a very interesting way of having fun, I wouldn’t say it reflects badly on them as people. Hes East Men are

an amazing group of guys, they always check on us on nights out and have been nothing but respectful. There’s no denying that there is a culture attached to men’s rugby but don’t think that this doesn’t happen in women’s sports clubs as well - we also love a memorable social. In relation to the second question, I wouldn’t say there is too much emphasis on uni and college sports’ social participation because for many that is the very reason why they join these clubs. Sports is what keeps so many people going through uni, through the stress of exams and life in general. I’ve made friends for life through rugby and there are many girls that have joined Hes East only for the socials. If anything, I would love it if there was more emphasis on the social side, especially in women’s rugby when we’re trying to attract people to a sport that can seem quite daunting.

7. Will the club be getting their own kit for next season?

Fun: One would hope so, I think we’ve proved ourselves worthy of funding for kit!

8. With the Red Roses soaring in popularity at the moment, what do you think the University should be doing to expand Women’s collegiate rugby as well as the university team (which boasted double wins over Lancaster in Roses)?

Neave: YUSU have in the last term already started moving to expanding collegiate rugby along with uni rugby through the implementation of ‘Inner Warrior’ [an

RFU scheme designed to attract young girls into rugby], after multiple meetings with both college and uni women’s rugby. This moves to expand participation and introduce women to rugby and act as a pathway into college, uni and uni touch.

Next year we are also considering starting some form of league in order to increase the amount of games we can play throughout the year, as opposed to only playing varsity and qualifiers.

Editor’s Comment:

As someone who is a self-confessed big fan of rugby and is a member of Constantine College, I am delighted by the progress made by Hes East Women in the past year. It’s great to see strong connections with uni women and their male counterparts as well and I really hope women’s rugby continues its expansion at collegiate level at the university.

I also hope they can sort themselves their own kit soon. Hes East Men RFC have one of the nicest kits of all the college sport teams, so it would be awesome to see the women don an equivalent soon, hopefully by the start of next season. It will also be really good to see Hes East Women, as well as the other collegiate sides, going full contact soon, and I hope the relevant people at the university get this over the line in time for next season.

IMAGE: HES EAST WOMEN’S RUGBY

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