Fortnightly 22nd September 2017 Issue 315 Winner of Best Publication and Best Use of Digital Media 2017
University of Bristol’s Independent Student Newspaper
University replaces compulsory consent classes with e-induction
Illustration by Harry Coke
Hannah Wakefield Deputy News Editor On the 6th of September the University of Bristol announced its decision that it will no longer be running compulsory consent classes for incoming students. What remains in the way of education about consent can be found in the e-induction course that new students must complete, although the consent section can be skipped as ‘some people may find it challenging due to previous experiences.’ Consent will still be covered in the residence workshops provided for new students, although these are not mandatory. It is, therefore, possible for students to skip education about sexual consent completely.
The induction defines consent as the following: ‘Sexual consent means a person willingly agrees to have sex or engage in a sexual activity – and they are free and able to make their own decision.’ The induction goes on to explain laws surrounding consent, assault, and rape. Resources have been provided with the help of Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS) and include a video that uses the analogy that consent is like making tea and a quiz that aims to test students on what they have learnt. Critics are concerned that the resources are both too obvious and patronising, and will not teach the students the information that is crucial to their own and others’ safety. A university spokesperson told Epigram that
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‘The issue of consent is covered through our mandatory e-induction for all new students living in University accommodation. It’s also covered in our UniSmart presentations which are held for all students during Welcome Week.’ In addition, they have introduced new workshops which cover a ‘breadth of themes relevant to students who are starting University.’ The consent workshops are run in conjunction with SARSAS, who have supported the workshops over the past two years. The response continues: ‘Residences workshops are not mandatory, but it is hoped that this new approach will increase the uptake from students.’ Bristol University’s Intersectional Feminist Society have released a statement responding to
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the university’s decision, arguing that ‘stopping the workshop at a time when students continue to arrive at the University with scant education on these issues is not only concerning, it is reckless’. They add that information provided in the einduction is too ‘simplistic’ for the complexity of consent, but the main focus of their objections is how it completely fails to mention anything with regards to an LGBTQ+ angle, or how hate crimes are often linked to sexual violence. The University, however, claims to ‘take the issue of consent very seriously and hope[s] these interventions will set a positive tone and culture around sexual consent…’ and adds that the SU are developing further initiatives to ‘ensure that the issue of consent remains firmly on the agenda.’
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Epigram | 22.09.2017
Editorial
A note from the Co-Editors...
Welcome to Bristol! We are Alex and Noa, Epigram’s first Co-Editors in Chief since 1999, taking over from Ben Parr. Bristol is a great city to be a student in, and we hope that soon you will adore it as much as we do. A city as varied as it is scenic, we encourage you take time to explore beyond Stoke Bishop, Whiteladies and the Triangle. It is a city passionate about social justice, a place where independent businesses, arts, culture and cider thrive. This week, as we have watched numerous bewildered Freshers walk around the SU, it reminded us just how quickly our first two years have gone. Make the most of your time here, and hopefully Epigram can help you do just that. Epigram is your reliable, professional source of Bristol news and features. We are an independent newspaper so it is our role to report on everything, whether it be good or bad, in an impartial way. Last year, notable articles covered events like the evacuation of parts of the university due to a chemical explosive scare, an escaped convict who was taken in by Bristol students, and the uproar following the party where two students were accused of ‘blacking up’. These articles, and several others, were even picked up by national news outlets. The bar was raised even higher by successful Epigram campaigns led by last year’s editorial team, including #14Conversations and #RevoltAgainstSexualAssault, which helped to raise awareness of mental health and sexual assault respectively. Our success both within the student body and in the wider media world was reflected at the Student Publication Awards in May, where Epigram won the awards for Best Publication and Best Use of Digital Media in the country. We haven’t peaked just yet, and we are making numerous changes this year. Even though an editor’s lifespan at a student newspaper is rarely more than a year, we want to make sure the paper can constantly evolve and develop when we leave. After the section’s success last year and the growing awareness of a need for discussion about mental health, we have expanded the Wellbeing section to two pages and a three-person editorial team. We hope to feature Bristol’s student illustrators and photographers in the paper - this issue’s front page cartoon was illustrated by Harry Coke, while our E2 cover was taken by Epigram’s own Charlie Gearon. Our online team, Georgia Marsh and Lucy Thompson, will be focusing on creating new and exciting multimedia content. In particular, we are looking forward to the use of our new app among students and the redevelopment of our website. Epigram is above all a paper written by and for students. Our content is Bristol and student focused, and any wider topics are covered from a student perspective. The wide range of interests within the student body are shown in our 15 sections, beginning with News and ending with Sport with almost everything in between. Many of the topics Epigram covered last year remain at the core of student interests. We anticipate continued discussion surrounding accommodation, mental health and student welfare, diversity and equality, and sexual assault. Our first front page of the year covers the university’s choice to replace the compulsory sexual consent classes with optional e-inductions – a move that has sparked much debate amongst students. This comes at a time when local police are creating their own consent awareness campaigns (see page 5), which was inspired by Epigram’s very own #RevoltAgainstAssault campaign. We are excited to see what makes the front covers of the other twelve issues over the following year – and we’re looking forward to looking back! So make sure you get involved – it’s easier than you think. Contact the section(s) you are interested in and attend our writers’ meetings, and by the end of the year you might be applying for an editorial role yourself. This year we want to make Epigram more accessible so that all students know how easy it is to write for us and how rewarding it is. Neither of us thought we would make it this far when we started – and you can do the same.
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From the archives- ‘Precinct of the future: planned campus revealed’ Hello? The noughties are calling and they want their campus back! By 2009 the campus was meant to be a glass-and-wood skyscraper dream fit for a sci-fi. In 2017, it seems much closer to its 2005 counterpart... Last academic year, the University revealed its new strategic plan for the period 2016-2023. Plans focus on Tyndall Avenue and include plans for a new library, a ‘Student Resource Hub’ and pedestrianizing the area. What wasn’t revealed however, was that the University had announced similar plans in 2005. Set to be completed in 2009, the NUCLEUS Project included replacing The Hawthorns with a high-rise building and combining Arts and Social Library and the Student’s Union.
The plans were proposed to ‘bring improved facilities for students, with greater availability, and may encourage more students to take advantage of the Union’s bars.’ Plans to move the Union to a more central location to make it ‘an integral part of student life’ evidently fell through, while the issue’s front page reveals that Tyndall Park in 2005 looked exactly how it does today, showing that the £250-million investment plan was shelved. First published in Epigram on 18th April 2005
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Chief Proofreader Lucy Moor Sub-editors on this issue Jess Cselko, Yasmin Hamidi, Max Lewthwaite, Alice Chancellor, Nadia Hassan, Chloë Moloney, Izi Miller Managing Director Calli Keane Director of Communications Joe Jones Director of Finance Josh Moloney Deputy Finance Jeremy Mei Head of Ads and Sales Aravin Skantha Ads and Sales Assistants Grace Rose, Frances McNab, Cameron Hooley Head of Marketing Lowri Daniels Marketing Assistants Kate Nissen, Tara Lidstone
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Epigram 22.09.2017
News
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@epigramnews Editor: Nikki Peach news@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Editors: Freya Cox, Hannah Wakefield
Online Editor: Emma Chittleburgh
Deputy Online Editors: Emily Vernall, Jecca Powell
Bristol named ninth best university in the UK Nikki Peach News Editor
Flickr / Heather Cowper
The university also remains in the world’s 100, coming in at 76
This month The Times Higher Education Rankings have been released for 2018, with Bristol placed in 9th position in the UK. Falling just behind Manchester, Edinburgh, London Universities and Oxbridge, but ahead of Warwick and Exeter, Bristol takes pride of place in the top ten. The scores are based on a ‘balanced range of 13 separate performance metrics, covering the full range of a university’s core activities: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and
international outlook.’ The University has also maintained a position in the top 100 of the world rankings, having been placed 76th in the world - a fall of just 5 places since last year. Bristol achieved an overall score of 64.8, with 94.7 in the citations category and 84.8 in international outlook. This places it ahead of many high-ranking UK and international universities including Durham and Pennsylvania State University. The results are also a great success for British higher education: Oxford and Cambridge universities secured first and second place respectively, surpassing competition from Ivy League and Asian Tiger universities.
NUS President launches Student Poverty Commission to help underprivileged young people Alex Boulton & Georgia Marsh Co-Editor & Online Editor
Epigram / Georgia Marsh
NUS President Shakira Martin has exclusively revealed the Student Poverty Commission at the NUS’ 2017 Student Media Summit. The initiative seeks to gather evidence to capture the reality that working class students face at university. Research conducted by UCAS has shown that applications to universities across the UK has dropped by 5%, and disadvantaged young people are 35% less likely to access higher education. This has been brought about by the scrapping of maintenance grants, the rise in the price of accommodation and the increase in tuition fees, meaning many students will graduate with £57,000 worth of debt. A mother herself, Martin also cited reasons such as the financial burden of childcare for mature students and social attitudes towards the working class as reason for underprivileged students being more likely to drop out once accepted into university.
Over two years, the commission seeks to expose the difficulties that working class students face by placing them at the centre of the conversation. The findings will be published in a report citing recommendations that, through campaigning, are hoped will incite a change in the experiences of disadvantaged young people in higher education. Martin personally believes in free access to higher education, stating ‘education is a public good; everyone benefits’. Speaking about the commission she adds, ‘I’m really excited, although it’s a bit shit’ – commenting on this recent research that illustrates the class divisions that still exist. She aims ‘to tear down those barriers’ by meeting with liberation officers as well as students across the country, holding events at various universities. Accompanying this, Martin plans a video project which will capture real life, uncut experiences from working class students, proving that her commission is not limited to economic and educational restraints. In her closing remarks she says, ‘everybody’s story and everybody’s journey is different.’
Shakira Martin presents the commission at the Student Media Summit in London
Summer summaries: what you missed Nikki Peach & Hannah Wakefield News Editor & Deputy News Editor
Grenfell test failure After the Grenfell Tower tragedy, tests have been carried out by local fire authorities on university accommodation to see if they are safe for occupation. Epigram revealed that popular student hall of residence Waverley House, owned by Unite Students, has failed this test. Two hundred and eight students are accommodated in these halls, paying between £134.32 and £208.37 per week. Local fire authorities have confirmed that minor adjustments will ‘immediately’ be made to solve this issue.
New campus At the start of summer the university announced its initial vision for the new £300 million campus next to Bristol Temple Meads, known as the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. The site will span seven acres, replacing the derelict Royal Mail sorting office. Professor Dave Cliff, who is leading the academic side of the project, said in a university press release that ‘the new campus will focus on the digital technologies of the future and the skills, ethics, business models and infrastructure that turn digital opportunities into jobs, wealth and wellbeing that benefits the whole of society.’ A second consultation round is being held this September, after which a planning application will be submitted to Bristol City Council.
Antisemitism complaint
New mental health app
In August the University of Bristol decided not to take action against Dr Rebecca Gould after a complaint was made in February by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) claiming an article she wrote in 2011, entitled ‘Beyond Antisemitism’, was antisemitic. CAA took issue with the article by Dr Gould because of her argument that ‘claiming the Holocaust as a holy event sanctifies the state of Israel and whitewashes its crimes’. Dr Gould has defended her article and refutes ‘any suggestion that the article contained antisemitic material.’ The University of Bristol has reviewed the situation and stated that they have not found Dr Gould’s article to be antisemitic as it ‘does not breach the proper bounds of freedom of speech and academic freedom.’ No further action against Dr Gould is to be taken.
Epigram subeditor Yasmin Hamidi reports: a new app has been launched by a Bristol alumni which enables patients suffering with mental health issues to book video consultations with leading online therapists at short notice. Launched this September, the Dr Julian app is the enterprise of ex-Bristol Medical School student, Doctor Julian Nesbitt. The platform provides a free, standardised GP test to monitor depression or anxiety levels. Users can browse through a number of fully qualified counsellors and select an individual based on their description. The video approach to therapy is something Nesbitt thinks would work well for some students to tackle the issue of the 4-6 weeks waiting list with Bristol university counsellors.
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University of Bristol releases its animal experimentation figures
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Alex Boulton & Noa Leach Co-Editors
The University of Bristol has released its animal experimentation figures after failing to respond to requests for the type and number of animals used in research since at least 2011. The figures show that in 2016, the university used 26,990 animals in research. The majority of these were rodents (63%) and fish (33%), although the figures reveal that 94 dogs and 1 cat were involved in studies.
The research could ‘lead to medical breakthroughs in the future’
According to the university, the types of animal research carried out include fundamental biology, where the research helps to increase understanding into how our bodies work, and veterinary, which is used to ‘influence the standards of care in farms and improve care of sick animals.’ The other type of research they disclose is ‘translational’, where research helps to ‘develop better treatments for sick people or animals, such as implanting and testing new medical devices in farm species.’ According to the university, the
research could ‘lead to medical breakthroughs in the future’. The University does not disclose the category in which each animal is used. Animal Justice Project, who have been requesting this information be made public since 2011 alongside other NGOs and members of the public, launched a campaign in collaboration with VegSoc in 2016 entitled ‘Campus without Cruelty’ to renew pressure on the university, calling their policy on animal testing cruel and obscure. Claire Palmer, founder of Animal Justice Project, states: ‘Bristol University has finally come clean on the abuse of animals – including rats, mice, rabbits, pigs and cats – in its laboratories. Whilst some of the University’s experiments are carried out under the guise of ‘animal welfare’ research, other studies within areas such as neuroscience, wound and dementia research, will have caused severe suffering and distress to animals. ‘Despite other universities turning to humane, cutting-edge and non-animal work, Bristol University looks set to fly in the face of overwhelming public and scientific opinion by continuing its macabre practices on animals. It is time to end it.’ Speaking to Epigram in 2014, the University explained that they were unable to release figures owing to a lack of a central record keeping system but stated that it would ‘implement a centralised system so that data such as that requested is more readily available in 2015.’ A spokesperson for the University added at the time that ‘the University is not purposely withholding information and is committed to openness and transparency in this area.’
It is unclear when the figures were released on the University of Bristol website, and little has been made of the news in the media thus far. Findings by Cruelty Free International show that 48% of animal experiments are conducted in universities. All animal research in the UK is regulated by the Home Office and it is illegal to use animals in research if an alternative approach is available. Since the release of this news, a university spokesperson has responded: ‘Wherever possible, the University’s research relies on computer models, human volunteers or cells grown in the laboratory. However, these methods are not suitable in every instance. That’s why, when absolutely necessary, we also support the principle of using animals in research in order to advance our understanding of health and disease and improve the lives of both animals and humans. ‘We are committed to open and ongoing dialogue with the public about how and why animals are used in research. The University, along with higher education institutions, bio-industry companies, charities and research councils, has signed the Concordat on Openness in Animal Research. This informs our standards and governance and is our pledge of working towards a more transparent and engaged approach to animal research. ‘A new data collection system that holds animal numbers centrally has enabled us to release publicly the number of animals used annually in our research. ‘In 2016, the University used 26,990 animals in research regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. The vast majority of these were rodents (63 per cent) and fish (33 per cent).’
University releases Vice-Chancellor salary Emma Chittleburgh Online News Editor Figures released by the University of Bristol reveal Vice-Chancellor Hugh Brady to earn above the national average. The University of Bristol has released the earnings of Vice-Chancellor Hugh Brady at £282,472 after a proposal from University Minister Jo Johnson to fine universities for paying staff more than £150,000 a year without a valid reason. With Vice-Chancellor pay packages at a national average of £277,843 a year, the University of Bristol could potentially be fined under new proposals for failing to justify the pay of senior University figures. The University have already come forward to justify the Vice-Chancellor’s salary. In reviewing the Vice-Chancellor’s salary, ‘The Remuneration Committee considers a number of factors, taking account of
performance, general pay movement for all University staff, retention, and any relevant market considerations,’ according to the university’s website. Under the new rules, it would become compulsory for higher education institutions to disclose the details of any staff earning above £100,000 per annum.
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It is essential that the University of Bristol offers a competitive remuneration package
This comes amongst calls for increased transparency regarding pay in higher education, given the growing resentment towards tuition fees which was a subject of debate in the most recent election. The University of Bristol currently has
119 staff earning over £100,000, 12 of whom earn over £150,000. Johnson’s measures would be aimed at these 12 members of staff whose salaries set them firmly in the top one percent of UK earners and above that of the Prime Minister’s. The University has responded by saying that ‘it is essential that the University of Bristol offers a competitive remuneration package that allows it to attract an outstanding ViceChancellor to lead this diverse and complex organisation of 22,000 students, over 6000 staff and an income of over £500 million.’ Large discrepancies in pay appear to have motivated the new government proposals. Figures released from the University and College Union show that Vice-Chancellors earn six times more than the average pay of their staff. Whilst it looks unlikely that Vice-Chancellors will have their pay capped, it is more likely that universities will be expected to produce valid justifications for staff salaries, decided upon by university remuneration committees.
Emily Vernall Deputy Online News Editor University Minister Jo Johnson has announced significant changes to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) which could have huge impacts on higher education, including diminished student voice and possible further rises in tuition fees. The TEF is a government initiative to encourage research-intensive universities to rebalance in favour of quality teaching through a gold, silver or bronze award system. The new changes, realised in a policy titled ‘Lessons Learned’, were announced at the University UK annual conference on 7th September. Key amendments include ‘halving’ the weight attributed to student voice through the NSS (National Student Survey) in favour of more institutional metrics. These include graduate and long-term salary data ‘in order to achieve a more balanced assessment’. Mark Leach, of Higher Education think-tank Wonkhe, has commented the exercise is arranged so that ‘those who play the game best will do well, not necessarily those with the most excellent teaching.’ ‘These overall changes are likely to benefit London-based institutions through the diminishing role of the NSS and the inclusion of salary data. The changes should also benefit some Russell Group institutions which have high absolute scores but are under-performing against the benchmark.’ The National Student Survey was a metric that had significantly lowered the potential score of some prestigious universities to bronze or silver, often through the efforts of NUS-led NSS boycotts. The revisions now mean that universities can more easily achieve the top award, which the Government have indicated could give them right to increase their tuition fees in line with inflation over the coming years.
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Epigram / Lucy Thompson
Cats were among the animals tested on at Bristol University
Changes to TEF threaten student voice
Those who play the game best will do well, not necessarily those with the most excellent teaching
The decision to combat the rising ‘grade inflation’ problem was another point addressed in the revisions, due to The Department of Education announcing a threefold increase in the percentage of firsts since the mid-1990s. Jo Johnson told the conference that ‘Unchecked, grade inflation will undermine the reputation of the entire UK HE sector, creating a dangerous impression of slipping standards, undermining the efforts of those who work hard for their qualifications and poorly serving the needs of employers.’ In line with this, future TEF requirements and measures are expected to offer incentives to the universities that keep the proportions of students achieving the coveted 2:1 and first-class honours down to the accepted levels. The University of Bristol was awarded Silver after the controversial decision to go-ahead with the government proposals in 2016, following an open letter of objection submitted to the University by staff, academics and SU officials. The open letter warned that the TEF is a ‘flawed policy and should be opposed’ and stated it could lead ‘students to take financial and not educational decisions’ as earning the top award could facilitate inflating tuition fees.
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Police launch Bristol Zero Tolerance campaign against sexual assault in clubs and bars Avon and Somerset police is launching a campaign against sexual assault in bars and clubs in Bristol. They are working in collaboration with partners such as Bristol Women’s Voice, who are encouraging venues to sign up to the Bristol Zero Tolerance campaign, making venues safer on a night out. Staff will receive specialist training on how to deal with harassment and assault, and how to support their customers. Clare Lowe is the Events Manager at No.1 Harbourside, The Canteen and The Old Market Assembly, all of which have signed up to the Zero Tolerance campaign and whose staff have received the training. Clare said: ‘Staff now know how to support
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people who disclose an assault to them and our door staff waste no time in identifying who the culprits are and throwing them out. This in turn makes people feel safer and more likely to return, as well as making offenders think twice about their behaviour.’
Sexual assault is a crime and will not be tolerated on any level
PC John Loughlin told Epigram: ‘Our initial response to this issue was a result of an e-mail we received via our website from a young lady reporting that she had been the victim of indecent assault on a number of occasions at various licensed premises. I met
with her and we discussed the issues she faced, her frustrations, and the lengths she had to go to prevent this attention.’ New posters will be displayed in venues across the city encouraging victims to report when they’ve been assaulted and warning offenders that their behaviour won’t be tolerated. Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: ‘Sexual assault is a crime and will not be tolerated on any level in Avon and Somerset. No one has the right to touch another person in this way and I’m delighted the police, and our partners and the local bars and clubs are coming together to tackle this unacceptable behaviour.’ This is an issue that has been raised in the past amongst Bristol students, themselves being both victims and perpetrators of sexual assault. Awareness of sexual assault in Bristol has risen since the success of previous Epigram Online Editor Hannah Price’s campaign ‘#Revolt Against Sexual Assault.’ The campaign, which was a success on a national scale, allowed victims of sexual assault to tell their stories candidly, using Snapchat filters. PC Nicholas Boyce said ‘I’m sure that the campaign added to the awareness.’
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Nikki Peach News Editor
‘Awareness of sexual assault in Bristol has risen’
Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Police
Two posters from the campaign
Avon and Somerset Police is beginning its campaign soon, in time for the return of students. It is being promoted with #thisisnotanexcuse on social media alongside the message ‘it is not acceptable and there will be consequences for anyone who behaves like this in our licensed premises.’ You can report a sexual assault to the police online or by calling 101. If a crime is in progress or in an emergency always call 999. For more advice and support, visit www. thisisnotanexcuse.org.
Students defy stereotypes Jecca Powell Deputy Online News Editor Students are going to university more excited about lectures than nightlife, according to new research that defies student stereotypes. In a survey conducted by the NUS on behalf of insurance provider Endsleigh, over 2,000 UK students were asked what they were most looking forward to before they went to university. Nearly three quarters of them said that they were most excited at the prospect of achieving academic success. Students were also looking forward to the freedom of university, with nearly half of students looking forward to becoming independent, and a further quarter citing living away from home as a key benefit of university life. Only one fifth of those surveyed were most excited about going out and partying. Julie Alpan, Head of Marketing at Endsleigh, sees the results as a challenge to the public’s perception of students as work-shy and party-obsessed. ‘We wanted to demonstrate that most students are more focused on their studies than on overindulging in the potential excesses of university life. Students deserve credit for the hard work and dedication that goes into attaining degrees’, she said. Summer Hocking, Economics and Management student at Bristol, agreed with Alpan, arguing ‘it’s unfair for people to claim that students don’t care about their work. We’re doing our best, and people should appreciate that. I’m glad that this research has made that clear.’ Bristol Geography student Leon Elliott concurred with the results of the survey. Before coming to Bristol, Leon said his main objective was to learn. ‘I was excited for the thrill of going out, but I felt like I’d worked so hard to get into uni, that the opportunity to further my studies came first’, he said.
Woman makes her (skid) mark on Tinder date with Bristol student Freya Cox Deputy News Editor
Gofundme / Liam Smith
Bristol student Liam Smith called the fire service after his date became wedged between his bathroom windows while trying to retrieve her poo. She intended on throwing her faeces into the garden after the toilet ‘would not flush’ on her Tinder date with the University of Bristol postgraduate. Instead it became lodged between two nonopening windows in Mr Smith’s bathroom. The amateur gymnast panicked, and thought to put her skills to the test by climbing head first after it - overestimating the size of the space between the windows - and becoming stuck. Mr Smith set up a crowdfunding page after the incident left fire services no choice but to break his window. He wrote that after having a ‘lovely evening’ at Nandos, they returned back to his shared house to watch a scientology documentary. ‘About an hour in to Louis Theroux and chill, my date got up to use the toilet. She returned with a panicked look in her eye, and told me she had something to tell me.’ The offending package had fallen into a narrow
gap, rather than the garden, which was ‘separated from the outside world by another double glazed window.’ ‘It was into this twilight zone that my date had thrown her poo.’ Mr Smith looked for a hammer to smash the window, while his date attempted to retrieve the bag of poo by climbing into the gap head first. He called the Avon Fire and Rescue service to rescue her after growing increasingly concerned. ‘Once they had composed themselves, they set to work removing her from the window.’ While his date was rescued unharmed, Mr Smith said his bathroom window would need repairs costing in excess of £300. He initially set a crowdfunding target of £200, but has already raised over £2,700. He and his date have decided to split the extra money between two charities, one which builds and maintains flushing toilets in the developing world and another that supports firefighters. Mr Smith said in an interview with BBC News that the pair had gone on a second date but that ‘it’s too early to say if she’s the one. ‘We got on very very well and she’s a lovely girl,’ he said, ‘and we’ve already got the most difficult stuff out of the way first.’
Liam’s date trapped in window
Epigram
22.09.2017
Features
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Editor: Ellen Jones
Deputy Editor: Dani Bass
Online Editor: Olivia Cooke
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One degree up and £50,000 down: are we ignorant to the reality of our student debt?
Ellen Jones discusses the extent and impact of student loans Ellen Jones Features Editor Another year at university looms, and along with the excitement of being back for another year of Lola Lo Tuesdays and Taka Taka midnight feasts, for most of us comes at least another £12,821 of student debt. For our generation of students, ‘debt’ has been somewhat of a trend word. ‘Student debt’ fills pages of broadsheets and tabloids alike: inspiring sensationalist headlines, defining election campaigns and arousing pity filled winces from our older siblings and parents. Our debt, we’re told, is indeed hefty, but worth it when looking towards graduate schemes which will help us to pay it off. But, with all this persistent – even constant – talk of debt, have we become numbed to the reality of our graduate shortfalls? Has our tens-of-thousands deficit become so normalised that debt has become something we know is a shame, but generally don’t really understand?
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Some students are vocal about their opposition to student debt... Here students march against tuition fees in London
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A recent analysis published by the Institute of Fiscal Studies revealed that the average student in the UK will leave university with £50,000 of debt, rising to £57,000 for poorer students qualifying for higher loans. This combination of high fees, the replacement of maintenance grants with loans and escalating interest rates now means that English graduates leave university with the highest student debts in the developed world. Our debt is now above that of students in the USA – famed for its high fees – where average graduate debt is £28,000. True, the story we’re often sold is that it’s all OK, because so huge is our debt that most of us are unlikely to ever pay it off. But, rather than the government being the victim, losing the money it loans, we might be being lured into a false sense of security. With our debt now totting up 6.1% interest whilst we’re still at university, a large proportion of those gaining graduate positions will continue to pay off their ever-rising debt, even paying back more than the original loan amount, until debt is wiped after 30 years. For a graduate on a £25,000 salary, annual repayments will total £360. However, even paying the minimum level of interest, a £50,000 debt will have increased by £1,550 within a year of graduation. We appear to be the
Flickr/ Cory Doctorow
English undergraduates leave university with the highest student debt in the developed world
modern-day victims of the ‘no-win-nofee’ trap – and the government is the trickster. So, is it really all worth it? Well for most of us currently at university, you would assume the answer is ‘yes’. Our degrees set us up for a level of success often unattainable without higher education; university acts as an intermediary between childhood and scary ‘real-life’ adulthood. We are both personally and professionally enriched.
A worthwile expenditure
Charlie Gearon, third year English and Philosophy student at Bristol, agrees that student debt is inevitable and worth it.
‘I think it’s a worthwhile expenditure. In reality, we never see tuition fees money anyway, and when we do come to pay it off, it will just be an extra bill. Yes, it’s annoying, but it’s just a reality we have to face’. However, it seems that most undergraduates aren’t fully aware of exactly what their debt is, and how they will pay it off. Jane Cowie, third year English student, told Epigram ‘I think that a lot is hidden from students’. ‘There’s an expectation for students with certain grades to go to university, and we’re not encouraged to consider the financial burdens beforehand. At the moment, it feels like invisible money, but in reality, it’s not’. For others, university debt is a key concern, and something which emphasises the larger political issues of the present day. Stefan Rolnick, a recent graduate from the University of Bristol, told Epigram why he thinks the current loan system punishes only the poorest students. ‘Although our system works like a graduate tax, if your parents are rich
enough they can pay off your student debt straight away after graduation, meaning it accumulates no more interest. If you go to university from a less advantaged background, your interest is likely to accumulate and you end up paying more. The system quite literally charges you for being poor. This is where our disgust should be aimed.’
prospect of such burdensome debt is evidently playing a role in muddying the image of the care-free student life – but not wholly.
A lot is hidden from students... we’re not encouraged to consider the financial burdens before beginning university
Clearly, the student community is divided. Whilst some undergraduates are aware of the future repayments, feeling as though their degree certificate and future graduate opportunities are worth it, others feel anything but enlightened about what their education is, or will be, costing them. Our role as students, and prospective students, can only be to continue to speak up against further fee and interest rate rises. If we don’t, we may just be the last diverse generation of university goers.
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Meanwhile, recent headlines have been filled with news of university applications dropping by 8.7% this year. Yet, more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are applying for university places year-on-year. The
We appear to be the modern-day victims of the no-win-no-fee trap
Epigram
22.09.2017
7
The end of consent on campus? Olivia Cooke reacts to UoB’s decision to scrap consent classes Olivia Cooke Online Features Editor
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Many students have begun to question whether the university is placing financial concerns above the mental and physical health of its student population With a new cohort of students eager to embark on one of the most exciting chapters of their lives, is the university able to ensure that it has provided sufficient measures to enhance the protection of these students from sexual assault as they experience studying and living in Bristol for the first time? Recent reports into sexual assault at university have indicated that this issue is still depressingly widespread. A poll taken by the National Union of Students in 2015 revealed that one in
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students. The question is whether the University of Bristol will follow suit and revise their current infrastructures in educating students about consent and sexual assault.
The University’s recent decision is arguably a step backwards in combatting sexual abuse on campus
Flickr/ John Bauld
As recently reported by Epigram, last week the University of Bristol announced its decision to scrap compulsory consent classes for new undergraduate students, replacing them with an online e-induction consent course. Predictably, this move has caused uproar amongst much of the student community, sparking fierce debate abound the university’s commitment to promoting the importance of sexual consent. Whilst the university has defended its decision to take consent classes online, insisting that its new compulsory elearning course will ‘help students think about and make more informed choices in their relationships’, many students have begun to question whether the university is placing financial concerns above the mental and physical health of its student population. In a committee statement released by Bristol University’s Intersectional Feminist Society, the society has argued that ‘e-learning is too simplistic for a complex issue like consent.’ Furthermore, the society has criticised the university’s apparent inability
to ‘broaden conversations about sexual violence.’ iFemSoc have called for a discussion focussing on ‘the intersection of hate crimes and sexual violence’ within university-led consent workshops, in addition to developing a ‘holistic consent education’ which does not ‘exclude[s] the narratives of marginalised groups’ such as the LGBTQ+ community.
Sexual consent continues to be a contentious issue in modern society
five students across the UK experience a form of sexual harassment in their first week of term. Additionally, a study by the Telegraph in the same year found that a third of female students experience inappropriate touching whilst at university. To combat this malignant trend within campus, the University of Cambridge recently advertised a position of a sexual assault and harassment adviser within their counselling service. With a goal to ‘improve the prevention, response,
support and investigation’ of instances of ‘sexual misconduct’, the adviser will work within the university’s colleges providing ‘specialist support to students.’ In 2016, Oxford University started compulsory sexual consent workshops, both covering the legalities of sexual consent and providing sex education to students. The actions taken by Oxbridge to combat sexual assault on campus are undoubtedly leading the way in which academic institutions approach the issue of consent amongst their
Former Online Editor of Epigram Hannah Price, led the groundbreaking #RevoltAgainstSexualAssault campaign last year. Price’s Snapchatfronted campaign exposed a dark underbelly to student life at Bristol, with students sharing sobering accounts of sexual abuse, harassment and sexism. This campaign crucially raised the profile of sexual assault at the University, yet the recent decision to cut the provision of consent workshops is arguably a step backwards in combatting sexual abuse on campus. Time will tell whether or not the university’s updated programme for freshers will help to clarify issues surrounding consent. Yet, one would hope that this additional cut does not threaten the safety of students in the near future.
The University of Bristol: ahead in The Times Laila Freeman looks into the University of Bristol’s ranking and reputation, in light of the recent Times Higher Education rankings.
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Bristol has dropped five places...it must focus on improving Arts and Humanities
An even more notable discrepancy however, is the contrast in scores given to science and arts based fields, with ‘Life Sciences’ and ‘Clinical, Pre-clinical and Health’ both ranking in the 60s
Bristol triumphs over many other UK universities, such as the London School of Economics and Kings College London, as well as reputable institutions worldwide, including Boston University and Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Flickr / UoBris MDTEL
The University of Bristol is the 76th best university in the world, according to the 2018 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. This result reflects Bristol University’s performance across thirteen indicators, with the league table judging universities ‘Across all of their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook’. In terms of Bristol’s individual departments, ‘Physical Sciences’ has come out top, claiming an impressive 47th place worldwide. Even the lowest ranking department at Bristol, ‘Computer Science’, has secured 100th place, which means that all ranked departments have found success within the Top 100 of their respective categories. Within the United Kingdom, the University of Bristol has secured a spot in the coveted Top Ten, at 9th place. Whilst it is placed below institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, Bristol has been ranked above many of its biggest rivals, including Durham,
Warwick and Exeter. Bristol’s overall score of 64.8 per cent places it 1.2 per cent above Glasgow University, which claims the last of the UK Top Ten spots, and 4 per cent above rival and fellow ‘Oxbridge reject’ university Durham. In particular, the University of Bristol has achieved great success in the ‘Citations’ and ‘International Outlook’ categories, in which it scored 94.7 per cent and 84.8 per cent respectively. In other categories however, scores are significantly lower, with the lowest scoring category - ‘Industry Income’ obtaining a score of only 39.3 per cent. These inconsistencies clearly highlight barriers that must be overcome in order for the university to advance up the league tables.
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Laila Freeman Second Year, History
Bristol’s graduates are still sought after by top employers
and ‘Arts and Humanities’ ranking at a much lower 96th place. In order to prevent further declines in its ranking, it is important that the university focuses on improving these lower scoring areas. Although it has comfortably retained its place in the Top 100, Bristol University has dropped five places since the 2017 league table and ten places since 2012, when it was ranked at number 66. However, despite being denied a
place within the Top 5 UK universities, Bristol seems to have retained its fantastic track record with employers. This is illustrated by the QS Graduate Employment Rankings for 2018, which has placed Bristol in the top 50 universities worldwide for employability. According to QS, Bristol graduates fair sixth best in the UK for employability, only beaten by Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, Imperial and Manchester.
Still, Bristol seems to have retained a fantastic reputation with employers
Clearly, despite the decline in overall position, the University of Bristol’s fantastic reputation and record with employers prevails. This is the case within the increasingly competitive graduate market in the UK, as well as globally. It is now necessary for the university to focus on removing the barriers to greater success across all categories and subjects. In particular, attention should be paid towards improving arts and humanities subjects, to bring them up to rank with much higher scoring science subjects.
Epigram
22.09.2017
8
Animal welfare vs freedom of faith Dani Bass discusses whether the recent ban on Kosher and Halal meat is a step too far or a step in the right direction Dani Bass Deputy Features Editor
“ It attacks the very core of our culture and religious practice and our status as equal citizens
The mainstream view does not agree, however, and current laws applied to most animal slaughter state that all animals should be stunned prior to their killing, although religious
Rodrigo Mendizabal
Animal rights activists have been tirelessly campaigning for the ban of Halal and Kosher meat for fears that these methods cause pain during the slaughtering of animals. In recent months, the vote proposed by The Environment Committee resulted in the ban of Kosher meat in the Walooon district of Belgium which will take effect in September 2019. This could be seen as progress in the name of animal welfare, however the new law undeniably poses religious and cultural questions. The European Jewish Congress states that ‘It attacks the very core of our culture and religious practice and our status as equal citizens.’ As someone who is firmly on both sides of this argument, being an animal rights activist and vegetarian as well as being Jewish and living in a kosher home, I was eager to explore the facts and increase my understanding on both religious and non-religious methods of slaughter. The practices laid down in the Torah and the Koran were undoubtedly set out with the sole intention of minimising the suffering felt by animals. For many centuries religious methods have been far superior in terms of humane slaughter. Kosher dietary law states that ‘the slaughtering
has to be effected in such a way that unconsciousness is instantaneous and death occurs almost instantaneously.’ In practice this means that the killing must be done by a qualified practitioner who will administer a slit to the animal’s throat with a knife that is so sharp as to ensure a quick and complete cut of the throat in one action, cutting off the blood supply to the brain instantly. The defenders of this practice argue that this is so instantaneous that it is no different from a welfare point of view than using a stun gun/ dart. The head of the Halal Authority Board, Shaykh Tauqir Ishaq states that ‘If followed properly, both unstunned [ritual slaughter] and stunned are extremely humane forms of slaughter and the evidence to suggest otherwise is completely wrong.’
In recent years there has been increased amounts of opposition to religious methods of slaughter slaughter is exempt from this. At the centre of the debate is the issue of whether stunning an
Meet the Features team!
animal before slaughter causes less pain. Stunning certainly seems less brutal and far less
emotive than the harrowing image of blood flowing from a cow having had its throat
cut. However, one should look beyond the superficial here, and question whether the practice of stunning is more humane or simply just more palatable. There can be two parts to stunning; paralysing and anesthetising. Although stunning clearly paralyses the animal, it is not confirmed that the animal is anesthetised. Research has found that when electrolysis was used as a form of torture in China, the victims stated that they felt immense pain, but due to the paralysis they could not move or scream out. Therefore, although the motor system of the animal is inhibited by paralysis, the sensory system may be fully functioning and huge pain may therefore be caused. The evidence is clearly inconclusive, and the extent to which animals feel pain is a difficult one to prove. Writer and broadcaster Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain states that ‘We are not yet at the moment when stunning is without doubt superior to Jewish and Muslim methods.’ A better indicator of animal welfare may be to focus on the conditions the animals must endure in the moments or even hours running up to the slaughter rather than solely looking at the last few moments of life. If all the energy expended into changing the law was refocused on the abattoir conditions, then animal welfare would be taking a step in the right direction.
Calling all writers Features wants you! The Features team are looking for buddy journalists, writing enthusiasts and controversy lovers to contribute to Features print and online. If you are looking to write about issues important to you, with a readership of 20,000, Epigram Features is for you! Write about:
Ellen Features Editor
Dani Deputy Features Editor
Olivia Online Features Editor
What do you study? History - third year (argh!) What are your hobbies, other than Epigram? I’m a cooking enthusiast, running novice and coffee shop expert. What do you want to write about this year? I’m really excited to talk about issues I care about - student politics, diversity issues, and maybe a few more light hearted things, too!
What do you study? English and Theatre- second year What are your hobbies, other than Epigram? I love art- both visiting exhibitions and creating my own work as well as going to the theatre. What do you want to write about this year? I’m interested in enviromental and ethical issues relevent to students especially in Bristol and the local area.
What do you study? English - second year What are your hobbies, other than Epigram? I’m an avid runner, and enjoy taking part in races for charity. I love creating my own art, too! What do you want to write about this year? I also want to focus on the things which are most important to Bristol students, and the things happening in student politics.
Student politics
Personal interest pieces
Bristol clulture
Environmental issues
University challenges
Current affairs
If you want to get involved, please contact: features@epigram.org.uk
Diversity issues
Co n t rove r s i a l debates
Comment
Epigram 22.09.2017
@epigramcomment Editor: Ed Southgate
Deputy Editor: Jake Porter
Online Editor: Cameron Scheijde
@ed_southgate comment@epigram.org.uk
@porterjake
@camscheijde
It’s high time to decriminalise drugs
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Radhika Jani argues that drug laws initiate crime and target the vulnerable: we must legalise and regulate drugs Radhika Jani Third Year, English Literature The world has come a long way since President Nixon declared that drugs are America’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’, launching the world into a multi-billion-dollar war that can now only be described as unjust and counterproductive. I am currently interning at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a Bristol-based think tank and NGO that works to end the war on drugs and establish effective, humane systems of drug regulation worldwide. Working here has consolidated my belief in the pressing necessity for drug policy reform and I’d like to make the case for why. At least $100bn a year is spent globally on enforcing prohibition but, according to the World Drug Report 2016, 247m people used illegal drugs last year and UK drug use has remained stable since 2010. Clearly drug laws do not minimise demand; they simply divert the supply and control of a lucrative market into the hands of violent organised crime. Indeed, the illegality of drugs drives the value of producer plants up greatly, creating a huge profit motive for these groups to exploit. They control a market worth more than $320bn, assigning them the power to threaten state authority, development and national law. The Manchurian army units, who used illegal revenues from opiates to fund terrorist operations against the wishes of the Tokyo government, are an example of this, along with Escobar in Columbia, Du Yuesheng in Shanghai and contemporary warlords in Afghanistan.
As proven, drugs alone do not threaten national security any more than tobacco does. It is the criminal frameworks that do - frameworks that would not exist if legalisation and government regulation were instated.
Since 2006, over 100,000 deaths can be attributed to drug-war violence in Mexico alone
Furthermore, the war on drugs almost delivers the antithesis to the safety and protection of public health it promises. To make the case most lucidly, in Russia, injecting drug users account for 93 percent of all HIV infections, but no one has ever contracted HIV, or overdosed for that matter at a supervised injection site. Prohibition delegates potentially harmful substances to the hands of organised criminals, and through the criminalisation and marginalisation of drug users, the health risks associated with drug use are maximised. Countless lives have been lost unnecessarily as a consequence of the war on drugs. Through legal regulation, governments can control the availability of drugs and ensure transparency with their strength and purity. There would be strict age controls and tiered regulatory intensity depending on the riskiness of each drug. Many who fret at the prospect of legalisation often argue that an end to prohibition will increase drug use, but there is no evidence to back this. Over ten years on from Portugal decriminalising drug possession in 2001, levels of drug use remain below the European average, and drug-related deaths have decreased dramatically. It is useful to take the tobacco situation as a parallel case study. Tobacco use is rapidly decreasing in many countries. This reduction was achieved without criminalising smokers, but with health
education and stricter market regulation, which was only possible because tobacco is a legal product. The same could be done for drugs. Our focus should be on policy that reduces harm, not necessarily use. The concern that a legalised drug market will be exploited by free market ideology is, I believe, a legitimate one. As ‘big tobacco’ wreaked havoc, people fear ‘big meth’ would go further. But a solution exists. Legal regulation forms the healthy middle between supporters of failed prohibition policy and libertarians who believe in drugs being made freely available. Lastly, I’d make the point that the war on drugs is a war against human rights, and I feel it of most importance to note prohibition’s oppressive origins. In 1994, Nixon’s chief adviser John Ehrlichman told Harper’s Magazine that the war on drugs was waged specifically to vilify the White House’s ‘two enemies: the anti-war left and black people.’
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The war on drugs is a war against human rights
He states: ‘We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalising both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. […]
The good kush - should it be legalised?
What the #editors are saying...
Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.’ You may be quick to dismiss this as hyperbole, but when we assess the racist ramifications of prohibition even now, Ehrlichman’s words become hauntingly relevant. Despite black people using less drugs than white people in the UK, a 2010 report found they get stopped and searched six times the amowunt. In 2009/10, the Metropolitan Police charged 78 percent of black people caught in possession of cocaine compared with 44 percent of whites. MP David Lammy’s report of September 2017 reports BME drug offenders are 240 percent more likely to be sent to prison than white people. The statistics go on… The war on drugs is also a classist one, with academics noting addiction’s association with reduced economic productivity and therefore public disapproval. Through prohibition, drugs have long been used to scapegoat and disproportionately persecute the poor and people of colour: historically powerless communities. On a wider note, drug users are so systematically dehumanised that public opinion tends not to sympathise with abuses upon their human rights, such as excessive prison sentences and even death penalties. Rather than a relaxing of the law, legalisation restores governmental control, eliminates a largescale destabilising criminal operation, saves lives and frees up resources to improve public services. Legalisation should cease to be considered ‘radical’, it is in fact the more sensible option.
Flickr / Tanjila Ahmed
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Drug laws do not minimise demand; the simply divert the supply and control of a lucrative market into the hands of violent organised crime
Thus, rather than reducing crime, prohibition actively creates it: as ex-cop Neil Woods expresses, ‘It’s not criminals that cause crime, it’s opportunity’. Woods likewise admits that criminal drug organisations only become ‘nastier’ because of tighter policing, and policing has ‘No impact on the demand whatsoever’. Since 2006, over 100,000 deaths can be attributed to drug-war violence in Mexico alone. It has also been seen that a crackdown in one region simply means another increases production to meet demand.
Stephen Harper
Epigram
22.09.2017
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Political round-up World politics: US relations with North Korea are severely deteriorating with the threat of nuclear war UK politics: Brexit negotiations are underway, as Parliament debates the Great Repeal Bill
Uni students shouldn’t vote in uni constituencies
Ed Southgate reacts to the influence the student vote had in university areas Ed Southgate Comment Editor
The recent general election, which saw all of Bristol’s seats turn to Labour, marked a significant change in students’ engagement in politics with turnout amongst the 18-24 agegroup surging. This is both pleasing and to be encouraged, but the General Election did raise serious questions over where students should be allowed to practice their politics with the ballot box. Although the law is clear that the electorate can only vote once and in their home constituency, university students are given the luxury of registering in both their home and their university constituency. This luxury damages our electoral system’s integrity by increasing the risk of voter fraud, whilst further damning an already-tense relationship between students and locals. In the weeks approaching the General Election, I saw more and more Bristolians come to social media to express their disapproval of students changing the direction of their local politics. But whilst Bristol West remained red, there were some large surges in turnout in specifically university towns and cities which had very decisive and shocking results. Canterbury, for instance, has been a safe Tory seat for 176 years but was snatched by Labour by a mere 187 votes. It is a constituency with two universities - Kent and Christ Church - and a turnout that increased
by 3,000 to 56,000 in 2017 from 2015. This gain can surely only have been influenced by traditionally left-wing students swarming to the polls in their university constituency, instead of their home constituency, to influence the vote. It is important to note these two words “home” and “university”. University is not a student’s home but our temporary place of residence. Students are not affected as greatly by politics local to their university constituency.
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Is this not just meddling where meddling is not due?
Indeed, when we vote, we vote locally. We assess both local and national issues of course, but we vote for a local candidate to represent the interests of our home constituency in Parliament. It is only when those local results are grouped together that we get a national result and a governing party. So, it is understandable that genuine locals would be frustrated when the colour of their home constituency changed, and consequently the direction of local politics changed, because of students who will probably have left within three years. Three years. Three years! With such a brief, and therefore tenuous, relationship with the
local community, I find it difficult to justify being allowed to significantly impact an area’s politics. Those students who overturned Canterbury’s historic stronghold will not be affected by the local consequences, nor will many other students up and down the UK who influenced the vote in an area they will not be in for long. Indeed, even within those three years we are only essentially partial members of that community. For one, living in our student bubble, we are exempt from council tax, and therefore exempt from financially contributing to the area we wish to politically influence. Is this not just meddling where meddling is not due? But perhaps, as it has been suggested to me, by allowing students to vote in their university constituency we are increasing the chances of them turning out to vote? This could be a valid point as high student turnout is of course to be encouraged. However, if the only reason one is voting is because it is slightly easier to do so, should we question the strength of their political involvement in the first place? Postal votes, remember, are available for those who are not in their home constituency for the vote and are not too difficult to organise if you really want to have a political voice. We simply cannot escape that whilst students should always be encouraged to turn out, we should not vote where we study but where we live. Flickr/Robert Gov.ukCutts / Official Eu
Bristol/ student politics: Students flock to the polls in GE17, as Thangam Debbonaire beats Tory rival by 37,000 votes
A response to the round-up...
A response to the news...
Hear the reality before opposing animal testing
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Rebecca Thomas demands for the debate around animal testing to avoid sensationalist assertions Rebecca Thomas Third Year, Animal Behaviour & Welfare The recent publication of the University figures for animal experimentation in 2016 will have left many in a state of confusion. As members of an activist generation, should we be storming our way to the Chancellor’s office and demanding the cessation of such cruelty on our campus, or is there in fact another side to the story? The answer to such a question remains unclear, mainly due to our society’s lack of understanding when it comes to the who, what and where of animal research. Educated discourse is too often drowned by angry voices, seldom grounded in fact and reality, whilst research departments remain secretive kingdoms closed off from public view.
This year I had a two-week placement in such an establishment and I admit I arrived wholly sceptical about the sights I was about to witness. Images of white rabbits tied down to tables, with scientists injecting every chemical under the sun sprung rapidly to mind. I am after all, the girl who read Peter Singer throughout her youth, appalled with every page documenting yet another cruel and needless experiment - particularly those involving primates in the US. Thankfully I found the unit to be primate - and I would go one step further to add - cruelty free. Cruelty after all is defined as
Too often we seem to view staff members working in these establishments with disdain or even anger, placing them in that hated group, alongside traffic wardens, estate agents and bankers. Yet, by ostracising them, we prevent valuable discussion and further improvements to the ASPA from taking place. How can we hope to influence any activity which takes place within university walls if our only response is to protest on the basis of our imaginations, rather than to listen to the realties and then instigate change?
Too often we quote the needless use of cosmetics testing … but what of research that improves human life? Animal testing research, as I saw throughout my time at this unit, is also incredibly relevant. I spent time with a behavioural group focused solely on gaining a deeper insight into mental health, one of the more prevalent topics in today’s social-mediaspammed generation. This research plays a pivotal role in understanding the impacts
of antidepressants on the brain, investigative work which could impact the lives of individuals from all walks of society. Too often we quote the needless use of cosmetics testing when it comes to animal experimentation, but what of research that improves human life? The ethical waters become murky when the benefits of animal research strike closer to home. Though my visit was a short one, I left the Animal Unit with little doubt of the authenticity with which the staff care for their animals. As it currently stands, alternatives to animal testing appear to lack the scientific belief and backing which would enable widespread usage within society. Cell cultures and computer models are making little inroads into scientific spheres, with the overwhelming majority favouring the use of animals. Focus needs to constantly remain on refining and reducing animal testing with the ultimate end goal of replacement. I don’t ask you to agree with my opinion of animal testing - I am after all still formulating where I stand in my own mind. All I ask is that you push away those sensationalist images and face reality head-on before you pick up your placard and start shouting. Read the original news story on page 4
Flickr / Novartis AG
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Far more stringent measures for lab rodents than the legislation which surrounds your cat, dog or horse
‘indifference to and pleasure in inflicting suffering’, not applicable in any shape or form to the animal care I saw taking place within the establishment’s walls. The interior was calm and clean, with rodents housed in containers, each furnished with sawdust, nesting material, water and food. There was even enrichment in the shape of cardboard tubes and plastic houses to shelter under just as you gave your hamster as a child. Every animal within the University’s walls - that’s 26,990 in 2016 - will be accounted for by means of a licence. Granted by the Home Office, this states the severity of the procedure - rated mild, moderate or severe - as well as stipulating which staff members are legally responsible for the animal. These licences are legally approved by a select committee at the University: a panel containing a Veterinary Surgeon, Welfare Officer and Lay member - a randomly selected member of University staff. All this legality is part and parcel of the Animals in Scientific Procedures Act 1986 (ASPA) and, as far as legislation goes, it is one of the most watertight in the UK’s ‘legal tool box’ of animal protection with arguably far more stringent measures for lab rodents than the legislation which surrounds your cat, dog or horse. The ASPA will also require Animal Technicians to work within the University’s midst. Separate from the researchers, these individuals oversee the day-to-day running of the unit, checking every animal daily and alerting the Named Veterinary Surgeon to any welfare concerns. I worked with similar technicians for two weeks, side by side as we cleaned out countless cages and topped up endless water bottles. Many of them had a similar degree to my own, but all of them had a deep rooted passion for ensuring the health and wellbeing of the individuals in their care.
White rabbits and white lies: does the debate around animal testing need to return to the facts?
Epigram
22.09.2017
Freshers’ stereotypes are not absolute
Cameron Scheijde Online Comment Editor
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The expectations of a week-long party must not be imposed on everyone
That was me, first night of fresher’s week, 2016. Here I am a year later and I’m pleased to
the
established
expectations
of
Fresher’s
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report that I didn’t quit there and then, though I cannot deny I was tempted. Despite the somewhat tentative and terrifying beginnings, last year was the best of my life - and I write this article as an introvert who drinks very little and despises (with a vehement passion) nightclubs. Fresher’s was, for me, the most turbulent, difficult, brilliant and exhilarating time of my life: and I spent most of it in bed by 11pm. Linda BaILEY Flickr / Dima Bushkov
Fresher’s week has a strong stereotype of excessive indulgence in alcohol. However, in spite of appearances, we who do not drink so much do exist at university and the expectations of a week-long party must not be imposed on everyone. You’re standing in the queue on a mild September evening. The music escapes the small, hot confines of the club and winds its way down the line where a crowd of ecstatic freshers shout in anticipation. You look around and take in the atmosphere, and your new group of friends, as of a few hours ago, seem alien to you. The noise from the street, the club and the people surrounding you is deafening. With no alcohol in your system to soften the blow of being thrust into such unfamiliar surroundings, your body goes tight. Everything seems imposingly loud, frightening and unknown. You tap one of your new acquaintances on the shoulder and yell ‘this isn’t for me, I’m going home, have a good evening’. You trundle home in the cold, terrifying surroundings to the comfort of your room, and lock the door.
challenges
Clubbing is not the be-all and end-all of fresher’s
For the introverted among us, the culture and stereotypes surrounding fresher’s and ‘uni life’ in general can seem even worse than having to ask a stranger for directions. It is everything an introvert is not: loud, alcoholfuelled and aggressively sociable. This is a stereotype that can make the introvert’s student experience overwhelming and distressing and, though our generation apparently drink less than our predecessors, it can shape the rest of the university experience. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than being forced to drink, or forced to get drunk, in order to gain social ‘acceptance’. To be faced with the choice of drinking or social exclusion is an extremely difficult scenario to find yourself in. So, to those who do see alcohol as the be-all and end-all of fresher’s week, don’t force those who don’t. As a small fish in the ocean of a new city it’s hard to stick to your guns, but be true to what you want
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Scheijde
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Cameron
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A famliar sight to many, and an unwelcome sight to some
out of fresher’s. It is not all bad - and if you are reading this thinking ‘that first paragraph sounds like my experience’, I would like to offer assurance. Assurance that clubbing is not the be-all and end-all of fresher’s week. The Student Union’s programme of day time and evening events is fantastic and a great way of meeting people whose lives don’t revolve around Lola Lo’s and a bottle of vodka. Those people are fun too, as long as they let you wave goodbye at pre-drinks. I was lucky to have the ability to shape a fresher’s week that worked for me, rather than adhering to the societal expectations of what fresher’s ‘should’ be or plodding along with everyone else. Uni is also a place where you can find people who have a similar aversion to club music and strong spirits (in all senses of the word). In general, look for the people who, like you, are sitting in
the corner of the JCR or hiding in their room. I know initiating social contact is unpleasant, but both of you will be so grateful for that first ‘what’s your name then?’. Who knows, it might be the start of a blossoming friendship - or you never see them again. But it’s worth a go. Fresher’s is arduous, and do not panic if you don’t enjoy it. There are people everywhere, and though those who shout the loudest tend to get heard the most, there are just as many students sitting in their rooms getting to know their flatmate with a cup of tea, bonding over their favourite books and Netflix series. The stereotype and culture surrounding university is difficult and if you find yourself in the wrong group it can be incredibly traumatic. However, the experiences that students can make and have are far different from this negative image - you just have to go and look for them.
Anti-semitism at Bristol: not taking action is not an option
Hannah Rose responds to the recent anti-Semitism controversy surrounding a university lecturer
University of Bristol’s recent verdict that comments in Dr Rebecca Gould’s article ‘Beyond Anti-Semitism’ are not anti-Semitic, places a dark cloud over Jewish students at Bristol. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism is adopted by various institutions, including the government, the Labour Party, Bristol SU, the National Union of Students and the Union of Jewish Students. It unequivocally states that ‘drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ is anti-Semitic, as is ‘accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust’. When this definition is applied to Dr Gould’s article, there is no room for debate.
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Specifically referring to the Holocaust… when criticising Israel can have no other intention than to grossly offend and traumatise Jewish people Some readers will undoubtedly dismiss this article as a smear or an attempt to legitimise Israeli government policies. I will be branded a ‘Zionist’ – as if it is some kind of insult – and will be told that I fail to distinguish between Zionism and Judaism. But let me be clear, so no one can twist my words to suit warped political agendas: condemning Israeli government policy and their treatment of Palestinians is not anti-Semitic. Suggesting that Jewish people or Israel have usurped the memory of the Holocaust or that Israel has any role in perpetrating the ‘Holocaust’
is hateful, offensive and, yes, anti-Semitic. Specifically referring to the Holocaust, instead of using other language, when criticising Israel can have no other intention than to grossly offend and traumatise Jewish people.
We must speak up against injustices wherever we see them
Even more offensive is the University’s apparent failure to consider the opinions of Jewish students regarding this issue. It seems to me that very little attempt was made to understand how the content of Dr Gould’s article affected them. Instead Jewish students at this university have been ignored by a committee who have allowed one of our history’s greatest traumas to be used as a stick with which to beat us, claiming that they understand anti-Semitism better than Jewish students. Our university and our SU have a duty of care for Jewish students but on this occasion, they have failed. When choosing modules for next year, I chose not to study in Dr Gould’s lecture hall despite my interest in her academic field. With the memory of the Holocaust still so vivid and traumatic in Jewish collective memory, I could not justifiably sit in a classroom being lectured by someone who harbours such abhorrent views. When speaking to other Jewish students at various universities about this issue, I heard countless similar stories of those who thought their marks would suffer, as they knew their tutors had expressed anti-Semitic sentiments in the past. That Jewish students feel unable to pursue their academic interests for fear
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of facing anti-Semitism is unacceptable. When it comes to anti-Semitism at Bristol, I am not looking for sympathy. I am looking for action. Anti-Semitism will not just disappear; it must be called out and challenged. Bristol is lucky to be home to the fastest growing population of Jewish students in the country, but this verdict sets a dark precedent for those joining us in September, who may feel unsupported and vulnerable. As Dr Gould herself says, we must speak up against injustices wherever we see them. We must think about what message we want to send to minority students and how we choose to deal with oppression of any kind, and act accordingly. To not take action in circumstances of anti-Semitism is simply not an option.
Semitism, including the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition, as well as the guidance from Universities UK, ‘Freedom of Speech on Campus: Rights and responsibilities in UK universities.
A University spokesperson said- ‘We do appreciate the strong feelings surrounding this issue and the many different viewpoints on the subject.
‘Separately from the review, the National Union of Jewish Students, the Chair of Bristol University JSoc and an individual student who contacted us about the matter were invited to meet with the University to discuss any additional support that Jewish students might need to ensure their wellbeing at the University. ‘We have a strong commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech at Bristol. Universities are places of debate where differing and challenging views may properly be expressed. While these rights must be exercised responsibly, we protect the rights of our students and staff to speak out and engage in debate on important issues. We support the view of the European Court of Human Rights that freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and that such freedom is applicable not only to information or ideas that are favourably received, but also to those that have the potential to offend, shock or disturb. ‘We will continue to balance free speech with the sensitivities of the subjects being discussed.’
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Hannah Rose Fourth Year, Modern Languages
We do appreciate the strong feelings surrounding this issue and the many different viewpoints on the subject
After carefully reviewing the matter it was the University’s considered opinion that Dr Gould’s article is not anti-Semitic and does not breach the proper bounds of freedom of speech and academic freedom. In coming to this decision, the University considered several definitions of anti-
We will continue to balance free speech with the sensitivities of the subjects being discussed
Epigram 22.09.2017
Far right commentators are tools
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Jake Porter explores the recent far-right attacks on academia, arguing that they are not rebels but stooges of the status quo Jake Porter Deputy Comment Editor
Flickr / Anthony Devencenzi
To contend that this year has been eventful would be an understatement. Trump’s disastrous presidency, the shock of the UK General Election result, the fractious and deadly state of the world’s environment; 2017 has certainly had no shortage of news to report on. However, this summer has seen a spate of attacks on academics that may have passed the general public by. Taking place mainly on Twitter, these spats have been initiated by far-right commentators, who have questioned established historical truths - such as the diversity of Roman Britain - and resorted to abuse to enforce their point. Although some of these incidents have been reported in publications such as The Guardian or The Independent, an underlying pattern between these attacks and their true function seems to have remained unnoticed. Intellectuals are often abused during periods of far-right ascendancy; some might say that these attacks on the authority of historians are nothing new. I contend that the far-right’s habit of loudly denigrating narratives they disagree with belies an ulterior motive, one that explains and condemns their worldview. For each of these Twitter rows, the essence of the argument has been more or less the same. Possibly the most well-known example was sparked off by the depiction of a RomanoBritish family in a CBBC cartoon. The eminent classicist Mary Beard received heated abuse for the suggestion, relatively uncontroversial in
contemporary academia, that Roman Britain was ethnically diverse. Reactionaries posing as sceptics felt it prudent to reference her weight, age and gender, piling on aggressive insults that have no place in reasoned debate. A misogynistic attack on her credentials followed, with users erasing her academic title by referring to her as ‘Ms Beard’, choosing not to do the same to an opposing - male academic involved in the row. Similarly, the ex-teacher and historical researcher Mike Stuchbery received abuse directed at his weight and identity as a ‘Libtard’ - an ableist and regressive insult - for contending that George Orwell, who literally fought against fascists in the Spanish Civil War, would have supported organisations such as Antifa. The abuse piled on by prominent farright voices and their supporters is perhaps unsurprising. More noteworthy is the substance and purpose of the narratives they propose. Another notable spat involving Beard and Arron Banks, a prominent UKIP donor, rested on Banks’ premise that ‘The Roman Empire was effectively destroyed by immigration’. This questionable contention appears to have been formed through a mix of dated and ahistorical media, such as the blockbuster film Gladiator, and childhood memories of school that date back nearly forty years. Likewise, the argument that Orwell would have surely denounced Antifa seems to have been predicated on the basis that the commentator has ‘Read all of Orwell’s books’, a slightly dubious ascertain given the conclusions that he has reached. The implicit
Is fascism seeking to undermine the credibility of academia?
ignorance, purposeful or otherwise, of these reactionary hate pundits could seem, on the surface, simply unfortunate. However, I contend that a more insidious game is at play within the theatrics of these Twitter spats. These attacks serve to distort history, to manipulate the objective into a warped subjective, to paint a whitewashed narrative that excludes the impact and existence of non-whites in European history. Banks knows exactly what he’s doing when he depicts the fall of an empire as being due to immigration; the parallels he is trying to create are obvious, and dangerous. This narrative serves to validate and empower the toxic ideology of the far-right, promoting a new - and objectively false history that underlines the hateful, bigoted worldview of the so-called ‘alt-right’. They may depict themselves as anti-establishment rebels, bravely fighting against the ‘political correctness mob’, but there is nothing rebellious or edgy about what they think or
what they do. To pertain to the aesthetic of the outsider, when one’s whole argument rests on making an ‘Other’ of people of different races and religions, could not be more conceited. These people are tools, in every sense of the word. They serve as a cog in the wheel of an oppressive, white nationalist, patriarchal machine, and an absolute establishment that cares nothing for them, whose interests focus solely on sustaining itself. These people, arguing pathetically with respected academics, serve the purposes of this machine in perpetuating an ahistorical narrative, and fermenting discontent in a society that sorely needs to be unified. Laurie Penny put it beautifully when she said that ‘You cannot be a rebel for the status quo’. These far-right commentators, far from being radical outsiders, are nothing more than reactionary stooges. It is critical that we see them as such, and do not allow them the fantasy of believing themselves to be anything other than fascists.
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Epigram
22.09.2017
Science & Tech
@EpigramSciTech Editor: Emma Isle Deputy Editor: Oliver Cohen Online Editor: Sadhana Kalidindi scienceandtech@epigram.org
We the Curious, @Bristol gets rebranded Situated in Millennium Square, The At-Bristol Science Centre has for many years been the go to destination for students of both primary school and university alike - yet no more. This Autumn after 17 years under its current pseudonym, At-Bristol is transforming to We the Curious. Over the next two years, everything from the Café to the signage, even the overall vision of the centre will be shifting. In their own words from their website: ‘Science will absolutely still be at the core of what we do, and with our new vision to create a culture of curiosity we are not just aiming for more people to access science but to completely shift how people see it. It is messy, creative, collaborative, living and for everyone – an integral part of culture.’
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Oliver Cohen Deputy Science Editor
by BEIS (Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy) as well as the Wellcome Trust. This year the trust donated a total of £13 million to science centres across the UK in locations such as Belfast and Aberdeen. The trust is a global charitable foundation that aims to improve global health through targeted investment in science. In the coming five years they “aim to spend up to £5 billion helping thousands of curious, passionate people all over the world.”
Many things continue as normal at the Science centre, including the vast number of opportunities for university students
will be ‘The Theatre of Curiosity’, a space for the exploration of the intricacies of the Scientific method and how it works. Regardless of all the alteration, many things continue as normal at the Science Centre, including the vast number of opportunities for University students. As freshers draws to a close, students, those of science subjects in particular, may want to think about visiting and even volunteering at the Museum. While the museum aims much of its content at a lower age bracket than that of university students, there are still many opportunities well worth the visit down to the harbourside. The planetarium is no doubt the most attractive of visitor attractions. The museum runs regular shows on topics surrounding space and the solar system. There is also the opportunity to attend an adult only night and CHAOS the physics society last year advertised for a student night to visit the planetarium keep an eye out if you are an Astro fan.
is the centre’s volunteering scheme. Through it, students can get involved in everything from the live floor over the holidays to school workshops covering a range of curriculum based science subjects. The programme runs on a flexible hours system and is open to anyone of a science persuasion. It is a great activity that will certainly add to any science student’s CV, and as a particular deputy editor of this paper can attest, it is a rewarding scheme that can certainly add diversity to any drab weekends.
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The project is backed by £3 million pounds. This money is jointly funded
Students can get involved in everything from the live floor over the holidays to school workshops
We the curious
Science will absolutely still be at the core of what we do
The transformation looks to create a plethora of new exhibits and opportunities. The centre is reacting to the feedback they received in the 2015/16 period to make their Science exhibits ‘more challenging’. A few of the highlights of what is to come from the scheme include ‘Open city lab’, a real working lab where anyone can get involved. The interactive experience ‘The Wall of Everything’, which explores the results of scientific advancement as a consequence of curiosity. Finally, there
The other huge area that can be great to get involved in for students
Mental health from mother to child
James Charlick Second Year, Pharmacology
Rain /Rabbit/ Flickr Flickr Kevin Muir
Dr Rebecca Pearson, a Psychiatric Epistemology lecturer and community outreach leader in Bristol,has successfully obtained a 5-year starting grant of €1.5 million from the EU Research Council (ERC) to monitor, using novel headwear cameras and eye monitoring devices, the effects of a mother’s mental health and personality on her child. The headwear will assess parenting techniques with a much-needed step up in reliability; it also exposes precise behaviours as well as giving greater family and social context, so that Pearson and her team can help more effectively and augment how these variables affect the child’s development. The insight into the so far poorly characterised multifactorial transmission of mental illness from mother to child elucidated here could move the frontiers of mental health research forward considerably. The sample group of 300 motherchild pairs is drawn from international as well as local cohorts, including some of the 2nd generation families of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC-G2). 1st generation studies continue to provide fruitful data from the 14,000 participant families, a lot of which supports Dr Pearson’s prior research on the significance of the maternal effect. One of these studies by Pearson
of 8000 ALSPAC families showed that dysfunctional maternal personality traits, including detachment, impulsivity and monotony avoidance, leads to anxiety, depression and self-harm in offspring measured at age 18. Moreover, using her last early-career grant from the Elizabeth Blackwell Early Careers Fellowship, she established that the mother-child link is accentuated in low-income countries. According to the Mental Health Foundation’s 2016 review on poverty and mental health, most causes of mental disorder identified affect poorer people more prominently. These include: unemployment, poor health, isolation, turbulent family dynamics, unhealthy lifestyle and debt – 50% of people in debt suffer mental health problems, while of those without debt, only 14% are diagnosed. Encouraging research participation in more diverse groups is therefore crucial to improving our understanding of mental health transmission. Dr Pearson has helped to form, and works within, various community outreach and research teams including the Improving Perinatal Mental Health group, a part of the region-wide institutional collaborative project, Bristol Health Partners. As part of her newly funded research, Dr Pearson will also use, alongside international databases and primary sampling, the ALSPAC-G2 data bank to form a genetic background of participants. The novel headset and eye monitor will provide new behavioural
and cognitive insights, with the extent of observation in previous studies limited by the bias-laden, unnatural research setting. This kind of information is critical to understanding the source of dysfunctional maternal behaviours knowledge that should be used to inform socioeconomic, research and mental health policy. Dr Pearson thinks that mothers incapable of coping with stressful parental situations due to anxiety or depression, such as disobedience and prolonged and/or loud crying, will unknowingly, through either
detachment or angry, impulsive responses, inform the child’s reactions to stressful situations encountered growing up - those which a steady temperament might overcome, but that, without the ability to react calmly or even positively could overwhelm and affect deeply. For this reason, intervention is key to the research of Pearson and her team. Finding new and effective strategies, which aim to modify factors such as the mother’s mental health and social support, and thereby benefit the child’s long-term health, is the ultimate purpose of the newly funded investigation. Further research into the paternal
role in mental health transmission would also be worthwhile: we know an inordinate proportion of men commit suicide compared with diagnosis rates, suggesting a more obscure presentation, and that dysfunctional behaviours in fathers, though less clear, could be just as corrupting to a child’s mental health. To reduce the social and economic impact of mental illness, a clearer understanding of the personal every day and more obscure academic questions is required. The new study, commencing at the start of the new year, could answer more substantially than ever before some of the most important questions.
Epigram 22.09.2017
15
New iPhone, New Design, New Price Tom May Second Year, Biochemistry
The software also introduces a new feature in IOS 11, Animoji, in which it will scan your face and produce an animated emoji based on your facial expressions. More than 50 muscle movements are tracked by the TrueDepth to create expressions in 12
and depth-sensing cameras. The phone offers 4K video at 60fps, so you can expect some spectacular photos and videos from this phone. The processing power upgrade is a huge sign that apple is aware of the growing trend of augmented reality. Popularised by Pokémon GO and snapchat filters, augmented reality is where computer generated images are shown on top of reality. This is in comparison to VR, which doesn’t show any of the real world, and required a headset. With Apple’s ARKit, they hope to refine the tech and deliver a higher quality experience than their competitors. This could mean even wackier and more accurate Snapchat filters. If the price tag on the iPhone X makes your overdraft want to cry, the
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“ Apple claims that Face ID is 20x safer than the Touch ID fingerprint sensor
different Animoji. From unicorns and pandas to piles of poop, the emojis change their expression to match yours. The same technology is supposedly being made available to developers, so we are likely to see many more features and Animoji in the future, but for now it is locked into iMessage. The removal of the home button signals a huge change from Apple’s historic design and may be the most significant change that upgraders will have to get used to. To use Siri, Apple’s personal assistant, you press and hold a side button. Multitasking is now done through gestures (swiping up and hold). The iPhone X has an all glass design with surgical grade steel along the edges. Other features include water and dust resistance, inbuilt wireless charging
iPhone 8 and 8 plus may be a saviour. For the lower prices of £699 and £799 respectively, they also have an all-glass design with wireless charging. They boast 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD displays respectively, but neither edgeto-edge. They are also an excellent choice for those that can’t part with the iconic home button.
Will students shell out for the X as they have with previous models?
Both the X and 8 are fast charge capable (50% charge in 30 minutes)
Epigram/Matt Davis Flickr/ Hamza Butt
The iPhone 8 is finally here as well as a new model, the iPhone X. The iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) is Apple’s new £1000 phone, celebrating 10 years since the very first iPhone was released. This price range is likely to be out of reach for many of us and a lot of the population no doubt. For the hefty price tag, you get a stunning 5.8 inch Super Retina OLED screen that covers the entire front of the phone, following the new edge-toedge display trend we are beginning to see. It is the first iPhone without the traditional home button, now using facial recognition software called Face ID to unlock it. It works by capturing a 3D scan of your face, storing it securely on the phone like the fingerprint scanners. Apple Pay also uses Face ID, making overspending on a night out even easier. Apple claims that Face ID is 20x safer than the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, using machine learning to adapt to physical changes in appearances as time goes on.
meaning less of a worry of not putting your phone on charge before bed, as charging in between lectures is all the more feasible. A new AirPower mat will be released by Apple in 2018, capable of charging multiple devices at once. Apple plans to have charging stations and mats in hotels, cafes, airports and other public spaces all around the world. It may not be long before we see wireless charging stations around student study areas! Questions in everyone’s minds remain. Will students shell out for the X as they have with previous models? Will Face ID save face, or succumb to mechagnosia? If Apple’s new iPhone X is a hit, we may see competitors follow suit and hike prices to deliver higher quality phones, prepare your overdraft.
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Oliver Cohen... reports on the new german Xray laser
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Flickr / thellr
Epigram
22.09.2017
Letters
@EpigramLetters
Editor: Ellie Chesshire letters@epigram.org.uk
A summer of politics - what’s next for British students? Ellie Chesshire Letters Editor
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Flickr / Special Collections Toronto Public Flickr /Library Cha già José
As we approach the start of a new academic year it seems as good a time as any to look back at the events of the long summer. In the space of three months a lot has changed for British politics, from the turbulent General Election to the beginning of Brexit negotiations. So, looking forward, what is in store for British students?
While the full implications of Brexit will not be known until the negotiating window closes in 2019, there are already many concerns over how it will affect the student community.
The General Election on the 8th June took place just as universities began to finish for the year. It appears that the results of the EU referendum in 2016 were a wakeup call for young people across the country. It has been estimated that only 36 per cent of 18-24 year olds turned out in 2016. In contrast, some sources have reported a figure of 72 per cent in 2017, with an estimated 64 per cent of full time students voting for Labour. This undoubtedly helped push
The Berlaymont building in Brussels, where EU negotiations are being held Britain towards a hung parliament, the situation that we now find ourselves in. The General Election showed the gravity of the student voice and also showed that we are not afraid to use it. This voice came just in time as negotiations on a deal for the UK to leave the EU started just a few days later. While the full implications of Brexit will not be known until the negotiating
window closes in 2019, there are already many concerns over how it will affect the student community. In August the Russell Group released a list of 10 demands which they say Theresa May must meet in order to ensure that higher education is not damaged. Currently, the government is providing very little clarity on the situation, which the Russell Group says is ‘Causing
considerable concern for EU nationals at our universities and impacting on our ability to recruit talented staff from the EU.’ Having spoken to friends and fellow students about the repercussions of Brexit, the attitude seems pretty pessimistic. Not only are we looking at losing international students and lecturers, but many banks and big businesses are also considering moving
their work to other European cities. One Bristol student argued that this will make internships and jobs harder to obtain, particularly for people graduating in the next few years. This is a frustrating situation for students to be in, particularly when around 70 per cent of young people who did vote, voted to stay. The negative hit the economy will take from Brexit is going to mean that universities will lose funding, which in turn could see tuition fees rising even further. Jeremy Corbyn’s promises to scrap tuition fees in the recent General Election have proven that any further increase in fees will not sit well with the student body. While the full implications of Brexit will not be known for at least the next few years, this summer of politics has already highlighted several key themes. Negotiations only started in June and yet already the Russell Group body is concerned about Theresa May’s Brexit and the implications it will have on higher education. Speaking to students themselves there is a lot of skepticism surrounding Brexit which only seems to have been heightened since negotiations got under way. The General Election has emphasised just how divided the country is and the effects this divide could have in the coming years. Whatever happens over the next couple of years, universities and the student body are definitely going to see some fundamental changes.
Reflections from a Bristol student – first year
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of fresher’s week, I absolutely loved being a fresher
Now, while I wasn’t the biggest fan of fresher’s week, I absolutely loved being a fresher. The first year of university is brilliant. Obviously you have this new overwhelming sense of independence - you can get up, get back and bring back whenever and whoever you like with really very little consequence. The friendships you make are unlike any others. You really grow up with these people over the course of the year and
I promise that by the end of your first summer you will want nothing more than a tragic night in Lola’s with the squad. You are also studying something that, fingers crossed, you really enjoy with other likeminded people. Meanwhile, all this is happening in what can only be described as a truly amazing city - don’t worry you Stoke Bishop lot, you will venture past the Triangle eventually. You probably won’t go to many lectures and you probably won’t do particularly well in exams but that is really not what first year is about. My main piece of advice would be to put yourself out there, chat to anyone who will let you, and make those tenuous links with people you can cling to when you are too tired to talk, as they might just turn out to become one of your best friends.
Epigram / Lily Hammond
I rememberbeingtoldin an absolutely AWFUL fresher’s presentation last year (you second years remember, the one that used an awkward combination of contemporary dance, horrific standup and puppetry) that first year is a rollercoaster, with constant ups and downs, peaks and troughs and even a corkscrew or two. Although this is a rather unoriginal analogy, it is actually very accurate. When I waved my parents away this time last year my overriding emotion was excitement, which in my case obviously resulted in me drinking too much in the Hiatt Baker bar that evening, leaving me with a very positive outlook on the coming year. However, it was the week following this that I would say was the most difficult I have had at university. I have to say, I think Fresher’s Week is overrated. I mean, I do understand the hype - there has to be an element of build-up surrounding the first week of university otherwise people wouldn’t go, but the first week of university is exhausting. At no other point in your life will you be shoved into a totally new living environment surrounded by complete strangers and forced to binge drink for six nights in a row. Now I don’t know about you, but I would say I was a reasonably seasoned drinker when I began university, but I was really not prepared for the stamina
that is needed that first week. I think what I struggled with most was the fact that you are having to socialise 100 per cent of the time that you are not sleeping, and that really takes it out of a person. I remember going to a tea party organised by my subject and literally being unable to function because I was so tired. Luckily I’d tenuously made links with a girl earlier in the week that I clung to so she could do most of the talking because I was physically unable. But then again, fresher’s week does set you up well for the year ahead as, although you really don’t plan to, you will be probably going out that much throughout the whole of first year.
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Lily Hammond Second Year, History
In some bar, at some point during first year
Tweets of the fortnight:
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Epigram / Charlie Gearon
Welcome Freshers!
Living Well Being Travel Style Food What’s On
Online Editor Josie Roberts
Editor Jordan Barker
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Deputy Editor
22.09.2017
Emily Hayman
living@epigram.org.uk
@epigramliving
Epigram Living Section 2017/18
Freshers’ Week: a survival guide Worried about freshers’ week? Online Living Editor, Josie Roberts, gives you a few tips that she wished she knew this time last year Nervous you’re on your lonesome? First and foremost, everyone is in the same boat. You may think you are going into this new crazy world of being a student completely on your ones, however everyone is alone together! This may sound extremely oxymoronic, and as an English student I do love an oxymoron, but think about it. Rather than being nervous about going into a new social bubble alone, think of it as an opportunity. You can make new impressions, find likeminded people, and have new experiences. You’ll find in freshers’ week especially that people are super open and friendly towards all. What is scary about that?
You’re a Wills girl at heart but you’re stuck in Badock?
Freshers’ Flu: fact or fiction? FACT. Because you are naturally having less sleep and eating less regularly, your body does take a toll and its defences are down. This combined with a new mass of students, all from varying locations, germs are spread quickly and easily. Need I mention clubbing and the proximity you are to complete strangers? My tip to you all is
to stock up on Lemsip galore and stay as hydrated as possible. Having freshers’ flu and a hangover at once is not something I would recommend but will inevitably happen to a lot of you.
Your student loan has come in and you’re a baller? Budgeting is something that slapped me in the face a week after freshers’ week because I totally overspent on events, food, and drink. Standard student behaviour. The main way that I managed my money last year was by having two accounts. One which held the bulk of my student loan and then I used the other to transfer my weekly allowance for food, going out, and drinks. When I ran out of that money that would be it and I wouldn’t go into my other account until the new week began. This honestly works like a charm. Another method I have just started using is by getting a Monzo card, which you top up and then whenever you use it, the app that is connected to it will notify you and categorise your spending. Not only can you keep track of how much your spending but you can see where you’re spending your money. Although short but sweet, hopefully this will calm some of your freshers’ week nerves. You’re now entering into a new world of having to live on your own, meet completely new people from all over the country and world, look after yourself, and budget, and indeed they all sound really daunting but look at every nonfresher at this university and every other university, they did it, and you can too! Epigram/Jasmin Perry
Don’t worry. You have time. Your accommodation can easily be changed. Your university experience will not be defined by your halls first and foremost. For instance, I was in the city centre all year and I did not feel isolated from the Stoke Bishop lot and vice versa. Also, a large proportion of my friends changed their halls rather
Flickr / Harshil Shah
When you get to your halls, a nifty way of letting everyone know you have firstly moved in and secondly are ready and waiting to make new pals is by bringing a door stop with you. Just pop your door open and then when people have popped to the kitchen for a cup of tea you they’ll pass your door and probably invite you along, or even come into your room and say hello!
Epigram/Jasmin Perryw
Not sure when people are in their room?
easily and in some cases, they managed to change in the second term. I had friends going from Wills to Hiatt Baker, Churchill to Favell and Goldney to University Hall. The options are there so if you feel like you don’t fit in your assigned hall or you don’t get on with your flatmates, then change!
Josie Roberts Online Living Editor
Freshers’ has arrived but I hate clubbing! Does the word ‘clubbing’ strike alarm bells for you, ringing visions of claustrophobic, loud, uninviting, blubbering, barfing, isolating, and gruesome places? FEAR NOT. Epigram has you covered for freshers’ week Emily Hayman
Deputy Living Editor
Don’t be afraid to be the person who stands up and offers an alternative to a generic club night.
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There is an unseen pressure to be constantly ‘having fun’ with the crowd, which is only furthered by the seemingly real presence of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). This is something I am very familiar with, the annoying voice in my ear which has always and may always - I’m getting better, I promise - drill in how tragic staying in must be; the fear of not being there when that one guy proceeds to chunder EVERYWHERREE after an attempt to pull, or when the DJ drops the number one tune so all the gang drop a SLAY of a slut drop is too powerful. Not to mention, the horror social media concocts as Snapchat bombards you with the reminder that you are sat alone in bed watching the fun unravel and Facebook’s critique follows soon after with numerous squad photos without you in. However, after two years of being at university here in Bristol, it’s safe to say that going clubbing isn’t the be all and end all; there are plenty of cultural, boozy, outdoorsy outings waiting to
be embraced. Don’t be afraid to be the person who stands up and offers an alternative to a generic club night. I guarantee grateful voices will leap at your proposals and you can end fresher’s week feeling genuinely buzzing from all the new things you have seen and people you have met, casting aside the disease of FOMO without conforming to the pressures of the clubbing crowd.
with a couple of mates for an exclusive night in cushiony red seats, where Carrie Fletcher (as Wednesday Addams) can blow your mind away with her exquisite vocals. If cheese isn’t quite your style, but live action does appeal, then head on over to the Arts House in Stokes Croft on Friday at 8:30pm for the weekly Open Mic night, where this welcoming vibe allows for you to showcase your talent or equally sit back and enjoy the performances.
Arty farty Are you a keen gallery-goer, with a cultural eye and taste for the dynamic arts? The Arnolfini is a centre for contemporary arts, situated by the beautiful harbour side, right down in Bristol’s centre. Free entry and open all day everyday, bar Mondays, this old tea warehouse is recognised for its dedication to and engagement with the contemporary arts, not to mention some bloody good brownies: definitely worth a visit.
Epigram / Emily Hayman
Bristol is a vibrant city which promises endless alternatives to a predictable and somewhat tedious night on the triangle. Downing jägerbombs in the dark and dingy floor of Lola’s, before trudging to Donnervan’s for some greasy cheesy chips and piling onto the crowded and filthy number 16 home is NOT the only option for your first week in such an incredible place. Is a dark crowded room with strobe and roaring music your idea of hell? So many others feel the same way, yet everyone seems afraid to be open with their feelings and be up for suggestions as to other ways to spend the week getting to know the people and surroundings. One of the most important things to remember as a fresher is to remain calm!
Maxin’ relaxin’ at the movies
Outdoorsy kind of fellow
Scott cinema - The Orpheus Cinema makes for a perfect evening out, especially if you’re up in Stoke Bishop or living up at the top of Whiteladies Road: A 10 minute stroll across the downs is greeted with cheap student priced tickets - just a fiver - and a perfectly positioned supermarket next door where you can buy all your cinema snacks and get settled in the comfy seats with your friends!
If you’re the active type like me, then Bristol allows you to enjoy a trip out WHILST throwing in a good old boozy pub sesh or a bottle of lambrini (student life) because who doesn’t love alcohol in the fresh air? I remember in my first week here, a group of us banded together a budget picnic and bustled over to Brandon Park for a wonderful afternoon, where we pretended to be in Skins - yes, parts were filmed there - and temporarily died of heart attacks from climbing up Cabot Tower for a wonderful view of the city. Here’s some evidence that I actually made it to the top two years ago, back in my freshers, where I met these guys, whom, unfortunately I can’t seem to get rid of to this very day. Likewise, a stroll to the renowned Clifton Suspension Bridge always results in a pint at the White Lion, Avon Gorge Hotel: seriously spenny, but the views make it worth your while.
Musical maniacs The Hippodrome, situated at the bottom of park street, is coming to the end of staging The Addams family, a light-hearted musical which tells a story of love, friendship and hilarious family entertainment. The musical promises an extraordinary score and a bundle of laughs, so grab it while you still can, and head down
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Your final year, and why it’s going to be frickin’ awesome Living Editor, Jordan Barker, tells you why third is the bees-knees, and why you can’t afford to carry on being a bone-idle layabout
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Most importantly, remember that it’s still not too late to try something new. This could be going to a Anarchist demo and having a punch up with some Neo-Nazi thugs. Or it could be auditioning for that Gilbert and Sullivan opera you’ve dreamed of performing in since you were a little lad. Last week, I tried a pomegranate for the first time. Changed my whole world view. Be open to new experiences, be they political, theatrical, sexual, metaphysical... Whatever it is, make sure it’s something good for the soul.
The point is, that piece of paper you receive at the end of your degree is exactly that: just a piece of paper. But your studies are not the be all and end all. Yeah, a First is good, but who wants to be exceptional anyway? Your grades don’t define you, maaan. If worst comes to worst, you can always follow my Aunt Clara’s example and just lie on your CV. Who’s going to check? Granted, pretending to get a C in GCSE Food will sound fewer alarm bells than claiming you were awarded a Double First in Theoretical Physics. The point is, that piece of paper you receive at the end of your degree is exactly that: just a piece of paper. This is also the year you’ll finally pluck up the courage to ask that person out for a drink. You know: them. You said about two words to them in second year, when you asked if this was the ‘Intro to Feminist Theory’ class. Final year is the year of grand gestures, of
pretentious declarations of love. Think not what could have been, but what will be! Afford yourself the chance to say somethin’ stupid, somethin’ so god-dang cringe-worthy it might actually work. To tell you the truth, I wasted a lot of my degree sitting around moping. I’d often spend my evenings in the company of a margarita and a four-pack of cider. I’d slouch onto my bed and slowly get drunk watching old repeats of Frasier. As fun as that sounds, it was depressing as shit. This was only made worse by my yearning to speak to Dr. Crane, to hear his compassionate words of wisdom, for him to say, ‘I’m listening.’ But Kelsey Grammer isn’t going to be there to wipe away the tears. Kelsey Grammer is far, far away, and you’re in Bristol… All I’m saying is this: get drunk and throw caution to the wind – but set yourself some boundaries, for goodness sake. Attend lectures. Lick your lecturer’s arse for once. Old Time is still a-flying, so gather those rosebuds while you still can. Especially, according to Waterhouse, if you’re a virgin.
Jordan Barker Living Editor
In a moral quandary? Re-
Flickr/Sam Wood
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...that piece of paper you receive at the end of your degree is exactly that: a piece of paper
You can’t afford to waste time this year. As tempting as it might be to spend an evening down the Highbury Vaults, or go on an unplanned night out at Lizard Lounge – really, in third year? – you must do everything within your powers to resist these temptations. To say, ‘No, you know what, I’m going to finish Ulysses, even if it kills me.’
Flickr / Mike Licht
‘Gather ye rose buds while ye may, / Old Time is still a-flying.’ So begins J. W. Waterhouse’s, ‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.’ Uh… need I say more? 2017 will not be remembered fondly. Brexit is turning into the biggest ball ache since old six-wives Henry thought ‘maybe this marriage thing isn’t for me.’ Trump is doing his best to test the capacity for human stupidity – apparently it’s limitless. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, many students like myself will be embarking upon their final year of university. Real life is drawing ever closer, that man-devouring vortex all twenty-somethings are eventually slurped up by. It’s very tempting to regret every waking moment of the previous two years. Think what I could’ve done if I wasn’t such a slave to the sesh?! Why did I buy so many balloons? Why didn’t I confront my crippling meme addiction? But this fear and guilt is uncalled for. Because your final year is going to be awesome. Frickin’ awesome. Shaka emoji awesome. This will be the year you grab life by the cojones and give it a big old yank.
lationship in turmoil? Have an unusual addiction you want to beat? If so, then write to Living’s very own Agony Aunt! Email Agatha at living.agonyaunt@epigram.org.uk Anonymity guaranteed. Results may vary. Aggie is not responsible for damages incurred when sending a few truth bombs your way.
Never have I ever played a drinking game Ever stuck for ideas at pre-drinks or a gathering? Here are 5 drinking games for those who want a little boozy fun! Time has moved on since the Victorian days of playing Snapdragon. This was a Christmas game where you put raisins in a bowl of brandy, set the brandy on fire, and took turns grabbing raisins from the fire. For the large majority of you, starting or coming back to university for the new academic year brings a plethora of new opportunity to drink and go out. We have all been in the situation of sitting around a table with some people you know, some people you don’t, making idle chit chat, and then suddenly someone turns around and declares that it’s time to play a drinking game. A cacophony of groans and mutters about “never have I ever” being so boring ensues and then everyone reluctantly gathers in a circle to play the game. Fear not because I have a list of the classic and not-so-classic drinking games that you can bring to any gathering and get suitably drunk with for the night ahead.
Never have I ever Some may call this the most common drinking game of them all; the game in which you can find out things about your flatmates that you want to know or use it to out them to the rest of your pals. The game is simple: you go around the circle and each person must say something they have never done. For instance, ‘never have I ever played a drinking game’ (very tame), would make anyone who has played a drinking game drink.
the ping pong ball in the opposing teams’ cups. If you do, they drink! If you are one for boozy competition then this is the game for you.
Paranoia
Ring of fire Due to there being 13 rules to this game (far too many for me to list in this article for fear of you all being bored to death) but they are very easily found via Google. It must be said this game is at points over done, however the drunker you get the more entertaining it is, especially when someone changes the rule to banning any use of hands when retrieving a card.
Beer pong If you don’t like beer, this is not a problem because you can change whatever is in the cup to suit your tastes. The aim is to get
The most savage of all drinking games. You whisper to someone in the circle a question where the answer could be a name of a member of your gathering and they then have to point at their chosen person. If the person wants to know what has been asked they drink - which is more often than not. Personal or random, this game often escalates the more intoxicated you get and is not for the sensitive beings among us.
Drunk Jenga This requires you have a dispensable Jenga set however is one which essentially takes the choice out of truth or dare. The way I play it is by sharing out the blocks and writing truths or dares on each. Then you play Jenga as normal the difference being that you must answer the question or complete the dare OR you must take a shot. There are varying ways to play but every way makes for fun and laughs, and is a great ice-breaker for all you freshers’ out there.
Josie Roberts Online Living Editor
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Deputy- Editor Jasmine Burke
Editor Chloe Payne-Cook
Online Editor Leila Mitwally
wellbeing@epigram.org.uk @EpigramWB
Don’t forget to register for the GP! Student health service: www.bristol.ac.uk/students-health/ @epigramwellbeing
Epigram Wellbeing
Welcome to Epigram Wellbeing! Hi – I’m Chloe, the Editor of this section. I am a third year student, studying Sociology. I am passionate about wellbeing and mental health as I suffer with anxiety and depression disorders and therefore understand how difficult it can be to balance university with personal life. I want to make a section of Epigram which opens up the discussion on mental health, whilst encouraging students to be open about their personal experiences and struggles. We will write openly, honestly and share our stories where ever possible. I hope you all have a good first term at university.
A note from the editors
Epigram
Welcome to this year’s Wellbeing section, run by Chloe, Leila and Jasmine! This year, Wellbeing is back with two pages, aiming to provide you with practical advice, interviews, and stories that will help you throughout the year. Wellbeing is so crucial to the university experience; most of us find ourselves thrust out of our comfort zones, having to deal with brand new situations and people relatively independently, and that can be taxing to anyone’s mental health. We want to create a space that you can come to and tackle your own issues, or perhaps better understand the issues of those around you. Though we focus greatly on mental illness, these pages are for everybody. Everyone should pay attention to their mental health, because everybody has days where they perhaps aren’t as happy, or need comfort and advice. We are always accepting writers, so if you would like to get involved head over to our Facebook Group! We use it to post stories that we need covered, as well as take suggestions if you have anything you particularly want to write about. University can be mentally taxing and we all handle the stress involved in different ways. Hopefully, through Epigram Wellbeing, we can help make the whole process a little bit easier for you.
Jasmine Burke Wellbeing Deputy Editor
I’m Jasmine, the Deputy Editor of this section and I am in my second year studying English and Philosophy! Whilst dealing with my mental health during first year, I found it hard knowing where to go or who to turn to if times got tough. Therefore, this year I want to use the Wellbeing section to make sure help is more accessible for other students, whether that be through the advice on our pages or the details of the services available.
My name is Leila - I’m the Online Editor for the section, and I am a third year English student. Growing up, I dealt with various mental health issues and am now learning to balance the different aspects of university with my anxiety and depression - which is why I think it’s so important to discuss wellbeing openly and honestly! To a large proportion of students mental health is an everyday issue, so we have a duty to keep talking about it so that it can be normalised and no longer feel like a ‘heavy’ topic. You’ll find me more over on the website, where I’ll be publishing articles regularly.
List of wellbeing services It’s so important to know who to reach out to if you need help. Here we’ve listed every service we can find, but we’ll remind you of a different one of these every issue, just in case you forget.
Service: Personal Tutor/Senior Tutors What For: Academic issues or extenuating circumstances. Contact: Find out who yours is on Blackboard, visit www.bristol. ac.uk/students/wellbeing/academic-issues for more details Service: Big White Wall What For: Anonymously talk about issues with supportive community, find information and advice on specific mental health issues. Trained professionals online 24/7. Contact: Visit www.bigwhitewall.com and sign up with your Bristol email address Service: Just Ask SU Service What For: Contact to be directed to the appropriate support Contact: Email bristolsu-justask@bristol.ac.uk or call 01173318634
Fresher’s week is an amazing time to get your ideas out there, whether you’re a budding journalist or just have an interest in mental health and wellbeing. If you are interested in writing about your own personal experiences with mental health, offer advice or write about current mental health events join our Facebook Writers’ Group or email us at: wellbeing@epigram.org.uk
Seven things not to worry about in fresher’s week 1) The people you live with and how much/little you get on with them In your first few weeks you’ll meet new people everywhere you go who are all as eager to make friends as you are. The people you live with is just a matter of luck, so don’t stress if you don’t feel compatible. 2) How heavy the workload is going to be Your Welcome Week lectures might make you want to give up before you’ve even been given your student card, but try to stay calm. Remember that you wouldn’t have got in if you weren’t good enough to do well here, and you’ll soon get used to the change! 3) Which fresher’s week events you’re going to/missing out on the good ones Sorry to break this to you now, but they’re all exactly the same. 4) The fact that you don’t know how to care for yourself Pasta exists and clean washing is overrated – besides, now your clothes carpet will have the chance to flourish like never before. 5) How much/little fun you’re having compared to how much you expected to have Also under this heading comes ‘checking on your friends at other universities to see how much fun they’re having’. Everyone’s experience is different, and spending time dwelling on this is a sure-fire way to get you down! 6) The fact that you don’t like going out and/or drinking as much as literally every person you meet They don’t either. 7) How much preparation you’ve done This varies across subjects as some are easier to prepare for than others, but the message remains: it really won’t make a difference in the long run. You’re here now and you’ll get used to the workload one way or another. Besides, with some exceptions it’s likely your first year doesn’t even count towards your degree, so it basically doesn’t even exist.
Flickr / Rachel Andrew
Service: Student Counselling Service What For: Register for assessment and subsequent intervention. Receive Talk and Plan sessions, 1:1 counselling, Psychoeducational Workshops or Group Work depending on your issue. Contact: 3rd Floor Hampton House BS6 6AU, 01179546655, www. bristol.ac.uk/student-counselling
WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW WRITERS!
Leila Mitwally Wellbeing Online Editor
Service: Student Health Service What For: To see GP, set up repeat prescriptions or help for mental health. Contact: Hampton House St Michaels Hill Cotham Bristol BS6 6AU, 01173302720 or 011773302721 in Emergencies, out of hours contact 111 Service: Nearest A&E What For: Serious danger at anytime Contact: 999, or Upper Maudlin Street Bristol BS2 8HW Service: Nightline What For: Anonymous and confidential listening service for students run by students. Talk to them free of judgement. Contact: 01179266266 (available 8pm to 8am)
Find for your mind Here you’ll find a new person or service to follow or check out online which you might find beneficial to your wellbeing.
@tinycarebot
If you’re somebody who needs reminding to take a break sometimes, make sure you follow this cute little twitter service and switch on your notifications so its tweets show up on your lock screen. The bot will tweet once an hour with a little prompt to take some time out, whether that’s to listen to your favourite music, eat something if you’ve been forgetting or take some time to close your eyes and breathe. This little account is a lifesaver when you’ve been sat in the library all day!
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Tips for dealing with homesickness in
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your first weeks at university When fresher’s week isn’t fun
Don’t visit home. If you’re reading this whilst feeling homesick this probably isn’t exactly what you wanted to hear, but it’s an important point to get out the way. Popping home to see your family may be all you can think of when you’re feeling out of place in your uni room, but it will only make you feel even worse when you return and reinforce the idea that you’d rather be there than here. Refrain for at least a couple of weeks to really give yourself a chance to settle in.
I’m here to tell you that fresher’s week doesn’t define your university experience. It is not the most important week of your student life. Don’t get me wrong, fresher’s week can be a fun, sociable and exciting time but it can also be incredibly daunting and demoralising. There is so much pressure to ‘do freshers right’ that it can be easy to feel as though you are weird for not enjoying it as much as everyone else. But trust me, other people are probably feeling exactly the same as you. Whilst it is important to socialise with other students and attend events, it is equally as important to look after yourself, and pay attention to your mental health. It is so ok not to feel ok, and I want to assure you that you are not alone in feeling overwhelmed by student life - especially at the beginning. Although I had a good time, my fresher’s week was overwhelming at times, and my anxiety and depression meant that I struggled to go out as much as my peers. Sparking-up a conversation with fellow newbies felt daunting, and I struggled to feel as though I was meeting as many people as I’d been told to. But I quickly learnt that other people were feeling the same. My fellow students had the same concerns as me, and eventually I began to meet more people. It takes time and that is fine! You’re bound to take a while to find your feet at university and I’m not promising that it’s always easy, but it will happen eventually. All of our wellbeing team have struggled with mental illness throughout their time university, so it is far more common then assumed. Fresher’s week can be an incredible week, but it can also be a week filled with uncertainty, anxiety and feelings of loneliness. It is absolutely normal to feel like this, but it is also important to share your feelings with someone close to you, so that you are not further isolating yourself. This can be very difficult and is only exacerbated by the stigma surrounding mental illness. However, it could be chatting with a family member, a flatmate or contacting a number of services which are available here at the University or in Bristol. These services enable you to talk about your mental health or any other worries you may have. It sounds cliché, but everybody that you meet will be in the same situation. They are all new to university and therefore will be looking to meet people and listen to your story. Although it can be scary, try to be as open about your mental health as possible, sharing your experience and letting your flatmates know that you may need some extra support. Or if you don’t feel comfortable talking about your mental health - something which is completely understandable - contact services such as Bristol Student Health, in order to chat about your wellbeing. Although it might feel difficult at the moment, university can be an amazing experience and it’s important to look after yourself and your mental health in order to get the most out of it.
Chloe Payne-Cook Wellbeing Editor
Explore Bristol as a city. Make sure that you spend some time getting to know your surroundings on foot, as it will make you feel less out of place and instead more excited for the time that you get to spend here. If you hadn’t noticed so far, Bristol is an insanely beautiful and vibrant city which you will soon grow to love as a second home! Keep yourself busy. In a similar way to point number two, keeping occupied with activities will take your mind off what you’re missing at home and replace feelings of homesickness with feelings of optimism. Be sure to attend the Welcome Fair on Friday to sign up for societies you’re interested in to quickly fill up your free time. Stay connected to home through phone calls and keepsakes. Set designated times to call and catch up with your family, so that you don’t feel so removed from their lives and stay in the loop. Try not to spend hours on the phone home every evening though, as this will probably be counterproductive and leave you missing them even more! Also, using keepsakes that remind you of home and putting up photos of your loved ones will help you feel closer to them even if not physically, and generally making your room as cosy as humanely possible will make you feel more comfortable.
Mental health, the ongoing battle we can beat together As a fresher last year, I can tell you honestly the week before I came to university I felt an abundance of different emotions. Terrified, excited, impatient and frantic are all words that come to mind. However, one thing that did not properly hit me until I had arrived at university and was sitting on my new bed in my new room after my parents had said their cheerful yet tearful goodbyes, was what is going to happen to my mental health? As someone who had ups and downs throughout high school and who had created a strong network of friends and family for support, moving to university suddenly became extremely daunting to me. The root of my depression and anxiety, with hindsight today, was mainly due to not being accepted for who I am. I went to a highly academic all-girls private school in London which was defined by cliques. Think High School Musical’s ‘Stick to the Status Quo’ times 100. Yes, people obviously interacted with each other but when you are 14 years old, unsure of who you are, and seeing friendship groups evolve and form around you and you are not quite a part of it yet, it’s a horrible feeling. I’m sure everyone reading this can relate to some extent. In this moment, sat on my new bed, in my slightly damp and mouldy room, I panicked: What if no one likes me? What if this is not the greatest three years of my life? What if, what if, what if ? There was so much pressure on the next three years to me because we were supposedly finally free of the shackles of compulsory education and we could start to do and study things we were passionate about and be the person we wanted to be. Indeed, the next few weeks were scary as hell. But I tried to be myself and it was the best thing I could do. In the first weeks of university I was thrust completely out of my comfort zone. The number of strangers I would randomly go up to and say hi to is hilarious looking back on and I did have a couple of wobbly moments where I had to call my mum and have a little cry but sitting here today, writing this article, I have realised that I got
Epigram / Leila Mitwally
Epigram / Chloe Payne- Cook
For many, an exciting part of the university experience is the promise of fresher’s week; a busy, party-fueled time, filled with socialising, cheap alcohol and living away from parents -which is the first time for many students. The university offers lots of amazing events during fresher’s week, including the Welcome Fair, which allows you to dip your toe into any and every society the university offers - come and see us for a chat!. Whilst many students have an enjoyable fresher’s week, for others, it can be an overwhelming time, especially if you suffer from mental health illnesses.
Make an effort to talk to the people around you. This is easier said than done when the space outside your bedroom feels like a communal wilderness which you have neither the social skills nor willpower to navigate, but it really is the only way to speed up the settling in process. Remember that everybody is in the same position – if you’re feeling homesick it’s likely that many of the people you meet in your accommodation or on your course will feel the same way!
Try to embrace the positives of moving away from home. Though it might be difficult at the moment, think about all the freedom you now have that you didn’t when you lived at home – including but not limited to: going out whenever you want, napping whenever you see fit, allowing your clothes floor to really flourish and having nobody to stop you eating cereal for dinner when you can’t be bothered to cook - except maybe for your old friend malnutrition. Making boring chores like washing and shopping a social activity by taking your flatmates or friends along is also a good icebreaker.
Don’t worry about feeling like this! It’s easy to assume that student life is going to be amazing from the get-go, but this usually isn’t the case. Any new start is going to feel strange, let alone one which sees you moving out of your family home for the first time and having to become an almost-adult in the time it takes for your parents to drive down the road from your accommodation and disappear from view. Feeling homesick is a natural part of the freshers experience which will subside only with time – you certainly aren’t the only one that feels out of place. Try as hard as you can to get out and talk to people, and you’ll have a university family to gloat about to your actual family in no time.
Leila Mitwally Wellbeing Online Editor
through the initial weeks and months of unknown and have come out the other side excited for life. Initially coming to university, I thought that my mental health was going to take a hit due to the crazy new changes that I was about to go through. However, now in my third term, I can tell you that there is hope for everyone out there with previous mental health issues who is worried that things may get bad again. I do a degree with very few hours and so I knew it was paramount that I keep myself busy. I joined societies and clubs, made coffee catch up dates with people, calendared when I would do work and when I would watch Netflix, had set weekends when I would go home, and tried to get a job. By proactively setting aims and goals as well as making sure I had things to look forward to like coffees and trips with new mates, I beat my potential mental health problems head on. I know and understand that a lot of people are not as lucky as I am, and quickly get sucked down the spiral of doom, with what seems like no way out, but, I promise it gets better. If you have ever had a rocky road with your mental health you know that it never quite leaves you. I want you to know that you can have off days where all you want to do is be with yourself. I still need mental health days. I just want you to know that university should not be something that compromises you. I took the decision to tell my flatmates and actively beat it but if that is not for you, that is ok. Any fresher or student that is reading this thinking that they are worried or anxious about their future with mental health and university, please do not worry. There are so many support systems in place that will help you. I try to be positive and not let mental health problems get the better of me but obviously, every day I still fight the battle and to everyone out there that wants to, why not fight it with me?
Josie Roberts Online Living Editor
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23
Editor Jane Cowie
Deputy Editor Holly Penhale
Online Editor Sarah Roller
22.09.2017
food@epigram.org.uk
Epigram Living 2017- 18
@epigramfood
Best Hungover Brunch Spots Jane
Cowie
offers
her
top
picks
for
Bristol’s
brunch
havens
Epigram / Jane Cowie Epigram / Jane Cowie
Epigram / Jane Cowie
Epigram / Jane Cowie
Left to right: Brew, BTP, Primose Café, Tradewind
Boston Tea Party
Primrose Café
The morning after the night before. You bleakly peel your eye lids open, drag yourself out of bed, and guzzle down as many paracetamol tablets as you can find. So, what’s the next port of call for you and your fellow miserably hungover friends? Why, brunch of course.
Anyone who comes to Bristol University knows and loves BTP. With cafés scattered around our beloved city, in Clifton Village, Whiteladies Road, Park Street and Stokes Croft, you will always be within a walkable vicinity of BTP. They have a brilliant array of healthy smoothies, as well as offering an indulgent selection of milkshakes for those with a real sweet tooth. These guys are notorious for their chorizo hash - or sweetcorn hash as the vegetarian alternative - and for good reason. If you haven’t tried it yet, I suggest you do so immediately. Lucky for you, I’ve saved you the difficulty of having to sift through their all-too-tempting menu.
Nestled amongst the hustle and bustle of debatably the most picturesque area of Bristol, Primrose Café marks the entry way in to the beautiful streets of Clifton Village. Not only do the fantastic staff make almost all the food from scratch in house, all their food is sustainably and ethically sourced from local providers. With a wonderful outdoor seating area, your headache may be eased by the crisp, fresh air, whilst you watch the world go by down Boyce’s Avenue. Primrose Café offers a fantastic array of brunch dishes; however, the best variety is offered on Sundays, served until 3pm. Whether you’re craving Belgian waffles with bananas and hot chocolate sauce, the ‘Full Monty’ or a classic Eggs Benedict, they’ve got you sorted.
Even if it is just a reason to distract yourself from the foggy, regretful memories of your undignified freshers’ night out. Here’s a far too condensed list of a select few of my personal favourite brunch spots scattered around Bristol:
”
Bristol is full to the brim with independent restaurants serving the most incredible variety of brunch options. Whether you’re a sucker for a full English breakfast, crave nothing more than an indulgent pancake stack, or don’t think you could stomach anything else but a detoxifying smoothie, you will be sure to find the perfect spot to nestle in with you and your pals.
”
With a wonderful outdoor seating area, your headache may be eased by the crisp, fresh air, whilst you watch the world go by
Tradewind Espresso
Brew is another extremely popular spot to visit; it is a universally known fact that Brew serve some of the best brunch dishes you could imagine. The menu is inspired by Middle Eastern flavours meaning their flavourful dishes and original and memorable. They offer a vast variety of ways to prepare poached eggs with additions such as beetroot borani, za’atar, chorizo crumb and tomato charred bacon. To spice up the brunch options in your life, give Brew a visit. I guarantee you will not regret it.
Tradewind Espresso encapsulates the chic café culture that has flooded Bristol in recent years. With minimalist yet artistic décor, this cosy spot is the perfect place to detox and relax, with some of the best coffee Bristol can offer in hand. This particular café has a menu that ‘moves with the seasons’, and is prepared from the freshest seasonal produce in house. You can enjoy anything from French toast with cinnamon roast pear and blackberry compote, to a spicy chorizo dish with rocket pesto, poached eggs and rosemary focaccia. I can recommend from experience the latter.
1. Epigram / Jane Cowie
Chocolate Cookies I can honestly say, in my heart of hearts, that I never would have dreamed of writing a recipe that would combine the three aforementioned ingredients at any prior point in my life.
In fact, when making these I did not intend on them being gluten free, dairy free, and vegan; but it just so turned out that way. I love this because it means everyone can enjoy these, no matter what their dietary preferences may be.
3. 4.
Ingredients: 5. 115g rolled oats, whizzed in a food processor in to a fine flour 90g rolled oats 1/2 cup cooked quinoa One ripe banana, mashed One shredded carrot 90g dark chocolate chips Two tbsp. maple syrup 50g coconut oil, melted 40g chopped almonds, or any nut of your preference Splash of almond milk One tsp baking soda One tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp sea salt
6.
7.
Flickr: rpavich
These cookies taste delicious as well as being nutrient dense and without any refined sugars- win win, right?
2.
Preheat oven to 175C. Lay out a piece of baking parchment on a baking tray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, rolled oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Next, add the shredded carrot, banana, coconut oil and cooked quinoa, folding this in to the dry mix. Finally, add approx. Two tbsp. maple syrup, 40g chopped almonds and 90g dark chocolate chips. If, like I did, you find your mixture isn’t wet enough, add a splash of almond milk to give it a bit more moisture. Using a tablespoon, spoon out the mixture in to even amounts on the baking parchment. The mixture should be enough to make approx. 15 cookies. Bake for 16 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool for five minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Or grab one when it’s still hot, those dark choc chips will melt in your mouth like nothing else. Store these cookies in a Tupperware container, or if you want to keep them for longer, pop them in the freezer. Epigram / Jane Cowie
You might read carrot and quinoa and wonder why I wanted to add these to cookies. The real reasons? I love carrot cake, and keep trying to replicate the flavour in other dishes. Secondly I had quinoa in the cupboard, and wanted to experiment with baking with it, as I’d only ever eaten it in savoury dishes.
Jane Cowie Food Editor Method:
Recipe: Carrot, Quinoa and Dark
But experimenting with exciting new flavour combinations is becoming more and more of a habit of mine, and through doing so I’ve concluded that keeping your recipes ever changing and inventive only serves to make you a better chef.
Epigram / Jane Cowie
Flickr: Andrea Goh
Brew
22.09.17
24
A Beginner’s Guide to Cooking for Yourself Holly Penhale gives readers a crash course in home cooking
Equipment If you are a self-catered fresher, in all likelihood you’ve turned up to discover that in a bid to be prepared for the mighty task of cooking for yourself, you and your flat mates now collectively own up to nine shiny new cheese graters, a whole host of 16 piece dinner sets from Ikea and at least three nutribullets. But, still, no one thought to bring oven gloves. Whilst you’ve probably got the basics covered, there are a couple of items you may not have considered which could prove invaluable to you.
Alternatively, you could shop online allowing you to compare prices - see mysupermarket.co.uk - buy in bulk and view all weekly promotions with ease. If it’s your first order, most supermarkets offer a substantial discount. Sainsbury’s offer £18 off your first order over £60, Asda offer £6 off your first £40 shop when ordering through the app, and Ocado offer £20 off your first order over £80. The offer applies to every new account made under a new email address, so team up with your flat mates and you could claim the discount every week between now and Christmas! Put that freezer space you fought for on day one to good use! If you are not yet the proud new owner of a spaghetti measurer, or you bought penne because it was on offer, you may find you have cooked more pasta than you can bare to consume in one week.
Flickr / Vegan Photo
”
This is where your Tupperware comes in. Box it up, label it with a sharpie to avoid any confusion when faced with what you thought was last week’s chicken curry and you’ll thank yourself when the mid-term deadlines are looming.
In order to avoid eight consecutive weeks of baked beans and Pot Noodles it is paramount that you don’t blow your food budget in September. However, it may take a few weeks to work out your average weekly spend. So, in the meantime, here is how you can minimise your spending and keep yourself well fed.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Bread Milk Fresh soup Grapes Cheese Chopped fruit for smoothies: bananas, raspberries blueberries, pineapples, mangoes Diced onion Chopped pepper Cooked pasta Stocks, sauces and gravy Dough - cookie, pizza, bread Fruit juice Yoghurt
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Bread - one slice Cereal - 30-45g, depending on sugar content Rice or pasta - 64g, size of a baseball Cooked meat - 85g, size of a computer mouse Grilled fish - 85g, size of a cheque book Leafy greens - 128g Other vegetables, cooked or raw - 64g Fruit juice - 120ml Low fat milk or yogurt - 235ml, 0.4 pints Low fat cheese - 43g, size of six stacked dice Butter or mayonnaise - one tablespoon Peanut butter - two tablespoons Nuts and seeds - 43g large handful
strawberries,
It may take a few weeks to work out your average weekly spend
”
Read the labels - most supermarket labels are conveniently coded with a traffic light system indicating where products are high or low in certain food groups. Take note and try to avoid too many red and orange coded products. Sometimes opting for a supermarket own brand rather than the bestselling brand means a dramatic reduction in sugar, salt and other preservatives. Don’t forget veg! Vegetables are cheap, easy to cook and it’s impossible to get food poisoning from under cooking them! Frozen vegetables are a god send when you’re feeling too lazy to chop, and if time is your excuse you can even microwave your frozen peas, broccoli and sweetcorn in a bowl of boiling water for two to three minutes!
Pixabay / jill111
Reduced items are your new best friend. All supermarkets have weekly promotions, usually located on the aisle ends, so if you’re willing to stray from your regular brands you could save a bomb. In addition to this, after 8pm food which can’t be sold the following day is dramatically reduced in price so if you can hold off until late evening you could bag a tonne of baked goods for as little as ten pence.
When given the freedom to eat whatever you like it’s easy to fall into a habit of opting for microwave meals, takeaways and oven chips. However, if you want to stay healthy and avoid the ‘Freshers 15’ - the average number of pounds a student gains in their first year of uni - there are a few simple rules you can follow which will keep you on track.
Epigram / Jane Cowie
Flickr / aotaro
Budgeting
Staying Healthy
”
Things you didn’t know you could freeze:
”
”
The Reusable Coffee Cup - In a bid to tackle unnecessary waste, many coffee shops are now offering discounted prices for customers who provide their own cup. These are inexpensive and are so useful for those dreaded 9am starts!
Frozen vegetables are a Godsend when you’re feeling too lazy to chop
Portion control - take note of the recommended daily intake of each food group for someone of your age and height and don’t exceed it too frequently. As a guideline, here are some portion recommendations for a 2000 calorie per day diet:
The Spaghetti Measurer - There is no denying the immense popularity of spaghetti among students - it is cheap, filling, easy to cook, and spaghetti bolognese is a recipe our parents invariably feel obliged to teach us before we fly the nest. Unfortunately, it is also easy to cook enough to feed your entire flat with one illjudged handful of the stuff. However, a spaghetti measurer can be acquired for as little as £1.99 to help you perfect the one-man portion in seconds!
Put that freezer space you fought for on day one to good use
”
Whether you’re a fearful fresher armed with all the canned goods you could muster, a skeptical second year plucked from the bosom of catered halls, or just a little rusty from a summer of home cooked meals - or an excessive number of Domino’s pizzas - we could all do with some tips for facing a year of feeding ourselves without breaking the bank. Or the scales.
Holly Penhale Deputy Food Editor
22.09.17
25
Seven of Bristol’s Best Independent Stores Sarah Roller reveals her favourite local food stores that ensure you get more bang for your buck The Redland Bakery
Ruby & White Butchers
10 per cent student discount, freshly baked loaves, bread rolls and pastries, and located incredibly conveniently in Redland and on Cotham Hill, it’s super easy to pop in here and grab whatever baked goods you need on your way home from uni, whilst supporting a local business and paying no more than you would in a supermarket for bread that tastes so much better. Example one: the demolition of an entire cob loaf in one evening by my housemates. What’s not to love?
Admittedly, Ruby & White isn’t as cheap as Sainsbury’s but it is very hard to resist when you walk past the barbecuing sausages being sold out front. Look out for their daily offers to snap up a bargain - 50 per cent off chicken breasts anyone? - and their 10 per cent student discount Monday to Thursday. Perfect for date night, treating yourself, or one last shopping trip with your parents.
It’s completely worth taking the time to explore all Gloucester Road has to offer in culinary terms
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Epigram / Sarah Roller
Epigram / Sarah Roller
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One of the words most often used to describe Bristol is independent: from clubs and dress sense to cafés and bakeries, there’s no excuse to follow the crowd. Don’t get me wrong, supermarkets are great for some things, but supporting local shops not only leaves you feeling good about helping the community, but often leaves far less of a dent in your bank account than a quick Tesco trip. Here’s a round-up of some of our favourites:
Gloucester Road
Salad Days // Reg the Veg // Cotham Hill Fruit & Veg These three fruit and veg shops are all student stalwarts: way cheaper than their supermarket counterparts, the deals to be found here are almost unbelievable. Most famously, Salad Days caters to the ultimate Bristol stereotype, selling five avocados for £1 – not one to be missed if you’re in need of a good brunch. Not only are they cheap, the owners are friendly, and the produce is fresh.
To cover all of the independent food shops on Gloucester Road would require many pages but in brief, there are lots, and they’re really good. For international inspiration look to the cheap Polish, Japanese, Indian and Latin American food shops and impress your new housemates with your culinary skills, or simply pick up some cheap, fresh fruit and vegetables to pack in some of your five-a-day. It’s completely worth taking the time to explore all Gloucester Road has to offer in culinary terms, not least because some shops sell white chocolate Snickers.
Recipe: Peppered Mackerel Kale Greek Salad
How are your Networking Skills? Are you good at Social Media? Do you have a good knowledge of worldwide Education or Politics?
Ingredients:
A new Children's Charity Project based in Bristol.
We need the support of young people who have excellent social media skills to help us organize our new network programme . Epigram Jane Cowie
Method: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Held every other Saturday morning, Whiteladies Road Market showcases a range of produce from fruit, vegetables and plants to homemade fudge and freshly ground coffee. The stallholders are lovely, there are lots of free samples and by buying produce here, you’re supporting local start-ups. We recommend the decadent donuts as a weekend treat. Sarah Roller Online Food Editor
VOLUNTEERS WANTED
Serves two: two packed lunches in one
Two peppered mackerel fillets Two cups kale 60g feta ½ red onion, diced Handful of black olives, halved Handful of tomatoes, halved Two tbsp. extra virgin olive oil ½ lemon squeezed One tbsp. apple cider vinegar One tsp salt One tsp pepper
Whiteladies Road Market
Tear the kale away from the stem, as the stem is rough and very bitter. Place all the leaves in a bowl. Pour one tbsp. olive oil over the kale, and massage the leaves for two to five minutes until the leaves are a glistening, vibrant green colour. Pour over the other tbsp. of olive oil along with the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the crumbled feta, red onion, black olives and tomatoes to make your Greek salad. Separate the mix in to two Tupperware boxes and place mackerel fillet on top of each salad. Your speedy packed lunch is now sorted out for the next two days - easy and delicious! Jane Cowie Food Editor
Check us out on Facebook @ children's Books for Africa Project. or contact: johnhale2016@gmail.com
Editor Nancy Serle style@epigram.org.uk
26 28
@e2style
Deputy Editor Lottie Moore
@epigramstyle
Lottie Moore Deputy Style Editor
Who decides what we wear? It is extremely difficult to dress for oneself and not for others. However much we feel as though we choose what we wear, there is always an external set of influences (although perhaps only subconsciously acknowledged) that choose our clothes for us. Societal pressures exert huge influence on why we choose to wear what we do; it took me a long time to accept I like clothes marketed at women 40 years older than me. Aged fourteen, I would trawl through Topshop resigned to buying ripped skinny jeans when actually I really liked the knitwear in M&S. I spent four years at school essentially blind because wearing glasses wasn’t cool. We are also drawn towards things we think flatter us. I have been told what is best about me to show off and best to keep hidden so it is no coincidence that I like wearing clothes that tailor to this. I used to work in a clothes shop and the number of times people would try something on and proclaim that they couldn’t buy it despite loving it because they were ‘65 and a grandmother!’ shows how easily we become locked into a look. Once someone is labeled with a tag a certain expectation exists. It is not impossible to start dressing for ourselves. An overly simple principle but Vinegar one not often practised is to choose things purely on the basis that we like Hill them. Wearing fishnet tights simply because you like them is an entirely 44-46 Queens Road, BS8 legitimate reason to wear them, regardless of whether you think you fulfill Vinegar Hill is situated in a the rest of the criteria that supposedly come with them. And regardless perfect location for Bristol students. of what your mother thinks. Wearing those things at the back of your Once you’ve picked up all your wardrobe you bought on a whim and absolutely love but would essentials in Wilko, travel a few doors never wear, yet can’t get rid of because they represent a secret down on the Triangle to Vinegar Hill. From fantasy version of yourself, if only you were a bit thinner and home scents to bunting, lanterns and an cared less about what everyone else would say. Wear them. array of soft furnishings laden at the back When they’ve made their debut once, you’ll wear them of the store, this is one of the best stops again and you will love yourself for it. On this principle, for home accessories and will make getting dressed in the morning becomes a crucial your room to die for – at a price, form of self-expression, an outlet of creativity of course. where clothes can do some of our talking for us. Equally admirable are those who do not attach clothes to any kind of value. Dressing in the morning is as monotonous as brushing teeth and simply a means to an end. So if fashion is about the clothes then style is about the wearer, and Soukous most significantly, how much of 44a Cotham Hill, what we wear is chosen by us. BS6 Dressing to make yourself If you were a Stoke Bishop happy is perhaps the resident that liked to walk into uni as most reliable way to opposed to getting the 16 bus, you may get it right. Not have taken a short cut through Cotham everyone will Hill to get to Woodland Road. Perhaps you like your style, noticed a bright pink shop (or not if rushing but at least to a seminar) and wondered what it was. Here, it is yours. you will find Soukous, a store that runs by the slogan: ‘Unique and Unusual gifts, jewellery and homeware’. They certainly stock their shelves by those standards. Inside you will find an assortment of fairy lights, frames and dream catchers.
22.09.2017
Online Editor Hannah Worthington
Epigram Style 2017/18
Décor Dreaming Whatever student accommodation you are moving into, whether it be the notorious Stoke Bishop, flats by the Harbourside or a second, third or fourth year home, the style team are here to provide you with some interior design inspiration. Dotted around Bristol are beautiful home décor shops – all in about a 5-mile radius.
Iota 167 Gloucester Road, BS7 Along the infamous Gloucester Road sits Iota, a small independent gift shop that has since evolved from its small pitch in St Nicholas’ market to a snug little store. If you spot something you like here, make sure to grab it fast, for the stock is constantly changing.
Online ETSY Etsy is a haven for all things home décor – and most of the time, at a great price. Unlike finding your standard fairy lights in Wilko, why not find some with additional pom poms too?!
Urban Outfitters The best online source for wall tapestries. From marble duvet covers to woolly throws, Urban Outfitters homeware is always a tick on the list.
La La Lab/ Snapfish Head over to La La Lab to order your custom polaroid inspired photos, or use Snapfish for great quality classic digital prints.
Flying Tiger- Cabot Circus, BS1 Tiger is the go to place for knick knacks and decoration. From heart patterned tinfoil rolls to cute plant pots, adorn your home with Tiger’s student affordable products.
Hannah Worthington Online Style Editor
Bed Spread: Urban Outfitters £30-50, Tapestry: Urban Outfitters £50, Jar: Etsy £7.99, Cactus: Not on the Highstreet £16.25, Laundry Basket: Zara Home £11.99, Lalalab.com from 33p per print.
22.09.2017
27
The Bristol Style Dictionary The A-Z of Bristol Fashion
A
Bristol students love a bit of sports style, with ADIDAS definitely being a favourite, whether it is a pair of superstars, a vintage jumper or gymwear.
C
As far as shopping centres go, CABOT CIRCUS is pretty great, from Topshop to TGI’s, it has every high street store needed for an impulsive shopping trip.
D
If you don’t already own a pair, DUNGAREES are a great addition to any UoB student’s wardrobe. They are relaxed, yet a stylish aesthetic.
E
Of course, E stands for EPIGRAMthe perfect publication to pick up style advice and catch up on the latest fashion news! Check Epigram online for more style tips!
F
FUZE is the biggest student fashion, dance and music show in the UK. There are a multitude of ways you can get involved, from Creative Director to Stylist or Model. All proceeds from FUZE go to charity.
G
As the longest line of independent shops in the UK, GLOUCESTER ROAD is fantastic for finding unique home decor to personalise any basic halls room or Ikea-furnished student house.
I
Whether you’re into silver or gold, big or small, round or hexagonal, the HOOP earring is Bristol’s most ubiquitous accessory.
Bristol is such a diverse and exciting city, so don’t be afraid to express your own INDIVIDUAL style!
J
JOIN the Epigram team on Friday 22nd at the Freshers’ Fair to find out how to get involved. Look out for the style team who will be scouting out UoB’s most fashionable for next weeks issue!
K
KEEP ORGANISED in style with Bristol’s super cute stationary shops, U Studio on Queens Road and Papersmiths in Clifton Village are fantastic places to get uni supplies!!
L M N
LAKOTA and MOTION go hand in hand as Bristol’s most fashion forward venues, whether its a face full of glitter or a psychedelic jumpsuit at a Cirque du Soul night, there’s always something funky to be spotted in the crowd!
Whether you’re in to Air Force 1’s, Air Max 95’s or 97’sNIKES are the staple trainer for any Bristol student.
O P Q R S T U
Bristol students definitely sport an OVERSIZED look, think baggy jumpers and sheepskin jacketsperfect for being comfortable, yet stylish, in lectures.
Do you even go to Bristol if you don’t own a PUFFA jacket? Enough said.
Just a short walk from the uni campus, QUEENS ROAD is always crawling with stylish studentsVinegar Hill and Rise are great places to pick up quirky items for your uni room.
RED STRIPE is as much of a fashion accessory as it is a drink. Found in the hands of Bristol’s most trendy.
Bristol’s creative quarter, STOKES CROFT, has an abundance of quirky cafes and street art. It also home to the amazing Stokes Croft vintage market.
V
Bristol’s VINTAGE scene is fantastic. Browse the city’s multitude of vintage shops such as Urban fox to find a bargain.
W
Whilst often joked about, Bristol is notorious for its WAVY GARMS aesthetic; from oversized geometric silk shirts to retro trainers.
X
X is for EXTRA! In Bristol, sometimes more is more, so don’t be afraid to experiment with your style.
Y Z
In 2000, the youngest of us were only one, yet Y2K fashion continues to fascinate. From Britney-style crop tops to cargo pants, the spirit of the noughties is definitely still alive in Bristol. ZEBRA print, leopard print, geometric, florals, stripes… UoB students are always bold with their style choices making Bristol one of the most stylish in the UK.
THE FASHION FEDERATION is UoB’s answer to those who want to express their stylish side. From up-cycling to learning about the industry, TFF is a great way to meet like-minded creatives. Bristol’s 1990’s UNDERGROUND scene, has hugely impacted the city’s aesthetic- from techno to Banksy, Bristol’s effortlessly cool vibe is definitely reflected in its students sartorial choices!
Facebook/ Ella Wardena
B
Independent vintage store BS8 has an amazing selection of designer and pre-loved items sourced from all around the world at super reasonable prices.
H
Nancy Serle Style Editor
Style Editors’ pick: The Fashion Federation Style editor Nancy Serle talks to the new head of The Fashion Federation, Jasmin Perry, on her hopes and plans for the society this year...
Epigram/ Nancy Serle
What made you join The Fashion Federation? I joined in first year - growing up I’d always loved doing little craft projects and, after making a ball gown for a project in sixth form, I was keen to continue the hobby and meet likeminded people. After scouring the SU website for a sewing related society, I found The Fashion Federation!
What are you wearing and why? Alex: Today I am wearing my dungarees, grey converse, and blue top because I woke up late this morning and I like to be comfy! Noa: I’m wearing an oversized T-shirt dress and a flowery top. It is comfy, works to be in the really hot SU but is transitional for outside. I want to keep florals even though the summer is over!
What’s your favourite part about the society? I love the fact that none of us pretend to be an expert at things. We’re all in it together, sharing what we know and teaching one another - there’s a real community vibe. It’s nice to just meet up with other creative types, make stuff together and learn along the way. There’s also a definite environmental facet to the society - fast fashion is so damaging, so being able to customise second hand clothes to fit the trends is a very useful skill to have, especially as a student. As the new head of The Fashion Federation, what do you have planned for this year? A bunch of exciting weekly sessions - think tie-dye, dream
catchers and DIY cushions to make your halls a tad more snazzy, as well as some useful skills sessions to teach you how to read a pattern and make your own clothes. On top of that, I’m really keen to get some fashion-based careers talks happening to demystify the industry a little bit. What would you say to someone considering joining The Fashion Federation? Do it - (Although I might be slightly biased!) Whether you’ve never picked up a needle in your life, or you’ve been making things for years, we’d love to see you at our sessions and we cater for all levels. Plus, there’s usually cake! Will you be at the Freshers fair this year? We will indeed - do check out our stand for a chat, we’re really interested to get input and ideas from you guys and help make the society reflect its members. Failing that, join our Facebook group to keep in the loop with what we’re up to - our first meet up will be the Tuesday following freshers, with our big Tie Dye fresher’s launch party happening later on in the week! Check out The Fashion Federation on Facebook: The Fashion Federation Society Bristol
If you would like to write for Style, join our Facebook group Epigram Style Contributors 2017-18 and join us at The White Bear on Wednesday 27th of September, 5pm for our first writers’ meeting! We look forward to meeting you!
Nancy Serle Style Editor
Editor Nick Bloom travel@epigram.org.uk
28
Deputy Editor Evy Tang
@EpigramTravel
Online Editor Ellie Caulfield
@epigram_travel
22.09.2017
Epigram Travel Section 2017/8
Meet this year’s Editors... Nick Bloom Editor
Evy Tang Deputy Editor
Ellie Caulfield Online Editor
Hi, my name is Nick and I’m the Travel editor this year! I’m a fourth-year French and Spanish student and have just returned from my year abroad, where I studied International Relations in Colombia and worked in an advertising agency in Paris. I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world - from San Sebastian to Saigon - and can’t wait to contribute to a vibrant and exciting Travel section this year!
Hey, I’m Ellie and I’ll be your Online Travel Editor this year so keep an eye out for all our social media updates! I’m a second-year Liberal Arts student and I’m currently planning my year abroad for next year - suggestions always welcome. I’ve travelled across Europe and have worked and travelled in parts of Asia, recently having a go at travelling solo. I’m looking forward to engaging with you all a lot more and hoping to inspire and be inspired by travelling tales and #epitravel photos.
Hello everyone! I’m Evy your new Deputy Editor and I’m also a third-year History student. I did a semester abroad in Germany where I made friends in all four corners of the globe and have consequently spent most of my time visiting them. I’ve tried travelling on my own and absolutely loved it and would recommend it to all of you adventure seekers out there. I’m excited to work together with my team to create a globetrotter extravaganza for you all that will hopefully make us forget about all the looming deadlines.
Foreign frequencies: my first festival abroad Are British festivals a thing of the past? Online Editor Georgia Marsh takes us to Outlook, Croatia to discover what a European festival has to offer...
”
While we expected, and packed for, sun, sea, and water-resistant soundsystems, we were instead met with thunderous gales and torrential downpour
” Epigram / Georgia Marsh
I prefer holidays of experiences much more than a week away to a hotel resort somewhere sunny but stale. For my friend’s 21st, we were enticed by Outlook Festival in Croatia because of the stellar line-up which boasted the finest names in Jungle, DnB and Grime - among the myriad of genres flexing their muscle - and the pre-conceived idea that it’d be cheap, as well as the thrill of a very first trip to a festival overseas. The music couldn’t have blown us away more. UK mainstream hip-hop from young rappers like Loyle Carner and AJ Tracey went head-to-head with cult international talents, particularly female MCs Lady Chann and Princess Nokia. If the bright light shows and thumping bass got too much, iconic sound-system Mungo’s Hi Fi curated their very own stage fit for low-key, reggae-inflected electronica. On the other side of the sonic spectrum, the likes of Kenny Ken and Benny Page made for an explosive closing show at The Garden – possibly the best stage on the festival site; open, spacious, immersive, and dazzling. However, lures towards the promise of cheapness eventually proved false. Perhaps we were naïve to assume a festival in Croatia meant Croatian prices, and although the festival tickets themselves were slightly cheaper than your standard weekend ticket at, say, Bestival, food and drink were still enormously expensive – or, at least, we were handing over a lot more cash than expected. Added to this were the costs of flights, airport transfers and accommodation, culminating in a small fortune. Taxis clearly seek to take advantage of the thousands of tourists who pilgrimage to Outlook every year, some demanding 200HRK (around £25) for a 10-minute drive. Yet bartering, and arguing, with the drivers turned out to be one of the most memorable aspects of the trip; some sharing their stories with us, others threatening to throw us in the bin.
Another broken promise turned out to be the Croatian climate. While we expected, and packed for, sun, sea and water-resistant sound-systems, we were instead met with thunderous gales and torrential downpour. These electrical storms meant the first night was called off early; the festival site transformed into a muddy landslide, leaving us dripping from head to toe. However, it definitely wasn’t all doom and gloom. The site itself was intricately and expertly planned, with stages nestled inside and around an ancient fort, amplifying the atmosphere. At first, the idea of queuing to access some of these stages seemed preposterous, but it actually meant festival-goers had more intimate access to their favourite music, although we queued for almost an hour in the pouring rain to see The Void’s tribute to Marcus Intalex before the festival was shut down for the night. The site was also fitted out with its own private beach alongside crystal clear waters which, luckily, could be used when the sun was shining. Unlike the large majority of UK festivals like Boomtown or Reading, the music is loud, as it’s supposed to be, and continues well into the night, not stopping until daylight breaks. Throughout the day there are a series of beach and boat parties – the nautical raves hosted by leading record labels being among the highlights of the festival. The weather gods truly blessed our party, as the hot sun shone down on us as we danced to the talents from Butterz, including Royal T, DJ Q and Murlo – one of whom even threw in an extremely topical remix of hot new Fire in the Booth meme ‘the ting goes skrrrrra’. Although I return to Bristol almost as pale as when I left, and despite our expectations for blissful weather playing us like a fiddle, Outlook really shows how ahead European events are in the festival game – better line ups, cooler locations, louder sound-systems and all-round wilder parties.
Georgia Marsh Online Editor
22.09.2017
29 Confessions of a clueless teacher Online Travel Editor Ellie Caulfield gives us an honest insight into what it’s really like teaching in China Epigram / Ellie Caulfield
”
The time I walked in and saw one of my children wearing a top with ‘f*** fake friends’ plastered across it whilst zooming around on his two-foot skateboard seems to stick in my mind
”
As much as I went there to teach English, teaching at this school apparently meant singing, dancing, and having water balloons thrown in your face all too often. I don’t think I have choreographed a dance since my Year 5 street dance days (embarrassing, I know) but there I was encouraging a class of 25 children to play the air guitar whilst screaming ‘We Will Rock You’ and having a lightning bolt painted across their face. I would be lying if I said this wasn’t entertainment for the teachers, but I promise you, the children did enjoy it.
”
When I say that teaching in China benefitted me, unsurprisingly I don’t mean that it compelled me to audition for this year’s X Factor. Instead, it pushed me beyond the limits of my comfort zone I wasn’t even aware existed. It also allowed me to explore one of the most interesting, yet baffling countries I have ever been to and I can now boast that I have fellow teacher friends in Canada, the Philippines and Cameroon. The evenings also allowed me to test my karaoke abilities - hilariously bad - and experience the Chinese nightclubs - less bad, but equally hilarious. These are all things I couldn’t say if I had spent my summer glued to Netflix, however tempting this initially seemed.
”
Epigram / Ellie Caulfield
The day consisted of around six hours of teaching. When I say teaching, I mean it in the loosest sense possible. I am no teacher and when I first started going to China I was barely an adult. Nevertheless, I was tasked with the mission of teaching the children the weather, (unsurprisingly they already knew the word ‘cloudy’). Although I think it was mission accomplished as by the end of my time there they screamed all the weather they knew at me the minute I saw them. I mean this literally, instead I was greeted with ‘Today the weather is SUNNY’. It wasn’t.
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‘Gap Yah’ tale: stupid tourist edition Wellington had blessed us with a beautiful sunny day, which was good considering we were horrendously hungover. However, the sun was setting and in its place rain was moving in. It was probably about time we headed off to our next destination. A destination that Lewis had promised us was only an hour and a half drive away.
Epigram / Ellie Caulfield
Each day started with the same ‘Good Morning Teacher Ellie’, and then a rush of gossip they had been waiting to tell me from the night before. All of this, unfortunately, was in Mandarin as their level of English was the equivalent to my level of Year 9 French before I was advised not to take it for GCSE. You might be wondering then, ‘How were you able to teach these children English?’, and trust me, I wondered that nearly every day before I walked into that classroom. Thankfully, it wasn’t as hard as it seemed, we were all given a translator whose level of English far exceeded anything I expected. This once again put me to shame for my diabolical language abilities. When it came to the children, I have never met a more enthusiastic class. Admittedly, it was often hard to meet their enthusiasm, especially when I was nursing a Chinese beer hangover (did you really think I went there just to teach?). However, they certainly made each day entertaining and with each day came a new surprise. The time I walked in and saw one of my children wearing a top with ‘f*** fake friends’ plastered across it whilst zooming around on his two-foot skateboard seems to stick in my mind. Luckily for him, his classmates had not yet learnt how to read English but of course being a responsible teacher I told him to change it. Reluctantly.
”
...their level of English was the equivalent to my level of Year 9 French before I was advised not to take it for GCSE
Epigram / Ellie Caulfield
Waking up at 6:15am to go and eat a bowl of rice and a suspicious looking piece of meat whilst being harassed by hyperactive children doesn’t sound like most people’s ideal way to spend their summer break. Nevertheless, there I was. I couldn’t even have the optimistic thought of ‘oh, at least it’s a nice day’ because it wasn’t. Despite it being nearly 30 degrees the haze of pollution meant that there was no sun and quite frankly, I was beginning to wonder if it even still existed. However, please don’t let me put you off. Rest assured that the summers spent teaching in China are the best I’ve ever had. Even with the early starts, unidentifiable meat and the occasional burps in the face from that kid in class, teaching these children has not only benefitted them (I hope) but it has also benefitted me.
Schools and companies alike crave student teachers like yourselves and there really is a plethora of choice out there.
”
To anyone thinking about teaching in another country, I strongly urge you to do it. Whether it’s as far afield as China or just a short plane ride to a nearby European nation, I can promise you that the experience is unforgettable. Schools and companies alike crave student teachers like yourselves and there really is a plethora of choice out there. So, if burps to the face, water-balloons to the head but also hilarious and unforgettable memories appeal to you then I think a summer spent teaching abroad is certainly something you should consider. Perhaps I’ll see you there because I will definitely be going back. After all, knowing what meat you’re eating is just a bit boring, right?
Ellie Caulfield Online Travel Editor
Sleep deprivation and copious amounts of alcohol had made us all grumpy and eager to snuggle down in our cosy tents for the night. With any luck, we would all be fed and in bed within two hours. This was all well and good until a smug car park attendant merrily informed us that it was not an hour and a half drive to Lake Taupo but five and a half. If looks could kill, then Lewis would definitely have been six feet under. We were only two days into this road trip and things were not looking good. Cackling under his breath, the car park attendant sent us on our way with an old road map and several muttered comments about, ‘stupid tourists.’ He seemed to find it even funnier that 90% of our group was English. Lewis promptly received more backlash when we looked at the map and saw that while Wellington resided at the very bottom of the North Island, Lake Taupo was situated half way up. How he could have looked at this and thought it was an hour and a half is beyond me. Although in hindsight we were partly to blame for even trusting him in the first place. Five and half hours later we made it to Lake Taupo, tired, grumpy and absolutely starving. Getting into cold tents with no opportunity to shower did not improve our tempers in the slightest. I would like to extend a special thank-you to the smug car park attendant who took great delight in waving us off into what he knew would be a long, tedious journey extending well into the night. Luckily for us, and perhaps most luckily for Lewis, Lake Taupo was worthy of those extra four very long, very agitated hours. Epigram / Ellie Chesshire
Ellie Chesshire Letters Editor
Do you have a ‘Gap Yah’ tale? Get in touch at travel@epigram.org.uk or any of our social media
sport at bristol
Photo by Ruben Esperanza
is changing BRISTOL SU ELECTIONS
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW SPORT PASSES
more affordable than ever! bristolsu.org.uk
MEET THE OFFICERS
YOUR ELECTED STUDENT OFFICERs
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What can I run for?
Senate. They work closely with the full WLPH RIĂ&#x20AC;FHU WHDP WR LPSURYH WKLQJV IRU students in their faculty.
â&#x20AC;˘ &RXUVH UHSV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1st years and
Postgraduate Taught students (e.g. Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) â&#x20AC;˘ -&5 UHSV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; people living in halls â&#x20AC;˘ )DFXOW\ UHSV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PGT and PGR â&#x20AC;˘ 186 GHOHJDWH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; open to everyone!
What does the role involve? &RXUVH DQG )DFXOW\ 5HSV Being a Course Rep is a fantastic opportunity to make sure that your course is of the highest quality and standards. By coming together to raise issues and discuss improvements with Course Reps from across the University, you can make a massive impact on the student experience here at Bristol. For undergraduate programmes, there will typically be one Course Rep per twenty to forty students, whilst postgraduate Course Reps will often have a higher Rep to Students ratio. )DFXOW\ 5HSV represent their faculty on bodies such as Faculty Student Staff Liason Committees and University
-&5 UHSV A Junior Common Room (JCR) is a student committee that is elected every year to represent students within their residences. Most committees meet around once or twice a fortnight and will spend their time representing all your voices and interests, as well as coordinating a diverse social calendar and organising activities that you have asked for. 186 GHOHJDWH Bristol SU sends six student delegates to the NUS (National Union of Students) Conference every year. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Conference will take place in March 2018. This is a pivotal point in addressing NUSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; democracy reforms. It is where the next NUS president and vice-presidents will be voted in, and where you will vote on the policies you want NUS to champion.
What can I gain from the role?
Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get training to support you in your role and help you develop a range of transferable skills. Some of these skills include: â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘
It all looks pretty awesome on your CV!
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Negotiation Problem solving Leadership Teamwork &RQĂ&#x20AC;GHQFH Assertiveness Project planning/organisation Communication
meet your 2017/18 officers
Des Ibekwe - Equality, Liberation and Access
John House - Sport & Student Development
Sports Pass Changes For years one of the biggest concerns to students at Bristol was the cost of sport and physical activity. Over the last two years, Bristol SU and The Centre for Sport Exercise and Health have worked hard to create a new model that addresses students concerns as well as bringing in JUHDWHU Ă H[LELOLW\
any classes and the swimming pool, will cost ÂŁ24.99 a month, or ÂŁ225 for the year (a reduction of ÂŁ70 from last year). There are a further 3 levels in between at different prices that offer students the Ă H[LELOLW\ WR FKRRVH ZKDW EHVW VXLWV WKHP all representing a great change for students at Bristol.
Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re delighted to say that this new pricing structure launches this year and offers students both a reduced price and the opportunity to pay monthly, starting and stopping whenever they choose.
Thanks to all the students who have been involved over the years to allow us to make these positive changes.
Accessing sports club training, the B:Active Campus programme and casual bookings from this year only costs ÂŁ5.99 a month or ÂŁ54 annually. At the other end of the scale, Active Plus, that gains you access to the gym at all times,
<RX FDQ Ă&#x20AC;QG RXW PRUH DQG SXUFKDVH D sports pass here: bristol.ac.uk/sport/memberships/ student/ John House, Sport and Student 'HYHORSPHQW 2IĂ&#x20AC;FHU
Luky Dube - Student Living
Mason Ammar - Undergraduate Education
Shubham Singh - Postgraduate Education
thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always something on! Monday The Big Fat Pub Quiz
Thursday Live music
Test your brain and go for the jackpot
Enjoy our open mic or acts at our weekly live lounge
Tuesday Society Takeover
Friday Karaoke
One of our societies rules the Balloon
Wednesday Midweek Mixtape Warm up for a big night with our student DJs
Stanford - Union Affairs
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s karaoke, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curry, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curryoke
Weekends Sport Live sport, cheap drinks and our tasty lunch menu.
WHAT'S ON varsity colour run :HGQHVGD\ 2FWREHU SP 8:( )UHQFKD\ &DPSXV New to Varsity, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun mass participation event is all about getting out there and having fun. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter whether you are a runner or not â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just take part. )RU WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH LQ 9DUVLW\ KLVWRU\ SDUWQHUVKLS VFKRROV will be participating as well as student, staff, alumni & community fundraisersâ&#x20AC;Ś so what are you waiting for? YDULVW\VHULHV FRP
True Tales: Real Stories from Bristol SU Students, Sunday 24 September, 7pm, Anson Rooms Bar Theme: Fresh Starts. For fans of Story Slam, a night of entertainment that you can join in with. Hear peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing true stories told live on stage. All stories are told by audience volunteers so share your story or just enjoy everyone else's.
0DUHQ 0RUULV 6DWXUGD\ WK 1RYHPEHU 7pm, Anson Rooms From acclaimed country starlet to breakthrough mainstream artist, Maren Morris comes to the Anson Rooms as part of The Hero Tour 2017. Supported by Ryan Hurd.
Glassnut: Edinburgh Show Highlights, Wednesday 27th September, 8pm, Winston Theatre Bristol Revunions perform their favourite sketches from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Free entry.
3OD\ ² 2IĂ&#x20AC;FLDO %ULVWRO 68 6SRUWV 1LJKW Wednesday 27th September, 10pm, Gravity Your favourite Wednesday night but with some new club improvements. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll soon be swapping your trainers for dancing shoes.
2SHQ 0LF 1LJKW KRVWHG E\ /LYH6RF Thursday 28 September, 9pm, The Balloon Hosted by Live Soc, head along to The Balloon for the monthly Open Mic Night. Free live music, cheap beer and tasty food. Pretty much the perfect Thursday night - see you there.
9LQWDJH )DLU :HGQHVGD\ WK 2FWREHU 11am, Anson Rooms Bar and Foyer University Vintage Fairs is back - a one stop pop-up shop for all your vintage needs. Free entry. Card accepted.
European Outdoor Film Tour, Sunday WK 2FWREHU SP $QVRQ 5RRPV Adventure is waiting. Inspiring stories from the great outdoors, breathtaking athletic feats and fascinating encounters brings adventure back to the big screen.
For more information on all upcoming events see bristolsu.org.uk/events
Epigram
22.09.2017
Film & TV
filmandtv@epigram.org.uk Editor: Charlie Gearon Deputy Editor: Gabi Spiro @GearonCharlie
@GabiSpiro
@epigramfilm
Online: Tim Bustin Deputy Online: AshleyYonga @timbustin1
@ashyonga
Bristol cinemas and the fight for ethnic diversity Film & TV Editor Charlie Gearon discusses the importance of diverse programming in independent cinemas
Bill Kenright PFilms
Charlie Gearon Film & TV Editor
Insyriated
Insyriated is about as culturally diverse as cinema gets. Directed by Belgian director Philippe van Leeuw, made with the help of a production team spanning from France to Lebanon and Germany and set in present-day Damascus. Insyriated is a glowing testament to inclusivity in cinema. It’s an exemplary tour-de-force in how film can transcend national borders and create a truly international piece of art. A nail-biting siege film routed in tangible human drama, van Leeuw’s feature is as haunting as it is vital. A must-see piece of international cinema. Insyriated is currently showing at Watershed.
My Pure Land
Another debut feature, Sarmad Masud’s My Pure Land tells the true story of a mother and two daughters fighting to protect their home in rural Pakistan from a local, heavily-armed militia. Action-packed, feministic and politically charged, My Pure Land looks set to be a refreshing take on siege-films which steers clear of exploitation while retaining its human drama. Masud is following on the tradition established by filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Akira Kurosawa, using a
Battling for Bristol
This event is taking place as part of the Journey to Justice exhibition and is being sponsored by the Bristol Radical History Group. It’s being labelled as ‘an evening of films on Bristol campaigns for social justice.’ On display will be archived documentary footage of the Bristol risings of 1980 and 1986, as well as the Bristol Bus Boycott which ended racial segregation on the Bristol bus network in the 1960s. It promises to be informative and insightful, while providing essential socio-historical context of the increasingly diverse city which Bristol is striving to become. Battling For Bristol will be showing at The Cube 9th October.
Soul of a Nation Tate / Benny Andrews
Bill Kenright PFilms
Picturehouse Entertainment
Somewhat reductively being labelled as ‘a British Brokeback Mountain’, Francis Lee’s debut feature is a poignant romance set against the bleak yet beautiful backdrop of rural Yorkshire. God’s Own Country sees its protagonist (O’Connor) struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality when a young Romanian man (Secareanu) comes to help out on his failing farm. While the troubled romance may be the central focus of the film, the nature of the protagonists’ relationship can be seen as an an allegory for the beauty, value and even necessity of cultural diversity.
combination of brutal violence, human drama and personal turmoil as a method of highlighting dissatisfaction with a particular political regime. My Pure Land will be showing at Watershed 29th Sept-5th Oct.
Flickr / Paul Townsend
God’s Own Country
Altitude 100
In the 2016/17 academic year, University of Bristol’s ethnic diversity was higher than ever. According to the university’s own student population statistics, just under 70 per cent of enrolled students were white. This represents a two per cent increase in ethnic diversity from the year before, and places Bristol seven per cent above the national average - according to HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency). With regards to national heritage, 22 per cent of students were international, under the national average of 30 per cent. Obviously, this is somewhat of an under representation of people from diverse national backgrounds and ethnic minorities. Generally speaking, Bristol’s representation of minorities is improving. A vital part of this movement is the work done by the independent cinemas of Bristol, in particular The Cube and Watershed. Both cinemas curate screening programmes which stress the importance of equal representation in cinema. Even a brief look at the films on offer will make evident how well represented the works of diverse international filmmakers are by these two institutions. To that end, here are some of the best films on show over the next few weeks which highlight and celebrate diversity in cinema, and in doing so, help Bristol along in its journey towards inclusivity.
God’s Own Country is currently showing at Watershed and will be showing at The Cube 1st-4th October.
This collection of shorts has been commissioned by the Tate Modern in conjunction with their latest exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. All the films on show here have been created by black filmmakers and directors and aim to highlight the role of African American artists in the civil rights movement of the mid-20th Century. With racial tensions in America running higher than they have in decades, this collection promises to be topical and of vital importance. Soul of a Nation will be showing at Arnolfini 20th September.
Epigram 22.09.2017
35
Bristol’s fan film heritage: Star Wars Eternal premieres Screenwriter Tim Bustin recaps the premiere of Bristol Student-made Star Wars fan film Tim Bustin Online Film & TV Editor
Passion is certainly the fuel behind any film however, as any film-maker can tell you; especially with a project that grew to be as ambitious as this. Step one is ploughing through the dense lore to figure out a script both compelling and something fans and newbies could enjoy. Then comes pre-production: getting a crew together, planning out every shot, casting the right people, pooling props and finding sets and more. Alex Harrison, the film’s director, spent a week before filming began just making the four lightsabres that would be used on set. Shooting was a two week task going from Leigh Woods and a few Bristol studios, then down to Dartmoor and Exeter’s Beer Quarry Caves. While pre-production involved months of slow build-up, the two months of post were a sugar-fuelled, nosleep emotional ride, painstakingly adding on lightsabre VFX to every frame, or editing to fit the originally composed music, or recording sizzling pots of water to recreate that lightsabre sound. Fast forward to the 13th and you see why the premiere was so close. It really was just some last touches, but when you’ve already given your heart and soul, you really want to make sure every detail is perfect. Thankfully, the applause was thunderous. There’s that horrible sinking feeling of having suffered to your core for a
“
“
When you’ve already given your heart and soul, you really want to make sure every detail is perfect.
project, then wondering if the 150 people about to watch your work will want to cheer at the end, but they certainly did.
Bristol is renowned for its film heritage. Student films carry on that heritage to the next generation of filmmakers
The red-carpet event featured a Q&A with the creators and lead cast, signed posters and postcards and everyone hitting the pub afterwards and getting promptly drunk.
Eternal / Alex Harrison
It’s quarter past seven on Wednesday 13th September. 15 minutes before the premiere is meant to start, the finished film is being rushed by car and foot to the Winston Theatre, the final touches of VFX only just been finished in the last hour. Waiting outside are 150 very smartly dressed people eagerly awaiting the red-carpet style event, made of cast and crew, students who supported the Kickstarter campaign and a host of local Star Wars fans who heard about the event through BBC Radio Bristol or elsewhere. All of them mingling together, chatting and waiting with anticipation. So, no pressure. You can get a sense of scale taken just to produce a 22-minute film, especially knowing that 11 months ago this project was just an idea, being discussed at the ‘Spoons on the Triangle. What about telling a story in the Star Wars universe vastly different to everything Disney is currently and frequently making? What about setting a film in a darker era of the universe few know about: 3000 years before the main films, with characters who are neither the goody-two-shoes Jedi nor the all-evil Sith, but a third party that the Force to impose justice on both of the former? A grandiose idea, true, but far from being the first Star Wars fan film. Eternal is now on YouTube, joining the ranks of hundreds of fan-made films before it. The fact that Disney allows fans to create such content when they could stranglehold the brand speaks to the strength of the fanbase. But whilst all these films are made with enormous passion, the idea behind this project was to combine real talent and vision from both University of Bristol and Screenology film school students, to guide that passion into something that could be topped only by a Disney-made Star Wars film.
Bristol is renowned for its film heritage – a regular stand-in for London, the varied sites within a small city make it perfect for everything from Doctor Who to Wallace and Gromit. Student films carry on that heritage to the next generation of filmmakers. Though many involved in the making of this film are still a padawan of their respective crafts - and if I speak personally for a moment, this script was one painful and arduous effort to carve out - it’s ended up a proud project, with the support of Bristol in so many different capacities. Films made in Bristol, by people our age who are learning and building on a rich history, are part of the next great thing.
Star Wars Eternal is available now to view on Youtube.
This week in cinema history 23 September, 1956: John Ford’s western masterpiece The Searchers is released in the UK Wikimedia Commons
John Ford’s The Searchers is a difficult film to nail down. At a shallow glance, it could be read as a glorification of the most damaging aspects of the archetypal ‘manly’ man. The story sees Ethan (portrayed by John Wayne in perhaps his greatest role) tracking down the native-Americans who have kidnapped his two daughters. As the film progresses, Ethan grows increasingly ruthless, and his initially admirable intentions give way to an underlying racism and bloodlust. What the audience must strive to remember when watching
The Searchers is that depiction is not endorsement. What Ford achieves is an indictment of Ethan’s behaviour – a criticism of hyperbolic masculinity in a genre which previously exploited and promoted it. Ford’s film is the first of the great modern westerns, and highlights how effective the genre can be as a form of social commentary.
Charlie Gearon Film & TV Editor
Epigram 22.09.2017
36 30
‘It’s a bit childish and stupid, but then so is High School’
To celebrate the start of the academic year, Deputy Editor Gabi Spiro compiles the best school related films
1) Rushmore (1998)
2)
Ferris Bueller’ s Day Off (1986)
A film more about truancy than good attendance but a classic nonetheless. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a must watch comedy starring a young Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller. Bueller takes his friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloane on an adventure; we witness joy riding, art museums and an awe-inspiring rendition of The Beatles’ Twist and Shout on a parade float. A wholly feelgood film, filled with elaborate tips on how to deceive and skip school.
Flickr / Jeffrey
Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman in his debut film, is an enthusiastic and slightly irritating student who prides himself in his extra-curricular involvement and production of school plays. When he falls in love with the beautiful widowed teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams) he is confronted by an unlikely love rival. Rushmore is classic Wes Anderson; there are 60s tunes, sharp dialogue and pastel, symmetrical mise-en-scene.
for 3) The Class (2008) 4) Starter 10 (2006) A French film set in a racially diverse high school in Paris, and telling of the struggles of teaching a variety of young people from differing backgrounds and language skills. The film stars François Bégaudeau, author of the novel on which the film is based, who plays himself as the teacher of the class. The drama is hard-hitting and thought provoking, and won Best Picture at Cannes.
of 5) School Rock (2004)
A little closer to home, Starter for 10 follows the story of Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) in his first year at Bristol University, though the film is not shot at the campus. Both novel and screen-play were written by alumnus David Nicholls. A funny romcom about love, Kate Bush and general knowledge.
School of Rock is another classic, quotable comedic film. Rock God stroke substitute teacher Dewey Finn (Jack Black) tricks his way into teaching at a prep school, and with his new student forms a band to compete in the music competition, Battle of the Bands. It is not the most academic school film, but School of Rock will certainly give you a musical education.
Editors’ Picks
The best of the best from Summer 2017 Vimeo / Robotvirgin
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Rick and Morty Season 3
Orphan Black
With the release of its fourth season earlier this month, Netflix’s animated original is at its strongest and most insightful. It’s a powerful and laugh-out-loud exploration of psychology, mental-health and the vacuousness of celebrity and fame. An unprecedented and first class piece of television.
The lovable, witty David Mitchell and Robert Webb return to our screens with new six part comedy Back. The double act conforms to their Peep Show stereotypes, Mitchell uptight and underachieving and Webb egotistically annoying. The couple are reunited by a death in their dysfunctional family. This dry comedy by Simon Blackwell promises to be entertaining – and very quotable.
No other series can beat Rick and Morty’s insane energy, every short episode of drunken genius Rick and idiot grandson Morty’s adventures somehow juggling crazy artwork, parodies of everything from The Avengers to Stephen King, taking the time to remind you of the futility of your own existence and, of course, shouting dumb catchphrases.
Orphan Black, airing this summer, is everything people have said and more. A show with a clear plot and no filler episodes is a rarity. Pulseracing, heart stopping, jaw dropping drama with poignant moments of comedy and romance, Orphan Black is a show that lives up to and surpases its reputation. If you’re yet to watch Orphan Black, or even if you’re already addicted, this is a great show to binge.
A Ghost Story A slow-paced and poignant meditation on death, loss and time, A Ghost Story is a haunting and original work. Starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, it follows the exploits of a deceased man who returns to the house he once lived in as a ghost, dressed in a simple white sheet with two eye holes cut out. The aesthetic power of A Ghost Story must be seen to be believed. The most successful aesthetic experimentation of any film this year.
Logan Lucky
This complex and improbable plan to steal millions from a motor racing track in North Carolina keeps you at the edge of your seats. The film is scattered with sentimental American-style reminders of family love, and we get to witness Daniel Craig with a questionable hair style. Though the hillbilly accents are, at points, undecipherable, and it’s not exactly high culture, Logan Lucky is very entertaining and definitely worth a watch.
On Netflix
Dunkirk Nolan’s latest is a beautifully shot, uneasy experience of war. It’s an unrestrained, slowbuilding torment, reducing characters to their universally-relatable raw emotions, which are then heightened to their pulsating max. Thousands of soldiers are attempting to escape Dunkirk’s beaches. The film offers inescapable feelings of pure panic, of restlessness and anger that wrings the audience non-stop for the near two hour ride.
On Netflix
Spider-man: Homecoming It felt more like a high school movie with sprinkles of superhero angst and brought Peter Parker back to his roots as the childishly optimistic, wanna-be hero he was meant to be. Michael Keaton’s villain was both terrifying and grounded, bringing about some of the film’s best scenes. A movie which fans want to love and do.
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39
Arts
Epigram
22.09.2017
@EpigramArts
Editor: Alina Young Deputy Editor: Anna Trafford
Online Editor: Helena Raymond-Hayling Deputy Online Editor: Avital Carno
arts@epigram.org.uk
Arts’ guide to Bristol 1. The Room Above This intimate 50 seat performance space, literally located in the room above The White Bear, boasts a reasonably priced and incredibly varied programme of events. Some of the student productions, such as the famous ‘Shite Bear’, are held here, but there are also a whole range of professional productions. 2. R WA The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) hosts exhibitions celebrating the best of historic and contemporary British art, with works from artists ranging from Turner and Constable to Fedden and Nash. Free entry if you show your UCard. 3. Spike Island Based in an old tea warehouse, Spike Island is not only a gallery and exhibition space, but also a work studio for the production and development of contemporary art and design. There is an ongoing programme of events, activities and talks open to the public (mostly free or low-cost). 4. Tobacco Factory The theatre celebrates experimental drama, and aims to put on a diverse programme featuring both traditional and contemporary productions. Working with the community is central to its ethos, and there are volunteer positions open for those who are interested. 5. Hamilton House Hamilton House hosts events with social outreach in mind. The building is currently home to over 200 organisations, artists and projects, which include a community kitchen, illustrators, a dance collective, therapeutic treatment services, a shop full of artistic creations and a canteen providing free live music every night.
arts Past
Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a far-reaching effect on Modern English and has been described as ‘one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship’. Until the publication of the first Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later, Johnson’s was viewed as the preeminent British dictionary.
Helena Raymond-Hayling
Flickr / Jonathan 229
FROM THE
19th September 1911
18th September 1709
Golding’s famous work, Lord of the Flies
Birth of Sir William Golding, English Nobel Prizewinning novelist. Originally a natural sciences undergraduate, Golding had a clear insight into the essence of humanity. Golding is famous for his first novel, Lord of the Flies, though his lesser known second novel, The Inheritors, paints an interesting picture of the struggle and potential extinction of one of the last remaining tribes of Neanderthals at the hands of the more sophisticated Homo sapiens.
Epigram
22.09.2017
39 6. Bierkeller This venue is a staple part of Bristol’s nightlife, as it hosts a huge variety of events, including live music and club nights besides theatre performances from local, national and international independent theatre companies. 7. Bristol Old Vic The acclaimed theatre is the longest continuously-running one in the UK, and is publicly funded by the Arts Council Britain and Bristol City Council. The recently redeveloped theatre hosts a range of touring shows, often from renowned directors, but also regularly presents the work of their 350-strong Young Company and the affiliated drama school. 8. Arnolfini Arnolfini is one of Europe’s foremost centres for contemporary arts, and maintains partnership with Tate meaning that it often exchanges ideas, expertise and programmes which gives it a wide access to some of the most highly regarded contemporary art of the age. 9. The Wardrobe Theatre This theatre, located at the Old Market Assembly, aims to support and celebrate the city’s creative energy by working primarily with Bristol-based theatre makers. It has a programme of regular events, which includes a comedy evening every Friday. Epigram / Alina Young
19th September 1970
20th September 1946
Vintage Cannes Film Festival poster
The first Glastonbury Festival is held, at a farm belonging to Michael Eavis. Glastonbury is now the largest greenfield festival in the world, attended by around 175,000 people and requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water, and electricity supply. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for charity organisations, such as WaterAid, Oxfam and Greenpeace.
Flickr / Paul Townsend
Flickr / Keijo Knutas
The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed seven years due to World War II. Along with other festivals such as the Venice Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival, it has been said that Cannes offers an opportunity to determine a particular country’s image of its cinema and generally foster the notion that European cinema is ‘art’ cinema.
10. EBC East Bristol Contemporary was set up by two young artists seeking to provide a versatile space for emerging artistic talent. Exhibitions take place on the first weekend of each month and are always free. If you go on the Friday evening the exhibiting artists are often around to discuss their work.
Festival-goers at Glastonbury
Music
Epigram
22.09.2017
@epigrammusic Editor: Alexia Kirov
Deputy Editor: Kate Hutchison
Online Editor: Joe Samrai
music@epigram.org.uk
Highlight of the week: Tokyo World Online editor Joe Samrai previews the best acts at Tokyo World 2017 @ Eastville Park, 23/24th September Newcomers to the university have no better way to draw a close to their freshers’ week than Tokyo World - the two-day festival at Bristol’s Eastville Park, on the 23rd and 24th of September. Previously only taking place on one day, this year the festival has decided to keep things running for two. Festival goers will have a wide variety of music to choose from and if that’s not enough, there are also after-parties each night at Bristol’s famous warehouse super club - Motion.
Ghostface Killah + Killah Priest (Live) - Saturday
Blawan – Saturday
Old school hip hop fans rejoice, taking centre stage on Saturday night is none other than prominent Wu-Tang Clan member and hip-hop legend Ghostface Killah. Kickstarting his solo career hot off the success of Wu Tang in 1996, Ghostface Killah has continued to bolster hip hop until the present. His most recent project being Sour Soul, a twelve-track album in collaboration with young jazz maestros BADBADNOTGOOD. He is joined on stage by Killah Priest, another Wu-Tang affiliate and established artist in his own right. For anyone even vaguely interested in rap and hip-hop, this is a duo not to be missed.
‘Arguably one of the most exciting techno producers in the world’, as described by Resident Advisor, is Blawan. This Yorkshire bred producer and DJ, now currently residing in Berlin has conjured some of the fiercest techno cuts with releases on R&S, Hessle Audio and now on his own label Ternesc. Shifting his production style from software based to strictly hardware, Blawan is all about percussion having been a drummer himself. Expect no-nonsense techno and eyes down floor fillers from this exciting young artist.
Facebook / Blawan
Flickr / Coup d’Orielle
Monki - Sunday 21-year-old Zoo Music head honcho Monki is sure to supply a wide spectrum of deep house gems to Eastville Park. Having begun her mixing and radio career on a pirate radio show in Tolworth, Monki moved on to work at Rinse FM. She is now a resident at Annie Mac’s globe-trotting club night ‘AMP’ indicating her impressive knowledge and mixing ability. Although her shows may not be for the house and techno purists out there, there’s no need for snobbery as her DJ sets are undeniably fun and move at a pace that will allow you no room to breathe.
Gorgon Sound – Sunday Any Bristolian will be familiar with the duo Gorgon Sound (Kahn and Neek). Wave makers in the grime and dubstep scene, these Bristol natives have been taking dub and grime back to its original gritty roots affiliated with labels such as Deep Medi and their own Bandulu imprint. Fans will remember their monster rework of Sir Spyro’s Topper Top - arguably every grime head’s anthem of 2016. As Gorgon Sound, you can expect a more dub and reggae flavour. They have supported the likes of Mala at the Deep Medi 10th anniversary tour across North America and tore down the Boiler Room in 2015. Expect some low-end loveliness from this duo on Sunday night.
Facebook / Gorgon Sound
Facebook / Monki-DJ
Joe Samrai Online Music Editor
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Epigram 22.09.2017
42
Thirteen minutes with Chastity Belt First impressions, Soundcloud’s recent and a little advice: Deputy Music Editor Kate Hutchison chats to alt-rock band Chastity Belt ahead of their sell-out gig at the Exchange – stage personas. I think there’s ways of acting that can make you more money. Not cooler or play better music.’ Currently signed by respected indie label Hardly Art Records, the band has gained online momentum through Hardly Art’s presence on platforms such as Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Though, following recent struggles regarding Soundcloud’s investment, I ask Lydia and Annie about the importance of this music outlet to them:
“
Over our brief chat, I quickly gauge the strong friendship underpinning Chastity Belt. Responding to my call for advice regarding Fresher musicians, Gretchen provides a sincere sentiment. ‘My advice would be to find people you like playing music with…I feel very lucky to be in a band with my best friends who I can talk to and feel comfortable with on tour.’ This position is echoed by Julia: ‘It feels more sustainable that way.’
....in Walla Walla we had a lot more to push back against – almost? I felt a lot more angstier.
Gretchen explains how the four met at college and started making music as a good way to ‘occupy’ themselves. I ask their first impressions of one another, before Chastity Belt came into being, uncovering a tale new to Julia: Annie: ‘I remember Gretchen and her roommates
Epigram / Kate Hutchison
Originally formed in Walla Walla, Washington, Chastity Belt, conisisting of Julia Shapiro (singer and guitar), Lydia Lund (lead guitar), Annie Truscott (bass) and Gretchen Grimm (drums), have risen through the indie ranks since 2013 following the release of their first, definitively playful album No Regrets. Although admitting an evolved maturity since, the four remain loyal to their warm, high-pitched guitar melodies, simple drum patterns and fun but fundamentally empowering lyrics. Towards the end of their UK tour, I speak to an almost restless Chastity Belt after what their tour manager describes as a ‘tough soundcheck’.
Chastity Belt @ The Exchange, 11.09.2017
used to throw these punch-bowl parties, and they just seemed super fun and easy-going.’ Gretchen: ‘I remember on the very first day there were two people that stood out to me and one was Julia. She was walking in this big field of people…wearing this tiedye hat and I was like, oh that girl looks cool.’ Julia: ‘You’ve never told me that.’ Since graduating, the group has moved to Seattle, finding themselves planted in an established DIY scene, which Lydia confesses, has relieved some angst: ‘…I feel like one thing is that in Walla Walla, we are in this really small town with not much... it wasn’t the same like, alt culture. There wasn’t much alt culture.’ ‘It felt like in Walla Walla we had a lot more to push back against – almost? I felt a lot more angsty. Then we moved to Seattle,
where there were so many more likeminded people. It was kind of like - I couldn’t be so whiney anymore.’ As well as withdrawing from the birthplace of Chastity Belt, an abandonment of their placid lyric topics has occurred too. In the band’s latest album, I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone (2017), a matured and at times, melancholic sound is united with increasingly introspective lyrics: the most poignant of which relay an autobiographical, yet relatable monologue of the troubles affecting the common breed of twentysomething year old in the confusing, postuniversity shadow. Something Else, for instance, deals with the supposed incompatibility of doing ‘something cool’ but also ‘getting paid.’ This worry, Julia thinks, is something ‘that a lot of musicians’ at their level can relate to. The latest album isn’t all a pit of vulnerable gloom, though. The record contains a renewed collection of spirited tunes hung with a familiar blasé attitude, reinforcing a further finding of mine: the band appear to prioritize fun, despite underlying anxieties: Gretchen: ‘We’re not really making much money out of this…but maybe we could if we did certain things. But then, if we did certain things would it not be as fun?’ I’m intrigued as to what these types of ‘things’ are. Julia explains, sparking laughter among them: ‘Selling out…having different personalities
“
Kate Hutchison Deputy Music Editor
I think there are ways of acting that can make you more money. Not cooler or play better music.
Annie: ‘I think it’s really important to allow artists to share their music without any sort of labels. It’s a really good way for people to get discovered without having a ton of money, or a ton of recording experience. And I’ve discovered new music on there, so - personally its benefitted me.’ Lydia: ‘I think Soundcloud is really cool…I’ve put a bunch of stupid stuff on Soundcloud under various names and it’s just really great to be like, oh yeah it’s out there - no one is gonna find it - but it’s out there,’ she says triumphantly. Having toured with the likes of Grammynominated Courtney Barnett, Chastity Belt are modestly accomplished in the DIY scene. While we talk about Soundcloud, I’m able to snatch a few highly-informed music recommendations from Lydia – ‘Our friend is in this band, Big Priest. Their music is only available on Soundcloud, and they haven’t found a record label to put it out, and it’s so good.’ Lydia also endorses grungy support band GANG and the ‘pretty awesome’ indie-pop trio IAN SWEET from their side of the pond. Following our discussion, I watch Chastity’s show. Upholding a tight musical delivery from the outset, the band’s mutual comfort shines through exchanged giggles and simultaneous swaying throughout the set. The band interacted – even if a little awkwardly - with the crowd, but allow a roaring chorus of happy birthday to Big Jeff, Bristol’s famous gig-goer. Maybe we’ll see the fun-adoring four back in Bristol soon for another sell-out show.
Facebook / @chastitybeltmusic
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22.09.2017
Managed by the wonderful team responsible for Loves Saves the Day, The Love Inn provides a refreshingly intimate setting for impassionate techno lovers and more. With resident DJs from Livity Sound being the forerunners in the current scene, routinely securing slots alongside huge names like Midland, and on NTS Radio, Thursday nights especially are not to be missed. Be sure to get there early, though, it fills up fast.
With a capacity of 140, The Louisiana is the closest you could get to seeing an artist play in your living room. Despite its homely and welcoming feel, The Louis, at its endearingly known, was born out of dramatic circumstances. One week in 1996, Placebo and Super Furry Animals were both due to play The Fleece, until it caught fire. Both gigs were moved to The Louisiana in Southville and the venue that we know and love today was born.
The Crofters Rights
Bierkeller
Across from The Love Inn, you’ll find The Crofters Rights, a cosy bar and gig space. Local produce characterises the venue in both its bookings and cider selections, with gig promoters such as Gravy Train and NNTS regularly bringing the country’s rawest alternative and indie sounds to Stokes Croft. If you’re looking for grungy guitars, a good pint, and possibly the odd disco night, Crofters is your go-to.
Walk up the stairs into the Bierkeller and you enter a true bastion of Bristol’s independent music scene. This 700-capacity venue has hosted some of the city’s most exciting cultural events for over 30 years - stretching beyond music, to theatre and comedy too. Situated at the heart of the city centre, in All Saints’ Street, the Bierkeller is one of the venues involved in the annual Dot to Dot festival each May. Although it might seem, mid-set, that the place has its own microclimate as it gets so sweaty, this just adds to its charm and atmosphere.
Bristol bands: two of the best
Instagram.com/cosiesbristol
The Louisiana
Instagram.com/trouvelagroove
The Love Inn
Instagram.com/richardbolwell
Epigram’s Music Editors choose their favourite independent venues that the city has to offer
Instagram.com/outersitepictures
Editors’ picks: Bristol’s best venues
Cosies Those in search of a more intimate club experience can find solace at Cosies. Located on Portland Square, the venue is a wine bar and bistro by day that utterly transforms at night, and its name could not sum it up any better. Upon descending into the venue you will find candle lit caverns in
its outdoor smoking area and a snug indoor seating area. The dance floor is a brick vaulted cellar compact with a sound system that will rattle you to the core. Famous for its weekly dose of dub and reggae every Sunday Cosies also hosts eclectic club nights throughout the week.
Music Editor Alexia Kirov writes about two Bristolian bands making their mark in this city, across the nation, and beyond This week, Bristol freshers arrive to a city with an incredibly vibrant music scene. But for any UoB student, LICE are surely the most exciting band to be emerging from this city right now. Formed by a group of students here at the university, it’s been a busy year for the art-punk four-piece. This summer has seen them release their first 7”, ‘Human Parasite’, and play a string of dates the country over, including Glastonbury, ahead of their homecoming show on October 20th at Thekla. Yes, they’re living the dream - but one day soon, you could be too! After all, it was only a couple of years ago that the members of LICE arrived to their freshers’ week, so start a band and see what happens.
Facebook / @licebristol
Bristol band LICE
A step ahead of LICE in their career, IDLES released their ferocious debut album, Brutalism, earlier this year to widespread acclaim. ‘Well Done’ and ‘Mother’ are particularly strong tracks, but the whole album is a wonderful realisation of the promise shown in the several EPs that they have released over the past five years. IDLES’ slot supporting Foo Fighters at London’s O2 Arena earlier this week was another crowning moment in a momentous year for the band, but your next chance to catch IDLES on a stage in Bristol is at October’s Simple Things festival. Both LICE and IDLES are included on a recently released 12” compilation of Bristol bands, which has been put out by record shop Rise. The 12” marks the end of the Rise era, as it is set to move to a new location in Nelson Street and become a Rough Trade store in a few weeks. The fact that these two bands are included on a compilation that celebrates the legacy of what many would deem to be Bristol’s best record shop is proof enough that they are more than worth a listen. It might be the end of an era for Rise - under its current guise at least - but it’s the beginning of big things for LICE and IDLES. Alexia Kirov Music Editor
Epigram
Puzzles Word grid How many words can you find including the middle letter, with at least four letters per word? There is at least one nine-letter word. 18= Average 24 = Good 30= Excellent
@EpigramPuzzles
Editor: Joselyn Joanes puzzles@epigram.org.uk
Solutions will be posted online at www.epigram.org.uk before the next issue is released.
Sudoku
Word ladder Can you get from top to bottom, changing only one letter from one rung to the next?
Just a phrase Find the word which can come before each of the three words given, in each case giving a common two-word phrase. E.g. CAR park, CAR stereo, CAR alarm.
1. Breaking, Finders, Less 2. Player, Point, Room 3. Sheet, Stock, Staff 4. Lookers, Loading, Shore 5. Heads, Lines, Link
Quick crossword
Fill the empty squares with numbers 1 to 9, so that each number appears once in each row, column and 3x3 box.
Word links Find the three letters that can suffix the word on the left or prefix the word on the right, in each case giving a real word. E.g. HE-AR-MY.
MANA SLUG SWIN BUG MUG
MEN MY MANE MANIC FALCON
Killer sudoku
Sudoku rules apply and all the numbers in a cage must add to the number in the top left corner of the cage.
Pick up the next edition of Epigram for this academic year’s first ever Cryptic crossword
Quick ACROSS 4. Heads, shoulders, knees and … (3) 5. Honey-yellow colour (5) 7. Queen Elizabeth II (7) 8. Cain’s brother (4) 10. Block (4) 11. Container top (3) 12. Scandinavian wool rug (3) 13. Consumes (4) 16. Capable (4) 17. Distracted (6) 18. Tunnelling (7) 20. Obtain (3) 21. Close of day (3) 22. Surface of revolution (5) 23. Sky God (3) 24. Father (4) 27. A Scottish no (20) 29. Was not looking forward to (7) 31. Endorse (9) 33. Fertilised ovule (4) 34. Single woman (12) DOWN 1. Civil (8) 2. Child’s toys (5) 3. Granted (4) 6. Anger (4) 9. Chess move (6) 14. Torment (7) 15. Lack of (7) 18. Negative feedback (3) 19. A particular thing (3) 22. Golden-brown (3) 24. Goal (3) 25. Fit to eat (6) 26. Official order (6) 28. Passage (5) 30. Misuse (5) 32. Time Zone (3)
22.09.2017
Scrap Work
Don’t forget to follow us on Twtter @epigrampuzzles - tweet us your solutions too!
Kropki
Sudoku rules appy and adjacent sqaures sharing a white circle must have a difference of one, and all adjacent squares sharing a black circle signifies that one of the squares in half the other.
Epigram
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22.09.2017
Student sport membership shake up There have been major changes to the sports membership system this year, allowing students to pay by monthly direct debit and giving more flexibility in membership types. The University has been working hard to improve the sport membership system, after coming under fire in an Epigram investigation last year, which showed them to have the second most expensive peak gym access across the 25 universities investigated.
However, considerable progress has been made. The previous number of four membership types has now been extended to five providing more flexibility. Also new for this year is the ability to pay by a monthly direct debit, which you can stop and start freely, allowing students to stop paying when they go home for summer. Alternatively, if staying in Bristol all year round, the 12 month membership comes at reduced cost compared to last year, with the most expensive (Active Plus) coming down from £290 to £225. The main concern in previous years has been that of accessing the gym in peak (now called premium) times, students were forced to purchase the most expensive Active Plus Pass. Now the Active #2 membership can grant premium gym access, at £19.99 a month or £180 a year. If you’re happy to go to the gym
Epigram / Nicky Withers
“
Students can, for the first time, start and stop their membership at any time
before 3pm on weekdays, you can add swimming or classes to your Active #2 pass. Or even purchase the cheaper Active #1 pass at £15.99 a month or £144 a year. Sport and Student Development Officer, John House commented on the change: ‘For longer than I can remember the cost of sport has been an issue at the front of students’ minds, so I’m delighted to see the fantastic progress that’s been made with the new sports pass offer from the Sport Exercise and Health department.’ Bristol SU worked closely with them to create the best deal for students possible which will hopefully allow more students to access the great range of activities available at Bristol. For less money than two meal deals you can now access all of the B:Active Campus program and club sessions for a month. If that’s not a win I don’t know what is. All of the memberships give students access to the B:Active Campus programme and intramural sport without any extra cost.B:Active is a series of different classes and activities that take place across the university precint. Timetables will be released soon. If you’d rather exercise a little closer to home then B:Active may well be coming to an accommodation near you. With a wide variety of classes, there’s something for everyone and you can feel comfortable with your friends right by your own flat. Getting away from everything may be more your goal and there are coached activites like running and tennis. Suitable for both beginners and those with more experience, it’s an opportunity to get out of the house and some fresh air. Great for both your physical and mental health.
Epigram / Nicky Withers
Nicky Withers Sports Editor
Autumn class timetable for the University gym, classes available with Active #1 membership and others
If you would prefer a team sport without the solid commitment, then intramural sport is more up your street. Football and hockey are among some of the available sports, with teams originating in courses, accommodations or societies. It’s easy to get involved by applying online at the SU website and a great way to keep fit whilst making friends. Matt Birch (Director of Sport)
released a statement about the new system: ‘We’re expanding what’s available, for free, to students in University Residences, and are really proud of the work we’ve done with the SU to achieve all this. ‘We’re here to provide flexible, affordable ways for every single student to stay active and feel part of the community. There are even some completely new things like
additional discounts for any student in receipt of a University bursary.’ As John House says it has taken some time, and now we are in a much better place. We’re looking forward to welcoming all students, new or returning,to being part of what’s on offer.’ There’s so much to get involved with. Head to bristol.ac.uk/sport/activities/ for more information on how to take advantage of these initiatives.
Five lessons: how not to handle the half
Tim Godfrey Twiss Deputy Editor
“ This was my second lesson of training: running is s**t
This was my second lesson of training: running is s**t. You may respond to this with: ‘Why didn’t you know this?’ This is a reasonable question, and to answer I can only say that there are two types of running: purpose based running and purposeless running. I play football about twice a week and run a reasonable distance within the game, but this is for a reason. There is a dynamic and constantly shifting objective, normally just kick the ball but the focus is a lot less on the actual running. Other forms of purposeful running include, chasing a bus or evading a wild predator. However, running training is purposeless. Even the final objective, to stop, doesn’t make sense. If the end goal is to stop
then what is the point of even starting? Despite the crushing sadness of the run, I managed to do about 4.5 miles. The pattern of my training continued this general formula of mild anticipation, then brutal pain and melancholy. Gradually, the pain became less, the distances grew and I began to regard my running shoes with less disdain. Then, with eight days to go I finished a run with searing pain in both my calves. I was slightly confused because I had been warming up and cooling down religiously. As I pondered my seeming bad luck I realised that I had not taken a full rest day at any point. This was my third lesson: don’t try too hard. It’s important to test yourself but just as important to let your body heal. My anger was confounded when the next day James explained he was happily running 13 miles semi-regularly aiming for a 1 hour 30 minutes. This was my fourth unhappy lesson: don’t run with James. Although I wanted nothing more than to try and bridge the gap to him, I knew I couldn’t, the pain in my calves wouldn’t go. I booked a session with a physiotherapist. An experience that can only be described as torture. When I first saw the skinny 50-year-old I felt confident she wouldn’t be strong enough to genuinely hurt me. This was a gross misjudgement. As was the statement, “You can press as hard as you
Second half of route map and finish line for the Bristol Half Marathon
want, I don’t mind.” One hour of agony later she demanded £30, a sum I only payed for fear of more nerve shattering discomfort. Despite the torture, my legs actually felt better. Lesson 5: professional treatment is good, but also bad. I am as uncertain as you as to how well I will perform or if I will even finish. I also don’t know whether
Instagram Twitter //Bristol UoB Boat SU Club
The decision to enter myself into the Great Bristol Half Marathon boiled down to two main reasons: first, I had just completed a 130 mile day cycle ride and two, my mate James was planning on running it. The fact that James was also running gave some assurance that I wouldn’t be standing on the line next to some 35 year old in tight latex shorts rubbing his nipples with chammy cream, at least not alone anyway. My confidence was sky high as I entered my card details, unfortunately this was to be the highlight of the subsequent three weeks. Training got off to a bad start. The day after I entered I had to attend a close friend’s birthday which ruled me out of action the next day, then the day after I got injured playing football so I couldn’t run the next 3 days. These days were my first lesson in training - it’s incredibly frustrating. You become very conscious of time when you are approaching race day and any day without training feels completely wasted, even if you won a Nobel prize for Physics the same day, or you just saw the birth of your first child - annoyingly neither of these events happened to me during my time out. For the majority of the first week I was forced to recover, sat twiddling my thumbs and endlessly
stretching my hideously inflexible legs. When I finally felt mostly fit, with 17 days to go, I awoke early, visions of failure spurring me on and hit the road. I had no planned distance or pace, only that I was going to smash the run. Moments later all sentiments of ‘smashing’ evaporated and all motivation drained from my body.
the feeling of accomplishment will justify the hours of suffering. All I can say is that if you’re looking for a small fitness challenge, a half marathon most definitely fulfils the criteria. At the end of the day, if you are planning on training for a long distance running event, you always know you can’t do any f*****g worse than me.
Epigram
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University of Bristol Paralympic hopeful excels on international stage popularity of para-badminton which will become an official Paralympic sport for the first time at the 2020 games. Dan suffers with cerebral palsy on the right side of his body, a lifelong brain condition that affects movement and co-ordination. Symptoms include muscle spasms, tremors and random or uncontrolled movements.
“ Dan returns home a hero having achieved a silver medal in the singles and a gold medal
UOBBC / Lauren Ashley
Ben McCall-Myers Online Editor Usually, the summer break marks a lull in the action of university sport as teams disperse and competitive fixtures dwindle. However, for the University of Bristol Badminton Club there was still plenty to get excited about. Earlier this month, Dan Bethell,
a law graduate returning to the university to study a postgraduate degree in International Commercial Law, travelled all the way to Tokyo to compete in the HULIC DAIHATSU Japan para-badminton international between Thursday September 7th and Sunday September 10th. This Badminton World Federation approved tournament reflects a growth in the
His chances for the tournament were jeopardised when he suffered a broken metatarsal just ten weeks before he was set to compete. After taking time out to focus on his final exams, he went on a full training camp consisting of thirtyseven hours of sport in just ten days. His body struggled to adjust to the sudden change and the injury struck. This kept him out for eight weeks, so having only had a fortnight to prepare for the tournament his confidence was severely knocked going into the competition. Despite all this, Dan returns home a hero having achieved a silver medal in the singles and a gold medal, alongside
his partner Bobby Griffin, in the doubles. The pair beat the current world number ones from France 21-16 21-16 in the final. This is certainly a great cause for optimism and if Dan can continue such scintillating form, one of our University’s very own could well fulfil his dream and return to Tokyo to represent England at the 2020 Paralympics. Dan took up the sport in 2010 where he competed at his first para-badminton national tournament, having originally started out as a tennis player. Ever since watching his first Paralympics in 2008 he’s aspired to compete at the games, and the switch of sport came due to the fact there was no structure for people with cerebral palsy to compete in tennis tournaments. When asked about his participation, he reflected ‘I got hooked on the competitive nature of the sport and the dream I had, became an obsession.’ He won the European Championship in 2014 and after this year’s success says this dream ‘feels closer than ever’. Indeed, he is a truly inspirational figure and with his diligence, drive and determination it seems Dan will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Another exceptional performance from within the club came from Xiao Xuan Teh. In her first year at Bristol alone she has risen from an unranked, recreational player to the 34th senior
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women’s singles player in the UK. This is a remarkable achievement and she has managed to consolidate this ranking over the summer. She’s certainly another one to watch from a stellar crop of Bristol Badminton players. If you’re interested in emulating these guys’ successes, or just fancy trying badminton for the first time, the Badminton club is running taster sessions on Saturday 23rd September and Sunday the 24th September. These can be found in the University sports hall located on Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TP and will run from 9am-11am on the Saturday and 9am-12pm on the Sunday.
Epigram / Hugo Lebus
Epigram
22.09.2017
Sport
@epigramsport Editor: Nicky Withers
Online Editor: Ben McCall-Myers
Deputy Editors: Felix Rusby & Tim Godfrey Twiss
sport@epigram.org.uk
Bristol athletes shed the summer sloth for a bright future of running in Kenya Felix Rusby Deputy Editor CALLING ALL STUDENTS! For most of us, returning to university, work and long dark hours after a summer of rest, relaxation and recuperation is challenging enough. Even the more active among us tend to see a dip in fitness levels as motivation wavers with the shortening of the days and lengthening of the nights. As the days of hot beaches and sunbathing drift into distant memories, we are left with the cold reality of work, darkness and sedentary hours spent at the desk swaddled in warm hoodies and cosy clothes. Given this, the exploits of a small group of Bristol athletes headed on a fitness fuelled trip to Kenya, seems all the more impressive. The four athletes - all recent members of Bristol University - have spent their summer getting in shape in preparation for four months of altitude training based in a small rural town called Iten in Kenya. The location is well known amongst distance athletes the world over; it is something of a running mecca, with a number of the world’s most successful athletes, all starting out from this village and continuing to live and train from there today. The Bristol boys, Callum Jones, Jonny Monk, Will Davidson and Andy Salmon, hope to draw inspiration from the impressive running culture that permeates the whole region and return fitter and stronger than ever before.
70 sports teams to choose from - something for everyone Coombe Dingle Sports Complex hosts an open session to encourage students to get involved in sport In 2016, 1200 students took part. This year the organisers are hoping for a bigger turnout Sunday’s session will run between midday and 4pm Meet a range of teams and get involved So, whether you’re hooked on hockey, mad on MMA or barmy about basketball head down to Coombe Dingle this Sunday and check out what the university has to offer
and churned out a few good times’. Building on this, Callum hopes that Kenya will take his running up another gear. By increasing his aerobic base and learning from the wealth of athletes who live and train in the region, Callum hopes that he can challenge for a European indoor qualifying time. Jonny Monk started running later than Callum and did not manage any major success until his final year at school, where he won a bronze medal for 800m at English Schools. Starting university, Jonny was set back by an achilles injury which he developed in his first week. This was a significant setback that stopped him competing for all that year. Despite this, Jonny remained committed to the sport, becoming an active member of UBACCC, which earned him the award of Most Committed Member and led on to his eventual role as club captain. Despite getting back to training, Jonny wasn’t able to make it through any of the semifinals for BUCS in any competitions. This did not throw him off however, instead Jonny persevered with his
training and took up a masters at Loughborough, which finally resulted in success, when he took gold in the BUCS 800m final. Having proven his calibre at a major level, Jonny is looking forward to carrying on along this positive trajectory as he travels to Kenya. Jonny, like Callum, hopes the experience will help develop his running and stand him in good stead for major championships to come, but he also adds that he’s looking forward to ‘spending time and training with three of (his) best buds from UBACCC’, and re-establishing that love of the sport he first developed at Bristol. Kenya is also a promising opportunity for Bristol athlete Will Davidson. His running career began shortly before arriving at university when he entered the Brighton Marathon. Training for this event was minimal which meant Will didn’t run a particularly quick time. Despite this, by the end of the event, he had discovered a new-found love for running. He joined UBACCC in his second year and since then has seen steady improvement in
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All four of the Bristol runners have an impressive track record. Callum began his career before arriving at university, competing from as far back as primary school. He has seen significant success, at county and regional level, winning races at the South West schools and South West inter counties. Coming to university, Callum continued where he left off, achieving competitive results at BUCS cross country and indoor and outdoor track as well as posting some fast times while road racing too. Despite this, Callum admits that the real successes arrived when he joined UBACCC (the university running club) in third year. He explains that ‘it genuinely was one of the best decisions in my athletics career. It really brought the enjoyment back into my training and racing, and as a result my first indoor season was pretty successful. I made the final of BUCS and finished fifth
No cost and no commitment
Instagram / Andy Salmon
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The four athletes - all recent members of Bristol University have spent their summer getting in shape
Fresh Sport’s open session will take place on Sunday 24th September
his performances. Last year Will won the university Gwent league, a seasonal cross-country competition that sees some of the best crosscountry runners in the country compete against each other over a series of races. Will also saw significant success at BUCS where he made the steeple chase final, reducing his PB by a massive 90 seconds. He is now looking forward to hitting Kenya at a run, ready to see further improvements in his running in preparation for the new season.
He had discovered a new-found love for running
Andy Salmon was the last of the four to get into running, picking the sport up just before he started his engineering degree at Bristol. Once at the university, Andy took the opportunity to pursue his career in running further by joining UBACCC,
where he established some strong friendships and began to compete in a number of competitions. Since taking up the sport, Andy has seen significant improvements in his performance. He likes to compete in middle distance events on the track and 5 to 10k on the roads. His love for the sport eventually resulted in him getting elected club captain in 2015. For Andy, the trip to Kenya provides a fresh opportunity to strengthen his running amongst a group of highly capable and motivated athletes. Andy is also looking forward to returning to a country where he spent the first few years of his life and is looking forward to seeing how the country has changed since his first stay. All four of the Bristol runners see this trip as an exciting opportunity to move their running to new heights, but also to strengthen their friendships, first formed here at Bristol. Their exploits and achievements are all impressive examples of how university sport can encourage and develop athletes and it is exciting to see how the team will come on during their training in Kenya. If you want to keep up to date with how the Bristol boys get on out in Kenya, then follow them on Instagram at Kenya_keep_up. If you’re interested in getting involved in Athletics and Cross Country at Bristol University then visit the UBACCC website.