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Fortnightly 2 March 2020 Issue 347

Epigram / Ellie Brown

The University of Bristol’s Independent Student Newspaper

Bristol Islamic Society slam SU at AMM Students clash with SU Officers over issues of racism and Islamophobia at the annual meeting

Ellie Brown News Subeditor

S

parks flew at Bristol Student Union’s most recent Annual Members Meeting as students clashed with full-time officers over recent attempts to raise awareness of

racism and Islamophobia.

The events at the AMM came following a post, released on Facebook, on the 22 February, in which Bristol’s Islamic Society declared a ‘complete lack of confidence’ in the SU ‘or its officers to

www.epigram.org.uk

ensure the safety of Muslim students.’

In the post, the Islamic Society accused the SU of providing ‘very little support’ for the society during Islamophobia Awareness Month.

It also criticised the SU officers for making ‘no mention of Islamophobia’

EpigramPaper

in its recent open letter on racism to the University and claimed that the SU had ‘failed’ to prevent what it argued were ‘offensive’ speakers from attending events on campus.

During the AMM, members of the Islamic Society criticised SU Equality

@EpigramPaper

and Liberation Officer, Jason Palmer, for his perceived lack of support for BAME and Muslim students. One student claimed ‘we only had one officer come to any of our events’ during Islamophobia awareness month.

Continued on page 3...

@epigrampaper_

Editorial

epigram 02.03.2020

Co-Editor-in-Chief Co-Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor

Imogen Horton Patrick Sullivan Will Charley

Digital Editor Tom Taylor Deputy Digital Editor Bethany Marris epionlineeditor@gmail.com

What is the future of mental health care at university?

I

n this issue, we have a double page spread on the results of the University’s 2019 Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey. In our last issue, we reported on the loneliness expressed by the students filling out the survey – more than one in five said they were ‘often or always lonely’. The other alarming results are that nearly half of students show symptoms of depression and anxiety.

I first saw these results in a busy period just before Christmas. The overwhelming feeling of coursework deadlines and then the January slump of a scattered university population reminded me just how little it takes to throw you into a spiral as a student. I co-run a men’s talking group on campus and spend a lot of time talking within the community about mental awareness, and still the greatest blind spot tends to be for ourselves. Having the confidence to ask for help can be extremely difficult, and that’s why we all need to check in on other students around us – friends or acquaintances – just in case they’re desperately waiting for someone to reach out. The Bristruths Wellbeing Review, on top of the University survey, received more anecdotal evidence of the statistics and will inform senior staff where students feel lost. Unsurprisingly, each wellbeing service – including ResiLife and Student Health Service – featured both positive and negative reviews. Most importantly, there are inconsistencies in how students respond to each service and the individual aspect of care is crucial with mental health. Only 10 per cent of the student population filled out the University’s survey and those who have likely have a wider interest in their mental health and the issue more generally. Whether this has contributed to some of the high levels of

symptoms for depression or anxiety is difficult to gauge, but all students need to know they can depend on the system to look after them. Currently, too many are being let down.

It is difficult, however, to foresee the changes which can plug the gaps. The University has invested more financially than others and several friends of mine studying elsewhere have noted how much more awareness and discussion there seems to be here.

The Student Health Service itself is unique and award-winning – only Exeter and Nottingham have similar set-ups. When I think of the provisions available, the ability to book an emergency, same-day mental health appointment with a GP is remarkable, and the 24/7 ResiLife support for first years is something I wish existed in 2015. What is lacking institutionally is that aforementioned aspect of individualism, and, with regards to the two wellbeing surveys, many students have reported to me specific members of staff or fellow students who have ultimately made the difference. These community members need commending because it is not easy to know what particular people need. It has to be the next step for all universities as student numbers swell and the finances continue to dominate the agenda. A clear ‘ethos’, such as that of New Zealand’s rugby team, the All Blacks, needs to be the overriding motive to future decision making outside of healthcare, because, while the University has more developed Wellbeing Services than most in the industry, it is not enough.

The All Blacks have four pillars they advertise with every job offer: Be Our Best (Te Pou Hiranga), Be Welcoming (Te Pou Maioha), Be Passionate (Te Pou Ihihi), and Play Fair (Te Pou Tika). Imagine if every job here listed these as requirements and, in interviews, candidates had to share their experiences to match a better, more defined culture. Sadly, it takes years, decades even, to build such a culture, but hopefully in the future the burden would be spread more evenly across the community rather than on individuals working beyond their means.

The other prominent issues this fortnight – Muslim students feeling unsupported and staff striking about casualisation – would also be improved upon.

Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. The views expressed in this publication are not those of the University or the Students’ Union. The design, text and photographs are copyright of Epigram and its individual contributors and may not be reproduced without permission.

Printed by: Iliffe Print Cambridge Ltd. Winship Road, Milton Cambridge, CB24 6PP

From the archives:

Strippers at AGM ‘blatantly sexist’

Issue 97 reported on the SU AGM in February 1998 – a better attended affair than last week’s This week, after Bristol Union celebrated its most popular AGM for fifteen years, the issue of whether strippers should have been present at the meeting continues to be controversial.

800 students attended the AGM this year, making it the first to be fully quorate for five years. Union officials were delighted by the turnout, saying it indicated ‘the end of apathy’ about student politics.

However, the presence of strippers at the meeting outraged some students. The Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS) has started a leafleting campaign in protest against the ‘blatant sexism’ of the stunt, complaining that it ‘legitimises an atmosphere and attitude in which all women are regarded as sexually available and considered fair game’ and that as a result, the press got the message that all students were interested in was the strippers, rather than the serious issues debated at the meeting.

It appears that the strippers were at least partly responsible for the high turnout this year, as about 500 students stayed to watch the show

after the end of the meeting. However, the vote for them to perform was close, the motion was passed with a majority of just 60, and debate about the issue was fierce. Several speakers claimed the stunt called into question the legitimacy of the AGM. But others, including Naz Sarkar, General Secretary of the Union, encouraged students to vote for the strippers ‘for a laugh’. Later, Naz said, ‘I’m glad we did it. Loads of people turned up and they debated the serious issues as well. That was the objective.’

Sabbaticals also hope that the high turnout will send a clear message to the University not to abolish the tradition of keeping the afternoon of the AGM free, as previous years’ low turnouts had led to the University questioning whether it was valid any longer.

Sally Purves said ‘the aim was to make the AGM contentious and widely discussed. Students need to remember what it’s there for – it’s what they want it to be. I hope this huge turnout influences Senate’s decision on whether to keep a Thursday free for the AGM.’ Laura Sheeter

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‘They have shown they are incapable of representing Muslim students’

News Subeditor

Continued from front page...

While another argued that the campaign had not been funded by the SU, as it typical. SU officers were also criticised for not supporting a motion on the APPG definition of Islamophobia, leaving one student having ‘to meet with the University to push and push [it] forward.’

‘How can the officer claim to be working for Muslim students when he hasn’t contacted ISoc about these things?’ the student asked, before stating that it was ‘really affecting [their] wellbeing.’

Meanwhile, questions about the SU’s recent Open Letter on Racism to the University were raised. Omar Choudhury, Chair of the BME Network, stated that ‘there was no consultation from the SU, including the entire officer team, with me on this open letter,’ arguing that ‘the letter is racist, because the letter does not represent BME students, because the letter was not done in consultation with the representative of BME students.’

He also criticised the SU’s perceived lack of support over the recent event with Colonel Kemp, stating that because of this ‘they have shown with that that they are incapable of representing Muslim students, and frankly - in my opinion - any minority students.’

In his response to the questions, Jason said he was ‘happy to personally apologise that I did not give as much support as I should have [to Islamophobia awareness month] ’ which ‘came down to my own personal issues at the time.’

He stressed that he was ‘really keen to figure out how in future years Islamophobia awareness month is supported to a standard

“

They have shown with that that they are incapable of representing Muslim students

“

Ellie Brown

that students are happy with’ though noted that ‘organisationally there was some support for Islamophobia awareness month, that came in the form of redesigning the materials... also getting social media support at the same level as other monthly campaigns we run.’

Referring to criticisms over the SU’s handling of the Col Kemp speech, he stated ‘there are natural limitations to what we as a Union can do...we can’t shut down events, no matter how much personally we or students themselves take offence.’

He admitted that ‘mistakes sometimes are made, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of willingness or courage for us to go ahead and support Muslim students in the future.’

The Officers also publicly apologised over not adequately consulting with BME students over the Open Letter.

Speaking on behalf of the team, International Students’ Officer Julius said: ‘we decided as a team to publish the letter. We agree and we accept that we did not do adequate consultation...I want to assure you that the university is committed to eradicating racism in this institution’ Jason defended the letter stating that ‘the open letter itself is a tactic for change to take place - the impact of that letter is a commitment from the University to develop a joint strategy to tackle racism and islamophobia on campus, which students will be able to feed into.’

Union Affairs Officer Julio Mkok, also apologised to Muslim students for ‘the APPG motion mentioned earlier’ as ‘we did not give the policy adequate attention...we will work closely with Muslim students and the BME network to make sure this does not happen again.’

He followed this with a comment on the open letter, stating that ‘one thing I’m not going to categorically apologise for is calling out racism in the University, especially as a BME student.’

‘Did we make a mistake in not consulting the relevant parties? Yes. Are we going to apologise for calling

out racism at the University? No.’ Speaking after the event, Khadija, president of the Friends of Palestine Society, said: ‘We only decided to make public statements like this after almost two years of trying to work productively with the SU. We repeatedly gave them action points to work on and advocate for us. Though we understand the limits of what the SU can control especially due to free speech, we clearly laid out how in spite of this they could work to make Muslim students feel safe and welcome. A few examples: we asked them to facilitate our input on a new prayer room in Senate house, to advocate for the APPG definition of islamophobia to be introduced into university policy, to support organisation of Islamophobia awareness month, to reach out to Muslim students when Islamophobic events take place and to release public clear statements standing against Islamophobia when they do so. The SU have not reached out to us this year to work on these objectives with us and the ELA officer has not initiated any contact of his own accord or asked Muslim students for their concerns or input.The only meetings have been reactive, and even then these had to be initiated by students, with still no clear statements of support released afterwards. Islamophobia Awareness Month was initiated

ED

IL FA

Trial Dairy-Free Campus Cafes in 2020/21 This motion asks for the University to trial cutting dairy from all campus cafes and seek feedback from students on the change.

PAS

SED

Support Student Rent Strikes

This motion calls asks for Bristol SU to support all student rent strikes through publicity, practical support and finances

and supported entirely by the BME network chair – only a part time role.

The objectives with the university have relied on students once again to organise meetings and work on.

I am a student I should not have to keep reminding an organisation and officers whose job it is to advocate for me.’ In a statement in response to

“

Mistakes are sometimes made, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of willingness

“

• Members of the Islamic Society declared a ‘complete lack of confidence’ in the SU in a Facebook post • Members of the Islamic society have accused the SU of ‘failing’ to represent Muslim students • SU officer Jason Palmer affirmed the SU’s ‘willingness and courage’ to provide support for Muslim students in the future

the criticisms a spokesperson for the SU, said: ‘‘We are deeply concerned by the points raised by our Islamic Society in their recent statement.

‘In each of the cases raised, we have worked to engage student leaders, in collaboration with the Bristol SU BME Network, and are working to ensure that their interests are effectively represented. In general through regular interactions and meetings, we are working with all parties to give them the best opportunity we can to shape our actions on racism and Islamophobia at the University.

‘However, we acknowledge that this has not been perfect, and we take responsibility for those actions that have left our students feeling this way.All forms of racial discrimination including Islamophobia, on campus or anywhere else, are unacceptable.

PAS

SED

One-Split Wonder: Rag, Volunteering And Sustainability Network This motion asks to for the current network to be split into two networks

Over the last few years Bristol SU has worked passionately to improve support for marginalised students at Bristol. We have published leading research on the BME Attainment gap in Higher Education, and we compiled the first ever Bristol BME Powerlist to celebrate the city’s BME community, working with our BME student representatives. We are now engaged in a full review of the effectiveness of our democratic structures for students from minority or liberation groups, consulting with their student representatives.

‘Our officer team have secured a commitment from the University to create a joint action plan to tackle racism. As we seek to confirm the details of this action plan, we will be liaising with all representatives of students affected by racism at Bristol.

We will be reaching out to the Islamic Society to further understand and address their specific concerns as a matter of urgency.’

PAS

SED

Make the Terms of Reference of liberation networks more aligned and consistent

PAS

SED

Make it easier for students to access internships and short-term jobs within the university

ED

IL FA

Support Societies with Security Costs

epigram 02.03.2020

4 News 2019 Wellbeing Survey

Forty-five per cent of Bristol students found to ‘screen positive’ for depression

• According to the findings of the Wellbeing Survey, 45 per cent of Bristol students suffer from ‘moderate to severe’ symptoms of depression • This is similar to the previous year's findings

Unsplash / Anthony Tran

Maddy Russell News Editor

T

he University of Bristol's annual Wellbeing Report for 2019 has found that 45 per cent of Bristol students screened positive for ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’ symptoms of depression.

The report analyses the results of an online questionnaire, which was open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students between 6-27 May 2019.

The questionnaire, which used the widely recognised Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) to test for symptoms of depression and anxiety amongst students, found that nine out of every 20 students who undertook the test demonstrated signs of depression.

Comparatively, the global student average for symptoms of depression is believed to be around 21 per cent or approximately one in five.

Whilst the average WEMWBS score for UK 16-24 year olds is between 48 to 50. The average score for Bristol students was 43. According to the WEMWBS scale a higher overall score suggests better mental health.

The overall number of students demonstrating symptoms of depression were found not to have changed from the findings from the University's first Wellbeing Report in 2018, which also found that 45 per cent of students at the University reported ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’ depressive symptoms.

The report also uncovered that 35 per cent of Bristol students

experienced ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’ levels of anxiety. This figure has fallen by 2 per cent since 2018, but is still higher than the global student average, which is 18 per cent.

Students identified as being from a minority background were found to be more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Female students were also found to be seven per cent more likely to suffer from depression and 10 per cent more likely to suffer from anxiety, than their male counterparts.

Analysis of findings from a recent Freedom of Information request sent to all 163 UK universities by the BBC,

suggests that the number of students seeking support for mental health problems has risen by 53 per cent within the last five years.

Whilst the overall number of students displaying symptoms of depression remained the same as in 2018, students’ overall attitudes towards the University’s wellbeing services were found to have improved.

The report found that perception of the availability of wellbeing services and their accessibility had gone up since 2018. With 48 per cent of students in the 2019 report claiming to have found time with a Student Wellbeing advisor ‘extremely useful’

compared to only 39 per cent in 2018.

Similarly, the number of those claiming that the University Wellbeing services were ‘not useful’ fell by 10 per cent.

In a statement in response to these findings in the report, a spokesperson for the University said: ‘We recognise that nationally more young people are reporting difficulties with their mental health.

‘At Bristol we have reviewed everything we do and introduced a whole-institution approach to mental health and wellbeing with substantially strengthened support for our students in their accommodation, in academic schools and through central support services.

‘This has enabled us to provide more proactive support for student wellbeing, both for our students during their transition into University and to help create a sense of community and wellbeing during their time with us. Our enhanced teams are also able to provide direct support for students whenever they need it, 24/7, throughout the year.

‘Like all universities, schools and colleges, we are deeply concerned by the increase of mental health issues amongst our young people nationally.’

More postgraduates experience depression Bristruths and Epigram conduct Wellbeing Review and anxiety than undergraduates • 48 per cent of Bristol postgraduates experience symptoms of depression, an increase from 2018 • 41 per cent experience symptoms of anxiety • This is compared to 46 and 35 per cent of undergraduates respectively

Benjamin Salmon Deputy News Editor

Taught postgraduate students experience poorer mental health when compared to undergraduates, the University’s wellbeing survey has revealed.

The annual Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey, conducted in May 2019, has revealed that 48 per cent of postgraduate students still being taught experience ‘moderate to severe depressive symptoms’.

This represents a 7-point increase on the previous year’s findings, in which 41 per cent exhibited that response.

In the same survey, it was shown that 38 per cent of postgraduate students experience ‘moderate to

severe anxiety symptoms’, which is down from 41 per cent the year before.

For undergraduate students, the results were 46 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

This represents a poorer mental health experience for postgraduate students at the University of Bristol.

Responding to the findings a spokesperson for the University said: ‘We recognise that postgraduate study can sometimes be an isolating and challenging experience.

‘Our postgraduate students have access to the same wellbeing and support services as undergraduates and we regularly communicate to them about what is available.

‘Specifically, for PGRs, the recently reopened PGR Hub in Senate House provides a dedicated space for PGR students to relax and meet others.

‘The regular programme of social events, aimed at bring PGR students together, is also proving popular, supported by the PGR Community Fund.

‘The Bristol Doctoral College

has also expanded its programme of wellbeing activities for PGRs, including monthly coffee and cake afternoons, board games cafes, and free weekly yoga sessions.’

This follows a report by Epigram on Monday that 45 per cent of Bristol students ‘screen positive’ for depression.

The same survey also revealed that 34 per cent of all students had been diagnosed with a mental health problem at some point in their lives.

Whilst, the overall number of postgraduate students displaying symptoms of depression in the 2019 Wellbeing Report increased, compared to the findings in 2018, students’ overall attitudes towards the University’s wellbeing services were found to have improved.

With just under half of students in the 2019 report claiming to have found time with a Student Wellbeing advisor ‘extremely useful’ compared to only 39 per cent in 2018. Similarly, the number of those claiming that the University Wellbeing services were ‘not useful’ had fallen.

• Students were asked to submit their experiences of Wellbeing services to the popular platform Bristruths • Submissions closed on 24 February • All submissions made to Bristruths will be sent to the University’s senior management to review

Patrick Sullivan Co-Editor in Chief

O

n 10 February, Bristruths launched their Wellbeing Review campaign with a new submissions site specifically for ‘both positive and negative’ student experiences while at the University of Bristol. The anonymous responses will not be posted on their popular Facebook page, and instead delivered to University senior management to read. The site was accepting responses until the 24 February.

Epigram are supporting the review by having a separate submissions form which requires a university email address so that an editor can contact any individual and confirm

their student status. Any student whose story is published by Epigram as a result of the review can remain anonymous to the public throughout.

In a Facebook post, the Bristruths admins said their Wellbeing Review was not intended ‘to try and draw a target on the University. We are looking for people to provide examples of where services have been a success, as well as constructive criticism where the University needs improvement.

Importantly, we want these to be personal stories, something that can’t be told through boxes on a survey.’

The launch of the Bristruths Wellbeing Review comes soon after the results of the University’s own 2019 Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey revealed 22 per cent of students felt ‘often’ or ‘always’ lonely and 45 per cent of student responses suggested symptoms of depression. The survey, however, was only completed by 10 per cent of the student population, less than half the number who took part in the 2018 survey.

02.03.2020 epigram

2019 Wellbeing Survey

News 5

Minority students more likely to suffer from mental health issues • Students from minority groups and those who attended state schools were found to be more likely to suffer from depression, according to the University’s Wellbeing Survery for 2019 • Those who were the first in their family to attend university were found to be significantly more likely to suffes from depression • Disabled students and those who identified as non binary or LGBTQ were also more inclinde to suffer with problems related to their wellbeing • In a statement, the University confirmed that it was doing more to help students from minority backgrounds with their mental health

Maddy Russell News Editor

B

ristol University students from minority backgrounds and those who attended state schools are more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression and anxiety, than those that are not, according to findings in the University’s 2019 Wellbeing Report.

This comes following a report

by Epigram that 45 per cent of all Bristol students were found to ‘screen positive’ for depression in the University’s annual wellbeing report for 2019.

Students who are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds; who attended a state school; who are the first in their families to attend university; who identify as having a disability or who identify as LGBQT are more likely to suffer problems with their overall wellbeing, than other students, authors of the Wellbeing Report for 2019 have suggested.

BME Students The report identifies that 56 per cent of BME students who responded to the survey experienced ‘moderate to severe’ symptoms of depression, compared to 43 per cent of students who identified as white.

In response to the findings a spokesperson for Bristol’s BME network said: ‘It isn't a surprise that BME students face worse mental health compared to white students.

‘The University's partnership with

NILAARI is a good start to helping BME students with their mental health, but as they said, there is still more work to be done as this is more of a stop gap.

‘BME students do not feel as included and welcome in the University space as white students do and it is this that needs to be changed on a systemic scale.’

First in their families to attend university and those who attended state schools Students who were the first in their families to attend university were also identified by the report as being more likely to suffer problems with their wellbeing, than those who were not the first to attend university or who went to grammar schools or feepaying independent schools.

Nearly half of students who attended state schools, were found to suffer with ‘moderate to severe’ symptoms of depression compared with 43 per cent of those who attended grammar schools and 41 per cent of those who independent schools.

In a statement to Epigram, Alice Chancellor, President of The 93% Club, said: 'University can be an incredibly daunting place, especially if you’re one of the first of your family to attend. One of the biggest issues that is evident to us as a society is the feeling of loneliness that many state-school students can feel during their first year at Bristol.

'Being placed in a flat with fellow students who may not share your educational or social background can be an extremely isolating experience, as well as having to face potential financial concerns that may not burden your more well-off peers.

'With the potential for such social and financial anxieties, it’s not hard to see why students who come from state schools are more likely to suffer with well-being problems than those from fee-paying schools.'

Disabled Students Students classed as being disabled were also more likely to suffer from depression. Those with a physical disability were 10 per cent more likely to suffer with problems with their mental health, than those with no disability. 70 per cent of students who described themselves as having a non-physical disability also screened positive for depression.

Non-Binary and LGBTQ students LGBTQ students were also more likely to suffer from ‘moderate to severe’ depression according to the report. 78 per cent of student who identified themselves as non-binary were found to demonstrate ‘moderate to severe’ symptoms of depression, compared with 41 per cent of those who identified as male and 48 per cent of those who identified as female.

Those who identified as LGBTQ were also more likely to demonstrate symptoms of depression, with 63 per cent of LGBTQ respondents screening positive for depression, compared with 40 per cent of heterosexual students.

Whilst, the overall number of students displaying symptoms of depression in the 2019 Wellbeing Report remained largely the same as in 2018, students’ overall attitudes towards the University’s wellbeing services were found to have improved.

The report found that perception of the availability of wellbeing services and their accessibility had gone up since 2018. With just under half of students in the 2019 report claiming to have found time with a Student Wellbeing advisor ‘extremely useful’ compared to only 39% in 2018. Similarly, the number of those claiming that the University Wellbeing services were ‘not useful’ had fallen.

In a statement to Epigram, a spokesperson for the University said: ‘ We have already taken active steps to improve the experience of students including establishing specialist wellbeing support for BME students through NILAARI and a new Inclusion team in 2018, including a BAME Officer and an International Officer.

The University established a new BME success programme which seeks to ensure our teaching and learning are more inclusive, promote social equality and wellbeing.

An important aspect of the programme is looking at creating a sense of belonging for our underrepresented group, an example of this is the Black Men Talk and Black Women Talk peer groups for students to discuss their life experiences and interpretations of them through exploration and sharing of various wellbeing techniques.

epigram 02.03.2020

6 News: In Pictures

• Students charity fashion show raised £10k for local mental health charity Off The Record • The event showcased an array of clothing from a mixture of local and national fashion brands with rage of individual styles • The event was hosted at SWX and attended by arround 500 Bristol students • The production included 20 feet high holograms of the models as they strutted down the catwalk • Members of UBRFC danced around in their pants on behalf of the charity Odd Balls

Maddy Russell News Editor

O

n Friday 13 February, Bristol students strutted their stuff for the annual Bristol Charity Fashion Show in order to raise money for the locally based mental health charity Off The Record.

The event, which was sponsored by the Student Housing Company, raised over £10,000 for chairty.

It was hosted at SWX and is beleived to have been attended by over 500 students.

The outfits, which were also modelled by Bristol students, displayed an array of clothing, with a mixture of items from both local and national fashion brands with a range of individual styles.

The show’s six instalments were aimed at showcasing each of the different looks put forward by designers. With one brand, Shh Streetwear, using their clothes to tell a story about the struggles of dealing with mental health.

As part of the show, members of UBRFC also got their kit off and danced about in order to model and variety of brightly coloured men’s pants, on behalf of the Oddballs Foundation which aums to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

The production included the use of extravagant light displays and 20 feet-high holograms of the models walking along the catwalk.

The display was developed in collaboration with Limbic Cinema, the creators of light displays at festivals such as Love Saves the Day and Tokyo World.

Bristol University Charity Fashion Show

Students strut their stuff for charity fashion show

02.03.2020 epigram

News 7

Family of Jack University sucessfully divest Morgan attend his from fossil fuel companies graduation • Jack passed away in August 2019 following a battle with cancer • He achived a 2:1 in his degree and has had an award for ardour named in his memory

Maddy Russell News Edior

T

he family of former Bristol student and Instagram campaigner Jack Morgan have attended his graduation ceremony this week.

Jack, who achieved a 2:1 in Engineering Maths whilst undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, was described by his tutor as a ‘talented student’ who used his own experience with cancer to begin developing a network to connect others with the disease.

Whilst undergoing treatment Jack launched a blog and Instagram account, documenting his experience of cancer with hope of raising awareness of the disease. His Instagram account attracted more than 30,000 followers and celebrity endorsement.

Originally from North London, Jack was diagnosed with undifferentiated carcinoma of the eye. Following initial treatment he was given the all-clear, however his cancer returned in 2018.

Following his death the Department of Engineering Maths have created The Jack Morgan Award for Ardour, in his memory.

In a tribute to his son, Jack’s father, Grant Morgan paid tribute to his ‘uniquely selfless’ son saying that: ‘Jack delivered more in 22 years than most people delivered in a hundred lifetimes.’

He added: ‘I am unbelievably proud of the man that he became and my job is to work tirelessly, with my family, to keep that candle burining bright.’

Following his death, Jack’s family launched the #BeMoreJack campaign, which encourages people to pledge to do something generous, courageous or charitable on leap day (Saturday 29th of February).

As part of the campaign students are encouraged to share their good intentions on social media using the hashtag #BeMoreJack, on leap day, to contribute to an online movement in his spirit.

• Followings its pledge in 2018 the University has announced that is has officially divested from all fossil fuel companies • The move is the latest step by the University to address its connections to carbinintensive industries • Following the announcement, the Uni has called on others within the sector to take similar steps • The agreement to divest was made by University management, the SU and the Bristol branch of the UCU

Benjamin Salmon Deputy News Editor

B

ristol University has announced that it has successfully divested from all companies involved in the production of fossil fuels.

The move is the latest step the University has taken to address its connections to carbon-intensive industries after it became the first University in the UK to declare a climate emergency in 2019.

University management, in agreement with Bristol SU and the Bristol branch

of the University and College Union (UCU), is now calling on the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) to also divest within the next four years.

The USS is the higher education industry’s largest private pension scheme worth £67 billion.

USS currently invests around £1 billion in fossil fuel companies and there have been calls for this income route to come to an end in the fight against climate change.

Robert Kerse, the University of Bristol’s Chief Operating Officer, said: ‘Collaboration between students and staff has been instrumental in bringing about this change. Our community is now focussing on the £1 billion of fossil fuel investments held by the USS pension scheme.

‘Today we have signed a joint statement between the University, Bristol Branch of UCU and the Bristol Student Union calling on USS to exit these investments over the next four years and urge other institutions to join forces between students and staff to do the same.

‘The resources owned by fossil fuel companies pose a material threat to our planet and could diminish in value as the

world gradually reduces its use of fossil fuels.’

People and Planet, a student society which campaigns for climate action, particularly concerning divestment fossil fuel companies within the university sector, agreed that more needed to be done.

Hannah Syed, People and Planet President, said: ‘We were shocked to learn that USS has over £1 billion invested in fossil fuel companies.

‘Many of our lecturers devote significant energy exploring the issues of climate chaos with us. Yet their pensions are heavily invested in the industry most responsible for climate change.

‘This means our fees are funding the climate crisis and putting all of our futures at risk. Students have a duty to support their staff and call for the USS to fully divest from fossil fuels.’

Bristol UCU President, James Thompson, said: ‘UCU has campaigned vigorously for a decade on climate change, building alliances with students and environmental organisations.

‘We are proud to join with the University of Bristol, and People and Planet, in calling on USS to divest from fossil fuels.’

• Mya-Rose Criag is the founder of Black2Nature and received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Bristol for her enviromental activism • She is thought to be the youngest person in the UK to receive an honorary doctorate • In a tweet she accused the SU of ‘islamophobia’ and ‘racism’

Ellie Brown News Subeditor

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ya-Rose Craig, founder of Black2Nature, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree yesterday from the University of Bristol for her advocacy of environmentalism and efforts to engage others in climate and conservation projects.

She is thought to be the youngest ever recipient of the award in the UK. However, in a tweet published on Friday 14 February, Mya-Rose called out

Bristol Students’ Union for its ‘terrible racist and islamophobic behaviour.’

Another tweet, posted on Saturday 15 February, also slammed Bristol SU’s recent open letter on racism to the University, accusing the organisation of ‘stealing & putting forward [BME] ideas & solutions as their own & excluding islamophobia’.

Upon receiving her degree, Craig stressed the important of recognising ‘that inequality in engagement creates inequality of opportunity’. She continued: ‘an unequal world can never be a sustainable world.’

The 17 year old also called on ‘everybody from every community to tackle the environmental crisis that we are finding ourselves in’, commenting that ‘slowly change is happening, but it needs to happen much faster’.

Black2Nature was set up in 2018 to help engage more children from minority ethnic backgrounds in conservation.

The project includes nature camps in Somerset’s Chew Valley, run by Craig and her mother, for VME (Visibly Minority

Ethnic) primary schoolchildren - many of whom have never been camping before.

With only 0.6 per cent of conservationists identifying as VME, the not-for-profit enterprise also aims to increase this number.

Dr Rich Pancost, Head of Earth Sciences at the University, nominated Mya-Rose for the award. Speaking of his nomination, he said: ‘To bestow a comparable honour on someone who is only 17 years old is not a decision we take lightly.’

‘It is reserved for those who are leading truly special projects, courageous projects, transformative projects. MyaRose is doing exactly that.’

A spokesperson for Bristol SU said: ‘We are working in collaboration with the University, and the Bristol SU BME Network, to create a joint action plan around racism at our University, and will be releasing a further statement soon.

‘Bristol SU is committed to tackling racism in all its forms, to ensure that all of our students feel supported and have a positive university experience.’

University of Bristol

Teen environmentalist receives honorary doctorate from Bristol Uni after calling SU ‘racist’

8 News

epigram 02.03.2020

Baroness Hale to

News in Brief Cycling club to swap plane for train on first ‘carbon-neutral’ tour Patrick Sullivan 2 student members of the University of Bristol Cycling Club (UoBCC) are embarking on their week-long annual tour to the French Alps on 15 June 2020, but, in a move to reduce the carbon footprint of the trip, this year they will be getting the Eurostar back to London from Lyon.

Usually, cheap European flights mean university sports teams would fly out both ways and with the extra luggage, a minibus is required to assist further travel once abroad.

UoBCC, however, have organised this year’s tour to minimise their carbon

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footprint as much as possible.

The biggest change to the itinerary is that instead of flying home, the club is travelling by French rail and then Eurostar to London on the way home.

UoBCC President Sam Tiller said this was made possible bewcause the £41 journey is ‘comparable [in price] to flying’.

The switch could reduce overall emissions for the return journey from 255g/km to 6g/km.

Tiller also said the Eurostar ‘avoided airport hassle’ and is ‘a more comfortable and social way to travel.’ The club will also be serving a vegetarian menu.

University seeking participants for male domestic violence study Benjamin Salmon he University are seeking participants for a study on male domestic violence.

The ‘REPROVIDE study’ at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Academic Primary Care are asking men who are either concerned they are, or have been, abusive in a relationship with a woman.

Study participants will undergo a 23week programme with the aim to get

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them to understand, and change, their behaviour.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), is being done in conjunction with the organisations and charities Barnardo’s, Splitz Support Service, NextLink, Phoenix Domestic Abuse Services and Respect.

They are also accepting particpants who have been referred through GPs, police officers and social workers.

New Mrs Potts be given Lifetime chocolate house Achievement opens in Bath Award from Tom Taylor ristol chocolatiers, Mrs Potts, have expanded to York Street in Bath, after the success of their shop on Park Street.

Charlotte Phillips, area manager of Mrs Potts Bath, told Epigram: ‘It’s gone crazy in Bristol - everyone seems to know who we are and what we do people seem to really love it and we get so many students.’

Bath was chosen as the new location because it ‘is so beautiful [and] so historic. It’s nice and close to Bristol so we thought that people who love [us] in Bristol might have friends in Bath that would want to come along.’

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Bristol Uni

Ellie Brown Lady Brenda Hale, the former President of the UK Supreme Court and Chancellor of Bristol Universitty between 2004 and 2016, is this year’s recipient of the University’s Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Lady Hale received international media attention last summer, following her rulling that the Prime Minister’s decision to prorogue Parliment, during the ongoing Brexit debates, was illegal.

Lady Hale was also the UK’s first female Lord, the first woman to join the Court of Appeal and youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission.

Mayor says city ‘walking a tightrope’ with University Maddy Russell he Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has said that Bristol is one of many cities which are ‘walking a tightrope’ of ensuring the benefits of its University outweigh its costs.

The Mayor’s comments were made in response to criticism of the University from city councillors, as its charitable status means it is exempt from paying over £5 million in local business rates.

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As an unregistered charity, the University is given an 80 per cent discount off the retail value of all its buildings due to its educational contribution to the local community.

In December 2019 the University was excused from paying £5.1 million of the £6.2 million it owed in business rates, due to its charitable status. In response to the criticism, the University said that it contributed £918 million to the area’s economic output in 2017/18.

Bristol SU not advocating strike compensation

Ellie Brown ristol Student’s Union (SU) has stated that it is not advocating for tuition fee reimbursements for students affected by this year’s staff strikes, despite the emergence of a petition by students demanding compensation.

In a statement, the SU revealed that it is not ‘actively advocating’ for students to receive refunds if their learning has been impacted by the strikes, was posted on its website as part of a response to FAQs about the upcoming industrial action.

Instead of encouraging students to seek compensation, the Union stated that it will be working with the University to mitigate the effects of strikes on students’ learning and ensure that those who are affected are not disadvantaged in assessments.

One of the main reasons for the SU’s position is that it claims that students would only receive a small amount of money - ‘less than £10 per head’ - if withheld pay from lecturers is given directly back to them, as tuition fees go on ‘much more’ than lecturers’ salaries.

They, instead, state that pooling the money and spending it on ‘alternative educational experiences and services’ is more likely to provide a ‘greater benefit to the student body.’

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Features

Editor: Robin Connolly @robinnlcc Deputy Editor: Jack Charters @JackLChtrs Digital Editor: Oliver Cohen Investigations Editor: Georgiana Scott @GeorgianaScott7

Twitter: @EpigramFeatures

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There has been a 169 per cent rise in homelessness in the southwest over the past decade

on the streets. Like any systemic issue, those with higher numbers of compounded marginalized identities disproportionately face challenges seeking support. According to government data from 2017, 36 percent of UK rough sleepers represent ethnic minorities, which is around three times greater than the national composition. Furthermore, the UK has experienced a 53 per cent uptick from 2018 specifically in its disabled homelessness population.

The Sleep Pod Project was unable to respond as to whether or not Sleep Pods are suitable for individuals with

mobile disabilities or mental health problems.

Bristol City Council also declined to comment on the matter, along with whether or not there are any

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The UK lingers behind its European counterparts in regard to both prevention and policy

other measures being implemented concurrently to provide exit routes from homelessness. They instead noted that in January, the City Council unveiled a new homelessness campaign titled ‘I was homeless; I was you,’ — centred around posting letters from formerly homeless individuals around the city which encourage rough sleepers to seek help early. This follows a spring 2019 BBC report announcing that the Bristol City Council had developed a plan to completely eradicate homelessness by 2027, halving the number by 2022.

The current (visible) homeless population in Bristol is estimated to be around 117, but this figure doesn’t take into account the typically fivefold greater invisible homeless population — those drifting between temporary housing units, hostels, motels, or otherwise unstable living arrangements (e.g. households afflicted by domestic abuse.)

While homelessness is endemic to any metropolitan landscape, the UK lingers significantly behind its European counterparts in regard to both prevention and policy.

Finland, the only European state where homelessness has declined over the past decade, relies on a more innovative policy than the ‘staircase model’ of progression from homelessness — the most widely employed method across Europe despite its poor results.

The staircase model is built upon the idea of gradually transitioning homeless individuals from the streets into permanent housing through a series of intermediate steps.

This might sound logical, but the unfortunate reality is that the more obstacles individuals are put through as a ‘test’ before they are finally granted the safety of permanent housing, the less likely they are to make it through to the point of transitioning successfully back into society. They often either lose momentum during the painfully

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Bristol has always taken a distinctly progressive approach toward homelessness

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fter a 169 per cent rise in homelessness in the southwest over the past decade without an equal adjustment in policy, Bristol artists IDLES and Banksy decided to take initiative by providing the homeless population with 400 lightweight tent/sleeping bag hybrids called ‘sleep pods’, crowdfunded through a sold-out December music festival. Sleep pods were originally developed during the 2016 European Migrant Crisis to protect refugees in Calais but have since expanded to aid homeless populations across the greater continent. Weatherproof and easily assembled, each pod costs roughly £25.

Though still relatively new to the streets of Bristol, they have already become seemingly ubiquitous, every night lining city pavements from Avonmouth to Brislington, allowing rough sleepers to remain an average of 17 degrees warmer throughout the chilly vespertine hours. When reached out to for comment, Sleep Pod Project

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First Year, Politics & International Relations

co-founder Justin Devereaux stated that based on anecdotal evidence, sleep pods have been known to last around 10 weeks if used nightly by the same individual. ‘However,’ he added, ‘I would stress that the aim of a sleep pod is to be seen as an emergency shelter only.’

Incidentally, it is important to note that sleep pods are not a universal solution or even a solution at all to combating homelessness. Devereaux agreed that while sleep pods have made incredible progress toward slashing hypothermia rates and better equipping rough sleepers to deal with the status quo, the pods were never designed to reduce the percentage of people sleeping

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Between freezing temperatures, inclement weather, increased threats of illness, and minimal daylight to provide safety, homelessness has again reached its apotheosis Alaska St. Clair

drawn-out process or are traumatized by situations brought about in lowfunded, unsafe midway houses and consequently turn back to the streets as a more attractive option.

Finland thereby decided to cut unnecessary corners through establishing the Housing First scheme, which provides homeless applicants with immediate permanent housing and support services. By converting existing temporary housing and

private market flats into permanent houses with live-in support, the Finnish government was able to completely jettison homeless shelters from the nation — a tactic that has proven vastly more cost-effective in the long term.

The reason the UK hasn’t yet endeavoured to replicate Finland’s success is likely less of an issue with federal spending than it is with the current political climate.

UK government-sponsored homelessness programmes are generally highly efficient in moving

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Sleep pods were originally developed during the 2016 European Migrant Crisis to protect refugees in Calais

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Sleeping Rough / Owain Astles

A closer look at Bristol’s ‘sleep pod’ homeless campaign

homeless individuals from the streets into temporary shelters but when the nation continues to uphold housing policies influenced by enduring institutional racism, it remains impossible for any real systemic change to take shape. As a city long dominated by the Labour Party, Bristol has always taken a distinctly progressive approach toward homelessness, matching the urgency of the issue, but under national Conservative rule, time is less of a concern. On January 30, during a Commons debate on homelessness policy, Conservative MP Adam Holloway suggested that homelessness was a choice, claiming that rough sleepers ‘choose to be on the streets’ to sustain their substance addictions without having to actually work for the money.

Although this undeniably counterfactual statement was met with immediate backlash from Labour MPs, many others (both in Parliament and the general public) defended Holloway’s remarks, adding to a climate of already heightened apathy. Such discourse only serves to continue the endless cycle of why much-needed new legislation toward ending homelessness can never come into full effect. Perhaps homelessness is a choice, but only in the sense that those in power can either choose to perpetuate it or not.

Hopefully, Bristol’s leadership and optimistic outlook on the crisis will be able to illuminate new pathways to reducing homelessness for the rest of the nation.

10 Features

epigram 02.03.2019

Free speech, Brexit and the Trump Peace Plan: In conversation with Colonel Richard Kemp Epigram speaks to Colonel Richard Kemp following his controversial talk at the University Robin Connolly Features Editor

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Kemp declared that it was, in fact, the protestors who are offensive

written but hasn’t read it, so I read it out. As I read, his facial expression gives nothing away.

It is not until after hearing the contents of the letter that Kemp says to me ‘if you disagree with somebody’s point of view and you want to shut down their right and ability to speak about their point of view, then one of the most effective ways is to accuse them of islamophobia or racism.’

He went on to say that ‘making an accusation like that based on nothing,’ telling me he would refute all the claims that have been made against him, ‘says

more about them than it does about me – it says that they want to shut down my right of free speech here in this university, in my own country, so that my perspective can’t be heard.’

I question him on what his ‘perspective’ is. During his talk, he made claim that ‘most Muslims are trained to hate Israel’. He reasserts this to me, telling me that he believes ‘most Muslims learn from a very early age to hate Israel. And they learn that Israel is an illegal entity and it should be annihilated.’

In an attempt to avoid painting all Muslims with the same brush, he follows this up with ‘not everyone, but virtually everyone has that perspective’.

He claims that this has led to a rise in anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, that ‘because [Corbyn] wants to increase the number of Muslim voters. He knows that many Muslims are opposed to Israel, and therefore, it’s part of his reason for himself opposing Israel.’

While on the topic of politics, we also

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They want to shut down my right of free speech here in this university, in my own country

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their nationality as Palestinian for the academic year 2019/20, furthered this by saying that ‘inviting someone who’s from the army that killed my family and has terrorized me growing up is not safeguarding my mental health.’

This sentiment was confirmed by a statement given on 14 February 2020, when the University of Bristol Friends of Palestine Society declared that ‘hosting a former IDF general sends a particular message to Palestinian students: that their safety, mental health and lived experiences of terror and persecution by this force are not regarded as valid or as important as others.’

Sophia Beach, a protestor and UoB student who identifies herself as a Jewish anti-Zionist, made it clear that ‘our campus is no place for... hatred.’

She stated that Richard Kemp ‘says that members of ISIS are not extremists.

Actually, they’re just Muslims following the Quran. So obviously to Muslim students here at Bristol, when you have a man on campus saying things like that’, it can be highly offensive.

During the talk, the Colonel retaliated against the protestors, telling his audience ‘I think they’re a bit confused

out there.’ Kemp declared that it was, in fact, the protestors who are offensive and who have ‘the worst desire for their own people.’

Kemp and I sit down to chat after his talk. He’s laid back – the Conservative Society provided free beer and pizza after the event, of which everyone seems to have taken full advantage. He asks me whether or not the article will be positive about him; I wonder how well-versed he is in bad press.

We start by addressing the BME Network’s open letter – he knows it was

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to remain anonymous, to tell me her aims for protesting. She responded ‘we just want people to hear us, and lots of people do. But on campus, it is difficult.

People are afraid to be too political, but this isn’t a political thing - it’s about decency. Human decency.’

She explained how she felt that ‘inviting someone who’s from the IDF onto campus completely eradicates the safeguarding of Palestinian students.’

The protestor, one of nine students at the University who have declared

People are afraid to be too political, but this isn’t a political thing - it’s about decency.

Human decency.

cover Brexit and the Trump Peace Plan.

Of Brexit, he says that in the aftermath we will need ‘stronger, more positive support for Israel - more open.’ He

tells me that ‘we are fighting the same enemy,’ which he labels as jihadism.

‘It’s important that we cooperate as fully and closely with them as we can.

And not only in our own interest, but also in the interests of the state of Israel.

If we can help them to protect their state, then that’s a good thing because they are a Western democracy.’

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He hails Trump’s Peace Plan for the Middle East as ‘the most effective peace plan that’s been put forward’

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The lead-up to the talk proved to be increasingly contentious

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Epigram / Jack Charters

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s part of a talk on 10 February 2020, entitled ‘A Unique Military Alliance: Israel and the UK’ and co-hosted between Bristol University Conservative Association and The Pinsker Centre, Colonel Richard Kemp CBE and Brigadier General. (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser spoke to, and were questioned by Bristol students on the relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel.

It is a divided room listening to the two ex-military men speak. On the front row are a series of tweed-clad students listening in captivation. There is an impressive show from the University of Bristol Jewish Society and there are significant numbers of people shaking their heads as they listen to the pair speak.

The lead-up to the talk proved to be increasingly contentious, with Bristol’s BME Network publishing a Change.org petition for calling for the University to cancel the event, followed by an open letter to the University from a coalition of four minority groups.

On the day of the event a significant number of protestors gathered outside of the Wills Memorial Building, displaying Palestine solidarity campaign placards.

Cries of ‘Free, free, Palestine!’ and ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’ could be heard in the general vicinity, to the response of cars beeping their horns and passers-by gathering to watch.

There were four layers of University security in between the entrance to Will’s Memorial Building and the room where the talk was being held.

I asked one protestor, who wished

He hails Trump’s Peace Plan for the Middle East as ‘the most effective peace plan that’s been put forward so far,’ describing it as ‘the deal of the century.’

He backs this up - ‘this is the only plan that’s ever been put forward by the United States of America and has had the support of Arab governments.’

Whether or not you agree with his opinions, it is clear that Kemp has had extensive experience with the region and is knowledgeable about the political situation in Israel and its alliance with the UK. He speaks with confidence and is not afraid to debate with those who oppose him.

However, it is also clear that this event has highlighted the tension between free speech and causing discomfort and offence.

Features 11

02.03.2019 epigram

University of Bristol Free Speech Society

Inside the Bristol Free Speech Society

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it has been shortlisted for the ‘Most Inclusive Society’ Award

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In 2018, the society was criticised for hosting Raquel Rosario Sanchez, an alleged trans-exclusionary radical feminist who argues that her work is being silenced in academia. In November of that year, they also booked Heather Brunskell-Evans, whose talk on whether transgender children should be allowed to transition was stormed by protesters. A more recent event discussing extremism on

One critic described the society as ‘a guise for spreading hateful rhetoric’

Society President, Izzy Posen, rejects the charge that the group is biased towards the right, and agrees with Campaigns Officer Harry Walker that it is ‘as apolitical as possible’.

Izzy estimates that 50 per cent of the group are Labour supporters, and 50 per cent ‘other’. Claims to the contrary, he says, stem from the fact that campus is skewed to the left, ‘so when we want to bring in other voices, it may seem like we’re bringing in specifically right-wing voices.’

Many students are also questioning whether it was acceptable to host Heather Brunskell-Evans’ transgender talk and the answer depends on who you ask.

According to Izzy, absolutely.

Brunskell-Evans, he says, was simply ‘raising concerns with some things’ when she questioned childhood transition, rather than rejecting transgenderism in full. He would not, he says, book an outright transphobic speaker, and notes that a known transphobe was removed from the society’s Facebook group on the grounds that she

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Izzy estimates that 50 per cent of the group are Labour supporters, and 50 per cent ‘other’

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t must be some kind of record.

The Bristol Free Speech Society has only been going two years, but in that time it has been deemed Islamophobic and transphobic - and it has been shortlisted for the ‘Most Inclusive Society’ Award.

Many on campus will have been surprised at the nomination. Some downright outraged. One critic described the society as ‘a guise for spreading hateful rhetoric’ - and many who don’t go that far still see it as an organised wind-up, aimed at ‘getting a rise out of people’.

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was ‘toxic’ and made ‘personal attacks on people.’ The society has, he adds, also held an event hosted by a trans woman.

When I question him on the decision to host the event on the same date as a vigil for murdered transgender people, he says that the society had arranged its event ‘long before’ the vigil was announced, and was not aware of the clash until the day before.

But Harry, who sports the pink ‘trans alley’ badge, criticises the event for being ‘radical [and] transphobic’.

He said he joined the committee after the talk was staged, and ‘would not advocate for it again’.

A transgender woman within the society however, has described the talks as ‘beneficial’. She says that the protests create a misperception of what such events are actually like.

‘From the outside, you would have thought that everyone [going inside] was transphobic. But what those perspectives missed - and they would have noticed if they actually went to the event - is that the speakers at those events got challenged very heavily.’

By all accounts, Izzy advocates a purer form of free speech than his fellow committee members. He puts

this down to ‘growing up in a very restricted, very extremist community, isolated from the rest of society’. He tried to challenge its ideology, but

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By all accounts, Izzy advocates a purer form of free speech than his fellow committee members

‘there wasn’t the space to question it’.

The experience has left him wary of ‘narrow-mindedness and dogmatism’. Open discussion, he says, is a ‘method of self-checking’ designed to ‘get closer to the truth’, and is crucial to make sure that we don’t ‘stay with the wrong views’.

Izzy doesn’t himself have a problem with events being protested - he thinks protest is itself an act of free speech - but wishes that the protestors would come into the event to hear what is being said. But, as you can imagine, persuading people who are deeply opposed to a topic to hear more about it is no easy task.

After the extremism event, one activist told Epigram, that she didn’t go into the event when invited because she didn’t want to ‘give space to those kinds of ideas’. Izzy’s belief is that by coming inside she could have given the views a fair hearing, and then had the chance to challenge them in the Q+As. However, is it unbalanced that so many of these events only have one speaker, showing only one side of the argument? Sure, they all have sections where the audience can ask

questions, but that doesn’t have the same intellectual clout as having an opposing expert in the room - someone who really knows the right questions to ask and who is able to point it out if the first speaker’s argument is flawed.

Harry commented saying panels at the talks would have been preferable, particularly for the Sanchez event, but the practicalities aren’t always that easy. He added, that this is particularly the case with ‘convincing them [transgender speakers] to come onstage and debate as they are

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the society is keen to do more to address ‘concerns’ over free speech, particularly from marginalised students

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First Year, Social Policy and Politics

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Molly Pipe

campus had to be postponed by five months due to ‘security concerns’ after hundreds of people signed up to protest it.

Society members themselves, describe its reputation as ‘unfair’, and insist that the discussions never go too far.

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What do members of UoB’s controversial Free Speech Society think about its reputation?

a group more at risk of verbal (and physical) attack.’

But, he says, the society is keen to do more to address ‘concerns’ over free speech, particularly from marginalised students. Last Friday it ran a stall on Tyndall Avenue for students to raise their thoughts directly with the committee, another of which was scheduled for 21 February. There has also just been a discussion with the Student’s Union on how the University should approach the controversial debate.

Harry said he sees these moves as an important part of ensuring that voices aren’t lost. ‘I don’t think that our society should escape criticism,’ he says. ‘Here’s an opportunity to have that dialogue.’

epigram 02.03.2019

12 Features

An ode to the second-hand bookshop

Volunteering can be a great way for students to take a break from academics and do something different. Even a few hours of volunteering a week can be a great way to gain valuable skills and get out of the student ‘bubble’ b y

Volunteering can be a great way for students to take a break from academics

‘Volunteering is particularly fun as you get to see what's donated and create your own displays’, commented a Bristol graduate and ex-volunteer at the Cotham Hill bookshop. ‘You also have first dibs on new books, which is a real win if you're a collector like me. [Secondhand bookshops] are cheap and have something for everyone. My best finds are always books you didn't realise you needed until you see and hold them.’

The lucky-find nature of secondhand shops means you can happen upon some really unique items that are just right for someone you know, and that probably won’t break the bank. Novels, vinyl and comics, the latter two of which are something of a specialty of the Cotham Hill shop, can all make great gifts.

Another incontestable attraction of second-hand shops are their reasonable prices – used textbooks often sell for a fraction of what they would cost new, and paperback

Epigram/Vilhelmiina Haavisto

novels rarely cost more than £2.50.

Second-hand books can be a moneysaving grace for voracious readers, second only to the offerings of public libraries. It is also comforting to know that the money you do spend is going towards a good cause, whether that be cancer research, mental health care provision, or eradicating poverty worldwide.

‘Buying a useful textbook can be made immensely less expensive by taking fifteen minutes to glance in the medical section,’ says Emma, a medical student at the University of Bristol. ‘I got an Oxford Clinical Handbook [a key medical text] for a sixth of the

Amazon price,’ she said, adding that buying course texts this way is ‘less painful for your, or your parents’, bank account’.

Much like favouring charity shops over the high street when it comes to fashion, getting books second hand is also a more environmentally sustainable alternative to buying them new. According to Mr Baines, the Cotham Hill bookshop serves as a ‘recycling depot’ for pre-loved goods in the community, saying that donating goods ‘helps people clear their conscience.’ One person’s donated book can be somebody else’s new favourite – and, for the sentimentalists among us, there is something to be said about the

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The lucky-find nature of secondhand shops means you can happen upon some really unique items

Epigram/Vilhelmiina Haavisto

Second-hand books can be a money-saving grace for voracious readers

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ristol is home to plenty of second-hand bookshops, beloved by students and locals alike. Second-hand shops stock everything from classic texts to niche material, so whether you are on the hunt for a key academic text, or just browsing for a novel to distract you from work, you are almost guaranteed to find something you fancy.

One of the many second-hand bookshops in Bristol is the Oxfam bookshop on Cotham Hill, a stone’s throw from Tyndall Avenue. Simon Baines has been the manager at the Cotham Hill shop for 11 years, though the shop itself has been running since 2004. ‘[The shop] has a charm,’ he says, ‘thanks to high quality donations from our donors, and of course, the volunteers.’

feeling of a shared experience that pre-loved books exude.

Apart from its obvious role of selling second-hand goods in the community, Mr Baines believes the Cotham Hill shop also acts as ‘a kind of social centre for customers and volunteers.’ It is a ‘place to browse and relax’ for some of their regular customers, he explained.

However, running a secondhand bookshop is not without its

challenges. Mr Baines believes that one of the main ones, ‘without a shadow of a doubt’, is raising enough money. He identifies competition from local supermarkets and online shopping outlets such as Amazon as major reasons why making enough profit is becoming increasingly difficult.

That being said, the shop is

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A 2017 survey found that more than half of the books bought in the UK were second-hand

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SciTech Editor

meeting people from the local community who they might not encounter otherwise.

The Cotham Hill shop has around 30 adult volunteers of all ages, as well as three students from local schools. Mr Baines recognises the value of having a mix of ages on the team, saying it ‘keeps things fresh’ but that ultimately all volunteers can find ‘common ground over their love of books.’ Of the adult volunteers, around five are University students.

‘They bring energy, enthusiasm and flexibility,’ says Mr Baines, ‘with fresh ideas and an eagerness to discover.’

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Buying books can get pricey, but students need not worry as there are plenty of second-hand shops with cheaper alternatives Vilhelmiina Haavisto

also increasingly selling its items, particularly those of high value, online. ‘We made over £700 in January thanks in part to a postChristmas sale,’ Mr Baines explained, ‘which has helped us already reach our online shop goal for the year.’

Items bought online are routinely shipped across the UK, with one memorable purchase going off to the post office bearing an Australian address.A 2017 survey found that more than half of the books bought in the entire UK were second-hand. This is not surprising; students and locals alike have every reason to love and frequent second-hand bookshops in Bristol. So, next time you’re out and about in Bristol, duck into a secondhand bookshop for a browse – you never know what you could find!

Opinion

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Send in your submissions or ideas via email to opinion. epigram@gmail.com

Striking is now a necessary part of academia

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Anger is being directed at the victims of injustice rather than the perpetrators of it

That is but the tip of the iceberg of causes of this new wave of strikes.

Across the country wage inequality is shockingly high with BME and gender wage gaps reaching up to 20 per cent less than their white male counterparts. A fact which shows that even arguably the most progressive institutions in the world, when it comes to social issues, still lack an equal system of pay for its own staff members. We must have people being paid for their work equally with no discrimination of any sort.

To build on this, the casualisation of work within academia is affecting more and more employees, with an increase in the number of zero-hours contracts giving no guarantee of work or pay during any given week and no stability to a person’s working hours from one week to the next.

This is just a plain and simple abuse of power by employers who seek to

simply use an employee as a tool to make money. Whilst this may be a way to increase the profit margins of a business, it dehumanises the workforce.

This ultimately boils down to one thing, the commercialisation of education – universities are now being used to squeeze staff and students for every last penny, treating them as cash cows rather than valuing education for the sake of education.

But there is a way to counter this.

By staying on the right side of the picket lines (or by joining pickets), raising your voice and showing your solidarity with staff and strikers we can, as a community, put a stop to unfair conditions, damaging pension schemes and wage inequality in our university.

When united, we are strongest.

Epigram / Patrick Sullivan

O

nce again, university staff across the country have been forced to strike. The reasons given by the UCU are to fight against cuts to pensions, an ever-increasing workload, increasing numbers of zero-hours contracts and an astonishing 21 per cent effective pay cut as wages fail to rise with the rate of inflation, as they have done for the past decade.

This news of further strikes has made many students feel like they are having their voices ignored and are being unfairly subjected to ever more cancelled lectures and seminars, with no replacements being planned or offered, just because strikers want to ‘whine and picket’ - as one student put it in a recent Epigram article.

Some have even gone so far as to demand reimbursement for lost classes, writing frustrated posts on Bristruths. Yet, what these quite rightly angry people fail to recognise is that their anger is being directed at the victims of injustice rather than the perpetrators of it and, unless this

cut from £24,000 to £11,000 in some cases. Staff are still being made to pay more money into their pension scheme, decreasing further the amount of money they take home at the end of the day. This is an abhorrent way for Vice Chancellors to save money so the university can keep up with the unrealistic expectations of permanent exponential financial growth, ignoring any form of decency and humanity.

Epigram / Patrick Sullivan

First Year, Chemistry

Epigram / Patrick Sullivan

Max Satterly Webber

is realised soon, it could lead to a potentially disastrous outcome for the strikers.

What many making the tuition fee refund demands are possibly unaware of is that the money they would receive would be taken directly out of the pay pot from which the strikers would normally have been paid; staff do not receive any pay whilst on strike. Reimbursement sets a bad precedent for universities all over the country that, when met with demands, they simply dip into money that should have gone to their own staff. This further commercialises this country's education system.

However, this is but a footnote compared to the injustices going on within the academic world. As an example of what some university staff have faced, pensions have been

“

To blame the lecturers for striking is to miss the central point of the strikes

14 Opinion

epigram 02.03.2020

Should societies consider SU disaffiliation?

Mres, Transnational Health Sciences ack in 2017, when I started getting serious about founding a ukulele society, there were many decisions I had to make. One of the easiest, but retrospectively one of the largest, was whether to affiliate with the student’s union.

Affiliating with the SU felt like the easy and logical choice. But that was three years ago. Has anything changed since then? Are other groups less easy to slot into the framework the SU dictates? Should student societies think about disaffiliating from the SU? Is there anything to be gained?

When I say affiliating felt like the easy path, this ease comes from the path being laid out in front of you. First is requiring 30 people to be interested. Some student groups are incredibly niche, and there are currently 14 proposed student groups listed on the SU website as having fallen at this first hurdle, their existence pending until enough people add their name to a list.

Once the society is affiliated however, the SU interferes fairly little.

B

Mandates like having a President/ Captain, Treasurer, and Secretary barely affect most societies. There is the potential for a creep in influence – in November a motion passed at Student Council to extend this to include an Equality Officer in order to re-affiliate; however, the tangible effect on any society is only what they choose it to be.

The greatest restriction of being affiliated with the SU is being forbade from having an external bank account. For many societies this is only a slight inconvenience involving downloading a special app on your phone and uploading receipts, rather than just being able to draw cash out, however, if a group needs to pay a large invoice it can be frustrating having to wait on the team at the SU to sign off on things, especially if members are out of pocket in the meantime.

That said, there is a reason 350+ student groups have affiliated.

Perhaps the most high-profile reason is a coveted stall at Freshers’ Fair and regular room bookings. Having been president of a society that started in January, therefore missing out on Freshers’ Fair, I know how hard it can be to get the word out. In 2017/18 UkeSoc had only 12 members (some only via the SU webpage, another benefit of affiliation). At the 2018/19 Welcome Fair, 200+ people signed up

as interested.

I was also on the committee of a society with no need for a regular room booking. This meant that the every-now-and-then committee meetings took place in a pub. This no-need-for-affiliation alternative is also free (sans drink), but much noisier than a room in the Richmond Building, and sometimes without wifi.

Another big draw of affiliation is grant access. As well as development meetings, grant-writing training, and information about external grant providers, affiliation gives a society access to up to £3000 per year of SU grant funding. Members of affiliated societies may also access the SU Activity Hardship Fund which can pay society membership and costs of socials for the members without disposable income. It is less clear whether the Alumni Student Experience grant is accessible to unaffiliated societies, but certainly there are other pots of money out there available, just perhaps with less application guidance and empathy.

Then there are the other things the SU does that everybody sort of forgets about. Transport bookings, minibus training, holding your post, public liability insurance, and personal accident insurance. Legends also tell of the SU providing lockers for student groups, albeit at the end

of the long waiting list.

You obviously also need to be affiliated with the SU to take part in the SU Awards, the Balloon Accreditation Scheme, and the Rate My Group Members Survey.

In summary, some small societies, especially those with less than 30 members, with either no requirement for, or externally sourced, regular rooms and recruitment opportunities, may find themselves with no need to be affiliated. Similarly, but at the

other end of the curve, it may be possible for societies to outgrow the SU, or for controversial groups to want to escape the SU’s perceived political biases. Mass disaffiliation could be an effective method of protest. Then there are the majority of student societies which endure the internal accounting process in favour of Freshers’ Fair stands, grant pots, etc, and thrive within the safe and nurturing framework SU affiliation provides.

Epigram / Elisha Mans

Affiliation to the SU brings real benefits to some societies, and is inconvenient for others Matthew Randell

Briscrush is not wholesome but harmful

Briscrush

Rebecca Widdowson First Year, Sociology

A

t first glance the confessions on Briscrush appear cute and innocent.

Strangers can reconnect after missed opportunities or chance encounters.

The Facebook page also offers lifelong friends the ability to come clean about their feelings towards one another anonymously. It’s kind of like the lonely-hearts ads from newspapers based at Bristol University. Scrolling through the Briscrush page, it becomes apparent that the promise of anonymity is encouraging more and more students to become bolder in their posts of declarations of love. For instance, #Briscrush8057 says ‘gonna start making an effort and smiling at

strangers’ in an attempt to ‘get on this page’. On a similar train of thought, #Briscrush8068 says ‘can someone please go out with me so next year my mum doesn’t have to pity send me a valentines day card saying it’s from my dog’. Whilst these posts offer us a chance to giggle at our phones over lunch, or snort sneakily under the desks in our lectures, I think there’s a deeper, more dangerous impact that results from encouraging such behaviour.

Especially considering the recent hype surrounding Valentine’s day, how can we be sure that Briscrush isn’t indicative of an unhealthy uni

dating culture?

Let me emphasise that I’m not against free speech or anything like that. Part of me thinks that it’s sweet to give people the power to turn back time and pluck up the courage to tell someone else how they really feel.

But I believe that something must be said for the ways that people use, and often abuse, that power. Especially the power to tag others in these posts.

The most common example of this is when a post contains someone’s initials. Almost instantly the hunt begins to determine who this individual is. Not only that but I believe, deep down, we’ve all gone

through the recent posts on Briscrush, hoping to spy our own initials.

Some of the posts on Briscrush can be friendly and funny and harmless, but then again, other times they can be downright insulting. There’s nothing worse than being tagged in a comment that you know isn’t true, even if it might be a joke. There’s also a problem if you’re already dating someone and see a post about you on Briscrush. That’s got to make things awkward right? And it can’t be the easiest thing to bring up on date

“

What does it say about you if you can't tell someone how you feel to their face?

“

Sweet notes from strangers can seem innocent at first glance, but could they be a symptom of a more toxic culture?

night. Then again, it’s probably quite flattering to some to be attracting that much attention.

Yet, what does it say about you if you can’t tell someone how you feel to their face? Is that really a healthy way to start a relationship?

Not only that but there’s no way of knowing who that person is who posted about you. When you sit back and think about it, having a stranger write about how lovely they think your hair looked the other day is quite creepy. No way would that happen in real life. Imagine how you would feel if you were sat in the library and some random person comes over to tell you that they’ve been admiring your hair, non-stop, for the past hour.

You’d be more than a little freaked out, wouldn’t you?

But as soon as we click on Facebook, the rules of the game change, and it’s suddenly completely normal to make such comments under the veil of anonymity.

Honestly, I could think of nothing more mortifyingly millennial than telling people you’re dating someone you met on Facebook.

So, for now, I think I’ll stick to the old-fashioned way of meeting people, through friends. At least I’ll be able to stalk them on Facebook before we meet. The same can’t be said for Briscrush.

Opinion 15

02.03.2020 epigram

The British approach to university education is damaging to our wellbeing

O

ur illogical approach to higher education in this country has left our universities rife with mental health issues. If we’re to get serious about tackling the mental health crisis, we need to ask fundamental questions about our approach to higher education. In Britain, teenagers starting university are usually dropped-off in a totally new, alien city, expected to live in a totally new way, in an unfamiliar institution, without any family or close friends.

Many ‘full-time students’ have only 9 contact hours a week, only three of which are compulsory leaving their days almost entirely unstructured.

Most adults are told what to do at work, they know what time they need to be in, they have specific tasks to complete and they’re supervised by managers, but if you’re a teenager at university, society expects you to structure all but 9 hours of your week, alone. You’re expected to seamlessly transition from being a child with school every day, closely supervised by teachers and parents to being totally responsible for

“

Society expects you to structure all but 9 hours of your week alone

in. We know people need structure to thrive and that we benefit from living with people we love and trust, so why are students expected to thrive without these basic human needs.

Needs which are afforded to almost everyone else. Freshers are instead left in an unfamiliar world to live with strangers in filthy accommodation. It would be surprising if there wasn’t a permanent mental health crisis. We need to fundamentally rethink the way we do university in this country.

The solution is more structure, not less. Lectures need to be compulsory and attendance recorded. We need more modules and more seminar time, less reading and fewer assessments.

Students should get credits for attendance and first year must count in a small way towards degree

classification. The personal tutor system should be extended. Flats should be encouraged to eat together, cleaning rotas should be mandatory and every student accommodation needs a large common area.

Our culture of attending a university in a different part of the country is very unusual by global standards. In other countries, students tend to live at home, attending a small local university. Being small and local creates a strong sense of community. This does mean forgoing the ‘prestige’ of having attended a ‘top’ university, but is the additional knowledge gained (if any) from being at a ‘top’ university worth the roughly £20,000 we spend on housing costs over 3 years? Our system leaves us with two lives, a university life and a

their bed sheets until 2pm, listening to lectures alone. Students in other countries spend all day learning, not 9 hours a week. They get to know their peers and their teachers much better and are made to feel part of a community. Adults work 9 to 5, they know where they need to be and what they need to do. They’re not under pressure to stay up on weeknights, drinking heavily and doing drugs.

Most come home to family, a warm home, and a partner they can confide

home life, each with different friends, accommodation, co-habitants and totally different routines. At home we’re expected to be different people to the ones we are at university. The need to constantly flip between these two lives is difficult and it cannot be good for our mental health.

My proposals aren’t seeking to treat students like children; most adults have structure in their lives.

The fundamental nature of university is driving a permanent mental health crisis amongst students.

Rather than focus on treating the symptoms with slogans like ‘#destigmatise’, ‘it’s ok not to be ok’, ‘talk about it’, let’s start tackling the structural causes of the crisis and build a healthier university experience.

Epigram/ Cameron Scheijde

Third Year, Politics

yourself, with a level of autonomy far exceeding that of most adults.

If you're a student studying arts or humanities it is incredibly difficult to get to know others on your course, you are hidden. The lecturers don't know who you are, you're just one of two hundred anonymous faces, quickly forgotten. Attending morning lectures often means choosing between not socialising the night before or running off 3 hours of sleep. The fact that they can be watched online, means most students choose to stay inside, buried under

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We need to take a step back and re-evaluate how we are educated Seb Sultan

Universities have a free speech problem and the government should get involved

Isaac Chambers First Year, Law

T

he right to our freedom of speech is enshrined in Article 10 of the Human Rights Act (HRA). While Article 10 affords us all the right to freedom of expression, the law states that this freedom ‘may be subject to formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society’.

The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, recently wrote an article for The Times highlighting that free speech should be protected and encouraged by universities rather than having it suppressed. In this day and age, we need to think carefully about how our freedom to free speech in many cases no matter how small

may not be respected. As a student at the University of Bristol, I’ve found my freedom of expression curbed on several occasions. Therefore, I welcomed Mr Williamson’s remarks about the government taking action to protect my right.

Free speech is subjective since everyone has their own idea of what free speech means. However, the law states that it is not to be confused with ‘hate speech’ which often incites violence. Mr Williamson reiterated that intimidation, violence, or threats of violence are a crime and that universities must make it clear that it is unacceptable by showing a zerotolerance approach to perpetrators.

I first experienced suppression of my freedom of expression after submitting an article that presented a critical viewpoint on the president of a University society. Through this article I was exercising my right to hold an elected club official to account. After having got wind of the story, the elected club official

in question tried to have the story suppressed. The paper refused to publish the story claiming that it was inflammatory and would create a hostile environment for students.

While Article 10 states that I have a right to express myself freely without fear of retaliation, this did not seem to hold in this case. There was social media backlash as well: despite the piece remaining unpublished, I was removed from the society’s Facebook groups (I have since been reinstated being a paying member). I was, therefore, gratified to hear that Mr Williamson had issued universities a final warning to shape up and get their house in order.

The University of Bristol could benefit from following the University of Oxford’s stance on free speech.

The University of Oxford has adopted strong codes which champion free speech because it enables the pursuit of knowledge and helps the academic community better acquaint itself with a variety of

Epigram / Sabrina Miller

The government must force univerisites to protect free speech

beliefs and theories that exist in our dynamic society. It recognises that this may sometime cause offence, but it should never prevent debate that is lawful.

If free speech isn’t allowed merely because it upsets another group, then where does one draw the line? Freedom of expression is not underpinned by a certain political movement or belief, but it is the only beacon of light when our other rights

are infringed upon. The courts and the government have a mandate to uphold and safeguard our rights if universities will not.

As a student, having to rely on the courts to address an infringement of my rights is unreasonable and financially impossible. Therefore, I welcome any legal action that the Secretary of State for Education is proposing that will strengthen the right to free speech.

Staff have been striking again to improve working conditions and pensions from 20 February. They will to continue to disrupt teaching until 13 March.

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Editor Deputy Editor Digital Editor

Vilhelmiina Haavisto Isobel O’Loughlin Topaz Maitland

PhD Cancer Immunology

S

TEM fields include the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. While graduates in health-related sciences such as biology are fairly gender-balanced, there are many fewer women than men among graduates in core-STEM subjects, which include the areas such as physics, maths, computer science, engineering, technology and architecture.

While there are one million women in core-STEM roles as of 2019, women make up just 24 per cent of core-STEM roles in the UK and so represent the largest untapped talent pool. There is a need to understand and improve the gender balance of people pursuing STEM for the sake of improved productivity, fresh perspectives and better social cohesion within these fields.

The lack of young women enrolling in core-STEM subjects in higher education is strongly linked to stereotypical beliefs about STEM formed during childhood. Many studies have described the way maths

and science are viewed by students as male domains.

Both quantitative and qualitative tests have been used to assess the gender stereotypes of math and science including the Draw-AScientist Test and word-association tests. In the Draw-A-Scientist-Test, children consistently draw scientists as middle-aged men with dishevelled hair, with a minority of children, mainly girls, drawing women scientists. Stereotypic beliefs that STEM subjects are more suitable for boys than girls have been shown to be more strongly endorsed by boys and men. Meanwhile, boys highly interested in STEM and girls most uninterested in STEM subjects made the strongest associations between STEM and being male, indicating a link between STEM-gender stereotypes and subsequent interest in pursuing studies in those areas.

In studies on semantics, words such as soft, playful, frail and flexible are used to describe women.

Trait descriptors like hard, serious, strict, robust were associated with the subjects of maths and physics.

Interestingly, chemistry was not associated strongly in these tests with men or women and was shown to then be taken nearly equally by boys and girls as subjects later in school. The strongest association was of maths, then physics, with the male gender and these subjects had a much

more male-dominated cohort later in school.

It has also been shown that male students who do not associate themselves with stereotypically masculine traits are also less likely to pursue STEM careers, suggesting that they are can be put off from pursuing STEM for similar reasons to young women. Additionally, men in non-STEM careers seemed to form stronger associations of maths with stereotypically masculine traits, than men in STEM fields. Clearly, it is for

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There is a need to understand and improve the gender balance of people pursuing STEM

“

International Women’s Day (8 March) is a great time to take stock of the achievements of women in STEM, as well as ongoing challenges.

Carissa Wong

Flickr / NIH Image Gallery, WOCinTech Chat, Seattle Municipal Archives, NASA Marshall Flight Mission

The urgent need to STEMpower women

the benefit of all genders, not just women, that we remove the cultural stereotypes of different genders and their suitability for different career paths.

Increased gender diversity has been shown to improve workplaces, making them more productive, adaptable and responsive to customer needs. Employers lose out on talent when they leave women scientists, engineers and technologists out of the picture. Just over 60 per cent of STEM graduates who are women 17,500 annually - do not then use their skills in STEM work.

Some employers are still reluctant to employ women, because they question their commitment to work if they have children or other family obligations. However, it has been

shown in a study involving over 200 organisations that women do not leave companies at higher rates than men, and only a small number of women would leave the workforce for family roles.

So, how can we move forwards?

Firstly, senior management must set an example by bringing diversity and inclusivity into the core values of the workplace. Workplaces with a more inclusive culture recruit women more easily. Managers have the power to initiate change and should develop programmes where female voices and perspectives can be heard by male managers.

Second, recruiters should be careful in how they advertise roles and ensure that they do not use language that can deter women from the role - actively saying that they are welcoming to all genders can help women to feel more comfortable in applying. By actively avoiding allmale shortlists, recruiters can give more women opportunities to prove their capabilities.

Finally, misogynistic comments and behaviour must be treated with zero-tolerance; everyone should also understand and feel comfortable to use a system for reporting such incidents. Moreover, flexible working hours help more people to be included by, for example, enabling workers to work and carry out carer roles more easily.

Genevieve Clapp Second year, Medicine

I

nside the nucleus of every living cell on this planet there lies a genome: a knot of genetic information that is entirely unique to you, so much so that even identical twins have small differences. Simply put, a genome is a chain of genes, which, much like a zip, consist of pairs of interlocking molecules known as nitrogenous bases.

Humans have around 30 billion of these base pairs – frighteningly, this is also 30 billion places where the system can go wrong. A huge amount of time and resources has

been dedicated to trying to uncover exactly what each gene does.

Uncovering the patterns within the genome has unlimited potential: allowing us to use genes like Lego bricks and construct organisms that can solve many of today’s problems. One such example would be designing bacteria that could convert waste material into feedstock or creating cancer drugs that target a specific gene.

Here in Bristol, Head of the School of Biological Sciences Professor Claire Grierson has been supervising a team who are using computers to design genomes that are minuscule in comparison to normal bacterial DNA, let alone the human genome. The reasoning behind making a genome as small as possible is that as you remove genes, you begin to learn what they do. This is a more efficient version of what has been occurring in medicine for years, as often we work out the function of specific genes

through the diseases that are caused in their absence.

Many of us will have heard of the terms ‘in vivo’ and ‘in vitro’, however you may be less familiar with ‘in silico’. ‘In silico’ refers to testing a theory within a computerized model;

“

As you remove genes, you begin to learn what they do

“

Researchers at Bristol’s synthetic biology research centre BrisSynBio are working to design cells with minimal gene numbers using supercomputers.

Grierson’s team have adopted this method of research as it is far more efficient and predictable than using actual cells. They published their results in Nature Communications earlier in February.

Their program, Minesweeper, much like the game, searches for genes that could be deleted, then it runs a simulation to see if the cell will survive. The bacteria that they are using as a model is Mycoplasma

genitalium – from its name you probably do not need me to tell you what kind of disease it causes.

However, as well as causing a particularly nasty antibiotic resistant STI, it also has the smallest genome of any living organism (475 genes in total), hence it is perfect for experimentation.

Until recently the most its genome had been reduced to was 413 genes, but the Bristol team believe that if their simulation is correct, they can ‘knock out’ another 33 to 52 genes.

For every gene that is knocked out we learn what is and is not essential to life. The aim is to eventually create a cell that is only capable of survival and nothing else: it will be a blank canvas upon which we can design completely new cells.

One challenge that Minesweeper and their other program, GAMA, have overcome is the fact that sometimes genes work in conjunction to produce a single trait. The danger

Flickr / ACJ1

When it comes to genes, less can be more

with such genes is that if you delete a gene that works as part of a group, there may be no obvious effect and it could appear non-essential.

To avoid this, Minesweeper and GAMA do not begin by deleting single genes. Instead, they start by deleting a group of genes to see if they are working together. Once they have eliminated this possibility, they then begin to knock out the individual genes. Although projects like these have a long way to go before moving off the computer and into live organisms, it’s still a huge leap forward and something to be proud of.

18 SciTech

epigram 02.03.2020

Road to carbon neutral: the feasibility of electric cars

Second year, Mathematics

focusing on electric vehicles, given the ease of installing charging points compared with transporting hydrogen around the country. However, reports have stated that at least 4,000 electric charging points should be installed per day in order to reach the 25 million that would sufficiently power all the UK’s cars.

Currently there are 30,000 public charging points across the UK. While the government has encouraged councils around the UK to make use of a £4.5 million grant for installing charging points in public locations, the majority remains unused, with only five councils taking advantage of the funding as of 2018.

Another challenge consumers face is charging times; slower charging points can take up 11 hours for a full charge. For longer journeys and homes without a charger, this is a barrier to buying electric vehicles.

Thankfully, ‘Rapid’ chargers which can fill a battery in under an hour have been steadily growing in number, though there are currently only 2,000 locations in the UK. Sufficient innovation and investment in this area could make the inconvenience of charging a much lesser one.

As part of their Decarbonisation plan, the energy market regulator Ofgem recommends the use of smart chargers. In a country that will be growing evermore reliant on electricity as conventional boilers are replaced with heat pumps and

batteries replace petrol, efficient use of electricity will be paramount.

Smart chargers allow the user to restrict the power delivered to the car or halt it altogether at times of high energy demand, saving consumers and energy networks money. They also could possibly be used for “short-term storage to smooth peaks in energy demand and maximise use of renewables”, saving the UK an estimated £2 billion. In all likelihood, the government will accept the recommendation, which could ease the pressure on the country’s energy suppliers in the transition to electric vehicles.

The environmental benefits of electrical and hydrogen-fuelled cars are numerous: as well as reducing the impact of the UK on fossil-fuel emissions around the world, clean vehicles will mitigate air pollution in cities. Bristol’s poor air quality contributes to five deaths a week, according to a study by King’s College London.

Though the production of batteries for electric cars makes their production more polluting than petrol cars, this is more than made up for by the lack of emissions over their lifetime. At the current rate, creating carbon-neutral roads by 2050 is unrealistic. While the government declares 2020 a ‘year of climate action’, policy must match up in order for them to fulfil their own promises.

In the lab at UoB Recent paleobiology graduate Emily Keeble identified how the armour of aetosaurs, herbivorous reptiles from the Triassic period, works. By CT scanning the fossil specimens, she was able to show that ‘what had been identified as fish scales were actually armour plates…just like in modern crocodiles’, Keeble said. ‘They were linked with connective tissue so the armour overall was flexible,’ she explained, ‘but tough and could probably protect the animal from the fierce predators of its day.’

Research led by the University has shown that statins, often prescribed to reduce cholesterol, could lower the risk of ovarian cancer. These findings appeared to apply to women who have no known family history of ovarian cancer and also those genetically predisposed to it. While promising, Professor Richard Martin from the Bristol Medical School notes that ‘the potential protective effects… need to be shown in a randomised controlled trial first before statin therapy could be encouraged’.

Vilhelmiina Haavisto

Vilhelmiina Haavisto

Live fast, die young: the history of icthyosaurs Researchers in the School of Earth Sciences have uncovered the turbulent history of icthyosaurs: fish-like reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. They showed that ichthyosaurs had a huge burst of diversity around 250 million years ago. However, this [boom] did not last forever, as they suffered a bottleneck 50 million years later that ultimately led to their extinction. ‘Ichthyosaurs were simply unable to adapt,’ said lead author Dr Ben Moon, due to ‘decreasing evolutionary rates’ in the Jurassic era.

Vilhelmiina Haavisto

Flickr / NIH Image Gallery

Statins could help to treat ovarian cancer patients

Flickr / NIH Image Gallery

CT scanning ancient armoured reptiles

University of Bristol Press Office / Emily Keeble

I

n a recent press conference at COP26 climate summit launch, Boris Johnson stated that all cars sold in the UK will be electric or hydrogen-powered by 2035; a 5-year push forward from the government’s original ‘ban’ on fossil-fuel powered cars by 2040.

Doubts have been cast on the feasibility of this claim: while Johnson would like to paint the UK as the frontrunner in climate policy, the real picture is much less certain.

Banning the sale of petrol cars is a large part of the UK’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2050, but its direct effects on consumers makes creating a carbon-neutral transport network a significant challenge.

One of the biggest challenges is encouraging the public to purchase electric vehicles. Without a significant customer investment into sustainable vehicles, improving the system will be much more difficult.

While the government plans to implement a ban on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by

vehicle starting at £22,000 is currently undesirable to most consumers. On the other hand, electric cars are significantly cheaper to run than both hydrogen cell and petrol cars, averaging about 3.3p per mile instead of the typical 10.9p of a petrol car. Depending on expected mileage, electric could still prove a better investment today.

However, the largest challenge for the future is creating sufficient infrastructure to support an influx of sustainable vehicles; something the government is apparently struggling to do. Critics claim that there is not enough investment in infrastructure for sustainable vehicles to help consumers make the switch.

Though hydrogen fuel cells have been touted for years as the future of travel, there are only four filling stations north of London.

The government instead seems to be

Flickr / Roland

Izzy Bromfield

2035, incentives exist for consumers to make the switch before then.

The ‘Plug-In Car Grant’ has been lowering the price of new electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by up to £3,500 since 2011, and has contributed to the purchase of more than 160,000 cars since its introduction. Several grants also exist to subsidise the cost of private vehicle chargers. However, with the withdrawal of funding for hybrid cars in 2018, and the current subsidy for electric vehicles expiring in March, it is expected that the grants will cease altogether in the coming months.

While innovations in energy storage and consumption will dramatically decrease the price of electric cars in the next few years, the average price of a longrange

Epigram / Vil helmiin a

Can the UK government achieve the progress it needs to develop a sustainable transport system by 2035?

02.03.2020 epigram

SciTech 19

Social media could help you adopt healthier habits

T

“

We must develop our ability to filter out the lies about unhealthy products that are fed to us

HED snacks and SSBs. This means that how you view food adverts or other users’ online activities with injunctive descriptions will make you more likely to consume unhealthy food and drink.

Apart from how high the subjects’ level of liking or consumption

through many channels; for example, corrupt nutrition professionals, as Vishen Lakhiani, co-founder of Mindvalley, discusses in his YouTube video. We must develop our ability to filter out the lies about unhealthy products that are fed to us.

Another study has also reported that certain covariates, including appetite, negative emotions, and feeling unwell can all influence experiments about food and mental state. From a

psychological perspective, since our body and mind are interconnected, the foods we consume highly affects our minds. As much as the UK’s higher education institutions try to revolutionise the measures for mental health, we also need to mull over our behaviour on social media and its food-related messaging, in order to escape from the vicious cycle of worsening our mental health by consuming unhealthy food.

Epigram / Patrick Sullivan

his January, the international academic journal Appetite published a paper by Aston University researchers on potential links between food-related social norms, or unwritten rules of acceptable behavior, on social media and their influences on other users’ food and drink consumption and body mass index (BMI). Nowadays 51 per cent of Facebook users and 42 per cent of Instagram users log into the online social platform more than twice a day.

The paper suggests that there are four kinds of social norms that appear amidst social media; descriptive norms (descriptions about what others do), injunctive norms (telling us that we ‘must’ consume a food or type of product in a particular way), liking norms (what others like to consume), and frequency norms (how frequently others consume).

The researchers found that the descriptive and frequency norms about how much and frequently one should consume fruit and vegetables

frequency of sugary products is, the data shows the perceived descriptive norms of HED snacks and SSBs as well as the perceived liking norms are almost twice as high compared to how much they have perceived the consumption of fruits and vegetables under the given norms.

The researchers also state that the number of descriptions of unhealthy food products are overwhelming, which affect the results regarding vegetable and fruit consumption.

One good outcome is that there was little evidence about relationships between social media use and BMI. The paper suggests that the results only strongly emphasise the impacts of online activities and food consumption.

We all know that eating fruits and vegetables is healthy, and it is good to see part of the results reflect this fact. However, against all our good intentions, businesses and influencers advertise sugary products to us every single day on social media. As they work highly addictively in our psychology and body, they are easily exploited in order for companies to make profits.

Obviously, us individuals alone cannot stop the giant businesses from doing this. Too often, social media manipulates our perceptions to make unhealthy food and beverages seem like something worth purchasing for our better health. This can happen

Unsplash / Robin Worrall, Patrick Fore

Second year, Geography

positively predict the subjects’ own consumption of fruits and vegetables.

These subjects were all university students. The subjects exposed to descriptive norms about vegetable eating eventually chose vegetables with meals after six weeks. The liking norms about vegetables, such as broccoli for instance, made users consume more of it later.

The study also revealed the results about four different norms in relation to high energy dense (HED) snacks and sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). First, how much others like snacks and how frequently they enjoy them did not correlate with the consumption of any foods or drinks. However, injunctive norms about what one should eat positively predicted how the subjects perceived their own consumption of

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Our friends’ posts on social media can influence our food choices; for better or for worse.

Seochan Jeon

Greta Thunberg visited Bristol last Friday to join the Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate. See our full coverage online at www.epigram.org.uk

Film & TV

Editor Deputy Editor Digital Editor Deputy Digital Editor

Leah Martindale Louie Bell Laura Aish Tom Goulde

that. Amy is not a tick in a box, not a pointed finger: just a girl, with a crush. She isn’t there to make a point, and there is zero feeling that Amy has been shoehorned in as a kind of trend-tapping move of a forcedly ‘progressive’ narrative. Booksmart’s engagement with LGBTQ+ identity is natural, and understatedly impressive. It isn’t about ‘Amy’s sexuality’; it’s about the sweat, blood and flood-barrier-warranting tears of the high school corridor; it’s about good grades versus bad grades, debate kids versus drama kids, valedictorian speeches versus backseat blowjobs.

It’s about teenagers at the Friday night party, having a good time.

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The world of trans people of colour is seen in a much fuller light

Kofo Ajala Digital Opinion Editor on Pose’s (2018 -) Janet Mock

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Some of the best cinema you will have seen this year

Siavash Minoukadeh Entertainment Subeditor on Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

IMDb / HoldUp Films

IMDb / Annapurna Pictures IMDb / World of Wonder

Emily Tuson 3rd Year History of Art on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (2019)

IMDb / FX Networks

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Booksmart’s engagement with LGBTQ+ is understatedly impressive

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A wonderfully British triumph

IMDb / Lilies Films

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ex, drugs, and I’m-here-toget-an-A-and-then-get-outof-this-godforsaken-townstyle Rock’n’Roll: starring feisty up-and-comings Kaitlyn Dever (Amy) and Beanie Feldstein (Molly), Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is not only a bloody good time, but also a fabulously understated two-fingersup all lazy, 2-D efforts at LGBTQ+ on screen representation. Wilde’s first stab at direction follows dream-duo Molly and Amy through the forty eight hours of madness rolling up to graduation day. Wilde chooses not to spend time on Amy’s coming out: it happened ‘in the fifth grade’, and that’s all we need to say about

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Entertainment Subeditor

Here’s what Epigram writers had to say about some key moments of LGBTQ+ Film & TV from 2019:

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I

f you’ve heard of Tarell Alvin McCraney, it’s probably as a result of his work on Moonlight (2016), the exquisite queer, AfricanAmerican coming-of-age story.

Whilst Moonlight has been McCraney’s highest-profile work so far - it’s pretty difficult to beat a Best Picture winner - he has previously had considerable success as a playwright. His play Choir Boy was recently revived in 2018 on Broadway, tackling many of the same themes, looking at how a young African-American man expresses his sexuality whilst coming of age in a prep school.

In McCraney’s world, queer people of colour are allowed the luxury of being queer without having to adhere to white-defined images and ideals of queerness, as is so often the case. By removing whiteness from the picture completely, McCraney commits a radical act when so much of our popular conception of queer men -even within the queer community - is based around fetishising and trivialising being non-white with caricaturesque tropes that sexualise them and strip them of any sexual agency. McCraney’s writing brings a black, queer gaze onto these men and centres their voices and stories, removing all other distractions.

Daisy Game

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Entertainment subeditor

Booksmart (2019)

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With LGBTQ+ history month just behind us in February, our writers picked some of the standout LGBTQ+ films and filmmakers to celebrate Tarell Alvin McCraney Siavash Minoukadeh

IMDb / Fox 2000 Pic tures

IMDb / Getty Im ages: Rich Fury

Celebrating LGBTQ+ cinema

Love, Simon (2018)

Tomboy (2011)

Louie Bell

Milo Clenshaw

Deputy Film & TV Editor

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ove, Simon (2018) is much more than a teen love story. The first major studio production about a gay teenage romance, it’s a wonderful tale of heartbreak, friendship and first love. For anyone who has a soft-spot for coming-of-age films - particularly those of us who perhaps hoped it would never happen to us - to get it right is a tough job. Far more than just reworking any John Hughes 80s teen flick, they need to be relatable but comically distant, far-fetched but empathetic to the nuanced complexities and emotions that come to embody ‘growing up’.

Plenty of films try - and fail -every year to tap into this core of audience persona, teasing out so much nostalgia and deep affection for fictional characters so that simply watching the film is akin to hanging out with old friends.

Undoubtedly the vast majority of Hollywood coming-of-age films have centered on straight, white and middle-class characters surrounded by a friendship group who often reflect the protagonists’ gender, ethnicity and sexuality.

Then, in 2018, Love, Simon comes along. The film centres on a closeted gay teenager in America, Simon, who is outed through the reveal of a train of emails he sends to a mysterious fellow student with whom he begins to develop a strange but liberating relationship online. The story then becomes about the dynamics of a traumatic reveal of sexuality and the consequences that accompany it, and the enduring importance of friendship in navigating the messy world of teenage life.

3rd Year, Film & English

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honestly can’t remember the first time I saw Céline Sciamma’s 2011 film Tomboy, but it’s been with me throughout some of the most formative years of my life, and all the highs and lows of discovering, coming to terms with and coming out as LGBT. It’s a pretty standard coming of age story; a Parisian family moves to a new neighbourhood where the eldest child Mikäel (Héran) spends a hazy summer trying to fit in with the local kids and experiencing a tentative first romance.

Where this film differs, however, is that Mikäel’s family knows him as Laure, the 10 year old girl.

Although the main character’s gender exploration is what drives the plot, the film is interwoven with rich characterisation and development. It uses Mikäel/Laure’s gender not as a prop or a gimmick but as a basis to delve into the complexities of developing an individual identity of one’s own. In a time when identity politics are still a topic of great division, it is comforting to find a film which appears to deal so nonchalantly with the idea that gender, especially in youth, can be something fluid and transformative.

The universality of childhood experience is the perfect canvas to foreground LGBT issues as it opens them up to understanding beyond the LGBT community itself, putting them into terms which can be understood by people from all backgrounds. We can all relate to that push and pull of childhood between the freedom to try out different aspects of identity and the societal pressures already present in our lives.

02.03.2020

epigram

Film & TV 21

The Oscars are sexist but what should we do about it?

The 92nd Oscars are behind us, but for women in the industry there is still a long road ahead. This International Women’s Day, we take a critical eye to the industry.

Leah Martindale Film & TV Editor

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he statistics for women’s recognition in the most coveted Western awards of the industry, the Academy Awards - or Oscars, as you may know them - are frankly shocking. Only one woman has ever been nominated for Best Cinematographer, in 2017, and only five for Best Director, with a shocking singular win - Kathryn Bigelow for Hurt Locker (2008) - a toxic masculine wet-dream if ever I’ve seen one.

Only eight women have been nominated for Best Original Score, and fourteen for Best Sound Editing, with twelve actual film nominations. While the Oscars are debatably outdated and archaic in their assessments, they still hold the gold standard for cinema, and there is no way for women to reform the Academy from outside. The Oscars board of voters is notably undiverse, which makes this all less surprising...

The Oscars have become infamous for their seemingly instinctive shirking of diversity. At this year’s awards actress Natalie Portman made headlines worldwide for her notable cape, adorned with the names of women snubbed from the Best Director category. This was a move praised by many and notably unimpressive to many others, including the often controversial Rose McGowan.

What an exciting move! How bold of her to so openly critique the status quo. Until, that is, you look further into it. Portman’s own production company, Handsomecharlie Films, has a total of 11 films listed on IMDb. Of these films, only two were directed by women - or, I should say, a woman: Portman herself. Eve (2008) and A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015) both hold Portman at the helm as writer-director, and in Love and Darkness, also actor.

Unfortunately it is all-too-common for Hollywood’s women to climb the ladder and pull it up after them. It is particularly ironic that Portman began her career at the tender age of 11 when scouted in a shopping mall, and starred in Léon (1994) before her thirteenth birthday. For many, there are factors like race, class, and Eurocentric beauty standards that bar such meteoric rises in the industry.

Academy Awards won by Parasite

Won by 1917 - the favourite to sweep the awards

Nominations for female directors

Of course, it is unfair to blame Portman for the luck of her life.

However, when her entire success is predicated on privilege and luck it can leave a bitter taste in one’s mouth to see such empty shows of ‘solidarity’.

There are many ways Portman could champion other women’s voices, and a Dior cape that likely cost more than my mother’s car is not the way.

Marilyn Monroe is notable in history for innumerable reasons, from the admirable to the lessso. One area in which she is vastly underappreciated, however, is her constant championing of other women in the performing arts. It has been reported on reliably that without the help of Monroe her friend and favourite singer Ella Fitzgerald, an African-American singer, would have languished in clubs below her talent’s worth due to repressive segregation laws and racist American attitudes.

While we will never have another Marilyn, there are so many ways to emulate her that do not involve a peroxide blonde scalp or physicsdefying figure. While the women in the industry can hardly overturn the entire system, the higher you rise, the further you can drop people. With great power comes great responsibility, and I personally would love to see less empty shows of

support and more active involvement in reforming the system the higher ups are imbued in.

Of course, we are not all Oscar Award winning actresses who became household names before we could legally drive. We are ordinary people, doing extraordinary things in ordinary ways, and it can be so easy to become disillusioned by the Academy, the industry, and the arts, when even at the top it appears women just cannot catch a break. It is so easy to tell Natalie Portman to step it up, because she can afford to, but what about the rest of us?

As one audience member amongst millions, it can feel like you are a drop in the water. But eventually, every drop turns the tide. Watch women’s films, champion women’s stories, and tell them yourselves. If you are a woman, tell your stories, look for them in film, and support the films you see yourself in. If you aren’t, take your time to watch women’s stories, to champion them, to widen your horizons. If we can learn anything from the Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) trailer trauma of 2019, it’s that audience’s voices can go a very long way...

Read the full article on the Epigram website!

Editors’ Picks IMDb / Tri-Star Pictures

IMDb/ Tempesta

Netflix / Steve Dietl

IMDb / Film4

IMDb / IFC Productions

To celebrate International Women’s Day, our editors pick their favourite films helmed by women

Leah Martindale Editor

Louie Bell Deputy Editor

Patrick Sullivan Co-Editor in Chief

Siavash Minoukadeh Entertainment Sub-Editor

Daisy Game Entertainment Sub-Editor

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Mudbound (2017)

Happy as Lazarro (2018)

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Monsoon Wedding is a femalefronted Indian tragicomedy that toys with stereotypes at every opportunity.

Director Mira Nair pushes women’s stories, sexuality, and suppression at every turn. With vibrant colours, beautiful dances, and family fracas galore, it is easy to miss the sneaking suspicions and buried traumas the film rests on until they are thrust, uneasily and uncomfortably, to the forefront.

The film’s masterful balancing act between tragedy and comedy is both artistic and respectful, and globally recognisable to victims of trauma.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix in a far superior performance than in Joker (2019), You Were Never Really Here is an existential psychothriller about a traumatized war veteran, specialising in rescuing trafficked young girls.

Weapon of choice? A hammer. This supremely directed uber-violent masterwork is frightening, haunting, and heartbreaking, punctuated by a pulsing, warped electronic score by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

Wrapped up in mystery yet up in your face for every second, you won’t ever want to look away.

WWII films usually have a tired perspective and are a sinkhole for diversity.

Mudbound breaks that trend, based away from the action. Two soldiers, either side of the racial divide, return home and form a friendship based on a disconnect from normal life. Their families, with slavery and the KKK prominent, grapple with the bond of war transcending race. Dee Rees demonstrates exceptional directorial control as the film builds to a brutal and unforgiving end. Rachel Morrison also became the first female cinematographer – in 90 years! –nominated for an Oscar for her gorgeous work.

With Parasite (2019) and its Oscar win having hopefully opened the doors for a broader appreciation of foreignlanguage film, this International Women’s Day is the perfect chance to go back and watch some of the best female-directed films from outside the Anglosphere and Alice Rohrwacher’s allegory is a great starting point. Shot in the gorgeous Italian countryside, it starts simply - rural villagers working for their sneaky landlord in what looks to be the 1950s. Things then take a surreal twist that left my jaw on the floor.

Friends mock me for it - my mother expresses concern over it - but it’s something with which I have come to terms. I, Daisy Game, am a romantic and Sleepless in Seattle does not help. This 1993 triple whammy - Epron wrote, directed, and produced – tells what might perhaps be deemed the healthiest long-distance-relationship-tale to date.

The key to Sam and Annie’s success?

They’ve never actually met. Sleepless is Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It’s a dusky New York city. It’s the stuff of dreams, and it will forever hold a place in my poor, delusional heart.

epigram 02.03.2020

22 Film & TV

The future of foreign film IMDb / FREDERIC J. BROWN / via Getty Images

After Parasite’s historic wins at the Academy Awards, what does the future of foreign film look like at the Oscars?

Samuel Vickers

First Year, German & Russian

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ong Joon Ho’s monumental win at the 92nd Oscars saw the first foreign language film to win Best Picture in the entire history of the Academy. But what could this mean for the category and the Academy as a whole?

There is no doubt that modern cinema is going through a period of rapid change, as Netflix, the #MeToo scandal and advanced visual effects reshape the landscape. Could this facilitate the integration of foreign language films within mainstream Awards? The Academy’s inflexible reputation may at last be subject to change as we see the Netflix Original Marriage Story (2019) winning Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern), among five other nominations and, crucially, the Korean tragicomedy Parasite (2019) taking home the coveted Best Picture Award.

The Academy’s history with foreign languages and film is long and varied, with some notable moments being Alfonso Cuarón’s sweep of nominations for 2018’s Roma - including Best Picture - The Artist’s (2011) win and Christoph Waltz’s double win for Best Supporting Actor, one for his chiefly

German and French speaking role in Inglourious Basterds (2009).

Pedro Almodóvar and Roman Polanski have each had repeated recognition at the Oscars but, again never managed to win the Best Picture Award. Whilst global cinema has typically had some wider presence at the Academy, it is difficult not to view the International Feature Film Award as a token recognition that patronises foreign film. In winning Best Picture, Parasite has redefined the role of non-English speaking films in world cinema.

A change was made to the remit of the category of Best Foreign Film in time for the most reason Oscar season, renaming it the ‘International Feature Film Award’. Under the new guidelines, the nominations must be feature length - documentaries and animations included - predominantly non-English dialogue and from a

studio outside the United States, with a maximum of one film from any one country. This takes the focus off the film’s language and puts it on global cinema more generally.

This perhaps encourages the Academy to consider film outside the Western cinematic tradition Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) was previously the only foreign language film to be nominated for Best Picture not from a Western country. However, it has also made it difficult for some films to compete: for example The Farewell (2019), whose American studio barred it from qualifying for the International Feature Film Award, despite its almost exclusively Mandarin dialogue.

But what is it about Parasite that allowed it to at last clinch the award, where Roma, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life is Beautiful

(1997) failed? Bong Joon Ho’s intensely detailed social study is both comic and chilling as he masterfully contrasts two drastically different families living in Seoul. The seamless tonal shifts allow a full exhibition of Bong Joon Ho’s photographic talents, his painstaking story-boarding of every shot proving itself worthwhile, as almost every frame at once transfixes and intrigues.

Parasite is the culmination of a chiefly Korean-language oeuvre, a hurdle that Bong Joon Ho has nevertheless overcome in achieving Western recognition for his films.

Bong Joon Ho challenges cultural expectations with his portrayal of the squalid dwelling of the Kim family and palatial home of the Parks, and depicting a society that is unexpectedly accessible.

This, coupled with Joon Ho’s legendary attention to visual story-

Roma (2018) Mexico

Photos: IMDb

Read the full article and more on Parasite on the Epigram website!

T

he Oscars have not historically been receptive to foreign-language films but some have still managed to break through. These have been some of the most successful:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) China

The Artist (2011) France

telling, could be the secret to its breakout global success. Parasite does have some universal qualities and, while the joy of foreign film can often lie in the cultural immersion that the audience engage in, Parasite is more available to the Western viewer for its languageless visual beauty and ubiquitous social dynamics.

It is a film that is flexible - Bong Joon Ho released a black-andwhite version at the Rotterdam Film Festival - and multi-faceted and it is for this reason that it has garnered praise from the critics, film-goers and, at long last, the Academy.

Parasite is the chosen English translation of the original title, 기생충 (Gisaengchung), and translates specifically as a form of insect parasite - the ambiguity of the English title is surely deliberate, as the parasite referenced in the film’s title is never clearly identified. The film is ostensibly called Parasite to elucidate Joon Ho’s nodded references to his 2006 film, The Host, another of the director’s collaboration with Song Kang-Ho - Ki-taek in Parasite.

Whether this has truly opened up the category for future international films remains to be seen, but Parasite has certainly gone a long way in making the top category more permeable to foreign language and international films.

Parasite (2019) South Korea

Arts

epigram 02.03.2020

@epigramarts

Editor Deputy Editor Digital Editor Deputy Digital Editor

Livi Player Imogen Howse Will Maddrell Serafina Lee

‘Visibility is one of the antidotes for inequality’: celebrating women in theatre “

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n celebration of International Women’s Day, Epigram Arts talks to theatre-maker and theatre school manager Imogen Palmer about the celebration of women in theatre and her upcoming feminist show If These Walls Could Talk.

We first ask Imogen how she was encouraged into the theatre industry.

She mentions the ‘kind artists’ who encouraged and supported her: Katherine Weaver of Improv Melbourne, Tom Brennan and Sam Potter, Caitlin Campbell, who Imogen says had faith in her when she was a 19-year-old stand-up comedian,

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Kindness and encouragement is everything in this industry

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and who invited her to be a regular compère of the comedy night she produced. ‘If it wasn’t for these people encouraging me, I would not have gotten far,’ Imogen asserts, before stressing that ‘kindness and encouragement is everything in this industry.’

Imogen’s upcoming show If These Walls Could Talk involves a

Imogen goes on to reflect on her achievements in her career thus far in celebration of International Women’s Day. She cites ‘writing and delivering numerous well-received courses for

The Bristol Improv Theatre [and] putting together and directing comedy show ‘The Bish Bosh Bash' as two of her greatest achievements.

She also mentions that she was very proud of the feedback she received as a teacher and director, with students and cast members noting the supportive and safe environment she engendered, something which empowered them to take more of their own creative risks.

‘I’ve experienced a range of different teaching styles over my own training and something I seek to practice is kindness and sensitivity whilst in pursuit of a r t i s t i c excellence – something which I believe is much more possible than we think.’

We ask Imogen one final question in true celebration of women’s achievements - what is the most badass thing she has ever done in theatre? ‘Oh damn,’ she replies. ‘It has to be my solo show - where I am a loud and proud queer character committed to smashing the patriarchy,’ she says, referring to her production IMOGENÉ: an improvised pop concert. Imogen then offers a

The cast weaves together powerful stories inspired by real women

more personal story in response to our question. ‘This week in Bristol,’ she explains, ‘I was chatting to a woman in the audience about her sex life, when she revealed she was sat next to her teenage daughter…this became hilarious for the crowd. I asked her if she had a nickname for her ‘little Imogené' and her daughter chipped in with ‘Helen,’ which inspired the next song. They came up to me afterwards to thank me and take a photo, which was when I noticed the daughter was wearing a rainbow/ pride t-shirt. The chance to help queer teenagers have conversations with their parents about identity and consent through live entertainment is next level badass for me.’

Imogen Palmer’s latest show If These Walls Could Talk from The Delight Collective is being performed at Bristol Improv Theatre on the 7th March in celebration of International Women's Day. An exhibition of inspirational women will be on display in the bar from 18:30pm and the show starts at 19:30pm.

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It's important to make the voices of women and of other oppressed genders heard

Power & Protest! International Women's Day 2020

Looking for a way to celebrate International Women's Day? We've got an idea!

Imogen Howse Deputy Arts Editor

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n Tuesday 10 March, The University of Bristol’s Intersectional Feminist Society will be collaborating with The Women’s Network to host

‘Power and Protest’ in celebration of International Women's Day 2020!

Set to be a night of empowerment and solidarity, the event will feature speeches from a variety of societies - including Her Campus and That’s What She Said - who will all be talking about what work they’ve done in the interest of gender equality as well as discussing what feminism means to them.

The night will also feature a few special guests: there will be a speech

from photo-journalist and activist Eliza Hatch, the inspiring woman behind the ‘Cheer Up Luv’ movement which aims to raise awareness of harassment towards women on the streets and on public transport, and there will be individual performances from the spoken-word poet Angelika Peplinski and singer-songwriter Emily Jane Lumsden.

In addition to these contributions, the occasion will also showcase performances from Pole Fitness

Society, Panto Soc and Bollywood Society, all of whom will have the theme ‘Power and Protest’ in mind.

Tickets cost £3 for members and £5 for non-members, and all proceeds will be donated to a local women's charity.

Let us know if you’re going - it looks like it will be an evening of inspiration, empowerment and feminism!

The event will run from 6-8:30pm, with doors from 5:30pm.

Reclaim the Night / Imogen Howse

Arts Editor

twelve women from various ages and backgrounds focuses on bringing authenticity and honesty into the storytelling; the diversity produces something very moving and often hilarious as the cast weaves together powerful stories inspired by real women they know or women who were alive in the past hundred years.

As a woman in theatre,

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Livi Player

diverse group of women from across Bristol who are sharing their stories and improvising these stories in scenes inspired by the true lives of women. Each tale is set in the same location but across different time periods - 1920, 1980 and 2020. The show, which will be performed on International Women’s Day, is very much a celebration of women in theatre. We ask Imogen what drove her to celebrate women in her production: she explains that ‘sometimes we focus a lot on the negative or dark sides of patriarchy and sexism, which is of course really important.

But what I believe is equally, if not more important, is making the voices of women and of other oppressed genders loud and heard through projects like this which celebrate them in all of their humanity.’ In Imogen’s own words, ‘visibility is one of the antidotes for inequality’; her primary motivation for If These Walls Could Talk.

Imogen’s show If These Walls Could Talk celebrates its female roles in diverse and encouraging ways.

She explains how using a cast of

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Epigram Arts talks to theatre-maker Imogen Palmer about the celebration of women in theatre

24 Arts

epigram 02.03.2020

Women in history: empowering female sexuality or Mills & Boon romance?

Lara Kelly

Third Year English

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am fourteen years old and I’m on an eleven-hour car journey with my family. We’re listening to Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant on audiobook, as my dad was reliably informed it would help my brother and I with our Renaissance history classes. It started off as an interesting narrative about life for nuns in a 16th century Italian convent. Then, suddenly, we’re listening to a very explicit account of the heroine’s first sexual experience. It spans a full chapter, and I can still remember the cringing silence of the car. ​Female sexuality is often the source

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Female sexuality is often the source of a lot of discomfort in our society

of a lot of discomfort in our society, which is fair enough if you’re stuck in the car with your family – but it does mean that it often goes unexplored in fiction, especially fiction targeted at a younger audience. Historical fiction, however, has long challenged these barriers in a way that many female-centric, young adult stories do not.

As a teenager – and now, as a 22-year-old – I loved the writing of Philippa Gregory, Sarah Dunant, Diana Gabaldon and Helen Dunmore.

These books invited me to identify with a female character from another time; to travel anywhere I wanted to, from Renaissance Italy, to Tudor England, to 18th Century Bristol, which, as a history nerd, made reading full of exciting possibilities. These novels were also open and honest about female sexual desire and romantic relationships. And yet, these stories are often dismissed, especially those with female protagonists; David

Starkey labelled Philippa Gregory’s work as ‘good Mills and Boon.’ To me, Gregory’s work is delicately written with well-woven plots

Th eO res the ictu r Boley P a i n Girl / Columb

and compelling female characters.

Underlying Starkey’s dismissal is the idea that presenting female sexuality is somehow frivolous.

Despite my nostalgia for historical fiction, however, I do have my doubts over just how empowering these novels are as they tend to be set in eras where women faced intense oppression. Sexual violence and coercive relationships are unavoidably prevalent themes. In Gregory’s The Boleyn Inheritance, the women are pawns in the political games of men. Sexual relationships are male-centric, such as that between the teenage Katherine Howard and the much older Henry VIII. I also have trouble with the prominence of sexual violence in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. On the one hand, the novels are set in 18th Century Scotland, a time in which witch trials were in current memory, and so historical fiction attaches us to this troubling past, reminding us of the hard-won rights we have today. But I worry that the frequency of sexual violence might somewhat normalise it for younger readers, and skew our vision of what sex should be like.

There are examples of powerful

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‘March’ into spring with our exciting Global Lounge events • Global Carnival • Afrocentrik • Malaysian and Singaporean Night • East Meets West • Faith Crawl

female characters and healthy relationships as well: Clare and Jamie Fraser in Outlander defy 18th Century expectations through their equality and mutual respect. I loved Anne of Cleves in The Boleyn Inheritance, as she manages to find agency outside of male approval in the Tudor court. I don’t wish to patronise fellow readers of the genre, as I know these books wouldn't have the popularity they do if they weren’t empowering in some ways.

But as someone who read historical

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Anne of Cleves manages to find agency outside of male approval in the Tudor court

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‘Female sexuality is somehow frivolous’: one student discusses female sexuality in historical fiction

fiction throughout the formative years of my life, I hope young adult readers find stories that teach them to be comfortable in their skin and that sex shouldn’t be scary or dangerous or demeaning.

We can learn so much by travelling into women’s history, but we also need to cultivate a healthy distance from the past.

Arts 25

02.03.2020 epigram

International Women's Day: favourite fictional females

Second Year Theatre and Film

W

hen I was younger, I used to imagine heroines as powerful figures with luxurious costumes and stoical personalities who left everything

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My positive body image has come from admiring a fictional woman who was admired for her biceps

than we would like to think them to be. Liesel is sensitive, fragile and indecisive, but she finds power in what we now see as simple items of distraction: books. Her innocence makes her strong and wise rather than weak, as she cannot understand the cruelty behind the war she is a part of. It is this which I find most admirable in Liesel: she taught me that we should all learn to look at our younger characters and accept and recognise them as sensitive, hopeful beings who are incomplete but

always open to improving themselves and the world around them.

Sara Espinosa Rastoll

F

emale characters that matched up to my high standards as a child were hard to come by. In particular, it was difficult to find convincing female characters in Young Adult fiction, where I spent most of my time in the library growing up – once I had finished all the children’s books aged eight. More often than not, in these books, the female character was without a personality or any defining characteristics – a blank canvas for romance with the suitably fleshed out male lead. Or she was to be hated: she stood in the way of said romance. To me, this reflects a lot of internalised misogyny in the grown women who write these books… but that’s another

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She was so utterly unlike the female characters I had encountered before

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Maddy Raven

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First Year English and Philosophy

behind to save their planet from an apocalypse. Most importantly, they were always fictitious roles that one could never truly hope to emulate.

What I learned after reading The Book Thief however, with its young protagonist Liesel Meminger, is that heroines can be found in the most ordinary of places and, what’s more, ‘apocalypses’ are way more common

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Heroines can be found in the most ordinary of places

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In celebration of International Women's Day, two students tell us about fictional women who inspired them as children Sara Espinosa Rastoll

article.

With such high standards, I found Tanith Low from Skulduggery Pleasant. She was so utterly unlike the female characters I had encountered before that I was fascinated. So often, films and books show young women who are able to fight epic battles while maintaining a stickthin size six body and not displaying any ‘masculine’ characteristics, such as visible muscles.

Tanith was different – she is described as muscular, and she rides a motorbike. She

has a sword. She gets stabbed quite a few times, but her strength, which is reflected in her appearance, is celebrated. As I am now, a lot of my positive body image has come from admiring a fictional woman who was admired for her biceps. I wish I was that cool.

And whenever I do feel bad about my body: my wide shoulders and my muscles, I remember that Tanith would be very proud of me.

Maddy Raven

The Book Thief / Fox 2000 Pictures

Book Corner

Second Year Physics & Philosophy

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irce by Madeline Miller is a modern novel written from the perspective of Circe, the goddess from The Odyssey, who is known for turning men into pigs. In addition to being an escapist fantasy full of fascinating Greek mythology, this story also has surprisingly strong parallels to the life of modern women.

It turns the protagonists of the famous myths into complex characters and explores the themes of love, loss, abuse, loneliness and motherhood from a feminist perspective. Miller cleverly explores human nature and the beauty of a finite life through the perspective of a goddess who resents her own immortality.

Livi Player Arts Editor

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ournalist Dolly Alderton’s powerful debut Everything I Know About Love is a funny and intimate memoir about the trials and triumphs of growing up. I was given this book by my sister who said it’s a book that truly mends a broken heart – in more ways than one. She recounts stories ranging from falling in love as a young teenager to the whirlwinds of house parties, getting drunk, finding a job, and finally those classic bad dates and personal heartaches. This book is so honest, heart-warming and witty; Alderton truly hones in on the importance of those unbreakable female friendships who stick around when men don’t.

Roshan Ark

Third Year Maths & Computer Science

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urple Hibiscus follows the Achike family through the political instability and economic turbulence of post-colonial Nigeria. 15-year-old Kambili narrates the psychological trauma inflicted by her tyrannical father and, as the novel progresses, we see her blossom and find her voice under the influence of her mother, aunt and cousin; all empowering female heroines. Adichie’s candid depiction of female oppression is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking; this enthralling novel thus echoes the message of Adichie’s iconic essay ‘We Should All be Feminists,’ and I would recommend it to all.

Lilia Sebouai Third Year English

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his book is a grimly ironic journalistic report on Joan Didion’s two-week visit to El Salvador in June 1982 where she observes the impact of American involvement in the country. In her account, Didion aligns the horrific with the normal; the chaos and unimaginable daily violence in El Salvador is continuous and completely shocking. She writes that ‘the dead and pieces of the dead turn up in El Salvador everywhere, every day’. Protected by her Americanness and gender, Didion powerfully uses her role as a witness and a journalist to capture the experiences of those enduring these atrocities.

Photo courtesy of Waterstones

Photo courtesy of Waterstones

Photo courtesy of Waterstones

Photo courtesy of Waterstones

Elena Venturelli

Photo courtesy of Waterstones

Epigram Arts’ regular feature: our favourite women writers in celebration of International Women's Day

Imogen Howse Deputy Arts Editor

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uriel Rukeyser writes that ‘in any history, [there is also], the buried, the wasted, and the lost,’ and it is exactly these histories – the undocumented ones – which she records in Savage Coast. In this moving and revelatory autobiographical novel, Rukeyser gives voices in particular to women and Spanish civilians: marginalised figures whose experiences had before been excluded from the historical documentation of the Spanish Civil War. Her multivocal narrative has thus become one of the few literary pieces to capture both the nuances of the conflict and the perspectives of those who actually lived through it.

Music

epigram 02.03.2020

@EpigramMusic epigram_music

Editor Deputy Editor Digital Editor Deputy Digital Editor

Francesca Frankis Guy Marcham Joe Boyd Will Snelling

12 cover songs that beat their original versions Few ever did musical political commentary better than Public Enemy.

This formidable legacy didn’t daunt Bristol’s own Tricky, who managed to beat Terminator X - arguably one of the most visionary DJs of all time at his own game. His cover of PE’s ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos’ features no bombastic male vocalist in the Chuck D mould, but instead frequent Tricky associate and sometime girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird, whose quiet vocals float in and out over a trip-hop mashup of synths, Indian drums and classic in-yer-face guitars. The irony of the twenty-year-

Gruff Kennedy

English Literature, Third Year

‘Song To The Siren’

‘Respect’

Flickr/Toni Grant

Another of the greatest vocalists of all time! No list of stronger covers would be complete without Aretha’s definitive take on the classic Otis song.

Though it’s difficult to top any track off Otis Blue, Aretha makes it look easy, creating a feminist anthem out of a song about a stereotypi-

old Topley-Bird singing softly about resisting the draft lends the song a tongue-in-cheek humour sorely

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A tongue-in-cheek humour sorely lacking in the somewhat on-thenose original

lacking in the somewhat on-the-nose original. Faster, cooler, and cleverer than the PE version, and a tour de force of Tricky’s idiosyncratic talents.

‘Gin and Juice’ by The Gourds (originally Snoop Dogg)

by This Mortal Coil (originally Tim Buckley) From irrepressible joy to tremendous sorrow. Tim Buckley was an accomplished performer to be sure, but Liz Fraser is a transcendental talent, a once-in-a-generation voice, phenomenally expressive whether singing or constructing the

by Tricky (originally Public Enemy)

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‘Black Steel’

A perennial topic of conversation, cause of controversy and source of fierce debate amongst music fanatics: here’s a selection of a few covers that eclipse their originals

wordless vocal soundscapes that were her sonic signature. In contrast to her often incomprehensible vocals with Cocteau Twins, here every single word is piercingly clear. Stripped-back production allows you to fully absorb every note of

by Aretha Franklin (originally Otis Redding) cally needy wife in the process; no mere cover this, but a concept cover. The 1967 song came out at just the right time to provide a voice for various country-wide liberation movements and has persisted in this political rele-

vance for over half a decade, voicing a basic human need with an assurance and power that only Aretha could wield.

That it’s also a highly danceable pop masterpiece is testament to her musical genius.

her voice; this is a song not just to play in the background, but to actively listen to. It’s easy to slip into hyperbole when describing Liz Fraser, and call her the ‘voice of God’ or the greatest vocalist of all time, but listen to this song and you’ll know exactly why people do.

‘Mrs Robinson’

by The Lemonheads (originally Simon and Garfunkel) Another song that benefited from a bit of speeding up and a little injection of attitude. The original is love-

‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ by The Bangles

(originally Simon and Garfunkel) Now here’s a Simon and Garfunkel cover nobody could accuse of restraint. Starting with sleigh bells and an intricate four-part vocal intro before segueing into a rollicking hair metal riff, this is as unshakeably 80s as Cutting Crew and yellow Gazelles, and all the better for it. Inexplicable gratuitous sleigh bells aside (thanks,

Nobody should have been able to beat the Dogg at his best, but The Gourds, Austin’s favourite sons at the turn of the millennium, managed it with this irresistible hillbilly number. Wikipedia drily notes that this visionary cover became somewhat of an albatross around the band’s neck in the latter part of their gigging career, boorishly requested throughout their sets by frat boys hopped up on cheap pilsner, but it brought the house down every time

they played it for a reason. There’s something utterly joyous in hearing Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle braggadocio filtered through a bluegrass atmosphere of stompin’ drums and jumpin’ bass lines -- and some genuinely lovely interjections on the mandolin. The Gourds were as Texas as they come, and their drawled Lone Star harmonies completely reinvent Snoop’s West Coast hedonism in a way that is sometimes comical, but never novelty. A cover for the ages.

ly, and deserved its iconic inclusion in The Graduate soundtrack, but it’s slow and - whisper it - a bit monotonous. The Lemonheads gave a good melody exactly the kick up the backside that it needed, and their ver-

sion’s garage-rock guitars, shuffling drums and rolling bassline bring life to an old classic. No conceptual or musical great leap forward, but nobody said it needed to be.

I’m assuming, to legendary producer Rick Rubin), the song also features gratuitous cowbells, gratuitous horn stabs, and some gorgeous harmony work from The Bangles. Beautifully over the top and a hell of a lot of fun lean in and embrace it, or you’ll hate it.

Music 27

02.03.2020 epigram

‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)’ by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (originally Jerry Lee Lewis) Speaking of radical reworkings, this Mickey Newbury number was originally intended as a song

warning of the dangers of LSD, terror of 60s suburbanites nationwide. As soon as folk-rock veterans the First Edition got their hands on it, it became a counterculture anthem, a monument to the beauty

of - like - a really good trip, man.

An innovative departure from their normal downbeat rustic style, with a rich cultural legacy as immortalised in The Big Lebowski. All this, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun than the

‘I Feel For You’ by Chaka Khan (originally by Prince)

Mondays (originally John Kongos) From everyone’s favourite band of dedicated Madchester maniacs (well, besides the Roses, Northside and 808 State -- what a scene) comes this lesson in exactly how to modernise a song. Johannesburg journeyman Kongos’ original is fine; it’s a mostly undistinguished classic 70s rock song featuring a neat tape loop of some traditional African drumming, and an admittedly fairly brave anti-apartheid theme. It would most probably have faded into near-total obscurity had the Mondays not dragged it, kicking and screaming, into rave culture.

Shaun Ryder twisted everyone’s melons right good and proper with this seminal rave classic, and no mistake.

Its wild fusion of Italian house, superheavy funk and good old-fashioned homemade acid house works beautifully and somehow still manages to sound fresh today. To think it originally came around just to please some Elektra bigwigs requesting that the band cover an old artist from the stable!

Editor’s picks : Albums to listen to in March

and some decent bars from Grandmaster Melle Mel, including producer Arif Mardin’s now-iconic ‘stutter’ intro, lend the song enough character to cement its place in musical history.

The original is frankly a rare misstep from Prince, a saccharine lounge-singer kitsch-fest straight out of a bad 80s sitcom intro, so Chaka Khan’s successful rescue of the track is a massive relief.

‘Strawberry Letter 23’ by The Brothers

missing: some funk! They added some fantastic slap bass, threw in a bit of electric guitar, and mostly chucked out the bizarre carnival organ favoured by Shuggie, save for the outro; they knew their roots, and they knew when to pay homage to one of the all-time greats.

An excellent modernisation of a fantastic track.

Johnson (originally Shuggie Otis)

A bit of kitsch is no barrier to a good song, mind you. Shuggie’s original is gorgeous, and he’s definitely the better vocalist, but it’s lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. The Brothers Johnson, it seems, savent exactement quoi the song w a s

Prince is easily one of the most talented musicians in history, but even he was not infallible, and this was another throwaway, misguided kitsch fest with a fantastic central idea buried deep in its core. This was such a disposable effort, in fact, that it wasn’t even released by Prince, but instead came out via The Family, a funk band under his control that

‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’

by The Slits (originally The Miracles)

No construction of a cultural legacy here, just a continuation of one already in existence. This punky new wave cover of the soul standard lends an obsessive moodiness to the song, aided by frontwoman Ari Up’s clipped German delivery. Cut’s rough instrumentation, frequently derided by the band’s critics, actually reinforces this impression of a woman, well, ‘just about

to lose my mind’ over worry that her partner’s going to leave her. A much

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A much more approriate mood than the cheery original

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‘Step On’ by the Happy

Another song about pleading with the one you love, but Chaka Khan makes it so much fun. An infectious disco number complete with the requisite inclusion of slap bass, sax solo, and Stevie Wonder on the harmonica. Cheesy for sure, but very difficult to dislike for it. Chaka Khan’s phenomenal vocals

more appropriate mood than the cheery original, and you can’t argue with the sheer cool factor of The Slits.

‘Nothing Compares 2 U’

by Sinead O’Connor (originally Prince / The Family) served as a vehicle for his music. Thankfully, Sinead O’Connor saw the potential and decided to resuscitate it without even bothering to ask the permission of the Minneapolis giant.

The end result is breath-taking, an emotional gut punch from one of the most magnificent voices of the last century. Raw, moving, beautifully simple, never hackneyed or slushy; nothing compares.

Lapsley, Through Water

Anna Calvi, Hunted

Lapsley’s debut album, Long Way Home was a poignant and sentimental tale fleshed out over electronic ballads. The singer/producer is set to release her second album this month. Out 20th March via XL.

Calvi returns with a reworked version of her critically acclaimed record Hunter. Out 6th of March via Domino.

Alicia

ALIICIA

Sufjan Stevens, Aporia

Alicia Keys is back! It’s been four years since the release of Here, and her seventh studio album ALICIA is undeniably going to have some hits on - this won’t be one to miss. Out 20th of March via RCA.

Keys,

Stevens’ eighth solo album Aporia, follows in the footsteps of fan favourite Carrie and Lowell - Will the baroque pop singer songwriter live up to his praised reputation? Probably. Out 27th of March via Asthmatic Kitty.

epigram 02.03.2020

28 Music

‘In the UK, jazz is often seen as a very elitist genre of music’: In conversation with SEED SEED Ensemble’s Cassie Kinoshi sits down with Epigram Music to talk about the importance of community, being nominated for a Mercury Prize and the meanings behind her music.

Guy Marcham Deputy Music Editor

SEED Ensemble/Black Arts PR

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I think fundamentally it’s based on community and collaboration

a vibrant community – one centred around jazz, following each other’s creative ideas and numerous musical influences. Not only does Kinoshi lead Mercury Prize nominated SEED Ensemble but she also lends her capable talent to the joyous afrobeat flurry of Kokoroko and the nuanced guitar fluidity of Nerija.

‘I think fundamentally it’s based on community and collaboration. I think jazz music is very much about those two things. The London jazz scene that I am part of, we have already known each other for a decade, so we have grown up together and have been playing together for years. It is very much a group of friends making music together.’

Each jazz act that Kinoshi plays alongside are effortlessly unique.

‘As part of Kokoroko we’re always dancing on the stage – It’s a party’. However, Kinoshi describes SEED Ensemble as a much less danceable act. ‘I wouldn’t say its music you necessarily get down to’.

SEED Ensemble instead reflect a sense of innate spirituality. An act that whole-heartedly embrace the political, as seen on ‘WAKE (For Grenfell)’. An act that embrace a sense of futuristic experimentalism, as heard on ‘Afronaut’. They take past stories of black British upheaval and translate them to a new audience.

Their musical patterns are euphoric, yet deftly mystical. Listening to SEED Ensemble is as if looking up in awe at a sparkling night-time sky. The mind flickers with questions and thoughts – a valuable search for meaning within each individual fold. An act that stirs you into imagination. An act that stirs you into a gentle sway rather than a hedonistic and hip-swinging frenzy.

This is perhaps a result of Kinoshi’s love for fantasy and sci-fi. A further illustration of her vibrant imagination, free to form new worlds and improvisations. ‘The particular piece (‘Afronaut’) is dedicated to the sci-fi writer, Samuel Delaney.

I recently discovered him and have since admired his work and him as a person. So yeah, just scifi in general for enjoyment I’m interested in but also learning more about afro-futurism and how that relates to what I was writing. The idea of ‘otherness’, being alien and coming from far away links to a lot of the feelings and experiences you have as a British person that has a heritage from elsewhere.’

Kinoshi’s interest in space, fantasy and sci-fi is far from escapist. Instead, it is fiercely political. She engages in feelings of ‘otherness’ and alien experiences – linking far away remote space-age galaxies to the distant and at times socially alienating shores of Britain. The experiences of firstgeneration and second-generation immigrants are pronounced and elevated. A statement of assimilation or for better words – the failure of Britain to accept, tolerate and celebrate its rich diversity.

‘The name SEED Ensemble. I wanted the word Seed present - like we’re

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The name SEED Ensemble: I wanted the word Seed present - like we’re planting a seed of awareness

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really anything. It’s in the middle of the countryside (…) I was part of local wind bands and my parents were very supportive and took us to gigs.

But, I think in London we’re quite spoilt with how much art there is’. It was in London that Kinoshi joined

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meteor thunders through a star-lit freckled sky. A blast – it fires an untamed furnace of spiky edges and red-hot darts.

A celestial soundscape of wonder and amazement. A carnivorous soundscape of ambition and battle.

The meteor paces uncontrollably, capturing the emblems of its past among a cascade of fury. It hurtles too towards a future utopia. A utopia of free expression and open embrace. A meteor made up of anger, burning passion, layered pleasures, demanding cacophonies and frenetic thrill. Its glow beams and enriches an overriding fear. A fear of distance. A fear of the unknown.

A fear of understanding one’s own place and history. With a spark and flicker they all seem resolved.

SEED Ensemble are this mighty meteor. Their jazz arrangements illuminate space-induced rhythms.

Rather than float through atmosphere - they soar. Their music culminates in an impassioned verse. A sentiment of journey, of ambition, and of building upon their past to create an entirely new vision. Epigram Music caught up with the ten-piece Jazz act and their lead composer and saxophonist, C a s s i e Kinoshi. She was in high spirits - a giggling and exuberant speaker.

But, one who spoke with eloquence, fretting over each word and phrase. Bubbling with ideas and purpose but neatly composed and assured. It’s clear to see where the creative licence of SEED Ensemble stems.

Kinoshi originally grew up in Hertfordshire but has since found her voice as a result of moving to London. ‘In Hertfordshire there’s not

planting a seed of awareness. The reason why a lot of the compositions are political is because I wanted to write music which highlighted a lot of the issues which are prevalent today in British society and continue the necessary conversation.’

Kinoshi’s idea of opening up political discussion regarding black identity and the layers of societal and institutional racism has become ever more pressing and necessary. She notes the backlash concerning Stormzy and his comments regarding Britain’s racist undertones and proclaims that as a result further discussion is required.

‘I think there is a backlash (…) a lot of British people don’t want to

accept that we do have issues that America is really obvious about’.

‘I enjoy writing music that is about bringing awareness to how our country does run and the systemic issues that do exist. But, I am also celebrating my heritage, the heritage of a lot of people in the band and what it means to be Black British citizen in particular.’

SEED Ensemble and jazz in particular have been finding voice within the ranks of British youth. The genre has bounced back with renewed vigour and purpose, typified by the likes of The Comet is Coming and Sons of Kemet. Kinoshi embraces this transformation in jazz: ‘In the UK, jazz is often seen as very elitist genre of music where you go to certain venues and sip cocktails and dress up. A lot of the newer venues like Jazz Refreshed and Good Evening Arts in New Cross have gone back to the community aspect of jazz, where it is for everyone. There is a connection between the audience and the people on the stage. You don’t have to pay tonnes and tonnes of money to go and see it. It is more accessible in that kind of way.’

2019 proved a momentous year for SEED Ensemble, in which they released their debut album, Driftglass, which won several accolades and was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize Award. Kinoshi seems humbled when I bring this up. ‘It was nice to reach audiences we may not have reached with it because a lot of people who focus on the Mercury Prize are from pop industries, so having that acknowledgment was quite nice to receive’. However, she is also quick to note the idea of a ‘token jazz’ act present at the awards ceremony each year.

This underplays the momentous brilliance of SEED Ensemble. A politically engaged, exuberant and spiritual jazz act. An act who take you on a journey. A journey that is showing zero signs of slowing down. As Kinoshi gears up for her upcoming tour with the 10-piece band, she too speaks enthusiastically of future projects and ambitions.

In a couple of months, she is deep diving straight into writing a score for the Ballet Boyz. Kinoshi also sets her horizons on curating film and video game scores – a result of her burning passion for sci-fi and fantasy games. It seems Kinoshi can just about try her hand to anything.

The busier the better is seems – and who can blame her? A creative mind bursting with ideas, soundscapes and stories, tying together intergalactic

Puzzles Killer Sudoku

Fill the empty squares with the numbers 1-9 so that each number appears once in each row, column and box. Also the numbers in each dotted box must total the number in the top left-hand side.

Editor Subeditor

Kezi James Fergus Ustianowski

epigram.puzzles@gmail.com If you need any help, contact the editor by email or through social media

Arithmagon Fill in the empty circles with any number from 1-9 so that the number in the square is made by adding the numbers in the circles either side.

Credit: Tom Dixon, Fourth year Chemistry

11

14 7

6

10 12

Cryptic Crossword Credit: Conor Cullen, Fourth year Engineering Mathematics

2.

7.

9.

11.

12.

13.

14.

1.

3.

4.

5.

6.

8.

10.

15.

Across

A mad dog swims against flow (4).

Contract for brewing a sharper pint (11).

Traveller showing a tattered green pass (9).

Recognised French one with the German male, upright (10).

Reliable chromium is fit to eat (8).

Temporary drunk near Tommy (9).

Girl from Cornwall initially forming on posture (9).

Down

Feat of dexterity sounds inconsiderable (7).

Audible references to landmarks (6).

Semipro evolves to make pledge (7).

Overweight but devious insects need oxygen to begin with (5).

Vessel containing Kalashnikov with wild ox (5).

Preparation to pay deceptive manager rent (11).

Conflict from uncooked food sent back (3).

Organs sound horrid (5).

Continuing Puzzle This will be a running puzzle where every week the previous weeks answer will help you solve this puzzle. Every week the puzzle shall be put up online if a week is missed.

Credit: Fergus Ustianowski, Puzzles Subeditor

What’s the main place called in Cabot Circus that sells this product as a snack alongside entertainment, using the answer from the previous edition?

Solutions will be posted online at: epigram.org.uk/tag/puzzles facebook.com/epigrampaper If you would like to submit ideas for Puzzles, email epigram.puzzles@gmail.com

30 Sport

epigram 02.03.2020

Gym Review: which Bristol gym is best?

Eddie McAteer

Student Sport Correspondent

Epigram / India Gay

I

n true Bristruth fashion, Epigram Sport decided to review a variety of gyms that Bristol has to offer. Some of the most common student gyms, Puregym, Anytime Fitness, David Lloyd and, of course, the University’s gym itself all get a look in as we try to find the best value and most student friendly gym.

1. Puregym Puregym is one of the cheapest in the city, with an off-peak membership costing just £14.99 per month. In addition to the cheap price, Puregym has a total of five gyms with Bristol post codes, including Harbourside, Union Street, Barrow Road, Bath Road and Stoke Gifford. Admittedly, the ones on Bath Road and Stoke Gifford are on the outskirts, however, that still leaves students with the choice of three gyms, all within two miles of campus, two of which are less than one mile away. Even though Puregym is one of the cheapest gyms, it still has plenty to offer. There is a good range of equipment including a free weights area, many machines and a studio. Another benefit of Puregym is its opening hours, since it is open 24/7 you can go at any time and can therefore fit gym trips in around university work and any other things that may demand some of your time.

2. Anytime Fitness Anytime Fitness is conveniently located on the triangle, just next to Wilko and, like Puregym, it is open 24/7, meaning you have more flexibility with time. The gym is not too busy most of the time, so you do not have to wait to use equipment, however, the equipment is not quite as extensive as that of Puregym due to the fact that it simply is not as big.

A student membership here will cost you a cool £29.95 per month, almost double the cheapest membership available at Puregym and the university gym.

3. David Lloyd David Lloyd is notoriously one of the most cutting-edge gyms in the country thanks to its array of modern equipment. That being said, it is therefore one of the most expensive memberships available. A membership there can cost upwards

of £60 which, as students, can often financially rule this gym out.

David Lloyd is, however, excellent with regards to its engagement with customers; there are people stationed around the gym to help out if anyone is confused by equipment or would like some advice on how best to approach their workout.

Unfortunately, David Lloyd is not particularly well-located for students as it is the other side of Ashton Gate from the University, making it quite a distance from campus and from most student houses.

4. University gym The University’s gym is regularly frequented by students and is obviously in a great location. Since it is located right on campus, it is ideal for students to fit a quick work out in between lectures, or once they have finished for the day.

Additionally, the university gym is reasonably priced at just £16.79 per month for an Active #1 membership.

The equipment available is good but when the gym is busy it can be very difficult to get hold of some free-weights. Despite this, for its proximity and value, the university gym gets a lot of love from students.

The Verdict Ultimately, Puregym represents good value for money and has an excellent range of equipment, as well as a good location.

The University gym is also held in high regard for its value and for its unbeatable location for students, whereas David Lloyd is less student friendly in terms of prices and location but has the most advanced equipment of all. Anytime Fitness is in a great place for many students, but its main other benefit is the opening hours, with its price still quite high considering its facilities available.

Epigram / India Gay

Epigram / India Gay

Student Sport Correspondent, Eddie, visits the gyms around Bristol to decide which one offers the best value and facilities for students.

Team of the week: Mens Squash 1s Our Men’s 1s have been working hard throughout the year, resulting in an unbeaten season and a trip to BUCS playoffs, where we seeded second for the impeneding BUCS Championships. Up against Sheffield, we knew it would be a tough away match, but the boys pulled through with a 3-2 victory, securing our place in the Prem for next season!

Sport 31

02.03.2020 epigram

UBACCC

UBACCC

Student volunteers run inclusive sports day with Bristol Bears “

Not only did we have the biggest gazebo, we also had the loudest voices and by far out cheered everyone else

Bristol Bears

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Student Sport Correspondent

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wo brilliant organisations have come together in order to help young people with disabilities have a fun day out, whilst giving their parents some extra free time.

The day included sports, dancing and games for all participants, volunteers and young people with disabilities. Taster sessions of wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball, in addition to team activities and target games such as Boccia were played.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport designed for people with disabilities that affect their movement, and closely resembles bowls, in that the aim is

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The day included sports, dancing and games for all participants

their group of volunteers, the Project are able to provide about 20 young people with enjoyable excursions.

The project is particularly effective because around 20 volunteers go too, so each volunteer buddies up with one young person.

Another major positive of Pit-

stop is the cost of these day trips.

Thanks to fundraising and sponsorship, all food and transport are covered by the organisation, meaning that the whole day is free for those volunteering and those with disabilities. Moreover, the days out offer the parents of these young people a chance to relax when that opportunity might not normally arise.

In recent years they have been to Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures and Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm. The next outing that will take place for Pitstop is an activity day at Mojo Active on the 15th March and they will once again be making the journey to Chessington as their final excursion of term time .

Similarly, the Bristol Bears Community Foundation is a charity that focuses on education, health, inclusion and participation in the local community. The foundation aims to use sport to reveal the full potential of every individual that it works with, including children as young as five and adults as old as 104. The Bears’ enhancement of communi-

ty spirit has been evidenced by increased attendance at matches and they are also aiming to inspire the next group of fans/players in Bristol.

Not only is the Bears’ project strongly supported across the city, but it has won awards nationwide for its work.

Both organisations deserve huge amounts of praise for their work

throughout the year, but especially for making this such a special event for these young people.

It is easy to forget how much of an impact one day can have on an individual. If you would like to get involved with Pitstop, do not hesitate to check out this link https:// www.bristolsu.org.uk/groups/pitstop

Bristol Bears

Eddie McAteer

to get as close to a ‘jack’ as possible.

A similar event also took place at the University of the West of England this week.

Pitstop is a university volunteer project set up in 2003 by a group of students and organises a selection of trips for young people with disabilities in the Bristol area. The aim of these trips is to give people the opportunity to make new friends and to feel more independent. Thanks to

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The Bristol Bears Community Foundation teamed up with University of Bristol’s Pitstop project to put on a variety of activities for over 45 young people.

Sport

Editor Student Sport Correspondent

India Gay Edward McAteer

Surfing the Severn Bore

Epigram / Josh McMinn Severn Bore Riders

South West Seal Pups

Fourth Year, Maths

I

t was 7:45am on a Monday and I was frantically trying to get on a thick winter wetsuit whilst sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was hurtling at full speed towards Gloucester. The car belonged to Surf Club Vice-captain, Tom Bott, who was hastily explaining to me the logistics of the Bore whilst I struggled into my neoprene hood and gloves.

We were on our way to the Severn River, and we were late.

It’s not often that you can be late for a session of surfing, but the Severn Bore is an exception. It’s not like other waves that you might find

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It’s a phenomenon that only occurs in about 100 rivers worldwide

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Josh McMinn

at the beach, it’s a lot more elusive and mysterious. A bore is a wave that forms when a rising sea tide is funneled into the mouth of a river, causing a sudden surge of water that continues travelling upstream further inland. It is a phenomenon that only occurs in about 100 rivers worldwide, of which 20 are found in the UK. And

even on these special rivers, the bore is unpredictable in its size, and will only take place after a full moon. Still, the crucial feature that differentiates bore surfing from regular surfing, is that it’s only one wave which only happens at a specific time of day. And we were about to miss it.

We came off the motorway, and on to the country roads, weaving through fields until we got to a small and solitary pub by the river. We lost

no time in parking up the car, unstrapping the boards and climbing into the opaque brown water. The bend we were in was 150m across, and was flanked by grazing sheep that watched us from beyond the muddy banks. The river was slow moving but choppy, and I was surprised to discover that despite its impressive width, it was only waist deep. We patiently stared downstream to where the local surfers were sitting, waiting for a sign of the bore.

When the wave arrived it was a little underwhelming. I jumped on my board and started paddling, as a 1ft mound of whitewater steadily made its way towards us. Given its size I had little doubt that I’d be able to catch it. But I was quickly proved wrong.

I pulled a quintessential kook move; nosediving my gigantic foamie as soon as the wave hit me and getting a face full of dirt in the proccess. I watched for a moment in despair as Tom and 4 of the locals glided away from me on the only ride of the day.

Then I had an idea, and I started paddling. I decided to try something

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I pulled a quintessential move, nosediving my gigantic foamie as soon as the wave hit me and getting a face full of dirt

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Josh told Epigram of his second nonuniversity affiliated sport; bore surfing, which consists of catching a wave on a river. Last week, he visited the Severn.

I’d seen one of the locals do just moments earlier: catch up with bore.

Whilst the wave moves relatively slowly in the middle of river, it absolutely jets along the banks, usually taking a few shrubs and a lot of dirt with it. I chased the others for another 50 meters, gaining speed as I moved closer and closer to the edge of the river, until I was a couple meters behind them, and it looked like I might catch them up. It was at this point I learnt all too suddenly why the river moves faster on the banks. My board stopped abruptly as it’s fins embedded themselves in the mud, revealing that the water I was in was only a couple of inches high. I knew when I was

beat and so started paddling back to the other side of the river to get out.

After negotiating the steep, slippery sides of the Severn, and hopping a few fences, I made it back to the pub. Here I met a couple of the locals, who on this occasion had also failed to catch the bore. In the surfing community, locals are generally regarded as being fiercely protective of their spots, and hence tend to be very hostile to outsiders. This couldn’t be less true of these bore surfers.

They were warm and friendly, with a gentle temperament, and possessing of a certain patience that seemed to radiate. I suppose that sort of patience is essential if you want to catch a wave that is so fleeting and sporadic.

It was only as they were leaving that I caught their names, and I realized I recognized one of them. It was Steve King, the world’s only sponsored bore surfer, and holder of the Guinness World Record for longest distance ridden on a single wave. As he drove off in his cadet blue Land Rover, I wondered if perhaps I could hold the record for the shortest distance.