Concrete 386

The official student newspaper of the University of East Anglia | Established 1992 | Issue 386 | 22nd March 2022

Interview: Ukrainian UEA student Oleksii Burov

pg. 7

Concrete's 2022 Sex Survey

Norwich: the Queer capital of the East

pgs. 12-13

pg. 20

UEA's Evening Language Programme returns in April Rachel Keane Senior News Writer

Run by the PPL school, they believe learning a new language will open up a “whole new world…expand your worldview as well as keep your mind active”.

in the original language”, as well as helping to make connections with people from different countries across campus and the wider community.

for ten weeks and is taught to the It is a great opportunity to make highest standard by experienced and friends, increase career prospects, friendly tutors. and have some fun!

They offer beginner courses, as well After being paused during the worst as more advanced courses for those of the Covid-19 pandemic, UEA’s They add: “learning a language will The courses cost £180 for what is who have studied the language evening language programme is allow you to enjoy a film or a book usually a two-hour class per week, before. back in action.

The first set of courses this year will run from the week commencing April 25th and it is open to students, staff, and members of the public.

There are a wide variety of languages on offer, in an attempt to reflect the diversity of the university.

This term, you can learn: Arabic, British Sign Language, Business English, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. It is also hoped more languages and levels will be added in the future.

In the ten-weeks of face-toface learning, you can expect an introduction to basic grammar, vocabulary and phrases, alongside an emphasis on developing listening and speaking skills.

Lyndsey Lubach, Languages Coordinator, and Akiko Tomatsuri, Head of Language and Communication Studies at PPL and Associate Professor in Japanese Language and Translation, have said: “In studying each language, you will also gain insights into the society and culture where the language is used, as we believe it’s important not just to learn the language but embrace the culture too”.

More information on specific course dates, times, and classes can be found at: https://uealanguageprogramme. org/evening-classes.

Editorial

22nd March 2022

Does happiness mean health?

Sam Gordon Webb Deputy Editor

Happiness stems healthiness. Or does it…

Photo: Pxhere

How can this be our second-tolast issue?

Dolly Carter Editor-in-Chief

In the moments before writing this editorial, I submitted Concrete’s last submission for the Student Publication Association’s National Awards. It feels very strange to be summing up our achievements across the year and sorting this information into categories in order to compete with student newspapers across the country. I’ve spent many a late night this week reflecting on our successes and how we’ve grown as a publication. As always, I am immensely proud of the Concrete team, their persistence, their dedication, and, perhaps most importantly, their teamwork. It takes

real maturity to appreciate the value of pulling together for the good of the group, a quality our team have showcased deftly.

Due to the nature of our publication schedule, the shortlists for the SPA National Awards will be announced on Monday night, as the pages of Concrete and Venue are rolling off the printing press. I have my fingers firmly crossed for our writers who have submitted their individual articles, our Sport and Science sections who have submitted for their relevant categories, and for the success of our wonderful publication as a whole.

It’s only just dawning on me that, when this issue has been published, distributed across campus, and sent to our alumni members, we’ll only

have one more issue left! The three publications of this semester have simply flown by. The hours and hours I spent on our 30th birthday issue seem an age away and our International Women's Day issue seemed to speed past!

Your last chance to get involved with Concrete this year will be with our final issue which is being published at the beginning of May. I would strongly recommend that anyone reading this take the leap and write that article they've been hesitant about. Who knows? Writing for Concrete could end up changing your life as much as it has changed mine.

Let's talk about sex Freyja Elwood Deputy Editor

I am delighted to share the Concrete Sex Survey 2022 with you all this issue.

year but got a massively different answer. 68.2% said yes, 31.8% said no.

In 2014, Concrete asked: “How many sexual partners have you had?”

3% of people said they’d had 21+ partners, whilst 7% had not had sex.

The sex survey offers a rare insight and glimpse into the inner workings and psyche of UEA, this year proves no different and provides an interesting set of statistics in comparison to previous years:

In 2022, 8.8% of people have had 21+ partners, whilst 5.2% had not had sex. In 2020, Concrete asked:”Do you own a sex toy?” 42% said they did. This year we asked the same question and 60.9% confirmed that they did.

In the 2005 sex survey when Concrete asked: “Have you been tempted by a member of the same sex?” 29% said yes, 71% said no.

We’ve asked the same question this

From the statistical comparisons, we’ve become more sex-positive, liberated, and confident. I can only hope this continues.

However, this year when we asked: “What was your worst sexual experience?” 22 responses replied with being r*ped. To those 22 people, thank you for having the strength to share your experience. Your sheer existence today is a testament to yourself. I can only hope and pray that you find safety, comfort, and friendship from now on.

Whatever your definition, preferences, or frequency of undertaking, “sex” is a vital part of cultures, arts, and life itself.

Its inevitability in our lives, in combination with its historical private nature, provides for exceptional conversations and truths. Continuing with Concrete’s motto of “striving for the truth,” I hope you enjoy ours.

The University of East Anglia’s Official Student Newspaper since 1992 Tuesday 22nd March 2022 Issue 386 Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ 01603 593466 www.concrete-online.co.uk

from

In the last few months, I feel more inclined to believe that true health often feels gutwrenchingly awful. The journey of reaching your health goals is a marathon, not a sprint, a bumpy path of many ascents and descents, curves and straight lines, peculiar turns and a sense of never-ending struggle.

After a seminar on Friday, I made the commute from the Julian Study Centre to the Arts Building for a 6PM drama rehearsal for the Drama and Musical Theatre Society’s production of the Musical, Just So. My excitement in directing my first musical has been met by an equal level of apprehension.

After all, the captain of the ship must also sink with the ship.

Fortunately, I was supported by a wonderful team of exceptional creatives, with a broad range of skills and areas of expertise to lend support throughout. And it is the spirit of comradery, of collaboration and togetherness – that builds fosters our best health. There are terrible moments of fear, moments of niggling grief, but the pain is subsided by the feeling of being a part of a wider team.

Moving towards Concrete’s Sex Survey, it gives me great joy to see the results of Concrete’s wider team. The results have challenged the Editorial team, and have at times made for desperate reading. But the purpose of a journalist is to find the answers, however challenging they might be. Today, we celebrate teamwork, led brilliantly by our Deputy Editor.

Freyja Elwood, but supported by every single member of the wider publication.

This is our legacy.

Editor-in-Chief Dolly Carter concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

Deputy Editors Sam Gordon Webb & Freyja Elwood

News Una Jones Senior Writer: Rachel Keane Global Aislinn Wright Senior Writer: Hamish Davis Features Maja Anushka Senior Writer: Lily Boag Home of the Wonderful Libby Hargreaves Comment Lauren Bramwell Science Mariam Jallow Senior Writer: George Barsted Travel & Lifestyle Tristan Pollitt Sport Oscar Ress Senior Writer: Metin Yilmaz

Breaking News Emily Kelly UK Correspondent: Addie Cannell International Correspondent: Melody Chan

Online Editors Matthew Stothard, Ray Khawaja & Rianna Jones Copy Editors Sophie Colley, Phoebe Lucas & Julia Reynolds Social Media Manager Badriya Abdullah Lead Photographer Samuel Baxter

Front page photo: LSI Architects Cut-outs: Left - Oleksii Burov Centre - Pixabay Right - Wikimedia Commons

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, Dolly Carter. 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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concrete-online.co.uk/news/ | @ConcreteUEA

UEA students gather in solidarity to protest “Putin’s evil war” Jamie Bryson News Writer

On March 4th students from across the university gathered together to stand in solidarity with UEA’s Ukrainian and Russian students and staff, in protest against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The 2-hour event - held between 4PM and 6PM in The Square - was hosted by the Russian Speaking Society (RSS) and featured speakers from both nations who shared their views, experiences, concerns and advice with attendees.

Commencing with a 2-minute silence in memory of all those who have so far lost their lives in the conflict, and in recognition of all who are enduring suffering - a poignant yet peaceful atmosphere descended in a rare scene of stillness at UEA’s central hub.

All members who spoke emphasised how the student population must stand in solidarity with both Ukrainian and Russian nationals - in recognition that “this is Putin’s evil war not that of the overwhelming majority of innocent Russian peoples”.

As the floor was opened up to audience members, two Polish students described how interlinked both country’s history and wider societies had become, and highlighted how reports of racist opposition to the Ukrainian refugees entering their country represented a “fractional minority” of their country, and was being overemphasised by Western media, stating, “The Polish people are overwhelmingly welcoming the war-torn people of Ukraine into the homes, schools and hospitals in solidarity - with the most basic human decency and compassion that we all share in our hearts. Our people understand what they are going through and we stand united with them”.

Going into the event’s final hour, hosts began handing out pens and paper for participants to write messages of support and solidarity to the Ukrainian people - a collection of which can be seen on the RSS’s social media accounts.

Closing statements from RSS members brought the event to a gradual close, with many friendship groups remaining in the Square to talk further about their thoughts and feelings of what is becoming an ever more global issue.

In reflection, the Russian Speaking Society have released a joint statement following the event; “It has been a real honour to be able to host this protest in The Square. The amount of people who showed up made us all feel extremely grateful and supported - and every single message that was written for the Ukrainian people was incredibly inspiring and uplifting.

We would like to emphasise the necessity of international support and solidarity in continuation of the spread of awareness; any kind of active participation is highly valued and appreciated. We thank you all for your support at this very difficult time”.

"We would like to emphasise the necessity of international support and solidarity"

“It’s like they assume UEA faces complaints circumstances and the “I initially submitted a request to delay my assessment submission following a Una Jones period of depression. I had attempted News Editor suicide on campus, and campus staff were aware as a report was filed by In recent weeks, the university has made security. a number of statements relating to the process and evidence required for “I submitted my request on the submitting an extenuating circumstances 21st of December and was rejected request. the next day. I emailed back the same day on the 22nd asking to This has mainly been in relation to the complete the coursework during handling of student bereavements summer assessments and did not receive and how this has affected their studies. a response until 6th Jan, at which point I The process has garnered a number was told that my grade would be capped of complaints. Other students have at 40%. “To have to wait this long while also brought to light the process for also struggling with my mental health, submitting extenuating circumstances attending wellbeing appointments, evidence in relation to intercalation of and being unsure of my future at the studies for personal reasons. university left me at a loss.”

One such student, who will remain anonymous, has recently withdrawn from studies, with the intention to return in the coming academic year. Before this, however, they had submitted an extension request supported by evidence to receive a longer amount of time to complete the assessment.

The student has also detailed a lack of support from their academic advisor, who had been copied into emails regarding the student’s falling attendance, and details of their request to intercalate, with evidence from student support. Throughout the process, the student was not contacted by their advisor with any support or well wishes.

the worst in us”: about extenuating intercalation process

“When I do return to the university in September, I’m also supposed to have the same academic advisor, despite the fact they knew all of this and never contacted me once.”

“[my academic advisor] never contacted me once”

Photo: Dolly Carter

from future maintenance loans. I’m now unsure if I can even finance my final year at UEA.” This raises questions about the inflexibility of which evidence can be provided. As the student’s mental health history had been made known to the university prior to the events that transpired, then the amount of evidence needed to support a request of this nature may have increased the length of the process.

Across both extenuating circumstances requests, the student had to undertake an appointment with student support who submitted evidence from their sessions. LTS had also been provided with evidence from the NHS wellbeing service with details of a psychological evaluation and the student's mental health status. The student has told Concrete: “I think in situations like this where the university already are aware, submitting more evidence is unnecessary considering the amount of contact I had with them already.”

Looking back, had I received a faster and more detailed response regarding my options in December about the initial assessment, I may have known whether or not to intercalate sooner. Eventually, the beginning of a new term had started and I received a student finance payment.

Since intercalating, I’ve received letters saying I have been overpaid thousands of pounds and if I don’t pay it back then it will have to be deducted “It’s like they assume the worst in us.

This didn’t happen when I told my job and requested time off to work on my mental health. I was granted time off immediately without having to prove how sick I was.”

“It's like they assume the worst in us”

Offering comment, a UEA Spokesperson said: “The University regularly reviews its extenuating circumstances regulations, and we work closely with uea(su) during these reviews to ensure students’ feedback is heard. The next review will take place during the next academic year and we will again be working with uea(su) to ensure we consider student views.”

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Photo: Dolly Carter

Hundreds attend Norwich City Hall protest against war in Ukraine 72-year-old mother is hiding in a basement in an area of Russian occupation. She is without electricity and food. My daughter is a Hundreds of Norwich residents 22-year-old student, she is also there. attended a protest against the My brother is in Kyiv which is being war in Ukraine outside City Hall on bombed heavily.”

Sunday 27th February.

Dolly Carter Editor in Chief

After Russia launched a invasion of Ukraine on 24th many people living in are fearing for the welfare friends and family.

full-scale February, Norwich of their

Concrete spoke to Natalia organised the Norwich protest.

who

She said: “I’m Ukrainian. I live here in Norwich, but most of my family are in Ukraine. My

"My brother is in Kyiv which is being bombed heavily"

In response to being asked what impact she hopes to make by holding the protest, Natalia said: “One of the worst things is that when you’re here [in Norwich] you’re safe and you can see the sun shining, but I’m thinking of my family who are being bombed and could be attacked at any moment. You feel useless, you want to find a way to help.”

As for a final, lasting message she wants people to take away from the protest, she said: “This protest is my way to tell the world that we’re against the war, we’re against Russian aggression. Ukraine is a peaceful nation and we don’t deserve to have this horror in our lives. I want to tell the world that we

need help stop Putin.”

to

stop

this

war,

to and blue flag their nation.

Chants of “Norwich stands with Ukraine”, “stop Putin”, “stop the war”, and “Putin go home” were heard throughout the protest.

One woman also moved throughout the crowd distributing heart-shaped biscuits decorated with the Ukrainian flag.

One young girl held a sign which read: “I am five years old. I know the difference between good and bad. Putin is 69 and he is a very bad man.”

Several members of the crowd sang the Ukrainian national anthem while waving the familiar yellow

which

represents

Emotions are high as a number those in attendance are worried the safety of their loved ones Ukraine, many of whom are fearing their lives.

of for in for

"Stop Putin... stop the war... Putin go home"

Russian research hindered as UK sanctions clamp down on universities Joseph Howard

The potential cut-off for Russian universities and academics to be able to access international research journals and work alongside foreign institutions British universities are facing a potential in research projects appears to be ban on collaborating with Russian another step in the West’s efforts to deter institutions over academic research.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

News Writer

This comes as the government seeks to distance itself from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Many universities in the UK rely on working with Russian academics and scientists for research, mostly to do with climate science.

The sanctions from the Western hemisphere grow tighter around the Russian economy with international banks, businesses, and embassies halting operations en masse.

"another step in the West's efforts to deter Putin's invasion of Ukraine"

The pre-existing restrictions on sending funds to research projects from abroad and the prohibition of receiving vital electronics, telecommunications, and aerospace equipment has already affected the operations of many universities across Russia, but the intentions from mainly the UK and US to halt research collaboration further could worsen the situation.

The opportunities for academic researchers in Russia have already been drastically damaged by the war and the sanctions.

A Russian St Petersburg so disgusted invitation

scientist working in recently tweeted, “I’m with rejection letters, cancellations, grant

withdrawals against Russian scholars from Western academics who fight Putinism by attacking those who have suffered from it for decades.”

big blow for climate science.”

The situation is becoming dire for Russian academics, having been caught in the crossfire of international sanctions designed to cripple Another Russian climate scientist the economy of their own country based in a British Russell Group over a conflict they may not agree University, commented under with. anonymity expressing his objection to the invasion and exclaimed that, The intentions from the UK and other “The majority of academics in Russia Western countries are now looking are not fans of the current regime, to increase measures of countering and of course sanctions will strike right Russian aggression in Ukraine with at them.” more economic blockades to cripple development in the region.

He also remarked his disappointment in the closure of academic discourse As such, the position worsens as by saying, “Russia is such a huge Putin’s ambitions take Russia further territory and we will lose so much to the brink of financial empirical data. This will be a really collapse.

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Government amendments to student loans could contribute to increasing inequality Rachel Keane Senior News Writer

The government may block students who fail to achieve certain grades in their GCSEs and A-levels from accessing student finance.

This potential new legislation is likely to affect lower-income families the hardest and contribute to growing inequality across the UK. A key concern raised about this new requirement is that whilst it prevents those who are both from less affluent families and who have not been so successful academically from going to university, it continues to allow those who may have got the same grades or lower [changed from worse] to attend, as long as their family can afford the £9,250 a year tuition fees.

Therefore, this amendment is being seen by many as an attempt to create

a divide between those who would be 4 in GCSE English and Maths, but this able to access higher education through falls to 52% among disadvantaged wealth against lower-income families. households. Students finding out at age 16 of a missed opportunity to This adds to an existing problem in our further education at university may be society in which disadvantaged students discouraged from hard work at school often do achieve less academically. or from pursuing future interests.

University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady said: “We saw during Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow the pandemic that those from better- education secretary, said: “After nearly off backgrounds benefited most from three years of inaction, this meagre grade inflation, with private schools response shows the government does gaming the system”. On the back of not share the ambitions of young this, many hoped more would be done people and their families for their to reduce the gap between private futures and the future of our country”. and state school students, however, this legislation will do the opposite. University leaders have warned setting minimum requirements too high can There are many reasons why a student [changed from will] completely dash might not achieve as highly as a more- the hopes of school leavers across the advantaged peer, but as Children country, from those who underachieved and Young People Now passionately at GCSE for any number of reasons, to express: “Where you’re from shouldn’t those whose families cannot afford affect where you can go”. In England, consistently increasing tuition fees. about 71% of pupils achieve a Grade

Photo: Pixabay

UEA’s Evening Language Programme returns Una Jones

on offer, in an attempt to reflect the diversity of the university. This term, you can learn: Arabic, British Sign Language, Business English, Chinese (Mandarin), After being paused during the worst of French, German, Italian, Japanese, the Covid-19 pandemic, UEA’s evening Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian, and language programme is back in action. Spanish. It is also hoped more languages and levels will be added in the future.

The first set of courses this year will run from the week commencing April 25th In the ten weeks of face-to-face learning, and it is open to students, staff, and you can expect an introduction to basic members of the public. grammar, vocabulary and phrases, alongside an emphasis on developing There are a wide variety of languages listening and speaking skills.

News Editor

Lyndsey Lubach, Languages Coordinator, and Akiko Tomatsuri, Head of Language and Communication Studies at PPL and Associate Professor in Japanese Language and Translation, have said: “In studying each language, you will also gain insights into the society and culture where the language is used, as we believe it’s important not just to learn the language but embrace the culture too”.

Run by the PPL school, they believe

learning a new language will open up a “whole new world…expand your worldview as well as keep your mind active”. They add: “learning a language will allow you to enjoy a film or a book in the original language”, as well as helping to make connections with people from different countries across campus and the wider community.

and is taught to the highest standard by experienced and friendly tutors.

They offer beginner courses, as well as more advanced courses for those who have studied the language before. It is a great opportunity to make friends, increase career prospects, and have some fun!

More information on specific course dates, times, and classes can be found The courses cost £180 for what is usually at: https://uealanguageprogramme.org/ a two-hour class per week, for ten weeks evening-classes.

Low attendance at National Student Strike lands sharp blow to NUS campaign Jamie Bryson

With the two former issues having been at the heart of the reactionary student riots seen across the country The National Union of Students (NUS) in August 2011, many student reps hosted its first-ever ‘Student Strike for attending expected the event to Education’ in Central London yesterday, be well attended and supported.

Wednesday 2nd March, in a bid to build strong student momentum behind its A student council member from the “New vision for education” campaign. University of Westminster described to Concrete the extent of their Despite the national advertising disappointment: “There’s just no point campaign running up to the day – in this – the NUS have completely largely carried out via social media – failed in utilising anywhere near a the event attracted around only 300 significant student base to put even hundred people with this figure reducing minute pressure on the Department for further after the first scheduled hour. Education or our senior management.

We can shout these powerful words The campaign calls for radical policy through microphones as much as we reform from the Department of like – but nothing will get done if there Education including the abolishment of isn’t enough momentum or intelligent tuition fees, the “demarketisation” and organisation by the NUS and individual “decolonisation” of the higher education uni SU’s. It’s just so disappointing system and an end to ableism within all to see for someone like me who so national higher education institutions. passionately wants systemic change”.

News Writer

Evelyn Parker, a ‘Socialist Students’ representative, added: “There’s been a lot of energetic language and rightful challenging of the current government’s educational agenda today – but I don’t feel the NUS and the student community in general are really getting anywhere with presenting solid and radical alternative policies. There might be a lot of passion amongst the few hundred students here, but this needs to become a mass movement and we’re so far off that right now”.

Alongside the live event, the NUS’ own online campaign petition stood at 1000 signatories (at the time of the event) – representing just 1% of the 100,000 needed to have the policy issues raised in Parliament. Questions will undoubtedly be asked as to the effectiveness of the current senior campaign and marketing team within the organisation ahead of its Officer election campaigns which begin next week.

Photo: Jamie Bryson

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GLOBAL

Texas abortion ban forces thousands to cross state lines Una Jones Global Writer

New research by the University of Texas reveals Texas’s highly restrictive abortion law has forced thousands of women to seek abortions out of state.

The law, known as Senate Bill 8 (SB8) was passed last year and banned almost all abortions in the state. Between September and December 2021, an average of 1,400 Texas women travelled each month to receive abortion services at 34 facilities in nearby states.

These include Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

As part of the study, researchers interviewed 65 Texas women who sought abortions across state lines, from October 2021 to February 2022.

Participants were aged between 18 to 42 years old. 46% identified as Hispanic/ Latinx, 23% as Black, 21% as White, 6% as Asian and 2% as more than one race.

Participants reported their abortions happened at a median gestational period of nine weeks. SB8 has banned abortion after six weeks.

Participants also described common experiences with delays, as a result of state law enforcing mandatory ultrasounds and counselling visits.

Others reported visiting “pregnancy resource centres” which can offer free ultrasounds but may seek to discourage pregnant people from seeking an abortion. Those participants where the pregnancy posed health risks reported healthcare providers were disinclined to provide information on out of state abortion services. The law also adds the burden of travel costs and long wait times in those states.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Egypt’s first female judge presides over court hearing Melody Chan Global Writer

45% of Texans forced to travel out of state within this timeframe received abortion care in Oklahoma which has only four facilities offering abortion services - more than double the monthly average of patients visiting the Oklahoma facilities in 2020, before SB8 was passed.

27% travelled to New Mexico to obtain the service, where there are seven facilities that do not require statemandated counselling, wait times or parental consent for minors.

Radwa Helmi attended Egypt’s State Council, one of the highest courts in the country, as the first female judge presiding over hearings. Helmi is amongst the 98 women who were appointed to join the council last year, one of the country’s main judicial bodies after the decision was made by President Abdel-Fattah el-Siss. The 5 March marks “a new historical day for Egyptian women,” said Maya Morsi, the head of the National Council for Women (NCW).

Since the 19th century, most Egyptian

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

women have been segregated from the judiciary. Under the Islamic Shariainspired law, women have less presence in court and only hold 168 parliament seats out of 569. Another woman who held a judicial role was Tahani el-Gebali.

She was appointed to Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional court in 2003 but was later removed in 2012 by President Mohamed Morsi. Although no religious rules have stopped women from holding high-ranking posts, the judiciary remains patriarchally dominated. When it comes to the question of women having equal rights as men, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb refuses to answer it.

An overture to offsetting in the environmental era: should we be cautious?

Hamish Davis Global Senior Writer

A recent Bangor University study claims Madagascar’s Ambatovy mine is on course to fully offset its destruction of nearby rainforest, with ‘no net loss’ (NNL). On the east coast of the island, the operation’s extraction of cobalt and nickel has come at a severe environmental cost.

The mine and its 140-mile-long pipeline has required the clearance of 2,000 hectares of the Madagascan rainforest.

This is a habitat where 90 to 95% of the flora and fauna is endemic to the island and where 1,300 species are now threatened.

Mining and deforestation have ravaged a unique biosphere over centuries of development. Now, only 10% of Madagascar’s original forests remain. In the Ambatovy mine region, thousands of species including the endangered indri lemur are in peril.

From its Canadian ‘Dynatec’ beginnings in 2007, the vast operation has continued to grow under the ownership of Japanese company Sumitomo and Korean firm Komir. The mine is now an economic titan on the island, in turn, one of the poorest countries in the

world.

Accounting for approximately 32% of Madagascar’s foreign earnings, and providing 9,000 jobs to Malagasies, the multibillion-dollar venture’s far-felt benefits have ensured that the ceasing of its farreaching destruction is off the table, at least directly.

forest were lost between 1990 and 2016 to development, offsetting perhaps provides an answer. It’s difficult to tell.

As co-author of the Bangor University study Sébastien Desbureaux noted, of 12,000 offsets worldwide, ‘less than

0.05% have been evaluated’.

Offsetting also falls short of addressing issues beyond the ecological. Ambatovy faces long-standing accusations of pollution-related health problems,

whilst also complicit in a nationwide issue of ‘land grabbing’, involving displacement, cultural dislocation, and uncertainty for many. Is ecology everything?

Instead, as participants of the Bangor University study explained in the Nature Sustainability journal: ‘Ambatovy promoted itself as a world-leader in sustainable mining […] committed to ensure NNL.’ The mine’s offset strategy led the way as a pilot for the now influential Business and Biodiversity Offset Programme (2004). At its core, the prevention of similar losses elsewhere through company-sponsored conservation efforts.

For the Ambatovy mine, company community service has included ecological monitoring, the creation of forest protection groups, and environmental education programmes in four selected locations. The recent study estimates deforestation in these locations has been reduced by 58%.

In a world where, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 502,000 square miles of

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Ukrainian UEA student Oleksii Burov: “it’s not Ukraine’s fault, it’s not the West’s fault, it’s Putin’s fault” Dolly Carter Editor in Chief

“My parents left Kyiv on the second day of the invasion. They escaped to my father’s workplace where he treats wounded soldiers… They don’t go away, they don’t run away. They stand…

This is Putin’s fault.”

Oleksii Burov is a 22-year-old UEA student in his third year of studying International Relations and Politics.

Hailing from Kyiv, he is watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine with a keen eye, not least because his mother and father have had to evacuate their family home.

Oleksii and I met through a mutual friend who mentioned he was a Ukrainian international student willing to talk about the escalating conflict in his home country. Our discussion takes place online, mere days after news of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reached the UK. It’s Oleksii’s birthday today, though it quickly becomes apparent that the day has soured for him.

He has been in touch with his parents a handful of times over the last few days, enough to know they are working in a private clinic which has now become a makeshift military hospital. I ask who his father has been operating on, but Oleksii is adamant in conveying the anonymity of treatments.

He believes they are members of the Territorial Defense Forces, groups of volunteers instrumental in defending specific residential areas. However, in a calculated measure to protect

the Ukrainian fighters, the soldiers aren’t required to show their tags to staff at the hospital. If Russian forces acquired the data, they could trace the movements of their enemies and sabotage the hospital. I push for more information, but he shakes his head: “I can’t say anymore because neither he nor I know”.

Their residential area is supposed to be a dead zone for the assaults. The main road is being extensively blocked and their neighbourhood is relatively quiet, with a small railway and a few bridges.

A very different picture is being painted in the capital city of Kyiv. A vast convoy stretching 40 miles is closing in on the Ukrainian people as they prepare for a gruelling siege.

Oleksii cannot return home to Kyiv.

His planned flight home for Easter was cancelled yesterday. The Kyiv airport is being targeted by missiles fired from Belarus. It’s apparent from his resigned remarks that this is exactly what he was expecting. Most of those returning to Ukraine are from the adjacent EU countries – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. The rules for those trying to return from the UK are considerably less clear.

Oleksii predicts the coming days, weeks, or even months will be a “bloodbath” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. He knows that the rising death tolls for both Russia and Ukraine will antagonise both sides, but is emphatic in saying: “It’s not the people’s fault. We need to be angry at Putin. It’s not Ukraine’s fault, it’s not the West’s fault, it’s Putin’s fault”.

Public unrest in Ukraine, Russia, and across the globe mounts as the number of deaths continue to increase.

Oleksii says the only way out of this war is to show public condemnation on the international stage: “it will be a prolonged conflict, but I don’t think it will be a victory for Putin.” He has been present at the Norwich City Hall protest and has helped in the planning of the campus protest on March4th, saying it is his “civic duty” to do so.

He is emphatic in conveying the need for movement and lobbying surrounding the current visa policy. A family migration visa allows for family members of British nationals who usually live in Ukraine to reside in the UK. Though fleeing war is currently not included in a standard visitor visa which costs £95 for up to six months, this is the main alternative for those without UK family links. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel have announced a further relaxing of rules which could allow the number of Ukrainians eligible to enter the UK to double.

from him. He is surprised by the resolve demonstrated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has quickly become a fan favourite across the globe. Oleksii voted to re-elect former president Petro Poroshenko who ran against Zelensky in the last election but was not surprised by the latest polls which indicate he is supported by 91% of the Ukrainian people.

Far from Oleksii’s expectation that Zelenskyy might leave Ukraine after the first few days, taking up the United States’ offer of evacuation, he has

continued to lead the country from the capital.

Oleksii leaves me with a final, lasting image for those reading our interview.

He says he recently saw a video in which tear gas was used on a civilian road blockade. He admires their passion, their refusal to give up, their fierce commitment to Ukraine: “Nobody left the line, they stood. They cried and they spat, but they stood. They don’t go away, they don’t run away. They stand.”

The Russian people are also protesting against the war in Ukraine and human rights group OVD-Info claim to have tracked 6,440 political arrests during protests in Russia over the Ukraine war. It is clear that those under Putin’s rule won’t take this lying down. He brings attention to a big question mark over the reach of state-controlled propaganda, saying he believes it is “incredibly unlikely” that Putin’s high command will stage a coup.

As for the Ukrainian leadership, Oleksii speaks with the first hope I have seen

Photo: Oleksii Burov

South Korean presidency decided by a nation divided Hamish Davis Global Senior Writer

After a close-fought but divisive contest, referred to by many as an ‘election of unlikables’, South Korea has a new president-elect. With 48.6% of the vote to his rival’s 47.8%, Yoon Sukyeol declared victory at approximately 4.20 am on March 10th as the ruling Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung conceded.

The result marks the end of the conservative People Power Party’s fiveyear stint in the political wilderness.

A contest widely regarded as a referendum on the Democratic Party’s tenure at the top under President Moon Jae-in, has a definitive answer. Though many aren’t happy.

without its own controversies. Crippling house prices, an unstable job market, and high levels of education-induced debt were all addressed as both candidates grappled for a swinging bracket of 20-30-year-olds.

Yoon’s calls for a tougher stance on North Korea and closer ties with the United States were also eyebrowraising, no-less for those partial to splashing around in the South China sea. Yet, as is all too often the case in contexts of economic disparity, in South Korea’s case commonly termed ‘Hell Joseon’ (Hell Korea), identity politics took centre stage.

The President-elect has been referred to as ‘anti-feminist’, he is not alone. In a country where recent surveys revealed that 47% of Korean men believed feminism did more harm than good, Previously tasked with the prosecution and men in their 20’s were twice as of government corruption five years likely to believe discrimination against ago, Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign was not Photo:Wikimedia men was worse, the conservative CommonsYoon’s

proposals to shut down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) were perhaps inevitable.

A proposal still bitterly resented by many others, rival Lee Jae-myung’s failure to defend the ministry was perhaps costly. The Democratic Party’s

previous candidate had promised to become a ‘feminist president’ in 2017.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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22nd March 2022

GLOBAL INVESTIGATES Global Investigates: Global the growth Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Despite the rapid growth of the LGBTQ+ rights movements during the late twentieth century, oppression continued.

Consequently, LGBTQ+ people began to form tight-knight communities within major cities, which resulted in an increase of police raids against known queer bars.

“LGBTQ+ people began to form tight-knit communities within major cities”

In July 1969 hundreds of New York’s LGBTQ+ community clashed with police in a week-long riot in the Greenwich Village area following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a mafia owned bar known to be frequented by LGBTQ+ people.

Now known as the Stonewall riot, it marked a watershed moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

For Western LGBTQ+ rights campaigns, Stonewall was a launchpad for the modern LGBTQ+ rights protests and birthed one of the community’s most iconic and wellknown symbols: the pride parade.

In 1970, As the first anniversary of the Stonewall riot approached, questions were raised about how to best mark the occasion with the city’s queer community. Exactly a year after the initial police raid on the Inn which first sparked the riot, on the 28th June 1970 New York hosted the first Christopher Street Liberation Day. The day grew a crowd of thousands of LGBTQ+ activists to the city’s Greenwich Village area, the location of the Stonewall Inn. Similar marches occurred in the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Although comparably small to the Pride parades known today, the Christopher Street

Liberation day is in many ways the occurrence of a pride parade.

Over the years, as the LGBTQ+ rights campaigns grew, so to did the scale of the marches which were quickly became known as Gay Pride and then Pride Parades.

The growth of the parades reflects the significant growth of LGBTQ+ rights, in one lifetime countries, preeminently in the west, went from treating homosexuality as a crime and mental disorder to legalising same-sex marriage.

Although pride parades have played a significant role in the improving visibility of LGBTQ+ groups, today many members of the LGBTQ+ community feel the parades have lost touch with their radical routes.

Many regard the increasing corporate presence at pride parades as a betrayal of the radical demands of the early rights movement. Furthermore, those who played a significant role in the first creation of the movement feel they have been left out of the current movement, namely trans people, people of colour, and the working classes.

Although the police raid at Stonewall Inn and the subsequent riot it caused is often regarded as the defining moment of the LGBTQ+

rights movement in the west, it is certainly not the first time that members of America’s queer community clashed with police.

During the 1960s, a bar could lose its licence for selling alcohol if it served a known LGBTQ+ individual.

Throughout the later decades of the twentieth century, as the visibility of the growing gay-rights movement steadily increased, so too did the political backlash.

LGBTQ+ Americans were accused of being anti-American and faced increasingly frequent collisions with the police.

One of the earliest versions of the Pride Parade occurred in 1965, five years before the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, when Craig Rodwell proposed a yearly protest which would come to be called the Annual Reminder.

Although the Annual Reminder is certainly an early version of the future Pride Parades, the march bears very little resemblance to the modern parades.

Rodwell’s event followed a very strict formal dress code including a shirt and tie for men and dresses for women. The march drew 39 activists from various gay rights groups with the intent of asking for “equality, opportunity, [and] dignity.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Mafia owned bars frequently ignored these laws, paying off local police officers and charging high prices for watered-down alcohol.

Mafia owned bars, such as the Stonewall Inn, consequently drew clientele of people of colour, gay men, several lesbians, and trans women.

As gay bars increased in number across major cities like New York, a demand for guides to LGBTQ+ bars across cities grew.

These guides were, however, often written by and for wealthy individuals and dismissed mafia owned bars such as the Stonewall Inn, of which there were many. The Homosexual Handbook published in 1969 described the Stonewall Inn as a “haven of and for narcissists.”

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22nd March 2022

concrete-online.co.uk/category/global/ | @ ConcreteUEA

Editor Aislinn Wright tracks of Pride Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Following the Stonewall riot, a significantly more radical approach to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights emerged.

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed following the riot and in the summer of 1969, the group began to organise marches and sit-ins similar to those of the Civil Rights movement.

The GLF connected with other radical civil rights groups such as the Black Panther Party which practised militant self-defence and established community-based programmes to support African Americans.

The GLF highlighted legal rights, anti-colonialism, and a radical re-evaluation of gender.

Within months of its formation, other groups began to form the address the dominance of cisgender gay men in the GLF.

Groups such as Radicalesbians aimed to represent lesbians who had faced misogyny within the GLF, whilst the Gay Activists Alliance believed that the GLF only addressed issues pertinent to gay men.

Much of the early LGBTQ+ rights movements faced accusations of placing emphasis on the oppression faced by gay men whilst excluding other members of the community.

Although the GLF was short-lived, it collapsed in America within three years. It has already achieved its greatest and most enduring legacy: the first modern Pride Parade.

In November 1969, the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organisations came together to discuss the 1970 Annual

Reminder, it was suggested that to remove the dress code and mirror the event across the country in commemoration of Stonewall. The first Christopher Street Liberation Day would take place in June. By 1972 the marches had spread to Europe, with London hosting its first pride parade.

The first parade was not to protest unjust laws but to counter the sense of fear which often marked LGBTQ+ lives in the 60s and 70s.

In contrast to the reserved nature which marked the early LGBTQ+ groups, pride was an open celebration of LGBTQ+ identities. In the New York Times, one marcher was quoted as saying: “We’ll never have the freedom and civil rights we deserve as human beings unless we stop hiding in closets and in the shelter of anonymity.”

However, there was splintering within the LGBTQ+, with many feeling the needs of people of colour and trans individuals were ignored within the movement. Not only this but in the 1980s as pride grew many organisations sought funding from companies to host ever-growing pride events.

Primarily, most of the funding for these early years came from LGBTQ+ owned businesses

and nonprofit groups. However, as the LGBTQ+ grew as a targetable market, large corporations began to sponsor an increasing number of events.

“[Many felt] the needs of people of colour and transgender individuals were ignored” Initially, it was mostly alcohol brands targeting the young.

Absolut vodka began to directly target gay men as a demographic in the early 1980s. It wasn’t until the turn of the century that corporate sponsorship of pride boomed.

As corporate sponsorship grew, many radical activists felt liberal activists were attempting to turn the LGBTQ+ into a ‘model minority.’ The initial gay rights groups often adopted socialist and anti-colonial politics, and for many, the current inclusion of groups representing employers feels like a betrayal of the movement’s radical roots.

The visibility of LGBTQ+ people enjoying life and celebrating

their sexuality has been as important to the LGBTQ+ rights movement as more traditional political strategies.

Despite its controversial adoption of corporate sponsorship and its desperate need to improve inclusivity and diversity, Pride parades still represent an ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights across the world. In 71 countries it remains illegal to be LGBTQ+. Same-sex marriage is legally recognised in only 31 countries.

The first legally recognised same-sex marriage was in 2001 in the Netherlands.

Chile became the most recent country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2021.

Fewer still acknowledge a third gender on the national passport. Often marked by an ‘X’, only sixteen countries acknowledge a third gender.

In Nepal, documents include an ‘O’ for ‘other’ for all LGBTQ+ and intersex individuals.

In India, most official documents offer three gender options: male, female, and transgender marked with a letter ‘T’ which includes all non-binary, trans, and intersex people.

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22nd March 2022

FEATURES

The stigma of the resit Lily Boag Features Senior Writer

In the beginning we were first year students, away from the comforts of home, attempting to settle in.

In March 2020, Covid-19 sent us into a national lockdown. We had moved beyond the ordinary stresses of being a university student and entered the realm of a global pandemic. Some of us managed, while others struggled. This is for the students who struggled.

A close friend of mine who inspired me to write this article described this time as ‘everybody else seems to be able to adapt and carry on.’

She described watching other students around her continuing to keep up with their studies, while she was mentally shutting down, aware of the things she needed to do but with her brain and

body disallowing her to do them.

With a slipping attendance, missed deadlines and missed extensions, she struggled to talk to the university about how she was falling behind.

“She struggled to talk to the university about how she was falling behind” I asked her how she felt when she discovered that she would need to resit her second year of university for the first time. She told me that at that point she had already accepted it. She was relieved to have finally made the decision to resit.

But with the hope that she would return to university, repeat the year, and

everything would be fine, she wasn’t looking into the deeper reasons behind why she was struggling with her mental health.

Afraid to open up to her family or friends, she didn’t inform them about how bad things had gotten. She didn’t realise that when she was finally able to explain the situation to her parents, their response would be supportive.

When it came to her housemates, it took longer to explain the situation.

They had done well academically and were on track for their undergraduate degrees. It took a long time for her to not feel ashamed, like she was an imposter in an academic environment.

She emphasised how isolating it is to be a resitting student. With her friends graduating and moving forward with their lives, she found herself introduced to a new year group as the stranger in the room.

Unfortunately, during her resit, things began to slowly unravel again. An hourlong meeting was organised with her head of year, academic advisor, and the wellbeing service, and became an academic intervention that provided an overview of her outstanding and upcoming deadlines. She was proposed with two options: to progress or to resit again.

Later, she reflected on how no one from the university ever advised her to take a break from her studies. The path that led away from university was never encouraged as an option. No one prompted the question, ‘do you want to stop?’

“No one prompted the question, do you want to stop?’”

Resitting for the second time, she feels as though she’s been provided with more support - perhaps due to the university taking students’ mental health more seriously.

But she emphasised how ‘sometimes it feels like something big and drastic has to happen to you in order for you to receive the support.’ First, you have to fall through the cracks.

Asking if she was happy to have resat, she admitted that of course she would have wanted to have done better, but going through the process of resitting, she’s learnt so much and she’s still learning.

She’s in a place where she can talk to other people about it now, and no longer feels alone.

Asking her what advice she would give to someone who was thinking about resitting, she vocalised how ‘if you know you’re at the stage of thinking about resitting, it’s okay to explore that.

Most of all, it’s okay if you’re resitting and you’re still struggling with the issues that led to you needing to resit in the first place. While your issues might initially ease themselves, it’s very much like weeds. If you don’t pull the roots out, they’re still going to grow.’

Photo: Unsplash

How I found and embraced the term ‘queer’ Becca Patchett Features Writer

My name is Becca, and my pronouns are she/they and I am going to tell an incredible tale of my gender journey.

Enjoy!

I generally owe my gender journey to my friends and my university experience at UEA.

“I owe my gender journey to my friends and my uni experience at UEA”

I am so grateful to have such a diverse group of friends as I’ve learnt so much from them.

Just for some background, one of my best mates is non-binary, another is trans (MtF) and others are fluid with their pronouns. With such an accepting group of friends like this, I was so privileged to be able to explore gender and pronouns.

Although I have days and moments of gender dysmorphia, I am lucky enough to be comfortable with the body I was born in.

I know in myself that I am more than just what my body is in terms of gender, and I am not just a binary female.

I have identified with various labels for my gender. I used to consider

myself gender fluid but when I explored the term and met people who identify with it, I realised I don’t fit within the label, and it doesn’t mean what I thought it did.

I don’t often like labels because I feel confined to stereotypes and other peoples’ versions of the term which I may not fit with, but I find queer really fits me.

When a form asks my gender, I usually would put female, but I have more recently been ticking the nonbinary option.

Some people I look up to in the media, such as Becky Hill, identify with the term queer for the same reasons as me and because they feel like it just fits them.

This is because this is the more mainstream label that fits me, and it is so much easier than ticking the other box when I am struggling to find a label that fits me.

Today, I label myself as Gender Queer or just Queer on its own because it is a reclaimed word by the LGBTQ+ community and it covers such a wide umbrella of sexualities and gender identities.

I know that I have struggled a lot with finding myself while coming out of a relationship and struggling with settling at university.

However, I am in a much better place now mentally, having had the opportunity to explore my identity in a safe and accepting space.

I have grown as a person through moving on from the relationship and

discovering things like the amazing drag community Norwich has and becoming closer to my friends.

It’s okay to not fit within labels and it can be a long journey, but it is worth it because at the end you may be in a better place with yourself.

“It’s okay to not fit within labels and it can be a long journey, but it is worth it” Gender is all about learning and exploring and just know it is okay to ask questions and open up to people about it.

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22nd March 2022

concrete-online.co.uk/category/features/ | @ConcreteUEA

Graduation anxiety: a problem shared is a problem halved Sophie Colley Features Writer

Three years sounds like a long time.

However, when you are a university student, it’s not.

As I started my third year, I honestly believed I wanted to remain a student forever, and the thought of graduating made me feel sick.

As the semesters of third year have flown by, and graduation is only months away, this feeling of dread has actually gotten less and less.

That’s not to say I don’t feel scared or anxious about what’s to come next. I do.

But it’s going to be a new chapter, and hopefully a really exciting one.

It can be extremely daunting to not know what’s going to happen after finishing university, all my life the next step has just been another form of education, and for the first time I don’t have that safety blanket.

“All my life the next step has been education... for the first time I don’t have that safety blanket”

There are so many options of what to do next: find a job, go travelling, move home, go to a new city, or stay and do a masters?

However, there are a number of things I won’t. There are only so many essays you can write before it becomes boring and repetitive, and it’ll be nice to live in a house where the heating works and the bathroom lock doesn’t break every week.

pressure on us to have our lives planned and mapped out, but this isn’t the case at all.

Embracing it and realising this is actually something to look forward to has helped hugely with a lot of my graduation anxiety. All of my friends feel these nerves too, everyone is apprehensive and everyone is in the same boat.

“There are only so many essays you can write before it becomes boring and repetitive”

However, your twenties are the ideal time to make mistakes and figure out what you want to do, and that can take years.

There have been so many highs in my three years at university, and there is so much I am going to miss.

This next stage offers so much opportunity. I think there is so much

At first, it all just felt like way too much. But regardless of how much I panic about it, it’s going to happen anyway.

The power of patience Maja Anushka Features Editor

I have never been a particularly patient person.

My natural mode is ‘fast’ - both mentally and physically. I walk everywhere with the pace of someone who is either incredibly late for something and/or enjoys partaking in competitive speedwalking.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times a friend has told me they saw me in town the other day, but didn’t say anything because I ‘looked like I was in a rush’.

My knee is almost always doing that nervous-bouncing-thing that many of us do, and I’m a chronic fidgeter.

Upstairs, my thoughts and feelings move around so quickly that sometimes I lose complete track of what I was doing or saying a few seconds ago.

I work best when I’m paying attention to multiple things at once, and have lots to occupy my speedy brain, but then I also get burnt out and overstimulated by the 17 tasks I’m juggling simultaneously.

I’m aware this whole intro just reads as a description of someone who should probably speak to their GP about an ADHD diagnosis, but that’s another article for another day.

This trait of mine was put to the absolute test when my Masters came to an end recently.

I’d spent the majority of my life knowing I liked certain stuff but I’d never had

that ‘eureka’ moment of fully realising a career goal or life’s passion.

Growing up with two parents who very much do have their own callings, this lack of direction always left me feeling a bit lost.

Then, I got three days into my Journalism course and was hit with the overwhelming feeling of ‘oh, shit, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’

It came with its own pitfalls. There were stakes now: I’d fallen in love with the entire world of journalism in a matter of weeks, and I wanted to be really good at it. I felt a drive and a need to be successful.

Unfortunately, just because you want something badly, that does not mean that the universe is going to play ball.

I wanted to dive in and get started and do it all, but I had assignments and essays and job applications and personal commitments which had to take precedence.

On top of that, I was spending hours applying for jobs all over the country and getting rejection after rejection due to lack of experience.

My chances of making it in the industry I had become completely enamoured with seemed to be dwindling.

On a particularly shaky night, I went and cried on my Mum, which, as we all know, is one of life’s best remedies.

She stroked my hair and cooed over

me, and told me things would work out, and that rushing through life stages was not the way to achieve what I wanted. She told me to breathe, slow down, and let it come to me.

Of course, I scoffed at her: did she not realise that things were only going to go my way if I was highly strung and anxious and stressed about them every single second of every day? But she did have a point.

Worrying myself sick about the future was not helping anyone.

So I slowed down. I focused on other things, and tried to make keeping myself well my top priority.

And what do you know - within just a few days of my mum’s sage advice, the recruitment manager at Archant reached out to me to tell me about a new role they were going to be interviewing for.

Patience is still not in my wheelhouse, but my journey from terrified student to working in a newsroom has taught me many things.

Now, when I find myself getting frustrated and restless, I remember the lessons I learned from this experience.

Irritability is usually not productive.

Being impatient about something you don’t have control over is only going to make you feel worse.

And, of course, I was reminded of the most important cosmic rule of the universe: mums are usually right.

Photo: Unsplash

It’s easy to forget how young you are when you see influencers of similar ages with their luxury homes and cars etc.

If you’re nervous about graduating, that’s completely normal. Those nerves will most likely drive you to the place you’re supposed to be.

And if it doesn’t work out? Fine.

We’ve got plenty of time to figure it all out.

SEX SURVEY 2022

22nd March 2022

12

Without further a do, welcome to your 2022 Sex Survey! We’ve got down and dirty to find out all about who makes up UEA and what UEA gets up to behind closed doors (or open, whatever you prefer!) ...

“What is your gender?”

“What is your sexual orientation?”

Male - 32.1%

“What is your relationship status?”

Bisexual - 29.2%

Single - 40.6% In a relationship - 51.5% Heterosexual - 53.4%

Female - 62.22%

Homosexual - 6.8% Asexual - 1.5% Other - 2.9% I’m not sure! - 6.2%

Transgender Female - 05% Transgender Male - 0.5% Nonbinary - 3.6% “How often do you have sex ?”

Once every weeks - 17.6%

few

How many sexual partners have you had ?

It’s complicated - 8%

“Have you been curious to sexually enage with a memember of the same sex?”

No - 31.8%

Once every few days - 30.8% 1-5- 52.1%

Yes - 68.2%

Once a week - 13.3% Once every few months - 9.9% Less than once a year - 9.4% Once a day - 8.2% Once a month - 5.4% More than once a day - 3.2% Once a year - 2.3% “Do you engage in name calling (for example “daddy”) during sex?”

6-10- 19.6% 11-20 14.3% 21-50 - 6.4% 0 - 5.2% 51+ -2.4% What is your favourite position?

“Do you own a sex toy?”

I’d like to! 12.6%

I’d like to! - 8.1%

Missionary - 29.1%

Yes - 40.4%

No - 51.5%

Cowgirl/ revesere cowgirl - 19.7%

No - 26.3% Yes - 60.9% Doggy - 28.6%

Other - 10.2% 69 - 3.1% Standing up - 2.3% “Have you had sex with more than one person at a time?”

“Do you have protected sex?”

“If yes, what methods of contraception do you use?”

Yes - 14.5% No - 24% Condoms - 40.7% Multiple - 11.3% I’d like to! - 24.4% No - 61.1%

Yes - 76%

The pill (of any kind) - 26.7%

The implant or injection - 10.5% The coil - 7.2% Other - 3.5%

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22nd March 2022

Best sexual experience “A sleepy day with me and my boyfriend.”

“Sept with my male best mate in the back of his car.”

“Ziggs B02” “Made a girl squirt on the van floor.”

Worst sexual experience “Using a strap-on on my boyfriend was the best.”

“After my Complex Analysis exam fuck me who would’ve thought Cauchy and metric spaces and holomorphic functions would get me going?”

“Harriet.”

“Toe in vagina.”

“Slapped my own balls.”

“Rugby boys.”

“I puked while receiving anal sex in first year.”

“Having someone bite my clit.”

“When I came in my pants from dry humping my girlfriend.”

“My first lesbian experience.”

“Ripping my foreskin for the second time due to lack of lube.”

“Sex with a girl from Yorkshire.”

“Some hairy greek guy who couldn’t make me orgasm.”

“Lasting not very long, then getting embarrassed.”

“Frequently losing an erection with long term girlfriend.”

Photo: Wikimedia commons

Biggest sexual fantasy?

What’s UEA’s biggest fetish?

“Sucking fingers.”

“Exhibitionism.”

“Receiving hickeys.”

“Standing in different corner of the room and crying.”

“Being touched with black latex gloves.”

“Anal play.”

“Piss play.”

“Sensory deprivation.”

“Women with authority.”

“Orgy in a big house with multiple rooms.”

“Nipple play.”

“Sex with peoples’ girlfriends.”

“Being grabbed by the throat.”

1.9% - More than once a day 6.8% - Once a day 21.1% - Once every few days 12.4% - Once a week 15.5% - Once every few weeks 5.3% - Once a month 10.4% - Once every few months 2% - Once a year 24.6% - I don’t watch it

The body

96.4% of you don’t pay for pornography For the 3.6% who do the reasoning included:

85.6% found that you were effected by your own body, 14.4% said you weren’t.

“Do you consider yourself attracted to feet?”

93.6% said no, that you weren’t, but 6.4% said you were. There is a new society to be made there.

Dating apps

“Being oiled up and in love.”

With lockdown making meeting inperson more difficult heres what UEA said about dating apps.

“Threesome with two girls both wanting to just please me.”

“Lonliness.”

“Being tied up and blindfolded.”

We asked: “Do you use dating apps?”Yes - 41%, No - 58% & I’d like to be - 1.1%.

“Have you ever had sex as a result of a dating app?” Yes - 47.1%, No - 50% & 2.9% I’d like to!

“To support sex workers.”

“Requesting specific fetish content.”

Some of the best chat up lines UEA had to offer included: “Are you a microwave cos mmmm.”

“Knowing your left wing makes you infinity more sexy” You look like the kind of girl that I’d see at an airport and then think about for the rest of the flight.”

Is your dad a boxer? Because you’re a knock out

Photo: Wikimedia commons

Penis size

Sex and actions surrounding sex is not always positive or safe. You answers reflect that.

sexy?

“Lower back.”

“Big rugby legs.”

“Collar bones.”

We asked: “Have you ever felt pressured into having sex?”

“Hands but not on everyone.”

“Don’t mean to be crude, but I’m an ass man.”

“Midriff.”

“Boobs.”

“Arms and hands on guys.”

“The back of the arms/shoulder blades.”

“That is a complicated one, some people have certain features that just look good.”

41.2% of you said you had felt pressure, whilst 58.8% of you hadn’t.

0-3 inches - 2.8% 4-5 inches - 20.2% 6-7 inches - 69.9% 8+ inches - 20.2%

“Tummy.”

“Brent faiyaz/ streets by doja cat/ raveena/fkj.”

“After Last Night by Silk Sonic.”

“Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo. The entire album has fun sexy vibes.”

Hope that everyone was on mute.

22.5% of you have completed atleast one L (47.4% of you haven’t completed one and 30.1% of you say you’d like to!). The lake was the most achieved with 38.3% and the least with only 2.8% was the laundrette. 28.3% had done the LCR, followed by 25.6% achieving the library, followed by 5% completeing lecture theatre.

“Having a mega rich husband that totally dominates me and my life.”

“More knowledge of the person involved.”

Music recommendations for sex?

“Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem.”

Yes - 41.1% No - 51.6% I’d like to! - 7.2%

Photo: Sam Baxter

The body So we asked: “What part of the body do you find the most

We asked in very general terms: “Do you think your body confidence affects your sex life?”

We asked: “Have you enaged in any sexual activity during an online seminar or lecture?”

The Ls

Photo: Wikimedia commons

How often does UEA watch porn?

Blackboard collaborate takes on new meaning

“Love is a bitch - two feet, Good kisser - usher.”

“I prefer none.”

“Silk Sonic - An evening with Silk Sonic, the whole album.”

“Something with a 4/4 time signature.”

“Nick Cave, Lyre of Orpheus/ Abbatoir Blues.”

“Anything of the Silk Sonic album.”

“UEA Drama Musical Theatre Society’s Just So musical score.”

82.9% had recieved unwanted advances or attention whilst 17.1% of you hadn’t.

What do you wish you’d known?

“Your body is beautiful and its normal to have rolls and bumps.”

“Don’t bother faking it he isn’t worth it.”

“That I’d last all of 30 seconds.”

“That I was a lesbian.”

“It gets really hot, like mate, take “That my worth doesn’t come down to how sexual I am.” your shirt off.”

“It will be shit.”

Photo: Wikimedia commons

“That you shouldn’t feel bad for saying no and wait for the “It really shouldn’t be about building right person.” pain tolerance.”

“Erectile Dysfunction is very common.”

“Vaginas are lower than the penis.”

“Have you ever recived unwanted sexual advances or attention?”

Photo: Wikimedia commons

“Have you ever recieved an unsolicited nude picture?”

60.5% of you had recieved an unwanted nude, whilst 39.5% had not.

Just a quick note to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who filled out the survey. We had over 750+ responses this year and we hope you enjoyed filling it out as much as we had writing and reading your responses. Keep being sexy UEA.

14

HOME OF THE WONDERFUL

Do something green week, nature and mental health Libby Hargreaves

week, there will be society and club stalls, including Bloody Good Period (working to explain how we can Do Something Green Week, hosted make managing menstruation more by the Do Something Different (DSD) sustainable) and a workshop run by team, runs from March 21. a UEA alumnus, on how creative writing can help raise awareness and It includes a range of engaging prevent negative climate impact. activities that create a “direct opportunity to be involved” for the Tickets for all these events, including student community, who “have a recycling Welcome Week tote bagspassion for sustainability”, Neith born from a newfound focus “on Charlesworth (DSD Coordinator) reusing SU-created products”- are explained to me. completely free and available on the SU website.

The week’s activities include a vintage fair, cacti and succulent gardening, This element of accessibility is an as well as bat-box and bug hotel important aspect of Do Something making- which is hosted by the Green week and climate action as Conservation and Wildlife society and a whole, the more people able to will subsequently be placed around engage in what is “hopefully the campus to encourage more wildlife first of many” such events, the more and thriving ecosystems. Later in the people are educated and inspired to Home of the Wonderful Editor

be more proactive in their efforts to maintain the environment around them.

Do Something Green is especially relevant to our UEA campus, whichthough nicknamed the Concrete Jungle- includes the vast green space surrounding the Zigs and the Lake.

“time outside...is vital to our health and wellbeing.”

The importance of maintaining this environment and allowing ecosystems to prevail and thrive is not only for the benefit of the natural Action against the climate crisis, to world but also for us, as students. preserve wildlife and greenspace is also action taken to preserve our Our ever-present deadlines, work own, our friends and our children’s commitments and efforts to maintain mental and physical health. relationships are often stressful and overwhelming- time outside, Join the fight: find a full list of the whether a walk around the Lake or week’s activities, as well as tickets, on frisbee on the field, is vital to our the SU website. health and wellbeing.

JSoc, Hen Mazzig, and the barriers to LGBTQ+ rights in Israel Daniel Burns Home of the Wonderful Writer

On March 22, UEA JSoc are hosting Israeli speaker Hen Mazzig, who will be talking about LGBTQ+ struggles in the Middle East.

coalition negotiations, with much larger stated that only those who were of the parties being reliant on their support to age to vote, own land, and marry could form a government. be called ‘men’ and those who were too young would be referred to as ‘male’.

This results in them being able to put conditions on coalition Reading the verse through this lens, agreements, for example insisting it is possible that it is not referring that public transportation be to same-sex relations, but instead suspended on the Jewish Sabbath, and that to the common Greek practice of marriages be performed by an orthodox pederasty, a relationship that was Rabbi which precludes same-sex between an older man and a younger marriages. boy.

Smotrich is typical of the ultraOrthodox politicians who are trying to uphold a system of Orthodox hegemony and a theocratic state similar to Iran, a system to which the majority of Israeli and Diaspora Jews are fundamentally opposed.

It is this personal and political struggle which Hen Mazzig will discuss, in his discussion of his own experiences as a gay man, assisting The majority of Israeli society does Palestinians as an IDF soldier. not support the ultra-Orthodox interpretation of this verse. Only last The great Rabbi Hillel was month the UK Board of Deputies of once asked to teach the entire British Jews issued a series of tweets Torah whilst standing on one leg. He condemning the visit of ultra-Orthodox answered by saying “love your neighbour Israeli MK (Member of Knesset) Bezalel as you would yourself, the rest is Smotrich, who has repeatedly made commentary”, the position of our JSoc However, other explanations homophobic comments. towards the LGBTQ+ community. for same-sex have been posited, as Mazzig will explain in his talk. There is an As our JSoc welcomes marriage.” etymological oddity in the Hebrew used Hen Mazzig onto campus, this is in the Torah: there are two different something of which we should all be “Hen Mazzig...a The reason for this can words for man – ‘ish’ and ‘zachar’. mindful. be found at the heart of gay man, assisting Israeli politics: ultra-Orthodox Whilst they could both mean ‘man’, it Full details of the event, which is open lawmakers have outside influence on the is possible to translate ‘ish’ as man and Palestinians as an to everyone, can be found on the SU political process, due to the nation-wide ‘zachar’ as male. website. system of proportional representation.

IDF soldier.”

This is significant because in They often end up as the kingmakers in Ancient Greece, the law at the time Though its defenders like to claim that Israel is the safest place in the Middle East for LGBTQ+ rights, there is no legal provision for same-sex marriage or even civil partnerships.

In banning same-sex relationships, ultra-Orthodox Jews cite a verse from the Torah (Jewish bible). This verse, Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:22, is commonly translated as “Man shall not lie with “there is no man as he shall with a woman: this is an abomination”. legal provision

22nd March 2022

Want investment success?

UEAFIS Home of the Wonderful Writer

We are a diverse community of UEA students captivated by the intricacies and inner workings of a system that drives economies and ultimately the world. The finance and investment sector are vast, both from the outstanding opportunities and from its seemingly endless industry segments.

We will provide our members with workshops, talks and practical simulations to improve financial literacy, develop necessary professional skills and broaden one's vision on the different career paths available in the field of finance.

Occasionally, we will host networking and social events, where you will have the opportunity to connect with likeminded peers.

UEA FIS is a perfect fit for those pursuing a career in finance or those interested in learning about investments. Everyone is welcome, regardless of your experience or degree.

We acknowledge the fierce competition and cut-throat nature of the sector, therefore the society is a place where members mutually motivate and uplift each other.

Throughout the years the society has accumulated connections with some of the brightest minds in the biggest financial corporations. This includes Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Bank, and many more.

The speakers are willing to share their experience and expertise on what it's like to work for these renowned institutions, the specifics of their jobs, how they managed to land a role in the company and the skills they have been able to develop as a result.

We are also partnered with AmplifyME, a company that specialises in giving students practical training through market simulations, allowing them to learn through first-hand experience on what it's like to be on a trading floor.

Lastly, Oakwood Fund Management, our student led ESG focused investment fund, managing over £40,000 in assets.

By joining the fund, you will receive training on pitching a stock, producing investment reports, conducting fundamental analysis and ESG screening.

Fund members will be placed in teams which specialise in a given market sector (e.g. Bonds, Technology, Commodities), each team must be prepared to dedicate time into researching companies and producing investment theses on a quarterly basis.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Join on the SU website!

22nd March 2022

15

Local MP discusses tricky truths of climate crisis within his own party.

Jamie Bryson

Home of the Wonderful Writer

Norwich South’s MP Clive Lewis paid a visit to campus for an evening of discussion on ‘Environmentalism and the Left’ on March 3 in a joint event hosted by UEALabour and UEAGreens.

Lewis initiated his talk by explaining how “almost all elements of all parties now consider this [the climate crisis] a serious issue that needs to be tackled, compared to just five years ago when they were only concerned as to whether it would be a vote winner or not”.

He stressed that when he raised the idea of a net zero climate target in a shadow cabinet meeting in 2016, a colleague exclaimed “Well that’s all very well and good Clive, but will it win us votes?”.

This appeared to be the moment when many student’s ears in the room pricked up in realisation that this was not a politician afraid of speaking openly and honestly about the faults

Pursuing this approach, the exArmy reservist officer (who served in Afghanistan) went on to explain, “We are not even spending a fraction of what we should be on the climate crisis- yet we know that global military activities and exercises are responsible for a huge amount of climate damage and it’s one of the biggest emitting industries on the planet too.”

Indeed, in the Q&A that followed, an International Development student asked if “the next Labour government would be strong willed enough to allow those studying such new and extreme phenomenons to advise and suggest both technological and humanitarian solutions direct to government” to which Clive responded: “Citizens assembly models have indeed proved to work well with climate issues and we should remain open to it as a resultabsolutely”.

The highly experienced, yet modest parliamentarian also discussed ecoanxiety, shifting industrial power dynamics, and how we must consider alternative democratic models such as a federal system in the UK if we are to anticipate managing local resources effectively and efficiently.

Clive replied, summing up the atmosphere appropriately, “I think back to my ancestors, just five generations ago. They, as traded slaves, only had slavery ahead of them- almost no hope.

“But I’m still here now talking to you as a British MP. So it is possible, As the event drew to a close, another but they call it they don’t call it student asked simply “What hope the hard fight for do we have for the huge systemic need nothing”. to tackle the climate crisis?”

He asked: “how do we square fighting the climate crisis and then seeing a 2 to 3 percent increase in GDP spent on military capabilities, unless we’re talking about a far more humanitarian component to our militaries?

Photo: UEA Labour Society

“We have to begin by acknowledging the climate crisis is going to be one of the main drivers of increasing political and economic destabilisation”.

Audience reaction to this rigorous questioning suggested an appreciation of the more ‘grass-roots’ approach taken on such an issue from a mainstream politician.

Students, sex ed, and safety Libby Hargreaves

Home of the Wonderful Editor

Sex education is something many university students may think they’ve graduated from: the secondary national RSE (relationships and sex education) curriculum, however ineffective, has been taught and now is time to put theory into practice.

However, the importance of a thorough and ongoing sex education should not be overlooked. Conversations surrounding anatomy, sexuality, gender, children and consent are ever evolving and each of us always have something to learn.

UEA attempts to cover this gap in sex education as soon as freshers enter campus, through the online Consent Matters course which aims to teach “boundaries, respect and positive intervention”.

This is a brilliant way to remind students, in a period of partying, that consent is vitalthough in reality it is easily bypassed and consists of obvious multiple-choice questions.

Bystander’ workshops on campus regarding sex education and the throughout this month for students to university should do more to encourage engage in. it.

This lack of engagement in such additional courses creates an added importance on the way sex and related issues are discussed in compulsory learning, including seminars.

The safety and wellbeing of students at university is paramount to enjoying the experience and receiving the best education possible.

RSE fulfills this need, and can help answer many questions Female genital mutilation, period students have regarding long-term poverty, heteronormativity relationships and children- not just and sexual assault are sex. certainly topics that have appeared in my PPL and LDC seminars and A recent poll revealed that 20% of undoubtedly have a place on a British students “meet the loves of variety of courses. their life on campus”, but what next?

Are we making an informed choice These conversations are usually surrounding marriage? respectful and collaborative, working to create a constructive and well- Though as a generation we are rounded view of the topic. not afraid of breaking convention, our university community deserves the love we give to one “Safety and another to be reflected back in most positive way possiblewellbeing of students the an incredibly personal decision: just as most RSE at university is issues are, including contraception and childcare.

paramount to

Students are unlikely to purposefully, enjoying the meaningfully engage in this type of task, which is reflected experience.” in the frequency of spikings and bystanders at the LCR and Waterfront venues.

It is in these spaces where I believe On this note, there are ‘Call it out! students will do the most learning

One size does not fit all, therefore more inclusive conversations on campus can help us be better to our fellow students and to ourselves.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

16

COMMENT

22nd March 2022

Has Boris forgotten about the vulnerable?

Una Jones

Comment Writer

Boris Johnson has announced it’s time we live with Covid-19. But he hasn’t told us how.

The perception our prime minister, weakened by scandals, is trying to appease to his backbenchers is not all that farfetched. Many of these backbenchers have businesses and investments impacted by Covid-19 restrictions and wish for life to return to how it was before March 2020.

And they’re not the only ones. I’m sure we all miss aspects of how our lives were before the global pandemic. We ask ourselves, if we don’t return to normal now, then

when? What are we waiting for?

And then we feel guilty, because at the time of writing, around 200 people are dying within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. The pandemic isn’t over, and we will live with its consequences for years to come. The government expects us to live with Covid-19, while there are still people still dying from it.

whilst he was Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to Boris Johnson’s numerous parties, not one day before the Queen sat alone at her husband’s funeral. The stark reality here shows those acting as our government are simply unable to control themselves, and follow the rules to the point they need to scrap them.

You may remember the Government’s public health campaign, ‘Can you look them in the eyes?’ featuring profound, close-up shots of vulnerable people on ventilators with the intention to reveal the harrowing reality of Covid-19 to the public. It’s a shame the government’s fear mongering campaign didn’t impact them.

If you’re uncomfortable about going out with Covid-19 still in effect, with seeing vulnerable friends and family, it’s understandable, given what we have gone through in the last two years.

Simply look at the first two months of 2022. The first wave of Omicron hit us hard between December and January.

Families were back in isolation for the second Christmas running. This highly transmissible, airborne virus

With Hancock’s lack of remorse for the affair that broke his own rules

was spreading like wildfire. And in February all restrictions were lifted.

We live under the anxiety where new, more highly transmissible variants lay on the horizon. We know from our lived experience how deadly this virus is, with a fresh wound in our recent past.

This is not to say it’s wrong to want your life back after living in limbo for so long. Perhaps the issue isn’t even relinquishing the legality of Covid-19 restrictions. Those who want to get back to normal should be able to. However, those who don’t are left with nothing in place to facilitate that, or to help protect them.

With many people receiving statutory sick pay if they are off work with Covid-19 find their wages lowered. This was previously

topped up by a Covid-19 relief fund which is now gone, and with the ever-increasing cost of living, statutory sick pay just doesn’t cut it.

We may never know, truly, if Boris is doing what he thinks is best or whether it is to garner popularity from his backbenchers. What we do know however is that vulnerable people still remain vulnerable.

“Vulnerable people still remain vulnerable.”

Photo: Pixabay

Should Jamie O’Neon Comment Writer

A recent investigation has revealed over 100 NHS primary care buildings are owned by private firms registered in tax havens, bringing the long enduring question of the NHS’s proposed privatisation to the forefront once again. It is rather ironic how the NHS pays millions in rent each year to firms who barely pay any taxes, yet is itself swamped with issues of funding, organisation, and lack of long-term solutions.

The NHS is a system that has had to undergo many alterations and adjustments since its birth, with its expenditure exceeding initial expectations even in its early years.

These teething problems have developed to growing pains, and now to arthritis. For some, privatisation is

the the remedy as a privatised service might give patients a greater choice of treatment, reduce waiting times (something I’m sure we all would appreciate), and would ultimately give the NHS a much-needed chance for a new beginning.

However, would privatising the NHS be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water? After over 70 years of its existence, privatising the NHS would likely mean eliminating many sources of care and treatment for low-income families and individuals. The choice of either paying the bills and buying food or going to see the doctor is one that may become far more commonplace.

One only needs to hear a few stories of people refusing an ambulance across the pond because they know they won’t be able to afford treatment to know there is a clear moral problem

NHS with private healthcare implemented across an entire country.

Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that the NHS has been under severe strain for a long time, a state only worsened in recent years – this state cannot be maintained.

“This state cannot be maintained.”

be

privatised?

constantly, but the impact of this demand can be softened. Firstly, those who can genuinely afford paying for healthcare in this country (GP appointments, prescriptions, hospital treatments, etc.) should pay. Those with lower incomes who cannot feasibly afford all these things should have free access, but it must be ensured access is warranted – if citizens were generally more educated in the realm of health and medicine, then some strain could be taken off the NHS as ordinary people would know how to treat some ailments themselves without the need to go to a GP.

It’s impossible for the NHS to provide Complete privatisation isn’t the mostly ‘free’ universal healthcare answer to this, but perhaps a form of to the entire population of the UK compromise is.

– it was impossible in 1948, and it is still now. The cost for treatment/ Demand for free healthcare is rising consultations can be subsidised

according to the individual’s income.

The NHS should focus on making their primary care facilities solely government-owned in the long term to free up money to redirect back into patient services. This issue isn’t a black and white matter of privatisation versus nationalisation, it is a matter of utilising both to form a moral and more sustainable public healthcare system than the one which currently exists.

“This issue isn’t a black and white matter of privatisation versus nationalisation.”

22nd March 2022

17

concrete-online.co.uk/category/comment/ | @ConcreteUEA

Britain’s disappointing visa system for Ukraine Rianna Jones Comment Writer

“Please do not attempt to travel to the UK without a valid visa.”

The statement sits at the top of the Ukrainian advice page on the government website. I mean, it doesn’t say don’t come, but it’s not exactly welcoming either.

The refugee crisis continues to intensify. It’s estimated three million citizens have already fled the country and the EU predict the total figure could touch seven. They are scared and desperate, leaving their homes and putting their safety in the hands of strangers. As a conglomerate, the EU has overturned their visa system enacting the as yet unused Temporary Protection Directive to open their doors to refugees in remarkable numbers. Poland has taken 1.4 million, Germany 109,000, Italy have housed 24,000.

And Britain? As of the 15 March, it had approved just 4000 visa applications.

In a New York Times piece, BoJo declared the West needs to pull together and widen its efforts; “have we done enough for Ukraine? The honest answer is no.” But if those above statistics are telling of anything, it’s Britain, and Britain alone, that needs to do more.

Unlike EU countries, Britain hasn’t evoked an open-door policy. Initially, the Family Scheme allowed Ukrainians to travel on the condition they had an immediate or extended family member settled in the UK. But definitions remain confusing.

It is currently acceptable for an aunt to join a niece but it’s not acceptable for a niece to join an aunt. The combination of online applications and in-person appointments at Visa Application Centres (VAC) is admin-heavy and sluggish. VACs are sparse and overwhelmed. This reliance on official

documents is largely responsible for Britain’s embarrassing numbers.

The system has consequently been streamlined.

concerns about his intentions? No offence Evgeny, I’m sure you’re a lovely chap, but it seems to me Russia is only a threat when it needs to be.

From the 15 March, Ukrainian refugees who hold a valid passport will receive automatic approval upon completion of the online application form. Whilst it will hopefully reduce administrative demands, it is still a technocratic approach and hasn’t offered additional support for the interlude.

Selectivity is typical of our government’s attitude. Just look at our immigration policy, they don’t like people coming to Britain.

The Home Office defended these methodical checks in the name of security as unrestricted movement could leave Britain vulnerable to Russian extremist attacks. Priti Patel reassured the nation this reformed system will not put Britain under increased threat.

But was it not last week Boris Johnson guaranteed Evgeny Lebedev, a former KGB agent and media mogul, a lifetime seat in the House of Lords, despite British intelligence officials raising

“I’m not surprised, but I’m disappointed that I’m not surprised”

I’m not surprised, but I’m disappointed that I’m not surprised. At a time when we should be pulling together to help the innocent and vulnerable, somehow Britain has made the issue all about itself, reinforcing barriers

when it should be relaxing them.

Moreover, Britain is at the forefront of sending defensive weapons to Ukraine, beginning its provisions in January, a whole month prior to the EU. Is it not telling of the government’s attitude they would rather support the fight than cushion the repercussions?

At the time of writing, the government has just announced its Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

It looks promising, allowing individuals, local communities and private companies to apply to sponsor refugees and bring them over to the UK. With no limit on the numbers who are eligible, it could seriously accelerate Britain’s efforts. Time will tell whether it proves a success.

Unfortunately, for the thousands fleeing Ukraine, they don’t have time to wait and see.

Is this the end of mass student protest?

Jamie Bryson Comment Writer

I began writing this from a graffitied wooden desk on the third floor of a spectacular Waterstones branch in Bloomsbury, Central London - a thriving student area, home to three of the capital’s biggest universities - UCL, SOAS and the University of Westminster.

It happens to be the very same desk my Father sat at 45 years ago to pen a comment piece on one of the first ever student protests against the potential introduction of tuition fees as a student at the then University of London.

Those protestors were victors - as were the following generation, with fees not fully introduced in England and Wales until 1998, despite many failed attempts by numerous governments.

And it is with this in mind I feel somewhat deflated, having just returned from the National Student Strike just around the corner in Torrington Square.

The NUS (National Union of Students) have been advertising this event nationally for a couple of months now, in protest against the increased marketisation of higher education and the threat of fees being raised yet further in years to come.

Back in 2011, the extraordinarily sharp rise of fees (from £3000 to £9000) sparked what

would become known as Britain’s most significant period of mass protest by the young in generations.

Which is why I was so shocked and disappointed at the extremely low turnout at the “protest” I went to today.

There were approximately 300 people in attendance.

Three hundred students out of a total of 2.8 million higher education students across England and Wales.

While I’ve been disappointed with similar numbers at the past few student protests I’ve attended in recent months, I can’t help but feel there must be some wider issues at play here, given this was a nationally advertised event by the National Union of Students - the obvious one to suggest being poor management and organisation at the top of the NUS. While there might be a case for this, I’d like to point to a seemingly more systemic issue that has the potential to lead to what could be the beginning of the end for the mass student protest.

Our generation has and continues to face significant political change.

From Brexit to the pandemic, alongside more systemic issues such as the increased marketisation of education, many of us have become overwhelmed and hopeless in the face of such large issues.

Many of us are simply exhausted by the fact our

protests and rejections never seem to be heard, respected or actioned.

In considering this, I can begin to understand why such an event as the one I have been to today is met with such poor attendance.

But we must be acutely aware it is such frustration and hopelessness allowing the power and dominance of the political elite to thrive.

When the majority of us give up our right and willingness to protest, we hand them a golden ticket by which they can utilise our political apathy as a tactic to further pursue the selfish policies they crave in the name of economic efficiency.

It is one of the political and social weapons they know they can get away with using very easily and very quickly.

Therefore, those of us who continue to cling on to some form of political hope should consider it their civic duty to begin to think of new, innovative ways to re-engage the student community in determining the fairness, effectiveness and basic morality of their education.

We live in a tough and overwhelming political environment - but one in which the collective determination and mass organisation of the country’s youth can still, and always will, hold ultimate power over it.

We just need to remind ourselves of it now and then.

Photo: Pixabay

22nd March 2022

SCIENCE

18

Climate Change Corner: Latest IPCC report says ‘hope for the future is fading fast’ George Barsted Senior Science Writer

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns if strict and urgent action isn’t taken, a “livable and sustainable” future is in doubt.

The expansive and comprehensive report is based on 34,000 studies and documents from scientists all over the globe.

It envisions a future in which people and the natural world will both be impacted by a warming Earth. Heatwaves, storms, droughts and wildfires are all going to become more likely if the rate of climate change continues. In a stark and serious statement, the head of the UN, António Guterres, said in reference to

the conclusions of the report, “delay is death”.

flooding likely to become more and more intense as the years go on.

The report states the human cost of climate change is likely to be incredibly serious, and the issues for standards of living and climate change are likely to be intrinsically linked. If global warming rises by just 1.6 ºC, up to 8% of farmland would become untenable, thus leading to rising food crises and increased risk of famines. By 2050, 183 million more people are likely to be going hungry worldwide.

In the UK particularly, rising sea levels and unnatural weather patterns may lead to flooding not seen in recent memory. Sewage works, seaports, and airports could be affected by flooding, leading to widespread disruption for the United Kingdom and devastating consequences for the economy.

Increased sea levels, in particular, may spark doubts over the stability of coastal defences as erosion increases with the predicted rise. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) criticised the response from politicians in the country to the report and the threat of climate change. They stated: “The UK has the capacity and the resources to adapt but the government is simply not doing enough”.

The report has been described as “brutal”, highlighting a third of people are likely to be impacted by high heat stress if the rate of warming continues as it is in 2050. The effects are hard to imagine. Abnormal weather patterns will lead to even further disruption with

into the atmosphere.

“UK has the capacity and resources to adapt but the government is not doing enough” The IPCC report does make recommendations to point the fight against climate change in the right direction. Restoration of biodiverse spaces such as wetlands and forests, and a process of “re-greening” cities to cool them can help restore nature. The most important recommendation is to cut the number of emissions released

Transitioning to sustainable fuels and renewable energy sources must be made a priority in order to prevent worsening climate change.

While the natural world is likely to suffer, the report also focuses on those who are already more likely to be disadvantaged by inaction.

The global south, Asia and Africa are far more likely to experience deadly consequences from a lack of response.

The most vulnerable and low-income nations will be on the frontline of the climate crisis unless action is taken now to rectify the ongoing crisis.

Photo: Pixabay

Photo: Pixabay

Space junk concern grows as rocket crashes into the Moon Mariam Jallow Science Editor

Pollution on Earth is a problem we’re all familiar with, but what about the ever-growing collection of junk orbiting outside of our planet? This month a rocket crashed onto the Moon’s surface, making it the first instance of an unintentional impact on the neighbouring natural satellite. This event has led to increased worry from space scientists about the amount of debris being caused by space exploration.

The aged three-ton machinery thought to be part of a rocket booster used to launch a Chinese spacecraft in 2014 collided with the far side of the lunar surface. After drifting through the dark abyss of space for the past few years, its untimely end is estimated to have left a crater of around 10 to 20 metres in diameter, kicking up large swathes of dust as a result. As

daunting as the event sounds, some scientists were lying in wait for a chance to observe the incident.

As with other previously planned crashes into the satellite body, seismic waves generated from the impact of such collisions can be analysed in order to estimate the qualities and content of the Moon’s interior. Other intentional crashes of “space-ware” into the Moon were controlled in order to bring an end to lunar observational missions.

However, regardless of the scientific or accidental reasons, this consequence of space exploration has many growing concerns with the mounting levels of debris being left on the Lunar surface.

Around our own planet, there is an estimated 27,000 pieces or more of space junk being tracked in orbit

by NASA. This kind of debris poses security risks to certain nations due to increased difficulty in identifying objects, some of which

may be satellites of other countries.

Additionally, it poses a hazard to already existing satellites and active space machinery capable of colliding with the floating garbage.

This happened in 2009, when a U.S. owned spacecraft met its fate with an out-of-commission Russian spacecraft, resulting in even more space debris being released.

In response to the growing cislunar (the space between Earth and the Moon) and space junk, the Australian Earth Laws Alliance has published a ‘Declaration of the Rights of the Moon’. Other nations and organisations have favoured more practical methods of mitigating the growth of debris by investigating ways to physically remove it. This has proven to be extremely challenging so far, however, many space researchers and scientists believe it is imperative to make note of the impact humans are having on areas outside our own planet.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

22nd March 2022

19

concrete-online.co.uk/category/science/ | @ConcreteUEA

The Coronavirus Pandemic: Two years on George Barsted Senior Science Writer

“What does the end of pandemic measures mean for the UK’s future?”

Two years ago, on the 26 March, 2020, Britain was plunged into lockdown.

Schools shut, businesses ceased trading, and millions of people were urged to stay home. Two years later and the government’s “Living with Covid” plan has been rolled out meaning the end of restrictions in the United Kingdom. Given the changes occurring these past years, we’d like to take a look back and answer two questions: what changes took place in the United Kingdom in the past two years and what does the end of pandemic measures mean for the future?

The early days of the pandemic were marked by confusion, panic, and shock. Supermarket shelves were emptied and pictures showing overrun hospital wards and strained A&E units covered the TV screens. Lockdown measures were announced on the 23rd of March and non-essential business was halted. Delays over lockdown were criticised during the first stages of the pandemic as hospitals became overwhelmed and PPE shortages became the norm.

Hospitals struggled to cope as measures were introduced to slow the spread.

As the pandemic progressed in its first wave, it became clear things were getting better. Cases began to drop and hospitalisations decreased.

Children returned to school and adults to work. Progress seemed to point in the right direction and the first doses were given on the 8th of December. Shortly after this, England descended into another lockdown, causing Christmas plans to be cancelled as the Delta variant took hold. Similar criticisms of delays over the lockdown followed as the government scrambled to

convince the public the measures were worth it. Public support in the measures was still largely popular as it was deemed necessary to sacrifice social events to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.

“Coronavirus exacerbated cracks in Britain’s welfare system” Economically, the majority of households ended up poorer and less secure in their finances. The furlough scheme helped to stem large scale unemployment from wreaking havoc on the economy.

However, many were still left worse off as hours were cut in response to reduced demand in some sectors.

Many people across Britain had dealt with the pandemic working

from home from cramped flats and house shares only to come out of lockdown in less secure employment and lower incomes. The impact of coronavirus exacerbated cracks in Britain’s welfare system leaving those most vulnerable even further at risk as the pandemic contributed to rising prices.

“ The recurring motif of the last two years has been one of hypocrisy.

Many people deemed these sacrifices necessary for the human lives saved and justifiable anger followed suit as it was revealed many set the rules and decided not to follow them.Numerous reports of government ministers and advisers breaching lockdown regulations flooded the news. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was caught

embracing one of his aides in an illicit affair after encouraging the public to not engage in casual sex to curb the pandemic. In 10 Downing Street, reports emerged of parties held over the Christmas period and beyond, complete with suitcases full of alcohol and party games.

The past two years were incredibly tough for the general population, and the sense of anger directed at the government has been palpable.

Many people stuck to the rules and avoided human contact for the majority of the pandemic following the advice given to them, whilst those who made the rules flouted them. The sense of injustice many feel toward the metropolitan elite, who seemed disconnected from the rest of the country, and dictated what rules must be followed whilst breaking them themselves is understandable. The recurring motif of the last two years has been one of hypocrisy. Scientific policy needs public trust to work and without it, future pandemics could be much much worse. There are lessons to be learnt for the future and it’s up to those in charge to lead by example.

Photo: Pixabay

Bizarre Science: Is a kiss just a kiss?

What scientists make of making out Synne Solbrekken Science Writer

Lip-on-lip kissing is an almost exclusively human experience. The closest semblance to human beings’ most common kissing behaviours are the Bonobo apes which sometimes kiss for no apparent reason other than wanting to (like us).

Other animals such as dogs and cats lick and nuzzle each other, while snails and insects use their antennas.

Research suggests as babies we have an innate liking for lip touching. From breastfeeding onwards, we associate the act with positive reinforcement.

Lip-to-lip kissing specifically is thought to come from our evolutionary past; our mothers would chew the food and feed it to us from her lips. Pretty gross if you ask me.

Other cultures perform different forms of kissing that doesn’t involve the touching of one’s lips to another.

These may seem strange to outsiders, like the Malay kiss where a woman

squats down in front of a man so he can get a whiff of her smell from above.

The most common consensus is that any form of kissing is a way of exchanging biological information. Some scientists say kissing is a learned behaviour and not so much instinctual. However, our lips and tongues are some of the most sensitive areas of our bodies. Kissing feels good which makes us prone to repetition.

In summary, science tells us we are exchanging biological information and smelling each other to figure out whether we should have children with this person.

I personally believe most people would say kissing is just an enjoyable act (mostly). As such, the scientific context, however interesting, won’t be our first thought when kissing someone. I know it isn’t mine.

Photos: Pixabay

The T-Rex gets two sister species Becky Sainty Science Writer

The Tyrannosaurus rex is an iconic dinosaur species, with its big strong legs contrasting with its small, two-fingered arms. It roamed North America in the Cretaceous Period, from 68 to 66 million years ago– the only known large predator at the time. It was first described in 1905 when it was given the name translating to ‘tyrant lizard king’. To date, the T. rex has been the lone tyrant but a new analysis suggests it should actually be three species.

The study examined 38 fossils, focusing on the number of small incisors in their lower jaw and the robustness of their thigh bones. It found three groups of characteristics emerged. The older specimens had four incisors instead of the two found in younger ones. This precursor species has been named ‘the emperor’, T. imperator.

It is suggested to have given rise to the newly recognised two species from younger specimens, who differ in

robustness. Previous studies had suggested this divergence could be between males and females.

However, the authors of this study argue this cannot explain the observed distribution. They retain the classification of the robust specimens as T. rex, titling the less robust species T. regina, the queen.

This new classification is controversial, however, with other palaeontologists disagreeing that the differences are wide enough to warrant separating new species.

The results especially contrast with a 2020 study, which did not find strong enough patterns to justify different species. Defining species is often complicated, as overtime one species can evolve into two, and a line must be drawn somewhere.

With dinosaurs, no genetic testing or behavioural observations that might help in extant species is possible, making this even harder.

Perhaps further examination or more specimens will settle the debate as to whether the tyrant lizard king should also have an emperor and a queen.

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TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

22 March 2022

'Nature's Little Secret': Tales from the British Virgin Islands Mariam Jallow Travel & Lifestyle Writer

“Nature’s Little Secret” is the defining tagline of my childhood.

It’s also on license plates, t-shirts and nearly every tourist-trap merchandise you can find in the Virgin Islands (or BVI for short). I grew up on the island of Tortola, the biggest in the archipelago, although at just 24 square miles, this isn’t much to brag about. As small as the country is, it’s filled with beautiful natural formations- from the crystalclear waters lapping on white sand beaches, to stretching lush, green mountains towering above. The environment, much like the culture, is warm and rich.

If this begins to sound a bit too much like a tourism advertisement, that’s because it is. The tourism industry is one of the largest sources of revenue for the nation, second only to financial services like offshore banking (but I won’t get too into that one). In secondary school, I remember my friends and I took a mandatory tourism class despite

being science majors. Walking through Road Town, the capital, with your mates only to have your conversation interrupted by the blaring tune of a Disney cruise ship near the docks may seem a bit bizarre, but simply routine for us. Given the pervasiveness of the industry within the BVI, I often wondered whether the culture influenced our brand of tourism, or if the latter influenced our culture.

Before I go any further, there are three things you must know about people from the BVI. For us, manners are everything. In a place where everyone knows everyone, attempting to enter any establishment or pass by others on the roadside without a “Good morning!” is seen as disrespectful. I remember walking through town when one of my aunts pulled her car up beside me to ask why I hadn’t greeted her. The usually good-natured custom can make you feel welcomed and safe if not just a little invaded.

Another thing about BVIslanders is we love a good fête. We’ve got the standard celebrations such as

our Emancipation Festival, a type of carnival held throughout the Caribbean, and Christmas parades.

However, people’s birthdays are often turned into huge events with venues booked, food prepped and cooked by attendees (my favourite), and of course, rum (my second favourite).

Lastly, and most importantly, we’re incredibly proud of our home. When BVIslanders say we’re “nature’s little secret”, we really do believe it.

I never truly appreciated how lucky I was to live in a place where wildlife existed uninhibitedly until I moved to London. It was strange to fall asleep without the sound of waves crashing, and a chorus of crickets and birds chirping. Some part of me, an extremely small part, even misses chasing stray frogs out of the house during heavy rainfalls. I realized I was raised to consider myself a part of nature, and in turn consider nature a part of me. In a time where we’re fighting to preserve the future of our planet, I think the long journey ahead can be made easier by adopting this little piece of Virgin Islands philosophy into our consciousness.

Image: Pixabay

Norwich: the Queer capital of the East Tristan Pollitt Travel & Lifestyle Editor

“Norwich is a fine city.” This often remarked and equally mocked slogan, which you first encountered driving down the A11 towards the outer limits of the city, has become just as iconic and intertwined with the city’s DNA as UEA’s Ziggurats or Cathedral Close.

You take a walk around the city streets, visit some of the local attractions and taste the local cuisine, some of which have already been written about in this section previously, and think “sure, Norwich is a pretty fine city.”

When I think of Norwich, it is as though it were in the process of performing a very delicate balancing act between the past and the present, the historic and the new. This is by no means an easy feat – just look at Liverpool, which recently lost its prized UNESCO World Heritage status for demolishing some of its iconic

features.

What is unexpected, however, is Norwich’s status as the LGBT and now Queer capital of not only Norfolk but also East Anglia.

“When I think of Norwich, it is [in]...a very delicate balancing act" Like a lifejacket in the deep blues of the North Sea, Norwich has for the past several years appeared to be a refuge for those which society has deemed to be degenerate, subversive, or else.

As the largest city in the East of England, its position as such seems, at least at first glance, almost the default option. Its reputation as such was no doubt helped by the establishment of UEA in 1963, and

the modernization of the Norwich University of the Arts in 1994, both of which attracted swaths of new students and young people to the area the majority of which held socially liberal values.

“only with a condom” into several languages for those who needed it.

This was done, once again, before the later realisation of what AIDS was and did was acted upon by the UK government.

However, Norwich’s historic ties with Queer culture and history extend far beyond the confines of the university campus, which can already feel at times like a world apart from the real world.

Today, Queer culture in Norwich continues to thrive with annual pride marches and events being held since 2009. Restaurants and Bars aimed at providing a safe environment for Queer people include MJ’s Tavern and The Wave which are open all year round.

For example, during the late 1990s and early 2000s Norfolk and Norwich based magazines such as ‘Evolve’ and ‘Oasis’ offered help, advice, information, and support to transgender (or ‘transexual’, to use the magazine’s language) people many years before the socio-cultural awakening we are witnessing around us.

During the height of the AIDS epidemic a few years prior, citizens of Norwich established a number of helplines and prevention services, including translating terms and phrases in various booklets such as

Local museums and galleries have also gone the extra mile and incorporated Queer history and art exhibits into a more permeant position within their collections.

Of course, this is without mentioning the support and community groups available throughout the city and on our very own campus.

All this having been said, why talk about Queer culture now? The more general answer is that as noble as the idea of a Queer history or month

is, to confine it to a single span of 30 or so days before promptly forgetting us is to be, in one sense, self-defeatist. Queer history, Queer culture is history, is culture.

The other, more pressing reason relates in events in the United States.

As Florida Governor and potential future Republican nominee for President of the United States, Ron DeSantis prepares to sign the ‘Parental Rights in Education Bill,’ otherwise known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’ by its opponents, into law, it becomes necessary for us recognise and remember the importance of history and culture in our community.

The legalization of Gay Marriage took place less than a decade ago, in 2014. The equality of the age of consent in 2000. Just as quickly as time’s arrow marches forward, so to is it true that it can turn just as quickly into sand.

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Treasures from Pakistan: The Khewra Salt Mine Tristan Pollitt

Travel & Lifestyle Editor

Nestled in the heart of the Potohar Salt Range in Pakistan rests the glimmering Khewra Salt mine, famous for the pink Himalayan rock salt sitting in pantries across the world.

It is the second-largest salt mine in the world, with estimated salt reserves between 82 million tons to 600 million tons, and produces 350,000 thousand tons of pure halite (rock salt) per annum.

The history of the salt mine dates back to about 300 BC during the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great. It is said that the mine, however, was not discovered by Alexander, his men, or his allies, but by

his horses, who were found licking the stones and found themselves rejuvenated and recovered from their ailments.

The Khewra Salt Mine is open to the public and invites visitors to experience the mines and appreciate its attractions.

Visitors have the option of walking or taking a small mechanical train along the mine’s railway to its core were a number of illuminated constructions made almost entirely of salt await

“Visitors have the option of walking or taking a small mechanical train"

them.

Among these is a model of the Great Wall of China, replicas of the Badshahi Mosque and Minare-Pakistan which are famous landmarks of the country, and a statue of Pakistan’s famous poet Allama Iqbal.

Other grand attractions within the mine are the 245-foot-high Assembly Hall, the world’s only functional post office made entirely of salt, a bridge made entirely of salt with no pillars or columns to support it stretching across an 80-foot-deep brine bond, and the Palace of Mirrors which is a grand tunnel system within the mines with reflecting salt bricks that glow in various shades under the light.

The mines also host a range of natural phenomena such as salt

stalactites and stalagmites, pools of reflective and shadowy waters, and both natural and manmade caves and tunnels that borrow into walls of absolute pink salt.

The mines are also known for the quality of air within them due to the purification processes that take place as a product of the salt content.

In 2007, a clinical ward was developed for treatment and therapy of asthma and other such respiratory diseases.

The salt mine is, therefore, able to host a comfortable asthma resort attracting patients around the world to rest in their salt-brick cottages.

Visitors also have the chance to purchase a variety of unique

souvenirs from the mine including unrefined salt rock, small rock sculptures of names and animals, and of course the famous salt lamps.

The Khewra Salt Mines are one of Pakistan's very best cultural treasures (amongst many) and are a must see for anyone visitng the region.

“The Khewra Salt Mines are one of Pakistan's very best cultural treasures"

22nd March 2022

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SPORT

Why are there so many sex scandals in sports? scandals in professional sports?

Joe Howard Sport Writer

Imagine this. training most of competition.

You’ve your life

been for a

All the people you know have been putting pressure on you to perform.

You’ve been eyeing up that podium position, that gold medal, that trophy, that number on the scoreboard.

infidelity among key role models as being uncommon and mostly harmless, there With sports stars having their lives have been occasions in which more and more publicised, with athletes have used their ego and influence growing pressure being applied to with more sinister intentions. what they do best, the tendency for the aspects of their problems In 2017, news broke out about tend to get blown up for the two promising Irish rugby excitement of the media and players Paddy Jackson and Stuart public.

Olding along with the involvement of other players at their club, Especially in the heavy-testosterone Ulster rugby, were to be charged with environments of male team sports, there rape and sexual assault. are often occasions of being goaded on into doing something that they probably With every detail and Whatsapp shouldn’t. message that was uncovered, it exposed a dirty underside to the sport Rugby is a sport thatis no exception to through the attitudes of many of it’s this. players.

You can’t help not thinking but knowing that you are the best in the world and now you’ve got to step up on the big stage and prove it to all of your family, friends, coaches, fans, and the rest of the Aaron Smith, one of the All Blacks world. greatest and most decorated scrum halves in the history of the sport, You feel on top of the world, like nobody was caught sneaking out of a toilet can stop you, but you still feel the cubicle in Christchurch Airport with an expectations weighing down on you. unidentified woman, that was not his girlfriend.

The thoughts running through your head seem enough to make you explode.

After much public outcry at the controversy, Smith was dropped for the So as a means of taking the pressure off next few games against South Africa. your shoulders and letting loose, is it any wonder that there are so many sex Although we like to think that such

Although all of the players were not found guilty, it lead to them being exiled from domestic and international rugby, but it was nothing compared to the punishment they should have received.

Since then, it has been a stark reminder for rugby, along with all other sports, about the prevailing attitudes towards sex and the egos that affect them.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Sex and the impact it has on sports performance abstain from sex so as to build up frustration and aggression to be used Sport Editor in competition. While this is still a common route for many athletes in Sex and its relationship to sporting the village, Rio 2016 was statistically performance has long been debated. extremely horny.

Oscar Ress

There are some well-known connections in the sporting world.

Boxers are said to have to abstain from sex before a big fight and the Olympic village has a particularly raunchy reputation.

The organisers were said to have handed out up to 450,000 condoms for just the 12,000 athletes competing.

While the Winter Olympics in 2018 reportedly handed out 38 condoms per competitor at the games. This would seem to debunk the theories on The importance of testosterone and athletes choosing to abstain. sex is particularly common when it comes to combat sports. Rocky Now to the scientific analysis of Balboa’s trainer declared “women the topic.

In truth, it is weaken legs” in the film ‘Rocky’. relatively limited.

The There are more concrete arguments, Journal of Sports Medicine however, former MMA Champion and Physical Fitness and the Ronda Rousey said she tried to “have as Frontiers in Physiology both concluded much sex as possible” as she believed there to be no significant effect from it was linked to more testosterone in sex on athletic performance after women. separate experiments.

Tyson Fury is never one to shy away from entertaining opinions on all matters but sex has been of particular interest to Fury. Before his first fight with Deontray Wilder, he publicly declared he was abstaining from sex for three months.

The only factor seeming to play a part was sex that occurs just before sport, one study found recovery took slightly long when sexual activity happened within two hours.

There is also a slight warning to those This all changed before the rematch whose sport requires as alongside this unusual tactic: “I’ve great concentration as it been doing a lot of p**** licking to might have an impact. strengthen up my jaw up,” he also claimed to be masturbating seven It will be obvious from this times a day with a view to raise his article that sex and sport are testosterone levels. so often intertwined but this is not limited to the athletes.

The Mexican football team was said to Superstitions grip the most loyal have been instructed to abstain during of sports fans but one of the the 2014 World Cup. This could only very best was told to me propel them to the Round of 16, before recently about a devoted fan of they were defeated by the Dutch team the England football team, 2-1. who chose not to partake in any sexual activity the night In terms of the Olympic village, there before he watched his is a great history of the Olympics and beloved England play. intercourse.

You can only admire such dedication Over 1,000 years ago in Athens, there to the cause. was an opinion that athletes should

22nd March 2022

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Comment: The sporting consequences of Putin’s invasion Dan Laughlan Sports writer

Two weeks on from Putin’s inhumane invasion of Ukraine, sport, which has for so long turned a blind eye to conflicts and authoritarian regimes, has finally been forced to pick-a-side.

and Belarusian athletes will no longer be allowed to compete following other countries threatening not to participate if action was not taken.

FIFA came out with what has widely been regarded as a weak stance saying the Russian football team would be allowed to compete if they played at neutral stadiums, without their flag and anthem, under the name of FIFA has a long-standing relationship ‘Football Union of Russia’ similarly to how with Putin having awarded Russia the Russian athletes competed at the 2020 2018 World Cup whilst ignoring Russia’s Olympics. human rights abuses.

Only after other European countries In 2019, footballer Mesut Özil spoke refused to play against any form of the out against reported labour camps Russian team, did FIFA change its stance.

Uyghur Muslims were being Russian football clubs and national subjected to in the Xinjiang region teams have now been suspended from of China. In response, Arsenal all competitions. released a statement saying the club ‘does not involve itself in Meanwhile, other sports have acted politics.’ more swiftly and decisively.

Three years on what’s changed?

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from competing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) originally permitted these athletes to compete stating that the athletes shouldn’t be seen as ‘aggressors’ and they did not have the authority to ban athletes since it was outside their jurisdiction.

A day later, the IPC announced Russian

Basketball, Gymnastics, Rugby, Skating, Swimming as well as Judo of which Putin has been removed from his position on the governing board and his honorary black belt was stripped.

Despite this, is it fair athletes are punished for Putin’s actions?

After winning bids for the 2018 World Cup and the 2014 Winter Olympics, Putin’s prestige grew within the Russian population.

Therefore, banning Russia from most sports should create an adverse reaction amongst Russians.

Moreover, continuing events in Russia will only generate more revenue for the Russian economy and the Putin regime to fund the invasion.

It is morally inconceivable for Russians to participate freely in sport whilst Formula 1 has terminated its contract Ukrainians are unable to, as they defend with the Russian Grand Prix. Even their country. though Russian drivers were allowed to participate, Nikita Mazepin had his Athletes are made to pay the contract terminated by Haas. consequences for Putin’s actions, but it is a necessary move to show that sport Both Russian and Belarus Tennis stands with Ukraine.

Federations have been suspended.

World number one Daniil Medvedev After many weak statements and poor will still be allowed to compete decisions following past conflicts, it is individually. promising that sport is finally leaving behind its neutrality and is picking a side.

A further 24 sports have sanctioned Russian athletes, these include The correct side.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The pros and cons of getting behind the scenes of professional sport episodes depict Max Verstappen’s championship-winning campaign, culminating in his controversial victory over Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Behind-the-scenes sports documentaries Grand Prix in December. have taken the world by storm, becoming some of the most-watched Since the launch of the series in 2018, and anticipated pieces of media in the Formula 1 has seen a spike in US viewing world today. figures, a market the sport has previously struggled to crack.

However, many question the integrity of these programmes and whether The 2021 F1 season was the mostthey might be too intrusive, leaving the watched in America to date, with overall athletes with nowhere to hide from the ratings up by more than 40%. limelight, not even their own changing rooms.

In addition, due to increased interest, a second US Grand Prix located in Miami has been added to the 2022 schedule, the first time the US has hosted two races since 1984.

Metin Yilmaz Senior Sports writer

“Many question the integrity of these programmes”

It’s evident, then, that behind-the-scenes documentaries can lead to positive growth for less popular sports. This is what elite tennis is trying to achieve.

In January, Netflix announced that in a brand new behind-the-scenes series filmed in 2022, they would be This week, Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ following “some of the world’s best has released its fourth and perhaps tennis players as they journey around most anticipated season yet. The latest the world, seeking to win on the

sport’s biggest stages.”

conference since withdrawing from the the clubs themselves have 2021 French Open for mental health no creative control over what Produced by Box to Box Films, the reasons. makes it into the final cut of same production company behind documentaries like ‘All or Nothing’.

Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’, the Just how being filmed in the expansion into the sport of tennis run-up to matches and during has been met with anticipation from her down-time will affect her many. performances remains to be seen, but it’s probably fair to say that Netflix’s new-found intrusion into athletes’ privacy and preparation could have an adverse effect on the mental wellbeing and competitive performance of some.

“Another... documentary could do more harm than good for the athletes”

Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have also dipped their toes into the waters of football, with titles like ‘All or Nothing’ and ‘Sunderland Til I Die’ being some of the most popular, However, it’s equally important to particularly in the UK. question whether another behindthe-scenes sports documentary could And whilst globally lesser do more harm than good for the known clubs such as Sunderland athletes themselves, especially have undoubtedly benefited considering how stars such as Naomi from such programmes in a Osaka have struggled with obligatory commercial sense, the integrity and media duties in the past. honesty of the behind-the-scenes sports documentary, especially It was only August when Osaka broke in football, remains questionable. down in tears during her first press It’d be naive to believe that

“The integrity and honesty... remains questionable”

With the Big 6 clubs like Arsenal and Manchester City valuing their brand images to the extent that they do, what the viewer sees is very likely to be a diluted version of events, so as to protect the club’s reputation.

So in this regard, viewers should be wary that the behind-the-scenes sports documentary is often nothing more than a PR tool used by football clubs in order to garner a broader international audience of supporters, thus leading to increased revenues.

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SPORT

Double UEA BUCS Conference Cup wins UEA Table Tennis President Luke Brown said on their win: “Our men’s BUCS Sport Editor team comprising of our three table tennis scholars put in an excellent UEA Table Tennis and UEA Women’s performance to secure a 9-7 victory Hockey both enjoyed success in over Nottingham 4’s team. Our team their respective BUCS cup finals last consisted of Gaurav Aravind, Deng week.

Ke Deng, Zachary Martillo, and Daniel Zeffie.

Table Tennis beat a Nottingham Uni side while Women’s Hockey 2s stormed to “A huge congratulations to the team, a 4-1 win against Oxford Brookes. Both with player of the match going to finals were hosted at Loughborough Gaurav, who won every single one University. of his matches. We look forward to the club progressing in the future A cup win is always a testament to and hopefully securing even more consistent performances under pressure. titles.”

Oscar Ress

This fantastic achievement now sees the Women’s Hockey Captain, Elle Ashton teams crowned 2022 BUCS Midlands celebrated her team’s victory: “It’s a Conference Champions. brilliant feeling and I am incredibly proud of every single girl that has The accomplishment is all the more devoted any time to the team, whether impressive considering the size and in training or in a match! standard of sport at both Nottingham and Oxford Brookes, who are renowned “It has been such an amazing experience as two of the best sports universities in and such a fantastic season, from the country. having to give players up to the 1s,

to eight different goalies (none of whom were actual goalies), we’ve had our fair share of obstacles.

“Cami and Frankie have been absolutely faultless coaches, devoting so much time to push everyone, they both also deserve medals. For the team to have done so well in its first ever season and cup, proves how much it was needed and I’m excited to see it’s growth as it continues.”

These were not the only two finals on the day, with various other UEA sides, including Men’s Hockey, Women’s Lacrosse, and Women’s football, getting to their respective BUCS Conference Finals.

Photo: UEA Women’s Hockey Photo: UEA Table Tennis

It was not to be for them but it was a valiant effort by all to reach the final stage nonetheless.

Congratulations to all involved in BUCS Cups this year.

Bloody Good UEA discuss: menstruation in Sport and the need for more education conversation, especially with those who Clue, which now allows users to track don’t engage with sports as much. their physical activity as well as period symptoms. It is definitely a welcome The correlation between menstruation feature, as users can view all previous Discussing periods and how they and exercise has been noted by health cycles and acknowledge how their affect sports and physical activity is and period tracking apps such as ability for physical activity may differ at not something that often comes up in

Bloody Good UEA

Sport Writer

Photo: Bloody Good UEA

different points in their cycle.

be incredibly beneficial. I am not a sporty person myself, however, I remember In my opinion, this is such a positive always being told in secondary school aspect, as it removes the idea that P.E. that instead of sitting out of the periods are an obstacle within peoples’ lesson, “exercise will help cramps!!”. training regimes. Instead, it’s a way for those partaking in physical activity to Whilst this may be true for some, as I have become more methodical with their gotten older, I have realised how much training and more in touch with dealing conditions like PCOS and endometriosis with their symptoms. can be utterly debilitating, and make it extremely hard to get through a regular After all, it’s super important that day let alone through a session of people can manage symptoms within exercise. everyday life as well as sporting activities. Menstrual cycles shouldn’t I also remember feeling isolated when act as a barrier stopping people I was on my period and competing from doing what they enjoy. With in sports because I felt ashamed and this in mind, I also think it’s really embarrassed. Furthermore, it almost important that there’s always a level of became a mockery that if people who understanding for those that don’t feel menstruate let the teacher know they up to participating in sports because of could not partake in P.E. or swimming their menstrual cycle. that day, it was just an excuse, and they were faking it.

Through our interviews with UEA Sports Presidents for our This kind of mindset is extremely #BleedLikeAChampion campaign, we harmful and can really impact young have noticed a running theme: people menstruators’ views of their bodies, are comfortable discussing their their sporting abilities, and their selfperiod and its impacts with others who confidence. menstruate, but do not discuss it or feel comfortable bringing it up with those We need to remember that everyone who don’t. deals with menstruation differently and understanding and supporting each This, in my opinion, speaks to a wider other with symptoms goes a long way. issue: until we include people who do not menstruate in the conversation, we We also need more education within cannot rid ourselves of the stigma. sports on periods, so that we can foster an uplifting and empowering environment The presidents all agreed that more for all those who menstruate (and those education within sports on periods, the who don’t!). menstrual cycle, and its impacts would