Falling student satisfaction page 14
The Big Music Debate: Kate Tempest page 48
Five a side here to stay page 55
Issue 279 Monday 10th November 2014 www.epigram.org.uk
Donervan in danger? Philip Bruland
Alexander Evans Online News Editor Oscar Cunnington Online News Editor Senior figures within university management have discussed ‘worries’ over Bristol’s favourite kebab vendor, Jason Donervan, trading close to the University’s new development on the Triangle, and some privately suggested they ‘wanted it gone’, Epigram can reveal. Epigram heard directly from a senior university
figure that there were strong voices within higher management calling for Jason Donervan to be removed from public land in front of the building as part of the University development. And sources confirmed that university management met with Bristol City Council recently explicitly to discuss ways to take ‘control of the forecourt’ area. The owner of Jason Donervan, 45-year-old Mustafa Durdu, told Epigram this was the first he had heard about University authorities discussing moving the van. ‘They can’t do something like this behind our back. ‘If they attempt something like this behind our
backs, I will go there and sit outside in protest, I will take them to court, to the High Court, to the European Court of Human Rights if need be. ‘This is my livelihood, it pays my mortgage and pays the wages of the four people that work for me.’ The kebab van, which has been trading in Bristol for over 15 years, pitches in front of the Beacon House building at 8pm every evening and remains a famous student landmark, regularly featured on sites such as Buzzfeed.
continued on page 3
New VC appointed University of Bristol has appointed Professor Hugh Brady - formerly President of University College Dublin (UCD) - as its next Vice-Chancellor. Brady will succeed the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Eric Thomas, in September 2015 to become the 13th man to hold the University’s top job. continued on page 3
10.11.14
News Editorial Inside Epigram Features 8 Exclusive: Rotherham Scandal Having turned down international media requests, Dr. Angie Heal speaks out about her experience of the police and local authorities.
Comment
13 Big Debate Francesca Collins and Alec Short discuss whether we should still allow faith schools.
Editor: Zaki Dogliani
Deputy Editor Anna Fleck
Deputy Editor: Tori Halman
editor@epigram.org.uk
anna.fleck@epigram.org.uk
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A note from the editor I would like to congratulate Professor Hugh Brady on his appointment to succeed Professor Sir Eric Thomas as Vice-Chancellor next year. Professor Brady has been President of University College Dublin, Ireland’s largest university, and has also held Faculty positions at Harvard University and the University of Toronto. I wish him every success during his time in Bristol. The student body at Bristol faces a number of challenges over the years ahead. Accommodation shortages once again have caused hardship for a large number of students this year, and we sincerely hope that these shortages will be dealt with in future. While we acknowledge the importance of longterm plans and investment in the impressive new Life Sciences Building and Beacon House to provide muchneeded study space, we must stress how vital it is to ensure that current students benefit as well – and listened to, which doesn’t just mean being invited to an underpublicised consultation which few are likely to respond to. Whether or not the University drop plans to seek the removal of Jason Donervan from its current location may also be a good barometer of how in touch
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Whether or not the University drop plans to seek the removal of Jason Donervan may be a good barometer of how in touch they are
Style 30 Olivia Palmero
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Epigram
management are with student opinion. I was concerned to read the Irish Times describe Professor Brady as ‘the Michael O’Leary of education’. But I see no reason to believe this description or fear that university staff next year will be treated in the same way that [Ryanair chief] O’Leary treats his workers. It is my hope that Professor Brady and other members of senior management will not threaten to dock pay, as has happened in the last 12 months. I also do not expect students in future years to be required to pay hidden course costs on top of their £9000 fees or caught out in the same way that Ryanair passengers often are with hidden charges. Whether the Irish Times’ comparison is fair or not, it does make me consider the one positive achievement that I can credit the odious O’Leary with. For all its malpractices, whether it be putting pressure on pilots to fly without extra fuel or breaking employment law to hire French workers on Irish contracts to avoid [higher] state pension contributions in France, Ryanair can take some credit for making air travel and holidays abroad accessible to a larger number and wider range of people. Bristol University, meanwhile, has repeatedly missed fair access admissions targets in recent years, and elitism remains a serious issue which needs to be addressed. The fact that UCD students had free access to the newly-built gym is a positive sign for many of our readers who are forced to spend hundreds of pounds on gym membership here. Crucially, university is still a public good
and should not be considered or run like a normal business. Students should not be treated as customers at all, let alone Ryanair customers.
I do not expect students in future years to be forced to pay hidden course costs
And cost-cutting in a Ryanair vein should not take place at Bristol, especially not when you consider that, after graduation at the end of the 2014-15 academic year, there will be very few students still at Bristol paying less than £9000 in fees. I am confident that Professor Brady can use his experience in a different financial climate of finding ways to invest in worldclass facilities at UCD despite the Irish government cutting university budgets at an even more alarming rate than what those of us in Britain can relate to, to ensure that both those soon to arrive at Bristol and those already here benefit. Many of us have serious reservations about certain recent University decisions and the way that our lecturers have been treated. But I believe that, if teaching is prioritised more and the needs and demands of current students are taken into account more regularly, it can be an exciting time for those of us at Bristol beyond next June.
Zaki Dogliani
Writers’ meetings
Every fortnight, our section editors hold meetings for anyone who wants to write for Epigram. If you’d like to get involved, or simply want to find out more information, come along to any one of the following meetings or contact the relevant editor via their email address below. It’s never too late to get involved - we look forward to meeting you! News Living Film & TV Science & Tech Tuesday 11 November at 1pm Tuesday 11 October at 4pm Monday 17 November at 5pm
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Future of Donervan uncertain
Students vote to support industrial action at first Student Council Sarah Newey News Editor
Alexander Evans Online News Editor Oscar Cunnington Online News Editor
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‘This is my livelihood, it pays my mortgage and pays the wages of the four people that work for me’
He added management figures were aware they would have to ‘be careful around it’ when proceeding on the matter, due to the van’s reputation in the student body. Finch, however, confirmed the possibility of moving or removing Donervan had been brought up informally in senior management
The van is a student favourite after nights out, but the University are concerned its presence will restrict redevelopment plans for the Beacon House building
discussions and suggested there was a difference of opinion, with some voices in favour of keeping the van, others wanting to remove it and still others opting to keep it, but ‘not necessarily in its current location.’ It is not clear whether the management discussed possible new locations for Jason Donervan, should they successfully remove it from the current pitch. Finch made it clear the University was keen to ‘take control’ of the forecourt, claiming authorities hoped to improve the ‘paving and landscape’ of the area and put in ‘improved signage’ to link campus to the union building, claiming its current state would ‘not really do [university plans] justice.’ But he insisted he did ‘not at this stage know how the van would fit into that scenario.’
Philip Bruland
The University plans to develop the Beacon House property, which it purchased in July, into a new ‘student hub’ with the potential for evening events and late opening for students’ use. University Bursar and Head of Asset Management Patrick Finch admitted to Epigram that he had ‘overheard conversations’ expressing concerns over Donervan’s presence and noting its ‘popularity with the students’ but insisting there had been ‘no serious discussions about the value or otherwise’ of the van’s presence on the site.
He said the process of ‘taking control’ of the area by securing the University as freehold owners ‘may be possible’, but would likely take ‘many months to resolve.’ Following Epigram’s original article on 24 October, recently picked up by The Bristol Post, nearly a thousand people joined the ‘Save Donervans’ Facebook page in support of the vendor. Sorana Vieru, Postgraduate Officer for UBU, then broached the subject with university management and noted the University was now aware of student concerns. The development is still in a consultation stage, in which students can comment and submit suggestions on designs for the new building, while none of the plans for the interior or exterior of Beacon House have yet been finalised.
‘These meetings are an excellent forum for engaging with student opinion’
Brady becomes Bristol Vice-Chancellor Alexander Evans Online News Editor
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Eric Thomas’ successor was ‘important to them’, even though the Vice-Chancellor has the power to enact considerable reform and transform the student experience.
‘I am excited to have the opportunity to help to shape its future and build upon its many strengths’
Professor Brady, an international authority on diabetic kidney disease, holds four undergraduate degrees in Medicine and Science from UCD, as well as PhD and MD degrees awarded for his research into renal physiology and molecular medicine. He has also been credited with leading an extensive campaign of education and campus development at UCD. Professor Brady’s spell at UCD also featured a new Student Centre, which was voted as Ireland’s favourite new building in 2013. The 11,000 square metre building includes a 50-metre swimming pool, a 90-seat 3D cinema and a debating chamber resembling a miniparliament. Campus development at UCD under Brady also included the building of increased accommodation on the University’s Belfield campus and the construction of a sculpture trail and perimeter woodland walks.
Professor Brady spent ten years as UCD President
University ofof Bristol University Bristol
Brady, a 55-year-old Dublin-born Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Strategy, will take on the most senior role in the University after over a decade as President Emeritus of University College Dublin, ranked 139th globally in this year’s Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings. Brady said he looked forward to taking the helm, according to a University statement. ‘The University of Bristol is a world-leading institution which is highly respected for its teaching and research.’ ‘I am excited to have the opportunity to help to shape its future and build upon its many strengths.’ Denis Burn, Chair of the University’s council, which formally approved the appointment, underlined that the decision followed a ‘rigorous and thorough’ selection process which had considered male and female candidates from around the world. ‘We have ensured that the appointment decision has been informed by the views of staff, students and alumni.’ The news of Brady’s selection comes after a University of Bristol Union (UBU) survey of just over 100 students in April found that 75 per cent believed the University’s next VC should be a woman. But the survey also showed only 50 per cent of students felt the selection process for
The first Union Student Council meeting of 201415, held on 30 October, saw the discussion of several controversial issues, including lecturers’ industrial action and formats of graduation ceremonies. Five of six motions passed at the meeting, which around 120 student representatives attended. However, two students who had proposed motions were absent. University of Bristol Union Academic Experience Officer Alex Bradbrook stepped in to propose motion one, but a motion to create designated smoking areas around the University, was deferred to the next meeting. The first motion, to ask the University to abolish distinctions between degree classifications during graduation ceremonies, was narrowly passed by 51 votes to 46. While many students felt that those who had achieved high graded degrees should be celebrated, the view that graduation should be a celebration of everyone’s achievements prevailed. Motion two asked for the Union to show support for striking staff. Sorana Vieru, Postgraduate Officer, proposed the motion, arguing that a lack of good pension provision would detract top academics coming to study and teach at the University, thereby decreasing the quality of student education. This idea was challenged, and an amendment was also proposed to have a campus wide referendum allowing all students to decide whether or not to support strike action. Because this would take at least three weeks to organise, and the marking boycott began on the 6 November, this was not passed alongside the motion, so the decision to support strike action was taken by the representatives of societies, sports clubs and elected officers present.
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News
Epigram
The fourth motion, resolving to make sustainability executive within the Union and committing to pledges for European Green Capital, was passed overwhelmingly, as was the sixth motion condemning sexism and racism against elected officials in light of Malia Bouttia’s recent experiences. Bouttia and her family have been subject to abuse, including death threats, after speaking against a controversial motion at NUS National Executive Council. The motion to subsidise travel to a free education demonstration in London was also passed, albeit after a long debate over the issue. Josh Francis, first year Geography rep, told Epigram that he thought, ’These meetings are an excellent forum for engaging with student opinion. I hope they will make a difference.’ During the meeting, the way democracy will function in the Union in the future was discussed, as was the lecture capture scheme. These are two areas the UBU officers are currently working. Afterwards, Alex Bradbrook told Epigram that he was happy with how the meeting went: ‘It was great to see such a variety of interesting motions and debates surrounding them. I think the outcomes of the motions were good - the people voting on them were representative of the student body, and the motions went through a lot of debate and scrutiny before being passed. It’s a really positive start to the year for democracy at UBU.’ For up to date information about strike action, have a look at the website: www.epigram.org.uk
Epigram
10.11.2014
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Poor housing hurts health Amie Marshall News Reporter
“ 33% of students experience mould growing in their bedroom or bathroom
‘It is imperative that students are alert to the gravity of household air pollution as they typically spend long periods of time in their university homes. As well as mould, other air pollutants found in the student home include everyday household items such as air fresheners, cleaning products and detergents.’ Epigram spoke to one student who preferred not to named, who has experienced damp and mould in their student accommodation across their three years of study. They said that often repeated calls to accommodation staff
and landlords went unnoticed for long periods. ‘In first year my bedroom was on the ground floor and got very little sunlight, so it was freezing during the winter. When my heater stopped working it took weeks for the accommodation staff to give me a replacement and eventually I had to get my parents to contact them before they finally responded.’ However, Neil Sapsworth, the University’s Director of Residential and Hospitality Services, said that precautions are put in place in University owned student accommodation to help combat dampness and mould. ‘All new build and refurbishment projects undertaken by the University are subject to compliance with the Building Regulations which set the standards for heating, insulation and ventilation. A combination of good heating, good insulation and the fitting of extractor fans helps to combat the presence of condensation which can lead to black pin mould. The University’s residential refurbishment programme includes such measures as well as providing good controllable heating and insulation.’
Chay
Many students have mould growing on the walls of their accommodation
Firm buys housing block Kati Taylor News Reporter It has been announced this week that LaSalle Investment Management, a leading real estate investment firm, have purchased a student housing block in the centre of Bristol for £33.5 million. The building, which has 243 studio bedrooms, is in a prime location for university students. It is being heralded as the solution to the current accommodation crisis. It is perhaps too little too late for over 300 undergraduates who, following complications with accommodation provisions, have been forced into shared rooms or homestay arrangements. As Epigram reported back in September; the over-recruitment of students led to
a housing crisis of drastic proportions. Many students have been forced to share rooms in halls with larger facilities such as The Hawthorns and Churchill Hall. Erasmus students have borne the brunt even more firmly: one even having to sleep in their car, and many boarding with lecturers or local families. Promises that affected students will pay reduced rates, 25 per cent of standard costs as well as receiving catering arrangements, have proven little comfort and the University is being forced to take action. Back in September, Professor Judith Squires, pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students, told Epigram that the University was looking into private developments to solve the problem for the future. LaSalle Investment could provide the
United Nations headquarters in New York
Sophie Cait Davis News Reporter Incidences of torture and ill-treatment around the world have not been diminishing and the need for effective prevention is as great ‘as it has ever been’ was the overriding message given by Professor Malcolm Evans OBE in front of the UN General Assembly in New York. Professor Evans from Bristol’s Law school is currently the chair of the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, and on 21 October presented its 7th annual report in front of General Assembly. The UN Subcommittee for Prevention of Torture was established in 2002 with the main purpose of visiting places where persons may be deprived of their liberty, while ensuring the state in question involved are compliant with the Convention Against Torture. He used this platform to urge member states to do more to tackle their own domestic corruption as a way to prevent repeated situations of abuse from occurring. According to Professor Evans, the preventive work to combat torture appears to be getting more difficult, particularly in states that are increasingly maintaining higher levels of corruption making it harder for the UN to intervene and identify higher levels of corruption. Professor Evans said, ‘States have very clear Convention commitments, yet we have experienced increasing delays in being provided with the information and facilities which are necessary to
undertake visits efficiently, and for the first time we found it necessary to suspend one of our full visits, to Azerbaijan, due to repeated problems in securing immediate and unimpeded access to places of detention.’ Thus Professor Evans used this opportunity to raise the fact that the lack of resources in the UN Human Rights office has burdened the Subcommittee, seen through the fact there has only been three full visits during 2013. To this Professor Evans commented that ‘At his pace, states will receive a full regular visit only once in 25 years.’ Despite Professor Evans’ somewhat pessimistic view on the current situation, he did, during his time in front of the General Assembly, welcome the increase in the number of states that have been ratified with the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture, which has now reached 74. This newly launched Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI), spearheaded by Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco, voiced hope that it would prompt other countries to ratify the Optional Protocol as well. On top of this, Professor Evans was also invited to a special meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to further discuss the issue of combating against torture. All of this highlights the emphasis that the UN is placing on combating torture, an emphasis that will hopefully translate into change. Change that will lead to more cases of torture being identified and dealt with.
A second United Nations headquarters is based in Geneva
The United Nations
University of Exeter
Many students have mould growing on the walls of their accommodation
safety valve in ensuring this year’s situation never happens again. Although Neil Sapsworth, Director of Residential and Hospitality Services at the University, was unavailable for comment; this development could be a step in the right direction towards alleviating accommodation capacity issues. With the Hiatt Baker construction, set to welcome 323 students in selfcatered blocks, due for completion at a revised date of September 2015; it is perhaps a relief that the University are choosing to look elsewhere for solutions to the accommodation problem. The debacle of this year’s intake highlighted changes in the private sector: lack of housing supply is increasing private rents year on year and thankfully the University is responding in a bid to live up to their promise to provide accommodation for all first year undergraduates. It is hoped that LaSalle’s involvement in this project will help with future accommodation provisions but the damage to the University’s reputation remains to be seen. With so many students impacted by the well-publicised housing crisis, only time will tell if Bristol’s admission levels suffer as a result of the blunder.
Ashitaka San
A recent YouGov survey has indicated that 81 per cent of full time students feel that their accommodation poses a serious risk to their health. These students believe that they are vulnerable to ‘Toxic Home Syndrome’, which arises due to a mixture of airborne pollutants in poorly ventilated properties and has been associated with an increased risk of respiratory and dermatological problems. The survey revealed that 23 per cent of the students surveyed suffered from eczema, whilst 37 per cent complained of respiratory problems including asthma, all of which can result from poor air quality. Damp and mould are common complaints in student accommodation, with 33 per cent of students experiencing mould growing in their bedrooms or bathrooms, yet there are fears that students are unaware of the health risks associated with these living conditions. Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine at the University
of Southampton, Peter Howarth, told Spink Health that it was important for students to be wary of these risks:
Bristol professor briefs the UN
Epigram
10.11.2014
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Stoke Bishop has lowest ‘student’ crime Broadmead, a small shopping district with few residential buildings. The traditionally quiet, gentrified and student-heavy residential areas of Clifton and Redland showed relatively low rates of violent crime (97 and 80 respectively) but both had over 400 cases of antisocial behavior and over 100 burglaries (119 and 159). In fact, Clifton saw more bike thefts (73) than Redland (63), Cotham (65), Bedminster (29) or even Bishopston – the southern part of the Gloucester Road area – at 33.
India Castle-Gibb
Churchill Hall is one of the seven halls in Stoke Bishop
Alexander Evans Online News Editor The district of Stoke Bishop in North West Bristol, home to seven of the University’s 29 halls of residence, has the lowest rates of almost all the offences most associated with students (burglary, theft, bike theft, antisocial
behaviour, violence and sexual offences) of any of the main ‘student’ areas, according to latest Police data. Statistics published online by Avon & Somerset Police show that Stoke Bishop has seen only 82 reported burglaries and 15 bike thefts since May 2013, compared with 207 burglaries and 65 bike thefts in Cotham, another
area with a high student population. Stoke Bishop also had the lowest rate of antisocial behavior offences, with 180 cases reported, less than half the figure for Clifton (410) and around a tenth of that of the city centre (1766). In fact it had the lowest crime rate in all the above offences except burglaries, where the lowest rate was in
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Stoke Bishop has seen only 82 reported burglaries and 15 bike thefts since May 2013
Meanwhile, St Pauls (including Stokes Croft) - which has a rough reputation among many Bristol students - did indeed have some of the highest levels of antisocial behavior (1340), violence and sex offences (364) and general theft (240), but actually boasted the third-lowest number of burglaries at 87, around 27 per cent fewer than in Clifton. The city centre, old city and
Broadmead areas topped the table for antisocial behavior with well over 1000 cases each. PC Nick Boyce, the Avon and Somerset police officer assigned to University Security, confirmed to Epigram that much of the city’s potentially student-related crime took place in the centre, with assault being one of the more common offences. Boyce said, however, that keeping close track of all crimes associated with students was currently impossible: ‘It’s very difficult because of our reporting mechanism; we don’t always specify in records by student or by occupation, making it hard to identify crimes involving students. ‘I really want the stats for just University of Bristol people but it’s impossible to focus on that because even when you have the word ‘student’ you can’t easily distinguish; that includes A-Level students as well,’ he added. Source statistics for Burglary, Bicycle Theft, Other Theft, Violence & Sexual Offences and Antisocial Behaviour in Bedminster, Old City & Queens Square, Redland, Clifton, Broadmead & Cabot Circus, Horfield, City Centre & Brandon Hill, Bishopston, Cotham, Southville, St Pauls and Stoke Bishop available via www.police.uk.
Unis ‘should #Generationvote? levy graduates’ Ivana Scatola Deputy News Editor
Alex Green News Reporter
NUS President Toni Pearce is calling for nationwide awareness of the importance of the student vote in the upcoming general election. In light of the fact that fewer than one in two young people voted in the 2010 general election, Pearce stressed the need for students to realise that they could hold the key for permanent reform in our country. She identified 197 seats across the country where the sitting MP has a majority of ten per cent or less. This means that each of these seats would need a swing of no more than five per cent to change hands. Further census data has proved that in all but six of these constituencies, the number of students
Keith Ivey
A think tank has suggested that universities should levy graduates, essentially leaving universities to charge as much as they would like with regards to tuition fees. This would supposedly reduce taxpayer burden. The report, which comes from the Institute of Economic Affairs, says that universities could finance their lending to students through their own borrowing. Universities could also sell their rights to the ‘graduate equity income stream’ to pension funds or other private investors. This would essentially allow universities to raise their tuition fees above the current £9,000 limit. Peter Ainsworth, managing director of EM Applications, an advisor-company to investment managers,led the production of the report. The Institute describes themselves as a ‘free market think tank’ and has been described as ‘very rightwing’ by many commentators. Ainsworth has previously proposed an uncapping of tuition fees. Such a scheme would lead to private investors paying for student’s fees in return for a portion of the graduate’s salary. However, there has been a negative response from many at Bristol. Tobi Oke, a second year Law student said that ‘By allowing private investors, who enjoy little regulation, to accept student debt, unacquainted liabilities may rise upon the possibility of default. This is a definite cause of concern for the student body.’ Pam Tatlow, the chief executive of the Million+ group of newer universities,
shared a similarly adverse view on the matter saying that the report’s proposals ‘would effectively mean privatising universities and prioritising those students who will generate the highest economic return.’ Bristol University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Eric Thomas, has in the past discussed the likelihood of a similar scheme being implemented at Bristol. In 2011, Professor Thomas highlighted the scheme to then Universities Minister David Willetts through an email exchange obtained by Epigram via Freedom of Information request. Ainsworth was encouraged by the Russell Group to write up his plans, although he received no funding to do so. These plans were very similar to those favoured by Willetts during his time in office - specifically that all British universities should be able to buy their graduates’ debts. Another critic of the report is Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, who said that ‘the proposed levy would incentivise universities to offer courses with the highest financial returns.’ According to Hunt ‘it would lead to a narrower range of subjects. This is bad for student choice and the resilience of the economy.’ The report itself, ‘Universities Challenged: Funding Higher Education through a Free-Market “Graduate Tax”’, claimed its proposals would ensure that universities’ interest in the employability of their students would greatly increase. This statement is based upon that assumption that universities would be further incentivised to make sure their graduates have high future earnings. However, there is little mention of the possibility of skyrocketing fees.
living in them is larger than the swing required, which suggests that students could swing almost 200 seats. This potential influence is often overlooked since students have a reputation for being politically apathetic, and not voting. However, recent polling by NUS shows that 73 per cent of students are already registered to vote. The recent Scottish independence referendum is another indicator that young people are starting to take an interest, with huge numbers voting. Pearce stated that the reason for this apathy comes from student anger with the political process. Tuition fees have trebled but maintenance loans have stayed the same, only covering a third of undergraduate costs, while private sector rents are continuously rising. The education maintenance allowance has been scrapped, and unpaid internships
The student vote in the Bristol West constituency will be vital in the 2015 General Election
have become rife. ‘We endure financial hardships and future debt unimaginable to the students of ten years ago and we stand to suffer far worse employment prospects than our parents. My generation currently has a raw deal: we need a new one,’ Pearce states. Conservative Association President, Charlie Brandon, commented, ‘This May ask yourself if you could justify not voting, in a city with some of the closest fought seats in the country, to all those around the world still fighting for the democratic right to vote that so many of us take for granted.’ Lucy Simmons and Matty Bacon, cochairs of Bristol Labour Students, said, ‘Students are going to be essential to the general election and in particular to the Bristol West constituency where the vast majority of Bristol students live. The vast majority of student heavy constituencies tend to be Liberal Democrat held marginal seats with Labour as the main challenger. Our Lib Dem MP, Stephen Williams, was elected on an NUS pledge to vote against any rise in fees but abstained when it came to the vote in the hope that obeying the party line would lead to a position in the government (which it later did). It is important for students not to forget these broken promises at the ballot box and make Williams pay the penalty for betraying promises to Bristol students. Bristol Green Soc Press Officer Kate Dickinson told Epigram, ‘The student vote in Bristol is hugely important. We make up a large portion of the electorate and it is term time when the election takes place, so we will all be able to vote here. Bristol is a key focus for The Green Party, who are rapidly gaining support and have overtaken the Lib Dems in recent national polls. Students need to be taken seriously. Students are a crucial group who could help swing the result.’
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Epigram
10.11.2014
37
Self-harming teenagers face more problems in later life Wing Chan News Reporter
Issy May Bull
Luke Wilson News Reporter
timetrax23
Britain’s leading sport sociologists, Bristol-based David Goldblatt, author of several football and society books, (most recently, Futebol Nation: a footballing history of Brazil,) began his deliberation on what we learnt from the tournament. Goldblatt’s entertaining talk covered a range of topics from FIFA to crowd demographics, brilliant goals to the British media, and answered numerous questions from a captivated audience. To round off an afternoon of fascinating speakers, David Winner, author and ghost-writer of Dennis Bergkamp’s recently released autobiography, spoke about Louis van Gaal and Dutch successes and failures before a round-table discussion concluded the afternoon. Impressed students departed gathering their thoughts and collating opinions on whether the World Cup was a success, but if one thing was definite, it was the success of the SML’s excellent event.
‘What did we learn from the World Cup?’
Mike Mozart
Issy May Bull
Bristol’s public libraries. In a statement issued on Tuesday 28 October, he said, ‘We now have an exciting opportunity to create the 21st century community library as part of our drive to establish Bristol as a Learning City.’ Ferguson was keen to stress the modern library’s need to ‘encompass all forms of communication and innovative technologies.’ It does appear that the council is very serious about reforming the library services in Bristol to meet the needs of today and are to convene on the 4th November to decide on the approach. With such a small minority of Bristol’s population using its public libraries, it may be deemed essential to ‘modernize’ the services provided, not only to stem the plans for library closures, but also to encourage more and continuing use of Bristol’s public libraries in the future.
Kathryn Denman
a lecture from Dr. Mike O’Mahony, Reader in the History of Art, on ‘The Visual Culture of the World Cup’. His amusing look at the memorable images from the tournament centred on the role of ‘the martyrdom and hubris of Neymar’, comparing the Brazilian striker to a number of figures from classical history, including, most interestingly, St. Bartholomew. O’Mahony was followed by John Foot, Professor of Modern Italian History, discussing the causes of Italy’s early exit from the tournament and the role of Mario ‘Scapegoatelli’ in modern Italian society. After a question and answer session relating to the controversial Balotelli, Dr. Brown took centre stage to discuss Luis Suarez, an equally controversial football figure, and the question of whether the tournament can, in hindsight, actually be seen as a force for social good in Latin America. Following these discussions, one of
closures, emphasizing that they have a wider significance besides being a place to borrow a book, as they also represent a fundamental principle of democracy in the accessibility of information and learning. The falling use of public libraries is in stark contrast with university libraries, with the University of Bristol’s Arts and Social Sciences library getting increasingly busy. Clearly a large body of students helps, but since last year the use of the ASS library has greatly increased. This can partly be attributed to the introduction of self-checkout for books making the process of using the library much quicker, and an ever-increasing selection of online resources. It is with similar innovations in mind, however, that Bristol’s mayor George Ferguson is launching a citywide consultation on the future of
Amelia Butler
In a drive to save £1.1 million by April 2016, Bristol City Council has begun reviewing its spending on library services. With 23 libraries, it has said that saving may impact on the number of libraries open, with job losses to frontline staff possible. Such plans have come about because of the lack of regular use of public libraries, as a recent survey pointed out that only 1 in 7 people in Bristol use libraries regularly, with a third of users over 60 years old. As a result of information being readily available over the Internet, fewer people feel the need to use the wealth of resources available in public libraries. Campaigners have launched a passionate defence against library
Lecturers talk football After the success of their Sport and Translation event before the FIFA World Cup in June/July 2014, the University of Bristol’s School of Modern Languages (SML) recently hosted a follow-up talk entitled ‘What did we learn from the 2014 World Cup?’ Co-organiser of the event, Dr. Matthew Brown, Reader in Latin American Studies, began the afternoon by posing that very question, and proceeded to show a video of every goal in the tournament to refresh the audience’s memory. The first speaker, Gloria Lanci, delivered an informative talk on ‘What the World Cup meant for Brazilians’, stating that as a Brazilian watching from outside the country, she was ‘overwhelmed by how much attention the country got.’ Her discussion was followed by
Bristol University was involved in the study
Libraries set to close
Public library closures as a result of council budget cuts
Daniel Thacker Sports Editor
Kathryn Denman
Teenagers who committed selfharm actions are at more of a risk of experiencing poorer academic achievements, depression, anxiety and drug misuse in young adulthood, medical research available in the BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) has found. Conducted this September, by the University of Bristol in collaboration with the University of Oxford and University College London, the research aims at exploring whether self-harming would affect an adolescent’s education, career and the use of drugs when they are older, and whether these outcomes differ from a suicidal or non-suicidal intention. 4,799 teenagers who were born in the UK between 1991 and 1992, all at the age of 16, participated in this investigation until 20 or 21 while one
fifth (19%) of the respondents have self-harm, depression and anxiety tried to harm themselves before. including panic, phobia and social The findings showed that the risk anxiety disorder, when they are young of self-harmed participants getting adults, than the ‘healthy’ or the nonpoorer GCSEs and A-level results is suicidal self-harm groups. much greater. Misuse of drugs, alcohol and Although the suicidal self-harmed cigarettes by the self-harmed groups group (27.6%) did worse than the nonare more easily seen again in their suicidal group, the no self-harm group early adulthood, especially for those (14.4%) in fact preformed the worst in with suicide intent. achieveing A*-C grades in at least five Suicidal self-harmed teenagers may GCSEs taken when 16. be more vulnerable to future mental At least 40 per cent of the health issues and poorer educational respondents with or without suicidal and occupational results than nonintent could not reach the entry suicidal ones, concluded in the report. requirements for local UK universities, Dr. Becky Mars, a main contributor which normally entail more than 3 As in the research and research associate at A Level. of Bristol University’s School of Social Three years after GCSEs, selfand Community Medicine, said ‘It The brand new, £1.2 million boathouse harmed adolescents are more likely should not be dismissed or viewed as to be in a NEET situation, namely not trivial, as it could be a warning sign for in education, employment or training, suicidal behaviour or other problems given the figures of 9.4 per cent for later in life. These new findings suicidal, 6 per cent for non-suicidal and highlight the importance of self-harm 5.3 per cent for no self-harm group. and the need for better understanding Those with suicidal self-harm have among professionals likely to come a much higher chance to suffer from across youngsters who self-harm.’
Epigram
10.11.2014
Features
@epigramfeatures
Editor: Holly Jones
Deputy Editor: Emily McMullin Online Editor: Laura Davidson
features@epigram.org.uk
emcmullin@epigram.org.uk
ldavidson@epigram.org.uk
Rotherham abuse: an insider speaks out Having turned down national and international media requests, Dr Angie Heal gives Epigram an exclusive interview on her experience working with the police and local authorities, and what needs to change following the Rotherham scandal.
In August this year, Dr Angie Heal was sitting in a café when she heard news headlines that a report had found over 1400 underage girls had been systematically sexually abused. Despite knowing the publication of the Jay report was imminent, she told me ‘I was so shocked by the number, I assumed she was talking about Syria.’ But the newsreader was not describing a war zone; she was referring to Rotherham. ‘When I realised,’ she adds, ‘I just sat in the café and cried.’
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Why has it taken 12 years for the authorities to pay any attention?
Photo credit: Angie Heal
The force behind such emotion is the knowledge that those 1400 victims could have been saved from such devastating abuse. The independent report by Professor Alexis Jay, released that day in August, detailed how three reports written between 2002 and 2006 were quite simply ignored by the authorities. Two of those reports were written by Dr Heal. Employed by South Yorkshire Police to research drug markets in the county, she discovered that there was a strong link between drug dealers and organised sexual abuse.‘I was so shocked by what I found, I made it my mission to investigate sexual exploitation further, and mention it in my research wherever I could. My reports made it very clear that the victims were underage.’ Why, then, has it taken 12 years for the authorities to pay any attention? The 2002 report identified more than 270 victims. The lack of action meant that by 2013, that number had reached a staggering 1400. Is it a case of lazy policing by ineffectual police officers with social workers too cynical to adequately protect the victims? Dr Heal tells me about a girl who had plucked up the courage to report her rapist to the police (and ‘courage’ is no exaggeration: there are accounts of victims whose family members were threatened to ensure the girls felt unable to leave their abusers). She was asked her name at the station reception desk, which turned up an arrest warrant for a petty crime. She was kept in custody over the weekend, then charged with theft; no one asked why she had originally come in. Are our forces so incompetent that a teenager’s transgression could blind them to her continual rape? In another incident, a recent Panorama investigation interviewed a mother who had persuaded her daughter to report her abuser to the police. She had the
ingenuity to give them a coat she had worn when he had raped her, which had his DNA on. They lost it. Such conduct should not fit with our police forces and local authorities. The Jay report even highlighted the case of a Home Office researcher whose evidence of sexual exploitation was actually stolen from her council office. A whistleblower from Sheffield’s sexual exploitation service recently described how she regularly gave details about alleged abusers to senior officers who repeatedly failed to act. Perhaps, then, the authorities were afraid of being branded ‘racist’ as the perpetrators were of Asian descent? This is what the media has been telling us. Yet this rhetoric is partly rejected by Dr Heal. ‘The police are not usually afraid of accusations of racism, for example, they routinely target ethnic minorities as part of stop-and-searches. The local council might have been troubled by the race card, but I personally see it as more complicated than that.’ In that case, what does Dr Heal believe to be the problem, and what needs to change? Making it clear this is a nationwide issue, not specific just to Rotherham, she thinks senior officers in the police and council may have chosen to do nothing in order to protect the reputation of the town and in turn their own reputations, enabling them to preserve their significant salaries and pensions.
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Alexandra Heal Features Writer
Senior officers in the police and the council may have chosen to do nothing to protect their own reputations
And if some senior personnel genuinely did not know what was happening, why did they not know? ‘Police forces are run by very senior, sometimes arrogant, people who may lose touch with what’s happening on the ground. Maybe those further down the ranks were too scared to tell them. After all, my reports made it very clear.’ This arrogance is exemplified by former South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright, who refused to resign even when the Prime Minister said he should. ‘Appalling’ attitudes towards victims need to change. A sexist culture prevalent in the force coupled with ignorance resulted in the girls being seen as responsible for what was happening to them.
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Funding cuts also present challenges in children’s social care and the police. Service provision has been hit, resulting in bigger workloads with less people to do the jobs required.
‘Appalling’ attitudes towards victims need to change
Finally, Dr Heal believes the terminology itself needs to change. ‘Child sexual exploitation’ is a continuum of behaviours, but to refer to it as such also softens the issue because essentially ‘We are talking about serial rapists; serial rapists of children.’
• Three reports were written between 2002 and 2006 but were ignored by the authorities • A 2002 report identified more than 270 victims • By 2013 that number had risen to 1400 • A whistleblower from Sheffield’s sexual exploitation service described how she regularly gave details about alleged abusers to senior officers - but they repeatedly failed to act
Epigram
10.11.2014
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‘The battle for legal aid was lost years ago’ Laura Davidson Online Features Editor
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Last year, the government’s legal aid budget was cut in an attempt to save £350 million
background in social welfare law, having set up SouthWestLaw in 2002, a firm committed to areas such as housing law, immigration and asylum law, and welfare benefits. Asked how cuts to legal aid have affected this type of work, he replies that ‘SouthWestLaw continues to struggle on, but many people can no longer get any advice in respect of general housing queries, for instance.’ He laments the massive cuts to legal aid over the last several years, asserting that ‘legal aid is a shadow of its former self.’ Last year, significant changes
Photo credit: flickr/Michael Grimes
were made to the government’s legal aid budget in an attempt to save £350million, meaning many types of cases were no longer eligible for public funding. The main types of work affected include family law, employment, clinical negligence and housing law. However, Mr Peake highlights that these recent cuts were by no means the first of this type, saying that ‘the battle for legal aid was lost years ago, when the Labour government introduced contracts for legally aided work, which has since made it easier for further changes to be brought in.’ He adds that each government in turn has continued to restrict the scope of legal aid, a trend that looks set to continue. Although some charitable funds and local law centres still exist for people seeking legal advice, the options
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available to the most vulnerable are now very limited, because the not-forprofit sector has been similarly affected by the cuts, which Mr Peake describes as ‘shocking.’
The options available to the most vulnerable are now very limited
The impact of this is not only felt by the members of the public who no longer have access to legal remedy for many problems, but also by workers
Photo credit: flickr/Sally T. Buck
The University of Bristol Law Clinic was established in 1995 as a pro bono legal advice service for those who could not obtain it elsewhere. There are two limbs to the organisation: the main Clinic, which provides advice to students and members of the public and gives Law students experience in dealing with individual cases; and Streetlaw, which involves giving presentations to schools and local communities on particular legal themes, such as landlord-tenant disputes. John Peake is the current Director and has firm ambitions for the Law Clinic over the next year or so, emphasising the importance of gaining enough casework for students to have a meaningful impact. ‘While Streetlaw has continued to grow’, he says, ‘our advicegiving service has dwindled over the last year, so the first thing I wanted to do was get it moving again and ensure there would be enough work to make it sustainable.’ One of the Clinic’s current cases involves advising an individual who has told her employer, currently going
through a redundancy selection process, that she was willing to take redundancy. The employer has turned her down despite the fact that next year her post will cease to exist. Mr Peake has an extensive
in the legal sector. ‘Each time the government attacks legal aid, another area of work is cut off’, he explains. Mr Peake highlights the massive disparity between rates of pay for barristers and for legal aid solicitors as being part of the problem, saying: ‘It makes me cross that barristers can make in excess of £250,000 from legally aided work. This is money that can be diverted into much better uses of the government’s legal budget, ensuring its scope is not so restricted.’ This is where the role of the Law Clinic takes on great significance and can be of real value to students and locals alike. As Mr Peake puts it, ‘It’s a drop in the ocean, but if we can help ten people that’s ten people who wouldn’t have otherwise been able to receive help.’
How much can we do to stop terrorism? Margot Tudor Features Writer The first time I became aware of Jonathan Powell was following the ‘surveillance rock’ news story in 2012. A fake rock packed with surveillance equipment was left by British intelligence services on a Russian street to listen into conversations, fulfilling the dreams of Le Carré fans everywhere. Powell was criticised for divulging the information about the fake rock to the BBC by Peter Oborne of The Telegraph and he became known as a ‘useful idiot’ for Putin. This was not the first or the last time that Powell would have to face the media to explain his surveillance tactics. During Powell’s time as Downing Street Chief of Staff from 1995 to 2007, he oversaw and influenced a considerable amount of change to British terror laws. As chief British negotiator for Northern
Ireland, he unsurprisingly had a hand in the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, one of the most important documents in recent BritishIrish history, despite originally refusing to shake the hand of Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness due to Powell’s brother being on the IRA hit list. This experience in Northern Ireland led to Powell pushing forward negotiation tactics used in Belfast onto Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Despite having left government, he used the Good Friday Agreement to legitimise his position. He has been quoted saying, ‘We talk to people too late,’ and that there was a secret back channel between the British and the IRA which was first opened in the 1970s. He says that this communication was central to his success in securing the peace deal two decades later, so why not create the same circumstances with our enemies in 2014? His tactics were, however, swiftly rejected by the Foreign Office. Despite
a century of history that provides evidence there can be no singular military response to a largely political problem, Western governments continue to see direct intervention as the only way to defeat the enemy, something Powell refers to as ‘collective amnesia.’ As Dick Cheney declared in 2003 when discussing North Korea, ‘We don’t negotiate with evil; we defeat it.’ In contrast to the call for military strength from the Americans, Powell had steadily implemented a policy of negotiation into the British government’s terror laws as he aided the peace effort in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, anti-terror laws in Britain began to generate tension with human rights organisations. Infringement on British rights was becoming a more widely debated topic and the government was (and still is) struggling to find a balance between national security and turning into a George Orwell book. Since 2000, there have been five
pieces of major terrorism legislation; while some were brought in as permanent, others have been presented as ‘emergency measures’ that would be removed once the danger had been dealt with. However, all five still remain in place and more laws have been introduced since. An example of this, the enhancement of the Terrorism Act 2000, gave the police greater power to stop and search people and hold them without charging for up to seven days. More recently, Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti has spoken out about the implications of anti-terror laws such as Schedule 7, which allows border security to detain a person without reasonable suspicion for up to nine hours, citing the example of David Miranda, the partner of former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who was detained with no right to silence. Negotiation isn’t a foolproof solution, however, as there are several issues with even considering opening up communication with a terrorist
group or cell. Firstly, simply talking to terrorists gives them recognition of their legitimacy, which they often crave. This communication often disappears once they reject an offer and violence resumes, and it is not a permanent resolution, though groups rejecting what is perceived as a ‘fair deal’ may lose their support base. Secondly, as seen in Gaza, many have suggested that the act of negotiation and achieving a ceasefire agreement in fact simply allows the insurgents to re-arm and restock their ranks. Powell is half right, however; terrorism will always exist. Governments need to be more intellectually strategic as insurgency moves online. However, this does not mean that anti-terror laws can breach human rights. The debate must now continue: can we ever put a citizen’s rights above those of the national interest, especially if we disagree with those who decide what is in the national interest?
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10.11.2014
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Commemorating the centenary of WW1 Jonathan Harding Features Writer
Photo credit: flickr/Boss Tweed
On Sunday 9 November, hundreds gathered at the Bristol Cenotaph to pay their respects to the soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. Since 1920, the Cenotaph has annually served as the focal point for the city’s Remembrance Day parade on the final Sunday before the anniversary of the armistice. This year is no different, but carries a further level of poignancy, as it is the centenary of the start of the First World War. The service that followed the parade offered a collective and fitting testament to the nature of the sacrifice made by British infantry in The Great War. Joined by honorary officials and current servicemen and women, the people of Bristol stood as one to pay their respects to the bravery of those lost, with Mayor George Ferguson leading the parade from the Mansion House to City Hall before coming to a stand at the central monument. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, 60,000 British soldiers lost their lives, with 420,000 dead by the end of the battle. This bloodbath was the credence behind the phrase ‘never again’ - though of course, the War to End All Wars was not even nearly the last time Britain waged warfare. Each wreath of poppies laid at the base of the Cenotaph offers homage to their sacrifice: it is a symbol of unity and respect which, irrespective
of the origins of the conflict and the hell that soldiers endured, acts as an acknowledgement of the sheer gravity of war. The event afforded the opportunity for reflection. The Cenotaph will continue to act as a central figure, as hundreds unite around it in solemn remembrance, as they have been doing in London with ‘The Watch’; a round-theclock pairing of a public figure and a soldier to watch over the Cenotaph in aid of the poppy appeal. The monument, like the impact of the war, is immutable, unaffected by time. In this way, it signifies our continued acknowledgement of the sacrifice of some 700,000
British men and our unalterable respect for the values they fought for, and the hardships they were forced to endure. It is this willingness to remember that will, in the words of Rupert Brooke, enable the memory of those who sacrificed their lives to live on ‘under an English heaven.’
Manvir Basi Features Writer ‘Learning about the First World War is now more important than ever’ were the words of Sir Max Hastings speaking exclusively to Epigram.
Sir Max was in Bristol talking at the Annual Colston Research Lecture about the origins of war and promoting his new book Catastrophe, a brilliant account of the beginning of World War I. Sir Max firmly believes that the First World War is just as important as the Second World War. He argues that Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor-like ruler of Germany in 1914, would have imposed a draconian peace similar to what Hitler would also have established had he won in 1945. During the interviwew, he revealed the aim of Catastrophe: rejecting what he called the ‘Poet’s version of the war’, referring to the words of people
including Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Such poets, he believes, created the idea that we should somehow be ashamed of the British role due to the slaughter in the Somme and Ypres. The horror of World War I pales in comparison with other conflicts, such as Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, and the Eastern Front in 1941-42. I bring up my reading of Barbara Tuchman’s wonderful Guns of August, and the extensive amount of books written on the subject, including those by the vilified Niall Ferguson, author of The Pity of War. Sir Max affirms his contempt for Niall Ferguson, branding him a ‘sensationalist’ for his remarks
Honouring the Bristol Bus Boycott Becky Morton Features Writer
“ What today seems like a blatant example of racism was perfectly legal in 1963
In response to this discrimination, Stephenson, a local youth worker of African background, organised a job interview with the company for one of his Jamaican pupils, Guy Bailey. As expected, when he mentioned Bailey was black the interview was immediately cancelled. Inspired by the ongoing civil rights movement in the US, protestors began a four month long campaign of non violent direct action, boycotting buses and organising pickets, blockades and sit ins. The boycott succeeded in gaining wide support from the public, including University of Bristol students who led a
protest march to the Bus Station on 1 May. Finally on 28 August 1963, the Bristol Omnibus Company agreed to ‘complete integration’ on buses, ‘without regard to race, colour or creed.’ Fittingly, this was the same day Martin Luther King led a march of 250,000 protestors to Washington and delivered his monumental ‘I have a dream’ speech, highlighting the influence of the US civil rights movement on the Bristol protests. In September the company hired its first nonwhite bus conductor, an Indianborn Sikh, Raghbir Singh, and the employment of several black conductors soon followed. The boycott has become a significant part of Bristol’s heritage, with a plaque commemorating the event unveiled in August 2013 and the Union’s recent recognition of Stephenson as a notable figure in the city’s history. As recently as March 2013, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Boycott, Unite in Bristol publicly apologised for the role of the Transport and General Workers’ Union in supporting the colour bar of the Bristol Omnibus Company.
At the time, the movement gained the support of Labour Opposition leader Harold Wilson, who denounced the Bristol Omnibus colour bar at an Anti-Apartheid Movement rally in London. After becoming Prime Minister, Wilson passed the Race Relations Act of 1965 which made ‘racial discrimination unlawful in public places.’ This was extended by the 1968 Race Relations Act which made it illegal to refuse housing or employment on the grounds of race. The Bristol Bus
Boycott played a significant role in highlighting the enduring issue of racism in Britain and contributed to the passing of legislation to tackle this. The continued recognition of the Bristol Bus Boycott as central to the movement against racial discrimination in Britain is vital to promote further racial harmony in Bristol and beyond.
• The Bristol Bus Boycott occurred in 1963 • It was sparked by the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ black or Asian bus crews
Photo credit: flickr/Paul Townsend
The University of Bristol Students’ Union has recently announced that it will name one of the rooms in the new Richmond Building after Paul Stephenson, a leading member of the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott. Although the boycott is recognised by the local community as an important event in the city’s history, it is not widely-known outside Bristol, despite its national significance. The boycott began just over 50 years ago when a Jamaican Bristol resident, Guy Bailey, was refused a job with the Bristol Omnibus Company on the grounds that ‘we don’t employ black people.’ What today seems a blatant example of racism was, in fact, perfectly legal in 1963. In the early 1960s there were around 3000 West Indian people living in Bristol, largely concentrated in the deprived area of St Pauls. Black residents suffered discrimination in housing and employment and not one nonwhite driver or conductor had
ever been employed by the Bristol Omnibus Company.
that a Kaiser-run Europe would have been similar to the EU. For Sir Max, the culpability of the conflict resides with Germany, as it had the power to prevent it from becoming a global phenomenon. YetitisSirMax’sfinalstatement that holds deep meaning in this year of Remembrance: ‘All the problems in the 21st century merely pale in comparison to those of the 20th Century.’ Perhaps this is something that today’s politicians should think about as we remember the 100 years since the First World War began.
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The fall of the Berlin Wall: 25 years on Anya Frude Features Writer 25 years ago, on 9 November 1989, a momentous occasion awoke the world from apathy and saw the beginning of the end of the Cold War. After years of protest and poverty, the East Berlin government announced, henceforth, free movement between the East and West of Berlin and thus the Berlin Wall became a stain in history. That night, inhabitants hacked away at the wall with hammers and picks (not sickles) as Berlin erupted in celebration, and the world celebrated alongside. Little did they know
that the rest of Europe would follow as this once divided city rose up to become the blueprint for progressive, eccentric modern culture. Political freedom fed new expressions of art, music and literature and this culture of liberation is still strikingly present today. The grey urban landscape of the East with its abundance of abandoned buildings was newly transformed by a dynamic creative energy as the graffiti artists marched in and made it their playground. In East Berlin, a squatters’ movement erupted in the city and with artistic vision, many of the derelict buildings were turned into subculture squats. One of the most famous squats appeared at an old department
“ store and was named Tacheles, a Yiddish word for ‘straight talk.’ Politically motivated artists attempted to create spaces they were for so long deprived of.
Political freedom fed new expressions of art, music and literature
The once military occupied areas of Friedrichshain, Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg became hubs for alternative culture with Friedrichshain acknowledged by some as the most bohemian
Photo credit: flickr/Daniel Antal
area of Berlin today. With its ethnic cafés, flea markets, late night bars and ‘photoautomats’ (photobooths) the weight is favorably balanced on play rather than work. Friedrichshain also boasts some of Berlin’s best and most famous street art. Berlin has been recognized for some time as the ‘graffiti Mecca of the urban art world.’ The fall of the Berlin Wall not only provoked sincere gut reactions of hope but injected a sense of fun into a city whose oppression had been, for too long, it’s defining characteristic. Of course, one need look no further for an example of the politically inspired art in Berlin than the Berlin Wall itself. What was once a symbol of division and intimidation has been transformed into a canvas of unrestrained imagination. The stark transformation of the Berlin Wall is mimetic to the change that Berlin has experienced over a quarter of a century. Germany’s reunification also inspired and catalyzed Berlin’s status as the world’s core of techno. This dance culture helped to bring together Berlin’s many diverse subcultures. Punks, goths, anarchists, leather gays and artists indulged in the rave scene now so distinctive of Berlin whilst preserving their own distinct style. Style is almost synonymous with individuality in Berlin and when it comes to fashion tribes, Berliners tend to set the bar at excess. In this playful city, dancing is still an all night affair and attracts those most appreciative of fast, bass driven tempos
and those who just don’t want the weekend to end - and they sometimes do it sober. Some of Berlin’s most exclusive clubs remain open from Friday until Sunday. This month, Berlin and Germany are celebrating an event that changed history and inspired a new wave of alternative culture. As a result
of, and in a sassy response to the oppression of years gone by, this unconventional city continues to thrive in its own unique way and it feels, to me, ultimately alive.
Should universities do more to tackle ‘the twisted nature of gender inequality’?
“ over a third of female students at British universities are made to feel unsafe and insecure through sexual harassment
She was told by flatmates that she was ‘overreacting’ and that, if she did report it, she would earn herself ‘a bad reputation.’ Comments like these only serve to illustrate the twisted nature of gender inequality: when a woman reports her sexual harassment or assault, it is she who risks earning a negative reputation, rather than the perpetrator. So Lucy refuses to report the incident. She says that
‘These things happen all the time...they’ve happened before and will happen again.’ It is this normalisation of sexual harassment towards women at university, which causes people on the receiving end of these incidents to think that they are not even worth reporting. Victims often fear shame, rejection or simply not being believed if they attempt to report harassment or assault. As we well know, and as should be obvious to anyone who goes outside, not all men behave in this manner. However, far too many do, as is demonstrated by the earlier statistic, and they are not being stopped by other men - or, indeed, women. Perhaps surprisingly, the students primarily responsible for the discouraging comments in Lucy’s case were actually female. Women also contribute to a victim-blaming culture, and such a toxic mind-set of nonchalance and lack of understanding is at the very heart of why so many young
women suffer harassment in silence on UK campuses. The counselling and welfare infrastructure put in place by universities is utterly pointless unless a supportive and stigma-free environment exists within the student body. Social acceptance is a crucial ingredient to a positive university experience, and if people fear rejection, or are even directly threatened with it, victims will feel that, not only can they not seek help, but that they are wrong for even considering themselves a victim.
Social acceptance is crucial for a positive university experience
In a time awash with feminist discussion, it is saddening to see incidents like Lucy’s still being regarded as commonplace. Although difficult to discern one clear solution to such a widespread and deeply embedded societal issue, the example set by Cambridge University’s sexual consent workshops is commendable as, at the very least, a starting point from which we can all proceed to tackle the problem
of sexual harassment in British universities. A better dialogue between students, staff, and men and women needs to begin because, ultimately, posting #HeForShe signs online is not doing enough to end the poor treatment of women at university, and in society as a whole.
Photo credit: flickr/UN Women
When arriving at university, you expect to feel safe. You rightfully assume a basic level of respect from your peers, regardless of your gender, sexuality, race or nationality. But the truth is that over a third of female students at British universities are made to feel unsafe and insecure through sexual harassment, according to a recent NUS survey. A friend of mine,‘Lucy’, started university this September, and within a single week, she felt so frightened by the behaviour of certain male students that she felt compelled to return home for the weekend. Lucy was forced to physically beat one student from her room and endure a pounding on her door by another man whilst he yelled his sexual intentions at her. Whilst no sexual assault actually occurred, this outcome can only be attributed to the locked
door rather than any restraint or respect exhibited by these two students. Why did they not take ‘no’ for an answer? Why did they not care that someone they wanted to have sex with did not want to have sex with them?
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Emily Faint Features Writer
Comment
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The Big Debate: Yes
The allowance of faith schools is a hotly debated issue in our increasingly secular society. For context, I am agnostic. I do not hold any religious beliefs, nor do I claim to know if this position is right. Yet for me, there is no doubt that faith schools should be allowed. While in a perfectly liberal world the separation of religion and education would be possible, it is not practicable in real and diverse societies — or even desirable, for that matter. The first problem encountered is that within secular schools, there would be religious children with specific religious needs. In the name of secularism, schools would have to treat all religions in the same way. If all secular schools were to, for example, ban all kinds of religious expression in the name of equality, it would be denying some children of their right to freedom to practice a religion. This would not only be an offence to most faiths (notably those which dictate certain
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Alec Short Comment Writer Advocates of state-funded faith schools invariably gesture towards one of two things to reinforce their position: their excellent academic records, or the necessity to preserve religious beliefs. One cannot deny that many faith schools in Britain do fulfil these expectations. Yet this is not really the question. It would be more pertinent to ask how this happens, to whose detriment, and with what consequences. An answer to these questions should give a rather good indication of the negative value of faith schools. Firstly, why are they academically successful? It has long been claimed that faith schools are not representative of the communities in which they operate. This discrepancy is caused by the legal permission given to such schools to prioritise applicants of their given faith. In 2012, an analysis of government figures by The Guardian detailed this tendency. It compared the number of children
we should surely be looking for ways to celebrate our diversity and religious landscape
If we collectively rule out entire bans on religious expression as a viable option, the alternative is that in a school with no specific faith, all religious children are permitted to express themselves to the exact same extent. However, this also poses problems. Primarily, no two religions are the same, and as such cannot be comparably offered equal limitations of expression. For example, Christianity traditionally does not entail the headwear requirements that might be required of Jewish boys or Muslim girls. Where would the line be
eligible for free school meals (a key indicator of poverty) in both faith schools and non-religious schools in the same areas. Faith schools were shown to be radically unsynchronised with their local communities, with 76 percent of Catholic, and 63.5 percent of Anglican schools having fewer pupils eligible for free school meals than the local secular schools. Faith schools, therefore, demonstrably take fewer pupils from deprived backgrounds. This pattern was well phrased by Ofsted in 2001: ‘Selection, even on religious grounds, is likely to attract well-behaved children from stable backgrounds.’ Religious selection may seem innocuous, yet it evidently helps to construct and reinforce social and economic divides. All of which, at present, is funded and backed by the state. It is fairly plain that the relative success of faith schools comes at the cost of more deprived children. The damage done can be pervasive, affecting the pupils within those institutions and their communities. On a fundamental level, to separate children from such a young age predicated on their religious denomination – of which they can plausibly know very little – is culturally toxic. In this way children are brought
drawn if expression was to be to an equal extent? Secularism also calls into question the very foundations of our schooling system. For example, if schools were all to be founded on a non-religious plane, then it would follow that the system of school holidays should be revised: namely, the ‘Christmas’ and ‘Easter’ holidays. The timing of these breaks follows Christian holidays, but if all religions are to be permitted equal expression, children should be able to take time off for Ramadan, Eid and Diwali, for example. Closely related to this is the way in which Christianity is at the core of a large part of our education system, and the implications of this for the enforcement of secularism. Many state faith schools are affiliated with churches, and a great deal of their funding comes from the Church of England, a bill which would have to be footed by the taxpayer if a move to secularism was made. Many ‘secular’ or multi-faith schools are still founded on the moral doctrines and values of Christianity. Attempting to make each and every state school secular would encourage a base of Christianity, given its traditional prominence in the way our education system has been designed. An argument at the heart of the anti-faith school camp is that by affiliating schools with religion, the
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up distinguishing themselves from one another based upon something they cannot possibly have formed their own opinion about. They have not been given the time or freedom to develop and appreciate other religious ideas and cultures. Northern Ireland springs to mind, and the ‘Israel free zone’ controversy in Bradford appears symptomatic.
fair religious education can only occur within a system which does not prioritise one, single religion above all others
I use the term reluctantly, but the kind of multiculturalism that is striven for in the creation of these schools is, ironically, directly and adversely affected by them. If the state desires cultural cohesion then perhaps it should not
focus of schooling upon education and academic development is lost. However, this contradicts the factual reality of faith schooling. Bar the teaching of religious education, faith schools are legally obligated to follow the national curriculum. Additionally, it has been well-observed that children, religious and non-religious alike, have been educated well in faith schools, and often the emphasis on pastoral guidance provided by a religious and humanitarian aspect to education can make for a nurturing learning environment. Not all of the arguments can be accurately summarised in a piece as short as this. The benefits for ethnic and religious miniorities, and the intrinsic value of a multicultural society, are some other oft-cited arguments in favour of faith schools. As a culturally diverse society in the 21st century, we should surely be looking for ways to celebrate our diversity and religious landscape, rather than erroneously forcing (often false) secularism upon the children of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
Flickr/Gawler History Flickr; Anthony Quintano
No
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Epigram asks... should we still allow faith schools?
manners of dress or particular schedules of work and prayer) but indeed to our legal and ethical paradigms of freedom.
Francesca Collins Comment Writer
10.11.2014
fund the potential dichotomisation of religious communities. Perhaps it should be promoting state schools which are inclusive instead of religiously exclusive, which teach students the tenets and philosophies of a variety of religions. Elevating levels of religious understanding has never been more pressing, yet we continue to lend our backing to the most parochial and insular forms of education. All of this, however, is to tip-toe around the crux of the discussion. There is a fundamental disaccord between those who believe a religiously inflected education should be guaranteed by the state, and those who do not. Those who favour faith schooling will often cite religious freedom as their justification without realising that this is contradictory. A holistic and fair religious education can only occur within a system that does not prioritise one, single religion above all others. Freedom of religion can only be ensured by secular means. The right to religious belief, it seems to me, is far better protected in a secular schooling system where no religious system is favoured and none is stigmatised.
Epigram
10.11.2014
14
Bristol: ‘love the city, hate the university’ Matt Field calls on the university to take falling student satisfaction seriously
Matt Field Comment Online Editor
Flickr/Andrea Vall
The management has overseen a decline and dilution of this university. Subjects which were once bespoke with under a hundred students have almost doubled in numbers. English and Geography, have seen study spaces becoming a premium and many lecture theatres and teaching rooms have become obsolete as expansion outstrips facilities. Some subjects fail to fit all their students into lecture theatres and specialist library books, vital for modules, are almost impossible to get a hold of. We have seen an unprecedented rise in student numbers from 13,500 in 2012 to 15,400 last academic year with further increases to come, increases which facilities and student property agencies are failing to handle.
Stoke Bishop halls are in a state of disrepair, the accommodation office has left Erasmus students to stay in hostels, Freshers are sharing bunk-beds and paying more and more each year for substandard facilities. In spite of investment in some buildings as part of some kind of vanity arms race with other universities, last year Bristol maintained some of the lowest spending per student in the top fifty rankings in the 2015 Guardian university league table. Bristol scored 5.3/10, significantly lower than other, similarly ranked, universities such as UEA, Loughborough, LSE or Surrey and leaving it one of the lowest ranked institutions overall compared to entry requirements.
It has become the status quo at Bristol to disappoint students. As a third year looking back on university life, I feel that I have been consistently let down by the institution that is the University of Bristol. This is a wonderful, beautiful, vibrant city; a place many would dream of spending their university years, but ultimately students (and staff in many cases with disputes raging over pay and pensions) are being let down. It is time we demanded a better student experience and pushed Bristol back up the rankings into the very top institutions in the world. Students must demand more from our incoming Vice Chancellor, lest we require our own facelift and rebranding into Bristol Beckett.
Flickr/Sasha Makysymenko
How does the name Bristol Beckett sound to you? It is the name given this summer to Leeds Metropolitan University in an image makeover, a rebranding, into ‘Leeds Beckett’. It was an attempt at a fresh start for a university consistently lowly ranked in league tables with The Sunday Times writing: ‘Leeds Beckett will need more than a superficial name change to recover from its lowest ranking in our table of 111th this year.’ In university league tables Bristol has usually performed well, in the QS World University Rankings we were ranked as the 29th best university in the world, and in the Times Higher Education World Rankings as the 74th best in the world. Of course, most university league tables make little sense, with many global rankings putting more weight on research output, compared with The Guardian rankings (where we came 34th for 2015), which ask for student satisfaction scores, where we score abysmally. And our outgoing leader Sir Eric Thomas is leaving Bristol with a totally disillusioned and dissatisfied student population. The common feeling among students has become: ‘love the city, hate the university.’ This can be seen from some of the serious (if amusing) tweets to Twitter accounts such as @ UoBProblems: ‘£9000 a year and we have to sit on the floor in lectures #squashed’ says Beth Norman, or the newly created @UoB_discontent feed.
Islamic Soc speaks for a religion of peace Bethany Rielly Comment Writer
Flickr/Ranoush
It is an unfortunate reality that events over the past couple of decades have led many people in the West to associate Islam with terrorism and violence. This has been exacerbated by the recent actions of the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS). These associations have provoked many incidents of Islamophobia across Britain and an almost universal generalisation of the Islamic faith as being a religion that promotes violence. Islamophobia has manifested itself close to home in a range of incidents over the last couple of months in response to IS, from anti-Islamic marches in Cardiff, to a Muslim woman being spat at and verbally abused in Cabot Circus. The flyer for the demonstration in Cardiff was teeming with ignorant and fear mongering statements, ‘Everyday Muslim men are being radicalised in mosques on Welsh soil! Wales has been swamped with immigrants…They have brought their barbaric practices with them…’ These statements are so deluded and idiotic that my initial reaction was to laugh. However, marches and incidents like these reveal that some people are simply failing to recognise the distinction between Islam
and IS. Mohammed Ajmal, the President of Bristol’s Islamic Society, spoke to Epigram about his concerns surrounding some of the responses to IS: ‘I believe the issue here is that people are taking the newspapers and news channels’ headlines, which speak about a minuscule fraction of the Muslim population, and are generalising it; by means of induction, to encompass a much larger population. The sample size is NOT representative of the 1.6 billion Muslims across the globe.’
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there is nothing in the Islamic faith that condones IS’s behaviour
Mohammed’s views are shared by the majority of Muslims worldwide and in the UK who have stated that there is nothing in the Islamic faith that condones IS’s behaviour and even declared that the organisation is ‘un-Islamic.’ Sayed Yusuf, the Shia chair at a meeting in the Palace of Westminster in July declared that ‘…all Muslim organisations condemn ISIS. We as British Muslims must be ambassadors of peace worldwide’. Much of the fear and anti-Muslim bigotry has stemmed from the issue of ‘home grown’ jihadists; the young men and women who have left Britain
in order to join IS in Syria and Iraq. It is believed that there could be up to 200 British jihadists in these countries, including a 15 year old girl from Bristol who flew to Syria last month. However, is Islam really responsible for these events? Some argue that it is; Bill Maher, an American comedian recently declared on his HBO television show Real Time, that Islam is a violent religion, stating that ‘it is the only religion that acts like the mafia’ as it would ‘kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book’. Fox News is also notorious for its crass generalisations of Islam content, speaking of IS and Islam as if they were one and the same. However, it is only in the last few decades that people’s perception of the word terrorist has transformed from IRA political activists to Islamic extremists. Under the rationale that Islam is a violent religion, you would have to say that Christianity is also a promoter of violence, as well as all other religions whose followers have committed murder in the name of God. Mohammed states that Islam’s main message is a peaceful one. ‘Islam promotes values of friendship and community cohesion that are never portrayed in newspapers or in the headlines…Upon greeting one another, we utter the words ‘May peace and blessings be upon you’ and so just with this one example you can clearly see that ‘Fox News’ generalisations are not befitting for our population’.
Epigram
10.11.2014
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Trade partnership a threat to democracy Oliver Carter-Esdale Comment Writer What would you do if I told you there was a deal being negotiated between America and Europe that would effectively place the interests of the separate member states and their peoples below that of vast, multi-million and multi-billion dollar corporations? What would you do if I told you that this deal was being negotiated by a select, unelected few behind closed doors and that the details of the deal’s negotiations were hidden not only from the public, but also many of those officials we had elected to represent and protect our interests? Like me, I expect you would probably start wondering what the f**k was going on, really. Well this is exactly that.
The TTIP, or Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a corporate dream made manifest. Dissolution of the differences between American and European legislation which protect consumers, all in the name of profit. Oh and it has got a fun little transpacific friend too: the TPP. Finally, corporations will have legislation protecting their capitalist ideology. The right of profits will triumph over those of the people. And so capitalism has come to its natural conclusion: the rights and the interests of many millions of people and indeed the very planet we inhabit are to play second fiddle to unelected boardrooms. We are effectively handing over control and freedom of our livelihoods and taxpayers money to a bunch of bumperbonus fat cats, all in the name of ‘free trade.’ Neoliberals paving the way for the forces of imperialism in new-fangled shiny suit-wearing, government-suing corporate form. Nice. What is so bad about the TTIP, you ask? Well, for starters it will immediately allow companies to sue entire countries and their governments if their profits
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or interests are damaged by any legislation. Nothing too major then, I suppose. Just a full-frontal assault on democracy and freedoms. Ban fracking or other potentially risky natural resource extraction schemes? Britain
a full-frontal assault on democracy and freedoms
could get sued. Try to protect an already underfunded and already quasi semiprivatised NHS from the snatching claws of further privatisation and we might well be landed with a huge and costly lawsuit. The TTIP will also allow for deregulation via a series of backdoors, meaning banned food treated with potentially harmful chemicals could soon find its way onto our supermarket
shelves. Oh, and it just gets better and better.The TTIP will help the government to ‘cut the green crap’; environmental policies could find themselves thrown on the rubbish heap in order for corporations to maximise profits; Unions will have their powers curbed while workers’ rights are discarded; and our much-treasured but already greatly compromised personal data could find its way into all the wrong hands. An example of this soon to be expected daylight robbery of civil liberties, sovereignty and democratic process being underhandedly negotiated is already visible. In Guatemala, Monsanto, the US agriculture and biotechnology giant (read: selfish all-consuming corporate capitalist behemoth) is currently suing the nation’s government for its refusal to comply with a trade deal previously negotiated with the US, which protected patented properties and interests. You see, Monsanto had privatised and patented their genius invention that they came up with all by themselves: seeds. Contrary to popular belief, plant reproduction is in fact not nature’s idea,
but Monsanto’s. Who knew? A couple of weeks ago there was a worldwide wave of protests against it, including a march led from outside Hamilton House in Stokes Croft that had told the TTIP and governments where to go with equal kindness and profanity. There will also have been a talk on the 8th of this month supported by Friends of the Earth and the petition website 38Degrees further discussing the problems at the Wills Memorial Building. Unfortunately, rather typically of this type of issue, this talk probably won’t have been as well-covered and promoted as is necessary in the mainstream media. In fact, there has been hardly any discussion of it at all, with nationals all caught up in UKIP – who by the way are in favour of this ‘partnership’, which seems a little odd given their petty nationalist sovereignty-saving rhetoric. But, alas, I have a short column, so I will save that rant for another time.
Flickr/Garry Knight
Speakers’ Corner guest writer: Lord Newby Following his Q&A session with Bristol Students, Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords, Dick Newby, explains why he believes students should vote Liberal Democrat
Lord Newby Deputy Chief Whip, Guest Writer What kind of society do you want to live in? Liberal Democrats believe that freedom of the individual is the cornerstone of a civilised society and that this freedom can only be fully realised if everyone is supported to maximise their potential. This is why in government we have skewed school
spending towards poorer pupils, enabled a record number of poorer students to go to university and cut taxes on lower income earners. We believe that we are stewards of the planet and need to take decisive action to combat global warming. This is why we have overseen a doubling of renewable energy since 2010, the largest investment programme in the railways since the Victorians and taken a lead in EU and UN climate change debates. We believe in sexual equality. That is why we have fought for and achieved shared parental leave, better funded childcare and more women in the boardroom. It is why we led the campaign for samesex marriage. And why we are campaigning to end FGM at home and abroad within a generation.
We are internationalists. That is why we are taking on Nigel Farage and the bigotry he represents. And why we have hit the 0.7% of GDP aid target and are passing it into law. We believe that having a job is fundamental. That is why we have delivered a growing economy, rapidly falling unemployment and record numbers of apprenticeships. We believe that the health service should treat all patients equally. That’s why we’ve guaranteed equal care and waiting times for mental as for physical health and will increase NHS spending to fund this. We accept that there must be limits on immigration. But we need to start by having proper border checks so that we know who’s coming in
and leaving the UK. Not by alarmist rhetoric. We believe in ensuring that everyone has the right to a decent, affordable home. That is why we have committed to building 300,000 new homes a year. In government we have been able to deliver policies which reflect our core beliefs despite extremely difficult economic times and being the smaller governing party. But in the next Parliament we want to achieve more of our goals. The 2015 election is wide open. If you want a Party which will create opportunity for everyone by building a stronger economy and a fairer society there’s only one obvious choice: the Liberal Democrats.
Epigram 10.11.14
Letters
Editor: Olivia Petter
@EpigramLetters
letters@epigram.org.uk
Grow Up Grump
“ ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’
After reading a previous Epigram article entitled ‘Do we worry too much about our future careers?’ I started to think hard about what my answer was. Then I realised: of course we do. There’s an element of invincibility to life when you’re young. Parents tell you that you can be whatever you want to be. And in a way, maybe that does remain true, coining the phrase ‘you can do anything if you put your mind to it.’ However, most of us soon come to think that not every career is possible. I soon realised that becoming a vet was not about playing with animals all day, but that it involved a lot of needles, blood, heartbreak and years in school. I wasn’t suitable for that. This is the case with most people, it seems. If you are one of those lucky few who decided aged 10 they wanted to become a doctor, and are now studying your degree in Medicine, then good for you. But I believe those are a minority. For the rest of us, the teenage years involved a lot of brainstorming, growing panic, and maybe even the resort to online tests to see what the Internet thought our most suitable job should be. If you Google ‘how many people have a career related to their degree?’ you’ll be bombarded by a vast array of online newspaper articles reporting that the majority of students do not find jobs particularly related to the field they graduated in. Then it would seem that not only does that suggest most people at university are still undecided about their future careers, but also that post-university career life can take you in a drastically different direction. Some people find this daunting. To know you had a ‘dream job’ in mind, or at the very least a dream pathway or field, but realising the possibility of not getting there is bigger than
you thought. Why is this a bad thing, I say? Don’t find it daunting. To quote that previous article, ‘the unknown isn’t necessarily to be feared, but to be embraced.’ I couldn’t agree more. I’m studying for a joint-honours degree including Psychology. I wanted to become a chartered psychologist. But I’d always had the idea of Law in my mind too, after doing some work experience at a firm in my GCSE years. Then I discovered a whole exciting world of advertising, just to add to the mix of confusion, and tried my hand at some work experience in that field. Staring at my CV now, it screams, ‘I haven’t ever had a clue what exactly I want to do.’ There’s all sorts of jobs and work experience on there, some totally and utterly unrelated, it would initially seem. But is that a bad thing? People have it drilled into them that they need to decide what they want to do, then engineer their whole CV and any jobs they have to get that chosen career.
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When we are young it feels like we can become anything we want when we grow up. If you ever had a ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ day at school, and had to dress up in said dream job outfit, then you’ll know everyone came as all sorts. Kids went as vets because they liked animals, or gymnasts because they thought the circus was cool, or actors because films were the best things after sweets.
Let’s all revert to that feeling of invincibility we had age 10
But the reality is quite a few people will end up flitting around a few ambiguous semi-related jobs before finding a more permanent career. And hopefully, there are more people out there who have jumbled CVs, just like me. In the end, we all have at least a rough idea of the kind of thing we would like to do, but anyone who doesn’t have his or her mind and heart set on a particular profession, such as a doctor, a teacher or a lawyer, I wouldn’t advise thinking in too much detail about a specific role. Let’s all revert to that feeling of invincibility we had age 10. When we all thought nothing could come between our dream job and us. Except, let’s not decide what that dream job is just yet. Said career is out there, and it’ll fall into place one day, we hope. It’s like finding the perfect recipe for your best homemade casserole. You’ve got the general casserole idea, but you try out some different sauces, different meats, different combinations of herbs and spices before you finally nail that perfect one. Yes, I am comparing your future career to a casserole.
Helena Elliott
Image by Alan McAlpine
Tweets of the fortnight: Jon Bauckham @JonBauckham
Two Bristol Uni students strike up conversation on the train. Within 30 seconds of meeting, conversation turns to private schools in London
Becki Murray @BeckiMurray
Essays are finally done! Now off to bed to sleep for a week like a proper English student! #Essays #UoBProblems #English #Bristol
Bristol University @BristolUni
Wills Memorial Building will be pretty in purple this weekend marking the start of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month http://ow.ly/DCWcj
Beth Bourn Williams @Beth_hbw
The building work outside hiatt baker is not exactly helping the hangover I’m nursing today
Equality Matters To Me To be perfectly honest, I was never discriminated against as a child for the colour of my skin, my gender or my sexuality and of course I am eternally grateful for that. I realise that many people are not so lucky. Certainly, this is related to the fact that I grew up as part of a loving white, fairly middle-class family on the outskirts of a town. One other thing that I also recognize is that it was essentially just luck that I was not affected by any of the issues up until a certain age. Be assured that here I am not saying that being a black, homosexual, working-class woman for example is ‘unlucky,’ but what I am saying is that if you fall within any of these categories, the chance that you will experience physical or verbal abuse purely because of these qualities is probably very high. It was not until I was 18 that I met a feminist - she is now one of my closest friends. Up until then, feminism was never something that had affected me (or at least I thought), and so why would I really care? Well, the truth is, as we became better friends I started to realise that I was actually a feminist too. I didn’t want to be treated any differently to a man at work, in school or even at home.
In reality, who would want to be discriminated against for something that they cannot change? You would think not very many people. However, now that I have been an official feminist for three years, I have a full understanding of how backward we all are in terms of equality for women. The truly sad fact is that the majority of girls that I talk to do not want to be even remotely associated with feminism. From what I gather, I believe this to be because of the word ‘feminism’ itself. Unfortunately no matter how many times you explain that it is pro-women and not anti-men, people in general continue to think of us as bra-burning, militant man-eaters who just won’t pipe down and appreciate the fact that they don’t have to spend the whole day being a housewife or the victim of physical abuse in a relationship. Shockingly I have actually had people say to me, ‘I don’t know why you are complaining all the time, you can work like any man, you are free to do what you want and you should be grateful that you don’t live in a country with little or no rights for women.’ The annoying thing is people do not realize the extent to which women are discriminated against even in this country and what
surprises me most is how acceptable it is for both females and males to be sexist towards me. I have been a victim of it whilst working in a kitchen: ‘It’s not your fault you didn’t carry out that task correctly, not very many women can’ and whilst I was trying to further my education: ‘I don’t know why you are studying, you don’t have to be that intelligent to know how to change a nappy.’ Naturally, all of this made me very angry but also more determined. I am so determined that I am going to outdo all of my male friends and associates in life. As far as the law will let me, I will be a representative of a talented, successful young woman. Unfortunately what I can’t change is the fact that if I chose to have a onenight stand, like men do, the word ‘slag’ would escape someone’s mouth before I had even returned home the following day. Although I do love Meghan Trainor’s new song ‘All About That Bass,’ the lyrics never fail to irritate me; I shouldn’t just be happy about my curves because ‘mama said boys like a little more booty to hold at night.’
Stacey Johnston
Epigram
10.11.2014
17 13
Puzzles Crossword Clues Across 1) Chemical element Ar 4) Lush, Bristolian phrase 6) Wasn’t built in a day 7) Additional 9) Type of flooring 10) Capital of Morocco 12) Giant trees in Lord of the Rings 15) Smell 16) Berry, baker 17) Melt
Down 1) First man on the moon 2) Mineral rock 3) Disagree
Fortnightly quiz
4) Mayor of Bristol’s first name
1. Which undergraduate course at Bristol has the most students?
5) To do again
2. How much does a kebab at Jason Donervan cost?
8) Beatles song, Eleanor...
3. How much study space does the ASS have?
11) The present 13) West’s daughter 14) Drinking aid
Brought to you by Craig Horner
4. Name one member of the Society of Merchant Venturers? 5. In what year were female students first admitted into Bristol University?
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Our pick: Top Independent Coffee Houses Mocha Mocha 139 St. Michael’s Hill, Bristol BS2 8BS. 0117 929 8880
Mocha Mocha is one of my staple lunch spots after classes or a stint in the ASS, and it seems like everyone else on campus has exactly the same idea as I always struggle to find a seat! The café’s unique coffee beans are also locally sourced which makes their speciality coffees even more special. My personal favourite is their cinnamon latte swirl; just in time for a festive treat with Christmas around the corner. As far as the food is concerned, this cute café can do no wrong. My sandwich of choice is the hearty and warming houmous, vegetable and goats cheese wrap. I’m not surprised, Mocha Mocha provides catering to so many events! Served with a smile and a little salad on the side, with delightful dressing, you really get your money’s worth here. As a literature junkie I’m partial to the fun, yet pithy, coffee quotes.
Little Secret
62 Park Row, Bristol BS2 5LE. 0117 930 4206 If you haven’t found this little secret nestled behind Park Street, I suggest you put it at the top of your list. What used to be a Korean cosmetics shop has now been transformed into a quaint, yet spacious coffee shop that prides itself on serving only the best, locally sourced ‘extract coffee’. A sip of their Latte has me hooked; once you go extract, you may never go back! Their welcoming staff offers fabulous breakfast deals such as a bacon roll and coffee for £2.95 and you can’t forget their selection of mouth watering cakes. After a bite of the signature tea loaf with just the right balance of raisins and walnuts, I was hooked and that’s saying something for a chocolate addict. Their quiet space upstairs is well lit with comfy chairs perfect for that last minute reading before a seminar or providing the alternative study space to the busy BTP across the road. This fresh café won’t be a little secret for much longer. PS: They’re open until 8pm! Hello coffee happy hour!
Chin Chin
155 St. Michael’s Hill, Bristol, BS2 8DB. 0117 973 9393
With its cosy atmosphere and picturesque décor, Chin Chin is certainly a hidden gem for those who aren’t locals. Their selection of traditional doorstop sandwiches, artisan bread and assortment of homemade cakes are enough to make you spend an afternoon there. Just long enough to indulge in Chin Chin’s Afternoon Tea. Finger sandwiches galore, the best scones this side of your grandmother’s oven, an array of mouth watering cakes and only the best quality loose tea all served in vintage crockery: the works for a decent £12.95. Beautiful. Tell me more, you say? Chin Chin is open until late; when I need to keep powering through work the baristas are always ready to whip me up a delicious cappuccino with a smile. And with that I say, Chin Chin mes amis!
Havana Coffee
37 Cotham Hill, Bristol, BS6 6JY. 01179733020
With the vast selection of café’s on Cotham Hill it can sometimes be difficult to pick which one to visit. After I tried my hand at Havana, I’m certain it’s going to remain a staple of mine. It feels like you’re comfy at home when in Havana except you don’t lift a finger and the food is a thousand times as good as your own cooking. I’m not surprised this place was chosen as the best breakfast place in Bristol! They have over 15 different cooked breakfasts and a dedicated pancake menu that is served all day! Hello morning after! The blueberry and chocolate is my personal favourite, just the right amount of American fluff and flavour. To top it all off, the owner is always happy to have a chat with you which is difficult to find these days especially as a born and bred Londoner…no one ever wants to talk to you there. Arriba Cubana! -Stephanie Rihon-
UBU News
News and opinion from the University of Bristol Students' Union www.ubu.org.uk
OUT AND ABOUT
highlighTS iN DecemBer
WhAT'S ON
UBU events
#GivingTuesday
Get involved
Dec 2014
free edUcatioN demo Bristol students have voted to support the National
localised direct action alongside the
Free education is not just a pipe dream, germany
Student Demo in favour of free education on 19
demonstration.
recently abolished all tuition fees. higher education
November in central london.
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Alice Phillips said: ‘The government’s
Alice went on to say: ‘if you haven’t been on a demo
and cuts, The Student Assembly Against Austerity, The
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before, i would really recommend it – they are a
Young greens and supported by the National Union
ÂŁ1 invested in higher education, the
lot of fun and it’s really empowering to march with
of Students, the demonstration will take place under
economy expands by ÂŁ2.60.
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the banner of ‘Free education: No fees. No cuts. No debt’.
team will be marching along with you, ensuring that Furthermore, higher education has social
everyone is safe and happy.’
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exist between the amount of education a
UBU are offering students a subsidised return
government’s programme of fees and privatisation
person has received and their propensity
ticket to London for ÂŁ5.Tickets are on sale
in education and could lead to further action.
to be civically engaged, be in good health
from www.ubu.org.uk until Wednesday 12
Students are planning a wave of occupations and
and not to commit crime.
November – so grab one quick!
UPCOMING EVENTS
COMPETE: UBU SPORTS NIGHT
Dec 2014
UBU PUB QUIZ
Every Wednesday night, the Bunker hosts UBU Sports Night, Compete, welcoming every team & UBU student to the Bunker.
Do you know your stalagmites from your stalactites? Make sure you brush up on your general knowledge before entering this battle of the brains!
The perfect place to let off steam and celebrate a great day of sport. :LWK WKH ODWHVW FKDUWEXVWLQJ ÁRRU ÀOOHUV DQG FODVVLF DQWKHPV SURYLGing the soundtrack to an unforgettable night, you’ll soon be swapping your trainers for dancing shoes. And with our equally healthy drinks deals, you're sure to be lining up shots of a different variety until the early hours!
Entry is £1 per person. All proceeds go to RAG Bristol who support these fantastic local charites: Life Cycle UK Food Cycle Bristol Bristol Drugs Project St Peter’s Hospice
Every Wednesday • 10pm - 4am • The Bunker, Queens Road
Monday 8 December • 7:30pm • AR2, The Richmond Building
Anson Rooms
Anson Rooms has been one of Bristol’s best loved music venues for 50 years and a top destination for music lovers. Sign up to our mailing list to receive legendary gigs straight to your inbox. www.ansonrooms.co.uk
boy and bear
crossfaith
foxes
12 nov
17 nov
6 dec
Presented by
first student council of the year 7KH ÀUVW 6WXGHQW &RXQFLO RI WKH \HDU WRRN SODFH RQ 2FWREHU 7KHUH ZDV D high turnout and good range of motions discussed and voted on. +LJKOLJKWV LQFOXGHG D UH DIÀUPHG FRPPLWPHQW WR VXVWDLQDELOLW\ WKH SDVVLQJ RI a motion to support University staff pensions, and a discussion and motion on attending the national Free Education Demo on 19th November.Tea and biscuits were supplied by the Tea Society. The next Student Council takes place on Tuesday 2nd December at 6pm in the Anson Rooms so do come along! You can submit motions for the next meeting on the UBU website. Just head over to www.ubu.org.uk/democracy!
Shop online for official University of Bristol merchandise
ubushop.co.uk
Be the voice of #GivinGtuesday #GivingTuesday (2 December) is a global day of giving. After the sales of Black Friday and the online shopping boom on Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to come together to show the world why it’s good to give. Whether it’s making a donation, volunteering your time or giving your voice to help others, #GivingTuesday is a call to action for everyone who wants to give something back. Many people might not see the link between a Students’ Union and #GivingTuesday
T-SHIRT but we couldn't think of a better campaign to provide our students with the chance to be a global inspiration to others by, simply talking about the amazing giving they do
uk
every day. We are looking for students to share their inspirational 'giving' stories so that we can help share them with the world on Tuesday 2 December. This is a great way to
Hoodies, t-shirts, gifts and more!
highlight the great work you do with charities, community groups and your peers. So if you have a story you would like to share about how and why you give your time to others please email ubu-volunteering@bristol.ac.uk You can also get involved by tweeting the campaign @givingtuesdayuk but don't forget to use the #GivingTuesdayUBU hashtag!
Visit us online! These are just a few of the things going on at UBU. Check out our website at www.ubu.org.uk for all the latest news!
Dec 2014
What's On nOvember
December
monday 10
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CULTURE
Illustration by Ned Darlington
Epigram
10.11.2014
Arts
Editor: Millie Morris
Deputy Editor: Sam Abreo
Online Editor: Jude A’Bear
arts@epigram.org.uk
sabreo@epigram.org.uk
jabear@epigram.org.uk
@EpigramArts
Battle of Ideas at the Barbican Liam Marchant goes east of the Avon to listen to the country’s most thought-provoking artistic, political and cultural debates
deep thinking on politics and the arts [...] considering the intersection of the two
Wedged between A-level students playing Angry Birds and a big man in a Millwall shirt, I was apprehensive as I sat waiting for ‘From Yid Army to Green Brigade: Free Speech for Football Fans?’ to begin. Nevertheless, this scepticism proved unfounded, as the panel and audience alike spoke with engagement and intelligence. It was initially disappointing that there was not an advocate for censorship on the panel, for debate’s sake, however panellists drew from different arguments and punters were more than willing to challenge them. Admittedly, my Premier League conversations are seldom and succinct, though ‘Free Speech for Football Fans?’ was concerned with much more than simply
Support of Palestine, led to the debate’s descent into a protracted row over Gaza, leaving many aesthetic questions unanswered. Fortunately, ‘Do Films Warp the Mind?’ contained a panel with an interest beyond plugging their change. org petition. The debate addressed the moral consequences of art with both nuance and wit: ‘Yes, film does warp the mind. Any parent subjected to the songs from Frozen will agree’, Maren Thomas joked. From ‘Blurred Lines’ to Media Effects Theory, the scope of discussion was wide though not tangential. It was by far the most thought-provoking debate of the weekend.
to waffle unashamedly about the poems they love. John Donne’s victory was ensured after a knock-out blow by his advocate, Kate Maltby, who jibed that T.S. Eliot was ‘the Moby Dick of great white males’. The ‘Good-Morrow’ thus secured its place aboard the balloon whereas ‘The Wasteland’ is thrown to the dull roots and dead land below. ‘Artistic Freedom and Political Activism: To Boycott or Not to Boycott’ should have been the most contentious discussion of the weekend. The Institute of Ideas invites deep thinking on politics and the arts w i t h this debate
a refreshing and necessary event for curious minds
Tamara Hussain
“
The Institute of Ideas invites
sport. Peter Tatchell spoke of how words which have historically been used as terms of abuse can be reclaimed by the minorities they’re levelled at. Just as ‘Yid’ has been used by Tottenham supporters as affirmation of their Jewish identity, the campaign for ‘queer’ rights has stripped the word of its homophobic connotations. This is the most enlivening quality of the Battle of Ideas – its endless examination of the wider cultural questions surrounding an issue. Even in the ‘Surviving Austerity’ debate, panellists discussed in detail effects of fiscal policy in psychological and emotional terms. The Battle demonstrates a playful side as well. The final event on Saturday was a ‘balloon Battle of Ideas debate’ on the best poem ever written. The imaginary setting being a sinking hot air balloon which needs to lose weight, panellists personified a particular poem and argued their case for remaining on board. No one would dispute the chair David Bowden’s remark that the whole thing is an ‘absurd, reductionist charade’, but truly it provided an opportunity for individuals
“
Last week, the Scouts orienteering badge I was awarded aged seven was put to use in the world’s most confusing arts complex. Not 3-5 Woodland Road, but the Barbican. Organised by the Institute of Ideas, the brutalist shell hosted a two-day festival on topics ranging from Hashtag Feminism to the philosophy of misanthropy. Panels of academics, journalists, bloggers, and teachers assembled for a weekend of discourse punctuated by appeals to stewards for directions.
considering the intersection of the two. In light of the Barbican’s recent cancellation of Exhibit B following protests, the setting was ideal for a discourse on the limits of artistic freedom. However, these issues were hardly broached. A cultural boycott of Israel espoused by Naomi Foyle, the co-founder of British Writers in
The Institute of Ideas is a hub for academic discussion which rejects the idea of academic expertise. Though each debate contains a panel, the festival’s intention is to encourage free thinking in all quarters of society, hence the audience are central to the discussion. As long as universities are treated as job centres and knowledge for its own sake is deemed superfluous, The Battle of Ideas serves as a refreshing and necessary event for curious minds.
A time to remember: marking the World War with words With the dawning of the centenary and withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, poetry offers us a chance to reflect At the end of October, the Camp Bastion memorial wall bearing the 453 names of the soldiers who gave their lives during the Afghan campaign, was returned to the UK. Shortly after hearing this news, I heard a radio programme on the writings of the poet and dramatist Laurence Binyon, who is most famous for his poem ‘For the Fallen’. On hearing the poem in full, it struck me
Tyne Cot Cemetery
Flickr: Oli4.D
just how relevant his words are today as they were when he wrote them one-hundred years ago at the start of the First World War. The poem is a profound reminder of the debt that we owe to all those who are, and have been, directly impacted by the effects o f war: the civilians who have lost their homes and families. The families and friends of service personnel w h o support our soldiers,and who have coped, and continue to
cope with, loss and life changing situations. All the service men and women who have endured pain and suffering and have given, and continue to give, their lives for the good of our country. On Sunday 9 November there was a parade from the Cathedral to the Cenotaph in the centre of the city, where the University was represented by their Officer Training Corps. There was a short service of remembrance and two minutes silence. In such a fast-moving world it is easy to forget, but whatever you’re doing on Remembrance Day, let the following stanzas be a gentle reminder. Take two minutes’ silence in order to remember and show gratitude to those who gave yesterday for our today, and those who will give today for our tomorrow.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England’s foam.
Alice Bennett
War Poet
(1890 - 1918) Flickr: Tony Hisgett
Born to a Jewish family of working class Russian immigrants, he was a talented painter who is most celebrated for being an English war poet. He was killed in action whilst serving Britain on the Western Front. Isaac was diminutive in physical stature and frequently suffered from lung disease. However, these inhibitions did not prevent him ultimately seizing an elevated status as a poet of the Great War.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe.
- Laurence Binyon.
Isaac Rosenberg
WHO
From ‘For the Fallen’
WHAT Having left school at 14, Rosenberg’s artistic endeavours began with painting as he attended an evening art class. He was awarded as a painter and his interest in poetry began to proliferate around age 21. This culminated in his first poetry volume in 1912 titled ‘Night and Day’. His most acclaimed poem is ‘Break of Day in the Trenches’: known as an aubade (a piece about dawn), it unconventionally presents dawn as tainted, symbolising the subsistence of war.
Epigram
10.11.2014
39
Creativity Despite Disability: Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Millie Morris speaks to Vanessa Haarhoff, a local MFPA artist ‘Student Artist’ within the association, and is continuing to experiment artistically. She shares an amusing anecdote about meeting with the other artists for coffee, a regular occurrence, and struggling to use her hands to convey a coffee cup to her mouth. Peter Longstaff, a foot painter within the group, coolly helped out by reaching over and picking up the cup with his foot to help her drink from it. ‘He does everything with his feet,’ she says, smiling, ‘Even changes his baby’s nappies with them.’ Laid out on the table next to Vanessa are this year’s batch of Christmas cards: from the gloriously choppy post-impressionist style of Keith Jansz to the more rustic illustrationlike drawings of Paulus Ploier, the range of subject and style is certainly impressive and makes for excellent greeting card material. It is clear that in working with the association, artists have honed their skills to create both elaborate and picturesque scenes: the quality of the paintings is a clear indication that disability need not get in the way of creativity for this talented and inspirational group. For more information about the artists, association and to purchase Christmas cards, visit www.mfpa.uk
Millie Morris
My first encounter with the Mouth and Foot association was five years ago, after receiving a Christmas card from my grandfather. With a harmonising impressionist scene of poppies rendered in soft colours, the card stood out as one of the most beautiful on my mantelpiece. I later flipped it over to discover, impressed, that it had been painted with a brush dictated by mouth: specifically, by Thomas Kahlau of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists partnership. The MFPA comprises a group of disabled artists who employ their mouths or feet to create art, which is then shared through the medium of greetings cards and calendars. Formed in 1957, the association is run by the artists themselves -- 33 of which are British. Bristol-based Vanessa Haarhoff is amongst this number, and it is she who greets me cheerily at the View Art gallery on a windy Bristol day, secreted in the back corners of Hotwells. Sitting with an array of her own paintings and art supplies, complete with brush in mouth, Vanessa works on her own watercolour pieces. With conviction and skill she crafts a new visual with vibrant colours under the gaze of her most prominent painting, a beautiful scene of hot air balloons gliding over the Clifton suspension bridge. Vanessa tells me she was taken on as a
A selection of this year’s MFPA Christmas cards
Arts Introducing: Georgia O’Brien
‘art is a huge passion of mine and I’m really enjoying the Bristol art scene’
WHEN
To see more of Georgia’s work or to commission tonal drawings, visit: www.facebook.com/gofineartandillustration
WHERE Rosenberg was born in Bristol to an impoverished Jewish family, before moving to London in 1897. There, they integrated with a strong Jewish community. Aside from a sojourn in the warmer climate of South Africa from 1914 to October 1915, in hope of aiding his ailments, Rosenberg remained in London until June 1916, when he departed for France to serve on the Western Front. France, therefore, was the setting of his later poetry.
WHY Flickr: Leo Reynolds
Born in 1890, he enrolled with the army in 1915. He served Britain on the Western Front in France from 1916 to 1918. His first volume, ‘Night and Day’, was published in 1912 at his own expense. Rosenberg died during the twilight period of battle on April 1, 1918. His body was never found but fortunately for the literati, his war poems were located and posthumously published in 1922 in London.
First year English student
During the centenary year of the Great War, considering Rosenberg highlights both the tragic aspect of an artistic talent being cut short but also how the banality of trenches and trauma of war can be transformed into something of great artistic worth. Rosenberg’s poetic voice developed an early maturity during the war; his religious themes combined with formal rhythmic innovations will cement his reputation as an original poet.
Ryan Maguire
Epigram | 10.11.2014
40
Are we paying too much for theatre tickets? Serena Basra explores the economics of theatre production to see whether drama is too expensive
It’s no wonder that tickets are so expensive
‘Excessive.’ ‘Ridiculous.’ ‘Exploitative.’ These are just some of the words hurled around regarding the controversial price of theatre: like train tickets, the price appears to continually increase year on year. Theatre is typically ingrained within British culture, but is it becoming an exclusive club solely for the wealthy elite? This thought is difficult to dispel, especially as, according to The Stage’s recent survey, theatre prices have tripled in the last ten years. The cost of experiencing some of the West End’s most respected shows arguably verge on the excessive; productions such as War Horse force individuals to splurge as much as £150 for a seat. Numerous articles have been published condemning this and questioning theatre’s accessibility to the masses. However, there appears to be a refusal to acknowledge the range of pricing in theatres and widespread availability of cheap seats. The sale of highly-priced ‘Premium’ seats enables theatres to reduce the cost of other seats in
“
it is not just the perfomers on stage you are paying for
‘It never fails to amaze me just how many people are involved in a theatre production,’ he says. ‘Audiences want spectacle and to achieve this it takes a massive team backstage, not just during the show but in the many months of pre-production. Perhaps frustratingly, there are many disciplines that audiences are blissfully unaware of or that go unnoticed, but if they do then we are all doing our jobs right. Taking
“Bonjour, belle,” – cue that numbing smile. Stop that! That’s not fair! Curse you with your goddamn beautiful smile. I want to ignore it, but it is creeping back to me. That pale lopsided crescent, a flash of white. The cigarette held slackly and flowing a silver plume of smoke... Delicious. No! Stop that! Too late.
Millie Morris
CORNER
able to see productions for as little as £12 at The Old Vic. Such prices are cheaper than football or cinema tickets, or even entry to a club. A great deal of magic in theatre happens behind the scenes, and we must not allow what is out of sight to become out of mind. Admittedly, there are ludicrously expensive seats, but there i s also a wide range of affordable prices, a concept similar to airlines. The role of theatres is now not to necessarily reduce ticket prices, but to make the public more conscious of the availability of cheap seats; this will engage more of the public with theatre and more broadly, the arts at large.
Many theatres are charities
Inky Fingertips aboard the Apple Spoken word has become increasingly popular in recent years. Artists such as Kate Tempest, who won the Ted Hughes prize for New Work in Poetry in 2012, are changing people’s views on what is classified as poetry and opening it up to a completely new audience. Scroobius Pip’s work with Dan le Sac mixed spoken word and hip hop, whilst Hollie McNish employs Youtube as a means of circulating her work (her video ‘Mathematics’ now has over a million views). In Bristol, there is a vibrant spoken word scene, and Inky Fingertips stands at the forefront of those who delight in getting involved in either listening or performing. The event is a lively and sociable introduction to spoken word. Held in the cosy belly of boatcum-bar The Apple, it’s an exciting evening of free performance. Don’t be put off if you’ve never been to a poetry event, as there couldn’t be a friendlier first time than this monthly gathering. It gives new writers the opportunity to perform, whilst showcasing some of the most exciting current artists. This month featured Anthony Anaxagorou as headliner, a London-based poet who will soon be taking his work overseas on a tour of Australia. Eased into the evening by a handful of poems read by zany organiser Vanessa Kisuule, we were then treated to a fantastic performance by Zoe Alker, winner of the last ‘Core Blimey Slam’. The Slam gives six new performers the opportunity to share their material, with an element of competition as members of the audience score the pieces; the w i n n e r is then invited back to perform a
set at the next event. Nicky Ann Walker had never performed in public before, but delivered two beautiful poems and subsequently won this month’s slam. Talking to her afterwards, she said she felt she was ‘going in at the deep end’ performing for the first time, but that encouragement from friends had persuaded her to give it a go. On winning, she said ‘I feel giddy! I’ve never won anything before!’. Previous winner Zoe believes ‘there’s an element of prestige in winning the competition’. As a free, open and friendly introduction to spoken word in the Bristol community, Zoe asserted that Inky Fingertips ‘needs to stay, it’s so important that it stays’. I couldn’t agree more. The night’s headliner, Anthony Anaxagorou, took to the stage in an eye-catchingly yellow jumper to perform his equally ear-catching work. His passionate energy engaged us all, particularly in ‘I Am Not a Poet’ in which he rejected the expectations of traditional poetry. The thought-provoking ‘Pathology of Like’ reflected on how social media affects our society. He also stressed the importance of writing about real life, not intended only for a middle class or scholarly audience. In essence, that is what spoken word is about: breaking down barriers and making poetry accessible to everyone. If you’ve never experienced spoken word before, make sure to come to the next Inky Fingertips event (it’s free and on a boat, why wouldn’t you?) ... so long as you are prepared to have your existing conceptions of poetry shaken up. Stephen Lyle
CREATIVE
A French Encounter
into account all of this and the difficulty of making a profit, it’s no wonder that tickets are so expensive, but cheap seats are within easy reach.’ It appears society is facing a cultural battle, not with theatre prices but rather with theatre accessibility. Theatre is not particularly constrained by a class issue in modern society; a famous West End show is capable of uniting a range of social backgrounds, but many people are still unaware of how cheap theatre is close within their reach. The belief that one can only experience the theatre if willing to pay an astonishing amount of money is simply reflective of a lack of awareness. It is not a question of economics nor even one of entitlement, but of education. A number of initiatives are in place to alleviate the pressures of ticket costs. ‘Kids Week’ runs throughout August, offering free tickets to under 16s for a range of West End shows when accompanied by a full paying adult. Shakespeare’s Globe boasts excellent tickets at just £5, the National Theatre offers tickets at £15 and, local to Bristol, you are
Flickr:Alan Cleaver
Flickr: EvelynGiggles
the venue: for example, desirable seats to War Horse are equally available for significantly less at just £15. Theatres are not renowned for boasting skyhigh profits and many are, in fact, charities. Profits are invested back into a myriad of artistic ventures, such as productions, touring, or the general upkeep of the theatre. It is not simply the performers on stage you are paying for, and as a result, theatregoers often neglect the scale of the production essential to a play’s creation. In search of an insider’s perspective on the theatre business I spoke to Owen Visser, who has six years’ experience working behind the scenes in productions such as Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde and Rock of Ages.
Julia O’Driscoll
POSTGRADUATE OPEN DAY WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER
A postgraduate degree can give you the edge in the jobs market, open up an academic career path, or just allow you to explore the subject you love in even more depth.
www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/opendays
Epigram
10.11.2014
Film & TV
@epigramfilm Editor: Matthew Floyd
Deputy Editor: Hannah Price
Online Editor: Manvir Basi
filmandtv@epigram.org.uk
deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk
filmandtvonline@epigram.org.uk
Radio 1 rescores Drive a worthwhile project? Zane Lowe recruited some of your favourite artists to create a new soundtrack for Nicholas Winding Refn’s excellent Drive, but should he have bothered?
flickr/ canburak
flickr/ Adam Sayer
Together, Radio 1 and BBC3 gave you the chance to rewatch Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan in 2011’s brilliant Drive, only with a worse soundtrack. Cheers, guys.
Review by Ella Kemp Film & TV Writer
There are few films nowadays that we can call ‘classics.’ We often have to look back to the 90’s, 80’s, or even further to find a film that will be remembered for years and years to come. On the night of Thursday 30 October, BBC3 screened an alternative version of Drive with a new soundtrack curated by Radio 1, featuring artists such as The 1975, SBTKRT, Foals, Bastille and Bring Me the Horizon, amongst others. What’s so special about Drive is that not only does it have an incredible storyline, stunning visuals and hands down one of the best characters of this generation, but every song of its original score manages to embody perfectly what the film represents without overpowering or ruining any part of it. Taking on the task of rescoring this film took a lot of courage, and the expectations were extremely high. Zane Lowe from Radio 1 decided to take on this challenge and claims that he and his chosen artists did not intend to improve the original soundtrack, but simply wanted to give a different outlook on the already fantastic film. So... what do we think? It’s a mixed bag of musical experiments. Some artists managed to capture the essence of the film, letting it speak for itself whilst further perpetuating the emotions felt by the characters. However, some of the others simply got carried away. They seem to have based themselves on the 80’s synth-pop atmosphere, and written love songs that make Drive seem painfully superficial, cheesy and awkward at times – which it definitely is not.
The music must be a mirror of the film’s values and must represent it accurately. In this case, Drive is all about complexity. There are many intricate layers of intensity to the film, and what seems calm, distant and sometimes monotonous is in reality very deep and emotionally charged. The song that featured on the opening credits sadly does not capture this complexity. CHVRCHES contributed a good song, just not a good
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the task of rescoring the film took a lot of courage... it’s a mixed bag of musical experiments
song for Drive. The lyrics distract the viewer from what is going on in the scene and the regular beat makes it all seem like a stressful video game, vacant of any kind of emotional depth. The main problem that arose from the new songs were that they attempted to epitomize Drive through storytelling lyrics and excessively present electronic percussions and beats. Bastille’s contribution, ‘The Driver’ did represent the driver’s character fairly well and was an interesting addition. However, the problem was that when added to the chosen scene, it seemed
out of place, overshadowing the film and leaving no room for the sequence to speak for itself. Another example of this problem came with the track by BMTH. Their song when played over the car chase changes the entire meaning of the sequence. We are no longer watching Drive, but a painfully superficial Hollywood flickr/craigboney blockbuster - think Transformers, or Need for Speed... The tracks that worked in the film were the ones that didn’t seem to be trying too hard. Think slow, regular beats, layered tracks with a compilation of different textures and sounds, while still remaining minimalistic and intense. ‘Medicine’ by The 1975 proved to be a beautifully accurate song for the only brief moment of light and happiness in the film, by providing a powerful and simple melodic line and a deeply melancholic rhythm. The best fitting tracks were the ones that reflected the film’s paradoxical main character - discreet yet powerful, minimalistic and complex, aggressive and melancholic. The power of Drive arises from its many emotional nuances, which is what made its original soundtrack so brilliant. The score brings us closer to the main character, without him needing to do or say anything at all. Attempting to rescore this film has proven to be a very interesting project, showcasing some brilliant upcoming artists and some new material from our favorite chart artists. But let’s be honest, if it’s not broken, why fix it? Drive (Radio 1 Rescores) was shown on BBC3 30 Oct.
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Nightcrawler
Flickr/Ma_o2013
Flickr/NOO
Ben Lewis Film & TV Writer
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Nightcrawler as Louis Broom, an L.A. crime journalist.
Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary Lloyd Maliphant Film & TV Writer Despite the fact that Ghostbusters was released 10 years before most of us were born, its continuing prevalence and influence within popular culture is a testament to the quality of the film and the considerable talent behind it. I, and so many others, grew up with Ghostbusters. It’s one of those films that featured significantly in my childhood; I watched it relentlessly, I owned the toys, I even watched the animated TV shows and read the comics. What’s more, in recent years, I’m not ashamed to admit that I purchased a Ghostbusters Lego set of the classic Ectomobile. So it might be fair to assume that when it comes to writing about Ghostbusters for its 30th anniversary cinema re-release, I could be a little biased. But thinking about it, it doesn’t matter if I’m biased. This is a film that transcends any form of criticism, a wonderfully inventive and enjoyable caper that is essentially the epitome of entertainment. It emanates from that glorious period of 80’s cinema that gave us Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and Star Flickr/Ma_o2013
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everything Broom says makes some pragmatic sense, void of human emotion
The biggest irony of this film is that its message is contradictory. This will be a huge hit I am sure, though not film of the year, as Gone Girl has that accolade so far, but it will get people talking. What it won’t do is provoke an outcry and indeed a change in the way media in America conducts how it gets its stories. As Russo’s character Nina puts it, ‘[news] is a woman running down a street with her throat slit’. Nightcrawler was released on Friday 31 October. Flickr/Chris Elt
Wars and it stands proud amongst them. It follows the exploits of a trio of parapsychologists, who, when fired from their jobs at Columbia University, decide to set up a paranormal consultancy and extermination business. Through their exploits they become celebrities and eventually have to step up and save New York from a giant marshmallow man. It’s hardly the most groundbreaking stuff in the world, but it’s the gleeful concept and the cast of entertaining and genuinely likable characters that elevate this film to its present status of adoration.
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the legend that is Bill Murray is on top form throughout
The legend that is Bill Murray is on top form throughout Ghostbusters, playing the cynical and sarcastic member of the paranormal trinity, who questions and derides his partners’ more unorthodox tendencies. It’s a part that could have turned out nasty and unlikable if it weren’t for Murray’s God-given charm. Even his stalking and charlatanism
Love, Rosie
Sohini Paul Film & TV Writer
Too cutesy? Yes.
The difference between American anchor news and the British equivalent is their views on censorship. It may come as a no surprise that blood, obviously in proportion, is frequently seen on American news, even on early morning shows. Yet the media continues to show the audiences these images - we may be disgusted but we can’t look away. Those three words - ‘cannot look away’ - are central to Nightcrawler. While it is a commentary on how long people are willing to watch these horrific images broadcasted to millions, the irony is Dan Gilroy, the director, and star Jake Gyllenhaal have created such a brilliant amoral character that we don’t wish to look away for fear of missing one of his calculated expressions or the pinpoint directness of his speeches. True, this could be seen as Gyllenhaal showing off what he can do as not only does he produce the film but he is seldom off-screen. But everything he says makes some pragmatic sense, void of human emotion, but weird logical sense. If it didn’t then why is it we are fascinated by these grotesque images? Maybe you, specifically you, are not but countless other millions are. The film is divided into two sections: the first hour is a deep character analysis. The very first scene shows what extent Louis
Broom (Gyllenhaal) is prepared to go to achieve his goals. The second half revolves round one specific story (an apparent home invasion of a ‘rich, white family’) and how Broom manipulates everyone and everything to push the story in a direction he wants it to go. There is no compulsion to root for Broom as a protagonist or an antihero yet you feel compelled to see what happens to him: will he get arrested? Will he get murdered? Or will he get away with it?
Interminable, clichéd, yet sweet, Love, Rosie is a film that follows the lives of the vivacious Rosie (Lily Collins) and the charming Alex (Sam Claflin). This romantic comedy, based on Where Rainbows End by famous Irish novelist Cecelia Ahern (of P.S. I Love You fame), is a film that has been, and will continue to be, met by mixed reactions from audience and critics alike. Starting off with the portrayal of the high school days of best friends Rosie and Alex, the movie continues depict the duo’s lives. Albeit a tale of innumerable mistakes, hurdles and obstacles, finally leading to the hackneyed and predictable ending that is promised in any rom-com, the film is ultimately one that does not completely fail to tickle one’s heart strings through its depiction of friendship and the kind of love that beats all odds. If one is to judge the film as a typical romantic comedy, targeted at a very particular audience, one can say that German director, Christian Ditter, has done a wonderful job
comes across as endearing and he really carries the film, giving what is arguably his most memorable performance. But it’s a performance that relies on the more eccentric duo of Dan Aykroyd and the late Harold Ramis, who provide Murray with the fuel to his deadpan fire. The supporting cast also delivers, with Sigourney Weaver cementing her reputation as best science-fiction actress and Rick Moranis on ever reliable neurotic form. There is the minor misstep of the utterly superfluous fourth Ghostbuster, played by Ernie Hudson, who has such little influence over the plot that he can be largely ignored. Ramis and Aykroyd also have the notable achievement of having written the script, which is overflowing with memorable one-liners and ingenious premises. It’s this that made Ghostbusters an instant cult classic and what keeps people coming to see it, even 30 years on. There is so much that is iconic about the film; the outfits, the gadgets, the theme song and even the tagline. It’s been aped and imitated often but never bettered. With news of a third film finally clawing its way out of production hell, with an all-female cast, now is as good a time as any for a little nostalgia trip. Ghostbusters is an unashamedly fun film and has admirably withstood the test of time to become one of the best comedy films ever made. But I guess I am a little biased. Ghostbusters was re-released in cinemas on Tuesday 28 October. on his English debut. Both lead actors wonderfully complement his direction. Collins is as lovely as ever, delivering her lines with such an attitude that even the slightly pretentious dialogues seem genuine. Even Claflin does not disappoint, looking as gorgeous as ever and living up to the tremendous potential that he had shown in some of his previous films, such as The Hunger Games and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The one major disappointment in this film, however, is the script and screenplay. Written by Juliette Towhidi, known for her amazing work on Calendar Girls, the film at certain points seems overly calculated and phoney, failing to meet the demands of the storyline completely. Not only do there seem to be twists of the plot that are too convenient, they also distract from the fundamental emotions behind the script at certain points. Fans of Cecilia Ahern are up for a major disappointment, where they are bound to feel that the most important elements of the novel have been brutally cut out of this film. In short, Love, Rosie is definitely worthy of a one-time watch, especially if you have not read the novel to begin with. Even if you have, it would be best to go to this film with
Ghostbusters is back on the big screen! no previous expectations. Once one gets past the slightly ridiculous and overboard storyline, the bubbly actors, upbeat soundtrack and beautiful concept of companionship and unconditional love makes for an entertaining and heart-warming watch. Love, Rosie was released on Wednesday 22 October.
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Epigram 10.11.2014
45 Flickr/canburak
Foxcatcher.
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper look majestically into the distance to give everyone time to appreciate how attractive they are.
Serena Sohini Paul Film & TV Writer I’ll admit it, I was ready to hate this. Settling into my seat for the 3.10pm screening of Serena at Watershed, I felt slightly out of place. I was surrounded by foreign film fanatics, the odd 20-something couple and many, many posses of sweet OAPs. Now I’m usually the first one to jump at the chance to go and see a new romantic drama, but I was slightly skeptical about Serena. The poster screams Nicholas Sparks, and the film seems to be a confusing mix of teenage chick flick, star-studded blockbuster and 1920’s drama. It was a recipe for disaster. As the film faded in to a dramatic wide shot of cloudy mountains and a very serious stare from Blue-Eyed-Bradley all I could think was ‘here we go again...’. And yet, if I were rating it out of five I’d give it three stars. So while eating my slice of humble pie, I will take my hat off to Serena and explain why this unoriginal romantic drama is actually a stunning piece of cinema. Serena tells the story of the Pemberton newlyFlickr/screen relish weds, who after falling madly in love fall into
a vicious downward spiral, thus jeopardizing George’s cherished timber business, Serena’s sanity and credibility, and ultimately the lives of both husband and wife. Many a time I have sat down on a dull Sunday afternoon to distract myself with the latest crash and burn love story, and many a time they have simply left me cold. However, at the end of Serena, I found myself needing to wake up, to bring myself to leave the cinema and come back to the real world of student life in Bristol. And that is how I know that the film was a success. The film embraces its genre, and uses all processes available to emphasize the overall tension; the performances are narrated by (excessively) dramatic music, the viewer is overwhelmed with long sweeping shots and camera movements, and fade ins and outs are the go-to transitions. What stopped me from jumping out of my seat and leaving in despair was the fact that these emphatic processes and tricks as well as the overall mise-enscène were all stunning, and executed like an extremely well oiled machine. The fact that this has all been done before may put some people off, some may cry in boredom ‘been there, done that’, but when it is so well performed, who are we, humble viewers, to condemn faultless technical
brilliance and outstanding acting? Is novelty the only factor on which we judge what a film is worth? Susanne Bier, director of the film, has taken this project very seriously. The film stayed hidden in post production for 18 months while she and the rest of her team worked on it. And when we see the beauty of the immense Czech landscapes, and the mesmerising rich colours and textures in every single shot, I can see why. The film demonstrates a visual beauty that you just cannot deny.
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one of Serena’s main strengths lies in the power of its romantic clichés
Viewers and critics have moaned and groaned about the actors, accusing them of being too cliché and bringing nothing new
to the film. I, however, would tend to strongly disagree. Cliché can be considered a negative when it is poorly executed; however, one of Serena’s main strengths lies in the power of said romantic clichés. Though the storyline presents some pretty classic plot twists for a romantic drama, there is no denying the outstanding performances given by Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and also Rhys Ifans. Cooper and Lawrence have brilliant on-screen chemistry as usual, and Rhys Ifans almost outshines his fellow male lead, giving a dark and intense performance. So to recap, yes, you have seen it all before. Yes, Bradley and Jen still and will always look amazing together. Yes, there are too many metaphors (panthers anyone?), string instruments and intense gazes every 15 minutes or so. But that does not take away from the film any of its qualities. Stunning aesthetics, incredible onscreen chemistry and character portrayal, and perhaps predictable, but an intense and captivating storyline nonetheless. Serena is your favorite romantic drama that you have watched countless times already, that you will still watch again and again. Serena was released on Friday 24 October.
Editors’ Picks
Our personal choices of what to watch over the next two weeks Matthew Editor
Hannah Deputy Editor
Manvir Online Editor
The Drop Friday 14 November
MasterChef: The Professionals Starts Tuesday 4 November BBC2
Interstellar Friday 7 November
At this point I think the world just agrees that Tom Hardy is fantastic - regardless of the project, it’ll be worth a watch just for him. At risk of overkill, The Drop supplements the Hardy boy with James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace and an adorable dog. Enjoy.
Yay it’s back. My favourite food programme, and by far the best out of the MasterChef collection. Worth the watch just to see Gregg’s smiley face light up when he tastes the deserts. Warning: best not to watch hungry.
My dream team of cinema, Matthew McConaughey and Christopher Nolan join forces in this human odyssey which sees a group of explorers overcome the limits of space travel through an interstellar voyage, with Nolan following on from Inception with even more breathtaking visual effects.
Detectorists Available on BBC iPlayer
BBC Pictures
The quietly excellent Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones take the lead roles in the adorable BBC4 comedy series, which follows a pair of metal detectorists as they seek fortune in muddy fields but encounter love and rivalry. The TV equivalent of a warm cup of tea on a cold autumn night.
The Imitation Game Friday 7 November Cumberbatch at his best, as the unsung hero and genius Alan Turing. I adore this film - okay, the fact I do Maths and he was a code-breaking mathematican makes me a little biased, but this guy should be on bank notes and yet you probably don’t even know who he is. This film has an amazing story to tell, so pleeeease go see it.
Toast of London Starts Monday 3 November on C4 The thoroughly crude and hilarious comedy returns for a second series. Once again, we follow the outrageous Steven Toast (Matt Berry) struggling to make it as an actor. Recommended if you are currently suffering from essay or dissertation related stress.
Epigram
10.11.2014
Music
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Editor: Guy Barlow
Deputy Editor: Gunseli Yalcinkaya
Online Editor: Jonny Hunter
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PRIDES: ‘Definitely the smallest...’
From the Commonwealth Games to The Old Bookshop, Jethro West spoke to Glasgow’s Rising Stars
Gunseli Yalcinkaya gets some valuable life lessons in relationships, feminism and internet trolls Glaswegian synthpop trio Prides have popped up on the 2014 radar with all the subtlety of a toddler sh**ting on the floor. Boasting appearances at the Commonwealth Games, Reading and Leeds Festival, alongside Blink-182 at Brixton Academy and out touring with Magic Man in the States; Stewart Brock, Callum Wiseman and Lewis Gardner have commandeered the underground indie-pop scene. Yet all this with only a single EP and three singles to their name screams that these momentous outings make up only the very beginning of a mammoth career to come. Prides sold-out for the final show of their debut headline tour at The Old Bookshop in Bristol, and when I arrived I realised why. We were paraded through the front of the pub where the locals stared at the mob of indie youngsters. The garishly cute interior seemed juxtaposed against the genre of music we were eagerly anticipating; however, the intimacy of the venue helped breed what support act The Wild Curve described as a ‘bromance’ with Prides. Dramatic ambience ensued as the room blackened before the band emerged and launched into ‘I Should Know You Better’ with disco strobe lights that sent the room into a mix of cascading primary colours. Brock couldn’t keep still behind the keyboard and he had what I can only describe as the floppiest fringe I have ever seen. The rest of the set included their other singles ‘Cold Blooded’ and ‘Out of the Blue’: two more impressive tracks played with stacks of energy, particularly from Gardner on the drums who was pounding away with an anthemic rhythm. Prides also played a couple of unreleased songs such as ‘Little Danger’ which had a
funkier feel and ‘Let it Go’ – ‘better than Frozen’s’ screamed a fan girl. The audience was then sent wild with a slightly less feminine version of Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’. Prides then finished with ‘Messiah’, a song streamed to over 7 million people during the Commonwealth Games. Such an infectious song demonstrates why Prides have been chosen to play at the places they have this year, and I was given the opportunity to catch them in their tour van to find out more about them just before the show. If you could describe your year in one word, how would you describe it? Oh god, errm, that’s a tough one, one word? Epic. There’s a lot of stuff that we’ve managed to achieve this year, with a lot of big milestones. So it has been amazing! After all that you’re here playing in The Old Bookshop in Bristol! Do you feel as though you’ve outgrown these sorts of venues for your first headline tour? This is definitely the smallest. And with the tour selling out we did discuss whether we’d upgrade venues and all the rest of it. But I think the general consensus was that we really wanted to make sure that these shows were the best that they could be, and it’s people who really wanted to come down who got tickets early and so we decided to keep it as such. But we’ve just announced a tour in February with much, much bigger venues, so it’s gonna be quite the step up, but we’re excited about it!
How have you found the transition between supporting and headlining over the past couple of weeks? Headlining is so much easier! I think obviously when you’re doing a support, people aren’t there to see you. It’s quite often new ears and people are discovering you for the first time, so you’re sort of winning people over. Whereas, especially with a sold out show, you know they’re on side already a little bit and it’s a bit more of a comradery thing and people get involved and we can have a joke and enjoy ourselves. I mean we do all those things when we’re supporting but it’s definitely a little bit tougher! So what was the reception like supporting Blink-182 at Brixton? Great! That was a massive show and Brixton is a real iconic kind of venue and we were worried because our styles are quite different, but us being massive Blink fans, we just thought there’s got to be other people who are going to get what we’re doing. And people did and we had a really good reaction, people online afterwards and lots of people on the tour have said they’ve seen us with Blink and blah blah blah – it’s good! I’ve noticed on your Soundcloud that you’ve recorded some covers of Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding, any particular reason for these covers as opposed to other songs by bands like Blink-182? To be honest, it’s more just because I think that we suit those kinds of songs.
We’re big fans of Katy and Ellie and Taylor Swift and all those guys. It’s all just pop music. We just thought let’s cover the biggest pop songs, the biggest tunes out there. They are all by women as well and it’s worked out okay.
figuring out a name for the album yet, or is it top secret?
There’s not a massive difference, I don’t think. It has been in the past just because we’ve been a little bit ahead and the Scottish crowds know us a bit better. We’re getting there, but again it’s just about people finding out about us and getting to know the songs and all the rest of it.
So 2015 is again looking to be a big year for you guys?
We’ve got an idea but it is top secret! Nothing’s confirmed and it’s got a code name, but we’re getting there and it’s nearly finished now. Code Having just come over from London name: Pride’s First Album – Greatest do you feel that the atmosphere at Hits! Hopefully by the end of the year southern gigs differs to that of ven- we’ll have everything finished and a ues in the North & Scotland? name will be attached.
Yeah, that’s it. The big focus will be on getting the album out and if we can do that in the first half of the year before the summer then we can get out again and do all the festivals and all that kind of stuff. That’s kind of the It was actually people getting to loose plan, we’ll see. Obviously these know one of your songs ‘Out Of The things tend to change! Blue’ through FIFA 15 that caused you to release it a few days ago and Do you have any particular festiit seems to include more electronica vals in mind? than previous singles. Is this something we should expect more from Wherever will have us, I think is the your album coming out in the New main thing! I would love to do GlasYear? tonbury, I’ve never been and obviously it’s on the list and it’s the main Well, I guess there’s a big mix and British one that none of us have there is stuff that hits a bit more of the played before, so that’d be awesome electronic side and then there’s a total and I’d really love to get into some stripped back piano kind of thing. We of the European festivals like Primavwanted to try and make sure that we era; that would be amazing. So we’ll had a wide range of sounds and make see! sure that we weren’t just flogging the one idea. And I think we’ve got there. But ‘Out of the Blue’ was one of the first songs we wrote as Prides, but it’s definitely a bit of a synthy monster! Have you guys gotten any closer to Jethro West, Third year, Maths
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AN INTERVIEW WITH: The Ramona Flowers As I entered the O2 Academy, The Ramona Flowers were already in the middle of an interview. There were a handful of aspiring journalists in line for a brief window of their time. With each question, no doubt asked hundreds of times before, the band gave genuine answers and shared humorous anecdotes. This Bristol based group have been touring alongside some of the most wellknown bands of recent years:Imagine Dragons, Bastille and, most recently, Kaiser Chiefs to name a few. Whilst their album, Dismantle and Rebuild, received mixed reviews, it transfers well to the stage. Their sound is very eclectic. At times, heavily electronic, at others very acoustic. Some rhythms are complex, others simple yet effective, all upon which a wonderful falsetto voice is often planted. From their first song, the impact of touring with esteemed acts like Kaiser Chiefs had clearly reaped benefits. The band acted in unison to bring their tracks alive. Steve Bird, front man, exhibited the confidence of Ricky Wilson on the compact stage. Throwing unorthodox shapes, his expression aided the impetus of the songs performed. He displayed all the characteristics of a good frontman. The set itself carried on well. The problem that they face is that their demeanour, sound and performance all project towards big anthem choruses – something that they just never produce. The band themselves seemed quite contented with this, however. They are writing music they love. The enthusiasm was abundant, there was a glint in their eyes when both performing and talking to me about their work. I found this endearing. There is certainly nothing to dislike about this band. Whilst they may lack the big wow-factor which prevents them from becoming big, they provide a fantastic live performance and should be credited for trying to do something different, and sticking to creating music that they love.
“Torvill and Dean. Just imagine what you could do on ice...”
Unorthodox dance moves, Bargain Booze and Ice Skating: Can you tell The Ramona Flowers are from Bristol by any chance? By the end of their performance, in front of a packed O2, they were in their element, and as the final notes of ‘Brighter’ disappeared into memory, the crowd duly showed their appreciation. Before the gig I asked them a few questions about their album, touring and their time as a support act. How has your experience been supporting acts such as Bastille and Kaiser Chiefs? The Kaiser Chiefs are really, really lovely. Ricky is an amazing frontman. It’s quite different supporting such seasoned pros in comparison to acts like Bombay Bicycle Club, for example. Even after countless support acts, Kaiser Chiefs were still really friendly with us. What has been your strangest gig experience? We did one on a plastic box once in the centre of Manchester. We were in a box playing a silent disco for Deezer. You could see the people clapping, but we couldn’t hear anything. It was surreal because you had no connection with the crowd, so I think that’s probably up there. How easy did you find writing your first album? The initial part was quite hard, but once we got on a roll the bulk of the album was written quite quickly, and then we went back and changed it all. Finding the sound was the toughest part. There is quite a mix, and you can hear that on the album because we were trying a lot of things and so some old songs sound quite different to the songs that were a bit newer and a bit more electronic. That’s the challenge for the next one, for it to be much more together I suppose. What are you listening to now? Both Jungle and Alt-J albums are amazing.
What do you think of Bristol? It’s where we’re from. It’s great. It felt strange coming to the first day of the tour and leaving the house to play the O2. Who needs L.A. when you’ve got Southmead? And Bargain Booze! If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be? Torvill and Dean. Just imagine what you could do on ice… How does the dynamic of the group work with such varied influences?
Joe Shaw, Second year, History
flickr: Adiran Perez
The thing is that we like what we like. Why do you have to like a certain genre? It wasn’t deliberate whilst making the album that it sounds quite varied. At the same time when we were writing songs, we were like ‘let’s do a song like this’ and afterwards, if we loved it, then it was all good. Like James Brown said, ‘If it feels good, who gives a s**t’? Well, I’ve added that last bit, but that’s basically what he said. If it feels good, who cares? Too many people get hung up on whether this works, or that works. Our work is, basically, if we’re all excited about it and we all love it, then that’s how it becomes a song.
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10.11.2014
THE BIG DEBATE: KATE TEMPEST
SHE’S ALRIGHT: The defence of a modernday Shakespeare?
SHE’S S**T: Why oh why do people love her ‘Key Stage 3’ poetry?
She may have been pipped to the post by Young Fathers, but Kate Tempest’s career prospects haven’t been dampened too much by her missing out on the Mercury Award: praise is spilling from every online review outlet and bimonthly music rag from London to Manchester. Why is this? There’s no doubt that the South East London rapper and spoken-word performer’s got good flow, delivery, whatever you wish to call it. She’s definitely got the credentials. She went to The BRIT School, moving on to the green pastures of Goldsmiths College. She lived in various squats during her formative years, which surprises me because up until this point I thought that the prestigious BRIT School and squatting were mutually exclusive. Last year, she won the Ted Hughes Award for her spoken story/poem ‘Brand New Ancients’. It’s clear that she has the recognition, the flattering reviews, and the fan base. I agree that ‘Brand New Ancients’ is fantastic. I imagine her other lyrical works are also fantastic. They balance the colloquial and the mystical and bring the hard bits of living in a big city down to the everyman level. But with the release of her debut album, Everybody Down, what worries me is that her songs seem to draw quite heavily on those by another famous musician who ploughed the straight talking, dealing with the day-to-day path. You might know him, he’s called Mike Skinner, or The Streets. Kate’s beats are jerky, off-kilter but still funky and do the job well. Her flow is good; she’s not quite Chuck D or Method Man, but the years spent honing her style on the circuit (she’s 28) have definitely paid off.
Task: To scathingly criticise Kate Tempest in the style of Kate Tempest, thereby illuminating the reader of her shortcomings in both style and content. Can I have a beat please? Thanks.
But it’s the words, the content that really should matter in rap. They leave me cringing at times. Maybe it’s because with her level of acclaim you expect her songs to say something substantial every time. What niggles me is her often guileless self-help slogans that tell the listener to open up: ‘them things you don’t say, speak to me!’ Listening to her songs, you instantly recognize someone with talent but as a poet, her lyrics should be able to be viewed on a page, without music. I’ve tried this and the results are not as you would expect. Her metaphors are really quite poor (‘I clam up, I’m shellfish’), and seem hackneyed when compared to the work of some of her more talented contemporaries. That’s you Scroobius Pip. When the line ‘swaying to a power ballad, shredding tears at the high noted’ can be considered subtle, I will eat my hat. Some bands, like Oasis, have lyrics that make no sense, and some bands rely heavily on their lyrical content. Kate Tempest sits somewhere in the middle, when you hear them they seem like they work, but on reading them, they seem to be little more than stream of thought scribblings of someone with a B in A-level English. I know this was supposed to be an impassioned defence of Kate Tempest. I’ve tried, I really have. There are undoubtedly some great redeeming features on show in her work. What I can’t attempt to defend is her words. The definition of poetry is wider than ever, but there is good poetry and bad poetry. This is neither; it is decent poetry being lauded as if it were more. Alex Green, Second year, Philosophy
rude don’t mean to obtrude just trying to let you know that your time is wasted and your ears deserve more than this. Success: Mixed; I wasn’t nearly scathing enough
Watch me unleash this whirlwind of abuse at the Tempest. Kate is wack, man. She ain’t got no bars to spit, none that I can swallow. So I wallow in her key stage 3 sub-arts degree shit. I hate it. Let’s not speak of her beats man cos even John Cleese man (who spits like a python) can see that they’re weak man and her verses are on repeat man like Top Gear on Dave man. (“Man”, rhymed, 5x). Kate’s a south London girl, her hair orange, curled (not straight). Kate Moss she ain’t and neither Kate Upton. But they say her lyrics stick and grow so she was up—on the Mercury List, didn’t win it but was favourite for a bit. She raps about baked beans and real feelings as if that means her music’s got meaning I’m not being mean cos the proof’s in the pudd-ing. Case in point: ‘I’m paranoid, I’m selfish Push me, I clam up, I’m shellfish’ … ‘See something great Happen to a mate I love that’ If you love that then you’re a lost cause because if you pause, forget the applause and listen you’ll hear it laid bare her ineptitude (long word) and I’ll say it again I ain’t being
Richard Assheton, Second year, Philosophy
THIS WEEK IN EPIGRAM 2005 In a feature new to Epigram Music we’ve decided to look back in the archives of Epigram stretching back 26 years to see what was going on 9 years ago this week. So, what exactly was going on in the week of 30th October 2005? Well, there was a debate very much like the one above discussing whether one should take one’s mobile phone to a gig that was accompanied by a picture of what I believe to be a Samsung D500 - a classic I’m sure. Another notable part of the section worthy of mention is a competition to see Turin Brakes at the ... ahem ... ‘Carling Academy?’ It bothers me greatly thinking about what lucky soul answered correctly ‘What world famous rag is associated with Turin?’ Finally, albums out this week included London Elektricity, Pest, Franz Ferdinand and Blockhead. I wonder if any of the songs from those albums were played at Bristol’s then-newest club ‘Native’ which I believe is now ‘Timbuktu’. Perhaps not. Oh well, it looked like quite a fun fortnight regardless.
flickr: Kim-Leng
Everyone likes a good debate, no? Alex Green and Richard Assheton definitely do!
Epigram 10.11.2014
25 49
An Interview with: Slaves
Adidas-clad Punk band Slaves talk everything Bono, having fun and Jools Holland
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But we’ve got ‘Every Breaking Wave’ on our starred playlist on Spotify.’ Vincent also delights in telling me that The Edge gets called that by Bono in real life. ‘It’s with ‘The’ and everything!’
What is there to do with life but have fun?
The eddying intensity of ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ is powerful, while the searing guitar riff of ‘Hey’ increases the heat a notch or two. This is not a Slaves headline gig though, and some of the Jamie T fans who don’t know what to expect aren’t too happy with the circle pit that immediately forms. Holman’s excited howl nonetheless whips many into frenzied pandemonium for the 17 seconds of the explosive ‘Girl Fight’, and their set ends on the equally riotous ‘Beauty Quest’. Slaves are a band on the up, as they cautiously admit, ‘Everything’s getting better.’ For Slaves fans, this will continue into 2015 when the band’s second album, for which recording will commence in December, hits the public.
This excitement bubbles over into their songwriting, which drummer/ vocalist Holman and guitarist Vincent share 50-50, with a sense of fun to be found in many of their tracks. It is something they live for as a band: ‘What is there to do Hugh Cavanagh, Second year, Maths with life but have fun?’. The sense of frivolity pervades their online presence too, with their bizarre WANT TO READ MORE? but hilarious Facebook posts and the equally strange Slaves TV. ‘We Check out all the great stuff wanted to give the fans an insight we have online: into our world. We basically just put our brains into a video.’ They remember waiting for the next - REVIEW: Simple Things episode of Mike Skinner’s tour diary Festival to come out and wanted to have the direct contact with fans which can - Mercury Prize Review be lacking when labels take control of bands’ social media. - INTERVIEW: JOHN COOPER Their half-hour set at the O2 is CLARK shot through with a rasping energy.
Taylor Swift 1989 Big Machine October 27 2014
The Twilight Sad Nobody Wants to be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave Fat Cat October 27 2014
flickr: bronx.
Hours before kicking off their run of shows supporting Jamie T on his first full headline tour in five years, I sat down with Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent, the Kent duo behind garage punk band Slaves. Respectively dressed in full Adidas tracksuit and a somewhat smarter suit, Vincent and Holman are excited about their opportunity to tour with Jamie T. They describe themselves as big fans of his, explaining: ‘We know all the words, even to the B-sides.’ For them, it is also a chance to play to larger audiences than they are used to, with the added prestige which comes with that. ‘There’s a big step up playing in a bigger venue to more people, but we like the challenge of playing to a fresh crowd.’ Their recent appearance on Later...with Jools Holland, following June’s appearance at the esteemed Maida Vale Studios for ‘Radio 1 Rocks’, which they describe as ‘a bloody laugh’, will surely help them reach that wider audience. Performing alongside U2 on the long running TV show was an enjoyable experience for the affable twosome, and they explain their fondness for the Irish band’s newest output: ‘Now they’re on the flipside, everyone has a bit of a go.
Ben Howard
I Forgot Where We Were Island October 20 2014
Young Fathers Dead Anticon, Big Dada February 4 2014 MERCURY PRIZE WINNER 2014
Taylor Swift aka ‘TayTay’ has had a chequered last couple of years which 1989, her fifth studio album, attempts to address. The LP begins in a synth-pop-fizz fuelled Huey Lewis and the News-esque bath of optimism with tracks like ‘Welcome to New York’ and ‘Style’. This buoyant mood however, is unexpectedly crushed as TayTay uses the middle section to confront the darker sides of fame and romance. Taking us through her antagonistic relationship with the mainstream media, the haters, and the indomitable elephant in the room Harry ‘The Heartbreaker’ Styles, Swift successfully balances incessantly catchy choruses with hard-hitting reminders of loves pitfalls, belting out lines like ‘Band aids don’t fix bullet holes’ and ‘Flowers we’d grown together died of thirst’. Taylor, you lyrical beast. Although the album has its redeemable features (the electronic, upbeat quality of most tracks is enough to send at least a good few dancing on Bunker’s dance floor), it’s unnecessarily long length and the samey drone of her songs take away from Taylor’s (implied) weightier intentions for the album.
The Twilight Sad favour competence over innovation. Five solid albums of pan-faced postrock in, that’s evident. They don’t do encores in case no one’s there when they come back out, and they say they won’t change their sound for anyone, seemingly not even themselves. It’s all pretty depressing stuff and listening to them I wonder whether their melancholic tone doesn’t just come from a defeatist acceptance of their irrelevance. That said they do write good songs and at times sound great. When vocalist James Graham seems to contemplate actually doing something about his perpetual melancholy the band follow his earthy Scottish drawl and can burst into shoe-gazing flames, as on highlight ‘It Never Was The Same’. It’s when Graham’s stuck in emotional limbo that Mark Devine’s often defiant drums begin to drag and become lethargic. Competence over innovation.
After three years of studio album silence, Ben Howard has made his return, titled I Forgot Where We Were. Unfortunately, it seems Howard has forgotten a little more than ‘where he was’; most crucially- his imagination. In fairness, there are merely a few directions a rugged acoustic soul such as Howard can take his musical persona. Despite this, I Forgot Where We Were has fallen flat and simply bears a poorly executed attempt at an old formula. The title track stands alone, with its catchy melody simply a remnant of Howard’s old ways. The longer the record plays out, the harder it becomes to believe this is the same voice that brought us the summer sing alongs of ‘Old Pine’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up’.
Attempting to pin down these Scottish musicians was always going to be a difficult task. It’s going to be even harder now that they have won the Mercury Prize and every music critic is trying to place a minimum three-genre label on their style. Some bands purport to be modern by using new technology in their production; taking more influence from IDM, Young Fathers are modern in a different sense. They mix and match sounds and genres that you would never expect to hear on one track, let alone a single album. Dead manages to shift from dark soundscapes on ‘War’ to tribal rhythms and some sort of distorted horn section on ‘Get Up’ without sounding contrived. That they have managed to pull off such musical dexterity is the most modern trait of all. It certainly keeps the listener on his toes.
Tom Stevens, Third year, Economics
Richard Assheton, Second year, Philosophy
Micheal Cousins, First year, Politics
Alex Green, Second year, Philosophy
Epigram
50
10.11.2014
JAMIE T @ O2 Academy - 29.10.14 Jamie T got ‘Back in the Game’ after a 4 year hiatus Although a tour dedicated to his newest album - which was only released a month ago - the London singer paid lip service to some of his older classics, playing crowd pleasers like ‘368’ and ‘The Man’s Machine’. Notably missing, however, were the poppy, youthful songs like ‘Sheila’ and ‘Chaka Demus’. Whether Jamie felt that they just didn’t fit with his newer sounds or perhaps that he’d outgrown both the ideals and the tunes of his youth, it definitely disappointed concert goers who’d come to Jamie T too late to catch him the first time around. Despite energetic and enthusiastic playing, Jamie’s performance was possibly marred by his lack of communication with the crowd. Even as a younger artist, though he’s never particularly been one for words, he was more lively; although he can probably be excused given the nerves that must come from playing his first big venue in years. Regardless, every song was played with talent and feeling, and the achingly personal insights of songs like ‘Peter’ and ‘Emily’s Heart’ were definitely blown away by the encore of ‘Sticks and Stones’ and new album flagship ‘Zombie’. I don’t think one member of the audience there can have ‘carried on the grudge’ against Jamie T for being away so long.
Kitty Underwood, Second year, History
flickr: Lee Gywn
Following the explosive first date of Jamie T’s UK ‘Carry on the Grudge’ tour, every minute of his four year break with music is forgiven. The 28 year old looked visibly older - perhaps unsurprising given that he hasn’t been seen on a stage since 2010 - but proved that he is well and truly back with a rowdy 20 song set. The mystery of Jamie T’s sudden and long absence from the music industry can be somewhat explained by the content of his newest album. The songs of Carry on the Grudge have a melancholy tone to them and while they still tell the bittersweet, excruciatingly personal moral tales that shot him to fame in the noughties, some of the ‘sweet’ has faded and the stories smack of self-doubt and anxiety. The darkest track of all is perhaps ‘Peter’, a tale of battling with one’s inner critic which is about how the singer has spent his time in the last few years with the line ‘he doesn’t like company, he’s drinking alone... Peter doesn’t like this song’. Whether the crowd just really responded to it or whether the darker notes behind Jamie’s often upbeat sound just went over their heads, the packed out O2 was teeming with fans who loyally screamed along to every word of his old material, and faithfully mumbled or bobbed along to his new songs. The crowd represented a weird crosssection of age and style but the consensus was, even before the man himself even walked on stage, that it was going to be a good gig.
We are recruiting! Can you see yourself as our next Living Editor? Interested in writing about food, nightlife, student problems and day-to-day life at Bristol? Apply now to become a major part of our team. As Living Editor, you will be responsible for putting together the Living section each issue, along with Deputies. To apply, send a CV, an example of your writing (preferably for Epigram), a covering letter and an ideas sheet for how to improve the section to editor@epigram.org.uk by Monday 17 November. We look forward to hearing from you. To find out more please email: editor@epigram.org.uk
Epigram
10.11.2014
Science & Tech
Editor: Ben Parr scienceandtech@epigram.org.uk
@EpigramSciTech Deputy Editor: Alfie Smith deputyscienceandtech@epigram.org.uk
Breakthrough in bacterial reisistance antibiotic molecule, the enzyme would become ‘clogged up’ and be unable to further breakdown any more antibiotic molecules and the organism would be more likely to die. The research has important implications in that it may allow us to test the effectiveness of a specific antibiotic against that of a specific bacterial enzyme. Adrian Mulholland, a professor of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, said: ‘We’ve shown that we can use computer simulations to identify which enzymes break down and spit out carbapenems quickly and those that only do it slowly.
“ “ the bacteria was able to remain resistant to the antibiotic
The study focused on the ability of E.coli to become resistant to carbapenems; otherwise known as ‘last resort’ antibiotics which are used for treating many infections and superbugs like E.coli. The team discovered that the ability of the bacteria to become resistant was down to how fast the microbial enzymes present could break down and ‘spit out’ the now degraded antibiotic molecule. If the bacterial enzyme could do this quickly, the bacteria was able to remain resistant to the antibiotic. If instead the bacterial enzyme slowly broke up the
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Scientists at Bristol have made a breakthrough which could shape the future of antibiotics. In a recent study, published in Chemical Communications, a team of researchers made a breakthrough in understanding the method of action through which bacteria, such as E.coli, are able to become resistant to antibiotics. This was achieved using the Nobel Prize-winning technique of QM/MM – quantum mechanics/molecular
mechanics simulations – allowing the researchers to gain a molecular- level understanding of how the enzymes of E.coli reacted to antibiotics.
Flickr: guidedbycthulhu
Aoife Hannon Science Writer
these simulations can be used in future to test enzymes and understand resistance
‘This means that these simulations can be used in future to test enzymes and predict and understand resistance. We hope that this will identify how they act against different drugs – a useful tool in developing new antibiotics and helping to choose which drugs might be best for treating a particular outbreak.’ This new perspective may assist in anticipating resistance and future antibiotic design. It is hoped that this will also encourage researchers to create new antibiotics with a lower
possibility of resistance and select the best possible medicine for specific outbreaks.
Facts about antibiotic resistance It is often described as one of the world’s most pressing health problems The number of resisting bacteria has massively increased in the last decade Misuse of antibiotics is a big cause of the growing resistance
Children have the highest rates of antibiotic use and are one of the biggest concerns Some resistant infections cause serious illnesses with some even causing death
Scientists can read the voice inside our heads Ben Parr Science Editor
Patients in comas could eventually communicate with the outside world
‘results provide insights into higher order neural speech processing and suggest it may be possible to read out intended speech directly from brain activity.’ This will of course be useful in the field of medicine. Patients, such as those in comas, whose brains can still function even though they cannot speak, could eventually be able to communicate with the outside world. This type of development would be incredibly significant, especially when dealing with those who have ‘locked-in syndrome’, where it often becomes a legal question of whether life support machines should be left on. The idea of being able to detect words we are thinking of is one thing, but other researchers are also working on being able to detect images and concepts in the brain, essentially bringing technology closer to the point of a multisensory mind reading device.
Flickr: jDevaun.Photography
Our inner voice, that voice we hear inside of our heads when we read, or even just think in words, may not be as private as we thought. According to recent research, by monitoring brain activity it is possible to detect and decode our thinking to the point where particular words can be recognised. The evidence for this came from a study in which participants were instructed to read a piece of text, first aloud and then in their heads, and then to stop and do nothing. During the reading aloud the researchers calculated the reactions of neurons to particular aspects of the subjects’ speech. From this they were able to create a personalised decoder for each participant. Once this had been done, they recorded the brain activity of the participants whilst they read in their heads, and applied their specific decoders to this. Using solely the neural activity, the decoder could reconstruct the words a number of the volunteers were thinking of. Although it is still a long way off being a flawless technique, scientists are now trying to improve their algorithms and hence the decoder. They are doing this by taking into account factors such as pronunciations and the speed of speech associated
with the neural activity. The researchers claim that the
Epigram
10.11.2014
52
Possible enzymes may become reality Epigram’s Deputy Science Editor investigates research by Bristol scientist’s designing brand new enzymes
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They are formed from individual proteins - long amino acid chains - and vary in shape and complexity dependent on the individual amino acids that make up their framework. The enzymes in our body have evolved gradually with life itself. The enzymes found today have developed from relatively simple structures, over millions of years, into the complex, and often multifunctional bodies we see in nature today. However, there are many enzymes that are theoretically possible but do not exist in the natural world. Woolfson was drawn to these possible, but non-
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One method of scientific development works like this – look for a similar process in nature, figure out how it works, think of a way to isolate the process and then reproduce it on a massive scale. Whilst this approach has been key to some of our greatest developments, it does have its limits. What do you do when you want to go outside nature? When you want to put together the building blocks of life, amino acids, in ways not found anywhere in the natural world? This is what Dek Woolfson, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Bristol University, working with his team and other universities, set out to explore. Enzymes act as catalysts for the majority of the reactions that occur in the human body. In fact, these reactions can only occur in the human body, at their current temperatures and rates, because of our enzymes.
The enzymes found today have developed over millions of years
existent enzymes: ‘We were curious to find out why not. Were these unstable for some reason? Or would they be toxic to cells?’ The researchers focused on a class of enzymes called coiled coils. The coils are formed by bundles of two or more alpha-helix proteins wrapping around each other. When five or
Woolfson’s team had to design a whole new model
more coils come together it creates a central channel, which is a gap in the middle of the enzyme where the catalysed reaction takes place. These types of coiled coils are referred to as ‘barrelled’. ‘There are natural bundles with 2,
3, 4, 5 and 12 helices, but there were no examples in between with 6 - 11 helices’, Woolfson explained. What would a barrelled coiled coil enzyme made from 6 alpha-helices look like? Is it even possible? These were the questions that he decided to answer. The first obstacle the team came across was the fact that there were no models for barrelled enzymes built from 6 or 7 helices. There could not be because none exist to be modelled on. This meant that Woolfson’s team had to design a whole new model for their enzymes. ‘We combined rules learned from natural structures, mathematical methods for designing entirely new structures, and then chemical and physical methods to make and characterise the molecules.’ The team’s model was a success, allowing them to produce barrelled enzymes absent from the natural world. Although Woolfson admits that this work is still at a very early stage
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Flickr: : Enzymlogic
Alfie Smith Deputy Science Editor
roles ranging from medicine to the industrial production of chemicals
and the practical applications are a long way off, the creation of enzymes tailored to a specific set of dimensions may find roles ranging from medicine to the industrial production of chemicals. Using this research, a company could build a barrelled enzyme with a central channel tailored to the best shape possible to catalyse one of their reactions, reducing the cost of producing their product. This could be aspirin, anti-septic or even fructose syrup. Woolfson and his team at Bristol have taken us another small step towards a world where nature is not the limit of our biochemical research.
Epigram
Sport
10.11.2014
53
The best league in the world?
Flickr/lana2021
‘Liverpool FC: European Royalty’ proclaimed the banner, while the passionate cries of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ rippled around Anfield, enveloping the ground with almost overpowering emotion. Just two hours later it was deathly silent, Liverpool 03 Real Madrid the score. What had supposed to be Liverpool’s triumphant return to the pinnacle of European football instead turned into humiliation. That Mario Balotelli was widely criticised for swapping shirts at half time should not take anything away from the footballing lesson Liverpool had received. What a contrast to Liverpool’s 4-0 victory over Madrid in the last fixture in 2009. But this change from domination to humiliation is no exception to the rule. Since 2009, the superiority of Spanish clubs over England in the Champions League has been undeniable. Barcelona and Real have won three of the last six competitions, while English teams have won just one. In any case, Chelsea’s victory in 2012 owed more to tactical organisation, Bavarian profligacy and a match-winning display by Didier Drogba than anything else. It was certainly not down to technical superiority in the slightest, Chelsea finishing a distant 6th in the Premier League in a most unusual of seasons. Perhaps the most startling example of the declining quality of the Premier League, and the rise of La Liga, came in the 2011 Champions League Final. Wembley was the setting, but this was a game in which the English challenger, Manchester United, did not feel at home in the slightest. Barcelona dominated the game, the magician that is Messi and his accomplices Xavi and Iniesta producing a mastery of the ball perhaps not seen since the legendary Brazil team of the 1970 World Cup. The score might have been just 3-1 to the Catalans, but even Sir Alex Ferguson, the purple-nosed monster himself, accepted his team’s inferiority to Barcelona: ‘the best team we’ve ever faced.’ Consequently, the lure of Spain now appears too much for the
Premier League’s best players. English Clubs cannot now hold onto their best players in the face of interest from one of the Spanish ‘Clasicos.’ First there was Cristiano Ronaldo, then Alonso, Modric, Bale and, most recently, Luis Suarez. There are surely more to follow
Flickr/lana2021
James O’Hara Sport Features Writer @JamesOHara14
in the coming years; Liverpool’s wunderkind Raheem Sterling has been repeatedly linked to Real Madrid, while Manchester City will do well to hang onto David Silva or Sergio Aguero should Spain come calling. Yet some might still maintain that English clubs do buy players worthy of the perennially overused tag ‘World Class.’ Alexis
Sanchez joined Arsenal in the summer after starring for Chile in the World Cup, while Mesut Ozil, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao and many others ply their expensive trade in England. However, this is to take far too simplistic a view. Sanchez and Ozil were both used as makeweights by Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively for the larger transfers of Luis Suarez to Catalonia this summer and Gareth Bale to Madrid the summer before. In other words, where Premier League clubs buy world class players from Spain, it is only to fund the transfer of a more talented player in the other direction. Of the others, they either became world class in the Premier League itself, having been bought as relatively unproven, raw talents, or arrive off the back of a solitary successful season, Costa springing to mind. Spanish clubs might dominate the Champions League and possess the best players, but still there is more to their domination of European club football. The Champions League’s ugly sibling, the Europa League, practically should have been played in Spain for the past ten years, such has been the sustained success of Spanish teams in the competition. A staggering six of the last ten competitions have been won by a La Liga outfit, with Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia dominating the competition. That clubs equivalent in size and stature to Tottenham or Everton are so successful in the competition, while Spurs and Everton are not, is yet more evidence for the decline of the Premier League. English club football clearly has a lot to learn from its Spanish counterpart. The Premier League might be the ‘most competitive and exciting in the world’, but the best teams are in Spain. So when Manchester City lose away to West Ham, something practically unheard of in Spain, perhaps we should be wary of celebrating the triumph of the underdog. It just might come back to haunt us.
@epigramsport
Unstoppable force vs immovable object Every Friday, over at epigram.org.uk/sport, Epigram Sport trawls the memory bank to chronicle those seminal moments when sport is indeed better than sex. Here’s a taster of what you can expect... The occasion was a Wimbledon final, and its participants the two highest-ranked players in the world. For years Federer had dominated the sport, breezing to countless grand slam titles and swatting aside any challengers to his status as world number one. Nadal’s rise to stardom represented his first significant threat. Five years the junior of his rival, Nadal had already cemented his reputation as the premier exponent of clay court tennis, with
four French Open titles to his name. Yet, Federer still reigned supreme on other surfaces. He had defeated Nadal in the two previous Wimbledon finals, and was widely expected to do so again in 2008. Both players were the complete package; there were no shots in their repertoires that had not been mastered. They were, however, undoubtedly very different. Everything that Federer did on the court was characterised by an effortless grace. The Swiss’ game was as sophisticated and reliable as one of his country’s famous watches, and his emotions as impenetrable as one of their bank vaults. Nadal was a more rugged performer. He could rely on his physique as much as his technique, whereas Federer’s game was firmly built upon the latter. The embodiment of youthful virility, Nadal exuded Herculean power from every pore, his muscle-bound legs capable of propelling him endlessly around the court like a Duracell bunny. Although Federer was the favourite for the Wimbledon final, it seemed inevitable that he would eventually be overhauled by his young rival. The tension was palpable prior to the match, and it only intensified after the start was delayed by rain. Once the weather finally cleared, Federer was granted the opening service game. It soon became apparent that the world was to witness something special. Proceedings began at a breakneck pace, and throughout five hours of the most exhilarating, majestic and punishing tennis in history, it never once let up. Every point was played as if it were Championship point. The two players sent each other careering from side to side, neither willing to let the ball pass them at any cost. Their bodies contorted into seemingly impossible positions, as if at the command of a demented puppeteer. Just when the crowd was ready to applaud the end of a wonderful point, Federer or Nadal would do something superhuman to extend it. Nadal took the first set, but appeared certain to lose the second when Federer raced into a lead of four games to one. The Flickr/Alex Chan
Conor Gogarty Sport Features Writer
momentum seemed to have turned in the world number one’s favour. Just as suddenly, however, it deserted him. Nadal won five games in a row to clinch the second set. Holes were beginning to appear in Federer’s game; he had transformed from Swiss watch to Swiss cheese. His execution, normally so immaculate, was faltering. Both of the first two sets ended with Federer sending a backhand into the net. If anyone had believed that the third set would be a formality, they were sorely mistaken. Federer roared back into life, playing some of the best tennis of his illustrious career, and Nadal was forced to raise his game accordingly. The contest saw lung-bursting sprints combined with exquisite returns. It was both brutal and artful, like a boxing match between Picasso and Van Gogh. Federer won the next two sets, meaning that the punch-drunk crowd would be treated to a fifth. A particularly wonderful moment had occurred in the fourth set tie-break. After a magnificent rally, Nadal smashed the ball towards Federer, drawing upon all of his considerable power and seemingly giving no chance of a return. Return it Federer did, however, somehow looping the ball over his opponent’s disbelieving head. It was a moment that called to mind the old saying about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. It encapsulated the broader narrative of Nadal coming at Federer with all that he had for the number one status, and the latter’s refusal to budge. The final set seemed to last for an eternity. After 15 games of the same relentlessly breathtaking quality as had been shown throughout, Nadal broke Federer’s serve, moving to within one game of the title. That game spanned nearly ten minutes, and saw both men play as if their lives depended on it. Nadal finally clinched the Championship when Federer failed to clear the net with a forehand, and just like that it was over. The unstoppable force had prevailed. ‘There’s a new man at the head of men’s tennis’, announced the BBC commentator, as Nadal fell to the floor. Soon after, Federer lost his status as world number one to Nadal. He has reclaimed it on several occasions, but never dominated the sport as he did before 2008. The Wimbledon final of that year heralded the end of the great man’s dynasty, but one hopes that it is some small consolation to him that this very final happened to be the greatest tennis match of all time.
Epigram
10.11.2014
54
What the hell is Korfball? Zoe Meza Williams Korfball Club Captain
Every Monday, over at epigram. org.uk/sport, Epigram Sport brings you the lowdown on one of the less well-known sports played at the University. So, what the hell is Korfball? Club captain, Zoe Meza Williams gives us the anwer... Ah, the question posed by so many sharp-eyed young students never
boat. In essence, we spend most weekends trying to throw a yellow football into a 3.5m hoop more times than the team we’re playing against. And hot damn is it good fun. But Korfball isn’t all fun and games. Every couple of months, Korfball teams emerge from the caves they’ve been hibernating in over the winter to pit themselves against each other in tournaments of the like not seen since the age of the gladiators.
best alternative sport you will ever play. Straight up fact. It is also incredibly popular with students in universities across the country, which always makes good matches and very interesting BUCS tournaments, which we take part in every year. With eight players on each team, four boys and four girls, you are
“ Korfball is the best alternative sport you will ever play. Straight up fact.
ceases to fill me with a sense of airy wonderment. What is Korfball? It’s a way of life. Well it’s partly that, and partly a mixed sport from Holland incorporating the athleticism of basketball with the ball skills and tactics of netball. Whatever floats your
Windswept sports halls provide the setting for these epic encounters, with iron-fisted referees preventing the bloodthirsty proceedings from becoming violent… But mostly, we just have a pretty good time. More importantly, Korfball is the
matched up with someone of the same gender on the opposing team. You alternate between attacking and defending this player. When attacking, your aim is to get past your defender, grab the ball and pop it into that big ol’ yellow hoop. When defending, you’re trying to stop this from happening without elbowing them in the face, which is surprisingly harder than it seems in some cases. Combining myriad elements from a number of different sports, Korfball is easy to learn but hard to master. The benefits include, but are not limited to:
- Improved hand eye coordination - Better agility and speed - Excellent core strength - Mixed socials - Being able to explain what the hell Korfball is. And the best news is, it isn’t too late to pop down to one of our training sessions. We train on Sunday Evenings (5.45pm - 7.15pm) and Tuesday Mornings (7.30am - 8.30am) in the Uni sports hall on Tyndall Avenue. If you’ve got an off-peak gym pass, you can even try the first couple of sessions for nothing! Best of all, we have our socials every other
Wednesday at the wonderful Charlie’s Bar on Whiteladies, before hitting Compete at Bunker, the University’s weekly sports night. And if that was too much excitement to handle, look away now, because we’ve got an upcoming tour to Amsterdam and Eindhoven over the Easter holidays. You heard correctly. Join the Facebook group, Twitter and Instagram (both @bristolunikorf) or contact zm13651@my.bristol.ac.uk if you have any questions. And if all this was not enough to persuade you to join Korfball, check out our promotional video online!
Strong BUCS wins for ladies’ badminton, a home affair in netball and football show fighting spirit 1st team BUCS fixtures Edward Henderson-Howat Online Sport Editor
BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) is now fully underway. For Bristol, it has been a mixed bag of results so far, but there have been some strong stand-out performances. Men’s badminton lost out 2-6 to Southampton on Wednesday 22 October but the ladies 1st team won two on the bounce against Bath with 5-3 and 7-1 victories. In basketball, the women suffered a 52-72 loss to Southampton on 22 October but fought back with a narrow 56-53 win over Winchester on 29 October. Meanwhile, the men edged UWE 60-56 when the two teams met on 29 October. The men’s football team were 0-3 down with 20 minutes to go against Bournemouth but they fought back with incredible tenacity to secure a 33 draw. The ladies football team also came from behind to draw 2-2 with UWE on 29 October. In hockey, the men lost 1-5 to Oxford on 22 October but they were much improved when it came to the fixture on 29 October, securing a 3-1 victory over Oxford Brookes. However, the women’s hockey team continued their difficult start to the season as a 0-3 loss to Oxford was followed by a close 1-2 defeat to Oxford Brookes. The men’s lacrosse team stormed to a 16-1 triumph over Portsmouth in tough weather conditions. This was an excellent result having just lost out to Oxford 3-4 the week before. Lacrosse
ladies ran through Southampton with a 26-2 win on 22 October but narrowly lost 9-11 to Oxford the week after. Moving to netball, the Bristol 1st and 2nd team (competing in the same league) were pitted against each other on 29 October. The 1st came out winners by 15 points In front of a good crowd at Tyndall Avenue. Playing away from home, rugby
league lost out 18-30 to Gloucestershire on 22 October. And in rugby union, Bristol men’s team were unlucky to lose 22-24 to Cardiff in a game they could have won but the week after, they enjoyed their first win of the season with an 11-9 triumph over Swansea. It was a tale of so near yet so far for the women’s rugby team as they lost 1517 to Cardiff on 22 October and then
WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER HOME Men’s Badminton v Oxford Women’s Badminton v UWE Men’s Fencing v Oxford Women’s Fencing v Swansea Men’s Football v Swansea Women’s Football v Uni of South Wales Men’s Hockey v Exeter Women’s Hockey v Exeter Women’s Lacrosse v Exeter Women’s Netball v Gloucestershire Men’s Rugby Union v Bath Men’s Squash v Cardiff Met. Women’s Tennis v Exeter
WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER HOME Men’s Badminton v Cardiff Women’s Badminton v Cardiff Met Men’s Basketball v Southampton Sol. Men’s Fencing v Imperial Men’s Football v Cardiff Met. Women’s Football v Southampton Sol. Men’s Hockey v Cardiff Met. Women’s Hockey v Cardiff Men’s Lacrosse v Cardiff Women’s Lacrosse v Cambridge Women’s Netball v Cardiff Met. Women’s Rugby Union v Plymouth Men’s Squash v Southampton Women’s Tennis v Cambridge
AWAY Men’s Basketball v Cardiff Met. Women’s Basketball v Bournemouth Men’s Lacrosse v Exeter Men’s Rugby League v Aberystwyth Women’s Rugby Union v Cardiff Women’s Squash v Leeds Men’s Tennis v Exeter Women’s Volleyball v Southampton
AWAY Men’s Basketball v Cardiff Met. Women’s Fencing v UWE Men’s Rugby League v Swansea Women’s Squash v Leeds Men’s Tennis v Bath Men’s Volleyball v Plymouth Women’s Volleyball v Cardiff
All fixtures taken from BUCS website
Bristol’s 2nd netball squad went head to head with their teammates in the 1st side
just missed out against Swansea on 29 October with a narrow 7-8 defeat. The men’s squash team suffered back to back defeats against Bath and UWE but they fought well, losing 2-3 both times. In tennis, the men drew with Bournemouth and Cardiff whilst the women’s tennis team suffered a
defeat against Bath on 29 October. Finally, the ladies volleyball team lost out 1-3 to Swansea on 29 October. As ever there will be detailed match reports going up on the Epigram Sport website and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to hear the live results each Wednesday.
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Five-a-side in Bristol here to stay Conor Gogarty Sport Features Writer
Flickr/William Walsh
In its embryonic form, football was, quite literally, a game for the masses. Medieval accounts of ‘mob football’ paint a picture not unlike that old Carling advert, in which the streets of Glasgow are swarmed by participants in an epic game of shirts versus skins. Yet, much like pig’s bladder balls and Joe Kinnear, such highly populated contests are a bygone relic of the sport. Even having 22 players on a pitch seems to be pushing it these days. Statistics suggest that the nation’s amateur footballers have decided five-a-side to be a superior format. Far more elevena-side teams have disbanded than formed in Britain since 2005, while the number of adults playing small-sided games every week has rocketed to over 1.5 million. This popularity is very much in evidence at Bristol University. The ‘First Touch’ project has organised a hugely successful five-a-side league for students, in which twelve teams battle it out every term for first place. The league kicked off four weeks ago, and I have made my way to Cotham School every Wednesday night since to turn out for ‘Eng Des Bilbao.’ I suppose that, before I can talk about the First Touch experience, our team name requires an explanation. The
first two syllables refer to Engineering Design, the course that most of the team study. Slightly harder to explain is the significance of ‘Bilbao.’ I was not present
during the fabled inception of the name, but legend has it that, while several of the team members were sitting around trying to think of something witty (Eng
Desolation of Smaug?), their housemate walked in and made a suggestion of his own. The housemate in question, who knew nothing about football but had
recently been in a room while Athletic Bilbao were playing on the television, blurted out ‘Eng Des Bilbao!’ It stuck. Questionable team names and odd in-jokes are charms quintessential to five-a-side. Look no further than our opposition on the second match-day, ‘Dare to Cheddar,’ all of whom wore PSG jerseys with Ibrahimovic on the back. One might get the impression from all this that First Touch football is just a bit of a laugh, but there is a genuinely competitive edge to every game. The smallness of the pitch makes for highly physical contests, and also means that one is always involved in the play. In terms of honing technique, the lack of space can be viewed in two ways. On the one hand, having to manoeuvre the ball in tight areas undoubtedly sharpens one’s close control. On the other, proceedings can descend into pinball frenzy; in a First Touch game, one’s second touch is often a tackle. Yet, the relentless pace is part of what makes five-a-side so thrilling. After playing First Touch football for four weeks, I have no trouble in understanding the format’s recent surge in popularity. It may be a far cry from the origins of amateur football, but five-a-side is here to stay.
@epigramsport
Addressing the A Windsurfer’s Paradise gender gap Marcus Price Sport Features Writer
There is further cause for optimism with media pledges being increasingly issued. The BBC covers 40 different female sports, broadcasting 1,000 hours of coverage. Further to this, the 2011 Women’s Football World Cup final was the most-tweeted about event in the history of the social media platform. This has since been surpassed but nonetheless highlights that there is a foundation of interest in women’s sports, not just in England, but across the globe. After all, women represent our country in the same ferociously competitive sports. They should be able to enjoy our fervent support as we should be able to experience the highs and the lows. Media coverage is the prerequisite of such a goal and, slowly but surely, we are getting there.
Flickr/lenny.holmberger
Marcus Price reports for Epigram Sport on student windsurfing festival Aussie Kiss down in the badlands of Cornwall... As a language student, I pride myself on my preconceived notions of grandeur concerning the identification of various languages, but I was well and truly flummoxed when I arrived at Aussie Kiss XIII to find people deep in conversation about vulcans, spocks and flakas. Alas they were not Klingon aficionados, but the only people in the world who truly believe a beanie complements a wetsuit; windsurfers. Aussie Kiss is a student’s heaven, kicking off with the traditional messy Friday night, the bustling array of discotheques on the triangle had been replaced by a caravan park in some forgotten corner of Cornwall. Yet the following morning we were greeted by what scientists have proclaimed to be the single greatest hangover cure in the world; bacon, Red Bull and wind. These three magic ingredients banish all traces of those tequila shots you really shouldn’t have had as the prospect of planing fully-powered in the footstraps takes over. However, we were made to wait for the aforementioned prospect as a flock of 500 students from as far afield as Liverpool descended on the everdwindling amounts of kit. Fighting my way through a sea of blonde hair and dreadlocks, I eventually managed to find the kit I wanted and I was off, albeit briefly, as once our half hour session had ended we were asked to embark upon the dreaded upwind journey back
Flickr/lovingyourwork.com
cont. from back page The genuine enthusiasm and delight when England lifted the trophy among many rugby fans spoke volumes about how far women’s rugby has come. There is hope for the future. Moves have been made in many areas to try and increase the interest in women’s sport and level the playing field. Tennis is a prime example of this. Not only do men and women win the same prize money at Wimbledon, but because the men’s and women’s tournaments run alongside one another, both attract similar media attention. In athletics, it is not uncommon to see the women’s 400 meter hurdles preceded by a men’s 200 meters race. A joint football World Cup would, without a shadow of a doubt, increase the coverage and attention that women’s footballers receive. It is an idea not without merit.
to shore. That proved to be my one and only session of the day but nae matter, for the infamous Aussie Kiss party was taking place that night. As the thirteenth Aussie Kiss, the theme was fittingly entitled ‘Unlucky for some.’ As such, we of Bristol University Windsurf Club naturally found as many moderately large boxes as we could, crudely covered them with bin liners and wore them claiming to be the titanic. Cutting some shapes amongst pregnant nuns was definitely one of the more ethereal moments of my life, even more so coming from someone who went to find himself in South America on his gap yah. One more round of the hangoverkilling combination and we were back at the lake, with the sun on our backs,
the wind in our hair and the clichés firmly in place. After another session on the water, it was time to hand the baton over to the pros as we watched the racing and a freestyle event rife with geckos and duck gybes, our very own Louis Morris claiming 2nd. This marked the end of the windsurfing as everyone headed back to their cars and coaches complete with a bin bag of soaking wetsuits and a pocketful of treasured memories. And so we started the trek back up north, my mind idly wondering when I was going to catch up on that Monday morning lecture I had no hope of making.
Epigram
10.11.2014
Sport
Editor: Daniel Thacker Deputy Editor: Benj Cunningham Online Editor: Edward Henderson-Howat sport@epigram.org.uk @danieljthacker
deputysport@epigram.org.uk @BenjCunningham1
sportonline@epigram.org.uk @edward_hh94
Addressing the gender gap Patrick Jones Sport Features Writer @JonesJones2929
Since the high of London 2012, there has been a remarkable drop in coverage of female sports. Stories on women’s sport are outnumbered by twenty to one in six national newspapers, whilst 97% of media coverage was focussed on men’s sport during the year after the Olympic Games. This
statistics stand out. The problem which is evident at the top is created by the bottom. A severe lack of funding may be the main issue affecting the professional side of most women’s sport, but it is an absence of interest at grassroots level which is truly hamstringing many sports. From the age of around eight, girls begin to participate less than their male counterparts, and, by the time they are 14, only 12% of girls are significantly involved in sport. This lack of participation is harmful in more than one way. Numerous surveys have concluded that female athletes are seen as better role models than other celebrities, and that, without them, people are more likely to believe in detrimental stereotypes. There is not one set shape a woman should be, and sport embraces this like few other aspects of popular culture. It is clear an increase in coverage of female sport will act as a driving force behind positive change for the future. Not only will it attract the support of sponsors, but
Contents: Page 53 In a teaser of our regular Friday feature, Epigram Sport talks about a time when sport really was better than sex
Flickr/Compfight
runs in tandem with those who represent the media. A case study on women in journalism found that just 3% of all sports articles were written by women in a certain month in 2011. W i t h o u t sufficient media coverage, there is the potential for a cycle of decline which will repeat itself until women’s sport becomes destitute. Money makes the world turn round, and in very few cases is this truer than in sport. With out broadcasters willing to showcase the competition sponsors will cease to support events, and this in turn effects the salaries and prize money on offer. For example, the women’s snooker world champion earns £1,500 compared to the men’s oligarchical figure of £300,000. This is just one example. Wherever you look staggering Flickr/turbozmr2
In recent years British women have excelled at sport. The 2012 Olympic Games was the pinnacle of what was dubbed the ‘year of women in sport.’ Nicola Adams broke through in the boxing ranks, whilst Jessica Ennis-Hill fulfilled golden expectations. In total, British women won over one third of the medals for Great Britain, achieving unprecedented media coverage. Since the individual glory for British women of the 2012 Games, it has been in a team capacity in which they have thrived. The cricket side won the Ashes in 2013 whilst the rugby team emerged victorious in this year’s Rugby World Cup. However, this success forms one side of an alarming paradox, with surprisingly sparse media coverage being the other half. Despite articles published daily lamenting the inequality between male and female sports, very few comment on the sport itself. While it is encouraging that the media
has noticed the inequality, the next step must be to address it. More media coverage is key to the success of raising the profile of women’s sport.
@epigramsport
Page 53 James O’Hara asks which is the best league in the world
Page 54 What the hell is Korfball?
it will act as a prelude for the enhancement of other, lesser-known women’s sports. Perhaps there should not be calls for equality in the media but rather a more scheming use of coverage to benefit both the male and female sports. This year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup was a great advertisement for the sport, and fans of the more popular male equivalent showed unprecedented interest, whetting appetites for next year’s event on home soil. continued on p. 55
Page 54 BUCS round-up and preview of the next round of fixtures
Page 55 Bristol 5-a-side football is here to stay, says Conor Gogarty
Page 55 A review of Aussie Kiss
Stephen Kelman in Conversation: The University of Bristol Man Booker Big Read 13 November 2014 Auditorium, Victoria Rooms, 6pm Stephen Kelman will be reading from his 2011 Man Booker shortlisted novel, Pigeon English, and discussing his work. His novel tells the story of Harrison Okupu, an eleven year old Ghanaian immigrant living on a council estate in London, as he attempts to solve the murder of a young boy on the estate.
FREE, but booking required: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/university-of-bristol-man-booker-big-read-stephen-kelman-in-conversation-tickets-13225266127