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>> The working class struggle: breaking into media 1st May 2018 Issue 352

The official student newspaper of the University of East Anglia | concrete-online.co.uk

19 : 12 Emily

Jewish students 'disappointed' with MP Beth Papworth News Reporter Jewish students have described feeling upset after MP Clive Lewis came out in support of a Labour party activist investigated for antiSemitic remarks.

Mr Lewis, who represents the Norwich South constituency, submitted character statements in support of Marc Wadsworth, who has since been expelled from the party. The Labour activist was suspended in 2016 after challenging the Labour MP Ruth Smeeth at a press conference launching the Chakrabarti report on anti-

Semitism. In defending Wadsworth, students said Lewis joined in with the politicisation and minimisation of anti-Semitism.

“If you’re not Jewish you do not get to decide what is and isn’t antiSemitism”

Jess Shindler-Glass, a Jewish student at UEA said: “I feel his recent remarks defending Marc Wadsworth have been concerning.

The current climate of the Labour

Party is worrying for many in the UK Jewish community, and living in a constituency where its MP defends his colleague for making hateful comments towards other colleagues cannot be forgiven.”

She further added: “On campus, the Jewish society is growing year by year, and having that support is always comforting, however it is important that support comes from non-Jews as well, who can understand that there is an inherent anti-Semitism problem under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. There should be no tolerance for people inciting these racist comments, so it is disappointing to see Clive Lewis standing up for Wadsworth.”

Mr Wadsworth was deemed to act in a way “prejudicial ... or in any way grossly detrimental to the party,” specifically regarding antisemitic behaviour.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) issued an open letter to Mr Lewis, who they said “categorically failed” Jewish constituents.

UJS President, Josh Holt, said: “Is it really too much to ask that you distance yourself from a colleague that has been caught on video espousing anti-Semitic tropes when you yourself outlined the antiSemitic nature of such allusions back in 2016?”

Mr Wadsworth will challenge the expulsion decision in court.

UEA's Labour Students' Chair Tiffany Evripidou called the issue of anti-Semitism in the party “deeply concerning”.

“As Labour students, we work tirelessly to promote equality and value diversity and want racism and discrimination to be stamped out altogether. It has no place in Labour, or politics, ever,” she said.

“Regardless of Clive’s activities, these principles stand and we defend them as Labour Party members.”

Student Eda Cazimoglu

Continued on page four

1st May 2018

2

Editorial Surprise - we won again Sophie Bunce Deputy Editor

Photo: Yutian Lei, modified by Sophie Bunce

Georgie Taylor

Try again next time, Essex Emily Hawkins Editor-in-Chief

Last Wednesday saw UEA teams victorious for the sixth year in a row, taking the Derby Day trophy back to Norwich once more. It was a tense day, with some fiercely contested matches, not to mention pitch-side rivalries sometimes slipping from friendly banter into physical scraps.

The Media Collective also went to Colchester - working out of one of the SU bars to report wins and losses back to UEA, with almost fifty members covering different matches, filming for UEA:TV, presenting on Livewire 1350, or updating the Concrete live-blog. A few changes in the day means that, though UEA were the clear victors by seven points, the day wasn’t as set in stone as previous years, which have seen Essex end the day with only a handful of points.

You can read some of the Concrete team’s highlights inside our special eight-page Derby Day supplement, with Sport reporters taking you through some of the most energetic and surprising matches of the day.

Thank you to the following for their hard work despite the rain and long day: Amy Atkinson, Chris Matthews, Caitlin Rogers-Peckham, Sophie Clayton, Daniel Cook, Charlotte Manning, Tom Bedford, Jack Ashton, and Sophie.

In Travel this issue, Beverly writes on a topic personal to her

that readers may sadly recognise, many readers will not have considered. “You’re in a new place, trying to get around without getting lost, unaware of the way this foreign city works, and worrying about the threat of hate crimes on top of all of that isn’t fun at all,” she writes on page 22.

"The Media Collective also went to Colchester working out of the SU bar to report wins and losses back to UEA, covering different matches, updating the Concrete live-blog, filming for UEA:TV, or presenting on Livewire"

In News this week, there is an examination of campus hate crimes, (page 4), and our front page addresses student concerns towards our local MP’s stance in an antiSemitism case. It is worrying to see students feel so disillusioned with their representative, particularly with local elections around the corner. On page 17, however, Sean Bennett praises the value of local democracy.

Articles like this, which

challenge our conceptions or hold those prominent in the student community to accountable, are one of the things I have enjoyed about editing Concrete most. On page 10, Features writer Bryony Barker writes candidly about her experiences facing an investigation of academic plagiarism. “No one wants to be known as having gone through a plagiarism accusation but I feel like the taboo needs to be removed. It is not okay to plagiarise, but it is okay to talk about it,” she says.

As I write this, the office is packed, with members of the Media Collective apparently not feeling up to venturing out into a grey and drizzly Square, and Soul Train tickets , scattered across desks alongside copy-edits, old issues, and pieces of paper with my and Sophie’s frantic scribbles of page plans and to-do lists. It’s this image of slight chaos that has been my home, sometimes almost too literally, for the past two years. Concrete’s chief copy-editors, Hannah and Sophie, deserve a Derby-Day-sized trophy all for themselves for their patience and eagle-eyed proof-reading this year, so thank you to them for sacrificing their weekends to spot silly mistakes and prevent disastrous ones.

Applications for a new team are open now and I would encourage anyone interested to apply. A final thank you to Sophie, Kate, and Tom, who have been my partners-inConcrete for the past year, I couldn’t have done it without them.

Naturally, this issue is inundated with endings. Whether it means moving on after graduation, or becoming a member of the next editorial team, Concrete is ready for a change.

Derby Day was the beginning of the end for a lot of us. As the final hurdle for the 2017/18 Media Collective, our coverage reached thousands of viewers and all from the comfort of the Essex bar.

We live blogged fights, chants, streakers - and that was only Jack Ashton reporting from the football. It was clear that against UEA:TV, Livewire, Concrete and our sports teams, Essex didn’t stand a chance. Catch up with our coverage online and the Derby Day supplement to relive the victory.

This issue, Comment turns to exams and how to cope. On page 17 Nick Stokes treats us to his “Top tips to avoid exam stress” including the importance of letting yourself have a break. Deadlines get you down, and if you are struggling, contact Nightline from 8pm to 8am for a chat.

In Features, Bryony Barker discusses the prospect of renting after university on page 10. I find the idea of going home after living independently incomprehensible, but as she reflects on the reality that “a third of our generation will never own a home” it seems an undeniable reality. Not renting your own place isn’t a failure, it’s the hand we’ve been dealt and unfortunately, it doesn’t matter if you knew you were playing.

As always, I write this Editorial on a Sunday in the darkening media office, because nothing spurs me on like a deadline. If you’d like to do the same, applications are open for next year’s team, check out our Facebook and website. I have no big conclusion, no singular lesson learnt. All I have left to say is - thank you to our team. Mostly, thank you to Emily Hawkins, who can finally relax after a year of midnight emails and print deadlines. Concrete owes you one.

concrete-online.co.uk Concrete_UEA concreteuea concrete_UEA Front page: Tony Allen

The University of East Anglia’s Official Student newspaper since 1992 Tuesday 1st May 2018 Issue 352 Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ 01603 593466 www.concrete-online.co.uk Editor-in-Chief Emily Hawkins concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy Editor Sophie Bunce concrete.deputy@uea.ac.uk Online Jacob Chamberlain Natalie Cotterill concrete.online@uea.ac.uk News News Editor: Matt Nixon Senior Reporter: Shannon McDonagh concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Global Eddie Booth concrete.global@uea.ac.uk Features Tony Allen Amy Newbery concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Comment Jack Ashton concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Finance Finance Editor: Matt Denton Senior Reporter: Will Richardson concrete.finance@uea.ac.uk Science Science Editor: Beth Papworth Senior Reporter: Alex Millard concrete.scienv@uea.ac.uk Travel Beverly Devakishen concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Sport Daniel Cook Sophie Christian concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Chief Copy-Editors Hannah Brown Sophie Clayton concrete.copy@uea.ac.uk Marketing and Events Amelia Rentell Social Media Freddie Carty Art and Design Emily Mildren concrete.artdesign@uea.ac.uk

Editorial Enquiries Complaints & Corrections concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

No part of this newspaper may be reproduced by any means without the permission of the Editor-in-Chief, Emily Hawkins. Published by the Union of UEA Students on behalf of Concrete. Concrete is a UUEAS society, but retains editorial independence as regards to any content. Opinions expressed herein are those of individual writers, not of Concrete or its editorial team.

News

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1st May 2018

Counselling waiting list hits zero University announces waiting times reduced to 7 days

SU cancel planned protests

Shannon McDonagh Senior News Reporter Average Student Support Service waiting times have been reduced to just seven days, with the waiting list for students seeking counselling reaching zero. This follows reports from Concrete earlier this year that average waiting times for counselling hit 41 days, with students waiting more than 60 days to receive support.

SU Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer India Edwards praised the decreased figures. She said the Student Union “stressed in meetings with the University this week that as the end of term gets closer, students need and expect sufficient resources to go in so that both target and actual wait times to be seen and get help reduce to days, not weeks.”

Concrete understands a protest against the waiting times was planned for last month. The protest would have been outside the Student Support Service building and seen students queue to represent the waiting times.

Many students welcomed the news, however some feel it is too little too late following their experiences.

Second year student Anna questioned the procedures that lead to the service’s previously high figures. She said she felt the reason waiting times were so low was “because so many of us have given up.” After being “ignored” for several months the service redirected her to the NHS, something that was not an option for her due to her dual-citizenship meaning she would have to pay for the services through insurance.

She said this left her feeling “shoved around the system

Photo: Matt Nixon to always be someone else’s problem”, and stressed that if the SSS (Student Support Service) had “genuinely done their job properly there wouldn’t be people like me questioning why we're not important enough.”

Second year student Harvey shared a worryingly similar experience, saying that being redirected to the NHS after weeks

of waiting for an appointment for serious mental health based circumstances was “a knock when he didn’t need it.”

He said he was “aware the Student Support Service is under a lot of stress and wouldn’t want to blame any individual or even the service as a whole” but that “they need more resources so they can deal with everyone, and so they

don’t have to reject people in that way.”

Addressing the news of the decreased figures, Director of Student Support Service Dr John Sharp said: “There were a number of reasons why waiting times were unacceptably high, some of these could be resolved swiftly, while other elements required more detailed analysis and review of processes

in order to fully identify them and provide a more responsive service.”

He added that these key changes included “a revision to the initial booking procedures, improvements in the way we schedule appointments, amendments to the management of student facing diaries, improvements to student needs assessment and the initial triage processes.”

- the result of this link is a ‘poverty premium’ endemic to further and higher education.”

The reports says this means students from working class backgrounds often pay higher costs in order to access post-16 education as a consequence of class and poverty.

These costs range from ‘direct costs’ such as higher interest charges on student loans or commercial debt to ‘indirect costs’ such as transport and accommodation issues which ‘better-off’ students do not have to face.

Speaking to the BBC, President of the NUS Shakira Martin said “the system as it currently stands is totally unfair.

“Students that are coming from working class and disadvantaged

families end up leaving university with more debt than those from middle class families.” " Further education transformed my life and gave me the second chance I needed," she added.

The report not only examined the experiences of working class students in higher education, but in further education such as colleges and apprenticeships, where students are more likely to be from lower income homes.

Another key finding of the report was that working-class students are more likely to have employment in a job which requires more than 15 hours of work per week, above the recommended level for students.

The NUS firstly wants the government to regularly update its estimates of how much students

have to spend and the actual costs of living and studying.

said student poverty has been missing from debates about higher education funding for too long. “The NUS Poverty Commission report is an important corrective to this, highlighting the challenges which many students – particularly those from working-class backgrounds or studying part-time – face in accessing and succeeding in post-16 education.”

Responding to the report a spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “No young person should experience barriers to their education - and our reforms to higher, further and technical education are going further than any before to make sure that every young person can fulfil their potential, whatever their background."

NUS report finds working class students living in poverty Matt Nixon News Editor A report by the National Union of Students (NUS) has found a clear link between class and poverty in tertiary education, leading the union to call on the government to create a minimum living income for students as part of its review of higher education funding.

The NUS set up a poverty commission of twelve experts to gather evidence on the experiences of students from the age of 16.

The report argued whatever they study, the costs for working class students are a major hurdle.

According to the report, “the evidence showed that - in different ways, and not always intentionally

"No young person should experience barriers to their education" They also called for the restoration of maintenance grants for students and to improve support for those at college.

Maddalaine Ansell, chief executive of University Alliance,

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1st May 2018

News Continued from front page tweeted she was “heartbroken and disappointed” in the MP. Eda, who is running to be on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC), said: “If you’re not Jewish you do not get to decide what is and isn’t anti-Semitism.”

In response, Mr Lewis tweeted: “Well here’s a wee tip for you. You or any other individual in @UKLabour doesn’t get to be judge, jury and executioner when it comes to who’s expelled or not. Go read a history book about what happens when an accusation equals evidence. It’s not pleasant.”

SU Welfare Community and Diversity Officer India Edwards said: "It's bad enough that our own local MP- who benefitted hugely from students and young people to get elected last year, feels it's OK to get onto social media and patronise us like this.

“It’s worse that on the face of it Clive looks like he's looking the other way on a serious case of antiSemitism.”

“The Labour Party really needs to get its house in order on these cases if we are to have trust that it stands against all forms of discrimination,” she said.

Clive Lewis was contacted for comment but at the time of going to print had not offered a response.

Norwich and Nottingham to host global literature event Rosie Burgoyne News Reporter Norwich and Nottingham, two of only four cities in the UK to have been awarded the prestigious status of being UNESCO Cities of Literature, are joining up to host the Global Cities of Literature gathering in 2019.

"This will be the first time the event has ever been held in England" After a successful bid to host the event, the collaborative forum, otherwise dubbed ‘Nottwich’, will provide the chance for cultural leaders from 28 different countries to gather together and celebrate the cultural achievements of modern cities around the world.

This will be the first time the event has ever been held in England and it is hoped that it will provide the opportunity for the city to show

Andrew Hurley, Wikimedia off its thriving literary scene and encourage multidisciplinary and boundary crossing collaboration between writers and practitioners of a multitude of nationalities.

The forum will aim to facilitate the creative exchanges of representatives from cities of design, film, media arts and music, in the hope of promoting creative diversity.

More broadly, the event is intended to raise awareness of the

UNESCO network and its cultural and economic impact across the globe.

Having been awarded its status as a City of Literature back in 2012 in recognition of the quality of publishing in the city, the prevalence of literature, drama and poetry in Norwich and the numerous festivals held to promote the arts in the city, this event will put Norwich in the spotlight for its cultural achievements within the

Graduate at centre of literary criticism debate Tony Allen News Reporter A UEA graduate has been at the centre of a debate about the nature of literary criticism, after publishing her debut novel Ponti.

Sharlene Teo’s Ponti was released in the UK on Thursday 19 April, after its manuscript had won the £10,000 prize for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award for new writers, presented by Ian McEwan.

Ponti begins in 2003, where two unlikely characters strike up a friendship in Singapore. Its focus then shifts to 2020 where things have not worked out how the protagonist might have hoped.

Writing in The Observer, author and criticist Julie Myerson praised the novel’s ending but took issue with Teo’s use of description, aruging: “If a more vivid, elastic and relaxed Sharlene Teo is hiding somewhere beneath all this knotty verbiage and MA creative writingspeak, then I wish her lots of luck and a much tougher editor - for her next novel.”

The review has sparked a debate on social media, with some authors and readers reacting to criticise Myerson’s tone towards a debut novelist, and others expressing their support for honest, opinionated literary criticism.

Speaking to Concrete, Teo said “I’d like the book to speak for itself and for readers to form their own opinions about it.”

However, Teo’s agent, Emma Paterson said: “It is vital that criticism engages with the work

famed MA Prose Fiction course, before moving on to a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.

Her MA study was supported by the award of the Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship, the first of several scholarships Teo scooped.

"It is vital that criticism engages with the work itself, not the creative writing course it has come from" Photo: NUS UK, Flickr

Photo: Sharlene Teo itself – not the creative writing course it has come from, nor the awards it has won, nor the prepublication endorsements it has

been given.”

After studying Law at Warwick as an undergraduate, Singaporean author Teo graduated from UEA’s

Discussing the role her time in Norfolk played in the novel, Teo reflected: “UEA has been invaluable to my development as a writer. It supported me with a full scholarship and a fellowship; I wouldn't have had the means otherwise.

"And beyond that, my MA gave me a community of fellow writers and the time and space to take my work seriously.”

Ponti is published in the UK by Picador, who will next year release The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal, another debut novel from a UEA graduate.

A spokesperson for Picador said: "The odd bad review is par for the course, but Ponti is an extraordinary novel which has been fantastically well reviewed elsewhere."

larger network of UNESCO cities worldwide.

Since becoming a City of Literature, Norwich has started running its own UNESCO Young Ambassador programme to encourage young people to share their passion for reading and writing.

The global gathering is expected to be held in May 2019, with the programme for the event set to be announced later this year.

News in brief

Trinity of scholarships for students UEA has launched three new scholarships for the upcoming academic year, created through more than £640,000 of funding from private donors. The funding will assist 66 gifted and talented students in pursuing higher education or continuing their studies in circumstances where they otherwise could not. More than 500 students have been aided by scholarships as part of the university’s Difference Campaign, currently in its sixth year of existence.

Vice-Chancellor Professor David Richardson said the move was “vital to improving access to university for talented students from less affluent backgrounds, as well as for those who excelled at undergraduate level and wish to pursue postgraduate studies.”

Two of the new scholarships are subject based, with The Main Scholarship and the Nick Hynes Scholarship, awarded to students studying Psychology and the Creative Writing MA respectively.

The third is location based, with The Lee Bray Scholarship targeting students living in the Lowestoft/Waveney area. This year’s is recipient reported to be Occupational Therapy student Leah Ellingham.

Shannon McDonagh

1st May 2018

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News

Sport grant for mental health Pay rise for staff Siân Roche News Reporter

UEA has been awarded £12,000 of funding from British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) to increase its development of programmes which use sport and physical activity to aid students with mental health issues.

The funding will be used to expand UEA+sport’s exercise referral scheme, which grants students who receive support for their mental health access to the Sportspark on campus.

It has already run successfully for six months, helping over 80 students.

"University life can be stressul for students, meaning it is vital to focus on well-being" UEA will also introduce a range of new initiatives, including ‘chill out or smash it out’ yoga and boxercise drop-in sessions during exam periods, and a buddy scheme, which will give students who have difficulty with social and cognitive

demands more support.

These initiatives will be delivered collaboratively,

by UEA Student Support Services, the Students’ Union and UEA+sport.

Alongside these new initiatives, UEA Student S u p p o r t Services

access to their established support

Katy Walters, Geograph

Skeeze, Pixabay

already o f f e r wellbeing advice sessions, workshops on wellbeing and resilience, access to experienced mental health professionals, and therapy.

Claire Pratt, Wellbeing Manager for UEA Student Support Services, explained that university life can be stressful for students, meaning it is vital to focus on well-being. “[Students] are often living away from home, have less frequent

networks and can struggle with the social and academic demands.”

Pratt also mentioned that the extra funding will allow them to help more students and make “a real difference.”

Ben Price, Assistant Director of Sport for UEA was excited about the funding, explaining: “We bid for this funding against other universities across the country and we are really happy that BUCS and Sport England has confidence in our proposals.”

He described UEA+sport’s other aim: “We also hope to reduce some of the stigma which still surrounds mental health and raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity for mental wellbeing.”

Matt Nixon News Editor UK university staff have been offered a pay increase of 1.7 percent for the year 2018-19.

The offer of a pay increase was made on Friday 13 April by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which negotiates the pay of staff at nearly 150 higher education institutions in the country.

The offer was made in a second meeting with union representatives.

According to UCEA, the offer would mean the average pay increase received by employees within the sector would be in excess of three percent, once additional incremental rises to staff seniority are considered.

However, the offer is below the current inflation rate, which was 2.7 percent in March, and had run at three percent or higher since October.

Trade unions have since asked for a 7.5 percent pay increase or an extra £1,500 annually, whichever is greater, as well as a £10 minimum wage to ensure that all higher education institutes are “living wage” employers.

The head of higher education for the University and Colleges Union (UCU), Paul Bridge, said the

higher education trade union was unhappy with the offer. He said the “sub-inflation opening offer does nothing to maintain the value of staff pay.”

The union have since asked UCEA to “go back to their subscribers and seek a fresh mandate” for a higher offer, which would guarantee fair staff pay.

The vice-chancellor of Lancaster University, Mark Smith, who also chairs the UCEA, said that universities are “committed to arriving at the best possible outcome we can in what are unprecedented times.”

Professor Smith said factors including a tuition fee freeze, decreasing student applications, and a funding review in England were all limiting the ability of institutions to award higher increases. Smith added that Brexit was another large uncertainty.

Smith added that the UCEA had “discussed and responded to all elements of the [UCU’s] claim, constructively exploring these within a context of increasing costs, uncertainty, and significant financial constraint in the sector.”

“We ask that the trade unions carefully consider these positive moves towards a settlement,” he concluded.

The final meeting between UCEA and trade unions will take place on Thursday 10 May.

Hate crime prevention grant for 11 universities

Neitram, Wikimedia Seàn Bennett News Reporter

The Office for Students (OfS) has announced eleven universities in England will receive £480,000 of funding to tackle religious-based hate crime and harassment among the student population.

The money will be used to fund projects that provide training, raise awareness and develop new approaches to the prevention of religious-based harassment.

OfS Chief Executive Nicola Dandridge said: “All students should feel safe and supported during their time in higher education so that they can continue with their learning and realise their potential.

"Universities are making progress in tackling the issues of hate crime and harassment on campus, but there is much more to be done.

“With student safeguarding and wellbeing a priority for the OfS, we are delighted to fund this network of new projects to tackle these issues."

The resulting collaborative network will strengthen reporting mechanisms, increase religious literacy and improve community cohesion on campuses across the country.

"All students should feel safe and supported" Students at the participating

institutions will play vital roles in the projects, helping to develop, launch and make use of the new preventative systems that will be put in place.

The University of Durham revealed they will be launching an online ‘reporting and supporting’ programme for incidents of harassment with their £50,000 share of the funding.

This new round of funding represents the third phase of a scheme which last year invested £1.8 million to tackle religious hatecrimes, as well as £2.45 million for

addressing sexual harassment.

Universities Minister Sam Gyimah said: “Our universities should be free of any form of hatred or discrimination – students have the right to feel safe and valued – so I’m delighted that this funding will be used to help tackle religion-based hate crime and harassment."

“The OfS was set up to champion students and it’s right that they are working closely with, and funding, universities to tackle important issues they face.

"I am taking a keen interest in the progress of this work.”

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1st May 2018

News Top ranking maintained Rugby club release defiant documentary Josephine Dowswell News Reporter

in nine of the categories. Nursing rose from tenth to fifth in the rankings, with American Studies fifth in the rankings and Creative Writing eighth.

Last Wednesday (25 April), the Complete University Guide published their annual league table, revealing that UEA has received a rank of 14 out of the 131 universities measured.

The Guide has been ranking universities since 2008, basing their rankings on the following categories: student satisfaction, graduate prospects, research quality and intensity, student to staff ratio, entry standards, spending on facilities and academic services, and “The Guide uses an extremely good honours degrees. comprehensive set of measures, Since the league table began, making the results a particularly UEA has risen in the rankings gratifying reflection of the hard by six places. The university has work of our staff and students alike,” consistently been within the says UEA Vice-Chancellor Professor top twenty since 2014 David Richardson. despite its status as “UEA achieves a comparatively consistently high young university. league table Although rankings, and moving down this is further the rankings endorsement by two places of our since 2017, the excellent results remain standards impressive, of teaching, with UEA r e s e a r c h scoring 4.09 and student out of 5.00 for experience.”

N Chadwick, student satisfaction This, combined Geograph and 3.11 out of 4.00 with UEA’s for research quality.

Teaching Excellence The league table also ranks Framework (TEF) of Gold, 70 subjects from the universities, for shows an exciting trajectory for the which UEA appeared in the top ten university’s future.

"Since the league table began, UEA has risen in the rankings by six places"

Fraser Harrop Daniel McKeon News Reporter

A 37-minute documentary focussing on the reputation of UEA’s Men’s Rugby club has been released online.

The documentary aims to present an authentic view of the rugby club and hopes to reinvent the image of the team to address stigma that has surrounded the club in the past few years.

“A lot of people have a negative view on the rugby club,” said James Murphy, President of the UEA Rugby Club, in a clip from the film.

“Whether that’s hangover from when the club was banned or whether that’s just the fact of how

we are when they see us out. But it’s quite a negative attitude.

“It makes it quite difficult I think as a rugby club at times to be open, to be engaging with other people on campus and to actually try and show everyone thats we’re committed athletes and want to perform the best the same as any other club.”

The film has been a long time coming, according to Fraser Harrop, the club’s publicity officer, and director of the documentary.

“I had been thinking about shooting a documentary like this one since my fresher year,” said the fullback for the first team.

“But given the troubles that the rugby club had gone through with UEA Sport and the SU this year, the club’s reputation was worse than I had ever seen it, so it felt appropriate to release the film now.”

The stigma hoping to be addressed began in 2012, when the team was disbanded after team members were found to be dressed in offensive outfits at an infamous ‘bad taste’ party.

Last year, the club were temporarily banned from holding socials by the university and SU, after failing to comply with Risk and Health and Safety policies during sport and social activities.

The documentary focuses on how the club hopes to move forward from these instances, and ends on a more positive note, celebrating the club’s success in being nominated for UEA league team of the year and British Universities and Colleges Sport highest achievers.

The full documentary can be found on the ‘UEA RFC’ Facebook page.

Black university applicants more likely to be investigated

Ed Whitbread News Reporter Black people in the UK are 21 times more likely to have their university applications investigated, a report

by The Independent has shown.

According to UCAS data, 419 prospective black British undergraduates were highlighted as a cause for concern last September, compared to 181 white British applicants, despite there being a greater number of the latter applying.

This means that of the 42,580 black applicants, one in every 102 is investigated. For white British applicants, only one in 2,146 is investigated.

This follows the news of

numerous reports on the issue of racism on university campuses, including a survey by the Student Room last month, which found that over half of students in the UK have witnessed racism during their studies.

"UCAS has insisted they do not have any 'unconscious bias'" UCAS has insisted they do not have any ‘unconscious bias’, and added their staff have equality and

diversity training. However, the organisation admitted that they are ‘extremely concerned’ about the findings.

The Labour party has demanded urgent action to stop the racial profiling’ of applicants, accusing the Higher Education application system of ‘institutional racism’.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Raynor said that UCAS must urgently investigate this discrepancy and added that the admissions service “has been completely unable to justify this discriminatory practice."

One black student who had their application investigated by UCAS told The Independent they were “emotionally distressed by this whole process,” while another said they found the investigation to be

‘intimidating’.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “We want to make sure that students have access to our world class universities, no matter what their background or race. And while we have seen record entry rates at universities across all ethnic groups, we recognise there is more to do.”

The spokesperson added: “The Prime Minister has also launched a race disparity audit and a programme of work to tackle disparities across all levels of society.”

The figures were revealed after The Independent made freedom of information requests to UCAS and the Department for Education.

Ilyas Nagdee, black students

officer for the National Union of Students, said: "I am lost for words in being able to understand how something like that has been allowed to take place.

1/102

The amount of black university applicants whose applications are investigated

1/2146

The amount of white university applicants whose applications are investigated

"And how a process - which many people thought of as just being the vehicle to university applications - is also fuelling prejudice."

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Global

1st May 2018

Macron visits US, stays close to Trump Eddie Booth Global Editor The French President, Emmanuel Macron, visited the US, meeting with President Donald Trump and addressing both Houses of Congress. Macron, the young reformist who stormed to the Presidency in 2017, has established a close bond with Trump, who is known for his volatile interactions with world leaders. Macron made a special effort to remain close with Trump, and the two were shown embracing after a joint press conference. However, whilst Macron stayed in Trump’s good books during the meeting, he did take jabs at the President over his policy agenda.

“Macron’s visit to the US has been a remarkable

success ” Macron has come to typify the alternative to Trump’s populist driven campaign, embracing openly the concepts of globalisation, environmentalism and free trade. Trump, who announced a raft of new tariffs last month, has become embroiled in a war of words with the European Union, an organisation that Macron would like to see France take a

lead within. Macron warned that a trade war would destroy jobs and pleaded with Trump to negotiate via the World Trade Organisation during his address to Congress.

Macron also offered an alternative on the environment.

The Paris Climate agreement, from which Trump withdrew the US following his election as President in 2016, has been a centrepiece of French policy, and Macron lifted Trump’s infamous campaign slogan to promote his environmental credentials, calling on Congress to help “make the world great again”.

The speech was well received despite these clear rebukes to the President, who is far from universally popular across Congress. A three minute standing ovation greeted Macron as he finished yet another speech seeking to stamp his authority as the leader of the West.

T h e picture f o r

Macron at home is not quite so rosy, as a looming clash with France’s notoriously prickly unions has finally come to pass. Rail strikes crippled the French transport system in April as workers walked out in protest at government plans to strip in-work benefits. These plans come as part of a wider attempt to restructure France’s tottering public sector, and has already seen major reform of the civil service. Macron has further proposed billions in spending cuts and slashing corporation tax in an effort to make France more attractive to

potential Brexit-shy banks and businesses. He has faced sustained resistance from the powerful unions, and upcoming attempts to reform labour laws are sure to spark further backlash.

“The picture at

home for Macron

is not quite so rosy” Nonetheless, Macron’s visit to the US has been a remarkable

success. The young President has delivered another masterclass in managing the enigmatic Donald Trump, and will look to take this international momentum into his domestic reforms, as his poll numbers struggle and the reality of his ambitious reforms sets in.

For Trump, the completion of an international visit without incident will be a relief for the beleaguered President, who is facing increasing domestic pressure as the investigation by Robert Mueller into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election turned its focus onto Trump’s lawyers and legal team. The President has struggled to maintain any lasting relationships on the global stage, with tumultuous relations with May and Xi Jinping, but ahead of potentially groundbreaking negotiations with North Korea, the bond with Macron appears strong.

US Embassy in France

Castro dynasty finally ends in Cuba

In numbers: Castro’s Cuba

Scott Arthur Global Writer

Cuba finds itself at a crossroad. For the first time since 1959, the nation will be governed by someone other than a member of the Castro family.

Fidel Castro died in November 2016, and his replacement as President, his brother Raul stood aside on the 19th of April, opening the way for the 58 year old former Photo: Srebenica memorial, Michael Buker Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel to ascend to the top of the ladder.

In his first speech as President, Mr Diaz-Canel stated that he fully intends to preserve the singleparty system, promising to keep the stating that Castro “will still preside America, the Trump administration country on the path of the revolution over decisions of major importance was significantly less welcoming. that propelled his predecessors to for the present and future of the State Department Spokeswoman power. Interestingly, he did also nation.” It appears that while Castro Heather Nauert accused the promise to continue the economic has stepped down from the day to Cuban government of “silencing reforms of Raul Castro, which has day running of the nation, he will independent voices” in order to seen the liberalisation of business still wield significant behind-the- “maintain its repressive monopoly regulations in recent months. scenes power, and will no doubt on power.”

However, Raul Castro is not seek to protect the legacy of his This marks something of a destined for a peaceful retirement. family. departure from the attempts at He has signalled that he intends to International reaction to rapprochement spearheaded by stay on as the head of the Cuban this news has been mixed; Barack Obama’s administration.

The handover itself was a Communist Party until 2021, and while the Cuban government will no doubt be keeping a close eye received congratulations from the historic moment, not least because on the new President. Indeed, Diaz- governments of China, Russia, of it occurring on the anniversary Canel seems to acknowledge this, Britain, Spain and across Latin of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion,

where 1400 US backed rebels were defeated while attempting to overthrow the newly established communist government.

As Castro vacated his seat at the front of the chamber, it was immediately filled by Diaz-Canel, much to the delight of the assembled party delegates.

The handover was smooth, but the new President must still be ready to chart the rough waters of government as he seeks to protect the legacy of his predecessors against a new generation of reformminded Cubans.

7

Thousand doctors in Cuba, global high per capita

30

Thousands killed by the state’s perecution and repression policies

42

Years that a man named Castro has ruled Cuba

9

1st May 2018

Windrush fiasco causes Commonwealth tension Nick Stokes Global Writer Controversy over the Home Office’s treatment of the “Windrush Generation” has continued, overshadowing the meeting of Commonwealth leaders in London this week. The controversy arose when members of the so-called “Windrush Generation” (named after one of the first boats that brought many migrants to the UK) were denied jobs, access to the NHS and were threatened with deportation as they could not provide proof of citizenship, despite the Home Office destroying many of these records in 2010.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has faced calls to resign over the scandal, who has blamed a number of unnamed civil servants. Theresa May has also come under fire as she was Home Secretary when the records were destroyed. The anger has come largely from the treatment of elderly citizens, some of who have been in the UK for 70 years, who have been threatened with deportation to a place they have no family, accommodation or possible work.

It has also subsequently transpired that government documents as early as May 2016 acknowledged the impact that the “Hostile Environment” that Theresa May tried to create for illegal immigrants was affecting

the Windrush generation. The Home Office has tried to discredit allegations that specific immigration policy was the issue, instead saying that it was an issue with procedure rather than legislation.

“Amber Rudd has faced calls to resign over the scandal”

Numerous organisations have come out against the Government and in solidarity with those affected, including a number of immigration advocacy groups and humanitarian charity Amnesty International. The Labour party have also been putting pressure on the Home secretary and Prime Minister. Emily Thornberry, Labour’s foreign secretary, said she believes Amber Rudd should resign over the scandal, a suggestion supported by John Mcdonnell, the Shadow Chancellor.

Theresa May has responded to the controversy by pledging citizenship to those affected by the crisis, saying that the “These people [the Windrush generation] are British, they are part of us, they helped to build Britain and we are all the stronger for their contributions.”

She promised compensation to those involved, which is suspected to go beyond payment of legal fees and will most likely acknowledge

Philafrenzy Photo: Philafrenzy the anxiety caused over the affair.

This was positively met by the Prime Minister of Grenada, who said that compensation should be “serious” and that people have suffered serious pain over it, and that if those affected had “gone”, the family should receive compensation for their suffering too.

The scandal has overshadowed the meeting of the Commonwealth in London this week, which was ostensibly a forum for Theresa May to showcase an image of a ‘Global

Historic abortion poll in Ireland Emily Hawkins Editor-in-Chief In less than a month’s time, voters in the Republic of Ireland will vote in a historic referendum on the future of the country’s stance on reproductive rights.

On 25 May, Irish citizens will decide whether or not to repeal part of their constitution, the Eighth Amendment, which outlaws abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. Abortion is currently permissible when the mother’s life is at risk.

A referendum in 1983 saw the amendment instituted, with the country affirming to protect as far as practicable the equal right to life of the unborn and the mother. Critics of the constitution say the legislation places women at risk of dangerous backstreet abortions.

Around nine women travel to another country a day for the of procedure, campaigners have noted. Abortion is also severely restricted north of the border, meaning women often have to travel to northern England, an isolating and financially difficult experience.

The main group advocating repeal, Together for Yes, want to

permit access to abortion up to a twelve week limit and introduce more lenient conditions, such as rape, incest, and foetal abnormality.

The leader of the governing party, Fine Gael, has backed the repeal camp.

“I trust women and I trust doctors” In a speech made in Dublin, the Irish leader Leo Varadkar urged voters to consider compassion at the polling booth. The Taoiseach said the amendment was an example of how the nation wrongs women today. “I trust women and I trust doctors,” he said, stating he wanted Ireland “to be able to look women in the eye when for too long we have looked away.”

Mr Varadkar also criticised some of the claims made by the No campaigners asking: “If we really believe the Eighth Amendment will result in five times as many women having an abortion - what does that say about us?”

The smaller parties, Sinn Fein and Labour, have also endorsed the

Yes campaign. “The party I lead is a big tent; there will be no whip, no merits or demerits, just freedom of conscience,” Mr Varadkar stated.

Fine Gael politicians who have broken the party line by either opposing or reserving their stance on the referendum include 13 of the party’s 15 ministers of State.

Almost half of people surveyed for a Behaviour & Attitudes/Sunday Times poll said they wanted the amendment to be repealed. 29 percent said they did not want repeal, and 21 percent said they were unsure.

Despite this public support, the debate is controversial and emotionally charged.

Tensions peaked last week with the removal of a pro-choice mural in Dublin, which Yes campaigners have dubbed as censorship.

The Catholic Church has been advocating for its members to vote No in the ballot, describing the impact of repeal as ushering in “unrestricted access to abortion”.

Both the Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Richard Clarke, and the Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, said ending pregnancies “at any stage” was “not an ethical position we can accept”. This is the church’s long-standing position.

Britain’. The Commonwealth, an organisation made up of former British colonial nations, has increased relevance in the age of Brexit, with the UK eager to secure preferential trade access.

The Commonwealth summit was considered a key opportunity to re-establish links to ‘old friends’ as the UK prepares for a rocky EU departure. It has renewed fears over the immigration question in the post-Brexit world, with Guy Verhofstadt saying the reports

were “deeply worrying”. It has been an incredibly difficult week for the Prime Minister and the government, who are still trying to appropriately steer the country through Brexit negotiations. It is a sign that you can’t take back what you have said before, and the “hostile environment”, that Theresa May sought to create for illegal immigrants may continue to haunt the already beleagured Prime Minister so long as this issue remains in the public eye.

Erdogan calls suprise elections Jake Morris Global Writer Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the ruling Justice & Development Party (AKP), has announced that scheduled Presidential and Parliamentary elections in November 2019 have been brought forward to 24th June 2018.

Mr Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics since 2003 through his role as Prime Minister, and then his subsequent election as President in 2014. After surviving an attempted military coup in 2016, widely condemned by political parties across the spectrum, Mr Erdogan sought to centralise power by calling a constitutional referendum in what critics accuse of being an authoritarian move.

The AKP and MHP backed referendum in April 2017 was successful by a slim margin of 51.4% to 49.6%. The ‘yes’ vote ushered in a total of 18 amendments, the most dramatic of those being a change from a Parliamentary system to an Executive Presidency. This change to Article 104 widens the powers of the Turkish President making the incumbent head of state, and head of government, and gives them the authority to directly appoint

members of the judiciary. The result of the referendum was contested by the CHP after allegations of ballot fraud.

The referendum determined that the constitutional amendments do not come into effect until the next Presidential elections, originally planned for November 2019. With the recent announcement of a political alliance between AKP and MHP, it appears clear that Mr Erdogan wishes to establish a fiveyear mandate with the new powers and responsibilities of President.

With strong control over multiple media outlets, and support for the AKP at the last election giving them 313 out of 550 Parliamentary seats, Mr Erdogan has a favourable advantage. His supporters applaud a range of his policies including the success of his economic stimulus policies giving growth of 7.4% in 2017 (the highest of any G20 state), and what some see as his defence of traditional Islamic values.

Mr Erdogan will be hoping for a pre-emptive strike to secure his position as support for the İoppositionİ continues to grow, and the possibility of economic woe around the corner with the Lira continuing to devalue against the US dollar, and inflation reaching double digits again, placing pressure on the government.

Features

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1st May 2018

Between home and a rented place Bryony Barker Features Writer It seems now that finding a job after graduation is not the only aspect of impending adulthood that I am to worry about, but also the reality of finding a place to live with that job too.

And it seems more so that it is not the nature of a job that dictates whether or not I will take it, but whether I will be able to afford to live nearby.

Just like many other students, my job searches have zeroed in on the renting capital of London, because, well, simply, I can’t find many jobs elsewhere.

However, the idea of my pot of savings depleting in the black hole of renting is not something I really want to do. Growing up with my mum, saving money and being savvy with those savings was a habit that was forced into me.

At the age of 19 I was already investing in a ‘Save to Buy ISA’ and

at that time, through rose-tinted glasses, I thought it would be a viable option to get a place of my own after university. But now on the cusp of entering adult life the reality has hit.

“my job hunting searches have zeroed in on the renting capital of London” With the economy being what it is, buying a house for myself will be

nothing like how it was for my parents. For one thing, at my age, 21, they were already engaged and planning their future together.

While myself, with no engagement ring in the foreseeable future, will most likely be going into the property market on my own, if at all. I have two choices: take a job that I don’t like and don’t want to do at home to save myself the tiring worry of rent, or take a job I love and quite literally never have any money ever again.

I, in fact, we - are very much

?

?

stuck between a rock and a hard place. That is unless you are lucky enough to be within commuting distance of London, but even then the cost of commuting is something to think about.

“There’s more to it than frivolity” A 2017 article in the Evening Standard titled ‘Estate agent says London’s millennials should stop buying sandwiches, holidays and splashing cash on nights out in order to afford a house’ is just one among many similar stories.

An article in the

Independent even blames millennials buying lottery tickets as an example of wasting our money on stupid things that aren’t houses.

But I have never bought a lottery ticket and can say none of my friends have either.

Research published even this month by Resolution Foundation states that a third of our generation will never own a home. There’s more to it than frivolity.

So what are we to do? When I’ve told friends about my Help to Buy ISA many of them don’t really know what it is, or that they even exist.

While I recognise that I was and am lucky to have the savvy mother that I do, people of my age are not readily told what is on offer to them in regard to helping them get into the property market, and banks aren’t doing a good enough job of advertising that. Schools often don’t even teach children what a mortgage is and what council taxes are. Maybe I should start listening to Martin Lewis and he should start teaching in schools…

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Erase the stigma, put down the razor

Vecteezy

Amy Newbery Features Editor I can’t believe this is something I would say during my time in England but ‘it’s so hot’. As I sat in my two hour seminar, I kept fanning myself and cursing the fact that none of the windows could be opened.

It’s official - winter is finally over. Thank every deity out there because I could not stand another day in a freezing house because we, as students, are too cheap to put the heating on.

With warmer weather comes

spring and summer clothing such as shorts, tank tops and swim suits.

It was this realisation that raised the issue of body hair - or rather, the stigma that surrounds it. How many times have people shown disgust at women who’ve forgone shaving their armpit hair? Or even their leg hair?

Yet, it isn’t the same attitude towards men. In fact, people view males who shave anything but facial hair as effeminate and not the norm.

Has anyone ever taken a step back and realised how trivial discussing the subject is? It’s just hair.

Yet I constantly find myself shaving my legs prior to wearing

shorts because it’s something I’m used to. I remember the first time I ever touched a razor, it was in a hotel room in Malaysia or Thailand and my parents had gone out. I had found the utilities provided by the hotel which included a razor and shaving cream.

“Is it hurting you?

No, it isn’t” To this point, I never saw having body hair as an issue but this changed once I grew older. Teenagers, especially females, are constantly exposed to advertisements for hair

removal products so that the idea of being shaven is ingrained into us. That it’s something we must do.

But now I find myself caring less. I thought as winter passed, I would restart the habit of shaving my legs several times a week, but I haven’t touched a razor in weeks.

Today, I’m wearing a dress and I honestly found that I didn’t care that I hadn’t shaved my legs. It’s just hair. So what if people stare? It’s natural and the only time I’ll remove it is when I want to, not when other people want me to.

Of course I understand that some people remove hair for hygienic purposes and that’s

absolutely fine. People should do what they want with their own body.

It’s similar to clothing and slutshaming.

Why do so many people have to comment on what people wear when it has nothing to do with them? So what if they wear short shorts? So what they wear a skimpy top? It is hurting you? No, it isn’t.

How someone having body hair doesn’t harm anyone else at all. So enjoy the warmer weather and wear what you want, with the body you want.

There are much bigger problems to be worrying about than someone’s body hair offending you.

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1st May 2018

The big P: plagarism Bryony Barker Features Writer In my third year of university, I was accused of plagiarism. That’s right, “the big P word”, and there it was sitting in my inbox.

And even just reading those nine letters in size 12 font, felt like my time at university had just become insignificant, tarnished and worthless.

I was dry mouthed and breathless, I can quite frankly say that I hope never to feel the way I did reading that email again. But the worst thing about it was that I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone, or rather shouldn’t tell anyone about it.

It’s a university taboo - the first rule of plagiarism, is you don’t talk about plagiarism. I didn’t even want to utter the word in a hushed tone to the people at the desk of the school office when I went to find out what had happened, where I was sat down and the process was explained to me.

For those of you that might not know, plagiarism falls into three ranking categories - low, medium and high. Low cases being a mistake

in note taking and high cases being quite literally taking someone else’s essay for your own.

After the process of what was to come was described to me, I made a vow to myself that I wouldn’t tell my friends or anyone around me what I was going through for fear of being judged, looked at differently or even branded a cheat.

“ I went to bed thinking of plagiarism, I woke up thinking of plagiarism” But I soon broke that vow, because every time someone politely asked me how I was, this sort of confession came tumbling out of my mouth: “Yeah I’m doing alright, might lose my degree but totally fine.” It wasn’t until someone told me that a friend of a friend of theirs had also received the same dreaded email in their inbox that I looked more into it.

It turns out plagiarism is

incredibly common, and just having spoken to someone who had been through what I was going to was enough for me to catch my breath for five minutes.

But even getting to this person was similar to trying to connect with someone in the Secret Service.

No one wants to be known as having gone through a plagiarism accusation but I feel like the taboo needs to be removed. It is not okay to plagiarise, but it is okay to talk about it.

I made a mistake. I messed up.

In my haste to enjoy my Christmas and spend time with my family and friends I didn’t correctly reference my notes and so this mistake became part of my essay. Ahead of my meeting and in a sort of effort to prepare, I placed my case in the low to medium category, only reaching medium because I am indeed a third year and I should know how to correctly cite an essay by now.

In the week that led to my meeting I completely lost myself, I clung to company for dear life, too scared to be alone with my thoughts.

I went to bed thinking of plagiarism, I woke up thinking of plagiarism, and I completely lost my appetite.

It felt like I had let down my parents, my personal advisor and even the seminar leader who marked the essay, and going into that meeting was like being sent to the head teacher’s office, but much worse.

However, that small room was only filled with people who wanted the best possible outcome and for me to understand where I had gone wrong. Upon walking out of the meeting the person I had taken in with me remarked: “That felt like that scene from Good Will Hunting, ‘It’s not your fault.’” Though indeed it was my fault. I walked out feeling supported and was aware of things that needed to change.

“Yeah, I’m doing alright, might lose my degree but totally fine” I was given my outcome the day after my meeting and it was decided that mine was a low-level case and I was to keep my mark but seek help from LTS about how to correctly cite

my essays.

The reason I decided to write about my experience is so that anyone r e a d i n g this who Concerned? is going through, Book a or has g o n e meeting with through, what I did Advice at the can feel like they are SU not alone. The best advice I would give is to go and book at a meeting with Advice at the SU. They provided me with the best possible insight into my case but were also incredibly supportive. I would also say talk to people about it.

I even told my boss at work in a fit of tears because I could not stop thinking about it. Again, she, like all of my friends, colleagues and university staff that I spoke to, only ever gave me support.

Roo Pitt on taking care of your body Now, it is easy for us to sit here and tell you all that you must look after yourselves and eat your five a day, do 30 mins of exercise a day, or not to drink or smoke.

However, we all know it’s not as simple as that (though of course all of those things will help).

“Start small, and move forward from there” Taking care of your body can easily be broken down into three key areas: Mind, Body, and Soul.

So firstly, your mental wellbeing.

Exams, deadlines and the end of term are fast approaching. We all know how the stress, and pressure can easily mount up, it’s important that you listen to your body in this time.

When we’re stressed it can be all too easy to push ourselves, adding to the stress, and continue to do so until we potentially harm ourselves

further (mentally). Having a cold or the flu and taking time out is okay, as is needing time out due to mental ill-health.

For example, if you were training in the gym and you sustain a physical injury, maybe you hurt your ankle, you should stop and train another day.

The same principle applies to mental health, so find a way of relaxing and be as forceful with your relaxation time as you are your revision/essay schedules, - find time to read that book, or bake that cake, take up that yoga or Zumba class.

Taking a break from university or paid work is just as important as doing the work, it’s essential for your continued wellbeing.

Now your body, simply you get out what you put in, if you eat rubbish, chances are you’ll feel rubbish.

Don’t get me wrong, I crave the

delicious junk food as much as anyone, but if you’re already feeling down then this will almost certainly make you feel worse.

Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake is an easy way of improving your diet, but be realistic, don’t just go for the five-a-day target, as if you currently have zero-aday it will most-likely be unachievable and therefore unsuccessful.

Start small, aim for one a day - more than you currently have and then review it and move forward from there.

The same principles can be applied to reducing things like sugary and fatty foods. Instead of cutting them

out altogether, try reducing daily amounts or cutting it out for one day a week and see how you feel, how achievable it is and, build it from there.

In addition to this make sure you schedule in time to eat and as with your relaxation, be rigid with it, as taking a break to eat will also help you to be calm and collect your thoughts.

Lastly, but by no means least, spiritual wellbeing or ‘the soul’, arguably known as many other things.

For many this might be connected to religion or simply to morality or love.

This is likely to be the hardest part to look after, religious practice or lack of will be difficult for those who form friendship groups at university that differ in views.

The important thing is to find what brings you this inner peace and embrace it. Despite what anyone else thinks, do not neglect your soul, as with your mind and your body, listen to it.

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1st May 2018

Features

Hello HQties!

Tony Allen Features Editor It’s the app which has taken the world by storm with its general knowledge quizzes for cash. But why has HQ become so popular?

And where does the money come from? We decided to take a look back into the history of HQ and ask: what’s next?

It’s a simple format. A live trivia gameshow that anyone can enter is presented by one of a small roster of sharply dressed men and women who have gained their own individual cult followings (usually broadcast journalist Sharon Carpenter, below, in the UK) twice a day on weekdays, usually at 3pm and 9pm, and once per day at weekends.

UK jackpots are usually £550, split between those players who can answer twelve increasingly difficult general knowledge questions correctly, including the infamous ‘savage questions’, or ‘sausages’ as the HQ chat has coined them. The first couple of three-choice questions are generally exceptionally easy, the last few exceptionally difficult.

It’s worth first taking a look at a potted history of HQ. HQ was set up by Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, initially in the US before expanding to Britain. Yusupov and Kroll were the co-founders of Vine - in other words, they know how to make a

viral app.

Since then, HQ has seen an exponential rise in popularity both in the US and UK. It was named as number one in Time Magazine’s Apps of the Year list for 2017.

Last month it gave away its biggest ever jackpot, some $300,000 in a joint UK and US game presented

by The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, to promote his latest film Rampage, the latest in a series of guest presenter slots. Since launching here early this year, HQ’s UK version has broken through the 100,000 player per game mark and now often exceeds that number.

“HQ’s UK version has broken through the 100,000 players per game mark” However, an excellent Rolling Stone feature in March revealed that HQ’s Manhattan office where the questions are written and both the UK and US versions of HQ are broadcast from is surprisingly modest, with an expanding staff of “about 30”.

Naturally, there have been glitches and teething problems - no HQ game on iPhone or Android is complete, it seems, without some buffering, pixellation and pauses.

But I’ve generally found it to be

Holiday help

relatively reliable at least when the questions come up, even if I miss the odd shoutout or quip from Shazza.

Although the app has an impersonal general chat function which moves at an incredibly fast pace during games and now allows users to add friends, it seems that the biggest social element is players playing along in person, necessitated by the live app.

And it’s fair to say that HQ has taken UEA by storm. Practically every game on the chat function, there’s at least one mention of UEA, among the mentions of “Mo Salah”, “Tilted Towers” and “Sausages”.

One UEA student told Concrete: “I love HQ! I enjoy playing with my housemates. We help each other out and it’s nice to learn something and have a laugh even if there’s only a tiny chance of winning anything and even if you win it might only be a tenner.”

So, as a free-to-play, ad-free app, where does the money come from?

All the ‘FAQ’ section of the app says is: “The prizes are sponsored

by Intermedia Labs, Inc.” the appdevelopment company which publishes HQ and is run by the Vine co-founders.

It is reportedly funded by investors and commercial tie-ins Linnea Hawkings Features Writer If, like the beloved snowman from Frozen, the dream of the elusive summer is what keeps you sane at this point of the academic year, you are not alone. However, along with the excitement comes the anxiety of how to spend it. There is no prescriptive plan for the perfectly balanced summer, since every student is unique. But with many options of work, study, volunteering, holidays, and combinations of these: there is something out there for everyone.

Summer is synonymous with travel, the idyllic sunny holiday working on that tan. There are many great experiences to be had on these adventures: meeting new friends, bonding with old ones and being exposed to new cultures - be that local days out or a trip around the world. Travelling creates memories to last a lifetime and helps you grow as a person.

While having fun, you become more globally conscious and aware of how to cope in the real world, by facing challenges such as planning an itinerary, being in unfamiliar situations, and having to mingle (and coping when it might not go quite to plan!). This doesn’t have to involve a plane ticket either - there’s

HQ has not been without its controversies. In an opinion piece in The Atlantic, Ian Bogost called HQ “a Harbinger of Dystopia” while the sheer number of players nowadays has caused some prizes to be extremely low, sometimes little more than a couple of pounds. Questions have also been raised over the past conduct of the app’s founders.

Last year Yusupov, a hands-on CEO present in the office during broadcasts, was embroiled in a controversial incident where he berated a Daily Beast journalist for daring to interview Scott Rogowsky, presenter of the American edition, without his consent, and threatened to fire his star asset if the piece was published.

The article was posted, and Yusupov apologised, blaming the stress of running the startup for his widely publicised outburst.

Then, in February this year, the #DeleteHQ hashtag began to gain traction as news broke that HQ had sought cash from Founders Fund, which was set up by controversial PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who is also known for having supported Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

This aside, HQ is sweeping the nation and as its popularity increases, so will its revenuegenerating power. Will this mean more profits? More advertising?

More prizes for HQ’s ever-growing fanbase? Will competitors spring up? Will HQ implode or just fade away into nostalgic history like Vine?

Who knows, the only thing that’s certain is that HQ is still on the rise and looks to have transformed quiz apps, and the once-outdated live gameshow format, forever.

Vecteezy

plenty of cultural variety to be experienced within the UK. Finances can be a hindrance to those struck by wanderlust.

However, there are ways around this to achieve the summer of your dreams. Camp America is a great and increasingly popular way to travel America with positions across 12,000 camps. It offers renumeration plus food and board, alongside friends among the thousands of Brits in the same boat.

Another route could be interning or working abroad, where companies will often cover expenses. If you are looking to combine your travelling with some volunteer work it may be possible to keep costs down through fundraising and sponsorship.

Volunteering can also be a great way to cut the cost of attending festivals.

For those looking to work abroad, research the various bursaries that may be available to help with travel and accommodation costs.

Internships are a fantastic way to explore career options, often involving a shorter time commitment than a summer job.

Unfortunately many are still unpaid, though UEA only endorses paid internships, so check out Careers Central or their website.

With continuous media coverage of the competitive job market, anything you can do to stand out

from the crowd is a bonus.

Reports from The Telegraph suggest that interning improves your chances of graduate employment threefold sometimes within the same company, or through references and the added exposure of the industry. Positions are scarce and fill up early, so volunteering is an alternative to still boost your CV while acquiring new knowledge and skills.

According to the Independent, of the 79 percent of students who work over summer, 41 percent feel pressure to do so just to financially survive. For many this comes about due to inadequate maintenance loans, failing to match the rising living costs (including the controversial rise in UEA’s accommodation fees). However, there are ways to make the most of this if you find yourself in this position.If it’s the great outdoors you love, try adventure centre jobs.

If air-con is more your style, aim for a more formal post that will teach you a new skill and strengthen your CV. Having a job that matches your desires in more than just the paycheck is sure to help with the motivation of getting in each day.

Even if a summer job turns out to be less than perfect, doing it can be a great way to narrow down what sort of career to aim for in the future.

such as Johnson’s new film, which received plenty of publicity during his appearance and Nike, which produced limited edition Air Max trainers for the winners of a special edition of HQ. Concrete contacted HQ to ask for a bit more detail about exactly where the cash comes from and what their plans are for future investment but are still awaiting a response.

“It is funded by investors and corporate tie-ins”

13

1st May 2018

Foodie Features

The Urban Jungle Roberts

Maddy Forde-

Quynh Trang Do Features Writer

Three exchange students wandering in the heart of Costessey – or shall I say, “Harte of Costessey”, name of the bus stop that should take us to the Cafe at Urban Jungle.

“They use coffee beans supplied by the local Strangers Roastery” We were quite alarmed when the bus driver himself wasn’t sure if this stop was on his itinerary…

However, after an anxiously long bus ride followed by a short trek, we finally managed to find the tropical greenhouse hosting our destination.

Urban Jungle is an exotic plant nursery growing and selling a great variety of houseplants that opened in 2001 in Costessey, a suburb of Norwich. In 2005, they opened within the nursery a gluten-free coffee shop, Cafe Jungle, which

serves seasonal, local, and homemade food and drinks.

As soon as we set foot in the greenhouse, we knew that it was worth the journey. We were welcomed by luxuriant houseplants, different in colour, shape, and size, creating a jungle-esque ambience: small individually potted cacti, succulents, a lemon tree, a variety of philodendrons (yes, I googled that one), to name just a few.

The wave of warmth was also much appreciated after our 30 minutes walk in the rain.

Even though the place looks chaotic at first glance, a walk through the plant nursery reveals that the disposition of the plants separates one seating from another, giving you an intimate space to enjoy your coffee.

Besides traditional seating, you’ve also got sofas for comfortable afternoons with your favourite book, creating a cosy vibe.

Cafe Jungle’s ethos was another reason that attracted me: they use coffee beans supplied by the local Strangers Roastery, and their tea comes from Wilkinson’s, both located in the city centre, while their

gluten free multi-grain bread is provided from The Wheat Free Bakery in Scotland.

The greenhouse itself is built with recycled and upcycled (yet another word I learnt thanks to this article) materials.

When you order a cup of coffee or a cafetière, you can choose between four different kinds, plus a decaf option. At the counter, you will find a flavour profile describing each variety of coffee, which helps you to choose according to your taste.

The Cafe at Urban Jungle is an out of the ordinary place to have a good cup of coffee, its rainforest ambience being its highlight, ticking your Instagram aesthetics box.

More importantly is the cafe’s ethos: the cafe and their supplier’s enthusiasm about animal welfare and the environment.

on the unsung kitchen hero Learning to cook for yourself while at uni is absolutely an important skill: problem is, fitting food prep and budgeting around a busy schedule is easier said than done.

Let’s be honest, nobody wants to have to spend forever hovering over a stove, especially after a full day of lectures.

Enter the student’s secret weapon: the slow cooker.

While you do still have to do some prep and washing up beforehand, this is, in my opinion, far overshadowed by the relief of not having piles of dishes to do later on. All you’ll need to do is clean the inner part of the slow cooker (fun fact – it’s dishwasher safe!)

The variety of recipes you can make in it is surprising: I’ve done soups, stews, spaghetti Bolognese, jambalaya and overnight oatmeal in mine I’ve even known people who’ve used theirs to cook the turkey for their house Christmas dinner.

So if batch-cooking is your thing, and you want to be able to eat healthy on a budget, then I definitely recommend adding a slow cooker to your kitchen.

Below is one of my go-to recipes – it’s easy to make, packs in vegetables and protein, and can be adapted to suit most dietary needs.

It also freezes well, so no need to worry if there’s tons of leftovers.

INGREDIENTS:

cooker.

How to make a sausage, sweet potato and bean stew 12 sausages (pork or vegetarian)

2. Fry off the sausages in a large

3 small sweet potatoes

frying pan until golden brown.

2 cans butter beans

Transfer to a separate plate and cut

2 tins chopped tomatoes

into pieces approx. 2cm thick, then

3-4 large handfuls of leafy green veg

add to slow cooker.

(I prefer kale or spinach)

3. Dice the onion and garlic,

1 onion

and fry in the olive oil until onion is

4 cloves garlic

golden and starts to soften. Add to

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

slow cooker.

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4. Add the chopped tomatoes,

1 tbsp olive oil

the stock cube and a small mug of

Black pepper and mixed herbs to

water.

taste

5. Drain the cans of beans and add to mix.

Prep time: approx. 20 mins

6.

Add

herbs,

pepper

and

Cooking time: 6-8 hours

balsamic vinegar. Cook for 6-8 hours

Serves 4-6

on the low setting.

METHOD: 1. Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes (peeling optional) and dice into smallish chunks. Add to slow

7. 10 minutes before serving, add the green leafy veg and allow to cook till wilted.

8. Serve with optional bread roll.

FINANCE

1st May 2018

Saving up to fly the nest

Matthew Denton gives advice to students facing a life of renting does is drive prices up, making it harder for young people to buy.

There has, however, recently been a slight drop in house price growth, suggesting an impending slump in the housing market. The main fall in growth has been triggered by London house prices, which fell slightly over the last year for the first time since 2009.

In order to get on to the housing ladder, young people are forced to save a large sum to put down as a

stuck renting properties.

So what can students do to make it easier to get on the first rung of the housing ladder?

Well a number of financial guidance services have answers, and they can all be found online.

One of the solutions that comes up most may

UK

deposit for a property.

T h i s becomes almost impossible when renting. It’s called the rent trap, where monthly payments for rent are not allowing young people to save for deposits, and so they are caught in limbo, never gaining access to the housing ladder.

The government has said that it is putting policies in place to help first time buyers, but the Resolution Foundation has said that much more help is required for those

“Much more help is required for those stuck renting properties" If you can move home for a few years while earning full time, you have a great opportunity to save for that house deposit.

You could set up a system with your parents whereby you pay ‘rent’

increasingly vulnerable to

economy in the event of a downturn.

The fund emphasises the importance of putting deficits and debt firmly on a downward path toward their medium-term targets in order to build resilience while the global economy is healthy, saying “decisive action is needed now”.

“It is important to note that building buffers now will help protect the economy, both by creating room for fiscal policy to step in to support economic activity

decline

continues Almost 650 shops and restaurants have shut since the start of this year. With big names like Toys R Us shutting up shop, the decline in the UK retail industry doesn’t show signs of stopping. It has been a combination of the rise of internet shopping and rising minimum wages that has put a squeeze on the high street.

answer for you, there are some great mortgage programs for young people, which allow you to get a mortgage without a deposit, but with your parents acting as guarantors.

The overarching message is just to put money aside, and think about the future.

Deposits are becoming increasingly mor expensive as time goes by, so it is becoming more and more important to put money aside now, and think about the future.

It may seem like that extra £20 in your bank should go on a few extra pints at the bar, but it’s worthwhile putting it into a savers account.

You’ll thank yourself later!

Art: Clker,Pixabay;Firefox OS

Number

during a downturn and by reducing the risk of financing difficulties if global financial conditions tighten suddenly.”

The IMF singled out the US as the only advanced economy that is failing to plan to reduce their debtto-GDP ratio in the medium term as a result of the Trump administration tax cuts which is anticipated to increase the US debt-to-GDP ratio by 9 percentage points by 2023.

Gaspar, director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department said: “We urge policymakers to avoid procyclical policy actions that provide unnecessary stimulus when economic activity is already pacing up.”

of

zero

hour

contracts rises The ONS has released figures showing that the number of zero hour contracts rose in 2017 by around 100,000.

Zero hour contracts are work contracts that don’t guarantee a minimum number of hours.

They have been a controversial topic recently, with some arguing that it doesn’t provide financial security. Others argue that they provide flexibility for people like students.

TSB IT update causes issus for customers After an upgrade to TSB’s IT systems, many customers have been locked out of any online banking services. With many worrying about missing important payments, TSB has said they are working hard to resolve t h e

£

£

potential shocks in global economic conditions, This could further increase the cost of future lending to fund government spending.

Importantly, large debt and deficits hinder governments’ ability to support the

highstreet

£

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast strong and broad-based growth for 2018 in its’ biannual World Economic Outlook report. However, beyond the near-term optimism, the IMF has expressed the need to use growth to reduce government debt.

Since the financial crisis global debt has surged to 225 percent of world GDP in 2016. Government debt is at historic highs among both advanced and emerging market economies with 43 percent of the $48tn increase in global debt since 2007 attributed to China.

In the short-term, rapidly rising debt, particularly among low

income developing countries, means interest payments take up an increasingly large share of taxes and expenditure which can harm growth and reduce the ability of governments to spend on welfare, infrastructure or other programs.

Countries with high government debt are

to

It is good news for the UK economy. Government borrowing has fallen by £3.5bn in the past year, making last year the lowest year of borrowing for 11 years. It means that the budget deficit is being reduced at a faster rate than expected. Public debt, however, remains high, at almost twice what it was before the financial crisis.

UK sound like the most painful for students enjoying their independence – move back home for a year or two.

This is just a case of grit your teeth and bare it.

falls

lowest level in 11 years

to your parents, but those payments go into a savings account for your deposit.

If moving back h o m e isn’t t h e

Warning issued over record debt levels Wlll Richardson Finance Writer

borrowing

£

£

£

£

£

For a student leaving university, one of the main considerations is where they want to live.

Going back home to Mum and Dad can be a daunting prospect, having just enjoyed three years of total freedom and independence.

But increasingly this is becoming the most realistic solution for many young people.

Renting property makes it very hard to get a foot on the property ladder, but with increasing house prices across the country, a new study by the Resolution Foundation has found that up to a third of millennials risk having to rent for their whole lives.

It is useful to gain a little background information when talking about housing.

Back in the 80s, when many of today’s student’s parents would have been buying their first properties, the average house price was between £25,000 and £30,000, adjusted for inflation. Now days, you could be looking at upwards of £250,000.

A lot of the fast rise in prices is due to a lack of housing stock.

There is ever increasing demand for housing in the UK, and all that

The Finance Roundup

£

14

£

£

£

1st May 2018

15

Tesla struggling in ‘production hell’ Matthew Denton Finance Editor

Electric cars are becoming more and more common on UK roads.

It’s no longer odd to see a car drive past without making so much as a whisper, and with electric car technology becoming better by the day, we should expect this to become the norm.

The UK government has already realized the need to cut back on pollution producing petrol cars.

They have set a deadline for car producers wishing to trade in the UK – three fifths of new cars must be electric by 2030.

It’s an ambitious target, and many argue that significant improvements to the UK’s infrastructure need to be made before electric cars can be fully integrated into everyday life.

One of the main names you might think of when you think of electric cars is Tesla. The brainchild of extravagant billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, Tesla is one of the main companies making great strides towards the

technology of the future. Their first production car, the Roadster, was a fairly niche sports car, and didn’t do so well in terms of sales, selling only 2,250 models.

In their next model, Tesla produced a car that better suited the ‘average’ consumer. The Model S was still a fairly sporty car, but was a more realistic car to be driving day to day. It also featured one of Tesla’s most ambitious technologies – autopilot. This is a setting where you can take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals while cruising down the motorway and the Model S will keep your speed and lane.

The Model S, however, was still out of reach of the average consumer. With a price tag starting at around £65,000, it can certainly be considered a luxury vehicle.

Enter the Tesla Model 3. This is Tesla’s first step towards making an affordable electric car with all the technologies of the Model S. But Tesla is having troubles with production of the Model 3, struggling to keep to deadlines for the pre-orders of the car. Elon Musk has called his current predicament ‘production hell’, as he tries to

Wikimedia, Adrian Pingstone Peter Atkins Wikimedia sustain a level of production that will work for the company in the long run.

At launch, Musk had promised 5,000 Model 3s a week. At the moment, he is just about managing 2,000. All the while, the vultures are circling.

Jaguar are about to release

their i-pace, a fully electric 4x4 with similar luxuries to the model 3.

BMW have been fairly successful with their i3 and i5 models, and Nissan is still enjoying a fair degree of success with their Leaf model.

Tesla need to step up their game if they are to maintain their position as a prominent electric car

manufacturer.

They are in danger of slipping into the background as other, better established producers adopt their technologies on a more workable scale.

With the government deadline set for 2030, there’s a lot of work to be done by Tesla to keep up.

Brexit spells trouble for graduates Matthew Denton Finance Editor

If you are anything like me, you are probably sick of Brexit. For two years now it has been in every news bulletin and headline, spreading fear and concern among many in the UK. One group of people who should be particularly concerned about the deal that the UK strikes with Brussels is students.

It just so happens that if you are set to graduate in 2019, Britain will be leaving the EU just as you begin to hunt for jobs.

The high level of uncertainty surrounding Brexit means that employers may be holding back on hiring until it is clear what the postBrexit landscape looks like. That’s bad news for recent graduates.

Of the top 100 graduate employers, most had downgraded their graduate employment schemes, and in the private sector companies cut almost 10 percent of their graduate employment opportunities in 2017.

Among the worst hit are those looking to pursue careers in the finance sector, where graduate employment numbers fell 17

percent in 2017.

There is, however, another way to look at this. With a lack of clarity around the futures of EU citizens working in the UK following Brexit, there may be an outflow of EU professionals once we leave.

47 percent said that they had considered leaving the UK and going to work in mainland Europe.

This could make room for UK graduates.

UK businesses are having trouble hiring trained engineers, IT workers and accountants, and with this potential exodus of EU workers, the skills shortage could get even worse.

P h i l l i p Hammond doesn’t seem too

concerned with the future state of the labor market following Brexit, saying in Wa s h i n g t o n

last Friday that a potential hemorrhage of city jobs had been averted following progressions in the discussions with the EU. In reality, it is very hard to predict how the UK jobs market will look after Brexit.

The best that students can do is hope that the deal the UK strikes with the EU is one which allows UK businesses to continue without too much disruption or loss of trade, and one which does not drastically change the demographics of professionals working as skilled labour.

Students are having to do more than ever to make them as employable as possible. With an uncertain future for businesses, good graduate jobs are becoming a highly sought after luxury.

If there is any advice for students worrying about graduate jobs, it would be try to get experience beforehand.

Summer internships are a great way of doing this. Usually about 8 weeks long, and mostly paid, internships give students industry experience, and make a candidate vastly more employable.

It is certainly something to consider doing if you hope to do well following graduation.

For the sake of sacrificing a few weeks of summer, you could gain valuable experience in the industry you might want to work in.

Employers will see that you show real interest in the career you wish to pursue.

R/DV/RS - CC-BY, Flickr

Comment

16

1st May 2018

Sean Bennett: To vote or not to vote?

Local elections do not offer the wall to wall, rip-roaring excitement of a snap general election. Filling the seats of a council just doesn’t live up to the buzz of dispatching doomed souls to Westminster or ruining decades of European solidarity in one night. Hot off the back of some of the most interesting politics in recent memory, perhaps the stakes just don’t seem high enough in local elections for anyone to really care.

To be fair, in comparison to some of our international friends, local autonomy is not really a cornerstone of British politics.

Where the USA or Germany afford their states and counties considerable powers in order to alleviate pressure on central government, London still maintains a tight grip on most of the regions in the UK. Even the devolved governments of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have limited powers in many areas, though this has been changing in recent years.

The governing powers of the UK still remain firmly situated in the halls of Westminster, with many local decisions being dictated by the national government to their local counterparts.

With this being the case, why do local elections actually matter? If the

people for whom we are supposed to vote will have barely any effect on our lives, then why the hell should I stop watching Netflix and make my way to my nearest polling station?

Frankly, it seems to be a total waste of time.

As much as I would love to spend the valuable time I would save by not voting on watching Brooklyn 99, I think I will still make the effort to put my cross in a box.

It is hard to refute that local elections are objectively less important than the more national events, but shouldn’t be understood as meaning that they have no value at all. Local services, even those run to a certain extent by London, do still tend to rely somewhat on local politicians and their policies.

Bin collections, policing, public transport etc. – all of these things could be affected by local elections, for better or for worse. Though it can sometimes be hard to pin down where local councils are doing their work, I can promise you that if they stopped all together, you would notice.

So, if you want things to change just as with any other election, you have to vote. Hell, if you want things

to stay the same, then you still have to vote to make sure that they do.

Aside from anything else, I find that local politicians often have more freedom than MPs and, as such, they can find the time to really get involved with their communities, if they choose to make the effort.

For example, councillors are given budgets which they must spend on charitable causes, so

chosen candidate will be politically successful, maybe they can make a difference to the community by donating to the right cause. With the time to see what is happening to their money, and to really get to know the people to whom they are giving it, local politicians can be extremely helpful in building good will and solidarity in communities, even if they aren’t making the trains run on time or solving the

national debt.

A t the end of the day, the same principle applies with all elections.

If you don’t Stevelkura, Wikicommons vote, then you don’t regardless really have the right to of whether complain when things or not you don’t go the way you wanted think your them to.

The alt- right: “This is how they get started” Eddie Booth Comment Writer

of sort-of fascist avengers, drawing in the remnants of the Klan, the neo-nazism of Richard Spencer and teenage wannabes from online forums. I do not believe for a moment that Peterson, for all his faults and hypocrisy, is a member of the alt-right. Nor are many of his fans. However, those who idolise Peterson stand on a dangerous and infirm stepping stone, from which they fall into the dark crevices of the alt-right is just a misstep away. The new trend of YouTubers, known as the skeptic community, who define themselves as antifeminists, antisocial justice warriors, who see

Jordan Peterson’s book, 12 Rules for Life, is riding high in the best sellers list at the moment. I read it.

I liked it. A sort of pseudo self-help book, Peterson pulls together his experience as a clinical psychologist and his interest in biblical stories, inspired by his faith, and creates an engaging and informative read.

Peterson’s prominence is not necessarily a problem, given that he is a qualified and experienced psychologist.

The trouble comes from the other side of his rhetoric, away from the self-help and the psychological insight. Here, Peterson lashes out at feminism and what he views as the insatiable onslaught of postmodernism.

Through this, Peterson has found himself the unwilling poster boy of the alt-right. The group, who reject mainstream conservative thought and identify with rabid anti-feminism, white nationalism and borderline neonazi thought, have been emboldened by the election of Donald Trump, masterminded by their sweetheart Steve Bannon, Anthony Crider, Flickr culminating in the deadly (Above) & Adam Jacobs, gathering at Charlottesville last Wikimedia year, which saw the assembly

themselves rather laughably as bulwarks against the creeping influence of censorship, associate all too closely with the rhetoric of the alt-right. These people boast hundreds of thousands of subscribers online.

Supporters of these groups are overwhelmingly young white men. Why? Firstly, the skeptic community presents itself as logical in the face of emotion, offering a rational viewpoint when policy is increasingly informed by hysterics.

This plays into one of the defining traits of teenage males arrogance.

A belief that their intelligence and capability for rational thought is superior to almost everybody else’s.

This sounds like a generalisation, because it is.

But am I wrong?

The second way this community can attract young white boys who might otherwise be dull conservatives is by distorting a the concept of personal responsibility.

Taking account of one’s own actions, accepting responsibility and risk, are manipulated by online personalities to attack affirmative action and minority groups generally who advocate for policies seeking to right historic injustices.

These personalities argue that any such policy is nothing short of victimhood. If a person is inclined towards conservative thought, then you can see how powerful such a manipulation becomes. It is put across that one must either choose between personal responsibility, the bulwark of conservatism, or pandering to victimhood. Again, some rational consideration would reveal how infantile such an ultimatum is, but we are dealing with over-confident teenagers here.

Critical faculties are not their strong points.

Speaking more generally, members of privileged groups do not like being told of their privilege, particularly when they do not feel any advantage. A teenage boy without many friends, with low selfconfidence, struggling to get his head around relationships, lonely, sad, embittered, such a person does not feel privileged, and as much as they like to pride themselves on the notion that facts do not care about feelings, no person is immune to emotional response. They have yet to understand that the two concepts are divorced from one another, and that structural privilege does not necessarily mean you will enjoy an easy life. The rhetoric surrounding such issues is therefore incredibly powerful.

Luckily, though you might find their views on feminist, social justice or socialism unsavoury, most are unlikely to join the alt-right. But some will, and this is how they get started.

Indoor lectures vs Outdoor lectures

Tom Bedford on the convenience of outdoor lectures In the middle of winter a nice warm classroom can be great for lectures and seminars, but that stops being the case when it reaches 28 degrees outside. In the punishing sun we’ve been having recently, the alreadyheated rooms of the Arts building or the underground insulated Congregation Hall rooms quickly become tropical. If it’s going to be this hot, let us enjoy it. Let us take our classes by the lake with a fourpack of Strongbow or, particularly for second and final year students, out of university completely, and nearer to where we live.

Expecting students to go to class in this heat is laughable as it is, but expecting them to spend the day in some of the Brutalist rooms of UEA is insane. Outdoors lectures are the best way to make people attend.

Evlyn ForsythMuris argues for the tradition of indoors Having lectures outside when the weather is nice sounds nice but don’t buy it- it’s really not.

Firstly, the point of a lecture is to learn something (dull, I know) but if we’re outside in the sun, even less people will be paying attention. The temptation just to enjoy the weather and tune your lecturer out will be even harder to resist than when we’re indoors.

I don’t know about your lectures, but mine are a sea of laptops so for all those with crappy battery lives, a nearby plug quickly becomes an essential to keep your notes going – good luck plugging your mac into a nearby oak tree.

Finally, what about all those quiet lecturers who really need those microphones? I don’t fancy getting whispered at by my lecturer while someone belts some awful tunes out of their portable speaker.

17

1st May 2018

Top tips to survive exam stress Nick Stokes Comment Writer ‘Tis the season once again at universities across the country: the never-ending brawl for a place in the library, Eduroam crashing every 15 minutes or so and the beautiful weather taunting you, along with your friends, who chose a degree without exams and are now sitting in the sun with a pitcher of Pimms.

The summer term of university is without a doubt the best and worst in the annual cycle, bringing with it sun and parties but also the dreaded exam period.

Exam stress is a systemic issue in universities across the country, with executive bodies at different institutions looking at creative ways to combat it. Modelled upon the success of a program to alleviate loneliness in care homes, some unions (including our own) have opted to bring furry companions onto campus, annually inviting dog owners into the LCR for students to pet.

Other methods of de-stressing have been looked at by educational bodies - with recent research by the Edinburgh Sports Union showing that even short bursts of exercise (as low as ten minutes) can increase alertness and a student’s positive mood. If you look at the sheer weight of research into exam stress

and whether it links to mental health issues, one may question the efficacy of exams. The nations rated highest in terms of educational excellence avoid examination at school, opting instead for positively reinforced learning. While the debate rages on over exams are in fact a force for evil or not, our current predicament

means we have to accept them as the master of our fates in terms of whether we graduate or not.

Although not necessarily scientific, I have compiled a guide that has got me through two years of exams that, in my final year, should be passed along, and don’t involve the sacrifice of your mental health.

First - get to know your work cycle. My most productive hours were from between about 10pm to 2am. You don’t have to be an early riser to be successful, just make sure that you schedule in a time where you will hit the books. Sticking to this meant I got enough done each day.

“If you don’t waste hours, you waste years”

Second - SLEEP. It’s fine to do late nights in the library if you also make time to sleep. I thoroughly recommend getting a sleep cycle app, especially for naps. There is unfortunately a right way to sleep, and this will improve your overall mood and make you more productive.

Third schedule in breaks. Although it may seem counterproductive, looking after yourself is crucial to lowering exam stress and getting more done.

Make sure you set a time, relatively frequently, to take a few minutes off. I am unconvinced by apps that block all social media, as isolation from friends can increase pressure and the feeling of frustration and loneliness during exams. The carrot is also much healthier than the stick.

We are naturally fallible creatures - don’t punish yourself for running over on a break by cancelling the next one.

In the words of psychologist Amos Tversky, “If you don’t waste hours, you waste years” - taking five minutes extra off won’t make you fail. Make sure to communicate with your peers if it’s getting too much, and don’t be afraid to contact Nightline. It is an incredible service a stones’ throw from the Library, and if work is getting on top of you, they’re available from 8pm to 8am for a cup of tea and a chat.

Why working class kids struggle to break into media Jack Ashton Comment Editor 7% of the British population is privately educated. Compared to 51% of top journalists (Sutton Trust).

According to a report published by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Comission, a mere 19% of journalists attended a comp, unlike 90% of the population, and 43% of columnists are privately educated, less than a quarter went to a comp.

On top of this, 94% of journalists are white, and 55% men, less than 1% identify as black or Asian.

These, according to Owen Jones in his most recent article and most people who have an appreciation for the word, are the facts. This is what sparked the usual hordes of middle class journalists to adopt their defensive positions, it’s what inspired Julia HartleyBrewer to declare “I didn’t get into Oxford because I was privileged. I got into Oxford because I was clever,” and thus prompted Robert Webb to call her a “thick Oxford twat,” because apparently that’s how we talk to people now.

The role of media is to hold

those in power to account and to provide a voice to those without one. It’s not impossible for middle class journalists to hold the middleclass chambers of Westminster to account, but it does mean we’re left with an increasingly middleclass conversation about what to do with ‘us poor folk’. The widening disparity between what we experience and what we hear about is becoming increasingly evident with instances like Grenfell and Telford, where we’ve been left with a distinctive lack of authentic voices.

It’s important to understand why the disparity happens, so here’s the step by step.

Unpaid internships.

It’s

Solok29, Wikimedia

bizarre to say you’ve been the victim of an unpaid internship. You were the victim of a great opportunity!

Good lord, are you okay? But here it is. It’s unpaid work, time you could spend earning money to eat, to live, to breathe, is spent in what counts as economically nothing. I recently experienced 10 days working at a publication in London. Including travel, accommodation and the expansive luxury that is eating in London, it cost me just shy of £1,000. Thankfully, this was able to be covered by the universities grant for low income students. If I wasn’t at university, I would have had to pass up this opportunity. Ability has nothing to do with it.

“Sorry, we don’t pay but we do offer exposure.” The ninth circle of hell for any aspiring artist of any form. Same as above, if you can’t afford to pay us, we can’t afford to work. Again, the exception to this is at uni, when we have an income that isn’t time dependent (to be continued).

“Multimedia skills required.” I get it, the immediate thought is “you can’t say middle class kids have naturally

better multimedia skills,” true, you can’t. 2010 me and a middle class 13 year old probably had an equally sized hole where our multimedia skills were concerned.

But there’s two things here- general access to internet and technology related activities is obviously going to be increased in middle class households, but it’s also increased at universities (exhibit A: me. Writing this at university, but not having internet access until the later years of high school).

There’s the crux of it. University.

Problem number one can be solved by university schemes/ grants, as it was for me. Problem number two can be solved (for a few years at least) by having student finance to sustain you, and three can be solved by gaining this experience during university. Julia Hartley-Brewer seems to be redeemed in her claim, but as with most of the discussion around this, she was wrong.

According to the Sutton Trust, 19 percent of teachers would never tell their brightest students to apply to Oxbridge. Only 42 percent would.

This means 19 percent of students (you can guess which economic quartile they come from) don’t get pushed down this path. This is because teachers often do not know how, or the schools just don’t see it as an option.

Students from schools in lower income areas are 3x more likely to make spelling mistakes in their university applications, and Cardiff Council found that low income students are more likely to have lower attendance due to them feeling embarrassed about their economic status. There are isolated exceptions, but these are the trends.

Doom, gloom, doom and more gloom. If this article has made you feel a bit deflated, imagine the X amount of years of living it.

You can do things though.

Ignoring better educational funding, more collaborative working class publications and an end to unpaid internships which we sadly can’t enforce, you should support your friends’ workings, share them on Facebook, comment on them, retweet them, give them that boost they need to get by and keep going.

Vote for local politicians promising increased arts funding and better school funding overall (you know who). Stop buying into myths about merit over privilege and support and attend local community movements aiming at lifting up marginalised groups - especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Once again the middle class conversation about poor folk got it wrong, and it’s going to be the same for a while if nothing is done by it.

18

1st May 2018

Science

2

UEA uncover attacks against prostate cancer Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: WikiMedia Commons, Nephron

Beth Papworth Science Editor Researchers from The University of East Anglia (UEA) have contributed to the world’s largest study into genes that drive prostate cancer.

They have identified 80 molecular weaknesses that could be targeted by drugs to treat the disease. Approximately 25 percent of the gene mutations identified involve the targets of existing drugs that are either licensed or in clinical trials.

This critical research opened up 60 new potential lines of attack against prostate cancer for further investigation, as well as identifying new genes associated with the disease’s development.

Genetic information was obtained from the tumours of 112 men with prostate cancer, pooled with data from other studies, together analysing samples from 930 cancer patients.

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “This study has uncovered a remarkably large

Super Bird of Paradise discovered

number of new genes that drive the development of prostate cancer, and given us vital information about how to exploit the biology of the disease to find potential new treatments.”

Using canSAR, a comprehensive database for cancer drug discovery, researchers discovered that 80 of the proteins in the network were possible drug targets.

Just 11 of these were targeted by existing licensed drugs and 7 by drugs in clinical trials, while 62 were identified as potential targets to explore.

During the investigation, the

Alex Millard Senior Science Reporter Ever look at someone dancing in the LCR and think ‘wow are they even human?’

Well that’s pretty much how scientists discovered a new species of bird last week in New Guinea.

Originally thought to be the same species as the Superb Bird-ofParadise this new species, dubbed the Vogelkop Bird-of-Paradise has several distinct differences, including its mating dance.

You may have seen videos popping up of these birds; they are famous for their crazy, bouncy mating dance along with their ‘cape’ that splays upwards showing off their bright blue neck feathers and spots that look like eyes.

However, scientists recently noticed a difference between some of the birds.

Whilst the Superb species’

dance is characterised as ‘bouncy and smiley’ other birds were seen creating a dance from ‘smooth’ steps.

Another difference noted was the sound of their mating calls and the shape of their capes. The Superb species was always characterised as having oval shaped capes whereas it was noted some birds had pointed tips when their capes were raised.

These differences convinced scientists to look closer at the genetic makeup of the seemingly different birds and finally separate them into two different species.

The two species are only found in the Vogelkop region of New Guinea, hence the name of the newly found species.

The population of birds has a really low number of females to males and they perform their dances to try and attract their mates.

They even prepare their dance floor by sweeping it clean with their tail feathers.

“An important step towards personalising treatment” This allowed a way to be paved to improve spotting the disease as current methods of diagnosis, such as PSA testing, have been found to be unreliable.

The timeline could also help predict how the disease evolves in individual patients, allowing treatment to be adapted to combat drug resistance.

Professor Collin Cooper, Chair of Genetics at Norwich Medical School said: "The study provides an important step towards personalising treatment for men with prostate cancer. We have identified many pathways by which this cancer develops, for which new drugs can be used to disrupt those pathways and potentially improve treatment."

Giant group of Octopi found Sylvie Tan Science Writer

Photo: Flickr, eGuide Travel

team established a timeline of genetic changes in prostate cancer.

While exploring the cool hydrothermal system at the Dorado Outcrop – a rocky area of the seafloor formed by the cooled, hardened lava of an underwater volcano.

Scientists were surprised to discover a large group of deep sea octopuses and clusters of their e g g s just 3.2 kilometres below the surface and 161 kilometres off Costa Rica T h e y are no more than the size of a dinner plate but have very large eyes.

They were the unknown species to the genus Muuscotopus – the pink octopuses.

Barbara Ransom, a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences said: “These surprising observations show us how a deep-sea animal reproduces.

Unexpected discoveries like this one can dramatically change our understanding of how the oceans work.”

It is unusual and suicidal for the octopuses to be living at such shallow depths as deep sea octopuses tend to live in the cold, deep waters where the temperature is invariant.

A t warmer

require them to take in more oxygen than the warm waters can provide.

Thus, the dense cluster of octopuses at such warm waters with relatively low oxygen suggests that the rocky Dorado Outcrop has a healthy habitat in the vicinity.

Scientists believe that the crevices of the rock and its basaltic nature has created hollow areas where the water is cool and oxygen rich, creating an ideal environment for the octopuses.

Janet Voight, co-author of the study on the octopuses said: “To my knowledge there had been no reports of octopuses at this or comparable depths off between southern California and Peru.

Never would I have anticipated such a dense cluster of these animals at 3000 meters depth, and we argue that the numbers of octopuses we see are simply the surplus population”.

This goes to show that the deep ocean is still a mysterious place to men and new discoveries like this allows us to take one step closer in discovering the wonders of the ocean.

Their eggs just 3.2 kilometres below the surface temperatures, the octopuses’ metabolism will be excited causing an increase in respiration rates that will

Photo: Pixabay

19

1st May 2018

Earth Day

Buzzing for bacteria

Daniel Peters on how the 22 April reduced plastic litter and pollution

On Sunday 22 April, tens of thousands of runners took part in the London Marathon.

Entrants faced scorching temperatures and an unforgiving sun, attempting to claim the pride and satisfaction of completing the notorious course.

Earth Day is an annual event, raising awareness and action for environmental issues across the globe.

With over a billion participants in 195 countries, it is officially the world’s largest civic observance.

The event was founded in America, 1970. The event played a key role in the introduction of the Clear Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Within twenty years the event expanded internationally and has been celebrted in Britain ever since.

This year’s Earth Day was focused on plastic pollution, an extremely potent issue for British audiences. David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II highlighted the damage caused by plastic in our oceans, and was met with a passionate public response.

Plastic pollution has become the most talked about environmental issue, as food giants abandon plastic straws and the government outlined plans to introduce a plastic

bottle deposit return scheme.

One of the highlights of this year’s event came from London’s Somerset House, where a series of free exhibits and talks helped captivate the capital.

International organisations have also used the focus to promote their existing good work on the subject. ‘Liter of Light’ uses old plastic bottles to provide light energy to some of the world’s least connected villages.

With the added attention this Earth Day brings, it aims to reach one million homes by the end of this year.

A little closer to home, UEA also celebrated Earth Day in its own way.

Utilising the resources of our campus, ‘Sustainable UEA’ organised free walks and activities showcasing the natural beauty of the green spaces around our university.

Earth Day 2018 has been and gone, yet there remains a great deal

Orla Knox McCaulay Science Writer

we students can do to help.

Some of us may wish to organise events for next year’s celebration, but for the rest of us, the Earth Day Network has released nine tips for how to live with less plastic.

They are: ‘bringing your own shopping bag, carrying a reusable water bottle, bringing your own cup, packing your lunch in reusable containers, saying no to reusable straws and cutlery, skipping plastic produce bags, eating in rather than dining out, storing leftovers in glass jars, and finally sharing these tips with your friends.’

Photo: NASA

Enzymes digest plastic bottles Photo: Ian L Hannah Brown Science Writer Much like Fleming discovering penicillin, scientists looking for an answer for the world’s plastic crisis have accidentally discovered an enzyme which can destroy plastic within a matter of days, rather than the years it takes naturally.

Investigating the structure of a bacterium on a Japanese waste dump, scientists found that with a small mutation, the bug produced an enzyme that would destroy plastic.

At first examination, the enzyme looked like one which would break down cumin, which is a

natural polymer used by plants as a protective layer. However, the scientists manipulated it to consume PET, the type of plastic used in drinking bottles.

Professor John McGeehan from the University of Portsmouth, who was on the team, said that the discovery was “a bit of a shock.”

It could have a significant impact on the global plastics problem; PET plastics can only be turned into fibres for clothing and carpets, but this enzyme could turn the plastics back into their original components.

“It should reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean,” Prof McGeehan said. McGeehan believes that, like other industrial enzymes, this enzyme could be manipulated

to work up to one thousand times faster in just a few years.

Potential future uses of the enzyme could be sprayed on the large floating islands of plastic in the ocean to help break them down.

The problem of plastic pollution has been rising in our news feeds, largely thanks to David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II. Scientists have looked at multiple ways to remove the problem of too much plastic in our oceans, from robots to ejecting the waste into space, but this enzyme could provide an entirely new way to remove the plastics which might be a far better option.

It could help with the problem of pollution over the entire planet.

With new technology paving the way for more intensive sustainable farming, like the use of monocultures and commercial forestry, a new study has revealed that honeybees are finding it harder to fight of diseases and to store food.

“Honeybees are finding it harder to fight of diseases and to store food” As our global population increases, we are find new and more landscape changing ways to ensure we can feed ourselves.

This may be good for us, but the honeybees, which are vital for natural pollination and biodiversity, are dealing with the brunt of the consequences. These new agricultural and resource strategies are affecting the diversity if the ‘microbiome’ associated with honeybees and their long-term food supply.

The study, led by the University of Lancaster at the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), included them treating and examining a set of different bacteria.

They found that the bee bread within hives close to agriculturally improved grasslands, made up of single grass varieties, and those near coniferous woodland contained lower bacterial diversity than hives near habitats with more plant variety such as broadleaf woodland, rough grasslands, and coastal landscapes. The researchers used a combination of two technologies -- Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis -- to identify the microbial communities of nearly 500 bee bread samples taken from 29 honeybee hives across North West England.

The problem is that bees need a range of bacteria to fight off diseases and help them store food, without these made available to them, the bees an be made vulnerable to a host of infections and mould.

The mould can infest the hive which would eradicate their food supply. Strangely, the researchers also discovered that some of the bacteria present within bee bread, such as Bifidobacterium and lactobacilli, are the same 'good bacteria' as found in some brands of bioactive yoghurts.

The lead author of ‘Bacterial communities associated with honeybee food stores are correlated with land use’ stated that “it is traditionally thought that monocultures, such as grazing land and timber forests, were bad for pollinators due to a lack of food continuance through the year.

However, our study suggests land use change may also be having an indirect detrimental effect on the microbiota of bee bread”.

Because these microbiome bacterial strains are not being picked up by bees because of vast landscape changes, we are not only harming bees, we are harming ourselves. In urban areas, bees are especially at risk because there is a lower diversity of microbiome.

“We are not only harming bees, we are harming ourselves” There are a few actions which you can do at home, especially if you are an avid gardener or horticulturist. Those trying to help at home may wish to consider that non-native species may not be as good for bees as native UK plants.

Dr Donkersley said: "Decreased bacterial diversity in bee breads near urban environments suggests that the increased range of nonnative plants in gardens could be impacting bees' ability to get diverse microbiota.Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Bob Peterson

1st May 2018

Travel

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Dealing with racism while travelling Travel editor Beverly Devakishen on travelling as a person of colour My Chinese Singaporean friend and I recently travelled to the south of France, which is an absolutely stunning region. It’s sunny, peaceful and has lovely beaches and architecture.

The only thing that ruined it for us was the attitudes of the people around us towards our presence.

Being Asian, we were subject to racism wherever we travelled.

The rude stares, the unwarranted ‘ni hao!’ from several random locals, the queue cutting (people knew how to queue until they realised they’d have to stand behind a foreign POC) – a local French person even sneered "are you from China?" at us and then walk away.

I noticed other non-white people getting similar treatment, even if the way they were discriminated against was a bit different.

If you’re a Person of Colour travelling in the West, especially in certain parts of Europe where there aren’t many immigrants, then chances are you will experience racism at some point on your trip.

More often than not, these experiences aren’t explicitly lifethreatening. However, sometimes, we are put in situations that feel dangerous, or that are uncomfortable enough for us to feel threatened. Being a traveller makes POCs doubly as vulnerable as we would’ve been back home. You’re in a new place, trying to get around without getting lost, unaware of the

way this foreign city works, and worrying about the threat of hate crimes on top of all of that isn’t fun at all.

My friend and I got lost and had to walk down an alleyway in France where a group of French guys had

gathered, and they were literally glaring at us.

We were terrified, so when all we got was a ‘ni hao’ and a few sniggers thrown at us, we were actually relieved. How sad is that?

We shouldn’t have to be grateful

that we were not physically harmed in the name of racism.

Dealing with racist locals while you travel can be tough. After all, you’re supposed to be there on a holiday, not feeling frustrated at people’s ignorance and lack of

decency. At first, I was downplaying my feelings of anger towards these racist actions and comments because I did not want to ruin the trip for myself.

But then I realised that I hadn’t ruined the trip — these ignorant locals had. That realisation did help me to release a bit of the pent-up frustration that would build up each day as we walked around and received sneers and glares.

A holiday can be fun even if you admit to yourself that your destination isn’t the perfect place to be.

While all I received were annoying remarks and mean looks, my Sudanese colleague, who is also a Muslim, had to ask me if it was safe for his family to travel to the south of France.

When I asked him what he meant, he said that he was afraid of the police being suspicious of him on the basis of his race and his religion. So it should be said that every community of non-white people experiences racism when they travel in a white country to a different degree.

The most important thing to acknowledge is that racism should not be “part and parcel” of travelling in the West.

Racism should not be a default, even if we are experiencing it in places that are not our home.

Photo credit: gnokii, Wikimedia Commons

Amy Newberry on how to survive long-haul flights

Photo: CC0 Public Domain, pxhere

Frankly speaking, long-haul flights are abominable.

Absolutely terrible.

It’s strange because I can happily sit and do nothing for ten hours straight at home.

But then again, when I'm home, I’m in the comfort on my own room with unlimited food and bathroom breaks.

The worst thing is trying to sleep.

When I was younger, I use to sleep on the floor between my parent’s legs - much to the cabin crews’ exasperation.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, I can no longer do that, so I’m reduced to sleeping with my neck in awkward positions which results in awful spinal aches.

Of course, I have very little right to complain as my dad works as a pilot which means special treats in the form of cheaper tickets in business

class.

But if you are plagued by back problems or are extremely tall (I’m the former, definitely not the latter), long-haul flights in economy class are not fun.

"The amount of people I've seen mistreat the staff is appalling" Although, I do think part of the discomfort is due to mentality - you think you’re going to have a bad time so you do to some extent. However, there are tips and methods you can employ to lessen the discomfort during long-haul flights.

First, wear loose and light clothing. Bring layers if you have to but wearing thin layers is the key.

Why? Because it can get very stuffy on the airplane, especially if you’re all packed like sardines. And no one wants to sit next to someone who’s sweating profusely.

Secondly, use the objects around you. What I always do during longhaul flights in economy class, which doesn’t have footrests is use the storing pouch stuck on the seat in front of me.

I rest my legs on the opening ledge which for some reason, helps me to sleep better. You could also use your fold-down tray table as something to lay your head on as it can be difficult to place your head in a comfortable position when sleeping.

Thirdly, stay hydrated. You will wake up with a dry throat without a doubt. Get a bottle of water before you go to sleep.

Airlines may also provide small tubes of moisturiser in spongebags or the bathroom - take advantage of them. If not, you are permitted to bring liquids under 100ml in your hand-luggage.

Fourthly, bring wet wipes and makeup removers as a substitute for a shower.

Often I feel gross during a flight and wish I could have a shower, but a quick wipe down suffices. Also, I’m surprised by the amount of people that don’t bring a change of

clothes. Although it’s extra to carry, it’s worth it.

And finally, treat the cabin crew with respect and kindness. This isn’t limited to long-haul flights but for all fliers in any class. The amount of people I’ve seen mistreat the staff is appalling.

For some reason, people think they can treat the crew like servants and honestly, it’s so frustrating. You don’t have to act like you’re visiting the Queen but a simple smile and ‘thank you’ will go miles.

"Bring layers if you have to but wearing thin layers is the key" And that’s it from me. The summer holidays aren’t that far away so I hope these tips will come into use. Have a great summer and happy flying!

Photo credit: CC0 Public Domain, pxhere

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1st May 2018

Visiting National Trust sites Beth Reeves Travel Writer Sometimes all you need to get you out of that uni workload slump is to get up and get outside. A stretch of the legs and some fresh air can be the best remedy to exam season stress. So, when I was recently gifted a membership to the National Trust, I realised that I’d been given a Photo: Kim Jong, Pixabay free pass to just that, and some beautiful scenery to accompany it.

Now, that might seem like an odd gift to give someone but give me two minutes.

For a young person (18-25) an annual membership is only £34.50, which is an absolute bargain if you look at everything you get access to! The National Trust has

over 500 sites up and down the country to which you will have free entry and free parking. Think of it as a bucket list of places to visit in your local area.

Being from Cornwall, I’ve explored many of these places before, they make great days out if you’re visiting in the

s u m m e r.

Tr e l i s s i c k gardens (near Truro) is one of my favourite spots, and a place I have

been visiting since I was young. It’s a great mix, with countryside for a walk, the manor house to explore and even a hidden beach t o

have a rest on.

It makes for beautiful views and the best day out.

Of course, Cornwall is known for its beaches and a majority of them are National Trust. Godrevy is not one to miss, with its iconic lighthouse and lookout point over

a cove covered in seals, it doesn’t disappoint. So if you’re up for a walk along the Cornish coast then this is the place for you!

If you’re a Poldark fan, you’ll know Cornwall is littered with heritage, from smugglers' coves to tin mines, and you can visit the exact o n e featured

in this hit TV show. Botallack (near St Just) is the backdrop for many

scenes, so you can put yourself right in the shoes of the actors and the miners!

The National Trust introduces you to historical homes, castles and forts; tranquil gardens, woodland, coasts and beaches; as well as heritage sites and monuments. Each site has its own story and even more importantly by putting your money towards a membership, you’re ultimately putting your money towards helping to preserve these places. With spring upon us and summer not too far off, it’s the perfect time to make the most of being outdoors. Flowers will be blooming and the sun will (hopefully) be shining!

What a better way to have a break from uni deadlines , and even more importantly, a beautiful place to relax once they’re all over?

So grab a pasty, put on your walking shoes and explore a bit of Cornwall you might not have seen before!

Photos: Gareth James, Geograph, Nilfanion, Wikimedia Commons, and Derek Voller, Geograph

Porto, a Portugese paradise Photo: Jean Beaufort, Public Domain Pictures Tatiana Greciuk Travel Writer This spring has called for Portugal.

Who would mind catching some sun, especially when spring knocks at the door? So here we are, on our way to Porto.

“Going to Portugal and not seeing the ocean is the biggest mistake you can make” Colourful houses, tiny squares, cosy cafes – that is what this historic

city is hiding in its narrow streets.

It is located on the northern bank of the Douro River, which makes it a perfect location for great view lovers.

There is a specific romantic vibe in spectacular view from the Dom Luis I Bridge, which was projected by famous Gustave Eiffel, who definitely had a thing for creating the world’s best sights.

What surprises the most is the mixture of ancient houses, sometimes completely ruined, fired or abandoned all around the city.

Various wooden doors of different shades and numerous balconettes with potted plants seem to come alive from paintings.

It is very common to hang out washed clothes outside the window, which gives the city its own charm.

While walking around, it is very likely you'll get tired, as the terrain is very hilly. So, it is always a good idea to stop at a local café, grab a cup of coffee with a national Portuguese dessert – Pastel de Nata - and continue exploring…

“Colourful houses, tiny square, cosy cafes - that is what this historic city is hiding in its narrow streets” Porto is perfect for a long weekend destination in May, when the weather gets warm enough

to live in houses not supplied for heating. Besides, March is too rainy and windy in Porto, so do not expect to be sun-kissed.

The next destination is the capital, beautiful Lisbon. Many people choose Porto, but my vote goes to this one.

A bigger city with plenty of places to see, many museums to visit, various events happening around, street musicians and painters creating pieces of art, and yellow trams in every corner.

Meeting sunrises and sunsets on the Commerce Square gives you all the space to enjoy the Tagus river sitting on the stairs right by the water.

For the best city view point, there are two spots located in an area called Bairro Alto, where you can also find local restaurants,

food markets and little boutiques.

Lisbon cannot be compared with other capitals, as it is cosy, and has absolutely no big-city rush.

Though, if you are young, wild and free, there are definitely things to do. Pub crawls every night followed by clubbing until sunrise.

Going to Portugal and not seeing the ocean is the biggest mistake you can make. Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking at the powerful nature. Boundless ocean. Closing your eyes and just listening.

There are things that cannot be explained with words. There are things that you cannot capture on a picture.

These places take all your concerns away. After seeing them you just come back being a different person.

vote now in elections for: three part time officer roles development and oversight boards that lead the LCR and bar(su), shop(su) and UNIO, and advice(su) and housing

vote at: uea.vote until fri 4th may

sub-committees that set the direction of our welfare, liberation and ethical campaigning your new course reps club and society positions

Sport

23

1st May 2018

Khan gives a knockout performance Beth Papworth Sport Reporter Amir Khan made a triumphant return to the ring by conquering Phil Lo Greco by a knockout inside 39 seconds at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. The famous boxer has not fought for nearly two years, since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas in May 2016.

“It’s been two years, but I have not lost anything” He made up for lost time by beating the Canadian Lo Greco

down twice in the early stages of the fight. Inside the opening 30 seconds, Khan sent his opponent to the canvas with a swift one-two combination.

Khan had signed this match as part of a three-fight deal with Eddie Hearn and his promoter, who were aware that he could not afford a fifth defeat. Le Greco appeared utterly surprised

by Khan’s sheer speed from the beginning. During the fight, Le Greco clambered to his feet, but stumbled into a flurry of punches from Khan, and referee Victor Loughlin waved the fight off as he wilted by the ropes.

Khan first came to prominence when he won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2004 Olympics, becoming Britain’s

Flickr, Boxing AIBA

youngest b o x i n g O l y m p i c medallist at 17. He won the WBA

light-welterweight title in 2009 and the IBF title in 2011. His professional record is 34 wins and four losses.

After the fight, Khan told The Guardian: “I’ve been out of the fight for two years. I’ve never taken a day off the gym. I’ve had a hand operation and the hand felt good in the fight.”

Khan also added: “People just wanted to see me come back and I wanted to prove a point and come back. I’m two years out of the ring but I’m back with a big bang.”

Khan wishes to become a world champion again and fight the top guys in the welterweight division. Weighing approximately 147lb, he gained three pounds for his fight due to not being in the ring for two years. After winning against Le Greco in the ring, Khan celebrated wildly, after nearly five years away

from a British ring. Khan’s team are keen for him to have more practise and take on another fight before facing Kell Brook or any of the other welterweight world champions.

“People just wanted to see me come back” Khan told the Daily Telegraph, “I caught Le Greco early and speed was causing him big problems.

It’s been two years but I have not lost anything. The hunger is still there, my body just needed that break.” The arena erupted at Khan’s triumph, as did the needle between arch rival, Kell Brook, a rivalry that has bubbled darkly for several years.

Should cheaters be allowed back in the ring?

Patrick Wiseman Sport Writer

Wherever there is competition people will try to get a “leg up” on their opponent. Good sportsmanship has an inherent quality of honesty, integrity, fair competition, and a level playing field.

However, the nature and integrity of sport is destroyed when someone cheats or has an unfair advantage. For the glory to be deserved, and the accolades to be applauded, men and women need to compete according to the rules of the game.

It’s fine to be competitive, but that competitive zeal that says “win at all costs,” or “the end justifies the means” drives a fierce competitor to bend, break, or in some cases, shatter the rules to be crowned the champion. Annoyingly, this is not a minority issue, cheating is rife across all sports.

Most recently, the Australian cricket team were caught out balltampering for which they were punished heavily – several of those guilty were served long-term bans from the sport. However, that didn’t go far enough. The punishment was

not heavy enough. They should have been banned for life, all of them, without any chance of retraction.

They may be the most recent, but they are not the only ones.

Renowned drugs cheat Justin Gatlin was somehow allowed back into athletics, which needless to say did not go down well with athletics fans; and rightly so.

However, he was allowed back and subsequently beat Usain Bolt – an honest, professional athlete – to the gold medal, when he really shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“Drug cheats are the worst of all and should be punished as such” Drug cheats are the worst of all, and should be punished as such; stripped of all their medals, and shamed for the worthless cheat that they are. Such was the case deservedly so with Lance

Armstrong, serial doper and Tour de France cheat. The cycling governing body have the right idea, and it would do well for the other sports to emulate their zero-tolerance stance on cheating.

In football, cheating is rife, from diving to handballs to even biting (looking at you, Suarez) – such is the case with the disgusting acts that they need to be punished severely – every instance of cheating should always warrant a minimum five game ban and a fine of a month’s wages for both player and manager; let’s see how quickly it stops then.

Some may claim it’s draconian but to be honest, it’s what the sport needs, and frankly, if draconian measures are what it takes to bring honesty and integrity back to the beautiful game then so be it.

If we are to truly eliminate cheating from sports, then all cheating, no matter how it is done, whether by diving or doping, must be met with an authoritarian stance.

No one likes cheats anyway, and to be honest if any sportsperson cheats they should get no sympathy from any spectator or supporter of any side, and they deserve everything that comes to them, regardless of how harsh some may feel the punishment to be.

Optiknv, Wikimedia

Canary corner: what’s up at Carrow Road?

In the midst of Man City being crowned Premier League champions, Mo Salah cementing his other worldly season with the PFA player of the year award and two enthralling FA Cup semi-finals, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the season is still going on for Norwich. Another loss and another draw categorically ended any chance of Norwich achieving anything from this season, so while you’d be forgiven for thinking the season has ended at Norwich, I think the players will be forgiven for wishing it was.

Typical of the entire season, the Canaries looked set to have earned themselves a hard fought point when promotion contenders, Cardiff crossed the country for a trip to Carrow Road. With Wolves ending Cardiff’s chances at the title, Cardiff seemed in a bit of a slump, picking up a meagre one point from their last three games before their trip to Norwich.

This slump looked destined to continue, with 85 minutes passed the result was 0-0, however a poorly directed save by Norwich’s Angus Gunn fell straight into the path of Cardiff’s Zohore for him to calmly convert.

Norwich’s misery was confirmed when Hoilett fired home in injury time, a well-deserved goal considering his performance throughout the game.

Farke’s side did come close throughout the game, particularly in the first half when their brightest star of the game, Josh Murphy, saw his shot fall wide of the target.

There was no shortage of

attacking football at Carrow Road, a total 17 shots from an impressive 2/3rds of possession will leave Norwich feeling inevitably hard done by.

Norwich haven’t exactly been the pinnacle of bouncing back from a bad string of results this season, often going on long runs without a win, and this was no different when they made the journey up north to Preston for a 0-0 draw.

Preston enjoyed by far the better of the chances with Gallagher’s freekick striking the crossbar in the first half and Harrop coming close in the second. Clear cut chances were few and far between, however, with Preston only managing two shots on target in the whole 90 minutes- two more than the Canaries.

After the game, Farke praised the tenacity of the players at such a late point in the season- “The commitment is always there but the attitude to keep a clean sheet was there. In general, we gave everything, to have this attitude at this part of the season is outstanding.”

All in all it’s been a rough few months in Canary Corner. With one game to go, the eyes of Norwich supporters will be looking to the transfer window. Rumours are looking quiet about who Farke will bring in, but with Maddison receiving a well earned spot in the Championship Team of the Year after bagging 14 goals in his first season at Carrow Road, Norwich’s real battle will be keeping him happy in where he is.

Jack Ashton

ot A y s

24

1st May 2018

Sport

“You bet, they die”: horse-racing horrors

Wikimedia Commons, Paul Jack Ashton Sport Reporter

Concrete goes to print and in front of your eyes once every two weeks.

In between you reading our last edition and you reading this at the absolute earliest opportunity then six horses would have died as a result of horse racing. In the last ten years, this works out at 1500.

Horse riding is dangerous as it is, the constant compressing of the horse’s spine wears away the cartilage in between the bones,

which, in some cases, results in ‘Kissing Spine Syndrome’ where the individual vertebrae in the spines rub against each other and corrode, causing immense pain and the eventual euthanising of the horse.

This is exacerbated even further when you consider horses that are being raced, not only do they face threat from this, they are constantly being hurt and killed on race courses.

Cheltenham race course holds the highest death toll of 12 in 2017 alone.

According to the RSPCA, the horses endure “pain and suffering”

from whipping - not that the RSPCA is a high bar for animal welfare- and you can frequently see pictures of horses breaking their legs in half

leave behind.

He is perhaps best known managing “The Invincibles” and leading Arsenal to become the only ever Premier League team to go a whole season undefeated in 2003-04, the victory being one of three titles and seven FA Cups, which Wenger won throughout his reign.

of broccoli to his team’s meal plans may not seem like the most revolutionary decisions or have been particularly popular with his players, Wenger has been credited by many as having changed the way footballers approach the game.

Gone were the days of fish and chips for dinner and five pints the night before a match and in was a stricter, European take on not just football. Wenger also brought with him an exciting, attacking brand of possession football, which was adored by many and has been attempted to recreate countless times.

On top of this, Wenger has become well-known for his thrifty spending in the transfer market, with impressive signings like Patrice Vieira costing him a measly £ 3.5 million. What’s more, Wenger’s longer term vision also meant he had faith in the youth, evident by

“The horses endure pain and suffering from whipping” as a result of racing, pictures which we’ll spare you from here.

Ethical horse racing falls in line with those myths about animal welfare which you hear peddled constantly- “the horses love it,” (they die), “free range hens are happy (they have their beaks chopped off and their children taken away,” “hunts don’t kill animals anymore, (foxes and other animals still die regularly on trail hunts),” and “the animals I eat were killed humanely, (they were killed, it isn’t humane).”

The reason why this is important is that the 16-24 demographic has experienced the biggest increase in betting between 2016-2017.

15% of our demographic now

bet on something (up from 9.7%, meaning we’re going to be the new target of an emerging market force.

So bet, I’ll be betting on each of the Champions League games, the FA Cup final, and I’m still hoping my bet on Kamala Harris to win the 2020 Presidential election comes through for a grand total of £6.88 ($$$$$$$), but don’t bet on horse racing. Don’t finance the industries that cause so much cruelty when you don’t need to.

The racing industry relies on your money to survive, therefore, if you bet, it’s your money that’s ensuring the horses do not.

the likes of Jack Wilshere and more recently, Hector Bellerin coming through the academy.

the end of the season. I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years”.

His departure leaves the question open as to who his successor will be. Many names have been thrown into the hat to replace Wenger, former Arsenal players Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira, as well as former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, to name a few.

In terms of this season, Wenger will be determined to end on a high and with little to nothing left to play for in the Premier League, Arsenal and their departing manager will be putting all their eggs into their Europa League basket.

They’ll face a tough task though, with a semi-final match up against Diego Simeone’s Athletico Madrid standing in their way of European glory and a route through to the Champions League.

Arsenal say au revoir Arsene Wegner Daniel Cook Sport Editor If you hear Arsenal Football Club mentioned, I’d hazard a guess that the next thing you’d think would be Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman, now 68 years old, has become synonymous with both Arsenal and the Premier League but announced last week that this will be his last year at the helm.

In a season where Frank de Boer was afforded just 450 minutes of game time as manager of Crystal Palace, it is hard to underestimate the significance of Arsene Wenger’s nearly 22 years at Arsenal. While Wenger has been subject of much criticism in recent memory, with his side currently sat in sixth position and without a point away from home in 2018, there is no denying the legacy that the manager will

“There is no denying the legacy that the manager will leave behind” It is not only Wenger’s longevity and trophy collection which has won him praise, but also his innovative take to football. While the addition

“His departure leaves the question open as to who his successor will be”

It is with a heavy heart that Wenger departs from the Emirates, having devoted such a large proportion of not only his career, but his life to the club. He told the Arsenal website “After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at